Everything the Light Touches [MAX]

Though Saya could see the monster clearly from their position, there was something in her that wanted to get closer. It was an almost dangerous curiosity that could land her (and possibly her new friend) in a sticky situation. Pun not intended. Her eyes were glued to its slouching frame (another unintentional pun), widening just a smidge as it practically assailed the poor stick. It was like observing a wild animal walloping a defenseless intruder.

Max’s tone, however, had her glancing at him from the corner of her vision. He had been quite happy throughout their meeting and she had expected him to remain as such, but after hearing his words she too became solemn. The excitement in her eyes grew dull, the grimness of such information had looking at the monsters in a different light. Pity, maybe. And mournful.

Saya knew that she and her mother had been lucky when the new administration came bulldozing through. As one of the head healers at the hospital, a chunin ranked ninja, and a parent, her mother’s priorities were set in protecting others rather than keeping her pride. Her family had been quick to join the current Raikage’s regime, and as such cemented their safety in the inner part of the village.

The young genin did not know nor did she hear of such rumors surrounding the rot monsters. It was a bit… Saya didn’t know how to think about it, really. Surreal? Way too hard for her to accept. And, well, she wasn’t quite as strong as she thought herself to be. A little too meek, too much of a follower to have such perfidious thoughts in her mind.

”Yeah, you’re right!” There was hesitance in her voice; the pitch just a tad bit higher than normal. ”They don’t seem like us anyways.” Saya hated herself then as Max proceeded to demonstrate what else the creatures could do.

The sight was something to behold. In addition to the one that they had found, two more came rushing after a hellish scream. Zombies, the undead bodies of human beings, clamoring to destroy whatever disturbed their territory. They had been nothing but stories to her, just make-believe tales to scare the children into behaving. But there they were, flailing their arms and reducing the stick to little pieces.

The words spoken earlier betrayed her thoughts. She could see the shadow of people overlaying their broken bodies. It unnerved her, and yet their current state still called out to her inquiring mind. Saya wanted to know how they were made. What solutions and chemicals made them the way they were. And how far could they push it? Wasn’t this unethical? She shook her head, shocked at her own interest.

”Is that all they could do?” Saya wondered, tilting her head slightly. ”I hope no innocent people get caught by them. That’ll be a nasty death.”

Max would simply let his extended chakra strings disperse into nothingness as the creatures attacks rapidly destroyed their target. The two had remained fairly quiet, but luck didn't seem to be on their side this fine day. One of the monsters would shift their gaze in the direction of the two genin, the creatures body twitching in an odd manor and its head cocking to the side as if confused at what it had been seeing. The other two would the shift their own heads, the black, lifeless eyes now all focused on the two shinobi. 

A horrid wailing screech would come now from the three creatures they had seen.... and also from behind them that they hadn't seen. The boy would look to his rear, noticing in the distance two of the rot beasts dashing towards them. He had been careless and too focused on his own thoughts. When you saw one, it was only a small matter of time before several more had shown up. Max had been foolish to think that only two would respond to the summons of its brethren.

"We should probably run." Max would say, his voice no longer a whisper now that they had been spotted. The first three monsters would all begin to charge at the two of them as well, the shinobi now being chased from both directions. They would have to be quick about this if they wanted to emerge unscathed. 

Assuming that Saya would follow, Max would attach strings to each and every stick and log that he encounters on his way towards the village, picking them up and launching them at the ever closing assailants. The boy would do his best to help cover their escape. After all, it was he who had gotten them into this mess in the first place. Sadly, the debris would do little to slow the oncoming creatures, but it would slow them just enough it would seem. They hadn't been able to catch up to them yet, but they were closing fast. It wouldn't be long before the two of them had been close enough to get caught in the putrid rot spray of the monsters. 

The creatures had let out another horrible screech as they ran them down. That would only mean that more would answer the call. Off in the distance a return screech could be heard, meaning more would soon be on their way. 

The creatures were much faster than one would think, the swamplands proving to be off little trouble to the beasts. This was their habitat after all, not that of man. Many a man had likely fallen in this swamp, their bodies now decomposing and feeding that which belongs here. Max was quickly realizing that Saya and himself didn't belong here. If caught, they would no doubt die. 

The creatures decaying bodies were far too fast to be natural. They had been incredibly similar to some of Max's own creations. Such a thought was... unnerving, to say the least. If Mortarion had been the one to create these things, was Max really that much different from the man that had conquered his home? Max didn't have time to dwell on such thoughts though, as there were more pressing concerns. 
 
Just as things were starting to look bleak, the village had come into sight, its tall walls easily seen in the distance. They weren't far off now, and it wasn't likely for the creatures to chase them into the village. If they were able to go into the village one would eventually make its way in on accident. No, they probably aren't able to get into Kumogakure, so they only had a little ways to go before they were safe.

