A/N: Well I'm sorry these chapters come out later and later but the ideas are too many for one scene and when I pick on it doesn't sound right and when I write another one it sounds too boring so after many rewrites and many busy summer days I finally give this chapter to you… and sorry it isn't as long as the others but if I would've added more it wouldn't have been good.
"Would you serve in Heaven, or rule in Hell?"
- Abbadon, Darksiders
Kari was breathing hard when facing her last opponent until the final battle and she was glad to say that this man was fighting her was a shinobi and not a strong civilian. Kari straightened her back and braced herself for another weapon lock with the taller shinobi. When he hit she noticed that he seemed to be slowing. She was glad that she had trained the way she had in the Akatsuki or she would be in the same situation as her opponent.
The man was just as silent as she was, but the crowd was making up for their lack of sound. Kari wished that this was easier, but she highly doubted even if he grew tired that she would have an easy time beating him; she was starting to get tired. Then when they separated again Kari made a few had quick hands signs while she reached into a back pouch and she hoped it would work. She jumped back and threw a kunai at him, which he easily dodged and then used quite a bit of her remaining chakra and breathed out her supersonic screech and she made sure it only hit him, and hit it did; she was proclaimed the victor.
Kari finally fell back to the ground and let all of the past three days of battles catch up to her. She was exhausted and on the second and third say they seemed to push every opponent on her as they could, but she won. Koumori landed next to her and spoke in her own language, "We need to get out of here. Tomorrow you have to go against the man over there."
Kari looked over at her last opponent and realized he didn't seem like anything much, but his chakra signal was humongous. Kari's eyes widened and also spoke in the bat's language, "I don't think I can beat him."
"Well you can try. Do you think you can walk." Kari shook her head and Koumori continued, "I guess I can fly you since there is no ceiling." she then expanded her size so she could carry Kari, "Climb on." the crowd gasped.
Kari struggled to stand up again, but did anyway and climbed onto the bat's back before said bat fly into the air and to the hotel into which she was staying. Kari climbed into her window, and crawled into her bed while Koumori shrunk and flew in with her.
Kari couldn't fall asleep right away so she thought about the tournament. Even though it was a fight to the death, there was a rule that a competitor could surrender and admit defeat, which happened with all of the traitor's group she didn't have to fight. Of coarse they want to show each other their strength, so there was always a fight, but that just meant that Kari had five to seven more people she had to take care of after this tournament and she didn't think she could handle them all on her own… maybe with Koumori's help she could. Only time would tell, but she wished that it would decide quickly because she was tired of it all.
~oOo~
Kari woke up from sleep, she didn't even know when she did, by Koumori licking her face and saying, "You have a guest coming up to see you." she looked around and noticed that not much time has past since she had entered the room and she was still presentable. Kari stood up and walked to the door.
When she heard the shuffling of covered feet at the door she asked, "Who's there?" She was tired so there was only that in her voice.
"I am sorry to disturb you but I am Rubin Li, the overseer of this competition. May I have a word?" Kari's eyes widened that the head of the traitor group was outside of her door.
Kari recovered herself quickly as possible and asked, "You may, but I'm sorry I can't let you in my room."
"And why not?" the man sounded offended.
"Because it's not proper." Kari stated as if it was everyday information, which to her it was.
The man was silent but soon he started laughing and said, "You are right. I am terribly sorry. Then could I offer to take you someplace more public? I would really like to speak with you face to face."
Kari looked over to Koumori, who did her best shrug and said in bat speak, "I don't see a problem in it."
Kari nodded and then opened the door to reveal the tall, wide, balding man who was smiling down at the young summoness… not that he knew of her powers since she had yet to use them once during her fights. He then said, "Where would you like to go?"
Kari shrugged and when she rested her shoulders Koumori flew on her should and said in a language Li could understand, which surprised the man, "She doesn't know the area so you should pick", which was a lie. Kari had memorized the town's layout as best she could in case of emergency.
The man smiled warily and said, "Well then follow me." Kari nodded and followed a foot behind the male, a sign of respect and caution, and when he looked back he said, "Why aren't you the most proper young girl I've laid my eyes on."
Kari stopped and bowed and said, "Thank you Rubin-sama." Kari was glad she could keep her disgust, at adding the sama to his family name, hidden.
