The Great Shima Bridge Incident

Participants
Kenzo Sarutobi

Miyabi Hatake

''The village of Shima is less of a village and more of a moderately sized township. The village is situated on a relatively large island resting in the center of a river delta, with current ravaged waters on all sides pushing out towards the sea. It is connected on both sides to the edges of the 8 mile wide river by a pair of massive suspension bridges. The next nearest crossing point being hundreds of miles inland. Because of the Village's location, it has developed an extremely prosperous fishing trade due to migrating schools passing through the delta. The thriving fisheries eventually attracted other businesses, which rapidly developed the village into a stepping stone on a major trade route across the lands. With the influx of commerce due to the village's massive fisheries, the village has grown in size and influence rapidly, expanding to the point of almost filling its original island. But with this prosperity has come rampant corruption within the village's upper echelons and below. Not ones to lack hubris, Shima Village has slowly become an increasingly bothersome thorn in Yumegakure's side, with an increase in confidence due to their growing wealth and influence in the region, Shima village has begun strong-arming Yume citizens attempting to cross with heavy tolls and trade tariffs, as well as hiring hundreds of mercenaries to "keep the peace" within their village, rumors have also been circulating of the village's increasing attempts to sponsor a shinobi village themselves, becoming a direct threat to the safety and security of Yumegakure. By official and diplomatic channels, very little of this can be proven, nevertheless, Yumegakure's Kage has decided to send a message to the upstart leaders of Shima Village, that Yumegakure's wrath, is not to be trifled with. Sending for one of Yume's top Jounin, the Kage plans to have him destroy either of Shima village's massive suspension bridges, essentially cutting the flow of trade completely off, doing near irreparable damage to Shima Village's economy, and leaving Shima unable to pay their mercenaries, sending a message the village won't soon forget. But little does Kenzo Sarutobi know, a familiar face will cross paths with him on that island village.''

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Kenzo Sarutobi had been asleep when a local Anbu member from the village had appeared in his home on this overcast dreary day. After a frightful awakening the Anbu member had informed him that the Kage needed to see him as soon as possible. After arriving at the Kage’s office, Kenzo was quickly given a B-ranked mission to travel to Shima Village and destroy a bridge there. After being shown on a map, the village wasn’t very far from Yumegakure, only about a half a day’s travel to get there. Kenzo quickly made his way back home to gather his things before he would begin to make his way out for the mission. He would wear his usual attire of Black pants, typical shinobi boots, his gray tank top, black wraps around his hands, and his white fur vest. Looking around his messy apartment he would gather his things, 16 senbon, 2 sets of makibishi spikes, 5 smoke bombs, 6 paper bombs, his katana, and finally, his Bo staff. Once he had all his things in place, he would quietly leave his apartment, stock up on some food, and make his way out of the village without a sound. There had been only one thing that he had been told by the Kage that made him worry about the state of the mission, which was that he would need to remain under cover the whole time he was there. Knowing this, he purposely left behind his headband that marked him as a Yumegakure ninja, not wanting to bring any unwanted attention to his home. It wasn’t going to be a very long journey but, Kenzo couldn’t help but feel as though something odd was going to happen while he was out on this mission. He was unsure as to what it could be but, it kept him more alert than he liked to be. Midway through his journey to Shima, he would stop to have a short rest and eat, as to not arrive completely drained of energy, wanting to be at his best for the mission at hand. The other half of his journey passed without any problems, just a leisurely walk through the quiet countryside as the soft winds blew through his maroon hair, bringing the sweet smell of nature up to his nose as he made his short journey. Having finally arrived at Shima village, Kenzo would enter as a pedestrian, as he made his way through the village looking for the target bridge that he had been informed of.-

''As Kenzo made his way across one of the massive suspension bridges that were the only way on and off of the island, he might have been marveled at what he saw. Passing the dozens of mercenaries acting as toll officers and lookouts on the bridge the sight of the village would be quite remarkable. It looked to be almost as big as Yumegakure, possibly bigger. The entirety of the village was bustling, with hundreds of carts and people clogging the streets going to and fro. There was magnificent colors everywhere, banners hanging across the rooftops of the buildings, tapestries hanging in the windows, and the chatter and clatter of thousands of souls ensured that there was never a quiet moment. Though the city was not entirely as jubilant and prosperous as it may have looked. The first odor that would strike Kenzo's nose like a punch to the face would be the smell of raw fish, the air was thick with it, there was practically nowhere on the entire island that the air wasn't filled with the pungent smell. Though this was not the only downside, occasionally throughout the city he would find himself crossing paths with beggars, all former fishermen who defied Shima's ruling council and were left on the street, crippled and desperate, unable to find another job and unable to afford to move do to the steep bridge tolls. And as time passed, more and more often Kenzo would see what the village had been spending its extra resources on. They must have looked like the scariest police force ever, there were thousands of them all across the island, these grizzled looking and undisciplined mercenaries, casually bullying and extorting citizens with weapons openly brandished on their shoulders. The harder one looked, the more apparent Shima Village's corruption was to the naked eye. Bribery and Racketeering being discussed openly in the streets as purse snatchers made off the valuables of anyone who's things weren't nailed down. As Kenzo would continue to wander the village, most likely waiting till nighttime to make his move, he would notice something that might have stood out to him. A group of 5 mercenaries wandering listlessly from store to store gathering protection money, nothing particularly out of the ordinary for corrupt guardians, only the seeming leader of this small pack of degenerates sported an armband, possibly symbolizing some sort of lower leadership position amongst these cutthroats. After seeing them kick over a blind beggar and spit in his face with a laugh, the 5 mercs turned the corner into an alleyway behind a small bar.''

