Starring:
Date: February 18, 2014
Summary:
A Jinchuuriki's struggle with an insidious parasite comes to an end with the aid of outside help. The price of that freedom bears a heavy price…
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"The Silk Conflict - A Jinchuuriki's Fall"
Dirt Path [Land of Lightning]
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The road here thins and grows smaller, no longer paved. As it continues its winding path through the short stubbly grass of the plains the mountains grow closer in the distance. The path crosses no streams, no rivers, and it has very little in the way of game. It is a almost deserted path, one which few people seem to travel.
To the west lays the large plains at the end of the Land of Fire, and to the north and the east lays the massive mountains of the Land of Lightning. They are very forboding, and rather ominous. At almost all times of the year they have large clouds around them, giving it a forbidding look.
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With the coming of evening over the Lands of Lightning and Fire, the seldom-traveled roads tend to be rather empty. Perhaps that is why a certain havoc-wreaking twisted Jinchuuriki has found himself here, his form sweating and shaking a bit as he sits up against a boulder near the mountain trail with his forehead resting against his knees as he has them tucked up against his torso. By the flush to his face, he is likely running a rather serious fever, his body doing its best to keep up, even to the point it seems he may have cast a jutsu or two on himself to try to cool down by the look of his semi-damp clothes. Kaito is far from himself, even to the point a fellow Konoha shinobi apparently fell in his escape. Something is definitely not right.
Mushi had heard all about it. How Kaito was a Jinchuuriki and an out-of-control one at that. Usually she wouldn't intervene in such things. But the fact that it's possibly related to an illness, and that Kaito was a host, had eventually led her to come to…stop him? Aid him? She'll know once she gets there hopefully. So she travels with a Konoha nin to find him. They had heard about him being around these parts, and Mushi has two tricks to finding him. The first is fairly obvious, as Mushi and Rise are currently riding on top of one. A hummingbird. But picture a hummingbird large enough to eat about a boulder of birdseed a day. Normally someone would fall off a lightning fast hummingbird, but some chakra ability almost anchors a rider to the bird's back, like tree walking. They've searched for nearly an hour.
The second way she can pinpoint Kaito is revealed on the ground. Mushi is walking in a northern direction when she says quite calmly to Rise, "If you didn't know, I'm a Jinchuuriki. Don't tell anyone. I sense Kaito nearby, but I don't think it's wise to land on top of him with a hummingbird the size of a mammoth." She'd walk quite confidently, but as they approach his location and the boy comes in sight, Mushi frowns. "There's certainly something wrong with him. He's…sick?"
Rise doesn't respond. Nor does it even look like she caught on to even half of what Mushi was talking about. The girl was still agonizing over the circumstances that turned a simple delivery mission into a case of mistaken identity. Nerves kept her quiet, but it is the fortifying taste of sake taken (discretely) that freed of her concerns. Only a tad. "Hope not, cuz I ain't sharing a drop with him if he is," She says, swaying ever now and then with the gourd tied to an index finger. "Oi! Kaito-chan~ You sick or what?" She would call out if Mushi or some other divine intervention doesn't stop her in time. She did kind of give a warning in the form of cupping her hands around her mouth and taking a deep breath. :P
As the women approach, Kaito wouldn't seem to really notice them at first. His body begins to shake again, this time a bit more violently and leading up to an aura of grayish-blue chakra forming around him. Bits of rock and dust rise up from around him, slowly moving up through momentum fed by his massive chakra. When Rise calls out, his eyes cut up to her swiftly and widen just a bit before he finally stands, something definitely rather off as he actually has both eyes open, hands forming a seal as the area around him would begin to flood with water seemingly on command.
Mushi would try her best to look non-threatening as they approach, which isn't too hard. She isn't wearing any offensive armor or visibly carrying weapons. She even smiles, a smile which is quickly cut off when Kaito starts demonstrating some formidable water ninjutsu. She glances to Rise, and has to bite back a sigh. And now she has to protect a drunken kid on top of that. She should've dropped her off miles back, to let her drink the rest, fall asleep, and have a hangover. Mushi says, "If you want to step back, I can handle this." She hopes. She calls to Kaito, "Nara Kaito we're not here to fight. We're here to help you! You feel unwell, right? I'm a medic. We don't want to fight." She nudges Rise. Say something pacifying!
