Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Shadowed Wolf: Sasuke's Tale ❯ Why Battles? ( Chapter 3 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Armina Skitty 
Sasuke learns something few other Konoha youths know about; after Nibiiro kicks a little ass.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action / Drama | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 02.22.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 5.2K | Visits: 435 | Status: Work In Progress
Sasuke learns something few other Konoha youths know about; after Nibiiro kicks a little ass.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action / Drama | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 02.22.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 5.2K | Visits: 435 | Status: Work In Progress
3
Author Notes: Well, now we’re getting into the meat of the story… for the first section.
When the Shibi Jinchuuriki came within fifteen yards of the Shark of Akastsuki, Kisame drew and unwrapped his infamous sword in a clear threat gesture. Taking the hint for what is was, Nibiiro did the same, and whispered a silent request for aid to the Tiger inside of him. The two combatants came within five yards of each other and froze for moment, waiting for the other to make the first move.
Nibiiro spared a brief second of inattention for worry that Sasuke not disobey and follow him here, and that was all that Kisame needed to launch his attack.
Not that Nibiiro would truly be vulnerable over such a small thing, he parried the Shark’s over-handed swing with ease, broke the cut, and launched a horizontal slash of his own. Kisame leaped back, dug his feet in and lunged with diagonal downward thrust and the battle was fully engaged.
In a sword-battle, the two were evenly matched, their stature was similar, their prowess was equal, even their sword size and shape was relatively similar. If they stayed locked in a sword fight, the deciding factor would be stamina and cunning. But they were Akastsuki and Jinchuuriki. It was not, could not stay a straight forward sword fight.
Nibiiro made the first move. He bound Kisame’s blade, mindful of its rasping effects and with an effort, shoved Kisame back and off balance. Taking advantage of the moment’s respite, he split his sword into its two pieces and charged the Shark. Kisame was equal to the challenge and although he was on his knees, he cut upward, forcing Nibiiro to backpedal and jerk backwards, but not before Kisame got first blood via a hair-width cut across Nibiiro‘s face. Then the Jinchuuriki swung his body around and lashed out with the double-blade, but Kisame parried that. He was, however, unprepared for the second blade aiming for his midsection from the other side.
The Shark was forced to block the outline-blade with his hand and jump back, panting and reassessing his foe.
“A bit much for you?” Nibiiro asked, the first words uttered since the start of the battle.
“Hardly, Shibi.” Kisame growled back. “Try countering this!” The Shark slammed his bloodied palm on to the ground and expelled chakra in a Summons. Two Sharks, a Hammer-head and a Bull shark, appeared in midair and turned to Kisame.
“What’s the meaning of calling us to such a horrid, dry place, mortal fool?” the Bull shark demanded.
“Fresh meat” Kisame replied, pointing with his blade. The two Sharks turned and looked over Nibiiro appraisingly.
“That will do, for now.” The Hammer-head said reluctantly, “But we demand better tribute from you later.” They charged, swimming through the air as if it were their natural element.
“You think I’m unprepared for this?” Nibiiro demanded as he easily dodged the clumsy Sharks and nearly lopped off one of the hammer-head’s protruding eyes. As he twisted with the dodge, the grey-eyed fighter bit hard on his thumb then slammed his palm against the ground as well. Two giant Tigers appeared and immediately attacked the Sharks. Unlike Kisame, Nibiiro had his allies’ full cooperation and not entirely because he was the vessel for their lord and master, Byakko. And the Tiger was taking full interest in the battle, lending his power tohis vessel.
Nibiiro’s danger-sense kicked into high gear and he ducked and rolled as Kisame slammed his sword down on the spot were the Jinchuuriki had been, then pressed his hands together to unleash some of his jutsus. Nibiiro shot to his feet and pranced back as a jet of water powered its way to him. He then grabbed the hilt of the double blade with his teeth, tucked the outline blade in his elbow and returned the gesture of the jutsus’. Kage Bushin, shadow clone, to be parried by Kisame’s water clones. Then a water dragon form sent Nibiiro scampering to the left, were the water jet had shot previously. He growled as his feet became stuck in the viscous mud hidden just one inch under the salt layer, which had been melted away by Kisame’s summoned water attacks.
“Hah!” the Hidden Rain Nin crowed triumphantly as Nibiiro struggled to move with his usual agility. “Now do you see why I brought you out here, Jinchuuriki? Not only is there the mud, but the ground here’s too toxic with salt for your precious, demon-spawned plants to grow! You’re helpless!” Kisame launched another water dragon at Nibiiro, making him backpedal deeper into the mud and also making a nice water layer for the Shark to charge across, still cackling with presumed victory. Nibiiro smirked.
Focus chakra in the feet, then- Nibiiro shot skyward just as Kisame slashed his sword across the spot were he had been; for the second time.
“Remind me to thank you for melting the salt!” Nibiiro yelled down. With Byakko’s power, he spun out an invisible matrix deep into the uncovered muck, to the mostly-decayed plant matter within it. With a mental twist, huge, thick vines snaked their way out and launched at Kisame and the two Sharks still doing battle with the Tigers. The Sharks were caught off-guard and were crushed by the thick vines, but Kisame successfully dodged and sliced at the vines. Nibiiro landed lightly on the back of one of the Tigers and charged the retreating Akastsuki. On the way, he grabbed a small stem off of one of the vines and rewove the chakra matrix through it to outside the salt flat. As the Tiger passed Kisame, Nibiiro lashed out with the outline blade, which he hadn’t dropped as he had the double blade. Kisame parried and didn’t even see the small stem land at his feet. He did see the effects of his distraction though, a small, dense forest sprung up around him as roots from the trees outside the salt flat sought out the stem, engulfing and crush him amongst the thick trunks. Nibiiro had won, but…
That was way too easy. Something is definitely not right. But before that…
“You can come out now Sasuke.” Nibiiro called as he swung off the Summons’ Tiger’s back. He glared over at a clump of trees on an overlooking ledge where a slight form guiltily emerged. Nibiiro had sensed a slight spike of chakra before it had been stifled while he had been engaged in the earlier sword fight. By ignoring it, he had hoped to convince Kisame that the spike was of no consequence. Apparently it had worked, Kisame had been entirely focused on the battle.
