Chapter Four

It's pretty long....

Warm sun shone on the backs of the solemn looking girls from Iwa as the older teens walked in front and behind them to prevent escape. Kaiyo looked back them, “hey, look...if you really don't want to go home; you could stay with us.” Koji said stretching, and he watched the girl's expression change. Kaiyo sighed deeply.
“There's only one flaw to your plan, Genius: no place to stay.” Kaiyo said looking him straight in the eyes. He shrugged and continued walking, they all walked in silence after that. It began to get dark and they set up a small camp on the edge of a river. “Koji can start a fire, I'll be back in a while.” Kaiyo said as she walked away. Koji sat down on a dried log and dug in his pocket for a book of matches.
“She'll be a while, so you could find some wood for a fire. You try to escape, there will be trouble and you don't want Kaiyo to be angry with you.” The girls looked in the surrounding area for sticks and brought them back to Koji. They made a game of it: see how many sticks you could find within an hour. This was, of course, to pass their boredom.
When they had enough wood for the fire, they saw Koji playing with a match stick. “Where did Takahashi-san go? It's been at least two hours already.” Akito asked curiously. Koji gave her a 'don't ask any questions' look and her curiosity was silenced. Kaiyo walked down the river bank; Koji stood. She had wet hair that hung in slight curls. Her blue eyes sparkling in the fire light; which has reached a decent height at this point.
“We're being followed. I could find anyone...they're good at hiding, I'll say that. Keep your eyes open.” She sat down beside Koji, and squeezed her wet hair. Akito looked up with a questioning expression on her face. “What? You really want to know where I went?” Kaiyo asked with a sigh. They nodded quickly. “I went swimming.” Nobody said anything for a long time.
“Is there anything to eat? Besides cup ramen?!” Akane demanded, placing a hand on her empty stomach. Stomachs growled in protest as if an answer. “There isn't anything to eat, is there?” she asked them. Kaiyo looked at Koji; who had a guilty look.
“You ate everything?! I swear you and your appetite will be the death of me! Do you have any idea how much money we have left?!” She was in his face and very angry, the girls sitting on a rock behind them, tried to silence their giggles. The teens looked their way, “well, since you think it's so funny...you two and Koji can buy some more food.” He left and was gone for some time, an hour at least. A twig snapped, causing them to be prepared for any danger. Kaiyo appeared at Akane and Akito's side, “stay quiet.”
“Stay here! If something happens, be ready to defend yourselves!” She vanished in a swirl of water. Seconds passed, then at least a minute; Akane and Akito were getting impatient.
“That was so cool how she disappeared like that.” Akito said to brake the awkward silence, Akane nodded. They waited, pacing back and forth. A bush rustled, and like Kaiyo told them; they prepared themselves to attack. Kaiyo appeared with Koji dragging behind her, he looked a little bruised. “There was someone there?!” they screamed. Kaiyo waved them off.
“No. I did that to him...he was being an idiot.” she had her arms folded across her chest and sat down on a rock, avoiding eye contact.
“There was someone there; but they are gone. Could it the one spying on you earlier, Kaiyo? Oh right, your not listening to me. I'll just keep talking then. He must be a pervert for watching you, Kaiyo; he's fast and good at hiding. Whoever we're dealing with is a good shinobi...or very fast and lucky.”
Kaiyo shrugged and closed her eyes, “look, we'll be getting nowhere if we don't sleep. Someone keep guard...a two hour rotation.” She laid down against a tree, her head resting on the trunk. Koji sighed.
“Who's going to be first?” he looked at the girls; they were falling asleep on their feet. “You get some sleep. I'll keep watch.” They were thankful to be sleeping but felt a felt a little bad for him. They wished for a warm bed and a full stomach.
Morning came and Kaiyo was awakened because of a loud snoring, sleeping beside her was Koji. She punched his arm and he stirred. “Hey, I was up all night. The least you could do is be more....” He didn't finished his sentence because he fell asleep again. Kaiyo said something under her breath and noticed that there was a blanket on her. She put it on him, he moved slightly and whispered something in his ear, “I'm going to find a town, I'll be back in a while. Don't worry about me.” She whispered to him and walk away quietly. Getting through the brush was difficult and there were bushes with thorns.
After walking for some time, she came across a small village; all the villagers were awake and setting up their shops. People were looking at her with a mixture of fear and curiosity, she waved and put on an innocent smile. She observed the shops and the people inside them. She could feel that she was not welcomed here. Buy something then leave. That's the plan. She went to a stand selling fruit, “hello, sir. How much is a basket of assorted fruit?” she asked with a smile; the man inspected her, the returned her smile. His eyes lingering on the katana strapped to her back.
“A basket of fruit? Eh, that would be 500ryou.” he said and she picked out a basket and filled it with a variety of different fruits. All the while hoping that they would like what she picked. Placing the basket on the counter, she pulled out her wallet and searched for her money. There wasn't enough money to pay for the fruit and anything else they may need. She pulled out what she had and put on a solemn face.
“Please, sir, this is all I have. One of my friends are sick, I need all the money I have to get supplies.” She put on a pleading look and the man looked sympathetic. Kaiyo thought that it was going well and would get away with a lower price. The man seemed to be reading her face. He smiled slightly and took the basket away; reaching out Kaiyo tried to take it from him.
“Sick friend, eh? You're a horrible liar girl. I thought ninja should be deceitful an' stuff.” The man raised his eyebrows and watched her for several seconds. “Now leave this village before the authorities come!” She vanished from sight as quickly as possible; but she didn't leave alone...she took the basket of fruit with her.
She could hear running towards her, and she froze, listening for voices. Voices were coming from the running people; they were yelling. Suddenly Koji, Akito and Akane burst through the bushes and had a look of relief on their faces. “I told them that you disappear sometimes and they didn't believe me,” he said and looked at the young girls who seemed embarrassed. “What did you get?” He peered into the basket, and sighed.
“If it's healthy then I'm not going to be impressed” Akane said quietly, her arms folded across her chest. “The whole point of being away from our parents is to eat as unhealthy as possible. Without getting sick.”
“Well then, I guess you're just gonna have to put up with the fruit I got. Make sure it lasts for a while at least. We still got a long way to go before we reach Iwa. And you're a growing shinobi, you're going to eat healthy like it or not.”
Akane hunched her shoulders slightly in protest; then reconsidered with a shrug. “You act like a mother, Kaiyo,” Koji said quietly; directed at her, but maybe the girls heard too. Kaiyo shrugged at the thought and continued towards the campsite. They blocked her way. “I got everyone's stuff, we're going to find a new camp. It seems you got into some trouble and stole some fruit; the villagers weren't happy and told us to leave in a forceful way.” She noticed a small cut on his cheek and a bruise on his arm. He shrugged and scratched the back of his head. “It's nothing,” he said reassuringly.

