A/N: Sorry about the long delay in updating. I went for a long vacation without internet, but I promise I was still working on something good while I was away! Thank you all for keeping with my story and I hope you enjoy the latest chapter. I'm currently planning a revamp of "Love Knots" to make it a better read and far more enjoyable for you! Along with that I'm already looking forward to at least a couple more installments to this series and I have a Choji one shot that will be on it's way soon. Blessings!
[In the forest surrounding the Village Hidden by Rain, a miniature version of Katsuyu appears on Kakashi's shoulder]
"Kakashi! You and your team must hurry to the Land of Rivers where you are to rendezvous with your fourth team member. She may be pursued by Orochimaru and need your help. She is trying to escape to the northern territory, but if she is not there when you arrive she may still be in the Land of Wind and you will have to travel west and find her"
"Thank you Katsuyu. Shibi, Aoba, lets move out."
[Kakashi retains his cool exterior but inside his heart is pounding because he knows it's Masami he's rushing to save from Orochimaru. Once they reach the Land of Rivers they immediately begin scanning the area. After a few minutes of searching they find a massive scar, scorched into the land coming from the west. As it gets smaller, and narrower, they see a human figure laying face down a the end of it. Kakashi moves to her as fast as he can, she is barefoot and most of her clothes are singed off. What's left of her skirt barely covers her derriere and she doesn't have much of a shirt left to speak off. Laying face down has provided her some modesty, but mostly her head has grown out her hair immensely so now it reaches the backs of her thighs and has become even more vibrantly purple. He drops to the ground next to her as he unzips his flak jacket. Without revealing her to the rest of the team, he gently lifts her off the ground and slides her into his jacket then zips it back up. Kakashi holds Masami while her eyes flutter as she struggles to regain consciousness. Suddenly her eyes shoot open and she starts screaming and her body starts to become engulfed in purple flames again. Kakashi calls out to her]
"Masami! Stop! It's me! It's Kakashi!"
[Masami looks at her surroundings as her eyes glow like a pair of coals. Her breathing slows and her eyes return to normal as she begins to recognize she is temporarily safe. She looks at herself and recognizes her clothes are in tatters and she is wearing Kakashi's flak jacket. She almost moves to throw her arms around Kakashi, but she hesitates keeping in mind they are in the presence of others and they're still keeping their relationship low key. She and Kakashi share a glance that means they feel the same way. Shibi sends out his insects to secure the perimeter and Aoba blushes and stares at the ground realizing how beautiful this woman he's never met before is and how she has barely any clothes left on her body. Masami smooths her hands over the jacket before speaking]
"Thank you Kakashi"
[Next she drops to the ground and summons Lord Fukurou again]
"Thank you so much for sending me aid. If I may ask for one more favor today, could you please retrieve by bag from the cave I last spoke with you at?"
[Fukurou only bows then pops out of sight again. Masami pushes down the waistline of her skirt at her right hip to expose a tattoo. Kakashi had noticed it before and had yet to inquire about it but now he doesn't have to. She performs a fuinjutsu release and a cloud of smoke erupts into the air. When it clears she is in her complete battle regalia of full arm and leg protective mesh and a burgundy body suit. As she unzips Kakashi's flak jacket and hands it back to him she reveals the shapeliness of her body, resulting in Aoba straining to keep from gushing a massive nosebleed. Noticing his contorted and discolored face, Masami asks Kakashi]
"What's his problem?"
[Kakashi only responds with an aloof expression and a head shake before getting serious]
"So tell us what we're up against"
"Orochimaru. I'll have to fill you in on everything later, but he shouldn't be too far behind me"
[As she speaks she moves her new extreme length hair out of the way. Before it only went past her shoulders, but now at the tops of her thighs she's unsure what to do about it. Kakashi tilts his head and looks at her]
"I like it. It suits you"
"Hm... thanks... May I please borrow a kunai?"
[Kakashi pulls one out of his pouch as Masami tries to finger comb her hair. She parts a small section at the front of her face, then uses the kunai to shear it off, forming bangs. She hands the knife back to Kakashi, and manages to find a mangled bit of ribbon in one of her back pouches. She quickly braids the rest of her hair and ties it off. Aoba finally recovers and Kakashi is impressed with the way Masami looks now. Remaining ever cool, he smiles on the inside. Fukurou reappears with her classic leather bag, she retrieves her sash with the village symbol on it and ties it around her hips. Next she finds her weapons scroll and releases her zanbato. She grips it and begins pulsing chakra down it. Before it merely glowed, but now the chakra has a distinct flow moving in a manner similar to a live chain saw. She speaks to the team]
"I hope you guys are ready"
[Kakashi responds]
"Of course we are Lady Masami. The better question is are you, after the condition we found you in?"
