Sanda: The lightning kitsune

That night, Nanashi found herself drawn like a moth to a flame towards Akiza's humble abode. Peeking through the window, she couldn't help but admire the peaceful slumber of her dear friend.

"Ah, how blissfully one rests when they know they are loved," Nanashi mused, a playful smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Especially when that love comes from none other than me!"

But Nanashi's mirth quickly turned to mischief as her gaze fell upon the slumbering form of Shippo. "Well, well, look at this disgusting little piglet," she tsked, her eyes gleaming with a hint of devilry. "Just listen to that horrendous snoring! Clearly, he's having such a wonderful dream."

Nanashi paused, tapping her chin in an exaggerated display of contemplation. "Now, we can't have that, can we?" Without further ado, she blew a light, rosy mist towards the unsuspecting Shippo.

The moment the vapour touched his face, Shippo's peaceful slumber was shattered. He began to toss and turn, moans and groans spilling from his lips as beads of sweat dotted his forehead.

Nanashi couldn't contain her glee, letting out a gleeful cackle. "There, there, Shippo. That's what you deserve for daring to enjoy yourself while I'm not around!"

 "Is it though?"

A voice came from behind her, making her knees go numb and almost causing her to collapse, but she managed to hang on to the window frame.

 "Hajimo! You startled me."

"Because you were doing something naughty," Hajimo responded.

"What do you want? I'm busy. I thought you were out of town to find my next target."

"Yes, I was, and that is why I am here. But seeing that you are so busy, I guess I shall come back in a few weeks, when you have time."

"Sensei, my dear, sweet, old and withered away, Sensei, why are you always so serious? You know I like to joke around here and there."

"Mhmm, I guess that is true."

"Right, so will you take me?" she said, mocking a pout and making puppy dog eyes.

Hajimo turned and then sighed heavily. "Come on."

"Yes!" she said, and ran up to her Sensei, jumping onto his back and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Let's go!"

"Shhh! You're making a noise," he warned.

 "Sorry."

 Hajimo trudged through the unforgiving night, each step a defiance against fate. The mountain loomed like a malevolent titan, its jagged peaks swallowed by thick black mist. Lightning, a wrathful deity, crackled above, casting eerie shadows on the treacherous path. Nanashi's hair stood on end, a testament to the electric tension in the air—a symphony of danger and anticipation.

And there it was, the white nine-tailed kitsune, an ethereal predator. Its tails, like celestial blades, glowed with an otherworldly blue—the colour of forgotten magic. The creature feasted upon its prey, crimson blood staining its maw. Its eyes, twin orbs of ancient knowledge, locked onto Hajimo. With deliberate grace, it raised its head, revealing fangs sharp enough to pierce souls. The bloodlust in its gaze promised both ecstasy and doom.

As if savoring the moment, the kitsune licked its lips—a serpent's languid motion. The taste of spilled life clung to its tongue, a macabre delicacy. In that charged silence

'So, the appointed time has come, my old friend Tengu,' the towering kitsune rumbled, its deep voice reverberating like rolling thunder.

Nanashi stirred in Hajimo's arms. "Why is everyone calling you Tengu?" she whispered, her words faint.

"Not now, Nanashi." Hajimo's voice was taut. "Yes, it has come. And I think you know what is about to happen, for I know how you loved that village."

The kitsune's lips peeled back in a vulpine sneer. "True, but you had promised me that I would not give it up without a fight. That you would make it worth my while by letting me relive one last day of my youth."

Hajimo set Nanashi down gently, her form swallowed by the swirling mists. "Yes, I can still fight. But unfortunately, I will not be the one battling today, as you can see..." He swept an arm down his wizened frame. "I am barely a shadow of what I once was."

The kitsune's tails lashed behind it like a gathering storm. "So what now, pray tell?" it growled.

"I have brought someone that will make it worth your while," Hajimo replied grimly. "Someone who will give you a real run for your money." He stepped aside, revealing a slight female figure silhouetted in the gloom.

The kitsune threw back its head and laughed, a sound like shattering ice. "A woman? I appreciate the gesture but I am in no mood for such...dalliances."

"Excuse me."

The soft voice cut through the kitsune's mocking laughter like a blade. In a blur of motion, Nanashi drew and loosed a glowing arrow of pure energy straight at the kitsune's heart.

The kitsune didn't even flinch as the blazing projectile streaked towards it. It simply stood its ground, allowing the arrow to slam into its chest. The lightning blast dissipated in a crackling burst, leaving the kitsune unscathed.

"Odd..." it rumbled, dark amusement lacing its tone. "That actually stung a little."

"Did, you really, just fire a lighting arrow and a lighting kitsune?" Hajimo asked her.

"Yes."

"WHY!'

"I wanted to see, whose lighting is stronger." Nanashi, replied plainly.

"You know, what Tengu, your student's brazen attitude, intrigues me, maybe I will take you up on your offer."

