Bloodbath

Two years ago

A repetitive hammering echoed through the trees; ominously loud among the quiet chirping of birds and insects. Tsuki apprehensively stroked the katana at her side, peering out through the cracks in the shutters at the misty darkness outside. Hammering the last of the nails into the boards he was barricading the door with, Kaito stepped back and inspected his work.

"There we go," he said proudly, "No-ones getting through that."

Yuina shuffled past, a stack of wooden plank cradled in her arms. "Ryoichi is the most powerful ninja I have ever met," she scoffed, "I doubt some shoddy planks are going to cause him any trouble."

Kaito sniffed dejectedly, half-heartedly hammering in some more nails. Aya sat on the reception desk, swaying slightly, making the multitude of weapons strapped to her jingle.

"So who exactly is this guy?" she asked Yuina, who was busy arranging scrolls in a neat line on the floor.

"Ryoichi is an outcast," she replied without looking up from her work, "he was cast out by those who had taken him in and, by the look of it, he has not taken it well."

Everybody pondered this silently for moment.

"Were you the one who cast him out?" asked Tsuki hesitantly.

Yuina nodded. "He was my pupil," she said, stroking a scroll absent mindedly, "I found him alone in the woods, lost and badly injured." She sighed and placed the scroll forcefully down next to the others, slightly crinkling it. "He showed amazing promise; I could see he would one day become a powerful ninja."

Kaito raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "So why did you ditch him?" he asked over his shoulder as he positioned another nail in the boards.

Yuina stared into space for a while, and Tsuki worried she wouldn't answer.

"He wasn't…" Yuina began at last, before stopping to think, "What I was looking for in a pupil…"

The three others exchanged glances.

"He didn't understand boundaries between good and evil," she continued, turning away from her scrolls and facing the young ninjas, "All he cared about was achieving his aims, by any means." She pawed the desk top, her eyes glazing slightly. "I put up with it for a while, but later on Ryoichi developed a… god complex..."

Kaito sighed knowingly. "I know what that's like to live with."

Yuina raised an eyebrow. "Maybe," she replied, "but Ryoichi had the power to become practically god-like. And with his amoral perspective on life, he was not a benevolent god."

The four of them stared at each other in silence. An owl hooted somewhere far outside.

"Eventually," Yuina sighed sadly, "Ryoichi became sick of me and the rules I tried to bind him with. He decided to prove his capability. A lot of innocent people died because of it. After that I truly realised the malevolence in Ryoichi and I knew that I could not keep him me any longer." Yuina coughed and Tsuki saw her stifle a sob. "I threw him out, hoping that somehow he would find his own path." She smiled bitterly. "He did. Enraged by what he saw as betrayal, he went away, becoming even stronger and returned to find me." Yuina brushed at a straw lock of hair on her forehead, attempting to mask her wiping away a tear. "He had changed," she said coldly, "he had become pure evil, only wanting to cause suffering. Ryoichi killed my children in front of me, letting the memories fester for years. Only now has he returned to complete his revenge."

Yuina began to shake, her hair covering her reddening face as she dug her nails into the floorboards. An aura of power flooded the room and the walls began to shudder, making the three young ninja brace themselves against the furniture.

"I should have killed him when I first found him in the woods!" spat Yuina, her nails making deep gashes in the wooden floor.

Aya slipped off the desk and laid her hand on Yuina's quivering shoulder.

"Then let's do it now," she said confidently, patting the Zanbato.

Yuina looked up at the girl in surprise.

"Yes," she answered, beaming proudly, "we fight the demon head on and kill him!"

"Will you really?"

All four of them froze at the sound of the new voice. The voice resonated with contempt and mocking tones, saturated in a palpable aura of malice. Tsuki sensed an unfamiliar heartbeat behind her, pulsating slowly and efficiently, every beat piercing into her soul like a hammer and chisel. She whirled around, katana already drawn, to see a dark figure standing in the shadowed corner. The others joined her in an instant, brandishing their intimidating looking arsenal of weaponry.

"Ryoichi!" Yuina hissed at the shadowy man.

A humourless spitting laugh shot out of the dark. Tsuki could see the outline of the man in the murky shadow, leaning casually on the wooden panelling of the walls. No further response forthcoming, Yuina leapt at Ryoichi, shuriken drawn, screaming her hate. The others swiftly followed, all four of them descending towards Ryoichi in lethal aerial attacks. A bemused chuckle met Tsuki's ears. Ryoichi raised his index finger. Everything exploded.

