Yumi whimpered. She could see the entire village from the top of the flag pole. Usually she would have never dared such a high and dangerous climb, but it was the only way she could see everything. Then she began to think of her location. Kojima loved high places. She’d perch herself at the top of the poll when she felt like having some alone time.

     As Yumi remembered all the times she and Kojima had spent around the flag pole, she began to wonder what had happened to her friend. She knew Kojima could stand the fire, and even the smoke despite her weak lungs, but Yumi didn’t know if one of the attacking ninja had caught her.

     They were an ordinary village, not one of the hidden ninja villages. Kojima had never fought against the formidable foe in her life. She was fast, but she couldn’t keep up a good pace for more than a few minutes, especially with all this smoke from the burning buildings.

     “Kojima-Kun…” Yumi sighed, convinced Kojima was already dead. “I’ll miss you, my friend…”

     “Where am I going?” came a blank voice from directly behind Yumi.

     Yumi’s head shot around before her body could keep up. Yumi smiled.

     “Koji-Chan! You aren’t plant food!”

     Kojima frowned.

     “Yumi, you must have been hit hard. We’re facing ninja not Mother Nature.”

     Yumi stuck her tongue out at Kojima, but she couldn’t stop grinning. She was so happy she almost lost her balance.

     Then Yumi remembered something.

     “Hey! What happened to the boys?”

     Kojima shrugged her shoulders. She re-positioned herself on the pointed top of a statue on the large village meeting building. Yumi wasn’t all the way up the flag pole, so she could hear Kojima just fine as she followed her shrug with the reply, “I bet those wimps are hiding in their shrines with the rest of their weak ass family.”

     One thing Kojima did well was speak her mind. If she thought you were stupid, you knew it. She was also good at acting like she didn’t have those thoughts about somebody if it would cause an affective uproar. She knew what she had to do no matter what, even if she didn’t seem like it.

     Yumi sighed. She knew well that they were a weak clan, the Masato. They put all of their time, energy, and faith in their religious practices. Saruwatari was the only one who knew at least a little bit of how to fight, but that was only because he watched and imitated Kojima and Yumi as they fought. If the ninjas found them, the Masato would surely be slaughtered like animals.

     “Let’s get going,” Yumi told Kojima.

     Kojima wasn’t one to argue unless she was in an extra happy mood. Now was not one of those times. She shifted her body slowly, like a snake uncoiling from the statue, and then took off to the ground like an eagle. Yumi let her grip loosen and she slid down the poll, careful to avoid the flag. They landed roughly at the same time and went running.

     Yumi could tell Kojima had had enough after the first minute. She never did run very well. Her body had a total of seven weak points, her heart being one of them. Two more were her ankles. If she made a wrong step, she would trip and have a hard time regaining herself. They would be found and killed.

     But Yumi put faith in Kojima. Even though she stared blankly straight in front of her, Kojima knew everything that went under her feet. She would not make a wrong step. Besides, too much was at stake, including their own lives.

     They must all be at the north end of the village Kojima thought to herself. They only saw ninja that were dead. Everyone else had cleared out. Good. We’re going in the opposite direction than they are.

     Kojima clenched her side. The pain from her body’s strain was starting to get to her. But she was use to ignoring her physical pain. Even if she made a wrong step and twisted her ankle, she would be back on it and running within thirty seconds. She knew such strain was bad for her, but she didn’t care at this point.

     Yumi glanced behind her to see if Kojima was well. They were almost there. It would be a bad time for her friend to lose focus.

     Yumi grinned as they reached the edge of town. In minutes they were up the dirt path and into the columns of holy shrines and memorials. The air here was foggy, but they could see just fine. Yumi was getting cold chills, but Kojima was having heat flashes. She slowed down a little as Yumi came to a stop.

     Yumi looked over at Kojima, her expression not sure of what to think of the scene. It wasn’t horrible, like the scene of the village, but creepy…

     “They’re gone,” Yumi whispered.

     Kojima’s stomach turned.

     “No,” she replied. “They’re dead.”

     Yumi looked over at her companion.

     “Don’t say that! How would you even know?!”

     Kojima clenched her fists. She pointed to a broken string, beads scattered all around in its area.

     “They were ambushed before the village was attacked. They were outnumbered, no doubt, and captured before they could even scream. No doubt they were gagged and taken to be killed inside of the huts.”

     Yumi could hardly speak. “H-how do you know this?”

     Kojima pointed to light footprints in the ground. They were mixed together and looked like they were made by frantic feet. Then she pointed to one of their living quarters. A tiny patch of blood, one Yumi would have usually never seen without it being pointed out, stained a corner of one of the rice paper doors, as if it had been seeped up from the floor.

     Yumi shuddered. The very thought that her friends were no longer alive made their whole escape seem worth nothing.

     Then suddenly Kojima whipped her head around. She bit her lip, then motioned for Yumi to follow her. She had heard something.

     Yumi didn’t dare wander from Kojima’s shadow. Kojima wasn’t this brave for her friends, but more out of curiosity. Yumi didn’t have that curiosity. Unlike Kojima, she didn’t thrive off of adrenaline rushes.

     They reached one of the minor shrines. Kojima hesitated a moment before pulling one of the doors all the way open. Kojima’s adrenaline rush increased tenfold and Yumi almost collapsed. Sitting one of the far corners was too figures of what appeared to be young boys, in their middle teens, no doubt.

     The girls made their way slowly across the room, Yumi, clenching onto the sleeve of Kojima’s kimono, keeping Kojima from moving any faster.

     When they reached their destination, Yumi nudged Kojima. It was obvious she wasn’t going to touch either of them. So Kojima, filled with fear and excitement, placed her hand on one of the cold shoulders.