A/N: Man, it's crazy out there in the world right now, huh? I wish everyone good health, and please make sure to wash your hands! I don't want anybody getting sick, okay? Here, I'll even whip up another chapter for you to enjoy, a long one. I hope you all enjoy! :)


People ran away from the immediate danger, yet some stood from far, far away and watched. They saw an angel dancing among other angels in a flurry of dazzling light, and to them, was something beautiful. There was a definite beauty in the way the Kyofu Clan battled, always giving off a divine, comforting aura while they did so.

But for Tenshi, who's wings carried her higher and higher to avoid blasts of light chakra, it was anything but beautiful. She was sweating all over from a combination of exhaustion and nerves, yet her anger alone was what drove her to fight. As she gained height, she could see the fallen angels beneath her were in hot pursuit.

...Torakuta killed them...they're already in a better place. I shouldn't be holding back at all right now.

She began to weave hand signs, but a beam of light had come a little too close for comfort, causing her to stop and take an evasive maneuver. This maneuver was for her to drop down like a stone, through a hail of projectiles, and stamp both her feet on one of the fallen angels. She kicked off of them, sending the corpse puppet down below while she pushed herself back into the air once again, higher than before. A fallen angel pursued behind her with a kunai in hand, of all things, but she kicked them down into the rest before throwing her palms down at the mass of wings and empty eyes pursuing her. Her plan was to prepare a Diamond Beam, something, anything to fight the mass of dead in the air. However, chakra pulsed through her whole body, and what ended up happening was a gigantic pulse of invisible energy was unleashed from her being. It left a tingling sensation in her eyes, and she could see that the energy had slammed against the fallen angels, shoving them further down and even making some lose control of their flight.

She had read up a little on her doujutsu, and the techniques it could perform. This one, she was sure, had to be the Almighty Push. She didn't know how she did it, she didn't want to bother analyzing such a thing right now, because she could see the fallen angels were beginning to recompose themselves.

I have to hurry, she thought as she began to form hand signs. I can't afford to let any more civilians get harmed in this...I'm certain that there were victims from my barrier and Torakuta's sickening antics. I'm no leader...but I am a kunoichi. I should be able to do that much, at least.

"Light Release: Seven Heaven Blades!"

Thrusting her palms together in prayer, she whispered a few words to herself, and seven glowing broadswords surrounded her, rotating with blades out like the teeth of a saw blade. And then, she completed a second series of handsigns, allowing her wings to carry her further up until she was scraping against the clouds. The fallen angels were closing in fast, and some firing projectiles while others went in for close range combat. The Light Chain technique of her's activated, and soon, Tenshi found herself flying backwards with the light chains trailing from her fingers. She whipped and flung the chains to and fro, slicing away at oncoming attackers while her swords slashed apart or guarded against incoming volleys of light projectiles. She swerved, dipped, glided, and looped throughout the air while keeping up her guard, a gentle ballet of offense and defense hundreds of meters in the air. She could never appreciate just how graceful she looked while trying to steer the fallen angels away from town; some of the people running had stopped to witness what was happening, and all could tell that the one with the most vibrant, radiant wings was the one to root for.

Oh, if only Tenshi could see the support garnering for her. She was too busy trying her best to defend, defend, defend. Yes, she was staying on her toes and avoiding harm...but there was little to no opportunity for her to attack. The pressure was too immense, and she had a sever disadvantage in numbers. Torakuta was right...she really did always rely on help...and one battle was not going to change that for her. If only Sakana could give her a hand...


Shiiiiit...if only Tenshi stayed to give me a hand, here...

The Hoshigaki, despite her intimidating front, was also outnumbered ten-to-one. The main difference between her and Tenshi, however, was that she had no special kekkei genkai to aid her right now. Just a sword and a few water techniques was going to do little against ten elite guards of the Kyofu Clan, reanimated or not.

And yet, she would just have to manage, wouldn't she?

Clicking her tongue, Sakana tossed her sword up in the air, distracting all the fallen angels as they watched her only form of attack and defense sore upwards. They failed to see Sakana go through hand signs for a very particular technique she had learned from the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, a trademark technique only used for particularly difficult situations. She made a sign of confrontation on each hand, one held in front of her face while the other she held over her head.

"Silent Killing Technique..."

Sudden gusts of wind began to kick up, and the air around Sakana and the fallen angels grew cold. The sudden appearance of mist made the fallen angels glance around in confusion, the surprise technique filling the air and surrounding them too fast for any of the corpse puppets to act. Shrouded in mist, Sakana let her arms fall at her sides, and sniffed the air. She could pinpoint each of them, sense their chakra, their rotting stench. It seemed too easy, but one would never know if they didn't make a move. The sword fell back down into the mist, it's tip piercing the ground right before Sakana, yet not making a noise due to her technique. She ripped her tool of carnage out from the rubble, and dashed into the mist. She circled around what she knew to be the mass of enemies, and slid right behind one in the far back of the group, head snapping back and forth as it tried looking through her technique. Grabbing her sword in both hands, Sakana performed a simple vertical chop, but it was enough. Her sword cut through the fallen angel like warm butter, yet no blood came out from the drained cadaver; it was a corpse, after all. It's wings of light dispersed into small glowing specks, and two halves that were once whole fell the the ground in silence. Within moments, Sakana pulled her weapon back, and was dashing out of sight once more.

Despite the lack of vision, the fallen angels had felt the sudden snuffing out of light within the mist. It took them only moments to begin swarming towards the area where one of them had been felled, some forming light chains at their fingertips while others formed weapons, prepared light jutsu, and readied shinobi tools they happened to have on their person. At this, Sakana had to curse beneath her breath.

Shit, looks like they've got something I don't know about. Already they're here, and if I can't stay out of sight, then the Silent Killing Technique is useless.

Speak of the devil, one of them turned their head in her direction. The Hoshigaki made one-handed signs and fired a Piercing Stream from her mouth at the fallen angel, yet all they had to do was jump overhead. She cancelled her ninjutsu, and readied herself just in time for a surprise pincer attack; two fallen angels approached her from either side, both using the Light Chain technique and flinging their arms towards Sakana in an attempt to restrain her. A mere jump was all she needed to avoid it, but once airborne, the fallen angel who had dodged her Piercing Stream dove into her, bringing the kenjutsu-user down with a vicious tackle. They both crashed against the ground hard, but Sakana was able to roll with her enemy until she was on top, and stabbed her sword through their chest. The corpse puppet wasn't fading just yet, and actually grabbed the blade when Sakana tried to pry it out. Gritting her teeth, she stomped onto the fallen angel's gut over and over to make them let go, but they refused. It was the low humming of chakra gathering for a ninjutsu behind her that made Sakana realize she was merely being kept in place to be hit with something lethal, and the thought of it made her primal instincts kick in. She twisted the blade sideways and sliced across her opponent's chest, killing them in time to spin around and start charging the other fallen angel. Her opponent was ready to fire their technique, and they would have, had it not been for a defeated corpse puppet that flew through the air and slammed into them from the side. The slight stumble that resulted from the impact got them bisected by Sakana's weapon, and without waiting for the body to drop, Sakana leapt back into the mist, fully in control of her situation once more.

That flying body had to be Tenshi's work from up above...and with such knowledge, Sakana nodded to herself and prepared to keep battling. Knowing that her friend was holding her own had brought her great comfort.


The Light Chain Technique danced around Tenshi as she waved her arms about, finally finding opportunities to take shots at her attackers. She swung her arms apart, and the chains lashed across two more fallen angels, deeply wounding them. Their wings dispersed, and the lifeless bodies collapsed from the sky and plummeted back down to the earth.

That's three down.

