Legacy of the Will
Chapter 6: The Flame That Restored A Scarred Heart
A/N: Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Ryouichi had long since forgotten how long he'd been in this prison. Hours? Days? It stopped mattering. He'd been held forward, forced to watch his worst memories. Stabbed in the heart to remind him how lonely he was.
Was this hell? No. He remembers hell. This had to be worse. At least hell ended.
He had run out of tears to shed. Run out of pain to feel. He merely felt apathy. And that only made him feel worse. The knowledge that he had grown comfortable in agony. It sickened him.
He soon felt the desire to succumb. To allow this twisted genjutsu to achieve its final victory. But something stopped him. His eyes grew attentive to a glowing pyre. Nearly extinguished of all warmth. It reminded him of something. But he felt it was impossible to remember. Until he heard a small voice.
"Here you go!"
Ryouichi's eyes widened. He twisted his head left as far as he could. He saw it. A young blonde offering a boy kibidango.
"For me?" The boy asked.
"Well yeah, silly! Who else is around here?"
The kunai pierced his heart. Deeply. But as it pulled out, embers poured out ever so slightly.
He remembered her smile. He remembered her rushing over, nearly tripping as a result. But one thing would never part with Ryouichi, for as long as he lived.
He remembered her warmth. The warmth that made his day bright. He remembered that warmth all over the village. From Iruka-sensei, to Hiruzen.
"What is a hogane?" he remembered saying.
"A Hokage is the leader of this village. I am responsible for the safety and well-being of this entire village."
"That sounds hard…"
"Sometimes it is. But I wouldn't trade it for anything."
"Do you get to spend a lot of time with your family?"
"Well, not as much as I would like to, no."
"Well then why is it worth it?"
Hiruzen chuckled. "Because to me, this village is my entire family. And it means the world to me. As such, I find it my responsibility to keep my family safe. To hold in my heart their hopes and dreams. To blaze a path for them to follow."
Ryouichi's heart began to beat. And beat. And beat.
Fire began to pour out of his heart as the kunai pulled out once more. And a warmth fueled him. The figure released him, as he fell to his knees. He looked up and suddenly felt a pang of sadness. When he looked at his young self.
"Well, what is something very important to you? Something you could never ever let go of?"
"My memories."
Ryouichi's eyes widened, as a wave of feelings and memories began to flood. Sparks of light exited the glowing pyre, burning incessantly.
"Your memories?"
"My mommy and daddy are dead. That won't change. But...I still have their memories. And if I can just hold on to that, then I'll be okay. You said family was really important to you. But remembering my family is important to me. And maybe if I keep them with me, I'll know to work hard to not lose any new family I get!"
Ryouichi placed a hand to his scratched and scarred heart. Tears began to trail down his cheeks. "How could I…forget this?"
He felt arms wrap around him. And a presence filled him with even more pain, but more than that pain, was a sense of comfort and relief. More tears fell, scattering to the ground as he heard small shushes in his ear.
"It's okay sweetie…let it out…"
"Haha…" His arm reached up to cling to it.
Ino rushed to follow Usakuro, beginning to feel fatigue set in. It had been hours since they departed. Choji and Shikamaru kept up, feeling the intense fatigue as well, but never letting up. Too much mattered to let simple exhaustion stop them. Asuma was keeping up just fine, anyways. And they couldn't be outdone by their sensei.
They landed and ran to the campsite that Haru and Kaori were resting at when he last saw. Only to find no trace of them.
The rabbit paced. "They were here…they must have moved for some reason. Maybe they were attacked again?"
Asuma crouched and looked at the ground. "No sign of battle. It's too clean. They must have covered their tracks to avoid capture so we could find them. Clever."
Shikamaru thought for a second, before pressing the tips of his fingers together crouching. He was dead silent, and Choji and Ino knew not to bother him. Asuma looked curiously.
Usakuro went to prod him, but Asuma stopped him. "Let the kid think."
Shikamaru's eyes opened. "We need to go to the cave two kilometers from here. They may have left a clue."
"How do you figure?" Usakuro says.
"They had to move their comrades somewhere they could cover. Knowing them, they'd look for a location easy to conceal and guard. Kaori most likely could deter them being followed with her eyes. It'd need to be somewhere close by, I doubt they can carry dead weight too far;"
Shikamaru scratched his head. Looking quite lazy.
"And I can only assume they intend to move closer to the edge of the forest. They're expecting a long trip to the village and back. Not us arriving so soon. In fact, I'd say it's quite likely they'll move again. The question is how fast we can get there."
