Shadowfox
Chapter 11
Sakura Hanamoto
Yasha led the large group out to the training grounds in silence. Maina walked beside him taking everything in.
"You don't get out much do you?" He asked her as politely as he could.
"No, I was assigned to handing out missions after I became a chuunin, but I could be a jounin." She said. Yasha nodded in understanding. "Personally, I don't mind it, but it's nice to get outside every once in a while." She continued. "Especially when I didn't get that opportunity as a kid." She smiled a bit and her left ear twitched slightly.
"I don't mean to sound rude, but, how did you get your ears and tail?" He asked her. Maina laughed slightly.
"It's okay, I don't mind being asked. I was a genetic experiment my whole life until I was fourteen, the tail and ears are the more obvious results of it." She told him.
"How much further Yasha?" Hinari asked impatiently.
"Not too much further, don't worry." He replied. At last, they came to the training grounds. "Well, I'll leave you guys to it; better get back to gate duty." With that, Yasha disappeared in a swirl of sand. Hinari stepped forward to face everyone.
"Haruka, Mamoru, Maina, Takuro, you four will not have to do this, but I am going to need you for another part of my plan." Hinari told them. She glared at Mamoru who was flirting with one of the woman from Kumo. Haruka glared and elbowed him harshly in the ribs.
"What?" He asked her irritably. Haruka ignored him. Hinari reached for her hip pouch and drew two sealing scrolls. Opening them with a flourish, she summoned up two crates. They landed on the ground with a thump. Hinari pried them open with a kunai and tossed the lids aside. One by one she removed a musket and passed one to each of her informants.
"What the hell are these things?" The boy from Kusa asked.
"I'm getting to that Takeru. These are weapons from the other side of the world." Hinari began explaining. "They work like so." She picked up a small packet from the smaller crate and tore it open. She loaded a compartment with the small amount of gunpowder and loaded another with two small round metallic balls. Preparing the weapon, she aimed at one of the wooden posts in the area and pulled the trigger. The sound that accompanied the firing of the weapon caused everyone unfamiliar with the noise to jump in surprise. A hole was pierced into the post. Hinari's group of informants stared in awe.
"Wow." Takeru muttered.
"Now then, these are the weapons you will be using during the first stage of the operation. I am going to teach you how to load, unload, and clean them. After that, we'll work on accuracy on unmoving targets, then moving targets." Hinari said as she added a little more gunpowder. "Haruka, please tell your partner to stop flirting." Hinari snapped. Haruka grabbed Mamoru by the ear and put him in a headlock, never once saying a word to him.
XxXxXxX
It had been two days since the training started and it was working out quite well. "Takeru, did you once know a girl named Natsuhime?" Hinari asked the boy.
"Natsuhime? I don't know, maybe, why?"
"You're name rings a bell with me." Hinari replied. She reached for the musket and helped him reload.
"I've heard the name before. My father once spoke of a girl by that name, three years ago or so." He said.
"Okay, just curious." Hinari moved away from the boy to check on the others. So far, no one was having much difficulty hitting the targets dead center. She figured that they could move on to moving targets by the end of the week. 'I just hope the village can hold out until then.' She thought nervously.
XxXxXxX
Mamoru sat in Haruka's room, watching her as she polished her katana. She hadn't spoken a word since that morning and it was annoying him. Finally, he decided to break the silence.
"Is there something wrong Haruka?" He asked her. She glanced up, glared, and then went back to dragging the polishing stone along the blade. The sound unnerved him, as if she were sharpening her weapon for the express use of hurting him. "Come on Haruka, you know I'm bad at this sort of crap, what did I do?" He asked. Again she was silent. After another five more minutes of silence, Haruka abruptly dropped the stone and her sword fell to the floor with a clatter. Haruka still wasn't making a sound, but tears spilled down her cheeks. Mamoru jumped up and stepped towards her, being mindful of the sharp sword on the floor. "Hey, tell me what's wrong." He said quietly, placing his hand on her shoulders. She shook her head, but leaned against him.
