Chapter 23: Into The Forest
"…Fenrir said that my mommy's scent stops here," Kabuki said.
Kabuto rubbed his temples. "This isn't good. There are many paths we can choose, but only on leads to her."
"This forest is so vast. Even the trees here are huge!"
"We're headed towards the heart of this forest, so the trees are bound to get bug like this." He looked around. "Okay, look, I'm gonna go on ahead, but I need you to stay here, alright?"
She looked down. "…Um…"
"Everything's gonna be fine Kabuki. Just place your faith in me and yourself. I need you to stay here though. You think you can do that?" She hesitantly nodded. "Good. You mustn't move from this spot until I get back."
"…Please…Help me find her…Help me find my mommy…"
"I will, don't worry." He ran ahead.
Kabuki kept staring at the tree branch that she was standing on. "…So he found us…Orochimaru found us and he took my mommy…Why…Why is this happening?"
"Be strong Kabuki," Fenrir said reassuringly.
"…I will. Thank you Fenrir." She sighed and looked around. "This place is kinda creepy…" She jumped to another tree.
"Kabuki!" Fenrir came after her. "You can't move! Kabuto told us to stay in that spot! We mist go back!"
"Fenrir, please. It'll be fine, trust me." She started walking. "Nothing's gonna happen; I just wanna check this place out!"
Ugh, my mistress can be very stubborn… Fenrir thought as he reluctantly followed her. "My mistress, we should at least be vigilant. Chances are Orochimaru's men are lurking around here."
"I know Fenrir. Just please calm down. We'll go back as soon as I'm done looking!" She stopped on another branch. "Now where could those guys have taken my mommy?" Crack…
"What was that?"
She looked down. "F-Fenrir…I-I think it was…" The branch broke "AHHH!"
XXXX
Kabuki weakly opened her eyes. "Ughn, what?" She felt the back of her head. "Ow!" She looked at her fingers and found a little blood. "Great…" She looked over at the fury white animal next to her. "Hey, Fenrir, wake up." She shook him.
"Ow…my body…" He looked around. "Where are we?"
She looked up. "…I think we're on the forest's floor. But we must have fallen a long way. I can barely see the light coming through the treetops.
"We have to find a way back up! Kabuto will be looking for us!"
"I know Fenrir! I know!" She took a deep breath. "O-Okay…"
Fenrir looked at her. "…Kabuki…are you…scared?"
"Wh-What? M-Me? Scared? H-Ha ha! That's absurd!" She looked away apprehensively. "C'mon, we have a long way up!"
----
"…Gotta move fast…There's not much time…" Kabuto leaped from tree to tree, quickly making his way back to where he left Kabuki. "Damn…" He wiped blood from his left cheek. "I can't believe how many of them there were. I almost had Mitsuki too!" He came to a screeching stop when he arrived at the spot where Kabuki was supposed to be. "Wh…What! She's gone! But…" He punched the tree branch. "Dammit! I told her to stay here! Where could she have gone! Kabuki! Kabuki!" He looked around. "Dammit…"
----
Kabuki fell to her feet when she reached another branch. "For cryin' out loud! How much further to the top!"
Fenrir licked her hand. "Don't fret Kabuki! I'm sure it's not too far off."
"Okay Fenrir." She tried to get up, but fell back down. "No! Fenrir! My legs! I can't move!"
He sighed. "That's right, you're just a child. You're not used to this. Do you think you can get on my back?"
"I…I'll try." She shakily got to her feet, then quickly fell on Fenrir's back.
"Yipe! Ow, Kabuki?"
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. Now just leave the rest to me. I'll get you to the top, just hold on!"
She grabbed hold of his fur. "Okay, I'm ready!"
"Good!" He dashed off, heading up.
"…Kabuto…He's looking for us…"
"Hmm? Mistress, how do you know that?"
"I don't know…But it's like I can feel it somehow…"
"Hey Kabuki?"
"Mm?"
"Call me crazy…but I think that…Kabuto could be-"
"Hey, what is that up ahead?" She looked into the distance. "It…almost looks like…a…head?"
"A head? That's crazy and morbid!"
"No! I mean like…an animal head…Almost like…a snake?" As they came closer to the weird formation, they began to feel nervous. "This feeling…"
Fenrir's mind wandered off. I'm getting an unpleasant feeling from that thing. But…that's not important! I wanted to tell Kabuki that I think that Kabuto's her father!
"Fenrir! Look out!"
He came back to reality and saw that the formation had turned into a living snakehead. "Whoa!" He quickly stopped.
"I was right…!"
"It is a snakehead!" The snake flickered its tongue, then began to slither closer to them. "That's one huge snake!"
Kabuki froze. "F…Fen…Fe…Fenrir! We have to move! We can't let it get any closer to us!"
He just stared into its eyes. "…So…So pretty…"
"Fenrir! Get a hold of yourself! Don't look into it's eyes!"
"But…It's calling me…It says that it won't hurt us…" He took a step forward.
"Fenrir!" She threw her hands over his eyes. "No! Don't look, please!"
"…Wh-What! What's going on!"
"Look out!" The snake lunged at them with its mouth wide open. "Fenrir!"