"You know that you aren't supposed to be here." Tsubaki cast a stern glance at her little brother and his best friend. Itachi looked at the floor, unable to meet his sister's eyes.
Shisui, however, wasn't intimidated. "It's my fault, Tsubaki-san. I made Itachi come. Don't blame him."
"I don't blame him," Tsubaki corrected Shisui, "In fact; I blame myself for not going home more often."
Itachi's head shot up. "Ane, it's not your fault. You're needed here."
"Before we get into a full-scale argument about whose fault it is, you and Shisui should get home, Little Weasel."
Itachi relaxed slightly. The fact that his sister just called him "Little Weasel" means that she wasn't angry. Itachi couldn't even remember if he had ever gotten into trouble with Tsubaki. If he did something wrong, she never told their parents.
However, as Itachi and Shisui turned to leave, the door to Tsubaki's room flew open. The three of them spun around in alarm to see a 10-year-old girl standing there. The girl's Sharingan was activated, and she was panting, as though she had run all the way to the hospital.
Everybody silently thanked God that it wasn't anyone else.
"Hello, Kaeri. Why are you here?" Tsubaki asked her best friend. "Shouldn't you be with my father's Ambush Patrol?"
It took Kaeri a while to answer. Once she got her breath back, she said, "A large group of ninjas from Iwagakure made it past us. They're coming to attack the village. I came here as fast as I could to warn Hokage-sama."
Itachi felt a rush of fear. Iwagakure was one of the nations that absolutely hated Konoha. They never showed mercy to Konoha shinobi.
Tsubaki's forehead creased. "They came to attack when most of our ninjas were at war. That's a strategy."
"Ane, what should we do?" Itachi asked.
Tsubaki stared down at him for a few seconds, and then turned to Kaeri. "Can you take these two back?"
"But I have to tell Hokage-sama."
"I'll do that. You use your Light Style to travel as fast as possible. I'll use Dark Style to find Hokage-sama."
Tsubaki walked over to the wall and grabbed the sword that hung there. She formed a hand sign and faded quickly, disappearing entirely right before the other three's eyes.
"Right, let's hurry," Kaeri took Itachi's and Shisui's hands and led them out the door.
"Kaeri-san! What are you doing here? And why are there kids here?" The head of the Medical Corps stopped them.
"The ninjas of Iwagakure are attacking! I'm taking these two home," Kaeri answered.
The medical ninjas looked terrified. "Has the Hokage been warned?" one of them called.
"Tsubaki is doing that as we speak," Kaeri replied as she ran out the door.
"Kaeri-san, how are you going to carry us?" Shisui asked, worried.
"I won't. You two will have to run as fast as you can."
…
The three of them ran through the streets, pursued by an Iwa shinobi. About ten seconds after they had left the medical building, Iwagakure had attacked. The few shinobi guarding the village were being overwhelmed by the crushing force of Iwa.
Suddenly, their pursuer jumped in front of them, blocking their escape route. The Iwagakure ninja had spiky, light brown hair and green eyes. He wore the traditional Iwa clothing: a flak jacket with a single-sleeved shirt.
"Well, well. Looks like some little children playing ninja," he sneered.
"You're Gari of the Bakuton, correct?" Kaeri placed her hand on the hilt of the sword she carried with her.
"I'm flattered: Konoha children even know my name."
Kaeri drew her sword. The blade of the sword immediately began crackling with electricity as she held it in front of her. Itachi and Shisui watched with fascination and fear.
"Isn't that the Yang Sword from the legends?" Shisui's eyes reflected the dancing electrical bolts.
"Yes, it is," Kaeri said, eyes focused on Gari.
"Oh? That is the sword spoken of from the legends?" Gari smirked. "This should be amusing. Where's your counterpart?"
"Not here."
"That's too bad." He attacked. Kaeri shoved Itachi and Shisui out of the way before blocking Gari's attack with a swing of her sword. Gari jumped back, eyes narrowed, assessing the Yang Sword.
The electricity from the sword disappeared and was replaced by flames. Kaeri charged forward, sword raised. Gari refused to use any weapons. Instead, he aimed one punch after another while dodging the slices from the Yang Sword. Itachi and Shisui both noticed that Kaeri was making sure to avoid contact with Gari's fists.
"Why doesn't she cut Gari's hands off?" Shisui whispered to Itachi.
"Tsubaki told me that anything Gari touches with his hands will explode," Itachi answered.
"Shouldn't Kaeri-san call for back-up? Gari is a pretty dangerous shinobi, right?"
Itachi glanced around. "There's nobody close enough to help. We can only hope someone will come along."
A giant fireball roared down the street. Kaeri stood alone; Gari was nowhere to be seen. Itachi and Shisui started to come out of hiding, but Kaeri yelled, "Stay where you are!"
She was looking around warily, searching for Gari, who had hidden himself underground.
Suddenly, the earth beneath Kaeri exploded, shrouding her in a cloud of dust.
"Kaeri-san!" Itachi and Shisui cried at the same time. The dust cleared to reveal Gari standing in the middle of a large hole. Kaeri was nowhere to be seen.
For those of you who are wondering why the Yang Sword didn't explode when it came into contact that first time with Gari's fists, it's because the sword is from ancient shinobi times. It's imbued with a legendary power that resisted Gari.
The Yang Sword has a counterpart that will be revealed next chapter. Reviews are appreciated, and thanks for reading!
