The seductive Kunoichi Fuuka is back from the dead! She wants to take revenge on the blond-haired brat who dared to expose her best-kept secret and defeat her in battle years ago. Much has happened since then but the story of the attractive woman, whose beguiling charm had brought many strong opponents to their knees, also continues...
Fuuka's Last Kiss
Chapter VII - Snake
"Oh, if you come across any with the Wind-Chakra nature - save him for me, he's mine!" - Fuuka
It was late. Almost too late.
It had been dark all day, but Sora was pretty sure that the sun, hidden behind the thick blankets of gray clouds, had already disappeared. He looked up; the sky announced rain.
The young man just managed to intercept a stall owner who had not yet dismantled his fruit and vegetable stall at the market - at least not quite yet; the old man and his much younger assistant were already packing everything away neatly and stowing it under the counter.
"What do you think? Expecting me to work overtime and having no regard at all for my tired bones. As if age doesn't get to me enough, I have to deal with you blatant, pretentious guys on top of that."
The obviously aging man cast an accusing glance at his clearly younger colleague, who noticed it on him and grinned sheepishly in his direction. Apparently his statement didn't just refer to the hungry straggler currently standing in front of him.
"I'm sorry. It won't happen again.", Sora assured with a serious face. The old man, who was considerably shorter than he, gave him a skeptical look. Then he sighed in resignation.
"All right, all right. I just can't say 'No' to you."
The old man took out a brown bag, seemingly already prepared, as if he had anticipated Sora's late appearance, and held it out to the young man.
"This one's on the house. You've done so much for us, then this is the least I can do for you."
Honest appreciation could be heard from his raspy voice, but it gave way to a threatening tone immediately after.
"But next time I'll get off work on time, just so we're clear, Sora!"
Sora nodded approvingly and respectfully to the old man.
"Thank you.", he answered him piously, taking the bag with the fresh, juicy contents, which seemed to be bulging, and walked along the main street of the village, which ran through the middle of the small settlement. There were few people left outside, but those that were gave Sora a warm smile and a greeting, which he returned, albeit mostly silently, with a nod of his head. Everyone in the small village seemed to know and respect him.
Sora was the son of Furido, Fuuka's former boss. Furido's real name, however, was Kazuma. He hid his true identity in order to manipulate Sora for his own purposes.
After Kazuma's scheme to harness Sora's powers failed, and his subordinates - Fuuka, Fuen, and Fudo - were defeated one by one by the Ninjas from Konoha, Kazuma ultimately failed as well. But Sora did not mourn this person at all. He detested his biological father, who had seen in him, his only son, only a powerful weapon, which he could abuse for his purposes. But first and foremost, the feeling of complete indifference prevailed when he thought back to him, which happened occasionally. For Sora, Kazuma was never really a father - unlike his former mentor, Asuma Sarutobi. When Sora visited Konoha a few years ago, he found out that his Sensei had long since passed away, which took an emotional toll on him. Since then, almost not a day went by without him thinking of his former mentor.
"It's almost like it was yesterday."
Sora recalled the day he had visited Asuma's grave in Konoha. At that time, it was raining incessantly. He also remembered the Hokage's words to him:
"I can understand your grief only too well."
Naruto placed a hand on Sora's shoulder.
"But as long as we continue to live his legacy, to fight for what he too had fought for, to believe in what he too had believed in, Asuma is never truly gone. He lives in us and he lives through us, Sora."
A splash on his nose snapped him out of his thoughts, and he stopped. He looked up at the sky.
"It's raining."
The young man kept walking. The few people still outside quickly sought shelter to escape the rain.
Sora, meanwhile, led an almost nomadic life. He never stayed long in one place. But to this village, in which he was just, Sora felt connected as with no other place. It was located in the immediate vicinity of the Fire Temple, where the monks had lived, where he himself had grown up - and with which he had not only positive memories, because just like Naruto, Sora was socially excluded in his childhood. People saw him as a monster because of the Kyubi's Chakra within him.
The temple was later visited by the Akatsuki members Kakuzu and Hidan when they were looking for Chiriku, the leader of the monks at the time. Chiriku and the others valiantly defended themselves and their temple, but in vain. They were overpowered by their powerful adversaries.
