C Rank: Walking with gods and giants.

[Nick]

A routine mission to deliver and intelligence scroll from the Fire country to the Sand country spirals out of control dragging up shinobi from both nations in the process. Realizing there’s more to this report than originally suggested, questions are raised which lead them on a path of mystery, intrigue, and creatures of legend.

Pay: 100$

Participants: Nick, Ifeeltiredsleepy


***

The bright blue sky and radiant sunshine from above made the depths seem less intimidating as Katsu swam deeper and deeper. Even he couldn’t seem to remember why he was here to begin with. But for some reason he just continued to follow the sound of what sounded like a child’s music box. Tone after somber tone the chimes made him feel more and more relaxed, almost as if weightless. And even though the light from above was becoming quickly scarce the deeper he went, the sounds of the music couldn’t help but curve a peaceful smile around the corners of his mouth.

But suddenly the tune of the watery lullaby unmistakably began to change. At first it slowed down or skipped a note resulting in an eerie rhythm, causing him to slightly break his concentration. Then the music began to speed up faster and faster, void of any appealing charm. This caused Katsu to stop swimming altogether. And looking around he realized he was completely smothered by the darkness. Well, not complete darkness…there were two floating, glowing, orbs in the distance below him that almost looked like they were getting larger. The music had gone silent now as he quickly looked above, or at least in the direction he believed was up, only to panic slightly when he didn’t see the sky anymore.

Looking down again the water began to get warmer as the bright orbs were still getting larger. By the time Katsu realized that both orbs were in fact not getting larger, but rather moving closer to him it was too late! Large scaly and thorn covered tentacles shot up with incredible speeds in all directions around him. Without warning, one of them successfully wrapped around his leg, plunging him towards the glowing orbs that he most certainly could see were eyes the size of a man.

This was when the horridly brooding voice filled his head, echoing to every corner of his mind!


Disembodied Voice: KRUU...RUU!

Katsu: Blurg -Brrgle!


***


Katsu: MAHHHAHGH!


Katsu tumbled out of bed and onto the floor still wrapped in his sheets and perspiring like a mad man. Oddly enough, the familiar voices of his deceased comrades brought some much needed sanity to the situation.


Ami: Thank heavens! We thought that fever would never break!


And squinting his eyes while looking around, Katsu sees Ichiro standing at the window, watching the people in the streets below. He seems almost unaffected by anything going on in the room.


Katsu: Where’s Rikki?

Ichiro: …I’ve…sent him on an errand…you should get dressed.

Ami: You were squirming a lot in your sleep before. Was it a bad dream?


Katsu shuddered as images of the dark depths flashed through his mind again. But before he could open his mouth to answer his dead friend there was a loud knocking at the door.

Still wrapped in his sheets, the long haired shinobi stood up and walked to the door. He opened it just in time to see a ninja in a jounin vest vanish in a puff of smoke. Looking down at the floor he noticed a scroll accompanied by an enveloped letter with the hokage’s seal in candle wax. Katsu shrugged his shoulders and picked up the letter. And breaking the seal, he began to read:


Letter
Your services are once again required by the Lord Hokage. The scroll included with this letter contains the results of an ANBU investigation. This investigation report must be delivered as soon as possible to the staff of the Kazekage building in Sunagakure. It is also very important that this scroll be hand delivered as well. And it should be noted that you mission will not be completed until you have personally delivered this report to the Kazekage building.


After reading the letter, Katsu looks up at his friends with a playful smile on his face.


Ami: …Well…What’s it say?

Katsu: I’ve got a mission! So...who’s comin with me?

[i_feel_tiredsleepy]

A light breeze rustled the leaves, and the light chirping of birds bounced off the trees as two figures in black entered the woods. This forest marked the border between the Wind and the River countries. The smaller of the two figures was a short boy in a long black coat holding a backpack in his hands, he turned to his partner and spoke: "What the hell are we doing here Rika?" The taller figure answered the question with a smack to the back of his head. She had cast off her usual clinging leather for a rather ordinary pair of charcoal pants and a tight fitting black cotton shirt with a flak vest over it, the vest was the only sign of her status as an experienced shinobi and it did a good job of drawing attention to her cleavage.

"Ah, Little Nephew, when will you learn." Sounding disappointed, she leaned over and clasped her nephew's face. "Daija, you should never question me, just follow orders." Daija was shocked to notice the sad look in her eyes, for once she didn't seem to be teasing him. The moment quickly passed as she returned to her old self. Huffing a large sigh she placed both hands on her hips. "Hand me my backpack... it's about to get started..." His skull still remembered the last smack, so he didn't bother asking what was about to get started, these things almost always ended up with him beat to a bloody pulp. For almost a minute he stood in silence awaiting an order when she finally broke the silence. "Aren't you going to ask me what's about to get started?" Daija didn't like where this was going, she had definitely had something bad planned for him.

"You just told me not to question... ugh." His question was stopped short by a punch to the gut.

A playful smile had appeared on Rika's face, "I know, and how many times have a told you not to talk back to me."

Sighing, "So, what is about to get started."

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough my sweet nephew." She had made of an art out of not getting straight to the point. "Now go stand over by that tree and wait there for further instruction."

Daija thought she was probably just toying with him, some sort of training exercise that he was being forced to take part in. He stomped over to the tree, "If all she's going to do is give me stupid little orders all day I'm not going to take it, I swear to..." His thoughts were interrupted as he reached the tree and turned around to discover Rika had vanished. "Rika!"

In the back of his mind Daija noted that the woods had gone deathly quiet, fuming he sat down next to the tree and waited for his sensei's return.

[Nick]

From high above the trees a dark haired shinobi speedily leaps from branch to branch. And to the naked eye it would seem that he was traveling alone…but for a ninja like Katsu, ‘alone’ is a relative term. You see, in this case he’s accompanied by the spirits of two dead shinobi. In life they were brother and sister, but in death, Ichiro and Ami and bound to this world only by a bond they share with Katsu, a unique shinobi with the blood of the Shinigami running through his mortal veins.


Ami: Slow down Katsumaru… The sun’s barely up and we’ve already cleared the Fire country…

Ichiro: She’s right Katsu…at this rate we’ll be on the outskirts of Suna in less than an hour…what’s the hurry?

Katsu: Man, even in death you guys can’t stop complain about everything…It’s not like you’re feeling the burn like I am, is it?

Ami: No, it’s not that at all… but as spirits, it still puts an incredible strain on us to cross the rivers below.

Ichiro: Yeah, or did you forget we get weaker when we’re crossing bodies of water?

Katsu: Huh? But we’re hundreds of feet up!

Ami: Which is precisely why we haven’t been sucked into the ‘beyond’ Katsumaru…If we get to close to large bodies of water we can get trapped and taken to the other realm…you see, water acts like a conduit for spiritual energy and…

Ichiro: QUICK! EVERYONE FREEZE!


Slightly startled, Katsu crouches on the branch he’d just landed on while looking around suspiciously. Complete quiet falls over the woods as he tries to figure out what’s going on. Still oblivious to the situation he whispers to his dead friends.


Katsu: What is it? What do you see?

Ichiro: Right in front of you!

Ami: I see it too Ichiro…and it’s not the only one – look!

Katsu: Huh? What’re you guys talking abo…


Just then Katsu finally sees it glistening in the early morning sunlight. The trip wire was tied between the shaded sides of the two trees directly in front of him. It was almost completely invisible when not looking at it from the right angle. Then as he looked down Katsu felt like his heart had dropped into the pit of this stomach. The branches below him was littered with at least 20 or 30 more trip wires like the one in front of him.


Katsu: What is this? I thought this was supposed to be a low ranked mission…


Ichiro and Ami continued to look around when suddenly the sound of several birds’ wings fluttered in the distance as they fled their tree born nesting places… It was clear to Katsu that he and his ghosts weren’t the only ones in these woods.

Katsu’s eyes were fixed on the clump of branches the birds had just left from. He slowly reached behind his hip and started to slide his blade from the scabbard with his thumb. That was when the voice finally spoke out.


????: I wouldn’t do that if I were you leaf shinobi…


Almost immediately a taller female in a Sunagakure vest stepped out of the leaves across from them.


????: I’ll admit it was impressive that you spotted the wires at the speed you were going but I promise you that you’re sorely outclassed if you’re even thinking about drawing that weapon.


Even though she appeared to be smiling her eyes still intimidated Katsu a bit. Part of him wanted to know if she could back up her tough talk…the other part pleaded with him for self preservation in the face of an unknown enemy. Unsure of what to do, Katsu stood upright and began to say the first thing that came to mind.


