SO I PASSED MY DRIVER'S TEST WOOHOO! /applause And I realized I could use the horizontal line as a partition. I shit you not, I had no idea I could do that. (Silly me, i know. To think I wrote so much bullcrap already and still haven't noticed) SO INSTEAD OF 'X''S, I HAVE PUT IN HORIZONTAL LINES NOW. And anyways, like I promised, this is going to a long ride, so just kick back and relax! ;)
(And there would be puns because I am under the influence of Cat Noir from Miraculous Ladybug and Cat Noir. Heard of it? BEST SHIP EVER I TELL YOU. SO MUCH FLUFF TOO. UGH. But do forgive your author, if in any case, you dislike puns. I've tried my best to lessen it so BEAR WITH ME.)
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Across the Forest of Death
When Naruto fell on his head as he regain consciousness, it took him some time to remember what happened. The large wind just now squashed him into a tree. "Man, that hurt..." the blonde whined as he rubbed his sore forehead. Suddenly a dark shadow came up from behind and he turned around. He gulped as he saw a large snake loomed over him.
"Gaah!" he freaked as he scooted away in vain, the serpent eyeing him hungrily. Before he could move any further, the reptile opened its jaw and swallowed him whole.
Stuck inside the snake's gut that was reeking of bile, the blonde squirmed, trying to shout his way out.
After some complications, it finally got to his thick head that he could burst his way out of there. No way is he going to die now! He hasn't settle a score with Sasuke yet!
A large bulk formed inside the snake's resting body before ripping it in half as a multitude of Naruto's exploded out of its entrails.
"Hell yeah, I'm not going get eaten by some stupid reptile! I'm going to be Hokage, dattebayo!" The original Naruto announced proudly amongst his equally soggy, bile-covered clones, his fist pumping into the air confidently. Right, so he just needs to look for the others now. He wondered how to find them as he turned his head this way and that.
It was at that moment when dancing blue fishes appeared in front of him. Naruto stiffened in surprise at the sight of the elegant beings but quickly relaxed when one of them spoke, it's voice was melodious, like rippling water.
'Mononoke-sama needs you.'
The Grass ninja doesn't know.
That's the only thing Mononoke could think at that moment as a mischievous grin formed on her face. The moment she made contact with the Grass nin, the ice fishes that were following her attacked and had inflicted the genjutsu on the ninja, causing a vivid hallucination thus making her limbs freeze. She probably didn't expect that from a Genin. (If 'she' is even a 'she'. Heck, Mononoke doesn't even know what gender this hobo is. But she's sticking to female because the voice sounded a little more... womanly?)
And obviously the ninja got hit by Sasuke's attack, getting set ablaze like grass.
"It's over." Mononoke stated softly as she landed beside Sakura with a soft thump. Sasuke followed suit, standing beside the shorter girl. There were still fireballs that were actively burning, although they were subsiding gradually now. The largest one was still crackling with the Grass Ninja's body. Or what seemed like it. Mononoke couldn't tell exactly but it looked like a disintegrating body.
Well, it's going to die out soon, so they'd better go before-
"Wait." Mononoke froze just as they turned their bodies slightly to move away from the fiery scene.
Something's not right.
Aquamarine eyes flitted back to the Grass nin, a growing panic settling inside her.
"She's still alive."
"What? How could that be? I'm sure I got her." Sasuke countered, turning back in disbelief. Sakura froze at the sight of the still standing Grass ninja, whose face was partially melted.
But underneath the peeling skin lay a new face, one that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.
Golden eyes watched them with amusement as a sickly tongue snaked out of its charred lips, the voice less of a female and taking one of a more deep, manly voice, "Well, I certainly did not see that coming. But... All the more better. You're both perfect."
"Perfect for what? To kill you?" Mononoke snapped, a little apprehensive at the fact that all that heat didn't even kill the creep. Not that she wanted anyone to die but still, all she wanted was for the fire to be hot enough to make the Grass ninja immobilized for life. And to stop following them with that writhing, slithering, disgusting purple tongue.
A chuckle came from the blistered mouth, "Chatty, aren't you?"
Before any of them could make a move, the ninja-that-was-supposed-to-be-dead's neck elongated, slithering upwards like a dragon taking to the sky. The head looked down at them maliciously, hovering in the trees above.
All of them froze but a smart comment slipped out of Mononoke's tongue, like a reflex to all this bullshit.
"Is it me or does he seem a little ssstretchy?"
The ninja hissed, baring his fangs at them as he swooped down in one swift attack.
With a blink, Mononoke realized he was aiming for Sasuke. Her body reacted before her mind could as she threw herself on top of the boy, taking him down to the ground with her. An ice plate formed above them, causing the swinging head to collide with it with a hard thump. It retracted before it turned around and came back but Mononoke had already leaped up to attack, sending the plate in the snake's direction.
But she was one step too late.
The melted ninja's cobra-like teeth sunk into Sasuke's neck a second quicker before Mononoke sunk her own fangs into his rubber neck. Ice spread across the ninja's neck like a disease and he released the Uchiha from his death grip that lasted for a heartbeat, howling from the icy burning feeling.