Meanwhile, in the next room, Kazuki lay on top of his hospital bed with his arms folded in frustration. He had discarded the itchy striped pyjamas in favour of his more familiar black leather clothes.

"It's not fair," he sulked, glaring at the ceiling, "they're out there fighting and I've been sent to bed!" He banged his head against the pillow irritably. "I'm not a child…"

Suddenly something stirred in the adjacent bed. A man with tatty brown hair rolled over to face Kazuki, a bloodstained bandage covering both of his eyes.

"Then why are you acting like one?" he asked.

Kazuki blinked. "Huh?"

"You've been grounded," said the man, giving him a friendly smile, "Adults don't get grounded."

"I haven't been grounded," protested Kazuki, sitting up, "I'm injured."

The man laughed. "Are you? I'm sorry, I couldn't see, what with having my eyes taken out and such." He held out a hand in Kazuki's general direction. "I'm Makoto," he said as Kazuki shook his clammy, grubby hand.

"Kazuki," replied Kazuki.

Makoto's eyebrow rose slightly. "Oh yeah," he said, "You must be 'Zuki-kun'."

Kazuki glared at the blind man, to little effect. "Don't call me that," he growled.

"But that's what the girls…"

"Yeah, OK!" interrupted Kazuki. He slumped down onto the mattress. "I wish I was out there…" he sighed.

"Nah," Makoto said, "You're better off here."

Kazuki glanced at him. "Really?"

"Yeah," said Makoto, tapping the bloodied bandage on his face, "Look what happened to me."

Kazuki nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose you're right."

"On the other hand," Makoto said abruptly, "What if something happens to your friends?"

"What?" asked Kazuki, staring at Makoto.

Makoto scratched the bed frame with a long fingernail. "If one of the others lost suffered my fate," he said, staring blindly into space, "Could you forgive yourself for not being there?"

Kazuki stared at the man, holding his blind gaze.

"When I was blinded," Makoto continued, sitting upright and hugging his knees, "I had to stay right here in bed as my comrades went out and fought. None of them came back." Makoto sniffed and wiped his nose, almost missing. "I keep wondering whether they might have made it back if I was there."

Kazuki blinked and gazed down at his feet. "If they died, and I wasn't there to stop it," Kazuki whispered, "I don't think I could forgive myself."

Makoto nodded sagely. The two of them sat there in silence for a while, not looking at each other. Suddenly Kazuki leapt out of bed.

"I'm going to help," he told Makoto firmly.

"Good," replied Makoto, grinning. He leant over to one side and stuck his hand into a split in the mattress cover. "Here", he said, pulling out a brown cloth bundle and handing it to Kazuki.

The black-clad ninja unfolded the bundle to reveal two, short, straight-bladed swords. They were held in leather sheathes, one black, one white.

"These belonged to my parents," Makoto explained as Kazuki drew them out and gave them a few testing slashes, "They represent Yin and Yang. Separated, they are just normal swords, but together they become much more powerful." He paused. "Don't tell Yuina-san that I hid them in here."

Kazuki smiled gratefully and nodded, sheathing the swords. He could hear raised voices in the next room and started to make for the door.

"Thanks," he said over his shoulder, reaching for the door.

"No problem," replied Makoto cheerfully, waving in completely the wrong direction, "Good luck."

Kazuki smiled back and turned to open the door. As soon as he slid it open, he froze to the sound of a huge crack.

"Ah…" he sighed as a wall of broken wood and flame came rushing towards his face.

Time seemed to slow and Tsuki hung in the air, katana raised above her head, chain tinkling quietly around her stretched out body. To her right, a little ahead of her, Kaito floated with her, twin-bladed staff pointing towards the shadows chest. She gazed dumbly at Ryoichi's dark gloved hand, the index finger slowly and ominously rising. Kaito opened his mouth in a furious, silent cry and lunged at him with the staff. The long thin blade screamed towards Ryoichi just as the finger reached its apex. Barely an inch from Ryoichi's torso, the deadly blade was whipped away as the world blurred. Sound returned to Tsuki's ears as the room exploded in on itself, shooting large wooden splinters everywhere. Kaito was hit in the chest by something the thickness of a smallish tree crashing through the wall, flinging him across the room and out through the opposite wall. Jets of flame followed it through the splintered holes, engulfing the rest of them. Tsuki gasped as Aya was smashed into her by the force of the blast, slamming them both into the reception desk. Tsuki caught a charred stench as Aya's hair began to burn before frantic hands batted the fire out. Tsuki coughed and blinked up at the ceiling. A massive thorny vine the size of a tree swayed above her like a waiting cobra, its thorns dripping purple ooze. Without warning, dozens of other thorns erupted from the ceiling and wall in waving lines. The building shuddered violently as the hospital was squeezed down. A sharp, broken ceiling board, drenched in fire, suddenly fell from the ceiling. Aya pulled a shuriken from her belt and threw it at the board, deflecting it into the wall. Immense cracks broke across the ceiling, creating a forest of splintered wood waiting to fall towards them.

