?￢ﾜ ? ~ Chapter Eleven — Monsters ~ ?￢ﾜ ?ￂﾠ

After hours of traveling south in silence, Ryujin made the wise decision to rest at a nearby town. All five of them had their wounds healed at the town's medical center. It took roughly a day for them all to get released. Still, Ryujin decided to take an additional day of rest in the town.

He rented an inn where they stayed; everyone had their own individual room. However, Ryujin found himself not alone in his rented room. The orange sunset made Aiko's pale skin glow as she stood in the doorway.

"Ryu…" she began, tone firm.

The Jonin took a deep breath, his back facing her. He knew where this was going. She'd been avoiding him ever since they left Grass. A cynical thought crossed his mind. She's just like everyone else… His fists clenched and the Kyuubi's chuckles echoed in his head.

"Why didn't you tell me about the Kyuubi?" Aiko's voice wavered.

Ryujin did not turn to face her. "I…" he started—but she interrupted.

"I thought we were supposed to trust each other." Her voice rose. "There wasn't a thing I hid from you in those letters. But, you hide something as big as this… Why?" The betrayal, the hurt in each syllable she uttered rang like a cracked bell's final chime.

Ryujin could barely form the words. The truth was in his mind, but a lie sat on his tongue. He refused to utter it. Anger. Anger at himself rose to the surface, and he turned his head. "Why were you avoiding me?" he accused, avoiding the subject like he always had.

"Are you scared? Can you not help but see the monster that destroyed the village you once called home? If so… don't worry about it. You won't have to deal with me once we get to Konoha." He shut his eyes, preparing himself for the response.

Aiko scoffed. "No?! What the hell are you talking about?!"

Turning his head away from Aiko, he didn't respond.

"Ryujin," Aiko nearly spat with a glare.

The use of his full name made him flinch. "Sorry…" he apologized with a breath. "I didn't tell you about the Kyuubi… because—"

A sigh interrupted him. "No… Not right now," Aiko said. "The last time I didn't think about what I was saying, Yoraika died."

Ryujin pursed his lips.

"I'm not ready to hear what you have to say," she admitted in a shattered sentence. "We'll continue this later." She turned her back and left Ryujin alone in his room.

He let out a heavy sigh. His safe place, his escape from reality… was utterly destroyed. The place he could go and pretend that everything is okay… or as okay as realistically possible. It was where he didn't have the Kyuubi, it was where he still kept up with most of his hobbies, it was where he still wanted to be the Hokage.

The truth was revealed; the illusion was shattered.

Ryujin clenched his fists until they bled.

—⊱✿⊰—

Shinrai kept his curtains shut. He was the only person in the room, yet he wasn't alone. Twin Grass cutters were unsheathed on his lap; one of ivory and one of midnight. One blade was named Shinrai, the other was nameless.

He shook his head with a chuckle. It was inexplicable… but he couldn't help but feel more connected to the blade that once belonged to Yora's father. The blade that pierced her heart. Not the blade she used and cherished for years, the one she named after him, that saved his life twice.

The blade of a monster was the one he kept closer. Shinrai ran his finger across the shrouded steel. It was something innate, something indescribable about it. No matter how much he loved or hated this blade, no matter if he could explain how he felt drawn to it or not…

It needed a name.

There was only one name that fit.

Shinrai's finger drifted off the sharpened tip of the Midnight Grass Cutter.

"Yora."

The numbness lifted. It left nothing but ache.

—⊱✿⊰—

Gosei kept his curtains open, allowing the dying evening light to pour into his room. He attempted to meditate, but the simple act of breathing still ached due to the wound in his chest. It was frustrating… but he's since learned to temper it.

The tempering didn't stop the clenching of his fist. He had painfully mixed results from his first mission outside the village. These past few days, he attempted to keep his mind on the fact that he did not let the pain stop him. How he kept going and kept fighting.

He loathed that Shinrai inspired him to go down this path of strength, but he would never close off a way to power, no matter who or what it came from. That didn't change the fact that all of his strength would have amounted to nothing, because he hesitated.

Gosei, heir to the Senju Clan, hesitated to kill an enemy. What was wrong with him? He put not only his life, but Aiko's life in jeopardy. Pitiful. The vivid memory played in his mind over and over—

—The kunai was above his head, gripped in his hands. Gosei glared at the woman. She glared back, but there was not only hatred in her eyes.

