Once again, it doesn't feel like it's been a week since I last updated...and I just finished watching Mirai Nikki, not that any of you care about my life and hobbies. Also, I'm sorry about ending this before the 2500 mark, but...I just couldn't think of a way to extend it.
Let's get this trainwreck moving.
Deep down inside of himself, some part of Kitsune no doubt thought that what he was doing was wrong...not that he would listen to it, of course, but it was still there. Here he was, sitting around a table with those people that he knew he couldn't trust; the only consolation was that they couldn't trust one another either, which made for frank and yet guarded discussion. They were deep in the underground of Kitsune's many unused hideaways, and none but Sai would be able to enter.
"Why did you ask for my help, Kitsune-san?" The Raikage demanded, harsher than the black-masked man would have liked. "And why in the presence of these people?"
Other than the Raikage and Kitsune, the others who sat at the round table were the Mizukage, the Kazekage, and Orochimaru. Something seemed off about the Kazekage, though Kitsune wouldn't call him on it because of their lack of familiarity. Three Kages, a Kage-to-be, and a former Hokage candidate...but of them, only Kitsune and Orochimaru had anything specific to demand that they direct their hatred towards Konoha. Indeed, the question of the day seemed to be, "why?"
"Because this is our alliance, though temporary it may be. I won't bother to explain the reasons each of you has for allying with me," Kitsune's dual-toned voice grated on the ears of the four others who were present, "but rest assured that each of you has a perfectly valid case as for your choice."
The Kazekage had been losing missions to Konoha for years, given the forest village's easier access and greater size as well as fame. The Mizukage's daughter had, somewhere along the line, developed a strange infatuation with Sai...and Sai for her, which Kitsune found much more puzzling. Yugito was one of Kumogakure's two Jinchuriki, married to Kitsune, and a closely personal friend to E. Orochimaru just liked to blow things up and watch them burn, which is what he hoped to happen to Konoha; he also needed to duel Kitsune for true.
"Well then, let's get down to business. First of all, what are the sizes of the forces that we're respectively bringing?" Orochimaru asked.
"Our grand total is approximately seventy-five thousand, which is close to double what Konoha has even when you factor in the Anbu...which, coincidentally, I control all factions of. They see me as a god, as some legendary messiah, though I won't deny that I did my best to foster such devotion and dedication."
"Alright then. As far as numbers go, we're fine. Next on the list: basic plan of attack." E demanded.
"My forces will hit the upper tier of fighters for Konoha, given that they are the aforementioned upper tier. Once the Hokage is dead, Orochimaru, it will be your job to distract Jiraiya. You, naturally, will take the fall for killing the Sandaime."
"That's assuming you can get to him before I do, boy."
"In any case," the Mizukage interrupted, "what will the approach be for the rest of us? Orochimaru, Kitsune, you know the city and its weak points. You tell us where to strike."
"It's not a siege, so you won't need to hit the warehouse section. We want to avoid civilian casualties, so the whole southwest quadrant and trade streets are to be ignored unless you find a shinobi. Don't destroy the Hokage Monument. Given your various abilities, and those of your respective nations, storming the wall shouldn't be too difficult...doubly so if Orochimaru can spare a summoning seal or two in order to speed up the process and create a breach. There's also the potential to use your Jinchuriki for their intended purpose: fighting and killing machines."
"Mei and I brought both of our village's Jinchuriki, the Kazekage's son is here for the Chunin Exams, and the Kyubi boy is nowhere to be seen...but if he fights for Konoha, then we still have five-to-one odds and eleven more tails." E said.
"Very well, then. Bringing in reinforcements is a good idea, but plan to work with what we have inside of this place. We'll need several people in and around the stadium, of course, but spots of heavy resistance will be in the eastern side of the village and the outskirts...and that should conclude this meeting, I think."
As Orocihmaru and the Kazekage vanished, E looked at Kitsune with a near-angry grin. "So what's the real plan?"
"Every single thing, that ever gets planned or strategized for a battle, goes to hell as soon as it's taken from the table to the field. Just kill anyone you find wearing an Oto or a Suna headband, except for Sabaku no Gaara and his siblings. When the fighting starts between us Kage, it's going to be the three of us against Orochimaru and the Kazekage...I don't plan on leaving Sarutobi alive for long enough that he can choose a side, even if it's our side that he'd be on."
The true meeting over, the two remaining Kage vanished from the chamber. Only after they were gone did Kitsune look behind him, staring into the eyes of a seraph. Red drilled into amber, and the flower in her hair gave no illusions as to who it was.
"Tell him to wait. I'll be ready soon enough...and only together can the whirlpool become a typhoon. You are the only one he listens to, so for now it's your job to be our go-between."
Her yellow eyes disappeared for a moment, as she bowed her head, and then she vanished with the reverse-summoning seal that had been placed upon her.
