Mission Baby Blue [Solo Self-Modded]

[Tsurara Moriko]

"Has anyone seen Yukiko?"

Moriko barely glanced up from her spot in the shade of the main area of the compound. The cousin shouting was commonly a babysitter for the youngest children in the clan and often overwhelmed with the number of them she was saddled with on a day to day basis. Inevitably one or two would wander off and be found later playing in a cellar or by the rabbit hutches.

She was more occupied with carefully fletching her own arrows. It was a lot easier once you got the hang of it, and this way she could be sure they would fly true.

She stretched and leaned back in the shade, relaxing. Maybe she'd dip by the Academy later? Or the Bazaar? Decisions, decisions.

"--riko!"

"Huh?" She sat bolt upright and scrubbed her eyes, abruptly realizing she'd fallen asleep. There was now more of a commotion in the main compound, relatives swarming around and (she did a double-take) one of her grandparents was there issuing orders and taking reports.

The relative standing in front of her was her cousin Hanae, five years older and a Chuunin recently returned from a long-range mission. She looked worried and Moriko suddenly felt a frisson of unease. Hanae was not the same as the clucking non-ninja who treated minor issues like major disasters. Something had Happened.

Moriko rose slowly, refusing to do anything so undignified as scramble to her feet, and gathered up all of her equipment. Hanae made a wordless gesture toward the melee, and Moriko squirmed internally at bumping into that many people--even relatives. However, the crowd parted in front of them and then they were standing in front of their grandmother. (Both of theirs--Hanae was a closer relation than most of the others.)

"Obaasan," Hanae said, inclining her head respectfully. Moriko shuffled to one side and managed an equivalent approximation, though less respectfully and without bothering to say anything. "Did you need us to go looking?"

Was that child actually missing, then? Moriko glanced around to spot the babysitter off to one side looking distressed, a crowd of children-of-ninja clustered around her. Most of those were too young to know anything other than that something was off.

And hang on, Hanae was one thing, but an actual missing child was just a bit out of Moriko's pay grade. Literally.

"She likely hasn't gone far," their grandmother said. She was a stately woman, her pale blue hair halfway through fading to white and done up in an austere bun. Like most of the clan she didn't readily show her age despite the fact Moriko knew she was nearing seventy. "We are still expecting the most likely scenario is that she found a hole and wandered out. Hanae will speak to the neighbours, Moriko will look for Yukiko in the nearby area."

Read: we don't want the devil child talking to people too much or they'll think she represents us.

"Yes, Obaasan," Hanae said with another bow. "We will depart immediately."

"Give me a minute to put some of this away," Moriko said, and before anyone could stop her headed off home to put her fletching equipment away and then pick up the rest of her gear. Sure she probably wouldn't need it, but she was starting to get a funny feeling.

No one told her off when she headed out, though she could see her grandmother sighing in the center of the compound. The elders thought they deserved deference for existing, whereas Moriko thought they had never particularly done anything for her, especially not when Yuri had been off running missions and leaving her at home alone when she was small, so to hell with them.

Yukiko had a babysitter. Moriko had never had that.

The first thing she did when out the gates was skirt all the way around the compound checking for outward holes. The clan was fairly good about things like that, but there could have been a new piece crumbled or pushed off recently. There was nothing.

Funny feeling confirmed. Something was up. Had she wandered through the main gate? It happened from time to time to be sure. Or the back gate? If Moriko was going to sneak out the back way would be her pick. There weren't always guards there.

As there weren't now. Hm.

So she had probably wandered out the back and Hanae had gone the wrong way. Well, Moriko could probably find a blue-haired toddler wandering around (and crying more likely than not) without bothering to ask people if they'd seen one. Granted, it was possible someone had seen Yukiko and taken her in...but if any of their neighbours had done that she would've already been returned.

So probably still wandering.

Moriko poked down streets and alleys strewn with clotheslines hanging high above her head, searching for hide or hair of lost toddler. As her distance from the compound increased her unease grew. It was extremely unlikely Yukiko could have toddled more than three blocks away. She wasn't even four years old yet. Moriko was five blocks out having done a thorough sweep and there was still no sign at all.

