The Village System Chapter 8: Execution, a Naruto + White Wolf Crossover fanfic

Naruto had not waken up from his rest the night before. Kakashi considered the ups and downs of waking him; on one hand, they would need all the help they could get when Zabuza attacked again, while on the other Naruto was exhausted and needed his sleep to act at full capacity.

Their Guide ultimately decided to let the boy rest up, trusting that he could get there in a hurry when he was ready. It was still with reluctance that Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura went as a trio to accompany Tazuna to his bridge, but one ultimately had to make a choice and stick with it.

Apparently, not all of Tazuna's workers agreed with that principle. "Listen, I know we've been making impressive progress lately, but Gato's thugs have only getting more aggressive, and with what we've heard about this Demon…"

"Do you want to live under him for the rest of your lives?" Tazuna responded. "Do you think that if we just comply now, maybe our beloved Gato will realize that we're reasonable people after all, and be so grateful that he eases up the dock fees and lets your children have a decent meal for once in their lives?"

"I don't want to die," the man in question replied bluntly.

But are you even living in the first place?" Tazuna responded.

"A wonderful speech, brought tears to my eyes," a familiar voice stated as rain started to fall on what was once a clear day.

The theatrics were a little unnecessary, he thought in retrospect as the Scions all turned his way, but watching the bridge-builder's employees run for it was surprisingly satisfying. While Zabuza really bore the man no ill will, the amount of time it had actually taken to kill him was grating on his nerves.

Thus, he opened up on a faith energy technique that required a lot of focus, enough that he didn't normally like relying on it. "Lore of Storms: Invoke the Storm," he invoked as the gathering storm clouds he had created swirled, causing everything around him to experience soaking rain and tearing winds that defied all meteorological reason when compared to what was there seconds before.

Unlike "Command the Storm," he could, with some effort, fine-tune this one. He did briefly consider that the weaker ability was poorly named in that regard, but expended no more mental energy on that as he instead sent a lightning bolt careening into the bridge-builder's location.

Sakura, in spite of herself, screamed when Tazuna was electrocuted before her very eyes. The embarrassment ended up working in her favor, however, as it was through her immediate desperation to redeem herself that she realized their client was still alive, though barely, and immediately began what field medicine supported by the Health Purview she could. She did better than Tazuna's workers, who had already begun running for their lives, but they were mortals with no combat training and thus held to a lower standard.

"I know this technique, he needs at least three seconds of concentration to aim the lightning, so as long as we keep him focused on more immediate concerns he shouldn't be able to keep using it," he shouted to Sasuke while throwing multiple knives in Zabuza's direction to ensure the Demon wouldn't just send more lightning while they were briefing.

Sasuke nodded, bringing his naginata to bear, when crucifix-knives flew past his head. It was only thanks to the training in Dexterity Knacks that he had just undergone that he was able to dodge, at least enough so none of them buried themselves in any vital organs.

Looking behind him, it immediately became apparent that the fake Inquisitor had come to play this time.

"Haku, handle the Heroes, I'll deal with the Demigod."

Weaving through Kakashi's knives, Zabuza charged forward to do just that. Not immediately certain which way to turn, Sasuke found the question answered for him when Haku shouted "Path of Wind and Water: Breath of Ice" and expelled a cloud of frost that coalesced into solid ice around his left arm.

Biting back a scream of pain from the bitter cold and struggling to keep his weapon steady with a no-longer-functioning left elbow, he turned toward the other Demon and tried to charge anyway.

Path? This companion of Zabuza's is an Angel? Kakashi did not have time to think on the matter before Zabuza's sword swung at where his face was just a fraction of a second ago.

The Scion rather sluggishly and foolishly tried to use a spear one-handed against Haku.

"Path of Movement: Ride the Current," he intoned before turning into electricity and leaping into one of the nearby wires he had laid down while Zabuza had their attention. The Scion, of course, had no idea where Haku was, and merely responded by looking around awkwardly until the Angel leapt up behind him, stabbed him, and then jumped back into the wires. Sasuke was able to figure out where he'd gone this time.

Being an Amatsukami Scion, that gave him the solution. "Tsukomo-Gami Purview: Awaken Spirit," "Tsukomo-Gami Purview: Watchful Spirit," he intoned, requesting that the wires themselves keep him informed of Haku's movements.

"Behind you," he heard and swung his naginata back without looking. It barely nicked his opponent, but it did motivate said opponent to say 'interesting,' before jumping back into the wires. The Kami within the wires were keeping him updated, which made him realize that the boy couldn't actually stay still in this form.

Paying attention to Haku's movements, he whispered "Sun Purview: Heavenly Glare" and, sure enough, the boy popped up just as Sasuke released the burst of light that should have blinded the kid. While Haku was distracted by the pain in his eyes, Sasuke pondered whether to go for the attack or use the opportunity to free his arm, then decided to try both and wriggled the lighter from his belt with his hips, kicked it up to his mouth, then muttered "Fire Purview: Bolster Flame" through closed teeth.

With his Ichor, even the muffled name was enough as the sparks within the lighter flared up into an inferno, rapidly liquifying the ice around his arm and jutting forth into what should have been a dangerous conflagration toward Haku, with even the heavy rain merely producing steam above it.

Feeling the heat, scorching against the front of his clothing, Haku quickly forced out "Path of Fire: Anti-Fire," and briefly mourned the loss of one of his favorite kimonos as he realized that it was time to go all out.

"Path of Information: Enhanced Sense," he intoned, turning his vision from worthless blindness to blurriness. Running from the Scion for a bit as he swung his spear, sort of having regained his other arm back, Haku found a pool formed by the rain and stared at what he could make out from his reflection.

Mildly envying the fact that Demons could do this without looking at themselves, Haku noted "Sign of the Watcher" as he felt his eyes start glowing, shadows coalesce around his figure, and pitch-black wings grow from his back. His enemy, not freaking out to the boy's credit, charged at him once more, which Haku responded to by propelling himself into the air. It was a terrible place to be thanks to Zabuza's storm, but it gave the Nephilim some time to set things up.

Sasuke, through some effort, had successfully managed to push down his nervousness at Haku's imitation of the strange form Zabuza had taken in their earlier encounter, though this one seemed far less wrong somehow. That nervousness failed to reassert itself when he realized that the creature could fly. It started to make progress when he was suddenly surrounded by dozens of the creature, and then finally appeared when he was surrounded by flying crucifix-knives.

Zabuza had faith in his ability to concentrate. He could maintain Invoke the Storm and swing at Kakashi without issue, even if the latter took up enough mental energy to prevent him from using specific weather conditions. He couldn't do all three if he took Water Form, but he could call on Summon Water easily enough. Especially with the source so readily apparent.

"Lore of Storms: Summon Water," he intoned as a nearby puddle erupted into a torrent and attempted to smack into Kakashi. When the latter effortlessly dodged it, he called on the Evocation again to turn another puddle into a mass of fog. Zabuza, being used to fighting in such an environment, believed that he had the visual advantage, at least until Kakashi responded with "Darkness Purview: Shadow Shroud," and ripped out all light from the area.

Now the Demon found himself relying entirely on his hearing. Well. This was frustrating. At least he had that stupid pun from last time gone.

"Hey, it's no use crying on a rainy day," Kakashi said, "Chao-"

Zabuza swung directly into the sound before Kakashi could channel his Ichor, and from the sound of it even made a mark. At the very least, the Earthbound was getting excited.