Rise seems to stumble for a moment. But rather or not it was due to her own state or as a result of the 'pressure' rolling off of Kaito in waves would be hard to tell. Then again, it could've been the nudge from Mushi as well. Regardless of which, 'the cho' spares Mushi a befuddled glance before returning her sights back on the water shinobi. "I dunno bout this fight nonsense, but if'n ya feeling sick like birdy-chan here says than… mmm.. hmmm… aahhh, ah hah!" Rise snaps her fingers, and then quicker than what most eyes can follow, she sneaks behind the medic and tries to grab her by the thighs at the sides. Then stick her head out from sides and say cheerily, "I lend'ja birdy-chan lap. Well? Sounds like a pretty sweet deal don't it, cuz like, look at these things — " She squeezes them. "Soft AND firm! Perfect pillow, right?"
Kaito blinks at Mushi's words, a rather sinister grin touching his lips as his aura kicks up again. "Oh, no, are you going to hurt me?" he asks sarcastically in a voice that is rather gruff and does not match his own. "Perhaps you'll be next after I've ground this boy to dust under the foot of his own Bijuu partner. Pathetic shinobi." Laughing a bit, he shakes his head. "The boy who feigns sleep to keep from being known as a monster, won't socialize." Cutting a glance at Rise as she plops down, that grin widens just a bit. "Won't even admit to enjoying being around the one he can't use his wit to outdo… Now what'll he do if he survives since he's sealed himself as one by killing a brother in arms? Maybe I should let him live a while longer and see if it drives him insane." Yep, Kaito has checked out.
Within the conscious realm only Bijuu and Jinchuuriki of Master may see, it would seem Isobu has all but broken his seal, one of his massive limbs sticking out and crushing Kaito under its weight. Both appear to be covering in glowing purple markings, some sort of foreign chakra that has infected both of them and taken over, a quite specialized and strong version of this parasite.
World Notice: You have recovered 240 health by resting.
Mushi waits for Rise to say something inspirational and calm the whole situation d — WHAT!? Mushi yelps and spins around. "You egg!" she says. She presses Rise's face with her hand. Not to attack, but to push the little pervert away. "Stay," she says firmly. She's now listening to what Kaito — no, to what the Other one has to say. She frowns at the words coming from him. Is he crazy or is that someone else talking? She closes her eyes for a moment. No, there's legitimately another force within him, and she can sense it.
To Rise she explains it in a few sentences, and then turns to Kaito. She says, "If you released Kaito right now — he'd learn from this and learn to forgive himself. There's no Jinchuuriki who hasn't hurt someone they know. Someone they cared for. But once he learns to control it, he'll understand he can ally with his bijuu and use its power to protect those he cares for." Her words have a ring of truth — what Mushi believes to be the truth. "You may have already sensed it but I'm also a Jinchuuriki. Choumei is my ally and friend. So as a Jinchuuriki and medic, along with your friend groper, we'll get that thing out of you. Er, are you up to being here?" she asks Rise dubiously.
Rise kind of pulls a weeble wobble maneuver when pushed, but at least she seems to do as Mushi says. Sort of. The smile she gave said 'uh huh! Got'cha boss' but the eyes spoke a different story all together. Either way, there would be no more interruptions or sidebars from 'the Cho'. Not a one. Zilch. Natta. Just her casually nursing her gourd while words go flying about well over her head or beneath her feet.
"Hmm… let me check something real quick like." Rise holds the gourd up to about eye level and peers inside the darkness. Then she gives it a few good shakes before nodding to her self firmly. "This ought'a be enough." And on that note, Rise goes right on ahead with marching towards Kaito, gourd capped at some point so that she could swing it at her side.
"Oh, is that so? I guess I better make sure that doesn't happen then," the twisted Kaito says with a smirk. He then turns his attention to Rise as she approaches, quirking an eyebrow. "You sure that's a good idea, approaching so openly?" he asks as a Water Clone suddenly leaps up from the water, attempting to tackle Rise or at least make her stumble directly into the path of an oncoming Water Orb as he puts his hands in front of him and sends it rocketing off directly at her.
