Thanks for your patience, all! I took a trip back to my home city to visit friends and family and was in a wedding while I was there - not a ton of time to write, I'm afraid. I'm back now though!
This one is a little shorter than usual (…relatively speaking…) but it is densely packed! Enjoy - and remember, reviews are love and motivation!
Chapter 7: Konoha Under Attack
It was a mission that had gone horribly wrong. What should have been a C-rank investigation mission appropriate for Genin had swiftly turned into something more. Their intel going in had been incomplete, or perhaps purposely faulty; which it had been would be up to Yuuma to figure out once the team was safe back in Konoha.
Kaiya stared down at her hands. Her nails were still rimmed with rusty flecks, and no amount of scrubbing in the river would get it out. She needed a coarse brush. Did she have one in her pack? No. She knew she didn't. And why was she even thinking about cleaning her hands at a time like this?! A girl was dead!
A girl was dead because of her…because she had killed her.
Kaiya didn't dare shut her eyes for fear of seeing her face, seeing the pained expression, the light leaving those brown orbs…She wasn't much older than her, must have been a teenager…and it hadn't been a clean, quick death. No…Kaiya had caught her in the stomach, a fatal wound, but one that would last many painful, drawn-out hours. In the end, Yuuma had ended the girl's life more quickly by cutting the artery in her neck. A mercy killing.
But it was still Kaiya's strike that led to her death.
She was an enemy, Kaiya told herself over and over again. She attacked us. I was defending my team. She was with the enemy!
Then why did she want to throw up?
"Kaiya." A steady hand came down on her shoulder; she didn't have to look up to know who it was. "You did what you had to."
The pressure in her throat threatened to burst. "I killed her," she whispered. "I-I've only killed fish before…"
It had felt nothing like the straw-filled practice dummies in the training fields. Soft flesh, warm blood…how easily the kunai had slipped into the vital tissue…the memory of it threatened to make her gag.
Yuuma sat down beside her on the river bank. "It's okay to not be fine right now, Kaiya. You took a life today. It was in defense of your team and had to be done, but that doesn't make it any easier."
"I'm fine," she protested, her voice too bright even in her own ears. "Really. This is what we do, right? As ninja. We have to k-" She faltered on the word; covering her mouth, she scrambled down the river bank and let loose the contents of her stomach.
Cool hands gently pulled back her hair as she threw up. When she was done, Yuuma handed her his canteen so she could wash out her mouth. "My first time…I threw up, too. Twice, actually." He sat back on his heels. "As for what we do as ninja…it is true that sometimes, we must kill. That doesn't make it any easier, though."
"She was the enemy," Kaiya said. It felt like reciting something from a textbook. "She was the enemy, and I was defending my team…so why…?"
"Why do you feel guilty? Sad? Disgusted?"
Kaiya could only give a weak nod.
"Because you're human," Yuuma told her. "You are a kind, compassionate person who values life. I would be more worried if you had no reaction to what happened today, honestly. We should never be numb to death, Kaiya. To become so means we no longer value life." He half-turned, looking back at the camp fire where the two boys nursed their wounds. "Look at them. Thanks to you, they're alive. You protected your people today."
"But she was protecting hers, too…"
"And if she wasn't? If she was simply fighting for the thrill, or for money? Would that make her more deserving?"
Kaiya looked up at him in shock. Of course she didn't think that!
"We don't always know why our opponent fights," Yuuma explained. "But what we do know - what every ninja should know when they go on a mission - is that death is a possibility. For us, for others…it is something we live with constantly, something we must acknowledge in everyone we meet. You know, it's said that the best battle is the battle not fought; but sometimes we can't avoid or prevent them. Once you're in battle, there's no time to think through the options and scenarios. You strike, you dodge, you block - and you seek to end it as swiftly as possible, however you can."
Last time, in To Unravel the Night…
Naruto's words echoed inside her skull, but suddenly, her mind felt oddly fuzzy. She couldn't focus; the world around her blurred, and a sensation like a thousand feathers drifted around her, softly caressing her skin, lulling her into sleep…
Something jolted through her system like a bolt of electricity, startling her awake. A strong hand steadied her; without it, she'd have fallen over. Kaiya blinked her eyes hard. "Wha-?"
"Genjutsu." Kakashi's voice held a note of urgency that perked her up. "The whole stadium's asleep, except for those who dispelled it. We're under attack."
