~Chapter 27~
Clandestine Analeptic
Kinata could barely move. Her body felt so frail. Her captors hardly fed her or gave her water. She'd been in the steel cage for over five months now, or so she guessed. She'd been counting as best as she could, though there'd been times were she'd passed out for an unknown amount of time. It was all too possible that she'd been in there for over half a year now. She curled up on the cold ground, trying to sing to herself quietly. It helped her to maintain her sanity.
As far as she could deduce, these people were confiscating blood samples from her to better understand her unique chakra. It was probably to later manipulate the power of Ryukotse. Master Yamamoto had informed her that many enemies in history who'd gone after her clan had tried just that. She gazed through the small opening, grasping onto the memories of several important people – either dead or far out of her reach.
No tears could form by now. The first few weeks she'd been in confinement she'd released all of her emotions. At this point, Kinata was void of expression or care. Her enemies seemed to have been pleased by this. On the other hand, inside, she brewed continuously over her situation and how she could escape. Her thoughts of her mother, Rin, Naruto, Hinata, Iruka-sensei, all of her foster parents, and most significantly Sasuke kept her hope alive. It allowed her the endurance to push passed the isolated torment.
Kinata sat up, mustering the energy she shouldn't have. Not after the exhausting abuse she'd been put through lately.
She had to remember who she was.
Kinata Ryukotse…She mumbled her name to herself, taking a deep breath.
She was the last of her clan. Though she had her doubts, her clan was seen as an honorable one, at least in the beginning, earning a legendary dragon's trust, and to the end with her father's sacrifice.
Kinata breathed out, then in.
She was alive…and she had to survive.
Otherwise…she let out another long intake of air…otherwise, everything that SO MANY had given their lives for…it would all be in vain.
She used the bars as support to stand. She began to gather her forbidden chakra.
She WOULD break free, no matter what or who stood in her way.
Kinata wanted to collapse.
Three enemies were dead, their throats slashed and one arm severed and lying limp next to her. She was surrounded by five more. For the majority of her escape she'd been able to avoid murdering the shinobi – or really assassins, due to their weapons and attire. The underground hide-out had intricate pathways and the lighting made it even more difficult to find her way out. The noise, after her overwhelming chakra had shot a forceful air-wave through the iron bars, had alerted everyone of her get away. The adrenaline rush had sent her into a brainless warrior.
The five appeared nervous, unknowingly assisting her in keeping up a confident demeanor, even though she could feel her personal chakra diminishing.
Two of the men on the front line in the medium-sized hallway dove at her. She used the daggers she'd received from the last eliminated enemy to toss swiftly into the man's hip, slowing him down considerably. In that instant, now without a weapon, the rest of them came at her at the same time. She tensed, ready for the inevitable. However, the seconds turned into minutes as she could sense an incredible amount of power flowing through her veins.
Kinata was left open-mouthed as a barrier, by itself, formed a diamond-like structure around her. The first few that tried to make contact with their blades slammed harshly into it. To Kinata, she could see the light glow of fluorescent colors outlined clearly, but for the men trying to kill her, it was like running into an invisible wall. One of the men had been knocked unconscious from the impact.
She snapped back to reality, not questioning the helpful power. She recalled every taijutsu move in the book, focusing on two while the other took the opportunity to go for her blind spot. She felt a sharp pain between her shoulder blades. Flinching, she kicked back, losing her balance while she tried to fling a mid-punch to the one on her furthest right. Unfortunately she didn't make contact, though she earned space enough for her to flip 45 degrees away from them. She was breathing hard. The one guy chuckled.
"Give up kid." She ignored the older man's taunting words, waiting for one of his peers to make their move first. Before they could, she felt a piercing pain in her eyes. She screamed, falling to her knees.
She could hear the others yelling in agony too, but she couldn't see anything, her eyes clenched shut. An abrupt ringing in her ears helped her tune out their voices. After a few minutes, she was able to move again, gradually returning her vision.
The five lifeless bodies were scattered in melted parts, just as if acid had been poured over them. Kinata blinked in shock at the sight. It reminded her of the haunting memories with the village she alone had destroyed. It sent shivers down her spine.
"Wh…where'd that come from. I didn't summon the Kongouseki…" She questioned herself, glancing down in wonder and fright at her quivering hands. She crouched down as a pounding in her eyes and temples returned.
