The Nine-Tailed Man

The Nine-Tailed Man: Chapter 1

Jun threw himself to the ground, the sheer beauty of the outside making his knees weak as he took it all in, the smells, the sounds, the wildlife… it was all so much to take in at once. He watched the bright red flowers push up against each other as the wind blew past them, the pollen being lifted from the center and dancing through the air before landing gently on his tails.

Shifting slightly to move the rest of his tails out from under him, he sat up and glanced back towards the entrance to Orochimarus’ hideout, the dark presence creeping its way under his skin and forcing a shiver out of him.

“What are you doing,” Juns’ head whipped to the side, his brief moment of tranquility fading as he realized Kabuto was standing over him.

“Orochimaru said I could walk around a bit-”

“Obviously you’ve spent too much time inside if you think that,” The sun hit Kabuto’s glasses, the shimmer of the sun blocking Juns’ view of his eyes. “Is called ‘walking’.” Jun stayed silent, forcing the nasty retort stuck in the back of his throat down. “Hurry up, we have experiments to run.”

“Yes sir,” Jun watched Kabuto leave, his habit of whispering things under his breath making it easy to track him as he walked through the maze of a hideout. No way I’m going back there, Juns’ ears perked up, hearing a solid metal door from within the hideout slamming shut.

Goodbye, prison. He gave a short laugh, brushing away the dirt from his tails and taking off into the forest, keeping his ears perked up to ensure there was no one pursuing him. Can’t say I’ll miss you, he added bitterly, feeling the rocks beneath him cutting into his feet relentlessly.

Jun kept moving despite the throbbing pain in his feet, the blood beginning to pool up on the ground after each step, making it easier to track him. Damnit, he cursed, looking around for anything that would cover his tracks as he moved.

The smell of fresh water wafted past him as the wind picked up, every other smell falling to the back of his mind as his scratchy throat reminded him he didn’t get his food and water rations before leaving the hideout.

His pace increased as his throat tightened, the thought of cool, refreshing water making his mouth try to water, only to make it even drier. He reached the river after a minute of stumbling into trees, finally out of the rock-covered plateau that had destroyed the undersides of his feet.

Jun dropped to his knees, his hands swan diving into the water and bringing up as much water as he could hold and splashing it against his face. He sucked in his breath, dunking his own head underwater and feeling a fish slide past his ears.

“Ah!” Juns’ head returned to the surface, the water droplets running rapidly down his face.

“Don’t move,” He froze, his failure to listen for approaching footsteps may be his last mistake. “Who are you?” The voice didn’t sound familiar, but with the water still filtering its way out of his ears it made it hard to really recognize the voice. “Who are you,” The voice repeated, a cold object pressing itself against the back of Juns’ neck.

“Jun,” He answered simply, attempting to turn around to size up his opponent.

“Don’t,” The voice warned, the object pressed against the nape of his neck being retracted slightly. “Where are you from,” Despite the fact the man was asking questions, his voice was all but curious.

“Nowhere near here,” Jun answered, holding his hands up at his sides and beginning to stand, getting no objections from his aggressor.

“Why are you here,” The voice asked, finally reaching Juns’ ears clearly as he stood, determining the voice belonged to a male roughly his height.

“I was getting a drink,” He answered, figuring that it was pretty obvious why he was at this particular spot. “Are we done playing 20 questions?” Jun asked snidely, feeling the man tense up behind him.

“Not yet,” The man replied, his free hand pulling on one of Juns’ tails. “What’s up with the tails?”

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Weeee, got some work done! I don't know how often I'll be able to update since Christmas is coming up and all... but I'll try my best!

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