Haruto was naturally relieved when we came to get him, but the same couldn't be said for his opponent.
Tsurugi Shoma was not at all weak, a powerful taijutsu master, skilled enough at ninjutsu, and all around a skilled Jōnin.
Sunagakure didn't have many like him, which is why the loss of him would undoubtedly hurt and ensure that the team hunting us would need to replace him before they could follow us again, giving us time to lose them once again.
"Damn, Arata, I didn't realize you were such a big fan of the second Tsuchikage," I said, noticing how he looked with all his cuts bandaged up.
"Ha ha, very funny Yuki, real mature of you." He answered very dryly.
Koji, however, let out real laughter at my little joke. "I never knew that about you Arata, you should have told me." He wasted no time in joining me in making fun of him.
Because Arata was wrapped up like a mummy, just like the famous look of the second Tsuchikage. A man so mysterious that today, hardly anyone knows what he looks like under it all.
Which was very rare for someone as famous as him.
Arata opened his mouth to say something, but ended up just closing it again.
"You two, do you have to make fun of him? He really got hurt badly, you know." Haruto tried to come to his defence.
Koji said with a light shrug, "Isn't it his own fault for getting hurt? Even you barely got hurt, and you didn't have it any easier than he did."
As shinobi, we cared for our fellow comrades, but we also weren't about cuddling them when they got a little hurt. Sure, we might avenge them, but if they got hurt, we would tell them to get better.
Because as a shinobi, you got hurt, you suffered, you fought, and you likely died. There was no place for false comfort.
"Be that as it may, he is in pain." Haruto said.
"Fine, we will let him off the hook, if nothing else, he did well staying alive and avoiding any permanent injuries; had he fallen, the rest of us might have followed." I relented.
Arata gave a grunt of acknowledgement. It wasn't exactly gratitude, but it was the closest thing we'd get from someone still covered in fresh bruises and shame.
"I'm just glad you made it in time," he muttered, settling down on a damp rock. "She would've taken my head eventually."
"She was good," I agreed. "But too eager to play with her food. That's the only reason you had time to hold out."
Still better than going up against someone like who Haruto fought. If she had shared his mindset, we wouldn't have made it — I wouldn't have, at least," he said with a grunt.
I could only agree with that, had any of the others not lasted until I managed to win, I would likely have been teamed up against. Koji might win his fight, but it would have taken longer, so yeah, he wouldn't have been able to help me for a while.
"So," Haruto said, breaking the moment, "now what?"
"With one of their dead, it's unlikely they would try anything, even if Arata isn't able to fight at full force, he can still assist with his ninjutsu, so winning shouldn't be too hard, we know it, they know it, so for now, they shouldn't do anything." I answered.
"So, should we take the chance to kill them?" Koji asked.
I understood where he was coming from; the best we could do was eliminate the threat entirely, more so since we didn't know who was responsible for tracking us. So it was possible that the one responsible was still alive.
Taking them out would make us much safer, and well, it was the right thing to do as a good Konoha shinobi. And we had the ability to track them.
Still, I didn't answer right away, because there were still some issues with doing that. Namely, the fact that they had a head start on us.
This meant that even though we could track them, we would still need to run faster than them, and given the time we needed to take to rest, recover, and patch up Arata, this head start wasn't small.
While I didn't know if they had to rest, I couldn't be sure.
If they had a day on us, that meant we would struggle to catch up with them, and with the large amount of Suna shinobi running around, it was entirely possible that they would run right into another patrol for support.
"And if that happens," I said aloud, finishing my own thought, "we'd be walking into an ambush."
Koji clicked his tongue. "So, what, we let them go?"
"Revenge isn't our mission. If we find them, we can fight, but I would rather not run into them again; too much could have gone wrong this time." I said, shaking my head.
"Its just those two fuckers… they pissed me off, I wish I could have killed them," Koji complained.
"You and me both," Arata grunted, his body hurting all over after his run-in with that sadistic Kunoichi.
"I assure you, I have no more desire to let that creep run wild than either of you, but hunting them down is reckless; it's better to just focus on our mission," I said with a shake of my head.
"Mission could be dangerous with them hunting us, though." Haruto added.
"Which is why we prepare to change the mission goal, if we can't kill, we can at least keep such a dangerous team away from the other patrols and teams. Sometimes, you gotta act smart." I replied. "And that's my decision as team leader."
Koji grunted. "Fine, a bit of time without having to worry that much won't hurt."
"True, I could use the time to recover, moving too much will cause all the cuts to open all the time, and I would rather not get this many scars all at once." Arata commented.
-----
Over the next few days, we continued to move, but at a steady pace, allowing everyone to rest, recover, and heal.
