Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Shadows of Darkness ❯ Chapter Seven: Mika's Test Part 1 ( Chapter 7 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: WolfGoddess_77 
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 02.14.2012 | Updated On: 02.15.2012 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.7K | Visits: 140 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 02.14.2012 | Updated On: 02.15.2012 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.7K | Visits: 140 | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any related characters. No money is made from the writing of this story.
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The sky was just beginning to brighten in the east when Mika made her way out of the base, Deidara close behind her. Every sense was on high alert, and she was wound tighter than a spring. She’d had all of two hours of sleep the night before, but far from feeling tired, she was full of energy. The fear that she had felt before had all but vanished, to be replaced with determination. There was no way she was going to lose.
She moved away from the cliff where the base was hidden, stopping when she reached the treeline. Although the air was cool, she had chosen not to wear her cloak. Moving in it was still awkward, and she would need every ounce of her agility today.
Kneeling down, she unstrapped the small pouch from her waist, opening it and dumping out its contents. Her shuriken holster soon followed. Carefully spreading out her equipment, she looked it over. Eight kunai, twelve shuriken… Picking up one of the metal knives, she tested its edge against her finger, smiling when she drew a small drop of blood. One thing she prided herself on was taking excellent care of her equipment; a habit she had picked up as a medic.
She also had two scrolls, one blank, and one decorated with a complex pattern recognizable as a summoning spell. Along with these were several explosive tags, which she set aside out of the way. Picking up a spool of thin metal wire, she unraveled several inches of it, tugging on it to test its strength. Her eyes fell on the last item, a small glass jar with a cork stopper. It was filled with tiny black pills.
Frowning, she held up the jar, shaking it and listening to the pills rattle around inside. Even though she detested using them, she knew that she would probably have to resort to taking at least one before this test was over.
She would have to be very careful in how she did this. Although she didn’t plan to spend all twenty-four hours running and hiding, she also couldn’t afford to waste all of her energy attacking, either. She would have to wait for the precise moment to strike…
Probably the worst part about this was that she didn’t know that much about Hidan’s battle style. That put her at a disadvantage. Narrowing her eyes, she began to repack her equipment, straightening as she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.
Deidara had now been joined by Hidan, and to her surprise, Kakuzu. What was he doing here? She hadn’t thought he would be interested in watching this, given his reaction to Zetsu’s words the day before. But then, there was a difference between watching and actually participating.
She watched as the tall missing-nin said something to Deidara, though she was too far away to hear what was being said. Deidara nodded, then gestured to Mika. It was time to begin.
As she drew closer, she glanced over at Hidan, who had a bored expression on his face. He had brought his signature triple-bladed scythe with him, she saw. Up close, she could see that each crimson blade was made of solid metal. That meant that it was probably heavy… In the dense forest, it would be difficult for him to use it, even if it was attached to a thick cable.
“I’m sure you’ve had training exercises like this in your village. This one won’t be that different. You’ll have twenty-four hours to do everything you can to keep yourself alive, un,” Deidara explained. “However, it’ll be different in that-”
“You’ll be trying to kill me,” Hidan interrupted, a wicked smile coming to his face. “Try as many times as you can, if you’re not too much of a fucking coward. I don’t care what you do.” He chuckled. “It won’t make a difference, anyway. I won’t die, no matter how many times you try.”
Kakuzu looked over at him. “Don’t be so arrogant, Hidan. You will get yourself killed one of these days.”
Hidan irritably waved him off. “Yeah, yeah. You say that all the time, and it hasn’t happened. Now, don’t fucking interrupt.”
Ignoring their bickering, Deidara continued the explanation. “Your skill level will be determined by how many times you can injure Hidan, and how many wounds you can avoid taking yourself.” He glanced over at Hidan. “Now, he’s been forbidden from causing you any serious harm, but treat every wound as if it would be fatal. Do you understand?” His voice was calm enough, even indifferent, but Mika thought she could see worry in his uncovered eye. He knew that Hidan had always rebelled against orders, especially in matters such as this. He would do almost anything to ensure that his twisted god received a sacrifice.
She nodded. “Yes, I understand.” Biting her lip, she turned to look at the forest, studying it. Would she have the advantage? It was hard to say. If she couldn’t win with ninjutsu, she had other methods she could resort to… And as long as she kept out of reach of that scythe, she would probably be all right.
Her examination of their battleground was interrupted by Deidara’s voice. “You’ll be given a thirty-minute head start to set up whatever traps you like, un.” He paused for a moment. “Begin!”
Mika vanished in a swirl of smoke. Thirty minutes gave her precious little time, and she didn’t intend to waste a moment of it. As she headed deeper into the forest, she formed a series of hand seals, and a pair of shadow clones appeared at her side. She sent one off to her left, and the other to her right, immediately masking her own chakra signature. Okay, there was the bait… Now for the actual trap.
