Chapter 28
Ritsuka felt someone shake her awake, her depressing and haunting dreams vanishing as speckled sunlight replaced them.
"You awake?" Ritsuka sat bolt upright as she heard Kakashi's voice, her arms shooting around him and pulling him tight as she wept into his shoulder. Not exactly how she had planned to greet him, but it would do.
"I was so worried. I mean, I knew you'd get better, but I hate seeing you like that. It's not right. You're not usually so done in." Kakashi's muffled laughter made Ritsuka blush slightly as she pulled back, checking that the kids beside her were still asleep. "I'm so sorry. About all of this." Kakashi sighed as he tried to convey his annoyance with Ritsuka's constant apologies. "No. I mean it. All of it. If I'd just had the guts to do what I had to do all those years ago, not only would we be okay, but the whole world wouldn't have had to experience this shit." Kakashi sighed as he manoeuvred himself to sit next to the girl, pulling her into him as he spoke.
"We are alright. Yes, we missed a couple of years and sure, my kid's grown up a little without me, but we're fine, aren't we?" Ritsuka nodded slowly. "I'll catch up with Kyoya and you, and everything will be great. As for the whole world? It's constantly in danger. If 'dick face' hadn't turned up and tried to kill everyone, someone else would have. We were lucky you knew what you did, otherwise taking him down would have been damn near impossible. And sure, you could have maybe killed him back then, but from what you told me, you couldn't have with his blood line. If anything, it's me who should apologise." Ritsuka hugged the man tightly to her, shaking her head furiously. "Or we could stop thinking of the past, which I would much rather, and look to the future?" Ritsuka then nodded with determination, hoping he wouldn't notice her tears. "Perfect!" Kakashi then lay down and pulled Ritsuka with him, staring up at the sky.
"So how do you feel?" Ritsuka's quiet question gained his attention again.
"Better. But not great." His eye watched Ritsuka's sceptical ones, the laughter lines at the side indicating a smile, one of the many ways she could tell. "Well, exhausted to be honest. Muscles are aching and head is spinning, but I couldn't stand another second in that teeny tiny tent, listening to Gai's terrible jokes and ramblings about how awesome he is, blah, blah, blah. I don't know how much more I can take of him in my life..." Ritsuka giggled.
"I thought you two were now the bestest of buddies? Gai tells me you two are now inseparable, that no one else in this world could know you better than he does." Kakashi rolled his visible eye.
"He wishes. I just tolerate him better." Ritsuka could tell Kakashi was joking, his playfulness about the situation warming her. She was glad to see that Kakashi had lightened up over the years, and how he had come to making more friends that understood him. It was comforting to know that Kakashi hadn't been completely alone.
"Hatake?" Kakashi leant up onto his elbow so he could look down at the girl. "I love you." Kakashi sat, perplexed for a moment before looking around him. He then slipped his mask down and kissed Ritsuka, his lips burning hers as the passion increased.
"I love you too." The words were quiet enough that no one else could have heard, and Ritsuka felt her heart swell. She had loved how he had now taken to returning the words, which he had previously felt was unnecessary. She hugged him tightly. "So how is being in charge of kids again going for you?" Ritsuka shrugged as she let him go, Kakashi returning to admiring her as she spoke.
"Oh it's good yeah. They're really well behaved. Even Muugen's not really been a hassle. He's probably listening in now actually. Doesn't seem to sleep much." Ritsuka looked off into the stars, obviously the whole Muugen situation bothering her.
"Yamato had good intentions." Ritsuka frowned, annoyed to find out that the man had indeed deliberately set the groups up so that she would be with the boy.
"I'm sure he did." Ritsuka swallowed her annoyance. "So do we know how long it is 'til we reach our checkpoint?" Change of subject.