Nibiiro felt his face become a hard, cold mask and glared at the young, sulky Nin as the youth approached. Sasuke refused to look Nibiiro directly in the eye, a clear sign of reluctant guilt.
“What, precisely, were you thinking?” Nibiiro asked coldly. The rage of battle was still burning in him and Sasuke’s stunt was vastly un-amusing.
“You gave me no reason to believe that this was any more important than a meeting with the Eagles.” Sasuke lied. Nibiiro took a deep breath.
“No reason… Are your eyes just for decoration? Is that brain of yours so ineffectual? Are you mentally handicapped?!” Nibiiro yelled, “Are you so intellectually deficient that you couldn’t grasp the significance of my sword?! Are you such a nimrod that my warning had no effect? Why the hell did I waste my time rescuing and nursing such an idiot!?” Nibiiro’s verbal abuse continued for a few minute’s as he became truly enraged before Sasuke’s temper snapped.
“Why the hell should I trust what you say?” Sasuke yelled back, “You’ve never given me any reason to think that you are trustworthy or have good judgment! Why shouldn’t I spy on you? I have no reason to think you’d be truthful, so why shouldn’t I look out for myself-” Sasuke’s rant was cut short by a hard back-handed blow to the face. Sasuke stood with his head hanging to the side, blinking in surprise.
“You’re right, you don’t know if you can trust me or not. Make up your mind now; leave or stay. Because I’m leaving.” Nibiiro growled, “Akastsuki has to know I’m here now and-” He cut off as he looked back at the trees he had called up. Without the continued support of Nibiiro’s chakra, they were receding back into the earth, revealing the mangled corpse. It wasn’t Kisame, but some unknown Nin, surrounded by ashes.
And what Sasuke had done was even more potentially dangerous. If the Kisame clone had sensed him, or had cared, Sasuke would have made a perfect hostage. Nibiiro hadn’t spent so much time in nursing the youth only to let the Shark kill him, and Sasuke was still too weak to even defend himself. He would have been helpless to prevent the Kisame clone from doing whatever he wished, and Nibiiro would have been held helpless as well. Or later soul-sick for letting Sasuke get killed when he could have prevented it; another kind of Akastsuki victory.
Nibiiro gave the corpse one last glare then turned and stalked off.
“You leaving or staying?” he growled over his shoulder. Sasuke opted not to answer and just followed silently. His pride may have been smarting from Nibiiro’s harsh words and the blow to the face, but Sasuke’s sense of guilt was throbbing even more so. He’d put the person who had cared for him and taught him useful things with no thought to repayment in great danger and only luck had kept them both safe.
Nibiiro stomped on in a temper for a couple of miles as Sasuke struggled to keep up before the older Nin stopped dead and heaved a sigh.
“I’m sorry.” he said
“Ahh…” the younger fighter replied intelligently.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you and I’m very sorry I struck you. You may have warranted some harsh words with your behavior, but I went far beyond the call of duty with my actions.” Nibiiro sighed again, “I was, and am, angry and frustrated with Akastsuki; I like where I live and I don’t want to leave and I’m really tired with being hunted like a dangerous, wild animal. And I was worried. About you; and I took all of it out on you and that was completely uncalled for.”
“I… I’m sorry too.” Sasuke almost-whispered, “I… I knew that you must have had a reason, a good one, for taking that sword, and I chose to ignore it in favor of being suspicious…” He trailed off. The youth was rather unaccustomed to making apologies, preferring to make it up to the person he had wronged instead, therefore never having to admit his fault. But Nibiiro had made a gesture of good will here, admitting a fault were there was barely any on his part. This gesture compelled Sasuke to return it, it was only fair. Nibiiro looked over his shoulder and gave his companion a quirked grin.
“So we both admit we fucked up, works for me.” He said jauntily. Sasuke smiled back weakly.
“So, ah, where are we going?” He asked, emboldened by Nibiiro easy acceptance of his apology. “And, um, why are they…” He trailed off, unsure of whether or not he should ask about the reason Akastsuki was after his companion and caretaker. It might lead to a sensitive issue, and Sasuke didn’t want to mess up again so soon. Nibiiro heaved a weary sigh at the last question and motioned for Sasuke to continue walking with him.
“For the first question,” he said as he walked at a much slower and more easily followed pace, “remember that ledge I pointed out yesterday, where I flag down the Eagles? I want to get out of here now and that means using a quicker method of transportation than my own two feet. After that, I’m heading to the place of a friend of mine, she needs to know about this attack, which leads me to your second question.” Nibiiro paused as he thought out the best way to answer such an issue.
“To start with, what do you know about the Bijuu and the Jinchuuriki?” he asked.
“The what and the who?” Sasuke asked in reply, glancing over at the older Nin with surprise. Nibiiro winced in a way that suggested that he was fearing that answer but expected it anyway.
“I was afraid of that, virtually none of the Leafs of your generation know about that.”
“What?!? Why? How come?”
“Weelp… there’s an answer to that, and it starts with the attack by the Nine-tailed Fox demon on Konoha village thirteen, fourteen years ago. You heard about that I expect?” Nibiiro asked, cocking his head to look at Sasuke. The youth nodded slowly, watching his companion. “That was the Kyubi, the Nine-tailed Demon Beast. The Tailed Beasts are incredibly powerful and it took an incredibly powerful Jutsu by the Forth to seal Kyubi away. To seal him into a specific person to be precise. The effort killed the Fourth, as you may know, and permanently changed the life of the newborn infant the Fox was sealed into. The Third, in his wisdom, decided that the fate of the infant was going to be cruel enough without him being harassed by his age group for being ‘different’ and forbade the subject of the Bijuu and Jinchuuriki from ever being spoken about, especially to the children.” Nibiiro paused for breath.
