Four Letter Words
Story Thus Far- Genin train under the willing, and unwilling, instruction of their sensei. ANBU have recently gained a few openings, one of which Iruka is hoping to fill with the help of his new leg. Leslie is well on her way to becoming a great madam, but the appearance of a traumatized girl and the gift of a turtle gives her another goal. Team Zabuza has signed up for a simple search-and-retrieval mission, one with disturbing rumors attached.
A/N- I think everyone should go watch Soylent Green at least once in their lives. I love the way women are called 'furniture'. I know it's demeaning but... I lol'd.
And for some random bit of mood music, try playing The Foreigner song.
I just glanced at my notes while writing this chapter, over several weeks. I wrote maybe one scene a week, maybe two. The ghosts/spirits seen in the chapter may not be totally true to the mythology. I took some liberties to fit it in with the story.
Chapter Thirteen: Myth
In the distant past there was farmer who, every fall, would travel to visit a large city on the other side of a mountain to sell his goods. As time passed the farmer grew old and tired and needed help taking his wares to the city. He hired a young, healthy, and handsome boy from a neighboring village.
As they passed through the mountain on their return journey a sudden and unexpected snow storm struck. The two turned over their near-empty wagon and huddled beneath it. The storm raged, ice and sleet baring down and trapping them beneath the small shelter of the wagon. For hours they sat fearing for their lives, when an unnatural silence came over the wind. Snow still fell, but all was quiet and muted as if they had been transported to another world.
Fearfully the farmer and boy came out from under the wagon and watched in reverence as a beautiful apparition came toward them. As the spirit approached, the men could see she left no footprints in the snow. Indeed, it was if she glided over the fresh powder; it was a spirit of winter in the guise of a woman. Her eyes glowed with cold uncaring, and captivated by her beauty the aged farmer could not move as she gripped his face in her claws and gave him a kiss of death.
Having killed the farmer the spirit turned her attentions to the young boy. She grabbed him as she had the man, but gave pause at his handsome face. "I shall spare you, young man, for you hold a beauty parallel to my own. Do not tell anyone of this night."
The boy gave his word, and the winter spirit vanished back into the storm. He waited out the returned storm and went home alone. Though questioned about the farmer the boy kept his promise and did not tell anyone of the spirit he had seen.
The years passed and the young boy matured into a man. One winter night as a snow-storm raged reminiscent of the one before, the man heard a frantic knocking. Upon opening the door snow and a beautiful woman fell inside. The woman was weak, but the man cared for her and she soon regained her strength. Love blossomed between them and within a year they married. Together they had two beautiful children.
One late winter night, as the children slept by the hearth, the man admired his wife. The freezing wind howled outside and as the man watched he noticed how the firelight was reflected in the wife's eyes as if they were glass. Reminded of the night with the spirit so long ago, the man smiled and took her hands in his own. "Your beauty is equal to that of a spirit, my love. The same as a winter spirit I met once as a boy."
It had meant to be a compliment, but the wife recoiled with anger seething in her icy eyes. "You promised!" She screeched with a voice as powerful as the wind outside. "You have broken your promise!"
The woman transformed, her rosy human skin flaking away to reveal the winter spirit from the past. Anger swirled around her and the man feared for his life but before the spirit could take it the children woke. Giving them a last, loving look, the spirit left the small home with one lingering order: "Should our children come to any unhappiness, I shall return and take your life as I should have done before."
Dondo Harai- With this, it's sold out.
Sakura bit back a curse as she landed on her butt for the third time in as many minutes. She had taken Sai's comments to heart and tried to do better, but there was only so much a civilian-born girl could teach herself. The library had been exhausted during the academy, having only the most basic information about shinobi skills, and her family lacked anything to contribute. As their lazy instructor could not be counted on Sakura turned to the one source that had yet to act condescending to the 'little civilian genin'. Sai.
The pale boy hadn't seemed the slightest surprised by her request, but then he didn't really show his emotions at all. "Better, Sakura-san." Since Kakashi was always two to three hours late, Sai used the time to improve the kunoichi's taijutsu. The boy was surprisingly quick and gave even Sasuke, the number one rookie of the year, a hard time. "But you keep forgetting to move your feet."
He gave her another one of those unfelt smiles but she missed it and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "I'm trying, it's just that people in the academy weren't as sneaky as you!" She remarked and gave up her cleaning. She would just have to perform the mission dirty, and if their stupid sensei made any smart remarks she'd hit him. Sakura nodded to herself and stood up while brushing bits of grass and dirt from her red dress.
Sai was watching her with a blank expression, something she had come to recognize as his natural expression. Meaning he was thinking. She turned around to see if anyone was approaching their small park clearing, it was close to the bridge where they met for missions, but didn't see anything unusual. When she looked back she jumped in surprise. Sai's face was inches from hers. "You should change your hairstyle."
"E-excuse me?" Her eye twitched and the dirt grumbled under her shoes as she slid back. Sai was a good ninja, and maybe a good friend, but he had deplorable social skills. Sometimes it was as if he lived on another planet. It was no wonder he didn't talk much.
His fingers took hold of her pink bangs, or what would have been bangs had she bothered to keep them trimmed. They dangled before her face, a few strands glued to her skin by sweat, and if she wasn't so dirty they would frame it cutely. Sai's actions were making her blush, but his next statement killed all romantic thoughts. "Your reactions are a fraction slower when I come from the side. If you move your forehead protector to keep these back you would fight better. Also, loose hair makes a good target."
"Oh." Shit. I bet Sasuke's known that forever, his bangs are always out of his face. He probably thinks I'm a just a vain bubble-head. Inner Sakura growled and pumped her fist. "Then let's change it! Cha!" In her world of black and white Inner Sakura removed her hiate-ai and swept her hair back. In the real world Sakura mirrored her actions with a glare. "Okay! Let's try this again!"
She jumped up but instead of taking the academy taught defensive stance; spun around and headed for Sai. Inner Sakura cheered on in her head and tossed out tips, and Sai jumped back in what could have been surprise. The pinkette had never before gone on offensive right off. He speed had mysteriously increased.
Sakura felt her chakra surge with each mental cheer as she threw punch after punch at the boy.
Her efforts appeared wasted as the pale boy danced around her attacks, occasionally sending one of his own into her openings. Earlier they would have caused her to flinch in pain and move back but she was different. She felt different. Her insecurities and inhibitions had been put on hold and the little voice was getting louder and louder. "JUMP NOW!!!"
Instinctively Sakura tucked her feet beneath her, and Sai's foot passed harmlessly under. Grinning like a maniac Sakura felt as if everything had titled to the side, with her chakra raging wildly through her body. She kicked out in midair, attempting a maneuver Sai had used on her before, and missed narrowly. Black eyes widened marginally as the boy was forced to go up a level. "Very good, Sakura-san." He gave her one of his special practiced smiles, and Sakura felt that there was some true pleasure buried under all the formality.
