Otsutsuki Found!

Kitsuki gave the area one last canvass. By her appearance, you'd think that she was the one in need of rescue. Kit's eyes had bags under them, her uniform was disheveled, she looked as though she had not slept in days and in truth she hadn't. The girl's hair was a tangled mess of an afro. She had flown over the area dozens of times and had caught no sight of Arisu or Naitome. Before she left, she decided she'd give the region one last thorough check. Kit was silent as was Zizz.

It wasn't supposed to turn out like this.....
ⵜⵀⵉⵏⴳⵙ ⴳoⵜ oⵓⵜ oⴼ ⵀⴰⵏⴷ ⴼⴰⵙⵜ

When Arisu had not shown up at the inn as planned, Kit didn't think much of it. The alien was smart, strong, and she had Naitome to back her up. The pair were probably formidable warriors given their lineage and military rank. When the minutes turned to hours and then days, Kit grew worried. The evacuation had long been over and she hadn't heard a peep from her comrade. She went out looking for Arisu in earnest. She asked civilians if they had seen someone matching her and Naitome's descriptions, she flew over her last known location, she even sent a letter back home asking if Arisu had returned without her. All of her efforts were in vain. It was as if the Otsutsuki had vanished from the Earth. Kituski considered the possibility that maybe Arisu didn't want to be found. Perhaps Arisu knew that Kit was on to her and that the investigation would uncover evidence of wrongdoing. If that was the case, then fleeing and turning Nuke-Nin would be her only option. Kit held onto this theory and used it to drive her search. She played the role of detective looking for a criminal on the loose but it was Zizz of all people that guided her away from that possibility. The Angel saw how the pursuit of justice was corrording Kit's character. The musician was merciful and kind but the stress of the situation was turning her into a bounty hunter. Zizz told Kit that they shouldn't jump to conclusions and that while Arisu was still a suspect, she was innocent until proven guilty.

She had heard a story of a group of men making off with what appeared to be a pale woman. That tale was enough to send her into overdrive. She spent weeks searching high and low but could not find a trace of Arisu. Kit was rackeed with guilt. If she had just stayed with Arisu and looked out for her then maybe she'd be at home right now. Naitome was bound to Arisu so whatever befell her would affect him as well. Both of their souls were on her conscience and you could tell just by looking at her that their weight nearly broke her.

Kit looked around with dead eyes. She was in the same rocky pass that she had crossed time and time again. She was about to turn and leave when she saw someone propped up on the side of a slope. The person had white hair and was wearing rags. A familiar young man was laying beside her.

"Arisu!" Kitsuki shouted. The girl raced to her comrade's location. The Otsutsuki appeared to be waking up but that wasn't enough. Kit had to be sure she was okay. She put her hands on the girl's shoulders and gently shook her.

"Arisu wake up! Please!" Kit was on the verge of tears. She hadn't known the girl very long. In fact, she was more suspicious of her than not. Yet there was good in this soul. She had worked to save others and had shown Kit kindness at every opportunity. This wouldn't be the end of her story. There was so much for her to do. Kit could feel it.

Arisu's mind flooded with a bunch of images. Menza had given her a weird drug designed to erase her memory of the events that she'd gone through at his hands, but it hadn't fully worked as intended. While she couldn't recall the information very well, she was still processing blurred images, and the pain she'd endured was etched into her very being.

Awoken with a shake as she was still processing, Arisu let out a howl of pain, as a particularly vivid memory resurfaced right when she was being awoken. She placed a hand over her eyes, and was relieved that she could still see. She still had her eyes. Activating her Rinnegan, she looked at Kitsuki, seeing that she was still normal and this wasn't some genjutsu placed by Menza.

"....Kit...suki." she said, shakily, but relieved. Her voice was hoarse. A combination of dehydration and having screamed it raw throughout the torture she'd endured. Her body was surprisingly free of any marks, but Menza was a very accomplished medical practitioner.

Reanimating Naitome's body, he stirred next to her, having previously been as limp as a corpse. She looked into his eyes, and he looked into hers. She needed to be able to see from both of their perspectives. Her rinnegan was indeed active, but where there had once been two rings, there now was once again a singular one. Naitome's hand reached up and trailed just under Arisu's eyes, before he got to his feet.

"We were captured by the entity known as Menza. He tortured Arisu, and lost the Animal Path. We no longer have access to it. I don't know why he let us go." Naitome explained, lifting up Arisu and holding her close, protectively. A single black rose had been affixed to her hair, a parting gift from Menza's torture experimentation.

When Arisu spoke her name, Kit breathed a sigh of relief. She was okay, or at least well enough to talk. We need to get her to a doctor ASAP!. Naitome woke up and got Arisu to her feet. Kit was still ignorant to the fact that this person was just a corpse. A puppet under Arisu's control. Kit covered her hand with her mouth when he mentioned that they had been captured by Menza. Kitsuki wasn't super familiar with the name but she did recall reading about him in intel briefings. Much of the information about him was redacted but she knew he was an evil scientist and that he worked for the Society. Apparently he had tortured her to the point where they no longer had access to this Animal Path ability. Kitsuki was suddenly very paranoid.

He has to know that they were Ōtsutsuki and if he let them go then it was presumably for some sinister purpose. Mind control? A walking bomb? There was some angle here that she was not smart enough nor experienced enough to see. This was a job for Kiri's ANBU. For now, she'd need to get Arisu medical attention and then they'd need to make their way back home. She'd leave her suspicions behind her, Arisu was alive and right now that is all that mattered.

"....Arisu...No..." she whispered. To undergo brutal experimentation at the hands of a mad man was unconscionable. How much more sick could this world get? "Its okay. I'm here now. I'll protect you....I won't let anything happen to either of you. Let's get you to a clinic and then let's go home."

Kit wanted to hug Arisu and tell her everything was going to be okay. The girl looked shaken up and invader or no she was still a person. She didn't deserve to be tortured. A hug might be too familiar and Arisu too weak to endure it so she settled for assisting. Kitsuki would help Naitome get Arisu to safety and from there they could get back to the Isles.

[Exit to Kiri]

Naitome carried Arisu, who simply closed her eyes and they left to go get her some treatment. Naitome's body was unharmed as well, and since he didn't require any food, drink, or nourishment other than Arisu's chakra, he didn't need any himself. Arisu conserved her own energy and focused on feeding Naitome's actions. It was the best way to actually just rest up. Granted, her own source of chakra was virtually limitless, but the psychological toll she'd gone through had had its impact.

"If I'd not been linked to Arisu as I am, perhaps I could have done more to help her. You were right. Once she was knocked out, her chakra ceased to feed into me, and I couldn't assist her." Naitome commented. It was a genuine issue with the Six Paths of Pain technique. "So on behalf of us both, I apologize for throwing away my own life, such as it was."

It wasn't that he wanted to return to life or anything like that. While he wasn't exactly a man of free will, he had a greater deal of his personality than most any other Path would, as Arisu's Outer Path was tied more to life and death than most. Arisu mostly gave him autonomy to do things on his own, even though she had to direct him at times, since combat situations often had her focus split, and the technique was less effective in those scenarios. But without the Animal Path, the reason for him having bound his spirit to Arisu's chakra was much less valid. There was no longer the ability to transfer the Animal Path between the two of them.

There were still benefits to this life though. He couldn't feel pain, and he was still quite a deal stronger and faster, with full access to all of Arisu's techniques and chakra. Restoring himself wasn't something he would consider at this time. His life was a life of service to the younger Otsutsuki.

They'd receive help for Arisu, and when she was more physically and mentally ready, they would depart from Iwagakure, to head home.
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Exit to Kiri