The temple was destroyed and the few survivors of the massacre were taken in by the villagers. The village, which had previously traded heavily with the monks, welcomed the homeless in solidarity, but not only that: in memory of the monks and their sacred temple, a large golden Tengu-statue resided in the central square of the village, which they recovered from the ruins. This square was also the site of the market that Sora had just visited.
Sora helped the people of the village whenever he was there, whenever he came back to the village from his long travels to prepare for his next adventure. Sometimes it happened that he brought small souvenirs to the children of the village. Just the other day he distributed small lucky charms from the Land of the Moon and some pendants from the Land of Wind.
After a short distance, Sora reached the small clearing of the forest where his, more or less, secluded stone hut was located. Sora appreciated the seclusion. Warm light shone out of the window. Sora entered his sparse parlor. Minimalist was not at all an expression to describe the humble conditions in which he lived. But he usually didn't stay long in his own house anyway.
Sora had left his past behind and started a new life, but sometimes the past catches up with you.
As Sora bent down in front of his fireplace to throw new firewood into the blazing flame, he suddenly noticed a hand on his shoulder, followed by a sinister laugh.
"Hehehe - you've changed, Sora. I almost didn't recognize you."
The now grown man bore many similarities to Asuma. He had a similar hairstyle and by now sported a similar beard. His sides were noticeably shaved. He still wore his monk clothes from back then, but he had torn out the sleeves of his tunic so that his arms were exposed. He appeared strong and fierce. You could tell he was a survivalist who could have been left alone in the wilderness without possibly having to fear about him.
Sora appeared calm and collected on the outside, but inside he was completely perplexed - not so much by the sudden presence of this woman, but much more by his own incompetence. He dropped the bag from the market onto the floor, its contents then rolling in all directions.
How could she sneak up on me? Why didn't I notice her presence?
Sora's sense of smell was strong and his instincts razor sharp. The fact that he could not notice this woman's presence at all suprised him - but he also admired her for it in some ways. Also he had a very good grasp.
She must have been hiding in the wall somehow, I suppose.
"Not everyone can just sneak up on me."
Sora could almost hear the woman rolling her eyes.
"Men are all the same. Completely conceited. You guys think so much of yourselves and don't even realize how silly you are sometimes."
"Who are you? What do you want from me?"
"What? You don't remember me?"
Sora noticed her breathing getting louder and out of the corner of his eye, he heard the woman's long, red hair gently resting on his shoulders as her head approached him.
"That's not very polite, is it?", the red-haired woman whispered in his ear.
Sora turned his head slowly and slightly to the side, daring a glance at her. Their eyes met. The woman gave him a seductive smile. He maintained eye contact for a while before looking straight ahead again.
"I really have no clue who you are."
"Huh? W-What's that supposed to mean?"
Sora had rarely heard such an irritated, shrieking female voice that hurt his ears.
"Is this supposed to be a bad joke!?", the woman added.
"It's supposed to mean that I've never seen you before in my life."
"You filthy..."
With a swift movement the red-haired woman put herself in front of him and stared at Sora expectantly, and angrily at the same time. Sora returned the gaze with an indifferent expression. Nothing in his expression suggested that it would have been any different now that the woman presented herself to him in her full glory.
"And now? Do you remember me!?"
Sora frowned conspicuously.
"Not really, no."
Fuuka was one of Furido's subordinates, but Sora really couldn't place her appearance.
"You impudent brat! Your disrespect will cost you dearly, my dear."
The woman jumped backwards to gain distance from Sora as she scowled at him.
"I realize Furido hadn't shown you any manners. In this case I'll have to teach you how to talk to a woman."
Furido?
"I think it's coming back to me now."
Sora looked thoughtfully at the ceiling.
"You were one of my father's subordinates, weren't you?"
Fuuka did not answer him.
"How is it that you are still alive? If I remember correctly, Naruto had beaten you back then."
Fuuka couldn't hide the fact that his words made her angry.
"Tzz. You better watch your mouth, boy. Every single insolence is going to..."
Sora cut her off.
"I'll take my chances."
