Gaara
The desert wind wisped through Gaara's radiant locks as he crouched behind a sun-baked dune, his eyes fixed on the peculiar scene unfolding before him. Nora, the most enigmatic and final member of the Cult of Corruption, stood face to face with a young leaf ninja.
"Miu, you said?" Nora asked, her voice like sugar and taffy. "I'm surprised to see anyone coming out of that Corruption place. Good job, though!" Nora had a cheery smile on her face and her whole body bounced rhythmically, ever so slightly.
Miu's face wrinkled with confusion. Or was it anxiety? "A-Are you a sand ninja?" She asked.
"I'm Nora and I'm with the Cult of Corruption. Oh, the other guy said not to call it a cult. Uh, lemme say that different then," Nora said, twirling her fingers through her cotton candy hair. "I'm with the Cult of the Corruption."
Miu's body became more rigid and her hand inched towards the handle of her sword. "I… I don't know what that is," Miu said.
"Oh, the Corruption!" Nora said. "It's that place that's easy to get lost in unless you listen to K–" she stopped, a jolt of fear replacing her vacant smile.
What had Nora been about to say? She definitely was hiding something.
The Corruption though, yes, Gaara remembered what that was: the source of true love and power. But wait, is it really? Or is it just a trick, a deception meant to lure us into its grasp? For some reason, he thought of the Midnight Palace. He tried to grasp the thought tighter, but it trickled through the gaps in his fingers, gone like the shifting sands. Frustration gnawed at him, but the details… they just wouldn't stay still.
Miu's eyes narrowed. "The Corruption is harmful and it needs to be stopped."
Nora tilted her head, a curious expression on her face. "Stopped? But why? The Corruption is so much fun! It makes everything more interesting, don't you think?"
"You're insane," Miu said, her voice that had been shaky moments earlier, now firm. "The Corruption only brings destruction and suffering."
"Insane? Don't be so mean. I'm not crazy, I just get excited sometimes," Nora said.
No, she wasn't insane, just maximally airheaded. Gaara knew what insanity was like. He'd always heard that insane people don't know they're insane, but that wasn't true. How could he not notice the putty of his own thoughts slipping sideways into the extra dimensions he'd forgotten about any time he tried to give them form? It was in his hands, but he couldn't grab it. Whenever he tried, he found the thought had moved somewhere else, and his brain wouldn't let him, like he was the one was crazy! Which thought was the crazy one even?
"The Corruption is like a big, exciting adventure. You never know what's going to happen next," said Nora.
Gaara's thoughts spiraled once more. "An adventure? Like a treasure hunt or a quest for the holy sword? The unholy sword? No, no, it must be something deeper, something more profound."
"Maybe you've never been in the Corruption," Miu said, taking a deep breath. "It's not fun. I almost died."
"Oh yeah, me too! But then I was chosen."
"You were chosen by the cult. And what does… the cult do?"
"We have a big castle and a spooky swimming pool. One time I fought Maguro. He was weak."
Her eyes widened at the mention of Maguro, their magnificent monarch. Then she covered half her face with her hand and turned her gaze downward. "I'm glad he's alive. The cult must prey on people who aren't very smart."
"Yeah, that one guy prayed to Maguro and he's pretty stupid," she said, snorting a bit to muffle a laugh.
How dare she! Gaara clenched his fist. This dumb bitch thought her intellect superior to Maguro's? No… he had to calm down. Where Gaara could not comprehend Maguro's grand design, this woman lacked the intelligence to even recognize that it existed. Maguro must have intended for her to see him this way. His greatness was only to be beheld by those who were worthy.
"Are you saying Maguro is the… leader?"
"Yep! And he told me to go take over the Leaf Village," Nora said, then pointed at Miu's headband excitedly, "Hey, that's your village!"
Miu's eyes grew dark and gripped her sword's hilt. "If you're planning to do anything bad to my village, I won't let you."
Nora's eyes widened, a childlike excitement in her expression. "Ooh, are we going to play a game? I love games! What are the rules?
Before Miu could respond, Nora whipped out a jagged sword, its corrupted blade glinting menacingly in the desert sun.
Miu drew her own sword in response… a wooden sword!? Was she serious!? But as soon as Gaara thought this, the sword flared with a large and ominous chakra. It felt similar to a Bijuu's, if a Bijuu could be formed from corruption.
The two clashed, their swords meeting with a clank of steel of wood. Gaara was surprised to see the wooden sword hold up against Nora's monstrous blade. It even flared up, and for a moment, it looked like Nora would be thrown off balance.
But as Miu maneuvered for a second strike, Nora caught the wooden sword between two of her own sword's teeth and twisted sharply, sending Miu's sword careening through the air.
Miu leapt back and made a chain of hand seals. Trees erupted from the ground all around Nora, momentarily blocking her from view. Glorious trees! He would have to thank her if she survived for adding these to his desert. Maybe his village would even have frogs now.
