Author's Notes: New chapter, and time for a battle that has been fated in this story from the very beginning, one I anticipated for a long time. Of course, the next chapter's fight is even better, so stay tuned for that.
Thanks for all reviews!
Meggido: I wish I could get a pet mantis shrimp as well, pity I'm not really settled enough to keep an aquarium. They are supposedly something of a challenge to keep though (stabbing the hand that feeds them and such).
Chapter 23 – Vengeance, Futility, Power, and Redemption
It took Ise all of perhaps five minutes to decide that he hated snow. The sticky, nasty, white powder simply got in the way of everything. It was like trying to walk in water up to the knees, without all the usefulness being in water might provide. It was simply a delaying factor, one he could not afford, but one that he could not get around.
Several days in snow had not helped this opinion, but finally, it seemed the whiteness was fading. Ise and Yi had made it through the pass behind Waterfall. They had reached the lands of Sound once again. As the snow receded Ise and Yi quickened their pace. Neither said anything, for they knew they must focus their energies on movement. The marathon chase they were engaged in now could not afford wasted energy.
It was a strange sort of chase indeed, and not what Ise had expected after they burst free from Hidden Rain. There were ninja behind them, Ise was certain, and to both sides, he could smell them on the evening winds at times from high places, and he knew they were there. Yet these enemies never closed the distance, and they never tried to encircle their prey. It had been a puzzle for a while, for Ise knew he and Yi had not outpaced their enemies, not over the snowy passes. "Why don't they try to catch us?" Ise had spat at the fire in exasperation on the third evening. "Are they that afraid of us?"
It had been Yi who provided the answer, something born of hard experience from her days as a fugitive in grass. "No, they are waiting for someone to come from another direction and cut us off. Maybe they are afraid a little, so they've called somebody powerful to come from the other direction and act as the capture team."
"So that's the 'Akatsuki' then," Ise had reasoned, displeased. When Keisuke had mentioned that word Ise had not placed it, but since then he sensed it was something he ought to know, a word whispered in secret by jounin and higher ranks when they did not realize the nearby shark might hear. It was something very dangerous, and he did not know what it meant.
"Most likely," Yi had answered, and then had gone back to the journey.
Once the pursuit pattern had been figured out, Ise had changed methods. He still moved at a swift pace, but not one that would tire then excessively. He suspected there was no way to escape the enemy, and they would need their full strength to fight the ones who came to capture them. It would be best to make the coast and find a ship, but the enemy is trying to herd us to the central sound country, and since we do not know their numbers we cannot try to break the ring except at the very last. Damn! It left Ise dissatisfied deep down. Sharks are hunters, not the hunted.
The pair of fugitives journeyed swiftly across the countryside, first through snow passageways in deep valleys, and now through the still bare woodlands of the chaotic sound country. Ise was careful to keep as far away from habitation as possible. Running into bandits or rogue ninja is something we cannot afford now, he knew.
"How long must we evade them, Ise?" Yi asked on the fifth morning.
"If we can stay ahead for another five days they will have kept us from reaching the sea on the north side, but at that point there will be ports to the east. They shouldn't be able to block us then," Ise paused and sighed. "I'm sure they'll make their move before then, probably soon."
Later that day, as the sun was fading behind the mountains of Stone country behind them, Ise smelled it.
At first he did not recognize what was coming, instead thinking his nose was being tricked by the wind. Huh? He wondered, why do I suddenly smeller stronger? Did my scent get brought back to me by the wind? Confused, Ise ignored the scent for a time, until it grew stronger, and closer. Then it was joiner by another, something more normal and human, and he knew that enemies approached.
Ise's hand shot out in front of Yi beside him. "Someone's coming, two people I think, though there's something strange. The scent is masked well, but there's old blood mixed in, and I can smell it."
"Old blood?"
"They carried weapons that were used recently, a few days ago, and not completely sterilized," Ise answered. "Stupid, they might mask their own scent, but nobody hides blood from a shark's nose. Either they don't know our abilities well, or they're very overconfident."
"Maybe its both," Yi replied. "Still, only two, that shouldn't be anything we can't handle. Let's cut through them and head for the coast at full speed."
"That's a reasonable plan," Ise acknowledged. "Find a spot for ambush."
