Naruto gaped, feeling his mouth run dry. Itachi Uchiha looked down at him over the edge of his dark collar. The three tomoe in his Sharingan held his gaze. Panic froze Naruto's body.
"Naruto Uzumaki." Itachi said in a quiet, low voice. It was awfully polite for such a terrifying man.
A sharp, ear-piercing screech jarred him out of his fear. Theodore shot from the window in a blur of brown and orange and hovered in the air behind Naruto's head. His massive claws grazed the orange jumpsuit. Theodore's eyes flashed.
By the time Itachi's eyes snapped up, Theodore had already opened his beak.
"Ninja-art: Echo."
A sound, lower than anything Naruto had ever heard, vibrated through his bones. The ground shook, the walls cracked and the two figures at the door jumped away. The wall on the other side burst in a perfect circle. The sound bounced and fizzled out halfway through the hallway on either side, leaving a trail of smaller craters on the walls.
Naruto let the air escape his lungs, before his eyes widened. "That was aweso- hey!"
Theodore grabbed his shoulders and swung his wings down. With a yelp, Naruto realized his feet had come off the ground. With a jerk, they flew back towards the window.
"We-need-to-go!" Theodore huffed, straining. They made it until the bed, before a thrown kunai forced Theodore to drop his charge. He screeched and flew in a wide arc around the room, shooting towards Itachi. The man blurred and reappeared behind him. The owl was forced to make another circle.
Naruto crawled back on the bed, eyes on the huge figure still standing in the doorway. I need to do something!
He formed his favorite seal. Three clones popped up. All four Naruto's glared at Kisame. Agonizingly slow, the man detached himself from the door-frame and swung his massive blade down. The Naruto's gulped.
"The little demon has a surprise..." Kisame grinned.
Naruto growled back, fear forgotten in a sudden stab of anger. The heat in his stomach grew. Jiraiya had been teaching him to use the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra and it came easier to him day by day.
"I'll show you a surprise, fish-face!"
Naruto brought his hands together. Kakashi had taught him one wind-jutsu before he left with Jiraiya that 'wouldn't just blow up in his face, but in that of everyone else as well' and Naruto had practiced until his lips were chapped. Jiraiya had helped him improve it and Naruto was determined to show Kakashi the result of his hard work. He gathered his chakra in his lungs and inhaled.
"Wind-style: Great Breakthrough!"
In hindsight not the smartest move in a rented room but Naruto had greater concerns now. The wind blew the door out of it's frame and send bits of the wall crumbling. Theodore yelped and ducked behind the bed. Itachijumped behind Kisame, who blocked the torrent of wind with Samehada. The wind cut into them, tearing their cloaks open.
Kisame squinted at Naruto, who was turning red in the face. Samehade stirred but the wind died down soon after. Naruto coughed, choking on his cork-dry throat. The silence as opposed to the roaring sound from the jutsu rung in their ears.
"You need to leave!" The owl shouted in his ear, still dazed from the hurricane's force. Naruto gritted his teeth. His clones jumped out of their hiding spots and attacked even as Theodore began to tug at his collar again. Naruto stumbled off the bed, trying to get to the window, he never made it. Itachi appeared in his path, a dark silhouette against the pale moonlight spilling in from outside.
Crap!
It took five seconds for all three clones to disperse. All the memories involved a tragic end by blunt force trauma. Using the smoke as a shield, Naruto formed another clone in an instant. The clone transformed into large brown feather and flew out of the door, slipping passed Kisame who was distracted by Theodore trying to pick his eyes out, before the red of Itachi's eyes became visible in through the smoke. The heat stretched into his arms and legs, he jumped and pulled his fist back to-
Theodore yelped, smacking against the wall and falling down in a miserable heap. Samehada swung again, grazing Naruto's shoulder.
Eh?
Naruto dropped like a stone, barely managing to stick the landing. My chakra!
"What did you do?" He shouted, twisting to point at Kisame. The Akatsuki duo were on either side and Itachi was close enough for Naruto to smell the odd mix of Jasmine rice and moss on him. His arms and legs felt like jelly. The heat was completely gone, as if had never been there. The implications were confusing. This is like what Neji did!
Kisame stroked his sword lovingly. "Samehada here absorbs chakra. Pretty cool, right?"
Naruto paused, it was pretty cool. "Y-yeah... But still rude!" he scowled.
Itachi seemed to fight the temptation to roll his eyes. His Sharingan was still on Naruto. Theodore came closer again, panting from the action. "Hey... We need to go."
Kisame kicked him and he dispersed with a shriek. Naruto's eyes widened, guilt clawing at his gut. He made an aborted move towards the spot. "Why did you do that?! He's innocent!"
"No one is innocent here, Naruto." Itachi said quietly. "Such is the life of a shinobi."
Naruto narrowed his eyes at him. "Cut the crap! What do you want from me?"
Kisame stepped around the bed, sharp grin on his face. "We don't need you, kid. We want your guest."
Kakashi had once explained the concept of internal alarms and intuition and how they always had to trust it. Better to be paranoid than an idiot, in their teacher's words. Naruto's intuition was currently screaming in a fetal position. He'd love to follow that but this looked like one of those times where he had to cry internally; another concept Kakashi had explained, though it was on a day where he looked rather bleary-eyed and was nursing a headache.
"Well," he puffed his chest, mustering all the pride he had, "you can't have him! He hasn't paid all his rent yet y'know!"
The two shinobi faltered, though Itachi only twitched his eye. "Rent?" Kisame repeated. Mentally he went 'Y'know'? Wasn't there this other nin who said something like that?, but there was a time and place for that and it wasn't now.
"Yeah, he lives in me so he needs to pay rent." Naruto explained, growing more confident with each murder-less second. Of course, he had jinxed himself.
"Funny kid." Kisama murmured.
Itachi stepped closer. "Enough, let's take him."
Naruto shot back, groping the wall for support. The two men turned to him. Itachi's Sharingan spun and twisted into a pinwheel. Naruto's breathing grew shallow and he dug his fingers into the crumbly wallpaper, only to sink into something cold and slimy. Everyone in the room stopped, eyes snapping down to see the floor turned pink and slippery.
"What the-" Kisame didn't get to finish his sentence because a large frame shot in front of Naruto. Jiraiya stood straight, easily hiding the boy behind his back. He crossed his arms, keeping his tone light despite the steel in his eyes.
"You two don't look like my kind of unexpected roommates." he commented, eyes narrowing minutely on Itachi. "Welcome in my old friends oesophagus. I'm warning you, no one can escape it."
He let a daunting silence fall after his words. Naruto swallowed and tried not to look too relieved. Kisame lifted Samehada, but Itachi stopped him. "Don't."
Kisame glared at him. "Again? The two of us can handle this old man, Sannin or not."
Jiraiya scoffed "I know a whole lot of lovely ladies who'd tell you otherwise."
"And he's a pervert." Kisame frowned. Itachi choose to ignore both. "We will go. A fight with him would end with all three of us dead."
"Perhaps you didn't hear me," Jiraiya said slowly, "no one can escape here. You're trapped and you're going to tell me what you were doing here."
Itachi stepped back, looking at his right with one eye opened. "I'm afraid we can't tell you. Amaterasu!"
Naruto yelped as black flames burst to life in the wall. Within seconds there was a gaping hole and fresh air rushed in. Itachi opened both eyes again and shot through. Jiraiya didn't move as Kisame threw out a curse and followed his partner.
The oesophagus slunk back. Naruto rushed forward to inspect the smoldering hole in the wall. "What- Did you just let them go? What was that move?! That was awesome! You let them escape!"
Jiraiya whacked his head. "First rule of fighting, don't do it until you know everything about your opponents."
Naruto rubbed the sore spot. "One is Sasuke's evil brother, the other is a fish-face with a chakra eating sword and they want the Fox. What more do you need?"
Jiraiya turned wide eyes to him, making the boy scowl harder. "What? I can be smart..."
"I'm impressed, kid. Good job." Jiraiya ruffled the blond looks, biting back the memories of Minato's flushed face. Naruto's eyes were wide and it was like he needed his whole body to process the memory. His cheeks turned red and he quickly looked down. Jiraiya dropped his hand, unsure of what to do. At least Minato would murmur his thanks and shuffle away. Naruto had an existential crisis.
"Oh, Theodore!" Naruto suddenly perked up.
"Who?" There was no body in the room and he was pretty sure the giant sword was called Samehada.
Naruto rushed to the spot the owl had laid. "Theodore, the talking owl!"
Jiraiya frowned in concern. "Did they hit your head or something?"
If looks could kill, Jiraiya would've died on the spot. Naruto threw his hands in the air and began to explain. The more he told him, the more interested Jiraiya grew. Naruto could summon the toads because of his massive reserves, but to have another Genin do the same? One who was apparently from a civilian family? This year was turning out to be interesting. He told Naruto as much, as he started to clean the room.
Naruto rubbed his nose, giving his fruitless efforts up. "Meh, she and Ryuya probably use Chi's chakra to do it."
Jiraiya paused, momentarily forgetting about the piece of wood he wanted to pick up. "Use her chakra? How?"
Naruto plopped down on the ground, undisturbed by the mess. They didn't have much time before the hotel management would show up and freak out. They were probably hiding somewhere now, making sure the fighting had stopped.
"Well," The brat began, "Chi has this blood-thingy, right? So when she drinks someone's blood, she gets this connection. Ehm, she said it's like everyone's body is locked and the blood is the key. But it kinda works both ways, so Chi and the other person are now always unlocked to each other."
By the end it looked like Naruto had a migraine. Jiraiya remembered to close his jaw before he noticed. That... explained a lot. It was basically one of the Great Mysteries of the Ketsueki clan. He huffed.
