Chapter 15 Lost of Humanity
The sun was still bright in the sky; it was beautiful day for late September one of which anyone would have loved. The mood in the farmhouse was the total opposite of the weather outside, the house was dark and the mood was even darker.
"So Kumogakure has fallen to these things too?" inquired Shikamaru as he sat on top of a small flat top storage case. Everyone was gathered around the two Kumogakure ninjas Samui and Karui. Karui's leg was being unwrapped by Sakura causing the red headed ninja to wince in pain.
"Yes, a couple of days ago." Confirmed Samui
"A couple of days you can't tell us more than that?" pressed Neji
"You try to remember how long it has been while your running and hiding, getting a moment here or there for sleep," snapped Karui before wincing in pain as Sakura undid the final layer to show the injury.
"Damn, that is horrible," stated Kiba as he looked at the massive hole of missing flesh in Karui's leg. There was a fist size hole in the inner side of Karui's leg about half way between her knee and her ankle. Puss and dried blood formed a sick crust over the wound.
"I am amazed that you could even walk with this wound." Said Sakura as she reached into her pack and pulled a small scroll and wrapped it around the wound. "It shows how strong you are."
"Was that ever questioned." snapped Karui as Sakura shrugged
"Well I only just met you but it may help you deal with this, your feel slightly weird." Said Sakura as she ran her finger down the scroll which she had wrapped around the leg. Instantly Karui began to shake a bit as she went to grab her leg only to get it swatted away by Sakura. "I know it feels weird but you have let them do their work."
"What who is working?" inquired Karui
"The maggots I just unsealed on your wound." Stated Sakura as Karui and others eyes widened.
"Very smart." said Karin as she leaned in the doorway to the living room. Sitting in a kitchen table chair he had brought into the room was Sasuke, his sword resting against his knee. "The maggots will eat the dead flesh and clear the area for you to work on the leg without that in the way."
"Don't you have a more modern medicine for that?" inquired Kiba
"I do." admitted Sakura "But as much as I hate to say this but nature has us beat on this front but Tsunade did find a way to speed up the process. The wrapping will help speed up the bugs and it should clear out the dead flesh in about 90 minutes and then we can try to seal up the gash."
"Now one last thing to do," said Sakura as she pulled out a long needle and injected a clear liquid into her leg. "This is a strong antibiotic which will not hurt you."
"So how did your village fall?" inquired Neji
"Rather simple we were weakened by red flue and then those things came swooping down on us." Stated Samui
"Weaken by the red flue is an understatement." countered Karui "We were at the breaking point, we had no safe zones, it was basically a free for all when it came to getting supplies. It was basically only the will of the Raikage and Killer Bee sensei that we still as together. Then the Raikage was stabbed in the back by one of his guards who turned out to be one of those things."
"Shizune likely would have done the same thing if we hadn't found what she was." Said Naruto
"We still don't know what she is, well we don't know for sure," corrected Sakura
"Shizune is a traitor?" inquired Hinata as she stood as close to Naruto as she dared but still kept three people between her and him.
"Yes." confirmed Ino "I don't know what she is."
"From what you have told me she looks like a Bai Ze." explained Shikamaru as everyone who didn't leave the Leaf with him looked at him. "I read about them in a book of legendary creatures. They are deer people who if legends are true protected the animals of Nara woods and taught the early members of my clan how to use Deer in medicine."
"Well the Legends seem to be real and what is worse is that they have had this planned out for years." stated Samui "They somehow even got Yugito Nii to turn against us."
"Who is Yugito Nii?" inquired Sai as he sat by the window.
"Well we thought that the Akatasuki had killed her but clearly she was still alive and somehow she became one of those things." stated Karui "I guess we couldn't expect a Jinchuriki from going over them when normal people once turned do the same."
Naruto's and Sakura's eyes both turned to Karui.
"Jinchuriki?" asked Hinata "What are Jinchuriki?"
"Human containers for one of the Tailed demon beasts." explained Samui "Our village had two of them Yugito Nii had the two tailed and our Sensei Killer Bee had the 8 tailed. From what I heard the Akataski had all but the 9 tailed, 8 tailed and the 7 tailed beasts."
"I wouldn't be surprised if the demons are using them to spread this red flue." Stated Karui
"Well your semi true." Said Naruto as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Naruto…don't." started Sakura and for a moment both of them looked at each other. "You don't have too."
