Chapter 3
When it was finally dark enough to raid, Sora left her room, ready and armed, and walked out to the only exit. Sitting down on the platform that jutted out from the building, she waited and watched. No-one would show for another five to ten minutes, but Sora enjoyed being early. The silence before helped her think.
She looked down and smiled as her city came to life. There was a slight buzz in the air of whispered talking and the smell of food wafted up from the dark depths. Shadowy figures began to move around from building to building. It was usually in the dead of night when the citizens came out to do their business. There were no lights still because to have lights down here was to attract the attention of those up above; no-one wanted that. Instead the people learned to scope out things during the day and purchase at night. The true born and bred Under City civilians barely came out during the day; the light was harsh on their eyes. This was the case with Sora and the reason everyone was unaware that she had left the safety of the dark head quarters. Sora, however, had trained her eyes to adjust by adding her energy to them and taking it from them. The more energy she added to them, the better she could see in brighter light. It didn't stop the light sensitivity completely, but it did help. Suzume had explained it to her once, saying that her eyes held an abnormal amount of rods for a human. Sora wasn't exactly sure what that meant but Suzume had said that it helped with seeing in low lighted areas and was probably due to genetic mutation. Naturally Sora didn't care so much as to why she could see better in the dark, just as long as she could.
"Already out here, Tower?" Sora gritted her teeth and turned to glare at the man behind her. He was short, even for River Village's standards, just barely brushing five foot. He had dark hair and eyes, as was common and was wearing dark leather armor from head to toe. The clothing didn't have the Ghost Corps symbol on it like all other members.
"What do you want, Arrow?" he sneered and leaned against the wall.
"I'm here for the raid, just like you." Sora rolled her eyes and fiddled with her thigh knife pointedly.
"No, why are you talking to me?" the man shrugged, "Then don't unless you have a reason."
"Why, Tower? Don't like me very much?"
"No, I don't and don't call me Tower."
"I'll address you by what characteristic I want, you freakishly tall bitch." He scoffed, still acting cool. Sora cut off the growl that bubbled in her throat, not wanting him to have the satisfaction of knowing that he was irritating her.
Don't show that it hurts. Tough. Unbreakable. That's what you are. Stay that way.
"Then I can address you how I want, Coward." His hands clenched into fists and he took a step forward.
"I am NOT a coward, you freak." He snarled. Sora growled and stood, towering over him by eleven inches easy. She gathered her energy at the edge of her skin, ready to deploy her shield if she needed too.
"I would take that step back if I was you, Arrow." A deep voice drawled out of the dark hallway behind the man. The owner of the voice, a giant man, stepped out of the dark followed by the rest of the raiding party. Bones snarled at Arrow stepping out from behind the larger man, his golden eyes molten with anger. Arrow sneered back but stepped away from Sora. They gathered in a circle around the woman and Sora thumped the largest man on the chest as he passed her in thanks. She counted them all and nodded. Everyone was here, might as well jump straight in.
"All right, here's the plan," the group gathered in close around the young woman, "we're not going to break up into groups of even four like usual. I want Arrow and Monk to surround the group and see if they can pick off any enemy Shinobi before we attack. Don't engage if we are not in position to provide back up. As they are doing that Lizard, Bones and I will come in and take care of the ones that the long range can't take out." Arrow nodded slightly. Monk, a medium sized man in a cape like jacket that was filled with weapons, bowed his head in agreement. Lizard and Bones also nodded.
"Then after we have engaged all the Shinobi that are there, I want Big Man and Mutt to get in and take as much of the shipment as they can. Runner, your job is to make sure that the Shinobi have no back up coming, report back every half hour; if they have back up give the alarm and tuck tail. Everyone got that?" There was a collective nod, "Good. Let's beat some ass." She grinned at them and pulled her black beanie from her pocket. It went snugly over her cherry colored hair and she jumped to the wall of the opposite building, clinging to the side like a gecko. Seven shadows followed her as she began to climb up the side of the building.
The climb up the slick wall wasn't difficult due to the energy they channeled to their feet. It let them stick to any surface like glue. The climb was also a cake walk because none of the lights were on in the building they were climbing on so they didn't have to avoid the windows. It was as if they were all gone. As Sora reached the top of the building she nodded off to the sides and the long range fighters took off; Monk going to the left and Arrow towards an abandoned apartment to the right. Runner crept up beside Sora, his pale face ashen and he ran off to scout as Sora gave the go ahead. There she and her remaining five waited…and waited…and waited.
Sora sighed slightly out her nose and looked around, glancing up at the night sky. The night sun was far past the center. Where the hell was that shipment? It should have gone past by now and Runner should have reported back.
"Lizard, there's something wrong. Where's Runner?" Sora looked behind her and Lizard shrugged, standing on a windowsill.
"Thunder, what do we do?" Big Man asked her shifting uneasily. Sora chewed on her lip, thinking
"Wait a bit longer, maybe the shipment was late." Sora shivered as a breeze pushed in on her left and inhaled the clean air. It was unusual for her to breathe such clean air and she took the time to enjoy it. The breeze in the Upper City smelled sweet, almost like it was laced with sugar and had an irony tinge to it.