She came to a stop, looking around. Well, this place was as good as any. Kneeling down, she took two kunai out of the pouch at her waist, along with the roll of wire, and three explosive tags. Taking the tags, she placed them on the trunk of a tree directly across the clearing, and carefully concealed them.
Next, she attached one end of the wire to the first kunai, unraveling a length of it. After she’d cut it, she tied the other end to the second kunai. When her preparations were complete, she tossed the first kunai over her head, burying it deeply in the trunk of a tree just to her left. She left the second one where it was, covering it with a layer of grass; if all went as planned, she would be needing it later.
There. That was the best she could do with the time she had been given. She looked everything over one last time, then concealed herself nearby. All she had to do was wait for Hidan to find her…
---
“You surprised me, Kakuzu. I didn’t think you would want to be here for this, un,” Deidara commented, crossing his arms as he waited for Mika’s time limit to be up. His gaze was fixed intently on the place where she’d disappeared into the forest, even though he knew it would be impossible to see her in the predawn gloom, even with his scope.
“If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t. This test is a waste of time. But I want to see Hidan finally receive his comeuppance. He’s been nearly intolerable lately, and a good beating might be just what he needs to humble him.”
Hidan growled in annoyance. “Well, aren’t you just a fucking ray of sunshine this morning? If you’re just gonna bitch about everything, go back inside. This won’t take long. Speaking of which…” Picking up his scythe from where he had embedded it in the ground, he twirled it around once, then set off towards the forest. “Hope you aren’t too fond of your new partner, Deidara. There won’t be much left after I get finished with her!”
As he followed his target into the forest, he immediately turned towards the west, where he sensed her chakra signature. His only regret was that he would have to wait an entire day to begin the ceremony. Even though he liked a good chase, twenty-four hours was entirely too long. Hopefully, it would be worth it. If she really was good enough to deal him a fatal blow, he might actually be able to enjoy this.
It was only a few minutes later that he caught sight of her, perched in the branches of a tall tree. He couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across his face. “You’re not too bright, are you? If you’re just sitting there in plain sight, you obviously want me to make you into a sacrifice. Heh, and here I was hoping that you would give me a good fight…”
Mika barely saw him move. In one swift motion, he had pulled the scythe from his back and sent it flying towards her. It smashed into the branch she was sitting on, leaving her no choice but to leap from it or risk being hit. Her eyes widened in shock. That shouldn’t have been possible… That scythe had to weigh a ton. How could he throw it so quickly? And – she glanced at what was left of the branch – so accurately? The blades had sliced through the exact spot where she had been sitting.
Jerking sharply on the cable that was attached to the end of the scythe, he caught its long handle, turning to look over at her. She now stood only a few feet away, halfway concealed behind the trunk of another tree. “That’s a little more like it. I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to dodge. That would have been pretty fucking pathetic, especially considering that my attacks are the slowest in Akatsuki.”
Mika rolled her eyes, though she didn’t come out from behind the tree. “Give me some credit. Do you really think I’d just sit still and let you kill me?” Using the concealment that the tree provided her, she reached into the pouch at her waist, making sure not to make any unnecessary motions that would alert him to what she was doing. Carefully, she pulled out a single kunai. Around the hilt was an explosive tag, which she’d attached a few minutes before he’d found her.
Hidan grinned. “It’s happened before. Some poor bastards get so scared when they see me coming that they completely freeze up. They’re not even worth being made into offerings to Jashin-sama.”
Scoffing, Mika shook her head. “Whatever. Like anyone would be afraid of you.” She knew that baiting him was probably a very bad idea, but far from getting angry, he seemed to be enjoying it. That was good. If she could keep him talking, it would buy her some time.
His smile turned downright sadistic, then. “Oh, but they were. I’ve never heard so much screaming as I did that night. The entire village was stained red… That had to be the best night of my life.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?
With his free hand, he reached up, tapping the symbol on the forehead protector around his neck. “Didn’t you ever wonder what I did to be declared a missing-nin? I killed them. They pissed me off, turning the village into a tourist spot.”
For a moment, Mika was confused. What was he…? Then, realization dawned in her eyes, and she swallowed hard. “It was you?” She’d heard about what happened to the people who had lived in Yugakure. It had once been a ninja village, albeit a small one. But not long ago, a decision was made that the ninja weren’t needed, and so the village was transformed into a tourist spot. Almost immediately afterwards, however, the villagers were all brutally slaughtered by someone. She had never found out who was behind the murders, until now.
His red-violet eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “There it is,” he whispered. “That fear I was talking about. I can see it in your eyes.”
