Author's Note: I apologize for the late upload. This fanfiction is strictly a hobby for me, and life has been extremely busy as of late. My upload schedule will be slow going, as a result.
Anyways, read and enjoy!
Ino was bored.
It had been several hours since the group had departed from Konoha, but the expanse of forest seemed to stretch endlessly for as far as the eye could see.
"Sensei, how long will it take to get there?" Ino whined to their chain-smoking Jounin, who responded with a sigh that expelled wispy smoke from his mouth.
"I already told you, Ino. It's a four-day walk to the northern border. Now stop being so impatient."
Ino huffed, but remained silent.
Despite her nonchalant demeanor, Ino once again subtly eyed their client, Hatsuki, with narrowed eyes. Not because she was suspicious of the man, but simply due to sheer boredom. He was an enigma among a group she knew fairly well.
Not that the man helped himself much. Other than the start of their journey, Hatsuki had kept to himself and had only commented excitedly when the topic strayed far from himself, the mission, or his village.
The only bits of information she or her team knew about the man was that he was married, he had a kid and that he dealt in research materials. The name of his village, after Asuma had pulled and pried the information from the merchant, was Ohira. Ino had never heard of the village, but really, why would she? The Land of Fire was large enough that plenty of tiny villages had managed to spring up in the unlikeliest of places.
But research materials? Really? Ino found it hard to believe, but Hatsuki insisted the roads that passed through Ohira housed scholars on their way to various places in the north and that they had kept the demand high for scholarly parchments, pens, research papers, and scrolls. The issue for Hatsuki had been in keeping his supply of academic papers in stock, as traveling scholars didn't want to waste time, energy, resources and money in traveling to Konoha several days to the south and instead preferred buying their goods from the local villages, even with marked up prices.
Outside of topics about his business, however, the man was a closed clam. Shikamaru appeared to make a bigger deal out of that fact than Ino and Chouji for some reason. Ino had reasoned that the man was simply a private individual. Just because he hired them didn't mean he had to share everything about himself, right?
Ino was pulled from her thoughts when she nearly ran headfirst into Asuma, who had abruptly stopped and stood tensed with his hands buried in his weapons pouch. Ino didn't need to question the behavior. With a quick flare of her chakra, she could also sense the men in the surrounding tree line.
Ino didn't make any sudden movements, but instead checked off items on her mental checklist. A glance out of the corner of her eye placed Shikamaru and Chouji. Teammates? Check. A quick, almost imperceptible visual inventory check placed how much and where her shinobi equipment was located. Tools? Check. Closing her eyes, Ino effortlessly focused her chakra outwards, identifying the targets. Six men with no identifiable chakra markers.
Bandits? Ino speculated. The six men must've spotted Hatsuki's large backpack stuffed to the brim with scrolls and assumed he would make a good haul. Not to mention the majority of his guards were children.
A bow was drawn from a nearby bush. Asuma locked eyes with the Genin and nodded.
In a split second, the nocked arrow was released with a deep twang, the arrow shooting straight for Hatsuki. The merchant's eyes locked onto the approaching arrow and his face morphed into a look of terror and trepidation at what he undoubtedly assumed would be his final moments.
The arrow shot forward closer and closer to the man, aiming for his torso. Before Hatsuki could react, the man's body flinched, and with the reaction of a trained shinobi, he dropped to his stomach in one quick motion, the arrow flying harmlessly through the spot he had stood only a second earlier.
The bowman wasn't the only one surprised. Hatsuki's eyes bulged momentarily before locking onto Shikamaru, who lay in the same position several feet away. His hands formed the 'Rat' seal and a thin, needlelike shadow connected the two.
The bandit bowman couldn't believe it as he lay concealed in his hiding place in a nearby roadside bush. Shinobi guards? Shit, if that's the case, then we were are in real tr—
The man gurgled in a flash as blood spewed from a deep slash in his neck. He was dead before he hit the ground. Asuma stood over the man with his custom trench knives and quickly pinpointed the other bandits, who had by that point discovered what the bowman had and were frantically making a beat out of the area.
With a series of quick shunshins, Asuma made short work of the majority of the bandits, except for one, who had doubled back and was heading towards the merchant and the trio of Genin who were guarding him in what appeared to be a last-ditch effort to recoup any losses he knew he would face upon return to his base if he arrived empty handed.
Ino saw the bandit running haphazardly towards their group, hair wild and eyes wide. He wielded a katana that appeared dull and cracked. Specks of rust coated the metallic surface of the blade. The handle was brown from dirt and grime after being exposed unprotected to the elements.
Ino's eyes widened at the man's condition.
These bandits are desperate for any sort of goods they can get their hands on, Ino realized, as she subconsciously stepped forward to confront the man.
A real battle wasn't like training at the academy, Ino first noticed. The man, while unskilled with the blade, looked to be moving in slow motion as he attempted to slash at the kunoichi. A sidestep. A quick step backwards. A slight twist of the body. Ino was easily able to dodge the man's blows, which seemed to only terrify the bandit even more.
The man heaved a breath, spittle flying from his mouth before he used his sleeve to wipe the fluid away. Grabbing the katana with both hands, the man's eyes bulged in a psychotic, almost inhuman way before he lunged forward with all of his strength at the blonde haired kunoichi. Ino's heart pounded as she briefly sidestepped the attack and whipped her kunai from her pouch in a quick motion. The man's eyes, so focused on where Ino had previously been standing, shifted to the kunai in her hand, but it was too late: he was far too exposed.
Ino quickly ducked under the man's outstretched arms and ripped the sharp edge of her kunai across the man's belly as though she were gutting a fish. A throaty scream escaped the bandit as he dropped his sword and fell to his knees, arms clutched around his stomach.
Ino watched the blood pool beneath the bandit and, no longer willing to watch the suffering, appeared behind the man and snapped his neck with a quick pop. The man's whimpering ended abruptly.
Ino stared passively down at the deceased bandit when she felt Asuma softly pat her on the back.
"The first one is always the hardest."
Ino nodded dumbly before a wave of nausea suddenly welled up inside her. Walking delicately several feet away from the corpse, she turned her back to her teammates and retched violently until nothing remained.
Ino could feel her teammates' eyes on her back as she wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of a shaky hand. One word came to her mind.
Fuck.
Asuma stood over the corpse. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shikamaru and Chouji rubbing Ino's back, offering words of encouragement to the visibly shaken girl while her body continued to shake with each new retch.
Hatsuki awkwardly stood off to the side, away from Asuma and the trio of Genin, a hesitant look spread across his face as he kept peaking glances at the kids.
The Jounin grimaced at the sound, but steeled himself and returned his attention to the corpse. As he analyzed the body for any hints of identification, the man's arms caught Asuma's attention.
Bone showed through the man's skin, the skin stretched taut across the bone like a dry sheet. It was obvious the bandit hadn't seen proper nutrition in months. Asuma's curiosity was piqued.
With an effort, the Jounin managed to roll the body onto its back. A quick scan of the former bandit's physique had Asuma's eyes widening even more. The man, simply put, had been starving to death when the battle took place.
No wonder he attempted something so reckless, Asuma reflected. It was the only logical explanation given the number of Genin protecting Hatsuki, the prowess he himself had displayed, and the poor condition of the bandit's equipment.
I wonder… Asuma trailed off, eyes searching for the rest of the bandit contingency he had singlehandedly eliminated. A quick check ensured that Ino and the two boys were safe before Asuma shunshined to his former killing zone in the surrounding forest. Three more bodies lay lifeless next to the Sarutobi, a quick scan confirming his suspicions: they too had been suffering from extreme malnutrition.
Asuma sighed and ran a hand across his face before returning to the dirt road. He found Hatsuki crouched over the dead bandit just….staring at it. The merchant jumped at the Jounin's approach.
"What do you make of this?" Asuma gestured at the corpse, catching Hatsuki momentarily by surprise at the inquiry.
