Demons

by InuzukaYuina

Summary:

Akurei's secret has been discovered by her Yamanaka teammate, Chiho, and Inabi is determined to make himself a problem. Yuina's past comes back to haunt her in ways she was not expecting, and her wolf partner Goro is the one who has to deal with the fallout, of course. He always has to deal with her issues and is sick of picking up the pieces left by Ibiki. But he isn't afraid to be the leader she desperately needs. Akemi entertains guests at Club Yurei with her pet, and is hiding a lot more than meets the eye.

Chapter 1: Ayumi

 

Ayumi slowly opened her eyes.  She felt the warmth of Akemi's bare skin behind her, heard her soft breathing against the back of her neck.  She closed her eyes again, wanting to stay like this.   Akemi's arm was draped over her waist, one of her legs on top of Ayumi's.  Ayumi snuggled back against her, gently pulling Akemi closer.

The huge room was dark and draped in shadows, and not because of her bad eyes.  It was night, and even though Ayumi could only make out a few dark shapes she still knew it well enough to navigate without seeing.  Instead of getting up she waited for Akemi to wake up first, like she always did.  Ayumi couldn't do much on her own, anyway.

It wasn't long until Akemi began to stir.  Ayumi was sad when Akemi pulled her arm away to stretch and sat up.  She didn't want to start the night, but she didn't have a say in the matter.

Akemi stood, stretching again and letting out a soft moan, then flipping the lightswitch on.  The light that flooded the room was a warm color, naked bulbs hidden by sheer orange curtains.  Ayumi reached a hand out to touch Akemi.  When she was this close, Ayumi could see her gorgeous, tall body, her vividly colored tattoos that ranged from light blue scales down her limbs to a bright, flaming red phoenix on her back with its wings spread wide.  Akemi turned around, looking down at the bed while Ayumi stared, fixated.

“Get up.”  Akemi said.  She crossed her arms under her large breasts.  Ayumi's eyes drifted up to her face.  Her body was gorgeous, tall and perfect, but her face made Ayumi's heart melt.  Akemi's platinum blonde hair was messy from sleep, but still flawless in Ayumi's eyes.  But it was her eyes that captivated Ayumi; those stunning, pale lavender eyes. She had some faded scars near them on her temple and on her cheek that were barely visible.

In a blink, Akemi’s eyes flashed to light blue, matching the rest of her clan. Ayumi knew she didn’t like anyone to see her real eyes, and that she spent almost all of her time concentrating on a subtle jutsu to mask them and hide her scars.

“Quit staring and get to the chair,”  Akemi said as she turned away and strode towards the headless mannequins that stood lined up next to a huge white vanity covered in neatly organized makeup.  There were four mannequins in total, each adorned with a fancy and detailed kimono.  Three were Akemi's, the fourth was Ayumi's.  She had only one kimono that she wore outside of the club; the rest weren't expensive enough to require anything more than a coat hanger. But Ayumi loved that kimono almost as much as she loved Akemi.

The lights around the mirrors startled Ayumi as they flashed on with a click.  Akemi was far enough away that Ayumi could no longer see her face or any of her features, her body a colorful yet perfect blur illuminated by a halo of white light from the vanity's many bulbs.  Ayumi stood and dutifully headed towards Akemi, sparing a glance at her own beloved kimono.  It was a deep forest green with intricate golden spirals and flowers, the green hues getting darker towards the bottom as the golden flowers became thicker.

“Today, Ayumi.”  Akemi said impatiently, giving Ayumi no time to admire the other three. She would be watching Akemi put one on soon, anyway.  But she knew she wouldn't be wearing hers tonight.  Only mama-san got to look that good every night, to show she was untouchable and above the rest of the girls.  Ayumi had only worn hers a handful of times, when customers wanted her delivered somewhere.  But usually the rooms at Club Yurei were enough.

Ayumi walked over to where Akemi stood, the wooden floor chilly on her bare feet.  She sat down on the padded stool before the vanity and squinted, blinded by the white light that contrasted with the warm glow of the rest of the room.  She sat up straight when Akemi poked her lower spine, the way she always reminded Ayumi to correct her posture.

Ayumi looked at herself in the mirrors.  There was a large one in front of her, and two on the side angled towards her so she could see her face from every angle.  The image was still a bit blurry, even this close.  Her jade-green eyes were only good if something was right in front of her face.  She could see their color in the mirror, at least.  So big and green. Her eyes still confused her; at times they felt like someone else's, like she was passively watching someone else's life.

She was pulled from her thoughts when Akemi started brushing her hair.  She wasn't gentle, but after the first few tugs the brush made its way through much easier.  Ayumi looked quizzically at herself again, at her light brown hair.  It was so long, draping past her shoulders. Akemi cut it herself, saying how customers liked it long, but not too long to get in the way.  Ayumi didn't mind, she loved it when Akemi brushed her hair or touched her in any way.  

Ayumi's eyes wandered down lower, down to her own naked body.  She didn't usually give it much thought. Thinking only made her feel worse, like a stranger in someone else's skin.  Her breasts were far too large for her small frame, and really heavy.  She didn't like them, but it hadn't been her choice.  No, none of it had been her choice.

She looked down instead of at the blurry mirror.  She couldn't see her lap, her breasts were in the way.  She reached a hand up and touched one and immediately regretted it.  She didn't recognize the hand.  It was small and thin and didn't do what she wanted it to.  She couldn't feel most of her fingers; on her right hand she could only move her thumb and ring finger.  She lifted her left hand and tried to make a fist, but only her pinky obeyed, dragging along with it a useless ring finger, the middle finger just barely twitching.

She hated the numb feeling, the utter helplessness. But then she noticed something strange.  In the blinding white light she could see that her breasts were a slightly darker shade of white than her arms.  Her shoulders, too.  She stared at her upper left arm and the scar that went all the way around her frail bicep.  The skin above the scar, her torso and breasts, were slightly tanner than her arms and hands.  Her other arm was the same.  A thick scar going all the way around her upper arm, two distinct skin colors on either side.  She touched it, feeling her panic rise.

“Not now, Ayumi.  You're fine, calm down.”  Akemi said softly, touching her shoulder.  Ayumi instantly felt better.  She let out a small sigh, her body feeling lighter.  “This should help...”  Akemi muttered as she reached for something on the vanity.  When it was close enough, Ayumi saw it was Akemi's long pipe.  She lit it and took a long drag, holding it in front of Ayumi's mouth as she exhaled a large cloud of smoke towards the mirrors. “And don't forget your pill.”  Akemi said.  Ayumi heard the rattling of pills in a plastic bottle as she inhaled deeply, forgetting why she had even been upset before.

Akemi grabbed Ayumi's face gently and traced her thumb across the woman's lips.  As Ayumi's lips parted Akemi saw the metal piercings in a row in her tongue.  The customers always liked how exotic that seemed, for whatever reason.  She put the small pill in Ayumi's mouth, who swallowed it, not caring what it was.  Akemi let her take one more long drag before taking the pipe from her mouth and smoking more herself.  

“Hand me that kanzashi,”  Akemi vaguely gestured to the vanity.  Ayumi stared at the pile of makeup and hair accessories that all melted into one giant blur.  “The silver one.”  Ayumi leaned forward and reached a hand out, not really sure what she was doing.  Before she touched anything Akemi swiftly grabbed her hand.  “Nevermind.”  She said and grabbed the long metal kanzashi herself, still holding Ayumi's hand in hers.  She set the pipe down on the vanity and gently put Ayumi's hands in her lap.  Akemi used both hands to pull Ayumi's long brown hair back and out of her face, twisting it into a messy bun and pinning it in place with the kanzashi.

Akemi put both hands on Ayumi's shoulders and ran her long perfectly manicured fingernails gently down her back.  A cold chill ran down Ayumi's spine, but her stomach felt a hot clenching sensation.  She felt lightheaded, tired yet excited.  All she wanted to do was lie back down with Akemi.

Akemi knelt down next to her, gently holding Ayumi's face in her hands.

“You're so beautiful.  I hope you know that.  All of the men want you...”  Akemi grinned as Ayumi started leaning closer, closing her eyes and nuzzling into Akemi's hands.  “The prettiest little whore in Konoha.”  She said, grabbing her messy bun and pulling Ayumi away.  The Yamanaka stared into her glassy, dull green eyes and smiled.  When she let go of Ayumi's hair, the silver hairpiece fell with a clatter onto the wooden floor and her brown hair fell down to her shoulders.  “Oh, well. I wanted it tighter anyway... Your hair has to be perfect, to get a good grip on it.  And today you have an appointment in the dungeon.”  Akemi said.  Ayumi didn't react.

  Leaving the kanzashi on the floor Akemi stood and slid one of the vanity's drawers open, picking up a black hair tie.  She put it around her wrist and stood up again, standing behind Ayumi once more.  She maneuvered Ayumi so she was sitting up straight, facing the mirror and began to brush her hair back, then up into a high ponytail. She brushed it until the hair was smooth on all sides and tied it up tightly.

“There,”  Akemi said, kneeling back down.  She held the ponytail in her fist and yanked Ayumi backwards and nearly off the stool.  Ayumi sat unbalanced, her back arched in an awkward way.  “That's better.”  She gently pushed Ayumi back to a comfortable sitting position, the entire time the petite woman never reacted.  “Are you awake?”  She laughed, a deep and raspy sound from years of smoking, but it had an edge of allure and sexiness that Ayumi adored.  She wondered what her own voice sounded like and if anyone ever thought of her that way.  

Akemi reached for something on the vanity. Ayumi waited patiently while Akemi selected which mascara she wanted.  She read the labels of a few, looking for the one that wasn't waterproof.  Only Akemi used that one. She hated the way it flaked when Ayumi cried.  It looked so much better when it was smearing down her face.  She grabbed some liquid eyeliner and held Ayumi's face.  

“Look down,”  She ordered.  Ayumi did so, even though she had wanted to stare longer at the gorgeous Yamanaka's face.  Instead she stared at her breasts, her perfect, vibrantly colored body.  Akemi's ink was slightly different from the rest of the ones who gathered at Yurei.  It didn't stop low enough to hide, the way the men wore theirs.  They wanted to be able to pass as normal on the streets, and left a small section in the middle of their chest bare, the tattoos stopping at the top of the pectoral muscle so  they could wear any type of shirt.  

Akemi didn't care about that.  Her tattoos covered her entire chest, every inch of skin on her neck and up to her jawline.  Blue scales, crashing waves and bright red phoenix feathers covered her whole torso, down her arms, to the tops of her hands and fingers.  Her legs were the same, covered in color down to the tops of her feet.

“Look at me,”  Akemi said.  Ayumi hadn't even noticed that she was finished with the eyeliner and now held the mascara in one hand, the other holding her face.  She tore her eyes away from Akemi's body and looked at her face.  For a few moments all Ayumi could see was the black brush of the mascara and Akemi's hand.  “Look down and blink.”  Ayumi followed all of the orders until Akemi was satisfied.  She was relieved when Akemi put the eye makeup down and picked up a bright red shade of lipstick.  Ayumi didn't like any of the makeup, but she liked watching Akemi this close to her face, when her view was not obstructed by the mascara brush or Akemi's hand.  There was something soothing yet exciting about Akemi touching her lips as she applied the makeup.

Akemi leaned back, looking at Ayumi's entire face to make sure there were no mistakes.  She put down the lipstick and stood, passing the mannequins and going to the large, open closet.  She pulled out one of the thin, silk kimonos and took it back to where her companion waited.  

“Stand up,”  She said.  Ayumi stood.  The kimono was one of the many that Ayumi wore each night, and seeing it up close now she saw that it was her favorite one.  It was mostly black, but had a gorgeous bright red trim and swirling red flowers near the bottom.  Akemi liked the green ones that matched her eyes, saying the earthy tones went well with her light brown hair.  But Ayumi loved this one the most.

Once Ayumi was wearing the kimono Akemi began to wrap the red and black obi around her waist, over and over.  She hadn't eaten yet, and felt the emptiness in her gut even more as the cloth tightened around her stomach.  But that was normal, Ayumi never ate breakfast.  She got drunk faster on an empty stomach and never felt bloated that way.  With a final tug Akemi finished tying it.  Ayumi frowned when she looked down and saw her massive breasts spilling out of the kimono that was too open in the front.

