Ambush

Two years ago

Kazuki retched, spitting out a wad of congealing blood, the majority of which was not his. No matter how much he tried, he knew he would never remove the taste of the man's blood from his lips. The sun was steadily rising far to the East, red as Kazuki's gore splattered jacket and trousers.

"I can't control it…" Kazuki moaned in his head, clamping his hands over his face. His fingernails cut into his skin, but he no longer cared. The pain felt good.

"Can't risk another night," he thought, gazing up at the sky, "I need to find Daichi's sister before this happens again. I should be able to make it if I fly…"

Kazuki remembered Daichi's warning about not flying, but under the circumstances, he thought it was worth the risk. After a moment of hesitation, he transformed into a small falcon and darted off into the dawn sky. Far behind him, a shadow clung to a lightning scarred pine. The sound of metal tapping wood could be heard. The shadow watched the disappearing bird with interest. Sunlight shone upon the tree, and the shadow was gone.

Kazuki soared above the trees as fast as he could, desperate to arrive before he had to face another night alone in the woods. Even as a falcon, the salty taste of blood clung, unwelcome, to his tongue. The thing that worried him most was that it tasted… good… He shuddered, nearly offsetting his aerial balance.

"I hope his sister can help me control it," he thought, "or I might kill again…" He abruptly scanned the tree line with a frown. "Did I…"

Suddenly something whizzed past his falcon body. With a cry, he darted sideways as another one shot right through where he just was. It was a shuriken, polished to a brilliant shine so as to dazzle Kazuki as it shot towards him. It was attached to a long thin cord which trailed back down into the dense forest. The cords were pulled back sharply and Kazuki was almost hit as the two shuriken fell back to earth.

"Ah…" thought Kazuki, "this is why I'm not meant to fly."

He blinked as half a dozen shining objects zoomed out of the trees, dazzling him. He opened his wings wide, causing the shuriken to fly past a few feet in front. As Kazuki sped on, he slashed some of the cords with his talons, causing the shurikens to fly off into the distance, and the cords to fall uselessly to the ground. He zoomed up into the cloud canopy, out of reach of the shurikens. Or so he thought. Suddenly a large number burst through the clouds, surrounding him in a web of hissing ropes and metal. Not a moment too soon, he transformed into a tiny sparrow, barely darting through a gap before the cords tightened and enveloped him. However, the air was too thin for the sparrow's tiny wings and Kazuki was soon plummeting through the clouds. He transformed back into a falcon as he passed through them, able to see nothing but white. He exploded out of the clouds to find a rapidly approaching shuriken staring him in the face. He desperately tried to brake, but he was travelling too fast. With a sickening thud, it pierced his wing in a shower of blood and feathers, the cord waving lazing behind it. Kazuki let out an agonised cry. His concentration broken by the sudden pain, he transformed back into a human. He seemed to hover in mid air before a sudden jerk on the cord sent him plummeting towards the trees. Kazuki flailed his legs and he frantically tried to wrench the shuriken from his bleeding forearm. He left a trail of red as he hurtled down at the beckoning forest. The blade came free with the sound of slicing beef in a burst of crimson liquid. Kazuki's vision darkened and he let the shuriken fall away as his body began to feel heavy and limp. Suddenly there was a loud crack as his back struck one of the higher branches. Kazuki cried out in pain as he bounced of the solid branches on the way to the ground. Just before he smashed into the ground, Kazuki instinctively reached out, blinded by dirt and blood. He grabbed onto a branch, nearly ripping his arm from the socket. The momentum caused him to swing around the branch and he soon found himself crouched on top of it. He stood shivering, the adrenaline barely keeping him upright. All of a sudden, the effects of the blood loss and fractured bones caught up with him. To the muffled sound of mocking shouts in the distance, Kazuki toppled off the branch. He landed ten feet down in a gorse bush, his leg painfully twisted beneath him.

"Still breathing?" Kazuki heard a voice ask.

His head throbbed painfully, but mercifully the rest of his body was numb, sparing him the agony. Every slight sound was like a hammer blow to his forehead.

"Can't imagine he would be," replied a deep voice, "Not after a fall like that."

