Disclaimer: Uh, do I have to do this again? I mean, seriously, you've seen it 6 times…
A/N: OH MY GOD! So sorry, everyone! College is just hectic! And I need to get at least a 3.0 by the end of this semester… damn track meets and classes! But oh well. Here's chapter 6 for ya!
Chapter Six
Spoons frowned, shaking Sasuke awake, "Sasuke, wake up! Come on!"
Sasuke yawned and opened his eyes, looking at his clock to see that it was four thirty in the morning. He then looked at Spoons, noticing that she was dressed and ready for something, "Spoons, what are you doing? It's four in the morning, and we don't even have to meet for our missions until eight…"
"Spoons!" Naruto's whining voice caught Sasuke's attention, causing him to glare at Spoons.
Spoons frowned even more, "Get up! We have to get up!"
"Why?" Sasuke yawned once again.
"Something's happened to my cousin, and I want to know what!" Spoons yelled in his ear, causing him to fall out of his bed.
"Spoons, why did you have to wake me up and drag me here?" Naruto yawned as he appeared at the door.
"The best ninja in the village are meeting at the Hokage's office at five, and with them are going to be my family. Something happened to my cousin, and I want to know what!" Spoons screamed, causing Sasuke to jump up and grab stuff to get ready. She then nodded, "We are going to be there, I want to know what's up!"
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The Ronins and Warlords stood in the Hokage's meeting area, all wide awake and suited up in their armor. The Hokage himself was sitting in his chair, as awake as he had ever been in his life.
The Jounin behind them all were mumbling amongst themselves, wondering why they had been called. "I have called all of you here for an important cause!" The Hokage started.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed slightly as he noticed his three Genin sneaking amongst the shadows. Cale cleared his throat, catching Kakashi's attention, "My daughter, Cooper, has been kidnapped. Along with her was a ninja from this village, Liz. We were on patrol yesterday when they were attacked."
The Hokage nodded his head, "It seems that Itachi has come back and has kidnapped Cooper and Liz against their will. I will not let him have them! We are to search for them immediately!"
Spoons' gasp caught the attention of everyone in the room, and they all looked at her, Naruto, and Sasuke. Spoons' eyes filled with tears as she glared at the Ronins and Warlords. She pointed at them, screaming, "Why didn't you tell me? Why did you keep it a secret?" Her voice became louder as she stomped towards them, "That's why you told me to sleep at Sasuke's last night! You didn't want me to find out that Cooper wasn't coming home!"
Sasuke seemed angered as well, clenching his fists, "My brother was the one that did this?"
Ryo shook his hands in front of him as Spoons lunged at him, "Easy! Easy, Spoons!" He slammed into the ground with her on top of him. She started banging on his breastplate, "We didn't want you to run after her!"
Kakashi came forward and pulled Spoons from Ryo's chest, only to have Spoons scream even more. "She could be dead! She could be hurt! And you didn't tell me!"
Sekhmet's voice was soft and almost silent, but Spoons heard every word. "They won't kill her, Spoons. They captured her to get to us."
Sage had stayed silent this whole time, his eyes squeezed shut and his fists clenched at his sides. As Spoons started screaming even more, he couldn't take it anymore. He yelled, causing everyone to become silent all at once, "SHUT UP!" Everyone looked at him, including Spoons, and he shook his head, "Arguing amongst ourselves isn't going to bring my fiancé back. The more time we waste here, the slimmer the chance of actually finding her!" He then pointed at Kakashi before pointing at Spoons, Naruto, and Sasuke, "Keep these three as far away from this case as you can! We don't need Spoons being kidnapped as well. And a feeling in my gut tells me that they are after her as well!"
"But!" Spoons yelled.
"No!" Sage yelled back. "Leave this to us, Spoons. You're a Genin now, you have missions of your own that you have to do, so do them!"
Spoons cried freely, not caring that everyone was watching her, "Why are you being like this, Sage? She's my cousin! I think I should be able to…"
Sage shook his head quickly, his voice raising and causing Spoons to wince, "No! That is the end of the discussion! You are staying here to complete your missions! Leave this to us so you stay safe! Cooper would most definitely hate herself if you were harmed in any way because she was kidnapped!"
With that, he nodded to the other Ronins and Warlords, "Let's go, guys. We have to start searching!"