Getting to the island was surprisingly easy. Once one traveled past the mists, whatever illusion surrounded it vanished without issue. When they were there, the group found the entranceway Shikamaru had seen through Isaribi's eyes.

While he struggled to remember the exact method she had used to open it, Asuma simply stepped forward and stated, "Psychopomp Purview: Unbarred Entry," and walked through the door. He proceed to open it for his students from the inside.

"Okay, look out. We don't know exactly what we're getting into, but this girl did take down multiple ships without anyone seeing her."

Isaribi really didn't want to do this, but then she stared down at her scales, her scales, that she absolutely should not have, and then thought back to his promise. They won't accept me again until I'm no longer a monster, she thought, I must do this.

She pulled the lever he had shown her, causing water to pour from the ceilings. Removing what bandages she still wore, the girl, I want to be a girl again, knowing that she didn't actually stand a chance by herself, headed in the direction of the intruders, hoping that her master was ready to help her. She knew he was watching, in that bizarre way he could, but was he waiting to get rid of her for being a nuisance or waiting for the best opportunity to help?

The water was at her knees before she found them.

Shikamaru was desperately trying to hide the fact that he was freaking out right now. It was barely three minutes in when the gate shut behind them and water started filling the halls, soaking him up to his knees and rising. The Drowned Road is coming to claim me, an irrational, childish part of his brain spoke up, but he shut it down by imagining the four of them as game pieces.

Yes, they were Shogi tokens, completely surrounded by the enemy in a situation that, at first, seemed hopeless. As part of a special challenge mode, he couldn't capture the enemy pieces, just evade them, so how did he get out of this? Well, easily, actually, as Asuma could get them outside, but how did they get out of this while still figuring out what they had come to figure out?

Such thoughts were interrupted by Isaribi coming up to them, completely naked. While he was of the age and orientation to find this sufficiently awkward, both the danger and tension of the situation, but more importantly the fact that she covered in scales, fins, and the portion of her mouth normally covered by the bandage inlaid with fangs rather than teeth distracted him from whatever else he might notice.

"You look like a Dragon," Asuma noted, "but even a young one who could barely control their Manifestation…".

"I wasn't born a Dragon, nor have I truly become one. A man came to our town one day, with delusional ideas about creating a new type of Enhanced Human, a race that did for Dragons what Ghouls did for Vampires and Thralls did for Demons. The Village Hidden in Fire had already rejected his proposal, and no one here had any interest, so he left in a rage. We thought that was the end of it, but when people started vanishing to this island, my brother and I thought we would investigate. He…didn't make it, and I became the result of his experiments."

She looked ashamed at this fact. "Everyone looked at me and saw a monster, but then that man came back, told me he could fix me, if only I helped ensure his funding." As the water came up to her upper thighs, she pleaded with them, "don't you see, this is my only chance to not be a monster!"

"But you're being a monster right now!" Choji shouted back, "however unfairly the people may have treated you at first, you're actions are justifying it! You are a monster, not because of what you look like, but because of how you're acting!"

Ino, also, was having none of her sympathy act. "Girl, I understand more than most how important appearances are, but to go to these lengths over how you look? That's just wrong."

Shikamaru, knowing that his friends were right, still remembered the girl who had saved him from drowning at no benefit to herself, no, at risk to herself, considering he was one of the ones trying to stop her.

"But you don't have to be. Come with us, confess to your crimes, and we can figure something out. You've done too much to escape justice, but you don't have to be killed or spend the rest of your life in a prison cell." Shikamaru reached out a hand. "You can choose not to be a monster."

The idiot girl was considering it. Amachi had suspected he couldn't trust her, but it was still annoying when pessimism was validated. Pulling his 'Distant Mind' back into his body, he channeled his Karma (an ironic name, some might consider, but he was above such foolish superstitions), and took the forms.

"Manifestation: Tail, Manifestation: Scales, Manifestation: Aquatic, Power: Metabolic Control." His body was covered in blue scales that acted as armor, a long reptilian tail grew from his back, fins and gills appeared, and he felt his strength drain to provide more for his speed. As much as he told himself that he was a man of pragmatism and above the nonsense traditions of his old Village, he still felt the pride that prevented him from using the full draconic form for his first move, though he justified that to himself by noting the Karma expenditure it would entail.

He threw his clothes away as an unnecessary hindrance, leapt into the rising water, and swam with inhuman skill even at the pathetically small depth and with scalpels in his hands. They didn't even see him until his tail struck into the back of the oldest one, whom he presumed to be the strongest, although the man did dodge quickly enough that Amachi failed to pierce his heart.

Oh well, time to keep up the assault. Getting into Fire Stance, the old Fighting Style training of his Village ringing in the back of his head, he took turns striking with the scalpels in both his hands as well as continuing the assault with his tail; most non-Dragons trained in fighting against opponents with only two effective limbs, so it was normally disastrous to face someone like him, but the Demigod was pretty good.

Amachi did get some hits in, but not as many as he'd like, and the man's kards managed to knock all three limbs back enough for him to shout "Sky Purview: Storm Augmentation" and have the daggers cackle with electricity before rushing forward with an unnatural speed that probably would have nailed the Dragon without the metabolic enhancement to his own speed.

As it was, he managed to grip the Demigod around his neck and push him down into the water. Altering the Metabolic Control to sacrifice speed for strength, he held the man down beneath the water as he looked around to the others.

"Well, Isaribi, these are your would-be saviors. Why don't you help me deal with the younger ones, and then we can discuss your reversion to human."

Shikamaru had paid enough attention (when he was awake) in class to recognize a Dragon when he saw one, and also knew that this was probably not a fight they were really prepared for. The water gave this creature an advantage, and there wasn't an immediate way to escape it. Isaribi's loyalties were still an unknown. Asuma seemed to have been taken down, which was really horrifying when one considered that he was the strongest of them.

"Isaribi, is this the man you would obey? Do you think working with him makes you less of a monster?"

The water was up to their waist now, and the Dragon was getting increasingly frustrated by how long Asuma was taking to actually drown. Said frustration turned to panic when the water above Asuma's mouth burst apart and some sort of…person-thing made of…condensed wind, as far as they could tell, rose up and split the water above Asuma's head, before electricity formed around what they could only think of as its fist before slamming into the shocked Dragon and knocking him away from their Guide.

A gasping, weak-looking Asuma managed to surface from what was left of the air pocket above the still-rising water before shouting "come with me," to his students. There was no need to ask multiple times.

Running to the wall together, Asuma shouted "Psychopomp Purview: Come Along," "Psychopomp Purview: Unbarred Entry," before all of them suddenly found themselves phasing through the wall erected to prevent their escape.

That very gate opened itself as the Dragon ran out, screeching "Manifestation: Size, Manifestation: Serpentine," growing significantly larger and his torso starting to stretch and curl like that of a snake's.

Now outside, and not on an abnormally clear day, Asuma didn't have to hesitate before shouting "Sky Purview: Levin Fury," prompting a lightning bolt to form, far larger than a natural one, and strike down from the heavens onto the Dragon's form.

Screeching in pain, it leapt into the water, then emerged as, well, what most people would actually think of when they thought of a 'Dragon.'

