"Juzo Biwa," she said coldly.
Juzo smirked. "You know of me?"
"You're in the bingo book as a rogue shinobi from the Hidden Mist. I know of you, alright."
"Well, I see the Leaf's ANBU are up to date with their intel. And soon the Mist will be too."
Akira tightened her grip, ignoring the man scratching at the back of her hands and trying to pry her fingers away from his neck. This was not good, not good at all.
"I have to say, it's quite unbecoming for a former member of the seven ninja swordsmen to stoop to the likes of hired thugs."
She pressed down harder on the man's neck, crushing his windpipe. He made choking noises beneath her and bucked his hips, trying to toss her off of him. But she concentrated chakra into her hands, locking her grip on his neck. She would break her arms before she let go, no matter what. She would have to search the boat to make sure he hadn't hidden intel anywhere.
Or just sink it.
"I'd let him go if I were you, little girl. You're out of your league and far from home. We're crossing into Mist territory right now, don't want a war to break out, do you?"
Akira didn't move a muscle. He was right, they were crossing into Mist territory now. She could see an island in the distance, and other ships out on the water. She kept her eyes on Juzo in front of her, watching carefully for any twitch in his arm that would tell her he was about to attack with his outstretched sword.
"You could kill me at any time, I don't have a weapon in hand to defend myself. Why keep me alive and let me kill your friend here?" She asked him.
Juzo let out a cackle. "I could care less about him. Whether or not the intel reaches the Mist Village doesn't matter to me."
That implied that he didn't know the intel. Perhaps he just knew of it. Akira frowned. "Then why are you here?"
"You were hiding on the hull, you should know. I want the money. Though now you might provide me some entertainment."
The man finally went limp beneath Akira's hands. She whipped out a kunai and slashed it across his throat, splitting it deep and from ear to ear. Then she slowly stood, keeping her kunai out in front of her and in between Juzo's sword and herself. She took a step backward.
"Is there intel anywhere else on this ship?" She asked, fighting to keep her voice from shaking. She was really hoping she wouldn't have to fight Juzo. She wasn't confident enough in her abilities to think she could take him on here. On land, maybe, when she had access to earth and could use her kekkei genkai. But being out on open water put her at a disadvantage that Akira was sorely aware of.
Juzo laughed again. "Now why the hell would I tell you that?"
Akira raised her kunai up in front of her chest and spread her feet apart, waiting for the inevitable attack.
"You Leaf Ninja are all the same. Naive, cocky, and out of your league."
Juzo sprang forward, swinging his massive sword. Akira was barely able to get out of the way of it in time. Despite its size, he was able to swing it as fast as she was able to swing her own blade. Akira pulled a second kunai and jumped backward onto the deck railing. Juzo swung the sword again and Akira jumped straight up into the air. The blade smashed into the railing with a crash, sending splintered wood flying through the air and to the water down below. And it gave Akira an idea.
She landed on the main mast, holding to the side of it with her chakra. Juzo turned and swung the blade again, slicing through the mast. It started to tip over, and Akira jumped over to the opposite railing to avoid being thrown off the boat.
"You're not as smart as I thought you'd be," she taunted.
She jumped away again as Juzo buried his sword in the wooden railing once more.
"What's going on up here?" A voice cried from the stairwell. Akira hardly looked at the two men standing there staring at the ensuing chaos before she threw both of her kunai at them. THUNK! The kunai found their marks in the men's throats. Then she had to jump again to avoid Juzo's swing.
"For a swordsmen, you look like an amateur right now, Juzo."
Juzo growled and swung his sword at Akira again, who had backed up toward the second mast. She ducked as his blade sliced through the air, cutting through the mast. That one, too, toppled over and into the water with a crash.
Akira pulled her sword and formed three hand signs. "Wind style: faithful wind blade!" She swung her blade in Juzo's direction and a huge blade of wind followed the arch, flying at break neck speed toward Juzo.
Juzo jumped to the side, avoiding the wind blade. It instead collided with the hull, slicing off half of the back deck and sending the wood careening into the water. The ship shuddered, shaking beneath their feet.
"Hidden mist technique," Juzo said, forming hand signs. The deck was suddenly shrouded in a thick mist, so thick that Akira couldn't see more than just a couple of feet in front of her. Her heart rate picked up in fear. She was blind to any attack that he threw at her now.
But not to his whereabouts.
Akira could still sense where Juzo was, she could feel him moving through the mist behind her. She turned in a slow circle, following his movements. So she was just able to block his attack with her sword when he suddenly swung at her again.
