Pain. Incredible pain pulsed throughout Okuri’s body. For a few brief moments he was extremely aware of the entire world around him: the gasps and terror of the audience, the total helplessness of Itachi, the traumatisation of Chika, the displeasure of the Hokage and Kazekage, the ruthless laughter of the Raikage, and most of all, the sadistic joy of Taro. Then, slowly, he began to loose that perception. The first sense gone was taste; the flavour of blood in his mouth grew fainter. Then his sense of touch went; the lightning no longer caused him pain, and he did not feel the earth beneath his hands. After that his sight went; his vision faded to black. Next his sense of hearing went; the crackle of lightning and horrified cries of the audience disappeared, along with the laughter of those who took delight in his pain. The last sense to go was smell; he was relieved of the scent of his own flesh burning. But the hunger stayed. The hunger never went away. It was the only thing reminding him he was alive. Or maybe he was dead. Maybe he was in that place all the bad people go.
A blast of cold air, and all his senses snapped back. He was in a dark, icy cave, and the wind was howling harshly. Before him, a massive expanse of white fur. Okuri crawled forward, and the white fur shifted. He stopped, not knowing what to do. The white fur turned, and Okuri looked upon the face of a giant wolf, compared to which he was not even the size of a flea. Its yellow eyes were blood shot, with seven veins clearly appearing in each eye. From behind it, seven bushy tails rose. And then Okuri saw the chains.
The chains restricted the wolf in countless ways, some binding his paws to the invisible ground, others keeping his tails from moving that much. The most noticeable chain was the one wrapped around his jaws in a rough muzzle. No such beast was listed in descriptions of the afterlife. So where was he?
The beast brought its head close to Okuri so that he kneeled at the front edge of his jaws.
“So…this is what happens when I tell you not to screw up.”
His mind. This was his mind. And this wolf was the voice in his head that only spoke up when he was losing a fight. He began to look himself over and see that he too was caught up in these chains. Except the wolf’s chains seemed to be restraining him; Okuri’s allowed full freedom of movement. It was if they only existed to attach something to him.
“I suppose it was inevitable in the end.” the beast murmured. “You’re only a boy, after all, and it’s a dangerous world out there. The military leaders of the main continent are always pushing their young ones beyond their limits….meeting an opponent you couldn’t beat was truly unavoidable.” The beast shook its head and continued. “That man is a terrible father, teaching Taro to summon that weapon…he’s likely to fry himself. But I can’t rely on that happening.”
Okuri began to feel his muscles tense. To distract himself from this, he tried talking to the beast. “You...you’re helping me?”
“Of course! You did the best you could, you deserve a second chance!” Okuri’s heart began to beat faster, and adrenaline started to pump through his veins. “Besides, Taro ate another human’s soul halfway through the fight. That’s cheating.”
“HUMAN SOUL?!?!”
“It was in the pill. Don’t ask me how it got there, I just know that it was there.” The beast eyes narrowed its eyes. “And remember, you have until sunrise to end Taro’s life.”
“Kill him??!?”
“ BEFORE THE SUN RISES, OKURI, TAKE HIS HEAD BEFORE THE SUNRISE!”
It was then that Okuri realized that his chains and those of the wolf were the same. They bound them together, allowing him to move but preventing the wolf from touching him. The wolf forced its jaws open just a tiny crack, and began to gently exhale. It’s cold, icy breath sucked itself into Okuri’s lungs, and the pain made him want to scream. The immense power pulsing through him, however, stopped him.
