Ok this one took a bit longer than usual but here it is. Again I'd like to send a big shout out to you all who are keeping up with the story and are enjoying it so much. There is really isn't a greater feeling than knowing that there are people out who appreciate the hard work one does. Now let's get back to it shall we?
~*Feelings Awakened*~
"Kotaro you made it!" Sasuke hollered from the main gate as the ninja greeted his friends.
"It all was successful on your end?" He asked at the two nodded.
"Well the gang's all here." Goemon said lazily as he joined the group. "I take it we managed to gather a fair amount of supporters?"
"Yes. Those that arrived before us have already been settled and have met the princess." Saizo said as Goemon nodded.
"Speaking of which, how come she isn't here to greet us?" Sasuke asked as he looked around the village. "I figured she'd be waiting right here at the gate when we told them that we'd be back today."
"Ah, I see you four made it back safely." Hanzo said as he greeted them.
"Always a pleasure Hanzo." Saizo said as the man held a grin on his face. "Is there something you wish to share?"
"I think it might be more prudent to show you." He said as he motioned for them to follow.
The four shrugged as they followed Hanzo out of the village and towards the forest. It'd been two months since their departure. In that time they'd gathered together ninja from every clan to unite under the princess. Each man wondered how the girl was as they walked with Hanzo. The clash of weapons could be heard as Hanzo stopped and motioned up to the trees. Fighting high above them was Kuma with a much smaller opponent. One that they all recognized well.
"No…is that really Tonya?" Kotaro asked in amazement as he watched the two continue their fight.
"She doesn't even seem like the same girl we left behind." Sasuke said the other two remained silent.
They watched as she easily blocked all of Kuma's attacks while striking back herself. Easily dodging, flipping backwards, blocking, and attacking with a grace and fierceness that hadn't been there before. What amazed them more was when she landed a kick to Kuma's side and sent the female ninja flying to the ground. Kuma righted herself as Tonya jumped to the ground and stood there. The ninja nodded as she held her hands out to show that she was no longer intending to fight her. But someone else was. In the blink of an eye Tonya drew her kodachis as she blocked the attack that had come at her. Her opponent now was Musashi. The four watched on the side as Tonya struck at him with one arm while countering his attacks with the other. The two would engage in close quarters for a time before pushing each other back and charging again. Keeping up their fight while moving incredibly fast. Faster than any of them had ever seen Tonya move. After a time the two broke apart and just stared at each other. Both sweating as they looked at each other. Musashi was the first to put his blades away as Tonya put hers away as well.
"Why are we stopping so early today?" She asked as Musashi walked to her.
"We have guests." He said as he turned her towards the spectators.
They watched as her face lit up, erasing any bit of the warrior that had remained. She ran towards them as Sasuke met her half way. The other three walked over to the girl as Sasuke and her began chatting it up. Musashi stood back and watched as Tonya's face was nothing but pure happiness around them.
"Care to explain why he's here?" Saizo asked as he arched a brow at Tonya as he motioned to Musashi.
"Musashi came to join us. Plus he's helped train me so be nice." Tonya snapped as Saizo grinned and pulled her into a headlock.
"Still the same stupid girl. Glad to see you didn't change." He said as Tonya rolled her eyes, winking to show she was only kidding.
"I say we go get some food. I'm starving." Sasuke groaned as his stomach began to grumble.
"Princess. I got this for you while on the road." Kotaro pulled a small kit out of his pack he was still wearing as Tonya's eyes lit up.
"Another bomb kit? Kotaro you're the best!" She hollered as she hugged the man hard.
"You just had to get her another one didn't you?" Goemon groaned as Tonya stuck her tongue out at him as they walked back to the village. Laughing as they did so.