Usakuro looked stunned. "Wow, you've got quite the mind."
Shikamaru lazily placed his hands in his pockets. "When I want to. Let's get going."
Asuma nodded and they quickly dispersed.
Kaori and Haru lifted their comrades onto their shoulders and grunted as they carried them out.
"Okay, let's head to the outskirts of the forest. It's gonna take a while but it should be enough," Haru said.
Kaori nodded, lightly giggling.
"What's so funny?"
"N-Nothing. Just, something fuzzy is brushing against my neck. It tickles!" She yelped as she giggled uncontrollably.
Haru looked and was very confused. "Did…did Tsukiko-sensei get makeup?"
"No, why?" She tried to stop giggling.
"Because her eyelids are bluish. And…her nose is fuzzy."
The limp woman did nothing but stay on Kaori's shoulder. Her fuzzy and malformed nose brushing on the girl's neck.
"What sorta thing is she doing, anyway?!" She groaned out exasperatedly.
"I have no idea, Kaori. But try to stay strong. We can do this, even if her nose tickles!" A fiery determination burned in Haru's eyes.
"You're right! We're Leaf ninja! Fuzzy noses are nothing to us!" Kaori cried out holding in her laughter as if it was an enemy ninja.
Their journey took a few hours. The daybreak turned to afternoon, and they were only halfway. Haru walked but heard Ryouichi mutter "Haha…" and his heart dropped lightly.
"Oh, come on…" he said.
"What is it?"
"He just called someone haha. Like a mother." He sighed.
"Under different circumstances, I'd say that was absolutely cute."
"And I would tease him for it. But at this point, I think I'm starting to really feel worried for him. No, not worried. I feel scared. For both of them."
Kaori nodded silently. "Yeah. I'm scared too. But all we can do is just keep going forward. One step at a time."
Haru audibly nodded. "You're right. And when we get out of this, when sensei and Ryouichi are recovered, I'm going to apologize. And I'm going to make sure they never feel unappreciated."
Kaori smiled lightly. "I think they would like that."
They were nearly there. Nearly to their destination when kunai suddenly erupted towards them. Haru quickly tossed out shuriken to knock them off course, then hopped back as two black haired girls landed in front of them. They had dark cloaks and twin wolf masks.
"We can't let you…" one girl said.
"…take them back." The other one finished.
"Yeah? Well, you don't get a choice!" Kaori set Tsukiko down and activated her Byakugan.
The girls giggled.
"Sister, can we play with this one?"
"I fail to see why not…after all…they won't live long anyway." They drew thin, needle-like swords. Then dashed forward.
Kaori quickly pushed some out of the way, carefully countering to ensure she didn't get hit. They were holding back, which was just what she needed to ensure she was well defended.
She managed to backflip to dodge multiple swipes and graze a few chakra points in the sisters' legs. Which caused them to tense up and become slower to engage.
Kaori landed on her feet and narrowly deflected several kunai and realized the explosive tags when they were too late.
Haru barely rolled out of the way and threw a shuriken mid-roll to slice off the paper bombs, causing them to just barely miss Ryouichi and Tsukiko entirely.
Kaori growled and reengaged. Her attacks were much faster, fiercer, and way more precise. The girls almost couldn't believe it, as Kaori's skills started to make them feel like they should have taken the opportunity to kill her.
'If I can keep up the pressure, they'll break to recover. And Haru will be able to stun them long enough, that I can use that jutsu. But…I've never used it on two people before.'
She scoffed mentally. 'Excuses!'
She landed multiple solid shoulder and side hits, causing their body to begin to seize up. True to her prediction, they quickly disengaged to try and rest.
Haru meanwhile knew he couldn't do anything. Not in this instance. But something in him refused to accept it. So, the moment they broke, he saw a glint in Kaori's eye as she looked at him and he nodded.
He quickly body flickered over and weaved his handsigns lightning fast.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Net Jutsu!"
Their bodies were too impaired. They looked at each other and yelled out in pain when the net burst forward and hit them, sending them startling back. Before they saw Kaori blitz forward. Her eyes tensed open, as they focused on their chakra networks in piercing detail.
'If this doesn't work, it's your fault for not teaching me the real deal, Hiashi-dono!'
She blasted her two hands into the girls' chests. "Eyes of Truth: Palming Shutdown!"
She started slamming her fists rapidly into the women, disrupting and shutting down all of their chakra points.