"I don't know," she whispered.
"Don't know what?"
"I don't know why I get so mad when you talk to another woman." She murmured, he couldn't even hear her words. "Why do I get jealous? We're just partners, friends at most, and yet-,"
"And yet what?" Haruka pushed away from him.
"I don't know why I could possibly be in love with you!" She cried. After a moment of dead silence, she realized what she'd just said and slapped her hands to her mouth as if she could try and take it back.
"What?" Mamoru was shocked and surprised. Haruka's legs had gone weak and she sat down on the edge of the bed. "You love me?" She nodded.
"I don't know why, you're an idiot, a bit cynical, and you do nothing but flirt." She wiped the tears from her face. "Look at me, I'm reduced to a mass tears after one little thing." She tried to laugh, but her voice cracked instead.
"Haruka, look at me." She looked up at him. He wiped tears from the corner of her eyes and brushed her hair out of her face. "If I had known this, I never would have done anything to hurt you. I'm sorry." He hugged her awkwardly.
"What does it matter, I've broken the rules anyway." She said softly. "We're not supposed to become too emotionally attached, but I just couldn't help myself."
"I know, it's the same for me. That day when you were assigned as my partner, somehow I knew that it was going to be different."
XxXxXxX
Haruka and Mamoru stood before each other. Haruka, the newest member to join the Guard, Mamoru would be her senior, having been around for three years longer. His last partner had been his senior, so now it was up to him to show her the ropes. She still wore her chuunin vest underneath a black leather jacket that nearly fell to her ankles. A katana strapped to her back, and her Konoha forehead protector partially hidden beneath her hair.
There was no denying that she was pretty, but she had the look of a woman who could keep up with the guys rather than fall behind.
"Omoriyama Haruka, this is Kinomoto Mamoru, he'll be your senior partner." Haruka glanced at the man sitting behind the desk, then back at the young man standing before her. He was at the most, three years older than her, with thick black curls of hair. His forehead protector was tied to his bicep.
"It's nice to meet you Omoriyama." Mamoru said with a small smirk. "Hopefully you don't get yourself killed." He added. Haruka scowled at the comment.
"It's nice to meet you too sempai." She muttered. The man behind the desk, currently the oldest member of the Guard, cleared his throat to get their attention.
"Please do not injure each other just yet you two." He said as he handed Haruka her sash.
"So, Omoriyama, I take it you can use that katana?" Mamoru asked.
"I wouldn't carry it if I didn't." She responded as she tied the sash around her waist.
"We'll see about that." Mamoru smirked. Haruka only seemed to take a step forward, but the next thing he knew, he was staring down the wrong end of her blade. He was afraid to breathe in case it should case the blade to sink into his neck. After a tense moment, Haruka stepped away and slid the blade back into the sheath in one fluid movement. 'I get the feeling that this partnership is going to be very interesting.' He thought.
XxXxXxX
"Of course things were going to be different Mamoru, you were the senior member, and I was just the newbie." Haruka muttered.
"Yeah, but there was something different about you as opposed to every other woman I've met. Working with you has made me happier than I ever have been. You're a good person Haruka, and if I were to die right now, I would have no regrets over ever knowing you." Mamoru hugged her tightly. "And I love you." He whispered into her ear. He pulled away from her and kissed her.
XxXxXxX
Hinari knocked on Takuro's door to wake him up. He came to the door half dressed, a shirt in his hand.
"What?" He asked.
"Get dressed and wake up Haruka and Mamoru." She said before heading off to Maina's room to wake her up as well. Takuro pulled the shirt on and pushed his hair out of his face before stepping out and moved towards Haruka's door. He knocked on it and blinked in surprise when Mamoru opened the door while pulling a shirt over his head. Behind him, Haruka was still fast asleep.
"Wake up Haruka and come outside." Takuro told him before walking away shaking his head.