“This child…” Sasuke asked, slightly stunned, “who…”
“You know him very well, Sasuke, you worried over the fact that you nearly killed him the entire time you were fevered.” Nibiiro said somberly. Sasuke’s face became mask like, and Nibiiro continued. “You also know two others who are Jinchuuriki like Naruto; the one who holds Ichibi, Shukaku, is Gaara, which is something I only recently learned.”
“And the other?” the youth questioned hesitantly.
“You’re talking to him right now.” The young adult answered softly. “In me is Byakko, Shibi, the Four-tailed Tiger.” Nibiiro stopped and turned to face Sasuke fully. “Knowing this, knowing that there is a demon sealed inside of me, do you still want to stay with me?” The slightly older fighter looked down at the slightly younger one and struggled to keep his fear and anxiety completely internal. He prayed that Sasuke would say that he wasn’t bothered by the fact that his caretaker was essentially possessed and feared a full and complete rejection. He’d been alone and friendless for so long…
“Before I make any decisions, I want to know more.” Sasuke said slowly after a few minutes of careful thought. “You don’t act the way Gaara did, and neither did Naruto. There has to be something more to this then meets the eye, and I want to know what it is.”
Nibiiro slowly let out the breath he’d been holding. “It’s two things actually. The seal that was placed on Naruto is much tighter than the one on Gaara, hence the reason the Fourth died in placing it.”
“And with you as well?” queried Sasuke. Nibiiro shook his head.
“It didn’t need to be tight for me to keep my sanity, although the person who placed it on me didn’t know, or care…” Nibiiro paused, his expression briefly revealing the full extent of his hate, enough to cause Sasuke to step back in shock. The young adult shook his head again and smiled reassuringly at the youth. “There are two different kinds of Bijuu among the Nine, the Odds and the Evens. Those with an odd number of Tails tend to be more vicious and cruel, while the even Tailed Beasts tend to be more gentle and friendly. Byakko is very friendly to me, and has looked after me since my birth in place of my parents. We sometimes speak silently when he’s awake, so if you ever see me staring off into space, don’t worry, I’m probably talking to Byakko.”
“Probably,” Sasuke teased, “but not always. So, there are five vicious beasts and four nice ones. That seems unbalanced.”
“That’s because Gobi, Tiamat, the Five-tailed Dragon Queen, chooses what mood she’ll be in depending on her whims.” Nibiiro explained while Sasuke blinked at him. Nibiiro gestured for them to continue walking. “Tiamat can be as mild mannered as Moro the Wolf or as sadistic as Seiryuu the Snake.”
“That’s appropriate” Sasuke murmured. His companion nodded.
“I thought so too, when I first heard of that one.”
“So… Naruto holds Kyubi-”
“Also called Youko”
“Ah, and Gaara holds Ichibi? And you hold Shibi…”
“And my friends Ashanta and Laniana hold Suzaku the Six-tailed Eagle and Tiamat, respectively. I don’t know who the other Jinchuuriki are, although I know Lana does, which is why I need to speak to her. All I know is, is that Jorumund the Eight-tailed Leviathan and Genbu the Three-tailed Tortoise were sealed, while Moro and Seiryuu were MIA last time I spoke with Lana.”
“Oh, great.” came the cynical response, “The demon most likely to assist Orochimaru out of spite for humanity is out loose somewhere. What else can go wrong?”
“Moro could be sealed into the wrong person or fall into Akastsuki hands.” Nibiiro responded. “Then we’d really be sunk, Jorumund is already inaccessibly from what Lana said, and I have the feeling that we need all the help we can get.” They had reached the ledge by this point and Nibiiro busied himself in trying to get the Eagles attention. Sasuke collapsed against the cliff face, utterly spent physically. But something was nagging at the back of his mind.
That fight with the fake Kisame had been way to easy, and that rang false. There was something about it that left Sasuke feeling as if he were missing something obvious. Nibiiro was barely injured at all, a couple cuts here, a few bruises there, a shallow gash on the thigh; nothing to mention really.
“It’s almost like you were meant to win…” Sasuke mumbled.
“Pardon?” Nibiiro asked as he added more green leaves to the signal fire.
“That fight with the fake Kisame, it’s like you were meant to win mostly unscathed so that you could get away.” The youth elaborated.
“But what purpose would that serve?” Nibiiro countered. He didn’t ask this like he was trying to discourage Sasuke, but instead encourage him to fill in the blanks.
“The attack feels, now that I think about, like an attempt to flush you out, to make you run.”
“Well, yeah. But run whe-” Nibiiro broke off, horrified. “To run to the others, to Lana and Ashanta, to lead… to lead Akastsuki to the Jinchuuriki that they haven’t located… so they can follow me there…” He stood and pressed his hands together in a jutsu seal.
“No! Wait!” Sasuke cried, alarmed. The best spy was the one you knew about, obviously. So he couldn’t let Nibiiro destroy them, or harder-to-detect replacements would be sent.
“Oh, don’t get your boxers in a bunch, I’m just locating them. Yeesh!” Nibiiro grumped. Sasuke let out a cough of amusement and sat back to watch his companion and mentor work. It was always beneficial to watch an experienced Nin at work, especially if you had the Sharingan.
“Yep, they’re there.” the grey-eyed fighter said, “Spy seals, invisible unless you look for ‘em- ah!” Azasu and Akura had just arrived, landing on the edge of the cliff with a flurry of wing beats. The wind kicked up by them forced the two humans to shield their eyes.
“You certainly have a lot of nerve!” Akura bellowed in a deep, bass voice, “You dare ask us for a favor after what you pulled yesterday?” Akura’s feathers were ruffled, his hackles and crest flared out. He looked rather intimidating. Azasu however, looked more calm and serene, if icy and distant.
“I’m not here to ask a favor, I’m here to beg for help.” Nibiiro replied humbly, bowing deeply. Akura seemed slightly mollified, feathers slicking slightly. “Enemies of mine have come to attack me, and while I have defeated one attacker, more will come and I am not strong enough to fight against two or more. I need to run and swiftly before they come. I need your help for that, please!”
