Fate's Jeopardy Pt.2

Thundering hooves pound heavily on soggy grass, echoing in the overbearing silence. Ominous overcast tints the atmosphere a dull and somber gray. The unavoidable mist stings her skin a high velocity, and a dark mane whips ferociously under her fixed gaze.

"We should be nearing the first flower's location," Katsume calls back to the woman with a death grip on her slick leather jacket.

"A-alright...but could we slow down!" Yui's grip tightens as she tries to shout over the wind.

Katsume gives Dakuhosu a gentle tug on his mane, and he gradually slows to walk. She pats him on the neck as she glances at the dome-shielded sky. Yui's white knuckles regain color as she loosens her grip, and Katsume swings her leg over to dismount. The young woman watches as Katsume approaches a massive, battered tree, walking in a circle around it and picking at the bark.

"Uh...what are you doing?" The noir-haired girl stares skeptically.

Katsume doesn't turn to address the woman, paying no mind to her skepticism. "Welp, it'll waste precious time to determine the direction by the sun's location in the sky, and the clouds aren't exactly on our side today. So, the quickest way is to find an old tree and whichever side has the thinner bark is most likely southeast. Fun fact, should you be lost and without a compass."

Yui deadpans. "You're a ninja but don't carry a compass?"

"Nope. I'm what you would call an expert in tracking, so there's no need." Katsume smirks smugly.

"But what's the point if you already know where the flowers are?" Yui questions.

"First, I must determine if the user's jutsu is a perfect replica or a cheap imitation. If it's a replica of my jutsu, the flowers will be on each focal point of direction, eight in total: North, North-East, East, South-East, South, South-West, West, and North-West. So if we go to one of the focal points, southeast in this case, and I find the flower, it's a good chance it's a replica, which isn't great because that would mean that our jutsus would cancel out. Usually, the stronger would prevail, even if it's the same style." Katsume explains as she walks alongside Dakuhosu, the three heading toward the Southeast.

"So, basically what you're saying is...unless your partner can break the dome, we'll lose whether we find the flowers or not?!" Yui exclaims.

Katsume drags her hand over her face with a groan. "Geez. Were you even listening? I said it's not great. My kekkei genkai isn't my only weapon, but Kakashi was right when he said not using it puts me at a disadvantage. However...I hate losing, and that's my advantage."

Yui stares down at the woman incredulously. Does this psycho seriously think that a desire to win is an advantage? Everyone wants to win, but that doesn't give her an edge, does it?

"You see, this jutsu wasn't always as complex as this...I made it that way after over a decade of training to master it. So, in addition to my hatred of losing, you could say I'm pretty fucking pissed that someone cheated their way and stole all of my hard work." Katsume adds lowly as she glares ahead.

Suddenly, like the flip of a switch, she perks up and faces Yui with a cheeky smile, causing the young woman to flinch in response.

"Don't worry though, 'cause they'll pay with their life," the ivory-tressed woman chirps, pointing to something ahead in the distance.

A shiver runs over Yui's spine. "...scary," she mutters. She blinks away her terror of how the woman could say something so casually, cheerful even, to see the image of a little red rose nearly glowing–practically calling for attention.

It's so obvious. Oh. That must be the trick Katsume was talking about; the distortion. How sadistic–the flowers stand so blatantly, giving the captured false confidence, just to rip it away the second they're close to freedom.

"It's just a guess...but since there are four henchmen and eight flowers," Katsume starts as the three begin to make for the flower.

Yui quirks a brow. Henchmen? she thought.

"...I'd like to assume they're at the North, East, West, and South points."

Yui brings her hand up to rub her temple. All this information is getting confusing. "But I thought you could sense them or whatever."

"I can, but over an area as wide as this, I only see them as dim specks. As we get closer, they'll be easier to detect." Katsume clarifies.

"I see..." Yui nods in understanding.

"No, you don't, I do...."

A childish grin creeps across Katsume's lips. Yui deadpans as her glare shifts to the woman.

"..."

"It was a joke."

"I don't think the situation calls for a joke."

"That's the best time for one." Katsume smiles cheekily.

"I wish I could've gone with the handsome one."

"I'm not handsome?"