Then a foot slammed into his head and he hit the ground. Naruto screeched.
"Dynamic Entry!" Guy landed gracefully and struck a pose. Waves clashed behind him.
"Bushier-Brow-sensei!" Naruto flailed. "You hit Pervy Sage!"
Guy blinked and looked down, round eyes growing huge as he recognized said Sage. Jiraiya twitched and was promptly pulled to his feet by Guy. "So sorry, Jiraiya-sama!" Guy apologized.
Jiraiya sat on the bed, head still spinning. "Guy... Right? Might Guy?"
Guy nodded, crouching near the bed and holding one of Jiraiya's hands between his. Jiraiya coughed weakly, sending his chakra around his body to clear his head. "You haven't changed at all..."
Naruto got up and came closer. "Why are you here, sensei?"
Guy's expression faltered and a frown creased his forehead. "I come bearing unfortunate news... I wanted to warn you for Itachi Uchiha and..." His frown deepened. "And... Who was the other one? Maybe there was only one?"
"Kisame Hoshigaki." Jiraiya informed him. Guy didn't seem to believe him but didn't enter the discussion.
"They were looking for Naruto so I came to assist and warn you against them, but I see I was too late."
Naruto bit his lip. "Theodore had a message for Pervy-Sage, but I don't know what it was."
"Who?
"Owl-summon of another Genin." Jiraiya said quickly.
Guy nodded slowly. "Impressive... Probably the same message then. In any case, I must ask you to complete your mission as soon as you can. You see, Itachi entered the village and there was a battle..."
Jiraiya's face darkened. "What happened?" Naruto looked between them nervously.
"My Youthful Rival, along with Ibiki's student, got struck with something and are both comatose as we speak. Nothing can wake them, except perhaps the Healing specialist, Queen of Slugs, Tsunade Senju." Guy declared, but his eyes were somber.
Naruto shot up, anxiety swarming him. "Kakashi-sensei and Chi are hurt?! We need to go to them-!"
Jiraiya pressed his hand on his shoulder, pushing the blond down beside him. "Tsunade doesn't go by that name anymore. It's just Tsunade, the Failed Gambler now. And," turning to Naruto, "we can't go visit them and get help at the same time."
Guy crossed his arms, spandex straining, and nodded. "She is our only hope. Not just for them, but also for my precious students, Lee and Neji."
Naruto looked up again. "Neji? How come?"
Guy smiled at him, "Not to worry, his injuries of your fight are not the cause. It just seems that he attempted something terribly dangerous during the attempted invasion, though I cannot say I blame him..."
Naruto deflated, eyes glossy with sadness. Jiraiya patted Naruto's back. "If I had the Flying Thunder God technique, I would get us right back in the village, but I don't. We need to put the mission first, kid. Sorry."
Naruto shook his head. He pressed his lips in a thin line. "Can you teach me? The Thunder thing? Is it some kind of super-speed?"
Guy's eyes widened but he kept quiet, glancing at Jiraiya. The latter shook his head minutely. Guy relaxed again. "Sure, kid. It's not exactly super-speed, but first you need to complete the Rasengan."
Guy's eyes went round again but Jiraiya could see the flash of grief in the man's face. Minato's death had been a hard blow to everyone. The pain and the shame of knowing that their leader felt the need to sacrifice himself and his young family for the village, haunted every shinobi of Guy's generation and older.
"What an amazing goal, Naruto!" Guy beamed at the kid. "Work hard and you will achieve it in no time!"
Naruto, unused to praise, choked on his words. Jiraiya sat back and watched the two go back and forth. It ended with Guy presenting Naruto with a green spandex identical to his own, as a token of his admiration. Internally, Jiraiya vowed to seal the thing into oblivion but smiled when Naruto bounced up and down in giddiness.
Guy had to leave soon after, to tend to his students. He apologized for a solid five minutes before Jiraiya had enough and kicked him through the hole in the wall. Naruto was stretched out on the bed by the time he turned around again, clutching his gift to his chest.
A piece of door-frame fell to the floor. Jiraiya looked at it, and then around the room. He nodded slowly, checking his sealing scrolls and Naruto's backpack. Civilians were nearing their room. He had just spend a lot of money on sake and ladies before the clone barged in.
It was time to go.
Bar, at the same time~
Inoichi's confirmation haunted Ibiki all the way to the hidden establishment. He stared at the amber liquid at the bottom of his glass. The dim lights overhead formed sparkles in his whiskey but he couldn't enjoy them. He hadn't eaten in hours but his stomach was filled with lead.
Chi had killed her family. She had killed her siblings as a baby. She had committed a massacre at eight years old. Itachi had been 13 and an ANBU captain at the time. Chi had been a child, barely higher than his waist. Shinobi's led tough lives, marred by death and trauma, but not even in the Warring Era had there been a child who had consciously killed their entire clan. At least not on record.
Ibiki blinked when the door opened. The sound of the early Autumn rain followed the voices of Asuma and Kurenai in. Ibiki downed the rest of his drink and turned on his stool. Behind the two new arrivals was Iruka. They noticed him immediately and made their way over to the counter.
Asuma lifted three fingers at the barman and nodded at Ibiki's glass, before carefully seating himself beside specialist.
"Still hurts?"
Asuma nodded in response, drumming his fingers on the sticky counter. "Kisame puts a lot of weight behind his swing."
Ibiki felt a faint grin tug on his lips. "Or you're just getting old."
Asuma huffed, giving the other man a light shove. "Sarutobi's age gracefully. My old man had a spine as straight as a rod even at his age."
Kurenai smiled faintly, accepting her glass from the barman. Iruka grimaced at his glass and took a tentative sip, coughing afterwards. Ibiki's smile faded. Asuma caught his expression and his eyes softened.
"Sorry I couldn't get her away in time." he said quietly.
Ibiki shook his head and pushed himself to sit straighter. "There was nothing you could do. That blasted Sharingan hardly has any counters."
Asuma scowled into his glass. Ibiki noted that Iruka didn't look surprised. Asuma and Kurenai must have filled him in on the developments. Which reminded him...
"Iruka," Said man snapped up, "did you know?"
Iruka looked puzzled. "Kurenai told me about the fight..."
Ibiki shook his head. "No, about the Ketsueki massacre."
Kurenai and Asuma stiffened. It was all the response Ibiki needed. He put his glass down and turned towards Iruka, who suddenly looked anxious. The words were right at the tip of his tongue, but they weighted heavy. Ibiki cleared his throat once, twice, before deciding to rip the band-aid off.
"It wasn't old man Sai who did it. It was Chi."
Emotions flitted over Iruka's face. Ibiki read every single one of them with ease. There was disbelief, followed by suspicion that made way for shock once he realized Ibiki was serious. Shock was followed by grief and finally landed on anger. The Chuunin looked away, taking deep breaths to calm himself. Ibiki waited patiently. Asuma and Kurenai looked trapped but neither moved to get away.
"Are you sure?" Iruka eventually managed, still not looking up.
Ibiki sighed. "Yes. Inoichi-san confirmed it today."
"She kept it a secret-?" Iruka began but Ibiki shook his head.
"Her memories were mostly suppressed. She knew she was responsible but had false memories about how and what she had done. Whatever she saw in Itachi's jutsu must have triggered the true memories to resurface." Ibiki explained, surprising himself with his calm. Iruka fidgeted in his seat for a moment before grabbing his whiskey and drinking it in one go. Asuma's eyebrows rose to his hairline.
Iruka clenched his fist, determined not to spit it out, and set the empty glass down. His chakra, uncontrolled for once, was shuddering. "Do the other kids know?"
None of the Jonin teachers confirmed that. "Shinji and Ryuya don't know either." Ibiki added for extra measure. Iruka nodded slowly, gathering his emotions and putting them back in order. "Does Sasuke know his brother was here?"
"No." said Kurenai.
"Yes." replied Ibiki at the same time. They looked at each other.
Asuma groaned and fumbled for a cigarette in his pockets. He should have known better than to leave ANBU in charge. If his blunder was going to cause something ridiculous like Sasuke being murdered or becoming a missing-nin, Asuma was going to to live with the monks.
Ibiki looked at Iruka, who was going pale despite the growing blush on his cheeks. "I found Sasuke and Sakura in front of the hospital. They were planning to go hunt down his brother by themselves, so I put them in Chi's room to guard her."
Asuma put his face in his hands. Iruka leaned closer. "You just left them? What for?"
Ibiki glared at the other man. "They're fine. I needed to go to the office for a bit."
Kurenai pointedly looked away, knowing that she had found him one street away from the bar, which was the opposite direction of the T&I building. Ibiki ignored her. "The two needed to cool down and realize that Genin are no match for Itachi Uchiha!" His outburst was not just aimed at those two but no one mentioned it.
Iruka jumped up. "I get that, but Sasuke doesn't care! He'll die if it means killing Itachi. You can't just trust him not to leave! He could've gone and gotten killed!"
Ibiki got up, towering over Iruka. Asuma and Kurenai tensed, looking at them warily. The bar was quiet. "Oh so now you care if the kids die? What about when you assigned my team, huh?"
It took a second for the words to sink in, but then Iruka paled so drastically, Kurenai feared he might faint. "That's not the same-"
"Like hell it isn't!" Ibiki snapped. "You put those three together so that they would get killed and you know it."
"They were orders-"
"Screw that! Remember when Naruto stole the scroll? Orders were to bring him back to the Hokage and instead you made him Genin." Ibiki felt Asuma's arm snake across his chest and realized how close he had come to Iruka. He lowered his voice, poking Iruka's chest with a finger.