Sasuke cried out in pain as he held on to his own neck. Beside him, Sakura gasped in fright as three blots appeared beside the puncture wound but froze halfway, leaving ink-like spots. It didn't look menacing but it faded as quickly as it came.
The pinkette wasn't sure what happened but it made him shake like a leaf.
The creepy head turned around to attack Mononoke with bared teeth but Sasuke, although in massive pain, managed to stab a kunai into the white flesh. Purple blood splattered out, staining his face and arms as the creature writhed, it's voice shrill. However, it was not enough to deter it.
The head swung around and headed for Mononoke, fangs bared. It strike her multiple times, like how a snake plays with its prey. The bites were sharp and quick, leaving several cuts along her body. She growled, frost forming in her fingers and she clawed his face but missed, leaving only a light trail of frost on his skin. The ninja laughed before shoving her hard.
The force was enough to knock Mononoke off and sent her flying into a tree. She gasped as the impact knocked the wind out of her but managed to hold on to the bark, controlling her chakra to stay on the tree.
But when she turned back to look at her teammates, the Grass ninja already retracted his head to an acceptable length and had his hand lifted at them. Curious enough, the ice that she planted on his neck was gone. This guy isn't a Genin, that's for sure. No way.
"Sakura! Grab Duckbutt and get the hell out of here! Now!" Mononoke called desperately at her pink partner, who was shivering like a newly born lamb.
But the pinkette couldn't move. Mononoke narrowed her eyes at her.
No. It wasn't cowardice that made her freeze. Sasuke and Sakura faces had fear plastered to their faces, and paralyzed. What did that ninja do to them?
"Now, it's your turn."
Mononoke stiffened at the malevolent voice whispering into her ear. Going against her instinct to not look back, she looked behind her from the corner of her eyes slowly, a gasp stuck in her throat.
The melted face was ugly as a troll on bad face day. The new skin beneath the melted one was smooth and pale. And his visible golden eye looked like one of a poisonous snake. Mononoke should know, she played with snakes back in the day.
A tongue slithered out of his mouth, stretching to taste the sweat on her jaw, "Does my eyes deceive me? You're the child of Yorukami Daiten." Mononoke froze in place, the slimy length wrapping itself slowly around her neck. She couldn't move, even if she desperately wanted to. She wanted to speak, to bitch to this monstrous bastard to get the hell away from her.
But she couldn't.
She just. Couldn't move.
"You're very special indeed. Perhaps even more so than Sasuke-kun?" he chuckled in dark amusement, "You'll both do nicely to my collection."
Mononoke closed her eyes, her mind screaming. Her body was numb, the water in the air wasn't reacting to her pleas to freeze up. Her ice wasn't even responding to her command to turn that creature into a snake-sicle. It was as if she lost the ability to breathe. Kami, is this how it's going to end?
"Get the hell away from Mononoke-chan, you filthy freak!"
Her eyes shot open when the tongue retracted swiftly, the slimy feeling disappearing. Mononoke felt some sort of liquid splattering her face and neck, reeking like the stench of decaying meat. It was then that her muscles unlocked, and she leaped away hastily from the psychotic creature.
When she looked back, Mononoke let out a cry of relief.
Naruto stood there, scowling at the man whose tongue was bleeding and heaped at his feet. So that's what the liquid was. Mononoke raised her hand to her neck before lifting her fingers to her face. Weird purplish looking blood stained her fingertips. She looked back at the man.
What the hell is he?
But to her disgusted stupefaction, the tongue regenerated and the cuts disappeared, leaving the traces of blood. "So, it seems you've escaped from my friend." the Grass ninja mused, his tongue going back into his head.
Naruto pointed a firm finger at him, "You've been picking on my friends, and I don't like it! You're going to regret ever laying your disgusting tongue on them!"
But not even a minute later, the Grass ninja snatched Naruto off the branch with said disgusting appendage. Mononoke tried to make a grab at the blonde but the snake man was too fast. She saw how wild Naruto was flailing as he tried to rip the tongue with his own bare hands.
Is his eyes red? The whisker markings on his face seemed feral but she wasn't sure.
"Naruto!" Mononoke shrieked, trying in vain to get him back, as she jumped from the branch she was on. But she slipped on a piece of moss and fell off. A curse flew from her mouth as she was in mid air.
Fortunately, there was another sturdy branch below that saved her. She stabilized herself and looked up at the sound of the painful cry that erupted from Naruto. The man had his fingers plunged into Naruto's belly. From her vantage point, she spotted the seal above his gut. A hand absentmindedly flew to her chest. It looked so similar to hers.
But her mind was in a whirl now.
One second, she wondered about the seal, the next second, her heart leapt into her throat as he threw Naruto away like a rag doll. She heard Sakura cry out before sending a kunai his way. The knife pierced his orange jumper and pinned him to a tree. Mononoke sighed in relief. At least he didn't fall to his death. Thank goodness Sakura was becoming useful now.
Anyway. She needs to get it together. How the man knew Daiten was her father was beyond her but she cannot afford to contemplate about it now. It would have to wait.
