Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Consuming Darkness ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: eclectic_souls 
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 01.06.2007 | Pages: 2 | Words: 5.7K | Visits: 141 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 01.06.2007 | Pages: 2 | Words: 5.7K | Visits: 141 | Status: Work In Progress
~*~Disclaimer: Yep, still don't own it. Don't sue me. I just gave out my last moth ^_^
A/N: I suck at fight scenes and names. Sue me later.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter Two
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"You want us to take Sasuke with us on the mission?" The disbelief in the kunoichi's tone was evident. "He wouldn't last five minutes in a battle. The pup's weak."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. "You will do this," he ordered. "You will do this, or I will have Kishi stay behind, and you go alone."
The room fell into a rather ominous silence. Vaguely, the flickering of candles could be heard. Overpowering that, but only sligthly, was the sound of something dripping onto the floor. That something happened to be blood, but that wasn't unusual. This was Orochimaru's equivalent to a throne room, after all. The sound of two people breathing was barely louder than the drips. One was steady and even, but the other was merely pants and stifled gasps.
The gasps paused for a moment, then continued on in their oddly steady manner. "It will be as you wish, Orochimaru-dono," the kunoichi whispered. However, this obviously didn't please the snake sannin, for he lashed out and the dull thud of a body hitting the wall made even Kabuto wince.
Said medi-nin was standing outside the room, hand poised to knock, but he didn't dare. Part of it was self preservation, the rest was plain old curiousity. He stayed as quiet as he possibly could in order to hear even the slightest sound from in the room. He slowly lowered his hand as Orochimaru laughed.
"Ah, Kira-chan, you are so amusing. A nice little pet, yes," the sannin chuckled. He could be heard walking around the room in a circular pattern at an oddly cheerful pace. "You bleed and bleed, and your body almost dies, but you never indicate anything otherwise. A perfect student. So perfect it almost makes me want to smile." An amused laugh followed this statement.
"I am glad you approve, Orochimaru-dono," Kira replied. Kabuto could faintly hear the sound of shuriken embedding into flesh. The steady drip of blood turned into a small flow. Kabuto frowned. He really didn't want to be the one to patch her back up before her mission. Unfortunately, he was the only medi-nin in Otogakure. The task would most assuredly fall upon him. Yay rah. He winced slightly as chuckles filled the room and he oculd almost hear the smirk resting on Orochimaru's face when the chuckles faded.
"You don't even try to block my hits," he continued in a tone that almost resembled childish glee. "Ah, such an interseting pet you are Kira-chan." There was a slight pause, then, "Kabuto-kun, I know you're listening. Come in, come in. Keep Kira-chan from dying. I need to go check up on my other pets."
Kabuto heard the sannin start toward the door and he quickly opened it. He moved aside to allow him to pass and bowed slightly. He did not move other than that, and the snake sannin didn't acknowledge his presence. Once Orochimaru had started down the hall, Kabuto entered the room. His eyes narrowed when he saw the state the kunoichi was in.
Kira glared back. She was struggling to stand, using the wall for support. She hadn't bothered to remove the numerous kunai and shuriken Orochimaru had thrown at her. They stuck out at odd angles and a few dug in deeper when she bumped into the wall. "Keh," she grumbled before spitting out a mouthful of blood. "Not a word, healer. I'm fine. I don't need you."
Kabuto scoffed. "Of course not, Kira-chan. I can see that. You're only bleeding all over the floor, obviously in pain, and even an idiot could tell at least half of those kunai are poisoned," he replied with a roll of his eyes. "Orochimaru-sama normally doesn't use any other kind." He walked forward and grabbed her arm. "Come on, the sooner we get you patched up, the sooner you can leave." He sounded more like an annoyed sibling, than an annoyed healer.
"Aw, I love you too, Kabuto-kun," Kira said in a mocking tone. Still, she accepted the help and let the medi-nin support most of her weight as they headed for the door. "Wouldn't it be faster if you just used a transportation jutsu, Kabuto-kun?" Her tone was still mockingly sweet.
Kabuto rolled his eyes again. "If you're not careful, Kira-chan," he said, using the same tone she was, "I'll use field healing techiniques instead of wasting my chakra. Stitches would go right along with those bruises, neh? In fact, that sounds like a great idea."
Kira's reply was lost among the flurry of leaves that surrounded the shinobi as they disappeared from the room.
~*~
"I said you could stitch me back up, not shred my skin to pieces!"
Kishi smirked. He had almost made it to Kabuto's make-shift clinic. He carried the youngest Uchiha survivor across his shoulders. The boy was currently unconcious, but, judging by the sounds he was making, he would soon be awake. Still, as amusing as the arguement was he'd better stop it before the results destroyed half of Otogakure.
"Honey, I'm home!" he called as he opened the door. The grin on his face almost looked scary. It was way too cheerful, but Kishi was always cheerful. The other shinobi inspired fear by their somber auras. Kishi inspired it with laughter and smiles. There was something so creepy about skipping down the halls, singing tunes of death and pain.
Kabuto glanced up and groaned. "You brought the Uchiha here?" He all but snarled.
"Darling, envy does not become you," Kira drawled out in a sarcastically sweet, noble voice. Kabuto glared at her. She laughed until he stabbed her with the needle. "Ow! Seven hells! Boy, you do that again and I am gonna-"
Kishi dropped Sasuke onto the bed next to Kira. As he did this, he said, "Nee-chan, what have we told you about threatening people?"
Kira let out a long sigh. "Only do it if Orochimaru-dono won't kill me for carrying them out. Though, I can beat you up, Nii-san. Don't forget that," she pointed out. Her eyes shifted to the unconcious boy next to her. "Oooooo someone was in a lot of pain. Can I poke him?" she asked, looking up at her brother with pleading eyes.
"No, you cannot," was the answer. However, the reply did not come from Kishi. Instead, it came from the boy in question. He groaned and sat up, holding his head. He glared at Kira, and hopped off the bed. Well, he tried to. He ended up in a heap on the floor.
Kishi bent down to whisper something at him. Sasuke's glare gained the tell tale red of his sharingan, but Kishi only laughed.
"Keh," was the boy's reply as he stood up again. This time, he forced himself to stay up right and didn't even waver when he turned to face Kabuto and Kira. He crossed his arms and stared at them, as if they should know the words he wouldn't say out loud.
"I'm sorry. I don't speak Brood," Kira told the boy with a smile. That earned her another one of those sharingan tinged glares. She smirked. "You've been assigned to go on a mission with us, Chibi-kun. Lucky you! I'd give you a hug, but-ow! Fuck it all, Kabuto, if you don't stop I'll-" The rest of her snap to Kabuto was cut off by Kishi's hand over her mouth.
