Naruto: Shadow of the Beast

On the ironic mountain stood Kōriyama Mamoru along with his master, a man whose full name he did not know. He looked to the man, taking in his large cloak and mostly concealed appearance. Kōriyama watched the man for a moment before his eyes turned back to the scene a few miles away. If he didn't have the good eyesight he did, he wouldn't have been able to see this at all, and even if he could, it wouldn't be as clear as it was now. The scene was disgusting. Kōriyama couldn't believe that his employer was doing such a thing. Killing an old man? Sure, he didn't pay, but that was no reason to kill him. He looked away again upon hearing his master's words. "I don't look because I have no interest in it." He told the man with a shrug of his shoulders as he turned away from the scene. "After all, I've seen you kill before, sensei." And he had, of course, Kōriyama had yet to kill anyone himself--but he knew he would have to sometime. "The way they're going about it is distasteful."

Kōriyama looked towards the mountain. This was probably the highest anybody had ever been, seeing as the higher you got, the higher the air pressure. It was certainly a beautiful mountain, if not ironically named. Whatever happened on one side, the other did not know about it. He was sure that none of the villagers knew much about the goings on of Konoha. He didn't either, considering he was either hanging around the hideout--if one could call it that--or traveling with his master. "Are we going to go down there, Sensei?" Kōriyama asked after a beat. "He'll be calling for you soon, you know." He hated the fact that he and his master had to be at the beck and call of this fat man who couldn't even help himself out of his seat.

How he wished the man would die, but it wasn't his place. After all, his sensei didn't seem to have a problem with it, so the boy had to begrudgingly accept the man as his leader. The black-haired boy finally turned around, rubbing his eyes. Pitch black eyes with no real emotion glanced across the area once more and then moved towards his master once more. "Shall we go?"
 
He stood from his perched position on the side of the mountain, slowly strolling over to his sword he had left on the floor. But before he could lift it over his shoulders he froze. "Hmph," His eyes trembled slightly, he had detected a presence much stronger than that of anyone involved in the beating. Dropping the sword, he rushed over to see if it was the blue headed girl who just arrived grieving over her father's death? Or was it the fat man's goons? His ears gently twitched and he caught the sound of someone talking but couldn't make out what they were saying through the amount of people talking around it, "Wait Koriyama, there's something different about this." He sniffed at the air, and proceeded by bending over on one knee to get a better look.

'There's something strange in the air,' He began to think to himself, he was always very analytic. Despite having brute strength, he never seems to take advantage of it. Koriyama has witnessed this man in action, he's very meticulous and strategic. Almost like a lioness watching her prey through the tall grass before she strikes. That's the best way you could describe this cold, heartless man. Koriyama can recall the one time when he fought a thief trying to take their food, instead of finishing him, he would slowly snap one of his bones until he couldn't attack any longer. Whenever the thief kicked he would snap his legs, whenever he would punch he would break his arms in three places. By the end of it he just left him there to die, like the trash he saw him to be. The truth of the matter was that it was a starving man, trying to collect food for his family. But even then, he felt no type of sympathy for the man.

He tried to pinpoint the area of the sudden energy, a ninja for sure. But not a normal one, wait, now he senses two sources of energy. No, three. One considerable stronger than the other two, maybe a Jonin. The other had to be genin, almost the same level of Koriyama except his power might've been a little lower. Than the last source of energy was a small animal. "What's going on?" His eyes quickly shifted when he sensed a sudden surge of energy in the circle, there was a young man with a mask and white spiky hair. "Who is that boy?"
 
Kōriyama stiffened. Something was different. Much unlike it was before... but where was it coming from? It couldn't be coming from anywhere behind them, so it had to be from somewhere within the village. But that was strange, they hadn't noticed anything before. The boy looked back over the edge, his eyes scanning the area. Nothing was different as of yet. There was a new girl there, screaming and crying about the old man. Then he felt it. New powers. Around five to be exact, though one was a lot smaller than the other four. He couldn't pick out who was the highest level, seeing as they all felt around the same. Kōriyama wasn't as advanced at sensing chakra signatures as his master was, he had no way of telling that one was a Jonin, as the Jonin signature was hiding their power level to be about the same as the students.

Ninja in the village? That was odd. The only ninja-like people within that village were Arc's goons as well as he and his master. Even then, the goons barely had a chakra level above Kōriyama's. They probably couldn't best an academy student when it came to a fight between ninjutsu or genjutsu. That was when he saw the boy. "Who...?" He questioned just as his sensei did. They had no idea who that boy might've been. Or where he came from, but now there were only four signatures grouped together and the boy had one by himself near Arc and his people. Kōriyama watched the scene unfold. "Sensei, we should go down there now." Kōriyama suggested. "There's a few down there..."
 
"No...not yet," He watched as the boy got knocked out and smirked a little bit. Looks like Arc's goons aren't as worthless as he once had thought. Maybe they're actually earning the money being given to them by protecting the fat fuck after all. Suddenly, through his provisional vision he saw a door quickly come ajar. That's when his fast reflexes came into action and he did some formations with his fingers, this was a move Koriyama knew extremely well, the Advanced Shadow Imitation Jutsu. With this move he could control an unwary target's actions, he could just force them to move however he wants by connecting his shadow to theirs. The only difference between this and the normal shadow imitation jutsu is that he doesn't have to move to control their shadows and movements. Once both shadows are connected, he controls what they do, while doing something completely different within itself. Almost like mind control.

He forced them at a stand still, they couldn't move. But he made sure to take some mental notes of the blonde lady standing at the door way. "Ahh, a ninja from Konoha? Possible a Junin Sensei, that right there is a Genin, disobeying orders. Trying to play the hero. Interesting." He stood up and turned around to face Koriyama, "I'm connected to three shadows Koriyama, one Junin two Genin. Arc got the boy who attempted to defeat him and his goons. A very rushed attack, not thought out, in fact a very inept idea. We will get rid of them in due time." He smiled softly to the ground, Koriyama had never seen his master this excited in a long time. Even though he didn't openly show it, he was excited at the idea of being able to fight once more. He picked up his sword and brought it over his shoulders, "Let us go, you must rest before your mission comes into play."