There was fear.

Her brown irises widened with fear—the nightmare of death that he was about to make a reality.

She didn't want to die any more than he did. She was fighting for a cause just as hard as he was. He was going to be the monster that cut her story short.

His blood ran frigid at the realization.

Gosei froze.

He brought his hand up and rubbed his face. Disgraceful…

On top of that, it was Shinrai of all people who saved his life. Had it been Kusari, it'd be acceptable; had it been his sensei, it'd be expected.

But Shinrai…

He had no idea what to make of it. Part of him was utterly baffled. Shinrai allegedly hated him; he was the direct competition for his brother's dream. By all logical measures, Gosei would be better off dead to Shinrai. But, no. His life was saved by him.

Another part of Gosei was enraged by it. That part was smaller than he expected. On the flipped side of the coin, he was grateful. Shinrai had saved his life, after all.

Gosei let out a sigh, wincing at the pain. I should… he swallowed his pride.… thank him.

Not right now, though. The prince needed his rest.

—⊱✿⊰—

Kusari's head never stopped hurting. Hours of numb, non-stop aching. The internal battering her thoughts rained upon her did not help in the slightest. Is… this truly what being a Hyuuga means?

Violence, destruction—gore and enslavement. She wouldn't dare to look at her hands. The same hands that… that… there weren't even words. Brutality, barbary, savagery; they weren't enough to fully describe what she had done.

His mutilated body would never leave her mind. Not until the day she died. Even then, it would follow her soul far into the afterlife. The urge to scream clawed at her throat, yet she refused. Her eyes craved tears, but she denied them.

It wasn't enough to cease her palpitating heart, the trembling that shook her short and choppy breaths. She clenched her fists in an attempt to gain control of herself. Her very being laughed in the face of her futile attempt.

Nauseating pain ached from her head more intensely than it had before. The sickness grasped her gut and her world whirled. She shut her eyes and brought her bandaged hand to her mouth.

Frustration rose. She shoved the sickness down. A deep inhale followed, then she held it. The lack of oxygen ravaged her head. She ignored it. After all, she had to endure far worse just the day before.

She released her breath, and Kusari's head sent out an icy wave of relief. Her heart still raced; she still shook. But, it was better than it was before.

The dead silence of her dark room was shattered by an opening door. Dim yellow light peered in as the rusted hinges creaked. The sound clawed at Kusari's head and she shut her eyes.

"Hey…" Shinrai greeted, his tone considerately quiet. "I was thinking, that what happened to you… was pretty fucked by the looks of it." He closed the door with the same painful, creaking slowness.

"So, I wanted to check on you."

Kusari opened her eyes and barely made out his silhouette in the darkness. The sun had already sunken below the horizon, and she wouldn't dare open the curtains to allow the light to sear her brain more than it already was.

She looked up at him from her seat on the floor, her back against the bed. "I am not okay," she informed with a tone that conveyed none of the ocean of emotion she felt.

His light footsteps approached, and he sat down next to her. "You wanna talk about it?"

"No, not particularly," she answered honestly. She didn't have the energy to lie. The truth always drove Neji away from these emotional situations. Maybe it would do the same to him.

Shinrai hummed. "I'll keep you company then."

Kusari furrowed her brow. "Why?"

"It helps," he said, oddly cheery.

She pursed her lips. Does it really? She wondered. Kusari usually went to her mother to talk about her issues. She was dead. She never spoke back. Maybe that was a good thing? No judgment; she could simply live in her own world…

This time, her world did nothing but torment her with her own actions.

Perhaps he could provide something different. It was a gamble, but she'd do almost anything to stop feeling like this.

"Have you… ever felt like a monster?"

Shinrai laughed, and the pain in Kusari's head spiked. It sounded involuntary, going by how quickly he stopped it. "I have the reputation of being one of the Demon Twins of Konoha. I'm not that far from a monster, if you really think about it."

"No… I disagree," Kusari said. He hummed in response. "You care about people, you have morals and standards…"

"Don't make me laugh again," Shinrai stated flatly. "You have those things way more than I do. You saw what I did to Gosei during the match, right?"

"You do have a point…" Kusari admitted. "But you're not a monster."

"What makes you think that you are?"

