Chapter 13

Kakashi had left shortly after their heart wrenching moment, the spot where he had kissed her cheek softly growing cold as the air danced on it. Ritsuka placed her finger tips around the area gingerly, marvelling at the emotions that seemed to hit her all at once, the intense feeling within was now just bursting to get out, almost painfully.

She sighed longingly as she awkwardly stood up, grabbing a bag that Kakashi had already packed for her. She smiled as she found clothes and food stashed away expertly in little bundles, leaving plenty of space for anything else she needed. She pulled together some of the bedding that had kept her warm the last few nights and stuffed it in, feeling a little bad for pretty much wasting all of Kakashi's space saving efforts, but she didn't have time to dwell on it.

The creatures were on their way, would be here any moment. Acting fast and efficiently was all she had to focus on as she started pulling together some of Kyoya's belongings and stuffing them into the backpack. She left the wooden house soon after, bumping into Kyoya as she rounded the corner in a hurry.

"Mum! What the hell is wrong with you?!" his worry seemed to have subsided now, and was replaced with frustration fuelled anger. "You know the place is crawling with death and you go marching right into the centre of it like some kind of maniac!" his hands were shooting into the air in great big gestures as he fumed. Ritsuka smiled sheepishly at her son, trying her best to keep the conversation from a shouting match.

"I'm okay now, Kakashi fixed everything. I was just sleep walking is all." Kyoya was now tapping his foot impatiently as he eyed her suspiciously.

"My arse!" he yelled, his temper getting the better of him. "Do you think I'm an idiot?! Your eyes were open! And you're a terrible liar!" Kyoya was just calling her bluff and she knew it.

"Look." She knelt down in front of her irate son, her hands rubbing at his shoulders affectionately, trying her best to sooth him. "It's okay. Kakashi managed to stop me so all is well, and incidentally, people have been known to walk with their eyes open and still be asleep." Her matter of fact tone annoyed Kyoya immensely, but he knew she wouldn't tell him what really happened.

"After all we've been through, you still lie to me, pretend everything's alright, when I know that it's not. I'm not a stupid, naive kid. And what exactly am I meant to do if it happens again?! Kakashi isn't coming with us, so who's going to stop you then? Eh?!" Ritsuka rolled her eyes as she got to her feet again, guilt welling up as she plastered a goofy grin on her face.

"I will be fine! Don't worry. Now let's get going. We have a huge task ahead of us." She hoped that by incorporating him in the plans Kyoya would feel more inclined to drop the subject, and she almost giggled in delight when it worked.

"Over by the main house." He pointed to a vastly increasing group, which proved to be a little daunting. Kakashi had such huge faith in her...

"Are you ready?" Ritsuka held her hand up, waiting for the high five that she quickly received.

"Let's do this!" Kyoya stated before rushing off to their previously much smaller and more manageable group of orphaned kids.

Ritsuka concentrated on her breathing as she hesitantly made her way to the bustling and arguing crowd. A couple of medic nin that she had seen helping Sakura were waiting for her, just like Kakashi had promised. Their smiles helped her calm down a little inside, but her mind was still racing with the possible catastrophic outcomes that could result with her being in charge. He tracking skills and inner compass had always served her well, but under this kind of pressure, she wasn't sure she could do it.

The next country was north east from this point, which would be the quickest route, but she was prepared for diversions and adaptation. A couple of women close to the outside of the crowd tutted and scowled in Ritsuka's direction, obviously unhappy with their appointed leader. She kept her head down as one of the medic nin signalled for her to follow him.

"Kakashi has told me to help keep an eye on things, and to let you know he will be sending some tactical help before we have to leave." Ritsuka frowned as she inwardly cursed Kakashi.

"He was always going to send us out wasn't he?" The young man looked back at Ritsuka puzzled, but then seemed to suddenly understand. "Liar..." she continued to mumble as she gestured for her informant to continue.

"Once he has figured out from which directions the enemy is arriving, he will inform us so that we can then begin the evacuation." Ritsuka looked back at the anxious crowd, watched as some of the men hugged their wives and children as they parted company, readying themselves for battle. It was heart wrenching to see. "Now, it is going quite a job keeping so many hidden, do you have any ideas?" Ritsuka had been caught off guard. Ideas? Kakashi had only just told he she was head of this expedition, now she was having to come up with ideas?

"Well, we should always be downwind of any nearby creatures; they have a real good sense of smell." The medic nin before her nodded his head knowingly, though Ritsuka worried that she was stating the obvious. "Um... when I had the grouped of kids we would stay near rivers. The creatures hate water so if we were attacked, we could simply swim across to safety. Also staying up high in trees can sometimes help keep out of sight of the scouts they have." The young man was now very interested in what she was saying, making her feel a little self conscious.

"You mean they have order amongst them? Each with different duties?" Ritsuka nodded nervously.

"Well that's what I've seen, and trust me, I've seen a lot." Ritsuka started to pull at her hair, wishing the medic would stop looking at her so intensely. "Some are more clever than others, I think. I'm sure I heard one speak my name a few months back."

