|
Post by nettlekid on Jun 4, 2008 16:11:53 GMT -5
"A-And we don't want to fight you." Oni replied, equally timid.
Everyone started as the Naahra clone fell, especially Kansuu. He hadn't thought that Amari had the strength left to beat the witch, even if it wasn't Naahra herself. As the scene with Naahra and Freya ended, no one knew what to do.
Kansuu pulled the needles and wires from the trees, ravelling them back into his hay filled body. He then jumped over to Amari, offering his support. He seemed somewhat unhappy about something, though.
Jinzou sat where he was, sulking. ~It's so unfair. It's like nothing happened. Everything I plan gets cut down the moment I begin to put it in effect. What now?~
Tsuta still held back by the tree. The Hades Butterflies were a bit intimidating, but they didn't seem to be a threat at them moment. She jumped down to meet with Jinzou, and they walked back toward the group. "I thought what you did was really cool." she broke the silence, trying to comfort an obviously annoyed and just jealous Jinzou. "Mm. Thanks, I guess."
Oni walked over to Freya. ~This is Naahra's daughter? I thought she said her daughter died?~ He extended his arm, helping Freya up. "If you've got nothing else to do, do you want to come with us? We're going to Kusa." "Oni, do you really think that's the best idea? She tried to kill us about thirty seconds ago." Jinzou replied skeptically. "I dunno. Could help to kill the time, at least. And I don't think she's really bad, it's just another witch's trick. Right?" He turned to the girl on the ground, arm still extended. "How about it?"
|
|
|
Post by ookami on Jun 4, 2008 16:25:28 GMT -5
Amari managed to struggle to her feet, and, after a soft coughing fit, which covered her hand in blood, she took a deep breath.
"I never thought that would end..." she murmured to herself. "That was definitely the best fight I've ever been in for a long time..." Turning to Kansuu, Amari leaned forward, hugging Kansuu tightly. "I couldn't have beaten them both without your help..." she whispered. "But...I can't help but wonder...how did you know I was here?"
Meanwhile, Freya stared at Oni's hand with wide eyes, then tentatively reached forward for it. She yanked it back when she heard Jinzou's comment, but just looking at Oni's face calmed her down...somewhat... Taking Oni's hand, she managed to stand up, looking at the ones who but minutes ago were her enemy. She couldn't help but feel intimidated by them. After all, they could all jump her and kill her at once if the wanted to.
"By the way..." she said softly, her eyes on Oni. "Were you the one who howled? Are you a werewolf?" She was curious like a child, but for good reason. Her memory was practically wiped, and she had no choice but to wonder about things that she had once held as common sense.
|
|
|
Post by nettlekid on Jun 4, 2008 18:34:54 GMT -5
"You did beat them both without my help..." Kansuu replied with the faintest trace of bitterness. "We found you because you kept Tsuta awake, so she saw when you left, and then Oni tracked you by scent. The twig also gave you away. It was pretty dumb of you to go off without telling us, especially when you knew Naahra was after you. You were so worried...why risk yourself like that?" he asked, his tone changing to worry and compassion.
"Yeah, that was me." Oni said, smiling as he helped her up. "A werewolf involuntarily changes at full-moon. I can change whenever I want. It's actually not totally me when I change like that, but more or less it's just my basic technique. So, um...care to explain those?" he asked, motioning to her ears and tail.
The other Genin of Team 42 looked on distrustfully. They were both suspicious of this girl, since she had just threatened to kill and eat them. They also didn't like Oni's trustingness, because it was obvious that at least the first offer of kindness was ony because Freya was exceedingly beautiful. They knew Oni was shallow that way. "So, yeah yeah, reunion, meeting someone new, can we go to sleep now?" Jinzou asked brusquely. "We want to get to Kusa before winter." Tsuta agreed sarcastically.
|
|
|
Post by ookami on Jun 23, 2008 13:44:09 GMT -5
Freya's head tilted slightly to the side. "These...?" she asked, her eyes turning to her tail, which had been limp and dragged on the ground until just then. Immediately, as if it had been asleep, the soft, furry tail sprung to life, immediately raising itself up and coming to rest in her open hand.
"...I'm not really sure why I have these...I was just...born with them, I suppose. Naahra said it was because I was a demon that I was graced with such 'bestial' features," a small, almost innocent smile crossed her face, and she shook her head. "Thing is, I'm not really sure why she would say something like that to me, nor why she would..." she paused, almost as if she was unsure what she was going to say next. Shaking her head, she watched as her tail slid out of her hand and began swaying slowly from side to side.
Amari examined the bloodstained blade of her sword, running her finger down the crystal on the base of the blade and noticing the crystal was giving off a faint glow. She could have easily released the blood energy and sliced through Naahra...but she was stupid enough to not have done something like that.