From below, a fallen angel with their own Seven Heaven Blades rushed in with the intent to kill, but Tenshi was ready. As soon as the corpse puppet came close, she clashed heaven swords with them, locking blades so that she could have a free opening. The anger she felt, the desire to see Torakuta brought to justice, pulsed through her body once again, and an involuntary Almighty Push pulsated from Tenshi's frail form once again. It was powerful enough to send the fallen angel careening into a nearby building, but Tenshi wasted no time once she saw them slam against it's facade. her seven swords cut through the air and pierced their body all over, dispersing their wings and leaving a lifeless husk. She willed her weapons back, and noticed down below that two more fallen angels were flying up after her, shield of light present and ready to deal with her Light Chains. A few heavy flaps of her wings got her to rise higher and higher into the sky, going just above the clouds where nothing but the starlit sky and retreating moon were present.

This...this all feels like a bad dream...

The Light Chains coming from her fingertips dispersed into specks of light, and the kunoichi once again went through a series of hand signs. Once the two attackers breached the clouds, Tenshi clasped her hands together in prayer, glaring at the husks that were once people she knew.

"Light Release: Blinding Illumination!"

Bright, blinding light coated her body, and from below the clouds, it looked as if a star had come down to visit the planet. But for the two shielded, fallen angels, they couldn't see anything whatsoever; the technique caught them off-guard, and both held their eyes with their free hands as they suffered from temporary blindness. This opening was all Tenshi needed. Reaching back into a concealed weapons pouch, she produced two kunai and flung them forward with deadly accuracy, piecing their abdomens right where their Blessed Seals were. Alive they remained, yet the sudden loss of their wings of light had sent them back below the clouds...whether they survived or not was not important at the moment, because just as they disappeared from sight, the remaining four fallen angels flew up above the clouds to meet Tenshi head-on. Thinking quick, the kunoichi reached right back into her weapons pouch, but this time felt around until pulling out a few glass spheres and clutching them in her fist.

This can't be happening, right? This is just a dream...a nightmare...

Light chakra found itself forced into the glass spheres before Tenshi let out a frustrated shout and threw them forward. They exploded right in front of her enemies with a bright enough burst to blind, yet only one had the common sense to cover their eyes and charge in after the explosion. They came in fast, too fast for Tenshi to properly prepare for, and the fallen angel wrapped their arms around Tenshi's waist in a spear tackle. Soon, the two began to plummet despite the desperate flapping of Tenshi's wings, and it wasn't long before they dropped through the clouds. This heaven drop was a suicide tactic used by Kyofu Clan members in a desperate attempt to kill airborne enemies, yet Tenshi understand that the person bringing her down was already dead...there was no risk for them whatsoever, making this simple tactic a very smart move. But, it was no time to pick apart the enemy strategy. She had to do something fast, lest she became a splattered mess on the concrete below. Again, she allowed dark thoughts to creep through her head, ideas of slaughtering Torakuta in as many gruesome ways as her mind could manage. Her eyes began to tingle, and once more, an Almighty Push echoed out from her frail body. The assailant was forcefully removed, yet quickly regained their balance in the air. The kunoichi grit her teeth at this, and looked down below to find that the two fallen angels she had wounded were both aiming their hands at her, Diamond Beams firing towards her location. Her wings fanned open, allowing her to glide over the projectiles while still coming in hot for a landing. She braced for impact and landed on both feet, stopping herself on a dime and spinning around to fire a Diamond Beam of her own towards one of them. She had been a bit slow on the draw, and her jutsu was dodged with ease. The kunoichi's Rinnegan trembled from the stress, and they peered up towards the skies to see the remaining fallen angels flying down to attack her once more.

This wasn't a good place to be in, at all. Desperate glancing around brought a large, thick cloud of mist where the hotel once was to Tenshi's attention, and it took mere seconds to put two and two together. That was Sakana's doing, the Silent killing Technique. That was the safest bet for her, and she needed to move NOW!

With a single swift motion, Tenshi pulled one last glass sphere from her weapons pouch and charged it with chakra. Her opponents only started to form weapons of light before Tenshi threw the sphere at the ground, causing another blinding explosion. The minute it burst, she leapt back a great distance, just far enough so she would land within the mist to hide.


One more fallen angel fell victim to Sakana's blade, being cut right in half as she darted past them from behind. Another light snuffed out, she continued to move and stay aware of her surroundings. One came flying in low for her, and the Hoshigaki jumped up and slammed both her feet into the corpse, shoving them into the ground with violent force. The puppet was stunned just long enough for Sakana to land and pierce their skull with her sword. That's five down, she thought as she ripped her sword free and leaping deeper into the mist, crouching and waiting for a chance to strike her next target. A massive amount of killing intent had introduced itself to her Silent Killing mist, but these corpses did not feel, they did not emote. That could mean it was one of two people, and only one of them would be a good thing. With a quick few sniffs of the air, the faint lingering scent of a familiar individual told Sakana all she needed to know, and she soon turned about face and darted deeper into the mist to find her friend.

It didn't take much searching, as the bright, large angel wings cut through the mist with ease. It was going to be difficult fighting the fallen angels with such a beacon revealing their location, but at least there would be two of them. "Tenshi! Are you okay?"

The Angel stood up from her kneeling position, wings folding in close to her body as she faced Sakana. She only gave a stiff nod before continuing to look around, as if she could see clearly through the mist. "I can sense their chakra, and I'm sure they can sense mine."

"Shouldn't matter. I can sense them too, since their in my technique."

"How many did you defeat..."

Odd, very odd...but understandable. This girl who was always so cheerful to be around, so full of emotion and who wore her heart on her sleeve had finally experienced something she must never have in her life that many people around her did, and that was betrayal from someone close. Tenshi was distant, serious, closing herself off emotionally from what was going on. And, if that wasn't the case, she hid her true feelings very well. Sakana, a woman who had been through a fair share of emotional pain herself, knew full and well what was going on. It was only the slight glint of tears in Tenshi's Rinnegan that let her know she wasn't totally different inside.

"...how about you?"

"Four."

"I got five of them...are you able to keep going?"

"..."

"Tenshi?"

"The last one I killed had been a good family friend. The two before that used to play with me when I was a child." She said it with a stone face, but her fist was gripping at her shirt with enough force to probably crush stone to gravel. "...and Torakuta's made them all shells of what they once were. All of them."

Sakana shouldered her sword, and turned her attention out to the mist with a narrowed eye, waiting for her next enemy to present itself. "I get it, really. At least understand that you said it yourself: they're just shells now, bodies without souls. Know they were good people who cared about you until the end, and don't think about anything beyond that."

"..." In wordless acceptance, Tenshi looked to the ground for a moment to collect herself, and began doing as Sakana did, looking around for any sign of a threat in the mist. Oddly enough, none of the fallen angels came to attack just yet...perhaps they were developing some common sense, and not rushing in. "...to think things would end up like this...I never would have thought it possible..."

"That's becoming a trend, recently," Sakana muttered with a click of the tongue. "But if we win now, and take out Torakuta, it'll be bigger than us surviving. It'll be a win for the Five Nations, and the Hidden Abyss will be down a leader. That'll put a dent in their plans."

"Where did she even go?"

"No idea, but she's not our immediate threat, right?" Just as she finished speaking, she gripped her sword handle with a second hand, lifted it upwards, and brought it down in a powerful vertical slash that not only chopped a mass of mist before her apart, but also cleaved right through a rushing fallen angel, dispersing their wings and causing both halves of their body to fly past the two kunoichi. Not ready for such a sight, Tenshi jumped a little and tensed her body, looking to her ally. "That's six," Sakana stated. "Let's keep going."