Kazuki was lying face down in the prickly bush, the sounds swimming slowly around his beaten head. He tried to move his arms but it only caused his spine to burst into flames of pain.

"I wouldn't assume that," an even deeper voice called out, its natural volume loud enough to cause Kazuki's head to throb like it was caught in a vice, "These shinobi are tricky buggers." Kazuki felt heavy footsteps reverberating through the ground near him. "They can always surprise you."

A second set of light, cautious footsteps approached. Suddenly, someone kicked Kazuki hard in the side of his cracked ribs, causing the jagged bone to burrow deeper into his flesh. The feeling in his body suddenly returning with a vengeance, he let out an anguished cry.

"He's alive!" exclaimed a high pitched, nasally voice.

Clutching his chest, Kazuki heard a mocking laugh. "Told you," said the deepest voice. "Aoi!" he shouted, making the second man jump, "The boss doesn't want him alive…" Kazuki sensed an evil smirk on the man's face, "Finish him."

As Kazuki began to fade in and out of consciousness, he felt the lighter footsteps approach him, this time with purpose, until he sensed someone standing right over him. Kazuki smelt an earthy bark smell as the man leaned in close. Then Kazuki heard the sound of a weapon being drawn. His eyes opened wide as instinct kicked in. In a sudden surge of adrenaline, Kazuki flipped himself over, flicking his leg up into his assailant's side. Aoi was caught of guard and dropped the shuriken in his hand. His vision still, dark and blurred, Kazuki reached out blindly for the shuriken. Kazuki felt the metal fall into his palm and, twisting himself to face his opponent, lunged at him with the blade. In the moment before the shuriken slashed across Aoi's startled face, Kazuki saw a man dressed in red leather ninja wear, his black hair cut short and a black cloth covering his shinobi headband. His green eyes stared up Kazuki in fear, reflecting the oncoming blade. The moment passed and the unfortunate man's face erupted in a fountain of blood as the shuriken raked across his eyes. He screamed in agony and clawed in vain at the huge gash running across his face. Kazuki brought his foot up into Aoi's neck, ending his screams. Throwing the body aside, Kazuki saw that he was surrounded by half a dozen other red clad ninjas, all staring at him in surprise and anger, murderous looks emanating through their blood red balaclavas. The largest one, bearing a gold scythe symbol on each of his shoulders, marking him out as the leader, swore and pulled the largest katana Kazuki had ever seen from his back. The rest all followed suit, albeit with distinctly smaller katanas. Kazuki stood his ground, shuriken poised, legs quivering from the effort of staying on his feet. The leader swung his huge katana above his head, bringing it down with huge force towards Kazuki. Normally it would have been easy to avoid, but in his injured state Kazuki was far less agile, barely making it out of harm's way. The katana struck the ground, causing dirt and rock to burst outwards in a large shockwave. Kazuki leapt aside and landed on his feet, which gave way, causing him to fall to his knees. Instantly another man leapt at him, katana raised over his head. Eyes flashing, Kazuki transformed into a vicious, sharp clawed tiger. The ninja was startled and hesitated mid swing, allowing Kazuki to get a claw into the man's exposed chest. He gurgled as blood poured out of his mouth, clutching the gaping wound and collapsing. The five remaining ninja circled him cautiously. Kazuki stood in the centre, snarling and lashing out threatening at anyone who got too close. But the men knew that Kazuki couldn't last much longer and sure enough, Kazuki soon returned to human form, the effort of sustaining animal form while injured too much. He fell to his hands and knees, panting. Sneering in contempt, the leader advanced on him slowly, followed by the rest of his men. Kazuki gazed up at the giant man, the huge katana glinting menacingly. Suddenly he remembered Daichi's gift. Painfully taking the strange metal block from his back, he clutched it in his hands. The men hesitated, unsure of the object. Kazuki shook it desperately.

"Come on," he pleaded under his breath, "Do something."

One of the men laughed and walked calmly towards the helpless teenager. Kazuki glanced at him, then shook the block even harder.

"Work, damn you!" he hissed, "Daichi said you'd help when I needed you!" He looked at the man coming towards him, katana point aimed at his heart. "Well I fucking need you now!"

