Pic of some of the Summons so far --->
**Six Days Later**
Third Person's POV
Ashley blinks a few times, allowing her eyes to adjust to the light as she stares straight ahead, brows furrowed. She slowly leans forwards, one hand carefully touching her cheek, fingertips just below her eye. She tilts her head from side to side, watching as her long blonde hair tumbles over her shoulder.
Kiba stands behind the girl, watching in faint amusement as Ashley really studies herself in the mirror, acting as though she doesn't recognise the person she sees before her.
“I don't remember myself being so pale” Ashley eventually sighs, briefly closing her eyes and sighing as she straightens up. “I look like a ghost....”
Kiba can't help laughing at this, to which Ashley's fuchsia eyes pop back open and she glances at the Inuzuka in her mirror, watching him intently.
“You've always been that pale” Kiba chuckles, reaching up and running a hand through his hair as he sends Ashley an affectionate grin. “You look pretty like that though, kinda like a doll or something.”
Ashley's smirks at that, to which Kiba shrugs and shoves his hands in his pockets. He watches silently as the blonde girl slowly turns around and walks over to him, her head tilted back slightly to stare at Kiba's face. She says nothing, though her eyes run over the Inuzuka quickly, as if searching for something.
“What's up?” Kiba asks, holding back another laugh. His entertainment soon fades however, as Ashley's now half lidded eyes flick back up to his face, sparkling. She smiles warmly at Kiba and suddenly wraps her arms around his waist, almost knocking the tall male over. He flails his arms in a panic for a moment, trying to regain his balance as Ashley closes her eyes and begins to laugh cutely.
“I'm just happy I can see you again!” she chirps, sending Kiba a closed eye grin. “My eyes are getting better every day now!”
“........” Kiba blinks, before hooding his eyes and smiling down at Ashley, placing one hand under her chin to tilt the girl's head up. “I'm glad I get to see your eyes again. They're beautiful.”
The blonde's eyes widen a little, blushing as she hurriedly steps back from Kiba and crosses her arms. She scowls adorably, pretending to be unimpressed with the male's compliment.
“They're my Mother's” Ashley mutters, glancing at Kiba from the corner of her eyes. “Of course they're nice.”
“And there's that Uchiha arrogance I just love too” Kiba scoffs, playfully rolling his eyes as Ashley jabs a hand in his directions.
“Hey, you're not an Uchiha” she states flatly, “So what's your excuse?”
“I'm not arrogant” Kiba corrects, raising an eyebrow at Ashley. “I'm awesome and I know it. It's called confidence Angel.”
“Darling” Aki croons, poking his head into the room, sapphire eyes glistening, “I don't mean to intrude, but I couldn't help overhearing the sound of you sidestepping a compliment. Do you not realise that compliments lead to other things?”
Kiba and Ashley both send Aki deadpan looks, to which the Wolf responds with a dazzling closed eye smile.
“Just get to the lounge and make sure Tiez isn't harassing Akamaru” Ashley commands bluntly, to which Aki's smile fades and his eyes open, though they remain hooded. He turns his head, ears laying back.
“I'd hardly want to interrupt her having such a good time” the black and white Wolf mutters, sounding uncharacteristically bitter as he glides past the door. Ashley's brows furrow a little at Aki's tone, wondering what he'd meant by that.
“You know, Akamaru really doesn't like Tiez” Kiba comments, to which Ashley scoffs and rolls her eyes, turning to Kiba with one hand on her hip.
“No really?” she asks sarcastically. “I couldn't half tell. The way he runs away from Tiez in fear really makes me think he just loves her.”
“.....I can definitely tell that you've recovered” Kiba states flatly, deadpanning again. Giggling to herself, Ashley winks at Kiba and sends him a playful salute, turning back around to follow Aki into the lounge room.
Kiba smiles to himself as Ashley leaves and shakes his head, folding her bandages into a neat pile. Dropping them onto the end of her bed, Kiba also exits the room, able to hear the commotion before he can even see it. As usual, Ashley's Wolves were wreaking havoc in the lounge.
Heaving a sigh as he enters the room, Kiba pauses in the doorway, eyes widening with surprise. He'd expected a dog pile of some sort or perhaps even a stupid argument between some of the other Minami and the Wolves.
Instead, Kiba finds Kai standing on his hind legs, leaning forwards with his teeth bared and a vicious look in his ruby eyes. Shimei stands behind the muscular animal, holding him by the scruff of the neck with one hand, the other holding an apple to his mouth. Ashley stands in front of Kai, pushing against his chest with her back and barring him from attacking Aki.
The black and white Wolf sits on the couch before Kai calmly, his hooded eyes staring intently into Kai's. He remains still, not seeming to want to retaliate, but not about to back down either. He doesn't even flinch as a deep growl emits from the larger Wolf's throat, almost as if he hadn't heard it.
Fang sits behind Kai, her icy blue eyes wide with fear, worried that her mate was going to rip out Aki's throat. Saffire kneels beside her Guardian, arms wrapped around the Wolf's neck protectively.
On the other side of the room, a miserable looking Akamaru lies on the floor, sweat dropping. Tiez stands in front of him, ears pricked up alertly. Her violet eyes flick between Aki and Kai quickly, unsure of who she should be defending.
Atsui lets out an aggravated sigh and face palms, with an intrigued looking Tsumetai perched on his shoulder, tail wagging. He tilts his head to the side, ears flopping cutely.
“I told you we shouldn't have come here this morning” Atsui states coldly, to which Saffire glares at him and pokes out her tongue.
“No one asked you to come” she retorts, earning a nasty look from the green haired Minami.
“I'll kill you Aki!” Kai snarls, scrabbling at the air with his front paws. “You leave Fang alone!”
Ashley grunts as Kai pushes more of his weight against her back, only for Shimei to place the apple in his mouth and grab onto the angry Wolf with both hands.
“I hardly want your mate Kai” Aki responds, raising one dainty eyebrow. “She is not exactly my type.”
“Then don't hit on her you self absorbed shit!” Kai thunders, lips pulled back as he continues to bare his fangs.
“C-Calm down Kai!” Ashley orders through gritted teeth, struggling to hold back the heavy creature. “You know Aki isn't interested in Fang!”
“Then he should keep his trap shut!” Kai snaps back, his eyes never leaving Aki's sapphire ones.