"I see, you're a sensory type," he crooned. "Well then, this might just be a bit more fun than I anticipated."
He swung at her again, and Akira deflected his blade. But it caused her to stumble to the side. Despite still being able to sense where he was, it didn't help her defend from his attacks much. He was still very fast with his blade.
She was able to deflect and block a few more blows from him before his blade finally slipped past her defenses and glanced off her forearm protector, but grazed her upper arm. Pain seared through her arm from the wound, and blood hit the deck below her feet. Akira jumped backward, hissing in pain. But in her surprise from getting hit, she almost jumped straight off the edge of the boat where she had destroyed it earlier with her wind blade.
"Dance, little leaf, dance!" Juzo cackled. Suddenly, he was running at her. Akira barely had time to lift her blade in front of her, but it did little to stop his attack.
She was able to deflect his blade somewhat, but her own sword shattered on the impact. Akira screamed. Agonizing pain flooded her system from her shoulder and her chest.
She fell backward off the boat and hit the water on her back, which knocked the wind from her lungs. She could hear Juzo laughing as she went down, sinking through the dark water. Blood streamed from her body as she sunk.
She could still see the vague outline of the boat through the blood and bubbles that surrounded her body. Akira's left elbow bumped against a large chunk of wood and sent a piercing pin erupted in Akira's shoulder. Akira flinched and cried out, grabbing at her injured shoulder.
But the pain had also jolted her to her senses. Akira glared and raised two fingers up in front of her. She extended her chakra below her until she came in contact with the sandy sea bottom, far far below her. With an enormous amount of effort, Akira summoned a thick tendril of quicksand and sent it flying through the boat above her. The quicksand knocked her to the side as it flew upward, causing another wave of pain to sear through her shoulder.
The boat above her was violently torn apart, sending debris raining down all around her. A fireball exploded into existence and a wave of heat arched through the water. Akira's lungs were burning, as was her shoulder, but as Juzo's sword streamed down past her, she realized she had better start moving. Akira started trying to swim through the water away from the wreckage, but she made slow progress because she could only use her right arm.
Eventually, she was able to break the surface of the water. She took a gasping breath of air and started coughing. She braced herself on the surface with her right arm, her left arm hanging uselessly at her side. When she wasn't coughing anymore, Akira took a few deep breaths of air, then went back into the water.
She watched the sinking wreckage carefully for any sign of Juzo. She could sense his chakra somewhere in the wreckage, sinking fast. She realized he was probably chasing his sword.
Akira broke the surface of the water again and started swimming away from the wrecked ship toward the island that was now much closer than it previously had been, but still far away. After a few strokes and not much progress made, Akira hauled her bleeding body out of the water and stood on the surface, panting. It was a last, desperate act.
She spat out blood into the water and growled.
"I will not die here!" Akira snarled.
Her vest was soaked in blood now, both the front and the back from the wounds on her chest and shoulder. She was starting to feel a little lightheaded, and her chakra was drained dangerously low. But she had to reach the island, otherwise she would drown or get caught by Juzo. So with just her will to live propelling her forward, Akira started running.
+++
Akira came to on a beach, and was shocked that she was still alive. She was laying on her back, underneath a large rock outcropping, halfway in the water. Her legs were being slapped by the low waves that rose and fell along the sand. Her shoulder was still in searing pain, but the bleeding had slowed down. Her chest had also slowed its bleeding, much to her relief.
She pushed herself upright, examining her surroundings. There was no one else around, and her mask was somehow still on her face. Painfully slowly, Akira dragged herself farther up the beach, out of the surf and further back under the rock. Each movement sent a new throb of pain through Akira's shoulder. She scooted herself behind another rock, limiting herself to only one entrance in and out of the little cave she had found. Then she started examining her wounds.
A piece of her sword had cut straight through her vest, slicing vertically down her sternum to her stomach. Another piece had embedded itself in the front of her shoulder, going all the way through and out the back, shattering her shoulder blade. The wounds were severe, and required immediate medical attention. But with her limited supplies, she would only be able to do so much.
Akira couldn't lift her left arm at all, so she wasn't able to remove her vest over her head. She instead used one of her kunai to cut the tattered thing off of herself, depositing it unceremoniously into the sand next to her. Her chakra was so low, she didn't dare use medical ninjutsu. She traced the cut on her chest with her fingertips, gauging how deep it was. Parts of it had already scabbed over, but some of the deeper areas were still bleeding. The piece of blade that had impaled her shoulder was still in it, and Akira knew it was probably stopping a lot of bleeding. Her shattered shoulder blade was almost unbearably painful, and every slight movement hurt horribly. Akira grimaced. She already knew she would not be making the rendezvous with Bear.
