ϟ—Chapter Thirty-One — Raindrops—ϟ

The roar of thunder and of the Fourth Raikage was nigh indistinguishable. On a peak far above Kumo, he took out his anger. He paid no attention to the thunderstorm his cloak caused—only the intensity of the chakra in the punches he threw. Another furious bellow and he turned a stone to electric dust.

There was nothing that withstood him—everything around him was so weak. It was like he was a bull that lived in a world of paper. Too breakable, no resistance. No satisfaction of pushback from the world around him.

Ay roared and his hair stood. A bolt of lightning struck the sky and blasted a hole into the clouds. He was a fool to trust a snake like Orochimaru! What sense did it make?! 'Oh, what happened in Yakedo were the actions of rouges… I've since taken care of them.'

That was a fucking lie. And now his brother was taken by him! As well as Kumo's greatest military asset! His village might as well have been in shambles. What was worse was that bastard Ka'rai Uzumaki. His treason might've been half the reason why Kumo was in this pathetic state with no Jinchuriki.

The Nibi was on the loose. He commanded half of the ANBU to stop at nothing to recapture that bastard traitor. Capture on sight. Kill if able to capture the Nibi. The world wouldn't be safe for Ka'rai Uzumaki had he had anything to say about it.

The other half was fully in charge of tracking down Orochimaru. He was Kumo's top priority alongside Ka'rai Uzumaki. His brother was going to be retrieved and Orochimaru was going to die.

But dammit it shouldn't have happened in the first place. Dammit, Dammit—"DAMMIT ALL!" Ay screamed, putting all of his might, all of his fury, all of his power into the two fists he catapulted into the air. In a Liger Bomb, he slammed them onto the mountain. The roar of thunder turned deafening as a flash of blinding lightning struck down from the storm he accidentally caused.

A plume of static dust went up in a mushroom cloud as Ay fell thousands of feet. He landed on his two legs like it was nothing. Ay cursed under his breath. Too fragile.

"Sheesh," said an unfamiliar voice. "Making the cartographers redraw the maps because of your little tantrum…"

Ay snapped his head toward the sound, glaring. "Who the hell are you?!"

"I," he introduced, dancing in through the dust and static like a ghost toward him. "...am a man with information!" The figure was tall, lanky, with a faceless mask of midnight black and blood red crimson. Not an inch of skin was shown—he was completely covered in a black, Shinobi body-suit.

Ay was not in the mood for this shit. In a flashing blink, he hit the man with a lariat. He felt less resistance than he was supposed to—Genjutsu?!

"Hey! I'm not here for a fight, Lord Raikage," said the man as he appeared from thin air, like a damned ghost.

Ay growled. "You cannot cast Genjutsu on me you fool!"

"I'm not trying to—"

Another lariat hit another illusion.

"What the fuck, man?!" The ghost exclaimed as he appeared again. "I guess I should lead with this: I know where Killer Bee is."

Ay stopped his attack, glaring a sparking gaze at the man. "Why should I believe that?!"

"Because! I used to work with Orochimaru! Zero… does that title ring a bell? Hm?"

"No, the hell it doesn't!"

"God dammit—"

Another lariat. Another illusion.

"For fuck's sake Ay the Fourth, is it possible to reason with you?"

"Give me one reason why I should trust you!"

"Eh, fair… anyway," this so-called Zero coughed. "Killer Bee! That magnificent brother of yours…"

Ay weaved a hand seal and the entire area filled with static sparks of electricity.

Zero paused. "Oh shit." He weaved a seal himself.

Before Ay could strike him, he was gone.

"That was a close one! You could've killed me!"

This time, Zero's voice was omnidirectional. There was no telling where he was—" Show yourself you coward!"

"Killer Bee is no longer in possession of Orochimaru!"

That made Ay pause. "What?!" No! Don't fall for his stupid mind games—"Then where is he?!"

"Hm… I don't think I'll tell you!"

The presence of Zero had disappeared. Ay didn't let his guard down.

However… the ghost didn't return.

Ay cursed once more before returning to Kumo.

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

This new body that Yugito found herself in. It wasn't what she was used to. Yowui, the man, he wasn't too notable to Yugito before all of this. Respectable ability, he deserved a promotion to Chunin, if that was the sole determiner. He was just unfortunate enough to be put on a team with monsters.

Though what held him back was his mindset. He was a coward, by her standards at least. Yowui's mindset was of somebody average. So, that was all he was destined to be. Unless he changed, however. Could he have been more than what he ended up being? What were the limits of his potential?

Well, it was up to her to bring it out now.

Yugito walked calmly, looking at the mission report in her hands. A D-Rank, all she was capable of doing at the moment.

Rank: D
Client: Tatsuya Endo
Task: Help her weed roots.
Possible threats: Insects, stray animals.

Plants had to be hardy to grow in Kumo. The soil was hard and rocky… what type of garden would be grown here? Well, Yowui would know the answer to that, considering he grew up in the lowlands of the Land of Lightning, the countryside. He was much better suited to this mission than she was.

Yugito made her way low, Kumo was definitely more of a vertical village than a horizontal one. The Furachi had their compound suspended by bridges, in the clouds. The Chinoike were much lower, in the watery lake in the depths of Kumo, which was once a massive volcanic crater. It stopped erupting hundreds of years ago.

It didn't take Yugito too long to meet Tatsuya. Yowui's body was quite adept at walking; she didn't even feel the slightest bit of fatigue or strain. Admirable. Tatsuya was an old lady, hair silver and wrinkles prominent all over her dark skin. She wore a purple sundress and a farmer's hat. She smiled at her. "Oh, hello young man!"

