Nagisa squatted next to Hitoshi as the two watched the wings of the birdman disappear behind the leaves of the trees. Hitoshi was being cautious as he wanted to catch his target off guard, however the female next to him was getting impatient. Her sister could be sitting in the trees right now, yet here she was playing hide-and-seek.
"Have you thought of anything yet?" She finally asked.
Hitoshi frowned. "This would've been better if one of the other members were here. I'm not sure how well my plan will work judging from the abilities I've seen from it, but I'm sure I can make a quick distraction."
Gripping her staff, Nagisa nodded and prepared herself. This didn't feel like plunging into stormy waters with Lana, however she was going to make it to the otherside, no matter what was thrown at her.
Suddenly, the rain froze midair and the water droplets were drawn into the sky to form a large dragon. No sooner was the manipulation formed, it crashed into the treetops at a high velocity. Immediately, Nagisa turned to Hitoshi, however the male shook his head to show this wasn't his doing.
"Come on out and fight me, you abomination!"
The two turned to see Shigure proudly walking out into the clearing. His water dragon reformed as their target spread its wings and faced the male. Nagisa immediately covered her ears as it let out a loud, deafening screech as if it was warning everyone to stay away. This obviously didn't faze its opponent as Shigure went to attack again.
"Come on, bitch! One on one!"
"The girls are definitely in those trees." Hitoshi confirmed as he watched the birdman's movements. Despite Shigure's actions, the avian-like creature didn't budge. It wasn't until his partner stood within a few meters from the nest that it showed more aggression and fought back, like it was protecting something.
Narrowing her eyes, Nagisa stood up and tightened her grip on her staff. "Then I'll make a run for it."
"And what good will that do? Let Shigure tire him out first." Hitoshi pulled her back.
"We've already waited too long. Every moment I'm here is a moment wasted. You can either come with me now or sit back and watch." She pulled her arm out of his grasp and let out a deep breath before running out into the clearing.
Shigure immediately eyed the floating violet ponytail heading across the battlefield. "You got a death wish, princess?"
The birdman didn't seem to notice her when she first came out, so she took that opportunity and ran with it. It wasn't until she reached the unbreachable zone that it swooped down from the trees to attack her. Shigure sent his water dragon after it again, however it blew a strong gust of wind with a flap of its wings, dissipating the fluid in an instant. Nagisa flew back from the sheer force and stabbed her staff in the ground to anchor her while the unforgiving gale carried on.
As soon as the wind dispersed, the violette wasted no time in trying again. Now that the mutant bird was on the ground, it'd be easier to reach if she attacked with her staff to push her way through. As she got closer, the bird prepared to attack once more and she braced for an opposition that never happened. It was like the bird was frozen and couldn't even see her anymore.
"Don't slow down. The genjutsu isn't going to last long." Hitoshi appeared next to Nagisa and pulled her along past the bird. No sooner had they disappeared into the trees, it began to fight Shigure again.
"I'm just glad it worked at all." The violette placed her hands on her knees as she caught her breath. It felt like the inside of the cluster of trees was completely separated from the chaos outside; she couldn't hear anything aside from her own breathing until she was answered.
"It was 50-50. Animals are more in tune with nature so genjutsu is iffy." Hitoshi looked up. "It'd probably be easier to make an opening in the nest than trying to find one."
Nagisa nodded and glanced around. If they found a weak spot, they could crack open the nest with ease. Walking through the cluster, they searched for any breaks in the trees, only to be met with no success. Just as the two were setting their sights on climbing a tree to get to work, the sound of a twig breaking immediately halted their movements.
"What are you two doing?"
"Hoshigaki-san!" Nagisa turned away from the tree and ran over to the blue-skinned male. Seeing as he was all in one piece, her heart was a little more at ease. "How'd you get in here by yourself? The bird was raging havoc outside…"
"I used a back way." He replied. "Also, there's no use in trying to get into the nest. It serves as more of a lookout than anything else."
Hitoshi crossed his arms as he looked around them. "Were you able to find any of the missing girls?"
"I have a possible location."
