THE FOREST

Kaiza looked from the distance to note a man, Gari, kissing his wife to ease her protesting and clenched his fist.

"I'll come back, I promise," he said, his hands brushing through her long hair.

Gari knew she wanted to believe him, but her tears fell all the same, and he wiped one away with his thumb.

"You better," she said.

Taking his sword, he left his home and walked to the town center. Fifteen men gathered there, a third of them holding torches. The rest held knives, pitchforks, and the occasional sword. They surrounded Kaiza, who lifted a torch high above his head.

"It means a lot," Gari heard him saying as he neared. "Can't tell you all just how much, but it does. My Tsunami would be damn proud, I do know that. We can't let anyone else get hurt."

"Damn straight," shouted another man named Shinzu, the closest thing Wave had to a blacksmith. "We aren't sheep for them to hunt!"

Kaiza shifted his head in the negative. "But you are sheep!" With his rise in tone, everyone's attention was turned to him. "Sheep! That is, until you take up arms, as you have! This land belongs to the strong. It is weakness that lets men ignore the dangers about them, causes them to remain quiet in the face of injustice, to turn a blind eye to the chaos of the world!"

The people began to nod as their morale kept rising with every syllable of his words.

"Tonight!" Kaiza cried out, looking with conviction into each and every one of their eyes. "You do more than make Tsunami proud. Tonight you do yourselves proud, your families…" Kaiza shared a brief gaze with Gari whose face stilled. "…and your entire village! Let the Grimm fear our wrath!"

The rest cheered and Gari followed suit. He still clung to his daughter in his arms, his only child in her second year, and he keenly felt the call for strength and pride.

His sword shook in his hand, but it was from excitement, not fear.

Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura watched from the distance. Sasuke was spotted with a grin on his face while Naruto looked impassively.

"What do you say now, Naruto?"

"They'll die, and it'll be your fault."

"That's what you see." He spoke. "What I see," Sasuke looked on with a smirk. "…is that they'd never be afraid of the Grimm, never again."

"To the river!" Kaiza cried out, and the rest took up the call.

"To the river!"

Gari followed, imagining the cheer he'd receive if he were to slay a Grimm. Kaiza insisted there would be one or two nearby, three at the most. With the group of them, plus Sasuke at their front, they would crush any of the monsters they encountered.

Shinzu, their blacksmith, always liked to brag about the time he beat down two men from the neighboring village unarmed, but who could top the bravery of him facing down a Grimm and plunging his blade through its eye?

At the town's edge, Naruto slipped into the group beside Gari, remaining at the back. His body armor made Gari feel naked in his simple farmer's clothing.

"Coming with us?" Gari asked Naruto, unable to contain his excitement. With the shinobi with them, they were going to end this. "That's great. The Grimm don't stand a chance now."

Naruto glanced down to his breastplate, and Gari saw the thick scratches across its front, dulling the shine. Some of his excitement faded, replaced with a cold fear in his belly.

"I pray that they don't." Naruto said.

They arrived at the river. Shinzu had agreed to let them take his boat, which he used for a rare trip south to sell extra crops to the shinobi patrol close to the Capital. It seated four, but only Sasuke and two others crossed the first time not wishing to overload it because of the weapons and heavy armor. Back and forth the boat went, taking several minutes for each trip. The river was wide and slow, its waters cold from the mountains streams that fed it.

Gari hung back with Naruto, feeling safer at his side.

"We'll be able to kill them, won't we?" He asked as his nerves continued to grow. He felt fine when moving, as if filled with a sense of purpose, but now that he stood at the edge of a dark forest, watching a small boat travel back and forth across the river, he felt his confidence falter.

"Sasuke and I killed one by ourselves," The sixteen year old blond said, smiling at him. "And with all of you here, we can handle many more. But do not hope for combat, nor a chance to be a hero. Pray that we all come home safe, and that your village will never see another one of those wicked creatures for many, many years."