Immediately Yugito fixed her mouth to correct her, but then remembered… that she was indeed in the body of a young man. When she greeted Tatsuyo with a warm, "Hello," it was the voice of a young man.

This feeling was uncanny. The body she piloted… truly was not her own. She shouldn't be alive. She shouldn't be here.

Despite that, Yugito would take every chance to still be here.

There was no force that would stop her from serving Kumo another day.

Her body or not.

"What should I call you?" asked Tatsuya as she led her to the garden where her mission would take place.

For the first time, Yugito hesitated answering that question. "...Yugito."

"Oh? But that's a girl's name."

"What of it?"

Yugito and Tatsuya met each other's eyes, with Yugito daring Tatsuya to challenge her. The old lady cleared her throat. "Right, anyway, here is my garden!"

It was a small garden, a floating wooden platform on the lake, ropes nailed to shore held it in place. Rich, dark soil grew a variety of flowering plants that Yugito couldn't identify. She knew what Yowui could have.

"Innovative," murmured Yugito under her breath.

Tatsuya let out a bashful chuckle. "Yes, I made it myself in my younger days. My arthritis has gotten bad over the years, let me tell you! By the day, it's gotten harder and harder to tend to my plants… So that's why I've enlisted your help!"

Yugito gave a dutiful nod, bowing to Tatsuya. "As a Kumo Shinobi, it is my pleasure to serve a Kumo Citizen."

"Oh stop it, you!" Tatsuya said with an elderly, flattered giggled. "I wish my grandchildren were as responsible as you! They all went off to be bigshot Shinobi, leaving 'ol grandma all by herself here…"

"I see," Yugito said, standing back to Yowui's full height. "All parts of being a Shinobi are valuable, including the mundane," she said, walking toward the garden. "Most young Shinobi only see the glory in being a Shinobi, and not the true value of serving their country."

"Oh… you're a wise young lad," Tatsuya took a seat, taking off her sandals to allow her feet to soak in the water. "We need more youngins like you."

"I agree," Yugito said without missing a beat, walking onto the garden platform and digging her fingers into the soil, plucking out the plants that didn't belong. Yowui's body had a surprising amount of precision, it was nothing compared to what hers once was, but for his age, it was certainly notable.

"Others…" Yugito continued, gritting her teeth as Ka'rai and Hane crossed her mind. "Are full of themselves, think they know better than everyone else around him. Their arrogance does nothing but hurt Kumo and their allies."

"Oh, you can say that again!" Tatsuya agreed with a laugh. "This village needs more people like you!"

"I wouldn't say that," Yugito admitted, picking out another weed. Yowui's physical strength was impressive as well, he was about as physically strong as Ka'rai without any of the Nibi's Chakra… he was already physically stronger than her old body. "We just need less people like them." Yugito flexed and yanked out a stubborn weed with a sigh.

"What about your grandchildren?" asked Yugito, looking at Tatsuyo.

A fond smile crossed the old lady's face. "Oh, I love those little rascals. They're rowdy, but have a good heart! They went on some big mission along with a whole lot of Kumo a couple of days ago. I haven't seen them since, but knowing them, they got themselves in some trouble that they're trying to get themselves out of."

"I see…" Yugito's eyes narrowed. Her fists clenched. "I'm sorry, but your grandchildren are probably dead." She picked out another weed.

Tatsyuo gasped. "Don't say that! It's a bad omen."

Even Yugito couldn't help but wince. Her weed-picking paused. "The mission they went on, wasn't a regular mission. It was an invasion of Konoha. Your grandchildren went to war. All Kumo Shinobi were ordered to retreat the moment the invasion ceased.

"If they haven't returned, then they are dead."

Tatsuyo looked on in shock and horror. Silence cut through the air like a blade.

"My condolences for your losses." Without as much as a sigh, Yugito continued to pick the weeds.

The old lady shook her head. "No, if… If they were dead, then I'd at least have their bodies returned to me by now!"

"War is brutal. A Shinobi War is several magnitudes beyond the concept of brutal. Most bodies are irrecoverable for one reason or another," informed Yugito, still picking the weeds.

Another serrated blade of silence ripped through the air. It was broken by the sound of Yugito pulling another weed. She was almost done. Her eyes as a Shinobi allowed this to be a thorough and quick process. She'd then be able to move on to the next D-Rank after this.

It was after about a minute that Yugito heard Tatsuyo's quiet cries. There… wasn't much she could do. Well, that was besides serving her. Even despite that, the old woman's grief made the world go dark.

Yugito paused. Noticing the drop in visibility—the world had literally gone dark. She looked up and saw the night sky behind the clouds, when it had just been day. A subtle silver glow let Yugito know that the moon had turned full, when it was but a crescent the night before.

"What the hell?" muttered Yugito as she looked to the sky.

The mountains, clouds, and buildings shrouded the night sky, Yugito was unable to see what was going on. Tatsuyo was too enthralled in her grief to notice. Before long, the sky snapped back to daytime as if nothing happened.

Yugito spent several silent moments contemplating what the hell just happened.

Then… she went back to picking her weeds.

Whatever happened, Yugito was going to fight it had it proved a threat to Kumo.

If there was one thing that she was thankful to Ka'rai for, was that he allowed her a second chance to serve Kumo.

Her body or not, morality be damned.

All that mattered was that she was able to serve Kumo.

That she was.

And so, Yugito was happy.

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

Ninety-six thousand Ryo. B-Rank. Sabotage. Short time-frame. A mission on such short notice should pay at least a hundred thousand. She'd force the client to pay up after it was completed.

Kay flickered across Kumo. The village was as recognizable as the hand that held her mace, her own. Its layout was etched into her brain. She didn't need to think in order to know where she was going. Supposed corporate spies within a mining company's operations. Take care of them non-lethally.