Sasuke looked like someone had just told him Itachi was found dead in a field of pansies. However, "Un," was all he replied. He stared at Kabuto and the twins for a moment and shuddered.
"What's the mission?" Kishi asked. He took his hand off his sibling's mouth. "Do we get to assassinate someone? Steal a scroll? Cook some blackbirds in a pie?" He shifted from one foot to the other, shaking with excitement. He reminded one of a small dog trying not to beg for a treat.
"Birds in a pie?" Kira asked, then shook her head. Sometimes, it was safer not to ask. "Nevermind. You know that group of genin who left the village last month?" She paused until she saw everyone nod. Well, Kabuto nodded. Kishi's head bobbed up and down so fast it looked like it was about to fall off. Sasuke's head barely moved at all. "They were supposed to find information on that Naruto brat. They failed and they're too afraid to come back. We've been sent to...collect them."
"Awesome! That sounds like fun! We can swoop down, scare the life outta them, and drag them back by their ears! We'll be regular parents!!" Kishi exclaimed. He started doing a strange type of victory dance around the room. Kira and Kabuto exchanged a look and sighed. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Why did he have the bad feeling that this was going to be a long trip?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sasu ke found himself wishing Kishi was with them. He and Kira had been searching for the missing genin for almost a month now. They hadn't found a single trace. Truthfully, he thought Orochimaru had already killed off the genin and was using this mission as some sort of strange torture. He wouldn't put it past the crazy sannin. What else would explain the lack of any evidence that the genin had even existed?
The crickets on the ground below were driving the boy nuts. They were one of the reasons he was still awake. Another reason was the brightness of the full moon. It glared down upon him, mocking his weary limbs. He hadn't slept for weeks. Sure, he'd gotten a few catnaps. However, temporarily shutting down while walking and jerking awake at every noise really wasn't his idea of a good rest.
Kira was the rmain reason he couldn't sleep. The kunoichi's glare had gotten deadly ever since that last battle. Even Sasuke shuddered to remember it.
~*~|*|~*~
The low laughter coming from the leader of the band of missing-nin was really grating on the group's nerves. Sasuke stood in a calm manner, arms crossed over his chest. He stared unblinkingly at the man. After glancing him up and down, he smirked and glanced behind the man at the assorted bandits behind him.. The shinobi in charge had taken one look at the kid and dismissed him. It was sure to be a fatal mistake.
The shinobi leader ran a hand over the stubble covering his chin and spit on the ground. Kira curled her lip up in disgust. "Let us pass," she demanded. Her stature mirrored Sasuke's until she shifted and leaned to her other side, uncrossing her arms. She rested one hand on her hip. The other fell loosely at her side. Even though the man couldn't see her expression behind the ANBU mask, he took an involuntary step back.
"Sorry, little lady. I can't let you do that. You have something important of ours," the man told her. He grinned and spit again. The men around him chuckled slightly, murmuring to themselves. They took out various weapons. It seemed that large, heavy looking swords were the most common items. Perhaps they were compensating for something.
"It's very rude to spit so much," Kishi chirped in. His smile was kind. It reminded Sasuke of the ones Iruka used to give Naruto. Those slightly disapproving, but patient and loving ones. He vaguely remembered getting those from his own mother. The Uchiha let out a low growl at that thought and readjusted his position.
The shinobi stared at Kishi and laughed. He crossed his arms and spit again. The great lob of slimy spittle landed at the other shinobi's feet. Kishi frowned slightly.
"I'm sorry, sir, but that probably wasn't a good idea. It was very rude," he repeated, nodding solemnly. He serenly kicked some dirt over the glob before him and looked back up. "Perhaps you should apologize. It would benefit you greatly."
The group of men around them laughed. Various insults were thrown at them. "What are you going to do about it?", "Shut your mouth, faerie boy," and "Oooooo, I'm so scared of a bunch of kids," seemed to be the favorites.
Kids? These people really were idiots. If one could figure out how to use killing intent as a power source, the intent radiating from Sasuke and Kira would power both Konohagakure and Sunagakure. Kira and Sasuke could easily be mistaken for children. Sasuke was only almost fourteen, after all, and Kira was about Naruto's height. However, Kishi was well over six feet tall and had the lean, wiry look most shinobi had. Kishi may have a goofy grin plastered on his face, radiate something that was the opposite of a killing intent, and look like a lost puppy, but the way he was spinning the shuriken in his fingers proved he was no stranger to battles. Yes, idiots indeed.
After several minutes of no reaction from the three, the bandits quieted down. The leader smirked and launched another glob of spit at Kira's feet. "Well, little lady?" he asked. "You gonna give us what we want or are we gonna have to take it by force?"
Kira backed up slightly so she could look at the spit at her feet and growl. She looked back up at the man and sighed. "You will have three chances to hit me. After that, the fate of your soul will be to rest in darkness. This is your first and final warning. You are not powerful enough to defeat us. Cease your insults and posturing and leave. If you do so decide to make an attempt on our life force you will be eliminated. That is all. You have been warned," she said in a calm, clear voice.
"I don't know who you think you are, but Motono Hitaru takes orders from no one," the spitting shinobi hissed. He glared at Kira, then chuckled. "Boys, do what you want with the rest of them. This one's mine." He uncrossed his arms and took out two kunai. He spun them in his fingers, smirking at Kira for a moment, and darted forward.
Kira took a step to the side and easily dodged his attack. "One," she declared, crossing her arms again. She didn't even turn around to face Hitaru. The man growled. he threw his kunai on the ground at his feet and immediately started making seals.
"Shards of the Sun!" he shouted, throwing his hands out in Kira's general direction. What appeared to be solid fire in the shape of kunai launched themselves at the silent kunoichi. Hitaru smirked and followed the fire, but before either got there, she disappeared. "What the-"
"Two," Kira said from behind him. Her back was still to him and her arms were still crossed. She tapped a foot impatiently on the ground. Hitaru whirled around. Kira was so close to him they were almost touching. He didn't waste time with hand seals. This time, he pulled out two katana and swung wildly. Whatever sword style and moves he had performed didn't matter. His blades passed right through the smirking kunoichi.
Her form shimmered like smoke, but the wisps of inky black had a slightly more tangible quality than that. They slowly pulled back into her to reshape the parts of her body the swords had passed through. "Three," she whispered and Hitaru began to scream.
~*~
As soon as their leader had darted forward, the rest of the group dispersed. Kishi darted after a few of them, but Sasuke didn't even bother to move. This was quite tedious. Unlike Kira and their 'master', he didn't see a point in playing with these idiots. They didn't make it fun. What was the point in chopping off a head if they didn't even have a chance of harming a hair on your own?