"Tomorrow afternoon. Yamato wants to keep walking through the morning, the likelihood of attacks being minimal so close to the city. There are too many shinobi and we have been receiving updates that Naruto and his team have pretty much wiped them out." Ritsuka felt a sadness plague her at these words. "I'm then going to have to squeeze all the info you have on everything, if you don't mind, just so we can be sure the whole ordeal is over." Ritsuka nodded, always having hated doing the reports and paper work that came after missions. She then snuggled into her lover, enjoying the heat he gave off. Ritsuka held back her laughter as she heard Kakashi snore softly, obviously a lot more tired than he had let on.
...
That night, the walk seemed to be a lot more high spirited. They only had a night and a morning left, and then they would be free to go back to their families, or begin new lives in the city. Hopefully.
Kakashi had also decided to stay and walk with Ritsuka, conversing with the kids as if he had been a natural father all his days. She couldn't help but smile at their animated reactions to his stories and jokes, or how they seemed to not notice the night go by as they talked and laughed all the way. Ritsuka was grateful for the change of mood, though she couldn't help but feel that Muugen would probably have loved to have been a part of it all, but she could feel the boy's presence still a good way off, his loneliness almost painful. She couldn't help but shake the feeling that his opening up to her was just the beginning, and maybe she should make the next move to initiate another conversation, but what was she to do or say?
Why was everything always so difficult? Everyone else seemed to get on with life fine, a wee bit stressed now and then, a tragedy here and a tragedy there, but Ritsuka couldn't help by think 'why me?'. It just seemed to be constant, like a waterfall was forever ruthlessly falling onto her head with its problems and troubles.
But then again, why not her?
If it was happening to her, then maybe that meant that someone else wasn't getting it?
And what made her so special that these things shouldn't happen to her? What made her any different from everyone else?
Ritsuka felt the heat of the afternoon wash over her as the forest ended, the open fields and moors ahead an ominous setting in these times. Kakashi had said that Yamato had been receiving reports that the Aranii were apparently pretty much extinct, but how could they know that? The different stages of development were progressively smarter. What if the older ones had learned to hide, and were just waiting.
"Hatake?" Kakashi looked at her, his expression changing to worry at the look of panic in her eyes. "What if they've been hiding?" Kakashi rearranged the sleeping girl in his arms and moved closer to the now very nervous Ritsuka.
"Naruto and his team are good at what they do." Kakashi felt that that was a sufficient answer, but Ritsuka's unaffected mood told him otherwise. "They've been hunting them down for days, and the Aranii aren't exactly masterminds." Kakashi tried to lighten the tension with a humorous tone, but again, Ritsuka remained unfazed.
"The older they are, the cleverer they become. They learn, they survive, they adapt. He made them to be versatile. To be like the idea of the ultimate soldiers of war. The only reason that he needed to cull them was because of their increased..." She petered off as she remembered the presence of the still awake boys walking in front of her, their curious ears perking at her words. "You know." Kakashi nodded.
"Look. Let's just take each day as it comes. There's no use getting yourself into such a state about the what-ifs. That was always one of your greatest assets, your ability to predict situations, but it's also one of your biggest let downs, especially when you're emotional like this. Yamato knows all of this, and has chosen to take the chance. You should respect his -" A shout was heard from further ahead, the groups signalling each other to stop.
"Aranii!" Someone shrieked from the front, one of the younger children in Gai's group. Ritsuka felt her stomach tense and her heart stop, her fears coming to life. A flitting thought made her think that maybe it was her imagination's fault, like she had made it happen by thinking it, but she immediately pushed it aside as she felt a now awakening Katsa being shoved into her arms.
"Look after the kids. I'm going on to the front." Ritsuka bit back her objection, signalling the two boys to come closer to her. They clung to her trousers desperately, their eyes darting back and forth. Ritsuka could feel her aching heart as her pulse increased. She began to take deep breaths to calm herself, a clear mind everything she needed right now. She could sense Muugen coming closer to the group, and turned to see him running through the grass, his eyes wide.
And then she saw them.
A large group of Aranii were in pursuit of the boy, their sling shots and grass ropes an indication of their brains' evolution.
