Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Way Of The Shinobi: Destruction ❯ Chapter IV: Blood Echos ( Chapter 4 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Way Of The Shinobi: Destruction

By Crimson Drop

Rated M for the angst and harsh content and possible lemon content, not for the younger audiences

Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto World at all

Chapter IV
Blood Echos

Konoha Ruins: Uchiha District

Dark clouds covered the sky, as the snow continued to drift towards the ground, covering the area in a thick blanket of white powder. Inside one of the crumbling buildings rested two figures, one snoring quietly upon the roughened ground while the other sat before a warm fire, her jade eyes dark and distant. Images played through her mind of the massacre both her and Naruto witnessed, Itachi’s words echoing through her head. Everything that had happened within that house, within those streets, was like a plague that never ended, only feeding the sorrow and agony more.

“Why...did you...?” Sasuke begged from the ground, his young onyx orbs bright with tears.

“It was to measure my capacity.”

Snorting Sakura turned her gaze from the fire to the dark clouds outside the building. Itachi was a sick man, a twisted individual and over the years he hadn’t improved much from what he had already been. Corrupt and dangerous, a deadly mixture that had gotten the whole world into the darkness they now resided in. The bastard had wanted everything, achieved everything because he could, not because it was necessary, but because he had nothing better to do with his time. Capacity, ha! That was a laugh, he was nothing but a pathetic lost cause, nothing but a psychotic cold individual with the need to gain more power.

“You sadistic evil twisted thing!” She growled to herself as her jade eyes closed.

“The brother you wanted to spend time with has done this...” Itachi’s words replayed in her head, whispering continually, their dark words penetrating her soul, “to ascertain your “capacity”. I continued acting as the elder brother you desired, and I became your companion to see if that potential lies hidden. You found me disagreeable and hated me. You continued wanting to surpass me. Because of that, I will let you live. ...For my sake.”

Another snort escaped her as her nostrils flared from anger and disbelief. If he had been so eager for his brother to surpass him, he had certainly pushed the right buttons, thrown the right lines, shown him the right things to get him to make it happen. Hate, anger, fear, pain, agony, nightmares, they were all the same things, all led to the same source for Sasuke, for her, and for Naruto. Itachi created havoc for them, he wanted to play games, to see if he could be the puppet master and they, his puppets. Cruel was not a word she would chose, malicious, conniving, savage, inhumane, poisonous, those were more the right type of words to describe the man whom she had come to loath more then life itself.

Long ago she might have been naive enough to think that no such man existed, that there was a little good in everyone no matter what they had done. But this, this was something else altogether, something far worse then those she had killed, then those she had tortured. She hadn’t been Mitsukake’s little assassin for nothing, and Itachi would soon find out why, because once she was through with him, there would be any pieces left to find save possible a finger here or there.

Heaving a sigh she closed her eyes and brought her arms around her legs, clutching them close to her as she thought, her chin resting on her knees. Outside the building, the wind howled, a wolf’s cry accompanying it, tree branches crashed to the ground in the distance. Ice covered the broken winds and a slight breeze made its way into the small room the two had taken refuge in. It wasn’t much but for the night it would hold, keeping them fairly warm and away from the hard weather that surrounded them outside. Now if the winter could end, and the sun come out, she’d be even happier, well actually she’d just be happy.

It had been a long time since she had felt any happiness, had felt anything other then the never ending sorrow and furry that clouded her mind and soul. If she could be given any title, it would be broken, for she was nothing but a broken woman with no dreams left save those of revenge, so similar to Sasuke’s that it was almost unbearable. Suddenly she had found an all new understanding for her former teammate, and just as she understood him better now, she understood his need for revenge against Uchiha Itachi. Especially from what he had told his brother the night of the massacre, and because of all those petty words, she had lost someone she had not only fallen for at one point in her life, but a comrade and a friend as close to her as family.

“...There would be a reason to let you live. Right now, it would be worthless...to kill someone like you...my foolish brother...If you want to kill me...curse me! Hate me! And live a long and unsightly life...Run away...run away...and cling to your pitiful life. And someday, when you have the same “eyes” as me, come before me.”

