The Pulse of a Dragon – Chapter 1
Her mother had been only 17 years old when she gave birth to her first and only child. A mewling infant that had fought against its mother's distaste for a mere 8 months before being spat into a world that had no need or want for her. A gift from the heavens sent to the most undeserving of families.
"She's beautiful…"
A rugged tone came from the corner of the room, speaking words as fact. No sentimentality, simple acknowledgment that the child before them ticked every box indicating that it had been healthy and strong despite how early it had come to the world.
To reiterate - her mother had been only 17 years old when she last saw her first and only child.
A sharp intake of breath preceded a blood-curdling scream, a desperate cling for something tangible to keep herself grounded to this god-forsaken hospital room. The childbirth had been completed, she finished what she had come to do. Why then did the pain continue? It was becoming more and more apparent that the complications that came with this pregnancy only grew worse with the actual birth of the child.
A burning sensation had developed over her entire body, starting at the bottoms of her feet, and now reaching up towards her bosom. As though a strong hand slowly reached towards her throat, digging and scratching every morsel of skin that it traveled across along the way. She wanted it to stop. She wanted it to stop more than anything in the world. More than she wanted to breathe did she want this pain to stop, more than she wanted to keep the child lying a few feet below her. The child that had remained untouched by anyone in the room, as though it carried a sickness.
"Somebody do something!"
She didn't know who the outburst was directed at, didn't know what anyone could have done to help her. For a single moment she had forgotten her place, and a single moment was all she could afford. The pain reached a fever pitch mere milliseconds before her world went dark and she felt a thick shadow waver over her now comatose form.
The shadow reached towards the woman's face, a slight hiss escaping its lips as it gently caressed the cheek of the lifeless figure below. A deep frown engulfed its face as it reached below the chin, releasing the grip it held on to the kunai that had been buried within the new mother's neck. A reverberated metallic clinking sound enveloped the room, mixing with the screaming cries of the child to create a truly morbid symphony. A singular attempt at an intake of breath was all the mother could manage before succumbing to the sullen embrace of death.
"Take the child to its mother's quarters." The shadow hissed, turning away from the life it had taken and leaving the room without another sound.
The figures left surrounding the bed gave each other inquisitive glances. They all hoped for a brave someone that would volunteer to pick up the child. Unsurprisingly, not a single step was taken forward by anyone left in the room. With a collective shrug, the room slowly emptied.
The child was left crying on the cold floor, knowing not the touch of another human being for the first 24 hours of her life.
"Shikamaru! Slow down, would ya?"
Kiba's incessant complaining had finally gotten the best of Shikamaru. He came to a stop at the next fork in the road not because he was particularly tired, but because his eardrums were one complaint away from bursting.
It was early morning and the small team of three Konoha ninja were only a few hours away from their destination, a hastily constructed fort in the middle of the Konoha forest that Tsunade said was inhabited by, to keep things brief, 'weirdos'. They didn't know exactly why they were being deployed to this place, but it wasn't their job to ask questions.
Hinata and Kiba came to a stop a few feet behind Shikamaru, both taking the opportunity to catch their breath. Hinata looked to be in far worse shape than Kiba, but Shikamaru noted that Kiba was the only one complaining. He buried his face in his palm with an exasperated sigh. "What a drag…"
"Hey, wise-guy!" Kiba waved his fist in the air dramatically, an equally frustrated and angry scowl covering his face, "We are the ones that got pulled mid-training for this mission! Don't think you're all cool just because you got to sleep in and aren't as tired as us."
"K-Kiba, please…" Hinata took the mediator role once again, satisfied enough in accepting her discomfort in silence.
"Sleeping in is exactly why I want to get this over with as quickly as possible," Shikamaru clicked his tongue, "today was supposed to be my day off. Now instead of enjoying it, I get to spend my day with someone who might be the most annoying person in the entire village."
"You shouldn't talk about Hinata that way."
Swoosh. Right over his head.
