Intruder
~*~*~*~*~
The sea was his kingdom, his turf to protect.
He did not like it when there were trespassers.
Coiled on the ocean floor, he kept careful track of the ocean currents, feeling the disturbances getting closer, crossing into his clan's territory. He opened his eyes, and glared at the sea anemones waving happily in the water.
There was a ship in his sea.
With a growl, he unwound himself from the pile of coils he had settled as, weaving through the water towards the disturbance he had sensed. When he was some ways away, he poked his head out of the water, watching.
Three ships sailed across the sea, sails billowing with the wind and making good speed. The ship in the middle was the biggest, the heaviest. A merchant vessel, perhaps. The two flanking it were small, sleek. Likely designed for speed and rapid maneuvering.
He watched them draw closer, not worried about being seen. It was getting dark, after all. A storm was rolling in. He could sense it, feel the changes in the pressure in the air.
A certain movement of colour drew his attention, and he felt his entire body tense.
The flag waving from the merchant ships stern and bow was black, with the shape of a red dragon with outstretched wings in its center.
These ships belonged to the Uchiha.
His clan's greatest enemy. Perhaps this ship was a supplier. Bringing weapons, or soldiers, to the Uchiha clan's kingdom.
With a hiss, he retreated back under the water.
There was no way he was going to let the Uchiha gain the upper hand, no matter how long it had been since they had been at war.
Flaring his chakra, his power, he encouraged the forming storm clouds to grow faster, rapidly. He’d wait until the storm had hit before he made his move. It always helped to have the weather on his side.
Satisfied with his plan, Tobirama slithered over the ocean floor, following the ships progress as the winds began to howl and the waves began to roll.
~*~*~*~
The night was black, and the storm was raging. It was time.
He swam up close to the surface, coming up alongside the biggest of the three ships. Then he changed his mind, heading towards one of the smaller vessels, the one further away. He slipped underneath it, then wove upwards again, rising up from the water. He took quick stock of the situation, and plunged right back down into the water, dissatisfied with where he surfaced.
He swam closer underwater, then resurfaced again, right beside the ship. Glancing down, he watched the men on the deck run about in a panic, screaming, yelling, cursing, praying. He hissed at them, and set about taking the ship down, crushing it between the coils of his muscular body.
The ship splintered and cracked under his constriction, and he uncoiled himself with a triumphant sound, diving back under the water. He circled the wreckage from below, examining his work, weaving through the ruins of the ship sinking to the ocean floor. He could see the legs of the crewmembers, treading water, struggling to stay afloat, clinging to pieces of the ship still floating.
Tobirama let them be. They wouldn’t survive long in a storm like this anyways, so why take the time to ensure their deaths? He swam around a little longer, making sure it was sinking at a good pace, before he made his way to the second of the smaller vessels.
As he was circling the ship below the surface, considering if he should repeat the same way of destroying the ship, he sensed a change in the water currents around him.
There were no more thrashing limbs in the water.
With a surge of irritation, he whipped around and charged back to the wreckage. The ship's hull was still floating, sinking slowly, oh so slowly. He surged up out of the water, hissing with annoyance. Then he circled around it, considering.
There were two men on the ship, waving their arms and screaming. With a snort, he lifted his tail out of the water, heavy and thick, and smashed it down on the remains of the ship still semi afloat. He watched as its descent sped up.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flicker of movement. A shadow, blazing towards them.
He stared, for a moment unable to believe what he was seeing.
The dragon streaked past him, black as night and just as swift.
An Uchiha member, here? So bold as to enter his territory?
A rush of anger overtook him, and it was surprising. Normally he was more cool headed than that. With a shriek of fury, he lashed out with the closest part of his body. Impossibly, the dragon dodged his tail, arching around it and barrelling ahead towards the ship. It streaked past it, twisting sideways mid flight and grabbing the two men still on the ship.