Sea Serpent might be a more accurate description, in spite of its wings, but the four were more-or-less aware that that was his Breed. "

Well, he's strong enough to Manifest the full Draconic Form, and he's a Sea Serpent so the water's going to be to his advantage, and will probably involve the ability to spit venom…"

He was interrupted by a massive glob of venom being spit on them, burning into their flesh and absorbing itself into their veins. If we live through this, the next few days are going to be such a drag, Shikamaru thought as he already felt the toxin's effects setting in.

Ino was conflicted. This was clearly the time to bring out the big guns, but she was always uncomfortable with her Pantheon's Unique Purview. It felt…violating. "Guys, do you want…the Jotunblut?"

As an episode of pain wracked her body from the venom now coursing through them struck them all expect Choji, who was skilled enough in Stamina Knacks to make poison borderline useless, Shikamaru just shouted, "whatever will work!"

Choji added, "I can help too."

Asuma summoned a gust of wind beneath him to simulate pseudo-flight, presumably hoping to distract the creature from his students.

Choji placed a hand on Ino, then seemed to draw some form of esoteric symbol. "Taiyi Purview: Five-Cycle Augmentation." Ino felt something with her, something she couldn't describe, but she knew that her next act would be greater than what she could do by herself, so with that in mind she bit two of her fingers and then, enhanced by her Aesir blood, rammed them into Shikamaru and Choji and shouted "Jotunblut Purview: Superhuman Enhancement."

She felt her Ichor mix with her human blood and then transform into something that was neither, the blood of Giants as she knew from her Clan lessons, and then inject itself into her two friends. They both grew slightly larger, visibly stronger, and the pallor that the venom had been giving them lightened.

"Thank you, Monsieur Ino," Shikamaru responded with the Loa Clan's unique term of respect that he normally only gave to Asuma.

"Yes, Ino-Laoshi, your talents will guide us to victory!" Choji exclaimed.

I wasn't expecting the Berserker's loyalty to be this immediate…or unsubtle, she thought.

Karashi didn't want to admit it to himself, but he was actually enjoying the blending of the spices. Cooking had once been a passion of his, before those bullies had battered any joy he could find out of him quite thoroughly, and a part of him regretted that he had let them take it away from him.

While he doubted any of the local miners would let him show his face in their presence without his grandmother's reputation backing him up, maybe he could find redemption from his time in Raiga's gang, maybe he could find a more peaceful and happy life…Karashi , a voice whispered to him.

It was a cold voice, childish and sweet, yet terrifying. Even only having heard it once, he still recognized it. He doubted that it could ever be forgotten.

"Yes, Ranmaru," he eventually brought himself to respond.

"Raiga is still alive, but he's in a bad state. Things would move along faster if some of his loyal followers would come to help."

Karashi could not see the Wraith-Child. Even knowing that there were Scions with such abilities, he didn't think any of the shop's guests could either. Thus, there wouldn't be much risk in leaving with Ranmaru to find Raiga and then lure his esteemed guests into a trap, which hopefully would mean the mad Demon wouldn't come gunning for him when he eventually got his strength back…but would Rock Lee approve?

No, but what did Karashi care? Lee was a Scion, with superhuman strength, he didn't really know what it was like to face a creature like Raiga without his bizarre powers, and besides the four of them had apparently failed to kill the Demon the first time, so could he really trust in their protection? All thoughts about returning to a life of cooking vanished as he listened intently to Ranmaru's instructions.

Hinata was growing uncomfortable about the fact that she hadn't heard from Kiba or Shino in a while. She didn't want to go running to Kurenai, as there were no apparent threats to face, but she also didn't trust herself to face any threats might show up alone. She was a disgrace, after all.

It was rarely said directly, but she always saw it in her mortal caretaker's face, in the Clan elders' faces, in the faces of everyone around her. Her Bandmates were polite enough to pretend that it wasn't true, but she refused to accept that it was anything other than a pleasant lie on their part.

Wrapping her arms around her waist as she cut into herself with her own words, she almost didn't notice the overly large wasps heading her way. Almost; they were pretty hard to miss, even when buried in her own thoughts.

The things were bigger than any insect should be, even larger than sparrow wasps, and as they got closer she noticed something mechanical about them. They weren't mundane machines, but there was something that made her think that if an automaton could be made from rock, and still fly and move with an organic being's agility, then this is what they would look like. Looking back on years of study, a small reference to something from a minor village stuck out to her.

Chimerical creations. She drew her Xiphos. While she didn't actually know for certain that Fae meant danger, she had no intention of being taken out while trying to peacefully negotiate.

One of the strange wasps slammed into her, confirming her suspicions and knocking her down, but the wind pushed her back up. "Awareness Arete," she intoned as she took stock of her surroundings. Noting a shift in her shadow, she turned around to slash at one, breaking into it but not seriously injuring it.

Cold iron, I need cold iron, Hinata thought, thinking back to her lessons on how Fae worked, and reached her thoughts into her Birthright, the very Xiphos she fought with, forged by Hephaestus at Zeus's command, it could change its own composition. She had thought that to be a silly power at first, though of course she had been far too nervous to tell Zeus himself that, but it certainly came in handy at this specific moment.

Feeling her sword become brittle, she struck at one of the Chimera-Wasps, then another, and then swung her sword in a circle to catch two more as they came at her. At that point, there were no more of the small ones, as she immediately came to think of her foes as a massive one ridden by a woman with a headband signifying the Village Hidden in Dreams came into view.

"Impressive, Scion, but not good enough." The huge monstrosity was just as agile as its smaller brethren, no matter how many laws of physics that violated (not that a Scion could criticize another Supernatural Woman for that), and dove at her with its enormous stinger while spitting out what seemed to be…honey?

Her distraction at that observation almost prevented her from dodging, which would have turned out to be a costly mistake when she saw said honey coalesce around random bugs and entrap them. Somehow she doubted it would treat her differently.

"Give up," the Fae woman sneered, "and maybe we'll let you live."

Hinata, throughout her life, wanted to give up. She wanted to give up on the harsh trainings when her little sister outmatched her. She wanted to give up on the Academy when socializing turned out to be impossible. And yes, she wanted to give up right now, as she really didn't want to die here. However, she hadn't given up then, and she had no intention of giving up now. '

Sky's Freedom' would really save her right now, but somehow she had never been able to master that one. One priest working for the clan had told her that she was too 'grounded' mentally to unground herself physically, but had declined to explain what that meant. Still, she had tried moving on to the other skills in her Divine Father's most famous Purview, and one had proved surprisingly simple. The other was almost impossible for a Hero to master, but when she learned that Naruto, a boy she had long held interest in (not that she would ever act on it), had mastered Shadow Bodies, which was supposedly an Upper Demigod technique, she had been inspired to study it.

So, when the Fae woman and her pseudo-mechanical wasp-thing swooped in again, Hinata shouted "Sky Purview: Divine Threnody," and then her shout really deserved the word. Her Ichor flowed into the air and increased its ability to carry sound to the point that her words turned into a thunderclap, stunning the Fae woman and forcing her to desperately clap her hands over her ears as her mount careened out of control.

Now that it was moving in a semi-predictable fashion, she could try out her other skill. "Sky Purview: Storm Augmentation," she screamed as her Xiphos crackled with electricity and the subtle wind that normally followed her turned into a blasting gale, tossing her straight forward into the Fae.

Between the electrocution and the cold iron, Hinata's opponent found herself in a less-than-ideal circumstance. Horrifically injured, probably dying, she shouted "Wayfare Cantrip: Flicker Flash," and vanished from the Scion's sight.