"KINATA~~~." The growl that erupted in her mind sent enormous tremors in her entire body. The voice didn't sound human at all.
"Wha…who's there?" She sounded frantic because of the throbbing but it slowly subsided. She reached out, now noticing that she had fallen face first onto the ground. She pushed herself up, hugging her arms. An unnatural roar came from whatever was interfering with her thoughts.
"WE SsssSHARE THE ssssSAME BLOOD…YOU HUMANsssSss REFER TO ME, AssssSs RYUKOTssssSE." His tone had such authority and an odd accent that she couldn't deny it. She gasped, feeling her blood pumping abnormally. The tingling sensation in her chest had her holding it.
"sssssSUMMON ME. NOW." Kinata frowned.
Most of the pain was gone now but she was clueless as to what the beast was talking about. Why would he want that? How could she even do that? How was he even able to contact her? Why had he never done so before? Should she even trust the dragon? Especially considering all of the tragic events in her past and that of her clans which had been due to his powers. She grimaced, the questions too much.
What should I do…?
"ENOUGH. I, HAVE KEPT EYES ON YOU GIRL. SsssSIGNSsss OF THE ssssSEALSsss ARE WITHIN YOUR REACH. NOW…ssssSUMMON ME. I ssssSHALL END, ALL, WHO HAVE TAKEN CAPTIVE, THE LAssssST OF THE RYUKOTsssSE BLOODLINE."
She could feel the immense surge of power cloud around her. It was like chakra but with a whole different vibe to it.
The voice didn't sound deceiving, only absolute. It was as if she was being gifted an honor and that she would be insane to refuse. She bit her lip.
"A…are you, here, to help. I mean, you won't go on a rampage…right?" She felt a low rumbling in her head, resembling an irregular chuckle. It nearly gave her a headache.
"GIRL, I AM REMINDED, MUCH OF THE FIRssssT, OF THE BLOODLINE. TO WHICH, I HAD BEsssTOWED, MY POWERsssS UPON." The dragon paused. She glanced at her arms, seeing the hairs stand up from the eerie tone. "I GRANT TO YOU, A REBRITH, OF THE ALLIANCssssE. ONE, I HAD OFFERED, HIM. YOU, GIRL, HAVE PURITY. THIssssS sssssSOUL…sssSTRONG, WORTHY, OF MY POWERssssS."
Her frown deepened. She didn't want his powers. She could hardly handle her own.
"I…" She took a deep breath, the overpowering mind rush taking over, "I don't want power. I just, I want to leave this place, and I want to go back, to my friends, and the one," she hesitated, but continued once his onyx eyes and confident smirk appeared in her mind, "the one I love."
She felt the resilient frequencies bounce from inside her, a cause not from her own chakra. She scowled, as the dragon ignored her request.
"ENOUGH. THE BLOOD, BETWEEN YOU HUMAN GIRL, AND I, sssSHALL BE MUTUAL. THIsssS, ENssssSUREsssS YOUR ssssSAFETY. THIsssS, MAINTAINsssS ORDER. I, CANNOT, DO THE ssssSAME FOR OTHERsssS. THIssssS, IssS UP, TO YOU. DIsssSCOVER CONTROL. I, OBEY ssssSUCH."
Kinata gave herself a moment to think it over.
Do I have what it takes to control a legendary dragon? The thought seemed ridiculous to her, but then, why would the beast even mention it? The dragon clearly had faith in her, and since it was an ancient creature, she had to trust in his words.
She reminisced over all of the people who had believed in her.
Standing up smoothly, feeling regenerated, she held her hands out, her hands naturally forming a sign that she'd never learned before. Her body was moving on its own.
She could sense her eyes morphing into the image of Ryukotse, though she couldn't see what they looked like.
"Okay. I'll accept your, err, alliance. But this isn't just for me. I want to escape so that I can keep everyone I care about protected. I can't have people obtain your powers and abuse them."
Compared to the thunderous roar of the legendary dragon in her head, her own voice sounded feeble and tiny.
