Have you ever been at the beach, and put a conch shell up to your ear, and you'd hear the ocean, that low droning roar that would help put you to sleep? That same sound was playing for God knows how long. Darkness swarmed me. Was I dead? Did I not survive the crash? All that I could hear was that same white noise. Then…a heartbeat…was it mine? I had to know what was happening? I couldn't stand not knowing! I heard a voice…
"Nara…" it weakly came to me. "Nara? Nara you there?" As the voice repeated itself it became more familiar. It was him. "Nara, God damn it…wake up!"
"Uhhhnnnn…" To my relief, I wasn't dead. However that didn't stop my head from pounding or my sight looking like I had rubbed my eyes for an hour.
"Yeah quit yer bitchin' Nara…I'm gettin' you the fuck outta here." My whole body, trying to regain feeling, felt hoisted up as something kept hitting me in the back and I felt a hard surface hitting my gut with every up and down bob. After about fifteen seconds I then felt the cold, hard earth on my back.
"T-Ttttemariiiii…" I groaned. Despite my own condition I had no idea how she was. "Temari?" No answer. I felt like my throat was punched as I could barely get a word out, my cries sounding like whispers. "Temari!" Frustration flowed through my veins as I kept calling her name for a minute straight but getting no answer. I felt the heat from part of the plane that caught fire, that searing heat that made me cough. "Temari!" I cried out once more.
"Shikamaru!" Her voice rang out as clear as could be amidst the yelling and still-grinding metal. "Oh my God Shikamaru…are you all right?" I saw her face and my heart suddenly felt lighter. She was ok…thank the heavens she was ok.
"Guhhhh…" I heaved and panted in a rather strained effort to sit up. "The, the plane…"
"We crash landed in some open field thank God." Sergeant Mitarashi said aloud. "Plane's shot to shit though. Bird's cooked."
"What about the pilots?" I heard the Water LT ask everyone.
I turned my head and saw who I believed was the co-pilot. She spoke up with a somber tone. "Pilot's dead. Impact must've killed him."
"Well shit." Sarutobi groaned in sorrow as we all watched the fires spread around the plane.
"Sergeant…what about…"
"Yamanaka and Akimichi? They're ok along with that idiot friend of yours from 4th. Temari's brother seems to be all right as well."
"Oh good." I was relieved to know Naruto wasn't dead.
"Anko lost a soldier though…Corporal Higa I think his name was. Damn shame too."
"Sergeant!" The voice of Nakamura rang through the crackle of the fire. "Sarge…Asano…he's been hurt!" Little did I realize that our meek little private was screaming in pain. I turned my head to see him clutching his left shoulder.
"Oh God…sergeant…my arm…"
"Yamanaka what's wrong with him?" Sarutobi demanded as Ino scanned him and pressed on his shoulder. The kid yelped in pain as his arm dangled like a piece of string.
"It ain't broken sergeant, but it seems dislocated from the impact. I gotta get a sling on that as soon as possible."
"No time."
"Huh?"
"Get a stick Yamanaka." He commanded as she grabbed a small twig and gave it to him. "Ok now private, this is going to hurt quite a bit but it won't last long. You need to be still ok?" Asano nodded with tears in his eyes and the stick in his mouth. "Ok now bite down hard." Sarutobi lifted his arm and had Ino hold him in place. "Ok get ready on three. One…two…THREE!" With a twist and push he wailed out in pain. I didn't hold it against him since I probably would've done the same and I wasn't worried about him giving away our position, what with the flaming hulk of a plane lighting the place up and whatnot.
"Holy shit!" Ino blurted out in amazement. Sugiyama looked like she was ready to hurl and in about ten seconds she did just that fumbling through the crowd to get some space, her second time in one night doing it I might add. I was about to say the same but she took it away from me. I can certainly write down a man popping another man's arm back in place as a rarity that I've seen in my life. Some of the other soldiers looked worse for wear but the amount of broken bones and dislocations was minimal. Sadly instead of injuries we had a few deaths making us all the more crippled to carry out this mission.
The LT quickly approached the co-pilot. "Did we get any last transmission from the others before we landed pilot?"
"Nothing that we could make out clearly. All we heard was bits of communication but that's it. We have nothing except that we're a bit short of our destination."