“Go sit,”  Akemi said, and Ayumi sat back down on the bed, the tight obi forcing her to be cognizant of her posture.  The silk fabric of the kimono was a bit cold at first on the backs of her bare legs and ass; she was never allowed to wear anything under it.  The way it moved against her front was an odd sensation, slick, slightly cold material that made her remember how bare and exposed she was down there. 

Ayumi watched her Yamanaka companion sit at the stool and pick out different makeup for herself.  She would spend much more time making sure her own face was flawless.  After quickly putting her hair up in a bun to get it out of the way she began to apply lotion, then foundation that Ayumi didn't think she needed.  She spent a lot of time on her own eye makeup, using dark shades to make her light blue eyes stand out even more.  She made perfect wings with the eyeliner and used smoky eyeshadow, finishing with mascara that made her lashes thick and gorgeous.  She picked out a darker shade or red for her own lips.

When she was done, Akemi stood before the mannequins, one hand on her hip that only accented her beautiful curves.  Even though Ayumi's eyes couldn't make out the shapes of her tattoos, she knew them by heart and could imagine them as if she were touching her again.  Akemi slipped into black underwear and began to put on the first layer of her kimono, a thin white cotton gown that wouldn't be visible from the outside, but it kept the kimono clean from body sweat.

“Which kimono today, Ayumi?”  She purred, shifting her weight to her other leg.  Ayumi perked up.  

“Red,”  Ayumi said enthusiastically.  Akemi laughed.

“You always pick that one.”

“Purple. With your silver jewelry,”  Ayumi said.  Akemi approached the mannequin with a deep, royal purple color and intricate silver swirling flowers on the bottom half.

“I like that.”  Akemi said, gently taking it off its stand and putting it on.  She spent some time making sure the sleeves of the cotton gown underneath aligned perfectly inside the long sleeves of the kimono.  Ayumi watched as Akemi straightened the long, flowing sleeves and picked up the obi that trailed along the floor.  She wrapped it around her waist over and over, tying it in a gorgeous and complicated knot on the front, carefully adjusting it until the knot was on the back.  She made sure that the front was left open like Ayumi's, so that her cleavage was on display.

Akemi walked back to the vanity and picked up a few expensive-looking silver rings, sliding them on her slender fingers.  She put on a silver necklace and put her hair up in a tight, neat bun, pinning it with a large silver hairpiece and smaller silver pins. She picked up her pipe and slid it into her left sleeve.

“Let's go, little one.”  Akemi said with a devious grin.  “You're going to want to be drunk tonight.  You and I will start early.”

Ayumi followed closely behind Akemi as they left the huge room, locking the thick door with a key she swiftly put in the other sleeve.  From the outside, the door just looked like a dead-end at the end of a long hall lined with rooms.  Sheer curtains concealed the signs of a door frame and the keyhole.  None of the customers ever tried to get in, luckily.  They all feared mama-san's wrath.

Akemi strode down the long, dim hallway, her dark purple kimono trailing behind her gracefully.  Her bare legs showed as she walked, the obi high around her waist meant to accent her swaying hips.  Ayumi couldn't help but be entranced.  She had to focus on walking, since she couldn't feel much of her toes or legs.  If she forgot that she was walking she'd fall on her face.

As the two approached the wide stairway, Akemi lifted Ayumi up into her arms.  Ayumi snuggled her face against Akemi's breast; this was another one of their daily rituals that she loved.  Akemi was tall, thin and refined, but she had incredible strength beneath that gorgeous exterior.  She often carried Ayumi when she couldn't walk, and she never got tired.

Ayumi was disappointed and a little disoriented when Akemi put her down.  The room was dim and glowed with soft orange tones, just like upstairs.  There were many booths around the perimeter of the room, all of them with a low table, zabuton and soft cushions for the customers to sit on the floor.  Each table had its own water pipe at the center.  

She hadn't noticed the man who was standing in the middle of the room, lighting the large pipe that was constantly billowing smoke that filled the room each night.

“Nobu, you're early.”  Akemi stared at a large man with dark skin and short black hair.  He was shirtless, and even though Ayumi couldn't see him well she already knew his tattoos.  Bright blues and whites, crashing waves and a large koi fish that covered his back.  It stood out with its red, orange and yellow scales that all blended together beautifully, Ayumi thought.  He turned to them and watched with one brown eye, the other eye covered by a dark blue cloth that tied around the back of his head.

“Finished setting things up on my end.  Figured I'd help.”  He said gruffly.  He never smiled, but Ayumi liked him anyway.  He was the bartender at the bar on the other side of the building, separated by a long red hallway to try to keep the smoke contained to this room.  The bar was usually filled with cigarette smoke, anyway, so it hardly mattered.  But some customers preferred to get drunk rather than high.

“How thoughtful,”  Akemi purred. Ayumi smiled; everyone bent over backwards for mama-san.  “Ai and Nami are almost here, too.  It's so nice when everyone is on time.”  Ayumi was always impressed by Akemi's abilities.  She knew which customers were coming long before they arrived, and she always knew exactly what they wanted.  Her Yamanaka abilities were honed and no matter how high she got, she was always alert to her surroundings.  “And Ibiki too.”  She said, mild surprise in her voice.

Ayumi's heart sank.  She didn't like that man.  He terrified her.  The way he looked at her made her want to throw up.  Whenever he was around, she was sure to get hurt.

“Can you get some gin for Ayumi?”  Akemi asked.  Nobu nodded and went behind  an innocuous bar off to the side, the wood a deep shade.  He picked a clear bottle off the backlit shelf and poured a large shot.

“Hope that doesn't mean what I think it means,”  He said as he handed Akemi the shot glass.  She sighed.

“Of course it does.  Open your mouth, Ayumi.”  She did as she was told and made a face as the strong liquid went down her throat.  She was used to it, but it was still a bit of a shock so soon after waking up.  Her body felt the heat almost immediately.  Akemi didn't usually make her drink this early.  She usually was sent to one of the rooms upstairs with one of the customers, and she was never explicitly told their names.  The customer told her what to do, how much to drink, which holes they wanted, and then left.  She would sometimes get to stay downstairs, though.  Those days were nice.

Ayumi was so lost in her own head that she jumped when the door slid open loudly.  The huge man stepped inside and her heart began to pound, she could feel it in her chest.  She tried not to flinch away as he approached, his eyes already staring her down.

“Ibiki, what a pleasant surprise.”  She grinned deviously.

“Am I not welcome at my own club?  Akemi, you wound me.” He chuckled.  “Hello, Ayumi,” She swore his voice got deeper when he talked to her. He glared at her with those piercing brown eyes, on his face a smile so evil that she wanted to cry.  She hadn't realized that she was halfway behind Akemi.

Her eyes filled with tears as images flashed in her mind.  A dark room and a table made of stone.  She was lying on her back, and for some reason there was a mirror on the ceiling. She stared at herself for hours, days, she didn't know how long.  Her own brown eyes stared back, wide and scared and wanting to die.  Her limbs hurt, her chest hurt, her crotch hurt.  Everything hurt.

“Calm down, Ayumi.”  Akemi said with a sigh.  She grabbed her hand and instantly the horrible images faded.  She didn't even remember what she had been thinking about or why she was so afraid.

“Are you still not letting her remember?”  Ibiki frowned.  “Wasn't that the whole point?” 

“I can't have her makeup ruined before the customers even arrive.”  Akemi said defensively. 

“Akemi, you're too soft.  But do what you will.  At least it's free labor.”  He shrugged and headed towards a corner with stairs leading down into darkness. “Come, Ayumi.  And Akemi.  You might want to let her remember tonight.”  He said with a grin.  “That creep has an appointment.  It's the only reason I'm here.  Book me like a fucking hostess,”  Ibiki laughed.  

“Oh shut up, you love it.”  Akemi said.  “Used to be here every day when Yuina was here,”  She said whimsically, giving Ayumi a shove to push her towards Ibiki.

“Don't bring her up.”  He grunted as he disappeared downstairs.  Ayumi followed hesitantly, the dread starting to set in.  She stopped at the top of the stairs and peered down.  There was a dim light, a harsh yellow compared to the warm glow of this room.  She put her hands weakly on the rail and slowly lowered a foot, feeling for the step.  Ibiki wouldn't help her, she knew.  He liked to watch her struggle.

“Hurry up,”  Ibiki growled. Ayumi had only managed a few steps but only lost her footing once.  When she was halfway down, she could see the large room.  Everything was a blurry mess, but she already knew what was down there.

Her body froze, clinging to the railing as much as her hands would allow.  She wanted to run back up the stairs as Ibiki walked back towards her, his boots loud on the stone floor.  He wasn't happy.  He grabbed her around the waist and put her under his arm, taking her down the rest of the stairs.  He put her down roughly on her shaking legs.  If a table hadn't been there to catch her weight, she would have fallen to the ground.

She heard the front door open again and the voices of two women chatting happily.  Her coworkers arrived and Akemi sounded pleased as she greeted them.  Ayumi desperately wanted to go upstairs and see them.  They were always nice to her.  Ai was so cute with her round face and petite figure and always wore a pink kimono and lots of jewelry the customers had given her.  Her hair was dyed a light brownish-blonde color and her blue eyes were always bright and cheerful.  Nami was quieter and tall like Akemi, with long black hair and a thin face.  Her expression was serious when customers were there.  Some days she wore leather.  Ayumi wondered what she was wearing today.

“Pay attention, little whore.”  Ibiki said as he scooped her up and sat her down on the table.  She looked at him.  He wasn't blurry anymore, not when he was this close.  He stood so close she had to open her legs to make room.  “Your favorite customer is coming tonight,”  He laughed.  “He even creeps me out.  Fuck the Aburame.  Never met one I liked.”  He held her face in his hand, looking down at her.  “But he pays so well.” Ibiki roughly untied her obi and ripped the silk kimono off, throwing both aside onto the floor.  She sat on the table naked and cold.

Ibiki stepped back and walked over to the wall where countless bundles of rope hung, tied neatly and organized by length. Other things like whips, collars, chains and paddles hung nearby.  Ibiki grabbed a few bundles of rope and something else she couldn't see.

He returned to the table and set everything down roughly next to Ayumi.  She flinched, hearing the thud of heavy ropes.  Ibiki reached up at the ceiling.  She heard a metallic sound and felt the panic rise again.  He adjusted various thick clips to a metal ring that hung from the ceiling from a bolted, fortified contraption. 

“I don't want to...”  Ayumi muttered, knowing it was pointless but not able to stop the words.  Ibiki paused and looked at her with a ferocity she knew was there even though her eyes were staring at the ground.

“What's that, little whore?  Speak up, I didn't hear you.”  He grabbed her chin and forced her to look up at him.  The vicious look in his eyes terrified her.  She tried to pull away but he didn't let go.  She pointlessly tried to grab his wrist with her hands, knowing they were barely able to grip and it would only enrage him further.  

“I dont-”  Before she got the words out he grabbed her throat and slammed her onto her back.  He abruptly let go and went back to work on the metal rings hanging from the ceiling.  When Ayumi opened her eyes she saw her reflection on the ceiling.

Something felt like it broke.  She felt her eyes fill with tears and her breath catch in her throat.  The person looking down at her was a stranger.  Green eyes, a tiny, frail figure with tits too big for her body, long brown hair. She remembered the dark room, the stone walls and table where she was strapped down and only allowed to look up.  The room where time didn't make sense.  Her chest heaved as she started to hyperventilate.  She couldn't breath around her cries.   

Ibiki chuckled to himself as he continued to work.  Ayumi stared with wide eyes at the ceiling for what felt like forever, until the huge man flipped her over onto her stomach.  He pulled her arms behind her back roughly, wrists to elbows, and she heard the sound of a rope falling to the hard floor. With one hand holding her arms in place, he grabbed her hair with the other and yanked her to her feet.  She let out a startled yelp but tried to stand still as he tied her arms behind her back.  

Ayumi heard the familiar sound of the ends of the long rope dragging along the floor as he worked, occasionally falling back down only to slide again across the floor.  The rope secured her arms and crossed over her shoulders, between her breasts, around her torso.  Then between her legs and high up on each thigh.  It felt like there were thick knots behind her, down her back, but she never knew what those looked like. But she didn't need to see to know what he was planning.  She could feel herself start to shake as the ends of the ropes were held up over her and looped through the metal rings in the ceiling.  Ibiki was no longer holding her weight up, but the ropes were.  They made her stand up straight, her back arched slightly.