Katsu: I must warn you to not interfere. I’m currently on a mission for the sovereign nation of the Fire…


But before he could finish the mysterious female cut him off.


????: Are you actually quoting the 14th charter of the universal Genin handbook to me? Don’t make me laugh! You’re kind of old to be a Genin, aren’t you? What’re you, like in your twenties?


In a stern voice Katsu answered as he fully sheathed his sword back in place.


Katsu: …I guess I’m just a late bloomer…And as far as I know the Leaf and the Sand are still allies, so what do you want?

????: Indeed…Well first of all I want you to call out the other companions you’re traveling with.


Quickly making eye contact with Ichiro and Ami, Katsu takes a carful breath as he answers her.


Katsu: There, there aren’t any other companions…just me.


Suddenly the mysterious female vanished in a blur of leaves and quickly appeared in front of Katsu holding a kunai to his neck!


????: Don’t toy with me leaf shinobi! You’ve been conversing with at least one other person for the past few minutes…

Ichiro: Wow, she’s been tracking us that long and I hadn’t noticed? She’s the real deal Katsumaru.

Katsu: I, I swear! And if you’re as good as you say you are then you should know that we’re the only two living people around here!


The unnamed shinobi female carefully examined his eyes for the truth. She almost second guesses herself until realizing that this was becoming a test of her patience.


????: This is taking too long. Just be a good boy and hand over the scroll you’re carrying…

Katsu: Huh? Just how do you know about that?

????: …Don’t make me ask you again!

Katsu: I can’t…

????: Can’t…or won’t? I’d think carefully before I answer if I were you.

Katsu: If I willingly give you this scroll I’ll fail my mission and probably be charged with treason to the Fire Country.

????: Spare me the dramatics…

Katsu: No, I don't think you understand...You see I need to personally deliver this scroll to the Kazekage building. They’re expecting me. ...And I don’t care who you are – even you can’t cover up something like this…


For a few seconds the female ninja lowers her kunai and considers Katsu’s words.


????: Very well then, I’ll make you a deal…One way or another I’m going to have that scroll… But if you willingly give it to me I’ll promise to return it to you once I’m done with it…


Finding her offer completely absurd Katsu struggles within himself. He wonders what his chances of defeating her would be while at the same time he considers her proposal.


Ichiro: It looks like you don’t have much of a choice here Katsu. One option leaves you dead while failing the mission, while the other option leaves you alive with a remote chance of completing the mission.

Ami: I’m afraid he’s right Katsumaru…don’t worry, Ichi and I won’t let the scroll out of our site.

Katsu: *Sigh* ...So what guarantee do I have that you’ll return the scroll to me?

????: ...None…

Katsu: …Well I must say that’s not very comforting at all.

????: Oh, trust me, this is not going to be a comfortable experience for you.

Katsu: What experience? What’re you talking about?

????: If you want this scroll back you’re going to have to ‘tag along’ with me while taking orders as if you were in a standard shinobi squad…

Katsu: Whoa-whoa-whoa lady…when did I agree to that?

????: Or you can just stay here hoping I come back for you…your choice! And my name isn’t lady…Call me Rika…

Katsu: Rika? What’re we, like friends now?

Rika: Unless you prefer to call me Sensei?

Katsu: No-no…uh, Rika’s just fine actually.

Rika: Good, now keep up!


Both Shinobi take a safe path through the branches free of the trip wires as they leave the area. Katsu can’t help but wonder what he’s just gotten himself into. As the wind beats them both dead in the face Katsu attempts to get more information out of the mysterious woman.


Katsu: Rika…How did you know about the scroll?…Matter of fact, how did you even know I’d be coming through here? And what do you need with the scroll anyway?

Rika: (Great, another one who asks too many questions)…Let’s just say I can’t let that scroll go to the Kazekage until I’ve made a few ‘updates’ to the report…

Katsu:…Updates huh? And just what kind of updates would those be?


Rika suddenly turns away from Katsu as he almost swears he’d seen a look of vulnerability in her eyes.

[i_feel_tiredsleepy]

The sun was climbing in the sky as Daija mused to himself: "If she's not back by noon, I'm going back to Suna." He didn't have a chance to escape Rika though, because she was soon back; and she had brought someone with her.

"Daija, meet the oldest genin in the world, the long haired messenger boy of Konoha. Oh, and he talks to himself too." She glanced at Katsu's face hoping for a reaction, trying to get at the root of that mystery. Giggling at a private joke she waved a scroll in the air, "Keep an eye on him while I read this."

She turned her back on the two genin and walked into the woods. Opening the scroll she scanned it for the information she was looking for. Her eyes skimmed over the pages, taking note of a few important details. She read it to herself: " 'Nameless fishing village in southern River country' probably not a lively place, 'reports of tentacle monsters' probably exaggerated, 'strange man spent time in village before arrival of monsters, described as dressed in bright colors, blonde hair, scar on his left cheek, and carrying small puppets.' " The scroll dropped to the grass as Rika wiped tears from her face. She cursed herself for her lack of control as the memories rushed back to her.

_____________________________

Three chuunin sat around a fire in a forest of the southern Tea country. The kunoichi of the group wept as she clutched a blonde boy in a bright red coat. He smiled at her, "Don't worry Rika, the mission was a success we recovered the scroll, now these forbidden jutsu won't fall into the wrong hands. Sensei gave his life for this, and we still have a mission to complete." He bent over and kissed her, "Don't worry, you'll always have me." Rika relaxed, it's true they had succeeded in their mission, but she wondered if the scroll was worth their sensei's life.

"You're right Kureno", she wiped her face with her sleeve, "we have to get this scroll back to Suna." Forcing a smile she called over to the other survivor of her team. "Kuzuki, how're you holding up?" He gave her a look across the fire, his face was deathly pale, and then returned to staring into the flames.

"Don't worry, he'll be alright why don't you go get some water for him, we passed a stream not too far back." Rika looked into his reassuring happy face, that charming smile that he never lost. They got up, as his long red coat fluttered in the wind Rika could see the small brightly painted puppets he kept hidden in the folds, they were the size of children's toys.

"OK, I'll be right back." She left what was left of her team to fetch water, but it wasn't just the death of her sensei that bothered her. He died two days after they had taken back the scroll, the only mark on his body was a small scratch on the back of his ankle. Kureno said it must have been a slow acting poison, as a puppet user he knew more about poison than even her. Even then he was smiling, always smiling. She shuddered as she reached the stream and began to fill her flask. Once she had asked Kureno why he used such colorful, small puppets; he said it was all about deception. Sometimes he did puppet shows for small children, it always made her shiver as children laughed and clapped at the antics of the tiny death machines. All she could think of as she returned to camp was that the small cut looked a lot like those inflicted by the tiny blades on Kureno's puppets.

She heard a scream, Kuzuki's scream, and she ran through the woods. She refused to believe what was happening, bursting out of the woods she discovered Kureno standing over Kuzuki's body, one hand clutched the scroll, the other... was in the classic pose of a puppeteer. She dropped to the ground as the puppet zipped through where her head had been, it's chattering reverberating in her head. Tears streaked her face as she rolled over and threw a kunai at Kureno's face. He was so confident that his little pet would be crippled by his betrayal that he hadn't expected her to fight back. As the blade ripped through a large gash in his face, his hand jerked sending his little marionette through the campfire, its little flaming body crashed into Rika and the fire engulfed her clothes. She fell back into the woods trying to put the fire out, succeeding she collapsed into the mud exhausted. She cried as she waited for Kureno's killing blow, but it never came he had spared her, or assumed she was dead. Her mission had failed, but she raged inside, Kureno had betrayed her, vowing revenge she returned to Suna. She knew as a chuunin he would have quickly been apprehended by hunter-nin, so she told the Kazekage he had died from an enemy attack and the scroll had been stolen. His death would be her doing, no one else would have that pleasure.

_______________________

She walked back to the two genin and interupted their awkward silence, "either of you ever been to the sea? Cause we're going now." She sounded angry.

Both genin noticed her puffy eyes, but neither mentioned it.

[Nick]

The rag tagged make shift squad of shinobi had been traveling for several hours. And as best as Katsu could tell, they’d been traveling due south most of the way. As they zipped through the trees and rocky cliffs Katsu would from time to time fall back to talk to Ichiro and Ami. He was careful to keep up the act in moderation since the younger shinobi, Daija, was still keeping a watchful eye on him as Rika had commanded.


Katsu: So, did you get a good look at the intel report?

