Recappy from the Last Chappy: "He's the leader. Tarzan's dad, if he'd ever accept him," answered Kiba. "Doesn't trust humans, so all of us going'll only scare him. Sora needs to find his friends, and his party should go with him. Three people is kinda pushing it, but one more could probably go along. I'll stay behind."
Before Jane or the Professor could speak, Clayton smiled and volunteered himself. "Perfect. You can protect Miss Porter and the Professor. I'll go along as an escort. After all, the jungle is a dangerous place. . . ."
His smile became dark and foreboding.
Chapter Thirteen: Accursed Requiem
One's eyes are said to be the windows to the soul. Through them what goes unsaid or is hidden by a smile or frown comes to light-ideally. Wintry eyes can be warm, and warmly colored eyes can be cold. Soulless eyes reflected the empty being one was.
And yellow eyes that glowed characteristically hinted either one without a heart or one whose light had abandoned them long ago.
There were four pairs of eyes on Hikari. Two were completely black, bearing no distinction for iris and pupil. The third was a dark, milk chocolate brown, and the fourth was a fiery red-orange. All came from different directions.
On a branch in front of Hikari stood a bluish grey-haired male with pale skin and a little brown eyeliner feminizing his features; his turquoise lips formed a condescending smirk. He wore long black armbands and skin-tight shorts; his tunic was short-sleeved, tan, had a purple rope around his waist, and brandished a Yin-Yang symbol-only, the parts normally meant to be colored black were blank. Around his neck he wore a dark red-beaded necklace; it appeared that another head sprouted from the back of there. He was one of the black-eyed ninja, Sakon, whereas the other head was his brother, Ukon.
Jirobou was a portly boy with red-orange eyes matching the three patches of hair on his scalp in color. His outfit was similar to Sakon's, though his tunic was sleeveless, he was sans arm bands, and his shorts were actually baggy pants tucked into bandages. There was no makeup on his stoic expression; he was to Hikari's left.
A young woman with reddish pink hair was a little higher than her, standing atop a branch on her right: Tayuya. Her bangs fell around and between the dark brown eyes as a black cap covered her scalp. She was outfitted similarly to Sakon, but she wore no beads.
In order to see the fourth person, and the other person with black irises, Hikari had to twist her head and look behind her. He was a dark-skinned, dark ponytailed, arachnid, having six arms coming through the armholes of his sleeveless shirt and a standard pair of legs-eight limbs in all. What drew Hikari's attention about him-Kidoumaru-the most, however, was the shinobi hitaiate tied around his forehead brandishing a musical eighth note.
"Sound . . . ? You're the last I'd expect to see, especially looking like you're on a mission-in a place like this," remarked Hikari. She intently stared at the ones visible to her and listened for the fourth's movement. "Orochimaru . . . huh? That snake sent you to kill me, is that it?"
Sakon scoffed, prompting Hikari's stare. "Please. As if you're a threat to him." He crossed his arms, lilting his head. "For some reason, he's interested in you; subsequently, he sent us with a proposal."
"You're coming with us," Tayuya added. There was hardly any emotion in her face but solemnity; one almost would have mistaken it for disdain. "No choice in the matter, but you can make it easier on yourself by going willingly or we can do it forcibly."
"A good player is always looking to level up," Kidoumaru included. "They want to improve their stats. Orochimaru can do that for you; grant you new abilities."
"Mm. Is that right?" Somehow, I doubt that. And as far as his power . . . that level's capped. As she gazed around at them, she subtly toyed with the summon gems; her eyes landed on the first speaker, Sakon. "Doesn't sound like much of a proposal to me; hardly even a bribe. Do you think you can threaten someone that can't honestly be scared?"
Lines formed around brown eyeliner on the visible eyes, manifesting with his smirk. "Hnhnhn. Smart-aleck."
"'Smart-aleck'? Try dumbbell." The strawberry red-haired kunoichi angled her head and lifted a fist to her hip. Her dark brown eyes directly gazed into Hikari's yellow. "You can see it in her eyes. She knows she's outmatched, but she's calculating anyway, questioning us just to stall."
Hikari's expression sustained its lack of emotion, though her eyes narrowed microscopically. Quickly, she jumped down from her current branch to one below and formed a hand sign, concentrating chakra to the bottom of her feet. With the aid of that chakra, she kicked off of the branch with great force, shooting past the branch on which Kidoumaru stood like a bullet from the barrel of a gun. She continued to employ that speed in running away.
