Chapter 12:

Gurei felt it before he saw it. Something dark was mounting in his stomach. It was chakra, but it was different; unnatural. The pale blue light reached his eyes, silhouetting against the darkness.

"Fenris…." He muttered slowly.

"Gurei! Use your paintings!" Raion roared as he crushed some more of the overwhelming dead. Gurei nodded, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small scroll. He threw it on the ground and revealed a large pack of water coloured wolves as it unravelled .

"Release!"

With a loud cry, Gurei thrust his thumb downwards. There was a bright flash of light, drawing the dead's attention. A stream of twelve or so white wolves leapt from the parchment, tearing and gnashing at the dead. Gurei smiled. The battle had truly begun.

Fenris felt his curse mark growing. He didn't care. The blue chakra pulsated and throbbed through his veins. This only made him stronger. The beast before him let out a guttural roar, its foot still firmly planted on Kataki. Not for long.

With a roar of his own, Fenris leapt into the air. "Die beast!"

With those venomous words, the white haired nin cocked his fist back and swung. The beast was knocked back as the fist connected with its face. Fenris wasn't done yet, and continued this assault of barbaric swings.

Kataki rolled over, the pain in his ribs very unsettling. He knew that some of them were broken. Using his blood, he began the painstaking process of slotting them back into place.

He could hear the sounds of battle, of Fenris' roars and the clubbing of fists.

His thought process was short lived as he felt a foot on his back, pushing down hard. "Foolish boy, ya should have stayed down."

Shizen raised her staff high into the air, and-

"Leave him alone!"

Fenris socked the monster for the fourteenth time, before he twisted around and dashed towards Shizen. The woman didn't know what hit her as a fist with the same power as a ton of bricks crashed into her. She flew backwards and landed with a thud.

"Kataki!" Fenris called out in worry, kneeling down slightly. "Are you-"

He didn't have time to finish the sentence as an array of bone senbon flew towards the duo. Fenris grabbed Kataki bridal style and leapt backwards.

Shizen growled, before giving chase.

Fenris deposited the blood nin on the ground before quickly dodging a staff swipe. He cursed as he remembered he had left his sword back where they originally were.

This momentary weakness had cost him, however, as Shizen had begun to make hand signs. "Death Style: Poison Bomb!"

Shizen pulled her head back before spitting out a large purple glob of liquid.

'Poison! If Fenris gets hit by that…'

Kataki didn't have time to voice his opinions as Fenris bravely leapt in the way of the bombs, taking all the damage as the poison exploded. They left a thick purple haze and Shizen smirked. She had got them, no way that they had survived. That was her most potent poison-

A fist socked her in the gut and she staggered backwards. Fenris stood there, his blue markings pulsating. "Bitch," He snarled, grasping at her throat. Shizen was gobsmacked, Fenris should have been poisoned!

Kataki was thinking the same thing. How had he managed to deflect the technique and remain un-poisoned?

However, the crimson haired nin's attention was drawn to the large mound of earth being chucked at his teammate. "Fenris!"

With that cry, the white haired nin threw Shizen away from him and leapt back just in time to avoid being crushed. Shizen took this as an opportunity to escape and briefly dashed away. The large monster roared as it began to run towards the two ninja.

Kataki shakily made his way to his feet, with the help of Fenris. The white haired nin cursed as the cumbersome monster loomed ever closer. His curse-seal fluctuated.

Would he let it go further? Would he be able to stop himself from causing massive harm to his allies?

"Fenris," Kataki called out, blood dripping down his chin. "Get your sword."

Without another word, Fenris dashed towards his large blade across the clearing. Kataki quickly made some hand signs, managing to finish them just as the beast got within crushing distance. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

A large ball of flame erupted from the blood nin's mouth and collided with the big monster, knocking the wind out of him. With a searing cry, he went to crush Kataki with his large hand. He didn't have a chance. With a load roar, Fenris leapt upwards, before he slashed with his blade at the monster's neck line. The blade managed to cleave through the rotting neck and the monster's head fell off its position and onto the floor with a thud.

Kataki grimaced. The use of the Fireball Jutsu had not done much for his insides, feeling all the work he had done to try and place his ribs back in their original place come undone. He didn't have time to begin work again as Fenris has scooped him up in his arms and leapt out of the way of the monster's lifeless body.

The loud thud echoed around the battlefield.

Gurei knew it was over. Even though Kataki had sent that large fireball that roasted most of the dead, they kept coming. They never stopped. They were constantly recycled, the ones that were struck down rose up a few minutes later. They just kept coming.

Gurei was running dangerously low on chakra. He had ten percent of his reserves left. That wasn't much and coupled with the amount of cuts and bruises, he was feeling weak. But not as weak as Raion.