A short grunt left the gangly man when he stood from his crouched position. He leveled Asuma with an expressionless look. "And what could I tell you that you don't already know, hmmm?"
The Sarutobi shrugged noncommittally, essentially asking the merchant, "I don't know, so why don't you tell me?"
Hatsuki's smirk was morbid given the circumstances, but he surprised Asuma by pointing at the bandit's garb. "See that brown fabric?"
The Jounin nodded.
"That fabric is only manufactured in and around the Ohira area. We have a family that is well known in the area for making clothes well suited for rainy conditions. I don't know how they do it, but the clothes they make are water resistant." The man held out his sleeve for Asuma to touch. "See?"
Asuma rubbed the material between his fingers, which felt smooth, like the soft clay that accumulated in the sediment of nearby rivers. Somehow that family Hatsuki mentioned had managed to replicate those properties into the manufacturing process. The Jounin dropped his hand and glanced once more at the dead bandit.
"So essentially you're saying these bandits most likely came from the Ohira area." There was no question; Asuma was certain.
Hatsuki's smirk grew into a small smile. He pointed repeatedly at the Jounin as though something was on the tip of his tongue and he just couldn't quite remember. "You're pretty sharp, you know that?" The merchant sounded impressed.
Asuma didn't humor the man and appeared to shy away from the praise. "I need to check on my team. If you'll excuse me…" As the Sarutobi ducked his head and began walking over to the trio of Genin, he could feel the merchant's gaze on his back. Asuma managed to ignore the temptation to turn and face Hatsuki, slowly approaching the two boys who were gazing concernedly over Ino. The young girl stood hunched over, but her body had finally stopped trembling and she no longer appeared nauseous. A spark of relief lit Ino's features when a light touch from Asuma brought her attention back to the Jounin.
"How're you holding up?"
"Fine," Asuma heard the Yamanaka mumble. The Sarutobi shared dubious looks with Shikamaru and Chouji before the three silently came to an agreement. They all understood: they had to keep moving in order to make it to their destination on time, but yet Ino needed to get back on her feet.
"Can you walk?" Asuma queried the blonde girl. She managed a weak nod, before taking one unsteady step. Then another. Then a step that was more confident. Several feet later, Ino appeared to be back on her feet. Asuma gave the two boys a look that said, "Keep an eye on her just in case." He turned to find Hatsuki looking back at him from his position over near the bandit corpse.
Asuma waved the merchant over. "We're leaving. Let's go." He saw the man adjust his large backpack and let out a weary sigh. "Yes…..Yes…." the man uttered as he breezed past the Jounin.
With the group of four ahead of him, Asuma's eyes refocused once more on the bandit corpse. The logical conclusion that neither he nor Hatsuki had broached had been a significant one. If the bandits were suffering malnutrition and had come this far south just to rob weaker victims, then the reasonable question would have to be…. Asuma adjusted his gear and set off after his team and client.
Who or what interfered with this bandit group to the point of forcing them to take such drastic measures?
Ino remembered the lessons taught by the Academy on killing, a particular subject the Academy had touched upon more than once. It was a lesson graduates all remembered because it was one of the last and most intense taught before a student could graduate.
Iruka-sensei was as serious as a heart attack when the lessons were taught, but Ino couldn't help but scoff now at how the lessons paled in comparison to the actual experience of killing a man.
All that time spent drilling the importance of burying their emotions. Ino inwardly frowned at the notion. Maybe it worked for seasoned shinobi, but for a 12-year-old kid? Nearly impossible.
Ino's stomach continued to churn. It had been a few hours since the confrontation with the bandits, and the group now found itself unpacked and camped out nuzzled along the road. Hatsuki and Asuma were sharing a tent; the merchant had appeared eternally grateful when the Jounin unsealed one large enough for two bedrolls.
With that said, the two were awfully suspicious. Both were hiding key pieces of information from the Genin about the bandits, Ino suspected. She had an inkling that Shikamaru had managed to piece together some of the information on his own, but he was unwilling to share.
Ino shivered as a cold breeze blew through their camp. As the Yamanaka hugged herself, her attention was drawn to Shikamaru and Chouji, both of whom had been unnaturally quiet since the bandit attack.
Ino exhaled a shaky breath and peered down at her hands. A warm light danced across her palms from a small fire the group had managed to scrounge together. It was a fire pit; to avoid revealing the group to potential enemies. We don't want to attract attention to ourselves, Asuma had said.
The Yamanaka caught Shikamaru lazily eyeing her and even Chouji was watching her. Ino suddenly felt irritated. She massaged her temples and sighed tiredly.
"Look. Stop it, all right? I'm fine." Ino's eyes were closed as she directed her words at her two teammates without looking up.
"You sure as hell don't look fine," Ino heard Shikamaru retort. A grunt of approval came from Chouji.
"I don't appreciate you two treating me like a fragile glass vase," Ino began, and she saw the two boys stiffen at the rebuttal. "I do appreciate the concern," her voice softened and she half smiled at the two Genin. "It's just that I don't know how to act around you two when you treat me this way."
Shikamaru said nothing as he sidled closer to the Yamanaka's left at the same time the snack eating Akimichi sidled closer to her right. The three remained quiet for several moments before Chouji broke the silence.
"Is it really that traumatic to kill a man?" Chouji asked innocently.
Shikamaru smacked his forehead at the chubby boy's bluntness. "What Chouji meant to ask was how the experience of killing a man compares to how the Academy made it appear. I can only guess the Academy really blew it."
Ino continued to peer down into the fire pit for a few moments before shrugging her shoulders at the question. "For me, yeah, it was way different. But it's probably different for each individual. Everyone probably reacts differently."
The blonde girl heard Shikamaru mumbling under his breath, but nothing was decipherable. Ino's eyes gleamed at the chance to tease the boy. "What was that, Shikamaru?" Ino began in a playful tone. "You'll have to speak up." The Nara rolled his eyes, but scratched his neck uncomfortably, appearing unsure how to continue.
"So how was it different for you, then?" he finally managed.
Ino slowly ran her hands through her hair and didn't say anything for a few moments. When she finally turned her attention to the boy, she saw him gaze at her with concern.
"Words can only explain so much," Ino began. The bandit's bloodshot eyes flashed briefly in her memory. "The Academy explains killing as though it were an everyday chore, but when you have a man there in front of you who knows he is about to die…" Ino bit her lip. "Well, it changes things…."
"It does get easier." The three Genin jumped at the voice and discovered Asuma standing quietly behind them. Neither Ino nor Shikamaru said anything and Chouji continued eating. The silence from the Genin told Asuma to continue.
"I'm not saying it will become an easy thing to do, at least it never has for me," Asuma continued. "But continuing to dwell on a kill you made helps nothing. It only exasperates the process." Asuma leveled a look at each Genin to get them to understand, to make them understand. His gaze lingered on Ino the most.
"Do you understand now why we're so hesitant to send Genin on C-rank missions?" The Sarutobi queried the three Genin. Each nodded their heads.
"This isn't a game, despite how helpless those bandits appeared. Always remember that when you go into battle, it's a life or death situation. You must be willing to swallow your emotions and do what needs to be done. Understand?"
The Genin were tense, but each nodded.
"And one last thing…" the Jounin held up a finger. "Your team is important. Treasure it."
The atmosphere was tense, but Asuma didn't seem to want to leave. He sighed and let a small chuckle escape. "I didn't originally come here to give a lecture, you know." He reached into his pocket and held out his hand for the three Genin. The trio looked confused.
Asuma met their looks with an amused expression plastered on his face. He pulled open each of their hands and placed a small leaf into the center of their palms. "This is your training."
More confused expressions.
Asuma now looked even more amused. "Use your chakra to cause the leaf in your hand to float. But…" And the Jounin pointed at each of them. "Don't let it touch your hand. And you have to maintain the leaf while we eat tonight. Just an FYI." The three Genin shot Asuma annoyed glares, but acquiesced to the request, each furrowing their brows and beginning the exercise with varying levels of success.