Katsume feigns hurt by the comment but chuckles. However, the ease of conversation performed as a circus act on the surface while her mind's gears turned.

It's a safe assumption that the crystal user doesn't have my chakra sensitivity since it's a learned trait and not a genetic one. But that's also under the belief that this person is Orochimaru's experiment. I've never met another crystal release user before, but that's not to say they don't exist. But it'd be naive to think this is a mere coincidence. So we'll continue under the assumption they're Oro's experiment. With that coincidence in mind, is Yui their target or an unfortunate casualty? What are the odds that the crystal user Orochimaru created from my DNA was assigned to retrieve Yui's Clan's jutsu that I just happened to be given to recover as well? That's too many coincidences for my liking.

Are they here...for me?

God fucking damn it. If that is the case, there's no point in hiding my kekkei genkai...I need to determine whether it's a cheap imitation to be effective anyway, so I'll hold off for now.

"So this is it? What do we do? Just smash it?"

Yui's incessant questioning snaps Katsume out of her strategizing, and she finds herself in front of what is to be the first of eight flowers on their scavenger hunt. On a scavenger hunt in her own technique...how irritating.

"Alright, for this first one, we're going to use it as a sample to see whether the technique is the real deal. That way, I'll know whether I can counter it with my own." Katsume's line of sight traces the ground opposite of what they see the flower. She pulls out two kunai and throws one to pierce the ground next to Yui's left sandal, causing the young girl to yelp and jump back.

"Why are you trying to stab me in the foot, psycho?!"

"Lower your voice. If I wanted to stab you in the foot, that's where the knife would be. On my signal, use it to hit the rose at its stem as hard as you can."

"O-Oh...okay." With a trembling hand, she grips the kunai and pulls it to release the blade from the earth's firm grasp.

Katsume taps her kunai along the grass until she hears the metal clang. Anyone else would assume the sound to come from a rock, but Katsume knew better. She gives the invisible object a few more taps to be sure. In utter confusion, Yui watches from a few feet away as Katsume gives her a thumbs-up.

Simultaneously the pair bring their kunai down on the objects. Yui's kunai slices right through the flower and into the dirt, and the sound of glass breaking rings through her ears, and pink shards scatter along the grass. She turns to see Katsume with her back facing her, crouched on the grass, and her head in her palm. Her kunai– piercing the ground with nothing but grass surrounding it. Yui hears a feint breathy chuckle from the woman as her shoulders twitch erratically.

"They're a fucking fake...through and through." Her hand covers her face as she stares through it at the dewy grass where her kunai penetrates the earth. "...I can't wait to kill them."

A chill covers Yui in a cold sweat as the face of blatant murderous intent turns and locks her in a fixed gaze. A twisted smile contorts her warm features as amber orbs stare through ivory brows.

"Now I can really let loose... let's go."

Yui watches the woman get to her feet and walk lazily to tower over her seated form, then lowers her hand to help the woman from the ground. Yui clenches her fist tightly and then relaxes it–hoping to hide how much the woman truly terrified her.

"I don't understand what's going on...." Yui squeaks meekly as Katsume lifts her effortlessly from the ground and plops her on the back of Dakuhosu.

Katsume let out a soft laugh. "Well, your flower shattered, and mine disappeared without a trace. If the jutsu were an exact copy of my technique, it would've been the other way around. That tells me that their technique, for one; isn't developed perfectly, in other words–subpar. And two; my technique is too advanced to copy, which is a hilarious and satisfying conclusion."

"So, what does that mean?" Yui questions.

Katsume begins to form hand signs. "It means...Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Mirror!"

A jade mirror starts to take shape out of the land to present itself in front of Katsume. Its light green crystals glimmering and prisming faded rainbows along the ground from the fogged sunlight. As the ivory-haired woman stares at her reflection with a glint in her amber eyes, her hands morph to symbolize the horse, then the ram.

There's no point in putting myself at a disadvantage since the probability is high that the enemy is here for me. Or, at the very least came here for Yui, knowing what they would be up against. It's plausible they're after both me and Yui's family technique. But my recklessness on a whim will grant me a long lecture from the Copy-Ninja.

Oh well.

Yui watches in awe as six images of Katsume emerge in the mirror, then one by one, climb out as if entering another dimension. Like a horror movie...