Kenzo Sarutobi: -The Village of Shima had a horrid smell of raw fish to it, almost overpowering Kenzo’s sense of smell as he adjusted to it slowly. As he walked through the bustling streets, he would notice the “guards” were more like mercenaries, treating the population like dirt and extorting them as they saw fit. It made Kenzo sick to his stomach to see this but, he had a mission to carry out and that was more important right now, or so he thought. A group of 5 mercenaries had knocked over a blind old man and spat in his face before moving behind the bar they had just exited. Kenzo had seen enough, he didn’t want to risk blowing his cover but, those people needed to be put down for good. He would quietly approach the 5 men, as to not be spotted and he would quietly observe them for a few seconds. They were scum for sure, loudly talking of how they enjoyed beating villagers and taking what they were “owed”. Kenzo couldn’t wait any longer, he would quickly draw his katana and channel his chakra into the blade using the technique known as Flying Swallow, to greatly increase the power and length of his own blade, wanting to end these 5 people as quickly as possible. Quietly stepping towards the 5 men, Kenzo would simply smile at them, his eyes closed, before opening them and distorting his face to show all the hate he felt for them. The men’s mouths seemed to be moving but, Kenzo couldn’t hear a word they had been saying as he rushed into the group of them, as they all started to draw their own weapons. The first man he had reached was still drawing his blade as Kenzo pierced his throat with his katana, slashing across to his right, nearly removing his head, as he moved towards the rest of the group. Next were two people, swords drawn, moving towards him cautiously before attempting to make an attack. Quickly blocking their blades with his own before kicking one of them backwards, at full strength, knocking the man to the ground. The man who was left standing would quickly find himself overpowered by Kenzo’s strength. Kenzo would knock the man’s blade back and pierce his stomach cutting upwards to his chest, piercing his heart, before removing the blade and stabbing into the prone man’s head. Now, only two people left, Kenzo would lock eyes with one of them, daring him to attack. Of course, the two mercenaries, stupid as they were, decided to rush Kenzo even though he had just killed three men with only a small bit of effort on his part. The two men had not drawn their blades yet, causing Kenzo to smile once again at the men’s overconfidence. Bringing his sword down lower, still funneling his chakra into the blade, he would slash at one of the men’s midsections using the bladelike chakra jutting from his sword and cut the man clean in half before turning to face the last remaining “guard” of the group. The man would finally succumb to fear and drop to the ground, pleading with Kenzo to let him live. Kenzo would sheathe his blade and lock eyes with the man speaking for the first time.- “Why the hell should I let scum like you live? So you can go back to beating people and taking their lives away from them? I think not.” -As he said this, Kenzo had knelt to be face to face with the man, his eyes ablaze with hatred. Before the “guard” could even let out a response, Kenzo had placed his hands on the man’s head and snapped his neck, the only clean kill of the group. Thinking to himself, he would decide it a good idea to take this man’s uniform, as it was the only one that had not been ruined by any sort of blood or cuts. Placing the uniform in his small pack his food had once been in, Kenzo would quietly leave the area from a different place than he had entered, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to himself as he quietly slipped back into the bustling streets into the city, moving to find the bridge he had been sent to destroy.-

It was around this time that a familiar face to Kenzo would be arriving at the village, though not for the same reasons.

Miyabi Hatake: -As much as Miyabi loved her Grandpa Kaizo and Grandmother Jumei, if she heard them tell the story of how they met one more time she swore to herself would hurl. It has been a long trip out to visit her some distant cousins of hers living in the land of Waterfalls, it was quite a hike when not traveling with only your ninja gear. A number of her family had met up to celebrate the wedding of one of Miyabi's relatives, the ceremony had been amazing, and it had been almost a year since she had last seen her grandparents, she had missed them terribly. But hindsight being 20-20, she never should have agreed to head home a day later with them. They moved too slowly as is, and the pack oxen was not helping in that regard. Her grandparents had finally agreed to come and live with the rest of their family in Yumegakure, so it was natural that they wait until this moment to do it. The trip had been fun at first, and the stories interesting....at least..... the first 8 times, but she hardly had much time to think about that now as the smell crept back into her brain. Ugh, that fishy smell seemed worse than the first time they had passed through Shima Village. After her grandparents had been properly extorted and Miyabi had been ogled at by the creepy merc at the bridge toll booth, they slowly led the oxen into the village. She kept her eyes peeled, something about the village rubbed her the wrong way, eyes staring at them, in particular her, and she had a feeling she may know why. While it was normal to see a pair of seniors in their late 60s with silver hair, but Miyabi had just recently had the black dye removed from hers for the wedding, which she now was thinking was a mistake. The Hatake clan's birthright was relatively well known throughout the lands, and if the people of this village knew who they were, they might see them as a threat. As Miyabi continued to keep her eyes open, she was momentarily distracted by her grandfather to her right, whistling a catchy tune and watching the birds as if he wasn't wary at all, a pouch of ryo in his hand, the same one he had given to the toll booth.- "Grandpa, is that....how did you...?" -Kaizo chuckled, the laugh lines on his face blending in with his wrinkles.- "Little one, there is many things I've yet to teach you, this was simply a bit of sleigh of hand." -Miyabi couldn't help but smile, once a shinobi, always a shinobi. She was so distracted by this little moment that she walked face first into the handle end of a naginata, which a mercenary captain was holding outstretched exactly for that purpose.- "I'd recognize that hair anywhere, you three misfits are Hatake clan aren't you?" -By the time Miyabi had looked up at the bearded captain, there was already another 12 mercenaries forming a semicircle in front of them, all of them with weapons drawn, yet relaxed. Miyabi's grandmother was the first to respond- "Excuse me sir, you are standing in our way, we're simply going home from a wedding with our granddaughter, now will you please step aside." -The merc captain sneered, and with a nod, his cronies advanced, surrounding them and their oxen.- "Home? You mean to back to Yumegakure, with your stuck up Kage and your docile and weak ninja? We have a special toll for the likes of you." -her grandfather spoke up, his voice hoarse, but firm- "We already payed your toll, now step aside, we are late enough as it is." -with that the mercs nearest their rear sheathed their weapons and began rummaging through the oxen's pack, another pulling the necklace from her grandmother's neck, breaking it and sending the small pearl beads scattering in the dirt.- "In that case, we'll be doubling the tax again, just for you kind folks." -Miyabi had yet to move, yet spoke up in a loud voice- "STOP! We have something that will placate you, just please just let me get it, your men will never find it within our pack." -With upturned eyebrows of interest, the bandit leader motioned for his men to stop as Miyabi turned and rummaged under the pack, drawing out a small burlap sack the size of her palm. She turned and walked towards the bandit leader who had his hand outstretched, only for her to trip over her own feet, dropping the pouch at the bandit's feet, causing her to exclaim and crawl on her knees towards it.- "Oh no, I'm sorry, ill get it." "Hmph, stupid little tramp" -With that Miyabi made her move, with one swift motion she drew from its concealed sheath in her boot, the tanto her father had given her when she graduated the academy, Kuroikazuchi, the black lightning, quite the flashy name for a custom tanto. With one slash, Miyabi lopped off the mercenary captain's left leg at the knee, causing things to erupt into chaos. As the man dropped to the ground screaming, the man directly to her left swung down at her, as adrenaline took over, she sidestepped the man's undisciplined swing, before shoving the blade between his ribs. As the man doubled over, falling on top of Miyabi, she was pinned under his weight at the moment as he wrapped his hands around her throat, her vision began to blur as the man squeezed, only for his grip to slowly fade. As she opened her eyes again, all the man had the power to do was curse her, and then cough up a mouthful of blood onto Miyabi's face before succumbing to death throws. Unable to stop and take the time to process the situation, Miyabi managed to roll him off of her, though she was unable to pull the blade back out as it seemed to be stuck on something. As Miyabi turned back to her grandparents, the blood still clouding her vision, she had feared that they would already be dead due to her impulsive defense of them. To her surprise, they had kept themselves in better shape then they had let on to during retirement. With a sweeping motion, her grandmother removed her hairpin, the pin turning out to be longer than most senbon, before launching it into the throat of one of the mercs. Her grandfather flipping one of the men judo-style over his shoulder and onto a market counter, before wrapping around his neck and cranking it to the side. Miyabi hardly had time to watch as she felt a presence right behind her, a pair of other bandits charging her with blades drawn. As the first one approached, she ducked under his blade, delivering a pair of kicks to her right kneecap, ribcage, followed by a palm strike underneath his chin that sent him crashing to the ground. The second attacker's strike she deflected with the first man's blade, before driving it into his hip, sending him onto his back and finishing it with a stomp to his throat. All her success was suddenly cut short by a cry, Miyabi turned as her grandmother was pinned against the wall of a shop by three of the men, she watched as another jammed its blade through their oxen's skull, sending it to the ground in a slump, and she watch as her grandfather was overwhelmed by their numbers and tackled to the ground, she cried out to them and moved to help but was suddenly struck in the back herself, a pair of the mercenaries had tackled her into the mud, Miyabi twisted and fought to get back up, fighting to her knees before a heavy fist to the back of her head sent her face first into the mud.-