"How many shuriken do you have?" Tsuki asked, staring up at the vibrating ceiling.

Aya watched the boards shake precariously. "Not enough…"

With a mighty crack the ceiling broke under the pressure and a volley of razor sharp wood made straight for them. Aya and Tsuki rolled onto their fronts, huddling close to protect each other's faces. The wind was knocked out of Tsuki as a huge weight slammed into her back. A wave of heat washed over them and the lights went out.

The pressure holding Tsuki down lifted. She turned onto her back, her body aching. An agonising pain shot up through her knee. She looked down and yelped in alarm to see her lower leg bent upwards, her foot resting on her stomach. She grabbed the limb and twisted it back down, biting her lip until it bled. Letting chakra flow through her, she felt the bone realign and seal together. Sighing with relief, she blinked up towards where the ceiling was. Her eyes widened as she saw Yuina standing over her, a bundle of sharp wooden stakes in each arm, shielding Tsuki and Aya (who was lying on the ground, moaning quietly) from the lethal hail of splinters. A drop of red liquid dripped onto Tsuki's face as Yuina sank to her knees, a thin piece of wood thrusting out of the flesh of her shoulder. She let the rest of the wood fall as Tsuki pulled Yuina down and wrenched the splinter out. She started to heal the wound but Yuina batted her away and began to do it herself.

"Save your chakra," she told Tsuki, gritting her teeth.

Feeling unloved, Tsuki knelt down beside Aya, who was still groaning.

"Are you OK?" she asked.

Aya moaned painfully. "No…"

"Good, you're fine," said Tsuki, pulling the red eyed girl to her feet.

Aya coughed out a lungful of dust and blood. "Where's Kaito?" she asked.

The two girls looked around. The hospital had been completely destroyed, only a metre or so high fence of broken planks marking its boundary. A thick mist had descended over the forest, obscuring their sight beyond the perimeter of the ruins. A choked cough echoed around them. They rushed to its source as a bruised and bloodied Kaito shoved a large chunk of wood off him. His coat ran with blood from where the thorns of the vine had struck him. Tsuki laid a hand on his chest as they hauled him up, inhibited by not being able to see his skin as she healed him. Kaito muttered his thanks and picked up his staff. Yuina remained on edge, peering into the mist for a sign of Ryoichi. Tsuki sensed the stuttering heartbeats of survivors in the wreckage of the medical wards, but something else caught her attention.

"There're loads of them coming towards us from all sides!" she called.

Yuina cursed. "Ryoichi's men," she explained, "Blind idiots who follow him like he's a god."