Sora gave Fuuka a smile that brimmed with smugness in her eyes.
"That's enough! I'm going to show you how angry I can be."
Fuuka raised her arm and pointed in his direction.
"Earth-Style: Stone Column Spears!"
Pointed rock formations suddenly protruded from the stone wall behind Sora, and they would have been driven into the young man's back like spears if he had not dodged them in time.
On the way to Sora, Fuuka had treated herself to a snack in the form of a guard from Konoha, whose Chakra element she had absorbed with her Reaper kiss. There hadn't really been a fight. The guard succumbed completely to her charm before she was sucking the life out of him. For this reason, she was able to use her Earth-Style techniques again - the element of the guard.
"You're fast, but that won't help you much."
Fuuka raised her arm in his direction once again, however, Sora seemed to be prepared for it. At the same moment that the rock of the wall deformed and targeted him, Sora jumped up. He used the kinetic energy of the rock by resting his feet on it. He took advantage of Fuuka's Jutsu to charge at her.
What the...?
Sora came flying at the Kunoichi. Only now did she notice the metal claw on his left hand.
"Beast Wave Gale Palm!"
A claw of pure Wind-Chakra formed in a split second, starting from Sora's left hand, and came flying at Fuuka. She made a surprised face and just barely dodged the hand of pure Chakra that was about to reach for her. Shortly after, Fuuka was relieved to find that her hair was also unharmed. But apparently Sora had expected nothing else.
Sora's right arm, which he had extended, hit Fuuka with full force. Just like Sora, Fuuka flew several meters in the air before her body hit the wall. The impact was so strong that masses of dust had been kicked up, creating a large hole in the wall.
Sora cracked the back of his neck before walking toward the newly created opening in his home and stepping out into the open.
Contrary to his expectation, Fuuka stood outside as if nothing had happened. His attack seemed to have left no mark on the Kunoichi at all. The rain was getting weaker and the dark clouds were gradually dissipating, allowing white moonlight to pour in and illuminate the place.
"Hehehe - you're not bad. That's why I really want your Wind-Chakra all the more."
Fuuka smiled.
"I'm sorry. My Chakra is not for sale, I'm afraid."
Sora's tone seemed serious and determined, even if he thought he had made a successful joke.
"You'll be mine either way, boy. If you resist, things will just get more uncomfortable for you."
"You don't really expect me to just give up, do you?"
"Come to think of it, you gambled away the gift of a comfortable death anyway when you pissed me off earlier."
Fuuka's eyebrows drew together and she lowered her head slightly. Her smile changed to a subtle, but definitely evil grin.
"You're going to regret making me angry."
The fight between Sora and Fuuka was energetic. Sora's Tai-Jutsu was excellent. His attacks were precise, but powerful at the same time. He strengthened his attacks using his Wind-Chakra to perform faster and stronger attacks, always careful to close the distance to his opponent.
Fuuka, on the other hand, tried to keep the distance to Sora as large as possible, realizing that she was inferior to Sora in close combat. She used her arsenal of Nin-Jutsu and literally torpedoed him with water, fire and earth attacks to put him on the defensive - which worked. Sora's wind-enhanced Tai-Jutsu cost him a lot of Chakra, and since Fuuka didn't let him get close, Sora had used up vast amounts of his Chakra without doing any significant damage - at least not to her, as the landscape around them seemed to have clearly felt Sora's beastly power.
Fuuka sat down on one of the cut, damp tree trunks and put her legs together.
"Is that all you've got? How pathetic."
Sora breathed in and out heavily, visibly upset. But he did not let Fuuka provoke him.
"Hehehe – I didn't think you go down so easily, little boy. What a shame."
While Fuuka believed she could end the fight at any time, she relished the idea that Sora was aware of his inferiority - and despairing. Fuuka wanted to see Sora suffer. Sora continued to look at Fuuka silently.
"All right. It seems that I'll have to provide some entertainment myself, then."
Fuuka rose from her wooden perch and walked slowly towards Sora as her lips formed into a smile.
I'm going to enjoy watching you break.
"Water-Style: Mouth of the Serpent!"