"You needed Chi to die and had no other uses for Ryuya or Shinji, so you put them in one team and gave them to me." Ibiki breathed hard. Iruka's eyes were glossy but he didn't lower them. "You and I know damn well that T&I is no place for Genin. Not even Hatake worked with us until he was ANBU."
Asuma pushed him away gently. Ibiki's heart hammered in his chest. Iruka fell back on his chair and lowered his head. Ibiki scowled and gestured at the barman, who was standing in a far corner of his limited space. It was exactly why the shinobi liked him so much. The man nodded and turned to pick a bottle from the wide assortment lined against the wall.
Sitting down, Ibiki felt a twinge of guilt at the sight of the miserable Chuunin. Iruka was under strict supervision of the Hokage and he had no choice but to follow blindly. Ibiki knew however, that the man would be the first to jump in the line of fire for the students. He cared for each of them personally, sometimes arriving at the bar with a bag full of drawings and flowers braided in his hair.
Iruka lifted his head, warm brown eyes filled with tears. His mouth opened and closed before he turned away. Kurenai put a hand on his shoulder and quietly ordered some beers for them. The four sat in silence, stewing in their personal grievances. Their drinks arrived at the same time the door opened and the skinny frame of the Jonin Commander entered.
Shikaku Nara looked around the room with even less energy than usual, before sauntering over and sitting on the nearest stool. "One beer, please." he nodded at the barman. With a sigh, he leaned his forearms on the counter and let his head hang down. His skin was pale, with purple bags below his eyes. More than ever, he looked like he could use some sleep.
"Shikaku-sama." Iruka murmured but the man waved his hand.
"None of that formal crap." Shikaku turned to the side, looking over the four shinobi with tired, red eyes. "Looks like we all had a great day today."
"Feels like three days." Asuma muttered, taking a long drag of a fresh cigarette. Without looking up, he tossed the package of cigarettes at Shikaku. The Commander smiled gratefully and picked one out.
"You can say that again." he agreed, holding up his lighter. "I've had an interesting afternoon though. Lots of reading and guessing."
Kurenai snorted "Sounds like you were the perfect person."
Shikaku rolled his eyes, accepting his beer. "Inoichi nearly cried when I came to help out. He actually asked Sunao-kun, but that bastard is almost as lazy as Shika."
Ibiki contemplated ordering another glass as he looked up. "Found anything good?"
Shikaku thought for a moment, more to find the right words than remembering the information, and nodded slowly. "Bunch of strange coincidences and plot-holes. Did you notice how most of the Ketsueki-jutsu's are copies of other clans?"
The rest paused. Ibiki frowned. "I thought it was odd that she learned so many different jutsu's, but copies?"
"Yep." Shikaku took a swig. "Like, Inoichi taught her a technique developed by the Ketsueki, but originated from the Yamanaka. One of the Ketsueki's signature move was the Blood Puppeteer, which Chi can do. Again, very similar to Yamanaka and Suna's puppeteer techniques. Another famous one is the Blood expansion, very close to the Akamichi. Then there is the troublesome Hyuuga copy of an eye jutsu..."
He shook his head in disbelief. "That clan is a mess of mysteries all tangled up in one another."
Asuma's eyes turned distant. "Minato-sama tried to solve it, didn't he?"
Shikaku huffed, "He did, the poor man."
The mood turned somber. Under the dim lights, it was easy to get lost in thoughts and memories. The war had scarred their generations and clung to them wherever they went. Comrades lost and gained all drifted across their minds.
Ibiki's mind went to his students. The three were young, with Shinji turning thirteen soon and Ryuya being the youngest. They didn't know war and only learned about the sacrifices made for their peace through books.
"I miss him." Iruka suddenly said, "He would have known what to do in this mess. Hell, it would have never gotten to this mess with him." The alcohol induced haze was making him drowsy. Kurenai wondered how much of what he had said would be considered treason in any other bar.
She patted his shoulder, frowning at the bone that poked through the fabric. Iruka had been worn thin over the past weeks. As the barrier between the civilian and shinobi world, he was called to meetings all day long to negotiate and translate for both sides.
He put his head on his folded arms. His voice came out muffled. "We should get the kids together again. They need it. You need it. You're all so tired, running around the village and doing missions."
If his voice was a bit thick, or his sudden change of topic too obvious, no one mentioned it.
"That guy is basically running the village now." Ibiki nodded at a bashful Shikaku. "We're just doing our jobs."
"As am I." Shikaku said gently. Exhaustion tugged at his mind, drooping his eyes. Nothing sounded better than a warm bed with fluffy pillows and his wife's comforting presence besides him. If only...
"There is so much to rebuild. Just the hole in the arena is enough to drive the council up the wall." Shikaku scoffed, mood turning sour at the thought. Asuma raised his glass to that and downed it in one go.
"Glad it's not me." he admitted openly.
Iruka groaned. "You should hear the civilian parents that come to complain to me about how 'dangerous' this business is and 'why weren't we informed?'. I swear they just act stupid on purpose. Idiooooots."
Shikaku laughed, clapping the teacher on his back. "You might be on to something there." he leaned closer conspiratorially, "I got the old crows at my back."
Even Ibiki felt the urge to bash his head on the counter. "Those raisins should not be allowed anywhere near politics."
"But they are so experienced." Asuma mocked, wondering again why his father had not kicked them out earlier. He had grown up with the three visiting his house and talking as the old teammates they were. Mostly he just remembered their pursed lips and quiet ways of ganging up on his father. And the constant questions whether he had found the perfect bride yet.
Ibiki grunted. "Experienced in constructing wars for the young ones to die in. I don't care who trained them or how much they contributed to the village. The minute the advisors attempt to become the puppeteers, they should be gone. We're not a democracy, we're a military and we need to operate like one."
Shikaku was tempted to drink at that but the small part of him that screamed 'treason' and 'do you want to sleep on the couch again?' told him to stand down and just slap the counter in agreement.
Kurenai blinked. Did I fall asleep upright? With a poorly hidden yawn, she got up and put a bill down. "We should go get some sleep. Another long day tomorrow..."
The men agreed and sluggishly made their way to a standing position, putting down glasses and stubs of cigarettes. Asuma dragged Iruka up and threw his arm around his shoulder, making the much shorter man yelp and pull his arm back. Kurenai rolled her eyes and pushed Asuma towards the door. She looked back at Shikaku and Ibiki, who were still blearily staring into their glasses. "All of us should get some sleep."
Shikaku jolted and nodded wearily as he came to grab Iruka's shoulder to steady him. "A few hours won't hurt the paperwork... Ibiki?"
Ibiki sighed but went along with the group as they left the toasty bar and entered the fresh night. Rain fell down in fine, cold drops that echoed in the quiet streets. The guilt in his chest had formed into a stone, heavy in his gut. "Ryuya is on a mission. Just left actually. It's her first mission out of the village and she's doing it alone with ANBU and the Kazekage's kids."
His voice was barely audible, but the seasoned shinobi heard him fine. Shikaku's mouth twisted. "Yeah, I saw her leave. Bit young, isn't she?"
Ibiki shrugged, agreeing on the inside. "Perfect for her disguise."
A cold wind blew passed them and he absently wondered if Ryuya's clothes were thick enough. He dismissed the thought instantly. She was wearing the ANBU uniform for now, and was supposed to change into civilian wear once they neared the Hidden Sand village. Though Autumn had officially arrived, the weather in the Land of Wind would be largely unaffected. At most, it would be very windy.
Asuma brushed his shoulder along Ibiki's. "She'll be fine." His low voice was reassuring but Ibiki's nerves were too tightly coiled. Asuma's students were all safe in the confines of their homes and clan district. Ibiki had one comatose student, one on a mission abroad and one most likely still up reading and sorting through classified information. Team 11 was anything but fine.
Ibiki caught Iruka's eyes, as the latter looked at him with mournful eyes. Iruka stumbled and grabbed Ibiki's sleeve. Ibiki paused and caught the man. Iruka dropped his head to his chest. Shikaku sighed.
"'m sorry..." Iruka mumbled, half-muffled by the rain and Ibiki's leather coat. Asuma shared a look with Kurenai. Ibiki patted his back, feeling the tremors running through the Chuunin. Not everything was lost.
"Me too."
Iruka took a shivering breath and let Shikaku lead him away. The warm spot where Iruka had leaned against, cooled down rapidly. Ibiki looked after them until Asuma pushed him along. Ibiki sighed, smiling at Kurenai's questioning eyes. The five made their way through Konoha's nightly streets in silence, letting the rain wash their tired faces.
Near the Land of Rivers, dawn~
Ryuya stumbled her last few steps and was only stopped from face-planting in the grass by a cloud of sand cushioning her fall. Her head shot up and she blinked until she saw Gaara, studying his feet. Quickly, she got to her sore feet and ducked her head, feeling out of place with her ANBU mask.
It had eight circles, two of which were holes for her eyes, painted on to represent eight eyes. They formed two parallel lines straight down the mask on either side. It was a simple but horrible design, supposedly a spider as a homage to her recently acquired summons and Ryuya hated it. She hated spiders and she hated even more that she could only summon them by drawing out Chi's chakra.
A hand grabbed her neck and yanked her up. Owl looked down at her and the scowl, though hidden behind her mask, was obvious. Ryuya flushed and looked ahead, determined to keep standing this time. They still had a full two-day journey ahead and Ryuya had never been so grateful for Ibiki's gruesome conditioning. Still, her own chakra was reaching the end of her reserves and soon she would have to actively reach for the cold burn of Chi's chakra and mix it with her own to ease the feeling.
The forest was thinning as they neared the border of the Land of Rivers. The sky traded its inky darkness for navy and soon would turn pastel blue with vivid streaks of orange and red as the sun rose. They had been traveling for seven hours now and Ryuya was awake only by the grace of her will.
