Chapter 45: When Survival Is on The Line

Shino

I was leaning against one of the walls staring into the darkness as Kiba was snoring loudly beside me. I reached into my pocket looking at its content stuffing it back in my pocket sighing annoyed. Suddenly a loud knocking was heard at the door watching Kiba jump up confused as I answered the door seeing a distraught Tenten.

"What's going on?" I asked as she said shakily, "Yuna was going to take a bath before bed but she was taking a long time, so I went to check on her and found her jacket, gloves and this..."

Tenten held up the butterfly clip with blood on it as I felt my body tighten in anger feeling my bugs begin to stir with my emotions. Kiba and Akamaru came over to it smelling the trinket hearing Akamaru bark.

"We got a scent." he said as we all quickly left the hotel, Yuna please be alright.

Yuna

I groaned lightly as my vision was blurry feeling my blood drip down the side of my cheek while my wrists were bound above me. Beginning to thrash I looked around seeing all kinds of carving and ceramic tools with dried blood on them.

"Oh you're awake." I heard turning my head to the door seeing the younger boy from the shop I visited.

"You?" I questioned as he laughed replying, "Yes clumsy me though only around my mother I am quite good at my work."

"Your work?" I said shakily as he moved a curtain feeling my body grow queasy seeing a dead girl with clay formed around her skin.

"Most people don't realize how much the skin tells a story of the person who lived in it..." he said coming closer to me as I tensed up feeling him run a finger over one of my scars saying, "Your body tells many stories which will be told once I mold you into the clay."

"You're sick, my friends will find me." I said confidently hearing him laugh grabbing a scalpel saying, "Oh I highly doubt that."

Shino

"I don't understand her scent just cuts off here..." Kiba said as Akamaru whined sadly as I looked around, we were back on the main street of the shops.

"Think where she went, the real kidnapper had to have come into contact with her." I said as Tenten frowned saying, "She did talk about a boy in the shop she bought the butterfly clip from, he mentioned her scars."

"It's our only lead, with Hayner helping the villagers it's up to us to find her." Kiba said as we all nodded heading to the shop seeing a light on in the back office.

Kicking open the door we saw an older lady fumbling with some clay as she screamed saying, "What on earth are you doing here!?"

"My apologizes but have you seen the red headed girl with yellow eyes who bought this butterfly clip?" Tenten asked holding it out as she frowned saying, "No I haven't seen her."

"What about your son?" Kiba asked seeing her sigh replying, "No he's off in his workshop working on his next masterpiece he says."

We all looked at one another as I said, "Tell us where that is now."

Yuna

Feeling tears in my eyes after he explained that his workshop was out of the village and special flowers grew around it to keep anyone from smelling the bodies. I began to lose hope knowing that they would try and find me by scent alone.

Taking scissors out he began cutting my clothes off until I was left in nothing but my bra and underwear feeling myself shiver. His hands started running up my leg to my thigh as I tried to thrash him away from me.

"Such a pity I can't enjoy you like I did the others before finishing my work..." he said as he put the scalpel against my skin.

Crying out in pain he cut a piece of my skin letting my blood drip into a bowl while he said, "Blood is perfect for helping make the clay settle smooth and easy."

He went to sit down as I moved my wrist feeling blood dripping from various places on my skin saying, "If you let me go now your death will be quicker."

"I don't plan on dying anytime soon, you however will be suffocated to preserve your lovely features." he said making me glare saying, "You shouldn't have taken my blood."

"Oh and why is that?" he asked as I smirked darkly replying, "Because it's going to kill you."

Coming to life in the bowl my blood wrapped itself around his neck watching him fall backwards beginning to claw at his neck to get it off. In doing so it made him bleed as my fist tightened making my blood also tighten around his neck seeing him squirm around trying to breathe.

Looking at my blood that had gathered on the floor I formed spikes with it stabbing him in multiple spots all over his body. The struggling began to die until he went limp on the ground letting my body relax as tears began to fall from my eyes. I suddenly heard a light buzzing looking up as the door was busted open.

Seeing a familiar pair of goggles I said weakly, "Shino..."

Feeling the chains around my wrist get taken off I slumped down feeling him catch me taking his jacket off wrapping it around my shaky form. Tears were still in my eyes as I looked over at the boy seeing his dead eyes staring back burying myself in Shino's chest crying.

"It's okay Yuna… I'm here… you're safe..." he said comforting me as I held onto him knowing that I was.

I was bundled in Shino's large coat still sitting in their room as the others were outside discussing what happened. Hayner felt responsible for not being there when I was taken but we insisted he shouldn't blame himself. It seemed the bodies of most of the girls were found in there much to relief of the families who wished to put their souls to rest. The villagers were in an uproar though about extracting their own justice on the boy, but I didn't want to regret what I did.

I felt Shino come over handing me some tea as I held it still shaking despite the warmth of the room looking down at it.

"Being down there… that was the first time I thought I was going to die." I admitted not looking up at him as he remained quiet while I said, "He made it sound like I had no hope… and I believed him."

"You should look in the pocket." he said as I stared down fishing into one of the pockets pulling out a necklace.

Looking at it closely I saw one of his beetles embedded into the middle by a yellow crystal as he said, "It's a female, no matter where it's hiding the male species will always be able to find it."

Setting the tea down I put it around my neck hugging him as he hugged back gently as I said, "Thank you… I will cherish it forever."

"We also got your clip." he said holding it up to me as I held it in my hands saying, "I should want to throw it away... but it's a reminder that I survived and will continue to do so."

He was quiet for a moment before saying, "You can give me my coat back when we leave."

Smiling lightly, I snuggled into it replying, "No I think I'll keep it."