"Well...I suppose I should at least attempt to go back and get some sleep..." she murmured. And with that...she was gone. [/sub]
|
|
|
Post by nettlekid on Jun 23, 2008 16:09:22 GMT -5
Oni slightly shrugged. "Well, you've got what you've got, and not what you've not. Simple enough. They're cool though," he smiled, touching her ear. However, things said during the fight were still racing in his head. What did Naahra mean by 'beastial sleeper,' and why was this girl not all evil and homocidal like she was a second ago? And actually, now that they had one of Naahra's demons as a friend, it was one step closer to deafeating the magician. Of course, he didn't want to use this girl as a pawn...she was too sweet for that. "By the way...what's your name? Is it Luxuria, like Lohengrin said? What does that mean, anyway?"
Kansuu looked at Akari just before she vanished. He was about to say something, but she was already gone. "Come on Tsuta, I think she needs medical attention." Kansuu glanced at his kunoichi pupil, and she nodded. The two dashed back to camp after Amari. ~Was I too harsh? I hope she isn't angry with me. What is this feeling, anyway? I can't understand it...~ he thought, trying to delve into his mind. Whenever he thought of Amari, he got this weird feeling, but he had no idea what it was.
"Well. Amari's gone, Kansuu-sensei's gone, and Tsuta-chan's gone. We better go too." Jinzou decided. He still didn't trust this new girl, especially since she was Naahra's demon. Since Oni had been in beast form, he hadn't totally understood what Naahra meant by 'beastial sleeper,' but Jinzou had. What else could she be hiding?
|
|
|
Post by ookami on Jun 25, 2008 22:10:56 GMT -5
When Oni touched Freya's ear, it twitched slightly, and Freya laughed. Apparently, it tickled. "And my name...? Oh, no! My name's not Luxuria! That's just what my demon name is! My real name is Freya!" Smiling, Freya's head tilted to the side yet again. "And...what does Luxuria mean?" Pausing, Freya thought it over a bit, and then said, "I think Naahra told me it means 'Lust'. Although, I'm not really sure if that's right or not..."
Meanwhile, Amari stood in the middle of the small clearing that held the two tents. Staring up at the moon, it was obvious that the kunoichi was crying. The tears streamed down her face, and she had to bite down on her tongue to keep the wails from tearing from her throat.
"Amari...why are you crying?" the soft, kind voice sounded in Amari's head.
"Yuno...suki...?" Amari murmured, staring up at the moon. Suddenly, she remembered being there, at her fiance's side as he lay there, dying.
"You see that, Amari? You see the stars?"
"Yes, Yuno...I see them..."
"They say that each star is the soul of a brave warrior..." His voice trailed off to a soft coughing fit.
"Don't talk, Yuno! Please!"
"Amari... Do you think I'm going to appear among those stars...?"
The voice was accompanied with sobbing. "Yuno...I know that you'll be one of the brightest stars in the sky... Your brightness will rival even that of the sun..."
"I see... Well, Amari...I think it's my time to go, now... I'll miss you..."
"No! Yuno! YUNO!!!" The voice trailed off to loud sobbing.
"I think I see you, Yuno...I think I see you among the stars..." Amari whispered, "I hope you're watching out for me..." [/sub]
|
|
|
Post by nettlekid on Jun 25, 2008 22:25:58 GMT -5
Jinzou rolled his eyes. ~Lust. Oh god, this girl's trouble.~ Oni chuckled as her catlike ear twitched, and smiled. He did seem a little confused when she said that her demon name meant lust, but disregarded it. "Freya. Lovely name." Oni debated as to whether or not to hold Freya's hand, but decided against it. Motioning, they began to walk back to the camp.
Kansuu and Tsuta quietly moved back to the campsite, looking for Amari to treat her wounds. As the reached the clearing, Amari's figure was outlined as a silhouette in the moonlight. Kansuu could see the tears dropping from her chin to the ground. He could see the moonlight through the water. It made him feel like crying, but he knew he couldn't. He moved his head, motioning for Tsuta to go back to the boys and Freya. Tsuta understood, nodded, and silently vanished.
Covered by the sound of the faint wind, Kansuu stepped behind Amari, seeing her mouth move and trying to catch what she was saying. He only caught one word: Yunosuki. ~That's right...I had almost forgotten...~ he thought, looking onward in a quiet self-pity. He thought back to when he had first met Amari, and where they had been. The KIA memorial stone. He had been there to see the name of his soul's owner, Iyashii Gisei. And she had been there to see her passed lover, Yunosuki. ~Of course. She's still in mourning, how could I think any otherwise? She wouldn't even consider anyone else...what am I saying? What am I thinking? Might as well forget it, whatever it is.~
Stepping backward, he snapped a fallen twig. Startled, he looked down to the twig, and disappeared into the forest.
|
|
|
Post by ookami on Jun 27, 2008 21:52:03 GMT -5
"You really think so?" Freya asked, smiling. "I'm glad!" Her ears pricked, then pinned back against her head. Her yellow eyes flicked to Jinzou, her pupils narrowed slightly, then widened out again as her eyes turned back to Oni. "And you're...Oni, right? I believe your...friend...called you by that name..."