The Sand-siblings fared much better, still alert and barely panting. Ryuya felt sluggish besides them. Owl nudged her and discreetly handed her a food pill. Ryuya's ears turned red but she took it and quickly lifted her mask to put it in her mouth. It was bitter and dry, but it did its job.
"Another ten minutes before we continue." Owl announced.
Kankuro nodded and sat down against a large birch. Ryuya was tempted to follow but the many drills they she had been through stopped her. ANBU weren't supposed to get tired, or relax on missions. Ryuya wasn't ANBU but she had to act like one for now.
Owl signed at her. Check perimeter for pursuers. Ryuya signed a confirmation back and jumped on a low branch above Kankuro. His eyes followed her as she disappeared in the canopy. The air was crisp and the leaves wet with dew. Her uniform was thick and warm, especially since her shoulders weren't bare like Owl's.
Ryuya wore a gray shirt underneath the standard ANBU armor. It was a gift from Ibiki after her body recovered more. She didn't need to wear the heavily armored variation of the navy uniform anymore. With an eye on her mobility, Ibiki had given her a skintight set of nondescript gray clothes, woven from a stretchy but extremely durable fabric. In the sunlight, Ryuya could see the rows of seals stitched on the inside. The first time she saw them, she also noticed the rough sketches in white pencil outlining the neat black threads. She didn't pretend not to recognize Chi's sharp handwriting but refused to let it consume her. The guilt from her memories of the hospital clawing at her spine were enough.
Ryuya spread her senses out, carefully forming a spiderweb. Her chakra spread out in a wide semi-circle. It slithered shakily over the branch, and drew lines in the air. It felt like rubbing her hand over sandpaper. Leaves, ants, tiny grooves and ridges slowed the thin lines. She pushed herself harder. Her chakra-reserves had grown but a lot of effort was still going towards her recovery. She frowned in concentration, wondering how much she could spare for this.
Chi's chakra was like the foreboding rumble of thunder at the horizon. It tugged at the back of her mind but she refused to let it in. She had gotten better at that. Cat had taught her to control and recognize her own chakra even if she didn't understand what was happening. Owl understood but she had enough chakra of her own to not even notice the little gateway to Chi.
It tugged again, persistently. Ryuya felt her hands beginning to shake. Even when Chi was comatose, her chakra had a life of its own. Ryuya's web was not wide enough to set a safe perimeter. Frustrated, she opened her eyes and let it fizzle out. Cursing all the way through the seals, she bit her thumb hard and slammed her palm down. With a harsh pull, Chi's cold chakra surged through her veins.
"Summoning jutsu!"
From underneath her fingers, tiny black spiders began to crawl out. Ryuya swallowed and waited until she felt something tickle the palm of her hand. As dignified as she could, she lifted her hand and looked down at the fist sized tarantula before her. The spider had all eight eyes locked on her and when she spoke, it was in a voice soft and hoarse.
"Summoner."
Ryuya nodded. "Hi Aki, how are the children?"
Family was apparently a big thing for the spiders. Ryuya had learned the hard way when she first summoned the spider and didn't ask about the few dozen children she had. Aki had send them all to crawl in her clothes until she begged for mercy and Chi had to be restrained by Ibiki before she cut them down.
Aki's eyes blinked. "Well, thank you. Why have you summoned us so early?"
Ryuya shifted in her crouch, careful not to step on any of the offspring, and waved her hand in a circle. "I need you to scout the area for me and secure the perimeter."
Aki blinked again and let out a short, sharp hiss. Instantly, the tiny spiders froze for a second before scurrying off in all directions. Akki slowly made her way up Ryuya's foot while the latter held her breath. Aki had no rush. She calmly made her way to Ryuya's knee and sat for as far as spiders could sit.
"It has been a while, Summoner."
There were so many underlying questions to that statement, Ryuya felt dizzy trying to formulate an answer. She settled with a tight nod. "A lot has happened."
Aki's top two eyes blinked. Ryuya refused to believe it was cute. Her internal clock told her she only had three minutes left before they would take off again. It didn't matter to the spiders, they would relay their information from whatever distance and then disperse themselves.
Ryuya sat down carefully, groaning as her cramped legs stretched. "You are not yet healed." Aki stated again. Ryuya nodded, hoping she'd drop the subject. It was bad enough to stare at the horrible dis-figurations in the morning, she didn't need pity from a tarantula.
"We're on our way to the Hidden Sand Village, to escort the late Kazekage's children." Ryuya told her curtly.
"I see," Aki murmured, "I have missed a lot I suppose."
Ryuya hadn't summoned them since Chuunin Exams had began. She wished she could have during the written exam, but there was no way to perform the jutsu without drawing attention. Ibiki had given the scroll to her when he gave Shinji the Owl-summon. Vital to gathering intelligence, he had said. Chi didn't require them because her skills were more suited to leave no loose ends. Ryuya desperately needed something of her own. Something that could give her a reputation. Spider-summons it was.
"Jorogumo-sama will not be pleased." Aki continued, "Please let us roam for a bit longer."
Ryuya grimaced at the mention of the Spider-queen. She had never summoned her before and wasn't too keen on meeting her, if the stories of her brutality were true. Jorogumo was the ultimate spy, according to many spies in the T&I office. The spider could transform into a woman and draw information out of anyone using her beauty, or her venomous claws. Just like her subordinates, she used fire-style Ninjutsu as well as Genjutsu. She was also merciless towards failure and ate those who didn't meet her standards.
"Sure." Ryuya sighed, before a spike of chakra alerted her. Aki clung to her pants as she rose and jumped back into the clearing. Owl looked at her and at Aki. She nodded and turned away.
"Let's continue."
Aki settled on Ryuya's left shoulder like a warm stone and Ryuya tried not to breath in her direction. She fell back until the entire group was moving.
"What is wrong with that one?" Aki asked quietly.
Ryuya turned her head, eyes falling on Temari. Her steps faltered but she kept going. The oldest daughter of the Kazekage had mostly kept to herself throughout her journey. She had been hospitalized for three weeks after Chi took her down. According to Inoichi she was going to be fine, but her body obviously wasn't used to the abuse it had gone through. Chi's jutsu had generated a Genjutsu in her own mind, using her own chakra. It was bound to have effect. She told Aki as much and the spider hummed.
"Chi is the one whose chakra you use, correct?"
Ryuya kept her gaze ahead. The sun was beginning to peek over the horizon. A ray of light momentarily blinded her and she blinked the dots away.
"There is no shame in using resources." Aki said in response to Ryuya's silence. "I suppose I do not know the full story, yet."
"You don't." Ryuya snapped, keeping her voice down. Luckily, Aki was not offended by anything not related to her family.
"I will." she replied tonelessly. Ryuya sighed, feeling a headache build behind her eyes. Aside from the lack of sleep that made her eyes dry and her mouth taste bitter, the wind cut into her skin and she could feel blisters form on her feet. It was a horrible journey and to add to the injury, she was now actively using Chi's chakra to keep moving.
She wanted to be home, in her bed and still sleep for another half hour before dragging herself out for another day at the office. She missed the scent of coffee and fresh buns in her home, the sounds of her siblings chattering and her parents laughing. Ryuya blinked the memories away and dragged her focus back.
This mission was important. They were discreetly escorting the Kazekage's children and the Sand's Jinchuuriki (and wasn't that a surprise) back to their home after their invasion failed. The three kids had been interrogated for hours upon hours by Ibiki and Anko. Shinji had written reports until her fingers bled.
Inoichi had been last, taking extra care with Gaara, who was remarkably quiet and less thirsty for blood. Inoichi couldn't touch Temari though. The girl reacted so badly when she learned of his mind-walking technique, it was deemed best to just let her be. No point causing another diplomatic quarrel on top of the obvious ones.
Ryuya mentally ticked off the list an exhausted Shikaku had drawn up before stumbling away to find a bar. Just beneath 'Attempt to invade Konoha' and 'Working along side long-time traitor Orochimaru', was 'Sending an unstable Jinchuuriki without proper supervision' and 'Attempted murder on a Jonin'.
On the Hidden Leaf's side, there was 'Sweet-talking an unstable Jinchuuriki after cognitive recalibration by our-' though this one had been crossed out multiple times by a panicking Inoichi, and 'Use of extreme information extracting methods on a princess' and finally 'Imprisoning a Jonin-teacher on grounds of attempted murder'. Ryuya was no lawyer, but she didn't think Konoha was being the bad guy here by holding on to the trio for just a bit longer.
The border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers was a quiet one. The lush trees melted away to show a clay-like underground and mountains began to show in the distance. The sun shot painful rays of light in everyone's eyes as it rose over the horizon. Ryuya felt naked without the steady cover of Konoha's thick trees. Here, the trees were sparse and thin.
They crossed the north of the country, where the distance to the Land of Wind was shortest, but not so far up north to near the patch of land between the Land of Wind and Land of Earth. Officially the patch had no name, because it was too small. In reality, it was divided in three parts and each was ruled by the village. The village near the border of the Land of Rivers was the Hidden Rain village.
Ryuya had seen a lot of Genin from the Hidden Rain during the Chuunin Exams, but she wasn't sure how many had made it out. She just remembered them to be grumpy and quick to start fights outside the exams. Ibiki had been too impressed by them either and kept both Shinji and her away from the skirmishes. Chi was the only one he didn't bother to shield, mainly because she spend all her time training and preparing. Privately Ryuya thought Ibiki was just hoping for Chi to burst out in anger and scare the light out of the troublemakers.
It never came to that, but in the month between the second and third round everyone had developed a healthy fear of Chi. Her status as student of the Head of Torture and Interrogation added fuel to the rumors of her greatly exaggerated skills. Inoichi called it 'Psychological Warfare', Shinji called it 'Nosy aunty talk' and Ryuya kept her mouth shut about Chi.