Tonya stumbled slightly as the exhaustion from the day's training finally got to her. Goemon grabbed her arm gently, tugging her towards him to help right the girl. She let out a cry of pain as Goemon let her go as he watched her legs fold up underneath her as she fell to the ground. Musashi cussed under his breath as he rushed to her aid. Knowing exactly what was causing her pain. He knelt down as Kuma helped the girl on to his back as the other four watched in shock as Tonya's face contorted in pain. Her hands gripping Musashi's kimono tightly as she buried her face in his back. The two rushed back with Tonya to the village as the four looked to Hanzo whose face fell. He motioned for them to follow as they headed back to the house. Hanzo held a finger to his lip, signaling them to be quiet as they walked down the hall to Tonya's room. The door was cracked slightly as the four took turns looking in. What they saw horrified them. Tonya's back was oozing pus and blood as a doctor worked to clean up the mess as stitches protruded from her wounds. Tonya was biting down on a piece of leather as Musashi sat with her while she gripped his hand tightly. Kuma patted Fang down at the two watched on helplessly as the girl suffered. Hanzo closed the door as he led them to a different room so that they could talk.
"How did she get those injuries?" Sasuke asked in a hollow voice as Hanzo looked down.
"A female ninja of the Hachisuka infiltrated the village. She pretended to be from another clan as she slowly got closer and closer to us. One night she took a girl hostage and used the child to force the princess to leave with her. For half a day she was in the hands of Nobukatsu. When asked to join him Tonya spat in his face and those marks are the result of her punishment. None of her injuries was life threatening. If she'd remained there Nobukatsu probably would've subjected her to another round of lashings. Possibly worse before killing her." Hanzo said softly as rage began to build within them all.
"I swear I'll tear that bastard's heart out with my own hands!" Goemon snarled as he began to shake in fury.
"Calm yourself Goemon. What's done is done. Besides you can't kill a man who is already dead." Hanzo placed a hand on his friend as they all picked up upon his words.
"Wait, he's dead? Who killed him?" Saizo asked as a weak smile came over Hanzo's face.
"Tonya did. Seeing as how she was already inside she took the opportunity to take him down. With the help of Musashi and her wolf, the three were able to take out most of his forces. Using bombs they blew up bits of the castle and set fire to it. And apparently that's how she took out Nobukatsu as well." Hanzo explained as the four tried to take it all in. Their little Tonya, with the help of only two others, was able to take a good chunk out of Nobunaga's forces in one attack?
"Why weren't we informed of any of this?" Kotaro asked as Hanzo chuckled.
"She didn't wish to worry you. I was going to send word to you all immediately but she begged me not to. Knowing that you had important jobs to do yourselves. It's been about a month since then. And before any of you ask I tried to stop her from training. All of us did. But she would just sneak out on us and after a few episodes of that we just started letting her do as she wanted. Taking it easy at first as she gradually began working up to what you saw today. Most days Musashi or Kuma have to carry her back and she has to be looked at just as you saw. But she's getting better. Slowly but surely." Hanzo finished as they all remained silent.
"Hanzo?" Kuma called quietly as the men all looked up. "The doctor is done. Looks like she's almost healed. He took the stitches out just now and she's sleeping peacefully. Musashi and Fang are with her."
"That's good news." Hanzo said as the four perked up at this. Since all of them had been stitched up at one point or another they knew that it meant she only had a little bit of recovering left to do.
"I can see how worried you all are. You can go sit with her if you wish." Kuma smiled at them as she took off.
Without a word the four rose and went back to the slumbering girl's room. Still sitting in there was Musashi who greeted them with a nod before he turned back to Tonya. Extra padding had been laid down for her to make it easier on her back. He face was peaceful, childlike almost as she slept. No trace of the pain she'd displayed earlier. Each of them took up their own spot and just waited. Not wishing to leave her side in case something was to happen to her once again.
Several hours later…
Tonya slowly began to stir as the effects of the sleeping drug began to wear off. As her mind became conscious her pain came back. It was nowhere near as bad as it used to be though. She was at least able to wake now without crying out. She pushed herself into a sitting position as she looked around, surprised at what she saw. All her friends were asleep. Sprawled out around her room. Sasuke on his stomach, Kotaro in the corner, Musashi against the wall, Saizo on his back, and Goemon on his side. He was the closest to her as his hand lay right next to where her pillow was. Fang picked his head up and pulled himself across the floor as he licked her face happily.
"Hey boy." She smiled as a soft laugh escaped her lips.
It was enough to stir those around her. Being ninja, and a well trained samurai, they all reacted to the tiniest sound. She looked to each of them as happy smiles came over their faces. Tonya turned to Goemon last whose face was the closest to hers. She could feel a blush starting to build as he reached out to her face with both hands.
