It was midnight and the Yamanaka Flower Shop has long been closed. I waited in front of the entrance for Ino to lock the store.
Soon, I can hear a clicking sound and Ino walked out of it. She yawned a little and handed me the papers we've been working on all night. "Here you go Haios, thanks for the help. You can fly back home now."
"It's midnight, at least let me walk you home," I told Ino. "You might be a kunoichi, but you're also a little girl walking in the middle of the night."
"You're right, I'm not that much of a fighter anyway..." Ino said as we stepped to the open street..
Midnight in Konoha is pretty spooky, there's not that many lights around the village and every sound you hear could literally be anything. I myself am getting a bit creeped and instinctively erect a force field around my body.
"Creepy huh?" I commented. "How about if I just fly you home?"
Ino shook her head. "I'm never really fond of flying, besides, there should be a lot of ninja patrolling the area around here."
I stretched out my force sense and found nothing. Either Konoha Ninja suddenly becomes master spy who can slip out of my radar, or something big is happening right now. I really hope it's the former, I am too exhausted to do any fight right now.
After walking for almost half an hour, I can hear faint sounds coming from a distance. "Trouble?" I looked at Ino and saw her narrowing her eyes.
"Trouble," I took hold of her and we flew towards the source of the skirmish. "You think it's Suna or Oto?" Ino asked.
"Probably Suna, Oto won't do anything without Kabuto's orders," I replied before slowing down and hid on a roof.
I stretched out my senses and found two grown men fighting, one is a sword user and the other is a wind shinobi. "Okay, this can go very badly," I muttered to myself. "Ino, can you contact anyone? Who's the closest?"
Ino closed her eyes in concentration. "Everyone but Haku is asleep, I can contact her but it'll take a while without Naruto's chakra," she took a deep breath. "I'll be out for a while, cover me."
Great, now I have an unconscious teammate and a Konoha shinobi fighting against a Suna Jounin. I stretched out my senses to feel their headbands. "Okay, Mr. Sword guy, please don't freak out when I do this..."
I scooted closer towards the battle so I can get a better look of what's going on. It is Hayate fighting against the Sand Sibling's Jounin sensei. I thought about what Yugao senpai told me in the hotspring and realized that he is not in any condition to fight.
"Okay, let's buff you up..." I muttered to myself before applying my force to the sword user.
Hayate was startled for a moment, but then he regained his composure and managed to duck an incoming blow from Baki. He jumped a few feet back and held up his sword in a stance.
Invisible blade of wind soared towards Hayate and I quickly moved his body away. It's kinda hard because he keeps resisting. 'Stop resisting, goddammit!' I wanted to yell out, but I can't reveal my location with Ino unconscious on the roof.
After saving Hayate from a blow for like five times, he finally figured out who's helping him. He raised sword horizontally and looked at the opponent in front of him.
Baki was standing with a confident smirk on his face. Around his hands are spinning disks of super sharp blades of air that can slice off metals. He threw a beheading strike straight towards Hayate but he managed to duck under it and advance.
The sword user rushes towards the sand shinobi. He ran faster and faster, trusting me to move his body out of harm's way while he concentrate on building up his chakra. "Shadow Clone Technique!" two copies of Hayate appeared around the original and I quickly gave them a layer of extra protection.
Then, they drew their sword and vanished into thin air. The original appeared above the sky and soared down in a powerful downward arc towards the sand shinobi. The sword hits him straight in the shoulder, but it didn't dig deep.
I quickly pulled Hayate away before Baki could retaliate. Sharp air burst out of Baki's hand and Hayate barely managed to dodge it. "To master the crescent moon dance, at such a young age..." Baki said with an amused look on his face. "Truly, there are a lot of talented shinobi in the Hidden Leaf Village."
Okay, so the sword can't hurt him, he's a tank. I controlled Hayate to keep his distance from Baki and just keep dodging the wind blade. I really wanted to help him, but if this Jounin can take a direct hit from a sword then there's not much I can do against him. Maybe suspend him midair, but I still can't stop him from throwing invisible blades and I prefer it if he doesn't sense my location.
"So, when are you planning to show yourself Mrs. Proctor?"
Never mind, he already knows. I flew out of my hiding spot and took out my Sporks. It is time like this that I hate not being able to use storage seal. A demon wind shuriken sure will come in handy in this situation.
"Well hello there Baki of the Sand," I said with as much confidence I can muster. "It's the middle of the night, you shouldn't be fighting, you should be sleeping!" I floated closer to him and controlled a bunch of shuriken to revolve around me. "Come on, let's call it a day and I might just let you go with a warning."
Baki scowled a little and two disks of air materialized on his hand. "There's only so much your power can block," he threw a disk at me and I dodged it. Because he's right, I cannot block sharp concentrated air like that.
"Well then Baki, I guess I'll have to let you go with more than just a warning," I told him before controlling my shuriken towards him. "You're strong, I can give you that, but can you really resist when I do this?"
