Shirinai: Ren's Rescue

The woods we traveled were hot and dry. The animals hid in their homes from the sun scorching down and a hot breeze tortured us. Me, Kyoma, and Tryga walked the long road. Kyoma is our team's tallest, 6'5'' with a short afro and wore Grey shorts and a Grey, fur hooded garb, and my cousin. I'm next at 5'10'', with ebony dreads past my shoulders and I wore a green armored garb with blue cuffed pants. And next is Tryga 5'9'', extremely muscular, with spiky black hair and wore an all red garb shirt that looked like the sleeves were ripped off, pants designed with flames on them. We are Team Ryu X, ninja bounty hunters. Our female partner Ren was out on a mission so we replaced her with Tryga, our cousin so we don the name Ryu X. Our partners followed closely behind. My partner, Ryu, is a lizard. He is 8 foot long from snout to the tip of his tail. He walks on all fours, as all lizards do, and is 5 foot tall when he walks, but, when he stands on his hind legs he's 7 foot tall. He's Emerald Green, with multiple spikes protruding from his back like razor blades. Shadow, Kyoma's snake partner, is a 6 foot long snake, ebony like night and crimson eyes. And last, Tora, Tryga's partner, a 10 foot long tiger with brilliant orange and black stripes. "Aye Gary," Kyoma called out, I turned my head to the side. "Yea?" I asked. "We get to kill the creature?" he raised an eyebrow "Yea.". We were on our way to a village where a monster was wreaking havoc and making it dangerous to leave their homes. "Damn, it's hotter than a camel's ass out here" I complained as I took off my shirt. Everyone laughed. The woods weren't usually this hot, and it wasn't the sun either. There was a large cave emitting the heat, well that was the rumor, and the air was desert dry. Everyone except Ryu and Shadow seemed to suffer from the heat. We heard a river nearby and decided that would be the best way to travel. The air by the river was a little better, the air was cooler and more peaceful, yet the heat still lingered. We all jumped in the 10 feet deep water and began to swim downstream. We were swimming for 15 minutes and had made it a mile before we realized Tora wasn't with us. "Ah God Dammit!" Tryga yelled. "What is it?" Kyoma asked. "That damn tiger stayed behind." he complained. "Ok, everyone to the bank." I sighed. We swam to the bank of the river. Tryga mumbled under his breath like an angered old man. "Ok who's goin', 'cause I'm not walking up that far" Kyoma bragged. I volunteered, "C'mon Ryu!" We began running up stream. RWe ran and ran until we met out destination. I stopped. 10 yards ahead of us, Tora was struggling with a large creature.

"Ryu! Go tell Kyoma and Tryga, Tora is being attacked!" I told him. He drove into the water and torpedoed back downstream.  My hands shook violently "W-what is that thing?" The animal was demon like. It looked like a humanoid angler fish with a thick coat of slime covering it, its claws were webbed and it was an evergreen color. There was a familiar look about it yet I took no thought. It stood 9 feet tall and screeched violently. It threw Tora into a nearby tree, knocking it down. I didn't think and charged The animal faced me and let out and ear screeching roar. I jumped into the air and landed an earth shaking axe kick on it’s head but didn't faze it. It grabbed my leg and flung me like a rag doll into the river. I sank like a rock, unable to catch myself. My nose and mouth filled with the cold water. I hated not being able to swim without Ryu. My senses regained when a loud splashed came from the surface of the water. "Aw crap!" it had had thrown me into its territory. It jetted around me. I drew my kunai and stayed planted firmly at the bottom of the river. I couldn't keep up with it’s lighting fast speed, it attacked at every angle. The small breath of oxygen I had sucked in was depleting. I saw the creature's eyes peering at me from behind a rock.

My senses became fuzzy; my lungs were going to explode. It’s white row of jagged teeth and its red eyes headed for me. I had to act. "Earth Style, Undersea Mountain!" I planted my hand firmly on the river bed, causing a mini mountain to raise and lift me out of the water. Oxygen filled my suffocated lungs. I lost strength from the relief, and fell to my knees. Just as my eyes closed from the relief the creature exploded from the water at me. There was a black blur, in front of me; Kyoma appeared like a Black Mamba recoiling after striking, "HA! You're sushi!" He slashed the creature' dorsal fin with his Snake Blade. A sword black as Shadow's scales, forged from his shed skin. It let out a horrid cry and landed next to me. I saw it struggles to get back into the water but Tryga had grabbed it by the tail "Where do you do think you're going?" He wrapped a muscular arm around the beast, gripping it like a tiger gripping its prey. I struggled to my feet. "Haha I can't believe you let that thing whoop your ass like that!" Kyoma chuckled. "Forreal Dude!" Tryga agreed. I frowned, "I can't breathe underwater!" I complained. The animal struggled to get free but Tryga wouldn't let it.

"Where's Tora?" I asked, surveying the creature. Kyoma turned toward the bank of the river where Tora was laying with an intense angered look on his face. "You ok Tora?" The tiger's face remained intense, "I'm fine" the tiger growled. The creature began to dry up. My mind was elsewhere. The familiarity of the creature was soul-chilling yet I ignored it. “I'm going to kill it Tora so hold tight" I held my hand out. I gathered Earth Chakra in my hand and swirled it, then rocks were drawn in "Dragon Blade!" I thrust the ball into the animal's chest. It let out an ear slitting scream before disappearing into a cloud of blue smoke. "Nice." Tryga commented.  It wasn’t a natural animal, it was a summoning. Something wasn’t right. Kyoma sheathed his sword and jumped back into the cool blue water. No more hesitation, we all did.

