Author's Notes: A chapter a day...probably gives the Mechalich carpal tunnel,
but I'll survive. I expect this pace to continue for some time to come
anyway, since I'm far ahead in the writing of chapters posted. This chapter
is pretty involved on a lot of levels, so hopefully its good.
Thanks for reviews!
Orhla: The eye trick is certainly powerful, killing people by looking at them is kind of ridiculous, but it has its weaknesses, since you have to stand there motionless to do it.
Choices in the Darkness
In many ways it was like a nightmare, being taken from a binding sea of nettles that scratched and cut every exposed surface, and then standing in the open, surrounded by fourteen grim grass ninja, and a man who should be dead.
Tonetero was a shocking thing for anyone to see, but for Shiren, who could still almost feel the kunai driving into the heart of the grass ninja, who recalled seeing the light leave his eyes as he fell to the ground, it was far worse. When the grass ninja stripped her of her weapons, even those she kept carefully hidden, and tore her clothes in the process, leaving them barely covering her, so that she shivered in the cold, Shiren could hardly bear it. She wanted to scream, to run, but she dared not. The thorns swirled around Tonetero like angry hornets, threatening to sting anything that moved.
Shiren could see the grass ninja tremble in fear around their dead companion, but they brought her before him, and she watched in horror as Tonetero's mouth split wide in a gleeful smile. "Well, even if we failed to catch the whole bunch, I'm more than satisfied with just you. I remember you see, I can recall the pain, the hurt you caused me, oh it stung like nothing you can imagine, dying."
"I thought the dead didn't talk." Shiren managed.
"Ha!" Tonetero laughed. "A retort, you have spirit, a whole lot more than these fools around you, who managed little more than dying today. I will enjoy getting rid of you, of I will." His tongue flicked out of his mouth. "The thorns provide so many interesting ways to kill."
"Tonetero-sama." One of the grass ninja dared. "We were ordered not to kill her until the Akatsuki made a copy of her body, so that the lightning would not start a war."
"Damn the Akatsuki!" Tonetero spat. "I don't see him here. He's run off, scared of that ridiculous dragon ninja, Xi."
"A man who, if you lived, would have killed you twice over." Shiren remarked.
"Very true." Tonetero replied gleefully. "It's good to be dead then, I'm almost grateful to that Akatsuki bastard, and if I could kill you now, I think I would be." He looked at Shiren with a dark grimace. "Well, I guess that just gives me more time to plan your demise." He turned to the grass ninja. "Bind her and let's go."
They departed southward.
Tonetero was in high spirits, so they did not go very fast, instead taking shifts caring Shiren, who was heavier than she looked, being well muscled. At nightfall they arrived at their destination.
It was not an auspicious place, a small set of buildings outlined by a wooden palisade, a simple and defensible structure. "Not much you think?" Tonetero jibbed at Shiren. "It one of our war outposts, in case of problems, or in this case, opportunities. It might not be a walled hidden village, but this is enough to make rescue much more difficult."
Yes, so it is. Shiren noted with dismay. The fort was placed on level ground, and the area around it had been cleared, affording no good approaches. There were braziers where signal fires could be lit, alerting everyone within the fort, and likely another two in a chain, in case reinforcements were needed. Shiren did not despair, she had refused to consider that an option, but neither did she hope much. Perhaps Neji or Xi will come, and I wish for it dearly, but I cannot rely on them. Besides, with this one here, even if they came, I dread what would happen. So Shiren steeled herself for what was to come, and allowed Tonetero to lead her within.
He took he to a small side building, one that looked like nothing special from the outside, but that led down underground. "The soils are deep here, so it is easy to tunnel." He led her down a set of spiral stairs, into a dark and dismal hall, lit only by a few flickering candles. The two grass ninja carrying Shiren cut her bonds, and then, after checking her for weapons once again, passed her off to a thickly built ninja, obviously the guard.
That one shoved her into an earthen cell, and then drew metal bars across it.
"There is ten feet of soil between you and anything else, and these bars block all use of chakra through them, so no jutsu you try will get you out." Tonetero explained as the guard locked the bars in place. "Now, as for your fate, well, it's sort of a gamble. If the Akatsuki bastard gets back before I decide how I want you to die, well, you get to go quickly, but he copies you body and uses it against your village. If he doesn't get back before my mind is made up, well, then I get to kill you my way." Tonetero laughed again. "Looks like either way, you lose." He turned to walk away, and then stopped, in a move that Shiren could tell was calculated to work against her will. "Oh, and don't think rescue is a possibility. There are twenty Grass chuunin in all here, and myself in this quite defensible position, and I will certainly have you killed if we are threatened. Have a good night."
When he was gone Shiren slumped against the earthen wall of her cell silently. "Who would have thought a dead man would talk so much." She muttered to herself. Still, taking stock of her situation Shiren couldn't doubt that it was bad. She tired a simple jutsu on the bars, but that failed. It seems he was telling the truth. Even if I could get through the bars I'd have to deal with the guard. She thought about what she could do. I'm not skilled enough to seduce him, and besides, I'm sure this man was chosen carefully to guard against that. Faking wounds will not help; Tonetero does not care at all for my welfare. For tools, only the remnants of my clothes, my forehead protector and weapons are on the guard's table.
