content warning: in this chapter there will be some extreme bloodlust, blood stuff, and plenty of sadism which in this section includes someone being killed via choking. there's also other described instances of violence that might be uncomfortable. if you've been here before you might know what to expect, but as always be safe and know what you're getting into. hope you enjoy the chapter.
Scarlet Justice: Full Blossom – ep. 27
"Fish and Barrel"
[Border Patrol, Part 1]
As my eyes open, I realize that this isn't going to be a good day for any of my plans.
I let my body drift into its autopilot and sigh as soon as I leave the bathroom, back in control again.
"It's no good, huh."
Exactly what will happen, I don't know. But it's sure to be some unwelcome meddling from one of the higher-ups in this village. I rummage through my case underneath the bed and take out the scroll with alternate instructions.
Today is supposed to be when I set off for my maritime mission. I've been planning and coordinating it for a while now, and made sure that I got as much as I could out of the way before today. But the best laid plans are always subject to change, and this is no exception.
"Morning."
"Good morning, Fio." She enters the room as I finish packing, electing to go with my standard set of equipment so that I can cover as many scenarios as possible.
"Not going on your boat trip?" she asks.
"It's possible my plans will change. I'm not exactly sure..."
"Bad vibes again?"
"Yes."
She nods and takes a seat on the bed before removing her sandals. "Always trust what your body tells you. Hopefully it's nothing too bad happening, but I know you'll make it through either way."
"Thank you, love."
"Yep. Still have time for breakfast?"
"Of course. Order what you like and we'll eat together."
"Awesome." She reaches over for the phone and calls room service. In the meantime, I make sure my supplies are in order and run the various scenarios in my head again. The case where there is a cancellation, the case where there is a delay, the case where the mission goes ahead as scheduled. And of course there are things in between those, but the first step needs to be identifying the situation before taking any action.
Fio tells me some more about her recent mission over breakfast, which involved ferrying fossils and ancient pottery towards a specialized research area in River Country. Some of the reports said that they might be from the last millennia, around the time that the Sage of Six Paths supposedly walked the earth. Of course, he was a real person, but the extent of his exploits is still unknown.
We finish, I wash up, and then bid Fio farewell with a kiss. Out the door and down the hall, out of the hotel and then down the road towards the Hokage's Office. I make my way to the Mission Assignment Desk and give the occupants a friendly wave.
"Good morning, Colonel Kobayashi."
"Good morning, my lord. Awaiting your orders," I say to Hiruzen.
"We will confirm the mission one last time before you head off. The eastern sea-"
"Lord Hokage, I am very sorry to interrupt. But this matter is urgent."
I keep my mouth shut as I hear Koharu's voice. This is it. This is the irritating feeling from earlier, coming into existence. Now of all times, using her currency to bounce me from place to place...
"Koharu...what do you have to report?" Hiruzen asks.
"We have caught wind of an imminent national security incident, and we need to send someone to take care of it," she says as she walks up to the desk. There's a scroll in one of her hands.
The old man frowns. "Surely, you could find someone else at this time. Colonel Kobayashi is about to embark on a mission that is relevant to this country's interests as well."
"I am aware, but this is of greater importance at this point in time. In addition, you are aware of the agreement that she and I have made with regards to these matters."
He sighs. "Yes, I am aware. That doesn't make it less bothersome."
"My apologies, Lord Hokage."
He looks up at me, waiting for me to give him a sign of some sort. I shake my head and reach into my pocket for the scroll that I had prepared earlier.
"Since the units have prepared for a mission one way or the other, I have provided alternate instructions, and a short list of people you can send in my stead," I say to him. I step forward and hand Hiruzen the scroll before stepping back.
He opens it and reads, nodding his head a few times. "I see. Understood."
"Lady Utatane, I am ready and awaiting your orders, with Lord Hokage's permission," I say firmly.
"Lord Hokage?" she asks.
"Yes, go ahead."