 We swam on. The day began to turn to dusk, the sky darkened. The heat still lingered stifling the air. We noticed the sound of crashing waves in the distance and the air became salty. "Oh crap" Kyoma murmured. The water began to speed up, "Everyone get ready!" Tryga called. The water sped up instantly, making it almost impossible to swim. "RYU! TAKAMARU BEAST FUSION!" Ryu turned into chakra and fused with me. I felt claws burst from my fingers, my reptile tail grow, and my canines grow into fangs. My senses were boosted too. I could smell the ocean and almost of the animals nearby. I felt the muscles in my legs explode with strength but it wasn’t enough. Next to me I heard Tryga yell "TORA! Tiger claws!" and Kyoma "Buster Blade!" Kyoma was surfing his seven foot long, foot wide sword."Where's Tryga!" Kyoma called. "I'M OVER HERE!" But before we could look where his voice came from, we hit the edge of the raging river and were headed over a waterfall.

When I woke up on a small boat, with Ryu wrapped around me. "You're awake, Gary?" Ryu asked moving his head toward me. "Yeah, I'm awake, Ryu." I sat up I felt like crap, water logged. "Where'd the boat come from?" I asked in completely amazement. Kyoma was sitting crossed legged with his sword laid across his lap, asleep. Shadow’s crimson eyes sparkled from his hood. Tryga was paddling the boat. The air was getting hotter. It was like a sauna at it’s hottest, yet the air was filled with a dense mist. The ocean was still, no waves or sounds. Tryga tilted his head "We're almost there Gary. Isn't this where Ren is from?" he said ignoring my question. I remembered that the request to slay the monster came from Ren's home village. "Yeah..." I answered still wondering where the boat came from. Ryu's head lifted. "Something is out there." he growled. Tora's ears perked up, "It's in the direction" he stood and faced the left side of the boat. Thirty yards away, a yellow sphere flashed at us from below the water. I was shocked when Kyoma rose, "I'll check it out". He walked out onto the water, focusing his chakra to his feet so he wouldn't sink. Tryga anchored the boat where we were.

A chill went down my spine as I watched my cousin walk toward the object. He was two feet away from it when he was engulfed in water and pulled under. "GAH!" I was filled with terror. There was a struggle underwater then Kyoma exploded from under the water. "Shadow! Orochi no Kutana!" Shadow turned into Shadow Chakra and fused with Kyoma’s sword. A tentacle of water jetted after him. "Get away from me!" He yelled as he swung his black glowing sword at the tentacle, cutting it in half. There was a loud screech, similar to the one the animal had made. "That chakra-" before I could finish my sentence the glowing sphere came out the water. "What the hell is that?" Tryga shouted. Kyoma took stance ready to fight, "It's an eye!" Kyoma called. My eyes were drawn to the orb in the air, I caught glimpse of a light green pupil. Water swirled around the eye, creating a human-like shape at least 15 foot tall. "Crap!" Kyoma yelled. "What is that?" Tryga asked. My jogged through my memory of attacks to remember figure which this one was. "It looks like an imperfect water clone" I answered with uncertainty. The figure towered over Kyoma menacingly. It began a furry of rabid attacks, Which Kyoma dodged with speed and precision. "GARY! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO IS SMARTEST HERE, COME UP WITH SOMETHING FAST!" Kyoma said narrowly dodging every attack. "Cut it!" I yelled. Kyoma rolled backwards and then thrusted out at the behemoth, striking like a King Cobra with one powerful strike. It split in half then reformed. "Gary!" He yelled. "Hold on!" Tryga responded. My mind raced; "Water puts out Fire, Fire burns Wind, Wind Diminishes Lighting, Lighting scorches Earth, Earth absorbs Water!" I figured it out.

"Ryu, stay here." I demanded, "What can I do!?" Tryga asked. "Uhhhh, just stay here!" I hopped out of the boat and onto the water. Kyoma backed to my position. "What do you have planned" He asked me. My heart sank at the question, I couldn't answer. A feeling of weakness came upon me when I realized I couldn't use my Earth Style jutsu. "I can't attack." I whispered. "What do you mean you can't attack?" Kyoma asked. "The Water Chakra that thing is giving off is keeping me from using Earth Style. Like Ren's aura..." I said. Kyoma gave a questioning look. Before he could ask his question the humanoid attacked. I jumped into the air, without hesitation I attacked back "Megaton Slam!" I smashed both of my feet into it’s stomach. It’s body of pure Water Chakra tried to absorb me, but I focused my chakra to my feet, causing a physical reaction. The humanoid was pushed backward. As I descended, Kyoma attacked where I did. His sword was engulfed in Darkness Chakra. It screamed. Kyoma landed next to me. Without wasting anyytime, I jumped into the air. Now I was in the humanoid’s face, the eye eerie. "Dragon claw!" My right hand slashed through the water; dispersing it from the eye it slammed me back onto the water. "Dragon Blades!" I called. Ryu rolled into a ball and smashed the yellow orb. The humanoid exploded into a thousand needles like drops of water that began to rain on us. Kyoma's hand grabbed my shoulder. "Shadow Style!" he said as he pulled my body sank into a shadow. We emerged in the boat, with Ryu standing next to us. "Look!" Tryga pointed to where the humanoid was, the orb glowed in the misty distance "You cannot take us." a voice echoed, before it faded away. The fear we felt was as thick as the mist "It wasn't destroyed." Shadow said. "Do you think that was the monster?" Ryu asked. We looked at each other and remained silent. No one wanted to guess that it was. First the fish like monster, then this, it was obvious. The rest of the way we were all lost in our own thoughts.

