a/n Thanks for all your nice reviews all you lovely people!
Special super duper thanks to Uchiha.S, beta genius extraordinaire:) 'Cause you beta LIKE A BOSS! :D
Last time:
I will kill this asshole, for Ryuu! And with that thought, Yuki leapt forward—
Yajirushi drew back his bow and unleashed hundreds of arrows in a singular motion—
And suddenly, just as the fleet of arrows was about to meet Yuki's outstretched kunai, Yajirushi's face flashed in surprise: sharp metal ran right through his back and out through the front of his heart. As blood gushed out of his opened chest cavity, the arrows that had been speeding towards Yuki dropped quite suddenly, falling uselessly to the ground. Yuki's crimson eyes whirled in confusion. She looked up to see another pair of sharingan in a stranger's face looking straight at her from behind one, dying marksman.
And then, Yuki landed on the ground and simply passed out.
Chapter 17
The Lady and the Dragon
I awoke the next morning,
Her brother's eyes where once were mine;
And gasping with newfound sight,
Realized she hailed from the enemy's side.
The First Book of Akash, Verse IV
"Come in, come in vanguard! Are you there? Do you roger that? Vanguard!"
There was no answer on the other end of her walkie talkie.
Shit. Either they are still engaged in battle... Or they're dead.
Gritting her teeth, Aya looked down at the man she had just impaled with her sword. "Damn you, Yajirushi; death is too good for you!" The petite kunoichi knew cursing the man writhing on the ground and gurgling his own black blood was pointless; and some part of her knew that it wasn't his fault— he had been possessed by the chakra of the Slaughterer. But she was so damn frustrated...
She bit her lower lip and formed the hand-signs for fire katon. First, she turned her attention to the wiggling cadaver on the ground and burned a hole through his chest cavity, incinerating his pierced heart and stilling his jerking movements forever. She knew if she didn't destroy the heart, he would rise again. Next, she spat fire down the length of her double-edged sword, burning off the black blood that stained her weapon. While she herself was immune to the blood-borne pathogens from the undead soldiers, she did not want to take any more chances. She sighed. They had already taken too many chances, and too many had died because of it. If only her father were still alive; she just was not cut out for this...
Shaking her head and sheathing her sword, she tried her walkie talkie once more. "Hello? Hello!"
Still no answer.
Cursing, she made her way over to the prone body of the Uchiha girl and began administering first aid. Aya let out a low whistle of appreciation. Well, all things considered, she held up quite well against Yajirushi. After all, that madman had taken out quite a number of her own, tough warriors who were twice this whelp's age. She bit off the cap of a hypodermic needle and administered the antidote. This will take care of the physical poison; but the chakra infection is a little tougher to handle. Lucky for you, I know the cure. Many of my kinsman died for this wisdom...
She held out glowing hands. As she worked, the space around Yuki's body was illuminated, revealing erie green chakra with pockets of dark swirling energy. Despite her own impatience to reconnect with her team, she forced herself to move slowly. This was tedious, painstaking work, and if she rushed it, the young girl before her would pay with her life: if that happened, Aya would have failed her mission. Slowly, slowly, the dark patches around the girl's body were replaced by healthy green light. Just as Aya was finishing her work, Yuki's eyes fluttered open, her new sharingan still activated.
"Am I dead?" she asked, her voice tinged with sleep, the commas in her eyes spinning slowly.
Aya smiled. "No. No, you're not dead, and I'm no angel. Stay still now, I'm almost done." Aya forced more chakra in her hands until finally, the infected chakra was purged. "Here, bite down on this." The woman handed Yuki a piece of leather. "I'm going to get that barbed arrow out of your shoulder."
"What about Ryuu?" Yuki broke in, quickly regaining consciousness. "You've got to heal him! He's in worse shape than me!"
"Ryuu?" Aya looked up, and sure enough, there was a blond boy stuck through with arrows as if he were a human pin cushion; he lay still as a stone at the edge of the clearing. That must be the Hokage's son... Aya nodded; now that the poison in Yuki's system had been dealt with, the flesh wound could wait. Technically, the Hokage's son was an enemy nin, but Aya had already seen too many children die; she would save this one, if she could.
The real question was: how long could Aya hold her ground before she was either overtaken by the soulless guard, or by the Konoha nin? She wasn't sure which was worse, honestly.