XxXxXxX
Maina subconsciously tried to flatten out a tuft of fur on her tail that kept popping up. It eventually stayed down to her satisfaction. She combed her hair out with her fingers and looked around at all of Hinari's informants from the other villages. There was one for each major one from what she could tell. The youngest one was Takeru from Kusa. Not a single one of them had given their family name when introducing themselves. Maina also noted that most of them happened to be women.
"Hinari-san?" Maina asked.
"Yeah?"
"How come most of them are women?"
"Simple, many men of high rank believe women to be stupid whether they are shinobi or not. Therefore they won't notice a female snooping about." Hinari explained.
"I guess that makes sense." Haruka muttered as she came to stand beside Maina. "What are you going to do today?" Haruka asked Hinari.
"They're starting on moving targets today."
"How're you going to do that?" Maina asked her. Hinari did not answer, but instead grinned.
"Listen up guys; you can hit a normal target very well, so we're starting on moving targets." Hinari formed her hands into a seal. "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" The training area was filled with Hinari replications.
"I'm going to be your target, but to make sure you don't accidentally hit the real me, I'm going to be wearing this around my arm!" Hinari held up a thick white strip of cloth. "This will mark me as the real me, so please, wait until you can see me clearly before pulling the trigger." Hinari tied the white cloth around her arm tightly. It stood out clearly against her black sleeve. "You're limited to this entire area, but try to fire from different locations to give you a better idea of what it will be like later, now get started!" The seven moved out quickly, armed with muskets and extra shots.
"So, why did you bring those things with you?" Takuro asked Hinari.
"In case of emergency." She replied as she watched and listened.
"How much more training do you think they're going to need?"
"Not much more I don't think. We'll be out of here by the end of the week."
"Then what?"
"We go back to Konoha and take it back, that's what."
"You really think twelve people can do that?"
"Yes, if they have Suna behind them and someone on the inside."
"You mean that Oto-nin?"
"No, someone else." Hinari said bring her hand up to her ear to feel the tiny earpiece nestled around the shell of her ear and the even smaller microphone pressed against her cheek.
XxXxXxX
Hyourinmaru rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. He dragged his hand towards the front of his neck and stopped when he felt his hand brush against something familiar. Feeling it, he recognized the earpiece and microphone. 'They never found it?' He was surprised. He pressed his finger to the earpiece and spoke softly. "Shishou, can you hear me?" He asked. All he heard was static, Hinari was out of range. He tried a different frequency. "Natsuhime, do you copy?" For a moment there was silence.
"I hear you loud and clear Hyourinmaru." Natsuhime replied.
"Good, at least now we can talk, but we'd better be careful about it."
"Right, there's a guard coming." There was silence for a minute or so. "Okay, do you need anything?"
"Tell me everything you've heard the guards say." Hyourinmaru said confidently. He knew that if there was a chance that Hinari would come to get them out, it would be best to be able to provide her with as much information as was possible. He watched as a small group of guards walked by. He moved farther back into his cell, hiding behind a pair of Hyuuga. Natsuhime spoke quietly to make sure no one could overhear and get them in trouble. Natsuhime finished giving Hyourinmaru her report and fell silent. Hyourinmaru switched frequencies again and listened in for Yukina. There wasn't even static, meaning either it was turned off or not connected to her chakra. 'Shishou, please hurry, for Yukina's sake.' He thought desperately.
XxXxXxX
Hinari was sprawled out on the floor writing in a scroll. She hummed softly to herself as she wrote. She scratched out a word and continued on. The door opened behind her silently, but she made no movement to suggest that she was aware of it.
"Would you quite staring Takuro, you act like you haven't seen a pair of legs before." She said as she finished her writing and rolled the scroll back up. She craned her neck to look back at Takuro. He was blushing slightly at her comment. She still found it amusing that he seemed to be so shy when it came to women.
"Why are you in my room?" He asked finally as Hinari sat up and folded her legs underneath herself.
"You know me, I don't like being on my own for too long." She replied.
"What were you doing there?"
"Writing a letter to a friend of mine in Kusa, I have a small favor to ask her, that's all." Hinari told him. She bit down on her thumb until it bled before smearing a bit on the palm of her hand. She quickly formed a few seals and slapped her palm to the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu." With a pop, a normal sized fox materialized before them.