"I was just taking a rest, but I'm much better now. And I've got a whole new bag of tricks..."
[Masami trails off as the squad recognizes the giant snake closing in on them; it wasn't hard for Orochimaru to follow the giant burn she left in the land. As the rest of the men mentally prepare themselves, Masami engulfs herself in purple flames. Orochimaru laughs maliciously as he nears]
"Do you really believe you could ever escape me, Sayonakidori?"
[A pit drops into Kakashi's stomach hearing Orochimaru address Masami as such, but he doesn't reveal himself other than tightening his grip on his kunai. Masami responds to him]
"I am very certain I've told you to stop calling me by that name!"
"But that's what you are my dear!"
"No! I am Masami Tachikaze and I am going to destroy you Orochimaru!"
"I would love for you to try!"
[Shibi begins the attack by trying to subdue Orochimaru with an insect shield but Orochimaru sheds his snakelike form as it is taken down by the parasites. Landing on his feet in a human form, Orochimaru laughs as Aoba tries to charge him with a kunai. Orochimaru uses hidden shadow snakes to constrict Aoba then land their venomous bites into his body. Orochimaru then addresses to the group]
"You know, we can avoid all this conflict if you simply hand over the woman"
"We would never sacrifice a comrade!"
[Kakashi yells back as he reveals his sharingan. Orochimaru only laughs again and taunts]
"Do you really think that scares me boy?"
[Kakashi fires off a blast of chidori which Orochimaru defends against by merging into the ground with his attack prevention jutsu. Masami beckons to the latter]
"Isn't your fight with me?"
[As Orochimaru rises back out of the ground he sees that she's reverted back into her molten magma-like monster form, he smiles and licks his lips]
"My dear, you are much too great a trophy to be damaged by reckless battle, I only mean for you to return with me"
"That will never happen again!"
[Much like how a knife thrower would fling their blade, Masami hurls her chakra laden zanbato tip over hilt at Orochimaru. He easily evades it and the giant sword drives itself into the earth at a forty-five degree angle at exactly the same spot he was just standing. Orochimaru snares Masami with binding snakes but the plasma figure he captures melts away in his serpents' grasp. Turning back to the zanbato, he sees she is standing perfectly balanced on the end of her sword's hilt performing a flurry of hand seals as her chakra stems away from her in as a mass of tentacles. At the final seal Masami calls out]
"PLASMA RAIN JUTSU!"
[Directly above Masami, a swirling vortex of purple clouds has developed. It is an ominous presence but does not possess the entire landscape. Shibi pulls an incapacitated Aoba away from the fray, and as the former lays the latter down to the ground they are intrigued. Although it is quite a feat, the storm cell only covers an area with a three hundred meter diameter while the rest of the world continues to shine brightly with mostly clear skies around it. Violet lightning flashes dangerously above Orochimaru, Masami, and Kakashi. Drops of plasma begin to rain down on the three, Masami protects Kakashi by covering him in a chakra dome and now he can only idly watch as he cannot escape it. As the drops hit Masami, they only sizzle and evaporate away whereas they begin to melt and destroy her enemy's body. Orochimaru licks his lips understanding his only two options are to run one hundred and fifty meters to escape or move three meters to strike at the wielder of this impressive tactic. Choosing the latter he lunges at Masami, his body deteriorating away as the plasma continues to rain down. He engages her with hand to hand combat hoping that it will distract her from focusing on her chakra attacks and he is successful. His skin becomes riddled with openings, exposing his muscles and sinews throughout his body and on his face his cheeks are melting away while one of his orbital sockets becomes exposed; he looks absolutely horrifying. His taijutsu skills far outclass her own and the rain lessens then stops altogether. Orochimaru sheds his skin again and resumes fighting in a fresh body. Kakashi yells and pounds his fists against the chakra dome as he watches Orochimaru strike Masami across the face sending her spiraling to the ground. The dome dissipates as Masami lays there motionlessly. Keenly observing the situation Kakashi is assured she's not dead because all of Orochimaru's moves were only to disarm her not cause damage. Orochimaru's words still echo in Kakashi's mind about "bringing her back". Shibi sends in another swarm of insects to distract Orochimaru as Kakashi runs to the scene. Masami is already struggling back to her feet when Kakashi reaches her]
"We really need to work on improving your taijutsu"
"You're right but I've still got more tricks up my sleeve..."
