CH_7.46 (264)

CH_7.46 (264)

She was too light...

They had sparred nearly every day when they were at Camp Banana. They had wrestled in mud and dirt; he had tossed her around plenty of times but now, as she collapsed into him, he felt that she had no weight to her. His hands holding her by the shoulder trembled—perhaps for the first time, he felt that a shinobi could be so fragile, so vulnerable.

Why was Rikku here?

By now, she and Kameko were supposed to clear out of the manor house property and get far enough that there was no chance for the other ROOT agents to catch up with them. He had very deliberately sent them both away so he wouldn't have to support them in combat—as much as he appreciated their help, they were weaker than the competition. They were taking his attention to support them while fighting Kon, which was proving to be complicated.

He looked at Kon's clone holding the bloody blade that had just been pulled out from Rikku. That blade was meant for him; if not for Rikku, the blood on it would've been his. His heart plummeted, his body was frigid, and the goosebumps tightened his skin. She had saved his life by risking hers—one of his teammates was now suffering from a life-ending injury because of him.Alll latest novels at novelhall.com

She was dying because of him.

The world stopped as an overwhelmingly crushing guilt descended on him. It felt like the weight of the sky was suddenly set on his shoulders—every muscle and bone in his body drained; all of his previous desires and intentions vanished like smoke. One second stretched to an eternity; in that moment, his entire world was focused on the girl in his arms.

Takuma's mind had been on the verge of breaking for a while and was being held together by his aim to see the mission through and his intense personal desire to find more about the boy's past unravelled the moment he felt Rikku go limp in his arms.

He had lost teammates in combat before—and he saddled blame on himself that he had continued to carry in the corner of his heart, but they had died during combat at the hands of the enemy while he was busy fighting his own battles.

This was different.

Rikku had jumped to save him. It was his fault that she was dying. His decision to capture Kon for his personal motives was the reason he was in the hallway in a heavily injured state. The mission was already accomplished, and he could've held back the enemy while retreating—but he chose to stand his ground.

It was his choice, and if he hadn't made it, he would've not gotten as injured as he did, and Rikku, who had returned to support him as a true comrade, wouldn't have had to jump in to save him. She would not have not taken the strike meant for him if he had not made the mistake of letting his emotions overtake him.

She wouldn't be dying if not for him.

It was all his fault.

The second of eternity shattered when the sound of metal scratching metal reached his ears as the ROOT agent behind him retrieved a kunai from his weapon pouch.

Takuma's mind was in chaos. He was still reeling and processing the horror before him, but he was mid-combat and didn't have the luxury of taking his time. When he heard the sound, the magma of anger rose up in his heart, flowing through the blood in his veins.

Takuma embraced the rage; he let himself drown in it.

It was easy because the alternative was to bear the unbearable guilt that sapped him of everything.

At that moment, he chose to blame someone else... because it was easy.

Takuma rushed to the wall and leaned Rikku against it. As he pulled back and slid down the wall, he got the first good look at her wound and then noticed her blood on his clothes. He flinched and turned his body away from her, putting himself between her and the enemy.

He looked at the ROOT agent, Kon, and the clone and saw red. The pain that tortured his head in the presence of Kon was absent—the wrath blinded him—and, from that, provided him with a clarity he had lacked since the start of the fight.

The sword that had been knocked out of his hand laid by his feet. Takuma stomped on the hilt, and it bounced into his mangled hand—his grip was solid this time as his blood stained the grip. The rage surpassed any pain he felt in his hand. He bellowed in anger and slashed the sword at Kon's clone, who laughed as he rebuffed the strike with ease.

Cling!

The ROOT agent moved in and swung his kunai. Takuma turned with his hips and put his momentum behind the sword with an upward swing that clashed against the kunai, sending sparks flying.

Clang!

He kicked the ROOT agent in the stomach, pushing him back a few steps before swinging at the clone. The difference in skill was apparent as the clone skilfully redirected the sword with ease as their blades screeched against each other.

Takuma then spat a spittle mixed with blood into the clone's eyes, who was startled by the move and backed away. Takuma didn't pursue him and turned again with his arm cocked and charged with chakra. His eyes met with Kon and just seeing the hateful man's face made him put more chakra through his arm.

