Under the Sun

Chapter Fifteen

Hanabi followed the group out of the village and had ended up god knew where by the time she she realized that the group had up and disappeared. She trailed after them for a time, hoping to find some sign of where they might have gone off to, then decided to rest before moving on. Open forest emerged upon her with the light of a new day. Trees spread out across a wide expanse for miles. None of it was familiar to her. The road twisted and then stretched out in all directions. The group could have stolen down any one of the many paths that led deeper into the encroaching wood.

Hanabi berated herself for not moving on them faster, for hesitating when time was of the essence. Her cautious nature had lost her the only lead she'd had in months. She waited out another night inside the alcove of a giant tree. She made herself as comfortable as she could inside the hollow space and rested with one eye open. The cold crept in and buried under her skin. Hanabi had nothing but the clothes on her back to stave off its icy touch. For a while she could only shiver and hug herself warm. Eventually, visions of a soft bed beside a glowing fire lulled her to sleep.

The next morning, Hanabi woke with a start. A loud voice and the sound of heavy-footed steps rang out around her. Twigs snapped and leaves crunched. Hanabi squeezed further back into her hollow, palms clammy, eyes darting to and fro. Someone was close by, maybe even a few feet away and all she could do was quiet her breathing and try not to make a sound. The noise she heard became clearer and the voice more distinct. Oddly, the voice was high pitched - annoyingly so. Hanabi wagered it belonged to an older male. Whoever it was, he was more than a little upset. The speaker raged.

"Dragging me out to this deserted spot to pay me in small coins? How ridiculous! What a waste of time and effort!"

His footsteps grew louder, as did his presence. Hanabi could feel him getting closer. She moved along the wall of the hollow, then crouched low and poked her head out, eager to sneak a peek at the person. She noticed his short height from behind. He was around five feet and quit stocky. Then he turned and instantly Hanabi recognized the pair of thick rimmed glasses framing his face. He was one of those whom she had followed out of Konoha. He sported the same beady eyes and stubby nose she'd seen on him back at the inn. Hanabi pulled back into the hollow, where it was safe, and closed her eyes. She inhaled slowly. She'd been prepared to go after the group to find out who they were and where they were headed. She figured she might have to stalk them up to a certain point, but, had not yet planned out what to do if she encountered any one of them face to face.

A thought came to her. She snapped her eyes open to see that the man was standing a few feet away from where she was hiding. He was busy pulling his cloak tighter around his arms and looking up at the sky, probably at the lack of light. He cursed again and went back to complaining - only this time about the cold whether. Hanabi reached into her pouch for something she could use to divert his attention. She pulled out a kunai with an explosive tag tied to its handle and flung it forward with enough strength to propel it into the air. It flew like an arrow and pierced a low hanging branch above them. The tag exploded. A smoky curtain descended, the ends of which rippled across the forest floor.

When the man heard the sound of the explosion, he gasped and ducked on instinct. A wave of smoke splashed into him and he began to cough. He kept his hands perched over his head for protection from a subsequent attack. But Hanabi did not emerge. She kept herself hidden and waited on the threshold of the hollow. Her target didn't even realize she was there, watching him. He stood up slowly.

"W-Who's there?" He shouted, waving away the smoke in front of him. He looked around nervously, eyeing the trees in case someone was up there, about to strike him from above.

Hanabi was surprised to see that the man didn't appear at all shy. It was as if he had expected something like this to happen to him. He stepped in a circle, searching the area for his attacker.