CROCODILES AND MONSTERS
Chapter Seven
IN THE DARK WITH HER HANDS CUPPING THE WALLS OF THE TUNNEL, SHION FELT a moment of apprehension when she heard the sound of footsteps above her. She glanced towards her two teammates with a silent hope for them to be silent as the footstep faded into the distance. For a moment, it almost seemed like the tunnel would never stop, but just as she began to feel impatient, she stumbled onto a dead end.
Once more, she cupped the dirt, feeling for some kind of exit, but all she found was more dirt. From her position at the end, she felt Misaki bump into her back, earning a light and whispered, "I'm sorry."
Shion lifted her hand, having to stand on her tippy toes just to brush her fingertips against the ceiling of dirt and cement. It was sturdy and Shion earnestly did not know enough Jutsu to break it. At least, not quietly, and wasn't that the point? Even if she did break it, she didn't know what was up there. She turned her head where she knew Hikaru was and gripped his shirt to pull him forward. He stumbled with a whispered curse as Shion raised to her tippy toes once more to whisper into his ear.
"Give me a boost," she ordered, but she didn't wait for his compliance as she shoved him to his hands and knees and stepped on his back. Was there any point in silence anymore? She could do earth-type Jutsu, she knew the hand signs in theory and she had been training herself to do things outside her element. Perhaps Tsukasa was right. I've been stretching myself too thin in all areas.
Shion had wanted to learn everything, but that meant she was a master at nothing.
She built up Chakra into her fist and slammed it into the ceiling, causing dirt and debris to splatter into her face. She made sure to close her eyes before she made any impact, however, her teammates had no such luck as they coughed up their lungs in attempts to cancel out the dirt flying into their mouths.
"Shion, what the hell," Misaki complained in between coughs. Shion continued to use Hikaru as a boost as she climbed into the main hallway that had been above them. Her shoes made a mark of dirt on Hikaru's shirt and he let out a hiss.
"What is your problem?" Hikaru asked after all three climbed out of the hole.
"I said I need a boost," Shion responded, uncertain as to why he was so pissy.
"And did I get a say? No, you just do things on your own like you always do," he told her with a scowl. There was a silence between the two, a beat of tension, palpable in the air, all leading up to a fight they were bound to have eventually. Misaki had just been hoping that said fight wouldn't be now and here of all places.
"I'm sorry." He almost missed the sarcasm in her voice. In the meantime, Misaki attempted to calm both of them down.
"Guys, this isn't the time," Misaki said, and it didn't seem to get through to either of them. Even if Hikaru had listened, no matter the time, Shion had proven to always need to get the last word, as if it meant a win. Now, here they were, on a real mission, alone, out of their league, covered in dirt, and yet fighting with each other.
"It isn't the time," Shion agreed, and Misaki let out a breath of relief, hoping that Shion would end it there. End it there, then they could focus on finding Tsukasa. Of course, Shion wasn't done. "Next time, I'll be sure to write you a letter formatting what I am going to do. Maybe I'll do that in fight. You will see me writing 'Shion will dodge' before every attack, that way you remain appropriately ready for anything."
"You always do that. Your smart ass comments and rushing into things without telling anyone, as if we are not worth being told," Hikaru retorted, and Misaki tried to shush them both.
"Why would I discuss anything with you?" Shion glanced between the two, as if the idea actually baffled her. "With either you? You barely passed. We got put on a team together as a way of balance with me carrying you."
"Excuse me," Misaki, despite herself, felt her temper flare. "Who do you think you-"
"Someone who deserves better," Shion said, glancing between the two. "It's not personal. I just think you are both morons."
"I am not a moron," he told her. His brows furrowed. "How is that not personal?"
"No. You're right. Misaki is a moron. You both don't take it seriously," Shion took a step forward, her eyes narrowing,
"Hey," Misaki's eyes narrowed on her pink-haired teammate with a scowl forming on the usual pucker of her lips.