The Sound Four seemed not to be alarmed by this; the arachnid, in fact, smirked. Unfortunately, it would be too soon when Hikari would discover why.
Within a minute or so of her attempted escape, she kicked off another branch, only to abruptly find herself suspended mid-leap. "What!" The girl tried to move forward, or backward-but no matter how much she struggled, it felt as though her limbs were "taped" to something.
"It's useless," a voice stated. Hikari leaned her head back and stared above, watching as the owner of that voice, Kidoumaru, propelled from above with the aid of what appeared to be silver ropes. He came upside down, much like a spider would. "Even elephants can't break through that web."
Web . . . ? Hikari returned her gaze to her front, where the rest of the Sound Four were appearing. Tayuya held a flute in her hands and to her lips, poised to play. She let a single note escape, and the "web" Kidoumaru had spoken of manifested; the illusion that had hidden it melted away, revealing to the teen that she was in fact trapped in a giant spider web.
Tayuya lowered her flute as Sakon sneered, thinning his lips. "All that tailing and she falls into our hands so easily. What a waste. Really, why does Orochimaru have interest in this trash?"
The yellow-eyed teen frowned and fought against the web a little more before she decided it truly was futile. "Well . . . if that's the case, then I suppose I will have to go willingly, huh? I'm outmatched, and you're just too clever." She lifted her head and regarded Kidoumaru once more. "Go on, release me. I won't run."
The Sound Four exchanged gazes; rather, Sakon and Tayuya glanced toward Jirobou as he and Kidoumaru locked stares. Kidoumaru gave a curt nod and Jirobou turned toward Hikari, approaching one of the trees to which the web was attached. "It's not going to be that simple for you," stated the many-limbed boy. "Jirobou can take energy from someone else's chakra like he would food; since you won't be fighting us, you can put that chakra to good use."
Hikari's expression did not change, though she turned her head toward where Jirobou touched the tree. If she had been using the byakugan, she would have been able to watch as her chakra was channeled to him through contact with the tree, which contacted the web, to which she was stuck. Although she could not see it, she could certainly feel as her chakra was drained.
[{X♥X}]
Meanwhile, in another part of the jungle, the group led by Tarzan reached the nesting grounds. High above the jungle floor, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Clayton, and Tarzan were on a rise covered in grass and vines as many trees around them nested gorillas. The largest of the gorillas, assumed to be the alpha, was black and menacing, looking down on them with disapproving eyes.
"They mean us no harm, Kerchak!" Tarzan implored. Speaking in the language native to the jungle, he stood on his two legs in only a slight crouch compared to normal. Twilight was beginning to set, so orange light broke through the canopy and tinted the scene.
Kerchak grunted sternly, narrowing his yellow-sclera, red iris eyes. "Tarzan, I don't know them."
"But I do. I've spent time with their kind. . . . I trust them." The ape man gazed below. "You see, I want to help them because . . . ," he looked up at Kerchak again and chose his words, ". . . because . . . well, they need us."
Kala, a chestnut brown-furred gorilla and mate of Kerchak, turned her head to regard her mate. Firmly standing on the position of distrust, Kerchak responded, "You may be willing to risk this family's safety, but I'm not."
Tarzan snapped and vaulted to the branch leading to Kala and Kerchak's nest. He rushed the alpha and stomped his hands just before him, coming up to his face; compared to one another, the alpha was larger. Tarzan's shoulders were squared in his crouch, and his brow set low; as if he were trying to intimidate him. "Why are you threatened by anyone different from you!"
The gorilla narrowed his eyes and leaned forward; the ape man did not falter. "Protect this family," he began dauntingly, then glanced at the other non-gorilla, "and stay away from them."
Goofy's brow was wrinkled in unease; he shrank when Kerchak glanced at them and leaned in toward Sora and Donald as silence befell. "Uh. . . . Didja get that?"
"No," Donald answered, seemingly uninfluenced.
Ape and man stared one another down. The latter dithered, bringing the former to give one final decisive snort, and turn his back on him. As he began to leave, so did the other gorillas. Tarzan's face fell. "Kerchak . . . !"
Clayton frowned and stepped passed Sora to the front, watching as they left. He appeared to be alarmed. "What is he doing? They're getting away!"
