Disclaimer: Macdutton doesn't own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
Warnings: Torture, rape, death. Generally a pretty grim chapter.
Ten Days After the Offensive Begins
Torahime was in her own personal nirvana. The blood soaked ground beneath her feet gave way slightly as she spun, the weight of her meteor hammer slamming into a Kumo-nin who had raised a sword to block. The huge weight passed over his blade and reduced his head to pulp, lodging for a second in the remains. Continuing her spin, Torahime pulled her weapon form the corpse as the other hammer flew towards a civilian stupid enough to remain in the streets. Around her, her clansmen moved through the massed shinobi like a tide of death, washing away all resistance. In the distance she saw the ghastly glare of unholy flames, tearing through the village.
As she looked across the streets, at the hundreds of people fighting, killing and dying, she saw one man who stood out. The Raikage was stood upon a cart, beset by five Uzumaki swordsmen, yet still holding his own. Realising the danger of this man, Torahime allowed herself to melt into the shadows.
In the world between worlds, she slowly gathered chakra, compressing it until the pressure became unbearable. At this point, she closed her eyes, concentrating on the dense point of chakra. As it began to expand again, she forced spinning motions to begin. The pea sized orb of chakra spun, the motion stabilising it, forming a vortex that drew in more energy.
Deep in her mind, an eye cracked open, the pupil dilating before a flood of chakra was released, only to be sucked into the vortex. Carefully, Torahime compressed the vortex of chakra further, even as more and more energy was drawn into it.
Finally, she emerged from the Raikage's shadow, holding the chakra orb in her throat.
"You're brave, but I don't really think you can be allowed to live any longer. Goodbye," she whispered, her lips millimetres from the back of his neck. As she gently leaned forward, she whispered, "Uzuton: Jigoku-ho," and kissed his neck.
The world exploded.
Five Years Earlier
Torahime lay on her back on the grass of training field 19, sweating and panting. Nearby, Shikaga was playing go against herself, while Keiko was firing arrows at a target.
This was the scene which met Gai as he returned from his errands. "I see you're training hard, my youthful students!" Gai shuddered, their horrified looks making him realise his slip. Apologising shamefacedly, he attempted to regain his train of thought.
"The Hokage has summoned us for a mission. Most likely it will be a border patrol. Come on, it would be un-youthful to keep our leader waiting." All four of them cringed upon realising what Gai had said.
A few minutes of running later, they arrived at the HokageTower, where they were checked by the guards before being allowed inside. Walking up to the top of the tower, they felt the constant gaze of ANBU in the shadows, their every movements being watched for inconsistencies or signs of aggression.
It was far removed from the relaxed atmosphere this building had just a few years ago.
Reaching a pair of large, imposing doors, Team Gai stopped as their presence was announced. A short time later, they heard the Hokage call them in.
Upon opening the doors, they saw the blond man sat behind the desk, flanked by his mentor, Jiraiya, and his predecessor, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage. Looking up, Minato gestured the team to stand in front of his desk. He looked closely at them, his bloodshot eyes giving away how tired he must be.
"Team Gai, this is going to be your first mission outside of the Village, so I'm going to give you something relatively safe. A border patrol near Kusa. They've been quiet so far, but we've noticed no precursors to violence, so we're considering it a safe area for the moment. Unfortunately, there is the risk of incursion by Iwa. They're still angry after the last war, so they pose a pretty severe danger.
"Another problem is that if you stray too far south, you might come into range of Ame. You are to avoid that at all costs. We have a non-aggression agreement with them, but it's fraught. I don't want to risk opening another dangerous border if I can help it. Beyond that, use your best judgement. Treat any incursions…" the Hokage paused, searching for the right word, "harshly."
The members of Team Gai nodded, not seeing their sensei watching them carefully, before meeting the eye of the Hokage. They shared a nod before Minato passed Gai a small scroll containing their assignment.
"Read that, it contains all the necessary information for your mission. When you arrive, give the team you relieve," he picked up and proffered another scroll, "this. They will not leave their posts until you do."
Gai nodded once again, stowing both scrolls and motioning his team to follow as he left.
Four Days Later, Kusa Border
"Sensei, I see four contacts moving at speed."
Gai cursed under his breath. They'd only just relieved a team of Chuunin, a team much more suited to handling combat. "Where are they? What direction are they heading?" he asked, deciding to hold off on panic. They could be friendlies, after all.
"340m at 96°, travelling North West."
"Identifying marks?" Shikaga asked carefully.
"The lead contact appears to be wearing an Iwa Chuunin jacket."
Gai cursed again. "Right. We'll have to stop them. Keiko-san, can we overtake them?"
"Yes sensei. They are moving at approximately half our current speed. They may be attempting stealth."
"Okay, Torahime-san, get ahead of them, set up a suitable ambush. Shikaga-san I want you to co-ordinate and prepare to trap them. Keiko-san, our first target is the enemy of the highest rank, likely the Chuunin. Once they are down, switch to targets of opportunity. Move out." His orders given, Gai rapidly moved higher in the trees, shadowing his team. While he wanted to make sure they succeeded, he needed to train them to fend for themselves.
