I'm back! I'm so sorry this chapter took so long, it was actually ready to post some time ago. If you've read my profile you would know that there have been some huge storms here a little while ago and they caused our internet servers to go down for over two weeks (I had to go to the shopping centre to check my e-mails, how sad is that! Not to mention that my home phone wasn't working either).
So here's the next chapter, delayed for a lot longer than what I hoped, but it's a bit longer than usual so I hope that makes up for it. I don't own Naruto.
From his position at the south exit, Shogo sat in the cold rain and watched Gin lead Tsuya into the heavily guarded building. He felt a twinge of fear as they entered, but not one of the Kumo shinobi in the area seemed to notice that two intruders had just slipped easily past their patrols.
The was a crackling in his ear as his head set came to life. "They're in, no problems," Shogo informed the other two male members of his team, trying to keep the relief out of his voice. From his hiding spot he had a clear view of the south patrol, and no-one was acting suspiciously. "Any activity on your side?"
"Not a thing," Yoake's usual calm voice came back. He was positioned in the north, watching over the buildings main entrance, where no less then five Kumo shinobi stood guard. "The guards on this side seem pretty relaxed, though there sure are a lot of them."
"Same over here," Kedakai replied from his position at the east exit. "Another three have come to join the original four and they're not moving, just sitting around. It's like they're not even worried that someone's going to try to break in."
"I suppose we are sure that what we're looking for is in there," Shogo said, though he knew it was a little late to start voicing his doubts now. "Where did Gin-sensei get that information from anyway?"
"The Hokage said Kiri had sent scouts in and they had seen the stuff go into that building," Kedakai replied, wiping a few drops of water of his freezing face. "Do you think we should have trusted them? I mean, they could have been wrong."
"The Hokage wouldn't have sent us here if she wasn't sure," Shogo said, though he didn't sound certain. "Maybe there's more in there then just the stuff from Kiri. Maybe they keep other valuable stuff there as well."
"Quiet, both of you," Yoake's voice hissed quickly. "I've got company. Oh, wait, false alarm. It was just some kind of rat."
The radio fell silent and Shogo found himself hoping that the information had been correct. He had no doubt that Gin would be fine in there, even if this was some kind of trap, but he was really worried about Tsuya.
He rubbed his hands together in an attempt to warm them up, wishing that his sensei and his sister would hurry up and get back.
-
"Well done Tsuya," Gin said, checking the ropes the young girl had used to tie the hands of the unconscious guard. "All right, the passages are clear, so we'll head down this way. This place looks like some kind of high security storage facility so I doubt we're going to find what we're looking for without help."
The moved silently down the, now empty, stone corridor. There were a few door leading off to other rooms, all as cold, damp and dark as the hallways themselves, and Gin found herself thinking that there could be no worse place to store valuables. She checked all the rooms quickly before moving on, just in case on held what they were looking for. The two Konoha shinobi spent about an hour in the dimly lit corridor before they were finally given a clue as to where the items from Kiri were being kept.
Gin held a hand out for Tsuya to stop and signalled for her to be quiet, as she heard two voices coming from the room to her left. "I moved the Kiri stuff into store room three like I was told, but then that new jonin came in and told me to move it again," an exasperated voice said. "Do you know how heavy that stuff is?"
"So where is it now?" a second voice asked, sounding like he really didn't care if his companion answered or not. "You better tell me, if that jonin comes back and I don't know where you put it, he'll take my head."
"I left it with Kokoromi in the high security room," the first man said. "It took me ages to drag it down the corridor on my own. Do you think Kokoromi would help me? Not a chance. He's got to be the laziest jonin I've ever met."
Gin had heard enough. She walked forward, eyes fixed on the ground, until she noticed a scrape make on the cement floor. It looked fairly new and ended at a securely locked door. She pressed her ear to the door, hearing a dull shuffling and the breathing of one man in the room beyond.
"Tsuya," she said quietly, the younger girl came closer to listen to her instructions. "Go to the end of the corridor and stay out of sight until I call for you. I'll take this man on my own. It seems the items were looking for might be heavier then anticipated, so it might take us a little longer to get out of here. Tell the others."
Tsuya nodded and retreated down the hall, hiding in a doorway to contact the three outside members of their team. When Gin was satisfied the girl was well hidden she activated the kuraigan, turning her eyes black from edge to edge.
She detached her shade from her body and sent it under the door, closing her eyes to be able to see into the room through shadow Gin. The man inside was leaning back on his chair and staring up at the ceiling, looking bored. The only other items in the room were a few boxes and crates stacked upon each other, but Gin was only interested in the one with the Kiri symbol marked on it.