Sora's brow furrowed as he watched the gorillas leave.
[{X♥X}]
Sweat glistened on Hikari's face, cooling her pasty complexion as the wind rushed passed. Her eyebrows were knit and her teeth grit; nearly every time she kicked off a branch to stay in the middle of the square formed by the Sound Four, she grunted with effort. Her breath was minutely accented, but she was not gasping for air.
The amount of chakra left behind for her to utilize was bare minimum; just enough energy for her to function and keep up with them for a period of time, but not enough for her to attack them with any jutsu. It had been quite awhile since she had felt so exhausted; years, in fact.
To keep sweat on her brow from trickling into her eyes, she picked up her arm and wiped some away. In the same movement, she glanced at Tayuya and Kidoumaru, the ninja in front of her. Then, she twisted her head a little and glanced back to her left, seeing Sakon. She stared forward once more when their gazes met.
He frowned.
I don't plan on hanging around these guys much longer, she thought. Scowling, she glanced at her chest. It's been awhile since I've used it . . . but to stay away from him, I'll have to use his power. I'll have to bite from the forbidden fruit once again.
Hikari closed her eyes and searched for the reserves of power sleeping dormant within her and unconstrained it. Instantly she felt replenished and superfluous chakra surge through her, mingling with the chakra she had left. Power greater than what the Guts gem lent her filled the very fibers of her being; transcendent herculean sinew flexed through her muscles and violet chakra channeled through the appointed network once tainting her core. Lines like stitches were drawn across her skin, first spreading as far as the entire left half of her face, her neck, and most of her forearm.
The forbidden fruit tasted even sweeter than she remembered; like her lips embraced luscious cusps of a stygian lover and carnal desire bulged in her veins. Her skin tingled as she lusted for blood. . . . They were feelings one without a heart normally would not feel; yet they were empty and insatiable, desirous and forever unfulfilled . . . similar to what the sensation of existing bereft of a heart was.
Abruptly she landed on the next branch and swiveled, facing the two Sound ninja in the rear. While they were in midair she performed some hand signs and reached her right arm toward the portly one. Four green snakes protruded and darted to him. He pulled out a kunai to slice them, for he was in no position to dodge, but when he attempted to they evaded and one bound his wrist.
Hikari pulled back her arm and used the snakes to swing Jirobou around to hit Sakon. Throwing his weight was done as quickly as possible, but Sakon left midair before contact was made. As soon as he landed on the branch, there was a collision, but he disappeared in a cloud of smoke, replaced by a small log.
The snakes unwound from Jirobou and quickly returned to their host; she swiveled and glanced at the other two Sound nin. She crouched just in time to avoid another web projected toward her. This time she was smarter about circumventing those to come. By remaining on the branch, she was able to simply run and was not stuck in midair.
Kidoumaru stopped spitting web as Tayuya slid across the branch to kick Hikari's legs from beneath her; the yellow-eyed teen jumped before that could happen. While Tayuya was below her, she pulled back her fist and lunged forward; before the blow could land, the Sound kunoichi rolled out of the way, and her fist broke through the branch. Her eyes narrowed.
Whilst falling toward another branch below she leaned back in order to be upright. She twisted her neck to look behind her and saw that Sakon had kicked off the side of a tree and was heading her way. His fist was pulled back, thus she twisted fully and raised her arms in a guarded position.
Her stitch-like markings spread further across her body as he closed in. Just before he would-as she had assumed-throw a punch, he changed his positioning and instead grabbed her arms. He forced her to collide strongly with the tree and held her in place, trapping her hands above her and planting his feet on either side of her.
He smirked at her mark's continued growth, thinning turquoise lips once more so they revealed his teeth. "Intrepid, or foolish; I don't know which is more fitting of trash like you. Pulling a stunt like that. . . . We underestimated you a little." He tilted his head, allowing his bangs to move over a smidgen and reveal a little more of his face. "But, you aren't the only one Orochimaru likes."
Hikari was reserved about the intimacy of the position, erect against the trunk behind her. He was slightly above her, so to look him in the eye she had to angle her head a smidgen. "Sending you to do his grunt work? Sounds like a pretty nice, subordinate relationship to me-"
She narrowed her eyes and clicked her tongue. Similar to how her stitches had crossed her skin, many spots varying in shape dotted across his face and the visible right half of his body; it appeared like bacteria. "Is that right . . . ? All of you have curse marks?"
