The Coup Part 2
"I want more moneeeeeeey." Aoki whined after leaving the Hokage's office and turning in their last delivery mission. The pay was miniscule, only perhaps dinner for tonight and some pocket change. "Sensei needs to take us on some more c-ranks at least. This d-rank bonanza is pitiful." He said with a sigh placing his hands behind his head. His naginata bounced a bit as they walked back towards the business district.
"It will happen." Kimiko said cheerfully, not minding the small payout for easy work. "It's honestly relaxing doing these small jobs and just building up some savings.I want more time training before more c-ranks. Practice tree-climbing like Nii-san suggested." She said looking forward to getting some practice in to help her be better.
Fuji grunted as he looked ahead. Running a hand through his buzzed hair he nodded ahead. There was a large crowd of people watching a street performance. "Wanna cut through the alley?" He asked with a yawn. They had been running around doing deliveries all day so he was a bit tired. The alleys were extensive in the business district. Many used them to bypass crowds when things were happening on the weekend.
"Why not? I'm ready to get to the usual spot anyways and it looks like the entire street leading there is crowded." Kimiko said, hopping on the balls of her feet to look over the heads of people to see how far the pedestrian traffic jam went. Together with Fuji in the lead they turned down the alley to circumvent the crowd. Once in the alley the sound of the crowd seemed far more muffled with the buildings in between them and the crush of people.
So far only the occasional stray cat or worker tossing trash out was seen in the alley as the trio kept on walking and talking amicably. Then down one alley they meant to cut through multiple lines of police do not cross tape was strewn about. Not just across the alley, but up the walls as if to ward off shinobi from trying to jump up the walls. "That's odd." Fuji said, blinking at the obstacle. "Guess it will still be quicker if we went this way." He said turning down another side alley that seemed clear, albeit it was heading deeper into the collection of back alley streets.
Kimiko looked a bit perturbed by the police tape. "I wonder what happened." She asked since beyond the tape there didn't seem to be any signs of a crime scene thankfully.
"Don't know. I know the police forces like to keep a scene cleared for a bit to double check things though. Best to just avoid it." Aoki said, not too worried about the seemingly random scene. "Come on, let's get moving before the wait time gets oppressive." He said following Fuiji.
For another minute the crew would walk along before turning a corner to find more police tape. "Now this is weird. We should just go back to the street." Kimiko said, sounding a bit worried now. When she turned she'd let out a gasp. The way they had come from had tape up now too leaving only one way to go. "Guys. Something's not right. We should just run through the tape now." Kimiko said, her voice growing a bit higher.
"Now, that would be a terrible idea. It's against the law to interfere with anything at the crime scene." Came a mirthful, but cold voice from the shadows of the only clear alley. Ishi emerged lazily twirling a new sai he had procured in the time since the Chunin exam. The other was stuck in his belt. The two weapons gleamed in the flickering light from the opposite end of the alley as Ishi began to slowly walk towards the genin trio.
"Uhm, excuse me officer. Is there something wrong?" Kimiko asked, taking a step back as her two companions straightened up and took steps in front of her instinctually. Despite not being the traditional clan trio most of the time when a Yamanaka clan member was placed on a team they filled an important supporting role. In most cases it was scouting, espionage, or communications. In their case, since Kimiko had learned the clan's signature telepathy jutsu she was their life line and that had been drilled into them by their sensei.
"Wrong? Why yes. You see you're interfering with the crime scene." Ishi said once more getting within ten meters of them now as Fuji got into a more defiant stance.
"There is no crime scene officer that we can see. Is this some kind of joke? You're clearly blocking us.." Fuji said, trying to sound braver than he felt. Despite being a fellow shinobi many clanless ninja felt intimidated by the police force. Especially with how rough the Uchiha clan had seemingly gotten lately. Stories of police brutality over the slightest provocation were common throughout the ranks.
"Ah yes, well victims rarely realize that they are the crime scene." Ishi said with a vicious grin curling up his features. He hadn't seen the signal yet, but at this moment he didn't really care. His blood was boiling and the little shits before him were actually squaring up to stop him from reaching his goal of Kimiko. They were guilty by association and for being an obstruction to the new Uchiha law.
"Kimiko! Call for help!" Aoki said as he brought out his naginata and Fuji raised his knuckle dusters as Ishi drew his weapons and streaked towards them laughing at the retribution that was about to be unleashed.
Yamanka Flower Shop
"Mooom are we done yet." Ino complained loudly enough for all the remaining people in the shop to clearly hear. Noa rolled her eyes as she finished counting up what was in the till and placing it in a safe under the counter. Her daughter had yet to learn the grace of being a lady despite her admonishments.