Simple. It didn't require much thought.

Up the mountains, her body went while her mind wandered in the clouds. The Land of Lightning was cold, the coldest of the great nations. It wasn't too out of the question for snow to fall on a cool summer day.

Despite that, it felt colder than usual.

A heat that was ever present had left.

Kay grit her teeth behind the mask.

At least the bright sun above was still clear to her.

She flickered into the torch lit darkness of the mine.

Life was always harder without the sun to light the dark. That didn't change the fact that she had to live it. Everything changed and yet nothing stopped.

Even in the dark, Kay spotted the spies, overheard only fifteen seconds of conversation, but that was more than enough to incriminate them. A flicker and her mace ripped apart the tent they attempted to hide in.

Their screams of horror were just another snowflake in the breeze of white powder. A stack of paper, she wet it before ripping it to shreds before their shocked eyes. She used more strength than was necessary. The wooden desk the paper once sat on was shattered into splinters and Kay stared them down.

"Don't continue your actions of sabotage," she delivered clearly, no emotion in her voice. "I will be less gentle if you decide to."

The moment Kay walked away, one of the workers spoke up, a man. "I don't give a damn about what you have to say! The Katsuragi Drilling Corporation has been eating us common folk alive! They're dumping spare materials where there should be homes built!

"Kumo doesn't have a lot of space and they're taking up too much of it!"

"That is none of my concern," Kay answered flatly, to her surprise. She had no reason to answer him. And yet, she found herself looking him in his dark eyes, with striking cobalt hair that shimmered like fire in the torchlight.

"Why the hell not?! You're a member of this village too!" The man clenched his fists and stomped his foot. "Bah! You're just like them! You don't care about what's right—you only care about how much they're paying you to stop us!"

"What of it?"

The man glared.

Kay's heart beat harder than it was supposed to. Why? She wasn't scared.

"I hope your next mission kills you!" damned the man, shaking his fist at her. "Kumo will be better off without people like you!"

Kay saw too much familiarity in the man. The torchlight made him glow too brightly. She shook her head, refusing to give him any more of her attention. A flicker and she stepped out of the dark cave and looked up into the night sky.

Night—? She did a double take and saw the full moon staring her down like a false sun. Above the clouds, the stars twinkled freely. There was no way she took that long—it was morning just a few minutes ago when she entered the cave.

Kay let out a cynical breath.

Her sun was truly gone, wasn't it?

Just as she inhaled again, the sky snapped, whirling in time… and the golden sun above had returned. Relief allowed Kay to take a few seconds to bask in its warmth.

Of course, her sun had returned… it would never leave her.

Unlike Ka'rai.

If Ka'rai were to return to her, it'd better be him on his deathbed when he begged her for forgiveness.

Kay let out a bitter sigh.

Ten B-Ranks done, a total of eight-hundred and sixty-five thousand ryo. The sun hadn't truly set. So, there was still more time.

Time that couldn't be wasted.

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

All over again, it happened again. When Ka'rai deserted, he blew their apartment to ash and cinders. She deserved that. It was taking forever to find a new place to stay. She didn't know whether people would be sympathetic to her for having to deal with a traitorous son, or whether they would resent her for birthing a deserter.

Arasei was rightfully homeless, and it was a struggle to find a new place. Somewhere isolated, somewhere where she could cry and ignore the world until she was called for another mission. She scouted the outskirts, higher elevation, where living for civilians was difficult. There wasn't much real estate.

There wasn't much worth anything inside of her. Look at her, a mother abandoning her own child—because she was too scared to suffer alongside him. If she was a better mother to begin with, then she'd have the Nibi, and Ka'rai would've grown up like a normal child. Had she been a better sister… then her life would be unrecognizable. Would Ka'rai even exist? She hoped he would've.

Either way, she'd still have been a Jinchuriki.

Why couldn't she have lived without this atrocious hardship plaguing her? Why couldn't she have just had a normal life where her cowardice wouldn't mean anything? Why was this the world she lived in? Why was she too much of a coward to do anything about it?

Arasei clenched her fists as everything became colder, darker, the sunlight faded across the rock and snow. She saw her own breath as she shuddered. Was it because she was cold or was it because she was scared to finally be alone?

It was both as she looked up at the moon in the sky. It was just daytime—an anvil of fear plummeted inside of her. What's happening? A half seal whipped in her left hand. "Release." No Genjutsu—she couldn't sense anything near her—What's happening?! Her bloodline curse flared as the cold of night and fear consumed her.

The sky just changed and it—was back to normal. It was day once again. Arasei's heart raced in her chest. Was she hallucinating? Had everything finally got to her?! Arasei wanted to bury herself in the snow and sob—what the hell was wrong with her?

It was all happening all over again. Ka'rai—he deserved a much better mother than her. She should've just ran away too. It's too late now, Kumo's security was on top of itself. She'd get caught. She didn't want to take that chance.

A better mother would.

It really was Kodaru all over again.

Why are you even alive you fucking coward?

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

Lord Raikage was supposed to meet with her yesterday. Sami had spent hours just… sitting outside of Raikage's office, in his tower. Apparently Ka'rai defected Kumo. Sami… was shocked, almost horrified, but it was genuinely the least of her worries right now. She'd find out what happened later, regardless. What hurt more than that was finding out that Yowui was dead. Another good friend gone… at least it wasn't the void that took him away.

Despite everything, life still dragged her forward by the hair, through the sharp gravel path, it didn't matter how tattered her clothes became, how painful the rips in her skin were, or how many tears fell down her face. It just kept dragging.

"You," said a deep, angry voice.

Immediately, Sami straightened, looking to her left to see the towering, bulky man that was the Fourth Raikage. She gulped. He's not happy. "Yes, Lord Raikage?"