"We actually show up to training. Who's the one not taking this seriously?" Hikaru snapped and before Shion could reply, she heard the slight sound of rope moving against the ground.
She jumped forward, tossing Misaki and Hikaru to the side so they landed back into the dark tunnel underneath the ground as she dodged the five kunai headed her way.
"What's this? A cockroach crawling out from burrows under the ground?" The voice that spoke was enough to nearly make Shion shiver. It was spoken in a slither that she felt as if it caressed her skin.
"Well." Shion stood up straight, biting her lip as she glanced down to Hikaru and Misaki who had fallen back into the tunnel. "Looks like I am finally getting that fight that I wanted."
It was her chance to prove herself, and Shion refused to waste it as she darted forward, applying Chakra into her feet as she leaped behind the enemy, tossing kunai all the while. The woman only took calm steps forward, almost looking like it was a dance as she dodged all of them.
Shion leaped from the wall with a well-timed strike towards the woman. Instead of how it went down in Shion's mind, the woman turned so fast that she barely had a moment to process the hands that curled around Shion's wrists. They tightened and she felt the steel like grip pulsate throughout her bones.
The woman leaned in close, pulling Shion forward. "My name is Kazehaya Mineko, and my poisons are absolute. You are completely out of your league child."
As the woman spoke, Shion felt her skin begin to burn underneath Mineko's grasp until she began to wonder if her skin would bubble from the pressure. Shion leaned her head back, gathering Chakra into her skull before she bucked her head forward, slamming it into Mineko's unaware face.
"Poopie," Shion cursed, her hand cupping her forehead. Even though she had gathered her Chakra to attempt to lessen the blow, it still throbbed. "That is not how I thought it would feel based on my books."
"You little bitch." Mineko was less than amused and her vibrant green eyes lit with fury.
Whatever calm the woman had promptly disappeared and her body bolted forward so fast Shion barely had enough time to dodge it. She thought this was rather funny, considering she backed all her time on perfecting Taijutsu only to be humiliated at the end of this battle.
Shion's eyes narrowed, pushing her entire body into her dodge before she slammed her leg into Mineko's stomach. She used her Chakra to add precision and strength behind the childish muscles and bones beneath the surface. For a moment, the enemy ninja looked winded but the flare of anger in her eyes lit once more and she leaned forward, grabbing the child by her neck.
"I should warn you, my lips are poison. Back in my youth, I used them to narrowly murder the traitor dog, Koneko Anomie. Since then I have improved the recipe and unlike before, this one has no cure."
Shion felt a moment of danger creep into her spine, and for a moment the oddest image of a black haired girl covered in IVs, staring out the window from her hospital bed just crept into her mind without warning. She saw it as if it were right in front of her, as real as Mineko was right now. She felt the clammy hands and even the small trickle of sunlight from the window to her left.
By the time she came through, Mineko's poison lips had already neared hers but before they could connect, she saw Hikaru and Misaki jump to attack Mineko's unprotected sides. This forced her to drop Shion, who collapsed, coughing into the ground.
"Never took you to give up, Shion. What about your dream of being the best Shinobi in existence?" Hikaru asked while Shion gave him a look of surprise.
"That's not my dream," Shion whispered, standing up as she attempted to get into the correct stance with as much grace as she could muster. Her throat still burned with the mark of Mineko's fingers, but Shion ignored it as her two teammates took a protective stance in front of her.
"We won't have any dreams if we don't work together from here on out," Misaki warned the two, forcing Shion to let out a reluctant nod of her head. A part of her felt out of it with the memory that had resurfaced, but that memory was already fading.
"Perhaps you're right," Shion murmured in a low tone of voice, putting her pride behind her as she turned towards her teammates. Her voice shook at first, but the more she spoke, the clearer her words became. "Hikaru, activate your Byakugan and use the pressure points Tsukasa-sensei taught us. Misaki, defend Hikaru's blindspot."
"And what about you?" Misaki asked, watching Mineko began to advance closer. The older woman's eyes were coy, mocking, and all together arrogant. Shion made a silent vow to wipe that spur of self-confidence away from existence.
