Torima's Vessel

 

This chapter and the next were two years late, but considering I’ve had to work and re-work my thoughts around the plot, I think I finally have it straightened out.

Lots of POV shifts between Kakashi and Sandabado this chapter, so make sure you keep up!

As usual: “Quotes” or ‘quotes’ indicate talking, italics indicate thought, and “quoted italics” indicate broadcasted thought.

O---------------------------O

I’d woke out of a sound sleep by the sound of a woman screaming nearby. “Sano-sensei?” I’d asked sleepily, cracking my eyelashes slightly to peer over across the fire at the spot where Sensei sat last time I’d seen her. She wasn’t there this time. Had an intruder broken through the barrier while I’d slept? It was unlikely that Sano-sensei’d let her guard down THAT much. She’d probably gone on a perimeter check. But when the scream came again, this time more drawn-out, I’d realized that the scream was indeed Sano-sensei.

Keeping my eyes cracked and spreading my chakra senses for about a mile in radius, I’d probed for the unidentified blip of presumptuous enemy chakra. Nothing… nothing… nothing…  I’d thought angling my senses first to the north, then swinging east, and then finally to the south. A set of four mysterious chakras lay to the immediate west of the campsite, two closer to the site than the others.

Those two are too close. But if Sensei’s in trouble…

I’d let the thought drop, as my body simultaneously produced a sleeping water clone against the tree and cloaked my form in invisibility. I’d known Sano-sensei could handle whatever she was up against - the chakras weren’t that strong, nearly undetectable. But that also didn’t mean there wouldn’t be others masking their chakra even closer. This was an elite-level mission, after all. Anything could happen.

The barrier resisted my pushes and prodding, but finally gave to my will as I’d slipped through it and out into the comforting darkness of the encompassing forest. But Sano-sensei’s chakra had then depleted to next to nothing. Sensei, hold on. I’m coming.

“Konoha Shunshin No Jutsu,” I’d muttered, feeling the wind pick up as the old fallen leaves from the year before swirled around me in a multi-colored tornado. Closing my uncovered eye, I’d felt the overwhelming sensation of instantaneous travel before landing soundlessly and concealing myself behind some bushes within two steps of the two chakras closest to the campsite. Withholding my own chakra, I’d examined the situation set before me. What I saw would have made any other person run in the other direction.

Positioned…just feet from the river behind it…was a glowing falcon the color of a twilight blue sky…standing easily 5 feet tall with its talons sunk firmly in the ground. Not only that, but leaning against the breast of this enormous falcon - green and gasping for breath - had been Sano-sensei. Needless to say, I’d been slack-jawed, but within seconds of my seeing it, the falcon had given an unearthly, yet quiet squawk and took to the sky on wings spanning at least 13 feet across out of sight behind the tree line. A soft thunk immediately following had caused me to crane my head back around to see Sano-sensei on her knees, her shaky right hand clutching the right side of her face. Her still panting, I’d watched as she’d tilted her head back far enough that I could clearly see the sweat coursing down her brow and the grimace of pain on her face. Seizing the grass by its roots, she’d slowly crawled to the river’s edge, right hand still holding her face and appeared to peer down at herself through the star-patterned waters. She’d just stayed there like that for what must have been a minute at most before she’d finally, and hesitantly, removed her hand from her face. And the grimace disappeared… until she’d noticed her shaking hands.

“Damn it!” she’d cried out, clenching her shaking hands into shaking fists and proceeded to pummel the unyielding ground into submission. “DamnAH!” she’d screamed and then collapsed to her side, shaking uncontrollably. “Sandabado!” I’d yelled, rising from the bushes only to be met by a pair of…glowing balls?

“Release!” I’d hollered as I made the seal of the tiger, believing them to be genjutsu, but the scene before me refused to disappear and these things began dive-bombing me, first the orange one and then the green. I’d dodged both, shifting again to throw a pair of shuriken directly at them…but they went right through? Removing my hitae-ate, I let the tomoe of my prized Sharingan spin. Whatever these were, they were going to be found out quickly. But what was revealed to me through the Sharingan only made my eyes widen in disbelief. These things have those chakra signatures. That’s not possible! What the hell is this?!

A pained half-scream, half-groan from Sano-sensei filled my ears as another pair of glowing balls, one indigo and one light blue, flew from between my legs to join the first pair in front of me. “Help her!” came a distinct female voice from where I knew not, but it wasn’t from anywhere nearby as I’d furtively scanned the surrounding area, “Come out and face me!”

Suddenly and without hesitation, the indigo was seven centimeters from my face, glowing more brilliantly than the others, almost as if this thing were angry at me. “Help her!” came the command again as the indigo flew past my face to stop in front of Sano-sensei. On her feet and fighting some unseen foe, Sensei shuddered back when a blow landed in her gut only to jump back and position a roundhouse kick into the region of a taller, invisible opponent’s neck, switching to sweep the legs of another invisible opponent to her left, eyes tracking all movement as she leapt 7 meters into the air. Letting my tomoe spin again, I’d detected no presences… but that didn’t mean that maybe they were too fast even for the Sharingan to reveal. …But was that even possible? Maybe Sensei had gotten herself caught in a high-level genjutsu.

“You rely on that eye of yours too much. …You may be known as ‘Sharingan Kakashi,’ but that eye, that eye, won’t help you much if your opponent finds a way around it,” I’d remembered Sano-sensei stating the first time I met her. “…You need to rely on your first instincts more.”

Reacting on my first instincts, I leapt into the fray myself. Hebi, tora, saru, o-ushi, uma, uma, I sped through the hand seals, “Katon: Gokakyu No Jutsu!” Raising my hand in a curled half-tiger seal position, I’d blown as hard as I could through the curl of my hand, a flame ball approximately 5 meters across was the end result as it shot through the air.

Astoundingly, Sano-sensei on her descent landed right in the middle of the flame ball’s center. And what’s worse, through the Sharingan and into the flames, I watched her continue to jab and swing at nothing, even as the smell of burning flesh reached my sensitive nose.

Dispersing the Grand Fireball Jutsu in an instant, I began another, this one a water technique. Tori, tora, hebi, tora, hebi, tora. “Suiton: Suijiheki No Jutsu!” The river behind swelled, a cylinder of it crashing around Sano-sensei, but refusing to knock the woman from her solid stance. The water dispersed as I attained a position at Sano-sensei’s side, the glowing balls just over my shoulder. “HELP HER!” the command came louder this time next to me as the indigo literally pushed me directly into the path of one of Sano-sensei’s right jabs. I’d felt the force of the jab just whistle past my ear as I countered with a right uppercut to her jaw, causing Sano-sensei to stagger back several paces before her eyes snapped forward with a look of horror as she’d retreated a few steps at a time, her head shaking slowly from side-to-side. “Sano,” I stated harshly, advancing to within a foot of her face, yet… her blank eyes registered nothing. “Sano, what’s going on? Sano!”

“No! No! Get back! NO!” she hollered in absolute conviction and fright, grabbing her collarbone with her left hand while her right reached from her hip to the same area and began making slashing movements at her collar. Giving one final scream of pain, Sano-sensei went limp on her feet, slumping toward me as I swooped to catch her. She’d writhed in my arms from side-to-side as I dropped into a crouch, cradling her carefully against myself. “Sano, who’s doing this? Can you hear me?” Shaking her slightly, she’d just flopped back like a rag doll.

Gently placing her back upon the grass, I’d begun checking her vital points. Pulse is rapid. Breathing is shallow and rapid. Color is bright where not burnt. Eyes are blank. And she can’t hear me. I can’t leave her here…especially not like this, I’d realized, trying not to spring a nosebleed as my eyes roamed down Sano-sensei’s burned and naked form unchecked. Shaking my thoughts back to the situation at hand, my eyes went to Sensei’s again quickly before letting my chakra senses examine the area as far around as I could. There’d been nothing except for the steady, small blips from the glowing…orbs… behind me. Surely not enough chakra between the four orbs to even create a decent clone!

What kind of jutsu is causing this?

Letting the tomoe of my Sharingan spin one final time, I’d let it reach deep, deep down into the very threads that held together Sensei’s chakra network, searching for something… anything… that could explain what had happened. But… I found nothing. Nothing… until I was about ready to pull out.