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Kenzo had yet to findthe bridge that he was meant to destroy and he was beginning to get a bit turned around but, there seemed to be a problem in his path. The “guards” of this village seemed to be hassling an old couple and their granddaughter over some money.- “This town makes me sick” -Kenzo would say under his breath as he moved in closer to see what was going on. Just as he began to close in, a fight broke out between the mercenaries and the family. The young girl killed 2 men by herself and took one out of the fight, while the elderly couple each took out one of the 12 people there were around them. Kenzo thought the girl looked a little familiar at a glance watching her as she had fought, wondering where he could have seen her before. As the fight continued, the elderly couple began to be overran, and the girl was pinned to the ground by two of the men. Once again, Kenzo would decide to fight here, this time in view of the public, he was not going to stand for the state this town was in any longer. Moving his hands up to his chest he would form the seals of the ram, horse, snake, dragon, rat, ox and finally tiger, the signs necessary for Fire Dragon Flame Bullet. Once the signs were done, Kenzo would control the jutsu, which was moving in three directions, one towards each of the people in need of assistance. As what appeared to be dragons made of fire moved towards the mercenaries, they would begin to move away from the elderly couple and move off the girl as Kenzo controlled the jutsu to wrap around the men engulfing them in flames and quickly reducing them to ash in a matter of seconds. Releasing the jutsu, he would move in quickly to check on the three people and make sure they were alright. The elderly couple was alright, no serious trouble at all so, Kenzo would go to check on the young girl next.- “Hey, are you alright? Did they hurt you at all?” -He’d ask the girl as he moved her out of the mud.- “We need to move quickly, surely more people will be here soon and we don’t need to be here when they arrive.” -Kenzo said worriedly looking at the girl, trying to place where he had seen her before.-

Miyabi Hatake: -Miyabi's vision was completely covered in mud, gasping for breath as she attempting to pull her head out of the mud. Due to this temporary blindness, she could only feel the head from the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet pass over her, the heat singeing the hairs on the back of her neck as she heard the muffled screams from inside the puddle. When she had finally managed to pull herself from the mud, coughing up spoonfuls of it and vigorously rubbing it from her eyes, the mercenaries were all suddenly gone, only their weapons remaining and her grandparents were both safe and sound for now. As she suddenly felt a hand grasp her shoulder, she shot around expecting it to be another attacker, her vision still dirty, but the voice she had definitely recognized from not too long ago.- "Kenzo-sama is that you?" -Miyabi reached her hand forward like a blind person, feeling his red hair and face as if to make sure it was real.- "Kenzo-sama!" -With that she rushed forward, hugging him tightly around his waist, tears ready to stream down her face. Miyabi only barely managing to keep it together long enough for her to turn back to her grandmother and grandfather.- "I'm ok grandma, grandpa, you need to leave now, you're old enough looking to get out of the village unnoticed still, ill be safe with Kenzo." -Miyabi's grandfather was ready to object, but her grandmother stopped him, telling him she had something to do first before taking his hand and heading back to the oxen, grabbing whatever was important. Miyabi turned back towards Kenzo.- "We have to hide, but where could we go that we'd stay unnoticed?"

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Kenzo would smile at the realization of who the young girl was. It was Miyabi, the girl whom he had helped train a new jutsu not too long ago, but she had the white hair of her Hatake lineage this time, which is what had caused the confusion he had been suffering from. He looked down at her now, his face more stern, and he would begin to speak.-  “Just follow my lead” -he said as he took her hand and began leading her away from the sight of the battle towards an alleyway where they could hide out for a few hours. It was a cramped dark space that no group of people could easily fit into, making it the perfect place for them to hide out.-  “I’m sorry about this but, since that battle just happened, you may be getting dragged into my mission with me so I can keep an eye out on you and keep you safe. Is that okay?” -He asked her as he looked down at her curiously waiting to hear her answer.-

Miyabi Hatake: "It's fine Kenzo-sama...I just.....*sniff* I need a minute." -Miyabi muttered as she looked down at her hands, tears dripping down onto her muddy and blood soaked fingers, cleaning off tiny spots as she began to shudder. She had stared into that man's eyes as he died over her, her face was still red from the blood he had vomited on her as he succumbed to his death throes. As she looked down at a puddle in front of her as she slowly dropped down to her knees, most of her body was now red or brown, the green dress she had worn to the wedding not fairing any better, her forced face plant into the mud to blame. Her arms tingled, she felt as if the blood was eating away at her skin as she quickly submerged them into the puddle to wash it away. As she began quietly sobbing, she tried to think back to her father Kuyo's lesson, back on the day that she had first asked him out of curiosity what it was like to first kill someone. He could still remember his exact words as he was sitting at the table, a cup of coffee in his hand. "Well Miyabi... to be perfectly honest with you, it was pretty easy, between the adrenaline and the fear of dying myself, it was simple. My first kill wasn't my hardest, but there were many that left me in tears, what people who write about these sorts of things fail to realize is that not every kill haunts you for the rest of your life, what you need to remember is to think of it as saving a life, saving your own, by taking one. The shinobi life is rarely a bloodless one, so try to remember that when the time comes for you." His words were comforting inside her head, but they still didnt stop her sobbing as she looked down at the puddle, arms hanging limp at her sides.-

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Kenzo would sit there and watch the girl quietly as she sobbed, unsure of what to do. He would rub the back of his head awkwardly as she cleaned herself, still sobbing. As she finished washing away the blood and dirt that was on her, Kenzo would quietly approach her and embrace her in his arms, in a fatherly way, letting her sobs fall into his soft vest.- “Just let it out Miaybi. Taking a life is no easy matter. It is a part of the life you have chosen but, that doesn’t mean that it should always come easily to you. Especially someone young like yourself.” -He would say to her, placing a hand on her head. Kenzo couldn’t remember the first life he had taken. After all ,he had been on so many missions from the time he was the age of the poor girl in front of him up until now when he was appointed a team leader. He never liked to take a life, unless the people were scum like those who ran the village they were in. He was unsure of what else to do at this point so, he would sit with her and wait for her to calm down before he would fill her in on what he was doing there.-

