It took exactly two seconds for everything to go to shit.
The first explosion went off in the distance. Sakura and I flinched and spun our heads towards the source of the noise. A large, dark cloud of smoke and dust rose into the air.
“What the—” Sakura started, but was soon cut off by a second explosion that went off close to the first.
“Looks like the enemy’s making their move.” I growled. “How much do you wanna bet they orchestrated this to line up with Sasuke’s disappearance?”
“Probably…” She whispered before shaking her head, her expression becoming serious. “We need to get you somewhere safe, Riku.” Sakura urged, giving me a look so firm that I would have thought her crying was an illusion if not for the redness in them that still lingered. “They’re not getting their hands on you, too.”
I gave her a reassuring glance and patted her back “Relax. Unlike Sasuke, I don’t want to leave.”
The look she gave in return told me she was still hurt, but comforted.
“We should really leave this place, though.” She reminded.
Without any plan but to get moving, we took off into the village, eyes scanning for any danger around us. The only things I could see were the two clouds of smoke and dust rising in to the air. Meanwhile, the villagers were in a panic as genin and any remaining shinobi not already deployed for battle were evacuating them to safety towards the Hokage Monument.
“Come on, let’s go!” Sakura urged, taking off towards the Monument.
“Hold on!” I shouted, pulling her back. “I’ll only lead the enemy towards the villagers that way.”
The pink-haired genin bit her lip as we stood still, once again unsure of where to go. “Well, you can’t hide outside the village, either. There has to be somewhere you can do to lay low.”
I sighed, continuously keeping my senses focused on my surroundings in case somebody tried to attack. “There’s usually an ANBU tailing me.” I admitted, drawing a surprised reaction out of Sakura. “She said she had her squad with her, too, but I’m pretty sure said squad would be checking out those explosions.”
“The rest of my team are doing just that, yes.” A third voice suddenly popped in, startling the two of us. “As for myself, I was surveilling the surrounding area. Thankfully, no enemies have made it inside the village yet.”
“Speak of the devil.” I breathed as my heart rate slowed back down. “What’s going on?”
“The last recon team to return reported signs of activity and an increase in barriers and defenses. It appears that the enemy decided to make a move sooner than we had anticipated.” She explained quickly. “I imagine that since they already lost the element of surprise, it was only a matter of time before they began their assault.”
“Why didn’t we attack them, first?” Sakura asked curiously. “It sounds like we had a general idea of where the enemy was.”
The bird-masked ANBU shook her head. I got the feeling that she was frowning.
“Given the circumstances and the lack of knowledge of our enemy, it would have been too dangerous to start the assault. Our efforts were better spent preparing for their attack, hence why we are capable of responding so quickly now.” She answered, nodding towards the direction of the two explosions. “The battle has already begun. Shurikane-san, I ask that you follow me to a location prepared to keep you protected and guarded until this is all over. Genin-san,” she addressed Sakura now, “please help the villagers evacuate to safety.”
A crease formed between her pink brows until finally, she nodded.
“Understood. Please, keep Riku safe.” Sakura demanded more than she requested in a tone of voice that surprised both the ANBU and I. Finally, she gave me a smile before turning to leave.
But the explosion of smoke and rubble knocked her off course.
I coughed and squinted my eyes through the smoke. My senses were immediately attacked by the peculiar scent of the smoke that only made me cough harder.
Shit, what the hell is that smell?
The glimpse I caught of Sakura tumbling across the rooftop immediately took priority of my thoughts. I felt my mouth open to call for her, but my throat tightened. The ringing in my ears felt paralyzing and I found myself incapable of moving.
Shit, not now! Move, damn it!
“Shurikane-san!” The ANBU shouted as she gripped my arm, pulling me away right before a black katana could cut me.
“Oh, could it be?” A voice I never wanted to hear again made me flinch. “Is the great genjutsu master afraid of a little bomb?”
“Shinrin…” I growled, jaws clenched.
I heard movement from the side and flinched, letting myself get guided in the thick smoke by the ANBU. Metal clashed against metal and the grip around me tightened, pulling me back. I felt her shield me with her body as their weapons clashed again.
“Riku, are you okay?” Sakura shouted from somewhere in the clearing smoke.
“Maybe I should greet your friend, instead.”
The sudden lack of pressure against the ANBU pulled me back to my senses.
“Don’t you fucking dare—!” I screamed and lurched forward, only to be stopped by the ANBU’s grip. “Let me go!”
“No.” She said calmly.