Wait, iron? Sora froze in realization and looked towards the breeze. Right next to them was a darkened apartment floor. The three windows broken through cleanly as if they had been removed and the rooms beyond had no light in them. As Sora stared harder into the gloom she saw a slightly flash of silver. Monk didn't wear anything silver and his weapons were black. A dark figure moved in the building. The body frame didn't match Monk's.
"Ambush," Sora breathed, shock and fear flooding her system. Her eyes went wide and she heard the shocked inhales behind her, "ITS AN AMBUSH!" She tried to leap from the side of the building, but was forced to jump up as knives came flying her way. One look at the knives and she knew they were caught in an ambush. The blades were short compared to her long knives and the handles had a small ring on the top, Shinobi knives. The knives had explosive paper attached to them and forced the group to scatter as they exploded.
Sora landed on the top of the building and let out a shrill whistle; the alarm. She didn't get to whistle very long before a Shinobi appeared in front of her. He wasn't as tall as her but then again he didn't need to be to kill her. Sora whipped out a long knife to block his weapon. They locked weapons in front of her in a stalemate before Sora kicked at his chest. He was forced back but there was another behind her. Sora ducked low and swept her long legs at the Shinobi's feet as she twirled around to face him. He jumped to avoid and as he did so she followed after him, long knife in hand.
Sora sliced through the tendons at the back of his knees and shouted in triumph as she was able to kick him off the building, probably collapsing his chest with the force of her kick. He would make a nice splat on the concrete below.
"Thunder! Look out!" Bones shouted from behind her and Sora turned. A large katana was headed directly for her chest. Sora boosted her energy towards her skin and fired up her Teppekei (iron wall) as she dodged to the side. Instantly a thin covering of blue energy coated her skin. The katana slid over her shoulder and failed to penetrate the shield or her skin. The Shinobi was distracted from her as a set of claws raked across his back. He yelled and turned to face Bones as Sora turned to face yet another Shinobi.
This raid had turned into a disaster. Big Man and Mutt were each facing a Shinobi and seemed to be on the losing end of the fight. They hadn't died yet but they were bleeding and bruised. Bones was fighting two Shinobi and looked like he was running out of steam. Lizard had finished off one opponent and was dashing over to help Big Man. Sora herself had two Shinobi trying to kill her. A beefy kunoichi and a tall Shinobi were both taking swings at her with a katana. She was having trouble fending them off with her long knives.
A cry caught her attention and she looked over in time to see Big Man get impaled through the stomach by a small kunoichi that had snuck up on him. Her long spear jutted out through his abdomen, a piece of purple, bloody flesh connected to its barbed end. Her Teppekei flickered and a katana sliced deep into the skin of her chest and deflected off her neck guard. Hot blood spilled down her chest and trickled through her clothes. She turned, steadied her shield technique and gathered her energy at her feet all in split seconds. Instantly she launched off and a deafening crack echoed through the buildings, shocking the Shinobi. Their opponent was gone. Where had she disappeared to?
Sora reappeared next to Big Man, skidding slightly on the pavement, and bundled his ripped shirt to the wound. The barb had done more damage coming out that going in. Behind them, her two opponents suddenly grasped at their necks as they stepped forward. Blood ran from the slit that slowly appeared on their throats. They tried to suck in air but only succeeded on drawing blood into their lungs. Soon they would either drown in their own blood or suffocate.
"Big Man, get out of here. Mutt, Bones go with him!" She yelled at them, pushing the injured man towards the edge of the building. Lizard had finally finished off the Kunoichi that had injured Big Man and Bones ran to the bleeding man's side.
"Bones," he looked up at her, his eyelids drooping from exhaustion and blood sliding down his face, "get Big Man out of here and take Mutt with you. Lizard and I will be right behind you." The man nodded and pulled the bigger man's arm over his shoulder.
"Yo Mutt, let's go!" he yelled and as the bald man joined him they jumped off the side of the building.
Two more Shinobi appeared and Lizard was having trouble fighting them both at one time. With another thunder like roll, they too dropped dead. Lizard and Sora were on a different roof top, panting.
"Lizard, get back to base." Sora huffed, pushing up her beanie and wiping at the sweat on her brow. Lizard was too focused on the deep gash across her chest.
"Thunder, that needs to be looked at," Sora pushed the woman towards the edge.
"We don't have time, get-," a shrill panicked whistle cut off Sora's sentence. It was Runner sending up his alarm. The kid was in trouble. Sora had assumed he was dead and now that it was obvious he wasn't, fear for his safety kicked it.
"Let's go!" Lizard yelled and they both took off towards the noise. They raced from rooftop to rooftop looking for the source of the noise, but the kid was nowhere to be found.
"Where is he?" Sora cried in frustration. Lizard shrugged helplessly a desperate look on her face. Another whistle went up, this one ragged and faltering. The noise was close by.
