Chapter 24: Ota Tayu

Suzumi panted slightly as she managed to reach nearby village. It was the one Ryouta was talking about that was situated nearby, consisting of several houses owned by the farmers that lived in the area. Very carefully, she gingerly placed Lady Kaguya back on the ground before trying to catch her breath.

" What about them?" Tayu asked, sounding worried.

" …We've got no choice…they'll be buying time for us…" Suzumi responded in a pained voice. Neither Tayu nor Lady Kaguya had any words to respond to that statement.

There was one option left to choose. They needed to move, and they needed to move now. The boys will see to their escape hopefully, to hold out against the entire onslaught of enemies. If they were lucky enough, they might catch up with them, but that chance was slim. Suzumi knew of the chances, the risks involved in each dangerous mission they took, but having prior knowledge knowing her comrades might be going to be killed didn't make her feel any better.

Suzumi clenched her fists as she heard the clashes of steel and the sound of combat some distance away. She knew Ryouta and the others were skilled combatants, better than her at any rate, and there won't be a problem if they leave now. They had to anyway. If Ryouta was willing to sacrifice this much, Suzumi had to honour him wish, and that meant abandoning him.

" We have to go…we have to move now…" Suzumi replied, fighting back the tears.

Suzumi would later call it pure luck that allowed her to survive the ordeal. Makoto and Hibiki might put it as instinct, but Suzumi personally knew her combat instincts were about as comparable to a fat chicken. She didn't knew why, but as she was about to take a step forward, she stopped. At that very instant, something fell right in front of her, and she suddenly registered a sudden shot of pain in her left leg, and that made her scream loudly.

" Kyaa!" Suzumi yelled.

" Suzumi!" Tayu exclaimed.

Suzumi was on her knees, clutching her bleeding leg. Something had cut through her thigh, and it was hurting like hell. As she was clutching the bleeding limb, she looked up. Right before her stood a female shinobi with a weird knife in her hand. It was as thin as the surgical knives she used, but much longer, and curved like a snake. Something flew past her head, and the shinobi backed off.

" Suzumi, are you alright?! That looks bad…" Tayu replied.

Suzumi gasped in agony as she looked at her leg. Superficially, it probably looked like she had just suffered from a normal gash, but she knew better. Her attacker had somehow managed to cut her muscles, slice through her tendons and sever her nerves, all in just one swift strike which she didn't even see coming. A combat medical-nin, Suzumi guessed. Her blow stuck an injury that would take a lot of effort and time to heal. Not even Hiroshi could fix such a serious internal injury.

" Dang, I missed…oh well, it's not like you can beat us anyway," the female replied.

Both kunoichi's turned to face their enemy. Three other shinobis appeared behind the attacker, obviously hostile. Suzumi felt her skin prick all of a sudden, and she couldn't help but tremble. They will be annihilated here, no doubt about that, the question only was how fast. Suzumi was pretty much incapacitated, and Tayu can't possibly match four shinobis at once. She would only have a slight chance if they were all genins, but that was something too much to ask for.

" I guess we could ask you to hand over Lady Kaguya, but you all can be persistent bastards, as far as our intel goes," the kunoichi replied, raising the blade in her hands.

" Orders, Haruko?" one of the shinobis asked.

" Just kill everything in sight," Haruko replied, licking the blade with her lips. Suzumi noted that despite being stabbed with that blade, there wasn't a single trace of blood on the weapon.

She suddenly gasped when Tayu suddenly stepped in front of her, facing off the four other attackers, showing her back towards Suzumi. Suzumi was reminded of the time years ago when Sora stood boldly in front of her, proudly showing her back towards her, telling her silently that she would protect her, no matter the cost. Tayu showed no hesitation, and was resolute. She would fight these four assailants, and something told Suzumi that she intended to win.

" Don't get the wrong idea. It's not you that I desire to protect," Tay replied, as if somehow managing to understand what Suzumi was thinking. " Fix that wound of yours. I'll be taking care of this idiots."