Gari shifted uncomfortably on his feet. He was considerably older that the teen next to him, but still, it seemed he had seen more, learnt more than he ever had. For a moment, he wondered what it meant to be a shinobi.

"It must be hard."

Naruto blinked. "Huh?"

"Being a shinobi."

He chuckled. "Well, I'm not one yet."

"But still." Gari spoke, shifting uncomfortably on his feet, while staring at the leaf-strewn ground. "The things you must have seen. I know we probably will lose a couple here. I just don't want to be a coward."

Naruto placed a hand on the older man's shoulder, and when Gari looked over, his eyes were kind and unafraid.

"I think I know you well enough, Gari, to say there isn't the slightest chance of that." Naruto looked ahead and pointed to the shore. "Look, our turn."

Sasuke was organizing men into groups of five on the other bank when they beached.

"Naruto," He called, seeing their boat arrive. "How was it?"

"Tiring."

"Heh."

Sakura came into view with an axe seen on her back. "The ones over there are armed and ready, I think if we lead smaller groups, and help flank each other we should limit any surprises."

Sasuke nodded.

"Four groups should be enough," said Naruto. "Give me the smallest, and I'll watch our flank."

Sasuke nodded and pointed at Gari, Naruto and the third bearing a torch. As he neared, Gari recognized him as the eldest son of his neighbor, a good child named Sora. He wasn't even fifteen yet.

"What are you doing here?" Gari asked him. "Does your father know you are here?"

Sora grimaced and refused to meet his gaze.

"It won't hurt any one."

"This isn't a normal hunt, boy."

"It's all right, besides, I think it's a bit late to be sending him back now." Naruto said, pulling his shield off his back. A soft blue white glow came over it, and immediately Gari felt his anxiety sliding away as it bathed over him. "Stay at my side at all times, Sora, and keep your torch raised high. The Grimm don't react well to light."

"Stay together, and do not do anything foolish." Sakura spoke to the four groups. "I have their trail, I can feel them close."

Sakura led the way, four of their strongest at her side, three wielding swords, one dual-wielding torch and dagger. The other groups marched behind and at either side. Sasuke taking the left and Naruto at the rear position.

Naruto let them gain a bit of distance, then followed.

Gari felt his stomach twist into knots as they walked deeper into the forest. It was said that the Grimm had taken over the land ruining the soil and stripping the land of wildlife. It was all superstition though, but now that he was here, he wasn't so sure anymore.

The grass was a pale yellow, though that could have been because of autumn's arrival, not any after effect of the Grimm.

There were no trees beyond the edge of the river, instead long, sloped hills looking barren in the glowing moonlight. A thousand campfire stories ran through his head, and try as he might, he couldn't banish them.

The barren forest was rumored to hold all kinds of villainous Grimm, and of all the stories, he knew at least they existed. He'd seen the corpse tied at the town's entrance.

Deeper and deeper into the barren forest they travelled. Sora grew increasingly nervous, but strangely, that made Gari feel better. His pride refused to let him show fear to a young boy approaching manhood, Naruto being an exemption.

"Maybe they've turned tail and run," he said.

"You sure Sasuke-san knows where they are?" Sora asked. "I don't see no tracks."

Gari frowned at the comment. Sora was right. No Grimm tracks? How then did Sakura know of their presence? He didn't want to ask any dumb questions if he didn't have to. Sasuke and everyone else were focusing on the hunt and distracting them might be even dangerous. He decided to give it a minute to think about it before he started making a ruckus.

"Trust them," whispered Gari to Sora. "There are experienced trackers among us."

Gari did his best to clear his mind and calm down. He felt the cool air and heard the stamping of feet as they marched along. His eyes then widened.

That was it! He saw no tracks because they were behind at least a dozen men stamping over them.

He relayed his realization to Sora, and the boy nodded, giving a half smile. That made the older man feel better.

The river was but a distant shimmer when they heard the first growl of the Grimm. It cut through Gari like a knife, and for the first time it seemed like he realized where he was, and what he was doing. He looked to his sword, an old relic passed down for four generations. He hadn't even sharpened it before coming out, ignorant of the proper way and not thinking to check with Shinzu the blacksmith.