As Oni began walking back to the camp, Freya, too, followed, except not in her human form. As she walked, she shifted herself into her feline form. Though it was too dark to see, her eyes were fixed on Jinzou. She had to get rid of him somehow...
.~*~.
Amari heard the sound of the snapped twig, and the sound of the hay that stuffed Kansuu rustling as he disappeared, but she did nothing. As a matter of fact, she felt like kneeling down right there and, with her sword, committing seppuku. It was the most honorable form of suicide there was, and there was no doubt that, with how she lived her life (before Yuno died, that is), she would definitely join her spot among the stars. Instead of allowing herself to die of blood loss, it would be better for her to die an honorable death, right?
Kneeling down, Amari drew her blade, examining it, then, in a massive coughing fit, hacking up blood all over it. The leader of the Usagi Nottori could only watch as the sword greedily absorbed the blood, watching the small crystal at the base of the blade begin to glow even brighter.
"I can't do it..." she growled, throwing her sword across the clearing and watching it embed itself into an unfortunate tree. "It's just not worth it...besides...what would Yuno say?
She didn't dare think of what her beloved would say to her whenever she joined him among the stars... He would probably be more disappointed than anything...
Standing up, Amari shakily made her way to her blade, freeing it from the tree and sheathing it. "Besides, regardless of what Yuno would say...what would Kansuu say?"
Sure, she may have been going a tad overboard, but every time she thought of Kansuu, she got that strange feeling in her gut that she got whenever she thought of Yuno...it was like... It was like those tiny moths that flutter around the glowing lanterns...but about fifty of them all in her stomach, fluttering around at once...it was an odd feeling... [/sub]
|
|
|
Post by nettlekid on Jun 27, 2008 22:31:21 GMT -5
"Oh, yes, that's right. I'm Oni, this is Jinzou but he's not really worth mentioning so you won't need to know his name, and our other friend is Tsuta, the girl who was here earlier. Oh, here she comes now."
Oni was right, as Tsuta had made herself known as she climbed through the treetops back to the group. "Kansuu-sensei told me to come back. He wanted a little time alone. Hey, do you guys think he might like...you know, have a thing for Amari-san?" The boys looked at her. "I don't think so. I can't see that." "Can Kansuu-sensei even have a 'thing' for anyone?" Tsuta shrugged. "Maybe not."
The team began to walk back to the campground together. Oni looked back at Freya, and was startled for a moment, then determined what had happened. "Wow, Freya, is that you? Now that's a cool technique. Can you still think normally? I can transform into a wolf-man creature, but when I'm like that I can't really understand things the way I normally do." Gently, he stroked her furry back, and smiled.
Reaching the campground, they saw Amari coughing and looking somewhat distressed. "Oh no, you really do need medical attention." Tsuta gasped, running over. In an instant she had some sort of powder ready, and motioned for Amari to take it. "That should help coagulate internal bleeding."
Jinzou and Oni looked around. "Where's Kansuu-sensei?" they asked the Jounin.
--------- The scarecrow ninja had found another small clearing, and was sitting on a small flat boulder at the side of a river. He could only see the water running through the light caused by his flame. Like Amari, he was also entertaining thoughts of suicide, although he really couldn't say he had anyone to stop him. ~What am I? What is this feeling, that's like longing and regret at the same time? And whatever it is, I know it won't work for me. It couldn't be...what I think it is? The way I act, almost compulsively...~ He thought to his actions, whenever he saw Amari, when he saw her fighting, when he saw her hurt...What he did was exactly like what Tsuta did with Jinzou, and vice versa. ~Is this...love? Could that be it? I hope not...no, it can't be. Not for me.~ Grabbing a kunai from his holder, he suddenly stabbed the blade deep into his leg. He looked at the handle sticking out. ~Nothing. I can feel nothing. D*mmit! And d*mn me.~ He pulled the kunai out of his leg, and threw it into the river. The drops that fell from the splash mimicked the tears that would be falling, if he could cry. ~Nothing can be worse than this. There can be nothing in the world that can hurt more. To love...and be unable to love. Well, I suppose one thing could hurt more...if she was actually crazy enough to love me back. That would be the worst thing.~ Reaching down and wetting his hand, or the hay the would have been his hand, he just watched as the fingers fell down, heavy and soggy with water. If he was human. If he could feel, if he could touch, if he could breathe and look and hear and taste and smell and sleep and live and...if he could love. But he had no chance of that. Closing his eyes, he rested himself down on the stone, and lay there, thinking. Taking one more look at his motionless hand, a single thought imprinted itself into his mind.
He could not love.
|
|