Too easy, she thought as she disabled the shinobi easily with her shade, realised the kuraigan and began to pick the lock. The door swung inwards soundlessly and Gin stepped inside, making sure the unconscious enemy shinobi was bound tightly before she moved to examine the case with the Kiri seal.
The lock on the case had been broken open, but Gin found everything their clients had said should be there neatly packed inside. It was filled with thick, heavy armour, each separate piece was a vivid red. Obviously not shinobi armour and something Gin would never think was practical, under any circumstances.
The person ordered to move the case had been right, it was extremely heavy, too heavy for Gin on her own, though she thought Tsuya and herself could manage. She called the girl to her side and both kunoichi picked up the case.
They were just about to leave when Gin heard her head set buzz. "Sensei...some...going...," she heard Yoake's voice, but the signal was broken and she could hardly understand a word he was saying over the static. "...Shinobi...attack...Kedakai...get...awaiting..."
They didn't get to hear any more because, suddenly, there was a loud boom and the walls began to shake.
-
Shogo had been watching the south door for ages, was now freezing, soaking wet and beginning to wonder where Gin and Tsuya were and if they were all right, though he wasn't too worried just yet. Gin had said it would probably take them a while to locate the item from Kiri. He just couldn't help the uneasy feeling that was slowly creeping up on him.
It was then that he spotted something a little out of the ordinary. What looked like a man in a long cloak was standing on top of a building not far from the one Gin and Tsuya were still inside. He was facing away from Shogo's hiding place and hadn't noticed him.
From where he was Shogo couldn't get a clear look at the man's face. Because of the shadows, all he could see was the long black cloak and a wide hat. He wasn't moving, just standing there, like he was waiting for something. He didn't understand it, but Shogo was getting a rather creepy vibe from the cloaked man.
Slowly he brought he hand up to his head set, confident that he was far enough away to warn his team mates without being overheard. "Yoake, Kedakai, I have a suspicious guy on top of a building to my north west. Yoake, you should be able to see him more clearly from where you are."
"Yeah, I see him," Yoake's voice came back almost instantly. "The blond guy in the black cloak with red clouds on it. He doesn't seem to be..."
"Red clouds," both Kedakai and Shogo said at the same time. "That the uniform of the Akatsuki!" Kedakai cried. "We have to warn Gin-sensei. We have to..." Kedakai's voice was suddenly cut off.
"Kedakai! Kedakai answer!" Yoake said quickly. "Damn, I think he's radio's dropped out. Get over there Shogo, he might have been attacked. I'll watch the Akatsuki guy."
"Got it," Shogo replied, darting off towards where Kedakai had been. "Contact sensei and Tsuya, tell them what's going on and ask what she wants us to do. I have a feeling she'll tell us to retreat, but do it anyway. I'll call you again when I've found Kedakai."
"Right," Yoake said, flipping stations in an attempt to get in contact with Gin and his sister. "Sensei there's something going on up here. We've spotted an shinobi from the Akatsuki, I think it's some kind of attack and we can't get in contact with Kedakai. You should get out of there as soon as possible. We're awaiting orders."
The Akatsuki member moved then, so fast Yoake barely had time to register the action before there was a huge explosion behind him. It turned the world white.
-
Shogo dived and hit the ground just as the explosion went off. "Yoake!" he yelled into his head set. "Yoake answer me!" he switched stations. "Tsuya! Sensei!" Nothing, he couldn't reach anyone.
He could feel panic rising as he looked up to see building's on fire to the north, behind where Yoake was meant to be standing watch. Even the rain was having no affect on the flames, which were leaping metres into the sky.
Growling and pushing his fear aside, Shogo picked himself up off the ground and continued quickly towards where Kedakai was positioned, hoping to find his team mate still alive. He wouldn't had admitted it, but he was terrified. He had never been in a situation where he was on his own, wondering if his team was all right.
A large group of people came sprinting past and Shogo had the sense to hide. He wasn't wearing his Konoha Hitai-ate, but he still didn't want to be spotted by any enemy shinobi, just in case he was drawn into a fight and couldn't make it in time to help his team.
-
Kedakai could hardly stand. Every time he took a step, pain shot through his body and his breathing was coming hard and fast, but he wasn't afraid, not in the slightest. Gin had told him that the battle field was no place for emotion, and he always listened to what his sensei said. He knew he would feel it later, but right now he had other things to worry about.
Two enemy shinobi had surprised him from behind and he had managed to escape with little more then a broken ankle and a shallow cut on the arm. One of his attackers had been knocked unconscious by some flying debris from the explosion, but the other was still standing, kunai in hand, ready to attack.
