When Asami came to, she didn't know what was happening. There were loud sounds, some kind of clanging noises, but her ears were ringing and her head felt like it was split in two, making it hard to focus on anything but how uncomfortable and in pain she was.
She didn't know how long she had been out, or what had happened after she lost consciousness. Her back hurt, her arms hurt… Asami couldn't think of one spot on her body that wasn't screeching in protest as she shifted, trying to at least get herself onto her elbows so she could attempt to pay attention to what was going on.
She blinked wearily, gritting her teeth at the pain as she tried to get a look around. Long black terraces obscured her vision, preventing her from actually being able to look at anything, so she moved her hand to push the hairs out of her face. At the feeling of something wet, she pulled her hand back to see red staining her fingers.
Asami grimaced.
That was not a great sign.
She looked down at her clothing, mouth becoming dry at the blood and guts coating her yukata, bits of the man's internal organs and bodily fluids landing on her after he blew up. A coat of dust and rubble covered her clothes as well, but the man's innards were much more noticeable and disturbing.
It was disgusting, and she couldn't help but feel horrified at it. That man had been blown up like some disgusting weapon to be thrown away. Whoever did this, presumably the Uzumaki, killed that man in the most vile and disgusting way possible. It was absolutely repulsive, and she was beginning to feel enraged.
What sort of sick freak did that?!
Her head pounded as she tried to make sense of what was going on, the ringing in her ears not going away.
The last thing she remembered was trying to pull Kousuke away from the explosion, only to be flung into the wall away from him. Now she was… here… and Kousuke… where was Kousuke?
Her feeling of horror only increased at the sight of the meeting room, her eyes drifting over its current state.
It was totally in shambles. There were large chunks of rock and stone all over, part of the ceiling caved in, blocking off the doorway they had come in through. What was the most devastating though, was the giant hole that had been blown through the wall, giving view of the forests that surrounded the hideout.
The entire place was wrecked. The explosion had done much more damage than she originally anticipated.
Asami wasn't given any more time to take in the scene, as there was a flash of red, barely giving her the chance to roll on her side and dodge the blade of a naginata. The metal rang out as it hit the stone floor, it landing much too close to her head for comfort.
She looked up, eyes wide at the sight of a man with short, straight red hair, bangs hanging in his face. His lips were pressed into a firm line as he looked down on her, blue eyes sharp. He didn't waste his time picking the blade up and slamming it down for her again, ready to end her life just as he had presumably done to the others.
Asami repeated her actions, rolling over back where she was before, blade of the naginata missing her and hitting the ground.
Her gaze darted around in an attempt to spot her chokuto, but found nothing. It must have been flung away from her when the Uchiha man's body exploded, and she doubted she would be finding it again.
Asami shoved herself to her feet, as doing anything but laying on the ground and rolling back and forth would do her some good. She managed to dodge another swing of the naginata as soon as she was standing, but the powerful woosh of the weapon as it swung by her face did not bring her any relief. His hits were coming much closer than she would have liked.
Her entire body hurt as she continued to dodge the man's precise swings. It was still hard to focus fully on what was happening too, as her ears were still ringing and she had a terrible headache. All she wanted was to lay down and give her aching body a rest after being chucked into the wall like a rag doll, but this Uzumaki seemed to have other plans for her. With each swing, it seemed this man was getting closer to slicing her head off, too.
Duck, dodge, sidestep… that she was all she could seem to do without a weapon, and her holster filled with tools had been torn off of her in the blast.
The Uzumaki man brought the blunt side down on her this time. She caught it before it could hit her, her other hand grabbing ahold of the pole at its center. With all her strength, she tugged down on the weapon, the man grunting as he was yanked forward. She brought up her knee and smashed the wooden pole in half, splinters and pieces of wood flying out as it broke.
The Uzumaki stared at her in disbelief, tugging his half of the weapon away and backing up to give himself some space. His blue eyes were wide as he looked from his half, the one with the blade, to hers, a lengthy wooden pole that his blade used to be part of.
Asami looked down at the battered pole of the naginata and grimaced.