I spun each shuriken, turning them into flying disk of death similar to the ones he's been throwing me. But the Jounin didn't falter, instead he made a hand seal and a gust of powerful wind knocked away the shuriken.
He threw a bunch of air blades before I could retrieve the Shuriken. "A one trick pony can't ever hope to defeat me."
"Well I still got one more trick." I held Baki by his neck and tried to strangle him. But a powerful current of air appeared around his body and stopped me from hurting him. "Okay, you also got a trick, is that what you did to break Hayate's strike?"
He scoffed at me and I take that as a yes. Then he starts rushing towards me with a wind blade in each hand. I used the force to give as much down force as I can muster and I managed to slow him down considerably.
"Hayate, I'll try and disrupt his wind, you try and give him as many cuts as possible," I told the swordsman before flying up to dodge the strike. Hayate closed in on Baki and made a direct hit on his chest. It didn't do much, but I can see that Baki doesn't like it one bit.
Now that I can see the battle more clearly, I can control Hayate better. I made him move faster while also making Baki slower. I also use the force to distrupt the flow of the wind around Baki and make his wind blade less lethal than it should be.
"Yep, I'm an awesome support," I praised myself while making Hayate do aerial strike straight at Baki's back. The Suna Shinobi is still too strong, but I'm sure that together, we can tire him out.
After a while, Baki glared at me with murder in his eyes. He made a handseal and I quickly put up a force field to protect myself. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" a powerful gust of wind appear from the sand shinobi and I'm starting to lose balance.
The wind didn't stop but gets more and more powerful instead. I felt myself being launched higher and higher to the atmosphere. My grip and control over Hayate slowly falter and I'm starting to feel lightheaded from trying to fight through this wind.
Soon, the wind slows down. I've lost track of Hayate minutes ago and I shudder to think what's going on down there.
I quickly soared back down, fighting against the strong wind with all the force I can muster. A terrifying wail of pain appeared below me and I'm starting to fear for Hayate's life. If anything happens to him, I don't know if I can look at Yugao in the eyes anymore.
I landed right between Hayate and Baki, I pushed away Baki with the force. Even then, he only flew a few inches back. I tried to help Hayate get back on his feet and fight back when I felt it.
I turned around and my blood ran cold. Behind me, Hayate lay sprawled on the ground breathing heavily and hissing in pain. A few meters away from him is a trail of blood leading towards a severed arm, still gripping on a sword.
I looked back at Baki and saw him throwing a huge wind blade at our direction. If that hits me, I will be cut in half. If I dodge it, Hayate will be dead. "Ganbatte Sakura chan..." I whispered while creating the strongest force field I can muster to block the wind blade.
Then, a flash of white appeared across my vision and a certain ice mirror blocked the wind blade completely. "Took your sweet time huh? Haku," I commented when I saw the Hyoton user standing beside me with her hunter mask on.
"I'm sorry mistress, I tried to get back here as fast as I could," her tone is calm, but I can hear her gasping for breath like she has been running for miles.
Then I remembered that Hayate is sick and dying behind me. I quickly used the force to stop the bleeding. "I'll hold him off, then you trap him as best you could, we're retreating," I whispered to Haku.
I took hold of Baki's body and an ice dome slowly formed around him. He struggled in my grip and threw a bunch of wind blades. An ice mirror materialized to protect us from the blade, only to be shattered with every blast of wind.
"You okay Haku?" I asked the girl when I can clearly hear her heavy breathing. "Where have you been anyway?"
"The Hokage sent Kyubi and I for an espionage mission in the Hidden Sand Village," she replied while erecting a double mirror to protect us. "We just finished when Ino sent me the mental message, the Kyubi managed to take me halfway before dispelling."
"You ran all the way from Suna?" I asked her.
"Yes mistress... Ino said you were in big trouble, it seems like she wasn't wrong."
Oh wow, she ran that far just for me? "Remind me to reward you with something later," I looked back at the ice dome and realized that it's almost finished. "Can Kyubi contact Naruto?"
"No mistress, the Kyubi cannot contact Naruto from the inside when he's sleeping," Haku raised both of her arms and the dome materialized faster and faster until finally it's finished.
'thud' the hyoton user dropped down on the ground in exhaustion. I gently picked her up along with Hayate. "You've done very well Haku," I told her encouragingly before taking off.
The three of us flew over the streets of Konoha. I maxed out my force output and soared through the air just fast enough to leave a shockwave. "Hang in there Hayate san, we'll get you fixed right up!" I exclaimed optimistically.
Hayate gave me a weak smile, I can feel his breathing gets fainter and his heartbeat gets slower. "T-tell..."
"Oh no you don't!" I exclaimed while forcefully pushing air into his lungs. "You are NOT dying in my arms Hayate! Not when you got someone waiting for you!"