"I would appreciate a break myself…" For some reason, Shikamaru hadn't felt guilty until the complaint came from Hinata's mouth. Maybe he was pushing his team a little far, which was more than unprofessional by Chuunin's standards.
"Fine, we can quickly regroup," Shikamaru relented, to the noticeable relief of his companions, "Ten minutes, tops."
Shikamaru withdrew a map of the forests surrounding Konoha and knelt to the ground, Hinata and Kiba quickly following suit. They listened intently, having not been briefed themselves before departing. Everything about this mission seemed very last minute, from the lack of information to the team lineup itself.
"Tsunade didn't say much, but from what I understand…" Shikamaru began, "there's a group of traveling ninja that have temporarily set up camp somewhere around here. They aren't sovereign to any one village, so they do their business by selling products amongst everyone. They don't give warning as to where they're going, hence the last-second mission. Tsunade wanted us to go see what they're selling and see if there was anything of use to us."
"So basically, we're going on a glorified shopping trip." Kiba deadpanned.
"An important one. These guys are famous for the rare herbs, medicines, and poisons that they can get. It goes as far as some villages being suspicious about how they get these things. Orochimaru's name comes up a lot, but that might just be everyone using him as a scapegoat for anything being 'too good to be true'"
Hinata listened intently. She turned her head inquisitively, "Why haven't we heard of them? Seems like they can be pretty useful…"
"You didn't hear this from me, but everyone thought they had been wiped out. This is the first time they've been spotted by any village in over ten years."
"So these guys just pop up out of nowhere and get special treatment from us?"
"Exactly."
Shikamaru cut off Kiba's contempt, standing from his crouch and replacing the map from his bag. Hinata and Kiba followed suit. It hadn't been ten minutes, but neither of Shikamaru's companions cared to voice this aloud. "We should be close. Keep an eye out."
Their pace had slowed, but it only took a few moments before the image of a large tent appeared off in the distance. A sense of relief washed over Shikamaru, happy to know that he wouldn't have to spend the entire afternoon looking for these guys. Now knowing exactly where they were supposed to be, the rest of the trip passed in the blink of an eye. The next thing the squad knew, they were standing in front of the gate surrounding the tents.
A moment passed, then another. Not a single sign of life had yet presented itself. The three of them looked around with a mixture of confusion and weariness. Kiba was the first to speak up.
"HEY!" Kiba announced his presence as delicately as he always had with a scream and a loud whistle, "We're here to shop if any—OW!"
A stone, no larger than the tip of a kunai, grazed past Kiba's cheek. The edges were sharper than a blade and left a single, clean cut. Kiba hollered less from any pain and more from the surprise. It was no exaggeration to say that the entire forest was silent, it still was. Kiba flung himself around wildly in search of whoever had launched the stone.
"It's early. Too early."
The ground underneath their feet molded, changed its shape in the most unnatural of ways before opening up. The three Konoha ninja leaped backward as the dirt rose. Cleanly and without being dirtied, three figures rose from the ground to address their visitors.
Their skin was pale and their eyes were a bright yellow, brighter even than the reflection of light that came from their bald heads. All three of the figures were indistinguishable from each other, down to the loincloths that they all wore.
The one closest to Shikamaru seemed to be the leader, as the other two figures lingered a few inches behind the first. They both held slingshots, aimed precariously at Shikamaru's head. Even from the minor scrape Kiba was left with, Shikamaru knew he wanted to avoid being hit in the face with one of those stones point-blank. As soon as the danger appeared, it left. The slingshots were lowered to the figure's sides, their grip on them safely loosened.
"But for our new guests, we open our doors early."
With a nearly demented smile, the figures parted. Behind them, the large gate opened with a loud creaking that hurt Shikamaru's ears to listen to. The three Konoha ninja cast a worrying signal to one another before nodding their heads and apprehensively taking a step forward.
"Thanks, I guess…"
The inside of the fort looked exactly as Shikamaru had imagined, a bunch of tents surrounding a bunch of tables. What had surprised him was the villagers themselves. They were all indistinguishable from one another, with no way to tell the old from the young or the men from the women. They were all the same from their bald heads and yellow eyes to their loincloths. Hinata tried to listen as they spoke, but they used a language she had never heard before.