"Listen kitten, I'm going to try to connect with my team. Then I'll take a look at your friend." Aya utilized her radio, but was met with silence again on the other end. Sighing, she scooted towards the boy, pulled down his eyelids, and checked his vitals. The poison has already spread to his vital organs. Looks like an arrow hit an artery above the heart as well. And last but not least, his chakra system is completely shot. If it weren't for the physical injuries, he would just become one of the soulless. As it is, he's about to meet his maker.
Aya took a deep breath before looking at Yuki, who had dragged herself to the clearing's edge, and was looking up at Aya expectantly. "I'm sorry kid, but there's nothing I can do for your friend." Aya's voice was steady; she supposed she had become all too accustomed to seeing dead children, dead friends and fathers... And anyway, there was no space for emotions out here on the battlefield: Aya had a mission to complete.
"But— you have to! You can't just give up!" Yuki would have gone on, but she was caught in a coughing spasm. Flecks of blood speckled her white shirt. Finally, she managed, "He—he saved my life. You have to try!" There were unshed tears in Yuki's eyes, tears that reflected the red of her whirling sharingan; it looked like she was about to weep a river of blood.
Aya grimaced at the sight, and her heart sank down into her stomach. Perhaps she was not as immune to emotions as she thought. She bit her lower lip, then offered with a sigh, "I'll ask his spirits... But if Lady Death has claimed him, then there is nothing I can do." The girl blinked in confusion, but Aya ignored her and instead rolled down the boy's eyelids again. She gazed into them, her sharingan activated.
Aya found herself in a beautiful tea room, decorated with paper streamers and photographs of the sea. The place was empty except for two figures.
"Hey— who are you? Are you an angel, too?"
That must be the blond boy...Ryuu. "No Ryuu, I'm not an angel." Why did everyone think she was some kind of heavenly being today? If anything, she was far from it. Shaking her head, Aya continued, "I've come to ask you a very important question, kid. Did you drink any tea or eat any of those cookies?" Aya gestured towards the lavish spread in front of the boy.
Ryuu nodded. "Uh-huh. They were really good..."
The Lady across from him smiled.
Ryuu continued with a grin, "The Lady says that where I'm going, there will be lots of tea and cookies. She said my grandparents are really excited to meet me! Which is really cool! 'Cause I've like, never met them!"
Aya nodded. "I'll take my leave then, Ryuu, my Lady."
The elderly woman smiled and patted the boy on his head affectionately. "Are you ready to go now?" she asked the child sitting beside her.
Ryuu pressed his lips together in thought. "I...I think I need to say goodbye first..."
The Lady nodded. "You don't have much time... But I do believe I can grant that request..."
Aya leapt—
And found herself back in the grassy clearing, cradling the blond boy's head in her lap. He began to cough.
"Ryuu! Thank the Spirits, you're alive!" Yuki cried joyfully as she dragged herself over to her comrade.
Ryuu smiled at her, glassy eyed. "Yuki-chan, there's something I wanted to tell you." His voice was oddly calm and clear; Aya was surprised he could speak at all, considering his extensive injuries. The Lady's kindness is truly abundant...
"What—what is it?"
"Tell my family that I love them. That...I'll look after them. Tell sensei and Cho, too. Yuki?"
"Ryuu, don't— you sound like you're— Ryuu!" Yuki croaked. Aya averted her misting eyes; was she always doomed to witness such partings? If only I had arrived sooner...
"I love you too, Yuki-chan. Always have. I'm glad I got to...die...protecting you...like a true...shinobi..." Ryuu's gravelly voice began trailing off. Aya could tell that he didn't have much more time.
"Don't die on me! Ryuu! Ryuu, please! Don't leave me!" Yuki cried hysterically.
Ryuu looked at her in confusion. "Well...it's not like we're ever really separate...the Lady told me that... And...I'll...definitely...be...looking out for you... Just in a different way..." His expression turned weak and dreamy, but even so, he managed to grin at her. "You'll have to train...extra hard...for me, okay? Watch out for my parents, and my little sisters for me...down here...okay? Promise."
"I— I Promise! Ryuu-kun..."
"Thank you..." he whispered. He closed his eyes, and his labored breathing stilled.