He started to take a step forward, but Mika stopped him by flinging the kunai she had been holding at him. Automatically, he brought his scythe up to deflect it. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw the exploding tag wrapped around the hilt. “Shit!”
Mika leapt back behind the tree just in time to shield herself from the resulting blast. She knew better than to think that the explosion did very much damage; one tag wasn’t enough for that. But she’d had another purpose in doing this. The sound of the tag going off would carry quite a distance through the forest…
She held her breath as she waited for the smoke from the explosion to clear. Had he taken any damage…? Slowly, she peered around the trunk of the tree. The tag had definitely connected with the scythe, and she didn’t think the weapon had been enough to completely shield him. But when the smoke had cleared enough for her to see, she realized that he was nowhere to be found.
Her brow furrowed. Had he been using some kind of a clone? It was always possible… So where was he now? She went still, listening hard, but all she could hear was the distant sound of birds singing. A moment later, she heard a sound that turned her blood to ice. He was close; the sound she had heard was his weapon whistling through the air. Just as she started to turn around, the crimson scythe embedded itself into the trunk of the tree, the tip of the bottom blade a mere inch away from her throat.
She didn’t dare move, knowing that, if he were to pull on the cable attached to the end of it, the blades would rip through the tree…and her.
Hidan moved slowly over to her, a smile on his face. As he drew closer, she could see singe marks on his face and hands, and the right sleeve of his cloak was tattered. So, he hadn’t used a clone after all. He must have shielded himself with his scythe, then leapt away before the smoke cleared.
But this told her something. It seemed that, because of his immortality, he wasn’t very concerned with dodging attacks; he would probably just guard himself, if he even bothered to do that. If she could just separate him from his scythe…
As he drew closer, he reached into his cloak, drawing out a thick metal rod several inches long. As she watched, he shook it sharply, and it extended into a pike over two feet in length. He held it up, then rested the tip against the center of her chest. “It would be so damn easy,” he whispered, his eyes practically glowing with bloodlust. “Just an inch or two to the right, and the slightest bit of pressure…” He shook his head, drawing the pike upwards until it was against her throat. “But that would be a waste, wouldn’t it? I’ve already promised Jashin-sama that he could have you, once this test is over.”
Mika frowned, trying to keep her emotions reined in. Now was not the time to lose her composure. “I don’t remember agreeing to this. Who said you could use me for your ceremony?” She refrained from using the words she really wanted to say; she didn’t want to antagonize him any more than she already had. At least, not until she was safely out of range of that deadly scythe. If she made him angry enough, he might just forget about using her as an offering and kill her outright. Even though he was forbidden from causing her any serious harm, out here where no one could see them, it would be a simple matter for him to claim that her death had been accidental.
Lightly, he tapped the pike against her throat, letting her feel the sharp point, though he was careful not to cut her…yet. “Didn’t you hear Zetsu? If you fail this test, your life is mine. Even if you run from us, it won’t do you any good. You know you won’t be able to get away.”
Looking away, Mika bit her lip, thinking quickly. What could she do…? This wasn’t the place for her to confront him. She had to find a way to get away from him, and lead him to the right place. A thought occurred to her, then. It might work, if she was careful.
“So, you’re not going to let me run away. I understand. But what if you let me go? You said yourself that you were hoping that I would give you a good fight, isn’t that right? So give me a chance. We’ve just begun… Ending it now would be a waste. You would have gotten up early for nothing. And, more importantly, your god would be disappointed with you, for giving…uh…him? For giving him such a weak offering. Give me a chance to prove that I’m worthy of being in your ceremony.”
The words tasted bitter in her mouth; she couldn’t believe that she was actually saying this. The thought of willingly letting herself be a part of his ceremony – even if it was only an act - made her feel sick. But it might be the only way for her to convince him to let her go. She only had to play along for a few more seconds…
For a long time, Hidan simply stared at her through narrowed eyes. She began to curse herself; there was no way he would fall for something like that. What had she been thinking? She’d hoped that his devotion to his god would convince him that the wicked entity deserved only the best, but it seemed that – in this case at least – he was willing for settle for what he already had. If he didn’t let her go, she would have no other choice but to switch to a different plan and hope it worked as well.
But finally, to her utter shock, he lowered the pike from where it was pressed against her throat. “Hmm, killing you so soon would be a waste. If you’re this weak, it might be better to find someone else for the ceremony. But I’ll give you one more try. Not that it’ll do you much fucking good; you’re still dead, either way. But why deny you a few more minutes of life? The fear might be a good thing; for me, at least. It’ll make you fight harder in the end.”
Mika blinked, unable to believe what she was hearing. It had worked…? Maybe she understood him better than she thought. Slowly, she began to sidle away from him, half expecting some kind of trick. But he made no move to pursue her. Instead, his red-violet eyes watched her as she moved back.