He whipped a second form punch at him and felt the bone in his hand crack from overloading chakra. He spread the chakra out to create a blunt force rather than a penetrating one, which forced Kon to slide several metres back. Takuma flexed his arm; it still moved properly, which meant he had gotten away with a hairline fracture. He raised the sword and swung it down at the ROOT agent, who put his kunai up. Takuma raised the sword again and slammed it down again and then did it again. The sound of metal became louder and harsher with each swing as he put more force, channelling his anger.

clang! Clang! CLANG! The agent's knees buckled, and he was half-kneeling by the end of it.

Takuma turned back once again and threw his sword at Kon's clone just as he closed in, who once again easily parried it, and it spun up towards the ceiling.

With his arms free, Takuma weaved hand seals, working through the pain in his hands.

Auditory Genjutsu: Bell Sound Clone— ver. Twice Modified

He didn't have the freedom to use his golden bell to lay the sound for the genjutsu, so he used the sound of metal banging against metal by slamming the sword against Kon's sword and the agent's kunai. The genjutsu was also made for a singler target, but he made a last-minute change which he would've never made during combat if he was in his right mind.

Cling!

All three of his enemies froze up as the genjutsu set in and hit them with full force. The sound of harsh metal against metal pierced into their ears while a dozen more Takumas appeared in the hallway. Takuma snatched the sword from mid-air as it descended and thrust it into the clone's chest, immediately popping him into smoke. He turned with his sword arm outstretched and beheaded the ROOT agent, wrenching the sword free and appearing in front of the final one.

A moment after Kon's clone was killed, he shuddered as the clone's experience transferred to him, and it broke him out of the genjutsu. His eyes widened when the three Takuma illusions before him evaporated to reveal the real one with the bloody sword in his hand. He backed away the moment he got control of his body.

Takuma roared, chakra instinctually coating his voice.

Anko struck him down. The whip cut through his face, chest, and abdomen. She wanted to finish him, but she turned around and swung her whip parallel to the ground just at the right time to keep the first agent away from her. He jumped back and Anko couldn't hold back her smirk. She skipped forward while raising both her hands above her head before swinging the whips down with all her might.

The first agent backed away to keep himself out of the whips' range—but his eyes widened when he noticed the whips coming down at him were longer than before and he froze, the whips melting through his armour and sizzling the flesh beneath.

As the whips weren't made from a physical substance, she could change the length at will.

Anko moved closer and whipped him in the face, ending his life while burning the inside of his skull—and then turned away to kill the other one as well, ending his agonised existence.

With all her enemies dead, Anko stood between the two dead bodies in silence. She heaved deep breaths despite the brunt of excessive adrenaline thrashing through her veins.

She wanted to scream and let her bloodlust flow—but she needed to calm down to retain control over her instincts, so Anko took deep breaths and released the ninjutsu to bring herself back down. The battle-high had its use; it allowed the body and mind to work in conjunction to work like a killing machine—but it erased everything else that didn't have to do with killing the enemy in front of her.

She glanced at the two dead ROOT agents, realising she should've kept one of them alive to properly accomplish the mission.

As she felt herself back in control, Anko remembered that Takuma and Rikku were still fighting in the manor house and ran toward the building, but before she could enter, she saw something that made her feel as though someone dumped a bucket of ice cold water over her.

Whatever remains of the battle high still lingering in her veins died at the sight before her.

Takuma rushed out of the building, holding a limp Rikku in his arms. Even though his face was burnt and bloody, she could make out the absolute terror on his face as he rushed toward her and knew instantly that Rikku was either dead or dying.

"A snake who knows iryojutsu!" Takuma yelled at her. "S-Summon a snake who can heal her! DO IT! NOW!"

He was breathing erratically and had a crazed look in his eyes—his words devolved into something incomprehensible as he screamed and cried the order again. It was like looking into a pit of despair and felt his sole want of her saving Rikku—it was overwhelming because he wasn’t one to wear his emotions on his sleeve, so seeing him so animated and hysterical hit much harder.

