By the time Atsuko woke up, Gisuke had been gone for a while. The sky was dark blue with pre-dawn light, the thin sliver of moon offering just enough light to distinguish Yukina above her on a tree branch, watching the village. There was a damp smell in the air and the dirt was wet. It had rained not long before.
Quickly, Atsuko packed up and erased every trace of the fire, then joined her teammate.
"Anything so far?"
"Nothing I can tell from here." Turning to the side, she gave a ferocious grin and took off towards the village. Shaking her head, Atsuko followed.
As they arrived, the outer patrol was just out of sight. They had time to spy without possible interruption.
Judging by the light and when Gisuke would have set off for his mission, Atsuko figured he'd been gone for about three hours. Her stomach clenched thinking about what could have gone wrong. Taking a deep breath, she tried to remind herself that Gisuke was a formidable shinobi and not careless enough to make mistakes. Everything would be fine.
Morning passed. The sun rose to its zenith. Still no Gisuke. Shadows lengthened.
"Something's wrong," Yukina said under her breath.
Atsuko's stomach tightened so hard she thought she might vomit.
"He should have signaled by now."
"What do we do?"
"Plan B." With her mouth pulled into a tight line, Yukina pulled back.
When they were out of earshot, Yukina cursed. "That damn boy. What did he do?"
"Could they have a ninja that would expose him?"
"Possibly," Yukina said. "Likely. Can't discount it at least. This is going to make things hard." She sighed. "Ok, now we get to plan a lure."
Mentally Atsuko inventoried her pack, trying to think if she had anything unique that would help. "Traveling merchants? Help, my sister's been hurt hunting and you're the nearest village?"
"Hmm, that has merit." She thought for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, I have a plan. Listen up…"
Atsuko dragged Yukina's limp form, crying. She'd waited until the outdoor patrol was just out of earshot then approached the guards at the gate.
"Please, help!" she managed between sobs. "We were hunting and got lost. My friend got hurt. Please help us!"
The two guards gave her a disgusted look, like they were contagious. Looking at each other, they seemed unsure of what to do.
"Please, we need shelter and water. Food, if you've got it. Please, I'll do anything to help her. Anything!"
"Wait here," one of the guards said. The other stared at her, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword with white knuckles. They don't trust us, Atsuko thought. The other guard was probably asking her boss what to do.
Yukina's limp body was heavy and Atsuko laid her on the ground, making sure her cloak kept her off the muddy ground. "Have you seen the third member of our party? A woman, older than us with greying hair and a spear?" she asked, wiping away the tears.
Still skeptical, the guard said nothing. A moment later his partner arrived and waved at Atsuko to bring her companion in.
"Thank you so much!"
Looking around as furtively as she could, Atsuko saw a handful of what looked like thieves, lounging by fires and leaning on doorways. Eyes followed them. Gauging, curious, hostile eyes. The female guard led them to the biggest hut and Atsuko's stomach fell. The door squeaked open, wet from the rain. The guard waited for Atsuko to enter. She took a deep breath, throwing a concerned glance at Yukina's limp body to buy herself time to get her mind together, and walked in.
As Atsuko's eyes adjusted to the dark, she saw a small fire blossoming in the center of the hut. A handful of thieves lounged about, watching her. At the opposite side, a wooden chair faced the entire room. In it a tall lanky figure sat with a leg thrown over one arm. A pale hand waved at the guard who bowed and retreated, presumably back to her post. Atsuko faced the leader, making no attempt to hide her shaking.
"Lost hunting in the forest?" said the figure, the voice masculine. Something about it told Atsuko that their ruse had been as transparent as glass.
"Yes, sir," she replied with a tremble in her voice that wasn't forced. "Please. My friend. She needs help."
The leg lifted off the chair arm and the figure leaned forward. A long thin face with intelligent black eyes bored into her.
He didn't speak for a moment. Probing her act to see one last time if it was the ruse he suspected, Atsuko thought. She kept still but for a trembling in her hands. Yukina shifted slightly and moaned, the sound so quiet Atsuko could barely hear it over the beating of her heart.
"You seem terrified," the man said. "Why? You are safe now." He gestured at the room. "We have warmth, shelter, and food we can offer you."
Could but probably won't. "I'm scared because we are lost and because I do not know you."
"And yet you seek our help."
"I seek any help. I didn't see anywhere else to go."
The black eyes watched her unblinking. After several tense moments, he waved his hand again. "We will see to your friend. In the meantime, we'll get you a place to rest."
Opening her mouth to argue, Yukina wriggled a finger a millimeter, brushing Atsuko's wrist like a feather. No, better to wait. They still had to find Gisuke and from what Atsuko had seen, there were too many guards for them to make a reckless assault.
Another guard led her to one of the huts. Pulling aside the flimsy cloth that served as a door, Atsuko ducked inside. With the cool after the rain, the meager lantern in the middle of the hut gave off a welcome, if little, heat. The cloth fell back into place
Inside the hut about twelve people sat huddling together for warmth and comfort, a look of fear plastered on each and every face.
The villagers. As they'd expected, they were alive, but held hostage.
Crawling to the lantern, Atsuko rubbed her hands along her arms, trying to warm them. No one said a word. They must be terrified.
Many of those she could see were old. They should have been sitting back and letting their children and grandchildren take care of them. Now they huddled around the only light, holding onto each other with a mix of sadness, fear, and resignation. Something burned in Atsuko's stomach and she had to bite back fierce words that she knew wouldn't help anyone.