Under attack? Kaiya barely had time to wonder what was happening before something came flying her way. Kakashi threw a kunai and intercepted it - another kunai, which would have landed in her chest.
"Get it together," he barked. "I know you can do better than that!"
Shaken from her confusion, Kaiya's training took over. Another kunai came her way; she took one of her own and deflected it. All around her, civilians and some Shinobi were out cold; she had to be careful where those kunai wound up, or they'd lose innocent lives. "We need to evacuate-"
"Can't," Kakashi said. "Unless we can move this many unconscious people at once. For now, defend them!"
Nearby, Hikaru dispelled the genjutsu on Gorou. "I'll wake up the Shinobi in the crowd. Gorou - move the civilians so they won't be open targets."
"Good plan," Kakashi said. "Guy and I will cover you! Kaiya - can you get a barrier up?"
"Hai!" Kaiya quickly set an anchoring kunai and flickered around the stand, setting up the four points. The barrier would only cover this particular area, but it would separate them from the rest of the fray. Any enemies trapped inside would be more easily dealt with. With a hand sign, she activated it. "Done!"
"Aim to kill for now," Kakashi ordered them. "We can't risk them getting back up until the rest of the village is ready to take prisoners."
The rest of the village…right now, the lower-level Chunin and Genin would be rounding up civilians and children and directing them to safe houses. Once they were out of the way, the more seasoned Chunin and Jonin could go all-out without worrying about collateral damage.
Until then, prisoners were not a luxury they could afford.
Together, Kakashi and Guy moved like she'd seen almost no one move before. Guy was a green blur, his speed and precision as he struck down the Oto nin almost imperceptible. And Kakashi…Kaiya couldn't help but be in awe of him. He was lightning fast, every movement calculated, exact, and deadly. Left and right, Oto and Suna nin fell unconscious or dead.
And something told her that this wasn't nearly the full extent of what he could do.
An enemy came for her; Kaiya drew her kunai in each hand and blocked his strikes, her reflexes allowing her to dodge and evade. He stayed on her, backing her toward the stadium wall.
Then he made a mistake: a brief opening that Kaiya was quick to exploit, ducking under his arm and getting behind him. Her kunai came to the front of his neck, and with a quick, lateral slash, he was down.
Kaiya felt a cold shudder as he fell; she couldn't remember the last time she'd had to kill, but now wasn't the time for thinking or regret. She turned and leaped to the next enemy, who'd evaded Kakashi and Guy and was heading for the sleeping Naruto and Shikamaru.
Seeing the enemy's intention lit a cold fire in her belly that burned away any further hesitation. With a flicker, she was in front of the man; two slashes brought him down while he was still surprised by her presence.
"We're clear," Kakashi called, looking around their stand. Guy stood at his back, alert just in case there was another enemy they hadn't yet seen. Hikaru and Gorou jogged back to join them; in the immediate area, a few Konoha Shinobi had awoken.
"What now, Kakashi-san?" someone asked.
"Now," he answered, "we defend. Once Kaiya's barrier comes down, spread out among the stands; most of the Jonin should be fighting already, but anyone who can dispel genjutsu, do so on our affected comrades. Leave the civilians be; we don't need them muddying the field. Our mission is to protect them and trim the enemy's numbers."
Admiration blossomed in Kaiya's chest as Kakashi took complete control of the situation. His calm gave her confidence that there would be a way out of this, so long as they all followed his orders.
"Where's the Hokage?"
Kakashi turned toward the Hokage stand, the rest of the small crowd with him. What they saw made them all gasp.
A large, translucent, violet barrier had been erected; inside, they could just make out the Hokage, his usual robe and hat discarded to show his battle garb, facing none other than Orochimaru.
This had been Orochimaru's plan all along - and now the entire village was in crisis.
"Hokage-sama!" yelled one of the Shinobi, tense and ready to leap forward.
"Stay focused!" Kakashi barked. "The Hokage can handle himself. Our job is to protect the people of the village - go!"
Kaiya let down the barrier and the Shinobi scattered among the stands. Before she, Hikaru, and Gorou could do the same, Kakashi stopped them.
"Not you three," he said. "I have two other missions. Sakura-" The pinkette, who'd been awake and laying low in the stands, snapped to attention. "It was well-worth teaching you genjutsu skills; you truly have a talent for it. Go wake Naruto and Shikamaru; you three are going after Sasuke."
Sasuke? Alarmed, Kaiya glanced down at the arena floor. Sasuke was gone - as was Gaara.