“Get the hell out of here. If you hurry, you just might be able to extend your life by a few more minutes before I catch you again.”
Not about to argue, she leapt into the trees, heading deeper into the forest. Everything was going according to plan. Now all she had to do was lead him to the trap she had set. She was grateful that he hadn’t tried to attack her yet. If he had, her shadow clone would have been dispelled, and she would have been left without a way to lead him where she needed him to be. She just had to hope that this worked.
---
Only fifteen minutes later, Hidan’s limited patience ran out, and he jumped up into the nearest tree, strapping his scythe to his back as he did so. He noticed that she was leading him towards the center of the forest; she hadn’t deviated from her original path in an attempt to shake him off. That made him frown; she wasn’t attempting to hide her presence at all.
As he moved further into the forest, he began to notice something odd. It was getting harder and harder to see. The Hidden Mist technique? He had thought that jutsu was primarily used among Kirigakure ninja, such as Kisame. Why would someone from a village in the middle of the desert use it? But when he looked closer, he realized that it wasn’t mist, but rather... So, she had set up a smokescreen. But what was she trying to obscure?
He slackened his pace, wary now of traps. He didn’t think that she’d had enough time to set up anything dangerous, even factoring in the thirty minutes at the beginning of the test. But that didn’t necessarily mean that she didn’t have something waiting for him. The only question was, what – and where – was it? Her linear path made him think that she was leading him into this trap, though he couldn’t be entirely sure.
Vaguely, he could make out a shape forming within the smokescreen. His eyes widened; this girl had to be insane. She was simply standing there, waiting for him! He could see her looking around, searching for him. So, she hadn’t noticed him yet. Perfect.
He dropped out of the tree he had been standing in, being very careful where he stepped, so he didn’t attract her attention. At last, he was just behind her. Pulling out the pike he had attacked with before, he drew it back, then plunged it downward towards her unprotected back.
Before it could connect, she spun around, falling backwards with a gasp of surprise. Her hand closed around the kunai she had concealed on the ground, and she threw it at him. The metal knife flew an inch past his face, embedding itself in the tree behind him.
A laugh emerged from his throat. “You missed. I’m three fucking feet away from you, and you still miss.” He started to take a step towards her, only to be stopped short by the wire that had been attached to the kunai. His eyes narrowed, and he ran one finger over the thin wire. “So, you weren’t aiming at me after all. But if you think this is enough to hold me, you’re-”
The rest of his sentence was cut off by an eruption of fire from directly in front of him. But strangely, it hadn’t come from Mika. As the small fireballs surged around Hidan, Mika flipped over, scuttling away on her hands and knees, out of reach of the flames. She dove into a bush, just in time to shield herself from the large explosion that resulted from one of the fireballs hitting the concealed explosive tags. It was then that the second part of her plan was put into play. The supposed smokescreen that she had set up hadn’t been placed there to conceal her, but to add additional fuel to the fire that resulted from the detonated tags. The flames from the blast ignited the combustible smoke that layered the area, magnifying what would have been an already large explosion, and turning the immediate vicinity into a hellstorm.
Unfortunately, this also posed a great risk to Mika, forcing her to take an extra precaution to protect herself. Not only had she hidden herself behind the trunk of a large tree, her clone had also provided a second shield. She had been the one to execute the Katon jutsu from the safety of her hiding place, and under the cover of the fireballs, her clone had taken the opportunity to get away from Hidan – and the impending blast – and throw herself over the real Mika.
Mika heard Hidan’s cry of pain, though it was all but lost in the roar of flames as the explosion consumed the trees nearest the blast. The intense heat was almost unbearable, but she had picked a good place to hide; she was protected here, and she was undamaged by the time the detonation cleared. She dispelled the clone that was with her, and stood up, dusting herself off.
When she first peered around the trunk of the scorched tree, she didn’t see Hidan anywhere within the blast radius. Several of the smaller trees had been reduced to ash, and some of the bigger trunks that had survived – though they were now severely blackened - lay scattered across the ground.
It took her several seconds, but she finally spotted him lying facedown in the debris. His cloak had been mostly burned off, and she could see several deep burns on his back and arms. His scythe was clenched tightly in one hand, covered in ash. She knew that he wasn’t dead, but he seemed to be unconscious. She could see that his breathing was shallow; his lungs had probably been damaged by the intense heat.
She continued to watch him, but he didn’t stir – she figured his body was probably too damaged for him to get up. If it had been anyone else, she would have been worried, but Hidan was immortal. He’d probably endured much worse than this. She had to wonder, though, how did he endure the pain? Having his lungs seared had to be agonizing. For that matter, how long did it take him to heal…?