"Yes, my boorish child." Noa said, getting an annoyed grunt in reply, at the prod of her name. It always annoyed Ino, especially now that she and Sakura were fighting over Sasuke. As if billboard brow was even a contender for the coolest boy in school's affections while she was around. Her mom coming from around the counter made her hurry up and finish watering the daisies she had been attending. "Will you want to order with us Uncle Inase?" Noa asked politely to the elder as he was sitting quietly at the bench.
He looked like he was dozing. Though those who knew the meditative state knew better. Inase was cross legged on the wooden bench with his hands formed into a single seal. It wasn't unusual to see him, or many other Yamanaka in this position. Due to their sensory abilities and their clan telepathy many would simply make calls or check in on their surroundings in areas in which they felt safe. Namely to check in with relatives, see if errands needed to be run, and plot the routes home with the least amount of people.
"I suppose I wouldn't mind tagging along to get some Takoyaki." He said absentmindedly. "I'm sure young Ino will love to hear more stories. She loves them so much." He said chortling as he heard the barely repressed sigh. He knew all the youngsters tired of stories after hearing them the third time.
"Mmm?" He said sitting up straighter. The two Yamanaka Chunin, both men in their early twenties with typical blonde hair, though one wore a buzz cut and the other a fade, sat up noticing their elder's look of concern. The one with a buzz cut was known as Taka. The one with the fade was named Kazz. They were his typical guards and or errand boys as others often referred to them. Chunin veterans who normally helped with guarding the village and patrolling the nearby roads.
Inase said nothing as of yet. He was merely sensing many presences concentrated in one place. That in and of itself wasn't unusual. He did however sense the presence of Katsu Uchiha high up on some roofs not too far from their position. A few blocks at most. Five others were around him. All fairly strong. The police force often worked in pairs, but groups larger than that typically meant something was going on.
Inase had worked with the police force before and knew basic protocol had briefings or debriefings in the police force headquarters or often in the Uchiha compound itself. So sensing so many Uchicha so close made him wonder if they were about to do a raid. That was likely, there had been some issues in the village with some shinobi falling to less than reputable habits involving narcotics. It happened to many after too many battles and they sought to dull the edge of painful memories.
The issue with a shinobi getting high though is their crashes and breakdowns were very dangerous and destructive. Several police force members had been needed to handle some poor Akimichi who had a breakdown and overdosed, falling into a rage that had leveled a building.
Due to his suspicions, Inase applied more chakra to expand his sensory range. He ignored Noa who was starting to look concerned as he focused. Kazz approached her to distract her for a moment as Inase's senses expanded outward. "Give him a few minutes my lady. He must be checking in with your husband or something." The guard said figuring that would be a good excuse. Both the guards were in on Inase's suspicions since he had them with him or in Noa or Ino's vicinity.
"Oh good. I can know what he wants instead of guessing." Noa said placated as Ino let out an annoyed sigh at yet another delay at going home. "Keep up with the impatience and you'll simply get rice and nothing else." Noa said, getting Ino to stand at attention since just white rice was clearly not a fun meal on friday night.
Inase's senses kept spreading and he began to notice some alarming things. The first was that as he sensed around the village outside the business district he'd find other groups. Several Uchiha gathered together near other clan compounds, the administration district, the hospital district, and other areas. Several were at the gates to the village too.
The second was that the first group had split up and that he could sense Katsu still on the roof after the others had scattered to different areas in the business district. One was bouncing around a back alley for some reason near his grand-niece Kimiko and her teammates whose chakra started to flare. The four others were in pairs and circling the clan compound. "Lock the doors and turn out the lights." Inase snapped suddenly voice stern, but his face had gone white.
Noa looked surprised along with Ino who had only heard Inase get serious when teaching them. The two guards wasted no time in hitting the lights plunging the shop into semi-darkness save for the street lights and the dying light of day. "Plan Watch is a go! Contact Nakotsumi Tsukomo and tell him to bring everyone he can here." He said pointing to the one with the buzzcut. "You contact those in the clan compound and tell them we're about to be attacked." He told the one with the fade.
He made a new hand seal hoping he'd have some time. "Inochi! The Uchiha are attacking! Ino and Noa are with me!" He called out telepathically to Inochi who was at the barrier headquarters. He felt that there were several of the Uchiha dogs outside the headquarters. They often stopped by to get intel on suspicious figures from the barrier division so their presence would be accepted normally. Perfect for an ambush.