The blue haired genin held a kunai loosely in his right hand, wishing he hadn't left his katana back in Konoha. He knew that, injured, there was no way he would be a match for the enemy ninja, but he held his ground anyway.
Just as the Kumo shinobi moved in to attack, Kedakai felt a presence appear behind him and heard a whistling sound. He dropped to the ground as a shuriken came flying past his head and looked up just in time to see his enemy hit the ground.
"Get up you idiot! I knew I would be the one forced to look after you," Shogo's harsh voice said as the boy himself appeared out of the darkness and tried to pull Kedakai to his feet. The rain had made the ground slippery and the blue haired genin was finding it hard to stand with his injured ankle. "We have to find Yoake. All the radios have dropped out and I don't even know where the others are."
"What's going on?" the younger boy asked franticly, emotion finally catching up with him. He was astonished that Shogo had just save his life and hardly able to take his wide eyes off the dead man in front of him. "What was that explosion?"
Both boy's hands rose to their ears as their head sets suddenly crackled back into life. "Yoake, Shogo, Kedakai," they heard Gin's calm voice coming through. "All the guards are leaving their posts. What's going on up there?"
"The Akatsuki are here," Shogo huffed, half carrying the injured Kedakai to Yoake's last known position. "One guy that we know of. There was an explosion closer to the village centre and the guards seem to be rushing to that area. We can't contact Yoake..."
"I'm here," Yoake's voice said, he sounded out of breath and a little strained. "I'm fine, I think the explosion might have knocked out the radio for a while. We have to get out of here now! That guy, the Akatsuki, he's still here, I can see him. I don't think that was the last of the attacks."
"There are no shinobi down here now," Gin said, as calm as ever, as if this was just an elaborate training exercise. "This place is deep underground. I want you three to come down...hear me...down...now..."
Shogo pulled Kedakai into a doorway just as the second explosion hit, shaking the whole village and sending rocks and splinters flying through the air. "Come on," he yelled over the noise. Screaming and the sounds of battle could be heard not so far away as a second plume of fire lit up the night sky. "We have to find Yoake and get inside. Knowing that idiot he's still in his lookout position."
Half dragging Kedakai and keeping hidden at the same time, Shogo made his way to the north door of the building Gin and Tsuya had entered so long ago and pushed his team mate up against the wall. "Get inside and find Gin-sensei and Tsuya," he yelled. "I'm going to find my brother."
He ignored Kedakai's protests as he left the boy leaning against the wall and sprinted off into the rain. Concentrating, Shogo picked up Yoake's chakra signal easily and ran towards his brother. When he finally spotted the other Akengata boy, he was surrounded by a group of Kumo shinobi. He looked like he had been putting up a good fight, but Shogo knew it couldn't last long. Yoake already looked ready to collapse.
Without thinking, Shogo rushed forward, preforming hand signs as he went. Before the Kumo ninja even new he was there, he jumped into the ring surrounding his brother. "Light spark jutsu!" he cried. Yoake, seeing what his brother was about to do, performed the counter jutsu, keeping himself safe whilst the enemies were engulfed in a blinding white light.
"Lets go," Shogo panted, staggering a little from using too much chakra, the jursu having drained him almost completely. His heart was beating fast and he could hardly stand. "We have to get to Gin-sensei."
"You idiot," Yoake yelled, his own fatigue forgotten as he grabbing his brothers arm and pulling him towards the building. "Couldn't you think of any other jutsu? Now you have next to no chakra left and they'll know where we're from. Not to mention you would have attracted any able shinobi within a kilometre."
"Who cares," Shogo yelled back, knowing his brother well enough not to expect a thank you, even if he had just saved his life. "As long as were alive."
"For now," Yoake spotted Kedakai, who was still standing by the door, but now Tsuya had joined him. "Where's Gin-sensei?" he cried and he and Shogo reached them. "She told us to meet her inside."
"She's outside somewhere," Tsuya said, placing Kedakai's arm around her shoulder and guiding him inside the building. "She said to stay put and keep hidden. We're meant to stay underground until she comes back for us."
Enemy shinobi who had seen Shogo's jutsu were now beginning to appear, spotting the four genin as they headed for the stairs leading to the underground tunnels.
"Tsuya, get the others downstairs," Yoake said, turning to face the Kumo ninjas. Fear gripped him, but he held it back, knowing that he had to protect his team, his only family, until Gin got back. "I'll hold these guys off until Gin-sensei arrives."
