"Wow…"Shika whistled low under her breath. "Look at that…"

From their perch behind a thick bush, the girls peaked through the tangled branches. Down the slope and nestled in the crags of the mountainous terrain sat the enemy's fortress fringed by militia.

"We better go investigate," Shika asked as she elbowed her friend Emi.

"No need to," she murmured in her usual monotone. A small group of shadow beetles flowed out from her trench-coat sleeve. "These will do a thorough job."

"Undoubtedly," she agreed. "But we can't just sit here and do nothing."

"What was your idea?" Emi countered. "Charge forth in the face of danger with heroic grandeur?" Her tone smacked of sarcasm.

Shika stuck out her tongue. "Nooooooo! But we can sneak inside and-"

"How do you think we'll manage to avoid all those men? There are forty-five of them."

"You're such a stickler for details." Shika grumbled irritably.

"They do tend to come in handy."

"If you're chicken you don't have to come along," She huffed, impatient to be up and doing something already!

"You forget that taunts of those sort have no effect on me," Emi countered coolly. "I've sent the message back to my Father, he'll send for reinforcements. It would be best to sit and wait."

"I don't think so," Shika huffed. "I say we investigate on the inside."

She stood up and Emi caught hold of her wrist to restrain her. "Don't be so hasty." Shika shook her off and leaped out into the open. "Get back here right now!" Emi hissed.

Shika made a face and ran ahead. Cursing under her breath, Emi crept after her. Shika was as stealthy as a wolf but she wasn't looking out for traps hidden underground. Emi saw the trouble coming fast and shoved her out of the way. The ground began to erupt around them. Shika scrambled to her feet but her friend was faster. Emi yanked her to her feet and dragged her along.

"Wait! You can't see where you're going!" Shika protested.

"Oh sure, now details matter," Emi growled. She didn't need to see because she could sense the vibrations under her feet and turned towards the safest path. With the ground shifting underneath it became a real challenge. Shika tripped and pulled Emi down with her. They tumbled down the hillside towards the ravine.

"Don't let go!" Shika cried.

"Don't tempt me!" Emi snapped but she too was worried. With the ground constantly changing beneath her fingertips she struggled to get her bearings. Right as they went over the edge, her hand ran along a tree root and she quickly grabbed hold. She screamed as her shoulder dislocated with a horrible pop under Shika's dead weight.

She cringed. "Oooooh that didn't sound good."

Emi grit her teeth as her breath was released with a hiss of pain. "D-didn't f-f-feel so hot e-either…can you find a foothold?"

Shika swung slightly as she kicked at the flat rock wall. Emi groaned in terrible pain so she stopped wiggling around. Her other hand couldn't find anything to grab hold of either.

"Anything?" Emi pressed.

"Nothing," Shika said dismally.

"Ok," she said warily. "Y-you'll have to climb up my arm."

"Are you sure?"

"No but we're running out of options," Emi said desperately.

Shika started to pull herself up but Emi's fragile arm cracked under the weight. Emi screamed again and Shika immediately stopped. She looked down at the smoky ravine, she couldn't see through the mist to the bottom. It could be bottomless or perhaps there was an out-cropping just out of sight. There was no way of knowing.

"Move your ass!" Emi shouted.

"This isn't going to work and you know it," Shika said softly.

"I'm not gonna let you fall!" She promised. "They can fix my arm. I'm not about to lose you!"

Shika smiled gently up at her friend…her best friend. She'd been like a big sister: always looking out for her, and saving her from trouble she kept running head-long into…just like this one. She knew Emi would give anything to protect her. But Emi's grip on the root was beginning to slip as splinters embedded in her skin. She couldn't support them both for long and Shika had seconds to decide.

Emi sensed Shika's hesitation. "Don't you dare let go!"

"I'm sorry Emi, this is all my fault," Shika murmured apologetically.

"I can lecture you later," she grumbled. "Now climb!"

"I'm not about to take you down with me!" Shika said firmly. "You have to let go."

"Never!"

She knew Emi meant it - Aburame are too stubborn for their own good. But Inuzuka are not afraid and she wasn't about to lose Emi to her own mistake. "Thank you Emi…" she said seriously, ready to accept responsibility. "For everything."

She let go and slipped right through her fingers. Emi screamed her friend's name as her lame limb flailed desperately. Shika felt weightless as she fell through the clouds. Her eyes slid closed as she prepared to meet her fate.

"Shika! SHIKA!" Emi screamed hoarsely.

Silence. Horrible silence.

Tears flowed from her unseeing eyes as a chilling breeze swept through the ravine. "Shika…" she mumbled miserably. Her heart broke at her friend's sacrifice. She didn't have to do that…

Just then a strong pair of hands pulled her up the cliff. She recognized her Father's scent and collapsed into his arms.

"What happened here?" He asked, his deep voice thick with concern. He was very protective of his daughter.

"She's gone Dad! She fell! She's gone!" She sobbed against his trench coat. "I wasn't strong enough to save her!"

He gave the signal for his comrades to begin scaling the cliff-side for survivors. He hugged Emi close as she cried harder. It broke his heart to see her so emotionally distraught. "I can't lose her Dad! I can't! She means everything to me!"

This is an experimental story for a new pairing involving Shizako and Isae's future daughters. We're still working out the details but they grow up as best friends and eventually become lovers. Emi is blind, the result of a childhood accident. Despite that, she uses shadow insects to help her see (the result of her mixed Aburame and Kumori heritage). Shika is very lively while Emi is composed. She does have her mother's sarcasm though. Lemme know what you think of it so far!