Fuuka summoned the surrounding water from the rain puddles and damp grass. It took the form of a meter-high snake that looked down menacingly at Sora before the snake lunged at him. To all appearances, Sora lacked the strength to dodge another of the woman's Jutsu.
The mass of water swept him along and threw him to the ground.
"Earth-Style: Mud Silhouette!"
Another mass of water came at Sora, who braced himself with his hands on the ground. But this water contained mud and rocks and swept him along even more violently than before. Sora slammed his back against what was left of his dwelling; a single wall, or rather a small part of it.
"Hehehehe."
Fuuka continued walking towards him. A few feet in front of Sora, she stopped. His eyes were closed, but he seemed to be conscious - still. The boy's body and face were littered with abrasions, scratches, and patches of mud and dirt. Fuuka enjoyed the sight.
"Too bad. I thought you and I would have more fun together."
The Kunoichi placed her hands on her hips.
"Admit that I am superior to you, and I will spare you by taking over your body, or would you rather die?"
"Tzz."
Sora grinned and looked up at the victorious Kunoichi.
"Will you shut up sometime?"
Fuuka answered his rhetorical question with a blank expression, then raised her arm again. Another load of water flooded the area. So much water that Sora was effectively submerged. She kept her arm up for a while. Longer than necessary, obviously. Then she took it down again, and the water slowly drained away. Sora seemed to lie there unconscious, with his stomach on the ground.
Fuuka rammed her boot into the young man's back.
"There, enough playing.", Fuuka thought aloud.
"You're Chakra is Wind-Nature too, isn't it? I can put that to good use. It's time to get my kiss."
Fuuka, with the help of her foot, tried to put Sora on his back so that she could appropriate his body with her Reaper kiss - but she had not expected what happened then.
Just as in her confrontation against Naruto, Fuuka had been too confident of victory, and consequently too reckless. To all appearances, Sora was merely feigning unconsciousness. He seemed to have intended from the beginning to let Fuuka get closer to him in order to lure her into his trap. He shot his Chakra-charged claw toward Fuuka's surprised face, who in turn just managed to back up and avoid his swift attack.
Fuuka glared grudgingly at Sora after he missed her by a hair's breadth.
"How dare you?!"
Sora straightened up and held his arm with his characteristic claw with his other hand. His eyes were closed. Fuuka smiled.
"Nice try, but you missed."
Sora's eyes opened.
"I did not miss."
Fuuka's eyes snapped open. Her mouth dropped open in surprise. Then she noticed. A long strand of her hair said a time-delayed goodbye to the rest and slowly fell to the floor. Fuuka's legs staggered and she shook all over.
"Y-You... knew... my secret!?"
Sora missed her head, but not her hair. Not the blade itself, but the Wind-Chakra emanating from the blade did not miss its target.
"Naruto had told me everything. Honestly, I hadn't really listened to him at the time, but I did seem to remember a thing or two."
Fuuka, who looked at least a hundred years older now, looked at him in disbelief as her facial muscles began to twitch and her open mouth gave the impression that she had been underwater and was drowning.
Sora slowly walked towards her while looking into her lifeless eyes that were looking upwards. When Sora reached Fuuka and stood in front of her, he held his weapon in front of his face. Fuuka's bony, wrinkled countenance was reflected on the shiny blade.
"It's over."
With a buzz, his blade activated again, and the blue Chakra lit up. He lashed out to finish Fuuka off, but then something unexpected happened.
Fuuka, unlike he had assumed, did not seem to be finished. Her red hair extended and encircled his hand with which he wielded the blade - but not only this. The hair also encircled his other arm, as well as his neck. He tried to squirm out, but no chance. The more force he mustered to break out of its wrapping, the harder the hair pressed against his limbs. The hair yanked his arms upward. Sora felt like he was in the stranglehold of a snake. He fixed his gaze on the distorted face of his vile counterpart. Her small, brown pupils looked aimlessly in his direction.
I guess I should have listened to Naruto more closely then, after all.
„I'll... s-suck... the life... right... ouut... of youuu..."
Her voice was shaky and weak. Sora saw the brown figure open its large mouth wide. He closed his eyes.
Asuma-sensei...
Then it became dark.