"Heh." She was panting from the effort as blood, adrenaline, and chakra surged through her body. It was a highly unlike anything she'd ever experienced. Sakura hopped away from Sai's next strike with a bright smile; she'd never pushed herself so far and though it hurt it was wonderful. Sasuke never fought her with any seriousness and Kakashi didn't even glance at her. Sai treated her as an equal, never going 'easy' on her, never giving her a 'freebie', but always trying to get her to improve. She was faster now, having forced him to increase his own pace.
They moved around the clearing in a complicated dance, Sai flowing around her attacks like water while Sakura moved in quick bursts. Her feet slid along the grass as her left leg stretched out in a half split, the other coiled under her torso as she leaned down. Sai's foot swept through the air above her and he continued the spin saving his momentum for a follow-up that would take her from the ground. Sakura pushed up with her hands into a sloppy but effective front-flip turned kick. Sai blocked, then twisted his hands to grab her foot and throw her across the clearing. Grass stains are going to be a bitch on this red.
"Very good, but I think you should take a break." If Sai was more familiar with human interaction and psychology he might have noted her change in personality and actions as worrisome, but he did not. His goal was to make her a capable kunoichi as soon as possible. "You used quite a bit of chakra in that last attack to get enough power, and young kunoichi are known for having a small capacity."
"Wha-?" She paused in her new attack, knuckles bruised but not bloody. "Sai?"
The other took it as invitation to elaborate. "It is a common enough phenomena. Females tend to have naturally small chakra stores, but on the upside they have greater control to make up for this." Sakura listened as her ID grumbled, marveling at how nice Sai looked. He wasn't near as winded as her and only had a light sheen of sweat as opposed to her buckets. Sai continued is explanation oblivious to her inner critique. "Similar to how males are physically stronger, we also have a greater chakra base but the disadvantage to this is that it's harder to control outright. There are other basic differences between shinobi and kunoichi that should have been discussed in your kunoichi training."
"Eh. Yeah. We tend to be more flexible, emotional."
"Ninja's are not to be emotional. It's a hazard." Sai replied flatly. Sakura's brain clicked. The rules of the shinobi. "You were using your chakra to increase your speed near the end. Too much and you will have difficultly completing the mission."
Sakura moved to brush her hair out of her face, and stopped to stare at her shaking hands. "I-is this bad?!" She had heard of chakra exhaustion. The academy always had supervisors fluttering around making sure no-one died from determination.
Sai didn't bother looking at her before giving his answer as he walked back toward the bridge. Instead he took a granola bar from his pouch and tossed it to his teammate. It bounced out her hands the first time, and she fumbled, but Sakura got it. "No. Keep it up and you'll improve your capacity, just be sure to eat more."
Sakura ripped open the packaging and began chewing. Honey! And chocolate! She followed a few steps behind the taller boy and licked her fingers. It was weird. She was dirty, sweaty, and sore... but she was happy. Certainly her life wasn't anything like she had hoped it would be, but it was still good. As their feet pounded the wood of the bridge alerting their third teammate, Sakura flicked a bead of sweat from her nose.
Sasuke was standing in the middle leaning against the railing with morning sun illuminating his figure like some Norse god. Inner Sakura squealed in delight. "Good morning Sasuke-kun!" She sang, but was careful to maintain distance. The object of her affections would not appreciate being hugged by someone as disgusting as she currently was.
"Sai." He nodded once to the other boy. "Sakura." Sasuke frowned as he took in the girls disheveled appearance. Bits of grass were caught in her messy hair. "What were you doing?"
"Oh? Me?" Her grin was reminiscent of the one that came up during her spar with Sai. "We decided to train since sensei is always late."
"Hn."
Sakura was speechless. It wasn't a real reply but she had been around the Uchiha enough to know. It wasn't a dismissal or disapproval. Interest, maybe? Sakura bit down on her lip to keep from cheering, though she did unconsciously pump her arms twice. It was a small victory, but she would take them where they came.
Naruto thought the guide was odd, and that was saying something. The woman was old enough to have gray streaks in her long hair and crinkles at the corners of her eyes. She looked as if she was permanently suspicious of everything, and her hands increased their nervous wringing the closer they got to the old ruins. Her watery eyes shifted over to a set of bushes and stared, frightened. Naruto wondered as the guide moved closer to him and hissed, "Something is in there."
"It's probably one of Usa-chan's relatives." The blonde smiled in reply and launched a kunai at the brush in question. A trio of birds launched from the cover with surprising quickness and soon became lost in the forest. "See. Just a couple of birds."
Haku gave the woman a gentle shove to get her moving again. They had started out later than suggested, for various reasons, but at this rate it would be dark before they finished searching the town. If they got there. "Is there anything we should be aware of, Hatori-san? Samurai? Mercenaries? Other Ninja?" Haku continued to nudge her forward and favored Zabuza with a slight smile. The older missing-nin had been getting annoyed with their guide's scared rabbit act, but she was all that was even willing to go with them so close to the cut-off date.
Hatori shook her head, and stared wide eyed at their surroundings. For everyone's health, she kept walking, though it was clear the effort took some concentration. "No. No Samurai, no mercenaries not hired by Saiga-sama. Ninja's… I wouldn't know. There shouldn't be, unless Saiga-sama's enemies have caught wind of his plans."
"So what's the problem? Is someone after you?" Kin asked, the annoyance clear in her voice. She took one of her new kunai from their holster, admired the shine of the metal, and began flipping it around her fingers.
Hatori's eyes blinked at the show of dexterity and she seemed to draw some confidence from it. "Nothing like that, it's just… you know the history of Shikyo, don't you?"
"It was abandoned."
"Well, yes, but do you know why?" Honest curiosity shone through. "You don't know the legend?"
"Why don't you tell us as we walk?"
"Yes." Hatori's hands resumed their wringing motions distractedly. "That may be best; you really are doing Saiga-sama a big favor by taking this mission… it started near a hundred years ago, so they say. The exact time has been lost but most say a hundred… anyway the town had just recently been completed to the point that a prince from the royal family was sent to rule the area. In the years that followed tragedy's began to build up.
"They say that a merchant came and sold bad grain. People grew sick, and crops began producing less and less. Murders increased in frequency as the people went mad from starvation and sickness. It was like a plague and anyone who went to Shikyo was caught up in it. In desperation those that were able fled, taking only what they could carry to get away from the killing frenzy." Hatori paused and her shaking hands accepted a canteen of water from Naruto, who was drinking the story in with wide fascinated eyes.
"Is that why you are worried about going back?" Naruto asked. He had been listening to the questions between the girls with mild interest, most of his attention had been focused on watching for ambushes and the news that there wouldn't be any disappointed him, but his conscience was aware. For the briefest moment he was disturbed that something that completely slipped his notice drew the attention of the voice in his head, but then he remembered what Shidou had said. A conscience was meant to keep you safe, make sure you did the right thing, and so it kinda made sense it would notice more things. When it asked that he offer their guide a drink to calm her nerves he did so. He also found her fear of the dead town believable. What if there are ghosts?
