Author's Notes: So, I'm finally posting another chapter. I apologize to any readers, things have been busy here for a while and I've been involved in some other projects. Things may stay slow for a while, until it eases up a bit, but rest assured I'm not abandoning the story. Anyway, this chapter is about Yi, and I feel it's a very good one.
To answers reviewers, and hopefully encourage some more:
About Shino, his role in this story is unfortunately rather minor, I would have liked it to be greater, but the logistics of it simply isn't possible. However, he will appear in this story again, so that's something to keep in mind, and his actions have already been significant for Ise.
Chapter 8 – The Troubled World(one week later)
Grass country was normally a warm place, wide grassland kept hot and dry by potent winds, but it could be cold at times, especially in the morning. In this late summer air, the wind had stopped overnight, and when morning came it was surprisingly cold. Of course, few would have called this cold, who had not lived all their life in warm climes, but there was enough chill to be noticed.
Yi hated the cold, she despised it, and even more she absolutely despised being cold, it made her feel confined and unnatural to be cold. Something deep in her skin and bones cried out against that state of being, longing to be warm, even hot. Cold made Yi angry.
Was it Mizuho? She had once wondered, and of course that must be part of it, but Yi could not tell if her bloodline made her despise the cold of its own, or whether it was simply something that happened because she wielded the power. After all, growing up in a world where almost everyone had the power to make water burn, Yi had only very rarely even been cold. So perhaps she hated being cold because she had never been exposed to it well as a child, and because even now, it was scarcely something that could cling to her for long.
This morning in grass, a chill wind slunk across the low ground, and the dew-covered grasses of this prairie were soaking with it. Yi awoke amid that grass, hidden away in a tiny scrape in the ground, shivering. She felt cold water all about her, seeping through her peasant's clothes, stealing the warmth from her.
Her awaking brought a stinging anger at this state. Yi's reaction was swift. "I'm not going to be wet and cold!" She hissed, and the water all along her body burst into low flames.
Like that, the cold was banished instantly, and Yi was filled with glowing warmth from the power of Mizuho's flames. She felt a nagging voice in her say that this was a waste of chakra, the dew would have melted off quickly enough anyway, but Yi ignored it. It was the voice of her father talking, instructing her in how to be a proper ninja, to conserve her abilities to be maximally useful as a weapon. "I'm not a proper ninja anymore," She chuckled, partly amused, and partly deeply saddened. Recalling her banishment sent Yi's mind traveling down too many unpleasant paths, as the raw memories of the recent past assaulted her.
The young ninja gathered her small amount of gear together, weapons, stolen food and money, and the ragged clothes she used as a blanket. She packed it all together into her crumply knapsack, itself stolen from a peasant's house. All of these things went atop her ninja uniform, carefully placed at the bottom of the sack, and protected beneath the one waterproof covering she had. It was Yi's only real tie to her past, the uniform made in the secret compound of the Mizain, the only unique thing she had now. Her weapons were commonplace, she could have purchased identical replacements in any moderately sized town, and all the other things she carried had been stolen. I am a thief, Yi thought with bitter regret again this morning, as she had every morning for over a week. I am no longer a ninja.
She certainly did not resemble one, dressed in ragged peasants clothes that didn't fit properly over her lithe frame, having been once sized for a boy, and carrying a ratty knapsack the kind a farmer might cart with him on trips to town. Yi looked like nothing other than a very strange peasant girl. Her hair was still distinctive, she had so far refused to cut it, even though the red and aquamarine stood out, serving along with her eyes to mark her as a strange person, one to be avoided.
I am a little thief, an outcast now, and it is obvious to everyone. What is this life? Yi had no answers, it seemed only that everything had gone wrong since the night she fled her father's imprisonment. Shiro…NO! Don't think about that! She shoved the memory away, still unable to face what she had done.
