Chapter 15- Torn

Third Person's POV

It was a race of time for Team 13 before their enemies know their location so for now, they felt safe but no one among them felt at ease. Either Itsuki or Kenma could not focus on their training.

They couldn't improve in their training and kept being soaked in water. The girl supervising them noticed the anxiety in the boys' minds and sighed, drained out of chakra it puffed into a cloud of smoke.

Alexa was twisting and twirling Kenma's sword on her hand slicing through the air, making a high-pitched noise as it break the sound barrier. She was preparing herself for the upcoming battle. There were 15 Jonin ranked Iwa nins after them and they couldn't possibly defeat them all alone. They had to wait for their backup or if not they'll have to fight.

She turned her attention towards the two boys who were having a hard time grasping the method of walking on top of the water. They were no prodigies so it was expected, but they have to learn the technique no matter what. Opening and closing her hands she wondered how much time left they have before they reach the borders.

She looked at the setting sun and her eyes drooped a bit staring at it.

"It's so pretty!", she smiled at the princess who was standing beside her watching the glorious display of the sky in awe.

She smiled as she looked at the girl.

'I have to protect them...'

"Ne ne, Lhexi-san."

The purple-eyed girl raised her eyebrows still holding a smile on her face. "Hm?"

"Your eyes remind me of the sea!"

The girl slightly startled stroked her skin around her right eye and chuckled.

"How so, hime-sama?"

"I don't know. It was just like the sea to me. And please stop calling me that title. Just Shimizu.", Alexa nodded and looked forward before breathing a sigh of reluctance.

"Alright."

The princess looked at the girl before her, who was undiverted to the sea. She felt responsible for the mess that was occurring endangering innocent people's lives. She clasped her hands and unconsciously gripped them too hard enough for her nails to dig through her skin drawing blood. Tears trickled down her chin falling in drops on the wooden floor.

A soothing voice followed after. "Calm down, Shimizu.", she raised her head a little meeting her gorgeous eyes. "Don't worry, it's gonna be alright."

There was a look of skepticism in Shimizu's eyes as she stare down at her feet.

"This is all because of me...", she started. "If I never ran away and just accepted my fate it shouldn't have come down to this."

Alexa sighed and smiled bleakly at the child.

"Don't get entangled with measly things such as fate. You are the captain of your soul, no one has the right to tell you what to do except you.", the girl bewildered had her eyes widen. "Then, I'll have to check on those two dorks. Stay close to Aiko-sensei, for now."

Alexa patted Shimizu's head before walking past her who was frozen in place as the words she said replay in her mind like a tape. Looking back at the figure of the kunoichi with a newfound respect and admiration she muttered a silent thanks.

"You two, rest for now.", the boys looked at the girl walking towards them.

Itsuki and Kenma continued their training trying to master it as soon as they can.

Their female teammate sighed before sitting down. "You guys have to stop for now."

"We have to train! Gomen Lhexi-chan."

Alexa crossed her arms and observed the two.

"Rest is also a part of training."

"We can't waste time, now that our enemy is getting closer.", Itsuki announced.

The girl held her temples. "You'll die of chakra exhaustion before the enemy even arrives."

Just then the two fell on the ground tired snoring loudly. Alexa smiled and fixed their sleeping position so they could comfortably rest.

..........

"Ready?", Alexa asked her team after they left the ship.

"Yeah!", Kenma earned a whack from his sensei.

"Not too loud, idiot."

The girl smiled exasperated at her team, then her eyes widened when she felt chakra signatures around them.

"We have been waiting, for you.", they all turned their attention towards an Iwa nin who emerged from the shadows of the trees.

Aiko moved in front of her team, protecting them as she pull out her tanto.

"Oh hohoho~ interesting~", a series of laughs erupted behind the man, team 13 was terrified, now that their enemies were more than twice their number.

"Let's kill 'em!", one shouted as she punch her palm.

"Oi! Just tell us where the princess is and we'll make it fast for 'ya!"

