Wounded
Perhaps it was idiotic to use what was an untested space-time seal while bijuu chakra was being thrown around, but it was nothing if it meant the pair of brothers couldn’t follow his team with such murderous intentions. He was meaning to teleport all three of them somewhere far away, even if it would use up the last of his reserves, but he supposed the miscalculation came in the form of his opponents’ chakra levels.
Which is how one Senju Tobirama found himself sprawled on his back in a completely unknown place, alone, feeling worse than the first time he ever tested hirashin. Seeing as that first attempt left him shivering with fever on the ground and weaker than a newborn kitten, he could say he felt rather horrible.
His entire body felt like it had been caught in one of Uzu’s storms: spun around, crushed, and soaked down to the bone, while his already terrible eyesight had managed to worsen exponentially. That was nothing new- his brother hadn’t been around to heal his slow descent into blindness so he had known it was coming one of these days- but he could at least use his sensing, as it took no chakra, to get his bearings.
The nidaime grimaced at the emptyEmptyEmpty feeling around him where nature chakra should be before howling in pain as something else seemed to slam into him and his senses. Instantly he slammed down on the last dregs of his life-force, choking up blood as he forced himself to roll onto his side, lest he fully asphyxiate.
His broken rib protested the pressure, but the ache was nothing compared to the pressure of whatever the energy around him was- not chakra, not familiar- when it had tried to force its way into his system. He moaned in pain, forcing himself not to curl up and breathe .
Tobirama corrected himself with a mental groan that he would not be sensing until he got more chakra back and he’d have to move around with his currently borderline-blind sight. His borderline blind sight in an unknown area where he also didn’t know where his opponents may be.
If they survived the trip that was. His chakra was currently miniscule, but he was alive , which meant that the energy used had to have come from someone . He hoped that was the case, and they hadn’t been left behind to pursue his students.
He had to hope that if that was the case they had been greatly weakened to near chakra exhaustion like him, something they’d no doubt be less used to.
The man took a deep breath through his nose, trying to force himself to calm. Idly he could smell saltwater, which meant the water soaking into his legs was probably from some sort of sea or ocean or something. Hopefully not blood, because he could smell that as well, probably from himself.
Actually no, it was definitely from himself, no matter how many of his wounds had been messily cauterized by burning and crackling chakra. Even if he wanted to curl up and not move for several days, he couldn’t afford to. At best he could bleed out, at worst, well, he wouldn’t think about it.
Through sheer will and spite he didn’t throw up as he rolled onto his side, though it was incredibly tempting to do so. The world spun around him in dizzying circles, but he couldn’t afford to continue to sit there. If it took one, two, three separate tries to sit up on shaky arms then that wasn’t anyone else’s business.
“Hrk-” He choked on coughs, blood spattering down onto the sand and nearly sending him sprawling once more. Fuck he hoped it wasn’t from internal bleeding; suddenly dropping from failing organs absolutely sucked.
Tobirama took a deep breath, chest shuddering in effort as he squinted at his surroundings. The sound of ocean waves were loud in his ears, familiar from his visits to Uzushiogakure and visits to his sister clan. That at least was soothing, even if the beach didn’t have the right colored sand, nor did the slight forest coming down to meet it have familiar trees.
He must be even farther than he thought.
Groaning- there was no one here to see his weakness- he dragged himself towards one of the logs to help steady himself. It was slow going, every muscle screaming to just lay down and rest despite it being a death sentence with the chill invading his bones.
More blood tried to drip from his mouth as he panted, sweat causing his hair to stick to his forehead as he forced himself to his feet. His legs shook worse than a leaf in the wind, and it didn’t take a genius to realize that he’d collapse the moment he stopped using the log to steady himself.
Fuck.
Well, he’d best gather up some twigs for a fire before he froze.
He took a deep breath, even if it was raspy, warming himself by the small fire as exhaustion tried to weigh down his limbs. Not that he could afford to rest yet, even if his brother- and all of Konoha’s medics- would disagree. Though he supposed he couldn’t afford to use any chakra to help with gathering something to eat, even if it would make catching fish so easy .
Tobirama sighed through his nose, letting his head loll back as he looked towards the skies. The sun was setting, staining everything crimson, which was fitting for the state he was in. Fuck he hadn’t felt this bad in… well, ever. It was a miracle he was alive, even if he felt more dead than alive at the moment.
Another exhausted breath left his lips, and his eyelids nearly drooping before he forced them open once more. “Damnit,” he whispered, pressing a hand to his pulsing head. He really should rest but he had to at least eat something- being out in the open was bad enough but his limbs were definitely still too weak to traipse through the forest.
