Yo hello guys!!
This chapter has some uncomfortable scenes. As I was told.
You decide should I trim it down in future or leave it as it is.
Man, How far I have come from my fluffy-fluffy novel. I think I should also add R-18 tag. 😮💨
Well whatever. Happy Reading guys.
By the way second part is also completed. Just need final edits.
I will decide whether to release it or not in this week by the response in this chapter.
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Chapter: 6 : Scars II
The whole battlefield was silent, enemies and allies alike watched with bated breaths for the conclusion of this clash.
But for Saki, her eyes were vacant. There was no focus on them. It was her body's instincts that held the Bijuu-dama in its place.
But she was losing. Slowly but surely. Her arms, which were already bleeding, began to give. The muscles tore beneath the skin — not from the outside, but from within.
The bones in her shoulders groaned.
But the red spider lily on her back blazed.
Seals spread from it like roots, crawling across her spine, her shoulders then to her breast then down to her abdomen covering her eight-pack abs and traveling below to her thighs, locking her knees and to her toes — stitching her together even as she came apart. Every time something broke, the seal caught it. Every time her grip faltered, the seal tightened it. It was not healing her. It was refusing to let her fall apart yet.
Her legs buckled. The seal caught that too, keeping her upright through pure fūinjutsu will when her body had none left.
Blood ran freely now. From her arms. From her legs. From the corners of her eyes.
The spider lily pulsed. Once. Twice.
It was running out of time too.
×××
Inside her inner world.
Saki was following the children as they made their way to the cliff. Each step she took was an invisible weight on her.
She looked at them again, happily conversing with each other. Then the closing cliff. Her eyes slowly lost their shine. Her heart became numb.
"Sister..." she heard her brother's voice. As she looked at him. He was talking to her younger self.
"Thank you. I know why you are doing this and, I really appreciate it but; you don't have to." He said with a sad smile.
Then young Saki turned behind and looked at him for a second. Looking at those defeated eyes, Saki's anger began to rise.
"Those old folks don't know anything about you… Th— They don't have any right to judge you untalented." She finished the last sentence with gritted teeth.
"Listen Itsuki, Never let others define what you are, who you are. Ever." she said with a steeled voice.
Then she walked on..
Itsuki looked at her back with quiet admiration but
"Ahm.. Saki-nee." She whipped her head back. "It's this way," he pointed in a different direction.
Her face flushed. With gritted teeth she said "No it's this way."
"But—"
"I. said. this. way." She repeated each word.
"Y—yes" he nodded like a pecking hen.
After a very long harmonious detour. They finally reached.
"Remind me again how that merchant saw a flower?" Itsuki said with a deadpan face as he looked at the vertical cliff from below.
"Let's see for ourselves." She grinned and began unpacking some kunai, ropes and other things.
"Right…" he sighed and began helping her.
Then they both started climbing. Even for them, with chakra already awakened, it was an arduous climb.
The first to reach was Saki, then she extended her hand to her brother and pulled him up. Then they both took long breaths to regain their energy.
Then they looked at the magnificent view from above. Forests stretched for miles. Big trees everywhere their eyes could see, and a few miles away a road — that connected their clan to the port town.
"It's beautiful," Itsuki said, looking at the horizon. It was the first time that he saw a world outside of their clan. His eyes held the beauty this world has to offer.
He didn't say anything else. He just kept looking, like he was memorising it.
"Hmn,"younger Saki said. As she also looked at the scene.
They both sat there for a few minutes.
"Let's find the flower now." young Saki said after they regained their stamina.
"Hmn" Itsuki nodded and also stood up.
Then they walked past real Saki once more.
The real Saki was watching her brother this whole time. Then she extended her hand one last time to stop them, hoping against hope. But the reality was cruel, her hand passed through again.
She walked with vacant eyes but her face was as cold as ice and began walking in a different direction, not once looking at them. As if she knew their last destination. And came face to face with the same flower once again. A Red Spider Lily.
A void-like crack appeared at the place of her seal matrix. Slowly but surely cracks spread from it.
But she didn't notice it, her entire focus was on the flower. Its deep, crimson red stood in contrast sharply from the green surrounding. She still remembered the first time she saw it, how mesmerized she was by its beauty. But now…. nothing, only a void.
After a few minutes of staring, she heard movement behind her but she didn't turn.
"Wow… Saki-nee, come here." Itsuki shouted for his sister.
A few moments later, she also appeared. Both children stared at the flower. Awed by its beauty.
"I told you the information was right." she said with a small smile.