’Talented flier…’
Then he was wheeling around and dashing back to the merchant ship. Tobirama snarled, diving into the water and plunging into the icy depths. Then he gathered himself, and surged out of the water moments later. His timing and location was perfect, and he opened his jaws, ready to clamp down.
With a startled squawk, the dragon flared his wings, slowing dramatically, and then his head went back, neck arching, jaws opening. A faint glow appeared in the back of his throat, and with a hiss, a burst of fire erupted out of his mouth.
It was burning, blinding.
Choking on a snarl, Tobirama doused the flames under the water again, and scraped his muzzle against the ocean floor to alleviate the burning sensation.
An Uchiha was here, supervising the transport. Whatever was on that ship must be damn valuable. Tobirama would drag it to the depths, and rob them of their prize.
And if that dragon got in his way, he’d take it down too.
Growling to himself, he drove after the ship, slid under it, and rose up beside it. A few men on the ship, holding puny little swords and spears, did their best to stand their ground, quaking with terror. Unimpressed, Tobirama hissed at them, feeling smugly satisfied when they flinched back in fear.
He would make this quick, efficient. The ship would be so utterly destroyed there would be nothing left of it.
Then, there was a thundering roar, and fire blazed into the side of his head again. At nearly the same moment, something warm and alive and sharp collided with him, and he felt claws dig into his face and cheeks.
He shrieked in pain and surprise, flinching back and whipping around. The dragon growled, hanging on tightly, and continued to rip and tear and bite. Bellowing, Tobirama slammed his head down against the side of the ship, crushing the dragon between it and his head. He heard it grunt with the impact, and he pressed him against it harder.
Sharp pain under his jaw had him flinching back, and he turned his head just slightly. He felt something brush the corner of his mouth, and without thinking, he bit down on the scaly limb. The dragon howled as his teeth sank into its tail, and he felt those sharp claws slide out of his flesh. Seizing his chance, Tobirama violently flung his head, and the dragon lost its grip, and careened away.
Tobirama didn’t wait to see him falter and catch himself. He submerged again, feeling the icy water soothe the burns of the fire and the scratches all over him. Irritation boiled in his veins, and he glanced up, watching the shadow of the dragon twist upright, and streak around the bow of the ship, close to the water's surface.
Big mistake.
He surged out of the water with a triumphant snarl at the perfect moment. The dragon saw him coming, and flared his wings, but it was too late.
’Gotcha.’
He opened his jaws, unhinging them as far as he could, and clamped down on the dragon's side, catching his foreleg, his shoulder, and his wing joint. The dragon screamed, and Tobirama dragged him down into the water.
More than a few dragons had met their watery ends like this. But not quite so many put up such a violent fight. It twisted and clawed and scrambled, biting and scratching, trying to break free desperately, and Tobirama growled, swimming faster. He would outlast the dragon down here. Afterall, he could hold his breath much longer.
The dragon suddenly stilled, just for a moment. Then he twisted, mightily, and Tobirama felt the bones in the leg clamped in his jaws break. And then excruciating pain erupted as the dragon stabbed his talons into his eye.
He shrieked, flinching back. The dragon twisted free, and swam away, making for the surface as quickly as his wings and legs and tail could bring him.
Tobirama blazed after him as the dragon took flight again, unsteadily. He snarled furiously at the dragon, and it turned back to face him, roaring right back. It swept around him, the telltale glow in the back of his open mouth returning, and fire belched out of his jaws once more.
Tobirama hissed, flinching back one way, and then the next, but the dragon was relentless, sweeping all around him, even going so far as to dive under his head and neck and surge up behind him, before he turned to face him again.
He was a quick little bastard, dodging back and forth, expertly avoiding Tobirama’s deadly teeth. Everytime Tobirama got close, he’d snatch his tail or his legs out of his open jaws, and he’d clamp down on empty air.
He could outmaneuver him here, keeping his distance, staying away from his jaws. Apparently he learned his lesson. Growling, he went back underwater, putting out the fires burning him. The moment the burning subsided, he broke the surface again, slowly, and hissed.