Clearing her mind of the clutter, Mononoke leaped from the branch and shot upwards. Landing beside Sakura and Sasuke, Mononoke growled when she saw Sasuke sprawled on the tree bark, unconscious. He wasn't moving. She quickly went to him, checking his vitals.
When she got a positive feedback, she breathed out in relief before she bit her lip worriedly. He was fine, just knocked out. Now it's just her and Sakura. She smelled Sakura's sudden prickle of fear and turned around.
The man wasn't attacking anymore as he stood there, watching them with hungry eyes.
"Who are you? What did you do to Uchiha? And how do you know my father?" Mononoke asked, surprising herself at how steady her voice was. Sakura looked at the other kunoichi. Father? But isn't Mononoke an orphan?
The Grass ninja lifted a hand to his headband, chuckling.
When his hand returned to his side, the Sound village symbol was there instead, the Grass symbol gone.
"My name is Orochimaru. Well, I gave Sasuke-kun a little parting gift. Shame, I couldn't give you one now. Don't worry, little Mononoke. I'll come for you when the time is right." he replied. Mononoke growled, waving her hand at him in frustration, "You haven't answer my question! How do you know Daiten?!"
Another chuckle, "Patience. Sasuke-kun will come to me soon, and he will seek for power. And then..." He licked his lips, "You will follow."
Mononoke roared in exasperation and leaped towards him, "Don't give me that bullshit, asshole!" Chakra filled her fist as she brought it down to pound him, but to her annoyed confusion, he melted into the tree, sinking into the branch like it was quicksand. So when she tried to punch him, her clenched fist collided with the branch instead, cracking the thick branch and its ends to be sheathed in ice.
Flipping out of the way, Mononoke landed on the tree trunk and glared at the falling branch. Her mind began whirling like a storm, causing a deadly headache. She groaned and pressed a hand to her forehead, trying her best to ignore the throbbing.
"Mononoke?"
She sighed at the sound of Sakura's concerned voice. She sounded so frightened and lost. No. Mononoke shook her head clearing her mind. She still have to take care of her team.
Looking up to meet eyes with her only conscious teammate, she tried to smile encouragingly, "I'm fine. Let's look for shelter. It's getting dark."
She tasked Sakura with taking care of the other two as she went and look for food.
As Mononoke pushed a harmless brush away, she smiled grimly.
Well, let's hope Sakura likes maggots.
Sighing in defeat, the secret Yorukami child stood up and looked around the quiet forest. There's good news and bad news about her current situation.
The good news was she had found food along the way. The bad news was they were all plants, it's definitely not enough to recover their strength. Judging by Sasuke's and Naruto's condition, they needed more than that. They needed nutrition from meat.
"Well, then. Time for hunting." Mononoke grumbled, sealing the edible plants inside a floating ice sphere.
Just as she was about to head for the trees, Haru's group have returned from recon.
"You're late." Mononoke stated coldly at her identical and it bowed, the other three were on their knees respectfully, "My apologies, Mononoke-sama. There were... complications." It glanced up at her before looking down submissively when it saw the look on her face. "Right now as we speak, there is a Sound team heading towards Mononoke-sama's team."
Well shit.
"Right. You'll come with me." Mononoke said to the other three, who were her teammates identical twins. Looking back at her own twin, she growled, "Round up Ryo and Yuu. I have the Earth scroll in my possession. But if they have got the scrolls, tell them to take it along. We can use them as bait." Before it left, Mononoke added, "And hunt something on the way back. They need meat."
Bowing, Haru shifted into its wolf form before leaping away into the trees. Mononoke turned to the other three wolves in disguise, "Come on. Time for deception."
When she got back, it was already night.
"Sakura?" Mononoke probed as she entered the hole under the tree. It suited well to their needs. Well hidden and a lot of space inside, like a small cave.
"Oh, Mononoke, you're back!" the pinkette lit up in relief. The smaller girl smiled and settled herself beside her friend, putting the ice sphere filled with plants on the ground, before looking over at the other two. Naruto was still unconscious but as for Sasuke...
Mononoke bit her lip. He was shivering and moaning in his sleep, his head shaking this way and that as if he was in a bad dream.
Mononoke removed his headband and placed her hand on his forehead. He was heating up. But his body was shivering like he was in a tundra. A fever was breaking out, she decided. Removing some herbs she collected from the sphere, the smaller girl blinked in realization before turning to Sakura, "Hey, could you do me a favour?"
The pinkette nodded immediately, eager to do something to help. She had no idea what to do. It was heaven-sent to have Mononoke with her.
"Could you fetch some water? There's a stream nearby." Mononoke told her before waving her hand, an ice fish forming. When it solidify, it circled around Sakura. "It will accompany you, so you won't be noticed." she told her and Sakura obeyed, leaving with the fish quickly. When she was gone, Mononoke sighed in ease.
Well, whatever she was going to do now won't be a comfortable sight for Sakura.