Yuki was sobbing, starring at her mute comrade in disbelief. Must be the first death she's seen. Poor thing, she looks a lot older than she really is... How old did the elder tell her the Uchiha girl would be? Ten?You've got to hand it to the Slaughterer, he's a vicious fellow. Targeting a mere girl. Aya shook her head and gently lay Ryuu's head back down on the grass, pausing briefly to say a prayer to the Lady. And then she looked at Yuki, curled up in a fetal position, the blood from her wound oozing slowly down her shoulder.
Aya sighed. I've got to get her out of here before we're apprehended. I've already taken too long! "Yuki-chan," she offered softly, "We've got to get going."
"NO! I can't just leave him here! And Sensei, and Cho, they're here too!"
All the more reason to get you out of here before they find me. "Yuki-chan, look at me." Aya said it in a commanding tone; the girl sniffled and met Aya's whirling red eyes. Good.
Yuki instantly passed out, placed under a gentle genjutsu. Aya sighed, deactivated her doujutsu, and picked up the girl's body. "Let's get you back to the village—"
Suddenly, her walkie talkie came alive: "Kchhh! Commander! Commander, come in! We were ambushed by Konoha nin, I repeat— kchhhhh."
The line went dead.
Oh Fuck.
"Stop right there!"
Aya winced and turned to find herself staring up at the Hokage and Uchiha Sasuke.
This won't do. Aya made some quick calculations in her head. I can't risk fighting the disciples of the Sanin while my team is missing in action. So I'll have to settle for the next best thing...
"Put the girl down! Do it!" The dark haired man— whom she assumed was Sasuke— bellowed at her, his sword drawn and enhanced with lightening.
I guess it's no use reasoning with this guy that I just saved his daughter's life, not at a time like this. After all, it was awfully suspicious how I was about to kidnap her, for all intents and purposes. "Ok, I'm putting her down. It was never my intention to harm either of these two— I'm sorry I came too late." You have no idea how sorry I am...
As Aya placed Yuki down on her arrow-free side, the Hokage barked, "And if you didn't do it, then who did?"
Aya gestured with her head over to Yajirushi's limp, charred body. "Sorry, I'm more of a sword girl myself. Arrows aren't my thing." Aya brushed Yuki's forehead with an almost motherly gesture as she placed a seal on the girl.
"Stop that! What the—"
But before they could apprehend her, Aya blended invisibly back into the forest.
Time to collect my people while the enemy is distracted...
Cho wanted to weep, but she wouldn't let herself. She was nearly out of chakra, and yet her sensei was still struggling for breath. Please, just please hold on Ryuu, Yuki! I can't give up on sensei! She silently funneled more chakra into her hands, concentrating it over the wounded lung. If only... But Cho stifled her wishful thinking and concentrated on the task at hand.
It was so frustrating! She kept putting her chakra into the healing, and the lung wouldn't mend! And even for someone from the Akamichi clan, with an almost boundless supply of chakra, Cho was nearly at her limit.
Suddenly, there was a rustling in the underbrush. Oh dear gods! Cho hadn't been able to set out traps, and now, with little to no chakra left, she was in no condition to fight. I can't take my hands off of sensei! I'm the only thing between him and death! Cho fervently wished that she had been better at genjutsu, like Yuki. Well, there's not much I can do. If I stop healing sensei, he'll die— I'll just have to wait and see what happens. Maybe it's just a squirrel? Please Kami, let it just be a squirrel...
Well, whatever it was, it was definitely making too much noise to be a small rodent. Cho held her breath as the sound became louder and louder—
"Oh thank Kami, we've found you!"
"Hokage-sama!" Cho gushed. "Thank goodness! Please, we've got to get sensei to the hospital!"
Naruto wanted to say two things—one, that he was only a clone, and two, wasn't she forgetting their client, who was also struggling with a flesh wound just a foot away? But time was of the essence, and he had no time to explain. "Keep your hands on your sensei— I'm going to transport all of us right away!"
"Okay," Cho managed, her voice strained and weary.
Naruto's clone grabbed the client's hand. "Shit, he's stone cold," he mumbled under his breath.