"Yes, I do." said Naruto as he lowered his head. "You said that the Akatasuki never got their hand on the 9th, 8th and 7th tailed beasts?"
"Correct." Confirmed Karui as Samui's eyes widened.
"You're one of the Jinchuriki." Stated Samui as all his friend looked at him. For a moment no one said anything as everyone looked at Naruto.
"He has the Kyuubi in him, the nine tailed demon fox." confirmed Sasuke as Naruto glared at him. "We need to keep this going and get behind this behind us."
"Naruto-kun?" inquired Hinata only to have Sakura's head snapped toward her.
"Wait if you have the Kyuubi are we in danger of you suddenly becoming one of those things?" inquired Ino "I mean are in danger of the Kyuubi taking over and trying to kill us?"
"Ino, I have known for a while about the fox," snapped Sakura as she came to Naruto's defense. "We are in no danger form the Kyuubi."
"In fact I had the nine tailed in me, somehow the fox died but I lived." said Naruto "But that isn't important, what matters is according to Shizune, I and the other Jinchuriki may be the reason why some people may be alive. We leak demon chakra and according to Shizune who claimed to have designed the flue said that the more exposer a person has to said demon chakra the more likely a person is to live through the flue and make it through the change."
"That is possible." said Karin "Kind of like how long time exposure to something makes someone better to reisiest it."
"Does this help us?" inquired Sasuke as he looked at Karin.
"A little but not much." Admitted Karin "But it is better than nothing. Is there anything else you can tell us?"
"The three demons you saved me from claim to be my parents." Explained Naruto as people who where not with them when they left the Leaf looked at him. "They are lying of course."
"So you say." stated Sasuke as he brushed the idea aside as not important to the task at hand.
"They claim to be your parents?" inquired Hinata as she lowered her head and looked away as Naruto turned his gaze toward her. "Who are they?"
"If they are lying then why does it matter?" inquired Kiba
"They claimed to be the 4th Hokage Minato Namikaze and someone named Kushina uzimakie." explained Naruto as Hinata eyes widened. "Doesn't matter they are lying."
"I recommend we get some rest." said Sasuke suddenly as he stood up using his sword to help him up. "We don't know when some of those things will show up, so we need to get as much rest as possible."
"Since you guys had all night here while we where running you can maintain the watch," stated Suigute as he pointed toward Kiba and his group. "We have a long night of running ahead of us."
"Agreed, I could use with a nap." Stated Naruto as the others nodded their heads in agreement.
Kakashi was slowly regaining his composer as he opened his eyes to see the wooden roof of some buildings. The roof was full of little marks in the wood, which seamed familiar to him until he saw the remains of lights, which hung from the ceiling smoke stained.
"I am in the Silver Kunai." Said Kakashi as memories of the multiple times he and other ninjas had come to this bar after a mission. The marks on the ceiling came from half drunk or more often enough fully drunk. He could still smell the beer and liquor even though the bar had been in one of the areas abounded to the flue in the first outbreaks.
"Yes, you are." said Rin as she sat beside him on a bar stool, because it was raised higher than a normal chair she looked taller then what she normally did. "It's our hospital right now, since the main one isn't safe. Seams that Guy and a few other ninjas are held up in the basement."
"Good for them." stated Kakashi as he looked around, there were other humans lying on cots while some of those creatures moved among them treating their wounds.
"Yes, but it makes working on your leg harder." stated Rin as she took a drink of water. "I would say let's get a drink but it was because of that you passed out in the first place."
"What happens now?" asked Kakashi as Rin lowered her head a bit.
"Always straight to the point with you, I guess some things never do change." laughed Rin before becoming more serious "But I am wrong, things do change and not always for the better."
"You're going to change me into one of those things aren't you?" asked Kakashi
"yep." confirmed Rin "Not really my choice or yours, but to tell you the truth I am happy that they are going to turn you."
"You're happy that I am going to lose my humanity?" asked Kakashi, deep down he wanted to snap but he could not snap at her.
"I am happy you're going to live, if you don't turn the flu comes back and kills you. There is no cure for the flue, it only disappears for a bit but then it comes back stronger than ever and no one can live through that," explained Rin as she took a breath. "Humanity is gone, the only choice now is either to adapt or die."
"And what if I choice die?" asked Kakashi "Even after they turn me I can kill myself."
