The Return: Kenzo and Miyabi's Journey

Participants
Kenzo Sarutobi

Miyabi Hatake

''"Well, it's official, we should have stolen a horse." -Miyabi muttered as she trudged through the soft dirt beneath her feet. She placed her arms over her head, fanning out her fingers to blot out the sun from her eyes that was beating down on her. She turned back to Kenzo-sama, who was walking at her pace about a meter behind her and to her right, his eyes closed as he lazily yawned and whistled as his eyes followed the small swallows flapping between the trees. "How can after all that he look so at peace?" Kenzo-sama really amazed Miyabi at times, suddenly she realized that she had been staring at him, and before he could notice, turned away with the complexion of a tomato. They had completed Kenzo's mission, despite the multiple complications that had ensued over the course of it, and they were on their way home to Yumegakure. It would be quite the journey, a weeks ride on horseback to make it in that time, the only problem is they lacked a horse. While the speed would be no problem for a pair of perfectly healthy Shinobi, the two of them had both taken their own respective beating, so progress home was slow. Mostly due to their insistence to avoid contact as much as possible with local civilians to try to make sure they weren't connected to the bridge attack. The two of them had been walking for hours now, softly trudging through backwoods and maintaining their distance from any major roadways to avoid any unnecessary attention. Not like they wouldn't receive it, the two of them looked like hobos that had lost a fight with a pack of wolves. Their clothes were torn, charred slightly, and both of them were covered in cuts and bruises. Miyabi sporting the worst of it, with most of her abdomen a light shade of purple which was concealed by what tatters of a uniform remained. Breathing had been very difficult for Miyabi since the trip home began, causing her to suspect that the larger ninja that had delivered that horrendous beating to her had cracked a rib or two of hers, her stomach hurt just trying to touch it and she winced every time her diaphram pushed against her fragile ribcage, a cough being enough to bring her to her knees. She had donated the entirety of her mesh undershirt in sections over the past 2 days to the cause of Kenzo's bandages for his shoulder, which was continuing to give him issues that made Miyabi suspect that it may be poison from the blade that caused it, despite the fact that Kenzo wasn't showing it, whether it was for her sake to not worry her or not, she had wished he was more honest with her about it. She could tell my the way his muscles coiled when she approached his injury to clean it out that it was causing a tremendous amount of pain, Miyabi doing was she could to try to ease it. With what rudimentary knowledge of medical ninjutsu she possessed and her knowledge of herbs she had gained from a childhood of collecting them, she had been able to make a salve, and had been consistently changing Kenzo's bandages ever since that explosive sunrise. The problem she was beginning to run into was a lack of fabric to use as the bandages. Soon they would have to use the rest of their uniforms, and if they weren't home by then or were unable to steal new clothes, they would have to use leaves. As Miyabi quickly purged the mental image of Oji-sama with a fig leaf from her mind, she took a moment to look up to the sky. While the weather was quite nice at the moment, it had not been like that the whole journey. The first two nights they were soaked to the bone by thundershowers, forcing them to take shelter in someone's barn house and further impeding their progress to Yume. It was nice to finally see the sun in the morning and not just grey rain clouds and fog. The light breeze and warm sun brushing across her skin as she took a moment to breath in the nice warm air and smells of the forest, only to wince in pain again. Little did either of the two shinobi know, they may have escaped the reach of Shima Village, but there was no shortage of foes waiting for them on the journey home.''

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Kenzo was tired and in pain, the last 2 days had been hell for both him and Miyabi. The poor girl was beaten and bruised and Kenzo was worried about her. Even though his shoulder was killing him, possibly because the said that had pierced it was poisoned or it had gotten infected before they bandaged it but, he didn’t want to worry the poor girl anymore so, he kept up his usual cheerful but lazy demeanor. He would pretend not to notice that she was staring at him before she turned away as red as a tomato. The nature around them was stunning, the trees wrapping overhead, leaves falling all around them, only to be carried away towards the rising morning sun. The grass shone wonderfully with the morning dew, making the scene all the more beautiful. Looking back at Miyabi, he couldn’t help but chuckle to himself thinking about this girl. She had just had possibly one of the worst experiences of her life so far and she still had found the time to form a small crush on him. It just made him chuckle to see the two different sides of her as well as it made him wonder what his life would be like if he had kids of his own. Kenzo’s skin had begun to darken to match the skin tone of his family over the last two days now giving him an even more unique look with his maroon hair. He had been pale before due to his extended time indoors while he lazed about the village but, now that he was going to be more active, his skin would stay the nice shade of tan it had become.- “Hey Miyabi, do you see anything up ahead of us?” -He would ask as they walked, wanting to be sure that they were still safe, and if there was anything they could gather for a small meal later in the day.-

