Chapter 3
Season 1
Both men run in a fluid motion, almost like water in a rough river. Sette Raaza runs like a cheetah through the foliage on the ground and Hinamori Yakushi jumps from limb to limb, swinging his arms out if he has to like a monkey in the trees. They both do not know each other, but the hunters after them do. They have been running from the hunters for five days, and have not lost the pursuers. Why were their names in the Bingo book, they thought.
Sette has black hair which extends like mountains on the back side of his head. His body wears black soft spandex roll, which is wrapped around like a spiral. The rolling stops as it hits the pelvis. He wears generic shinobi breeches and a holster on his right thigh. His shoes are tight gripped, fitting his big feet well. But, Hinamori is different, with a more unique appearance. While leaping from tree to tree his long pony-tail swings behind him showing off shadowy black hair. He wears a tight black sleeveless shirt with many different straps on his arms and legs. Around his waist are belts with multiple pouches filled with miscellaneous items. Hinamori wears black denim shorts with some soft white bandages running down his left leg. Around his wrists are also bandages.
"They have got to stop this shit!" Hinamori grunts while gripping a limb and shooting himself to another tree.
"They are hunters, this is what they do. But, they are stronger than us…that is where the problem comes in." Sette points out while using another jutsu to lift the earth to fill in his foot prints.
Sette thinks as he continues his pace about running away from Konoha. If he knew the hunt would be taking him through different nations, he would have just removed a cigarette from his pocket and sucked in the hot smoke into his lungs, before his body was tortured and then killed by Konoha's ANBU units. That would have had a less dramatic life. He keeps looking over to Hinamori as if asking why the boy is even following him. He's like a monkey in the trees, Sette thought.
But, on Hinamori's mind is nothing. He only wants to get away from the hunters who have been chasing him for almost a week. Maybe he can use this to his opportunity. This man below him is also in the Bingo book. The hunters are now going to split in two, and maybe he can take the pursuers on if only one follows him. But, he realized the hunters are smarter than that. They are elite missing-nin trying to make a life by hunting their own kind. An honest life, Hinamori believes. He only wishes he thought of it before killing his teammate for being trapped in a genjutsu.
Both, Sette and Hinamori seem to be slowing down, not by choice. They both look down to see the ground starting to get wet and sticky. The branches begin to ooze black substances as Hinamori is almost stuck to one of the branches. Sette has to do something quick, which is what he thinks. He forms a combo of seals and presses his hand through the black substance on the ground. The smell of the substance screams tar. But, he is not worried about that right now. His hand manages to hit the earth and Hinamori and Sette feels the effects of his jutsu occur. The ground rumbles wildly and shoots toward the sky. The pillar slowly breaks off strangely while leading up.
"Stairs," asks Hinamori with a twisted expression of confusion on his face. "Why did you shoot up stairs instead of a huge wall?"
"The hunters can jump over, or go through the wall. Stairs will help us fight them. Obviously there is one close enough to send his jutsu to slow us down. This way we will be on the top of the steps, and they will have to fight us at a disadvantage point." Sette says while running up the stairs as the black ooze secretes thicker layers.
Hinamori watches as a squirrel is caught up in the ooze and gets swallowed up by it. He jumps onto the stairs as his foot almost becomes one with the black ooze on the tree branch. He races right behind Sette, and manages to reach the top as the hunters are seen running to the bottom of the stair case.
"Stairway to heaven," Sette says while lighting up a cigarette.
"How high is this thing, anyway?" Hinamori asks.
Sette looks around and estimates the height of the stairway, he overdid himself.
"I'd say, two hundred feet tall?" Sette guesses while watching as their pursuers meet the foot of the stairs and look up to Sette and Hinamori.
Hinamori is impressed at the sights he can see from this altitude. He smiles and waves to the guys on the ground, and watches as Sette flicks the cigarette to the ground below. Sette begins planning on how to fight these guys after his first move is set. Hinamori's eyes seem to follow the cigarette down to the black ooze on the ground. As it hits, a burst of flames race through the entire forest! Everything that was once alive in the forest is now dead. Their pursuers jump up the steps as they also watch the cigarette fall to the ground.
There are three pursuers which all wear masks of pure steel which are finely smoothed to shine in the sun and the midnight moonlight. One is a tall kunoichi who wears a tight leather kimono; her mask shows an expression of sorrow. She has short hair, which is spiked like a porcupine. The second and shortest is a small man with extremely thin muscles and a hunch which reveals a slightly insane look to him. His mask is one expressing scheming. He wears a tight top with multiple kunai attached to it, and his hair is bald. He wears a pair of razor sharp claws on his wrists which recoil and shoot forward at will. The third hunter wears the mask of happiness. This man has very long hair which extends over his shoulders and down his chest and back. He wears very loose clothing and wears black chains across his chest and back. He wears a pair of wooden sandals which make a clog sound as he walks up the stairs.
"Sette Raaza and Hinamori Yakushi, you are wanted alive. So, if you make this easy on us then we won't hurt you any further than this jog through time and nations." The man in happiness says with a scream to the top of the stairway.