She hated this room.  The floor was hard and cold on her bare feet.  Why wasn't she allowed to stay upstairs with Akemi?  Mama-san would make drinks and chat with customers; she was always smoking and smiling.  Some of the men were even nice.  But Ayumi never got those ones. Ai and Nami did, though.  But Ayumi was never allowed to be social or get to know any of the customers.  She'd probably drop the glasses or spill things anyways.

A slap across her face snapped her out of her thoughts.  She felt involuntary tears well up again.  Her voice was quivering as she cried.  Her tears caught in her eyelashes, making the mascara clump them together.  She could see the thick black mascara at the edges of her vision and feel the tears, until she squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them her eyes felt normal again as the stained tears ran down her cheeks.

“I figured you might just want to watch today.”  Ibiki said inquisitively. A shadow behind Ibiki moved.  Ayumi's heart caught in her chest.  She couldn't breathe.

“Not today...”  A soft voice spoke.  It wasn't as deep and powerful as Ibiki's, but it was just as terrifying to her.  She felt something touch her foot and screamed.  “I'd like to be alone with her, when you're finished.”  Ibiki grunted something that Ayumi didn't hear over her sudden sobs.  She didn't want to be alone with that man.  He was the only thing on this earth worse than Ibiki.

She kept screaming as one of her legs was lifted off the ground and rope secured around her lower thigh, just above the knee.  She wanted Ibiki to stay.  He was safer than that man, and despite all of the ways he hurt her, it was never as bad as the Aburame.  She understood the kind of pain Ibiki wanted.  Now she was in a pure panic.

When one leg was secured, her knee almost as high as her chest, she felt him start to tie something around her other leg.  She was only balanced on one leg, and she wasn't strong enough to kick or even try to struggle.  Why couldn't it have just been Ibiki?  If he just tied her up here, let other customers watch, that wouldn't be so bad.  But why did she have to be alone with this one?

All of the ropes got tighter as she was lifted off the ground, hanging sideways with her legs open and knees bent awkwardly.  Ibiki could manipulate her body however he wanted by loosening or pulling on the various bundles of ropes above her.  She usually hated being his marionette, but right now it was all she wanted.  As long as he didn't leave.

The ropes around her hips and thighs felt tighter as he pulled her ass into the air, a sudden weight on the ropes around the fronts of her shoulders as her weight shifted.  She was staring down at the ground now, her legs bent beneath her.  The tears poured from her eyes and she couldn't even see Ibiki's boots anymore.  She didn't want to look up at him.

He grabbed her by the ponytail and forced her to look up, tying rope around her hair that kept her head pulled back uncomfortably.  She felt something move on her shoulder, then on her chest.  At first she thought it was rope, but the way it moved and clung to her body she knew it wasn't.  It had too many legs.

She screamed louder, utter terror reflecting in the pitch.  The rope that had been used to pull her head back tightened, and more rope was quickly wrapped around to the front of her face and into her mouth, Ibiki tying that one somewhere behind her head.  She bit down on the rope and opened her eyes.  Her entire body was shaking horribly against the restraint, but she couldn't move a muscle.  

Ibiki stepped back and she saw him.  His face was almost always concealed; she had no idea what he looked like.  He wore small round sunglasses and a thick black mask that covered his face from the nose down.  Shaggy black hair covered his forehead.  He always wore plain dark clothes, dark pants and a thick black jacket.  But that only made his bugs stand out more.  Long centipedes with dark red bodies and bright orange legs crawled on his shoulders, a few climbing down his jacket and sleeves.  Ayumi knew that's what was currently crawling on her chest, somehow holding onto her skin as it felt its way up her neck.

The man approached her and gently turned her around so she was facing the exit, hanging helplessly.  She felt both his hands on her ass cheeks and he pulled them apart, his thumbs moving closer to her anus.  She was tense and everything felt clenched and tired already.  There was a sudden, sharp pain on her neck and she screamed, momentarily distracted from the man behind her.

The venom worked quickly, like it always did.  She felt lightheaded and dizzy, but her adrenaline spiked.  Her heart was pounding in her ears and it felt like her body was throbbing against the ropes that held her suspended.  Her throat felt pinched and it was hard to breathe.  She choked and gasped into the ropes that separated her teeth.  

She felt the centipede as it kept crawling, down her chest and onto her breasts.  There was another one that crawled off his hand and scurried around where he was trying to pull her ass hole open.  It crawled down her labia, too close to where another bite would be excruciating.  As much as she tried to stay tense and keep everything closed, the venom was making it difficult.  She was fading between feeling limp and dazed, to panicked, shaking and confused.

“I'll leave you to it,”  Ibiki said, almost sounding disappointed.  Ayumi's muffled screams echoed through the room as she watched the blurry figure of Ibiki walking up the stone staircase.  She couldn't see his face, but she thought she heard a laugh.  She tried to scream for him to stay, to not leave her alone with this man, but her words were incomprehensible. 

Ibiki got to the top of the stairs and closed the thick wooden trap door so it was flat against the ground, making Ayumi's screams sound far away. He turned to the three women who were watching him uncomfortably.   Ai and Nami looked scared, but Akemi looked angry as she delicately smoked from her long pipe.

“This can't go on...”  She muttered as she exhaled a cloud of smoke.  Akemi pulled Ibiki to the side and gestured for the other two to continue getting ready.  “I don't think I can clean up after this man again,”  Akemi said solemnly.  She knew what would be waiting for her in the basement once the Aburame had left.  Wounds that would take days for Ayumi to fully recover from, even with Akemi's healing abilities.  Her internal scarring was probably irreversible at this point, and Akemi had to do even worse to her to get her cleaned up.  The images made her want to vomit.

“Think of it as a service to Konoha.  If he wasn't doing it here, he'd be out doing it to real women.”  Ibiki said.

“Real women?”  Akemi raised an eyebrow, the anger clear on her face.

“You know what I mean,”  Ibiki said tersely. “Hardly anyone even knows she exists.  Ayumi has no identity outside of Yurei.  Again, Akemi, wasn't that the point?”  Akemi sighed.  Even though she knew he was right, she could never be as cold as Ibiki.  “You haven't had a change of heart, have you?  After all this time?”

Akemi paused to think.  Sometimes she thought she wouldn't wish this punishment on her worst enemy. Sometimes she thought enough was enough and she should just put Ayumi out of her misery.  But in a weird way she had also become attached to the shell of a human that Ayumi was, as much as she hated to admit. All she had to do was think back to the night that man had taken everything from her and she knew where she stood.

“No.  I haven't.”

 

Chapter 2: Mindscape

“She isn't that bad, now.  Medicated.”  Chiho said.  He sat on a bench next to Inoichi somewhere high on a hilltop that overlooked Konoha, even though there were no hills near Konoha.  A blanket of deep snow covered the ground and every rooftop in the village.  It was snowing, big fluffy white flakes drifting lazily around them, but neither wore a winter jacket.  There was no temperature here.  The snow only made things quiet and peaceful.

“A part of me is relieved you didn't bring her to me.  Sayuri did what I couldn't have.”  Inoichi said solemnly.  “Is Akurei still in the hospital?”

“She should be released soon, Sayuri said she's made a lot of progress. She's... different, kind of.”  Chiho said, staring off into the distance.  It had been three months since Akurei had snapped and caused Kakashi to attack him, but he was still filled with a strange feeling of dread when he thought about how violent it had all gotten.  He couldn't forget the words she said to him, or the lies she had told her brother.  That had hurt more than the broken arms.

“Are you ok, Chiho?” Inoichi asked.  “You don't have to train today if you don't want to.”

“No, I'm fine.  I want to be able to help Akurei. Thank you for offering to help... Is this what Sayuri has been doing?”

“Doubtful.  This is not exactly a customary Yamanaka technique.  It wasn't developed to help...”  Inoichi said, glancing sideways at his nephew. Most of Inoichi's face was concealed with a thick gray scarf, his blonde hair covering one eye. “But it can be, I hope.  I think Akurei is a special case.  However...”  Inoichi's demeanor changed and the snow blew with a sudden ferocity.  “If used incorrectly, you could easily undo any progress she's made.  Or destroy her mind, so let's try not to do that.”  Chiho tried to push down his sudden fears

“Are you going to tell me what this place is?”

“What do you think it is?”  Inoichi asked, watching Chiho.

“Well... I didn't think of this. I don't know how, but you must have created it.”

“Correct.  I pulled you into my mind, where I felt like.  Of course there is more. But you will only be allowed to go exactly where I want.”  Inoichi said casually, leaning back against the back of the bench and taking a deep, calming breath.  “Not everyone has such a defined mental landscape, in fact most people's minds are just filled with abstract thoughts and random noise, disjointed memories and impulsive images. It takes a lot of practice to create something stable, and I doubt anyone outside of our family has ever come close.” 

“And this will help Akurei?”  Chiho asked, looking closer at the town.  What he had thought was smoke from a chimney seemed to be coming from a large fire, gray smoke billowing higher and standing out against the white scenario.

“It's contained.  And so is that,”  Inoichi gestured out towards a foreboding, dark squall that hung low above the sea, lighting flashing through the black clouds and rain so thick he couldn't see through it.  Chiho blinked; he swore there hadn't been an ocean over there a second ago. For a second he felt weightless and dizzy, until Inoichi put a hand on his shoulder.  “Sorry. I'll try to keep it still.  That's nearly impossible, though.  Even for me.”

“What is that?”  Chiho stared at the storm.

“It's important not to ignore things that bother us.  It's there, and it's fine.  If you were to go down to the city, you'd find much worse things.  But we're staying here.  I don't want my own mental landscape affecting yours.”

“I wouldn't know where to begin creating something like this.  It feels... real.”  Chiho felt a sudden sinking feeling in his stomach.  He realized that he had no idea how to leave.  Even though he trusted his uncle, it felt weird not having any control.  He wondered if that's how Akurei felt in her own mind.

“You start slow.  Just start with something that helps you feel calm.  Weather, certain colors, a certain smell... Just don't let it be a person.  That is giving up control.”  Inoichi warned.  Chiho looked at him.

“What if there is nothing but a person?”

“Are you talking about Akurei?”  Inoichi raised an eyebrow.  “That can mean a lot of things.  Guilt, obsession, trauma.  Have you seen this person?”

“Yes... it was someone who died in the Uchiha massacre.”

“How do they interact?”

“Horribly.  They hate each other.”  Chiho paused.  “You aren't going to do anything, are you?”

“No.  She is Sayuri's patient now, not mine.  You can tell me more, I can't do anything now but offer advice.  Have you interacted with this person?”

“Yes…” Chiho paused, uncertain if he should proceed. He thought back to how she had acted and decided it was worth the risk. “I never thought someone could be so starkly split, but it's like two different people, always fighting for control.”

“I wish I had been able to find this out when she was younger.  I'll still never know how she hid all of this from me.”

“I think she wanted help.  Just not from you,”  Chiho regretted being so straightforward, but found he had trouble stopping the words from leaving his mouth.  To his surprise, Inoichi chuckled.

“As much as Ibiki-san...”  Inoichi trailed off, stopping himself from saying more.  “Well, it was his idea to put you on a team together.  I was furious.  He always gave her special treatment, but a part of me thought he did it to make me mad.”

“Why do you hate her so much?”  Chiho asked, feeling an odd sadness he couldn't explain.

“Because I think she's dangerous.  There is no conceivable way she could steal a kekkei genkai, and Ibiki found her among the dead. It doesn't add up and someday everyone will wish they had listened to me.”  Inoichi said, glaring out over the ocean.  There was a distant rumble of thunder that was muffled by a gust of snow.  “Or so I thought.  Maybe it really is just survivor's guilt, and maybe her chakra is just that special.”  Inoichi sighed and the winds ceased.  Chiho stayed silent and listened.  “And you... you managed to keep her away from me.  She should really thank you for that,”  He made a sound that Chiho thought was a laugh.  “But this is why I want you to have extra training.  I want you ready to deal with whatever she throws at you.  If you've already been in her mind without causing harm, then she must have allowed it.  Is that correct?”

“Yes... At least one of them wanted me there.  The Uchiha.”

“Is he always there?  Sometimes people come and go like memories, but someone who can fight for control? Tell me... What is she like when she uses the sharingan?  Is she still Akurei?”  Inoichi turned to look at Chiho.  He paused, filled with a momentary dread that his uncle would do something to her.  He shook the feeling off when images of Inabi posing as Kakashi sitting on top of him flooded his mind again, those two red eyes, the horrible things he said. It was for everyone's best interest that he was honest.

“No.  She gets angry if I call her Akurei at that time.  She says to call her Inabi.”  Chiho said, gauging Inoichi's reaction.  His uncle raised an eyebrow.