Miyabi Hatake: "I'll take a quick look, stay here for a moment, and try not to die on me." -Miyabi chuckled with a little two fingered salute before clambering up into the massive oak tree that sat in front of them with the assistance of her chakra, allowing her to walk directly up the side of the tree. As she reached the high canopy and perched herself up on one of the hop branches, she did a quick scan of the area. Due to the heaviness of the foresting, there was very little to see other than other green leaves. Using her keen eyesight, she looked a little closer, still almost not finding anything until her vision came across a small deformity, a color that shouldn't belong, deep purple, taking a closer look, it was a patch of the fabric used on a small tent a few miles away, surrounded by other tents of similar patchwork design, the tanning racks and thick skinned furs gave Miyabi the impression that this was a hunting group, meaning they had clothing, food supplies, and fresh game. Miyabi heard her stomach yell at her as she groaned. Another problem the pair was facing was that Kenzo had not prepared a second person's worth of rations, not expecting to be joined by Miyabi on his mission, they had been forced to ration what little they had to start with and the thought of real meat left Miyabi dizzy with anticipation. She leaned over slightly in her perch, sliding down to the lower branches as she came back to Kenzo-sama.- "There's what looks to be a hunting camp about 3 miles to the east Oji-sama. From what I've seen it looks like they've had some success, which means they have food, and maybe even real bandages."

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Kenzo would smile up at her happily and wave for her to come down from the tree. Once she was down he would place his hand on her head and ruffle her hair smiling down at her.- “Awesome find. Let’s head in that direction and see if we can scout the place out from a safe distance and see what’s going on with them.” -He would say as he began to walk east towards the rising sun. He still worried about Miyabi but he couldn’t help but feel that she would grow to be a very capable ninja of their village. Kenzo hoped that the genin he would meet would be as determined and as capable as she had proved to be. He had taken a liking to the name Oji-sama that had been given to him, even if he wasn’t really family to her it still honored him that she enjoyed his company. That’s all he really wanted from her, it wasn’t his job to be the serious sensei around her since he wasn’t her group leader so, he had decided to just be his usual self, not wanting to be serious unless he absolutely had to. Kenzo would wince noticeably as they walked, his shoulder pain now throbbing on and off as they grew closer to the camp.- “Miyabi, I don’t think this is just a normal injury, it may have been poisoned or it could be infected. We may need to find something for it, and for you soon or we might not be able to carry on too much longer.” -He would say now showing his serious side to her. He didn’t want to but, he needed to be honest with her. She deserved to know after all, one should never hide an injury from a comrade in the field and he knew this but, his paternal side had gotten the better of him in this instance. He would look down at her with a worried expression on his face, wondering how she would take the news he had just given her.-

Miyabi Hatake: "Yeah, I figured it was something like that Oji-sama." -She responded, a worried expression on her face, as she placed her hand on his muscular chest, pressing him against the tree and slowly easing him off his feet. She had hoped the salves and clean bandages would be enough for them to make it back to the village, but it looks like they where running out of options on how to deal with his wound. Miyabi sighed deeply, as she knelt on the ground in front of him, inches from his face. She ignored her instinct to blush as she reached into the pouches remaining on her uniform, drawing out her sword from her boot and a kunai. Searching around in the grass for a moment, Miyabi returned with a medium sized stick. She placed her hand on Kenzo's chin, her fingers wrapping across his jaw as she tilted his head up to meet her at eye level.- "It doesn't seem that we have any choice left Oji-sama, I'm going to need to cut out the tissue around the wound, but I need your help to do it." -Miyabi picked up the kunai and held it handle facing Kenzo.- "I need you to use one of your fire release techniques to heat this blade up.... and when you're done, I need you to bite down on this and be ready, I'll need to do this quickly before the kunai cools and the pain starts affecting your ability to make handsigns." -Miyabi placed the stick on his lap as she took her sword, it was the sharpest weapon they had on them, the closest thing to a scalpel they possessed, so it would have to do. Miyabi took the blade up, keeping one hand on the handle, and another half way up the tanto's short blade in order to steady it once it was time to begin.-

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Kenzo would give her a worried look and take her blade in his hand. He was surprised the poor girl wasn’t red as can be being as close as she was to him, the tips of their noses almost touching as he leaned in to grab her blade. Once more, he would ruffle her hair before sitting up against the tree in a meditative state as he began to channel fire chakra into the blade as he would were he to use the flying swallow technique. He wouldn’t go to the extent that the jutsu did but, it would be enough to keep the blade heated for about 2 minutes, more than long enough to get this over with. Handing the blade back to Miyabi, he would place the branch in his mouth and close his eyes as he began to meditate. He would quietly begin to relax his whole body, preparing himself for the searing pain by allowing all of his muscles to relax, which would make Miyabi’s job a bit easier as well. As he awaited her to start, Kenzo’s mind would slowly drift back to the days when Chie were still around, a smile slowly creeping across his face.-