Ino was the first to get her leaf floating, but a quiet crackle from the fire broke her concentration and the leaf spilled softly into her palm once more. The Yamanaka aimed a pleading look at her sensei. He raised his hands in a placating gesture.
"The secret is in maintaining your focus when you are distracted," Asuma told the bewildered Genin. "It's great for learning chakra control. From now on, I expect each of you to practice with this leaf. If you can manage to eat your food and keep the leaf in that position the entire time, I'll teach you about the second step."
Ino loudly groaned, Shikamaru mumbled, and Chouji scrunched his face into a grimace.
Dinner was not going to be fun.
The group trudged through the sloshy mud as rain pelted them from above. They were now more than two days into the journey to Ohira, but the weather had taken a turn for the worst a couple of hours after they had broken camp.
Every person in the group wore cloaks, but it appeared to do little good against the freezing rain. The three Genin walked closely together in an effort to preserve some body heat, but the water seemed to soak them to the bone.
Ino was too miserable to even complain to Asuma, who silently walked behind the Genin and merchant.
Because no one had been willing to talk, Ino was given a lot of time for self-reflection about the previous day's events. When her thoughts drifted to the bandit she had killed the previous day, Ino shook her head and chided herself for going down that train of thought.
But it never went away. Not because she had killed the man; she logically understood that if was necessary. What gave her pause was how helpless he had been. The difference in their prowess was so clear-cut, so overpowering, that essentially she had been the man's judge and jury.
I couldn't imagine that feeling of hopelessness, Ino came to realize.
Shikamaru and Chouji had tried to understand what it was that bothered her, but Ino couldn't express it in words. She had grown up in a well-regarded clan that had members who were accomplished shinobi. Did they suffer from these thoughts as well?
Ino's attention was pulled away from her thoughts when she felt a tight yank on her cloak. A quick glance from the blonde saw Shikamaru, face partly concealed by his hood, pointing to a structure looming directly ahead of the group.
Ino chastised herself for being too distracted. If an enemy had attacked, I could've been killed.
Asuma silently held his hand up for the group to stop, and the three Genin formed a protective formation around Hatsuki.
"It's an abandoned watchtower Konoha shinobi used in the past as a staging point for recon missions." The group of shinobi heard the merchant quietly explain. Asuma appeared to ponder the information before looking at Ino.
"Do you sense anyone nearby?"
Ino closed her eyes and a quick second passed before she reopened them. She looked determinedly at Asuma and shook her head. Asuma scratched his chin before dropping his pack onto the sloshy mud road. "I'm going to go check it out. Remember…" the man paused and looked at the Genin. You don't see my signal or you get attacked? Retreat back down the way we came. I don't return? Send a messenger hawk to Konoha with a request for aid and try to hide in the meantime."
The trio simultaneously nodded before Asuma silently began running across the muddy road towards the watchtower, the heavy rain blanketing the man's presence.
Several minutes passed and the Genin shifted impatiently. Hatsuki looked pale. Finally, Ino felt the signal: a quick three burst of chakra from Asuma. Ino stood from her crouched position and beckoned the group to follow. The group cautiously followed the blonde headed shinobi, Chouji lugging Asuma's pack.
What took him so long? Ino wondered as she sloshed her way over to the structure. If the watchtower had been abandoned, it wouldn't have taken Asuma more than a minute to clear the place, right? Her question was answered when the team of Genin found Asuma inside the tower peering down at a group of slaughtered travelers.
The moment Hatsuki stepped underneath the covered tower, Asuma whirled around and jabbed a finger at the man. "Why didn't you tell us about the dangers of this road?" he demanded, motioning at the corpses. Hatsuki raised his hands in a placating gesture to try and calm the Jounin.
"Look, you have to understand that I traveled south on this road several weeks ago. When I traveled it, I never experienced anything like this."
Asuma lowered his finger and returned his gaze to the corpses. There were five of them, but the kills didn't appear fresh. It had to have been sometime in the past few weeks when they were killed. One of the corpses caught Asuma's attention when he noticed a small scroll clenched in the man's hand. Peeling back the man's fingers from his grip around the scroll revealed official looking documents, set with wax seals and signatures.
He must've been reading it when he was ambushed, Asuma thought as he opened the scroll and began scanning the contents.
Dear Shinsuke, please take this shipment of scrolls to your suppliers. Present this note to the appropriate supervisor in Kumogakure so they can verify your identity. When you reach the village….
Asuma's mind was spinning. From what he could gather, this merchant, Shinsuke, must've been killed for his cargo, which was nowhere to be seen. Could it have been bandits? He doubted it, considering the state the group had found those other bandits in. Asuma ground his teeth in frustration. He was still missing something here…
"…sensei? Hello? Asuma-sensei?" Chouji pulled Asuma from his thoughts. The Jounin shook his head and turned his attention to the group. "Ah, sorry Chouji, what is it?"
The Akimichi shared a look with his teammates, both of whom shrugged. "We were trying to ask you what our next move is going to be."
Asuma looked at the bodies strewn across the room. "We're staying here for the night and out of the elements. But we need to move these corpses first." The Jounin bent over and began dragging the merchant's corpse out of the tower and into the forest. Huffs and puffs behind him told Asuma his students were doing the same.
After several minutes, the group found itself sprawled out on the stone floor at the base of the tower with a fire glowing from a fire pit. The tower appeared to have been built decades ago as a forward operations post for Konoha recon teams. No doubt teams at the time found themselves in similar conditions to their own, Asuma thought.
Asuma lifted his gaze to look at the tower's ceiling. He knew he'd feel relaxed under the safety of the tower's stone roof if it weren't for the recent events he and the group had taken part in. A bandit attack was nothing out of the ordinary for a C-rank mission, of course, but their presence and behavior was troubling to say the least. And the bodies they had discovered here…
An argument between Ino and Shikamaru broke the Jounin from his trance, and watching as the two insulted each other made him realize he would have to spill the information he had discovered. It was only fair considering they were an integral part in protecting their merchant client. The Sarutobi sighed at the explanation he would have to give them, but he steeled himself and moved forward. He cleared his throat, and the three Genin plus Hatsuki turned to look at him.
"Look guys, there's something you should know…"
"You mean to tell us that we may be dealing with enemy shinobi here?" Ino asked incredulously. The kunoichi spoke while a leaf effortlessly floated over her palm. Her teammates were doing the same, but struggled to consistently keep the leaf afloat. Asuma eyed the blonde girl and inwardly smiled.
He pointed to Ino's leaf. "Why don't you try hovering the leaf over your index finger next?" The girl eyed Asuma dubiously before agreeing to the request. Immediately it became clear to the Yamanaka that controlling the leaf with her index finger required more precise control. Asuma smirked at Ino as she scrunched her face in concentration.
"What is this exercise supposed to accomplish, exactly?" Ino asked distractedly, now annoyed at both being made fun of by her sensei and for him trying to change the subject. "And stop trying to change the subject. We want a straight answer from you."
Asuma's eye twitched at the Yamanaka's attitude, but he continued. "The answer to your first question is learning chakra control. Once you master controlling chakra through your index finger, move to two leaves over two fingers, then three leaves over three fingers, and so on. It will make future chakra control exercises infinitely easier."
The Jounin paused before leveling Ino and the two boys a serious gaze. "As for the original question: yes, there is that possibility, but it's highly unlikely given Konoha's intelligence that was gathered for this mission."
Shikamaru's leaf dropped into his hand before he rolled his eyes at his sensei's statement. "Intelligence isn't foolproof, Asuma-sensei. There's always a chance it could be slightly mistaken or just plain wrong, isn't that right?" The Nara's eyes sharpened as he waited for Asuma's answer, gears clearly turning.
