Chapter 52 – Get Your Fight On!
The paper bombs exploded covering the area in dark grey smoke. Yasu withdrew, all the while trying to think of a game plan that would defeat Kabuto. This will not be easy. He had strong motivations for success: an accomplice that was now a liability and the perfect test subject. If that wasn't enough for the 'master manipulator' to pull out all the stops she wasn't sure what was. It would be glorious to fight and defeat this man. She imagined turning up at Lady Hokage's desk and crossing out his name in the bingo book. How jealous the other jonin would be! Don't be stupid. Yasu allowed the day dream to sink without a trace. If she could distract him long enough for help to arrive maybe they had a chance. That was more realistic in this situation.
"You've always been good at playing hide and seek, haven't you Yasu?" Yakushi was checking the sand for footprints aware that his prey was close. "Every time we meet up all you do is run and hide from me."
Suddenly from below there was a rumbling sound. A gigantic wooden post erupted at astounding speed.
"Wood release: Stake Rotation!"
The post was spinning so quickly he couldn't see what came flying out at first. It was only when the flock of stakes were hurdling south that he understood. There were hundreds of them. She intends to skewer me, how brutal. The post was spinning manically and yet the deadly points were only homing in on their target. How could she have so much control?
His palms hit the floor. "Earth Shore Return technique!" He pulled hard dragging and shaking the yellow grains from their bed. The sand rug hardened rapidly becoming solid as rock. When the sharp points connected they embedded themselves harmlessly into the shield. The violent vibrations were jolting through his entire body. His arched back started to ache as the relentless barrage threatened to pierce through. It was times like this he was thankful for the talents of Jirōbō, one of the Sound Four that had been Orochimaru's pride and joy. Their jutsu had saved his neck on more than one occasion.
When it was quiet he let down the barrier, stepped to the side and whistled. There was a small mountain of broken stakes in a heap. "That was quite impressive," he admitted. "I know someone else that is quite fond of sharp implements. Maybe it's time they joined the party?"
"Leave her out of this!" Yasu warned him.
The medical ninja had never liked bad manners. "You didn't say pretty please." With a whoosh he opened the black scroll. A few hand signs later and the desert was filled with a loud haunting groan.
Amelia gave a frightened yelp and clung to her captor's leg. "What the hell is that?" She didn't want to trust her eyes. There wasn't a skeletal husk lurching towards them with the stench of a rotting corpse. She couldn't see the writhing maggots in the charred black flesh.
"Slacker...kill me..." It choked out the words in a slow desperate whine.
The fake princess became aware that the leg she was clutching had started to shake. In bewilderment she looked up.
Yasu was breathing heavily through her nose trying to calm down. She stared at the creature trying to keep the memories at bay. But it was useless. "And one more thing Squirt, no matter what happens do not come back this way, understand?" The last words the Matron had said were to keep a snivelling nurse from being killed. She'd cupped her cheek. Her hand felt so warm.
"Matron Shun!" she gasped trying to fight back the overwhelming emotional tide.
"You know that thing?"
The blond nodded. "Kabuto has the ability to trap human souls and make them do his bidding. They retain all the skills they had in life. They're dead but cannot rest in peace."
This piece of information made Amelia realise that perhaps she'd gotten away lightly. "How long has it been like this?"
"She," Yasu corrected. "And it's been... too long."
Shun threw the needles without hesitation aiming directly for the pair. Quickly Yasu forced Amelia backwards and together they rolled down the sand dune. In between the curses and cries they tumbled. It wasn't a comfortable ride, their heads bumping and colliding. The hot sand whipped their skin and filled their ears. Their bodies tensed as they spun over and over until at last they slid to a complete stop.
"Get up!" A harsh voice snapped tugging on the remains of her bridal gown. "Have you got a weapon?"
"Pardon?" Amelia blinked wondering why bright sparks of light were dancing in her vision. She felt rough hands patting her down, they stilled and then the dagger she kept hidden was taken away.
Another needle thundered near her side. "I'm borrowing this." Yasu dispatched the other needle with the chink of steel. It was a good blade, small but sturdy. It didn't surprise the kunoichi that her rival would carry such a thing on her person, the survival instincts of the River Lands woman was unparalleled. Then again she hadn't lived this long just by luck either.
She created a doppelganger from wood and commanded the new soldier to stand guard. It almost made her laugh how Amelia was sickened by the sight. Considering all the horrors they'd seen up until now.
"Why the hell are you protecting me?"
Lady Leaf was underwhelmed by such a response. You really are an ungrateful little-
Matron Shun gave a wail and accelerated down the hill. Yasu met the onslaught with dagger in hand before turning. There was no point fighting the puppet you had to cut the strings. She dashed towards Kabuto with her former employer snapping at her heels.
"Coming to take me on, Yasu? Makes a change!" He threw open his cloak revealing a collection of snapping white snake heads. They burst forth from his abdomen, fangs ready to cut the young ninja to ribbons. But she was still coming, a madness creeping into those usually fearful eyes. She did not slow and now she was even smiling.
"Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!" she yelled as a circle of blue swirled over head.
But there's no water here! She's making the water style from her own chakra? Kabuto did not have long to puzzle over the facts. He prepared himself and then felt the harsh blast of a water jet smashing into his chest. The ninja was propelled backwards and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Feeling the sensation of cold rippling water over his hot skin was bizarre to say the least, but the queerest thing was that the girl was still after him.
Yasu was going for it. She had enough chakra left for maybe one more high level jutsu and she knew exactly which one to choose. "Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!"
A great ball swallowed Kabuto whole and he was pinned in place.
"Release the justu on Matron Shun," she growled. "So help me, Kabuto I will drown you like the snake you are!"
There were purple markings framing his narrowing eyes. In the sphere his crimson coat was being pulled down revealing more of his pale flesh. In places there were scales. He was turning into Orochimaru incarnate.
"If you do that then Matron Shun will never be released. Besides, I know you don't have it in you to kill, Yasu. You leave all that nasty business to your boyfriend the Kage, right? You're not a killer so don't pretend to be something you're not!"
"Shut up!" Yasu couldn't help reacting. "I will do what needs to be done! Release the jutsu, damn you!" She heard the wails return. What, already?
"You can't protect yourself and hold me!" Kabuto was struggling to breathe now. "You'll have to let go and once you do that jutsu will be broken!"
"I'll take my chances just to kill you!"
"Then you'll never see the Kage again!" he countered.
Even though the enemy had not struck her the sudden pain was crippling. He was right she would never see Gaara again.
"Another nightmare?" he asked when she'd woken for the third time.
"I'm sorry, I keep dreaming about her. Seeing her emerald apron and thinking how she's still suffering. I know there's nothing I can do right now but still."
"Come here." He was lying on his side patting the space next to him.
Her eyes widened and settled on the sleeping forms wrapped tightly in sleeping bags. "But the others-"
The sand rustled and stretched forward pulling her lightly by the arm. "You are my girlfriend and I do not care what the 'others' think. Let me hold you."
Stiffly she settled next to him. They sat up looking at each other for a moment. The Kage suddenly seemed very nervous.
"Are you alright?"
"I am unsure which sleeping positions are suitable when another person is...with me."
Yasu took a deep breath. He just wants to hug me like we did at the cherry blossoms. This is no big deal! "Okay, lay flat on your back and stretch out your left arm." He did as instructed although there was a mischievous grin tugging at the corner of his lips. "Now, all I'm going to do is lie next to you and put my head on your chest. You can wrap your arms around me," she could feel the heat rushing to her face, "if you want!"
"Yasu?"
"I'm fine!"
"You're still sitting up."
"Am I?" She glanced at the Kage who was growing impatient. "Oh right, sorry about that!"
That night (when she finally relaxed) Yasu had listened to his heartbeat drumming steadily until she fell asleep. She'd loved the feeling of cuddling into his warmth. The nightmare never did return and she'd slept until the morning.
But now the nightmare was very real and the banshee screams were close. Yasu curled her fingers around the reassuring hilt of the dagger. She twisted her neck and came face to face with the hollow black sockets of Shun. She slashed and hacked at the creature until it knocked the weapon away, far from her reach. This really was the end.
Out of nowhere something jumped onto the Matron's back. Two long sharp hair pins were stabbed into the rotting cadaver sending blood splattering everywhere. The resulting howls were deafening. There was a sucking sound as the pins were withdrawn and then brutally brought down again into the decaying flesh.
"If you die, I'll die you stubborn bitch!"
Amelia?
Yasu wasn't sure whether to thank or curse the Gods. It was absurd watching Amelia's thighs digging further into the stinking pus that coated what was left of the carcass. To behold the sheer violence as she drove in those pins and the flash of her frenzied hazel eyes. She was a demon steadily staining the remaining white silk until it was a mess of red, green and black.
Kabuto faltered taking the scroll and tearing it in two. Amelia gave a surprised cry as everything went silent and she smacked to the floor.
Yasu watched soundlessly as Matron Shun's form disintegrated into dust. You're free now. For an eternity she had wanted to see this. To bring all the old regrets to a close, to make things right again.
"How did you know?" she dared to ask.
Amelia wiped away the spittle drooling from her mouth. "When that twin thing of yours disappeared I surmised the obvious."
"Thank you."
She huffed and nudged her head towards the sphere which Lady Leaf still had her hand glued to. "What are you going to do with him?"
He was dying. His accusing stare was losing heat. In a few more seconds Yakushi Kabuto would no longer be of this world. She would have nothing to fear from him again. Can I really just let him die? Their eyes met one last time and then he smirked.