My thoughts were of when I first met Ren. I woke up in a nearly empty room. By the door was a jar filled with needles and a window pane filled with flowers. Then Ren walked in. Jet black hair, almond shaped eyes, light skinned and a thin figure. A beautiful girl my age. The house that I met her in was in the village we were going. The heat intensified as we reached the village. I slid my hand over into the cold water. "The mist is getting denser." Tyga stated as the view ahead of us became more and more hazy. "Because we're here." Kyoma answered. We anchored the boat and walked ashore. We walked though some woods before reaching the village. It seemed deserted; businesses were closed, no one on the streets, and houses were dark. "Where we goin?" Kyoma asked. We realized he had no clue to where exactly we were supposed to go. "We have to find the Umi clan." I replied. Ryu, Shadow and Tora eyed the village. "Aw c'mon this is gunna take forever." Tryga complained. "You got a better idea?" Kyoma retorted. I knew he was going to do something stupid in response. "HEY UMI CLAN!" Tryga roared. Kyoma laughed, "That might work.” There was a moment of silence. From the distance, a spinning disk of water came shooting out at Tryga. He jumped up and punched it, dispersing it. We stared in the direction the disk came from, ready to fight. "Who are you?" a voice called. "We're Team Ryu X. Hired by the Umis." I replied with anger. The tension was thick, through the mist, a small figure emerged.

"Oh!" The boy said surprised. We were all shocked, it was just a kid. "I'm Erin Umi." The boy was no older than ten with black hair and light skin. We all eased up a little."Haha Mini Micro Ninja!" Kyoma chuckled. Tryga's face showed that he didn't think it was funny. "So, why are you out here?" I questioned. "My parents sent me to sit and wait for you. He answered" "At least he's polite." Tryga stated. He was right, but something seemed strange. "Well you know why we're here?" I tested. "To kill the monster" he answered. “Your parents let you stay out here with the monster on the loose?” Kyoma asked him. “Yeah, I can protect myself.” Erin laughed. That made me uneasy. We began walking eastward, "Who wrote the letter requesting our help?" I pressed further. "My parents." As we walked I noticed something was bothering Tryga. "What's wrong?" I asked. "Nothing, it's that that little kid is stronger than he looks. It took a lot more strength than I thought to break that Water Disk." Ryu noted the farther we walked, the nicer the houses and the bigger the businesses got. Tryga tapped Kyoma's shoulder "That Water Disk took a lot more to disperse then it seemed, he's stronger than he seems." Kyoma narrowed his eyes. "Rich part of town," I heard Shadow say. "Yeah and we're the only black ninjas here" Kyoma remarked. We laughed. I assumed we were but didn't truly know.

After 5 more minutes of walking we came to a big gray stone wall. "Here." Erin said. There was a big steel gate in the wall, he walked over and pushed it open. The house was big and beautiful. It was a light blue like the sky, built with bamboo wood boards. The yard was all rock solid ground except a few patches of grass and the dark green bushes growing against the house. We followed Erin to the front door. When we reached the front door Erin stopped. "Hey, can I pet your tiger?" he asked timidly. We all gave a surprised look except Ryu, Tora, and Shadow; Tora began purring and rubbed himself against Erin. With a smile Erin began rubbing Tora. "He is just a kid." Tora reminded us. The little boy seemed extremely happy to pet Tora, which brought a childish smile to my face. Tora seemed happy to be petted. When we were little, I remember when we went on a mission, Tora always wanted to play. Now from what I heard from my aunt, they never play, only train. "Thank you." Erin said. I smiled. "No problem." Tryga answered. Erin slipped his shoes off and opened to front door. "I'll tell my parents you're here". We nodded as he slid through the door. I turned to see Kyoma staring into the sky, "What's wrong?" I asked. He squinted his eyes, "You notice that the mist around the village is denser than everywhere else?" he said. I thought back to when we entered the village, "Yeah, you're right…" I replied. The mist that surrounded village was thick enough so slow us down. I walked back to Tryga. I stared out into the sky for awhile until I heard a rustling from inside. "Come in," Erin said, "My parents are waiting for you in the first room on the left." Then his head disappeared back into the house. "Are we supposed to take our shoes off?" Tryga asked. Kyoma chuckled, "I'm not!"

He slid the door and walked in. "What about us?" Tora asked, not budging a step from the front porch. He and Ryu weren't sure if they were allowed in but I didn't care. "Yeah you guys come in." The inside of the house was seemed plain. At least a hundred pictures were on the walls. At the end of the hall there was an open room filled with gold and ornaments. Kyoma was staring into the trophy case. "Kyo! Get over here!" Tryga whispered. I walked over to a picture frame that hung by the door we were to enter. In the picture there was a young couple with three kids. The farther looked tense whereas the mother looked loving. She was holding a baby that I assumed to be Erin. Next was the middle child, she didn't seem happy to be in dress. The oldest child was a very smart looking girl. It was an interesting family photo. I soon sensed Kyoma walking towards me. "Let's go in now." He said. "Come on, Ryu." I thought. "I'm right here." he answered aloud.