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Cooper kept her shout of pain in as Itachi threw her down on the floor of the room that they were in. She kept her head lowered, not wanting anyone else to look at her. It had been days since she had been captured, and Itachi and Kisame had taken her out of the Fire country, she knew that much.
A laughter hit her ears, causing her to look up sharply. Red eyes. They looked like Kurenai's, but she knew they weren't hers. "You have brought me what I have wished, Itachi!"
A light scream beside her caused her to look over, only to see Liz. She was battered and bruised, much like she was, and both knew that it would be hell.
Cooper glared at him, but her glare held no true bite. She was drained, had been drained since Itachi had used his technique on her. She would never call for her family for this man, never!
The leader of the Akatsuki shook his head, "Feisty, isn't she?"
Cooper screamed at him, "I'll never do what you want me to!"
Itachi kicked her forward, causing her to quiet down and slam fully into the floor. Cooper kept her tears at bay, wanting to make them think that she was strong and not weak. The leader leaned forward, and Cooper could tell he was smiling, "Oh, you'll call them to me, over time. You'll wear down and call them to aid you. And they will answer, just as they always have done…" He then nodded to Itachi, "Put her in a cell. She'll stay there."
"What of the other one?" Kisame asked.
Cooper glared even more at the leader, and he laughed, "Separate them. Let us see how she does without her companion!"
After Cooper had been put in a cell and left alone, she pulled her knees to her chest and let her tears fall down her face. She started rocking herself back and forth, squeezing her eyes shut, reciting the Ronin Poem.
"Torch and Spirit sought through five,
The last defense to keep humanity alive,
The quest begins in the hour most dire,
Drinking strength from immortal fire.
Evil pressures good with all its might,
From the darkest prison sheds the light.
Find the third warrior, for evil must halt,
Sleeping beneath a churning pillar of salt.
Time is running short; it's escaping the clock,
Seek the next warrior, buried within a throne of rock.
Find the fifth warrior, when hope seems to die,
Floating among the eyes of the ages, unmourned in the sea of the sky…"
Her voice seemed to become just a tad bit louder, a more surreal sound to it as well. "Unite them together, five to make one…" A dark green light started to flow around her. "Then bring back the other four, and victory is won…"
She then closed her eyes, her tears falling down her face even more, but she felt more relieved. Her eyes slid closed once more, and this time, she fell into a deep sleep.
Cooper looked around her, seeing that she was in what reminded her of the inside of a battleship for the navy. Steam hissed out at her from pipes in the walls, but it was dark, even quiet.
Something possessed her to walk forward, and she did so without any knowledge of doing so. She let her feet take her down the many different turns and corners, knowing that something was possessing her to do so. Doors littered the hallways that she walked down, but she never touched them.
A part of her decided that it was best not to try and test the doors, so her feet continued on. Finally, when she thought she had been walking for hours, her feet finally stopped. She looked up, noticing that she was in a huge room, and water was flooding the floor. As she stepped down into the room, the water rushed up to her ankles, but Cooper paid no heed to it. A huge cell door across the room caught her attention.
The door was taller than what she could comprehend, and even upon leaning her head back she couldn't see the top. A huge chain wound its way across the door though, keeping it locked tightly. A sense of need filled Cooper, and she desperately walked forward, the water not hindering her. She needed to see what was in the cage, and she would stop at nothing to find out.
When the water started rising on her, she continued forward, not retaliating one bit. The water flowed up past her knees, yet she still walked forward. "Almost… there…" Cooper mumbled, wading through the water.
By the time she made it to the front of the cage, the water was to her chest. She frowned, "What is in there that you don't want me to see? What is it?"
A deep female voice brought the answers to her questions, "You will soon find out, young one…"
The water started to recede from the room, causing Cooper to sigh in relief. Once the water was gone, Cooper looked back at the cage. She almost screamed in fright as two huge golden eyes, much like a wolf's, were staring back at her. The darkness in the cage seemed to dissipate somewhat, and Cooper could make out the face of a huge wolf. A dark green colored light surrounded it.
It growled slightly, the voice of the female sounding from it, "Child, come closer."
Cooper's eyes narrowed, "What makes me know that I can trust you?"