Asuma shifted uncomfortably and grumbled under his breath before giving in to the line of questioning. He smiled sheepishly. "There's no fooling you, Shikamaru. You're right. Our intelligence on this mission could very well be wrong. That's why I wanted to ask you what you all wanted to do moving forward with this mission."
The three were surprised at the question. Hatsuki remained silent and tried to wear a blank expression, but Asuma could tell the man wanted to return home as soon as possible. He was worried. And rightly so.
"I say we keep going with the mission." Ino was the first to speak, and she met Asuma's hard gaze with one of her own. Her expression was serious, and little of that childlike innocence the Jounin had seen the blonde show had faded since she became his student. Her smile didn't reach quite as high as it used to, and her eyes didn't sparkle with quite the same amount of enthusiasm. Killing a man had that effect on every shinobi he'd seen. It made him ashamed that it had to happen.
"I agree with Ino," Chouji spoke soon after. "We can't return to the village empty handed simply because we felt uncomfortable."
The group aimed its attention at the holdout—Shikamaru. The boy cupped his hands in front of his body as he sat deep in thought. After several seconds, the boy opened his eyes and nodded his head.
"I agree with Ino and Chouji. We were assigned this mission, and despite the evidence we have collected so far, it could all point to a number of scenarios other than enemy shinobi. If shinobi always acted simply on what ifs and pure conjecture, we wouldn't get anything productive done."
Asuma appeared satisfied with the Genins' answers before he looked at Hatsuki with an inquiring glance. "So how about it, Hatsuki? You willing to continue onwards to your village?"
The merchant appeared relieved at the decision and he flashed the shinobi a smile. "You bet I am. Thank you everyone. Truly."
"Then that settles it," Asuma concluded. "Be prepared. We leave at sunrise." The three Genin eagerly began to climb into their sleeping bags, but Asuma stopped them with a quick jab of his finger. "When did I say you could go to sleep? You still have an hour of chakra control practice left. Get to it."
Ino looked ready to explode, Shikamaru's eyes couldn't get any narrower and Chouji was almost ready to cry. Each sat down with a huff and continued their exercises while Asuma looked on with a smug expression.
"You're a sadist, you know that?" Asuma heard Hatsuki direct at him. The Sarutobi chuckled and playfully hit the man on the shoulder.
"You're just now noticing that?"
The group broke camp and left as soon as rays of sunlight were peeking over the tree line. Asuma was in the lead, followed closely by Hatsuki, and behind him the three Genin dragged their feet across the muddy road, each looking haggard and grumpy.
Asuma stole a glance at the trio trailing behind him and laughed. He had originally planned to lecture them on the dangers of being lazy, but honestly, who was he to say anything? Memories of the night before hung in his mind like misty haze, at the progress the Genin had shown in their chakra control.
Asuma watched as Ino rubbed her eyes and let out an unladylike yawn. Memories of her practice session, especially, stood out in his mind. She had already mastered the leaf control exercise on one finger and had moved to controlling two leaves simultaneously on separate fingers.
Shikamaru and Chouji were doing well also. Each had managed to finish their practice last night with solid control in the palm of their hands. Asuma intended to have the two begin practicing channeling chakra through their fingers during the next practice session.
Asuma returned his attention to the road before gazing up at the sky above. No stormy clouds were visible and the weather looked to be clear in every direction.
Thank kami no more rain, Asuma thought, a new spring to his step. A voice interrupted his thoughts, however.
It was a voice laced with an unusual amount of cheerfulness, and Asuma was surprised to discover that Hatsuki was the owner.
"Have you ever been to Ohira before?" the unusually chipper Hatsuki asked the Jounin. Asuma subtly shook his head and as he did he noticed the trio of Genin gravitate closer to the merchant, seemingly aware of the man's change in demeanor.
Hatsuki smiled and nodded assuredly to the response as though he was expecting it. "That's no surprise there, that it's not. Not many people around Konoha have heard of it much less know anything about it."
It seemed as though the merchant could sense the interested audience and his eyes shone with a bit of pride. "Would you three like to know more about the village?" Hatsuki whipped his head around and leveled a smirk at the three, a playful lilt lacing his speech when he knew he caught the three attempting to eavesdrop.
The Genin had the decency to appear sheepish, but Ino couldn't help but feel thunderstruck at the man's change in demeanor.
He's like a different person, Ino reflected. A questioning thought came to her mind.
Does he trust us now?
Her suspicions dinged correct as the merchant dove into stories about his home life, the strange customs he and the villagers of Ohira partook in, funny stories about his time as one of the villager's merchants, and stories travelers told him of their own adventures while they were passing through on their way to faraway lands.
One of Hatsuki's stories stood out in Ino's mind.
"There was this one time I had a traveler attempt to barter with me with a currency that was completely worthless here in the Land of Fire."
"Did you shut the man down and tell him to pay up with the proper currency?" Hatsuki directed his attention to Chouji, who leaned in with a curious expression as he walked next to the merchant. Hatsuki laughed.
"Nope. He bought a couple of my books using that worthless currency of his." The merchant laughed at the memory while scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. The rest of the group sweat dropped at the admission.
"You mean you just let him walk all over you like that?" Ino demanded.
Hatsuki held his hands up in a placating manner. "Now, now. At that point, for me it wasn't about who walked all over the other." He wryly smiled at the memory. "He was so convinced I was getting such a good deal with his currency that he looked positively stricken with disappointment at the amount of coin he had to pay up. I couldn't say no to a man like that."
Ino gave a look to her teammates that said, "Can you believe this guy?"
Hatsuki appeared to have noticed the look and he smiled at the girl's expression. "I know I sound pretty pathetic in a story like that, but I think there is a lesson one could learn from it." The man held up a finger and grabbed the attention of the Genin.
He waited. And waited. Shikamaru and Chouji shifted impatiently for the man to open up about his nugget of wisdom. Ino couldn't take it anymore.
"And what is this lesson?"
Hatsuki nodded smugly at the question. Asuma held back a laugh. Hatsuki was obviously enjoying this way too much.
The merchant leveled the Genin with a semi-serious expression before he continued. "The lesson is to not take life so seriously all the time. Could I have haggled the traveler much more effectively? Sure, but I decided to let it go instead of ruthlessly pursuing my payment. I made a friend and got a good laugh. What would the alternative have gotten me?"
Hatsuki dramatically shrugged his shoulders at his own question. The Genin pondered the question.
"That doesn't mean I expect you three to go easy on your training now," Asuma called out from ahead of the group. He smiled subtly when he heard groans come from the Genin.
Hatsuki's jovial mood continued the rest of the day and into the night after the group had made camp. They were less than half a day away from Ohira, and the closer they got to their destination the more excited the merchant appeared to be.
He's probably excited about seeing his family, Ino reflected. She couldn't blame him. If what he said was true, the merchant hadn't seen his family for several weeks.
She pondered the man's situation as she practiced channeling chakra through her fingers, leaves hovering above three of her fingers. Ino turned her attention to her teammates and found them struggling to get the leaf hovering over their index finger. The Yamanaka inwardly smiled at her own success.
"Might I ask why the three of you wear matching earrings?"
The question from Hatsuki surprised Ino, but not enough to break her chakra control exercise. She directed her attention to the merchant, who was pointing to his own lobes with a curious expression painted on his face.
"They're a reminder of a promise that we share," Ino said simply.
When Ino didn't elaborate, Hatsuki motioned for her to continue. "What kind of promise?"
Ino took a deep breath and sighed. "The earrings are symbols of our clans, to remind the three of us to protect not only our village, but also ourselves."
Hatsuki's face faltered for a moment before he recovered quickly. "Ah, I see. It seems like a very important promise to keep."
Ino nodded her head at the man's assessment and returned her attention to her training.
Hatsuki opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated and let the question die in his throat: And how far does that promise go?