"Four strikes! Eight strikes!" Her fists whizzed in and out of focus, causing even Haru to become disoriented.
"Sixteen strikes! Thirty-two strikes!" The girls form was truly sloppy. Not even an idiot would believe she mimicked the Eight Trigrams. But the Gentle Fist's nature was going to help regardless. And these enemies weren't mobile enough to properly evade her wild strikes.
"Sixty-four strikes! Eighty-two strikes!" She shouted out as she spun, her brown hair spinning across her form as she delivered her final blows to their stomachs. "Eyes of Truth, CLOSE!" The blow sent them flying into the ground, with a loud thud. They gasped for air, unable to even wiggle, much less move.
Kaori panted heavily; her body weakened from the reckless abandon of that attack.
Haru rushed forward to help her stand.
"Okay…that is horrible when used on two people…"
"What the hell was that anyway?"
"Hiashi-dono refused to teach me the Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms. So, I created my own version…by just using the Gentle Fist really, really fast."
"That makes sense…wait, Hiashi-dono? You never use honorifics."
"Try being disrespectful in a clan as traditional as the Hyuuga. It's engrained at this point…and I'm far too tired to suppress it."
"You suppress using honorifics?" Haru raised a confused eyebrow.
"Obviously. I have to be respectful enough at home. This is a way I can be free. It's not just the branch family that can get it rough. They just get it worse than us who aren't directly in line for the main branch."
"Huh…I never realized that."
"Yeah, c'mon Haru-kun we ne-"
She was really quiet.
"You. Heard. Nothing. Here me, Haru?!" Even exhausted, she was still scary.
"R-Right. Of course. Crystal clear." The boy nearly wet himself then and there as he carried her to a soft bit of dirt to rest.
"Okay…what now?" Kaori asked.
"We need to get the relief's attention somehow. Maybe a signal?"
"That just alerts the enemy too." She sighs.
He sighed as well. "You're right."
As they continued searching, Usakuro smelled something.
"Evade!" he flung out of the way narrowly avoiding several poison senbon as a tripwire was triggered.
Asuma stopped midway and drew his knuckle knives.
Usakuro sniffed the air. "Something is here but I can't tell what…it's too far away."
Ino nodded and closed her eyes focusing on looking around. She soon identified the chakra of a tall and thin man looking like he held a bow. She identified where he was before nodding to her team.
They quickly dodged the arrow fire as Asuma weaved his hands. "Fire Style: Smoke Field Jutsu!" he threw out a smoke bomb and blew up the bomb, causing the smoke to expand to the point the archer couldn't see anything.
He growled and looked around, his eyes piercing through the smoke, but they weren't there.
Asuma gestured to Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji. The three nodded and began sneaking around to flank him. However, several arrows whizz through them and they barely dodged. Shikamaru managed to move very quickly to get behind the archer as he goes to fire an arrow at him.
Choji however, was not about to let that fly. And quickly went into his Human Boulder form and span rapidly before firing off at the archer. Who quickly jumped out of the way.
"Too slow fatso!"
He landed and went to fire, but his body seized up and stayed paralyzed. He looked down and saw his shadow form a line all the way to Shikamaru, who held a hand seal.
"Shadow Possession Jutsu! Get him Choji!"
Choji nodded with eyes glowing with rage. "I'll teach you to call me fatso!"
The boy span so fast that he rocketed forward and slammed so hard into the archer that no ninja alive could escape without being injured. And the enemy was no exception as Shikamaru held him in place before releasing the jutsu, Choji rocketing him into a nearby tree before bowling it over.
Choji returned to normal and went "hmph". Crossing his arms and looking away.
Ino walked over to the heavily damaged enemy and crouching down and looking at him. "Don't make fun of his weight."
The archer groaned and pulled a kunai to stab her and she grabs his wrist tightly before disarming him and stabbing the kunai deep in his throat. "And don't give me a reason. I'm pissed off enough."
Ino stands up calmly and looks at Asuma. "Let's keep going."
Shikamaru and Choji stand there sweat nervously as Ino walked past before looking at them. "Well? C'mon."
They immediately followed.
As they continued their journey, they arrived at the cave and looked around. "It looks like they only left a few hours ago. We may be able to catch up," Asuma said.
"Shikamaru, where do you think they'd go?" Choji asked.
Shikamaru entered his thinking stance and contemplated before standing up. "Outskirts, like I said. But they'd want to follow a path that had decent coverage and that they could move Ryouichi. So, let's try southeast from here."