"That's amazing. Have you told Kakashi all this?" Ritsuka panicked.

"What?! No! I thought he knew all this. He was so knowledgeable that I thought he knew all that I did. Oh shit!" The medic placed his hands carefully on Ritsuka's tense shoulders and laughed.

"Panic not!" he called over one of the younger shinobi, a brown haired cheery boy, and told him of the news. "Anything else we should know?" Ritsuka pondered quietly for a moment.

"They learn quickly. Using the same technique or fighting style won't work after a while. They seem to register and copy your movements after only a few encounters. And that's all I can really think of right now, sorry..." the younger shinobi nodded and shot off towards the front of the village to inform Kakashi of the new revelations.

"Now then, high places, near rivers and downwind." He rolled out an old crunchy map, his eyes scanning the area.

"There." Ritsuka placed her finger on the map at their current position and drew a line heading north along a river. "We should follow that, then turn east at the second joining river so as to make sure we are still in the cover of trees for longer while being next to the water. Plus it's a thicker looking one than the first, meaning they will be less likely to follow."

"Why do they hate water?" the medic was quite impressed with the decisiveness of the unsure and nervous girl. He had been worrying Kakashi had maybe lost his mind...

"They don't hate water as such, just rushing water in great volumes. They are unsteady on their feet as it is with their bulky towering height, so they get swept away and can't swim in fast flowing rivers. They tend to prefer a drier route over bridges or fallen down trees." The medic nodded slowly, now fully beginning to understand the situation.

"Well I think we are set then!" he chirped, rolling his map back up and placing it in his pack neatly. "I'm going to check my team have the supplies needed, and I think you should maybe inform the evacuees of the plan." Ritsuka almost yelped at the thought of having to address all these people at once... on her own... but the medic was out of ear shot within seconds.

Ritsuka cleared her throat, as she planned her speech for the awaiting villagers.

The creatures came not long afterwards, their piercing screeches and thunder like footsteps causing chaos to unveil. Ritsuka did her best to calm those closest to her, but it was proving to be quite impossible. Mothers held their children as the cried together, fear bringing out the protective instincts within. Fathers stood their ground, urging Ritsuka to make her move and get them out of here, but Kakashi had not given a signal. She couldn't leave until he had said it was time, and Kakashi was probably the most experienced out of all of these people, making him the one to trust.

Meanwhile, Kakashi stood with the many shinobi that were readying themselves for the battle ahead. He had debriefed them on the best course of action, with water jutsu and wide based attacks being at the top of the list. He had set up a few formations to cover for every eventuality that was possible, his strategic mind going crazy with ideas. Some of the non shinobi men decided to stay and help, their positions being carefully placed back inside the capital walls. They were geared up with spears, bows and arrows and rocks, and those at the gate with boiling water and oil, and sling shots.

Yamato had been most helpful with the construction of some heavy duty catapults, an excellent addition to the whole offense. They too were set up just outside the village, more volunteers manning the stations with the heaviest rocks that could be found, and some furniture and building parts that he been broken off in the previous encounter for backup reserves.

Kakashi felt confident that things would go well, but he had to keep a cool head.

He looked out along the horizon to where the creatures were coming, his keen senses picking up little over a thousand creatures. He wasn't sure whether this was a last minute thing, judging by the small number, or if it was due to the creatures being some kind of elite force, that they didn't need many of them. At any rate, they had to be careful. He wasn't about to throw lives away on overconfidence.

Kakashi bit his thumb to release some blood, before throwing his hands together in a blur of hand seals. A group of dogs appeared in a puff of smoke as he slammed his hand on the ground, Pakkun sitting at the front, his grumpy expression in place.

"I need you to do a 360 scout of the area and tell me from what directions the creatures are coming from. Once you have all reported, come back for further orders." The nin dogs all nodded in unison and shot of in different directions. Kakashi stood again, catching Naruto's eyes, which were burning with excitement.

"No crazy shit, you understand?" Naruto nodded, holding back his smirk.

"Yeah, yeah I know! But I could take them out myself no problem!" Kakashi nodded in appreciation, knowing full well the boy was going to try.

"There is more to battles than getting stuck in and killing everything in sight. Just stick to the plan." Kakashi had also compensated for the probable loss of Naruto in the ranks as he shot off to do his own thing, though there was no harm in reminding the boy to do as he was told. And sure enough, Naruto laughed nervously.

"What plan?" Kakashi refrained from sighing audibly, but god he wanted to. Thankfully Sakura had stepped in to round house kick the boy and relay the plan in small understandable chunks. Naruto really didn't do himself any favours.

Kakashi's attention was pulled away as he heard the first howl of his dogs. He nodded softly as he waited for the others, his plans changing and adapting to his new information. The rest of the shinobi guard watched him in awe as he calculated.