Hinamori whistles impressed as he sees why Sette called these stairs, 'Stairway to Heaven.' Below the stairway is an enormous ocean of fire, where the earth used to be. The tar jutsu one of them used seems to be a destructive weapon. Hinamori grows furious at their predicament and looks to Sette with an answer.
"How the fuck do we get down from here?" Hinamori asks with solid anger in his voice.
"We cannot jump, because of the fire. I can make a slide to get us away, but it'll just be more running. I'm tired of running. I've not slept in two straight days because of your damn snoring." Sette said.
"So, you want to fight?" Hinamori asks as if already knowing. He slaps his side annoyed.
"Who are you guys?" Sette screams to the hunters as they also plan a tactic to getting their targets up the stairs.
The man in the happiness mask seems to be answering for the group.
"We are known as 'Yautja'. I am Ikiteiru Kurai, the leader of this group. My female comrade is Rei Rei Tokage, the infamous lizard rider. This subordinate of mine with his fangs on his hands is known only as Shoki. But, do not get me wrong, we are only three of fifteen. The Yautja is a large group of hunters." Iki says while figuring out a way to get up the stairs safely to grab their targets.
Iki begins whispering to his comrades as Sette turns around and looks over the surrounding. He grows a smile as he laughs to himself. Hinamori turns to watch Sette grow insane, but then he chuckles too. Both of them turn around and begin creating hand seals. Iki takes this sudden action of the two as a hint to start the challenge of the climb. Hinamori makes a simple tiger hand seal as his finger tips begin glowing a feint, but sharp chakra. Sette creates a combo of seals as the Yautja climb the stairs with grace. But, they find a challenge happen as Sette places his hands on the floor of the top step. Over two dozen spikes extend forcing the Yautja to break from their formation.
"He did it," Iki says as him and Rei Rei quickly run up the sides of the heavenly stairs.
Shoki laughs insanely while getting into a squatting position and with a strange spin which creates tons of dust, the spikes are all shredded into small lumps of would be stumps.
Iki and Rei Rei race toward Sette and Hinamori with hands creating a combination of seals. Rei Rei places her hand on the side of the stairway and everyone watches as a huge puff of smoke rises from her position. Hinamori smiles as he shakes his head. Rei Rei comfortably sits on top of a large black lizard with a saddle already available for her. The lizard is an enormous twenty foot long monitor. Sette did not expect such a large lizard, and he begins forming a multitude of seals as Hinamori shoots a smirk to the woman and bites his thumb and places it in front of himself as a huge explosion of smoke forms. Hinamori rides on the back of a huge praying mantis which has a brown exoskeleton and enormous spikes which Hinamori grabs onto and yells at the top of his lungs. Sette almost thinks Hinamori has gone crazy also, until he takes his cue and lunges forward toward the lizard and its female summoner.
"Rei Rei was it? Meet my lil friend! Ashuru clan! Cut that up for some dinner tonight! Hahaha!" Hinamori screams as his mantis summon jumps at the lizard. The lizard jumps to the side, dodging the obvious stab the mantis attempted to attack with. But, as the mantis misses Hinamori jumps off and unsheathes a short thin sword which cuts into the side of the enormous lizard. As Hinamori slices into the lizard he is quickly kicked away with great force! His chest screams in pain as the mantis catches him and flies back to the stairway.
"Thank you, I'd kiss you if you weren't covered in bacteria." Hinamori says as he dodges an assault from Shoki!
The man was quick and if his mantis was not in the way he would have died instantly. The mantis puffs into smoke and vanishes as it is hit hard. Shoki laughs while Hinamori stands in front of him. Hinamori is cussing in his head not wanting to fight this man. He cut up spikes like it was nothing. Hinamori holds out his sword in front of him and a hand which is extended behind him, the tips glowing. Shoki laughs while talking as if he doesn't know what he's talking about.
"I see I see, but his blades are not dull. I like it when they are dull. I can cut them better. Oh no, he will feel my blades if he uses is, it's just the way of things!" Shoki says as he jumps in spiraling cannon form straight at Hinamori.
Hinamori stabs his blade into the stairway as Shoki's blades are stopped. Shoki stops laughing and looks at his spin stop. Somehow, this seems to shock Shoki. Hinamori assumes nobodies ever stopped his blades. But, this blade is different from any common sword. As Shoki stands their in a crouched position and studies the sword, Hinamori kicks at the man and taps the guys shoulder. Shoki jumps back and laughs at the terrible attack and then growls in pain as he feels his shoulder quit on him.
"FUCK! Why is my arm hurting!?" Shoki asks.
"That's because I cut the muscles attaching your muscle to your shoulder blade." Hinamori says while making sure the other two are now attacking him from behind. To his luck, Rei Rei and Iki seem to be targeting Sette. Hinamori smiles, but then frowns as he feels insulted. He is the most dangerous one, not Sette, he thinks to himself. But, he returns his eyes to Shoki just in time to side step a very quick swipe to Hinamori's mid section. Even though Hinamori has dodged it, he watches as blood splashes across the ground. Hinamori looks down to a three claw cut on the side of his stomach.