The young Uchiha was surrounded by ten older, more experienced shinobi. If by more experienced, one meant had lived longer and been in more battles. However, quantity did not mean quality and anyone who had lived with Orochimaru as long as Sasuke had was already years ahead of these idiots. The former Konoha genin kept his arms crossed and easily dodged every hit they tried to make. His form twisted and ducked away from every kunai, shuriken, punch, and kick they sent at him.
He sneered. This was truly pathetic. He'd seen academy students do better. What were they? Academy dropouts? That must have been the case. He grabbed a nearby man's arm, twisted, and let go. The following crack and scream made him smirk. He grabbed another man's arm and whirled him into a man behind him. The two went crashing into a tree.
Sasuke laughed. This was just like fighting Naruo and his kage bunshin. That was a fun memory. That fight on top of the hospital...he would have won if it hadn't been for that meddling Kakashi and his little Sakura, too. He let out a low growl and became lost in thought. His moves became automatic, punching and kicking opponents into submission. It was a bit like Rock Lee when asleep. His body knew what to do, and it did it. The foes were pitiful. A jab at the back of the neck and they were down. A chop to the neck and they were left gasping for breath. A well placed kick to the groin and they were screaming for their mother.
Sasuke vaguely thought that he might have been with Orochimaru for too long. This much pain should not make him smile. Dealing out death to idiots like this shouldn't make him laugh. The echoing giggles that exited the boy's mouth made the remaining shinobi cringe. 'Yes, too much time with Orochimaru,' he thought. 'If Itachi could see him now, would he be proud...or afraid?'
~*~
Laughter echoed through the forest. This was fun. Hunting down people who were hunting you was always fun. You could come up behind them, poke them in the side, and run away giggling. Kishi really liked the expressions people made when he did that. He also liked popping up behind people, giggling like mad, and disappearing when they whirled around. However, his favorite trick was a classic. He would slowly sneak up behind the person, swipe all of their weapons, and replace them with random food items. Really, the only thing funnier than having a carrot thrown at you by a bewildered foe was blaming Sasuke when you dumped cold water on Kira in the morning. Ah, good times.
The eight shinobi trying to find the source of the laughter were not amused. They had just found out that they had no weapons. At least, they didn't count cheese, fruit, and veggies as weapons. They got lucky. They found Kishi giggling in a small clearing and surrounded him as he was trying to stifle laughter.
"All right, give it up. We're got you now," one of the braver ones growled.
Kishi wiped a corner of his eye and sighed contentedly. "Do you now?" he asked, head tilted to one side. He seemed to consider this for a moment. Finally, he nodded. "All right. You are correct. You've got me. What are you going to do with me? Play cards? Play Ring Aroudn the Rosie? Stay up late telling ghost stories?" he asked in a hopeful, childish tone.
The shinobi exchanged glances. Was this guy for real? The self declared speaker of the group took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "No," he said, as if explaining something to a small child. "We're not going to...play cards. We're going to beat you into a bloody pulp and bury the remains where no one will find them."
Kishi frowned for a moment. "But....that's rather rude. Nee-chan doesn't like rude people," he told them in a solemn tone. "Are you sure we can't just make rag dolls and have them do dances for us?" he asked. He still sounded like a small child trying to convince their odler siblings to hang out with them.
The shinobi sighed. "I'm sure," he answered through clenched teeth. "We're not going to make rag dolls. We're going to-" He let the rest of the sentence hang in the air as he launched himself at Kishi. Instead of tackling the other man, he ended up with a faceful of dirt.
Kishi giggled from the branch of a nearby tree. "I must apologize, but that was very rude. Why can't we all just get along?" he asked. He was swinging back and forth, using one hand for support. "The world would be a much brighter, happier place if we did."
He darted out of the way as the group charged him. His laughter filled the forest again. It was really getting annoying. Somehow, the group got the feeling that just killing them outright was better than toying with them. Really, what shinobi worth his salt giggled? It just wasn't right. The chase continued for what seemed like ever. They would get close to Kishi and he would disappear. He would appear somewhere behind them, giggle, and disappear again.
This continued until one of the shinobi got hurt. As he landed on a branch it creaked and broke, plummeting both itself and the shinobi to the ground. This normally wouldn't have been a problem, but he'd been expending a lot of energy. His chakra levels weren't anything to be amazed at. He didn't have it in him to cushion the fall. His comrades weren't any help. They were more intent on catching the giggling shinobi to even spare a second glance.
The plummeting shinobi, named Keiji, yelped. He hit the ground with a dull thud and groaned at the sudden pains. Kishi was immediately at his side.
"Oh my," the white clothed shinobi murmured. His hands hovered hesitantly above the injured man. "Are you all right? Oh, what a stupid question. Of course you're not. Oh dear....maybe I should....no, no, Nee-chan told me not to.....hm......but you're in so much.........all right, I will." He nodded once in a solemn manner, as if he had just made some important decision.
He made a few hand signs and set about tending to the injured nin. As he healed Keiji, his comrades spread out in a loose circle around them. They crept forward, watching Kishi for any signs of movement. He seemed to be totally absorbed in the task before him. He was murmuring and clucking his tongue consolingly to their injured companion. Just as he was putting the finishing touches on Keiji, the enemies around him pounced. Caught up in the need to help the hurt man, he didn't even move. The only thing that alerted Sasuke and Kira was the harsh scream that followed their attack.
~*~
Sasuke got there first. Inwardly, he scoffed at his injured companion. A few punches and kicks had the idiots around him moving a safer distance away. Sasuke turned in a circle, glaring at each of them, before he knelt down next to Kishi.
"Idiot," he murmured. "You didn't even defend yourself. You should know that your normal tactics only work when there's someone to do your dirty work. Grow a backbone. Stab someone. Baka." The teen's usually emotionless voice had turned disapproving and impatient. He mentally frowned as he studied the wounds on the man before him. It appeared that the other shinobi had done quite a number on him. He counted around forty stab wounds, ten or so burns, and three oozing wounds that probably meant a kunai had been poisoned. Served the idiot right.
The small group around them decided it was safe enough to start creeping closer. Sasuke stayed in his crouch and settled into a defensive mode. If he waited until just the right moment, he could take out all of the enemies at once. Perhaps he would get some help from his traveling companions. Speaking of companions, where the fuck was Kira? This was her brother after all. She should have been here by now.
The shinobi were almost close enough for Sasuke to unleash his move. Just a few more steps and........the young Uchiha suddenly found that he couldn't move. His body started trembling and his breath caught in his throat. His eyes moved around wildly in their sockets, searching for the cause of this strange ailment. His breath came back, but it was in hitching gasps. He was filled with.....with fear.