Taking a bite from the woody herb, Mononoke chewed it into a mush. Once it was soft enough, she lowered her mouth to Sasuke's, passing the herb down. With the medicine inside his mouth, she watched hopefully as she waited. The saliva in his mouth should build up by now. To her relief, he swallowed before wincing. The herb was bitter but it was good for him. Mononoke took another mouth and grind it with her teeth, watching her teammate.
Whatever Orochimaru said before worries her. What did he meant when he said Sasuke would come to him? And she would follow? She had a feeling Orochimaru wasn't friendly with the Leaf village. And she knows she'd heard his name before, but to hell with it, she couldn't remember where or when.
Mononoke lowered her head, pressing her lips to Sasuke's own again as she pushed the mush into his mouth. He swallowed obediently before groaning. The girl sighed and continued treating him until the herb was finished. Mononoke wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, watching him.
Well, there goes her first lip kiss. But it's for the greater good. At least the boy wasn't conscious. At least.
She wasn't sure how Sasuke would react if he found out about this. Besides, even if Mononoke never paid much heed to this sort of thing, it doesn't mean the Uchiha doesn't either, since he's so prissy about everything anyway. Bah. What he doesn't know won't kill him.
Mononoke pressed her body closer to the Uchiha, hoping her body warmth would help alleviate the cold from him. It did. Well, a little. At least he's stop shivering now, and his breathing has gone back to normal. Perhaps it's the herbs' doing.
Soft footsteps signalled Sakura's return. Mononoke looked up and smiled a greeting. In her hands, a small hollow bark of wood held more than enough water for them. "Here, drink." Sakura told her softly and she obliged, lifting the bark to her lips, drinking in. It tasted amazing to her parched throat.
"I'll take the first watch." Mononoke told the pinkette, as she moved to the mouth of the cave, "It's been a long day. Have some rest."
Sakura nodded, glad for the brief respite. The moonlight haired kunoichi watched with soft eyes as the larger girl settled beside her crush before drifting to sleep.
When she was sure Sakura had gone to dreamland, Mononoke turned to the world outside. The Sound Ninjas are nearby but they made no move to attack. The other three wolves had camouflaged themselves in the trees, but she had a feeling they would fade soon. Even though they were like summons, her jutsu will wear off, no matter what. Kami forbid they disappear before someone attacks them.
Leaning her head against the wall of the cave, Mononoke felt her body relaxed as her train of thought continue in its tracks. She just hope all of them could get some rest before any intruder strikes.
When Mononoke awaken at the slightest sliver of dawn, an Earth scroll and a small bag made of boar skin sat beside her hand. The wolves did well. But the jutsu had already wore off and she was too exhausted to attempt it again. Cursing herself inwardly for dozing off, Mononoke turned to look at her teammates. They were still asleep.
Rubbing her face, she sat straighter and stretched. It's a new day, so there's definitely going to be-
"Well, look. The brat's awake."
And of course, they would show up at stupid o'clock.
Mononoke yawned loudly, baring her canines before smacking her lips and turning to them, "Somebody sound a little excited." She spotted the girl's jaw clenched at the pun. This is going to be fun.
"Quit your crap. Wake Sasuke up. We want to fight him." the spiky haired one said.
"Sasuke who? That name doesn't ring a bell." Mononoke couldn't help but grin stupidly at the three ninjas. She's probably going to killed for this but its too hard to pass it up.
In Mononoke's cringe-worthy effort to piss them off, Sakura stirred at the sound of their conversation.
"Can I kill her before we kill Sasuke?" the spiky haired male growled as he stood up but the masked one stopped him, "Wait, Zaku." Mononoke was already on her feet, one arm leaning against the tree root casually.
He didn't even saw her get up.
The silver haired girl smirked at them. The masked ninja narrowed his eyes. There was a nagging feeling inside him when he saw her confident look. "Come on, Dosu! Are you getting cold feet over a brat?!" Zaku growled at him.
"That's right, Dosu. I'm just another lousy ninja. Three against one, you have the upper hand." Mononoke shrugged, as if she didn't have a care in the world, "I can't be that much of a threat. Probably die halfway too." Sakura was still inside. She can only act as back up now.
Dosu clicked his tongue in annoyance. Screw it. "Fine, we'll settle Sasuke later. Finish her."
Zaku burst into a snobbish grin, before turning to Mononoke, who pushed herself off the tree root and stepped closer. "Say your prayers, girl. You probably won't live after this."
She lifted a shoulder, "Well, one of us won't. It depends really."
Truth be told, she wasn't at her best shape but she managed to get some energy from some herbs and what little sleep she managed to salvage from yesterday night. But when she saw Dosu's hesitation, she knew she already won the battle of nerves. Because a normal ninja wouldn't do what she's doing unless they're confident.
Then again, Mononoke wasn't a normal ninja. She actually had a ridiculous amount of chakra reserved inside her. She's just too lazy to be bother until they had to fight Zabuza for the first time, which almost cost her. So for the few weeks she was training before the Exams, she managed to expand her chakra capacity. Don't ask her how but she managed to do it. Perhaps it was because she had some inside help, thanks to Gintaro. After she was pulled into the seal by her guardian, it's as if he was guiding her subconsciously as she trained.