"Well we'll have to rendezvous with them as quickly as possible. That plane lit up like a bloody shooting star which means every damned Sound patrol in this area saw it. If we lollygag here any longer we might as well dig our own graves."
"LT's got a point fellas." Sarutobi butted his way in. "We gotta go Splitsville or the Soundies are gonna round us up and cut us up real bad."
"Did we get all the stuff we needed from the place sergeant?" Nazuka inquired seeing now that the glider was pretty much completely immolated with the dead inside cremating and leaving little trace.
"We got what we could as far as weapons and ammo. We got maps and we got photos that we were able to rescue so we're not completely shit outta luck."
Sergeant Mitarashi ran over to Sarutobi and muttered something I couldn't quite get so I decided to turn and survey the scene for a few minutes. Everyone else was regrouping. From what I could see almost everybody managed to survive the crash. A couple of the Water soldiers along with our own were being bandaged up by Ino, Private Kana who was 4th squad's medic, and the corpsmen from the Water Airborne. Our supplies were already limited so they were working as quickly and efficiently as possible and God bless 'em for their diligence. I also noticed that smartass Corporal Okubo managed to survive as well. Good, because the more rifles and bodies that lived through that the less chance the Soundies will be shootin' at me. The two sergeants got up and signaled us.
"Uzumaki!"
"Yes sergeant?" Struggling to hoist himself up he got right next to me.
"Higa's dead. You've been promoted to corporal. Now get the rest of the troops ready. We're getting the hell outta here."
He jerked back a bit totally not expecting it at all. "Y-yes sergeant."
Choji tapped him on the shoulder. "Congrats huh Naruto?"
"Yeah…thanks…" Poor kid. A promotion was usually something to really smile about but not when it was inherited so abruptly and tragically. Nobody wanted to be the successor in rank from a death. Lee didn't want to become captain through Captain Hatake's death. Not even Naruto could smile from this. "Hey Shikamaru…"
"Yeah?"
He proudly showed the small pouch where his ring for Hinata was. It had survived the crash and he was as happy as a child on his birthday was. "Still got it."
"Good for you Naruto." Choji smiled. At least something good was going for Blondie.
"Thanks." He took a deep breath, rubbed the necklace that Hinata returned to him and went on rallying the rest of 4th.
"C'mon lads! We have to get a move on or the Sound will trap us! We'll have time to mourn the dead later. This way, we'll head up to the forest northwest of here."
"You heard the lady…let's leg it!" Mitarashi blared out. Pretty soon we were all in a dead sprint, at least those that could capably do so. Asano and some of the others limped along the way forcing some of us like Choji, Naruto, and I to stop and cover their advance. It was by pure luck we hadn't run into a single Sound patrol even if the fires of the plane still brightened the area up as far as the eye could see. If we were even luckier, the Sound would investigate the crash, see the few bodies, and then half-ass their search parties. Perhaps they would think of it as a reconnaissance plane or just those few bodies as the actual cargo, not two squads worth. Of course knowing my penchant for getting into troublesome matters, the attacks on the rocket bases were going to occur quite close to each other along the timeline and that would cause a massive alarm amongst the bases themselves. It was by sheer foolishness they clustered their installations into one pocketed area but you'd be a fool to think they also weren't armed to the teeth. This was gonna make that labor camp operation look like a tourist jaunt, and it figures that I'm in the middle of it.
One of the Water soldiers tripped and struggled to get back up, but Choji pulled the man up effortlessly and got him back to running. He just nodded respectfully and tried to maintain some sort of cohesion with his fellow Water troopers. We had just reached a small crest where we were able to conceal ourselves from everything save for some pesky recon plane which luckily wasn't anywhere near us.
"How close do you think they are to this site?" Ino whispered to me.
"How should I know? I'm not the intel guy."
"Your sarcasm isn't really fitting right now Shikamaru." Temari snapped at me. "Gimme a sec Ino, I'll try and get a look through my scope."
A hand pushed her rifle down. It was Sarutobi's. "No need to Temari. It seems that they've already brought out an initial welcome wagon…and a rather nasty one too."
"Oh shit…" Toyama whispered out as we saw nearly twenty ground troopers supported by what looked like a couple halftracks, one or two with those damned screaming rockets attached to the sides. Headlights were flashing everywhere looking for any and all signs of movement.