It had been so long since he had been afraid. After Itachi's attack on the clan he hadn't been afraid for a long time. In fact...it wasn't until Haku nearly killed Naruto that he had allowed himself to feel the emotion. Then it was when he met Orochimaru....then Itachi again....then his first week in Otogakure. This fear, this mind numbing panic reminded him of Orochimaru and Itachi. It was like their genjutsu.
He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. He could barely breathe and it was so hard to think of anything other than...death. The death of his enemies. Kishi's death. His own death. It didn't matter whose. Someone needed to die. He found the energy to clamp his eyes shut. Kami...whatever kami that would listen, help him. Help him move. He slowly opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a whimper followed by a sob. He clamped his mouth shut again. Tears streamed down his cheeks. Kami, what was wrong with him?
Why couldn't he move? He could feel the danger. This killing intent in the air was smothering. It was like trying to breathe underwater. Move, Sasuke...move....move!!! He nearly screamed when he felt a hand slowly, shakily, clamping over his wrist. He slowly turned his head to look down and remembered his eyes were still shut. He hesitantly opened them, his fear worsening, but it was only Kishi. The man smiled, coughed up a bit of blood, and whispered something.
Sasuke could feel the fear dissipate a bit. He kept his gaze focused on Kishi's. it seemed to help. He slowly bent down, as if trying not to attract attention to himself. He listened to the shinobi around him. Some were whimpering and others were sobbing. They felt it, too. Whatever it was. Kishi's lips moved again, repeating his first phrase. This time, Sasuke could catch them.
"C-close your e-e-eyes, b-boy. I'll k-keep the da-da-darkness at b-b-b-b-bay," he stuttered and coughed again. More blood came up than last time. Sasuke allowed himself to frown. The fear that had been clawing at his skin could no longer be felt. Strangely, it had been replaced by a nagging voice in the back of his head. He wanted nothing more than to take his kunai and either stab his eyes out or stab at his wrist until it was just a mangled, messy heap of flesh. He shuddered and payed more attention to Kishi's words. They made the voice in the back of his head fall silent. He was grateful for that, even if he wouldn't admit it.
"Th-the darkn-ness w-won't harm y-you i-i-i-if you stay by m-me." Kishi started choking and coughing at the same time. Sasuke figured it was because of the internal bleeding, but he still didn't dare move. The older man was tough. He would last, and if not...well Orochimaru never said Kishi had to make it back alive.
"Don't.......move......close.....eyes," Kishi murmured before his eyes rolled into the back of his head. His breathing stilled almost to a stop. Sasuke sincerely hoped he wasn't dead. Not after seeing someone enter the edge of his vision. It looked like Kira, but...then again it didn't.
The usually calm, morbid humor the girl seemed to exude was gone. It was replaced with something that made the fear Sasuke had felt before look like a grain of sand next to a mountain. The more he tried to focus on her, the stronger the feeling got. He focused on the unconcious man in front of him. The feeling thankfully dissipated. Kira's normally grey eyes were now pure white. The pupil was white as well, or perhaps it was a grey or silver. Sasuke couldn't tell and he didn't want to.
There were shadow surrounding her. Some were like tentacles and others were like creatures themselves. All of them kept teeming and shifting as if they couldn't decide on a single form. Sasuke noted something. Except for the shadows crawling up and down her skin, the rest formed a sort of shape. It reminded him of the aura Naruto got when using Kyuubi's chakra or Gaara's monstrous form when he combined with the sand. It wasn't a kitsune or tanuki, however. This was a dragon.
Wings that looked like they could twitch and entire forests would be destroyed. Claws that could render mountains mere rubble. Teeth that would make even a Kage tremble. Sasuke's breath caught in his throat again. Despite how large and ferocious they seemed, the dragon's features weren't very big. They were as big on Kira as Naruto's aura was on him. It was strange. How could something so small seem so......Sasuke inwardly shook his head. This was not the time to be thinking about such stupid things.
The dragon-no, Kira opened her mouth and grinned. Her teeth, the real ones, were fanged. She let out a giggle. It was like listening to a child laugh in Yomi, Hell. "You've been very, very naughty." Her voice was a mere whisper on the wind. It was one of those things you thought you heard on dark stormy nights, but convinced yourself it was never really said. The shadow creatures and tentacles slid along the ground toward everyone in the clearing.
Darkness...was this the darkness Kishi was talking about? If so, Sasuke thought that he really didn't want the girl's...anger, darkness, whatever it was, directed at him. Luckily for the Uchiha, they spread wide around him, avoiding a circle of....strangely enough, light surrounding both he and Kishi. Sasuke's eyes clamped shut as the shadows grabbed a hold of the shinobi and dragged them, kicking and screaming, toward the kunoichi.
She giggled again. The burst of uncontrollable laughter made Sasuke's breathe pause and start again in more hitching gasps. He wanted to cover his ears as the shinobi began to scream, but one hand was caught fast by Kishi and the other was helping him balance. He might have risked the second hand, but he didn't want to know what would happen if he were to fall over and bring the kunoichi's attention on him.
Kami....just make the screams stop. Make the laughter stop. Make it stop. Make it all stop. The fear began to sneak back up on him. He was panting now. Don't scream, Sasuke. Don't scream. Don't you dare...fucking..... He opened his mouth to let out one long wail of despair. Then all fell silent.
The feelings disappeared. Kishi let go of his wrist. Sasuke closed his mouth before any sound could be made. He cautiously cracked an eye open. All seemed well. Other than the fact that the shinobi were gone...everything looked...normal. He slowly opened both eyes.
Kira was stretching not too far away from him. As he stood, she looked over at him and smiled. He shuddered. It reminded him of Orochimaru. Not an image he wanted after something like that. He stumbled away from her, uncaring of his image, as she skipped over to where he stood. Skipped...there was something so wrong about that childish gesture.
She giggled again, but it sounded less creepy than before. As she knelt down next to her brother, a frown met her features. "Oh...they really hurt him. We thought so...and he won't let us heal him." Another laugh had Sasuke taking a few more steps back. "He never does. He's so thoughtful, right Chibi-kun. Always thinking about others and how he can help them. Poor thing. I suppose we should take him to go see Kabuto-kun and Orochimaru-dono, neh?"
~*~|*|~*~
That had been a few weeks ago. Sasuke shook off the weariness in his body. Ever since they had left Kishi at Otogakure, Kira had slowly been turning into that hting at the battle. He could feel the fear inching upon him day by day. Her eyes got a murderous glint that made Sasuke more nervous than when facing Orochimaru's wrath. Currently, she was sitting by the fire, stirring a pot of soup.
Sasuke hadn't slept for a while. He hadn't eaten for a while either. He didn't dare eat anything she cooked and every time he went out to forage on his own Kira got worse. Needless to say, he wasn't going to risk angering her until he found out what teh fuck was going on.