"Come," he commanded, walking out of his office, his cloak flowing behind his back.

Ignoring the sharp pain in her leg, Sami got up and followed. A tall guy like him had big steps—it was a struggle to keep up. Despite that, she did. He led her outside the tower, where Cirru was waiting for her—?

Oh.

No.

It wasn't Cirru.

It was his father, Arashi Furachi, the Head of the Furachi Clan.

He was the tallest person she'd ever seen, just as bald and tan as his son. What was worse, was that he didn't look any less angry than Lord Raikage. Sami's heart dropped like an anvil. Oh no.

She already knew where this was going—

"Is this her?!" Arashi asked.

The Raikage nodded. "Yes, it is."

His towering glare zeroed in on her with the intensity of a thousand cyclones. "What happened to my son?"

Sami's breath hitched as she attempted to answer. "I—Uh…"

The air around the three whirled as Arashi clenched his fists—his face contorted with rage. "Answer me!"

A fist of fear slammed into her gut. It took too much effort for her not to fall to her knees. "He's… inside my void."

"Get him out!"

Sami bit her tongue before she could say, 'I can't.' That would've got her killed… or not, but she wasn't going to take any chances. "I will, but it'll take time." Sami dropped to her knees and bowed. "I am so deeply sorry. This power is my responsibility, and I failed it.

"I neglected it. I neglected it because I was scared and now Cirru and Cee-sensei are trapped there. I swear on my life that I'll do everything in my power to get them out."

The sound of Arashi sucking his teeth pierced the air as he yelled at her to, "Stand up!"

Another hitched breath and Sami did as he commanded. He grabbed her by the collar and pulled her up until she was eye-level with him. Her feet were far from the ground. Sami kept her gloved, voided hand in her pocket despite all of her instincts screaming at her to do otherwise.

Lord Raikage narrowed his eyes on Arashi as the Clan Head spoke. "You stake your life on your ability to give me my son?!"

Sami gave a short, stiff nod.

"If you find that he is dead, then you will be too. I shall be your executioner."

Sami's eyes went wide, but she agreed with a, "Yes, Lord Furachi."

He dropped her and Sami somehow managed to land on her feet.

The Raikage grunted. "She will only die if she's unable to retrieve Cee and Cirru Furachi from this… void of hers."

"What?!" questioned Arashi, stepping toward him in outrage, though Sami could see the restraint he displayed at the same time. "If she has the ability to unintentionally kill her allies at the drop of hat, then she's better off dead!"

"Jinchuriki are the same way, Furachi," The Raikage responded in a dangerous tone. "She'll die only if she's unable to control this Void Style of hers. If she is able, then the fate of your son does not matter, because she'll be a greater war asset to Kumo than he was ever capable of being."

Rage twisted Arashi's face like a demonic tornado, but he couldn't say a damn thing to question The Raikage. His silence was loud and stormy as he began to step away.

It only took a lightning's flash for The Raikage to step in front of him. "Did I say you were dismissed, Furachi?!"

"You—" Arashi stopped himself before he could say anything more. He took a deep breath and glared down at the Raikage, biting his tongue.

Seconds of tense silence passed before The Raikage said, "You are dismissed, both of you."

Sami bowed, before taking her leave.

Arashi found it smart to do the same.

Well, Sami kind of expected to be yelled at for this. Though, she expected to catch more flak for trapping Cee-sensei, a Jonin. She didn't like how nonchalant The Raikage was about this. It just… went back to what he said.

He compared her to a Jinchuriki. She understood why, it was because she was a threat. But it went beyond that—it went to the point where he said that her worth as an asset was equal to a Jinchuriki.

Obviously, her first thought went to Ka'rai.

To think she could be as powerful as him just felt plain wrong, let alone somebody like Lord Killer Bee. Was her void really that powerful? Was she even capable of handling it? Sami looked at her gloved hand, rubbing her palm where the void was, where Cirru and Cee-sensei were.

What… even is the void? Just as she asked that to herself, the world went dark. Her heart dropped and she pocketed the void again. It was still dark—nonono not again—Sami clenched her fist. There was no… chakra activation in her palm, not more than there usually was. It wasn't her?!

Sami looked around for a cause, only to look up and see the night above Kumo's cloud-hidden sky. It was daytime not even a few seconds ago—she peered into the clouds and noticed the twinkling of stars and how they shifted in the sky. "What the hell—?"

"Interesting," said Clowui.

Sami jumped as her friend seemingly materialized beside her. "Clowui what the hell—?"

She remained unresponsive as she looked at the sky, Ketsuryugan active. A few seconds after the sky turned night, it whirled back into day time and the sun shone through the clouds.

"Interesting indeed."

Sami was just… speechless. "Do you know what that was?!"

"I have a theory," responded Clowui with certainty. "Though, I'll have to confirm with my mother."

"Gotcha…" muttered Sami, shaking her head with a sigh. "Uh… do you need something?"

"I need you," said Clowui, allowing her Ketsuryugan as she looked Sami in the eyes.

Sami actually managed to chuckle. "Y'know, if it was anybody but you who said that, I would've thought you were asking me out."

Clowui looked confused. "That is an interesting interpretation of my words," she said off-handedly, before continuing to what she was going to say. "I have a way to help you master your Void Style."

"You do?!" Sami asked, a soaring hope in her heart. "I was just going to bother the ANBU that helped train me when I was growing up."

"I have something more effective than that," Clowui answered. "I have an ally, or more accurately, my mother has an ally who has a special interest in rare Kekkei Genkai, and he'd surely know of your Void Style."

"Is that so…" Sami said, nodding along. "You think he could help me?"

"Absolutely," Clowui said with one-hundred percent certainty. "However, I'll need to bring you to my mother first in order to gain her approval."