Shiren sighed. No choice but to hope for rescue. She did not like that, it was a forlorn hope, and even if it came Tonetero would certainly carry out his threat to kill her. I could try to resist when they came, but that won't work, I know no jutsus to attack directly. If I had the nekode Xi made me I could try to rend the bars, but without a focus I'll never get the jutsu to work.
Feeling her hope fade, Shiren considered her options. I will not let Tonetero kill me, she decided, nor this Akatsuki man steal my body. I will find a way to kill myself before they do so.
Yet she refused to give up that easily. There must be something, even if I have only my clothes; perhaps there is something I can do. She sat down calmly and tried to think about it. Neji, help me. Shiren thought. You escaped them, I want to see you, not die like this.
In the dark of night a slim figure moves about the battlefield where grass ninja and Akatsuki fought dragon ninja and stone. The area is despoiled and overrun, with the fallen and browned leftovers of Tonetero's jutsu lying there. Impermanent, how like him, or perhaps it's because he's dead.
I still don't believe it, Aburanki Kei thought, that they brought him back somehow. She recalled the moment, only hours after she returned to Grass village, a strange pair of figures had walked into the town, wearing dark cloaks with red markings. They had radiated a deadliness she associated with no one from her village, so Kei watched them carefully, though she could tell they were watching her as well.
One left grass without doing anything save give instructions she could not here to the other, but the other one, he met the head ninja. I cannot believe that woman agreed! Kei thought in anger. Why! Tonetero had already failed; he was killed in the exam, killed when he was supposed to triumph. Everyone agreed the plan was a failure, they made me a chuunin, I heard the councils. Yet she agreed to this one's mad plan. She took Doshiyre Masan, my teammate, a fool sure, but still my teammate, and gave him to that monstrous man to bring back another monster.
The moment Tonetero cackled back into his sickening semblance of life Kei left the village, not daring to be present with him around. She followed his movements though, hoping she could learn what was planned, find a way to still serve her village and yet avoid the madness affecting it. Have I become a rogue? Kei wondered as she walked upon the battlefield. No! She swore. I still serve my village; it is just that our leader has let the madman fill her mind with dreams of grandeur that will bring our deaths.
Everywhere about the battlefield was destruction, from the plants that had been ripped apart and shredded, to the bodies of the grass ninja, eleven in all, left to lie in the sun and be prey for the scavengers. Kei moved about each in turn, taking at least the time to pile vines over them, offering what protection she could. Then she came to a body that was different.
The man lay in a mass of nettles, his chest was crushed and he bleed from ragged wounds, but Kei saw that he was alive, if barely. Something struck this man down from above, but he hit the vines, and so survived, Kei realized as she rushed over. "What happened?" She asked the dark and twitching figure.
"Uhh..." The man moaned.
Kei took out her canteen, and dribbled it over the dying man's lips. "Listen please," She said. "I am a grass ninja." She took his right hands and traced the outline of her forehead protector with his fingers. "Tell me what happened here and I will end your suffering and see your body properly burned." It was the only thing she could offer the man, his chest had been caved in, driving his ribs into his lungs, and he would die before morning regardless.
"Yes." The man managed, his voice scratching and barely audible. Kei put her ear to his face to here his dying whispers better. "Fought...dragon ninja...akat-atsuki, defeated. Ton...tonetero took, took the prisoner-"
"What prisoner?" Kei asked desperately, for there had been no fallen other than grass ninja here. Had so many died to do nothing but fail an ambush? She wondered in dismay.
"The light..." The prisoner coughed and rasped. "The girl, others, gone." He whispered the words and then fell silent, having no more strength to speak.
The lightning? The girl? Kei heard those words and realized what they meant. If they fought the dragon ninja here, then the one that was captured must have been Shiren. A cold dread appeared in her stomach then. Tonetero has Shiren? Kei could hardly image it. Shiren had been the one bright spot in all her trials in Stone, and she had rejoiced when the lightning ninja, a girl her own age, had killed Tonetero, and had then come to visit her several times, showing her respect where no one else would.
Swiftly Kei kept her promise to her fellow ninja, taking a kunai and driving it sharply and hard into the back of his head, striking the brain. The man's moans stopped immediately. Just as swiftly Kei pulled him down from the place he hung above the ground, and piled the driest nettles and branches she could find about the body. This will light a signal proclaiming I was here for miles, but I will keep my promises to the dead, and to the living.
Kei remembered, she remembered the words the other dragon ninja, the cold boy named Neji, had said to her. I owe Shiren a debt, I owe her my life, and I will pay it back. As the flames rose crackling into the night, Kei made her decision. Tonetero, though it is hideous and wrong, is part of my village. I will not fight him directly, but I can free Shiren from his captivity and pay back my debt. They will have gone to the base to the south. Kei knew. If you can survive to see the next evening, Senirai Shiren, I will pay back my debt to you.
Darkness was falling as Neji and Dar first saw the fort in the distance, peering from behind the trees. The stopped immediately, falling to the ground after a single glimpse.
"What do you think?" Dar asked Neji.
"A wooden palisade, with buildings within, any cells are likely underground, the only secure location." Neji replied. "Close to the center. Shiren and Tonetero will both be there."
"That's problem then," Dar replied. "The area's too open to get close without being seen, and they'll surely kill her if we approach. Besides, with them able to see us we'll be hard pressed to defend attacks. There are probably at least twenty ninja present, and more not far from here."
