Chapter 28
Chapter twenty-eight
Aimee’s ears perked up, her pulse quickening as she stood on guard outside the cave.
“I don’t believe you!” Iruka’s voice echoed from within, followed by a thud as his fist struck the rock wall.
Her body tensed as she slipped quietly from the shadows outside and stepped into the cave’s dim interior.
Aimee’s gaze darted to where Iruka and Renji sat, their heads bent close, voices hushed as firelight danced from a small lantern.
Renji sat back, though his eyes gleamed in the dim light like a serpent coiled and waiting to strike.
His outfit, though Mizu Haven’s standard blue, was tattered and stained with dried blood. Not that it seemed to bother him.
Meanwhile, Taiga had slumped against the cave wall, his head bobbing as he drifted into sleep, a thin line of drool dangling from his mouth.
“Everything all right in here?” She looked for any sign of trouble.
Iruka glanced up, his expression a mask of forced calm, though his knuckles were white where he clenched his fists against his lap.
“It’s fine.” A muscle in his jaw ticked.
“If you say so.” Aimee’s eyes found Renji. He sat back, arms folded, but the flash in his eyes betrayed something else that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
Something about his whole demeanor set her on edge. Keeping her movements casual, she turned toward Taiga, crouching beside him before giving him a firm shake. “Hey, the sun’s down. Time to get moving.”
Aimee’s hand rested on the hilt of one of her swords, the worn leather grip familiar under her fingers. She adjusted the folds of her cloak, pulling the fabric tighter against the biting night air. “We won’t win by hiding out in here all night.”
Taiga shot awake with a snort, immediately alert. “Yeah! Let’s go!” He scrambled to his feet, brushing the red dust from his pants and bouncing on the balls of his feet. “What’s the plan?”
Aimee stood, crossing her arms. Usually, Iruka would have already taken charge of the situation by now, but his silence stretched on. Aimee suppressed a frown. She needed to get them out of this cave and away from Renji.
“How about Scout Formation Eagle?” she suggested, nudging Iruka with her foot until he reluctantly stood. “We’ll use the point of the formation to bait out other groups.”
“Oh, and I get to be the bait!” Taiga practically jumped up and down.
“Exactly.” She didn’t need to look at Taiga to see his entire body practically vibrating with energy.
Iruka let out a long exhale. “Of course, you’re the bait.”
“I am the best bait.” Taiga grinned smugly.
“That you are, my friend.” Aimee smiled.
And he was. Beyond his loudness and the impression that he’d make an easy target, Taiga could take more hits and keep swinging better than anyone else in the squad. The kid never gave up.
“All right, let's move,” she said, turning to leave.
“No goodbye?” Renji’s voice echoed from the cave, a bitter edge laced beneath the mock cheerfulness.
Aimee didn’t bother looking back; her stride never faltered.
“I see,” he muttered darkly, the quiet rage beneath his words unmistakable as Iruka and Taiga caught up with her.
“Bye, Renji!” Taiga called, waving back, missing the potential danger. “Good luck! Find us if you’re ever in Hi Haven!”
“Let’s go.” Iruka grabbed him by the elbow.
“Oh, I will!” Renji called after them, his voice ringing with barely concealed fury. “And Iruka,” he added, his tone chilling, “think about what I said.”
Iruka’s face tightened with anger, but he kept walking, his jaw clenched as he ignored the Mizu Haven shinobi behind them.
They put distance between themselves and the cave, the silence stretching out under the pale light of the desert moon.
The chill night air contrasted sharply with the day’s searing heat, and the desert had transformed into a hauntingly beautiful landscape.
Shadows stretched long over the sands, and the distant dunes shimmered silver in the moonlight.
They regrouped near a jagged rock formation once they were far enough from the cave.
Taiga crossed his arms, frowning. “Hey, why were you both such assholes to Renji? He seemed like a nice guy.”
“He wasn’t a nice guy, Taiga,” Iruka spat. “And one day, your idiocy is going to get you killed.”
“Harsh.” Aimee’s eyes widened.
Iruka’s jabs at Taiga hadn’t stung with any force for over a year.
“Whatever.” Taiga rubbed his arm where Iruka had grabbed him earlier. He scanned the horizon. “What direction? East?”
Aimee shrugged, her focus on Iruka. “Sure. It’s as good as any. Don’t get too far from us and stay alert.”
Taiga took off with a burst of energy, his figure quickly disappearing into the desert, and Iruka moved to take his position beside Aimee.
“You okay?” She stopped him with a light touch on his arm. “What did he say to you?”
“Nothing.” Iruka grimaced.