He finally let go of the ninjas, and started off not looking back to see if Koriyama was following.

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Moments later, after Arc, his goons, and Marako were gone Hyosuke and Maiko stood bent down besides the body of the deceased old man. Chiko chittered sadly as he climbed up Ritusko's shoulder, another sad whine came out of his mouth at the sight of the dead body and weeping girl. Maiko frowned slightly, she never been so close to a dead body before, but she sure as hell knew this wasn't the last time she would see one. She reached down to close the man's eyes and sighed looking up at Ayako, "I-I'm sorry that this-"

"No!" She looking up from the palm of her hands where she was crying, tears rolled down her cheeks like a river. "If you were sorry you would've done something! All of you! Of course he was a dying man, but you could've helped him! That little boy is braver than any of you are! Now he's gone! Gone and there's noth-nothing I can do about it!" She stuttered at the end continuing to cry. She suddenly stopped and began to sob, if this was any other situation Maiko would've gone off on her. But she didn't, she knew she must of been feeling some type of uncontrollable pain, not physical, emotional. Emotional pain after losing someone close to her.

Maiko flinched at the insults and her eyes watered, her mouth laid ajar. She wasn't going to cry, she wasn't hurt either. Instead she sat there amazed that someone could love another human being so much. She looked over at Ritsuko then back at the girl, before standing up.

(Flash Back)

"My name is Maiko. I am very skilled when it comes to combat when it's up close and personal. I'm not very social, and I don't expect myself to succumb to friendship with any of you."

"What's your last name?" Marako spoke up and she was taken aback by the glance she gave him.

"I have no last name. I have no family..."

(Flash Back End)

"This is what it means to have a family and the love that comes with it,"She whispered to herself and bent down besides the girl. She put her hand on Ayako's shoulder.

"I-I'm sorry...he's all I have." Ayako whispered and looked up again then froze when Maiko wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Don't worry Ayako, we'll find him and get him for what he's done," She smiled softly and Ayako stared at her. Her sad eyes looked her up and down before hugging Maiko firmly.

"Thank you..."

Maiko held her hands up awkwardly, glancing at her Sensei, before slowly wrapping her arms around the girl.

The people of the town just stood around them all sadly glancing at the corps before Hyosuke's uncle and a few other of the town's men stepped forward. "We will help set up a proper funeral for Old Man Takashi."
 
Koriyama watched his master for a moment, he was itching to get a closer look at everything, as this using chakra to see things that were further away was kind of annoying, plus it took up energy he didn't need to use. All in all, Koriyama wasn't exactly a fan of the method. But, he wasn't a fan of disobeying his teacher either, he didn't want to end up like his sister... even though now she had a better life, he was sure. She had a family and had mostly forgotten about him and that was fine, he didn't want her involved in this seedy work he was doing anyway. "Hai, sensei..." He mumbled, watching the man control the shadows of three people. He was an expert at this, Koriyama was alright, he still couldn't control a person without having them do the same moves he was doing, but he was sure in due time he'd learn.

His sensei sounded excited, he'd been with the man so long he could tell the slight changes in his voice when he was feeling different emotions, it was about as clear as day to the boy. He was excited for having to fight one of them, but why? To Koriyama, they all had around similar power levels. He decided not to question his sensei and instead nodded, following after the man once he saw that they had gathered the brash boy up and left. Koriyama and his master would have to show their faces to these ninja soon enough. And they needed to be prepared.

--

Ritsuko only looked away upon hearing Ayako's words. She couldn't reprimand the girl, even though she knew exactly what she was going through. Ritsuko grunted quietly, standing up to her full height. Hyosuke frowned, looking over to Maiko, he could tell that those words would affect anybody, even Maiko who seemed to be tough and hard core. Ritsuko only shared a look with Maiko as Ayako hugged the girl. "Good." Ritsuko looked to the men, "It's about time this town started to get back on it's feet. It took the death of a willful man to get things going, it shouldn't have, but it did."

Hyosuke, along with a few other men covered Takashi's body and carried it away. "Listen up, the rest of you." Ritsuko commanded their attention, "The remnants of my team and I will be staying around a little longer. We're going after that man and we'll get our teammate back as well as this village's dignity."

"Wh-What do you need us to do?" Someone spoke up, "We... we can't do anything..."

"That's not true." Ritsuko told them. "Everyone is strong in their own way and we'll need everybody to stand together if this is going to work, chances are, he'll soon be back and we all need to be prepared. We'll come up with a plan that will send them packing."
 
Hyosuke along with two men held one side of the gurney that the covered corpse of the old man was on and at the other end was his uncle (Shinsuke) along with two men. At first it was complete silence as they marched down a dirt path, trees surrounded them on the sides each one adjacent to the other in perfect symmetry. Spring was a beautiful time of year, something to behold, the huge pine cone trees, the nice breeze in the air, and being able to spend time with your family. But this wasn't the sort of time Shinsuke expected to spend with his nephew after not seeing him for years. The last time he saw his nephew was back when he first got accepted into the Ninja Academy in Konoha. His wife's sister invited them over to celebrate his great achievement and look at him now, he was a ninja. Maybe not an experienced one, but a Genin is better than nothing. He only wished that he wouldn't have seen him under these grim circumstances.

His once innocent little nephew has already witnessed death with his very own eyes, and even worse his daughter did as well. He had only seen a dead body once before during an incident up at the mountain many years ago when he first arrived. But ever since then it was peaceful until Mr.Arc arrived two years prior. He peeked over at his Nephew to see how he was reacting towards everything. Chiko, who plopped himself on Hyosuke's shoulder, sensed the eyes staring at them and looked back at Shinsuke. Shinsuke smiled softly at Chiko, he remembered how happy Hyosuke got when he received Chiko for one of his birthdays. Ever since they have been the best of pals, but even Chiko had a dismal look in his bulging emerald pupils.

That caused him to frown and look away with a sigh, "Hyosuke," He paused after breaking the silence as all the men looked up to listen to what he was about to say, "Don't let Arc get away with this. I'll do everything in my power to help here..."