Cho grimaced; she had momentarily forgotten about their underhanded client. If only she had been a better healer, she could have saved both of them. She bit her lower lip. Even though the client had stabbed her sensei, if she had kept him alive, they could have brought him in for questioning! That was one of the first rules of being a ninja: capture enemies alive whenever possible. Doing so would provide valuable, lifesaving intel to the village. She felt like such a failure as she held out her trembling hand to Naruto. He promptly took hold of her and activated his transport jutsu: they were gone in a yellow flash.
After the lurch of the hiraishin, Cho rapidly blinked her eyes: they were in Konoha hospital. Too exhausted to stand, the kunoichi collapsed on the floor from sheer exhaustion. Her last thoughts before total oblivion claimed her were, Please, Kami... Bring Yuki and Ryuu home alive...
"Yuki-chan, wake up." Sasuke cradled his daughter in his arms. "Please. Please wake up..." he croaked.
"Otousan..." Yuki called blearily, still half caught up in a genjutsu.
"Yuki-chan!" Sasuke called, unable to mask the relief in his voice.
"Otousan, please don't call me Yuki-chan. Yuki-san will do nicely..." The semiconscious girl rubbed her eyes and was surprised that she was not in her bedroom. I'm in a grassy clearing in a forest? Where am I? Suddenly reality hit her like a ton of bricks—
"RYUU!"
"It's ok. I'm here," Sasuke breathed, holding his daughter as best he could without jostling the arrow protruding from her back.
From the shelter of her father's arms, her eyes took in the ghastly scene before her— Ryuu's mangled body was embraced by the Hokage. She couldn't see Naruto's face, as his back was to her, but she could see his body shuddering.
"Otousan—is Ryuu—?" She continued to stare at her companion's unmoving form, the blood from his multiple wounds already beginning to cool and congeal in ruby lumps.
Sasuke didn't know what to say, so instead he just clutched his daughter closer. Yuki blinked, completely numb for a moment, until all of her grief came crashing down on her at once.
"Oh! Shit! Otousan, it's all my fault! It's all my fault!" she wailed into his chest, her cries muffled by his shirt.
"It's not your fault, Yuki-chan."
"Shut up! You weren't there! How do you know— fuck! He died saving me! Oh Kami..." Yuki became quiet; she whispered, "He died...saving me...it should have been me...he was after me, it should have been me. Ryuu shouldn't have..." Ryuu shouldn't have died! The words died on her lips; they were too painful, too real, and it couldn't be true, could it? Ryuu couldn't be dead...
Sasuke shook his head. Gathering up Yuki in his arms while minding her wound, he walked up behind Naruto, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We should go."
Naruto nodded. He unfastened his Hokage's cloak, and draped it over Ryuu's body as a shroud. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at Sasuke and Yuki. "Yuki-chan, are you ok?" he murmured, his voice as weak as an invalid's.
"Y-Yes...Hokage-sama," she managed through chattering teeth.
"Thank goodness." It was barely a whisper. Then he looked up into Yuki's eyes—"Seems like you have the sharingan, Yuki-chan."
Yuki blinked; it was frightening to hear the Hokage's voice sound like that, so feeble and broken, free of any inflection. "Y-Yes...Hokage-sama..."
Suddenly, a look of recognition rolled across Naruto's face. "Ah. One of my clones located Cho and Konohamaru. They're in the hospital now."
Then it was silent, and the ninja just stood, motionless, in the middle of the clearing.
"Naruto...do you want me to go after...?"
The Hokage shook his head. "No. Let's go back."
They were gone in a yellow flash.
Well, so much for war breaking out. Sakura had been waiting around for quite some time, and not only was the village not under attack, but there was still no word from Naruto or Team Five. Contrary to what Hoshiko and Saki thought, Sakura did know her daughter was being targeted, but wasn't feeling worried in the slightest. After all, you don't fuck around with Naruto and Sasuke. Those two have taken down armies of zombies, half of the Akatsuki, and Uchiha Madara. Sakura looked at the clock and sighed. I suppose a little nap couldn't hurt. I'm exhausted... Yawning dramatically, she leaned her head against her desk...
The next thing she knew, Ino was yelling stridently in her ear.
"Wh-ha?"
Ino, instead of answering Sakura's maladroit question, began dragging her away by the crook of her arm.
"Ino-pig, what's going on!" Sakura barked. In a moment, she was sorry for yelling, as she realized Ino's eyes were red and puffy—something was up.
"Konohamaru has a punctured lung and my baby is passed out cold from chakra exhaustion. I need you on that lung. I'll take care of Cho-chan."