Before I could fight back, she turned me towards the opposite rooftop. Small flames were scattered across the rooftops around us, slowly spreading towards the cherry blossom trees that surrounded the area, but all I could focus on was the twisted grin that haunted me for nights on end, and the black blade that would carve into me until I awoke that was now held up to Sakura’s neck, and no matter how many times it could cut into her, I would never wake up. She clenched her fists, eyes petrified and staring straight at me as a silent plea.
The last of the smoke cleared with a breeze carried loose cherry blossom petals and embers across the rooftop. It would have been an oddly peaceful sight if not for the sight of Sakura being held hostage that came with it.
“Release her.” I growled, eyes darker than ever.
His grip only tightened around the genin, my comrade, my friend.
“She’s not your target, Kedamono.” I snarled, glowering at the former samurai.
“It won’t be hard to add her to the list of casualties in order to get my target.” He smiled wickedly, pressing the blade into Sakura’s neck, causing her to flinch. “After all, my problem is with you.”
“What the hell is your problem with me, anyway?” I demanded, now shouting at Shinrin. It was a question that had been nagging me since our first encounter. “Fucking around with my team, working with that defect Sannin, and going after my friends – is this seriously just because I cast some shitty genjutsu when I was, what, ten years old? Get over it, bastard.”
Shinrin’s smile immediately dropped, replaced with a glower and an aura so dark that it made me freeze. Never have I felt such a strong killing intent radiating from him before – not even during his game. I felt the ANBU flare her chakra as a warning, but he made no move to attack. Instead, he threw Sakura to his feet and kept her in place by pointing the katana at her neck. It was far too similar to the way he once pointed his weapon at me.
“Get over it?” His voice was low and threatening. “What if I cut right through this pink little girl? Would you so easily get over it just because you were told?”
I couldn’t say anything; didn’t dare to say anything. Not when he looked ready to follow through with his words.
“One little genjutsu – one shitty little genjutsu cast by some shitty little meddling brat who stuck her nose where it didn’t belong—!” His voice grew colder. Louder. Angrier. Shinrin’s jaws clenched along with his grip around his katana. “Hasn’t anybody ever told you that every second counts in a battle? That’s what one shitty little genjutsu is all about! It buys your comrades the second they need to kill mine!”
Suddenly, his voice was full of raw emotion, his expression twisted into one of both pain and rage.
“Feel like hearing a story? The one about the death brought upon my comrades by one of your clansmen? By one of those shitty little genjutsu cast by those shitty little eyes?”
“By my…?” I whispered.
Is that why he suddenly retreated back when he attacked my team?
He left me no time for my thoughts, continuing with anger seething through his teeth.
“I bet you never would have thought that, would you? That even I had family; that even I had comrades that I would give my life for – that I would think of as my own brothers and sisters, and I did! My comrades thought they were killing the enemy, but they were only killing each other! All I could do was watch… I watched my family kill each other, and she watched along with me; watching as her enemies – as my family – tore each other to shreds!”
His chest heaved and his breaths were heavy; not from exhaustion, but from anger.
I was the complete opposite; silent and breathless.
“It was nothing but cruel... That’s all you genjutsu users ever do, tricking your victims with nothing but the worst – turning your victims nightmares into reality, just because you can! She could have killed me along with them, but she didn’t. She said that she would spare me, that she would give me mercy.”
His voice dropped to a low growl as he spat the word with such hatred, I didn’t even dare to breathe.
“Watching my comrades destroy each other is not mercy!”
“I…” I slammed my mouth shut, because what was I supposed to say to that? What was anybody supposed to say to something like that?
Shinrin’s voice reverberated through my veins, shaking me straight to the core. It was the voice of a broken man – one who suffered what I could only imagine. For once, I saw him not as the man who tortured me, but as another human being.
Right now, he was just another man who has and had comrades and friends of his own.
And now, he was trying to take away mine.
“Nothing clever left to say, huh?” He scoffed, gently tapping the tip of his blade against Sakura’s neck. Tears brimmed her eyes and I could do nothing but watch. “I tried to make it even, but that old bastard Mifune would have nothing of it. Instead, he decided to exile me; said that I would bring unnecessary conflict to our land. A waste of effort!”
The fatally dark tone returned, and he looked at me as if it were my fault. If he started any longer, I might have been convinced that it was.
“I lost comrades, my country—everything, all because of one shitty little genjutsu.” The words hissed through his teeth like poison. “I only lost more because of yours. That’s my problem with you!”
It was hard to remember that the people fought in battle had comrades of their own – people that they wanted to protect, too, even if they were the ones of the twisted sadist that tortured me. It was hard to pity him, but it was also hard to ignore the genuine pain that lingered behind the rage of his voice.