The wind blew at her hair and skirt from the crossroads where she stood, and if she had been a different kind of person she might have spared a thought for how impressive this briefly made her look. Instead, she was deep in thought on other things.

Point one: Yukiko had almost definitely been kidnapped. Hanae had yet to radio her and say 'we found her,' so she hadn't had any luck either.

Point two: kidnappers were definitely out of her league. Particularly if they were traffickers. She should really get help. Really. This wasn't a back alley gang with a grudge; this was a legitimate dangerous situation with the life and well-being of a toddler on the line. The lack of ransom demand pointed to traffickers.

Point three: if someone didn't act fast, it really wouldn't matter; the trail would go too cold to follow assuming it even existed now.

Point four: Moriko might not always like her family, but Yukiko was too small to have ever done anything to earn her specific ire. She barely knew up from down yet.

She weighed all of these points very carefully. If she messed this up, it would be...bad. Very bad. And not just for her, or something silly like the designs on the outer walls. Legitimately bad.

Final point: She could get a head start now; it wouldn't take Hanae and the other ninja in the clan when they returned long to mobilize once they got back in case she wasn't able, and they'd work out the same thing quickly. If Moriko got in trouble herself, she was less likely to suffer consequences.

Not impossible, mind. But less likely.

All right, that tears it. Let's go.

A quick poof into the same taller and white-haired boy disguise as before (among other things, whether they saw through it when he caught up would tell whether or not the fight was possible) and he set out on the trail. Once he started looking for a trail rather than a whole child, it became easier. A fresh thread the same colour as Yukiko's jumper here. A blue strand of hair there. Footprints in the dust accompanying these, but no tiny ones--she had been carried.

He followed the footprints easier than looking for bits and pieces, but kept an eye out for those as well. The trail led out of the residential district and he halted. This was past the area he knew--well, there was the Bazaar, true, but after that he'd get lost a lot easier, and the possibility of having to flee kidnappers with a toddler made getting lost more of a threat than it'd usually be. It would also be embarrassing to get lost after a successful rescue and have to radio in to be saved from that.

Moriko also happened to be in a 'traffickable' age range. Moreso if his Transformation was seen though. He was also vaguely aware that he'd been in the range for seedier things, but not exactly what those things were. That presented...options. Possibly stupid ones. Or at least backup plans.

Or risks. This could easily lead to...well. He glanced in the direction of the entrance to the underground.

Hell with it. He was at the Bazaar and he had a lead on the trail. Calling for family help would be silly at this point, but no one said Moriko had to do this completely alone...

[Word Count: 1489; End Pt I]

 

[Tsurara Moriko]

Moriko didn't have to go far to find Tsukiya once he got to the Bazaar. He was hanging around his parents' stall as he did more often now. Moriko thought that maybe it was for his sake, but didn't want to examine that too closely. 'I can find you, so you should be able to find me' was a very Tsukiya-type thought when it came to him.

Despite the fact that Moriko knew for a fact Tsukiya was very unenthused by his parents' job, he seemed a natural at it. Certainly he was much better at attracting positive attention than they were, and definitely more than Moriko was. Tsukiya had a natural charm, or maybe magnetism was the right word--he could attract the types of people he wanted to work with and repel those he didn't want around him. Moriko had never seen the point in people skills, but watching Tsukiya made him wonder.

He didn't have long to wait, so promised himself a count of five minutes tops he'd wait for Tsukiya to be free before just going and then maybe radioing someone else. Fortunately it was barely a minute into that wait where the customer he was charming made their purchase and left, and Moriko approached.

Was he better or worse at ninjutsu skill than Tsukiya...?

"Ah, hello," Tsukiya said, giving him a charming smile that made him briefly pause. Was that how he was to strangers? It looked rather fake compared to when they were alone together. "You seem to be looking for something."

Moriko had better ninjutsu skill. Inwardly he preened.

"I'm looking for a Mikuni Tsukiya? I have a message for him." Tsukiya's eyebrow went up before his expression reverted to charming neutral. "It might be sensitive."

