Chapter 34

Kaorin lay in the darkness with her face against the cold damp dirt. She took in small quiet gulps of air as she tried to remain still and calm. She didn't know how long it would be until they were found; after all they were only hiding in the vegetation of the forest. Not much cover at all. Haru lay a short distance away from her, moaning to himself about how he should never have taken the exam, never become a ninja etc.

Kenji wasn't with them. Shortly after one of the explosions they had heard fighting. Kaorin, being the easiest to keep from view, had gone out to investigate and had seen the strange men who were fighting other students. She returned with the information when the trio were ambushed. Kenji had turned to fight off the men, telling them to leave with a single word- go. Haru had accepted the invitation and sprinted. Kaorin had paused, and only just escaped. However she was faster then Haru and had quickly caught up. And now she found herself here in the dark. Nothing to do but sit and wait.

And she could now hear people talking. With her head against the ground she looked out to see pairs of feet moving towards them. Haru was still now, having heard them. With a faint cry he pushed himself back as his cover was pulled away.

"It is fine" called out a male voice. Kaorin jumped as the bushes were pulled away and someone leant down. Her heart raced, and then she saw the persons face. Her heart continued to race.

"Sakaki?" she asked incredulously. Sakaki had come to rescue her!

"Are you hurt?" asked Sakaki. Kaorin could definitely hear worry in her voice, the tall girl must care for her!

"No I'm fine…I'm much better now" she said, as Sakaki held out her hand. Kaorin grabbed it, taking deep pleasure in grabbing hold of it, touching Sakaki, the tall beautiful…

"Could you pull me up any harder?" complained Haru as he was helped to his feet.

"If you want I can just leave you here" replied the man as he hastily let go of Haru's hand. The teenager dusted himself and moved away slightly. However Haru still remained close to the group. Kaorin could see he was slightly scared.

"What happened to the other boy, Tendo?" asked Minamo.

"Kenji's out in the forest somewhere" said Kaorin. "He held off some of those attackers so we could escape." Minamo nodded. At least they'd found two more students.

"Sakaki can you take Haru and Kaorin back to the camp?" asked Minamo. It would be best to get the students out of harms way. And she could see Sakaki was both nervous and fatigued.

"Don't you need my help?" asked Sakaki.

"You will be helping us" replied Minamo. "And it would definitely help me to know that you and the students were out of harms way."

Sakaki nodded. "I'll do it." She turned to Kaorin with her head down slightly. "Follow me."

Minamo felt relieved as they walked away. She felt guilty for feeling it, but she hoped they quickly found the other two groups from the village. She wanted to protect all of the students…but those were the students she actually knew. She didn't like herself for it, but she wanted to rescue her own students before complete strangers. She moved on in silence as Sakaki and the others vanished, keeping her thoughts to herself.

Chiyo was safe, but she hoped she found the other two students in her own team soon.

Kimura pulled the door shut with a slam, locking it shut. In the relative darkness of the corridor Tomo could just about make out a slash along Kimura's revealed cheek, and a slightly bloodied mask. The man doubled checked the lock while Tomo reattached the weapon pouch to her worn belt.

She glanced around, hearing yells in the distance. She could vaguely make out the sounds of weapons clashing. Tomo glanced across at Yukari as a scream rang out, followed by silence. Yukari groaned as she yanked the shuriken from her hand and threw it to the ground.

"What's going on Kimura?" she asked. "I got separated from the others and I've been on the outskirts of the village for a while."

"We still aren't sure who the enemy is" replied Kimura. "A few ninja are protecting the shelters of the civilians. They haven't been attacked yet. The focus is on this academy at the moment."

"Do they want something that's in here?" asked Tomo.

"We don't think that's the case" replied Kimura. "This building has the highest concentration of ninjas from the village. None of us have had time to discuss it, but I believe they want to wipe as many of us out as quickly as possible. It'll leave the rest of the village open to be taken over, or destroyed."