"They're all over the village about to attack key targets! Sound the alarm!" Inoshi said as Inojin's alarm could be sensed through the telepathy. None were expecting such a brazen attack. Especially, considering how outnumbered the Uchiha were, but a sneak attack so devastating that left no one around to coordinate a counter attack was likely their goal. "Please believe me, they're all over at key places and… Katsu's coming right for us! I have to focus."
"Inase, I know you have beef, but surely there is some other explanation for-Shit!" Inochi called over the telepathic message. "There is an explosion at the barrier headquarters. We were just hit with fireball jutsu! I'll alert others, contact who you can Elder Inase!" Inochi said as the connection went out, his position was already under attack.
"Inochi!" Thought Inase as he tried to confirm the clan leader was alive and fighting still, his attention was drawn back to the present predicament. They had their own troubles to deal with.
He could feel the cold mass of chakra that was Katsu coming towards the shop. Thankfully he wasn't going as fast as he could, but Inase knew they maybe had a minute or two before he got there. "We need to reach the clan compound." He told the others as he stood up shoving off his robes to reveal typical shinobi garb beneath.
"I've informed those at the compound. A few Nara and Akimichi were visiting and they're already engaging the enemy." Kazz said looking confident despite the danger. "We already had two dozen of our clansmen there along with our allies. Those at the compound are contacting the shinobi who live in the business district to converge there. The Uchiha will be caught on two fronts." He said drawing a kunai as he looked out the window watching the streets. So far the villagers had no idea something was unfolding.
"I've informed the watch master Tsukomo." Taka cut said pulling out a quarterstaff from a scroll. "He'll be heading our way now. He says one of the clan members was in the cafe and has contacted some more shinobi to head our way ahead of the rest of them." He informed Inase who did not seem confident.
"They need to hurry." Inase said torn between getting the scared mother and daughter out of there now to hopefully get some distance between them and Katsu. Or hunkering down to await reinforcements knowing Noa, Ino, and himself would never be able to outrun Katsu. He may not be the monster that the prodigy Itachi is or Fugaku, but he was still in the upper echelons of the Uchiha clan. Arrogant as he found the Uchiha to be sometimes that arrogance was backed up with power. Katsu from what he knew was likely able to handle several squads of Chunin on his own. Until help got there he just had two guards and himself to protect the civilian wife of the clan leader and their heir.
The odds were not in their favor.
Nakotsumi Cafe
"Then I was thinking, for the show we should catch some big rabbits from the forest and put them in funny hats to teach them to dance along with me." Mana was explaining to her father at a thousand words a minute. As she explained she was drawing various new parts of the ever growing spectacular school show that was getting further and further from the original intent. Her father didn't mind as he watched her go as he sipped his beer amused at his daughter's creativity. His wife was less than pleased he had allowed her some sugary treat after already being worked up.
"You know better than that." She said lightly tugging on his ear as she cleared away some dishes as she walked by. "No rabbits at the school Mana. You'll get in trouble and we're not keeping live animals at the cafe."
Without missing a beat Mana scratched it out. "Then I'll just work with dad to make some cool stuffed ones and make it look like they're dancing." She said enthusiastically, earning a sigh from her mother as she walked away. "It's more fun to make stuff with you dad. Plus rabbits poop a lot so less mess this way! Good thinking mom! I'll put you in the credits after!"
Tsukomo laughed at that ruffling her hair before he heard a voice in his head. "Plan Watch is a go. The Uchiha are attacking across the village ambushing key areas and figures. We're with our clan heir, elder, and leader's wife in the Yamanaka Flower shop. Send aid as fast as you can. Our shelters are also open to all that need them." The voice said as Tsukomo went pale for just a moment before leaping up causing Mana to look startled at her father.
"There is an emergency evacuation order in effect. Get off the streets and into shelter now! All shinobi are to group with me and escort civilians to the Yamanaka clan compound and engage anyone who attacks us. The police force has staged a coup and we're in a wartime situation. If you choose to follow shinobi to a shelter follow our orders to the T. If not, we do not have time to convince you to do anything else and I wish you luck."
"You!" He said pointing at a woman with blonde hair and the Yamanaka clan symbol. She wore her hair in a simple ponytail like many kunochi. Her attire otherwise showed she was a medical kunochi. "Contact anyone you know to head to the flower shop. They need help now." He said as he started to gather up his tools for the the woman formed a seal and began to reach out with the clan telepathy to anyone who she knew was nearby.
Kei was already turning off the stoves and sending her waitress home as other people began to scramble about. Mana after being startled for a moment decided to help her mom with unplugging various things. "Honey go behind the counter and grab the big black bag." Kei said in a hurried tone of voice. "Just like they taught you in school, remember?"