Men from the other three groups were certainly thinking something similar, for they heard them muttering among themselves.

A second Grimm's growl was heard, this time from the opposite side.

"Careful, Sasuke, Sakura," Naruto whispered, although the two were out of earshot. It did little to help Gari's already crumbling bravery.

They followed the lead groups into a gap between two gentle hills, their slopes hardly taller than a man. Their pace had slowed considerably, and Naruto lessened the distance between them and the others. When the growls came again, they echoed all around them.

Gari swallowed, his mouth feeling stuffed with cotton. Beside him, the torch shook in Sora's hand.

"Just two," Naruto said, noting their expressions. "Either side of the hills. Don't panic. Stay with me, always with me."

Several of the men on the right cried out and pointed. Gari looked but only saw the hill. Another sounded, this one directly behind them. He spun, his knuckles white as he gripped his sword. The grass was empty. Someone from the lead group was startled and was swiftly ordered quiet by Sakura. More and more growls and this time it was the men on the left who pointed. Gari caught sight of a dark blur, and he couldn't believe how fast it glided over the hill, vanishing on the other side.

Their groups halted, each one facing a direction.

Moments later, Sasuke arrived and grabbed Naruto by the arm.

"Surrounded," he whispered. Gari stared back to the distant river, pretending he didn't hear and almost wishing he couldn't. Blurred shaped Grimm approached, hovering low to the ground. His heart crawled up his throat.

"How many?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know. According to Sakura, probably seven, or nine."

"We need to get out of here Sasuke. We aren't prepared, not for those numbers. Such a large amount of Class III-"

The Grimm growled, and they came from all sides, merging together so that Gari couldn't begin to know how many there were. He imagined hordes of the creatures, enough to blot out the eastern grasslands, snarling while drool dripped from their fangs…

Naruto grabbed his kunai, and Sasuke drew his sword, fire bathing all over it.

"You might want to include your semblance in this situation, Naruto. Lives are at risk."

Naruto exhaled. "Exactly why I can't reveal it here. I might lose control."

Sasuke scoffed and shouted to the people. "We hold!"

Gari shouted. "To the river Sasuke, we must flee to the river! We will have advantage in the wat-"

"No!" Sakura shouted, her axe glowing white. "We will hold."

Sasuke and Sakura rushed to the front, leaving the three there to defend. Naruto stood before them, his shield raised.

"Cry out if any comes from the side," he told them. "Gari, stand firm, and watch for an opening. When you see it, do not hesitate. Do not be afraid." He turned looking to Gari and Sora sternly. "Kill it, and live."

"I don't know if I can," Gari said. The dark shaped grew more pronounced, three Grimm running at horrific speed towards them.

"You will," Naruto said.

Somehow a smile was across his face, and for the first time in their whole trip, he looked calm.

The Grimm roared out before colliding with their forces. Naruto stood firm, his legs planted and his shield in place. The three approached side by side, and in unison, they lunged. Gari watched, feeling as if his feet were buried deep into the ground. Sora however, let out a cry and swung his torch. The right most Grimm, having focused on Naruto, howled and turned its head away.

Its slash went wild, and then it dug its claws into the earth to slow its momentum. The other two slammed into Naruto. Gari expected him to fly back, unable to endure such power, but then the light of his shield flared. The Grimm cried out in pain, and then it was they who fell back, one staggering on two legs, the other falling to all fours and snarling.

It shook its head as if to clear away a fog. Naruto didn't let up, stepping in and bashing its skull with the sharp edge of his shield. It hit with a crack that made Gari's stomach turn.

The one that had sailed past returned, this time more carefully. Sora waved his torch back and forth at it, as if shooing away a stray dog. At first Gari feared he'd been injured, seeing something slick on his clothes, but then realized the boy had lost control of his bladder. He couldn't blame him. From up ahead, he heard constant screams of pain, snarls of wolves, and chaotic orders combined with pleading.