Shaking her head, she put these thoughts of her mind. There would be plenty of time to think over these mysteries, preferably when she wasn’t right in the middle of a life-or-death test. With one last glance over her shoulder, she turned, vanishing once more into the forest. It seemed she had a bit of time before he could follow her. She would take that time to rest, and plan her next attack.
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The sky was just beginning to brighten in the east when Mika made her way out of the base, Deidara close behind her. Every sense was on high alert, and she was wound tighter than a spring. She’d had all of two hours of sleep the night before, but far from feeling tired, she was full of energy. The fear that she had felt before had all but vanished, to be replaced with determination. There was no way she was going to lose.
She moved away from the cliff where the base was hidden, stopping when she reached the treeline. Although the air was cool, she had chosen not to wear her cloak. Moving in it was still awkward, and she would need every ounce of her agility today.
Kneeling down, she unstrapped the small pouch from her waist, opening it and dumping out its contents. Her shuriken holster soon followed. Carefully spreading out her equipment, she looked it over. Eight kunai, twelve shuriken… Picking up one of the metal knives, she tested its edge against her finger, smiling when she drew a small drop of blood. One thing she prided herself on was taking excellent care of her equipment; a habit she had picked up as a medic.
She also had two scrolls, one blank, and one decorated with a complex pattern recognizable as a summoning spell. Along with these were several explosive tags, which she set aside out of the way. Picking up a spool of thin metal wire, she unraveled several inches of it, tugging on it to test its strength. Her eyes fell on the last item, a small glass jar with a cork stopper. It was filled with tiny black pills.
Frowning, she held up the jar, shaking it and listening to the pills rattle around inside. Even though she detested using them, she knew that she would probably have to resort to taking at least one before this test was over.
She would have to be very careful in how she did this. Although she didn’t plan to spend all twenty-four hours running and hiding, she also couldn’t afford to waste all of her energy attacking, either. She would have to wait for the precise moment to strike…
Probably the worst part about this was that she didn’t know that much about Hidan’s battle style. That put her at a disadvantage. Narrowing her eyes, she began to repack her equipment, straightening as she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.
Deidara had now been joined by Hidan, and to her surprise, Kakuzu. What was he doing here? She hadn’t thought he would be interested in watching this, given his reaction to Zetsu’s words the day before. But then, there was a difference between watching and actually participating.
She watched as the tall missing-nin said something to Deidara, though she was too far away to hear what was being said. Deidara nodded, then gestured to Mika. It was time to begin.
As she drew closer, she glanced over at Hidan, who had a bored expression on his face. He had brought his signature triple-bladed scythe with him, she saw. Up close, she could see that each crimson blade was made of solid metal. That meant that it was probably heavy… In the dense forest, it would be difficult for him to use it, even if it was attached to a thick cable.
“I’m sure you’ve had training exercises like this in your village. This one won’t be that different. You’ll have twenty-four hours to do everything you can to keep yourself alive, un,” Deidara explained. “However, it’ll be different in that-”
“You’ll be trying to kill me,” Hidan interrupted, a wicked smile coming to his face. “Try as many times as you can, if you’re not too much of a fucking coward. I don’t care what you do.” He chuckled. “It won’t make a difference, anyway. I won’t die, no matter how many times you try.”
Kakuzu looked over at him. “Don’t be so arrogant, Hidan. You will get yourself killed one of these days.”
Hidan irritably waved him off. “Yeah, yeah. You say that all the time, and it hasn’t happened. Now, don’t fucking interrupt.”
Ignoring their bickering, Deidara continued the explanation. “Your skill level will be determined by how many times you can injure Hidan, and how many wounds you can avoid taking yourself.” He glanced over at Hidan. “Now, he’s been forbidden from causing you any serious harm, but treat every wound as if it would be fatal. Do you understand?” His voice was calm enough, even indifferent, but Mika thought she could see worry in his uncovered eye. He knew that Hidan had always rebelled against orders, especially in matters such as this. He would do almost anything to ensure that his twisted god received a sacrifice.
She nodded. “Yes, I understand.” Biting her lip, she turned to look at the forest, studying it. Would she have the advantage? It was hard to say. If she couldn’t win with ninjutsu, she had other methods she could resort to… And as long as she kept out of reach of that scythe, she would probably be all right.
Her examination of their battleground was interrupted by Deidara’s voice. “You’ll be given a thirty-minute head start to set up whatever traps you like, un.” He paused for a moment. “Begin!”
Mika vanished in a swirl of smoke. Thirty minutes gave her precious little time, and she didn’t intend to waste a moment of it. As she headed deeper into the forest, she formed a series of hand seals, and a pair of shadow clones appeared at her side. She sent one off to her left, and the other to her right, immediately masking her own chakra signature. Okay, there was the bait… Now for the actual trap.