"Yes! I-I remember!" Mana said dutifully running to behind the counter to grab a bag clearly meant for an adult. The academy had instilled a sense of readiness in the youngsters to have a grab bag in case of emergency. Be it a natural disaster, tailed beast, or something else they had been encouraged to have a bag of clothes, a medical kit, and some food if they needed to run. The students from non-shinobi families had been told to press the importance of such a bag in their families minds. This flew over Mana's head who simply told her mom about getting a bag and Kei had surprised her by showing one had already been made.
"I had hoped we'd never need this." Kei lamented as Mana handed her the bag. With a grunt her mom hefted it onto the table while she pulled on some tennis shoes for running. Tsukomo came out of the back with his ninja tool bag strapped to his waist, a spare one to his leg, and multiple scrolls ranging from small to medium size stored in his jacket. The last was a large scroll across his back. He took a knee in front of Mana who was staring at him wide eyed at a loss for words after all the talking she had just done.
"Hey honey. I need you to stick close to your mother, go where she goes, and do what she says. If I tell you to run away or hide, do it. Just listen to me and it should all be alright." He told her before kissing her forehead before she could protest. "What have you got for me, Miss?" He called over to the Yamanaka woman.
"My name is Rumi sir in case you have more orders. I've contacted a few shinobi I know from the area. They just got back from a low level mission so are relatively fresh. A three man cell of chuunin are heading towards the flower shop now. I told one of my fellows there to relay some orders to them since they know the situation better." Rumi looked concerned, but was maintaining her composure due to the civilians and the feeling of some safety considering several more shinobi were here to fight alongside.
"Good, hopefully they'll be enough to deal with whatever is happening out on the field. We may be facing rogue shinobi from the Uchiha clan. So be ready to work as a team. You do not want to fight one in a solo battle. Our best chance is our numbers. So guard the civilians as best you can from stray jutsu and weaponry. We're going to bee line towards the Yamanaka compound and pick up others along the way. We have several V.I.P's to rescue on route. Let's go!" He said taking the lead at the front of the formation.
Kei would take Mana's hand as the civilians were placed in the center of a circle. Some did leave to go home or simply check in with their loved ones. The gathered shinobi took up positions around them or ran along the rooftops to provide cover. Rumi was placed in the crowd as a medic to help maintain some cohesion. In terms of numbers there were maybe thirty civilians including Kei and Mana. With Tsukomo leading them there were seven shinobi heading towards the flower shop now, not counting the three man cell in route.
Katsu's advance
All around the village fireballs had been launched into the sky. The signal for the coup to start properly. "Well. I'm sure some started a bit early. Can't say I blame them." Katsu said as the wind ruffled his hair while he leisurely leaped from rooftop to rooftop. He knew where the heiress of the Yamanka clan was. They had been watching her movements for some time now. She was generally with her mother at the flower shop after school.
That old fool Inase was typically around which was a minor inconvenience. Katsu had an inkling the man suspected something, but most elders of the other lesser clans were suspicious of them. Hell everyone was, and now they had to pay the price. An old man and two body guards would simply be a warm up. Perhaps their brutal slaughter would get the girl and her mother to be silent and good hostages.
He was three blocks away from the flower shop when a trio of leaf shinobi showed up. The trio of men arrived with kunai out in front of him separated by five meters of distance. "Oh? What seems to be the problem gentlemen?" Katsu asked with an overly sincere tone as a cold smile played across his lips. "I do hope you're not interfering in official business. That wouldn't end well for you."
"Surrender now Katsu. This is madness. You know there is no way this coup ends well for the Uchiha. You can't take on the entire village!" A brown haired man with graying hair said. He had a few burn scars across his face as he held the kunai up at eye level pointing it towards Katsu as he and his men took up a fighting position. "If you cooperate I'm sure we can get your sentence reduced." He said trying to defuse the situation knowing the danger he and his fellows were in, but also knew they couldn't simply let him by.
"No. Madness is not letting the strongest and most worthy rule the weak. You're all simply floundering and lost in your own weakness following the lies of the Senju. I do apologize you'll not be able to see the glory of the village after we take control. Yet new growth must be fertilized by the decaying corpse of the old." Katsu said his cold eyes remained unchanged. He'd not even bothered activating his sharingan yet. He'd draw his katana in a flourish, the blade glinting in the dying light of the sun as it set. "At your ready fools."