"I'll help you," the kunoichi said, dumping Kedakai on Shogo, who was still too tired from the chakra draining jutsu he had just used to complain about being left out of the battle. "You can't do this alone and I'm the only one who's still in any condition to fight."
As much as he wanted to keep his sister safe, Yoake didn't complain. He was smart enough to know that there was no way he would survive this battle on his own, and they would have more of a chance to distract the enemy if there were two of them.
As Shogo and Kedakai disappeared down the stares, Yoake and Tsuya split up, moving in different directions and breaking their enemies into two smaller groups. Three jonin for each genin.
Tsuya knew they were outmatched, one genin to three jonin was hardly a battle at all, but there was nothing much else they could do. It was either fight and die now, or hide and die later, and she had never been one to hide.
"They're using kids against us!" one Kumo jonin said to another as they advanced on the young pair. He was looking confused and more than a little angry. "What an insult! But tell me little girl, how did you create such impressive explosions?"
Tsuya tensed, ready to attack, but before anyone could move, or even say a word, the shinobi who had spoken fell to the ground, a kunai sticking out of the back of his head. The remaining five jonin looked around for the origin of the attack.
"My kids are good," Gin's voice said as the woman herself dropped down from the ceiling rafters and landed close to Tsuya, holding her katar in her right hand and another kunai in her left. "But they're not that good, not yet. Yoake, where are the others?"
"Underground sensei," Yoake replied, watching as three of the five Kumo shinobi moved in to surround Gin. "Kedakai's injured and..."
He never got to finish what he was about to say, because suddenly the world shook as another explosion rocked the village, a lot closer this time. The building they were in started to crumble, raining debris down on all of them. Quickly Gin dropped her weapons and created a shield and covered herself and Tsuya, protecting them from the rain of brick and wood, but she could no longer see Yoake, the boy having been across the other side of the building before the explosion hit.
Before the dust cleared Gin was attacked by a Kumo shinobi, who was stopped by her shield, witch she dropped almost instantly. With lightning speed she picked her katar up off the ground and stabbed the man through the chest. As he fell she noticed the remaining four were either dead or too injured to put up much of a fight. If the jonin were all out of action she hated to think about how injured Yoake would be.
"Yoake!" Tsuya called out, looking frantically around the rubble for her brother. "Yoake answer me! Please! Where are you?"
"Tsuya," Gin said, as her eyes darting around the, now ruined, building for any sign on the fourth member of her team. "Go and get Shogo, Kedakai and the Kiri crate, take them to our last camping place, I know you remember how to get there. I'll follow with Yoake."
Tsuya nodded quickly and, with one last glance around the room, disappeared down the stairs. She reappeared moments later, dragging the crate, Shogo holding the other end. Kedakai followed them out, limping badly, but still holding a weapon.
As her team left, Gin began to search quickly through the rubble of the building for her last team member, feeling for his chakra as she went. It was faint, but it was still there, indicating that he was alive and concious, though how badly injured she couldn't tell. The whole roof had come down as well as the north and east walls, and rain was now pouring in, turning dust and debris into a muddy mess.
Shifting some small planks of wood, she spotted a patch of blue amongst the debris and headed quickly towards it. She still looked as calm as ever, but her heart was beating fast and her hands had begun to shake. Her first mission with her team and she had already lead them into a situation too dangerous for most chunin and even some jonin.
"Yoake," the raven haired woman said as she brushed him off and knelt beside the boy. He turned to look at her, eyes clouded and grimacing in pain. A large rafter had come down right over the top of him, trapping his right arm and leg beneath them. She also saw a thin splinter had punctured his side and blood was staining his shirt.
Gin dragged the beam off her student, hearing the young boy cry out as she did so. She rushed to his side and began to pull bandages out of her many pockets. Grabbing four long thin bits of wood she created a split for Yoake's arm and leg, before removing the splinter in his side and covering the wound with a patch and another bandage.
"That will have to do for now," she told the injured boy, trying to keep her voice from shaking. Yoake didn't hear her, he had passed out from pain as she worked. She picked him up and draped him carefully over her shoulder, before leaving the ruins of the building and following her team to their meeting place.
She moved swiftly from shadow to shadow, keeping out of sight and hoping, with all her heart, that the other members of her team hadn't been stopped by any Kumo shinobi, or worse, the Akatsuki.
-
"I hope Gin-sensei and Yoake are all right," Kedakai said as he sat on the Kiri crate. Shogo was examining his ankle, which was now very swollen and painful. The cut on his arm had already been taken care of by the red haired boy. "I didn't see Yoake when we were leaving the building. You do know what you're doing right?"
