Desert Flower

Kami-sama's Control

    It took a day, but we managed to find another team. Crouched down in the bushes with the boys on either side of me, we watched the three Mist shinobis as they were crouched around a map drawn into the dirt. They were speaking low as one was pointing things out with a stick.

  "Should we split them up and take one each?" Hiroki whispered without taking his eyes off the trio in front of us plotting something.

  "That sounds like a good idea, but we don't know anything about them." Torino replied. "I think it would be better to wait until a prime opportunity to just snatch the scroll."

  "Mm, I think a surprise attack might be a good idea." A voice said from behind us, and we twisted around. One of the Mist ninjas was crouched behind us, somehow sneaking up when we were focused on the others. Glancing back at the trio, my eyes widened.

  "A clone!" I whispered low.

  "You're smart." The ninja smirked before rising to his feet, and he kicked the three of us out of the bushes and into the open. "Hey guys, look what I found." The shinobi stepped out from the bushes and slipped his hands into his pockets.

  "I was wondering when you'd find them." The one holding the stick looked up. "3 rookies with one a kunoichi?" He raised a brow. "Did you really think you could take us?"

  "Never know until you try." Hiroki popped off while getting to his feet. Cautiously eyeing the shinobis, I knew we were in deep trouble.

  "All right, kid. Just hand over the scroll, and we won't make a big deal out of it." The ninja tossed the stick in his hand to the side as the clone by him disappeared.

  "Like Hell." Torino already had a kunai in his hand. "Sayuri, stay back." He grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him.

  "Oh, protecting the little girl, huh? If she can't handle a fight, how do you two expect her to be a shinobi?" The other ninja smirked while looking at us with a glint in his eye. A fight was looking unavoidable at this point, and the two boys were eyeing the Mist ninjas. Swallowing, I crossed my fingers while looking over Torino's shoulder. Building up my chakra, I felt the fingers running through my hair from my bangs back. There was a low chuckle in my ear, and no one seemed to notice what I was doing. Good.

  "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" And at least ten clones appeared in the small forest clearing, taking everyone by surprise. "Rather than threatening each other, why don't we see who deserves the scrolls?" I calmly said while stepping out from behind Torino.

  "Shadow clones, huh? Pretty impressive for a rookie, and a kunoichi no less." The guy who seemed to be the leader smiled devilishly while pulling a kunai from his thigh pouch. "I like your idea." His eyes narrowed before he summoned clones of his own. Pushing Torino out of the way when the shinobi lept at me, I quickly grabbed one of my kunais and managed to block the attack.

  As if setting something off, the other two ninjas began to fight Hiroki and Torino as clones fought clones, and I fought the shinobi with the wild grin.

 'Block left, put weight on your right foot, and push forward.' The whispers began, and I obeyed without hesitation as I felt the bloodlust coming from the man in front of me. Already I could tell he wasn't the same as the other ninjas I had fought. He had a killer gleam in his eyes, and the clones were going in a puff of smoke with each well-placed blow.

  Jumping back momentarily, I summoned more clones for protection as the man was coming at me with three of his own clones. Torino and Hiroki were barely hanging on, but they were managing, and that was all I cared about at that moment. The voice whispering in my ear guided me as I tightly held onto my kunai. Gritting my teeth as I felt a stinging cut on my cheek, I barely was able to dodge the blade going for my face.