SHADOWS OF THE VILLAGE (Naruto)

Chapter 8: Futile

Inoshishi's severed head hit the damp ground.

Tense shoulders dropped as Kuma and Imori latched onto each other. They didn't care that Yamato was watching them like a hawk. They didn't care that he had heard them express their plans to escape the foundation. And they certainly didn't care about anything else, other than getting food.

"So, were we good enough for you, Yamato-senpai?" Kuma asked, arm around his brother's shoulder as they stumbled over to the forgotten tantō he had lost during the battle. "Or are you going to kill us?"

"Senpai?" Yamato asked, approaching the injured boys and stepping around the decapitated body. They needn't worry about anyone stumbling across the scene, the clean up crew would arrive shortly.

"You worked for the head of the hive, didn't you?" Kuma asked, pointedly. Imori called forth water from the river, drenching himself and Kuma in it to remove dirt and blood from their skin and clothes. He closed his eyes and concentrated, visualising the water being expelled from their clothing.

Yamato remained silence at the question, watching Imori's jutsus. He didn't believe the boys were stupid and his interaction with Danzo was confirmation enough for them without a verbal answer.

"You started out like us and yet somehow you've been able to distance yourself from it all."

"Your point?"

"How'd you do it? Escape the hive, I mean." Imori grabbed a roll of bandages from his pouch and started attending to his brother's wounds. But it was the blue haired boy's injuries that were more concerning to the adult.

His hands and arms were covered in deep lacerations, but he insisted that he would be fine and opted to treat his brother's wounds first. Kuma sighed but held out his arms, knowing that Imori wouldn't take no for an answer.

"I had help from a friend." Yamato's reply was vague but the boys understood the need for secrecy. "They was of the hive at one point before transferring out. He was from a well known clan and the Hokage was in his corner." Yamato's blank expression didn't change as he motioned for them to follow him.

"The same can't be said for the two of you. I don't know anything about you and I doubt even the Hokage would." Both Kuma and Imori followed Yamato through the forest without question, sporting freshly bandaged limbs as Kuma finished wrapping his brother's wounds. "How do you expect to get out alive without any assistance?"

"We're working on it."

"It'll be nearly impossible without trusted comrades outside of the hive," Yamato directed them down another path where a few restaurants were. "The hive would rather kill you than let you go."

"They haven't succeeded yet," Kuma kicked a rock with a rotten expression on his face. The beat up shoes on his feet were filled with mud as there were holes in the sole and over his big toe, that was making him walk funny. "Ah, screw it."

Kuma pulled the shoes from his feet and dumped them in a bin they were passing. Imori just chuckled looking down at his own, filled with many holes and were a little too small on his growing feet. Yamato sighed as he grabbed ahold of the boy's arms and dragged them into a store.

"Do you boys even get paid for your work?"

"A little," Imori said quietly, as he stared at the variety of shoe options. His scarred hand reached out to feel the soft but sturdy footwear. "The Hive takes a cut out of our pay but we'll get paid more since we will officially be joining the official-yet-unofficial working ranks of the Hive. We also live together to keep a roof over our heads." Imori pulled a small bag from his ninja pouch and peered in.