The village of Ohira wasn't impressive by any stretch of the imagination, Asuma noted at the hamlet below, visible after the group had crested over a large hill a few hours earier.
The three Genin appeared to share his opinion, but remained quiet in respect for their client, who had shown a lot of pride in the village.
There may have been five or six wooden cabins total that made up the village, but from what Hatsuki had told the group, the path through the village was consistently busy with travelers of all kinds.
However, Asuma noticed as the group approached the hamlet that there was no activity from the villagers nor any traffic. There was, simply, nothing going on. Warning bells rang inside his head and he shot a look at the three Genin, who returned his gaze with a firm nod.
Asuma stole a glance at Hatsuki, and the merchant appeared extremely distressed at the developing situation. He caught Asuma's eye and a grim expression filled his face. He gestured at the group.
"Something isn't right here. Let's go to my home and try and get this figured out. Come, my home is on the outskirts of the village."
Several minutes later and the group found itself at Hatsuki's home, a standard wooden cabin that matched the aesthetic of the others. Hatsuki gripped the doorknob to his home and pulled the door ajar.
"I'm home!" Hatsuki called inside.
Silence answered.
By this time, the entire team of shinobi was on edge. Asuma stood rooted at the entrance of Hatsuki's home and glared daggers at the merchant's back while the man stood facing away from the group.
"Don't you want to come in?" Hatsuki's voice cracked. Asuma didn't respond, but was surprised when the merchant's body began shaking. Tears streamed down the man's face and fell silently onto the floor's coarse wooden boards.
After several minutes with no words exchanged between Hatsuki and the shinobi, the man wiped his tears with his sleeve and exited the cabin.
The interior of the cabin had been lived in. Asuma found signs of children, like scattered toys and a bunk bed pushed into the corner of the small home, but a thin layer of dust coated every surface.
Asuma backtracked until he stood next to his team. The four of them leveled the merchant with serious looks.
"You lured us out here." Asuma wasn't asking, but Hatsuki responded with a weak nod.
"Yes, but it appears as though our agreement has been terminated as well," the merchant simply stated, vaguely motioning towards the empty village. Asuma's eyes narrowed to slits.
"What agreement? And with who?"
Asuma's eyes widened when numerous shuriken sped in his direction. Fortunately, the four shinobi were alert and managed to jump aside.
Hatsuki took the opportunity and ran further down the dirt road leading out of the village. Asuma shouted out at the merchant to come back, but the shout went on deaf ears.
Asuma shook his head and returned his attention to the surrounding tree line where the shuriken were thrown from. He knew he didn't have the luxury of chasing after Hatsuki. He glanced quickly to his right and confirmed that his team was unharmed.
Just as he did so, four figures emerged from the shrubbery, each decked out in standard shinobi garb. What puzzled Asuma, however, were the quartet's metal headbands. No distinguishing etchings.
What village are they from?
Ino shared the question with her Jounin sensei and she was sure Chouji and Shikamaru did as well.
One of the shinobi stepped forward, a plain looking man with brown spiky hair and a deep scar carved into his right cheek. His eyes appeared hollow and forlorn, but they had an edge to them only seen in experienced shinobi, Asuma immediately noted.
Asuma knew by looking at his eyes that the man had seen more than his fair share of battles.
"Sorry, but we cannot allow you to live after what you've seen here," the brown haired man said. "Our master can't have you reporting this to your father, Asuma Sarutobi." The tail end of the shinobi's declaration was laced with icy ruthlessness.
The shinobi barked a quick and quiet order to his three men. Asuma appeared collected, but inwardly he was panicking. The four ninja looked very experienced; way too much for mere Genin.
Asuma looked at his trio and looks of nervousness were returned. "Remember your chakra control. Don't overexert yourself. Know your limits. Remember that they will fight to kill and won't hold back. We will go with team plan 4."
Team plan 4. Ino understood it as well as her two teammates. A plan designed around a tactical retreat in the face of superior shinobi. A cycle of brief skirmish followed by brief retreat. The idea was to shake off pursuers and get them to stop pursuing altogether.
It was a rough plan with many variables, but it was one designed to limit shinobi combat and ensure escape, Ino remembered.
Several tense moments passed as the two groups stared at one another. Ino swallowed at the heavy, almost oppressive atmosphere.
The enemy team of shinobi released their killing intent at the Konoha shinobi and silently charged with kunai raised.
The wave of killing intent hit the Genin like a wave, binding them in place as though invisible hands were pulling them downwards.
The brown haired shinobi charged at Asuma, but before he could reach the Sarutobi, the Jounin released his own dose of killing intent. The scar-faced man smirked at the feeling and at his kunai being repelled by Asuma's trench knives.
Ino gaped at the speed at which the two Jounin-level shinobi traded blows. A dodged slash. A quick explosion. It was almost too fast to follow.
A group of shuriken shot towards Ino from one of the three other shinobi. He wore a gray mask that covered his mouth and nose, but left his eyes exposed. Ino acted on instinct alone and managed to deflect a few of the metal stars.
If the masked shinobi was surprised, he didn't show it. He flung a kunai at Ino's chest from his position several feet away and raised his hands in the ram hand seal. What was an easily traceable kunai shot forward even faster at the speed of a missile. Ino barely managed to roll out of the kunai's path when a large slip of paper on the weapon's handle caught the Yamanaka's attention.
An exploding tag.
"Oh sh—" Ino managed before an explosion rocked the battlefield.
Asuma heard the loud blast and knew his team had spent enough time fighting. He placed his index and middle fingers underneath his tongue and blew out a sharp whistle before throwing a smoke bomb onto the battlefield.
I just hope my team is still alive to hear this, Asuma thought as he flung a few shuriken in the brown-haired shinobi's direction before Shunshining away to join with his team.
He was relieved to find his entire team in one piece at the rendezvous point. They looked worse for wear, especially Ino, whose body and clothes were singed, no doubt a product of having nearly been blown to bits by the exploding tag.
Ino, for her part, had no idea how she'd managed to Kawarimi out of the situation. Her body reacted without further thought, but her technique was sloppy; the Kawarimi placed her a few feet outside of the direct blast radius, but not enough to avoid some collateral damage. Her wounds, thank goodness, were superficial.
Ino quickly turned her attention to Shikamaru and Chouji. The two boys weren't in as bad a condition as her, however Chouji was suffering from shallow cuts on his cheek and left arm and Shikamaru was developing a dark bruise over his right eye.
"You all threw smoke bombs down, correct?" the three Genin turned to look at Asuma, who didn't appear to have been touched by his opponent.
Asuma appeared satisfied when the Genin quickly nodded their heads, but he, along with the three Genin were still mulling over one important piece of information: Hatsuki and his "agreement". Asuma knew the Genin weren't naïve enough to not realize that the merchant had sold them out.
But who was Hatsuki in agreement with? And why did it feel like Hatsuki himself was sold out as well? These questions plagued Asuma to no end, but the Jounin knew he didn't have time to mull them over.
"Come on," Asuma thumbed in the direction they had originally approached the village from. "Our mission is over. The parameters have completely changed and we're no longer under any obligation to keep Hatsuki on as a client."
Ino opened her mouth to argue, but a sharp look from Asuma kept her quiet. "This isn't a request. It's an order." Ino huffed and looked away.
Shikamaru and Chouji appeared unhappy with the order, but chose to remain silent. Asuma's eyes softened. "Those three masked shinobi are too experienced for you to handle. Having you fight them now is tantamount to suicide."
Asuma turned his head and peered over his shoulder when he heard the sound of rustling leaves.
Approaching shinobi? Asuma tensed.
"Get ready you three," he barked at the Genin. "We're not out of this situation yet."
Hatsuki was out of breath by the time he reached the top of the outcropping.
His large pack had weighed him down along with the uphill battle he had been fighting against the forces of gravity. A small cottage lay before the merchant, barely large enough to house one person. It was isolated on a cliff that overlooked the village: a perfect vantage point to see the going ons of the village without being seen.