Not all the prisoners were old, though. She heard a few babies sniffling, saw some tufts of hair from young children. A shape stood and approached the lantern. A young woman, just a bit older than Atsuko, sat between her and the villagers. Her face showed none of the helplessness. Instead Atsuko saw challenge and fire. She was the only one her age in the entire room.
"Who are you?" the young woman demanded.
"My name is Atsuko. I was hunting with my sister and we stumbled on your village." The lie almost stuck in her throat, but she had gathered precious little information about the thieves. It was not inconceivable that they would plant a spy or turncoat among the villagers.
The woman's palm flew at Atsuko's face. Out of instinct she pulled back, dodging the blow, her hand reaching out to grab her wrist. Surprise rippled through the villagers. Those sorts of reflexes were not common among villagers, only among those who knew how to fight. Atsuko had just given herself away.
"Who are you?" the woman asked again. The anger and accusation was gone this time. Was that…hope?
Atsuko let go of her wrist, the panic fading. "My name is Atsuko. I am a shinobi from Konoha. We received your call for aid."
A collective breath of relief this time. Some voices praised gods, some just gave thanks.
"We thought you weren't coming," breathed the woman. "Where is Amia?"
"Is that the girl you sent? She is safe in our village."
"Have you seen her?" the woman pressed. "Is she okay?"
"I have not seen her, but Konoha is a friendly village. We wouldn't put your daughter in danger."
A flash of suspicion crossed the woman's face at Atsuko's correct guess but she relaxed, apparently content with the explanation. "I am Kaoru. Please tell me your plan for saving us."
Cautiously, Atsuko looked around. The villagers hung on her words, leaning forward with anticipation. They wanted to hear the magic words that Atsuko was here to save them and their nightmare was over.
"I need more information before I can act. I came with two others. We were scouting when the first of my teammates was taken. I don't know where he is. The other member was brought in with me, but they separated us. Do you know where they would have taken them?"
"They're probably questioning the one brought in with you," Kaoru said, her voice hard. "I don't know where your other teammate would be. It's not like we have prisons."
"What happens when you try to leave?"
The faces paled and they huddled even closer together.
Kaoru held up a forearm covered in cuts. "If we are lucky, they beat us back with spears and swords. If we are not lucky, they kill one of us to keep us subservient."
"Do they ever have you leave? To do things for them?"
"At sunrise, those of us who can are sent to the fields to work. That's why they're here — to take our wheat. It's a unique strain that has a high yield. It's highly sought after. But it required lots of work, which they are completely unwilling to do."
Atsuko asked more questions, trying to get a sense of what she was dealing with. The thieves clearly had no idea what they were dealing with, or they wouldn't have put Atsuko in with them.
Kaoru and her villagers hadn't been completely docile, though, and she was able to give Atsuko good details on the number of thieves, their routines, their lack of routines, their personalities. Atsuko was impressed. Her mind turned about the pieces of information they gave freely, trying to visualize a path between the obstacles.
"Where would they keep my friends? Any isolated buildings, sturdy structures, storage closets, anything?" Atsuko asked.
"We have a large hut to hold the gathered wheat," one of the villagers said. "It's mostly filled with what they've made us harvest, but there is enough room to hold a prisoner."
"The doors are heavy and made to deter those who would steal from us." Kaoru gave a visible shake of rage. "That's where they would be."
The thieves weren't stupid. They wouldn't put two strange people together. Gisuke had been scouting and wouldn't have been able to hide his origin. He would be in the hut. Yukina was still an unknown. A suspicious man might keep her nearby, just in case. Yes, Yukina would be in the hut with the leader. If they wouldn't let the villagers leave, Atsuko would have a hard time getting out under her alias. She might do it for show a few times, but she doubted it would work. In that case, she'd have to be a ninja and sneak out. If she could get the team back together, Yukina could come up with a new plan and save the villagers.
Standing, Atsuko took a deep breath. There would be two guards on the other side of the cloth door. They would be listening, watching. Trying to decide if Atsuko was a threat. It would be easier to go along with it for a while and catch them off-guard, but the villager's lives plus that of her teammates were in jeopardy. She couldn't afford to wait.
It was late now. Cold seeped in through the cloth-covered doorway, rippling with the breeze. Pulling her cloak tighter around her, she put on a brave face and pulled aside the cloth.
"Hello?" she called.
"Whadya want?" drawled one of the guards. He was sitting on the step, a bottle dangling from one finger. His partner shifted behind Atsuko, her long spear scraping along the crude wood.
"You should be resting," she said, her tone tinged with enough danger that Atsuko knew better than to ignite.
"Please, I haven't heard anything about my friend. Is she going to be okay?"
"She's fine, now get back inside."
"How do you know? You've been here the whole time."
The woman sighed and the man chuckled as he took a swig.
"Please, can I see her?"
"She's probably being treated and fed right now. Get some sleep. You can see her in the morning."
Atsuko made a show of being on the verge of tears. She sniffed loudly.
Rolling her eyes, the woman prodded the man with the butt of her spear. "Go check on the other one."
"Why me?" he whined.
"Because I need to…protect these people. Go see if the boss will let her see her."
Grumbling, he made a show of snatching his bottle and wobbling off into the dark. Atsuko forced a smile to the remaining guard. "Thank you."
Flashing eyes, the guard said, "You'd better get back inside where it's warm."
Atsuko knew a veiled threat when she heard one, and nodded, retreating just enough the cloth curtain could fall. The villagers behind her made no sound, and Atsuko sat patiently waiting and listening.