"Ah, yes. That would be me." His recovery was smooth as ever. "Why don't we find somewhere more private--I'm only helping out right now; they don't really need me."

They headed down a few twists and turns in an alley before stopping in an area where it seemed likely they wouldn't be overheard, at which point Tsukiya's expression lost its easygoing facade.

"You're familiar, but I don't think you're hostile. Who are you?"

"I'm hurt you don't recognize me," Moriko said, and dropped the transformation in a puff of smoke. Tsukiya took a half-step back, but relaxed when the smoke cleared and lowered the knife he'd quickdrawn defensively.

"...I think I've seen you use that disguise before, though not for long." He exhaled. "And you're better than me at that, clearly, or I'd have seen through. I don't imagine you're seeking me out casually while disguised."

"No, well." She shifted a bit so he could see her bow and quiver hanging off her shoulders. He nodded slowly. "I should seek you out more casually I guess so your first reaction to seeing me isn't 'there's something wrong, isn't there?'"

"Oh, it's not, don't worry." That smile had an entirely different type of charm to the one she'd seen earlier. "But you did want me for something?"

"Yeah..." Moriko shuffled a bit. "I don't know whether you're fine with helping me with things for my family or not when there's no incentive, but one of my cousins is missing. She's only three and I'm supposed to find her, and when I didn't closer to home, well."

"You think something has happened to her." He didn't say it as a question. "I also would dispute the lack of incentive, but never mind that. Of course I'll help you. It doesn't sound like you should be doing this alone. Only, why isn't someone else in your family helping or doing this? I thought they were mostly ninja."

"Yeah, well." This was the embarrassing part. "If anyone of them help, it's their mission. If I recruit someone outside the family, it's still mine."

A normal person might have told her off for being as concerned with that as she was with the life and safety of a three year old. Tsukiya just nodded thoughtfully.

"It goes back to wanting something of your own," he said. "Do you have a trail?"

And that was that, she had help.

Help with as bad a sense of direction as her, granted, something which became more apparent over the next fifteen or so minutes as they worked their way in a likely direction based on what Tsukiya knew of potential traffickers in the area and the clues Moriko spotted here and there, like a similar bootprint to the ones she'd found earlier.

They were starting to move toward somewhere any Sunan knew reeked of danger. Unfortunately, it also seemed very likely--any organized crime almost inevitably moved underground.

Literally.

"...Maybe you should call someone," Tsukiya said as they stood off to the side of one entrance to the Ruins, peering into the darkness. "This might be slightly out of our pay grade."

"And if we're too late they'll chop her up for parts or something," Moriko countered.

"Yuki don't manifest bloodline traits physically enough to sell for parts," he said calmly. "They want her whole. To either sell as a child in a foreign land, or..."

Or. Yes. The 'or' was alarming enough even before factoring in age.

"That isn't reassuring."

"It should be," he said. "She's valuable to them. They won't kill her. Moreover, they're down here and not yet leaving the city. We should have enough time to call someone more experienced from your family in."

Moriko bit her lip. Very true. Still...

"How long would it take to sell her?" she asked. "Estimate. You probably know better than I do."

"I don't know how small and adorable your young cousins tend to be," Tsukiya said. "The more she is, the faster someone is likely to snatch her up."

"Oh." Moriko winced. "Um. Looks sort of...run in my family."

He gave her a once-over and sighed. "...Not long, then. And we've already burned time tracking and getting lost. Can't be helped. Only if this goes sideways somehow..."

Moriko was old enough for the 'or' by the standards of the people down there, yes. It was plausible. She could try the disguise, but it might or mightn't work.

"I can use Transformation again," she offered, and he regarded her thoughtfully.

"I was going to say, tell me the name of someone I can radio if we need the assistance," he said.

"Oh." She chewed her lip for a second. "Hanae. We all use the clan name. She was the other one looking."

"Fair. Tsurara Hanae, then." He rolled his shoulders. "It shouldn't be too hard to find them down there, I don't think. No one really hides things. So I've heard."