They quickly found a small marsh at the intersection of two creeks. The trees around it had only the slightest covering of leaves yet, providing minimal camouflage, but there was enough water around for Ise and Yi to make full use of their powers. They chose a suitable point high in the tree and hid themselves behind dead branches and a bit of henge. Yi and Ise were hid together, separated by only a few inches.
They waited for the enemy to approach.
As they hid there, each heard only the soft breathing of the other, but Ise's senses extended far. They had only grown sharper since his full-bonding with the shark in rage during the escape from rain. He could smell things no human could even dream of, hear motions, and even had the tingling of greater, stranger sensations in the back of his brain, a strange sense of everything about him that came from someplace he could not identify.
For now, however, it was the scents carried on the air that mattered most to him. The scent of old blood grew stronger, along with the scent of a human, though fairly well masked, but it was the other scent, the one he had detected first that puzzled Ise. It is fishy, different, and partly human, but partly of the sea. It reminds me of my own scent, a different thing. Is this a summoned creature?
It would not be until he finally saw his enemies that Ise realized what he had properly known from the very beginning, but simply had not wanted to acknowledge.
Yi saw them first, and she tugged on Ise's sleeve to draw his gaze.
They walked through the woods with supreme confidence, and their gait marked them clearly as ninja, but that was the only thing about this pair that was easily understood. They wore long robes instead of a uniform, despite forehead protectors adorning their brows. Black robes, with strange red marks on them, not discernable at such a distance yet.
It was a mismatched pair as well. One of the ninja was a normal looking man, of average height, while the other was the tallest ninja Yi had ever seen, a massive man with an equally massive wrapped sword on his back. When she saw his skin she could not stifle a gasp.
Ise needed only a single instant of view, and his mind changed. His vision shifted, completely ignoring the man on the left, tunneling in instead on the other, on a face that seemed to be a mirror. Blue skin, jagged toothed mouth, cut gill slits in the cheek, and spiked gray-blue hair above. So, it is you, uncle. Shark rage enveloped Ise, and his blood burned cold, salt-water veined, his colorless eyes grew dark, and he felt the power in him. The shark there knew exactly what it wanted, and its goals mirrored Ise's own. Uncle, you're in my way, my enemy. For my mission, for my brother, for the Mist, for myself. I'll kill you!
With suddenness Yi could not believe Ise burst from hiding and sailed above and toward his enemies. He grasped the notch on his spear and twisted, whipping it into segments and dragging it down toward his targets. "Water Element: Great Water Razors!"
Buzzsaws of water slashed out from between those segments, massive disks of destruction twice Ise's own height. He felt stronger than ever, for the shark in him obeyed him willingly, its goals and his own perfectly mirroring each other, his needs as a ninja at that moment perfectly in line with what his instincts desired. All obstacles to his control of technique and ability seemed to have come free, and the world had narrowed down to a tunnel between himself and his uncle, one his senses penetrated completely.
The two ninja below looked up only as Ise spoke out the words of the jutsu. Kisame swung Sameheda up about him with swift motions. "Water Element: Wave Surge no jutsu!" his guttural voice replied.
Water slammed into water, and splashed everywhere, as bursting razors of liquid smashed into a great wave of power, and there was no direction for either to go. The water rolled away, and as it cleared there was the sharp clang of metal on metal, then again, and then a third time.
As the water cleared Ise and Kisame stood locked in combat. Yi, looking on from hiding, could differentiate the two only because Ise was a few inches shorter than his massive uncle. The great sword Sameheda's cloth covering had been ripped away by the force of the two jutsus, its livid shearing teeth revealed. Ise had blocked a downward cut of his uncle's weapon with his spear, and twisted around, so they stood locked together, each trying to force the other's weapon away high.
A vicious smile twisted down Ise's face as he stared up at his uncle. "I'll kill you!" he hissed. "You won't escape this time!"
"Kisame," Yi was shocked to hear the strange, dispassionate voice of the other ninja, who stood again beside his companion as if Ise's attacks and all the surge of water had meant nothing. "What is this?"
"Hehe," Kisame laughed through his teeth. "It seems it's my nephew, Ise."
"He must be the one protecting our target then," Yi found that voice devoid of morals or duty, a person incapable of loyalty to anything but themselves. "Hurry up and dispose of him."
"Sure," Kisame smiled.