Hatsuki knocked on the scratched wooden door but heard no response. He knocked harder. Still no response.
Where is he? Hatsuki thought as he bit his lip.
"Hello there, Hatsuki-kun." Hatsuki shivered when he heard a voice directly behind him. Slithery like a snake and cold and uncaring as ever. Hatsuki turned to face him.
Orochimaru.
The merchant didn't hide his disdain for the master shinobi, but instead unclasped the buckles to his pack and threw it at the shinobi's feet.
"There are your forbidden jutsu scrolls. Your thief in Konoha did his job well."
Orochimaru's eyes widened in anticipation when he uncovered the numerous scrolls stashed inside the pack. "Hmm… Very good. You've done well, Hatsuki-kun. You have quite the knack for smuggling. You sure you wouldn't want to make a career of it?" The pale-faced shinobi drew out his words in a mocking tone while he looked the merchant up and down.
Hatsuki trained his expression to stay neutral, but a nagging concern gnawed away at him. "And what about the village? Where is everyone?"
Orochimaru sifted through the pile of scrolls without concern when he dropped a bomb on the merchant. "Hmm? Oh yes, they're all dead."
Hatsuki's stomach dropped. "B-but you promised to leave us alone if I got the scrolls for you!"
"I lied and used you." Orochimaru impassively continued examining the scrolls.
"But why kill everyone?!" Hatsuki was shaking in anger. His heart was beating uncontrollably and he was grinding his teeth together. Orochimaru glanced up at the merchant and let slip a small smirk.
"Hatsuki-kun, let me show you something that'll answer all of your questions." Orochimaru stood and gracefully glided around the building to the area behind the cottage, beckoning the man to follow.
Hatsuki was wary of the summon, but he followed anyways. When he saw Orochimaru ahead of him looking down into a ditch, he stood next to the shinobi and followed his gaze.
His eyes bulged.
"You understand now, Hatsuki-kun?" the merchant heard Orochimaru say next to him. Despite this, he couldn't take his eyes off the spectacle below. Suddenly, a hand was over his mouth and the cold sensation of a kunai on his throat gave him goose bumps.
Sharp pain. Warmth flowed from his neck.
Hatsuki's vision dimmed. A gentle push sent him tumbling into the ditch. The merchant's eyes took in a figure standing above him then shifted to his left and right. His wife's lifeless eyes responded from the left. His son's from the right. Hatsuki gurgled something incoherent.
Why?
Blackness took him.
Orochimaru wore an amused expression as he watched Hatsuki take his last breath. A brown-haired shinobi appeared behind Orochimaru, waiting for the man to acknowledge his presence.
A couple of moments passed. "Status?"
"They put up a smokescreen and retreated the way they came. My men are keeping an eye on them until further orders. Do you want us to pursue?"
Orochimaru turned to face the scar-faced shinobi. "Shinkaru. The team must die. I can't have Konoha getting tipped off about our presence in the Land of Fire. Understand?" Orochimaru displayed his usual impassiveness, however Shinkaru detected a hint of iciness in his voice. A voice that said, "Don't disappoint me."
Shinkaru inclined his head. "It will be done."
Before he could leave, Orochimaru said, "Take Go and Ugawa with you. They're in reserve, but we can't afford to show mercy here. I will return to Otogakure and begin making preparations now that we have a forward operating base."
Shinkaru once more inclined his head before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
The enemy shinobi hadn't attacked the team, yet, preferring to sit back and observe. Asuma had tipped off the Genin to the impending battle, and as the group of shinobi ran through the forest, they readied themselves for battle.
What're they waiting for? Asuma thought to himself. These were always the worst moments in battle for him: the calm before the storm. Glancing at the Genin, Asuma knew they must've had some frayed nerves.
Ino was a nervous wreck. She could sense the approaching shinobi, but they weren't attacking. Shikamaru and Chouji looked like she felt. Both were sweating profusely and not just from the running.
As they ran, Ino caught Shikamaru and Chouji's eye. "You guys doing okay?"
Shikamaru gave a smartass smirk and opened his mouth to speak, until an explosive tag wrapped kunai shot through the foliage and exploded in mid air in the middle of the Konoha shinobi.
Ino and the team found themselves out of harm's way a dozen feet away. Splintered logs lay where they once stood.
"Here they come!" Asuma shouted.
Five masked shinobi joined their brown-haired leader as the enemies easily closed the distance between the two groups. With a quick hand gesture, one of the shinobi disappeared into the foliage.
Shit! There are two more enemy shinobi?! Ino cursed to herself as she jumped backwards and flung her shuriken at her opponent. The masked enemy easily dodged the projectiles with a casual lean.
Melee range. Ino's weakest area.
The masked man drew his kunai in the blink of an eye and lunged forward at Ino. She sidestepped the thrust, but felt a ton of bricks pound into her ribcage as the man readjusted his footing and kicked her hard with a backwards kick.
Ino felt the air escape her lungs when she landed hard on her back.
The masked shinobi was on her in a heartbeat, stabbing downwards towards her chest. Ino did the one thing that came to mind.
"Shintenshin no Jutsu!" Ino shouted, her hands formed in her family's hand seal. The enemy shinobi had no time to react. He was hit point blank with the jutsu, momentarily losing consciousness before Ino found herself looking down at her own body.
The shinobi's face morphed into a triumphant smirk as he rejoined his "comrades".
Ugawa dodged left and right, avoiding the thin, black line that was attempting to bind him. At the source of the thin line stood Shikamaru, who was panting and sweating.
Ugawa was ready to go in for the kill when Go appeared next to him.
"You do it?" Ugawa asked his comrade. Go simply nodded.
"Good, then we can team up he—" He didn't finish as a kunai slashed across his throat.
Shinkaru spun around and glared daggers at Go. Ino, in Go's body, smiled and briefly waved at Shikamaru.
Yes! We can do this! Ino encouraged herself. She then suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest, blackness, and then a sensation of waking up from a dream.
Ino exhaled a breath from her own body.
"What the hell was that?" Ino murmured aloud as she sat up.
Was it that scar-faced shinobi who killed me? I couldn't even follow his movements!
Ino shook her head to stave off feelings of nausea at the sensation of killing and being killed and jumped up to rejoin the battle.
When she returned to the forest clearing, she found Asuma fighting two shinobi: the enemy leader and one of the masked shinobi. Despite Asuma's combat prowess, two against one were difficult odds, and he was just avoiding getting killed.
Ino wanted to assist Asuma, but she had other problems. Her attention shifted to Shikamaru's opponent and threw two of her shuriken at the masked shinobi to draw his attention away from the Nara. The shinobi parried the shuriken easily with his kunai and was in front of Ino before she could react.
He wrapped his left hand around Ino's throat to keep her in place as he stabbed forward with his right. Ino could see it all in slow motion.
Shit. I don't wanna die here. Ino's thoughts triggered an instinctual response from her body. Without thinking, she fumbled in her pouch, ripped out her last shuriken and deflected the shinobi's kunai. Without rhyme or reason, Ino slashed downwards onto the man's hand, forcing him to drop the kunai.
"Fuck!" the man yelled out in pain.
Ino grimaced— an imitation of a smirk— but knew her success was short-lived. The man's eyes narrowed in anger before Ino felt a sharp punch to the gut. The contents of her breakfast spilled onto the forest floor.
The shinobi grabbed Ino's neck with his wounded hand and applied even more pressure. Two seconds passed. Ino choked out incoherent sounds. Five seconds passed. Ino began to black out.
Before she could lose consciousness, the shinobi released her and jumped away. Ino crumpled to the ground. As her vision blurred, she saw Shikamaru standing in front of her, facing the masked shinobi.
A battle ensued between the two. From her position on the ground, Ino had a hard time deciphering the specifics, but she knew no matter what she told her body, it would not get up.