"Bloody move it troopers!" The LT with an utmost urgency hauled the closest trooper next to her up and shoved the boy right in front of him as the rest of us followed suit. Those damn Soundies were just checking it out but sooner or later they were gonna fan out. My lungs felt like they were freezing as the cold air sent crystalline particles of ice into them every gasp that I made. I felt a soft hand grasp mine and a rhythm of softer footsteps match mine rather harmoniously. It was Temari. Just then despite my best efforts to be subtle with it I picked up in energy and speed. We dashed for about another fifth of a mile before stopping for air. Had this been back in Kusa or Konoha all this running would've been easier to deal with, but this bullshit weather in the Rain Nation was stifling. With gratitude we took some of the cold weather gear the Water forces had in bulk. Sooner or later we were all gonna need it and whaddaya know? No time like the present as we fitted our gloves and other protective wear. The cloth felt great against my already cold hands and while it wasn't significant the slight increase in temperature made us a little more willing to press on.
"Ok!" The LT once more muttered as softly as she could. "Let's get on with it!"
"C'mon Kankuro let's move it!" I could hear Temari barking at her heavier brother who was struggling with his stove pipe.
"Trying…trying as fast…as I can…Temari. Fuck!"
"Here let me help." A Water man larger than Kankuro came to his aid and grabbed his ammunition. "No worries mate, I can still run."
Kankuro nodded to him. "Thanks."
We had gotten ourselves well into the forest in tight formation, sacrificing safe intervals for complete accountability. So far we hadn't caught sight of any search lights but we couldn't really stop to check anyway. I stayed close to Temari figuring two sets of scopes were better than one. I felt the cold chill of the wind hitting the sweat on my clothing. We had to find shelter or some form of warmth fast or we were going to really be up the creek with illness. My heart was pounding, more so than it had been in a while. It was odd. I was more scared than I was when I had to take command of that ersatz squad back in Kusagakure. In the back of my mind I wished I had stayed there but thanks to Sarutobi the whole squad was deep in this pile of fun.
"See anything up ahead there corporal?" The LT asked me bluntly. I tried looking through my scope but could barely make out the shapes save for the trees.
"Sorry ma'am. I've got nothing."
"Damnation! We've gotta get away from these blokes right quick! My kingdom for some shelter or a cave or something!"
The co-pilot stepped up. "We should check the map. Before we crashed I thought I saw a town nearby. I haven't the foggiest whether it's abandoned or not but it's something."
"Ya think the Soundies holed up in it?" Mitarashi asked aloud which was a great question. The last thing I wanted was to waltz into some Rain town and be welcomed by a platoon of Soundies.
"Not sure, but I'd rather take our chances. Besides it'll give us a decent place to bed down and establish some bloody security."
The two of them along with Sarutobi who I guess became the representative of Konoha in this fun little ditty analyzed the map some more. After a hot thirty seconds and some fiddling around with a compass they finally split. Sarutobi came up to Temari and I.
"Listen you two we're heading north to northeast. It's a slight deviation from our intended target but if we can get to this old town we have a better chance of concealing ourselves rather than just running around. You two are staying on point and we need you about fifty to a hundred paces past us. If you run into any patrols or anything at all…do not engage. You come right back to us and tell us everything you see. If they start firing, for the love of God find cover. We'll do what we can to help you. You two ok to do this?"
"You got it Sergeant Sarutobi." Temari said.
"Hey Temari…I told Nara a little while ago and I'll tell ya now. You can call me Asuma ok?"
"All right then…Asuma." A smile came from her lips as she must've felt the same growing rapport with him that I have had all this time in the war.
He smiled back before turning serious again. "Well what the fuck are you two waiting for? Get goin'!"
"Right!"
We sped off as quickly as we could dodging low branches and trying our damnedest not to stumble on tree roots and all sorts of fallen debris. The rest of them were well behind us and only the faint sounds of their equipment rattling gave us the comfort of knowing we went too far. The sounds of the plane burning and the Soundies barking orders were long gone leaving only the dead silence of the night as our ambiance. Low and calm winds breezed through from time to time but nothing to completely drown out our footsteps and the noise of the others. While it was tactically discouraged, I felt some compulsory need to break the silence.
"Can't see shit out here." I lamented, cursing the lack of moonlight.
"Well it works both ways Shikamaru. They can't see shit either."
