Chapter 330: Ukase
n. an order or proclamation by an arbitrary authority
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Kagome gave herself a moment to let the shroud of homesickness wrap around her. The misery rested heavily in her bones as for the first time she let herself sink into its clutches. With more strength than Kagome thought she had, she managed to claw her way towards the surface, carefully packing away the despair into a small corner of her heart. A shiver ran up her spine, cold loitering in her ashen skin. She loosely wrapped her arms around herself hoping to retain what little heat remained in her frame.
With a wheeze that felt like resurfacing from drowning, Kagome's eyes snapped towards the forest. The feeling of cold had not originated from her own hopelessness but from the black and gold nebula that was rising above the forest. A powerful aura seeped above the trees giving the appearance the forest was on fire, rancor oozed into the air.
Another shiver danced down Kagome's spine, her pupils blown wide, and adrenaline spiked in her veins. Kagome took a moment to deliberately calm herself, her tolerance for powerful amounts of demonic energy seemed to have waned from months of inactivity. With barely a thought Kagome shot towards the omnipotent force.
Sand amassed around Gaara's right side, metamorphosing it into a half-formed monster. Temari gasped from her place hidden amongst the trees.
When Gaara had been younger he had never had much control of his monster, but with age came experience and control. It had been 6 long years since Temari had last seen a transformed Gaara, and the sight awoke unresolved trauma. Terror gripped at Temari's throat; a sense of helplessness paralyzed her remaining strength and courage.
She managed to take controlled breaths as she observed Gaara and Sasuke clash. Gaara fought like a beast possessed, lashing out in a restless barrage of grappling sand, never leaving a moments rest for Sasuke.
"Are you scared?" laughed Gaara as Sasuke managed to get enough distance from Gaara to hide, "where has all that hatred gone!? Your killing urge?"
Rather than answer, a familiar chirping filled the air. Temari held her breath. Would this be the moment that Gaara was defeated? Or the moment that he let the demon fully take over?
Temari felt her body quake in terror. Her breath felt choked in her throat. The world around her slowed down as her heartrate picked up and pulsed throughout her body.
Kagome regretted not keeping up an exercise routine as she bolted through a edge of the village and towards the surrounding forest. Her legs burned and hard gasps quivered through her body as she pushed through the fatigue to dodge falling debris and evading fleeing civilians.
Attention on avoiding a flaming attack, Kagome's foot caught on a chunk of rock that littered the street, spending her crashing to her knees and skinning her palms. A woman, with a small child on her hip, reached down to help haul Kagome out of the way of a barrage of shuriken that rained down just to Kagome's left.
Kagome wheezed turning to thank the woman only to see her ducking behind a crumbling wall, beckoning Kagome to follow her.
A flash caught Kagome's eyes, as she hastily turned towards its origins. She could just make out a shimmering wall of electrified air approaching her rescuer and her child.
"No!" the scream wrenched out of Kagome as frenziedly hands grasped for the weapons Kankuro had hidden on her body. Fumbling fingers caught on a senbon sown into her collar. Desperation and a dose of power sunk into the senbon before sailing towards the woman.
Kagome clenched her eyes shut as the senbon sailed towards the attack. Purifying energy rose from the senbon as it collided with the jutsu, imploding in a shower of harmless bursts. Kagome's eyes blinked open and turned to find her rescuer huddling over her child, unharmed.
Rage blazed in her blue eyes as she looked around the wreckage, trying to locate who initiated the attack. Nins battled in high-speed collisions, scattering before Kagome could identify them.
The chaos and ruins around Kagome sent a spark of fury dancing through her blood, fear churned in her gut before a growl of helplessness dragged out of her.
"Listen up!" Kagome roared, purifying power wafting from her. A sedative effect took hold on those that it touched, the cries of the injured muting as all eyes turned toward Kagome.
"If anything happens to these civilians, you'll be answering to me!" Delicate tendrils of purifying power left smears of sanctifications on the surrounding villagers, a badge of protection and purification.
From their various locations, Suna nins watched the Kazekage's assistant declare the protection order. Scarcely a murmur traveled through them. All took the order as fact and passed along the message throughout their ranks.
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