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Maiko stood up and helped Ayako onto her feet, she turned around to look at the crowd of farmers, fishermen, and very few children. She put her hands on her hips and glanced over at Ritsuko, "Ritsuko sensei, we need to talk about a few things after this. But don't you think we should help the villagers set defenses up tonight? Even the simplest of things can help, I mean. You know how to work traps remember when we first met? You set up all those traps to test our skills."
 
Hyosuke looked to his uncle and nodded grimly. Of course he was going to get revenge. This was his first witnessed death, and this wasn't how he wanted it to go. It made his stomach sink, thinking that one day he'd have to kill someone just like this. Hyosuke didn't want to kill, he wanted to save lives. He'd much rather be a medical ninja, but things didn't always work out that way. And right now, he had to face the fact that he might have to kill someone to get his teammate back.

The thought turned inside Hyosuke's head. He might have to kill someone, but it would be alright. It would be... justified, right? A life for a life, isn't that how it worked? Of course, killing senselessly, like that man did to his former employer, wasn't something to be forgived. Hyosuke would make this man pay. "You don't have to worry about that, Uncle." Hyosuke said, a strange tone in his voice.

--

"Of course." Ritsuko looked at Maiko for a moment before her eyes went back to everyone within the town square. "Traps are a must and you're at a perfect advantage." She points at some of them, then at the trees. "You've got trees and tools. Small farming and fishing villages like this are at an advantage when it comes to traps." Ritsuko walks forward slightly. "But it's too late for any of you to do anything right now. Tomorrow, after the funeral we'll start working on how you're going to trap yourselves some thugs."

With Ritsuko's words said, everyone left in a large clamor, some doubtful of the ninja woman's claims while others seemed to be determined to do something. "Let's get her back to her house, Maiko."
 
The crowd of townsfolk disbanded into their little shacks to get into the proper attire for the burial. Many who knew the man grieved as fellow family and friends supported them with pats on the backs, hugs, and whispers of comfort. Some just stood there, eyes glazed over with sadness holding hats to their chests. One by one, more and more people disbanded until there was no one. Just Maiko, Ritsuko, Ayako, and the merciless silence waiting to strike them with the realization that the worst events have yet to come. At the time of dusk, back at Konoha, Maiko would sit in bed hugging the teddy bear her long lost friend Shinji gave her the day they first met. She would listen to the songs of the birds as they chirped her a good night lullaby, followed by an encore of creaking crickets, letting her know everything was alright. She blocked out the noises of hate the kids would spit at her as they walked past her closed door, and instead listened to nature as it took it's nightly course. But tonight was different, there was no noise other than distant sobbing and shuffling of feet from inside houses.

Tonight she was the chirping birds and creaking crickets, and her team was the lullaby and teddy bear the village needed so desperately. No one was there for her except for the songs of peace that gave her a new hope, and now she was one of the important pieces of this peaceful song. She would not let them down, not now, not until her last breath, or final drip of blood. Finally she could do something good with these cursed hands, "Alright, Ritsuko Sensei." She nodded and pulled Ayako's thin arms over her shoulder. She counted to three before effortlessly lifting the light girl on her feet, her sobbing and crying has calmed. Not because she no longer felt pain, instead she ran out of tears. Once Maiko and Ritsuko helped her walk into the house, they sat her on the couch.

"Well," Maiko looked about awkwardly and patted the dirt off of her pants, "Will you be alright if we left alone?"

Ayako gave her a nod that was barley noticeable, opening her mouth as if she would say something but nothing came out but a sigh of air.

"My Sensei and I will be speaking outside before we get ready for the funeral, once you're done, meet us there...Okay?" Maiko spoke to the girl as if she was a young toddler. But with what just happened, it was justified, she was and will continue to be in a bad place mentally for a while.

Maiko glanced over to Ritsuko, locked eyes with her and nodded. There was something serious she wanted to talk about, her Sensei knew it from the time they were stuck in place. Maiko led her out and closed the door behind them. She took a few steps forwards, hands crossed then quickly yet swiftly turned around to give her an angry look. "Sensei, what the fuck happened to us?" She barley waited for an answer and continued speaking.

"Why the actual-," She stopped herself from yelling and lowered her voice to an angry whisper, "FUCK were we stuck in place? Who did that? Can that guy who killed Old Man Takashi actually do shit like that?"
 
After leaving Ayako within the house and stepping outside with Maiko, Ritsuko was pretty sure she knew what the girl was going to want to talk to her about. When Maiko began speaking, Ritsuko knew she was right on the money. She looked around, her green eyes sharp and piercing as they looked for any trace of Chakra residue. There wasn't any besides her own and that of Marako, which he used to get over to the men quickly. "Firstly," Ritsuko spoke up just as the wind began blowing around them. She brushed her bangs aside, turning those sharp eyes at Maiko. "Don't and I mean don't curse at me if you know what's good for you." She warned the girl, her voice harsh and cold. "Although I understand your frustration."

"Secondly, it was most obviously a jutsu." Ritsuko responded, "Some kind of freezing jutsu or shadow jutsu that can be used from afar. Because if they were close, say somewhere within the village limits, I would've been able to spot the Chakra signature. As for the men, I'm not too sure of how strong they are. Originally, it felt like they were weaklings." Ritsuko puts a hand on her hip, looking at the girl grimly. "So there probably is someone else working for this man." She looks towards the mountain, "Someone who is capable... and maybe out of your league." Ritsuko sighed, shaking her head, "For now, let's just go back to Ayako and we'll talk more once it's you, me and Hyosuke. I don't like repeating myself."

With that, Ritsuko turned and headed back into the house.

--

It was a little before noon when Ayako came out of her room, dressed in black. Ritsuko leaned against the counter while Hyosuke sat at the kitchen table with Maiko, the three ninja looking solemn as they did so. Ayako entered the room, her face crestfallen as she looked between them. She chanced a small smile, though it looked weak and out of place on her pale face. Chiko chittered on the table and Ritsuko cleared her throat, pushing off the counter. "Now that we're all--well," Ritsuko cleared her throat, casting a glance at he empty chair. Hyosuke did the same, frowning at the implications of her words, "Now that we're mostly here, let's get going." The rest of the group stood, leaving the home and joining the gathering crowd headed for the graveyard towards the back of the town.