Morrigan's crows, following the inexplicable trail Kurenai had left them, found their charge frozen in a block of ice. Foolish human. Freezing was bad for you. So they laughed at him as they pecked away at his prison.

There was little response to said laughter, as the boy was far too grateful to them to be annoyed. They also picked at the prison of his companion, which was far more pleasant (it tasted like honey) but far less useful, as apparently the boy was halfway to escaping through his own merits. He and that stupid dog were soon reunited with the crows' charge, and that suited them just fine. The charge was likely to want vengeance on the ones who did this to them, and the dog-boy would be helpful in such a regard.

A woman appeared, in a terrible state. She had a large cut down her torso, and it was…wrong somehow. There was almost some sort of unnatural steam emanating from her wound, which wasn't explained by the burn marks covering it.

Around the same time she appeared from wherever she appeared from, the other two Fae came back, letting her know that they had been looking for her before they freaked out at the horrific state she was in. Shino and Kiba looked to one another, simply nodding. "Animal (Dog) Purview: Animal Aspect." "Animal (Crow) Purview: Animal Command."

Neither Fae reacted in time to the sudden swarm of crows to be prepared for the dog and his owner, with the latter's already considerable strength enhanced by adding a dog's on top of it, coming at them with an unnaturally heavy club in one hand and animalistic claws in the other.

They were skilled enough; they should have been able to take on two Hero-level Scions, but the shock of their leader's state and the general unease they felt about how this mission was going meant that this kid's ferocious battering proved beyond them. The kid used no cold iron. It was bizarre, considering their leader had clearly been exposed to the substance, but they could be grateful for that, at least.

Once it was clear that the Fae were no longer an immediate threat, Shino walked up to the woman in the worst state, and merely said, "you'll die without treatment, but you're clearly a dangerous and skilled opponent. We can't let you leave here without securing the Lia Fail." He placed a finger on her forehead. "If you have no desire to formally surrender, I can ensure that your death is a painless one."

"Never! We shall not surrender to the likes of you! The Village Hidden in Dreams will become great again, just as soon as the foolish Nobles in charge are overthrown. This is far from over, a False King like you cannot possibly deal with the last of the True Fae!"

"This silly debate between your Village and mine over the true identities of the Tuatha da Danaan will only cause you more misery. Now, I ask you again, if you wish to die for this cause, I can ensure that it will be painless, but if you willingly agree to hand us the Lia Fail and leave, then I can get you treated once I reunite with my Guide and we can do so when we're certain to be in a position that neither can easily take out the other. It is your choice."

The Fae woman's gaze was one of pure hate. It was one of Shino's crows that let him know that a large wasp under her command was headed directly for his back, which prompted him to whisper "Death Purview: Euthanasia," before dodging to the side. It turned out to be an unnecessary maneuver, for the Chimerical creation vanished with its master's death.

"We're going to get into so much trouble with the Seelie Court for this," one of the other Fae whined.

"Here, take your stupid stone, False King," the other spat as he tossed them the Lia Fail. The two got up and hobbled away. With Kiba keeping his ears and nose alert for them trying any funny business, the two let them leave and moved on.

Kurenai had been exploring the woods at more-or-less random, hoping her students would find something until her Vigil Brands went off. Not knowing the skill for teleporting to their location, and making a mental note to study it when they got back, she went running in her students' directions, only to find the feeling fading before she could reach them.

Fearing the worst, she only ran faster, but then felt relief when she came across an exhausted but otherwise unharmed Hinata, and a few minutes later two injured but not in danger of dying boys.

Shino also had the Lia Fail, which she was grateful for, as it meant they could leave and debrief, but first she felt the need to address something, as Shino was clearly trying to hide something behind his facial expression.

If asked to account for how she knew, Kurenai would be at a loss, but what Shino was experiencing was not merely First-Battle-Shock, but the disturbed contemplations of a man who had made his first kill. Remembering her own experiences with such an…impactful experience, she decided that talking to the boy would be a priority.

"You have proven yourself to be a loyal man," Raiga gasped through his broken body. "Karashi, I will ensure that on the day of your death, you will have a most beautiful funeral."

Briefly stepping back out of fear that the man was saying he was going to be killed as a reward, he instead quickly realized that his master was merely complimenting him. A disturbing compliment, but one he was going to accept. The Demon didn't seem to be the type to reject a good-faith appraisal from, especially considering what he had just survived.

When facing the Scions earlier, Raiga had apparently been lax in his fighting. Relying on his own talents, the Demon hadn't bothered to bring Soultaker into the fight, a mistake he was unlikely to make again. Also, he had no intention of going into it alone.

"Lore of Death: Unquiet Corpse," he said over and over again as he touched several of the corpses of his followers that had yet to be removed from the battlefield. They moaned, and groaned, and stood up as mindless zombies. Raiga looked around at them, not fully approving.

"I don't have enough living followers to act as Mudu." He glanced at Karashi. "Maybe, if I pull as much faith as possible…"

Karashi had no idea what his master was talking about, but was more than willing to go along with it if it meant getting stronger, and at this point more importantly not getting killed.

Go along with it he did, as Raiga pulled Karashi's arm into a formalization of their pact, the energies entering his body, and then continued to go along with it as the man drew a strange symbol in the ground and directed Karashi to stand opposite him. Ripping out the heart of one of the corpses that that Neji kid had done a particularly bad number on, Raiga started to chant in some strange language, and chant, and chant, and chant.

Feeling some of that energy he had just gotten drain from him and into the heart, Karashi got a little bit scared, but he kept in place. The boy had no idea how long the chanting actually lasted, but he was getting weaker, and weaker, and the heart was coalescing into something, and he was getting weaker…then his body flared in pain. His head felt like it was split in half. Screaming, he felt something ripped from him, nothing physical, but his mind, his sanity, some important piece of soul was torn out and left him as some sort of raving husk. WhathaveIdonewhathaveIdonewhathaveIdone, was all that he could think anymore as he dropped to the ground as a frothing lunatic.

Raiga was disappointed in the results for one of his last Thralls, but was pleased to see the Spectre successfully summoned. He didn't actually think he could do it with just one Mudu, but maybe Soultaker's energy was really that beneficial, maybe he could do more to dip into it…I am not Kisame, I will not start worshipping the monster in my sword.

Said monster started talking in his head at that moment, all of its personalities shouting at once, kill, KILL, Kill, kill. Raiga fully intended to, especially when he heard voices in the distance looking for Karashi. Overfeeding on the boy's faith had left him more than prepared, and once again he committed to giving the boy a beautiful funeral while ordering his undead minions into place.

Those bastards let me sleep in, Naruto thought with no small amount of annoyance.

Grabbing his things and preparing to join them at the bridge, his progress was halted by hearing that Inari kid scream in terror. Looking out the window, he saw two rough looking mortal men brandishing clubs and sadistic grins. They were staring at Inari.

Leaping down from the window, silently thanking Kakashi for his training with Dexterity Knacks, he shouted at the men, "hey, that kid is stronger than you," which thanks to his Charisma Knacks they had to think over for a second before Naruto rushed them with knives in hand.

With both the advantage in initiative and superior skill and training (both supernatural and natural) Naruto easily bested the two, stabbing them in the torsos and then exploiting how distracted they were by knocking their heads together between the butts of his two knives. As they crumpled to ground, still alive but no longer a real threat, he turned to the smaller boy. "Are you okay?"

