Everything was dark. 

Then a light pierces through his eyes with each soft breath he took. In the faint darkness, Obito could hear the echoing patter of rain--

And the thumping beat of his heart.

His entire being ached as he fought to move, only to realize how stiff his body felt. Was he under a jutsu? Was it perhaps the effects of the poison he ingested earlier? The man wasn't too sure, but a numbing anxiety played guessing games whether he was meant to die weak like this or perhaps some miracle had saved him.

Water seeped into his eyes, and instinctively his eyes blinked to rid of it. Once. Twice. Shortly, the obscure picture of the ground brightened in front of him. Feet were slushing through the mud as the rain continued to pour. It didn't take him long to realize that he leaned against someone's back. And the thought of Yoshie finally flashed in his mind.

"Yo. . shi. . e. ." his weak voice croaked. His eyes scanned his surroundings, hoping to see a glimpse of her as he was being carried away. His vision kept blacking out; his weak short breaths weren't helping. Hoping to hear Yoshie's voice, Obito strained his ears. But it was his best friend's voice that responded.

"I see you're awake, idiot." The man's voice chuckled in disbelief. If Obito had more strength, he would've laughed with him but he had none. Kakashi understood this and began to reassure his tired friend. "Rest for now. We'll talk later."

Obito groaned as he tried to lift his head up. 

"Sensei, we're almost there!" A muffled voice echoed.

"How far more?" Kakashi called back.

"Few more clicks and we should be there!"

From a near distance, Obito recognized the red kimono Yoshie wore. Her raven hair clung to her back like roots. The blades she clung to hung on the belt of another. And her hand that held his face limped beside her, pale and blue.

Obito breathes. "Yo. . shi. . e. ."

And his vision turned to black while the sound of pounding rain faded.

When Obito awoke again, it wasn't pouring any longer. The pitter-patter had been replaced with the cry of seagulls, and in the faint background the man could hear the bustling and hustling of a town. He strained to open his eyes, and very slowly he did as his vision adjusted to the sudden bright light that pierced from the corner of his eyes. The wind flapped the curtain beside him, and beyond it he could see the rooftops of the townhouses of this new village. 

And beyond that--

A horizon of the blue sea.

For a moment Obito wondered how he got there, then he recalled Kakashi carrying him for God knows how long. At that realization, he remembered Yoshie unconscious in his arms and flashing to her on someone's back.

Blood rushed through him as he scanned his room for her. But the man didn't need to panic, not even a moment. Because the woman laid on her bed just across his own, pale and still. Flashes of the fight swept through his mind, the adrenaline rush that helped him fight against formidable foes--every swing of his blade he remembered. He recalled watching Yoshie turn pale as she crumpled to the ground. The weight he felt as he carried her limp body in his arms.

"Good to see you're awake," Kakashi interrupted his thoughts as he closed the door behind him.

"Kakashi. . it's. . good to see you, too," Obito croaked then grabbed his throat. "Water."

"Oh, here." The gray-haired shinobi rushed to his friend's side and helped him up before handing him a flask of water.

Obito's hands trembled as he grasped at the flask and Kakashi had to assists him to get a sip. It was embarrassing, but this humbling moment had Obito chukling to lighten up the mood. Kakashi though didn't find this funny at all.

"What happened?" Obito asked. "How did you find us?"

Kakashi sighed as he glanced at the samurai beside them.

"People were running away from a village like crazy, some still had the strength to at least tell us some samurais were fighting. I was confused for sure, but we assumed it was you and we were correct when we found you and Masashi-san. I never thought I'd see you so close to death."

"They poisoned us. . we went to this ramen shop and I guess they somehow managed to coerce the owners into doing it. I don't know how they knew we'd be there, though they could've convinced them very quickly."

"About that poison, Shiki and Hinata managed to get most of it out of you two. If we didn't get you to the priestess, you both would've died from the poison before the blood loss killed you. Hinata wouldn't have been able to do it alone when there's two of you."

"The priestess? Where's Sakura-san and the others?" Obito asked perplexedly.

When Obito saw the somber look on Kakashi's face, he realized that they may be in deeper mud than he originallyy knew. Whether the others were alive or not, they weren't sure. If they had turned into shikabane, it would mean monsters with speed and strength none of the shikabane they've seen before ever had.

It was a scary thought.

But if they were captured by the Demon Samurai, what horrors could they have possibly have faced already?

"I'm sorry. . Kakashi. I continued on with Yoshie when I should've come back for you guys. If only we did. . perhaps they--"

"It's not your fault." Kakashi interrupted. "They disappeared around the same time you did. The chaos separated us and when we regrouped half of the team was gone, including you guys. We were worried you were captured. . or worse. But now we've confirmed at least you two were okay." 

"No way. ." The man clenched his fists as his teeth gritted in anger at the news. "Wait. H-How long. . have we been out?"

The gray-haired man sighs.

