Hey there! I got nothing to say here, really. Thanks for getting this far. I know it sux like crap, but whatever. Let's just go on with the story. The final battle is here!
Chapter 13
Molten lava spewed from the craters of Volca. Heat intensified as Katashi dashed through a mountain crevice, escaping his pursuers. He glanced back and saw the snarling canines, longing to tear apart his flesh. There was a bloodlust in the eyes of foxes and wolves, bearing no sign of domestication.
All at once, Katashi spun around and made the sign of the tiger.
"FIRE STYLE: GREAT FIREBALL!!"
A large fireball was exhaled from his mouth, bigger than his torso. The scorching flames rushed towards the canines, waiting to burn them to dirty carcasses.
But they used their agility to jump away from harm, avoiding imminent death. The canines reached high ledges with their hind legs and landed on the towering cliffs, only to snarl down at Katashi.
He sneered at them with veening eyes. Their sinister glances dissipated as they revolved around two sudden figures.
"Be honored, boy. You get to meet the first and sixth tail of the Kyuubi."
The enemy next to the speaker only raised a hand to silence her partner.
"Inuka…back down…" Katashi looked at Inuka's partner and froze in place. The first tail grew snow white hair that she held in place with a clip. A handful of locks wrapped in a cylinder hairpiece, next to a barrette with three white feathers. She looked down at Katashi with golden orbs, contrasted with her navy blue Japanese dress. Her navy blue arm warmers were covered with white and purple cloths. Her insipid expression was the antithesis of Katashi's shocked visage.
"Kitsuna…" he muttered. After 5 years, his misery came to full circle. Katashi faced the first tail, his cousin…the murderer of the entire Aisu Clan.
"Katashi…" She jumped and gently landed to his level, facing him with a sly grin. "You've grown so big. Are you eating well? You know the heir of the Aisu Clan must be healthy."
He tried to land a sideways blow in a fury. But his cousin easily dodged it and gave an elbow jab to his face, sending him backwards. He flew a couple of feet before knocking to the ground with an uncomfortable landing.
Inuka snickered through obscenely sharp teeth. She covered her mouth with a hand with nails like knives, slashing through anything with ease. Beneath her long purple hair, abnormal pointy ears obviously stood out. Her black arm warmers covered her middle and ring fingers, going all the way up to her triceps.
"You're no match for the first tail!"
Kitsuna turned around and glared at her straight in the eye. Inuka's sneering attitude quickly receded as she shivered from the piercing orbs.
"Instead of mouthing off, why don't you fucking attack him!?"
Inuka nervously nodded. She placed two fingers in her mouth and released a high pitch whistle, earning the wolves' attention.
"Get the brat!!" She pointed towards Katashi with a sharp finger. The snarling wolves bared their fangs at Katashi, making him lightly quiver.
'Shit!' He cursed inaudibly. 'I'm dead meat!'
Katashi wheeled around and darted away, leaving his relative in his wake. The canines growled and barked as they chased after him, mouths foaming as if they were rabid.
He was chased out of the crevice and left in the entrance of Volca. The pursuers were not far behind. Catching a quick breath, Katashi clapped his hands together and made the sign of the tiger.
"FIRE STYLE…"
As his mouth expanded, the wolves were finally within sight from the shadows. His rage and fight for survival supported his power as Katashi finally released it.
"DRAGON FIRE!!"
The flames sot out of his lungs and ran like a stream into the crevice. The canines had nowhere to run, nowhere to escape. The long line of fire consumed each and every one of the wolves, making them fall like dominos.
Katashi imagined a bonfire before him, omitting the howls and cries that came from it. Before he turned around to try and re-gather energy, shadows reappeared from behind the fire. His hazel orbs grew as Inuka and vengeful foxes leapt above the flames and stretched out to him.
"AISU!! I'll whip your ass to hell!!" Katashi could see the fury in her eyes. "I don't care if you are from Kitsuna's clan! My relationship to my baby sister didn't stop me from killing her!!"
He felt disgusted at her confession. Katashi had no siblings, but he surely wouldn't hurt them if they were infants.
All at once, Inuka and the foxes thrashed at him, knocking the fire ninja to the ground. The collision to his head jumbled his insides and caused a mental confusion. But one thing still ran through his throbbing skull.