With talking clearly not going to work the leader started off the fight with a barrage of several shuriken. His comrades did the same. Over a dozen projectiles flew at Katsu who merely weaved to one side and swiped the air. The speed of the swing generated enough force to create a gust of wind that slapped the other projectiles off course. As was common in most shinobi fights the shuriken were simply a distraction to allow the trio time to weave hand seals.
"Fire Style Fireball jutsu!" They all roared, unleashing a blast of flame from each of their mouths to converge upon Katsu. Katsu rolled his eyes as he flicked his thumb on the hilt of his blade. A scroll emerged from the hilt and in a blink of an eye he unsealed the scroll's contents. A geyser of water was unleashed upon the roof and seemingly surged up around him. The thick dome of water easily absorbed the fireballs.
As the men tried to come to terms with the fact their attacks were so easily deflected. Stabbing his blade into the roof, Katsu formed hand seals. "Waterstyle: Water Gatling." He said and bullets of water emerged from all sides of the dome circling him. Hundreds of the projectiles emerged spraying the roofs within a block of him with deadly projectiles. Screams came from the various buildings as the projectiles struck, shaking the buildings, some going through windows hitting the occupants, breaking various objects, and all in all wreaking havoc.
The leader and the fellow to his right managed to duck behind the bricks of some of the roofs avoiding the attacks. The left hand shinobi was struck in the leg, guy, shoulder, and right arm. The bullets dug into him, not piercing all the way through, but easily penetrating as deep as a kunai. "Kuh!" He gasped, staggering from the blow.
"Look out!" The leader called out as Katsu appeared before the injured man and simply slashed him from shoulder to hip sending a spray of blood into the air. He'd follow up with a kick to the man's bleeding chest, sending him crashing several stories down to crash onto the ground. Before his first victim could even hit the ground Katsu was already moving.
The right hand Chunin managed to get his kunai up in time to absorb the blow from Katsu's swing. He was too focused on dealing with the blade to think about Katsu's foot work. As the sound of metal on metal echoed across the rooftop Katsu stamped on his opponent's foot pinning him in place. This kept the man from getting away as he realized Katsu had only swung his katana one handed. Katsu's left hand was holding a kunai which struck forward burrowing into his unguarded throat, dropping him with a wet gurgle.
"No!" The leader called as he unleashed a barrage of kunai towards Katsu as he ran towards him. As his second victim fell lifeless to the ground Katsu's katana whirled once more deflecting the blades as he ran to meet the leader who had drawn two overly large kunai blades from his back. They met in midair with the leader trying a cross slash on Katsu who caught both the leaders blades before he could finish the dual strike.
"Pathetic." Katsu said contemptuously as his strike overpowered his opponents and sent him tumbling back. The leader barely managed to get one blade up in time to deflect a follow up blow as he rolled on the roof trying to regain his footing. "Three on one and it's not even been a full minute since you tried to slow me down." Katsu goaded the man who spun his legs in an attempt to kick out Katsu's from under him.
The Jonin merely jumped over the kick and as the leader swung his right leg around a second time a savage swipe of the katana removed his leg at the knee causing him to scream in agony as his limb flew off from the roof. As the man writhed in pain against his will from the sudden loss of his limb a thrust of Katsu's katana through his heart silenced his screams. "Not even a warm up." The Uchiha lamented as he swiped his blade through the air to clean off the blood.
From the roofs around him blood and water from his jutsu and the battle leaked off the rooftops or into the holes from his water gatling jutsu. Screams were still coming from the various buildings, but Katsu ignored them all. They were the unfortunate collateral needed for the new age of the leaf. Looking down from his position he saw a horde of people converging towards the target location. "More insects." He scoffed, although it did complicate things for him. He could just as easily deal with all of the shinobi himself, but there was a slim chance the Yamanaka Heiress could slip away and put a wrench in their plans while he was distracted.
"Fine. They've not had fun in a while." He said to the corpse of the man still draining his life essence out onto the roof. "Come on out boys. I know that forest gets boring sometimes." Katsu said with a grin as he formed hand seals and slammed his hand atop of the roof. Three pillars of smoke appeared clouding the rooftop. Deep growls emanated from the cover of the smoke.
"Time to go hunting." Katsu told the three massive tigers that slunk off into the alleys with alarming agility, speed, and grace. Despite being the size of small buildings themselves the trio of tigers flowed almost seamlessly into the shadows to back up their summoner in his quest. Following after his beasts Katsu allowed himself a laugh at the thrill of hunting down lesser prey that had yet to learn their place.