She watched, eyes scrutinizing the movement of the creatures, and was strangely mesmerized by how jerky they were. It was as if they were being controlled by something else. That, of course, was a bit impossible. The rot monsters living things and though they didn’t seem to have any sort of intelligence to them, they moved around in their own little world until something (like a stick of sorts) disturbed them.

And as the genin had continued to watch them from afar, Saya felt the chill settle uneasily onto her skin. The hairs at the back of her neck stood up just a few seconds before one of the monsters turned its attention towards the duo. Her throat closed up as deadbeat orbs blinked owlishly at them, seemingly to project a curiousness that they didn’t have. Like a mob mindset the other two sensed their comrade’s change in attention as they too swerved their heads to them.

Forget what else they could do, Saya berated herself and forcing air to enter and exit her lungs. In and out. Breathe, she chanted in her mind. This was all happening within the span of a few seconds, she knew, but it felt like forever. One blink later, her ears were assaulted by more of their screeches, which were now harmonizing to call out their other brethren.

”Oh, sweet mother of...” Saya murmured under her breath. Her body felt weak and numb, her head turning over shoulder to spot two more of the creatures making their way towards her and Max. The blonde child did not hesitate to verbalize their need to escape. She didn’t either. ”R-Right behind you, Max.”

And off they went, speeding through the marshes that they had so leisurely walked through just moments earlier. Her heart thumped hard against her ribcage, blood rushing and coursing through her veins and arteries as they tried to evade the massive following they had just gained. While Saya was just trying to keep up and focus on getting the freak out of there, Max was trying to slow them down with the stick method. Unfortunately, it did not produce much help.

Every so often Saya would hear their wailings, recruiting and mobilizing more of their fiendish friends. ”Almost there. Almost there. Almost there. Almost there.” She chanted despite her chest burning from the lack of oxygen. In the distance was the entrance Kumogakure. Just a few more meters and they would be home free.

The sight of it seemed to have given her an extra push. Four meters. Three. Two… Something wet and sticky latched itself onto her ankle, but Saya barely paid it any mind as she used her free leg to throw herself past the gates. Expertly, she tucked herself into a ball and rolled a couple of more feet into the village before unfurling and bouncing back into a standing position.

She looked around, slightly disoriented from her impromptu dive and roll, and her chest heaving with her labored breathing. ”Max?”

Max wouldn't know how to react. They were quickly getting surrounded, and he wasn't entirely sure what to do. He noticed that they were slowly gaining on them, and if something wasn't done quickly they would likely succumb to the creatures relentless pursuit. It was then that he decided to try and cover their escape as best he could. He would turn around mid-stride, launching Chakra strings at a nearby creature while simultaneously backpedaling towards the village. Maybe, just maybe, he would be lucky and distract them enough to buy some time for the two of them...

This would be the time to utilize his puppetry arts, and so he would use "Puppetry Performance: Skillful Achievement with a Human Body" to distract the creatures.  In no time at all his chakra threads would latch on and bind the closest of the monsters, Max forcing it to turn and attack at its monstrous allies. The beast wouldn't want to, but it would have little choice in the matter. It would lash out at the other creatures, causing some of them to turn on this newfound threat. They would still be being chased, but many of the ones closest to them would no longer be on their heels. Just when he thinks that they might have triumphed though, he turned to see the truth....

One of the creatures had managed to catch up to young Saya, it grasping at her but barely seeming to miss its intended target. The creature would lob a stream of its viscous fluid at her, but it would barely hit her ankle and she would just leap into the village gates with a tuck and roll. She was right when she spoke earlier, she had been quick on her feet. 

Saya had reached safety first, and seemed worried for her little blonde friend. 

Seeing as the beast was all that stood between himself and salvation, Max would sprint past the beast and into the town by utilizing the Ram handseal and using Body Flicker. He would appear next to Saya in the blink of an eye. The beast would then look into the gates, shift its head sideways, and then turn around and leave. They had been correct it seemed, as the creatures wouldn't enter the village. 

"I'm okay. Just a little bit out of practice. I'm not used to running that fast for that long." He would say, taking in large amounts of air. The boy had been a long range combatant, and despite being a shinobi he wasn't accustomed to exerting that much energy for long periods of time.

"How about yourself? No damage?" The boy would ask this, looking over her fairly quickly for any wounds or cuts.

It was only a split second. Saya blinked her dried eyes as her gaze was towards the direction she had just came from. Her heart sunk to the floor as she realized that her friend had taken it upon himself to slow down so that she would have a better chance of outrunning the creatures. While the young girl hadn’t seen his brilliant plan of controlling some of the rot monsters to attack their own, she was grateful and terrified at the same time.

Once more she held her breath, hoping that he would be able to finish the last stretch. However, the mob of the undead were closing in on him though never quite in range for them to spit their mysterious liquid at him. She bit her lip, wondering how she could help but nothing came to mind. Useless! Useless! Useless! Useless girl... Saya shouted in her mind, her steps faltering as she paced back and forth behind safe lines.