“It.....It really isn't that big of a deal” Fang says quietly, not wanting Kai to hurt anyone. She knew what a temper Kai had, and he was very protective of her, so Fang knew that Kai would hurt Aki if provoked.
“Is this what you meant when you said compliments lead to other things?” Kiba can't resist asking, to which Aki slowly turns to look at him, eyes narrowing slightly.
“Not helping Kiba!” Ashley reprimands. Seeing that Kai isn't about to let this go, Ashley brings up her hand and folds two fingers down, before Kai suddenly disappears in a puff of smoke.
“Kai?” Fang asks, blinking as the white smoke disperses through the room. “Where did he go?”
“Sorry Fang” Ashley sighs, straightening up and rubbing her back, “I sent Kai back to Inu Zoku Mountain. When he's calmed down a bit, I'll bring him back. He's hard to reason with when he's mad.”
“Yes.....I know” the pretty Wolf sighs, ears drooping a little. She drops down and lays her head on top of her charcoal coloured paws, eyes downcast. She obviously didn't get to see Kai often and wanted to spend as much time as possible with the easily angered Wolf.
“Aki” Ashley addresses, placing her hands on her hips as the Wolf looks away from her, “What was that about?”
Aki doesn't look at anyone, eyes dropping to the floor as he lays his ears back, a stubborn expression on his beautiful face. Tiez's ears also droop a little, her face beginning to take on a worried look. What was wrong with her best friend? She'd never seen him act like this before....
“Why do you always have to flirt with everyone?” Ashley asks, beginning to feel annoyed with Aki's uncharacteristic attitude. “Even if you're only joking, why do you do it Aki? Not everyone likes it when you do that, and you knew Kai would get mad if you did that to Fang........Don't you think sometimes?”
Aki sniffs quietly, before shaking his head and turning it a little, to glance back at Tiez. She raises her head and sends him a concerned look, taking one step forwards and pausing again. Aki quickly looks away, rising to his feet and jumping down from the couch.
“You wouldn't understand Darling.....” the furry animal mutters softly, slowly heading for the door. “I'm just trying to fill a void.”
“What's wrong with you today?” Ashley asks in confusion, making the Wolf pause and chuckle quietly.
“It's not just a today thing Darling” he replies softly, not looking back. “It's......It's been this way for a long time....”
“Aki?” Tiez calls after the larger Wolf, before sitting down on the floor, a sad look in her violet eyes. She lays her ears back and watches after Aki as he slinks out of the room and disappears down the hallway.
“Poor Aki-chan” Tsumetai coos, “He seems really sad, doesn't he?”
“.....I don't understand” Ashley sighs, running a hand through her hair. “Trying to fill a void?”
She was concerned for the usually friendly Wolf. While he had always been a serial flirt, he'd never said anything to Fang before. Everything had been fine until he'd walked into the room.
Tiez had been trying to wrestle with an unwilling Akamaru, Fang and Kai were happily sitting together in the corner, Shimei had been sharing pieces of his apple with Tsumetai and Saffire and Atsui had been arguing about something stupid.
“So........” Saffire begins awkwardly, wanting to change the subject and bring everyone's mood back up. “Did Blue Eyes and the others manage to make any sense of that weird code or...?”
“Yeah, Sakura's been keeping me up to date with all that stuff” Ashley replies, looking away from the hallway. “Apparently after you spoke to Naruto, Iruka and Shika-kun did as well, which made him feel a lot better. He helped them decode it.”
“I'm glad he's feeling better” Saffire smiles, her bright eyes shining with happiness at this news. “He must be busy, coz I haven't seen him since.”
“I saw Kakashi Sensei the other day” Kiba speaks up, stepping into the room, “And he said that Naruto's gone off to train with that old Toad guy. Learning some new technique or something.”
“That sounds about right” Ashley smirks in amusement. “Naruto always seems to be learning new stuff. Sakura also told me that one of the Toads brought back the body of one of the guy's Jiraiya killed. Shizune and some other Medics are performing an biopsy on it today.”
“Sounds like a complicated situation” Kiba sighs, to which Ashley sighs and nods in agreement. “The Akatsuki make everything difficult.”
“......How is your vision today Ashley?” Shimei asks in his soft voice, Ashley having to tilt her head right back to look up into his handsome face. “You aren't wearing your bandages today.”
“It's getting a lot better Shimei” the blonde Minami responds with a closed eye grin. “It's not perfect, but I can make out colours and facial expressions now.”
“....Kiyumi will be glad to hear you're doing well” the tall red head replies, his hooded eyes shining with warmth as he smiles down at the younger Minami. He gently places his large hand on Ashley's head. “Kurai-chan will be happy as well. They both think of you often.”
Before Ashley can reply, a huge explosion rips through the air, causing the girl's house to tremble violently. Saffire lets out a shriek of fright, as Tsumetai falls from Atsui's shoulder in surprise, only for the green haired boy to catch his small Guardian. Shimei grips onto Ashley to keep her from falling, with Kiba bracing himself against the wall and looking towards the window, brows furrowed.
“What's going on?!” Tiez shouts over the sound of another explosion, further away this time. “Are we having an earthquake?!”
“Hold on to me Saffire” Fang murmurs to her partner, nudging the girl's hand. “Be careful not to trip over.”
“We don't have earthquakes in the Land of Fire” Kiba replies, carefully pushing away from the wall, pausing when all of the Minami's eyes widen and they begin sniffing the air.
“Fire” Saffire whispers, neck wrenching around to look out of the window as well. “I smell fire.”
Tsumetai shivers at the smell of the fire, turning to hide his face in Atsui's neck, with the Minami scowling at everyone in the room.
“Let's go see what the hell's going on outside” he suggests seriously, to which everyone nods. As they all head for the front door, which now has a large crack through it, Ashley pauses. Slowly turning around, her brows creasing as she senses something strange, the girl suddenly leaps towards Kiba.
“Move it!” she cries, grabbing the Inuzuka by his arm and roughly tugging him towards her, just as a huge orange and black creature smashes through Ashley's roof. The roof buckles easily under the huge animal's weight, walls splintering and throwing out shards of debris. A thick cloud of dust sweeps through the room, causing Tsumetai to begin coughing.