"Ow! What's that for?!" Tonya complained as she rubbed her cheeks where Goemon had pinched them.
"You idiot! How could you go and give us a scare like that?!" He hollered as Tonya reached inside her kimono for something. "Ow!"
"You're not supposed to hurt an already injured person!" She hollered back as she held the black fan tightly that had been given to her so long ago.
"Yep, she's ok." Sasuke laughed as Tonya and Goemon glared at each other.
"They're at it again." Kotaro chuckled as they both turned towards him
"What's that supposed to mean?" They both asked as Kotaro grinned.
"They're having a lover's quarrel, leave them be." Saizo smarted off as Tonya chunked her fan at him. "What the hell?!"
She smirked at him as they all started laughing. Musashi just watched the scene unfold with a smile on his face. It'd been so long since he'd seen her so carefree. She was once again the girl he'd met back in the valley that had helped him. He was glad to see her smiling so brightly once again as he got up and silently left the room, leaving them to catch up.
_._._
Since everyone was now back strategy meetings began taking place. Word had been received that Nobunaga knew of his son's demise and planned to strike back with full force. He was bringing his forces to Iga. The ninja were each split up and began training under the command of the masters as Tonya spent her time recovering. Having been threatened enough times by the others that if she didn't rest then they would just tie her up and lock her away. With her back so close to almost being healed she couldn't risk tearing her wounds open once again to only be useless when the battle came. So to occupy her time she would help Kuma work with the children to hone their skills in case they had to defend themselves.
"The scabs are all gone and it's scarring up now. You'll need to keep stretching in order to keep from getting stiff. But otherwise you'll be fine." The doctor smiled as Tonya thanked him. "Go take a warm bath and once you're done we'll apply the ointment and fresh bandages."
She nodded as she made her way to the bath and stripped down as she left her towel on the edge of the bath. The water felt good on her back as it loosened up her muscles. She slid all the way down to her neck in the water and just sat there. A loud cracking could be heard as Tonya's eyes snapped open to see Sasuke slam the door open. While he stared at the door with a confused look, Tonya snatched her towel from the edge and quickly covered herself.
"Sasuke what are you doing?" She hissed as he looked at her and laughed before closing the door.
"I came to take a bath. Hard day of training can make someone sweat a lot." He grinned as he walked over, a blush forming on her face. "Don't tell me you're still embarrassed to see a naked man?" Even though he wasn't technically naked with the towel on, it was enough to cause the girl to blush.
"I swear, between you and Musashi that poor door is never going to survive." She looked away as Sasuke climbed in the tub beside hers.
"Has he walked in on you bathing too?" Sasuke asked in an irritated tone as Tonya leaned back in the tub, keeping her front covered as she did so.
"Yes. He's busted that poor door so many times to where I've started making him fix it when he does. And you're going to do the same since this time it was your fault." Tonya snapped as Sasuke laughed.
"Fair enough. Guess I'm not the only one who doesn't know my own strength anymore." Sasuke smiled as he looked over at the girl. "So Tonya, can I ask you a serious question?"
"Sure why not? After all we're only bathing together." She said sarcastically as he leaned back in the tub.
"I was wondering…..what do you think of us? I mean me, Saizo, and the others." Sasuke blushed as Tonya pushed her hair behind her ear.
"Hmm. Honestly I think of you all as family. Since I didn't really have anyone asides from the elder and Fang, I was pretty lonely growing up. I spent a lot of my time in the woods with the animals, which probably explains why so many ninja animals are attracted to me. I wasn't as pretty or soft as the others girls my age. I preferred to rough house with the boys. Though that's probably why I haven't had much experience with men because I tended to not care if I chased them away or not." Tonya said to herself as Sasuke found himself laughing as the girl continued. "That's why I freak out when you all parade around half naked all the time."
"But you seem ok now." Sasuke said as he slid closer.
"That's because the bath is blocking most of you." Tonya stated as Sasuke grinned.
"So would you like me to climb in there with you?" He teased as he stood.
"No thanks!" Tonya snapped as she turned her head away. "Besides I just told you, you're like family to me. You, Saizo, Kotaro, and Musashi are like the brothers I never had. It's nice actually. Knowing that I have so many people caring for me."