I slid the door open and walked into the dark room. The fireplace in the small room was lit and off to the left side of the room was the Umis sitting in a small desk. I took a couple steps forward to make sure Kyoma and Tryga followed behind me, then I walked to the three seats in front of the Umi's desk. "I am Gary Takamaru, leader of Team Ryu X." Mr. Umi looked a little confused and suspicious "Team Ryu X? I called for Team Ryu." He said rubbing his chin. I was a little irritated by his question but Kyoma and Tryga introduced themselves and then I answered his question. "We are Team Ryu X because our third member is out and we replaced her with our cousin." He nodded in acceptance. We all sat in the three chairs facing the Umis. They were clearly the young couple I had seen in the picture outside the door. Time had also clearly passed since then. Mrs. Umi looked as if she hadn't slept in a week and Mr. Umi was just as grim. "We have hired you to slay the monster that has been seen roaming the village and causing this blazing heat wave." Mr. Umi said. "Wait! It's been in the village?" Tryga asked. Mrs. Umi nodded, "Yes, it was said to be a humanoid figure, wondering around in the woods and found its way into town."  Ryu lifted his head"The same monster Kyoma fought before. That's strange, and it never attacked anyone?" he thought. I repeated Ryu’s thoughts out loud to the Umis. "No. It hasn't. In fact no one has even ever come in close contact with the monster but when it comes to town the air becomes dry and arid." Mrs. Umi replied. I glanced at Tryga who rubbed his chin. "So,. its ten thousand to kill the monster right?" Kyoma asked. Mr. Umi's face went grave "Yes, if you kill the monster." "That's a lot of money" Tryga added. "Yeah and you guys are a powerful village, why couldn't you guys defeat the monster yourselves?" I asked. Mrs. Umi looked uneasy, and put her head down. "We have tried, we've even sent a child of ours, our oldest daughter is out of country for schooling, and Erin is much too young, so we sent our middle aged daughter," Mr. Umi said with a mad look "and of course she couldn't do it. We sent her week ago." In a rage he stood up and turned his back to us "She probably ran off to go with her rag tag group of drop out ninjas." He said with displeasement. Mrs. Umi began to cry “ Oh my..” The middle child in the photo ran through my mind. "What's your daughter's name?" Kyoma asked. "Ren." Mr. Umi hissed. My heart sank and I flinched. Ryu began growling.  Mr. Umi’s head jerked toward Ryu. "Ren?" I could feel the anger building inside me "I'll go, but I'm not going for you or your money. I'm going for Ren." Without another word, I stood up and walked out. A rage had built up inside me like I had  Behind me Ryu followed. A rage had build up inside of me like I had never felt before. When we got out into the hall I looked at the picture frame again. Ren, my bestfriend. I couldn't believe how they didn't care about her. "We have to go and get her." Ryu thought to me. I answered out loudv without hesitation "We will, trust me." I paced up and down the hallway for what seemed like an endless lifetime. Ryu sat and waited patiently by the door waiting for someone to come out. Soon enough Shadow slithered through a crack in the door. "Well this is going to be a long mission." He hissed. I raised an eyebrow, "They said the monster may be water elemental, it's sucking the water out of the air." "So how is the mist getting here?" I asked. Shadow curled up next to Ryu "I assume that they're creating the mist themselves, the monster has to be sucking the natural ocean mist from the air, thus causing a heat wave. A mist jutsu can’t return the temperature to its normal cool state." Suddenly the door slid open. Kyoma came storming out of the room, followed by Tora and Tryga. Without asking any questions I got up and headed out the front door with Ryu and Shadow. When we all convened outside on the porch, Tryga answered the question I began to ask "Behind the house there is a forest, we continue east till we reach the cave that the monster is in." Shadow slithered into Kyoma's hood. I was ready to go. Ren was waiting at the other end of this adventure, and I wasn't going to make her wait long. I began to walk off when the Umi's front door opened "WAIT!" Erin's voice yelled. We stopped. He walked toward me with his hand clutched. "Here" He opened his hand to revealed six light blue orbs. "Thank you…" I said, "What is it?" Tryga asked. "Water orbs," Shadow answered "They contain a vast amount of compressed water chakra." Erin nodded "Yes that's what they are. The heat is going to be strong". We each took two of the blue balls and put them in our pouches. Then without a thank you we turned around and headed out the gate.

I instantly began running. I knew Ren needed us, so we were coming. Kyoma and Tora lagged behind, which made me anxious, but I didn't want to stop. The mist began to clear and the sun began to shine through the trees. "Gary, stop!" Tryga said. We stopped, Tryga was digging in his pouch, and "I have something for you guys." Kyoma was pacing back and forth like something was bothering him. Shadow gave Ryu a look but I didn't think anything of it. "Here it is!" he pulled out four oil filled exploding kunai. "Fire exploding kunai." Shadow said. It was a thick solid glass kunai with two exploding tags at the end. One read: Katon. "What does that do? Kyoma asked. Shadow slithered a little bit more out of Kyoma's hood, "When broken the oil splatters causing an explosion and the fire tag to explode into flames, causing a bigger explosion of flames. There are other kunai too. Earth, Air, and Ice." We looked at the kunai, and then took them. "Why do you only have fire?" Kyoma asked. Tryga looked a little bit embarrassed then answered "They are the cheapest ones I could get." Without another word we took off again. The air was dry and the trees were drying as went on. I also noticed there was no wildlife. The monster had to be causing all of this. In the distance through the trees, I could see the beginning of a mountain range, and the cave where the monster was said to dwell. We reach the mouth of the cave and stopped. "Damn this heat!" Tryga roared. I reached into my pouch and pulled out the light blue orb Erin had given me and swallowed it. The heat was gone, a wave of cold water energy washed over my body. I fed the other to Ryu. "You guys use the water orbs?" I asked. Everyone nodded. Shadows eyes caught my attention, they seemed to gleam more than usual. "Shadow, Ryu, will you guys be ok? I know reptiles dehydrate fast when it's too hot." Tryga asked. "Yes, but that doesn't matter we have to go get Ren" Shadow said. Tora agreed, "Yeah, let's go get your friend!" With that we began into the cave.