In the time it would take to blink, I saw and felt Sensei’s chakra warp into something… dark. Jumping back to my feet as soon as this darkness crept into my enhanced vision, the feeling of something tightening around my neck had instantly brought forth one tonto to cut it away as I hid the Sharingan from view. What fell… at my feet… was… a wriggling…squirming… green vine… much like the one…

A maniacal laugh that did not sound even remotely like Sano-sensei issued from green lips as the form of Sano-sensei slowly rose - albeit shakily - from the grassy carpet below it. Stepping back into a defensive pose, I watched as bright orange and yellow eyes with a malicious grin met my own infuriated lone black eye.

“That’s right,” Akirarabe cooed as she stalked forward, gleaming eyes never leaving mine as I stood my ground, “I told you I’d get you, my little Kakashi. And now that this bitch doesn’t have the strength to hold me back, there’s nothing you can do to stop me from getting what I want.”

“What did you do to Sandabado? Where is she?!” I’d cried out furiously, kunai and shuriken hitting the points I’d intended as they’d pinned the she-devil to the nearest tree. “I won’t ask you again, ‘Kira!”

“You want to kill me, don’t you?” she’d smiled back at me with her flaming eyes. That look! Within seconds, I’d realized what I was beholding was a contorted version of Sensei’s ‘vixen smile’ from her memory and my eyes turned murderous as the kunai held at her throat dug in a little deeper, a small, steady stream of blood leaving the she-devils’ pumping jugular. The result: a satisfied moan that had me writhing with the dark tone of it. “You’re my kind of man, Hatake. But, I’m afraid you can’t kill me. … Not yet anyway.”

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t right here, right now!” I ground out between clenched teeth, stepping into the attack to end it. Then, I’d been against the tree, strong vines and branches curled around my body, squeezing the air right out of me and tying my hands together around the other side. The drawing of one of my own kunai from its pouch over my hip, up my side, around my shoulder, and against my own neck had just brought on enough fight in me that the vines choked off the rest of my air.

“Just whose body do you think you’re fighting, novice?!” the she-devil’d yelled straight into my ear before leaning against my meter-wide tree with a wickedly-satisfying smirk. “Slow on the uptake, aren’t you? Not a surprise. Even the old goat and old second hand don’t know this one.” Raising a deceptively delicate hand to the top of Sano-sensei’s sternum, she let it lay there above Sensei’s beating heart with a loving smile. Hatred flashing in those mystic eyes, the mad she-spirit had dug her pointed nails into Sano-sensei’s sternum, ripping out a chunk of flesh about as wide as three fingers and just as long. I winced slightly in sympathy as the viscous thing flung it to the ground, stomping on it for good measure. What was revealed in the raw, bleeding hollow… was the mark of a blooming green rose among thorns against skin of olive hue. “This mark, do you see it?”

Narrowing my eyes, I’d tried to turn my head to look away but was refused the luxury as the vines surrounding my constricted neck arched it back into position. It was hard to mistake the mark of the Iraishin No Jutsu, Konohagakure Fuuin Master Kasin’s original. Now it made some sense why Sensei had so much trouble with this beast.

“The careless fool! It was so easy to trick her.” A chill ran through me as the voice next spoken morphed this evil thing’s voice into something deceptively innocent and kind, “‘Child, to die as this is more than a shinobi could ask for. But there’s something I’d like you to do for me. Practice that new technique of yours on me. Let my end be your strength. Do you understand me, Sandabado?’”

A scandalous laugh issued again as narrowed, malicious eyes sought out mine once again. “She didn’t even realize she’d pulled me out and absorbed me instead of her precious sensei until it was too late. Then, I thought, if shinobi are all this easily swayed, there’s bound to be a better one out there than this PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A CUNT KUNOICHI.” Stomping the torn flesh once more for emphasis, I watched begrudgingly as she traced the tips of Sensei’s fingers over the same route the kunai took but reached higher still until they lay against the back of my neck. My body shivering against my will the whole time, I couldn’t have helped the gritted groan elicited from my throat as those wretched whispered words brushed enticingly over my ear. “…It was only a matter of time.”

Flinging the blood-stained kunai held at my neck into the next-nearest tree enough to split it clean in half, I took the opportunity to work myself into a stronger stance as the she-spirit was decidedly distracted with the splintered tree. “Then, a fuuin shisou has the GALL to seal me to this wretched thing! This damned mark ties my spiritual life to this idiotic kunoichi’s life. I’m a prisoner again! Do you have any idea how that feels?!” Bracing my feet firmly…in one final jerk, the tree was uprooted and tossed to the side like mere kindling. Hateful, mad eyes clashed with a loving smile in Sensei’s face as the she-spirit took in my roughened form.

“No, I don’t suppose you do. … Not yet.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, ‘Kira,” I mocked heatedly, drawing another kunai from my set as I simultaneously revealed my Sharingan. “You never deserved that body. …Your techniques are weak at best, and won’t fool me again. Surrender now and maybe I’ll spare you the trouble of visiting old pains.” I watched unabashedly as fisted hands became long, wriggling digits and solid feet molded into thick, sturdy roots.

“You think you can win, when I have Sano-oban’s knowledge of you at my disposal?” The slight trembling against my feet had spun me around as quickly as I could, hands already flashing into several hand seals meant to put this wretched thing to straights once and for all. Jumping, I’d just missed the reach of several roots springing from the ground intent for my legs, but even from my lofty location, I hadn’t been able to miss the flash of ‘Kira’s eyes.

“I haven’t forgotten how you betrayed me last time. Perhaps, it’s time I pay you back for that.”

O---------------------------O

This can’t be happening! It’s not possible! How come Osa never told me?!

Tears flowed unbidden down my face beneath my mask as my bloody hands shook in memory of the last several minutes.

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I’d seen it.

That pendant! The exact same one!

I’d been furious. The cheers and screams of the crowd and officials in the outer ring of the arena died in my ears as the sound of my blood boiling took precedent.

“Where’d you get that pendant?!” I’d bit out rather harshly, though not expecting an answer. Why would an elite – let alone a FOREIGN elite – bother to answer a question posed in the heat of combat?

Stepping into the open of the Kusagakure shinobi’s stance and delivering a powerful roundhouse kick to his neck, sending him into the arena’s wall, I’d jumped a kick from the Takigakure kunoichi at my shins meant to send me sprawling face-first. I went soaring with a simple thrust of my resilient legs… but caught sight of the pendant again! This time around the Takigakure kunoichi’s neck?!

Another one? What is this, a genjutsu from some asshole in the stands?

“Release!” I called out, eliciting the seal of the tiger but earning no results for my efforts. It was still there!

Channeling my frustration into my next movements, I flipped myself backwards in mid-air, thoroughly thwarting the Iwagakure shinobi’s jutsu as it flew right by me, and keeping that momentum flowing, threw in a barrel-roll just to sweeten my descent.

We’d all agreed to no lethal techniques at the beginning of this tournament. An honorable fight with no continuance against the yielded - should someone surrender to the other’s tactics. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t fashion something typically lethal into something simply for defense.

Feeling the friction from the wind against my skin, I drew the energy from it to myself as I heard the gasps from the seated audience beyond the barrier. Dipping, swooping, twisting and turning, I gathered all the wind’s whistling energy I could hold until I literally glowed with it, righting myself in the nick of time to land gracefully on sturdy feet.

My father may have taught me about energy and how to manipulate it, but I bet he never figured he could utilize this power into a weightless armor. This knowledge of energy, combined with the ability to manipulate iron from my mother’s clan, was how I’d received the reputation as ‘the Iron Maiden of Konohagakure’ by the ripe age of 15. I’d carried that name for two years now. It was only the iron-less bronze staff the Amegakure kunoichi wielded – and the whirl of glowing blue chakra surrounding it – that worried me.

But for one split second – and I don’t know why – my gaze drifted down to her neck. What lay there… exposed… had my jaw drop beneath my flying-crow mask. Another one?! What’s going on here!?! All this to realize too late that I’d let my guard down, the bronze staff connecting with my ribs through the energy barrier HARD, causing me to sail back about 8 meters, before a strong leg connected with my back careening me in the other direction as I relaxed to keep the kick from snapping my spine.

