Chapter 6 - One After Another

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The team came back to a village in chaos. Hoshiko looked out the window despairingly. "Did he get away?" There were people evacuating, ninjas everywhere, both chunin and jonin rushing about, and from what Hoshiko could tell, none of them were exactly...calm. "But there's no way this happened in the two seconds we weren't there." She glanced down at Asahi, who was sitting on the floor, as confused as she was. "What's going on?" she asked the hokage. 

"There's been an attack on the village," she responded, more serious than ever

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"There's been an attack on the village," she responded, more serious than ever. "A group of four shinobi. They're inside the gates, slowly forging a path in."

"Damn," said Shikamaru, rubbing the back of his neck. "We can't catch a break these days."

"Hoshiko, round up the rest of the Leaf 11 and help the people at the front gates stop the enemy from coming in," she barreled on. "Your team has been notified and they're on stand-by at your house. Now go! Leave Asahi to me."

Hoshiko sighed, nodding. "Let's go," she said to her teammates, as worn out as her. The four weary ninja trudged out of the office, Neji drained from using his 64 palms, Kiba from using Fang over Fang repeatedly, Shikamaru from chasing Asahi with his shadow, and Hoshiko pale from using five portals in quick succession.  

They leapt from rooftop to rooftop, passing around the bag of food pills again to regain energy, Hoshiko shooting balls of green life orbs into her friends to heal any injuries they might have received while fighting. They arrived at their flat to find Tenten, Ino, Shino, Choji, Lee, Hinata, and Naruto waiting on the porch. 

"Well look who's here," said Tenten. "Hello, Hoshiko, Neji, Shikamaru, and Kiba." 

Hoshiko nodded, too tired to do anything else. "Okay," she said simply. "Ino, I need you to be medical core. Make rounds everywhere, including into battle to heal anyone who needs help. From what I can tell, we're gonna need you to." Ino nodded, then sprinted off into the throng. "Hinata, you will be our scout. Neji's too tired to run around, so I need you to use your byakugan. Go around the perimeter and tell me if something's wrong. Do not engage." 

"Right," she replied, jumping onto the rooftops to get a better view of the area. Hoshiko watched her go for a minute, then turned back to everyone else. 

"Now, of the remaining shinobi, we have four attack ranges. Shino is long-range, Shikamaru is mid-range, Neji, Choji, Kiba, Lee, and Naruto are close-range, and Tenten and I can work at all ranges. I plan on using this to our advantage. Shino, stay hidden. Attack from the rooftops. Shikamaru, I want you behind the enemy. Switch positions every so often so that they don't catch you behind them. Choji, guard Shikamaru. Neji, Naruto, Kiba, and Akamaru, I want you attacking them at close-range. Tenten, you and I will work together to help everyone else. We're gonna have to put our complete trust in each other. We need to have each other's backs and everyone else's, too. Does everyone understand?"

Kiba whipped out a kunai, trying to hide his exhaustion. "Let's do it."

Hoshiko smiled softly. "I know a lot of us are tired or don't have a firm grasp of the situation, but I find that we're in that position a lot. We're going to have to rely on ourselves and each other to protect the village." Her gaze swept across her comrades, and was satisfied. "Alright, let's move into position. Listen for any further information or instructions, whether that's from me, Hinata, or Tenten."

The nine shinobi nodded, then ran toward the front gate, each of their young faces determined, all prepared to make sacrifices. They would do what it took to help. 

                                                                                           * * * 

"Tenten, watch yourself for a few minutes. I need to check if everyone is in position," said Hoshiko. 

"You got it."

She jumped onto the roof where Shino was. "Anything from your bugs?"

"I had a few following Hinata. They haven't sensed anything out of the ordinary, and neither has Hinata, it seems." 

"Right," she responded, then jumped away to find Shikamaru and Choji. They were stationed behind the undergrowth, a shadow snaking out from beneath a bush. "You guys good?"

"Yeah, I'm waiting for the right moment to strike," replied Shikamaru. "The element of surprise is a one-time blessing." 

She saluted him, and continued checking on the others. Once she had finished, she went back to Tenten, who was raining kunai on the four shinobi. Hoshiko grinned. 

"Nice," she said. "Tell Neji, Kiba, and Naruto to get out of the way unless they want to die. Just for a moment. I need to try something."

Tenten didn't question, just leaped down to notify the three ninja. Hoshiko formed a barrier under her to act as a platform in the sky. She snapped her fingers, and a small handbag sized portal opened. She reached in and pulled out a dagger, adorned with two buttons on the handle. 

The second threat.

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