This was bad. Very bad.
Ritsuka ordered her three kids to join the group in front, the groups now catching up with everyone else who were now at the top of a small hill. She thanked the younger shinobi in front, unsure of his name as she dashed towards Muugen, Kakashi's voice in her head shouting at her to stick with the group.
But she couldn't sit back and let the boy down. Again. She had to save him, and she could. All she would have to do was avoid the hurtling stones and make shift ropes and get to the frantic boy, throw him over her shoulder and race back to the bigger group, where there was safety in numbers.
Simple.
Ritsuka managed to reach the boy in no time at all, her plan going perfectly as she grabbed Muugen round the middle and tossed him over her shoulder. He kicked and punched at her, his screams and cries for her to put him down going unnoticed as Ritsuka pushed her muscles into an all out run, the group ahead just disappearing over the hill.
Another wave of the Aranii came at them from the right, and Ritsuka felt her heart skip a beat as she made her calculations, her conclusion being that she wouldn't make it to the group on time. She stopped in her tracks and spun to the left, the hoard behind her catching up to her quickly. The boy in her arms had stopped fighting her, his head buried in her jumper as he tried to wish them to safety, his whimpers and shaking body conveying his fear. Ritsuka tried to comfort him as she rubbed the back of his calves, telling him that she had this down, that they would be okay. To trust her.
Ritsuka felt the all too familiar sense of entrapment fill her as she saw another black smudge in the distance to the left, escape seeming somewhat impossible at the moment. All she could do was run into the forest; her legs burning with the lactic acid build up.
"We're gonna die!" The boy shouted to her, his hands balling into fists as he pathetically punched at her lower back. "Their gonna catch us and kill us." Ritsuka tried to keep her spirits up as the boy became more and more defeated, his cries for her to run faster and that she was useless a bit of distraction in her mad dash to safety. Muugen ended up just covering his eyes again, and burying his face into the back of her jumper as Ritsuka jumped into the forest, the branches and leaves cutting at the bared skin on her arms and legs, her cheeks suffering the most as she ran headlong through the darkness, desperate to lose the beasts.
But in their sharper states, they had learned to hunt, their other senses proving of great use to them as the fallowed her, unfaltering.
Ritsuka tried to double back on herself, trying to get towards the shinobi group but further down the forest edge than she had entered, hoping to run round and behind the third group she had seen on the horizon. She could hear the distant sounds of fighting; comforting her that someone was at least doing something to thin the numbers. Then she thought of Kakashi, probably cursing her under his breath as he desperately tried to find her. Man was she a hindrance to that poor man. She smiled softly as she continued to duck and dodge the creatures, impressed at how quickly she was getting back into her old stride. She could feel the years of doing nothing holding her back a little, her fitness level not quite what it was, but God was she kicking ass! Well at running anyway.
She could feel Muugen finally relaxing on her shoulder, and actually finding a use for himself as he shouted out warnings for her to avoid this and that. The two worked quite well as a team, Muugen acting as a sort of second pair of eyes that gave her 360 vision. Survival seemed possible as she managed to gain a little distance between them and the potential death behind them, Muugen's spirits rising as he held himself up so he could see better, his laughter and taunts making Ritsuka smile as she dashed through the dark maze, her brain working in double time.
Ritsuka could see light ahead as she found the outskirts of the forest again, diving out into the open meadow, her heart sinking as she landed to the side of the third group. Most of the creatures continued to run towards the fighting shinobi to her right, but a couple stopped and smelled the air before catching sight if herself and the boy. She skipped to the left as she got back into a full out run again, slipping in and out of the forest as she headed along its edge, desperately trying to outrun and confuse the barbaric beings in pursuit.
Muugen lost some of his confidence as Ritsuka just managed to slip out of the closing hands of some of the faster creatures, his fear returning as he clutched at Ritsuka again.
Ritsuka could feel her legs turning to jelly, her muscles becoming incompliant as she felt herself stumble. She caught herself before hitting the ground, but Muugen's confidence in her wavered.