The man drew the blade back. "See ya', kid," he laughed.

Kazuki closed his eyes, holding the object up in despair as the katana stabbed down.

"Holy fu- ARRGH!!!"

Kazuki opened his eyes and was instantly blinded by searing white light. Hot liquid splashed his hands as he brought them over his eyes. The sound of metal slicing through flesh could be heard, followed by a thud as something heavy hit the ground. Kazuki cautiously peered up through the spots on his vision. The man that was attacking his lay on the ground, his life seeping out through a jagged cut across his throat. The other men stood around Kazuki in a circle, staring dumbly at something above his head. Kazuki craned his neck back to see something bright and metallic floating five feet above him. As his vision improved he saw it was an eagle, made entirely from metal, blood drenching its lethally sharp talons. With a cry, it flapped its wings and dived down at the men. They cried out in panic and threw themselves to the ground. The eagle's claws scraped across one of men's backs, causing him to scream and lunge out wildly with his sword. It struck the eagle in the wing, but simply bounced off, doing no damage whatsoever.

"Kill it!" shouted the leader, standing up and swinging his massive blade around, "On your feet!"

His men complied with some reluctance, lashing out with their katanas whenever the shining eagle got close enough. Kazuki dragged himself out of the way, slumping himself down against a tree trunk, clutching his hands onto his bloody wounds. One of the ninjas swung wildly at the eagle, overbalancing and stumbling. Instantly the eagle whipped around him and sank its claws into his back. Dropping his katana, the man scrabbled at his torn back, trying to dislodge the creature. The eagle stabbed its sharp beak into the base of his neck, causing blood to spurt out all over its metallic plumage. As the man collapsed with a groan, the leader swung his huge sword at the eagle on his back. He struck it with immense force, knocking it flying across the clearing into a tree. The eagle let out a shrill cry as one of its wings snapped in half. It dropped to the foot of the tree, flapping its crippled wings in vain. The leader swiftly charged at it, driving his sword into its chest. He blinked in surprise, finding that the eagle was now just an unassuming lump of metal. He turned to look at where Kazuki was lying, to find only empty air.

"Where did he go?" he asked the two remaining men.

They shrugged. "No idea, Gorou," one said, "I was watching you kick the crap out of that eagle."

Gorou glared at them in annoyance. He scanned the tree line. "You can't run, kid," he called, hefting his sword onto his broad shoulder, "There's nowhere you can go."

An angry roar echoed out of the forest. Suddenly something burst from the foliage. One of the man cried out in alarm as a black wolverine savaged his arm, sending his sword spinning into a tree trunk. He aimed a punch at the creature, but it became a small green snake, slithering up the sleeve of the man's jacket. He let out a terrified squeal as he tried to beat the snake out. Suddenly he stiffened and gurgled as spittle flowed from his mouth. He collapsed in a convulsing heap and the little emerald snake emerged from the neck of his jacket. Gorou and his last surviving soldier stared as Kazuki transformed back into a human. He stood panting over the body, blood dripping from his mouth from when he had bitten the man's neck and glared at the men with venomous eyes. Gorou glanced down at the boy's jackhammering chest and smiled.

"You're spent, aren't you?" he said to Kazuki, who stared back unresponsively, too tired to reply, "Out of fuel? I bet you can barely stand."

He nodded at his teammate and they both advanced towards him. Kazuki tried to move, but he knew that any further expenditure of energy would make him pass out.

"Crap," he thought, watching the glinting blades coming towards him, "This really is it. No adrenaline left, very little chakra, and the eagle's not coming back." He observed with little emotion as the katanas rose for the final time. "Fuck…"

Suddenly the smaller man froze. Gorou glanced back.

"What are you doing?" he asked, "We've got him!"

The man gazed at his leader with wide eyes. The eyes glazed over as he fell face down on the ground. Gorou stared at the metallic object sticking out of the man's back.

"Is that a… fork?"

The said utensil was quivering in the soft flesh of the man's back. Gorou looked at it closely and saw that it was coated in what looked like orange juice. He turned back to Kazuki to see that he had exactly the same bewildered expression on his face. Gorou suddenly heard the sound of eating behind him. He whirled around, sword at the ready.

