The Result of Betrayal (Lil Man)

It was a normal day just like any other day. The rain trickled down and although the weather was gloomy, people scurried along the streets. Everyone had some way of dealing with the rainy weather, as it was customary if you lived in such a place. However, nobody was prepared for what came next. Their Kage was supposed to protect them. He was supposed to keep them safe, yet he was swayed by the evil that stalked their lands. Shinobi from the Storm Empire littered their village in debris and death. The attack came from within the walls. They were told it was a meeting of diplomacy, but the shinobi entered the Kage’s office and massacred any opposing ninja they saw in sight. Why? How? What did they do to deserve this? From the center point of the village to the gates, destruction laid at their feet.

Explosions rang out and the scent of metal filled the air. Even as water rained from above, it could do nothing to wash away the river of red. Buildings crumbled, people screamed, and lives were lost. It was overkill. The chaos was caused by a mere handful of shinobi, but this village was too small to have an opposition so fearsome. So, why? Why did they send a foe that nobody could beat? Why would their leader forsake their home? What did he have to gain? What was he promised? Why did they have to suffer? Still, Akira rushed through the streets with a giant hammer in her grasp. She had been away from home at the time and needed to get back.

Trampling bodies and sliding around corners, Akira would finally make it to her home, or what was left of it. Bricks and wood charred as they rested on the ground in piles. No. No, this wasn’t right. Her house didn’t look like this. It was supposed to be right here. So, why? The vision of a small hand poking out of the rubble would cause her stomach to churn and her heart to drop. The hammer in her hand clattering to the ground. Her spiral abruptly stopped as she was snatched up by the back of her collar. ”Hey! We got a live one!” A voice would shout cheerfully. She held the girl up as if she had just captured a tiny rodent. She hardly weighed a thing. The woman that held onto Akira was incredibly muscular and power seeped off every inch of her being. She was too strong for Akira to take on alone. She would surely die.

”Is this place important? Sorry about that. I’m not sure where he went, but my partner got a bit carried away.” It wasn’t the type of mission that she took pride in. This was ugly. It was rancid. Her clothes, her hair, and her skin were all stained in blood. She had one job and doing that job guaranteed her a place in her village. Murder was merely transactional. Weakness. She could see the weakness in every person here. This was exactly what her Kage hated to see. What was one more kid, right?.. right? It wasn’t like she was fighting ba- A kick to her abdomen would have the woman looking down curiously. No, of course it didn’t hurt, but the flailing, violent kicks meant something. Elbows to her arm in an attempt to escape her grasp. It was futile for someone so small, but the fight was there. As this genin’s world spiraled out of control and contorted into unbearable rage, the Storm jounin could only smirk.

Tatsuya had woken to the screaming from the thin roof of the hideaway he called a home. It was about all he could muster in a place like this. He peered out of the disused storage depot to see the chaos going on outside. Lil’ Man stretched out after crawling to perch on the boy’s shoulder after it left his hood, it didn’t quite comprehend what it was seeing.

“What the hell is going on.” Tatsuya pushed the old window up to slip through into the street and find a building to scale to get some sort of vantage over the village. He scrambled up to a billowing smokestack to look out at the destruction that had already been wrought.

“We gotta go Lil’ Man, c’mon.” Tatsuya leapt from rooftop to rooftop, staying out of sight as best he could while looking for danger. Somehow, he’d missed the majority of the raid, by now there was hardly anyone left. He heard an unfamiliar woman call out about finding something, which gave him hope of seeing a survivor. Only to have them dashed to see one of his fellow shinobi held up by the scruff against a sentient brick wall, apparently.

The summoner didn’t really think about his next actions, he was already sprinting at full speed so there wasn’t time to think it over. He reached for a kunai and nicked his thumb to draw a speck of blood. “AKIRA! HOLD YOUR BREATH!”

