Chapter 5
Tales of the Damned
A/N: Hello)
Thanks for reading this far, I really hope you've enjoyed it.
Anyway, I am doing a few changes in format from now on. First of all, you will notice little poems in the beginning of each chapter that will lead you into the mood, and perhaps give you some hints of what's to come (and yes, I write them myself because I feel like it . ). Second, I am weaving in several other characters (YAY!), which means that the setting will be changing for some time as well as the point of view. Instead of the first person all the way, it will constantly change to the third person. BUT, when I do write in the first person, it will be Anita's perspective, and Anita's only.
I am really sorry for the late update. I had to do quite a research, catch up with school, and such... Busy, terribly busy, not to mention the horrible writer's block.
Oh, and one more thing... Gees, how could I forget this? Gotta stick it in the first chapter, too'
DISCLAIMER
All the characters, places and such from the world of "Naruto" are a property of Masashi Kishimoto and his partner companies. All the new and original characters and places that have not been mentioned in the manga and anime "Naruto" are property of myself and are NOT free to use.
In shadows of the moonlit light
They crawl around, they spread a fright
They watch you, they won't go away
The tales of the damned are nightmares of today.
O L D W E L L
I was flabbergasted, to say at least. Old well...
Sounds very much like a place for a meeting. But there was a problem. Oh Kami-Sama...
Old well? There were probably tens, if not hundreds of a old wells across Konoha. And to make the matters worse, I had no slightest idea where to find one.
My hopes dropped even lower... I have to stay grey and hidden. I have to have as little people noticing me as I can; this is my only way to survive. I can't just run around the village asking every second person about an old well and rise around suspicions (if a little girl running around with a small black backpack is not suspicious enough). I have to... figure this one out on my own.
I took a drink of cold blueberry flavored tea from the thermos, threw the leftovers from my apple into the plant pot and started packing up.
This is going to be one long journey...
Ring. Riiiiing.
Ring. Riiiiing.
Ring. Riiiiing.
Back in the house the phone rang, unnoticed by silence that enveloped it in a thick blanket.
"Oh, shut up already, I am coming," said Grandmother.
Slowly, ever so slowly she got up. Her joints cracked as she moved towards the phone, her neck making a ninety-degree turn and getting back into place.
She wiped, or rather scratched off the dry blood on the corner of her mouth.
"Yes?"
"At once you answered! Now, what's going on?!"
"Calm down, I've got bad news. The brat ran away."
"What? When?"
"About an hour ago, maybe a little less. She knocked me down the stairs."
"What? Didn't you say that she cherished you, that she would never harm you on intention..."
"The key word in this sentence is the word "intention". It was an accident; she broke my right leg and twisted my neck."
"How?.."
"Pushed me down the stairs, I told you already!"
"I see."
"You see, don't you? Well now, listen. She ran away. She RAN AWAY. Do you know what that means? She knows about us. She would never, you hear it, never run away if this... accident happened."
"Shall we?.."
"Yes. Set out squad RED to find her. And fast."
Grandmother yelled at the man some more, then sighed and put the phone back at the receiver.
"Those idiots..."
I just finished packing up, and was about to step out of the cafe when I noticed something was wrong. I just knew that... I felt there was another presence in the cafe besides me. Worried, I jerked my head around, but obviously there was nothing but dust, chairs, and twenty-year-old tables along with a badly watered palm plant.
Wonderful. Just wonderful. I am becoming paranoid.
Smirking, I leaped out of the café sending up some chakra to my feet.
I had a village to run over.
For Kuma Ibuki, life was nothing but a never-ending paradise of research, travel, and once again, research. His ever-greatest worry was being late for the local library to open and soaking those new manuscripts he just got from the Mist Village in the nearby river. And money? Money was never a problem, for he was able to manage his belongings carefully, having accounts in several countries and saving up on such necessities as food and clothing. Who needs a brand-new leather jacket and a dinner in the Restaurant Royale? His good ol' grey woolen sweater and a pack of instant noodles would do. Besides, he may not have a house on the coast of the wave country, bathing in crystal clear water and golden sunlight, lying in a tent, slowly slipping freshly served fruit cocktail and getting massage from the best maidens of the local village; but surely that can wait. Right now sun, water, and maidens were far away while a new edition of "Okami: Myth or Reality?" was a must.