"Yeah yeah!"

Aiko sweatdropped and held her stance when a number of their enemies dashed towards them, a speed the two male genins couldn't comprehend.

"Minna! Formation E!", Aiko shouted to their team.

They all nodded and held their Kunais in front.

"Hehehehe! Just a bunch of brats! Prepare to die!", an enemy with his face bandaged covering his appearance suddenly appeared behind the genins and laughed evilly.

Just as he was about to slash his weapon down, Alexa sliced through his abdomen, the enemy barely dodges and flipped back before seeing his clothes torn to half.

'That kid is good.', he thought in his head.

One of the Iwa nins voice erupted, "Hey! Finish them already!"

Aiko fended on a few shinobis as her students fought at least once. One Iwa nin, his name was Kanpachi, noticed something was off after observing the fight. His eyes widened when he finally realized what was happening when the red-haired was stabbed and turned to a cloud of smoke.

He found a great number of paper bombs stationed everywhere that were about to detonate by the next seconds.

Jumping up together with the others he shouted. "Everyone! Get out!".

"Aniki?"

Just as they were about to react they were too late for they were already caught in the huge explosion creating a massive crater on the ground as some managed to make it out alive with either a graze or a torn limb.

"DAMN IT!!!"

He screamed in frustration after seeing his dead friends' limbs hanging on the trees and scattered on the ground, a single stone headband with blood sprayed on it was displayed beneath him that belonged to someone dear to him, his sister.

"YOU TREE-BASTARDS! I WILL KILL YOU ALL!", he screamed with venom and odiousness as the rest only clenched their fists in frustration.

One particular girl stood on the top of a tall pine tree looking at a certain place with scrutinizing eyes then she felt a message rushing to her head.

"Hey! Lhexi!", the girl looked down and smiled before jumping down, gracefully landing on the ground as dust circled her feet.

"So?"

"The plan is a success.", these words brought the people around her relief.

Aiko rubbed her belly with her palm, happy. Kenma and Itsuke grinned as the princess smiled brightly.

"But don't lower your guards yet, we're not yet finished with our mission."

They glanced at their teacher and gave a response.

"How far are we to the borders?", they all turned towards the girl.

"Around 15km."

Kenma punched the air and gave a sniggle. "Yosha! Let's go!"

He received a whack from his male teammate causing him to fall on the ground. "Not so loud idiot."

Aiko clasped her hands. "Alright, shall we go everyo--!"

Just then a huge explosion erupted and they all leaped away into the air jumping on tree branches, Lhexi carrying Shimizu in her arms.

"What the hell was that?!", Kenma asked as the rest of the team remained silent their eyes focused on the shadows slowly appearing amidst the smoke surrounding them.

"Itsuki, Kenma, take Shimizu-hime to the north as fast as you can.", Itsuke hesitantly nodded at their teacher while Kenma was about to repudiate when Itsuke pulled him harshly by the back of his collar.

"What are you doing, Itsuki?!", the boy continued to pull him.

The red-haired boy resisted until he saw the glistering liquid on his teammate's face who tried to hide it. His eyes widened before standing up properly and looking back.

"Dango! Let's eat some dango later!", Kenma shouted the smile on his face forced.

Aiko and Lhexi gave him a small smile.

"You bet."

The two began running with dreading anxiety in their hearts. Too focused on the task at hand and the lives of their teammates they missed the figure silently following them.

Lhexi was barely handling the shinobis who constantly bombarded her with explosions and Ninjutsus. She was a close-ranged fighter so it was hard for her to fight them without getting close enough to stab or slice them with the sword, she borrowed from Kenma.

"Earth Style: Giant Boulders!"

Rolling on the ground dodging attacks she received a painful blow to her stomach sending her flying, her head hit the trunk of a tree, her mind getting dizzy. Before she even falls to the ground she felt a hard grip on her head, she was raised above the ground as she struggle to break free. Looking to the side, her eyes widened seeing her teacher on a stickle against three Iwa-nins, the two who she was fighting earlier.