While she couldn't do any more of her creation jutsu, she could pretty much do everything else. Her creation jutsus require a lot of spiritual energy, another reason why she shouldn't have used them so carelessly before. Well, we all need to learn from mistakes. Nobody's perfect.
Zaku gritted his teeth at her nonchalance before swerving in to attack.
Mononoke followed suit, her mood had already took a sharp turn. She was grinning maliciously as an ice kunais formed in her hands and she deflected jabbing attacks from Zaku. Taunts flew out of her mouth easily, pissing him off. "What's wrong, buddy? Can't hit the fly?" She ducked as a kick missed her head by a heartbeat and she lashed out at his other leg, which caused him to leaped away. "Hey, grim reaper! I think you missed a spot!" (His shirt all had the kanji of death, so. Grim Reaper.)
Each time he attacks her, she made sure her face wasn't in line with his palms. Of course she noticed the small holes in the middle of his palms and how he made sure his fingers flew up, revealing it when he was sure he got a good aim at her.
Mononoke was sure it won't be good if her head was anywhere near it.
A few times, she felt a vibration in the air when he used the heel of his hand to punch. Another attack was aimed to her forehead and Mononoke bends over backwards, arcing her back. Her hands connected with the ground and she kicked her legs upwards to flip herself over. She felt her knees colliding into his thigh. He let out a grunt of pain when the impact struck.
A small smile ghosted Mononoke's lips.
"What the hell?!" the curse flew out of Zaku when ice formed at his side. He leaped back and retreated to his teammates, holding on to his gut as he panted. The ice had formed on his entire right side, from his shoulder to his waist, and it was slowly creeping across his chest, like a clingy ex-girlfriend.
"Hell, she's good." Mononoke grinned at the compliment as she landed in front of the cave. A small shuffle made her glance back.
"Sakura?"
The pinkette had crawled out of the cave, but she was obviously in no condition to fight. Mononoke gave her a small smile when she saw the look on the larger girl's face. "She's worried that I can't fight them on my own.", the ice wielder thought inwardly, a little amused at this.
"I'm fine." She said firmly before she turned back at her opponents, grinning, an ice kunai forming in her hand as she gave it a quick twirl, "Stay out of this."
Dosu snorted before hitting his teammate with a hard jab. Mononoke whistled when the ice cracked and fell apart, freeing Zaku, "Well, it seems I'm at a disadvantage here."
The girl harrumphed, crossing her arms across her chest, "This little girly is so full of herself. We should teach her a lesson." Dosu, obviously not doubtful anymore, snorted in agreement, "Yeah, let's get this over with." Zaku, who was pin-wheeling his right arm to stretch the stiff muscles, wore a strained look on his face, his pride obviously hurt, "I can handle her. She's just a kid."
His kunoichi teammate just jeered at him, "And get yourself frozen again? Sure. We're wasting enough time as it is." He clenched his fists as he glared at her. Snottily, she turned her face away with her nose high in the air.
"Enough. We'll just attack her all at once. She can't do anything about it." Dosu finalized.
Mononoke laughed as this transpired, "Man, you three don't really have much team spirit, do you?" The Sound ninjas glared at her as she planted a hand on her hip, grinning, "Well, that's a relief. Obviously I can still overpower you if your teamwork's so sloppy."
"Well, says the kid without a team by her side. Your "teammates" can't help you, can they? After we're done with you, we'll kill your friends too!" Zaku sneered at her.
Mononoke's face turned hard and serious, the easy-going girl was gone in a flash.
"Watch your mouth, porcupine. You lay a finger on any of them, and I'll rip you apart, limb from limb." Zaku seemed pleased with himself for making her so pissed. "Whatever. You're just all talk. After we're finished with you, we'll go after Sasuke." That further comment seemed to irk her even further.
"Why do you keep talking about Sasuke?", Sakura piped up from behind, "Is this something that's got to do with the mark on him from before? And Orochimaru? We know all about it!"
The spiky haired ninja gritted his teeth as he sneered at the pinkette, "Tch, I won't let you go off so easy after hearing you speak like that." The brat's going to get what's coming to her for being so rude.
Mononoke snorted, "And you wonder why I'm such a prick to you." Zaku sniffed in disdain, looking down at her.
A tense silence fell upon them.
"Let's go!"
All three Sound Ninja leaped into the air, aiming their attacks at Mononoke. Her mouth twitched upwards as frost builds up in her hands.
Wait for it, wait-
But then a blur of green struck all three ninjas back and Mononoke looked up, slightly annoyed at the interruption. She was so looking forward to see the look on their faces when she trapped them inside a ice sphere. When the blur stilled, her annoyance only grew.
"Rock Lee. What a pleasant surprise." Mononoke said neutrally, as if all the colours in the world had fade to black and white.
All three ninjas struggled to keep their balance. The masked ninja leaned forward, a little disgusted at the sight, "Ugh... She's got backup." In a louder voice, he directed a question to Lee, "Who the hell are you?"