Gaara saw several glints of steel all around Nora. Her sword appeared to be everywhere at once. The trees became lumber, sent flying in every direction.
Gaara watched in fascination as Miu desperately tried to fend off Nora's relentless attacks. She summoned wooden tendrils from the ground, but Nora danced around them with ease, her sword cutting through the wood like butter.
"This is so much fun!" Nora said. "You're really good at this game, Miu!"
Miu used another jutsu, launching a wooden dragon from the ground at Nora. Nora swung at it, but this time, the cut was shallow. Still, the dragon was diverted, sliding past Nora on her blade.
"Wow, that's amazing!" Nora said, wide-eyed like a child at a circus. "I wish I could make a dragon like that. But I guess I'll just have to settle for this."
Gaara's mind raced with possibilities. The dragon, the dragon! It had to be a sign, a symbol of the Corruption's power. Of course it was, it was made of wood. But why a dragon? Why not a bone unicorn or a flying frog monster?"
Miu began forming hand seals. "Don't think you've won just–"
Gaara didn't see her move. He just saw Miu suddenly in the air, Nora's blade protruding from the top of her head. Her face was locked in that look of intense concentration she'd had in her final moment.
What ridiculous speed. He'd only heard of one swordsman in history who could close distance and strike fast enough to interrupt a shinobi's hand signs.
"Looks like I win the game," Nora said, a playful pout on her lips. "But don't worry, I'm sure you'll do better next time."
Just then, three figures emerged from over a sand dune. The one who caught his eyes was the young woman with ethereal white hair, one missing arm, and a look of unbridled rage across her face.
Okimi
That woman was saying something, but Okimi didn't catch any of her words. Miu. Miu was dead. And this monster had a face she would never regret, the face she'd seen that night. Everything had been covered in blood. Her parents' lifeless expressions flashed through her memory.
Okimi let out all of that rage with one guttural shriek. She charged at the murderer with no other thoughts but to kill.
But before she reached her nemesis, a wall of ice materialized, blocking her path. She glanced behind her before returning her eyes to the target of her bloodlust. "Stay out of this, Yuki. She's mine."
"Okimi," said Kurotenshi. "Don't be reckless. You're way smarter than that."
"You don't know what she did. She deserves the most gruesome death imaginable."
"I know she just killed my teammate and one of my closest friends. Believe me, I'm barely holding it in right now. And I also know what it's like to be consumed with the idea of defeating evil. I nearly got us all killed."
She looked back to Kurotenshi. She remembered the way he had looked at her before, like she wasn't even human. Did she have that same expression on her face now?
Okimi's overflowing rage simmered down to a slow-boiling hatred. "...point taken. She still has to die, but I'd regret it if I killed her before asking her this," Okimi said, slowly walking around the ice wall to face her enemy. "Why did you do it? Why did you kill Miu? Why did you kill them: my parents," she said with malice that could freeze fire.
"Oh, that!" the crimson-eyed killer said. "Are you still upset about that? He told me to kill them, so I did."
"'He'? Who is 'he'?" There was someone else behind her parents' murder. It struck her that this should have been an obvious consideration. Had her thoughts really been that clouded this whole time?
"I'm not supposed to talk about that. He's always watching."
"Did he also tell you to kill the one you just murdered?"
"Oh no, she was the one who wanted to play. I was just walking by."
"I'll make you tell me who you're working for before I kill you. I'm going to enjoy making you talk, actually," Her hand reached for her Kunai pouch.
But her enemy was already there.
Okimi reeled backwards as her newly severed arm flew to the side, blood spraying from her stub. "You bitch!" Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. No arms left.
"Oh, sorry," the enemy said, "I never introduced myself last time. I guess that was rude. So, I'm Nora."
Ice spears erupted from the wall, forcing Nora to leap backwards out of their reach.
Yuki and Kurotenshi rounded the ice wall, taking position on either side of Okimi. Kurotenshi began healing Okimi's stub.
"Yuki, my eye patch," Okimi said.
Yuki gently unfastened and pulled away Okimi's eye patch. Okimi's cursed seal was already at work now, analyzing Nora's movement.
"Kurotenshi, don't bother healing me yet. My arm! Can you reattach it?"
Kurotenshi's eyes swept across the sand, but he didn't find the arm.
It found him instead. The withered arm full of boils and unnatural tentacular growths now had its grip tightly around his throat.
Yuki pulled at it, but it wouldn't budge.
Kurotenshi clawed at his neck. His hand went to his kunai holster.
But then the arm stopped its flailing. It became rigid and encrusted with frost. Yuki pulled it away.
"The hell was that?" Kurotenshi said.