Owl signaled her and Ryuya snapped to attention. Gaara's head was already turned to the new chakra signatures approaching them from the left. The group slowed to a halt. Ryuya took up the rear, hand ready on the storage seal inscribed on her belt. She had some Kenjutsu lessons and could defend herself well enough, but she stood no chance against a high-level Chuunin. They waited in silence until three figures blurred into view.
Two men and one woman, dressed in the local standard uniform, stepped closer. The woman was short and broad, with a large scar bisecting her cheek from jaw to eyebrow. The man on the left was tall and gaunt, with a mop of brown hair flopping in his lazy eyes. The other man was bald and had black tattoos crawling over one side of his scalp.
Owl met them halfway, hand on her tanto, and wordlessly held out their documents. The woman took it and opened the scroll. The two men spread out on either side and kept an eye on them.
"Can you state your religious backgrounds?" The woman asked, handing the scroll back.
Owl tilted her head. "What for?"
The tall man sighed and put a hand on his hip. "Just double checking. There is this weirdo going around the area here, shouting nonsense about his Lord. Left a nice trail of bodies so we need to check you're not one of his cult."
The Sand siblings exchanged bewildered looks. Ryuya felt just as lost. The trio in front of them looked weary.
"Agnostic." Owl said curtly after a pause, earning a discreet eye-roll from the tattooed man. She flicked her wrist at Ryuya who straightened.
"Buddhist." she said with more confidence than she felt. The woman nodded and turned to the siblings. Temari didn't seem too keen to respond but beat Kankuro to it nonetheless.
"We are atheists."
That was a lie. Ryuya knew that Sand had their own deities and branches of Buddhism but the Kazekage and his family were not allowed to show any affiliation with religion because of their political status. Aki hummed on her shoulder. "Smart kids."
"What is this... man doing?" Owl asked.
The woman sighed, her scar distorting her young face. "He is a Jashinist. Strange cult of people trying to become immortal through sacrifices. Only one of them is identified- the weirdo- and he sacrifices multiple people at once."
"Dangerous?" Owl mused. Ryuya felt tension creep into her spine. The journey had gone too easy after all.
The tattooed man nodded slowly. "S-rank at least. The few who survived a sacrifice long enough reported he is a missing-nin from Hot Water and carries a huge red scythe." He shook his head, and Ryuya saw the dragon curving around his ear, inky streaks depicting fire spread over his temple.
Owl didn't make a sound, but Ryuya could read the displeasure radiating off her. This would end up as a side-quest for them. Owl nodded and put the scroll back in her pouch.
"Engage or flee?"
The woman pursed her lips, eying the group. Her gaze stuttered over Ryuya, thrown off by her slight figure, and went back to Owl. "Flee. Unless one these kids is immortal too."
The woman signaled the men who immediately joined her. "There are some crazy folks running around these days." she said in lieu of goodbye.
Owl nodded and turned away. Ryuya send a small wave before jumping after the group.
"They are laughing at you." Aki informed her. "Please refrain from acting childish."
Ryuya bit on her tongue to stop a harsh retort from escaping her. Aki was right. Acting like the wide-eyed Genin she was would only make her a perfect target while she was dressed as an ANBU.
They reached the border with the Land of Wind in the afternoon, keeping up a brutal pace. They made camp just outside the border, while they still had the shadows of the trees and a meager river to profit from. Ryuya yanked Chi's chakra in her system to keep her trembling legs from giving in. The siblings were under no obligations to be professional and collapsed on the ground. Owl didn't say a word and instead secured the perimeter. Ryuya gave the ground one last longing glance before following her out of earshot.
"Owl-san?"
Owl spared her a brief glance as she squinted at the distant dunes.
"Why were you so eager to get away from the Land of Rivers?" Ryuya kept her tone light. Aki was completely still.
Owl twitched and turned to her. "That is above your pay-grade."
Ryuya inspected her tense shoulders and her firmly planted feet. "You don't know?"
"Orders are orders, Spider." Owl snarled suddenly. Ryuya reeled back, eyes wide in shock. Owl send her a withering glare and stalked off.
"She feels outnumbered." Aki observed. "She has too much responsibility."
"That's why I'm here." Ryuya muttered, unable to keep the bitterness out of her tone. Aki didn't reply.
They were allowed to rest for three blissful hours in total silence. Kankuro stayed close to his sister and they slept under the watchful eye of Gaara, who apparently never slept. Ryuya had done her best to stay clear from him. An unstable kid with an unstable demon trapped in- what she heard was- a terrible seal didn't seem like her kind of person.
Ryuya planted herself in one of the last trees around and stretched her sore legs out over the gnarly branch. Aki climbed on her chest as she tried to make herself as horizontal as possible. Ryuya barely hid a grimace at the hairy legs brushing her chin. Her mask pressed down on her nose and the inside was wet from her sweat and breath. Ryuya missed the office and its almost sterile walls. Funnily enough, she also missed the flour-dusted walls of the bakery. The way her parents always had enough dough on their arms and faces to make another loaf out of it.
"Sleep," Aki told her, "you will have a long journey next."
Ryuya yawned sleepily, "Perimeter?"
"All clear." Aki confirmed. Ryuya nodded and closed her eyes.
She opened them the next second, though nearly three hours had passed in between judging by the low sun. Blearily she got up and stretched her stiff muscles. The camp was still quiet. Kankuro and Temari were still asleep while Gaara was staring in the distance. Owl was meditating just ahead of them.
Gaara's eyes flicked to Ryuya when she landed on the ground. Ryuya paid him no attention and walked to Owl. The latter only acknowledged her presence by flaring her chakra just enough for Ryuya to sense. She returned the gesture, forgetting that she was not using her own chakra at the moment, and in a blink of an eye she had a blade pressed against her throat.
"Who are you?" Owl hissed in her ear, appearing behind her.
Ryuya bit her tongue and forced her voice to come out clear and calm. She could sense the Sand-siblings stirring behind them. The muted force that was Gaara slowly began to unfurl.
"Spider. I am currently using Ch- someone's chakra." Ryuya replied quietly.
"How?" Owl demanded. Her tanto was still pressed against her neck.
"Blood bond." Ryuya explained. "She took my blood, which means I can use her chakra now. We're connected."
"Why do you use her chakra?"
Ryuya exhaled slowly. She could hear Kankuro whisper something to Temari though his accent was too strong for her to understand what he was saying. "I ran out." She admitted.
Owl huffed and lowered her tanto. "Next time, just show me your summon instead of revealing your secret weapon."
Ryuya flushed. Owl wasn't finished. She gestured for the siblings to get up and ready. As they wisely stayed away from them, she leaned closer to Ryuya again. "Also, never admit you're out of chakra, even if they have a sensor-type."
Ryuya nodded tersely. From the corner of her eye she saw Temari staring at her, eyes wide and glazed. Kankuro grabbed her arm and gently led her away. Ryuya swallowed her words and left.
The dry clay was soon replaced by golden sand, shimmering under the setting sun. Soon they would reach the first outpost and from then on get escorted to the village. The temperature dropped dramatically as darkness fell and Aki scurried behind Ryuya's breastplate. They sped over the dunes until Gaara stopped and pointed ahead.
"They are coming."
Ryuya stiffened at his voice but there was no danger. Owl summoned a large green flag from a scroll and held it up. A giant leaf was emblazoned on the glossy fabric. It swayed miserably in the weak wind.
Aki climbed back up. "One of my daughters has found the Jashinist. He is near the border too, about half a day south from our point."
Ryuya's heart skipped a beat. Without preamble she hurried to Owl's side, feeling the back of her neck prickle with the gaze of the trio. Owl spared her a glance as Ryuya relayed the information to her in short code. Owl nodded and send her back to guard the rear.
The team from Sand consisted of six Jonin and one huge eagle that circled high above their heads. Owl kept her back straight and her head high even as the six send her matching glares. The first man stepped forward. He was dressed in the Jonin outfit of Sand, though he had chosen to hide the lower half of his face with a white bandanna and he had a massive bow strapped to his back.
"We will take over." he said in a rough voice.
Owl tensed. "Our mission is to bring them to the gates of your village."
"Not anymore." The man replied.
"Unacceptable." Owl bit out. The man shrugged but his eyes were dangerous.
"You can imagine we're not so fond of you Leaf folks these days."
Owl's hand landed on the hilt of her tanto. "And who is to blame for that?"
The Jonin shifted, eyes narrowing on Owl. Ryuya gulped but stepped forward. Neither of the siblings made a move. She noticed one Jonin warily eying Gaara and purposefully stepped in between them. If that man somehow managed to piss off Gaara, they were all screwed. Her instincts screamed at her but she pushed through and walked closer to Owl. The Jonin looked at her.
"I'm sure we can solve this easily." Ryuya said, keeping her tone light. Owl twitched. Aki's leg brushed her jawline.
"Tell them it's out of concern." The spider whispered in her ear.
"We could have send them alone," Ryuya continued, hoping she was charming enough," but we refused to let these children travel in these uncertain times. Surely, you can understand why we want to escort them until the end."
The man eyed her and his lips curled into a smirk. "Children, you say?"
Ryuya nodded, refusing to rise to the bait. A woman stepped forward, dressed in long drapes, and whispered something in the man's ear. He thought it over and looked back at Ryuya intently.
"Fine," he said, "but only you can come along."
Owl stiffened. Ryuya felt her stomach drop.
"Do it." Aki hissed in her hear, making her jolt. The man noticed Aki and his hand went to his belt, where a series of throw-knives were displayed. Ryuya quickly lifted her hand.