Miyabi Hatake: *sobbing throughout* "its, its not that Kenzo-sama....not the killing, not his eyes, not even the blood." -she said as she tried to catch her breath- "Its me.....I wasn't strong enough to stop them, what if you hadn't been here?! I was WEAK!" -she screamed as she punched her fist into the dirt- "My grandmother, my grandfather, me, we'd all be dead if it weren't for you, and for what?!" -she slammed her fist down again- "I wasn't strong enough....I wasn't fast enough....I wasn't good enough. My whole life has been a competition, with everyone and about anything, and I've always won, always. I meticulously plan for every move I make and I am never unprepared. I spend my free time just imagining situations that might happen. And despite all that, I was helpless!!" -once again, Miyabi slams her fist into the dirt- "If it wasn't for you Kenzo-sama, me, and my grandparents would all be dead in a ditch somewhere, or maybe at the bottom of the river, and I would be powerless to stop it." -her sobbing begins to die down a bit- "That's why I cant stop crying, the thought of my grandparents....and it being all my fault......" -she begins sobbing again, holding her hands up to her face-

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Kenzo would ruffle Miyabi’s hair and let her go before turning his eyes up to hers, his face serious.- “Miyabi, you’re still young, too young to be putting all of the responsibility of people on your back. I know firsthand what that is like. I lost the only person I’ve ever loved and I blamed myself for it for years. Don’t let that feeling overwhelm you. You don’t want to carry the sorrow that I feel every single day that I wake up. You will become stronger as you grow and you will be able to do more things but, some things are just out of our control and we have to accept that.” -He didn’t know if what he said to the girl would help her or not but, seeing her like that brought back memories of himself when he had lost the woman he was going to marry, Chie Yamanaka, and how he had tormented himself over it, never letting himself truly live it down, choosing to instead bring happiness to those around him to make sure no one else would have to suffer like that. He would continue to look her in the eyes, wanting to make sure that she had understood what he had said to her.-

Miyabi Hatake: -Miyabi looked back up to him, her golden hues still redish from the tears as she slowly wiped her eyes as he looked into hers, everything Kenzo-sama had said to her she knew was right, even if she didn't like it. She found it so difficult not to take responsibility for everything. At times she felt that she couldnt trust anyone else to handle the responsibility. It made her feel useful, needed, but what he said seemed to have finally calmed her down as he ruffled her white hair.- "*sniff*....Kenzo-sama.....thank you.....what was she like? The person you loved I mean...."

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Kenzo would have a small smile creep over his face as he thought back on all the years he spent with Chie. They were the best years of his life and he would cherish them forever. He looked at Miyabi and ruffled her hair once again, seeing that he must have reached her with his words. He would find a patch of grass big enough to seat the two in the alley way and sit down, inviting her over.- “Well, since we need to pass some time until the sun sets and I can continue the mission, I’ll tell you all about her if you wish.” -He would say, smiling up at her and her now messy hair.- “Her name was Chie Yamanaka, and we met back when I was a genin, around the same age as you. We had been placed on the same team and we grew close to each other quickly as we grew up. She was always kind and beautiful, and very strong.” -Kenzo said with a chuckle- “We even faced off in the finals of the chunin exams when we were growing up. She eventually won but, we were both made chunin after that day. I loved her to death after that day. Her blonde hair and those determined green eyes. When I told her I loved her she just hit me and said she’d been waiting on me say that for years.” -Kenzo said, his eyes now beginning to well up with tears as he went over his life with the young genin.-  “She was easily the most happy person who lived in the village, she cared about everyone else and would always make sure people were happy when she was around. There truly was no one else like her to me. Her determination and kindness were what made me love her so much. I see a bit of her in you ya know.” -He would say poking Miyabi’s forehead.- “You have that determination and drive to be great just like she was” -Kenzo would say smiling at Miyabi, rubbing the tears out of his eyes before leaning against the cold stone wall that made up the left part of the alleyway and closed his eyes.-

Miyabi Hatake: -Miyabi scooted over to him, still on her knees as she placed her hands in her lap and listened to Kenzo's story. She could tell by the look on his face as the story went on that he truly loved this Chie woman, it was cute seeing Kenzo-sama showing emotion that didn't involve him doting over her every time she came to him for help. She giggled as he continued, her face becoming a bit distressed as she watched the tears well up in his eyes, she lifted her hand to wipe them from his eyes but stopped herself before she did, not wanting to interrupt his captivating story. Miyabi smiled, a blush crossing her face as Kenzo poked her on the forehead, prompting her to turn her head down.- "Whoever Chie was, she sounds a bit too wonderful to be me, I'm a chronic schemer, gambler, and risk-taker, I get too much joy out of breaking rules and getting away with it, it gives me a rush. The closest thing I have to a godfather is a retired Oyabun, my mother passive aggressively hates me, I dyed my family birthright -runs her hand between a few strands of hair- because i was feeling insecure, and as much as I try, I'm hardly the best candidate for role model for my little cousin Shigure. All this and I still can't take the responsibility to protect the people I love yet. I'm nothing like Chie, she sounds like a better person than me in so many ways, but......" -Miyabi leans forward on her knees, stretching out her back as she planted a soft kiss on Kenzo's forehead.- "...I....Appreciate the compliment...Oji-sama" -Miyabi smiled, face still pink from the blush, before tilting her head to the side and clearing her throat.- "Anyway, back to the business at hand, what's this mission of yours that brought you here, and how can I help?"

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Kenzo would chuckle at being called Oji-sama and poke Miyabi’s forehead once again.- “Silly, I just said it’s not all on you to protect people and I’m sure if Chie were here she would just love you to death. She was far from perfect too you know” -He would say with a laugh as he stood up and looked down at her, her face still red after having kissed his forehead. Turning his face more serious, Kenzo would slowly make his way to the edge of the alley and poke his head out before returning to Miyabi.- “I was sent here to destroy a certain bridge in this village and remain undetected. So far I have done neither of those things. Once I destroy this bridge, we can make our way back to Yumegakure. You don’t have to come with me if you don’t want to but, I’d like it if you did.” -He said with a smile, holding out his hand to help her up off the ground. He couldn’t help but think of this girl like a daughter of his own, always wanting to protect her, like he did with Chie when she had still been alive. This time he would make sure that the one he wanted to keep safe would come back home alive, even if it meant his own death.-

Miyabi Hatake: "Ive got someone else I need to protect now too, besides, it would hardly be proper of you to go out and die after telling me all this." -Miyabi slipped her tanto back into her boot as she rose to her feet, brushing her hands together to clean off the dirt and turning back to Kenzo-sama- "That would be way too cliche, so I'm coming with you." -Miyabi chuckled as she looked up at the sky, the sun was beginning to set, the sky currently a bright shade of orange, the sun slowly dropping at the ocean horizon. This would almost be romantic, Miyabi thought to herself as she viewed the gorgeous sight in front of her, back alley, sunset, strapping gentleman, if only the smell of fish guts and trash weren't ruining it, and the part where she was still covered in dried blood and dirt. She laughed to herself quietly with a blush as she turned back to Kenzo- "So what's the plan? How are we going to take down a bridge of that size by ourselves? Especially now that Shima's police force will be on the lookout for us."