“Uchiha Inabi?  The previous leader of the Military Police Force?  What would her connection to him be...”  Inoichi mused, staring back out over the scenery. “I hope she doesn't mimic his personality.  That man was insufferable.”  

“Unfortunately she has a pretty accurate representation.”  Chiho said with a frown.  “I just don't understand why the other personality is a man, and so much older than she is.  Why this guy?”

“I'm not sure that is within her control.  Perhaps they had some kind of conflict when she was young. Or she witnessed his murder.  Or... she could have been the one to kill him.”  Inoichi said gravely.  Chiho's eyes widened.

“That seems highly unlikely, given she was only ten.”

“I was never convinced of her innocence, but I guess that hardly matters now.  You're right; a ten-year-old couldn't have killed anyone in the Military Police Force, let alone the commanding officer.  I still can't shake the feeling that something isn't right, but I need to let go of that already.  I will have to learn to trust your judgment on this.”

“So... should I humor her and call her Inabi when she wants, and address them as two people?  Or would it be better to discourage that?”

“Good question... I'd say talk to Sayuri first.  She might have some insight too, and maybe the medication will solve that problem for us.  If the other personality were more docile I would say it doesn't matter too much.  But if she accurately replicates him then she'll be continuing to make herself a problem.  I guess all we can do is wait and see how well she truly knew him.”

There were a few moments of muffled silence as the two stared out across the snow-covered landscape.  Chiho didn't know much about Inabi, but what he'd seen so far had him pretty worried.  He hadn't thought too much about how the Uchiha was the leader of the Military Police Force, and for some reason it scared him now.  He was a man used to having power, but he had been locked up for so long. That made him dangerous. The lengths he was willing to go to just to get Chiho to release him were suddenly worse in hindsight. 

“So how can I help her exactly?”  Chiho asked slowly, trying to find the right words.  “Her mind looks nothing like this.  It's just... emptiness, darkness. And Inabi in a cage.”

“If she's already got a consistent scenario, that means she might be able to shape it.  Like this.”  Before Inoichi had finished speaking there was a sound behind them.  Chiho jumped to his feet and whirled around as something burst from the ground, roots twisting around into a spiral as it grew straight up, branches shooting from the top in all directions.  The sound was deafening compared to the silence Chiho had gotten used to.  Bright green leaves sprouted from the branches until the tree had fully formed and it was still again.  A canopy of vivid green hung in the air above. 

Chiho's mind was on high alert, his body frozen as if anticipating some kind of attack.  He knew his uncle would never do that, but his reaction was instinctive.  The sudden silence made him disoriented and confused.  Inoichi put his hand on his shoulder again and the feeling went away.  Chiho didn't see him stand up, but his uncle was suddenly right next to him.

“Sorry.  I don't think I explained well.  Everything you see here I built, like this. One tree at a time.  If Akurei created that cage, intentional or not, she can perhaps imagine something less abysmal.  Whoops, wrong season.”  Inoichi muttered under his breath.  The leaves on the tree suddenly turned red, then brown, then all blew away until only the bare branches were left.

Chiho watched in amazement.  It started to sink in that he was currently inside a living, breathing world that was only being kept together by his uncle's willpower.  How on earth was Akurei supposed to do this when Chiho himself was in absolute awe?

Chiho looked at the ground next to the tree.  If Inoichi simply conjured an image in his mind, then maybe it wasn't as hard as it looked.  He tried to imagine a seed beneath the earth, and how it would look when it split open and became a sapling, growing in both directions downward beneath the earth and up towards the sky.

“Stop that.”  Inoichi said sternly, squeezing Chiho's shoulder.  Whatever he had been thinking about vanished from his mind and for a moment he saw nothing but blinding white.  The ground felt like it was spinning, or maybe like he was falling.  In a blink the two were sitting on the bench once more, Inoichi's hand still on Chiho's shoulder.  Chiho gasped and tried to jump to his feet but Inoichi held onto him tightly.  “That's a dangerous game, Chiho.  I suggest you never try it again.”

“What did I do?”  Chiho asked, a slight panic in his voice.

“Never create things anywhere but your own mind.  Can you comprehend how confusing that would be to have thoughts and images in your head that you didn't put there?  Even subtle things can have a large impact.”

“I'm sorry,”  Chiho said quickly.

“It's fine.  You couldn't change anything here, anyway. But for someone who knew nothing, it could trigger some bad reactions.  Possibly irreversible.  The goal today is to help you create your own, so you can help Akurei the way I am helping you now.  Show her that she can conjure up more than just her own guilt and fears of losing control.”  Inoichi said.  Chiho thought about his words and took a deep breath. 

“How do you know this can work with someone outside of our family?”

“I don't.  But if you've seen in her head and interacted with her there, it might work.  That's already further than most people can get outside of dreams.  Not to mention she was able to keep me out of her mind for years. Me .”  Chiho thought he heard hostility in his uncle's voice, but his face was just as calm as it had been. “I still don't know how she did that, but I'd like to see it for myself someday...”

“You said you wouldn't do anything!”  Chiho said, raising his voice more than he meant to.

“And I won't.  Her trusting you is vital.  I will still help you as much as I can, from here.”

“Thank you...”  Chiho said, and he meant it.  “There is one more thing I wanted to ask you about...”  He said hesitantly.  He couldn't let his uncle know that he had seen him attack Akurei, but he had to know how he had done that.  He had frozen the very air in her lungs, or somehow stopped it so completely she couldn't make a sound.  And he hadn't used any hand seals.  “We have the same chakra affinity... can you teach me more about that, too?”

“You have already mastered water, and your healing will soon be as good as mine.  What do you want to know?”  Inoichi asked.  Chiho knew he was avoiding something.

“I know you also have mastered wind.  How do you wield both together?”

“Many shinobi can master multiple elements, but few can combine them into something else.”  Inoichi said, then sighed. “Not many have seen my abilities... How did you?”

Chiho said nothing.  He didn't want to admit that he had looked into Akurei's mind and seen his uncle doing something horrible to her, to the person he was supposed to be helping.  But he desperately wanted to know how the man had done it.

“I'm sorry I did that.”  Inoichi said solemnly.  “I regret it horribly.  I shouldn't have been so easily provoked.”

“It's fine, I'm not mad.  She can be... provoking.”  Chiho said, thinking back to all of the times he  had come into contact with Inabi.  He should have never let him out.  “I just... want to know what you did.” Inoichi took a moment to consider.

“That requires perfect control of wind.  Unless you want to risk rupturing a trachea or collapsing someone's lungs.  But you couldn't get that far.  I've never met anyone who could.”  Chiho felt a flicker of annoyance.

“That sounds like a dangerous move to use on an ally,” 

“I know.  It was a stupid reaction.  But I wanted her to stop talking.”  Inoichi grumbled.  Chiho found himself chuckling.

“Yeah.  I know how that feels.”  Chiho said, his annoyance subsiding quicker than he expected.

“I will teach you someday... Water and wind mixed together can have multiple outcomes, depending on the ratios. It's a more subtle technique that I think you can master with time.  But not today.  There is something else I need you to learn today.” Inoichi said with a sudden serious tone.  “Two things, actually.  First... How do you intend to leave?”  Chiho looked at him, completely confused.

“I... I thought you...”  He found himself muttering as the realization sunk in.  Suddenly the ground cracked beneath Chiho's feet and two thick roots reached for his ankles.  He pulled his feet up and onto the bench with him, but more roots burst from the ground and within seconds had a tight hold of his arms.  They yanked him roughly to the ground as he thrashed and tried to pull away to no avail.  

“It is highly unlikely that Akurei will be able to hold you against your will.  But you need to be in control of the situation at all times, even in the minds of others.  Although I suppose you are at a slight disadvantage here.”  Chiho yelled as more roots tangled around his legs and torso and held him still on the ground.  He glared up at Inoichi.  

“How would Akurei ever be able to do anything like this?”  Chiho said, trying not to sound as angry as he was.  There was no point to what his uncle was doing, he thought crossly. 

“She probably wouldn't.  Not like this.  But if I am understanding correctly, you'll have two people to keep track of. Never let either of them touch you.  It is unlikely, but possible for someone to... hinder your movement. And they can use that to hurt you.  Most people will just want you out, but I have run into those who have figured out how to counter our ability... It is not something anyone outside of the Yamanaka knows, so never reveal this information to anyone.”  The roots loosened and slowly retracted back into the earth. “As long as you are more... creative... than your opponent, you shouldn't have any problems.  You must always be the one in complete control.”

Inoichi helped Chiho to his feet.  He kept a tight grip on his arm, something that made Chiho nervous.

“The final lesson of today.  Where is your body right now?”  Inoichi asked casually, a tone that did not match the stern look on his face.

“Home... In my bed.”  Chiho said hesitantly, not understanding where Inoichi was trying to say. 

“Who is with you?”  He cut his eyes sideways to watch Chiho.

“There are people in the house-”

“But who is with you? ”  Inoichi asked, his annoyance rising.  Chiho was silent.  “This lesson is perhaps the most important one I will ever teach you.”  He said with a thinly veiled fury that was intimidating without raising his voice at all. Chiho had never heard his uncle speak in such a tone.  He felt his heart sink in his chest. “I hope you understand my reasoning for doing this.”

Suddenly Chiho felt like was getting pushed and pulled backwards at the same time.  His vision went black as something dragged him down with such force that he felt as if he were suffocating. His ears had the weird sensation of being too deep under water; the pressure was invasive and painful.  He had the urge to cover them or pull them to try to make the crackling stop but he couldn't feel his body at all.

His eyes flew open to more darkness.  The room was spinning, even though he couldn't see where he was.  All he knew was he was still lying down, just as he had left his body.  But he wasn't on his bed.  He was lying on something cold and hard. He tried to lift his arms, to grab his head that was pounding and giving him a nauseated feeling, but he couldn't move.

As his vision adjusted to the dark, his panic grew even more.  He heard footsteps walking away. There was a loud, metallic grinding sound just out of his view, then a deafening click.  A lock.  He heard different footsteps approaching.

“ Never leave your body unattended...”  Inoichi's voice echoed off the stone walls. He stood above Chiho, glaring down with his piercing blue eyes.

“Where are we...?”  Chiho asked, his voice barely a whisper.  He didn't know why he was so afraid.  “How did I get here?”

“That isn't as important as why.  You have a team.  Even though one is preoccupied, you still have another member.  You knew you were training with me today, yet you didn't think to ask him to help.”

“I didn't think you'd send someone to kidnap me!”  Chiho blurted out.  

“He could have done much worse.”  Inoichi frowned.  “Even if you think you're safe, never leave your body without telling someone first.  You'll understand the full extent of our clan's power someday.  But not if you make stupid, careless mistakes.”

“Then who was with you this whole time?”  Chiho snapped back, suddenly annoyed at his uncle's hypocrisy. The look Inoichi gave him made him instantly regret his words.

“Have you not figured out where we are?  You should be more concerned with your lesson, and quite frankly, a little more worried about yourself.  What if it hadn't been me here when you woke up?”

“This isn't fair,”  Chiho argued.  He tried again to move his arms but they were strapped down securely at his sides.  His anxiety was growing with each passing second, but surely his uncle had made his point.

“I've seen the way you and Ino mess around with your powers.  You think it's funny to impersonate people, or to control animals while leaving your bodies at home.  It's normal to experiment, but that time is over now.  Behaving that way could mean death and I won't allow it to become a habit.”  Inoichi took a deep breath, his face still somber and revealing nothing.  He looked almost sad, Chiho noticed, a strange dread creeping into his thoughts.

“I'm sorry...”  Chiho said quietly, suddenly aware of how silent the room was.

“I know you are.  I am, too.”  Inoichi looked down at Chiho and frowned.  “This has to be a lesson you don't forget.  I hope you can understand that, in the future.”  Inoichi grabbed his wrist, unstrapping the restraints that had been pinning it to the cold table.  The rest of his body was still held down, but now his uncle was holding his right arm up where he could see it.  Chiho considered pulling his arm away and trying to unstrap the rest of his body, but something kept him still.  His right hand could never have worked fast enough to release himself before Inoichi could intervene.  No, that wasn't entirely the reason. He was afraid. “I think I will show you how to execute my technique, after all.  If you are able to pay attention, maybe you can learn something.”