Of course she was the one who didn't get the blade. At least she managed to shorten his reach.
The break gave her the chance to quickly scan the room again. She felt a little relief as she finally spotted Kousuke, who was fighting his two opponents with his tanto. At least he was not weaponless like her.
His opponents had the same stark red hair as her own, and it only sealed her assumption that these Uzumaki were laying in wait for whoever came across the explosive tag attached to the last living man stationed at the hideout. This was an ambush.
Sharingan spinning to life, Asami turned her focus back to the Uzumaki in front of her, his face pinched in irritation at her snapping his weapon in half like it was nothing. But she didn't feel sympathy for doing so in the slightest. She found a little bit of satisfaction in knowing she had irritated him over something such as breaking his weapon.
Served him right. These sick bastards were the ones who blew that man up like it was nothing, and they were going to pay for that.
He grit his teeth, pulling a tag with ink scribbles out from his holster. He didn't say anything to express his rage, instead choosing to charge for her with the intent to slap the seal on her body.
She didn't know what the tag did, but she was sure she did not want it on her. The Uzumaki's abilities with fūinjutsu were a big fat mystery to the Uchiha, but the one thing they did know, was that you did not want a seal anywhere near you, and especially not on you. His absolute determination to touch her with it only made it more alarming.
She dodged his attempt to slap the tag on her, spinning the piece of wood in her hand to fend him off. The lack of anything sharp on it made it next to useless, but she would just have to treat it as though it was a bokken.
Asami sidestepped another attempt from the Uzumaki to slap the tag on her. He was starting to get frustrated that he kept missing her, jaw set and eyes sharp as he brought the blade around, his other hand moving to put the tag on her bicep. He was trying to sandwich her between his hand and the naginata to force her into the seal, but Asami swung the pole up to slap away his wrist before it could touch her.
Asami's Sharingan spun, trying to catch the gaze of the Uzumaki. He looked away, stumbling back to put distance between the two before she could cast any kind of genjutsu on him. She readjusted the pole in her hand after having been evaded, ready to charge for him again, but a loud battle cry caused her to falter in her steps.
Asami looked up, blinking as a red-haired woman leaped from one of the large pieces of rubble that had caved in from the ceiling. She held a katana in her hand, descending down on Asami with a look of pure rage and determination as she let out another battle cry.
Asami was quick to meet the woman's powerful strike with the pole, the wood creaking and groaning in protest as the katana slammed down on it.
The Uzumaki man looked at the woman who appeared from nowhere in alarm. "Akane?! What the hell are you doing?! That's an Uchiha!"
The Uzumaki woman, presumably named Akane, only smirked, meeting Asami's gaze head-on and not shying away from the spinning tomoe of her Sharingan. "Don't worry, Nii-san. I'm not afraid of her."
Asami craned her neck, looking at the woman as though she had two heads. She couldn't help the words that slipped out of her mouth at the woman's lack of fear. "Are you stupid?"
The woman's smirk disappeared at this, replaced by a look of rage. "Eh? You bitch! What did you just say to me?!"
Asami made a noise of disbelief at the woman's behavior. How stupid could one be to look directly into the Sharingan? There was a line between healthy confidence and foolishness, and this woman had gone far, far over that boundary.
Well, the woman would regret the choice to underestimate her.
Asami slammed her foot into Akane's stomach, sending the woman stumbling back with a pained grunt.
The man from before darted in front of his sister, shoving the wheezing woman behind him. She put a lot of strength into that kick, so she hoped the Uzumaki woman was feeling that pain deep within her gut. Served her right for insulting Asami and her Sharingan like it was nothing.
"Akane, break any genjutsu you're under right now," he said, not even trying to be discreet as he faced Asami, not taking his eyes off the Uchiha in front of him. He was still making a point to not look into her Sharingan, which was smart, but didn't seem like much in comparison to his sister, who was making a point of staring right into the dojutsu.
Asami folded hand signs, grunting as she was suddenly overtaken by a wave of nausea. She faltered in the middle of her jutsu, the ringing in her ears getting worse for a moment before it receded and she felt fine again.
Being thrown into a wall did not come without its effects, it seemed.