As we got deeper into the cave, it became darker and darker. My nerves began to rack at the fact I couldn't see. Soon it was pitch black and I couldn't see a thing. "I hate that you guys can see and I can't.” I speaking on the fact that Tora, Shadow and Kyoma could see in the pitch black. "Hey stop complaining I can't see either, and you don't hear me complaining." Tryga growled. I kicked the back of his legs to shut him up. Ryu and Tora, who were walking behind us, began talking. When I tried to listen they talked lower. "What's going on Ryu?" I thought. There was a moment of silence then he replied in thought, "Nothing." So I ignored them. Kyoma, who was in front of us began to teeter back and forth as if dodging something, but before I could ask I felt something crunch and splatter under my foot. "What was that?" I said caught off guard. "Nothing! Keep walking" Ryu said sharply. Ahead of me I heard Kyoma sigh. I reached into my pouch and took out two kunai and strung a flame onto a wood kunai. A bright flame illuminated the area around me. My heart sank and I began to sweat, I was terrified. Under my foot were the white blood and the remains of a smashed cockroach. I looked around and hundreds of rabbit sized cockroaches scattered from the light. "Oh no." Ryu whispered. Fear took over. I felt my body losing control. The roaches were everywhere. "I hate roaches!" suddenly a massive amount of Earth Chakra exploded into my hand, and it manifested itself in the shape of a sword. I began to attack like there was no tomorrow. There was blood and entrails everywhere, cockroach bits flew throughout the cave. I couldn't stop, I felt like my life was going to end.

"Die! Die! Die!" I screamed in a blaze of fear. Then I couldn't move. We I began to calm down I noticed Tryga had his arms under mine, I tried to budge free but it was no use. "Calm down dude it's not that serious." Tryga said. I flinched, he had me restrained. I heard Kyoma sigh then Tryga released me. "I told you." Ryu said to Tora. I turned around and glared at Ryu. I've always hated bugs, and this had to top it. I felt someone pulled me by my shirt so I turned and continued to walk.

After ten more minutes of walking, the soil began soft and mushy. "The soil shouldn't be this soft this deep in the cave, unless there's a water source" I thought. "Stop!' I said out loud. I bent over and touched the soil. "What is it?" Kyoma asked. "The water that's softening the ground has water chakra in it." Tryga inspected the soil for a bit. "It leads to the wall, this wall isn't natural" Tora said. I thought for a moment. "Is it hollow on the other side?" Shadow asked. I walked to the wall and put my hand on it, I could sense in was a thick wall but not there was opening on the other side. "Yeah it's hollow." I answered. Shadow climbed out of Kyoma's hood and slithered to the wall, transformed into shadow energy and diffused through the wall. Within seconds he was back. "I heard a loud scream, there is a three way split on the other side of this!" He told us. Tryga quickly run to the wall, and with a swift jab, broke the wall down. "YOU COULDN'T DO THAT BEFORE?" Kyoma scolded. Tryga snapped back, "I wasn't gunna waste my time trying to break an unbreakable wall!" Every muscle in his arm rippled and bulged. The dust clouds cleared, and ahead of us was a three way split.

We all took a step forward. Ryu stood next to me, with an aggravated look on his face. "Here!" Kyoma threw a black ball no bigger than a cherry to me. "What's this?" Tryga asked, playing with the ball. "It's a teleportation ball, you yell activate and it will bring your partners to you." As he finished his sentence as ran down the middle corridor. "Left!" Ryu announced and ran down the one on the left. I glanced at Tryga before taking off after Ryu. The cave was dimly lit by a light source coming from in the far distance. Ryu ran silently ahead of me. The wait to get the end of the cave was endless. As I ran my drifted off to when Ryu and I were training for battles involving water. My brother Leo had told me that because of my 7 tailed Beast Earth Chakra I wouldn't be able to swim if I used it. Ryu and I trained forever to work out that flaw. I realized if I used my regular earth chakra, I could still swim, and even still walk on water. I also found out that Ryu could still swim. I came back to mind and we neared the light. The light was coming from a small fire placed on the left wall of the cave. Ryu inspected the flaming sticks. "Fire could mean Ren's near…." As he said that, there was a scuttle on the ceiling. I looked up, and seen a flash pass the lit part of the wall. Ryu growled. "What is it?" I thought. I slowly walked forward to Ryu, who took defense position. The scuttling got louder, "RYU WHAT IS IT?" He began backing away from the fire, pulling me with his tail. As we backed away, a figure began to show in the light. "Are you serious….?" A cockroach standing at least 10 foot tall emerged into the light. It was hideous, a bug straight from hell, its mandibles clicked and snapped and its huge black eyes remained locked on me. Ryu growled louder and in sharply cocked his head in his direction and began clicking wildly. "Dammit! Dammit! Are those things afraid of light?" The roach didn't seem to be bothered by the fire. Ryu took a step forward, growling louder. I tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't answer. Ryu jumped at the roach, it raised his clear wings and began flailing around. Ryu went into a rage of beastly attacks, so savage and beastly I couldn't believe my eyes, he was like a wild animal. I struggled to talk to him but his mind was blocked with primal fury. In the corner of my eyes there was a flutter, another large roach was approaching. "RAAAAHHHHH!" There was a sharp pain in my eyes, I screamed and covered my eyes. I felt a strain; I couldn't keep them open. "W-what's happening to me?" Finally I broke through the pain and opened my eyes. I was looking through Ryu's eyes, his vision was mine. The cockroach wasn't just a bug, the size made an extreme threat.