Akura turned his head away, “You should have thought about that before you decided to spy on my lovely mate and my own magnificent self.” He said proudly. Nibiiro looked to be at a loss as how to properly respond to that, so Sasuke stepped in.
“The reason Nibiiro-san brought me to look at you is because you, Azasu-san, are so lovely, and you, Akura-san, are so magnificent.” he said, laying the flattery on thick. “He knew that viewing you was a pleasure and wished to share it with me. I admit, we should have asked for permission before doing so, but I think that maybe Nibiiro-san was afraid you would refuse.” he bowed even more deeply then Nibiiro had, “Please, would you be so gracious as to forgive our impudence?”
Akura was apparently very receptive to flatter, his body feathers relaxed, his hackles and crest feathers flatted while his facial feathers puffed out. It was amazing how expressive a creature with nearly zero facial muscles could be, just because of feather position. But Azasu was not so nearly susceptible.
“What were you before, that you have such a silver tongue?” She asked, peering sharply at Sasuke. He decided not to answer but bowed his head under her scrutiny.
“Please, we need help.” He said softly as he watched the Eagles through his lashes. Azasu watched back for a moment, then settled back, puffing up her facial feathers.
“Very well,” She sighed, “it seems as if we have no choice. To refuse your plea may well be a death sentence, and while we are annoyed with you two, we do not hate you.” Nibiiro let out a huge sigh of relief while Sasuke started to breath again.
“Thank you, very much.” Nibiiro said with effusive thanks. “I don’t know how to repay you.”
“Neither do I, with you having to run for your life.” Akura admitted.
“We will just ask Ashanta to pay us and have you repay her, instead.” Azasu explained slyly. Nibiiro groaned.
“Do you know how much interest she charges?” He moaned. The Eagles laughed loudly at his dismay.
“Well and good, well and good!” Akura crowed, “Now, to business! I know you, you wretch, know how to fly with us, but I fear that your companion is probably ignorant. So you will demonstrate with-”
“With me,” Azasu interrupted in a tone that brooked no argument, “you can take the young one.” With that, she spread her wings and launched herself off the cliff face, pumping her wings laboriously to gain height. Seeing that Sasuke was watching intently, Nibiiro lay down at the cliff edge, perpendicular to the mountain face. Then, Azasu swooped in and snatched up Nibiiro in her talons.
“Why-?” Sasuke started to ask.
“Why in our claws?” Akura finished, “Simple, you would be bucked off by our wing movements if you tried to ride on our backs. Now, are you ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.” Sasuke admitted. He lay down in the same place that Nibiiro had lain and Akura took off. A few moments later, powerful talons closed around him with shocking gentleness. The male Eagle swiftly caught up with his mate. The female’s head was tilted towards the burden in her claws, then she veered West and the male followed.
“Easy now, there’s small cave near here where we can sleep.” The older fighter assured.
“Oh.” Sasuke remarked, “Good.” And collapsed as soon as they got to the very small cave. It was more of an overhanging ledge to be honest. Nibiiro left, and quickly returned with soft branches and fern fronds to make a bed. Sasuke was already asleep.
More dead phantoms of his clan approached, pressing their death wounds in his face, begging, demanding to know why he hadn’t helped them. He tried to run, and while his voice was still frozen, his body could move but he was still trapped. The mouth of the door had become the mouth of a giant snake, slowly swallowing him feet first.
And if that wasn’t enough, Itachi killed Sasuke’s family all over again in front of him, laughing. But the phantoms were still about him, shrieking at him, and the new dead joined the old, doubling the number of dead phantoms plucking at him. The older phantoms were decaying before his eyes, adding another level of horror to the nightmare. Itachi then passed the knife to Orochimaru, and it began again. And again. And again.
It kept going, layer upon layer of dead, bleeding, rotting phantoms begging why he did nothing while his family was being killed again and again before him. He was being swallowed by the creature he hated most and he couldn’t even scream. The two people he hated most were slaying the parents he had tried so hard to please and he could do nothing.
Finally he couldn’t stand it anymore and screamed himself awake.
But this time it was different. He ran home, his dream-self expecting nothing, as usual. He opened the door to his dead family, as usual. But, this time, before the phantoms could appear and the true horror begin, shadow fell over the scene and made it fade away. Even the cries of the dead were muffled. In their place, a giant, black, Two-tailed Wolf watched him benignly with her great, golden-brown eyes. The black shadows swirled around them, insulating them away from everything that could hurt. For all the darkness, and the giant predatory creature looming over him, he felt no fear, only safety. And great weariness; after all the interrupted nights of sleep and the draining events of the day, Sasuke was utterly spent, even in his dream. His exhaustion flattened him, his legs folded and he fell to the soft, shadowed floor.
#Rest little one# a female voice echoed softly, #Rest, I will guard your sleep. No more phantoms of the past shall come to haunt you. I shall watch over you and hold you safe, as you shall hold me. We shall keep each other safe from things that would harm, for as long as we both need this. So rest, and know I watch over you.# As Sasuke fell into the deep dreamless sleep he had been deprived of for so long, the last thing he thought he saw was the soft golden eyes of the Wolf, watching him with a maternal gaze. Then he knew no more until Nibiiro shook him awake the next morning.
Author Notes: Well, now we’re getting into the meat of the story… for the first section.
~*~*~
This isn’t right… Nibiiro thought as he stalked up to Kisame, wrinkling his nose at the scent of the dead, salted earth. Kisame was standing out in the open on the salt flat, this really isn’t right! Being what he was, Nibiiro had had many encounters with Akastsuki before in the past, and not a one of them had been like this, so bold and straight forward. The Akastsuki members seemed to prefer stealth and the shadows to overt movements and the light; plus they always came in pairs. Not that it mattered now, save that by pondering this, Nibiiro might be able to gain a clue as to what Kisame was planning.When the Shibi Jinchuuriki came within fifteen yards of the Shark of Akastsuki, Kisame drew and unwrapped his infamous sword in a clear threat gesture. Taking the hint for what is was, Nibiiro did the same, and whispered a silent request for aid to the Tiger inside of him. The two combatants came within five yards of each other and froze for moment, waiting for the other to make the first move.
