Hey everyone, I'm back~! As always, I don't own Naruto or Magi but I do own my OCs and plot twists. We are back in the PAST this chapter and things are going to be- well, a bit more violent than usual. Bounty hunters are no joke (but neither is Ilona), mwa ha ha ha ha!
Warnings: violence, swearing, blood, gore, death, wtf moments
Now, on with the show~!
The Past…
Madara swears when he sees the newest addition to the Bingo Book, slamming it down on the table.
"Shit!"
Izuna pokes his head through the open doorway, quirking his eyebrows at Madara.
"What's got you all in a huff?" He asks.
Madara throws the book at him in answer. Izuna snatches it out of the air with practiced ease and scans the entries for what had angered Madara. His eyes flicker over familiar bounties as he reads before stopping at a decent drawing of Ilona.
"Sasha the Mercenary"
Affiliation: None
Feats: Defeated Tobirama Senju in a kenjutsu battle, killed a score of shinobi from the Fuma and Isobe clans.
Abilities: Kenjutsu (A-rank), other abilities unknown
Description: Brown waist-length hair, purple eyes, two scars bisecting her right eye, wears gold earrings in both ears. Typical clothing is similar to Suna's nomads but with red hems.
Bounty: 300,000 ryo Dead or Alive
Izuna pales with fury.
"How the fuck-?!" He hisses.
Madara nods, scowling.
"That's what I would like to know!" He growls.
"Tobirama wouldn't talk about how she beat him, not on the pain of death. His pride would not allow it. And his clansmen wouldn't be stupid enough to advertise the fact."
"What about Hashirama?" Izuna proposes.
Madara scowls.
"… That's a distinct possibility." He admits.
"He can't hold his drink."
Izuna frowns, folding his arms across his chest.
"What is our next move? The bounty hunters will scour the lands for her with a bounty like that and no affiliated clan to fight off."
Madara's scowl deepens as he thinks.
"… We find her first." He decides.
Izuna nods grimly in understanding.
"Hai."
…
"Eh? Sasha-san is in the Bingo Book now?!" Hashirama gawks.
Toka and Tobirama raise their heads from where they were doing paperwork.
"What?" Toka asks, leaning over to get a better look.
Hashirama turns the book so they can see it and Tobirama has to work at not stiffening at the portrait of Sasha.
"Ooh, she's a stern looking one- I'm shocked she didn't get along with you Tobi." Toka teases Tobirama.
"Shut up Toka." Tobirama growls as he aggressively edits an inane budget proposed by the Council.
Toka snickers then reads aloud the bounty.
"'Sasha the Mercenary,' no clan affiliation, kenjutsu A-rank, defeated Tobi and a score of Isobe and Fuma nin… wanted dead or alive for 300,000 ryo."
Tobirama's brush pauses and he scowls.
"How do they know about the Fuma nin?" He questions.
Toka and Hashirama blink at him.
"What do you mean, Tobi?" Hashirama asks, brow furrowed.
Tobirama sets his inkbrush aside.
"There was no one else in my sensing range aside from Sasha-san and the Gobi. The way they were killed was also not distinctive enough for most shinobi to pinpoint if it was her or I that killed the Fuma nin." He explains.
Toka's eyes widen.
"So either they were there and you couldn't sense them-"
"Or they had some alternative method of knowing, such as seals. And they are also likely involved in hiring the Fuma nin to assassinate me." Tobirama concludes.
Hashirama frowns, a dark look in his eyes.
"So this person, whoever they are, is actively trying to worsen the relationship between the Senju and Uchiha clans- and kill my otouto." He says flatly, his chakra flexing with the strength of his emotions.
Toka and Tobirama exchange glances- inwardly, Tobirama is touched that Hashirama does care. A majority of the time he feels second best to Hashirama's dreams and aspirations. The dark feeling in Hashirama's chakra vanishes as he perks up.
"Let's go invite Sasha-san to stay with us!"
Tobirama twitches.
…
{"Solomon curse it!"} She hisses, dodging yet more kunai.
The last two weeks had seen Ilona being hounded by bounty hunters at every turn and she was fast growing sick of it. Reverting to old habits, Ilona had scavenged what decent weapons, supplies and money she could find from the bounty hunters but it does not make up for the sheer trouble! Scratch that, she is sick of it and the temptation of using her Djinn Equips is only growing more seductive… Shaking her head, Ilona scans her surroundings.
… Eight of them this time. She counts.