But of course, as usual, any paradise has its end. Kuma's entire life changed in a flash, turned upside-down and set him in an endless chase after a fairytale that was not supposed to exist...
It all started on a faithful day back home in the Earth Country, when he ironically was walking towards the post office to get that very Okami book. Humming some cheerful tune, he was already thinking of digging into that book and of the places where it may lead him later on. What would it be this time? The Water Country with its sacred Kappa ponds? The Fire Country with its thick forests guarded by stealthy Kitsune? The Snow Country with Yuki-onna wandering around the streets in the snowstorm?
Whatever it is, it surely won't be boring. It never was...
A slight shade of pink, so slight it could be barely seen on his light tanned skin crawled across Kuma's face. Or maybe, just maybe, I would be able to go to the Lightning Country and pay a visit to Kumiko-hime... And maybe, just maybe she wouldn't crush me with that electrical doom-machine of hers. Oh Kami, how in the world does she lift that thing?
He chuckled, and looked up at the light blue sky, watching huge chunks of white clouds pass by, making the sunlight twinkle as it occasionally peeked through their soft edges. For a second he thought he saw an outline of Kumiko's profile in one of them, an Obi chasing her down with a huge...
And that's when he felt a bump, followed by a soft thud as something heavy felt on the ground followed by a series very... selective words, some of them were even new to him.
He carefully adjusted his glasses, amused by the richness of the vocabulary that the person was using, and held out a hand, observing an old woman he just knocked down.
She wore a colorful, but old kimono with bursts of flowers painted over the navy blue cloth along with an extremely wide straw hat with artificial roses and a bright pink lace. She had the most annoyed and irritated look you could possibly imagine an old woman to have, plus a constantly twitching eye under a pair of glasses so wide and thick she instantly reminded him of some sort of insect, possibly a dragonfly. Add to all that a fact that she held onto a worn-out lavender umbrella with a handle shaped like a parrot's head, and you'll get an old woman you do not want to occasionally knock down on a busy Iwagakure street.
As she swore on he tried to apologize for the fifth time already, one hand still stretched out in a helping gesture and another confusingly scratching through his short brown hair.
"Mam, I am really sorry.. Really, REALLY sorry... Please, be so kind and accept my apologies, for I did not mean to be so thoughtless and foolish... You see, I was about to get that new Okami book, and I usually tend to black out for a while when I am excited about such things, and..."
And then, unexpected happened. The old woman turned her bloodshot eyes to him, her pupils glistening with wild fire, a drop of sticky saliva on her lower lip.
"What did you say about Okami?" she hissed, digging her long pointy nails into the cloth of Ibuki's sweater.
"Okami... I am a researcher, a cryptozoologist of some sorts. I strongly believe that some myths created by the people are based on truth, if not actually true, and I do believe that there is a possibility of such a phenomenon as Okami existing... Please, do let go of my elbow, it really hurts," he mumbled, frowning and trying to suppress the pain he was going through. That old woman sure had a hell of a grasp.
"So... you believe," she whispered, a wide grin crossing her face. "Come with me, researcher. I will tell you a tale that will perhaps help you on your way and free some innocent souls." Her left eye twitched two times in a row.
Ibuki grunted. The least thing he needed was to follow some Okami crazed woman. Who knows what she can do?
"I am really sorry, but I'll miss my book..."
"COME," she hissed, so loud he was not able to protest.
And so the woman dragged him along the street, into some very suspicious neighborhoods and through a dusty doorway with no door present.
The place he was in now was nothing like he expected. There were no shrunken heads and shelves full of dry, smelly herbs. There was no smoke slithering in the air. There was no crowd of cats attacking his shoes.
The two-room apartment he entered was completely empty.
Bare, pictureless walls solemnly surrounded him, covered with an old and ugly yellow wallpaper that was ripped off here and there. The floor was extremely dirty, all covered up with dust, mud strains, and empty cigarette packs. There was a big box of sake just across the corridor. The apartment smelled of alcohol, cigarette smoke, and fish.
The old woman led him to the "kitchen" as he recognized the room. There was a small table on three legs and two empty sake boxes on the ether side of it. A lonely sink accusingly stuck out of the wall like a dead tree in the middle of the desert, all covered in mold and brown of rust. The same ugly wallpaper was present.