We kept our guard up, but we also didn't want to be predictable, just in case someone was following us, though neither I nor Koji found any traces of that. Which meant either there weren't any, or they kept themselves far away.
Most didn't really need it, Koji hadn't gotten hurt, Kuro was a little hurt, but it was all minor things, and while he kept extra close to Koji, there was nothing wrong with him.
Haruto had just used a lot of chakra, and a few small cuts and bruises, nothing that couldn't be fixed with some rest, which only left Arata as the one needing proper recovery.
This was both a blessing, and a curse.
"Really, Yuki? Is this necessary?" Koji groaned and gasped, voice strained and out of breath.
"Yeah, yeah, it is, considering how you're trying to push your luck... I thought I needed to find a way to help you use up your energy... and you did agree to it," I said, smirking and grinning.
Koji's arms trembled as he lowered himself toward the dirt, veins popping in his forearms. My perch on his back shifted slightly with the motion, but I adjusted easily, crossing my legs and resting my elbows on my knees as if I were meditating atop a mountain rather than a sweaty boy doing push-ups beneath me.
"You tricked me," he muttered through clenched teeth. "You made it sound like we were going to have sex!"
"I did," I replied sweetly, watching him struggle to push up again. "I needed to punish you for what you did last time, and you clearly have too much energy, so win-win."
Koji groaned in protest, managing another shaky pushup. "This is cruel and unusual punishment."
I leaned forward just a bit, putting the tiniest extra weight on his back. "You should be grateful. Most boys only get their hearts broken when they mess up. You get physical conditioning and personalized attention."
He dropped back down again with a grunt, cheek nearly in the dirt. "This is worse than heartbreak."
I laughed. "Oh please. You're getting stronger and I'm keeping you company. You should be thanking me."
"You're sitting on my spine."
"Because you said you could handle it," I said innocently.
Kuro, lounging nearby with his head resting on his paws, let out a huff that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. Koji glared at him between pushups. "Traitor…"
"Face it," I said, patting Koji's shoulder mockingly. "You earned this."
"For what, exactly?" he growled.
"Do I really need to remind you?"
"Yes!" he shouted, a bit too eagerly.
"Be good, and we might do a replay of the events, but only if you work hard enough, so train those arms, show me what you can do, partner." I said, giving him a bit of encouragement.
"Yes!" he shouted, now fired up as he began doing push-ups with the same single-minded dedication I expected to see from the Might family.
"You are too good to him; you should punish him harder." Arata said from his spot, not far away.
"Hey! I'm right here!" Koji complained.
Haruto chuckled from where he was sorting through their gear nearby. "You kind of asked for it, Koji. You don't just flirt so shamelessly in front of two single guys without expecting a little punishment."
Koji didn't stop his push-ups, but he groaned again, more from embarrassment than exertion. "You are just jealous I get to fuck the team leader and you don't!"
I slapped the back of his head, it was light and playful, but he still ended up kissing the wet ground. "Team leader, am I? And here I thought you fucked me because you love me, not just because I'm your boss."
"Woof!"
"Yuki, you know I love you, I was just saying."
I interrupted him with another soft smack to his head. "You were boasting about your girl, with your girl here, which is risky when you can't hold your tongue."
"Woof! Woof."
"Hehe, you're my girl, are you?" He giggled.
I rolled my eyes. "You stopped," I pointed out.
"Garr," he groaned as he began again.
"Start over." I said from his back.
"What!?"
"You heard me, start over."
"But Yuki! I already did over two hundred!" he whined.
"Then you shouldn't have a problem with another two-fifty."
"Damn it Yuki, I will make you regret this" he cursed but still began once more.
"Please," I said, rolling my eyes. "If you can even lift your arms once I'm done with you, I won't resist them no matter what they do."
"You said it!"
"Woof!"
"Yuki, you shouldn't encourage him. He is a healthy young man; he will be unstoppable if you say something like that." Haruto warned me.
Arata snorted. "Too late. That idiot just activated Eight Gates of Horniness."
Koji nearly faceplanted again from laughing mid-push-up, groaning. "Shut up, Arata!"
Kuro gave another bark, clearly delighted with himself.
I smirked and leaned back lazily, still perched on Koji's back. "You're all just mad I found the perfect motivational system."
"I'm mad you're enabling his delusions," Haruto said, standing now with his hands on his hips, like an exasperated older brother. "Do you know how hard it is to sleep when the two of you are going at it twenty ten meters away?"
"I don't want to know," I said very quickly and very firmly.
"Maybe you should add another few hundred to his goal, or I fear he might make use of your offer." Arata added, trying to help.
"Woof!" Kuro barked again.
"Damn Yuki! You smell so horny while on my back! It's torture!"
"Shut up koji!" I slapped his head again.
While Haruto and Arata just laughed.
(end of chapter)