"Yeah." Hatori murmured as she handed back the water. The road was getting rougher, testament to the infrequency of use and they had to step around a fallen tree. "You could say that, the rumors about Shikyo are… scary. I've heard that there are things at night. That the place is haunted and if you stay out too late…
"But of course, you're ninjas. And besides, spooks aren't real, right?"
Naruto didn't say anything as Kin laughed, she had a nice musical laugh sometimes, but he didn't think his minion and his conscience were laughing for the same reason.
Onna and her team, a group of specially selected former ANBU, stood arrayed in a typical guard formation outside a cave. The intelligence operative knelt down and examined the grass; a thousand scenarios played out in her head. She made a motion with her hand and a trio of her helpers headed into the cave. In another time she would have warned them to be careful, but that part of her had died. They were experienced ninja and they didn't need to be told useless sentiments like that.
Ba-kooooom.
Onna anchored herself with chakra as a shockwave came, and with it dirt and the smell of sulfur. Yuuhi, a good genjutsu mistress who had specialized in solo assassination missions before becoming a jounin instructor, shunshined into view. Dirt was smudged on her normally immaculate clothing. "Toki and Rubi managed to find several traps and disabled them, the last caused a small cave in. Toki was stuck for a bit but managed to use an earth jutsu to sink into the ground and come up. He has a broken ankle."
"Have Xia escort him to the hospital. Can we proceed?"
"It will take a few hours to clear the way, unless we use Shinjuu Zanshu to bypass the blockage. Toki thinks that only a small section of the hall was destroyed."
We need to work fast in case any traitors show up to distract. "Use the Earth Jutsu." Onna ordered and began forming the seals. Her team followed suit, except for a pair of guards, and began sinking into the dirt as the energy of their bodies matched that of the earth. They moved like ghosts through the soil toward the cave, their need to breath had been temporarily suspended by the jutsu. Their inner organs vibrated with the pulse of the planet and their eyes passed through the burrows of startled animals.
Onna reached up as her head broke the surface and came out inside the dark cave. She pulled herself out as the earth affinity of her team lit a flare. While most Konoha shinobi knew of the decapitation technique, not many used it. Sinking into the earth was easy, getting out required a level of control and concentration those without the talent for it despised. As they came out of the ground they had to regulate the chakra at two different levels; maintain the earth level for what was still in the ground and 'normal' for what had come out.
Rubi was still pulling herself out after the rest had lit their light sources.
"It smells like old chemicals." A shinobi that often out in a few hours at the hospital commented. "And a little lemony."
"I got blood." The most recently off duty ANBU whispered. He had a flashlight that he used to look into a hallowed out section of wall, his eyes went blank and neutral. "And a body."
Onna walked to the compartment, her boots crushing bits of rock and glass, and frowned. She signaled for someone to take notes. "Young boy, estimated between the ages of 5-8. Blonde. Deceased."
"Should I call for an autopsy?"
"Later, spread out and see if any more bodies are found, also be on the lookout for anything that resembles a chemical lab. I don't need to tell you this is high priority, top secret."
Mizuki, I'll find your accomplices, and I'll torture them. Onna grinned and squatted down, staring into the sunken face of the dead boy. Her fingers reached out for the long strands of yellow that spilt over the abused form. I'll find them, and I'll make them scream for everything you did.
As the small group approached a subconscious shiver ran through them, all but unnoticeable. The pounded dirt walls of Shikyo were crumbling in the places that weren't held in together by creeper or other life, and a smell that could only be described as age drifted from the hanging and broken gates. The shinobi continued forward into the town as their guide hung back. "I, I think I'll wait out here." She gave them a shaky smile and moved away from the lengthening shadows of the late afternoon. "Good luck."
Naruto smiled and waved as his team headed off, his gaze tracking that of Hatori's. At the base of a large oak was a patch of frost. Naruto frowned and ran to catch up with Kin and Haku. Why would there be ice in the summer?
"Naruto-kun," Haku called. "Why don't you take the houses over there? Zabuza-sama is searching the mansion and cellars, I shall do the west side houses."
Kin turned with a wave. "Then I got the places down by the farming field."
"All right. Remember to report back by morning, at the latest."
Naruto tugged Haku's sleeve, and momentarily felt jealous at how tall the other boy was. His stomach was feeling odd, warmer than usual, and his conscience sounded unusually happy. The hairs on his arms had stood up when Kin left and he found himself worried for her. "Eh, Haku-kun? Do you think they're ghosts here? What if they come out and get mad for us trespassing?"
Haku shook his head with a light laugh. He found the younger boy's insistence on the existence of spirits humorous. Nothing more than a fairy tale to keep children in at night. That's what father used to say. Chocolate eyes darkened. "Don't worry about it, Naruto-kun. If you have any troubles with ghosts just tell them we were sent by the daimyo of the territory."
They separated, each taking a different half of the dilapidated village. Naruto accepted the answer as he forced open a partially rotted door, but the uneasiness didn't leave.
The sealed demon breathed in what passed for air in its figurative prison with a relaxed sigh. The ground they had passed onto was a pool of emotion and energy and its vessel was picking up old grudges still hanging thick in the air.
Ghosts were as real as demons and not long ago had been as plentiful. But humans liked to kill what they could not control, and ignore what they could not understand. Spirits were forgotten. Ghosts were forgotten. Demons had been forgotten until they decided to give humanity a wakeup call. You are not the top of the food chain.
The great fox stretched out and began pacing at the bars. Her tail flicked back and forth as the scent of old blood came up and pleased her. The seal was already cracked, it was not invincible. He would roam the world again, and then this town would be the first of many like it.
Her feet made small squishing noises as the kunoichi walked across the fields. Kin was tempted to use the water-walking technique on the soggy ground, but didn't want to waste energy; she'd felt nervous since setting foot on the disused rice paddies. The outskirts were less populated, which meant she had fewer buildings to search, but had somehow fallen into worse condition. There were signs of struggle and fighting all over the place and rusted metal implements littered the fields waiting for a chance to give tetanus.
The bones from a recent kill lay scattered haphazardly in one field and it reminded her of old experiments. How much blood can a person lose before death? She palmed a kunai as a precaution. While animals may have pulled the man apart, they didn't drain off the blood before doing so. Focus Kin!
She shrugged off the feeling of being watched and hurried to the first house. It a small, simple affair built from wood and straw; mold was everywhere. Kin tied a strip of cloth around her mouth to serve as a mask. A beam of light coming through the collapsed roof highlighted the motes of dust and pollen floating in the air. She'd never been particularly worried about getting dirty, but the place was a death trap. I should have asked for the town.
She scanned the room, and stepped into the next. Whatever doors that may have present had splintered and decomposed.