Shikamaru was panting heavily. A quick glance at Asuma saw him battling it out with the enemy shinobi leader and another masked shinobi. The two sides appeared evenly matched.
How troublesome…. Shikamaru thought to himself while he tried in vain to pin his opponent. Why couldn't I just be in Konoha, watching clouds?
The shinobi's impressive attack cut his thoughts short.
"Kagemane no Jutsu!" Shikamaru shouted. His shadow extended outwards to try and trap the wounded shinobi, but he managed to evade the jutsu with his superior agility.
Suddenly, another shinobi Shunshined behind the Nara and sliced outwards to decapitate the boy. Shikamaru ducked and instantly used another Kagemane no Jutsu to grab the man's shadow.
Ha. Got you. Shikamaru thought, before the man substituted with a nearby log.
"Wha—" Shikamaru started, before a set of hands burst from the ground below and held his legs in place. With his legs unmovable, Shikamaru attempted to form a hand seal. He felt his arms pulled back and pinned to his back by the other masked shinobi, who had appeared behind him after his capture.
Two on one? Shit, I stood no chance. Shikamaru lamented. Quickly, however, he realized the two shinobi appeared identical.
No, the second shinobi was a shadow clone! Shikamaru understood much too late.
In slow motion, the original jumped forward and slashed downwards across the Genin's chest. Shikamaru howled out in agony and felt his body fall backwards until he hit the forest floor with a loud thump. As blood pooled out from under him, Shikamaru's glassy eyes stared up at the sky. A small smile touched his lips.
Would you look at that? It's such a cloudy day today. Makes me want to take a nap…
Shikamaru's eyes glazed over.
"That's another one down," the original told his clone. The shadow clone gave him a skeptical look.
"What about the girl?"
"What about her?"
"Is she dead?"
The wounded shinobi scratched his head. "She should be. I'll go check and see…"
At that moment, an enormous explosion rocked the battlefield. Both shinobi spun around to find a crater where the two Jounin level shinobi had been battling.
"Shit! Shinkaru-san!" The two took off to assist their leader, giving a cursory glance back to Ino and Shikamaru's immobile bodies before they continued onward.
Asuma traded blows with the scarred shinobi. A deflected lunge. A blocked kick. It seemed no matter what he did to try and throw the shinobi off, it didn't work.
When he saw Shikamaru fighting two of the masked shinobi by himself, Asuma assumed the worst about Ino's fate. Anger boiled to the surface and the Jounin wanted nothing more than to destroy his opponent.
His chakra flared. The shinobi's confident smirk dropped and turned to a scowl when he noticed the chakra output.
Asuma Shunshined in a flash and viciously slashed at the back of the masked shinobi assisting his leader, striking gold and permanently incapacitating the man .
He tried to do the same with the leader, but felt resistance against his trench knives and discovered the scarred shinobi had blocked the blows with his arm guards. The shinobi's face was scrunched together in fury at losing another one of his men.
Asuma then gave the man a smirk.
Katon: Haisekisho! Asuma mentally shouted, spewing dark grey gunpowder into the face of the scarred shinobi.
His eyes widened in understanding at what the Sarutobi was doing.
It was too late.
With flint placed between his teeth, Asuma ignited the gunpowder. At the last second, he substituted with a nearby log to avoid the collateral damage.
The explosion was so powerful it rattled all of the bones in Asuma's body. Sound became muted temporarily as the Jounin struggled to regain his hearing. A crater was all that remained of where the shinobi had been fighting.
"Shinkaru-san!" Asuma shook his head when he heard the name called.
My hearing must be coming back, he thought to himself.
Frustration replaced the relief he felt when he saw a masked shinobi and his shadow clone checking on the condition of his scarred leader. The man was leaning against the trunk of a tree, panting heavily. Blood seeped from his left arm. His pinky and ring fingers had been blown off from the force of the blast.
He must've Shunshined or substituted at the very last second, Asuma thought while he regained his breath. Asuma had to steady himself to avoid collapsing, as jutsu like that just didn't come easy, after all. He must've used his left arm to dull the force of the jutsu as much as he could. Very clever.
However, his musings were cut short at the implications of the arrival of the masked shinobi.
It can't be… Asuma mentally choked out. An alarming cry yanked his attention away from his thoughts.
Shit! I'm coming Chouji! Asuma mentally shouted, gathering himself and shooting off in the direction of the scream.
Ino quickly shielded her eyes with the back of her hand as sunlight streamed downwards from the canopy above.
As the young kunoichi sat up, she winced at the stabbing pain she felt in her ribs and throat.
I feel like I was hit by a ton of bricks, Ino thought. As she struggled to stand up, she tottered and ending up in a kneeling position. While she did this, a body lying next to her caught her attention.
Ino paused and scrutinized the body in more detail. Her heart jumped into her throat.
"Shikamaru?" Ino asked, unbelieving.
The body showed no signs of life. Ino desperately crawled over to the body on her hands and knees, ignoring the rocks and twigs that dug into her skin.
So cold.
Ino's first impression swept into her skull when she took the young man's hand and felt for a pulse.
There was no pulse to be found, and as Ino gave Shikamaru's body a once over, tears streamed down her face. His eyes were open and he wore a small smile. Ino followed his gaze and let out a bitter laugh.
You were always such a lazy bastard, you know that? Ino thought as she swiped the tears from her face. Dreaming of cloud gazing again.
Ino placed the Nara's hand over his chest and did everything in her power not to burst into tears. Her thought of helping Chouji managed to pacify her to a degree. With an effort, Ino managed to stand on wobbly legs, and after a couple of unsteady steps, she headed in the direction of the ongoing battle.
Ino arrived to discover chaos. Nobody —friend or foe— had noticed her presence, too distracted they were by their personal battles.
Chouji struggled to fight against one of the masked shinobi. Deep cuts already lined his face, his clothes were ripped and bloodied, and he wore a look of desperation. In his left hand, he held a small transparent box with three colored pills.
Ino also noticed grooves carved into the ground, a direct result of Chouji's Nikudan Sensha. His opponent appeared unharmed, and when Ino saw the pills in Chouji's hand, she knew why he had resorted to such lengths: he was out of his league.
Asuma continued his struggle against the enemy leader and one of the masked shinobi. To Ino, it seemed as though he were a shade more skilled than the scar faced man, but with the assistance of his masked companion, the fight was evenly matched. The leader's left arm looked wounded, but Asuma also appeared more haggard.
That was when many things happened at once.
Ino stepped forward to offer assistance to Chouji, but a sharp pain flared in her broken ribcage and she saw white. Falling face first into the hard ground below, Ino glanced up from her position on the ground.
The enemy leader, Shinkaru, nodded his head and with a couple of quick Shunshins, had swapped places with Chouji's opponent.
The scar faced man smirked when he saw Chouji's eyes widen. Instantly, the three colored pills were down the Akimichi's throat and strengthening him to unbelievable heights.
Chouji charged the Jounin with his newfound strength, a flurry of shuriken opening his attack.
Ino saw Asuma fight two of the masked shinobi at once. His trench knives were a blur, creating an opening in one of the enemy's defenses.
Die! Asuma mentally shouted. Before he could deliver the fatal blow, a large crack opened in the ground beneath him, a pair of hands shooting out to grab his legs.
Don't think so, Asuma thought, jumping back out of the shinobi's reach. A series of water bullets also shot towards the Sarutobi from the shadow clone, which Asuma easily deflected with his chakra enhanced trench knives.
He wasn't prepared, however, for the ambush from the shinobi hiding in the canopy above.
The man's eyes opened wide in anticipation at the opening in Asuma's defenses. Long he had waited during the battle for this opportunity. He drew his katana and shot downwards.
A quick rustling was the only warning Asuma got as the hidden shinobi slashed downwards at him with his katana. Steel ripped through the back of his flak jacket, Asuma only having had time to contort his body to lessen the impact.