"Hey Hinari, long time no see."
"It has been a while Machiyo-chan." Hinari scratched the fox underneath her chin. "Can you deliver this to Ogawa-san please?" She asked, holding out the small scroll.
"Sure, just as long as I get a treat afterwards."
"Of course, oh, and stay with her to deliver the good to me, okay?" Hinari added.
"Right-o! You can count on me Hinari." Machiyo clenched the scroll tightly in her mouth. Hinari opened the door for her and the vixen bounded down the hall and away.
XxXxXxX
Ogawa Ayumi gave the forging fires a few pokes to break up the logs of wood in the center. Business had been slow lately, so she saw no point in wasting precious wood for fuel until she would need the fires again. She came to the front of the store where her assistant was counting up the money in the register. Ayumi gave the young man a nod as she walked by and headed for the door, producing a set of keys from her apron pocket to lock the doors up. She inserted a key into the keyhole, but paused at the sight of the fox sitting outside the door, wagging its tale up at her expectantly. She blinked and stared at it for a moment before recognizing the scroll in its mouth.
"Akinori-kun, you can go ahead and go home now, I'll finish that up." She said. He glanced up at her and nodded in compliance. "Also, you can have the next couple of days off." She added as he hung up his own work apron.
"Okay Ogawa-san, I'll see you later then." The boy headed out the back door. Ayumi opened the front door and Machiyo stepped inside. She placed the scroll on the ground and made her way towards the back where the fires were to lay down near the remaining warmth. Ayumi picked up the scroll and opened it up.
Hi there Ogawa-san! Sorry it's been so long since my last visit, but things have been really crazy lately. I'm sure you've heard by now, but Konoha has fallen at the hands of Orochimaru. Along with a small group of shinobi who made it out of the village, my informants, and with the Kazekage's support, I intend on taking back the village. To do this, I need some supplies from your wonderful weapons shop. First, I'll need twelve head sets, the same I use. And also, I want a personalized gauntlet for a friend of mine. Her hand measurements are below; attach some small blades to the ends of the fingers too. Payment is enclosed, and I won't take "no" for an answer! You will take that money, I owe you, and so I'm paying up now. Can you have this stuff by the end of this week please? Seal it back in this scroll and send it along with Machiyo-chan. Bye, and thank you, Shadowfox.
'Looks like I'll have to get the fires going again sooner than expected.' She thought.
XxXxXxX
Hinari ducked under Haruka's blade smoothly before coming in with her own. Maina jumped in spinning, her long nails swiping at Hinari. Mamoru and Takuro watched the three women spar.
"And we wonder how they get so damn strong in comparison to us." Mamoru remarked.
"Yeah, you wanna jump in?" Takuro asked him, pointing to the three.
"Nah, rather not risk losing a limb." Mamoru chuckled. "We should be heading back to Konoha soon, right?"
"As soon as Hinari says we can." Takuro replied.
"I can't believe we're leaving the future of our village in the hands of a bunch of foreigners." Mamoru muttered, glancing over at all of Hinari's assistants from the other villages. Seeming to hear his comments, Hinari called a stop to the sparring match.
"Not to worry Mamoru, I have a plan for that." She said with a secretive smile. Cupping her hands to her mouth, she called towards the others. "Get over here!" She yelled. The seven came to her and looked at her questioningly.
"What do you want now?"
"Simple, as a security risk to Konoha, I'm gonna have to take precautions that you guys don't go selling secrets about Konoha to your superiors." Hinari told them. "So, line up here." She pointed to a spot at her feet. They did so without hesitation.
"I'm surprised one of them didn't try to run." Haruka murmured.
"What for? Hinari would hut them down and rip 'em up if they did that." Maina said with a grin, revealing long canines.
"Remind me to never ever piss her off." Mamoru said.
"Yeah, you didn't see when she was pissed off back when we were kids. Scary as hell." Takuro told them.