Why did he have the bad feeling that he wasn't going to get anything safe to eat or a good night's rest for a while?
~*~*~*~*~*~
Voila, the second chapter. I'm going back to bed.
A/N: I suck at fight scenes and names. Sue me later.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter Two
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"You want us to take Sasuke with us on the mission?" The disbelief in the kunoichi's tone was evident. "He wouldn't last five minutes in a battle. The pup's weak."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. "You will do this," he ordered. "You will do this, or I will have Kishi stay behind, and you go alone."
The room fell into a rather ominous silence. Vaguely, the flickering of candles could be heard. Overpowering that, but only sligthly, was the sound of something dripping onto the floor. That something happened to be blood, but that wasn't unusual. This was Orochimaru's equivalent to a throne room, after all. The sound of two people breathing was barely louder than the drips. One was steady and even, but the other was merely pants and stifled gasps.
The gasps paused for a moment, then continued on in their oddly steady manner. "It will be as you wish, Orochimaru-dono," the kunoichi whispered. However, this obviously didn't please the snake sannin, for he lashed out and the dull thud of a body hitting the wall made even Kabuto wince.
Said medi-nin was standing outside the room, hand poised to knock, but he didn't dare. Part of it was self preservation, the rest was plain old curiousity. He stayed as quiet as he possibly could in order to hear even the slightest sound from in the room. He slowly lowered his hand as Orochimaru laughed.
"Ah, Kira-chan, you are so amusing. A nice little pet, yes," the sannin chuckled. He could be heard walking around the room in a circular pattern at an oddly cheerful pace. "You bleed and bleed, and your body almost dies, but you never indicate anything otherwise. A perfect student. So perfect it almost makes me want to smile." An amused laugh followed this statement.
"I am glad you approve, Orochimaru-dono," Kira replied. Kabuto could faintly hear the sound of shuriken embedding into flesh. The steady drip of blood turned into a small flow. Kabuto frowned. He really didn't want to be the one to patch her back up before her mission. Unfortunately, he was the only medi-nin in Otogakure. The task would most assuredly fall upon him. Yay rah. He winced slightly as chuckles filled the room and he oculd almost hear the smirk resting on Orochimaru's face when the chuckles faded.
"You don't even try to block my hits," he continued in a tone that almost resembled childish glee. "Ah, such an interseting pet you are Kira-chan." There was a slight pause, then, "Kabuto-kun, I know you're listening. Come in, come in. Keep Kira-chan from dying. I need to go check up on my other pets."
Kabuto heard the sannin start toward the door and he quickly opened it. He moved aside to allow him to pass and bowed slightly. He did not move other than that, and the snake sannin didn't acknowledge his presence. Once Orochimaru had started down the hall, Kabuto entered the room. His eyes narrowed when he saw the state the kunoichi was in.
Kira glared back. She was struggling to stand, using the wall for support. She hadn't bothered to remove the numerous kunai and shuriken Orochimaru had thrown at her. They stuck out at odd angles and a few dug in deeper when she bumped into the wall. "Keh," she grumbled before spitting out a mouthful of blood. "Not a word, healer. I'm fine. I don't need you."
Kabuto scoffed. "Of course not, Kira-chan. I can see that. You're only bleeding all over the floor, obviously in pain, and even an idiot could tell at least half of those kunai are poisoned," he replied with a roll of his eyes. "Orochimaru-sama normally doesn't use any other kind." He walked forward and grabbed her arm. "Come on, the sooner we get you patched up, the sooner you can leave." He sounded more like an annoyed sibling, than an annoyed healer.
"Aw, I love you too, Kabuto-kun," Kira said in a mocking tone. Still, she accepted the help and let the medi-nin support most of her weight as they headed for the door. "Wouldn't it be faster if you just used a transportation jutsu, Kabuto-kun?" Her tone was still mockingly sweet.
Kabuto rolled his eyes again. "If you're not careful, Kira-chan," he said, using the same tone she was, "I'll use field healing techiniques instead of wasting my chakra. Stitches would go right along with those bruises, neh? In fact, that sounds like a great idea."
Kira's reply was lost among the flurry of leaves that surrounded the shinobi as they disappeared from the room.
~*~
"I said you could stitch me back up, not shred my skin to pieces!"
Kishi smirked. He had almost made it to Kabuto's make-shift clinic. He carried the youngest Uchiha survivor across his shoulders. The boy was currently unconcious, but, judging by the sounds he was making, he would soon be awake. Still, as amusing as the arguement was he'd better stop it before the results destroyed half of Otogakure.
"Honey, I'm home!" he called as he opened the door. The grin on his face almost looked scary. It was way too cheerful, but Kishi was always cheerful. The other shinobi inspired fear by their somber auras. Kishi inspired it with laughter and smiles. There was something so creepy about skipping down the halls, singing tunes of death and pain.
Kabuto glanced up and groaned. "You brought the Uchiha here?" He all but snarled.
"Darling, envy does not become you," Kira drawled out in a sarcastically sweet, noble voice. Kabuto glared at her. She laughed until he stabbed her with the needle. "Ow! Seven hells! Boy, you do that again and I am gonna-"
Kishi dropped Sasuke onto the bed next to Kira. As he did this, he said, "Nee-chan, what have we told you about threatening people?"
Kira let out a long sigh. "Only do it if Orochimaru-dono won't kill me for carrying them out. Though, I can beat you up, Nii-san. Don't forget that," she pointed out. Her eyes shifted to the unconcious boy next to her. "Oooooo someone was in a lot of pain. Can I poke him?" she asked, looking up at her brother with pleading eyes.
"No, you cannot," was the answer. However, the reply did not come from Kishi. Instead, it came from the boy in question. He groaned and sat up, holding his head. He glared at Kira, and hopped off the bed. Well, he tried to. He ended up in a heap on the floor.
Kishi bent down to whisper something at him. Sasuke's glare gained the tell tale red of his sharingan, but Kishi only laughed.
"Keh," was the boy's reply as he stood up again. This time, he forced himself to stay up right and didn't even waver when he turned to face Kabuto and Kira. He crossed his arms and stared at them, as if they should know the words he wouldn't say out loud.
"I'm sorry. I don't speak Brood," Kira told the boy with a smile. That earned her another one of those sharingan tinged glares. She smirked. "You've been assigned to go on a mission with us, Chibi-kun. Lucky you! I'd give you a hug, but-ow! Fuck it all, Kabuto, if you don't stop I'll-" The rest of her snap to Kabuto was cut off by Kishi's hand over her mouth.
Sasuke looked like someone had just told him Itachi was found dead in a field of pansies. However, "Un," was all he replied. He stared at Kabuto and the twins for a moment and shuddered.