"I know that. Just bothersome how we're lookin' for some town we don't even know is occupied. My thought is that it'd be the first place the damn Soundies would look."
"I'll admit I thought that too, but you should know Shikamaru, orders are orders."
"Yeah."
"Troublesome."
I smirked even if she couldn't see it. Rarely does someone use my trademark phrase. Kinda funny to listen to when someone else says it.
"C'mon let's go. According to the map we're still a little ways from it."
A faint whirring was heard in the distance. "Shhhh! Temari…you hear that?"
"Yeah and I wish I hadn't!"
"Get down now!" I worriedly commanded and with all the effort I could muster I tactically yelled to the rest of them. "Down guys! NOW!" The quick shuffling and silhouettes falling down gave me slight comfort that they at least heard me.
"Recon plane?"
"Most likely? Just try to cover yourself a little bit and stay still." I had hoped it was a recon plane. If it was one of their fighter-bombers and it spotted us we were more fucked than if it was just a recon.
Furiously we both flung leaves and whatever else we could find on top of us hoping it would work. The whirring got louder and louder and when we felt it got close enough we laid as flat as possible. My heart pounded which was most likely the collective feeling of the entire task force. The droning ebbed and flowed flying directly above us and away and then coming back again. It did this for a good few minutes until the propeller noises became muffled in the distance.
"You think it's gone?" Temari faintly whispered.
"Sounds like it. Just stay down for a little longer."
I could feel the damp ground soaking my face and clothes in patched areas where the dead leaves didn't cover. It sucked. Everything about this place sucked so far and I could imagine it was only gonna get worse. Maybe the rumors and stories that my father and his friends shared during the Great War held some truth. Someone like Naruto wouldn't buy into that, but I guess we'd have to find out.
"Just a little longer." I tried to block out any and all noise just to pick up a voice I didn't recognize or the sounds of engines, something that didn't belong to me, Temari, or our group. A minute passed…nothing. "Temari, let's get up."
"Ok."
We slowly rose and I tried waving or making some signal to our comrades behind us. A couple moments of chatter meant they were back on foot. Temari and I wasted no time bounding from spot to spot. On occasion we'd stop and scan the areas making sure we weren't being followed or we weren't going to run smack dab into a Sound patrol. I slowly meandered back to within five feet of her as we just got through some thick plants, the reeds tangling themselves on our boots forcing us to yank our feet to get them off.
"Hey Shikamaru…"
"Yeah?"
"You have any idea as to what might've happened to that other plane?"
"Well…if all goes according to plan they landed safely and are like us trying to evade the Sound but unlike us not completely up the creek. I'm positive they're in a better situation than we are right now, but because our glider went down hard…"
"The Soundies might've put an alarm out?"
"That's the problem. We have no idea if they've been found, if they evaded the patrols, if the other task forces have even started their operations…it's all so…"
"Troublesome."
"You like using my word don't you?" I turned to look her in the eyes, my own eyes finally adjusting to the lack of illumination.
"It grows on me…but I'm no whiner like you." She pecked me on the lips which surprised me before she was about ten paces ahead. I shuffled as quietly as can be to catch up. "Jesus…can't figure out shit. It's like we're walking in a never-ending forest."
"And you said I'm the whiner…" I mused with delicious sarcasm. "Look…this town or whatever is up ahead. If we're lucky we'll find a couple homes that the Sound ignored and hole up there until we move out again. As the higher-ups said…better than being out in the open ready for the Sound to find and pick us all off."
"True."
"But anyway…from what I can see on the map…and that's very little by the way, we've still got a few kilometers before we hit anything. I haven't strayed too far off the original direction so don't you go and deviate."
"You givin' me orders Shikamaru?" She sounded rather confrontational in her tone…figured as much.
"Nah. I'm just tellin' you to be careful, so don't get so antsy in the pantsy when it I'm tryin' to tell ya something."
"Feh…you just watch yourself, whiner."
"Ugh. Troublesome woman…never listens to anyone but herself."
We kept plowing through the woods for fifteen minutes straight. The pace was maddening considering how we had to keep a good speed while maintaining as much tactical silence as possible. Such neurosis would've killed a lesser person but luckily the gang and I had a little more fortitude than that. I felt worried about Asano with his shoulder considering how his treatment of the injury was a tad unorthodox. The poor kid was already tearing up from the pain when Sarutobi popped his bone back into place, something I will still rank high up in the badass scale. We got to a point with several thick trees in our pathway. I held my fist up to get Temari to stop.
