Chapter 2

They were relentless.

Grimacing at the strange pipe that clipped her shoulder, she launched herself backwards, doing her utmost to outrun the two strange men.

They were on a completely different level and managed to keep up with her without an issue. Almost like they weren't even human as one soared by her on his strange creature, the other taking a simple, extra leap to run alongside her.

"You're already breathless," the red-haired man said without pause. If she were to talk while running at a dead sprint, she was certain she wouldn't sound as composed as he did. "And you cannot use chakra, from the looks of things."

Chakra? What was that? Wait, wasn't it supposed to have something to do with the inner powers, or–

Inner power.

Damn, she really was in way over her head if they scared her that much to make her forget about her other self.

"A civilian with odd healing abilities, perhaps?"

Before the man could continue his analysis of her (like they were sat in an examination office rather than her running for her damn life), she surprised the pair of them by raising a hand to her mouth, biting down hard enough to draw blood.

He immediately put distance between them when a bolt of lightning struck the ground where she was standing, lighting up the area around them, threatening to blind them all.

At the summoning, her huge ass self took over, the sudden transformation leaving her breathless though she did not fight it. Instead, she shut her eyes, watching through the eyes of her other self.

The two men were staring up at her, but she couldn't read their expressions even though the blond was certainly more open than the redhead. They'd come to a halt in their pursuit, skidding in the dirt before taking surprisingly huge leaps backwards to put as much distance between them as possible.

But being fourteen metres tall made that pretty futile, didn't it?

"An Akimichi?" she heard one of them demand.

Standing to her full height, she glowered down at the two men, now confident in her survival rate because surely, she now stood a chance against them?

"I have never seen one expand to this size."

Why had they even attacked her? Had she somehow presented herself as a threat? Was it her lack of communication skills that caused the issue? The blond one had said she'd wanted to join them after gesturing to their cloaks – perhaps that was the issue?

Whatever it was, she wasn't sticking around to find out.

She needed to survive to find out the truth.

Causing them both to (hopefully) panic, she leapt straight over them in a single stride, making the ground quake threateningly with each of her stomps as she darted away and back into the forest. While being as huge as she was made it close to impossible to stay hidden, the trees were easily twice the height of her in some places and once mingled with them, she would be able to change back and hide, just for a while in case they–

Instinctively, her hand came to the back of her neck the second the air around her became distorted, but she was completely unprepared for the force that threw her straight off her feet and into the nearest tree. It cracked under the assault, soon collapsing into several other trees and taking her with it. Still, throughout it all, her hand never left the back of her neck, keeping her weakness guarded.

"If this is an Akimichi, then that means Konoha is involved."

Akimichi? Konoha? Were they people's names? Organisations, perhaps? Did that mean those two did know about what she was or what had happened to her?

Hand falling blindly behind herself, she tried to find something that would help her in getting back up but had to settle on warily releasing her neck to steady her balance while standing. Even though her huge ass self was impressive, it was something she wasn't yet used to and the sudden shift in body mass was difficult to master, especially when she didn't know what the hell she was doing.

Even if they did know something, why would she want to follow or trust them? They'd just decimated an entire town and chased her even in her other form – clearly, they didn't fear her like she'd hoped that they would, which was ridiculous because who in their right mind didn't fear someone who was fourteen metres tall?

Then again…

They didn't seem all there. The blond one had laughed when the attack had knocked her on her ass and the other seemed way too calm in the situation, like he had no reaction whatsoever, but what kind of human didn't feel anything?

Once more standing tall, she narrowed her eyes when the blond flew higher and higher, intent on reaching her face.

She gritted her teeth and swung, aggravated by her own slow movements as he managed to dodge the majority of her attacks.

And then something floated into her peripheral, time seeming to slow down as the strange white creature came to a halt in front of her eyes for just a second before promptly exploding, the man's yell lost in the sound of the deafening boom. She didn't even have the chance to look shocked as she was sent stumbling backwards, catching herself just in time before she could trip over the previously broken tree, ears ringing painfully.

Damn it. What was the point in being able to transform if she was still outclassed? Had she always been that way? Was it because she didn't have her memories that she couldn't fight to the best of her ability? Had she still had them, would she have stood a chance?

"Oh? You can withstand that much, yeah?" the blond was jeering at her, his hair blowing back as he hurtled towards her at a speed she couldn't keep up with. "How about this?"