It seemed wise for Tenshi to listen to her bodyguard, and nodded. Sakana darted into the mist, but Tenshi flapped her wings and kept right on her tail. Her hands formed a diamond shape, and a screen of light chakra that formed in the center of the formation meant her Diamond Beam was ready to fire at a moment's notice. Excellent timing, Tenshi could sense the growing presence of light behind her. She took the shot, blasting a white beam into the mist. Direct hit, through the heart. She could feel the presence of light disappear once again as the fallen angel collapsed, defeated. They had gone through half of the total fallen angels, she realized, and that meant they had ten enemies left to face.

A handful flew around the two kunoichi, and Sakana growled before slamming her sword into the ground to help her stop on a dime, with Tenshi at the ready behind her. She flew through hand signs, and fired a Crushing Tide into the mist. There was indeed a fallen angel dead ahead, but with their arms being flung to the sides, they utilized a Heavenly Barrier, and the water technique's powerful force was negated completely. The mass of enemies that had flown around Sakana and Tenshi now stood behind the one angel deploying the defensive jutsu, and the bubble of safety expanded until each of the fallen angels were under it's protection.

Maintaining Sakana's technique took more chakra than she'd care to admit, and the effort could be seen in the thinning, disappearing mist around the battlefield. To her, maintaining the technique was costly...but beyond her torrent, she and Tenshi could see that each of the nine remaining angels were preparing Diamond Beams...something that couldn't be fired through the Heavenly Barrier, but did mean that once Sakana could no longer maintain her technique, the barrier would fall...and...

But Tenshi wouldn't allow it. No, she had gone and developed a single technique that could penetrate any physical barrier or surface once, just so she could find a way around technique such as the Heavenly Barrier if need be. Victory loves preparation, doesn't it? And she would need to act fast...the only time a Heavenly Barrier could be broken through by normal means was if the user of the technique wasn't properly trained, had little chakra in the jutsu, or was at genin level...and their enemy fell under none of those categories.

How funny, now Tenshi was musing over how she didn't want to spend so much chakra on her coming plan, but she would need to do so if they wanted to live. Performing hand signs and rearing an arm back, a gigantic gold and silver spear dripping with the essence of light formed in her hand, and Tenshi made sure to aim true. Her free hand gripped Sakana's shoulder, and she braced as if an immense force was going to push them back.

"When I give the word, put as much power as you can into your jutsu! Trust me!"

Even if Sakana couldn't talk while using the technique, her slamming and digging her foot into the concrete and rubble behind her meant the message was loud and clear. The window was open, it was now or never.

"Light Release: Divine Spear!"

The Angel chucked her weapon beside Sakana's torrent of water, and as planned, it phased through the Heavenly Barrier and struck it's target right in the head. The giant barrier collapsed into screens and shards of glass-like light, but the fallen angels would not have the chance to fire their ninjutsu. Immediately, Sakana felt Tenshi place a second hand on her other shoulder, and warm, powerful energy filled her being.

"NOW!"

Sakana added all the chakra she felt she safely could into the Crushing Tide, but little did she know that Tenshi's little plan involved her forcing her own chakra through Sakana and into her technique. The Water seemed to glow, and it's power made the technique swell to ten times it's size. The fallen angels, in slight panic, fired the beams at the technique in hopes that it would cut through and hit their targets, but the glowing water was infused with light, and dispersed the Diamond Beams without effort. They could do naught but attempt to move, but the jutsu was flying too fast. It slammed against all of them with the force of a speeding train, crushing and breaking their already-dead bodies into pieces or crushing and contorting the limbs of those who were near the edge of the blast.

The technique, as powerful as it was, lasted for only a few seconds at most. Sakana ended her jutsu fast once she knew it had been a direct hit, and collapsed to a knee, panting heavily; Tenshi managed to stay on her feet, but was slumping over her friend while she, too, tried to catch her breath. The mist around them completely faded, and finally, the surrounding damage could be surveyed. It was a total mess...a nearby building was demolished by their technique, but thankfully, the civilians had already escaped this area when the battle began. Collateral damage, yes, but no major loss of innocent life brought ease to the minds of both kunoichi. A single fallen angel laid on the ground among fallen allies and rubble, twitching and struggling as it used all it's strength to sit upright, and look at it's enemies. The force from the jutsu had crushed one of it's arms and blown off both it's legs, yet the order given to it by Torakuta combined with it's will to continue on remained strong. There was only so much that a weakened, broken husk like itself could do though; the fallen angel could only lift it's head up towards both kunoichi who stood victorious amongst destruction and angels with clipped wings.

It was not someone Tenshi knew on a personal level, but with it's only trembling arm, it reached out for Tenshi, and tried to...

...speak...

Sakana stood in front of Tenshi with her sword at the ready, but the gentle touch of Tenshi's hand on her forearm got Sakana to look at the orange-haired woman. Her stone-like facade eased up some, and she gave Sakana a slight glance, then looked back to the corpse puppet only a few yards away from them.

The fallen angel's wings dispersed, and dry air left it's throat in a final sigh...but Tenshi could hear it, the final words the being tried to say before collapsing in permanent death.

"Lady Tenshi..."

The final body hit the floor, the thud echoing through empty streets and being carried away by sweeping, howling winds. The battle was over, they had survived. Letting out a long-held sigh, Sakana shouldered her weapon and looked around. To her surprise, she sustained no real injuries other than a few small bruises, and Tenshi had been the same. She wanted to tell Tenshi that she thought such a fight would be tougher, but it was clear by the saddened face she made that bringing up such a subject would be inappropriate. In silence, the Hoshigaki gave herself an approving nod, but nothing more.

"They were some of the best shinobi and kunoichi in my clan," Tenshi blurted out, getting the other kunoichi to turn. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she placed a hand over her heart and shut her eyes, trying to not cry. "...but they didn't fight with nearly the same ability that they were known to have..."

"That's because it didn't matter to me if they did or did not."

The two kunoichi spun around to a shadow emerging from the rubble, black wings spreading out wide as the wisps took the shape of a woman, one who was clapping and had a condescending smirk on her mug. Instantly, the distant look Tenshi had worn for her whole battle returned, and Sakana's killing intent spiked through the roof. No, the battle wasn't over...that was all just a warmup.

"I see that you managed to live. I'm impressed...despite needing the blue-skin's help." The remark made Sakana growl, and Torakuta's smile grew with it. "But in all seriousness, not bad. Many people struggle and eventually fall to less than ten of my Corpse Puppets, but you both survived without getting scratched up too horribly."

The Daughter of the Family wasn't graced with a response, but instead with Tenshi's Rinnegan glaring harder at her. The Angel reached for her weapons pouch and dug around, but she did not take out a kunai, a shuriken, or even one of those glass spheres. No, she removed a something wrapped in dark crimson cloth, and gripped the item in her hand as if she were trying to crush Torakuta's heart in that very palm. With this mysterious weapon now presented to the situation, the air seemed to get colder, and Torakuta's smug tone became serious once more.

"Oh?" Do you intend to kill me with that?"

"Of course, you wench."

A fight was about to begin, as both Torakuta and Tenshi's wings flapped once and fanned out, as if to intimidate one another, and both women were staring holes into the other. Sakana, lost as ever, could only make small glances at the two women while trying to keep her confusion subtle. It wasn't as easy to miss as she hoped.

"The blue thing seems confused," Torakuta spoke before pointing at a now-seething Hoshigaki. "Perhaps you aren't aware, but the Kyofu Clan's light-based techniques can be amplified if shot through a glass sphere. This is why many of them will carry around small, clear marbles in their weapon pouches. On top of this, they can be charged with light and thrown, like a bomb. However...when a light-based technique is amplified with a diamond, it's power can reach Kage-levels of strength."

"..."

"Yes, a diamond with a very particular cut and quality, one so specific that they are nearly impossible to get. In fact, it's so hard to have a diamond that specific produced that they are typically passed down from generation to generation. The one Tenshi holds now was given to her by the previous clan head, and if Tenshi were to live on past today, she would give that to the next clan head. That gem she has wrapped up in the very cloth she received it in...it goes back to the very early days of our clan's existence." A light crease folded in her brow, and the Daughter held a fist in front of her face. "A pity she could never use it's full potential..."