Choji and Ino nod, alongside Asuma as Usakuro thought to himself.
'I don't have to stay…but I have to help protect my master.' The hare thought to himself.
They quickly dispersed and hurried on the way and followed along southeast, Usakuro managing to pick up traces of his master's perfume and followed it carefully.
"Oh, so now you're useful," Shikamaru says.
Usakuro furrowed his brow. "My master's perfume has hidden chemicals in it that only us rabbits can smell."
"Your master often plan on getting kidnapped?" Asuma asked.
"My master plans for the worst cases and then goes from there."
"Hm. Well, guess it helps out here." Asuma admitted.
They soon managed to reach the end of the trail, and there, with two unconscious wolf masked women and two very tired genin, was their destination.
Kaori looked at Ino and smiled wearily. "Ino, Shikamaru, Choji…you guys are a sight for sore eyes."
Haru nodded with audible affirmation.
Usakuro hopped over to his master and his muscles tensed. "I'll be going now…tell Tsukiko to summon me if something goes awry." With a poof of smoke, he was gone.
Asuma took a drag of his cigarette. "Okay. Let's assess the poison then work on Ryouichi." He walked over and looked at Tsukiko who parted her heavy eyelids and looked at him. "Asuma…hey…"
"Hey. How are you feeling?"
"Like I just got trampled by a hundred hares." She groaned.
"I feel you. Can you describe the poison? The effects of it?"
"I feel groggy…my body is getting shut down and it's draining my energy. I think it's our Leaf Tear poison."
"Okay. Ino do you know how to counter that?"
"I…I don't. Not that one." She looked down.
"Okay. Then we need to get her to the Konoha hospital as soon as possible." Asuma said.
"That's not happening." Nekuro said as he landed with only one teammate.
Tsukiko grimaced. "Nekuro…"
"...the Poisoner?" Asuma looks over.
"Good to know you pay attention to history. Such a shame few bother these days." The cat masked man chuckled.
"At first I intended to simply toy with these rookies. But then you arrived. So now I'm going to have to end this in the bud." He drew his kunai.
"Hate to say, but you won't be killing any Leaf shinobi." Asuma said with narrowed eyes.
"I'd like to see you stop an S rank ninja." He blitzed forward and attacked Asuma, who parried with his knuckle knives and slashed at him.
The man sat there away from the battlefield, focusing intently. And Kaori stood up tired alongside Haru.
"We have to protect them. Even if it's hard. We can't let them do all the work!" She said as Haru nodded determined.
Ino looked over at Shikamaru and Choji. "That guy must be focused on the genjutsu, if we can take him out, we can free Ryouichi."
Haru nodded to her. "Kaori and I will help out Asuma-sensei."
She nods and goes to use the Mind Transfer Jutsu, only for a series of shuriken to narrowly be blocked by Choji.
"Not so fast!" The cat man exclaimed.
Ino threw several kunai only for Nekuro to deflect them towards Asuma, who parried them away.
Kaori burst forward to attack, only for a series of quick reactions to lead to Kaori getting stabbed in the side by her own kunai. He spun to kick the wound he had just inflicted and send her spiraling back to the ground. Asuma saw this and growled as he attacked more ferociously.
"Leave this guy to me! You guys just stay back okay?!"
Ino clenched her fist. "Damn it..."
Ryouichi's body tensed and wiggled…
As Asuma was kicked back, the cat man burst forward to stab out Shikamaru's heart. "I recognize that hair!"
Shikamaru paled as Choji and Ino weren't close enough to get to him in time.
"Shikamaru!" Choji yelled out.
Ryouichi turned around and looked at his mother. For the first time he could see her fully. Her hair was black, just like his. And her green eyes stared back into his teal. She was wearing a simple pink dress, a sort of black sash around her waist.
"Ryou-chan, you've grown." She smiled.
He smiled back, though painfully. Tears ran down his eyes. "I made sure to eat healthy…I know you wanted me to."
"I'm glad. It's good you started taking care of yourself. Is the kitchen still fun for you?"
"Y-Yes ma'am. I like cooking." His voice quivered as he held back every instinct to grab onto her and hold on tight.
She delicately caressed her son's cheek, pulling him into a hug. "I've missed you sweetie."
"I missed you too…you and chichi so much…h-how are you here?"
She smiled and looked at him. "I think you know."
"T-The genjutsu…it projects my worst nightmares."
She nodded. "Sharp as ever. But then you broke out."