"I'll do what I do best," Shion answered.
"What's that? Being annoying?" Hikaru asked, the veins around his eyes bulging as he took a step forward.
"Very annoying," Shion agreed, holding up her hands and making a quick clone Jutsu, leaping forward after Hikaru's every hit. She flanked left every time she moved to go right, and she was slowly able to see the chips in Mineko's defense as their team moved as one unit.
Hikaru was the eyes, Misaki the body, while Shion was the hands.
Mineko's big words were surrounded by poison. It was her talent and the team gave her no chance to use it as Taijutsu had never been the poison master's strong point. With that in mind, the woman leapt back and took out fistfuls of senbon needles. Shion's eyes narrowed, her reflexes just barely fast enough to dodge them. By the way Hikaru's eyes widened, she could tell that he could see them clearly as they flew towards him, but his reflexes were slow. Misaki was worse off, and Shion felt a moment of panic fill the crevices of her heart.
It wasn't enough.
"Retreat back," Shion ordered, and for a moment she thought her teammates weren't going to listen, but they quickly jumped back. This allowed Shion to block the rest of the never-ending barrage of poisoned senbon with two kunai. Shion took a deep breath once she got the chance.
"What happened to all that confidence?" Mineko asked, taking a step forward. The way her eyes lit up with arrogance as her fingers curled around senbon needles with accurate grace made Shion nervous.
At this rate, they wouldn't win. Hikaru's eyes could only see the attacks but his body was not yet quick enough to dodge them. In the meantime, Misaki could perhaps dodge them, but her sight was too weak to see the needles, let alone hear them coming like Shion could.
Shion didn't have long to access what her teammates could and could not do, but she attempted to reorganize her strategy. After she ultimately decided what must be done, she spared a glance at her teammates and back towards the narrow hallway that made any further retreat impossible.
She faced an enemy who was faster and stronger. "Hikaru, Misaki...I can't do this. You're on your own."
"Wait...what?" Hikaru asked in surprise as he watched his usually arrogant teammate's legs begin to shake as she collapsed to the ground. The girl's hands trembled as she glanced up with her wide brown-eyed stare that looked a tad more crazed.
"I'm only ten years old. I'm not ready to be a ninja. You were right," she whispered, causing the enemy ninja to laugh.
"Now isn't the time for a mental breakdown, Shion," Misaki exclaimed, the panic seeping into her gaze. "Get up and fight."
"I can't," Shion told her while Hikaru and Misaki's eyes connected with slight panic.
That was until Hikaru pulled the child up by the scruff of her collar, nearly yanking her feet up off the ground. "After all that talk? All those speeches? I was crazy to think you might be more than just a child, even for a minute!"
"Hikaru, it's not the time," Misaki whispered, grabbing onto Hikaru's arm, her eyes never moving from Mineko. She was scared, shaking, and out of her league. She sucked at mahjong, sucked at shogi, and uncoincidentally sucked at strategy. Hikaru was already out of breath, his Byakugan taking more Chakra to maintain than she would have thought it would. But it was still active, so he must still be willing to fight.
He took deep breaths, close to hyperventilation. "We attack together," he whispered to Misaki, and she nodded. Her hands shook, and while she understood Shion's need to cower, Misaki wouldn't do that. She had to fight because she had to live.
Hikaru and Misaki charged forward towards the amused Mineko, their attacks predictable and easy to avoid. Mineko swiped them aside with ease, just messing with them. Shion could see that from where she sat, not coincidentally on top of the tunnel that her sensei had made. She wanted to be the type of person who could fight one on one, and win, but she had assessed her enemy. Maybe, she could go all out, her power, her Jutsu, her taijutsu, and win. Against anyone else, but Mineko. That, Shion thought with a somber expression, was suicide. One prick, one drop of blood, and the poison will kill me.
And Shion wanted to live. She wanted Hikaru and Misaki to live. What did that mean? Someone had to die.