"I'm no beast scared of fire." The Grimm snarled at Sora. Gari nearly felt his own bladder let go. The creatures could talk?! Why had no one told him they could talk? Kaiza said it laughed at him, but he'd thought he was hallucinating, caused by sorrow to hear strange things. The creature's voice was deep, grumbling. He then realized the intelligence they must possess is they could communicate in such a way. Kaiza had made it sound like they'd gone to hunt mindless monsters. But this… this…

The Grim was focused on Sora and his torch and appeared to be about to pounce.

With a shout, Gari charged. He brought up the blade of his sword around with all his might and struck muscle. Although the blade was dull, blood spurted. The Grimm snarled and backhanded Gari. It was like a sledgehammer.

The next thing Gari knew, he was painfully picking himself from the ground.

He looked through his blurry vision to note that Sora was on the ground, the Grimm on top of the boy. Sora's arms were pinned. The Grimm bared his teeth, and as though savoring the meal he was about to have, he slowly lowered toward Sora's exposed throat.

Gari could not allow Sora to die like this. There wasn't a moment to waste! With the Grimm intent on Sora, it was exposed.

Gari stabbed its side before it could bite down on Sora. His sword sank halfway to the handle, then snapped when the creature twisted. Claws slashed across his face, the pain immense. Blood blotted the vision of his left eye, and he clutched it with a hand.

Be brave, he told himself as the Grimm jumped off Sora. He only saw teeth. The dead one hanging in their town had its teeth ripped out, he realized. He'd never have come if he'd seen them like he saw them now.

Its jaw closed on his shoulder; its weight slammed him to the ground. Warm blood spilled across his chest. He screamed. He tried to swing his sword, but the weapon was pinned down.

"You are not dying today Gari!" Naruto yelled, smashing its body with its shield. Gari, in a daze, saw the light stab into it, as if the glow were a dagger capable of cutting flesh. It released its grip on his shoulder, and he let out an involuntary gasp. Down came a vicious punch from Naruto, catching the retreating wolf across the snout.

Teeth flew and its blood sprayed across them both.

"We will feast!" it shrieked. Naruto's shield shone brighter as his expression was hidden, and amid his delirium, Gari thought he heard the shinobi laugh.

"No." Naruto said his eyes gaining a reddened coloration. "You won't."

The Grimm charged, and Naruto met it head on with a punch so concussive that it smashed the bones of his face, and it stayed down.

"Sora?!" Gari asked, trying to stand. But Sora was fine, and he grabbed Gari's arm and helped him up. In the distance, he could see Sakura and Sasuke cleaving through the increasing horde of Grimm like it was nothing to them.

Was he that weak?

"To the river," Naruto told the two as he turned to join the battle beyond. "Run, and don't stop."

"I wish you luck." Gari said, leaning some of his weight on Sora.

"You as well." Said Naruto, as soon as they were out of sight, Naruto looked around to note the increasing horde trying to surround him and he gave a dark smirk.

Now I don't really have to worry about harming any innocents.

Sakura was on full form, using her axe with incredible agility and dexterity. With her weapon glowing white, she easily maneuvered around the Grimm's quick attacks, and with an incredible use of strength, cut through them like butter.

They were weak, but their strength was in numbers. Very soon, they were going to try and wear her out.

Within a brief moment, she looked to note the few that lost their lives during this encounter. This was not on her, she had made her peace with that. The issue was that Naruto wouldn't think along those lines.

Quickly reacting, she used the flat side of her axe to block a vicious hit from behind that would have really messed her up, and jumped to the air, before using her axe to cleave its head in two.

With a brutal wide arc she cut through most of the Grimm surrounding her in a move.

Sasuke on his own kept using his sword, enhanced by his flames to cut through a wide number of them. Channeling his aura, a wide arc of fire emerged from his sword, burning through a great number of them.

Kaiza, although he was a farmer, had a bit of military training, and was able to react in time, avoiding hits that would have made him part of yesterday's memory.