Ichiro: It didn’t say much, just something about a coastal village and local folklore scares… If I had to guess, I’d say this all has to do with some kind of personal vendetta…

Ami: I agree Katsumaru. Her eyes…I could be wrong but they look like the eyes of an avenger. I think we should definitely consider pulling out if this all suddenly goes south on us, ah, no pun intended of course.

Katsu: Okay, but not without that scroll…


Suddenly Rika stopped and took a crouching position on the top branch of a tree. Daija and Katsu both took up the left and right flanks in a standard battle formation.

Looking around, Katsu feels a bit of déjà vu as he was once again not sure of what he’s supposed to be looking for.


Katsu: (Now what?...)

Daija: …What’re we looking out for Rika?

Rika: Not your eyes dear nephew, your nose!

Katsu: Ugh man, she’s right, what is that smell?

Rika: Our destination is a small fishing village just up ahead…it might be low tide…all the same, stay close and follow my lead.


As they continued ahead, Katsu’s eyes had been fixed on Rika’s back pouch where she’d stowed the intel scroll.


***


As they happened upon the small village Katsu suddenly dropped his guard. This village had seen better days. Almost all of the houses had some kind of structural damage accompanied with boarded up doors and windows. A large pier jaunted out a few hundred feet from the sand into the ocean, except it layed in shambles and a dense fog completely smothered the farther end from view. Some of the boats had been completely capsized while others just rocked up and down with the current making eerie ‘gurgle’ sounds every time they rose and fell below the surface of the water.

Suddenly an old man walked up from out nowhere towards them. In a raspy, yet not intimidating voice, he began to question them.


Old man: What business do you strangers have here?


Rika raised a finger towards Daija and Katsu as if to ‘hush’ them from speaking as she looked the old man in the eyes and answered.


Rika: Our business is our own old man…Tell me, are you from this village?

Old man: Every since I was born…the name’s Danaku…the local folk call me old man Danaku…least, they used to…

Katsu: What local folk? Does anyone even live here?


Rika suddenly shot back an annoyed gaze at Katsu that made him cringe inside.

Danaku on the other hand seemed to be evading Katsu’s question as well as he continued speaking.


Danaku: There aren’t any other villages around for miles. You must have been traveling a long time. Can I invite you in for some bread and tea? It’s no problem, I’m sure my daughter would love the company. My house is right over ther…


But before Danaku could finish speaking, the door of the house he was pointing at suddenly burst off its hinges in a violent thrust as dozens of filth covered villagers rushed out carrying a young woman with her hands and feet tied up.


Random Villager 1: We have her! We have her! We’re saved!

Random Villager 2: Now maybe we can steady his wrath and invoke his mercy!

Random Villager 3: We’re saved! This will work for sure!


In the midst of the madness, Rika looks beyond the mob and spots something of interest on the ground inside the house – a small painted clown toy. Her pupils almost dilate with rage as she raises her voice toward the old man. At the same time, Katsu and Daija take defensive stances while trying to assess the situation.


Rika: WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?

Danaku: Oh no! Danaki! They’ve got my dear Danaki! They’re all crazy! Y-you have to help me, please! Please save my Danaki!


Again, Rika halted Katsu and Daija from reacting with a gesture of the hand. Though unruly, the crowd showed no signs of aggression toward them. They did however brandish a rather large knife toward the young girl in their grips.

Rika then grabbed Danaku by his collar with both hands.


Rika: Your daughter can wait old man. I want you to tell me about that ‘toy’ on the floor of your house. That is your house isn’t it? You pointed to it not less than a minute ago.

Danaku: T-toy? Why, it’s just a simple toy…nothing, nothing out of the ordinary about it at all.


Rika suddenly grits her teeth as she pulls out a kunai and rests it flat against Danaku’s face.


Rika: And what if I told you I knew a man who used such a toy as deadly weapons? Huh? What then old man?


Danaku’s eyes suddenly opened wide as he pushed away from Rika’s grip!


Danaku: You! No, no, this is all wrong! It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. This is all wrong I tell you!


Continuing to mumble to himself, Danaku runs off down the shoreline of the beach, disappearing into the fog.

What’s more, Katsu finally sees his chance as Rika is overcome by rage!


Ichiro: Now Katsu! This might be your only opening!


Without hesitation Katsu lunges towards Rika’s back. His eyes aimed at her back pouch. And just as he’s within range…


SFX: *CRUMP*


A swift crescent kick knocks him to the floor!


Rika: Not so fast leaf Genin! You’re lucky I have unfinished business here or you’d be paying a lot more for that treachery!

Daija: What do you want us to do Rika?

Rika: Neutralize the situation here. I have to track down that old man.


Rika suddenly vanishes in a puff of smoke as Daija helps Katsu up off the floor.

And in the midst of all the chaos and confusion Ami confronts Katsu.


Ami: Do you best Katsumaru, I’m going to follow Rika and make sure the scroll is safe!


And just when it seemed like everything was happening too fast for them to keep up with…


Random Villager 4: AAAAAHHHHH! They’re back again! Hurry, run! Hide!

Random Villager 5: Curse that damn Danaku and the plight he brought upon us. Curse him!

Random Villager 6: Someone help us! There over this way too!


Just as the two Genin though they’d had a grasp on the situation it seems a new element had arose! A piercing sound filled the air as foreign invaders emerged from the misty waters of the ocean!


SFX: ((((CH-CH-CH-CH-CH-TSSSSSSSSS))))


Katsu: Huh? Now what the hell’s happening?

Daija: Where’s that noise coming from?

Katsu: Holy crap! What the hell are those things?


Both Genin draw their weapons as creatures the size of men appear all over the town. The creatures appear to be covered in scales. Their hands and toes look like the tentacles of a squid. Their heads also have the likeness of tentacles dangling down to the upper parts of their torso.

But it was when Katsu noticed their eyes did it drive a surge of genuine fear through him. He’d seen those eyes before. No matter how beyond belief it all seemed, he tried to hold on to his sanity as the nostalgic sounds of a disturbingly familiar music box echoed through his head…

[i_feel_tiredsleepy]

Daija stared in disbelief at the scene before his eyes. Strange humanoid sea monsters, and a crazed mob bent on sacrificing a young girl. These were the kind of moments that he wished Rika was there to tell him what to do.

As the monsters approached the villagers, most scattered to defend their own families and homes, but one fat balding mound of a man grasped Danaki the old man's daughter, holding on to his only hope for salvation. He brandished a large knife, dragging it across the young woman's bare arm; a crimson stream ran down her tan skin. "I've brought you the blood of a virgin! This is what you want isn't it!" The monsters were closing with the delusional man quickly, and their proximity was driving him to a radical decision. Daija's eyes widened as he realized the man was about to slit the girls throat, "Katsu! He's goin'.."

Daija didn't have to finish the sentence, but the older genin had already moved to save the girl.

_________________________

Danaku ran along the beach, his feet slipping in the loose sand, huffing the old man collapsed in front of a rock formation down the coast from the village. Gasping to catch his breath he struggle back to his feet, "Just a little farther, I have to save my Danaki, this isn't how it was suppose to happen!" Suddenly, Danaku felt a hand grab his scraggly gray hair, his head was pulled back and a blade was put to his throat.

Rika bent over and hissed into his ear, "Tell me where he isss! I've had enough I know he's here."

[Nick]

Tensions were rising all around as the majority of the panicked mob broke away from the young woman in terror for their lives. The creatures that crawled out of the sea looked like bipedal squid men. Some were greenish blue while other’s appeared to have shades of crimson and clover. But to Katsu the entire scene was unfolding as if he was watching a silent movie. All he could hear were the chimes of that morbid lullaby as the airway in his throat choked tighter and tighter…

Then suddenly a young girl cries out in pain as a blade opens up the soft flesh of her arm. The agonizing pitch of her screams violently pull Katsu out of his dream state and back to the reality of the situation.

At the same time, Katsu hears the younger shinobi, Daija, call out his name. But his adrenaline was pumping way too hard for him to stop now as he charged towards the bald villager who had Danaki gripped in one arm while bringing a bladed weapon to her throat with the other hand.

And to make matters worse, one of the sea creatures was still closing in on the bald man and Danaki.

Huffing and puffing deeply as he sprinted, his heels dug into the sand, kicking it up and leaving a trail of haze behind him. The foul and salty seaside air filled his lungs, filtering much needed oxygen into the rushing blood stream that countered the lactic acid burns in the muscles of the legs he pumped furiously.

Ichiro watched him and realized he was on a collision course but was unsure of who Katsu’s target would be, the greenish sea creature? Or was it the delusional villager about to cut Danaki’s throat?

