In the center of the village, the lanterns were already being lit, casting a flickering orange glow over the evening crowd.
People moved in thick clusters—merchants arguing over the price of charcoal, mothers pulling their children closer to the warmth of their heavy coats, and laborers grunting as they cleared the day's snow from the gutters.
"I'm telling you, I saw them near the Frozen Crane this morning," a man in a thick wool cap muttered to his friend as they passed by. "Strange, didn't look like they were from around here."
"The Samurai are already on it." his companion replied, blowing a puff of steam into the air. "Anyone without a travel permit is going to have a long night in the guardhouse."
In between the moving bodies, Ino and Karin walked with their heads down, their breath forming thick white clouds. Ino's eyes were darting everywhere, her gaze sharp and restless. She was staring—observing every face that passed them, trying to see if any of them were the 'clients' or guards they had dodged earlier.
She stared a second too long at a tall man carrying a bundle of firewood.
"Hey! You there!" the man called out, stopping in his tracks.
Ino and Karin froze. Ino slowly turned her head, her hand instinctively moving towards her hip. "What?" she asked, her voice tight and defensive.
The man glared at her, leaning in closer until Ino could smell the woodsmoke on his cloak. "I know you. I've seen that face... just today. You were one of those girls at the market, weren't you?"
The people nearby slowed down, their heads turning toward the confrontation. Whispers began to ripple through the crowd.
"Is that one of them?"
"The ones the guards are looking for?"
Karin's heart hammered against her ribs. She saw the suspicion growing in the man's eyes and knew they were seconds away from being surrounded. Suddenly, her expression shifted. She grabbed Ino's arm, her eyes welling up with fake, dramatic tears.
"HOW DARE YOU!" Karin screamed, her voice piercing through the chatter. "A grown man like you, cornering a young, innocent girl in the street! Do you have no shame?!"
Ino blinked, her jaw dropping. "Karin? What are you—"
"Don't speak, Ino-San! It's okay!" Karin wailed even louder, pointing a trembling finger at the confused man. "He's been following us for two blocks! Is this how the men of Tetsu no Kuni act? Harassing travelers in broad daylight?!"
The crowd shifted instantly. A woman nearby stepped forward, hitting the man on the shoulder with her shopping bag. "Shame on you! Leave the poor girls alone!"
"Disgusting," an old man muttered, shaking his head. "In front of the children, too."
"But I didn't do anything!" the man cried out, throwing his hands up in defense. "I'm telling you, I saw her—"
"Just get out of here before we call the guards for your behavior!" the woman snapped.
The man looked around at the judging faces and the angry whispers. Cursing under his breath, he grabbed his firewood and hurried away.
Karin didn't wait for him to disappear. She grabbed Ino's hand with a grip like iron and bolted. "Move!"
They ran, barging through the gaps in the crowd and diving into a side street. Ino stumbled, her boots sliding on a patch of ice. "Karin! Stop! What was that?! You almost got us a one-way ticket to the guardhouse with that scene!"
Karin slowed down, her chest heaving as she leaned against a stone wall, her glasses sliding down her nose. "Hah... sorry. It was the only way. That man was about to call for the Samurai, Ino-san. He was actually recognizing you."
Ino dusted off her sleeves, her face turning into a deep frown. "Fine, whatever! But Karin... stop!"
She looked around at the dark, looming shapes of the unfamiliar buildings, her breath hitching in the freezing air. "I thought you said we were following Sasuke-kun and the others that way! Why did you pull me in the complete opposite direction? We're getting further away from them every second we run!"
"I didn't just run to get away from that man, Ino-San," Karin whispered, her voice trembling. "I saw a Samurai coming from the other side. If we had stayed on that path to follow the chakra, we would have run straight into him."
"I get that!" Ino snapped, her voice hushed but sharp. "But now we're lost! We were supposed to be tracking their chakra, weren't we? Why aren't we going back to find them?"
Karin didn't look at her. She kept her head tilted, her brow furrowed as if she were reading invisible lines in the dark air. Her expression was tight, filled with an uneasy dread that Ino couldn't see.
"Just trust me, Ino-San," Karin whispered, her voice trembling slightly.
"But we're heading deeper into these backstreets! If we lose their trail now because you're scared of a couple of Samurais, we're never going to find them again!"
"I'll explain everything later, I promise," Karin said, already pushing off the wall and moving quickly into the shadows of a side-alley. "But we can't follow that main trail right now. We have to go here. Please."
Ino let out a sharp hiss of air, pulling her cloak tighter against the biting wind that seemed to cut right through her clothes. "I hate this cold! I hate this place! I swear, when I find Neji-San and Sasuke-kun, I'm going to punch them both for making us run in circles like this!"
She looked toward the direction of the main road, then back at Karin's retreating back.