"Would you?" asked Rin as Kakashi blinked. "No I don't think so, you're many things but you're not the type of man to kill yourself for no reason. You will fight and die for someone but you're not the kind to sitting in a bathroom and run a kunai across your wrists."
"How many of those demon types are there?" inquired Kakashi as he tried to turn his mind away from the possibility of ending his own life. He had seen some of them these demons before but he was not sure how many there are.
"For the most part there are twelve races but some could argue that there are in truth sixteen." Stated Rin as Kakashi looked at her slightly confused. "See one of the races, the Kami are kind of split into different sub groups which look very different physically but unlike the other races they can produce children together without going into a transformation."
"Wait, transformation? You demons can change too?" inquired Kakashi as Rin nodded her head.
"Yes, happens commonly when two demons from different races fall and love but a person can only change once." explained Rin "However the body can change only so much before it is too much for a person to change and live."
"And what are you?" asked Kakashi as Rin looked away for a moment. "I have seen what Shizune is and I can see the others."
Rin did not say another word; instead, she reached for a small silver bracelet which she wore around her wrist. She pulled it off and for a second Kakashi did not think anything had changed then he noticed that her skin looked smoother and took on a reddish purple tone and her hair had streaks of purple in the same shade of her check marks. Her hair actually started moving as if it was an actual fire. Two small horns came out of the side of her head in the hairline above her eyebrows, which also looked like they were on fire. She turned to face him and her eyes where very different they looked as if there was an actual fire burning behind deep purple eyes.
"Ok, you look like your burning." Said Kakashi as Rin laughed a bit, as a small forked tail came around so that Kakashi could see it.
"Well I am a fire Kami." said Rin as she moved some of her fire like hair aside. "In the bad old days humans mistook us for devils."
"Kami…" said Kakashi as he tried to search his memory, it had been so long since he heard any of the old grandmother stories where Kami's and Demons where common. He had enough issues dealing with the Tailed beasts he did not want to deal with fairy tales. "That is like an elemental spirit right?"
"Correct, there are Fire, Water, Air, Wind and Lightening Kami." explained Rin "We are the only demons who have radically different looks for the same species."
"Wait, those elements are the basic natural types." Said Kakashi
"Very sharp for someone who just woke up, maybe because fire was my chakra affirmation that I am a fire Kami." explained Rin "I wish I was water, I miss going for a swim but I am basically living fire and fire and water don't mix, I still have to drink but swimming would be suicidal. However I did learn a lot of new fire Justus, I had too I can only use fire Justus."
"So your living fire?" asked Kakashi as Rin nodded, to demonstrate she held up her hand which instantly became covered in a purple fire. "Ok, then how come your cloths don't turn to ash."
"I am living fire but I can control how hot I am." Said Rin as she reached out and brush Kakashi's check. Her skin felt slightly warmer then normal but not much.
"I see." Said Kakashi "And what am I going to become?"
"I don't know." Admitted Rin "They thought I was going to be a Kitsune because I was around the Kyuubi with Kushina but I came out a Kami. You just can't tell for sure."
"What are the demon types?" inquired Kakashi as he winced a little in pain. "I am assuming the fox human is a Kitsune?"
"Correct, after that we have Inugami which from a distance look much different from Kitsunes but they are wolves. Next comes Bakeneko's which are like Kitsune's only instead of foxes they are cats." Said Rin as she looked around the bar turned field hospital. She spotted one checking on a knocked out woman at the far end of the bar. "The thing about them is that they can have very buitiful and colorful coats of fur, there is one of them I know who you would swear was a walking rainbow."
"Must be hard to hid with that type of fur." noted Kakashi as Rin laughed before nodding her head in agreement
"Hell I am living purple flame, oh by the way for the longest time they had no idea why I have so much purple flames." Laughed Rin
"That isn't common, I haven't seen many of your kind." Said Kakashi
"No, it is rare but they assumed that it was because of my birthmarks but the new theory is that because of me having a demon that it changed me slightly to make me stand out from the rest." explained Rin "They believe this because when they turned Yugito Nii, who had the two tailed she came out with blue fur."
Rin paused for a moment as a spider like creature with long thin legs which towered over everyone moved passed them. The creature moved over the Kakashi without even looking down.
"We are trying to have a conversation down here!" snapped Rin as the Spider creature turned and to look at Rin only to hit his head on a beam.
"Damn, Nymph." cursed the creature before moving off.