Hmm..." Neji considered, and not for the first time Dar wondered at the change that had overcome Neji since the morning before. He is like he seemed during the exam, only more so, Dar thought. It was like Xi in many ways, a normal man when doing nothing, a frightening inhuman creature when acting on a mission. "That is true, a normal approach is impossible. We will have to strike fast enough so that they cannot react."
"How could we do that?" Dar questioned. "They're almost certain to see us coming."
"True." Neji noted." There are two factors in our favor. One is that I suspect the other ninja will only kill Shiren if Tonetero orders it directly, perhaps even only if he does it himself, though I refuse to bet her life on that. Two, they will see us approach and stand on the wooden wall to attack us."
"How does that help us, if they stand on the wall, they'll be able to attack us more easily and we won't be able to..." Dar trailed off as he recalled what had happened that morning when Neji fought Xi. "You can blow up a wall?"
"Yes." Neji answered. He thought for a moment, and then relayed his decision to Dar aloud. "Simple is better. I will attack the wall, and then deal with Tonetero, just keep the other grass ninja off me until then."
"If that's what you want." Dar replied simply. "I suppose I'm more likely to survive that way. How will you deal with Tonetero though? Xi's already killed him twice to no effect."
"His body is made of dust and other pieces Xi said." Neji answered. "A wound just causes it to fly about and reform, but if he is blasted away to nothing, surely that will kill him."
"If you can do that through that wall of thorns I'll be surprised." Dar answered sadly. "Still, I suppose there's no way to get Shiren out without dealing with him. All right. It's your plan."
"I appreciate your assistance Dar." Neji answered. "Now we just wait until it is fully dark."
When darkness had fallen Aburanki Kei slid free of her hiding place. All day long she had waited in a notch of a scraggly tree some distance from the small fort. Genjutsu disguised her as nothing more than a branch that wasn't truly there. It had not been the most comfortable position to hold, but it was a sufficient disguise. Now, Kei was ready to move.
Since the other dragon ninja are out there, they will be watching carefully. She had decided as she watched throughout the day, but Kei had carefully timed the patterns in which men watched, and she knew who was the most alert and the least. They expect an attack, Kei decided, but not an infiltrator, and not one using grass ninja techniques.
Crouching on the ground, Kei formed the hand seals, and moved the branches on her back. Grass and branches grew out from those implements, covering her and making her appear to be no more than a bush. The disguise was more than simple genjutsu, since the branches were real, and not just illusion. Now the trick is simply to move forward and not appear as a moving bush.
Kei had another trick to use here, for by making the grass blow in the wind a bush moving forward would simply appear to be blowing in the wind. Thankfully, there is a slight breeze tonight; a few gusts will not be marked out. So Kei began her steady approach.
It took a long time; crawling forward the better part of a kilometer in fits and starts. Kei suspected it took her an hour at least while the darkness deepened. Yet, she was not very nervous. She had done this before many times, and unless Tonetero was manning the walls himself, something Kei knew he would never do, she would not be detected. This is the easy part, she reminded herself. Getting out with Shiren will be the hard part.
In due time Kei was at the base of the walls. Carefully she rose to her knees, making certain that the man above her was looking out into the murky darkness. Only only a cresent moon lit the night, so it was quite dark, though that meant little to the carefully honed eyes of the ninja. Kneeling Kei silently took the branches off her back, and placing them together put them to the wooden palisade. This is the problem with building things out of wood, Kei chuckled inside. It keeps other ninja out, but not grass ninja. "Plant Passage no jutsu." She whispered near silent as she formed the seals over her branches, and spun them in a circle.
The wood warped and opened suddenly, affording enough space for Kei to walk through quickly. She did so and then pressed herself to the ground against the wall, staying under the shadow of the walk above her head. There was some light here, and it was dangerous. Kei could make out Tonetero's characteristic thorn-covered shape standing atop the barracks, apparently talking to himself. Talking to himself? That's a new habit, Kei noted. Did he absorb some of the Akatsuki's mind when he was brought back, or Masan's? It did not bear thinking about. Taking a quick look around Kei recognized the entrance to the prison. From that position she could figure out where the individual cells were below ground, but then it became more complicated. Which cell? Kei wondered. Which cell would your put her in monster? There are four. It won't be the first, because no ninja would do that, and not the last either, since you would want her closer than that, so the second or the third, but which one?
Ah, that's right, the third, since you think women are weak, and don't think you need to keep a close eye on her. Kei made her decision. It seems knowing you has had at least a single benefit, Tonetero.
With a sudden dash Kei advanced out to behind the small armory building, unused at this time of night. The cell is below me, so all I have to do is: "Root Tunnel no Jutsu." She placed one of her branches into the ground and it immediately took root there, growing massive and wide downward, but the root was also hollow, providing a cold and clammy passage for anyone who chose to use it.
Well, I am committed now. Kei thought as she grabbed her branch and leapt down the hollow tube, which closed rapidly behind her.
Shiren heard the strange hole open in the earth of her cell, a hollow tube that seemed to grow out of the wall. She wasted no time wondering what was happening, but positioned herself next to that hole, on the left side, hands ready with a band of her clothing, enough to try and strangle an opponent.
The hole widened, and then suddenly a slim body, covered in dirt and grass, spilled out of it. Shiren wasted no time, but saw a kunai hostler emerge on the left hip. With desperate quickness she reached down and grabbed out one of the weapons, and then lurched to the right, coming down atop the new arrival.