The man chuckled and said, "No need for that Kari-chan. From what I've seen you do on the competition field you have the right to call me Li-san."
Still in her bow she said, "Thank you Li-san." and then rose and continued to follow him, and from the looks of things he was going to be taking her to a high class restaurant nearby. Kari didn't like the choice because of the hidden connotations behind such a public meeting that could possibly spread, and Kari didn't want her name associated with being a traitor's child toy.
When they got to the restaurant, though, Kari was fascinated by the rich look of it all. Most of it looked as if it was made of precious jewels and gold and it just screamed expensive, and Kari never thought she'd ever see such a thing again in her life. The young girl didn't even notice until she was sitting down that everyone was casting sideways glances over at her and she started to feel self conscious for not having finer clothes to wear.
The only things that were comforting now was the promise of good food, and the presence of Koumori and the distant one of Zetsu. Though the latter was more wishful since she missed her partner, and it was strange and saddening not to see him everyday. When their menus came with the waiter he asked what they wanted and Li ordered some expensive sounding sake, and when the waiter turned his attention to Kari she said, "May I just have a water please?"
The waiter seemed shocked at he small show of etiquette in the way she spoke and appeared, but nodded and hurried away to get their drinks. "You know I am paying for all of this so you can just get what you want." Li stated with approval at her not embarrassing him, which angered Kari to no end.
"That is very kind of you but I don't want to over extend your…" she paused for a second to try and think of a smart sounding word, which ruined the effect of her words a little, and when she couldn't think of a word she went with her first thought, "kindness."
He nodded, not even noticing her mishap, and if he did he was internally making fun of her for being just a child, which was actually beneficial to her. If Li thought that Kari was still a child mentally, no matter her strength, he would underestimate her… she just hope she could meet up to her own expectations and trick him or expose him in some way he wouldn't notice. In fact it seemed that all of the occupants that were looking at her with disco tempt were now back to their own topics or complementing her over her polite behavior.
The waiter was back and smiled at the girl when he handed her the water and said, "Have you decided what you wanted or should I give you some more time?"
"Well since I'm sure my guest here doesn't know what most of this is, I'm sure she wouldn't mind me picking for us both?" he looked over at Kari who let her blush, from her anger, show, but put on a coy face as best she could and nodded. The man chuckled and said, "Then we'll have the blowfish with the side of sashimi, and we'll have the blue lobster with shrimp curry."
The waiter bowed and then left saying, "It should be out soon."
Kari let her blush leave her face and asked, "Um… why did you call me out Li-san?"
Li nodded and his face grew on a politician's smile, "Well I want to make a deal with you."
"What kind of a deal?" Kari asked, her air of innocence, hopefully showing.
"A deal that would be beneficial to us both." He took a sip of his sake and Kari noticed that Koumori had resettled on her shoulder and she inwardly smirked. He reached across the table and said, "If you were to join my group you would get a family unit, happiness, riches beyond your belief, and" he smiled in a joking manner, "dinner's like this every night. And I would get a new addition to my group to replace the ones you mistakenly killed, a person to carry on my name and a new daughter."
Kari bit her lip in thought to hide her disgust of having to think that Li had wanted her to call him a father. She already had three and she didn't need a fourth who was against her beliefs. She smiled kindly and said, "I'm sorry about your men but they didn't give up."
Li nodded and withdrew her hand and said, "Well I'm sure that they wouldn't have given up even if you gave them a chance." he then smiled widely and said, "So do we have a deal?"
Kari looked off to the side and said shyly, "I have to think about making such a big change… but I'm sure I'll agree."
He nodded and said, "That sounds reasonable enough." and then the food came. They were silent… well Kari was silent, Li was mostly silent besides his disgusting way of eating. When Kari gave Koumori her last bite of shrimp curry Li had let out a breath that smelled horrible and said, "My compliments to the chef. Now Kari have you made a decision?"
Kari nodded and smiled as brightly and convincingly as she could, "You have a deal. Now what do I have to do?"
Li nodded and looked like he had won the competition already, "All you have to do is make sure that you don't kill your next opponent. He's my right hand man and part of the family."
Kari nodded and then said to Koumori, "Could you go back to the room and check for any surprises? And be sure to go on with our plan."