"Sit," the old woman released Ibuki and pushed him towards one of the boxes. He silently obeyed, while really thinking of how to get out of this dump place... FAST.
She threw her parrot umbrella aside and took a seat opposite to him.
"Now, boy... Listen. You may not believe what you hear, but this is all true - and of an extreme importance. Lives are being lost, dear. Children lives. It all started when the Black Mass decided to mess with the very essence of life..."
I panted like a dog as I jumped from roof to roof of still empty streets of the Konoha village. I can't believe I was so tired... I was searching for that old well for almost two complete hours already, and it was no fun game.
But if before I was sure I am not being followed, now suspicions filled up my head. I started seeing things, an old dumpster appeared as a squad of ANBU, and every bush seemed to hide an enemy. Bursts of paranoia kept crawling through my body leaving no place for logical thought.
It must've been the heat. The sun was at its craziest - and I had no more tea left in my thermos. I was tired and dehydrated... I needed water and rest.
Water and rest. That's right. I'll come to that well... No, I'll jump into that well, right into the freezing water! And then I'll drink until I can't take anymore water... And the person that's supposed to meet me doesn't matter anymore.
All I need is water and...
Suddenly, something flashed past my face. I touched my cheek in surprise and felt my fingers slide down something moist and sticky. I looked at my hand in surprise - it was covered with sweat and blood.
I touched my cheek again. That's right; I could feel the long, slender cut weaving its way from my nose to my ear.
"Oh, shit!" I yelped and jumped into the air as more sharp objects hungry for my blood sliced the thin air. I wasn't paranoid! I am being followed!
"Allright, who's there!" I shouted in a shaking voice. Oh-oh, stop panicking. Stop panicking right NOW. First rule of the ninja - no panicking when fighting. Or was it... Oh, who cares!
I ducked another series of weapons.
What in the world is going on!
I reached for my right thigh, but no kunai pouch was present. I looked all over my body, and it hit me - I was weaponless. Defenseless. Three figures in long black cloaks with a crimson kanji reading "red" stood in front of me.
"Just give it up, Moonblood brat. There's no point in ether running or trying to attack us. You have nether weapons nor abilities to control the goddamn Chitsuke yet. So just..."
I did not even listen to him talk. As soon as I realized that they have all the advantage, I did something they hardly expected me to do.
I threw my backpack into him and ran.
Once again, I cowardly ran for my life.
On the western side of Konoha, a female-looking figure darted in the woods, followed by several explosions.
The woman in armor and a heavy-looking weapon over her shoulder looked at the small crater she just created with a smirk of a mean kid who just painted his neighbors' cat green.
"This should do," she muttered and threw the weapon down in the crater.
"Hendge!" she yelled out and turned into a fragile-looking light-haired girl.
"We'll see who is hunting who," she laughed and zipped towards the village.
Demar Kaluko, three years the captain of elite squad RED was having a bad day. Not just bad... A HORRIBLE day. From the very morning he knew - this day will not go well.
Everything was against him today. He woke up with a major hangover, after a long night of celebrating the successful transmission of yet another Chitsuke spirit - a process he did not completely understand, but knew enough that the little girl-host will provide him with wealth, women, immortality, women, and... Yeah, he's guessing women again.
He highly doubted that the girl will withstand such force thrown upon her. Like.. Seriously, how can a huge, drooling, hairy beast fit into that brat? He did not quite comprehend that. For the first time they were using an underage female for the ritual, or so he heard. But he didn't care - when did his not-so-bright self do anything besides ripping the guts out of the ones he was assigned to eliminate or sliding his hand down the skirt of a newly picked up girl to pass a boring evening with?
And so, he and his "pals" celebrated their newly accomplished mission.
But every party has its consequences. And for Demar it was a skull-crunching headache and rapid nausea.
As he stood up and dragged himself for yet another trip to his little white water-filled friend, his phone demandingly rang.
After trying to squeeze out a comprehensible phrase not-so politely telling his distracter to leave him alone, he suddenly realized that the call was coming from the headquarters.
And there he was now, trying to fight back the horrible, horrible pain pulsing through his temple.