They fell to the ground with a soft thump, and Shiren brought the kunai's tip her visitor's left eye, and placed her hand over her mouth. "Say nothing." Shiren whispered into her ear, aware of the hole closing behind her. "Or I will kill you here and now."
Shiren's captive made no motions, and this gave Shiren a moment to look at who had come into her cell. "Kei?" She whispered into the grass ninja's ear in surprise.
Kei gave the slightest of nods.
Shiren rolled off of Kei's back then, but did not release the kunai. Silently Kei separated herself from the floor.
"The guard is at the end of the hall," Shiren said in her softest voice, knowing that anything more would be overheard. "But we can talk like this." She gave the muddy and disheveled Kei a strange look. "Why are you here?"
"I said I would pay back my debt." Kei said, and her eyes burned fiercely. "I owe you too much to let him kill you."
"So you came to get me out?" Shiren asked, trying to conceal her surprise. Of all the attempts at rescue she might have expected, this was not one of them.
Kei nodded.
"Then why are you in my cell?" Shiren asked.
"It was the safest place to reach." Kei replied. "And the grass ninja are still my country and kin, I am here to rescue you not fight them."
"So how do we get out?" Shiren asked. "That strange way you came in?"
Kei shook her head. "That jutsu can only go down, roots do not grow upwards." Kei looked at the bars. "I will just cut you out."
"How?" Shiren asked. "The bars resist jutsu."
"What?" Kei looked at Shiren wide-eyed. "That's impossible, only the village itself has such containment. Unless..." Kei's face went white. "They were planning to hold Draci Xi, the Akatsuki bastard must have sealed them. Damn, now I have no idea." Kei deflated utterly, from a strong and self- aware ninja to the victim Shiren recognized from after the chuunin exam. It was depressing to watch.
"Perhaps not." Shiren said, and she pulled out a long string, tied together from many pieces of her leggings. "The bars block chakra, but there are other forms of energy, and you have provided me with the metal I need." She held up Kei's kunai.
"Huh?" Kei looked at Shiren. "What do you mean?"
"You recall lightning anchor?" Shiren asked Kei. The grass ninja nodded, but was still confused.
"I want you to take this, and then stomp your feet and spin as fast as you can, keeping your feet on the ground." Shiren told Kei and handed her the end of the strong, now tied to the kunai. "I'll take care of the guard when he comes."
"Don't kill him." Kei said darkly.
"There won't be enough power for that." Shiren said calmly. "When I tell you to stop you must stop, and be ready to act instantly, even if dizzy."
"All right." Kei said quietly, completely surprised at how quickly Shiren had taken command of the situation. Still, I suppose if Tonetero catches us down here we're both dead.
For Shiren, this surprising arrival was just what she needed, the best of all possible circumstances. A chance to break free, and to use her own plan, one conceived of hours ago and then abandoned due to the earthy nature of the soil. There had been not a single metallic rock for her to use, but now she had exactly what she needed. She was not sure how she felt about Kei's assistance; the grass ninja seemed to shift moods rapidly, as if lacking confidence. Perhaps she is simply afraid, Shiren decided. She went from a rescuer to another doomed if Tonetero comes. For her own part Shiren had worked past her fear hours ago, recognizing that either she would die or she would not. In the absence of hope, fear fades rapidly.
Now, as Shiren readied herself to give the order, she felt that fear coming back, and her heart pounded in her chest. A bit of hope restored, and Shiren was afraid she would lose it again. No, I cannot mess this up; I have to do this, as Neji would.
"Now Kei!" Shiren said, speaking the worlds in a normal voice, one that sounded hideously loud after their nearly silent conversation.
Kei slammed her foot into the ground and began to spin, whirling as fast as a leaf in a whirlpool, her feet slashing across the ground at great speed, and the earthy ground responded.
Down the strong that Kei held rushed a surge of static electricity, and down the hall came the guard, wondering what was going on. He was alert, but he could not predict the snaking attack Shiren had planned.
The well-built ninja came into view just in time for Shiren to toss the kunai into his path. It struck his thigh, metal on flesh, and the charge built up by Kei's spin detonated in a crackling burst, stunning the man.
Shiren reached out to grab the guard's shuriken pouch, which contained the keys, before he could recover. "Now Kei! Strike!"
Kei's spin stopped, and through her blurry eyes she saw the guard standing outside the cell, his face contorted in pain, but he was mastering it. Even as she felt the room spin about her Kei pulled free one of her branches, and as she spun around a final time, placed it through the bars and smashed it down upon the guard's head.
The grass ninja crumpled.
Kei fell to the ground, her balance gone, unused to such maneuvers, but Shiren propped her up immediately. "I have the keys!" she said triumphantly, and grabbed at the lock.
As the lock clicked open Kei stood up. "How do you do that to yourself and stay standing?" She asked Shiren.
"There's a trick to it, Shiren replied with a smile. "Now quickly, get your bearings, we will need to get out of here."
The pair walked down the hall, and they reached the guard's desk. Kei kept going, but Shiren reached out a hand to stop her. "Wait a moment."
From the desk Shiren grabbed her shuriken pouch, her kunai holster, the low holster she wore on her right leg, and her hidden weapons, arranging them quickly and rapidly. Then she took the forehead protector that lay there and placed it over her hair, tying it into place firmly with a single solid motion. As long as I wear this, I can go forward as a lightning ninja. Shiren recalled herself. And as a dragon ninja. "Now we can go."
