Hi, readers! I'm probably gonna die eventually since the Witch Creek fire happened. (Yeah, I'm in California.) But hopefully, I won't. The heat's killin' me, though. There's some Kyuubis that have been finally revealed, but I didn't go over them yet. Let's go to the first tail:
Kitsuna, of the Aisu Clan. She's in the same family as Katashi, which she eventually killed to get top shelf in the Kyuubi. There's a link to her image on my profile page if you want to take a look. I imagined her in her early 20's despite the pic. As her name suggests, she controls foxes.
Next is Inuka: the sixth tail. She controls canines and such, more specifically, wolves. I was looking around for an image and I ended up with the link on my profile. She killed her baby sister in order to be in the Kyuubi; also, she's one of the minor add-ins: no ties with anyone else.
Now that's settled, let's start chapter 14!
Chapter 14
The calm, peaceful aura surrounding the lake was disrupted in a fury.
Flesh hungry sharks tore through the waves Isamu rushed to make. He swam frantically for survival, although every inch of his body cramped and ached.
'I gotta do something!'
Once he was at a safe distance, he stopped swimming and turned to face the treacherous carnivores. They opened their jaws wide, craving to rip off Isamu's limbs bit by bit. He saw their death-threatening teeth, razor sharp and able to pierce through bone. By then, one of the sharks was only five feet away.
Isamu brought his hands onto the shark's upper haw and snout. He swung his feet onto the lower jaw, avoiding the sharp teeth. The shark's jaw was locked in place as it tried to clamp down and snap it shut. But the ninja held strong, keeping his limbs straight.
The shark's comrades honed in from both the left and right. Their mouths continued to snap, awaiting the tear Isamu to shreds. He saw them coming, desperately thinking of a solution.
'Man, I wish a dragon was here! It'd totally fix this mess!!'
That was it. He gasped inward at the idea. As long as Isamu moved at the right time, the plan would be foolproof.
He waited until the companions were in a 3 foot radius. Muscles began to cramp some more, but he managed.
Until the moment came. The two other sharks snapped open their jaws as Isamu let go and jumped high in the air, letting the first shark clamp down on its lower jaw.
From above, he saw the carnivores run into each other, smashing their snouts and flailing their fins. He was glad they became distraught and tangled.
Clapping his hands together, he made the signs of cow, tiger, snake, and rooster.
"WATER STYLE: WATER DRAGON BLAST!!"
As they continued to squirm before regaining balance, the water beneath the sharks began to churn, creating a huge current with a growing force. It slowly rose into a pillar of about 100 feet high, towering above the sharks with awesome power. The liquid began to change into a serpentine form of a monstrous dragon.
Glowing yellow eyes illuminated on the sides of the head. Although its fangs were liquid, they could snap viciously at a target and rip it apart.
Point is, it was way more powerful than the sharks combined.
The dragon created a typhoon around the sharks and sucked the water out, leaving them to suffocate on the dry sea level.
It didn't take long for them to lose their lives and dissolve into nothing.
The dragon died down, but still created threatening waves. Isamu collapsed in the lake, washing to shore in exhaustion.
'That was close…'
He finally felt like relaxing…
Until a group of water snakes wrapped around his entire body. Their scales brushed off Isamu's skin and chills shot up his spine. He tried to move but their loud hisses and bared fangs froze his muscles.
"So weak…"
Isamu jerked his head to the dark trees, where a young figure moved out like a reptile. Her pure black split ends swayed with the wind. The ice blue eyes looked drowsy, although he could see a bloodlust in them that gave a foreshadowed death.
"Ekika…" Isamu struggled to breathe. He wrestled for freedom until reptiles of all species crawled out of the bushes. Snakes, monitor lizards, geckos…There was at least one aspect of them that gave an unquenched bloodlust.
'No…I'm gonna die…I CAN'T die…'
"But you must."
He looked up at Ekika as she cast her dull gaze on him. She read his thoughts through his petrified expression.
"You're only a waste of space in existence. No one acknowledges you whole self." She knelt down beside Isamu, avoiding her critter followers.
The ninja felt all confidence disappear. All reasons of being a ninja turned stupid and worthless. He wanted her gone; he wanted Ekika dead. But there was no strength within to help Isamu get away from the reptiles…
"You're all a waste of space. After you, I'll finish those fucking priestesses and the retarded shinobis. How wonderful is that?"
His face was emotionless as the mind absorbed Ekika's words. He lost everything because of her; it was se that made Isamu feel lonely for four years…until he found a place to stay with Souma and the others.
They were his new family.
"After I kill you, I'll kill them all."
Isamu's hand grabbed a fistful of dirt silently. The serpents moved around his quiet action, concealing the plan from his relative.
All at once, the ninja threw the dirt straight into Ekika's visage. Her eyes became tainted and she screamed out in agony.
"AAHH!! GOGYOU, YOU ASSHOLE!!"
