A/N: My mind zeroed in on one specific team when I read this prompt. Sorry not sorry.

Day 9 | Saint Shields | Rated: K

Forest

"I say we blame Dunga for this."

Ozuma closed his eyes to keep from shooting Mariam the glare he was dying to. He was her leader – he had to keep his temper in check. Never mind that there was a vein throbbing in his forehead that got worse every time one of his so-called teammates opened their mouths. And when Mariam opened her mouth, it was his experience that it was usually to goad Dunga into an argument.

"Hey! This isn't my fault!" Dunga squawked back, louder than necessary. Definitely loud enough for somebody to hear if they happened to be nearby.

"Dunga," Ozuma warned, wishing he could see more than the back of the other boy's head from the position he was in, "keep it down."

"Yeah, Dunga – keep it down," Mariam laughed, making Ozuma growl. She knew exactly how Dunga would react to her teasing. "You don't want the warriors to find us do you?"

"Well it's thanks to you that we're stuck up here in the first place!" Dunga only managed to be a little bit quieter than the first time, which was still too loud for their current predicament.

"Uh, no, try again, doofus." Mariam fired back. "You're the idiot who walked right into the trap."

"You were supposed to be scouting the path!"

"You left the path, you big ape! I told you not to!"

Ozuma's leg was twisted uncomfortably beneath him and if he moved too much freeing it, they could be discovered. But the argument was rising in pitch and quickly getting out of hand, so it was worth the risk at this point.

He untangled himself as quietly as he could, keeping his eyes and ears peeled for any sign of their pursuers. There was nothing, so he swung over to kick Dunga square in the back with the sole of his boot. He was big – a solid wall of muscle – he could take it. But Ozuma couldn't take another minute of their senseless bickering.

"Ow! Ozuma!"

"Knock it off, both of you!" he hissed, silencing Mariam's snickering with the glare he'd been trying to hold in. "Are you trying to give our position away?"

Their 'position' was in three separate nets, up a tree. Dunga had stepped on a snare. Ozuma and Mariam had automatically moved in to attempt a rescue, and ended up captured themselves. Their only saving grace was that the nets were positioned so high that there was a layer of foliage hiding them from the forest floor. But that also meant that every time they moved, the leaves rustled.

"I just wanna be clear on who's taking the fall if we get caught," Mariam said in a stage whisper. "It's Dunga, right?"

Ozuma groaned, and pressed his forehead against one strip of his net. If he could figure out a way to use Mariam's barbed tongue to serve their Mission, then they'd have the Sacred Spirits sealed in less than a week. But to even get that chance, they first had to pass all the necessary tests the Elders set for them.

Their current task was to avoid detection for a three-day stint in the forest bordering the village. It was day one and Ozuma was already beyond fed up.

Mariam had told Dunga to stay on the path. He'd been on enough hunting trips to know she was right, that the underbrush was the perfect place to set a trap. He'd wandered off anyway, unwilling to take orders from her, and it landed them all in hot water. Except Joseph. None of them had any idea where he'd scampered off to.

It was Ozuma's fault.

Out of all his teammates, he went through the most grueling training. When he was chosen to wield Flash Leopard, by the bitbeast itself at a younger age than most, he dove headfirst into an intense regimen. The expectation was that, someday, he'd pass his knowledge on to the rest of his teammates and lead them on their Mission.

If they wouldn't work together, then it was an indication that he couldn't lead them successfully. It was his job, as their leader, to teach them how to work together. If they failed in the first trial, it would reflect on his merit more than it would on their individual abilities.

It was his lesson to learn and his fall to take if it all went south.

That was no reason to give up without a fight.

"We're going to need to work together to get out of this," he said, glancing back and forth between Mariam and Dunga, who was twisting his neck as far as possible to get a glimpse of Ozuma. "The warriors know where their traps are – they could already be on their way to see if we've tripped any of them."

"They could be, but they're not."

All three of them looked up in tandem. Joseph was shimmying across the branch they were hanging from with a loop of rope across his torso and a knife tucked into his belt.

"Where have you been?!" Dunga asked heatedly.

"Relax, big guy," Joseph said with a roll of his eyes. He was directly above Ozuma now, and shifting into a sitting position. "I think we might lose points if they hear you having a temper tantrum."

"He does bellow, doesn't he?" Mariam said with no small amount of snark to go with her grin.

Dunga grumbled, but didn't argue.

They all watched as Joseph cut a length of rope from the coil and tied it to the tree branch where Ozuma's net was hanging. He gave it a tug, leaning backward off the branch to test that it would hold weight. Then he dropped it down through the netting for Ozuma to grab.

"I'm gonna tie each of you a rope and then cut the nets away," Joseph explained, already scooting further down the branch toward Dunga. "We can make it pretty far without being detected if we go branch to branch, so I'd suggest not climbing down right away."

"Where did you get this?" Ozuma asked, holding up the end of his rope. Their group had been stripped of all supplies and possible weapons, even their beyblades, when they entered the forest. "Where did you go?"

"Well, I guessed it was about midday, judging by the shadows and Mariam's complaining about being hungry," he said, smirking at his sister and getting an eye roll in return. "I thought they might be having lunch and, therefore, be easy to steal from."

He finished tying Dunga's rope, tested it, and moved down the line.

"So you robbed the camp?"

"Call it, uh… being resourceful."

"And you know they're not nearby checking traps, because they're busy stuffing their faces," Mariam added, her grin growing even wider as she stared up at Joseph. "Good thinking, bro." She stuck her hand through her net for a high five.

"They can't eat forever," Dunga pointed out, coiling his rope around one thick fist in preparation for the climb.

Joseph nodded in agreement as he finished Mariam's rope, and said, "That's why we have to be quick. And why we should stick to the trees. Because–"

"Because they'll work off their meal by making their rounds and checking their traps," Ozuma finished, as Joseph switched gears and began cutting away Mariam's net. "You're right."

The four of them took turns making eye contact with each other and Ozuma could feel, for the first time, that they were thinking cohesively. They were thinking like a team. Maybe he'd underestimated them. And maybe he didn't always have to be the one that everything hinged on.

Clearly falling into a trap was the kick they needed to get it together.

Once Joseph cut them all free, he sheathed his knife and helped Ozuma up onto the branch. Mariam and Dunga had already climbed up and were slowly getting to their feet. They'd never make it far enough away in time if they didn't run for it and they all knew it. Lucky the trees here were ancient, with branches sturdy enough to handle some abuse. It would be like they were kids again, chasing each other through the skies.

"Lead the way, boss," Joseph said, gesturing for him to take the front.

Ozuma shook his head.

"We're a team," he said, sidestepping so Joseph was in the lead. He'd gotten them out of this mess so far and he was the lightest on his feet. It only made sense that they follow him. "We all have something to bring to the table, and right now you know the way, and the stakes, better than I do."

Joseph raised his eyebrows, as if to ask if Ozuma was sure.

Ozuma nodded at him. His mind was made up. They would sink or swim together.

"Hurry up, Joseph," Mariam called from the back of the line. "I really am hungry."

"Yeah Joseph, hurry up before Mariam has time to talk again," Dunga crowed, earning himself a smack across the back of the head from her.

Joseph grinned impishly and said, "Hope you guys can keep up."

And they were off.

A/N: I'm sure we're all aware by now that I love the Saint Shields, but sometimes I write about them and just fall in love all over again. They're such babies in this one and I honestly enjoyed writing them in these early days. I need to write more things that are closer to the canon timeline - I don't do it enough.

I'll leave you with the parting thought that the Saint Shields would be amazing at parkour, and thank you for reading. :)