"Thank you. This mission is, as stated, of great importance. It will be an assassination of a known criminal and asset of the Hidden Cloud. The name he is going by now is Jin Toyama." She hands me the scroll. "He is planning to overthrow a town on the Fire Country border, and his first act will be the acquisition of the town mine. The mine exists in both Fire and Hot Water Countries. Because of how the land was originally acquired, it is the property of the owner, and thus the owner decides what they will do with it."
"The mine has been abandoned for about twenty years now," I say as I read the report. "Since this person is a Cloud asset, allegedly, you're worried that with the Cloud's recent encroachment into Hot Water, they'll use this to infiltrate our nation."
"Yes."
"And we can't exactly do anything about it since the land is privately owned. If it were a civilian, there would be an issue, but they could probably be reasoned with. Or coerced, if we're honest with ourselves here. But this person isn't a normal civilian, and I can assume that he's been reluctant to part ways with his precious land." I sigh. "How much time do I have?"
"We have seventy two hours before the land deal is completed. The rest of the details are in the scroll...needless to say, if we only manage to scare him off, he will be able to put out an alert to his allies and put the people of that town in danger. We also don't want the Hot Water to get involved, as that would create problems on its own," Koharu explains. "This needs to happen quickly and efficiently. It was decided between myself and Lord Mitokado that you were the best choice for this mission, above all others."
"I see. Very well, I will take my leave at once. I already have my supplies prepared. Commencing solo mission," I say.
"We appreciate your understanding and cooperation," Hiruzen says. "Be safe, my child."
"I will. Lord Hokage, Lady Utatane. Farewell for now."
"Yes. Thank you," Koharu says with a bow.
I secure my pack and take off, rushing through the village and towards the front gate. My destination is the northeast of Fire Country, at the border with Hot Water and in a place that is far from the village and relatively close to the sea. I have three days to complete this mission, and it will take about one of them to get to where the mission is.
Nothing that I can't handle.
"Alright. Here we go."
Minor annoyances rule the day, but they won't rule me. That I can guarantee.
It's the next morning now. I limber up, have a homemade sandwich and a bit of tea, then head back through the trees towards my destination once more. A few dirt roads appear and I follow them to what seems to be a quaint little town, with a mix of wood and stone houses spaced erratically. A few people are milling about, others are going back and forth with bags and baskets in hand. Some carts are being pulled manually by humans, others led by animals.
Quiet place. What I can assume is the administrative building looms in the distance, wooden and notably taller than everything else here. Which isn't saying too much, frankly. I sniff the air and try to figure out where the local tea house might be, or coffee shop perhaps. The scent tells me that it's the latter, and I step inside towards the front counter.
"What can I get you, miss?" the woman behind the counter asks. She's a senior, with brown hair fading to white and small wrinkles on her face. What I can see of her arms tells me she's been doing physical work all her life.
"A pot of coffee would be lovely," I say to her.
"You've got it. Take a seat anywhere you like, and I'll be out with a fresh pot in no time."
"Thank you."
I take a seat near one of the windows and look out at the day. Overcast...a bit gloomy, I suppose. With how the weather patterns in this world work, things always get a bit mysterious near the borders. And then there's that interesting happening where people get pelted with bits of rock from the sky in the northwest. Rock rain, they call it. How much loose material is in the Earth Country mountains? Perhaps more than I can fathom right now, if there's enough for it to regularly come down like a summer shower...
"Here you are."
My hostess sets down the coffee pot, milk, sugar, and a sturdy mug along with two spoons.
"Thank you kindly," I say to her. "I was wondering if you could indulge me a moment. This town is on my way north, but I did hear some interesting things about it earlier."
"Did you, now?"
I gesture for her to take a seat, and she does so, smoothing out her apron.
"Yes. Some controversy over a land purchase?" I ask as I pour my coffee.
"The Toyama place, yes, yes. Yumi passed away a few months ago, and Jun some time before that. Both were taken by illness. They had two children, Yumiko and Jin. You can tell they weren't very gifted with naming sense, but those folks were charming as anything," my hostess says with a smile.
"I've heard the name Jin in passing."