"In three days, the fight will begin. In three days, you will need to master the power of your blood. Your powers are great, and far more than I would have thought, but that's useless unless you can master them."
"I know that."
"Try harder."
Blood flew from Sasuke's body as he launched his attacks, ropes of it that stuck together while he struck at Shiro. It didn't matter what shape it took, however, because he simply couldn't touch her; she was too fast, too nimble, and far too erratic.
"You're thinking like a ninja, Sasu-chan, and that's not going to help you. If you want to use a Dead Man's powers, then you're going to need to fight like a Dead Man!"
"And how do I do that?" He snapped, charging forward and lashing out.
"You already know, and were just ignoring it. What have we, individually, been doing this whole time?"
"I've been standing around and trying to hit you while you dodge!"
"And yet you have the Sharingan, so why can't you hit me when you can see what's going to happen?"
"Because you're dodging!"
"NO!" Shiro yelled, slamming a fist down on his head as she leaped away from his onslaught. " Because my prediction is better than yours! You can't predict the switch, because you're too busy analyzing!"
"What she means to say is that your focus is on attacking, rather than hitting. A ninja can attack all they want, since chakra is expendable and renewable, but as a Dead Man your blood is your life. If you use too much of it, then you will die...so you need to focus on predicting her dodges, and aim to strike her down rather than simply attacking her."
"When did you get here?" The Uchiha demanded.
"When my meeting ended." Kitsune replied. "And after I'm done here, I'll go have another one. Take your time, though, since I want to see if you've really improved."
"That's mean, Naru-chan." Shiro reprimanded him. "You know he can't win."
"Of course he can't, and that's the point. I'm seeing if he's improved, not whether he can defeat me...now, begin!"
Sasuke rushed his teammate, blood billowing forth from his mouth and his hands to form blades. They were blitzed through, though, and seemed undisturbed by Kitsune's movements. "The blood is only solid if you want it to be, and you didn't want to hurt me...as much as I appreciate the sentiment, Sasuke, that's something that might kill you in three days! Know that the blood is sharper than steel, believe that you will strike, and you will cause pain! FIGHT ME!"
A fist launched Sasuke through the air, and then a foot connected with his back to keep him skyward. Blood shot down, anchoring the Uchiha, so that he kicked his opponent by spinning around the makeshift pole.
"There you go." Kitsune said. "A classic, textbook, move. It's not much, but it's a start."
The offending limb was grabbed, and then summarily thrown (along with the rest of Sasuke's body) into the earth. A spear of blood sought to pierce Kitsune's chest, but no such luck would be had; the black-clad man took hold of the versatile weapon and broke it off. Before it could liquify completely, however, he managed to get a solid strike in across the other man's face...the "fight" continued that way for some time, with Kitsune taking no hits and Sasuke receiving a pummeling. In the end, as Kitsune left, he had smiled from behind his mask.
"It's a good thing that the Chunin Exams are soon, or otherwise I'd have been a little more serious...but thank you, Sasuke, because now I'm all warmed-up for the match that comes next."
He didn't say another word, and wouldn't be seen again until the Chunin Exams.
That, of course, is what someone might call a lie. There was one other person he saw, masked though she was, and he couldn't have been happier to have seen her again after nearly two months...not to mention the eleven years before that. Their meeting was heated, though with quiet words and sounds that others might have found foreign on their unmasked lips, and lasted for far longer into the night than either would have ever expected. Though it was certainly a match, and indeed a competition, there was no true battle or fight; it was a war of deep breathing, of beating hearts and mind-searing sensations, that left the both of them exhausted when they were done...and so they went about repeating that same meeting for the next three days.
They were the fire and the lightning, the lust and the hatred, the darkness and the light. Throughout their meetings, the respective Biju could only realize the destiny that was being laid before the ones that contained them; their mother had sung to them about such a thing, a long time ago, but neither had believed it at the time.
He is the son of the lonely mountain
He is the child of the endless sky
Strike to be free, and let no man drag you down
Into the wind, let glory ride
She is the child of the flame and of the rain
She is the one who descends from the sky
Strike to be free, and let no man drag you down
Into the wind, let glory ride
They are the ones who herald Samsara's change
They are the ones on whose wings Death does ride
Strike to be free, and let no man drag them down
Into the wind, let glory ride
It was as though ages had come to pass in the blink of an eye, though no miracle would take place or be performed within the walls that confined the place where they met. The gods of the ancient and yet future world had died with the turning of the Great Wheel, leaving men to rule in their place, but the breaking would happen soon enough...and when it did, only the real and true Dark Lord would be able to save them; for the first time in years, (more than two thousand, to be exact,) the great and near-almighty Kyubi no Kitsune, the Dark Lord Kurama, bowed his head and hands in a prayer that was offered up to his father.
The age of gods was over. The season of humanity was ending. The time of the demons was on the horizon.
Believe it.