"Oh, did you like it? Anything I cut with this sword becomes corrupted, and becomes mine. Hmmm. The rest of your body should be getting all corrupty too. Pretty bonkers, right?" Well, corruption didn't seem to work on Okimi. Takara had once told her that her soul was especially robust. Of course, once her arm was no longer attached, Okimi's soul arm had no longer been occupying it or protecting it.
"I'm sorry Okimi. I can't attach an arm that's been frozen," Kurotenshi said.
"Oh I didn't…" Yuki began, a grimace spreading across her face.
Okimi turned her eyes to Miu's body and found something quite disturbing. Her soul was still in her body, but corruption was spreading through it, fairly fast. What would become of her if her soul was corrupted? No time to ponder, but she definitely had to stop that from happening.
"Nevermind my arm, you need to sever Miu's arms."
Kurotenshi looked offended. "Okimi, she just died and you want to take her arms. She's my friend. I can't dese–"
"Quickly!" Okimi said. "You have to trust me on this. I promise, this is for Miu as well."
Kurotenshi closed his for a moment, then dashed over to Miu's body. Okimi followed closely behind him with Yuki. Kurotenshi pulled out a kunai and began cutting away at an arm while Yuki watched the enemy and prepared to defend her team.
As soon as Kurotenshi had severed the first arm, Okimi said, "Now attach it to me."
Kurotenshi did as he was bid. His eyes said that his mind was somewhere else as he mended the joint between her shoulder and her new arm.
"Now the other one," Okimi said.
Kurotenshi began cutting at the other one, between sobs.
Okimi laid a hand on Miu's chest and focused her chakra into Miu's soul. It was actually quite difficult to overwrite the corruption as it was spreading, but after a bit, she found that she could attack the edges where it was spreading. In the end, she guessed she had saved about half of Miu's soul. The rest had been corrupted and then overridden by Okimi's technique.
Before Kurotenshi got the second arm loose, the blackness running through the veins in Miu's face became very visible. Her eyes had changed as well. They were murky and black, lacking pupils, completely inhuman. Completely unlike the person she'd known.
"Good," Okimi said as soon as the second arm was severed. "Now the legs as well."
"Why do you need the... Fine." Kurotenshi said as he moved his dual kunai to Miu's thigh. But he dropped one. His arms were trembling and tears were streaming down his face. Damn it, Kurotenshi.
But Okimi still had to figure out what to do with Miu's soul. Should she just let her pass on in this state? With her hand on Miu's chest, she could feel a friendly intelligence. Miu was still in there.
"Do as you like," Okimi told her. "I suspect with my modifications, that you have other choices available than simply passing on." Her soul rose up a few feet from her body.
Then that body sat up, letting out a banshee shriek before lunging at Kurotenshi's neck with her teeth.
Kurotenshi reflexively punched her in the face, knocking a tooth out before stumbling backwards to his feet, an expression of guilt across his face. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Miu." Teardrops fell to his feet. He grabbed the arm and leapt backwards. Okimi distanced herself from Miu's corrupted corpse as well.
Of course, Okimi hadn't had time to rid her body of the corruption, as she'd been busy with her soul. Zombie-Miu was stumbling towards them now, holding her wooden sword between her teeth while her murderer clapped her hands enthusiastically. "Go get 'em, Miku!"
"Her name is Miu!" Kurotenshi shouted. "The person you killed was Miu."
"Yuki, can you hold her off while Kurotenshi…" Okimi trailed off as she looked at Yuki, now sobbing as well.
"Pull yourself together, Yuki."
"She was one of the people that I knew," Yuki said between sobs. "Outside of my squad, you're the only ones."
"I'm sorry, Yuki. But save your tears for after the fight. We have to kill this bitch, for Miu."
Yuki nodded fiercely, then ran forward. Miu swung her sword, sending a wave of black sand crashing towards Yuki, who created an ice ramp and rode it over the sand. She leapt down towards Miu.
They traded blows of sand and ice.
But it seemed Nora had grown bored with merely watching. She appeared in front of Okimi and swung her nightmarish blade, right for her throat.
But this time went differently than before. The seal in Okimi's eye had already predicted this, and Okimi had dropped low just before the attack. The sword passed over her head.
Okimi swung her foot at Nora, who caught it and tossed Okimi across the desert. The world spun. The desert slammed into her again and again as Okimi tumbled over the sand like a stone skipped across water. Finally, she came to a rest.
But Nora was already there. She plunged her sword down through Okimi's shoulder.
"Quit trying to cut off my fucking arm!" Okimi shouted. This was fucking absurd.
"But it would be so funny, Kimkim."
"Fuck off with that nickname!"
"Uhhhh, okie. I'll give you a different nickname."
Okimi's hand glowed with a ghostly white chakra and she lashed at Nora. But Nora effortlessly stepped back, and Okimi couldn't get much range of motion with a sword pinning down her shoulder.