Cursing under her breath, Ino walked after her. "Fine! But if we end up walking into the hands of Samurais because of your 'hunch,' I'm not gonna spare you!"
They moved deeper into the shadows, the warmth of the main street replaced by a biting, uneasy chill. Ino huffed, her breath a thick cloud of white.
"Karin, enough already." Ino whispered, her voice tight with impatience. "What are you hiding from me? Where exactly are you taking us?"
Karin stopped in her tracks and turned back, her expression uncharacteristically grave. "I sensed something, Ino-San. More chakra signatures. I... I need to check this area. Just in case some of the others were left behind or got separated."
Ino let out a long, weary sigh, her shoulders dropping. "If you'd just said that from the start, I wouldn't have been so restless! Honestly, you and your secrets."
Karin huffed out a puff of fog, looking down at her boots. "Sorry... I just wasn't sure until now."
"Fine," Ino muttered, crossing her arms. "Which way?"
Karin pointed toward the sharp corner of a stone building at the end of the narrow street. "Towards there. It's coming from just around that bend."
"Right. Let's check it out."
They moved in sync now, their footsteps muffled by the layer of fresh snow. They reached the left side of the street and Karin suddenly froze, her hand flying up to signal a halt. Ino stopped immediately, her heart jumping into her throat.
"What is it?" Ino whispered, her eyes scanning the dark.
Karin simply gestured forward, her face pale. They shared a tense nod. Ino stepped forward, placing a steadying hand on Karin's shoulder before sliding past her to take the lead. She reached the corner, her body coiled like a spring.
The moment she rounded the right turn and took a single step into the alley, the air changed.
A blur of a pale hand shot out of the darkness, aimed directly for her throat. Ino's ninja instincts screamed; she dropped into a sharp crouch, a short yelp escaping her lips.
"Gah—!" Ino gasped, her voice cracking with a sharp, instinctive yelp.
"INO-SAN!!" Karin screamed, rushing toward the corner.
Before Ino could even retreat, another hand lunged—faster this time. Ino squeezed her eyes shut for a fraction of a second, but when she snapped them open, she was staring into wide, dark eyes and black hair. The palm was hovering barely two inches from her face, the force of the movement blowing her blonde bangs.
Ino let out a shaky, relieved breath and managed a weak, faint smile. "Hey... at least let me say goodbye before you kill me, Lee-san."
Karin ran around the corner, her boots kicking up a spray of snow as she screamed Ino's name at the top of her lungs. "INO-SAN! HANG ON, I'M—!"
The words died in her throat. She choked on her own breath, her eyes bulging behind her glasses as she saw the green figure standing infront of her friend.
The raw 'killing intent' she had sensed seconds ago vanished, replaced by a familiar, heavy warmth, but the shock was too much for her legs to handle.
Her knees gave out completely. She sank directly into the frozen snow with a muffled thud, clutching her chest as if she were trying to keep her heart from coming out of her ribcage.
"My heart..." Karin cried out, her voice thin and scared. "I swear... I just saw the stairs to the heaven appear in front of me! I'm too young to die in a dump like this!"
She gasped for air, her glasses sliding down to the tip of her nose. "Lee-san! You... you absolute muscle-brained idiot! Don't scare us like that! I nearly bit my own tongue off!"
Lee immediately pulled back his hand, his stiff posture melting into a deep, ashamed bow that nearly sent his forehead into the snow. "Ino-san! Karin-san! Please, forgive my lack of self control! I was on high alert... I attacked out of fear! I am deeply, deeply sorry for the distress I have caused to your hearts!"
Ino stood up, brushing the snow off her knees with a shaky but casual wave of her hand. "It's okay, Lee-san. Really. My heart only stopped for a little bit. Though I think Karin might actually need a medic."
She walked over to where Karin was still huffing in the snow and offered her a hand, a smug little smirk playing on her lips. "You know, Karin, for someone who talks so much about 'sensing' things, it looks like you were way more scared than I was. Your face is practically the same color as the snow."
Karin grumbled, swiping at her nose and grabbing Ino's hand to haul herself up. "Stop it! It's different for sensors! I don't just see a punch coming, I felt the 'death' behind it! It's way more scary for me!"
Lee straightened up, but the usual spark in his eyes was missing. "What are you two doing here? I... I thought you would have already left the village with Neji and the others."
Ino and Karin looked at each other, then back at Lee.
"NO... "
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📊 BATTLE REPORT: 78-IRON 📊
WINNER: Uzumaki Karin 👓 🔴
SNEAK PEEK LINES 💬
"We waited for everyone. At the gate. For more than an hour!"
"Ino-san... something is seriously wrong. Look at Lee-San. He doesn't look 'bright' at all."
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—With love, one forehead poke away from collapse,
Sakura Shinomiya 💫
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