"Oh, you might have. He's the one with the rights to the land now, including the old mine. That place hasn't been open in a whole generation, not since before Jun passed. All sorts of problems and disputes, and he just had enough of it and shut the whole thing down. It was for the best, since he did get more time to spend with his family before he went. But yes, Jin is trying to work something out. Yumiko is away for a while and should be coming back to work at the admin office."
"Ah. Well, the mine was the point of contention I was hearing about." I mix in my milk and sugar.
"There's some fellow...ah, what was his name. Sora...Sora something. Komaeda, that was it. He's got some fancy sort of job with the national government and runs back and forth for them. Made himself a lot of money and such. Anyhow, he lived here for part of his childhood before moving out to one of the big cities. Came back and wanted to do some sort of deal, but Jin isn't budging for anything."
"I assume he doesn't have any legal path."
"Doesn't seem like it, no."
So this Jin person is from here, then. I suppose he was in the Cloud for a while and then came back after hearing his mother was sick. But then, if he was embedded...
"He might be after the mine, you know. It's a unique sort of thing."
"Unique?" I ask. "How so?"
"Goes right under the border to the next country."
"Does everyone know this?"
"Oh, of course. That was one of the bigger kerfuffles Jun had to deal with in his time, trying to negotiate and give all kinds of assurances to the people from Leaf who came around here. Paranoid as all get out, those hidden village types. No offense meant to you, dear."
I sip at my coffee. So this national security incident was well known and could have been taken advantage of by anyone. Maybe this Jin fellow had his mother erased so that he could do so? But that doesn't seem right, does it? And Sora Komaeda, why is he so interested in taking the Toyama land? For the mine? Surely if the mine's layout is an open secret, he must know the risks of taking on such a thing.
That dispute between the two men might be background noise. It might not be. I need to investigate this some more.
"Thank you very much for indulging me," I say to her.
"You're welcome! Hopefully we can get someone from the Leaf or somewhere to sort this thing out. I've no idea what's going to happen next, and the town is barely hanging on. Might not be anything left of us in a generation or two, sad as it is to say."
"I see. I'll be sure to hand a report off as soon as I get back home."
"Bless you. Enjoy your coffee, and let me know if there's anything else you need."
"I will. Thank you again."
She leaves and I unroll the scroll to review the information I have on hand.
"..."
It's annoying. Things are sliding around too much in this frame I have, inside of my head. Something is missing. What? I have maybe a day and a half to solve this problem for good. Jin is a present danger according to this. But not a clear one, it seems.
"Taking him...might be for the best."
I'll find him first, then. The Toyama land on top of the border...
The grass in the surrounding area is tall. It means that I can relax on my belly with my chakra suppressed, and wait patiently for my target to turn up.
After two hours, he arrives carrying a large brown paper bag in his arms. This is Jin Toyama. A man of average height, between late twenties and early thirties in age. Trimmed beard, brown hair – could have been blonde, according to the Bingo Book entry. It's short and neat on top of his head. Brown eyes, could have been grey. A bit of muscle on him. Dresses fairly casually, with a light shirt and jeans, and dark boots.
Casual approach. No sweeps.
Already suspicious activity on his part.
I slowly lift myself from the grass, inching forward and towards the home while a green friend settles down in my place. Jin heads inside and locks the door. The house is sturdy looking, made of wood that has been weathered after a few decades, but not compromised. The windows are large squares that are split into four segments. Two storeys. Easy enough to climb.
I feel for his chakra and note that he's moving through the house, after having stopped for a bit to prepare something. Two options come to mind: bumping the lock and slipping inside, or heading up to the roof and seeing what I can do from there. I can always slip through the chimney easily with a change.
"Mm."
No. I don't have much time, so I might as well do what I came to do. Ask him about the situation directly.
I reach back into my pouch as I walk, and find the tools I need by feel. By the time I reach the door, they're in my hands and ready. The lock is as I expected, standard and in the middle of the round handle. I quickly bump it and open the door as quietly as I can, then slide my frame through and close it in the same manner.