Chiho's wrist suddenly felt cold.  He tried to flinch and pull away, but Inoichi gripped tightly.  Chiho's muscles tensed and he struggled harder as the cold sensation slowly turned into pain.  His fingers were getting stiff, and after a few seconds he could no longer bend them.

“You don't even need that much water chakra.  It's mostly about controlling air.  And against skin, the blood freezes easily...”  Chiho's eyes widened as he watched his hand turn white.  The pain was widespread now, a horrible numb, cold and burning pain.  “Don't worry, it's going to look worse than it is.”  Chiho was breathing heavily now, staring at his hand and the uncomfortable pain shooting through his arm.  He tried to move his fingers but it was like he forgot how to; the muscles in his arm simply didn't react to his wishes.

His face expressionless, his uncle grabbed Chiho's middle finger with his free hand.  With a loud crack he snapped it off of his hand.  Despite not feeling the correct kind of pain, Chiho screamed.  His brain felt slow.  Why didn't it hurt?  It was supposed to hurt.  But the tingling, numb, searing pain was the same as it was before.  Chiho could only stare in horror at the frozen stump that was once a finger. 

“I'll put it back later.”  Inoichi said flatly, putting down the finger on the table next to his nephew.  He grabbed Chiho's pointer finger.

“Stop!  Please stop,”  Chiho shouted through tears, his voice ragged and scared.  He didn't understand what was happening or why his finger just snapped off or why his entire hand looked dead now.  Inoichi broke off the next finger, the crack louder than the one before. “Stop!! Why are you doing this?!”  Chiho struggled feebly against the restraints, unable to get his arm out of Inoichi's grasp.  His entire body felt cold and uncooperative.

“Is two enough?  Have I made my point?” 

“Yes!  Yes, please stop,”  Chiho begged.  Inoichi put the second finger down on the table next to the first.  Just as Chiho's panic was starting to come down, he heard one more crack, one so loud it reverberated off the walls.  Chiho's vision went blurry and he felt dizzy, not comprehending the image before his eyes.  Inoichi held the rest of his frozen hand up.  There was a clean break at his wrist, the tip of his arm just a stump.  

Chiho screamed again, his mind flashing back to when he and Akurei had been attacked near her house, to the moment he almost lost his hand.  The reason his fingers hardly worked anymore.  The blood that was everywhere, all over the ground, himself, how desperate Akurei had looked when she saw him close to dying of blood loss.   His uncle knew, he knew what had happened to him, he knew how much it still upset him.  Chiho sobbed, his terror turning into hatred.  

A sudden look of sorrow appeared on Inoichi's face.  He somehow hadn't anticipated his nephew's reaction.  He realized his mistake as soon as he had made it.

“Listen to me, Chiho.  This isn't real.  You're still at home, in your bed.”  He gently put Chiho's arm back down at his side and tried to block everything from his view.  “It isn't a real wound. Not even I could make ice that cold,”  Inoichi put his hand on Chiho's shoulder and he felt his breath slowing down involuntarily.  “I'm sending you back now, please try not to hurt yourself.”

The hard table against his back disappeared and he felt like he was falling into nothingness again.  It was jarring and much quicker this time; he barely felt his breath catch in his throat before bolting upright.  The world was too vivid, too bright, and nothing visually made any sense.  He felt like he was underwater for a second, his body sluggish and too heavy.

A sudden pain in his side snapped him out of his visceral daze.  He was on the floor next to his bed, cold and confused and thrashing.  He screamed when he felt the numb, burning pain in his arm and hand again.  Quickly cradling his right arm with his left and rolling onto his back he tried to protect his wound, tried to make sense of it.  His hand was still attached but the pain was immense.  Why was he feeling pain that wasn't really there?  Tears rolled down his temples and landed somewhere in his long hair.

After a few more seconds of agony, the pain began to fade.  He stopped screaming and tried to control his breathing as he frantically felt his hand and moved his fingers.  The hand wasn't even cold.  His body felt normal again.  How had he not noticed the differences between what Inoichi had created and reality?  Here the wind was blowing, there were birds chirping and warm beams of light from his window.  Leaves, distant voices from outside, and a soft rumbling noise from beside him.  His cat was purring at his side, watching him inquisitively.  No one but the cat had come to see why he had been screaming.

He had been wrong.  There was no one in the house, not anymore.  Whoever was home when he left his body was long gone now.  They hadn't known what he was doing, why would they have stayed?

His shock and fear and anger slowly became an unnerving sense of dread.  His uncle was right.  As angry as it made him, he knew he had to be better.

 

Chapter 3: Memories

 

Akemi pretended the man on top of her was Tonbo.  She had drunk enough and smoked enough to almost believe it.  The man was clumsy and smaller than Tonbo, and he definitely wasn’t concerned with her pleasure.  But it didn’t matter.  He was paying an obscene amount of money.  Not just anybody was allowed to sleep with Mama-san.

He was one of the few who was rich enough to be alone with her.  But she knew he was making a mistake.  He was paying for a high that no other woman would ever be able to provide.  She barely had to try anymore; her powers over the mind were so skillful she even found herself zoning out sometimes.  She knew instantly the fantasies and desires of her customers, and could give it to them.  The man who was thrusting inside her wasn’t even in the room, he was so lost in dopamine that he’d have to keep coming back for more.  Just one of the many services provided at Club Yurei.

With her customer taken care of, she found her thoughts wandering to the past, as they often did.  Sometimes she missed her estranged family, especially her sisters.  Well, one of them.  But that was ancient history.  The only family she even saw anymore was Inoichi, and he hardly said a word to her.  She didn’t know what Ibiki had done to him, but whatever it was had left its mark.  She couldn’t tell if Inoichi even liked him or not, and sensing feelings was second-nature to her.  Perhaps it was intentional.

She used to worry about Inoichi after Shinzo died.  It was around that time he became closed-off to her, when Ibiki finally got what he wanted and became the leader of the Torture and Interrogation Force.  When Ibiki was nearly tortured to death himself.  She sensed a difference in him, too, but always attributed that to what they’d done to his head.

Akemi would never forget the things she felt from Ibiki that day.  Sometimes she still cried, unable to get the images out of her mind.  She had never seen or felt anything so horrific as the things they had done to her old teammate.  But despite his injuries he had kept himself awake for days, Yuina the only thing on his mind.  He had kept himself alive to make sure he was able to finish saving her.  Thinking of it that way almost made Akemi believe he had a heart. Almost.

On that day Akemi, Shimon and Tonbo raced through the forest.  She often wondered if she should have told someone else what she heard.  How could she have known how bad it was?  She had felt for Ibiki’s thoughts when Shimon and Tonbo came to her, unable to find him anywhere in Konoha.  His brother had also been missing.  Akemi’s blood ran cold when she felt him, he was in pain, his mind an absolute mess.  She had never felt anything like that from Ibiki.  That should have told her everything, but she pushed it down and the three of them set off.

The sight of him made her eyes fill with tears and her breath get caught in her chest.  They were in a small shack in the middle of nowhere, far outside of Konoha.  The dingy, dark room had no windows, only a thin wooden door.  Sunlight filtered from the cracks between the wood of the walls and ceiling, illuminating dust specks in the air.  Ibiki hung against the wall, held up by thick ropes tied tightly around his wrists that hung from the rafters.  His feet dangled barely off the ground, blood dripping off his toes into a huge dark puddle on the dirt floor.  

She remembered how purple and swollen his broken feet and toes were.  She hadn’t noticed at first that the toenails were missing there was so much blood covering his skin.  They had done the same to his fingers, broken them and torn off the nails.  His shirt was off and there was so much blood she couldn’t see most of his tattoos.  He had thin needle-like blades jammed into his legs at the femoral and sciatic nerves, and even more in his arms at the nerves in his armpit, bicep and the inside of his forearms.  They were making sure he felt the most pain without letting him bleed out.  Akemi thought now that it was excessive, considering how many of his bones were broken, how his shoulders were dislocated and in agony from holding up his weight.  But they hadn’t cut him at all, not below the neck.  There was so much blood, and all of it poured down his face.

The part that gave her nightmares was what they had done to his head.  Nearly all of the skin had been ripped off of his scalp, in some places deeper like gouges.  It was a gruesome mess of red gore, blood that dripped down his face, completely covering it and trickling down the rest of his body. His eyes were wide and distant as he stared down at his feet, his head hanging limp against his chest.  The way he was breathing was a sound that still haunted her.

His teeth were clenched and with each exhale blood sprayed from his mouth and lips, splattering onto the ground and down his chest.  His breaths were quick and pained, as if no matter what he did he couldn’t get enough air.  He gasped and choked through his teeth, having no rhythm or pace for his frantic breaths.  As she approached she saw that he was physically unable to open his mouth.  There were long metal screws jammed into the bottom of his jaw on both sides near his neck, and she could only guess how far up they went.  They were long enough to bolt his jaw shut, at least.  They must have shattered his back molars.  

When their eyes met she couldn’t stop crying.  He was barely conscious, fueled by pure adrenaline he was fighting to keep.  Trying to read his mind felt like physical pain to her, as if his was radiating out of him.  He couldn’t even think in words anymore.  His senses were overwhelmed and he was on the verge of insanity.  But there was enough of him left, he wasn’t gone. Anyone else would have broken.  But not Ibiki.

They had left him there.  They didn’t kill him, but they knew he would eventually die slowly.  Unable to scream or yell for help, barely able to breathe well enough to stay conscious, his entire body broken and paralyzed with pain.  She later learned it had been around three days of torture, and one day of him fighting to stay awake.  He had told her once that was the worst part.  He knew if he passed out, he wasn’t waking up.  He also knew that it wasn’t only him that would die.

Once they had gotten him down as gently as possible, Akemi went into full panic mode.  Ibiki wouldn’t calm down.  He looked at her, and only her.  He was trying to communicate something but his mind wasn’t making sense at all.  The pain was screaming over what he was trying to say.  She felt his panic rise as he faded in and out of consciousness.  She could see images of Yuina’s face, her scared blue eyes as she was dragged away, her naked body covered in blood.  A dark tiny place where chains hung from the walls and ceiling, and a young girl curled up on the floor, crying.  Finally she understood.

“There’s someone inside his summon,” Akemi’s voice was pinched.  She wiped tears from her face with her wrist, her hands already covered in Ibiki's blood.  When she said the words, Ibiki relaxed instantly.  But he had no chakra, his system weirdly and artificially blocked.  How was she supposed to call the summon?  She knew Ibiki wouldn’t care if she hurt him to do it.  “Tonbo… Can you unblock his chakra?”  Akemi didn’t need to see his face to know the expression it held.  Confusion and disbelief.

“That would hurt him, he’s already-”  Tonbo protested.

“Do it!”  She yelled over him.  Akemi held his head on her lap, making sure his head was turned to the side so blood could drain from the corner of his mouth and he didn’t choke.  Tonbo reluctantly readied his chakra and held his hand against Ibiki’s bloody chest, releasing a bolt that caused Ibiki’s body to lurch. He made a gurgling noise that sounded like a scream.  Leaving his head in her lap she picked up his limp hands and bent his broken fingers into a hand seal.  He grimaced and hyperventilated, spraying blood from between his teeth.  “Ibiki, focus!”  She shouted at him.  She felt a weak surge of his chakra, but it wasn’t enough.  He was fading, he had gone far beyond his limit.  

Right when she thought she had lost him, he gurgled and choked again as he pushed as much chakra out as he could.  Akemi placed his hand on the ground.  There was more than enough blood for the summon.  She felt the earth tremble and the far wall of the shack collapsed as the summon rose from the ground, its huge stone door opening.  Tonbo darted in and grabbed a girl with short black hair.  She was still breathing.

As soon as Ibiki saw her, his eyes rolled back and closed and his body went limp.  She couldn’t feel his chakra anymore.  She yelled at him and Shimon put a hand on her shoulder.

“Heal his head, he’s not dead yet,” He said sternly.  He had removed almost all of the blades from Ibiki’s body and had been hastily healing the holes as best as he could.  She hadn’t even noticed.  Akemi got ready to heal, but had no idea how to safely remove the bolts from his jaw.  The bones would be in pieces.  It was then she realized that a major nerve ran down the sides of the jaw, something else to cause excruciating pain.  They had known what they were doing.  “Akemi!”  Shimon shouted.

Akemi blinked hard to get the tears out of her eyes and started to heal his scalp instead.  She was glad he had finally passed out, at least.  As she tried to heal the deeper gouges she felt something inside.  At first she thought it was the bone, but it was too oddly shaped and protruding.  Deep within the small holes filled with blood were more tiny screws, at least two or three.  They were deep enough to be connected to his skull.  If any of them had broken through, there was no way she’d be able to heal it alone. She shoved her chakra in to feel around, not knowing how she’d remove the screws.