Katsume chuckles at Yui's gaped expression as the clones group together behind her. "These are Crystal Clones. They're more durable than shadow clones, so while they handle the flowers at the minor points, we can go after the ones guarded by the enemy."

What?! What about me?! I can't trust this psychopath to protect me!

Katsume observes as Yui's features contort in panic. She gives her a warm smile. "Don't worry, alright? I won't let anything happen to you, and neither will Daku. That's a promise."

Yui's eyes widen as the woman holds her hand up and sticks out her pinky. She glances between the outstretched digit and the woman's suddenly comforting features. Her eyes– a contrasting gentle brown like smooth chocolate, but when the rays peek through the dense fog, they light like kindling to a fire. A wave of relief washes over the young woman as she nods and locks her pinky with the woman.

Katsume smiles and moves to stand before Daku, who quirks a brow. "I already know what you're going to say, so don't," he grumbles, avoiding eye contact.

"Okay, I won't then. As long as you know." She chuckles and glides her hand from his forelock to his muzzle as she moves to his side to mount.

"You've changed more than you think, Katsume." He cranks his neck, giving her a curt nudge with his nose.

"Ah, don't get all soft on me...I haven't changed that much." She lets out a hollow chuckle and mounts up, Yui wrapping her arms tightly around her waist.

The nearest enemy is to the East, and Kakashi's chakra is somewhere West, so we'll work our way over there. He's taking longer than I anticipated, but that's good news for me in regard to our challenge. However, I want this scavenger hunt to be over sooner rather than later. It's pissing me off. So, I want him to hurry up but also to take his time so that I can beat him.

Clones, don't fail me now!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"AH-CHOO!"

Kakashi gives his nose a rub. "That came out of nowhere...." He places the back of his hand on his forehead, gauging its temperature.

Maybe the tea was tainted. Aftereffect?

He kicks a piece of rubble from his path of destruction–his many attempts at busting through the crystal dome resulted in craters littering the surrounding earth. Even with all his attempts, the minimal damage done to the dome after his attack would simply replenish as if nothing had ever happened. This leads him to conclude that it has to be achieved in one decisive blow, creating a hole too big for it to regenerate and ultimately causing the dome to dissipate.

At first, he thought a lightning blade would do the trick; however, the attack wasn't wide enough, therefore leading him to the next strategy of summoning a shadow clone and using the lightning blade simultaneously. After many attempts, that too failed.

As frustrating and mind-numbing as the concept is, he had to hand it to Katsume for creating such an intellectual jutsu.

Widely ranged power jutsus are hard to come by, unfortunately.

Wait...Water Dragon might work...but there are no nearby bodies of water...

His calculated gaze turns to the dull overcast atmosphere. That's going to take forever...

Nevertheless, it's his only option as of right now.

Dammnit. Katsume better not be slacking off...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I haven't seen any sign of anyone, let alone some crazy sensory super ninja... this job is wack. Why did I get involved with that creepy snake guy and his lap dog!?"

The disgruntled man sighs and slides his back against the base of a tree as he makes perch in one of its high branches. He rests his left elbow on his knee as his other hand picks at the bark beside his leg, peeling it back layer by layer.

"Here I am, sent on this bullshit suicide mission right when I was about to confess my love to Guren." His gaze tracks along the branch at the squirrel perched in front of him, merrily gnawing on an acorn. It tilts his head at him. "You're right. She probably only sees me as a pathetic lackey...."

The squirrel swishes its bushy tail and wiggles its nose rapidly.

"I don't know...I haven't been under her command for long, but I can't help how I feel about her. Those cold and lifeless eyes of hers just do it for me. It's hard to tell what she's thinking," The man buries his face in the elbow resting on his knee.

"Sounds like you've got it rough."

The man startles as he makes eye contact with the equally concerned squirrel. "Did you just talk?!"

The squirrel, frightened by his sudden movement, darts off, hopping from branch to branch until it is no longer visible to the man. He looks off to the left, then to the right, then down below. Nothing. Odd...

"Just tell her how you feel. What's the worse that could happen? She says no?"