Asuma, despite the searing pain in his back, avoided an additional thrust from the shinobi and kicked him hard in the stomach.
The four shinobi glared at one another until an explosion shook the ground and blew apart nearby trees.
A scream pierced Asuma, but his attention was too focused on Chouji to pay it any heed.
The rotund Konoha shinobi's innards had been blown outwards by an explosive jutsu, one that was wielded by the scar-faced leader.
Was that Bakuton: Jiraiken? Asuma asked in disbelief.
Chouji was dead. No question about it. Asuma whipped his head around to find that Ino had released the scream. She lay motionless a few dozen feet away, but her mouth was open and tears continued unbidden down her face.
Asuma instantly Shunsined to her side, ignoring the screams of pain from his back. Ino continued staring at Chouji's body, not noticing Asuma's presence.
"Ino." Asuma kept one eye on the four shinobi and one on Ino. He didn't receive a response from the blonde haired girl. "Ino. We need to get out here. Now."
Still no response.
Asuma saw the scar faced shinobi give a quick word to one of his men, who Shunshined away before he tossed Chouji's body onto the ground in a heap. The masked shinobi returned a second later with Shikamaru's body in tow and tossed it on top of Chouji's.
The enemy leader turned his attention to Asuma and Ino.
"You have lost, Asuma Sarutobi. This is the only chance I'll give you to surrender here and now before my team and I wipe you and your student off this Earth."
Asuma scoffed at the offer. "What? So you can kill us later?"
Shinkaru nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. "Our orders are to kill you, but maybe our master is feeling generous. He might just allow you to join us. You are, after all, a very talented shinobi."
Asuma responded by spitting in Shinkaru's direction.
As Shinkaru began his lecturing once more, Asuma formed a desperate plan of escape that would kill two birds with one stone. He glanced down at Ino, who hadn't said a word since she saw Chouji get killed.
This is really gonna hurt, Asuma grimaced.
Futon: Fujin no Jutsu! he mentally shouted, forming the three necessary hand seals. A cloud of dust spewed from his mouth and shot towards the four shinobi.
Instantly, Asuma formed his next hand seals. Katon: Gōen no Jutsu! He knew he couldn't hold back his chakra with this attack. Pouring in as much chakra as he dared into the attack, the battlefield flashed with a brilliant white light.
Ino opened her eyes to discover she and Asuma alone in a covered grassy alcove situated deep in the forest.
The kunoichi lay facedown, the blades of grass tickling her nose. Making an effort to roll over, Ino cried out in pain. Her ribs felt as though they were being stabbed by glass. She didn't know how many ribs she had broken, but she was in rough shape, not to mention the condition her throat was in.
She finally managed to sit in a seated position, and then took a shaky breath while scanning her surroundings.
Asuma leaned up against a nearby tree, his breath labored and heavy. The rest of the forest looked nondescript, the same as what they encountered during the battle. Everything was silent, no sounds coming from the birds and the cicadas the shinobi had heard before.
Ino looked over at Asuma and grew worried. He was suffering, no doubt, from chakra exhaustion. As she gazed worriedly at the Jounin, she knew the two of them had to come up with a plan to make it back to Konoha. But what could they do?
Her attention shifted back to Asuma when the Jounin beckoned her to move closer. Ino obliged, albeit slowly and painfully.
"What is it sensei? Have you found us a way to get back to Konoha?"
Asuma simply nodded and handed Ino a scroll. Red Kanji on the top of the scroll read, "Emergency only".
"What does this do, exactly?" Ino questioned her sensei.
"Open it and pour a bit of chakra into it," Asuma simply said.
Ino did so, and a brown and white hawk was summoned from a cloud of smoke. The majestic bird looked at Asuma calmly for a few moments as the man strapped a scroll to the bird's talons. The hawk then spread its wings and took to the skies.
"Is that a messenger bird?" Ino queried. Asuma nodded before clearing his throat.
"That hawk has a fix on our position through a unique chakra signature contained in the scroll," Asuma explained. "Once that hawk finds the Hokage, he'll know of the peril we're in and where to send his ANBU."
"And what about the enemy shinobi?" Ino was almost too afraid to ask.
Asuma beckoned Ino to sit down next to him. "I don't know if that last attack killed them all, but it at least threw them off our trail for now," he said as Ino took another shaky breath and grimaced in pain as she sat down next to her sensei.
"And Chouji and Shikamaru?" Ino muttered in a whisper.
Asuma clenched his jaw and remained silent, unable to offer any words of condolence. How could he? He had no right to do so.
The Jounin heard a quiet sniffle from the blonde shinobi. Guilt consumed him.
Ino flinched when she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. A sob escaped the young shinobi that once more broke the silence.
Minutes passed.
"Are we going to die like Shikamaru and Chouji, Asuma-sensei?"
"No. We won't, Ino. I'll make sure of it."
"What're we going to do now?"
Asuma stared ahead, eyes burning with a mixture of guilt, sadness and renewed determination.
I will not let her die as well.
"We will patch ourselves up and travel towards Konoha. And we will continue your training."
A white and brown hawk glided along the air currents. In its talons was an emergency message to Konoha's Hokage from Asuma Sarutobi.
The bird's tranquil passage through the sky was interrupted when a huge fireball shot threw the air and instantly eviscerated the bird and message it was carrying.
A thin trail of smoke from the impact site trailed down to the forest floor below, where a shinobi stood with his hands outstretched. He smirked behind his mask and let his arms fall to the sides.
"Good job, Daichi," a voice behind him said.
The masked shinobi turned to face his captain, who grimaced as he held his amputated left arm.
"Thanks, Shinkaru-san."
A pause.
"Don't you want to get some backup first before we find the Konoha shinobi?"
Shinkaru shook his head. "I won't return to Orochimaru-sama empty handed. He'd surely kill us both if he found out the two had escaped."
He pointed in a northerly direction with his uninjured hand. "We can find them if we head this way. Come on, if we hurry, it shouldn't take us more than a few days to run into them."
Daichi nodded his head as the duo began their trek through the forest.
Only two of us remain, the man reflected. He was surprised at the fight the Genin team had put up, but that Asuma Sarutobi…. The man was a damn monster.
As Shinkaru walked ahead of him, Daichi's eyes fell on the man's back, trailing down to his missing arm.
It had been a close thing, that last attack from the Sarutobi, Daichi reflected. Only he and Shinkaru had any sort of time to shunshin out of the way, and even then, the team's captain had still lost an arm in the ordeal.
Daichi had been fortunate. He had already been standing outside the explosion's epicenter when the collaboration jutsu was cast.
Immediately after the attack, with a bloody stump for an arm, Shinkaru had pushed the two survivors several miles south, "Because they will surely send a messenger hawk to Konoha to ask for assistance," the Jounin had assured him.
His predictions had been dead accurate. After a few hours of scouring the skies, they hit gold: a brown and white messenger hawk had glided in their direction. Shinkaru had tasked Daichi with sniping the bird out of the sky with one of his fire jutsus.
With no message reaching Konoha, the two Leaf shinobi were now exposed and vulnerable, with no help coming in the near future.
Not to mention that Shinkaru is out for blood, Daichi thought as heard a grumble from the Jounin. Their whole team had underestimated the Leaf shinobi, and it cost them, Shinkaru most of all.
Daichi wore a dark expression as he pushed aside a branch.
They will not live the week.
Jutsu list:
Kawarimi no Jutsu: Substitution Jutsu
Shunshin no Jutsu: Body Flicker Technique
Shintenshin no Jutsu: Mind Body Switch Technique
Katon: Haisekisho: Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning
Nikudan Sensha: Human Bullet Tank
Bakuton: Jiraiken: Explosion Release: Landmine Fist
Futon: Fujin no Jutsu: Wind Release: Dust Cloud Technique
Katon: Gōen no Jutsu: Fire Release: Great Flame Technique