Kiyomi's house
"Then we can play cards, watch a movie, or hide and seek!" Kiyomi prattled on hopping on Kazuma's back as he lay slumped on the ground lamenting having to be lame on friday night with his family. How lame was it that he was a Chunin and the most exciting thing going for him on a friday was games with his kid sister and parents. From the kitchen he could hear his mother giggling at him as she was still prepping dinner. Bando had gone to take a shower.
"Okay, we'll play games. Just get off my back you little gremlin." Kazuma said with an annoyed sigh as Kiyomi fist pumped her victory at finally whittling him down to agree. It was her typical way of getting him to agree to anything. He'd never admit it, but he really did appreciate Mana and Meiko for taking her attention off of him for long periods of time. It was exhausting.
As Kiyomi rolled off him and ran to get the games, Kazuma reeled. Clutching his head as a panicked voice entered it. "Kazuma help! My team and I are being attacked by an Uchiha in the back alley behind eighth street! He's trying to kill us!" Was all he got, before the voice cut out. It had come in oscillating volume due to the panicked control of chakra Kimiko was using during the jutsu.
In an instant Kazuma snatched his tanto and his tool belt from the wall mount where he had placed them to be out of the way. Ai looked alarmed as he hurried towards the door shouting. "Mom, call the guards Kimiko's being attacked on eighth street! I'm going now!" He said and as soon as the door opened he body flickered out leaving the door ajar as he vanished from sight.
"Bando get dressed!" Ai yelled as Kiyomi came into the room holding a board game looking confused as to what was happening. Forming a hand seal Ai telepathically reached out to the guard station to call for help knowing who was on duty there. She was met with a ringing silence as she couldn't find the normal guard. "What?" She was confused since there were only a few reasons as to why she couldn't reach anyone and none of them were good.
She was about to redirect her attention to another guard post when Uncle Inase's voice entered her mind disrupting her own telepathy. "Ai! Plan Watch is a go. I need your family to come here and help me get Ino and Noa to the compound! The Uchiha are pulling a coup and I believe they'd gladly take hostages to force clans into capitulation." He informed Ai who was placing a hand on a wall panel. She applied some chakra and the panel opened up revealing ai's Chunin jacket and her gear which she hastily began to put on.
"Kazuma's already gone to help Kimiko, she is under attack too! Bando and I are on the way!" Ai said as she dressed in a blur of motion. "Get your grab bag now!" Ai snapped at Kiyomi who dropped the game and ran to her room grabbing a bag not knowing what was happening, but knew better than to question her mother's tone of voice.
"Why are they going after Kimiko, she's just a Genin?" Inase asked, confused. "Well he wouldn't abandon her anyways, don't bother calling for him. He'll keep whomever's attacking her busy and keep the Uchiha from regrouping I hope. Get here as soon as possible!" Inase said ending the telepathic connection just as Bando entered the room rapidly drying his hair. He had put his shinobi garb back on too, save his shirt and flak jacket.
"What's happening Ai?" He asked as he made sure his gear was ready to go. He had grabbed a few extra pouches from the back.
"The Uchiha are staging a coup." Ai said, zipping up her flak jacket. It had been years since she had been in the field for anything other than a stray c-rank mission, but it still fit perfectly due to her workout routines and sparring with other members of the clan.
"Damn." Bando cursed with a grimace. He'd open a pouch on his vest and pulled out several sealing tags. "Quickly place these on my back." He told his wife. The seals had the kanji symbol for "Burning Agony" on them. "I've never been good at dealing with genjutsu." Ai nodded and hurried behind him taking the tags from his hand. "Place them up and down my spine."
With delicate precision Ai placed four tags on his back. "What do they do?" She asked as she made sure they were secure before Bando began to put his undershirt on, followed by the steel mesh he wore as extra armor.
"If I am placed under a genjutsu they'll burn to snap me out of it. I'll need to get the burns treated afterwards, but it's better than getting locked in whatever genjutsu they put me under." He informed her as Kiyomi came back into the room and looked at the table with the shinobi gear on it.
She'd reach for a kunai and her mother grabbed her by the wrist painfully hard. "No!" She said with a bit of panic in her voice. "Kiyomi. Do not take up a blade during this no matter what." She said, shaking her daughter for emphasis. "The only thing that could save you from an Uchiha if your dad and I are fighting or…not able to help is maybe your non-combatant status. You take up a kunai then you're just a soldier. Children younger than you have been killed by the thousands trying to fight adults. Do you understand!" She said looking at her youngest.
"Y-yes!" Kiyomi said at a loss for words for once as she noticed how scared mother looked. She hadn't seen her mother look scared before, nor her considerably grim father looking this grim before. Now fully dressed Bando grabbed his kenabo from its stand and hefted it. Ai turned off all the appliances and then the three were running out down the street towards the Yamanaka flower shop.