"He went after the Suna team," Kakashi told her, answering her unasked question. "He's gonna need backup."
"Then we'll-"
"Not you," Kakashi interrupted. "I need you for something else."
"But-"
Hikaru grabbed her arm and shook his head; now was not the time to argue. Kaiya watched as Kakashi summoned Pakkun and sent him with Sakura to the boys, her muscles screaming at her to follow. Once the Genin trio had their orders and the older Shinobi covered their exit, Kakashi turned to Kaiya and her team.
"I said the Hokage could handle himself," he began. "But the truth is, I'd feel much better if he had backup. It looks like Orochimaru wanted to face him alone; he's probably banking on Sandaime-sama being too sentimental to want to kill him. I saw some Anbu on the roof; go join them. Most barriers are based in Fuinjutsu formulas, right?" he asked Kaiya.
She nodded, suddenly understanding what he was asking of her. "You want us to do something about the barrier."
"Exactly." Kakashi looked directly into Kaiya's eyes. "Can you do it?"
Kaiya looked again at the barrier. From here, she could just barely make out four Shinobi, one at each corner; this was clearly a strong one if it required four people to maintain. Could she bring it down alone?
There wasn't really a choice. She had to try, or they risked losing their Hokage. If that happened, the village wouldn't just lose its leader; it could be demoralized in the middle of battle, which could lead to even more dire consequences. But if they could help the Hokage take out Orochimaru, this battle could become significantly shorter.
Kaiya squared her shoulders and nodded. "I'll do it."
She'd figure out 'how' when she got there.
Kakashi nodded back. "Take your team. We'll cover your exit; get to the roof and meet the Anbu team there. Tell them I sent you; they'll work with you then. And Kaiya-" She was already turning to leave; he reached for her arm, making her look back up at him. "Be careful. Please."
Despite the urgency of the situation, a warm, tingling sensation invaded Kaiya's midsection. She gave him a small smile and, words weighted with sincerity, replied: "You too."
The team exchanged a look of understanding. No words needed to be spoken; they knew what to do.
Hikaru weaved a few hand signs, then seemed to shimmer out of existence. Camouflage jutsu - a genjutsu that rendered him basically invisible. Kaiya activated her chakra masking seal; if any sensors were along their path, they'd notice Gorou and perhaps one other person, giving them the advantage of surprise either way. Together, all three took off to the area beneath the stands - fewer people, fewer potential opponents.
It wasn't long before they noticed they were being followed. After exchanging a quick glance, Kaiya and Gorou stopped dead in their tracks and turned around to face their attackers. Two Oto nin, their lower faces covered with cloth masks, stood just a few meters away.
Gorou smirked beside her. "One each, eh, Kaiya-chan?"
"Looks like," she muttered back, sliding a kunai into each hand.
"No." Hikaru's hushed voice came from just behind them. "Kaiya - you keep going. We'll handle them."
Jaw clenched hard, she gave the tiniest nod of acknowledgment just as the two Oto nin launched themselves forward. Kaiya leaped back while Gorou spun into action, taking on the two at once. She only got about fifty meters away when she noticed another presence at her side. Startled at first, she relaxed marginally when she recognized the cloak and bone-white mask of an Anbu operative.
But only marginally.
"I'm here to help," the operative called. "What's the plan?"
That voice…it was familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. Her skin prickled in warning. The Oto nin had disguised themselves as civilians and other Anbu, had gotten into the village without anyone noticing…they must have had help from the inside. And why wasn't this Anbu with the others?
"Meeting up with Anbu on the roof," she answered vaguely. "Should get further orders there."
Deciding to go with her instincts, Kaiya tried taking a random turn within the stands, making her route more circuitous than was advisable. The Anbu followed her every step. She came to a full stop; the Anbu halted with her.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
Kaiya backed up a step. He took one forward.
"Exactly who are you helping?" she demanded.
"I don't know what you're-"
Her eyes narrowed. "Take off the mask."
He shifted his stance ever-so-slightly. "You know I can't do that."
"Do it, and prove that you're a Konoha Shinobi," she said, voice dangerously low. "Or I will remove it for you."
For a tense two seconds, neither of them moved. Then the person in front of her sighed. "Just as fiery as ever, I see. That much hasn't changed."
Kaiya's brow twitched. He spoke as though he knew her…and he still hadn't removed his mask. "Who are you?"
"Oh, I think it'd be more fun if you guessed."
