ϟ—Chapter Six — Vertebrae—ϟ

Ice cream, it was cold, soft. So was Hane's hand, Ka'rai discovered, as he held it in his own. They'd been going out together a couple of times a week for a month now. Each time he went out, he couldn't wipe the smile off his face. She couldn't either. However, Hane's smile was covered by the ice cream she devoured. The melted sweet splattered around her mouth like a delicious beard.

Ka'rai laughed at her. "You have an ice cream beard!"

Before he knew it, cold washed over his lips. Hane pulled back her ice cream from his mouth and laughed at him harder. "Now you have one too!"

"...You…" Ka'rai blinked. "You mother fucker—"

Hane's sly brown eyes shone innocently. "Hey, all I did was give you more ice cream to eat."

"I—" he started. With a hum, he licked the melting ice cream on his lips. He beamed at the sweetness on his tongue. "Oh—shit, you're right! Thanks!"

"Of course!" she responded with a soft giggle. They'd been walking for quite a bit, so, they found a bench to sit on. Sitting in silence, they watched the crowds of people go by. The obscured rays of the shrouded sun had only been out for a short while. Morning had just begun.

"Hey, why did you become a Shinobi, Rai-rai?" asked Hane, keeping her eyes on the crowd. She squeezed his hand.

He squeezed back. "So I can get strong! Real strong!" Ka'rai chuckled. "I've always wanted to be strong. With the Nibi and my Uzumaki blood, I'll become the strongest in the village!"

Hane giggled. "Simple… it's so like you."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

She giggled harder. "It's a good thing! My reason is simple too."

"What's yours?"

Hane's smile grew as she leaned back into the bench. "I just thought it would be a good way to help people. I can protect those I care about, bring in money and support the village… it's just a good thing to be!"

"Yeah, I agree," said Ka'rai. He joined her in the relaxation. The comforting silence fell once again… and their connection had only began to form.

But that didn't mean their date had to end any sooner than right then.

"Ka'rai, we have a mission," said Kay, who appeared behind the two like a ghost.

Hane was startled; she dropped her ice cream. "No!" she cried, but it never hit the floor. Kay held it, now ahead of the two.

"Here!" Kay put on a smile as she handed Hane her ice cream.

"Thank you so much!" Hane thanked profusely, taking back her ice cream.

"Wait? Mission?" Ka'rai asked for clarification.

Kay nodded in response.

"NO!" he yelled out in anguish, clutching his heart and his ice cream with the same hand. "Please, can we at least finish our date—?"

"No," answered Kay. "Bee-sensei said that it is a mission with a time limit."

Ka'rai pouted. "Aw…"

"It's okay!" Hane assured. "Remember last week, when I got pulled away from you because of a mission…?"

"I do! I hated it," Ka'rai murmured.

Hane—with some difficulty—took her hand out of Ka'rai's grip and pushed him out the bench. "C'mon! The mission sounds important! I really think you should get going!"

"She's right," Kay agreed.

"Fine," mumbled Ka'rai, dragging himself up to his feet and beside Kay. "Bye, Hane…"

"See ya! Have fun!" She waved them off as Ka'rai and Kay joined the crowd, disappearing into the haze.

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

To Ka'rai's surprise, Kay took him to the village gates. "Wait, Kay, we're leaving the village?!"

"Mhm! Was that not obvious?"

He sputtered. "No?! I thought we had to find a lost pet before sundown or something…"

"Well, it could be that. Bee-sensei didn't tell us the details, only that we need to get you."

Ka'rai huffed. As they approached the gates of Kumo, Bee and Yowui came into view. They both perked up at the sight of him.

"It took ya' long enough, fool ya fool!"

Ka'rai stuck his tongue out at his sensei. "I was on date, you bastard!"

"Too bad!" Bee yelled back. He snapped his fingers. "I bet the moment I tell you what we're doing that you'll be nothing but excited."

Ka'rai contorted his face into comical anger. "Nothing's gonna make me like this mission!"

"We're going to a volcano."

Ka'rai gasped in utter awe. "WHAT! NO WAY?!"

Yowui would've snickered at Ka'rai's reaction, but the news of the mission's location took hold. "Wait, a volcano?!"

"That's right! Eight-o told me that one is going to erupt last night! He said that the eruption is gonna have so much might, it's gonna turn day into night! I gotta stop that, and I'm bringing y'all on for the experience!" explained Bee in rhyme.

"Interesting," commented Kay, rubbing her chin.