"That is a Jorogugumo, I don't have to tell you what they are like." said Rin "Their aquatic cousins the Heikegani, they look like crabs are just creepy in my view."
"Well you never liked spiders or crabs," stated Kakashi
The sound of footsteps caused both of them to turn to see the same giant ox or bull like creature which Kakashi had fought stood there. It wasn't the same creature, in fact unless things had changed a lot it was a female who stood in front of him.
"Now this is an Ushi" explained Rin "Kind of rude for one to walk up without saying a word, but not surprising."
"Kakashi Hatake come with me now." ordered the Ushi as Kakashi looked down at his leg.
"I don't think I can walk," stated Kakashi as the Ushi rolled her eyes and snorted before moving to lift him up.
"I'll take care of him," offered Rin as she gently helped Kakashi up.
"Follow me." ordered the Ushi as she moved out of the bar.
"You should be thanking me." whispered Rin into his ear. "Ushi version of gentle would get people kicked out of a Bondage Sex club."
Kakashi with Rin acting as his crutch was led out of the bar and into the bright sunlight of the street. Kakashi blinked as he looked out of the village, it was in a horrible state with fires still rising from multiple locations in the village. Three out of every four windows he passed where either busted out, boarded up or cracked. Rubble filled the street and he could of sworn he heard screaming in the distance.
As they passed a woman with bird like wings which shot out of her back and went all the way above her head before coming down until the brushed the ground. She feathers down her legs and her hair looked to be feathers as well. Rin stopped for a moment and turned so that he could see her better. The bird creature was talking with what for the lack of a better turn was a snake woman.
"That is an Air Kami." explained Rin "And a Nure-onna or Nure for short."
"I have seen the air one before, didn't know what they were." confirmed Kakashi as they kept moving. They reached the southern market, which had been cleared out trash and rubble; however, it was now full of people. They were all in a sad state; they wore dirty cloths and a few people where shirtless. They all looked as if they had not bathed in weeks which was likely the case. Some of them had wounds wrapped in dirty rages and a few where clearly in the late stages of the red flue.
Standing on a makeshift stage was the creature which was the real Shizune, behind her was a large line of something he had never seen before. It looked like a cone of some kind made out of multiple colored leaves, there was ten of them total, which ran the entire length of the stage. They looked almost as tall as a two storied building and they screamed to be demon even more then the creatures which surrounded the market.
"Do you see that thin body person standing in the shade?" asked Rin as Kakashi looked toward where creatures had elongated bodies. They had large eyes and when one of them opened their mouth to talk it showed off rows of sharp teeth. "That is Jorogumo, humans thought they were vampires. Beside him is a Ryuu and Yosei."
Kakashi turned away from the creature in the shade to what looked to be a humanoid dragon and what for the lack of a better term looked to be a fairy.
"I know you are all confused and scared but the simple truth is that you have two choices either you die from the red flue or you become one of the creatures you see around this market." said Shizune. "You can turn and rebuild your home and your lives a new with new gifts to go with the new form or you can die."
"Why should we trust you!" yelled a voice from the crowd "You're a traitor."
"Yes, I am." admitted Shizune "I am a traitor to this village and I admit it. Even so this I am not lying here, either you turn or you die. It is my hope that you come willing and make this as easy as possible. I nor anyone else wants anyone else to die."
"Then why did you unleash the virus on us!" yelled a voice
"Because it was the only way, in the distance past humans almost killed us out measuring whole cities larger than the Leaf village." Stated Shizune "Also the process of turning a person is extremely dangerous, the flue weeded out who could make the turn without dyeing and who would die. Even with that there is still a chance of someone dyeing to those people who haven't made it through the flue or are currently fighting it."
"Why should we trust you!" yelled another voice repeating the first question.
"Ok, that is it!" snapped Shizune as everyone looked at her. "I can stand here all day and try to convince you but the simple truth is this, this is going to happen no matter what we are going to take you up here and turn you. Most of you will be reborn and you can rebuild the village in the new age that is here, if you do somehow manage, to get away somehow then you will die a slow and painful death as the red flue takes you. So your choices are making the change as peaceful as possible or you die a slow and painful death."
The crowd fell quiet for a moment as they waited to see what would happen next.
"Come." ordered the Ushi as they moved down the center so that everyone could see him being lead toward the stage.
"They got the copycat ninja?" asked multiple voices from the crowd as Kakashi winced in pain from his leg as he was lead onto the stage. He was not alone as a woman who had clear signs of the red flu across her face and five others until there was ten people standing on the stage.