As it rushed towards me, I prepared to attack. Beastly rage consumed me. The giant roach took flight and lunged at me. I dropped to the floor, and as it passed over me I kicked it in the abdomen. I was flung backwards, and smashed against the cave wall. It was stunned, I took my chance. I ran full speed at the bug, but suddenly everything went dark. "Ryu!" I called into the darkness. "I'm right here, Gary." I looked down to see him at my feet. Suddenly I felt my body begin pulled up. Slowly I was being pulled out of the shadowy darkness. 

Emerging head first, I saw Kyoma to my right and Tryga to his. "Found her..." Tryga mumbled. I took a moment to survey my surroundings. It was a large cave, bigger than any normal cave should be. Stalactite hung from the ceiling of the cave over a large river dark blue lake that seem that seemed to get more condensed father in. At the far end, 500 feet from the shore, a colossal blue orb floated over the lake. "Ren is in that?" I asked. Tryga nodded, "I can sense her." Kyoma said. I became panicked, I didn't want to wait. "Who found this place?" Ryu asked. "We did," Tora answered "We called you guys here." There was paralyzing filling in the air. I glanced out toward the glistening orb. "C'mon! Let's go!" I yelled. "Gary, wait!" Kyoma yelled. I turned and growled "Why?" I became enraged. Shadow slithered out of his hood, "There's someone out there." Kyoma pointed into the water.

"HAKHAKHAKHAKHAKHAKHAK!" We all turned to the giant orb where the laugh came from. A dark womanly figure emerged from under the water. She was dresses lavishly in black and yellow gems. Her eyes were dark and her smile evil. "Not another one? Damn the Sins." I growled. "She told me you would come for her." The figure said. "The little fool wasn't wrong about that." "What's a Sin?" Tryga asked. Kyoma clenched his teeth "A Sin is one of the seven ninjas created by the 8 tailed Snake to kill me and cause chaos on the world." "Only we can sense them, because their powers are essence to ours" Shadow added. "What do you want with Ren?" I demanded. The Sin ran her fingers on the orb,"A long time ago, a cult of ninjas began experimental summonings. Their most powerful summoning was halted by the Black Ops, thus the creature wasn't fully summoned. When I heard of the girl with the power to turn her body to water, I figured her powers would bring the beast to its full form," her head tilted to the side "to destroy the land." Kyoma drew his sword, "Why are you still here? Why haven't you summoned the monster to do it?" I narrowed my eyes and took a step forward. "The girl was strong, she even almost killed me. I had no clue she was endowed with the 3 Tailed Turtle’s Water Chakra, but the envy in her heart was stronger. After nearly killing her, I trapped her in this water prison. In her last ditch efforts to resist, she told me her teammates would come looking for her," She lifted a pale finger to pointed at Kyoma "You, the ninja with the 8 Tails’ true power, I lured you here to kill you! Then we’ll kill the girl." She began cackling. Something wasn’t right. "Envy," I thought "what or who on earth did Ren have to envy?" I thought and thought then it hit me. "Ren envied her brother and sister for being her parents favorites, she didn't want to come here so she let envy consume her," I said in a low voice, "ENVY! I'll kill you." The Sin looked at me, "How rude of me not to name myself to you guys-," "Shut your mouth or I'll snap your damn neck!" Tryga roared. Envy's eyes became enraged "You will all die, little brats!" She touched the lake. Thousands and thousands of red ovals light the water like stars in the night sky. "The angler creature from before…..there's thousands of them infesting the water." Shadow said. The red eyes slowly came forward "The previous monsters were meant to make sure you weren't to follow. If you want your friend Ren, come through my army and get her!" She began laughing. I laughed as well, "Well Kyo, what are we gunna do?" I asked. He smiled "Looks like we have to kill Envy." He laughed. Envy slowly submerged into the water "Die then your friend will kill you."