Hinari cut her hand open with a kunai. "Okay, push up your sleeves and try not to flinch. Quickly, before it heals." Takeru went first, pushing the sleeve of his shirt up. Hinari pressed her bleeding palm against his skin and began forming a pattern on his shoulder. Takeru hissed at the feeling, Hinari's blood was mixed with demonic chakra so it stung like a bitch.
"What the hell are you doing?" Takeru asked through gritted teeth.
"This lovely little seal will prevent you from speaking of any of Konoha's secrets." Hinari said in a sing-song voice. She completed the seal and pushed the boy away. "Next!" One by one, they stepped forward and received the seal.
"How long does it remain in effect?"
"Forever," Hinari replied as she sliced her hand open again to continue the process. "I'm very much aware of the fact that there are techniques that can get info out of you even when you're dead, so even after you die, every secret you learn will never ever be discovered. Even if you try to speak willingly, you vocal chords seize up and prevent you from speaking." Hinari fully explained.
"Hmm, who else know you can do this kind of thing?" Haruka asked.
"Just you guys." Hinari told her with a grin. "If this succeeds, I intend on telling Hokage-sama about this."
XxXxXxX
Machiyo bounded through the gate of Suna, gripping a scroll in her mouth. Once through the gate, she paused to sniff out her target. Upon catching the faint scent of lilacs and demon chakra. Following the scent, she came to a training ground and approached Hinari without fear. She placed the scroll down and waited patiently.
"Oh, welcome back Machiyo." Hinari greeted her with a smile. "Thank you very much and here's your treat." Hinari picked up a cloth sack and dumped out the contents, revealing many dead snakes of varying sizes. "I went ahead and removed the fangs to help you out."
"Thanks!" Machiyo grabbed as many as she could and popped away in a cloud of smoke. Hinari grinned and picked up the scroll.
"Now we can really get started on our plan of action." She said as she pulled the scroll open. She swiped a few drops of blood onto the surface and in a pop of smoke, a pile of supplies situated themselves on the ground.
"What exactly is all of this stuff?" Takuro asked her. Hinari knelt over the pile and sifted through it.
"Everyone gets their own earpiece, don't lose it, they aren't cheap." She told them all. Hinari began dealing out all the equipment. "Okay, everyone has one right?" Everyone nodded a yes. "Good, it works by connecting itself to your chakra. There's a tenketsu just behind you ear that it attaches to. Stick it there and I'll move it accordingly." Hinari pushed her hair out of the way and showed them her own ear. "It responds to chakra with different frequency. Every one of us has a different chakra frequency, so, depending on which frequency you want, the earpiece will automatically search out the matching one and connect to it." Hinari paused to see if every was still following her explanation.
"What's that thing?" Haruka asked pointing to the gauntlet still on the ground.
"Ah, this is a gift for Maina-chan here. Maina, give me your left hand please." Maina stepped forward and held out her hand. Hinari picked up the gauntlet and carefully fitted it onto the cat-girl's hand. "Perfect fit, as expected from Ogawa-san. Be careful of those claws Maina, they're laced with a poison that could kill a full grown elephant, so don't scratch yourself with that hand."
"Okay then." Maina studied her new hand intently and flexed the fingers to get a feel of it. "Thanks a lot Hinari-san, I love it!"
"You're welcome." Hinari's eyes swept over the large group. Haruka and Mamoru stood together, Mamoru had one arm wrapped around Haruka's waist as she leaned against his shoulder. Next was Takuro, nearly the spitting image of his father, just with messier hair and green eyes. Beside him was Maina, the former genetic experiment, no doubt she couldn't wait to try her new hand out on one of Orochimaru's henchmen, preferably, his right hand man. After that were her many informants, each from a different village, but united to fight against a common adversary. 'As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.' She thought. Takeru was easily the youngest, no older than Hyourinmaru at the most. She knew that once all the final plans were laid out, they would be ready and would succeed.
XxXxXxX
Gaara observed the party of foreigners gathered in the meeting room. Every single one of them looked battle ready and willing. He turned to Hinari who stood beside him.