Her eyes narrowed. Clearly, he was trying to distract her. She would have none of it; the longer she took, the longer the Hokage was without backup! She flickered around the masked man, only for him to block her. "Here to 'help,' huh?"
"You're going for the barrier," he said, his voice dark. "You'll only get yourself killed by trying to break it; it can't be broken."
Kaiya smirked. "Really? Then why try to stop me?"
He sighed. "I'd really prefer not to fight you, Kaiya-san."
That voice! Where did she know it from?! And he knew her name…Kaiya tightened her grip on her kunai. "Get out of my way, and you won't have to."
For a bare second, the world around them seemed to fade away. Every muscle in her body buzzed with anticipation; the very air was charged, ready to spark.
Then it started.
The man weaved hand signs; Kaiya focused and shaped her chakra, directing from her hands into her blades. They leaped toward each other - but before clashing, Kaiya feinted, deftly side-stepping him entirely and aiming a strike at his back.
Her enhanced blades sliced cleanly through a log.
He's fast!
The close quarters prevented her from using her full speed, and the beams and rafters made made it difficult to throw weapons accurately. No powerful ninjutsu down here, either; she risked collapsing the stands if she tried, endangering the people still asleep above. If she could just get out into the open, she could easily out-maneuver him!
He turned up behind her and threw her against a column. Pain exploded, but not just in her back from the throw; the arm he'd grabbed throbbed deeply. She had no time to glance down before he was right in front of her again. This time, she brought her kunai up with her good hand; he predictably leaned back and away from the blade, but his cloak tore and blood burst from just below his throat anyway. She heard him gasp out a "What?!"
He leaped back immediately, bringing a hand up to the wound, It was shallow, but it shouldn't have been possible at all; her blade made no contact.
"You're just as fast as always, too," he commented in an annoyingly composed voice. "And that just now…ah, yes, that's right…you're Wind-natured. You coated your blades in Wind chakra, didn't you?"
Quickly glancing at her injured arm, Kaiya saw no entry wound. Then why did it feel like he'd sliced down to the bone? It hurt to move it much, and the darkening of her skin told her she was bleeding internally. Not a genjutsu - this wound was real. Watching her opponent warily, she spied the glow of chakra around his hands.
He did something via chakra…something that injures without cutting the skin. I have to avoid his hands.
She guessed that by his comment on her chakra nature, he now knew to avoid her kunai, too.
"Not much of a distance fighter, are you?" she called to him.
"Neither are you," he replied casually. "From what I recall, you prefer to get in close, using your impressive speed and skill with Body Flicker to confuse and exhaust your opponents if you don't intend to kill them, or to strike them down if you do. You also enjoy taking advantage of people's assumptions about you - particularly that you'd be less capable than you are. I'm afraid that won't work on me, though."
He spoke as though he knew her, and with a smug tone that made her want to punch him in the face - but only after unmasking him so she could see his expression as she did. "You seem to know a lot about me."
With a swift motion, she drew and imbued several kunai with Wind chakra before throwing them at him. He just barely avoided them, not even trying to block; clearly, he knew that they'd simply cut through anything in their path.
And they did - slicing through a support beam just above his head and bringing it down. He swerved out of its path, substituting as he did and cutting her off as she sped toward an exit. She froze, as did he.
"I do know a lot about you, Kaiya-san," he said, bringing his hands slowly to his sides as though to indicate that he meant no harm. "Or should I call you Kaiya-chan, like I did when we were younger?"
Despite herself, Kaiya's eyes widened. He knew her before…? No. He had to be lying. Still, her fingers practically trembled with frustration; she knew that voice, she knew that voice!
"I'm not surprised you haven't figured it out yet," he continued, still not moving - just standing. "Your memory wasn't great back then, either. I had to remind you of my name almost every time we saw each other at first; it was kind of cute, actually."
His words hooked into her psyche, keeping her from moving away. His voice drew her in, pulling at an almost primal need to know what the hell he was talking about. Her mind whirled; he could only be referring to her time in the orphanage, back in those first few months when she still had memory issues. Some of the older kids used to tease her for being horrible with people's names in particular…did he know her back then? How?
Her voice came out as breathless as if she'd run a marathon. "Who the hell are you?!"
Was it possible to hear smirks? She was pretty sure she could hear one in his response. "If you really want to know…" He tapped a finger against the mask. "Come and get this."