The three ninjas stayed close together, unconsciously maintaining an air of normalcy to mask their readiness for self-defense. Kiba's claws had already begun growing, Hinata was a single breath away from activating her Byakugan, and Shikamaru was fully prepared to let his teammates do all of the work.
Even in their precautious state, they could not help being smitten with the wide array of colors that were strewn out on top of the tables. This was a larger variety of items than Shikamaru ever saw at Konoha's farmer's market.
Wordlessly and precariously silent, a figure approached the three of them as they browsed. A dignified atmosphere surrounding the new guest was the only thing differentiating them from any other villager.
"This is the Trala root, found only atop the mountain of Fuju." The figure motioned towards a blue flower in front of them, their tone could almost be described as welcoming, "It sends natural adrenaline through the chakra vessels. A most euphoric relaxation for ninja as busy as yourselves."
"So what, do I just eat it?" Kiba's interest was piqued.
"It is a suppository most effective in pill form." The figure clarified. Kiba gagged.
"You want me to shove something up my ass just so I can trip balls—OW!"
Hinata sent a jab to Kiba's side, cutting him off before Shikamaru had the chance to do the same. If there was one thing Shikamaru was learning so far in this mission, it was that Kiba needed to stop trying to talk.
Ignoring Kiba's strange exchange, it was easy for all three ninjas to see that the products being offered here were of a variety nowhere near what Konoha could produce for themselves. These items were of the rarest breeds Shikamaru had ever seen, recognizing them only because of his poison guide's glossary. Some of these plants are supposed to be extinct. He had slowly come to realize just how impressive, and important, this mission was turning out to be.
"We're from Konoha. My name is Shikamaru, and this is Hinata and Kiba." Shikamaru finally introduced them all, bowing politely alongside his companions to the figure alongside them. "Excuse Kiba, he doesn't have a… filter."
The person, presumedly a woman given her tone of voice, simply waved her hand dismissively. "We are well aware as to where you all reside, we have spent centuries memorizing these lands down to each blade of grass. We are also keen to the peculiarities of the Inuzuka clan and have preemptively forgiven any unintentional offense before you stepped foot into the market."
So she was aware of who they were, which made things a bit easier. If not a bit creepy.
"We appreciate it, but…" Shikamaru was about to continue the conversation and clear up some of his confusions surrounding this strange gathering of people when he felt a sharp tug at his sleeve. Turning to address them, Shikamaru immediately noticed that Hinata's posture was straight as an arrow. Her Byakugan was activated and the arm she had used to pull on Shikamaru's sleeve was slightly shaking. "Hinata?"
"Is that… what I think it is?"
"Ah, a sophisticated eye we have caught," The woman addressed Hinata pleasantly, though making it clear that she had noticed the now activated Byakugan. "It is indeed the coveted Bufula."
"Bufula?" Kiba's interest was once again piqued as he turned to Hinata for clarification.
"It's supposed to be magic…"
"Remove the 'supposed to be' from that sentence. It is magic." The woman reached forward, gingerly removing the brown, inconspicuous feather from its casing, "A rare breed of bird long since thought to be hunted to extinction and otherwise bred out of practical use. Compound structure never having been adequately documented, a single brisk touch said to have greater healing potential than Katsuyu herself and the legendary Sannin combined."
As though even looking at the feather diminished its use, the woman tucked it back into its casing. "Able to bring a soul back from the confines of death itself. A slight exaggeration on that note, though there is finite proof of it bringing back to life the freshly passed. Rather convoluted instruction and limited in purpose, useful nonetheless."
"And how much would something like this cost?" Shikamaru inquired, steeling himself and hiding his amazement. This was a market, after all, had to be sure he wouldn't be upsold or taken advantage of for being ignorant.
"50 million Ryo for the potential buyer."
Shikamaru could not withhold a deep cough.
