CW possession, blood(seriously, there's a lot of blood my poor red gel pen), Violence, Temporary Character death, choking, strangling, impaling, eyes, Recalled Spoilers.
Warnings: blood, injury, wounds, impaling, threat of death, unclear character status
Hero's chest seized with each shallow breath. They couldn't breathe through the pain. Couldn't breathe through their fear. Couldn't breathe through the two and a half foot long shard of ice impaling them.
They had vastly underestimated Villain's abilities. They had merely thought that Villain could make the room cold, maybe freeze some surfaces. They had no idea that Villain had turned ice wielding into a weapon.
And a powerful one at that.
As the ice and snow at their feet became stained red with the blood that flowed around the shard in their chest, Hero realized this mistake would likely be their last. There would be no coming back from this. Sidekick with their superspeed wouldn't get here in time. And even Superhero with their regenerative healing powers wouldn't make it in time.
"I warned you, Hero," Villain called coldly as they walked forward. "I warned you not to cross me. Not to discount me."
Hero tried to breathe with shredded lungs. "I....I....I c-c-couldn't...." Their chest heaved as they tried to get a good enough breath to speak.
But Villain didn't let them. "I warned you. But you didn't listen. And now you're paying the cost."
Hero could see the ice gathering in Villain's hand. Could see with each step Villain's blade grew and grew. Could see how this was going to play out. But still, they were powerless to stop it.
"And what a cost it is," Villain said as they thrust the blade of ice into Hero's chest.
The last thing Hero heard as their world went black was Villain's dark laughter in their ear, the sound of their own ragged breathing beginning to fade, and the sound of cracking ice.
During a mission you suffer a wound and Kakashi is there to save you.
You and Kakashi are on a mission together, a straightforward one yes, but a ninja’s duties were never one to be dismissed. You two are supposed to explore one of the nearby forests and scout for any clues of possible thieves after a string of night robberies took place. They specifically were targeting ninja tool shops, obviously either stockpiling for some sort of attack or were selling them on the black market. An eyewitness saw them heading west towards the Hidden Rain Village...any connection to Orochimaru needed to be investigated despite there being little evidence he was involved. Thus, the Hokage had asked you, a freshly appointed ANBU member, and Kakashi to investigate quietly. Your thoughts trail off as you jump through the trees, wind and drizzling rain rushing past your ears--your eyes kept sharp for anything out of the ordinary.
“Y/n, wait,” Kakashi calls calmly, coming to a halt on one of the moss-covered branches. You dash over to his position and adjust your wooden mask slightly. He crouches and gets a closer look. “Here, a set of footprints.”
“Whoever did it must have done so recently, the rain would have washed it away,” you reply, “I suspect they may be nearby. Don’t let your guard down,”
“Oi, oi, I should be the one telling you that,” Kakashi says, “But yes. The footprint is headed towards that rocky area. They could be hiding in a cave or cliffside. We should check it out but not get too close. We know they have weapons and we don’t have a great idea of what kind of justu they may use.”
A solid nod is shared between the two of you before you both turn and once more are on the move towards the suspected location, now slower and more careful to stick to shadowed areas to avoid being seen.
As you two get closer, the mist that surrounded the area no longer hides the fact that campfire smoke rose out of the mouth of a cave and hurried muddy footprints led straight for it. Stopping on the edge of the forest clearing, the two of you exchange glances. Kakashi signals for the two of you to split on either side of the opening while drawing out a kunai with his other hand. You do the same, exhaling a slow and silent breath as you do so to center yourself before going ahead and put on your cloak and hood.
You and Kakashi turn your backs against the wall and laughter can be heard. You count three men’s voices as their conversation drifts and echoes. “Man I still can’t believe we got away with it...we’ll be set for life after one more hit..” A pause. “...Of course we weren’t followed...”
There was more silence not long after. Your heart thuds in your chest. One voice speaks quietly, “Stash it all in the back, I think we have company.”
In a flash, the sounds of fast shuffling and a whizzing of kunai flew from within the cave. The two of you threw return fire and backed up away from the entrance. “Damn it,” you mutter under your breath, drawing your katana and hold it with both hands. Kakashi readies his stance and reveals his sharingan as three ninja run out, dressed in black cloaks. “Get them!” One cries as two of them rush you, throwing stars and kunai, all to be blocked with your blade. You thrust towards them, swinging and slashing as one grabs their own sword. Dodging your attacks, they split up and and the mist begins to thicken... hidden mist justu.