She pulled out her first aid kit and used what little supplies she had left to dress her wounds, starting with the cut on her chest. She taped it shut as best as she could, then moved to her shoulder. She taped gauze around the blade on the front, but couldn't reach the back. She used a long bandage to make a makeshift sling for her left arm.
Akira picked up a nearby stick and put it in between her teeth. Then she lifted her left hand and maneuvered it into place in the sling, clenching her jaws down on the stick to keep from crying out at the pain. Once it was in place, she used another long bandage to tie her arm to her stomach, holding it still. It was almost impossible to do with one hand, but Akira was able to make it work. When she finished, she spit out the now cracked stick and leaned sideways against the rock with her right shoulder.
Judging by the light seeping through the small entrance into her hole, it was nearing evening. Akira blew out a shaky breath she had been holding. She had about a day and a half to get to the outpost to meet up with Bear. An impossible task, given how far she was into enemy territory and how badly injured she was. She deemed it would be better to stay the night where she was and try to replenish her chakra as much as she could.
Akira ended up spending the next two days in her little cave, eating her food pills and filling her water canteens with water she produced from the fish spit jutsu that Kishi had taught her so long ago. She did her best to heal herself with her medical ninjutsu, but she could really only take care of the cuts on her chest and stomach.
When she finally felt strong enough to move again, Akira shimmied her way out of her hole and back out onto the beach after doing a sensory sweep for anyone else that may be present. She hadn't sensed anyone, so she took the opportunity to start making her way back home.
Akira left at night, using the darkness as cover to search the island for a village. She knew the only way she would be able to get off the island was by boat. And given that this island was so close to the Land of Fire, she figured there would be a port somewhere with some traders she could hitch a ride with. The only problem was finding them.
She walked for hours until she finally saw dock lights in the distance. When she reached the port, she kept to the shadows and eavesdropped on the sailors until she heard one of them mention they were headed to Port City. She followed that sailor to their ship, then snuck aboard and hid in the cargo hold. In the morning, they cast off.
It was a bumpy ride back, as a storm had rolled in during the night and riled up the sea. Akira had to hold herself steady with her chakra to avoid jostling her bad shoulder. But every once in a while, a particularly large wave would jostle her enough to bump her bad shoulder. She would bite her lip to keep from shrieking in pain. After what felt like forever, they finally docked back at Port City.
Akira waited until she didn't sense anyone on the ship anymore, then made a break for it. She ran up the stairs and stopped right before going out onto the deck. She poked her head out, searching for anyone on the dock that would see her. She only saw a few people further down. Akira booked it across the deck and jumped off the railing, using her chakra to propel herself onto the roof of a nearby building. She landed but slipped on the slick tiles. Akira barely managed to catch herself, to keep from tumbling off and down into the alleyway below.
Her bad landing sent a shock of pain through Akira's shoulder, drawing a shriek from her. She clutched at it as she quickly dropped to the ground in a more controlled fashion. Akira sank to the ground next to a stack of crates, hiding her from the dock. Hopefully the hiding place she had chosen would be enough to hide her.
But after holding her breath and waiting for someone to investigate the noise, and hearing nothing, Akira relaxed a bit. It was the very early hours of the morning after all.
Her jaw was starting to hurt from how hard Akira was gritting her teeth together. After a few moments of waiting for the pain to subside to a more bearable level, she got to her feet and began to retrace her steps from days prior to sneak her way out of the port.
Although a bit slower than she would have liked, Akira didn't stop moving until she was well into the forest again. By that point, she was once again so drained that she was forced to stop to rest. She found a rather dense patch of trees and climbed up one of them until she was sitting on a secluded branch. That was where she spent that night, sleeping restlessly and waking up at every shift in the branches.
Akira slept so badly she almost stayed right there in that tree for another day. But she talked herself out of it. She was four days late getting back to the village at that point. This mission shouldn't have taken so long. And where was Bear? Akira considered going to the outpost instead of the village, but decided against it. There were going to be search parties combing every inch of those coastal woods now, searching for the missing noble they had killed on the road.
And while there were shinobi on post inside Port City, Akira had serious doubts about her ability to travel stealthily through the city in her current state. If she were to find the shinobi, and if Konoha were to send a medical escort out for her, it would no doubt draw attention from citizens of both the village and the city. No, her best option was to just head back without seeking assistance. As part of the ANBU, Akira could not reveal herself to the public while in uniform. Therefore, secrecy was the only way.