"Maybe you shouldn't," Mushi says to the openly approaching Rise. It seems Mushi and the insane, homicidally sick Kaito seem to agree on something. When the water techniques come up, Mushi shouts, "Hey! Clear out, kid!" She's already drawing in her breath and making hand seals. Not to help Rise, but to attack Kaito while he gives an opening. He's far quicker and stronger than she had anticipated coming into this. Mushi looks as if she's holding her breath from panic — nope, not from panic. Her cheeks are inflating inflating and then she releases…gooey white spit! It's not blood, not water, but more like ten gallons of Elmer's glue meant to not only splatter Kaito, but harden and lock him in place. He might also notice if he takes the attack that the glue has some draining quality, as it absorbs the vitality of anything it touches.
Rise nods nods absently to Kaito and sing songs, "Hai~" before the warning goes out from Mushi. Turning to her in that same absent-minded fashion, Rise ends up being blindsided by the clone and on a crash course for the bubble! But kind of strange happens. She leans with the blow, avoiding the worst with uncanny reflexes and latching on instead, then in throwing her weight (weighted clothing being a big help her) both clone and shinobi tumble in mid-air with Rise coming out of the spin on top. For a brief moment, the girl appears to be surfing atop the clones chest before leaping, sending it to the bubble while she sailed narrowly above its surface and into the trees behind it. The end results leave her laughing and swinging on a branch as the rest of her momentum bleeds out. "Whoa.. whoa.. whoa.. der er'rebody. Let's… ooh, think I'm gonna be sick." She murmurs the last bit as the looping about finally stops.
Rise's drunken nimbleness catches Kaito off guard a bit, the clone and orb splattering off from her display. Meanwhile, he attempts to raise a wall of water to deflect the incoming streams of goop, only for it to pierce through the wall before it can solidify. Frozen for the moment, he groans a bit as he feels energy sapped from him, those psychotic eyes suddenly looking a lot more serious. "Ohh, you want to fight that hard, Firefly?" he asks with a smirk. "Alright then. Let's play."
~Firefly!? I'll show you you little…turtle! Egg! Germ!~ Kaito as a Jinchuuriki would be able to hear the snappish remarks. Mushi sighs and rolls her eyes. "You shouldn't be so easily provoked, Choumei," she says patiently. She was making seals as soon as Kaito was trapped within the sticky venom. Actually, it would soften after a time so he could step out of it. But not before a seal appears beneath him. It's a circle with swirling, black patterns underneath his feet. It too would begin to drain him, and where the chakra is drained out the black lines would turn white, before dissolving into the air.
"Give up, parasite," Mushi says. "Release the boy and I'll imprison you rather than destroying you."
After a bit of working at the issue (not to mention getting over the sickness), Rise manages to clamor way ontop of the branch and plop down on top. "Sheesh, I'm like, out of it for a sec 'n already their goin at. Typical kids," says the youngest of the lot as she uncorked her gourd and started downing some more. By the time she's finished gourging herself the girl's cheeks are inflamed. And yet, her eyes having lost any honest focus. Not yet at least. "Neh, neh! Don't just let dem walk all over ya, Kaito-otaichou!" Rise yells out.
With another wave of draining, Kaito lets out a growl as he feels yet more of his vitality slipping away. Rather than being discouraged, however, the infested Jinchuuriki actually laughs at Mushi's words, seemingly encouraged by the drunken Rise's words from the top of the tree. "Imprison me? I don't think you get how this works!" he says as he would attempt to make a prison of water form around Mushi from nowhere, followed by an orb of water screaming off directly on a collision course with her. Meanwhile, inside the subconscious, Rise's words may seem to actually be getting through, as a single eye begins to lid open on Kaito's countenance, his form seeming rather drained as he peers up.
Mushi just stands there as first the water prison and then the water orbs are drained of charka and splash down harmlessly. The woman didn't seem to put any effort into deflecting them either, unless her power is overwhelming awesomeness. That or a set of chakra tattoos no one can see that she triggered. "I think you don't understand," Mushi says. "You're a parasite. Not a true symbiote like a bijuu. You can't add strength or knowledge to your host, you can only steal it. Unless you release him right now, I'll show you no mercy once I remove you."