She came to a stop, looking around. Well, this place was as good as any. Kneeling down, she took two kunai out of the pouch at her waist, along with the roll of wire, and three explosive tags. Taking the tags, she placed them on the trunk of a tree directly across the clearing, and carefully concealed them.
Next, she attached one end of the wire to the first kunai, unraveling a length of it. After she’d cut it, she tied the other end to the second kunai. When her preparations were complete, she tossed the first kunai over her head, burying it deeply in the trunk of a tree just to her left. She left the second one where it was, covering it with a layer of grass; if all went as planned, she would be needing it later.
There. That was the best she could do with the time she had been given. She looked everything over one last time, then concealed herself nearby. All she had to do was wait for Hidan to find her…
---
“You surprised me, Kakuzu. I didn’t think you would want to be here for this, un,” Deidara commented, crossing his arms as he waited for Mika’s time limit to be up. His gaze was fixed intently on the place where she’d disappeared into the forest, even though he knew it would be impossible to see her in the predawn gloom, even with his scope.
“If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t. This test is a waste of time. But I want to see Hidan finally receive his comeuppance. He’s been nearly intolerable lately, and a good beating might be just what he needs to humble him.”
Hidan growled in annoyance. “Well, aren’t you just a fucking ray of sunshine this morning? If you’re just gonna bitch about everything, go back inside. This won’t take long. Speaking of which…” Picking up his scythe from where he had embedded it in the ground, he twirled it around once, then set off towards the forest. “Hope you aren’t too fond of your new partner, Deidara. There won’t be much left after I get finished with her!”
As he followed his target into the forest, he immediately turned towards the west, where he sensed her chakra signature. His only regret was that he would have to wait an entire day to begin the ceremony. Even though he liked a good chase, twenty-four hours was entirely too long. Hopefully, it would be worth it. If she really was good enough to deal him a fatal blow, he might actually be able to enjoy this.
It was only a few minutes later that he caught sight of her, perched in the branches of a tall tree. He couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across his face. “You’re not too bright, are you? If you’re just sitting there in plain sight, you obviously want me to make you into a sacrifice. Heh, and here I was hoping that you would give me a good fight…”
Mika barely saw him move. In one swift motion, he had pulled the scythe from his back and sent it flying towards her. It smashed into the branch she was sitting on, leaving her no choice but to leap from it or risk being hit. Her eyes widened in shock. That shouldn’t have been possible… That scythe had to weigh a ton. How could he throw it so quickly? And – she glanced at what was left of the branch – so accurately? The blades had sliced through the exact spot where she had been sitting.
Jerking sharply on the cable that was attached to the end of the scythe, he caught its long handle, turning to look over at her. She now stood only a few feet away, halfway concealed behind the trunk of another tree. “That’s a little more like it. I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to dodge. That would have been pretty fucking pathetic, especially considering that my attacks are the slowest in Akatsuki.”
Mika rolled her eyes, though she didn’t come out from behind the tree. “Give me some credit. Do you really think I’d just sit still and let you kill me?” Using the concealment that the tree provided her, she reached into the pouch at her waist, making sure not to make any unnecessary motions that would alert him to what she was doing. Carefully, she pulled out a single kunai. Around the hilt was an explosive tag, which she’d attached a few minutes before he’d found her.
Hidan grinned. “It’s happened before. Some poor bastards get so scared when they see me coming that they completely freeze up. They’re not even worth being made into offerings to Jashin-sama.”
Scoffing, Mika shook her head. “Whatever. Like anyone would be afraid of you.” She knew that baiting him was probably a very bad idea, but far from getting angry, he seemed to be enjoying it. That was good. If she could keep him talking, it would buy her some time.
His smile turned downright sadistic, then. “Oh, but they were. I’ve never heard so much screaming as I did that night. The entire village was stained red… That had to be the best night of my life.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?
With his free hand, he reached up, tapping the symbol on the forehead protector around his neck. “Didn’t you ever wonder what I did to be declared a missing-nin? I killed them. They pissed me off, turning the village into a tourist spot.”
For a moment, Mika was confused. What was he…? Then, realization dawned in her eyes, and she swallowed hard. “It was you?” She’d heard about what happened to the people who had lived in Yugakure. It had once been a ninja village, albeit a small one. But not long ago, a decision was made that the ninja weren’t needed, and so the village was transformed into a tourist spot. Almost immediately afterwards, however, the villagers were all brutally slaughtered by someone. She had never found out who was behind the murders, until now.
His red-violet eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “There it is,” he whispered. “That fear I was talking about. I can see it in your eyes.”
He started to take a step forward, but Mika stopped him by flinging the kunai she had been holding at him. Automatically, he brought his scythe up to deflect it. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw the exploding tag wrapped around the hilt. “Shit!”