"Hmn"
Then they both came closer to the flower and phased through the real Saki who was standing in front of it.
They began to examine it from all angles.
"It has weird petals" Saki said
" Hmn… and a very thin stem. How is it even standing?" Itsuki nodded and asked his own question.
Then Saki poked her finger at it.
"Hey, don't do that… What if it breaks? It's a rare flower." he reprimanded her.
"Hmp.. it would not have survived on a cliff if it was that weak," she replied.
"And you mister. It seems you forgot how to talk with your big sis. Need some beating." She cracked her knuckles menacingly but her eyes held amusement.
Which he failed to notice and shook his head frantically.
"Pufff.. hahahaha…" she laughed at him and then they began to bicker with each other. Ignoring their surroundings.
But the real Saki could feel it, but could do nothing.
Except watch. And she did.
After a few moments of their back and forth. Saki began to rummage through her bag.
"What are you looking for?" Itsuki asked
"Duh.. something to carry this thing" she pointed her thumb at the flower.
"Ahh.. yes" he nodded in understanding.
As Saki was crouched beside the flower and focused on her backpack.
Splash.
Some liquid landed on her face. "HuH??" She extended her hand and rubbed her face. And looked down at her palm which was crimson. Her eyes narrowed into pinpoint.
Thud.
She heard something falling. She looked up at her brother. Who still stood still… but his head was missing.
Behind him stood real Saki, she had seen everything from the movement she heard in the trees, to the blade descending through her. In an agonising slow motion.
Her face didn't even twitch. But her eyes were different things, they were completely dead, no light in them and tears were spilling from them, through her cold face to her chin.
The void behind her now completely covered her back and lines were spreading through her shoulders and thighs. But the pain from it was nothing compared to her inside. She felt like someone had plunged his hand through her chest, and grabbed her still beating heart and crushed it mercilessly.
She thought after so many years these scars were beginning to heal. But now after seeing this again, she realised some scars never healed and the pain never lessens.
Her dead eyes moved from the headless corpse to her younger self who was still processing everything.
"Kukukuku.. we got ourselves a treat." came a disgusting voice from behind her and a man phased through her.
"Who ordered you to kill the boy?" An angry voice came beside the man. And another man appeared and behind him five more came one after another surrounding the area.
"C'mon boss. We got the girl. She could sell at a hefty price and she is an Uzumaki." he looked at Saki up and down, licking his lips. " I heard they have a nice grip, wanna try?" He asked.
"..." Nobody replied, all were looking at the leader. Who was still fuming.
"Karasu, if we had both of them. They both would have fetched us a good amount." he said with gritted teeth. If karasu was not the strongest in his mercenary team he would have killed him long ago.
Saki who was still looking at her brother's corpse with eyes that were slowly losing their hope. Her brain refused to accept his death.
She didn't register anything from her surroundings, her ears were ringing, the edges of her vision were blurring.
She was in denial.
Then she felt herself lifted as a sack of potatoes on someone's shoulder. She didn't react. She gave up. Looking at the corpse that was still spraying blood. Her eyes were now becoming the same as her older self.
Real Saki hadn't moved from her place. Her eyes were only on her brother. Who lay motionless. Then shifted to the flower that was now covered completely in blood.
As Karasu picked up her younger self. She didn't even bat an eye. She didn't know what happened after her brother's death nor was she interested. She only remembered snippets of it that were mostly covered in blood. But she knew she would stand here again.
So she waited here no matter how long it took.
The cracks were now covering her whole body. Like a cracked glass, if pushed slightly it would break apart.
"Kukukuku.. She has a nice rack." Karasu said from behind as his hand roamed all over Saki's body. Trying to entice others.
Others ignored him and the leader gritted his teeth but didn't reply. They continued ahead. Karasu trailing them.
"Tch… suckers." He clicked his tongue both at them and the girl he was carrying like a potato stack.
'She broke easily.' that he didn't like it. He liked to see the light vanish from her eyes slowly as he ravaged her. He should have not killed the boy. 'At least she has a nice body.' he grinned and began groping her again.
Saki didn't know how much time had passed.
As they covered some distance from the cliff and moved opposite from the clan grounds.
Saki's eyes landed on her hand which were bloodied and her sleeves, from it a kunai's tip was peeking. She took it in her bloodied hand. A flash of her brother's smiling image appeared in her head with it came his headless corpse.
Tears finally appeared from her eyes.
She tightened her grip, eyes dead, she took the kunai and.. pointed the tip towards her neck and plunged it.