"Are you okay?" The boy's panicked worry for her was surprising yet endearing, and Ritsuka smiled at him with all the happiness she could muster.
"Of course!" She chimed, the boy's confidence in her returning slightly. He then turned back to see the terrifying closeness of death and urged his saviour to move it. Ritsuka forced every piece of energy she had into running, her breath now coming out in short laboured pants. Muugen was surprisingly supportive as he began telling her that she 'could do this' and that he 'fully trusted her ability to get them out of this'. But Ritsuka was afraid that it just wasn't enough as the physical part of her lagged behind.
"Their gaining on us!" Muugen would shriek, and Ritsuka would burst off, her legs now completely numb and only habit keeping them moving in the right way. An unexpected unevenness in the ground passed them, and Ritsuka felt something snap in her ankle. She managed to catch herself before she fell, her desperate attempts to feebly run making her groan in annoyance and pain. "Crap!" Muugen pushed himself off of her shoulder, and took her by the arm, attempting to prop her up so that they could continue to run.
"Go!" Ritsuka pulled herself away from the boy and shoved him forward. "Run!" But Muugen found himself glued to the spot.
"I... can't." Ritsuka couldn't help but feel the sweetness of the situation imprint itself in her heart, but its seriousness overtook.
"You must. I'll be right behind you." Ritsuka began to hobble into a clumsy run, her cries of pain when she stumbled making Muugen flinch. She kept pushing him in front of her, begging for him to run on, to get away. Eventually Muugen began to pick up speed and was slowly leaving the girl behind, his panicked looks over his shoulder regular as he made his escape. Ritsuka could feel the tension in the air increase as the rumbling in the ground increased, fast, the closing in of her fate seeming almost like a dream. Muugen stopped ahead, his shouts for her to hurry panicking her.
Ritsuka felt something cut her back, the claws of a grasping creature almost capturing her. The smell of rotten flesh and blood assaulted her nose as she pushed on, her pathetic run looking more like a fucked up bunny hop.
Ritsuka looked at her surroundings, plans forming in her mind as she noticed the cliff edge running closer and closer alongside her. She could see Muugen ahead, his backwards run and constant shouts frustrating her as she worried for his safety. She then began signalling to the boy, getting him to meet her at the edge.
He seemed to be a little unsure, but ran to meet her all the same, his expression uncertain as he stopped at the edge, looking over into the very, very far away ground. Ritsuka nodded to him, her smile showing as she tried to comfort the boy into trusting her fully.
Though she didn't really trust herself, this seeming like her only option now.
"What are you- " the boy didn't have time to finish his sentence as Ritsuka grabbed him around the middle, his little arms wrapping round her, followed by a slight 'oof'.
And they were falling. Muugen tried not to scream as he felt his stomach disappear into his lungs, the air around him moving so fast he was struggling to breathe.
Oh dear god! She was killing them both!
...
Kakashi raced ahead of the few shinobi that they had, his eyes desperately searching for Ritsuka. 'Stay with the group' he had said, 'look after the kids', simple tasks, yet for some reason the girl had fucked off into more danger than was necessary, again!
Kakashi kicked and punched and tore his was through an oncoming group, his fatigue catching up on him quickly with his revealed sharingan. He searched and searched, but couldn't see her.
But there was a group of Aranii disappearing into the forest, and reappearing much further ahead. So Kakashi ran alongside the forest, his narrow escapes and close encounters not seeming to phase him as his mind settled on one thing only.
Ritsuka.
Yamato had the rest of the group surrounded by a wooden sanctuary, an excellent strategy of defence against these brutes. His skilled shinobi group were more than enough to win this fight, Gai and Shikamaru an excellent help.
So Kakashi was pretty much free to run ahead, taking the black creatures out from behind, thinning their numbers while also looking for Ritsuka.
Kakashi sighed as he killed three creatures with the one jutsu, a little depressed that he was still having to do this. He would be having words with the clearly over confident Naruto when he saw him next.