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Kenzo would chuckle again at seeing Miyabi blushing before he began to think of a plan. Pulling out the uniform he had grabbed earlier, he would walk towards the back of the alley.- “Can you look away please? Make sure no one comes this way while I change and fill you in on my plan?” -He would ask as he began to put on the uniform.- “I’m going to pose as a guard and just walk up to the lower portion of the bridge and blow it up with the paper explosives I have with me. It’s not the best plan but, it should work. I’ll need you to come with me, staying hidden until we can get to the bottom of the bridge. Once there we will place the tags and blow them up, making sure the job is done and we’ll sneak away back home. Is that okay with you?” -He would ask, now done changing into the uniform of what this village called a guard.-

Miyabi Hatake: -Miyabi watched as Kenzo drew out a uniform he had somehow aquired, nodding as he asked her to turn around. Miyabi turned around as he began removing his shirt, she caught a glimpse at his midriff before turning though as she thought over his plan, all the while squealing internally- "I think I can be a bit more help than that Oji-sama, and you could always use a distraction just in case they don't recognize you as one of their own. I think I have an idea, but either way we should head to the bridge soon, I'm sure after that scene we caused there will be extra men on duty to check all those leaving." -She tapped her index finger in her chin slowly and methodically like a metronome as she thought more, a small smirk crossing her face as another one of her "insideous plans" crossed her mind. She checked to make sure he wasn't still undressed before turning back around and giving the disguised Jonin a once-over.- "You're starting to look like a proper scoundrel Oji-sama, just needs an eye patch or a cigar" -She chuckled as she drew out a kunai-

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Kenzo chuckled at Miyabi’s comment about the cigar or the eye patch before smiling at her.- “I bet you peeked didn’t you?” -He said with a laugh before beginning to move forward, motioning for Miyabi to follow him.- “If you have any clever ideas I’d love to see them for sure.” -He would say as he made his way out onto the streets ahead of them. He wasn’t too worried about being recognized amongst the guards, given his bandit like appearance at first glance. The several nose and lip piercings he had received as the years went by had had a good use for once in his life. As he strolled down the streets, he would casually cast a glance backwards to check on Miyabi and make sure she was safe. In his mind her safety was much more important than the mission he had been on. If this girl were to be hurt or worse, it would be on his head for taking her along on this mission and that was the last thing he wanted.-

''Miyabi would nod at Kenzo as she broke off in another direction to start her little distraction, she waved him off, telling him not to do anything until she started her distraction and hoping that he wouldn't worry too much and to stay safe. As Kenzo would begin to approach the bridge, the first thing he would notice would be the sudden massive boost to security, there were almost 5 times as many guards patrolling the bridge as there were the last time. Miyabi had been correct, it seemed that the first thing that the Shima police force did after the incident was to quarantine the island. It could be assumed that there were just as many guards present on the opposite side of the bridge as well. There were mercenaries watching from the catwalks of the bridges suspension wires, dozens patrolling back and forth along the length of the structure, and even more at the toll booth, hundreds of these grizzled mercenaries, all armed to the teeth and watching for anything out of the ordinary. The night was a cloudy one, the full moon illuminating its side of the clouds, mixed with the thousands of lights emanating from the village, making the sky look more like a lighter shade of gray. The constant lapping of the waves against the wrought iron supports of the bridge and the indistinct chattering coming from the village and the mercenaries guarding the bridge making sure that there was no silence to this night. At the same time, Miyabi was standing on a rooftop, in her hands was a packet of cigarettes, a match, and the kunai she had been seen with earlier.''

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Kenzo slowly approached the bridge noting the mass amount of guards that were placed there. He would close the distance to the bridge and had no trouble slipping in through the guards.- ‘It’s just like I thought, with my questionable appearance, I fit right in among these guys. Man, that says a lot about me doesn’t it?’ -He thought to himself as he began to blend into the mass crowd trying not to stick out. He would lean against the toll booth and listen to the guards talk amongst themselves. There was obviously talk of what had happened in the square earlier and he overheard some talk of 5 men who had been brutally murdered and how it was being discreetly hidden away from the public. He would smile to himself and wait for whatever the signal was going to be from Miyabi before he even thought of making a move.-

''The cool salty breeze would stay undisturbed in the air for a while, making it seem to Kenzo that maybe Miyabi was caught in the act and had failed to cause a distraction. Just as he would have begun to lose hope, a low rumble could be heard across the island. An explosion, followed by a series of others and finally a massive chain reaction sent out a blinding light. As Kenzo turned back towards the island, a massive fireball hundreds of feet into the air rained chunks of flaming debris. The sound wave would finally reach him, sounding as if a thunderbolt had landed right next to him and the pressure wave that would blow past him like gale-force winds. As the flames began to spread to the nearby wooden buildings, all of which could be seen from the bridge. Hundreds of the guards manning the bridge would sprint off back towards Shima to assist in the firefighting and to find the perpetrator, and it could be assumed the same thing was occurring at the other bridge. As the flames lit up the night sky, reflecting off the gray clouds and brightening the evening, and the shouting and screams coming from the village inhabitants began to echo across the delta, only about 30 mercenaries remained on station guarding the bridge and toll booth, all of them having the entirety of their attention focused on the fire that was beginning to sweep through the city. Lacking shinobi of their own and because almost all their buildings were made of wood, the people of Shima Village would be forced to fight the fire through conventionally means.''

Kenzo Sarutobi: -The shockwave from the explosion threw Kenzo’s shaggy maroon hair all about his face as he calmly leaned against the toll booth as the city erupted into chaos. Most of the people who were on guard at the bridge had left to put out the fires that had started after what he could only assume was Miyabi’s distraction she had mentioned earlier. He counted about 30 guards left at the bridge but, they were all focused on the spreading fire, meaning that it would be easy to slip by unnoticed and place the tags on the bridge. Still being cautions, Kenzo would slowly make his way across the bridge, placing the explosives on the load-bearing supports across the bridge, 5 in total. Once placed, he would make his way back to the square, playing the part of an overly concerned guard going to check on the situation at the site of the explosion. After laughing at his concern and poking some fun, the guards would let him go to check on the situation, or so they thought. Once out of sight, Kenzo would quietly sneak into an alley and change back into his normal attire before climbing up to the rooftops to get a birds eye view of the bridge. He would sit there quietly, out of sight from any of the guards down below and wait for Miyabi to find him before he blew the bridge. Surely, that young girl would love to see the bridge go up in flames after the day she had been made to have here.-

