Shadows crept along the ground of the prison. Deep lights echoed from the ceiling of the room, reflecting golden light along the surfaces.
Kidōmaru's fingers laced together. Golden thread spread from the mouth. Kidōmaru rose in the air, ascending along one of many golden threads.
Tayuya's eyes narrowed. Her hand reached downward. "I figured it was some shit like this. You happy?" She pressed her fingers briefly against the scarred bone of the flute.
"Happy is a relative term. But I'm quite pleased that I can kill you, in revenge." Kidōmaru scowled. "Why the hell'd you leave us all behind? You traded sides as though it were natural to you."
"It's not that simple. There were extenuating circumstances." Tayuya scowled. Believe me; I'd like a ton of other options besides leaving you behind. Literally there are many, many things I'd prefer to that. Being boiled alive and so on. But I didn't have a choice. Better I live and you live than we fight to the death.
"Extenuating circumstances? You were just trying to save your own life! Am I wrong?" Kidōmaru demanded sharply. His eyes narrowed as he stared at Tayuya's face.
Tayuya fell silent. Her fingers brushed along the opened holes on the flute. The flow of air momentarily altered. A fresh breeze of air passed through the tip of the flute; Tayuya's fingers cooled as she let the breeze pass over the pad of the finger.
"Whatever. You shouldn't underestimate my abilities." Kidōmaru scowled. "As bosses go, you're nowhere near the toughest I've been up against."
"Believe me. I know. Before we get going." Tayuya's fingers tensed on the surface of the flute. "There's a question I've been meaning to ask you. You shouldn't have fucking wanted to get out here. At least, you wouldn't wait up on patrols. You're not a dumbass."
Kidōmaru smirked. "We were informed. Specifically about your arrival."
Informed? "Interesting." Tayuya's eyes narrowed. "In other words, what's going on here is that someone in Leaf is leaking information to you guys. We've got a traitor somewhere in our midst."
"Maybe." Kidōmaru's eyes narrowed. The golden thread spiraled outward from the body.
"I see." Tayuya smirked. "Well, that does make my next decision a lot easier." That's strange, though. No one's been added to Hidden Leaf recently. Where did the traitor come from? She brought the flute to her lips. The notes echoed from the flute, passing through the cavern delicately. I'll alter it so that those people aren't too excessively affected. It's generally for the best that we act to protect our people.
Kidōmaru's eyes narrowed. "That ain't going to do shit." He smirked. His hand rose in the air, his
Tayuya's eyes narrowed. Hm. As a kumo, he must be reading my voice from the vibrations through the web. He somehow shut off his ears. In other words, aural genjutsu is at a natural disadvantage. Well. That's something I figured might happen. Pity it did. But whatever. Her fingers tightened on the flute. She raised her ring finger. On the edge of the finger her nail glimmered bright gold.
Kidōmaru's eyes widened. Huh?
A wave of water rose through the air.
I didn't see her make even a single seal! Kidōmaru gritted his teeth. Am I already inside a genjutsu? I should've figured that Tayuya-chan wou0ld be a harder boss fight than this! Arrrggh! He clapped his hands golden thread ascended through the air. Kai!
The water faded away into the air.
Knew it. Putting aside the issue of sealless techniques, Tayuya-san can't even use most elemental techniques.
Kidōmaru smirked.
How damn irritating. Tayuya's eyes narrowed. So that thread of his is still capable of absorbing energy.
Kidōmaru's eyes narrowed. She can't enrapture me then. But if that's the case, she'll resort to those giants. He tensed.
Tayuya's hand reached upward. She bit her thumb. Blood dripped downward. "Summoning Technique." A seal resembling a circular painted wave formed on the ground.
Kidōmaru's eyes widened in shock.
Tayuya smirked.
Three lithe, bizarre forms emerged from the darkness.
Mongoose? Kidōmaru's eyes widened. What the hell? Didn't you summon the giants? Why would you switch contracts?! You're not the type to do something unless it benefits you. So how did this benefit you?
One of the mongooses drew out a sword. The other two crept to the sides, grins shining across their flat small faces.
Well, for now, this is a pretty tough level. I'll use a summon of my own and try to figure out what's going on.
Kidōmaru shrank back into the shadows.
Naïve as all hell. I didn't become the demon of Sound for nothing, you dumbass. Tayuya grinned.
The sword glimmered. "Guess we'll handle matters here, Tayuya-aneki." The mongoose smiled brightly. He stepped forward, moving in a zigzagging, lolling fashion.
Tayuya grinned. Her hand extended to her flute once more.
Kidōmaru's hand slammed into the ground. Summoning Technique! A spider formed on the ground.
The mongoose rushed forward. The sword slashed through the air. Both the golden threads and the air glimmered for a brief moment as the severed pieces fell toward the ground.
Kidōmaru's eyes widened.
The spider fell backward. Blood spilled from its body, a deep green.
The mongoose rushed onward, charging Kidōmaru rapidly. The mongoose's blade spun in a circle.
Shit! Kidōmaru exhaled as he studied the surroundings. The blade passed through the body. A log fell downward in two pieces.
The mongoose frowned. "He's made a run for it, Tayuya-aneki."
"Catch up quickly," Tayuya replied. "The more time you give Kidōmaru, the more plans he'll come up with." She frowned. "I'd go myself, but unlike me he's got an advantage in most forms of combat."
"Yes." The mongoose ran forward, its head rapidly bouncing from side to side.
Panting heavily, Kidōmaru glanced over his shoulder.