With the last of her efforts, a summoning was activated. She could feel a chakra foreign to her typical one setting sparks to every cell in her body. She felt like an explosion. It was impossible to measure up to the grand supremacy of the sudden burst of force coming from inside. The aura surrounding her started to shoot off wave after wave of strong air currents containing some abnormal energy. It blew away at the concrete walls, shaking the earth beneath her. She fell to her knees from the vibrations. A deafening thunderous crack was heard far above, sending her forward after the fortress gave into a gigantic quake. She closed her eyes, a dull throb still there. She knew that her eyes were still in the form of Ryukotse, only because of the way she was seeing the world around her.
It was drastically changed.
When she took a few seconds to gather her courage, she took off, using the eyes to locate higher ground. It was like having x-ray vision, as if she had the blueprint to the underground hide-out.
The colors bounced off of one another while tiny molecules sent off various frequencies, each having its own pattern. It was overwhelming for Kinata.
She concentrated however on making it out alive.
When she finally came out into the midst of fresh air, her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
Before her stood the most intimidating figure she'd ever seen…Ryukotse.
She felt like an ant standing across from the dragon, his size unreal and looming over her in height that only a small mountain could obtain. There were no moving bodies, despite the countless numbers of them that were spread out around on the large open terrain. The beast stared directly down to her, its long neck craning elegantly in the twilight. His tails were caught in the side of her vision, a spectacular view of different elements, and the shape of the serpent was aligned in an odd barrier of a diamond.
As his eyes met her own set, she could feel the instantaneous link. The slits of the pupils mirrored her own at the time, just as the red, gold, and various other colors inside the iris reflected hers as well. She walked slowly his way.
"What," She paused, glancing around, her hands dropping lamely at her sides, "What do I do now?"
Kinata was astonished with how calm her voice sounded. The enormous beast bent further to her level, his tails swinging out viciously behind him. His expression, for a beast, had a creepy serenity about it that she could only compare to being wise. He eyed her silently for just a few minutes while she waited patiently for an answer.
"ALLIEsssS WE MUsssST BE. TRUssssST. CALL UPON MY MIGHT, I sssSHALL ssssSERVE, WHILE YOU ssssSERVE AsssS MY VEsssSssEL. WANDER THEsssSE LANDsssS. DIsssCOVER WHAT IsssS NEEDED."
The dragon took a tiny step towards her, which was enough to bring his frightening body right in front of the girl. She wanted to move back but eased herself to hold her ground. She needed to comprehend everything the beast was telling her.
"THIsssS POWER, IssssS A CURssssE. PROTECT YOUR LOVED ONEsssS. THEY ssssSHALL ALWAYsssS BE IN DANGER, BY THOssssSE, WHO sssSEEK, THE EYEsssS, OF RYUKOTsssSE. LEAVE THEM, IF YOU WIssssH TO PROTECT THEM…SssSTAY, AND THEY sssSHALL DIE."
Kinata felt the sprinkles of the rain fall just in time on her face, hiding the tears that began to carelessly fall from her cheeks. His long and booming words sunk deep into her soul.
It was just as she'd predicted after time and time again of people getting close to her and dying.
The bloodline came with a sacrifice – either your own life or the lives of those you loved.
It was selfish to return to Konoha or to find her old sensei. He too would be in peril.
Kinata took a deep breath, the cool air from the coming storm entering her nostrils, making it slightly better in taming the fire in her throat.
She didn't want to have to confront such a lonely future.
But what choice did she have?
She gave a curt nod.
"So be it." She whispered harshly to not just Ryukotse, but to herself.
This life would be her only option and she would do her best to remain concealed.
She would never be able to continue a love, through family, friends, or a spouse.
She would only allow herself this one night to mourn over it though, for she had to decide on this path without regrets. Even if she'd be alone.
The legendary dragon eyed her and after a moment his eyes closed, craning his neck even further until it touched the ground, as if he were bowing to her. She stood there, not sure how she should return the odd gesture.
With that, the gigantic diamond pulled in on itself around the beast. In a sudden burst of lightening, the wind picked up greatly, like a twister of some kind. She had to hold her arms up to her face to keep her hair from whipping at it, trying her best to keep her feet planted on the ground. Her eyes were morphing back; she could feel it, just as she had when they'd switched in the first place.
It only took maybe thirty seconds when the commotion immediately stopped.