"How did you?" Hinamori asks while looking to Shoki's body movements.
Shoki moves in a wavering motion. His body is blurry to Hinamori. Is it his speed? Is it genjutsu? Is Hinamori poisoned? These are all questions Hinamori is asking himself as Shoki moves at him again. But, as Shoki moves forward once, there are four shadows behind him which move in the exact same method. It's like four Shoki's are attacking at the same time.
Hinamori quickly watches the first Shoki's blade, and dodges it. He dodges the second Shadow, and then the third, and then forth. But, Hinamori grabs his chest in pain as he is sliced deeply through his shirt. Hinamori stumbles to the edge of the stairway and leans on a knee as he watches Shoki's movements once more. This time he finds twelve Shoki's following the first one. Hinamori's eyes squint. He hates this Shoki guy, and his annoying silvery mask. But, Hinamori finally realizes something and smirks as Shoki attacks at him again.
Hinamori stands right in the way of Shoki's blade, and spins around to strike behind him. The real Shoki is seen behind him, jumping away in a couple flips and spins.
"How did you figure it out, Hinamori?" Shoki says while twitching his head in spastic ways.
"Your illusion is too good. I could see you in your clone's mask standing behind me. But, the thing I have to point out is, the blood dripping from your claw this time is not mine." Hinamori says with a smirk.
Shoki twitches again, with insanity and looks to his claw and then to his hand. Shoki screams and observes his hand bleeding. Shoki looks up as Hinamori slices at him, but Shoki is too fast and jumps over Hinamori with an incredible leap.
While Hinamori fights Sette watches as his fight won't be that easy. Rei Rei watches as the culprit who sliced her lizard, but finds Shoki will have more fun with him. She rushes toward Sette. But as Sette finishes his long combo of seals he places his hand on his stairway once more and watches as two stone snake heads jump from the stairway and bites into the monitor lizard and attempts to grab Rei Rei. But, as it aims for the woman she jumps high into the air. She runs up the neck of the stone snake as it spirals and twists to latch its earthy fangs into her. But, with a quick strong kick she crumbles the snake into a thousand small pieces and watches her lizard puff into smoke. She makes a 'tch' sound between her teeth at the pain her lizard was just forced into.
"That's one of us delayed, but what about me?" Iki said as he appears behind Sette.
Iki kicks Sette through the neck of the earth snake which is still spiraling around Rei Rei. But, as Iki smiles proud, he finds Sette's body crumbling into hard pieces of dirt. Iki cusses as his leg is grabbed by Sette from inside the stairway. Iki is suddenly pulled into the stairway and Sette jumps up from behind him.
"I think this jutsus called Head Hunter jutsu." Sette said as he is about to kick Iki's head off.
But, right when Sette is about to slam his foot into Iki's head, Sette finds his foot sinking into the now black ooze covering his shoe. Inside the black ooze he finds an explosive note.
"This…is…shit!" Sette says as the force blows him backward over the lake of fire. But, as Sette falls he watches as the fire around the area dies in an instant and spider webs cover the ground to give Sette a softer landing.
"Just in time…now I have to like…go away and vomit now." Nagaku says as she tumbles to the side holding her stomach and flicking some spider webs from her lips and chin.
Makoto Uchiha and Tsubasa Kurosaki are seen walking up the stairway. Tsubasa has his sword extended toward Shoki, and Makoto activates her Sharingan and stares at Rei Rei with intent on killing the woman. The battle seems to stop as the new guests have revealed themselves.
Sette slowly falls to the ground as the spider webs snap off the stairway and some of the previously burned trees. He lands with a thud into the still warm tar which layers the ground. He feels a thick layer of water on the tar though, which he is thankful for. Everyone looks at the new group who has shown themselves, with confusion.
Iki rises up from the ground below the first step of the stairway. He claps his hands and looks at each member while figuring out who each of them are.
"Alright, I see what we have here: Makoto Uchiha, of the water. Tsubasa, of the clouds. Nagaku, of the waterfall. Rei Rei…Shoki…we leave now." Iki says as he and his group smash some smoke bombs on the ground and vanish before the smoke vanishes.
"You guys fought a good battle," Tsubasa says while helping Hinamori up.
"Yeah," Hinamori says, "But, I'd rather not have some strangers pop in and scare people away."
Nagaku breaks into the conversation while walking up the side of the stairway, "I'm sorry to ruin your testosterone gathering, but I need medical attention."
"She doesn't seem hurt?" Sette asked.
"She never does. Her jutsus damage her body when she uses them. She is Nagaku Noroi, a B-Class missing-nin, known as the Forbidden Kunoichi." Tsubasa explains.
Hinamori laughs and walks over to Nagaku as she just makes it to the top of the stairway and collapses. He feeds her a blood pill, and rests her head on his lap. In his mind he is only doing this to help the person who helped them.
"Anyway….the Yautja will be back after us, just with a larger amount of people. So let me explain why we are here." Nagaku said as she gains consciousness.