Miu
When she awakened, staring up at the sky, it still seemed off, but nothing like the mind-melting sky it had been before.
Kurotenshi was asleep next to her and Okimi was standing over them. Miu wasn't in pain anymore. That was good.
Aaaand the seven mini-Shukaku she had hit with the blade, were still standing there, covered in flowers. Now that she got a closer look, some of the flowers had eyeballs. Others looked like that were made of flesh. The Shukaku weren't moving.
"What happened?" Miu asked.
"The Shukaku retreated after you hit it with that corrupted weapon, then you passed out," Okimi said. "Good thing. If it had decided to fight us to the death, I don't think we could have survived. The maddening effect seems to have lifted for the most part. Somehow, I think the Shukaku was doing that. "
"That corrupted weapon. Every time I hit with it, I felt pain like it was slicing through me as well."
"It's good to know it won't corrupt us, though if it causes you to pass out, then it's still a last resort weapon," Okimi said.
Miu nodded.
"We should experiment with using other corrupted things as weapons or even creating them," Okimi said.
"You can, but I think I'll focus on improving my wood release." Though, she had tried manipulating corrupted plants with some success.
"What do you want to do with the portion of the Shukaku you captured?" Okimi asked.
The corrupted plants were feeding on the Shukaku's chakra. She could feel it. That was what sustained them. Seeing as the Shukaku was a mass of chakra, it would probably keep feeding them and keep it trapped indefinitely. But commanding it to move its arm before, that had taken chakra, so she couldn't just control them like this forever.
"Kind of cumbersome to have them follow us like this, but we should find some way to keep them. I read that the Shukaku was once trapped inside of a pot."
"Then let's test both of those things at once. I'll seal it inside of a stick from your corrupted weapon, then I'll carve that into a weapon."
"Can you really seal a Bijuu?"
"From what I saw, this is just a fragment of a Bijuu. I've never dealt with a soul with this much chakra, so it may take a while… And you and Kurotenshi are going to help me seal this thing, actually. I'll show you how."
After three days, they were able to seal the fragment of the Shukaku.
Then, they made it to the next area which they decided to call the Uncanny Ice Sheet.
The ice was blood red with jagged protrusions that jutted out and turned at seemingly impossible angles. Underneath the ice, she could see forms that looked human at first, but upon closer inspection, their facial features were all wrong. Sometimes it was the proportion. One had one massive eye, one tiny eye, and a cartoonishly large nose. Another was missing its face entirely.
The Corruption played with your mind and seldom in the same way it did the time before. This zone scared Miu, but not for the usual reasons that the Corruption scared her. Since she'd entered the area, she'd felt an urge to kill both of her comrades. She tried to walk beside them because every time their back was turned to her she felt it more strongly.
Okimi and Kurotenshi kept staring at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking. There was a certain fascinated bloodlust in Okimi's eyes. But it was Kurotenshi that truly scared her.
His eyes were full of malice. Okimi had put him in that wheelchair. Was he going to try kill her? What could she say to stop him? It wasn't like she could just quell his anger.
Miu let herself drop behind the other two. She could see Kurotenshi's neck, all vulnerable. No. That's not what she was doing.
She pulled out a couple of seeds she'd gathered. She knew the wood they produced was corrupted and sickly looking, but otherwise normal.
She flicked a single seed into Okimi's hair.
Now all she had to do was activate it and she'd have Okimi all helpless. Miu could keep them from fighting if she just killed Okimi first.
No. What? That didn't make any sense.
Okimi turned her head and smiled at Miu with amusement in her eyes. Had she felt it? No, the seed must have weighed 1/100th of a gram. There was no way.
Okimi turned her head back. No, she was probably just amused knowing that Miu was struggling not to kill them both. Bitch! She should slit her throat for that.
No. No. She was trying to do the opposite of killing her teammates. Now, to deal with the other one.
Miu placed a hand on Kurotenshi's shoulder and they all stopped.
"Don't let the Corruption make any decision for you. Wait until you're out of this zone and make up your own mind."
Kurotenshi seemed to think deeply for a moment and lowered his head.