Shiren and Kei moved toward the stairs, considering how they might flee, when a tremendous blast of sound came from above, followed by a crash and screams audible even through the door above.
Thanks for reviews!
Orhla: The eye trick is certainly powerful, killing people by looking at them is kind of ridiculous, but it has its weaknesses, since you have to stand there motionless to do it.
Choices in the Darkness
In many ways it was like a nightmare, being taken from a binding sea of nettles that scratched and cut every exposed surface, and then standing in the open, surrounded by fourteen grim grass ninja, and a man who should be dead.
Tonetero was a shocking thing for anyone to see, but for Shiren, who could still almost feel the kunai driving into the heart of the grass ninja, who recalled seeing the light leave his eyes as he fell to the ground, it was far worse. When the grass ninja stripped her of her weapons, even those she kept carefully hidden, and tore her clothes in the process, leaving them barely covering her, so that she shivered in the cold, Shiren could hardly bear it. She wanted to scream, to run, but she dared not. The thorns swirled around Tonetero like angry hornets, threatening to sting anything that moved.
Shiren could see the grass ninja tremble in fear around their dead companion, but they brought her before him, and she watched in horror as Tonetero's mouth split wide in a gleeful smile. "Well, even if we failed to catch the whole bunch, I'm more than satisfied with just you. I remember you see, I can recall the pain, the hurt you caused me, oh it stung like nothing you can imagine, dying."
"I thought the dead didn't talk." Shiren managed.
"Ha!" Tonetero laughed. "A retort, you have spirit, a whole lot more than these fools around you, who managed little more than dying today. I will enjoy getting rid of you, of I will." His tongue flicked out of his mouth. "The thorns provide so many interesting ways to kill."
"Tonetero-sama." One of the grass ninja dared. "We were ordered not to kill her until the Akatsuki made a copy of her body, so that the lightning would not start a war."
"Damn the Akatsuki!" Tonetero spat. "I don't see him here. He's run off, scared of that ridiculous dragon ninja, Xi."
"A man who, if you lived, would have killed you twice over." Shiren remarked.
"Very true." Tonetero replied gleefully. "It's good to be dead then, I'm almost grateful to that Akatsuki bastard, and if I could kill you now, I think I would be." He looked at Shiren with a dark grimace. "Well, I guess that just gives me more time to plan your demise." He turned to the grass ninja. "Bind her and let's go."
They departed southward.
Tonetero was in high spirits, so they did not go very fast, instead taking shifts caring Shiren, who was heavier than she looked, being well muscled. At nightfall they arrived at their destination.
It was not an auspicious place, a small set of buildings outlined by a wooden palisade, a simple and defensible structure. "Not much you think?" Tonetero jibbed at Shiren. "It one of our war outposts, in case of problems, or in this case, opportunities. It might not be a walled hidden village, but this is enough to make rescue much more difficult."
Yes, so it is. Shiren noted with dismay. The fort was placed on level ground, and the area around it had been cleared, affording no good approaches. There were braziers where signal fires could be lit, alerting everyone within the fort, and likely another two in a chain, in case reinforcements were needed. Shiren did not despair, she had refused to consider that an option, but neither did she hope much. Perhaps Neji or Xi will come, and I wish for it dearly, but I cannot rely on them. Besides, with this one here, even if they came, I dread what would happen. So Shiren steeled herself for what was to come, and allowed Tonetero to lead her within.
He took he to a small side building, one that looked like nothing special from the outside, but that led down underground. "The soils are deep here, so it is easy to tunnel." He led her down a set of spiral stairs, into a dark and dismal hall, lit only by a few flickering candles. The two grass ninja carrying Shiren cut her bonds, and then, after checking her for weapons once again, passed her off to a thickly built ninja, obviously the guard.
That one shoved her into an earthen cell, and then drew metal bars across it.
"There is ten feet of soil between you and anything else, and these bars block all use of chakra through them, so no jutsu you try will get you out." Tonetero explained as the guard locked the bars in place. "Now, as for your fate, well, it's sort of a gamble. If the Akatsuki bastard gets back before I decide how I want you to die, well, you get to go quickly, but he copies you body and uses it against your village. If he doesn't get back before my mind is made up, well, then I get to kill you my way." Tonetero laughed again. "Looks like either way, you lose." He turned to walk away, and then stopped, in a move that Shiren could tell was calculated to work against her will. "Oh, and don't think rescue is a possibility. There are twenty Grass chuunin in all here, and myself in this quite defensible position, and I will certainly have you killed if we are threatened. Have a good night."
When he was gone Shiren slumped against the earthen wall of her cell silently. "Who would have thought a dead man would talk so much." She muttered to herself. Still, taking stock of her situation Shiren couldn't doubt that it was bad. She tired a simple jutsu on the bars, but that failed. It seems he was telling the truth. Even if I could get through the bars I'd have to deal with the guard. She thought about what she could do. I'm not skilled enough to seduce him, and besides, I'm sure this man was chosen carefully to guard against that. Faking wounds will not help; Tonetero does not care at all for my welfare. For tools, only the remnants of my clothes, my forehead protector and weapons are on the guard's table.
Shiren sighed. No choice but to hope for rescue. She did not like that, it was a forlorn hope, and even if it came Tonetero would certainly carry out his threat to kill her. I could try to resist when they came, but that won't work, I know no jutsus to attack directly. If I had the nekode Xi made me I could try to rend the bars, but without a focus I'll never get the jutsu to work.