"This was a lot easier to do when I was younger," I mutter to myself. Growing is nice, but sometimes one laments their inability to get into or through smaller spaces like they used to. Such is life, I suppose. We can compensate by other means.
Jin hasn't returned yet. I move lightly on my feet and towards the kitchen. There are many scents floating through this place. Warm and soothing. Incense, candles with spice, coffee, and of course the rich fragrance of tea.
"And he has good taste in tea, too. It smells delightful..."
This place feels very well lived in. Even now, it contains many lifetimes worth of memories, vividly seen and felt despite the now empty space.
I take a seat in the chair nearby and close my eyes before taking a sip from the cup.
"Figures. Can't have anything to myself these days."
I open my eyes to see Jin standing at the other end of the table. He looks tense, but resigned at the same time. And more than a little upset, though he's trying to hold it together somewhat.
"I really couldn't help myself. It's delicious," I say.
"Mind if I have a sip?"
"I do mind, yes."
He chuckles nervously. "Man. Can't even have myself a drink before the end. Pretty harsh."
"..." I look over his person and extend my sensing to cover the house. I don't like this. The lack of...things. I can feel the pulsing of his chakra. Not near enough to use shinobi arts. He could still be a different type of element, though.
"Jin Toyama," I say to him.
"Yeah. That's me. Listen..." He sighs. "I know it's not-"
"Sit down. I would like for you to do that first. Can you?" I interrupt gently.
He nods and takes his seat across from me.
"Thank you. Wait there for a moment." I leave my seat and sniff out the cupboard where he keeps his tea. Taking out one of the bags, I pour hot water into a cup and brew the tea to a good strength.
"One sugar," I say.
"Been stalking me, so that only makes sense."
"This is the first time we've met. On either side. You just seemed like a one sugar kind of man."
"Ah. I...guess so."
I place his tea in front of him. "Your nerves will come down in a bit. I want us to talk..."
He nods and takes a few sips of his tea. I take out the book from my pocket and study it, looking back at Jin's face. These things aren't expected to be completely accurate, and people can change their appearances.
The image feels convenient, and I don't think I like that feeling right now.
"You lived in the Hidden Cloud?" I ask as I sit again.
"No. I did some work there, but I was out in a couple of small villages, going around for a few years and studying. I'd drop in there for food and important stuff, though. That's how I found out my mom was sick."
"What area were you studying?"
"I was looking into farming and mineral extraction. Different things, but...they related pretty well to this place, as you might have guessed."
Composite. That word is flashing in my mind's eye.
"You came back to take care of your mother."
"I wanted to be with her...before she went, and stuff." He coughs. "Her wish was for me to take care of this place. Make something out of it. I tried, at least."
He may very well be doing this to make my guard slack. If it's the case, then I want to see how far he'll go. Almost unassuming, this fellow.
"Humour me a bit?" I ask.
He shrugs. "Yeah, got nothing else doing. What did you want to know?"
"Your plans for the mine. I figure there's a lot you can get done with something like that."
"I was planning on doing a survey of the thing and then getting some people back on the job. Might be good stuff down there."
"And the connection to Hot Water Country?"
"Pain in the ass. Drove my old man bonkers, and I swear it was the death of him. My sister is travelling around, before she left we worked on a list of people we wanted to contact about selling the rights to the mine, the part that's over the border at least. Hasn't been much action there, honestly."
I pause at that. "You want to sell the rights for the portion across the border."
"Yeah. See, as it is, the town's gotta pay the expenses of a couple guys from Leaf. Real make-work kind of thing, they duck into the mines and sweep the area above ground once or twice a week, then kinda scatter back to their inn rooms and do whatever on our dime. It sucks, and it's part of their whole paranoia about people using the tunnels to infiltrate or whatever," Jin says. He takes a sip of his tea before continuing. "Dad would rather shut down the operation than cede any control, I just want to get some stuff out of the ground so that we can make some money."
"I'm sure it has a lot of value as is," I say to him.