Twisting and reaching back, my crossed hands found the ground, allowing my weight to come up and my legs to spin as the Iwagakure shinobi landed a strike of his own – through the shield and into my left hand – effectively neutralizing half the shield’s strength. Not even a wince as I righted myself once again with an improvised backflip to my feet, retreating a few careful steps.

“Give up yet, Kid?” the only question out of the Iwagakure shinobi’s mouth as I stared down the nose of his anteater mask. The other three closed in around us at the sight of my bleeding hand; Amegakure in devilfish mask with glowing long staff behind; Takigakure in vortex mask at my right, hands already in a genjutsu formation; and Kusagakure in black jackal mask at my left ready to attack.

Giving a snort everyone I’m sure could hear, I made sure they knew exactly what I thought of them. “Your tactics are all too predictable. You all choose me to take down first, because I’m obviously the youngest among us. You assume I don’t have the experience that you all have, so I make the easiest target to eliminate first.” Lowering my voice to a freezingly-low pitch, I let my chakra break to the next level, sensing the increase as the others followed suit, “Hate to disappoint you, but I don’t go down that easily.”

The next couple minutes were mostly a blur as movements were enhanced three-times-over by the steady amount of chakra flowing through both myself and the other contestants. Taking and giving hits and misses, I was totally in my element. The one time in my career where I didn’t need to kill or extract information from ANYONE, and I could sense that the others felt the same, especially now that the Second Great War was over. But still, as I drew in their expelled chakra to replete the strength of the energy armor around me, my mind still nagged me about seeing Torima’s Wing around their necks. And seeing one more around the Iwagakure shinobi’s neck as he landed a blow against the Takigakure kunoichi, I barely had time to dodge as Kusagakure’s enhanced fist missed its mark by centimeters, but still landed a solid blow that knocked some of the wind from my lungs, and my own pendant from its hiding place - beneath my shirt and off my neck - as I caved my position around the his fist to lessen the impact on my body.

I gaped in awe as his eyes fixated themselves solely upon the lost pendant and his follow-up punch halted centimeters from my nose. As he checked his own neck for a moment, I took that lapse in concentration and quickly snatched the pendant back up from where it fell and re-secured it around my neck. Not bothering to hide it this time, I glared pointedly at the Kusagakure shinobi as his eyes finally narrowed on me and I took a defensive position.

“Not possible” were the only words out of Kusagakure’s tight mouth before the follow-up punch was thrown again. This time, I easily dodged it and moved into position, shoving my backside into his gut and throwing him head-over-heels over my shoulder, striking another blow to his abdomen with my elbow before he caught himself and spun to kick out at me. Bending over as his foot just brushed the tip of my nose, I grabbed hold of his ankle and - putting as much weight as I could behind it - pulled, sending the surprised shinobi semi-off-balance as a kunai flashed across my line of sight, digging a nice slice high into my left arm.

“You JUST noticed?” I asked in a sarcastically-surprised voice, grabbing my now-bleeding arm and continuing on in a ‘no duh, genius’ kind of tone, “We’re not the only two wearing one of these. Take a look for yourself.”

Retreating as the Takigakure kunoichi flew my way, I turned so that the Kusagakure shinobi was clearly able to see that which hung around her neck. “Why are you wearing it, Konohagakure?” came the gruff whisper over my shoulder as the Kusagakure shinobi and I stood back-to-back, me fending off the Takigakure kunoichi as he fended off the Iwagakure shinobi. The Amegakure kunoichi at that point was nowhere in my senses, peripheral or otherwise. But within a heartbeat, I lunged forward, the enhanced bronze staff just missing the cap of my auburn-haired skull.

The next moment, Kusagakure and I were face-to-face again. Since it was more-or-less a friendly match, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to enlighten him. “It’s my family’s crest. You can see why I’m upset at seeing it around YOUR neck as well as the others’, Kusagakure.” And as before, his movements faltered before he turned – what I assumed were – surprised eyes my way. …But this time… a trembling finger came up… and pointed directly at me non-accusingly. “If you’re wearing that… then you’re… mOOF!” I never got to hear the end of that sentence as the Takigakure kunoichi landed a particularly solid kick to his mid-section.

What was he trying to say? I’d moped for all of about a second before I became the target of the Amegakure kunoichi’s attacks again. Kicking out at her, she grabbed my ankle lifting it up as I ducked beneath it to sweep her feet from beneath her, bringing the held foot down into her ribs. But she disappeared in a poof of mist. “Persistent little shit, aren’t you?” she baited me from behind, outstretched hand grasping my fox-tail and giving a good yank, setting me off-balance. Spinning to face her once again, I caught sight of the same pendant tied firmly around her neck.

Why do they have these?

Without realizing, looking back up at her, the whole world seemed to go silent and black immediately. Damn it! She caught me in a genjutsu!

“Release!” I called out reflexively, earning no results.

“This is no genjutsu, Child.”

“Sensei?” I gasped in recognition, spinning in place several times. Chakra senses stretched as far as I could let them go, I tried to locate a familiar point. Then it hit me. This voice I was hearing… coming from everywhere and nowhere at once… it sounded vaguely warped.

This doesn’t make sense. …Sensei’s dead. I encapsulated her soul and pulled it into me. I’ve only been able to hear Torima ‘til now. Torima’s a spirit, not a soul. …And how is it she’s reading my thoughts? Even Torima can’t do that! Realizing this, the hairs rose along the back of my neck. Something’s not right here.

“Who’s talking?” my words echoed in the pitch blackness.

“Perceptive, aren’t you?” the voice changed in my ears, a dark tone now hidden in its depths, sending shivers down my spine. A hand grabbed my shoulder as I spun, instinctively lashing out with my kunai. My empty hand was caught by something green and thick before I’d even realized the kunai was no longer there. But that’s not what froze me in place.

Those eyes! What are they?! They’re not… they’re not…

“Your sensei’s? …Human? …Of this world?” came the sneer as yellow-and-orange eyes similar to a cat’s stared me down. Setting my guard in an instant, the vine wrapped around my wrist only squeezed harder. “Any of those would be perfectly correct, Ano.”

“How do you know my name, Spirit?” I queried warily, backing-up as far as the vine around my wrist would let me. But I wasn’t retreating. Really I wasn’t. “More importantly, what you do want?”

“That sensei of yours told you my name, and here they’ve made you forget it already,” a dark pout issued from the shadows, followed by this spirit’s form. Instead of skin, there were layers of leaves. Instead of hands, feet and hair, there were roots and vines. And the structure of the face looked familiar, even if the eyes did not. “I’m crushed. But more to the point: since your sensei knew me, why should I not know you? Walking around inside her memories was nothing, until I found I could take over some of her more… subconscious functions, if you will.”

The last sentence out of the spirit’s mouth dropped my jaw before I tore the offending vine from my wrist. The taunts, the jeers, the swearing; when they’d happened I knew they weren’t from Ana-sensei, but I never would have believed THIS was why.

This thing…she’s…

“Akirarabe,” I heard the hiss leave my mouth and into the blackness before I could stop it.

Where’d that come from?

“Where you do think, girl?!” the spirit laughed hoarsely, “Just because I’m new to your body doesn’t mean it functions any differently from your bitch sensei’s. But I’ve been giving it the occasional test run just to be sure. Interesting powers this body has!” Then, from out of nowhere, vines were all around me, squeezing me, choking me, trapping me in their grip. As hard as I tried to summon up my chakra, nothing responded.

“Akirarabe, what have you done to me?!”

“Oh, that’s nothing compared to what I’m about to do, Ano,” the she-spirit responded remarkably coldly. “By the way, what you’ve been thinking about why those foreign shinobi are wearing those pendants… You already know the answer, whether you acknowledge it or not. …Regardless, let’s test that theory, shall we?” Grabbing hold of my collar and bringing me eye-to-eye with her, I watched mesmerized, as her eyes flashed and all of my surroundings turned blood-red. “Don’t worry, Ano. I wouldn’t want you to miss one second of this.” Then, the red-tinged darkness was gone, replaced by the one-sided real world I was used to.