The first house contained nothing recognizable, the second a few broken jars and furniture. In the third, after lifting an over-turned standing cabinet, a skeleton. Kin finished checking the outlying homes and went into a separate building. It had been set slightly apart from the others and had a stone floor. Perhaps it would have the document? At the very least if appeared more official and important and, therefore, was more likely to have the scroll they were looking for.
Kin coughed as she entered the building through a back window, as the door was barred or blocked from the inside, and waved her hand to dispel the dust. It was at least half an inch deep. Must be a storage area. Wooden crates were stacked against the far wall on top of each other, some with once bright paint proclaiming the contents, but most looked like they had been pushed in place last minute. Kin pulled one down and cursed as her foot got tangled in yet another pile of bones. Kami. Didn't anyone come back to clean this place? Or at least collect the dead?
She snorted, and immediately sneezed for her trouble, at the remembrance of the guide's tale. As she tipped out the box and discovered numerous sheets of rice paper, very little of it useable, she thought about the reasons. Why would people abandon a town? If it was a crazy plague, why not return after? There was so much that sat unclaimed, and the bodies! Shards of bones had been sprinkled like seeds through some of the fields, not to mention the fresh one.
It wouldn't be too far-fetched if someone has plans for this land and doesn't want it developed. She took down another box, glanced in, and tossed it aside. She needed the door clear. They could easily hire some thugs to patrol the grounds, and kill anyone that looked like they might stay. The next crate splintered as it hit the ground, spilling out what might have been salt. Kin glanced at the window; the sun was going down quickly.
She moved the last of the boxes and found herself facing an old, strong, wooden door. Several spots were broken by what looked like an axe. "Okay. That solves the reason why there are dead bodies in here." The door handle was rusted shut. Kin groaned and leaned against the door, but it barely budged. She charged her side with chakra and rammed it with her shoulder causing the door to burst open with the sound of nails on chalkboard.
The next room made it obvious as to what the building had been; a temple of some kind. Two-thirds of the room was meant for a gathered mass, the rest stood slightly higher on a raised stone stage. There was an upturned table on the platform, its contents scattered. Small metal objects reflected dull light from the floor and caught her eye.
"Bell choir." Kin smiled to herself and bent down to pick up the few hand bells still intact. They were bronze and tarnished from years of neglect. All the smaller ones had been crushed under what she assumed had been stampeding feet. Kin stroked a mahogany handle lovingly and untied off her makeshift mask to use as a rag. She looked up, noted she had an hour or so before night fell, and started cleaning the two bells most intact.
She blew off the dust first and found intricate geometric etchings. She started wiping the bells, which were as big as her fist, down with polish and hummed as she worked. There was little chance of the document being found in her area, and she was tired from looking, the bells would be a nice break. "I'll have you two good as new, maybe take you with me?" She sighed at the thought. They were as impractical as they were beautiful. What would she do with them? Kin polished a little more vigorously.
The temperature dropped and the girl shivered. The bells warmed under her hands.
Zabuza completed his circuit of the aboveground floors of the manor house and went into the kitchen. The cellar door was made of thin planks and was oddly cool to the touch. Zabuza kicked it down and descended into the dank darkness of the underground, it didn't bother him as much as if he wasn't used to being deprived of sight. The old stairs didn't give away his passage but the cultivated sense of danger all shinobi carried with them began ringing alarm in his ears.
Adrenaline production doubled. Zabuza felt satisfaction as his eyes grew used to the night-sight jutsu. Along the walls barrels of stacked wines and provisions sat unused and forgotten, slime coated the barrels and water dripped down the walls. It was damp and cold, a perfect environment for insects and pests of all kinds, and yet Zabuza had yet to see a single spider web.
The temperature plummeted and on instinct Zabuza jumped. He stuck to the ceiling with chakra and put one hand on his sword. "And here I thought this mission would be boring."
"Oh? I woman likes to know she's appreciated." Where the ninja had been formerly standing a mass of ice spikes took his place. A coating of ice grew out wide and flat along the floor. Zabuza felt her before he saw her. Her chakra was unlike anything he had heard of; it was as if she was made of the stuff. "I commend you on avoiding my missives," she paused and there was amusement in her voice. "But you have entered my realm."
Dripping water froze as she drew nearer; ice trailed up the wall and grew icicles as if they were plants. As the freezing atmosphere closed in on him Zabuza felt the familiar pull of his chakra being drained by an outside force. That explained the lack of animal life; they had fled the draining influence of the strange jutsu user. He raised his estimation of the otherworldly woman who walked into view. "And who might I have the honor of entertaining?" She asked and looked up, crystalline eyes boring into him.
Zabuza's breath caught. She had sharp aristocratic features with coloring similar to that of a corpse; blue veins stood out against snow-white skin in alarming contrast. Her hair hung around her black and limp, but most disturbing of her appearance was her clothing. She wore only the outer layer of a kimono, loose, which was once white but stained a bright red with blood. A coppery tang wafted off it, and Zabuza found himself excited in multiple ways. If they weren't enemies, they could have been friends.
He dropped down and his eyes never left the woman. "Zabuza. The Demon of the Bloody Mist." He unlatched his sword and leaned against it casually.
The woman grinned revealing sharp teeth. "You? A demon? HA!" She flung her head back as she laughed and Zabuza was tempted to go for her exposed throat, but somehow he doubted it would work. She had no noticeable pulse. "Oh, you are no demon, just a human with a good appetite. Perhaps."
She crossed her arms and they observed one another silently. "I should say, the vassal and half-breed are truer demons than you. 'Tis a pity, I would have liked more to fight."
The missing-nin's interest was piqued. "Are there more here?"
"Of course." Zabuza heard a barrel burst as the liquid inside froze. She was gathering her power. "The three you came in with. The old man will get the girl, and I wouldn't dare attack a vassal of the high one," she paused and smiled contentedly. "It wouldn't be right to attack family."
She must mean Haku... but he's the last of his line. "What do you mean by that?"
The woman blinked in surprise but the opening was too small for him to do anything meaningful. "You don't know?" Her eyes widened and she looked ready to laugh again. "You truly don't know! This is fantastic! Do you not know what I am?" At Zabuza's silence she laughed again. "I'll tell you what I am, human. I am a winter spirit, a snow woman and a demon."
She spread her fingers and ice launched up from the ground toward Zabuza's position. He hopped back and brought his sword down cleanly cutting through the spikes of ice. "It's an interesting bloodline, but you are no more demon than I."
"So stubborn." She shook her head and her hair tinkled as bits of ice trapped within it clashed. "Where do you think 'bloodlines' come from? Demon blood is strong and it is what grants you your 'bloodlines'. Do you think they appear randomly? As a gift of god? Absurd."
Zabuza went on the offensive and weaved between fountains of ice to get closer to the woman. Chakra pumped through his body to augment his speed as he cut down, and found himself stopped dead. The snow woman had caught the head of his clever with her palms and she didn't even look winded. Water began to condensate along the metal and slowly freeze over, gradually creeping along the blade toward him.
