Arumi didn't show it, but she was goddamn terrified. It wasn't often that she was called down into the Temple Obscura. Sure, she went there all the time, but her presence hadn't been requested since she'd gotten inked after graduating the academy. Was she in trouble? Her heart skipped a beat as another thought hit her. Was this about Kenji? The servants of the Three-headed Father would no doubt have learned of her relationship, did they not approve? Was there a problem with mixing the bloodlines? She gulped, hanging up her cloak and stepping through the doors.

Inside, she saw something she hadn't seen since the first time she was summoned there. The actual temple structure stood before her, looming over the landscape. It was a massive building, made of black brambles thicker than tree trunks. She had heard that from above it looked like a spiral, but being unable to fly she'd never actually seen the aerial view. A thin man in a suit waited near the entrance. He looked to be in his mid twenties, but she knew better. He was one of the clan's spiritual vassals, a Hollow Man. She had seen her father call on this one. Arumi bowed to the monster. “Hello, Nezu-san. I was called?” The man nodded, gesturing silently for her to follow.

It brought her into the temple, leading the genin to a massive set of rusted doors. The Hollow Man opened his mouth, and a swarm of rats poured out. His empty skin lay on the floor as the vermin worked together to turn a giant wheel, opening the great gates. The rusty mechanism creaked and groaned before finally slamming open, and the rats returned to their skin. Nezu bowed and quickly left, in a hurry to get away from what was inside the room.

Gathering her courage, Arumi stepped inside. The room was huge, with a sand floor. She knew what would be in here. Had they sent her here to die? The sand shifted, and a gigantic shape arose from under it. A massive shelled creature loomed over her, inspecting the genin. After what seemed like forever, the great spirit spoke. ”Ah, you have come. Do you know why you were called, Child of our Father?” Arumi shook her head, too frightened to speak. The creature lowered itself to her level. Its face alone was taller than she was. ”You are afraid, Child of our Father. Why? You have not acted so when we met before.” “Because I'm going to be punished?” She half asked, voice shaking. She knew that there was no punishment this thing could give out that she would survive.

A booming laugh shook the entire room. ”Punished? You are mistaken, Child of our Father. The Three-headed Father has watched over you. He has great hope for your ferocity, and your power. You have been brought here for a test. Today, you dance in the Black Spiral once again.” Arumi was a little relieved, but still terrified. The last time she'd done this was after making genin, and it had nearly killed her. Arumi knew that the maze changed, adapting to test those who enter it to their limits. It would be no easier now. “Yes, my lord.” She bowed and followed the monster.

The creature raised a claw and pushed a giant stone gate open. On the other side, Arumi could see the Black Spiral laid out before her. It was an intimidating site, a circular labyrinth over a mile across. The creature behind her spoke. “I have gifted you with a blessed tongue before. If you succeed, you will receive an even greater blessing.” Its claw touched her head, and she doubled over as the transformation came on unbidden. Her tongue shifted into a longer, more flexible shape. ”Of course, there will be a catch, Child of Our Father. Your other gifts will be denied to you. You cannot transform until this task is complete, and the wind will not answer your call. It has no power in this place.” That last bit made her a little uneasy. She knew that her clan had a hard time with the elements, but the idea of an element being powerless here was a bit intimidating. The way the Dratossi had said it, it seemed like it was more than just jutsu that were powerless here. The air itself was affected. She nodded to the creature, and descended the long staircase to enter the Spiral.

Arumi stepped into the maze, and the entrance sealed shut behind her. Thick vines and brambles wove themselves together until there was no sign there had been any hole at all. This was how the Black Spiral got into your head. It changed as you went through it, any landmarks wouldn't last long. Arumi started to walk, keeping an eye out. Her weapons had been taken, and all she had was four fists and a frog tongue to fight her way through this. She'd need to focus more on evasion than attack, as much as it bugged her. She muttered a rhyme to herself as she walked. “Those who fight to run away live to run another day.” She couldn't recall where she'd heard it, probably from another ninja or something.

She could smell them before she heard them. Four creatures creeping through the passages behind her, getting slowly closer. She didn't recognize the smell, but when they got close enough to hear the snarls she knew what it was. “Normies...” Her clan's hunting dogs. Arumi took off running, with the hunter spirits close behind. Hairless humanoid creatures with no eyes or noses came careening around the corner, howling after her. They could taste her chakra in the air. She took to the walls, trying to get above their reach. It was tricky, dodging between the dagger-like thorns sticking our everywhere, but it was paying off. The Normalites were keeping pace with her, but they couldn't do the wall walking like she could. They had to rely on their claws, and both gravity and thorns were working against them. It was buying her a little time, but the tunnel was getting lower. Sooner or later, she'd be in leaping distance.

Running out of time, Arumi went on the defensive. Her tongue shot out and wrapped around the lead creature's front legs, tripping it up and making the others stumble over it. Not wasting a second, the genin threw herself at them, kicking one in the jaw as it started to stand. Another tried to jump her, but was knocked off course by two right hooks. All four arms grabbed the third by the leg and swung it into the fourth. Arumi took off running again, keeping to the ground this time. It wasn't much, but it would buy her a minute while they regained their senses. She reminded herself to train in some taijutsu when she got out, that would have made this so much easier. She recalled that there was supposedly some super badass secret style that only Donzoko nin knew, she'd have to ask around.

Arumi knew she was getting close when the hall itself started to turn on her. The brambles started to grow across the hallway, reaching out to block her way or try to tangle her. What's worse, she could hear the Normies catching up with her again. She'd never seen them in action before. She'd heard stories, but didn't expect them to be so fast. They must have been holding back earlier, keeping pace with her and waiting for her to fall into reach. Arumi rolled under a thick branch, and it immediately retracted into the wall again. The Spiral was trying to make a path for her pursuers.

She put on one last burst of speed, jumping through the narrow gap into the last room. She was finally through. Before she could get too pleased with herself, the pain of another transformation hit her. The vines that had nearly blocked her path moved aside, letting the Normalites through. One was just about to charge when her tongue shot out. A stinger emerged from the tip, jabbing one creature on the neck. Immediately it fell over, spasming as its neck started to rot away. Arumi looked on in shock as the Dratossi's voice rang through the maze. ”You have done well Child of Our Father. Use this gift well, it is a formidable power among your clan.” When Arumi woke up, she was back outside the doors to the Temple Obscura.

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Jutsu trained:

Dunno if I can but I approve o.o