The grey haired nin looked over to his teammate, who was kneeling on one knee, dealing with the momentary respite. He was covered in a thick sheen of sweat, mixed with dirt and blood. He panted heavily.

He heard the moans again. Gurei looked up, they were coming again; the horde. He rose shakily to his feet. Was this how he was to die, against the undead? Oh, the irony. However, Raion rose to his feet, far more shakily then Gurei had.

"Gurei…. Shockwave."

The grey haired nin jolted slightly, realising the implications of that statement. Quickly, he pulled out a scroll, slighter bigger than his other ones and opened it. He then slammed it to the ground, placing his palm on the seal.

"Release!"

There was a blinding light and a single caw of a bird was heard before the flapping of wings echoed across the battlefield. A large water-coloured eagle rose from the light, it's black eyes scoping the surrounding area.

Gurei sat perched atop, waiting.

With a loud cry, Raion leapt out of the light. His right hand began to pulsate with orange chakra, until it was engulfed by a large ball. The ball then morphed into the head of a lion as he descended.

"Lion Shockwave!"

Raion's chakra enhanced fist hit the earth with such a force that a shockwave billowed out. It sent all the undead flying, some even being buried underneath the upturned earth. When the dust settled, Raion lay unconscious, a rather large crater having been formed by his technique. His breathing was ragged and rough. Gurei gently sent the eagle downwards before quickly leaping off, scooping up Raion into his arms and placing him haphazardly on the bird. He then leapt back on and the eagle took off into the sky.

Gurei cast one last look over at Kataki and Fenris. From what he could tell, Fenris was holding off the Akatsuki member with his sword while Kataki lay behind him. He grimaced. He didn't want to leave them…

"Good luck," The grey haired nin uttered, before he flew off. He would inform Itachi and he would come and help. They would get out of this alive.

Fenris had fought strong people before. He had fought against Orochimaru. And lost. He had fought against his bastard of an assistant. And lost. And now, he was fighting against an Akatsuki member, a person he had sworn to protect behind him. He was, however, feeling confident. The familiar feel of a blade in his hands egged him on and slowly, he forced Shizen backwards. They were locked in a stalemate, resorting to a battle of steel after the monster fell. Fenris was winning. He knew that. Shizen had a deep gash that blood oozed out of located on her stomach. Her face was bruised, badly. Her grip on her staff was faltering.

"Demoness, you shall not have him!" With an demonic roar of his own, Fenris' skin fluxed with blue chakra. Before Shizen could react, Fenris used his right hand to punch the Akatsuki member in the stomach. She reeled and Fenris used this to his advantage. Grasping a hold of his sword, he raised it high above his head preparing to strike.

There was a loud squelching sound. Shizen screamed something unintelligible as her left arm dropped lifelessly to the floor, her staff with it. Blood pooled from the wound and she fell backwards onto her backside. Fenris loomed over her with his sword raised, ready to cleave into her head. Kataki watched from behind him, but knew better to let out a sigh of relief. He winced as he felt one of his ribs fall back into place. That left three more, hopefully Fenris could-

The white haired nin had brought his sword down. But Shizen was not there anymore. Instead, she stood a bit further away, having jumped and ultimately saved her life.

Fenris lifted his blade onto his shoulder, unperturbed. "This is the end for you, witch."

Shizen, however, smiled maliciously. "No-" she wince in pain, and clutched her bloody stump. "No my child, dis is the end for you!"

Fenris saw it only for a split second. A summoning seal had formed on her hand. With her hand dripping with blood, she slammed it down onto the ground… Silence. No sound was heard for the longest time. And then, rumbling. Low and distant. But it was coming.

Shizen smiled once again. "Goodbye, my children, have fun wiv da beast."

A loud voracious roar echoed from the ground. With an explosion of earth and dirt, a huge beast rose up. Kataki's heart skipped a beat. There standing before them was a dragon. He had heard legends about these dragons before, beasts that roamed the lands before shinobi ever existed. He could tell this beast was extinct; mainly by the fact that it was made solely of a dragon's skeleton. Thick, white bone. No innards, no flesh, no scales. Nothing. Yet, it still functioned.

Its empty eye-sockets bored into Fenris' soul. He grunted before pointing his blade at the bone dragon. "Foul beast, leave." He demanded.

The dragon cocked its head to the side, almost as if mocking the white haired nin. It let out a large roar and twisted around.

'I've got to. Second Curse Seal: O-'

He didn't get to finish the thought. The dragon's tail smashed into the tattooed nin, sending him flying. Long spikes had embedded themselves in Fenris' side, being on the tail and all. He went soaring in the opposite direction and crashed into the dirt.