"Bastards" muttered Yukari to herself.

"What now?" asked Tomo. She was feeling frustrated now. She wanted to help, but she didn't know if there was a way to help. It could all be pointless, why would adults want her help….

No- to hell with that. Tomo knew she could help, and she was going to help. The village would survive- and Tomo would be there to oversee it. As Tomo went to speak both Kimura and herself ducked down as an explosion shook the building. Yukari remained standing.

"Damn it, what is up with all those explosions?" asked Yukari angrily.

"They have a large concentration of the forbidden black powder" replied Kimura. "And they aren't afraid to use it."

"What's a black powder?" asked Tomo. The girl scratched her head. How could powder be a weapon? A hot addition to food perhaps, but a weapon?

"It's a form of explosive" replied Kimura in a distracted manner, not in the mood to go into a detailed explanation. "Tomo do you want to help me?" asked the man.

"Well…help the village" she replied.

"Come with me, we're going to help out the others."

"Hey what about me?" asked Yukari in a grumpy manner.

"Your strongest hand is injured, and that isn't your only injury. I want you to stay here. That small window offers a view of the main street- keep a look out for people coming along it, just like I did for you and Tomo. Get them in here and lock the door."

Tomo and Yukari were still for a moment. Tomo found herself surprised by Kimura. He suddenly seemed commanding, seemed to be a leader. Tomo found herself pondering whether all of his other actions had been an act. Or was all of this just an act?

"Oh I hope my home isn't burnt down. I had a large collection of fanservice heavy manga stored in there" he said to himself. "It'd be a waste if it were just to burn."

Tomo and Yukari groaned. That must have been a one off moment of leadership.

"Ok Yukari, stay here. These walls and that door are heavily reinforced so get any stragglers in here."

"And make sure they aren't the enemy" said Tomo sarcastically. "Just thought I'd remind you."

"Why don't you go off with your boyfriend?" asked Yukari menacingly. "Just to remind you."

"Below the belt" muttered Tomo quietly.

"Come on Tomo" said Kimura and he turned to jog along the corridor. Tomo quickly sprinted to join up with the man. He paused by a heavyset door and turned to face Yukari.

"Yukari, if they decide to fall back and burn the building down, do remember to get out" he commented. As Yukari muttered something rude, Kimura nodded and closed the large door.

Tomo turned to Kimura. It was a surprise to see he had a concerned look on his face. Behind her Tomo heard Yukari turning the lock of the large door. Kimura cleared his throat.

"First of all we're going to stop off at the armoury. It's only small but we can get a few weapons to help us out" said Kimura.

"I know about how to use weapons, but why not just use jutsu?" asked Tomo.

"These people seem to rely on weapons, not on jutsu. Some of us are fast enough to respond…but for quite a few of the ninja here they'd be stabbed before performing the jutsu" said Kimura. "Especially since they're getting us one on one. They all seem to be in peak physical shape, quick to react, trained with weapons."

"And you aren't?"

"Of course I am" replied Kimura in a boastful manner. "Besides this should be right up your ally- you won't make use of the brain, just go in swinging and get lucky."

"I will hurt you after this is all over" said Tomo.

"I didn't know you were into that type of thing" said Kimura, Tomo falling silent. "Come on lets go" he said.

"So what do you think our chances are?" asked Tomo.

"Don't know" replied Kimura.

Yomi and Kagura weren't too impressed at the fact that they were being carried through the forest by henchmen of the injured Takaya. Unable to move nothing but her head Kagura looked upwards to watch as she passed by the large fence which had been torn open. Soon they were walking along the large pathway the students had taken just days earlier. They weren't the only hostages- a boy from another village had been captured too.

The group continued on in relative silence, save for a few of the men who were chatting. Kagura saw the flames getting closer and closer as they reached the burning village. A lone man stood waiting for them, illuminated by the flames.

A short distance behind the group, a slightly bloodied Kenji followed, walking through the thick bushes.