Miyabi Hatake: -As Miyabi made her way through the streets along with hundreds of other fleeing civilians, she just couldn't remove the shit-eating grin from her face. She had been hoping that these mercenaries were as stupid as she had assumed, and she was dead on. Much like any nation preparing for trouble, the people of Shima village had been stockpiling tools and weapons in the warehouses near the docks, disguised as fisheries. Stockpiled tools meant that they were most likely stockpiling paper bombs, and without enough shinobi to properly seal them all within scrolls, Miyabi had found hundreds of pallets of paper-bombs just sitting in the warehouse, ready for mayhem. All it took was to make a little homemade flaming dart out of one of her kunai, and then run like the wind. Miyabi had been lucky she was a fast one, the force of the explosion lifted her off her feet and sent her flying through the air despite being 4 blocks from the detonation site when it occurred. She couldn't feel her face and wasn't sure if she had singed her eyebrows off, but she couldn't stop smiling.- "That, was totally awesome, Itoko-san will never believe this, or forgive me for not being here to see it." -Only to spoil her fun, it seemed that someone had caught on to her little display, as she watched out of the corner of her eye, she could see a trio of cloaked figures following her from the rooftops.- "Shinobi, great, and i thought we were finally going to get a lucky break for once." -She tried to break their tail by cutting through some buildings, finding a cloak to throw over her distinctive hair, blending in with the fleeing civilians, and ever discretely setting more paper bombs on select buildings and blowing them to try to avert their attention to no avail. They maintained their distance but continued following her. As Miyabi finally gave up on staying hidden, she threw off the stolen cloak and leaped up to the rooftops, sprinting in the direction of Kenzo as she drew her sword from her boot, spinning the blade between her fingers and switching to a reverse grip as she leaped from building to building, attempting to meet back up with Kenzo-sama before she would be forced to engage the tail that was chasing her.-

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Kenzo would hear several footsteps approaching from the rooftops and quickly stand up, prepared for anything. He would see Miyabi closing in quickly with three pursuers right behind her as she approached him. Kenzo would begin to channel wind chakra into his palms as Miyabi and her pursuers approached and, once Miyabi was at his side, he would clap his hands together, creating a powerful gale technique known as Gale Plalm, in an attempt to knock the pursuers off balance or even knock them over.- “Are you alright and are you ready to fight?” -Kenzo would ask Miyabi as he quickly turned his eyes towards her before turning his attention back to the shinobi that had followed her here. They were a cut above the guards whom he had killed before, these were actual ninja, trained killers of the village whom had finally caught on to a trail of the two who had fled earlier in the day. If Kenzo had wanted to, he could have easily killed them outright but, he had decided to get in a little more action before he would end his time here in the village. He was also curious to see what Miyabi was capable of, though he would be keeping a very watchful eye over her, not wanting the young girl to be hurt here.-

''Miyabi's pursuers leaped quickly down between the rooftops, using the alcoves of the buildings as cover from the attacks, as the technique died down, the three of them clambered back onto the roof, taking position in a formation across from Miyabi and Kenzo. The three men were all cloaked in blue sashes over their thick armor, and wore blacked out masks with small eye slits similar to Kiri anbu. They carried themselves like Jonin, but all three were missing-nin from whatever their home village once was. As if on cue, the three of them removed their masks at the same time, their faces now revealed in the pulsating glow of the raging fire far away. The one on Kenzo's right looked as if he was the oldest of the group, sporting a thick black beard and long black hair slicked back down to his shoulders, his face covered in small scars and two larger ones, one of which crossing over his nose, and another over his right eye, the eye white and milky, making it look like he lacked a cornea, in his right hand he sported a claw gauntlet and the man himself was built like a stack of bricks, thick slabs of muscle bulging under his sleeves. The man in the middle, seemingly the leader, stood with a confident smirk across his face, his hair slicked back and his face clean shaven, he held in his hands a pair of Sai, glowing blue with his chakra as he stood in silence along with his comrades. The final man and the one standing to their left was a rather stringy looking one, sporting a thin blonde mustache, a bald head and holding in his hands a bo staff. Finally after an extended silence, the man in the middle spoke up, his voice directed towards his comrades. "So, who gets the lil' one? Saito, feelin' interested?" The man with the beard scoffed a laugh and turned to him. "why give me the child?" "Because you were the one that spotted the little urchin, besides, we've both taken turns with the weak ones, its your time to take one for the team, and besides, we've been keeping our new friends waiting for long enough." The older man with the beard rolled his eye and crossed his arms as the man in the middle chuckled, turning his attention back to Kenzo. "I think its safe to assume that you lot are the reason we were hired in the first place. I take it you're Yume ninja ami'right? You've caused quite the stir tonight, and made out employer a very un-happy camper, angry employers means that we get pay cuts, and pay cuts make us angry." With the flick of his wrist the three of them charged, the older muscley one with the beard singling out Miyabi, the two ran towards the edge of that roof and engaged, she deflected his first downward stabbing strike against her and instead of swinging her blade, planted her knee directly into the man's crotch, causing him to bend over in pain with a strained groan. She immediately followed by shoving him, pushing him off the rooftop and attempted to turn to assist Kenzo-sama with the other two, only for the falling man to reach out and snatch a fistful of her hair as she turned, yanking her off the roof with him as they plummeted over the side, her sword dropping from her hand and landing on the rooftop, Miyabi and the missing-nin mercenary no longer within Kenzo's line of sight. Whether he wanted to move to help or not, Kenzo would not be given an opportunity as the other two mercenary missing-nin moved in to engage him the leader with the sai advancing on him as his partner circled around, taking a low sweeping swing with his bo staff from behind Kenzo, the strike aimed at his right knee in an attempt to knock him from his feet.''

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Kenzo would dodge to his left away from the man with the bo staff, not allowing him to take his legs out from under him. He would glare at the two men keeping him from going to make sure Miyabi was safe after being taken off of the building.- ‘I guess I’ll have to show them what a Yume Jonin is fully capable of and end this fight as quickly as possible.’ -He thought to himself as the two men began to charge him again. Quickly forming the seals necessary for his Scorch relase: Extremely Steaming Murder Jutsu, the orbs that appeared to be miniature suns would begin to rotate in front of him. Were either of the two shinobi in front of him to be hit by these orbs as he sent them towards them, it would evaporate all the moisture in their bodies and leave them in a mummified state. Were they to dodge this move, Kenzo will have drawn his blade, ready to block any incoming attacks from the two men. He needed this fight to end quickly so that he and Miyabi could move away from the village and destroy the bridge, making sure no one could pursue them any further.-