She leaned forward, and for the first time he saw her eyes clearly. Black and blue; ice reflecting their surroundings. "The half breed carries the blood of one of mine. I see it in his face, hear it in his heart beat. You cannot hope to win."
Unbidden, a memory trickled in. They had been sparring before the demon brothers went missing. Haku's mirrors would have killed him. Haku, with these mirrors you cannot be defeated.
The yuki-onna's breath was cold; her face hung inches from his. She was trying to draw his chakra and succeeding to some small degree. Archaic bits of knowledge crashed into his mind as he leapt to out of leeching range, mind racing while he tried to come up with a strategy. He believed.
He was fighting with a demon of ice and snow, one that, for lack of her proper environment to feed off of, was draining the people that came to Shikyo. Zabuza twisted away from a ball of ice that seemed to follow him and wished he knew some fire jutsu.
As Haku passed a familiar bloodstain for the third time, he began to suspect something was off. Truthfully he had found it odd that he hadn't reached the end of the house, but easily chalked that up to the maze like interior. Haku threaded his fingers together into the near universal hand sign for dispel. "Kai!"
His chakra ripped out to displace any genjutsu but all that the ice user detected was a faint giggle. Haku waited and after a moment resumed his path down the hall. He kept close to the yellowed walls and found himself irritated. He knew he was being watched, there was an itch at the back of neck that resembled the feel of being hunted, but was much less malicious. He could detect no killing intent or ill will from the watcher but what annoyed him above all was he couldn't fathom where they would be watching from.
A shiver went down Haku's spine as the feeling increased tenfold, almost as if the invisible person knew it unnerved him. A trio of ice senbon formed between the boy's fingers with a thought and he spun around, crouched, prepped to attack.
Soft laughter.
It came from every direction; diffused as if carried by wind and Haku worried. Who could craft such a strong genjutsu? Why would they hide if they were so strong? Most importantly, what are they doing here? Why are they interfering with my mission? Haku hadn't been called a genius just because of his bloodline, and his mind immediately started the process of sorting through information as he crept cautiously through the weathered house.
An old board groaned and he adjusted his weight, thinking. Would this have anything to do with the 'suggested timeframe'? Do they simply wish to delay our activities? Haku rolled one of the senbon between his fingers. He recalled their guide's account of the history of Shikyo, and wondered why it would have such an inauspicious name. Could there be something more? Could there be a reason for Hatori-san's discomfort of the place?
He came to an intersection and went left in silent opposition to whatever force was attempting to keep him trapped. He rolled the questions over and discarded answers. Nothing he could come up with made sense and he resumed his thinking. Then he heard it.
As the feeling of being watched hit an all time high there was the almost imperceptible groan of stressed wood and sliding. Sensing an opening, Haku twirled and let his weapons fly. They bounced against a wood wall as if hitting stone and fell the ground, shattering into ice on impact. Haku found himself rendered immobile by an impossibility.
Hundreds of eyes stared out at him from the paper walls, all but the one his senbon had hit. The eyes moved and crinkled up as if in a smile. Haku stepped back as creatures from his mother's stories came to life. They were impossible; spirits didn't exist and if you keep telling those stories he'll never grow up to be a man. I'll not have such foolishness in this house! The antithesis of his father stood before him in mocking laughter.
Haku's back hit the wall and he crumpled as the silk of his robes slid easily down the wood. His father had said that spirits only functioned to scare children and keep them in bed. His mother had never said any different, but she told the old stories with a, now, alarming regularity before Haku was expected to help out. His mother was dead, killed by the over-controlling man, and his father had been impaled by Haku's own ice spears.
The laughter died down, but with their cover blown the eyes did not retreat. Nor, it seemed, would the walking wall. That's the reason I can't get out. It, and possibly others like it, have been moving around. Judging by the puddles of melting senbon on the floor, the spirit was unbreakable. Sheer force would not work against it. But there has to be some way to get around it. There was always some way to escape.
Haku shook himself from the memories and stared back at the eyes. He sat in a more comfortable position, and tried to remember. If those are mokumokuren...
Naruto had never before been on a D-rank mission, but if he had he would have compared the monotonous searching for a scroll at the same level of boredom. He held Kyuu-chan in one hand for the comfort of her soft fur, and slid open doors with the other. The wood grated in its rails from disuse and hurt his ears. "This is stupid." Naruto told himself with annoyance and worry. For some time he had felt weird and his conscience wasn't helping.
The normally faint voice rumbled about timing and burst into laughter, the reason for which the blonde couldn't fathom. The broken down homes weren't that funny. More to the point, ever since walking into Shikyo Naruto felt off. It wasn't a bad off, like having a mild stomachache from drinking bad milk, but the kind off that came after running around in the snow without a jacket. His limbs felt distant though he had complete control over them. He felt like something was happening that he should have been aware of.
Bratatatata.
Naruto jumped back as the oddest pair of moldy sandals ran by. They sang as they ran and upon noticing him stopped and came back. "Why is this place so messed up!" Naruto began running away from the strange creatures. They gave chase with squeals of joy and were soon joined by another pair and a ripped up umbrella. All had eyes and outrageous tongues that slapped the ground when they weren't waving through the air.
Naruto was near tears. "I knew it! I knew ghosts were real!" He ducked through a hole in a wall and crouched silently hoping they wouldn't notice him. From his vantage point he watched the army of animated objects cheer and run by. A fork of all things brought up the caboose with tarnished silver legs a single eye at the top. Naruto clapped his hands over his ears at the high-pitched squeal of the eating utensil and closed his eyes in the hopes that if he couldn't see them, they couldn't see him.
"What are you so worried for? They're just tsukumogami. Spirits." His conscience questioned, it's former rampant amusement dampened by the boys obvious distress.
"I know." Naruto whispered in reply still curled in a ball. "Spirits… they'll eat my soul. They'll kill me."
Hot anger spilled from his stomach and warmed his body. It fought of the numbing fear and brought feeling back to his outer extremities. "Who told you that?!" The voice raged. "No matter, I'll find out… you should know those particular spirits will do nothing of the sort. They might poke and pull a few pranks, but they wouldn't actively try to kill you. Besides," the voice teased, though there was a malicious ring to it. "If anyone will be eating your soul it will be me."
Oddly reassured by the comment Naruto peaked open his eyes and looked about. Instead of the slavering ghosts he had been expecting all he saw were the age stained walls of the house he was in. "K-Kyuu's gone!"
"…you must have dropped her when you covered your ears."
The blonde ground his teeth and stepped back into the hall. His foot pounded on the wood boards with determination. With the voice's suggestions he could deduce what had happened. So they don't eat souls. They play pranks. Naruto grinned viciously exposing sharpening teeth. Let's see how well they deal with a Master Prankster. "Oi! Ba-ka Zori! I want my fox back!"
"Lost little boy, lost his fox. His fox. He lost. He lost his fox. He lost himself within himself! Kararin!" One of the bakezori danced at the end of the hall and blew a raspberry.