He'd never been there either, of course. But much like her, he lacked nerves to be jangling right then. Moriko popped her transformation into the white-haired boy again, Tsukiya drew one of his knives, and they descended into the dark.

"People live down here?" Moriko said with a scowl five minutes into their renewed quest. "We all used to? Can you imagine a whole city down here? How miserable."

"It practically is still a city." Tsukiya gestured vaguely around them. Yes, the place was largely full of shambling and decrepit buildings, some of which still had people living in them. It was dark, and poorly lit in many places from lack of upkeep on the old city lights. Still, he was right; it may have been run-down, but there was still life here. A disturbing amount of it. "I suppose you're against trying to find ANBU to help."

"With what time?" he demanded. Tsukiya nodded. "Right. So. Which way is their bazaar...?"

Nearly every street seemed to lead to it once they started spotting the signs, navigation proving easy. Which made sense; enough people would make their livelihoods at the place. Legally and...otherwise.

They were being ignored by most of the residents, a pair of boys who could easily have been street kids. They weren't worth much consideration, fortunately. Something that wasn't true of Moriko in base form; the light blue hair alone might have been a beacon.

Only the Black Bazaar, when they arrived, was nothing like they expected. Before they entered unwisely, Tsukiya grabbed his sleeve and dragged him backwards and off to one side.

"Enforcers for the gangs," he murmured. "The place is lined with them. Three o'clock, five o'clock, ten o' clock from the entrance at minimum. It's very possible one of those groups has your cousin."

Call someone was the underlying message. Neither of them had nerves, but neither of them were stupid. Facing the reality of the situation and continuing on blithely would have been stupid. After all, you couldn't operate here without knowing how to get past and around ninja, and a pair of students were cannon fodder at best.

"Right." Moriko went to thumb his headset, then paused. "She won't recognize my voice."

"Does your family have a code word or anything?"

"No." He rubbed his head. "Uhm, something only I'd know maybe?"

"Can't hurt." Tsukiya seemed to be getting twitchy, glancing around them. Or cautious, maybe. "I'll keep an eye out. Quickly, if you please."

"Right." He flicked the headset on. "Tsurara Hanae, please respond."

His cousin's voice crackled in his ear, sounding suspicious. "Who is this? What do you want?"

"It's Moriko. I'm with a friend and we think we've found where Yukiko's been taken but we need backup. We're underground, and--"

"How do I know you're Moriko? Moriko wouldn't be foolish enough to wander underground like that."

Okay, ouch. "Uh. Well. I didn't know it was that foolish? Um. The thimbleberry jam on the cake was delicious."

A pause, and then, "Moriko, I can guess where you are down there. Get out now. Let us handle this. You are not trained for it, not yet."

Yes, okay, all fair points.

"We're going," he said with a sigh. "Just hurry, okay?"

"You better believe it. Over and out."

"Done," he said, flicking his headset off and turning back to Tsukiya. "On their way."

He felt oddly bereft. Stupid. Knowing when to fold 'em wasn't exactly a failure condition. So why was the feeling of dread from earlier sharper than ever?

"Good," Tsukiya said. "Let's get moving."

They didn't get five paces before a large, meaty hand snagged Moriko's arm. He yelped.

"Now, what are a pair of kids doing here?" He squirmed; it must have been one of the enforcers.

"We were just leaving," Moriko attempted, glancing over at Tsukiya. He was tense, fingering his knife; the fact Moriko had been snagged seeming to rattle him worse than anything she'd seen with him thusfar.

"There a reason you're calling one of the big clans...and carrying their gear?" The squeezing on his arm was painful, and Moriko had to strain to maintain the Transformation.

"Stolen," Tsukiya said, but it lacked his usual ease and rang a little hollow.

"Uh-huh," the enforcer said, and punched Moriko in the head.

The transformation broke and would have sent her tumbling to the ground if her arm hadn't still been in his grasp. Her head was swimming with dizziness and she wouldn't have been able to stand on her own power; being partly chakra-trained was likely the only way she'd escaped a concussion.

"As for that one--"

"Run!" Moriko screamed. She couldn't, but if Tsukiya found Hanae, or radioed her...