" You jest. You intend to fight all four of us," Haruko laughed.

" You must be blind. You expect to win?" Tayu mocked her.

" Tayu, don't!" Lady Kaguya pleaded.

" Lady Kaguya, hold your peace!" Tayu shouted.

Lady Kaguya winced slightly. Suzumi had never seen Tayu yell at Lady Kaguya before, and she believed it was unthinkable. Lady Kaguya merely looked at Tayu as she continued to look at the enemy, her eyes as sharp as ever.

" I resent your concern. I am your personal retainer, not a helpless maid who cannot defend herself. Now, keep still while I deal with this rabble. It will take only a few minutes, so sit tight, Lady Kaguya," Tayu replied in a dark, cold voice.

Suzumi merely watched as Tayu tensed herself, cracking her fingers as she did so. Flicking out three senbon needles in each of her hands, she prepared herself for the on-coming onslaught.

All four of them leaped at her in an instant, ready to strike her down. Tayu flung her senbon needles towards on on-coming crowd, but predictably all of them avoided the attack easily, merely side-stepping the attack as it came in such a straight-forward manner.

" You'll need more than that to beat us!" Haruko exclaimed.

Tayu merely stared at her with an icy stare, before forming a tiger seal. " If you say so…" she replied in a cold manner.

Haruko, somehow sensing danger, leaped up. The senbon needles Tayu threw suddenly shot back towards her, aiming for the legs. It barely missed Haruko, but they spun around at high velocities, speeding back towards Haruko. As soon as Haruko's feet hit the floor, she leaped aside, just as the senbon needles shot past her.

" What?!" Haruko mused.

" My name is Ota Tayu, and this is the limit of my inheritance," Tayu replied. " Fall prey to my Jigoku Senbon!"

All of a sudden, as if remote controlled, the senbon needles started to fly in all directions. One of the shinobi's backed up and missed an on-coming attack, but Tayu sent two needles to strike him at his back. He gasped as the needles pierced his neck, and he fell to the ground, twitching slightly. The senbons merely slipped out from his bloody neck, levitated for a mere second, before flying off to find its next target.

" Jigoku Senbon? …Wait, I've heard of this name before…isn't it one of the famous bloodline abilities of the Grass?!" Suzumi exclaimed.

" Yes, it is…" Lady Kaguya replied, still looking worriedly at Tayu, who continued to fight off the assailants.

" …But, I thought the ability was possessed by the Nijikamura clan?!" Suzumi demanded.

" It is…Tayu is an offspring from that clan, but a rejected child from the clan," Lady Kaguya explained.

" Rejected? Why?" Suzumi asked.

All of a sudden, someone started to cough. Turning around, Suzumi saw blood dripping from Tayu's mouth. Apparently, she somehow suffered from some sort of internal injury. She was wincing slightly in pain, and her eyes seemed a little unfocused.

" Because her chakra coils in her body were defective during birth," Lady Kaguya answered. " Thus, the Nijikamura clan could never accept the shame of a Nijikamura who could only use their ability at the cost of her life."

---

Young Nijikamura Tayu felt lost and scared for her life. Not to long ago, she had been left on the busy street in her village, which was now bustling with people. She had attempted to look for her parents, thinking they might have lost her in the crowd, but after seeing them eye her before leaving the scene, the thing she dreaded the most had come to pass: she had been abandoned by her family.

She had no idea why, perhaps too young at that time to comprehend such matters, but she could only wonder about the event that happened just a couple of days ago, while she was training in her home. All of a sudden, during the middle of training, she started coughing out blood. She was immediately rushed to the hospital to receive treatment, but it wasn't anything overly serious. She took some pills, and the doctor performed some checks on her. Still, she could never forget the forbidding look on her family's faces when the doctor told them of the results. She never found out what he said at that time, and she didn't really want to know, despite having a nagging suspicion of knowing what was going on.