A pitiful life, she snorted and rolled her eyes, he certainly did have that, in spades as well. Cold hearted, arrogant bastard, with no feeling save that of the burning need for revenge, revenge against a monster he had once called brother.

A groan emitted from the other body within the room and azure eyes opened slowly before he turned his head towards her, his saddened eyes curious and cool. Those eyes reminded her of her own, but something about them still had feeling, a feeling she would never guess to have been hidden within their depths. Actually any feeling at all, yet there they were, all of them, swirling about in his brilliant orbs as if he had never truly seen the war, had never been a slave. But those eyes, despite their depth of feeling, held the shadows of pain and horror, the same pain that she had known all too well.

What happened to you? She silently asked herself.

“Sakura?”

Closing her eyes, her lips tilted a bit forming a small saddened frown, “Hai?”

“What happened to you?” he asked, surprising her momentarily, but of course he’d want to know, he’d always try to take her pain upon his already burdened shoulders.

Chuckling softly to herself, her lids lifted about half way, as she watched him, “That is a story for another day, Naruto, but today, I’d rather know of everyone else. The Konoha eleven, what had happened to all of us?”

A bitter grimace appeared upon his worn face, his eyes darkening as she watched the thoughts flit across his shadowed face. Such an expression upon his face sent shivers down her spine, she could still see the bright goofy smile, and the way his eyes lit up when someone mentioned ramen. Somehow that boy grew up into the man before her, and the nostalgia of it all ate away at her blackened heart until red began to seep through. Echos of a once happy past stood between the two of them, as well as bitter and sorrow filled moments that seemed to always come with those cheerful moments. Somehow she was suddenly frightened of what had happened to them all, if half the eleven were even still alive.

Shikamaru and Neji were alive, as well as Naruto and Kiba, but what about Hyuuga Hinata, Yamanaka Ino, Tenten and Lee. Even Shino seemed to have been missing along with her annoying old teammate Sai, and Akimichi Chouji. The Sabaku trio was also on that list of shinobi and friends that she wanted so badly to hear about, to know if everyone was alright and still living. Hopefully living better then she had under the care of Mitsukake Ryouma. Unfortunately the shadowed look upon Naruto’s face gave her little hope of that, she had seen the drastic change in Naruto as it was, but the others, she was almost too afraid to find out.

Heaving a deep heavy sigh Naruto’s dark azure eyes met her jade ones, and they stared for a moment before he looked away.

“Do you remember the memorial site where all the fallen shinobi had their names imprinted upon the stone?”

“Hai,” she replied slowly, her gaze narrowing a bit, guilt leaking into her eyes, “I remember, but what does that have to do with our friends?”

Giving another grimace he locked his eyes with her own, his lips pulled into a frown, the wrinkles at the corner of his eyes becoming more prominent as his hands clutched at his pants. All this was a sign telling her not all had gone well, especially when he had mentioned the memorial. There could only be one of two explanations, and the former more likely then the latter of the two that ran through her mind. If what she was thinking, was right, then most of her friends were either enslaved, killed, or hidden away to never be found, excluding the ones she had seen back at their home base.

“A few of our comrades have been added to that list, Sakura. The first you should know about though, is Yamanaka Ino.” Orbs widening, she felt her heart clench and tears come to her dry eyes, causing them to sting as she blinked, but that mattered little. “About a day after the destruction of Konoha, us survivors had found the refuge camp in ruins, you and the villagers no where in sight. Ino couldn’t take the possibility that you had probably been killed and so she formed a search. At this point we realized that we couldn’t stay in the open, many of us had scattered, but Ino just wouldn’t give up. She picked up tracks from a caravan or a cart train of some sort and figured you may have been on it.”

Recognition burned in her gaze as she turned away from his searing eyes, “I was on that cart train, I had been in it for two full nights and half a day before making it to the slave pens.”

Nodding to himself he continued, “Well it turned out, I was headed in the same direction she was, and we met up along the way, following the tracks. Seems we had made a mistake in doing so, about three days after she and I met up, we came upon a seaside port, where the slave pens were.”

“Machi?”