Naruto pounded down the hall after the straw spirit, turned the corner, and found himself slipping along an oil spill. He caught sight of a jar with legs wobble out of the way as he reached for a wall and used chakra to stick. Zabuza and Haku had been teaching him many things, tree/wall walking among them, and they had been applaud at the Leaf's attitude toward training upcoming shinobi. To them it was as if Konoha wanted them to die.
Naruto proved to be a, if not talented, determined student. He used his upper body strength and pulled himself off the slick spill and onto the wall that he ran along to resume the chase. It was a good thing he did for as he went he noticed various other traps such as caltrops and weak boards. They may not play to kill, but they aren't squeamish about doing damage. The thought of his first and favorite toy ripped to shreds by the creatures fueled his urgency.
He followed the track of tiny feet and flipped down to open a door. "Oi!" It was empty, which didn't make much sense to the blonde.
Shlick. Shlick. Shlick.
Naruto's eyes turned toward the ceiling and his mouth opened in surprise. There was a lady ninja on the ceiling! His conscience rolled it's figurative eyes at his reasoning and supplied a helpful, "Tenjoname."
Naruto forced himself not to run as the figure paused in its, licking? He noticed her hair was at least several feet long and defied gravity, it almost felt as if she was the one on the floor and he the ceiling. "Um, did you see some," he strived to remember the word his conscience had used. "Tsukumogami run through here?"
The woman looked up and her eyes captivated Naruto, rivets of blood ran from them like tears. As if noticing his gaze her tongue, a ridiculously long tongue, came out of her mouth and dabbed at the red drops to clear them. Slowly she moved her arm and pointed at a far wall.
"Thank you Tenjo-san!" He flicked out a knife and slid it into a thin crevice in the wall, then jiggled it upwards until he flipped the latch. Behind him he heard the spirit resume it's licking, or cleaning, or whatever it was that the woman felt she needed to do with the ceiling.
Naruto found himself facing a pitch black passageway. You know, I could really use a fire chicken about now.
Fickle had watched the going-ons of them with aggravation at first. They were getting together and making plans, plans to fight the humans that she so generously lived off of. And they didn't even think to ask her people if they wanted to join in. She wiped at her whiskers to clean off the crumbs of her latest ill-gotten gain, a muffin, and twitched her tail.
To be fair they didn't think much of her kind, the rats were selfish and small. Like their cousin mice a rat caught in the open was in for a quick death but Fickle didn't think that meant they should be excluded. Rats could go places the others couldn't! Rats intimately knew the thought processes and ways of humans; if they didn't they wouldn't be able to survive in the cities.
"If the bloody insects can participate," she peered around from the shadows of a cabinet and scurried along the floor to the outside. "Why can't we? I eat the damn things."
Once outside in the relative safety of the night she relaxed and slunk to the overgrowth. She had ventured from her den under the human academy, there was always an abundance of food where the small humans congregated, to speak with her old acquaintances by the farm. Three of the five were dead and the remaining two were far too terrified of 'Precious' to join her. They barely made any effort to leave their den and were hardly more than skeletons themselves. "Such is the way of the rat, I guess." Fickle would lose no sleep over their deaths.
She pushed aside grass with her nose and swayed as she walked; her stomach was full from both her muffin meal and the children she carried inside her thus resulting an awkward waddle.
The wind changed and her nose twitched. Her heart rate skyrocketed as a dangerous smell came through her nostrils. "Precious."
"Yaaaaaaawrowl!" The farm cat growled and pounced with all the grace and agility of a natural hunter. Fickle rolled.
Temporarily stunned by the strange maneuver the cat blinked at its empty paws and danced in place. Stupid, pampered feline. Fickle thought with fleeting satisfaction as the cat sniffed and whirled to face her. She made a beeline for the bushes. Her only hope was the go where the cat could not. In her current state she wouldn't be fast enough to elude it for long.
Her tail whipped in the air as Precious the cat swiped at it, and was nicked. I'm going to die. Go to the trash heap in the sky. One of her children kicked. Will they go with me? The mental image of a permanently pregnant Fickle in the afterlife came to her mind. Disgust filled her and she wanted to vomit. Rats may mate and have children on a scale to make rabbits jealous, but that didn't mean it was a pleasant process. Oh HELL no.
The rat halted with the aid of the light stuff. Chakra. They call it chakra. She had lived around the academy for years and knew the theory of it backwards and forwards. It was only when she noticed the forest dwellers showing up that she considered attempting anything with it, and that was really only to relieve boredom. In the city there was so much food she hardly had to put in an effort to get it.
"Take that!" Fickle rounded on Precious and jumped up in a kick. Her small paws plowed into the larger mammals chin and nose with a squish. The cat recoiled and mewed helplessly while staring at the not so helpless pray. "Heh. That was pretty easy." She felt winded and tired, but she wasn't dead. The cat began circling her.
Fickle placed a forepaw on her belly and peered back at the cat. She got an idea. Her fingers came together to form signs she could make in her sleep, if she so wished. The rat took a deep breath.
Charred cat fur smells pretty nice. Fickle passed out.
Kin tossed the log that blocked the door off to the side and winced as it broke through a weak spot in the wall. Plaster crumbled around it and Kin sighed in relief. The job didn't exactly call for stealth so her blundering about wouldn't have any repercussions. That and it's easier then setting the damn log down gently. She dusted her hands off and went outside into the cool night air.
It was damp and cold and her skin started to feel clammy, moonlight illuminated the clearing and Kin rubbed at her bare arms. The way the light filtered down through the clouds gave a distinctly disturbing look to the empty fields. Ruts from hoes and wagons looked more like festering scars, and there was a deep sense of emptiness filling the air. Kin's breath made little white clouds as she blew on her hands to warm them. Her skin crawled with unease. It was still summer; the air shouldn't be cold enough to condense like it did.
She headed back across the field fully intending to wait at the rendezvous, search complete or not, and sunk her shoes into the mud on accident. "Shit." It squished between her toes and made schlooping sounds when she got out. Gross. Okay, I really don't like this place. It's not like an important document would be here anyway.
Kin scraped the worst of the mud off with a kunai and continued on her way, while a feeling of wrongness continued to build. She made it halfway before the reason hit her. I don't hear anything. Her expertly trained ears picked up nothing, no insects or nocturnal animal life. It was as if everything fled while she had been in the church, and she wondered. What could make animal life flee?
As if answer a figure shambled from the distant brush. Slowly, laboriously, it untangled itself from the wild growth of dividing bushes and turned towards her. Kin couldn't quite make out the details, but she was sure it was a man. Had to be. "Sir? Are you alright?" Not that she cared, but it would be better to find out if he had been ambushed. She mentally berated herself for not noticing a fight right outside her door and moved forward.
The person did not answer, and as they grew closer Kin was hit by the feel of decay. There was no other word for it as her heart stopped in alarm and her feet took a step back. This was the wrongness. This man, or thing, was wrong. He exuded an oppressive aura that threatened to crush her and as he looked up Kin was stuck by the vicious smile. "Help me. Help me."