Saffire shrieks again as Shimei powerfully kicks the front door open, allowing the others to run out into the street, just as the strange creature slams into the ground with a thunderous boom. Kiba and Ashley dart outside as the animal's multiple legs begin waving back and forth, scraping along the remains of Ashley's house. Kiba holds the blonde tightly to his side, tilting his head back and watching as the huge beast rises back up, allowing him to see what it really is.
“Is that a Centipede?” the brunette asks in disbelief. “What the hell?!”
“Gross!” Saffire splutters, her nose screwing up at the sight of the insect's large head. Its circular, purple eyes flick around, watching as people scream and run through the streets below it. A thick metal spike sits in the middle of its head, the sharp tip protruding out below the insect's lower jaw, almost as if someone had jabbed it through the Centipede's skull.
“Aki!” Tiez suddenly cries, her heart jumping into her throat at the sudden realisation. “He didn't make it out! No.....”
“Don't worry Tiez darling” a smooth voice purrs, making the small, purple Wolf glance back over her shoulder. Sitting amongst a thick vortex of swirling leaves, Aki smiles at Tiez, his sapphire eyes gleaming. “I'm hardly so easy to kill.”
“Aki.....” Tiez sighs with relief, before a scowl settles on her face and she growls. “Don't scare me like that you dumb bastard!”
“Teleportation is a wonderful thing” Aki chuckles, sending a concerned looking Ashley a wink. Despite the comforting knowledge that Aki is safe, the blonde doesn't smile back, her eyes now taking in the damage around her. A few buildings lie scattered across the ground, smoke drifting up into the air and small fires crackling as they burn up the debris.
People sprint in every direction, dragging children along behind them and carrying any belongings they'd been able to get their hands on. Ashley feels her heart rate pick up a little as she notices a bloodied hand poking out from beneath a fallen house.
How many people had already been killed by this insect?
The Centipede suddenly rears backwards and lets out an ear piercing screech, before diving down towards them, it's fearsome pincers opening up.
“Water Style” a female voice calls out, “Liquid Bullet!”
A huge sphere of water shoots in from the left of Ashley, slamming into the side of the Centipede's head at speed and exploding. The force of the chakra fueled hit cracks the creature's hardened skin and sends it reeling to the side, collapsing onto another building.
“Are you all okay?” the voice asks, as the owner of it pauses on the roof of a nearby house. The woman's short blue hair is ruffled by a warm blast of air, her teal eyes hooded and focused on the small group of Ninja below.
“Kyoku!” Ashley cries with relief, smiling up at the beautiful woman. “Thanks for the help!”
“Good shot lady” Saffire praises, raising an eyebrow at the damage to the Centipede's head. A severe indentation in it's face had now left the insect with a strange, deformed look.
“No worries” the ex ANBU replies, turning her head as two Jonin dash past her, heading towards the centre of the Village.
“Come on Kyoku!” one of them calls over his shoulder. “There are more of them this way!”
“Right.”
“Kyoku wait!” Ashley calls out, running forwards. “What's going on here?! Where did these things suddenly come from?!”
“I don't know Ashley” Kyoku replies coolly, though the apprehension is clear in her eyes. “All we know right now is that the Village is being attacked by someone.”
“What?” Ashley asks in a hushed voice, her eyes widening in disbelief. Who would be attacking the Leaf Village, and so suddenly too? Clearly whoever was behind this attack had somehow managed to sneak into the Village, if even the Elite Jonin didn't know what was going on.
“I was in the middle of a training session with my Genin” Kyoku sighs, biting her lower lip for a moment. “I....I wasn't even able to get home before the other Jonin came and found me.”
'Kohana!' Ashley immediately thinks, her brows furrowing and her mouth pulling down into a determined frown as she stares up at Kyoku.
“Leave her to me Kyoku” the blonde reassures her older friend. “I'll find her.”
“Thank you Ashley” the blue haired woman replies sincerely, placing a hand to her head and shaking it. “You have no idea how grateful I am-”
Kyoku is interrupted by a shrill wail, as the Centipede she'd attacked slowly rises to its feet, pieces of burning wood falling from its long, armoured body. It moves its numerous pointed legs in a wave motion, purple eyes zeroing in on Kyoku and narrowing angrily.
As the creature dives towards it's attacker, a thick rope made from water suddenly wraps around its neck, causing it to jerk to a halt.
“Oh no ya don't buddy!” Saffire barks, beads of sweat forming on her face as she throws her weight backwards, struggling to keep the Centipede at bay. Focusing chakra into her arms and feet, Saffire makes sure she isn't dragged across the ground as the Centipede tries to free itself, her arms shaking with the effort of holding back such a powerful creature.
“How come whenever we visit this stupid Village, weird stuff like this happens?” Atsui seethes, crouching down and balling his hands into fists. “Can't we just have a relaxing visit for once?!”
That said, Atsui releases the pent up chakra in his legs and leaps high into the air, bright blue electricity beginning to spark around his hands. Performing a flip in mid air, Atsui falls back down towards the Centipede's head, pulling his right fist back.
With a snarl, the green haired Minami slams the top of the Centipede's head with an electrified punch, the current quickly spreading through it's body and causing it to twitch uncontrollably.
“Eep!” Saffire cries, quickly releasing her water leash and jumping backwards, just as the current of electricity had begun to travel down it. “Watch it Atsui!”
Landing on the ground on all fours, Atsui lifts his head and glares at Saffire, though his mouth pulls up into a smirk.
“Don't you mean thank you Atsui?” he asks smartly, just as the Centipede crashes heavily to the ground behind him, smoke rising from its fried body.
“Good work you guys” Ashley praises, smiling at her friends, before turning back to Kyoku. “Get going Kyoku, we'll be able to take care ourselves, don't worry!”
“......Alright then” the blue haired Jonin agrees after a moment's pause. “Thank you and good luck....”
“I think you guys are just bad luck” Kiba can't resist commenting, to which Atsui narrows his eyes and mutters something incoherent under his breath.
“Help.....” a faint voice calls, catching Shimei's attention. He glances back over his shoulder, red hair cascading down his back. The tall teenager glances around, before his half lidded eyes focus on a fallen wall, flames burning around it.
Shimei quickly spots a small hand tiredly scrabbling at some broken pieces of cement, someone trying to pull themselves out from under the wreckage.
“I need to find Hana and my Mom” Kiba decides, looking down at Akamaru, whose nose is twitching at the smell of fire. “They might have some idea of what's going on here.”