Despite everything he had done, it was hard not to feel a little sympathy for his loss.
However, I was nowhere near forgiving him for what he’s done.
With a shaky breath, I calmed myself enough to finally say something back.
“Then keep your problem with me, and me alone.” My voice faltered the slightest bit, but I forced myself to keep a hard stare on the swordsman.
“Do not intentionally put yourself in harm’s way.” The ANBU spoke, reminding me that she was still there. She then addressed Shinrin with words I never thought I’d hear a supposed ally say. “Do what you will with a mere genin hostage. We will not let you walk away with the Youkugan.”
My blood ran cold at the mere notion that she would actually say that.
“What?” I spat, immediately turning to direct my anger towards the ANBU who I thought was on our side. “Aren’t you supposed to be on our side?”
“I am on the village’s side.” She corrected nonchalantly, as if she didn’t just suggest that Shinrin killed Sakura in cold blood. “If you are true Konoha shinobi, I expect you two to be on the village’s side, as well.”
“Are you seriously telling her to just—to just die?” My voice grew louder, but I stood still, keeping my fists clenched tight by my sides. “What kind of fucked up mentality do you people have?”
“Understand this, Shurikane-san.” The ANBU’s voice sent a chill down my spine. It held no sense of comradeship like it used to. “We have already lost the Uchiha. We are ready to sacrifice more than our lives to ensure that we do not lose your kekkei genkai, as well. Any shinobi of Konoha should be prepared to make that sacrifice, no matter what rank they may be. Let your comrade serve their duty to the village while I bring you to safety.”
Another breeze blew by, this time with more petals than embers.
Wait… petals?
The faint warmth that came with the breeze seemed to go unnoticed by Shinrin, but I couldn’t ignore it. It felt too familiar for it to be nothing. I realized then something that I should have realized much sooner.
My eyes flicked towards the ANBU who stood as firm as ever, but there was no way that she failed to notice the faintest hint of the jounin’s presence in the air, as well. It was the sort of presence that would only be noticed through familiarity, or if you were searching for it. Thankfully, I had a bit of both.
She’s trying to buy time. I deduced, looking away from the masked shinobi. Whether or not she means what she’s saying is a whole other story, though. Until then, however, I decided that it would be best to play along.
“Fuck you.” I growled. “Who the fuck do you think you are, talking about Sakura like some sort of pawn?” Not to mention that she reduced my existence down to my kekkei genkai. Whether it was an act or not, everything about it made me sick.
“R-Riku, listen to her!” Sakura suddenly interjected, voice shaking with uncertainty. From the look in her eyes, she was trying to be calm, be strong, and be brave. She could have tricked me if not for her reddened eyes. Nevertheless, she continued. “It’s… It’s okay.”
Her voice was suddenly so strong and full of resolve that it terrified me. I hoped it was because she was putting up an act, as well, but something told me it wasn’t.
Don’t.
“I’ve been spending all this time in Naruto and Sasuke-kun’s shadows, watching them get strong and stronger… I thought I could never be useful to our village, but if I can change all that with this, then… then I will.” Despite her shaking hands and tear-brimmed eyes, Sakura’s green eyes looked straight at me as she smiled. “It’d be an honourable death for a shinobi, right?”
“Indeed it would,” Shinrin answered with his twisted smile, removing all trace of the humanity I caught a glimpse of just now. “And I’d be honoured to be the one to give it to you!”
“No!”
The sun caught the edge of his sword as Shinrin thrust it forward. It only took that single moment for the image to get burned into my memory until it was erased from my sight by a flurry of cherry blossom petals. With a strong wind, they spun around him, engulfing his sword in a pink mass.
“Flower Petal Embrace!”
The cherry blossoms collected into a single entity behind Shinrin. He was frozen, unable to move as the genjutsu had already long been in place, waiting for the right time to be fully engaged. The petals swarmed together until they formed a large cherry blossom tree. Its branches clung to the swordsman’s arms, binding him in place and forcing him to drop his sword.
Finally, a figure began to emerge from the tree, revealing the one we were buying time for.
“K…” Sakura gasped as she shakily pushed herself away from the man who tried to kill her. “Kurenai-sensei!”
“You did well, Sakura-chan. Your sensei would be proud.” She smiled warmly despite the kunai she was holding at Shinrin’s neck. “ANBU-san, I can handle things from here. Please, take these two and go.”
“Will you be able to handle him alone?” The ANBU asked.
The jounin shook her head with a regretful look. “I admit that it won’t be easy, but it’s a good thing I’m not alone.”