Out of the corner of your eye you see vague outlines Kakashi throwing punches and kicks with who seems like the smaller of the three, dodging and dashing in and out of direct combat when with a loud “Chidori!” the sound of birds and lighting is muffled and then loud again as his attacker is struck through the chest before the mist and rain completely whitens out your vision.
You feel your way to to turn your back to the cave wall once more to guard it. You gather your chakra and swing your katana forward, “Shinkūken!” A gust of wind flows from your sword and disturbs the fog around you in an attempt to gain any insight of your enemies, scanning the area directly around you. Nothing. Best thing now would be height, perhaps you could get on a ledge and get out of the fog. You prepare to jump when you hear, “Didn’t anyone teach you not to turn your back to an enemy?”
One arm melds through the cave wall and wraps around your neck and chokes you before you feel the piercing of a sword through your back and out the front of your stomach. The tip dripping with your blood. “Ack-!” You manage to yell before you feel it pull out again, blood staining the front of your grey jacket. The pain is searing through your core as you struggle to breathe. In an attempt to at least return air to your lungs, you quickly pick up a kunai from your leg strap and stab the enemy’s arm. He cries out and releases you.
You fall to your knees and grab at your bleeding wound, hunched over in pain as the ninja reveals himself and comes out of the wall, yanking out your kunai from his own arm. He holds the bloody tool and his own sword and grins. “You ANBU aren’t anything to be scared of,” He chuckles and raises his blade.
The other of the enemy ninja screams somewhere beyond the mist and is then silent, making the last one in front of you turn his head towards the direction of the yell. Now! You think and take advantage of his distraction. You muster your strength and quickly up and cut him down across the chest, his body crumpling at your feet. Breathing heavily, you clean your blade and return it to its sheath on your back. Rain soaks through your clothes and sends a chill through you. The mist lifts with the death of its caster and you see Kakashi making his way towards you.
“You alright?” he says through his own pants, placing a gloved hand on your shoulder.
You nod despite the intense pain coming from your core and back. You hide your bloodied vest with your cloak and and are thankful for your mask to hide your intense grimace. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
He pats your shoulder before performing mud wall technique to seal the cave. He pulls his headband back to hide his sharingan once more. “We can report back to the Hokage now and they can dispatch people to come pick up all the merchandise. There’s too much for just us to carry back.”
You manage a “Yeah, let’s go,” and with that, the two of you dash back up into the trees and head back towards the village. Let’s just get back as soon as possible. I gotta get this taken care of. Not now, not in front of him, you think. Kakashi had always been someone you looked up to, and to look weak in front of him was not an option. Especially not as an ANBU. Weakness is not tolerated.
As you jump from tree to tree back to Konohoa your pain grows as you trail behind Kakashi. Every jump and landing on a branch is felt through you. Hidden under your cloak you hold your hand to it in an attempt to help stop the bleeding and reduce the impact but it was intense and only getting worse. In your thoughts, you fall further behind and your vision begins to blur. “Shit...Kakashi....”
While quiet, your call is heard and Kakashi stops and turns to see you lose your balance and fall to the forest floor in a heap. “Y/n!” He cries out and jumps down to your side, your wound revealed. “Dammit, y/n why didn’t you say something?”
The frustration in his voice is also tinged with worry, his hands then covering you and uses his body weight to apply better pressure. Through your mask your vision worsens and the edges of the eyeholes of your mask seem to get smaller as your consciousness begins to fade and your breathing gets more labored. “I didn’t want...some faceless ANBU...to let down...the great copy ninja...” Then there was nothing but black.
His eyebrows furrow and he checks to see the bleeding has stopped as well as checking your pulse and breathing. Alive, but unconscious, he picks you up in his arms and once more makes his way to the village, heading straight to the hospital. “Faceless, maybe,” he murmurs, “but precious life none the less.”
***
You wake up in the hospital, the feeling of tight bandages around your middle. Throbbing pain radiates from your stomach but it’s no where near as bad as before. Opening your eyes to the bright lights, a tired Kakashi is sitting at your bedside, reading Make Out Paradise. You feel the blood rush to your face as you realize its him and turn away to hide it.
“Hey, seems like someone’s awake,” the masked ninja says casually, putting his book away and sitting back in his chair.
“Y-yeah,” you reply, turning your head to once again face him while fiddling with the white bedsheet between your fingers.