"I see," muttered Sami. "Well, who is it?"

"I can't say exactly who, until you meet him." Clowui pulled back her collar, showing off her Curse Mark. "But, he is the same person who gave me this."

Sami's blood went cold. "Oh… okay." A pause as Sami cleared her throat. "I don't want one."

"I'll make sure to convey that," assured Clowui.

Sami let out a breath. "Good…"

Clowui walked off. "Follow me, I'll take you to my mother. After that, your training will begin."

With a healthy amount of trust—and suspicion—but full faith, Sami followed Clowui.

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

When Ka'rai left, the sun was far from coming up. Now, it was nearing noon. All he had left of Nibi's Chakra was version zero, not even a single tail. He collapsed onto the ground on his knees and let out a haggard sigh. Thanks to Fuu's Tengai Shinsei and his Version Two Bakugami, he wasn't followed. There was too much destruction and calamity that ensued in his escape for any of them to catch him.

He was sure that he was out of the Land of Lightning. The rocky plateaus and mountains with hardy foliage were far above him. His lungs took in thick air, his altitude was much lower. Just because he wasn't in the Land of Lightning didn't mean he was safe, far from it.

Shit, he should've studied geography more… he had no idea where he was. Yugito would've been a great help had she been here. More thoughts flowed and Ka'rai felt sick. Hane… What had happened to her?! Is she dead?! Yugito would've ratted her out too—What could he have done to help her?!

Fuu. Fuu was her only fucking hope. The chances that Fuu had saved Hane weren't… zero. But Ka'rai knew that Fuu already didn't care for her too much—Ka'rai slammed his fist into the dirt and screamed. Mama… betrayed him. Kay and Yugito hated him. Yowui was dead. Bee-sensei was captured somewhere. All of his other friends were in Kumo. Nibi probably hated him. Hane might be dead.

At least Fuu was probably fine.

Right now… he really was fucking alone.

But don't worry Ka'rai! You have me.

Again.

That voice.

You… you're another one of Nibi's old Jinchuriki, aren't you?

He laughed. Who else would I be?!

This fucker sounded insane.

Keeping just enough of Nibi's chakra active to detect souls, Ka'rai laid down in the grassy field he found himself, hoping the tall grass would hide him. He closed his eyes.

When they opened, he saw the dull, yellow-ish shimmer of his mindscape. He remembered it being brighter. Nibi was stuck in some mustard-looking bars. He felt nothing but contempt in the heat of her flames as she looked disinterested in interacting with Ka'rai… or him.

The voice in his head finally had a face. Where he stood, there was gore. Blood, guts, bones… it was disgusting; it smelled like a butcher's shop. Raw. His hair was long, unkept, colored a pale white stained pink with blood, the same went for his skin, minus the staining. He looked like a ghost… like Clowui.

Is he…? questioned Ka'rai, looking at him. His hair covered his eyes.

"I am," he confirmed, looking up to see the Ketsuryugan bleeding ruby in his eye sockets. "Nikuya Chinoike! I've been looking forward to meeting you, Ka'rai."

Ka'rai clenched his fists. The dude was about his height. "I didn't think a Chinoike would've been given a Jinchuriki," he muttered aloud. His thoughts went to what Nikuya was saying before… he was cheering him on as he was destroying, he insulted Mama… Ka'rai grit his teeth.

He already didn't like him.

"Oh! It was a… gift from the Second Raikage on his deathbed," Nikuya smirked. "As thanks for ridding Kumo of the Senko, and a solidification of Kumo's loyalty to the Chinoike… and vice versa."

Ka'rai grimaced. "Yeah… I think I remember that… from history. Not the Jinchuriki part though."

Nikuya snorted, walking over to Ka'rai and throwing his arm around him. "Yeah! Everyone seems to hate me! Not even the Chinoike liked me all that much…"

"I wonder why," stated Ka'rai with a roll of his eyes.

The guts and gore beneath Nikuya's feet whirled as he laughed. "You don't like me too?!" Nikuya slapped Ka'rai on the back and scoffed. "C'mon! You're so much better than Yugito was! I'm happy I didn't get to meet her!"

"Thanks?" Ka'rai muttered. "How are you even here?!"

"Wow, you really don't like me, you didn't question Yugito like that!" Nikuya then laughed and shook his head. "Well, because that beast over there can't stand being in a cage…"

Nibi growled, her flames intensifying.

"...it traps—"

"She," corrected Ka'rai with a glare.

"Man, you really care?" Nikuya snorted. "Well, doesn't matter to me. She traps all of her Jinchuriki's souls with her for all eternity! How they come out, however, how Yugito came out, is when circumstances mirroring their death happen in your life.

"The same two Kaguya brothers that killed Yugito tried to capture you, way back when you were on that mission to Yakedo. That's when she appeared."

Ka'rai nodded along. "Yeah, that makes sense…"

"And I'm here because you misused the Nibi's power."

Ka'rai's gut sank.

"Nibi, well, I'm sure you can tell, fucking hates me." He grinned as they both felt Nibi's heat rise with her contempt. "I misused her power one too many times… and she got sick of me. She killed me."

Ka'rai clenched his fists. "I revived Yugito… when I wasn't supposed to."

"And now you have to deal with me."

"Great."

A malicious glint crossed Nikuya's Ketsuryugan. "Isn't it?"

"This goes to show how worthless life is, doesn't it, Ka'rai?" said Nibi, finally breaking her silence.

Ka'rai and Nikuya both turned to face her. Nikuya wore a sick grin while Ka'rai had a straight face pulled flat by stress.

"The actions you took to 'preserve life,' to 'live the right way' has only brought destruction to the life you claim to value so much. Your actions have only led to angst and ruin to everyone you value!"