"Oi, why do you make it sound like you had a choice, I was going to kill you weather you agreed to it or not, Hajimo, I am a little tired, I want to sleep."

"This is no time to joke around, this guy is seriously powerful." Hajimo, protested.

"I cannot help it, I am a sleepy girl, besides, I think Yama, would be a better choice for him."

"What do you mean, Yama is dead, I saw you absorb him."

"Yes, you did but that does not mean he is dead, his spirt is and body is still with me, just look." A gasp escaped Nanashi's lips. With a graceful clap of her hands, the air shimmered and coalesced behind Hajimo. A portal, swirling with vibrant hues like the dawn sky, materialized. A gentle breeze, fragrant with the scent of a thousand blooming flowers, wafted out, carrying with it the most unexpected sight. There, emerging from the portal, stood Yama. Gone was the usual stoicism etched on his face. Instead, a radiant smile lit up his features, the likes of which Nanashi had never witnessed. He was adorned in garments the colour of moonlight, shimmering with an otherworldly elegance. It was a transformation so complete, so unexpected, that for a moment, the weight of the impending battle seemed to fade away, replaced by a sense of wonder and a flicker of hope.

 "Yama, but how?'

"Tengu!, what a pleasant surprise?"

"Pleasant?" Hajimo, responded with a confused expression.

"Okay, if you two, want to have a catch session and spill some tea, then go on without me, my beauty sleep is calling me." She said, summoning a recline chair made from stone and covered thick moss, threw herself on it, rolled around on it and purred like a cat, 'Now, that is good, not good as Sasuke's but good enough for me.' Than dosed off to sleep.

"Is she really sleeping at a time like this?" Yama asked.

"Yes, believe it or not."

"Her carefree spirt, remains you of someone does she not, Tengu?" The air crackled with tension as Yama and Hajimo's eyes flew wide, their hearts hammering against their ribs. There, looming behind Nanashi's chair like a specter of death, stood Sanda in his human form. His presence alone seemed to suck the oxygen from the air.

Time slowed to a crawl as Sanda's hand ignited with crackling energy. A blade of pure plasma formed around his index finger, its electric-crimson glow casting eerie shadows across his face. His eyes, cold and predatory, locked onto Nanashi's exposed neck.

Yama's mind raced, adrenaline surging through his veins. He had mere milliseconds to act before Sanda's lethal strike would find its mark. With a desperate surge of power, he slammed his foot into the ground.

The chair beneath Nanashi exploded into motion. A wooden appendage burst forth, whipping around with bone-crushing force. It connected with Sanda's midsection with a sickening thud, launching the would-be assassin across the rocky mountain floor.

Sanda's body arced through the air, the plasma blade sputtering and dying as he crashed against the far wall. The impact shook the entire room, leaving everyone frozen in shock at how close they'd come to witnessing a murder.

 "I believe, I am your opponent." Yama said, jumping over the chair.

 "Forgive me, how rude of me," Sanda's voice dripped with venom, his eyes glinting with malice. In a heartbeat, he unfurled two more fingers, transforming the crimson plasma into a blinding blue inferno. Twin blades of pure energy erupted from both hands, their hum filling the air with promised destruction.

Yama's blood ran cold. Time seemed to slow as he channelled his power, cracking a single finger. The ground beneath them groaned and shifted.

Sanda leapt, a blur of motion, just as a colossal stone fox head erupted from the floor. Its jaws snapped shut with crushing force, missing Sanda by a hair's breadth. Yama's fleeting moment of triumph evaporated as an unearthly whine pierced the air.

The fox's mouth exploded in a shower of stone and dust. From within emerged Sanda, wreathed in a cerulean tornado of plasma. He landed on a falling chunk of debris, using it as a springboard to launch himself at Yama with terrifying speed.

Desperation fuelled Yama's next move. He whipped out an ornate fan, its metal ribs glinting as he swept it before him. A roaring vortex of flame erupted, threatening to engulf Sanda whole.

But Sanda was ready. With a guttural cry, he summoned a dragon of pure lightning. Fire and electricity collided in a cataclysmic explosion that shook the very foundations of the building. The shockwave sent both combatants skidding backwards, ears ringing from the deafening boom.

Through the swirling smoke and debris, Sanda became a phantom. He moved with inhuman speed, creating a dizzying array of afterimages that surrounded Yama.

"Can you guess, which one is the real me before it is too late." He said. Sanda charged, a whirlwind of lethal intent. But Yama stood unmoving, a statue of eerie calm amidst the chaos. His eyes, sharp and focused, betrayed the torrent of power surging through his veins. In that moment, he was more than himself – he was the living embodiment of Nanashi's techniques, honed to perfection.

The air screamed as Sanda's afterimages converged. One, two, three, four phantoms passed through Yama like ghosts, their blades finding no purchase. Then came the real strike – a blow meant to sever head from body in a spray of crimson.

But the impossible happened.