"You won't be finding out. Do!"
A staggering force punched Hikari's gut; the pained sound she made was gurgled by a significant amount of coughed up blood. The tree was splintering around her body, holding itself together by tenuous fibers. When she stopped coughing, she narrowed her eyes from their round state and her body loosened. Barely hanging onto consciousness, her head was bowed and she squinted to focus her vision. Two fists and arms had grown from Sakon's stomach to strike her; she watched them sink back into his stomach and shut her eyes, aching.
She heard his low, throaty chuckle. "Couldn't hardly take Do? Hn. If you somehow shake that off and try fighting us again, I'll show no mercy; but I will show you my 'Do Re Mi combo.'"
Her only response was to grunt-as the simple act of breathing pained her-and tremble. Blood leaked from her mouth to her chin and her teeth grinded, but despite the effort, she could not even lift her head. Breathing was a bit of a struggle. My defenses . . . are much weaker than I thought-one punch. . . .
Her protests to him slumping her over his shoulder were unspoken; she hung as limply as a sheet on a clothesline. Sakon jumped off the trunk and landed down on one knee on the branch of a different tree. From the extra force, the first tree snapped and turned to timber, falling and snapping a few branches in its wake. Tayuya, Kidoumaru, and Jiroubo met Sakon on a branch kept safe.
"Someone carry this weakling," said Sakon, holding Hikari as if preparing to hand her off.
None of the other three offered their shoulder.
Sakon frowned and lifted his left fist. Rolling their eyes, the other three followed; Kidoumaru raised his trio of lefts. They pumped their arms three times and presented signs in the center. Jiroubo's fist formed rock, as did Sakon's, and Tayuya presented two fingers like scissors. She narrowed her eyes and scoffed at Kidoumaru, who presented rock, paper, and scissors. "Piece of shit! You can't cheat like that!"
"Tayuya, a lady using language like that is distasteful."
"What's done is done," the arachnid responded. "In any case, you lost. Take the trash."
"Hell no!" barked she. Raising her fist once more toward him, she demanded a rematch between them.
He rolled his eyes but conceded, this time raising only one fist. They pumped three times, "-No one likes a sore loser, Tayuya-," and presented their signs. He smirked whereas she clicked her tongue: he had chosen paper when she had chosen rock. "And you lost. Now calm down and carry the deadweight."
Her eyes continued to narrow, but she did not protest when Hikari was transferred to her shoulder. I could kick your ass any day of the week, eight legs.
"Let's move out. We've wasted enough time."
[{X♥X}]
The downhearted little Uzumaki was alone in the forest, sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest and her face buried in them. White-knuckled fingers tangled in mussed charcoal locks. Flushed cheeks were wet with hot tears-
-Young Hikari stood and stared at Orochimaru with large eyes full of sorrow . . . and anger. Her heart was ripe with stygian juices spawned from those feelings, seen when their yellow eyes met; hers were darkened by the shadow of her hair, making the embers of her paroxysmal gaze glow brighter. He regarded her with amusement. Her teeth clenched and grit while his viper fangs were bared by a smirk.
She clenched her fists and spat at Orochimaru. "Who're you? What d'you want from me?" Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. "I'm not going back there! I'll show them what I can be . . . I'll make them turn to Heartless, if that's what they think I can do!" She looked down. "Ev'ry one of 'em. . . . I'LL TAKE THEIR HEARTS!"
Her breath was staggering from a lump tight in her throat. She swallowed and raised her gaze, but all that subsided was her intensity as it gave way to surprise. Instead of regarding her with fear, like she had expected, his smirk had grown. There was something in her eyes, something dark and sincere, that he liked-
While remaining slung over Tayuya's shoulder, Hikari opened her eyes a little and scowled. The blood was still wet on her face, possibly due to its mixing with her sweat. She trembled, struggling to close her hand to a fist. The markings spread further with her curling hand; with the extra strength, she could flex.
Since no one was behind Tayuya, the teen's actions were unnoticed. Her grunts of effort were in time with when the young woman impacted a branch, therefore they were mistaken as pain. When they were offbeat, it was attributed to breathing, as she would gasp almost immediately. She raised her hand, brushed it against her bottom lip, and let her arm drop. Blood was on her thumb.