''The two mercenaries quickly reacted, the leader falling back as he begun to form hand signs, the other armed with the bo staff using the superior range of his weapon to prod at Kenzo, taking quick strikes aimed at your face as his teammate finished up his hand seals. With a rumble, a massive Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique rose over the lip of the building, curling in the air before letting out a guttural roar, diving head first towards Kenzo. Meanwhile down below, Miyabi and the bearded man's fall had been broken by an old rusty tin shack roof, which they promptly crashed straight through, slowing their fall before they crashed into the dirt below. In the darkness of the shack, the bearded man slowly stood up, brushing off his armor before taking a look around the windowless shanty-house, his gauntlet strap being torn by the fall, as he turned from right to left, his face was suddenly met by a huge right hook to the left side of his face by Miyabi, to her dismay unfortunately, all her fist seemed to do was twist his head to the side, and leave her hand stinging. The man turned back to her, kicking her in the chest and sending her crashing into a small ramshack table, snapping it in half as Miyabi landed on her back, her lungs gasping for air after having it smashed out of her. "For a little girl, uve got spunk, I might actually enjoy this." The man muttered as Miyabi tried to clamber to her feet, only for his massive hand to snap around her throat, his thick slabs of muscle heaving her into the air by her throat and smashing her into the wall of the shack, sending dozens of cracks up and down the wood as Miyabi scratched and clawed at his grip, her face beginning to turn a shade of blue, her leg repeatedly kicking him on the side of his knee, attempting to buckle it.''

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Blocking the strikes from the bo staff and spinning to the side, Kenzo would  note the water dragon bullet, he would knead chakra in his stomach and begin to spew flames from his mouth, the technique was common among the Sarutobi clan, known as the Great Flame technique, It could easly evaporate water and the more distance the flames got the wider the range was. The water dragon technique would evaporate into steam as is closed in on him and the roof became engulfed in flames, either consuming the two ninja he was fighting with or forcing them to retreat away from him. Either way, it would give Kenzo some time to think about his next move as he sheathed his blade once again. He was worried about Miyabi and he greatly wished to reach her and make sure she was alright but, it appears he was not going to be able to until, the two ninja were both dead. As he stood there, watching the flames, Kenzo would prepare for any sort of counter attack, his guard raised, as the flames began to dwindle in places, the building now beginning to catch fire and slowly burn down.-

''As the bo arm mercenary was too close to Kenzo as he used his technique, he was blasted by the cloud of steam, a steam burn only being the second worse kind of burn other than an electrical burn, the cloud proceeded to boil half his face and arm, causing him to scream out and drop his weapon before he retreated to a nearby rooftop to join their leader who had already escaped to there. Meanwhile down below, Miyabi continued trying to buckled the big one's knee, her vision slowly beginning to turn black around the edges and her kicks beginning to lose any force they still had left. With one final kick, her leg finally twisted his knee enough to cause it to buckle, causing him to fall/throw her into the wall again, smashing her clean through the shack and onto the dirt outside as he lost his grip around her throat, Miyabi rolling to her feet as she felt the oxygen finally returning to her muscles. As the man shoved himself through the hole, his left hand rubbing at his knee. Miyabi smashing him over the head with a chunk of the wood from the wall she was thrown through, only for it to shatter across him. She dropped the splinters she had left and let out a short combo, a trio of punches to his face, followed by a pair of kicks aimed at his kidneys, none seeming to do anything. "Try all you might little girl, you wont get anywhere." With a fist the seemed to be made of iron, the man cracked Miyabi in the cheek, staggering her and almost knocking her off her feet, only for her to catch herself as he continued to advance toward her, pinning her into the corner of the alleyway. Miyabi felt herself running out of room to back up behind her as the gargantuan man chuckled, apparently enjoying playing with its food. "You're out of room to run little lass, once I'm done with you, my boys should be just about done wrapping up with your sensei or whoever he is. When our employer sees what we did to the ones that caused so much commotion in his city, he'll be overjoyed. They're gonna drag your corpses through the streets, and then hang them from the bridge as a warning to your weak little village that the times have changed. And someone else is in charge now." Miyabi spit out a little glob of blood onto his face, it landing right in his white milky eye. "Hah, that might be the funniest thing I've heard all day, 10 of you couldn't kill Kenzo-sama, he's probably finished gutting your stringy little friends by now anyway." "I very much doubt that little lass, now come, give me your best shot, so i can hurry up and get back to my evening." Miyabi felt the rage swell within her, but also the fear, she trusted Kenzo-sama to handle the other two ninja, but she still worried, she thought for a split second and realized the only thing she could do to stop this behemoth of a man, and save Oji-sama. Slipping her hand quickly into her pouch on the back of her clothes, she slipped it into her palm and leaped toward the man's head, with her palm open and flat, Miyabi palmed an explosive tag onto the man's face, the adhesive sticking it there. She jumped back, forming a tiger seal to activate the bomb, only for the man to snap out her massive hand, clamping down on both her hands an interrupting her, before pinning her to the wall by her arms and lifting her off the ground, her feet dangling as she hung from her arms. "You certainly are a clever one, trying to blow the both of us to hell to save your sensei eh? Well guess what little lass, you weren't good enough." Winding up his fist, he delivered an upercut punch with his free hand directly to her abdomen, causing her to scream out in pain, causing her to spit out another mouthful of blood as she tired to look up and speak as she tired to catch her breath once again, the mercenary busy peeling the tag off his face and now holding it in his free hand. "Look.....look.......look me......look me in the eye and say that.....you wrinkly dick.....bitch" The mercenary chuckled as he tilted her head up so their eyes met nose to nose. "With pleasure you pre-pubescent little shit." Slowly, a smirk formed across Miyabi's face as she smiled a bloody smile as they made eye contact. "Sloppy" Suddenly the mercenary would grunt as he realized that he couldn't move, his arms stuck holding her up and grasping the paper bomb. Miyabi giggled maniacally as she reached with her free hand under her dress, drawing a kunai. Taking a few seconds while using the kunai as a suedo-crowbar to try to loosen the merc's iron grip on her other hand, Miyabi eventually just gave up and simply sliced off 3 of the man's fingers, giving her room to wiggle her hand out of his grip and drop back to her feet. Miyabi dusted herself off before walking past him, swiping his mask from his pack as she continued walking away. As he continued grunting and growling, unable to move his mouth or lips. Miyabi formed a tiger seal, the explosive tag in the man's hand starting to hiss before he was consumed by the fireball it created.''