[Masami stares into Kakashi's eyes as she performs a new set of hand seals and finishes by calling]
"Mind Mimic Jutsu!"
[Kakashi can still see out his own eyes looking at Masami, but now he can also see through Masami's staring back at him. Within the security of her own mind, she speaks to him]
"Using this technique my body becomes linked to your mind and can now be used as an extension by you. For the time being, I personally don't have to be better at hand to hand combat when you can just flow your skills into my physical form. While I can copy any movements you perform, keep in mind I am still limited by the design of my own body; the hits I make will be the same as yours but the strength or stamina will not."
"I understand. Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be"
[Orochimaru clears away the insects and watches Masami rise back up to her feet. Her fighting stance is different from before as she stands next to Kakashi. Wielding kunai, they attack simultaneously, causing Orochimaru to drop his jaw and defend himself with his kusanagi. Previously Masami's fighting style had been lighter and was more evasion biased while her attacks seemed to flutter then sting like a wasp. Now with Kakashi's influence, her precision and intent is absolutely lethal and facing off against two Kakashi Hatake's in hand to hand combat is more than Orochimaru bargained for. Being completely in sync with Masami, Kakashi combines his chidori with her plasma to create a lightning beam cannon jutsu. Fired at a point blank range, Orochimaru is nearly incinerated as he be blasted several hundred meters away. He sheds his skin once more and concedes defeat as he escapes. Kakashi and Masami are left panting after the extreme use of their chakras.]
[Remembering their fallen team mate, they rush over to Aoba. He looks sickly as the venom grips his body. He's on his knees dry heaving, but then rocks back and complains of a headache. Recognizing the work of a hemotoxin, Masami drops to his side and administers medical ninjutsu. After a few moments his breathing deepens and relaxes, then Masami stops medical ninjutsu and switches to putting Aoba under suspended animation. She speaks to Kakashi and Shibi]
"I was able to alleviate some of his symptoms but I don't have enough chakra to completely restore his body from the poison. The venom is causing internal bleeding by destroying his red blood cells which in turn causes damage to his tissues. This jutsu will require steady but low use of my chakra to maintain his current state until we can get him to the hospital and I'll need to keep close proximity as we transport him."
"Right then, I'll carry Aoba on my back. Shibi use your insects to take point and scout our path while using another group of insects to maintain a steady perimeter around us as we travel."
[Shibi responds with only a nod as he sets his insects to task. Masami helps lift Aoba onto Kakashi then they begin their journey at a brisk pace. Occasionally Kakashi notices Masami wince but when he turns to look at her she presses on as if nothing is bothering her. Shibi, Kakashi, and Masami's eyes dart around as they remain ever vigilant.]
[As evening falls Konoha is finally in sight and the travelers give a cautious sigh of relief. They quickly zip past the gates and head straight for the hospital to drop off Aoba. At the emergency room, Masami informs the staff of Aoba's injuries, his current status, and recommended medical nin ready themselves to begin working on him as Masami lifts her jutsu. Tsunade stalks down the hospital corridor to her espionage squad after being informed that her staff have Aoba's condition under control. Initially Tsunade is confused by new kunoichi standing before her]
"Lady Masami?"
"Yes Lady Tsunade?"
"I almost didn't recognize you with your new hair!"
"I apologize for the confusion milady"
[Recovering from the surprise, Tsunade regains her usual authoritative nature]
"Please follow me into a spare conference room"
"Yes Tsunade"
[Kakashi and Masami say in unison while Shibi only nods. As they walk Kakashi notices Masami walks with a distinct limp. He quietly speaks to her]
"Are you alright?"
"I'll be fine, we'll talk about it later"
[Kakashi wants so badly to scoop her off her feet so she won't have to struggle, but he recognizes the pride in how she walks despite the limp so he refrains. He recognizes something within her has changed; she still appears as youthful as ever, perhaps even more so now with her new shock of vibrant thigh length hair, but there's something... Something he can't quite put his finger on yet, something he sees in her eyes as if they've suddenly wised and grown more depth. Kakashi desperately wants to know what happened between her and Orochimaru to the point that he becomes so engaged in his thoughts he almost misses his address by Tsunade]
"Kakashi, please start by telling me how your reconnaissance was going outside the Village Hidden by Rain"
"Yes Tsunade..." Kakashi begins as he maintains his cool reserve.
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