It was happening so fast that Ichiro could barely make out what was going on when Katsu grabbed the massive forearm of the bald man while burying his size 11 shinobi sandal in the man’s armpit in an attempt to get him to let go of the knife.


Ichiro: Pfft! That idiot only meant to disarm him…would’ve been safer to just kill him.


Though Danaki was temporarily saved, she could only watch from the grips of her ‘would be’ killer as he and Katsu struggled for possession of the dagger.


Bald man: …rrr, you don’t understand outsider…grr! The blood of a virgin has satisfied his appetite in the olden times!

Katsu: …I have no idea what you’re talking about…Satisfied whose appetite??



While the bald man’s size was threatening enough, he still looked tired and hungry and as if he hadn’t slept in days. Without warning his body had given out, letting go of the dagger while Katsu was still pulling on it with all his strength. The momentum caused Katsu to pull away hard, swinging the dagger around behind him and unexpectedly plunging it to the flesh of…


SFX: (((((CH-CH-CH-CH-CH TSSSS. GWUUUHNN!)))))


And with that the sea creature stumbled backward a few steps while trying to grab at the dagger lunged between its eyes. And falling flat over, it convulsed for a bit before lying completely still.

...A deadly hush fell over the scene as villagers and sea creatures’ alike stopped and turned to watch. All eyes seemed to be on Katsu as he felt like he'd just showed up to the ninja academy without any clothes on...again.


Katsu: …Oh...Not good…


***


Feeling the tension in his veins that something bad was about to happen, Daija moved with speed as he saw his chance!

Suddenly the squid creatures all erupted at once, their cries filling the coast line with deafening screech noises!

And as all of the squidmen’s attention were now on Katsu, Daija leaped in and whisked Danaki out of the sluggish arms of the bald man. The young shinobi then headed for higher ground as he zipped between the walls of two nearby damaged houses and unto the roof tops.


***


Without warning, one of the nearby creatures looked at Ichiro in spirit form as if it could recognize him. And suddenly it reached out with its tentacled appendage which surprisingly enough grabbed onto Ichiro’s forearm!

Even Katsu’s jaw dropped slightly as he was freaked out by that. He quickly jumped in and kicked the creature away from his dead friend. Recovering, Ichiro appeared to have been weakened by the creature.


***


From above, Daija and Danaki could hear the sounds of the terrible wailing below them. And they both watched as the fog began to thin out a bit.


Danaki: Oh no! The tide! It’s rising! This could only mean that he’s coming!


Suddenly the structures of the two houses started to rumble. Daija and Danaki instinctively grabbed on to each other as the building collapsed, leaving dust and debris all over the place.

And from not too far away Katsu turns his head just in time to catch the action.


***


Katsu: Dammit! DAIJA!!! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!


But the creature Katsu had kicked before was starting to get up now. And not only that, all of its friends were also now moving in.

Ichiro: Run you fool! THAT BASTARD ALMOST HAD ME! …Whatever these things are, they transcend the realms of life and death.

Their screeching howls continues as their leg appendages picked up speed in pursuit of Ichiro and Katsu! Katsu really hated the idea of leaving Daija behind, but part of him took comfort in the fact that if Daija was still alive then he was at least leading these monsters away from him, as well as the rest of the villagers.


***


On the other side of the wreckage, two figures were crouched down in the midst of dust clouds. As Dajia stood up he assessed the damage and checked Danaki for injuries. She'd been coughing up a little from the dust but there was no serious injury other than the wound on her arm from before. And thinking quickly, Daija tore a strip of his own garment and began to wrap her wound to stop the bleeding.

Danaki looked Dajia in his eyes with curiosity but this only made the young Genin look away shyly.


Daija: ...Uh, before, you said "he’s" coming…who, who’s coming? Who's "he"?


********************
********************


Danaku: …The devine one, Kruu-Ruu…He’ll come for it – I Know! I know he will!

Rika: Come for what exactly? Keep talking old man!


Rika kept her blade to his throat as Danaku made a hand gesture, pointing at an opening in the rock formation in front of them…

[i_feel_tiredsleepy]

Danaki coughed and attempted to brush the filth off her dress, wincing from the pain in her arm, "Kruu-Ruu is coming... my father... he took the sacred pearl from the ocean. The traveling man convinced him to do it... he said if we took the pearl we would never starve again, the village would be a paradise." She began to weep, struggling to finish her story she kept on going: "But he lied, he seemed so nice but we gave him the pearl and... and then those monsters came, they came to get back their treasure!"

It sounded like a fairy tale, Daija wasn't sure he believed her but something was wrong in this village, after all he wouldn't have believed in tentacle monsters either. "Where is the pearl? Can't we give it back?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment, "It's in the temple, down the beach." She pointed in the direction Rika and Danaku had run off to before.

The ground started to shake again, the genin and the young girl gazed out at the bean green sea, and an oddly shaped wave was surging out of the ocean. It almost looked like a giant was walking out of the ocean...

"Let's go!" Daija grabbed the young woman by the arm and they ran down the beach. The town was now swarming with the strange monsters.


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


Rika pulled the old fisherman to his feet, dragging him with her they entered the hole. She expected to enter a dark and dank cave crawling with bats and other blind cavern dwellers. Shafts of light gleamed through openings in the cave ceiling, the light spread off of intricate arrays of mirrors placed along the cave walls into a viridian pool of water at the center of the cave, it's glow seemed to illuminate the cave in a somber green hue, she was right about it being dank at least.

She inspected the depictions of strange aquatic looking men that decorated the cave walls as the two of them entered deeper into the cavern, an alter stood immediately across from the pool. "What is this place...?"

The old man looked terrified, "The temple of Kruu-Ruu."

All of this was absorbed by Rika in a moment, but her gaze was immediately drawn to a small figure crouched near the altar. She forced the winded old man along with her until she could see it clearly. It was a wooden puppet, small, rotund, and decorated in bright red, on its face was a permanent grin. Blinded by rage she left the old man and ran towards the puppet. "Wait, don't!!" his warning came too late, she didn't notice the trip wire until she heard the snap. She jumped into the water as the doll exploded: a spray of needles spread throughout the cave.

[Nick]

Katsu’s heart raced as he and Ichiro darted away from the squidmen and deeper inland. It bothered him how fast they could move on dry land for creatures that came from the ocean.


Ichiro: ...These things are relentless!

Katsu: …Then we’ve got no choice…I’ve gotta try and fight them! Get as far away as you can!

Ichiro: You better not die on me!


Katsu then used the momentum from his running to draw his sword and quickly spin around 180 degrees, meeting a reddish squidman with his blade. His katana tore across its chest in a straight line, leaving the tissue under its mangled flesh exposed.

And with a grin, he projected his voice so that Ichiro, who’d kept on running ahead, would be able to hear him.


Katsu: Pffft! Look who’s talking!


The creature that Katsu wounded fell backward onto the ground but it wasn’t dead. There were still four more of them running up from behind it. Without hesitation he drove the tip of his sword into the head of the downed squidman while instinctively digging the toes of his sandals into the sand. Immediately he kicked up sand into the face of the nearest squidman. He followed through with a reversed kick, driving it into another and effectively knocking them both into a tumble.

This made the last two split up and approach the dark haired ninja with caution. They were trying to get on opposite sides of him so that at least one of them might have the advantage of being in his blind spot. But impatiently Katsu charged at the squidman on his right, boring a hole through its torso with his katana. But he didn’t stop there - he then spun around to face the last one, using the 'now dead' creature as a shield to block any attacks it might make. Katsu also noticed now that the other two squidmen that he’d knocked over earlier were getting back up. He took a moment to catch his breath as he calculated the situation.


Katsu: (…Okay, just three more left…I can do this)


And then without warning the squidman that was impaled on his blade suddenly sprung back to life and grabbed onto both sides of Katsu’s head, wrapping its tentacles around his face and ears. A surging pain shot through his body as the dark haired shinobi arched his back in desperation to try and pull away. But the creature just refused to let go.

Images of terror and woe filled Katsu’s head as the physical pain subsided. And for a second there Katsu almost believed that the creature was trying to communicate with him somehow. And then just like that, what seemed like thousands of whispering voices rushed through his shinobi consciousness, multiplying the pain he’d felt before exponentially!

Out of agony Katsu released the sword’s hilt and dropped to his knees with the creature standing in front of him. And grabbing at his own head he tried to pull the tentacles off. But another surge of pain had him quickly crying out for mercy at the piercing voices in his head.


Katsu: NOOOO! STOP IT! I DON’T HAVE IT! I’M TELLING YOU THE TRUTH! I DON’T HAVE THE SEED! I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE IT IS! STO-HUH-HUH-HUH-PIIITT!