The words came out rough as if his vocal cords were long in disuse. He reached out toward her, a short handheld farming scythe in hand. "Won't you help me? They are so thirsty."
Kin exhaled. "Dorotabo." The crushed half of his face proved it. His lips quirked and he raised his scythe. Kin back pedaled and launched the mud-covered kunai at his face on reflex. It passed through him as if he wasn't even there but she wasn't stupid. Even if her weapons couldn't affect him, she wasn't going to stand still to find out if his would hurt her.
Life is a real bitch. Kin thought as she ducked a swing and slipped on the damp ground. Of course her master had warned her, but she didn't listen. In his own sweet, round-about way, he had told her to be careful of the ghouls in the night. But she had only thought it one of his eccentricities.
She bit back a cry as a second scythe formed in the ghost's free hand and cut into her leg. Luckily it missed the bone, but ripping of muscle as he jerked it out wouldn't do her any favors. The freshly dead body made sense in retrospect. The old man was what had been killing the people.
"Won't you help me water my babies? They need so much love..."
Kin tried to block with a kunai, but his weapon turned to smoke and continued down to her shoulder. "Get away!" She rolled to the side and tried to stand but collapsed. Angry tears formed in her eyes. She was being useless. A waste of space, a burden on her team, and always getting injured. Kin. Unable to move in time, she lowered her head to hide the kunai poised over her breast. Cowards way out, yes, but she wouldn't give the spirit the satisfaction of drawing out her death.
Something warm and wet wrapped around her hand as the ring of metal on metal rang out. The warm thing jerked her knife away and Kin cursed at it as she looked up. If not for the moonlight reflecting the familiar geometric designs she'd spent an hour polishing Kin wouldn't have recognized it.
Now half the size of her head, a bronze bell hung in the air with no visible support. The clapper had become a tongue that moved like a monkeys tail, and eyes had formed along the surface of the dome. It had become a Tsukumogami, and judging by the way it blocked the strikes of the dorotabo, it was helping her. But why?
"Doesn't matter. Nothing matters." She muttered and felt a nudge at her arm. The other bell had transformed as well and looked up at her with puppy eyes. It panted with a bronze and silver tongue lolling out as it rubbed against her side. "Uh. Thanks for the help." It was weird. The whole situation was bizarre and it was all she could do to not scream.
Ghost trying to kill her on one side, hundred-year-old bell spirits on the other.
She tried to bandage her leg when the malicious farmer let out a screech and struck at the defending bell with a blow that cracked the metal. Kin crawled backward, mud covering her legs and hands, as her mind scrambled for a solution. It's a ghost. You can't kill what is already dead, the best that can be done is to delay it. She leaned against the strangely warm bell for support and ducked a thrown cutting tool. It appeared as if the ghost had refocused on her and was coming closer.
Can't kill it. Can't kill it. His eyes glowed with an eerie red light. She reached into her ninja pouch and came up with a bottle of ink and the roll of paper she used to practice her seals. Useless! I can't seal a spirit into this! Or could she? The bell that had been cut had adapted. The metal peeled back into a rictous of teeth that shone and flaked rust. Alarmed, the one assisting her floated to the aid of its compatriot.
"Please! Give me two minutes! Two minutes!" Kin shouted and tightened the knot on her makeshift bandages. Sure, she was a beginner, but enough power usually made up for lack of skill. Usually.
The two bell spirits floated and circled around the ghost like a pair of hornets buzzing in to sting and retreat. The kunoichi slunk around the fighting trio, her face flushing with the pain of added weight on her leg, and jumped to the bushes. They're had to be a reason the ghost came from the area. Ghosts didn't haunt a place for no reason. They came from violent deaths as the guide, Hatori, had said. Everyone got sick and crazy. They started killing each other. A caved in skull grinned at her, bits of clothing appeared to be growing out of the ground. He had only a partial burial if any.
Kin snatched up the skull and stuffed it in her shirt for immediate storage. She tied her new wires to the rings of the kunai and sent them flying. They sunk into the spongy ground forming a vague circle and for a split second she bemoaned the ruination of her recent purchases. Only a few days old and already her weapons were getting dragged through the mud.
She held the end of the wires in her teeth and prepared another five kunai with the thin wires before leaping into the air and sending them out. She landed on her good leg, and would have collapsed in pain, but for the first time the ground proved useful in absorbing the force. Sweat trickled into her eyes. They deserve a warning. "Get out of there!"
Once again she took to the air. At the apex of her jump she flicked her wrist, twisting the connected wires into an odd diagram only discernable from above, and united all the wires to a single kunai. Blood from her leg wound supplied ink to scrawl a messy 'seal' on the farmers crushed skull. She'd spent hours studying the theory. In theory anything could be stored with the right materials, even living people. Even the dead.
Kin dropped to the ground dead center of her circle and slammed the skull into the ground. Immediately she supercharged her planted wires with chakra, enough that they glowed and lit up the entire field in a pale blue. The living bells shot out of the seal with unsurpassed speed.
Hopefully it would work. "Stay the fuck down!" She drove the final kunai into the old skull, straight through the kanji. Her chakra was ripped from her body as the formation attempted to compact and seal the malicious ghost within his old bones. Kin couldn't keep her scream in. If she didn't have enough power, she would die from chakra exhaustion before the seal worked.
But if it didn't she might die anyway, and her blood would join in with that of the countless other victims that watered the field.
Zabuza found himself hard pressed to avoid a rain of icicles dropped by the demoness. By the way she moved she was obviously confident in her abilities and was gradually becoming more precise in her attacks. In a way it reminded him of his apprentice, how the boy would sometimes draw out his battles in the attempt to get the other to give up. It also reminded him of himself. Truly, in any other circumstance, they could have gotten along.
The missing-nin was tempted to ignore the few shards that nicked his skin but he knew from recent experience if he did the shallow wounds would ice over and drain his energy more than any normal injury.
It was hard to maneuver in the cramped tunnels, but he managed to get enough space to expel the toxic chakra of the demon from his cuts. It seems as if she could keep this up for hours. Zabuza found himself panting as his eyes and ears strained to detect her next attack. He was hoarding his chakra jealously, more so than in any other battle he'd fought, for any slip in control resulted in strengthening his opponent. He had to get close to her, but thus far he had been kept at a distance by her defenses. I wonder how good her senses are...
The yuki-onna pursed her lips while cold eyes glanced about in feigned annoyance. "Come now, demonling, the game isn't over yet." Water condensed and the cool wisps from her ice became a dense fog. She waved her hand a portion solidified into ice and dropped, but there too much of it. It was a risk to use so much chakra maintaining the fog, but it was one he was willing to take. "Why are you prolonging the inevitable? You've given me amusement, I will make your death painless."
Her answer was a sword to the neck, but instead of severing her head from her body as intended the cleaver was stopped by a petite hand. Unlike last time her arm was visibly shaking. Zabuza grunted and reared back for a second go.
