Mild blood and gore. I don't think that there's anything excessively graphic though lol.
Tenzu and Riku rushed with amazing speed but deadly silence through the port city. The docks that they would need to go to would be found in this village, though it was more of a city due to its rather untraditional and more advanced look. There were several large buildings, and further down the path that they were on, it split into three directions, one continuing to go forward and the other two branching off left and right, hidden behind two buildings that were at either side of the path. Behind them were several trees scattered around?somewhere the ground had slowly turned from grass to cement. Tenzu had noticed several would-be concealed guards stationed in these trees, and, though he noticed much less of these ninja than Tenzu, so did Riku. The pair, though, moved quietly and quickly enough not to be noticed. The night was their friend, providing both sufficient cover and a time during which no civilians roamed the area.
A guard, apparently the first of many to realize who they were and, for that matter, that they were even here, jumped down from the first building that they passed by just as they did so and shot his hand out, in an attempt to surprise?and hopefully kill at least one?of them with an attack from behind.
That particular ninja never was a smart one.
The sound of him dropping down was enough for the two to put themselves on guard, but as the kunai came, they were already prepared for action. The kunai was going towards Riku?the guard apparently believing that the smaller one would be the easiest to catch off guard?who simply ducked down while reaching up and grabbing the kunai as it passed over his head, only to redirect where it went to a man standing diagonally in front of him who had thrown another kunai. After the two kunai deflected off of each other, the boy began to rush towards the older ninja.
While Riku defended, though, Tenzu took the offensive. Spinning around, he pushed off of his back foot, launching himself to the first attacker when he was sure that Riku would go for the other. He rushed with deadly speed, and within a moment, perhaps a millisecond after Tenzu launched himself forward, the man felt a blade slip right under his chin, through his neck and to the other side. In a quick motion, Tenzu turned and slashed his blade across, going outward to the side from the center of the man?s neck, as to cut half of it, making it hang limply over to the side, a sickening ripping sound producing itself as his head slowly tore away fully from the rest of his body, until the ripping sound was replaced by a heavy thud on the ground. Tenzu wiped his bloodied blade on his sleeve, turning to watch Riku as he closed in on his opponent, as his now-decapitated opponent?s head rolled on the ground to hit into a building.
Riku?s attack was only slightly less fluent, deciding not to move at the astounding speed that Tenzu had, Soul Eater coming to his grasp as he ran; he had grown accustomed to calling his sword like that as opposed to removing it from its scabbard. The man, a scrawny, blonde haired person, who had thrown the second kunai now held yet another firmly in his hand in a defensive position. Riku brought his blade up as if to attack with a powerful overhead slice, something that would have firmly hit against the kunai, but quickly allowed the attack to feint, bringing his sword down quickly, the two blades scraping against each other only slightly. As he brought it down, he moved his arm so that he could bring it back so that the blade would be in a stabbing position, and then brought it back forward for a vicious stab between the thin man?s ribs, moving right under the kunai and plunging deeply between his ribs, a gory, stomach-churning sound producing itself both as Riku put the blade in and took it back out.
The two gave each other a quick look and then rushed off towards the docks.
Naruto stared at Kakashi with growing curiosity, ?What?s up with you??
They were sitting outside of the village, leaning on its giant, protective wall with outstretched legs on the short grass. Kakashi still wore his jounin clothing?it was, ironically, more rare to see him in his Hokage cloak and hat?and blended in rather well with the rest of the crowd, something that he preferred as opposed to the constant stares.
Kakashi gave a slight shrug, ?I guess I kind of feel a little bad for them,? he said, nodding to Reina and Raiden who were preparing to leave while talking to a few of the village?s jounin, ?You of all people should be able to relate.?
Naruto returned the shrug, ?May be a bit worse for them, though. When Sasuke left, he had his mind made up. He wasn?t planning on coming back, even way back when we fought at the Valley of End, and he still isn?t. This is... different. I wasn?t there, but from the way that you told everything, Riku was acting out of the heat of the moment, hardly out of any real thought before the battle... I don?t think he?s sure.?
?And how would that be worse?? Kakashi asked.
?It?s more complicated that way. Even though we took a while to accept it, we kind of knew what we would have to do, and what we still have to do, when and if we meet Sasuke. It was simple. He was a full-fledged traitor. I?m willing to bet that Riku?s still figuring out whether or not he?s sure about all of this. You told them that anyone who saw Riku would kill them, right??
Kakashi nodded.
?Well, the fact is, they won?t. That?s assuming that they can in the first place, though,? Naruto finished.
Kakashi stared at his former student for a long while, admiring his growth for a moment, and then taking in his words. He was right, of course. He didn?t expect them to kill, hurt, or even give Riku a slap on the wrist for that matter. Although, them even having a chance to kill Riku is rather unlikely. However, they couldn?t be sure exactly where Riku?s mind was. Maybe he would kill them if given the chance, maybe, and more likely, he wouldn?t.
