Naru became aware of the sound of footsteps, and before she could even extend her claws, they were surrounded. Over fifty men, all clad in the same dark robes, were lined up along the walls, effectively trapping all three of them in the middle.
A child-like laughter pulled their attention to the bonfire, where a shorter figure had appeared. "How easily you fell into my trap!" it said.
"Let me guess," Naru said casually. "You're Noroi, the warlock."
"You are almost correct," the figure said. "My name is not 'Noroi', I am Kanzaki Kouki. The villagers named me Noroi, they even wrote it on that sign at the crossroads."
"Alright then, Kouki." Naru chewed on her bottom lip for a few seconds, wondering how to best approach this so called warlock. "The villagers say you know how to curse. Mind telling me how you do it?"
The figure emitted another high-pitch giggle, which Naru found extremely irritating. "That part of the rumor is actually true," it said. "I can curse people."
"Somehow, I find that hard to believe."
"Do not disrespect our Lady Kouki like that!" someone from the crowd yelled.
"Not necessary, darling," Kouki chimed and pushed the hood of her robes back. She looked quite young, somewhat younger than Naru. Two pigtails of long, curly green hair gave her a slightly bizarre look, like someone who attempted to look younger than they actually were.
Naru took a few steps closer. "There's no such thing as magic in this world," she said, ignoring the warnings and exclaims of the crowd. "You must have the ability of a Devil's Fruit."
The playful smile on Kouki's lips grew wider. "Would you like a demonstration?" she asked and raised her arms as if to embrace everyone around her.
"Kurama, Sasuke, you take care of these guys," Naru called over her shoulder. "I'm gonna play with this kid for a while."
"As you wish, cap'n," Kurama said and turned to face the crowd.
"Do you think he'll be okay on his own?"
Kurama's smirk widened when Sasuke referred to Naru as a 'he'. "A'course," he said. "I don't think I'd be able ta fergive the cap'n if... he lost ta someone like that after defeatin' me."
"You two battled? When?"
"Focus on the problem at hand, duckass," Kurama said and unsheathed Kusanagi. "We've got a helluva lot of work ta do."
With those words, he launched himself at the crowd. Sasuke sighed, withdrew a knife from his belt and turned around, bracing himself to take on the other half of enemies.
A small wave of pride washed over Naru as she watched how the two men threw themselves into the battle. Kurama's behavior wasn't out of the ordinary, seeing as he was a cold-blooded killing machine, but even Sasuke followed his example without a doubt.
Kouki released yet another giggle. "You sure have some faith in your subordinates," she said.
"Companions," Naru corrected her. "And the black haired one's not my companion. We're just helping him retrieve his bow."
"I'm afraid I can't let you take that," Kouki said. "That bow belongs to me now."
"It belongs to you only when the previous owner says so," Naru snarled softly and extended her teeth and claws. "Now, wanna show me that curse of yours?"
Kouki clapped her hands as she observed Naru's transformation. "Oh, oh, how exciting!" she squealed. "You have an ability!"
"You don't say," Naru frowned and rolled her eyes. "Now, do I have to force you to show me or will you do it voluntarily?"
"An ability, an ability..."
With eyebrows raised in disbelief, Naru sighed. "Force it is," she mumbled before charging straight at the girl.
She jumped from the ground and aimed her claws at Kouki's throat, but the smaller girl simply stepped to the side, dodging the hit with ease. Naru's hands hit the ground instead, the impact making small cracks spread from where her claws connected with the rocks.
Without wasting any seconds on being surprised, Naru braced herself on her arms and twisted her legs, triggering a spinning kick. Once again, Kouki jumped out of range, with quite impressive speed.
Strike after strike was dodged, until the point where Naru started to feel quite annoyed. Kouki didn't seem to have that much experience in close combat, which was why it was odd how she dodged every attack almost like she knew where Naru was going to strike.
To increase speed, Naru took her transformation to the next step. She kept her human form, but the backside of her body, as well as her arms and legs, became covered in fur. The additional muscle strength of her ability allowed her feet to push off the ground with more force, greatly increasing her speed.
She finally managed to get close enough to Kouki to strike, but by the time she had raised her hands, the warlock was already out of range. Naru's patience was starting to wear thin, and in a desperate attempt to catch the girl, she lunged at her. Kouki dodged, but Naru got close enough to feel the fabric of her cape against her skin.
A few seconds later, the momentum of the lunge made her lose her balance and topple over, much to Kouki's amusement.
"Come on, aren't you going to force me to curse you?" she sang, bouncing from one foot to the other.
Naru only growled in return and got back up on her feet. She stood still for a few seconds, evaluating the situation, before sprinting towards Kouki. The warlock smiled and dodged the claws again, but this time Naru managed to grab hold of Kouki's ankle by using her tail.
With a smirk, Naru lifted Kouki off the ground only to spin her around once and throw her into the nearest wall. The warlock managed to angle her body enough to not take the hit head first, but she squealed in pain as her shoulder received the impact.
Silence settled between them, broken only by the distant cries of the battle between Kurama, Sasuke and Kouki's followers. Naru couldn't help but feel somewhat triumphant when Kouki landed on her feet and staggered around for a bit, obviously shocked Naru had managed to touch her at all. The small girl glared at her, clutching to her shoulder as she straightened up. She was mumbling inaudibly, all of her former glee as good as gone.
"That hurt..." she said quietly. "Maybe it is you who deserve to be cursed."
Naru's lips curled back in a snarl, and she cautiously backed a few steps. "Show me how you do it," she growled, her fur standing up straight. "Show me how you curse, warlock."