Her horse had been killed in the initial ambush, limiting her options, and lighting a spark of anger in her chest. Repressing a snarl, Ilona uncoils her razor wire knowing this will be very messy. She swiftly strings up traps, limiting the directions they can approach her and settles to wait. Ilona will not waste her energy if her enemies cannot even find her to begin with. The first tries to get the drop on her from directly above- the wires tighten, snaring his limbs and she quickly kills him. Blood explodes and quickly soaks her shemagh, but Ilona doesn't especially care.
'Two more are coming, my king!' Gaia warns her.
'Let them.' Ilona answers.
They attack in sync, trying to strike her from each side so she would have at least one attacker in her blind spot if she turns to face one. Ilona's mouth quirks sardonically.
Fools.
The one on the left loses a leg to razor wire while the one coming from the right gets tangled in a wire web that tightens around his limbs. She flicks a kunai into the wounded one's throat, checking his magoi to ensure he is dead before turning her attention to the trapped bounty hunter. He flails, writhing and only making the wires cut more deeply. Frantic brown eyes meet hers, imploring. Ilona remains impassive as she beheads him with her sword.
'Five left.' She notes to her djinn.
The last five are not nearly as hasty in their attacks, having undoubtably noticed the failures of the first three. Ilona takes the reprieve to restring her wires and set a new trap; she has a feeling they will try to overwhelm her with numbers this time around. They do not disappoint her. One comes from right below her attempting to restrain her legs, two enemies maneuver around her wire traps and the last pair stay long range to spit fireballs at her.
She smiles.
And she dances, sword whirling.
Her attacker emerging from below loses his hands and head. The two approaching from her sides throw kunai and shuriken at her. Ilona deflects many of them with her blade, some ricocheting right back at the throwers while the rest falls at her feet or fly off towards the ninjutsu users. Some do hit, scoring blows on her forearms and one along her ribs. When the fireballs come close, she tucks into a summersault, rolling right underneath them. The trees behind her are set on fire but she really doesn't care too much at this point.
"Look out-!"
"Oi, watch it!"
"Baka, she's coming-!"
"Shit!"
Ilona flicks kunai at her attackers to the front while tripping a hidden wire, activating more traps. The man on her left dies with a gurgle as an invisible wire, suddenly taunt with tension, slices his throat open to the bone. His partner fares better, having managed to get a kunai between the wire and his throat. Ilona is confident he will stay there for the time being, letting her deal with the other two.
More fireballs are spat at her and Ilona sidesteps them, weaving betwixt the flames. A faint memory of fire dancing comes to the forefront of her mind. Her mouth quirks with nostalgia as she feels the heat of the fire pass her face as she advances. She can sense the trepidation in their magoi and pulls a disappearing act, using the smoke and flames to get closer without being spotted.
"Where is she?!"
"Idiot, sense her out!"
"She doesn't have chakra, moron! I can't feel her!"
"What-?!"
Ilona prowls into position behind the arguing pair and throws her daggers. One of them has a strong sixth-sense and turns, taking the blade in his shoulder rather than his spine. The other dies without a sound, dropping limply to the forest floor. Ilona surges forward, trying to catch the injured shinobi off guard. He, sadly, recovers quickly and retreats higher up the tree, weaving hand seals. Ilona represses a growl, throwing kunai at his hands and face. Cursing, the shinobi breaks off and substitutes with a log- Ilona frowns and feels out for the shinobi's magoi.
She locates him 10 meters behind her and spins, sprinting right for him. His eyes widen in surprise, clearly having not expected her to find him so quickly. Snarling, he breathes another fireball at her. Ilona grimaces, managing to dodge most of it but her right arm blisters with burns, a sharp pain making it difficult to focus. Her left hand throws a pair of kunai, driving the shinobi to the left into a patch of burning brush- exactly where she wants him to be. He yelps as she punches him with her right hand- ignore the pain, you can deal with it later- and rams another kunai in the sweet spot just under his jaw, killing him.
With a jerk, Ilona pulls the kunai free and stalks towards the last of her attackers. He is worse for wear with cuts from her wire crisscrossing his body and straining to keep the wire around his throat from digging in. Ilona silently approaches from behind and slams her sword into his heart. Grimly she yanks her blade free and sighs.
'I can't stay here, it won't be long before the fires draw attention.' She muses.
'My king, more shinobi are coming your way!' Metis warns her.