Ka'rai sharp breath hitched in his lungs—the dull shimmer of his mindscape cracked like glass. She was right, why the fuck was she right—?

Nibi walked to the edge of her cage and loomed over Ka'rai. "You've experienced the suffering of life now, finally you know the pain of living—an unbalanced scale. Do you truly think that this is worth all of the 'good things' you clung to before? Do you think the same for those who have had it worse than you? Will you think the same when you become one of those people?

"Your pathetic life would only be worth something if you submit to death."

Ka'rai froze, staring at the cataclysmic, subdued rage in Nibi's yellow and green eyes. They fought against his dying will to live—and they were winning. Ka'rai had made every mistake, he only made everything worse—

Nikuya laughed.

"I don't think you're entirely wrong Nibi!" Nikuya laughed and Nibi growled at him. "Life is worthless! It doesn't have any value! It's like you're in a world full of candles! And do you know what you are, Ka'rai?"

Slowly, Ka'rai turned his head to look Nikuya in the eyes.

"The coldest winds of the arctic. Life means nothing… so, that means nothing matters while you're alive! So what's stopping you from doing anything and everything you want?"

Nikuya laughed. "Yeah you ruined every part of what your life used to be! Who cares?! You have a new life now! There's nothing holding you back! You're unchained! You think you made every mistake, but in my eyes?"

Another slow chuckle echoed from Nikuya's throat. "You made every right choice. Do you know how many lives I've ended Ka'rai? Yet, I remember every single one, I felt every soul I killed because each candle, despite being insignificant, burns differently.

"Life is only worth what you make it. My life, the life of others… is only worth all the fun I can have." Nikuya spread his arms as widely as his grin. "Turn the suffering of life into the greatest pain that the world has ever seen, Ka'rai Uzumaki!"

His Ketsuryugan eyes were ruby orbs of his deepest, darkest temptations. They were pulling him in—so slowly that Ka'rai couldn't even notice it. In a way… he was right, too. He knew how much fun Konoha Crush brought him… before Hidan came.

It wasn't really… killing people that brought him so much joy. The fact that he was able to use his power, feel so much power… it was the greatest exhilaration possible. Ka'rai would do so much to feel like that again—invincible, like he was on top of the fucking world.

So what if a couple people died in the process?

"And this is exactly why I killed you, Nikuya. You have no reverence for life or death, you stand on nothing but your own desires… you call me a beast and yet you act more like one than I ever have," Nibi snarled every syllable as she addressed Nikuya.

In response, Nikuya waved his hand. "Whatever you say, Nibi, I don't really care for what you think, I made that clear long ago." He giggled. "I just think it might be fun to have a successor of sorts."

His eyes turned back to Ka'rai.

Nibi's eyes turned back to Ka'rai as well.

Nikuya's eyes grabbed a hold of him while Nibi's broke him down from every direction.

In the face of them both, Ka'rai said, "No."

His fists clenched. "You know why you two are trying so hard to influence me? Because you're dead. Both of you, trying so hard to have a say in life when you're dead."

Nikuya smirked and Nibi grimaced. Guts and flame intensified all the same—one with irritation and the other with intrigue.

"I ruined my life… I'm not dead yet. So what if I fucked up, so what if I made everything shit?! That doesn't give me the excuse to give up and die because I'm still alive!" Ka'rai roared. "Even if Hane is dead… that makes giving up even less of an option.

"I'll have to…" Ka'rai faltered, the thought of Hane's death making him sick with grief. "Make the world she wanted because she was alive."

"Even if you were the one that killed her?" asked Nibi, looking Ka'rai dead in the eyes. "Do you deserve that right?"

Ka'rai forced the tears to stay in his eyes. "Then I'm the one who will bear the right of that responsibility."

"Oh…" Nikuya muttered, rubbing his chin. "Yeah… I like you, Ka'rai."

Shaking his head, Ka'rai said, "Shut the fuck up."

Nikuya laughed and Nibi stayed silent, eyeing Ka'rai.

"That goes for you too, Nibi." Ka'rai stood tall in front of her, well, as tall as he could in front of a Bijuu. "I wronged you… I shouldn't have tried to revive Yowui. It was my biggest fuck up to revive Yugito." His black eyes shone with determination. "I'll kill her. I'll bury Yowui. That will be my apology to you."

"And if I don't accept it?"

Ka'rai shrugs. "Then it's whatever. It's the right thing for me to do regardless. It's what needs to be done… and I can only do that by being alive, so my point's proven, anyway."

All Nibi did was let out a breath of wispy flame. She laid down in her cage, her two tails relaxing as she faced away from both him and Nikuya. "Do as you please."

The intensity in her voice was gone… hopefully that was a good sign.

Ka'rai gave one last look to Nikuya, all he did was give him a devilish grin.

With that, Ka'rai opened his eyes back to the real world. It was night—?! He shot up. The conversation could not have lasted that long! In the cloudless night sky, Ka'rai saw the stars move?! A new constellation formed before his very eyes. "The fuck…"

A dragon roared in the east, and a mere moment after, the sky glowed to evening before shining back into daytime.

Nibi, what the fuck was that?

Fate has just been altered… she answered slowly, tensely. It has nothing to do with you, for now. Keep moving.

Nikuya just chuckled.

Gotcha… With the little bit of Nibi's chakra Ka'rai could muster, he sped off in the direction opposite of the Land of Lightning. Hopefully, he'd find somewhere that was safe.

Somewhere Fuu and hopefully Hane would find him.

Wherever they were.

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

Beaming blue had all of a sudden sped to evening and then to the black of night. Fuu and by proxy, Hane, had stopped in their tracks. "What the fuck?!" yelled Fuu.