As the four of them formed a circle facing outwards, shapes appeared in the mist. Without warning, a man, dressed in scarlet, darkened by the damp mist leapt into view in front of Aya, swinging a katana. His face was covered by a black balaclava, but his eyes radiated blind fanaticism and bloodlust. Aya leapt out the way nimbly, leaving the katana embedded in the dirt where her feet were. With but a thought, Aya struck out with her telekinesis, hurling the hapless ninja across the open ground. He connected brutally with the jagged wooden barrier, flipping over the top and was lost in the mist, leaving nothing but a bloody smear on the wood. There was no respite however, as a horde of identical men vaulted over the barricade, undaunted by their comrade's defeat. The two sides stood eyeing each other for a moment before a skirmish of flying shuriken began. Tsuki agilely dodged the rain of blades that came at her from all sides and rolled out of the firing line. She rolled straight through the legs of one surprised ninja before lashing out behind her with the dagger. The knife slashed across the back of his legs, hamstringing him and causing him to collapse with a scream of agony before writhing on the floor helplessly. Instantly she sensed danger and raised her katana in defence as a heavy axe hurtled towards her head. The powerful blow knocked her back and deadened her arm. As she stumbled, a shuriken whizzed towards her. Tsuki managed to catch the shuriken, but lost her balance as a result and toppled backwards. She looked up to see the large enemy raising his axe for a death blow. Instinctively she kicked out sharply, her foot thudding into the man's crotch. He let out an anguished groan and Tsuki barely avoided the axe as it fell from his grip. With one movement she caught it in mid air and swung it at his torso. With a sickening thud the weapon penetrated deep into his chest, hacking through the ribs and bursting a lung open. Blood sprayed Tsuki's previously immaculate black corset and she backed off, leaving the axe wobbling in the man's chest. She watched in shock as he sank to his knees, eyes full of pain and confusion. He may have been a fanatic, but it was clear to Tsuki that this man feared death. Tsuki swallowed, sweat glistening on her brow as the first person she had ever killed keeled over and laid still. Before this could sink in, the end of a staff glanced Tsuki's shoulder, making her stagger and roll to safety. She turned to face her attacker, a new look of predatory menace in her eyes.

Aya leapt over the hapless ninja's head as he swung clumsily with his katana, giggling mockingly. Enraged, the man turned and lunged at her as she landed. Quick as a flash, the blow was blocked by a shuriken that seemed to magically appear in Aya's hand. His right arm locked in place; the man pulled out a long dagger from his belt and stabbed it towards Aya. She grabbed hold of the man's wrist, both of their arms now immobilised. The man sneered under his balaclava.

"Now what're you going to do?" he asked contemptuously.

Aya flashed a coy smile and flicked her wrist sharply. The man flinched as a thin needle shot from the girl's cuff into his forearm.

"Is that the best you've got?" he laughed mockingly, "It's barely a…"

He trailed off, the left side of his face suddenly becoming paralyzed. He tried to get a muffled exclamation out, but Aya had already released him and slashed her sharp blue nails across his jugular. As he fell to the floor in a fountain of gore, Aya was already on her next target. Running full pelt towards an unsuspecting enemy facing towards Yuina, who taking on four of them at once, she leapt into the air. The warning cries of his companions came too late as Aya hit him with a flying kick, the sharp heel of her stiletto stabbing deep into the back of his neck. Aya slammed him into the ground and, to the remaining men's horror, twisted her heel and removed it from the body with a macabre squelch. After recovering their composure, two men drew their katanas and stood defiantly before her. Aya laughed.

"You call that a sword?" she said in what she thought was an Australian accent; "This is a sword!"

She drew the Zanbato, which was almost as tall as she was, making the men widen their eyes in surprise that such a slender girl could even lift something like that. With remarkable speed, she swung the blade over her head and brought it down on one of the men, almost splitting him in two down the middle (both halves looked equally shocked). The other man jumped with fright and darted away. Letting her massive bloodied sword rest on the ground, Aya gestured with one hand. One of the men fighting Yuina suddenly rose kicking and screaming into the air. Aya made a –albeit girlish- throwing motion, sending the man flying at the ninja who was running away. He turned his head in time to see the terrified man slam into him, smashing them both against the wooden wall. After that, none of the men were in a hurry to fight her. Allowed a brief respite, she saw Kaito going one-on-one with an enemy wielding a huge hammer. The man aimed a clumsy downward blow which missed and caused the hammer to stick in the ground. Kaito stepped onto to it and slashed the man across the chest with the bladed staff. He immediately spun the weapon and slashed him again with the other end. As the man stumbled back, Kaito stabbed the blade deep into his exposed neck, feeling the body go limp. As he dealt with the man, another ninja leapt at Kaito from behind. Without even a glance behind him, Kaito pulled the staff out of the neck and into the second man's chest. He dangled there, gurgling as Kaito held him suspended in the air with one hand. He flicked the staff, sending the bleeding body hurtling into the mist before disappearing into a crowd of men in a hail of silver forks. Aya glanced to her right to see three men burst into flames as Yuina used one of her scrolls. To her left, Tsuki was making short work of another ninja, who was panicking and trying to escape as Tsuki attempted to get past his defences.

"Oh yeah," said Aya smugly to herself, "We're kicking ass!"