Shion had the time, while Misaki and Hikaru clumsily deflected Mineko's poison senbon, to press her hands flat against the dirt. She ransacked her brain for earth Jutsu, anything that was subtle, anything that could get her under and through the tunnel. But there was a Jutsu, Shion thought with a thoughtful expression, pink curls covering her face. She heard the stray senbon heading to her, and she caught it between two fingers, staring thoughtfully as she made sure to only hold it with the glove part of her fingers.
She wasn't sure if the poison was spread through any skin contact, and Shion didn't take chances.
She ransacked her mind for the signs Tsukasa had done. Snake, Shion formed the sign, remembering that earth Jutsu was very similar to water Jutsu Chakra movements. She could move it like a water Jutsu, mold it as the water tornado no Jutsu that she did know how to do. Dragon, she thought, forming that sign. Then the next five, all from memory. "Earth tunnel no Jutsu." She pictured where she wanted it to form, her Chakra already spilling into the ground. She had expected it to take a couple tries, hopefully not many since Misaki and Hikaru were wearing down.
They were only alive right now because Mineko was messing with them. She doesn't take any of us seriously, Shion thought with a scowl, her anger filling her. The Jutsu worked, and she was in the tunnel, the ground opening, giving her barely enough time to leave a clone in her place. She didn't waste the moments she bought herself. Despite the passage leading out of the compound, out to safety, Shion didn't turn that way. She went straight, quickly but carefully.
She wouldn't leave them behind. Misaki and Hikaru were annoying, and Shion hated that she wasn't placed on a legendary team of amazing ninja in training. However, she didn't hate them.
Hikaru's eyes were pulsated, and the senbon kept on coming, slowly, but never ending. He could see the signture Chakra of poison, but they were fast. If not for the armor on his shoulder, which he used as a shield, they would have pierced right through him. Mineko was toying with them, but judging by how she had sped up her attacks, she was getting bored. "I'll make an opening for you," he yelled pushing Misaki out of the way of the next needle. Misaki glanced towards him, covered in sweat, her eyes watering. "You take it and run."
"You can try," Mineko said with a smile, stepping back. She began to raise her hands, about to perform a Jutsu, something she had refrained from doing all this time. "But I'm bored and you won't succeed." She began making the hand signs with Hikaru and Misaki looking more and more lost and out of place, they tried to back up, Hikaru tripping as his clumsy steps faltered. Their fear was back, but the woman barely got out three of the signs before a small kunai pierced the supple skin of her back and twisted up.
Hikaru and Misaki stared with shock at the hands of Shion, the little girl who was sobbing only minutes prior now held the enemy ninja in her clutches. The dirt tunnel from underneath proved an effective trap as the Shion that had been sobbing before disappeared in a cloud of smoke. As the clone dissolved, its absence revealed a small hole in the ground where the girl had escaped through, only to spring up from the ground behind Mineko.
"What happened to all that confidence?" Shion asked, twisting the blade as Mineko gurgled out blood before collapsing on the ground in front of them.
Hikaru stood as if to ask what happened, perhaps they planned on lecturing the child too. It was unlikely as the horror of the blood entered their line of sight. Misaki's hands, covered in dirt and mud, went to her face as if to hide behind her palms. Hikaru was frozen in place, not moving as he remained unable to look away from the woman who was about to kill him. The arrogance, in milliseconds, was gone from her face. Wherever Shion had stabbed, it seemed to have been enough for a nearly instantaneous victory.
Victory? Hikaru thought with a hollow gaze. It didn't feel like victory. It felt like a defeat, and the blood kept on coming, staining the ground, staining Shion's hands. Those tiny hands, a small girl, looking out of place holding the weapon. He opened his lips, to say something, anything. This never came to pass as the kunai fell from Shion's trembling grip, clattering to the ground with an echo and a thud.