"What's the deal Shikamaru?"
"Let's just pause for a second. I need to get back to the sergeant. Think you can hold this spot for a minute?"
"You seriously doubtin' me right now?"
I smiled. "That's what I thought. I'll be right back."
I shuffled back to Sarutobi, well actually first running into Nakamura who had his weapon raised at me out of fear.
"Whoa…put it down Nakamura. It's me Nara."
"Oh shit…sorry."
"That's ok man…with this kind of night it's hard to tell. Where's the sarge?" He pointed directly behind him where I saw that recognizable figure and the small but tough frame of Mitarashi next to him. Their chatter was muffled and I couldn't make out much of it.
"Nara? Nara is that you?"
"Yeah it's me sergeant."
"Whaddaya got for us Nara?" My eyes squinted even with his hand covering the Bakelite on the map. I was more afraid of some patrol catching the light and one of us getting a round to the head.
"Nothin' so far. Judging by the terrain we're around here." I put my finger down on a coordinate slightly off course from the down to which the Water LT frowned. "We'll try and correct our azimuth but it's friggin' tough to see out there. Temari and I are doin' the best we can."
"I know that Nara. Just fix your course and continue on. Remember what I told you should anything happen."
"Yes sergeant." When I turned away and scurried back I felt somewhat annoyed that my eyes would once again have to readjust to the darkness. I nearly ran right into a branch had the chills from my body not warned me.
Temari turned to see me. "What's the deal?"
"We gotta change our path a little to the right. We're going off course and had we gone any more we'd miss the town completely. Anything come up?"
"Not a damn thing."
"Good...some luck for a change. All right, let's go."
We adjusted our direction and spent the next ten minutes doing the exact same thing we did before. This time…it started to get creepy. The clicking of a nocturnal insect or the low sounds of an owl or something only exacerbated it. A shriek was heard in the distance.
"Jesus!" Temari exclaimed in shock.
"Shhhhhh!" I put a hand on Temari's arm and waited a second. It must've been an animal of sorts because it didn't sound human. "Fuckin' woods…playing with our heads."
"Now's the appropriate time to complain Shikamaru."
"Yeah no kiddin'…it's like something out of a horror flick. I don't like this at all."
"Let's just keep movin'. We'll eventually hit that little patch of civilization."
"One can hope."
Another animal noise startled us and the flora because unusually thick. Temari nearly blurted some obscenity out loud from a skittering critter nearby but thank God maintained some discipline. Seriously…it was starting to feel like we were in one of those suspenseful horror movies I used to see with Choji and Naruto when we were teenagers, except this time it really did feel creepy. I wondered how the Soundies felt about this place and if they considered it as cursed as veterans like my dad did. With all these rocket bases built here, they either didn't buy the stories or that murderous prick Orochimaru just didn't care in his lust for conquest even if his men and women did.
"Fuckin' trees…it's near impossible to get through all of them." She whined. I didn't blame her.
"Just do the best you can. Believe me I'm close to sayin' 'fuck it' myself but we can't. "
"Well no duh. Hey…what's that up ahead?"
"What?" I used my scope and saw a large wooden object up ahead. But…but we weren't even close to the town. "Yeah…I see it too."
"Looks like a couple log cabins. Certainly hasn't felt like a few clicks though. What gives?"
"No idea, but it's something we could hole up in that wouldn't be nearly as conspicuous as this town on the map. Temari, tell Asuma and the LT that we've found these two cabins and from the looks of it," I hesitated on any initial judgment until I got closer, "they look like they're in acceptable shape. I'll keep an eye out for any unwanted troubles. You have no issue with that right?"
"Nope…I'll be back shortly."
As she hurried back to the group I adjusted my scope to get a good bead on the cabins. From the looks of it they've been abandoned for quite some time. Around them was a small pathway that also looked unused. A small well jutted from the ground near the outhouse and the fence was wooden links with some broken. However, there was something amiss here, something I couldn't put my finger on. The whole area emanated a disturbing aura of…of death. My apprehensiveness subsided only slightly with the arrival of Sarutobi and the gang.
"Well, well, looks like we might've found our rest area." The LT mused with an air of relief. "We need to make sure this place is secure at first."
