剣 - SᗯOᖇᗪ || Naruto x BNHA

1 - Waves

剣
CHAPTER 1
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WAVES

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I shielded my eyes from the bright sun with one hand and looked across the water that stretched to the horizon. Far in the distance, to the east, I could make out a thin strip of land, but it kept disappearing into the mist that wafted around the shores of Mizu-no-kuni.

Sighing, I guided chackra into my soles and set foot on the restless surface of the water. Between the various islands lay the sea and I had to cross it if I wanted to get home.

Home.

Since my father had died, I called a meagre hut my home, that stood a few kilometres away from the nearest village in the dense pine forest.

My father had gone completely crazy after Haku's death on the bridge, just like me. He, unlike me, had not survived.

Haku had been my brother and his sacrifice hurt as much as the loss of my father.

Since the day we destroyed Gatō, I had taken Zabuza's place in the Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananinshuu, the seven swordsmen of the mist, his name and his sword.

I was now the demon of the hidden mist and most people probably didn't even suspect that my father was no longer alive.

I had always looked incredibly similar to him and in the mist my victims could usually barely catch a glimpse of me.

I quickened my steps until I was sprinting across the water, the huge sword Kubukiribouchou on my back. Despite my speed, I moved silently, only the sound of the waves in my ear, but at a faint whistle I slowed instantly.

Just in time, I cocked my head to the side, when a kunai whizzed right past my head and if I hadn't cut it off a few days ago, my dark hair would be much shorter now.

An exasperated snort left my bandage-covered mouth.

A throw aimed at the head was always easier to dodge than one aimed at the torso.

Especially if one could assume that the opponent had the necessary reflexes to dodge such an attack, this kunai had simply been wasted. Amateur.

I turned my head back and a soft giggle escaped me. Behind me on the water stood a guy, with an orange, strangely twisted mask. As far as I could tell, he had short hair and wore a simple, dark cloak. He had his hands in the wide pockets of the cloak and was apparently eyeing me as well.

"So the new demon is actually a girl. Cute.", his childish tone irritated and annoyed me in equal measure. But now that he knew of my identity, I guess I had to eliminate him.

My hand slid to the hilt of the sword and within a moment I was behind him, blade raised to strike. Just as I was about to bring Kubikiri down on his body, he ducked.

Tsk. not bad.

A maniacal smile spread across my face. Maybe I would even have some fun in this fight. A quick exchange of blows ensued, he grazed my hair swirling through the air, I cut the sleeve of his coat.
I ducked under his next blow, rolled to the side, jumped up and swung my sword at him from the right. He narrowly blocked the blow and was pushed back by the force I had put into it. Cursing slightly, he raised his head and stared me straight in the face.

In the hole in his mask I saw something glowing red and instantly I felt dizzy. Damn.

A genjutsu?

I staggered and brought myself to safety with two quick jumps. But the feeling did not disappear, it grew stronger. Everything around me began to spin and I fell to my knees.

At the edge I felt the flow of my chakra becoming more irregular as I sank more and more into the water. Desperately, I shook my head and shakily tried to stand up. Directly in front of me, the masked man's face suddenly appeared and my blurred vision was filled by a blood-red eye.

Then I toppled backwards.

The grey waves crashed over me, blood rushed in my ears. It grew darker around me as I sank deeper and the light from the surface no longer reached down.

My eyes slowly fell shut and the air in my lungs became more and more scarce. Pathetic.

I felt my body grow cold and numb, even my thoughts were sluggish. In other circumstances I would dive for minutes, but inside my head was a whirl of grey; I no longer perceived anything at all.

I used to love the sea, ever since I learned to walk on water as a toddler, I had often spent hours on the waves, watching them. Now they were killing me, pulling me into the suffocating darkness of the sea.

What an irony.