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Having forced the two ninja to retreat to another building, Kenzo would watch them carefully before he moved into action. It seemed he had burned one of the men quite badly, and that would make him his next target.- “You know I’ve just been playing with you right? If I wanted to I could level this part of the city with almost no effort. The only reason I haven’t is because I like to play with my meals before I aet them.” -Kenzo said with a chuckle before breaking into a sprint and jumping across to the building the ninja had moved two. His target was the burned man’s now injured side, seeing as it would be hard to block an attack with a burned up arm, especially the move he had in mind. Once on the man’s injured side, Kenzo would put all his speed and power into a spinning back kick, aimed at the man’s head. The move was so incredibly fast that nearly no man could follow his movement at all. The move was the Leaf Strong Whirlwind, and once he continued to spin a whirlwind would for around him causing the other man to either be caught up in it or have to retreat even further. As for the burned man who was being attacked, if the kick landed it would surely cave in his skull and kill him instantly. Truth be told, the only reason Kenzo didn’t level the part of the city as he said he could was because he didn’t want Miyabi to be caught up in the technique, it was a risk too big for him take until he knew that she was safe and out of the area his attack would cover.-

''Due to the severe third degree burns covering his arm, the man was unable to so much as lift his arm, only able to just barely step to the side due to the immense pain in the areas between his burns and healthy skin where the second degree burns were located, he succeeded in his attempt, but not far enough, the glancing blow that was delivered to his head was enough to twist his head around, snapping his neck and causing him to collapse to the floor in a heap. His partner immediately flipped the grip of his sai before launching it at Kenzo-sama, aiming for his throat as he ran backwards to get out of the range of Kenzo's attack, forming handsigns as he leaped from that roof, jumping to another out of his range as he formed his handsigns were in mid air. So distracted by the scene Kenzo was making in front of him, he was thrown off when suddenly a kunai from ground level was launched at him, striking him in the back of his hip. Causing him to fumble his hand seals from the shock and crash onto the next roof.''

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Once he had stopped his attack, Kenzo would see the remaining man throwing his sai at him. He didn’t have enough time to fully dodge out of the way but, he did manage to move to a point where the sai only dug into his shoulder. Pulling the weapon out from the wound, Kenzo would watch as the wan was struck in the hip by a kunai from below and hr crashed into the roof across from him. Seeing this as his chance to end this fight Kenzo would pull out a small piece of flint he carried with him, placing it in his mouth,  as he fromed the hand seals of the Snake, rat, snake, and the tiger before spewing chakra infused gunpowder out from his mouth in a cloud to cover the now wounded man. Now using the flint he had placed on his teeth beforehand, Kenzo would create a spark and ignite the gunpowder resulting in a violent explosion, taking a large chunk out of the building the enemy had been on. Kenzo would move to the edge of the rooftop he was on to inspect the area the man had fallen and see where the kunai had come from. He had a pretty good idea of who had just helped him out but, he wanted to be 100% sure that it was the young woman he thought it could have been. Now at the edge, he would carefully peer over and look below him trying to spot who could have been his helper.-

Miyabi Hatake: -As Kenzo-sama leaned over the edge, Miyabi stood below, mouth still bloody, but smiled and gave a little wave before she clambered her way back up to the rooftop, gingerly grasping at her abdomen as it was still seriously bruised. Making up to the top of the building and turning back toward the building the man had been on, watching his singed corpse lay there in the rubble, Miyabi held her hand over her nose and chuckled, despite the fact that it hurt to laugh.- "And I thought the fish smelled bad, I see you handled them well enough without me..." -She looked to see the wound in his shoulder as she stopped talking and rust over to his side.- "Oji-sama! When did this happen? Are you ok?!" -Miyabi gingerly tore the fabric around the entry wound to get a better look at it, careful not to actually touch it.-

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Kenzo would smile and laugh at Miyabi as she sat there worrying over the one wound he had gotten in battle.- “I’m more than fine, I can have this patched up when we get to the village. I’m more worried about you. Seems like you’ve been through more than enough here today.” -He said as he cast her a worried glance.- “We should hurry up and leave the village and blow that bridge. I’m sure you don’t want to be here anymore than I do. Here, climb up on my back and I’ll get us out of here quickly then we can watch that bridge go up in flames before we head back to the village. Is that okay?” -He would ask as he extended his hand out for her to climb up on his back. He was sure the poor girl was tired after the day that they had and with her on his back, he would be able to travel at his full speed allowing them to make a quicker retreat.-

Miyabi Hatake: -Miyabi turned a bit pink at the prospect of him carrying her out of the village, only to eventually simply not as the blush started to fade. "Alright....just.....don't tell anyone, Shigure would never let me live it down if he found out I didn't just walk myself out." -Miyabi spoke as she slowly climbed onto his back, carefully trying not to touch his wound, and also that she didn't lean too hard on her own injured abdomen, which was still throbbing in pain and made her wheeze when she breathed. She clambered onto him, arms wrapping around his neck as her legs did the same around his waist, a bit of a blush starting to form as she nuzzled her face into the back of his neck, the warmth feeling good on her many bruises.- "We sure have caused a scene.....haven't we Oji-sama." -She whispered as she looked towards the fire that was still raging but had finally been contained by the Shima Police Force.-

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Kenzo would laugh, as he saw her turn pink and climb onto his back. Once she was on, her hands wrapped around his neck and her legs around his waist, he would smile as he felt her nuzzle her head into his neck.- “Yes, we’ve caused quite the scene here today. I’d say it’s past time for us to leave and blow this bridge up.” -He said as he jumped across the rooftops and made his way to the bridge. Once there, he would drop down to the ground, careful not to cause too much discomfort for Miyabi, as he ran across the bridge. The sun had almost completely set now, but he couldn’t help but look out over the river and marvel at the sight, nudging Miyabi and pointing out the sunset as they moved silently across the bridge, so she could see the sight as well. Once across the bridge he would get a good distance away he would turn back around to face the bridge once again.- “Miyabi, want to see something really cool? I’m gonna be a bit tired after I do what I’m going to do but, I think you’ll like it.” -Kenzo would say as he formed his hands into the seal of the tiger, creating several flaming orbs in front of him as they combined into a massive orb of fire. The technique was Kenzo’s S-rank move, Incinerating Flare Technique, It would be much more than enough to set off the paper bombs and blow up the bridge by itself alone. Launching the orb towards the bridge, setting off the paper bombs and letting the jutsu explode taking most of the bridge with it. The only pieces left were the very ends of the bridge, giving off large amounts of steam, an after effect of the jutsu, as he smiled to himself, now more tired than ever.- “So, we’re still half a day out so we’ll make camp a ways away and rest until morning before we make our way back to the village. Is that okay, with you?” -He would ask Miyabi before picking the pace back up and getting further away from the village, not wanting to stick around any longer than they needed to.-

''Miyabi nodded to him as they looked back into the distance, the charred embers that covered about a third of the city were finally starting to finish cooling, the pool of smoke still rising off the city, joining with the clouds as the sunrise painted the sky orange, the chaos behind them all the more apparent due to the majestic scene in the sky. How many civilians had died thanks to her distraction? How many lives did she ruin by causing that fire, for now Miyabi blocked those thoughts out of her mind as she squeezed tightly around Kenzo-sama's waist. It would be a long journey back to Yumegakure, especially for a pair of injured shinobi, but Miyabi found solace in the fact that the battle was finally over, and she could finally rest. Her arm grip loosening on Kenzo's shoulders as she began to fall asleep, clinging to the warmth of Kenzo's back as he sprinted through the morning dew. She instead decided to focus her mind on the smell of her mother's gyoza, the thought of it being the last thing to cross her mind, her mouth watering, before falling asleep on Kenzo's back, help firmly in his grip as they continued home.''