“Hai. Machi. The slave trading village.” Snorting he let out a breath, his nostrils flaring with anger, “We hadn’t even made it into the village before we were confronted by slave traders. Her and I fought them off as best we could, but even that wasn’t enough. We had been captured, beaten down, and the slave mark imbedded into our skins. Ours placed upon the back of our necks versus your side, which is what I don’t get, how come yours was placed there when everyone else had theirs placed upon the back of the neck?”

“Itachi’s favorite, or so they had said,” she murmured softly, “at first I thought he hadn’t even known who I was. It turned out that Itachi’s best general in the army had bought me.”

“Mitsukake Ryouma.”

“Hai.”

“Hn,” he grunted before shaking his head and returning to the story, “turns out, after we were sold, Ino ended up as a concubine for one of the higher ups. It must of been hell for her, must have been an embarrassment, being used as a sex toy like that. All I know though, is that she died, killed by her own hand.”

Hand covering her mouth, Sakura let out a small cry, her eyes filled with anger and tears as she tried to hold everything in. She had thought she had it tough, knowing that any moment she could be used for sex or to kill some subordinate or to use her body to destroy someone Itachi didn’t like. But Ino, poor, poor Ino, to be a concubine, to have it forced upon her daily, it was almost unthinkable, unreal. Such was the times they now lived in, but it still hurt, still filled her with pain to know that her once best friend, had been destroyed in such a horrible, disgusting way. Death by her own hand, such a preferable experience to the ones they faced daily, but to have her life shredded up bad enough to take what little she had left, it was unthinkable.

“Ino-chan.” It was a soft whisper, her friend’s name, but she said it none the less and Naruto had caught the catch in her voice, had seen the unmistakable sorrow and furry in those jade orbs so desperately trying to hold onto the last of her dignity that she had left.

Lifting a hand, he went to cup her cheek but froze half way there before letting it drop again. If they had still been fifteen he would have gotten away with it, at least a little bit, but that was because he had known her, was her best friend at the time. Now...now he barely knew who the woman sitting in front of him was, couldn’t say that he knew what she had been through, and he bet his own experience didn’t even compare to her own. Then again, whose experience could? Ino’s experience was tragic, his own was less then thrilling, and some of the others had barely been left alive, but all their trials, none of them could compare with one another.

“There is more.”

Numbly she stared at him, blinking away the unwanted tears, hiding the fact that she could cry at any moment, could release the lock that she had held together all these years. She’s supposed to be a shell, nothing left to her besides a cold frozen heart and dark eyes that would kill any man that walked across her path wrong. There were supposed to be no emotions save that of hate and disgust, but these old new feelings that washed up inside of her, seemed to break her, destroy everything she was had been trained to be. Once upon a time she would have been called cheery until the end of the war, then she became like Sasuke, seeking revenge against the one man who had caused her all this pain, Uchiha Itachi.

What more was there left for her? She had once thought, but now, sitting there before Naruto, her once best friend, and a cherished member of her extended family, she couldn’t help but think of everyone she had left behind. Love, happiness, contentment, giddiness when confronted with her crush, hope, all those emotions had been cut from her life, only to come cascading back into it, weakening her barriers more and more with every word she hears.

“Tell me,” she paused before swallowing and letting her eyes freeze over, “tell me everything, from the beginning.”

“From the beginning hm?” Letting out a deep breath, the corners of his lips twitched with slight amusement but the frown never left his face nor the grief from his eyes, “Well you know what happened to Ino-”

“What about you? I know you look fine now, but I can see it in your eyes, the pain, the agony, the fear... What happened to you?”

Freezing his whole body went stiff, his eyes narrowed, and his lips thinned, a scowl working it’s way upon his face. If there was one thing he didn’t want her to know, it was what he had been through, and the only way he’d tell her, was if she told him what she had been through. There were many times in his life that he had felt lost and lonely, with a never ending despair hanging over his head, but when he had been a slave, it had been worse then anything else he had ever felt. All because he is the kyuubi container, and the one thing that Itachi craves more then life itself, as far as he was aware.