Kataki let out a shaky breath. Fenris wasn't moving. The blue glow had subsided. Shit.

The crimson haired nin looked up. The bone dragon leered down at him, it's teeth dripping with some unknown liquid. Kataki stood up.

"Well then," He muttered, clutching at his injured ribs, "Looks like I'll be using the last of my chakra."

On top of the dragon, stood Shizen. She was smirking victoriously, but her face was still contorted in pain. Her hand was pulsing with a green chakra, most likely a healing jutsu to stop her from bleeding to death. "You cannot win child, give up."

Kataki smiled ever so slightly. "No, maybe I can't. But you won't either!"

He quickly made some hand-signs. Slowly, blood began to pool extremely fast from the cuts on his wrist. Soon, it was up to ankle level and still rising. The look in Kataki's eyes was feral.

"Crimson Bind!"

Tendrils of blood shot forward, wrapping around the dragon's mouth, leg's, tail and wings. Shizen cursed, leaping out of the way as a tendril shot towards her. Demounting the giant beast, she let out a cry of despair. She could hear cracking. Slowly, the tendrils of blood were constricting the bones. The beast writhed in agony, trying it's best to break free from its prison. But it could not.

With a thick crunch, one of the dragon's legs splintered, the fragments dusting the floor. Followed by another, and then the tail. The dragon fell to the ground, still writing as the tendrils, bit by bit, crushed and mangled its body. Soon, the tendril around its mouth soon expanded up its jaw and chin, until it was just below eye level. Crack.

The dragon stopped struggling. Slowly, only large shattered bone fragments and white dust remained. Shizen, however, was still grinning slightly.

Kataki's vision was fading. Rapidly. With one final look over to the horizon and the new day beginning, he collapsed.

The sun was ever so slightly peaking over the horizon, illuminating the battlefield.

Corpses of the fallen were strewn about like dead leaves. Ground upturned, gravestones shattered into tiny pieces. Crack's from Raion's shockwave, ink stains from Gurei's art. And of course, blood. Lots and lots of blood. As for Shizen, well, she stood victorious. Or so she thought.

Three senbon hit her in the side and she hissed in pain. She turned her gaze towards the horizon and scowled.

Utsuro stood there, her white hair blowing about in the breeze, the orange colouring of the sky a stark contrast to her white kimono. She was smiling, her eyes closed.

"Child, leave at once, you cannot best me, I am da-"

Utsuro was behind her in a moment, a sick demonic smirk plaguing her lips. "I'll show you death," She whispered into Shizen's ear. She began to make hand signs, before slamming her palm on the ground hard.

Six mirrors sprung from the ground, their frames made of bright silver. They flanked her, two at her back, two at the front, and one on each side. And in each and every one of the mirrors, was Shizen's own reflection. Looking at her. She tried to take a step back and whirled around as she came into contact with the mirror. Her stump ached painfully. But her reflection didn't have a stump. It had claws.

Inhuman, brown claws shot out of the mirrors, each one embedding in Shizen's stomach, back and head.

Utsuro stepped through one of the mirrors, her sick smirk still playing on her lips. She ran a finger down the bloody face of Shizen and started into her fear-filled eyes. She made a hand sign.

"Oni-Kagami."

The claws ripped from Shizen's body, taking chunks of flesh and her arm. And her head. The headless stump spurted some blood in a last defiant stand, before she collapsed in a heap. Utsuro stepped over her body. She stared in the mirror in front of her, however, her reflection disappeared. It was replaced by a man with long white hair and deep, cold grey eyes. He wore nothing. "Good job, my dearest niece," He cooed. The mirrors shattered, and the glass droplets turned into dust.

Kura watched from the shadows. Or rather, as a shadow. She was standing just a little behind Shizen when Utsuro interrupted. What she saw chilled her. The aura that this girl was producing was… unnerving to say the least. Grotesque hands shooting out of those exquisite mirrors and tearing chunks of flesh of the victim. That wasn't what bothered her though. She had seen more violence, more gore than most in her lifetime, and that didn't bother her. No, what did bother her was the fact that the entity in the mirror called Utsuro his niece. Demon's didn't have human nieces, unless… No, she couldn't make assumptions, not just yet. As a secondary shadow slithered away from Utsuro's, a singular thought crossed Kura's mind.

'I'll be keeping an eye on this one.'

Kataki awoke with a start, his head throbbing. Wait, did he pass out? He had to go and save Fenris, kill the Akatsuki-

"How are you feeling?"

Gurei loomed over him, a Diagnostic Jutsu scanning the crimson haired nin. Kataki scowled. "What happened?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"What. Happened. Gurei."

Said nin smirked. "We won. No casualties."

