The Battle
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Ryoko healed very fast, and was sparring viciously with Sasuke days later. Kisame watched with a critical blue eye, Naruto sat by him, still panting and reasonably bruised from his fight with Ryoko.
"Put more of a lunge in Sasuke. You'll never get past Ryoko's Inuhane with short strikes like that. You need to slip under her blade to land a blow." Kisame called. Sasuke growled and put more of an oomph in his attack on Ryoko, lunging, and making it under the thick sharp edge of the wolf skulled blade, only to have the cudgel like skull slam into his chest and send him into a tree.
"That was a good try Teme." Ryoko grinned, putting out her hand. The raven haired teen glowered as he took her hand and was hauled to his feet. He was sure she broke his ribs.
"Yo." Came the voice of their true sensei. "Thanks for giving me a break Kisame, I need to speak with my students now." Kakashi obviously had some trust issues. Kisame shrugged and walked away as the two bruised up students and their female teammate walked towards their teacher. "Tomorrow we believe Gato will attack. We will go, Kisame-san will stay here, and guard Tsunami-san."
"With all due respect sensei, I will stay as well. Kisame can be responsible for Tsunami, I will care for Inari." Ryoko stated. Kakashi eye smiled,
"Whatever you wish Ryoko-hime."
The next day Ryoko and Kisame waved as the rest of team seven left with Tanzua to the bridge. Ryoko spread herself out on the couch, Inuhane across her chest.
"You're not going to win you know. Gato will kill your friends, then come here and kill you and your Kyoshi." Inari growled. Suddenly with a small twitch of Ryoko's eyebrow, a wave of intense killing intent flowed over Inari. He yelped and wet himself.
"Child, I am the Shukaku's mate. A little old man doesn't scare me in the least." Ryoko hissed. Inari was silent for a few moments, he pointed to the stark red kanji on her side,
"Did he put that there?" Inari asked.
"Yes. Now go change your pants you brat. "She snapped. Inari yelped and ran out of the room, dribbling more urine on the way.
"You know kid, since Ryoko was ten she was utterly alone. I had left on a journey, then her father died. All Ryoko has had was the hope of the Sabaku child coming to get her for the last four years. Ryoko knows what it's like to be alone. A freak in her own home." Kisame growled as the boy passed him. Inari paused, then continued on.
Ryoko had dozed as two men slipped silently into the home. The first thing they saw was a young ninja with a shapely body for her age, sparsly dressed in her mesh and ninpants. The grinned to themselves, she would be a prize kept to their self. One walked to her, already untying the rope around his waist. Suddenly said girl opened her eyes, dark fuchsia eyes glowed at him and a scythe appeared out of nowhere, the end slammed on the ground and he found himself staring into the dark pitiless eyes of a wolf's skull.
"Bad choice mister. I belong to the Raccoon Dog." Ryoko growled.
From the dining room where Tsunami and Kisame sat talking came a scream. They both leapt to their feet and ran to the living room to find it bathed in blood, Ryoko standing in the middle of it her black cloths stained crimson and the bone-white blade of her scythe nearly black with the blood.
"Oh my god…" Tsunami turned slightly green. Kisame frowned,
"Kitten?" the jashinist didn't turn, instead she growled out,
"Kakashi need our help. Tsunami and Inari will be safe now." With that Ryoko turned and ran out the still open door, leaving a trail of blood. Kisame turned to Tsunami,
"Take Inari and hide in the attic. We will come and get you when it's safe. Kitten is slightly unstable at this moment." Kisame turned to follow his student.
At the bridge, Gato's men were attacking Naruto and Kakashi, and Ryoko was coming full throttle, blasting through a dome of ice. Sasuke was already unconscious.
"Come here little Usagi… I won't eat you… ill only kill you painfully slowly like I did your master. I got tonnes of money from him, how much will I get from you? Little Usagi." Ryoko hissed. Her body was coated in her Shadow Armor, she wouldn't get injured until she was in her cursed form. She saw her opening as the girl lunged for her with her needles, and lashed out with a kunai, catching her ankle with a drop of blood to consume. She licked it up, and drew her sign, her skin turned black with the red skeletal swirls. For the first time since she was a small child, Haku was afraid. Even through her fear, Haku still attack, throwing her senbons at the girl, who just laughed manically as the needles drove into fatal areas,
"Little Usagi, you can't hurt me! I am under the Lord Jashin!" Ryoko growled, "Come down and fight me like a real ninja, or ill begin your death."
Haku hesitated, and lowered the barrier. Ryoko yelled out, "Kisame! Get Teme out of here will I stall the little Usagi." the blue man darted over and drug the raven boy away, while Haku walked up to Ryoko.
"I don't need to kill you, Dragon. You can back down now." Haku droned.
"Ha! If I am Dragon, I you will be my first sacrifice! Little Rabbit" Ryoko sneered. Haku darted forward, and Ryoko drover her scythe into her own belly. Haku gasped and fell to her knees coughing up her own blood, she tore off her mask, so not to suffocate in he own life liquids. Ryoko kneeled and while her adversary was in capitated she prayed, her voice became hoarse and strong,
"Oh Jashin, Holder of Death, Granter of Immortality, take this tainted soul and clean it, grant my Gift I Beg. Her soul is tarnished, you alone can decide to clean her."
With that, a black chakra formed above Ryoko's crouching form. It took the form of a man with large tattered dragon's wings,
"My Ryoko, Dragon, you have served me well, a young follower, one of few, who follows true to the old ways. I will gift you with Immortality, as well as my wings. Your Cursed Form will be beautiful, My Dragoness. You now, have the Sight, and I believe his girl can be saved. Cleanse her with your sacrifice." With that the glowing form dispersed, and Ryoko looked up, her eyes were bleeding, and perpetually bright red, she smiled and walked forward,
"Good luck, Usagi. Lord Jashin will clense you, and send you to Kami, to be reborn." with that, Ryoko slit her throat, and mixed her blood, with the dying Haku's. She looked up, and found everyone staring. She stood up straight, her skin was still pitch black with the red lines, she growled, a deep snarl like a dragons, wings made of shadows formed behind her, solidifying with blood red spines. "Leave this pace evil men, or The Dragon will feed on evil blood." her voice was a hiss, all the men ran, Gato was in pursuit. Ryoko rotated her wings and pushed down as she leaped up, and her body rose easily, and she bore down on Gato, flattening him under her body. She presses the blade of Inuhane o his throat, and hissed, "You won't be as lucky as Usagi, little devil. You will join Zabuza in hell." she yanked her scythe severing his head in a spray of deep red blood. She stood, and a swirl of shadows surrounded her, and when it dispersed she stood there, back to normal, but again, her eyes were blood red, they wouldn't change now. If she were to remove her jacket, the image of Jashin's Symbol would be emblazed across her shoulders.
"Let's go." she turned and walked away, leaving the rest of her team to stare after her in a mixture of fear and amazement.
Days later, Ryoko stood on the finished bridge, her Scythe was strapped to her back as she waited for Naruto to finish saying goodbye to the villagers. Tsunami and Inari were coming with.
"Ryoko-sama, Take care of my daughter will you?" Tanzua asked, "And this bridge, saved by your God, is named the Great Jashin Bridge." Ryoko nodded,
"Kisame can care for Tsunami-san just fine." Ryoko looked at the old man, "He's a good man."
"I know. But, I believe you are more capable. You showed Inari that he can be a ninja too." Tanzua smiled. Inari was coming along so he could join the Ninja Academy, and develop skills. Naruto has already taught him how to mold enough chakra to stick to walls.
"Alright." Ryoko nodded and the team set off, Mission, A-rank, completed.