His eyes are met with amber when his gaze flicks back to his branch. A woman, defying the laws of physics, sits criss-cross-applesauce where the squirrel sat before. His first thought; Did that squirrel turn into a woman? But that was quickly debunked because he saw with his own eyes that the squirrel had run away.

The woman smiled at him, tilting her head as if asking him to answer her question, but he sat there frozen. The description of the 'super ninja' was that she had pearlescent hair...but this woman's brunette. So then, who is she? How did she get here in front of him without him noticing? She must've accidentally gotten wrapped up in Guren's jutsu. And how is she balancing on this thin branch like that?!

He sneakily adjusts his position on the branch, ensuring his hand is within reach of the kunai on his hip. "I'm afraid she'll reject m–"

"I wouldn't do that." Katsume cuts him off with a pointed glance.

A sudden shiver rolls down his spine. The woman seemed harmless, but every nerve in his body screamed at him to run for it or fight. A bead of sweat begins to form on his brow, observing as she uncrosses her legs and allows them to hang, swinging them casually as she gets more comfortable on the branch.

"Relax, bud! We're just talking~" the woman sing-songs playfully, but in an instant, he feels the sharp tip of a kunai poke his nose.

"Boop! Now tell me more about this lovely Guren, and if you could tell me what the whole plan was here, that would be great!" She twirls the kunai in the air, gesturing to the bright-pink dome.

"Like I would just tell you all of that!?" The man shouts–an act to tip the scales for his body, still teetering on whether to choose fight or flight.

"Uh...yeah? I bare no qualms about killing you, and I'm not in a very good mood right now. But! You have two options...Defy me and die. Or talk and get a one-minute head start. Your choice."

The woman's condescending smile quickly spins into annoyance, causing the man to promptly realize his position.

Sorry, Guren.

"Alright, alright! I'll tell you...." The man exhales in defeat. "All I know is, Guren has been that creep snake guy's lap dog for a long time now with the promise that he would give her some crazy power, which he ultimately granted her recently with an assignment to prove her loyalty. She was to intercept a rare jutsu and kill some super sensory ninja that escaped him. 'Tie up loose ends' and all that jazz." The man curtly explains.

Katsume taps her kunai on her lip as she processes the information. "Ah. So it was both..." She then twirls it casually before returning it to its pouch on her thigh. "Okie-dokie then! Your thirty seconds startsss...Now!"

"W-What?! Y-You said one minute!" The man sputters in panic.

"I changed my mind. Tick-Tock! Times-a-waste'n!" She raises her eyebrows in amusement as she taps the non-existent watch adorning her wrist.

The man yelps and scurries off the branch and down the tree, breaking into a full sprint the minute his shoes touch the grass into a dense thick of trees.

"Like a couple of trees could hide you from me." Katsume chuckles at the display as she moves to get her feet. Stuffing her hands in her pockets, she walks along the branch until she gets to the tree's base, adjusting the chakra in her feet to walk along the trunk. "Super sensory ninja, huh? I kinda like the sound of that."

Dakuhosu, with Yui riding on his back, emerges from the thicket of trees. Katsume meets them halfway in the clearing, walking alongside them to their next destination.

"Hey. A strange man ran past us a minute ago. Shouldn't you go after him?" Yui asks, gesturing behind them with her thumb.

"He can't get far, what with the dome and all." A smirk tugs at the ivory-haired woman's lips. Plus, I take pleasure in giving my prey extra time so they believe they're free.

Dakuhosu gives her a knowing look. Sometimes she swears he can read her mind, but he just knows her entirely too well.

"That seems extremely reckless but okay! " Yui stretches her arms above her head, leaning slightly toward each side. "The East flower has been destroyed."

"And all the clones are still intact...or captured, but that's unlikely," Katsume informs, mumbling the last bit since the information isn't all that necessary. "We'll head for the North point next, then meet up with Kakashi in the West for a status update." She rolls her neck and, with a bit of help from her hand under her chin, it pops, granting a sigh of satisfaction. "Same strategy for the next point. I'll suppress your chakra and distract the henchman while you locate the flower and destroy it."

Yui gives her a thumbs up, "Got it."

"We'll walk for a bit so Daku can rest before he has to run again." Katsume looks over to the dark horse, giving him a sly wink.

