Crimson Stained

Chapter 29

Fear and Hope


Nikushimi wasn't a girl who could be shaken easily. But, whatever Jutsu this was, it was realistic. Nikushimi felt her heart breaking as her worst fear came true.

Everyone close to her dying.

She watched as her teammates were tortured. The images were gruesome and gory. Nikushimi felt ready to hurl in the end. She had watched Tatakau's eyes get ripped out in the fight with his father, Shogai's throat get slashed open by Tai, Rin's face sliced up by a Kiri ninja, Kakashi's head decapitated by another Kiri ninja, Moyasu's heart ripped out, Tamashi's body torn to bloody shreds and Minato's body dissected. She had even witnessed Akane's death again. The images, gory and bloody and traumatizing on their own hurt Nikushimi. But not because of what she saw.

It was who it was being done to.

Nikushimi was a ninja. She had killed, she had fought, and she had almost died. This just didn't affect her any longer. She, at that moment, was splattered by blood from Moyasu decapitating two ninja earlier. The snow around Saki had been completely scarlet when she had left from her blood. That wasn't her problem.

"Nikushimi."

No.

Nikushimi's heart almost stopped when she turned, face pale to see the last one. Obito. His cracked goggles had bloody droplets on them. From the corner of his eyes came bloody tears, so similar in color to Nikushimi's own.

"I searched your recent memories, this looks fun." cackled Sayuri, as she appeared. Her face morphed into that of Uragiri's. Nikushimi fell to her knees, wondering what she had done to deserve this.

Nikushimi watched, as a second, illusion Nikushimi was too late to save Obito and his chakra was sucked from him.

"No!" screamed Nikushimi, reaching forward as Obito's body hit the ground with a dull thud. But the Uragiri wasn't finished. With a kunai in hand, she crouched down before repeatedly plunging the kunai into Obito's face, similarly to how Nikushimi had killed Uragiri.

"Nooooooo!" Nikushimi screeched in horror, grabbing her head and shaking it.

"Nikushimi. You killed us, Nikushimi. Why did you let this happen?" the voices of her teammates, Akane, and Team Minato began to chant. The corpses of her comrades rose. Tatakau's bloody eye sockets stared into her own crimson eyes.

Each body rose slowly and soon began to advance on Nikushimi. She began to crawl backwards to get away when she hit something. She turned her head to find the body of Obito, its mutilated and repulsive head now engraved in her mind to forever haunt her.

"NOOOO!" Nikushimi screamed. On the outside in reality, Nikushimi stood there, eyes wide, face pale. Her face gave a traumatized look that gave Sayuri much satisfaction.

Sayuri exited the illusion, perfectly satisfied with Nikushimi's state. As she exited to reality, she watched as Nikushimi stood there on the roof, unmoving. Her eyes still were wide; her pupils small as she stared off into space.

"Nikushimi!" Tatakau yelled, "Do something!"

Nikushimi didn't move, and Sayuri laughed.

"I've broken her mind; she's as good as dead!" Sayuri cackled. Obito started screaming from under his gag. Tatakau and Shogai were gagged as Tatakau began yelling profanities and threats. Obito thrashed desperately, trying to untie his bonds.

'I have to snap her out of it!' Obito thought desperately, when one of his bonds broke. He quickly slipped his gag out.

"Nikushimi, snap out of it!" he screeched, before making hand signs to use his fireball Jutsu.

Something began to glow from her pocket. Nikushimi peered at it from tear brimmed eyes as tears dribbled down from her eyes. She pulled the crystal from her pocket, the translucent green crystal glowing brightly.

"..What?" Nikushimi whispered as suddenly, the world began to brighten.

"Nikushimi!" echoed around the room, Obito's voice finding its way through the barriers Sayuri had put up to prevent Nikushimi from escaping her mind.

"Obito-he needs my help." she realized numbly, standing. Her face was stained with scarlet tears as she looked around. Everything seemed to disappear around her, and she held the crystal, the only source of light. Then suddenly, a shock of pain went through her and she found herself standing at the battlefield.

Kiri ninjas were restraining Obito down below. This time though, one held a kunai, about to kill him. Nikushimi's eyes widened, and her focus moved to only that. Nikushimi instantly released the weight in her weights, and flew at the ninja. From her fingers senbon slid out like claws. Nikushimi's eyes glowed, the black rings surrounding her pupils changing color. A red aura covered the senbon.