Asami's gaze flicked over at Kousuke's fight, stomach-dropping at how there were now three Uzumaki keeping him busy instead of two. Kousuke was a strong shinobi, but he was off just as bad as she was after the explosion if not worse. He winced every time he moved his arm, and she easily recognized it as the one he had dislocated before. Hopefully it hadn't been popped out of place again.
"I'm not under any genjutsu, Nii-san." Said the woman, very proud of this achievement. She stood to her full height, long, braided red hair swinging behind her. She pressed a hand to her stomach as she met Asami's gaze again, smirking.
Asami didn't let a twitch of emotion through at the cocky attitude the woman had. She didn't make any point to clarify whether she had cast one or not either, instead beginning to form hand signs again for the jutsu that was previously interrupted by her nausea.
She was beginning to feel even worse as the fight went on. They needed to end this fast and get out of there.
Faint lines of electricity began to form in her palm, the blue volts flickering to life with a faint buzzing. The small volts snapped at the air around her hand as she turned her attention to the two Uzumaki in front of her.
Sharingan spinning, she shot forward right past the Uzumaki brother, grabbing for Akane with the lighting in her hand. Akane gasped, sliding to maneuver out of her reach, the brother dumbstruck at how fast she had slid right past him. Asami was too quick for the woman, hand sliding over her bicep at just the right angle before she could pull away.
The lighting snapped viciously, searing into the sleeve of the woman's battle yukata and cutting into her skin. She cried out in pain, tearing at the sleeve erratically to get the smoking fabric away from her raw skin.
The brother swung at her with the naginata, his other hand moving to slap the tag on her back. Just as he was about to press it to her back, barely inches away, so close he could feel the fabric of her yukata against his arm, her image began to flicker, and she disappeared from view.
Akane let out a shriek, cradling her arm that was now free of the sleeve, the fabric laying on the ground at her feet, smoking. Her muscles twitched and spammed at the electricity coursing through it, deep red, raw electrical burns visible on her smoking skin.
She looked at her brother in a rage. "Where the hell did she go?!"
The woman and her brother looked around, seeming to be spinning in circles as they tried to spot her from the cover the rubble gave.
The man began to breathe heavily, blue eyes darting around erratically. "How did she just vanish like that? She was here just a second ago! I-I slapped that damn tag on her body! I know it!"
Akane had begun to feel just as flustered, heart pounding in her chest. She gestured at the seal still clutched between her brother's fingers, becoming irrationally angry at the sight of it. "It's right there in your hand! You didn't put the tag on her, you idiot!"
He looked at the tag as though it was the most horrifying thing he had ever seen, sweat dampening at his hairline and causing his bangs to stick against his forehead as he questioned his own memory. "No! I swear! How did this…?!"
He looked around, trembling as he tried to spot Asami. It was difficult for him to pay attention, overwhelmed with the sound of his own heart and the blood rushing through his ears. He was overcome with the sickening feeling that something was terribly wrong, everything around him seeming like a threat, that something was out to get him, and it wasn't only that Uchiha woman. There was an uncanny feeling deep in his gut that something was wrong, wrong, wrong. He was suffocating in his paranoia, breathing increasing as he was borderline hyperventilating.
He shook his head, trying to regain focus, suddenly feeling dizzy.
Akane wasn't fairing well either, though her paranoia was appearing more as aggression. She rocked on her feet as her stunned arm lay limp at her side, her other hand holding the katana with a white-knuckled grip. She was just as sweaty as her brother, the fabric of her yukata pressing against her back with visible sweat stains. The room felt as though it was closing in on her, threatening to crush her… she was in danger! She didn't know of what, but something was… wrong… was it her brother?
She looked to her brother, his blue eyes wide and fearful. She suddenly became angry, overcome with the urge to act out against him.
It was his fault they were laying in wait for the Uchiha to attack them… if he had only slapped that damn tag on her then they wouldn't have been in this situation!
Overcome with anger, she had the urge to swing her katana at him, fingers twitching around the blade. Part of her was telling her to calm down, that this anger coming from nowhere didn't make any sense. Why was she so angry? She didn't know, and the part of her that was overcome with such intense rage overpowered the whisper of reason.