But nonetheless, her feet took her forward. As she stopped in front of the cage, the wolf's jaws snapped around the metal, almost snapping the bar in two. It snarled. "I want freedom, but this cage is holding me back!"
Cooper frowned, "You're like the nine tails, aren't you?"
"The nine tailed fox?" the wolf snarled at her, its jaws gnawing on the bar in its mouth. "That power hungry demon is nothing like me! Unlike him, who could care less about his vessel, I care much so for you! Why do you think you have been kept alive all of this time?"
"How do I know I can trust you?" Cooper eyed the wolf demon rather closely. "How do I know that you aren't going to take over my body for your own if I set you free?"
"Unlike the seal that was used to contain the nine tails, my seal is quite different." The wolf lowered its head to be level with Cooper. "When I was sealed into your body, I gave up the option to take it for my own. I traveled from this world to yours, searching for the right vessel. I found it in you. You were strong, no matter what happened." It closed its eyes, "The only thing I could do would be to roam around in your mind, where you were just a little bit ago. If you were in trouble, you could take on my appearance if you so wished, but would not be able to hold it for very long…"
"I still don't trust you," Cooper mumbled, but walked closer to the cage door.
"Child, I could have taken over your body when you were a child, but I did not, did I? You had no problems. You had my strength, you had my knowledge, and you had my company." The wolf almost purred.
Cooper put her hand inside the cage, down on the wolf's nose. The wolf did not move, and Cooper looked into its eyes carefully, "You swear to me on my life, that if I were to release you I would not be taken over?"
"You have my word, child, and I never go back with it. I will be here if you need me, but I will not take over you without your command." The wolf closed it eyes in pleasure. "You will have my chakra as well, something that you will need to get accustomed to. It will feel weird holding power."
The dark green glow that was surrounding the wolf seemed to slink across the ground before wrapping around Cooper. She yelped for a moment as the green chakra constricted around her, but then it absorbed into her body. Cooper placed a hand on the cage, only to have the chains on it shatter…
Cooper awoke screamed and grabbing her abdomen in pain. It was almost unbearable. It flared through her body like nothing she had ever experienced, and she wished it would stop. She screamed again, thrashing around on the floor of her cell, "Make it stop! Make it stop!"
Footsteps echoed in Cooper's mind, but she did nothing to stop her screaming and thrashing. The pain was too much to bear, and she didn't care if anyone saw her. The door to her cell quickly opened, and someone grabbed her, holding her down and still. She screamed again, trying to pull at their grip, "Make the pain stop! Please!" Tears fell down her face unchecked, "Please! It's killing me!"
The person slammed her into the ground even more, their voice registering in her mind, "Cease your actions!"
The pain flared at the sudden act, and her scream died in her throat. Her eyesight became blurry, and she ceased her thrashing. The person was smiling; she could hear it in their words, "Good. Very good. You will stay alive if you continue to listen…"
Cooper snarled at that, lunging onto the person and biting their arm. It registered in Cooper's mind that she was attacking Itachi, but she was enraged. Itachi flung her across the cell, causing her to slam into the ground and then fall to the floor.
Cooper started mumbling, a dark green aurora appearing around her. "Torch and spirit sought through five… The last defense to keep humanity alive…The quest begins in the hour most dire… Drinking strength from immortal fire…"
Itachi kicked her, causing her to grunt in pain and grab her side. Her mumbling stopped, and he smirked down at her, "What were you hoping to do?"
A red aurora appeared in back of him, the room heating up exponentially. Within seconds, Ryo was standing there in his armor, his katanas unsheathed and looking around. "What the…" His eyes went wide as he saw Itachi and Cooper.
Cooper yelled, sadness in her eyes, "No! No! No!" She shook her head, "I didn't want to summon him!"
Itachi laughed as Ryo lunged forward, hoping to move him away from Cooper. Itachi quickly vanished in a puff of smoke and the cell door slammed shut. Itachi was standing on the other side, a smirk on his face as Ryo powered down, "It seems we have one in our possession."
Cooper sobbed as Ryo pulled her into his grip, "No! No! I didn't want to call you! If I would have known that it would have brought you here, I would have never recited it!"
Ryo rocked her back and forth, "Easy, Cooper, it's alright. We were searching for you… You're safe now. I'm here…"
"That's what they want!" Cooper sobbed. She then shook her head, "I thought it would calm my soul, I never thought it could summon all of you!"