Yowui pondered. "Uh… are you sure that's safe?"

"Hey! Are you doubting my strength?" questioned Bee, the reflection of Yowui gulping shown in his shades.

"No, sir…" he muttered.

Nothing held back Ka'rai's grin. "THIS IS SO COOL! Let's hurry up and go!"

"Alright, alright!" answered Bee. "The volcano is in the Land of Rice, so that's where we're gonna be going." Bee walked forward and out of the village gates, below was a sprawling staircase that went from the plateau Kumo was built on to the flat fields under it.

"These again!" A small nostalgic smile spread across Yowui's face. "I used to climb these every day just to get to the academy!"

"No wonder you're so fast—" remarked Ka'rai. "You must have calves of steel."

Yowui chuckled bashfully. "Yeah… I guess so."

With that, Team Bee set off down the mountain and toward the Land of Rice.

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

Death… was his obsession. A non-stop eternal fear—most called it rest, but he called it pain. Death came for all, it ended all. Nothing would reach its full potential because of death. He wouldn't reach his full potential because of death.

That was a thought that terrified him, like nothing in this world could.

He was powerful. Power could prevent him from being killed. Through years of painstaking research, there was no poison or ailment that could kill him, either. But… Death would still come. Old Age…

He was born over fifty years ago, yet his body was born twenty. The body he inhabited wasn't his. His original body was long gone, left to time. He held no sentimentality toward it. Why would he? It was useless.

On top of that, the body he held now was indistinguishable in appearance from the original. The same pale skin—like the scales of a snake. His golden reptilian eyes… his silky black hair.

It was all the same.

But stealing bodies could only get him so far. No matter how young or old his body was, his soul would deteriorate. It too had an expiration date… despite all he had done to prevent it, he could still die.

There was one more thing.

One more thing he could do—then he would be truly immortal.

Truly immune to death.

"The Nibi…" Orochimaru said, looking back at the two men behind him.

Candle barely illuminated the shadows of the room.

The older of the two men had silver hair which hid his face as he bowed. Twin red dots on his forehead looked at the floor like a second pair of eyes. The younger man had those same dots, yet his hair was a shrouded gray.

"An ally in Kumo told me that the Nibi has left the village," informed the snake.

The younger man shifted. "Lord Orochimaru… last time you hired us to capture the Nibi, it went terribly."

"But you lived, no?" asked Orochimaru.

"We did…" he answered.

"Then you know how lucky you were. Even members of the Kaguya Clan pale in comparison to Bijuu."

The elder man looked up at Orochimaru, both pairs of eyes—real and fake—set sightly onto him. "Who is the new Jinchuriki?"

"He is but a boy, but he is an Uzumaki boy. His body interests me," said Orochimaru. "Try to keep his body as intact as possible."

The younger man shook his head. "But what if we fail again?!"

"Oh… you won't." Orochimaru chuckled, and the sound sent shivers down the Kaguya Brothers' spines. "I know you won't."

The older man grumbled, and the younger gulped.

"Zotsui." Orochimaru fully turned toward the two,. The older man narrowed his eyes at the call of his name. "Hatchi." The younger brother looked farther down.

"Once again, I ask you to capture the Nibi for me. Take it to the Hollow Division and I'll meet you there in due time."

They bowed once again. "Yes, Lord Orochimaru."

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

A few days had passed, and Ka'rai discovered that the Land of Rice truly lived up to its name. He and his team walked across the dirt road, with expansive rice fields on either side of it. In the distance were mountains, and one of them smoked.

"Is that the volcano?" asked Ka'rai, pointing toward the smoking mountain.

Bee nodded. "Yup! Mount Yakedo."

"It looks intimidating…" murmured Yowui, pursing his lips. "It's scarier than Nibasu was…"

"Probably because it's an actual volcano," Kay pointed out. Yowui shrugged.

Ka'rai cleared his throat. "So, Bee-sensei, how are you gonna stop the eruption or…?"

"Oh, I'm not gonna stop the eruption; I'm only gonna make it smaller! If it erupts right now, it'll cause nation-wide destruction!" Bee explained.

Yowui's eyes went wide. "So we're going to be there when the volcano erupts?!"

"Damn right!" confirmed Bee. "We gotta watch the fireworks. If not, then what's the point of going?"

"That… doesn't seem safe," murmured Yowui.

Bee scoffed, waving his hands dismissively. "You'll be fine!" He walked further ahead of the group, distancing himself from Yowui.