"Probably. But letting the government handle it from here on is the best option, I think. Hot Water gets their guys, we get our guys. Split the mine, have everyone work on their own stuff. Sounds fair enough, to me at least. At the very least, the money from the mine operation could be used to pay the security guys. Ideally, we'd hire some local mercs or people from the town who want in. It'll take some pressure off of us."
"..."
So now that I can see this was based on a great deal of false information...the next questions here are who and why. The who part I can figure out, it's that Komaeda fellow that was mentioned earlier. The why is proving to be something that I can't figure out terribly quickly at this moment.
"You don't realize it, I suppose. You're in the Leaf's Bingo Book," I say to Jin. His eyes widen in shock.
"I'm what now?"
"You're a known criminal. That's why I'm here, to eliminate you as a national security threat."
"You can't be serious. They think I'm going to use the mine to smuggle drugs, or people?"
"You are listed as an asset of the Cloud," I say.
"No way. I can't believe this." He puts his head in his hands. "All this over a mine? I would have done what Leaf asked if they said anything..."
"Someone framed you to get control of the land and the mine," I say calmly.
He lifts his head to stare at me blankly.
"Framed? Wait...what are you saying? You believed me?"
"I came here to gather information, since I felt something was off." I take another sip of tea and let out a breath. This really is good. I'll have to see if this brand is on the shelves in the village. "After observing you and your chakra, then listening to your story, I decided that I would let you live."
He lets out a shaky breath. "Would have been nice if you mentioned that earlier."
"It's not wise to tip one's hand to a possible foreign agent, you understand."
"Well...I mean, yeah. I get it."
"Of course, I do also have a flair for the dramatic."
"At my expense, huh."
I give him a wink and he relaxes a bit, chuckling.
"Sheesh. So, uh...since you're not gonna stab me or whatever, what now?"
I finish my tea and set the cup down. "I noticed this place has much in the way of empty space now. You've moved the valuable items somewhere else?"
"Yeah. Couple of important papers stashed around, but..."
"Understood. If you could do a few more things for me, Mister Toyama?"
"Whatever you like, ma'am."
I nod. "Gather up all of the important items and documents you have in the next five minutes or so. This place isn't going to last much longer, unfortunately."
"Uh...yeah, I'll go. See you in five," he says before getting up and taking off. Smart man. I've grown to like him already.
I can sense shinobi coming towards us from outside. They're moving slowly, and they haven't completely surrounded the house yet. That could change soon enough.
At a certain point, I realized that this was too simple. That it felt like someone made all of this too easy to discover. Overthinking, looking underneath the underneath...things that would make shinobi react too slowly when it came to investigations like this.
Something tailor made to try and blindside a shinobi like me.
"There are enemy shinobi outside this house," I say to Jin as he returns.
"But why? Did they come to kill me, too? Where'd they even come from?"
"Questions for later." I make a seal and then reach into one of my sleeves to retrieve a vial. I pop it open, swirl the contents in my mouth while adding some water, and then spit it out all over the table and chair.
"Holy crap, whoa! Is...is that blood?"
"Yes," I say as I wipe my mouth. "Come, you have to get out of here. I could survive what's coming easily enough, but you wouldn't stand a chance."
The shinobi have stopped a good distance away, and are now gathering chakra for a technique.
"Can't we just-"
"They're going to sink this entire structure beneath the earth, so putting ourselves in the basement is, in a word, unwise. I imagine that you would not like the idea of entombing yourself."
"Good point. They've probably got this place surrounded, though."
"Only six outside. It's light enough work."
We run towards the back door, Jin wearing his large backpack. The ground beneath starts to vibrate, and those vibrations quickly grow in intensity.
"Open the door and keep running." I make the Tiger seal with my hands as he does so, and my clone pops out of thin air. "Duck into the woods and hold your position. I'll be over in a bit."
"Understood. Keep running, Mister Toyama. I'll be next to you," she says.
I stop and turn, watching as the Toyama home is swallowed up by a massive sinkhole. It quickly disappears from my immediate sight, and in the meantime two of the six masked shinobi are approaching from either side.
"Seems your day isn't going well..."
