Keiko kept glancing over her shoulder as the group she was protecting head to the safety of the nearest hospital. She knew they were being followed, but the stalker kept out of sight. It was infuriating. She half wished the stalker would attack them already so she could just get rid of the problem. She ran her eyes over the group of civilian women and children. They looked fearful. The children had tears in their eyes. It pulled at her heartstrings.
Keiko gasped and she placed a hand over her midsection when her baby kicked. A flicker of worry went through her. She hoped the stress didn’t cause any problems for her and the baby. She took a deep calming breath. The baby had been active lately and kicked her insides like a true ninja.
She rubbed her stomach and stopped at another interaction. She poked her head out to peer up and down one of the main streets. It was clear. She glanced over her shoulder to see the rest of the group staring at her. She waved them to cross the street as she directed her gaze behind the group.
The shadow darted across the alleyway. Keiko’s eyes widened. It was a large black wolf. The wolf darted into the shadows of the building, hiding behind a large pile of debris. Her heart thundered in her chest. She reached down to her waist and grabbed a kunai. She held it at her side while the civilians ran by. Mentally, she ran through her jutsus and chose one that was powerful, but didn’t cause a lot of strain on her spiritual powers or on her physically. She waited until the last mother darted past with her children in toe. Keiko half turned and gave the leading civilian woman a look before she issued one command, “Run to the Hospital, now!”
Keiko turned away and lifted her hands. She ran through the hand signs for the jutsu and summoned the amount of spiritual power she needed before she sucked in a deep breath. Her midsection protested at the deepest of the breath, but she powered through it and held up her right hand close to her mouth and blew through the small space her curled hand made. Flames race through the alley way.
The hiding wolf let out a whimper and jumped back, transforming into its humanoid female form. Long black hair flowed down the nude form of the woman. She shifted her hair to cover herself the best she could. She just stared at Keiko for a long moment before she spoke, “My mother, Madam Luna, is under a jutsu, so is most of the pack, Madam Black Hand.”
Keiko raised an eyebrow at that. She had heard rumors of Madam Luna having a daughter, but kept her hidden away for various reasons. One of those reasons could be the fact the Princess of the Luna Pack was highly sought after by other shifter packs and the humanoid demons who roamed the Dead End Forest. She ran her eyes over the Princess and see why the Princess was desired by many males. She pushed those thoughts away and spoke, “Was that the reason why you were following me, Princess?”
The Princess shook her head. She went on, “The ninja in question who did this to my pack went to a secret library. He had been rumbling on about a dead Clan called the Isamu and how he could be related to it. Unfortunately, I lost him a few years ago when he went under ground. This is my first time being in the Hidden Bark Village and I have no clue where he could be at.”
Keiko blinked. There was someone thinking they could be the heir of the Isamu Clan? The only survivors of that clan were orphans, now, and had their birth records sealed away in the Secret Library of the Lord Bark. However, it raised how did this mysterious ninja know about the Secretive Library. She cocked her head to the side, “It didn’t explained why you were following me.”
“I suppose not,” the Princess replied, “I got lost and saw you had the mark of the Black Hands on your forearm. I thought you might be heading that way with the civilians.”
“No,” Keiko replied, “I was taking them to another safe location and I will be staying with them.”
“I see,” The Princess nodded, glancing down at Keiko’s midsection. She turned on her bare heel and shifted into the black wolf. Her tail swished back and forth before she ran away from Keiko.
Keiko watched her go. She tensed as she sensed several presences running above her. She turned with her kunai at the ready and saw as they leaped down from the rooftops, a team of Black Hands.
One of them stepped forward, saying, “Madam, we are here to make sure you get to the hospital, safely.”
Keiko nodded. They hurried to the Hospital and she informed them what she had learned from the Princess of the Luna Pack.
****
Raizen darted through the streets, gasping for breath. He felt lightheaded as pain rippled through his chest. He was pushing himself to run toward He reached down and opened one of his pouches along his waist line. He pulled out a small package holding two small red balls. He ripped open the package and tossed them into his mouth and dry shallowed them. He hoped the Monkey Energy Pills worked soon.
He didn’t like using the Monkey Energy Pills often. He knew the aftermath. He would be bedridden for at least a week once the Energy Pills faded away. Keiko would beat him for taking the pills. She didn’t like him pushing himself when he was already injured. However, he felt guilty for pushing his new students onto another teacher and the fact it was their second mission. He really needed to step up his game.