Nibiiro spared a brief second of inattention for worry that Sasuke not disobey and follow him here, and that was all that Kisame needed to launch his attack.
Not that Nibiiro would truly be vulnerable over such a small thing, he parried the Shark’s over-handed swing with ease, broke the cut, and launched a horizontal slash of his own. Kisame leaped back, dug his feet in and lunged with diagonal downward thrust and the battle was fully engaged.
In a sword-battle, the two were evenly matched, their stature was similar, their prowess was equal, even their sword size and shape was relatively similar. If they stayed locked in a sword fight, the deciding factor would be stamina and cunning. But they were Akastsuki and Jinchuuriki. It was not, could not stay a straight forward sword fight.
Nibiiro made the first move. He bound Kisame’s blade, mindful of its rasping effects and with an effort, shoved Kisame back and off balance. Taking advantage of the moment’s respite, he split his sword into its two pieces and charged the Shark. Kisame was equal to the challenge and although he was on his knees, he cut upward, forcing Nibiiro to backpedal and jerk backwards, but not before Kisame got first blood via a hair-width cut across Nibiiro‘s face. Then the Jinchuuriki swung his body around and lashed out with the double-blade, but Kisame parried that. He was, however, unprepared for the second blade aiming for his midsection from the other side.
The Shark was forced to block the outline-blade with his hand and jump back, panting and reassessing his foe.
“A bit much for you?” Nibiiro asked, the first words uttered since the start of the battle.
“Hardly, Shibi.” Kisame growled back. “Try countering this!” The Shark slammed his bloodied palm on to the ground and expelled chakra in a Summons. Two Sharks, a Hammer-head and a Bull shark, appeared in midair and turned to Kisame.
“What’s the meaning of calling us to such a horrid, dry place, mortal fool?” the Bull shark demanded.
“Fresh meat” Kisame replied, pointing with his blade. The two Sharks turned and looked over Nibiiro appraisingly.
“That will do, for now.” The Hammer-head said reluctantly, “But we demand better tribute from you later.” They charged, swimming through the air as if it were their natural element.
“You think I’m unprepared for this?” Nibiiro demanded as he easily dodged the clumsy Sharks and nearly lopped off one of the hammer-head’s protruding eyes. As he twisted with the dodge, the grey-eyed fighter bit hard on his thumb then slammed his palm against the ground as well. Two giant Tigers appeared and immediately attacked the Sharks. Unlike Kisame, Nibiiro had his allies’ full cooperation and not entirely because he was the vessel for their lord and master, Byakko. And the Tiger was taking full interest in the battle, lending his power tohis vessel.
Nibiiro’s danger-sense kicked into high gear and he ducked and rolled as Kisame slammed his sword down on the spot were the Jinchuuriki had been, then pressed his hands together to unleash some of his jutsus. Nibiiro shot to his feet and pranced back as a jet of water powered its way to him. He then grabbed the hilt of the double blade with his teeth, tucked the outline blade in his elbow and returned the gesture of the jutsus’. Kage Bushin, shadow clone, to be parried by Kisame’s water clones. Then a water dragon form sent Nibiiro scampering to the left, were the water jet had shot previously. He growled as his feet became stuck in the viscous mud hidden just one inch under the salt layer, which had been melted away by Kisame’s summoned water attacks.
“Hah!” the Hidden Rain Nin crowed triumphantly as Nibiiro struggled to move with his usual agility. “Now do you see why I brought you out here, Jinchuuriki? Not only is there the mud, but the ground here’s too toxic with salt for your precious, demon-spawned plants to grow! You’re helpless!” Kisame launched another water dragon at Nibiiro, making him backpedal deeper into the mud and also making a nice water layer for the Shark to charge across, still cackling with presumed victory. Nibiiro smirked.
Focus chakra in the feet, then- Nibiiro shot skyward just as Kisame slashed his sword across the spot were he had been; for the second time.
“Remind me to thank you for melting the salt!” Nibiiro yelled down. With Byakko’s power, he spun out an invisible matrix deep into the uncovered muck, to the mostly-decayed plant matter within it. With a mental twist, huge, thick vines snaked their way out and launched at Kisame and the two Sharks still doing battle with the Tigers. The Sharks were caught off-guard and were crushed by the thick vines, but Kisame successfully dodged and sliced at the vines. Nibiiro landed lightly on the back of one of the Tigers and charged the retreating Akastsuki. On the way, he grabbed a small stem off of one of the vines and rewove the chakra matrix through it to outside the salt flat. As the Tiger passed Kisame, Nibiiro lashed out with the outline blade, which he hadn’t dropped as he had the double blade. Kisame parried and didn’t even see the small stem land at his feet. He did see the effects of his distraction though, a small, dense forest sprung up around him as roots from the trees outside the salt flat sought out the stem, engulfing and crush him amongst the thick trunks. Nibiiro had won, but…
That was way too easy. Something is definitely not right. But before that…
“You can come out now Sasuke.” Nibiiro called as he swung off the Summons’ Tiger’s back. He glared over at a clump of trees on an overlooking ledge where a slight form guiltily emerged. Nibiiro had sensed a slight spike of chakra before it had been stifled while he had been engaged in the earlier sword fight. By ignoring it, he had hoped to convince Kisame that the spike was of no consequence. Apparently it had worked, Kisame had been entirely focused on the battle.
Nibiiro felt his face become a hard, cold mask and glared at the young, sulky Nin as the youth approached. Sasuke refused to look Nibiiro directly in the eye, a clear sign of reluctant guilt.
“What, precisely, were you thinking?” Nibiiro asked coldly. The rage of battle was still burning in him and Sasuke’s stunt was vastly un-amusing.
“You gave me no reason to believe that this was any more important than a meeting with the Eagles.” Sasuke lied. Nibiiro took a deep breath.