"The Handsome Green Beast of the Leaf Village... Rock Lee!" the perfect bowl-cut haired boy announced proudly with a smirk. Mononoke sighed in defeat before smiling a little. Well, how could she complain? At least she gets to share the burden. Lee seemed pretty good.
"W-Why are you here?" Sakura asked, quite bewildered at the sight of her admirer.
Lee gave her a toothy grin, "Because... I will always appear when you're in trouble."
Oh please. This is too much. Mononoke rolled her eyes before speaking up, "Thanks for coming anyway." Lee noticed her presence before smiling politely, "Also, I can see that a comrade is getting treated unfairly. Three against one is a cowardly move, therefore I will help." She nodded and smiled, "Thanks a bunch. You get the mummy man. I got the other two covered."
"But-" Lee started but Mononoke cuts him off, "Don't worry. If I die, just avenge me."
"That would not do, fair lady. I will handle two of them." he insisted and Mononoke sighed. He even went as far to call her fair lady. Let's hope London Bridge doesn't fall down now.
"Fine. But if you screw up, I'm going to blame you." Frost began to build up in her hand as she grinned. Lee's eyes grew even larger, as big as actual saucers when the weapon in Mononoke's hand began to solidify. "This is going to be a blast." Mononoke mused as she swung the large, bulky-looking copy of the Executioner's Blade easily. She got the weapon's replica, obviously. It's not hard when she already did it once.
The three Sound Ninjas didn't pay much heed to the weapon and started their assault. But Zaku and Kin aimed for Mononoke as Dosu swooped towards Lee. Mononoke smirked and waited as they got closer before making a hand seal, the blade between her hands.
"Tsuga!" The jutsu unlocked and she turned into a icy whirlwind, barrelling her way at the two ninjas. She collided with Kin first, throwing the kunoichi off balance and into the ground, creating great spikes of ice shooting skywards due to the impact. Zaku immediately countered the attack to save her, his palms raised at the swirling vortex of destruction. The sonic boom was enough to blast the hurricane to a stop, flinging Mononoke out of the way. The silverette raised the blade diagonally in front of her body, minimizing the impact of the attack.
Although she was in mid-air, she managed a neat turn and landed on all fours.
Zaku looked over his teammate and snarled at the sight. Kin coughed, blood splattering out of her mouth. She sat in a nest of ice shards, each movement getting her cut by the sharp edges. It wasn't a pretty sight but thankfully for her, Mononoke didn't strike her spot on so she didn't receive the full collision that would've cost her her life.
He turned back to Mononoke who just stood up as if nothing happened as she brushed leaves off her body.
That's when he saw Dosu getting in a bind. As in really in a bind.
Lee had wrapped him up with the bandages on his arms and they were falling to the ground with tremendous speed. He lost all focus on the girl and dug his hands into the ground. A large stream of air underneath the dirt caused a large air pocket to form directly below his teammate, cushioning his fall as he landed head first to the ground.
Mononoke clenched her fist when she saw Lee's body stumbling like a drunk. Idiot! That was a jutsu that puts a lot of strain on one's body when used. It was as clear as day. He should know that!
Dosu clambered out of the air pocket before smirking, "Heh. That was close. Now it's my turn." He charged at Lee with his sleeve pushed away, revealing the metal brace underneath.
"Watch out, bowl head!" Mononoke appeared between them, shielding Lee as she kicked him back. The metal arm collided with her blade and she gritted her teeth, bracing at the impact.
"What?!" Dosu's eyes widened as a thick layer ice spread across the metal. Mononoke smirked at him, relief washing over her, "You can't produce your sound waves now."
The Sound ninja chuckled darkly, "Are you sure about that?"
A large boom broke out, shattering the ice. Most of the shards raced to protect Mononoke while the others began to spring into movement, attacking Dosu. The Sound ninja used a substitution jutsu before retreating back. Zaku had already pulled Kin out of the icy mess by then and the kunoichi had a pissed off look on her face.
Mononoke, on the other hand, fell to her knees and clutched her head, her mind spinning.
Lee was still unstable but he managed to put his hands on her shoulders, shaking her, "Hey, are you alright?!" She shook her head and whimpered.
Dosu chuckled, "That sound wave packed enough of a punch to create a throbbing headache, enough to make you feel like ripping your hair out." That's when Mononoke sunk lower to the ground, her forehead against the cool dirt as her body wracked with shudders.
Kin rubbed the blood away from her mouth, "Now let's end this. I'll take the other girl."
Zaku smirked and walked towards Mononoke, "And I'll settle this one."
Lee tried to stand up to shield her, but Zaku just smacked him away without a sweat, causing the boy to buckle to his knees. Lee grunted before glancing back at her, regret and guilt in his eyes. He couldn't protect Sakura or this girl. And now they're all as good as dead.
Oblivious to all this, Mononoke fluttered her eyelids closed, darkness enveloping her mind as she took even breaths. It came to her so naturally, it's almost hilarious, since she was in such a dire situation. But she knew what she needed.
Gintaro. Lend me your strength.