"You are certain that they can be trusted?" He asked her curiously.
"Yes, just as I'm certain that the sky is blue." She told him. "Shall we get started?"
"That would be advisable." Gaara stepped forward and cleared his throat. The small amount of chatter running around the room halted instantly. "Now that we are all gathered together, we can get started on finalizing our plan of action." He said. "Sit please." Everyone took a seat at the table and settled in. Hinari unrolled a large map of Konoha. It included everything, every building, street, the four gates, and secret passageway.
"Whoa, where'd you get a map like this?" Takuro asked as he leaned over it.
"I made it. I spent my eight years on the streets, I know just about everything there is to know. As business went under, or new buildings were added, I altered my mental map. This is one, I made and updated when I returned. Now, I'm pretty sure that a few buildings won't look the same when we get there, but hopefully it won't look too bad." Hinari produced a box of multi-colored pushpins and opened it up.
"Kazekage-sama, how many troops are you willing to spare?" She asked.
"I will be bringing my strongest only, and I too will come with you." Gaara told her.
"Fair enough, can't leave Suna defenseless. You, and your troops will be stationed just outside the walls of the village, waiting in the surrounding forests, you may situate them how you see fit." She said, stabbing a few yellow pushpins into the area marked as the forests. "Though, may I borrow Yasha?"
"Yes, you may." Gaara replied.
"Thank you, now, there's an old warehouse in the business district, that I know for a fact is completely abandoned. It's not too big, but it'll be big enough for us to use as a base for operations."
"We could use the part of the village that used to belong to the Uchiha clan." Takuro volunteered.
"We could, I'm sure there are superstitions about the place, do you know of any?" Hinari asked Takuro. He thought for a little while.
"Just one, that on certain nights you can hear the screams and sobs of a child in there. I went in there once on a dare, freaky place." He said. "There are still bloodstains on the walls." Takuro gave a slight shudder. "Who knew one man could do so much." He murmured.
"We could use it then. The rumors and such should keep unwanted eyes from looking around." Hinari said. She placed a white pin in the dead center of that area marked as the Uchiha district.
"How big was the Uchiha clan?" Mamoru asked.
"Almost as big as the Hyuuga clan. And one man reduced the populace to two in just one night." Takuro said.
"How do you know so much?" One of Hinari's male informants asked. Takuro looked up at him. For a second his eyes flashed, turning blood red and revealing a fully matured Sharingan to the man.
"You're an Uchiha?"
"Yes, the eldest child." Takuro replied before turning to Hinari. "Continue Hinari." Hinari nodded a thanks and went on.
"Unfortunately, a good portion of my plans requires me to know the movements of Orochimaru's men within the village. So, until I get in range of Demolition Drive's earpiece, we'll be flying blind. We move out in two days, so be fully prepared. Is that understood?" Everyone nodded. "Good, you're dismissed for now." One by one, Hinari's informants rose from their seats and left the meeting room.
"Hinari, we will be half a day behind your group. We don't want to make it too obvious of our plans." Gaara said.
"That's fine, but be ready for the signal. Once everything has been settled, I'll relay a message to you to let you know what it is." Hinari told the red-headed man.
XxXxXxX
Takuro blinked once, and then two more times. Hinari had just entered his room again, but there was something different about her. He had noticed it immediately.
"Hinari?"
"What?"
"Did you just get a tattoo?" He asked her. Hinari turned to him and grinned. There it was, decorating her bare left arm, shoulder, and her neck. It was a red and black fox.
"I'm glad you noticed, what do you think of it?"
"It's interesting. Though I'm not too surprised on what it's a tattoo of." Hinari chuckled.
"Well duh, how could I not go with the fox? It matches everything else, my summon contract, my codename, and what's sealed inside me." She poked her stomach. The fox's head was on her neck, and snarling. The rest of it decorated her shoulder, and nine tails raced down her arm. It was mostly black, but was surrounded by red flames.
"Why red flames?"
"Hmm, I was thinking of revolution at the time.
"Why revolution?"