The dragon hovered above and in front of him, the beats of his wings stirring up the tuberous waters even further. “Had enough yet?” he called. Tobirama might have thought he was baiting him, trying to rile him up, except the dragon sounded exhausted, and his flight was unsteady.
He curled his upper lip, and the dragon's eyes followed the movement. Then his tail was slamming into the dragon from behind. It howled, wings half folding, half collapsing, and it plummeted towards the water.
Tobirama watched him splash into the water, and hissed, winding himself around the dragon in a loose circle. The dragon snarled at him, wings outstretched to keep him afloat. Tobirama could smell his blood, could taste it in the water. He had to approach from a new angle, preferably from behind, strike between the wings. He wouldn’t have the mobility to twist around and scratch at him.
He prowled closer, and the dragon whipped his head around, and breathed a blast of fire right into Tobirama’s open mouth and down his throat.
Tobirama had felt pain before. This was nothing like what he had experienced before. He shrieked, throwing himself backwards, away from the dragon, and hurriedly plunged into the water, feeling the liquid pour down his throat and put down the fire burning him from the inside out.
The dragon hefted himself out of the water, and weakly flew off. Tobirama followed furiously, but the Uchiha flew too high for him to jump out of the water and drag him back down.
Finally, the dragon dropped lower, spiraling down, and finally landed on a small sea stack, a little ways off from a nearby island. Still surrounded by water, still close to Tobirama’s element. Did the stupid creature have a death wish? Why didn’t he flee all the way to the island? Why would he stop here?
Curious despite his anger and pain and annoyance, he slowly slid up out of the water, and hissed. The dragon raised his wings, and flapped them around like a drunk bird. “Hey, hold on a minute!” he called, shifting his weight off his injured leg.
Tobirama should shoot down, snatch the Uchiha off the rock and drag him down to his death.
Instead, he paused, and tilted his head.
“You’re a Senju, aren’t you?” the dragon went on. Mhm. Maybe the airbrained lizard wasn’t so much of an idiot. He narrowed his eyes, but the Uchiha didn’t seem deterred. ““Look, Senju, serpent, whatever or whoever you are. I know we’ve kind of technically been at war for about a hundred years, but how long has it been since our kinds fought? Over a decade.” Well. That was true. But what did that have to do with anything? “So why should we start now? I mean, yes, we technically are passing through your territory...But we’ll be out soon, I promise. We’re just off to the Land of Lightning. Only a few hours away.”
Why were they heading there? What was the reason? An alliance, perhaps, with the Village Hidden in the Clouds? Was this a plot, a ploy to destroy the Senju? He eyed the dragon for a moment, and he pulled in his wings, folding them to his sides. He was staring back up at him, red eyes bright.
“Listen, I’m sore and hurt, and I’m sure you are too,” the Uchiha continued after a moment. Then he frowned, as if considering something. ““At least I hope you are. I’d be disappointed in myself if you weren’t.” His claws curled over the rock subconsciously. “This is your turf, isn’t it? But the people you attacked and the people that died in it are mine. They are under my protection. So, why don’t we call a temporary ceasefire, or stalemate, or however you want to call it. Let me and my people pass, and we’ll soon be out of your territory.”
Tobirama stared at him in silence, and the dragon sat down on his haunches, curling his tail around his back legs. It was bitten and bleeding, and he frowned at it for a moment. In the flashes of lightning Tobirama could see the blood and scratches all over him.
The Uchiha clan was fiercely protective of their own, that much he knew. He considered the dragon's words. Maybe he spoke the truth, and simply wanted to watch over his people. He seemed to be getting impatient with Tobirama’s lack of response. “Come on, big guy. What do you say?”
He narrowed his eyes at him. His throat was too badly burnt and sore to say a word even if he wanted to. So, wordlessly, he turned around, and dove under the water.