Inari was stunned, but barely managed to mutter, "these are Gato's men. They must be attacking! But…grandpa and your Band are at the bridge."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "Organize the villagers. I have to go find my Band." The blonde Amatsukami Scion ran off before Inari could respond.

You should have snuffed out their light, a bizarre voice, genderless, accentless, sounded in his head, but he ignored it for now.

Organize the villagers? How could I do that? I'm just s mortal, I'm not string like him. He wanted to cry as he thought about what was about to happen, but then he remembered the gray-haired man's words from last night, about how Naruto had decided to stop crying and do something about it. Steeling himself, he ran to his nearest neighbor's house.

Crucifix-knives showered Sasuke. Even though only a few were real, he couldn't tell which and thus dodging turned out to be a game based on luck rather than skill, and his luck was running out if the wounds grazing his legs were any indication.

The huge flock of pitch-black flying Haku's still surrounded him, and he didn't know which way to go to get out of the shifting dome they had formed. He suspected that most, if not all but one, were illusions, but when he tried to run through he got exposed to that same 'Breath of Ice' ability from earlier and then, while jumping into the air to avoid it, was struck by another of those crucifix-knives. This is bad, he was forced to admit to himself.

Naruto ran up to the bridge to find that his presence might very well be needed, as not only was there a massive storm that defied all meteorological reason (not that he was a meteorologist in any sense, but he noticed that the immediate wall that separated the sunny, clear day surrounding him with the massive torrent of rain surrounding the bridge as atypical), but on the bridge itself there was a dome of shadows with fog issuing out of it and a large flock of black bird-people forming a whole other dome. What in Izanami's name have I gotten myself into?

It didn't really matter, for as a Hero of the Village Hidden in Legends it was his duty to stand with his companions, and so he ran right into the mess.

It wasn't long before he found Sakura kneeling over the body of an injured but rapidly healing Tazuna, and thought that that was his best bet of figuring out vital information.

"I came here as soon as I could. What's going on?"

"Kakashi's keeping Zabuza busy, and Sasuke is dealing with some Angel kid over there. If Zabuza gets any freedom to concentrate, he can make lightning bolts hit wherever he wants, which is why…" she gestured to Tazuna's barely conscious frame.

Nodding at her information, he quickly came to the conclusion that Kakashi was less likely to need help and thus he ran to the strange flock of (Angels? Is that what Sakura said?). "Darkness Purview: Shadow Bodies," he intoned before the shadows coalesced into silhouettes of him, and he charged the semi-dome from multiple angles.

Sasuke was shutting down his panic with exercises he had mastered long ago when the black images of Naruto ran through the being's many forms, all of them apparently missing the real one. Internally facepalming at his companion's idiocy, Sasuke took his multi-angle miss to indicate that the real one was not on the ground and pointed his lighter upward.

"Fire Purview: Bolster Flame! Fire Purview: Bolster Flame!" Sasuke was burning through his Ichor way too quickly for no result as he tried to send the extended fire in as many directions as possible, and couldn't help cursing himself for that fact when all he got in return for his efforts was another shower of crucifix-knives. One of Naruto's Bodies was destroyed by them. Well, at least it didn't hit him this time.

"Okay, this isn't working, we need to strategize," Sasuke noted to his erstwhile companion.

"Why do you bother?," Zabuza's assistant asked. "Why prolong the inevitable? I have no desire to kill you, and do you really wish to die for some foreign country's economy?"

While Sasuke had no intention of dignifying that with a response, Naruto was apparently taken aback by the comment.

"That voice? Haku?"

Another rain of crucifix-knives, another vanishing Shadow Body.

"But why are you doing this?" Naruto was really trying to square the image of the kindly boy he had met at the shrine with the villain before him. That boy wasn't acting the way villains were supposed to act.

"I told you back then," Haku respond, "there is nothing more important than fighting for what it precious to you."

"Zabuza? How could you feel that about him?"

More crucifix-knives, but less of them. This conversation seemed to be slowing this Haku person down, and Sasuke thought that could only help them. Trying to pinpoint their opponent's voice but finding it seeming to teleport from spot to spot, Sasuke's heart fell in dismay. Could the real one teleport between the fakes?

"Do you know what a Nephilim is, Naruto?"

"No."

"A long time ago, when the Fallen were free to walk the Middle-World without possessing bodies, they mated with mortals and created creatures that the Fallen and Grigori of the time agreed to be abominations. They were hunted down and exterminated, it was thought to the last one."

That really confused Naruto. It sounded like the relationship Gods had with Scions, but the Gods never tried to kill them, they empowered them.

"However, someone, the Village Hidden in Revelations would claim it was the One True God, but whoever took pity on them, and suppressed their powers so that they could hide among the mortals. However, their children and their children's children still had the potential born of that Fallen blood, and when the Village System was started many of them started to awaken these powers in the same way that Angels did, normally through a sudden proclamation of doing good. Thus, they were recognized as a type of Angel, and it worked out that way until the Demon-Angel Wars between the Village Hidden in Revelations and the Village Hidden in Torments, where Zabuza once lived. A new Flockmaster arose when no one met the standards of Angelos, and he claimed that Nephilim were Demon infiltrators and started purging us from the population."

There was a growing bitterness to the boy's voice, which Naruto found perfectly understandable even if he didn't know what half of the terms being used meant.

"My mother followed the path of our ancestors, and hid herself as a mortal, marrying a mortal man and living in a small town outside the Village. It all would have worked out, had I not been reading a book I was particularly interested in and proclaimed that I would seek to learn and share my knowledge with the world. My eyes glowed when I said it, and I started affecting the emotions of those around me, a clear sign that I had awakened. For any other type of Angel, it would have been a day of celebration, but for me it meant my father killed my mother to 'purify' the bloodline and an angry mob came for me."

Even with the slowed pace, Haku continued to take out Naruto's Shadow Bodies. The darkness surrounding the boy himself faded when it was just him.

"According to the mortals, I had to live in a Village. I'm not really human, after all. However, according to the Village that I technically belong to, I don't deserve to live. What option, besides that of the Rogue, did I have?"

Sasuke had tried striking at the various Haku's with his naginata, but they either failed to find the real one or were blocked by an effective counter-strike from the real one, which always vanished before he could capitalize on having found it.

Naruto was trying to focus on helping his bandmate, but what Haku said struck multiple cords. He had known pain, he had known rejection from the Village he had called home, but he had never actually thought about leaving the Village Hidden in Legends. It was still home to him, in spite of everything.

For all the time he spent thinking of his pain, he never thought about the fact that he was trapped with the people who hated him. That conversation between Sakura and Kakashi earlier, about whether or not they had a choice to be confined to the Village System, came to him now.

An Angel can choose not to make the sincere proclamation of doing good that awakens their powers, was vaguely what Kakashi said on the matter, and with what Haku said…he was supposed to be fighting bad guys, dammit! Why was the person trying to kill him like this?

"Why Zabuza, then?"

"Zabuza took me in when no one else would. Zabuza trained me and taught me. Zabuza made me into his tool, gave me a purpose for living, and I will do whatever it takes to help him fulfill his dream of becoming Tyrant of the Village Hidden in Torments. He has stated his intention to request the King of the Land of Faith recognize Nephilim as Demons in light of the purges, yes, but that is a secondary goal to serving him. I exist for him."