Then Okimi interrupted. "There's someone in that one, and not just a monster."
Sure enough there was a beautiful girl with long black hair in a piece of ice jutting up in front of them. She was wearing a mist headband.
Miu began to make handsigns, intending to break the ice with roots, but Kurotenshi rolled his chair forward towards the girl in the bloodberg.
Right, he would be better suited to this with his fire jutsu. She'd gotten used to doing everything for him.
Kurotenshi put his hands against the ice. Steam came from his hands as the ice around them dissipated. He took his time, but eventually all of the ice was gone.
The girl's breathing was shallow, but after warming her up, it seemed to stabilize.
Okimi carried her and they all got out of that zone.
The next zone was a labyrinth of fleshly material. Human faces and eyes bent into expressions of horror covered the walls and ceiling.
They hadn't gotten far before Kurotenshi stopped. Okimi and Miu turned back towards him.
"Where did the meat come from, Okimi?" Kurotenshi asked.
"I told you, I found it." Okimi said.
"Do you think I'm stupid?"
"I'm not going to answer that question."
"What kind of meat is it, Okimi?" Kurotenshi pushed himself up with his hands into the closest position he could get to standing and glared at Okimi with tangible disgust.
"You know the answer or you wouldn't be asking me, Kurotenshi. You've kept your hands squeaky clean while I've done all the dirty work needed to keep us alive. You're a ninja, a hired assassin. Death is literally your job. This is the kind of shit you signed up for. Wake up to fucking reality."
Kurotenshi began making hand-signs.
Okimi set the unconscious girl down and began making hands-signs.
Miu had planned for this since they'd been in the previous zone. That's why she had planted the seed. Suddenly, roots erupted from Okimi's clothing, ensnaring her while Kurotenshi's wooden wheelchair ensnared him as well.
Miu stepped in-between them. "Enough!" She shouted. "You don't get to talk about what's right and wrong and then play judge, jury, and executioner, Kurotenshi. We will leave the Corruption. Then you can talk to Konoha and have Okimi pay for her crimes the proper way."
"Miu…" Kurotenshi said. "You knew-"
The wood ensnaring Kurotenshi tightened. "Shut up. Okimi kept us alive the only way she knew how. And you," she turned her glare to Okimi. "You've lied to us over and over. Stop treating us like children. We deserve to have a say before you cut people up and serve them to us."
Kurotenshi looked like he wanted to vomit after the words were finally said it out loud.
"Y-you're not thinking about eating me, right?" Came a void from down below.
Miu glanced down and the mist ninja waved awkwardly, then got to her feet.
"I'd never," Okimi said with a luminous smile.
Kurotenshi's eyes were tired. He let his head droop down.
Okimi looked over to him with a worried expression, then to Miu. "You're right, of course. From now on, no more secrets." She looked back towards the mist ninja. "I'll tell you everything, but not in front of this one."
"Let me go, Miu. Not like I can do anything against you or Okimi," Kurotenshi said.
Miu willed the trees to retract and they did so, freeing Kurotenshi and Okimi.
"So, what were you doing frozen?" Okimi asked.
"I was out at sea. Kirigakure was evacuating. Did they make it to Konoha?" The mist shinobi was still looking at Miu. Did she think Miu was the leader!?
Miu's eyes darted from side to side. "Um, uhhh. I don't know," she blurted out. "We've been stuck in the Corruption."
"Oh," the shinobi said. "I'm sure they made it. The Mizukage and Okojo were with them. Anyway, I fell overboard. The name's Yuki, by the way."
Miu's team introduced themselves. Then, they exchanged what they knew about the corruption.
"So I was frozen for at least two years, then, probably longer."
"You don't seem bothered by it," Okimi said.
"Well time has always flowed differently for me."
What did that mean?
"Could I stick with you guys for a while. You seem to know a lot about the Corruption," Yuki said. Once again, why was she looking at Miu. And not like Miu could say "no" easily.
Miu looked to Okimi, who looked amused and shrugged subtly.
"Yeah, sure," Miu said.
"Yes, hang around for a bit. We'd love to have you for dinner," Okimi said.