He would watch, and observe for a while longer. If the dragon and his Uchiha seemed to have ill intentions, then he would complete his earlier intentions and drag the ship, and its watcher, down. But if he spoke the truth, doubtful as it was…
He would let them pass through, for now. Only because he was too badly injured to try and stop them now. He slunk along the ocean floor, following the dragons progress as he flew back to the ship. Then, he followed further, until they were out of his territory and off to the Land of Lightning in peace.
~*~*~*~
His eye and most of his wounds healed over the next few days, but his throat still ached with burns. He didn’t go back home like he normally would have. It wasn’t a big deal. His family knew he liked to take off on his own every now and then.
So he waited, lingering around the sunken ship and the island and sea stacks for a few days, until the inevitable happened. As he was lounging on the ocean floor, he saw a familiar shadow flicker over the water.
Ah, it was about time.
He uncoiled himself, and slithered to the surface. The other noticed him almost right away, and changed direction, heading back towards the island from before. Tobirama followed slowly, watching the dragon as he landed on the same sea stack. His flight was much more stable, much stronger, than last time he had seen him.
He circled the sea stack, winding his long body around it twice, before he lifted out of the water. “Hello again,” the dragon greeted. Tobirama stared down at him, taking a moment to actually take a look at him when the dragon wasn’t darting around him breathing fire everywhere.
He was lean and wiry, his neck and tail long and elegant. His body rippled with lean muscle, and his wings were huge and powerful. Tobirama didn’t have to guess to know he was a fast, and agile, flier. Unlike most dragons he had seen, having the usual two horns twisting back from the back of their skulls, he had a crown of spikes coming out of the back of his head They bristled like a protective shied, some long, some short. It was strangely elegant, eye catching, and it suited him.
Tobirama dragged his eyes down. His scales were almost solidly black, glittering in the sun like millions of obsidians. A few light red and white scales speckled his neck and shoulders, scattering like starbursts over the unbroken blackness.
“I see you’re looking better. My apologies, for trying to gouge your eye out.”
Tobirama couldn’t help but snort at that, and the dragon looked a little sheepish. “Sorry to bother you once more. Trespassing in your territory, again.” As if Tobirama needed the reminder. The dragon stretched his wings, and sighed. “And, well. We finished our business in the Land of Lightning. I’m asking, politely, if we can come back home through your territory. Otherwise we have to go all the way around the Land of Waves, and come up to the Land of Fire through the south, and still pass through Senju territory, only on foot. That’s not particularly ideal, not for either group.”
The dragon raised a good point, and Tobirama growled softly to himself. The other shifted his weight again, and flopped his tail over the edge of the sea stack, waving it back and forth. And I’d like to go home, sooner rather than later. I’m sure you can understand that, seeing how fiercely you defended your territory.”
Tobirama stared at him. He should act now, kill the Uchiha, go home and report the incident to his brother and the rest of his clan. He shuffled a little, lifting his tail out of the water. He considered smashing the dragon over the back again.
Instead, he pressed his tail against the side of the sea stack. The dragon watched his movement carefully, but didn’t move away. He should kill him. He should.
Instead, he rumbled quietly, and turned away from the Uchiha, sinking into the water and swimming towards the ocean floor. The dragon linged above for a moment, then spread his wings and took off again.
Tobirama followed the ships until they left his territory, and then lingered at the border of it.
This was the only dragon he had encountered twice.
Vaguely, he wondered if he would see him again.
The thought didn’t strike him as poorly as he thought.
~*~*~*~
The dragon came back the next day. He didn’t sweep over the water back and forth and back and forth. Instead, he headed right to his little sea stack, landed on it, and waited.
Tobirama let him wait.
Until he could deny his curiosity no more. Silent as a whisper, he emerged out of the water behind the dragon, sliding along right beside the sea stack.
And nearly giving the dragon a heart attack.
The winged lizard screeched when he finally noticed him there, hopping to his feet and flapping his wings around. “Great Sages, where did you come from?”