A loud humming noise could be heard as the hymns began, Ayako swaying while holding tightly onto Hyosuke and Maiko's hands to steady herself. She wasn't crying yet but it was clear by the shaky wailing of her singing voice that she would be crying soon. Hyosuke hummed along, he didn't know the words, yes, but the tune was familiar enough. He looked over to his sensei and other teammate. Ritsuko'd told him they had something to talk about, and he was sure it had something to do with Marako's disappearance and how they were going to get him back. It was a conversation he was waiting impatiently for.
 
Maiko bit on her tongue when Ritsuko glanced at her coldly, her nose scrunched in anger. She looked away and grabbed onto her own right arm with her left hand as Ritsuko explained, she was angry too it was obvious, and she wouldn't be taking the verbal abuse Maiko is used to giving out to Marako when scolding him. When she mentioned how there may be more men working for this big bully, now murderer, her eyes widened and eyebrow cocked up in curiosity. She was sure more men could work for someone who had the money to control a whole village, but to be able to hire real Ninjas? People who could use Jutsus to even stop Ritsuko from moving another step? People who may even be as good as her? The thought was preposterous, absurd, it couldn't possibly be true. But she knew deep down inside, that was the sad truth, and it was just too hard for her to swallow.

Finally with one last cold statement from Ritsuko, she stepped back into the house. Maiko frowned when she left and decided to go for a little walk around the village to do some thinking for herself and go over what she had experienced all in one day. It was a chilly night in Takakumo village, a chilly and despondent night. All the small shops near the marketplace were closed due to the old man's death, everything was still sorrowful. Some people had candles lighting up their homes since none of the houses had any electrical lighting.

"Don't and I mean don't curse at me if you know what's good for you," She mocked Ritsuko's voice and sighed looking about, "Where are you Marako, we miss you, you dumb fuck." She whispered to herself before turning around to walk back home.

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Ayako, Maiko and Hyosuke led the front of the crowd of 100-200 some folks towards the funeral of her beloved father. The graveyard of the town was pretty small since not many people stay there for a lifetime or even die around those parts. So this was a very special occasion. Maiko walked silently, she didn't know the words of this peaceful song, to be quite honest with herself she didn't know any songs of peace. This was the first time her ears ever listened to such a beautiful melody, and it was amazing. But instead of looking like a fool and trying to hum along, she just paid her respects by bowing her head and keeping her eyes low.

When they reached the location it was neatly set up, many rows of chairs on the sides of the casket and then positions for the family and people of importance to stand and speak about the man who laid in the open casket. Luckily they were able to clean him off enough to give him an open casket instead of a closed one. After almost thirty minutes of everyone getting settled over the noise of the sweet humming harmony they prepared for what came next.

A preacher stepped up to speak to the crowd, "Welcome everyone, I would like to thank you all for joining us this morning. For a long Takakumo has been suffering because of those criminals who run around like leeches sucking the money out of our pockets. But the truly sad part is it took one wise man's life to come to an end for all of us to know we had to do something. Now, to start us off, I would like to bring Ayako up to the stand. As most of you know, Ayako is Takashi's youngest daughter. His older children sadly weren't able to make it today. So, without further adieu, give your undivided attention to Ayako." The preacher stepped to the side and the crowd clapped respectively expecting Ayako to go up to the stand.

"It's okay..." Maiko whispered and patted her back, "Go on ahead."
 
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A little odd and out of it, Ayako made her way up to the podium slowly. All eyes watched her with muted interest and sorrowful pity, mixed with something else—whether it was sympathy or hope could only be determined by the individual. Hyosuke watched Ayako closely. It seemed as if she was there… but wasn’t. Hyosuke had hardly gone to any funerals in his lifetime, so he was sure that this behavior was probably normal. Glancing around at everyone in the area, Hyosuke noted that many of them were silently crying. It was hard to believe. He guessed that this was suddenly their breaking point. He glanced at his sensei. She hadn’t moved much of an inch since they arrived. It was almost as if she was stuck in that jutsu she had been before.

Rock solid, tall and firm stood the woman. Her arms were crossed behind her back, as if she was security for the whole thing—which was probably true. The blonde woman noticed his stare and turned to look at him, green eyes boring into purple, looking for something that was unknown to Hyosuke. The burning stare didn’t last long. Before Hyosuke could even blink, Ritsuko had changed her stare, it was one of reassurance now, as she watched him, the small traces of a smile tilted her lips upward and she turned back to look at Ayako. So this was a ninja who had seen death more times than she could probably count.

Stoic yet still emotional. Hyosuke wanted to be like that. But… he thought, it was a little scary to see how quickly she could flit through her emotions—how quickly she could move through grief and into taking action… did that mean some of her emotions weren’t real? Just a front? Hyosuke didn’t know and he wasn’t even sure if he’d find out. Finally, Ayako had made it to the podium. She cast a long, hard glance at her father and steeled herself.
Throughout the crowd, they heard the sniffling gasp and clearing of her scratchy throat before she looked out into the crowd. Her eyes were red, bloodshot from being up all night. She hadn’t slept much of anything, screaming and crying, hoping that it wasn’t real, but seeing him laying there peacefully in the coffin and thinking on what he had done, Ayako knew this was real. And burying her father was only the first step to freeing the village.


Ayako cleared her throat once more, “T-Th…” She paused, her voice a lot quieter and much raspier than she had originally thought. She cast a glance over at Maiko, Hyosuke and Ritsuko. Hyosuke tried to give her a reassuring smile, as did Maiko, but Ritsuko only nodded firmly. Ayako nodded back. “Thank you all for coming. This… It means a lot to me… and to my father. It means that this village is finally…” She looks at him once more, “Finally… coming together. This—although it’s a very sad one—is the first step in freeing this village from those thugs.” Ayako paused, looking out at them once again.

That was when Ritsuko stood up straighter. If Hyosuke didn’t have such a trained eye, he wouldn’t have noticed the slightness in her new stance. Was… was something happening? Ayako opened her mouth to speak once more and that was when she moved. It wasn’t the usual transportation jutsu—it was pure speed. She blew past them, almost as if she had begun flying and a kunai was raised. It happened so quickly, Hyosuke almost didn’t see it. Panic struck the crowd as whatever that was meant for Ayako was deflected up into the air, exploding.