He looked reluctant to leave her (why? Why? It was the smart move, the self-preservation move; this had been her stupid idea) but at her shout met her gaze for an instant, some kind of strange promise in it, before he turned and bolted, adroitly scrambling up a building with a quickness that seemed to catch the other enforcer who tried to grab him off-guard. Moriko heaved a sigh of relief, but then yelped as she was hoisted up and thrown over the man's shoulder. They weren't even bothering to take her weapons; that was how little of a threat she was to any of them.

"Good day, huh lads?" the one who'd failed to grab Tsukiya said to the one carrying her and another she couldn't see. "Not often a rich kid just walks into our hands."

"Question is if she's more worth it for ransom or sale," the one carrying her rumbled.

"I mean she'd make more over time if you catch my drift," the third said, and Moriko felt her eyes go wide in horror. "Pretty thing like her."

"Risky," the first one said. "Family'd track her down and we'd catch hell."

"Would they even want her after a week?" the third countered. "Clan like that? Besides, they've got kids to spare."

"IF she's important," the one carrying her rumbled, "then ransom is still a better play. We'll toss her in with the other ones just in case the boss decides different though."

The boss?

She'd done something really dumb. Really, really dumb. Moriko had ignored her feeling of dread this whole time, hadn't called for help when she really should have, and now...

Now if Hanae and the others didn't find her fast she'd be at the mercy of this boss of theirs, and...

At least she wasn't crying. Yet. I'm not actually harmed yet, it's beneath me to be afraid until they've actually hurt me, I'm still fine, I'm still fine...

...Tsukiya, Hanae, please hurry...

[Word Count: 2381; End Pt II]

 

[Tsurara Moriko]

Moriko didn't see any point wasting her energy on fussing when she was being carried like a sack of potatoes. Her chakra signature was enough of a trail for someone like Hanae to follow and she didn't need to leave visible evidence like threads to lead people to her. Too noticeable in any case.

That, and she was busy yelling at herself in her head for being so stupid.

This was a real mission with real danger and you put your ego ahead of efficiently finishing it! So what if someone else would've taken charge? Clearly they should've! So much for being the cool, logical one, right?

"Gone quiet, huh," the man carrying her rumbled. "You think she's thinking of rescue?"

"Maybe," one of the other goons said. "Like a clan like hers would come down here in the first place. Bet the dumb kids didn't even leave any word back home."

Hey. Smarter than you, I bet.

"Bothered the other one got away," the third said.

"Well, what can he do?" number two asked with a shrug. "If he could do anything he'd have stayed to help his girlfriend." Moriko flushed despite herself.

The one carrying her flipped her off his shoulder in a move that would have made her dizzy had she not been a ninja, and shoved her through a door one of the others opened, not giving her chance to go in any other direction by walking right behind her. People in her personal space made her extremely uncomfortable, especially given that despite the lack of physical harm these people very much intended it for her. She did at least manage to not stumble.

The building she had been pushed inside was bare and almost certainly a holding place rather than any kind of base of operations. The entire thing was concrete, with burlap stuck over the broken windows and a single lamp standing lonely in the corner, washing the place out with fluorescent light.

There was also one chair, fairly comfortable-looking, occupied by an older woman--not quite as old as her grandmother, but less than a decade off most likely.

"Catch a little mouse?" she asked, not looking up from something that might have been a book of puzzles and as Moriko was pushed forward indeed proved to be a crossword.

"Something like that, boss," the big one rumbled. She glanced up, took in Moriko, and gave her a not-nice smile. "Her little friend got away but we don't expect trouble from him."

"Boys aren't worth as much," the boss said dismissively. "Come here, child."

Moriko gritted her teeth and reminded herself that she was at a disadvantage here, that she lacked the chakra reserves to freeze the whole room, and that there was no way she could fight or sneak her way out. She took a few steps forward toward the beckoning hand very much against her will and instinct.

The woman proved older when she was closer, the harsh lighting having obscured her wrinkles. The hand that touched Moriko's head, making her flinch back, was more withered than it had first appeared as well.