"Good idea." Sarutobi nodded. "All right, my guys will cover the pathway and the right of the house."
"Good…and my troopers will cover the left flank and rear."
"Nara, you'll be with me, Asano, Yamanaka, and Nazuka. Akimichi, stay with Temari, Nakamura, Toyama, and Sugiyama to get the houses secured. 4th squad has our backs. Let's go."
The next five minutes was us slowly creeping our way towards the cabins. Not hearing any Soundies or rifle cracks gave us the good impression we gave them the slip.
"Kinda creepy don't ya think?" Nazuka asked aloud. Murmurs of slight agreement were all he got, and essentially needed. "Got a funny feelin' sarge."
"I know guys, just cinch up your sacks and deal. I'd be more worried about this terrain than ghosts."
I saw Ino trying to adjust her hair, the crash and subsequent stress doing a number on it. "Now's not the time for beauty adjustments Ino." She just mumbled something about me being an asshole which got a laugh out of the others barring Sarutobi. And wouldn't ya know it? Guilt then crept into me like the chilly air. "Damn it Ino…I'm sorry."
Retying her hair back into the ponytail she nodded at me. "I know you were just bein' you Shikamaru." She shuffled to the right of me as we flanked a small slope. "God…this place…not good for my health."
"It ain't good for anyone's Ino. This place is a definite drag."
We strayed a little bit off the beaten path, myself guided more by Ino than my own doing. I grew curious.
"Hey Shikamaru…" She whispered to me.
"Yeah what's up?" I got the feeling it was another confessional moment sans Choji.
"I've just been thinkin'…ya know with all this and its crap."
"I know Ino, I'm sorry. It's a real shitstorm isn't it?"
"I just…I'm just scared. There's only been one other time where I've been truly terrified and that was when all three of us were drafted. Now…I just don't know. My parents…they're gone and I'm, I'm scared Shikamaru. I don't know what to do should I even survive this."
I said nothing for about ten seconds. What could I say?
"You may be a cynical prick…"
"Oh thanks."
"But you're a good friend, not just to Choji and Naruto but to me as well." To be honest I was slightly taken aback. "I said before that this is the second time I'm truly terrified. My parents are dead and I'm all alone now. I have neither siblings nor grandparents. I have no one back in what was my home…I only have you guys now. I have the squad. I guess…"
"We're your family now huh?"
"Yeah…I mean…you guys for the past year, year and a half, were always my second family. You and Choji, you were my friends since childhood."
"Ino…" My lips were fixed in an uneasy pose. "I know that. You're a good person Ino, and the best damn medic that Sarutobi's ever had. He said that himself."
"Really?"
"Of course. I may give you shit…but it's in jest. And Choji…well..."
"I know Shikamaru. Choji's a giant with a heart of gold."
"He wants to be there for you Ino."
"You didn't tell him did you?" She sounded like she still wanted it a top secret.
I tried my best to maintain an innocent posture knowing full well I was guilty as charged. "No. Don't worry about it. I mean he's still not sure but you've shown him some moments of vulnerability. He's getting that impression."
"You told him didn't you?" Now she was getting accusatory.
"No! No I did not."
"Well then please keep it quiet again…just for a little longer."
"Why?"
"I just…I just want to be fully ready for him to hear how I feel."
"Do you love him?"
"Well I mean…"
"Do you love him Ino? Do you love Choji? The notes and what you said at Kusa wasn't any bullshit?" I got a little stern the next time which made me feel a tad guilty but it was my best friend involved. I didn't want to pressure Ino but she was beating around the bush.
She stopped for a second and sighed. "Yes…yes I do Shikamaru. Took me years to finally see that but yes I do and I know that he'll take care of me. I just…I don't want him hurt should anything happen to me. I see the absolute worry that Naruto puts himself through because of Hinata and I don't think that Choji should be subject to the same treatment."
"Ino it's all right. He cares about you a lot."
She chuckled but with a sad tone. "He has since we were kids."
"Then you should tell him, before anything does happen God forbid."
"I know…I want to but I don't. I care for him I really do…but it's just…"
"Just what?"
"It's just that I'm…oh shit!" She yelped as she had taken a step back and lost her footing, tumbling down the slope like a boulder.