With a cry of frustration, she swung her weapon at him, her brother letting out a gasp and sidestepping her swing.
He looked at her in disbelief, holding the broken half of his naginata up to protect himself. "What are you doing?!"
"It's your fault we're in this mess!" She roared, getting ready to attack him again.
Her brother looked at her as though she was insane, his fear and paranoia seeming to increase tenfold at the change of events as he came to a similar conclusion that his sister was currently threatening his safety.
He trembled like a small child, shaking his head erratically. "What are you saying?! I only missed her with the tag? You saw how fast she moved!"
Akane opened her mouth to respond with more angry shouts, but her words fell flat, mouth going dry at the sight of Asami over his shoulder, barely visible around the crook of his neck. The red of her Sharingan spun, long, thin face covered in the guts of her clanmate, lines of dried blood running down from her hairline and across the bridge of her nose.
Asami appeared almost demonic as she stared the woman down, covered in blood and gore. The sight paired with the red of her Sharingan chilled the woman to her bones. Akane couldn't even shout to warn her brother, heart hammering in her chest as Asami lingered behind him like a ghost, her frame frozen in fear.
In the blink of an eye, the action happening so fast the Uzumaki woman wondered if it had even happened at all, Asami grabbed ahold of his hair and wrenched his head back, jamming a Kunai into the side of his neck. Blood spurted out of his jugular, the man clawing at his throat as she released him to collapse to the floor like a sack of potatoes.
Asami wiped at her nose with the back of her sleeve, sniffing idly as the man choked on his own blood, it dribbling down the corners of his mouth and over his hands. She looked up from him, twisting the Kunai in her hand as she met Akane's wide, blue gaze.
"You treated one of my clansmen as though they were a piece of trash to be thrown away," Asami didn't feel any mercy as she spoke evenly, the man continuing to cough, spasming for any kind of relief at her feet. "You treated a living, breathing, human as a trap for your personal gain in the most disgusting way possible."
Even if she appeared passive on the outside, her voice cool and calm, she was enraged, disgust seething through her as she mulled over their actions once again.
How could they slap an explosive tag on that man and leave him there for such an inhumane, painful death? To leave him on the brink of death, knowing that an ally was going to stumble upon him with the intention to help… to leave him with the torment of knowing he would probably bring an ally, a member of their clan, and possibly a friend or family member, to their death… it was despicable. She couldn't even fathom the emotional torment that man had gone through.
"You blew up a man just to destroy our base," Asami spat, unable to help the anger overtaking her. She was absolutely appalled at what they had done just to get a strike against them. It was disgusting.
Akane seemed to snap out of it, gasping as she wrung the katana in her hand, looking down at her brother's twitching body, and then back to Asami. "You—! How did you make me turn on my own brother?! You crazy bitch!"
Tears streamed down the Uzumaki woman's face as she began to sob hysterically, realizing now that strange anger was some sort of genjutsu. She growled out a couple of things that didn't make coherent words through her cries, cursing herself for not realizing it sooner. She shook her head back and forth wildly, before charging at Asami with newfound strength. She let out a scream of rage, swiping at her side.
Asami barely sidestepped the sword, able to feel the sheer force of the swing as it grazed her side. She looked at the woman in mild surprise, not having expected the amount of aggression she was displaying in her attacks.
Asami was only armed with a Kunai, one she had slid out of the Uzumaki man's holster to kill him with. It would do little against a katana, especially when she was swinging her weapon around with a crazy amount of brute strength.
It would have to do, though. She didn't see her chokuto around anywhere, and she doubted she would be getting it back again.
"You underestimated the abilities of my Sharingan," Asami flicked away a swipe of her katana, dodging as Akane swung at the side of her face with a punch. She met the woman's gaze again, eyes narrowing. "You, just as your brother did, will pay the price for that."
Akane was outraged at Asami's threat, growling as she attempted to punch her again, her fist barely grazing the side of Asami's head as she turned away. She could hear a distinct woosh as it flew past her ear and blew back her hair, the hit coming much closer than she would have liked.