He lets the silence hang in the air for a second. “What, so a big bad ANBU ninja can kill a man no problem, but they can’t say, ‘Ow?’” He jokes giving a small laugh. You can’t help but let out your own laugh and crack a smile.
“I suppose so. I’m sorry, but thank you.”
“No problem, y/n,” He assures you before leaning forward again grabbing your hand. “Just please don’t be afraid to ask for help. A ninja can’t do their job properly if they don’t trust their teammates to lend aid. It doesn’t make you weak, it makes you smart.”
You nod and look down. It’s true, teammates and teamwork is key and hiding from them sabotages the mission and puts you all in danger. Kakashi squeezes your hand before letting it go. “Luckily this time you got me as your teammate, and I never let my teammates die,” he says confidently.
Once again your blood rushes to your face. With that, he stands to leave when he adds, “No worries, y/n. I know you’re a strong ninja and this is just a step towards being even stronger.”
Wild doesn't need sleep- until he does. After a month and a half of being awake, rushing around to find everyone the compass points to, he finally starts to run out of energy.
TW: violence, impaling
Link crept silently through the undergrowth, eyes narrowed, flicking around and taking in the late afternoon forest. There was a monster camp ahead… he needed to clean it out before their group could move through.
Off to his right, Captain was stalking along, as quiet as he could manage with his armor. He’d insisted that Link take companions to fight, to which Link had hesitantly agreed.
To the left, the massive, dark wolf that was Twilight seemed to blend into the undergrowth, only patches of fur showing through the leaves as he padded ahead.
Link blinked, flinching slightly as a line of script appeared across his vision. He grimaced slightly, reading through the Shiekah script.
Energy is critically low. Sleep immediately.
He dismissed the message, then darted ahead through the trees. It was the third day he’d ignored the message. He didn’t have time to sleep. They had to find where the last three arrows were leading them. There was no time to waste, and he wasn’t going to waste a full day by sleeping.
Up ahead, the monster camp appeared out of the trees. It was a large camp, with five bokoblins, a boss bokoblin, and two moblins. He knew how to handle these. He glanced around, motioning for Twilight and Captain to both hang back.
He summoned a bow, putting an arrow to the string and fusing a muddlebud to the point. He held his breath against the dizzyingly sweet pollen, drawing back the string, and launching the arrow right into the middle of the camp. It hit the boss boko and two of the little bokos, and chaos began to spread through the camp.
Link darted closer, ducking behind a tree as a stone whistled by his head. He scrambled up the trunk, perching on a branch and drawing back, aiming a fire arrow into the camp. Bokoblins screamed as flames erupted around them.
The two that had been muddled were dead, and the boss boko was shaking itself, its eyes clearing from the confusion. Link huffed slightly at that. Monsters were annoyingly good at recovering quickly from the muddlebuds.
He took a deep breath, whistling loudly, and Twilight exploded out of the undergrowth, howling and barreling into the monster camp. He crashed into one of the moblins, tearing into it with claw and fang.
Captain appeared as well, his sword drawn as he danced through the confused monsters, leaving behind a trail of thin slashes and dark blood.
Link watched for a moment, then leaped off of the branch, slowing time as he drew back his bow. He landed four shots to the face of the boss boko, sending it sprawling before he landed, switching out his bow for the master sword.
Energy is critically low. Sleep immediately.
The message flashed across his eyes and he dismissed it. He was in the middle of a fight, this absolutely wasn’t the time or place to fall asleep-
He skidded to a stop next to the boss boko, hacking into its tough skin with his sword. He landed another few hits before it recovered, rolling to its feet with a roar. It was silver, making it much more resilient than the others in the camp.
Link dodged the first strike, retaliating with a strike to the boss boko’s wrist. It had a royal claymore, he’d have to be careful not to get hit. He landed another few strikes up the arm of the boss boko, causing it to stagger back, wailing and tossing its great head.
It swung wildly, the blade whistling through the air, and Link leaped back, slowing time down and sliding easily into the flurry rush. He got eight hits in, thick droplets of blood spraying around him as time returned to normal. The boss boko howled, slumping forwards in an attempt to shield its torn gut.
Link slipped forward, staying low and moving fast. He stabbed his sword into the knee of the boss boko, causing it to topple backwards with a scream. He skittered around the failing limbs, dodging the claymore one last time, before driving the Master Sword deep into the neck of the boss boko. It gurgled, blood splattering across the ground as its flailing slowed, then stopped.