Her drooping eyes darted in front at the man with a bulky body glaring at her with venomous eyes as he started crushing her skull jolting the female to scream in overclouding pain. Aiko heard her student's anguish and on the corner of her eyes, she saw blood dripping from the girl's forehead.

Rushing towards her she was stopped with multiple Jonins who have a sick grin on their faces. "Oi! We're still here!"

Their weapons clashed overpowering the woman to her knees.

"Lhexi...", she muttered in grief and disbelief when she could not hear the girl's screaming anymore.

She had to hurry to save her beloved student.

"Fire style: Great Phoenix!"

Engulfing a part, which was considerably big, of the forest in a sea of flame she silently wished their backup would notice the sign and arrive soon.

She was lucky that the Iwa-nins were injured, greatly lowering down their power and strength. She sliced through the flesh of the injured enemies with her tanto, finishing each enemy with a quick and precise strike.

Kanpachi looked down at the unmoving body before tossing it against a tree. He cracked his knuckles and looked around trying to find the other Leaf kunoichi in the burning forest. His ears twitch and in the blink of an eye, his body was bent already to the side, hardly dodging the incoming attack that grazed his skin, blood seeping out of the small cut.

Flipping back away he narrowed his eyes to discern the leaf genin that was supposed to be dead. The red crimson liquid was all over the girl's body who was standing rather slump with lots of openings, a single sword on her hand.

He knew she was bad news just by the amount of blood lust that was outweighing him, causing his feet to slightly shake. She was a child nonetheless a fearsome enemy on the battlefield.

The Iwa nin observed the girl as he began performing hand signs, a technique considered A-rank.

"Mud Style: Raging Mud Torrents!", the ground below turned mellow and soft sucking the girl beneath the ground as huge waves of soil which uprooted several trees attacked her burying her alive deep underground.

Kanpachi's knees buckled, the Jutsu eating away a large portion of his average chakra storage. Just as he thought the child was finally dead he turned around to meet her purple death gaze, he stumbled on his feet backing away.

He tried to pull a kunai from his pouch only to fail to cause him to wonder why he can't reach his kunai pouch. Looking down his mind processed the bloody scene in front of him. His arms were gone, clearly suggesting that he can't continue being a ninja because the death ripper itself in a dark cloak was in front of him with the sickle in his hand, his non-existing eyes boring to his soul as its skeleton head was merely inches away from his face.

He had no time to even react.

It was terrifyingly silent as his body got cut to shreds, his organs flying everywhere joining in with the rest of his comrades.

Aiko rushed towards her student who had her knees buckle to the ground, the sword embedded on the soil supporting her from falling. Moving at such high speed she never tried before, strained her muscles, rupturing some of her tissues.

"Lhexi!"

The girl slowly opened her shut eyes looking directly at the mess she created out of her enemy's body. Aiko wrap the girl's arm around her neck and held her by her waist helping her stand.

Lhexi's eyes fluttered open and close. "Sensei...?", she muttered tiredly.

The woman only smiled in pride and relief as she began jumping from one tree to another catching up with rest. Lhexi was about to sleep in Aiko's arms when she received a terrible gut feeling causing her to jolt up awake.

Minutes after jumping and running she felt three familiar chakra signatures but one of them was too small for a living. Aiko stopped on tracks and hesitantly let the girl move on her own when she was in a severe condition.

Wiping the blood that clouded her vision she walked exhausted with a rather uneasy expression on her face. She made out two small figures sitting on the ground with a gloomy atmosphere surrounding them. Her eyes wandered to the dead body which was around ten meters away from them lying on its pool of blood, with the Stone Headband clutched to its hand.

Trailing her eyes back to her teammates she staggered from side to side before finally reaching her destination, her movements halted as if time stopped.

"Lhexi-san...", the young female voice contained nothing but grief and sorrow.