Hane just gaped in shock and awe. What… how the—? Her mind bent and it felt like it was breaking. The moon went from a dim crescent to shining in its full glory—the moonlight danced with the stars above the clouds.

Fuu, other than the buzzing of her wings, stayed completely silent. From the position Hane was in, dangling in Fuu's arms, she couldn't really see her face. Not that she was focused on that when the stars literally moved before her very eyes. A blue dragon of celestial glitter formed in the east.

It roared with heavenly glory before cementing itself in the sky. Just as day became night, night became day. The sky returned to the state it was in beforehand and just like nothing happened. Hane blinked, slowly. "Did you see that too?"

Fuu remained silent.

She was too quiet—maybe she was talking to Nanabi about this. Well, Nanabi's domain was the sky. So, if anybody knew what the fuck just happened, it'd be her. After a couple more silent moments, Fuu kept moving.

"Do you know what that was?" asked Hane.

Fuu nodded. "Yeah."

"Can you tell me, please?"

"Nah, Nanabi said it's not a threat to us right now."

"Right now?!"

Fuu shrugged, making Hane bop up and down with the motion of Fuu's arms. "I dunno, Nanabi told me not to worry about it, and I don't feel like talking anymore, so I'm not gonna tell you."

Hane let out a sigh. "Alright." Far above the clouds, Hane could see her own breath. The stratosphere was cold. It seemed obvious, but Hane was feeling it and she was hating it. At least Fuu was making her able to breathe in such high altitudes.

Anybody who tried to follow them would pass out and die, if they were somehow able to fly up here. Hane had already asked Fuu to help her breathe—begging for temperature regulation would've been pushing it.

As she dangled in the Jinchuriki's arms, Hane looked toward the fluffy clouds below her. Above them was the most expansive and beautiful blue ever, with the rising sun beaming at her back. Nothing felt real. She was in the sky, after having deserted Kumo.

Hane thought that this would've made her sadder, leaving her home. But, no… she didn't really care. Her back faced Kumo and Hane didn't have much of an urge to turn around. No, not after what they helped do to Konoha. It was despicable.

Kumo didn't deserve the power of Jinchuriki on their side, not at all. No village did… except for maybe Konoha.

It's funny, Ka'rai was at fault for all of this. Had she been a lot of other people, she'd hate him for this, but, no, she couldn't. Not that she approved… Hane hadn't outright approved of anything Ka'rai did since before he leaked the invasion plan. Despite all of that, his heart was always in the right place.

His heart was in the right place thanks to her. It was good to know that her methods were working. Fuu wouldn't have rescued her if she still acted… exactly how Ka'rai described her when she first met. But, she did now!

Hane just prayed that wherever they ended up… was a kinder place than Kumo.

All of a sudden, her heart dropped.

The security of Fuu's clawed arms weren't holding her anymore.

Gravity's force was pulling her down.

With horror in her eyes, Hane looked up to Fuu. There was a sadistic grin on her face as she beamed.

Hane screamed.

She plummeted toward the earth, the mass of clouds beneath her got bigger and bigger, closer and closer, until she dove into them. Hane thought the clouds would be soft; they were not. The feeling of millions of microscopic daggers digging into her skin made her hiss as she screamed.

It took a fucking minute of falling for her to exit the tortuous clouds. Then, she saw the ground. A rocky plateau that was going to kill her when she hit it. It got closer and Hane screams turned from panic to horror. "FUU—!"

When she was mere feet away from hitting the rocks, Fuu grabbed her, cackling as she soared back up into the sky.

"FUU WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

That bitch wouldn't stop laughing, even as they shot through the clouds like a bullet. "That was a great prank!"

"NO IT WASN'T!"

"What? You didn't trust me to catch you?"

"I DIDN'T THINK YOU'D DROP ME IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

Fuu kept laughing.

Hane, despite having a whirlwind of insults in her head, chose to value her life and not say them. That little prank had reminded Hane that her life was literally in Fuu's hands. Hane refused to run the risk of pissing Fuu off and risk not being saved if she was dropped again.

Instead, Hane took a deep, freezing breath. "Please do not drop me again. I didn't appreciate it."

In response, Fuu let go again.

Hane only dropped for a few dozen feet—screaming again—before Fuu grabbed her again, laughing even harder.

She was just going to stay quiet.

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

Sami had never been so far down under Kumo. Well, under wasn't the right word, exactly. There were plenty of large lakes at different elevations, but, thanks to a certain clan, the lake at the lowest elevation was a lake of blood. Clowui lead her across bridges that prevented them from walking on the churning blood below.

It smelled like iron… none of this was comforting—"How do you call this home?"

"It's where I was raised," answered Clowui off-handedly.

Sami chuckled. "Yeah… that makes sense."

It didn't take much longer for Clowui to lead Sami to the center of the Chinoike Compound. Her eyes took in where Clowui and her mother lived—the building was large, made of stone. The best way Sami could describe it was some sort of malevolent shrine, so royal yet… demented in the most beautiful of ways.

Her stomach churned with uneasiness. Maybe trusting Clowui's mother may not have been the best of ideas. Unfortunately, at this point, she couldn't back out. All she could do was step forward in her best friend's footsteps.

Clowui opened the door without a moment's hesitation, it didn't even have a lock. "Mother, I brought a guest."

Sami took a breath to prepare herself. The footsteps of the Chinoike Clan Head made as much noise as the air with no breeze. White-blonde hair with ghostly pale skin, there was no doubting the family resemblance between Clowui and Machia Chinoike.

Immediately, Sami bowed. "Hello, Lady Chinoike."

"Oh, this is your teammate, correct?" asked Machia. Sami cursed that she couldn't see her expression.