"Don't attack my companion." Even if the spider sometimes deserved it.
"Summon my brother, Akihiro. He will join Owl." Aki whispered again. Ryuya rolled her eyes and turned to Owl, who was watching them with angry eyes.
All clear-Separate-Best option. Ryuya signed at her with one hand. Owl's chakra spiked but she wrestled it down.
"Let them come along." Kankuro suddenly said. He scratched under his hood. "They got nothing else to do and they came all the way here."
The man shook his head. "We cannot do that, Kankuro-sama. We will only let one of them join us."
The silence hung between them. Ryuya felt her throat run dry.
"I will come along then." She heard herself say. Owl snapped towards her. Ryuya bit her thumb, allowing an onslaught of Chi's chakra to overwhelm her. Unintended Killer Intent spread over the area and she reigned it in before it could alert the whole desert.
"Summoning jutsu!"
The Sand Jonin jumped back, weapons out in a second. Owl gave her a funny look. Ryuya got up and held out her hand. Another tarantula rested on her palm, looking supremely unimpressed by the situation.
"Brother." Aki murmured. Akihiro turned and dipped lightly. "Sister. Summoner."
"How is your family?" Ryuya inquired politely.
Akihiro hummed. "Fine, thank you." He turned to Owl and swayed on his eight legs. Ryuya grimaced. He shot in the air and landed squarely on Owl's mask. Ryuya could taste the panic from her.
"We will keep in touch." she said quickly.Owl glared daggers at her but grudgingly allowed Akihiro to settle on her head.
The man gave her a long look but lowered his knives, signaling for the rest to do the same. "We will leave immediately."
Ryuya nodded despite the growing ball of anxiety in her chest. Owl gave her a final warning look and Flickered away. No one was under the impression that she was really gone but they had no time to waste. They had to travel at night to avoid the harsh glare of the sun.
"You can stay with Rai." The man said, pointing at a massive guy sporting a long cloak. Ryuya nodded and stepped closer to him.
"Puppeteer." Aki confirmed. Ryuya eyed the huge bulge on his back and agreed.
Rai was in front of the group, flanked by the man and woman. The siblings were in the center and the rest of the Jonin spread out around them. The eagle flew ahead of them as they sped over the dunes. Ryuya gritted her teeth, trying to keep her feet from sinking in the sand.
"Careful." Aki said with the ease of someone being carried. "Think of it as water-walking."
Ryuya bit back a retort and looked around. Rai, despite his frame, shot over the sand with grace of a dancer. Concentrating, Ryuya tried to balance herself using chakra and immediately shot forwards, landing stretched out over the ground.
The group didn't stop, but she could hear them snickering as they ran passed her. Kankuro shook his head and Gaara turned around briefly, but neither stopped. Ryuya cursed under her breath, making Aki gasp, and sped after them. Rai kept a spot open for her and she didn't dare to stray. Her feet still slipped over the grains but she had a whole night ahead to practice.
"Owl is investigating the Jashinist, parallel to our route on the other side of the border." Aki informed her.
Anbu were nothing if not efficient. Ryuya clenched her jaw , determined to not be left behind and channeled more chakra. Chi's cool signature flooded her veins. Rai send her a wary look but she ignored him. As long as Chi's chakra didn't mess with Temari, it was fine, she decided.
Village Hidden in the Sand, dawn~
The village glittered in the sun. At least, that's what Ryuya imagined it would. She was not allowed past the massive gate. On either side a towering wall spread in a large, rough circle. Merchants were scattered around it, finding the best spots to endure the blistering sun later on. Various trinkets and food stalls were in the process of being set up against the wall. Some of the merchants eyed the group with interest, hands buried in burlap sacks filled with their wares.
Rai took off without a word, followed by the rest of the Jonin, who went to report to a man waiting near the guard post. It was Temari who tapped on her shoulder as she shuffled her feet.
"There is a hostel for travelers just a bit further." Temari said blandly. Her eyes were aimed at Ryuya's chin. She pointed ahead.
Ryuya blinked at her and followed her finger. She could only see the curved edge of the red stone wall that encased the village.
"Walk around the wall and you'll see it in an hour." Temari continued as if these weren't the first words she had spoken in days. Like Ryuya wasn't the teammate of the one who had nearly fried her brain.
Ryuya nodded hesitantly. She had some money to spend and really needed a place to change her appearance so she could infiltrate the village. "Thank you, Temari-sama."
Temari gave her an odd look and shook her head. "Thank you, for stopping the invasion."
Ryuya gaped at her but the older girl already turned away and joined her brothers. The team of escorts joined them again and brought them away. Rai looked at Ryuya and shook his head minutely. Ryuya scowled openly and turned on her heel. She was going to write up a mean report about this mission.
"Please do not wander around like a tourist in your ANBU uniform." Aki sighed in her ear.
Flushing once again, Ryuya Flickered away. She ended up fifteen meters further. A passing woman dressed in white robes gave her a strange look, which Ryuya stoically ignored. Why is this my life?
A small boy snorted, one hand clutching a cup of tea and the other holding his younger sister back, and looked between Ryuya and the spot she had previously occupied. Ryuya groaned quietly and ducked behind a little stall propped up against the wall. She brought her hands together for a Transformation jutsu, not flinching at the cold surge of Chi's chakra in her body. Her mask changed into a face vaguely inspired by Genma, and her clothes changed into the weathered cloak she had seen Rai wear. Aki sat at the base of her neck, seemingly completely at ease despite Ryuya's repeated whimpers whenever one of her eight legs scratched over her skin.
The little hostel Temari had mentioned was little more than a large, white tent with a row of smaller white tents beside it. Each tent had a rickety chair holding the entrance of free tents open. Ryuya peered at them with a questioning look before turning to the large tent.
"Someone is watching you." Aki muttered in her ear. It took all of Ibiki's training to keep Ryuya from snapping up. She simply sighed in dismay, shaking her head at the poor 'room' and meandered on.
"Where?" she asked, volume just above a breath.
Aki was quiet for a moment. "Now behind you. Shinobi, but out of shape. Not from here. Smell him, he is sweating."
Ryuya grimaced but took a deep breath. Among the scent of hot rock, dust, fresh coffee and iron, was the salt of sweat. It could have come from her, but ANBU send out on missions to the desert were giving powders to rub themselves in. The powder absorbed sweat and neutralized the scent. Ryuya was planning on taking some home for future dates.
The back of her neck pricked. Now that Aki had warned her, it was easy to imagine a shinobi preying on a small figure. Ryuya's disguise would not last in a battle. Should have picked a room... She quickened her pace. Aki clicked disapprovingly.
"Confront him. Get information and then kill him." she ordered. Ryuya bristled though her stomach rolled at the thought of having to kill. The only members of Team 11 to have killed before were Ibiki and Chi. The former was obvious and the latter had told them after her return from Wave country when her C-rank mission with Team 7 turned A-rank.
"Where?" Ryuya casually swept her gaze around. There was only dry, cracked ground and the wall. On her left was the single hard road that led travelers out of the desert. It was no more than a two meter wide stroke of pressed sand that stopped abruptly to form the wide circle around the village wall. Aki had informed her of the barriers that bordered the area, disguised as cacti and the occasional skull. Seals, once a gift from the Land of Whirlpools, hidden in plain view.
Theoretically, the entire area was perfect for a quick assassination. Merchants preferred to stay closer to the gate for supplies and entrance to the city, so the hostel was one of the last signs of life she had encountered. Aki didn't even bother to respond.
"Where is Owl-san?" Ryuya asked instead, swallowing past the lump in her throat.
"ANBU don't use honorifics to one another." Aki corrected first, "She is a day away, but will be delayed because of the border patrol. I'll give the full report later."
Ryuya dared a glance back and bit her tongue. The man was close enough for her to see the brown stains on his green flak jacket. She frowned. Konoha was the only village with green jackets.
"Leaf shinobi." Aki murmured, though confusion colored her tone.
Rogue?
There was no time for games. Ryuya gathered Chi's chakra in her legs, pleased to note her own had been replenished in the meantime, and jumped on the side of the wall. She shot forward, using her painstakingly trained control to stick to the red rock. Not even a second later, she heard a thump and heavy breaths following her. Ryuya reached to the seal on her belt, summoning a shuriken. She jumped and turned in the air, throwing and scanning the man in one go.
He was big but underfed. Olive skin, dark eyes and black hair that was pinned back. His clothes were scrappy remains of a regular Leaf Jonin, though his headband was missing and he was wearing a short cloak. He dodged the shuriken with relative ease and sped up. Ryuya cursed when he performed the fastest Body Flicker she had ever witnessed and appeared right in her path as she turned.
"Peace." He grabbed her arms and held her up. Ryuya snarled and let the transformation drop, startling him, and twisted free. She gritted her teeth, determined not to fall all the way to the ground, and pressed her feet to the wall again.
"Negotiate." Aki hissed, clutching on her hair.
Ryuya summoned the short tanto that was part of the ANBU attire and aimed it at his jugular. The man blinked at the sharp blade, glinting in the rising sun. The cool of the night was quickly leaving and Ryuya could feel a headache build behind her eyes as it became brighter. She tensed as the man's lips curled in a smile.
"Peace." he repeated in a smooth baritone.
"Why should I believe you?" Ryuya replied, slowly stepping to the left. The man mirrored her.
"We are both from the Hidden Leaf." he said easily. He lifted his hands in the global gesture of surrender. "No need to be enemies, Missy."
Ryuya narrowed her eyes. Her chakra rose to meet her demands, warming her body as it mixed with Chi's chakra. Her heart sped as the raw energy flooded her body. The lightest hint of Killer Intent became palpable in the air.