Still, all that really mattered was that she was left alone in a busy market street, and nobody seemed to be giving her a second glance.

Except maybe one person.

She noticed a boy her age standing some distance away. Despite wearing a thick cape over his shoulders, she could still spot some shinobi apparel from under his attire. Her eyes brightened up slightly as he somehow looked her way, and she looked back at him. No doubt, probably a student of the shinobi academy. It didn't really matter at that point whether he would accept her or not, seeing someone her age was enough to make her want to contact them.

The boy merely stared at her while she ran up to him. She tried to take a good look at him. He probably lived in the streets, or was very poor, looking at the condition of his attire. Upon closer inspection, she noticed his cloak was worn out and ripped in various places, an overused item that could use a replacement. His sandals were dirty and looked like they were about to break soon. His hair was an absolute mess, red strands hanging all over the place. He glared back at her with no apparent interest in his eyes, possibly wondering what she wanted to do with him.

" Urm…help, I'm lost…" she replied.

The boy merely turned around and walked away.

-

" …Are you mad?" Tayu asked timidly.

" …Yes…" the boy muttered.

" …But you are not forcing me to leave…" Tayu replied. The boy did not answer, but continued to walk as Tayu followed him by holding on to his cape. Out of desperation, Tayu grabbed hold of the boy's cape as he started to walk away. He looked positively infuriated, but surprisingly he didn't really stop her. Tayu had been following him for minutes now, apparently unsure if he had a destination in mind. "…Urm, I haven't asked…"

" Kira…" the boy answered before she could finish.

" Oh…urm, well, my name…"

" Tayu…" Kira answered faster than she could respond.

" …You know a lot of things…are you God?" Tayu asked curiously.

" …No…" Kira replied bluntly. " Where the hell are your parents anyway?"

The moment Kira asked that question, Tayu started to sob, before bursting into tears. He stopped walking as everyone around him stared at this odd couple, a crying young girl holding a cloak of a boy her age. He didn't bother trying to pacify her, only looking at her in an irritated manner. He merely watched her as she continued to bawl loudly.

Kira's eyes turned sideways when he noticed someone approach them. A girl about five years older than then stood next to Tayu, before patting her head gently. Tayu stopped crying, before looking up at the person who patted her head. She had a beautiful face, or so Tayu thought, and she wore a dress that looked a little too nice to be worn typically. She looked up at the newcomer with mild interest, wondering who she was.

" Hello, are you lost?" the older girl asked.

Tayu merely looked at her in a perplexed manner, as if trying to figure out what to say to her during those moments. Her eyes widened after a while, before replying " …Pretty…"

The older girl raised her eyebrows. " Pretty?"

" Very pretty…you are…" Tayu replied, grinning now.

The older girl smiled back warmly at her. " Is that so?"

---

Tayu charged forward, aiming at one of the shinobis closest to her. She quickly slipped right behind him, before grabbing his neck with her arms, pinning him to the spot. Normally, she wouldn't have the strength to hold him for more than 3 seconds, but holding him for a short period of time was more than enough. Six senbon needles came sailing through the air, before striking the poor fellow in his chest, sinking into his organs easily. He started to cough out blood, and Tayu released him, dumping him on the ground.

" Hmph, looks like your ability comes at a cost…" Haruko laughed as she circled Tayu.

Tayu raised her hands, and the senbon needles that were previously stuck inside the dead shinobi came flying out towards her. Haruko dodged and ducked the flying senbon needles, one nicking her cheek. The other shinobi tried to attack her while she was occupied, but she noticed his movements. She swung her hand backwards, and with a quick sleight of hand, grabbed hold of his outstretched arm aiming for her neck. She gave a hard tug, tripping him, just as she sent her flying senbon needles towards him, killing him be striking him in the neck.

" Doesn't really matter…I'll be finished with you idiots by the time it is over," Tayu replied, before started to cough out more blood. Her vision started to become slightly hazy. The effects of using her jutsu was wearing out her body internally. Tayu took deep breaths, trying to stop the pain from getting the better of her.

