Numb
two
Present Day
We bounded from tree to tree without thinking of what we were doing, one with the forest, one with each other. It hadn’t taken long to outrun them, our knowledge of the forests outweighing their size and energy. The days that we had spent without rest were, after only a short amount of time, taking a toll on us, our bodies weighed down with exhaustion. It seemed as though our missions were consistent only with the number of times that we fought against enemy nin, winning and losing, chasing them off or having them chase after us. Always the same pattern. The same mission, repeated over and over. Something felt different as we ran, then, weaving in and out of the foliage, the air thicker, the tension between the two of us heavier.
The Leaf nin that had been following us were grown, Jounin that had seen us in battle before. They knew our tactics; we knew theirs. It was an even battle, so to speak, and the Mizukage had told us just that. If he had faith in us, the mission would be a success. But, still, their numbers had grown by the time they met us in the clearing, from two to five, and we stared back at them with eyes that masked something like horror. Where had the others come from? Is that what they had been doing while we thought that we had been outrunning them through the trees? I didn’t recognize any of them—a blonde with her hands on her hips, a chubby boy, and another boy with his hands shoved in his pockets, an annoyed look spread across his features. All new, unrecognizable.
“We all know this isn’t a fair fight,” one of the nin spoke, his voice even, mechanical, “give up the ghost while you can or you’ll risk your lives. And that’s the last thing that we want, isn’t it?”
I rolled my eyes, glancing toward Shinobu. We exchanged quick, sideways looks and held out one balled fist each. The lessons that we had been taught as young nin were useful in missions such as these, when we used mostly Taijutsu and the footwork that I had so relentlessly practiced. We had main chakra points memorized, knew the exact jabs that would stop flow entirely; this was where we could put all of that knowledge to use. Theoretically, this battle should have been over almost as quickly as it began, just as quickly as all of the others. My brother had always told me that theory meant nothing when it came to our missions. He was right.
The seven of us faced each other with familiar stances, none of us moving as the wind swept through the clearing, picking up stray leaves and blowing the hair out of my face. We were waiting—them, for us to forfeit the battle, and us, for someone to make the first move, to kick everything into action. The slightest movement could be taken as a move made against either side; beside me, my brother was impatient. His breathing became uneven, willing someone to do something. After a moment or so, he gave in, and charged at one of the Jounin, holding a kunai out in front of him.
I quickly matched his step, though I was a few paces behind, and dodged shuriken thrown by the blonde. “Shinobu, behind you!” I called out, watching as he delivered a blow to the chubby boy that knocked him onto his back. I heard foot steps behind me and turned just in time to catch a weak kick that had been delivered by the blonde girl, who narrowed her eyes at me. We fought with Taijutsu, almost evenly matched. I swung to kick her and she caught it, throwing me to the ground; she delivered one hard punch to my jaw, and I slid across the dirt, my back scratched by tree roots and rocks that stuck out of the ground.
My eyes went red with pain as my head smacked against a tree trunk, my eye welling up with tears. I climbed back to my feet. One of the Jounin had joined the girl, and they were advancing toward me, their paces even. It became clear to me that this wasn’t a battle to injure us, to send us running back to our village—they were fighting to kill. I jumped up just as they reached me, hidden by the thick foliage of the trees. From there, I could watch as my brother fought against the others, and as those two searched for me. I could plan my next move, the move after that, the move even after those. My brother was doing well against the Jounin and the boy with the annoyed look on his face; the chubby boy had fallen too hard, unconscious on the edge of the clearing.
I was preparing to return back to the clearing when I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder, tugging me backwards. I cried out in pain, one of the cuts that I had gotten during an earlier battle stinging with the pressure, and turned to look at whoever it was. The Leaf nin that had looked bored, a smirk spread across his lips. “Gotcha,” he said, and jumped down into the clearing, his arms holding me tight against him.
“Let me go!” I said, fighting against his grip. How had he gotten so close?
My brother glanced over at me, his eyes riddled with confusion. He was staring at me instead of looking at those that he had been fighting, trying to figure out how he could get me away from the nin instead of staring at the senbon that were flying toward him—
“Shinobu! Look out, you’re—”
He hit the ground with a thud that made my ears ring, his body completely and totally still. He didn’t move, didn’t even flinch as his back hit the hard packed dirt. One of the senbon had pierced his arm, another his leg, and one had hit his neck. His windpipe. We had been taught that hitting someone in their throat with any kind of weapon was an instant kill…
“He’s…he’s…” My eyes welled up with tears that stung as they slid down my cheeks. “You killed him.” I stared at the Jounin, horrified, my entire body shaking. The nin behind me slowly let me go, and my body slid down to the ground as though I was a rag doll. “Shinobu,” I whispered, crawling toward him, and felt for a pulse on his neck, then again on his wrist. There was nothing. “You killed him! How dare you—you had no right to—” I was screaming, then, tears running down my face and my heart racing.
“We’ll take her back to the Hokage.” The same Jounin that had killed him pulled me onto my feet, looking around at the other nin. “She’ll know what to do.”