'I gotta get rid of them.'
Little drips of blood slid down Inuka's cheeks as she panted and gasped for breath. She stood up, watching the foxes "devour" him.
"Told you you're no match…not even for me!"
As she evilly chuckled with triumph, the foxes continued ravaging until Inuka noticed something different about their target.
Smoke and ashes fumed from beneath them. Sparks began to fly, heat began to rise, and the foxes began to howl in pain.
"What is it!?" Inuka yelled, despite the fact she wasn't their master. "Where is he!?"
"FIRE STYLE…"
The fur of the canines began to sizzle, burning into their skin. Their bodies were engulfed in flames as more clouds of superheated ash surrounded the group and caused third-degree burns.
Inuka felt the heat reach her face, burning her appearance. She tried to wave her arms around and blow away the ash, but it remained in the air around her. The heat boiled Inuka's blood; she couldn't stand it.
Frantically, she brought her hands to her cheeks and felt—
'Charcoal.'
"ASH PRODUCT BURNING!!"
Inuka brought her shaking hands in front of her and saw the epidermis turn pure black. The surface was crusty and peeling, on the verge of breaking down. Inuka could barely breathe; her lungs crumbled away as her body fluid ignited.
Flames escaped through her torso and engulfed her entire figure. Inuka's hair and dog ears sizzled to a crisp; her eyes burst into flames and her entire body quickly reduced to ashes.
And the same thing happened to the foxes.
They howled and yelped in agony, jumping off Katashi's limp form. The burning canines ran off back into the crevice. But it didn't stop their furs fade away, their skin molted off, and all that was left were their skeletal structure, which fell down in a heap.
Katashi achingly got to his feet, staring at the work of his fire. His face and uniform were drenched in blood; scars a bite marks appeared everywhere. He felt like his muscles and body were torn apart, but his condition didn't bother him that much. All that ran through his mind was:
'I did it.'
He looked around and found the gate back to the Nexus, releasing a sigh of relief.
'Safe.'
He lightly jogged back, aware that his body painfully reacted every time Katashi moved.
But a sudden instinct made him wheel around and stare as Kitsuna came up and slashed at his face with a deadly claw.
His hands felt numb from climbing so high a mountain, but Raido kept going for his life as he saw lions and cougars pounce up the ledges.
"Damn!!"
Raido continued his climb and reached for rock after rock, gripping tight with all his strength. The closer he got to the top, the even more closely the felines got to chomping him to bits.
It was all too sudden. After thirty minutes into his training, Raido was attacked, caught by surprise. He did all he could to be safe from harm, escaping the felines' clutches, but now he was exhausted.
With every chance he got, the earth ninja tried to reform the mountain structure and block their paths.
But the pursuers found new ways to reach him every time. The frustration got to Raido as he growled under his throat.
'That's it!!'
In all his anger and exhaustion, Raido threw himself up to the ledge and dangled with only one hand. The shock went through his body, but he didn't care. Raido could hear the temperamental growls of the felines below. Wasting no time, he forced himself up on the ledge and climbed onto the high plateau.
Pain and fatigue wracked his body every heartbeat. Raido took deep breaths while wobbling on all fours, regaining composure and balance.
"Wow. That took a lot outta you."
The purple eyes blazed with fury as he raised his head and looked upon a towering figure. He hated the man standing before him more than the Kyuubi itself. The color of his light silver hair made Raido's eyes twitch with resentment. The fact they had the same eye color made the ninja hate himself.
"Nekoro…"
His brother waited for an honorific, but none was heard. In a sudden rage, Nekoro pulled Raido to his feet and snarled, "You're supposed to show some RESPECT!!" He punched the ninja square in the jaw, spinning him in circles.
"You…you gave no speck of deference or acknowledgement for our mother!!" He regained his senses and threw a punch at Nekoro. But the older sibling easily caught his wrist and whirled him around before giving a knee jab to his spine.
"She was a worthless piece of trash…whose only purpose was to bring me into this world. You…are not needed."
Raido built up more anger and hate; his power emanated and brought multiple stones in a midair hover. He began pelting them at Nekoro, giving it to him every second.
But the third tail dodged everything thrown at him. Not a single scratch came to his form. Nekoro smirked as the ninja growled in frustration.