Feeling her hope fade, Shiren considered her options. I will not let Tonetero kill me, she decided, nor this Akatsuki man steal my body. I will find a way to kill myself before they do so.
Yet she refused to give up that easily. There must be something, even if I have only my clothes; perhaps there is something I can do. She sat down calmly and tried to think about it. Neji, help me. Shiren thought. You escaped them, I want to see you, not die like this.
In the dark of night a slim figure moves about the battlefield where grass ninja and Akatsuki fought dragon ninja and stone. The area is despoiled and overrun, with the fallen and browned leftovers of Tonetero's jutsu lying there. Impermanent, how like him, or perhaps it's because he's dead.
I still don't believe it, Aburanki Kei thought, that they brought him back somehow. She recalled the moment, only hours after she returned to Grass village, a strange pair of figures had walked into the town, wearing dark cloaks with red markings. They had radiated a deadliness she associated with no one from her village, so Kei watched them carefully, though she could tell they were watching her as well.
One left grass without doing anything save give instructions she could not here to the other, but the other one, he met the head ninja. I cannot believe that woman agreed! Kei thought in anger. Why! Tonetero had already failed; he was killed in the exam, killed when he was supposed to triumph. Everyone agreed the plan was a failure, they made me a chuunin, I heard the councils. Yet she agreed to this one's mad plan. She took Doshiyre Masan, my teammate, a fool sure, but still my teammate, and gave him to that monstrous man to bring back another monster.
The moment Tonetero cackled back into his sickening semblance of life Kei left the village, not daring to be present with him around. She followed his movements though, hoping she could learn what was planned, find a way to still serve her village and yet avoid the madness affecting it. Have I become a rogue? Kei wondered as she walked upon the battlefield. No! She swore. I still serve my village; it is just that our leader has let the madman fill her mind with dreams of grandeur that will bring our deaths.
Everywhere about the battlefield was destruction, from the plants that had been ripped apart and shredded, to the bodies of the grass ninja, eleven in all, left to lie in the sun and be prey for the scavengers. Kei moved about each in turn, taking at least the time to pile vines over them, offering what protection she could. Then she came to a body that was different.
The man lay in a mass of nettles, his chest was crushed and he bleed from ragged wounds, but Kei saw that he was alive, if barely. Something struck this man down from above, but he hit the vines, and so survived, Kei realized as she rushed over. "What happened?" She asked the dark and twitching figure.
"Uhh..." The man moaned.
Kei took out her canteen, and dribbled it over the dying man's lips. "Listen please," She said. "I am a grass ninja." She took his right hands and traced the outline of her forehead protector with his fingers. "Tell me what happened here and I will end your suffering and see your body properly burned." It was the only thing she could offer the man, his chest had been caved in, driving his ribs into his lungs, and he would die before morning regardless.
"Yes." The man managed, his voice scratching and barely audible. Kei put her ear to his face to here his dying whispers better. "Fought...dragon ninja...akat-atsuki, defeated. Ton...tonetero took, took the prisoner-"
"What prisoner?" Kei asked desperately, for there had been no fallen other than grass ninja here. Had so many died to do nothing but fail an ambush? She wondered in dismay.
"The light..." The prisoner coughed and rasped. "The girl, others, gone." He whispered the words and then fell silent, having no more strength to speak.
The lightning? The girl? Kei heard those words and realized what they meant. If they fought the dragon ninja here, then the one that was captured must have been Shiren. A cold dread appeared in her stomach then. Tonetero has Shiren? Kei could hardly image it. Shiren had been the one bright spot in all her trials in Stone, and she had rejoiced when the lightning ninja, a girl her own age, had killed Tonetero, and had then come to visit her several times, showing her respect where no one else would.
Swiftly Kei kept her promise to her fellow ninja, taking a kunai and driving it sharply and hard into the back of his head, striking the brain. The man's moans stopped immediately. Just as swiftly Kei pulled him down from the place he hung above the ground, and piled the driest nettles and branches she could find about the body. This will light a signal proclaiming I was here for miles, but I will keep my promises to the dead, and to the living.
Kei remembered, she remembered the words the other dragon ninja, the cold boy named Neji, had said to her. I owe Shiren a debt, I owe her my life, and I will pay it back. As the flames rose crackling into the night, Kei made her decision. Tonetero, though it is hideous and wrong, is part of my village. I will not fight him directly, but I can free Shiren from his captivity and pay back my debt. They will have gone to the base to the south. Kei knew. If you can survive to see the next evening, Senirai Shiren, I will pay back my debt to you.
Darkness was falling as Neji and Dar first saw the fort in the distance, peering from behind the trees. The stopped immediately, falling to the ground after a single glimpse.
"What do you think?" Dar asked Neji.
"A wooden palisade, with buildings within, any cells are likely underground, the only secure location." Neji replied. "Close to the center. Shiren and Tonetero will both be there."
"That's problem then," Dar replied. "The area's too open to get close without being seen, and they'll surely kill her if we approach. Besides, with them able to see us we'll be hard pressed to defend attacks. There are probably at least twenty ninja present, and more not far from here."
Hmm..." Neji considered, and not for the first time Dar wondered at the change that had overcome Neji since the morning before. He is like he seemed during the exam, only more so, Dar thought. It was like Xi in many ways, a normal man when doing nothing, a frightening inhuman creature when acting on a mission. "That is true, a normal approach is impossible. We will have to strike fast enough so that they cannot react."