And then she is throwing two kunai at him. Well, near him. But unless he cleared out of the general radius or threw up a defense the tags attached to the kunai would drain him of more chakra and stamina. See a pattern? In the meantime Mushi has disappeared…and reappears behind Rise to conk her on the head with a fist. Well, not damaging but not pleasant. "You egg!" she snaps. "You're not supposed to be rooting for him!!!"
'That's the ticket..' Rise thinks upon noting, surprisingly enough, a subtle clue from the possessed Kaito. It's a start that sparks something in the girl, prompting her to take a literally stand as she watched the battle wage on. "Yoshi! TIme for me — " Bam! Right to the head! Alas, even a 'love' tap might prove painful… to Mushi that is. Rise's skull has been honed over the years into something even boulders quack in fear of! "Oi! If I don't root for'em then how he'z s'poze ta hear me?!" Rise snaps back before whipping back around. "Dummy.." She says just loud enough to hear, and then — Whoosh! — Rise is gone like the wind. A few moments — a minute or two perhaps — was about the amount of breathing room Kaito gets before the girl suddenly appears beneath him, ready launch sky high with a rising kick to the chin!
It mattered not if she missed or ended up in worst shape or even if Mushi suddenly stood before her. 'The cho' — Rise, drunken though she is, was fiercely determined to get her hands on him now. Even if it meant rashly tackling him from the front seconds after a failed attempt, hugging him around the neck with all her might with her legs wrapped around his torso for support.
Has she gone mad!?
"Listen." A warning. A threat. A plea? Regardless of which, the word is hissed into his ears if she connects. Any attempt to guess at more can't be read from her face. Shadows from her bangs made certain of that.
With another rising Water Wall, Mushi's attacks are rendered useless this time around. The infested Kaito grins slightly as he brings his hands together in preparation for a large jutsu- but interrupted by his hands being knocked apart by a rather violent hug that slams into him and squeezes down on him. Unable to move momentarily, the twisted Jinchuuriki looks down on her with blackened sclera, the Kaito inside the subconscious raising his head as it seems she has started to wake him up and has his attention.
Mushi is already gathering for another attack when Rise tackles him. Well, that won't stop Mushi! But she notices something. The boy doesn't seem to be attacking her at least for a second. It's enough to make her hesitate in striking the both of them. Although she stands ready to intervene she'd just remain motionless for a short time, an observer to what may be an attack or a hug. In the meantime, she rubs her hand against her shoulder to get some of the sting out. Jeez that girl has a hard head — both literally and figuratively.
She stays clutched to him, but doesn't utter a word. Not for a while. Nor does she look up to meet the possessed man's eyes. Her flesh burns where it makes contact with the cloak, but still… nothing.
"Ahodora (Dumbflipper)…"
The word come out softly, and then a quiet moment passes before her grip around his neck begins to loosen a little. "Quit bein a shell already." She pulls away now just far enough to look him in the eye now. Warm, Delirium, Confident. Amongst the emotions that flit across her eyes, those three would stick out the most during the moment. And then… her groud would be shoved into his mouth. "Now drinkey, drinkey, drinkey~ 'nd let dem demons free or flee~ Let'em quake to the afternoon brew, neeeh~" She sing songs, patting the back of the gourd in tune with her song, heedless of all sense of danger~
Kaito blinks at Rise's words, eyes locking with her in return… unable to do much as she starts to pour sake down his gullet. His hands move and would seem to be about to wrap around her, except he makes a hand seal, creating a massive pillar of water above them the flows around and rockets off toward Mushi. However, within the consciousness, Kaito begin to stir more, his eyes opening as an aura begins to surround him. His arms flex intensely as he begins to push, attempting to move against the weight of the giant turtle… is it actually starting to budge?!
"I wouldn't have minded a hug either," Mushi mutters as the waterfall comes towards her. What motivated her to say that? Seems she's making an effort to block this one, as she executes a quick series of hand seals. Black symbols are filling the air like black paper. And as soon as the waterfall touches them, it splashes down harmlessly.