Sasuke had assumed that Haku could teleport between the fake images of himself, but when he realized the truth he felt like an idiot. The illusions were illusions, as he suspected, but he had missed the obvious when it came to how the real one was traveling around the dome of fake Haku's; he was using the same stupid wire trick from earlier.

Because he had withdrawn his connection to the spirit in them to conserve Ichor, Sasuke did not notice this quickly enough to stop Haku from leaping from the array beneath Naruto and attempting to stab his bandmate through the neck. Sasuke took this opportunity to leap in the way, trying to block the Angels' weapon and only getting it caught in his own neck for his efforts.

Sasuke collapsed to the ground, strength draining from what he felt to be a fatal wound, and used his last, gurgling breaths to tell Naruto "Itachi, son of Tsuki-Yomi, he has to die-" consciousness faded.

Naruto was not medically gifted enough to tell whether his bandmate was dead or merely unconscious, but it did not look good.

"Surrender, and you won't experience your friend's fate," Haku informed him. Naruto felt the light within him vanish. He became black, like when he used Shadow Bodies, but he wasn't intentionally calling on the Darkness Purview.

His mind sunk into itself, finding some shining cave. The light did not make it pretty, just bright, in a way that contradicted the mass of blackness, that seemed to form a solid wall of nothingness that blocked out all the light, but still called to him. Yes, feel the light within you fade. Embrace the dark. Become the dark. Spread the Dark!

While everything in his body screamed for him to defer to Ino as his rightful mistress, Shikamaru fought off his newly formed Jotun instincts to make a plan. Pointing to one of the higher points on the island, he asked Choji if he could help Asuma lead the Dragon to that location.

Choji nodded, concentrated his Strength Knacks, and then leaped an absurd distance to reach where Asuma was desperately trying to not get eaten by the enormous flying serpent.

Shikamaru channeled his Ichor. "Moon Purview: Phase Cloak." Half of his body faded from sight, which frustrated him as he was certain he could pull off crescent form, but it was irrelevant as he used what he had to run up to the location he had cited to Choji earlier.

Choji throwing things from the ground distracted the Sea Serpent long enough for Asuma to call his Spenta to him (he was suddenly wishing that he had invested more time into learning how to control multiple at a time), and have it use the electrical attacks this thing seemed to hate so much.

His student tried to signal him to lead their enemy to the nearby hills, and Asuma, assuming that Shikamaru had come up with one of his plans, complied, having a burst of wind send him flying backward as their opponent flapped its wings and thrust its serpentine body forward. Asuma avoided its biting jaws by the barest of seconds and Choji failed to avoid its tail lashing downward, though the boy was tough enough to remain standing.

"You have been enough of a nuisance that I can honestly say you've earned the honor of seeing something few have the honor of witnessing. Unfortunately, you won't be among those who saw it and lived."

Asuma, being vaguely aware of the concept of Draconic Legacies and the reputation they held but not knowing the specifics, invested more Ichor into having the gusts of wind stimulate flight as the Dragon angled itself so that it saw both Asuma and Choji.

"Legacy: Poison Wyrm."

Shikamaru had invested enough Ichor into making himself harder to see that he was almost annoyed that it might have turned out to be worthless. The billowing cloud of toxic gas that smothered the area didn't care how stealthy he was being when the green smoke was everywhere.

His lungs felt worse than Asuma's must on a regular basis, and he felt his strength sapping rapidly. This poison acted so quickly that he quickly calculated 30 seconds of life, generously speaking, in his normal body. His glorious mistress Ino, whom he felt even more need to praise, had allowed him almost a full minute before he was left a weak wreck barely able to stand with his enhanced strength and stamina, and would probably live thanks to those same factors.

Still, knowing that he had to act quickly, he climbed up with his rapidly deteriorating musculature and got to the exact spot where he calculated that the Dragon should be staring, and held up the silver mirror he had acquired some time ago to practice this very technique. "Moon Purview: Mirror of Lunacy."

The creature, still high off the release of its power (he hadn't actually counted on that, just its growing frustration, but he'd take it), caught its own reflection and found itself utterly confused as it started to think about itself, about its life, about what it was doing…Shikamaru had no doubt that this next step would have been an utter failure against a fully grown Dragon in its proper frame of mind, and had no real reason to think it would work here, but went for the desperation ploy.

"Cheval Purview: Horse!" He shouted, thinking on the water from the Dragon's lab still on his body that would hopefully act as a totem, then realizing that the poison from its famed Legacy would work even better and then used that instead, forcing his way out of his body and into the beast's…it would work, it would have to work…he felt great eyes, larger than his own, open, staring upon the battlefield, at himself holding a mirror…yes, it had…his Boon was rejected as he found himself forcibly tossed back into his own head.

"Idiot Scion, I know the power of the Distant Mind, even if I were weak-willed enough to fall for that, I can separate my thoughts and my body…" another of Asuma's lightning bolts struck at its neck at the same time that a boulder the size of a man slammed into it from below.

As it plummeted to the ground, Shikamaru thought about how the whole thing was a drag as the poisonous gas from the Dragon's Legacy finally sent him to his knees and drained him of consciousness. Asuma flew to his location, clearly worried, but then succumbed to the same. There was a sound reminiscent of Choji falling to the ground as well.

Gai, Neji, Tenten, and Lee had all agreed to look for Karashi, Lee and Gai because it was the right thing to do, Neji so he could get away from Lee's attempts to make him sample curry, and Tenten because she had learned to just go along with these lunatics.

So, even though their mission was technically over, the trio found themselves wandering back into the mines they had just left, Lee carrying a heavy bag of cooking supplies that he thought might help convince the boy, only to find a small group of walking corpses, one ghost-like thing, and Karashi screaming on the ground in front of some sort of sigil as he gripped his head in apparent pain.

"What's going on here, Guide Gai?"

"It would seem Raiga wasn't as dead as hoped, and he managed to pull off a Ritual. Children, be wary of zombies, as their vital organs are irrelevant. You either need to apply twice as much blunt force trauma all over as would be needed to kill a human, slice it apart, and I genuinely mean apart here, or burn it. I don't actually know what that thing in the middle is, but I don't like it. Take out the zombies, and I'll go for the new factor," just as the Master of Knacks was about to get into position, a form appeared behind him and swung at him with some sort of sword emitting a strange aura.

"You have caused me too much trouble," the familiar being shouted, "you don't deserve a funeral!"

Gai was able to dodge it and turn towards this new threat. "I'll face Raiga! Be careful with those creatures," he amended.

Rock Lee ran straight in and battered them, his fists stronger than most mundane bludgeons. He was actually impressed with their ability to sustain hit after hit, but less so with their complete lack of finesse. The things weren't really slow so much as uncoordinated. Their movements were predictable. It would take time, but he could handle them.

Neji seemed to recognize this as well, for rather than assist his comrade the Dodekatheon boy went immediately for the strange, partially transparent thing and struck it with his pilum, then battered it with his shield. Neji found that his attacks had no effect whatsoever.

Where the normal zombies experienced no pain from Lee's assault, they were clearly taking some form of damage, but this new creature ignored everything Neji threw at him, until it swung its arms back and managed to rip into the boy.