Kakashi shrugged again, the emotional part of all of this was hardly any of his business in the first place. All he needed to do was tell who to kill who.
If they couldn?t do it, then anyone else in Konoha certainly would, provided that they could.
Tenzu jumped, putting his both of his legs out in front of him as he did to slam both into the chest of one of the ninja on the docks, bringing him to the floor with Tenzu standing in a crouched position on top of him. Another ninja was coming towards him from an angle, and with both remarkable skill and strength, he flipped himself over, going forward, from his crouched position off of the felled, though neither dead nor unconscious, man, grabbing the man by his shirt collar as he did and as Tenzu completed the flip, he threw the average-sized shinobi towards the one that was advancing, sending them both flying backwards and eventually falling into the water.
Riku was entwined with a battle on the water, surrounded by a total of four others. The falling bodies provided a sufficient distraction for Riku to begin advancing towards one while the others glimpsed at them. One had caught himself before Riku got too close to the other man, throwing a kunai towards him. Riku sped up, though still not going anywhere near as quickly as he could, practically running from the kunai just long enough for him to get within arm?s reach of his target. The man quickly fumbled at his side to take out a kunai or shuriken of his own, but Riku quickly jumped while placing his hand on the man?s left shoulder, flipping and launching himself over and up into the air, while spinning around. The thrown kunai, meanwhile, made a large thudding sound as it tore through his opponent?s heart.
He was in perfect position now, going into a swift series of hand seals, and as he finished, now above the point of needing to say the name of most jutsu, the water seemed to start to swirl within itself. The whirlpool was more like an underwater tornado, though, the very bottom of it touching to the ground as to slam anyone caught in it down onto the sandy ground?the speed at which they would fall would make up for the softness of the ground as far as impact went?as they spiraled downward and inward. Two of the three remaining ninja hadn?t reacted quickly enough, sinking into the whirlpool, as did the lifeless corpse of the other one, turning part of the originally deep, clear blue water into a dark, crimson red. The other one, the one who had thrown the kunai that had killed his ally, jumped up as soon as the water began to shake; apparently the best out of the group.
Though, that wasn?t exactly saying much.
As he rose up near Riku, the boy planted to kicks, one using Riku?s foreleg, going straight for his side, and the second one utilizing the young ninja?s knee, planting itself solidly in the man?s stomach. Now clearly having the upper hand, Riku back flipped and as he completed the flip, he powerfully kicked the guard with his heel, slamming on the top of his unfortunate opponent?s head and sending him spiraling down into the still-active?Riku?s series of attacks had taken no more than a second or two at most?whirlpool, the vortex eagerly taking him in and swallowing him whole.
Riku used the kick to launch himself backwards as much as he did to launch his opponent down, landing on the wooden docks and watching as Tenzu advanced up onto the large, soon-to-be captured, boat, stabbing and slashing left and right as the number of attacks against him dwindled and the number of bodies near his feet and laying in the water?most of the lake near and under the docks now filled with blood?increased abundantly.
Tenzu set his eyes on the ship?s captain; apparently he was the navigator as well, and rushed forward. The captain was sitting on an elevated area at the back of the ship, near its wheel. The captain was rather old?though far from out of shape?with a gruff, gray mustache that connected with his equally as gruff beard. He had started to stand up when he noticed Tenzu coming, and then rushed forward, taking out a cutlass as he did and putting it up in a battling position. Tenzu didn?t worry about any of the crew, almost all of them unarmed, and those who did have small weapons such as clubs or maces were much to afraid to advance, and simply made a sharp turn after running up the plank that linked the docks to the wooden ship, the flag of it showed the symbol of Konoha. As he turned, he quickly hopped up the steps, putting his foot on every other step, and then jumped to the side, landing on a part of the ship that was slightly risen up, kind of like a railing but this was the same wooden structure as the ship, and turned, jumping towards the captain, cocking his sword-arm back and then bringing it forward as he jumped, only moments away from a deadly stab.
Slowly, though, right before the captain?s eyes, Tenzu gradually disappeared. It wasn?t like he went so unbelievably fast that nothing was able to be seen but parts of him that were in the form of small dashes before one?s eyes, but instead, he just... faded away. He was still descending towards the captain as he disappeared, and when he was right in front of the rather old man, he completely faded from existence.
Suddenly, the captain gave a startled jump as he felt a blade press against his neck, the intoxicating smell of fresh blood filling his nostrils and some of it even rubbing off onto his chin.
As Riku walked casually up onto the ship, Tenzu leaned in, never taking the blade away from the man?s neck, and whispered, ?We need to get somewhere; you?re going to take us.?