Ilona growls and grabs what remains of her supplies before taking off into the woods. When she can she stays on rocks or water to throw off scent tracking and leave less footprints. Ten minutes later Ilona decides to take a break, resting in a crevice between two boulders. She scans the area around her for magoi signatures- and barely stops herself from swearing when she feels three hovering nearby. And one of them is extraordinarily familiar after being stalked by said owner of magoi signature for two weeks straight.
'Oooh, it's Senju-kun again! Do you think he has fallen for our king?' Gaia inquires.
'Considering everything, I would say no Gaia. He was shaken by his last encounter with our king.' Metis patiently explains.
'Aw, too bad! He was cute, in a stern sort of way…' Gaia sighs wistfully.
'He's not the only one who is a returning visitor.' Ilona tells them, focusing on the strongest of the three signatures.
Earth, the scent of grass, water whispering, trees groaning as they grow, a boisterous and sunny personality acts as a blazing beacon to her senses.
Hashi-rama.
Silently, she sighs to herself and remains where she is- Ilona has no energy to deal with Hashi-rama at the moment. Absently she notes the magoi between Hashi-rama and Senju-kun is very similar, hinting at them being closely related. The last is a woman, slightly older than Ilona and the stranger's companions. Her magoi also has a hint of familiarity, pointing to her also being kin to Senju-kun and Hashi-rama.
"Ne, Tobi, are you sure she's this way?" The kunoichi asks.
A long-suffering sigh answers and Ilona barely contains a string of curses.
'Shit! Did he-?!'
'I thought shinobi cannot sense our King?' Gaia says worriedly to Metis.
'They are accustomed to sensing chakra, of which our King has none. But this world is full of chakra along with magoi-' Metis starts to speculate when she is interrupted.
"Sasha-san~! Come out please..!" Hashi-rama calls loudly.
"Anija!" Tobirama snaps, clearly frustrated.
"But Tobi-! Hashi-rama whines.
"She is not an ally- why would she come out?!" Tobirama growls, vexed.
"But-but she saved your life!" Hashi-rama points out, sputtering.
"Because I led them right to her and kept going- their mission was to eliminate any witnesses so I knew they would try to kill her." Tobirama states ruthlessly.
'That cad! Forget cute, he's going down-!' Gaia yells inside Ilona's mind.
'He is callous, but he admits it unlike most.' Metis comments.
"Oi, isn't that blood?" The kunoichi comments and Ilona stills in dawning horror.
She is soaked with blood- her own and her enemies. She left a trail-! The instinct to bolt is overwhelming but Ilona has enough presence of mind to calculate her odds. Even if her horse were alive and with her, Ilona wouldn't be able to outrun the shinobi without using a Djinn Equip. And that she wants to avoid revealing to the world unless she must. Gritting her teeth, Ilona stays put but keeps her sword at the ready. Better to be prepared than dead from trusting too easily.
It doesn't take them long to find her hiding spot and Ilona keeps her face blank as she stares at Senju-kun, Hashi-rama and their kunoichi kinswoman. They keep the appropriate distance to stay out of her blade's reach, Senju-kun watching her warily. Violet eyes flicker and lock onto him as Ilona considers what to say.
"Ah, Sasha-san! It's nice to meet you again!" Hashi-rama interrupts her enthusiastically.
Ilona represses the need to plug her ears against his boisterous voice. She switches her attention to Senju-kun, staring him down.
"… Are you here for my head?" She asks levelly.
Senju-kun is blank faced but she can feel his emotions flutter with wariness and understanding. Hashi-rama blinks at her in clear surprise, confusion singing from his magoi.
"What-? No, of course not! You saved my otouto, Tobirama! That would be a poor way to repay you!" He denies her question with some flailing, drawing her attention away from 'Tobirama'.
'Oooh, so his name is Tobirama?' Gaia comments.
'The meaning of his name is odd-' Metis murmurs as Ilona makes a concentrated effort to tune them out.
She can't afford to split her focus right now. Not when there are three very dangerous fighters before her. Ilona continues to stare at Hashi-rama before speaking again.
"If you aren't here for my head… then why come? I maimed your men." She reminds him shortly, not accepting his good will so easily.
"Hashi decided he had to meet you and thank you in person for protecting Tobi when you didn't have to." The kunoichi tells her dryly.
Ilona tilts her head at that, studying the other woman intently.
"I do not kill unless I must- I dislike that I had to because of his choices twisting the situation into killing them or being slaughtered myself." She says curtly.