Tsuki lashed out with her foot, connecting hard with the man's chattering jaw. Blood and teeth splattered everywhere and he was sent flying, landing in a broken heap. Instinctively Tsuki ducked as a shuriken whizzed over her head. She was surprised when the weapon suddenly stopped in mid air and came hurtling back towards her. She leapt out of the way again and landed straight into the arms of a huge enemy ninja. Tsuki squealed as massive tree-like arms tightened in a bear hug, putting huge pressure on her rib bones. Gasping for breath, Tsuki slammed her head back into the man's brow, but it just bounced off with no effect except giving Tsuki a splitting headache. Just as Tsuki thought her ribs would shatter, the man suddenly released her with a cry of pain. He staggered a few paces before collapsing, a silver fork sticking out of the base of his neck. Before Tsuki had time for thanks, she realised that she was surrounded by almost a dozen men, all of whom now turned their attention to her. Dodging a torrent of shuriken and kunai, Tsuki sprinted away in hope of breaking out of the trap. Suddenly a heavy wooden javelin thudded into the ground ahead of her in an almost horizontal angle. Moving too fast to avoid it, Tsuki caught her foot and crashed to the dirt. Wincing, Tsuki tried to rub the stinging dirt from her eyes. Suddenly she felt the heartbeat of someone running at her. Blindly she reached for the katana at her side but a foot kicked hard into her wrist. As she clutched her hand, Tsuki heard her katana go spinning away with a metallic clatter. She panicked and scrambled to her feet, barely able to see and fled away from her attacker. She stumbled as she came across a tall mound of broken wood and furniture. Glancing behind her Tsuki saw a blurry vision of a tall figure walking casually towards her, a long curved sword resting on his shoulder. Desperately she climbed up the mountain of wood, ignoring the many splinters that stuck into her bare palms. All of a sudden she felt a tight grip on her ankle as the man grabbed hold of her. With one pull he dragged her down the slope, sharp edges of the planks gashing her chest. Tsuki flipped over, attempting to slash his face with a piece of sharp wood. Before she could, the man stamped down brutally on her face. Tsuki felt her nose break and hot blood splashed into her eyes. As the world spun around her, the man grabbed hold of her throat and lifted her off her feet with one hand. With the other hand he positioned the curved blade against Tsuki's throbbing jugular. Ignoring the bloody scratches Tsuki was making on his arm with her sharpened fingernails, he drew back the sword, staring triumphantly into Tsuki's defiant purple eyes. She heard Aya call her name over the clash of weaponry and Kaito let out a curse. Tsuki patiently waited for the inevitable killing blow, but the man seemed to be distracted by something near his left leg. Tsuki forced her gaze down to see a scarred and bloodied hand reaching out of the jumble of wooden planks, squeezing the man's bicep with demented force.

"Not just yet," croaked Kazuki, dragging his bruised body out of the hole.

His jacket was torn and bloodstained and a deep gash over his right eye caused blood to cascade over his face like a waterfall. The man blinked in shock as Kazuki gave him a gore dripping malicious grin, clawing is way out of the ground. The boy looked just like a zombie coming back to life. Dropping a startled Tsuki, the man raised his sword for a panicky downward slash. A moment later the man found himself upside down, dangling from the solid hand of a hulking silverback gorilla. Bringing the terrified man close to his face, Kazuki snorted out hot gorilla breath, making the man cough. The gorilla drew back his slab of a fist and punched, snapping the man's neck into pieces with one blow.

The frantic fighting suddenly reached a lull as dozens of pairs of eyes turned to the tattered boy holding the corpse aloft, its head swinging gently; supported only by the few scraps of skin left. Aya, Kaito and Yuina staggered back into a loose circle, all panting like dogs and sweating heavily. Kazuki gazed across at all the faces staring at him. He looked back at the body he was holding, then turned back to his audience, grinning fiendishly. He let the man drop and transformed into a vicious and demented looking wolf. In front of the horrified crowd, he reached down and ripped out the man's throat with his sharp fangs. Turning so that everyone could see, he opened his jaws wide and gulped the bloodied human meat down, making a point of splashing the blood and excess meat all over himself and his surroundings. He swallowed the last of the tender flesh and surveyed the onlookers with predatory wolf eyes, his muzzle dripping with gore. He smiled inside to see the wide, terrified eyes of everybody present, even those of his allies. Yuina stared at him in disbelief, while Kaito had a slightly disappointed glint in his eye and Aya seemed to be having trouble containing her stomach contents. Hearing movement behind him, Kazuki turned his head round inquisitively. Tsuki was sitting there, smooth silver hair now dishevelled with blood splatter, an unreadable expression on her face. Kazuki frowned, looking for a sign of fear or resentment in her wide purple eyes, but their mysteries remained hidden. Returning to human form, Kazuki offered her a hand. Tsuki blinked at the blood drenched digits in front of her and Kazuki was worried she would refuse. Eventually Tsuki smiled and, giving him an understanding nod, grabbed hold of his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet. Together they surveyed the ranks of quivering men before them.