Looking out the frost covered window, he spotted the light falling snow, and the end of the wind storm, leaving his tense frame a little more relaxed. He would wait to tell Sakura his story another time, for now they had to be on their way, towards their next chosen destination.

“We should leave,” he murmured softly, his gaze never leaving the window, “before any of Itachi’s hunters find us.”

Raising a brow at his change of subject she had to wonder what he had been through, but she couldn’t fault his logic. Itachi would have sent out his Hunter-nin looking for her already, trying to find out where Tsunade had taken her, unknowing that she was no longer within the old Hokage’s reach. When he finds out though, she had a feeling that hell will find her again, worse then before, and she may not be able to escape her fears as she had the last time.

Standing up, she placed her white cloak upon her shoulders, pulling her hood up in the process to keep her braided hair away from sight. Next she pulled on her black fingerless gloves before pouring some water from one of her canteens before turning towards the door, ready to leave, picking up her sack as she moved. Naruto wasn’t far behind her, as he shouldered his own bag and followed her out the door, both making their way down the shadowed broken path way through the village towards the exit. Something in her gut told her it would be a long journey as they reached the old, decimated gates of Konoha. It twisted and burned her insides, pulling at her with such force she felt as if she could be sick, but she wasn’t, instead holding steadfast and strong as they left behind the only place she had ever called home.

Trees groaned under the weight of the freshly fallen snow, ice covering the thick branches they walked under towards their next destination. Wolves howled in the distant, singing their pack song as they hunted, ravaging the north side of where they walked, silently, only the soft crunch of the snow was heard as they moved. Everything about the atmosphere screamed peaceful, undisturbed land unmarked by the trampling of man, aside from the small trail they had moved onto, heading towards the east, where a Uchiha bunker lay hidden. It was just beyond the next town, and the sooner they got there, the closer they came to finding Itachi’s weakness.

Only, at that moment, a branch right behind them broke, falling to the ground with a loud thud that echoed about the silent forest that only moments ago had been teeming with wild life. Not a single sound, save for their own quiet breaths, could be heard as they waited for the movement they were looking for. Sakura bent down close to the ground, blending in with the scenery as she hid all color from sight, while Naruto jumped up into the tree they had stopped beside, his wood brown cloak blending in with the chocolate colored bark. Another wolf’s cry echoed throughout the forest, this time along, and not in a pleasant way, for its hurried steps were coming closer. The only nose as good as a wolf’s was that of the Inuzuka clan, an old friend of theirs having had the best nose in all of Konoha. But that was then, and if they were caught now, their movements could be vastly slowed.

“Quick! Over ere’! Fang smelled something.” someone shouted, his rough masculine voice echoing about the trees.

Her lips quirked, turning down at the corners to keep herself from smirking. One of her hands rested upon the hilt of her katana, her other slipping into her blouse to grab a custom made kunai. Closing her eyes, she let her ears do the rest for her, letting that be her guide instead of her own eyes, knowing that in this scenario, even one drop of light could be her downfall.

“What is it Kaita?” another voice, this time lighter, smoother then the other.

The crunching got louder, closer, and she knew then more then ever she would be spotted, so lifting her head a tinge she peeked out of the hood of her cloak, catching the sight of three travelers but she could hear others, hidden from view. A group of them, large, all male from the stench and the low grinding sounds of their baritone voices. Perhaps a female or two were hiding farther back, but she knew these hunters by trade, recognized the blades they carried upon their hips, the tips curved slightly inwards. A specialized group of bandits, successful in taking down any who had crossed their paths, all but her.

“He recognizes the scent,” the one called Kaita murmured to his partner as they neared where she crouched, Kaita’s frosty grey eyes scanning his surroundings.

Letting a snort of disgust escape her, she slowly stood, sliding her katana out of it’s sheath as she did so, catching the attention of three ragged looking men standing before her. Each wore an old brown wool cloak to guard against the cold, and a pair of black gloves adorned their hands, but it was their faces that differed from one another. The best looking out of the three, and the cleanest, took a step towards her, his jaw hard, his gaze harder as he watched her steadily, waiting for her move as the tip of her blade lay straight and pointed towards the ground at her side. She could feel the pressure of azure eyes watching her from behind, hidden in the tree above them, accusation and curiosity the main feelings within those wandering orbs.