A more suspicious person would think the parasite was in charge, using Rise as a shield, so he's free from having to defend while attacking Mushi. Or a more ordinary person may think that really, a Jinchuuriki speaking to a fellow Jinchuuriki really can't compare to a good friend's drunken, groping, hugging, insulting approach. "I'm alright," Mushi says, for anyone who cares. She still doesn't attack since Rise is literally on top of him, but she doesn't look too worried about Rise either.
Rise double blinks, and then cants her head to the side once each as she tried to figure out what Kaito was trying to tell her! Feeling him starting to finally move, warning bells begin to go off within the girl. Still, she stays put or would've stayed if not for her ears twitching suddenly. She bends backwards without completely parting ways with Kaito with clearly an excited look in her eyes.
Her excitement turns into surprise for a moment when she sees the display of power from Mushi, but seconds after it's back again. "Sorry Kaito-kun, but I'm gonna need this." She says, yanking the gourd out. "No worries tho', Rise-chan gonna leave with the 'ol one-two so that ya don't even have to worry bout it, kay?" Without further warning Rise headbutts Kaito, hard, dismounting herself due to the recoil. She is quick to recover, though, the moment she's back on her feet the girl kind of half-jogs and half-stumble her way way to Mushi before ultimately trying to bear hug the poor medic nin, cloak and all!
Kaito is surprised again as Mushi actually overpowers his attack. He almost smirks until he receives a rather hard headbutt that sends Rise flying off him. "Not bad… But I'm not going to let you wake him up that easy… Warm-up's over!" he growls out as he brings his hands into a seal, his body suddenly fully enveloping in a bluish-gray aura and sprouting a trio of tails. The bits of rock and water fly up into the air, shaking from his power as he prepares for the real fight.
Mushi rubs her head appreciatively. He'll have a headache from that headbutt. Or more likely as a parasite-infested bijuu-strengthened host he won't. Especially since he now has three tails. And Mushi quietly says, "Umm…how many tails does Isobu have, Choumei?" ~Hmm…one? Three? Maybe one of those.~ "Kind of different!" ~Meh. I'm not perfect.~ When Rise comes over to her, Mushi says, "Get behind me. Don't be scared." Seems that she's so frightened she wants to — "OOF!" Rise is an interesting girl. Cheering against Mushi. And now crushing Mushi. The medic is caught totally off guard and now she does something that she doesn't often do. Lashes out with a chakra hardened arm to swat Rise away. "You EGG!" she says in exasperation. Then in a louder voice, "Oi Kaito! Are all your friends this nuts?! No wonder you're having a hard time!" She's joking…right? RIGHT? Mushi has a shimmering, almost hardened chakra cloak in the form of blazing energy around her. And now more wings appear. And then she's taking in a deep breath before expelling a cloud of powder. Sleeping powder to make the bijuu lethargic.
Rise completely and utterly misinterprets Mushi's attack, or at least, in a matter of speaking. Instinct and training melded into her very bone and flesh still reacts as if the attack, though, it is sheer dumb luck that Rise happened to turn her head at just the right time to see it coming. Force is met with equal force, fist meets fist, cancelling both out at the small price of Rise still ending up unbalanced as a result. She stumbles away, freeing Mushi up to try and pacify incidentally. Despite how far and how awkward she fell back a well place foot at the last moment leaves her head just inches away from the ground.
"Who-wee~ That was pretty — *gulp!*" One little pill, misplaced in the first place due to her carelessness on the trip over, had slipped free and landed right in her mouth.
"…."
With the two striking at each other, Kaito blinks and shakes his head, able to take his time preparing as his brings his hands into a seal again. Since they're busy fighting each other, they'll get a hard reminder that he's here. "Hey, remember me?" his twisted voice rings out as he leaps up, flying over Mushi's attack with ease as brings a hand to his mouth and seems to be blowing a kiss at them, except what comes out, rather than air, is a highly dense and powerful jet of water that begins to shred anything it comes into contact with as he turns his head to direct it across the area with no concern for what is destroyed in the process.