“Akemi, hurry up!”  Shimon yelled at her again.  He was trying to hide how scared he was, but she could feel it.

“I can’t… There’s something metal, like a nail or something, I think his skull is fractured,” She stammered.

“Well take it out!” 

“If I do, he could die!  There could already be brain damage, or hematoma, I can’t do this!!”  She couldn’t hold back her crying and started shaking.  Shimon crawled over next to her, looking closely at Ibiki’s head.

“We don’t have a choice.  Tell me what to do.”  He looked at her gravely.  She knew he was right.  Moving Ibiki wasn’t an option.  

“I need the metal taken out… But if it pierced through to the inside of the skull…”

“Then we'll leave it.  What else can I do?” This was the one and only time Akemi had ever seen Shimon this serious, his hazel eyes laser-focused on her, waiting for commands.

 “I can't do this here, I can't-”

“Don’t worry about that now, just focus.  We can deal with the metal later, just get him stable.”  Akemi would always be thankful for how calm Shimon had managed to stay.  He kept her together and talked her through everything.  The two of them had, by some miracle, managed to save Ibiki's life that day.  She had held his mouth shut tightly as he removed the bolts from his jaw.  She remembered how holding the shattered pieces of his jaw bone had felt through his skin, and how she had reached into his mouth to make sure there were no shards of bone or teeth for him to choke on.  She wrapped his head so thoroughly that even his eyes were covered, all the way down the bridge of his nose.  The bandages also wrapped tightly from the top of his head down around his chin in an attempt to keep his mouth closed and stable.  The torturers had mostly destroyed the top of his head, but the back was missing skin as well.  She didn’t have the resources for any kind of skin graft then, nor did she know how to do it. 

They had stayed in that shack for hours, healing and hoping their efforts weren’t in vain.  Yuina had woken up and was an inconsolable mess.  Since Tonbo couldn't see to help heal, he had taken the job of keeping Yuina as far back as possible.  She had screamed when they removed the screws in his jaw, panicked at all the blood and gore in the shape of a human.  She was covered in blood herself, but her torture wasn’t nearly as bad.  They had used her, not strung her up and tried to kill her slowly.  Ibiki had gone to unthinkable lengths to prevent that. Tonbo tried his best to calm her down; she was much better when holding her dog.  Akemi never asked what had happened to her toes, but the image of gnawed nubs of bone sticking out from gruesome holes in her foot was one more thing she’d always remember.  At least she had been able to keep all of her fingers and toenails for the digits she had left.

Akemi snapped back to the present when she heard a scream.  Her reveries must have spilled into the mind of the man she was with.  No matter.  She could easily make him forget anything he saw and drag him right back into his fantasy.  She didn’t even bother to move, for his hips were thrusting again already.  She sighed, wishing she didn’t need to cause physical sensations on top of her mind powers.  But it was incredibly easy to maintain control of the jutsu when they were this close.

Seeing Ibiki like that was one of the reasons Akemi had stopped going on missions and decided to run the club with Nobu.  She needed the distractions; the alcohol, the drugs, the touch.  Here she had an endless supply of all three.  And she had Tonbo.  He made her feel new, like all of the horrible things she had seen had happened to someone else.  He was the only other soul who knew her as well as Shimon and Ibiki.  As fucked up as they all were, this is what she called her family now.  The ink under her skin meant so much more to her than she ever thought possible.

 

Chapter 4: Missing

 

Akurei stood in front of the bathroom mirror, staring at her own reflection and her tired, dull eyes. She had been released from the clinic a few days ago where she met with Sayuri every day. She had never tried any of Inoichi's techniques, but Akurei would have almost preferred his irritable prying over being locked up and talking every day.  It was boring and yet somehow exhausting.  She was so, so tired of the Yamanaka.

She held a pill bottle in her hand and sighed. It did actually help, but the fact that she was taking it at all was strangely upsetting. She had never even heard of the pills until a few months ago and had never heard of anyone else needing them. Sayuri said she wasn’t the only one but wouldn’t give her names. Akurei doubted she was telling the truth and had to convince herself to keep trying, but it was hard.

Then don’t take them

Inabi was much quieter than normal. Everything felt calmer and he hardly dragged her into his dark world anymore. If she ever did end up there his chakra had a little less intensity than it did before. She dumped a pill in her hand and stared at it.

I said don’t fucking take it!

She popped it into her mouth and drank from the sink. She felt him silently fuming. He hated it when she had talked to Sayuri, but he wasn’t any more pleasant outside of the clinic either.

“Akurei?” Someone knocked on the bathroom door. She grit her teeth and opened the door.

“What? I took it.” She pushed past Chiho. He was her unofficial warden, she thought crossly. He had been coming to her house each day since she was released, something he volunteered for so Sayuri or Inoichi wouldn’t need to get involved in her daily life. She knew it was to make sure she was continuing to take her meds. Akurei could almost understand what Inabi felt, having someone else in control.

You could never fucking understand

“How are you feeling?” He pestered. 

“The same as yesterday.” She snapped.

“Listen, Akurei. You have to work with me, I don’t want my uncle to do anything… And I want to keep you out of that clinic.  Please, just let me help. I can protect you from that.” Chiho said, frowning. She knew he meant well, but that didn’t make it any easier to have to report to her own teammate every day. They were supposed to be equals.

Akurei felt someone approaching her house, chakra she didn’t entirely recognize. She concentrated. Earth and water.  Calm and collected, but underneath was mild concern.  She opened the door before he could knock.

“Neji... How good to see you,” Akurei gave an obviously fake smile, which quickly faded with an eye roll. She walked back inside, leaving the door open. Neji looked a little confused but entered. 

Akurei wondered what he could possibly be doing here. Someone else sent to monitor her? No, that didn’t make sense. She hardly knew Neji. Maybe that’s why he would make a good spy.

“Akurei... we need to talk.” He said, his voice calm, giving away none of the worry he held inside. “About Jin...” He said reluctantly, his discomfort starting to show. Akurei's lips curled into a slight smile.

“I haven't felt his chakra in Konoha lately.” She interjected.  Even though Neji hated his older cousin, Akurei couldn't help but be amused and even a little pleased that he had come to her for help.

“He's been missing for two days now.”  Neji's eyes narrowed aggressively. “Is that amusing to you?”  He asked, unable to hide his growing aggravation.  This only made Akurei's grin widen, just barely.  But she knew a Hyuuga would detect it.

“Maybe he needs some alone time.  That's not my business.”  She said curtly.

“Maybe you forgot, but he is the clan leader's son.  There are those who want our Dojutsu.  It could be dangerous for him to be alone, especially considering the recent attack on your other teammate.  Or have you forgotten that too?”  Neji's words were like venom, causing Akurei's grin to turn into a grimace. This time it was Neji's turn to feel superior.

“Is this official Hyuuga business?”  Akurei said and turned to him. “Are you tasked with finding him?”  She asked.  Neji hesitated.

“Yes.”  He said.  She felt his lie without trying. “And as his teammate, I figured you would want to help.  Maybe you know where he could be.”  He tried to sound authoritative. “I could use the help of a sensory-type with a far range, who knows my cousin's chakra pattern already.”  He said bluntly.  The playful smirk returned to Akurei's lips. 

“Of course we’ll help.” Chiho said. “Let me contact Ino.”

“Why Ino?”  Neji asked.  Akurei grinned widely.

“Because if Jin is avoiding us or won't listen to us, he will listen to Ino.” 

 

---

 

“Are you sure she's coming?”  Neji asked.  He, Akurei and Chiho stood at the entrance to the town, waiting for Ino.

“We didn't exactly have much time to prepare,” Chiho said with a hint of sass that pleased Akurei. Akurei could feel his worry, much stronger and less concealed than Neji's. She felt a subtle ripple in the air, something she was sure would have been unperceivable to anyone else.  Chiho was talking to Ino, Akurei could sense. But wasn't the Yamanaka’s telepathy supposed to be an undetectable jutsu? Maybe he was not taking the usual steps to conceal his technique.  

Suddenly Ino burst into view, breathing heavily. Her eyes were locked with Chiho's.

“He's gone? Why would he just leave?” She turned to Neji, squinting.  “Did you do something?” She asked accusingly, her chakra bubbling up.  Neji looked taken aback.

“No... what would I have-?”

“Let's just go.  He probably just missed me.”  Akurei said, instantly regretting it.

You idiot…   

“Missed you? Where did you go?” Neji raised an eyebrow. “I haven’t seen you around for a while…” 

“Don’t ask too many questions, we aren’t authorized to know.” Chiho said curtly. Both Neji and Ino glanced at Akurei but dropped it immediately.  Akurei was thankful he spoke before she could struggle to make something up. “Ino,” Chiho said in an unusually commanding voice.  Ino's attention snapped to him and away from Akurei. “You and I need to focus.  One of us should scan from the sky,”  Ino took a deep breath as she collected herself.

“I'll do it.  I'd rather not carry you,”  She said, her chakra now completely back to its normal playful feeling.  She looked up through the trees as the four walked through the forest.  She ignored a few of the smaller birds that fluttered rapidly near the treetops.  She needed a distance flyer.

A few more minutes of walking in silence passed.  Ino's eyes never left the sky, her hand held up to block the sun. She was looking for something she wouldn't miss, and the small fluttering birds were too fast to catch.  As Ino continued her search, Akurei thought she could sense how uncomfortable Neji was.  She didn't quite understand his current emotions.  Was he worried about Jin?  Ino's suspicions could have been right; he knew something they didn't.

Akurei felt him with her chakra, focused this time. His byakugan wasn't activated, so she shouldn't have seen or felt anything, as long as she didn't interfere with his flow.  As usual he was calm on the surface, that strong, stable earth element that gave away no secrets.  He had also mastered the water element, something that complimented his earth well. A steady stream that had carved its path with time and patience, Akurei could hardly feel a gap between the two they were in such harmony.  

But despite that, Akurei could feel something off, so subtle she second guessed herself.  He was good at concealing his emotions, but Akurei's chakra was more sensitive than most. He was uncertain, maybe even anxious.  Was it because he had asked for help?  Akurei knew how much pride most of the Hyuuga had.  The more she concentrated on it, the clearer it became.  His chakra wasn’t sensory-type, but she could feel that his attention was mostly on her, just as hers was on him.  It was almost unsettling.  

Before Akurei could wonder if he had felt her chakra brushing against his, Ino spoke abruptly.

“Found one.  Chiho, catch me!” No sooner had she finished her sentence, she went limp and started to fall.  Chiho bolted to her side and caught her swiftly, cradling her head against his chest, his movements graceful despite the look of annoyance on his face. Akurei had a feeling she did that often.

A bird Akurei hadn't even noticed spread its wings and broke through the tree line.  It was a large brown owl that had been well hidden and sleeping. Akurei would never have found it in a hundred years, and was briefly impressed by Ino’s ability to sense animals. Chiho shifted his cousin onto his back, her arms and head slumped over his shoulders, the look of annoyance never leaving his face.

Ino soared through the sky on silent wings.  She was delighted to have found this bird, and a little shocked she was even able to detect it.  But she had honed her animal skills more than most. She knew before she even possessed the large owl exactly what to expect.  She smirked inwardly, thinking that her cousin is probably wondering why she chose a nocturnal bird, of all things.  But an owl's sight isn’t only incredible at night, and she had nearly 360 degree vision. Much like their human companion, she mused.  And Jin.

As she glided above the trees, her head twitched around as she scanned, seeing farther than she could ever hope to with her regular eyes.  Something else she currently had in common with the Hyuuga.  But she had something they didn't- a vantage point.  Ino hoped she could catch and train an owl now that she had gotten good with her cats; but this one was too old to train perfectly.  It would always be a little feral.

Focusing, she reached out with her chakra as well, and felt her companions becoming further and further away.  She could cover more ground than all of them combined, able to see for miles up so high.

...doesn't matter anyway...

The words hit Ino hard, her chest tightened, her body froze for a split second mid-glide. It was Jin.  He was far, but she was getting closer.  She reached out with her chakra to try to sense his, the bird's head swiveling madly trying to lock on to something.  How could she hear him before even feeling his chakra?

Just let them cut your stupid head off...

He wasn't angry.  But he was in trouble.  Questions and anxieties flooded Ino's mind.