"Ready?" asked Tsuki, both of them sharing a glance.

Kazuki grinned and transformed into a large white tiger. "Oh yeah," Tsuki heard the tiger growl.

Aya and Kaito glanced at each other, both of them smiling slyly. The red-clad ninjas stared dumbly as three heavily armed teenagers and a roaring tiger leapt at them, intent on slaughtering the lot of them.

The vein burst. The hawk flew through a jet of blood and clear of the mass of moving bodies. Kazuki alighted on a wooden board and assumed human form. We wiped his sweaty and blood splattered face and watched the unfolding massacre with some amusement as he caught his breath back. Feeling something trickle down his chin, he shot out an eager thin. Kazuki lapped up the blood, finding that he could now distinguish his own from others. Other people's blood tasted better. He gazed up as Tsuki backflipped over her bewildered opponents head, killing him instantly with a precision strike to the base of the neck. Kazuki had noticed that they were all developing their own unique combat style: Kaito and Tsuki both preferred to take out their opponents with precise, neat blows; while he and Aya usually ended up landing huge clumsy blows that often left their enemies in pieces. Kazuki sniffed.

"My way's more fun…" he thought, "And tastier…"

He frowned, wondering where these strange new thoughts were coming from. Seeing Kazuki standing there, Tsuki ran over to him, leaving the other three to keep the weakening enemy ninjas at bay.

"How many does that make it?" Kazuki asked as the silver haired girl sidled up, wiping blood away from her sparkling purple eyes.

"Four," she answered, smiling as if were all a game.

Kazuki laughed. "Four?" he repeated mockingly, "I can do better than that as a mouse! In fact…"

Kazuki promptly transformed into a tiny dormouse and scurried into the melee. A few seconds later, one of the men ran out screaming and clawing frantically at his back. Tsuki watched with bemusement as the man collapsed and lay twitching for a while before going still. The tiny rodent scurried contentedly out of his collar and turned back into Kazuki at Tsuki's feet.

"That makes seven," he said, nonchalantly picking red stuff out of his teeth.

Tsuki grunted sceptically. "Aya's on nine," she said, smiling as Kazuki bristled and growled quietly at the red eyed girl fighting some distance away.

"She's a psychopath!" Kazuki moaned, "I can't compete with mental illness."

"Look who's talking…" Tsuki replied, darting away before the newly transformed cat could claw her eyes out.

Just as the two of them rejoined the fight, the enemy broke. Kaito swung towards where his opponent was, only to find his blade slashing through thin air as the red ninja vaulted the barrier and sprinted off through the mist. Barely a second later, the last surviving men who now numbered barely ten now, followed him. They each threw a diversionary shuriken before turning and running as fast as they could for the safety of the thick mist. Kazuki darted forward in the guise of a Rottweiler and savagely bit the ankle of one of the retreating men. He cursed and violently kicked Kazuki in the side, separating his sharp fangs from his leg. Quickly recovering, Kazuki leapt high in the air, his slavering jaws descending towards the alarmed face. A split second later, the man was knocked violently to the side by Aya's telekinesis, causing Kazuki to land in a furry heap where he was standing. The smug looking girl stood over the stunned dog.

"That makes ten," she chuckled as Kazuki staggered to his paws.

The dog growled. "Biatch…"

The others decided to hang back and let the rest of the men escape. The ninjas gratefully obliged, leaping the barrier in one and running for their lives.

"What did you do that for?" Kazuki fumed, turning back to human form and rounding on Aya while rubbing his back, "There were plenty of others you could have chosen, why did you have to steal mine?"

Aya shrugged, smiling innocently.

"Shut up," ordered Yuina, who was still on guard.

The five of them stood there, panting as the adrenaline production cooled down, marvelling at the silence and stillness of the evening. After a minute or so, Yuina pricked up her ears.

"Watch out everyone," she warned as long thin shadows began to slither their way through the mist towards them, "We haven't even got started yet.