The trip back to the leaf village should have only taken her two days at most. But with her wounds, it took her almost five full days to get back. Had she been stronger, she may have been able to travel farther each day. But she used much of her chakra to keep healing herself, so she was continuously draining her energy. She was only able to travel in short spurts of a couple hours before she had to stop and eat or work on healing her shoulder. She stopped at night and found a place to sleep.
It was slow going. At times she would feel a lump in the back of her throat after she had jostled her injured shoulder, and would sniffle back tears that threatened to fall. After a particularly awful bump to the shoulder when she was tired, Akira angrily told herself she would quit being a ninja. But never once did the thought of giving up cross her mind. She swore she would make it back to the village, no matter what. She didn't want Kakashi to hurt anymore than he had already.
When Akira finally caught sight of the Hokage monument through the trees, she wanted to cry in relief. She stopped on a branch briefly to catch her breath, leaning on the tree trunk for support.
"Akira?"
Akira looked down at the ground and was surprised to see Pakkun looking up at her with a worried expression.
"Pakkun!" Akira dropped to the ground and stumbled into a tree, hitting her bad shoulder. She grit her teeth and groaned in pain, barely suppressing the scream that threatened to escape her.
Pakkun started barking as Akira slid to the ground, leaning on her right shoulder. He jumped down from the rock he was on and ran over to her, standing with his front paws on her outstretched leg. "Hang in there, Akira, help is on the way."
"Thanks, Pakkun," she breathed. She closed her eyes and rested her head back against the tree. "That mission sucked."
"What happened to you out there? You're over a week late returning."
"I know. I ran into one of the seven ninja swordsmen. It didn't go well."
"Clearly."
"Yeah, I need to go to the hospital."
"I gathered that much. What are your injuries?"
"Cut up chest and stomach, blade through the shoulder, shattered shoulder blade."
Barking echoed around the forest from far away.
"They're almost here."
After a couple more minutes, Akira sensed more of Kakashi's dogs close by. And to her surprise, she sensed Kakashi, Seem, Blight, and Trig with them. Akira smiled.
"Fox!" Seek shouted. They came to a stop in front of her, and Akira opened her eyes. Blight and Trig crouched on either side of her and put their hands over her shoulder and chest to begin a medical ninjutsu.
Kakashi knelt down right in front of her and slipped her mask off of her face. He placed his hand gently on the side of her neck, supporting her head with his thumb on her cheek and finger under her ear. "Akira, you're okay, you're safe now."
"Hey, Kashi. You won't believe who I met," Akira said with a light chuckle.
Kakashi gave her a small smile. He wasn't wearing his ANBU mask, and in that moment, Akira wished he wasn't wearing a mask at all. She would've loved to have seen his actual smile, instead of just his eyes. Eyes that had dark circles under them and were filled with worry.
"You really did a number on your shoulder, Fox," Blight said. "But you should be okay, once we get you to the hospital and into surgery."
"Thank goodness," she sighed.
"Your chest and stomach are fine, it's just your shoulder that's the concern now." Trig said, as he moved his hands up so they were next to Blight's. Their combined jutsu flooded Akira's shoulder with relief.
"What happened out there, Fox?" Seek asked.
Akira took a deep breath. "Our last target had sent one of his lackeys on ahead with the intel. They were already out past the bay, but I went after them. When I got to the ship, Juzo Biwa was there." Trig inhaled sharply at the mention of the rogue shinobi. "He had been hired as a guard. We fought, and it, uh, clearly didn't go very well. But I was able to eliminate the man with the intel."
Seek frowned. He had removed his mask upon arriving. "Does Juzo know the intel?"
Akira looked down at her lap. "I don't know. I couldn't kill him, I barely escaped."
Kakashi gently ran his thumb back and forth across Akira's cheek, lifting her head back up. The calming motion eased her eyes closed. "It's okay, Akira. Rest now."
She leaned into his hand and relaxed into the medical ninjutsu. Kakashi held her right hand in his with a firmness that was extremely comforting to her. After a few minutes of Blight and Trig healing her shoulder, they announced that she was ready to be moved.
Kakashi insisted on carrying her back himself, so Blight and Trig helped her climb onto his back. She rested her head on his shoulder and kept her left arm against her stomach as he carried her, Blight and Trig on either side of her to make sure she didn't fall off. Kakashi's gentle steps lulled her to sleep before they had even entered the village.