I looked at my destination. The hospital is getting closer and closer. I pinpoint my direction straight at Sakura's room and make a tight force field around my body. "Haku, any chakra left to make a mirror there?"
Haku nodded and an ice mirror materialized in front of her. She disappeared into it and the hospital window opened. I can also see her trying to wake up Sakura who's sleeping soundly on her desk.
Then I felt Hayate growing limp on my body. I cannot feel his breathing anymore but I can still feel his faint heartbeat. "SAKURA!!!" I yelled out while soaring straight in her chamber and put Hayate on to the nearest bed.
The poor doctor jolted up from her seat and took out her flashlight. She looked at me in annoyance before noticing Hayate lying motionless on a bed near her. She quickly flashed the swordsman with her flashlight before pocketing it. "He lost too many blood..." she muttered while pressing her glowing arm to Hayate's chest. "Haios, keep his wound closed, Haku, I need blood, B+."
Haku nodded and quickly left the room. She came back mere seconds later from the mirror with a few flasks full of fresh blood. The girl didn't wait for a command and quickly attached the needles and the necessary equipment for the blood transfusion.
After a while, Sakura managed to save Hayate's vital organ and moved his attention to his arm laying on the table. She scanned it with her flashlight for a moment before stopping. "No use, I can't save his arm... It's too late..."
It felt like a punch in the gut. I nodded understandingly and sat down on a chair near Sakura's desk. I thought back about what happened back there. If only I dodged the jutsu, I could've saved him. Heck, I should've just grab Hayate and run to the nearest help!
The Uchiha Complex wasn't far, I could've escaped there and get Sasuke to help! I could've yell for help! I could've grab Hayate's Sword and spin it around like I did with a Demon Wind Shuriken! I could've...
I buried my face on the desk. The guilt from tonight really hits me hard. I can hear Sakura sitting in front of me but I could care less. "Listen, Haios, don't beat yourself up over this accident okay? You saved his life."
I looked up towards her. "Dude lost his arm and his carreer..."
A few minutes later, knocking sound came from the door. "Come in Kabuto," Sakura said and our double agent medic walked into the room. He sat down next to me in front of Sakura's desk. "You have two minutes."
"Helping him would raise suspicion with the Suna shinobi," Kabuto replied.
It took me a few seconds to realize the implication of what he just said. "You were there!?" I exclaimed in disbelief.
"Hayate was tasked to spy on Baki after a meeting with me. Hokage gave him that order to make sure that Suna is still oblivious of everything," he explained. "It is too risky to do anything at that moment."
"You could've asked for help! Uchiha district weren't that far!" I exclaimed in frustration.
"I told you, it's too risky. The only one I can contact safely is Anko and she's all the way in Suna."
He's so lucky I'm exhausted from all the fighting. I really, really want to bash this guy's head on the nearest wall now. "Fuck you!" I exclaimed finally.
"Now, now, I did you a favor, you forgot someone on your way here, didn't you?"
Oh right, Ino, I left her on that roof... "Is she alright?"
"I took her home, she should be fine now," Kabuto replied.
After a moment of silence, Sakura finally speak up. "Haios, I've already notifed the Jounins about Baki. But it wouldn't be safe for you to be flying alone," she walked towards another bed in hospital. "Rest here, you and Haku."
It was after she said that that I finally realized just how exhausted I am today. "Thanks..." I muttered before yawning in exhaustion. "Come on Haku, I want cuddles..."
"Mistress?" the ice girl gasped a little when I bind her with the force and make her sleep with me on a bed. She looked at me with wide eyes and a red tint on her cheek.
I smiled at her and hugged her close. "You saved my life, thank you..." I whispered to her. "You're the greatest servant anyone could ask for."
[LINE BREAK]
Meanwhile inside an Ice Dome in the middle of a street...
With a war cry, a literal tornado of razor sharp winds blasted the Ice Dome apart, freeing a certain Suna Shinobi. He stepped out of it and clicked his tongue in annoyance. "That blasted little girl!" he exclaimed. "If Konoha knew about this..."
Baki shook his head and start running towards the hospital. He jumped from building to building faster than humanly possible. His mind priority now is to stop that proctor from telling the Hokage about Suna's Invasion.
"Going somewhere?" a voice appeared out of nowhere.
The Sand Shinobi stopped in his tracks and wildly scanned his surroundings. "Where are you? Show yourself!"
Long,slippery, and slender thing shot out of the dark and grabbed Baki by his neck. He struggled against his bindings, but he was already too weak. He could only focus on protecting his neck as the thing pulled him straight towards a tall building in the distance.
When he gets there, he finally realized what was dragging him. It was the tongue of a gigantic purple Toad Summon. Sitting on the toad is no other than Jiraiya the Gallant, one of the Three Legendary Sannin of Konoha.
Baki gulped a little when the sannin jumped off the toad and landed right in front of him with a his arms folded and a pissed of look on his face.