The reptiles surrounding Isamu screeched and hissed, feeling the Kyuubi's pain along with her. They slithered and crawled away in a hurry…
Until the ninja identified a certain reptile. As it writhed in pain, Isamu noticed its short snout and beady eyes. Brown scales covered every inch of its body, but yellow rings circled around its tail in a delicate pattern. Large in size, the reptile's body was about 30 inches long.
'Dammit…that's a--!!'
But his deep thoughts were cut short; his legs were gripped tightly by dry hands with long nails. Ekika glared with searing eyes as she dragged Isamu's body on the scraping debris.
Isamu had no time to think; he was going to die. He reached out for the reptile and desperately wrapped his finger around its tail. As his half-sister dragged him, he dragged the reptile before swinging it around to her face. Her visage turned white as Ekika looked into its beady orbs. She knew the fatal consequences of contact with the reptile: it would have led to her demise.
Instinctively, the fifth tail began to back away to safety. But nothing was able to save her. Her following critter reacted to the "harm" brought upon it; Isamu held the reptile uncomfortably.
Its jaw snapped wide open before the ninja flung it at Ekika's retreating form. The teeth sank into her bare triceps in midair, ejecting its liquid into her veins.
She wailed in agony as she hit the ground, shattering her hip bone. The fangs pierced her flesh and excreted the liquid, which forced Ekika to squirm and writhe. Despite her violent movement, the reptile stayed put.
"That's a Mexican beaded lizard…" Isamu panted as he got to his feet, looking down at her writhing form in vain. "The only lizard in the world that's poisonous."
By then, the venom spread through her entire body. Ekika twitched on the cold ground next to the lake; her fat was advancing on a quick pace. With all her strength, she looked up at Isamu's green orbs and found disappointment rather than the usual hatred.
"I'm not weak anymore," he explained. "I'll find courage every time I need it." Isamu kept his firm gaze and clenched his fists.
"You may have killed my family…but I found a place to belong within my friends."
With a rapid beating heart, he turned around and walked away, leaving Ekika to suffer the poison. As the last breath escaped her lips, the lips themselves began to deteriorate into thin air, leaving the world of existence permanently.
He did it. Isamu avenged his mother and her family. He finally gained courage and strength to stand up on his own for the rest to his life.
'If we met on different terms…Ekika and I might have gotten along.'
Isamu dragged his legs over to the lake. He cupped his hands, scooping a handful of water, and finally splashing his face to wake him up.
From a distance, a man with dark orange hair and gray eyes watched agitated. His partner was killed, his creatures were conquered and he wanted to kill Isamu. Fukaso was getting pissed off.
He remained completely discreet in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Meanwhile, within Aetha, Hikaru Kasai ran at the speed of light through bare fields of tall grass. He knew he was going far, but every second the critters were catching up to him. They hid inside the tall blades of grass, barely revealing them.
'This is fucking stupid!'
He skidded in his tracks before clapping his hands to make the sign of the dragon.
'Here I go!!'
With a wave of his hand, a chill began to pick up. The wind suddenly grew fierce and smacked him across the face, but it didn't bother Hikaru.
He held out a hand until air particles formed and coalesced between his knuckles.
"WIND STYLE…"
Hikaru jumped high in the air, taking aim at the hidden enemies. Once that was done, the ninja completed making wind-based kunai knives.
"WIND SCYTHES!!"
In a powerful swing, he threw the air knives at the tall grass. The rush of wind deafened his ears; the sound entered ultrasonic mode as it traveled through the atmosphere. Each and every blade of grass snapped in two at the blink of an eye. The separated halves fell to the ground as his pursuers were finally revealed.
Their furry bodies began to ruffle as they bared sharp teeth. Rings surrounded their eyes and sharp nails clawed the ground. The long tails moved in a sly motion with the dying wind. Hikaru glared right back at the ferocious orbs of raccoons and weasels.
'Ugly little buttmunches…'
Hikaru forced the wind to pick up in power. The blades of grass that were chopped off began to levitate in the air, slowly aiming at the critters. With one swing of his arm, the blades shot straight at the enemies with energy surrounding them.
They gained power and became deadly as the blades of grass became as sharp as knives. Hikaru forced them to ambush on the critters.
But his targets began to disperse everywhere. Hikaru softly landed on his feet and looked around for the menacing creatures. Some were on hi right, some were on his left.
He wondered which group to chase; all of them were too fast. A group of combined raccoons and weasels were only a few feet away.
'I'll go after them…'
Hikaru took a step forwards until claws began to dig into his shins. He stumbled and fell to his knees, trying to stifle the pain. Looking at his legs, raccoons and weasels smirked up at him with razor sharp teeth. The blood ran down his legs, staining his purple uniform in a crimson color.
More critters sped up to their point. Hikaru saw the grass rustle.
The cavalry was coming.
He saw a figure embedded with the rushing horde. Hikaru found dull blue orbs, sky blue rings around the eyes, and black & white colored hair.
'It's Niro!!'
Indeed. The second tail was closing in with a deep bloodlust. "Your head's mine, Kasai!!"
Hikaru panicked. In a fright, he placed his palms on the ground and launched himself into the air. Upside down in midair, the animals on his legs lost their grip and fell to the ground. As he landed on his feet not far from them, Niro rushed up and began to blow punches and kicks at him.