“There's something I need to do first Kiba” Ashley informs the brunette, to which a horrified expression crosses his face. “You go find them, and then I'll come after you.”
“Are you kidding me?!” Kiba barks rhetorically. “I'm not about to let you go wandering off by yourself in this. Who knows if I'll be able to find you again?”
Raising one arm, palm towards the fire, Shimei walks closer to the trapped person as Ashley and Kiba continue to argue. He activates his Katsuryoku and within a matter of seconds, the flames dissipate into the air. Crouching down before the fallen wall, Shimei gently touches the small hand he can say, reassuring the person below that he had found them.
Focusing his chakra into his arms and calves, Shimei places both hands under the cement wall and slowly begins to rise to his feet, using his impressive strength to lift the heavy weight. As he raises the wall higher and higher, two dirt covered people become visible, squinting their eyes at the light and coughing due to the dust.
Seeing what Shimei is doing, Atsui darts over, quickly picking up the child and helping the Mother to her feet. With a grunt, Shimei drops the wall back down. It hits the ground with a boom and shatters, sending up a cloud of chalky dust.
“Th-Thank you” the woman chokes out, hugging her child as Shimei hands him back. “Thank you so much!”
“No worries” Atsui sighs, shoving a hand in his pocket as his red haired friend merely gives the woman a closed eye smile. “Just.....Head somewhere safe alright?”
“Kiba, we don't have time for this!” Ashley argues, really wanting to just hurry up and get to Kohana. “How about I summon my Pack and we'll go together, then I'll catch back up to you, okay?”
Kiba stares down at Ashley in silence for a few moments, seeing the determination burning in her eyes. He sighs heavily, not wanting to let her go, but knowing that he hardly has the right to tell her what to do.
“Alright” the brunette agrees reluctantly, placing a hand on Ashley's cheek. “But you better come back to me, or I'm gonna be mad.”
“Heh, noted” Ashley smirks back, nodding her head as she turns to her Minami friends. “You guys, help the other Ninja to put out fires and rescue trapped people okay? We wanna avoid as many casualties as possible.”
“Aye Captain!” Saffire salutes playfully, straightening up. “Dousing fires is my speciality!”
“Yeah yeah, we get it” Atsui says, waving his hand in a dismissive fashion. “Let's go guys.”
“Yayyyyyy!” Tsumetai cries, excitedly clapping his small hands as he perches on Atsui's shoulder. “It's like we're playing hide and seek! An extreme version of hide and seek!”
That said, Saffire, Fang, a deadpan Atsui, Tsumetai and Shimei all turn around and run down the street as a group, searching for injured civilians and trapped Ninja to rescue. As they disappear, Ashley performs a hand sign and slams her palm down on the ground.
“Summoning Jutsu!” she cries, before she and Kiba are enveloped in a thick cloud of white smoke.
“Aki you bastard!” Kai roars, already able to see the silky furred Wolf. “I'm gonna kill you!”
“Oh please do let it go Kai dear” Rei sighs lightly, as the smoke begins to disappear. “You know my sister only has eyes for you. Aki is no threat to you whatsoever.”
“You can say that again!” Kai agrees with a mean laugh, holding his head high and watching an unimpressed Aki from the corner of his eye. “I'm ten times the Wolf he is.”
“Yes” Aki agrees in a gentlemanly manner, quirking one brow, “Though you could supplement the word Wolf for filthy beast.”
“Dear, you're not helping the situation” Rei says to Aki, giving him a closed eye smile and sweat dropping. “Lets not fight, okay?”
“Your words fall on the ears of imbeciles my mate” Ace speaks up, already sitting beside Ashley, a bored expression on his face. “Do not waste your breath.”
“I can smell bacon!” Chi chimes in, bouncing up and down excitedly as he glances around. “Bacon, bacon, bacon! Jet-chan, I want to eat some bacon. Can we go and get some?”
“.....I don't think now is a good time kid” the ebony coloured Wolf replies, looking to Ashley. “What's going on here Milady? Doesn't look too good.”
“I don't really know what's going on Jet” the Minami replies, a troubled look on her face, “But I do know that the Village is being attacked by someone. We're going on a search and rescue mission.”
“And I'm gonna go find my Mom and sister” Kiba states, brows creasing with worry. “You be careful, you hear me Angel?”
“I will” Ashley promises, before gesturing Kiba. “Rei and Kai, I want you to go with Kiba and Akamaru alright? Help keep them safe.”
“Hai Milady” Rei agrees, sending Akamaru a closed eye smile, to which his tail begins to wag. At least Tiez wasn't going to be anywhere near him.....
“What're you-”
“You don't know what you're going to run into” Ashley interrupts Kiba, smiling at him over her shoulder as she turns to leave. “Kai and Rei will have your back. They're strong, so they'll be able to help you.”
“Damn right I'm strong” Kai agrees, puffing out his furry chest and baring his teeth. “I'll rip these attackers to shreds!”
“Plus, their voices will travel a long way and make it even easier to find you guys later” Ashley finishes. “My Wolves will be able to pick up on each other's howls from the other side of the Village.....Now, let's hit it guys!”
That said, Ashley takes off down the street, her hair streaming out behind her and Ace running by her side. Aki gracefully bounds along behind her, while Tiez streaks ahead, darting around debris easily. Jet can't help sweat dropping, his feet shaking the ground as he runs, as Chi skips along merrily, swinging his head from side to side as if he were listening to music.
“Good luck Angel” Kiba sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. It wasn't that Kiba didn't have faith in the girl, it was just that he'd almost lost her a few times, and he didn't like the thought of risking it again like this.
She was set on this rescue mission though, not that she'd told him who she was going after....
“We had best leave too dear” Rei suggests gently, ears laying back as a wooden pole crashes to the ground behind her, flames eating at it hungrily. “It isn't safe here.”
“You're right” the Inuzuka agrees, his worried expression being replaced by one of resolve. “Let's go!”
“It's alright little one” Fang says gently, curling around a small, crying child, “If you put your hands right here, I'll be able to heal that cut for you........That's it....”
Fang closes her eyes as the little girl puts her dirty hands on the dull markings etched into her forelegs. They immediately light up with a brilliant blue colour, Fang's chakra travelling into the little girl and healing her minor injuries. The girl immediately stops crying, her eyes widening at the sight of the pretty colour of Fang's markings.