They took a different route away from the village and traveled far into the night with the moon as a guide and the stars as lights. “Does anything look familiar? I think we're getting close.” Kaiyo said; looking back at the girls, who were half asleep on their feet. She stopped and sat down, “take a brake, we'll continue tomorrow.” The girls fell to their knees and sighed tiredly. Kaiyo closed her eyes also; it felt good to sleep. Within minutes, she was fully asleep and unaware of her surroundings. She was asleep for at least three hours when she was shaken awake by two strong hands. “What?! Is there something wrong?” She sat up and Koji looked worried and Akane and Akito were also awake.
“There's something or someone coming and it's strong. We need to leave now!” He was serious and she stood up and stretched.
“Well then, lead the way, kids.” They were just getting over the shock of being waken like that; the grass was beginning to become wet with dew. They were running and the sky was becoming lighter, Koji was looking behind them for any signs of movement.

When the sun had risen just above the trees, they were in Iwa. Kaiyo and Koji stood at the gate and watched the Iwa shinobi walk in slowly. “Let's go. We have to find them before it's too late.” Kaiyo was looking away from the large gate and already started walking. Koji was staring at the gate, motionless. Kaiyo stopped and looked his way, “you already miss them? Look bringing them home was our first priority. So let's go!” She walk over to him and pulled his arm. An explosion sounded from within the high walls; people screaming and the gates forced open.
People were running out of the city and hiding in the surrounding rock caves. Kaiyo and Koji were hiding as well. “What's going on? What was that explosion?” She was getting angry when he didn't respond, she shook him slightly. He could be in some type of shock, she reasoned with herself. She stood up when another explosion resounded, “I going to investigate, stay here!” She walked through the gate; there was still people inside, standing in shock. People were looking at her in fear thinking she was with the enemy. St stopped in front of an elderly woman, “what's happening? Who's attacking?” The old woman stared at her.
“Deidara, a missing Nin from Iwa has returned and brought someone from the sand with him, a man that crouched over.” The old woman said quietly, Kaiyo was already running towards the heart of the attack. Standing up on the strangest looking bird Kaiyo has ever seen was a man with blond hair and a visible gray-blue eye while his hair covered the other. He was the one dropping bombs. His accomplice was a man that was couched over, he looked like an old man. Feeling bold, Kaiyo stood in view of the man on the ground, he studied her.
The man in the sky dropping the bombs jumped down and stood beside his partner. “So we finally meet, un. Your the girl from the Mist hunting us...unsuccessfully, yeah.” The blond one spoke with a deep voice; the other one was quiet. They both had scratches through the symbols of their former homes.
They were with the Akatsuki, Kaiyo felt the same hatred she felt when nobody would help her rescue her brother five years ago. The blond smiled at her trembling fists; she wished someone would help her...like Koji. She was about to charged at them when she saw two small figures running towards her, “Takahashi-san!” They called and Kaiyo turned around to see Akito and Akane.
“Get out of here! You'll get hurt!” Kaiyo screamed at them and they stopped beside her. Akane placed her hands on her hips and studied the enemy in the black cloaks.
“We...saw them before!” Akito said incredulously and Akane shook her head disbelieving what she was seeing. Kaiyo looked at them, she knew they were looking for this criminal; but they had no idea what they looked like....It became clear to her at that moment that they were going to fail anyways, this was almost like training in the form of a mission. Tracking a wanted criminal made it seem fun and exciting.
“Go hide, this is going to be dangerous. They're from the Akatsuki, they're S-rank criminals.” Kaiyo said and the girls gasped, they just noticed the blond Akatsuki wearing a Iwa forehead protector. They looked at her for advise and she didn't know what to do. The one from the sand was impatient and it showed, he was getting ready to attack.
“I hate to be kept waiting. As much as being ignored.” He said and moved like a blur towards the young girls who were at a disadvantage over the strong shinobi. He had a long narrow sword, but there were purple stains on it. Kaiyo who was watching speed over to protect them from getting hurt or killed. Sharp pain spread through her as the Sand shinobi stabbed her with his sword; the Iwa girls were looking terrified at all the blood. Kaiyo fell to her knees, the man was chuckling quietly; he didn't seem bored anymore. “You made a mistake, a shinobi should not under any circumstances protect another shinobi. It's a sign of weakness. On my sword,” he pulled it out, “is a poison that will take effect in three days.” Kaiyo felt weak and lightheaded from the blood loss. She struggled to stand up, ignoring the pain.