Inside the sphere something began to stir. There was a flurry of bubbles. Yasu felt a foreign force disrupting her own chakra flow. It was so powerful that the water started to boil. The sphere was changing into a cooking pot! With desperation she tried to hold on until finally there was almighty roar.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!" It was a garbled command but the milky blue outline of a dragon soared towards the skies as the sphere broke apart. The waters sloshed over the two startled women as Kabuto clawed back oxygen into his lungs. "You know," he choked, "I thought I was a gonna back there. You really are a piece of work!"
"At least Matron Shun is free of you now!" Yasu snarled back.
He gave another cough and stretched his arms. "Well, now there you have me. Still, it's not as if there aren't other bodies I could use right, princess?"
"Keep your filthy hands away from me!" She held a hair pin in each hand to emphasise the point.
"And what makes you think-"
There was no time to react as the snake attacked. It latched onto her arm and before she even knew it, was being bitten. The pet had a snow white head with red markings around the eyes. It stared back at Yasu unafraid, even enjoying the task of poisoning its victim. When finally the fangs released and it withdrew, the pain didn't seem so bad. Then she tried to move and was assaulted by the most paralysing agony that she had ever known.
Amelia scrambled over. "Yasu! Yasu, what's going on?" She didn't recognise the pathetic voice that seemed to be coming from her mouth. It sounded alien, frightened. She shook the girl's limp shoulders but there was no response. Placing an ear over the Konohan's heartbeat only revealed that it was slowing down. "What have you done to her?"
"Why should you care? An hour ago you wanted her dead you really are a fickle friend." He gave a large sigh. "Well, I suppose if I'm going to be using your body as a weapon I can at least give you that much. My time in the lab wasn't just for the creation of a curse mark for the Kazekage. I was given access to some very special tissue samples; Hashirama Senju's own DNA at least in a weakened form." He laughed a little pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I don't expect you to understand the full details. Let me make it simple enough so even your tiny mind can comprehend, shall we? I developed a drug that represses the power of a wood release user. So, no matter how much Yasu wants to she can't save you."
Face down in the dirt Yasu could only hear the approach of footsteps. She knew Amelia was digging nails into her shoulder but she couldn't feel a thing. She wanted to shout out, give any form of comfort - her voice was gone. Her limbs didn't want to cooperate with her brain. She couldn't see what was happening only hear the conversation between Kabuto and her former enemy. This isn't fair!
Kabuto came closer and knelt down. Amelia shuffled away from him like a stray dog. Gently he turned over the body of his newest test subject. He stroked her hair and smiled. There was no indication of distress all the facial muscles had relaxed into a peaceful blank canvas. There was the small issue of the eyes though, defiant and ugly. They were not needed for the experiments he would remove those.
"For now you can watch. I'd hate for you to miss out." At that he stood and a great rattling followed his every move. There were hisses. He rolled out another black scroll preparing his next puppet.
"Stay back! I'll kill you!" Amelia whimpered crawling on the backs of her arms.
She could see the soldiers again ready to take her life for a gold coin. They were giggling, lost in the joy of their luck having stumbled upon such a prize. Had they no respect? Did they not care? She shook her head, no it was not them. The soldiers and their helmets disappeared and there was a faceless monster hidden by a crimson hood. Was it down before? He came limbering slowly still feeling the after effects of nearly drowning. He was Death with a scythe ready to claim her soul.
I have to do something! She heard Amelia's screaming increase in pitch. Some form of jutsu chant coming from Kabuto. Someone help us! Please! But there was no one out here. No one was going to save the day.
Then three things happened simultaneously; first the screaming stopped, second the scroll Kabuto had been holding was sliced in half and third his snake's head thumped to the ground. It was Yakushi's turn to shriek. He stared at the blood spurting from the neck of his serpent. Wildly he turned and hunted for the source of this carnage.
"For Miss Amelia's suffering you will be punished!" a booming voice declared.
Who the hell? Amelia thought. There was a woman standing between her and Death. She was at least six foot with an athletic build. Her long white hair trailed down to her slim hips and there was a katana sword in her hands. The blade was stained with blood.
"You'll regret this!"
Suddenly in the distance there was an army of ninja. At the head of the pack came the Kage who was the wind racing to their position. Not far behind was the Fifth Hokage and others she did not recognise.
It was all over, Kabuto realised. He turned to Yasu the regret plain as day to leave his precious wood user behind. "I'll come back for you," he promised. "That is if you live without the antidote of course!" With that he vanished in a puff of smoke.
"My Lady, we can take a portal and go." Amelia did not respond to their rescuer she only took Yasu's hand and found herself confused by the tears that were falling. The sky blues were looking back with an emotion she could not read. "My Lady-"
"I want to stay," she said through chattering teeth. "I don't want to just survive anymore. I want to live."
Author's note –
Writing this chapter was more difficult than I thought it would be. The Prodigy kept me going and the chapter title is an inspiration from them. The Day is my Enemy is an awesome album ;0)
Those hoping for an Amelia death scene – sorry! Thank you for your reviews and messages they are appreciated.
Anyway, until next time...
Allybee x