She froze. The feeling of being the one seen through was chilling and foreign. With a sigh, Kusari hung her aching head. "You saw why."

"I cut a guy's arm off, stole the sword from that arm. Then used that sword alongside the sword of his daughter which he just killed… to cut his head off as he begged for mercy," Shinrai explained, his tone contradictory to the content of his words.

Kusari was left speechless. What she did was worse, in her opinion at least. But… "Shinrai," she started. "Are you okay?"

"Let's not change the subject," he suggested, a barely noticeable waver in his tone. "I've also beaten more people to a bloody pulp than I can count."

Kusari shook her aching head. "You… what?"

"Honestly, being a monster isn't a bad thing," he added. "Look at Ryu. Imagine how many people he's killed. I'd say that's pretty monstrous, way more than you or I."

She tilted her head, listening to his strange words. Her expression was neutral—almost irritated, not that he could see it.

"If you really think you're a monster, then embrace it!" he suggested, chuckling lightly. Kusari's irritation rose. "We can be violent monsters together!"

Kusari let out an exasperated sigh. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Shinrai stopped.

"You're glorifying murder and unnecessary violence," she snapped. "I understand that we're Shinobi, and that we need to fight and kill, as is our nature… but I refuse to be cruel to those undeserving." Kusari's head throbbed as the thoughts resurfaced. Her breathing sped again. She didn't stop speaking. It was as if a dam was broken and everything behind it raged out.

"The clan I'm destined to serve was built on blood. A history of hatred and massacre! What does that make me?! If I serve evil knowingly, then that makes me no different. But who I am, who I will be, is set in stone. I'm destined to submit and serve my slavers! The ones branded me as a child. The ones who murdered my father because they were too cowardly to die themselves!" she nearly screamed and the ache of her head cried for mercy.

She was born from blood, just like her clan. Her mother died birthing her. Kusari was no different from the Hyuuga. What proved that, were her actions against him. The boy she mutilated—the same way her clan massacred his.

The Hyuuga eradicated their name.

Kusari didn't bother to learn his name.

"This… this can't be my fate," she denied, fighting choppy breaths, fighting the fact that she knew it was her fate—

—Kusari stopped. The chills on her body warmed from the heat of another one on hers. Shinrai had hugged her, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He didn't say a word, only holding her in his arms.

She felt his heartbeat. It certainly wasn't calm, but it wasn't frantic either… like hers was. Was it fear? Nervousness? She couldn't say. All she needed was to peer into him with her Byakugan.

She closed her eyes instead. She leaned forward into him. Her arms remained limp at her side, and she sat in his grasp. It was calming; she had to admit. Neither of them spoke. They sat in comfortable silence for minutes.

Kusari eventually pulled away, opening her eyes. Shinrai let go. "Thank you…" she murmured.

"Any time," he assured, a new shakiness rattled his voice. "That's what friends are for, right?" A nervous chuckle echoed his words.

Kusari nodded slowly. "Yes…" she allowed her lips to curl into a smile. Lifelong friends.

With that, she swallowed her anxiety for the time being. She would deal with her fate as it came.

—⊱✿⊰—

Night passed, the sun rose, and Team 5 was on the move. Aiko walked behind Gosei, as far from Ryujin as possible, who led the group at the front. Kusari walked near Shinrai, who placed himself far from Aiko. The Genin matched each other's stride.

Breaking the makeshift formation, Gosei walked past Kusari and stopped next to Shinrai. With his hands placed on his midnight blade, he looked toward him with a raised brow.

"I would like to…" Gosei started, forcing eye contact with his teammate. "...thank you for saving my life."

Shinrai chuckled, shaking his head. "Don't worry about it. Seeing you covered in blood was worth it."

"You're sadistic," he muttered, looking away.

Shinrai's chuckle turned into laughter.

Kusari sighed, nursing her head. "Could you keep it down?"

"Sorry," Shinrai apologized in a lower tone.

Ryujin decidedly ignored the content of his Genin's words, but rather focused on the fact that Gosei and Shinrai finally got somewhere. He shook his head. Despite the crystal clear negatives… The Hokage was right.

This was the most bonded he'd ever seen Team 5 for a while. The same Team 5 that nearly died on this mission. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that Hiruzen considered that possibility; hell, he likely bet on the possibility to make the team even stronger.