Shaking my thoughts back into order, I scanned the immediate area from my uncomfortable spot half-way inside a hewn stone wall. I’m still in the arena, I realized, pulling myself rather painfully from said wall and landing on the unforgiving ground. A lapse in concentration. …Then, what just happened? Did that really just happen? Deciding not to worry about it yet, as the Amegakure kunoichi must have realized I’d returned to my senses, I felt my body sling itself to one side, just dodging the bronze staff once again. …But I hadn’t moved it myself. What’s going on?!

“I told you, Ano. I plan to test that theory on why they’re wearing that cursed bird’s pendants. It doesn’t necessarily mean you need to control your body,” I heard the bloodthirsty voice run through my mind, the tone chilling me to the core as my singular vision became awash in a tone of blood-red. “My controlling it will do just as well.” There was no mistaking what she had in mind as she turned my head to stare down the length of the Amegakure kunoichi’s staff. “Keep freezing up on me, Girl, and you won’t stay up for much longer,” Amegakure baited me, switching her style into a more offensive position. A smile tugging up the corner of my lips and a rough chuckle from my throat brought it all to clearness.

Oh, Kami! No! I screamed through my head, catching the she-spirit off-guard. Of my own accord, I sped backwards away from the approaching Amegakure kunoichi, keeping my right side to the arena’s wall and trying to detect a weak spot in the barrier that would let me out. No dice. Recovering myself quickly, I sped this time for the most open spot. The easier it is to get away... I know I can stop her! I let the thought drop as a loud cackle issued unbidden from my mouth.

“Come on, Amegakure, I know you have better tricks than that! Show me what you’ve got!” Akirarabe baited the kunoichi back, and… Amegakure looked more than willing to oblige. “The bird can’t help you, Ano-ama,” Akirarabe mumbled under my breath for only me to hear. “He can’t even hear you, now that I’m here.”

“No! No! Get back! NO!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, retrieving the only kunai I had left, falling back to my back so that Amegakure sailed right over me. I have to stop this now! She’ll kill them all, if I don’t stop this! I thought determinedly, ripping the collar of my uniform away from my chest, the Iraishin No Jutsu seal that connected her to me just under my skin out of sight. The bite of the kunai against my skin over-and-over was agony as I felt Akirarabe’s pain also run into me as the seal was broken bit-by-bit. If it means I die, then I don’t care. As long as she’ll be stopped.

…But all at once, the kunai stopped slicing at the seal… “I told you, you pathetic cunt: I control your body now! This body is MINE!” A dreaded sigh was the last thing to leave my mouth of my own accord as I watched the now-perturbed Amegakure kunoichi stare openly at me…in concern? Then, all at once, I felt the urge to almost rock myself against the soft grass beneath. And without my permission, that’s exactly what my body did. The grass blades stuck to me as Akirarabe finally had my body roll to my stomach, almost as if she was ashamed to face the opposing kunoichi. “So you’re yielding? Is that really what you want, Konohagakure? Where’s your shinobi pride?!” she muttered angrily through her devilfish mask, hands – no doubt – splayed wide on her hips.

For the love of Kami, run Amegakure! Please…RUN!

“You’ll be my first prize” came the horrific reply with a sneer as the she-spirit controlling my body launched herself with such force from the ground, my body was nearly 10 meters in the air before I could fathom it.

I could feel it.

Akirarabe sucking the energy I’d used in the shield back into my body, letting my body replete its chakra stores quickly. But that wasn’t all I felt. The blades of grass that had stuck to me then began to expand in all directions until they covered me, using my chakra to feed until they covered every seeable centimeter of me. Returning to the arena’s floor, I heard the gasps and cries of alarm as Akirarabe’s newest countenance surely shocked everyone in the arena. Well… maybe not everyone.

“An old trick… but a classic,” Amegakure stated flippantly, “I’m growing tired of your games.” Bringing the staff around full swing, I prepared myself for the pain of it surely connecting with my head. But it never came.

Instead…what I saw…in the blink of an eye… was a ridiculously thick root… spring from the ground… catch hold of the Amegakure kunoichi’s staff, ... and snatch it away. …Another set simultaneously sprout, grabbing her around the ankles and wrists, …and then… a final one… spear her clear through to her heart. The sound of flesh splitting was horrible as blood gushed from around her mask when she gagged on it. Stepping forward to snatch away the mask from her face, in her eyes I saw Akirarabe’s sadistic smirk reflected back at me. …But that’s not what made my breath stick in my throat.

It was true!

Her eyes were mine.

Her skin tone was similar.

Her face was shaped the same.

Her chakra had petered, but burned with the same intensity.

And she wore his Wing – a symbol of his protection - around her neck.

“Why?” was the garbled question from a blood-filled mouth, quiet but still capably heard above all the shouting and hollering up in the outer ring. A deceivingly-gentle hand reached up to Amegakure’s cheek, and I could feel Akirarabe using the ability I’d used on countless enemy prisoners to extract information: the Dowasure Technique.

“Karen, why not?” came the whispered answer from between my green lips before the light of life finally ebbed completely from the kunoichi’s eyes.

To say I was beside myself would have been an understatement. The tears wouldn’t quit flowing down my face. Sobs and howls I couldn’t wrench from my own throat echoed in every direction throughout my mind, near deafening in its bounding, but they just fed Akirarabe’s bloodlust. The shouts, screams and bangs against the barrier just fueled the commotion I couldn’t understand. I’d lost all craving for this tournament in the span of one bloody minute. But it was far from over.

The other three, hearing Akirarabe laughing outright at her handiwork, wasted no time in charging her, only to be stopped by Konohagakure’s referee. An ANBU himself, he’d backed them off and gotten straight to work trying to put Akirarabe to sleep… to no avail.

“You’re not Sandabado. Who are you?” he wheezed through a pair of severely punctured lungs a few minutes later, Karen’s staff gone straight through him into the ground. “You’re death, ANBU” the only answer. All hell broke loose after that, but as hard as I pressed for Akirarabe to stop all the madness, all the savagery, all the heartache…

“And that’s EXACTLY what I wanted to hear, Ano-ikeike,” the cruel tone raked my nerves into further grief, “Now that you know how I felt when you and that dick shisou imprisoned me, I’ll leave you to clean up the mess. And know that when they kill you, I’ll just take another one of their bodies as penance. Leave a good one for me.”

What was left before my half-sight as my green body crumpled to its knees was a strewn mass of bloody, torn bodies. Unknowingly, my eyes landed on Kusagakure’s unmasked, chiseled face as he reached a hand out to steady my bloody, continuously-shaking hands. A bolt of energy lit through my body, making me gasp as it reached its intended target, knocking the she-spirit for a loop.

It was the last piece of the puzzle.

There was no doubt in my mind.

My suspicions had been correct.

The tears turned to rivers on my cheeks.

“It wasn’t you, Ano-chan,” he whispered quietly, his calloused hand grazing the side of my masked cheek. “I know it wasn’t you” had been the last words past his lips before the blood-loss had been too much, and Sorren passed as well.

-------------------------------

“I tried to stop her,” I whispered to no-one in particular.

“Sandabado Koumori, explain yourself!” a gruff voice over my shoulder rebuked.

“Why was I allowed to fight them?” I continued, paying no attention to the proceedings around me. “Someone had to have known. …Then why did this happen in the first place?!”

“She’s in another episode. Tranquilize her so we can bring her in,” the next command came a bit stronger this time – from who I wasn’t sure – but the pressure of a pair of hands against my shoulders shook me out of my grief for a moment. Turning around, I stumbled over Sorren’s body, righting myself on instinct as I extended my senses around me. “Sandabado, do you know where you are?” came the calming voice of the Iwagakure medic-nin who’d done my precursory exam just before the tournament had begun. “You’re among friends. It’s going to be okay.”

“You’re right, it is… as long as you stay away from me,” I spat out harshly, backing away from the oncoming group. The threat from Akirarabe still fresh in my mind about her want for another body; apparently, the group of officers took my advice as something more sinister as weapons were drawn.

“Sandabado, don’t do this. You’re in the Village, not on the battlefield. Come with us, and we’ll get you some help,” Konohagakure’s Chief dared to reach out a hand toward me in offering. Shaking my head in dismissal, I continued backing away from them. “You don’t get it… I DIDN’T DO THIS!”  

