THANK YOU to all my reviewers! I made this chapter a lot longer than the last, just for you! :3 And also because that was one of my friend's complaints about this story...XD Anyway, once again: enjoy!
Black*Star POV
Why?
That one question races through my head as I collapse to my knees in utter shock and pain and horror. It flashed before my widened eyes like a neon sign.
Why?—I'm drowning in that word. It's all that registers in my mind. I try to think of something else, anything else, to relieve the constant, cruel rhythm of that single word beating itself again and again against my consciousness, like waves plowing into the shore. But I can't. It won't relent. It just keeps coming back.
Why?
No, it's impossible. It couldn't happen. I'm a god, aren't I? I can't have really allowed it to turn out this way. It can't have!
Why?
Why?
Why?
Someone, stop that word. Stop that horrible word before it eats me alive.
I have to wake up now…
3rd-person POV
"YAHOO!"
"Black*Star, please be quiet!"
A familiar scene was playing out between weapon and meister as they weaved through an obstacle coarse of oaks and pines, trying to prevent themselves from slipping on the muddy, waterlogged ground as they ran. They'd been attempting to track their enemy for over an hour now, and had so far remained undiscovered (though with Black*Star's voice, it wasn't certain how long they would remain that way).
The blue-haired ninja skidded to a stop suddenly, a broad grin on his face. His partner behind him halted just quickly enough to avoid bumping into him. "HA-HA! My godly senses tell me this is the place where we will find our enemy. And then I shall strike them down!"
He looked so confident Tsubaki almost had to force herself to break the news to him. "Black*Star, we're nowhere near the right place. We're supposed to be looking for the witch in some sort of den…"
She was interrupted by a flame-colored flash bolting out of the depths of the dim forest with astounding speed. They both moved out of the way with less than a second to spare; the object sailed past them, creating a gust of air as it went, and slammed a hole through the thick trunk of one of the most ancient pines in the woods. They watched as, just as quickly as it had struck out, the thing was pulled away, back into the darkness.
"Damn it, what the hell was that?"
As if in response to Black*Star's question, another burst of red-orange came flying out of the trees, still moving to quickly to make out. This time, it slammed into a nearby boulder. The huge chunk of rock cracked, then split in two, the jagged edges sharp enough to slice skin wide open. This time, in the split second before it once again retreated, he took in every detail he could: the thing seemed to be covered in some sort of hair—no—it was more like fur, and with an indeterminable length. It looked almost like…a tail.
He watched again as it was yanked back, the maze of tree trunks once again hiding it safely from view.
"Tsubaki!"
"Right!" A yellow gleam was seen, and suddenly the raven-haired girl was replaced by the short, thin blade of the ninja sword. Black*Star caught the weapon as it fell back to earth, positioning it in front of his body in a defensive position. Next time, he'd be ready.
"Alright! Come on out now and see how you like it!" The boy's eye's glinted with eagerness as he waited for the next strike.
Instead of another flash, though, something else came drifted out of the forest. It was a sound, one that was probably supposed to resemble a laugh, but was more like a series of short canine yelps. Both meister and weapon tensed as the noise gradually grew louder, and then as it was accompanied by footsteps. Then, there was a voice—a voice that was full of both malice and blood-thirsty anticipation. "My, what cute little kits we have here…"
Out before them stepped someone who appeared human, and at the same time could not possibly be one. The barking laughter was coming out of her fanged mouth. Her fiery hair hung down to her waist, sticking out wildly in places at the top of her head. Poking out of the mop of hair were two pointed ears of the same color, automatically twitching and swiveling at any and every sound. Red, crazed eyes were wide open and staring like a beast intent on its prey. Her most notable feature, though, was behind her. Waving and swishing around in the air like strange serpents were eight fox tails—eight of the things that had almost killed them.
"You've crossed into the realm of Vulpa the Kitsune Witch, have you?" The strange woman spoke with an evil growl in her throat.
Her opponent straightened indignantly. "What the hell are you going on about? This is my realm, for I am a god!"
The witch's odd semblance of a laugh escalated until the yelps turned into howls. "HA-HA! What a funny little kit you are! I should like to have some fun with you before I murder you." Her eight tails began wagging more quickly and frantically, as if on display. "You see these?" she asked, as though they weren't impossible to miss. "Only eight of them, so far. Powerful, yes…but not nearly powerful enough for me. But here's the good side, you see: once I eat your soul, I'll have all nine tails. I'll be the most powerful witch! Me!And with that, I'll be able to defeat a whole pack of you Shibusen snots."
This time it was Black*Star's turn to snicker at her. "Oh, please…you aren't capable of that power. Now, enough talking. Tsubaki, let's go!"
The weapon nodded, and allowed his wavelength to seep into her, to steadily beat with the rhythm of her own in a perfect balance. As this happened, she suddenly became aware of the soft plink of against her blade. It had begun to rain. How ironic, she mused as the sprinkle quickly began to develop into a downpour, drops pounding into the ground and turning already soaked dirt to rivers of mud. She remembered a day exactly like this a couple of years ago. It was the day the twosome got their first Kishin soul…that of her brother. It was the day she received his wavelength and preserved it within her own. And it was ironic because, now, that was the same wavelength that was causing her pain. It was the one that threatened to swallow her entire spirit alive. The power was too much strain for her soul to bear. That's why she had to become a Death Scythe, so she could take control of it.
But, of course, her partner didn't know that.
Black*Star launched himself off the ground and flew at the witch with livid determination. She only grinned back at him, showing off her inch-long canines. She didn't even feel the need to move as one of her tails elongated and struck the ninja in mid-air, sending him crashing back to earth. He felt the wind rush out of him as he slammed back into the ground. He felt the taste of blood in his mouth.
"Damn it, since when is fur that hard?" He jumped at her, striking again and again, only to continue getting pushed back.
"You truly are hysterical! It almost makes me want to keep you alive…almost."
Black*Star glared at his powerful opponent. "This isn't working. Tsubaki, you know what to do!"
"Right!" The short sword immediately grew, lengthening into the sleek form of a black katana. Once again, he faced his opponent. "Zeroth Form. Masamune."
He was just about to go at the fox-woman again, when he was brutally stopped by a scream.
"Tsubaki?"
His weapon could not answer. She felt like her insides were being torn out and replaced with fire. She felt a thousand needles penetrating her skin at once, over every inch of her body. She felt a white-hot burning moving through her, progressing rapidly throughout her body with every pulse, every breath. She would've been pleading, praying for the indescribable agony to stop had her thoughts not been clouded by a red haze.
"Tsubaki, what—" He was cut off as another tail hit him squarely in the chest, sending him flying backward into a tree. Still, his first concern was his weapon. "What happened?" he questioned frantically.
By this time she had already reverted back into her ninja sword form. The torturing pain had mercifully receded, but her shallow, quick breathing said that she still had not recovered from shock.
Black*Star was so distracted that he had not noticed one of the tails sneaking up on him, silently wrapping around his neck like a macabre scarf, until it was already choking him, sucking the life out of him like a boa constrictor preparing its next meal. The Kitsune Witch slowly walked up to him as he desperately gasped for air. Her head was cocked slightly to one side, like a curious dog, and she wore the same, broad, sharp smile. Her long fingernails grew into vicious, black, three-foot-long claws. She positioned them straight at his chest. "Time to die, you adorable little kit."
There was a flash of color in front of him. Then, nothing.
CLIFFHANGER! I'm soooo mean...XD Anyway, I NEED MORE COMMENTS! They feed my soul! 0_o I honestly don't care if you tell me it's the worst thing you've ever read, just TALK TO ME! XP