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The blade was just inches from Sugari's neck, a second more and it would've cut clean through his flesh.
Kuro's wind blade howled as it tore through the air behind the puppet, but it was not fast enough to catch up in time. The puppet's arm was already in motion, and nothing he could do could stop it in time.
However as the puppet's blade was about to connect, the red light in the puppet's eyes flickered for a moment before fading completely. For a breath, its arm stopped mid-swing, locking up for a moment before its weighted moment followed through. It was barely a second, but it was enough.
Kuro's wind blade closed the last bit of distance, and sliced straight through the puppet's arm. The severed piece flew past Sugari's cheek, close enough to graze the side of his face with its wind pressure alone.
"AHH..!" Sugari jumped back, nearly tripping as he gained distance between him and the puppet. His grip tightened around his spear, raising it on instinct.
The puppet's legs buckled without warning, folding in on themselves like a broken marionette. Its body crumpled inward, with joints twisting at odd angles before it hit the ground completely lifeless.
Sugari blinked hard, still catching his breath. "...What the hell just happened?" he muttered, lowering his spear with slow, cautious hands.
Kuro watched, just as confused. "Did she do it...?" he muttered, his eyes still locked on the lifeless puppet. However a couple seconds passed, but the mission window didn't pop up. 'Maybe she captured him..? The quest did ask for me to kill the boss not capture,' he mused, but pushed the thought aside as he made his way over to Sugari.
"You good..?" Kuro asked, checking up on him.
Sugari let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah... but that scared the shit out of me. I thought I was going to die," he said, still trying to steady his nerves.
"I thought so too..." Kuro replied, relieved he was okay.
"Did you think she did it..?" Sugari asked, glancing over at the worn-down castle.
Kuro shrugged, turning toward the castle. "Hopefully… but we should probably go check on her," he said.
He didn't like her, never really had. But that didn't mean he wanted her dead. She was still part of the team, and that meant something. Like it or not, teammates had each other's backs.
Sugari nodded. "Yeah, we shou—"
BOOM!!
The top windows of the ruined castle exploded outward, shards of broken glass scattering into the air. A heavy wave of water burst through the opening, roaring out with force. The brittle stone walls buckled under the pressure, and a moment later, the roof gave out completely.
The rush of water crashed down in a flood, sweeping over the flames below and drowning the fire in seconds.
"I think Airi's in trouble…!" Sugari called out.
"I KNOW THAT!" Kuro snapped, not even glancing back as he broke into a full sprint. His feet slammed against the dirt, each step faster than the last.
Sugari cursed under his breath before pushing off the ground, chasing after him.
"This fucking sucks..."
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Airi moved fast, her footsteps light against the grass as she darted through the burned remains of the courtyard. Torn tents flapped weakly in the breeze, their fabric blackened from flame. Her eyes were locked ahead on the large, twin castle doors just up the worn path.
As she drew closer, the heavy doors creaked open. A sliver of shadow split between them, and in the next breath, three armed bandits rushed out, yelling as they raised their weapons.
"DIE! BITCH!" one yelled.
Her hand slipped into her pouch with practiced ease, her fingers curling around a single shuriken. Bringing her arm out, she flicked her wrist. The metal star whistled through the air before it nudged dead-on into the forehead of the first bandit. His head snapped back with a sharp jolt, and his body crumpled. The force of him falling took the other two down with him.
Airi dashed forward, her feet left the ground as she kicked off the air, landing squarely on top of the pile of bodies. Instantly, she drove one of her daggers into the skull of the bandit beneath her, before twisting her body and jamming the second into the neck of the other. As she yanked her dagger free, blood pooled beneath them slowly sipping into the dirt.
Jumping off the pile of bodies, she slipped through the cracked castle doors. The inside reeked of damp rot and alcohol. The stone walls were chipped and stained, and the torches lining the hallway flickered with dying flames. Airi sprinted ahead, before her eye caught a flight of stairs.
"THERE'S AN ENEMY ATTACKING FROM OUTSIDE!"
The shout came from above the staircase.
Airi slowed down, narrowing her eyes just as a group of bandits came barreling down the stairs toward her, with their weapons raised.
"THERE'S ONE OF THEM HERE!" one of the bandits called out.
"CAPTURE HER AND SAVE HER FOR LATER!" another one called out.
Airi ignored them ducking low, as she slid across the floor as the first bandit swung wide, only to be met with air. She swept his legs out from under him with a kick, and as he hit the ground, she plunged her dagger into his chest. She sprang up, catching the next one off-guard. Her dagger slashed across his throat, blood spraying the stairwell.
