A/N: *Hides behind an enormous shield* Erm... Hi everyone. Sorry this has taken so long... but I've been out of things for a few years... But I meant what I said at the end of the last chapter... I'll see the end of this story even if it kills me... And I'd just like to thank those of you who have left reviews encouraging me to finish! So usual disclaimers etc... Cheerio!
Chapter 9
Oboro followed after Kotaro as they ran through the woods, away from his home village of Funa, his father, Koyo, and everything he had ever known and been. She stopped to lean against a tree to catch her breath, a hand resting on her baby bump, Akio, the young ninja who had been part of the team to help them escape, stopping beside her.
"Are you alright, Princess?" he asked with an anxious expression as Kotaro, realizing they were no longer behind him, jogged over to them as Oboro nodded, both hands resting on her legs now as she struggled to draw air into her oxygen-depraved lungs.
As she looked up, she was met with a shock of platinum blonde hair and a broad back. She blinked.
"E-erm..." she panted. "I-I'm... fine...r-really."
Kotaro looked over his shoulder at his wife, an amused smile tugging at his lips.
"Oboro, you're breathing as heavily as a winded ox." he said with a chuckle at her indignant expression. "And I've been an inconsiderate ass... forcing you to run so hard for so long in your condition... I'm sorry."
Oboro blinked, but before she could respond, a distant baying of a dog, answered by another, this one closer to them, had all three of them turning in the direction of the sounds.
"Milord!"
"I hear them." Kotaro said, crouching in front of Oboro once more.
Ninja hounds. They were out of time.
"Come on, we have a large enough lead on them... and the forest edge is just ahead." Kotaro said as he stood, Oboro perched on his back, his reddish brown eyes blazing with desperation. "We still have a chance to get away."
With that he raced off, along the forest path, Akio behind him, Oboro clinging onto his back for dear life. As he ran a single thought kept repeating itself through his mind like a mantra- Please... let us make it. Please!
A couple of ninja appeared a few minutes after Kotaro, Akio and Oboro had moved on, a ninja hound sniffing around, one ninja crouching and watching the dog as it sniffed out their quarry, the other scanning the trees and bushes in case they were still nearby. The one watching the trees cursed.
"You'd think they'd be more cautious, the princess being pregnant and all." he muttered to his partner. "You'd think they'd be going slow, to match her pace..."
"They're desperate." his partner answered, standing up and looking ahead as the ninja hound walked forward, still sniffing. "If they have any chance of escape, they have to move quickly... Lord Kotaro will know this."
He then frowned.
"But pushing the princess to hard, too fast and too far in her condition will be detrimental to their child." he continued. "Which means... either Lord Kotaro, or the traitor Akio will be carrying her on their back..."
"So, you're saying-" the first ninja began, stopping abruptly as both he and his partner turned back to the ninja hound as he barked, pointing out the way.
His partner nodded.
"We still have a chance of catching up to them..."
The three would-be fugitives continued hurrying through the forest, the two men slowing down, which was not surprising since Kotaro was bearing Oboro (who was wearing one of the smaller knapsacks on her back) on his back, his twin arquebuses securely strapped to her knapsack, while Akio bore the two larger knapsacks (one in front and one on his back) with the second, smaller knapsack securely strapped to the one on his back. They weren't too far from the forest edge when Akio tripped and almost fell, managing to catch himself at the last second, Oboro and Kotaro both turned to him as he quickly caught his breath. Of the two men, Kotaro knew that Akio was the one carrying the most weight, but the boy didn't complain and shouldered his burden dutifully. However, it was clear they were slowing down, the baying of the ninja hounds getting louder. Kotaro narrowed his eyes as Akio clicked his tongue exasperatedly.
"They're getting close..." Oboro murmured softly, then sighed. "We can't keep doing this... we need a plan."
Kotaro frowned slightly as Akio bit his lip, then widened his eyes as an idea came to him.
"I have an idea..." he said hesitantly. "But you aren't going to like it, milord..."
Kotaro turned to the younger man as Akio started explaining, his expression growing ever darker.