Aiko stood still slowly looking away as she close her eyes with her eyebrows furrowed.

One boy clasped his rival and friend's hand around his palms as tears escape from his eyes pouring down on the other male's face, which was smeared with blood.

His body was torn to half, separating his upper and lower ligaments barely being connected by uncut flesh. His digestive was displayed quite vividly ranging from his liver to his stomach including the white hard materials called bones. The small area around the boy's body was rosy more than enough to realize that he was bathing in his blood.

A painful tug was felt by everyone around the vicinity as if their hearts were slowly ripping apart. His lips moved to say something which was barely a whisper, his rival leaned closer and nodded at the words the boy was saying. A small smile graced his lips as he tiredly close his eyes but not before taking a good look at his friends, memories flashed right before his eyes.

"Oi! Tomato!", Itsuke called as the red-haired boy turned around with a look of irritation and visible anger at the nickname.

"Who are you calling a tomato?! Konoyaro!", he stepped on the railings and placed his hands inside his pocket as he glared at the brunette in front of him.

"You who else.", Kenma turned around with a snicker as he look at the reflection on the glass of a particular shop. "Anyway, why did you dye your hair red?"

He runs his hands through his hair. "Cool, right?"

"Yeah, yeah.", he sarcastically replied at the attention-seeker. "Just wait until the matron beat you up."

Kenma instantly paled after he remembered how cruel the woman can be when it comes to punishment.

"Shit! I forgot about that! Oi Itsuke, how do I revert it to normal?!", he was panicking, his hands wobbling above his head.

"Idiot, of course, you dye it back to brown."

Kenma turned around sweating buckets, nervous.

"But, I don't have the money to buy another one...", Itsuke sweatdropped and pulled the coins and a little bit of cash from his pocket.

"How much does one cost? I'll lend you some money."

The red-haired beamed with stars in his eyes.

"Really?!", he asked in disbelief and much surprise.

"Yeah. So how much?", Itsuki asked impatiently.

Kenma made a peace sign.

"20 Ryo?", the brunette asked and Kenma blinked his eyes multiple times.

"No. 200."

There was silence in the air as the wind blew leaves passing through them as they circled.

Then the silence was broken with a loud voice.

"YOU IDIOT! WHY WOULD YOU BUY SOMETHING AS EXPENSIVE AS THAT?!", Itsuke was fuming with anger, his cheeks puffed red as his head enlarge ten times, making Kenma look like a shrimp.

"SHUT UP! IT'S THE LATEST EDITION!", the boy remarked back at the angry Itsuki.

"YOU COULD HAVE JUST BOUGHT SOMETHING WAY MORE CHEAPER THAN THAT!"

"THOSE ARE LOW QUALITIES!"

His friend facepalmed wondering how much of an idiot his friend can be. Itsuki sighed before rubbing his temples and began walking away.

Kenma leaned over the railings, watching the figure of his friend slowly going out of view. "Oi, where are you going? Didn't you say you will lend me some money?"

The boy turned his head back. "I don't have enough money.", he stuffed the coins and bills in his pocket before continuing to walk away.

"Matte! Itsuki!", he jogged towards his friend. "Hey, please. Help me."

"You made this mess. You've gotta clean this up by yourself. Don't drag me into this.", Kenma stomped his foot on the ground and crossed his arms.

"Then should I tell the old granny that you--mmph!", Itsuki forcefully muffled the boy's words with his two hands as he glare at him.

They were suddenly lifted in the air and stiffly turned around to meet the frightful old fat woman's eyes turning to bright red as she grew two horns and a tail.

"YOU TWO! BACK IN THE RESIDENCE AT ONCE!"

"Y-yes!", the two boys squeaked and dashed towards the orphanage, which suddenly turned into a race as to who arrived first.

The boy coughed blood once again and his friend could only beg him not to go. In a twinkle of the rival's tears, Kenma breathed his last with a satisfied smile for he arrived first.