Night two. From episodes 340-381
Sharing Emotions
Chapter 29
The sun soon dipped behind the horizon covering the battlefield in darkness. Many had fallen or were injured while fighting the remaining enemy. Team H stood among the abled body, providing aid to those in need and advancing the line.
They came to a halt, however; when the reanimated ninjas began to crumble into dust without assault or sealing. The Alliance were baffled and instantly relieved.
"What's happening?" Saryie questioned. "They are disappearing."
Michi smirked. "Looks like someone finally got to Kabuto."
"The jutsu has been undone," Azumi recognized, eyeing the dead shinobi amidst the pile of ashes.
"Finally!" Saryie exclaimed, jumping in the air with a fist raised. "One down! One more enemy to face and this war's over!" Saryie proclaimed in excitement.
"Not quite", Azumi stated as she whipped out a kunai and flung it at a white Zetsu crawling on the floor. "There still a few handfuls of Zetsu left to deal with and our own numbers are dwindling. Our last opponent is Madara of the Uchiha clan that possesses the sharingan and supposedly the ten-tails from what you saw."
Saryie nodded in confirmation, remembering that huge statue that showed up on the beach yesterday.
"Then I'm afraid the battle might be far from over. Stopping Madara would take all of our forces to do it but if he possesses ten-tails, then our force has been cut in half considerably to deal with both threats," Azumi reasoned, solemnly.
"HEY! Don't be negative. We have Naruto and the eight tails! We can do this," Saryie argued, glaring over at her teammate.
"We might, but at what cost?" Azumi questioned as she gestured with her eyes at all the fallen alliance members on the ground. Some of them only barely breathing.
Saryie and Michi took in the ruins of the battle grounds at the seafront. There was blood and weapons scattered. Ninja that were unbeaten came to the aid of others by pitching them water or wrapping up their limbs.
"The medical camp will be over run and they are going to be left vulnerable," Azumi stated with reason.
Michi grimaced at that as Saryie pursed her lips. She had wanted to face Madara. She wanted to fight the man that started this war, to at least share in victory of defeating him, but now… She was needed here. The wounded needed her to escort them to safety.
Her mind was made-up. She would go wherever her would be most useful. She met Azumi's calculative eyes and her teammate understood the look in her own. Michi nodded in agreement, his stance was firm.
Their affirmation was short lived as a slight earthquake grabbed their attention, along with a thin line of light that shot into the sky miles away.
Saryie's eyes were wide at the sudden disturbance, looking in the direction where the light had come from.
"That can't be good," Michi mentioned.
"It seems the battle has moved to a different field," Azumi speculated.
"At least in the opposite direction of the medical camp," Saryie added, her eyes narrowing.
Team H helped gather the wounded and injured. They knew they had to act fast in collecting them and killing off any remaining enemy within the vicinity. News traveled from the intel divisions that Naruto was facing off against the man in the mask and the reanimated Madara. A penetrating scream filled the air before orders were given to all the Companies to assist the main battleground.
The Earth shook again as the majority of the Second Company moved-out to join the battle. Those that stayed behind with Team H were a few of the medical ninjas, Haruki clan members, and those that couldn't seem to leave their friends behind.
As two more Earthquakes shook in concession, the remaining ninja from the Second Company manage to bandage the wounded. They tried to work quickly to transport the injured, building gurneys and having the Haruki members summon lizards to help carry the extra weight. Eventually they began moving in the opposite direction of the war to the medical camp.
When they arrived, the camp was overflowing with the wounded. There was no longer a Naruto clone standing guard at the camp. In fact, there was hardly any protection. Only a handful of non-medic staff stood by. Those that were able-bodied were attending those in need, but even then, most of the skilled medical ninja were not presence. They had been assigned to assist the main battleground, leaving the camp to nurses and assistants.
The camp had dozens of shinobi laying on the ground in wait with either stab wounds, broken limbs, concussions, poisons, burns or missing ligaments. The small amount of medical staff there were running around with charts, medicines, bandages, splints, gauze, ointments, scalpels, and needles.
Saryie had never seen anything like it. Her heart lurched at the sight. The smell of rotten flesh and cries of pain were enough to make her stomach queasy. She was never known to be someone with a light stomach, but in that instance, her body was weak from seeing the damage of war.
She swallowed hard and turned her gaze from the sight. Her breath was quickening and she knew she needed to turn her attention elsewhere. She focused on getting those they brought in situated until the medic staff could attend to them.