This last remark was directed at Shogo, who had gathered a little of his remaining chakra and was preparing to begin to heal Kedakai'a ankle. "Just hold still and I might not decide to remove your foot," Shogo growled back.
"Sho has a little training as a medic," Tsuya said. The girl was looking very worried, she kept peering off into the trees, looking for any sign of her brother and her teacher. "I'm sure they'll be all right. They'll be all right, won't the Sho?"
They waited in silence for almost half an hour. The rain was still falling, but none of the three seemed to mind at all. Shogo finished with Kedakai and walked towards his sister, putting his arm around her shoulder.
"Yoake will be fine," he said softly, displaying a kindness Kedakai had never seen from him before. "You know how stubborn he is. There's no way he would leave a mission unfinished. You watch, he'll be back and he'll yell at me for not fixing that idiots ankle properly." He pointed at his blue haired team mate, who just shook his head and smiled.
Another twenty minutes passed before they hear the sound of someone approaching. Both Shogo and Tsuya got to their feet, weapons in their hands. Kedakai remained seated, but pulled a kunai out of his pouch.
They all breathed a sigh of relief when Gin appeared, but Tsuya cried out when she saw Yoake. Shogo's face went white as Gin placed the unconscious boy on the grass. His sister ran to him, tears falling freely from her emerald eyes.
"Sho! Sho do something!" the frantic girl cried, dropping to the ground beside her injured brother. "You have to heal him! I've seen you do it before. Please Sho!"
"I can't heal this," Shogo said hotly, though Gin could see the pain in his eyes. "I don't have the proper training. Anything worse than a scratch and I'm useless, you know that, Tsuya."
"We don't have any time to rest," Gin said, her voice was emotionless, but her eyes held a deep sadness and pain. "He's alive and all right, for now, but we have to get him back to Konoha as soon as possible. Kedakai, can you walk?" the boy nodded. "Good. You will take my pack. Tsuya and Shogo, you will take the crate and I will carry Yoake. The faster we get back the faster Yoake will be healed and we can inform the Hokage of what happened here."
"I have a way of getting a message to her," Tsuya said through her sobs. She pulled out her blue marker and performing some hand signs. Yoake's palm began to glow blue as a semitransparent eagle appeared in front of them.
Tsuya moved forward to write a message on the chakra animal before it took off, heading towards Konoha. They watched it until it was out of sight. "It will get there before we do," the girl said, sounding calm now, but tears were still falling from her eyes.
"Well done Tsuya," Gin said, picking Yoake up off the ground. The others began to do as they had been instructed. When everything had been collected Gin gave the signal for them to move. "Move fast and don't stop, we don't want those who are following us to catch up."
The team moved off towards Konoha as fast as they could.
-
Kakashi waved goodbye to his students and made his way to Tsunade's office, wanting to hand in his mission report as soon as possible. This time he had finished it on their way back to the village, saving him from hours of boredom.
He also had some important news. On the way back form their mission, team seven had heard news of the outbreak of civil war in Kumogakure. Kumo wasn't an ally, so it wasn't likely the war would affect Konoha, but Tsunade would still want to be informed and they would have to expect refugees.
When he reached the Hokage's office he noticed Shizune was a little more anxious than usual. He waved to her as he crossed the room, all she gave him in return was a worried look. He also noticed a stern young woman sitting in the corner. Her light brown eyes watched him as he entered Tsunade's office.
"Now is not a good time Kakashi," Tsunade spat as the young jonin entered her office. There was paper all over the place and the Hikarikage was standing in the corner of the room, looking as composed as usual.
"I have important news from Kumogakure, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, bowing to the two Kage's. Hiruma smiled and nodded, though, now that he was closer, Kakashi could see he looked a little worried as well.
As soon as Tsunade heard the word Kumogakure her head shot up. Her honey coloured eyes burning. "You have news about Gin?" she asked sharply.
"No," Kakashi replied, slightly confused, but not showing it. "I just heard on the road that a civil was has started in Kumo about a day or two ago."
"If you can't tell me if Gin and her team are safe then you're useless," Tsunade hissed angrily, returning to her search through the endless piles of paper. "Get out and don't bother me until you have some real information."
"Hokage-sama," Kakashi said slowly, starting to feel worried. When he had left on his last mission Gin had been safe in Konoha. "What does Kumo have to do with Gin-chan?"
Thanks to all the people who reviewed and who put this fic on their alert/favourites list. I got so many e-mails after the last chapter I was quite overwhelmed. I felt really bad to make everyone wait so long.
Thanks and sorry again for the delay,
Kwin