It had not gotten better since that night for her. As Yi began to walk through the unending grasslands she wallowed in the harsh memories, memories that would not give her any peace, for she saw no way to escape the path she was on. Freedom was hers, but it was a peasant's freedom, and such was poor sustenance for the soul of a ninja. Yi had escaped blindly to the open grasslands composing the wide expanse of grass country, leaving the forests, the only environment she had ever known. At once the openness of it had staggered her, a world with few trees, only the scrubby grasses stretching to the horizon, a world exposed. It was not a ninja's world, with no place to hide, where the sun beat down mercilessly on everyone and everything.
The first day had been hellish, the sun and space assaulted her from without, while hunger and the pain of memory attacked from within, a two-pronged scourge that tossed Yi about and left her by the side of one of the few roads, sobbing for hours. In the end it was only hunger that kept her going, her mind wanted nothing but to wallow in regret, but her body demanded food, and she had none with her.
In all her confined life as a Mizain, Yi had only been permitted on expeditions into the outside world four times, and only once before to grass country. Still, she had been schooled in such things; she understood the basics of life in the world beyond her home, even if at once remove. Money to buy things, work to get money, a world with many families who gathered together in villages and towns, Yi thought of these things, foreign experiences. Still, she had gone in to one of the small trading towns dotting the open grassland, her hunger demanded it.
Yi had no money, the Mizain did not bother with such things, but it was easy enough to recognize that simply taking things was impossible. The world did not function that way, if you lacked money you went without. That she might find work had never been a consideration in Yi's mind, she knew too little of the world, instead she turned immediately to thievery.
It was so easy, food, money, even other, more useful things like clothes, all could not be kept from a trained ninja. The grass villages soon recognized they had a thief among them, however, and though Yi had been cautious and never left clues, samurai came after her anyway, for she was an outsider. She soon discovered it was only possible to spend a few days in any town before the people began to chase outsiders away in their fear. Though she had expected it, Yi still felt rejected every time.
But I can't stop, she sighed as she walked on. There's nowhere to go. That was Yi's greatest problem. As long as she kept moving relatively often she was confident she could survive easily. Already she had enough money stored up that she could probably survive through the winter on it once it came, but there was nothing for her to do. She was a ninja, not a peasant, or even some kind of merchant. Yi lacked the skills of living as anything but her father's tool. Survival was easy; living was hard. Idly she had planned to travel through Grass country slowly, eventually coming to the Fire country, which lay to the southeast according to maps she remembered. There were forests there, and she would like to be in forest again, but it was a random fancy, and there was no will behind it. I'm not a traveler, or a peasant, or a thief! I'm a ninja! Yi wanted to scream the declaration to the whole world, but she could only silently say it to herself. Still, it was the truth; something she had discovered was inescapable.
I can't keep living like this, Yi recognized through the fog of her misery. My father made me into a ninja; I can't escape him even now. I need to be a ninja, or I'll die like a thief soon enough. Even as she pondered this, there was no hope, for Yi could see no way to continue as anything but the wandering thief she now was. A lone ninja cannot do anything but die, the lessons of history, painstakingly learned, told her that much. Besides, I have a bloodline, like all Mizain there is only death for me if ninja find me.
So the Mizain girl continued to wander, coming up on another of the scattered trading towns in late evening. Her stomach rumbled, and the temptation to use some of her hidden money at an inn was great, but she overrode it. Her survival instincts were too strong. There was no reason to do such a thing. She would save her stolen funds and take dinner from a house or inn in the dark of night, and hopefully gain more money as well. Opportunities could not be passed over, Yi held to that much in her creed, she had to keep true to everything she could of ninja ways, or she knew it would all vanish.
Darkness fell over the grasslands like a serene blanket; clouds passing overhead obscured even the stars, until the empty blackness was complete. The trading town fell swiftly silent beneath that encompassing blanket, for this was a world where all followed the rhythms of the sun. All save the ninja.
Mizain Yi crept softly above the rooftops of these sturdy buildings, hunting out a restaurant that had closed down. It was a prime target, filled with food and money as well. She moved to look at it from the building that stood closest, her excellent night vision revealing a window on the second floor that would serve easily as an entrance.
With a skillful fluidity Yi leapt across to the windowsill, catching it easily and pulling herself up to sit upon it. Even the thin beam supported her slight body well enough. Removing a slender probe from her shuriken pouch she twitched the latch on the window silently, and slowly slid it open. I can't make any noise, Yi reminded herself constantly. Noise is the ninja's greatest enemy.