While Neji had experienced wounds before, this was new. The area on his shoulder that the creature struck rotted and wasted, not as if infected but as if long dead, and by some inexplicable instinct he knew that it wouldn't heal through normal means. This is bad, he was forced to admit.

Remembering what Gai had told them, Tenten drew her arrows and dipped them into a special oil she had prepared for this purpose. Frustratingly, the Fire Purview had always proved beyond her, but as Houyi had some domain over the sun, she found a way to make do with the Sun Purview.

Shooting oil-soaked arrow after oil-soaked arrow into each of the undead, she concentrated on a metal button sewed into the front of her cheongsam, and intoned "Sun Purview: Divine Radiance."

The gleaming light shone off of her clothing to concentrate on the arrows she had just launched; while common wisdom regarding the Sun Purview held that this technique could only ignite highly flammable objects, that only with a lot of concentration, and not intensely enough to actually hurt a person, she felt that said 'wisdom' was based on a lack of imagination as all of the undead suddenly found flames bursting atop their heads.

While the thing ignored Tenten's arrow just as it had every other weapon Neji had tossed its way, the fire caused it to shriek in…pain? It almost sounded like an intentional parody of a human suffering, but its behavior showed that it was wavering.

"Melee Arete," he shouted, and then grabbed Tenten's arrow, ripped it from the creature's body, and then stabbed into it repeatedly. Arrows did not normally make the best melee weapons, and he was certain that it was only through his Arete that he didn't snap or overestimate its stabbing potential and thus screw himself over, but he managed to get flaming pinpoint after flaming pinpoint into the thing's body, leading it to crumple over as it managed one last swing into Neji's torso.

Its hands, having normal fingernails but feeling like claws, ripped into his stomach, and they both collapsed to the ground, the thing dead (or whatever one called it when the undead found their end) and himself…not too far away, to be honest.

With Tenten's assistance, Lee found finishing off the zombies to be a reasonable task. One had struck into him, practically dislocating his shoulder with its raw strength (he hesitated to think about what it would have done to a mortal), but he still took it out, and was prepared to turn around and give her a thumbs up as he praised her for her youthful exuberance before she screamed 'Neji!"

Looking to his other bandmate, his praise turned to horror as he realized that his companion was now splayed out on the ground, his stomach some sickly gray color, and even to Lee's untrained eyes it was clear that his health was failing.

Maito Gai was facing an enemy that brooked no distractions on his part, and thus could not respond when he heard Tenten's scream. I'm sorry, my student. Please be alright.

Raiga swung that weird sword at him again, and he barely dodged it again, feeling the malevolent presence inside of it as it blew over his skin.

"Legion, come apart," Raiga sounded like he was giving an order, and indeed his sword bisected itself and started to turn into two smaller swords. Taking the opportunity left by the ceased onslaught, Gai's rainbow scarf formed into a sledgehammer and he swung at the Demon, who seemed to dodge without moving. Well, Raiga shifted to the side, but his feet didn't make any steps.

This confused the Yankee Scion, who turned his hammer back into a rainbow as he returned to dodging the renewed onslaught, albeit this onslaught left Gai with more opportunities to kick and get small jabs in, as Raiga was too focused on striking from multiple angles to parry and defend himself.

Then, a rock weakly pushed itself into Gai's path and the Master of Knacks found himself in a situation where anyone else would have stumbled. Being said Master, he righted himself without his opponent taking advantage, but it still took some degree of mental energy to ponder what happened…he's got a ghost helping him.

"Lore of Realms: Ghostwalk," Raiga muttered as he became transparent and tried the same trick as the last time they fought, seeming to realize that Gai's revelation and subsequent lack of doing anything about said revelation meant that he didn't actually have an immediate way to deal with ghosts, so he confidently attempted to maneuver behind the Scion.

Gai actually did, as his father's sledgehammer was supernatural enough to do a small amount of damage to spirits if it hit them directly, but it meant entirely depending on the unwieldy weapon; while he could wield it with more finesse than a mortal could most well-designed swords, it did sacrifice just enough speed that he wasn't comfortable with an opponent like Raiga.

Oh well, there was no way this fight was going to be comfortable anyway. Forming his rainbow back into a sledgehammer, he swung with all his speed and might and actually successfully struck at the Demon, not just because of his great skill but because Raiga had overestimated his invincibility in this form.

Tenten and Lee really wanted to help their Guide, but they weren't sure what they could do so they instead rushed over to Neji. They were then faced with the fact that they didn't know what to do about him either.

"Karashi," Lee shouted to the boy, who was drooling over himself as he lay on the ground with a vacant stare. "Your curry once saved me! Can it save our comrade?"

Tenten looked in astonishment at Lee's foolishness, for what could this boy possibly do…"No…ingredients," Karashi barely muttered.

Lee pointed to the bag he had brought. "Everything you need is right there."

The mortal couldn't stand on his own, so Lee gripped his hand and brought him over to their supplies. Painfully gasping out instructions, Tenten went along with helping Lee prepare more out of a need to do something and no knowledge of what else to do than out of belief in this endeavor.

Lee, being Lee, had actually gone out of his way to bring everything, so they ended up with a perfectly fine curry…

"We need milk," Karashi said, "this is normal curry. The…Curry of Life…what's needed to…save your friend…needs milk."

Tears streamed down Lee's face. "How could I have forgotten such an important ingredient in my bandmate's time of need. Neji is going to die here, and it will all be my fault!"

Tenten, for once, felt no need to roll her eyes at Lee's proclamation, for she felt much the same way.

Is this my fate, the boy thought. After a life of servitude and suffering, doing what he could to become the genius of his class and earn what little respect Fate would allow a Roman child, was he to be ripped apart by some random monster to be left to die here?

No, he was to die after having saved his bandmates from that same monster, and that was a final action he could proudly present when he went to meet Pluto. Or was it? Did he take on the strongest creature for them, or did he do it to show off? Tchh. He took it on because he was the strongest of the three, so clearly Fate meant for him to fight it. But then why did he feel so conflicted?

You don't have to die here, a voice issued through his head. It was dangerous, yet motherly and caring. Definitely feminine, yet predatory.

Neji knew this voice well. He had rejected it in response to insults from the older boys of the Dodekatheon Clan long ago, making fun of his 'grandmother.' He thought back to the figurine he still kept in one of his side-pouches, that of a she-wolf nursing two human infants. It was his second Birthright, besides his pilum, and should have let him form a relationship to wolves through the connection to the wolf that raised his father as an abandoned human infant, that gave little Romulus the strength to grow and forge an empire, to leave humanity in the dust and become the God Quirinus.

To be usurped and have the primary subject of worship within his own empire become a renamed Zeus, the bitter thought came to him, but that wasn't the important part here.

In his dying moments, the she-wolf that raised his Divine Father had come to him, still wishing to renew the contract that he had once rejected out of foolish pride and anger toward the Greeks. Can you save me? He questioned, not actually certain of her capabilities.

I can give your pack-mates the last thing they need to do so themselves, she responded.

I know that this is selfish timing, but I am sorry for not coming to you earlier, for neglecting the Animal Purview I had been granted…he heard no response as his consciousness faded further.

While Tenten and Lee freaked about what they were going to do, a large wolf leapt into sight, which mildly freaked them out even more, but it simply stared at them, walked to the curry, squirted milk from they just noticed to be the swollen teats of one who had recently given birth, and then vanished.

"What was that thing, and why did it ruin the Curry of Life?" Lee screamed in utter confusion.