The ninja struggled to keep up with Niro's speed, but his legs kept throbbing with pain. The animals went around them, waiting to pounce on Hikaru again, but obeyed Niro's command.
The second tail earned a chance to smack Hikaru across the face and make him stumble. He smirked as the ninja rubbed his cheek to ease the pain.
"You're weak! You'll always BE weak!!"
Hikaru gritted his teeth and growled. The power within him grew and reached new heights, giving him strength.
'I'm not weak…and I'll prove it!!'
In a rage, he ran up and threw punches at Niro's face. The second tail dodged them with ease, but he noticed a change in confidence. He paid attention to his anger.
"I WILL beat you!!"
Hikaru leapt up and placed a foot on Niro's chest. He grunted to force himself off and back flipped farther. Niro was pushed back and stumbled with the weasels and raccoons.
The ninja concentrated all his energy in his arms before making hand signs.
'Dragon, snake, tiger, ox, dragon, ran, horse, dog, rooster!!'
Once he saw that all of his enemies were grouped together, Hikaru summoned a significantly large amount of wind. Niro and the animals watched in awe as the cold air began to pick up. An enormous gust of wind suddenly blew in their direction, deafening their ears and cutting off the oxygen.
Their bodies were suddenly picked up from the ground. The force coalesced in a wild tornado, raising them into the air. None of them could move against the rush of wind. They began to suffocate and choke on the lack of oxygen.
"WIND STYLE: CUTTING WHIRLWIND!!"
The wind started to grow fierce. Niro didn't know hat would happen until a sharp pain slashed him on the cheek. Only a small amount of blood trickled before being blown away by the sickling winds.
'No!'
Slash marks and deep cuts suddenly appeared all over his body. Blood leaked out and stained his garments. It wasn't long until the deadly winds slashed Niro's throat.
He began to drown in his own crimson liquid. The raccoons screeched out in pain while their fur turned to dust. The claws shattered and the cries died out. Carcasses quickly deteriorated along with Niro before the whirlwind died out.
Hikaru panted, too tired to walk back to the Nexus.
'One down…some other more to go.'
He knew Aetha wasn't the only realm that was infiltrated. Raido, Isamu, and Katashi were probably fighting members of the Kyuubi as well…maybe members that were stronger than Niro.
Wasting no time, he began to move towards the gate…until a man with crimson eyes blocked his path. His black hair moved in rhythm with his chuckle. The long overcoat swayed in the breeze.
"Itachi…" he said in a rude manner. "Get out of my way unless you're here to fight me."
"Oh, of course not," Itachi sarcastically remarked. "I'm here to make party arrangements and have tea cozies with you."
Hikaru paused for a moment. "What the fuck's a tea cozy?"
"Does it fucking matter!?" The seventh tail was annoyed by his ignorance. "No wonder the fourth tail isn't here."
Hikaru's eye twitched. "Fourth tail" was his codename…
"Where is he…Fukaso?"
Itachi waited to answer; he wanted to see the wind ninja fill with hate. "He's tied up at the moment in Aquis. But don't worry: I'm a substitute for him."
His hands were clenched into fists. Was Fukaso that much of a coward to face his own cousin?
"Well, then…" Itachi swung his arms while stretching his neck. "Let's get this over with."
"Shut up."
The Kyuubi became confused until he saw the rage in Hikaru's eyes. The blue orbs turned to ice, no longer thinking of sparing Itachi.
"Being my cousin's substitute was your biggest mistake. Wanna die??"
He held out a palm in front of them, mustering a high potent of energy. Hikaru could feel it center into his palm…until the energy itself could be seen by the naked eye. Wind gathered all around, shaping the energy into a spiraling blue sphere. The energy spun wildly in all directions, but stayed in a perfect shape.
Itachi could feel the power emanating from it, dreading to make contact.
'What…IS that!?" His red orbs marveled at the spiraling sphere with fascination and fear. The ninja kept it in his palm as he slowly advanced towards Itachi.
Hikaru stretched out his arm and drove the sphere straight into Itachi's gut. The speed, the power…the seventh tail couldn't anticipate it. His energy was too strong.
Itachi felt his insides burst. Energy ripped through his skin and dug into his stomach. He couldn't take it.
As the energy was driven into him, Itachi increased in size, expanding at an incredible rate. His cheeks puffed, all his limbs got fatter, and his head inflated like a balloon.
Until it popped.
"RASENGAN!!"
Itachi's insides became outsides. The internal organs became external. Blood and brains spilled out onto the field as Hikaru pierced through. Crimson gore splattered his face until he finally stopped in his tracks.
The ninja looked around and saw the weasels doomed to the same fate. It was all like a massacre: their body parts littered the field like toxin in an ocean.
The stench didn't bother Hikaru as much as Fukaso's whereabouts.
'Aquis…Gogyou's in trouble.'
Crossing the fields, Hikaru rushed back to the gate, hoping to finally avenge his brother.
Okay…3 chappies left. Stay tuned!