Some of the scenarios presented in this fanfiction are loosely based on true stories.
The ninja squad leader turns to me, tension in his form and irritation on his face. "How much further?" he demands.
'I don't know,'I think to myself, but dare not say aloud. These men, these four Konoha ninja, hired me to guide them through the mountain pass. If I confess that I had gotten lost- that I've been aimlessly leading them about for the past week in the hopes of regaining my bearings- they'll kill me for sure.
So instead, I smile at the leader whose hair covers his right eye, the one named Izumo, and say "Just another week, sir. We'll be out of this mountain range and much closer to the village by then."
Izumo narrows his eyes at me. I know he suspects something. But these Fire Country men have never journeyed in the Land of Snow. They have no way of knowing that I'm leading them astray.
I never had the dubious honor of meeting a Leaf ninja before. However, on rare occasions shinobi from villages like Rain and Cloud have hired men from our guide company. They paid well, but were intolerant of errors. Good men have been murdered by foreign ninja for lesser mistakes than mine.
The one with bandages over his nose, Kotetsu, shudders and draws his waterproof coat more tightly around him. "Some shortcut this turned out to be, Riku. Didn't you say cutting through this god-forsaken mountain range was faster than traveling around it?"
"Oh, it is," I assure quickly. And that was true, provided that one doesn't get lost along the way. "It's just taking longer than expected because the path I wanted to take is blocked. You know, it's impossible to map this terrain; it changes due to the frequent avalanches."
"Avalanches?" The one with the scar across his nose repeats sharply, "You didn't mention that two weeks ago when we chose this route.
I should have kept my mouth shut. "Ah…well, I didn't think it needed mentioning." I force myself to smile at the man, Iruka, "It's not the season for avalanches anyway."
Iruka doesn't look comforted. Instead, he scans the steep landscape around us. I doubt that a citizen of Fire Country would know much about assessing avalanche conditions.
I hear a wracking cough to my right and glance discreetly at the fourth ninja of our party. Hayate seemed ill even at the beginning of our journey. This draining trek across steep, snowy terrain did nothing to improve his unhealthy pallor or persistent cough. The low air pressure has made him altitude sick, but he and the others are determined to press on.
Kotetsu checks his ration bag and swears under his breath. "My rations are running low. How are yours holding up?"
"I've got a week's supply," Izumo replies. "Longer, if I skimp."
Iruka reports a similar amount. Hayate is the only one with a solid two weeks worth of rations in his bag.
"You haven't been eating much, have you?" the scarred-nose ninja asks their ill comrade.
"I haven't been very hungry," the sallow skinned man admits.
Kotetsu shakes his head. "You need to eat to keep your strength up."
"Fortunately, Riku said we're a week away from getting out this mountain range," Izumo interjects. "We should have enough food to last until then. But just in case, we're going to conserve by switching to a light ration diet- except for Hayate," he adds bringing his hand to the sick man's shoulder, "You should eat as often as you can manage. Hold on to a third of your rations, and give me the rest."
Hayate nods, and Izumo looks to his other squadmates. "You both relinquish all your remaining rations. I'll distribute them as needed."
His three squadmates obey without question. It seems they didn't even entertain the notion that Izumo might be unfair in his distribution or that he might sneak the food for himself. They trust their leader implicitly.
I'm surprised by how close-knit this Konoha group appears. My fellows at the company tell me that ninja are a cut-throat, cold-hearted bunch. Perhaps the Land of Fire breeds an entirely different brand of soldier.
It almost makes me want to confess that I have no idea where we are or where we're going. Maybe these ninja could help me backtrack to the point where I lost the trail. Maybe they won't slit my throat for wasting their time.
Then again, do I really want to risk it?
No, I do not.
The blizzard appears without warning, dumping sheets of snow and reducing our visibility to just a few feet around us. It's a white-out and, even if I were not already lost, I'd have no idea where to go. My sense of time and direction are completely distorted.
I can barely move through the heavy snow and unrelenting wind. I stumble and almost fall, when a strong arm grabs my waist and tosses me up over a shoulder. A snow-saturated ponytail brushes my cheek and I realize that the one named Iruka must be carrying me.
It's pretty humiliating to be carried- I'm the strongest man in my company, after all- but my protests are half-hearted. Iruka moves far more easily through this blizzard than I could. All the ninja are. It takes me several minutes to realize they are walking on top of the soft, deep snow, their feet never sinking down into the drifts.
How this bunch managed to find a cave despite the complete white out conditions, I'll never know. Iruka sets me down by a stone wall before collapsing by my side, panting for breath. The trek was not as effortless as he'd made it seem, which kind of makes me feel better.
Hayate helps Iruka take a drink from a canteen. They've been keeping the containers filled with snow melted by the fire they breathe from their mouths. Like dragons. When I first saw that, I began walking a bit farther from the ill swordsman, lest he accidentally spit up flames during one of his coughing fits.
Meanwhile, Kotetsu and Izumo set up camp. There is no wood to maintain a fire, but a small lantern provides a little visibility.
We're all wet and frozen. Dry clothes are removed from waterproof packs while the snow saturated ones are laid out. They use their fire tricks to heat the air somewhat, but without wood to burn there is no way to maintain it.