Not many individuals have made it onto Mushi's list of annoying people. Only two in fact, in their own unique way. And Rise makes the third. If Rise were Mushi's mortal enemy, her cheering for Kaito and crushing her would in fact not be annoying. But Rise is supposed to be MUSHI'S FRICKING ALLY!!! What side is this crazy egg on!? And Mushi is starting to notice a pattern. All her headaches are from Konoha. In fact, all her relationship drama is in Konoha. The other person currently attacking her is from Konoha! When Rise treats her attack as a fist bump, Mushi closes to her eyes. She counts to five, in which time she pictures destroying the land with a massive earthquake and killing everyone in a hundred mile radius. It's an image that's helped her stay calm in these types of situations. It helps…she's camera. Too bad it doesn't help in blocking advanced water ninjutsu which hits her and blasts her back. That's after she absorbed a bit of it too.
At this point it'd be natural to heal herself, she's battered up. But she doesn't pause to do so. Better to finish this before Rise gets hurt. ~Why are you helping her?~ Choumei asks. ~Kill her. I'm not speaking as a demon of hatred. Bunnies would want to kill her. And rainbows. Or just let her talk to him. Either she pacifies the turtle/germ/egg or she dies. Win win!~ Mushi sighs. Well… no. Moving on from that silent and meaningless rant… Mushi gathers the Shichibi's chakra cloak around her arm so that it lengthens. Not in a fist bump. She sweeps it like a whip to strike Kaito but instead of swatting him aside it'd pass through him, draining him of his energy once again.
In a normal person the changes would be swift and straight-forward, but for Rise it is a whole other matter. Her insides are on fire in just about every sense of the world. At some point, she even blacks out for a moment for a moment or two before the fire stops raging. She rises up just in time to see Mushi begin to retaliate, and though she could piece together most of what has happened, the girl still needs a moment or two to sort out what's from what. Ultimately even that much is abandon in favor of what the adrenaline, blood lust, and something 'else' all together was telling her.
Attack.
And so she does at the earliest opportunity, focused on the simplest of things while being blind of everything else. A high-speed elbow to the gut with her other hand being used as support. "Kampai!" Looks like not everything was burned away by the pill it seems. :P
Despite whatever bravado he's shown, Kaito apparently is out of gas, as he barely moves and is easily caught by the chakra sweeping at him to drain the last bit of his energy away just in time for Rise to slam an elbow into his gut. A deep growl of pain escapes his lips as he crashes into rock and dust, leaving a bit of a crater. His aura leaves him completely now, dropping his defenses to nothing as he lays there. Still, he seems to be attempting to gather himself, half-lidded eyes struggling to remain open and fight. Had this parasite been TRYING to burn Kaito out all along?
Mushi bites her lip. This is the moment of truth when she has to heal him. But for once her healer's calm isn't there. She lifts her hands and finds them shaking. What's wrong with her? Toshiro…no, Kaito needs her help. She squeezes her eyes shut. This is not her brother lying before her. Why won't her hands stop swimming shaking? "I know…I know surgical procedures," she says. "But…how do you remove a chakra parasite from a chakra monster with incisions?" She takes a deep breath. Another one. She has to do this before the parasite takes over. "Okay, I have a technique," she says, and she sounds calmly. She makes seals. A long line of them. It goes on for almost half a minute before ten black circles filled with symbols appear around Kaito. And ghostly strings of chakra shoot out, wrapping gently but firmly around him. Hundreds. They start drawing chakra from him.
"This parasite lives in the chakra," she says. "I'm draining all the chakra from his body and storing them in these seals for safe keeping. It will take the parasite out as well. It'll give me a chance too to study the parasite and come up with a permanent cure." Rise may catch on. A technique of this magnitude is capable of literally draining all chakra from Kaito — not just him and the parasite but the bijuu as well. She must have massive amounts of chakra…with these many seals and the river of chakra pouring into this technique, it'd usually take a team of healers to accomplish. Sweat beads her forehead as she continues with the extraction.