Huffing, Tenshi held the item in a single hand while her other grabbed at the cloth, and flung it into the air dramatically. It was a beautiful diamond, clean and clear with absolutely no imperfections, and the pale moonlight shimmering through it brought faint rainbows and a dull light to the area they stood in. "I'll prove you wrong!"

"You will, hm?" The older kunoichi's tone was once again smug, and it bugged Tenshi to no end that her own newfound tough front was not intimidating whatsoever. "How could properly use an ancient tool like that when you can't even properly use the strongest doujutsu in existence?" The hand she held in front of her fell to the side, and Torakuta spat on the ground. "You were always given all the tools to be so much more than what you've been asked to be, and yet you still fall short all the same."

"The words of a traitor mean nothing to me."

"They clearly do...you're still trying not to cry."

"...my tears...are from fighting the people that I grew up around, that YOU killed and used against me!" Although she tried her hardest not to, the tears did start to slip through the cracks of her facade, and ran down her cheeks. "What a low tactic to use...I don't know what twisted jutsu you used to reanimate them, but your plan to have them kill me FAILED! Sakana and I did what we had to do...and we won't lose to you, either!"

"Are you so sure about that?"

"..."

"My Corpse Puppet technique is a product of a kekkei genkai gifted to me by the Elder. It's an ability I developed that allows me to control a portion of my chakra in order to have any dead body I wish fight for me." She lifted an arm up, and showed the veins in her forearm writhing and wriggling like the ones that were inside the fallen angels. "Of course, the greater the number I command, the weaker they are, and if I do not have a direct physical connection with them, then they essentially go into an 'auto-pilot' mode where the corpse utilizes muscle memory or battle instinct from their past lives to battle on their own, as if the person were still alive. Again, it depends on how much chakra I put into the puppet; the more I give them, the more they fight as if they were still alive and the harder they are to stop. You two survived, yes, but I spread my chakra thin amongst the twenty fools that you cut down."

"...why..."

The simple question got Torakuta to tilt her head, lowering her arm. "I beg your pardon?"

"...why," Tenshi said again through clenched teeth. "...why kill them if you only wanted my eyes. They had NOTHING to do with this."

"...oh, Tenshi...how naive you are. I already said I'm a leader in the Hidden Abyss. Why do you think I pursued such a position in the first place?"

"..."

"Back home, I am simply a tool to let others climb to better positions within our clan. It has always been that way, despite all I've done for the Kyofu Clan. This is not centered around you, as hard as you may find that to believe. Consider this to be my official defection from the clan...I wanted to make it scenic, go out with a 'bang' as some would say. What better way to make an exit than to kill off the soon-to-be clan head and her guards...all of them."

She spoke her last words while shifting her Byakugan over to Sakana, who was quick to take up her defensive stance. The Hoshigaki knit her brow, and gripped the sword tighter.

"Tch, there's no amount of puppets you can hide behind that'll save you from this blade..."

"I don't need to hide. I'm quite capable on my own."

Deep down, Sakana never liked Torakuta. Not once. Even years ago when her and Tenshi became friends, anytime Sakana would address the rude behavior from Torakuta, Tenshi would wave it off and say it was just her being a harsh teacher, nothing more. 'It isn't anything personal' was the common line. But it was clear that it was all done out of spite, jealousy, envy. And now here she stood, trying to permanently remove Tenshi from this world all because she couldn't be what she was going to become...the head of the clan. She never would have said it to Tenshi, but this was something she had been aching to do for some time. She shuffled her feet forward, maintaining the defensive sword stance and keeping her eye locked with Torakuta's, waiting for even the slightest twitch that indicated an attack.

Tenshi's Rinnegan slid over to see what Sakana was doing, and her heart began to pick up it's pace out of worry. "...Sakana, don't. I can take her myself."

"You shouldn't need to bother, I'm your bodyguard." The stance lowered a little, and Sakana's foot dug into the gravel in preparation for a sudden lunge. "I'll finish this in a single swing."

"...you know," Torakuta spoke as black fog formed in her palm, which she hovered in front of her. "...I'm a decent swordswoman, myself." A black blade emerged from her palm, dripping with dark liquid and emanating darkness. She grabbed the handle and pulled the construct from her open palm, swinging it out to the side. "You'll both die here, be it quickly or slowly. You're just delaying the inevitable by being stubborn."

It was clear to Tenshi what was going on. Yes, Sakana was a top-class kunoichi and terrifying kenjutsu-expert, but Torakuta was something else. Torakuta, a leader in the Hidden Abyss, master deceiver, an old sensei of her's, and certainly someone who hasn't shown off the limits of their power. Drawing a sword to challenge Sakana was like yelling at a lion. It will do nothing but serve to anger the lion, and you will die painfully. The difference, however, is that Torakuta was the type of person to do this while hiding a weapon behind her back. There was always a plan up her sleeve, some malicious idea in her mind that would help her win each encounter. Yes, such a fact was learned when Tenshi witnessed Torakuta spar with other members of their clan...she would resort to kicking dirt in their eyes, distraction tactics, and the like. But...this was all information Tenshi knew. Sakana was unaware, and was just about to leap in for the bait.

"SAKANA, STOP!"

The Hoshigaki's killing intent faltered, and the kenjutsu-user looked over her shoulder; even Torakuta lowered her weapon and looked to Tenshi. The orange-haired girl was furious, both at Sakana's lack of thought over the situation and Torakuta's slimy tactics.

"Don't be an idiot! Don't throw your life away...not for someone like me."

"...but Tenshi, she-"

"No, Sakana. Don't."

"..."

"...don't...just don't."

The rattling of Sakana's sword could be heard by all three, and Sakana tried to control her shaking hands. "...I can't let you fight her alone!"

"No...no, it's nothing like that. Thinking it over, it's best we work together, but it'll be more efficient if I fight her alone...I know Torakuta very well. I know she's powerful, and I know she's definitely kept her real power in check from everyone..." She swallowed a lump in her throat, and walked beside Sakana. "...she's more than likely on-par with the Mizukage. The sword fight she's challenging you to is a hoax, she'll use whatever tactic she can to win."

The words made Torakuta frown, and her sword arm dropped fully to the ground.

"All that matters in battle is who's left standing. There's no honor in a fight to the death."

"Perhaps not, but you should at least have some dignity" Tenshi pointed to her, suppressing the urge to scowl. "Face me, and me alone."

It wasn't what Torakuta had planned. She believed that she would start by offing the Hoshigaki first, making her a puppet, and then using her to fight Tenshi. THAT would have been far more entertaining to watch...to see everything in Tenshi's life break down before her, and try to kill her before Torakuta ultimately claimed the killing blow, and brought home the Rinnegan. But it seems Tenshi, as usual, was being a thorn in her side...

"..."

The sword of darkness faded into wisps, and gathered as smog in her palm, easing the Hoshigaki's stance.

Perfect.

"...alright then," Torakuta spoke, but not without one final surprise. She flung her arm upwards, and the smog she held flew towards Sakana, forming into three black daggers in the air. Sakana only reacted in time to deflect the one aimed at her head, but the one aimed at her thigh and the other going for her side could not be avoided. Because of her sudden movements, Sakana's wounds were not life-threatening, but the deep slices they caused on her leg and waist were going to be a problem if left untreated. She let out a yell of pain and collapsed to a knee, and when Tenshi yelled out her name and reached out to help, Torakuta's wings propelled her foward. The Daughter tackled Tenshi and took her high into the air, flapping her wings hard to carry them further and further away.