Getting some sort of nourishment should at least let his chakra levels start to regenerate, however little. He just needed enough to make sure he wouldn’t collapse or trip over every single root or grain of sand.
Groaning, he dragged himself towards the tidepools, trying to do his best to not end up in quicksand and stick to the rockier parts. Hopefully there’d be something familiar trapped there, that he could cook over the fire or even eat raw.
He lacked anything to catch things with, save for his bare hands, but that would have to do. Hopefully he didn’t end up poisoned. At least there was kelp that he could dry if nothing else, but he’d really prefer something more nutritious to regain his energy.
Another moan of pain escaped his lips as his already blurry vision spun, head pounding as the sunset flickered across the waves in blinding bursts of light. He almost thought he saw something flickering in the air, but dismissed it as the call of seabirds made its way throught the ringing of his ears.
Another exhausted sigh escaped him as he rested his face on a hand, squinting at the shallow waters caught amidst the stones. A stick easily tipped over a sea urchin, but his fingers shook a bit too much to properly pry the mussels away from the rocks.
There were fish, but they were tiny, unable to be pierced by a skewer and not familiar to him, but he’d have to take that risk. He needed the food, however small. Perhaps there was something good to come from his anija dragging him out to catch minnows by hand as a child, even if it had admittedly been fun. Not that he would’ve ever told Hashirama.
Dragging himself back to the fire was much harder to do than scooting himself back down to the water, not helped by his handful of foraged foods. A flash of anger bit into his head at how weak he felt before he pushed it down.
Mito may not be here but she’d no doubt find a way to kick his ass if he had self-depricating thoughts. A snort escaped him, turning into a gag as he forced himself not to throw up again. Alright, none of that, nothing that meant sudden movement. “Ugh…” Tobirama groaned, forcing himself not to curl up in a ball of pain and misery.
Really how was he alive- even with the bijuu chakra he should have died with how low his chakra was already. Not to mention that he’d been the one to activate the seal so it should have taken from him first.
He groaned again, pinching the bridge of his nose and taking a deep breath. Later, he’d figure it out later, when he could sit up with something more than sheer stubborness and spite. Tobirama felt far too exposed out on this beach, but he’d rather not die from breaking his neck after tripping over a root from exhaustion.
The miniscule amount of food sizzled on a flat-ish stone he’d found, though he didn’t wait with the urchin, scooping out the rich insides with a kunai. It didn’t taste as good as the dishes in Uzu, but Kami did it still taste amazing after hours of nothing.
Water could come later- he had some stored once he could use his chakra without keeling over, but this was a start. He’d just need to recover enough to wave run, if this was an island, or enough to tree hop to find somewhere he could gather information. Anywhere-
His head jerked up reflexively at unfamiliar sounds, his head spinning and nearly making him vomit once more. A growl escaped him as… something flew clumsily down to the sand, practically squirming after the embers and towards him. Though they didn’t seem hostile, bright yellow eyes stuck on his measly pickings of fish.
“Go, shoo,” he grunted tiredly at the noisy creatures, both reptilian and about the size of a large house cat or small dog. He’d almost mistake them for summons if not for the lack of chakra, which he didn’t even need sensing to tell. Though any other fine details escaped his vision.
One looked a sort of blue color, the colors blurring together with his current level of vision, while the other was a… purple, he thinks. His migraine wasn’t helping with seeing things at the moment.
They were bobbing their heads, chirping and making other high-pitched growling noises as though attempting to scare him away from his fish. He was… rather unimpressed with their attempts of intimidation, though was slightly amused at the squeal when he grabbed one by the neck and tossed it away.
The creature remained unharmed, squawking as it tumbled in the sand before scampering back after licking an eye. Some sort of winged gecko maybe- just a bit bigger than he was used to. Then again he thinks he’s only seen one once or twice, once in Uzu and once in Suna.
Rubbing his face he groaned, the noise sounding more like a growl in his throat as he let his head fall back for a moment. The two creatures weren’t much of a threat, even in the state he was in, more annoyances than anything else, just worsening his headache.
They were also giving away his position with the loud squeals, which was more than slightly annoying. “Shut up,” he grumbled through the pounding in his head and ringing of his ears. “Shoo.”
Another snarl escaped when one lurched forward over the fire- apparently unbothered by the flames- to snatch one of the bigger scraps. He tried to swipe them away, but his weakness made him close to collapsing, something too much of a risk so close to the burning coals.
Breathing deeply through his nose to try and calm the blistering rage that threatened to overwhelm him, Tobirama carefully pulled the remaining bites of food towards him. A few halfhearted motions didn’t bother the overgrown geckos at all, but at least he managed to scarf down a mouthful or two.
Even if it burned his mouth. Stupid lizards.