Koumori nodded and said, "Make sure to be safe on your way back, and take the public streets, not short cuts." Kari nodded and the female bat flew out the door, frightening a couple that was exiting.
"What did you say to your bat?" Li asked curious, but slightly suspicious.
Kari smiled as innocently as she could, "I told her to go hunt. I'm sure the few bites of food I gave her won't fill her up."
Li's suspicion disappeared and said, "That's good. I don't think it would be right to starve your pet."
Kari shook her head and said, "Koumori's family to me. She's been with me since I was young and she has protected ever since."
Li nodded and then stood up and said, "Shall we then?" Kari nodded and then left with said man, who escorted her back to her hotel and Kari passed out as soon as she hit the bed… she was surprised that she kept awake this long.
~oOo~
Kari woke up in the morning stiff, sore, and sick. The food last night had been good, but it was nothing compared to what she ate with the gypsy group. Kari quickly emptied her stomach and ate something small so she wouldn't be sick again and so she would replace some of her energy. Koumori landed next to her and asked, "Should I participate in this event today?"
Kari nodded, "I need you to be there if I show any sign of losing." Kari did some stretching and moaned, "Why do I have to be up right now! I'm tired and I'm disgusted over this man, and I want to finish this mission as soon as possible."
Koumori laughed and said, "Well I could see what I can do to make this faster."
"Well did you do what I asked you last night?" Kari asked almost excited.
Koumori nodded and said with a batty smirk, "I made sure they all took the medicine."
Kari smiled and pet Koumori between her shoulder blades, "You just made this day a whole lot easier."
"Well I don't like that man either. He thinks that he can try and use you. No one's going to use my pup in such a way." Koumori said as she flew to the windows ledge.
"I'll get changed and then we'll go." Kari stated as she searched for another, fresher training outfit to wear.
Koumori nodded and snatched up an unlucky bug that flew just outside the window.
~oOo~
Kari was thrown against a wall as groaned as she made impact. Apparently Li hadn't told his minion that they were on the same side now, and Kari didn't feel like telling him. The summoness also didn't feel like asking for Koumori's help because the man in front of her, and the rest of his group seemed to be displaying the symptoms of the poison that Koumori had helped put into their food and drink. Though they were ignoring their own feeling because it wasn't noticeable unless you knew what to look for, and Kari had Sasori for his little poison invention.
Though, since the one she was fighting was doing a lot more moving and using a lot more chakra than the others his symptoms were getting worse and worse as time went on. Kari quickly dodged a kunai and threw one of her own, which cut the mans arm just enough to break the surface as he dodged.
Kari smiled at his slowed movement and finally thought it was time to quicken the process, but first she would have to wait for the break time. Kari had to admit that she didn't know about this until that day because of how long she was battling this person. If she would've fought a little while longer with her other opponents then she would've discovered it, but it still worked in her favor.
The bell rang as soon as they were going to lock weapons and they stopped in their tracks and headed for their spots. Koumori had flown over and Kari caught the water bottle that the bat dropped. Kari didn't know how much more beating she could take. This man didn't have much strength, but when he added his massive chakra to his punches she was sure to be purple by the end of the day.
Koumori nipped at her arm and Kari looked over and the former said, "The boss man should be following shortly after his right hand man there."
Kari nodded and said, "Well then would you please help me with this next break. I want to be sure to save my energy for the rest of the group. I'm sure even with them slowly dying, I won't be able to take them all on. I may not even have enough chakra to summon anyone if I had the chance."
Koumori nodded and said, "I'll be sure to make sure we get out of here before that happens."
Kari smiled and rubbed noses affectionately with the bat before she felt Li's presence coming closer to her. She turned around and smiled saying with a slight bow of the head, "It's good to see you again Li-san." though from the look of discomfort on his face, she knew the poison was kicking in and soon…. Just how much did they put in their systems… and just how fast did it spread? "Is there something wrong?"
Li shook his head and said with a uncomfortable smile, "Nothing but some food that didn't agree with me from last night. Now I wanted to remind you not to kill him, and I'm here to remind him to keep you alive."
Kari nodded and said, "Well I'll be sure to remember that and thank you." Li began to walk away and she said, "I hope your tummy ache goes away." and he looked back with a smile before disappearing form her sight. Kari hid a smirk and said, "Well it's almost time for the bell to ring again. Please get ready Koumori."