Shion's hands shook. She noticed the blood that coated her fingers with calm certainty. Only a month prior, they had been covered in red paint as she vandalized the Hokage statues. Only a month ago she never knew the sounds someone would make right before they died. It was messy and blood spurts out as if she had just popped a water balloon. She saw it remained underneath her nails.
It must be freezing down here, Shion thought with a glance towards the dead woman at her feet. "That would explain why I can't stop shivering."
"Shion," Misaki's voice broke through the girl's frigid state of quiet panic. Misaki took a step forward, causing Shion to retreat back, her foot stumbling into the hole she had dug to spring out and end someone's life.
She killed someone. She did that.
"She's in shock." Hikaru took a step forward, kneeling down and offering his hand towards her as if she were a dog. "Shion, do you hear me?"
"She's in shock. Not deaf," Misaki snapped and Hikaru scowled up at her.
"What else am I supposed to do?" Hikaru's annoyed, not annoyed but panicked, voice broke through the calm tone he was trying to install into his frightened teammate.
"We have to get her mind off of it," Misaki answered, but the girl obviously had no idea how to do that, so she settled for grabbing Shion's hands instead as the child began to hyperventilate.
Misaki covered the blood with her slightly larger palms, her eyes resting on her teammate's brown-eyed stare. Shion's hands were clammy and cold, and Misaki felt them shake from underneath her grasp.
"It's okay," Misaki whispered and watched as Shion shook her head back and forth.
Unknowledgeable about how to deal with a child going into shock, Hikaru and Misaki could only exchange glances as their wide eyes were uncertain with worry. They were obviously at a loss with what to do, so they stayed by Shion's side as the girl attempted to silence her own sobs. "It's not my fault. I was forced to do it."
"No one's judging you, Shion," Misaki whispered with a gentle coo, finally seeing all the girl's pride and bravado collapse from under her. "You saved our lives." Putting it into words, Misaki felt cold. But that's what she did. That's what Tsukasa said the point of being a ninja was. To kill or be killed.
"Misaki, we can't stay here. We have to find Itachi or Anko," Hikaru's voice was urgent, gathering in Shion's ears as her mind went back to that vision of before, of herself, covered in IVs. "Shion, you have to put yourself together."
That's right...these painful memories are of no use.
Shion's brows furrowed, her fingers touching the damp and clammy skin that covered her cheeks. She glanced around, seeing a body on the ground, covered in blood. More blood was scattered across her hands. She jumped back, falling on her butt as she looked around the cramped tunnel before her confused gaze finally moved back to Misaki and Hikaru.
"What happened?" Shion's voice held innocence, a lack of knowledged and disoriented, and that further confused Misaki and Hikaru. "That chick must have knocked me out...did one of you take her out?" Mineko was on her side, making it difficult, but not hard, to see that someone, no not someone, but Shion, thought Misaki. Shion had stabbed up into the woman's liver, likely puncturing her lungs, Misaki thought, trying not to look at the body but unable to help it. Shion hadn't just done that, she had twisted the blade for maximum internal damage. "...Is she alive?"
Hikaru and Misaki exchanged glances, but Hikaru was quick to speak. "Yes, she's just unconscious. We, however, need to leave."
"Oh...okay then," Shion stood, attempting to get a closer look at the woman on the ground, but something in her mind told her to look away. So, Shion looked away. "Let's find Itachi and Anko then."
The walk was silent from there, and Shion was oblivious to the tension. Something in her mind told her to look away from that too. So, she looked away again.
As they walked, with Hikaru and Misaki arm to arm, almost huddled together behind Shion, they couldn't help but share glances. The confusion apparent, but the fear was much stronger. We almost died, Misaki thought with a tremble. And I could do nothing.
The echo of their steps bounced off the walls, making it feel as if they were being followed. The halls were long, endless corridors, and there was only forward or back. Hikaru, would not go back. He could go back and look at a dead woman. What had he thought being a ninja would be? Hikaru didn't know. He didn't have a choice. His family chose this path and what else could a Hyuuga do but this. This was all they were. He always felt like an outsider at the compound, but he had never felt this.