"What is going to happen?" whispered Kakashi to Rin.
"Right behind you, that plant thing is called the furutsubaki-no-rei, or the soul eating plant." explained Rin "It will either turn you or kill you. Either way it will hurt."
Rin stepped back and for a moment Kakashi stood on his bad leg as well as he could, then he felt a shadow on his back. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as Kakashi turned to see that the plant behind him had opened up to show something that reminded him of a giant venus fly trap only it had see through parts which ran from its mouth down it what looked to be a pot belly near the base. The neck of the plant moved back and forth almost like a snake, then it opened up its mouth which was framed with flowers but Kakashi could see small needles deeper in the mouth and what looked to be muscles behind that. A primeval fear welled up inside the combat veteran ninja as he looked up at the creature.
Then suddenly the head stopped moving and before Kakashi had time to realize it the thing had snapped down on him. His arms where pressed to his side as he felt his legs be lifted off the ground. If he read the movement right he was now upside down and being forced down the neck of the creature. It smelled horribly sweat like fruit which roateted too much but the slim stuck for everything. His skin started to burn as he heard the mouth snap shut behind him. His head reached the bottom belly of the creature which was full of some kind of strange greenish blue liquid. For a moment, he hovered over the pit and then with one last push he fell face first into the pool.
The pool was just deep enough so that he did not hit his head on the bottom; he spun around so that he was face up. With his key ninja eyes he saw that the walls where made out what appeared to be muscles, he could actually see through the front part of the belly. It was blurry but he could see the basic outline of the crowd and Rin most of all. The greenish blue liquid began to move around him, it was twisting and turning as if it was washing machine and he was the dirty uniform inside. In truth his uniform was not in good shape, it was as if the pool was acid of some kind and his cloths was denigrating around him leaving on his flesh behind.
Chakra began to shot out of the walls hitting his body, at first it was only once then it happened again and soon they were coming rapid fire. They came so fast Kakashi could not keep track of the body blows. He naturally tried to shield himself but it was a waste of energy. With each blow he felt his body change, he felt his bones grow and his skin tear. He tried to scream only to have his mouth fill with the liquid, that made his insides burn as his organs shifted inside him. The sides of his head began to hurt as he felt bone growing out from his skull and an even more intense pain from his tailbone.
The pain was almost unbearable as and he was about to pass out when the rate of the chakra shots slowed down, his insides felt better and most importantly the spinning slowed. Then with one burst Kakashi was forced up and out the same opening he had come in. He was upchucked onto the same stage but he was now different. There were gasps as Kakashi and the others came out. Kakashi got on his hands and knees and threw up the liquid which he had swallowed. While he was on his knees Rin came up behind him and threw a towel over his body, his cloths had not made it through the change. The only thing that made it through was the metal part of his ninja headband, which came out with him. The metal was burned away so badly that the Leaf symbol was barely visible.
"Are you alright?" asked Rin as she helped Kakashi to his feet and slowly lead him off stage toward a waiting building where mounds of cloths where waiting to redress the freshly change.
"What am I?" asked Kakashi as he shuffled into the building.
"Take a look." said Rin as she stopped him in front of a large full body mirror. He had to blink a few times, not wanting to believe what he saw in the mirror. His skin had a taken on strange bluish yellow tone, he now had two ram like horns coming out of the side of his head through his silver hair and spinning around into tight buns. He opened his mouth to see that he still had all the same teeth but his tongue was now forked. He moved his arms, they were longer and now had sharp bony points at the elbow but they looked normal enough. Same with his legs only they had bones at the knee joints. A tail similar to Rin's only longer moved behind him.
"You're a lightning Nymph." Explained Rin as she guided Kakashi toward where he could get cleaned and dressed.
"My God, look at what they are doing?" asked Iruka as he and some others hid in the nearby building. They had watched the whole sense not totally believing it but they had just watched ten people including one of their close friends get transformed into one of those things. The former humans where lead off stage toward a nearby building as the next group was led unto the stage for their turn.
"We will deal with that once we are outside the wall, the tunnel is only a couple of building away." ordered Anko as they kept moving as they tried to get away.
Well Kakashi is now a demon, I know not much beside that happened this chapter. I wanted to introduce all the demon types to you so that you would all know what humanity is up against. Until next time please keep reading. Thanks Wilkins75.