"Three days," Kakashi replied hesitantly. "You were unconscious for three days. Even with Shiki-san's healing, you're not even fully healed. She did mention the poison was a strong type, but it had done plenty of damage to both you and Masashi-san when we brought you two in."

Hearing that, Obito turned and gazed at the samurai across his bed. When he turned back to face Kakashi, he asked, "Has Yo--Masashi-san ever woken up?"

Kakashi shook his head.

"She's been pretty still, unfortunately. Not even a groan from her."

Obito covered his face as he contemplated on everything that had transpired while taking a peek at the sleeping samurai close by before looking back at Kakashi who didn't have the words to console him. Before he could say anything more, the rest of the party decided to show up. And they were surprised and glad to see Obito finally awake.

The bright faces of the young shinobi lit up the gloomy room, with them each giving their senior a pat on the back. Surprisingly, even the other samurai were with the shinobi. Although their expressions failed to hide the disappointment behind their smiles. Hanzo's face was obviously irate.

"Good to see you finally awake, sensei," said Naruto, grinning from ear to ear. "How are you feeling?"

"A little woozy but I'll be okay."

"Who attacked you guys? Some villagers told us some samurai did." 

"They called themselves the Emperor's Shadows. I'm assuming they were confident to capture us to tell us who they were."

"Except they didn't. They're probably surprised you got away. They nearly killed you though." Shiki smacked Obito on the shoulder, hard enough that he helped. "I can't believe you guys got poisoned! It's baffling! Unbelievable!"

"S-Sorry. ."

"This means Masashi-san has been labeled as an imperial threat," Ieyasu chimed in. "This is bad. Now she'll be a fugitive trying to get in back into the empire."

His words shook everyone in the room. From what they knew, she was trying to save her home. But it seemed things were brewing on their own. "But why? She's trying to save everybody!" Said Hinata and everyone glanced at the quiet woman.

The red samurai sighed. "This whole shikabane catastrophe started in her village and we still can't really confirm anything yet."

"But she said--"

"That's all hearsay. As much as I want to believe her, and I'm sure everyone does, however, at this rate we can't take everything at face value. There are just too many things that don't make sense. Too many questions and no answers. Now she has the empire for an enemy while that Demon Samurai is somewhere out there."

"Wait, wait. Who are the Shadows? Are they special assassins or something?" Even Sasuke jumped into the conversation. He and his fellow young shinobi gave each a look that almost said 'definitely something worth asking'.

"Indeed they are," Hirohisa confirmed and exhaled a sharp sigh. "They're deadly samurai and shinobi combined, and no one knows who they are or how many they are. We only know that if the Emperor has let his Shadows loose, we're in big trouble. Fuck. ." 

"In our country, shinobi only exist to assassinate under someone's order. No one knows who they are and you'd be lucky if you managed to spot them in the shadows. That's why we samurai can't help but give you the stink eye knowing you're shinobi," said Ieyasu. "Well, good to know there are honorable shinobi."

"U-Um, glad to know you think that way!" Rock Lee quickly perked up though an awkward silence succeeded afterward.

"Alright, guys, mind leaving the room now?" Shiki suddenly demanded, and some grumbled at this. Bu Shiki wasn't having it. "Yes, yes, Uchiha-san is awake and you all saw him alive, so you can all leave him in peace. You--" Shiki pointed at Neji who was standing all quiet the whole time, "Bring some food for this guy. We need him revitalized if we want to get moving."

Neji only managed to stammer out a "yes" before rushing out. Everyone left the room one by one until only Obito and Shiki and Kakashi were left with the unconscious Yoshie. After a moment of silence, the shinobi tried to swing his leg out to the side but nearly stumbled out instead. 

Shiki caught him by his kimono, letting Obito clumsily fumble out a "thank you" as she helped him adjust. The woman sighed irately while doing so. 

"I don't know what you are to Masashi-san but it's painfully obvious you have feelings for her. If you're doing all this just to express the magnitude of your attachment to her I suggest you ready yourself to lose her. I don't know if the samurai had told you already but the Land of the Rising Sun is very much different compared to here and they don't take kindly to strangers. There's a reason why that land evaded foreign connections."

"Since Yoshie is out, I'll be the one to guide you into the empire. I had already instructed everybody to get a change of attire to blend in."

"When will we leave?" Obito asked.

"As soon as you've regained your strength. We can't have you as a liability when we already have one."

"I'm sorry. ."

"Tsk." Shiki slapped Obito by the arm. "Stop apologizing and just get back on your feet! It's much better than having your head down all the time. Ugh, and you're hoping to get Yoshie to fall in love with you."

"That's a little--"

"Shut it. I'm not hearing it."

Even if it was his best friend, Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle seeing Obito get a beating. "We've already investigated the village, unfortunately, we were unable to track down whoever attacked you. Not even a clue."