-She was still young, but a little older. Blood marked her hands, clothes, and face, but very little of it was her own. She took a kunai that she had wielded with her retractable tongue and withdrew it; she shuddered at the metallic taste of the red fluid. The bodies in front of her were three in number and skirting early adolescence in age.
Breathing staggered, she regarded the bodies; they were scarcely conscious, barely alive. There was a furrow in her brow that she hid by bowing her head when her master approached. "Lord Orochimaru. . . ."
The expression on his face was displeased. He set his hand on top of her head, almost patting it as a minuscule gesture of praise for defeating them, prior to him bringing it under her chin. She smoothed her brow to appear emotionless before he lifted her chin and regarded her eyes. "You should be more ruthless, as a ninja and as my student. Have you forgotten your abhorrence? Your lust for hearts?"
A dithering shadow crossed her eyes; she could not sustain their locked gaze, and stared just under. Because she knew the silence would implicate her, she opened her mouth. "Nuh . . . nuh-uh. I will, always, remember." She narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists, still looking away. "But now . . . it just don't feel right."
Orochimaru's hand on her chin tensed, not quite digging in her skin but poised to. Though she did not look at him directly, she could feel the gaze of gross dissatisfaction upon her. The grown sclera, the wrinkles around the brow; they were both plain in her mind. Shortly the grip loosened and he lowered his hand. "I suppose, then, that you are useless to me now."-
-He was a young boy, only a few years older than her. His vivid green eyes were absent of mirth, but not quite as full of anger as had been evident in Hikari's eyes when she had first joined Orochimaru. The boy's silver hair was held loosely in a ponytail and his part was in a zigzag pattern.
"Kimimarou. . . ." Hikari muttered, gazing up into his soulless visage. She was on the ground, leaning with her head back and her throat bared. Inches from her neck was a sword made of bone from Kimimarou's arm; it sprouted from the palm of his hand. Sweat trickled past Hikari's temple as the point touched her skin. She was afraid swallowing would make it puncture.
Behind the boy stood Orochimaru, wearing a devilish smile-
-"Ahhh!" Orochimaru's fangs sank into the skin of Hikari's neck. Her eyes were shut tight and her knees buckled, but she did not collapse until he withdrew and his hot, moist breath left her skin. She was on her side, holding over where he had bitten, and writhed in pain. A bruise manifested over her heart, marked by three crosses pointing toward an invisible focal point.
He licked her blood from his fangs and continued to smile with a touch of sadism. The girl before him was in complete agony, sweating profusely and hardly finding the breath to groan or moan, let alone scream. "W-wha-why? Oro . . . chi-maru-!" she gasped.
His eyes and smile were cold. "I'm leaving this base behind . . . and with it, anything I no longer can use. There's a ten percent chance one may survive that curse . . . ," he smirked in such a way that Hikari's sweat turned cold, ". . . but in your case, I imagine even less."-
-Hikari lied in the center of the dark room, feverish and delirious; around her she heard footsteps, and cracked open her eyes. There were fuzzy figures around her, and she could faintly hear a voice: "A kid . . . ? She barely looks alive. . . . Let's take her back to the village."-
-The weathered Third Hokage gazed at the mark on her chest with hard, narrowed eyes. There were many wrinkles amongst the liver spots, discoloration, and grey facial hair; only some were attributed to his somber mood. A ring of new, smaller markings like hiragana acted like a seal around the bruise formed when she had been bitten.
He allowed her kimono-style top to cover it and looked at her face. Her eyes were shadowed, her cheeks were stained by tears, and she had a typical case of bed-head. She held her chin up, but was looking at the floor of his office.
"Hikari Uzumaki . . . we've been wondering what happened to you," he began in an aged voice. "Your brother, especially, has been very worried about you."
Her mouth twisted and she ducked her head, burying her forehead in the bases of her palms and tangling her fingers in her hair. "Ngh!"-
Presently, Hikari swallowed and began to form hand signs. Inaudibly to others she whispered, "Never . . . ngh . . . again . . . !" The markings finished crossing her skin, and chakra colored black and purple began to leak from her pores; lightning-fast-quicker-she formed two sets of seals for separate jutsu. Still on Tayuya's shoulder, she now had the strength to lift her upper body, using the woman's head as leverage, and faced her thumb down, releasing chakra from her first technique. "Summoning Jutsu!"