"How could we do that?" Dar questioned. "They're almost certain to see us coming."
"True." Neji noted." There are two factors in our favor. One is that I suspect the other ninja will only kill Shiren if Tonetero orders it directly, perhaps even only if he does it himself, though I refuse to bet her life on that. Two, they will see us approach and stand on the wooden wall to attack us."
"How does that help us, if they stand on the wall, they'll be able to attack us more easily and we won't be able to..." Dar trailed off as he recalled what had happened that morning when Neji fought Xi. "You can blow up a wall?"
"Yes." Neji answered. He thought for a moment, and then relayed his decision to Dar aloud. "Simple is better. I will attack the wall, and then deal with Tonetero, just keep the other grass ninja off me until then."
"If that's what you want." Dar replied simply. "I suppose I'm more likely to survive that way. How will you deal with Tonetero though? Xi's already killed him twice to no effect."
"His body is made of dust and other pieces Xi said." Neji answered. "A wound just causes it to fly about and reform, but if he is blasted away to nothing, surely that will kill him."
"If you can do that through that wall of thorns I'll be surprised." Dar answered sadly. "Still, I suppose there's no way to get Shiren out without dealing with him. All right. It's your plan."
"I appreciate your assistance Dar." Neji answered. "Now we just wait until it is fully dark."
When darkness had fallen Aburanki Kei slid free of her hiding place. All day long she had waited in a notch of a scraggly tree some distance from the small fort. Genjutsu disguised her as nothing more than a branch that wasn't truly there. It had not been the most comfortable position to hold, but it was a sufficient disguise. Now, Kei was ready to move.
Since the other dragon ninja are out there, they will be watching carefully. She had decided as she watched throughout the day, but Kei had carefully timed the patterns in which men watched, and she knew who was the most alert and the least. They expect an attack, Kei decided, but not an infiltrator, and not one using grass ninja techniques.
Crouching on the ground, Kei formed the hand seals, and moved the branches on her back. Grass and branches grew out from those implements, covering her and making her appear to be no more than a bush. The disguise was more than simple genjutsu, since the branches were real, and not just illusion. Now the trick is simply to move forward and not appear as a moving bush.
Kei had another trick to use here, for by making the grass blow in the wind a bush moving forward would simply appear to be blowing in the wind. Thankfully, there is a slight breeze tonight; a few gusts will not be marked out. So Kei began her steady approach.
It took a long time; crawling forward the better part of a kilometer in fits and starts. Kei suspected it took her an hour at least while the darkness deepened. Yet, she was not very nervous. She had done this before many times, and unless Tonetero was manning the walls himself, something Kei knew he would never do, she would not be detected. This is the easy part, she reminded herself. Getting out with Shiren will be the hard part.
In due time Kei was at the base of the walls. Carefully she rose to her knees, making certain that the man above her was looking out into the murky darkness. Only only a cresent moon lit the night, so it was quite dark, though that meant little to the carefully honed eyes of the ninja. Kneeling Kei silently took the branches off her back, and placing them together put them to the wooden palisade. This is the problem with building things out of wood, Kei chuckled inside. It keeps other ninja out, but not grass ninja. "Plant Passage no jutsu." She whispered near silent as she formed the seals over her branches, and spun them in a circle.
The wood warped and opened suddenly, affording enough space for Kei to walk through quickly. She did so and then pressed herself to the ground against the wall, staying under the shadow of the walk above her head. There was some light here, and it was dangerous. Kei could make out Tonetero's characteristic thorn-covered shape standing atop the barracks, apparently talking to himself. Talking to himself? That's a new habit, Kei noted. Did he absorb some of the Akatsuki's mind when he was brought back, or Masan's? It did not bear thinking about. Taking a quick look around Kei recognized the entrance to the prison. From that position she could figure out where the individual cells were below ground, but then it became more complicated. Which cell? Kei wondered. Which cell would your put her in monster? There are four. It won't be the first, because no ninja would do that, and not the last either, since you would want her closer than that, so the second or the third, but which one?
Ah, that's right, the third, since you think women are weak, and don't think you need to keep a close eye on her. Kei made her decision. It seems knowing you has had at least a single benefit, Tonetero.
With a sudden dash Kei advanced out to behind the small armory building, unused at this time of night. The cell is below me, so all I have to do is: "Root Tunnel no Jutsu." She placed one of her branches into the ground and it immediately took root there, growing massive and wide downward, but the root was also hollow, providing a cold and clammy passage for anyone who chose to use it.
Well, I am committed now. Kei thought as she grabbed her branch and leapt down the hollow tube, which closed rapidly behind her.
Shiren heard the strange hole open in the earth of her cell, a hollow tube that seemed to grow out of the wall. She wasted no time wondering what was happening, but positioned herself next to that hole, on the left side, hands ready with a band of her clothing, enough to try and strangle an opponent.
The hole widened, and then suddenly a slim body, covered in dirt and grass, spilled out of it. Shiren wasted no time, but saw a kunai hostler emerge on the left hip. With desperate quickness she reached down and grabbed out one of the weapons, and then lurched to the right, coming down atop the new arrival.
They fell to the ground with a soft thump, and Shiren brought the kunai's tip her visitor's left eye, and placed her hand over her mouth. "Say nothing." Shiren whispered into her ear, aware of the hole closing behind her. "Or I will kill you here and now."