She looked up, amazed to see that the dragon had departed. Near her right, about 10 feet away, stood a bulky man, shirtless but wearing gold bangle bracelets on both of his wrists. Matching that was a gold belt around his waist with a boar's face in the middle. He had extreme muscles with dark brown skin, staring at her with steel-like black eyes, though small in his pupils. His blonde hair, distinct against his color, was combed back, just the same color as his small moustache and beard. His defined cheekbones gave his face a serious demeanor and the crease on his forehead hardly helped.
The man stood perfectly still, his eyes trained on her nonmoving form. The two stared at one another for a good minute, as if sizing each other up.
"State your name girl." His eyes tore holes into her already trembling soul. She dared to gaze back defiantly into his frightening face.
"Kinata…Ryukotse." She wasn't sure why she had mentioned her real name. Something about the man before her spoke of extreme authority, and she was sure he could see a lie instantly. Besides, he had clearly witnessed what had just transpired, and Ryukotse had not seen him as a threat. In fact, the dragon hadn't even acknowledged him at all. Her body was weak now and fatigue was closing in. Now wasn't the time to encourage an enemy of his stature. However, the pupils of the darkened man narrowed, glancing from her to wear the legendary beast had been.
"The dragon?" His tone was deadly and serious. She shook her head, gathering her patience.
"That is Ryukotse. He is an ancient beast, tied to my bloodline. Just now, he has made, I believe, an alliance with me. He trusts, that I, can control his powers." Her words were spaced while she tried to keep her breathing even. The energy spent in such a short burst of time and effort was vast in overloading her senses. There was a good thirty seconds of silence before the older man responded. He appeared to have been scrutinizing her.
"Can you?" She bent her head down in thought, ignoring the intense urge of wanting to pass out, and nodded.
"With more training, yes…I know I can. I have people to protect." Her voice was even, surprising herself. The man gave a short nod and began to walk her way. She tensed, but he held out an open-palmed hand to calm her.
"I am the Fourth Raikage. I care not about your lineage. I have heard of your cursed clan. I have also heard of the strength behind it. My clear sense of judging character has rarely been wrong." She was mesmerized by his harsh, confident, and steel-like voice. It was borderline comforting and intimidating.
He stopped directly in front of her, towering Kinata. He was a good 6.5 feet while she barely stood at five feet. His face was impassive and nonforgiving, but his eyes showed a depth that gave her shaking figure hope.
"Girl, you'll stay in my village, the Land of Lightening. I'll have you train with my partner. He…well," he sighed quickly, transforming his hardened face into a stressed one.
"He is eccentric, but strong. He will help own your powers. He is a jinchuriki and deals with a beast much like you. I don't need unnecessary threats near my lands. You seem to have a good spirit. Now stand up straight. We have a distance to cross before we come across my borders. My mission in this territory is taken care of." He paused at her shock, slightly impatient from her hesitation.
"Come on. Do you have a choice to be elsewhere? From what I've gathered from that lizard, there's no going back. Move on kid. If you wish to protect your people, become stronger. My council will watch over you, as will I. It won't replace a home. Think of it as a temporary grounds to live and learn."
His rough words brought Kinata back to reality.
This was her only opportunity, and as much as she hated to hear his reference to strength, he was right. She didn't have options anymore.
She took a deep breath, running to his side, giving him an unsure smile. Her body protested though she professionally ignored it.
"Yeah. You're right. I'll accept." She scrunched up her face while looking up at his odd blonde hair.
"And he'd not a lizard. He's a dragon." The older man barely reacted as he began walking away.
"Same thing." He muttered.
She shook her head, standing still at his retreating form. He paused, not looking behind.
"Coming or not?" She felt her heart thump loudly in her ears.
"What do I call you? Do you go by just Fourth Raikage?" He didn't reply instantly but after her unwavering movement, he gave in.
"Lord A. The man you'll be training with is my brother. He is known as Killer Bee."
He started his pace once more.
Kinata looked down at the ground.
A new place to live, again.
This would be her life from now on, just as it had always seemed to be destined.
She was officially a gypsy, forced to wander the lands.
The fantasy that Konoha could have been her home seemed ridiculous now.
She would never be accepted despite protecting people because in the end, she was a threat.
She sighed.
She ran up to walk beside the larger man.
At least he was offering her a place to stay.
So her life would begin anew, one to restore a newfound but never to be mentioned strength.