The lopsided smile stays even as her compatriot falls from her latest attack. A cheap shot in hindsight, BUT at least it ensured that the parasite won't be puppetting no broken up body any time soon. Not that Rise was even aware of the possibility to begin with though…
"Huh? Oi, Kaito-taichou? Why you — " She pauses reflexively due to a sound, a voice tickling her ears so much that they actually twitch a little. It is Mushi. She turns to regard the woman for extensive moment with a look of confusion clearly written in her features. 'Is she sick too?' Rise starts to reach for her bottle, but is cut-off once again by Mushi speaking up.
An even more inquisitive is given, though by that time Mushi has already begun with her work. After a moment or two to consider what she might be up to, Rise only spares Kaito one last glance before springing out of the boundaries of the seal network, er, almost on the first go. Thankfully, the pattern isn't disrupted (presumable if that's even possible) even from the second that finally cleared her. With her work complete Mushi goes on to explain just what she was doing. Truth be told, Jinchu girl would've been better off talking to a tree. Sort of. "Mmm.. you should probably just call on dat one guy.. I think he's.. Mr. Tux? I dunno, but I can get word out to 'em if ya want?"
With the seals forming around him, the last of Kaito's chakra is sucked from him, and he finally goes completely unconscious. What Rise probably doesn't get is that removing all the chakra of the Bijuu isn't something most people ever come back from. In his mostly dead state, Kaito's breathing begins to become shallow, going limp in its incapacitated state.
For a high level technique it ends very quietly. The bijuu's chakra is divided into ten different seals. Well, nine. It had taken all her effort, but one had isolated the parasite for future study. She unfurls some scrolls and transfers the seals to them, before wrapping them up and storing them away in a puff of steam. That's wrapped up. The only problem is…Kaito. Mushi looks down at him in silence. She can see all the signs. She'd gotten that destructive parasite out of his body. But the terrible drain would have taxed his body horribly. Mushi goes over to infuse him with chakra but then she hesitates. What if some of the parasite is left in his body? She'd only be keeping it alive. Worse, she'd be giving it enough chakra to start fighting once again and harm not only them but Kaito. Mushi bites her lip. Even Rise may notice the dark silence.
No, she sucked /everything/ out including that parasite. ~Maybe not,~ Choumei says. ~I know the technique you're going to use. After THIS technique. You'd be crippled! Or do you trust that girl to defeat a revitalized host?~ ~The parasite is gone~ ~Then how about a crazy kid? I can tell. He did choose to kill one of his comrades. He himself may attack you.~ ~Shut. Up.~ Mushi stands up. Sweat is trickling down her face as she gathers more chakra. "I'm…the parasite is out," Mushi says. "I'm going to, uh, I mean I need to restore some of his life force. He's suffering from severe chakra and energy starvation." She wipes her brow as she gathers more chakra. Her cloak vanishes.
"Look at'em go," Rise murmurs. Still not at all aware of just what's going on. But hey, at least there's a pretty light show and chains and other stuff to watch while she waited for… "Mmmm… This is taking forever now that I think about it." She turns to regard Mushi and opens her mouth to say something, pauses for a moment, then narrows her eyes at the struggling woman.
She wasn't sure how or why, but something about the look about Mushi just seemed… off. She didn't wish to drink with an off birdy-chan, so she pulled in her lips and turned back to watch Kaito wither away. Something she wouldn't be doing if not for her danger senses keep acting like old fuddy duddies. "So ya gonna do a bit of loaning 'nd ya need me to cover ya right?" She asks without so much as a glance at Mushi. "Aight. Though it'd be a lot easier if'n ya just made ya own brew, ya know." She says off handily.
Within the subconscious, Kaito opens his eyes a bit as he feels Isobu's weight coming off of him… Something's not right, though… His eyes go wide as he turns over to see not only the purple markings fading but the Sanbi himself flowing out of his body. It doesn't take him much to add it up as he looks up at chakra flowing out of his body, his own and that of the Bijuu, to fade toward blackness. "… I guess it's time, huh…. Goodbye, old friend," his weak voice rings out with a sigh as his eyes begin to lid again. "… All that sleeping… All that time… gone…. I guess I won't get to know… and I won't be missed…" Finally closing his eyes, he sighs again. "Give my life to become a Jinchuuriki to protect the village, and this is how it winds up, huh?.. They better… find a way to stop this thing… But I guess it's time for me to really sleep…" And with Mushi's Kevorkian turn to save the shinobi world from this parasite, the light seems to have left his form.
