Chapter Four: Allegretto
Shortly after Tsunade had dismissed them, Genma pulled the squad into some semblance of order and before Iruka knew it, they were passing the village gates into the forest.
"Which direction should we head," Genma asked the red haired Sound ninja, since he seemed to be the one in charge of the three.
"Northwest," replied Renjiro. "But I really must argue at having our hands bound. We're completely vulnerable if attacked," he grumbled, indicating the other two Sound ninja, "There are people trying to kill us, you know."
"And there are people trying to kill us too," responded Kakashi, lazily, "The Hokage said no weapons and tied hands, so that's the way it's going to be."
"This is so ridiculous," Suzu hissed to Juro, "They kept us waiting so long that Orochimaru's trackers are bound to have caught up with us by now. We're going to die if we stay like this."
Overhearing the female Sound ninja's complaint, Iruka spoke up, "I don't think untying their hands is necessarily a good idea, but I volunteer to defend them if we are attacked."
The other Konoha ninja looked at him curiously and Genma raised and eyebrow, "Sure Iruka, if you're volunteering…."
Iruka inclined his head. "I will. They do kind of have a point – but we can't go against the Hokage's orders," he added quickly.
Genma just nodded, nonplussed, and motioned for the rest of the squad to move out, with Iruka and the three Sound ninja in the middle. The group traveled in silence for the most part, broken by the occasional direction from Renjiro, when the Anbu scout at the front of the group suddenly paused. Cursing under his breath, Genma moved quickly to his side.
"What is it?" Genma murmured.
The scout shook his head in confusion, "Do you hear… bells?"
"Everybody down!" shouted Renjiro, shortly before the forest exploded in a hail of belled needles.
The Konoha ninja leaped into action, leaving Iruka and the three captive Sound ninja exactly where they stood, alone in the center of the forest.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit," Renjiro cursed, ducking as needles and shuriken flew past him and swiftly moving ninja darted in and out of the corners of his vision. Biting back a growl he dropped to his knees and closed his eyes in concentration. A few seconds later a blue glow emanated from his bound hands and with a sudden stab of chakra the ropes binding his wrists snapped and snaked away. His hands freed, and glowing brightly with what appeared to be spikes or lances of chakra, Renjiro leapt into the fray, leaving Suzu and Juro alone with the schoolteacher as their only protection.
"Nice job thinking of us," Juro snapped sarcastically at Renjiro's retreating form and ducking as another needle went sailing past his ear.
"Get behind me," Iruka said, "I think I can hold them off for a little while at least."
"Gods I hope so," Suzu said, dropping back and slightly behind Iruka, "We're like sitting ducks as it is."
Iruka didn't respond, but instead planted his feet and ran through a series of rapid seals. A swirling blue glow began to seep from his clasped hands, eventually curving back over the top of his head and those of the two Sound ninja behind him to create a swirling, protective dome of chakra.
"Nice technique," Suzu muttered, watching various missile weapons bounce harmlessly off the surface of the dome.
"Shhh," Juro whispered, glancing from Suzu to Iruka, "He probably needs to concentrate to maintain it. Don't distract him."
Suzu nodded in response and she and Juro remained still and silent, praying Iruka could keep the dome going long enough for the rest of the Konoha ninja to make it back to them. The sounds of battle echoed all around them, and out of the corner of her eye, Suzu occasionally caught glimpses of ninja clashing and glancing away.
Eventually the sounds of battle died completely and the forest was silent and still. Suzu glanced at Juro wide eyed, but he just shook his head. All of a sudden, the form of a Sound tracker leapt from the darkness of the forest, daggers drawn to plunge into Juro. Juro flinched away from the oncoming attack, but the Sound tracker glanced off the swirl of the chakra dome and ricocheted against a tree. He was then impaled by a throwing dagger, and sputtered for a moment before dying.
Asuma appeared and pulled his knife from the cooling body of the Sound tracker. Suddenly the rest of the Konoha ninja began reappearing, leaping down to Iruka and the two remaining Sound from every direction. Juro nudged Iruka, who opened his eyes and let the chakra dome drop, looking weary, then stumbled and almost fell. Suzu and Juro stood up suddenly, shoving their shoulders under Iruka's arms, supporting him.
"Where's your leader?" Genma growled, noticing that the red haired Jounin was missing.
"We don't know," Juro said, "He leapt off into the battle. That was the last we saw of him."
"That was definitely an ambush," Asuma said, cleaning the blood off his knife, "But it looked like the attackers really were trying to kill them."
"That's what we've been trying to tell you," Suzu snapped, exasperated, "We're really not the bad guys. We told you that there was an extremely good possibility that we'd be attacked, and we were."
"If you're 'not the bad guys' where's your leader and how did his hands get untied," Genma snarled.
"Did it… himself," Iruka murmured weakly, "Saw him. Some sort of technique."