Shrieks filled the air as people scattered and suddenly, they were under attack. Chiko growled as Hyosuke pulled out a kunai. They were surrounded. “Sensei!” Hyosuke whipped his head around to see Ritsuko trapping Ayako in some kind of barrier just as someone flew at her. That person didn’t stand much of a chance and in seconds, he was down and bleeding out.

“Get the people all together! Make sure nothing happens to them!” Ritsuko yelled back at him as she took on a few more.

An ambush, this was an ambush. Hyosuke steeled himself. He had a job to do. “C’mon, Maiko!”
 
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It was as if the air stood still, they all sorted themselves out in their seats. There was some ruffling and coughing but finally everyone was adjusted as Ayako made her way up to the podium the men set up over night. The balmy sun and scorching heat of yesterday felt like it all had occurred just a few hours prior. The weather had come and gone, just as sudden as the life of the old man. Now, on this new day, the sun was obscured by a billow of clouds, and a soft bristle erupted just as the ceremony was to commence. The intensity was almost too much for even Maiko to bear, she awkwardly twiddled her thumbs, feeling out of place. She still wore the same outfit from the foregoing night , not knowing she would have to pack for a funeral. She was wearing a black 'sports bra' underneath a net shirt that was all concealed beneath her light green flat jacket. She also wore purple baggy pants with patches on the sides holding her kunais and ninjas stars.

Everyone around her bore black dresses and suits, to commemorate the old man. She was a rainbow, engulfed by a sea of darkness. Finally, everyone became motionless, it was calm. Or at least as calm as you could be in a situation such as this one. Instantly the mood shifted, something was happening, and it snapped Maiko out of her daydreaming mode. She glanced up and noticed that Ritsuko had moved from one position to the next faster than she could comprehend in those few seconds. Everyone glanced about, some gasped, others quickly stood up. Some of the men even prepared for the worst, the worst being an attack. Unluckily for them, their intuition was right.

She looked about as screaming men, most likely belonging to Mr.Arc rushed in through the woods, how they got through so quickly baffled her. But she had to react, and fast. She rushed people along out of the aisle in which they sat, pushing them through to the center so she could get out there and open up a path back into the village. "Hyosuke!" She shouted,pushing through the crowds of people, almost getting swallowed up by this sea of shadows and trampled by their panicking feet.

"Fight them off! We need to make a path to the village! Hurry!" She rushed up front next to him, no time to pick her hair up now. She held her fist up as the goons waved around their swords and daggers.

"Haha! Look at this boys! Girly wants to dance," He smirked and spit down a glop of snuff on the floor. Then he glanced over at her arm, noticing the Hitai-ate. His facial features suddenly shifted and he snarled,"These are the ninjas boss man was talking about. Kill em'." He told the men around him as they all erupted towards duo.

Maiko shifted to the right, dodging a swing of a dagger swiftly then kicking away an incoming sword that came low for her knees. She brought her elbow up connecting with one of the goons breaking his nose and violently dropping him on his back. She felt a sudden burn on her arm, then noticed the warm blood trickling down her dark skin. Her skin suddenly began to glow as rage ensued,"Son of a bitch."

She turned around and kicked the man who gifted her the laceration, there was a sudden cracking sound as he slid into a tree and bent his head over lifelessly. With overbearing speed, she shifted and swung viciously into the temple of the man who first spoke to the rest and watched as all the other men backed up.

"Fight Hyosuke!" She shouted, breathing heavily, she almost seemed scary at this point. Like the true beast who wandered within her. Blood that wasn't hers covered her fists and shirt. She might've even killed one of the three men she brutally knocked out. But this was a kill or be killed situation, and from what the man said it seemed like they were definitely targets for murder.

Screaming consumed the once silent atmosphere, the ceremony to commemorate a great old man was ruined, and there was hell to pay.
 
Hyosuke did as he was told. His objective was to clear a path. He wasn’t bloody yet, only using his power to fend off attackers by knocking them away with pure strength. If they were to clear a path to the village, that would mean Hyosuke needed to either use a jutsu or use ‘that’. And he wasn’t too fond of using ‘that’ since his chakra control wasn’t that good right now. He cast a quick glance at Maiko, seeing that the girl was bleeding already. He frowned momentarily before bringing up a kunai to block one of the thugs’ attacks. The metal of their weapons clashed, sparking momentarily before Hyosuke could gain the upper hand.

He ducked low, sweeping out his leg and knocking the man onto the ground, not before his fist collided with his face, leaving a small crater in the ground. “Villagers!” Hyosuke called out, hands moving rapidly in seals, “Follow this path! Earth Release: Bunkatsu one no jutsu!” He slammed his palms on the ground, the ground around him rising impossibly high to create a straight path towards the village in the middle. He looked back, seeing the panicked faces of the villagers running towards him. Hyosuke side-stepped, allowing them to run through and following after them, just in case the men tried to follow them

Ritsuko dodged kunai after kunai, seemingly calm and collected. Her mind was elsewhere. She was thinking—racking her brain for any indication of a leader. These all looked to be nothing more than common thugs, so who was pulling the strings? It was clear that this man—whatever his name was, Ritsuko hardly had time to care—had something akin to ‘generals’ that would oversee the grunts so he didn’t have to. And that meant this ‘general’ was the one to kidnap Marako and also launch this attack. It was too coordinated to be a random scare-ambush. Someone had to have been watching them.

Ritsuko’s eyes scanned the battlefield. Many of the thugs had strayed to Maiko and Hyosuke, who—much to Ritsuko’s surprise—seemed to be working well under the stress. Hyosuke had created a path with the division ridge jutsu, which parted the ground to make a secure path much like the parting of seas. If Marako was here, the villagers wouldn’t have had to worry about what came up when they got to the village, as they’d have two guarding them. Well, at least the villagers were gone.

She sighed, deflecting another kunai with a kick back to its owner. She flicked her hands into the simple hand sign, creating a shadow clone of herself, which leaped away, already knowing the objective. “Stay low,” Ritsuko told Ayako, handing her a kunai. “Scream if you need help.” With that, Ritsuko leaped into the air. “Maiko, out of the way!” The blonde flipped mid-air. This needed to be finished now. “Ritsu-Release! King Hammer!”