Grunting through the pain and dropping her sword to hold her wounded side, Sakana grit her teeth and pushed herself up. "Damn bitch," she mumbled, watching as the two flew off. She had to go after them, there was no way she was going to let Tenshi fight alone. But...at her side, beside her foot, was something very, very crucial to their success.

During the surprise attack, Tenshi dropped the diamond she was clutching. Not needing to think twice, Sakana pocketed the gem, picked up her sword, and began limping after her friend while using a beginner-level medical healing jutsu on her side. She'd be damned if she let Tenshi die here. It wouldn't happen, not on her watch.


Going higher and higher, Tenshi kicked and punched until she broke free from the tackle. However, she was only free for a few seconds before Torakuta grabbed her by the throat, squeezing and choking her as they continued to go higher.

"Don't be shy," she spoke, eyelids low. "Show me all of your power, everything you're capable of, what you managed to do during the invasion of the Mist."

The gall of her to bring up the attack on Tenshi's village was a dirty way to rile the kunoichi up, but it worked nonetheless. Tenshi used both her feet to shove away from Torakuta, freeing her of the hand gripping her throat and flapping her wings hard enough to carry her just beneath the clouds. Her hands flowed through signs, though their speed was unlike anything Torakuta had seen her do before; it was almost inhumane, she had been getting quite good at preparing complex jutsu. And, if she could see some of those hand signs properly, this looked to be a new technique...or rather, one Tenshi hadn't shown off before...

...no...actually, that WAS one Torakuta knew. In fact, it had been in her private collection of jutsu scrolls. So, Tenshi had snuck into Torakuta's home while she wasn't there, just to learn some jounin-level techniques in secret? How adorable...but imitation would only get one so far. Torakuta, too, began to perform the same hand signs, but her pace was far, far faster.

The two slammed their hands together in prayer at the same time, and chakra of both light and dark burst from their respective users.

"Light Release: Seven Hundred Heaven Blades!"

"Dark Release: Seven Hundred Shadow Blades!"

A wall of white, glowing and dark, smog-covered swords formed behind both Tenshi and Torakuta. The sight was breathtaking, with Tenshi's side seeming like the heavens themselves were opening up to aid here, while Torakuta further below appeared to have opened the gates of hell and requested the assistance of demons. In perfect sync, both kunoichi aimed a finger at each other, and the blades flew onward into battle. Collision after collision, explosions of light and darkness blanketed the middle ground between the opposing sides, basking the earth below in beautiful yet haunting twilight. Few blades managed to slip through the onslaught, yet they had been so far off course from their actual targets that it didn't matter, and they would sail off into the distant starlit sky.

The ninjutsu on this level consumed massive amounts of chakra, far too large for any novice; this was why Torakuta, will all her experience and her insane chakra reserves from years of fighting, was ready to launch another volley of dark blades. Tenshi, on the other hand...

As the explosions before her lessened, the Angel found herself hunching over in the air, breathing hard and digging into a pouch. Out she pulled a single soldier pill, and she eyed it with a desperate gaze.

I've been fighting for a while, I'm close to being drained. I need to make this pill count, if it's the only one I have with me. As for the rest of this battle...I'll need to be smart, or things will go very bad, very fast.

The pill was thrown into her mouth, quickly crushed and swallowed by the kunoichi. It helped her feel rejuvenated, yet her body wouldn't stop displaying how tired she truly was. The apparent weakness was obvious to Torakuta, who's hands met her hips.

"A soldier pill? Really? Are you that tired already?"

Her condescending remark made Tenshi try to straighten herself out, look less tired, put up a tougher front for her ex-sensei like she always did during their training when she was clearly not in the mood to continue. The sight of seeing her act this way now, of all times, made Torakuta sick. She spat to the side, and glared hard enough to make her Byakugan gain a few more veins on the temples.

"It's absurd how pathetic you are."

"Your betrayal is the only absurd thing here," Tenshi shouted back, throwing her arm out to the side in anger. "I don't know what you think you'll accomplish by killing me and taking the Rinnegan, but continuing on your path will lead you nowhere!"

"Don't speak of matters you don't understand yourself, Tenshi."

It was Torakuta's turn to whip her arm out to the side, but the difference was that she forced dark chakra through her palm, and created a gigantic, thick, barbed chain of darkness with a spearheaded tip. The Daughter swung her construct at Tenshi, who retaliated by making her own Light Chains emerge from her fingertips. With a mighty battle cry, she swung them forward, wrapping them around Torakuta's own chain to keep it in place. She knew not what to do, nor was she thinking about what move to make next. She opted to pull, hoping it would drag Torakuta in closer for battle, but her ex-sensei simply pulled back her own arm, and the chains strained against each other as the two kunoichi had a small game of Tug of War. Again, Tenshi's persistence was annoying Torakuta, who began to grit her teeth.

"I've been around longer than you, y'know. You have no clue what it's like, you little harlot. No idea at all how it was growing up just after the Bloody Mist ended, fearing for your life because you have a kekkei genkai like Light Release. I sacrificed so much for the clan...I'll never be able to have my own family, I allowed elders and weaker members to walk over me for the sake of strengthening bonds with other clans and the Mist itself, I discarded my honor and carried out any mission they asked of me, no matter how dangerous or morally questionable. I learned how the world worked, how our clan worked, and how I could go about improving life for our people...yet like always, all they crave is power. For generations, they would invite defectors of prestigious clan members into their own family for the sake of gaining more power and to obtain rare bloodline techniques."

She tugged on the chain hard out of nowhere, making Tenshi stumble and regain her posture as they continued to struggle. Again, Tenshi's tenacity was present, and Torakuta's frown deepened as she continued.

"Tch, you hear me?! Each member of the Kyofu Clan is a puddle filled with the raindrops from all over the shinobi nations. But, our clan ultimately made sure each member was capable of using Light Release beyond all else, killing the variety we could have obtained...and over time, when the plans of the elders bore no fruit, the puddle remained simply a puddle, nothing more. It came down to raw talent to get anywhere in the clan, and it was clear right away who was right to lead and who wasn't. I was experienced enough to fight during the Fourth War as a fresh chuunin, and I managed to keep all my fellow shinobi alive by some divine miracle. Every. Single. One. I helped lead the Kyofu Clan to victory, and ultimately, helped defeat Madara Uchiha alongside all the brave men and women who fought. And yet, I was shot down the moment you started eyeing that Jiyuu boy. The Kyofu Clan never changed...all they wanted was power above all else, and a doujutsu would be the penultimate source of dominance. Tch, and his disappearance meant nothing, did it? Not only did that damn Tsuyo have the Sharingan, but his blood transfusion that he did for you years ago made it possible for you to awaken the Rinnegan."

"..."

The lack of a response, save for harder pulling on Tenshi's part, pinched a nerve. Torakuta's grit teeth began to stress out her jaw, and she let out a low growl. "...it figures you, of all people, could carry prominent-enough Uzumaki genes to...no...not just that. There's far more to it than that, isn't there..."

"We're all born of Uzumaki, Torakuta! If it wasn't me, it could have been anyone!"

"Ha! You actually believe what the elders told you? I've been around long enough to know it's lies, you little fool. Our clan's foundation were a few scrawny fools with a Light Release kekkei genkai who wanted to gather power, and they invited all sorts of clan defectors in. Not only are you part Uzumaki, but I'm willing to bet you're a direct descendant of the Senju. While I'm sure it's possible for an Uzumaki to unlock the Rinnegan through similar circumstances, no record of such a thing has ever been found. No...you MUST be of Senju descent...as if your fate could be written any more perfectly...a regular child of prophecy, hm?"

"There's more to me, to us, than just our genes! The Kyofu Clan is-"

"No, Tenshi! Actually no, that's ALL our clan cares about! They don't care about you...just what you can produce for them. The children they want you to bear will be the only legends of the Kyofu Clan, and the first of many steps to make the clan truly powerful..."