Everything bled to red as anger coursed through her veins. The familiar adrenaline powered her as she tensed, ready to spring. She wasn't the prey any more, she had the upper hand in this new course of action.

Faster than lightning, the two ninja by Obito were dead, blood splattering all around as Nikushimi's senbon sliced through them like butter. Their heads cleanly sliced off.

"No one touches my friends and gets away with it!" snarled Nikushimi, truly looking terrifying.

"Kill her!" Sayuri yelled, "And get the captured ones to the airship!"

Nikushimi growled. She ripped through ninja not fast enough to dodge her. The ninja who had heard Sayuri's order grabbed their captives and began running towards the airship.

"Nikushimi!" yelled Obito. Nikushimi paused in her massacre to see that all her friends were being carried to the airship.

'No.'

Nikushimi dashed toward the ship as the back cargo hatch began to go up. The ninjas all slipped in just before it closed, and Nikushimi slammed into it. The airship began to rise, and Nikushimi could only watch as it did so.

"No…" she whispered, feeling tears brim in her eyes. The airship continued to rise up, once it cleared the houses it began to move. And Nikushimi knew she couldn't catch it once it was in the air. She couldn't catch it now, either. Despite her adrenaline and weights, she wasn't practiced enough to be able to make the jump to the top of the ship. And she had no chakra to hold onto it.

She couldn't do anything.

Nikushimi was soon left, by herself, in the middle of the square. Surrounding her were bodies, and she was covered in dark crimson blood that soaked her bandages. She clenched her fists.

"I need to get them back, but how?" From her pocket, the green crystal began glowing again. Pulling it out, Nikushimi could make out a faint beam pointing in the direction the airship had gone.

"This could work." she realized before she started to follow the direction of the beam. It was worth a shot, as it was her only clue. Her only hope. She had to get to them, she couldn't fail.

Meanwhile, on the airship Team Minato and Team Moyasu, minus Nikushimi, found themselves in locked cells. Obito and Shogai shared one, Tatakau and Kakashi another. Minato was by himself, while Rin was with Moyasu.

"What are we going to do?" Rin asked, looking down at her feet.

"We should have listened to Nikushimi." Moyasu drawled, holding a hand to his pounding head. Blood was covering his hand from holding a wound on his head that had knocked him out previously.

"We can't mourn over the past now, we need to find a way out." Minato retorted, pulling at the bars of their cells.

"They're chakra enforced." Tatakau reported, his Sharingan spinning briefly in his eyes before he was shocked. Each now had new bracelets on their arms that would zap them should they use their chakra. If they used a lot of chakra, then the bracelet could kill them. The more chakra used, the bigger the shock.

"Do you think Nikushimi could find us again?" wondered Shogai.

"No," muttered Moyasu, "She's unable to use chakra. She won't keep up, and we've probably already lost her. The cold might even kill her." Moyasu's voice held a hint of remorse.

"We can't rule her out." Kakashi stated, surprising them.

"For once Kakashi's right, Nikushimi is strong. She'll find us, I believe in her." Obito announced.

"Even so, odds are against us. And Nikushimi won't be able to take all the ninja here. She caught the small group of ninja in the square by surprise; soon she'll need to fight their entire battalion. She would lose against anyone stronger than those she killed back in the square, and I'm sure they have more Jounin commanding other squads once we reach their base." Moyasu explained. They sat in a pensive silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Moyasu, what is your summoning?" questioned Minato, an idea suddenly entering his thoughts.

"The fox, not much help here." sighed Moyasu.

"Tatakau, Shogai, do either of you have a summoning?" questioned Minato.

"The owl." Shogai replied quietly, looking at them questioningly, "My family has always been contracted with them."

"Would you be able to summon a small owl that can slip out of here to go get backup or get to Nikushimi?" Minato inquired.

"I'm not the best at summoning, but I could give it an attempt." Shogai answered, biting his thumb. He made a few hand signs before slamming his hands to the ground. A small cloud of smoke appeared, along with Shogai being shocked. Shogai fell back as a small owl about the size of Moyasu's hand sat in the cell. It peered at the Garasu with a questioning look.

"What is it you need assistance in, Garasu-san?" the bird inquired politely. Shogai peered at the bird with a small smile on his slightly charred face.

