Of Saving
"So, Uchiha brat, do you know what my plan is?" Kazuki asks me. I shake my head no. "Ah, well, it's too make all the dragons sick and easily manipulated. I will get them sealed into everyone on these wimpy islands, then we will be the strongest force in the world, and we will take over! Of course, we have to get rid of your friends, for they have the dragons but will not be loyal to us."
"Ah, a good idea, Master." I say. The man laughs.
"Master? I like that touch. How about you go kill your friends now, Uchiha Brat?" Kazuki says. I flinch, but it's not visible, and I step towards my teammates, a kunai in my hand. I walk to Yoshiro. Best to get this over with.
"Miko?" Tatsuo whimpers. "Your not really going to do this, are you?"
"I'm sorry, Tatsuo," I say, whirling around and letting go of my kunai so that it flies toward my new teammate. Who, of course, is named Kazuki. He quickly dodges it and glares at me.
"What do you think you're doing?" he asks. I laugh. He really thought I'd abandon my teammates. No, I'd never do that. Tatsuo and Jiro are practically my brothers, and Yoshiro…
I run towards Kazuki, ready to attack. He leaps over my head and appears behind Tatsuo, who whimpers.
"Tatsuo!" I cry. Kazuki smirks, wrapping his arms around the small boy. And then the two are gone. "NO!" I drop to the floor and sob into my hands. No, how could I let that happen? How could I not have been strong enough to protect Tatsuo?
But now I have no time to think of that, I have to focus on getting Jiro and Yoshiro out of their bindings. I do this quickly, and then fall into their comforting arms. I am actually surprising myself with this. Before today, I would have considered this action weak and a disgrace to my clan. But now it feels…natural. Weird.
"C'mon, Miko." Yoshiro says to me. "All we have to do is think of a plan. What do you suggest?"
"I think…we should ambush them. They're nearing the end of the tunnel. I think…We should have time. Here's the plan…"
I watch as Kazuki stops in his tracks, trembling. Yoshiro is behind him, smirking. I watch Jiro step out from the shadows that I am hiding in. He rushes forward to pry Tatsuo from the uncle's arms.
To my surprise, Kazuki laughs and dodges Jiro, sending him into Yoshiro. Now I am confused. He shouldn't have been able to break Yoshiro's jutsu. I don't know what happened. I can't think. And now the uncle and the child have disappeared once again. It worries me.
"The only thing left to do is to fight." Yoshiro says to me and Jiro. I flinch. I don't want to fight Kazuki. There's no way I can defeat him, he's so strong…
"He's right, Miko," Jiro tells me.
"Don't you want to save Tatsuo?" Yoshiro adds.
"Okay," I sigh. "Let's do this."
We rush out of the restaurant we were talking in, and to the family's house. I rush to what I know is the uncle's room. But, before we can get in, four police officers stop us.
"Oh, thank goodness you're here, officers," Jiro says, relieved. "You see, Kazuki…Wait, what are you doing?"
The officers are attacking us. I dodge them and enter Kazuki's room, leaving my teammates to deal with the weaker opponents.
"Ah, you're here." Kazuki says. He had just finished tying Tatsuo to a chair.
"I'll tell you what, Kazuki, you and me fight to the death. No cheating or running," I offer. I'm afraid of losing, of course, for Kazuki has more experience. But I get into my fighting stance.
Kazuki grins and charges forward, throwing a punch at my face. My kekkai-genkai activates, and I can see in slow motion. His fist flies past my face as I turn sideways. My hand flies up, normal speed and grabs his wrist. I send chakra in a ring around his wrist and squeeze. I feel his wrist break and hear the quiet snap and loud scream in unison.
Now Kazuki knees my stomach, an attack I am not able to fend off. I bend over his leg, spitting out blood. But in this moment, I take out a kunai and stab the man's back. He yells, and throws me against the wall hard enough to make a 6-inch crater.
I groan. This is really better than what I go through with my father's beatings. And for some reason, I am now glad of his abusive nature. I know that I can take this fight. I drop to the floor and get into gentle fist stance.
I start to shift my back hand, trying to beat his intricate hand signs. I push my hand forward, fully force, the same time he finishes his hand signs and pushes his own hand forward, a blast of red coming from his hand. And so the light blue chakra and the red fire clash in between the two of us in a common power struggle.
I try to push more chakra out of my hand, but it's too much. His fire comes closer, closer…
"Chidori!" a voice cries, from behind Kazuki. Hajime.
As Kazuki falls, I cry, "Where have you been?"