"Well, what we're doing is in a way a revolution. Red is the color of revolution and flames just seemed to be fitting." She told him with a smile.
"I see, don't tell me you'll be getting all poetic later on." He muttered. Hinari heard him a giggled.
"We'll just have to wait and see Takuro." She told him
XxXxXxX
The guards were a buzz with news. Orochimaru was planning something big. Not that any of them knew what it was yet, they were only guards, underlings that didn't deserve to be told. But word had spread quickly through the ranks, and even the prisoners knew, after all guards were guards for a reason, they weren't particularly smart. So it was only natural that they didn't know how to keep their mouths shut when they were supposed to.
Yukina fingered the cloak she wore nervously. The Hyuuga woman who had donated it had managed to turn it into a makeshift dressed. The woman was a retired ANBU who had lost full use of her left leg and lost her ability to continue on as a ninja. She had taken up sewing as a hobby and always kept a needle and thread on her. She'd torn and sewn the cloak until it fit properly and gave Yukina enough freedom of movement, even tearing a slit up the side next to her left leg where her weapon would have been had she had it. Thankfully the guards had grown bored of her and left her alone, but she was still in pain. Certain movements made her lower abdomen throb with pain, and with Satoko's chakra nearly completely sealed, she couldn't run a diagnostic to see what was wrong. Yukina reached up to her ear and felt her earpiece, she had wisely removed it after the first time and hadn't put it back on again until now.
"Yukina? Are you okay?" Hyourinmaru's voice spoke to her.
"I'm okay onii-chan; it doesn't hurt so much anymore."
"That's good to hear." He said with a relieved sigh.
"Do you think Shishou will come?" Yukina asked him.
"I'd like to believe so. She wouldn't just abandon us like this."
"I know, we have to believe." Yukina said with firm determination. The other end was silent for a minute longer.
"Sorry, a guard walked by. I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Okay." The connection went dead and Yukina leaned against the wall behind her. She was still afraid, but she tried not to let it show. She really did believe Hinari would come back and save them all. 'Maybe, Shishou is on her way back right now.' She thought. Yukina didn't know just how right she was about that.
Okay, first off: I'M REALLY, REALLY, REALLY SORRY ABOUT TAKING SO LONG. As soon as school stared, all the creativity was sucked right out of me. But I hope this makes up for it at least. Please don't kill me. Hell, I'm lucky to have finished this, quarter finals start on Wednesday, I'm so dead. Well, please, go ahead, fame me, yell at me, send me death threats, do whatever you want to me I don't care. Thank you for reading these two chapters, please tell me what you thought of them and such and such. Thanks! Preview time!
Maina moved quickly and silently. She paused in the shadows of an alley as a pair of Oto-nin passed her by. They looked so much bigger now, but she didn't let that bother her too much. She knew what she had to do. A calico cat sauntered up to her and meowed, slicking his tail in the direction she needed to go. She meowed in thank you and slipped away into the foggy darkness of night, her tail swishing slightly in anticipation. Giving the air a quick sniff, she knew she was approaching her prey. Passing under another shadow, she released the henge and returned to half-human form. She remained crouched on the ground, waiting for the opportune moment. Pushing up the sleeve of her jacket, she revealed the shine of her new gauntlet covered hand. Flexing the fingers, she grinned and stalked towards the building that held her quarry. As she slipped through the door, she returned to cat form and bounded up the steps of the old apartment building. It was easy enough the find the room, and to her luck, the door was open. She slipped in and looked about.
There he stood; he was in the kitchen making himself something to eat. She released the transformation silently and stood behind the man. He didn't realize she was there, she could smell his emotions, and he was completely at ease and off guard. Yakushi Kabuto turned around and nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of Maina.
"Y-you!"
"Remember me?" She asked as she tugged at the shoulder of her jacket and shirt underneath to reveal her bare shoulder. Branded onto the skin was a number.
"You were number Thirteen!" He gasped.
"That's right; Nekozawa Maina is my name now, Yakushi. I hope you're prepared to die." With those words, she lunged forward.