“Yasumasa Kaita, I should have known I’d run into you again, sooner or later. This is after all, your territory.”

A smirk formed upon the man’s lips as he took a heavy step forward, his heel pressing into the ground, eyes darkening a shade as he did so, “Ah yes, the moon, or as most call you now, the Shadow Stalker.”

Snorting she shrugged, “That and many others, sometimes I am the crimson goddess, always bathed in blood, never dying. They say I’ve been to the depths of hell, and that my own body was bathed in the deepest darkest fires. Supposedly I have no weakness and that looking into my eyes will show you your death, so tell me Kaita, does it? Does looking into my eyes show you your death? Do mine eyes give you a glimpse of your future?” A sneer crossed her pale lips, “Let me tell you a little secret Kaita,” she leaned closer to him, her blade raising behind her as she did so, her dark jade eyes smoldering with an unknown emotion that frightened the men before her, “We’re all afraid of something, even me. So I’ll tell you my fear, if you show me yours?” Her sneer widened as she pulled back and flashed the blade out before her.

Azure eyes widened at the scene before him as the man paled before flushing with anger, her words struck a cord deep within him. This wasn’t his best friend Haruno Sakura anymore, now she was the Shadow Stalker, Lady Hyourin, an assassin with the thirst for blood. In this instance he had become truly frightened of her, of her power and her dark blood jade eyes that cried out for something. Something he could not, would not name, for if he did, then everything he had ever known about her, would collapse. The monster below him, was toying with her food, laying in wait for her kill, to make her move upon the men who had dared to come upon her. This wasn’t the same as a fight between old allies, this was something more, something bloodier, more deadly then anything he had ever come up with.

“You don’t frighten me Hyourin, you’re nothing, nothing without your precious master to pull your strings.” Kaita sneered in anger, his grey eyes almost black.

Rage, fury, entered her eyes as she screamed out in anger, throwing her custom made kunai at him, while jumping back. Keeping her gaze upon him as he dogged the would-be blow to his chest, she listened for his companions, ready for them to come upon her. She would show these men, show the world, that she didn’t follow orders anymore, that she was her own woman, free from the grasp of that devil man and his black room of horror. Swinging her katana hard to the side, she felt it connect with flesh, drawing blood from one of Kaita’s men and slicing his navel from side to side as she pulled her weapon back towards her.

The man dropped to the ground, his innards splashing against the white ground, crimson seeping into it’s pristine shine. The ground about her was about to become a brilliant shade of crimson with the blood of the men about her. Licking her lips she raced forward, the tip of her blade facing towards the side of her, her left hand held out in front of her as she prepared to grab the man before her. They thought she was weak, they thought she was nothing but a pet meant to locked away in a cage for the rest of her horrid life. But she didn’t want to be like those poor song birds, never free to truly spread their wings, no, she wanted more then that, she wanted to sore. To fly away and reach the clouds and beyond, to find the sun that had disappeared from her shadowed life.

“Ha!” Thrusting her blade forward, she ripped into the man in front of her, their eyes connecting as his blood sprayed upon her cloak. Her eyes closed to take it in, before swiftly pulling the blade from between his ribs and letting him fall to the ground as she whirled around ready for more. The sight before her made her pause in her movement, her once hollow and dead eyes flickering with new life as she clenched her fist around the emerald hilt of her katana. Pale eyes stared into her own, barely a stick of clothing present upon the pale skin of an eight year old child, her short cropped hair reminding Sakura of a boy’s cut.

“Drop your weapons and give yourself up to me, and the girl lives, Hyourin.”

Narrowing her eyes she glowered at him, “Leave the child alone Yasumasa, this is between you and me, not anyone else. Come, fight me fair and square, then I might let you live.”

Letting out a bark of laughter, his rough voice coming out hard and cynical he glared at her, “As if I could ever believe that. You would kill me as soon as this little treasure is out of my grasp. So no can do girl, this one is mine until you’ve given yourself up.”