"And…and my mind is imposing you on my head. Because it's trying to remember." He looked down sadly, at the realization she wasn't real.
She smiled wider and simply used her finger to boop his nose. "Right on the money. Don't feel sad, Ryou-chan. It doesn't matter if I'm really here or not. Your memories are real all the same. And that's what I am."
"I'm so sorry…I squandered the sacrifice you made. I know I'm bad but-" He was interrupted as she shushed him and pulled him into a hug.
"Sweetheart, I think you know what I would have wanted. I would have wanted you to find a new home. Just like the story I told you. What happened?"
Ryouichi shook his head. "The story isn't important."
"It is to me. Please? Just for your mother?"
He nodded relenting and had to force the words out. "T-The girl led him through the forest…and when he couldn't find his home…she looked at him and said "you'll find a new one. Just walk at one step at a time and look around." His voice broke more and more, and soon he was sobbing into her shoulder.
She gently held him. "That's right. And I'm so glad you found a place to call home. And friends to cherish."
His eyes slowly opened as he shook his head. "They're not just my friends haha." He broke the hug and looked at her.
"They're everything to me. The only people who care about me now." He wiped the tears from his eyes as he began to regain his composure.
"They're shinobi, Ryouichi. Are you sure they're who you want to be everything to you? They'll die young. As will you if you go down this path."
Ryouichi backed up for some distance and closed his eyes. His head fell. He thought of all he had been through. All the pain, all the loneliness. And he looked up at her and began to walk to the barely lit fire.
"Is this really the life you want, my son? A short life of suffering?" She called out. A bit of hesitation in her voice.
Ryouichi looked at the fire.
He stood in front of the fire as it slightly grew. He looked back at her, a bittersweet expression on his face. "It's the only path left for me. The only path my soul will walk, and feel peace in. There's no doubt I'm going to suffer. But at least on this road to hell, I'll have fellow Leaf ninja to help me up. To pick me up and tell me that I can get through this." He looked back to admire the flame, touching his heart.
"They aren't just my friends. They're all I have. They're my family. Every single one of them. Haru, Kaori, Shikamaru, Naruto, Sakura, Kiba…" he smiled "…Ino. They're what gave me warmth on the coldest nights. The darkest days. So long as that village stands, I will never be alone. And that village will always have enemies. People who want to see it destroyed."
The flame grew more, light illuminating the darkness. "I made my oath long ago. And it was my fault to have forgotten why I made that oath to begin with. I was afraid to lose friends, to lose my family if I followed it. And that was stupid. So I swear now, on my heart. I swear on this flame, that nearly died because of my cowardice. I will never run away;"
His eyes began to light up. As the flame grew ever larger. "I will never let another member of Konoha suffer just to save myself discomfort. I will endure any pain, I will face any odds, I will bleed, and cry, and fight for them. Because they are all I hold dear. I promise this, Okasan. I am no longer a boy from the Land of Rivers."
Her eyes shed tears, but not out of grief. She smiled lightly and nodded. "Then you know what you have to do. Acknowledge who you are and save your family."
He looked behind him, seeing a small, emaciated boy wandering through the woods. He walked over to him and crouched down.
"W-Who are you?" The boy fearfully asked.
Ryouichi pointed to his headband. "My name is Ryouichi. I'm from a place called Konoha."
"Konoha…is that a nice place?" the boy asked.
He nodded. "The best. Why don't I take you there?"
The boy smiled and nodded. Ryouichi took his hand and looked at his mother. His father, tall with brown hair and blue eyes, looked at him alongside her. "Go son. And become the man we know we'll be proud of," the man said.
Ryouichi sniffled a little. And nodded. He walked the boy to the fire and touched his heart. He looked at the fire and heard Hiruzen's words.
"Don't fear your strength. Embrace it. And use it to protect your family with everything you have. Just as you spoke of those years ago."
Ryouichi saw the fire turn into a roaring inferno as it engulfed everyone around him. Rather than burning, he felt energy and warmth. He felt power. He felt determination fill his very soul.
"I am…Ryouichi no Konoha!"
Ryouichi opened his eyes and saw the incoming attack. Within barely a second, he body flickered over and took the kunai deep into his forearm. He looked at the cat man. A deep well of strength appearing in his eyes. A sense of fear sent shivers up the man's spine. Nobody was supposed to survive this jutsu.
"So long as this body still holds breath, so long as I can still stand, no one will hurt my family ever again!"