“Come on.”
Iruka clenched his fists before he finally relented. “Just something about how my parents died, but I don’t believe it.”
Aimee’s brow furrowed. “Oh shit. How would he even know about your parents?”
“Exactly. It’s bullshit.”
“All right, we’ll talk about it after this stupid tournament. For now, push it from your mind.”
Iruka pursed his lips but gave a reluctant nod. “Yeah. Okay.” He looked out beyond them. “You take the left. I’ll take the right.”
“Deal.” Aimee gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder before they both took off after Taiga, moving swiftly through the night.
And as they sprinted across the shifting sands, the quiet of the night was broken only by the sound of their steady footfalls.
Their first encounter came swiftly. A team from Kaze Haven, three shinobi moving through the shadows, ambushed them from behind a large outcropping of rock. Taiga expertly drew their attention, being a big, loud idiot, and they went straight for him.
But he was ready. With a wide grin plastered across his face, he dove headfirst into the fight, dodging a barrage of kunai and countering with a powerful strike that knocked one of the shinobi flat on his back. Aimee and Iruka flanked the others, quickly disarming them and securing their placards.
Taiga held the discs aloft. “Three down!”
“Don’t get cocky,” Aimee warned, though she couldn’t help the small smile tugging at her lips.
The second encounter proved to be more challenging.
A team from Ten Haven had spotted them first, launching a coordinated attack with elemental blasts that forced them to dive for cover.
Aimee and Iruka quickly regrouped, circling around to catch the attackers off guard while Taiga charged straight at them.
“Five in total!” Taiga cheered. “We’re killing it!”
Aimee laughed, the tightness in her shoulders easing as they moved further through the terrain. The night was quiet, and Renji felt like a distant memory. He had to be far behind them by now if he even bothered to leave the cave at all.
“Yeah, we’re doing all right.” For the first time that night, she allowed herself to relax.
Then, cutting through the stillness, a distant scream echoed across the desert, raw and full of fear.
“That didn’t sound like a battle scream.” Taiga gripped his kunai tighter. His eyes darted to Aimee. “It sounded more like...like what happened at the canyon.”
Aimee ground her teeth, the memory of the giant snake flashing through her mind.
“Do you think the beast is back?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” She didn’t want her team anywhere near that monster again. “But if it is, we should avoid it.”
Taiga shook his head. “No. If someone’s in trouble like that, we have to help.”
“We only survived the last encounter by luck,” Iruka interjected. “Who knows why it didn’t attack us.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Taiga stomped his foot. “It’s the right thing to do. I’ll go alone if I have to.”
Pulling down her sashira, Aimee ran a hand through her hair. There was no reasoning with him when he got like this. “Fine.”
“Aimee—” Iruka began, but then he stopped, considering Taiga’s words. “Fine. You’re right, Taiga. Somebody’s got to do the right thing around here.”
“Okayyy.” Aimee raised her eyebrows, surprised by his change of heart. “Glad we’re all on the same page.”
She lifted her fist. “But we go in together. Eyes open. Blades at the ready.”
Taiga immediately raised his fist to meet hers. “Eyes open.”
“Blades at the ready,” Iruka echoed, pressing his fist against theirs.
United, they turned and began running.
As they approached the source of the scream, a wave of nausea washed over Aimee. The desert sand was littered with grotesque remains, limbs scattered like broken branches, and large patches of crimson soaking the earth. The coppery stench of blood filled the air, thick and suffocating.
At the center of the carnage stood Renji, his jaw hanging at an unnatural angle as he worked it back into place with a sickening crack.
His eyes gleamed with dark, unsettling hunger, and as he extended an abnormally long, forked tongue, he licked the blood from his face and fingers, savoring every drop.
“Delicious,” he moaned. “I feel so much better now.”
Beside him, another man gripped a young shinobi by the hair. The boy, probably barely old enough to compete, struggled in the man's grasp. His Hi Haven bandana was soaked in blood, and his face was twisted in terror.
“Take him with the others,” Renji commanded. “He seems healthy enough. He may even survive the procedure.”
“Renji?” Taiga gasped, the sound catching in his throat.
Iruka and Aimee quickly yanked him down behind a nearby boulder, their bodies pressed to the ground as they struggled to contain their panic.
“What in the elemental fuck was that?” Iruka panted. “Was he…was he eating them?”
Air sawed ragged through their lungs as the reality of what they had just witnessed sank in.
“Oh hello, Hi Haven friends!” Renji’s voice called out, a sickening cheerfulness in his tone. “I’m so glad you caught me. Again.”