She has it. She's flooding his body with chakra. But it's more than that. He's dying. She needs to recharge his chakra gates, form the chakra into different consistencies. But her limbs are burning, her body is burning, and a knot of pain is forming deep in the pit of her stomach. The last technique drained her to an unexpected degree — first time sealing a bijuu, you know — and this technique is straining in and of itself. For a second she has it, all the elements in place. And then she loses control. Chakra would course through Kaito, but it wasn't the kind that was needed to revive him. to bring him back from death. Mushi tries to control her chakra again, to calm its flux, and then all at once her head is reeling and she coughs. Blood splatters Kaito's face. Her blood. "I…" Mushi isn't one to cry often. But tears are streaming down her cheeks like she's a small child. "I can't," she says. She wipes her tears. Stands up. Kaito is covered in her chakra and blood and tears. She turns to Rise. "I'm sorry," she says. "I failed. He's gone." Gone? Such a light word. Almost as if she's saying he left for awhile and while come back with the groceries and a smile. "He's dead," she says. She takes a deep breath and says in a steadier voice, "I knew the risks and I took them…Nara Kaito is dead."
Her question isn't answered in any capacity. It is then that the severity of the situation begins to trickle its way through the blissful mist of alcohol and its compatriots. Rise tries to deny it though. She cannot — She hoped and… what? The question leaves a terrible lump in her throat. But then, for just an instance, color seems to return to Kaito's cheeks. Subconsciously the girl drifts as close as she's ever dared to the seal array without entering the field, hands pulled into tight fists at her sides and trembling at her sides.
But something… something goes wrong. She can smell as much on the wind before she hears the first signs of it erupting from Mushi's mouth as blood. Soft green eye flits from patient to doctor and back to patient until finally Mushi speaks. "Kaito is — " Her palms begin to bleed from nails biting too deep, and yet she pays them no heed at all. No words follow what she last began. Rise only turns to stare at him for what felt like hours, and perhaps indeed such time passes before she straightens out and turns to leave.
If she didn't leave now there would probably be another corpse soon. If she's not given a reason more to stay she would be gone in mere moments.. If she didn't intercept whatever Kumogakure first contact patrol or the like… She needed to make arrangements. Deliver reports. Not… Anything except drink or stand still. Even if by the end of day or those that followed she wouldn't be able to escape from… it. In the present, all that matter was that blood on her hands be given a chance to dry. That's it.
It's not the first time that Mushi failed to save someone. Being a healer means not only rejoicing in life. It also means accepting death. She'd even taken risks that were wilder than this. Most had worked. Some hadn't. But almost always they were from the neutral territories. Peasants, people from small countries, wanderers. But this was a Konoha nin with all the might of Konoha (and maybe Kumo) behind him, perhaps even if he was a 'Missing Nin.' She had never meant to kill him. But she had used those techniques knowing she might fail — she'd set the securing of the bijuu and parasite above that of Nara Kaito. "Oh no…" she says. Suddenly, the horror sweeps over her. Not that she may be in trouble with Konoha. That she certainly is with Rise. But most of all…what will Shintaro think once he hears she used such dangerous techniques on one of his clan members? Or Usagi?
"Beak, beak, beak," she says. She looks around. This is no place to be fretting. ~Are you going to kill her?~ Choumei asked bluntly. ~She's the only witness.~ Mushi looks. Rise is now out of sight, but she could catch up. Then, she laughs. "Tail no," she says. "She's a good kid. If she was a killer she'd use this chance to get me when I'm at my weakest. I need to…" She turns to Kaito's body and takes out a scroll. Folds his arms, wipes his face off, and then stores his body away to be taken to Konoha. She takes a few minutes to write a note and tack it onto the scroll in which Kaito resides, before summoning a hummingbird. Smaller but fast. "Get to Konoha and give this to the Nara Shintaro. No one else." And another hummingbird. This one she gives only a note. "Take this to the Raikage," she says. "And fly high enough the girl heading there won't see you. She's upset."