Izumo examines their ration box and frowns. "Riku…I need you to be straight with me. How much longer before we get out of this mountain range?"
"Oh…j-just a f-f-few more days," I shiver. "It's h-hard to tell exactly because of this st-st-storm. It may end up being longer now." Thankfully, the blizzard has given me an excuse for further delay. I have more time to get back on the right track. Although, realistically, hopes of recovering the trail are rapidly diminishing and I can't help but wonder if a quick death would be better than wasting away slowly with these shinobi.
"You told us one week, almost a week and a half ago!" Izumo snaps, impatient with my evasiveness.
"It's difficult to estimate these things…" I glance away furtively.
A look of understanding dawns on Kotetsu. "You don't know." His eyebrows draw together in anger, "You don't know where the hell we are, do you?"
"No! I mean, yes! Yes I do!" My voice is frantic and I cringe at the panicked sound. Seems I'm not too keen on a quick death after all. "I only lost track during the blizzard, but I know where we are…"
"Liar!" Kotetsu snarls and slams me up against the cave wall. His face is a bit gaunt due to the meager diet they've all been on, but he's still frighteningly strong. A kunai is held to my throat and I know that I'm about to be murdered.
Looks like Konoha shinobi were not so rare a breed after all.
"Tell me who you're working for!"
The demand catches me by surprise, and I glance at Kotetsu in confusion.
"Who is trying to stop us from reaching the village?" He presses. "Tell me now!"
They think I was hired to keep them sidetracked, I realize. Breaking down, I confess what really happened and why I had kept the information from them. It takes a while to convince them, but they finally believe me.
A look of dismay crosses Izumo's face as he realizes that, for our three weeks of travel, we've been lost for two and a half of them. Hayate reaches out and squeezes their leader's shoulder reassuringly.
Kotetsu punches the wall, creating several cracks in the stone. "What do we do now? That damned blizzard is going to obliterate our trail. Even if we wanted to backtrack…"
Iruka is peering solemnly at the darkness beyond the cave exit. "We'll find a way."
They are silent for a moment, and I wonder what my punishment will be.
"Riku, give me your food."
Resigned to my fate, I hand over my own rations to the leader of this squad.
I had packed more food than the ninja because, unlike them, I do not regularly attempt to procure sustenance from the wilderness. I know this mountain range is too cold, harsh, and highly elevated to support much of anything- a fact that I probably should have warned them about before we started this journey.
I suppose it's only fair that I be left to starve, as I am the one responsible for their dire predicament.
Izumo adds my items to his food box and looks it over, gathering his thoughts. "Men," he addresses his squad finally, "We're on starvation ration diets until we make it out of this place. I'm dividing some of the provisions now. It's up to you how quickly you want to eat it. Just remember you won't be getting anything more for two days."
The ninja nod their understanding and wait patiently while Izumo sorts out their portions. Finally he hands each of them a single ration bar.
Ashamed, I fix my eyes on the ground. Thus I'm surprised when I feel something being pressed into my hand. I look up to find Izumo passing me tworation bars.
The confusion must have shown on my face, for the shinobi explained, "Civilians need more sustenance than ninja."
I palm the proffered rations in awe. Not only were they not going to kill me…they were actually concerned about my survival. As we go to sleep that night, huddled together for warmth, I come to realize that yes, Konoha does produce an entirely different brand of soldier.
Another week has passed, and even the fire-breathing, snow-skimming, superhuman ninja are waning. Every day we make less progress than the one before. Their bodies grow leaner, their faces gaunt. They had given up on their previous method of walking on the snow (something about needing to conserve their chakra?) and instead crafted the oddest-looking snow shoes I've ever seen, using a hodgepodge of altered equipment tied together with something they call chakra wire. I also am wearing a set of snow shoes, crafted for me by Iruka.
Of all the ninja in the group, I've come to like Iruka most. Around him, I sometimes forget that I had failed this group so thoroughly. He is the one smiling and encouraging, relentlessly optimistic when everything seems hopeless. He is the one who wordlessly supports Hayate when the man's coughing fits become so bad he can barely walk on his own.
But now, even Iruka's smiles are rare. I am no longer travelling with unflappable shinobi. No, we are a company of desperate men with hunger tormented eyes. I can tell it's becoming more difficult for Izumo to part with the double portion that has been my lot since the day of the blizzard. But he knows I am unable to handle the severe rationing they are enduring. He knows, and somehow he cares.
We're approaching a summit, one we've been trying to reach for days. From there we'll be able to see for miles around us. I have been growing more and more confident that we are indeed approaching the village they were bound for. Once we get to the summit, we'll see how much farther we have to go.
Iruka quickens his pace and runs up ahead. He turns and offers one of his now-rare smiles. "Come on guys, almost there!"
Almost there. That thought quickens all our steps. I stumble up to the summit and lift my eyes to behold…
Nothing.
For miles around, nothing but a cruel sea of rock and snow.
I fall to my knees, clutching my head and letting out a strangled wail. "We're going to diehere," I sob in anguish. "We're all going to die."