Taisetsuna "Precious" - Version Two
by Aoikami Sarah
Chapter Fifteen
The big guy, Juuken no Washi, took another step towards them and the ground seemed to shake. Kakashi squinted in the pale light and thought of the best way to take him down.
"Allow me, Neko-san."
"If you insist, Inu-san."
"Eh?" Washi grunted. Kakashi calmly reached around, drew out a handful of shuriken and let them fly at the hulk. As Oururi said, he was fast for a big guy. Washi whipped his sword around, deflected the shuriken and sent it snaking out towards Kakashi. It sliced through him in a splattering of blood.
Oururi rolled her eyes. "Show off."
Several small logs clattered to the ground.
"Eh?" Washi grunted more enthusiastically. "Where did he go!" In a flash the sand seemed to turn to quicksand beneath him.
"Doton Shinjuu Zanshu no Justu!" Kakashi shouted as he dragged Washi down under the earth. Emerging unharmed and only a little dusty, Kakashi clapped his hands together.
Oururi folded her arms. "Hey, aren't you supposed to leave the head showing for that Jutsu?"
He shrugged.
"One down." Oururi walked over the now solid ground where Washi lay buried. "Four to go."
He sighed and walked through the gate behind her. "Let the rest be this easy."
They pushed the huge doors of the first gate open and were not surprised to find another Anbu waiting for them. He was small and lithe, but rather than springing on them, took a step back as they approached.
"Oururi-san," the small man breathed. "How are you this fine evening?"
"Cut the crap, Mukudori," she barked. "You can't win against us. Stand aside or die."
Kakashi raised a brow, but said nothing.
"Oh, I don't think so." Mukudori threw a dozen or so projectiles at the pair. Kakashi dodged, but Oururi blocked them. He was puzzled why she would do such a thing until he saw the few that she missed change course.
"Is he controlling the shuriken with his chakra?" he asked.
"They're not shuriken!" she called back. As it got closer he caught a strange movement: the flutter of wings. Three small, dark grey birds with sharp beaks flew at his head. In a moment he pinned them to the ground with Kunai.
"Summoning Jutsu?" he asked. She nodded. "Shall we, then?"
"Hai, Inu-san." As Mukudori called upon a horde of starlings which darkened the morning sky, Oururi and Kakashi started a dance they hadn't performed in ten years.
"Mukudori," Oururi taunted. "Your birds are really annoying. Let's see how well they get along with our cute critters."
Mukudori stopped calling more birds and prepared for his attack. "Your critters?" he asked, confused.
"There's more to my Anbu name than just the mask I wear. In the Leaf, this man and I were known as 'Neko to Inu Tai': the Cat and Dog Team. Now you should feel special because you get to learn why." She grinned, a bit of the old Oururi rising up with the excitement. "You ready, Inu-san?"
"Hai, Neko-san." Kakashi nodded and stood next to her. They performed synchronized movements, pulling a kunai from their pouches with one hand and a scroll from their pockets with another. They cut each other's fingers and pulled out each other's scrolls. Wiping their own blood on their respective scrolls, the pair called out in a flutter of parchment: "Ninpocho Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" and slapped the scrolls to the ground. Much to Mukudori's surprise, two enormous forms appeared in a cloud of dust. When it settled, a bulldog twice the size of a man and a mythological lion-like creature that looked like it belonged in a Chinese New Year's parade just as large growled in his direction.
Feathers and blood rained down on the ground between them as the cat and the dog tore into the flock of birds. Mukudori trembled as his minions were defeated. When there were no more birds to protect him, he lashed out with thin, needle-like kunai. The dog howled as a few of them hit home. The lion didn't waste any time and with a bite and a twist snapped Mukudori's neck.
Oururi looked away as a sickening crunch resounded in the enclosure.
"Looks like Shishigata hasn't fought in a while," Kakashi muttered. 'He's just as violent as Oururi used to be,' he thought. 'At least, I hope I'm right.'
"Shishigata!" she called out. "That was unnecessary. Mukudori was defeated."
The ancient lion-dog creature swung his scraggly head around from his task of removing the needles from Kakashi's dog and stared at her. "Eh, Oururi-chan, is that you?" it roared. "You've left us alone for so long I thought maybe you had died." He padded over to her and she scratched his huge ears.
"Sorry, friend. A lot has changed."
Shishigata snorted and rolled his eyes in Kakashi's direction. "I see your taste in company hasn't."
"Shishigata!" she scolded. Kakashi's dog came to his defense.
"I could say the same for Kakashi-san," he barked. The two massive beasts almost shot fireworks from their eyes as they stared at each other.
"Ok, ok," Kakashi moaned. "Enough socializing." He picked up his scroll and the dog vanished.
"Thank you, Shishigata," Oururi thanked the protector lion and did the same.
