Dancing with Death

[[With the closing of revanche_rpg, this journal is now being used as a journal for the collaborative fic Moonlight on Masks, moonlit_anbu. Yuugao's profile has been amended to reflect this change.]]


( Shinobi 012161 )

We're moving out.

We'll make you proud, Sandaime-sama.


( Private to Hayate )

We've received our missions. Waiting's not so bad, now that we know what we're going to do...

My hand's healing fairly well; I seem to have avoided further infection. Thanks must be due to your salve, Hinata-chan. I should be able to handle my katana again by the time we leave.

( Private )

Six o'clock is far too early to be moving again. Even if I did manage a fairly good night's rest. Thank you, Hayate. I'll make it up to you. But we've got our orders, and the civilians and the genin have already headed out, thank the gods.

Hinata-san, I hope things go well for you.

Hayate checked back with the medics as soon as all the civilians had pulled out; Genma-senpai was still there. Apparently he's steadfastly refused any efforts to evacuate him, and insisted on remaining with the rest of us. He's doing well enough that it's not out of the question, though we'll probably have to manufacture some sort of litter to carry him to the rendezvous point. Shigeru-senpai, we might need your help with that.

( Private to Tenzou-taichou )

I would kill for a chance to wash my hair. As that chance doesn't look to be arriving anytime soon, perhaps it's time to think of cutting it?

( Private )

We had half an hour’s warning. Half an hour, to put all the village’s forces at the alert, to roust everyone out of bed and into armor, to badger the captain for news when he didn't know much more of what was going on than we did. And it wasn't much of a warning anyway--just a report of someone infiltrating the exam, a rumor Orochimaru'd come back to Konoha, and an order for two ANBU squads to the Forest of Death...

But then, even if we'd had warning of the real attack, it wouldn’t have done much good.

Someone said it's a bijuu that's hit. But a Sand jounin took off his head about three seconds later, so we never heard the details. We do know that there are Sand forces everywhere we run, and that they're slaughtering civilians as well as shinobi. Anyone who tries to fight back, anyone who resists, anyone who even tries to shield his family.

We evacuated as many as we could, following the protocol. Half a team of Suna shinobi tried to follow us down the tunnel on the last run--we had to collapse it behind us. The captain's still coughing; I think the smoke hasn't yet cleared out of his lungs. It's not a bad cough, and he can go on, but—

I can’t let myself be distracted now. We’ve got 53 civilians in our care, mostly women and children; our first priority is getting them further away from Konoha and to safety. Then we regroup. And then—then we fight back.

If there are any of us left to do it.

( Private )

Hayate, I won't be home till late tonight. Don't worry about keeping dinner for me.