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The cluster of trees were a lot bigger on the inside than the outside. After following Kisame for a while, the trio finally came to a cave entrance; the deeper they went into the cave, the steeper the trek was. The cave opened up slightly to reveal a small waterfall and pond that Kisame revealed was his way in here from the edge of the island. There was a secret opening behind the waterfall that led them to their targets.
"You came back! Thank you!"
"Please help us!"
The missing women immediately ran up to the group with pleading eyes. It looked like they weren't harmed, aside from parts of their clothes most likely torn from coming into contact with their captor's claws. Nagisa immediately scanned the crowd and pushed her way through as she looked for her sister.
"Mizuko? Mizuko, I'm here!"
No matter how much she called out, her sister was nowhere to be found. None of this made sense to her; she should be here so they can finally go home together. As Hitoshi gathered the women to figure out a plan to get them out, Nagisa was on the verge of lashing out.
"No! No one's leaving here until I find my sister."
Hitoshi glanced over at her. "There's no point in risking everyone's lives like that. We'll find your sister but the mission still needs to be carried out."
"To hell with the mission. My sister-" Nagisa pointed her staff at Hitoshi, only for Kisame to place his hand on her shoulder and pull the weapon out of her hands before she made a mistake.
"Um, excuse me, are you looking for the violet haired girl?"
Nagisa immediately turned her head towards a woman she recognized as the girl that got abducted from the festival. Forgetting about her previous rage, the distraught violette approached her and held onto her hands, tears welling in her eyes. "Yes! She looks just like me, but a little shorter with hair to her shoulders. Please tell me where I can find her."
"It was only brief… but I saw her in the nest when I was flown in here. Apparently all of the women here were in the nest at first, but were relocated to this cave when your sister became ill. It was like how animals abandon their young if they're injured or something."
Another woman chimed in after she overheard the conversation. "She looked very frail and we tried to give her food because the bird thing refused to take care of her, but now that we're here, we don't know how she's been doing. It's been a few days…"
Nagisa immediately turned away and grabbed her staff from Kisame before rushing out of the cave. Ever since her sister was born, she'd made a promise to her mother that she would protect and look after her. What kind of big sister would she be if she came this far and still let something happen? Once she exited the cave, she made a beeline for the first tree she saw and prepared herself to climb to the top.
"You're pretty fast when you want to be, but do you have to rush into your death so quickly?" Kisame appeared behind her, watching as she grabbed onto branch after branch and pulled her way up.
"As long as my sister is alive, I don't see the problem."
"It'd be just as much of a problem if you died in the process."
"What makes you think I'm going to die?"
"Do you have a plan that doesn't include your death?"
"I don't have a plan at all."
Predictable, yet unpredictable. She was too eager, too passionate, and yet, he was still going to bring her along. With an inaudible sigh, he focused his chakra to his feet and ran up the tree, grabbing her in the process so they wouldn't waste time. He'd found a weak point in the nest towards the surrounding perimeter so he decided that would be the best place to go.
"Do you have a plan, Hoshigaki-san?" Nagisa found herself riding piggyback on Kisame as they travelled to the edge of the cluster.
"Only the obvious one."
Once they arrived, Nagisa used her staff to break a hole in the loose branches, then climbed through by standing on top of Kisame's shoulders. The air felt a lot cleared up here and she quickly glanced around the nest, which was nearly an acre in size.
"She has to be up here still." Nagisa glanced around. And she has to be alive, she thought to herself. "Mizuko! Can you hear me?!"
A strong gust of wind blew over the nest and the female covered her face to deflect the flying debris. It felt like she was caught in a tornado and she immediately knew that the bird was too close for comfort. As she tried to look and see, her eyes instantly locked onto a fluff of violet on the other side of the nest. When she tried to dash over there, Kisame pulled her back by her arm.
"What are you doing? My sister's over there!"
"And so is the target."
The two faced the birdman who stood much like the final boss of a game. In its beak was a wad of dark brown hair. The next scene felt like it was straight out of a horror movie. The wad dropped and rolled towards the two, ending with the face of Shigure soullessly looking back at them.
"So it's also capable of murder… That's nice to know." Nagisa covered her mouth in shock, trying not to gag.