"What the?..." he exclaimed, staring at the strange figure in front of him.

"Morning," said Kaito, raising his half eaten orange in greeting. He leaned around Gorou and smiled at Kazuki. "Sorry I'm late," he apologised, "I had a violin lesson."

Kazuki stared at him, his blood trickling down his already red stained trousers. "It's alright," he replied, "Don't worry about it…"

Gorou pointed his sword at Kaito, eyeing his invisible form warily. "Who the hell are you?"

Kaito took a bite out of his orange. "I am 'the hell' Kaito." He said, who are you?"

"Where's your fucking skin?!" Gorou exclaimed, ignoring the question.

Kaito frowned. "Underneath my normal skin." He glanced at Kazuki. "You want me to take care of him?" he asked.

"If you wouldn't mind," he replied, spitting out blood.

Gorou snarled at him. "I'd get out of my way if I were you." He threatened Kaito, waving his sword.

"If you were me," said Kaito, "You'd be awesome." He bit his orange again. "And if I were you, I'd be stupid and say dumb things like 'I'd get out of my way if I were you', which would be crap."

Gorou didn't wait for Kaito to insult him more. With a roar, he lunged at Kaito, who calmly carried on eating his orange as the huge man barrelled down on him. Gorou suddenly stopped and looked down at his leg. A quivering fork was imbedded in the muscled flesh. He looked up at Kaito, who hadn't moved an inch.

"You can walk away now," Kaito said, "Or you can keep on trying to kill me."

Gorou snarled and raised his katana.

"I thought so," sighed Kaito, raising his arm.

There was a flash of silver as another fork shot out of his sleeve. Gorou grunted as it thudded into his shoulder.

"Last chance," Kaito warned him, taking a few steps back.

Gorou staggered onwards. "Fuck you," he growled, bringing his sword up again.

He leapt into the air, his katana poised to strike and a throaty roar building up in his lungs. Kaito smiled. As the big man hung in the air for a moment, Kaito flung his arms wide, causing his trench coat to fly open, exposing the empty space within. Suddenly, the air was filling with clinking as a tidal wave of silver forks burst out of the coat and sleeves. Gorou yelled in pain and surprise and he was engulfed, the sea of forks carrying him across the clearing. He ended up impaled against a tree, a set of arms and legs barely poking out of a solid mass of forks.

Kazuki stared at the bloodied forest of metal. Kaito walked over to him, Kazuki's metal block in his hands.

"Spontaneous forkination," he said, handing it to him.

Kazuki nodded, his smile concealing the fact that he may well have been about to die. Kaito looked his bloodied form up and down.

"You OK?" he asked.

Kazuki swayed slightly. "Not really," he replied, trying not to throw up.

Kaito pulled a large bright orange from his Tardis-like coat. "Here," he said, "Eat this."

Kazuki sniffed the fruit, but could only smell his own irony, salty blood. "Er… I'm not hungry," he said, suspicious of the usual taste of Kaito's oranges. Kaito frowned and harshly crammed the orange down Kazuki's helpless throat. Despite the impossibly sour taste, it made him feel better.

"Not bad…" he lied, coughing.

Kaito grinned at him. "Wait…" he said.

Kazuki raised an eyebrow. He gasped as a wave of energy washed over him. Soon he was completely recharged, both with his own energy and his chakra.

"Wow!" he exclaimed, "That's amazing!"

Kaito shrugged. "Not really," he admitted, "You still need to get to a hospital before it wears off or you'll probably die."

Kazuki stared at him. "In a Shakespearean sense?" he asked, smiling weakly.

"Huh?"

"Never mind…" Kazuki said, "Thanks for the help."

Kaito grinned. "No problem, you alright to get yourself to a hospital?"

Kazuki nodded. "Yeah, there's one nearby," he said, "Actually, that's where I was trying to get to in the first place."

"Ok then," said Kaito, walking backwards into the trees, "I gotta go. I'll see you around."

"Yeah, maybe," replied Kazuki, waving as Kaito walked off.

Kazuki sniffed the air, aware of the sickening stench of blood and death.

"I'll have to get used to this," he thought, running off towards his destination.