Running With Scissors: (ch2)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

All right, here we go! Chapter 2, here we come! By the way, this part is in First Person.

Running with Scissors

Chapter 2:

Pretty Fly


I looked in the direction Ryuusei was pointing. Focusing on my optical nerves, I could see them: A ragged bunch of ANBU, sprinting as fast as they could with their injuries. There must have been something horrid behind them… I slipped up, jumping straight into the air, and beat my wings, keeping myself aloft, and waited for the lovely thermal that was available throughout this shadeless plain. Once I was a few thousand feet up, I had to start beating my wings again, and I focused my lungs until they adjusted to the quickly thinning air at this mountainous elevation. Again, that sort of terrified, dropping feeling in the pit of my stomach; I gritted my beak and ignored it, choosing instead to look, with my enhanced eyes and my newfound altitude, behind the normally visible curve of the Earth that blocked most from seeing more than seven miles or so. My eyes snapped open wide.

What the hell was that doing here?

And why was it heading so fast towards us?

Were we its target?

Suddenly protective and determined, I took one last breath and stopped beating my wings, tucking them tightly against my body. Immediately, I began to fall, increasing speed only slightly, having reached terminal velocity almost right away. As I waited to fall back down, I considered my options. I could grab them all and run, wait for it (and probably have to fight), or get trampled by the terrified shinobi thundering their way towards us.

Nearing the ground, I made my decision, and, loosing an ear-piercing shriek, got their attention, as well of those of the sprinting ANBU and that running behind them, and threw out squid-like rubbery arms to snake onto the ground and slow my descent. Onee-sama was watching me, something bordering on worry flashing across her face, leaving her calm and composed. Ryuusei looked bored, and Ikin was almost jumping up and down in anticipation of my news.

Once I got to the valley floor, retracting the landing pillars, I made a mouth and started telling them, speaking rapidly, almost too fast to follow. Having shared my findings, I stretched into my ‘pleasant company’ form, and waited for conformation that they had understood me.

Ikin nodded curtly, tacking on a small grunt to show he grasped the situation. Ryuusei took a deep breath and held it, the information we had just gained scrolling through the heavy glass bangle she wore on her left wrist; it ended as quickly as it had come, leaving the perfectly smooth surface clear and unmarked.

Onee-sama twitched a few fingers, pulling me into a standing position, and had me reach towards her to make contact, assuring both of us that it was really the other, and not some impostor. We weren’t going to fall for that again; everyone nearly died last time we did.

Pushing that to the back of my mind, I paid attention to what Leader-chan was saying. His face was perfectly serious, but I saw a glint of excitement in his eyes. I smiled inwardly. He never changed.

“-- and Sei-chan, go with Fuukami and Kaeori; they’ll be incapacitated once it gets here. Wakarimashita?” He was smiling openly now, unable to contain his glee at the prospect of blood.

I nodded politely along with the other girls, biting my lip in an effort not to burst out laughing. This is serious, I reminded myself. The giggles subsided, our threesome having left Ikin behind us, building up strength; maybe he was even doing some kata while he was waiting.

We dashed towards the rising dust-cloud rising lazily behind the wounded shinobi, raising one of our own in our wake. As soon as we reached them, I reached out and pulled them in, extending my shell around all seven of us, having already moved my senses to the outer edge of my skin, so I was able to see what was happening inside as well as watching the approaching menace, judging quickly that we had about three hours and forty-eight minutes until it got here, and relayed the information as such to my companions working inside me. I felt them nod, and I turned my focus back onto the fallen soldiers.

In their haste, my sister and my companion had forgotten to remove the masks and various weapons from the four lying within my protective hide. Leaning backwards a little, I grabbed the weapons, masks, and outer clothing of our newest patients, tugging them off gently, my arms glowing green as I searched their bodies for wounds to avoid.

The first man seemed to be about my age, tall and frail. His hair was red, and I frowned slightly, lifting a bit of it to check if it was that color naturally. Weirdly enough, his hair was colored that way not because of copious amounts of fresh blood, but by genetics. How strange.

His Suna headband was clenched in his hand, almost as tattered as he was, and I began sweeping across his thin frame, healing minor injuries first as I searched for the worst bits. As I swept my hands over his pelvic area, he gasped, and I shot back up to his face, tilting my head sideways in confusion. Did I do something wrong?

The youth cracked open one eye, scanning me quickly. I drew back a bit, surprised at the accompanying flare of yellow chakra. He found me attractive? I was still a bit shaky on what was considered ‘attractive’, and I leaned forward, lowering my head until I was looking him in the eye. A flash of red caught my eye, and I noticed the blush spreading rapidly up his face and neck. Was he confused about my intentions? To prove to him I was not an enemy, I removed my hands and sat back, placing my arms at my side, exposing my vitals in a trusting gesture. His eyes widened, and his blush receded a bit, and he tried to sit up.

Immediately, I spread the ‘floor’ to hold him down in a protective shelter, restraining him from rising at all. I frowned at him, shaking my head as one would with a troublesome child. I reached up to his head, and he froze, following my hand with his eyes.

Two things happened at once.

I brushed his hair off his forehead gently, smiling at him, completely unaware of what was going to happen next.

A wave of sand grabbed me, and held me where I was, confusing and surprising me. I looked frantically down at the boy I was tending to, realizing quickly that he was controlling it.

“Let me go,” I pleaded. His eyes widened, and then narrowed. He cracked open his lips to speak, but only a rasping attempt at speech left his throat. His black-rimmed eyes dimmed, seeming almost sad. His chakra field, while normally huge, became larger as he closed his eyes. It expanded to encompass me, and searched my body. I closed my eyes, bracing for the thrust required to enter someone’s mind, which came, making me gasp.

The Suna shinobi wriggled uncomfortably, seeming not to like my discomfort, or his restraints. I retracted them, telling him with my eyes still closed, “Don’t move; you’ll just injure yourself further.” Something about the way I was treating him clicked in his mind, registering as a blip on my radar. He had realized I wasn’t going to hurt him.

Good.

With a sigh, he relaxed, all tendrils of mine, his, and his sand, retracting to their origins. I opened my eyes and began conducting an exam of his injuries.

His chest had some bruises on it, and it had had a few minor cuts as well, all of which I had already dealt with. However, there was a gash on his shoulder, traveling down to the left side of his chest. It was red and irritated; not a good sign.

Treatment time: twenty-three minutes and fourteen seconds.

When I left him, he was meditating. I still had no idea who he was, except that he was an insomniac, no sleep from birth; he was a jinchuuriki, which was surprising, but good to know; he had the kanji ‘ai’ or ‘love’ scarred on his forehead; his hair was most definitely that color naturally (just keep thinking about it); and he had no eyebrows.

That was the funny part.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Don’t worry; she’s going to tend to the other three next. By the way, she’s 14 yoa in this story.

No introductions until next chapter! However, I will tell you this:

Leader: Ikin

Glass: Ryuusei

Strong: Kaeori

Cloak: Fuukami

Hope you liked this chapter!