The eyes sparkled in the water. "Now let me show you what training has done," Kyoma said "Shadow Samurai!" A Shadow aura surrounded him and Shadow, it spun around and Kyoma emerged. He was a shadow all except his glowing white eyes and sword, his body giving off a Shadow aura, swinging his sword around a few times. "My turn,' I stood next to Ryu "Earth Dragon Warrior!" Earth Chakra fused Ryu with me then swirl around my arms and legs, giving me a spiraling barrier around my limbs of rocks and Earth Chakra. I pulled up my face mask and whipped my tail around "Impressive, but you guys aren't the only one with tricks up your sleeves, Blazing Tiger!" Tora roared. All the muscles in Tryga's and Tora's bodies grew 4 times their normal size. Savage 8 inch blades like bones explode from Tryga's knuckles, and Fire Chakra burned from Tora's orange stripes. "Tora was fused with a small amount of Fire Chakra when we fought someone who had powers somewhat like yours, except, fire." Tryga laughed. "Damn Tryga, steroids?" Kyoma asked. I didn't want to waste anymore time. "Let’s save Ren."

Everyone walked forward. The tension in the air was thick, and the sea of red eyes was waiting. I took off into the water. When my foot hit the water time froze. A glimpse second of time, in my head I could hear Ren's voice calling me. I broke free from the trance and ran across the top of the water. A monster popped up from my left, but I killed it with a kick. I sensed all the monsters around me, hundreds of them. They swam in every which direction as I stood of the surface of the water. They swarmed around; all began rocketing out of the water at me. Spin Kick, Slash, Round House, Spinning Back kick, Upper claw, Tail Slash. The monsters blood drenched the water but the wave of attacks kept coming. Dragon Claw, Somersault Kick, Tail Slam, Axe Kick. They were coming faster than I could kill them. "Earth Twister!" the Earth Chakra swirling around my limbs began spinning rapidly and created a twister of kicks. I span through the most monsters I could until one grabbed my leg. I jumped as high in the air as I could. More and more jumped out of the water, grabbing onto my legs and tail. As the fall began, I flipped over and began spinning. The chakra engulfed me again as I hit the water and exploded around me. Underwater I could see all the crimson eyes headed towards me. I readied myself and let out a savage roar, but just as the monsters came closer, I was swallowed in darkness. "Gary!" Kyoma's voice said, his white eyes were the only thing that showed in the darkness "Just get Ren, I’ll transport you there!" The darkness began to vibrate.

A few seconds later I was pulled out of a shadow onto the water. There, less than 3 feet away from me was the water orb that held Ren. I quickly glanced behind me to see all the monsters after Tryga and Kyoma now. "I have to get Ren outta here." I thought. Ren looked so helpless in the orb. She was naked and curled in the fetal position, I hated it. Ren never said much but she wasn't a weak person. Her body looked so pale and frail; I couldn't take it any longer. I slashed my hand into Ren's prison. "Dammit! My hand is stuck!" I ripped my hand back but it wouldn't budge. I heard a noise then the yellow glowing eye that we fought on the boat floated from the right side of the prison. I glared at me for an intense moment then lodged itself inside the orb, next to Ren. "Get the hell away from her!" I yelled. The eye flashed and the orb began shifting and turning, taking me with it every which way. I was tossed around but my hand remained stuck. It took me a moment but I realized what it was doing. It was turning into an animal and whatever it was, it was big. Finally, the shifting stopped and all movement ceased. I looked around to realize that I was being held by a watery paw. It lifted me into the air and flung me like a rock into the cave wall. I hit the wall and was winded. My vision became blurry then I hit the ground, my body ached horribly. I stumbled to get up, barely catching myself on a nearby rock. As my vision returned I realized I wasn't standing on water like I was before I got hit, I was standing on dry land. Off to my left, a giant bear like figure was sucking up the water that used to be the lake. It was facing Kyoma and Tryga, back to me. I limped to the cave wall where I hit. I waited a moment to let the Earth Chakra rebuild and continue to swirl at normal pace. "Hey!" I called. The bear like figure turned around and faced me. "Rising Mountains!" I punched the wall, and sent a shock wave that raised giant stalagmites behind the bear, cutting it off from the lake. It roared and the eye began to crystallize around Ren. Slowly, the watery bear figure became real, around the yellow gem, first flesh, fur, and then ice. There stood in front of me a 30 foot tall polar bear monster. A giant yellow gem sat in the middle of his icy white chest. He exhaled, drool hit the ground and froze it. His eyes were glowing yellow, and his fur was covered in tiny icicles.