The third raised his axe but found only air as Airi was already behind him. She thrust her dagger forward landing a clean strike to the spine, and he was down.
The fourth tried to turn back, panic settling in his eyes, but she caught up to him before he could even take a step or utter a single word. Her dagger dug between his eyes, and his body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
"The weak shouldn't prey on the weak..." she muttered, wiping off her daggers on the nearest cloak before making her way to the second floor.
Airi reached the top of the stairs, taking in a breath as she stepped into the second floor hallway.
Then came the sound of heavy footsteps, up ahead. From the far end of the hall, a gang of bandits came charging around the corner, their weapons raised and voices yelling.
She tightened her grip on her dagger, then sprinted straight toward them. The hallway seemed too narrow, but that made it better for her. At the last second, she kicked off the wall, twisting her body in the air before slashing downward in one clean arc.
Her blade sliced through the first three like paper. Their blood splattered across the walls as they dropped, their eyes wide and empty before they even hit the ground.
Another swung his club at her, but she slid beneath the blow and slashed upward. His jaw split open with a wet crack as he collapsed.
She stabbed, sliced, and cut down each bandit in her way with a smooth, brutal efficiency. Another bandit tried to run, but she drove her dagger into his spine, then pulled it out just in time to block a blade coming from her right.
She slipped under the blade, before coming up and slashing at his throat.
She wiped her face with her sleeve and looked ahead.
At the end of the hall was another small flight of stairs leading to a set of double wooden doors. They were old, but engraved with strange intricate carvings, worn down by time.
She leapt over the stairs in a single jump and spun mid-air, kicking both doors open with her heel. The impact sent the hinges rattling and the doors flew open, crashing against the walls with a loud bang.
Dust that had settled for years kicked up instantly, clouding the room. Airi lunged through it, raising her dagger
The room was larger than she expected, supported by cracked stone pillars and filled with old furniture torn apart by time. At the center, where a throne should've been, sat a large circular couch with a large puppet slumped in the middle
And standing in front of a broken glass window behind the couch, was a man.
A hunched figure, his back turned. His hands twitched and curled like he was playing a piano in the air.
"KEKEKEKE!"
His laugh echoed across the room as he slowly turned his head, revealing a face that looked more puppet than man. His hair was long and unkempt, hanging all the way down his back. Strands of it covered half his face, casting a shadow over his eyes. His skin was pale and tight, clinging to the sharp angles of his face. He had hollow cheekbones that made his expression seem permanently sunken, and his cracked lips curved into a crooked grin that stretched unnaturally wide.
He wore a loose red jacket that hung open at the chest, with a black shirt underneath. His black pants were tucked into his shinobi boots. On his forehead sat a Sand Village headband, though the logo was scarred with a deep horizontal slash.
He let out a dry chuckle, "Oh...? A Konoha shinobi? How interesting..."
Airi didn't waste any time to chitchat and her hand flew to her pouch and drew three kunai in one smooth motion. Before the last syllable left his lips, she flung them forward, her wrist snapping with precision.
The blades cut through the air.
But before they could land, a figure blurred into view in front of him. He was a large, bald man with a thick beard, with his arms crossed and muscles bulging beneath his red jacket. The kunai clanged against the metal bracers on his forearms.
He grinned. "The boss doesn't like visitors..." he grumbled, unraveling his arms.
"Shut the fuck up, weakling..." she barked, her foot pressed hard into the stone floor as she launched herself forward, closing the distance in a flash. The man raised his arms to block, but Airi ducked low, dragging her dagger up across his thigh. He roared in pain and swung a fist down, but she slipped behind him, using his own movement to guide her spin.
She jumped up and slammed both feet into his back. The hit sent him stumbling forward. Airi landed on her feet, already sprinting after him. Before he could turn, she leapt up and wrapped an arm around his thick neck, driving her dagger down into his shoulder. He bucked wildly, trying to throw her off.
But she held on.
With a swift jerk of the blade, she severed the muscle in his shoulder and his arm dropped limp.
Still trying to twist out of her hold, the man swung blindly with his other hand, but Airi dropped low. Her boot slid across the floor as she moved to his side and drove a second dagger deep into the side of his neck. Blood poured from the wound, spraying onto her arm.
With both hands gripping the handle, she twisted hard and pulled.
The man's head dropped forward.
But she didn't stop and continued with a single upward slash across the throat, and then she finished it with a clean, horizontal cut. The head separated from the body in one smooth strike. It hit the floor with a dull thud, rolling a few inches before stopping, eyes still wide.
She let out a quiet breath and turned her eyes back to the man by the window.