Akio sped along the forest path, making sure that every plant, tree and pebble that was possible to cover, given the short amount of time he had available, was covered with his, Oboro and Kotaro's scent, having been given a kimono of each of them that they were willing to part with. He paused every so often to rub his back as well as Oboro and Kotaro's kimono against trees, plants, dead logs etc, creating a scent trail for the ninja hounds to follow. He looked back as he heard the ninja dogs baying. It seemed that, so far, the ruse was working. But he wondered for how long it would. Looking ahead, Akio saw a clearing with a wagon with 2 horses hitched to it waiting for the fugitives. He just hoped they made it. As he burst out of the forest and into the open, Kotaro (Oboro still perched securely on his back) burst out of the forest from a different path. Both men raced for the wagon, Akio reaching it first and quickly depositing his burdens into the back as he waited for Kotaro and Oboro. As the two reached them, Kotaro knelt so that Oboro could get off his back, his red eyes scanning the treeline, his ears open to any and all sound, his chest heaving slightly from exertion. Oboro slid off and Akio held her remove her burden as Kotaro did the same of his. Akio had just put the last of their luggage into the back when the baying of dogs was heard. They were very close. Cursing under his breath, Kotaro leapt onto the wagon as Akio helped Oboro up into the seat next to him, Kotaro aiding him with his wife. Akio then looked up at the two fugitives.
"Good luck, milord, Princess." he said. "May the wind speed your horses hooves this night."
Oboro smiled at the young ninja.
"We cannot thank you, your ninja brethren and especially Katashi enough for this Akio." she said, tears in her eyes. "Now go... before you are caught. And take care of yourself."
Akio smiled.
"You too, Princess." he told her. "May you both live a long, happy life with your child."
Oboro smiled as Kotaro turned to Akio.
"As my wife said, we cannot thank you and the rest enough for this." he told him. "If it weren't for the lot of you... we would never have made it this far and have had the chance to escape."
Kotaro then hesitated, the sounds of the dogs coming ever closer. They were out of time. He looked down at the younger man, then sighed.
"I must also apologise."
Akio frowned in confusion.
"What for, milord?" he asked.
"For what I did to Katashi." he said softly. "And for this."
Before Akio could react, Kotaro had disappeared from the wagon seat and reappeared behind him, knocking him out with a well-aimed strike to one of his pressure points on his shoulder. Akio blinked before collapsing in a heap. Kotaro quickly dropped two kunai near the unconscious ninja (first slicing into the young man's face and arms with one and cutting himself with the other), untied the horses, leapt back up onto the wagon, turned them about and urged them on, the wagon setting off with a rattle of wheels as the horses galloped away down the path. Oboro turned to her husband, her eyes asking her unvoiced question. Kotaro sighed softly.
"Better it seem like he was trying to stop us... than aid us." he said softly.
Oboro nodded, settling closer to her husband as they made their escape into a world unknown, a future where they would always be looking over their shoulder, but a future in which they were free- a future they chose.
Four ninja burst out from the treeline, seeing the back of a wagon disappearing around the hill in the distance, the horses drawing it kicking up a huge dust cloud, and a lone figure lying on a heap on the ground. They swore collectively, before turning to each other.
"What do we do now?" one asked.
"We go after them?" another suggested.
"No." one of the ninja, staring at the prone figure on the ground shook his head.
"But we have to-" the second interjected.
"We need to report to Lord Koyo that we filed." the ninja raised his head and glared at the other ninja. "He will want to know as soon as possible, so he can inform our brothers and allies of the situation. Now go!"
When the other two hesitated, he narrowed his eyes.
"That's an order." he barked. "Now!"
With reluctance, the two nodded and left, taking their ninja hound with them. The third ninja, who had remained silent up until now, walked towards the team leader as he bend down next to the downed Akio, picking up the kunai with a small smirk.
"Very smart, Lord Kotaro." he said quietly. "As expected of Fuma's heir."
"What are you going to do now?" his partner asked him. "Lord Fuma will want to know why we didn't pursue them. You know what will happen if it comes to light you let them go..."
The leader hefted the unconscious ninja onto his back as he turned to his partner. He smiled at the other ninja.
"Well then, let us hope it doesn't come to light."
His partner rolled his eyes.
"I'll head back and try to salvage this." he muttered. "There's no knowing what those two have told anyone. I'm sure you can bring back a lone ninja on your own."
As the team leader nodded, the ninja disappeared. The team leader stood and turned back to the treeline, calling the ninja hound to him. He smiled as he started forward, looking at Akio's face as his head lolled on the other ninja's shoulder.
"You did well, little brother."
A/N: Sorry this took so long (again) and that it's so long... and if it seems a little confusing... I tried to have a cut-between-parties thing going here. Let me know if it worked/ didn't work... you guys know the drill. Please don't forget to review! ;) Tani
""