She caught the woman's fist in the palm of her hand, gritting her teeth as pain erupted down her wrist, the punch packed with a crazy amount of strength. Her wrist ached, immediately regretting her choice to catch the swing.
Sharingan spinning, Asami cast a genjutsu, the woman's footing suddenly becoming wobbly. Akane made a noise of irritation as she noticed the disruption, trying to pay attention to her fight while also dispelling the minor genjutsu cast to affect her balance. Taking advantage of the way she was being spread thin, Asami grabbed ahold of the woman's shoulder with her free hand and flipped herself up to cage her legs around her neck. With a cry of strength, Asami flipped her over, slamming Akane into the ground.
The Uzumaki woman coughed blood as the wind was knocked out of her, a random piece of rubble slamming into her back. Asami kept her legs locked around the woman's neck, squeezing her airways with her thighs as she fumbled for the Kunai she dropped when she flipped herself up. She grit her teeth, stretching painfully on her side as she reached for it, fingers barely grazing the handle.
She gasped as searing pain erupted through her upper thigh, looking over to see that the woman had bitten her. Asami let out a shriek of anger, tightening her grip around her neck with her legs in response, but the woman only sunk her teeth even more so into her skin, the fabric of her yukata barely hindering the pain. The woman was biting her hard.
Asami breathed heavily, huffing as the woman continued to bite and drag her fingernails down her legs in an attempt to get her off. She was sure the bite was drawing blood with how painful it was, the woman sinking her teeth deep into her skin. She made another grab at the Kunai, gasping in relief as her fingers curled around the handle.
She shot up, crying out as she brought the Kunai down on the woman, slamming the blade into her chest. The woman cried out, releasing her leg from her mouth. Asami yanked the Kunai out and slammed it down on her again, Akane making a strangled noise of pain as the knife sunk into her chest. Her hands went limp, blue eyes wide and staring at the ceiling vacantly, Asami's blood from her thigh rimming her mouth.
Asami let her legs go slack, breathing heavily as the adrenaline from the fight began to wear off. The woman was certainly dead now.
She peeled back her yukata, cringing at what she was about to see as she looked at her thigh to see the damage the woman had done.
"Son of a bitch," Asami huffed, looking at her leg in disbelief as she eyed the visible teeth marks on her thigh, blood dribbling from her skin. It burned unlike any other wound she had before, and it was safe to say she would never want someone to bite her again. The woman acted like some rabid animal!
Asami ripped at the Uzumaki woman's yukata, taking part of the fabric and wrapping it around her leg. The pressure seemed to bring a little bit of relief to her, giving her enough confidence to stand.
She grimaced at the sensation of blood dribbling down her leg, reaching down slowly to take the Uzumaki woman's katana. The woman wouldn't be needing it anymore, seeing as she was very dead, so Asami was going to put it to use. Served these bastards right for making her lose her chokuto. She had that thing since she was fourteen!
She breathed heavily, sweat running down the side of her face, body aching after the fight she went through. Asami was still feeling the effects of the explosion, unable to help the random wave of nausea that hit her again as she stood at her full height. She pressed a hand to the side of her head, blinking in an attempt to regain her focus and get rid of the dizzy spell. She looked over her shoulder as she waited for it to pass, still huffing as she turned her attention to Kousuke and his fight again.
Just as she looked over, he was jamming his tanto into the stomach of an Uzumaki, the man crying out and stumbling back as Kousuke ripped it back out of his gut. The man pressed a hand to the wound as he heaved in pain, blood dribbling over his fingers and splattering against the floor.
There were only two of them now, so he must have killed the third man already. The bloody body laying off to the side of their fight only confirmed her speculation.
Kousuke moved to swing his weapon at the man's neck to finish the job, unbeknownst to his other opponent, a man with long red hair tied into a ponytail, coming in for a lethal strike with his Kunai.
Asami gasped in alarm, shooting forward.
Even as fast as she was, she knew she would be too slow to stop the man from sinking the blade into Kousuke's neck. She was too far away and wasn't fast enough to make it in time, and even if she were to call out to him, he wouldn't be able to react in time to stop the blow.