I smile and let my bloodlust come to the surface.
"And I'm going to take great pleasure in making it even worse."
They draw their tanto and go for a slash at different heights. I call Murakumo to my hands and block each of their strikes squarely, then block the next set as they reverse direction.
"Your choreography is very cute. Perhaps you should have taken up dancing, instead of a dangerous occupation like this."
"We've bought enough time," one says in a muffled voice. "You're finished, Leaf dog."
"Now, now," I say as the other four rapidly approach. "If you want to call me a bitch, you should at least buy me dinner first. What has happened to common courtesy these days, hm?" I concentrate and focus chakra to my core. "Type Six. Artemis' Umbrella."
The spherical field of chakra bursts out from my body and throws all of the shinobi backwards. To their credit, they recover quickly enough.
That's still woefully slow next to me.
"Sweet dreams."
"Wha-!"
I stop behind the closest one and quickly pull my knife across his neck. The chakra mode flickers on at my will, covering me in a blue-white shroud of electricity as I speed to the next target and slash outwards.
"You-!" The shinobi holds his blade with two hands and blocks.
"Still slow." I shift the grip on Murakumo in my other hand, and shove my extended fingers into the shinobi's stomach. "Mobius: Double Barrel."
The burst rips through them, and they fall away from me as I spin low and back in line with the others. My hand points outward as my knees hit the dirt.
"One more."
I fire and tear through the heart of another enemy, sending them through the air while I fix my grip on Murakumo again.
"Shit!"
The one directly in front of me is weaving seals. I launch myself forward and slash across their neck with both hands, sending their head flying and stopping their technique. My eyes scan the uneven battlefield briefly before I shift behind the headless body, hearing a series of thuds as weapons bury themselves into its flesh.
I lick the blood flowing down my cheek and smile.
"So delicious. I wish they sent more than this, though...it barely counts as a snack when I finish so quickly. I know...I'll slow down some, and really savour these last two."
"Who the hell is this? How did she take out four of us already?!" I hear the remaining woman yell.
"It's the viper from Leaf..."
"Her? We're not supposed to-"
"I know. But it's too late to run now." He starts to make handseals. "I'll cover you. Use the opening!"
"Got it!"
That one could be trying to run away, but...I doubt it. These types have too much pride. The man spews out a stream of mud from his mouth, which solidifies into about six or so clones. Earth Release Shadow Clones, then?
"Nothing but a useless distraction," I mutter. "And for the sake of a useless, basic little trick."
"You talk too much, snake bitch. That's why you're about to die."
"Oh, dear. Am I really? Come, then. Avenge your fallen comrades, like you want. Show me a good time, Mister Hero."
He has the clones rush forward, and I hold my position. The vibrations coming through the earth tell the entire story on their own, what with the fact that the other shinobi has disappeared from sight. My feet take me past the attack of the first clone, then the next, and then I easily step past the arms that punch upwards through the ground. I crouch, pull, and surge electricity through my hands while gripping the kunoichi's arms tightly.
She screams and I twirl her around to meet the fist of one earth clone, hands wrenched behind her back. I then turn her to take another blow, and another, and another. Each time a clone moves, I spot it and move the helpless woman into the path of a hammer blow.
"Goodness. So brutal to your own teammate," I taunt as they start to back off. "It's not fair that she has to suffer like this!"
The masked man growls at me. "You sick fuck..."
"And saying such mean things about me," I pout. "Truly awful. With allies like you, is there a need for enemies in this world?"
I drop the woman on the ground, twitching and broken.
"I'll be the good one here and end her torment soon. You, on the other hand...well, you've been a very bad man. And bad men need to be punished properly."
"Come and try it!"
He makes seals and slams his hands on the ground. Oh, I've seen this one before.
"No. You don't get to do that." I point my finger forward. "Mobius."
I fire a burst that goes right through where his lung is, and it's enough to ruin his concentration. In the next moment, I flicker towards him and kick him in the face, breaking pieces of his mask and sending his teeth to the ground. He scrambles up and draws his blade, starting to turn around.