Azumi felt the opposite of Saryie. She did not feel a sick lump forming in the back of her throat and she poured her attention on helping splint a cloud shinobi's broken foot. Michi stood behind Azumi. His face was grim. He did not care to see all this carnage and felt useless with his lack of medical knowledge.
As Azumi finished tying off the unconscious shinobi's broken foot, Team H's attention was called upon.
"Team," Iroha greeted minimally with his byukagun activated.
"Sensei," Azumi responded with a head bow of respect.
Iroha crouched by the fallen shinobi, looking over his chakra network. "I'm glad to see you three are well," he mentioned formally.
"Same here, Sensei" Saryie agreed.
"Have you been here this whole time, Iroha-sensei?" Michi questioned, calmly.
"For the majority, yes. Once Naruto had joined the war, I was asked to assist here," Iroha shortly explained. His expression was harder than normal as he placed a green marker by the shinobi's head.
Saryie tilted her head curiously, watching him. "What's that marker for?"
"Level of severity of injuries," Iroha expressed, evenly.
"It's so the nurses can prioritize who they should aid first," Azumi clarified, looking over her shoulder.
"I'm guessing green means minimal injury," Michi assumed, taking a glance around.
Saryie did the same, seeing the different colored triangles by those he had reviewed. "What of black and red?"
Iroha's frown deepened. "Red is at risk to death. Black is terminal."
Saryie's own expression mirrored his at the news.
Suddenly the Earth shook in multitude, causing some to lose their balance. The backlash of an explosion hitting only a mile away from them and occurring elsewhere.
"Shots fired by the enemy!" An intel shinobi yelled. "Ten-tails is at large."
"Haruki clan! Get in line. Build a barrier!" Miruko, Michi's dad and clan leader, shouted out to his family.
Michi was swift to join his family as they together perform hand signs of their clan's jutsu.
"Ninja art. Reptilian armor expansion!" They all called in unison as their chakra extended outside of their bodies and created a dome of protection. It was solid like rock and incased the whole camp, creating further darkness.
Some of the nurses quickly sought out more candles and light to continue working as bombs continued to rain down from outside. The explosions shaking the Earth but the barrier did not budge. Many of the injured groaned and Saryie could only grit her teeth.
Azumi and Iroha continued looking after the injured despite the bombs. It wasn't until the tenth bomb, that they stopped their ministrations at the news from the intel member.
"No way… HQ… there's no way."
"What?" someone questioned, shocked.
"Headquarters is down... It got blasted. It's gone," the intel member informed, taking the head gear off at the news. They rubbed at their head in disbelief as gasps filled the dome.
Saryie's fists shook. How? "What of the Kage!? Where are they?" She shouted.
Stunned expressions snapped to her at her questioning. She had to know if they lost their leaders.
The intel member looked at her with sorrowful eyes.
"They were last seen at the 4th Company's battle field facing Madara. They weren't at headquarters, but… Madara is with the Ten-tails right now facing the Shinobi Alliance and there is no sign of the Kage."
The news left the room stunned to sullen silence. Saryie couldn't even fathom a thought, but she could feel her anger piling up inside her. The Kage weren't enough to stop Madara? She refused to believe they were gone. They just couldn't be.
Now more than ever the Alliance needed all the strength they could get. She was no use to anyone here. Looking round at the fallen bodies, she came to the conclusion that although it was important to protect them, she couldn't do that from here. What would be the use to protect the injured if they lose the battle now?
She was a fighter. She was not a healer like Iroha nor a defender like the Haruki clan. She had gotten the injured to safety as far as she knew, but now she was needed back on the field. She could not heal their wounds, but she could fight for them.
Stubbornly and with a fierce stride, she marched over to the barrier near the Haruki.
"Let me out. I need to join the others and help them win this war. Headquarters is down and communication lines are broken. We don't know if the alliance is falling."
Saryie had spoken boldly at a medium volume but with silence in the camp everyone had heard as if she had shouted.
Michi's eyes shot after her at her statement. He focused on his family's jutsu but Saryie could see the concern there. Miruko didn't yield an opening to the barrier for her as he assess her. He wasn't sure what would be the right call. Azumi observed quietly beside the mat of a wounded shinobi. Her eyes were icy and thoughtful.
Saryie didn't budge as the minutes seem to drag by, furthering her impatience. It wasn't until a smooth voice cut in to give Saryie approval in the midst of uncertain and pained faces that she was free to go.