Ship Raid
Tenzu and Riku rushed with amazing speed but deadly silence through the port city. The docks that they would need to go to would be found in this village, though it was more of a city due to its rather untraditional and more advanced look. There were several large buildings, and further down the path that they were on, it split into three directions, one continuing to go forward and the other two branching off left and right, hidden behind two buildings that were at either side of the path. Behind them were several trees scattered around?somewhere the ground had slowly turned from grass to cement. Tenzu had noticed several would-be concealed guards stationed in these trees, and, though he noticed much less of these ninja than Tenzu, so did Riku. The pair, though, moved quietly and quickly enough not to be noticed. The night was their friend, providing both sufficient cover and a time during which no civilians roamed the area.
A guard, apparently the first of many to realize who they were and, for that matter, that they were even here, jumped down from the first building that they passed by just as they did so and shot his hand out, in an attempt to surprise?and hopefully kill at least one?of them with an attack from behind.
That particular ninja never was a smart one.
The sound of him dropping down was enough for the two to put themselves on guard, but as the kunai came, they were already prepared for action. The kunai was going towards Riku?the guard apparently believing that the smaller one would be the easiest to catch off guard?who simply ducked down while reaching up and grabbing the kunai as it passed over his head, only to redirect where it went to a man standing diagonally in front of him who had thrown another kunai. After the two kunai deflected off of each other, the boy began to rush towards the older ninja.
While Riku defended, though, Tenzu took the offensive. Spinning around, he pushed off of his back foot, launching himself to the first attacker when he was sure that Riku would go for the other. He rushed with deadly speed, and within a moment, perhaps a millisecond after Tenzu launched himself forward, the man felt a blade slip right under his chin, through his neck and to the other side. In a quick motion, Tenzu turned and slashed his blade across, going outward to the side from the center of the man?s neck, as to cut half of it, making it hang limply over to the side, a sickening ripping sound producing itself as his head slowly tore away fully from the rest of his body, until the ripping sound was replaced by a heavy thud on the ground. Tenzu wiped his bloodied blade on his sleeve, turning to watch Riku as he closed in on his opponent, as his now-decapitated opponent?s head rolled on the ground to hit into a building.
Riku?s attack was only slightly less fluent, deciding not to move at the astounding speed that Tenzu had, Soul Eater coming to his grasp as he ran; he had grown accustomed to calling his sword like that as opposed to removing it from its scabbard. The man, a scrawny, blonde haired person, who had thrown the second kunai now held yet another firmly in his hand in a defensive position. Riku brought his blade up as if to attack with a powerful overhead slice, something that would have firmly hit against the kunai, but quickly allowed the attack to feint, bringing his sword down quickly, the two blades scraping against each other only slightly. As he brought it down, he moved his arm so that he could bring it back so that the blade would be in a stabbing position, and then brought it back forward for a vicious stab between the thin man?s ribs, moving right under the kunai and plunging deeply between his ribs, a gory, stomach-churning sound producing itself both as Riku put the blade in and took it back out.
The two gave each other a quick look and then rushed off towards the docks.
~
Naruto stared at Kakashi with growing curiosity, ?What?s up with you??
They were sitting outside of the village, leaning on its giant, protective wall with outstretched legs on the short grass. Kakashi still wore his jounin clothing?it was, ironically, more rare to see him in his Hokage cloak and hat?and blended in rather well with the rest of the crowd, something that he preferred as opposed to the constant stares.
Kakashi gave a slight shrug, ?I guess I kind of feel a little bad for them,? he said, nodding to Reina and Raiden who were preparing to leave while talking to a few of the village?s jounin, ?You of all people should be able to relate.?
Naruto returned the shrug, ?May be a bit worse for them, though. When Sasuke left, he had his mind made up. He wasn?t planning on coming back, even way back when we fought at the Valley of End, and he still isn?t. This is... different. I wasn?t there, but from the way that you told everything, Riku was acting out of the heat of the moment, hardly out of any real thought before the battle... I don?t think he?s sure.?
?And how would that be worse?? Kakashi asked.
?It?s more complicated that way. Even though we took a while to accept it, we kind of knew what we would have to do, and what we still have to do, when and if we meet Sasuke. It was simple. He was a full-fledged traitor. I?m willing to bet that Riku?s still figuring out whether or not he?s sure about all of this. You told them that anyone who saw Riku would kill them, right??
Kakashi nodded.
?Well, the fact is, they won?t. That?s assuming that they can in the first place, though,? Naruto finished.
Kakashi stared at his former student for a long while, admiring his growth for a moment, and then taking in his words. He was right, of course. He didn?t expect them to kill, hurt, or even give Riku a slap on the wrist for that matter. Although, them even having a chance to kill Riku is rather unlikely. However, they couldn?t be sure exactly where Riku?s mind was. Maybe he would kill them if given the chance, maybe, and more likely, he wouldn?t.