Ritsuko slammed into the ground, creating a shockwave as well as a large crate and effectively knocking all of the men down and out. “Maiko!” Ritsuko called out, looking around the makeshift battlefield.
 
Maiko glimpsed over at Marako, as he formed up signs with his hands. She always envied ninjas who could use Jutsus unlike her, but at a moment like this she couldn't have been more delighted at the help this was gonna give them. The earth began to shake violently and the thirty some goons who stood before them began to quake at their knees, others were woozy and fell to the side. Suddenly the terrain fissured, small cracks formed and then it lifted and parted, dragging the goons away against their will. They tumbled down the sides into trees, some fell down the hole only to get trampled or beaten by the panicking and livid villagers. Hyosuke basically formed a fjord, without water, and it impressed Maiko so much she stood there stunned.

She didn't have time to make any comments though because Hyosuke was already running alongside the villagers, he was going to get them armed so they could fight back against the goons if needed be. Suddenly Ritsuko's voice brought her back into reality, she snapped her head back and realized what was happening. If she hadn't jumped when she did the shock wave would've knocked her unconscious as well, but she was able to stay on her own two feet thanks to her instincts. "I'm alright Sensei!" Maiko called back and slowly walked over, she glanced around to all of the groaning unconscious men, and then over to the other men who laid dead or wounded.

"Sensei...this is a mess. We're going to need to inform the village hidden in the leaves to imprison all of these thugs, right?" She asked, then paused when she noticed the open casket still situated out there in the open. "If you ask me...they deserve nothing but death." She stated bitterly, her white markings emanating a yellow gleam of anger.

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The cloaked man leisurely trekked through the hidden path in the woods, his pupil stood next to him. They hadn't spoken since they left their camp ground, and he could only guess they were heading to Arc's temporary command center just a few miles off of the town, due to the familiar path. His sandals casually scuffed against the soil with every step, for such a dangerous man, this mysterious figure was a laid back person, not much got under his skin. Finally they reached the campground, makeshift tents were abound on the uncut pastures. Tree stumps stayed place in the area, they cleared the trees for the tents, it was amazing how they weren't captured yet with how noticeable the tree differential was.

Then there was Arc's tent, very large and valuable. Of course, he always looked to present himself as royalty. When really he was a puppet to their main goal. As the two stepped foot into the camp ground Arc took notice and shooed the goons he was talking with away. He stood up and walked over, a big smile on his face as he held his arms open for an awkward hug.

"Junzo! My good friend! You and your little pupil- ugh, uhm...what's your name again kid?" He whispered the last part before going back to what he was about to say, "are always welcomed here!"

Junzo, the man with the robe watched him, cold eyes, emotionless face. Arc stiffly chuckled and instead reached for a handshake that was also denied. So he just lowered both his hands, awkwardly cleared his throat and continued to talk, "Tell me, how are my boys doing in that town. Gathering enough men for our goal, correct?"

"You realize," Junzo finally spoke up, his inexpressive voice rung out echoes in the campground where over a hundred goons froze and listened. All of them knew Junzo didn't seem like the one to mess with, and if the legends are true then it's confirmed that they should stay away from him. "Hiring a bunch of mercenaries, to do a raiding job against ninjas, never works." His scabbard clicked against his side with every step he took. "Isn't that right, Koriyama?"
 
“You’re right.” Ritsuko dusted herself off, glancing at the casket. Luckily it hadn’t been hit. Ayako stood up, looking around the damaged area before she rushed over to her father’s casket. Ritsuko gestured to Maiko to follow her over towards it. Ritsuko stood in front of the casket.

“I don’t think we have time for a proper burial, so we’ll just have to lower him in ourselves.” Ayako nodded, wiping at the coming tears as Ritsuko used the once forbidden jutsu once again. Two more copies of herself appeared within a swirl of smoke as she closed the casket. Ayako stood back, watching her father be lowered into the ground by the Jonin shinobi.

Once the task was done, Ritsuko’s clones disbursed and she looked towards the direction Hyosuke had gone in with the villagers. “We need to hurry to Hyosuke.” Ritsuko informed the two. “My shadow clone is with him, but that’s not enough.”

--

Hyosuke saw Ritsuko leap over them, surprised at the appearance of his sensei. It was then that he heard a loud, earth-shaking crash from somewhere behind them. The scared screams and shouts of the villagers brought Hyosuke’s attention back to the present. He looked around, there wasn’t anyone following them and with Ritsuko up ahead, he was sure that if anything came their way from the front, she would be able to handle it. It wasn’t long before they reached the village center.

Hyosuke looked around at them; some were lying on the ground while others were catching their breath. “Sensei!” Hyosuke ran over to the short blonde woman. Ritsuko looked up at him. “Where’s Maiko? You left her alone?” Hyosuke accused the woman.
Ritsuko rolled her eyes, “I’m a shadow clone.” She gestured to herself. “I’ll check the perimeter. Check if anyone is hurt.” With that, Ritsuko leapt away and Hyosuke turned towards the villagers. He cleared his throat, gathering the attention of the villagers, who all seemed panicked, yelling at him for answers.


“I know just about as much as you!” Hyosuke countered, “While we wait for my sensei and teammate to join us, if anybody needs medical attention, please come over to me!” He raised his arm in the air as a small line began forming in front of him.

--

Koriyama followed behind his teacher slowly and quietly. The makeshift camping grounds of Arc’s men was subpar at best and hastily put together. Koriyama hated anything that had to do with this man because he felt slimy and gross. And Koriyama hated anything slimy and gross. Especially fatmen named Arc. He still didn’t know hy his master even listened to this man. It really irked him that such a great man was being belittled by having to listen to this guy. “Koriyama.” He answered the man’s question as he went for a hug and handshake that was not at all received by his master.

“That’s correct, sensei.” Koriyama nods. “Mercenaries do not have the training or skill to combat a ninja.” He was sure, at this moment if they weren’t dead, they were all probably unconscious or close to being so. He looked to his sensei, wondering what his next word or move would be.
 
