The Way Of The Shinobi

Chapter Thirty-Four: Yuko

(Mayumi's POV)

   An earth shattering explosion rang through the estate, giving me enough time to grab Yuko by the wrist and twist her arm around, loosening her grasp on the blade. I quickly took hold of the blade with my left hand and threw it across the room as I pinned her against the wall in the same motion.

   "You seem to forget who you work for. You know what I want. Let me get the sword and leave, and I'll spare your life..." I stated as she scoffed, her intense red eyes glared deep into mine.

   "S-So, Lord Kaneko was right. You have gone soft." Yuko hissed as she struggled against my grasp. I felt the floor tremble beneath me as my eyes widened a bit, fear slowly consuming my mind. I let my guard down for one moment, and during that time Yuko threw her head back, headbutting me straight in my forehead.

   "A-Ah!" I yelled as I stumbled back. Yuko quickly turned around and tried to punch me in the face. Thankfully, I was able to block her as I recovered my balance.

   "If you just come back to your father, I won't hurt you Lady Kaneko." Yuko taunted me, like she often did. As I blocked her with my left hand I pulled my right hand back and hit her so hard that one of her sharp front teeth flew to the floor. Yuko fell onto the floor in front of me as I felt rage begin to boil inside of me.

   "What my father is doing is WRONG! YUKO, HE'S EXPERIMENTING ON CHILDREN!" I screamed hoping I'd get it through her thick skull that what my father was doing was morally wrong. The thought of all those innocent children being experimented on made my stomach churn in the worst way possible. Yuko scoffed as she wiped a small stream of blood that was dripping down her mouth.

   "Lord Kaneko is doing what needs to be done. It is my duty to do whatever needs to be done to make sure that my master's dreams come true." She explained as she looked at me, her eyes examining my every move. I slowly drew my sword that was fascinated onto my hip as Yuko smirked.

   "I don't want to have to do this Yuko...but it seems as though you're giving me no other choice." I spoke softly as I pulled up my Anbu mask, covering the pain that was evident on my face.

   I remember when I was first introduced to Yuko and Yui. My mother had explained to me that my father had gotten them through a friend of the family and that they would be here to serve us. I was nervous meeting them for the first time, seeing as though I was the only child in the main branch and I never met any girls close to my age before. Little did I know that Yuko and Yui would become like family to me.

   "You don't have to do this, Lady Mayumi. You can return home and join Lord Kaneko in rebuilding the Leaf Village." Yuko offered as I clenched the handle of my sword so hard I could feel my knuckles begin to turn white. I gritted my teeth and lunged towards Yuko as fast as I could.

   Our blades connected in an instant as we dodged each others attacks. I had always been pretty good with a long sword, but short swords were normally my specialty so fighting Yuko was becoming more and more of a problem as the seconds passed. The sound of our steel blades clashing against one another filled the room as she quickly moved her wrist in one swift movement. My eyes widened as I felt the tip of her sword kiss my cheek, causing blood to slowly begin to drip out. I jumped back a few feet as Yuko chuckled.

   "Come on Lady Mayumi, That really can't be all you got?" Yuko chuckled, her words almost begging me for more. I scanned the room as I stood up.

   "Yuko...Please...I don't want to have to do this.." I muttered as I tightened the grip on my blade. Suddenly the soft ticking sound filled the room as a cloud of smoke engulfed Yuko and I. I felt a strong arm wrap around my waist and pull me through the smoke.

   "I got the blade, lets go now." Itachi's familiar voice filled my ear as I nodded, following his lead out of the building.

   "Thank you, Itachi." I muttered as we escaped out of the estate as fast as we could. Itachi didn't respond to my thank you, I knew he had been bothered that I hadn't taken her out right then and there but...I saw Yuko and Yui as family.... I sighed deeply to myself as we made it out of the estate and to the forest that surrounded it.

   "Next time, don't hesitate." Itachi coldly spoke, sending chills down my spine as I averted my gaze to the dirt ground below me.

   "Has Yumiko and Kakashi made it back to the hideout yet?" I questioned. Itachi looked at me and sighed.

   "We don't know where they are..." Itachi admitted.