The man shifted but by then, he was already facing the sun and he flinched back. Ryuya grinned.
"Name?"
She had enough chakra to form a clone and then Flicker to the top of the wall so she could jump over. If he said something ridiculous like Uchiha or Senju, she was leaving, precious information be damned.
"Shin," the man answered, lifting his cloak to shield his eyes. "Shin Ketsueki."
Ryuya froze. Shin looked at her from the shadow. His eyes, previously a regular shade of brown, were now bright yellow. His eyes were narrow and half-lidded, framed with dark lashes. His cheekbones jutted out under his skin. He grinned again. "Remember that name?"
Aki let out a low hum, as close to a growl as she could manage. Ryuya tightened her grip on her tanto. "Ketsueki's are gone."
Shin's eyes flashed. "Are we?"
"We?" Ryuya echoed, feeling a cold stone settle in her gut.
Shin lowered his cloak. "Not as many as we used to have, but there is still plenty of us left. Let me show you, Missy."
Ryuya stepped back. "No. And don't call me that." she forced herself to say. Her brain was begging her to learn more. If she could return to Konoha with the knowledge that a dead clan was still alive, she'd be promoted instantly. Ibiki would be so proud of her. Shinji would be jealous but her curiosity would be too strong for her to ignore. Chi would...
Ryuya bit her lip. Chi would have a family again. They might be able to deal with her and they could help the doctors fix whatever it is that Itachi did to her.
Shin looked at her with the same piercing gaze Chi had whenever she wanted someone to obey. "Please Missy, we just want to know how our heiress is doing."
Aki hissed. Ryuya ignored her, feeling the heat of the sun on her back. "I told you not to call me that,and why not ask her yourself?"
If anything, Shin's eyes turned paler. His grin lost its friendly edge and became sharp. "We're not on the best of terms now..."
"You fought?"
No amount of horror movies could probably measure up to the gore of a fight between two members of that clan. According to the few books on them, their bloodline was not limited to certain members of the clan, nor was it needed to keep the clan 'pure'. Anyone with at least one parent of the clan, would inherit the power to control blood. One, half-torn page of an obscure book even described the 'creation' of a Ketsueki.
"No, she doesn't even know we survived." Shin giggled like he just told a great joke. "But she might want to finish the job if she does!"
Ryuya frowned, feeling like she lost the thread of the conversation. Shin spread his arms to the side and pulled out his headband in the same movement. The Leaf symbol shone brightly. "We are still loyal to the Hokage, Missy. Don't worry."
"Go." Aki murmured. Ryuya jolted. Shin looked her over questioningly.
"Where is the rest?" Ryuya asked, lowering her tanto. Shin grinned and she was beginning to loathe the sound. It didn't sound like he meant it. It was more like he couldn't control it. He licked his teeth, similar to Chi in that they both had very sharp canines.
"Just follow me, Missy." he looked satisfied, "Might have to take off the mask though, Bossy doesn't like reminders of the ANBU."
Without another word he turned and jumped on the ground. Ryuya took a moment to mourn her life and to accept that Owl was going to dismember her, before following. At least Aki was quiet.
Three hours North-East of the Hidden Sand Village~
There was a camp in the desert.
Ryuya licked her dry lips and took her surroundings in. Shin had lead her to a circle of navy, Konoha-standard issue tents that were used for long distance traveling. They looked old and the colors faded by the weather. All around them, people stepped out to look at her curiously.
Men and woman, all with skin tones varying from snow white to deep olive, and black hair. Ryuya absently noted the lack of brown hair, like Chi's hair, while looking warily at the man approaching them. His dark hair was held back in a ponytail, though a few curls had escaped and curled around his face.
"I recognize him." Aki suddenly said.
The man neared them. Ryuya didn't think he was much older than Kakashi. He could even be younger, this environment wasn't exactly the secret to a youthful skin. He carried himself with confidence that came from being strong. Unlike Shin, he had kept up with his training regime though he was a bit leaner than he originally was, judging by his clothes.
He wore the mesh armor Jonin wore underneath the navy shirt, over-sized sleeves hiding his figure, and the navy trousers tucked into sandals. Bandages were out of the question in this heat and Ryuya could personally attest to that. Her ankles were slick with sweat and her sensitive skin was burning. Memories of the cave flared up unwillingly and she stomped them down.
"Shin." The man acknowledged with a nod and a smile, "You brought a guest?"
Shin laughed and sauntered off. "A funny one, Bossy." He disappeared into one of the nearby tents. The man watched him go and brought his attention back on Ryuya who felt herself snap to attention.
"Would you be so kind to give me your name and face?" he asked.
Ryuya blinked at him, wondering if she heard right. Aki tapped her mask with one leg. Oh- Reaching up, she released the hold of her chakra on the mask. Apparently, that is how the ANBU kept their masks on without any bindings: an advanced version of the leaf-sticking training. It was a miracle they still had so much of their ominous reputation left, with all their antics.
The air was hot and dry but a welcome change from feeling her hot breath on her face. The man smiled at her, eyes inspecting her face. Ryuya cracked a polite smile with dry lips. "Mai." she introduced herself.
"Kosuke Ketsueki." he replied, looking at ease in the scorching sun, "Follow me, please."
She ignored the lingering stares of the other clan-members (a whole clan-) and stepped in the largest tent as he held the flap open. He accepted her murmured thanks with another wide smile and Ryuya was beginning to wonder if Chi was adopted. She never laughed so casually and it was all her clan seemed to do.
The interior of the tent was cramped, but the lack of furniture left enough space to sit down. Light came from a small candle in the center of the room, though it wasn't dark. The temperature was stifling and Ryuya could feel beads of sweat instantly forming on her skin.
There was a rough, woven carpet that took up the entire ground. On all sides, were cylinder cushions framing the area. A dark, but tall shape was stretched out on the long side. Ryuya sat down opposite at glanced at, what she discovered, was a man fast asleep. Or he tried to seem asleep. His face was covered in a black cotton cloth but black curls peeked out underneath it. He had a staff on his side, one pale hand conveniently curled over it. His chakra was trembling with nerves.
Ryuya dragged her gaze to Kosuke, who was watching her with amused interest. He nodded at the pretender and gave an apologetic smile, but made no move to stop him. He sat down, leaning comfortably against the cushions. "Mai-san then," he had that same smile again, "what did Shin tell you?"
His eyes were a deep ruby. Automatically, Ryuya searched for the metal flask that Chi would have pulled out by now. Just a sip at the time, to sate the thirst, she had explained. Kosuke's, or the man's flask was hiding under the cushion behind him. Ryuya wondered how long it would take him before he had no choice but to drink.
"Not much," she said hesitantly,"just that some of the Ketsueki clan survived."
Kosuke nodded, but his smile dimmed. Ryuya bit the inside of her cheek, mind racing. She needed to play the naive kid, if only to give an excuse for her hesitant answers.
"Are you here for a mission?" Kosuke asked.
Ryuya licked her lips subconsciously, a movement that was followed by his sharp eyes, and nodded. "Yes, but I got separated and was hoping to find a place to spend the night."
"More are coming then?"
Ryuya forced herself to look flustered, while closely examining his reaction. The man in front of her stilled minutely, before resuming the deep breathing. Kosuke's expression pinched slightly. They don't like that. She did a mental victory dance before nodding and then shaking her head.
"Just one..." she mumbled, playing the part of a clumsy shinobi who just revealed her team. In the back of her head she wondered if they weren't acting like she was.
"Well, we shouldn't keep them waiting." Kosuke said, expression smoothing out.
Are we done? Ryuya panicked, feeling Aki's legs press into her neck. "Ah I have a question!" she blurted. Genuine heat rose to her cheeks this time. Her throat was like sandpaper. She'd kill for a glass of water.
Kosuke didn't move, his eyes were still on her. Ryuya searched for the right words, trying to keep his admittedly handsome features from distracting her. "I- What happened? How did you end up here?"
"Instead of returning to Konoha, you mean?" Kosuke sighed, but it was friendly. Ryuya nodded.
He sat up and rubbed a hand through his hair, fluffing the curls up. "The same reason they send a Genin disguised as ANBU to enemy territory."
Ryuya blanked. What does that have anything to do with it? Kosuke let her stew for a moment before his eyes crinkled. "Don't worry too much about it. It's a long, and complicated story but in the end the Hidden Leaf was no longer our home."
"I understand that," Ryuya said carefully, "I mean, anyone would leave after- after a being-" she couldn't find the word. Sweat dripped down her nose and she felt disgusting.
Kosuke looked amused. "After being murdered?"
Ryuya flinched but nodded. He looked tired but nodded slowly. "Yes... That night changed many things for us." He gave her a piercing look. "You are close with my- with Chi, right?"
Ryuya froze, shoulders tensing. The man in front of her took a deep breath. Wind, urged on by Chi's chakra played with the ends of her blue hair. Kosuke's eyes widened, but softened almost instantly. "You are... I can sense her in you."
Of course... Ryuya forced herself to relax again. "The blood-bond."
Kosuke nodded. "Yes, a very old one." he paused, lost in thoughts for a moment, before perking up, "How is she?"
In a coma. Ryuya plastered a timid smile on her face. "She's doing well. She's one of the strongest in our year though she graduated second-to-last."
Kosuke's eyes grew wide and a laugh escaped him, surprising them both. The 'sleeping' man twitched.
"She did?" Kosuke sobered, but there was a twinkle of mirth in his eyes. He glanced up at her, "Did she tell you about that night?"
Ryuya shook her head. "She doesn't tell us much about... you."
Kosuke nodded slowly, 'That I can understand. Mai-san, you might not realize this, but the greatest victim of that night is Chi."
