A Growing Affection

Chapter 30: Muted Time

The talismans that struck Yama clung to him, while the rest remained on the ground around him.

'And I couldn't connect with his shadow. That shouldn't matter if it's real or a puppet.'

"Try this, INO BLIZZARD JUTSU," Ino tossed a kunai wrapped with her last paper bomb. The explosion set off the other bombs, tearing up the street around Yama.

'Why wouldn't the Shadow Possession Jutsu work?' he pondered.

Yama emerged from the barrage, unscathed.

'Unless his shadow isn't real either,' he had a revelation, 'some sort of Genjutsu? That would explain a lot. Let's try it.'

The Nara Chunin placed his hands together, and said, "Release!"

Shikamaru's face reflected confusion as the illusion was dispelled. Noticing his action, and his reaction, his three teammates also countered the mirage.

In the place where Yama had stood, there was instead a young girl, no more than six years of age. She was floating in the middle of a translucent, human-shaped bubble of Wind Chakra. The girl was wearing shinobi garb, but did not appear to have a headband.

"That's why nothing hurt him," Choji realized, "There was nothing to hurt."

The child was surprised and frightened, when they started to look at her. Her projection of hardened air began to lash out more aggressively than before.

"Ino, stop her," Temari commanded. Yamanaka placed intertwined her fingers again.

"Mind Transfer Jutsu."

In the physical plane, Ino had barely been able to see the girl through the translucent shell. In her mind, the girl wore a simple slip dress, faded and stained; and no shoes. The Leaf Kunoichi could see that the girl did share the face of her illusion. The girl's hair was black and grey, and thickly layer, almost like feathers. The domain of her mind was mostly empty, but a lone hawk circled overhead.

"Who are you?" the girl asked.

"My name is Ino, Ino Yamanaka," the Chunin kneeled, so she was on eye level with the girl, "And what's your name?"

"Yori," the child was not reassured by Ino's words or actions, "Of the Nochi Clan. Are you going to kill me?"

"What?" though she had to concede it was a fair question, Ino was never the less shocked by the girl's directness.

"I don't want to kill you," Ino sidestepped the question.

"But Orochi-dono said the Leaf People would try to kill me, like the rest of my family," Yori said quickly, "And you are fighting me."

"Well," Ino thought about it. The girl's mentioning of Orochimaru was troublesome, but the Kunoichi had to gain her trust, "We thought we were fighting Yama, a mean old man. And you did attack us first."

"Yeah," Yori considered that, "But Orochi-dono said the Leaf People know my secret. He said that anyone who knows my secret would want to kill me. That's why he showed me how to make Yama. So I can stop the people who know about me."

"I'm sorry, Yori, but I don't know who you are, or what your secret is," the blonde told her earnestly. Then a thought occurred to her.

"Did a lot of people find out about your secret, Yori?"

"Uh-huh," she nodded, warming slightly, "But when they did, Orochi-dono would find them, and tell me where they were."

"And then you killed them?"