guardian of the storm | ✓

Chapter Forty-Four ~ Front Lines

~Chapter Forty-Four~

When she was little, Sairen's mother would tell her stories of her aunt who'd been deemed a great warrior in the eyes of their kind.

While the shinobi had been fighting their Third Great War on land, the sirens' of the Abyss Ocean had been fighting their own war. For many years they'd been fighting against the Jormungandr which were offspring of a large demon that rested in the Rift, a space that separated the Abyss Ocean from a hellish place known simply as the Underneath. The offspring were humanoid in the sense that they had the upper bodies of humans, but the lower half was generally replaced by the body of a snake. Their teeth were iron, their claws rusted gold, their eyes black holes, and their words were poisonous if they managed to worm their way into your head.

The Jormungandr wanted to invade the Abyss Ocean, and eventually, the world. They were creatures that felt an uncontrollable urge to kill, devour, and destroy. The only line of defense that the war-torn countries above the ocean had were the sirens that lived deep in the water. And so, those sirens fought.

It was a long and bloody war, both sides equipped with tails for speed, weapons for killing, and an instinct for battle. The war seemed never ending, the ocean running red with blood. But then her aunt decided that she was going to join in the fight.

Her aunt had the purest scales anyone had ever seen, the white vibrant and a shimmering color under the dark waters. Her hair was the same shade with the ends a soft gold, her eyes gold as well. Her jewels had also been white, but her tail had been the real stunner. At six feet long with a collage of different shades of white, her fins dipped in what looked like molten gold, it was positively breathtaking.

That tail quickly became a beacon of hope for those fighting on the front lines, for her aunt was a warrior through and through. She was able to rally fraying troops and lead them to victory time and time again. During the three years that she fought, her aunt eventually fell in love with triton, the male equivalent of a siren. The two fought side and side, legends being spun about their every battle.

However, war requires sacrifice, and one day the triton she loved perished in battle. Distraught, her aunt had roared her fury. The sound caused a tsunami and it is said that that sound is what ended the battle. But in all reality, that wasn't even close to what really happened.

Her aunt's scales turned pitch black, the gold turning to silver, and with no mercy whatsoever, her aunt slew any Jormungandr that she could find. Her rampage lasted for seven days and seven nights, her now ebony hair a warning sign of the death that she was going to bring. And then, with the last bit of chakra she had left, her aunt sealed the rift shut. Her black scales became the seal, her hair the metal that clamped it shut, her silver eyes the cunning spell that was cast over the seal.

Her aunt had Fallen, had felt her heart die when the triton she loved died and had unconsciously traded her pure chakra for something much, much more sinister.

This was why sirens were given such a bad rep because the Fallen ones sometimes gave into the dark and let it consume them because they felt like they'd never find happiness again. It was also why sirens and tritons never fought side by side, because in order to Fall you had to see someone you loved die with your very own eyes in a brutal fashion. And this was why her mother would always whisper to her that she should avoid Falling at all costs.

It was too late, though, she could feel the wickedness curling through her veins, and Sairen could only hope that she didn't lose herself to the madness that ran loose in her body.

***

Eien swore that the temperature dropped a few degrees as Sairen staggered to her feet, her once vivid, purple hair a silvery gray that rippled in the wind. Her eyes snapped open, a low growl ripping through the air, and Eien felt his stomach dropped.

Sairen's eyes were wholly black.

He took a few steps back, noticing a few others that did the same. The air around her shimmered with raw chakra, a faint pressure filling the air as her scream trailed off. She suddenly releases a sound close to a roar, but even more feral, her sharp teeth glinting in the light that dared to touch her.

Even Obito looked unnerved by the sudden changed.

She stalked forward, more predator than human, her black eyes trained on Obito. Everything else seemed to have faded out of focus, her ears ringing as Aexstra's shocked expression flashed across her mind again and again. She could feel the blood drying on her skin which only added fuel on to the raging fire that had consumed her soul. She could feel the darkness slowly taking over her body, but she didn't pay attention to it, she was still in control.

A deep, primal part of her wanted to cave, wanted to let the darkness consume her until she was shadows and ash and bones. But she wasn't ready for that, she still felt that shred of humanity left in her, and she encased it in a ball of iron will before bring her focus back to the present.

She bolts across the battlefield, her speed increasing as the dark energy feeds her more power, her scales soaking in the light that hits her and radiating darkness. Winter yells out a warning as Sairen approaches Obito, worry rising up in her as she notices the reckless behavior of the changed woman.

Sairen screams her fury as she descends upon Obito, her sharpened nails getting within an inch of his face before his own chakra blows her back.

Ten seconds later, an explosion rocks the earth as Sairen hits the ground, her eyes closed. She's still breathing, the dark chakra twisting around her, but getting hit with a blast of energy like that was enough to knock anyone unconscious. Kishi flies over, her hands already radiating with healing chakra.

Obito scoffs, raising his hand. "You're all insignificant ants who don't know when they're defeated. Begone." Winter felt the surge of power, and then she was running, lightning flashing overhead as she prepares to throw up a barrier to stop the wave of dark chakra from reaching the Allied Shinobi Force. However, a flash of orange and purple beat her to it, Sasuke and Naruto using their giant techniques to stop the attack. The two then turn their attention to the man responsible for so much death, and they attack.

For the first time in her life, Winter felt small as she watched the two attack Obito, a tiny well of frustration springing up within her. These two were using their full strength against Obito, their wills unmoveable, and they were beacons of hope for those fighting. And what was she doing? She was getting her friends killed and not being able to make a dent in Obito's plans.

Winter clenched her jaw, a deep ache spreading throughout her body. Without warning a sharp feeling pulsates through her, her left forearm burning with a reminder before fading out of existence.

Absent-mindedly she touches the bandages wrapped around her forearm, a swirl of purple and orange appearing on the side of her vision as Sasuke's Susanoo envelopes Naruto's giant Kurama. She closed her eye, taking a deep breath. She knew it was reckless, and she knew that it could very well cost her, her life. But, this was war, and sacrifice was bred on the battlefield. Winter didn't want to see any more death, she wanted this war to be over, and so she was willing to unlock her full potential no matter what the consequence was.

So, for the first time in her life, Winter Ookami retreated from the front lines.

*dramatic voice* and the plot thickensssss.

I'm sorry for the semi-crappy chapter, I hope you enjoyed it though.

QotC: What village do you think you'd belong in?

Tbh I'd totally be in the Storm Village if it was part of the Narutoverse because I love the rain so much it's probably unhealthy. But I suppose if not, I'd be in the Hidden Cloud Village.