All of her worrying was for naught, however. Max had body flickered over to the gates, ultimately leaving the zombies with a huge distance between them. Saya’s shoulders rose up as she inhaled deeply and then exhaled with a chuckle, which didn’t really help her lungs who were in dire need of oxygen. ”I… Hahah! I’m c-completely f-f-fine! Pfft!”

A drop of hysteria began to set in.

She shook her head as the laughter in her was fading away just as fast as it came before waving away the child’s concern. ”What about you? Are you okay?” Her own amethyst orbs shined with worry. Stepping closer to Max, she then traveled around his person in a circle to see if had sustained any damage. A tentative smile bloomed, her shoulders drooping slightly in relief. He didn’t seem to have been touched at all.

”I don’t see any external injuries, but if you feel something weird we should probably go to the hospital to check it out.” At this point the rot monster’s dirty saliva had already settled and hardened around her ankle, making her pause and look down at her leg. ”Eww!! When did this happen?”

Saya tried to stamp her foot on the ground, hoping that it would crack and break upon impact.

Once Max would realize that they were both fine, he wouldn't be able help himself but let out a hearty laugh at what they had just went through. It was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time, and he hadn't had quite that much simple fun in a long time. This Saya Kirihara wasn't so bad. "Well that was close, but we won." He would say with a grin from ear to ear. 

Seeing Saya check on him he would inform her of his condition with a simple, "I'm alright, there is nothing to worry about." Once she had finished her inspection of the boy he would add, "Lucky for me those things aren't very fast. That could have been much worse. And don't worry, if any odd feelings occur I will have the hospital check it out. Many of them know me down there."

The boy would offer his hand to shake Saya's. Whether or not she had accepted the offer he would continue. "Thanks for hanging out with me today. I had a lot of fun! Those monsters came in and were all chasing us, and we were like 'nope gotta run'!" It had been very clear in the boys voice that he was incredibly excited, so much so that he wasn't able to contain it within. "And then at the final stretch the creature almost had us, but we fended them off. You were cool! The monster was all like, 'I'm going to get you with my glue-stuff' and you just dodged it without even looking!" The boy, despite being a ninja, had still acted like a kid at times and his joy and excitement would be enough to warm any heart and lift someones spirits. 

The boy would turn his head back to his puppet, acting as though he had been listening to it. With a nod, Max would take out a small notebook and pencil, tear out a piece of paper from his pocket and quickly got something down. He normally had all sorts of odd things in his pockets, but this was particularly needed for the young Genin. He never knew when inspiration for a cool puppet idea or such would pop into his head, and so he would have writing materials to jot it down. 

Handing Saya the paper, he would happily explain. "This is my address. Feel free to stop by if there is ever a time you would like to play again." The boy would point to the mummified puppet on his back with his thumb. "Napa said that he hadn't seen me this happy in a while, and that I should make you my friend. I'm pretty sure this is something normal friends do." He wasn't completely sure if this was normal, but he knew the addresses of many of his other friends so he wouldn't think it too odd. 

Max would then begin to head off, wandering into the village. "If you would like I could show you, but first I'm going to get something to eat. All that running has made me hungry. Want some food? I don't mind where we eat, so long as I get some real food in my stomach." The boy would offer a meal to his new friend, hopefully building up the bond he had just made. 


---Exit---

Satisfied that the blonde had confirmed his health, Saya nodded and grinned at his narration of their little adventure. At this point the child in Max was showing, displaying his true age rather than a ninja’s mature mentality for someone so young. Her laughter joined in with his, creating a sound that seemed familiar, in a sense that she had heard people chuckling and giggling together, yet foreign in her ears. Though perhaps it was because she hadn’t actually laughed out loud that much or that hard in recent years.

”What? No, I should be the one thanking you for taking me on an adventure,” her hand eagerly shook Max’s hand, which was smaller than her own. It surprised her somewhat, but the girl didn’t let it show. Saya had to realize, again, that her friend was a few years her junior. Still, that didn’t stop her from joining in on his excitement.

”You were really cool back there! I was like, ‘Ohmahgawd, they’re gonna get him! And it looked like they were but you were always just at the right distance and then when I thought they were slowly closing the distance, you bursted away like a kunai!” Saya rambled, eyes bright as she recalled how Max zoomed away. She even swept her arm in a straightforward motion and accompanied it with a wooshing sound.

The blood seemed to be rushing to her head, not from sickness but rather from how happy the girl was feeling. A certain lightheadedness born from being giddy. It didn’t even really phase her that Max was listening to the object on his back. The only thing Saya really reacted to was when the boy wrote down his address and gave it to her, even verbally calling her a “friend.” A lump of something caught in her lungs.

Friend.

It was such a nice word. Saya could only nod enthusiastically as she pocketed the piece of paper. ”I’ll definitely come by soon,” the girl said, taking his suggestions in stride. She too was hungry from their little adventure as well as not having a proper breakfast. The energy from a little block of chocolate had dissipated and now Saya was looking forward to something more filling. ”Sure! Let’s go.”

From there the duo would extend their time together for a much needed lunch.