Anko didn't even notice she had already weaved through the hand seals for the summoning jutsu. She slammed her hand on the ground and felt her chakra levels sink as a bright orange snake big enough to swallow two of her emerged from the mist.

The snake immediately hissed and bared his teeth at Anko as though deeply offended at being summoned by her.

"You dare summon me, girl! You better be able to pay immediately, or I'm going—"

"Three dead humans!" Anko quickly pointed at the ROOT agent corpses behind her. "Heal her now, Kizan!"

The orange serpent's slitted eyes observed the corpses to check if she was lying, which made Anko feel irritated as one of her people was dying—and if she was feeling that, she knew how Takuma would be feeling. She looked at him and saw his bloodshot eyes glared holes into the back of Kizan's head.

"Takuma, go get the corpse from inside the house. Go, quickly, now!" Anko said as she took Rikku from him and pushed him back twice, and only then did he run into the house.

She felt a chill as she glanced at Rikku in her arms. She was cold, pale, and wet from her own blood that had coloured her front in red. She had only just seen Rikku enter the building completely fine, but she was now on the verge of death, and for a moment, she refused to believe it.

She turned to her summoned snake and laid Rikku's body before her.

"Kizan, now..." she said as she pushed Rikku's short hair sticking to her face to the side.

"Alright, alright."

The snake hissed softly as he coiled his massive truck around Rikku's body, completely covering her up.

Anko fought down the instinct to pull Rikku out, fearing that Kizan was crushing her but then saw the familiar green glow of iryojutsu exude out of his long body and held herself back. She was so restless that she couldn't even force herself to stand still and began pacing around; her body physically began to reject the possibility of Rikku's death by making her feel sick. She had lost teammates before and it wasn't something one got used to—it was one of the most terrible things any shinobi could go through.

She grabbed her hair and squatted down as guilt seeped in. What if she hadn't taken the mission? Their team's primary mission was to weaken the forces inside the city; they prepared for it and pulled it off—but they hadn't prepared for taking out a ROOT team, and now it was punishing them. It was her call as the leader to take the mission, and now Rikku was paying the price for her decision.

There was movement, and Anko turned to see Kizan releasing Rikku from his grasp.

"What happened? Why did you stop?" Anko asked with panic in her voice—though she already knew the answer.

"It was too late," said Kizan sombrely.

"No, no, no, you have to save her," Anko stepped to him and pushed his body. "You didn't even do anything! Come on, try seriously, Kizan!"

"It's over, Anko," said Kizan, shaking his head. "The lass is dead."

A dull thud caught their attention, and they saw Takuma, covered in more blood, standing at a distance with a decapitated body lying at his feet as he held half an arm in his grip and a beheaded head tucked under his arm. He had an anguished shock on his face, but as he gazed at Rikku, a hundred emotions contorted his face before colour drained from his face, the light vanished from his eyes, and soon a look of complete and utter loss settled over his face with silent tears streaked down his face.

Anko felt the stifling expansion of grief in her chest as the fires consumed the manor gardens behind her. Thanks to Team-9’s intel, the main forces were carrying out a successful raid beyond the manor walls and they had gone above and beyond to give themselves one final mission: to apprehend at least one of the ROOT agents Takuma encountered all those weeks ago. On paper, that mission was a resounding success; not only had they captured a ROOT agent, but they had succeeded in essentially eradicating the team.

However, the price of that success was Rikku’s death. Her body lay limp and lifeless between Anko and Kizan. Takuma had crawled to her and now knelt beside her body, the blood from the beheaded corpse pooled and extended until it touched Rikku.

By all metrics, the mission was a success but the devastation of Rikku’s death... the loss of yet another comrade... and the sheer sorrow and devastation on Takuma’s face... Anko was under no illusion that a mission in hostile territory was one of the most dangerous things a shinobi could do—but after everything they’d been through: posing as courtesans, recruiting the city’s criminals, collaborating with the city’s rebellious elements, kidnapping a chunin—and as much as it happened without her authorization—killing a jonin and more chunin...

After all of that, Rikku dying at the final hurdle in a foreign land was a pyrrhic victory in every sense.

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