At the same time, Suzumi was trying to fix the wound on her leg as soon as possible. Having her muscles and nerves damaged was proving to be troublesome, but she was trying her best to fix it as quickly as possible. While she was doing that, she was admiring Tayu's fighting capabilities.

The Jigoku Senbon was literally making her unstoppable. Her jutsu allowed her to send projectile weapons in any direction she wanted, and with precision and pin-point accuracy. Much like how Hiroshi could use weapons with his chakra strings, but Hiroshi was limited to controlling his weapons as far as his chakra strings could reach. Tayu's Jigoku Senbon could reach all angles, and from what Suzumi could see, it could reach a distance of 30 meters easily. She had heard of the Nijikamura clan being proficient users in this technique, but the way Tayu carried herself, she was probably a genius in the art of using this jutsu.

If it wasn't for her defect, she would be quite overpowered.

Haruko skidded into plain sight, standing some distance in front of Tayu, but Tayu didn't react. Suzumi suspected that it was because Tayu didn't wish to use her ability any further unless she could confirm a kill. The fight had lasted two minutes, but Tayu had coughed up a lot of blood, and it was staining her attire bright red. Tayu probably had one more shot left.

" Afraid?" Tayu asked.

Haruko didn't reply. Her eyes were looking around at the senbon needles Tayu had prepared. They were now on the ground, not being controlled by Tayu's power. Very calmly, she flicked out another knife, this time a plain one, and from the looks of it, it looked like a large surgical knife.

" Hardly…" Haruko replied, before leaping at Tayu.

Tayu formed the tiger hand seals once more, and all the senbon needles shot towards Haruko at an insane speed that would even prove difficult for Sora to dodge. Suzumi could not see how Haruko could avoid them all.

She didn't.

Tayu stared at Haruko in surprise as she whipped her hand about, the large surgical knife flying through the air. All the senbon needles were cut down in half with absolute precision, the pieces dropped all over the place. As soon as she was done dealing with Tayu's Jigoku senbon, she leaped at Tayu herself. Tayu immediately flicked out three senbon needles in her right hand, but she was far too late.

Haruko's curved knife sank deep into Tayu's gut, piercing out through her back. Suzumi gasped in shock as she saw Tayu getting stabbed in her gut, while Lady Kaguya screamed her name. Tayu suddenly felt her strength leave her as her body was riddled and taken over by shocks of pain. The three senbon needles dropped to the ground harmlessly as she released them from her grip.

" …Unfortunately for you, I know a bit about your Jigoku Senbon," Haruko replied, grinning at Tayu as blood continued to seep out from her wound. Tayu merely looked at her with mild surprise, her vision now turning into a complete blur. " What you do is to insert some of your chakra into a small object, in which it allows you to control that said object at will. However, once damaged, you will lose control of the said objects. With that, you become practically harmless…"

Tayu wasn't sure what Haruko was doing, but she could feel an intense pain spreading inside of her. It felt as if Haruko was pouring her chakra to damage her internal organs. Tayu felt herself drift in and out of consciousness. Her breathing started to become haggard and hard.

" So, what are you going to do now?" Hauruko asked, smirking.

She gave a yell of pain when Tayu flicked out two senbon needles and slammed them hard on Haruko's wrist. "…The hell? Where did you get so much strength left?" Haruko exclaimed, wincing.

" Now!" Tayu shouted.

Suzumi shot up towards Haruko, her leg now fully healed, and slammed a senbon needle of her own into the base of her neck. There was a look of shock that was etched on her face permanently as she released her grip on the blade that was embedded inside of Tayu. Tayu merely gave a slightly smile, before lapsing into unconsciousness and falling to the ground.

Writer's note: I guess I could have used an English name as per usual, like Hell's Needles, but Jigoku Senbon strangely had a nicer ring to it.