Torahime and Shikaga moved ahead of the slow moving Iwa-nin and found a heavily shadowed spot, with plenty of branches to hide the explosive notes and other charges they placed. Retreating into the dense patches of darkness, they vanished to wait. Out of sight of the ambush spot, Keiko took up a high position from which to fire her bow.
The three girls settled in to wait, feeling nervous. They had no idea of the capabilities of these enemies, but they had placed themselves in their path. Were they ready? Would they survive? Torahime's nerves reached a peak as the enemy formation entered the blast zone, seemingly finding nothing amiss.
There was an instant of silence before screams rent the air. Shikaga looked on with detached horror, for the first time realising what explosives do to a human body in close proximity.
Before she could even begin to gather herself up, a blur of orange passed her, a faint growling discernable. The blur descended upon the group of Iwa nin, chains lashing out at the lead ninja, the one wearing a flak jacket, tearing the flesh from his face and neck. As the chain wielding figure moved past the leader, the weapons licked out again, leaving a pair of punctures in the knee and hip of the soldier on the left of the diamond formation.
The attack was over as quickly as it had started, Torahime dropping out of sight as her victims collapsed. The two rear nin, who had been farthest from the explosions, took up defensive positions, as the one who had taken the shots to his legs checked the leader. Although too far away to hear, Shikaga could read his lips as he said, "He's dead." The young man appeared to flinch with pain, most likely from having moved his legs.
As she looked more carefully, she began to evaluate the situation, her training kicking in and pulling her out of her funk. Three remaining combatants, two with minor shrapnel wounds, possibly balance issues from the concussive blast. Final combatant had extensive shrapnel wounds and burns covering his left hand side. Blunt punctures to both legs, probably causing fractures, possibly breaks. All appeared to be Genin level, unlikely to have much willpower or chakra.
Steadying herself and running through a deeply ingrained set of hand seals, she projected her shadow towards the two who remained standing. She ran the shadow underneath the branch they stood on, using its natural shadow to strengthen and speed up the technique, as well as hiding it from view.
A feeling of resistance to her movements informed her that the technique had worked, so sighing in relief, she moved her arms to the sides, watching with detached interest as the Iwa Genin mimicked her.
As she was taking control of the Genin with her Kagemane no jutsu, an arrow bored through the throat of the prone ninja, another one quickly following it to punch through the mans heart.
The remaining Genin, trapped in Shikaga's jutsu, were terrified. They had been led to believe they would be safe in the area. Now they were trapped, their leader dead, powerful, unknown, hidden enemies were around them, and they obviously had no compunctions about killing.
The young kunoichi of the team shivered, unable to do more due to the restraining shadows. This wasn't right. Evil ninja like Kusa and Konoha nin weren't supposed to get the good guys.
From behind came a faint whisper, felt more than heard. "I'm sorry."
Everything went black.
She awoke slowly, confusedly. What had happened? Was there really an afterlife? There must be, it wasn't like she would have survived.
The cold touch of steel against the back of her neck forced her to rethink her idea.
"Hello there. I was hoping you'd wake up soon." There was a smile to the voice, a sound that made her skin crawl. Attempting to look round, to see her captor, she felt another knife dig into her temple. The blade exerted almost no pressure, but the message was clear. Do not turn around.
The voice spoke up again, still with the same smiling tone. "My colleagues don't think a genin could know anything useful." Her heart leapt with hope. Maybe they were just going to kill her… "I disagree." The blood in the kunoichi's veins ran cold.
"I think we can learn plenty of useful information before we get rid of you."
Seconds later, she found herself bound to a lashed together frame, her limbs spread into an X.
The owner of the voice was revealed to be a terrifying apparition. Fur, fangs, claws… and those eyes. Eyes that seemed to burn, to sear their way into her soul. Eyes that belonged to a predator.
Someone was screaming. Distantly, she realised the noise issued from her own throat. She didn't know why she was screaming. She recognised this… creature. A tiger. The terrible beings that haunted the less populous parts of the world, appearing to brutally kill people, then vanishing without the slightest trace. So why was she screaming? It would do no good, she was as good as dead anyway.
"Now there's no need for such noises, is there?" the creature asked, her voice gentle, almost loving. Leaning forward, it brought up a blade, slim and sharp, reflecting the diminishing sunlight. She made shushing noises, leaning forward and caressing the genins face with the tip of the blade, drawing a faint line of blood.
The lips that touched her ear were surprisingly soft as they whispered, "If you tell me what you know, and I like it, it won't hurt as much."
With the terror of this creature, and the promise of less pain if she co-operated, the Iwa kunoichi gladly told all she knew.
"Y-you lied…" a voice whispered.
"Of course I did," a sultry voice replied, lips gently brushing an ear.
"I told you everything. Please, let me die now. Let it stop. Please."
Soft laughter was her only reply. After a few seconds, the knife pressed further into soft flesh, not yet cutting the edges of the hole. Fingers traced elsewhere with disgusting gentleness, confusing the girl further, mixing pain with pleasure she could not deny, no matter how hard she tried.