“Then, come with us and…”

“No! I know what you’ll do! That’s what she’s counting on you to do! Don’t come near me!” Turning to run toward the exit, my body failed me as a numbing sensation drifted up both my legs, effectively grounding me. “No, you can’t! Torima, help me!” And to my surprise, the world slowed and turned blue in an instant.

“What do you need, Young One?” came the lightning falcon’s mystic voice.

“WHERE WERE YOU!?” I screamed in near hysterics and rage.

“I was right here the whole time, waiting for you to ask for my help. You know you need to initiate the contact. That Viscous One never silenced me.”

“Oh, Kami, then it is my fault! I should have called out for you!” I whispered through despairingly quivering lips.

“Young One…”

“JUST GET US OUT OF HERE!” I hollered into the blueness, my own fighting spirit collapsing into itself. The feel of energy blasting through my body and into my surroundings as Torima took over did nothing to ease me as I just let my family’s guardian lift me and my opponents: Sorren of Kusagakure, Nirra of Takigakure, Tao of Iwagakure, and Karen of Amegakure and just… take us away from all the chaos. The whole time my mind whirled with hundreds of unanswered questions.

The one most prominent being: what have I done?!

O---------------------------O

“What have I done?!” came a soulful whisper from between drawn lips that caused me to do a double-take as the next set of roots sprung higher this time trying to grab hold of me. That voice, I thought it over as another Grand Fireball Jutsu left my hand, incinerating all the roots below at once. It’s Sano-sensei. She’s still in there.

My uncanny speed positioned me behind another tree for concealment before the unholy scream at the spirit’s roots being burned left an unnatural green mouth.  “You’ll PAY for that!” the enraged she-devil hollered in pain as her eyes flared with her madness. Turning the tables on me, Sensei’s body suddenly lit with a pale-blue color, the amount of chakra so intense, I had to squint my eye to keep from being blinded. But in that short span of time, ‘Kira released it in a burst sending me back at least a hundred-and-fifty meters into the forest and through a few trees in the process. But upon my hard landing, before the calm of unconsciousness could loop its tendrils through my mind, I felt something… incredibly soft… rub itself against my cheek… before softly nickering in my ear?

A blur of deep blue-grey filled my sight blocking the surrounding woods as the soft nudging continued, keeping me from passing out. A long, red face with a paler red blaze blinked honey eyes at me before whinnying loudly to the solid grey bulk of an animal in front of me. Raije gave me a brief glance as if to say ‘what have you gotten yourself into?’ just as a seething, brightly-glowing and insane Akirarabe set foot upon the same path I’d just breezed through. “You’ll wish you…” A huff left drawn green lips held back in a sneer as she took in the scene, “Well, well, the little pony came to play. Too bad your sister’s no match, Raije. This could really be fun.”

The growl that left Raije’s mouth as he viciously pawed the ground in front of us woke me up completely. Rising carefully to my feet, as Mitsu lowered her head to give me support, I leveled my best glare directly at the simmering she-devil. “You mess with Sandabado, you mess with all of us. Raije, Mitsu, zensen!”

The glow from before quickly flew from Sano-sensei’s form once again, but this time, there was no one for it to hit. The ninjouba ducked into the bushes as I took to the trees, concealing myself as quickly as I could. In a blink, I watched as the ninjouba swarmed the she-devil from both sides, pouring on the speed as ‘Kira tried to ward them off to no avail. They were just too fast.

Mitsu managed to dig in with her forelegs, kicking out at ‘Kira with her hinds as they swung her way. ‘Kira jumped the filly’s attempt only to be side-swiped by Raije as he executed the same maneuver mid-air, the glare never leaving his equine countenance. Landing, the stallion put on a burst of speed any shinobi would be proud of as he smashed his head right into the she-devil’s sternum, sending her flying back through the woods towards the river.

Hopping down from my place, I grabbed hold of both roans’ withers, immediately gaining their attention before they would have surely bolted after her. “Raije, Mitsu, haji. We need to make a plan. We can’t kill ‘Kira, or we’ll kill Sano-sensei.” Both roans just pricked their ears back and forth, a look of confusion on their faces as they looked at each other and then back at me. “Right, one-word commands,” I rejoined, scrunching my face up at my lack of knowledge in this, “…Umm.”

“Doushiuchimasen” the same distinct female voice came from over my shoulder as I spun to see the four glowing orbs behind me. “Say it. It means ‘don’t kill by accident,” an older male voice answered my questioning glance this time as the green orb floated forward to delineated itself from the others. “Raije, doushiuchimasen,” I started, thinking hard about how to get through to the roans, “Sano-sensei is nakama. We have to help her.”

“We’ll help too” came another pair of voices in unison - one male and one female, younger sounding than the two before - as the orange and light blue orbs floated forward this time. Immediately following, Raije neighed and snorted loudly at his sister – conveying the message, I’d hoped – as she gave a single nod, both turning to saunter closer for the next command.

“Explain to us. Tell… you what…say to them” the orange answered stutteringly in the young male’s voice once again. “Alright,” I stated, sighing at the awkward circumstances as I angled my chakra senses back toward the river, ready for the unexpected. “Here’s what I have in mind.”

O--------------------O

“Saichuu!” echoed through my ears, conflicting with the scene of digging the graves I created with my own hands through my tears.

‘Attack again’? I thought, swinging my gaze left and right to take in the green forest scenery that was Chuuritsumen for the initiation point of the command, peering through the barrier that Torima had graciously erected for me in order to gain some privacy while I extracted the souls from my opponents’ bodies. The extractions hadn’t been perfect, but it was the best I could do with bodies already dead over 24 hours and through bleary eyes.

“Sato!” I called loudly. Not even a nicker in response. Dusting my hands off, I attempted to rise, but my legs refused to budge, leaving me in my kneeling position. Trying to rise once again obtained the same result. Endeavoring to get myself up, I slung my body to the side… only to collide with something solid. Solid and cold.

Wait! I’m not seventeen anymore! …Damn her! I thought, speeding through the seals of the strongest genjutsu-releasing jutsu I knew. “Kai” was barely out of my mouth before my surroundings shifted, warped, and then faded to black. My gaze narrowed on Akirarabe through the darkness as I tried to rise again, before realizing she literally had me tied down to the ground, her parasitic roots draining me of my chakra a little at a time to enhance her power. But before I could retort on the situation, the ground shifted and Akirarabe lost a bit of her balance, several roots popping themselves loose to help steady their mistress.

“‘Kira, release Sandabado!” careened through the blackness of my mind in every direction. The resounding of it gave me a splitting headache as I watched Akirarabe grab hers, as well, in undisclosed sympathy. The feeling of my left foot connecting with something soft left me groaning at the futility of it all, before more roots retreated to hold ‘Kira up as the ground shifted toward me this time.

Struggling as best I could against the roots that remained, the one across my mouth finally gave way, allowing me to cough out a warning. Shin, don’t fight her! You don’t know what you’re dealing with! And within an instant, I was staring down a pair of yellow-and-orange cat eyes I’d wished I’d never had the displeasure of seeing.

“Finally back from your memories, are you?” her breath ensconced me in its otherworldly odor

I won’t let you do this! Not again!

“Don’t bother, Ano-ama. My parasitic roots have almost sucked you dry. And with that bird gone, you don’t have any more chakra reserves to draw from. I’d wanted to make this quick, but now my triumph will be made all the sweeter. I was thinking I should make him let down that mask just for the view.”

“Sano!” resounded through my head, only this time it reverberated clearly. Turning my restrained neck as best I could against the remaining parasitic roots, I noticed a red circle with black designs within it rotating lazily… and standing in front of it… was Shin! Within seconds, he’d ripped away the rest of the roots holding me in place, allowing my awed, stupefied consciousness to stand. Until it finally hit me what he’d accomplished… and by proxy…

Shin, you’ve got to get out! You’ve no idea...!

“He may not, but I do!” the rattled she-devil sneered with surprised eyes turned our way. “Restrain them!” she commanded the parasitic roots as they shot our way. Throwing myself and Shin away from the roots, I slammed myself within reach of the portal to Shin’s sane mind that he’d unknowingly opened.