"..."

"...hm...in that sense, they're not too different from the Hidden Abyss..."

"What do you mean?"

The giant black chain dispersed into wisps of darkness, and a distracted Tenshi stumbled back in the air as her chains of light went awry. In this instance, Torakuta rushed in, palm aimed forward as black spheres were fired from it towards the young Angel. Tenshi recovered fast, and began to dip and swerve in the air as she took swipes with her chains at the projectiles, either dispelling them or completely dodging them. She was fast, but her ex-sensei was faster, and once she closed the gap, she wound up for a haymaker. In a panic, Tenshi guarded her face, and ended up getting her gut rocked with a powerful jab instead. She coughed up blood from the immense hit, and then when her hands dropped to hold her stomach, her face met the bottom of Torakuta's shinobi boot due to a devastating front kick. They could both hear a loud snap as Tenshi's nose broke, and a stream of blood trailed down with Tenshi as she fell from the sky; she managed to catch herself and keep flapping her wings to remain airborne, but a hand covered her profusely-bleeding nose now. This sight did wonders to keep Torakuta's nerves in check.

"What do I mean? I mean that the Hidden Abyss has followed the same path as the Kyofu Clan, inviting all sorts of beings from all types of clans to live under their protection. The end goal of eventually having shinobi that are an amalgamation of different clans is no private matter, and the people living there know what they are there for: to live life, produce many offspring, and in future generations, help train and tutor the most powerful shinobi the world would ever see. This will be the Kanpekina Clan, the 'Perfect' Clan. The main differences between the Hidden Abyss and the Kyofu Clan, when it comes down to the thick of things, are minimal...but they were enough to sway me."

"I don't care anymore!"

Once more, Tenshi went through a long series of hand signs at a pace that Torakuta could barely register, though this combination was different from the last. She deployed the Seven Shadow Blades ninjutsu, and prepared for the only part of her battle she felt she'd need to focus.

The hand signs ended, and upon clapping her hands together in prayer, A massive grouping of human-sized white orbs formed around Tenshi. They all soon took the same shape, of angels donning white and gold armor with swords and shields, each one aiming their sword towards Torakuta upon being brought into existence. There were exactly one hundred of them, each one radiating with a brilliant light that warmed like a comforting blanket.

My strongest ninjutsu, Tenshi mused through onsetting exhaustion, Light Release: Guardian Angel Army. I just threw away plenty of my chakra again...but there's no way she'll get close enough for me to need anything else. This will finish her...and just in case, I have one more move I can make...diamond or no diamond...

The army charged in, and a wide-eyed Torakuta blitzed into the fray, forming an individual Shadow Blades for each hand as she cut, sliced, stabbed, and chopped through the army meant to kill her. Anything she was not focused on still ended up in her Byakugan's sight, and her rotating Seven Shadow Blades would do the dirty work for her. Droplets of light splattered about with each cut, and it began to rain shimmering white and gold down below as the Daughter showed that her talent was not all talk.

The only differences are that, one, the Hidden Abyss leaders do not fear telling their village occupants about their grand scheme, managing to ensure everyone is fine with it. The second reason...

Her eye shifted some in the midst of combat, and time slowed for her when she took note of a desperate Tenshi charging a glass sphere full of light and throwing it upwards.

...the second reason...is that they welcomed me to help lead their village, and their cause. They accepted me, and acknowledged just what I had gone through, all my qualifications and my undying loyalty to those I care about...and they treat me as I deserve to be treated. No more dismissive waves of the hand, no more being used as a tool to strengthen the weaker new generations, no more being swept under the rug all for the sake of achieving a stronger bloodline. No, I was accepted and made just what I was destined to be...

As Tenshi weaved the familiar hand signs, Torakuta smirked and made her Shadow Blades vanish. Tenshi struck the final pose for the Diamond Beam, and was aligning her aim with the falling glass sphere filled with light chakra. In response, Torakuta threw her arms out to her sides, and a dark version of the Heavenly Barrier coated her, expanding further and further as it shoved against the remaining Guardian Angels.

...a leader.

The sphere fell into place, the time to fire was now. "LIGHT RELEASE: DIAMOND BEAM!" Tenshi shouted her jutsu's name at the top of her lungs, forcing as much chakra as she could muster into the technique. A solid beam of glowing light fired from her hands, sank into the sphere, and then propelled towards the growing black Heavenly Barrier of Torakuta's with twice it's initial speed and radiance. The barrier continued to grow, almost to the point where it began to resemble a small planetary body...but it was clearly just an intimidation factor. Tenshi knew her ex-sensei far too well to let it distract her.

"I'm not going to let you win," she shouted towards the barrier, "I'm not the weakling you believe I am!"

The powered-up Diamond Beam proved to be powerful, more than Tenshi or even Torakuta could have anticipated...so much so, in fact, that once the beam finally clashed with the dark Heavenly Barrier, white cracks of light began to form on it's onyx surface. That either meant Torakuta did not put much chakra into her technique, or...

...my jutsu's stronger than her's. She's going to hold the barrier in place, and it'll be too late for her to do anything once it passes through. This beam is too fast for her to avoid in her current state. Checkmate, sensei...

More cracks formed in the onyx barrier, making it harder and harder to see Torakuta through the defensive technique. It took only seconds before Tenshi's technique actually broke through, shattering the whole barrier and looking to pierce Torakuta in the heart.

...and yet...

Tenshi's eyes widened in fear, and now for her, time seemed to creep to a halt. Torakuta was perfectly fine within the barrier, in fact, she had been able to shift slightly to the left in order to avoid Tenshi's technique by mere inches. And, to make matter's worse, the grinning Daughter had her hands already preparing her own Diamond Beam, ready to launch. Through being more experienced with these techniques, more talented of a kunoichi, more experienced as a warrior, Torakuta knew how to move around in her defensive technique, while Tenshi could only stay still...though, to be fair, Torakuta always claimed one should never move while using the technique, filling Tenshi's head with false knowledge. She had let the barrier be destroyed while she prepared a second technique...and surprise, surprise, she was ready when Tenshi was not...

...stupid girl. I prepared for this exact moment when I began training you...

A void-black variant of the Diamond Beam launched from the collapsing black barrier, and it's speed was already far superior to Tenshi's own. The younger kunoichi could only widen her eyes, and watch the beam approach.

Direct hit, through her mid-section, inches below where Sakana had stabbed her but dead center all the same. The force was immense, flinging Tenshi off into the distance and out of the air. A forest stood between where she had fought, and where the hotel had been...and Tenshi fell just close enough to ground level for her situation to get much, much worse. She slammed through thick trees, one after the other, each impact breaking her bones or slicing her with branches. The light of her wings was starting to dim with each consecutive hit, and a strange warmth was overtaking her body...things were getting dark, but each impact kept her alive. Ten, twenty, thirty...she was managing to hit many things that felt nothing but terrible to her...all before she felt herself being caught by a pair of arms, and her speed finally slowing until she came to a complete stop.

She didn't know what was really happening anymore, she was so dazed...but she had felt this sensation before. Memories of being skewered as a child by Sakana came to her mind, and just as quickly, they left. She was laid on the ground by the gentle arms that caught her, and the blue-skinned kunoichi that suddenly came to mind was hovering above her, looking over her battered form.

To be frank, Tenshi looked horrible...limbs mangled with snapped bones protruding through bloodied flesh, bleeding profusely from her head while every inch of her clothing was beginning to stain with crimson, the gaping hole in her mid-section...and the wings of light chakra that twitched and dimmed with dying aura. Sakana's eye was wide, trembling as it looked over the girl, and her whole body shook.

"...no...nonononono...no no...noooo...no no no no no..."