"Alright, they come from the South right up to the West. We can see only half of their rank, so I would make it out to be about two and half thousand?" Kakashi turned to face the shinobi and villagers who held onto his every word. "The north and the east are clear." The dogs had returned in a flash. "Pakkun," Kakashi had spun round to face the enemy again, "Inform Ritsuka where to go, take three with you and stay with the group, until the group has safely made it to the next capital. You can then do as you please at that point." Pakkun and three others disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the other four to wait for further instructions. "Two of you, I want you to track ahead of the group of evacuees, and inform the rest of approaching dangers, and the other two will stay behind the group to inform of dangers from behind. Understood?" The dogs all nodded and headed off to carry out their orders.

"I take it you don't expect to keep the village safe?" Kakashi looked over at Yamato, noticing his cocky smirk.

"I just said that to her so that she didn't panic beforehand. She seems to have lost her confidence in herself, and I know she can do this." Was all Kakashi said, slightly annoyed Yamato had eves dropped earlier.

"She'll find out you know." Yamato was having fun at least.

"Yes well I'm sure she will get over it." Kakashi smiled back, his head in the game. However, he was brought back out again when he heard rushed footsteps from behind. "Konohamaru?" Naruto jumped up excitedly.

"We have some new info!" He stood to attention before Kakashi, his endeavour to impress him oozing out of every pore. He then relayed what Ritsuka had said earlier, enjoying that everyone's eyes were on him.

"Interesting." Kakashi tapped his finger on his chin thoughtfully. He didn't know why he hadn't thought to ask her about the creatures, having survived them for so long. He felt almost embarrassed as his fellow shinobi listened intently to the new information.

"She said that she is sorry, that she thought you already knew all that 'cause you had said a couple of these things." Konohamaru felt a sudden need to protect the poor girl from ridicule. She had seemed so nice, and sincere. Kakashi nodded.

"Good job. Now head on back to your post." The boy bowed quickly, before high fiving Naruto, and shooting off back to the evacuation group. Kakashi shook his head while sighing, Naruto's huge smile seeming somewhat out of place in this scene.

The creatures from ahead gave a final roar before rushing forwards in their hundreds. "Brace yourself everyone, and wait for my mark!" Kakashi called out, his hand in the air for everyone to see. The earth shattering sound of stampeding beasts echoed through the forests and along the ground, the vibrations making some of the defenders doubt their survival. But their doubts had not long to fester as Kakashi called out and dropped his arm suddenly, the signal for the first onslaught of catapulted rocks and arrows to commence.

...........

Ritsuka had begun to pace as she waited to for her signal, ignoring the insults and jabs the people were throwing at her. She was seriously beginning to wonder if she had stupidly missed the signal, to busy trying to calm everyone. What if she was making these people sit and wait for death?

"Ritsuka." She turned around to see no one, but was sure her name had been called. The clearing of someone's throat had her attention brought to the ground.

"Pakkun!" she called, blushing a little as she stammered her apology. "S-sorry!" The pug raised his paw to show he was un-offended. "Are you the sign?" Pakkun nodded.

"We are to head in a northern and eastern direction, which means the path to the next country is clear." Ritsuka nodded as she addressed the crowd.

"Excuse me." Her voice didn't seem to carry over the noise of panic and disruption. The medic nin from earlier had come over to join her, catching the attention of a few at the front. Ritsuka sucked in a deep breath, closing her eyes in the hope that her shyness would go away for a moment. "YO! EVERYONE!" the crowd quietened, their hushes and shushes erupting. "Thank you, now can we please start moving?" the villagers all started rustling around collecting their bags and belongings, some children still crying from the most recent of earth shattering roars. "Now we need to stay in our groups that you have been put in. Each group must look out for itself, informing an appointed shinobi of illness or of any problems that occur." The said shinobi were repeating Ritsuka's words so that everyone could hear what she had said. "We must stay in the shelter of the forests and stay close to the rivers, remember that, because it is vital to everyone's survival, not just yours. Do we have any problems before we start, is there anything that has not yet been addressed?" Ritsuka waited a few moments for anyone to speak up, but all was quiet. "Alright! Let's go." Ritsuka turned to Pakkun, extending her arm to allow him to take the lead. He nodded curtly before trotting off.

And another one in the bag! Man this chapter has taken me so long to do, my ever flowing stream of ideas drying up horribly. i have so many ideas for later on, but nothing for now, which sucks :( but i will soldier on! don't u worry!

And i know ritsuka seems to be a bit rubbish right now, but it all has to do with her state of mind. I don't know if it's working, but i want to show that by forgetting her past she has also forgotten how to be strong, and how to push and hold herself like she used to. i also want to show that it is sort of like a mental illness in a way, that it has knocked her confidence and she has become unpredictable and unstable, as well as childish in some sense. how that she literally is forcing herself to do things that would have come naturally to her normally, like leadership. i also wanted to show that by not knowing it she sometimes shows a bit of her old self, like her plan of action with the map being quickly thought through and thurough, and her taking control at the end was bursts of her old confident personality shining.

So enough of my rambling and i hope everyone is still enjoying our little journey, and thanks again to all those who have been reviewing and favouriting XD makes me smile and sometimes squee a little hehe ^.^

so please feel free to let me know what you think, good bad or indifferent! XD

until next time! Peace!