“Ughh, it's so hot” Saffire complains, arms raised directly above her head, a large ball of water floating over her palms. Letting out a huff, the Minami girl brings her arms forwards, carefully dropping the water on top of the smouldering house in front of her. She doesn't release the water however, not wanting it to sweep the people in the streets off of their feet.
Instead she moves her arms and body, controlling the water to snake through the debris and put out any flames. Shimei stands behind Saffire, using his Katsuryoku to put out fires on the buildings across the street.
Atsui and Tsumetai dig through debris, helping pull out any civilians and Ninja trapped beneath the rubble. As he climbs out of a hole, struggling to pull a full grown male behind him, Tsumetai lets out a cute sneeze, causing the dust in his hair to fall to the ground.
“Is there anyone here severely injured?” a male voice asks, causing all of the Minami to look up. They spot three Leaf Village Jonin atop a nearby building, eyeing off the people in the street critically. “We're able to take anyone unable to walk to the hospital.”
“She's taking good care of the injured ones” Saffire speaks up, nodding her head over at Fang, who watches the Leaf Ninja through hooded eyes. “Everyone here is well enough to walk to the hospital thanks to her.”
The three Jonin all glance over at Fang as she rises to her feet and makes her way over to an elderly lady who is cradling her arm. She sits back on her haunches and places one paw in the woman's lap, explaining to her how the healing process works.
“We're pulling out all the survivors we find too” Atsui quickly states, not liking the dubious looks on the Leaf Ninja's faces. “We're Ninja from the Land of Ambience, so we're not invalids!”
“The Land of Ambience?” one of the Ninja questions, as the other shrugs. “Oh well, we're grateful for the help you guys. Keep up the good work!”
That said, the three Leaf Jonin leap away, speedily bounding across roof tops to find any others requiring help. Atsui glares after them and wipes his arm across his sweaty forehead, absolutely covered in dust and dirt from crawling through debris.
Explosions sound from all directions, sending up clouds of smoke, flames and shattered buildings. The earth shakes with each explosion, some more violent than others and causing injured civilians to fall over.
Tsumetai suddenly pauses and turns his head, eyes wide as he sniffs at the air.
“Atsui-kun” the chibi whispers urgently, waving one arm to catch the boy's attention. “I can smell something......Something is coming this way!”
“Huh?” Atsui responds, raising one eyebrow, only to be sent flying backwards as the building next to him is suddenly obliterated by an unseen force. “Ughhhh!.......”
“Atsui!” Saffire cries, whirling around just in time to see him tumble across the ground and slam into a different building, bricks raining down around him from the impact. “What happened?!”
“It's here, it's here!” Tsumetai cries in a panic. He soon grows still however, his innocent expression falling into a warning look, lips pulling back into a growl and his green eyes narrowing nastily. “Stay back!”
“I smell it too!” Fang cries, the fur on her neck beginning to stand on end. “It's very, very faint, but it's definitely there! Saffire, be careful.....”
“But I....I can't smell anything there” Saffire states, looking to Shimei in confusion. The red haired male shakes his head, glancing around for what the two Wolves could talking about.
“We can't see you” Tsumetai growls, his tiny teeth bared, “But don't think I don't know you're there baka-chan! I know exactly where you- Bwahhhhhh!”
Tsumetai is cut off, as he is slammed in the stomach by something invisible, the brute force sending him rocketing into the same building as Atsui. The brickwork cracks behind Tsumetai's small body, before the Wolf falls to the ground.
“Tsumetai!” Atsui cries out, quickly jumping to his feet and sprinting over to his best friend. “Tsumetai?......Bastards! Where are you?!”
“Saffire!” Fang shouts frantically, leaping up, her eyes wide. “It's coming for you!”
“Ahhhhhh!” the Minami girl screams. “What do I do?! Where is it Fang?!”
“It's heading directly towards you!” the Wolf advises urgently. “It's straight ahead!”
“Get away, get away, get away!” Saffire commands, raising a small flood of water above her head and flinging it directly in front of her. As the water sloshes to the ground, Saffire balls her hands into fists, freezing it solid. Much to the girl's surprise, she sees four feet frozen into the ice, thin stems of ice sticking up into the air, as if the invisible attacker's legs had been frozen as well.
“What is it?” Saffire wonders out loud, pulling a face as the ice begins to crack loudly, the creature struggling to break itself free.
“It's a huge Chameleon!” a female voice calls, just as another Leaf Ninja bounds into sight, breathing heavily. “Be careful, it already killed two of my teammates! It's dangerous and it's fast, plus it can blend in with it's surroundings!”
“A Chameleon?” Fang replies, sitting back down to tend to the wounded, though she keeps a close eye on the action. She would leap to Saffire's side without a moment's hesitation if the animal threatened her again.
“We managed to damage it's wings” the female Ninja pants, blood streaked across her face and clothes, “So it won't be flying away any time soon.”
“It has wings?!” Saffire barks in disbelief. “What is going on around here?!”
Shimei, not happy that the Chameleon is invisible, places his palms together and begins weaving hand signs, muttering under his breath. Sucking in a deep breath, the red head leans forward and exhales a blazing hot flamethrower of blue fire. It hits its target in the side, causing the Chameleon to shriek out in pain, flames licking at its thick skin.
It immediately becomes visible, unable to keep up its camouflage due to the intense pain of Shimei's Jutsu. It begins rocking back and forth violently, freeing itself from Saffire's ice with a loud shattering sound.
“Ewww” Saffire says, screwing up her nose as the Chameleon charges towards a building and easily scales the wall, “It's super creepy looking.”
Shimei glares at the Chameleon as it turns one purple eye to watch him, a severe burn marking its right side and some of the charred skin flaking away from its body. Multiple rods of dark metal are pierced through the creature's body, giving the large, green reptile an even stranger look.
Opening its mouth, the Chameleon's tongue shoots out, stretching towards Saffire. She quickly raises her arms, water covering her fists. The water swiftly freezes into ice and just as she is about to be knocked over by the reptile's tongue, Saffire blocks the hit with any icy cold punch that sends the tongue reeling back.
“Ew, ew, ew....” Saffire whispers, shaking her hands. “I touched its tongue.....”
