Corpses. Everywhere. Some of them mangled past recognition.
I pressed a hang to my mouth, unsure if I was fighting a scream or vomit.
The floor was sticky with blood, the stuff splattered over the walls. The....people had obviously been tortured to death, judging by their wounds. All of them wore headbands, though the symbols were unclear.
“Holy…That sick bastard…” Akina stepped up beside me. She walked forward into the room, bending to examine the nearest one’s face. Wiping the grime from the plate on his headband, she said, “It’s got the symbol of the Village Hidden in the Rocks. So does this one…and this one. They all do.”
“I… Why?” I asked, staring down at a young girl, I think.
“…I don’t know… Let’s have a look around,” she replied, rising and walking over to a table along one side of the room.
I nodded, carefully making my way to the other side, scanning through scrolls of all sorts. “These all have information on the Leaf…”
“That’s worrying…These all have information on the Sound,” she answered back, moving to a cabinet in the corner. “Ech… There’re tools in here… And scrolls… These all have information on the Sand…”
“And these are on the Mist,” I responded, gesturing to the other table.
“Weird…and scary. I just found boxes with even more scrolls, on the Cloud and the Rock…” She turned to me. “Should we take the Leaf ones?”
“Or we could burn then or something. If we get caught, at least they won’t get the information back.”
“True. Alright. I’ve got an idea. Watch this.” Akina walked over and started making hand signs. Finishing, she touched each of the scrolls. They looked unchanged to me.
“What’d you do?” I asked, confused.
She smirked at me.
“Open one.”
I did as she said and gasped.
“You’re going to get us killed…” I groaned. The scroll now bore a picture of a face with its tongue sticking out and the word ‘loser’ emblazoned across the bottom.
“We’re probably dead anyway. Where’s the harm in a little fun? This way they won’t get suspicious immediately,” she answered.
I shook my head, “Okay, whatever. Let’s just- door!” I squealed, seeing a metal bolted door in the far corner, hidden in the shadows.
“A-ha. Let’s go,” Akina ordered, walking over to the door.
“Careful. We don’t know what could be behind that…” I trailed, following after her.
“I know. See how I didn’t just burst through it?” she said, giving me a pointed look as she started on the lock.
“I didn’t ‘burst’. I leapt in…”
She chuckled quietly before turning serious as the lock clicked open.
“Come on.” She stepped forward carefully, pushing open the door.
A long, dark corridor revealed itself to us, the walls quickly fading into the gloom.
“Hm. Great… Now that we need the Captain, she’s not here,” Akina grumbled, staring at the darkness.
“Um… I hate small dark, dank places, so… Why don’t you go on, and I’ll stay here and… be lookout!” I offered quickly.
She gave me a look.
“…I’d rather you came with me, as backup. Besides, don’t you want to find Kakashi?”
“…Yes… Let’s go before I change my mind,” I muttered, pushing her in.
“Right.”
Akina led the way down the corridor, laying a hand on the wall carefully to guide herself. She stopped a short while later.
“Hang on…I can feel bars… Like a cage…” A greenish light suddenly flared into existence from her palm.
“Cool,” I commented, looking around. “Duck!” I gasped, shoving her down and deflecting the kunai.
“Ah, crap…See, this is why I didn’t light anything before,” she grumbled, drawing a kunai and flattening herself to the wall.
“Who’s there?” a deep voice called down the corridor.
I easily pin-pointed his location with my ears and flung a few shurikan at him, grabbing Akina and tugging her to a different location.
I concentrated, and I felt my eyes flash as they switched to cat vision.
Akina pointed at her eyes and then cocked her head, asking silently.
I tapped her shoulder, trying to tell her I could see her.
She nodded and then jerked her thumb towards the end of the hall, lifting her other hand in a tiger hand-sign and pointing to herself.
I took her hand, pointing it directly at the frozen man, who thought no one could see him.
She nodded, already signing. There was the faintest rustle, and the man glanced around, but didn’t seem to react otherwise. A moment later, I heard him cry out, and a flash of light blinded us.
“Shit… Wasn’t expecting that,” Akina muttered, her eyes closed tightly. “Move,” she advised, shoving me to one side.
I was completely blind at the moment, so when I landed in something warm and wet, I had to bite my tongue not to screech.
“Stay calm Whisper. I’ll fix your eyes in a minute,” Akina snarled, the sounds of fighting suddenly reaching my ears. “I’m a bit busy.”
I flashed my eyes back to normal, surprising myself that I could slightly see.
Two darker than average patches were fighting in front of me, the one to my left seeming to be doing most of the attacking, although it was from the left that the rusty smell of blood came the strongest.
“Intruders… I must report…” the deep voice from before panted.
“No way,” Akina growled, jumping back to avoid an attack.
The left shadow moved forward to continue his attack, stepping right in front of me.
I grew out my claws, and slashed right through his spinal cord, killing him almost instantly.
I flashed my eyes back, finding I was still blind, but it allowed Akina to find me.
“Thanks for the help… Hold still, this is going to sting a bit,” she informed me, her hands coming to rest over my eyes.
I felt a sting, and she pulled back.
It faded and I could see clearly again. I looked down and shuddered in disgust. I’d landed in a puddle of blood…
I looked up, finding a cell in front of me, where it had leaked from. I nearly choked, scrambling away from the bars.
The body of a woman was slumped against them, her face pale and ghostly in the dim light. A large red slit on her throat announced where the blood had come from.
“What? What’s wrong? What’s in there?” Akina demanded.