They won't get what they want, and no one has to deal with you ever again...

Ino was panicking now, feeling alone, up so high yet unable to locate anyone.

Everybody wins...

She beat her wings furiously, darting straight ahead.  She had no idea where he was, but she let instinct take over as she barreled through the sky.

Akurei, can you hear me?  Do you still have a lock on my location? I'm northeast of you, go, NOW!

Ino's words nearly screamed in Akurei's head. All three of them flinched, exchanging glances.  Without a word the three began running, jumping up into the trees and using the branches to propel themselves forward.  Ino's body was still slumped over Chiho's back, and he was a little slower for it.

“I'm going ahead,” Akurei said, and disappeared with an audible crack, the branch beneath her feet splintering as it fell to the forest floor.  Neji couldn't even see it with his byakugan. He sped up, leaving Chiho falling slightly behind.  He glanced back, and Chiho nodded.  Neji pushed forward as fast as he could, trying to catch up to Akurei.

 

Chapter 5: Rescue Mission

 

Jin stood in a large clearing, his chakra whirling intensely.  He yanked a kunai out of his shoulder and threw it to the ground.  They had caught him off-guard, while he stared up into the sky.  He hadn't moved in what felt like forever, and his body was stiff and sluggish.  He realized he hadn't eaten anything since he left Konoha days ago.

“Hyuuga,” A deep male voice boomed through the clearing.  A large man with arms crossed over his chest and dark skin stood opposite Jin.  He had a Kumogakure forehead protector and short black hair.  A long white jacket flapped gently in the breeze that rustled and pulled leaves from their trees.  His right eyebrow was severed by a scar, his jaw covered in thick stubble.  His lips curled into a sinister grin.  “I must thank you.  You've made this easy for us.”  He chuckled, unfolding his arms and reaching for one of the short blades that crossed to create and X behind his back.  It was no more than two feet long, and curved slightly.  With a flash the blade began to glow with flickering white lightning that shot from random directions off the metal.

“How fortunate for us, that the son of Hiyashi Hyuuga is allowed to be so careless!”  A slender woman jumped gracefully to the ground from her perch in the branches above.  She had long purple hair that covered one of her heavily makeuped eyes, and dark lipstick that accented her thin smirk.  The top half of her hair was pulled back into a bun on the back of her head, held in place by two silver kanzashi.

One more man appeared in the clearing, not making a sound as the dust on the ground swirled beneath him.  He was much smaller than their leader, and had shaggy white hair and dark skin.  Both he and the woman wore something that resembled Konoha's ANBU uniforms, but they were tight fitting and black. He didn't speak, but stared at Jin with piercing yellow eyes.  

The two on either side of the large man took a step away and assumed offensive positions in unison.  They were very obviously high ranked ninja.  But they were skilled enough to not leave anything up to chance, and would be striking with full force.  Jin tried to prepare himself but couldn't bring himself to take any stance at all.  It was obvious what they wanted.  This wouldn't be the first time that Kumogakure attacked a Hyuuga for their eyes.  Jin would have laughed if he didn't feel so numb.  His father was right all along.  But he already knew that.  At least they wouldn't get what they wanted, thanks to Hiyashi.  He'll be so relieved when he hears the news.

With his focus on the sparking weapon the large man brandished, he didn't see the woman snatch one of the metal kanzashi from her hair and throw it with impossible speed.  Jin knew he wouldn't be able to dodge.  He must have flinched.  There was a loud pop of electric discharge, a strange gust of wind to his side.  In a blink, a small white-haired girl was before him, a hand held up, close to her face.  At first it looked like she was forming a hand seal, but when he looked closer he saw the thin metal weapon between her first and middle finger.  Her eyes were wide and furious as she stared down the group before them.  Instead of feeling thankful or even relieved, Jin was crushed.

“No!” He shouted a little too loud.  Akurei's concentration was not broken.  “You're not supposed to be here!”  Jin panicked.  Did this mean others were following?  Was he going to get his teammates killed?  

To Jin's surprise the large man let out a deep laugh.  Still Akurei didn’t change her composure.  She watched him with a piercing focus, muscles ready to move in an instant, her chakra buzzing in the air around them so intensely that even Jin could feel it.

“Well, well,” He started, his mouth curled into a grin.  “This I wasn't expecting.  Perhaps the Hyuuga aren't so careless after all.”

“They are not,” Akurei said bluntly.  “But this one is.  That's why he has me.”  She finally lowered her arm.  Without examining the weapon she slid it into her pocket.  Jin was speechless.  What was she trying to do? The man chuckled.

“I'm feeling generous today.  I want to make you a one-time offer.”  His smile widened. His teammates glanced at him through the corners of their eyes, but seemed to stand down slightly.  “We won't budge on the eyes.  We will be taking those. But we won't kill him.  I think there is a place for you in Kumogakure.”  He hesitated, letting his offer sink in.  “However, your only other option is death.” He spoke directly to Akurei, as if she was the one in charge. 

The air between the two shifted in such a way that sent a chill down Jin's spine.  It was tingling sharply with killing intent, and felt almost heavier.  Jin stared at his teammate.  It was coming from her.

“You lie.” She said.  Her voice sounded deeper. “You'd never take us back with you.  Such a poor lie is written on your face.  There is only one option you will carry out.”  She paused.  Suddenly she lowered her head, her face contorting into a slight grin. “Or, you will try to.”

The man let out a bellowing laugh, clearly amused.  His teammates tensed.  The dark skinned man's head jerked to the trees behind them.  Suddenly Ino burst through the leaves, tears streaming down her face.

“Jin!!” She cried. “Please, don't think that way!! You have people who care, we all care about you! I...” she stopped, her legs shaking. Her voice lowered, quivering. “I...”  She paused, finally looking at the situation in the clearing.  Jin's eyes widened as he stared at her.  He felt a burning behind his eyes, a tightening in his throat.  Akurei tried not to show her annoyance.  

“Keep your eyes on me, ” She said slowly, deeply.  Ino took the hint and kept quiet. The attention of the three Kumogakure shifted back to her.  She smiled again, ignoring the intrusion. “You must not know who I am, to let your attention wander.”  She gave a soft, throaty laugh. “But that will make this more fun.  I've interrogated a lot from your village.  No one you'd ever have seen again,” She watched as their chakra changed slightly.  The woman was the quickest to rile up.

“Kazuma-san, Konoha is known for their Torture and-” The large man held up his hand, silencing the purple-haired woman.

“Shiya, your intel is not necessary.” The large man called Kazuma said through clenched teeth.  They all seemed to have some knowledge, or possibly even experience with the darker side of Konoha.

“But this girl?”  The white haired man spoke for the first time, scoffing.  The disbelief was clear on his face, but underneath all three of them were hesitant.  That's what Akurei needed.

She whipped out a few of her chakra tendrils as thin as strands of hair.  Infiltrating the systems of three lightning users would be much simpler than other elements, she thought with relief.  But three at once would be a massive undertaking.  Plus, she had never tried to use her techniques on someone who was fresh and ready for battle, or not chained up in the controlled environment of Ibiki's summon.  But she had managed that many years ago.  Her skill had improved since then.

Without a sound, without so much as a shift in the air Akurei disappeared.  The woman was on edge as she took a defensive stance, looking around the clearing and completely ignoring both Ino and Jin.

“Zen, get you weapons ready,” Kazuma ordered.  The white haired man pulled out two scythes, connected with a long chain.  His weapons zapped to life just like his giant teammate's.

Zen was fast, but Akurei was faster.  She appeared in front of Shiya, arm pulled back and ready to strike.  Zen's chains wrapped themselves around Akurei, and with an outward jerk of his arms to his sides, the chains closed around her.  The sound of metal scraping metal filled the clearing.  Akurei was no longer inside his chains, like she was never there. Her figure simply vanished.

The man named Zen located her again, further away from his teammates, this time throwing one of the scythes.  The one still in his hand sliced the air in front of his chest, whipping the other and swinging it in a huge horizontal swipe.  Again, Akurei vanished as soon as the weapon made contact.  Zen continued his barrage, locating her and snuffing out the image over and over, clearly becoming agitated.

Akurei, you're using too much chakra too quickly!

Chiho's voice warned in her head.

I know! But I need this, I need them to leave! Otherwise we all will die! They can't know... that they are much stronger than us!

She appeared again behind Kazuma.  He whirled around, slashing his lightning-powered sword clear through Akurei's torso.  This image blinked out of existence too.  Akurei could feel their frustration growing, but something else.  The woman was about to do something.  She had caught on.  The rashest one had figured it out.  Akurei cursed to herself;  Shiya must be a sensory-type as well.

“Kazuma, Zen! Watch your chakra!” She tore the other silver kanzashi from her bun, her purple hair messily cascading down her shoulders and back. She charged at the real Akurei, slicing upwards with her small weapon. Akurei jumped back, realizing too late that she was not the target.  Shiya had single-handedly figured out every step of Akurei's plan.  The thin chakra cord that connected Akurei to a shadow clone was severed, and her clone discharged out of existence far away.  The clone had been their only chance to get help, to try to contact Kakashi.  Akurei could not hide the shock and anger on her face.

A quick sideways swipe of the small metal object connected with Akurei's arm, drawing a splash of blood.  She clutched it with her hand, stumbling slightly, her breath ragged and her teeth clenched.  She had done too much too fast, and her reflexes suffered for it.  She leapt back again, putting as much space between her and the purple-haired woman as possible. She needed a second to regain the energy she had just exerted. The woman grinned.

There was a sudden noise directly behind Akurei. Shiya was still in front of her, but in a blink was gone. Something touched her upper leg, reaching into her pocket.  Akurei whirled around to see Shiya mere inches from her, the stolen kanzashi back in her hand.  Akurei cursed. She had been foolish to take an enemy’s weapon without knowing what it did.  She had led Shiya to her real body by keeping it in her pocket.

Shiya was ready to strike, in each hand was one of the silver kanzashi.  Her arms were crossed, she was going for a slicing attack as the two metal rods scraped together with a huge spark.  Two tiny lightning blades burst forth, ready to slice Akurei’s torso horizontally like a long pair of scissors.  Images of her stomach and intestines falling from her open abdomen filled her mind.

 

Before the chakra blades connected with her flesh, Chiho dropped down from above, his bandaged arm swinging straight down above Shiya, the chakra that enveloped his hand glowing a blinding white. Shiya immediately pulled back and pushed off the ground, jumping backward as Chiho’s momentum carried his arm straight down into the ground.  There was a crash, and a fissure formed in the ground between Akurei and Shiya.

Akurei stared with wide eyes.  She had never seen Chiho use such focused chakra as an attack.  A jolt of recognition entered her mind, a jarring jerk of something deep within. Inabi.  But as quickly as it came it was gone.  Had she seen this attack before? No, but Inabi had.  Flashes of Chiho's hand nearly severed appeared in her mind’s eye, Chiho covered in blood, his hand attached to his arm by only a small bit of flesh.  She blinked hard, shaking her head, forcing Inabi back down.  If he didn't want to be helpful, he could go away.

A second after Chiho's hand cracked the earth, Akurei heard another sound from across the clearing.  Neji had taken the distraction as an opportunity to attack the highest threat.  Kazuma dodged effortlessly as Neji swiped furiously with his gentle fist technique, trying to keep him on the defensive.

A scream came from Ino's direction.  In the chaos, Zen had decided to take out who he perceived as the smallest threat.  He stood behind Ino, one arm squeezing her around the waist, pinning her arms to her sides.  His other hand held the blade of the scythe against her neck.

“Hyuuga!” Zen shouted across the clearing at Jin.  But the space where Jin had been standing was empty.

It was so fast, he couldn't even brace himself.  Jin was behind him, arm pulled back and eyes white with his byakugan.  He slammed his fist into the back of Zen's head.  Ino dropped to her knees as Zen went flying over her shoulder, the scythe's chains rattling as they hit the ground.  Zen rolled forward through the clearing with incredible speed, his arms and legs flailing as he slowed to a stop, a pile of contorted and twisted limbs.  A cloud of dust settled around his motionless body.

Shiya bolted to his side, her hands ready to heal as she touched his head, careful not to move any part of him.  Another scream, this time it belonged to Neji.  Kazuma had grabbed one of his wrists and squeezed, jerking his wrist slightly, but hard enough that Akurei heard a snap.  He made it look easy, like breaking a bone was the same as snapping a twig.  Dragging Neji by his broken arm, he threw him hard to the side.  Neji slammed into a tree and crumpled to the ground.  Chiho was as fast as Shiya had been to her own teammate, rushing to Neji's side, both hands now enveloped with blue healing chakra.