Shiren's captive made no motions, and this gave Shiren a moment to look at who had come into her cell. "Kei?" She whispered into the grass ninja's ear in surprise.
Kei gave the slightest of nods.
Shiren rolled off of Kei's back then, but did not release the kunai. Silently Kei separated herself from the floor.
"The guard is at the end of the hall," Shiren said in her softest voice, knowing that anything more would be overheard. "But we can talk like this." She gave the muddy and disheveled Kei a strange look. "Why are you here?"
"I said I would pay back my debt." Kei said, and her eyes burned fiercely. "I owe you too much to let him kill you."
"So you came to get me out?" Shiren asked, trying to conceal her surprise. Of all the attempts at rescue she might have expected, this was not one of them.
Kei nodded.
"Then why are you in my cell?" Shiren asked.
"It was the safest place to reach." Kei replied. "And the grass ninja are still my country and kin, I am here to rescue you not fight them."
"So how do we get out?" Shiren asked. "That strange way you came in?"
Kei shook her head. "That jutsu can only go down, roots do not grow upwards." Kei looked at the bars. "I will just cut you out."
"How?" Shiren asked. "The bars resist jutsu."
"What?" Kei looked at Shiren wide-eyed. "That's impossible, only the village itself has such containment. Unless..." Kei's face went white. "They were planning to hold Draci Xi, the Akatsuki bastard must have sealed them. Damn, now I have no idea." Kei deflated utterly, from a strong and self- aware ninja to the victim Shiren recognized from after the chuunin exam. It was depressing to watch.
"Perhaps not." Shiren said, and she pulled out a long string, tied together from many pieces of her leggings. "The bars block chakra, but there are other forms of energy, and you have provided me with the metal I need." She held up Kei's kunai.
"Huh?" Kei looked at Shiren. "What do you mean?"
"You recall lightning anchor?" Shiren asked Kei. The grass ninja nodded, but was still confused.
"I want you to take this, and then stomp your feet and spin as fast as you can, keeping your feet on the ground." Shiren told Kei and handed her the end of the strong, now tied to the kunai. "I'll take care of the guard when he comes."
"Don't kill him." Kei said darkly.
"There won't be enough power for that." Shiren said calmly. "When I tell you to stop you must stop, and be ready to act instantly, even if dizzy."
"All right." Kei said quietly, completely surprised at how quickly Shiren had taken command of the situation. Still, I suppose if Tonetero catches us down here we're both dead.
For Shiren, this surprising arrival was just what she needed, the best of all possible circumstances. A chance to break free, and to use her own plan, one conceived of hours ago and then abandoned due to the earthy nature of the soil. There had been not a single metallic rock for her to use, but now she had exactly what she needed. She was not sure how she felt about Kei's assistance; the grass ninja seemed to shift moods rapidly, as if lacking confidence. Perhaps she is simply afraid, Shiren decided. She went from a rescuer to another doomed if Tonetero comes. For her own part Shiren had worked past her fear hours ago, recognizing that either she would die or she would not. In the absence of hope, fear fades rapidly.
Now, as Shiren readied herself to give the order, she felt that fear coming back, and her heart pounded in her chest. A bit of hope restored, and Shiren was afraid she would lose it again. No, I cannot mess this up; I have to do this, as Neji would.
"Now Kei!" Shiren said, speaking the worlds in a normal voice, one that sounded hideously loud after their nearly silent conversation.
Kei slammed her foot into the ground and began to spin, whirling as fast as a leaf in a whirlpool, her feet slashing across the ground at great speed, and the earthy ground responded.
Down the strong that Kei held rushed a surge of static electricity, and down the hall came the guard, wondering what was going on. He was alert, but he could not predict the snaking attack Shiren had planned.
The well-built ninja came into view just in time for Shiren to toss the kunai into his path. It struck his thigh, metal on flesh, and the charge built up by Kei's spin detonated in a crackling burst, stunning the man.
Shiren reached out to grab the guard's shuriken pouch, which contained the keys, before he could recover. "Now Kei! Strike!"
Kei's spin stopped, and through her blurry eyes she saw the guard standing outside the cell, his face contorted in pain, but he was mastering it. Even as she felt the room spin about her Kei pulled free one of her branches, and as she spun around a final time, placed it through the bars and smashed it down upon the guard's head.
The grass ninja crumpled.
Kei fell to the ground, her balance gone, unused to such maneuvers, but Shiren propped her up immediately. "I have the keys!" she said triumphantly, and grabbed at the lock.
As the lock clicked open Kei stood up. "How do you do that to yourself and stay standing?" She asked Shiren.
"There's a trick to it, Shiren replied with a smile. "Now quickly, get your bearings, we will need to get out of here."
The pair walked down the hall, and they reached the guard's desk. Kei kept going, but Shiren reached out a hand to stop her. "Wait a moment."
From the desk Shiren grabbed her shuriken pouch, her kunai holster, the low holster she wore on her right leg, and her hidden weapons, arranging them quickly and rapidly. Then she took the forehead protector that lay there and placed it over her hair, tying it into place firmly with a single solid motion. As long as I wear this, I can go forward as a lightning ninja. Shiren recalled herself. And as a dragon ninja. "Now we can go."
Shiren and Kei moved toward the stairs, considering how they might flee, when a tremendous blast of sound came from above, followed by a crash and screams audible even through the door above.