He leapt through a cloud of smoke that exploded up from his summoning technique. Tatsuya was aiming to lunge at Gina with reckless abandon, kunai at the ready. The cloud dissipated to reveal a large mottled grey salamander that promptly exhaled a thick smokescreen that filtered across the area in moments. The poison mist wouldn’t care how strong their foe was, a lungful would be enough to put most people out of commission. He just hoped Akira was coherent enough to listen to him.

Even as she was being brutally attacked (not really), Gina found herself laughing at her small opponent. She was feisty. She was fierce. In all honesty, the Arashikage might have liked this one. She had a potential that Gina couldn’t quite put her finger on. Well, it didn’t matter much, since she had already decided she wouldn’t kill her. The fight for life was commendable and her potential was immense. If she killed this kid, the Arashikage would surely dislike her more than she already did. Gina was far from her strongest jounin, so she was hardly worth the effort in the Empire’s eyes. She could at least report that there were some diamonds in the rubble here. However, it seemed the smile on her face just enraged the girl even more. ”I hate you! You murderer! You’re sick! You’re twisted! You’re.. I’m going to kill you! If not today, then I’ll hunt you to the end of time! You.. you!” Words didn’t seem to be making their way out of her mouth as she elected to scream and kick harder. Still, it didn’t hurt much. The words were a little harsh, but she probably deserved that.

As the girl wore away her energy, it seemed that a boy came to her aid. His small voice rang out and echoed between the buildings. Gina would tilt her head at him, especially as he tried to lunge at her with a kunai. A few blinks, a sidestep, and a karate chop to the back of his neck would find her out of harm's way. However, the looming… lizard… thing seemed to be spewing out some kind of gas. So, she would hold her breath and disappear from the area. Her form reappeared atop a building, although it seemed her small prey had escaped. Akira had only heard what the boy said and would react to it mindlessly. She would take a deep breath and hold it as her body hit the ground. Wait, what happened? Where did this cloud come from? Tatsuya? Was that his voice she heard? She didn’t know. She didn’t care. All she wanted to do…

Akira would search the ground for her hammer as she body flickered her way up to the top of the building beside Gina. Her hammer was already in full swing as the jounin put her arm up to block the blow to the head. ”Ouch. That kind of hurt, kid.” Gina would say, grabbing the handle of the hammer and yanking Akira toward her. When the girl’s arm was in Gina’s grasp, she would raise her up and throw her at the ground with a great amount of force. ”Watch out below!” She would shout before the girl’s body cratered the stone street. ”She’ll survive, but that’s gonna leave a mark.” The woman would say placing her hands on her hips. Without another word, she would disappear from view.

Well, she had seen her hammer hit bare skin, which should have been a real painful swing. However, the woman swatted her away like a fly. She went up and then hurdled toward the ground. How long was she out? The world faded back into view from pitch black darkness. A deep, wheezing cough would escape her mouth. Her breath had left her body just as fast as her consciousness. Why? Why was this happening? As she continued to cough, Akira would attempt to pry herself from the hole she was tossed into. ”Tat.. suya?” She remembered that much at least. Someone was still alive.

Tatsuya’s attempt at saving his friend went about as well as he could have hoped. The storm shinobi proved far too quick for him to even get a chance at connecting, and in one motion she had sent him stumbling to the ground. The boy scrambled back to his feet once his senses returned, whoever this woman was she sure hit hard, he peered through the smog to see Akira having risen swiftly to attack their enemy. It almost seemed like they might win, only for victory to be snatched away at the last moment. Akira’s hammer was blocked with ease and she got spiked back into the ground with astounding force.

Figuring he was too slow to intercept Gina, Tatsuya moved in to check on his fallen comrade and get her away from any lingering poison. He moved swiftly through the rubble to find the impact zone, using her coughing as a guide to her location. “Akira!” He found her nearby and immediately went to moving the debris to help clear a path.

“You still in one piece?” Tatsuya offered a hand to help the kunoichi out while he scouted for somewhere to recover a moment. “It looks like she’s gone, lets get collected. Figure out what to do.” He motioned towards a mostly intact structure and began to move, helping Akira should she need it.