Mika leapt back behind the tree just in time to shield herself from the resulting blast. She knew better than to think that the explosion did very much damage; one tag wasn’t enough for that. But she’d had another purpose in doing this. The sound of the tag going off would carry quite a distance through the forest…
She held her breath as she waited for the smoke from the explosion to clear. Had he taken any damage…? Slowly, she peered around the trunk of the tree. The tag had definitely connected with the scythe, and she didn’t think the weapon had been enough to completely shield him. But when the smoke had cleared enough for her to see, she realized that he was nowhere to be found.
Her brow furrowed. Had he been using some kind of a clone? It was always possible… So where was he now? She went still, listening hard, but all she could hear was the distant sound of birds singing. A moment later, she heard a sound that turned her blood to ice. He was close; the sound she had heard was his weapon whistling through the air. Just as she started to turn around, the crimson scythe embedded itself into the trunk of the tree, the tip of the bottom blade a mere inch away from her throat.
She didn’t dare move, knowing that, if he were to pull on the cable attached to the end of it, the blades would rip through the tree…and her.
Hidan moved slowly over to her, a smile on his face. As he drew closer, she could see singe marks on his face and hands, and the right sleeve of his cloak was tattered. So, he hadn’t used a clone after all. He must have shielded himself with his scythe, then leapt away before the smoke cleared.
But this told her something. It seemed that, because of his immortality, he wasn’t very concerned with dodging attacks; he would probably just guard himself, if he even bothered to do that. If she could just separate him from his scythe…
As he drew closer, he reached into his cloak, drawing out a thick metal rod several inches long. As she watched, he shook it sharply, and it extended into a pike over two feet in length. He held it up, then rested the tip against the center of her chest. “It would be so damn easy,” he whispered, his eyes practically glowing with bloodlust. “Just an inch or two to the right, and the slightest bit of pressure…” He shook his head, drawing the pike upwards until it was against her throat. “But that would be a waste, wouldn’t it? I’ve already promised Jashin-sama that he could have you, once this test is over.”
Mika frowned, trying to keep her emotions reined in. Now was not the time to lose her composure. “I don’t remember agreeing to this. Who said you could use me for your ceremony?” She refrained from using the words she really wanted to say; she didn’t want to antagonize him any more than she already had. At least, not until she was safely out of range of that deadly scythe. If she made him angry enough, he might just forget about using her as an offering and kill her outright. Even though he was forbidden from causing her any serious harm, out here where no one could see them, it would be a simple matter for him to claim that her death had been accidental.
Lightly, he tapped the pike against her throat, letting her feel the sharp point, though he was careful not to cut her…yet. “Didn’t you hear Zetsu? If you fail this test, your life is mine. Even if you run from us, it won’t do you any good. You know you won’t be able to get away.”
Looking away, Mika bit her lip, thinking quickly. What could she do…? This wasn’t the place for her to confront him. She had to find a way to get away from him, and lead him to the right place. A thought occurred to her, then. It might work, if she was careful.
“So, you’re not going to let me run away. I understand. But what if you let me go? You said yourself that you were hoping that I would give you a good fight, isn’t that right? So give me a chance. We’ve just begun… Ending it now would be a waste. You would have gotten up early for nothing. And, more importantly, your god would be disappointed with you, for giving…uh…him? For giving him such a weak offering. Give me a chance to prove that I’m worthy of being in your ceremony.”
The words tasted bitter in her mouth; she couldn’t believe that she was actually saying this. The thought of willingly letting herself be a part of his ceremony – even if it was only an act - made her feel sick. But it might be the only way for her to convince him to let her go. She only had to play along for a few more seconds…
For a long time, Hidan simply stared at her through narrowed eyes. She began to curse herself; there was no way he would fall for something like that. What had she been thinking? She’d hoped that his devotion to his god would convince him that the wicked entity deserved only the best, but it seemed that – in this case at least – he was willing for settle for what he already had. If he didn’t let her go, she would have no other choice but to switch to a different plan and hope it worked as well.
But finally, to her utter shock, he lowered the pike from where it was pressed against her throat. “Hmm, killing you so soon would be a waste. If you’re this weak, it might be better to find someone else for the ceremony. But I’ll give you one more try. Not that it’ll do you much fucking good; you’re still dead, either way. But why deny you a few more minutes of life? The fear might be a good thing; for me, at least. It’ll make you fight harder in the end.”
Mika blinked, unable to believe what she was hearing. It had worked…? Maybe she understood him better than she thought. Slowly, she began to sidle away from him, half expecting some kind of trick. But he made no move to pursue her. Instead, his red-violet eyes watched her as she moved back.
“Get the hell out of here. If you hurry, you just might be able to extend your life by a few more minutes before I catch you again.”
