Another path

The Swamps - 3rd night

< Hi everyone, I hope you're having a wonderful day ! I know I haven't updated for over a month but I came across the worst writer's block I've ever experienced. I couldn't find he way to write this chapter down and it was honestly demoralizing. I apologize for keeping you guys waiting without news.
The little cutie just above is Shayō, I really wanted to draw her ! It took me literally two weeks to draw her...
Anyway, regardless of all the delays, this is the 73rd chapter, I can't believe how far this project has gone. I don't plan on stopping anytime soon so I hope you'll keep enjoying it !
Take care and have a nice day ! >
_____

A tree suddenly fell, sliced in half in the stead of the young girl currently running. Another hit and the rock on her left exploded, many pieces flying toward her. She kept running, avoiding the dangerous projectiles as best as she could. Her pursuer wouldn't give up though and their chase left a trail of destruction all throughout the forest.

The girl realized that even if she escaped, she might not make it because of the traces leading right to her. However, she had more urgent things to consider : a blur grazing her right cheek reminded her of that much.

Hair fell and blood dripped down to the ground as a cut appeared on Hotaru's face. She absentmindedly cursed, focused on how she could evade the summon. Ahead of her was a fork and she got an idea.

Behind her, the summon leaped forward to catch up with her but skidded to a halt. In front of him was a dense fog that prevented him from seeing further than six feet ahead. It clicked its tongue in annoyance, feeling that something was clearly up. It kept leaping in the same direction and came across the fork as well but no one was there.
Which way did that girl go - that much the orange toad didn't know. The fog had obviously been intentional, it was way too convenient.

Gama stopped underneath the tree at the fork and looked both ways. He listened carefully but he found no clue about where the kunoichi went. Almost as if...

" - Suiton : Water dragon !"

The attack completely destroyed the ground on which Gama stood. Dust covered the area, mixing with the fog in a barely respirable ensemble. Hotaru could hardly see anything and wondered if toads had better sight than human beings. If she remembered well, they have very good night vision but in a situation like this, it was of little to no help. On the other hand-

A strike missed her by a good ten feet and she smirked a bit. In such a damp atmosphere and with her skin being covered in mud, her smell was barely noticeable, even to a toad. If she made sure not to make a noise, the summon wouldn't be able to spot her. She quickly moved when the toad entered her field of view, retreating further in the trees. It wasn't a problem for her to do so as she knew that toads only saw clearly at a limited distance, the dusty mist only worsening their eyesight.
She readied a suiton jutsu but just then-

" - Gah !"

A silent thud echoed after the scream and Gama turned his head in the direction he knew his prey had fallen.
Not even missing a beat, both human and summon resumed their chase but with Hotaru at a disadvantage thanks to the blow she sustained.

No matter how much she reasoned, there was just no way the toad could have seen her in such a fog. It was so dense she could barely make out colors-
That's when she realized that the reason it appeared so dark wasn't because of the fog but because the sun had finally set. After hours of pursuit, she had completely lost track of time. And unfortunately for her, she failed to notice the darkness of the sky and thus her sight decreasing drastically.
It wouldn't have been such an issue if her opponent was human as well but she was facing a toad. Memories from Kakashi-sensei and Kurama-dono telling her how the eyesight of toads was limited in distance but splendid when it came to low-light resolution came back to her. This toad could see colors when she could barely distinguish a form.

Another hit grazed her skin around the hem of her top and she knew she'd been right. The plum color of her top was the one the toad spotted. It would make sense considering the other colors she adorned - her dark blonde hair, fair skin and black skirt - blended pretty well in the scenery.
The toad kept trying to slash her with his tongue and managed to slice a tree in half with his last attempt. Hotaru was dodging to the best of her ability but one hit blew a nearby rock to pieces, hurling them in all directions. One hit her in the stomach and sent her flying on several feet.

She felt her abdomen throbbing and barely refrained from throwing up. She stood up on shaky legs and looked for the toad. It seemed as though the attacks had stopped, which meant she probably was out of his field of view and since she took an indirect hit, the summon could hardly tell where she had landed.

Gama was cautiously searching for the blonde kunoichi. He knew he was at a disadvantage whenever he couldn't see her : she was stealthy and accurate, not seeing her attacks coming could be his undoing. He felt a movement on his left and slashed in this direction using his powerful tongue. However, despite his rapidity, something grasped onto it and yanked him up before slamming him back on the ground.
Whatever it was that was grasping his tongue, it didn't let go after sending him down and pulled Gama forward through about a dozen of trees.

With the last hit, the grip on Gama loosened and he crashed in the dirt after flying on several feet. The toad barely had a second to get back on his feet before water needles punctured the ground, a good amount grazing or even sinking into his flesh. He couldn't see the kunoichi he'd been chasing and realized the fog had gotten denser.

So he stopped moving. He literally just stood there, not moving an inch. The attacks immediately came to a halt. For a moment, there was no sound nor movement but the wind in the trees.

From a nearby tree, Hotaru was hiding in the mist. The toad's stillness was playing against her. After all, it had been thanks to the ruckus caused by the blows he took and the destruction he caused that he had been unable to spot her. He had probably realized this and she was now unable to attack without giving away her position. She waited. Nothing happened. It was growing on her nerves. She had to do something, the more she waited, the more she risked someone else walking in on this.

Gama was waiting. He could sense something was about to happen. He concentrated so he could feel the upcoming attack. The more his opponent grew impatient, the more chances he had of striking her down.

A leaf fell slowly from a branch and in an instant, it was cut in half by the powerful water stream Hotaru casted at her pursuer.
However, with lightning speed reflexes, the toad evaded her attack and his mighty tongue swung toward her, violently colliding with her stomach. The kunoichi was sent crashing into a boulder, shattering into a thousand of tiny pieces.
As Gama retracted his tongue, finally relaxing after taking note of the still silhouette of his prey, he started hopping toward her to check her injuries and send her back to the HQ.

However-

"- Raiton... Electrocution !"

The water surrounding him after he had dodged the previous attack was suddenly electrified and the summon never got the chance to react. A loud thump was heard after his unconscious body hit the ground.

Hotaru smirked in victory before losing consciousness as well.

Three minutes later, one of the Kitsune arrived there and quickly pieced the events together.

"- Well, you tried as hard as you could... Not bad, little one..."

Zenko sent both her and Gama back to the HQ before resuming his own mission.
That was the first casualty on the side of the summons and he could sense that from now on, there would be many more.

Tsuchigumo Hotaru : Injured.

***

3rd day :

Unnoticed : 16

Survived : 17

Knocked out : 4

Crippled : 1

Dead : 2

Remaining contestants : 33 out of 40