i remember there was something akira told me shortly before he died, he said that everything he did was for the greater good and any actions he may take are for the benefit of others. i assumed he meant just in general and maybe he did but after learning of akiras betrayal that conversation feels much more sinister. he was apologizing for betraying us, its his fault that mayumi is dead, i wish i could kill him myself. maybe butcher did me a favor.
"yo ibuki looks like we're here" kazuya says and hes right, we're suddenly surrounded by mist that makes it difficult to see more than a few feet in front of us
"i can use my fire to light the way" fuya holds her hand out ready to do the jutsu
"no we cant alert them of our presence, just follow my lead" we continue on, the mist disorients me and i feel as though I've been walking in circles for hours but its only been a few steps. i feel dizzy, my head is spinning, no the world is spinning. i cough and feel a tightness in my chest, i fall over and try to pick myself back up but the ground is slippery "everyone get back its a trap!" i yell out but i dont see any of my team, i couldve sworn they were right behind me. this mist feels like its getting thicker by the second, the air is difficult to breathe, i try to stay calm but the thick oxygen makes that impossible. i can use my prison jutsu to find where the rest are but theres no guarantee theyre in a 25 foot radius and it takes up a lot of chakra that i cant spare.
i stumble around aimlessly for what feels like hours, the icy ground tripping me up constantly and making me wish i had my other arm. im covered in bruises from constantly falling and im about to give up.
"buki!" its fuya. shes around here
"fuya! im over here" i manage to stand and begin to stumble towards her voice
"buki im over here!" i keep going but it feels like shes getting farther away every second
"fuya stay put im on my way!" i keep going breathing harder as i clumsily run. eventually i reach a clearing where the mist is completely gone, standing there is a hidden mist shinobi, he looks to be at least 7 feet tall and is holding fuya, he has a large serrated knife to her throat. "fuya!"
"dont come any closer or i kill her" he smiles menacingly "king said to be careful of your strength but it doesn't seem like youre that strong" he laughs
"king sent you?"
"he told me to dispatch you. i dont know why he didnt just do it himself but im not complaining" i have to kill king, i cant let him hurt my friends. friends? did i just think of fuya as a friend?
"let go of her or I'll kill you" i snarl
"if you try to ill kill her before you can" he presses the blade against her throat and a line of blood trickles down "and if i die my partner will know immediately and will execute your other friends" why should i care if they die? kazuya and jeiku mean nothing to me and their death would be to my benefit, but i cant let fuya die. theres a loud crack to the back of my skull and i fall with a thud, behind me is another hidden mist shinobi, he looks identical to the one holding fuya hostage.
"fuck!" i yell out and try to stand back up but the twin that hit me kicks me in the stomach, i gag as i feel myself about to vomit. he kicks me again and again, im spitting up blood along with vomit, he holds a tree branch over my head and i assume its what the initial attack was with. he raises it high into the air. im sorry mayumi. i close my eyes and wait to die, but i dont. i open my eyes and see jeiku above me, hes holding the branch, stopping it from hitting me, hes shaking under the force of the blow, a shuriken flys through the air and hits the twin right in the kneecap, he bellows in pain and swings the branch wildly, kazuya steps out of the mist brandishing a handful of shurikens. jeiku trikes the twin with punches enhanced by chakra and kazuya throws another shuriken hitting the twins other kneecap, jeiku continues to pummel him with a barrage of hits that leave him stunned. i look over and the twin holding fuya hostage is dumbfounded, i predict its only a matter of seconds before he snaps back to reality and kills fuya. i feel anger building up inside of me it feels like its oozing out, i wont lose anyone else, i cant lose anyone else. and without realizing whats happened my prison jutsu activates, swallowing us all in darkness.
i can see perfectly but no one else can, i see them flailing around trying to reorient themselves. i spot the twin holding fuya and i draw my sword, my injuries feel as though they vanish as i prepare to attack, the only thing i can see is the twin, in an instant im in front of him, i wish this blade was a flame sword like my last, then i could see the fear in my victims eyes as i kill him. i want to take my time and torture him but i dont know how long my jutsu will last especially since i didnt consciously activate it. i slash the twins throat and blood sprays onto my face, i slice again and his head comes off of the body. i turn to the other twin so i can slaughter him but my jutsu ends.
im panting in the cold, the mist has faded and the first twins corpse is at my feet, fuya is cowering in fear and i see jeiku and kazuya holding the second twin down.
"NOOOOO" he screams and struggles against the two boys. i walk to them
"what should we do with him" jeiku asks me
"kill him"
"we shouldn't kill if we dont have to" kazuya says
"are you defying my order?" my eyes get wide and i stare kazuya down, he mutters an apology
"please dont kill me please dont" the twin says, tears pouring down his cheeks.
"i show no mercy for killers" i say coldly. i raise my sword and stab it into his throat, he gurgles on blood and i make eye contact with him the entire time, never breaking it and remaining calm. he dies there after a minute and i remove my sword. "we should continue on"
"what about the bodies" jeiku asks, fear in his voice.
"leave them" i say
i look at the man i just killed, my team probably thinks it was cruel, i call it mercy. i look at his lifeless body,
i feel nothing.