"Take deep breaths," Ryo advised. As Cooper seemed to settle in his grip, he asked her, "How did I get here?"
Cooper winced at that, knowing that if she had just kept her mouth shut, then it would have never happened. Her eyes squeezed shut, "I started reciting the Ronins Poem. I only got to your line, and then Itachi kicked me, causing me to go silent." She shook her head, "You cannot allow me to summon anyone else, Ryo! They can't be caught as well…"
The door opened, and the next thing both knew, Cooper was being held off the floor by her throat as Ryo was dragged out of the cell. Ryo struggled roughly, knowing that Cooper needed him to stay with her. She was afraid, and he knew that she would probably recite the other lines of the poem if he wasn't with her.
"Cooper!" Ryo yelled. "Cooper, just don't recite it! Keep faith! I'll get us out of this!"
Cooper cried, prying at the person's grip on her throat, "Ryo! Ryo! Don't leave me!"
The Akatsuki leader, the one holding her off the ground by her throat, laughed, leaning in towards her, "It seems you have found a way to summon them, have you?" He smiled evilly at her, "If you summon the rest of them, then we shall withhold from harming you anymore…"
Cooper's eyes flashed golden like a wolf's, and she snarled before thrashing wildly in his grip. He quickly threw her to the opposite side of the cell and walked out, not even looking back at her.
Cooper sobbed, pulling her knees up to her chest and rocking herself back and forth, "Drinking strength from immortal fire… Drinking strength from immortal fire…"
Two seconds later, Ryo appeared in her cell again, looking around wildly before noticing Cooper in the corner. He quickly ran to her, pulling her into his grip, "I don't think I'll get used to the feeling of being summoned…"
Cooper buried her face into Ryo's chest, knowing that she now had a link to him, even if they did take him away. The leader appeared at the cell door, and Ryo growled at him. The leader glared in at them, "It seems I have no choice but to leave you with her. She would just summon you back if we were to take you away." He then smirked, "You will fight for me now…"
"Hell no!" Ryo yelled. "I don't fight for anyone but myself, especially if they harm my best friend's fiancé!" He then snarled, "And especially when they toss Liz back in Konoha unconscious and barely alive!"
"You will soon change your mind, warrior," the leader laughed before walking away, leaving Ryo to comfort Cooper in any way that he could.
He rocked her back and forth, trying to reach the others at the same time. – Guys, can you hear me? Any one? –
- Ryo, is that you? – The voice of Rowen entered his mind.
- Rowen! – Ryo's mind seemed to yell in joy.
- Where are you? You just vanished! We are all worried! First Cooper, now you… Who's next? –
- Well, think of the poem… - Ryo looked down at Cooper, noticing that she seemed to be falling asleep. – Rowen, she can summon us with the Ronin Poem! She's holding strong, guys, but I'm afraid that she might not last for too long… -
- Do you know where you are? Describe your surroundings! – Rowen's voice yelled to him.
- Ryo! Is Cooper still safe? Was she harmed? Have they hurt her? – Sage's frantic voice entered his mind.
Ryo sighed, holding Cooper closer to himself. – She's safe, they haven't hurt her to the point where I can see something right now. We're in a cell, that's what it is, and as they dragged me out of her cell, I noticed that we were underground. That's all I can really tell you guys, sorry. But now I need to comfort Cooper and I need some sleep… Being summoned really takes a lot out of you… I must be quite a bit from where we were… -
Cooper looked up at Ryo with half lidded eyes, sleep clouding them, "Ryo?"
Ryo smiled down at her, holding her tightly, "It's alright, Cooper. I'm right here. I'm not going to let you go, I promise…"
"Don't let me say the poem," Cooper mumbled, her eyes sliding closed and falling into a light sleep.
Ryo smiled sweetly down at her, "Don't worry, Cooper, I won't let you." With that, he closed his eyes as well and fell into a very light sleep.
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Cooper's scream awoke Ryo. It had been, what he thought to be, four days from when he had been summoned to her. He looked around, only to see that she wasn't in the cell with him. In fact, the cell that he was in wasn't the one that Cooper and him shared.