Sanda's plasma sword, crackling with enough energy to cleave stone, slid through Yama's neck as if he were made of mist. For a heartbeat, time stood still. Sanda's eyes widened in disbelief, his momentum carrying him forward as Yama's form shimmered like a mirage.

Then, erupting from Yama's back in a nightmarish spectacle, another body emerged. Its jaw unhinged, stretching to inhuman proportions. From deep within its grotesque maw came a roar that shook the very air, and with it, a torrent of molten fury.

Lava, as bright as the sun and just as merciless, surged towards Sanda. The heat alone was enough to sear flesh from bone. In that split second, facing annihilation, Sanda's survival instincts kicked into overdrive.

With a primal scream, he forced his plasma energy to envelope his entire body. The air around him warped and sizzled as an iridescent shell materialized, mere nanoseconds before impact.

The lava struck with the force of a freight train. Steam exploded outward as molten rock met plasma barrier. Sanda's feet dug furrows into the ground as he was pushed back, his teeth gritted in a rictus of agony and determination. His shield held, but barely – the outer layer bubbling and hissing, threatening to give way at any moment.

 "Old man, Suzuki." Sanda said in a surprised tone.

"Huh, you still alive Sanda."

"Where are your children, what have you become?"

"We are not one but many, we are Yama Suzuki and others."

 "Disgusting!" Sanda spat, his voice dripping with malice. "But worry not, friend. I'll put you out of your misery soon enough." His eyes glinted with a predator's hunger as he unfolded his pinkie finger.

The air itself seemed to recoil as Sanda's plasma flame transformed. The light blue energy paled, intensifying into a blinding white that seared the eyes. The very molecules around him vibrated with barely contained power.

Once again, Sanda's form blurred, splitting into multiple afterimages. But this time, something was different. These weren't mere illusions – each shimmering copy pulsed with a terrifying sense of solidity.

Yama-Suzuki's heart raced. He couldn't risk underestimating this new threat. With a battle cry that shook the foundations, he charged at the nearest cluster of Sandas, his fists trailing golden energy.

Too late, he realized his fatal error.

The moment his attacks connected, the Sanda-clones dissolved into wisps of light. A decoy. A distraction. Yama's blood ran cold as the horrifying truth dawned on him. Nanashi had been the true target all along.

Time slowed to a crawl as Yama spun around. There stood Sanda, looming over Nanashi, his plasma blade poised to strike. Yama's scream of warning died in his throat, knowing he was too far away to intervene.

But in that moment of absolute despair, the impossible happened.

Nanashi's body convulsed, and from within her erupted a skeleton of pure, radiant gold. Its eye sockets blazed with otherworldly power as it snapped to life, catching Sanda's descending arm in a grip of unbreakable force.

Sanda's eyes widened in shock and terror as the skeleton yanked him forward. His momentum betrayed him, bringing his face directly into Nanashi's waiting palm.

"Bye-bye," Nanashi whispered, her voice echoing with an ancient power that sent chills down Yama's spine.

Before Sanda could even scream, his body began to warp and twist. Light poured from his eyes and mouth as Nanashi's power consumed him. In a heartbeat that felt like an eternity, Sanda – the unstoppable force that had nearly destroyed them all – was gone, absorbed into the very being he had sought to destroy.

"Geez, guys, you had me worried there for a second. A lady can't even nap in peace!" Nanashi roared, her voice echoing through the forest.

"You're a lady?" Yama asked, eyebrow raised. "I thought ladies were supposed to have a smidgen of refinement and class. As for you..."

"Be gone!" Nanashi erupted, causing Yama Suzuki to vanish in a puff of smoke.

"Whoa!" Hajimo exclaimed. "You had me worried there for a second. I thought you were a goner."

Nanashi scoffed. "Me? Lose to someone like that? Have a little faith in me, Sensei."

"I do," Hajimo chuckled. "By the way, how are you feeling now? You usually—"

"I'm actually fine," Nanashi interrupted. "I feel... average. Not tired, but I still want to hibernate for a century or two, you know?"

"Can't say I do," Hajimo mused. "Seems like I had nothing to worry about at all."

"What?"

"Nothing, just thinking out loud."

Nanashi suddenly clutched her knee. "Now that I think about it, I'm feeling a little weak in the ankles and a strange pain in my knees."

"That's your elbow," Hajimo pointed out.

"Well, you know," Nanashi said dramatically, "being a fox sometimes and then a human, confusion tends to take place. Especially after the near-death experience of almost receiving head trauma. So, to lessen the burden on my failing body and addled mind, you should carry me home."

Hajimo's eyes suddenly widened. "Sasuke, what are you doing here?" he said, looking behind Nanashi.

"Where?" Nanashi reacted, quickly flattening her hair and adjusting her garments. She spun around, "You know, you—wait, where is he?" She turned back to find Hajimo already sprinting into the forest.

"Argh, Sensei, you cunning old coot!" Nanashi erupted, chasing after him. "Come back here! I thought foxes were supposed to be the tricksters!"