She pushed herself away from Tayuya as darkness, instead of chakra, spilled from the blood-offering. Corridors of Darkness opened and produced many Heartless, creating a substantial ring around Hikari and the Sound Four.
Powerwilds, Bouncywilds, and Stealth Sneaks-the first two were similar to monkeys in appearance, the former a bit more masculine than the latter. The Powerwilds appeared more gloomy, but certainly stronger; having dark blue fur and an almost militia navy uniform with muscles bulging in its forearms and hands. Black masks-similar to a masquerade type-surrounded glowing yellow eyes.
The Bouncywilds were much more petite, but also had a mask like the Powerwilds. They were more feminine, however, having gold hoops dangling from their orange ears and large red bows on the center of their heads. While the Powerwilds were barehanded yet with talons, the Bouncywilds held slingshots and had simple, black digits. Those two species made up a majority of the summoned Heartless.
Spread almost equally throughout the circle there were four Stealth Sneaks. These Heartless resembled giant chameleons; their skin arbitrarily was colored yellow, green, and shades between. If it were not for the emblems on their bellies, one would venture to think they were normal animals. As soon as they had appeared, they blended into the scene.
The Sound Four stopped and stared; after being pushed by Hikari, Tayuya had stumbled and fallen to a lower branch. On her level, as well, more Heartless were present. "What the hell!"
Wrinkles formed around Sakon's round eyes as he cursed, wondering how many times they would underestimate this girl. He saw a shifting of scene before him, a sort of flicker; immediately he thought of the Stealth Sneaks and raised his fist. He approximated where it was and struck its belly; in a blur, other fists sprouted from his arm and barraged it. The Heartless's shroud disappeared as it wined and fell; since a stygian aura still hung in the air, one could not tell if it disappeared in darkness or veiled itself once more.
Meanwhile, changes continued on Hikari's body. The markings broadened and merged, becoming one color across her skin. That color lightened from black to a sea foam/cyanic color that also colored sections of her hair arbitrarily. The ebony locks were growing, spreading over her back as her shoulder blades cracked and shifted inside. She was hunched over, silently allowing the changes to occur.
The monkey Heartless danced around, looking on when two large, bone-like apparatuses tore through her back and fishnet. However, they were not truly bone, as next it appeared that they unfolded like metal hinges. Much like wings, they were raised and poised to fly. Suggesting they were metal, perhaps iron, sharply pointed rods slid from the joints; the overall layout was skeletal. Her nails, too, had grown nearly into claws.
Tayuya frowned as she watched from the level below, though her eyes were still wide. She began releasing her own curse mark-lines as jagged as shattered glass crossed her body-and cursed, raising her flute to her lips. "Is there anything else Orochimaru forgot to tell us about this wench!"
Hikari raised her arm and pointed at a Bouncywild to her right, a distance away from Tayuya and out of the Sound kunoichi's view. That Heartless lifted its slingshot and a white ball, taking aim. When it released tension in the slingshot just as the nin had begun to play, the ball knocked the flute from her hands, turning the note flat. The flute fell toward the jungle floor.
The black and violet wisps seeping from the heartless girl's skin began to lessen as she straightened her back and let her wings fold. The back of her hair had grown to her knees. She watched as Jirobou and Kidoumaru struggled against the invisible chameleon Heartless keeping them in place. Lines had extended from the corner of her mouth in a purple color, looking like cuts on either side had been sewn.
"As Spiderboy over there would say . . . it's 'game over' for you."
Kidoumaru scowled and opened his mouth to retaliate; however, before he or Jirobou could, Hikari's wings made their move. In one swift movement, they had unfolded from behind her and extended further from her, shooting forth twenty feet to pierce both of them through the heart and into the tree. Incidentally, the Stealth Sneaks were felled as well; their veil was penetrated, and they melted away in a dark cloud.
Sakon clicked his tongue and cursed. "Weaklings . . . !"
Upon hearing his statement, although hushed it was, Hikari perked up. Slowly she pulled her wings from the tree, unpinning the Sound nins' corpses. They slid from the wings and fell, leaving blood to stain the tips of the skeletal protrusions.
While it partially reeled in, so as to appear like normal wings, she turned toward Sakon.