A tingling sensation filled his body, and an urgent need to rescue also filled his heart. His kanji on his forehead glowed quickly before he felt what seemed like his body ripping apart. He quickly closed his eyes, and upon opening them, he was in another cell, Itachi holding Cooper up by her throat off the ground.
As Ryo ran forward, Kisame grabbed him, slamming him into the cell wall. Ryo cried out in pain, and Kisame smirked, "Keep going, Itachi. This time around she isn't going to get his help!"
Itachi slammed Cooper into the cell wall even more, "Say the rest! Summon the others!"
Cooper sobbed, tears falling down her face. The pain was too much, and she desperately needed help. "Drinking strength from immortal fire…"
"You said that!" Itachi bellowed at her, causing her to forget her creed in fear.
"Time is running short, it's escaping the clock…" Cooper sobbed even more.
"No!" Ryo gasped, but his words were whispered from Kisame latching his hand around Ryo's throat tightly.
"Seek the next warrior, buried within a throne of rock…" Cooper gasped out as Itachi tightened his hold on her throat. She then screamed in pain, "No! No! Let me go! No!"
"Cooper! No more! Don't say anymore!" Ryo desperately yelled at her.
An orange aurora appeared behind Itachi, and the ground started rumbling. Within seconds, Kento stood there, in his armor. "Cooper… what's…" His eyes went wide as he saw Itachi holding Cooper by her throat. He ran forward, swinging his fist forward as well, "Put! Her! Down!"
Itachi quickly dropped Cooper and spun away. Kento quickly caught the falling form of Cooper and glared at Itachi. His glare intensified as he saw Ryo struggling against Kisame.
Kisame threw Ryo over to Kento and Cooper, laughing as he hit the wall rather hard. Both Itachi and him then quickly retreated. Ryo moaned and crawled over to Cooper, who Kento had lay lightly on the ground, "I couldn't stop her…"
"That's not the poem though…" Kento mumbled. "I'm supposed to be the fourth one, right?"
Ryo nodded, a frown on his face as he noticed Cooper was starting to form bruises on her neck, "She thought quickly. She doesn't want to give them exactly what they want." He then looked Kento in the eyes, "Where are the others? And how many ninja do they have with them?"
"They were at the border of the Fire country, heading for the Country of Lightning…" Kento started.
Ryo moaned, shaking his head, "No! Not right!"
"What?" Kento asked.
"I've heard them talking," Ryo mumbled. "They've said that they are in the Land of the River…"
"Why didn't you contact us?" Kento asked.
"And have every single one of them come to rescue us and just end up in the same position?" Ryo mumbled, looking down at Cooper. "It already pains her not to be with all of us, but it pains her even more that we are here. For these past who knows how many days, she has been blaming herself for bringing me here."
Cooper screamed as she shot up into a sitting position, grabbing at her abdomen and starting to thrash around. Kento looked at Ryo quickly before grabbing her and holding her down, "Ryo! What's going on?"
Ryo quickly pulled Kento away from Cooper just as she snarled and bit at him. He then closed his eyes, "She gets like that every once in a while. I don't know why, and I'm not sure I want to…"
"But how can we help her?" Kento asked.
Ryo leaned forward, placing his hand on her forehead, cooing to her, "Cooper, Cooper, it's just us… Easy, easy… You're safe… there's no need to be afraid…"
Cooper seemed to visibly settle at those words, but it took a good three minutes before she was still again. Her eyes were still wide, and Kento noticed that they were exactly like a wolf's. She just stared up at the ceiling, mumbling, "Drinking form immortal fire… Seek the next warrior, buried within a throne of rock…"
As she opened her mouth to say something else, Ryo quickly clamped his hand over it, leaning close to her ear, "Not another word, Cooper. You don't want to summon anyone else, do you?"
Cooper's eyes filled with tears at those words, and she started sobbing. She had summoned another one of them, and now they both were stuck with her in the living hell.
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Alrighty then! There it is, the long waited for chapter 6! And so sorry Liz wasn't in it too much… It plays a part later on in the story, though, so don't worry.
Well, I better get back to doing my homework for World History II… I have an exam in there tomorrow! I hope this will last you a while…
I think I have decided that I'm going to try and update at the end of every month. I'm not promising anything because of track and classes, but I will try my damn hardest to!