"We thought maybe ransom," one of the goons said. The boss hummed thoughtfully.

"Possible. Child, you are of the Tsurara clan, yes?"

Unable to trust her voice, Moriko nodded warily.

"Very good." The boss sat back again. "What is your mother's name? Or your father's?"

She didn't even know her father's name. Was it safe to give her mother's? Yes, most likely; despite what these people thought her family could definitely retrieve her.

"...Yuri," she said finally. The old woman startled her by throwing her head back and giving a brief, harsh laugh before turning her attention to her goons.

"Good work, gentlemen," she said. "This, if she isn't lying, is the clan heir. She'll fetch a pretty penny in ransom. Possibly even more if we allude to anything else we might have her do, should they not pay."

I wouldn't. At that kind of touch Moriko knew she would lash out with ice, logic and chances be damned. But she stayed silent, not even going for a weapon. As few of her thoughts as possible should be aired.

"Not too bright for a clan heir to go wandering around with only another titchy little kid for company," the third goon said. Moriko felt her temper spike and before she could stop herself snapped,

"Just because I don't know the ins and out of something that you do doesn't make me stupid. I bet you wouldn't think yourself stupid if you failed at something I'm good at."

She snapped her mouth shut, but the atmosphere had gone tense. Aside from the boss, that was, who chortled.

"Spirit in this one. Now I'm a little sorry we won't have use of you unless your family balks at paying. Our clients like the ones who fight back." She made a hand gesture toward the bigger goon, the one who'd carried Moriko in. "Toss her in with the other ones for now. Make sure you tie her hands. I don't want her with those free."

She was summarily hauled roughly in the air again and managed not to squeak. A bag was jammed over her head and she was held in one position as someone wrapped a tight rope around her wrists, securing the knot. She kept her wrists flexed through this. Her wits hadn't totally gone on vacation, after all.

It couldn't have been more than five minutes before the bag was pulled off of her head and she was shoved down a hole in the floor of what must have been another building. With her hands bound Moriko could do nothing to avoid landing hard other than attempt to land with bent knees, which cushioned some of the impact.

It wasn't that deep a hole. Maybe twice her height? It was still too tall for her to scale, and in the next moment a cover slid over it, leaving the only light in the room as a shabby lamp in the corner with a low-wattage bulb.

Moriko relaxed her wrists finally, feeling the ropes immediately loosen. She started attempting to work herself free until she was distracted by a little voice.

"Nee-chan?"

Oh. Right. She turned to see a small huddle of young girls, none of them over six or so. Her temper spiked briefly but she forced herself to stay calm and keep working at the ropes. Yukiko was staring up at her from the front of the huddle with large and watery blue eyes.

There were a half-dozen more girls, too. One or two might've been street kids, but more likely just too poor to bother ransoming. Moriko inspected them, wondering if any of them had any dexterity. None of them seemed to be tied themselves--too young to be any kind of threat.

"Any of you good with knots?" she asked. Probably too sharply, since one even younger than Yukiko immediately burst into tears. "Um."

"Cool it," the oldest one, six or so, said half-desperately. "They'll come look. I can maybe do knots, miss? I can tie my boots."

"Great." Moriko shuffled over and presented her tied wrists to the little redhaired girl. "It'll be faster than me getting it off myself if you can. Then I can maybe do something."

The toddler was still sniffling, but had quieted, which did not say good things. The redhead awkwardly (well, it felt like it) picked at the ropes, but since they were already loosened somewhat was able to in short order tug the rope off. Moriko turned around and brought up her hands to shake them out; the knots had been poorly tied and her wrists needed a moment for circulation reasons.

"Thanks," she said and accepted the rope back. A length of rope wasn't un-useful. Particularly when there was a high place to get to. She draped it over her shoulder before forming handseals to make a Crystal Eye, directing it to look up at the underside of the cover atop the hole to see if it had any sort of handle or hinge to be exploited.

No on the former but yes on the latter. Moriko cracked her knuckles and strode forward with purpose, feeling control of the situation return to her. With the element of surprise things changed.