When she slid inside, darkness enveloped her completely. The walls of these buildings were stout to resist the high winds that poured over the prairie and the great blizzards that sometimes racked them in winter, and so no light passed through on this cloudy night. Despite keen night vision, Yi could not see anything beyond the barest of shadowy outlines.
A risk, this, she thought. It was the eternal puzzle. Did she attempt to move through the darkness and risk bumping into an object, alerting the residents, or did she dare to provide a tiny amount of illumination? What to do here? Yi considered, but only for a moment.
A bit of light is better, she thought. The walls here are well insulated, so a noise will be highly remarked. It's not like homes in the forests. Her choice made, Yi reached down into the canteen that hung on her belt. She opened the cap and stuck one finger into the water there. Carefully she took her finger and drew it across her face, just below each eye.
Yi couldn't resist the slightest silent chuckle at her method when the world sprung into light.
Mizuho is a killing power, first and foremost, such is the nature of waterfire, but to the creative ninja mind, far more things are possible with this special method of creating flame. The thin bands of water Yi had placed under her eyes were not enough to burn much, and they cast only the palest of glows, but in the position she had placed them, they acted as lights to guide her vision, illuminating her world just enough to see.
Time to move, Yi thought, standing up. She now saw that she was inside a bedroom, one that was indeed occupied. An old man slumbered silently in a bed against the far wall, his breathing quiet and steady. Likely the master's father, Yi recognized, but she was glad she was silent. Now there came the need to move, the lights beneath her eyes illuminated her vision only, another would notice her only if they looked straight at her, but the water would evaporate quickly in this fashion, so Yi had little time.
Wraithlike the young ninja shuffled down the hallways of the restaurant, descending steep stairs into the kitchen below. She saw then the jumble of pots and pans and other utensils left from the unrestrained chaos of an eatery. They would merely shift status every day as the hours changed, never completely controlled. She was very careful moving through the kitchen, for it was a silent web ready to entangle any ninja who made the slightest mistake.
Yi ignored the many things left out on the cooking tables or by the banked ovens, going instead to the cabinets behind them. Carefully she opened several of these, watching the hinges as she did to insure no squeaking. It was here she found hat she needed. Preserved food! A great swell of satisfaction spread in Yi. Rice! Bread! Vegetables! And even a duck! One of the prairie fowl hung waiting, a treasure Yi could not wait to cook. She took all these things, not everything, but a sizable portion, enough to feed her for three days or so, and stuffed it into a small bag she had carried for this purpose.
Carefully Yi shut the cabinets when she was done. All right, one task done. She was satisfied with this success, but she was not finished here. I have food then, but not money. There will be some, I know. A restaurant would have a reasonable amount of cash at all times. Yi had no desire to steal this family's whole savings, but certainly the cash box, with money ready for the morning to come, that would serve well. She searched carefully, above the flickering guides of her watery headlamps. Where is it? Ah, the counter there.
Moving up to the counter Yi pulled out a small hidden drawer, one obviously intended to go unnoticed by casual passerby. Inside there was a simple wooden box with a tight latch. With quick hand's Yi felt the latch, and then opened it with her ninja tools. This is what I need, excitement dashed through her.
Perhaps it was the darkness, which made it impossible for Yi to truly see anything even with her little headlamps, or perhaps it was excitement, or perhaps a combination of both, but regardless, she made a very simple mistake. It was not a big thing, just opening the box cleanly, and not checking to see what was within it from a crack first, but it only takes one mistake in the world of the ninja.
A tiny bell came down from the box's top as Yi swung it open, and before she could catch it, hit the end of its short string.
Ting!
The sound was clear and audible in the silent restaurant. Yi grabbed the bell instantly, placing it back into the box as she hurriedly grabbed the coins and notes hidden there with her other hand, stuffing them into her sack, but the damage had been done.
Another sound came suddenly, the creaking of a board.