The boy let out a dejected sigh and shrunk into himself. "Right…" Suddenly, a hand was placed on his shoulder. Kay smiled at him.

"Bee-sensei is going to make sure none of us gets hurt. He's strong!" she assured.

Yowui exhaled. "I know! But something's telling me that something isn't going to go right."

"It's possible," Kay admitted. "But those feelings are wrong more than they aren't, in my experience, at least."

Yowui forced a smile and looked toward the sky; toward the beaming sun and the drifting clouds. "I hope you're right…"

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

Evening set in, the once white clouds were smeared with orange and the sky was tye-dyed purple and red. Two silhouettes dashed across the setting sun. Zotsui and Hatchi Kaguya.

"How much longer?" asked the younger of the two, Hatchi.

"We'll attack once night sets in, like we did the last time," Zotsui answered, narrowing his eyes.

Hatchi frowned… his brother was moving slowly. He was faster than this, and he knew it. Hatchi was faster as well. This wasn't for his sake, either. "Is there something wrong?"

"No," he answered quickly—an obvious lie.

Hatchi let out a breath. "You and I both remember our failure so long ago."

Zotsui stiffened.

"This is a new Jinchuriki, a child. On top of that, we've only gotten stronger. Is there truly a reason to be fearful?"

"I…" began the elder brother. His fists clenched. "We almost lost each other that day. I refuse for that to happen once again."

"It won't Zotsui." Hatchi looked toward the crescent moon in the purple sky. "I know it won't."

Zotsui chuckled. "You're right… It won't."

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

Night fell and Ka'rai laid alone in his tent. It was warmer than he was used to, but it didn't bother him—not one bit. What unsettled him more was the quiet. Even in his apartment, he could hear the high-altitude winds, the subtle rumble of the lively city night.

Out here, in the midnight wilderness, there was nothing.

The air was still; the crickets were silent.

All he could hear was his own breath—his heart beating in his ears.

He snapped his fingers to break the monotony. Again, he did it. Twice more, even thrice more.

He stopped… it only made the silence more apparent. Ka'rai frowned.

"Damn."

Suddenly, his tent ruffled. Ka'rai sat up from his back. There was a silhouette of a girl in front of it. "Kay?"

"You're awake," she answered, not moving from in front of the 'door.'

"You can come in…" murmured Ka'rai, shifting fully up, sitting with his back straight.

Kay opened the flap of the tent and sat down in front of Ka'rai. She smiled at him, almost the way a therapist would. "Is there a reason why you can't sleep?"

"I could ask the same for you…"

"I heard you snap, and that woke me up," she answered honestly.

Ka'rai paused. "Oh—my bad…"

"Don't worry about it," she assured. Silence fell as Kay pondered. "Are you nervous? Because it's your first time outside the village and all?"

"Well, isn't it yours too?"

"It's not," answered Kay. Ka'rai's eyes widened slightly. "But, it is my first time out of the village on a mission. It's okay to be nervous, y'know."

Ka'rai shook his head. "Nah, I'm not nervous. It just feels weird…"

"What does?"

"I don't know… everything?" Ka'rai shrugged. "I had trouble sleeping at the boot camp too. But it was better there because it still felt like Kumo. Well, it was, but here… it's not."

Kay nodded slowly. "Ah… that makes sense." She placed a hand on her chin and hummed. "Well, think of it this way. I'm here, and so are Yowui and Bee-sensei. We're all a part of Kumo, so where ever we are… it's like a mini-Kumo."

"Hmmm," thought Ka'rai. He smiled. "That's a nice thought."

Kay's smile warmed even more. "It is! Now use it to get some sleep, alright."

"Alright—!"

Kay's finger was on his lips. In nearly a blink of an eye, she was from the other side of the tent to directly in front of him. Chills went down his spine. His eyes were wide—Kay's smile was gone.

All warmth in her face froze over. Her lips moved, mouthing quiet.

Ka'rai nodded stiffly.

His eyes went from black to the heterochromic yellow and green of the Nibi. With his senses now enhanced, he could hear two sets of footsteps in their camp. Two unfamiliar scents… they smelled like the bones in the graveyard.

Ka'rai's eyes narrowed.

Stay put, mouthed Kay.

Ka'rai agreed with a nod. Bee and Yowui were still in their tents. But the two footsteps moved toward them.

Those two…

You know them, Nibi? asked Ka'rai.

They—

The tent ripped open. A spear of bone pierced through. Kay grabbed it. She attempted to snap it. It only pushed through her grip. Ka'rai's eyes glowed. Cobalt blue flames erupted from him. The tent burned. The eruption roared throughout the silent forest.