"Ino!" Sarutobi rushed to my aid as I sidestepped down while she luckily avoided some the trees. She had landed flat into some sort of muddy ditch. It was way too dark to make out her form but when we finally got down we saw her.
"Yamanaka? You all right?"
She just lay there for a second before muffling something along the lines of "I'm fine." We looked around making sure we didn't startle anyone or anything that shouldn't have been.
"Ohhhhhh…" she groaned in pain.
"It's ok Yamanaka. Nazuka get her outta there."
"Sure sergeant…but where is she?" He was right behind us but couldn't tell where Ino was.
"Are you serious private? Can you not see her…body….in all…of…this…" His words were strained.
"Oh my God…" I muttered.
"What? What's the big deal?" Ino struggled to pull herself up lunging an arm forward to grab onto what I thought was a log of some sorts. It rolled over and a look of sheer terror swept her as it wasn't a log she grabbed at all. She looked side to side at the bumps of ground around her and her mouth widened even more, because they weren't bumps of ground. She was about to scream her lungs out before Sarutobi jumped right in and cupped her mouth. She screamed all right but she was muffled, a tiny little chirp coming out and most likely alerting everyone else of our party.
"Shhhhh…I know…I know. Don't scream Yamanaka. The enemy going to hear us if you scream. Be strong private, please." He said in the most calm and collected voice ever. Meanwhile streaks of tears were running down her face as she still let out shrieks of terror staring at whatever she saw.
"Ino? Ino!" Choji bolted down the hill with his machine gun right over his shoulder. "Ino, oh my God, are you ok?" He rushed into the muddy ground to clear the way and with a sick sucking noise pulled out something that filled him with the same terror as he gasped, dropping it back to the mud.
When our eyes got themselves out of their collective trance, we saw what I really wished I could've wiped from my mind forever.
Corpses…lots of them…some decomposing and some looking rather new. That's all I could say at the moment. It was surreal, like I was in a nightmare, a really fucking bad nightmare but with no way of waking up out of it. They looked mangled and mouths open as if they were screaming for mercy before they were killed. Ino still kept wailing with Sarutobi softening her cries. I figured the guilt of our conversation about Choji, the stress of her parents and the plane crash, and now this, all three were exacerbating her grief.
"What happened?" Temari came rushing down, and as soon as she caught up to me, stopped dead in her tracks with the same look Choji and I had. "Oh no…"
"Jesus Christ…" It seemed that Mitarashi and her guys had also joined the party.
"No…not this again…" Temari muttered out somberly.
I turned to her. "Not what again?"
"It's a bloody mass grave." The co-pilot mused. She must've strayed from the group when she heard Ino. "Must've shot 'em like ducks in a row."
"Those monsters did this back home. I had to see this with my own eyes. After our first rebellion they came back and rounded up anyone guilty or anyone in general." The hate in Temari's tone increased. "Men, women, children…made them dig ditches and then shot them without batting an eye. Bastards…"
Mitarashi stepped in and looked around and from her huffing saw something that outright infuriated her. When we looked closer we saw why. "Children…fucking children in here! Those pricks killed a bunch of women and kids!"
"Keep it down Anko." Asuma hissed as he looked down to the sobbing Ino, his mitt of a hand wet with her tears and saliva. "Yamanaka, it's ok. I'm gonna let go now and get you outta here. Don't scream whatever you do ok?" She just nodded as he slowly let her go. There were no screams out of her mouth but instead sobbing as Choji lifted her out of the mud. I walked to see what she saw and what I did made her reaction completely justifiable. The dead man's face was half rotted with his eyes hollow and mouth agape, half the teeth missing and the skin shriveled.
"Good Lord…" I muttered. "She didn't deserve that kind of scare." Of all the people in my squad it was her getting the most torture right now. She didn't deserve this.
Some of the other soldiers outside of murmuring covered their mouths. The stench of the decay finally caught up with us as a gentle breeze wafted it our way. In a panic we covered our mouths but the gagging was already induced.
"For God's sake guys…get up the hill. Nazuka take Akimichi's MG. Akimichi, get Yamanaka up that hill. Poor girl's scared to shit." Sarutobi was right. Ino could barely move since Choji helped her back up. The Water LT approached us, Sarutobi and Mitarashi specifically.
"What about the bodies?" Nakamura asked with childlike naivete. "Can't just leave 'em here like this."