Even though Katsu had pulled off two or three tentacles there were still at least ten or fifteen more still wrapped around his head when suddenly he felt the earth shake a little. And almost immediately the creature’s grip around his head loosened up a bit as new thoughts were forced into his mind. From what Katsu could gather, the creature was afraid. It was afraid of something, something big and terrifying, something familiar. The creature’s thoughts had become clear as day to Katsu now. It was sent to retrieve something, something important. And it was afraid of what might happen to it if it failed.


Katsu: …Who took it? Was it taken from the sea? – No! No, it was stolen! They stole it, didn’t they!


Katsu continued to decipher the thoughts of the creature.


Katsu: When?! When is he coming? WHAT?! He’s already here?


Then immediately Katsu sees the creature’s intentions. Out of desperation, the creature wants to offer Katsu to its master as a consolation for not being able to find the ‘seed’, whatever that may be.

And without warning a loud blood curdling roar comes from the village back at the shore line.

Images from his earlier dreams began to haunt him: The razor sharp tentacles pulling at his leg repeats over and over in his mind, each time with a more horrible outcome. He sees himself gasping and struggling for air with no hope of escape…


Katsu: NOOOOOO!


The desperate shinobi stood back up and grabbed unto his katana’s hilt again. Dragging it down with all his might he cleaved the greenish monster down the middle, causing it to finally let go of his head and face. Finally he spins with his sword, lobbing the squid like head off its body and over to the feet of the remaining two.

Frantically he wipes the sticky residue from his face in one of his sleeves. And with fear and insanity in his eyes he takes a deep breath and charges at the last two creatures.


Katsu: GO BACK TO HEELLLL!


***


Ami had stopped to look at the painted murals on the walls while Rika and the old man went on ahead deeper into the cave. The walls depicted a cycle of life where a single being stood middle. The being in the middle was a mass of green tentacles in the shape of a man but with wings of a dragon on its back. In the first part of the cycle the winged creature laid eggs and then rested as smaller tentacled creatures stood guard over it. In the second part of the cycle, both humans and the smaller tentacled creatures sat at a table eating food that the gigantic winged being provided from the ocean.

And just as Ami was about to move on to the third and final part of the cycle an explosion was set off from deep inside the cave!


Ami: On no, the scroll!


She quickly glanced at the last part of the cycle in the mural as she hurried towards the explosion...but was suddenly stopped in her tracks.


Ami: *Gasp*


Something, or rather someone she hadn’t been expecting was standing in her path.


***


The glow in front of her face was so bright that Rika could see it through her eyelids while submerged in the viridian pool. She opened her eyes to see a small spherical object that emitted a green luminescent shade to the rest of the pool. It was cradled by a several small stones of similar shapes and sizes to it. Only its glowing hue distinguished it from the others. As Rika picked it up with both hands she also picked up several of the other stones with it.

Carefully she emerged from the pool and noticed how the glow quickly died away. She dipped it back in and out of the pool several times, taking notice of how it only glowed when submerged in water. Quickly she grabbed her canteen and began to fill it with water from the pool.

Suddenly a familiar scent filled her nostrils – blood! She turned and saw Danaku lying on the floor, his whole body covered in needles. Immediately she ran over and checked his neck for a pulse.


Rika: DAMN YOU OLD MAN! WHAT DID KURENO WANT WITH THIS??


Her frustration sank deep as she screamed at him, beating upon the chest of his dead body. And she was about to give up too, until she’d realized that Danaku died pointing at something across the room. Following the direction from his finger her eyes carefully traced their way along the floor until falling upon an altar of some kind.


***


Ami: …Danaku?

Danaku: What? Who the…H-How do you know my name? And what are you doing here in the temple of KRUU-RUU?

Ami: The temple of KRUU-RUU?

Danaku: Yes, KRUU-RUU the devine one, the bringer of life and death. Lord of the sea!

Ami: Bringer of life and death? ...Of course!


Remembering the last cycle in the mural Ami turned around to look at it again. The final cycle showed the winged being sitting on a throne and being worshiped by both the humans and tentacled creatures.


Ami: The cycle was broken, wasn’t it? Someone did something to break the cycle and now he won’t bring you food from the sea and your village is starving…that sound about right?


Danaku hung his head in shame and turned away with great regret on his ghostly face.

Suddenly more footsteps began to fill the cave.


Ami: Quick, someone’s coming…


***


Katsu sat in the dirt with his head hung between his knees from exhaustion. He was quite a distance from the village now, but if he listened really carefully he could still hear their screams and suffering. His katana had been stuck into the ground as his right arm still held on to the hilt for support. His shirt was ripped open and his hair was undone and scattered about, clinging to the moist perspiration of his face. He was missing one of his shinobi sandals and there were red marks all over his body from where the squidmen had tried to grab him. The deranged and 'pissed off looking' shinobi just continued to sit there with his teeth grit as his shoulders rose and fell with every breath he pulled into his lungs.

Other than the original five creatures, he’d now killed an additional eight, making them thirteen in all that lay dead around him. He was almost more than sure that there couldn’t have been anymore than fifteen of them when they’d first crawled out of the sea earlier.

He sat there trying to catch his breath as the gentle sea breeze cooled the sweat on his skin. He would’ve been able to relax more if it wasn’t for all the screams coming from back at the village. And then there was the roaring. It had roared a total of four times already - whatever it was. Part of him just didn’t want to know, the other part cringed every time a villager screamed in terror. He hated the idea of not being able to help them.


Katsu: (This is too much…th-this isn’t my mission. I’m way outta my league here. I mean I’d like to stay and help these people but there’s just nothing we, I mean, nothing I can do…Go home! - That’s it! I should just get up and go home. Wait no - just get up and find Ichiro and Ami and go home, yeah…That’s what I should do…I mean c’mon, this has nothing to do with my mission whatsoever! Right? Aww damn it, that’s right, I still need that damned scroll!)


As Katsu remembered the scroll he raised his head from between his legs. And for a brief moment he’d thought he’d saw someone in a hooded cloak standing on the hill in the distance.


Katsu: Huh?


Katsu stood up holding his sword like a cane to steady his pain-stricken body as he tried to get a better look, but there was nothing there. And to his surprise, as he stood up he noticed that the squidmen that had been quietly approaching him with caution suddenly became startled, jumping back slightly.

From a bird’s eye view one could see that Katsu had now been surrounded in all directions by at least fifty green and red squidmen.

And deeply frustrated, he threw his head back, yelling towards the heavens…


Katsu: WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? WHERE DO THESE GODDAMNED THINGS KEEP COMING FROM??

[i_feel_tiredsleepy]

Rika heard the footsteps approaching the cave and she didn't care, there was something important about the alter and this strange rock. She ran to the alter, averting her eyes from the remainders of the puppet, she spotted a short note lying on it. The handwriting was difficult to understand, the writer had seemed to have shaky hands and several parts were obscured by what looked like tears.

"You bastard Kureno, you lied to us... What you did... my sweet Danaki! If you survived this trap, I'm probably dead, but with divine Kruu-Ruu's blessing you will never have the egg!"

A girls scream resounded through the cave as Rika finished reading the note. "What egg, could it be the... stone... it was a trap?" Her mind skipped from thought to thought, in the end she had sorted it out. Kureno had tricked this man into getting some sort of egg for him, possibly the strange stone in the pool, Kureno had done something to his daughter, and the old man had betrayed Kureno. "Once a manipulative bastard, always a manipulative bastard, eh Kureno?" She crumpled the note and tossed it into the pool as she made her way to the crying girl and Daija.

"What the hell happened here Rika?" Daija was in shock, this day was quickly spiraling out of control. "There are tentacle monsters invading the village."

Rika's face didn't reveal the confusion deep inside her. Pulling the crying Danaki off her father she said in a firm calm voice, "What is happening, what are these monsters and why did your father run here?"

The girl sobbed as she forced an answer, "The egg, father stole it for a man who visited us one night, his name was Kureno. He told us we would be rich and powerful if we could just get the egg of divine Kruu-Ruu. We believed him, he seemed like a brave and powerful ninja... he was so handsome, how could someone who looked and acted so nice be so evil?" She looked to the older woman for some consolation, but it never came. "He lied the fish disappeared and we all starved, then the monsters came, so father hid the egg here in the temple, only our family has known about it for generations..." Suddenly, her eyes criss-crossed around the cave, and returned to look Rika in the face, "Do you have the egg."

It hit Rika like a ton of bricks, she understood, at least she thought she did. "Yes, I have it..." Her voice was cold as she handed what looked like a small rock to the girl, it didn't look like much of an egg but the girl's eyes brightened.