Miyabi Hatake: “Even now he’s smiling, you’re some kind of crazy Oji-sama.” -Miyabi thought to herself, giving a small smile before the serious face returned to hers, taking the kunai from him and placing the handle between her teeth as she would need both hands to properly steady her tanto. She removed his shirt and moved in quickly to get to work before the kunai cooled. She pressed the blade to his skin, giving him a small nod before pressing the blade into his flesh, a small trickle of blood forming as she started to go deeper, beginning to cut out the flesh just around Kenzo-sama’s shoulder wound. The blood at this point was slowly gushing as she proceeded to slice out all the infected tissue as quickly and as meticulously as she could, after what must have seemed to Kenzo-sama like ages, Miyabi removed the sword having sliced out the last of the infected flesh and took the kunai from her mouth, still flaming hot to the touch. Remembering a little trick me mother had taught her about cauterizing open wounds without leaving massive amounts of scar tissue, Miyabi dabbed the blade onto the now bleeding open wound, only holding the blade in one place for a maximum of 2 seconds before moving on to another patch of skin. Before long she had completely stopped the bleeding and had reapplied the salve. With a small smile she took his head in her hands and pressed her forehead into his.- “I don’t know how you do it Oji-sama, now, wait here and try not to move your arm at all, I’ll see about getting you some food and something for the pain.”

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Kenzo would wince in pain as Miyabi cut the skin where his wound was and as she cauterizing the wound. It was not the worst pain he had ever felt in his life but he was glad that it was over. He made eye contact with Miyabi as she placed her forehead against his, a smile spreading across his face as he placed a hand on the back of her head.- “Thank you Miyabi, you did wonderfully. Don’t stray too far away if you’re going to look for food. We need you to get back to the village in one piece and we’re already pushing that.” -He would say with a small chuckle as he moved his hand down and let her go off to find food. Kenzo couldn’t help but wonder what his life would have been like if Chie had still been around. It had nearly been two years since she had passed but, he was dealing with it the best he could. He had come a long ways in that time, now able to put a smile on his face and be about the town once more. He would chuckle at himself for finding a friend in such a young girl but, he thought of her kind of like a daughter in a way. He was here to make sure she would make it back home safe, his condition be damned. Kenzo would lean his head back against the tree and await for Miyabi’s return as thoughts swirled through his mind.-

Miyabi Hatake: -Miyabi dashed off into the trees, her head turning back for a moment to look at Kenzo leaning against the oak, only to turn back to the business at hand. She had to hope that these hunters were the friendly type, though she very much doubted that, especially considering the reward that was probably hanging over their heads. It hardly mattered that they didn't see anyone spot them, there were always witnesses, especially to the show the two of them had put on back in Shima Village, and even if they were never seen by a surviving soul, she had a feeling the leaders of Shima would have a pretty good idea of what village the saboteurs belonged to. As she continued towards the hunting camp, she had a sneaking suspicion she was being watched, the same unsettling feeling that she was first introduced to in Shima, her suspicion was met with a glint off to her right which Miyabi noticed out of the corner of her eye. Miyabi stopped in her tracks, the smack of a arrow piercing the tree trunk right in front of her nose, causing her to back-flip out of the tree followed by a dozen new arrows that whizzed past her and into the shrubbery at her back. Miyabi stuck the landing, dashing behind another tree as two more arrows dug themselves deeps into the wood. Miyabi leaned down, grasping her blade as she was suddenly surrounded by dozens of fur wearing hunters, all with their bows drawn and pointed at her point blank. Miyabi rolled her eyes, there weren't nearly enough tents for this many hunters. How did this many regular hunters disguise their presence so well? She opened her palm, spinning her Kokuto in her palm as one of the hunters reached out to grab it, only for her to stomp down on his knee, bringing him down to his knees as she sprang into action. Spinning behind the hunter and placing her blade up to his throat, pressing her back against the tree and holding him there as a human shield, the rest of the hunters moving closer as she pressed her tanto to his throat.- "Come any closer and your friend will be breathing through his neck!" -She spoke as she squeezed herself as close to the tree as possible, pressing the man against her to try to cover as much surface area on her body as possible to give the hunters less to aim for.-

Kenzo Sarutobi: -Kenzo had been sitting there in the silence lost in the thoughts of his past as Miyabi had adventured off into the lush greenery of the forest. His thoughts had turned from Chie to his uncle Hideo, who had taken him in as  his own child when his mother had died and his father could no longer raise him properly. Hideo was a man Kenzo had aspired to be like and, looking at himself now, he couldn’t help but feel he had hit the mark right on the head. A quiet man, who had a soft spot for teaching and protecting the young ninja of his village. Kenzo hadn’t seen him in years, seeing as Hideo had taken to travelling the world and seeing all of the sights it had to offer now that the war was over. He missed his Uncle but, he knew that he must be enjoying the peace of being a man no longer bound by having to keep his village safe at all times. As the silence drew around him, Kenzo would begin to worry about Miyabi. He knew that she could take care of herself but, it was in his blood to worry about others around him. He just couldn’t help it. Kenzo would look at his shoulder, still in a large amount of pain, and he would try to stand up and put on his vest before deciding that maybe it wasn’t the best idea quite yet. He would return to his sitting position and correct his pained breathing, deciding to give Miyabi a little more time before he would asuume that something must have happened to her.-