"What's the mission?" Kishi asked. He took his hand off his sibling's mouth. "Do we get to assassinate someone? Steal a scroll? Cook some blackbirds in a pie?" He shifted from one foot to the other, shaking with excitement. He reminded one of a small dog trying not to beg for a treat.
"Birds in a pie?" Kira asked, then shook her head. Sometimes, it was safer not to ask. "Nevermind. You know that group of genin who left the village last month?" She paused until she saw everyone nod. Well, Kabuto nodded. Kishi's head bobbed up and down so fast it looked like it was about to fall off. Sasuke's head barely moved at all. "They were supposed to find information on that Naruto brat. They failed and they're too afraid to come back. We've been sent to...collect them."
"Awesome! That sounds like fun! We can swoop down, scare the life outta them, and drag them back by their ears! We'll be regular parents!!" Kishi exclaimed. He started doing a strange type of victory dance around the room. Kira and Kabuto exchanged a look and sighed. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Why did he have the bad feeling that this was going to be a long trip?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sasu ke found himself wishing Kishi was with them. He and Kira had been searching for the missing genin for almost a month now. They hadn't found a single trace. Truthfully, he thought Orochimaru had already killed off the genin and was using this mission as some sort of strange torture. He wouldn't put it past the crazy sannin. What else would explain the lack of any evidence that the genin had even existed?
The crickets on the ground below were driving the boy nuts. They were one of the reasons he was still awake. Another reason was the brightness of the full moon. It glared down upon him, mocking his weary limbs. He hadn't slept for weeks. Sure, he'd gotten a few catnaps. However, temporarily shutting down while walking and jerking awake at every noise really wasn't his idea of a good rest.
Kira was the rmain reason he couldn't sleep. The kunoichi's glare had gotten deadly ever since that last battle. Even Sasuke shuddered to remember it.
~*~|*|~*~
The low laughter coming from the leader of the band of missing-nin was really grating on the group's nerves. Sasuke stood in a calm manner, arms crossed over his chest. He stared unblinkingly at the man. After glancing him up and down, he smirked and glanced behind the man at the assorted bandits behind him.. The shinobi in charge had taken one look at the kid and dismissed him. It was sure to be a fatal mistake.
The shinobi leader ran a hand over the stubble covering his chin and spit on the ground. Kira curled her lip up in disgust. "Let us pass," she demanded. Her stature mirrored Sasuke's until she shifted and leaned to her other side, uncrossing her arms. She rested one hand on her hip. The other fell loosely at her side. Even though the man couldn't see her expression behind the ANBU mask, he took an involuntary step back.
"Sorry, little lady. I can't let you do that. You have something important of ours," the man told her. He grinned and spit again. The men around him chuckled slightly, murmuring to themselves. They took out various weapons. It seemed that large, heavy looking swords were the most common items. Perhaps they were compensating for something.
"It's very rude to spit so much," Kishi chirped in. His smile was kind. It reminded Sasuke of the ones Iruka used to give Naruto. Those slightly disapproving, but patient and loving ones. He vaguely remembered getting those from his own mother. The Uchiha let out a low growl at that thought and readjusted his position.
The shinobi stared at Kishi and laughed. He crossed his arms and spit again. The great lob of slimy spittle landed at the other shinobi's feet. Kishi frowned slightly.
"I'm sorry, sir, but that probably wasn't a good idea. It was very rude," he repeated, nodding solemnly. He serenly kicked some dirt over the glob before him and looked back up. "Perhaps you should apologize. It would benefit you greatly."
The group of men around them laughed. Various insults were thrown at them. "What are you going to do about it?", "Shut your mouth, faerie boy," and "Oooooo, I'm so scared of a bunch of kids," seemed to be the favorites.
Kids? These people really were idiots. If one could figure out how to use killing intent as a power source, the intent radiating from Sasuke and Kira would power both Konohagakure and Sunagakure. Kira and Sasuke could easily be mistaken for children. Sasuke was only almost fourteen, after all, and Kira was about Naruto's height. However, Kishi was well over six feet tall and had the lean, wiry look most shinobi had. Kishi may have a goofy grin plastered on his face, radiate something that was the opposite of a killing intent, and look like a lost puppy, but the way he was spinning the shuriken in his fingers proved he was no stranger to battles. Yes, idiots indeed.
After several minutes of no reaction from the three, the bandits quieted down. The leader smirked and launched another glob of spit at Kira's feet. "Well, little lady?" he asked. "You gonna give us what we want or are we gonna have to take it by force?"
Kira backed up slightly so she could look at the spit at her feet and growl. She looked back up at the man and sighed. "You will have three chances to hit me. After that, the fate of your soul will be to rest in darkness. This is your first and final warning. You are not powerful enough to defeat us. Cease your insults and posturing and leave. If you do so decide to make an attempt on our life force you will be eliminated. That is all. You have been warned," she said in a calm, clear voice.
"I don't know who you think you are, but Motono Hitaru takes orders from no one," the spitting shinobi hissed. He glared at Kira, then chuckled. "Boys, do what you want with the rest of them. This one's mine." He uncrossed his arms and took out two kunai. He spun them in his fingers, smirking at Kira for a moment, and darted forward.
Kira took a step to the side and easily dodged his attack. "One," she declared, crossing her arms again. She didn't even turn around to face Hitaru. The man growled. he threw his kunai on the ground at his feet and immediately started making seals.
"Shards of the Sun!" he shouted, throwing his hands out in Kira's general direction. What appeared to be solid fire in the shape of kunai launched themselves at the silent kunoichi. Hitaru smirked and followed the fire, but before either got there, she disappeared. "What the-"
"Two," Kira said from behind him. Her back was still to him and her arms were still crossed. She tapped a foot impatiently on the ground. Hitaru whirled around. Kira was so close to him they were almost touching. He didn't waste time with hand seals. This time, he pulled out two katana and swung wildly. Whatever sword style and moves he had performed didn't matter. His blades passed right through the smirking kunoichi.
Her form shimmered like smoke, but the wisps of inky black had a slightly more tangible quality than that. They slowly pulled back into her to reshape the parts of her body the swords had passed through. "Three," she whispered and Hitaru began to scream.
~*~
As soon as their leader had darted forward, the rest of the group dispersed. Kishi darted after a few of them, but Sasuke didn't even bother to move. This was quite tedious. Unlike Kira and their 'master', he didn't see a point in playing with these idiots. They didn't make it fun. What was the point in chopping off a head if they didn't even have a chance of harming a hair on your own?
The young Uchiha was surrounded by ten older, more experienced shinobi. If by more experienced, one meant had lived longer and been in more battles. However, quantity did not mean quality and anyone who had lived with Orochimaru as long as Sasuke had was already years ahead of these idiots. The former Konoha genin kept his arms crossed and easily dodged every hit they tried to make. His form twisted and ducked away from every kunai, shuriken, punch, and kick they sent at him.