"I'll take this back to the village, I'll save everyone, I'll be a hero... for father I'll fix this."

"Wait you can't go back to the village they were going to sacrifice you as... you know a... a... vir.." Daija blushed as he stumbled over the word.

"Virgin, nephew." Rika rolled her eyes.

"Ya... You can't go back."

She turned to face the young genin, "It's alright no one needs to be sacrificed, I have the egg to make them go away." Then she averted her eyes and in a quiet voice said, "besides... uh I'm not a virgin anyway."

Daija's jaw dropped as Rika spat out a guffaw. The girl ran out of the cave energized by her mission. Daija moved to follow the girl but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. "What are you doing? Shouldn't we go with her?"

"Not everything is as it seems nephew, we will follow at a distance."

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

Outside the cave a cloaked figure smiled as he watched a young girl running down the lonely beach towards the crumbling village.

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

Ami: (That girl will probably die out there, what is this woman up to?)

Danaku: Why aren't they going with my girl? Those bastards!

Danaku raged futilely at the Suna ninja.

Ami: It's alright Danaku calm down.

The recently departed turned towards the other spirit with a look of hopelessness on his face.

Danaku: But... but...

He let out a long sigh and stared at Ami, his eyes wide and his nostrils flaring.

Danaku: Not a virgin? AAAAAAAAAAHHH!

[Nick]

Danaki ran down the beach as fast as she can. With thoughts of her dead father still fresh in her mind she kept a firm grip on the precious object in her hand.


Danaki: (Father, your death won’t be in vain, I promise!)


She was close now. Far up ahead there were some large rocks that separated the village from this part of the beach.

And turning to look at something in the corner of her eye Danaki began to catch site of jaggedly broken pieces of wood that were washing ashore all over the beach. A strange sense of familiarity had swept over her now. She’d known these sea-soaked moss-covered planks from somewhere, but where? Suddenly she looked on ahead and realized…


Danaki: The pier! The pier’s been destroyed and the tide’s in! He’s definitely here!


Determined, the young girl continued to race towards the rocks that separated her from the village.



***


The early afternoon sun was beginning to break through the clouds now as Katsu felt the bright warmth against his face. At first all he could see was the bright orange glow that filtered through from the other side of his eyelids. The dark haired shinobi had an odd feeling at first, he could only describe it as a weird mix of weightlessness and motion sickness combined. He squinted a bit as he opened his eyes to face the dazzling sun above him head on.

The ocean breeze became bitter-sweet as it both gently cooled his worn out body while also carrying a foul stench that smelled like wet garbage toward him.

Picking his head up to look around Katsu suddenly let out a choke-filled 'gasp'! as his head was immediately jerked backwards by the tentacle which was wrapped around his neck all along! Tentacles continued to wrap around the rest of his face and mouth as he began to struggle for his life. But in the end he was only tiring himself out even more. All of his limbs were now wrapped in the tentacles of several of the squid men that had been carrying him on their shoulders.

All he could do was just lay back and try to save energy now as he was forced to gaze up at the blazing rays of the sun.


***


Daija and Rika kept a safe distance behind Danaki as they followed in pursuit. Daija cringed as a loud ‘ROAR’ could be heard coming from the direction they were headed in, yet it only made Rika’s eyes open wider with realization.


Daija: A-are you sure this is the direction we should be headed in Rika?


Almost unaware of her nephew’s question Rika was slowly putting together the pieces of the puzzle in mind. She remembered the last part of the mural from the temple walls as she reasoned with herself aloud.


Rika: I think I understand now. This 'Kruu Ruu' or whatever is more than some local lore or legend. Its mother, father, as well as a god to these people… That fool! He has no idea what he’s gotten himself into! He thinks he can take on a god…


***


Pissed off, Katsu continued to let out muffled screams until suddenly something enormous, something that appeared almost like a large ‘wing’ had completely barred the blinding sun from his eyes. And falling utterly silent and full of fear now, he looked up at an astonishing site: A mighty beast towering over him and the rest of the village. It looked like a gigantic squid man but with green scaly wings arched behind it. The hundred-foot long tentacles that hung from its face began to flail and quiver as it let out another ROAR that echoed around for miles.

And frozen with fright Katsu didn’t even realize that the squid men had now set him down before the creature.


***


And with the sound of that last roar Daija couldn’t hold it in any longer as he asked:


Daija: A god? Wait, what do you mean by 'a god'?


But Rika still didn’t answer him, she just continued to look on ahead as she stayed in route behind Danaki.

And grateful that she didn’t smack him for the question, he pondered to himself in silence…


Daija: (And who’s she talking about? Who thinks they can take on a god?)


***


That last roar had confirmed for Danaki that Kruu Ruu had indeed surfaced and was on land. As she approached the rocks she looked on ahead at the break in the clouds that had let rays of sunshine through. She knew now that all she had to do was return what was taken and she’d save everyone in the village. And while she still missed her father she felt a glimmer of hope in her heart that she could stop all the suffering now.

But suddenly an unexpected figure wearing a dark cloak that rustled in the wind behind them had stepped out from between the rocks in front of her, purposely blocking her path. And as cloaked figure removed his hood to reveal his face Danaki’s momentum began to die down. Her free form sprint had turned to steps of caution as she got closer to the mysterious figure.


????: And just where do you think YOU’RE going, Danaki?

Danaki: K…Kureno…

[i_feel_tiredsleepy]

Danaki: Kureno... you lied to us, nothing but trouble has come from stealing this egg.

She waved the small stonelike object in the air, her tear stained face showing her frustration and rage. She'd lost her home, her family, her everything because of this man.

Danaki: All for this useless thing... and you said... you said you loved me!

Kureno's held his constant smile throughout Danaki's little outburst, in an instant he closed the distance between them and cupped her face with his right hand. Leaning in he kissed her, brushing his lips accross her face as he moved his mouth to her ear, he whispered.

Kureno: I do love you Danaki, but I love power more.

A swift movement and a loud crack followed as Danaki collapsed to the ground, the egg now clutched in the villains hand.

He turned towards the village to claim his prize, control of Kruu-Ruu. Kureno was a master of manipulation, he started as a child manipulating puppets, and not much had changed, he had advanced from puppets to people, and soon he would have his greatest conquest of all, a God.

-----------------------------
Daija: Rika we have to do something!

The genin moved to help the girl, something wasn't right about this cloaked man. Before he could do anything though a hand was over his mouth and rika was bent over him, her breast pushed up against his back as her breath tickled his ear.

Rika: She isn't important nephew... just bait... we will wait and watch.

Daija was shocked as he watched the girl crumple to the ground, she could be dead, and yet Rika didn't loosen her grip. When the cloaked man had gone, Rika allowed him to check Danaki's vitals.

Daija: She's still breathing Rika.

Rika: Good, then we have to get moving, we can't let Kureno get too far ahead of us.

Daija was liking this less and less, how did she know his name, all of this was just too strange.

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

Katsu stood infront of the giant squid man, frozen with fear. The colosus reached down and lifted the ninja off the ground. Snapping to his senses the Konoha genin performed a last act of defiance, slashing a large gash into the tentacle that grasped him.

The monster let out a wail and got ready to crush the insolant human, when suddenly a melodius cocky voice filled the beach.

???: You can kill the Konoha trash after Devine Kruu-ruu, I have your egg!

[Nick]

With crippling fear in his eyes Katsu could no longer control his breathing as he began to hyperventilate like a child does after crying. And out of desperation he suddenly held his breath before forcing out a yell as he slashed at the tentacle-covered wrist of the large hand that held him:


Katsu: NYAHAAGH!!!


The gigantic beast standing in the shallows of the tide let out a jaunting cry as it let go of the long haired shinobi and grabbed at the wound he’d made. This great and terrible creature was now writhing in pain as it watched Katsu fall from its massively tentacled hand and into the shallows below.

And then seeing the pathetic human rise up from the water and try to stagger his aching body away and back toward the shore the green titan became enraged, lifting one of its feet off the earth as if to stomp on the lowly ninja.

And as Katsu noticed the immense shadow being casted around him he felt as if his heart had just dropped into the pit of his stomach. Immediately he turned around and looked up at the immeasurable clump of tentacles poised a hundred feet above his head. And to make things worse, while still trying to back away the Konoha Shinobi tripped on one of the randomly floating pieces of the pier and fell back wards on his butt. A surge of pain traveled through his bones as he tried to use his hands to break his fall.