"We're going to grab your cousin and aunt from the store then we're heading to the compound. Stay close to me until I say otherwise." She said holding Kiyomi's hand as they ran. Thankfully Kiyomi slowed the pace only a small margin considering she was in the academy. Plus Bando set the pace low enough to maintain a vigil as they moved. At this point sounds of explosions, screams, and battle could be heard in the area. People were already running around civilians and shinobi alike.
"Where's Kazuma!" Kiyomi asked, looking around, but her mother merely squeezed her hand. "Mom!"
"He's out fighting. Worry about the here and now." Ai said needing her daughter's full attention here and not on the whereabouts of Kazuma. Wandering thoughts could get her killed even now. It was a lesson she had hoped would have been taught in the academy in a safe environment and not a warzone.
Back Alley off Eighth Street
Ishi was too fast. If he had been serious from the word go they'd all be dead. Fuji knew that as soon as the sandled foot kicked him in the chest bypassing his guard and sent him into a trash can, crushing the object with the force of his body impacting it. Aoki fared little better as a fist sent him spinning into a wall.
Kimiko was backing away rapidly as she had used a hand seal to call for help like Ishi had hoped. Now though she threw several shuriken at Ishi who merely grinning caught the weapons by using his sai to catch them each on the tip. With a flick of his wrist he sent them back at her just as she got a kunai out.
Panicked, she managed to sidestep one, deflect a second, but didn't see the third which had been hidden using the shadow shuriken jutsu. That one left a shallow cut along her shoulder which made her cry out in shock. It was superficial and may need a stitch or two, but it was the first time she had been injured in an actual life or death fight.
"Kimiko run!" Aoki said being the first to recover and swung his naginata at Ishi, seemingly exposed back with a diagonal slash. Ishi turned so fast that to Aoki it seemed like a horror movie when the wide eyed manic stare met him. A sai caught the blade of his weapon while the second delivered a thrust into Aoki's shoulder which left a puncture wound several inches deep. "Guh!"
"There you have a wound to match hers, worm." Ishi said as Aoki staggered back at Fuji came roaring into the fray. Electricity sparked around his knuckle dusters as he channeled his chakra into them. He was the team ace of the three, but even though he could channel his nature release into his weapons he didn't know any jutsu with his element as of yet save one.
"Lighting Style: Flashing Fist!" He said unleashing a barrage of punches towards Ishi. The flurry of punches created several after images of his fists as the knuckle dusters sparked. Each spark happened at the end of a punch's apex giving a brief flash of light. This made his barrage seem even faster to opponents less skilled in taijutsu. Alas, Ishi, having seen a trick like this before, had trained his eyes to better resist bright flashes in preparation for Kazuma.
"Well, a worm with some ability. Too bad. That means your first." Ishi said weaving between blows with ease as his eyes glowed red as the sharingan was active now, easily tracking the movements. Even as Kimiko had the presence of mind to establish a mind link for some teamwork it wouldn't be enough.
Fuji ducked as Kimiko's second barrage of shuriken flew over his head at Ishi. When he side stepped to avoid them, Aoki tried using the superior reach of his weapon to slash him high across his chest. Fuji went low trying to slam Ishi in the kneecap with his knuckles. "Such teamwork." Ishi mocked as he slapped the naginata blade down with a sai forcing Aoki to roll aside or get slashed by the weapon.
Once the blade was embedded into the ground Ishi whirled left past Fuji in a blur as the genin was still completing his tumble. Another boot connected this time with Aoki causing him to lose his grip on his weapons shaft as he gagged from the blow to his stomach. Aoki tried to buy his friend time to recover by coming out of his roll with an uppercut at Ishi chin.
Weaving past the blow from Aoki, Ishi's hand lashed out stabbing a sai through Aoki's left armpit and into his heart making the boy gasp and fall to his knees as Kimiko screamed. "Run." He managed to burble out before Ishi caught him in the throat from the other side making Aoki's eyes dilate in death as he fell to the ground.
Roaring Fuji charged forward with tagged kunai that were already sparking from being lit. "Kimiko go!" He called as Kimiko finally turned and ran crying down the alley with the police tape as Fuji began rapidly slashing at Ishi trying to not only buy Kimiko time to flee, but keep Ishi in range of the explosion of the tags when they went off. He knew he wasn't leaving the alley alive and was going to join his friend in death. He at least wanted to make it count.
It didn't.