“No reason… Are your eyes just for decoration? Is that brain of yours so ineffectual? Are you mentally handicapped?!” Nibiiro yelled, “Are you so intellectually deficient that you couldn’t grasp the significance of my sword?! Are you such a nimrod that my warning had no effect? Why the hell did I waste my time rescuing and nursing such an idiot!?” Nibiiro’s verbal abuse continued for a few minute’s as he became truly enraged before Sasuke’s temper snapped.
“Why the hell should I trust what you say?” Sasuke yelled back, “You’ve never given me any reason to think that you are trustworthy or have good judgment! Why shouldn’t I spy on you? I have no reason to think you’d be truthful, so why shouldn’t I look out for myself-” Sasuke’s rant was cut short by a hard back-handed blow to the face. Sasuke stood with his head hanging to the side, blinking in surprise.
“You’re right, you don’t know if you can trust me or not. Make up your mind now; leave or stay. Because I’m leaving.” Nibiiro growled, “Akastsuki has to know I’m here now and-” He cut off as he looked back at the trees he had called up. Without the continued support of Nibiiro’s chakra, they were receding back into the earth, revealing the mangled corpse. It wasn’t Kisame, but some unknown Nin, surrounded by ashes.
~*~*~
The language that came out of Nibiiro’s mouth when he discovered the unexpected switch left Sasuke wishing he could take notes for later reference. But he was still feeling bitter and angry, and guilty. Everything that Nibiiro had said had a point, he had chosen to ignore the danger that was evidenced by the older Nin’s behavior. He had deliberately convinced himself that whatever Nibiiro was doing was going to be interesting, not dangerous.And what Sasuke had done was even more potentially dangerous. If the Kisame clone had sensed him, or had cared, Sasuke would have made a perfect hostage. Nibiiro hadn’t spent so much time in nursing the youth only to let the Shark kill him, and Sasuke was still too weak to even defend himself. He would have been helpless to prevent the Kisame clone from doing whatever he wished, and Nibiiro would have been held helpless as well. Or later soul-sick for letting Sasuke get killed when he could have prevented it; another kind of Akastsuki victory.
Nibiiro gave the corpse one last glare then turned and stalked off.
“You leaving or staying?” he growled over his shoulder. Sasuke opted not to answer and just followed silently. His pride may have been smarting from Nibiiro’s harsh words and the blow to the face, but Sasuke’s sense of guilt was throbbing even more so. He’d put the person who had cared for him and taught him useful things with no thought to repayment in great danger and only luck had kept them both safe.
Nibiiro stomped on in a temper for a couple of miles as Sasuke struggled to keep up before the older Nin stopped dead and heaved a sigh.
“I’m sorry.” he said
“Ahh…” the younger fighter replied intelligently.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you and I’m very sorry I struck you. You may have warranted some harsh words with your behavior, but I went far beyond the call of duty with my actions.” Nibiiro sighed again, “I was, and am, angry and frustrated with Akastsuki; I like where I live and I don’t want to leave and I’m really tired with being hunted like a dangerous, wild animal. And I was worried. About you; and I took all of it out on you and that was completely uncalled for.”
“I… I’m sorry too.” Sasuke almost-whispered, “I… I knew that you must have had a reason, a good one, for taking that sword, and I chose to ignore it in favor of being suspicious…” He trailed off. The youth was rather unaccustomed to making apologies, preferring to make it up to the person he had wronged instead, therefore never having to admit his fault. But Nibiiro had made a gesture of good will here, admitting a fault were there was barely any on his part. This gesture compelled Sasuke to return it, it was only fair. Nibiiro looked over his shoulder and gave his companion a quirked grin.
“So we both admit we fucked up, works for me.” He said jauntily. Sasuke smiled back weakly.
“So, ah, where are we going?” He asked, emboldened by Nibiiro easy acceptance of his apology. “And, um, why are they…” He trailed off, unsure of whether or not he should ask about the reason Akastsuki was after his companion and caretaker. It might lead to a sensitive issue, and Sasuke didn’t want to mess up again so soon. Nibiiro heaved a weary sigh at the last question and motioned for Sasuke to continue walking with him.
“For the first question,” he said as he walked at a much slower and more easily followed pace, “remember that ledge I pointed out yesterday, where I flag down the Eagles? I want to get out of here now and that means using a quicker method of transportation than my own two feet. After that, I’m heading to the place of a friend of mine, she needs to know about this attack, which leads me to your second question.” Nibiiro paused as he thought out the best way to answer such an issue.
“To start with, what do you know about the Bijuu and the Jinchuuriki?” he asked.
“The what and the who?” Sasuke asked in reply, glancing over at the older Nin with surprise. Nibiiro winced in a way that suggested that he was fearing that answer but expected it anyway.
“I was afraid of that, virtually none of the Leafs of your generation know about that.”
“What?!? Why? How come?”
“Weelp… there’s an answer to that, and it starts with the attack by the Nine-tailed Fox demon on Konoha village thirteen, fourteen years ago. You heard about that I expect?” Nibiiro asked, cocking his head to look at Sasuke. The youth nodded slowly, watching his companion. “That was the Kyubi, the Nine-tailed Demon Beast. The Tailed Beasts are incredibly powerful and it took an incredibly powerful Jutsu by the Forth to seal Kyubi away. To seal him into a specific person to be precise. The effort killed the Fourth, as you may know, and permanently changed the life of the newborn infant the Fox was sealed into. The Third, in his wisdom, decided that the fate of the infant was going to be cruel enough without him being harassed by his age group for being ‘different’ and forbade the subject of the Bijuu and Jinchuuriki from ever being spoken about, especially to the children.” Nibiiro paused for breath.
“This child…” Sasuke asked, slightly stunned, “who…”
“You know him very well, Sasuke, you worried over the fact that you nearly killed him the entire time you were fevered.” Nibiiro said somberly. Sasuke’s face became mask like, and Nibiiro continued. “You also know two others who are Jinchuuriki like Naruto; the one who holds Ichibi, Shukaku, is Gaara, which is something I only recently learned.”