“Good shot Saffire!” Fang cheers, seeing that the tip of the Chameleon's tongue has frozen solid. As Saffire rubs the back of her head sheepishly, the Chameleon shoots its tongue back towards her, this time bashing the girl in the stomach with the frozen tip.
Saffire cries out in pain as she suddenly vanishes from sight, before crashing into a pile of broken concrete and wood. A large cloud of dust rises into the air, small pebbles and splinters raining down on Saffire's battered body.
She exhales sharply, before coughing up a few drops of blood. Her impact had been so great, that she'd managed to break right through a thick slab of concrete.
“Saffire!” Fang cries, immediately leaping to her feet and bounding across the ground towards her partner. “Saffire, Saffire, can you hear me?! Here, let me heal you! Saffire!”
The black and white haired girl cracks one eye open and groans, before dropping her head back down. Swallowing thickly, Fang lies down beside Saffire in the rubble and nudges the girl's hand onto her foreleg with her nose.
“Don't let it come over here you guys” Fang pleads, not taking her eyes off of Saffire. “She's really hurt.....”
Not allowing Fang to finish healing Saffire, the Chameleon charges down the side of the building it had climbed and barrels towards her, causing the Wolf to bare her teeth and growl viciously. Before it can reach her however, the Chameleon is blocked of by a wall of fire suddenly appearing before it.
Hissing lowly, the reptile turns its head, only to find itself facing off against Shimei, a dark look on the red head's face. He didn't appreciate the unusually large animal harming his friends like this.
The Chameleon whirls around, swinging it's snake-like tail out at Shimei like a whip. The Minami opens his arms and focuses chakra into them, catching onto the tail, though the impact sends him sliding backwards a few feet.
Gritting his teeth, Shimei pulls back with all of his strength, tugging the surprised Chameleon up into the air and over his head. A bead of sweat dripping down the side of his face, Shimei flings the Chameleon backwards, slamming it down onto the ground on its head. It hits the earth with a heavy boom that causes the ground to shake violently, more debris falling onto the battle scarred ground.
“Sh-Shimei.....” Fang says in a hushed tone, amazed by the Minami's strength. She knew he'd been focusing on chakra control for the last few years, but she'd never seen him do something like that before....
Breathing heavily, Shimei watches the Chameleon close its eyes and runs the back of his hand across his face. He'd never lifted something so heavy before, and it had taken a lot of chakra to do it. Though his use of chakra was something that the other Minami admired, he was hardly on par with a good portion of these Leaf Ninja. He would work towards that.
Letting out a low breath, Shimei turns around and jogs over to Fang, wanting to see how badly Saffire had been hurt. Just as he kneels down beside the worried Wolf, Shimei feels something hit him in the back.
Before he can react however, the red head is roughly jerked backwards and sent sailing up into the sky. Just as quickly as he'd been dragged across the ground and thrown into the air, Shimei is slammed heavily into the ground, causing him to groan out loud.
“Shimei!” Fang calls out, tears in her eyes as the Chameleon then throws Shimei into the wall of a building, it's sticky tongue attached to the male's back. The building collapses as Shimei is plucked from the wreckage, half concious. He is then slammed into the ground once more, before the Chameleon rears up on its hind legs and flings him up into the air.
With an impact that makes Fang flinch and look away, Shimei topples to the ground in a limp heap, blood seeping from numerous open wounds now dotting across his bruised body. Struggling not to panic, a teary eyed Fang looks over at Shimei, her breath quickening and her ears lying back, scared. Apart from healing them, what could Fang do to help? She wasn't much of a fighter, she was more of a support Wolf.
“Oh, I've had just about enough of this....” a voice growls darkly, catching Fang's attention. Looking back to her left, the Wolf sees a no longer dizzy Atsui rising to his feet. Tsumetai remains on the ground beside him, teeth bared and ears lying back. An uncharacteristically vicious look sits on the small Wolf's face, claws sprouting from his hands.
“Tsumetai, let's show this reptile who's boss!” Atsui orders angrily, jabbing a hand towards the Chameleon. The ginger haired Wolf responds with a nasty growl, before he slaps his hands together and begins performing hand signs.
Dropping down onto all fours, Tsumetai smirks up at the Chameleon knowingly, only to disappear in a cloud of thick smoke. Not a second later, a large paw steps out of the smoke, hitting the earth with a boom. Sharp claws extend out of the ginger paw, their tips piercing into the ground easily.
Throwing his head back and letting out a roar, Tsumetai blows away the smoke cloud, revealing his Transformation. Now towering over the Chameleon, Tsumetai had taken on the form of a wild looking Wolf with dark orange fur, two sabre-like fangs hanging from his upper jaw and extending down below the lower one. His eyes, while still a bright green, no longer held a friendly look, the pupils tiny slits.
Atsui climbs up one of Tsumetai's legs and stands atop the gigantic Wolf's back, glaring down at the Chameleon hatefully.
“Katsotaanpa tuhota hänet!” Atsui shouts aggressively, to which Tsumetai lets out another roar and launches himself forwards. (Let's destroy him!)
Stomping down on the Chameleon's tail to stop him from getting away, Tsumetai opens his mouth and dives down towards the reptile's neck. The creature twists its body out of the way however and shoots its tongue towards one of Tsumetai's legs.
It wraps around the ankle and the Chameleon tugs backwards, pulling Tsumetai's leg out from underneath him. With a howl, the huge Wolf collapses to the ground, shaking the ground violently as he falls. In a rage, Tsumetai throws out his front paw, his claws catching the side of the Chameleon's head and raking through its thick skin, spraying blood on the ground.
The reptile lets out a pained screech and immediately disappears, turning invisible to the naked eye. While Tsumetai climbs back to his feet, eyes locked onto the camouflaged reptile, it begins to dart across the ground, trying to escape from the Wolf.
“Heh, there's no point in that now” Atsui smirks, glancing over his shoulder as the Chameleon approaches from behind, “You can't hide that burn mark or the scratches on your face! And besides, your scent is so easy to pick up now that you're bleeding!”
That said, Atsui holds out one hand, palm facing the incoming Chameleon. He begins focusing chakra into his hand, using his free hand to grip his wrist. A ball of chakra and bright blue electricity swiftly forms in front of the boy's hand, crackling loudly with static.