He sneered. This was truly pathetic. He'd seen academy students do better. What were they? Academy dropouts? That must have been the case. He grabbed a nearby man's arm, twisted, and let go. The following crack and scream made him smirk. He grabbed another man's arm and whirled him into a man behind him. The two went crashing into a tree.
Sasuke laughed. This was just like fighting Naruo and his kage bunshin. That was a fun memory. That fight on top of the hospital...he would have won if it hadn't been for that meddling Kakashi and his little Sakura, too. He let out a low growl and became lost in thought. His moves became automatic, punching and kicking opponents into submission. It was a bit like Rock Lee when asleep. His body knew what to do, and it did it. The foes were pitiful. A jab at the back of the neck and they were down. A chop to the neck and they were left gasping for breath. A well placed kick to the groin and they were screaming for their mother.
Sasuke vaguely thought that he might have been with Orochimaru for too long. This much pain should not make him smile. Dealing out death to idiots like this shouldn't make him laugh. The echoing giggles that exited the boy's mouth made the remaining shinobi cringe. 'Yes, too much time with Orochimaru,' he thought. 'If Itachi could see him now, would he be proud...or afraid?'
~*~
Laughter echoed through the forest. This was fun. Hunting down people who were hunting you was always fun. You could come up behind them, poke them in the side, and run away giggling. Kishi really liked the expressions people made when he did that. He also liked popping up behind people, giggling like mad, and disappearing when they whirled around. However, his favorite trick was a classic. He would slowly sneak up behind the person, swipe all of their weapons, and replace them with random food items. Really, the only thing funnier than having a carrot thrown at you by a bewildered foe was blaming Sasuke when you dumped cold water on Kira in the morning. Ah, good times.
The eight shinobi trying to find the source of the laughter were not amused. They had just found out that they had no weapons. At least, they didn't count cheese, fruit, and veggies as weapons. They got lucky. They found Kishi giggling in a small clearing and surrounded him as he was trying to stifle laughter.
"All right, give it up. We're got you now," one of the braver ones growled.
Kishi wiped a corner of his eye and sighed contentedly. "Do you now?" he asked, head tilted to one side. He seemed to consider this for a moment. Finally, he nodded. "All right. You are correct. You've got me. What are you going to do with me? Play cards? Play Ring Aroudn the Rosie? Stay up late telling ghost stories?" he asked in a hopeful, childish tone.
The shinobi exchanged glances. Was this guy for real? The self declared speaker of the group took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "No," he said, as if explaining something to a small child. "We're not going to...play cards. We're going to beat you into a bloody pulp and bury the remains where no one will find them."
Kishi frowned for a moment. "But....that's rather rude. Nee-chan doesn't like rude people," he told them in a solemn tone. "Are you sure we can't just make rag dolls and have them do dances for us?" he asked. He still sounded like a small child trying to convince their odler siblings to hang out with them.
The shinobi sighed. "I'm sure," he answered through clenched teeth. "We're not going to make rag dolls. We're going to-" He let the rest of the sentence hang in the air as he launched himself at Kishi. Instead of tackling the other man, he ended up with a faceful of dirt.
Kishi giggled from the branch of a nearby tree. "I must apologize, but that was very rude. Why can't we all just get along?" he asked. He was swinging back and forth, using one hand for support. "The world would be a much brighter, happier place if we did."
He darted out of the way as the group charged him. His laughter filled the forest again. It was really getting annoying. Somehow, the group got the feeling that just killing them outright was better than toying with them. Really, what shinobi worth his salt giggled? It just wasn't right. The chase continued for what seemed like ever. They would get close to Kishi and he would disappear. He would appear somewhere behind them, giggle, and disappear again.
This continued until one of the shinobi got hurt. As he landed on a branch it creaked and broke, plummeting both itself and the shinobi to the ground. This normally wouldn't have been a problem, but he'd been expending a lot of energy. His chakra levels weren't anything to be amazed at. He didn't have it in him to cushion the fall. His comrades weren't any help. They were more intent on catching the giggling shinobi to even spare a second glance.
The plummeting shinobi, named Keiji, yelped. He hit the ground with a dull thud and groaned at the sudden pains. Kishi was immediately at his side.
"Oh my," the white clothed shinobi murmured. His hands hovered hesitantly above the injured man. "Are you all right? Oh, what a stupid question. Of course you're not. Oh dear....maybe I should....no, no, Nee-chan told me not to.....hm......but you're in so much.........all right, I will." He nodded once in a solemn manner, as if he had just made some important decision.
He made a few hand signs and set about tending to the injured nin. As he healed Keiji, his comrades spread out in a loose circle around them. They crept forward, watching Kishi for any signs of movement. He seemed to be totally absorbed in the task before him. He was murmuring and clucking his tongue consolingly to their injured companion. Just as he was putting the finishing touches on Keiji, the enemies around him pounced. Caught up in the need to help the hurt man, he didn't even move. The only thing that alerted Sasuke and Kira was the harsh scream that followed their attack.
~*~
Sasuke got there first. Inwardly, he scoffed at his injured companion. A few punches and kicks had the idiots around him moving a safer distance away. Sasuke turned in a circle, glaring at each of them, before he knelt down next to Kishi.
"Idiot," he murmured. "You didn't even defend yourself. You should know that your normal tactics only work when there's someone to do your dirty work. Grow a backbone. Stab someone. Baka." The teen's usually emotionless voice had turned disapproving and impatient. He mentally frowned as he studied the wounds on the man before him. It appeared that the other shinobi had done quite a number on him. He counted around forty stab wounds, ten or so burns, and three oozing wounds that probably meant a kunai had been poisoned. Served the idiot right.
The small group around them decided it was safe enough to start creeping closer. Sasuke stayed in his crouch and settled into a defensive mode. If he waited until just the right moment, he could take out all of the enemies at once. Perhaps he would get some help from his traveling companions. Speaking of companions, where the fuck was Kira? This was her brother after all. She should have been here by now.
The shinobi were almost close enough for Sasuke to unleash his move. Just a few more steps and........the young Uchiha suddenly found that he couldn't move. His body started trembling and his breath caught in his throat. His eyes moved around wildly in their sockets, searching for the cause of this strange ailment. His breath came back, but it was in hitching gasps. He was filled with.....with fear.
It had been so long since he had been afraid. After Itachi's attack on the clan he hadn't been afraid for a long time. In fact...it wasn't until Haku nearly killed Naruto that he had allowed himself to feel the emotion. Then it was when he met Orochimaru....then Itachi again....then his first week in Otogakure. This fear, this mind numbing panic reminded him of Orochimaru and Itachi. It was like their genjutsu.