She wanted to. By all the gods in existence, she wanted nothing more in that moment than to knock that damn mask off of his face so she could know once and for all. She shook with that need to know, to solve, to uncover.
"I know more about you than you do," he practically purred. He didn't move; somehow, his stillness was all the more inviting. "More than this village will ever deign to tell you. Ever wonder who your parents really were?"
No. He couldn't possibly know…he was lying. He was just trying to distract her - and it was working. "You're lying."
"It's Konoha that's been lying to you from the beginning," he retorted, bitterness dripping from his voice.
Kaiya couldn't take it any longer. With a burst of speed that even surprised her, she reached him, a swift swipe catching that damned mask in her kunai and ripping it from his face. He caught her wrist, though this time there was no searing pain, just a strong grip that held her in place as she finally took in his appearance.
When she realized what - or rather, who - she was looking at, her heart stopped in her chest.
She saw the glasses first, knocked just off-center by the unmasking…then the ash-grey hair gathered in a ponytail…and a smirk that seemed both out of place and perfectly at home on a boyish, oval face.
"You're…Kabuto…"
The smirk only widened. "No 'kun' this time? I'm disappointed." He whirled her around, pinning her arms and pressing a kunai to her throat.
"Come on out," Kabuto called into the rafters. "I'd rather not damage her more than necessary, but if I must…"
As Kaiya watched, a figure shimmered into existence a few meters in front of them. Lavender shirt, light brown hair - it was Hikaru. He walked slowly toward them from behind a pillar, his camouflage genjutsu fully released, hands out and empty.
"Really," Kabuto muttered, his breath warm against her ear. "Using a genjutsu of that level on me isn't going to work."
"Oh, I'd say it worked quite well."
Hikaru's smooth, cultured voice rang out not from the figure in front of them, but from behind.
Kabuto turned to see the source of the voice, his surprise making him jerk the kunai away from Kaiya's throat and allowing her to slip from his grasp. Just as she did, a large, tanned fist made contact with Kabuto's jaw, sending him flying into a pillar several meters away.
Gorou straightened, his bright hazel eyes flashing. "Keep your fucking hands off her, you piece of shit!"
Hikaru - the real one - came to Kaiya's other side; his mirror image mirage wavered, then faded as the second genjutsu released itself. 'Mirror Image' jutsu - his other specialty, which came in very handy for distractions, but that he could only use a few times a day for its chakra usage. "You all right?"
"Arm's off," she told him, clutching the offending limb. "But yeah. Don't get too close to him - his hands are dangerous."
"A quick exit seems best, then," Hikaru said, pulling out a smoke bomb. "We're wasting time."
They leapt away when the smoke bomb went off, filling the underside of the stands with thick, grey clouds. Once free of the stands, they had to dodge projectile weapons, but made it to the roof without further incident.
"Kakashi sent us," Hikaru told the Anbu trio as soon as they arrived. "What's the situation?"
"Kakashi, eh?" muttered the lead operative, who wore a cat-like mask. "Orochimaru has the Hokage locked in combat inside that barrier. No one can get through - it incinerated the last person who tried."
"Did you see any of the hand signs those four made?" Kaiya asked, indicating the four Shinobi who made up the corners. "Anything helps."
"We didn't."
Kaiya's mind raced to figure out what she could. Barrier jutsu had routes in Fuinjutsu; most had long ago been modified to not require a full seal, though the principles of how they worked remained similar. The Five Elements of Earth, Water, Fire, Metal, and Wood always played a role, their symbolic meanings powering the barrier in a variety of ways.
A four-cornered barrier that burned people alive on contact…it had to work primarily on Fire element, then. Rigid structure - that indicated a strong Earth element. Even number of sides and casters meant a base in an even-numbered seal; an odd numbered seal could create an imbalance, but they didn't have the time to come up with one. How else could they get in?
"Wait," Kaiya breathed, an idea forming. "We don't need to take down the entire barrier — if we make a hole in it, Anbu can get in, right?"
The operative nodded. "Can you do that?"
"The four casters are protected from both outside and inside the barrier," she said. "But if we can knock off just one of them, that'll weaken it."
"But not disable it?"
"Probably not," she admitted. "These four are skilled and very used to working together; once one corner fails, they'll compensate to keep the barrier working. But I can take the fourth person's place and do a counteractive jutsu, something to create an entrance."
Hikaru nodded. "I think I have a way to take one of the casters out."