In the black scenery behind her eyelids, it was as if Mononoke felt a spark, then a small flicker inside her body, or more accurately, her soul. Slowly it began to grow, grow into a full, raging blue fire.
To Zaku's surprise, the shivering began to dwindle down as the girl rubbed her head across the ground before getting up silently, her body had stopped shivering as she stood straighter.
When she looked up, Zaku felt his entire body freeze.
Gold, feral eyes glimmered dangerously at him as a smirk pulled one side of her mouth upwards.
"I'm afraid you won't be able to do that."
Shikamaru stared in fearful silence at the look on Mononoke's face. It looked so alien, as if she was suddenly transformed into some bloodthirsty creature. He could head Ino's breath hitched and Chouji's soft whimper. No one could've saw this coming, not even him.
It was Chouji who spotted her facing off with those three goons. Just as they got to the scene, the green guy who called himself "The Handsome Green Beast" had just arrived.
Seeing that help was there, the trio decided to hang back and watched the show.
When he saw Mononoke get kicked around like that, Shikamaru felt his heart ache for her. He wanted to go to her, but Ino pressed him down, seething, "We don't stand a chance against these guys!"
He glared at her, trying his best to keep his voice even, "If we don't help, they'll probably die."
"And we could end up just the same way if we went in without a plan!"
He blinked in surprise at her words. For once, Ino was right. But when they both looked back, Mononoke was already up and looking stronger than ever.
"Ugh, I never thought it would come to this, actually. I thought I had a chance with that big badass blade." Mononoke shrugged, as she place some pressure on the blade, shattering it, its shard falling to her feet. "Guess I need more practice swinging it around."
She glanced over to Kin, who was only a few steps away from Sakura. The silverette growled at her, "You might want to back up a little, camouflage." Obviously, she was referring to the Sound kunoichi's taste in pants. Kin smirked, "Or else what? You're going to ice me? Try not to miss again."
Mononoke smirked at Kin, "Oh, I won't."
Just as she raised a hand at her, a large force burst in her direction. But it never touched her. Instead, it was deflected to all directions as if there was a shield enveloping Mononoke. The blast was enough to send a harsh whirlwind towards Team Ten's direction, causing the Ino-Shika-Cho trio to press their bodies to the ground, bracing against the wind.
She smirked, golden eyes slid towards Zaku, who had his palms raised at her. Eyebrows too, out of surprise.
Dosu wasn't fazed by this as he leaped out from behind Zaku to attack her. Skidding in a zigzag fashion, he launched a jab at her but she just took a step to the side easily, edging her body to the right. It was as if everything slowed down as Dosu's eye widened and glanced up. Her eyes were like a demon's as she looked down at him, amusement dancing in those golden orbs.
A knife hand jab to his back made him gasped in pain. An icy cold sensation struck through his entire body as if he was electrocuted.
Zaku came in from the other side, backing up his teammate. As Mononoke was distracted by this, Dosu recovered and attacked her as well. With her hands full with the two Sound ninja, Mononoke failed to realize Kin had gone to Sakura, grabbing the girl by her long pink hair.
"Stand down, or I'll slice off her pretty neck!"
Mononoke sent two flurries of frost at her opponents before looking towards her teammate.
Sakura winced. tears rimming her eyes, as Kin sneered at her, pulling her hair up, "What soft, perfect locks you have. Trying to be seductive? I'm afraid you're in the wrong line of work. You would do a better job as a whore."
The moonlight haired girl snarled, "Let her go, or I'll kill your teammates instead."
Kin just smiled at her, "Do it then. Let's see who's truer to their word." Mononoke raised her palms, readying to strike. That's when she saw something unbelievable in the corner of her eye.
Sakura lifted a kunai knife to her long pink hair and cuts it off, sending Kin, who had a hard grip on her hair, to fall backwards unsteadily. Mononoke watched proudly as Sakura turned around quickly and kicked Kin aside. She swerved around like a warrior princess and threw a blow at Kin's head, "You'd be a better whore with that dirty mouth of yours!" The punch managed to knock the kunoichi out cold.
Man, kids these days grow up so fast.
Before Mononoke could rejoice, Zaku and Dosu already closed in to attack.
Strangely, they stopped halfway.
"Ugh, this is such a drag, but I've had enough of watching." Mononoke whirled around at the sound of his voice. She blinked once as she tried to register the scene that's unfolding.
Shikamaru was crouched on the ground, his hands in the signature hand sign.
"You certainly took your time." Mononoke snorted, trying not to look pleased to see him. He snorted back, "You're welcome." Ino bursts out of the bushes behind him, shouting, "You idiot! I thought I told you to stay hidden! We don't even have a plan!" Chouji appeared behind her, looking a little flabbergasted. Mononoke raised an eyebrow at her outburst and it gave an immediate effect. Ino froze when golden eyes locked with blue and she gulped.
"Hold them in place for me, won't you, Shika?" Mononoke said, ignoring the blonde as her attention turned back to the stilled duo.
"Already am." Was his snarky reply. She rolled her eyes at him before her hands lifted up to either side of her and short burst of ice shot from her palms. They struck Zaku's and Dosu's limbs, acting as cuffs.