50 million? For a feather?
"I believe we should keep browsing before committing to such a purchase." Shikamaru played it off, hoping the woman would overlook Kiba's comically flabbergasted expression. Tsunade had given them maybe fifty thousand Ryo to spend, which was not a lot in hindsight. Hinata continued staring at the feather for a long second. When the Byakugan finally vanished from her face, it seemed as though Hinata had to violently force herself to look away.
"As any sensible buyer should," the woman agreed, though peculiarly scratched her chin in what appeared to be deep thought. Contemplatively deciding something inside of her head, Shikamaru maintained his composure. There were no holds barred from this point on.
"There is one other item that I believe would make a more… sensible investment if you will." The woman finally decided, bringing her gaze to match Shikamaru's. It was as if he were being challenged. Shikamaru accepted the challenge.
"Let's see it."
Their journey through the strange camp was a hasty one, the sense of hurry exacerbated by the way they were being inspected by every figure they passed as if they were aliens. To be fair, the three of them were probably inspecting these same people the same way. At least, Shikamaru relented, they didn't look as creepy while doing it.
They followed their chaperone into the largest tent in the whole camp, a structural anomaly that Shikamaru had a hard time comprehending the physics of. It reached hundreds of feet into the air but had been erected just overnight. It covered enough mass to look as though a single gust of wind would rip it from the stakes and send it flying off into the distance. At the same time, it had the structural integrity to remain as motionless as a tower made of brick. Of all the peculiarities they had run into thus far though, it was probably at the bottom of the list.
There was a faint waft of smoke that exited the entrance flap as it was held open for them, giving way for a sizeable bonfire that sat in the middle of the room. Flames billowing up into the sky, a coat of fumes painting the whole area with a dark hue. The first lesson that any ninja had to learn was to not make a fire inside of a tent, but for some reason, the one wafting before them showed no sign of potential danger. Still, Shikamaru was sure it would become difficult to breathe if they stayed inside for too long.
Behind the fire, flickering in the reddened light of a smoke-filled room, a throne. Built upon the darkest of woods and polished to near-perfect glossiness, a chair that rose at least twenty feet above them. A stairway reached towards the seat, fogginess veneering a sharp layer that was difficult to see through. Shikamaru had to clench his eyes to effectively see what was hidden. He saw it then.
A woman.
Beautiful beyond words, fancied in garb that looked to cost more than the Bufula they had perused only a few minutes before. She was thin to an almost unhealthy extent, watching over the surroundings with a sullen, almost expressionless contemplation. At the sight of the three Konoha ninja, there was a start to her vision. A silent excitement drowned in a lake of anxiety. This was a prisoner if they had ever seen one. Given, a rich one.
"I present to you, the Pulse of a Dragon."
There was a long quiet that followed, none of the three ninjas knowing exactly how to respond. Like always, Kiba was the first to open his mouth.
"What am I supposed to be looking at? That girl?" Kiba waved his hand dismissively, "Are you trying to sell us a slave or a princess?"
"Wrong on all accounts."
The chaperone billowed, curtly dismissing Kiba's interjection. She might have said that she had forgiven all preemptive disrespect from the Inuzuka before he stepped foot in the camp, but that wasn't the case this time.
"This is… a god."
Shikamaru's heart sunk to the bottom of his chest, and he could tell by Hinata's mannerisms that the same was true for her. She ran her fingers along her arm uncomfortably, as if inspecting each goosebump that had appeared since they entered.
"Skin as soft as silk yet as painful to the touch as a thousand fires." The chaperon motioned to the woman atop the throne, who stood without a word. Briskly walking down the narrow stairs, her skirt resting above her knees and a soft, crystal embedded tunic waving back and forth with the nonexistent breeze. It took but a moment for the small form to reach a point barely a yard in front of the group. "See for yourself."
Shikamaru was captivated, only now getting a clear look at the woman's pale skin and sparkly silver eyes. She was a few inches shorter than him, hardly reaching his forehead if she were standing on the tips of her toes. She had to have been the same age as them, no older than 17. She seemed… scared, almost. Shikamaru reached out his fingers almost unconsciously.