"There!" Lizard cried, pointing to her right and leaping off that way. Sure enough there was little Runner, holding off three Shinobi at once. His small frame allowed for him to dodge most of their attacks and he was a quick little guy, but he was bloodied and needed help in a bad way. Once again Sora used her boufuu kousoku to hasten her way. The thunder-like noise boomed over the slight valley that Runner was fighting in, shocking the Shinobi. One of the three dropped to the ground dead, holding onto his throat as blood spilt from it. The other two were smart enough to move as soon as they heard the noise; Sora must have fought them before. Lizard engaged one and Sora the other.
She was fighting a short, stocky kunoichi and was locked in a stalemate. They exchanged punches and blows, neither landing a hit on the other. Sora was panting noticeably now and sweat trickled down her body. She had used boufuu kousoku four times today, partnered with keeping up her Teppekei and fighting multiple Shinobi of varying skill. Sora was getting worn out. She blocked a high kick and growled as she attempted to slice the tendons in the muscle of the kunoichi's thigh. The kunoichi simply used a two hand combo to disarm her and attempt to break her wrist. Her knife went flying off into the night and her wrist stung painfully. If Sora hadn't been using her shield the wrist would have snapped like a twig, as it was she was going to have a nasty bruise.
"Runner, get out of here!" Sora screamed at him, blocking and exchanging another set of blows with the Kunoichi, managing to land an open hand blow to her chest possibly cracking her sternum. Runner scooted his thin frame out from behind Sora and tried to get away. The other Shinobi that Lizard was fighting appeared beside the kunoichi and halted his escape. Sora growled in frustration, glancing towards where Lizard had been engaging the Shinobi. She laid dead on the concrete just feet away, her chest turned into a giant pulpy mess, fingers still twitching slightly. Her eyes were parted and the brown was dull and lifeless, staring ahead without seeing. White bone gleamed up at Sora through the puddles of red. Sora couldn't tell if it was blood that was making everything red or splattered organs and muscle. Sorrow welled up in Sora, but she fought it down. She needed to focus now. Runner would make it out alive, even if it killed her. She got them into this mess; this ambush was her fault and now she needed to make up for that. She fired up her speed technique again and sliced the kunoichi to ribbons even as she tried to escape from Sora.
Time seemed to slow down when Sora was using her boufuu kousoku and as she turned to see how Runner was doing, her heart froze. There in slow motion, the Shinobi lifted his leg and started to kick at Runner's chest. Images of Lizard's chest rushed through her mind and before Sora knew what was happening she was throwing herself in front of Runner and pushing him off to the side. He was pushed to the ground but quickly scampered to his feet away from the battling pair. Thunder cracked out loudly in the background. Sora barely heard it.
The Shinobi's giant foot crashed down on Sora's body and was blocked by the blue shield. The blue around the foot increased and began to spark wildly as the Shinobi forced more and more of his energy into his foot. The shield dented and pain shot through Sora like a lightning bolt, gripping her chest in tight confines; a crack shuddered through her body and Sora felt copper flood her mouth.
In that instance, a strange feeling bubbled up in Sora's chest. It was tingly and it sparked wildly through her system, similar to the chaotic mess on her shield. It rushed through her, up her arm and turned the black blade of her knife a blinding white. Letting out a scream, Sora slashed at the Shinobi with her last remaining long knife and just caught his chest with the blade. The Shinobi shrieked as the white energy on the blade transferred to him. It spiked violently across his torso and his body, leaving wide burn marks in its wake and it melted his clothes onto his skin. The force of the kickback from her attack threw Sora off the building and the wind whistled in her ears.
She never heard Runner screaming her name or Bones pain filled cries at the sight of her body taking the dive. She never even realized that she still had a grip on her knife. It was clutched in her hands as if it were the only thing keeping her alive. All she could hear was the wind rushing past her. She was flipping and cart wheeling through the air with no intention of righting herself. All she could focus on was the harsh pain of her shield denting in and breaking her bones. Under her the surface of the river grew closer and closer.
With a giant splash, Sora fell into the river from two hundred feet; the only thing that saved her was her Teppekei shield. The plume of water sprayed everyone that was within twenty feet from the shore. The heated water burned at her skin as she was rushed under the water along the current, beating into the rocks and debris. Sora was forced through the small pipe that allowed the river to flow out of the city at a precarious angle. Her fingers crunched and scraped painfully against the rusted out metal, ripping and tearing the skin on them. The knife she was holding pressed dangerously hard against her flesh as she was forced to contort into strange positions to fit through the pipe, leaving small nicks in her skin.
Fear gripped her and she struggled to get up to the surface, thrashing wildly in the current; her lungs were burning with the lack of oxygen. Before she made it to the top she was buffered around smacking onto rocks. Sora breached the surface of the water and sucked in a deep breath, while trying to stay afloat in the violent water. Her beanie and shoes had been ripped off during the battle with the currents and her hair was plastered to her face blocking her vision. So it was understandable that she was unable to see the large rocks that she slammed into. Her shield broke as she smashed her head into the rocks and her body floated down river into more gentle waters as her vision slowly blackened. Her knife got caught in her clothing and flowed downstream with her.