Taking his cue, Shikamaru retracted his shadow as the duo were still immobilized. Their hands dropped down to the ground, due to the heavy weight of the ice. Zaku snarled at Mononoke, obviously pissed off, "Too chicken to finish us?"
"Maybe." she said tartly before closing her eyes and exhaled heavily. She seemed strangely exhausted, Shikamaru noted. And why did her eyes turn gold again?
Suddenly, she sunk to the ground like a sack of potatoes, as if her conscious was snuffed out of her. Shikamaru jumped up and was beside her in a heartbeat, fearing the worst.
"Mononoke!?" he lifted her up to rest on him and she groaned. The Nara sighed in relief as she squeezed her eyes opened tiredly, revealing her own original aquamarine eyes.
"That was... tiring." she mused good-naturedly before looking up, meeting with dark brown eyes. Shikamaru snorted at her, "Troublesome woman." To which the girl just beamed lazily at him.
"What happened?" A new voice floated up and all eyes were on him. Sasuke stumbled out of the cave, wincing at the light. "Sasuke-kun?" Sakura mouthed softly and he looked over to her, eyes narrowing. Then he looked around him, taking in everything. Onyx eyes finally landed on Mononoke and widened. She smiled at him, trying to break the thick silence around them, "Morning, sleeping beauty. You missed all the fun."
Scowling, he trudged over, before glaring warily at Zaku and Dosu, who were still on lockdown and probably too close for his liking. He kneeled down beside Shikamaru, who was still holding Mononoke in his arms and looked her over, "Who did this to you?"
"I already avenge my pride, Duckbutt. No worries." Mononoke said with a smile.
But the was interrupted by a sudden cracking of ice. Dosu stumbled out of his prison and slouched, his eye still trained on Mononoke, "You're pretty good, for a second rate village." But before Mononoke could reply, another voice spoke up.
"That's pretty rich, coming from someone who's from a fourth rate one."
All eyes looked up to find Lee's teammates in the treetops.
Hyuga Neji looked down arrogantly at Dosu, his pearly white eyes glaring, "And it seems you used our teammate as a punching bag... Don't think we'll let you get away with that."
Tenten pushed herself off the tree trunk before twirling a kunai in her hand, "So, ready to take on the real thing?"
Dosu sighed lightly before leaning away, humming his disagreement, "It's like more of them are popping out of nowhere like maggots. This is going to be a problem." Neji grunted in disdain before leaping down from the tree, joining his teammate on the ground.
The masked ninja turned away from the new arrivals before looking over to Mononoke, "Don't worry, we've already got what we want," his eye flicking to Sasuke momentarily, "There's nothing more we can do here." He took something from his back pouch before throwing it at her feet, causing Shikamaru and Sasuke to tense up but Mononoke only nodded her consent.
A Heaven scroll lay there harmlessly on the ground.
Neji started forward but a single ice spike shot from the ground in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. With narrowed eyes, he looked up to see the silver blue haired kunoichi with her hand raised in his direction, "There is no more quarrel with the Sound. I have already avenge Lee-kun." She paused, as if it hurt her to speak, before continuing, "Perhaps it would be better if you tended to him."
Dosu had already removed Zaku from his icy bonds and collected the unconscious Kin. With only an exchange of glances with the rest of the group, they left in defeated silence.
Mononoke winced a little as another heavy silence befell them, before piping up, "Right, so who's hungry?"
WOO-WHEE! That is one LOOOONNGGG ass chapter. True to my word, I have made it up to you guys with a fancy amount of words. Okay, maybe there's just more fight scenes instead, but still.
AND SASUKE DOES NOT HAVE THE CURSE MARK?! HUH?! Originally, I wanted him to have it, but as the story moves along and I took in account of everyone's actions, it became so. And because that's the whole point in the Naruto series, it's just Naruto chasing after Sas-gay the entire time. After that, it was all bullshit with the hocus pocus mumbo jumbo and the gods and everything. Totally not funny anymore, in my opinion.
BUT ANYWAY, a word. Although he doesn't actually have the curse mark, he's still tainted by makeup snakey-facey. SOOO he probably might go and seek Oro out, even though everyone knows not to because Orobitch. Not sure if Momo might get in with the drama but we'll see.
Oh, and I don't know if the way I did the whole thing is a bit... Overboard? Idk. If you guys have any opinions about it, I'm all ears. Constructive criticism is always welcomed here.
AND I PROMISED DOUBLE FACTS DAY SO HERE WE GO.
Fact#21: Besides Gai being her part time sitter when Kakashi was unavailable, Asuma and Kurenai had chipped in to help, the latter more so because she was still Chunin at the time and didn't have as many missions as the men. (Ever wonder how Mononoke learned genjutsu? You can thank Kurenai for that.)
Fact#22: If Mononoke is rated for her ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu, it would be (in the following order): 3.2/5, 2.8/5, 2.5/5. [This rating system is also taking into consideration of every ninja in the world. However, this does not define her abilities when she gets older. Naturally as she gets older, she becomes stronger and the rating will change.]