The Monkey Energy Pills were a blessing in disguise. The Gagneux Clan had a chain of restaurants throughout the Village. They had several clan members go onto the science department and created the Monkey Energy Pills. The Monkey Energy Pills gained popularity during the last major war. When it was discovered about the after effects of the pills, it was stressed to the ninja who took them to be extremely careful and limit how many they took.
Raizen shook his head. He would worry about the after effects later when he didn’t have to worry about his students and his wife. He forced himself to stare ahead. He bounced through an alley way, climbing to the rooftops and hurried to the Gray District.
****
Meanwhile, Lilian couldn’t believe she had did that. She couldn’t believe she had that much power to cause that chain of reactions. She watched the battle ground as she released the breath she was holding as she watched the fissures settled down and stop spreading out.
Padme let out whistle and Lilian glanced over to her as the older female ninja commented, “That was impressive.”
“I agree,” Yukina spoke up, “If I wasn’t fast, I would have fallen into those fissures.”
Lilian gave her a look of surprise. She was not expecting the female shifter to admit that. She glanced toward Padme. She didn’t look shocked by the admission. A howl echoed from where Master Quill stood. Lilian glanced in that direction to see Quill and Madam Luna walked together.
Madam Luna didn’t have a wild look anymore. Instead, she looked like a Lady wearing very dirty clothes. She raised her head again and howled, loudly. One by one, the fighting teams stopped and the shifters stepped away. Most of them looked confused by what was going on.
Lilian glanced around, also, feeling confused.
Yukina snorted, “Majority of the pack was under a jutsu, informing them you were our enemies.”
“Then how did you undo the jutsu,” Padme asked.
“My sister and I weren’t around when the jutsu were put in place,” Yukina shrugged, “We had to act since we didn’t know how to undo the jutsu and had to let it run its course unless we ran into a friendly ninja.” She bounced away, heading to Madam Luna.
Lilian turned to Padme and blinked at her with a puzzled look on her face. She heard an explosion in the distance. She turned to back to the Village and saw a pillar of smoke raising up and the barrier flickered, once then twice before it fell apart.
***
Raizen was half way the Gray District when the Monkey Energy Pill was working. It was a relief. He felt energized from the pills, but he knew he was playing a dangerous game. He pushed himself a bit harder to reached the fight. However, he reached the half way point when he saw a shifter standing by a large rock with a glowing rune on it. He skidded to a stop on a rooftop. He knew that rune. He looked toward the Gray District and muttered a curse. The Pack had placed a barrier up. He turned and went back to the edge of the rooftop and peered down.
The wolf paced back and forth, unaware that Raizen was above him.
Raizen pulled out a kunai from a pouch attached to his thigh and grabbed a paper bomb. He hoped one paper bomb would be enough, but he knew there was a chance it wouldn’t be. He had a good amount of him with kunai. He tied the string to the Kunai and threw it down as hard as he could. He watched as the kunai cut deeply into the rune and the paper bomb smoked. The wolf turned to see the kunai in the rock and the paper bomb before the wolf ran off.
BOOM!
Smoke exploded in the alley way. The nearby glass windows shattered. The building shook. Raizen covered his face from the flying debris. He waited until the smoke cleared and satisfaction shot through him. The Barrier rune was destroyed. He turned, ran across the rooftop, and jumped once he reached the edge. He had to go check on his students.
****
Ralph sat down on the ground with a groan and lend against a large rock, closing his eyes as he tried to relax. He panted through parted lips as he watched the shifters changed back to their humanoid forms with fur covering their privates areas. He licked his dry lips and tasted blood. His busted nose had stopped bleeding, but he knew once his nose was straightened, it would start bleeding again. He wasn’t looking forward that. It would be safe to visit the hospital once things died down and get checked out. That was one bill he wasn’t looking forward to paying. Once he was able to, he would have to start picking extra D ranked missions. He mused he could ask Raizen, Lilian, and Enzo how they felt about picking up extra missions for some extra money.
“So, besides the busted nose,” Enzo’s voice rang out and Ralph opened his eyes, looking up at his teammate, “Where else did you get injured?”
“I think my ribs are bruised,” Ralph commented, “I don’t think they are broken.” He blinked as he noticed Lilian walking over.