Both he and Kay leapt back. She had her mace in hand. Ka'rai's claws burned with Nibi Flame. Ka'rai smirked and his canines shone in the moonlight. "And who the fuck are you two?!"

"He's already adept at using the Nibi's chakra at such a young age…" said a man, looking toward one who was visibly younger.

"Looks like Kumo learned their lesson," murmured the younger man, holding a spear of bone.

Ka'rai—

What?! he questioned. The voice he heard was female, but it wasn't the Nibi—not even close.

Ambush—ago—

Quiet, commanded the Nibi, and the second voice was silenced. They ambushed my previous jailer. They're powerful… compared to you.

Ka'rai's green and yellow eyes glowed. He glared at the men. "You're the ones who killed Yugito!"

"What?" questioned Kay.

The men were dumbstruck. "How the hell do you know that?!" demanded the younger one, pointing his spear.

"It doesn't matter," spat the older one as he charged.

Before Ka'rai could react, Kay was in front of him. Her metal mace barely held back a mace of bone. Blood spewed from Ka'rai's shoulder. He screamed and grabbed the bone spear in his shoulder.

Summon more power, Ka'rai!

Another eruption of cobalt blue fire blazed around Ka'rai. His claws grew, his teeth sharpened, the paint on his face gyrated with black flame. A chakra tail whipped behind him. The younger man stabbed Ka'rai again. A tanto of bone protruded into his chest.

A flash of purple cut through Ka'rai's vision. Both arms of the man in front of him fell to the ground. He screamed. So did the elder man as the same was done to him.

A purple tentacle grabbed the neck of the armless man in front of Ka'rai. He was pulled toward Bee, who glowed an ethereal lavender. Eight Magatama were symbolized around his neck. The Kanji for Iron on his shoulder spread with lines of seals throughout his body.

Bee forced the men to their knees and he glared at them. "Now… who do y'all think you are?"

"The Strongest Man Alive…" said the younger man, trembling in tone and action.

Bee remained serious. "Nah, that's me, not you."

"We're under no obligation to tell you," spat the older man. With a roar, his body inflated with shards of bone. It pierced the hide of the tentacles and he glowed green. "Fifth Gate! Gate of—"

His head fell to the floor before he could finish the sentence. The younger man screamed out in horror. "ZOTSUI!"

"I only need one of you to tell me." Bee's back faced the remaining assailant. "Unless you want to end up like him, I suggest you tell me why you attacked Ka'rai."

Tears poured from his eyes, his silver eyes glared through them. "I won't tell you a damn thing!"

"Is that right…" The grip of the tentacle around him tightened—it was suffocating. He attempted to scream but only wheezed. Bee expected his bones to shatter, but they stayed strong. Bee examined the blade in his hand. It was chipped and cracked.

Bee's eyes narrowed behind his shades. "Your bones… they're strong." His fists clenched and the tentacle's grip increased tenfold. A sickening snap broke the night. "But I'm stronger."

Tears flooded the man's face, mixing with the blood that poured from his mouth. Bee loosened his fists and the tentacle subsided. The man slumped and wheezed blood. "Bastard…" he barely managed.

"Uh—sensei!" Ka'rai called, holding both of his open wounds. He was still enveloped in his cloak.

Bee took his eyes off the man and looked at his student. "Turn off your cloak. Kay, there are first aid supplies in my tent. Heal him."

"Yes," she answered, before sprinting off toward Bee's tent.

With a sigh, Ka'rai's cloak evaporated off of him. He collapsed to his knees, panting.

Bee sighed. Violent violet chakra spewed from the man. He screamed louder. Bones sprouted from his body and the ground like a shockwave. Bee barely dodged a protruding bone directly aimed at his face. When he sliced it with his blade, the metal shattered.

Ka'rai groaned as he leapt back. Blood poured from his wounds. The man's screams morphed into a hiss like that of a snake.

Nibi! What the hell is happening?!

I do not know! Summon my chakra!

The moment Ka'rai did so, he was pierced. He looked toward his arm and a snake merged with a bone bit him. The snake had white scales, silver eyes, and remnants of shrouded gray hair on its head.

Ka'rai's consciousness wavered. The Nibi's call of his name became more and more distant in his head. The last thing he saw was the throat of a snake around his head. The last thing he felt was the moist tightness of being swallowed whole.

The last thing he heard was nothing.

Utter silence.

ϟ—Chapter End—ϟ