Katsu’s chest rose and fell rapidly as he inhaled and exhaled anticipating what would surely be certain death when suddenly out of nowhere a loud commanding shout took everyone by surprise:



???: You can kill the Konoha trash after Devine Kruu-Ruu, I have your egg!


***



Then suddenly all eyes were on this new mystery man that happened onto the scene! The tall blond haired stranger stood atop of the rocks as he projected his voice toward the mighty Kruu Ruu. Even the remaining villagers, who had all been on their knees bowing to the winged monstrosity, had lifted their heads a bit to get a peek at the man who dared to address the divine one directly.



***



Daija: Who’s that man with the scar on his face Rika?


Rika 'shushed' her nephew with a single finger as they both entered the scene at the village where the mysterious stranger had already taken center stage. They’d arrived just in time to see the scarred mystery man command what looked to be an unusually large squid man with wings to lower its foot, barely missing the long haired and now petrified shinobi from being crushed

And even though Rika had left this part of the village before the first of the squid men had crawled out of the sea she had a pretty good idea of what was going on from the way the smaller squid men and the rest of villagers were all bowing down to the massive tentacled monster.

But Rika continued to approach with caution hoping that the mystery man wouldn't notice her…



***



As Kruu-Ruu’s attention became focused on the mysterious stranger standing on the rocks its foot came down with a massive "STOMP" that shook the earth next to Katsu. The very force of it was enough to create a small, yet powerful, wave capable of violently washing and rolling Katsu’s limp body onto the beach.

And lying there, as he turned his head slightly to cough up some of the water that he’d swallowed he saw a familiar face in the distance behind the scarred stranger - the face of the woman who was responsible for him being in this mess.



***


Kureno continued to grin as Kruu-Ruu seemingly obeyed him. At first he was a little unsure of this plan but now that Kruu-Ruu did indeed comply with his order he held the egg high up above his head. His eyes opened wider and the grin on his face had become unusually menacing as he puffed out his chest with confidence.


Kureno: Ha! …Oh-ha-ha-ha-haah… Amazing…


But Kureno’s joy was suddenly cut short as he noticed the Konoha Shinobi’s eyes had been fixed on something else rather than him and his brilliant endeavor. And turning to look at whatever could possibly be distracting the long haired ninja, Kureno’s eyes caught site of…


Kureno: RIKA!!! Just in time! This moment just wouldn’t have been the same with you being here my dear!


Acting quickly Rika brandished a double edged kunai and took a defensive posture in front of the young Genin that had been traveling with her. But this only caused Kureno to burst out in laughter again.


Rika: Kureno! What did you hope to accomplish by luring me here? Did you really dream you could control the will of a god?


But Kureno only continued to laugh until suddenly he paused and a disgusted look came over his face.


Kureno: Ha-hah-ha-ha… … … You foolish bitch! My hopes and dreams ARE reality now! How hard is it for you to fathom that being able to bend the will of god makes me more than a god? And yes, I see you’ve followed my clues quite well. But you’re just my puppet you silly bitch!

Rika: What do you mean 'followed your clues'?

Kureno: Oh, don’t play dumb with me Rika! I’ve been pulling the string here all along. And had it not been for you my master plan would’ve never come to fruition.

Rika: …

Kureno: Yes! I think you understand finally, don’t you… it was me who got the old man to betray everyone and recover the egg of Kruu-Ruu! But the old man was too nosy for his own good, and having second thoughts he decided to make things difficult for me by hiding the egg… Simply killing him wouldn’t have done any good. No, his will was too strong for that and seducing his daughter proved fruitless since she had no idea where her father had hidden it! I needed another way! I needed an outside party to get involved and stir up the situation a bit – AND YOU’VE DONE WONDERFULLY! BRAVO! NOW GIVE YOURSELF A ROUND OF APPLAUSE! Yes! Being the good little ninja you always were, you quickly got to the bottom of what was going on here and you were somehow able to get the old man to flush out that egg from hiding for me…

Rika: …You mean…?

Kureno: Yes! It was me all along who saw a window of opportunity and baited the leaf village’s Anbu to get wind that I might be hiding in this village. And with the ‘Leaf/Sand’ alliance still in place it was only common sense that the leaf would notify the Sand so they could rightfully capture and arrest one of their own! But you Rika, I knew that the very rumor or mention of me would lead you to take this matter into your own hands. You wouldn’t wait, no, you couldn’t wait for the bureaucrats of the sand to receive, process, and assign such a mission to just anyone! No, I know you Rika! I knew you’d find a way to intercept that information no matter how small the chance there was that it could be false!

Rika: That was quite a gamble Kureno! You've always sounded so sure of yourself! But I wonder...

Kureno: Huh? What gamble? The plan worked didn’t it? Watch! … Devine Kruu-Ruu! Annihilate that Konoha scum over there NOW!


But the mighty giant only stood there with its unblinking eyes fixed on Kureno. Then without warning the beast let out a low series of grunts and huffs as if it was trying to communicate. Immediately, several nearby squid men arose from their position of worship and began to approach Kureno as he stood atop the rock. And unsure of what was going on, Kureno’s grin began to nervously crack…


Kureno: …Whatta’ya…Whatta…W…C-Call them off now Devine Kruu-Ruu! Remember that I have your egg!


But the Squid men didn’t stop. This only made Kureno a bit more nervous as his grin seemed to completely disappear now. And as the squid men were close enough to the rocks they began to look closely at Kureno’s hand. Their heads twitched from side to side as they studied the 'egg' he was using to command their master.

Suddenly the squid men all backed away from the scarred-faced man that was standing on the rock.

Kureno let out a sigh of relief and began to wipe his forehead when all of a sudden all of the squid men let out a series of high pitched screeches making Kureno’s nerves get the best of him again.

And without warning everyone on the beach seemed to instinctively flinch or move backwards as two terrifyingly large tentacles shot out from the mouth of Kruu-Ruu and wrapped around the neck and chest of Kureno, violently snatching him up from the rocks!


Kureno: NO! WAIT! B-BUT I - I HAVE THE EGG!!!


And as Kureno was whisked away into the air, Rika shouted out to him with a smile:


Rika: Hey Kureno!


And as Kureno desperately turned to look, Rika was pouring out some water from her canteen when suddenly a small glowing object washed out into the palm of her hand…


Rika: YOU MEAN THIS EGG, DON’T YOU!?

Kureno: YOU BIIIIITTCHHHH!


Kureno’s screams were suddenly silenced as he disappeared into the mass of tentacles hanging from the face of the god-like creature.

But it wasn’t over yet. As Kruu-Ruu turned to see its true egg in Rika’s hands it suddenly became uneasy. The monstrous beast watched her carefully as she did nothing but hold the egg in her hands. Rika then turned to one of the nearby squid men:


Rika: …Go on, take it…it’s alright…


And as the man sized squid being approached and placed its tentacles in her hand she experienced a slightly uncomfortable sensation as what seemed like a hundred voices began speaking to her all at once in her head, causing her to drop to one knee.

And as the squid man began to take the egg back into the ocean it turned again to look at her one last time to make sure she’d understood. In turn she nodded to it while trying to get back on her feet again.

Rika then turned to Daija…


Rika: We must hurry now, my nephew. Come!


***


And to everyone’s surprise, Kruu-Ruu the divine one spread its wings and with mighty flaps it took off into the air and darted out to the sea again until it was barely a spec that anyone could see before plummeting back down into the depths of the ocean.

At first, still laying on his back completely exhausted, Katsu didn’t think much of this and was somewhat glad everything looked to finally be over. But that was until he noticed that all the villagers were beginning to get up and run further inland now. And wondering what all the commotion was about Katsu turned his head back toward the ocean only to witness what appeared to be a tidal wave several hundred feet high rushing towards to shore as the ground beneath him was also beginning to vibrate.


Katsu: …WHAT THE FU…!


But before he could finish speaking he’d felt the arms of someone trying to pick him up and drag him to safety until realizing that it was Daija and Rika who were also trying to carry Danaki at the same time.

But no matter their efforts, it seemed it was just impossible to outrun the tidal wave. And bracing himself for the inevitable they’d all been caught up in the impact spinning out of control.

This was the last thing Katsu remembered.

[i_feel_tiredsleepy]

The world was suddenly a dim green and very very wet. Daija's world was spinning, the occasional flash of light and the burning in his lungs was the only reminder he was still alive. He sensed the pressence of another shape he vaguely remembered as the unconscious body of the girl Danaki. Suddenly he felt a harsh pull, tentacles! The monsters were still there, unphased by the tidal wave. He struggled as best as he could, his small frame easily contained by the hulking creatures, the pain in his lungs was excrutiating and his diaphram spasmed, his mouth burst open... and there was air.