“And the other?” the youth questioned hesitantly.
“You’re talking to him right now.” The young adult answered softly. “In me is Byakko, Shibi, the Four-tailed Tiger.” Nibiiro stopped and turned to face Sasuke fully. “Knowing this, knowing that there is a demon sealed inside of me, do you still want to stay with me?” The slightly older fighter looked down at the slightly younger one and struggled to keep his fear and anxiety completely internal. He prayed that Sasuke would say that he wasn’t bothered by the fact that his caretaker was essentially possessed and feared a full and complete rejection. He’d been alone and friendless for so long…
“Before I make any decisions, I want to know more.” Sasuke said slowly after a few minutes of careful thought. “You don’t act the way Gaara did, and neither did Naruto. There has to be something more to this then meets the eye, and I want to know what it is.”
Nibiiro slowly let out the breath he’d been holding. “It’s two things actually. The seal that was placed on Naruto is much tighter than the one on Gaara, hence the reason the Fourth died in placing it.”
“And with you as well?” queried Sasuke. Nibiiro shook his head.
“It didn’t need to be tight for me to keep my sanity, although the person who placed it on me didn’t know, or care…” Nibiiro paused, his expression briefly revealing the full extent of his hate, enough to cause Sasuke to step back in shock. The young adult shook his head again and smiled reassuringly at the youth. “There are two different kinds of Bijuu among the Nine, the Odds and the Evens. Those with an odd number of Tails tend to be more vicious and cruel, while the even Tailed Beasts tend to be more gentle and friendly. Byakko is very friendly to me, and has looked after me since my birth in place of my parents. We sometimes speak silently when he’s awake, so if you ever see me staring off into space, don’t worry, I’m probably talking to Byakko.”
“Probably,” Sasuke teased, “but not always. So, there are five vicious beasts and four nice ones. That seems unbalanced.”
“That’s because Gobi, Tiamat, the Five-tailed Dragon Queen, chooses what mood she’ll be in depending on her whims.” Nibiiro explained while Sasuke blinked at him. Nibiiro gestured for them to continue walking. “Tiamat can be as mild mannered as Moro the Wolf or as sadistic as Seiryuu the Snake.”
“That’s appropriate” Sasuke murmured. His companion nodded.
“I thought so too, when I first heard of that one.”
“So… Naruto holds Kyubi-”
“Also called Youko”
“Ah, and Gaara holds Ichibi? And you hold Shibi…”
“And my friends Ashanta and Laniana hold Suzaku the Six-tailed Eagle and Tiamat, respectively. I don’t know who the other Jinchuuriki are, although I know Lana does, which is why I need to speak to her. All I know is, is that Jorumund the Eight-tailed Leviathan and Genbu the Three-tailed Tortoise were sealed, while Moro and Seiryuu were MIA last time I spoke with Lana.”
“Oh, great.” came the cynical response, “The demon most likely to assist Orochimaru out of spite for humanity is out loose somewhere. What else can go wrong?”
“Moro could be sealed into the wrong person or fall into Akastsuki hands.” Nibiiro responded. “Then we’d really be sunk, Jorumund is already inaccessibly from what Lana said, and I have the feeling that we need all the help we can get.” They had reached the ledge by this point and Nibiiro busied himself in trying to get the Eagles attention. Sasuke collapsed against the cliff face, utterly spent physically. But something was nagging at the back of his mind.
That fight with the fake Kisame had been way to easy, and that rang false. There was something about it that left Sasuke feeling as if he were missing something obvious. Nibiiro was barely injured at all, a couple cuts here, a few bruises there, a shallow gash on the thigh; nothing to mention really.
“It’s almost like you were meant to win…” Sasuke mumbled.
“Pardon?” Nibiiro asked as he added more green leaves to the signal fire.
“That fight with the fake Kisame, it’s like you were meant to win mostly unscathed so that you could get away.” The youth elaborated.
“But what purpose would that serve?” Nibiiro countered. He didn’t ask this like he was trying to discourage Sasuke, but instead encourage him to fill in the blanks.
“The attack feels, now that I think about, like an attempt to flush you out, to make you run.”
“Well, yeah. But run whe-” Nibiiro broke off, horrified. “To run to the others, to Lana and Ashanta, to lead… to lead Akastsuki to the Jinchuuriki that they haven’t located… so they can follow me there…” He stood and pressed his hands together in a jutsu seal.
“No! Wait!” Sasuke cried, alarmed. The best spy was the one you knew about, obviously. So he couldn’t let Nibiiro destroy them, or harder-to-detect replacements would be sent.
“Oh, don’t get your boxers in a bunch, I’m just locating them. Yeesh!” Nibiiro grumped. Sasuke let out a cough of amusement and sat back to watch his companion and mentor work. It was always beneficial to watch an experienced Nin at work, especially if you had the Sharingan.
“Yep, they’re there.” the grey-eyed fighter said, “Spy seals, invisible unless you look for ‘em- ah!” Azasu and Akura had just arrived, landing on the edge of the cliff with a flurry of wing beats. The wind kicked up by them forced the two humans to shield their eyes.
“You certainly have a lot of nerve!” Akura bellowed in a deep, bass voice, “You dare ask us for a favor after what you pulled yesterday?” Akura’s feathers were ruffled, his hackles and crest flared out. He looked rather intimidating. Azasu however, looked more calm and serene, if icy and distant.
“I’m not here to ask a favor, I’m here to beg for help.” Nibiiro replied humbly, bowing deeply. Akura seemed slightly mollified, feathers slicking slightly. “Enemies of mine have come to attack me, and while I have defeated one attacker, more will come and I am not strong enough to fight against two or more. I need to run and swiftly before they come. I need your help for that, please!”
Akura turned his head away, “You should have thought about that before you decided to spy on my lovely mate and my own magnificent self.” He said proudly. Nibiiro looked to be at a loss as how to properly respond to that, so Sasuke stepped in.