Raido was about to build up energy again until a lion and cougar finally caught up with them, landing next to Nekoro. Together, they slowly circled around the plateau, waiting for the other side to strike. He could hear their ferocious growls; their eyes ravaged Raido's form, longing to tear off a limb or two. The ninja waited for the right moment to strike, wondering which blow would land first.
The felines concocted a plan…a plan to bring him down. Finally initiating it, the cougar pounced up and aimed for Raido. With claws like talons, it reached out for him, to tear him to shreds. Bloodlust came to the cougar's eyes as it drew closer to Raido.
But he merely shifted sideways, allowing the cougar to fall down the echoing chasm. Its roar bounced off the mountainside and bellowed in their ears.
The ninja regained his balance and faced the vengeful lion. Nekoro glared wildly, waiting to tear him to nibbles.
"KILL HIM!!"
The lion bared his fangs and pounced at Raido. This new adversary was heavier than the cougar; he backed away, closer to the edge. As it lowered down on him, Raido bent down and fell off the cliff, taking the lion with him into the chasm.
He felt the gravitational pull weighing him and the lion down. Raido didn't want to die yet, not now. Nekoro was still alive, the person that murdered his own mother in cold blood.
'If he continues to live, no one can protect his targets. No one will help them…find happiness!!'
Stretching out an arm, he prayed to the gods for survival. Despite Raido's lack of power, a small ledge from the side began to form.
Nekoro chuckled with delight as he backed away from the ledge, finding the exit to the Nexus.
'Weaklings don't belong in the world of existence. Just like Mom…worthless piece of—'
He felt pebbles vibrate at his feet. Liquids inside him rumbled with the ground; Nekoro kept his balance, but curiosity got to him.
'What the fuck!? An earthquake!?'
"EARTH STYLE…"
He gasped at the sound of the voice. He looked all around himself: above, in front, and behind. But there was no sign of the voice's origin. Nekoro thought deeply…until a strong hand shot up from the plateau and grabbed hold of his ankle. He growled from shock as he wrestled to let his ankle free.
But Nekoro had no avail. The hand pulled his whole body into the ground, getting caught by rocks and dry dirt. He could feel the burn go all the way up to his shoulders.
"HEADHUNTER DECAPITATION!!"
The Kyuubi found himself shoulder length within the ground, unable to free his body. Not too far, Raido climbed up on the plateau, breathing heavily. He stared down at his brother with exhausted eyes.
"You're wrong…asshole…" Raido took a big gulp and clenched his fists. "I AM needed…by everyone that's helpless. YOU…are not needed…to maintain balance in the world."
He staggered back, turning around and leaving his brother alone. Clapping his hands together, Raido made the sign of the ox and built up an enormous amount of energy.
"EARTH STYLE: MAUSOLEUM DUMPLING!!"
Nekoro could feel the mountain tremble, shaking in fear. He saw dust jump up from the surface; pebbles and rocks shifted. Raido struggled with the gravitational pull, but managed to wedge out a life-threatening boulder from the craggy scaling. Its monstrous size was about a sumo wrestler's weight…but quintupled.
Raido slowly turned to his brother, levitating the boulder with his power. Sweat dripped down his face as he tried hard not to drop down on himself.
His brother watched with agitated eyes. All this time, Nekoro thought the young ninja had no strength, no worth in the world of existence.
But despite his ideas, Raido shook his head.
"You're wrong about me."
Nekoro stared in terror as Raido flung the boulder forward at him. He could feel the tremendous weight within his "decapitated" head. One last thought ran through his mind.
'Oh…shit.'
Raido watched boldly as his weapon crushed his only brother's head, splattering brains all over the plateau.
It was all over: Nekoro was dead.
'Mother…I'm sorry.'
He knew somewhere it was wrong to murder his brother in cold blood. Raido was left alone, allowed to live with distant relatives.
'But I had to…to save everyone: the other ninjas, the priestesses, Souma…the entire world.'
Raido walked over to the edge of the cliff. Looking down below, he saw the wild scattering of debris left behind from his battle with the felines. He carefully crawled down the deadly scaling, abandoning the revelation point with his brother.
Yeah…this is one of the long chapters. I think there's about four more until I'm done. Stay tuned!