He wondered how much he should blame the old man for what he didn't know. Iwa was involved, the village that detested Konoha the most. His actions were certainly grounds for war; he massacred hundreds of Iwa Shinobi and their allies.

Gritting his teeth, Ryujin clenched his fists. He couldn't blame the Hokage for that.

That didn't change the bleeding irritation that flowed through him. He hated how Aiko's life was put in danger. The same with Gosei, Kusari, and Shinrai. There was another way for them to bond… he hated that he was forced into this way.

The way that put everyone at risk.

He would have words with his Hokage. But first, he had to deal with the words of the man in front of him.

"Ryujin Hiyenzo," the elder greeted calmly.

The Jonin narrowed his eyes. He'd seen him before.

A beard of crimson grew from his chin. He was draped in the clothes of a nomad. Dark brown robes matched the fabric of the Iwa headband on his head.

Realization struck.

A fear like no other possessed him.

Ryujin burst into the one-tailed Kyuubi cloak. Aiko and Team 5 guarded themselves against the unrelenting waves of heat.

"Ryu, what the fuck—?!" Shinrai screamed, shielding his eyes from the dust.

Crimson slit eyes looked back at the frantic four behind him. "RUN! HE'S THE YONBI JINCHURIKI!"

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Gosei. Shinrai suddenly grabbed him, with Kusari already in his other hand.

"DON'T DIE, RYU!" yelled Shinrai as he fled, with Gosei grabbing onto Aiko.

Before Ryujin could look back at his opponent, a molten fist pummeled him into the dirt road. The ground shattered from the impact, and Ryujin roared. An additional two tails sprouted from his cloak and they wrapped around the enemy.

He hurled him off and the Kyuubi's vessel stood. His cloak boiled, the burning dent in his head steamed as the chakra repaired it. "Who sent you, Roshi?"

"My Tsuchikage," answered the elder. The skin on his body seemed to melt—as if it was molten rock seeping off of a volcano. "It's been years since we've last met."

Ryujin narrowed his predatory gaze. "It has. Last time we battled, I wasn't a Jinchuriki."

"For your sake, you better have trained with the Kyuubi well." With barely a half seal, four pillars of red-smoldering rock erupted from the dirt. The grass ignited from the emanating swelt. "Lava Release: Sage Pillars!"

A flash of crimson flickered toward a pillar. I can't let him gather Senjutsu—

Another molten fist blasted Ryujin away. Roshi growled, and the path melted into searing magma. Not from any sort of jutsu. No, it was pure, searing force of chakra. Roshi's two monkey-like tails melted into three.

A whirling ball of vermillion chakra formed in Ryujin's hand. "Rasen—!"

Roshi opened his mouth and a molten meteor shot from it. The lava ball swirled and. collected any melted rock that was near. It collapsed into a bigger and bigger ball as it blurred toward Ryujin.

The threat didn't stop him. He simply poured more chakra into his Rasengan and slammed into the attack. Pellets of rock and liquid fire rained down like a hellish hailstorm. With a demonic roar, Ryujin's Rasengan burst and it detonated Roshi's attack.

By that time, it was too late. Roshi's transformation was complete. The transparent molten cloak he had earlier became an opaque orange of viscous liquid. Four tails churned, and sweltering wind blew from the pillars toward Roshi.

All Bijuu had the potential to match the Kyuubi. The Yonbi's method—its domain—was Senjutsu. The golden-ringed mark of a Sage began formation concentric to the red eyes of the Jinchuriki.

Not just any Jinchuriki, it was Roshi of the Molten Mountain.

I need to end this now! Ryujin growled. While I still have the advantage in power. With a deep breath, the ninth's vessel roared. The fourth's jailer charged, but was halted by the mere pressure of the air.

Ryujin was enveloped by darkness. His skin smoked as it peeled from his body, revealing a second skin cursed upon him by the Kyuubi. Waves of chakra rippled the lava with Ryujin at the epicenter. A boom cracked the air, and the smoking darkness bellowed outward in a shockwave.

Roshi stood, demonic face expressionless as the smoke wave gusted over him. The air popped with heat. Fire spread. Lava crackled. Ryujin's emotionless face of the devil stared at Roshi.