"Don't underestimate me, uncle!" Ise hissed. "You're just an animal who lost to the shark inside. I'm going to cut you apart."
"Arrogant brat!" Kisame flexed his arms and threw Ise backward.
Ise flipped with the move, and his spear again became a whip, slashing towards Kisame's face, forcing a reactionary block. Then Ise spun about and arced over his uncle, stabbing down from above, quick strokes that kept his uncle off guard. He landed behind the other Hoshigake, and simply sidestepped the great slash that Kisame hacked at him, a blow that would have easily cut him in two.
"As I thought," Ise smiled as he turned to face his uncle again. "You have lost to the shark. Its rage controls you. I know that rage, so I can determine your actions."
"Cocky scum!" Kisame spun Sameheda and slammed the massive sword into the ground. "Try this! Breaker!"
The ground cracked open and water surged out, upward beneath Ise.
"Water Element: Bubble Succor!"
A bubble appeared in the blast of water, and carried Ise upwards.
"Shark's Spit Missles!" Ise burst free of Kisame's attack and made his own, shooting thousands of the sharp teeth free from his mouth.
"Water Sword Shield!" Water enveloped the massive blade of Sameheda, making it even larger and enabling Kisame to swing the blade forth to block Ise's attack.
"Not enough!" Ise dove in, taking his spear in his right hand and blocking Sameheda out wide to the right. He rasped his right arm along Kisame's skin.
The skin of the two shark-blooded ninja came together with a strange grinding noise. Kisame grunted dropping Sameheda in the same instant Ise dropped his spear. The two slashed their arms against each other, becoming trapped in a strange stance with Ise's forearms ripping against Kisame's the outside of his arms held against the inside of his uncle's, but neither harmed.
"Not bad, but not good enough!" Kisme spat, and his head lanced down.
Ise dropped away from the blow, having known his uncle would try to bite him, for it was the only reaction a shark would have. As he dropped backwards he kicked out, slamming his uncle in the stomach and throwing him back. As his uncle was thrown back in shock Ise drew three kunai and hurled them with all his strength. "Die!"
Somehow, Sameheda was already in Kisame's hand, and he blocked the kunai and alighted on his feet again. "Heh, think you got me?
Ise stood before him with his spear raised. "Don't worry, I'll finish you soon enough."
"No progression after all that? Embarrassing," The cold voice of the other ninja cut in. "Kisame, end this."
"Heh, it seems he was better than I expected," Kisme remarked. "I'll deal with it."
Yet even Yi, from her high up vantage, could see that the remark was largely bravado. Because Ise knows his uncle's rage, he can match him. If Kisame makes a mistake Ise can win, even if his uncle is stronger and has far more chakra.
Kisame's hands flashed through seals, a pattern Ise knew well, and he knew what was coming. "So that's it, fine, I'll show you I'm not weak."
"Water Element: Water Shark Missile!"
"Water Element: Water Shark Missile!"
Twin blasts of water rose from the marsh and coiled into brutal and destructive columns to streak toward their targets.
Then they struck each other. Ise and Kisame both held the final seal of the jutsu, putting as much chakra as possible into the technique, which stood locked between them. The two stood absolutely still for long moments as the water raged between them, until finally Ise grunted, and his head sank downward a notch.
Kisame's blast of water slammed through and smashed into Ise, hurling him back and smashing him against a nearby tree.
Ise looked up through a mask of pain to see Kisame advancing on him with Sameheda held easily in his right hand. The attack jutsu should have killed him, but his own move had canceled out much of the force. Still, I can't move, Ise recognized desperately. I've no breath.
"Too bad, nephew," Kisame leered. "You were getting pretty good. I guess I'll just have to kill you now."
Sameheda came up over Ise.
"No! You'll die!"
The water that lay all about the ground now suddenly burst into flame between Kisame and Ise, throwing the massive ninja back.
"Wha-" Kisame saw a girl standing between him and Ise. "Who are you?"
"You'll never know, because now you die!" Yi extended both hands, and bent her outer fingers back and thumb in. Rage burned in her, furious and horrible at seeing Ise injured. "Burn in Hell! Mizuho!"
The water beneath Kisame ignited, and he was hurled backwards, his feet burning and scorching.