"Oh shit! Ino... What about the rest of Team Five?"
Ino exhaled slowly as she ran. "We don't know yet..."
Sakura, ignoring the feeling of dread welling up in her gut, shook her head and began running to the operation room. A team of nurses were already assessing the situation. Not good... Konohamaru's face was ashen, and he was struggling for breath. "Ino! I need you to get Cho conscious as soon as possible— any information she has is going to be valuable!"
"Already on it," the blonde grunted, her hands already aglow with chakra over her daughter's body.
Sakura gathered green chakra into her own hands and began fusing Konohamaru's lung back together. After a few moments, she was panting for breath. Shit! It's not working! Damn it, why won't the tissue regenerate?
"Get me Tsunade-sama!" Sakura roared, sending the attending nurses rushing around like chickens without heads. This is bad... She looked up into Konohamaru's face, and saw his lips were starting to blush blue. This is really bad...
Yuki blinked slowly, the irritating florescent lights of the hospital momentarily blinding her. She closed her eyes and willed her sharingan to deactivate, as the sensitive jutsu was a hindrance in the garish light. For a moment, Naruto and Sasuke just stood there, bathed in the neon light, their shadows glowing greenly on the white tiled floors. The ventilation system switched on, and a stale breeze ruffled the cloak enshrouding Ryuu's rigid body.
"Hokage-sama! Thank goodness, are you hurt?" Shizune tucked a clipboard under her arm and beamed up at the blond in relief.
Naruto took a deep breath. "Yuki needs a doctor. I..." His voice broke, and he grew silent.
Yuki shook herself out of her stupor and motioned for her father to put her down, which he did, albeit too slowly for her liking. She winced as her wound partially reopened from the movement. "Otousan, please aid the Hokage-sama. I'm perfectly capable of walking on my own."
Sasuke's hand lowered to his sides slowly, as if he couldn't stand letting her go; but in a moment, he nodded. "Shizune...we need a room...for... Ryuu-kun."
"I'll get a doctor for him right away—where is he?"
Sasuke shook his head. "Just— empty room?"
Shizune paled visibly. "Across the hall..." She pointed to the empty room, her voice trailing off uncertainly as Naruto jerked forward, carrying an ominous bundle in his arms.
Yuki leaned her head against Shizune's arm. "Can you please remove this piece of shit from my shoulder," she ground out, her vision swimming.
The medic refrained from chastising the genin for her language, and instead wordlessly led her away. Opening a door into a sterile white room, she nervously offered, "Your mother is busy working on your sensei—"
"How is he?" Yuki barked.
Shizune reached for her medical tools and chose her words carefully. "He's in good hands."
And she's evading the question. Not a good sign, not by a long shot.
Yuki resisted the urge to hiss and instead, replied as evenly as she could, "Take me to my mother. I've got information."
"But—"
"Now! I need to go now!" she spat with fury, ignoring the stars exploding in her field of vision. "I have sensitive information about the poison the enemy used!" I can't lose another comrade—I can't!
Shizune gulped in light of Yuki's determination. "Ah. Fine. I'll do the operation in the main room."
Ignoring Shizune, Yuki stood and stumbled; clenching her fists, she forced herself to walk as quickly as possible out of the room. Shizune scurried after her, following her to the operating room on the next floor. As they climbed the steps, Yuki bit back yelps of pain as the arrow tore a bit deeper into her already tender flesh. She reminded herself that the pain was nothing: she had things to do. Shinobi do not cry, shinobi do not feel pain...
She stormed into the operating room like a feral tiger, throwing the doors open and shooing the nurses away with her icy glare. "Okaasan!"
Sakura almost shook with relief. "Yuki, I'm so glad—"
"Save it. Sensei was stabbed in the back by our client. The knife he used was poisoned. Cho— is she okay?"
Her mother exhaled slowly. "Yeah...Cho is fine. Just passed out from chakra exhaustion. Where is Ryuu-kun?"