Four tails waved in the wind like a demonic storm yet to come. The Kyuubi's claws strangled Ryujin's mind—his will, his being, his essence was being suppressed and consumed by the devil's.

At least, that was what would've happened if Ryujin didn't fight back. This was his body, his mind, his soul. He would die before he allowed that damned demon to take control… again.

He could only battle against the Kyuubi for five minutes before he inevitably lost. Lost himself to the demon inside.

Five minutes before the fifth tail emerged.

Five minutes to win this battle.

Before Ryujin could act, Roshi charged him. Tendrils of molten rock surged behind him like an army. He evaded in a four-tailed blur, directing himself toward the nearest pillar. Ryujin simply swiped his clawed hand and the pillar was eradicated; not only that, a cataclysmic gust of wind uprooted the burning forest that surrounded them.

A magmic hand gripped Ryujin and pinned him to the floor. It only took a mere burst of pure explosive chakra to free himself. The moment he did, Roshi was on top of him. Iwa's jinchuriki grasped Ryujin and slammed him into the melting stone beneath.

His head was driven deep into the lava by a fist from Roshi. An additional set of hands emerged from the cloak of the ninth. They grasped Roshi's tails and flung him toward the second pillar. He could hear the smoldering rock crumble.

Ryujin emerged from the pool of liquid fire. Great strain reduced the speed he weaved his hand seals. Speaking took focus that he did not have. Fire Style: Kajin's Netherworld.

Even his internal voice trembled. It was fused with that of the Kyuubi. Following Ryujin's—Kyuubi's—uttering, the field of lava erupted into white-hot fire. The liquid beneath boiled.

Another set of strained hand seals. Fire Style: Infernal Beam.

The raging flames coalesced into a ball of condensed hell which floated in front of Ryujin.

A final set of hand seals was woven. Lightning Style: Railgun.

From Ryujin's mouth shot a thunderous arrow of lightning that hit the epicenter of the fireball. The two elements merged and a shocking beam of pure blaze incinerated the third pillar. Rock was relegated to ash.

Footsteps rippled the exposed magma. Konoha's Jinchuriki turned its di-elemental beam onto Roshi. The Yonbi's vessel roared as the durability of its cloak was pushed to the brink. The Kyuubi broke that limit.

A surge of demonic will overtook Ryujin. The beam was supercharged by the energy of pure chakra. Roshi frantically blocked. His skin was smoldered by the beam. It was quickly covered by the Yonbi's cloak.

Ryujin turned away to the fourth and final pillar. He bolted. An ape-like molten hand twice his size blocked his path. The Kyuubi Jinchuriki was swatted away, directly into a spewing of lava from Roshi.

With a hypersonic roar, the lava was blown off. A flash of bloody crimson swiped across Roshi's face, but it only left a clawed mark on the chakra cloak. Demonic eyes narrowed onto the now fully opaque rings around the eyes of Iwa's Jinchuriki.

He was too late. Roshi's transformation was complete.

He only had two minutes left.

The Kyuubi's rage melded with Ryujin's. Waves of sound quaked the earth and rocked the lake of magma. Roshi sped toward Ryujin and slammed him into the liquid rock. The Sage weaved hand seals.

He couldn't speak either.

The set of seals was concluded. Lava molded into the face of an ape—not any ape… the Yonbi's head loomed over Ryujin. Another surge of foreign yet familiar intent gripped him—

—Everything went black—

—Ryujin had Roshi in a chakra-induced chokehold. The once-molten lake of lava solidified, and it was littered with craters. With gritted teeth, Roshi slammed Ryujin into the igneous rock.

Obsidian shattered. Black Glass flew. Black glinted crimson. The Kyuubi's vessel charged. Out of his control, clawed hands emerged from his cloak. They sped toward Roshi only to be countered by magmic chakra hands.

The main bodies of both Jinchuriki were unrelenting. They collided in the middle and a cataclysmic crater scarred the ground. Roshi wrestled Ryujin to the ground with the Yonbi's nigh-unmatched physical strength. Ape-like power pinned the fox into the shattered obsidian.

The Kyuubi detonated Ryujin's cloak and Roshi flew off of him. Crimson steps of demonic fury seared the black glass. Fire-enveloped chakra claws tore the molten armor off of Roshi's face.

Forty-five seconds.