Pretty much extinct indeed.
Kakashi could see the figure of Ritsuka up ahead, his keen sharingan watching her intently as she hobbled and limped towards a panicked Muugen, and then witnessed her do something incredibly stupid and reckless.
...
Ritsuka concentrated hard as she pushed chakra into her hand, a blue light shining as she thrust her right hand into the stone of the cliff face. She could feel the pair of them slowing down, about six of the black creatures zooming past to their death.
"Hold on!" Ritsuka called to the boy, which was pointless really as the boy had already wrapped every limb he had around her waist. She then charged her left hand and thrust it into the stony wall, the wonderful burning sensation another fantastic side affect of being her. But they were still falling even though she was trying her best to stop, Muugen's whimper making her much more aware of their now imminent death. She then charged her feet, the concentration needed making her sweat as she kicked them against the cliff side, her shout of effort making Muugen flinch in fright. He ankle was most definitely broken in some way.
And they stopped.
Another couple of creatures fell past them, their arms reaching and grabbing for them as they passed.
"Don't ever do that again!" Muugen shouted, clearly unhappy with her brilliant plan.
"Are we safe?" The boy's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.
"Are you always this reckless?" Ritsuka beamed.
"Of course!" Muugen groaned as he buried his head once again into her jumper, the warmth that she exuded almost addictive. Muugen felt his eyes fill as his emotions conflicted, his hatred for what she had done and his dependency on her attention mingling with each other confusingly. Of course now, his gratitude for her saving his life, even if it was a little reckless, was battling, and possibly winning as he weighed up the evidence.
Because, like she had said, she hadn't meant to do what she did.
She didn't know.
She was genuinely sorry.
Kentaro had made her do it, just like he had made many people do lots of things. He had seen it. He had been made to do things he never wanted to think about. Made his brother leave him forever.
Made his brother die.
Ritsuka had only brought them to a home as orphans. She thought she was doing the right thing.
He could even remember the day that she had escaped, her attempts to free them all having gone all wrong when his own brother had fought her, threatening her sons life. He had called for Kentaro, called for him to control his 'bitch'. Things that his brother would never have done. He could remember Ritsuka's face, her deep apology to them all as she fled, vowing to release them, vowing to bring Kentaro to justice.
And she had.
She had repented.
Kept her word, and saved what was left of them.
Muugen felt his eyes sting with confusion, his mind feeling like mush as he looked at the girl holding the walls of a cliff, saving his life once again. She huffed and puffed as her fatigued body wrestled with her, her eyes calculating their escape still as he held on to her, feeling sorry for himself, like a child. He could never apologise for the things he had said, his pride too strong as he scowled and stared at the ground below, wondering if things would be easier if he just let go, if he just threw himself to his death to escape this agonising matrix.
He couldn't help but feel like he had betrayed his brother's memory by falling for the girl's kindness, but he couldn't help himself.
He had no one else.
Muugen didn't even notice his grip fail until Ritsuka caught him by the hand, her grip on the wall slipping as they began to fall again.
"Muugen! Hold on! I've got you!" Muugen felt the words pierce him as he dangled in the balance of fate, allowing life to decide for him what was to happen. "Are you alright? Muugen." Ritsuka smiled softly as she saw the tears flooding from the clearly frustrated boy, forgetting for a moment that they were both hanging, literally, in the balance. "It's alright. You're safe now. I'm here. I've got you." Muugen tried his best to hide his face with his free arm, annoyed that the girl seemed to look straight into his soul. Seemed to know exactly what to do or say at exactly the right times. Ritsuka held back a groan as she pulled the boy up so that he could attach himself to her again, his desperate hug warming her heart.
Ritsuka charged her hand again and thrust it back to the wall, their steady sliding coming to an end.
What's this? a new chapter? so soon after the last. I am as shocked as you!
Well I hope you enjoy this one. Some craziness and soon hopefully some smut lol!