"That's enough out of you, I suppose."
I draw my hand back and drink in his terrified gaze, through the gap in his shattered mask.
So delicious. I love it.
"Bye~."
My blade glides through the flesh on his neck before he can properly react. The blood sprays out and over me as he reels back and falls, gasping for air and choking while writhing on the ground. He weakens and eventually goes still beneath my careful watch.
I swipe some of the blood from my face and lap at my palm.
"It's been a while...mmm. That's the good stuff."
My tongue goes across my lips as I walk back towards the woman, who is struggling to move. Between the paralysis, broken bones, and other internal injuries caused by her beating...well, what I'm about to do right now is certainly a mercy. Of course, I'm going to enjoy it...but there's no rule against that, is there?
I flip her over, straddle her waist, and pull the mask from her face. Young and pretty, with fair skin. Nice brown eyes and hair. Almost a tragedy...
I wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth with my thumb, and lick it slowly. She's still lucid enough to feel terror, and starts to squirm underneath me.
"Hidden Rock elites, eh. Sad. You're not worth much in the end...I don't think I'm that good, you know," I say to her.
"You're...you're a monster..."
"Yes...I certainly am. Very monstrous. Absolutely diabolical. Go ahead and praise me some more...it gives me a nice, sweet tingle when you do."
"You're going to fucking die...nobody can last forever. Even your precious Hashirama was just a human in the end."
"Hashirama...yes." I slowly and gently place my hands on her cheeks. "Hashirama Senju. Do you want to know who you're looking at right now?"
"The only thing I see is garbage," she spits.
"You're looking at someone who is greater than he was. The legend of Hashirama will be nothing compared to what I will create."
"G-greater...than the God of Shinobi? You're insane..."
"I'm sorry you think so," I say as my hands slip down to her neck. "Well, it's been fun chatting with you...but alas, all good things must come to an end. In another life, this could have been a very fun little scenario for both of us."
I grin and watch her eyes widen with despair.
"This time, the only one having fun...is going to be me."
"W-wai-ggggh-!"
"Interrogation? Capture? Torture? Oh, I don't need any of that...no, nothing like that," I say as I squeeze down on her neck. "I've already figured things out. You're expendable. Just another snack."
She squirms and flails limply, still fighting off the electricity from earlier that surged through her. Her hands try to pull at mine as her face turns red. She chokes and starts to cry, looking into my eyes for some kind of mercy.
I think I'm fresh out. What with the trying to kill me and everything.
"Just like that...feels good. Just watching you die like this, you useless fucking bitch," I growl. My fingers sink deeper into her soft flesh. "Do you like it? You should be grateful to have a goddess choke the life out of you. This will be the greatest moment of your pathetic existence."
Squeeze...squeeze, squeeze. The pressure building as she becomes more desperate, trying to pull in air from her nose. But by now her brain is surely addled. Her face is changing colour again, becoming blue.
"Like that...yes, like that."
I feel my face heating up as she gurgles, strength waning even as she tries to pound at my arms. Her pretty eyes start to roll upwards, and I know that we're coming to the end.
"Now...you don't have to suffer in this world anymore," I whisper. "Good night, my darling...you were a delicious treat."
I tense my limbs and push my grip to full. There's the unmistakable snap that I've been waiting to hear.
She immediately stops moving and goes limp, eyes opened to the sky. I let go of her neck, looking at the marks left on it with satisfaction.
That was so good. It's been a while since I could indulge myself so thoroughly.
"Now...we'll have ourselves a quick rinse, and then we can meet up with Mister Toyama again. He won't be safe until I take care of this little mystery, after all."
I sigh happily and lift myself from the corpse, then search the bodies for anything useful. A few tools, and some scrolls...nothing much, unfortunately. After pocketing what I think might be useful, I pile the bodies and any stray parts into a conveniently created hole, gather kindling, and pour a vial of oil that I keep on hand over top of it all. Then I blow a stream of flames through my lips and set it all alight.
"That should do."
With the fire burning hot, I make my exit.