Kiba seemed to come to the same conclusion. With an almost bored expression, he pulled out one of his small books, flipping it open as he leaped to a high branch. “You have three minutes. No Mana,” he said simply, not bothering to look up.
The leader of the group snarled. “Coward! Hiding in the trees while your children fight for you?”
One of the others laughed, cracking his knuckles. “Three minutes? We’ll finish you in one.”
Without warning, the first man lunged, a blade flashing from his belt. He moved fast, but not fast enough. Aimee sidestepped, feeling the wind of his strike brush past her shoulder. She twisted, her foot hooking around his ankle, and sent him sprawling into the dirt with a sharp crack.
Iruka was already in motion, spinning to deflect the second attacker’s punch with a sharp block of his forearm. Without missing a beat, he slipped low to the ground, his body coiling before striking out with a swift, controlled swipe to the man’s legs. The thug staggered, off-balance, just as Iruka pounced, delivering a side kick that landed squarely on the man’s head with a sickeningthud. The attacker crumpled to the ground, unconscious before he even hit the dirt.
Aimee couldn’t help but smile.He combined the cat’s nimble movements with a brutal traditional attack.
But her focus quickly turned to the third thug as he charged at her.
His short sword cut through the air in an arc, but his movements were sloppy, too eager. Aimee ducked under the swing, and before hecould adjust, she stepped forward and drove her elbow hard into his gut. His eyes bulged as he doubled over before she sent a quick, firm strike to the back of his head, leaving him sprawled and unconscious on the forest floor.
“I’ll kill you all!” The leader staggered to his feet, wiping blood from his mouth.
“Come and get it!” Taiga yelled, stepping forward, before Momoka hissed toward a fourth man approaching from behind.
From the trees, she could hear Kiba flipping another page in his book, unbothered.
Iruka moved, easily disarming the leader with a sharp twist of his wrist that sent the man’s blade clattering to the ground. And before the man could react, the boy spun him around and slammed him face-first into the dirt, tying his hands behind his back, even as he continued to thrash.
Aimee finished tying up the other two attackers, her fingers working efficiently as she looped and pulled the rope tight around their wrists. Satisfied, she turned toward the others just as the clash of steel rang out behind her, followed by the grunts and yells of Taiga and Momoka locked in combat with a fourth attacker.
She looked up just in time to see Taiga drop their opponent to the ground, the man landing hard on his back.
“Take that!” Taiga jumped up and down, pumping his fist in the air.
But Aimee’s stomach dropped as she saw the man’s hand slip to the knife in his belt.
“Taiga!” she shouted, but her voice wasn’t fast enough.
Time slowed as the blade flew, spinning toward Taiga’s chest. He staggered back, bracing for the impact, his face twisted in fear, expecting a hit that never came.
Two kunai sliced through the air in perfect harmony. The first met the flying knife with a sharp metallicclink, deflecting it off course. The second followed almost immediately, a blur of steel embedding itself deep in the attacker’s throat. The man’s eyes went wide in shock, his hands clawing at the weapon lodged in his neck as he crumpled back to the ground.
Then everything snapped back into motion.
Taiga scratched at his shirt, patting himself down frantically, searching for the wound that wasn’t there. Momoka bent over, heaving, her eyes unable to look away from the thug as he gurgled helplessly. Iruka turned back to the leader, finishing his bindings, before sprinting over to join them as Kiba landed lightly beside her, his eyes flicking to the fallen man. All the while, blood poured from the man’s wound.
Only a couple more seconds,she thought, transfixed.It was dark and relentless, seeping between his fingers as his thrashing slowed with each struggling pump of his heart until, finally, his body went still.
“Oh, oh my god,” Momoka gasped, collapsing to her knees. “He’s...he’s dead.”
Oba-chan shook herself and knelt beside her, rubbing slow circles on Momoka’s back. “You saved me, girl. Thank you.”
Kiba stepped forward, crouching over the fallen man, where he pressed two fingers to his neck, feeling for a pulse. When he found none, he rose without a word and moved off to check the ropes binding the remaining three attackers.
Aimee approached the body, her eyes hard as she reached for her blade. The handle was slick with blood, and she had to brace her foot on the man’s shoulder to wrench it free. A thick stream of crimson followed, coating her fingers and pooling in the grass.
Iruka watched her in silence, his face pale.
“You killed him,” Taiga whispered.
Aimee glanced at the bloodied kunai before sliding it back into her sleeve. Then, she walked over to retrieve the blade Kiba had thrown to save Taiga, pulling it from where it was embedded in a tree trunk. Gripping the weapon, a single thought pulsed through her mind.
And so it begins. This was the first man she’d killed in this life. She knew it wouldn’t be the last.