“Bastard!” she shouted at him, ready to charge, when suddenly he went flying forward, releasing the girl in the process, her sapphire eyed companion standing in front of the girl, azure orbs filled with fire. If she had been her old self, the hatred in his eyes would have made her cry, but she wasn’t, instead she was a war hardened shinobi, prepared for everything, and living with almost no emotions save anger and hate.

Suddenly out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Kaita charging at her, and she swept out of the way, her katana coming up and leaving a red line across his back, slicing through cloak and shirt in the process. A scowl presented itself upon the man’s lips as he turned towards her, his grey eyes officially black with a hint of amber sparkling about them. He appeared ready to tear her apart, but she wasn’t going to go down easy, and Naruto would keep the other men off her back. She knew, because at that moment, a thousand blonde haired shinobi appeared, and blocked off all Kaita’s mean leaving the bandit leader alone and seemingly helpless. But she knew better, this was no ordinary bandit leader, to live in these hard times. Once before, four years back, she had met the cunning man himself, had crossed blades with him before, and both had survived to tell the tale.

Now, here they were again, ready to strike upon each other, ready to finally end their four year long feud, and let it die in blood. Either she would lose her life, or he would, but one way or another, she could not let this man from her twilight lit past to escape her again. It was already overshadowed by darkness, pain, agony, and fear, to at least escape from one horror in her life, would be a blessing in more ways then one. Today was his day to die, and her day to live, free from one more nightmare, one more fear.

“Are you prepared Kaita? Because you’re looking death in the eyes, and she welcomes you.”

His knuckles whitened as he let his nails dig into the flesh of his palms drawing blood from his anger upon her words. If it was one thing he hated, it was being baited, and this devil child was about to learn a lesson or two about messing with men bigger then her. Especially dangerous wild men, driven by the need for her flesh, and for her blood, like was driven now, by the need to feast upon her soul. To devour such a sin, to swallow such divine win, would be a heaven so much sweeter then the hell he was sure to go to.

Loosening his grip, he put a hand behind him, and pulled out a long katana, the crimson handle bold against his pale white skin. The blade held strange dragon designs upon it, kanji also written into the steal, it’s symbols shimmering blue under the grey sky. Lightning flashed, but neither rain nor snow fell upon the battle grounds, as the two faced off, ready to kill each other with one fell swipe. Death has come a calling upon these tortured souls, and as they pray to the heavens to set themselves free, the true battle for dominance begins.

Gritting her teeth, she charged forward just as he did, their blades meeting in the middle, sparks flying up as the blades met. The blade he held was similar to her own, instead panthers had been drawn into the steal of her blade, and some of the kanji differed. It only meant that these blades were brothers, as they leapt back and charged again, steal against steal, family against family. The same maker had created the blades, the same maker that had forged only five of those blades, two here, and three left unknown. However he got the blade, it did not belong in his hands, and she would do everything in her power to get it away from even. Blood for blood, she would kill him just as he had nearly killed her four years ago.

Saichi Village: 6th Moon, 6th Year Emperor’s Rein

Holding her arm to her chest she glared up at her attacker, spitting out blood at his feet as she did so, jade orbs swirling with anger. Grey eyes glinted in the fire light as he kicked her over, his arms crossed over his ragged shirt as he watched her from where he stood. He had heard all about the newly proclaimed Shadow Stalker, hearing about the recent kills had all his men frightened, but now, to be confronted by a young woman only twenty one years of age, he couldn’t help but laugh. It was despicable, dishonorable to be afraid of one little girl, it wasn’t like she would be able to take down a full ninja herself. Shinobi were stronger then that, let alone bandits like his crew, who were trained with every available weapon they could find.

Ridiculous that’s all he could think, it was all unthinkable, and he’d be damned if he let some woman walk all over him. He would have to teach her a lesson for thinking she could grow up a warrior in a man’s world, she didn’t belong, she was scum upon the bottom of his foot. He’d go through the pits of hell themselves before he even let a little woman like herself get the upper hand and lay a scratch upon his skin. Walking towards her, he paused at her head, before leaning down and picking her up by the throat, his grey eyes darkening. Straightening he let their eyes connect before he three her up against a tree, one hand pressing against the bark, the other holding her up by the throat.