"Nice try." Ishi said as he twirled his sai back into his belt. They weren't for cutting after all. As he weaved through the desperate flailing of the genin he drew a kunai and slashed through both Fuji's hands at the wrist and kicked the screaming boy back into the alley wall. Before his hands still grasping the tagged kunai fell, Ishi kicked them both at Fuji. One struck him in the chest while the other struck the wall beside his head. They both exploded, ending his cries of pain in a shower of smoke, debris, and gore.
Ishi didn't even stick around to watch the explosion. He was already after Kimiko and outside the radius of shrapnel and blood splatter. Kimiko had been running through the tape for just a few seconds before she tripped a wire.
An explosion sent her flying into the wall opposite of where the trap had been placed. Adrenaline, terror, and the thought of her team's sacrifice got her scrambling back up to her feet. Soot mixed with blood trickling down her face as she tried to scramble up the walls. She remembered Kazuma's demonstration from earlier in the night that felt like years ago. Before this horror started.
Kimiko managed to stick to the wall for a few seconds, but lack of training, the likely concussion she had from the trap, and terror made her chakra control wild. She managed to only climb two stories off the ground between the two six story buildings before Ishi appeared beside her, grasping her by the throat.
"What kind of failure can't even do such a basic ability?" He asked as she tried to stab him with kunai. He caught her wrist and twisted, breaking it causing her to scream and writhe in his grasp. He'd take her pouch off her as they fell back to the ground. "Don't feel too bad. You'd have only made it a few more meters if you had listened earlier." Ishi mocked dragging her by the throat back down the alley. Past the corpses of Fuji and Aoki. Both merely bloody ruins on the ground. Fuji wasn't even recognizable anymore after two tagged explosions.
Kimiko sobbed in sorrow and terror as Ishi rolled his shoulders. "Well your friends at least gave me a bit of a warm up for the main event. Don't worry I'll make sure you survive long enough to watch me kill your brother for the humiliation he put me through." Ishi said with a snarl as he looked down the alley. He'd pull her into a standing position and placed the tip of his sai against her right side aiming for her lungs. He held off on stabbing her just yet.
"Kazuma! You slacker, come on out!" Ishi spat down the alley, figuring Kazuma would be there in just a few moments. His slaughter of the genin had taken perhaps a minute or two. With Kimiko's message he would be there soon. Hopefully the weakling had messaged her brother and someone else. He only had eyes for Kazuma right now. "Oh good girl." Ishi said, squeezing her throat making her gasp for breath.
Kazuma appeared at the end of the cleared alley way Ishi had originally come from. A mask of cold fury was on his normal jovial face. "Ishi. What have you done?" He asked his tanto out as he looked over the area seeing the devastation Ishi had wrought in the short amount of time it took him to get here. "They were just Genin." He spat. "Let her go!" He said blade trembling in rage.
"Nah. I don't think I will. I think a sister is a worthy price to pay for humiliating me." Ishi drawled lazily, pressing his sai against her side, drawing blood and making Kimiko whimper in pain. Kazuma grit his teeth as his body was tensed ready for a fight. He knew even at his fastest he'd not be able to stop Ishi from stabbing her from such a distance. He had grown faster for sure, but he'd be a fool to think Ishi hadn't as well. All it took was a little pressure for that weapon to kill her instantly.
Kazuma bit his tongue. He almost said Kimiko wasn't his sister. The thought of trying to let Ishi know she was just his cousin crossed his mind, but what good would that do? Even from a distance looking at Ishi's face Kazuma could tell how unhinged he had become. Viens pulsed in the other chuunin's forehead. The blood vessels in his eyes were red even before he had activated the Sharingan. The brutalized remains of the genin showed the level of madness he was already at to do that to untested shinobi from his own village.
Odds were even if Ishi believed him he'd just kill Kimiko anyways, then if Kazuma died here he'd go after Kiyomi out of insane spite. Still letting Kimiko take that burden made him feel like scum. Kimiko met his gaze though as Ishi was holding her hostage. Terrified as she was, she came to the same conclusion too. Letting a child be put in danger gave her enough resolve to look Kazuma in the eye and subtly pass off a shake of a head as if she was just trembling in fear. The both of them decided to let Ishi believe the delusion for better or worse.
It was worse.
"I don't think I'll let you die without allowing you to see my victory over your foolish brother. Don't worry. The fight likely won't take long." With no warning the sai slipped into her chest, her gasp of pain muffled and high pitched as Kazuma screamed and charged. "You shouldn't bleed out before that." He said laughing as he let her fall crimson leaking from the wound as she charged forward, his eyes blazing crimson as he raced towards Kazuma.