“Lightning Style: Static Corona!” Atsui shouts, sending the sphere of chakra enhanced electricity shooting straight towards the Chameleon. Moving so fast it looks as though the sphere has disappeared, it blasts the reptile right in the face. The Jutsu explodes, sending a powerful ripple of chakra through the air and causing the Chameleon to lose its camouflage.
With a screech the animal rears backwards and topples over onto its side, trying to scrabble at its bloodied face with its front feet. Tsumetai lets out a laugh at his injured foe, the deep sound reverberating through the air.
Atsui stares at the Chameleon until it grows motionless, before the green haired boy sighs and jumps down from Tsumetai's back, landing on the ground as he disappears in a puff of smoke.
“We did it Atsui-kun!” Tsumetai cheers, running out of the cloud and throwing his tiny hands up, now back in his usual form. “We beat that stupid lizard guy up good!”
“Yeah, good job buddy” Atsui grins, holding his hand out for a high five. Jumping up, Tsumetai smacks his palm against Atsui's, giggling happily. It wasn't often he got to use that Transformation and while the chibi enjoyed being small and cute, it was admittedly fun being all big and badass like that as well sometimes.
“Let's help the others out too Tsu-”
Atsui's eyes widen as something hits his back with a squelch, before he is suddenly jerked backwards. Tsumetai whirls around, his eyes widening as well as he watches a now angry looking Atsui get pulled into the Chameleon's mouth.
“Nooooooo!” the chibi shrieks fearfully, watching as the reptile closes its mouth with a snap and slowly climbs to its feet, blood still dripping from the scratches all over its face. “Atsui-kun!”
Letting out a low hiss, the Chameleon takes one step towards a now shaking Tsumetai, his green eyes filled with tears. It pauses however, eyes flicking in different directions, as if looking for something.
Before the creature can so much as think to take another step, it suddenly bursts open, spraying blood and shredded flesh in all directions. Tsumetai jumps as the Chameleon's decapitated head lands beside him with a thump, thick blood dribbling out of the torn flesh and spilling across the ground.
“Ughh.......” Atsui mutters, placing one hand on his knee and pushing himself to his feet, covering in slime. “So disgusting.......Looks like he's not immune to electricity though.”
“A....Atsui-kun!” Tsumetai cries happily, placing a hand on each of his cheeks, tail wagging. “You're so cool!”
“Heh” the green haired male smirks, when a loud squawk catches his attention. Tilting his head back, Atsui sees a gigantic green bird with a gnarled beak and three legs soar through the sky above him.
Fireballs and kunai knives shoot up towards the bird, having little to no effect as it continues to flap its wings and circle around, coming back to retaliate against the Leaf Ninja who had been attacking it.
“There are more of these weird things?” Atsui asks himself rhetorically, before furrowing his brows and running towards the still unconscious Shimei.
The Leaf Ninja were going to have to wait for now. His friends needed him first.
Ashley races across the roof tops with a sense of urgency, trying her best to ignore the chaos going on around her. Gigantic Summoning animals seem to be wreaking havoc in the streets, despite squads of highly trained Leaf Ninja throwing everything they have at the strange looking creatures. Missiles launch up from the ground and scatter in all directions, blasting buildings and creating powerful explosions that send debris flying in all directions.
“This is bad Milady” Ace comments, leaping over a gaping hole in the roof he's running along. “It does not seem that the Leaf are getting anywhere with those creatures.”
“What're a bunch of spazzy looking animals attacking a freakin Village for anyway?” Tiez grunts, pausing at the edge of the building, before backing up and leaping down to the next one.
Ashley shakes her head, brows furrowed as she turns her head to look at the nearest animal, a huge black and grey Rhinoceros with purple eyes and small wings. It rears up on its hind legs and lets out a strange howl, before lowering its large horn to the ground and charging straight ahead.
“I....I think they're Summons” the blonde girl states, skidding to a halt as a Leaf Ninja shoots straight past her, having been attacked by something. She turns her head and stares as the man disappears through a brick wall, before shaking her head and taking off again.
“I can't waste any time” Ashley murmurs to herself, doing a front flip as she and her Wolves leap down to a lower building. “I have to get to Kohana!”
“I'm not sure I'm happy about what all this flying debris is doing to my fur” Aki sighs, ducking his head as a number of ceiling tiles rocket over him. “Or what it could potentially do to my face.....”
“I...I don't like this game anymore Jet-chan.....” Chi whimpers, sticking close to the much larger Wolf as they race along the ground. “It's getting too scary now......”
“Don't worry kid” Jet reassures Chi, golden eyes flicking down briefly, “I've got your back, remember?”
Ashley and her Wolves continue running through the Village, struggling to ignore the screams for help and the terrified civilians around them. They leap over fallen buildings and break through clouds of hot ash, scattering to avoid explosions and the strange Summoned animals as they attack other Leaf Ninja.
Dropping to the ground as the building she'd been running on collapses, Ashley drops to one knee and grunts at the pain, before a nudge in the back from Ace pushes her to rise to her feet and keep going. She skids around a corner and sighs with relief, smiling to herself at the sight of Kyoku's house still in tact.
“Kohana!”Ashley calls urgently, heading for the door. “Kohan-”
“Darling!” Aki cries, darting forwards and catching Ashley by the back of the shirt, tugging her backwards just as Kyoku's house violently explodes, having been hit with a stray missile.
Ace immediately throws up a high wall of rock, which Ashley and her Wolves duck behind, as stones, cement and brick fragments pierce through the air in every direction, some of the debris alight with flames.
“No!”Ashley shrieks, moving to get away, only for Aki to wrap his foreleg around the girl's waist, holding her down. “Kohana!”
“Stay down Darling” Aki whispers. “Wait until the debris has stopped falling.”
“No, let me go!” Ashley cries pleadingly, managing to free herself from Aki's grip. She leaps over Jet and races towards the house, which has now been completely flattened by the blast of the missile. Ashley's shoulders rise up and down as she comes to a stop, the reflection of the flickering flames reflecting in her wide eyes.
“Kyoku....I....I didn't make it” the blonde girl whispers, tears beginning to form in her eyes. “I'm so sorry, I-”
Ashley cuts herself off, watching as some of the debris about fifty or so metres ahead of her begins to move. A small slab of cracked concrete flicks backwards, revealing two dust covered hands, before a small figure drags itself tiredly out of the wreckage.