“Sensei, it’s okay. Raije and Mitsu are…”

Bakayarou! I screamed, lifting my foolhardy apprentice by his collar and throwing him back into the passageway. I turned and braced myself quickly as the parasitic roots tried to tear me from my guarding spot, using the some of the little chakra I had left to hold my position and fend off the roots trying to slip past me to him. If you want to help me, get back in your own head! GO!

With that, the portal closed as Shin did as I told him… for once. Giving a great yell for courage, I charged the she-spirit full-on, knowing that all I had left were my taijutsu and that what I knew, Akirarabe also knew. But that didn’t mean she could predict which of the moves in my arsenal my conscious would reflexively choose and use.

Seconds later, I dropped to my knees, skidding to catch hold of one of the parasitic roots holding the she-spirit upright as the landscape tilted again, an unforgiving foot landing itself in my body’s midriff, ‘Kira and I both grunting with the pain. Acting on my instincts, I flipped myself up onto my hands to spin, my feet connecting with ‘Kira’s head and neck again and again. This not only threw the she-spirit for a loop, but also had her lose a moment of control over the parasitic roots holding her upright. And that was all the leverage I’d needed.

Zensen! I screamed the command through my mind, hoping it was also heard in the physical world as I continued pummeling ‘Kira from all angles, speeding around her to dodge when I could. Jumping high into the black void, I twisted my body into a barrel roll as I felt the pain of Raije joining in the battle, his hooves and teeth wrestling with my body. I heard ‘Kira’s grunts and snarls as she tried to fend off the attacks coming from every direction.

“Miserable wretches,” I heard the she-spirit’s curse under her breath echo, as I felt hooves finally pin my body’s arms. Seconds later, my rotating foot connected with the back of her neck, paralyzing the she-spirit momentarily as she flew quite a distance from her beloved parasitic roots’ reach.

Closing my eyes and reaching through the darkness that separated my conscious from my physical body, I latched on with both conscious hands, knowing I had maybe 20 seconds at best to transfer the little knowledge I had about calling a released entity back. Sound roared into my ears as I regained myself, gasping and choking on the blood that clogged my throat. Turning my head quickly, I coughed it free as I stared up into honey eyes instead of the stormy-black I’d expected.

“Raije, I need you to help Shin with this,” I called out groggily over Mitsu’s strong shoulder to the panting roan male as his sister pressed my body further into the loamy soil of the river bank. “Shin, if you can hear me, you need to drag as much energy into your body as possible,” I appealed quickly, not seeing my apprentice anywhere in my immediate view. My vision began to shrink as I felt Akirarabe’s incessant pull at my conscious, ripping and snarling at my hold on my physical self.  “He may not understand… but if he sees… he might be able to helpAH!” I cried out as my vision finally left me, the parasitic roots pulling all but one of my fingers holding on loose as I brokenly gasped out the rest, “need great amount… then give the energy to me.”

“Where’s the energy?” I heard the elusive siren call of my apprentice answer back. “Anywhere!” I shouted as my final finger was wrenched loose and I was forcibly flung back into the recesses of my own mind. The weakness I felt on returning was insurmountable. Indeed, Akirarabe had kept her promise as I sensed the parasitic roots drain the last of my chakra for their mistress’s sole use. Swaying as my conscious legs wobbled like a flimsy foal’s, I launched myself at Akirarabe, hoping against hope that maybe I could distract her once again.

My fists swung left and right, always keeping my target in front of me, but every attempt was dodged effortlessly. The roots swatted at me, catching my conscious in tangle after tangle. Finally, one caught me solidly in its grip, dragging me until I was face-to-inhuman-face with my internal tormentor.

This is the last time you interfere, bitch! Watching as the flat of Akirarabe’s hand wrapped itself around my throat, I struggled with all my might to break its hold to no avail. Trying not to scream as the grip became painfully tight… I was roughly dropped to the dark floor. Wincing at the jolt that left me dizzy, I started to unthinkingly rub my neck, only to have my hand pulled away and my conscious self placed quickly back upon its feet.

“Don’t start that. It doesn’t hurt,” a distinctly male voice echoed close to my conscious ear, “Remember, this is your mind. So you call the shots.” Attempting to clear the fog, I saw a profile of a strong male face in green. “Come on, Ano-chan, let’s give this parasite a taste of her own medicine.”

Sorren! How did you…?!

“That student of yours is pretty sharp,” the green face gave me a shocking smile over his shoulder, as he advanced forward with purpose towards the raging, grappling pile of spiritual mass, “Just let us have two minutes with her.”

We don’t have that kind of time! If I’m not...

“Don’t worry. The boy’s working on that, too,” Sorren stated with bite, joining the massive dogpile of flailing spiritual limbs.

Wait! How many of you…? Then, the space beneath my conscious feet began pulsing a brilliant white light. Oh, shit!

 O--------------------O

“Toomanytoomanytoomany AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!” The screech erupted from Sano-sensei, shocking Mitsu into releasing her weight for a second. Peering back over Raije’s shoulder as the roan male gathered a small bit of the energy needed, I watched as Sensei’s eyes squinted tight in obvious pain and struggle. A hard nudge against my shoulder and a grunt of effort drew my attention back to the straining ninjouba.

“We have to hurry. Something’s wrong,” I pointed out, earning an annoyed snort. Reaching my hand out, the roan male lowered his head and placed his wide forehead against my palm. A thrill of warmth raced down my arm - almost shocking in its intensity - stealing my breath for a moment. “Then, that’s all that’s needed to do it, right?” I queried quickly, staring at the hand that received the energy as it tingled. A quick, hard sigh as an answer confirmed my question as he joined his sister in restraining Sensei’s flailing form.

Gathering myself mentally and closing my eyes, I concentrated chakra into the palms of my hands, willing it to draw the energy from the river that rushed by in its journey to the sea. The rush of cold started my body shivering as a sensation similar, but not the same as before, flooded my body. But as much as I tried, I couldn’t hold the energy like Raije seemed capable.

“It’s not working. What am I doing wrong?” I hollered above Sensei’s screams to the roan male. The animal glared hard at me, sighing before shaking his head and then stomping one of his rear legs. Having very little idea what he meant, I pulled harder at the energy, willing it with all my might to obey. “Please, I need to…”

“Shin!” The screaming of my name shifted my gaze from the rushing river to the soulful eyes of Sano-sensei… whose irises were slowly losing their color? And what was this symbol on her forehead? It looked like a pair of swimming fish. The thrashing of Sensei’s body began anew, as her eyes went wide and her whole body convulsed. Blood began leaking from the corner of her mouth. And then a choked stillness came upon her, “I’m sorry… but I… I… can’t…”

The symbol glowed with an intense white light– slowly getting brighter – until…

“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”

I never saw it coming. The blast was so intense that it blew both roans restraining her back several hundred meters, both disappearing into puffs of smoke long before they hit the ground. My head would have smashed into the trees, but my trajectory was halted by four glowing entities – each a familiar color - who arranged themselves around me to take the worst of the blast. Shielding my eyes, I squinted through the brightness to see the only dark spot – Sano-sensei’s body – floating right in the middle of it all. Then, it was gone. The light disappeared and all that remained was the prone form of Sano-sensei, lying face-up in the dirt. Not a burnt blade of grass or crater left in her wake for the blast her body had given off. And she wasn’t moving at all.

“What happened?”

Not sure, the green-colored male figure intoned, disentangling itself from its guarding position in front of me. Silence passed for a few moments as looks between these entities were exchanged. Sym…symbol… of… m… many, the orange male’s voice stuttered from somewhere over my shoulder after a brief span. But why? came the echoed question from the blue and indigo females at either of my shoulders. A long, straining gasp interrupted it all, as Sano-sensei’s body rolled itself over to one side and curled into a fetal position, coughing and sputtering as if she’d about drowned in the river.

My instinct was immediate.

I rose quickly to make my way toward my fallen sensei. Only… the green male threw his translucent arm out, blocking my way. His jaw set as he turned to look at me – eyes filled with a mixture of sadness and malice. His lucent mouth spoke two words only - Not her. My guard was immediately set as I turned to hear the quiet laugh that hissed from the curled form on the ground. It wasn’t Sensei’s.

But above the sound of this laughter that quickly gained in strength as Sano-sensei’s body once again shakily rose from the ground that cradled it, I could discern what sounded like a tornado blasting through the trees. Not moments later with an unearthly squawk, the same large falcon the color of a twilight blue sky broke from the cover of the trees and hurled itself upwards to circle directly above us.