He refused to take any chances. The man and the demon battled for control over the body. Ryujin growled, and the Kyuubi roared. A demonic palm grasped Roshi's exposed face. Bloody crimson chakra bled onto Iwa's Sage. Konoha's Avatar leapt back. Only one tail remained on his cloak.

With the last of the Kyuubi's will, he detonated the cloak that enveloped Roshi. The boom sent countless shards of black glass flying. They harmlessly rained down on Ryujin's cloak with a drizzle.

He wasted no time in ending his assault and this battle. Ryujin's right hand swirled with chakra. A Rasengan formed.

This was no normal Rasengan, however. Ryujin's left hand cupped the top of the ball of chakra and waves of heat melted the obsidian.

If he used this jutsu in any other form it would fail.

Any less Kyuubi chakra and he'd destroy his body using it.

Any more Kyuubi chakra and he'd lack the control to form it in the first place.

The ignited Rasengan roared like an inferno of infinite heat. White light emanated so bright that it was blinding to even Ryujin himself.

The power of the sun, in the palm of his hand.

"RASENOVA!" roared Ryujin as he flickered toward Roshi, still enveloped in the chakra's explosion.

Ryujin burned through the chakra. A fiery jolt hit Ryujin's arm as he pressed the jutsu into Roshi. The elder screamed with a distorted ape's roar. The Avatar of the Sun let out a stellar battle cry as the miniature star in his hand detonated.

A supernova of flames seared all that it touched. Ryujin's cloak was blown off into the wind from the sheer power that radiated. Ryujin was flung back, skidding across the volcanic glass.

His right arm was black, smoking, useless. Even with the Kyuubi's chakra, the Rasenova extracted a heavy price. Despite that, Ryujin stood. Amber eyes narrowed onto the molten crater where Roshi was.

That had to have killed him.

His chakra system rumbled upon the utterance of that sentence. He ignored the Kyuubi's rage.

Narrowed eyes went wide as a figure emerged from the smoke, fire, and lava. As expected, it was Roshi. All remnants of his Sage Mode were gone alongside his Bijuu chakra cloak.

His chest and neck were bare and smoldering like freshly lit firewood. Even his breath exhaled smoke through his slack jaw. Trembling, Roshi pulled a kunai from his pouch.

Ryujin did the same.

They flickered toward each other.

Sparks flew as the two collided in the middle. Ryujin kicked Roshi in the chest at the same time Roshi grabbed at Ryujin's smoldering arm.

Both Shinobi growled and stepped back. Ryujin weaved three half seals. "Fire Style: Searing Phoenix Cry!" A bird of pure flame soared close to the ground.

Roshi leapt over it, barely able to weave seals of his own. "Earth Release: Splitting Fault!"

The obsidian beneath Ryujin split and he nearly evaded. His foot was caught, and he slipped. A spark flickered on Ryujin's face as he narrowly blocked Roshi's kunai. With a growl, Ryujin slashed the kunai out of the elder's hand.

Smoke and blood flew from Roshi's mouth. Ryujin embedded a kunai in his charred torso. It was much lower than he intended. His stomach was stabbed as opposed to his heart.

That didn't change the fact that Roshi fell to a knee, coughing up blood and smoke. Ryujin panted. His eyes widened as simmering caught his ears' attention. He looked up just in time to have his nose shattered and his face burned by a fist of lava.

Snarling, he pulled away from Roshi, cradling his face. Ryujin glared at Iwa's Jinchuriki; he was on the ground, smirking with his mouth blackened as a chimney.

Ryujin's breath left him long ago. His skin was barely healed. He could barely stand or even hold a kunai in his hand.

He dropped the kunai.

Before it could hit the floor, he flickered away. Ryujin flickered and flickered until he couldn't anymore. Then he ran. He ran until the remainder of his stamina gave way. That didn't stop him from walking—limping, more accurately.

He limped into a cave, deep into the wilderness. The moment he entered the cave, his legs gave way. He fell to the rough granite floor. He was too close to the entrance, he'd be spotted.

So, he crawled. He crawled into the cave, his nails shattered and bleeding by the time he was shrouded by the darkness of the cave.

It was at that moment when he finally allowed his mind to fall.

Eyelids shut. The world faded to black.

?￢ﾜ ? ~ Chapter End ~ ?￢ﾜ ?