“To think, a scrawny thing like you could possibly be the Shadow Stalker, such a waste, having someone as weak and pathetic as you own a fearsome title. Tell me bitch, how did you do it, how did you kill all those ninja?” he nearly hissed, anger sprouting from every word.

All she did was stare into his eyes before giving a wicked smirk, “To think,” gasping she gulped for hair as his hand tightened but she continued choking out her words, “you’re intimidated...by me.”

His hand tightened around her throat before cursing and throwing her away from himself, trying to calm down for a moment before beginning more torture upon the young woman. Before he could turn around after a few moments of calm, he heard her piercing scream, one that caused him to wince. Turning around to shut her up, his eyes went wide in disbelief. There she was, holding her neck with her head back, her back curved, and a never ending scream erupting from her pale bloodied lips. There was only one reason she would be doing that, and he couldn’t help but curse his luck that he had found the Shadow Stalker, who had turned out to be a slave.

“Shut up you little bitch,” he growled out stomping over to her and back handing her across the face, but it held to little effect, she was still screaming loudly.

Letting a hiss of breath escape in lips in fury, he kicked her, hard in the ribs causing her to curl up, still screaming, her voice sounding a little more hoarse now. There were no sign of tears and it took a strong woman not to cry, but he was determined to get his fair share of injury in before her master appeared. Unfortunately it wasn’t too long later that he did, and when he turned around to face the man, all he could feel was the blood draining from his face and bolting away from there.

Jade orbs widened as they peered up at their savior only to find their worst nightmare, a perfect scowl set upon his almost perfect face. “Another set of clothes, you’re becoming costly, Hyourin, I’m going to end up having you get more money for me.”

Swallowing the bile in her throat she turned her gaze towards the ground, hatred running through their frozen depths, “Hai Master.”

12th Moon: Present Time

“Bastard stay down!”

Thrusting her blade at him again, they parried, sparks flying about as the echoing lightning flitted through the sky, lighting their features and surroundings just a little more. Twisting around, she brought her katana around, and thrust it from the side, causing her weapon to nick his side, and blood to well up slowly in his wound. Another twist as she pulled away from him, narrowly missing getting skewered alive by the Hoshi blade he wielded. Crouching to her feet, she circled him, like a predator, preparing to pounce upon her prey, waiting for the right moment to catch them off guard. Everything about her prey was tense, his movements were stiff, appearing to be cramping up in some places from over use. His left arm appeared to be limp, hanging heavily at his side as if he had wounded it or had the circulation cut off.

He was limping on his right, favoring the left foot as he moved throwing his movements out of balance as he did so. It would end soon, it had to end soon, she thought as she charged him again. Closing in on him, she swung out the katana, then brought it back in and thrust, effectively burying her blade within his chest. Something didn’t feel right though, she thought as she coughed, blood escaping from her lips. She went to pull away, but a fierce pain held her in place as she looked down, the sword going through her side. If she pulled wrong, then her ability to have kids would be over, she’d lose extra innards that she needed. Kaita had pulled a fast one on her, had effectively got her.

She swore she could hear someone calling her name, but all she heard was the drumming of her heart, thudding against her ribs as blood rushed through her. Closing her eyes, she squeezed them tight before opening them again and peering into black eyes, Kaita’s eyes.

“A life for a life.” he murmured darkly, letting out a hacking cough, blood slipping down the corner of his lips.

Smirking she turned her gaze away from him, “It’s a two way street. But,” locking eyes with him once more she chuckled, “seems like I’ve won this round, you’re about to die.”

“So are you.” he hissed, but her eyes only twinkled with mirth.

“It all depends on which end of the straw you get.”

Letting out a snort he closed his eyes, his body beginning to collapse, hers following not far behind, “You’re bloody well dead Hyourin. I’ll see you in hell.” With that he let out one last cough and fell, bringing her down with him. The last thing she remembered after that, was darkness, her sweet loving darkness. Guess dreams never really come true, she murmured in her mind, as she lost all awareness.