"Please…" the broken whimper escaped her throat. Slowly, ever so slowly, blood began to seep along the edges of the blade. The hand became rougher, more forceful.
"Beg. Beg for more," the voice moaned into her ear. "Grovel and ask me to give you more."
The kunoichi simply cried for a few minutes, the knife moving slowly, almost imperceptibly.
"Beg."
Tears continued to flow as her mouth opened, betraying her. "Pl-please. Please, more."
"Again."
"P-p-please. Please give… g-give me more. Please." Her voice was imploring, begging for release, although she was no longer sure what from, the pain or the… other thing.
Instead of an answer, the lips that were always just touching her ear moved. They locked onto her own, softly inviting the young kunoichi. The kiss was so loving and gentle, the kunoichi began crying, but no longer in pain and fear.
The hand between her legs began to move faster, bringing moans and whimpers, muffled by the gentle lips pressed to her mouth. No longer seeming to matter, the knife pressed slowly harder, deeper, causing more and more blood to flow down onto the hand holding it, staining the fur crimson.
The kunoichis breath hitched and her body was wracked by shudders, the moans increasing in intensity.
The lips left hers, trailing slowly down to her throat.
All of a sudden, the knife thrust deep inside her, drawing forth a scream of mingled pain, pleasure and horror. As her throat vibrated with the sound, teeth closed, clamping shut before tearing backwards.
Wet lips found their way back to her own, already beginning to feel cold. The hand continued its ministrations, the one with the knife releasing, moving up to cup the back of her neck, drawing her deeply into the kiss.
Fading, her eyes opened, beholding two tangerine orbs, with hearts of inky darkness. If she thought they had burned before, it was nothing to the way they looked now. They looked like twin infernos, yet there was a tenderness there.
Sighing with surprising happiness, she closed her eyes, enjoying the feelings.
Torahime stepped back, blood coating most of her front. She turned her head to see her teammates staring in mute horror, their eyes darting between herself and the body she was lowering to the ground.
"Tora…" Keiko began, clearly horrified, before she cut off, unable to form any more words.
Gai spoke up next, his voice distant, dangerous. "Why?" The single word conveyed so much. It was a multitude of questions, all condensed into a single, simple word.
Torahime shrugged, slowly licking the blood from her lips. "My gift."
The two words were simple, and on their own meant little. But Gai hadn't become a Jonin sensei just for his combat ability. The girls body language and tone spoke volumes to him, and he understood. The understanding was helped by the dead girls face. She was satisfied. Almost happy.
That was Torahimes gift. Giving one last dose of pleasure, taking away the fear of death, just before the end. If it wasn't for the horror he felt at how she had accomplished it, he would be impressed.
What he had seen though, would stay with him forever. A thirteen year old girl, slowly carving the kanji for love onto another young girls abdomen. The same thirteen year old girl raping the other girl with a knife before tearing her throat out with her teeth.
"I will have to submit you for psychological evaluation upon our return," he said heavily. Torahime simply looked at him.
"If you do, I'm guaranteed to be deemed unfit."
Gai knew the words were true. If a psychoanalyst ever got their hands on this girl… Changing the subject in an attempt to collect his thoughts, Gai asked, "This isn't the first time you've killed, is it?"
"No."
"Please. Tell us about it. If you don't talk about these things…" Gai trailed off.
Torahime sat down in the shadows of a tree, closing her eyes and leaning back. She was silent for several minutes before opening her mouth again. "I was eight. I'd been at the academy and I was walking home. I was about a minute's walk from the edge of the Uzu quarter, when four men stopped me." She opened her eyes, and the dead, dispassionate look terrified Gai just as much as her earlier actions. "They called me a demon. A freak. They tried to rape me." Her eyes came alive, shining with the memories. "I… lost myself. I tore them to pieces, ripped off limbs, disembowelled, slashed, clawed and bit. When I really came back to myself, I was eating the leaders still beating heart in front of him." The eyes that were bright, full of terrible pleasure became dark and empty.
"When I really realised what I was doing I stopped. I remember falling to my knees. I was so horrified at what I'd done." The words no longer carried any feeling. It was as if the young girl was simply reading from a script. "I used my claws, tried to rip my own throat out, just to stop it. To escape. Because I was a freak. A demon. A monster." Reaching up, she traced the four scars across her neck. "I came close. So very close. But then Anko found me. She was drunk, leaving a bar to stumble home. She stopped me doing more damage and tried to stop the bleeding. I remember, the whole time she was screaming at me. Telling me that just because ignorant, worthless people force us to do things, that doesn't make us bad. Luckily, a medic heard her, so I lived."
Shikaga spoke for the first time. "That was the week you missed classes at the Academy." It wasn't a question, but a statement of fact.
Torahime nodded before looking at Gai. "Do you think what I did was really wrong? I helped someone die happy. If we'd captured her and taken her back, you know how it would have been." And Gai did know. He had seen the way Ibiki worked. What Torahime had done was actually incredibly merciful. And that simple fact scared him more than anything he had seen or heard that day.
Torahime stood, stretching like a cat. Walking over to the dead girls body, she knelt and stroked her hair. Leaning forward, she gently kissed the still lips before standing up.
"Let's go."