He stopped struggling to cough up some water and look around, everywhere the villagers were being dragged to safety by the squidmen, as the rushing current of the tidal wave returned to sea. The boy smiled and turned to Danaki, "We made it, it's ove...r" she wasn't breathing.

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

Elsewhere on the beach a similar event had occured to Rika and the unconscious Katsu, except a quick examination of the older genin revealed he was still breathing. Rika rolled him over and left a scroll in his hands, "You can finish your mission now, I'm sorry for this." A tear fell down her face, a brief moment of weakness.

"Rika! Danaki's not breathing!"

Back to her old self the Sand Jounin reached the girl in a split second. "Please, nephew they must have taught you mouth to mouth before you became a genin." She bent over the girl, shot a wink at her nephew and went to work. Leaving Daija feeling more than a little uncomfortable.

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

Back on the road to Suna, "Nephew, this is what you will report to the Kazekage: we received report of an unknown shinobi attacking this village, we responded to minimalise possible damage, the shinobi was killed and loss at sea, the mission was a success."

Daija knew he would tell the lie for Rika, she was his sensei and his aunt, what choice did he have.

[Nick]

Off in the distance Ichiro and Ami approached from the inland in time to see Rika place the scroll in Katsu’s unconscious hands and leave with her nephew.

For being spirits they’d both looked exhausted and weak. They watched on from a distance as they couldn’t get too close to Katsu’s body which was closer to the shore and all the crashing waves.


Ami: How did you find me?

Ichiro: After I left Katsu behind I came across that man in the cloak. He was clearly watching everything that happened in this village very closely. It was like he knew exactly how to move about this village and remain safe and unseen – so, naturally, I followed him.

Ami: But how did you know to find me at the cave?

Ichiro: I didn’t. It was actually the man in the cloak who’d kept watching the cave from a distance. It wasn’t until that girl came running out, followed by the two sand shinobi shortly after, did I realize. What were you doing there anyway?



***



The rays of sunshine beamed down into the depths. Deeper and deeper Katsu swam as he followed a vaguely familiar tune. Part of him could’ve sworn that this wasn’t the first time that he’d heard these notes and chimes, but then the other part seemed to only draw a complete blank. Where was he? What was he doing here? And why was he having déjà-vu like he’d done this all before? It wasn’t that he couldn’t answer these questions, but rather, his soul was a peace now and deep beneath the surface he no longer felt the need to know the answers. Did he truly have no recollection? Or was this just his mind’s way of protecting him from the trauma? And that was when he saw it laying at the bottom. The scroll, undisturbed and sitting on the bed rocks below, illuminated by a single ray of sunlight. He didn’t know why exactly but something inside of him urged him to recover it. It was like a faint and distant voice that was too far away for him to hear clearly…



***



Ichiro: Yeah, and when that creature held on to me it weakened me. It felt like the bond that connected me to this world was fading fast and I... Well whatever they were, they were dangerous to us, I had to come back for you.

Ami: ………

Ichiro: What. Don’t look at me like that. We still have our own goals to fulfill here. It’s not like we can afford to cross over yet…



***



As Katsu’s fingers wrapped around the scroll he quickly realizes that the music had gone silent. But did it just stop all of a sudden? Or had it gradually faded away when he wasn’t paying attention? He really couldn’t answer. Instead he cautiously looked around as if he’d been anticipating something bad to happen. But looking around he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Confused, he looked up at the brightness from above again. He honestly had absolutely no idea why he’d even been here to begin with. And with a swift kick from his legs he started for the surface.



***



Ami: (Even in death my brother still finds it difficult to say he cares about me…) …Well I hope Katsumaru wakes up soon.

Ichiro: Well if he doesn’t then I have a feeling that next wave is about to do the trick!



***


As Katsu’s head rose above the water he filled his lungs with air and shook his face from side to side to get the salt water-soaked hair out of his eyes. His legs made scissor-like motion as he continued to tread water while he brought his hands up to brush the excess hair out of his face and eyes. But he’d opened his eyes just in time to see a gigantic wave about to beat down on him! And as the wave slammed down and pushed him below the surface again he accidentally let go of the scroll. Immediately he began to kick against the powerful currents and clawed at the scroll…but it was just out of his grasp.


***


At the same time Ichiro and Ami watched as a wave that had built up just enough momentum to reach Katsu's unconscious body crashed down on top of him causing to come to let go of the scroll. This had also caused him to immediately wake up and start spazzing out. It was rather funny for them to watch Katsu kicking and trying to ‘swim’ on dry land.

Ami’s hand covered her mouth and she tried not to laugh while Ichiro’s eyes had opened wide with mischivious grin on his face.

As the dark haired Shinobi sat up he saw what looked like his mission scroll being dragged back to the ocean by the receding waves. And though his entire body was sore it didn’t stop him from crawling on all four’s to go after the scroll. And as he took hold of it he stood up with a huge smile on his face like he’d just passed the chuunin exam or something. He turned around and held the scroll up high above his head in victory. ...And that was when he’d realized where he was…

Even though none of the original structures remained, this was still the land the village used to be on.

And it wasn't until he saw Danaki in the distance helping the other villagers clean up some wreckage that everything finally started rushing back to him: The village, Danaku and his daughter, the squid men, the cloaked stranger, the dreaded Kruu-Ruu beast…and of course, Rika and Daija.

Walking over to Danaki, Katsu helped her move the heavy planks she’d been struggling with.


Danaki: Looks like you’re finally awake, huh?


Speechlessly, Katsu ‘blushed’ a little.


Katsu: …Uh, do you know what happened to the other shinobi that were traveling with me?

Danaki: …I don’t know, they were gone by the time I ‘came to’.

Katsu: Gone? So they survived then?

Danaki: I, I’m sure they did. The divine one, Kruu-Ruu, was merciful this time…


But hearing ‘that name’ Katsu’s mood suddenly began to sour. He decided to change the subject.


Katsu: So what are you guys going to do now? Move away from this accursed place?


Danaki smiled at his ignorance and dusted herself off. The experience had matured her into a stronger woman than she’d been before…


Danaki: No, this village is our home. It always will be. We’re not going to leave. We’re going to rebuild it.


And it was exactly then when Katsu heard a familiar voice calling out from further inland…


Ami: Anytime you’re ready Katsumaru!


Turning to look, he saw Ichiro and Ami. He sighed with relief that they were okay. He turned to Danaki again and nodded to bid her farewell and walked off in the direction that his friends had been waiting in.




***




Katsu: Alright guys, lets finish this mission!

Ichiro: Katsu, isn’t that one of your sandals over there in the sand?

Katsu: Why yes smart-ass. Yes it is…



***



Upon reaching the gates of Sunagakure Katsu signed in at the visitor’s log. The gate guards looked at him suspiciously as his clothes and hair was a mess and he’d smelled like low tide. But he didn’t care. He just wanted the mission to be over already.

Guard 1: Sir, do you need to use a bathroom-

Katsu: NO! Just the directions to the Kazekage building, thank you…



***



And after exiting the Kazekage’s building where’d he’d just delivered the scroll he was unexpectedly greeted by s couple of familiar faces. Two Shinobi, one female close to his age and one younger male, were leaning against the wall of a building adjacent to the main exit of the Kazekage building.

Katsu’s eyes lit up a bit as he rushed over glad to see them.


Katsu: Rika! Daija! You’re okay! Hey why did you guys leav-


But before he could finish he was cut off by the female shinobi who’d looked him dead in the eye as if she was trying to convey something other than the words that were coming out of her mouth.


Rika: I’m sorry, but I’m sure you must have me mistaken for someone else! Is this one of your little school friends nephew?

Daija: Sorry Rika, but I’ve never seen this guy before my whole life...

Rika: well now that that’s settled, is there something I can help you with stranger?


Realizing what was happening Katsu played along with their farce even though he was a really exhausted and could probably use a strong drink.


Katsu: ..Uh, sorry, I’ve been traveling for a few days and I must be really tired is all…Is there anywhere you could recommend that I can have myself a drink before departing?

Rika: Well there just happens to be a Sake bar not too far from here…Why don’t you come buy me a drink, stranger…


One of Katsu’s eyebrows rose as he followed the attractive shinobi while she lead the way, brushing her hands against her younger companion's shoulder as if to tell him to ‘run along’ now.


****
*END*
****

[Dream Catcher]

I'm still confused about the whole C rank no shinobi thing... and that girl in the beginning seemed to be a shinobi who was gunna kill you -_-

Either way ...

8/10

120 dollas payout for each...oops 9 xp each