Hashi-rama's face falls as he slouches, a gloomy cloud hovering over his head.
"Tobi-!" Hashi-rama whines.
Tobirama pinches the bridge of his nose, clearly frustrated.
"You have said your thanks. Now please leave." Ilona tells the trio.
The kunoichi's eyebrow arches while Tobirama glares at her and Hashi-rama pouts.
"No!" He retorts, folding his arms across his chest.
Ilona tilts her head at him, violet eyes narrowing.
"You are being childish." She states flatly.
"But we haven't done anything to show our thanks yet!" Hashi-rama points out.
Ilona hides a grimace.
What is it with shinobi being so pushy?!
"No need." Ilona says firmly, standing up.
"I've had enough of shinobi today."
Ilona walks forward and goes to brush past them when a surge of dizziness hits her. She barely locks her knees in time to stop herself from face planting.
What-?!
Grimacing, she tries to make sense of her suddenly blurry surroundings. The vertigo is getting worse by the moment and an ominous thought occurs to her.
The shinobi's weapons- were they poisoned?
A cold sweat breaks out on her forehead as she considers the increasing probability. Her past experience with poisons had been limited to the venom of various snakes, scorpions and spiders her fellow gladiators could get ahold of. All nasty, but she had always had time to purge her stomach before it killed or paralyzed her. To show weakness is death. Silently she berates herself for not even considering poisoned weapons- her homeland had them, why not here?
Something blocks her throat and she heaves, spitting up blood- she can taste it on her tongue.
"Shit." She whispers before collapsing.
'MY KING-!' Her djinn scream as unconsciousness takes her.
…
Tobirama blinks when the infuriating woman suddenly has a bout of dizziness, his suspicions only growing when she squints as if unable to focus. The coughed-up blood is the deal breaker as far as he is concerned.
"Anija!" Tobirama barks, catching the mercenary.
Hashirama gapes like a buffoon while Toka catches on swiftly.
"Poison?" She asks, scanning Sasha's body for injuries.
Tobirama nods, scowling when he finds the wounds. Cuts on her forearms are turning green, pointing towards the origin of her poisoning to likely be shuriken or kunai. Hashirama thankfully snaps out of it as he quickly takes over examining the wounds, sloe eyes sharp.
"Tobi, this is…" Hashirama trails off, catching Tobirama's attention.
"What, anija?" He snaps, checking to see if Sasha's airway is blocked by more blood clots.
"Foxglove with traces of gelsemine." Hashirama tells them, expression grim.
Toka pales slightly. Foxglove, on its own, it not a huge problem to cure. Gelsemine is trickier due to the variations in that plant family (there are multiple types) which takes time to identify. Time they do not have to spare. Briefly he considers letting nature take its course- Sasha had shown herself to be wary in her stance concerning the Senju. She is no ally, why waste medicine on her? But a quick glance at Hashirama tells him his anija will not let that reasoning slide.
You owe her. A nagging voice in the back of his mind whispers to him. Tobirama wants to scowl at the thought- but he is not in the habit of lying to himself. He does owe her- so he will pay her back by saving her life. A life for a life- an equal exchange. Determined now, he considers how to fix the problem of her poisoning. The prospects, as they are, do not encourage him.
Limited supplies, no clean medical equipment to use-! Dammit, I'll have to use that to get us back to the compound. Tobirama realizes grimly.
Tobirama scowls and grabs Toka's hand, keeping his grip on Sasha. Hashirama gets a clue and grabs his shoulder. Ruby eyes close and he feels for his marker in the Senju Compound- and tugs on it. There is a flash of light and the quartet vanish into thin air. The landing is awkward; Toka staggers, Tobirama nearly faceplants only barely holding Sasha up and Hashirama crashes into his back. Thankfully everyone sorts themselves out quickly and gets to the infirmary, laying Sasha on one of the beds. Hashirama barks orders as his hands shimmer a glowing green.
Hashirama only goes to work for a moment- and pales in surprise, startling Tobirama and Toka.
"Tobi! She doesn't have a chakra network!" He gasps, eyes bulging.
Tobirama blinks. Blinks again as he reworks his every assumption about humanity and then asks the most pertinent question for the situation despite his burning curiosity-!
"Can you heal her Anija?" He demands as he puts the antidote together.
"I don't know! Her body is just- the chakra won't sink in! I don't understand it!" Hashirama wails in distress.
"So her body doesn't have a chakra network- and chakra isn't sinking in. Maybe cause her body doesn't know how to process it?" Toka offers reasonably.