Yuki closed her eyes and fought down a wave of nausea; she willed her gelatinous brain to think. So. They didn't know yet about Ryuu; but Yuki would not—no, could not— be the one to tell her. Yuki had to help save her sensei. She forced down the memories of what had happened no more than one hour ago and swallowed the bile rising in the back of her throat. Ignoring her mother's question, she spat, "It's likely that the knife used against sensei was laced with the same poison our enemy used in the field. Not only does the toxin target the vital organs, but also implants some kind of virus into the chakra system—"
"Move out of the way! Tsunade-sama is here!" a nurse cried, breaking into Yuki's thoughts.
"Troll, let someone get that arrow out of your back!" Tsunade spat as she passed Yuki.
Sakura sighed and made way for her mentor, muttering, "I can't seem to mend his lung. Yuki mentioned something about a chakra pathway virus...?"
Tsunade nodded and held out her hands over the gray ninja. "Shizune! Take that piece of garbage out of Yuki's shoulder while she tells me everything she knows."
"Yes ma'am!" Shizune squeaked.
Yuki was ushered into a chair while Shizune readied her surgical instruments. Yuki glared across the room at the former Hokage and all but shouted, "I was just telling my mom. The knife sensei was stabbed with was probably laced with a poison that carries a chakra virus. I think it's similar to what the enemy was using on his arrows."
"A chakra virus. And that means what, exactly?"
Yuki frowned. "I'm not really sure. That's just what the enemy told me. After I used some shadow clones as a distraction, the damage they underwent from his arrows was transferred into my chakra system— as if my chakra itself was being poisoned."
Tsunade nodded. "Well, that would explain why your sensei isn't healing— but how are you still standing?"
Yuki grimaced as Shizune began to cut into the already sore flesh in her shoulder. "Because— Some. Lady. Gave. Me. The. Antidotes. Gah!" One of the nurses offered her a bit of leather to bite on, but Yuki shot her a death glare until the nurse beat a hasty retreat.
Tsunade sighed sharply, her hands hovering above Konohamaru's chest. "Brat! What do you mean, some lady?"
"Yeah. She. Saved. Ah. My. Life. But. That's. Neither. Here. Nor. There. Damn it— Fuck! Shit! Ah..." Yuki swore as the arrow was removed, almost passing out from the intense pain. She sighed as the wound was washed and bandaged, shivering a little at the new blood trickling down her back.
"Hate to bother you Yuki-chan, but did you say antidotes, as in plural?"
"It's kind of hazy, Tsunade-sama." Yuki took a deep breath, then continued, "I was half dead at the time. But yeah...she gave me an internal treatment, and then she did something to my chakra network..."
"Sakura, take a sample of Yuki's blood and analyze the antibodies. Someone come over here and apply constant chakra to Konohamaru's wound—we need to feed it a steady supply until we can resolve this. Ino, hand your daughter off to Shizune, and come and probe Yuki's mind."
"Um...Tsunade-sama?" Yuki ventured.
"What?" she barked.
"I think I can remember if you give me a minute..." Yuki didn't feel like mentioning that her sharingan had captured the end of the procedure. Bringing up her newly acquired sharingan now would lead to awkward and annoying questions: questions she did not want to answer. Because after all, the sharingan usually activated under extreme stress. Ryuu...
"You're in no condition to heal anyone yourself, nor can you relay the information accurately enough. Ino!" Tsunade commanded.
Yuki tried to protest, "But—Ino's... She's not going to like what she sees!"
"Inconsequential," Tsunade muttered, all but ignoring Yuki as the former Hokage fumbled with medical implements.
"Hn." Yuki took a deep breath; she was too tired to fight. Still swooning from the removal of the projectile and from the day's events, she merely clenched her teeth as Ino approached her. If Ino could glean the pertinent information from Yuki's memories and save her sensei, she supposed it mattered little.
Ino smiled at Yuki, thinking that the preteen was just being overly dramatic as usual, which just caused Yuki to grimace even harder. Don't say I didn't warn you Ino-san...
Ino was barely into the probe when she slumped down on her knees. "Oh! Yuki-chan!" Ino whispered, falling to her knees.
Yuki glared at her. "Just keep going! Get to the part where the weird lady heals me, damn it. That's what you're supposed to be doing! For fuck's sake, sensei is counting on me!" I can't let another comrade die! Damn it Ino, if he dies it's my fault, my fault, MY FAULT!
But Ino couldn't stop weeping.
a/n will do my best to update within the next two weeks:)
Please let me know what you think of this chapter via your review; it was really hard to write, and your feedback would be really helpful!