The goddamned brat with the goddamned Chitsuke inside goddamned ran away. And no other than him was sent to lead two of his retarded rookies on the trip straight to Hell... I mean, across the unbearably hot Konoha village after the runaway girl.
They caught up with her, finally, and the sun was at its hottest. The least Demar wanted right now was to run around in circles after a preteen girl. And the stupid uniform... Kaluko felt like a badly equipped desert nomad - dressed in black from head to toe and dreadfully dehydrated.
He threw two series of weapons at her, just to inform her of their presence. The girl swore, quite loudly.
"Allright, who's there?"
"She noticed us. How lovely," he thought.
He smirked as she started to look for weapons. "Stupid girl. Do you really think that good-old Granny will leave her precious Chitsuke with a chance to defend herself?"
"Just give it up, Moonblood brat. There's no point in ether running or trying to attack us.You have neither nether weapons nor abilities to control the goddamn Chitsuke yet. So just..."
And then that little bitch threw her backpack right at his banging head.
He growled and kneeled, realizing that she just go away from them. From THEM! From the elite RED Squad Division Five!
"Are you allright, Kaluko-san?" one of the rookies asked.
"NO DAMNIT! GO AFTER HER YOU MEAT-HEADS!"
"H-hai..."
Demar felt blood dripping down his nose. The pain in his head only seemed to increase with every drop, with every sunbeam attacking his body.
He vomited and fainted.
Imako and Shunai, newly recruited members of elite RED Squad Division Five solemnly chased after the swaying bunch of blonde hair, jumping from a tree branch to a tree brunch. They already lost count of how many kunai they threw at her, how many of them she dodged, and just how far they went into the forest.
"This girl..." Imako finally broke the silence. "Isn't she supposed to be a rookie eleven-year old ninja with only basic taijutsu learned?"
"Yes," Shunai answered. "She moves pretty fast. Too fast, I'd say..."
"Something's... Where did she go?" Imako suddenly stopped. They were at the end of the forest, or so it seemed. It looked like the area they were standing in was cleaned up just recently.
A narrow, but deep crater - or more like a long and narrow hole - peeked from the bushes.
"She probably slid into the hole. Let's go check it out." Shunai jumped down and sprinted towards the crater.
"No, Shunai, what if..."
But his comrade was already at the opening.
Imako was about to go after him, but an ear-splitting explosion rocked through the tunnel followed by a blinding flash of light.
"Shunai!"
Imako ran towards his comrade, suddenly realizing just what the girl dragged them into.
A trap.
"SHUNAI!" he yelled again, kneeling beside his comrade's burnt remains.
Suddenly, he heard a gentle chuckle coming from outside of the cave.
A short, but well-built woman with a bob haircut stood in front of him, some sort of a giant weapon pointing right at him. It looked like a firework thrower, with hundreds of wires interlacing around it. It gave out a quiet buzz.
"You're next, kitten-face," she smiled wickedly and pushed the trigger, releasing another sparkling electrical knot.
The rookie was too shocked to dodge the short-ranged blow.
She sighed, stepping over the blackened piles of smoked flesh.
"Disgusting," she commented. "No matter how well I adjust it, it's always this disgusting. Ah, I miss the good old days of nice, clean job... A couple of bombs and there is nothing left but ashes. Nice, clean ashes... No smell, no evidence."
With these words, she dumped the corpses into the crater and buried them with another explosion.
I ran.
I ran... And couldn't believe it.
Nobody was chasing me! They... Why did they give up?!
This was too good to be true. This was too good to be true!
But it was true, nobody was going after me as I hastily threw myself from a rooftop to a rooftop, from one road to another, and yet another. They ether gave up... Or it was a trap.
A trap it was, possibly. Actually, I highly doubted that the guys like them will just give up on me. I seemed like a valuable prey.
I sprinted toward a wall of a particularly tall building, planning to jump onto its roof from a box oddly situated relatively far from the wall.
But as I placed my foot onto the top of that box, it broke through the rotten wood.
"Crap," I jerked my foot free, and stared at the "box".
I tore off the rest of the wood covering the opening of... the well.
I shivered - the empty darkness of it did not really spread the hostility around. But... "OLD WELL" the note said, didn't it? It's not like I can't jump out of the well any time I want. Besides... Do I really have a choice?
I flexed my muscles and jumped down, into the black emptiness.