Arc VIII Chapter 3


    <strong>VIII</strong>


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    <strong>Arc VIII Chapter 3 </strong>


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    “Shizue, have you found her?”


    “Negative, Captain. Nothing.”


    “...” Kumanosuke clicked his tongue, his annoyance visible. They inspectedthe snowy ground, but the girl eluded them. Their target was nowhere to be found, but the girlcouldn''t have gotten far.Their client ordered them to capture her alive,if possible. The Daimyo demanded the girl, and he was willing to remunerate them ordingly for their services.


    And truth be told, he didn''t care about the girl''s subsequent fate. They were ninja, and true ninja didn''t ask. Ninja obeyed. Ninja performed their missions. Ninja followed as long as gold and silver flowed. Konoha needed money now that times were dire. The invasion had devastated the vige. Konoha''s reconstruction required considerable financial resources, which forced the vige to ept even missions of the more dubious and less honourable kind of missions, as long as they were lucrative.


    Assassinatinglittle girls wasn''t a particrlyhonourable affair, but Konoha didn''tin. The Daimyo paid, and money was money.Their objective was to capturethe girl. Failure wasn''teptable. Sess was mandatory,no matter the cost.


    Determined,Kumanosukeand his squadcontinued theirsearch in the cold. Corpses littered the icy ins. Blood soaked the snow red.


    It took weeks,but they eventually tracked the girldown. They ambushed the convoy. They eliminated the guards. They eliminatedthe merchants. Theyeliminatedherst loyal retainers, but the girl had somehow managed to escape the ughter.


    Kumanosuke gritted his teeth, his frustration growing. “Naomichi, Toshikuni, anything to report?”


    Naomichi shook his head. “Nothing, Captain. It''s as if the girl hadvanished...Captain?”


    “...” Kumanosuke grew silent. The snow attracted his attention. Blood shimmered in the dusk, and faint footprints crossed the snow. A grin crossed his lips. Found. Her footsteps betrayed the girl. “Shizue, Naomichi, Toshikuni, follow me. We need to hurry.”


    Dark clouds loomed on the horizon. A blizzard gathered.They had to get her in time if theyintended to captureher alive.


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    Yukiran, and ran, and ran. Desperation and fear drove her. Her frail body urged her to stop, but she couldn''t, she wouldn''t.Sheran with all the force her weak body was able tomuster.Her forces dwindled, but sheer grit and determination kept her going.


    In stoic silence, Yukifoughther way through the deep snow, through adeste desert of crystallisedwater and ice.The cold and pain were her onlypanionsafter she hadlost everything in life, but she endured, and endured, and endured.


    Tears rolled down Yuki''s cheeks.Her world had fallenapartbefore her very eyes. Her family, her retainers, they alldied. No happiness, no joy, no light,only pain apanied her.The emptiness inside herheart proved a burdentoo heavy.


    Her heart bled, and Yukicapitted. She had suffered enough. She deservedsomesleep after all these years on the run. She deserved to rest in peace.The pure white snow invited her. The snow wasfluffy, soft, like a cushion,like a bed waiting to be embraced.


    Her lips mustered a tender smile. The scenery fit her demise. Snowsurrounded her,a kingdom of eternal winter, of eternal sorrow.The unforgiving coldassaulted her. Her feet hurt. Her tired, her exhausted, her heavylimbs refused to move.Her time had finallye.This was her destiny.


    Yuki bit her lips to suppress the pain. Her lungspanted. Herbreathingwasuneven, unsteady.The cold air pierced her lungs,stabbed herchest.The stinging pain suffocatedher.Her clothes were soaked red. The cut was deep, and the bleeding didn''t stop. Every step took a toll on her weakened constitution.


    Her feetstumbled,andYukifell. The snow softened her fall and sleep came easily. Hereyelids closed,andherst resolvecrumbled.


    Yukididn''t resist thefateawaiting her.Alittle nap in the snow ... wouldn''t hurt ... Just ... a few ... minutes...


    Reality turned ck, and the falling snow buried the girl beneath.


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    “Asami?senpai?.


    Asami?senpai?.


    Notice me, senpai?.


    Asami?senpai?.


    Look, senpai?.


    Notice me, senpai?.


    Asami?senpai?.


    Asami?...


    Aaarrrgh.”Tobi fell to his knees, his stomach takinga heavy hit.


    Asamirammed her scabbard backwards, directlyinto his stomach with little regard for his wellbeing, or life.


    “...” Asami leaned down, her white fur coat warming her, and a sadistic grin adorning her innocent lips. Tobi was twisting on th ground in pain. His suffering pleased her. Tobi deserved his fate. “Poor Tobi, what happened? Did you trip?”


    Tobi broke out in tears. “Asami? senpai ? cruel and heartless. Asami ? senpai mean and a bully.”


    “...” Asami smiled, her lips made his blood freeze. “Tobi,... stop trying my patience.”


    Tobi stiffened. “Scary senpai~. Tobihidingunder warm nket ...”


    “...” Asami hit him once morewith her scabbard, anothergentle reminder.


    “Ouch.” Tobi rubbedhis abused head.“Why doyou hit me? Tobi did nothing wrong ...”


    Asami''s wrathful scabbardstruck again. “Because ...”


    “Ouch.”


    “... you keep ...”


    “Ouch.”


    “... asking ...”


    “Ouch.”


    “... stupid questions.”


    Tobi shieldedhimself against heronught, in vain.“Senpai, please stop!You are bullying poor Tobi!”


    Asami red. “That was ...”


    “Ouch.”


    “... the...”


    “Ouch.”


    “... intention...”


    “..., baka!”


    Tobiwhimpered, “Tobi heard women are gentle and tender, but Asami-senpai neither gentle,nortender. Asami-senpai,cold, heartless, violent.Abusive, cruel, evil. Always hitting poor Tobi ...”


    “Tobi.”Asami gripped her scabbard,narrowingher eyes. “You know, I can still hear you, right?”


    “...” Tobi paled. Panicking, he chose theonly sensible choice, he ran. He ran as fast as the wind. “Seeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnpppppaaaaaaaaiiiiiiii, don''t hit me!”


    Asami pursuedhim, but herhunt met a sudden end. Her feet tripped over a pile of snow,and her lips kissed the frozen snow.


    “...” Asami fumed. How she hated this little pest from the depths of her heart. One day, she would suffocate Tobi with his pillow in his sleep.


    Tobi noticed her absence and quickly returned. He fell to his knees toment her early death, bemoaning her premature demise. His eyes overflowed with tears. “Senpai!!! No!!! Tobi knew senpai only for a week. Senpai never liked Tobi, but still, Asami was the best senpai Tobi ever had! Tobi will miss senpai ...”


    “...” Asami grumbled from below, her voiceced with anger.“I am not dead, you idiot.”


    Tobi raised his arms in joy. “A miracle, senpai, you returned from the dead!”


    “...” Asamididn''t share his enthusiasm. Her scabbard struck once againwith a healthy dose of Asaminess.


    “Ouch”,Tobi grumbled. “Evil senpai.”


    Asami ignored hisintsto investigate the suspicious pile of snow. A solid object made her trip. It wasn''t ice, and the culprit was quickly identified. Buriedbeneath the snow, her eyes spottedck ... hair?


    “...” Asami didn''t hesitate,her hands shovellingthe snow aside. Her hands discovered a lonely, halffrozen girlbeneath the snow. Weak, frail, closer to death than to life. The girl required help, help she wouldn''t deny.


    Asami hugged the girl, embracing her.Herforting armsprotected the poor child.


    <strong>Yuki</strong>


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