Not about to argue, she leapt into the trees, heading deeper into the forest. Everything was going according to plan. Now all she had to do was lead him to the trap she had set. She was grateful that he hadn’t tried to attack her yet. If he had, her shadow clone would have been dispelled, and she would have been left without a way to lead him where she needed him to be. She just had to hope that this worked.
---
Only fifteen minutes later, Hidan’s limited patience ran out, and he jumped up into the nearest tree, strapping his scythe to his back as he did so. He noticed that she was leading him towards the center of the forest; she hadn’t deviated from her original path in an attempt to shake him off. That made him frown; she wasn’t attempting to hide her presence at all.
As he moved further into the forest, he began to notice something odd. It was getting harder and harder to see. The Hidden Mist technique? He had thought that jutsu was primarily used among Kirigakure ninja, such as Kisame. Why would someone from a village in the middle of the desert use it? But when he looked closer, he realized that it wasn’t mist, but rather... So, she had set up a smokescreen. But what was she trying to obscure?
He slackened his pace, wary now of traps. He didn’t think that she’d had enough time to set up anything dangerous, even factoring in the thirty minutes at the beginning of the test. But that didn’t necessarily mean that she didn’t have something waiting for him. The only question was, what – and where – was it? Her linear path made him think that she was leading him into this trap, though he couldn’t be entirely sure.
Vaguely, he could make out a shape forming within the smokescreen. His eyes widened; this girl had to be insane. She was simply standing there, waiting for him! He could see her looking around, searching for him. So, she hadn’t noticed him yet. Perfect.
He dropped out of the tree he had been standing in, being very careful where he stepped, so he didn’t attract her attention. At last, he was just behind her. Pulling out the pike he had attacked with before, he drew it back, then plunged it downward towards her unprotected back.
Before it could connect, she spun around, falling backwards with a gasp of surprise. Her hand closed around the kunai she had concealed on the ground, and she threw it at him. The metal knife flew an inch past his face, embedding itself in the tree behind him.
A laugh emerged from his throat. “You missed. I’m three fucking feet away from you, and you still miss.” He started to take a step towards her, only to be stopped short by the wire that had been attached to the kunai. His eyes narrowed, and he ran one finger over the thin wire. “So, you weren’t aiming at me after all. But if you think this is enough to hold me, you’re-”
The rest of his sentence was cut off by an eruption of fire from directly in front of him. But strangely, it hadn’t come from Mika. As the small fireballs surged around Hidan, Mika flipped over, scuttling away on her hands and knees, out of reach of the flames. She dove into a bush, just in time to shield herself from the large explosion that resulted from one of the fireballs hitting the concealed explosive tags. It was then that the second part of her plan was put into play. The supposed smokescreen that she had set up hadn’t been placed there to conceal her, but to add additional fuel to the fire that resulted from the detonated tags. The flames from the blast ignited the combustible smoke that layered the area, magnifying what would have been an already large explosion, and turning the immediate vicinity into a hellstorm.
Unfortunately, this also posed a great risk to Mika, forcing her to take an extra precaution to protect herself. Not only had she hidden herself behind the trunk of a large tree, her clone had also provided a second shield. She had been the one to execute the Katon jutsu from the safety of her hiding place, and under the cover of the fireballs, her clone had taken the opportunity to get away from Hidan – and the impending blast – and throw herself over the real Mika.
Mika heard Hidan’s cry of pain, though it was all but lost in the roar of flames as the explosion consumed the trees nearest the blast. The intense heat was almost unbearable, but she had picked a good place to hide; she was protected here, and she was undamaged by the time the detonation cleared. She dispelled the clone that was with her, and stood up, dusting herself off.
When she first peered around the trunk of the scorched tree, she didn’t see Hidan anywhere within the blast radius. Several of the smaller trees had been reduced to ash, and some of the bigger trunks that had survived – though they were now severely blackened - lay scattered across the ground.
It took her several seconds, but she finally spotted him lying facedown in the debris. His cloak had been mostly burned off, and she could see several deep burns on his back and arms. His scythe was clenched tightly in one hand, covered in ash. She knew that he wasn’t dead, but he seemed to be unconscious. She could see that his breathing was shallow; his lungs had probably been damaged by the intense heat.
She continued to watch him, but he didn’t stir – she figured his body was probably too damaged for him to get up. If it had been anyone else, she would have been worried, but Hidan was immortal. He’d probably endured much worse than this. She had to wonder, though, how did he endure the pain? Having his lungs seared had to be agonizing. For that matter, how long did it take him to heal…?
Shaking her head, she put these thoughts of her mind. There would be plenty of time to think over these mysteries, preferably when she wasn’t right in the middle of a life-or-death test. With one last glance over her shoulder, she turned, vanishing once more into the forest. It seemed she had a bit of time before he could follow her. She would take that time to rest, and plan her next attack.
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