"What do we do Sasuke?!" Kaiza asked in alarm as a Grimm batted away most of their forces. "They keep coming!"

Sasuke just scoffed and yelled out, "Stand your ground!"

Widening his eyes, he looked down to note a hand emerging from the ground grabbling his foot in a tight grip, keeping him in place.

Shit!

He wasn't given time to cut through the hand as a Grimm flew from above towards him, intending to take a good chunk of his shoulder. For a moment, Sasuke, feared for his life.

That was before, Naruto jumped right over him and rammed the Grimm mid-air, sending it headfirst to the ground.

Sasuke ignored the sound of bones breaking and used his sword to cut through the Grimm that attempted to emerge from the ground, freeing its grip on his leg in the process.

Naruto landed right behind Sasuke, their backs facing each other.

"We didn't account for this much, Sasuke." Naruto spoke as Sasuke grit his teeth, looking to the distance to note another incoming horde from the mountains. "They need to retreat, we can hold them off; they can't."

A bloodstained Sakura landed within their midst. "What do we do?!"

Sasuke bit his lip, this was getting out of hand.

Just how many were they?

Gari and Sora stumbled west, between the hills and towards the river. As soon as they saw the river in the distance. Gari's shoulder burned, and every breath he took felt like fire in his lungs. Sora didn't look much better, but guilty as he felt for burdening his wounded friend. Gari knew he could not retreat without aid. They glanced back only once, the torches looking like glowing dots in the distance.

It seemed like an eternity, but they reached the river and the waiting boat. Sora helped him inside, then prepared to push it into the water.

"Wait." Gari said. "His head felt light, but damn did it feel good to sit down. He clutched his shoulder and wished the pain would go away. Dimly, he wondered how badly the creature had scarred his face.

"No." Sora said, realizing what he wanted. "Please no, we can go-"

"We stay."

Sora sighed, then shook his head.

"Fine." He looked to the glowing dots in the distance that seemed to reduce in number. "You're right."

They watched and waited for the first to show. A minute later, three men appeared, two relatively unscathed, but the third limped along in their arms, his left leg mangled and missing his foot.

"Hurry," Gari said, beckoning them to the boat.

"We thought you'd leave," said one of them.

"Never. Push us off, and then get in Sora. This boat will float with five."

Out on the peaceful water, it seemed the fight was a hundred miles away. If not for the pain, Gari might have convinced himself that it was a horrible, horrible nightmare. When they reached the other side, one of the men helped him out, and he lay against a tree beside the other wounded man.

"The others," Gari said to a scarred Sora, pointing back to the barren forest. He felt sleepy, and knew if he close his eyes he'd succumb to it, but this was important. "You must… you must go back…"

Sora was crying, his face wet with tears, but still he went to the boat and started to push.

"No," said a larger man. Jinrai Hideki, he realized. Jinrai was always quick to argue, more temper than sense. But he seemed calm here, and he eased Sora out. "I'll go."

He stepped into the boat, angled it, and began rowing.

Time grew slippery. Gari remembered the first boat returning, weeping men disembarking. He heard muttering, names listed off. Counting the dead, he realized. He wondered if they counted him or not. More men appeared, though he didn't remember their arrival. The water splashed the shore, and he wished to dip his hand in it. Suddenly he was very thirsty.

"Gari?" someone asked. He opened his eyes, not remembering closing them. A young face hovered over him, blurry and unrecognizable.

"Get back," he mumbled. "I'm tired."

"Gari, it's Sora. You got to stay awake. Shinzu says you got to…"

Darkness filled with the sound of water. Something touched his shoulder, and the pain awakened there. He opened his eyes and saw Naruto kneeling before him. Sakura was seen with her hands over his shoulder a green glow enveloping his injuries. His drowsiness faded, and the pain, which had been all encompassing, shrank down to something he could endure, something he could comprehend. Carefully, Naruto wiped the blood from Gari's left eye with his bare thumb so he could see.

"Stand, Gari-san." He said, taking his hand. "You have a wife and child waiting for you."