Link stepped away, shaking his head slightly to clear the faint dizziness. He’d need to collect all the bits he could before heading back to camp… he…
There was a rushing sound in his ears, and the dizziness got worse. He… this was bad. His vision started darkening in the corners, and he thought he heard someone shouting for him… he glanced up, wavering slightly.
Twilight was sprinting towards him, shouting and waving. He looked panicked… Link shook his head again, and for a moment, the rushing sound faded.
“WILD- WILD LOOK OUT-”
Link blinked, then whirled just in time to get a thick, wooden spear to the gut. He grunted, eyes going wide as the tip of the spear pushed through his armor and into his stomach. The moblin standing over him snarled, shoving the spear deeper into him, pushing him off balance. He fell back, landing against the body of the boss boko. Sharp pain started throbbing through the numb coldness his body felt, racing out from the spear tip and up through his gut. The pain pulsed in time with his heart, spreading further through his body with each beat.
He wasn’t… functioning. He couldn’t fight. Everything was shutting down- he’d been shutting down before he’d been impaled.
A dull roar reached his ears, and he glanced up in time to see Twilight crash into the moblin, knocking it back. The spear was yanked from his gut, and Link slowly flopped onto his side, wheezing slightly as he watched blood begin to pool on the ground in front of him. He had to… had to heal… had to heal now…
He tried to open his inventory, but couldn’t. Only a faint message blinking across his sight.
Energy is spent. Entering sleep. Will wake in: 20 hours.
No… no that was too long… he had to… heal…
Darkness.
*************************************
Link fell to his knees next to Wild, his mind already racing. Why hadn’t he gotten out of the way? He was healing himself, right?
He looked dead- he wasn’t moving, his eyes half-closed, his breath coming in slow, stuttering bursts. He was bleeding- there was a hole in his gut. The ground in front of him had gotten a blue-red sheen from the steady stream of blood. Link bit his lip, trying to think. This was bad. Wild wasn’t healing, and he was bleeding out. Maybe he’d been knocked unconscious?
He quickly unclipped his scarf, bundling it up and pressing it to Wild’s gut. He needed to stop the blood flow, he knew enough to do that.
“Twilight-” he called, looking over his shoulder. Twilight had just finished killing the last moblin, and he hurried over, his eyes wide with worry.
“Is he ok?” he asked, his deep voice louder than normal.
“He’s unconscious,” Link said, turning back to Wild and putting more pressure on the wound. It was already starting to bleed through his scarf.
“I need you to go get the others. Flower, Sky and Sun, they’re more equipped to deal with injuries. I’ll stay with Wild and keep him stable,”
“Alright, hang tight,” Twilight said, turning and darting away. Link grimaced slightly, shifting closer to Wild so he could have better leverage. He needed to keep pressure on the wound, he knew that much.
Goddesses he didn’t like this. He’d never seen Wild like this, usually he healed himself quickly. It was unsettling to see him this vulnerable.
He tried to steady his breathing. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if he panicked. He started quietly reciting a prayer in his mind. Prayer to Nayru for the healing of the wounded. It was one he could recite in his sleep. He slowly calmed, familiar words flowing smoothly from his tongue. He could almost ignore the warm wetness slowly soaking into his gloves. Wild would be alright. The others would know what to do.
He didn’t know how much time had passed before he heard the sounds of the others returning. He glanced up right as Flower skidded to a stop next to him.
“Captain- what happened? Is he alright?” she asked frantically, pulling out her slate.
“We were fighting. I didn’t see what happened, but he was stabbed by a moblin. He hasn’t moved since he fell, but he’s still breathing.” Link said, leaning back slightly so she could see. Her face twisted slightly, and she leaned over Wild, her focused gaze scouring his face.
“Of course- I told him he was pushing himself too hard-” she muttered.
“What do you mean?” Link asked, moving out of the way and letting Sun take his place. Her hands were already glowing with healing power.
“He’s asleep,” Flower said, her tone a mix of worry and exasperation.
“Asleep?” Twilight asked.
“Yes. He doesn’t need sleep as often as most people. The longest he’s gone without sleep is fifty-two days. When he starts running low on energy, he gets warnings. He can choose to ignore them, forcing himself to stay awake, but eventually he just shuts down, his body forcing sleep on him for an unknown amount of time. He can’t be woken, and he won’t react to anything. My guess is, he’s been getting warnings for the last few days, but ignoring it because we’re in such a rush.” Flower explained, grimacing.