"Hello Fuko, we are in a bad situation. Could you fly to the Leaf Village to request backup? And on the way, if you see a chakraless girl with red eyes, a black cloak and bandages could you direct her to us? She's our teammate." Shogai pleaded.

"As you wish, Garasu-san." the owl replied, hopping between the bars and taking flight through the small hallway.

"Can she get out?" wondered Rin.

"Fuko is a small owl, she can get out most likely." Shogai answered, rubbing at his slightly charred wrist.

And get out she did, Fuko soon left the airship and began to fly through the air. She soared through the air, gliding on the wind until the sight of a dark haired girl running through the trees caught her attention. She dove down and landed on the girls shoulder.

"Are you Garasu-san's teammate?" the owl asked. Nikushimi faltered, surprised by the sudden voice, and she fell face first into the snow. The owl flew up and waited for her response.

"Are you talking about Shogai?" Nikushimi spat out some snow from her mouth, glaring slightly at the owl. The owl ignored her.

"Garasu-san is in a holding cell on a flying ship, it is just north of here. I was requested to find you and tell you this before going and retrieving backup from the Leaf village." the owl reported.

"Alright." Nikushimi nodded and took off again. She continued north, following the crystals beam like she had been doing earlier. The beam was heading north, just as the owl had said the ship was heading in that direction.

About half an hour later, the airship had docked at a prison. The prison was a simple building made of large dark stone bricks. The main room was most of the first, above ground floor. Then the prison extended many floors down filled with torture and interrogations rooms and cells. In the prison's main room they set their camp up. It was filled with tents and equipment. Along with a battalion of ninja. But on the upper floor outside the main room there was a series of hallways leading to stairways and other rooms. If one didn't know the prison well, they could easily get lost.

"Alright, now what am I going to do?" whispered Nikushimi, her crimson eyes looking over the building in worry. Unlike the stronghold on her first mission with Team Minato, this prison was much more heavily guarded. And she was trying to infiltrate, not escape. She was also on her own on this one.

The crystal's beam pointed towards the large building, and Nikushimi knew that the crystal wasn't lying. The airship, although almost hidden by the large form of the building, was behind the prison cloaked by an eerie fog.

It was almost past sunset, and darkness was crouching on Nikushimi. She sat, perched in a tree, watching the prison. Lights came from the barred windows, but the thick fog prevented the light from reaching far out.

Despite what she wanted to do, Nikushimi knew that she had to wait until morning before trying to infiltrate. The darkness would hinder her too much now. In the morning the fog would give her enough cover to sneak in. She couldn't see in the dark very well, and she needed to see to get in.

Back in the Leaf village, the Hokage had his hands to his forehead. Fuko perched next to him on the desk, unmoving and observing. Suddenly, the door opened sharply and a familiar green haired woman entered. Her single amber eye narrowed in on the old Hokage.

"What do you need?" she questioned. The Hokage could sense something in her voice. An edge, worry perhaps?

"There is trouble on the mission I sent your student on. You'll be going as reinforcements, as we can't spare many Jounin. At the moment, all of Team Minato and most of Team Moyasu has been captured. The only one who hadn't been captured was Nikushimi. She can't fight an entire battalion on her own. You will take Fuko with you, as she knows where they are." the Hokage explained, mentally preparing for the yell he expected from Tamashi.

"I leave immediately." Tamashi stated, eerily calm. Tamashi already had most of her equipment on her, her two swords hung at her hips and her kunai pouch was full. Her med kit on her thigh, under her shredded skirt. All she needed was to retrieve rations and a cloak.

"Get on any ship you can, and don't make any rash decisions." warned the Hokage. A dark look crossed Tamashi's face.

"I've made my mistakes already, old man." Tamashi replied.

"You can always make a mistake again." the Hokage wisely nodded.

"Like hell I'm making that mistake twice." Tamashi swore, heading towards the door.

"Bring them back alive." the Hokage told her.

"You can count on that." Tamashi nodded, opening the door.

"And use it only if it's necessary." the Hokage added. Tamashi paused.

"It's for emergencies only, old man." she stated, exiting the room and slamming the door behind her. Fuko flew out the window to follow Tamashi as the Hokage sighed.

"Bring them back alive." the Hokage murmured, before looking down to his work.


AN

Dramatic, ain't it?

Fun Fact- Tamashi's hidden eye is her last resort, as it'll kill her if she uses the ability.

So, I do have excuses. School… my computer being an asshole… I apologize.

Sayonara!