“I’m sorry about that Fissure Jutsu,” she immediately spoke up, “I didn’t think I was that strong.”
“So, that was you, Lilian,” Raizen’s voice rang out. Ralph tilted his head back as he arched his back to see his teacher standing on top of the rock. “That was impressive. It looks like it helped changed the tide of the battle.” Raizen jumped from the large rock to stand beside Ralph. He looked down at Ralph, “You need to visit the hospital.”
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“Yeah,” Ralph admitted.
Raizen turned back to Lilian, “You don’t have to apologize for that strong of an attack. Anything to help change the tide of battle to your side’s favor is extremely helpful.” He paused as he peered over the battlefield. “I think it is safe to say - this D-rank mission will be upgraded to at least a C-rank.”
“Will we get a bigger paycheck,” Enzo asked, hopefully.
“Yes,” Raizen nodded, “Anytime a mission has to upgraded to a different rank in middle of the mission, you will also get an upgrade in pay.” He turned back to them, “This is one of the reasons why creating a mission report is important. It helps to protect you if a client tries to accuse you of anything and a record of what happened.”
“Have you had that happen, Master?” Lilian asked, “A Client trying to accuse you of something, I mean.”
“Yeah,” Raizen said, sighing. “The fact I was truthful in my mission report helped as well as a mind walker confirm my report over what the Client was trying to accuse me of.” He glanced down at Ralph. “Alright. I’ll talk with Quill for a moment then I’ll take you to the hospital to get checked out. All three of you, to be on the safe side.”
“Yes, sir,” Team 17 replied.
~~~~
“What is it, Sirius?” Lord Jackson asked. His hand reached and stretched the black cat’s head. The cat looked up at Lord Jackson before he peered under the bookcase, meowed, and extended a paw, trying to swipe at the thief.
The thief silently cursed as a knee appeared and placed against the wooden floor and fingers curled around the edge. He watched as who he assumed to be Lord Jackson started to lift up on the bookcase. He glanced over his shoulder, hoping to find a way out of this situation, but he couldn’t backwards. In fact the only way he could get out of this situation was up. He turned to see the bookcase had rose a foot and his eyes widened as the cat named Sirius launched at him. He cried out.
“There’s someone under there!” one of the Black Hands exclaimed. Shocked laced their voice. The thief threw himself backward as Sirius took a swipe at him with claws extended. Pain lanced up his back as it hit the edge of the bookcase. He kicked out at Sirius. The animal hissed, its fur standing on edge.
The thief glanced toward other side. He groaned. He watched as the edge of the bookcase rose up, passing the other edge of the neighboring bookcase. He chewed on his bottom lip. He had to take the chance of escaping that way. He was no near strong enough to face down the Lord of the Hidden Bark Village. The Black Hands protecting the Lord were equally as strong or slightly weaker then the Lord Bark.
The Black Hands were the trained elite of the Bark Village. If a ninja was selected to join to the Black Hands, it was because they had proved to be one of the strongest in their field. Rumor had it, the Black Hands trainees had to go through a series of secretive training courses over the course of five years before they were able to claim to the other Black Hands they were one of them. Of course, they had to train another year in their specialized field to claim that title of Special Black Hand.
The thief managed to get that information from his master. He did find it strange his master knew a lot of the Hidden Bark Village. It gave him the impression his master was originally from the Hidden Bark. He half wished he could have find the list of names who was banished from the Bark Village, but he wouldn’t know where to start looking for that information. It would have gave him some idea on who his master was since the banished list also gave the clan information and physical description, much like the Village’s Wanted Book handed out every quarter with the updated information on the Banished last known whereabouts.
He shook his head. He would have time to think about it later. Right now, he had to focus on the present and his escape path. He glanced back to the far edge of the raising bookcase where it was rose high enough where he spotted two of the Black Hands kneeling down and bend over, getting to peer under the bookcase.
He sighed and steeled himself for a fight. His hand darted through a series of hand signs and he sucked in a deep breath as he held up his right hand close to his lips and blew through it. A large fireball erupted toward the Lord of Bark and the Black hands. He heard Lord Jackson cursed as the Black Hands pulled back the Bark Lord as the fireball caught the edges of the bookcase on fire. The bookcase started to fall back down onto the Thief, but the Thief shifted and raised his legs up, catching the bookcase on the bottom of his feet. He bent his knees then shoved upward. The bookcase swung up, giving the thief enough time to turn onto his knees and hands before he pushed off the floor. He darted out from under the bookcase as it started to fall back to the ground. He landed, weirdly on an overturned bookcase and glanced over his shoulder to the Black Hands and Lord Bark. He half turned as he stood up. He watched with amusement as they blinked at him in surprise.
