Hot 'N' Dangerous

Chapter 52: The Land of No Spring (Part 2)

One minute I was about to get run over by a massive train and the other I was looking at a wide expanse of beige fabric.

"Jeez, are you okay?" someone panted beneath me.

I rolled over onto the cold snow and sat up, "Y-yeah... thanks, I owe you one," I clutched at my chest where my heart pounded wildly.

Liz sat up beside me and got to her feet. Naruto was lying just a meter away, next to Koyuki, laughing and wheezing at the same time.

The train stopped a short distance away, "It's been a while, Koyuki," a voice sounded over a microphone.

"Kazahana Dotou," Koyuki's voice trembled as she pronounced the name.

"So, it's been ten years? Now, let me see your face," I saw the owner of the low voice.

He looked very similar to Easter Island, so similar that they could've been related. He was a hulky man with broad shoulders hidden under a warm overcoat. The ego head ninja stood next to him, a wide smirk planted on his face. Liz, Naruto and I placed ourselves in front of Koyuki. Logs tumbled down the side of the hill and crashed into the middle of the train, it was a rather feeble attack but it did bury a bit of the train beneath snow and wood. We were speechless as we beheld the amount of men standing at the top of the hill... they were led by Sandayuu.

"Everyone! Our Princess Koyuki is watching! Victory will be ours!" he announced to his men.

The small army's roar of cheers thundered through the small valley.

"What the..." Naruto looked among the ranks of rather old men.

"Sandayuu?" Koyuki murmured.

Sandayuu was cloaked in battle armour and he pulled a katana from his sheath, "Kazahana Dotou! Do you know how long we have waited for this day? I am Asabasan Sandayuu, a representative of the fiftieth Brigade! Now we will avenge the death of Kazahana Sousetsu-sama from a decade ago and we'll take it out on you!" his powerful speech echoed around the valley.

The roars of the crowd he had gathered were even more resounding, "Yeah!"

I watched Dotou as a smug expression crossed his face, This feeling...

"Liz, this can't be something good," I stammered.

Liz nodded, "Get out of here! Something bad is about to happen!" she screamed but no one took notice of her.

They charged down the hill, all wailing their mighty battle cries.

"No!" I shrieked hopelessly.

Sliding doors flew aside and revealed metal grids and smaller ones popped into existence on the taller parts of the train. The smell of heavy metal wafted through the air and the realization hit us too late. The rapid pulse of kunais being fired didn't even make a warrior waver. No one reacted even when we saw the hundreds of black streaks swarming towards them. The pure white snow being trampled beneath the warriors became coated with blood as each warrior was hit with at least ten kunais. My legs turned to jelly and my knees buckled. Every last warrior was brought to his knees. None of them ever got up again. Dotou's triumphant and mad laughter traveled through my ears as they rang with the sounds of rapid-fire machinery. Then the chinking of metal plates making contact with each other reached me. Sandayuu was still struggling on, his katana wet with his own blood. Kunais stuck out of his body but he continued to stumble forward in a futile attempt to attack Dotou.

"Sandayuu..." Koyuki murmured, with a little more emotion this time.

I grabbed my sword, which was lying next to Koyuki, and tried to get back up to my feet but they still felt like jelly. Another round of kunais were fired but there was a loud clank and a huge shuriken landed in front of Sandayuu, it had blocked the bulk of the kunais but Sandayuu fell backwards anyways. Sasuke appeared behind the shuriken and grabbed it. He jumped behind a mound of snow and released an exploding kunai. It dug into the wood of the train and created a loud explosion though there was hardly any serious damage. Another explosion sounded near the peak of a small mountain directly above the train and an avalanche hit the train. It started up immediately, tooting its whistle once and pulled out from underneath the heavy blanket of snow. The third explosion occurred on the wooden bridge that carried the tracks across a large expanse of steep cliff. Half of the train was caught up in the explosion and began to drag the rest of the train towards the steep cliff side. The last cart with its wheels still on the tracks severed the link to the rest of the train and they shot away, Dotou escaped with his life. Sasuke started to chase after them but Kakashi stopped him. I ran to Sandayuu's side and I sat down beside Sandayuu's bleeding body. Kakashi and Sasuke joined me soon after.