The faintest of touches along the woman's forearm sent a shockwave of discomfort across his whole body. The tips of his fingers stung like they were being stabbed incessantly by a thousand needles. As soon as the discomfort appeared and Shikamaru scowled in irritation though, the sensation melted away only a second later as if it had never happened.
"Raised in the cavern of ice and stone, she is the reason we have disappeared for nearly a decade. Cultivating her in the image of higher powers took longer than any one man could suffer through." The chaperone caressed the woman's arm delicately, lustfully, "and growing accustomed to her touch took just as long. The pain remains, but our people have become resistant."
She scowled at the woman's touch, pulling away as soon as the point had been made. Something about this yellow-eyed creature made her uncomfortable, that much was certain. The 'Pulse of a Dragon' let out an aggressive grunt before speaking, "Don't. Touch. Me."
And yet the chaperone did not acknowledge the resistance, and neither did anyone else in the room.
"How much for her?"
"500 million Ryo, but only for a certain class of buyer."
At that point, any number could have been offered. A billion, a trillion Ryo. It didn't matter. Shikamaru had already made up his mind.
"And what can she do? Besides burn your fingers, I mean."
A hearty laugh, "What does any mortal ask of a God to do? Of what could we, with our so limited imagination, possibly ask of a God?"
"I don't believe this at all." Kiba sneered, clearly agitated.
"Then you are not of the certain class."
With a whisp of the chaperone's wrist, the woman took her spot back atop the throne, not bothering to take a second glance behind her. But there was a second's hesitation as she climbed the stairs, a plea of sorts that Shikamaru could have blinked and missed.
"Worry not though, my friends! The market stands have plenty of products you will surely find useful. Tsunade could only dream of these marvels, and it would be a crime for you not to adequately inspect them!"
The rest of the visit was much less exciting, especially after seeing something that could 'cure' death and a 'God'. With that being said though, Shikamaru for some reason fully believed everything being said about the properties and effects of the products. A part of him even believed that the woman from before was a 'God', for lack of a better term. Nonetheless, they exited the camp an hour later with as much product as their measly 50 thousand Ryo could buy them, which wasn't a small amount if not buying anything outrageously expensive.
"Thanks for having us," was Shikamaru's simple, if not unceremonious farewell as the gates shut behind them. Once they had traveled a decent distance away, there was no ignoring the dark cloud that hung over their heads.
"That girl…" Kiba broke the ice, bringing back up the topic that was surely on everyone's mind.
"She looked so miserable," Hinata muttered, almost to herself, "I wish there was something we could do for her, but she's so expensive."
Kiba turned to Shikamaru expectantly, "Was it true what that lady said about her 'burning to touch' or whatever?"
Shikamaru took a moment, reflecting on the needles that had pierced his fingers upon brushing them up against her. He looked down at his hand, a lingering solemness still coating his skin.
"Yea, it's true." Shikamaru spoke plainly, refocusing on his team after a moment, "I barely touched her and I felt like I was being burned."
"I bet if you gave her a hug or something you'd have to go to the hospital then," Kiba reiterated.
"How is something like that even possible?"
There was a second of silence as they all pondered Hinata's question. How exactly was it possible that just the touch of someone's skin could hurt so badly? Was it some kind of jutsu? Shikamaru had no way of really knowing. What he did know was that, if it were a jutsu, it wasn't a jutsu that any of them had ever heard of. They conceded their ignorance.
"Well, we have to do something," Kiba shut his eyes in thought, trying to come up with an idea. He knew he had one foolproof plan that had never failed him, but he wasn't sure if the notoriously covert Shikamaru would agree to an outright assault. To his surprise, Shikamaru nodded his head before Kiba even had the chance to speak up.
"It isn't part of the mission, but…" Shikamaru lit up with a smile, "I'm sure Tsunade wouldn't mind if we randomly stopped someone from being trafficked.."