As she pried herself from the ground, Akira would look up to see Tatsuya tossing debris to the side and out of her path. She couldn’t remember when he got here, but the more breath she drew, the more she was beginning to take notice of the situation. He had come to save her, and he was okay. Thankfully, he was okay. He asked if she was still in one piece, but she wasn’t sure how to respond. She would mindlessly grab his hand and listen to him speak as they moved to a sheltered area. A mostly destroyed building, stable enough to still have a semblance of an upper floor to cover them. She would find a spot on the ground to sit, curling her knees to her chest.

”Figure out what? What is there to do? We can’t do anything,” Akira would wince and shift, feeling every inch of bruising and fractured bone. ”That was just one person. We’re going to die here. Everything is gone.” Her voice would crack as she placed her head in her knees. The sight of that small hand flashed through her mind. ”My house. My family. It’s all gone. Shu, Rin, and Kenta. They didn’t do anything wrong. They couldn’t even fight back.” She would mumble as tears started to form in her eyes. How could they do this? She never thought they would come this close to the Leaf. She thought… they might be safe.

Tatsuya peered out the gaps in the rubble, taking in the destruction properly while his nerves settled somewhat. As much as they could in a situation like this. His attention drawn back with the distress he made out in his friend’s voice. Tatsuya couldn’t really understand the level of loss the girl was feeling, and it left him at a loss for words.

“We just have to keep fighting. Even if its not today, we keep going.” Tatsuya frowned “We’re still here, there has to be others. Right Lil’ Man?” He turned to the small creature that had taken shelter in his hood, emerging only once everything seemed safe. It nodded, clambering down to the floor to take a look around.

“They can be stopped, even their Emperor can be killed. These Storm shinobi aren’t all that tough.” Tatsuya nodded “We just have to get through today and figure it out from there!” He made it sound pretty easy all things considered, but it wasn’t like the boy to just give up and he wasn’t about to let Akira do so either.

“Maybe if we can get to one of the other villages…” He thought aloud, going through their options in his mind. The other villages had never stepped in for them in the past, but he didn’t know if they would be aware of their plight in the first place.

”Keep fighting? They have more people than us. Stronger people. Aren’t you listening?” Screams and desperate voices cut through the rain, as explosions rang out in the background. The sounds of combat and struggle were evident amongst the chaos. Even though he was optimistic, Akira could only find herself wallowing in despair. They were gone. Why did she care if anyone else was here? They would be gone soon too. Nobody was safe. They brutally murdered kids! They tore down homes and didn’t care who was inside. These were monsters, not people. They couldn’t fight monsters!

”Their Emperor didn’t do this to us. They came from the Kage’s office. They were supposed to be visitors. They were supposed to be here on peaceful terms. We were betrayed. The one who was supposed to lead and protect us turned his back on us. Who cares if they can be killed? There won’t be anything to come back to. Without a leader, we’re screwed.” The more she thought about it, the less likely it was that they could do anything on their own. They would be deemed the bad guys if they stayed and fought. They would die by the hands of their own Kage. It was all gone. The trust, the buildings, and the people. They couldn’t do it alone. They were all alone.

The thought of Tatsuya wanting to ask another village for help would send Akira into a rage. ”What village?! Who?! You think the Leaf gives a flying fuck about us?! News flash.. they don’t! The only reason we’re still here is to keep the distance between the border and the Leaf Village…” As she expressed her anger, Akira’s loud, yelling voice would trail off. ”Wait…” She would gasp as she stood up. Akira would take Tatsuya’s hands in her own as she excitedly bounced up and down. ”We’re the cushion! They need us! If we don’t exist, then they’re vulnerable! The Lead will WANT to keep us alive! Tatsuya, you’re a genius!” Akira would drop his hands as she paced back and forth.