Her eyes were marked with purple in the same fashion as Orochimaru; shadowed, it was revealed that her sclera filled with darkness, and her yellow irises currently glowed more than ever.
[{X♥X}]
High in the jungle's treetops, high enough that there was more air than trees, a Tree House built over eighteen years ago still stood strong. Moss and other greens had begun to grow between the floorboards and on the walls, yet the wood had not rotted enough to lessen its sturdiness.
Clayton stood in the opening of the Tree House, poised with one eye open and his finger near the trigger of his shotgun. He stared down the barrel with a hungry expression at a female gorilla named Terk. She sat in the center of the room, scratching her blue-furred rump.
The floors extended beyond the perimeter of the walls, creating a walkway from the leaning tree one climbed to the entrance. Donald, a little ahead of Sora, Goofy, and Tarzan, waddled as fast as he could toward where Clayton stood.
Smoothly, Clayton shifted his finger over the trigger, and prepared to fire just as Donald came up on his side. The duck jumped and screamed, startling the hunter to fall to his knees and pull the trigger by accident. Since he had faltered, his aim was not on the mark, and the bullet hit the floorboards inches from Terk.
The rest of the group expedited at the sound of the shot, coming where Donald stood over Clayton. "What's the big idea!"
Clayton searched for his excuse as Tarzan walked further into the Tree House. Terk was climbing up toward the rafters, where the other gorillas roosted; naturally, Kerchak was in front. Upon seeing the group's arrival, he had turned to leave. "Wait, Kerchak! Please!"
But Tarzan's plea was in vain. The sole gorilla that lingered-though only for a moment-was Terk as she cast her gaze on Donald. In a furtive way, she turned and joined the family. With that, Tarzan turned and gave Clayton an accusing glance.
"You don't understand," the hunter began. "I was only trying to. . . ." He held his head and thought quickly, then pointed at an invisible something. ". . . ! A snake slithered by, you see. I saved that poor gorilla's life. . . ."
Meeting him with a cold stare, Tarzan shook his head.
[{X♥X}]
Hikari stood on a branch at dusk, blankly staring in front of her. Many Heartless littered the scene still, collectively waiting for her command. Her flightless wings absently swayed, not with any wind but simply because they could. Four corpses were in the area around her.
"Heartless . . . of all things to summon," she murmured, glancing over the beings of darkness before her. Silently, she lowered her gaze and lifted her hand, staring at her light, cyanic complexion. Shaking her head, she closed her eyes and covered them. In her silhouette, her wings stiffened and folded into her back as threads of darkness leaked from her pores. Shortly, she reverted to her normal form . . . with one exception.
When she lowered her hand, purple markings identical to Orochimaru's shadowed her eyes.
A glint in her peripherals caught her attention and drew her gaze. To her left, a Bouncywild stood on Tayuya's body, holding a vivid green gem in its paw. Hikari held her hand out toward it. "Give it here."
The Heartless did not hesitate to obey, bouncing from that branch to hers. In the palm of her hand, Hikari could see the two pink dots decorating the gem. Without a doubt, it was one for summoning; she could feel chakra in it.
"Another for the collection. Question is: who are you?" She hooked it onto the bracelet next to the other two. Then, she looked at the Heartless once more. They all regarded her, and for a moment she simply stared back, wondering what to do about them. "As for you . . . this affiliation could be very problematic. . . . I don't plan on being like you for long." She deftly produced a kunai and felled the Bouncywild nearest her whilst regarding the rest. "Away with you."
End of Chapter Thirteen
Next Time in When Darkness Turns to Light! Chapter Fourteen: Trick or Treat
He nodded and quirked a brow. "Uh-huh. . . . What, you don't think we were?"
"Didn't say that." I didn't realize. . . . She glanced down, hiding her eyes beneath her lashes. "But friends . . . they're supposed to be able to say things to each other, in confidence, and it's supposed to be . . . 'safe,' isn't that right? Friends, they . . . tell secrets. I can trust you?"
"Yeah . . . are you saying you want to tell me what you're hiding after all?" He sneered. "I'm all ears. You can trust me."
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A bit more profanity this chapter than you're used to from WDTL, but it's Tayuya-tried to censor her a little but in that instance the phrase jumped out at me and I thought it worked best XD Sorry if anyone was offended. Thanks for reading, God bless. Please, vote and comment.