"Indeed," Clowui said in response. "She—"

"No, let her speak for herself," Machia said, cutting Clowui off. "You may stand."

Clearing her throat, Sami did as she was allowed. Her Ketsuryugan wasn't active, but the Clan Head's eyes were ten times deadlier than Clowui's, even in her Curse Mark level two. I had to talk to too many scary people in power today—"I am here because Clowui thought that you could help me."

Sami grabbed her gloved wrist. "I have a Kekkei Genkai, it's called Void Style. It's dangerous and incredibly hard to control, Lord Raikage even compared me to a Jinchuriki. During our invasion of Konoha, I accidentally absorbed Cee-sensei and Cirru Furachi into my void.

"I need to train in order to get them out, Clowui said that you have an… ally that'd be interested in training me."

Machia gave a questioning side-eye to her daughter, who stood firm and nodded to support Sami.

"Well, Clowui isn't wrong, not at all, but my ally is far from in the position to train anybody. Konoha Crush left him crippled," answered Machia.

Sami frowned. "That's unfortunate."

"He'll recover in due time, which, I believe, works better for you," added Machia and Sami's attention was caught like a fish, had it not been already.

Sami's brows furrowed in concern and confusion. "I'm sorry?"

"My ally values his time, and already has much on his plate. He refuses to take things that are not worth his time." Machia pointed at Sami. "As you are, with such little control over your Kekkei Genkai, you're not worth his time alive.

"He'll turn you into a lab rat and try to recreate the Void Style himself."

Instinctively, Sami stepped back—her stomach lurched within her as her skin crawled.

"But… should you show control over Void Style… then he'll take you in." Machia stepped forward to close the distance between the two once again. "That is going to be your goal."

Who the hell are they working with?!

"Of course, this is under the assumption that you don't tell a soul who you're training with," continued Machia.

"I'm not sure if I want to anymore…" Sami muttered—gaining a surprised look from Clowui.

A disappointed frown crossed Machia's face. "Is that so? Do you want to rescue the rest of your team or not? Because the rest of Kumogakure does not know what Void Style is.

"I do."

Sami's eyes went wide. "You do—?"

"Indeed, I heard of it long before you were even born. Kumo's knowledge of Void Style is limited to only you. My knowledge is beyond that." Machia smirked. "And of course, my ally's knowledge goes far beyond even that."

Sami clenched her gloved hand—the call of the void echoing on her palm. "I see…"

This really was her only hope, wasn't it? Nothing about this sat right with her, but… Cee-sensei and Cirru, she needed to save them. Her comfort wasn't worth their lives.

"I'll do it."

"Perfect." Machia gave a curt smile. "We'll begin tomorrow."

"Yes," affirmed Sami with a bow of her head. "Thank you very much."

Machia walked past her. "You're welcome, Sami."

As the Clan Head left, Clowui put a hand on Sami's shoulder. "Don't be nervous… it's not too bad."

"By your standards."

Clowui rolled her eyes. "I suppose… but we've always had our high gore tolerance in common."

"Yeah… that's true." Sami let out a chuckle, recalling her time in the academy. "You were always less squeamish than me."

"I was raised over a lake of blood."

"Yeah… you were."

Silence fell for a moment.

"I found a new horror manga…" Clowui said, with Sami looking her in the eyes. "Would you like to read it together, since we're here?"

"What's it about?" asked Sami, intrigued.

A small smile crossed Clowui's face. "It's an older one, only published in the Land of Earth, it details the story of a super-powered killer clown."

Sami scoffed. "A clown?!"

"Indeed!"

"I don't see how a clown can be scary."

"It may be, it might not be." Clowui shrugged. "Let's see if the mangaka pulled it off or not."

"Good idea!"

Without any other preamble, the two girls walked up to Clowui's room and read.

It did not disappoint.

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

Ka'rai kept moving… he didn't have a version zero cloak as night started to fall—for real this time. That didn't mean he was defenseless, the Jigoku Katana was strapped to his waist and Ka'rai's own reserves were plenty full, Jinsei helped him recover while he had access to it. Nikuya and Nibi were pretty silent… Ka'rai thanked them for that.

His tactic for moving was staying by the coast… trekked past rice-fields and grassy plains. He even moved past Yakedo, or what was left, at least. The Land of Rice was doing well after the whole… Hell incident. Thinking of it made him think of Hidan, which pissed him the fuck off.

So, he kept Hell out of his mind.

Eventually, Ka'rai made it in a place that sat in a low fog, with rocky crags looking like the very bones of the Earth were uprooted. There wasn't a lot of foliage, with gray, jagged rocks shaping ravines and mountains alike.

It was creepy while also being awesome, in a way. Ka'rai at least managed to appreciate that. Pretty things like this… that was what made life worth living. Pretty things like Hane—

Souls entered his sensing radius. Ka'rai grabbed the Jigoku Blade just in case and prepared for combat.

Butcher them, Ka'rai!

Sucking his teeth, he ignored Nikuya.

A dozen flickers and Shinobi surrounded him; they all had gray and black armored uniforms. They all wore the same headband, with three gritted slashes to present their loyalty.

Ka'rai's eyes narrowed. "Dokutsu…" So that's where I am…

The Land of Claws, home to the Village Hidden in the Caves.

"Are you a rouge?" asked one of the Shinobi.

Ka'rai glared at her. "So what if I am?!"

"Then Dokutsugakure can be your home."

Ka'rai sharpened his intent as he analyzed the Shinobi around him.

That was too good to be true.

Ka'rai just might have been desperate enough to believe it.

ϟ—Chapter End—ϟ

A/N: Man I wonder what happened with the sky here... If you really wanna know... then I will share that the knowledge is given in Daisugi Chapter 35! Dun dun dun!