The wood boards shook.
I can't risk getting too close until I can determine the exact nature of that sword. Under these circumstances, my options are relatively limited. Kidōmaru's eyes narrowed. I underestimated her once, and not again.
Tayuya's lips curled upward. It's good to see your instincts haven't entirely deserted you.
The mongoose's nose twitched. After a moment, it leapt upward, its tail rushing from side to side.
That's too naïve, unfortunately. You can't simply dodge this blade. It's like trying to dodge a river when you're standing right in the middle of it. Have you tried doing so in past? Tayuya's eyes narrowed. The sword is made of concentrated water.
The mongoose's sword slashed through the air.
Kidōmaru ducked backward, his body shaking. He held up his arms defensively. A golden thread covered the vulnerable chest.
The mongoose's blade cut along the surface of Kidomaru's chest, blood rushing down from the flesh. The thread snapped in half.
Kidōmaru gasped. What the hell? The golden thread snapped in half. Kidōmaru screamed. Golden blood poured down from the surface of the skin.
The mongoose's sword slid back into the sheath. The mongoose flickered backward, its feet scurrying along the ground.
Kidōmaru screamed loudly. What's going on? He gritted his teeth. No. Pull yourself together. Right now I still have an advantage. As long as she doesn't try something strange. His eyes widened as smoke filled his vision.
The smoke covered the ground. Wind blew upward across the ground. Tayuya smirked. Her feet slammed into the ground. "Got you. True, my specialty is aural genjutsu, but I'm sure I can get visual to work too."
Kidōmaru's body fell backward. Giant roots wrapped around his body, smoke smelling like sweet honey flowing around the edges of the blade.
Tayuya's arm lowered. "I'm not interested in your present powers. As long as you're still alive." Smoke rose through the air. "I'm fine. Nightmare Smoke Tree."
"Why?" Kidōmaru asked flatly. His voice trembled as he lay motionless on the ground. Slowly, his monstrous transformation faded.
Tayuya frowned.
"Why'd you leave us behind?" Kidōmaru demanded shortly.
"I didn't have a goddamn choice." Tayuya swallowed tightly. Her voice grew thick, choked with emotion.
Kidōmaru growled. "Like hell you didn't. At the end of the day, you chose to let us dry on your life line. When the hell did you become such a bitch?" Kidōmaru inhaled. He swallowed a deep breath. "We were teammates. I considered you a friend."
"Gee. Throw me a pity party." Tayuya's expression grew sour. "When the hell'd you get so touchy-feely, anyhow?"
"I know you might not have thought of me that way, but I would have gone through hell and back to protect you." Kidōmaru scowled. "And somehow you became a frost-cold bitch. Was all that a delusion? Were you really just fucking around with us that whole time? When did you stop caring?"
"Y'know, I don't know the answer to that question either. Probably around the same time Orochimaru became a crazy bastard who gets a high from experimenting on dead people." Tayuya scowled. "What the hell do you want from me? An apology?"
"That'd be a nice start!" Kidōmaru shouted. The roots wrapped tighter around the body.
Tayuya's eyes narrowed. She sat down against a nearby rock. Her hair covered her face, casting her skin in shadows.
"We trusted you! And you let us die, or vanish into this damn hell! Are you trying to tell me you don't feel any guilt over that?!" Kidōmaru's fist clenched. He struggled for a brief moment against the bonds.
Tayuya cleared her throat. "I've done a lot of fucking things I'm not proud about. Thousands of them. I've done 'em to keep on living. And I'll keep doing them until the day one backfires and I die. I'm not going to apologize." She glanced over her shoulder. "Leaf might give a damn about where you end up after this. I don't."
Kidōmaru blinked. He stared down at his body.
"This technique will wear off in around two or three hours. At the end of that time you can probably get out of this jail cell." Tayuya stuffed her hands into her pockets. "But I'd like to hear something from you first. You swear on Sound Five's graves, understood?"
Kidōmaru frowned. "Why should I trust you?"
Tayuya stared toward the window. "You shouldn't," she answered at last. "But given that I'm not cutting open your throat right now, you can make a few goddamn assumptions about how serious I am about my words."
Kidōmaru nodded. "I'm listening."
"Bury yourself here."
Kidōmaru blinked. "Eh?"
"I don't want to hear the name Kidōmaru again. We were comrades and teammates. But I already made my choice and you made yours. When you get out of here, if you do, I want you to completely bury the memory of that guy behind you. Make a new life for yourself." Tayuya sighed heavily.
Kidōmaru exhaled heavily. "Fine."
"Swear it." Tayuya leaned against the wall. Her arms crossed over her chest.
"I swear on Sound Five's graves that Kidōmaru will die here." Kidōmaru looked downward. His hand touched his chest briefly. "Is that good enough?"
"It'll do," Tayuya agreed. She turned away, walking toward the center of the prison.
"Hold up." Kidōmaru raised a finger.
Tayuya frowned. "What is it now?"
"It's about one of the prisoners. There was one who didn't escape."
"Didn't escape?" Tayuya questioned. Her eyebrows furrowed. "But all the jail doors were opened, right?"
"Yeah. They said they didn't want to."
Tayuya's hand fell to her side. "Strange." She studied the walls. "Unnaturally strange. What the hell does it mean?" She walked deeper into the prison, her face darkening.
Kidōmaru looked upward silently. His fingers twitched. "Damn it." He lay motionless on the ground, his fingers twitching. She's going to get away.