The Red Maelstrom

[37] Shattered and Stained

A/N: In which Kohana must face all her unresolved trauma. Quite a few times, actually. And she revisits some stuff that she's kept buried since the Land of Waves. Nothing too explicit, but be mindful of the asterisks.

Their little improvised platoon raced across the greenery, never once stopping for more than a split-second on each branch they bounded on. Kohana could stand to run a little faster, but as things were, they were going as fast as they all could whilst keeping an appropriate formation in the event of an ambush. Perhaps if Pakkun weren't at the vanguard, they wouldn't have maintained their current pace and instead expended unnecessary stamina. Who the hell knew how far Sasuke had gone with his speed and hardheaded tenacity? Certainly no one but Pakkun. And though Kohana understood this, there was still no fighting the churning in her stomach that made her feel so much revulsion and fear over the current state of their village. Even this forest didn't help her feel safe no matter how familiar it was to her. How could it feel safe when far away she could hear faint sounds of thunderous explosions, but around her she was only confronted with shadows, leaves, and bark? As she leaped off another branch, and another, then another, the more it was beginning to dawn on her how long they'd been at this... and there was no end in sight.

"Hey, kids!" Pakkun suddenly called for their attention over the wind whistling in their ears. "Pick up the pace."

"Did you find Sasuke?" Naruto asked expectantly.

Before Kohana could even take her share of Naruto's optimism, Pakkun's next words sent her heart plummeting down to the very heels of her feet.

"No. I smell two platoons. A total of eight—no, nine people are behind us."

Shikamaru made a sound that was equal parts despairing and inconvenienced. Kohana had never understood how that worked, but with Shikamaru it made perfect sense, and right now, she knew exactly how he felt. "Hey, man... Already? You've got to be kidding!"

Kohana's mind raced faster than her legs were taking her body, eyes darting everywhere to see if she knew this part of the forest. Suddenly, everything seemed even darker to her, and the sounds from beyond the forest even fainter. She couldn't quite tell if this was a result of Pakkun's words—if her head was already beginning to get to her, or if she was becoming less distracted. Hoping to stick to the latter explanation, Kohana took a couple of deep breaths. In through her nose, and out through her mouth. In and out before she could finally find it in her to speak. "We can't stop now, but we gotta throw 'em off. Pakkun-san, is it possible to take a detour?"

Pakkun grunted his assent. "Yeah, kid. Thought this was going to happen. Everyone, drop down!" The very second he gave the command, Pakkun and the three genin shot down onto the ground and continued their sprint. "We'll run a short track on the dirt, fall back, and disappear into the trees."

"I don't get it," Naruto murmured impatiently, irritation leaking out of his voice. It was clear on his face as well, with his brows furrowed so deeply and his nose scrunched up the way it did when he was on edge. Once they stopped and withdrew, however, he took stock of the footprints they'd left behind. "Damn it. They'd still figure out what we did."

Well, he had a point there.

"Of course they will, but it'll buy us time and that's enough. The more we throw them off our course, the more impatient they'll become and the weaker their pursuit of us will be. If they don't see the clues that lead to us, all the better," Pakkun explained.

Kohana nodded. "I see, then this should be enough." She could suggest a contingency, one that she knew Shikamaru already had in mind. She'd noticed that along the way, Shikamaru's pace lagged compared to theirs—not so much that Naruto would notice, but enough that Kohana knew he was taking the rear station of the platoon. His actions were beginning to make a great deal of sense. With nine enemies tailing them and Sasuke so far beyond their reach, it was best that they be prepared for at least two of those people to catch up.