Unless…
Mid-step, Asami's frame began to flicker before disappearing altogether.
The long-haired Uzumaki was moments away from slamming the Kunai into the back of Kousuke's neck. The injured Uzumaki grinned, sweat running down the side of his face as he anticipated his comrade's killing blow.
Noticing the attitude change of his wounded opponent, Kousuke followed his gaze and looked over his shoulder, Sharingan spinning and mouth going dry, the Uzumaki moments away from a successful attack.
Just before the knife could sink into his neck, Asami appeared out of thin air behind him, her frame flickering into view, before becoming solid again. She met Kousuke's gaze for a split second, his eyes widening a fraction at her sudden appearance from nowhere, before she swung the katana, slicing across the man's back with a spray of blood.
The Uzumaki cried out, stumbling forward. Kousuke slid to the side to avoid the man falling into him, thinking that he was finished from what would usually be a lethal strike. There was a long bloody stripe across his back, his skin visible through the tear in his yukata.
Instead of collapsing to his death, the man heaved, turning to look over his shoulder at Asami. He breathed for a moment, before making a strangled noise, face contorting into one of rage at the sight of the weapon in her hand. "You… that's Akane-chan's katana!"
Kousuke looked between Asami and their opponents, huffing as he got a moment to catch his breath. He wrung his hand around his tanto, grimacing as he rolled his shoulder, pain erupting down his arm and up to his neck. He was frazzled at how close he had just come to his death, trying to regain his focus from how close of a call that had been.
Asami didn't say anything in response to the man's accusation, breathing heavily as she held her weapon out in front of her, waiting to see what the man's next attack would be.
It was unnerving that he was still standing, since if she had been struck across the back like that, or any other opponent, they would have died or at least collapsed. Yet this man seemed to be powering through it, pulling this sense of strength to continue standing from nowhere.
The Uzumaki were strong opponents, that was for sure. It was giving her a stretch of her abilities, though it was not a challenge she wanted to endure much longer. She and Kousuke were battered and she was starting to run low on chakra. They needed to put an end to the fight and head back to the compound to alert Madara of the attack on the hideout.
The Uzumaki Kousuke wounded, a man with short spiky red hair, looked at the one Asami cut in horror. "No… that's not Akane's weapon, is it?"
The short-haired man heaved again after speaking, wincing as more blood began to dribble over his hand, the pressure he was applying doing little to no good. He looked over in the direction Asami had fought her opponents, making a noise of disbelief at the sight of the dead Uzumaki laying among the rubble. His eyes lingered on the woman, blood pooling around her frame on the ground, before moving to the woman's brother, his neck and face covered in the deep red liquid.
He turned back to Asami, his expression one of disbelief and disgust, sweat running down the side of his face, becoming nauseated after the sight of his comrades. "You killed them… you killed… both of them…?! You… You're going to pay for that!"
Asami didn't let a twitch of emotion through, waiting for their next move, katana held in front of her face. She knew the Uzumaki's dead bodies did not make it a secret that their deaths were messy and painful, so his disgust was not surprising to her.
Kosuke didn't dive straight in for an attack either, lips pressed into a firm line as he held up his tanto in a defensive pose. He was tempted to run at them, but if Asami was waiting to see what their next move would be, then so would he.
The short-haired man, the obvious younger one out of the two living Uzumaki, darted forward to attack them, blood dribbling down the sides of his mouth as he did so, one hand still pressed to his profusely bleeding wound.
Asami was baffled that he was still moving with a wound like that. To anyone else, the injury would have been lethal almost immediately, but here he was about to engage in a fight with her, still seemingly agile. She was almost envious of the resilience these people had. What the hell were they feeding them?
He set his sights on Asami, swinging his katana at her with determination to kill her for what she had done to his clanmates. She met his swipe with her own, the clang of the metal ringing out as they collided. He pulled his blade away and swung for her again, Asami side-stepping his swing and sliding her blade across his thigh as she dodged.