"Water Wall no jutsu!" he managed, separating the flaming water form his body. Then he managed to find a splotch of dry ground to stand on. "A nice technique," Kisame growled. "But I'll cut you into shreds for that!" He leapt through the air; bringing Sameheda across in a cross cut that would disembowel Yi.
"Secret technique: Burning Liquid Skin!" Water flowed up Yi's body with sudden swiftness, covering her entirely in a flaming, liquid barrier. Sameheda dragged across that barrier, but tore into nothing but water.
Yi tore a kunai from her pouch, and watched as it became covered with flaming liquid, then threw it at Kisame as a counterstroke.
The kunai whirled through the air, spraying droplets of water everywhere, but Kisame managed to position Sameheda so that none of the drops fell on his skin. "Heh, even with that, such a sloppy attack won't get around me."
"If one won't many will, you fool," Yi's eyes narrowed beneath their flaming skin, red on red like a demon's fury. "Water Element: Tako's Arms!"
From the marsh there came a bubbling of water, and then eight long arms, each bearing a cruel weapon made of water, swords, axes, and polearms, stretched forth and reached towards Kisame. The arms of the Tako, the intelligent octopus. "Mizuho!" Those watery arms burst into flame. "Now die!" Yi commanded, as she directed the arms at her target.
Kisame spun about, and blocked blow after blow with Sameheda, preventing any of the eight surrounding arms from striking him with their weapons, an impressive feat, but not enough. Block the weapons though he might, and even avoid touching the arms themselves, Kisame could not avoid the splashes of water unleashed by every movement and block of those watery arms, and every motion brought burning water droplets onto his limbs. He bore it for a moment, and then screamed in pain, and Sameheda fell from his fingers for an instant.
The arms closed in for the kill.
"Bushin Bakuha."
A massive explosion shook the area about Kisame, and suddenly the arms and the shark-blooded ninja were thrown back. The arms dissipated into nothing, while Kisame, though blasted and burnt, got up again.
Yi looked out to see the other ninja, the short one with the cold voice, standing before her.
"You can't kill him just yet," he said. "There's still a use for him." He paused. "So you are the Mizain we are targeting. Your power is indeed impressive; it will prove quite useful to us."
"So you're the Akatsuki, huh?" Yi remarked, and then she let her rage answer. "Just try to take me, plenty have died trying."
"Loud, but useless," the ninja looked at her, and suddenly his eyes went from black, to red, and marked with three eerie seals, then it seemed that his pupil split down those seals, opening into a three pointed star that shook Yi with horror. "W-wha"
"Tsukuyomi."
Yi felt the world fade away and seemed to see a redness to the sky and moon, then memory failed and she struck darkness, as the illusionary world shattered about her.
"Itachi!"
Kisame's shoved his companion aside as Sameheda slid between Itachi and a much smaller sword blade poised to cut the Uchiha down. The Uchiha blinked furiously for a moment, seemingly confused by having his doujutsu broken even in the mere instant required to utilize it.
For Ise, standing against the tree behind Yi, there was an even more confusing scene.
Yi lay collapsed in a puddle before him. In front of her stood his uncle, locked together with a ninja all in black wielding a simple ninja sword. The other Akatsuki member, Itachi, was rubbing his eyes to the side of them.
Then the black ninja spoke. "Hoshigake Ise!" his voice was normal for that of a young ninja, but his words carried something else to them, something strange and unknowable. "Hoshigake Ise!" It demanded Ise's attention.
"What?"
"Take Lady Yi and go!"
"What!"
"Do as I say, take Lady Yi and go, you cannot win this battle. Flee!" It was an absolute order. "I will deal with these two!"
Ise did not like those orders, but he understood his and Yi's state. He moved forward, still aching, but feeling strength return to his limbs. Quickly he held Yi up, wrapping her around the haft of his spear. "What do I tell Yi?" he asked.
Slowly, even as he stood matched against Kisame, the black ninja turned his head. His face was wrapped entirely in black cloth as well, so it took Ise a moment to notice. The other ninja was massively burned, so that no skin remained on his face, and he had no eyes beneath his mask. "Tell her it is Shiro," The ninja spoke the words in an otherworldly tone, even as those eyeless pits stared completely through Ise, measuring his soul. "See that she reaches Mist safely, it must be so! You are the only one to guard her from now on! Now Go!"
Ise could only nod, and he leapt into the trees, numb.