Maiko looked about in solemnness as she helped lower the casket into the pit. She pulled the shovel over to her side and began to pile dirt over the silvery sarcophagus. Ayako wasn't crying out loud, her tears were muffled as she was trying to stay strong during a time that the village was suffering. Maiko and Ritsuko's two clones quickly heaped dirt upon the mound until it was covered up in a matter of minutes. She tossed the shovel aside, and urgently nodded at Ritsuko. She raced off towards the town, past Hyosuke's man made fjord (without the water)and towards the village. When she arrived it was a mess, men were rushing their families into their homes, coming out with pitch forks, hatchets, or any sharp objects they could get. The sound of booming footsteps were coming steadily and fast.

Maiko scrutinized the area, in search for Hyosuke, when she found him she ran besides him, adjusting her lilac colored hair into a much more comfortable tight pony tail. "Hyosuke, more of them are coming." She told him as she unzipped her flat jacket to cool her body off, sweat dripped against the net shirt and trickled down her chin. Her ominous markings continued to discharge the gold aura. "Everyone, get ready!"

Villagers, of all shape, genders, and sizes, lined up. It was a myriad of commoners fighting for the city they love. Weapons out in front of them. The men formed the first line, the women made up the second and everyone over the age of forty setting up the line in the back. Ritsuko moved up front with Hyosuke and removed her gloves, stuffing them into one of her patches against her cantaloupe trousers. She then closed her eyes and began to concentrate her energy on the rain. "This is a lot harder without my gourd, but if I concentrate long enough...I can-" She stopped talking and focused, perspiration besmirching everything from the sports bra to the flat jacket and beading down her forehead.

Water stopped dripping upon them and instead was being held over their heads, all the rain that once invigorated on the leaves of trees and pastures began to lift away, up into the huge floating wave shadowing all the villagers. Maiko's arms convulsed and her glowing marks slowly began to flicker, "Almost...Done...!" She shouted weakly.

When the thugs made it to the entrance they all stopped, shocked at not only how organized the villagers were, but at the huge mass gliding over their heads. "E-Everyone..." The leader of the mercenary group froze and turned around, "Run!"

Maiko shouted loudly, heaving the huge wave from overhead, sending it crashing through the entrance, across the dirt, through the opening of adjacent trees and into the thugs. She quickly fell on her knees, panting dully, "I got em." She whispered and collapsed. Her glowing imprints faded away and her chest rose and fell weakly, the energy she used for that knocked her unconscious.

The water spread away after awhile and just ceased to exist, but it left behind the bodies of many comatose thugs. The villagers looked around and then walked over to Ritsuko, "Is she alright?" One of the older ladies shouted.

"She isn't dead right?" Another man yelled.

"Did we win?!" Sophie asked all shaken, she insisted on fighting along with her father and mother. Who were all, thanks to the heroics of the three ninjas, safe.

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"Hm," Junzo walked back and forth, then glanced up from his hood. His glowering face scowled the fat man as he got really close to him. His eyes shooting daggers into those of Mr.Arcs, "Do you know what this says?" He slowly pointed up to the tattoo on his cheek. Mr.Arc shook in fear, he was stammering as he shook his head quickly.

"Well then, read it." Mr.Arc nodded and began to read it silently but then Junzo sighed, "Out. Loud."

"Awaken the beast,-" He gulped down nervously, sweat dribbling down his double chins,"for I am his shadow...."

"Now, tell me what you think will happen if you fail us and our cause?" He whispered and placed his cold ashen, dead hands onto his cheek. He softly smacked him twice.

"..."

"Without an army for my master, he will be useless for the first few months. Now do you want to be the man who has to tell him why he has no army to call his own? You better have a plan," He chuckled and took a step back.

"Well, I have a plan! Y-Yeah! A p-plan!" He pointed at Koriyama, "Your little scholar here takes that brat back to the village and in exchange for him we take ten villagers. You know, for the great ones army! Y-Yeah!"

"And if they decline?" Junzo asked emotionless.

Arc was flushed and twiddled his thumbs awkwardly as he thought, "Then he...he....kills him! Yeah, kills him. And then you can go in there and take them out."

"I don't work for you Arc. I just aid you because we have the same common goal. You want to be powerful and rich, I want to bring my master back. But if this is the best you can come up with...so be it." He looked down at Koriyama,"Don't think twice on killing him if he gets...frisky."

Arc smiled and after Koriyama answered his master he led him to where they were keeping Marako. He was tied and on his knees being guarded by a bunch of thugs. "There he is."

Marako slowly glanced up, anger in his eyes, "Let me go!"
 
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Hyosuke tensed at the arrival of his actual sensei and Maiko. They didn’t seem to have the ‘we won’ vibe to them. Hyosuke finished tying off the bandage on the older man’s arm ad he stood up, nodding at Maiko as he looked towards the direction Maiko and his sensei had come from. As Maiko told them to get ready, Hyosuke tensed. Were they stronger?

He could only sense vague chakra coming towards them, the larger chakra was coming from… “Maiko?” Hyosuke looked around. Ritsuko was around the outer perimeter, creating barriers to save those who didn’t want to or couldn’t fight. The others were scrambling around, looking for weapons and trying to get into a semblance of a formation.

Hyosuke took a step back, vaguely wondering where Chiko went. The little animal was with him during the initial attack, but where had he gone now? Hyosuke didn’t waste any more time thinking about it, knowing that the animal was smart enough not to engage the enemy if he knew they were stronger than him. And he was more than smart enough not to use ‘that’ technique, especially when Hyosuke wasn’t around. Hyosuke watched in amazement as Maiko seemingly lifted droplets of water from any available source and tossed it, creating a tsunami like wave that went straight towards the attackers. Gross as it was—since it also involved sweat—it was rather impressive.

“Maiko!” Hyosuke reached out to catch the girl before she hit the ground. A quick once over told him she was exhausted from using that nasty technique. “Sh-She’s fine!” Hyoske answered the question as Ritsuko joined them, her face solemn. “She’s just really tired.”