“You’re too late, Falcon! She’s GONE! And not even YOU can bring her BACK!” Akirarabe shouted in laughter, her purloined fist beating the air in triumph. Her orange-and-yellow eyes then left the circling giant to pin me to the spot.

Not an ounce of Sano-sensei stared back at me through those eyes.

No, it’s not true! my mind cried out, my hands agreeing as they fisted in outrage. A ghastly cry from above shifted my gaze from the she-devil in front of me to the unearthly beast hovering above, passively viewing the scene.

Stupid bird… n-not helping! the orange male came over my shoulder, glowing bright as he made a straight shot for Sano-sensei’s head, the other three joining in an instant later. No. Confused, the indigo female reprimanded the orange male as she dove between Sano-sensei’s legs. Will help. Needs ask.

Akirarabe’s smile just grew as their attacks went right through Sano-sensei’s body, not even a scratch left in their wake. “Don’t you fools get it yet?! I know all her secrets!” Akirarabe seethed, Sensei’s body giving off a chakra that slithered deep green around her, “You can’t hurt me with those puny attacks! You’ve all interfered for the last time!” All at once, a dark bolt lit from Sensei’s hand, passing between each of the orbs until their glow barely registered and they dropped to the earth below.

“Now,” the she-devil purred, turning her gaze back to mine, “to claim my prize.” Suddenly, a group of vines drew me back, my back crashing against the trunk of the nearest tree, knocking the breath from me. “To think, a new body, after all these years,” she stated breathlessly, tracing Sano-sensei’s finger along the rim of my mask. I pulled my face away from the questing finger, only to have the hand seize my chin and bring it back around to face her. “Don’t worry, this won’t take long. And if you’re good, I’ll make it as painless as possible for you.”

“Go to Hell,” I rasped between gasped breaths. Her hand slapped my left cheek as she turned back toward the river, bending to retrieve a kunai. My gaze found the circling, oversized falcon again, and something the indigo orb had said clicked.

“You’re the one Sano-sensei was talking about, aren’t you?! You’re the one who can help her?” I shouted up to the drifting monster bird above us, getting it to cock its head to one side. “Please, help Sensei regain control!”

 “It’s no good, Boy. He won’t answer YOU,” Akirarabe purred again, Sensei’s tongue snaking out to run the length of the kunai blade, cleaning the dirt from it as she stalked towards me, “This ends NOW!”

But before the she-devil could take another step, a flash lit around her, blinding both of us. Blinking the spots from my vision, I beheld the giant falcon sitting upon what appeared to be a bird cage made of lightning, Sano-sensei’s body trapped inside it. The large bird then flicked its head toward me, the vines securing me lighting with a blue color that vaporized them on the spot.

Akirarabe tentatively reached out a hand to the bars, a bolt leaping to her fingers and ricocheting Sano-sensei’s body back against the far bars with a jolt. “You’re… you’re even more stupid than those four fools, Bird-boy,” Akirarabe chuckled, as she rose from the corner, the kunai she held gaining a sickly-green glow. “You care so much for your ‘vessel,’” she spat the word in disgust, stopping just short of the bars again, “that you won’t even kill her body to save the life of one she held precious.”

My peripheral caught the lowering of the monster bird’s head and the closing of its eyes, a gentle warble escaping its mouth, as if in agreement.

“And you know what the best part is?” Akirarabe sneered the question at me, her grip tightening around the kunai as she raised it to shoulder-level. “His guarded captivity comes at a price. In exchange for his safety, he’s charged to obey ANY command his vessel gives him. …No matter who’s in control of it.” A single tear fell from the falcon’s eye, landing atop Sano’s head with a splash. The she-devil either didn’t notice or didn’t care, as her eyes lifted to glare back at the large bird.

“I am your vessel! You will do as I say! Dissipate this cage, and await further orders!”

O--------------------O

I’m floating. This is nice. Quiet, but nice, I thought to myself, shifting my gaze through the darkness that wrapped its softness around me like crushed velvet. The next instant, a bright white light blazed in front of me and I drifted slowly toward it, the sounds of laughing voices drawing me in.

But then from below me, a familiar voice called, “Young One, it is not your time. You will remember to whom you belong!”

Torima?

The floating stopped, and I was falling, falling through nothingness. My hands tried to close around anything, to no avail. There was nothing to grab onto! The bright light soared high above me and the laughter dimmed to silence as I kept falling, falling, falling. The screams that escaped me were absorbed into the pitch blackness. Fear tore at me with its cruel, cold fingers even as I continued falling. But somewhere in the back of my conscious, this scenario felt familiar.

This endless falling into nothingness.

As if into a black, bottomless pit.

A void.

Wait… Void, I realized. I curled around myself to stave off Fear as my rapid descent continued. I’m sorry. In all this mess, I’d forgotten. My life belongs to Void, and my life will return to Void when it is finally my time. I swore to protect its Guardian, Torima, fifth spawn of Banraihou. If Void will forgive my transgression, I would ask you for a chance to redeem myself.

I fell for what felt like forever, the silence and chill of the unnatural darkness making me more and more uneasy. And just as I was about to give up…

My conscious feet hit something solid!

Squatting and then tucking to roll, I tried to regain my breath as I caught a view of my surroundings. I was back! Void had heard my plea and spared me!

But when had I left?

Why had I left?

And why was I having such a hard time remembering?

Looking up, I caught sight of Akirarabe, her hands fisted securely in my physical being.

Anger swelled within me at the sight. And then, my surroundings started to sparkle. A little at first, but eventually growing into a golden glow that made one feel as if one was caught inside a golden ball. The golden color charged me, surrounding me in its lustrous sparkle, until I was completely covered in it. The rush of energy it imbibed me with was incredible! I’d never felt energy like this before!

“Sensei,” echoed throughout the expansive space, the voice vaguely familiar. The she-spirit just stood there, oblivious to it all, her quiet chuckling assuring me her attention was elsewhere. “Sensei, I know you’re still in there. …Come back to me.”

A strange, squealing kind of coo clued me in as a smile crept to my lips. I understand, now. And thank you. I won’t let you down again.

O--------------------O

At the word, the lightning cage disappeared from beneath the large falcon’s feet, leaving nothing standing between myself and the deranged she-devil as it winged itself back to the sky.

“Now!” Akirarabe screeched, her hands flying through an unending string of hand signs, the green-coated kunai still lodged between her fingers. She was centimeters from my face before I could fathom it, the kunai raised to strike my chakra center. I reached to block the kunai as it swung, a strange cry emitting from the large falcon above us in shock.

Only… the kunai stopped about a few centimeters from its intended target.

And my hands were nowhere near the offending arm.

The kunai strained as if someone at my side held back the weapon. Sano-sensei’s body was glowing a golden color! ‘Kira, just now noticing the new color on her purloined body, shrieked as her eyes held much fear and just a hint of satisfaction.

“No. NO!… But how?!... Damn it, I won’t let you take it back from me!” The kunai rose this time for Sano-sensei’s jugular. My instinct was immediate. I flew at the disturbed she-devil, toppling the both of us to the unforgiving ground, reaching for the kunai that dangled so precariously above Sano-sensei’s throat.

“I was so close!” the she-devil cried in rage, flipping us over so that her weight settled strongly across my upper chest, catching both my hands between us, “I won’t let you gloat!” The green kunai made a beeline for my head again. This time, I broke one hand free, catching a hold of Sano-sensei’s wrist and diverting it from its path. The kunai slashed into the earth with a life-saving thunk. I didn’t dare release Sano-sensei’s wrist holding the kunai as the incensed she-devil struggled to retrieve the blade from the ground’s soft sheath.

“Sensei,” I spoke near the fuming she-devil’s ear, “I know you’re still in there. You can beat this thing. I’ve seen you do it before. …Follow my voice and come back to me.”

Howled curses and ear-splitting shrieks of denial rent the air as Sano-sensei fought against the unbearable she-devil. The fierce struggling for the kunai slowed until Sano-sensei’s body was completely still, except for a shivering movement. “Re…return,” the mumbled words broke from between clenched teeth, “Guardian.”