"Enough…milk. Exact…amount," Karashi gasped out. Quickly deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, they proceeded to follow more of Karashi's instructions.

Gai had taken to the idea of swirling his hammer in wide arcs around himself, forming a 'Whirlwind Shield' as he liked to call it, in order to give Raiga no openings, hoping that the Demon would try anyway. Before said Demon did, the ghost apparently went for it, as the Demon suddenly screamed "Ranmaru!" In a pained voice.

Raiga remembered the day he had been sent to investigate a haunted house. Practically anyone from the House of Slayers could have taken care of that, but he was in the area, so the Tyrant sent him, demanding that he charge them for bringing in one of the wielders of the Earthbound Swords even if they hadn't asked for it.

When they couldn't afford such an increased charge, the Tyrant got angry and, rather than order him to call off the mission, ordered him to falsify evidence that they were planning a rebellion against the King of the Land of Faith and then massacre them all. Raiga, loyal servant to the Tyrant at the time, complied.

Then he hated himself for doing so. It was the wraith haunting the house in question, the spirit of a young boy killed for silly reasons, that comforted him in those times. Knowing that the other Slayers would try to force the ghost into their service, and thinking on everything that had happened while he served the Tyrant, everything the King of the Land of Faith was supposed to be preventing even if the leadership of his Village wasn't, and fell into Torment.

He was absolutely certain that he would have experienced complete corruption and become a mindless monster right then and there had Ranmaru not repeated a sweet thing said about him during his own funeral. It kept him sane, relatively speaking.

When he eventually went Rogue, Ranmaru traveled with him, even without compulsion. It was him, Ranmaru, and the beauty of a well-performed funeral that would sustain him for the rest of his life until this…freak destroyed the wraith's corpus with a supernatural sledgehammer. It sunk into his soul.

The Fallen within him twisted and distorted, ceasing to care about his petty mortal concerns, about the world at large, about whatever goals it might have once had. He was the Visage of Death. His only thought now was causing Death.

"Industry Purview: Work Harder," Gai intoned as he realized that this was going to continue and even he might eventually experience exhaustion if things didn't end soon. Raiga, no longer a thinking creature, rushed forward without strategy or precision, but still with enough speed and aura that drained the energy from everything surrounding it that ensured that anyone who thought that meant 'not dangerous' was a fool.

Gai's sledgehammer came down directly on its forehead just as several arrows, a pilum, and Rock Lee's weighted leg joined him. Even as he felt the essence of death sapping his strength, even as the icy cold nothingness coursed through his body, Gai felt in an inner warmth at the heroism of his beautiful students.

Haku had not expected the boy to take his companion's death well. Even so, he definitely did not expect the pitch-black something snuffing out all light as it extended outward, wiping out his illusions as the light that sustained them vanished, taking all sight away.

What…is this boy? Even the dome of darkness created by Naruto's master over at Zabuza's location was sucked away and brought into the boy's growing something.

The Sign of the Watcher pulled on shadows to create its Angelic Form, so it too was taken from Haku, but Haku's normal shadow wasn't. No, that wavered and reformed into a series of spikes, which leapt from the ground and struck into him. Gasping, coughing up blood, Haku began to feel fear as the something moved toward him.

Kakashi had been frightened when his Shadow Shroud vanished, thinking that Zabuza had somehow gotten the upper hand, but then he realized that the Shroud had been taken over to Naruto's location, and that some feeling was coming from over there, something that he had only felt once, a little over a decade ago. He was now even more frightened.

Terms:

Dragon-human body born with the soul of a True Dragon

Karma-supernatural energy that Dragons are able to harness

Manifestation-techniques allowing a Dragon to partially (or, with a lot of difficulty, completely) take the physical form of a True Dragon

Draconic Power-supernatural ability that comes from a Dragon's internal Karma

Draconic Legacy-the most powerful of the Draconic Powers, so much so that they are categorized differently

Chimerical Creation-beings created from human imagination that Fae can sort-of bring into the real world

Wraith-ghost that dwells in the Shadowlands, where interacting with the Middle World is far easier

Ritual-complex processes that allow Demons to expand their repertoire of powers

Mudu-person providing Faith energy to a Ritual other than the Demon casting it

Spectre-zombie with a ghost's immunity to physical damage and the ability to make wounds that don't naturally heal, must be created through a Ritual using a heart from someone who died to violence

Angelic Form/Sign of the X-when an Angel stares at their reflection, they can take on a form that alters their physical appearance and grows functional wings. Strengthens their angelic abilities.

Kard-traditional Persian daggers

Techniques:

Lore of Storms: Invoke the Storm-creates a storm that, unlike Command the Storm, can be directly controlled and fine-tuned after its initial existence, notably sending dangerous weather conditions like lightning at specific points

Path of Wind and Water: Ice Breath-sends out water vapor that surrounds and freezes a target

Path of Movement: Ride the Current-the user moves through any conductive material as if they were a current of electricity

Path of Fire: Anti-Fire-user becomes temporarily immune to fire

Path of Illusion: Illusion-creates illusions

Draconic Power: Metabolic Control-allows the user to sacrifice physical traits to increase others at will

Draconic Power: Distant Mind-both allows the user to 'see' outside of their head for a short time and 'separate' their thought process from their body, allowing them to not lose movement from dedicating mental energy (thus resisting distraction) and more resistant to mind-altering powers

Draconic Legacy: Poison Wyrm-summons a massive cloud of toxic gas that weakens and kills those who breathe it rather quickly

Asha Purview: Spenta-allows the user to turn one of their Purviews into a physical, humanoid form

Sky Purview: Sky's Freedom-sends wind blasting the user in any chosen direction including upward, allowing superficial flight

Sky Purview: Storm Augmentation-electrified the user's weapon and sends a burst of wind from behind to increase the speed of their next attack

Sky Purview: Divine Threnody-manipulates how air carries sound, making a sound deafeningly loud or pathetically quiet

Sky Purview: Levin Fury-summons a massive bolt of lightning from an open sky

Psychopomp Purview: Unbarred Entry-pass through a solid object for the distance of one step

Psychopomp Purview: Come Along-allows the next Psychopomp Power to apply to one's allies

Animal (X): Animal Aspect-user takes on advantageous features of the animal in question

Taiyi Purview: Five Cycle Augmentation-enhances the supernatural abilities of the target, target can spread forward the benefits up to five times

Jotunblut Purview: Superhuman Enhancement-increases the size, strength, stamina, and loyalty of the target temporarily (can be done over and over again to make it semi-permanent, as is done with the 'Berserkers') by injecting Ichor-created Giant's blood

Cheval Purview: Horse-while touching something connected to the target, the user can leave their own body to take over the target's, though with much risk

Moon Purview: Phase Cloak-causes a portion of a person to become invisible in proportion by to the potential phases of the moon, from Gibbous to New. Very difficult to New Moon (complete invisibility) but still makes one stealthier in all but the Full Moon version, which makes one more noticeable

Moon Purview: Mirror of Lunacy-gives a reflected surface the ability to affect the state of mind of those who see it in various ways.

Sun Purview: Divine Radiance-increases the amount of light produced by a reflective surface, and with skill can be made so the light concentrates enough to ignite a highly flammable object, though not enough a human directly

Industry Purview: Work Harder-doubles the physical exertion the user can engage in before suffering negative effects