At first, he struggled against her hold, but he quickly fell into step when he recognized her. Once they were a block away, far enough that she hoped they were beyond the hearing of any advanced shinobi senses, she turned to him.
“What?! Are they shinobi?!” Taiga’s eyes were wide, excited, his body practically vibrating with eagerness.
“Yes, but shut up and listen,” Aimee hissed.
“Aimee, you’re being—”
She slapped him, the sound sharp in the quiet street. “Listen. Now.”
Taiga rubbed his cheek and nodded quickly.
“There are three shinobi inside,” Aimee began, her voice low and urgent. “A swordsman, some kind of scientist or alchemist, and...something else. I’m not sure what he is, but he’s the leader, and he’s got advanced training.”
“Like how advanced?” Taiga asked, working his jaw.Maybe I hit him too hard.
“Ryosh-level advanced.”
“What?” Taiga froze, his face paling. “How? The Havens wouldn’t be involved in something like this.”
“I don’t know.” Aimee glanced around. “Maybe a rogue. They’re working with a client who wants the drugs. And they know Kiba is here.”
“Dang, Aimee. This is bad. What do we do?”
Aimee clenched her fist. “Get back to Kiba-Sensei and hope Granny Oba-chan hasn’t drugged him yet.”
“What?!” Taiga yelped, but Aimee didn’t wait for him. She was already sprinting toward the forest, her heart pounding as she pushed her body faster.
What if we get there and it’s too late? The thought gnawed at her. She wasn’t a healer, and she knew next to nothing about drugs or how they might interact with Mana, which this one likely did.
As they reached the edge of the village, the trees looming like dark sentinels, she started searching for clues to track Kiba’s movements.But just as Aimee veered through another bush, she nearly collided head-on with Momoka and Iruka.
“Aimee!” Momoka gasped. “We found the children!”
“Granny’s gonna try to kill Kiba-Sensei!” Taiga shouted, finally breaking the tense silence he’d held during their mad dash. “We have to keep going!”
“What?” Iruka spun toward Aimee, grabbing Taiga by the collar before he could bolt off again.
“He’s right, in a way,” Aimee said, her eyes scanning their faces. “I think Granny Oba-chan’s being blackmailed to bring a small group of shinobi here so they can test their drugs on us.”
“To free the village and the children.” Iruka nodded, piecing it together.
“Yes, but after the tests, they plan to kill her. And the villagers…they’re beyond saving.”
“They killed them?” Momoka peeped, her voice barely above a whisper.
“No,” Aimee replied, shaking her head grimly. “They’re like zombies, but alive, barely.”
“What are zombies?” Taiga asked, brushing off Iruka’s hand.
Aimee pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to adjust her vocabulary to this world. “It’s like…they’ve lost their souls or their minds. They just shuffle around, no will of their own, until the medical-looking bandit gives them an order.”
“That’s impossible.” Iruka frowned. “Can a drug really do that?”
“Maybe with Mana.” Momoka wrung her hands. She’d always been the best student in the group. “But the process to figure it out would be horrific.” She blanched. “And it wouldn’t work on a shinobi, especially someone like Kiba-Sensei. He’d be able to counter any Mana control techniques.”
“Let’s assume he can’t,” Aimee cut in.
“Aimee…” Momoka started.