"It's called a 'spirit blade'," Suzu said, with a sigh, "Renjiro invented it. He's the only one who knows how to do it properly. He focuses chakra into his hands and forms them into thin blades capable of cutting through almost anything. It's an incredibly useful technique."
"And one you'll be able to do soon enough, Suzu," Renjiro said, stepping out of the underbrush, hands raised in surrender, "I apologize, but I couldn't just stand there helpless when I knew the children were nearby."
"The children," Genma said, wryly.
Renjiro nodded, then gestured behind him, motioning to the underbrush from which he'd emerged. Suddenly a small, dark head poked through, and a tiny girl of about six, with big brown eyes, stepped into the clearing. She was followed by a slightly older boy with dark blond hair and worried hazel eyes, another girl of about eight with striking snow-white hair and light green eyes. A ten-year-old boy with dark hair and eyes, and wearing a serious expression, brought up the rear.
Right behind the children were two adults, the first, a woman with a long tangle of dark hair and shining black eyes, dressed in a loose fitting red shirt with wide sleeves, and an equally loose fitting pair of red pants that tied at the waist. She wore a Sound forehead protector beneath her hair and seemed to be sporting black fingerless gloves with metal plates, similar to Kakashi's.
The second adult was a young man of no more than nineteen, with straight black hair that hung in his eyes, fair skin and small, rectangular glasses. He was dressed all in loose black and he too sported a Sound forehead protector, as well as several messenger bags. He looked around at those assembled gravely, as if he couldn't quite believe what he saw.
"This is the rest of our party," Renjiro said to Genma, simply, "We'd like to get them back to the village as soon as possible, since it's starting to get dark."
Genma nodded, frowning, "I guess you were telling the truth after all. But what bothers me is that you could've gotten out of your bonds at any time."
"But I didn't," Renjiro said, blandly, "And I had the perfect opportunity for attack on a number of occasions."
"Well there's no point in tying you up again," Genma looked slightly annoyed, "If you can just cut through the ropes whenever you want."
"Then can we please be untied," Suzu pleaded, indicating Juro and herself, "You can't believe we're a danger to you now."
"That remains to be seen," Kakashi responded, leaning against a tree, "But it does seem silly to keep you tied up when the rest of your party is free. What do you think, Genma?"
"I agree," Genma said, "If only to make her stop whining."
Suzu glared daggers at him, but Genma only waved to signal the two nearest ninja to cut her and Juro's bonds. Iruka managed to regain his balance somewhat and steadied himself against a tree while Kakashi and one of the Anbu members did the honors.
"There you go, pretty lady," Kakashi stated, his one visible eye crinkling in a smile when he was done.
Suzu just shook her head and rubbed her extremely sore wrists, obviously in a sour mood.
Juro, on the other hand gave a great stretch and sighed with contentment, "Man I never thought being untied could feel so good."
"And on that note," the dark haired woman said, shaking her head, "I'm Nishio Eriko. We thank you for coming to our aid and offering us hospitality" she continued, smiling at Genma.
"No problem," Genma said, with a shrug, "But your red haired friend is right, we probably should get moving if we're going to get back to the village before dark."
"I'm afraid of the dark," one of the little girls, the dark haired one, piped up.
"Don't worry sweetheart," Iruka said, moving somewhat shakily forward and coming to crouch in front of her, "There's nothing in the dark that we can't protect you from."
He smiled warmly at the little girl, who giggled in response; "You have funny hair."
Iruka looked puzzled for a moment, then reached up to feel his spiky ponytail. "Yeah, I guess I do," he laughed.
"That's okay, I like you anyway," the little girl said sweetly, still giggling.
"I like you too," said Iruka, "I'm Umino Iruka-sensei. What's your name?"
"Mochida Taya," responded the little girl, smiling and twisting from side to side.
"Well Taya, how would you like a piggyback ride?"
"Yes!" Taya squealed happily.
"Are you sure you're up to that?" Suzu asked Iruka, looking concerned at his weakened state.
"I'll be fine," Iruka shrugged dismissively, "Besides," he murmured, "I have a job to do." As he said that, he bent down lower so Taya could climb onto his shoulders, then very carefully stood up.
"I want a piggyback ride too," the blond haired boy pouted.
"All right, climb aboard, Minoru," said Juro with a grin, lowering himself so the little boy could climb on.
"Let's move out," said Genma.
As the group set out for Konoha once more, Juro kept in stride with Iruka and clapped a hand onto the schoolteacher's shoulder in companionship, "That was some pretty impressive chakra control back there. Thanks for saving our butts."
"It was no problem, really," Iruka said, humbly.
"No really, we would've been sashimi if it wasn't for you," Juro grinned, "I owe you a drink, my man."
"Thanks," responded Iruka, "I'll be sure to collect at some point."