”Okay, but we can’t leave. If we leave, they won't have our strength. So, how do we get a message to them? Oh, easy. We send a request for aid! Wait… but the only way to deliver a message fast would be… the birds. Could we even make it there? We have to, right? We can’t let them get away with this. We have to get revenge, right?!” As soon as she asked, she wouldn’t give the boy time to answer, instead taking off toward her hammer. She would pick up the weapon and sprint off toward the center of the village.

“It doesn’t matter. If we give up, then there won’t be anyone left to stop them.” Tatsuya argued over the horrors that echoed from outside. He didn’t want to listen to reason here, and he certainly didn’t want to listen to more screaming. It was frustrating how powerless he really felt even if he was putting on a brave front. “Visitors? We just let them walk in…” Tatsuya shook his head, only to find Akira finding the strength to begin ranting at the top of her lungs. They were supposed to be hiding, but he wasn’t about to try and calm her down.

He wasn’t able to get a word in as she went on, decrying the Leaf village for its inaction in the past. Tatsuya couldn’t blame her, she was just telling the truth but it was the only chance they had. Konoha might not get involved if there wasn’t a benefit for them, but she pointed out the exact reason there might be some hope.

Tatsuya could barely keep up with the wild swings in emotion, but it turned out alright in the end. He scooped up Lil’ Man and let the axolotl clamber up to its perch on his shoulder and the trio set off towards the messenger bird roosts. “Akira! Wait up!” He called his other summon along and the larger creature lumbered down from the rooftops to move along with the group.

Akira could hardly stop to wait when Tatsuya called out to her. He needed to catch up! They had a mission and it was the most important one they would ever have. This could save their home! This could be what stood between life and death! A grin would spread across her face, wet with tears and mist. She knew what she needed to do. She would carve a path and she wouldn’t stop until she made it to that roost. The more she thought about it, the more giddy she would become. A giggle escaping her throat and then a completely unhinged laugh as she rounded a corner ready for a fight.

A lone storm shinobi wandered the alleyway and boy, was he in the wrong place at the wrong time. Through maniacal laughter, Akira would lunge for him, swinging her hammer with all of her body’s momentum. His head would pop against the wall, as it cratered in under the weight of her weapon. Her feet landed on the wall on either side of his body before she would take off to the top. Once she had reached the roof, the girl would take a deep breath and let out a loud, pain-filled scream. The adrenaline rush, the release of emotion, and the feeling of the misty air hitting her lungs would bring her into her new reality.

”Come on, Tatsuya! We don’t have all day! This is war! War doesn’t wait!” Even though she would say this, Akira would wait patiently for the boy to catch up. She wasn’t sure how he would take this newfound revelation within his genin counterpart, but he should hopefully understand that she wouldn’t dare ever harm him. He was the only thing she had to protect now. ”What’s the best way to go? You know any shortcuts?” She would ask looking out over the village.

Tatsuya did his best to keep up, trying to make up for Akira's lack of precaution by keeping watch. Only to completely miss her move in on an unsuspecting Storm Shinobi. His eyes widened at the display, how quickly she removed the threat and moved on. He was stunned really. He had always known that this was the life of a shinobi, but he'd never seen it up close before. In fact he couldn't have imagined that Akira would do something like that so callously. Tatsuya shook his head and moved past the fallen shinobi to scale the wall to look over the view below.

He passed the kunai to Lil' Man, who went about coating it in a poison of his own before handing it back. If the gloves were off he wouldn't be left behind. He wasn't going to say it, but he wasn't going to let her bare the brunt of this conflict. After all, he was the one who said they should fight. "If we want to get to the Amekage's office we can probably go down that way, cut through the foundry and then we just cross the square. Looks like it's kept pretty quiet around there..." He turned the kunai to a reverse grip and took a better look. "We should be able to sneak past." He added.

"Kuro, try and find somewhere for us to retreat to once we've sent our message." He turned to speak to the larger amphibian who nodded and clambered away. While it was large it seemed to have no trouble moving around the rooftops. "Lets go. The sooner we get this done the quicker they'll show up." Tatsuya wasn't leaving the possibility of failure enter his mind. This needed to work.