"But-! I can't heal her like this! It's already been ten minutes since she collapsed! She could die and Madara would be so mad his friend is dead-!" Hashirama cries.
"Shut up Anija!" Tobirama snaps.
"If chakra doesn't work then I need to concentrate to get this antidote right and your wailing is not helping!"
…
Gaia and Metis listen in mute horror to Tobirama and the other Senju at what fate had befallen their King. The two djinn look at each other inside of the mental space they reside in. Gaia fidgets with her blond braids, chewing on her lip as she listens.
"This is terrible!" Gaia wails.
Metis closes her eyes, considering their options. The Djinn of Memory and Defiance is a mixture of a woman and bird; her form is mostly humanoid with bird claws instead of arms and a beak for a mouth. Grey hair and long feathers swirl around her form endlessly while Metis thinks, sitting cross-legged midair.
"Yes, but the question is can they save our King or must we assist to ensure she does survive?" Metis reasons.
Gaia tilts her head at her companion, very confused.
"Help them, obviously!" She declares.
Metis deadpans.
"We will have to reveal our existence to them- something our King has worked hard to ensure does not happen. We would be giving up a massive advantage."
"That doesn't matter if she dies!" Gaia retorts, folding her arms.
"And if they try to take advantage of her for it?" Metis shoots back.
"Our King is not so weak to bend meekly at the first hint of danger!" Gaia declares hotly.
Metis narrows her golden eyes.
"Then are you prepared for the consequences? She will be angry."
"Better her alive to be angry than dead! I will not lose another King so soon as this!" Gaia snaps defensively.
Metis sighs.
"Fine. Hopefully our King is not opposed to our taking liberties with her body."
"Should we create a chakra network for our King?" Gaia proposes, frowning at the idea.
Metis hums, thinking it over.
"It will not be the real thing- our King cannot create chakra so we only can manifest channels for it to safely pass through. Her body is currently incompatible with this 'healing chakra' which is why it is rejecting it. Magoi cancels out chakra and chakra cancels magoi." Metis explains.
"But if there are channels then it can heal her?" Gaia demands, intent on the answer.
"Theoretically." Metis sighs.
"Then share what you know and I will make that 'theory' into reality!" Gaia tells her, green eyes burning with determination.
Metis nods and threads of memory link the two djinn together- thanks to Ginru Uchiha, Metis has the memories to share with Gaia from various experiences of seeing chakra networks with his Sharingan. When Gaia deems the information to be enough, she focuses and starts to manipulate the magoi within Ilona's body.
…
Toka is the first one to notice Sasha's necklace starts to glow, a golden symbol she doesn't recognize lighting up.
"Tobi, Hashi-!"
Toka snaps, trying to wrest their attention from their current pursuits (Hashirama- moping about being useless, Tobirama- making antidotes). Hashirama looks up first, tears and snot running down his face as he blearily stares at her.
"Wah Toka-nee..?" He sniffs.
Toka points at Sasha, who's body now has glowing veins spreading under her skin from the pendant. His jaw drops.
"TOBI, SOMETHING WEIRD IS HAPPENING TO SASHA!" He squawks, flailing.
Toka doesn't blame him- she's never even heard of something like this happening! Well, she could believe it of the Uzumaki but that's beside the point! Tobirama turns and his eyes widen before narrowing in confusion- and then speculation.
"That's not chakra." He tells them shortly as he moves to examine Sasha.
Something about how the veins are patterned nags him as he watches them keep extending and branching off. Cautiously, he tries to inspect the anomaly with medical chakra- and to his surprise it actually seeps into her body the way it is supposed to. Chakra moves smoothly down the glowing veins, just like- that's when everything clicks into place.
"A chakra network- she's creating her own chakra network." He breathes, completely fascinated.
Toka and Hashirama's jaws drop.
"WHAT?!" They yelp.
Tobirama ignores their yelping as he continues to examine the still emerging chakra network.
"Anija! Get over here and start the procedure!" Tobirama snaps when he judges the network developed enough for the current situation.
Hashirama snaps out of his stupor and shunshins over, hands aglow. Tobirama goes back to the antidote, hoping that their efforts are not in vain.
And ending it there! This one was like pulling teeth- painful and slow T.T In all honesty I don't know when I'll get the next chapter for this one out (it's even worse) but it will be in the PRESENT! Best of luck and please stay safe out there! Review and comment (let me know what you think)!