"The Shadows are a different league." Said Shiki. Then turning to Obito she asked, "Could you tell us about your attackers and how many they were?"

"They were only two. . they only displayed a lot of strength and agility, they didn't show anything special."

"I see."

"Are they really that worrying?" The masked ninja went to the window and peaked out. As they were on the second floor of their stay, it was easy to gaze out and scan through the crowds in the fishing village. The people were nonchalant, absorbed into their simple mundane life. It'll be good if it would stay that way while the shinobi and the samurai straightened out the horrors not yet known to them.

They had peace.

"Don't get cocky unless you want to die." The blue-haired priestess almost said that with a snarl. "Your friend here almost died and they weren't even fighting seriously."

"I'll go out ahead, boys, I'll look for our ride."

"Shiki-san!" Obito's voice stopped Shiki in her tracks. "Thank you. . for saving us."

The small woman just left his words hanging like that and disappeared behind the curtains, leaving Obito with Kakashi once more. He was sure his best friend would've left if he had nothing left to say, and his hunch proved correct just a second later. 

"I hope you don't get yourself killed for the samurai woman, idiot. She's not Rin."

And with that, Kakashi left Obito to his own thoughts--the man being distraught and guilty.

When Obito looked at Yoshie, he realized how peaceful she looked compared to when she was awake.

* * * * * * * *

Like the rest of the samurai, mystery veiled their faces. Their eyes quiet, perceiving, and suspicious of the foreign strangers. Hanzo was the quietest of the three men. His eyes narrowed into slits as he stayed in underneath the shadow. There were a few stares for him and the other samurai, though one glare from Hanzo made everyone avert their eyes away.

It was strange how this place was not panic-stricken when whole villages in the continent had been burning up into ashes. Did they not hear about the bloodthirsty teeth of the shikabane?

"It would seem news here is slow," Hanzo spoke out of the blue. "I sure as hell thought people should've heard about that village burned all up."

"I thought so as well,' Hirohisa replied. He turned to check on Ieyasu who would've been one to make remarks like this. But his eyes were far away.

"Something on your mind?" 

"That Shiki woman. . I feel like I've seen her before," he mumbled. "But i couldn't be her. ."

"Huh?"

"I just remembered that I saw someone like her when we were kids. I went to this abandoned temple and some nasty priestess was there. Reminded me a lot like Shiki-san."

"Maybe Shiki-san is her sister or distant relative."

"I dunno. . the similarity is just too uncanny."

Their blond friend wasn't in the mood for idle chitchat, so he turned on his heels and left them with a wave of his hand.

He weaved through the streets of the village, keeping a keen eye around his surroundings. In his silence, the man recalled the trip he's had with the shinobi and the Blue Dragon Samurai and his right hand. And there was the blue-haired priestess as well.

If only he could go alone, he would've found the samurai already. But he didn't expect the other shinobi to find him before he could slip away. Once they found him, Hanzo could only clench his teeth as he cooperated. He couldn't be suspicious or else his mission would fail.

You should die for what you've done. Yoshie!

After investigating what had transpired in Taiyogakure, the Red Dragon Clan found traces of cursed power lingering through the village. It was seeping of malevolence, not anything that Hanzo had seen. The espionage sent saw Yoshie in her blind spree, killing the last bit of shikabane there. However, they saw something no one else would believe.

"Find out the truth from Yoshie. She is the answer to all this. I fear. . something else more sinister is coming."

Quietly the samurai went up to the inn they stayed in. Much to his chagrin, he found the long-haired fellow with milky white eyes and the taka wielding shinobi. Having Obito in the room was already more than enough if the gray-haired masked ninja was in with him. It would seem he would have to postpone his plan.

But it wouldn't hurt to see her close up--all vulnerable like sheep.

All Hanzo had to do was nod and they let him pass. When he saw her alone though, the chance of killing her rose again.

"That demon samurai. . the roots collecting chakra. ." Hanzo narrowed his eyes as he stared down at the sleeping woman in front of him. "Yoshie. Your story doesn't exactly add up. Those shikabane. . they could only have been awakened by a failed ritual. I'm sure you, of all people, should know that. Yet you can't seem to admit that the reason why the empire is in chaos is because of you."

He takes out a blade, small but enough to slice her throat open--

"What are you doing?" Shiki's voice suddenly broke through the silence.

"Checking up on Yoshie. She should be waking up by now after all." Hanzo replied immediately, concealing his blade in his sleeve. "If you excuse me."

With that, the blond man quickly made a beeline for the door and disappeared. Though Shiki found his behavior strange but decided that it was nothing--the man has always been strange after all. 

There was nothing to worry about.

~~~

Number of words: 2992

Hello, hello! Finally dropped a new chapter after many months!!! I've been writing out chapter summaries during my spare time and I honestly had hoped to finish this earlier and faster but I think months-break seemed to have slowed me down.

Thank you all sm for waiting!