“GET HIM!” Lord Bark yelled, an arm raising up and pointed at the thief. The Black Hands darted from their places on either side of the Lord Bark.
The Thief muttered a curse and reached for his pouch, grabbing a paper bomb. He didn’t bother tying it to a kunai as he threw it at the nearest Black Hand. He jumped back and turned in time to duck under an arching sword. He mentally reached out to the kunai he had threw earlier. It was a special one with runes engraved on the hilt. He found it and sent some of his spiritual power, activating the runes. He vanished in a swirl of black energy.
The Black Hands came to a stop and questioned where he disappeared to. The Thief rolled his eyes and glanced around. He blinked. He didn’t realized the kunai had flew half way across the room. The group of Black Hands turned in a circle, looking for him. He spotted Lord Bark slapping a hand to his face and trailed it down. He shook his head. He couldn’t believe he had managed to outmaneuver the Black Hands.
They were supposed to be the Elite groups of Ninja. The most trained out of all the ninja in the Hidden Bark Village. Just one of them should have been enough to capture him. He sighed. Apparently all of the stories he had heard while he grew up was just stories and tall tales. He shook his head in disappointment. He shifted his weight and felt the bookcase he had landed upon shift to the right and slid that way. He jumped off of it, heading to the hole in the ceiling. He didn’t want to use this path. It cut straight through Lord Bark’s office. However, it would appear he didn’t have another choice since his original way was cut off by the Black Hands and Lord Bark himself standing in front of that doorway.
The noise had been enough to catch the Black Hands’ attention and one of them cried out, “There he is!”
The thief glanced over and his eyes widened as the group of 15 ran at him. He looked forward and put on a burst of speed, bouncing off the fallen bookcases to the spiral staircase. He grabbed the railing and hauled up himself upward, not bothering using the steps. He reached the floor of the office and rolled through the opening. He didn’t bother pausing to catch his barrings as a Black Hand ran at him.
He swept his leg at the side of the Black Hand who tired to caught the flying leg, but missed as the Thief slammed his shin into his enemy’s ribcage. The Black Hand’s mouth opened as air escaped and he stumbled back away from the Thief.
The Thief brought his leg back down and crunched down as he reached around to a pouch at the back of his waist band. He pushed off the bookcase he stood upon as he grabbed the smoke bombs he was reaching for before he tossed the smoke bombs at the ground. He turned in mid-air as the smoke bombs went off. Grey smoke rose and covered the Library. The Thief stretched out his senses, using them to ‘see’ where the spiral staircase was. It should be several feet in front of him. He resisted the urge to grin. He was almost home free. He knew once he made it through the hole of the Leader’s Office, he would burst through a window and find the shortest route out of the village.
He reached out as he sensed the spiral staircase. He grinned under his black mask. He grabbed the railing of the spiral staircase and placed his feet on the bottom of the railing. A chill went down his spine. He twisted his head to peer behind him as his danger sense alerted him to something. He narrowed his eyes. He could have sworn he spotted something flying through the smoke. He pulled himself upward and over the railing, ducking low. He heard something pinged off the railing where he had been hanging on the side. He glanced up. He spotted a large throwing star falling along the side of the spiral staircase. His eyes darted up, noticing the smoke had started to clear the Library, disappearing up into the Office. He stood up and jumped, grabbing the edge of the railing above him, pulling himself up and over the railing. He managed to do it once more before he sensed the Lord Bark approaching, fast. He pulled a kunai and stood in a defensive position on the steps with his back toward the center of the spiral staircase, slowly climbing the steps up to the office.
The Thief blinked and spotted Lord Bark standing just around the curve bend, several feet down. Lord Bark stared at him with emotionless, hard eyes as he climbed the stairs, coming toward the Thief.
The Thief’s heart thundered in his ears as he tried to keep the distance between them, but he stumbled backwards. He had felt his foot slipped on the edge of the step and he went down. A sharp pain went through his back side causing him to wince. He slapped the palm of his hand against the pole of the railing to stop himself from sliding down another step. He glanced toward Lord Bark and stumbled to his feet before he climbed backwards. His knees shook as he tried to increase the distance. He knew what was going on. Lord Bark was using his killing intention to slow the Thief down.