Shit–

Her hands came to her neck and she closed in on herself, willing with all her heart that that wasn't the end for her – it couldn't be. It was simply too tragic. She needed to figure out what happened to her and why and who the hell was responsible.

She couldn't die to those two clowns!

Stunning them, just as the creature reached her, she lunged to her feet and jumped, putting everything she had into the movement to avoid the blast.

She didn't know what the hell he was taking to be able to send kamikaze creatures her way and she didn't care enough to find out.

All she knew was that she had to survive!

Landing with a vindictive growl, she crouched low and sprung again, going against the natural instinct of needing a more open space to fight in such a humongous form by hurtling herself between trees. Each one she landed on groaned and collapsed under her weight, but the moment they began their fall, she launched herself off them and to the next one.

Now, she growled inwardly upon seeing an opening as she had him confused with her acrobatics.

Her heavy body protested as she threw herself at him but she ignored it, her fingers curling around the blond and squeezing tight, refusing to let him go. She landed noisily back onto the ground and created another dangerous quake, but she paid it no mind since it didn't effect her own balance, bringing him up to meet her wide-eyed glare of cold fury.

A single blue eye met hers, the other covered by a thick fringe of hair and she was startled by the intense urge to chomp down. A similar feeling she experienced while hunting threatened to overwhelm her – to the extent where she brought her other hand to join the first, the pair gripping him tightly – and she shook with exertion, attempting to control herself.

But…

The man's eye was wide when she licked her lips, her heart's pounding reverberating throughout her huge ass body.

She swallowed in a sad attempt to control her salivating.

"O-Oi, you–" He cut himself off, head thrown back with a sudden shout of pain.

It was only in that moment that she realised how valiantly he was struggling to escape her grip and she eyed him curiously, pitting him up in her head against the animals she'd hunted and eaten.

Was it really so different?

Just a little taste…

To hell with it, she decided and opened her mouth, intent on ending it once and for all. They were going to kill her, after all. Why shouldn't she eat them?

Wait.

Them.

Shit, she'd forgotten about the redhead! Where–

She was forced to release the blond when his friend came to his rescue, the feeling of grains tickling around her neck frightening her as she realised she'd left herself wide open. Uncaring of what happened to her meal when dropped from almost fourteen metres, she reached up, clawing at the grains of what she presumed to be sand, terrified when they began to harden into a choker, of sorts.

It wrenched her head back, seemingly controlled by something and soon enough, her clawing was put to a stop when more sand wrapped around her wrists. That time, however, she could see clearly what it was and at the sight of the strange black sand, she fought even harder to free herself, yelling out angrily and in fear, unaware of the blond covering his ears at her screams.

The fight halted dramatically when the redhead reappeared, landing on her cheek without using anything to hold onto. But how was that possible? How could he stand on her face like that without falling to his death?

His dead brown eyes bore into hers, searching her features. "What a contrast to who you were prior to this transformation," he muttered in what she assumed was intrigue. Too frightened to move now that she was unable to protect her weak spot, she simply stared back with a wide, fearful gaze. "Other than the expansion of their bodies, an Akimichi does not change their appearance. Their faces remain the same. You, on the other hand, are now repulsive to look at."

Bastard…

"What's more, from what I know of the clan, despite being so hungry all of the time, they are not cannibals." He leaned impossibly closer to look into just one of her eyes, studying her. "How intriguing."

Feeling he was relatively distracted by examining her eye, she began struggling again only to gasp in pain when her knees were targeted, forcing her to fall first to her knees, then flat on her front when something attacked her back.

Their surroundings were once more disturbed by the sudden fall, but she didn't have the chance to focus on what was blown away from the shockwave of her descent.

Grimacing, she turned her face out of the dirt.

"It seems you have no communication skills in either form," the redhead continued like nothing had happened.

She warily opened her eyes to look at him, overwhelmed with helplessness as he walked up to her face. He didn't stand on her that time, instead remaining a few feet away from her.

"Who cares?" the blond demanded. It was only then that she realised he was standing on top of her head. Obviously, he'd been the one to knock her down. "Just let me kill her for trying to eat me, yeah. We've got places to be."

This isn't fair, she thought to herself.

All she'd wanted was to find out the truth.

"Oh?"

She didn't ask for any of this.

She just wanted to know who she was and why she could transform into a different being.

"Tears?" the blond questioned before promptly stomping on her head repeatedly, yelling angrily, "You should be crying, yeah! You tried eating me! What the hell was that even about, huh?

"Knock it off, Deidara."