On cue, another presence appeared next to me, and the air was soon littered with the scent of cigarettes.
“Asuma-sensei.” I greeted with a relieved smile.
“Get yourselves to safety. Us jounin can take care of this.” He grinned, ruffling my hair before he walked up to Shinrin. “It’s a shame we have questions to ask you, or else I’d get right to paying you back for what you did to my student.”
The swordsman growled, the rage from his earlier monologue returning at full.
“Don’t expect me to succumb to another genjutsu. I’ll kill you all!” His volume augmented with his chakra levels, flaring at such a high rate that it took Kurenai-sensei off guard and shattered the genjutsu. “Don’t take me for a fool!”
The next few seconds were a blur. Asuma-sensei blocked Shinrin’s katana with a kunai while I lunged towards Sakura with a surge of chakra at my feet. Kurenai-sensei regained her composure just in time to defend an attack that came from one of Shinrin’s subordinates, who must have arrived at his sudden flare of chakra.
Trusting them to fend them off, I focused only on grabbing Sakura’s wrist and pulling her to her feet.
“Haul ass!” I shouted, not sparing a single glance back as I pulled her along.
Killing intent spread like a forest fire behind us, but I forced us to keep moving, refusing to fall back after we finally got out of that situation with Sakura’s head still intact.
“Have faith in your comrades.” The ANBU suddenly spoke from beside me, as if reading my thoughts.
“…Yeah.” I nodded.
Without a silent hand signal, she began leading us away from the fight, towards the outskirts of the village that was opposite of the initial explosions. I assumed that was where I was supposed to lay low until the battle was resolved. Not even a minute later, however, more of Shinrin’s subordinates appeared before us.
“Why don’t we help take that load off your hands?” One of them asked nonchalantly before charging straight towards me.
In a flash, the ANBU was between the ex-samurai and I, fending his blade off with her own.
“Run! I will handle these three and catch up with you.” Just as she made the order, the ANBU pushed chakra into her blade to push the enemy away.
“Even for an ANBU, three against one is--!” Sakura’s worried voice was cut off with a sudden blast that knocked us all aside.
I winced as I was knocked off the rooftop and slid across another. Thankfully, Sakura was still with me this time. Dirt stung my new scratches and caused my eyes to water, but at least being tossed across the rooftops put out the small flames that burned my clothes. I coughed, trying to wave the dust away so I could breathe more easily. It settled just in time for me to catch a clear glimpse of the second enemy that towered over me, just one thrust away from incapacitating me.
“Shit!”
Already, I was desperately making hand seals as much as I could, but I soon found that I didn’t need to bother.
“Hidden Skill; Konoha’s Dancing Leaves!”
A swirl of leaves cut between the enemy and I, slicing at his arms and forcing him to retreat. The ANBU appeared before me and swung her katana, sending another blast of razor sharp leaves towards the three enemies to keep them at a distance.
“Thanks.” I panted, looking up to address the ANBU, only to freeze at what I saw.
The porcelain bird mask that once covered her face was cracked and burnt, causing an entire chunk of it to break off. It still covered the upper and left side of her face, but it was more than enough for me to recognize who it was.
“Mayuri…?” I breathed, unable to imagine that the thief my team and I brought back was the same person as the ANBU who had been shadowing me all this time.
Her expression remained still and blank, which was a little unnerving, considering how young she looked. I thought she was my age, but when I saw her now, she looked at least ten years older. Was she in a disguise the last time I saw her, or was it just the intensity in her eyes that made all the difference? Either way, that “thief” and this ANBU were definitely one and the same. That much, I was sure of.
“Proceed to safety,” was all she said in response to the name I knew her by, but was very likely not her real name. “I will catch up once I’m finished here.” To buy us some more time, she swung her katana again, releasing another blast of cutting wind full of knife-like leaves. “Now!”
Scrambling to my feet, I grabbed Sakura’s wrist again and was about to take off. A nagging curiosity got the best of me, however, and I couldn’t help but ask a quick question before we left.
“Just how old are you?” I asked.
“Too young to drink, but old enough to kill.” Mayuri didn’t even spare me a glance with her answer. “Now go, before they get back up again!”
Without another response, I nodded at Sakura before we both sprinted off again, just in time to avoid the daggers thrown by the enemy.
Below us, villagers continued to be evacuated to safety. We could see the enormous crowd pooling around the Hokage Monument. Thankfully, the only enemy shinobi and swordsmen that were inside the village were the ones we encountered ourselves, and they were close to the edge of the village, so the civilians were still safe.
Let’s hope it stays that way.