"Oh I can!" Ryuya quickly corrected. "She grew up all alone in that forest..." she trailed off. There were a few images she could remember so vividly as that day after school had ended. It was a month after the Ketsueki massacre and the adult shinobi were strangely elated. Like a heavy weight had lifted from their shoulders. Ryuya remembered her uncle picking her up and walking out of the Academy's gate with him. She had looked back to wave at her sensei when she saw it.
There, in the setting sun, was Chi. She was all alone, Naruto had detention again. Ryuya watched as her uncle pulled her along, as her lonely figure found a path between the waiting parents and walked away. Whenever she saw Chi, Naruto or Sasuke, Ryuya was reminded that those three had absolutely no one left.
Except now, in Chi's case.
Kosuke gave her a ghost of a smile. "I guess she didn't tell you who committed the murders?"
"No... I heard it was her grandfather?" Ibiki had told her one night, to stop her from asking Chi.
Kosuke's face hardened. His eyes spit fire as he glared at the ground. "He wouldn't dirty his own hands like that."
Ryuya felt dizzy from both confusion and dehydration. "Then who?" she asked, silently begging the man to just get it over with. Kosuke gave her a long look.
"It was Chi."
Ryuya sat frozen. Her mouth opened and closed but no sound came out. Kosuke took pity on her and continued to explain. The words bounced around in the door, too loud and too quiet for Ryuya's stunned mind.
"Her grandfather twisted her mind, Mai-san. Chi was a child, just eight years old, and she loved him." he shook his head, as if he still couldn't believe it, "That night, I had returned earlier from a party to celebrate my promotion... There was a big meeting going on in our temple. I didn't like those meetings so I snuck away and hid in my room..."
His eyes were misty. Ryuya dug her fingers in her thighs, bracing herself. Kosuke played with a loose thread on his pants. "I just got in and took my vest off, when I heard the screams-" he choked. The other man suddenly rose. Ryuya shot up, hand on her seals. Kosuke snapped up.
The man rose to his feet, head stooped low to avoid the ceiling. He had curly black hair, cropped short unlike Kosuke, and pale skin. His eyes were closed. "Good morning," he said, tone completely out of place. Ryuya gave a shallow bow.
"What are you doing up? You'll burn outside." Kosuke reprimanded him. The tension had left his shoulders somewhat. The man grinned at him, eyes still closed, and kicked his staff up. With his free hand, he pulled his makeshift blanket over his head.
"I'm going to see if my princess is awake!"
Kosuke huffed without heat. "You're spoiling her. Go, get out of here!"
The man pouted but left anyway, staff searching the path ahead. "That is so rude. Don't you agree, Mai-chan?"
It took a second for Ryuya to react. She shrugged timidly, then stopped and said "It's okay. You can stay, or- or leave, I mean..."
The man laughed and pushed the flap open. "Don't scare her, Ko." he left.
Kosuke shook his head, "He doesn't like hearing about it..."
Ryuya swallowed, wincing at her dry throat, "I can imagine... You don't have to-"
"No," Kosuke interrupted, "it's important." He read Ryuya's silence as acceptance and continued his story. "Like I said, I heard screams from outside, so I left. When I got to the meeting, everyone was frozen. Elder Sai was in the center, with Chi on his lap. Before my eyes, he put her in the bucket and threw her in the well."
"Well?" Ryuya blurted.
Kosuke nodded gravely. "We store, or stored, our blood in a well so everyone had access to food. It should still be there, in the temple."
Ryuya nodded, motioning for him to continue, preferably before she got sick.
"I overrode the Mass Puppeteer jutsu he had performed and freed some of my friends and closest cousins. Our bond was the strongest so it was easier. We slipped back, trying to figure out how to get Chi out and defeat Sai. Just then, the first row exploded... "
Kosuke looked at her with haunted eyes. "You are aware that we all have our specialty, right? Chi-chan's ability is a Kinjutsu. I've thought about it for a long time, even studied it once when she still couldn't control it."
He grew agitated,"Normally, we need to connect with someone's blood before we can manipulate it, but Chi's ability gives her this tiny window of time where her chakra penetrates the opponent's body and latches onto their blood. Then, because she doesn't have an established bond yet, it wants to return to her body and it takes all the blood of the opponent along."
Ryuya's jaw was slack. A lot of thoughts rushed through her mind, but only one really stuck: She could have killed us at any time.
Kosuke calmed himself down and twiddled his thumbs. His voice jarred Ryuya out of her mind. "All that blood, from all the clan-members we couldn't free, it all went in the well... It flooded. With every body that was drained, her range grew, so we were forced to run, hiding behind a Genjutsu. One of us had trained a lot with Kurenai Yuuhi, do you know her?"
Ryuya nodded. "Kurenai-sensei is the best Genjutsu user in Konoha."
A strange look flitted over Kosuke's face. "Sensei, huh?"
Ryuya nodded again. Kosuke smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "She taught my cousin a Genjutsu that would hide us and we fled using that. We meant to go to the Hokage, but ANBU agents stopped us on our way and chased us away from the village. They killed a few of us before we got out of the Forest. They couldn't follow us there. One of them, a good kid, told us to flee because Danzo was coming for us."
He shrugged helplessly and Ryuya felt a stab of pity. The name of the elder was not new to her, nor was the accompanied anger. He was the face of ANBU, and liked to involve himself in T&I business. The one time she had asked Ibiki who that elderly man was who kept wandering the hallways of the office, Chi had released such an intense surge of Killer Intent, an entire squadron of ANBU had appeared to protect him. Ibiki had dragged all three of them away and told them to not, under any circumstances, interact or speak about Danzo Shimura. Even thinking of him was out of the question.
"We ran until we were a good two hours away." Kosuke continued, "But I had to get back. Chi was still there in that flooding well. They tried to convince me that she had drowned by then, or died of chakra-exhaustion, but I couldn't... She's my baby-cousin, I had to protect her."
Ryuya understood that sentiment, thinking of her own family. Kosuke's eyes were growing moist again. "I ran back. I ran so hard and fought my way through the Forest of Death. The ANBU were mostly gone by then. When I reached the compound, none of them had managed to breach the borders. I went in and went straight to the well. Elder Sai was bathing in blood. I had never seen anything like it... His final words to me were 'She's gone'. Chi-chan was gone..."
He cleared his throat, hand moving towards the flask. "I- I left. It wasn't until a year had gone by, when I heard that she had survived. It was pure luck too. We had set up a base in the south of the Land of Fire. There was a skirmish nearby and I went to check the perimeter. That same ANBU who had send us away, was there. He was dying. He refused my offers to treat him and instead told me Chi was alive and still in Konoha under the Hokage's protection. He died soon afterwards."
Silence hung heavy between them. Kosuke unscrewed the cap and took a quick sip. Ryuya watched with poorly disguised envy, hoping that she could refill her canteen soon. She cleared her throat. "Chi lives in the compound, alone."
Kosuke froze, eyes instantly on her. Ryuya wiped more sweat off her forehead. Her lips moved on her own. "She's friends with Naruto since childhood and they usually eat ramen together. She gets angry easily and can't control her Killer Intent. She's the tallest of our year, and wears an haori... She likes yellow. She hates ANBU and using senbon. Her handwriting looks like a typical doctor's writing, if the doctor had a seizure-"
Kosuke choked, and wiped his lips clean before she could see the blood. Ryuya politely ignored him. "She is extremely protective of us, her teammates. She's officially being trained to become a torture specialist but sensei says she's better at being a heavy assault shinobi. She fought Zabuza Momochi." She added after a moment.
Kosuke's eyes grew wide. "She did what?"
Ryuya smiled absently, looking down at her hands. She had spend most of the past weeks drifting between being afraid of Chi and wanting to get closer to Chi. For all her tendencies and faults, Chi was a nice friend to have. Ryuya's eyes burned. Cat had a point of course, warning her to not have too many friends as a spy and to be careful of the less than stable ones, but teammates were special.
"She grew up nice, all things considered." she murmured, feeling oddly like a proud sister.
It was quiet for moment. When she looked up, Kosuke was staring in the flame with a pained face. His hand closed around the flask, tight enough to turn his knuckles white. He had rolled up his sleeves at some point during his story and now there was a tattoo visible on his left underarm. It was round with a ton of squiggly lines but it the shadows made it hard to see.
"Thank you, Mai-san." Kosuke said quietly.
Ryuya smiled warmly, "Thank you for telling me what happened."
Kosuke hesitated for a moment but then got up, stretching his limbs. Ryuya followed immediately. "I won't keep you any longer, I suppose you want to get in the village, right?"
'Yes..." she answered sheepishly. The thirst was really getting to her now. Black spots danced in her vision. Kosuke's calloused hand closed around her arm gently and he led her outside, using his height to shield her from the sun. She didn't have the energy to stop him. Aki had been quiet for the longest time and now only let out a small hum.
"We have some water here. Take small sips-" he pressed the opening of a canteen against her lips and Ryuya drank, trying to reel her greediness in. Each sip of the lukewarm water was like a layer of cotton removed from her head. When her vision had cleared again, she looked in Kosuke's mud-brown eyes.
"We'll bring you to the village and get you inside before you know it." he winked.
Ryuya smiled at him. "Thank you, Ketsueki-san."
He shook his head, "Call me Kosuke, and remember: you have a bond with one of us. You are always welcome here."
It was only when she entered through a small gap in the wall, no more than a hollow semi-circle in the ground, that she realized she hadn't told them her real name. Yui, who had brought her, waved at her. Her pale orange eyes glinted in the sun and her dark fringe was swept up in the wind. A thin scar ran from her left eyebrow to her hairline. Ryuya felt the words die on her lips. She waved back, dumbly and ducked in the tiny tunnel. It was time to start her real mission.