Okimi began making hand signs. This was a last desperate gambit, since she'd never been able to do this with one hand. Perhaps it would come to her now when she really needed it.
And nothing happened.
She had nothing. She'd lost her arm and the Kusanagi and nothing else would work against the one she sought to kill. The one that would soon kill her.
Her eyes darted to Kurotenshi. No. He was coming, but he was too far and too slow. Then to Yuki. Perhaps, with the ice mirrors…
"Yuki, the mirrors, to me!" She shouted.
But she didn't think Yuki heard. She had her hands full not only with what had once been Miu, but also with an enormous corrupted wood dragon and several tree fragments.
As the dragon bore down on Yuki, it's dark wood rotten and seeping with termites, Yuki strung together her usual one handed seals. She launched her own dragon, made of ice at the abomination… but that wasn't what caught Okimi's attention.
What caught her eye was what she saw as Yuki made the hand signs. Only now with her eyepatch removed could she see it. Yuki's soul arm dislodged itself from her physical arm and moved in tandem with her material arm, forming the seals. This was how she did it!
Okimi let out a low cackle.
"I'm glad you like my cutting your arm off joke, Okimadoke!" the enemy said.
"The jokes on you."
She didn't even need material hands to cast jutsu. Her soul arms were already weaving the seals, unseen by her foe.
Okimi gripped the enemy's sword on the blunt side and sent a jolt of her spiritual lightning up it, forcing Nora to release her grip as she stumbled backwards.
But Okimi didn't release her. Oh no. Now that her jutsu had connected, she would rip her soul right out of her body. She pulled the sword out of her shoulder and got to her feet.
Nora screamed and pulled at her hair, at least until one soul arm dislodged itself from her body and her arm went limp.
But then Nora was gone, back across the desert near Kurotenshi. The weakness of Okimi's spiritual lightning was that an enemy could simply move out of range. That's why she normally trapped her targets first.
Something about Kurotenshi had changed. She couldn't see his eyes clearly from this distance, but there were black veins across his face, converging on those eyes. Had Nora grazed him? She didn't think so. His soul was visibly tainted by corruption, but it wasn't spreading.
Just then, her mind was assaulted by whatever Kurotenshi had done. Up was down and down was orange. She gripped at her head, then fell to the ground, rolling. Flashes of teeth ripping through flesh, of humans drowning, merging into a pool of blood filled her mind's eye.
Kurotenshi
Kurotenshi felt something absolutely wrong when he activated his sharingan, something that made his mind recoil. It was the exact same feeling he'd felt inside of the dragon.
Wherever he looked, corrupt chakra was converging at his focal point. Right now that meant Nora. She put a finger to her face. "Hey, that tickles, boyo! Nice try, but you can't corruption me." She moved her head and he caught a glimpse of Okimi far behind Nora. He pulled his focus back to Nora as quickly as he could. He didn't know what his technique might do to Okimi.
"So you're saying you're immune to the Corruption," Kurotenshi said. "How can that be?"
"I dunno." She turned back towards Okimi. Who the hell turned their back on their enemy when he was right there. "Hey, Okimberly! You're real smart, huh? Do you know why?"
"Are you just going to act all friendly," Kurotenshi shouted at her. "Like you haven't just killed our friend!?" Another tear ran down his face. Saying it out loud… it was still fresh. He still couldn't deal. He tried to formulate a plan, but nothing was coming to mind. Just pain.
So much pain.
His father's betrayal. The fear of being lost in the corruption. The feeling of being nothing but a burden to his team. The feeling of despair. His guilt for Okimi losing her arm.
The pain of Miu's loss. The anguish he'd suffered as he dismembered her corpse.
And the building rage, converging on Nora.
Kurotenshi felt another shift in his eyes.
Miu turned back towards Kurotenshi, apparently bored with Okimi's non-response. Kurotenshi's visual field flooded with chakra.
Miu's movements appeared to slowed. It was like she was running underwater. What was this? A sharingan thing? Kurotenshi wasn't sure what had happened, but now was his chance.
He made the hand-signs, then formed his whip of flame, slashing across the air at Nora.
Nora's eyes widened, and she leapt back, not fast, but faster than she had been moving… and fast enough.
"Hmm, this has been fun, but I'd better get going. I almost forgot about the mission. Silly Nora!" She tapped her fist lightly against her head and stuck out her tongue.
"Like hell you are!" Kurotenshi ran towards her and gave her a right hook, then a left. She took a few blows and then swept low with her leg, knocking Kurotenshi on his back.
When he got up, he saw she was running away, slowly gaining speed. For a moment he intended to pursue her, or maybe slow her again if he could.
But then he looked over to Yuki, hurling ice spears at Miu. He looked to Okimi, who was rolling on the ground, cackling like a maniac and ran over to her.