It was the only thing Sakana could say in a frenzy, putting her hand on one part of Tenshi to see if she could somehow realign her scrambled limbs with her beginner-level healing jutsu, realizing it wasn't possible, and then doing the same in another region over and over. She had been far too late, and the two angels flew too far for her to do anything anyway...but it would not stop her from blaming herself. Tears were making her vision blurry, and she had to blink every few seconds to keep things clear.

"I have to get you to a hospital, now...c'mon Tenshi, stay with me..."

"..."

"Tenshi? TENSHI?"

The Hoshigaki turned her head to face her friend, making eye contact with a pair of stiff, unfocused Rinnegan. She seemed to be there, but she was fading fast.

"TENSHI! DON'T YOU DARE DIE ON ME! TENSHIIII!"

Sakana's jaw was clenched, and her sniffling began to overpower her angry, scared huffing. It was only the slight coughs that Tenshi let out which kept Sakana from breaking.

"Oh, thank Kami! I'm getting you to a hospital, and-"

"It's pointless..."

The Hoshigaki's blood froze when she heard the pained whisper from Tenshi. The girl looked absolutely serious, and her eyelids looked as if they were beginning to droop.

"...but...Tenshi...it's not pointless. We can...we-"

"This...isn't...a shinobi village...I need...a...shinobi medic...and she killed...the only two we had..."

Hearing the words only made Sakana slowly start shaking her head with disbelief, and she found it was suddenly difficult to breath. Tenshi let out another pained cough, followed by an uncomfortable grunt.

"...heh...I can't...feel my...body...I can't...move..."

Despite not wanting to, Sakana's eye instinctively glanced down at Tenshi's gaping wound. The hole had been brutal, carving right through Tenshi's spine. Paralysis was a guarantee, no matter what.

"...Sakana..."

The Hoshigaki tried to keep herself quiet, but a her heavy huffing was getting louder as she tried to not break down, and she looked back to the bloodied, beaten face of her friend.

"...it's okay...you...n-need...to get away...f-from here...go back h-home...tell them...what...h...happened...who...d...d...did...it..."

"...I...am NOT...leaving you here. I'm not going to let my friend just die. Not you...not my best friend..."

"Sakana..."

"..."

"I...always knew...you were kind-hearted...deep...down..." The faintest of smiles formed on Tenshi's bloodied face, and her whispers became slightly softer. "...I...I'm glad...I got...to...meet...the real you. You're...mother...would be so...proud...of you..."

"Tenshi..." Sakana feared to say anything more, lest she break down right on top of the girl in front of her. The pain she felt, however, was very present in her trembling voice.

"...oh...I knew...I forgot something..."

"...wh-what?"

"Y-You...gave me...sword...as...gift..."

"..."

"...if I'm...going...die...I should...give...gift..."

"Don't say that, you're not going to-"

"Road...ahead...is dangerous...I know...you...will...use it better...than me..."

All of this was too much for Sakana to fathom, nothing was going as she thought it would. Not once did she believe that this would be happening in front of her, and all the shock utterly confused her as to what Tenshi's last words meant. It all became apparent when Tenshi strained herself to widen her eye as much as possible, and utter her next words with as much clarity as she could.

"...take...Rinnegan..."

Reaching for the eyepatch connected to her forehead protector, Sakana covered it with her palm, panicking from just hearing the request alone. Tenshi opened her left eye as wide as she could, the same side that Sakana was missing an eye on. This was just like being handed something personally, with both hands extended and a bow to make it all the more generous of an offer.

"...but...I can't...I can't take your eye, Tenshi..."

"...please..."

"..."

Tenshi's smile grew only a little more, and her eyelids began to tremble.

"...dying...wish...master it's...power...and..."

At this point, Sakana couldn't contain it anymore. She broke completely, sobbing and wailing like a child, collapsing onto Tenshi's body and holding her as tears ran freely over her gilled cheek. She cried heavily, yes, but she quickly composed herself and sat upright to look at her friend once more. Her whole body was trembling, shoulders shaking up and down with weakness that she would never show anybody else. She bit her lip to try and stop, she bit down so hard that she drew blood, and the pain was effective for only as long as she kept biting.

"...hurry...before...Torak...uta..."

Yes, that was their current situation, too...Torakuta had to still be alive if she did this to Tenshi in a fight. With a quick glance upwards, Sakana could see Torakuta land far in the distance, but still within a clear line of sight. Swallowing a lump in her throat and steeling her nerves, Sakana lifted a single hand up, and hovered it towards Tenshi's open left eye...her Rinnegan.

"...and..."

"..."

"...don't...scared...t-tell...him...how...you...ffffeel..."

Still biting her lip and ignoring the tears, Sakana nodded. She continued to reach for Tenshi's eye...but Tenshi was not flinching, not twitching, not moving.

Sakana gave herself permission to sob one final time, but then held in her breath to prevent any more weakness from spilling out of her. She would honor her friend's request. She reached further, and when she felt the slimy texture of an eyeball, she gently grabbed and slowly pulled. The Rinnegan came out as normally as any eyeball would if pulled from the socket, but yet it still felt harder to do than anything Sakana had ever done. She held the rare, sought-after doujutsu in her fingers right in front of her face, seeing not immense power, great riches, or a completed mission, but her best friend's smiling face.

...her dying wish...I will honor her through it...

Using her free hand, Sakana lifted the eyepatch off of her shut, caved-in eyelids on the left side of her face, and then used two fingers to hold them open. It was odd...almost like putting teardrops in, but when Sakana lifted her head back and slid the Rinnegan into the socket, nothing but cold shivers could be felt in her body; not because it was mildly discomforting like actual eyedrops, and not even because she was putting a foreign eyeball into her own skull, but because this was her being a savage and scavenging the corpse of Tenshi, as if she were a grave robber. Dying wish or not, it didn't feel right to her at all; hopefully overtime, she would accept this for what it was, and make good to master it's power, like Tenshi asked. Sakana closed her eyelids over the Rinnegan, and placed her hand over it, allowing her entry-level medical jutsu to at least start the process of mending things together. She could feel small shiftings around inside her skull near the socket, so small and insignificant that no real progress was going to be made now...but from what few strings she felt get attached, at least she knew it wasn't going to roll out of her head. Keeping the eye closed, she put her eyepatch down once more, and glanced down at the body of Tenshi; she had to try very hard to not look at the desecration she just inflicted.

I need to get going...I need to take her home...

The act of leaning in to pick up Tenshi was a mistake, as it left her defenseless. Torakuta flew in with her wings spread wide, kicking Sakana in the chest and sending the Hoshigaki flying back into the woods. She, herself, had crashed through a single tree before the pain snapped her back into fighting mode, re-summoning her sword from her arm and using a free hand to cover the left side of her face. She was wide-eyed with teeth grit, seething and panting hard through her nose like an absolute animal ready to rip and tear.

The Daughter stared at the Hoshigaki's odd stance, narrowing her Byakugan. The special eye let her notice that there was a single, very powerful source of green chakra coming from the Hoshigaki's head, and another single source of green chakra coming from Tenshi's own. Putting two and two together wasn't hard, but this still annoyed her greatly. She had boasted about coming back with two Rinnegan in tow, not one...

...but that look Sakana was giving her...it was off-putting. There was a hatred burning in her, one that the Hoshigaki hadn't felt in a very long time, even far greater than when her own father attacked her village. A wrath that a true warrior always kept in check, until the moments where they felt they could safely (or dangerously, depending on the situation) vent out their frustrations. The Hoshigaki was ready to kill...but Torakuta could only smile at the fragile little situation, which got her bathed in moe killing intent from Sakana.