“A-a dead person, slit throat, and I landed in her blood,” I hissed.
“Oh…Whisper, it’s not blood. She…urm…is made of candy. And that’s…cherry syrup,” she improvised.
“Yeah, sure,” I grunted, pulling some water from the air and quickly washing myself off with it. “Follow me,” I told her, standing and hurrying forward, her hands clamped onto my shoulders as I checked all of the cells for Kakashi.
He was in none of them.
I searched frantically, trying to find another cell or door.
“Whisper! I found a door at the end of the hall,” Akina hissed.
I trotted over to her, and quickly stuck a claw in the lock, twisting it open as she undid the bolts and chains.
I cracked open the door, listening carefully.
All I heard was shallow breathing.
I swung it open, slapping a hand over my mouth at the sight in front of me.
Oh my God…
Kakashi was hung from the ceiling, chains wrapped tightly around his bloody wrists and ankles. I could barely recognize him, his face was so bruised and bloody. Slashes ran up and down his arms and legs, one on his right cheek. Bruises littered across his body, and blood dripped to the floor in puddles.
I forced myself to take a step into the room, afraid of what may happen. I shuffled closer, stopping an arm’s length away.
“K-Kakashi?” I stuttered quietly, letting my fingers brush faintly against his cheek.
He jerked away, eye snapping open, a wild expression clouding in it. “No-Wha? Whisper?.. No, it’s just gen-jutsu. I’m not joining you!” he rasped, his voice raw.
“Kakashi,” I sighed. “Akina, when we get him out of the chains, heal him the best you can.”
“No, don’t touch me,” Kakashi growled, shifting and wincing.
“Kakashi, it’s really me, I promise,” I mumbled, pressing my lips softly to his.
“It isn’t working…” He muttered.
“I’m sorry for this,” I apologized, and then slapped him hard across the face. “How about now?”
He glared at me.
“What the hell are you doing here?! You’re going to get yourself killed or worse,” He hissed, seeming much more alert.
“Geez, next time I’ll leave you to die,” I mumbled, tossing Shira up at the chains around his wrists, and sending Miki to the ones at his feet.
They cut him loose, and I caught him, managing to hold him up. “Hurry up, Aki,” I grunted.
“I can’t get the cuts to close! I don’t know what he did, but they just won’t respond! Hold him still so I can wrap them!” She pulled out some bandages and quickly started to wrap his arm.
As soon as she finished, she took his weight for a moment.
I looked down at myself, paling slightly. “Aki, slap me.”
Without hesitation, she smacked me across the face. “Strawberry juice.”
I nodded, “Right…” I quickly went to Kakashi’s other side, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. “Shira, lookout,” I ordered, jerking my head to the doorway. “Which way is out?” I asked them.
“Get back up stairs. Then get out of the second room. Take a left. Then two rights,” Kakashi grunted.
I counted to three, and then we dragged/carried Kakashi through the door, heading down the corridor.
We’d almost made it, stumbling down the last hallway, when the explosion sounded behind us.
“Fools! How many times do I have to tell you not to interfere!” a terrible voice boomed.
Frantic footsteps were suddenly approaching.
“Time to go!” Gerilynn called, slinging Kakashi over her shoulders in a fireman’s carry before taking off.
“Go. Now!” Gia ordered, placing his hands on our backs and pushing us along.
Another set of footsteps joined ours, this one calm and smooth.
“I will count to three. If you are not gone, I will kill those pathetic little friends of yours as slowly as possible while you watch me. One…” Brekkin’s voice, chillingly cold and calm, called behind us.
“Run,” Gia said frantically, half dragging the two of us as he sped along the corridor.
“Two…”
“FLY!” the blonde shouted as we burst into the hidden-door chamber.
The dragons expanded, smashing through the wall and seizing us in their talons, jumping into the sky and rising steeply, flapping like mad.
I trembled suddenly as a burning wave of anger crashed against my consciousness, giving me a splitter of a headache and a sense of impending doom.
‘Run home then, little ones. You will pay for your interference, I promise you…’
The pressure of the voice vanished suddenly, taking with it the burning sensation.
“Anyone else hear/feel that?” I gasped, rubbing at my forehead.
“Yup,” Akina called weakly.
“Affirmative,” Gerilynn added.
“It was Brekkin. He couldn’t resist a parting shot,” Gia panted. “Be thankful he didn’t say anything else to you than he did.”
I clutched tightly at Shira’s claws as I realized how high up we were. “Can we take it down a few notches, Shira?” I asked, my voice high.
“I suppose.” She adjusted her wings to take us into a shallow dive, leveling out quickly. “Better?”
“A bit.”
“Is Kakashi alive?” Gia called over.
“Yeah,” Gerilynn answered. “But he’s weak…”
My head turned to him, my eyes wide.
Is he going to be alright?
‘Probably. Brekkin did a number on him, but I should be able to heal him once we get back…’ Gia answered me in my mind.
Good.
I watched him all the way back, urging him to keep breathing.
Come on, Kakashi…Hang on…
Update!!! Yay, they rescued him! Oh no, will he survive? And what of Brekkin's promised revenge? Oh my... This could get interesting...
Anyway... I changed the font. I don't know why... Don't judge me! Ahem. Thanks, comment, vote, enjoy.- (Super Special Awesome Chocolatey Fudge Coated Mega Ultra Super-Fantastic Really Really Great Formidably Fearsome Impressively-Breathtaking Supreme Overlord of the Universe) Prodigious ^.^
Thanks for commenting and voting. Hope you enjoyed! -Saphy ;P