"So then you only see me as a brother? Does that mean you have feelings for Goemon since you didn't mention him?" Sasuke pouted as he hung his head.
"I don't know where he falls. I know he's important to me like you all are. But as for whether he's labeled friend or family I'm not sure yet. Considering that all we do is bicker and fight." Tonya sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair.
"Then I might still have a chance to change your mind?" He perked up as Tonya grinned.
"Knock yourself out. But I'm warning you if you start trying to steal kisses or sneak into my bed at night I'll add to your collection of scars." She narrowed her eyes as Sasuke laughed.
"Ok I promise I won't do anything you don't want me to." Sasuke said as he winked at her.
Tonya made Sasuke turn around as she wrapped her towel around herself and got out, quickly pulling her regular kimono on that she wore during her down time. She knocked on the door, signaling he could turn around as she walked away. Tonya headed back to her room where she saw everything laid out already. She sat down and began loosening the top of her kimono as the door slid open.
"The one time I'm not expecting it and you're undressing for me?" A familiar arrogant voice said as Tonya freaked out and pulled her kimono back on.
"Goemon?! What are you doing here?" Tonya asked as her face turned bright red.
"The doctor had to take care of one of the ninjas who misfired his gun. Apparently he put too much gunpowder in and well, it exploded on him." Goemon said as he sat down. "It's times like this I'm glad Kotaro taught you one on one. Especially since it seems you've grown fond of those damn bombs."
"There's nothing wrong with my bombs thank you. They've saved my ass plenty of times." Tonya huffed as she folded her arms across her chest. "Why are you still here?"
"Ouch, someone's eager to get rid of me." Goemon acted hurt as Tonya rolled her eyes.
"You know what I mean." She sighed as she shook her head.
"I volunteered to take care of you for the evening. Unless you don't want me touching you?" He teased as Tonya glanced over her shoulder.
"First Sasuke takes a bath with me and now you're going to see me topless. Now I only need to flash Kotaro and Saizo to make the set complete." Tonya groaned as she started to loosen her belt again.
"Sasuke was in the bath with you?" Goemon asked as he began preparing the ointment. A bit of an edge to his voice.
"He didn't see anything. I got a towel around me in time. Not counting you only one person has really seen me topless." Tonya admitted as she pulled her hair over her shoulder.
"Who?" He asked as Tonya thought she heard a hint of jealousy in his voice.
"Musashi. When he saved me he had to bandage me up. But even then he only saw my back." Tonya explained as Goemon remained silent.
Figuring nothing more was to be said she allowed her kimono to slide off her shoulders and hit the floor as she exposed her back to him. Thanks to the special ointment her wounds had all but healed within the last couple of weeks. Goemon looked over them and saw the pink scars slowly fading as he lightly ran his fingers over them. The scars ran from the tip of her spine all the way down her back, crisscrossing over each other multiple times. They were jagged looking in appearance, but Goemon could tell that they would heal up nicely and just become one with her skin. Although they would always have that jagged look to them. He applied the ointment and scooted closer so that he could bandage her up. As he moved down her back he did his best to not touch the girl's breasts as he kept his eyes on her back. But every so often he would brush them, earning a deep blush from both of them. Once he was done Tonya pulled her kimono back on and turned to thank Goemon. But before she could he pulled her close to him, burying his face in her neck.
"Goemon?" Tonya asked as she felt something wet on her neck.
"I can't believe something like this happened. And after I promised I wouldn't let anything harm you." He said as his grip tightened. She could hear the pain in his voice. She could feel it in his body as he held on to her tightly, fearing that if he let go something would happen to her once again.
Tonya didn't know what to say as she was surprised by Goemon's tears. So all she did was place a hand on his arm and held it tightly as she relaxed into his body. Thinking about what Sasuke had asked her earlier if she had feelings for Goemon. She now knew that the answer was yes. And she only knew that things were going to get that much more complicated.
And we get a glimpse of how Goemon really feels *aww*. Of course, it's never that easy and well since I'm a mean author I intend to make it just that more difficult for the two. But that's for later on in the story. For now I'm beat. Spent the better half of the night finishing this one and I'm beat. So until next time folks you know what to do!