The man cried out, the slice deep and already bleeding profusely after just receiving the injury. With how much blood he had already lost from his wound from Kousuke combined with the cut she had given him, she didn't think he was going to last much longer.
The Uzumaki seemed like they were tough as nails, but even the toughest wouldn't be able to continue after losing so much blood.
The man stumbled, unable to move his leg properly. Sweat ran down the side of his face, skin much paler than it had been the first time she engaged in the fight. She could see the visible wear of his injuries, even if he hadn't been acting like it.
The man dropped to his knees at her feet, palms pressed to the floor as he threw up, blood splattering against the concrete and fallen rubble. He hunched over, heaving and trembling, grunting and making strangled noises of discomfort.
She looked down at the man at her feet, almost feeling sorry for him as continued to shake and heave from his injuries. He was moments away from dying, the amount of blood emptied across the floor from him made her sure of that. Even if she felt sympathy, she didn't have any desire to undo the deaths she had caused already or the life she was about to take.
These people deserved the death they received. They broke into their hideout, something that hadn't been done before, and then slaughtered all the men stationed there. She hadn't forgotten about the man they used as a human bomb either. His blood and guts that covered her frame and streaked her hair were a reminder of that.
They were about to receive a rightful punishment for the people they killed.
Asami paused for a moment, hesitating as she watched him reach for the katana he dropped, making a shaky attempt at returning to the fight. It was baffling that he was still trying to attack her, his perseverance unnerving. He was on the brink of death and he was still reaching for his weapon to kill her? In a way, she commended him for it.
She didn't let him grab it though, kicking it far away, the katana skidding across the ground and sliding between large pieces of rubble before he could wrap his fingers around it.
Asami deemed him little of a threat now, wringing the stolen katana in her hand as she idly prepared herself to kill the Uzumaki on the brink of death at her feet. She was going to make it quick, then help Kousuke in his fight so they could wrap this up quickly. She glanced over for a split second, noticing that Kousuke and the other man were now engaged in their own battle.
She was glad to know Kousuke was not spread as thin anymore after she had intervened, though she could tell that he was still injured. As was she, the steady dribble from the woman's bite at her thigh and pounding headache a reminder of that.
Asami jolted, a sudden burning pain exploding in her stomach as she looked down, the handle of a Kunai sticking out of her stomach, blade sunk deep inside of her. Fingers wrapped around the handle of the Kunai, tugging it down a fraction before it was ripped out, red covering the weapon.
The Uzumaki man grinned up at her as he was now sitting on his knees, wincing as he allowed the Kunai to clatter to the ground, his hand falling limp at his side. He huffed, slumping in relief after delivering the blow. "That… was for Akane."
The Uzumaki man fell to his side, eyes vacantly staring at nothing as he was now dead, finally succumbing to his injuries.
Asami stared open-mouthed at the blood that began to pool at her stomach, the katana clattering out of her hand and falling to the floor. She stumbled back, staring in shock at the red liquid that continued to spread across her yukata like an unstoppable force, mouth going dry.
She coughed, feeling the trickle of blood run down the side of her mouth. She was quick to press her hands to her stomach in an attempt to stop the bleeding, hissing in pain as she did so, the searing heat spreading through her abdomen tenfold and causing her to heave.
Asami peeled her hands back to look at the redness staining her palms, mouth opening and closing as she stared at the blood as though it was otherworldly. There was so much blood she couldn't even see her skin anymore, hands completely covered in it. Her breath hitched in her throat as her hands began to feel strange and tingly, her vision beginning to blur as she tried to make sense of it all.
Was someone shouting at her? She didn't know. She could hear loud noises, but all she could focus on was all the red coating her palms and seeping through the fabric of her yukata. She shook her head back and forth, trying to focus on whoever was calling out to her, but she couldn't, suddenly realizing that she was panting, the tingling in her hands only getting worse, a cold rush in the back of her head. Was she hyperventilating, or was she not breathing at all? She couldn't tell.
She stumbled, falling on her side beside the Uzumaki, spotting in her vision as the tingling In her limbs became worse.