“Heh, this is nothing. You kids still here? I thought I told you a long time ago to get out of here; go on.” She said looking at them, they stood still like a statue. The Akatsuki members retreated after surveying the mass destruction of the Hidden Rock. Buildings were falling apart and huge craters were in the roads. Kaiyo struggled to stay standing; the poison was already taking effect. She collapsed on her knees.
She closed her eyes and felt warm arms surround her, she looked up to see Koji. “I-I'm s-sorry. You were hurt because I spaced out!” Koji whispered and utter multiple curses under his breath. He looked at the wound on her abdomen and shuddered. She stood up and looked at the scared girls; who within minutes of their return home, half of it was destroyed.
“Well, what are we going to do now? I need to recover before we continue.” Kaiyo said quietly, she didn't want to tell Koji that she was poisoned.
“Well, I guess, they can't stay here, and besides...we don't belong here. So Akane-chan and Akito-chan will stay here to help reconstruct their village. As for us, I'll find somewhere for you to recover than we'll continue.” Koji stretched his arm behind his head and looked sadly at Kaiyo; she was bandaging her wound and she some-what smiled at him. Akane and Akito were gone, possibly somewhere amoung the villagers filing in through the gates in a large crowd.
The Mist shinobi disappeared and were heading towards another village so that Kaiyo could recover, but Koji had a feeling she was hurt more than she was leading him on. She winced in pain, and had to stop sometimes; sometimes he had to carry her on his back.
They left the Earth country and were now nearing the Fire country; another place they wouldn't belong. Kaiyo groaned and fell to the ground, ' a poison that will take effect in three days', How much time do I have? Koji looked at her with concern and placed a hand on her shoulder. “You lied to me. What happened?” He demanded, she looked him in the eyes; then avoided his gaze.

I was poison by a member of the Akatsuki, he was from the Hidden Sand. It takes effect within three days...it's been two already.” He punched a tree leaving a dent in the hard bark, and swore loudly. He would be loosing another person close to him, but he could do something this time. He picked her up and started to run. He wasn't sure where to, but there had to be a hospital near by. The sky was still bright and a few clouds were high in the sky. Kaiyo wasn't saying much, she was in a lot of pain at this point. He reached the boarders into the Fire country and kept on running. For hours he searched for a hospital or a doctor...no luck.
“Koji...just stop...please.” She said weakly, she had a bad fever and was delirious, “I can't...go...on.” Koji didn't stop running, he kept on going. By dusk, he was in front of tall wooden gates, the entrance into the Hidden Leaf village. Two armed men bared his way from going farther, Kaiyo opened her eyes slightly; her vision was extremely blurry.
“She needs a doctor! She'll die!” He screamed at them, tears blinding him at the thought of her dying. They looked sympathetic and they considered if he was any threat, but then decided to risk it, she did need help.
They were guided to the hospital and a girl with bubble gum pink hair was waiting. “I can help her, I've experienced this poison and know how to make an antidote for it.” She said and took Kaiyo away. Koji sat down on a cushioned bench and waited for hours. People looked at him and somebody sat down beside him. A girl, at least a year younger than himself and Kaiyo; she had long chestnut brown hair tied back in a bandanna and pretty brown eyes.
The doors opened and the pink-haired girl came out, she untied her short hair and Koji stood up quickly. A thousand questions racing through his mind at light speed. “She's recovering in a room, it's number 301. You could see her.” She said and sat down with a heavy sigh. He rushed through the halls until he got to room number 301. He opened the door quietly and stepped inside. Kaiyo was asleep; and very pale.
“Get better, alright?” He whispered and kissed her forehead softly, tears flooded his eyes again; this time tears of happiness that were mixed with sadness. Kaiyo was in a coma for a week, she woke up with Koji sleeping in a chair, dark circles around his eyes from sleepless nights, watching over her. There was a girl sitting in a chair in the corner, she looked up at her and smiled. “You're awake. Your friend refused to leave your side. The name's Kyoko, you're in Konoha: The Hidden Leaf village.”