Both teams paused now, one teammate down and being healed.  They stood on opposite sides of the clearing.  Despite what had happened to his teammate, Kazuma looked delighted.  Akurei couldn't help but think of Ibiki when she saw the sadistic, eager aura of this giant man.  He let out a bellow.

“Five against three doesn't seem fair.” He laughed again. “ To you, ” he added, his eyes focused intensely on Akurei.  “Are you sure there aren't more of you?  I'm afraid this will be too short.”

“Don't you mean five against two?” Akurei said, meeting his glare and trying to match his insanity.  She pulled from the loose, excited chakra around him and jammed it into her own system.  She knew Jin would be the only one who could see what she was doing right now.  She had no idea what would happen.  “Unless your friend can recover from a skull that can no longer contain his brain.”  Akurei's eyes widened slightly, letting his aura into hers and reflecting back his own evil grin.

It worked. Kazuma broke eye contact for a second to glance at the unmoving Zen.  A finger twitched, then a hand tried to close.  His brain was still inside his skull. When his eyes flicked back to Akurei's, she was before him, the air strangely cold and thin as the sound of lightning cracked.  She had a chidori readied, aimed directly at his chest.  But he was still faster.

Instead of dodging, his arm shot forward.  His large hand grabbed her around her thin neck.  In one swift movement she was taken from the air straight to the ground, landing hard on her back on the ground that cracked beneath the force.  All of her readied chakra dissipated instantly.  He knelt over her, not removing his fingers from around her throat.  Her mouth was open in a feeble attempt to breathe, but she made no sound.

“You're like a small, frail, annoying insect,” He spat, staring down at her with manic eyes, enjoying watching her face change colors.  She was too stunned to even try to grab at his wrist.  He wasn't even sure if she was conscious, or if her eyes were bugging out of her head from the force of his grip.  He hoped she was awake, so the last thing she'd see was his face.

After a few more moments watching her, watching a small trickle of drool leave her gaping mouth, he looked up at the others across the clearing.

“Anyone else want to try?” He met each of their eyes in turn.  They were each silent as they stared. The blonde woman on her hands and knees, the Hyuuga standing behind her, the two off to the side. No one spoke. “Good...” He looked back at Hiyashi's son.  “Hyuuga. Come here, and give Shiya your head. Or I kill them all, starting with this trash.  You have until she dies to decide.”  He paused, laughing. “No, this insect was right. I will definitely kill you all.”  He looked back down at her. “Or try to. Right?”  He let out such a laugh it made Chiho jump.

No, this couldn’t be happening. He didn’t have enough time to come up with a strategy, he didn’t have any time to think.  They needed a plan to escape; they were nowhere near the level of their opponents. Chiho tried not to panic, but his mind was drawing a blank.  He didn’t know how to help Akurei.

Suddenly Kazuma let go.  The gasp Akurei took was harsh and ragged, air barely able to pass through her crushed windpipe.  She choked and coughed, making horrible sounds, but didn't seem to be getting enough oxygen still.  She jerked her arms so suddenly to her neck it was as if she had just figured out how to move.  She clawed helplessly at her own throat, her mouth still gaping and drooling.

“Here, let me help you,” Kazuma stood, lifted his foot and slammed it down into her stomach. She bolted upright, folding at the waist as everything inside of her lungs was expelled with force.  He lifted his foot again and kicked her hard to the side.  She hit the ground and immediately began to vomit.  The heaving was keeping her from drawing breath as more foamy acid spilled down her chin.  Her whole body was lurching and convulsing now as she struggled to maintain consciousness.  Kazuma took a step towards her, ecstatic. Watching it made Chiho's chest hurt.

“Please, stop!” Ino said, her voice quivering and tears running down her cheeks. Kazuma froze, turning to face her, the smile never leaving his face.

“Then tell the Hyuuga to come here, and get on his knees.” His menacing expression made Ino's breath get caught in her throat. “And I will promise not to drag out your deaths... too much.”

“ You.... ” A nearly silent, raspy sound came from Akurei's mouth. “... lie... ” She spat out a foamy glob of spit to the ground, her breath finally beginning to return.  On shaky arms she tried feebly to push herself off of her stomach.  It felt like a knife had stabbed through her diaphragm, and short, shallow breaths was all she could manage.  Kazuma bellowed another laugh as he approached her.  Ino squeaked in terror, wishing her friend would just stop talking.  A horrifying realization came over her.  Akurei was trying to keep the sadistic man's attention on herself.

Jin walked past Ino, towards their enemies.  Ino instinctively reached up, grabbing whatever she could of his.  Her hand clutched at his pant leg, but he didn't break his stride or even look down at her.

Akurei, are you alright? Jin, stop walking! We need a plan!

Chiho's voice sounded in their heads.  Neji seemed to be the only startled one.  Jin continued walking.

Jin, I said stop! I need you and Neji to work together! We need to stop the woman from healing, I need both of you to attack her at once!  Ino, watch my body. I'm going to take over the injured man before he totally regains consciousness.  I... don't know what to do about the large one. Akurei, can you move?

Jin kept walking, but slowed his pace, hesitantly staring down Kazuma.  With his byakugan engaged, he didn't need to move his eyes to watch the woman and give away their intentions.  Kazuma laughed.

“A change of heart so soon? Come here,” He snarled.

Don't. Wait until I'm in Zen, and then attack the woman.  I will grab her to hold her down.

Jin stopped. Akurei struggled to control her breathing, trying even harder to push herself off the ground.  She had to keep Kazuma busy.  The large man shrugged.

“Suit yourself.” He reached behind his back, pulling out one of his short swords.  It sparked to life just as he raised it above his head.

Now!

Both Jin and Neji bolted for the other two. She tried to stand, to defend, but her teammate below her grabbed both of her wrists with his hands and pulled her close into his chest.

But they weren't fast enough.  There was a crack, a blinding flash of light, and a scream. Before they could see again, Kazuma had grabbed both of the Hyuuga by their heads and smashed them together.  The two crumpled to the ground, their forehead protectors' fabric soaking up their blood.  It had done nothing to protect the sides of their heads.  

There was another scream that came from the direction of the two Yamanaka.  Ino was clutching Chiho's limp body to her chest, sobbing, staring at where Akurei was.  Zen looked to Akurei with Chiho's lavender eyes.  She was lying on her stomach still, Kazuma's blade sticking straight up from her back, jammed almost to the hilt and pinning her to the ground.  There were scorch marks all around her on the ground, the trees were black and smouldering.  Chiho did not feel her chakra anymore. The blade had discharged every last bit of it in one giant bolt of lightning.

Her body moved slightly, as if trying to breathe around the blade. He didn’t sense any chakra from her whatsoever; if she wasn’t dead now, she would be soon.  Chiho’s heart was pounding in his ears.  He looked harder, trying to see if the man had hit any organs.  None. The blade was high up on her back, closer to her right shoulder, missing anything vital. Of course. He wanted them to suffer.  He wanted her to die slowly.

Still smiling, he nodded towards the Yamanaka.  The woman walked towards them, a mix of rage and satisfaction on her face.  Ino's terror was rising with each step she took.  Chiho tore himself from Zen's body and back to his own as fast as he could, not having a clue what he could do to save any of them.

Chiho sat up just in time to watch the woman punch Ino so hard across the face she was thrown far to the side. Chiho jumped to his feet, but the woman knocked him down to his back immediately, sitting on top of him. She recognized the lavender eyes that had tried to put her in the path of two Hyuuga, and almost succeeded. With a snarl she pinned Chiho's left hand above his head against the ground, and stabbed clear through it with one of the silver rods.  She kept pushing, until the thin metal needle had gone completely through his hand and into the ground, she kept pushing until it was buried deep. The end of the hairpiece was thicker, an intricately designed hollow circle against his palm like the head of a nail. Chiho screamed.  She pinned his right arm and did the same with a kunai.  This time the pain was erratic, his nerves firing off in all the wrong places, shooting pain up and down his arm. He yelled through clenched teeth as the kunai blade went deep into the ground.  

Ino stood, trying to run towards Shiya.  With the flick of her wrist Shiya threw the other kanzashi at Ino.  In a blink she was before her, holding the silver rod and jamming it into her shoulder.  She took Ino to the ground as the kanzashi jammed into her shoulder up until the tip.  She wasted no time pulling out more kunai to jam into her hands, pinning her to the ground as she had Chiho.  It had all happened in mere seconds.

Shiya stood between the two Yamanaka.  Chiho’s mind was racing; he couldn’t think of anything that any of them could do to escape the situation. He tried to push against the blades in his hands but couldn’t dislodge them from the ground.  His left hand didn’t have a chance, the blade was simply too long and stuck deep into the earth.  But the shape of the kunai in his right meant it wasn’t as secure.  He painfully wrapped his fingers around it and pushed upward, gritting his teeth.

Ino had a different idea.  She kicked upwards, throwing her legs over her head and rolling back.  She landed on her knees, her wrists bent awkwardly, palms up and top of her hands still against the ground.  She reached her face towards one of the kunai and grabbed it between her teeth, ripping it out with a muffled scream.

Before she could pull the last kunai from her other hand, Shiya appeared before her and ripped the kanzashi from Ino’s shoulder.  She screamed, her eyes squeezed shut.  She didn’t see the woman swipe the small metal needle-like object at her face.  There was a sudden, sharp pain across her cheek, her lips.  Her head turned to the side from the sudden force, a splatter of blood hitting the ground.

“Ino!!”  Chiho yelled as he forced his right hand up, the kunai still stuck in it.  Before he could worry about his left, Shiya was before him again.  She stomped on his left hand while she grabbed the kunai in his right and jammed it back into the ground. 

“Stay down or I’ll cut you up next,” She spat at him.  She sat down roughly on his chest, knocking the wind from him.  Chiho glanced over to Ino.  She was lying on her side, one of her hands still stuck to the ground, her face and chest covered in blood.  With each breath she sprayed blood from a gaping slash in her bottom lip.  She looked bad, her eyes wide and panicky.

Movement across the clearing snapped Chiho’s attention to the gigantic man.  His eyes widened. Kazuma.  He was walking towards the two Hyuuga.  He stood over Jin and drew his second sword.  The cold panic that washed over Chiho made him forget about the weight on top of him. Shiya just watched.

Kazuma knelt down, grabbing a fistful of Jin's hair and brandishing his neck.  He lowered the sword.  The blade flashed in the sunlight.

“Wait! Stop!” Ino screamed, spraying more blood.  Both Kazuma and Shiya ignored her. “He isn't... He isn't main clan!!” Her words were slightly slurred, as if she was having trouble using her damaged lip.  Kazuma paused, and looked at her with a grin.

“Now you're just getting desperate,” He chuckled, looking back down at Jin and putting the sword beneath his throat.

“I'm not!! Take off his forehead protector!” Ino screamed, breathing heavily through her mouth, keeping it open as blood drained into her mouth and then trickled out of the corner.  “You'll... destroy the eyes!  He was... he was kicked out.  That's why he's here! They gave him the seal!” Chiho hardly understood her words.  Why did she think that would help?  Was she just stalling for time? It would buy them seconds, at most.  Kazuma frowned, but tugged at the knot and untied the forehead protector.  It clanged to the ground and Kazuma growled.

“Shiya, is this real?” He snarled.  She looked at him with huge eyes, suddenly worried, and nodded.  He cursed and threw Jin's head back to the ground hard.  Jin didn't flinch or even open his eyes.  He was face-down in a puddle of his own blood.  Kazuma grabbed Neji by the hair and pulled off his forehead protector, ripping off the bloody bandages underneath.  Another angrier growl, and he slammed Neji's head to the ground and stood. “All this work for nothing.  Let's kill them all and go,”  Kazuma roared angrily.

“Sir, if we bring the two Hyuuga back alive, maybe we can work on a way to negate the seal.”  Shiya said, her hand still gripping a kunai and slowly pushing it further into Chiho's leg.  Kazuma paused and considered.

“Alright.  Hurry up and kill those two.  I'll finish the small one.”  He re-sheathed his sword and walked towards Akurei.  Chiho felt his eyes fill with tears.  Why wasn’t Inabi helping?  If he had somehow been shut off from Akurei, there wasn’t much hope for them.  He was reaching, but couldn’t feel the fire like he always used to. Inabi was quiet. Chiho tried not to panic.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 2 of Of Ghosts and Demons