Yi watched in horror as a man stood up out in the front room. What? She thought in near panic. It took her a moment to realize the man was a samurai, an impoverished ronin it seemed, and who must have begged the master to sleep curled up in the front room. It was a random event, but Yi knew it spelled disaster.
The man rose, and turned even as Yi tried to duck behind the counter, hoping she would not be noticed.
"Who's there?" the samurai called out clearly, not keeping his voice down.
He'll wake the others! Yi realized. I have to silence him, now!
The ninja came up, and as she crested the counter a kunai flew from each hand.
The room was all but lightless, and the samurai surely could not see, but he could hear those sharp dagger-like implements slash into the air.
Sword sprang from scabbard with a perfectly practiced precision, and the distinctive ring of metal against metal sprang forth. "Ninja!" The samurai recognized immediately.
Damn! Yi had no time for thought, as her kunai were blocked away she reacted on pure instinct. A large bowl, filled with water to clean over the night, lay within reach of her left hand. Her hand plunged into that bowl suddenly, and then she thrust it forward, flicking her fingers.
"Wha?" the blinded samurai began.
Then the water burst into flames. Droplets struck the samurai all over the front of his chest, burning furiously. Pain lanced through his body, and instinct overwhelmed his thoughts, taking control of his reactions in the most primitive of ways.
He screamed.
The samurai's voice was loud, schooled by the battlefield, and his scream was not something to be stopped by walls or doors, all nearby would hear.
Yi knew she had but instants. Her training took over now, all the endless hours her father and relatives had spent turning her as best they could into a weapon. The samurai was burning, panicked, vulnerable.
Yi's hands slammed down on the countertop, and she vaulted over it. Her right foot extended and she struck the samurai in the face, knocking him backward.
Her right arm snapped down and ripped loose a kunai. Another motion and she brought it forward, stabbing hard into the samurai's chest with all the strength her arms possessed.
Blood spurted around the wound as the kunai plunged deep into the man, then Yi wrenched the blade to the right, and it found his heart. Light faded from the samurai's eyes and he collapsed to the floor.
Yi did not even pause to land, but pushed off of the falling body, pulling her kunai free as she flipped in midair, crashing through one of the wide front windows to the restaurant.
Glass shattered as Yi tumbled into the street, but she was unharmed, knowing to smash through the window with her feet before her, and to smash the glass outwards so it would proceed before her. She landed in a crouch on the ground, but did not stop for more than a second. Her eyes slashed back and forth, taking in the street even as she dismissed the Mizuho from before her vision. Damn, my night vision has been weakened just when I need it, she thought in haste. Hurry, cross the street, and make the next set of rooftops.
"Thief!" Yi heard the cry from her right, and caught a glance of a man running down the street in her peripheral vision. He was clearly a samurai, likely the one assigned to the night watch in this part of town, and he was not alone.
Doors were coming open and people issued forth into the street. They were still confused, but Yi knew that would become anger in seconds.
She stood and ran across the street, pushing chakra into her feet and, not caring that others would see, leaping up to the rooftops on the other side of the street. I must escape now, it doesn't matter if they realize I'm a ninja, she tried to order her thoughts, but things were moving too fast now. She was in trouble, and she was loosing the focus she needed to act.
"Ninja!" Yi heard the samurai's voice from behind her. "It's a ninja, get everyone together! Don't let her escape!"
They're organized, Yi recognized, but was not surprised, surely all towns have provisions for what to do if they discovered a ninja spy. Still, there's no way a few samurai can catch me. She recognized as she dashed swiftly over the rooftops and headed for the edge of town.
Lights broke out in the town. Torches were lit and lanterns brought forward.
"Find her!" A cry rose from the street to Yi's right, and she saw many men running about. A few were samurai, but more were peasants carrying pitchforks or other weapons. They're no threat.
Yi came to the end of the row, but there was another set of houses just across the street, not more than six or seven meters. All right, focus now, she told herself. Gauge the distance, focus the chakra, and…Jump!
The young ninja girl sailed clear across the road to land on her feet on the next roof, still running.
"I saw her!" A cry arose again. "She just jumped to the next street!"