He took a deep breath, trying to steel his nerves. He mentally fought against the Killing intention. He knew Lord Bark was strong to earn his position as the Lord of the Hidden Bark Village and he had heard the rumors of just how powerful the man had become over the years he had served as an average ninja before he achieved the rank of a Black Hand then became the Lord of the Bark. He remembered when Lord Jackson became Lord Bark of the Village. He had been 5 years old at the time and the celebrations after he took the position had lasted nearly two weeks. Lord Jackson had been a war hero and a favorite for many clans both Ninja and Civilian. He still was.
The thief reached behind him and grabbed a smoke bomb before he threw it. He saw Lord Bark crunch and dart forward to cover the distance before the Thief did. The smoke bomb exploded, sending tan colored smoke up. The thief ducked down, trying to disappear in the smoke, and suppressed his spiritual powers down. He sensed Lord Bark soar over him and head up the stairs to the office. He mentally reached out to the kunai, located across the library, jumped the railing, and pulled himself to it. He vanished in a swirl of black light then reappeared on top of the toppled bookcase. He turned to look at the spiral staircase.
Lord Bark had backtracked and grabbed the railing before he launched himself over the edge. His spiritual pressure rose, showing his anger at the simple trick.
The thief grabbed two more of the kunai and waited, slowing adding some of his spiritual power to it until Lord Bark had made it half way across the library before he threw one at the Leader of the Hidden Bark Village. Lord Jackson ducked under the flying kunai, allowing it to soar behind him and embed the sharp edge at the side of a wooden step.
He waited a heartbeat more before he darted to the right as Lord Jackson bounced over the bookcases. He watched as the Black Hands and Lord Bark followed him. He mentally reached out to the kunai he had thrown and pulled, again. He vanished in a swirl of black. He blinked and reached out to the railing of the spiral staircase, grabbing it with his free hand. He hauled himself over the railing and crunched down. He peered back to see the Black Hands and Lord Bark came to a stop. He pulled out the special kunai and tucked it away. He hurried up the spiral staircase, taking the steps three a time. He sensed Lord Bark’s anger rose several knots as the older ninja realized what had happened. He pushed some extra power into his legs and soared up the rest of the stairs. He glanced around the office when he entered it. He spotted an open window, letting a cool summer air in. He hurried over to it and climbed out of it.
The thief dropped down to the slated roof and slid down a few feet before he reached the end and pushed off. He heard the singles crack under the force of his jump. He ignored it. It won’t be long before the Black Hands would be after him. He didn’t know if Lord Bark would be as well. He didn’t want to wait around to figure it out. He bounced along the rooftops. He heard the intruder single ring out. He muttered a curse under his breath. He summoned more power and directed down his legs, making them glow slightly with runes of power.
The wind blowing in his face increased as it stole his breath and his hair rippled around his head. He swung his legs forward in time to land in a crunch. He panted as he slowly stood up. He glanced behind him, seeing the Black Hands spreading out from the Government Tower in all directions. He turned his attention to his hands, staring in wonder. He didn’t expect that surge of power to be the result of the blood magical rune he went through a couple months ago at his master’s orders. He flexed his hands. He felt restless with all that power still raging through his veins. He would be to escape from the Hidden Bark Village. He crunched down and pushed off, leaving behind a large intention where he had pushed off. He wanted to laugh.
“THERE HE IS!!”
The Thief glanced in the direction where the voice came from. He spotted a team of four Black Hands darting over the rooftops to reach him. He grinned under his black mask. He turned his attention forward. He was nearly at the wall of tree surrounding the village from the farmlands. He knew once he got past that line, it was a short leap to reach the river. He glanced over his shoulder. The nearest team of Black Hands were still several houses away.
He shook his head and pushed off, causing another hole in the rooftop. It was easy sailing from here. He cleared the wall of trees, causing one of the higher, thicker branches to break off when he pushed off of it, causing it to crashed to the ground. He reached the river bank. He glanced over his shoulder.
The thief was disappointed the chase had ended. He shrugged and jumped into the middle of the river with a loud splash. He had better things to do then pout over the lack of a good chase.