But he didn't, instead directing his anger at the redhead as he snapped, "Easy for you to say. You weren't the one almost cannibalised!"

"Perhaps it was a self-defence mechanism?"

"You saying this isn't actually a person?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course it's still a person."

"Tch." Giving one last stomp, Deidara hopped off her head to join his partner in staring at her destitute, teary features. "Now what? Are you going to keep her as a pet, yeah?"

Why were they talking about her like she wasn't even there when the redhead had just stated that she was still a person? Didn't that grant her some kind of warmth? Then again, why would she deserve anything like that after almost allowing her instincts to overrule her? That guy must have been terrified.

The redhead hummed thoughtfully, like he was contemplating going through with Deidara's question and it sent hard, cold dread straight to her stomach, where it knotted up and weighed her down sickeningly. It was a good thing she hadn't eaten him, otherwise she would've thrown him back up.

They weren't human, were they? That had to be what it was. They weren't human and that was why they were so fast and strong and so incapable of showing just an ounce of mercy. They'd slaughtered a village, had chased her down and threw freaking bombs at her despite being essentially defenceless against them.

No.

They weren't human.

And they sure as hell were not making her their pet!

Just as Deidara drew closer to her, she twisted against the restraints and snapped her teeth at him. Thankfully, it gave her the space she needed for he startled, leaping backwards and returning to the strategic distance the other guy employed.

"Oi."

Angrily, she looked to the redhead, baring her teeth at him like the bear had her.

"You're not helping yourself here."

Like she cared! They were monsters.

"I am deciding on your fate, which is more than you deserve after attempting to eat my partner."

Deidara harrumphed at that, smirking. "Thanks, Sasori-no-Danna."

He said nothing that indicated he even heard his thanks. Keeping his lifeless gaze glued to her, he murmured, "Transform back."

And leave herself completely defenceless against them?

"H… He…"

"Oh?" Sasori stepped forward, head tilting downwards like he was trying to meet her eye. "So, you can talk?"

Not without a great strain, apparently. She was physically shaking with the effort, her teeth chattering whenever she tried to mimic the way they moved their mouths to talk. How did they make it seem so effortless? Like the words just flew out of them without a second thought?

"Is she an invalid?" questioned Deidara and he squinted at her, lip curling. "She looks-"

"Quiet, Deidara," Sasori ordered sharply before crouching, eyes never leaving hers. "What are you trying to say?"

Gods, what indeed? All her struggling was making it harder to remember, to put together what she wanted to say.

"…n-nyo…"

No, that wasn't right. She could tell by the faint frown that was marring Deidara's features. He looked between her and Sasori, seeming irritated by the sudden infatuation.

"Just take her back to Ame with us, yeah. Uchiha's there. You'll get your answers."

Ame? Uchiha? What the hell was that and why did she suddenly fear it? It had to be because of the way Deidara said the name, like it was the worst curse word known to man – or like it would dirty him merely whispering the name. The hatred and disgust were impossible to ignore, setting her further on edge.

"We cannot take her as she is."

Deidara sighed with a growing frustration that scared her. "Then knock her out, yeah. Most things revert back when they're out cold."

Was that one way for her to turn back? Honestly, she wasn't even sure how she did it herself. She just… did. As easily as when she transformed into her huge ass self. It was something she never considered until that moment.

Damn it, she needed the those answers.

"Just hurry up and decide, will you?"

His approach had her fight returning tenfold and she grunted while straining against the odd black sand, crying into the dirt when it bit into her skin harshly, cutting her deeply.

"N-N-N-N-"

"She's pissing me off," muttered Deidara darkly, hands tugging open his cloak and soon digging into the pouches on his hips. "What's the point in keeping her?"

"She may come in handy."

"Handy? How?" he demanded disbelievingly. A piercing glare was shot his way when the redhead noticed what he was doing, but it didn't stop Deidara. "It's not like something as weak as her can take on tailed beasts – she'd probably try eating them and getting herself killed, yeah!"

She gritted her teeth, face scraping in the dirt as she fought through the biting pain, ignoring the blood from her wrists as it soaked her back.

She couldn't give up!

Don't give up!

"N-N-!"

They both stopped their arguing abruptly, eyes growing wide as she finally managed to escape the restraints on her wrists. Her hands fell motionlessly to the ground with sickening thuds and while it terrified her having no hands, she knew she couldn't falter.

"No!"

Staggering to her feet, she stared them down coldly, her gaze murderous.

She wasn't going to die.

Not today.