"Let go! I said release me!" Gomon screams through Shizi's mouth as her body flailed in an attempt to be freed from Kakashi's firm grip around her. The Jonin ground his teeth and tightened his hold, even when Shizi's sharp teeth bit deep into his shoulder he refused to loosen his embrace for even a second. As he waited for his daughter to return, he shifted through the clearing memories of the battle.
"Get the citizens to safety!" Tsunade commands and sends a flurry of ninja out to direct and protect the fleeing citizens of Konohagakure. The men combed through the village decimating everything they laid their eyes on. Shizi and Kakashi were sent out with the first attack wave, the pale haired man keeping a close eye on the girl beside him as they raced together over rooftops towards the growing dust cloud.
"Do you think you'll be okay, Shizi? This will be one of the most dangerous battles the village has ever faced. There's a lot at stake here, especially for you." They skid to a stop a few houses away from the battlefront.
"I know what happens when Jingxiao is taken from me, but I also know what will happen to the village if I do nothing and hide like a coward. Kandahar gave me this demon for a reason, right? I think it's time we stop tiptoeing around him and confront Gomon and this man head on. If this is a path that you can't follow me down, I understand, I can walk it alone if I must." Kakashi leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, the girl softly purring in her chest at the affection.
"I won't leave you alone in this, it's a path I will follow you down until my last breath." Together, they leapt the final few houses and dropped down into the circle of ninja around the six attackers. The front man looked to be in charge despite his frail stature and lack of weapons. His pale green orbs locked on Shizi and her dark reaper behind her and he licked his lips almost hungrily.
"Ah, so kind of you to bring me my finally piece. If you don't want to be burned to the dust like the last village we came upon, I suggest that you give me that reaper, little girl." Shizi's ears pressed flat against her skull and she hissed loudly at the smirking man. His smirk fell into a flat mask of blandness before he snapped his fingers and pointed at the brunette neko. The five men turned towards her to attack, their path blocked by Kakashi and his blood red Sharingan eye.
"Don't even think about coming near her. I'll kill you before you get the chance." He was joined by the doggish Yasei and her bladed melee staff, body loosely vibrating with a deep growl.
"Protecting the circus sideshow? How quaint. Kill them all, leave no survivors." The men lurched forward to attack, reapers swinging out like hungry fingers. Metal met metal and sparks flew igniting the others to join. Kakashi faces off with a man who held a black reaper decorated with pastel blue tints and a war hammer at the end of the staff crafted to look like a giant skull. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Shizi head straight for the leading male, reaper pulled back for the instant kill.
"No, Shizi don't!" But he was too late, she was already mid swing when he snapped his hand out to catch her attack around the staff. Shizi yanked out a Kunai and sliced at his throat, lowly growling when she just missed.
"Why do you want the Forbidden Form so badly?" She asks as she yanks free and leaps back a few feet. Kakashi didn't catch his answer due to the man finally attacking him with the blue and black weapon. It didn't take him too long to properly dispose of the man, sending his heart plopping to the dirt with a wet splat.
"This seems too easy." Mumbles the male as he turns to find his charge again. He turned in time to see the male slash out and dig her own Kunai deep into her chest. His heart slammed against his sternum and he flashed to her side to catch her as she crumbled to the earth below.
"Shizi!" The girl sucked in a deep breath before reaching up to yank out the blade before he could stop her. "What are you doing? You'll die!"
"That's the plan, Kika."
"What?" She let out a loose and shuddering breath as she tried to focus on her father above her.
"You remember what everyone says about Jingxiao right? Nobody can wield him without losing their minds." Her stormy eyes slid over to the cackling man as he moved to initiate the all powerful Forbidden Form. He was a mere few hand signs away when his fingers began to crack and deform before his eyes. His skin dried out and crumbled away as he felt the dark and evil energy of Jingxiao invade and tear apart his mind with hilarious ease. The man with so much ambition crumpled to the ground in a ball of terror and shrieking cries.
"He wasn't worthy."
"I don't get what this has to do with you planning to die."
"It was my backup plan, in case his crazy matched mine, because nobody's power matched Gomon's. If it didn't work, I was going to have him take over, he would go after the reapers and kill off the ones keeping them."
"But it worked, Shizi. Now you're dying for nothing." Her breathing began to turn shallow and weak as her body struggled to keep going.
"I know, maybe Gomon will just come with me to the other side. He told me about it, it seems like such a peaceful place." Her body stiffened as her breath dissipated from her lungs. Shizi was gone. And in her place was nothing but a shell of rage and hate.
"Come back to me, Shizi. You can't leave me behind like that." Moment by moment, her body slowly stopped fighting back and became limp against his chest.
"Kika?" His body flushed with relief and relaxation at the single word she spoke. She was back.
"Hey there, Shizi. You okay now?" She forced her exhausted body up into a stand.
"I think so. What happened? All I remember was fighting with that group for the reapers against their Forbidden Form. Did we win?" Kakashi deeply sighed and nodded.
"Yeah we won, but..." Her attention was drawn out towards the decimated village and it took her a second to realize that all of the destruction was dealt by Gomon's hand. By her hand.
"I did this, didn't I?" Kakashi violently shook his head no, this wasn't her doing.
"No, this was Gomon. He broke free as you were dying. He used your last bits of life to slip free of his seal, this wasn't your fault." Shizi stepped away from the pale Jonin, her thin hands reaching up to cover her mouth in horror.
"I did this. This is my fault, if I had been stronger..."
"Shizi this wasn't you." But he could tell she wasn't listening to him anymore, she was too busy blaming herself for the destruction around her. Kakashi felt the ends of his strength closing in and he knew he was going to black out any minute.
"Shizi, please. Don't blame yourself." His eyes rolled back and he slumped forward, the small girl lurching forward to catch him.
"You're wrong Kika, this is all my fault. I can't stay here, I need to protect you all. I need to protect you this time." She raced off to find the closest medical ninja to tend to her father's injuries.
"Jingxiao?"
"Yes, Shizi-chan?" She felt a small fracture of security fill her veins at his rumbling voice in her head.
"Did you kill that man?"
"Yes, should I have kept him alive?" She shook her head and stood from beside the prone form of Kakashi.
"No, there wasn't much use left of him to begin with. But I can't stay in Konoha anymore. We're too dangerous a partnership to be close to civilization like this."
"You're not saying that you're actually going to leave Kakashi behind? You love him, Shizi-chan." She flinched at his statement as her feet shuffled for the crumbling gate signifying the end of Konoha's boundaries.
"I know, and when he wakes I'm sure he'll hate me for this. But I cannot risk the lives of so many in such a selfish way. This is the end."
YOU ARE READING
Beautiful Monsters
Fanfiction"The true measure of a Shinobi is not how he lives, but how he dies..." Shizi Yemao's pretty smile hides her secrets and her pretty eyes have cried too many tears. It's scary what her smile has come to hide, and she has gotten better at hiding the...