"She's right. All hands should be lent to the war at hand. Anyone that does not have direct medical knowledge should be lending aid to the field," Iroha expressed firmly. His face was grave and his eyes piercing her when he looked up. "Go. The three of you should."
His eyes darted to the rest of his students. Azumi rose to her feet at once as Michi looked onto his father. He didn't want to have to choose between his family and his team. His father made the choice for him all too clearly.
"Go with your team. We can spare a few members for the cause and still be able to keep up the barrier in case there are more bombs," Miruko instructed as he listed the other clan members that would be joining Team H's departure.
Michi smirked, his fang slipping pass his lip in the process. He parted his hands, breaking his chakra from the clan's jutsu. He strode over to Saryie as Azumi did the same. The handful of Haruki members that were asked to fight standing beside them and soon were joined by some of the guards that were assigned to protect the camp originally. Even the intel members gather beside them as they were no longer useful if there was no commination ties with the other units.
With approximately twenty-five shinobi ready to depart and join the war, Miruko saw them off as he had the barrier raised a portion to let them slip through.
They were no longer shrouded by the darkness of the dome and greeted with the night sky. Saryie inhaled deeply. Her fist clenched in anticipation. She was excited as she could feel her adrenaline kicking in. She was still righteously angry at the enemy but she felt better that now she would be doing something about it.
Quickly their small band took their leave as Miruko sealed off the dome again to protect the medical camp. They raced to find the main battlefield but not as fast as to Saryie's liking. She knew they had to conserve their strength, so that they would not be winded when they got to the field. What good are soldiers in the field if they are too tired out to fight?
Although Saryie kept her pace slow, she was still speeding past the others. Michi and Azumi flanked her. She was thankful they didn't remind her to slow down, but she figured they must be just as concerned as she was to get to the battle as quick as possible. That or they knew she wasn't going overexert herself. She'd like to think that both reasons played a hand in their behavior.
They cross distances in steady strides. Each footfall bringing them closer to the tremors and the thunderous noise of the battlefield ahead of them. The dark shrouds of leaves shook with every slight vibration. There was no wind present, except for the gust of air they supplied as their squad pass through the trees.
The shadows of trees casted them in darkness until the foliage thinned and dispersed. The trees soon could not cover them as many were fallen, splintered, or obliterated from battle. Their destination was littered with upturn Earth and fallen limbs, but the landscape's damage seemed insignificant in comparison to the gigantic stem that protruded from the ground. The roots were deeply submerged and the trunk was utterly thick.
The stars and full moon shined heavily from above but the giant plant casted a deep shadow on all those below it. Saryie never seen a plant as huge and ominous before, while her eyes trailed up the stem to the bloomed flower that nearly touched the moon. She had not taken notice of the man that rose up to the moon until Michi spoke of it.
"Look! That man is weaving hand signs."
Azumi had took notice of the man too. "From a distance that far above, there's no telling what damage he hopes to insure," she stated bleakly.
Michi didn't take any chances while Azumi was responding and was already weaving his own hand signs. He enacted his barrier over their stalled party in anticipation for the jutsu. Saryie had no time to protest as she witnessed the man in the air had stopped weaving signs.
Right as Michi's barrier closed around them, Saryie saw the moon turn red before she was covered in darkness inside Michi's dome. They waited for the moment where the Earth would shake as the jutsu would strike the Earth but only silence prevailed as light slipped into their dome.
Everyone stood uneasy seeing the light as their pupils dilated, but soon they felt their mind slip into a daze. Michi's barrier started to crack as he too had caught sight of the moon. Azumi barely manage to move her eyes to glance at Michi, seeing he was paralyzed and his hands gripping shakily together. Azumi knew it was too late by the look in his purple turned eyes and she felt her time was near at hand as she struggled for consciousness. She could not move her body as Michi's barrier began to crack and decay.
She lastly moved her eyes to the back of Saryie's form. She was frozen too. Perhaps she was the first one to freeze as her face was position towards the moon. Azumi tried to close her eyes but found she could not move her lids nor her eyes any longer as she began to be blinded by the light.
She heard the rest of Michi's barrier give away as the light fully invaded their party's senses rendering them all useless.
Well I struggled to write this chapter. Mostly because I had so many writer's blocks on this piece. I think I hammered them out.
Please Review.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I own Saryie, Michi, Azumi and Miruko.