The man just stood there and despite watching his subordinate die, he was still grinning. "I guess you aren't so bad," he said with a breathy laugh. Then his smile slowly melted into a blank, disappointed frown. " But I won't be able to have fun… if you're here."
He sighed and let his arms fall limply to his sides before walking slowly toward the old circular couch that sat at the front of the room. He placed both hands on the head of the puppet slumped lazily across the cushions.
"Well… it was fun. But it's time for you leaf humping pricks to die. You've ruined more than enough." his voice trembled with bitter aggression, but he kept it hidden behind a small smile.
Airi gritted her teeth. "You sand dick suckers should really shut the fuck up," she muttered, as her hands came together moving through a clean sequence of hand signs. "Water Style Jutsu… WILD WATER WAVE!" she bellowed.
She raised a hand to her lips and exhaled. A massive surge of water burst forward, crashing across the floor like a violent tide, heading straight for the man and the puppet on the couch.
the thick roar of rushing water slammed into the weak stone floor and battered the cracked pillars. They shattered on contact, snapping like brittle twigs. The wave surged forward, swallowing the old couch in seconds and slamming into the man with the full weight of a crashing tide.
"Fuck..." he muttered, the word barely audible before the water swept him off his feet.
He crashed into the wall behind him with a loud wet crack, but the wall wasn't strong enough to hold the crushing force of the tide. The brittle brick caved in instantly, crumbling from years of neglect. It collapsed, and the man was pushed straight through.
Chunks of stone and wood rained down, burying him under the collapsed rubble. A thick silence followed. Only the sound of dripping water echoed faintly in the large room.
Airi slowly lowered her hands, her chest rising and falling with each breath. 'Damn... that drained me more than I thought,' she muttered to herself, feeling the heaviness settle in her limbs. Still, she shook it off.
CRACK!
The sound sliced through the silence like a kunai and instantly her head shot up.
Above her, the ceiling groaned. Deep cracks spread across the old wooden beams, with dust falling like rain. Chunks of stone and broken plaster started to drop, one after the other.
"Shit—!" Airi cursed under her breath, her legs already moving before the thought could fully finish.
She dashed across the crumbling floor and toward the massive gap in the front wall, left from where her jutsu had blasted through. The wind hit her face as she reached the edge but she just kept running and jumped.
Her body dropped a few feet before she landed hard on a jagged slab of fallen debris, glass crunching beneath her boots. Her momentum carried her forward, and with one more push, she leapt down to solid ground.
She turned just in time to see the roof give out. The top of the castle caved inward with a loud, grinding roar. One pillar snapped in half, then another. The walls groaned before folding in on themselves, burying everything inside.
"AIRI!" a voice called out from behind.
Airi snapped her head back toward the sound. Only to find Kuro and Sugari running toward her.
Sugari reached her first, his eyes quickly scanning her for injuries. "You okay?" he asked.
Airi let out a tired sigh as she brushed dust from her shoulders. "Yeah… just a scratch," she muttered, rolling one of her shoulders back.
Kuro came up beside them, his eyes looking over the remains of the collapsed castle. He blinked a few times, trying to take it all in before turning to her. "What happened here?" he asked.
Airi groaned, already annoyed thinking about it. "What happened wa—"
~WHOOM!~
A violent crash suddenly erupted from the rubble just ahead. The broken slabs of stone, exploded upward. A blast of wind burst out from beneath the debris, forcing all three of them to shield their eyes.
"YOU FUCKING LEAF HUMPER! YOU THINK YOU CAN GET RID OF ME?!"
Through the settling dust, a hand reached up and grabbed onto a chunk of broken wall. Then, slowly, the rest of the body followed. Blood smeared across his cheek. His red coat was torn and soaked at the edges.
He dragged himself upright, one arm limp at his side, the other twitching as chakra crackled faintly around his fingers.
"Did you really think... I'd go down that easy?" he grumbled.
As he staggered fully into view, grinning through cracked teeth, something began to shift behind him.
A low creak followed, like strained wood grinding against metal.
Behind him, a figure emerged.. No, not a person.
A puppet...
Its body was jagged and wrong. Thick iron plating made up its chest, rusted and dented from age, but freshly engraved with sharp, angular carvings that glowed a faint red. Its arms hung low, the joints exposed like twisted hinges, clicking with every slight movement. Instead of hands, it had long, curved blades sharpened with surgical precision. Each was stained with what looked like dried blood.
It had a pale, white ceramic face that stretched into an unnatural smile carved across its features. Rows of tiny black teeth lined the open jaw, and from the sides of its head, wires hung like rotten hair.
"KEKEKHAHAHA....!"
The man laughed, more like a croak now, spit flying from his lips.
"TIME TO DIE, FUCKERS!" he howled.
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