Within moments, the plan was set, roles assigned. As she waited for the start of her own role, Kaiya nursed her injured arm, testing its mobility; it had been a while since she'd practiced one-handed signs, and she was far slower and clumsier with them. Her hand still moved; it just hurt like hell to bend and raise the arm. She could deal with that.
Small explosions rang out from beneath their feet - the first round set by Anbu. As Kaiya watched, the four Oto nin holding up the barrier barely stumbled but regained their footing quickly. The barrier remained stable.
A second round went off, stronger than the first. This time, the biggest of the four looked around and almost lost his hand sign.
C'mon, Hikaru, she begged from her hiding spot. Get him out!
A third explosion - for the briefest moment, the big ninja's hands came apart.
That, Kaiya knew, was the opening Hikaru needed. She held her breath; the barrier was still up, but the Oto nin suddenly looked alarmed, staring at something only he could see. The smallest lapse in concentration made it possible - the barrier would have blocked any attempt to manipulate a person's chakra otherwise - and as Kaiya watched, the Oto nin lost his balance completely as he became caught in a vertigo-inducing genjutsu.
Almost…just a little bit more…
Every muscle in her body was tensed; she knew Hikaru might run out of chakra before the genjutsu did its job. But it was working, he had him!
COME ON!
The Oto nin stumbled, his hands completely apart as he tried to catch himself. Kaiya could see the other three starting to scramble, pouring more chakra into the barrier to keep it from coming down - as expected. But if she was right, then any second now…
There!
The outer part of the barrier immediately around the large Oto nin wavered. Kaiya flickered forward, a burst of chakra letting her move unseen directly into the opening as he lost his control completely. Gorou was right behind her; he tackled the enemy nin as he came stumbling out.
She was in.
Quickly, she pulled out a pair of seal tags she'd written while Anbu set their explosives. On one, written in as small a script as she could manage, was a seal to counteract the fire properties of the barrier; it was activated by the Rat and Boar signs, both representing Water and therefore retreat. On the other, Wood elementals: Tiger and Rabbit, nourished by the Water elemental and allowing its influence to spread throughout the barrier.
Kaiya repeated the four hand signs four times, working through the pain in her arm to activate the seals before the barrier burned the tags. Ne, I, Tora, U, Ne, I, Tora, U - the signs became a chant in her mind, the symbols imprinted on her eyelids as she concentrated and shaped her chakra. A clap of her hands, and the Fuin was activated.
Kaiya pressed her palms to the seal tags, directing her chakra through them and into the barrier itself. The tags were scorching hot against her palms; she could feel the heat of the barrier trying to eat its way through and burn her alive. In her mind's eye, Kaiya saw her chakra as so many roots taking hold in the barrier, crumbling it bit by bit on a molecular level. Not fast enough - it had to grow more quickly, or she'd never break through in time!
More chakra poured through her hands. The roots grew and became a network; once they filled an area large enough for a human being to slip through, she pulsed her chakra more through the Water elementals, using their cooling properties to fight the barrier's flames.
It was like facing a blazing forest fire with a garden hose. The flames would not die down, even as the structure of the barrier broke away. She could feel them licking at her hands and arms; her skin burned and blistered, the pain blinding, nauseating. Letting out a strangled cry, Kaiya fought her body's reflex to pull away, to save itself, and instead pushed more chakra into the seals. The tags were mere ash, but the Fuin had already taken hold; she could do this, she could feel the barrier breaking down, she was almost there!
Beyond her hands - was that a forest? It was still tinged violet - no! She saw a patch of brown and green forming, expanding! It was working!
Black spots ate at the edges of her vision. Between the strain and the heat, she couldn't breathe. Her body and mind screamed at her to let go, but she kept pushing. She was almost through!
The scent of a forest, of damp earth and fresh leaves, drifted into her nose. Then there was pine…Kaiya saw the sky arch past her eyes…
…and then there was nothing.
I know, I'm being a bit evil with the cliffhangers :P I do believe the next chapter will be out sooner rather than later, though. Give me a week or so.
So! Kaiya discovered Kabuto to be a spy - and he seems to know an awful lot about her…what did he mean by "the village has been lying to you?" New readers, leave your predictions in a review; old readers - I know you know, but please don't spoil it!
NEXT TIME: We'll see if Kaiya's efforts made a difference…see the aftermath of the invasion…and maybe even get a little glimpse of a certain someone ;) Reviews are greatly appreciated and used as fuel, and as always folks…
Stay Tuned!