We bounded from tree to tree without thinking of what we were doing, one with the forest, one with each other. It hadn’t taken long to outrun them, our knowledge of the forests outweighing their size and energy. The days that we had spent without rest were, after only a short amount of time, taking a toll on us, our bodies weighed down with exhaustion. It seemed as though our missions were consistent only with the number of times that we fought against enemy nin, winning and losing, chasing them off or having them chase after us. Always the same pattern. The same mission, repeated over and over. Something felt different as we ran, then, weaving in and out of the foliage, the air thicker, the tension between the two of us heavier.
The Leaf nin that had been following us were grown, Jounin that had seen us in battle before. They knew our tactics; we knew theirs. It was an even battle, so to speak, and the Mizukage had told us just that. If he had faith in us, the mission would be a success. But, still, their numbers had grown by the time they met us in the clearing, from two to five, and we stared back at them with eyes that masked something like horror. Where had the others come from? Is that what they had been doing while we thought that we had been outrunning them through the trees? I didn’t recognize any of them—a blonde with her hands on her hips, a chubby boy, and another boy with his hands shoved in his pockets, an annoyed look spread across his features. All new, unrecognizable.
“We all know this isn’t a fair fight,” one of the nin spoke, his voice even, mechanical, “give up the ghost while you can or you’ll risk your lives. And that’s the last thing that we want, isn’t it?”
I rolled my eyes, glancing toward Shinobu. We exchanged quick, sideways looks and held out one balled fist each. The lessons that we had been taught as young nin were useful in missions such as these, when we used mostly Taijutsu and the footwork that I had so relentlessly practiced. We had main chakra points memorized, knew the exact jabs that would stop flow entirely; this was where we could put all of that knowledge to use. Theoretically, this battle should have been over almost as quickly as it began, just as quickly as all of the others. My brother had always told me that theory meant nothing when it came to our missions. He was right.
The seven of us faced each other with familiar stances, none of us moving as the wind swept through the clearing, picking up stray leaves and blowing the hair out of my face. We were waiting—them, for us to forfeit the battle, and us, for someone to make the first move, to kick everything into action. The slightest movement could be taken as a move made against either side; beside me, my brother was impatient. His breathing became uneven, willing someone to do something. After a moment or so, he gave in, and charged at one of the Jounin, holding a kunai out in front of him.
I quickly matched his step, though I was a few paces behind, and dodged shuriken thrown by the blonde. “Shinobu, behind you!” I called out, watching as he delivered a blow to the chubby boy that knocked him onto his back. I heard foot steps behind me and turned just in time to catch a weak kick that had been delivered by the blonde girl, who narrowed her eyes at me. We fought with Taijutsu, almost evenly matched. I swung to kick her and she caught it, throwing me to the ground; she delivered one hard punch to my jaw, and I slid across the dirt, my back scratched by tree roots and rocks that stuck out of the ground.
My eyes went red with pain as my head smacked against a tree trunk, my eye welling up with tears. I climbed back to my feet. One of the Jounin had joined the girl, and they were advancing toward me, their paces even. It became clear to me that this wasn’t a battle to injure us, to send us running back to our village—they were fighting to kill. I jumped up just as they reached me, hidden by the thick foliage of the trees. From there, I could watch as my brother fought against the others, and as those two searched for me. I could plan my next move, the move after that, the move even after those. My brother was doing well against the Jounin and the boy with the annoyed look on his face; the chubby boy had fallen too hard, unconscious on the edge of the clearing.
I was preparing to return back to the clearing when I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder, tugging me backwards. I cried out in pain, one of the cuts that I had gotten during an earlier battle stinging with the pressure, and turned to look at whoever it was. The Leaf nin that had looked bored, a smirk spread across his lips. “Gotcha,” he said, and jumped down into the clearing, his arms holding me tight against him.
“Let me go!” I said, fighting against his grip. How had he gotten so close?
My brother glanced over at me, his eyes riddled with confusion. He was staring at me instead of looking at those that he had been fighting, trying to figure out how he could get me away from the nin instead of staring at the senbon that were flying toward him—
“Shinobu! Look out, you’re—”
He hit the ground with a thud that made my ears ring, his body completely and totally still. He didn’t move, didn’t even flinch as his back hit the hard packed dirt. One of the senbon had pierced his arm, another his leg, and one had hit his neck. His windpipe. We had been taught that hitting someone in their throat with any kind of weapon was an instant kill…
“He’s…he’s…” My eyes welled up with tears that stung as they slid down my cheeks. “You killed him.” I stared at the Jounin, horrified, my entire body shaking. The nin behind me slowly let me go, and my body slid down to the ground as though I was a rag doll. “Shinobu,” I whispered, crawling toward him, and felt for a pulse on his neck, then again on his wrist. There was nothing. “You killed him! How dare you—you had no right to—” I was screaming, then, tears running down my face and my heart racing.
“We’ll take her back to the Hokage.” The same Jounin that had killed him pulled me onto my feet, looking around at the other nin. “She’ll know what to do.”