Amid a jumble of shouts and outcries, chaos rampant in the darkness, Yi suddenly heard another sound, and suddenly she was terribly afraid.
Twang.
It was the sound of a bowstring being released.
Yi threw herself flat, and the arrow passed over her as she skidded along the roofing tiles.
"I have her!" A young voice shouted.
There's only one street to go, Yi realized, and then I'm out of this town, but he'll shoot me as I jump, if he's good. I can't bet he'll miss. I have to fight.
Yi rolled over, and then kicked upwards, rising into the air while moving away from the archer. She looked and saw him, standing with another samurai, bow strung and ready.
As Yi saw the archer, so did he see her, and let his arrow fly.
Yi had anticipated this. Her hands slid through the seals with shocking swiftness, and then her right hand came forward palm outstretched. "Crashing Spray no Justu!"
The blast of water came from nowhere, and Yi felt it pull at her chakra brutally, using such a potent water jutsu with no source nearby was terribly hard, and her body screamed in anger as she did so.
"Scatter!" The samurai below called, as the blast swept down over the arrow and at the other samurai.
The men dodged aside, and the archer was already rolling upright for another shot.
The bearers of Mizuho are not so easily thwarted. Yi's hands curled their last two fingers down, and her thumbs bent inward. "Mizuho!" She screamed, letting the adrenaline have its voice at last.
Crashing spray struck earth, flying in all directions as when the flow of a waterfall strikes stone. All the force was gone and this blast could now harm no one.
Except there was no way to avoid that spray, and at Yi's command it was burning.
Men screamed, as pain and horror burst upon them with a livid red rawness, seemingly summoned from the hells. Even as Yi turned away and fled into the darkness of the outer ring of homes and the grasslands beyond the terror was taking them.
Samurai rolled in the dirt, trying to put out flames in ways they had all learned as children, but it didn't work, for the water would not leave their bodies that easily, clinging and burning into them. Houses caught fire as water washed over them, and loose lanterns and torches struck the vulnerable wood and grass structures.
The blaze lasted only thirty seconds before Yi, feeling the chakra drawing away from her, and already free into the black grasslands, let the fire die. In that short time, two men were already died, and four others crippled. One house would be completely destroyed, and another was severely damaged before it was finally extinguished. Yi, escaping freely into the wilderness, never knew this, but she had her own problems.
I've been seen, and used my powers! It was shocking, but terribly true. They know I'm a ninja. I'll be tracked. Yi knew more of ninja structure than any other part of the outside world, and she knew ninja without affiliation were always targeted. Yi felt fear run through her as she wondered how clearly she had been seen. How much did they see? How much do they know? Was Mizuho recognized? It was enough to keep her running for a long time, until her side burned and all her charka was exhausted. She collapsed in open grassland, miles from anything, with no idea where she was.
"What do I do now?" Yi asked herself. "I've made a terrible mistake." She blamed herself entirely, even though she had no way of expecting the samurai hidden in the restaurant. She took deep breaths, as she lay collapsed on the grass. "They'll send ninja after me, the grass ninja will be coming I'm sure." Yi tried to determine what she could do. For a long time she considered her situation and went through a million half-baked ideas before true reason returned to her. "I have to get away, far away." She recognized this as her only option. "The grass ninja can't go past their borders, so I have to go that way. It will take a while, but maybe I can stay ahead of them." That left another problem. "Which way do I go?"
The answer was simple when the clouds opened and reveal the stars. Yi had been taught to locate herself by the stars by one of her uncles; they said it was essential for a ninja to always know which way they had been traveling. "I've gone south," Yi muttered. "I guess I have to keep going south." She could not go west, the rain country lay in that direction, and the Mizain compound, and she no longer knew which path would carry her past it, her mind was blocked that way. I would only get lost in the rain forest, Yi realized, with a spike of sadness. North was impossible, since going that way would take her into the hands of her pursuers. To the east lay the Fire country, but there was also a great expanse of Grass country to cross if she went that way, she was closer to the southern border. The country of wind lies to the southwest; I can go there, Yi decided. With this resolution, the worst of her troubles seemed eased and she finally slept.