Our path took us towards the Hokage Monument. Seeing that there were still several villagers in the middle of evacuating, I slowed to a stop, causing Sakura to stop with me.
“Something wrong?” She asked.
“You should stay here and help.”
“But we need to get you to the safe zone.”
“No, I need to get there. You,” I jabbed my finger at Sakura’s breastbone, “need to stay here and help evacuate the villagers instead of becoming another hostage.”
A hint of guilt briefly flashed through her eyes as she glanced away. Silence passed between us as I refused to let my resolve waver. I refused to let that sort of thing happen again.
“We’re lucky Kurenai-sensei and Asuma-sensei showed up when they did, or things would have turned out way worse.” I said.
“…I don’t regret it, you know.” She whispered, breaking the silence.
“What?”
“I don’t regret it,” she repeated more firmly. “After already losing Sasuke-kun… I felt like I would do anything to make sure that we didn’t lose you, too, even if it meant…”
Dying, but that was left unsaid because her voice hitched as she swallowed a sob, fighting back the urge to cry.
I wanted to tell her that it was okay if she did. Nobody would blame her, and I especially wouldn’t dare judge her after she experienced something far too close to what I did. I was glad that she didn’t, though, because as selfish as it was, I wasn’t sure if I could handle seeing Sakura cry twice within the same hour. She always handled stress well, and how she managed to not freak out after having a katana pressed against her throat by a man who was very readily about to kill her stuck with me. Where her physical strength lacked, her mentality made up for.
Finally, I clapped my hands on her shoulder and gripped them reassuringly, tight enough so she got the message, but not so tight that it would hurt.
“For the record, you nearly scared the literal shit out of me, so please don’t ever do that again.” I said while looking at her in all seriousness. “Isn’t Kakashi-sensei always preaching about how shinobi that abandon their comrades are lower than trash? Dying is a pretty permanent of abandoning a lot more than just your comrades, don’t you think? I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the idea of being considered lesser than a piece of trash.”
Although there were thankfully no tears falling, Sakura sniffled and nodded.
“Got it. But I still want to go with you to make sure you get there in one piece.”
“I’d really rather you didn’t—”
“Riku!” Somebody interrupted.
“Ino?”
“Forehead!”
“Ino.” Sakura muttered.
My blond teammate hopped over to our rooftop and landed with hardly a sound.
“Wow. You two have seen better days.” Ino murmured once she examined us. “What’s with you, Sakura?” She grinned smugly, learning into the pink-haired genin’s personals pace. “Are you getting scared?”
“Get your pig breath out of my face.” Sakura retorted while pushing Ino back. “We really need to get going and you’re in our way, Pig.”
My teammate crossed her arms and frowned, staring at us with a serious gaze that no longer held any smugness that she reserved for her rivalry with Sakura.
“Don’t think you can hide anything from me, you two.” She warned, furrowing her brows. “Something’s up, and I’m not “getting out of your way” until you fill me in!”
“Sakura almost died just now and I don’t want it to happen again.” I answered bluntly, because it was clear that I wasn’t going to weasel my way out of this one.
Ino fell silent. Her eyes trailed over to Sakura again, and it was as if her injuries had a whole new different meaning to them. Not that they were anything serious, but the scratches and bruises that covered us told a story. That much, I knew she could tell. Still, the stubbornness in her gaze never faded. I should have known by now that breaking the resolve of a Konoha shinobi was practically impossible.
“Geez, she’s the same as always, sticking her big fat nose into everybody’s business.” Sakura huffed, briefly glancing towards me. “Then again, you just said that shinobi who abandon their comrades are below trash.”
“Besides, there’s no way I can just leave you with Sakura.” Ino taunted, setting the back of her hand on her hip. “I wouldn’t be able to focus at all knowing you have the worst bodyguard around!”
Sakura immediate snapped back with a half-assed taunt herself, but the two were laughing nevertheless.
Have faith in your comrades. Mayuri-san’s words echoed in my head as I gave a defeated smile.
I was never fond of the idea of laying low while the rest of the village fought against the enemy, but I guess that was the role I had to play in all this – to trust that the others would come through. In the end, it really was just a part of our jobs, and it wasn’t like I could tell two kunoichi to just stop being kunoichi.
If there was one thing from what Mayuri said earlier that stuck with me, is that I really was an asset to the village, whether I liked it or not. Falling into the hands of the enemy was something I couldn’t afford to do, and if I had two friends willing to help me with that, then I should probably just be thankful for it.
Finally, I sighed and flashed a smile. “Then let’s haul ass.”
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Chapter end notes: Thanks for reading! Just four more chapters to go~