Kakashi shrugged again, the emotional part of all of this was hardly any of his business in the first place. All he needed to do was tell who to kill who.
If they couldn?t do it, then anyone else in Konoha certainly would, provided that they could.
~
Tenzu jumped, putting his both of his legs out in front of him as he did to slam both into the chest of one of the ninja on the docks, bringing him to the floor with Tenzu standing in a crouched position on top of him. Another ninja was coming towards him from an angle, and with both remarkable skill and strength, he flipped himself over, going forward, from his crouched position off of the felled, though neither dead nor unconscious, man, grabbing the man by his shirt collar as he did and as Tenzu completed the flip, he threw the average-sized shinobi towards the one that was advancing, sending them both flying backwards and eventually falling into the water.
Riku was entwined with a battle on the water, surrounded by a total of four others. The falling bodies provided a sufficient distraction for Riku to begin advancing towards one while the others glimpsed at them. One had caught himself before Riku got too close to the other man, throwing a kunai towards him. Riku sped up, though still not going anywhere near as quickly as he could, practically running from the kunai just long enough for him to get within arm?s reach of his target. The man quickly fumbled at his side to take out a kunai or shuriken of his own, but Riku quickly jumped while placing his hand on the man?s left shoulder, flipping and launching himself over and up into the air, while spinning around. The thrown kunai, meanwhile, made a large thudding sound as it tore through his opponent?s heart.
He was in perfect position now, going into a swift series of hand seals, and as he finished, now above the point of needing to say the name of most jutsu, the water seemed to start to swirl within itself. The whirlpool was more like an underwater tornado, though, the very bottom of it touching to the ground as to slam anyone caught in it down onto the sandy ground?the speed at which they would fall would make up for the softness of the ground as far as impact went?as they spiraled downward and inward. Two of the three remaining ninja hadn?t reacted quickly enough, sinking into the whirlpool, as did the lifeless corpse of the other one, turning part of the originally deep, clear blue water into a dark, crimson red. The other one, the one who had thrown the kunai that had killed his ally, jumped up as soon as the water began to shake; apparently the best out of the group.
Though, that wasn?t exactly saying much.
As he rose up near Riku, the boy planted to kicks, one using Riku?s foreleg, going straight for his side, and the second one utilizing the young ninja?s knee, planting itself solidly in the man?s stomach. Now clearly having the upper hand, Riku back flipped and as he completed the flip, he powerfully kicked the guard with his heel, slamming on the top of his unfortunate opponent?s head and sending him spiraling down into the still-active?Riku?s series of attacks had taken no more than a second or two at most?whirlpool, the vortex eagerly taking him in and swallowing him whole.
Riku used the kick to launch himself backwards as much as he did to launch his opponent down, landing on the wooden docks and watching as Tenzu advanced up onto the large, soon-to-be captured, boat, stabbing and slashing left and right as the number of attacks against him dwindled and the number of bodies near his feet and laying in the water?most of the lake near and under the docks now filled with blood?increased abundantly.
Tenzu set his eyes on the ship?s captain; apparently he was the navigator as well, and rushed forward. The captain was sitting on an elevated area at the back of the ship, near its wheel. The captain was rather old?though far from out of shape?with a gruff, gray mustache that connected with his equally as gruff beard. He had started to stand up when he noticed Tenzu coming, and then rushed forward, taking out a cutlass as he did and putting it up in a battling position. Tenzu didn?t worry about any of the crew, almost all of them unarmed, and those who did have small weapons such as clubs or maces were much to afraid to advance, and simply made a sharp turn after running up the plank that linked the docks to the wooden ship, the flag of it showed the symbol of Konoha. As he turned, he quickly hopped up the steps, putting his foot on every other step, and then jumped to the side, landing on a part of the ship that was slightly risen up, kind of like a railing but this was the same wooden structure as the ship, and turned, jumping towards the captain, cocking his sword-arm back and then bringing it forward as he jumped, only moments away from a deadly stab.
Slowly, though, right before the captain?s eyes, Tenzu gradually disappeared. It wasn?t like he went so unbelievably fast that nothing was able to be seen but parts of him that were in the form of small dashes before one?s eyes, but instead, he just... faded away. He was still descending towards the captain as he disappeared, and when he was right in front of the rather old man, he completely faded from existence.
Suddenly, the captain gave a startled jump as he felt a blade press against his neck, the intoxicating smell of fresh blood filling his nostrils and some of it even rubbing off onto his chin.
As Riku walked casually up onto the ship, Tenzu leaned in, never taking the blade away from the man?s neck, and whispered, ?We need to get somewhere; you?re going to take us.?