He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. He could barely breathe and it was so hard to think of anything other than...death. The death of his enemies. Kishi's death. His own death. It didn't matter whose. Someone needed to die. He found the energy to clamp his eyes shut. Kami...whatever kami that would listen, help him. Help him move. He slowly opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a whimper followed by a sob. He clamped his mouth shut again. Tears streamed down his cheeks. Kami, what was wrong with him?
Why couldn't he move? He could feel the danger. This killing intent in the air was smothering. It was like trying to breathe underwater. Move, Sasuke...move....move!!! He nearly screamed when he felt a hand slowly, shakily, clamping over his wrist. He slowly turned his head to look down and remembered his eyes were still shut. He hesitantly opened them, his fear worsening, but it was only Kishi. The man smiled, coughed up a bit of blood, and whispered something.
Sasuke could feel the fear dissipate a bit. He kept his gaze focused on Kishi's. it seemed to help. He slowly bent down, as if trying not to attract attention to himself. He listened to the shinobi around him. Some were whimpering and others were sobbing. They felt it, too. Whatever it was. Kishi's lips moved again, repeating his first phrase. This time, Sasuke could catch them.
"C-close your e-e-eyes, b-boy. I'll k-keep the da-da-darkness at b-b-b-b-bay," he stuttered and coughed again. More blood came up than last time. Sasuke allowed himself to frown. The fear that had been clawing at his skin could no longer be felt. Strangely, it had been replaced by a nagging voice in the back of his head. He wanted nothing more than to take his kunai and either stab his eyes out or stab at his wrist until it was just a mangled, messy heap of flesh. He shuddered and payed more attention to Kishi's words. They made the voice in the back of his head fall silent. He was grateful for that, even if he wouldn't admit it.
"Th-the darkn-ness w-won't harm y-you i-i-i-if you stay by m-me." Kishi started choking and coughing at the same time. Sasuke figured it was because of the internal bleeding, but he still didn't dare move. The older man was tough. He would last, and if not...well Orochimaru never said Kishi had to make it back alive.
"Don't.......move......close.....eyes," Kishi murmured before his eyes rolled into the back of his head. His breathing stilled almost to a stop. Sasuke sincerely hoped he wasn't dead. Not after seeing someone enter the edge of his vision. It looked like Kira, but...then again it didn't.
The usually calm, morbid humor the girl seemed to exude was gone. It was replaced with something that made the fear Sasuke had felt before look like a grain of sand next to a mountain. The more he tried to focus on her, the stronger the feeling got. He focused on the unconcious man in front of him. The feeling thankfully dissipated. Kira's normally grey eyes were now pure white. The pupil was white as well, or perhaps it was a grey or silver. Sasuke couldn't tell and he didn't want to.
There were shadow surrounding her. Some were like tentacles and others were like creatures themselves. All of them kept teeming and shifting as if they couldn't decide on a single form. Sasuke noted something. Except for the shadows crawling up and down her skin, the rest formed a sort of shape. It reminded him of the aura Naruto got when using Kyuubi's chakra or Gaara's monstrous form when he combined with the sand. It wasn't a kitsune or tanuki, however. This was a dragon.
Wings that looked like they could twitch and entire forests would be destroyed. Claws that could render mountains mere rubble. Teeth that would make even a Kage tremble. Sasuke's breath caught in his throat again. Despite how large and ferocious they seemed, the dragon's features weren't very big. They were as big on Kira as Naruto's aura was on him. It was strange. How could something so small seem so......Sasuke inwardly shook his head. This was not the time to be thinking about such stupid things.
The dragon-no, Kira opened her mouth and grinned. Her teeth, the real ones, were fanged. She let out a giggle. It was like listening to a child laugh in Yomi, Hell. "You've been very, very naughty." Her voice was a mere whisper on the wind. It was one of those things you thought you heard on dark stormy nights, but convinced yourself it was never really said. The shadow creatures and tentacles slid along the ground toward everyone in the clearing.
Darkness...was this the darkness Kishi was talking about? If so, Sasuke thought that he really didn't want the girl's...anger, darkness, whatever it was, directed at him. Luckily for the Uchiha, they spread wide around him, avoiding a circle of....strangely enough, light surrounding both he and Kishi. Sasuke's eyes clamped shut as the shadows grabbed a hold of the shinobi and dragged them, kicking and screaming, toward the kunoichi.
She giggled again. The burst of uncontrollable laughter made Sasuke's breathe pause and start again in more hitching gasps. He wanted to cover his ears as the shinobi began to scream, but one hand was caught fast by Kishi and the other was helping him balance. He might have risked the second hand, but he didn't want to know what would happen if he were to fall over and bring the kunoichi's attention on him.
Kami....just make the screams stop. Make the laughter stop. Make it stop. Make it all stop. The fear began to sneak back up on him. He was panting now. Don't scream, Sasuke. Don't scream. Don't you dare...fucking..... He opened his mouth to let out one long wail of despair. Then all fell silent.
The feelings disappeared. Kishi let go of his wrist. Sasuke closed his mouth before any sound could be made. He cautiously cracked an eye open. All seemed well. Other than the fact that the shinobi were gone...everything looked...normal. He slowly opened both eyes.
Kira was stretching not too far away from him. As he stood, she looked over at him and smiled. He shuddered. It reminded him of Orochimaru. Not an image he wanted after something like that. He stumbled away from her, uncaring of his image, as she skipped over to where he stood. Skipped...there was something so wrong about that childish gesture.
She giggled again, but it sounded less creepy than before. As she knelt down next to her brother, a frown met her features. "Oh...they really hurt him. We thought so...and he won't let us heal him." Another laugh had Sasuke taking a few more steps back. "He never does. He's so thoughtful, right Chibi-kun. Always thinking about others and how he can help them. Poor thing. I suppose we should take him to go see Kabuto-kun and Orochimaru-dono, neh?"
~*~|*|~*~
That had been a few weeks ago. Sasuke shook off the weariness in his body. Ever since they had left Kishi at Otogakure, Kira had slowly been turning into that hting at the battle. He could feel the fear inching upon him day by day. Her eyes got a murderous glint that made Sasuke more nervous than when facing Orochimaru's wrath. Currently, she was sitting by the fire, stirring a pot of soup.
Sasuke hadn't slept for a while. He hadn't eaten for a while either. He didn't dare eat anything she cooked and every time he went out to forage on his own Kira got worse. Needless to say, he wasn't going to risk angering her until he found out what teh fuck was going on.
Why did he have the bad feeling that he wasn't going to get anything safe to eat or a good night's rest for a while?
~*~*~*~*~*~
Voila, the second chapter. I'm going back to bed.