Dakuhosu rolls his eyes, "You spoil me."

Yui dismounts the massive horse, allowing him to rest without the burden of her weight. Though, her weight is like a lowly fly hitching a ride to the incredible beast. She attempts to walk in step with the tall woman, but her long graceful legs make the task exceedingly difficult.

"Can I ask you a question?" The young woman inquires whilst twirling a noir tress between her fingers.

"I don't know...Can you?" Katsume side-eyes the woman, pressing her tongue into the side of her cheek to keep herself from smiling.

Yui narrows her onyx eyes at the ninja. "I despise people like you."

Katsume's eyebrows raise amusingly. "That's some big talk for someone whose life is in my hands."

"Forget it."

Katsume throws her head back in boisterous laughter. "No! I'm just messing with you! Go ahead and ask."

"No. Nevermind." The young woman crosses her arms in defiance.

"Fine. Don't ask. However, I won't apologize for teaching the youth proper grammar."

After a moment of testing silence, Yui gives in to Katsume's play of reverse psychology.

"I know it's none of my business...but is there something going on between you and the silver-haired ninja?" Yui asks timidly. "I'm simply curious."

Katsume gasps, choking on the air, then casually clears her throat. "That's quite an invasive question. Kakashi...He's–W-We're partners. I mean, comrades! We're comrades."

Yui observes as the seemingly harmless question causes the seemingly untouchable woman to falter, bringing great entertainment to the younger woman. "Yeah, you sound really confident with that answer."

Katsume takes a deep breath and releases it. Her answer was true, but why was it so hard to get out? Kakashi Hatake is Katsume's comrade, her senior jounin, and her fellow co-sensei. But he's also her friend, right? Someone she cares for deeply. But deep enough to want to cross that line? ...Possibly.

Maybe her heart and her logic are not on the same page.

Katsume lets out a hollow sigh. There are better times and places to spend time on such things. "If I'm being honest...There might be more to it, but I've been relishing our friendship. I couldn't bare to ruin that. He's a genuine, thoughtful guy, but I don't believe he sees me that way

...and I'm okay with that."

Yui looks up to meet her sullen amber eyes staring off to the West. "I get it; you're still figuring it out." She lets out a light chuckle, "For a brute, you're a big softy."

Katsume runs a hand through her hair, flicking off a piece of dried mud at the equine to her right. "You ready to go, big guy?"

"My choices are limited to 'yes' or kill you for dominance...so yes," Dakuhosu states matter of factly.

"If you kill me, you'll be bored. Remember that." Katsume retorts.

As the two women climb aboard Dakuhosu, they begin their expedition to the North point of the Crystal Labyrinth.

They were traveling at high speeds, hair whipping through the air haphazardly, when in this state of utter chaos, amidst hanging on for her life as the three bobbed, weaved, ducked, and jumped, Yui Enmei had an epiphany.

"Hey, Katsume!" She calls over the blaring wind. "If it's your technique...can't you just release it?"

Dakuhosu comes to a complete stop, his hind legs sliding in the dirt, creating a cloud of dust. The sudden halt forces Yui to slam into Katsume's back, getting a face full of unruly mud-matted hair in the process.

Katsume scratches her head in thought. "Uh...under normal circumstances, the answer would be no. That's because although many people can wield the same jutsu, since it's imbued with their unique chakra, it can't be released by someone else. There are exceptions, like genjutsu, which other genjutsu users can release," She brings her index knuckle to her lips, pondering the possibility.

"But my suspicions were confirmed by the last henchman that this Crytal Release user got her abilities through Orochimaru, who took my DNA to clone my ability. However, we already know it's not an exact replica."

Yui narrows her eyes in confusion. "I don't understand where you're going with this. Can you release it or not?"

"I have no idea." Katsume rubs her neck. "It's worth a shot, though."

Yui deadpans.

Katsume holds her index and middle fingers together at mouth level, pointed towards the sky. She closes her eyes in concentration while Yui peeks over her shoulder in curiosity to watch the ninja at work.

"Jade Crystal Labrynth; Release."

...

Yui's noir gaze flicks between the woman and the pink dome encapsulating the area.

"I don't think it wor–"

BOOM!!