“Kohana!” Ashley shouts joyfully, causing the young girl to look over, breathing heavily. The girl wipes at her hooded, midnight blue eyes, smearing dirt across her cheek. She coughs raggedly, resting on her hands and knees. She'd seen what had been going on outside, but Kohana hadn't thought her house was going to just suddenly explode like that......
Just as Ashley takes a step towards Kyoku's daughter, a cloaked figure appears right in front of her, causing Ashley eyes to widen and her breath to catch in her throat. She stares at the tall man in disbelief, heart pounding against her chest and beating loudly in her ears. That orange hair, those piercings....And those eyes.......
“No......No way.....” Ashley says in a hushed tone, not noticing as her Wolves slowly come out of hiding and surround her. “What......What's he doing here?....”
“Is that not the Akatsuki Leader?” Ace asks lowly, his lips pulling back into a silent growl as he glares at the man. “Is he the one behind all of this?”
“Yeah but.....” Ashley trails off, brows furrowing in anger and confusion. “Why is he attacking the Leaf? And so soon after just killing one of the Legendary Sannin?....”
“I have a question to ask you” Pain tells Kohana in a bland tone, the girl's eyes widening a little as she tilts her head to look at the stranger. “Where is Naruto Uzumaki?”
“I should have known” Ashley growls madly, taking another step forwards. If he so much as touched Kohana......
“.......I'll take your silence as rebellion” Pain informs Kohana, staring down at her intently as she sits back on her legs, looking to him in confusion and fear. “I will only ask once more, where is Naruto Uzumaki?”
Ashley slowly bends her knees, with her Wolves crouching down as well, as Pain stares in silence for a few moments, waiting for Kohana to answer his question.
“Very well then” Pain says, holding out one arm. “You are of no use.”
That said, Pain jabs his hand down towards Kohana, a pointed metal rod pointing out of the long sleeve of his Akatsuki robe. Before he can stab the little girl however, Ashley slides across the ground and scoops Kohana into her arms, as someone grabs onto the steel rod and stops it in place.
Quickly leaping to her feet and whirling around, holding Kohana close to her, Ashley glares at the Akatsuki Leader, only to see him doing the same to his attacker.
“Kakashi Sensei!” Ashley addresses, surprised and happy to see her trusted teacher. He stands before Pain with one eye shut, his Sharingan eye open and glaring.
“Is this what the Akatsuki has come to?” Kakashi asks tauntingly. “Attacking little girls?”
“........I knew you weren't to be trusted” Pain announces flatly, looking at Ashley from the corner of her eye and making her growl, teeth bared. “I should have killed you back then.”
Unhappy that the Akatsuki Leader had ignored him, Kakashi snaps the steel rod protruding from Pain's sleeve, only for the orange haired man to swiftly spin around and throw up his leg in a high kick.
Kakashi, too speedy to be caught by such a move, drops down into a squat and performs a set of hand signs, before pressing his hands to the ground.
“Earth Style: Mud Wall!” Kakashi calls out, just as a huge wall of thick, chakra enhanced mud rips up through the ground and blocks Pain in. As Ashley carefully hugs Kohana to her, she bends her knees and flips up onto the wall, just as Pain manages to stab Kakashi in the shoulder with another steel rod.
“Kakashi Sensei!” Ashley shouts, releasing Kohana and performing a set of hand signs of her own. “Wind Style-”
“No Ashley!” Kakashi warns, gripping onto the steel rod and glaring into Pain's purple eyes. “Leave this fight to me. Just get her and yourself to safety!”
“But Kakashi Sensei” Ashley protests, dropping her hands, “He's the Akatsuki Leader.....”
“Lightning Blade!” the silver haired Jonin cries out, his right hand lightning up with powerful chakra enhanced lightning. He throws his hand towards Pain's face, only for the man to move his head and narrowly avoid a direct blast.
“Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Cat Ninja” Pain muses, as said Jonin frees himself from the steel rod and leaps backwards, blood dripping from his wound, “It's an honour to meet you.”
“......I know who he is Ashley” Kakashi replies, narrowing his eye at Pain. “But she can't stay here and you especially need to leave. Now!”
Kakashi balls his hands into fists, hoping that for once Ashley will just listen to him. It was pretty obvious that the Akatsuki Leader was after Naruto and the Nine Tailed Fox, and Kakashi didn't want to run the risk that Ashley's secret would be found out. He didn't want the Akatsuki after her and the Ten Tails as well.....
“Where is the Nine Tails?” Pain asks, repeating the question he'd asked Kohana just before. Kakashi smirks beneath his mask, firing up another Lightning Blade.
“What a stupid question” the silver haired man scoffs, charging towards Pain again. “Ashley get out of here! That's an order!”
“.....H....Hai, Kakashi Sensei” Ashley sighs reluctantly, hefting Kohana over her shoulder and turning away, just as Pain raises his palm. As Ashley crouches down to jump away, Kohana sees as her Father is repulsed away from Pain with force, sending him rocketing backwards into a building.
“No!” Kohana screams, the mud wall beneath Ashley's feet crumbling away as she bounds down to the ground and back over to her Wolves. “Father!”
“Where are Tiez and Aki?” Ashley asks, glancing back over her shoulder as the ground continues to shake, more buildings collapsing around Pain. Her eyes widen as she realises Kakashi is buried beneath the rubble, with tears already falling from Kohana's eyes.
“I have to go and help him!” Ashley decides, sitting an unhappy Kohana down on Jet's back. “Jet, take Kohana somewhere safe okay? Kakashi Sensei-”
“Gave you a direct order to leave” Ace interrupts, scowling. “Your Sensei gave you an order, why are you so quick to disobey him? Our duty is to get the young one to safety and then do what needs to be done.”
“You don't understand Ace” Ashley argues, tugging at her hair indecisively, “I can't just leave Kakashi Sensei to face him alone. He killed Jiraiya for heaven's sake!”
“You can leave him Darling!” Aki calls, racing back over to the group, with Tiez bounding along beside him.
“Me an Aki just found some backup for your teacher” the feisty purple Wolf states proudly. “Coupla fat guys are on their way right now!”
'Akimichi maybe?' Ashley wonders, before looking back up. She freezes when she sees that Pain is now glaring at her over his shoulder, purple eyes narrowed.
“......Alright guys” Ashley sighs reluctantly, “Let's get outta here and take Kohana somewhere safe. I told her Mother I'd take care of her, so I will.”