Kataki breathed a sigh of relief, however cringed when sharp pain went up his through his ribs. "Try to control your breathing. Your ribs are broken and out of place. I've done all that I can, I presume you'll be able to do the rest?"

Kataki nodded, and Gurei continued, "Good, then you'll be ready for action in two days. Until then, no strenuous activity."

"Can I get out of bed?"

"Yes, go for a walk, you must be aching. Just don't overdo it, and remember, no-"

Kataki was out the door before Gurei could finish speaking. The grey haired nin sighed. He was no doubt going to check on the team.

Kataki was pleasantly surprised to find the group sat around a fire. It was grey and cloudy, making telling the time impossible. The group were chatting amongst themselves.

Raion sat on his own, his eyes dancing with the flames of the fire. Fenris clutched at his bandaged side and seemed content with listening to Kura, who was telling him something nonsensical. Something to do with sex to no one's surprise.

Utsuro sat beside Kura and was also listening intently to Kura's prattle.

Itachi was his usual stoic self, leaning against a beam of rotting wood, his eyes closed.

"How long was I out?"

Itachi's eyes opened a crack. "A day," He replied.

Fenris seemed far more alert then before, and practically sprang up. "Kataki!"

"Hello, Fenris," Kataki replied, slightly perturbed. His mood changed as soon as he noticed he was there. Strange. The other's didn't have the same reaction, only a smile from Kura and even a small smirk from Raion. Utsuro remained indifferent, as did Itachi. No surprise there.

Fenris was still stood up. "Uh, at ease Fenris."

The white haired nin nodded quickly, before sitting down. But his attention was still rapt on Kataki.

Kataki coughed awkwardly and leapt over the wooden rail. The layout of the farmhouse definitely showed it was once owned by a farm owner. The bottom floor was a big room, and there was another room at the back, where everyone took shifts sleeping. On the top floor, was a room that was most likely a chicken coop at one point, but had been cleared. Gurei used this as his medical place to practice medical ninjutsu.

"Is everyone okay?" Kataki asked as he took a seat next to Raion.

"Chakra exhaustion." Raion replied, stretching. "But at least I wasn't out for a whole day."

"Hmph, were you any help to the battle, or did Gurei do all the work?"

"Can we banter later?" Raion yawned, "I'm tired."

"Sure, I look forward to it."

"Wait!" Kura yelled suddenly, her pointed gaze directed at Kataki and Raion. "Are you planning to have a banter battle without me?"

Kataki chuckled, before wincing. "Oww… don't make me laugh, my ribs are barely holding together as they are. Anyway, Fenris, how are you feeling?"

Fenris straightened up almost as though he was in the army, waiting for his drill sergeant's command. "I'm doing well. My injuries will be healed in the next day or two."

"Good. Glad to see you're okay. You took a pretty big hit during that fight."

"I assure you, this will not affect my combat performance," Fenris said forcefully. Kataki shrugged.

Itachi coughed into his hand, before saying, "We still have the matter to discuss about Fenris and Utsuro." He directed his gaze towards them. "Utsuro. You were told not to leave the basement area and you disobeyed a direct order. However, you could have escaped, but you didn't. I thank you for saving my students."

Utsuro smiled. Kura watched her from the corner of her eye. There was something wrong with this girl, she could tell.

"And Fenris. You did remarkably well, defending Kataki and standing your ground."

Fenris, however, didn't reply. His eyes were still glued on Kataki. "Yeah, you did well," Kataki agreed. The white haired nin's mouth curled into a small smile.

"Thank you." It was, however, more directed to Kataki than Itachi. But, nonetheless, the Uchiha continued on.

"I would like to invite you to join our group, if you wish. As long as it's okay with the others."

"I'm fine with it," Kataki agreed.

"I'm cool," Kura said.

"I'm too tired. Sure, whatever." Raion replied, yawning.

Everyone (except the half-asleep Raion) turned to face Utsuro and Fenris, eager to hear their verdict.

Utsuro was the first to answer. "Sure," She smiled brightly," There's nothing else I can do. I'd be happy to tag along."

"No."

Kataki turned to Fenris and scowled. "What do you mean, no?"

Fenris flinched at the tone of the blood nin's voice, but continued, "I will not go with you as a travelling companion, instead, I wish to serve under Kataki."

Said nin raised his eyebrows. "Serve under me?"

"Yes. I would be honoured to have a master such as you. You are a strong and selfless warrior and I will follow you to the ends of the earth and back as your loyal servant, if you will have me."

Kataki opened his mouth, and closed it again, to dumbfounded for words. "Okay, I uh, guess."

Fenris smiled. "Thank you."

Kura looked between the two of them before she smirked. "So, which one is on top?"

The whole room metaphorically facepalmed.