“We haven’t won until the boss is dead!” Ritsuko responds. “No matter how many of them we defeat, if there’s still a boss, more will come.” Ritsuko looks to her students. “I’d advise all of you to board up your homes as best you can for right now. They’ll need to regroup before they attack again. By then we’ll be ready.” Ritsuko motioned to Ayako’s home and Hyosuke nodded, picking Maiko up bridal-style and following after his sensei.

--

Koriyama watched on silently as his master once again threatened the fat man. He was so easy to threaten, afraid of more powerful ninja but talked shit about them when they weren’t there. It was always the same with these men Their Lord hired before his untimely death. Koriyama looked at the man with an eyebrow raised as he was brought into the conversation. He really didn’t want anything to do with this man, but his sister… He steeled himself. He couldn’t think of her right now. Not while she was so happy in her new life.

“Hai, sensei.” Koriyama stood up straighter upon addressing his master. When the man left, Koriyama followed behind Arc towards where the ninja of Konoha was being kept. He wondered what was taking their sensei so long to come get him. It wasn’t as if his sensei was hiding his chakra. Maybe she assumed he was dead and didn’t care? No, that was too heartless of a konohagakure ninja. He was sure there were other reasons, but that worked in their favor. Koriyama stood in front of the boy, staring down at the white-haired kid.

“Leave us.” Koriyama waved a hand. When nobody moved, he flared his chakra, which made them tremble slightly under the great amount. “I don’t like repeating myself.” He glared up at them. With those words, the thugs left the room, only Koriyama and the boy remained. “You’re rather weak, huh?” Koriyama walked around the boy, taking in all of the details he could from the small walk-through. “Or are these chakra binding ropes…” Koriyama reached out to touch it, chakra visible on his finger. It burned he pulled it away, shaking his finger. “That makes sense.”

Koriyama comes to stand in front of the boy once more, running a hand through black hair. “I’m to escort you back to the village.” He began. He didn’t have to tell him—it’s not like he owed him, but Koriyama liked to tell his victims what he was going to do to them. He hated surprises and that gave him the policy of being honest and truthful. “And I’m going to trade you for ten of the finest villagers there.”
 
Marako contorted his face in a very churlish and frivolous manner, he squinted his eyes and rumpled his nose. He scrutinized Koriyama, looking at him from his head down to his toes. He then glanced back up into his irises, one was a sky blue color and the other was a red shade, darker than blood. He analyzed the boys ashen skin, then a smirk grew on his lips. The smirk formed into a wide smile and then brusque laughter. The laughter muffled the noise of the now full blown rain pattering against the tent's tarp.

"You? Your the big bad guy transferring me, you've got to be kidding me," Then Marako suddenly fell silent and looked up at him, anger staining his eyes, "You know your not going to get away with this idea of yours correct?"

He sensed the strong chakra the boy standing before him had, similar to Maiko's and she had the most out of the three students in the group. Marako had the least, but that didn't mean he couldn't do as much harm as them. He just needed the right strategy, he needed a Hyosuke moment since he was the smartest. But what the hell was Marako, he considered himself the future of the village even when he was the lowest leveled individual of the group. But he had something more than the both of them, heart. He had heart and the spirit to win, and he wasn't going to let anyone get in his way. Especially not this weird eyed, pale, freak who has nothing better to do but work for a fat man.

"What makes you think you could get me to the village without getting hurt," He smiled confidently, "If I'm not the one whipping your ass, my sensei surely will!"
 
Koriyama rolled his eyes at Marako. So he was that type of kid. The type who tried to bait and piss off his enemy. It was fine, though. It's not like Koriyama was going to let the boy's words get to him. If Koriyama didn't bait him... well, he was sure the boy would still be a nuisance even if he tried to quietly transport him to the village. Koriyama knelt down to be at Marako's level. "Our ideals are greater than your insignificant life, boy." Koriyama finally spoke, his voice devoid of emotions, though a small fleck of annoyance passed through his heterochromatic eyes. "You'd do well to be silent. I could kill you without even sparing a breath." While Koriyama didn't like to brag, there was just something about this boy that made him angry. Was it his Konohagakure heritage or maybe it was just the fact that the boy was almost... like him. Well, like he had been in the beginning before everything happened.

Mentally, Koriyama snapped himself away from the thoughts and stood up fully, grabbing Marako by the end of his chakra binding ropes and pulling the boy to his feet. "I have one task and nobody is going to stand in my way. I will complete it." Koriyama told him, determination ringing true in his tone of voice. "Now let's get going." Koriyama didn't wait for a reply before he pushed Marako towards the exit. Outside were the few thugs left and Koriyama nodded to them. One of them grabbed the rope, pushing Marako along while Koriyama walked beside the boy. It wouldn't do to be in his immediate range. While the boy was impaired when it came to chakra, he wasn't, however, impaired on his natural taijutsu and fighting abilities.

Despite this, Koriyama was always on his guard, no matter what, knowing that these men could easily turn on him just as easily as the boy could somehow gain the upper hand on the group. "Let's move out." Koriyama took the lead.
 
Marako beamed up at the ghostly skinned boy, "Let's be honest, I'm too important to kill right now. If you really mean what you say, you would kill me now. Truth is, deep down somewhere, you don't have the guts." Then when he was pulled onto his feet he sighed, "And don't call me boy, you look just as old as me." He retorted shrewdly trying to pull the rope a little bit to loosen his tight grasp. He sighed as two goons took place besides him and then they began a march through the woods towards the city. He felt worthless, tied up to this rope, but at any point he could break free by using his taijutsu. He just needed to wait for the right moment, good things come to those that wait.

In the mean time he looked about for any sign of any weapons he could use or any distractions he could turn into an advantage, 'Think Marako, think'. All the while high above the trees was Chiko looking about at the bristle of trees staining the grasslands. He was gliding through the air, hiding his energy despite it not being as overwhelming as a human. He snuffled at the air, trying to get a scent of anything near by, any signs of Marako. Suddenly while scrutinizing the tree lines below he saw something strange. Someone was being escorted, he was tied up, three other people, and the person had white hair. Wait...white hair? It was Marako!

Chiko nosed dive and gently landed on a branch high above the trees. That's when Marako looked up and noticed Chiko, he tried hiding a smile by glancing down at the ground. 'It's almost time to break free.'