Sano-sensei just continued her shivering as she valiantly tried to suppress the she-devil controlling her body. “No! This body is mine!” hissed from between green lips as the struggling resumed, tired eyes catching my gaze as she wrenched at the kunai lodged in the ground.

An earth-shattering screech spiraled out of the clouds, their color turning a stormy black as thunder boomed and lightning flashed across the sky. A bolt lit from the sky, its jagged light streaking a path right for us. And riding this lightning bolt… was that strange, blue, monster falcon.

I should have been terrified. I should have rolled the both of us to the side, to safety. But, according to the indigo orb, this thing was the only one who could help Sano-sensei. Stuffing all my sentiments into the back corner of my mind, I ducked my head into the crook of Sano-sensei’s shoulder. My arms instinctually wound themselves around her bare midriff, pressing her body firmly to mine and catching her other hand against her side.

The bolt hit with such intensity that the whole of my sight saw nothing but white. Even the Sharingan could not see through this amazing cloud of chakra and light. And what was this sensation? It reminded me of the warmth of the campfires I’d sat around most of my life. Only this warmth didn’t just settle and penetrate into my being. This warmth flowed throughout my body. It didn’t want to settle. It just kept moving, accumulating in various places inside. It just kept building and building! A wonderful pressure pressed itself against my skin. Then, my skin was vibrating! My whole body was vibrating with this warm, flowing, delicious pressure.

It was all just too much!

“Sensei!” “Kakashi!”

O--------------------O

It hurt. Everything hurt. Even the roots of my hair hurt. But then again, after getting slammed into by Torima for the second time in my life, something was bound to be sore, at the very least. Flexing tense muscles very carefully, my back felt as if it had been split down my spine by a dull axe, and – for some reason – my left hand felt like I’d gripped a hot brand and let it cool there.

I was scared. What if the encapsulation hadn’t worked right this time? I’d never tried to encapsulate and take in that large a quantity of energy on my own before. But if it hadn’t worked, there would be one sure test.

Opening my eyes carefully, the one-sided color sent a wave of relief through my already overtaxed mind. I had never been so happy to see green grass in all my life! A twinge on the tips of my left fingers brought my gaze up to my left hand, and the charred kunai still grasped therein. Being mindful of the burns that would no doubt be there – at least for the next couple hours – I slowly extracted my hand from around the kunai’s handle, letting my open hand fall back onto the cool, wet grass.

I was back in full control. And Torima was back under my guard.

But why did I feel so heavy? What was this weight around my mid-section?

A quick puff of warm wind against my neck sent shivers down my spine as I craned my head to determine my position. And I found my face framed in a bush of soft silver strands. Holy shit, SHIN! Was it HIS voice that had called me back to the physical plane?  My head thumped in agony as thoughts whirled through my mind, each one tiring me more than the last. Deciding to save my head the pain of trying to remember, I gently pushed my shoulders up from the ground, my arms shaking with half my weight.

 “Shin,” I stated shakily, getting the young shinobi holding me to open his lone, coal-black eye, “you can let go of me.”

“Sano-sensei, is it REALLY you?” my apprentice questioned, his brow furrowed in careful scrutiny. After an eternity of him just holding and staring at me, I was about five seconds away from giving him a good thumping, before he spoke again, his arms unwinding themselves from my waist, “You said to gather energy and then give it to you, so I sent those four things in after you. I figured…”

My groan capped his sentence as I realized my message had been misinterpreted. Why hadn’t Raije done as I’d asked of him? And where was that daft colt and his sister anyway? “As nice as that was, I’ll definitely not be doing that again,” I spoke wearily, demanding bruised ego lift my struggle-weary body from atop my apprentice below.

I left the kunai where it punctured the grass-clad earth, a memorial to the restless spirits and memories this day had churned up, as I regained a shinobi’s sure footing. But I refused to take another step, clenching my fists until they were bloodlessly white and hiding my eyes in shame beneath my bangs.

I’d done something unthinkably stupid… again! And it had almost cost me my body and Shin his life had it not been for Torima.

Why had I wanted him to leave again? To allow me some extra room in my own head?!

Swallowing the lump quickly forming in my throat, I eased myself back toward camp and the awaiting – and no doubt now-dying – fire, hoping that the light and the warmth of its gentle waves would ease my thoughts. Retrieving the clothes left just inside the bushes, their texture was like pins and needles against my sensitized skin as I redressed myself. Pushing aside leaves singing with the wind’s caress as I resumed my trek, I imagined the air swirling still around me inside the Doki No Doragon’s tornado, carrying all the distressing thoughts and memories away with it. …If only for a moment.

O--------------------O

“Sano-sensei?” I queried worriedly, as I followed the brisk pace the kunoichi had set for herself, headed back in the direction of the campsite. The smell of salt grazed my sensitive nose along with the pungent cinnamon aroma of the previous year’s fallen leaves.

The woman was completely silent.

“Sano! What just happened back there? You’re body released something like that TWICE, yet not even a crater was left behind to prove it!” I queried, racing to catch the kunoichi’s wrist, the suddenness of my grasp causing her to whirl around and face me with a blank stare. “What happened?” Her gaze stole to where my hand gripped her wrist. “That’s not the real question you’re wanting to ask me,” she questioned in a bare mumble that scared me more than if she’d hollered it at me, “is it, Shin?”

 My hand was flung strongly from her wrist as she effortlessly pushed back through the barrier surrounding the campsite. “Some say a shinobi’s path is fated from the day he sets foot upon it. Unlike most older-generation shinobi, I don’t believe in fate,” she stated, the small barrier reforming itself after our unexpected entrance and settling against her familiar tree.

Letting her evade my question for the time being, I settled myself across from her as before, noticing her gaze was distant once again. It was as if she didn’t even see me as she continued, stirring the embers in the dying fire, “But I’m not so dense as to deny that some things happen for unknown reasons. I wanted nothing more than to die on that day so many years ago. Why I didn’t is beyond me… and that doesn’t keep me from wanting to, even now. However, I’m obligated to live and complete the tasks set before me. You, Wonigiru, Banyuu, and Wabichi being several of them. I’m obligated to teach you something even I have yet to accomplish.”

“What’s that, Sensei?”

“Harnessing your own fates - if you believe in such things – and making sure you can turn them in any direction you choose.”

“Sano-sensei,” I started slowly, unsure of how to phrase my questions, “I don’t exactly know what happened back there…”

“The more in the dark you are about what just happened, the better off you’ll be,” her hard, cold stare pinned me to the spot, before her head turned in embarrassment and contemplation, “I’m not even completely sure of what just happened.”

“But one thing puzzles me.”

“I’m listening,” her gaze retreated to watching the stick stirring the embers once again.

Directing my gaze to just beyond the erected barrier to the drifting, now-duller-lit orbs, I couldn’t help but ask the question, “What exactly are those things? First, they attack me. Then, they protect me. And they even tried to help fight ‘Kira off. What are they?”

“Demonic fireflies,” Sano-sensei deadpanned, my deadened gaze meeting hers across the smoking embers, as she swept some of her fallen hair back from her cinnamon eyes.

Seeing my glare, a sigh escaped her. “If you want the truth, they’re souls. Human souls,” she shifted her gaze from me to the floating balls of dim light even as she reclined her position back against the tree trunk. “I killed those four when I was seventeen, and they’ve haunted me, ever since. I’ve learned to just ignore them, for the most part, and continue on with life. Now, get some rest. We move at daylight.”

• 
  For those of you who’re thinking every time Akirarabe takes a hold of Sandabado’s senses and body that her eyes turn red, that wasn’t the concept I was going for. I was thinking that she starts to see the world in a blood-red tinge, much like if you were looking through a pair of rose-tinted sunglasses. Hopefully that will clear a few things up for some people.


• 
  The Dowasure Technique is basically an extraction of memory pieces by deciphering the brain’s energy patterns. You’ll see more of this technique used by Sandabado later on in the story.


• 
  Akirarabe, being a spirit and not the true owner of Sano’s body, can’t really use chakra on her own. She uses Sano’s energy stores, instead to steal and manipulate Sano’s chakra using her parasitic roots. This is also the reason why Karen (the Amegakure kunoichi) and Kakashi can’t detect them outright until Kakashi feels the rumble of them running through the ground.