Another echo of their shoes, slapping against the ground reverberated against the ground. Each one made both of the older Genin flinch. Shion didn't flinch. She kept walking as if she didn't hear any of it. Kept walking as if she hadn't just murdered someone. Is she a psychopath? Misaki thought with a deep breath, trying to get a hold of her mind that was slipping. "Shion," MIsaki whispered, and somehow, her own voice caused her to jump as its whisper echoed against the walls.
Hikaru grabbed Misaki's arm, on instinct as Shion stopped and turned to them. Her hands were still covered in blood. Despite them saying that Mineko was just knocked out, Shion never asked about the blood. How has she not asked? Hikaru thought with a shiver.
Shion raised her finger to her lips, signaling them to be quieter. "Where are we going?" Misaki asked, not certain why she was asking as if Shion or any of them had a map of this place.
"I don't know," Shion's whisper was so low that the two teammates had to strain to hear her. "But we won't get anywhere by not moving."
So they walked some more, no turns, no doors, just dim lanterns, burning on the lowest embers. On and on, Misaki and Hikaru walked closer and closer as the fear set in.
It was then that they came across what could only be described as a laboratory, but to Shion, it looked more like a tomb. Inside, there were glass containers, filled with an indescribable liquid, and inside were men, women, and children. The three Genin exchanged worried glances before they stepped inside, clearly unprepared for the sight of a child, younger than even Shion, suspended in a glass of liquid. In the child's veins were many tubes, and upon stepping inside, the female child's eyes cracked open. Her weak gaze lingered on the three as her hand twitched before slowly moving to rest her palm against the glass.
"We need to get them out," Shion said, rushing forward towards the container.
"Don't exactly know how to do that," Misaki told her with a slight frown.
"We have to try," Shion said, her brows furrowed as she turned towards the other two.
"Us trying could do more harm than good. Who knows what will happen if we just drain the water," Hikaru agreed with Misaki, causing Shion's eyes to narrow.
"Well, I don't plan on leaving all these people here," she said, walking over to a stack of papers next to one of the containers.
"We have to find Itachi and Anko and get some direction. We don't know what we're doing here," Misaki said, taking a step forward. By now, her body was already tired and every time she blinked she saw the way Mineko's blood gushed out when Shion's blade slid and twisted into her back. She didn't have the luxury to just forget it happened as Shion did.
"We're Shinobi now. Adults. We make our own decisions depending on the situation," Shion glanced towards the little girl. "I won't let them suffer any longer."
Hikaru, who had been silent most of the while, sighed. "Well, I'm not about to go out there without Shion."
Misaki frowned, glancing towards her teammate with a scowl. "Hikaru, don't side with her, she's speaking nonsense, we're just kids."
"Nonsense or not, Shion is the best fighter here. Let's be real, me and you can't take down many strong opponents divided," Hikaru said, watching Shion grin with pride as she handed a stack of papers to her teammate.
"There's got to be information on how to help them somewhere," Shion said, watching as Misaki let out a sigh of defeat and took a stack of papers of her own.
"What if someone strong comes inside?" Misaki asked, but Shion was already absorbed in the documents.
A couple of seconds later, she got her distant reply, "It's no different than if we run into someone out there."
"Besides, Itachi and Anko will find us easier if we stay put," Hikaru agreed.
"I suppose," Misaki finally agreed, reluctantly grabbing a stack of papers to read.
"Did something happen that you two aren't telling me?" Shion asked after a couple of minutes of silent tension, causing her two teammates to freeze over their piles of documents.
"No..." Misaki murmured, rather unconvincingly.
"Nothing," Hikaru said with a nonchalant shrug.
Author's Note
Has it really been so long since my last update? Well, golly, time flies when you are on a writer's block.
I inserted a rather, Peter Pan like element in this chapter. Peter Pan, who wants nothing more than to not grow up, forgot his parents and all the bad stuff. Shion is very much like that in her own way. It's a rather obvious coping mechanism.
Thank you for reading everybody!