"I am Kiser." He roared. His icy breath hit me. I growled, I could feel the feral side of me breaking through. "I'm G-gar-Gary-Ryu Takamaru!" I roared back, I felt Ryu's primal savagery creeping through with the feral feeling. "You are strong to survive being thrown into the wall, and still have the strength to cut me off from your friends. But the girl is mine! I will use her power to help me destroy the village that damned me to eternally walk the land without cause!" He rose up on two paws. I felt the feral break through, the primal fury took over. My dreads hardened into spikes and my canines grew even more. My claws harden and more spikes grew from my tail. "Kiser...You aren't leaving this cave alive!" I put my hands on the ground "Give me back Ren!" The rage took over, I charged at him. He returned to four paws. "Ice Style! Blizzard Fury!" he roared a subzero breath of air. I seen the ice chunks and jumped into the air to dodge them. I couldn't believe it; the height I jumped was amazing. "Blade Hail!" he shook his fur and sharp shards of ice flew at me, this time I couldn't dodge them. They hit me, cutting up my chest and neck; I could feel the wounds freeze. "Dragon Blades!" I curled up into a ball and descended down on Kiser. I bounced off, and jumped into the air again. By the time I realized he wasn't in the same place anymore, it was too late. He was right under me he slashed at me with a giant paw but I dodged it and ran down his arm. I got to his face "Earth Style! Seismic Claw!" I slashed sending giant waves of Earth chakra at his face. One wave hit then I began a savage series of waves of slashes. An icy mist puffed off every time I hit. I launched myself off of him and waited for the mist to clear. The mist cleared and Kiser stood unharmed. "Earth Ninja, your attacks are strong but not powerful!" he roared. "Dammit!" I thought .He began shaking his fur again, releasing a storm of blade like ice shards. Instinct told me to run toward him, so I did. Thousands of pieces of ice fell from the sky like rain. They were easy to dodge, but as I got closer it became increasingly more difficult. Caught off guard, Kiser ran at me with the shards still falling, I waited till he got close enough. He swung a huge freezing paw at me but I burrowed underground. I erupted from the ground behind him, and used my Dragon Claws on his back legs. His blue blood spilled out onto my hands and froze them. Kiser spun around and faced me faster than I had anticipated. He opened his mouth "Ice Ray!" a blue glow came from the back of his mouth. He trapped me; his paws were on both sides of me and couldn't go underground with my claws frozen. I could see the ray of blue ice coming from the back of his mouth so I lifted my arms and braced. The ray hit and tossed me backwards, freezing my arms. Kiser continued his attack by shooting an ice chunk at me. The impact broke some of my ribs as it slammed me against the cave wall. I began coughing up blood. Kiser grabbed my legs and threw me into the ceiling, then shot me with ice shards as I fell. I hit the floor face down. The pain was horrible, all my cuts burned and my chest was throbbing. I couldn't feel my arms, the Earth Chakra had disappeared. I rolled over onto my back. I used my tail to prop myself up. The Earth Chakra was still swirling around my legs. Kiser walked towards me slowly, growling "I see you're not going to die easily." I roared and jumped into the air. Even though my arms had defrosted and were still broken useless, I could still use my legs. "Dragon Twister!" I spun down on Kiser's head in a mad fury of rapid, heavy kicks. They pushed him back, so I took my chance and fired a shot at him. "Quake Blast!" the ball of Earth chakra shot out of my mouth quicker than I had expected. Kiser seen the ball and shifted to dodge it. I watched as the green ball barely missed him by inches but turned the fur the stone. "That's it! He can turn to stone!" I thought. I landed and began running. Kiser roared and chased after me. I heard his Ice Ray coming towards me. I turned around and jumped onto the roof of the cave to dodge it. Kiser used his Blade Hail and struck me head on. As I fell, I could see Kiser was coming my way, so I shot a Quake Blast at him again; he dodged it and rushed me. He lifted me up with his head, and threw me into the air, and slammed a paw down on me. This was it; I could feel the loss of energy I had to fight. His hideous eye stared down at me as he pressed down. I violently coughed up blood and could feel the rest of my ribs cracking. One of his claws dug down into my neck "Gary Ryu Takamaru, you are strong for a man. But I clearly see that is only because you are half beast." He sneered "Yet you are not powerful enough to stay alive much less beat me. Your friend Ren, as you call her, is resilient like you. I can feel her fighting to get free, but soon my gem will consume her and make her powers mine!" The feral power exploded inside me again. My fangs grew out of my mouth, and I instantly bit Kiser's paw. He roared and grabbed by my tail with his teeth and smashed me into the ground. He stood over me on all four paws, and opened his mouth. "ICE RAY!" his mouth began glowing blue. Just as he shot the ray down on me I spit an Quake Blast at the ray and turned it to stone I rolled over and caught an opening for the yellow gem on his chest."Earth Style! Earth Dragon Rage!" A dragon shaped blast of Earth Chakra swirled around the petrified Ice Ray and hit Kiser turning him to stone.

I sighed, it was over. My chakra was drained, and I could barely move. I was covered in blood and ice. My whole body was in pain. I eyeballed the yellow gem. Ren was in the center of it, getting her out was the next hard part. I walked over and leaned against the bear's stone leg. There was a loud snap; I looked up to see the giant statue was cracking. I stepped back and seen cracks traveling through to the gem. The statue exploded and so did the gem. My heart raced as I watched the pieces of stone rain  down and Ren's body fall. I gathered the rest of my energy and jumped up from rock to rock until I got to Ren. I wrapped my tail around her and pulled her onto me. I could feel her heart beating on my chest; she was still alive. I hit the ground with her pressed against my chest; the pressure made me turn and cough out blood. I lost my feral form and the pain doubled. "I've got you Ren." I said. Her cold, wet body numbed me. Her pale face was so peaceful; she looked as if she was in a deep sleep. I struggled and ripped through pain to wrap my arms around her. Her bare back was cold to the touch. As the numbness came over my whole body, I began to lose consciousness. "Ren we'll be ok...Tryga and Kyo will be here soon." I tried to keep my eyes open but everything went black.

I woke to see Ren standing in front of me in the darkness. My body was fully functional. We were in Dream State "Hey Gary" she said. "Hey Ren" I replied. Her face lit up "I didn't think you guys would come." I smiled, "Of course Ren, You're my first true friend, and I'll always be there for you. Even to get smacked around by a giant polar bear." The darkness around us sparkled like stars. Ren looked away and gave me an awkward look "Yeahhh so thanks for saving me, Gary, I really appreciate it." She looked and held out her hand so I could shake. I took her hand, pulled her toward me, and hugged her. "No need to be so formal Ren. You're my best friend, and I’ll go to the ends of the earth for you."