Naturally she couldn't rouse a signal on the radio; they were undoubtedly underground. So that meant just her, and no going through the walls. Fine. Freeze the hinge, bust open the top, and then--

And then what? How did she get even one child out, much less a half-dozen? She didn't even have an easy way herself, and the rope wasn't long enough to be of any help.

They have to have some way to fish us out, right? I'll use that.

Minorly reassured, she canceled the eye and moved toward the hole. A little hand snagged her foot before she went far and she stopped; she could tug around a toddler but it would be silly.

"Careful nee-chan!" Yukiko pleaded. "They're scary."

"So am I," Moriko said breezily, and reached down to gently pry tiny fingers off her heel. "Just sit tight for now."

All assembled were too small to be much beyond liabilities. Fine. So it was a difficult set of constraints; it wasn't impossible or anything. Now she moved without being stopped, long strides and confident bearing restored.

Easy as anything. Freeze the cover...

The metal hinges went brittle when cold and would snap easily, and they wouldn't thaw easily down where it was cooler.

Blast it away...

Another quick application of ninjutsu, a Water Gun rendered into ice.

Jump up and use the rope.

Moriko couldn't jump that high yet, but she could jump high enough to lasso something in the room above. She tied the lasso, braced herself against the wall, and sprang up. At the same moment she twirled the lasso and threw it just before the peak of her jump, snagging it on something instantly.

She was pleased; she'd expected it to need a few tries. With it tied like that all she had to do was swing over to the wall and rappel up it. In no time she was hauling herself out and brushing herself off.

Only to duck a blow.

They had guards. Oh.

It was the big guy, too, but this time she was neither grabbed nor off-guard. Close range wasn't her strongest fighting arena. The opposite, in fact. But she'd noticed something interesting: there was no kind of allowances made for chakra usage in the area. Meaning these people were likely not ninja, or at least most of them weren't.

So she lashed out with a Water Whip converted to ice, following faster than an untrained human could handle with a spray of Icicle Needles. As a bonus they were practically invisible, so he wouldn't have any idea what hit him until it did.

Of course, she wasn't fully trained yet, so she also had to dance out of the way in a rather small room. With a closed door. Could she kick or blast it down?

"You little--" Okay, that hadn't killed him. Mental note: large adults are more resilient than small children. When she looked he was bleeding profusely from his arm where he had blocked the whip and inadvertantly the needles. "I'm gonna--"

The second of shock out of her at what he said next allowed him to grab her arm, clearly intent on keeping her from casting again. Unluckily for him, Moriko's clan possessed the Yuki bloodline.

Meaning one hand was all she needed to make a Wind Scythe out of ice and fling it deep into his gut.

See you do that when you're bleeding out.

He let go of her and stumbled backward, falling heavily against the door. In the next instant it blew off its hinges and Moriko braced herself to fight.

Instead she was greeted by a cluster of blue heads, all of whom stopped and stared at her, and then the soon-to-be-body on the ground in front of her.

"Um," said one of Moriko's more distant cousins before Hanae shushed him and stepped forward.

"Moriko, did you find her?"

As if this was the plan. Moriko pointed wordlessly down the hole. Her family would work out how to transport a gaggle of stolen children home, she was sure. Indeed, when a couple of them hopped down she could hear exclamations.

Moriko didn't care about any of that. "Where's Tsukiya? Is he with you?"

"Moriko!"

He pushed through the small crowd, which was dispersing to take possession of the building and handle any other goons that might be lurking about. Moriko turned and exhaled in relief, and clearly the feeling was mutual as the second he cleared her cousins Tsukiya jumped forward and grabbed her in a hug.

Real shock flooded through her again. People didn't touch her. When they did, it didn't feel good. It made her skin crawl. So she wasn't very used to hugs. But here, now...

She reached out hesitantly, wrapped her arms around him loosely, and then more tightly. She wasn't sure she was doing it right, but, when she relaxed into the warmth of another person, realizing this was what human contact was supposed to feel like...

Well, she found she didn't much care if she was correct this time.

[Word Count: 2345; End]