Asami laid there, unsure how much time was passing. She could feel herself becoming weaker, tingling in her arms and hands getting worse, her mouth incredibly dry. She was parched, the thought of water almost bringing tears to her eyes.
Was this how Hana felt?
She murmured something as she felt herself being picked up and slung over someone's back, blinking blearily as her arms were wrapped around their neck. Arms were hooked underneath her legs, as they adjusted her against their back. Asami grimaced as they brushed against the Uzumaki woman's bite, and then they were moving.
Asami opened her eyes, feeling extremely tired as she tried to get a look around to make sense of what was going on.
Trees rushed past them in a blur, the ride not a smooth one as her stomach wound pressed against their back. She hissed as her wound was stretched in an unpleasant way, before realizing there was another pressure on her stomach, as though someone had wrapped a piece of fabric around her midsection to help hinder the bleeding. It was uncomfortable and she wanted it off, but even in her confused state, she knew it wouldn't be wise to do so.
She tilted her head, furrowing her brows as soft curly hair brushed against the side of her face. Asami hummed, realizing that Kousuke was the one who was carrying her.
There was the sound of his voice, and she realized he was speaking to her. She squinted as she tried to listen to what he was saying, but the world around her was fading in and out, things around her seeming almost as though they weren't real. She was delirious as she tried to focus on what was going on, having a difficult time putting the sounds into words.
He hit the side of her leg with his hand, jolting her out of her dazed state for a moment. Asami grunted, the searing pain in her stomach increasing the longer she stayed conscious.
"Stay with me, okay?" He huffed, Asami finally able to make out what he was saying. "We're gonna be at the compound soon enough, all right? I'm gonna get you there."
Asami hummed again but didn't say anything in response. She wanted to stay awake since Kousuke seemed to think it was important for her to, but no matter how much she wanted to, it was out of her control. She nodded off, resting her head on his shoulder as her eyes slid shut.
Kousuke made a noise of panic, feeling her head drop against his shoulder. He cast a glance at her, smacking at her leg again to get her attention. "Asami, hey—! No, c'mon, open your eyes!"
There was a fluttering sound, and he looked up to see Asami's crow sailing beside him.
"Do you want me to alert her cousins of the attack?" Asked the crow after assessing the situation at hand.
He wanted to slap himself for being so stupid! They should have sent the crow to the compound to alert them of what was wrong the moment they were ambushed by the Uzumaki. He hadn't even thought about the bird, and he was sure Asami had forgotten about the crow in the midst of all the fighting as well.
"Go! Tell them Asami is injured badly!" He cried, the bird taking off without further instruction.
He hissed at the pain exploding through his shoulder as he landed on another branch, a slight limp in his leg as he had done something to it after the explosion. He was in pain, weak, and injured after the fight he had gone through, but he couldn't afford to slow down with Asami on the brink of death. Whether she was going to live or die rested on his shoulders, and he was going to make sure she lived.
He shot through the forest with newfound strength, determination in his bones to get her to the compound before it was too late.
Kousuke thought he was going to cry in relief when he finally came to the entrance of the compound, stumbling at the sight of Madara springing over, Izuna hot on his heels.
"She—there was Uzumaki!" Shouted Kousuke in a panic as Izuna took Asami off his back. "She's been stabbed in her stomach! I—I don't know what else might be wrong with her!"
Izuna looked shaken beyond belief, looking at his unconscious cousin in horror. He glanced over to Madara, before darting in the direction of the healers, leaving Kousuke and Madara to stand in silence.
Kousuke was trembling, hands shaking, suddenly aware of Asami's blood all over his backside and coating his hands. He sobbed, hyperventilating as he looked down at all the blood. All of Asami's blood.
He shook his head, crying now as he tried to explain himself to Madara, the horror of the situation dawning on him. "I tried to get her here as fast as I could! I—I—"
Madara clamped a hand on Kousuke's shoulder, making him fall silent. He looked at Kousuke, mouth pressed into a firm line. "You did the best you could. You brought her home. All we can do now is hope the healers can help her."
Standing at the entrance to the compound, barely a few feet inside with his clan leader standing beside him, all Kousuke could do was stand there and cry, covered in Asami's blood.