Tobirama stared at him, then gave the water a pointed look. The dragon shrugged, lifting his wings and lowering them again, in a strange little shrug. “So the answer was obvious.” He sat down again, wrapping his tail around his legs, and stared at him. Tobirama stared back.
“So I really didn’t think this through,” the dragon said after a moment. He gave him an unimpressed look. “You’re an enigma, Senju. Why did you let us go about our way in peace? My clan always said that no Senju would ever let us live to see another day. So why did you?”
Tobirama growled softly. His throat still hurt. The Uchiha frowned at him for a moment, then looked down at his talons, digging them into the rock. “But I’m not here just to say hi. You’ll be getting some company, if this is indeed your territory. My people want to continue traveling by sea. It’s quicker, more efficient. Comes at less risk of bandits and thieves. So I’m asking you, politely, please don’t attack or sink our ships. And kill everyone on board.”
That was not what Tobirama expected, or wanted, to hear.
He let his displeasure be known, pulling his lips back to bare his fangs and snarl. The dragon raised his wings defensively. “I know, not ideal, I get it. I’m not particularly happy with it either. You think I like seeing my people venture off into the territory of a crazy sea serpent with a tendency to sink ships? Mhm? No, not so much. Neither of us are exactly winning here, Senju.”
He hissed at the Uchiha, and the other glared back. “Look, listen. My clan will not let our people go without an escort. So if you try to sink another ship, you’re going to have another fight on your hands, and don’t think for a second it’ll be an easy fight. Look what I’ve done to you in a short time, mhm? You want a repeat of that every week?”
Tobirama growled again. He really should haul him off his perch and drown him. If he did-
“And just saying, if you decide to kill me, or try to, at least, or any other members of my clan, we will come for you. I doubt you could take on a group of dragons, no matter how talented you are. And all the way out here, all alone, your clan would have no idea for a long time. We’d have good reason for fighting back, after you killed so many of our own. It’d be revenge, justified. War would start all over again, and dozens, if not hundreds, of our own would die. Do you really want that, Senju?”
He narrowed his eyes, and the dragon looked annoyingly smug. “So, hear me out. I pretend I never saw you, I stay quiet and don’t report your attack to my clan. You keep quiet too, let my people travel through your territory now and then and don’t attack them. Call it a truce. An upholding of the….fragile peace we’ve somewhat had.”
A brief stare down followed his proposal, and Tobirama considered it.
On one hand, they were enemies. The dragon had invaded Senju territory, his territory, three times now. For ages, their clans had been at war. It was almost tradition. It was instinctive, graven into their DNA.
But on the other hand, Tobirama didn’t want to see any more young ones grow up without parents, grow up right into war. They had had an unsteady peace for the last 10 years, and it was the best 10 years the Senju had seen for a long time. New children had been born, and were able to reach the double digits in age.
Growling lowly, Tobirama curled around the sea stack again, circling it several times as he thought. The dragon watched him carefully, but didn’t move. Just swung his head around as he went, keeping his eyes on him. His body was tense, poised, ready to spring up at a moment's notice. Tobirama could see it in the way he held his wings: slightly raised, flight muscles tensed.
He paused in front of the Uchiha again, and eyed him. Then he snorted, and nodded once.
The dragon hopped to his feet, raising his wings. “Great. I’ll see you next week, then. Later, fish-breath!”
With that, he sprung off the sea stack, flapping powerfully, and was off, wheeling into the air. Tobirama watched him go, until he was just a tiny little dot in the sky.
Tobirama sighed. He’d best go home and say hello, so that his hair-brained elder brother didn't freak out and send someone to check on him, or worse, come himself, when he didn’t come home for longer than usual. The last thing he needed was a surprise visitor when the Uchiha came back in a few days.
He could imagine the chaos that would erupt if one of his clan mates saw him casually hanging out with a dragon from the Uchiha clan.
Resigning himself to his brother's dramatics when he came back, he dove back into the water, and headed home.