He utilized a camouflage jutsu and faded into the fog. Her movements aren't as strong. She must have limited physical stamina. A second time his strike was deflected by her palm, and a third. Zabuza's feet slid along the hard ice floor as his chakra buoyed him up and he pressed the attack. Real frustration showed on her face as she backpedaled with her hands moving like lightening to intercept his sword thrusts.
The ninja tipped his head to the side as she spat an ice spike at him and grinned. It had been a long time since he'd had a challenge, and he might die, but it was thrilling to fight such a beautiful and dangerous creature.
Neither spoke as they danced around one another. Zabuza retreated for only brief moments into his concealing fog, and the snow woman had little time to restore her launched offensives with her mind focused on his close ranged assault. "Perhaps you have earned your title," she murmured appreciatively while sliding her foot in a semi-circle. A barrier of ice shot up to give her a brief respite before Zabuza knocked it down. He grinned widely at her revealing sharpened teeth as the bandages around his mouth had long sense come loose; they hung damp around his neck and shoulders.
"Compliment?" He questioned before leaping to safety and circling her.
The woman spun, masses of ice condensing for the next assault, and opened her mouth to speak. Zabuza didn't hear whatever it was she wanted to say; her features twisted into surprise and her head turned slightly. He took advantage of the opening.
The steel of his kubikiri paused momentarily as it came in contact with her shoulder before slicing into her body. The woman turned to look at him as it entered her chest, her fingers twitching, and exited above her hip.
Zabuza watched, unsurprised, as her body evaporated instead of dropping. Part of him expected her to melt or something, but who was he to say how a demon died? The tailed beasts never left bodies when they were sealed into jinchuriki. Still, he didn't trust it. He could swear she had been, what? Smirking? She didn't look all that upset, somehow. She didn't feel like someone about to die. Zabuza crouched in a ready position poised to spring. He waited as the fog dissipated but no attack came.
Perhaps the ice demon was well and truly dead?
Hundreds of tiny cuts half-forgotten began to scream as the air warmed and Zabuza stood to look around at his surroundings. During the fight he had only been partially aware of where they were going, the battle awareness of things had stuck but any directional ideas had been pushed to the back of his mind. Now he realized just how far they had gone. Water dripped from melting icicles onto marble flooring, thick wooden doors hung off rusted hinges, and ahead a decorated table covered in now damp dust contained several gold-threaded scrolls.
"Jackpot."
His arms rested on his knees as he sat, and Haku stared at the wall before him. It stood immobile and taunting in its silence. It had a weakness, some peculiarity that would allow him to move on, he knew it. The ice user flicked a pair of metal senbon at the wall and watched as they bounced off only to join the others he had used to take pot-shots at the thing.
One bounced off another that had fallen and the tip scraped at the bottom of the wall. It shuddered.
Brown eyes narrowed; the hundred of watching eyes widened in glee. Haku crawled over to retrieve his weapons. "I remember now. You are nobusuma?" The wall gave no hint that it heard. Haku tucked his senbon away. "Proper name doesn't matter, at this point."
Haku stepped up and tapped the lower portion of the wall with his foot. In comical slow motion the wall shook before falling backwards. Layers of dust flew into the air as it fell with a final thud, and like some life-size domino effect other spirit walls began falling around the boy. He covered his mouth with the sleeve of his robe and waited for everything to settle. I win.
The mission would be completed. He stepped over the fallen walls, chuckling at the baby-sized feet kicking helplessly in the air, and continued on his way. The eyes followed him but he found he didn't care. They were disturbing but harmless.
"You don't want to go thaaaat way." The voices of the spirits laughed as they watched the half-breed search the complex. "There's nothing there. You want the liiiiiiibrary."
"I do?"
"Oh yeeees. You beat the labyrinth. No one's ever done thaaaaat before." They spoke with sing-song voices, oddly in time with each other, and the eyes smiled. Haku wasn't sure he trusted them, no mist trained shinobi ever fully trusted, and these had hardly given him a reason to.
If there is a library, it would be more likely for the scroll to be there. Haku watched as the eyes closed and disappeared into the woodwork, only to reform in an arrow shape. With no better option he followed. The library was old and dusty like everything else. Animal tracks and droppings littered the shelves; some books had been torn apart and used for nesting materials.
Haku stepped over a small possum that woke, jumped up with a hiss, and bolted for the door. The scrolls had been stored on separate hexagonal shaped shelves but most of them were falling apart anyway. Haku pulled some out and slowly unrolled them, curious, and found that the ink was mostly unreadable and depending on the material used the scroll would tear easily. A few silk scrolls were slick with a thin film of slime and their ink had become almost invisible. Most were of the ancient bamboo design and were brittle to the touch; the boy was afraid any tampering would cause them to break. It didn't bode well for their mission. Even if we find the right scroll, Saiga-sama won't be able to use it if he can't read it.
To the left another possum poked it's gray head out of a cubby and blinked. Haku reached for the shelf as the animal lazily scrambled out of the way and plucked a scroll thicker than what he had seen thus far. It had a heavy iron handle, and the leather was smooth and cool to the touch. Amazingly, upon opening it was completely legible and Haku's eyebrows rose as he skimmed it. How and why it was there he didn't know, but he didn't much care. Had its presence been known shinobi would have descended on the haunted little town regardless of the warnings.
It was a master summons scroll, the kind that the legendary sannin possessed, that would grant contracts to whoever signed it.
The only question was, now what, exactly, does this summon?
She was a creature of the seasons, but she rallied against her nature. She refused to let her life be dictated by the whims of the revolutions. She was more than that. The pale skinned yuki-onna watched as the group departed with their number the same that had arrived, though the long haired female was carried by the half-breed. Surprising, considering how many had fallen to Shikyo.
Of course she believed the two demons would make it, but the others? "You underestimated her ingenuity." The demoness spoke to a kunai-speared skull she supported in her hands. "We both underestimated them."
A cruel smile lit her features and she raised the old bones to her face as if to kiss them. "But you're the one that was truly defeated. I on the other hand..." her mouth opened revealing a dark cavern of icy shards and a pale green energy floated from the skull into her mouth. The land was no longer contested between the old man and herself. As she drained energy from the imprisoned dorotabo, ice formed a wave at her feet and spread across the ground. Shikyo was hers, and she would keep it until the Child of Prophecy came to lead them.
It was only a matter of time, and immortals such as she had plenty of patience.
END.
A/N- When Zabuza has the 'familiar' pull of his chakra it's because it feels similar to him sparring with Kisame before either went rouge. The Yuki-onna's drain is like Kisame's sword.
And the fire chicken reference? Don't ask. Please. I'm ashamed of myself.
There was supposed to be a show down scene with Naruto vs. Sandals, but at 15 pages I decided to call it a night and update. Maybe I'll do another deleted scenes in a future chapter and include it. Any opinions?
By fifteen pages, I mean arial font, at 10 point. Single spaced.