He responded coldly. "We have no choice private. We can't waste time and energy burying them. Besides, they might be diseased."
"Oh." The kid slunk his head down. Burying them would've been the right thing to do but Sarutobi was right. The mission was too crucial to waste on a secondary moral mission. Meanwhile Ino was still semi-catatonic after her sobbing. Choji whispered something into her ear to try and get her relaxed but it didn't seem to be working. The rest of us turned and walked away one by one, some taking longer than others with their eyes fixed on such an atrocity. How could rational human beings have done this? What could possibly possess them to be so evil as to wholesale slaughter innocent civilians?
The Water LT flanked by a couple troopers came up to us, Sarutobi and Mitarashi specifically. "The area is secured and we can hunker down here for some rest. We're going to need a security plan in case the Sound start patrolling around here. From the lack of marks on the ground it seems they don't frequent this area. Good for us." She got no response. "What's the matter? It's like you've all witnessed some sort of massacre."
The co-pilot stepped up. "That's because we did. Bloody mass execution down that slope. Sound bastards just left the bodies…men…women…children."
"Were they military at all?"
"Some of them upon inspection ma'am." Mitarashi responded somberly. "The rest were probably civilians killed in some sort of terror campaign."
"Unbelievable…"
The private next to the LT growled. "I hope we can get some payback on these Sound cunts."
"We'll get that opportunity soon enough private. Let's just get inside and regroup. I think we've been through enough for one night."
"This time I agree with ya ma'am." Mitarashi replied. "Fucked up war this is…"
The cabins were dusty and did a number on our sinuses but they were some shelter. We were lucky enough to be able to squeeze in with all of our kits. Some of us had to share room and for some people that wasn't an issue. Choji stayed up with Ino as she remained in her state of shock. He stroked her hair gently and tried his damnedest to snap her out. The look on his face was filled with desperation and futility. I thought to myself, just what was Ino going to say? Was she not looking to be with him after all? Was she just afraid of commitment or a future family? Did she think she was going to die soon? So far the past week and a half for her had been an absolute nightmare. I simply stopped thinking of what I could do because in my mind there really wasn't anything I could do. All I really know is that as her friend I had to help her through all this, but it'd be Choji who'd really have to step up to the plate. I took one look at him and he looked right back. Him looking at her and then off to the side was proof positive of how he too suffered with Ino, the girl he truly cared for. Sarutobi just stood outside the window keeping watch. I swear that man could function off of two or three hours of sleep. Then again, things like that were signs of why he was the sergeant. I felt pity for him as well as Ino. He, like Ino, had to deal with such trauma sharing the loss of family and like Choji he had to be the stronger man to support her. I opened my lips but cut myself short knowing anything I said would be not worth saying at all.
"Hey…" A soft voice breathed down my neck, tickling the hair on it.
"What's up?"
"Got any room there?"
I huffed. "Yeah I guess so."
"Ah quit yer bitchin' and let me in." Even without further approval Temari shoved herself underneath my blanket and got up close and personal. I turned to see her but couldn't smile no matter how hard I tried.
She seemed to sympathize as she ran her hair lightly against the top of my forehead. "I know why you're upset. I'm upset too. That poor girl…and she's your friend too."
"Feel sorry more for Choji than me. This is fucked up stuff huh?"
"Yeah…it is."
I wanted to try and say something meaningful to her but I couldn't. Ino's parents, the plane crash, and now this…it nearly sapped me dry. "I'm tired. I'm gonna get some sleep before we have to get up again and then I'd be all tired and pissy."
"That'd be troublesome."
That forced a light snicker out of me. How that woman does it I'll never know. "Indeed it would. Good night Temari."
She reached forward and kissed me. "Rest well."
Even with her warmth I couldn't really relax. The Soundies were hunting us, our plane and plans went down hard, and we were all huddled together in an abandoned cabin next to…next to that terror. I closed my eyes but that image of the corpse Ino saw stayed with me along with the mental pictures of those poor people being executed. It was like one bad thing after another and all of us were bearing the brunt. Is this place really what our mothers and fathers said it was? Is this place really the stuff of nightmares? I tried not to think about it any more as our objective was just over the horizon but a sense of foreboding crept into me once more. As I closed my eyes and my breathing slowed, one thought kept running through my head like a broken record, one that I think every one of us shared.
"I hate this place…I hate it so much."