“The reason Nibiiro-san brought me to look at you is because you, Azasu-san, are so lovely, and you, Akura-san, are so magnificent.” he said, laying the flattery on thick. “He knew that viewing you was a pleasure and wished to share it with me. I admit, we should have asked for permission before doing so, but I think that maybe Nibiiro-san was afraid you would refuse.” he bowed even more deeply then Nibiiro had, “Please, would you be so gracious as to forgive our impudence?”
Akura was apparently very receptive to flatter, his body feathers relaxed, his hackles and crest feathers flatted while his facial feathers puffed out. It was amazing how expressive a creature with nearly zero facial muscles could be, just because of feather position. But Azasu was not so nearly susceptible.
“What were you before, that you have such a silver tongue?” She asked, peering sharply at Sasuke. He decided not to answer but bowed his head under her scrutiny.
“Please, we need help.” He said softly as he watched the Eagles through his lashes. Azasu watched back for a moment, then settled back, puffing up her facial feathers.
“Very well,” She sighed, “it seems as if we have no choice. To refuse your plea may well be a death sentence, and while we are annoyed with you two, we do not hate you.” Nibiiro let out a huge sigh of relief while Sasuke started to breath again.
“Thank you, very much.” Nibiiro said with effusive thanks. “I don’t know how to repay you.”
“Neither do I, with you having to run for your life.” Akura admitted.
“We will just ask Ashanta to pay us and have you repay her, instead.” Azasu explained slyly. Nibiiro groaned.
“Do you know how much interest she charges?” He moaned. The Eagles laughed loudly at his dismay.
“Well and good, well and good!” Akura crowed, “Now, to business! I know you, you wretch, know how to fly with us, but I fear that your companion is probably ignorant. So you will demonstrate with-”
“With me,” Azasu interrupted in a tone that brooked no argument, “you can take the young one.” With that, she spread her wings and launched herself off the cliff face, pumping her wings laboriously to gain height. Seeing that Sasuke was watching intently, Nibiiro lay down at the cliff edge, perpendicular to the mountain face. Then, Azasu swooped in and snatched up Nibiiro in her talons.
“Why-?” Sasuke started to ask.
“Why in our claws?” Akura finished, “Simple, you would be bucked off by our wing movements if you tried to ride on our backs. Now, are you ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.” Sasuke admitted. He lay down in the same place that Nibiiro had lain and Akura took off. A few moments later, powerful talons closed around him with shocking gentleness. The male Eagle swiftly caught up with his mate. The female’s head was tilted towards the burden in her claws, then she veered West and the male followed.
~*~*~
It was a long flight, and all four were very tired by sunset. The Eagles were obviously tired from having flown for hours with extra weight, and being carried belly down in hard, sharp talons was very tiring for the humans. The two Nins were gently dropped on a high hill, then the Eagles flew off to a nearby mountain ledge. Nibiiro stiffly rose and worked the kinks out of his joints then helped Sasuke to his feet. Not that Sasuke was steady on them, his still recouping strength had been completely taxed. He tightly gripped onto Nibiiro’s arm to keep from falling.“Easy now, there’s small cave near here where we can sleep.” The older fighter assured.
“Oh.” Sasuke remarked, “Good.” And collapsed as soon as they got to the very small cave. It was more of an overhanging ledge to be honest. Nibiiro left, and quickly returned with soft branches and fern fronds to make a bed. Sasuke was already asleep.
~*~*~
The nightmare began as it always did. Sasuke was regretfully familiar with this one. It began with his younger self running home from a late class, only to find his entire family brutally murdered, with his gore-spattered brother standing over them. Sasuke tried to do something, go to his parents, attack his brother, call out, anything! But his body was frozen, he couldn’t even speak. His dead parents then rose and begged him to explain why he hadn’t saved them. He tried to explain that he hadn’t known, he’d been in his class and had no way of knowing that his deeply admired brother would actually do something like this. But he couldn’t open his mouth to speak.More dead phantoms of his clan approached, pressing their death wounds in his face, begging, demanding to know why he hadn’t helped them. He tried to run, and while his voice was still frozen, his body could move but he was still trapped. The mouth of the door had become the mouth of a giant snake, slowly swallowing him feet first.
And if that wasn’t enough, Itachi killed Sasuke’s family all over again in front of him, laughing. But the phantoms were still about him, shrieking at him, and the new dead joined the old, doubling the number of dead phantoms plucking at him. The older phantoms were decaying before his eyes, adding another level of horror to the nightmare. Itachi then passed the knife to Orochimaru, and it began again. And again. And again.
It kept going, layer upon layer of dead, bleeding, rotting phantoms begging why he did nothing while his family was being killed again and again before him. He was being swallowed by the creature he hated most and he couldn’t even scream. The two people he hated most were slaying the parents he had tried so hard to please and he could do nothing.
Finally he couldn’t stand it anymore and screamed himself awake.
But this time it was different. He ran home, his dream-self expecting nothing, as usual. He opened the door to his dead family, as usual. But, this time, before the phantoms could appear and the true horror begin, shadow fell over the scene and made it fade away. Even the cries of the dead were muffled. In their place, a giant, black, Two-tailed Wolf watched him benignly with her great, golden-brown eyes. The black shadows swirled around them, insulating them away from everything that could hurt. For all the darkness, and the giant predatory creature looming over him, he felt no fear, only safety. And great weariness; after all the interrupted nights of sleep and the draining events of the day, Sasuke was utterly spent, even in his dream. His exhaustion flattened him, his legs folded and he fell to the soft, shadowed floor.
#Rest little one# a female voice echoed softly, #Rest, I will guard your sleep. No more phantoms of the past shall come to haunt you. I shall watch over you and hold you safe, as you shall hold me. We shall keep each other safe from things that would harm, for as long as we both need this. So rest, and know I watch over you.# As Sasuke fell into the deep dreamless sleep he had been deprived of for so long, the last thing he thought he saw was the soft golden eyes of the Wolf, watching him with a maternal gaze. Then he knew no more until Nibiiro shook him awake the next morning.