"How nice of the harlot to give you a parting gift before her death...what a shame that a simpleton such as yourself will never be able to use it." And you can keep that eye if you wish...I'll just tell Uncle about what you have, and he'll gladly come to pluck the eye out of your thick skull. "In the meantime, I'll be taking Tenshi's body now, so you can-"

Her response was a guttural cry from Sakana that made the wind go wild, the air drop in temperature, and even made Torakuta's skin crawl. The smug grin faded in an instance when she saw the Hoshigaki grip her sword tighter and lift it off the ground. Sakana charged in, still roaring from the top of her lungs with the intent to kill being all in her mind, but Torakuta had the Byakugan. She could see the telegraphing of a move from miles away, and was ready for all the fast, violent swings that were to come from a sloppy one-handed form of fighting. Sidestep, sidestep, hop, duck. She was avoiding the barrage of wild, frantic swings that Sakana threw her way, though she found herself backing away while doing so. Her back touched a tree, and she ducked away just in time to avoid a heavy horizontal slash, one that violently cut that very tree in half and toppled it. She ducked one more swing from Sakana, and did a sweeping kick to Sakana's leg's. The Hoshigaki didn't flinch, much to Torakuta's surprise, and she found herself leaping away and landing beside Tenshi just to avoid a brutal stab that dug Sakana's sword deep into the ground.

Wrath was floating in the air, the wrath of someone who had lost something dear. Sakana left the sword in the ground, roaring at the sky as her sanity slipped further and further away. Her single yellow eye began to roll up until nothing but the white sclera was visible, and her roars became more violent, more blood-curdling. She was a blue-skinned demon who craved blood, carnage, destruction, the absolute erasing of Torakuta's being, and it could all be felt within the flooding killing intent she poured out.

It was all...a bit intimidating, even for Torakuta. A small bead of sweat formed on her blood-stained forehead, and she clicked her tongue at killing intent she actually found to be unnerving.

As good as I know I am, I used up plenty of chakra by killing Tenshi's guards, making them Corpse Puppets, fighting with Tenshi, and I saved enough to use the Void Walk technique to get out of here with the body. To fight a berserker like Yaju's daughter would be stupid...especially if she's like this. It's time I took my leave.

"Dark Release: Void Walk..."

The body of Torakuta became black wisps, and she sank into the ground at a faster pace than she normally would...except this time, she was taking something with her. She extended an arm and grabbed Tenshi's cold, unmoving body, turning it to wisps as well. She, too, started to sink into the ground. In all her rage, Sakana charged forward like a wild beast, lifted both arms, and slammed her fists down into the earth. The ground shook horribly, so much so that dust, dirt, stone and trees shifted like a rock had been dropped in a puddle, ripples of land rising and falling within a small radius of the forest. She slammed her fists into the ground again, and again, and again, but it was pointless. The terrain around her was already destroyed, and Torakuta was nowhere to be found, nowhere to be dug up. She was gone...and along with her, Tenshi.

Still, Sakana would not stop. She kept attacking the ground, bloodying her knuckles as she removed dirt and found harder portions of earth beneath her. "GIVE HER BACK! GIVE! HER! BAAAAAACK!"

Heavy thuds and angry yelling echoed through the woods for another few minutes, but soon, the yelling became heavy, empty breathing, and the loud sounds of Sakana's fists landing on the stone turned into light, powerless pounding. She collapsed onto her hands and knees as her rage started to subside. Her sadness peaked once more, and she wept, she wept long and hard over everything. Her friend's death, the new burden to master the Rinnegan because of Tenshi's wish, the fact that Torakuta spared her, the mission's failure, Sakana's failure as a friend, her weakness, her inability to do anything in this whole battle, and her solitude. The moon finally settled in the horizon, and the sun began to rise, but there were no birds singing, no happy sounds of kids playing or smells of restaurants opening or people chatting. Dead silence, and the low howl of wind in this barren, destroyed part of nature. Silence, and tears hitting the ground.

"...I'm sorry, Tenshi...I'm...a failure..."


It was almost noon, but Tsuyo felt that his day was already over. Having wrapped up errands early and not feeling like training, the hunter-nin sat in Tenshi and his room within the Kyofu Clan compound, piano music playing from the radio on his bookshelf and a novel in his hand. His eyes scanned over the words...but he stopped over one word, which he never did. For some odd reason, his eyes could focus only on the word 'death' in the sentence he was reading, and he felt he couldn't move past it. He was utterly confused, of course. Why was he so focused on that word in particular? And then, a very familiar presence passed over him, followed by a chilling sensation of dread. He held his breath, and slowly looked up from his book at the dresser sat in the opposite corner of the room.

A photo of Tenshi smiling was there, yet he couldn't feel the same warmth he always did by staring at it.

Something was wrong...terribly, terribly wrong.


The journey up Mount Komori was definitely grueling, as most of it was rock-climbing; the surface of the mountain was too slick to walk up using chakra alone, thanks to all the dew and fog in the air and the smoothness of the stone. Yet, Tanken made it work, carefully feeling around as he normally would before flinging himself upwards. With one great leap, he managed to land on a ledge, and sat himself down before leaning his back against the mountain's surface, panting. The summoned bat, Oto, fluttered it's wings as it flew just beside him, perching itself on a nearby root sticking out of the mountain, hanging upside down.

"Not bad, especially for a blind kid. You're alright."

"I...appreciate your...approval," Tanken spoke between panting. He brushed his hair off of his eyes and continued to breath deep, but held his breath once a very chilling sensation rolled down his spine. Oto could see Tanken's foggy eyes widen greatly, as if he had seen something horrifying.

"...heeeey, you okay kid?"

The drawn out words of Oto snapped Tanken out of it, making him face the bat and continue to breath hard.

"Jeez kid, look like you've seen a ghost..."

"NO!"

"..."

Embarrassed, Tanken cleared his throat, and looked away, letting his hair cover his eyes once more. "...n-no...sorry...it's nothing..."

"...ooooooooookay? Did you wanna go back down and quit, ooooooooor..."

"..."

"...'cause y'know, I can't be havin' a maniac up at my home. The wife'll get flustered with me."

"No. No, I'm fine. In fact, let's keep going."

Tanken didn't even wait for Oto to respond, already standing on the ledge and leaping up, reaching aimlessly and grabbing at any footholds he could touch. He was climbing the mountainside with much more vigor than before, and could hear Oto shouting at him to slow down and not be a dumbass.

He needed to hurry...things were worse back home than he thought they would be.


Running ahead of Ketsui, Suchiru and Kyofu, Jiyuu maintained the basic level of his Byakugan to scout ahead as they moved, all to avoid trouble. They had been moving at a very fast pace, so when Jiyuu came to a sudden stop and turned round with a shocked look, it put everyone on high alert. Everyone turned around, ready to fight, yet there was nobody there.

Of course, Ketsui looked at his son with concern. "Kiddo? What's up?"

He couldn't explain it, he just couldn't, but it felt like something really, really bad just happened, and he couldn't put his finger on what it was. He was deathly quiet, his shocked expression twisting into one of slight confusion, before Suchiru spoke up.

"Answer your father, Jiyuu."

The Hyuuga's Black Eye blinked, and his confused look hardened into a light frown, the default for him. He looked at Suchiru, then Ketsui.

"What's up, kiddo," the Man of Five asked again.

"...I...I'm not sure. I just feel like something bad happened."

"Bad for us?"

"No, nothing like that, but...I don't know..." Slightly embarrassed, he turned his back to everyone again, and focused on the horizon. "We should keep moving. Let's go."

He darted on ahead, not waiting for the others' approval. They all glanced at each other and shared a collective shrug...but deep down, Suchiru knew exactly what Jiyuu was talking about.

He knew, because he felt it too, but it felt far, far worse for him. And he could've sworn he saw a young girl smile at him from the corner of his eye. A familiar young girl, who had been a big part of his life. A young girl who had brought him flowers when he was sick, kept her friends in line, and always worked her hardest.

...no way...not you, too...