Ino saw him stand there. Her horror and fear was replaced by an involuntary gasp and smile. "H-He made it…"
Kaori panted, and painfully held her bleeding side as pain seared its way through her body, but she still found her smile.
Haru saw Ryouichi standing. And tears began to run down his eyes as he failed to hide them. "About time…making me worry about you…"
Ryouichi slammed his knee into the man and pushed him away. Swinging his arm to the side as the kunai dislodged and fell to the ground. Body flickering once more to stand in between Haru and Kaori. "Let's finish this!"
"Roger!" They cried. And they blazed their way toward Nekuro.
Nekuro saw blurs of movement, and only one thought was in his mind. 'That boy…how is he this strong?'
The other man snapped open his eyes, and realizing what had happened, panicked. He quickly weaved hand signs as water burst out of the ground. "Water Release: Water Wolf Jutsu!"
"No! You haven't trained in that jutsu yet!"
Haru and Kaori dodged. But Ryouichi dug his heels into the ground and weaved hand signs before inhaling deeply. And suddenly…
"Fire Release: Fire Ball Jutsu!"
The raging inferno that left Ryouichi's lungs was much more powerful than what he had conjured before they left. It clashed with the water, and the water quickly began to evaporate into steam. The ninja panicked as he tried to push against the ball of flame. But the strength in Ryouichi's eyes was not an empty perception from Nekuro. Suddenly the wolf completely evaporated into steam, and the man immolated into a blackened body barely alive. Before his final breath left his lips.
The smell of smoke filled Ryouichi's senses. And his body tensed before he closed his eyes, opening them as he soon became entirely relaxed. He looked up to see the spiralling leaves that orbited the place of their jutsu clash. He breathed in deeply, exhaling as his spirit soothed.
Ryouichi's eyes narrowed as he looked at Nekuro. The man growled as he drew his kunai, but he saw Haru and Kaori charge him. "A waste!" he threw out poisoned kunai only for them to pass straight through them.
"The Clone jutsu?!"
Kaori and Haru appeared before him. As they yelled and struck him hard. Kaori attacked multiple chakra points as Haru slashed his arm with a kunai.
Nekuro managed to kick them away, flipping onto his feet. Asuma burst forward and made multiple slashes, causing the man to start to lose balance. Before Shikamaru weaved the signs, and connected his shadow to Ino's, Choji's, Ryouichi's, and Asuma's to capture him in his jutsu.
His eyes widened as Asuma smirked and hopped away as Ryouichi and Ino appeared behind him, fists mid haymaker.
"Take this you bastard!" Ino cried out.
"This is for Hiruzen-sama!" Ryouichi yelled as they landed solid hits on his kidney and chest. Choji spinning all the way into him from behind. Soon, Nekuro was sent flying into the ground.
He got up throwing out a smoke bomb, which Asuma threw a shuriken to intercept and knock up into the air.
Ryouichi ran forward, lacing his fist with chakra as it blazed up and down his arm. He landed one last haymaker into the man's chest, hitting so hard blood spurt out and Ryouichi's hand was inside him.
Nekuro leaned forward, his mask falling off to reveal a heavily scarred man with purple hair and blue eyes. Fear was in his eyes of the eternity that awaited him. But he growled all the same.
"I die…more of a ninja than you. For I have endured far more than what it took to get you…"
He collapsed as Ryouichi pulled out his hand. Wincing painfully as he looked at said hand to see the beginnings of a burn. "H-How…?"
Asuma put away his blades as he sighed. "Messy. But…at least everyone's okay."
Kaori panted and lightly moaned in pain as Haru and Ino helped her up.
Shikamaru and Ryouichi carried the bodies, while Choji helped Asuma with Tsukiko.
Asuma looked at the six of them and smiled. "You endured more than most genin. For that, wear those forehead protectors with pride. You deserve them."
Kaori lightly smiled, as did Choji and Shikamaru. Meanwhile, Ryouichi grimaced at his hand. Before looking at the sky to see leaves, riding on the wind. As they began to swirl around the two teams.
As Nekuro's eyes opened, he looked up to see a shadowy figure look down at him. "It seems you failed once again. But this time, one genin was enough to stop you."
"M-Master…" He coughed out blood.
"Worry not. Your team still has use…luckily, only two of you have died due to my intervention. It could have been worse." The figure crouched down with an unsettling grin. "You...now belong to me completely."
Nekuro's eyes widened. But he solemnly bowed his head. "Yes...master…"
NEXT CHAPTER: The Rabbit Master