Link winced, glancing at Wild again. That would explain why he’d collapsed… though the ability to ignore sleep for so long was certainly useful. It would explain why he’d never seen Wild sleep until now. But still…
“Twilight, once Wild is healed, can you carry him back to the others? We’ll make camp until he wakes up.” he said. He’d have to talk to Wild once he was awake… he could understand why Wild would want to push himself this hard, but… collapsing like he had would slow them down more than just taking a few hours to rest. He’d make sure this didn’t happen again.
Whumpee’s heartsunk at Caretaker’s words. Anything. Anything for them. And Whumpee wouldn’t have Caretaker paying the ultimate price for them. It was their sworn duty to protect and defend Caretaker. “NO! YOU CAN’T! NO!”
Caretaker smiled wistfully at Whumpee. “It’s ok, Whumpee. It’s ok.”
Whumper cackled at Whumpee’s display. “Well, Caretaker, I think you know what I want.”
Caretaker’s gaze never left Whumpee’s face. “I do.”
“And you’ll give it me for Whumpee’s freedom?”
Without missing a beat, Caretaker replied, “Absolutely.”
“Excellent!” Whumper crowed as they realized all their hard work had come to fruition. At last.
“But Whumper,” Caretaker finally turned their head to Whumper, “I would like to be able to say goodbye to Whumpee first.”
“NO! Caretaker! Please! No!” Whumpee struggled uselessly against the coils of rope that bound them. They needed to stop Caretaker from doing this!
Whumper considered a moment, hand stroking the sword hilt at their side. “I will allow it. You may have a few moments.”
“Please unbind them first.” Caretaker said as they started to walk towards Whumpee.
Whumper rolled their eyes. “I guess.” They nodded to the guard hold Whumpee back.
Whumpee stumbled forward as the ropes binding them were cut by the guard’s sword. Caretaker caught them and took Whumpee gently in their arms. “Whumpee, it’s ok.” They whispered quietly in Whumpee’s ear. “You are going to be ok. That’s all that matters to me.”
“No! Caretaker, you can’t give up your kingdom for me! You can’t give up everything for me! Please!”
Caretaker hugged Whumpee tightly. “What’s the point in having a kingdom, having all this, if I can’t share it with the person I love the most?” They pulled back and kissed Whumpee’s forehead. “You’ll be ok, Whumpee.”
And with that, Caretaker stepped away and knelt before Whumper. “I’m ready.”
Whumper grinned wickedly as they drew their sword. “Excellent.”
Caretaker closed their eyes as Whumper brought their sword down, Whumpee’s name on their lips. But the blade never came. A sickening squelching sound came along with Whumpee’s mumbled, “Oh.”
Caretaker wrenched their eyes open as Whumper’s cackle grew and their heart stopped. Whumpee stood before them, eyes wide as their hands went to the sword that had burst through their chest. Bloodstains bloomed around the room as they collapsed to their knees.
With a sharp battlecry, Caretaker’s army charged forward while Caretaker took Whumpee in their arms. One last time.
Caretaker didn’t notice their army surge around them. Didn’t notice their army begin to overwhelm and overtake Whumper’s army. Didn’t notice Whumper disappear into the crowd, Caretaker’s top captains hot in pursuit. They didn’t notice the sounds of battle and dying around them. They only had eyes for Whumpee.
Whumpee. Their most diligent warrior. Their fierce protector. Their secret lover. Their everything. Bleeding out and dying in their arms. “Whumpee, please, no,” Caretaker murmured as tears filled their arms.
Whumpee’s breaths came in stuttering gasps. “C-C-Caretaker.” Their shaking hand found Caretaker’s. They squeezed weakly.
“Why, Whumpee?” Caretaker’s voice broke.
“L-love you...you.” Whumpee’s voice was barely audible. They blinked heavily as they struggled to breathe. “L-L-Loyal t-t-t-o th-th-the end.”
Caretaker leaned down and kissed Whumpee once more, a howling keen ripping from their throat as they pulled back. One of their captains knelt at their side, hand on their shoulder squeezing tightly.
As the battle died down, Caretaker’s army victorious as always, they gathered around and flanked Caretaker. The army heard Caretaker’s cries. Saw their tears. Smelt Whumpee’s blood. Watched Caretaker rock with Whumpee’s lifeless corpse in their arms. They felt their royal’s pain. Waves of soldiers took a knee to honor their fallen soldier. To honor the love before them. And to honor that Whumpee was loyal to the end.