The bat nodded and expanded her size to that of a large horse. The group that she was sent to kill then looked over in shock but the bell rang and Koumori flew into the air and Kari dashed at the man. The boss was quickly led away and just as Kari was about to hit her target he fell down and started to cough uncontrollably. Kari looked over him and checked him over as if she was really concerned, "Hey are you okay? What's wrong?"
The man looked up at her and said, "I feel like needles are running through my veins."
"Li-san! Something's wrong!" Kari called to the man and she looked genuinely concerned… she didn't know this was going to hurt the men so much.
Li called a timeout and his group ran over to him and they checked him out just as Li was falling to the poison's touch. Kari hopped on Koumori's back and they were unnoticed as they made vibrations in the air so that the bodies would move the poison faster. Kari was panicking a bit because she didn't want to see what was happening but as soon as the last man showed the first man's symptoms of falling to the ground Koumori lifted ten feet above them as they all began to cough up blood and it looked as if they had been attacked by Kari's shock wave filled with kunai. Soon they weren't moving and Kari was shaking, breathing heavily, and feeling sick.
Memories of her birth village came to mind and Kari was close to passing out until Koumori forced her way out of the stone arena and let the ceiling crush the bodies of their recent kill. Kari then shook her head and hugged herself close to the bat mother and kept repeating, "It's for peace."
Koumori looked at the arena and said, "Besides the group, everyone got out. No one is going to hurt our goal now. Kari please clam down."
Kari nodded but said, 'Please take me to my stuff and take me to Zetsu-san. I want to get home as soon as possible."
Koumori nodded and speedily flew to the hotel, got their things, and then flew to where her cloak was and Zetsu was waiting for them. Kari jumped off of Koumori and ran to hug the plant man who looked at the girl shocked. Kari held her tears in and Koumori smiled at the sight. The mother bat was glad that Kari had someone other than herself who Kari could run to, and so she draped her cloak over the girl's shoulders and said to Zetsu, "She saw something she didn't expect. Please take her back quickly." Koumori then sniffed the air and said, "And take her to Konan-san."
Zetsu looked at the bat with a bit confusion but nodded when he smelled what Koumori did. Kari looked back at Koumori and asked, "Why?"
Koumori shook her head and said, "It's better for a female of your species to explain it. I wouldn't know how it works." she then disappeared.
Zetsu pulled Kari in and said, "Hold on Kari-chan. We'll get you back soon enough."
Kari nodded and huddled closer to her partner as the trap closed. Kari felt something in her lower stomach and it hurt. She felt as if she ate some bad food that was attacking her for it, and she just seemed to be more sensitive to everything.
Soon light came to her vision and when she stepped out, Konan was sitting there and nodded at the Zetsu saying, "Thank you Zetsu-san, you can leave now."
Zetsu nodded and said, "Good luck Kari-chan. We hope you feel better."
Kari looked confused and irritated at all the secrets until another wave of pain hit her lower stomach. Konan took her to the bathroom and sat her down on the toilet and said, after pulling out some pills, "Here Kari, this should make you feel a bit better… I don't want this thing to affect your emotions when I explain it to you."
Kari added fear to her expression and quickly swallowed the pills, and in five minutes the pains were gone and she felt as if she wet herself. Konan smiled pityingly and said, "Though it is a bit early, Kari-chan, you are taking one of the first steps into becoming a woman."
Kari looked at Konan as if she grew a third head and Konan shook her head and began to explain what she meant.
~oOo~
To say Kari was shocked at this information was an overstatement. Kari was surprised, sure, but living in a gypsy camp, with limited space, she was bound to hear about a period sooner or later. She was always curious about it and always wanted to be a woman, but knowing what it was and having it made her wish she didn't have it anymore. Along with pains and blood she had to deal with her emotions being on a roller coaster and her body changing in ways she didn't want. Though the fact that it was only once a month, and for a few days slackened the blow.
When Kari was given supplies to keep herself clean and some pills to get rid of pain and mood swings, and any other symptoms that came with the monthly period, Konan told her how to use some of them and let Kari have some privacy in the bathroom to clean herself. When she was done and clean, she was given some new undergarments and was soon on her way to report her success on her mission.
Though the mission did mentally pain her, she knew that she overreacted and wondered how she would act if the blasted monthly wasn't around to ruin her control.