Koe cracked open his hundred-pound eyelids, grunting as he lifted himself into a sitting position. The light that poured in from the window was feeble and thin, newborn light in the early morning. Koe took in his surroundings, and could not help but feel overwhelmed with all that had happened in the last two weeks. He was still wearing his hospital clothing from his time in the medical center, the blinding white room where he met Kiiro. The room he was in now had brown, wooden floors, walls, and ceiling. There was an unlit light bulb in the center of the ceiling, a dresser to the left of Koe's bed, and a small table with a lamp to his right. The bed he was in had light blue sheets and white pillows.

He needed air. Koe was unable to think properly, not after his life had changed so drastically. Not after being told he was going on yet another journey so soon after already completing this one.

Koe tentatively crawled out from under the covers and went to the window. He was not sure why he was in that room at all. Everything from the other day had become a blur. It was simply unbelievable.

Koe undid the latch on the window and opened it, breathing in the frigid air deeply and slowly letting it out, trying to make sense of what was happening. It couldn't possibly be as bad as he thought. After all, Nariko was not worried at all. Perhaps there was no need to fear. He would simply go to the cave and train with a master for a few years and then, after all this craziness was solved, he could finally rest. It would all work out in the-

"Heeeeeeeeeey! Koe! It be time fer our suicide mission, hurry up! Come on down!"

Koe looked down to see Nariko and Kiiro, already in their traveler's clothing and with packs on their backs. Nariko had that old yellow messenger's bag swung over her shoulder, reminding Koe of the cake. He suddenly realized that he did not remember eating.

Wait, did she say SUICIDE mission?

Koe gulped as Nariko kept yelling up at him.

"Jest jump down, it be faster! Hurry up, Koe!"

Jump down?!

Koe shook his head frantically and yelled back,"I-I-I c-c-can't!"

"Hurry up, unless ye wanta get lost comin' down, like I know ye will, or fall down the stairs like a klutz! Don't worry, we'll catch you!"

Koe thought about it, and he decided that he didn't like any of the options that he'd been offered. What could he do about it?

He looked down at Nariko and Kiiro, and remembered what Nariko said about him, that he had never heard anyone say before.

I believe in Koe.

Koe swallowed again, drew away from the window, and walked across the room. Then he got a running start and jumped out the window.

He immediately regretted it.

No no no no no what was I thinking?! 

This was a bad idea!

Just because she believes in me doesn't mean I can do it!

Doesn't it?

Will they really catch me?

Koe's breath was knocked out of him as he fell into the arms of Kiiro and Nariko. Astounded with what he'd done, he only smiled dazedly as they laughed and congratulated him. 

They caught me. 

They trust me.

They believe in me.

"Come on, Koe. I'll take you to the bathroom so that you can change into your traveler's clothing. Just put it over your hospital stuff, it's kind of cold today, heh. We would've given them to you in your room, but even our heir Nariko isn't allowed up there, and if she can't go, I apparently can't, heh."

"Besides, it be better fer ye anyways! Ye'd ne'er a'done that 'fore all we went through!"

"R-r-right. B-But why c-couldn't you g-go up there?"

"Because girls can't go into the boy's dorm, and she wouldn't let me go get you alone. She says that it'd take too long, and we do have a schedule to follow. I admit it, she's a lot faster at waking people up."

"It be 'cos yer too nice about it, Kiiro. Now hurry up an' get 'im dressed, I be gettin' impatient."

"You've been impatient ever since you arrived."

"Careful what ye say ta the next Owl Lord, Kiiro, now hurry up, ye flyin' fish!"

Kiiro chuckled under his breath as he led Koe to the bathrooms. Koe was glad that Kiiro did not grab him or drag him or twist his arm, as Nariko did. His company was relieving after Nariko's impatience and rushing around.

Kiiro showed him how to fasten his new trousers and how to tie a knot to make the robe stay on Koe's skinny frame.

"Koe, how much have you eaten since you got here?"

"...I d-d-don't know."

Kiiro looked up at him, and Koe could visibly see him read the uncertainty written on his face. Kiiro smiled up at him with closed eyes.

"Heh, heh, we'll get you some bread to eat as we walk. Don't worry about it so much, Koe. A little food will help a bit. Then it might not seem so scary. Sure, it might seem dangerous, but hey, so was jumping out of a window. You've done things that I couldn't if I tried. I trust you, now you just have to trust us. Can you do that?"

Koe stared at his smiling face, and Kiiro's goofy grin was infectious.

He smiled back.

"S-s-sure."

After dressing, Koe and Kiiro walked out of the restrooms to see Nariko standing there, tapping her foot like a panicked rabbit. 

"Flyin' FINALLY. Here, Koe."

With lightning speed, Nariko tossed Koe something in a sheath, and it hit him in the forehead with such force that he fell onto his back. 

"Ooooooooow."

"...Ye were supposed ta catch it, Koe."

Kiiro helped Koe up, and handed him the object that hit him.

"W-w-what's th-this?"

"It be a wakizashi sword. Smaller'n a katana, bigger'n a tanto. Perfect fer ye. Jest don't cut me in half, wait until we get ta the Land o' Snakes ta use it."

Koe nodded, looking at the wakizashi. Kiiro helped him hang the sheath around his waist and showed him how to draw it if they got attacked. After more whining from Nariko, the threesome set off on their journey.

Koe had to cling to Kiiro's back as Kiiro walked down the tree alongside Nariko, onto the ground. 

Map in hand, Nariko took the lead as they walked on the dirt path, Koe trailing bread crumbs behind him as Kiiro hummed under his breath.

--

The first night was spent next to the path, with Nariko taking the first night shift, watching for bandits.

"They ain't much of a problem. Most are jest poor souls tha' don't stand a chance 'gainst the Kekkei Genkai."

On the second night, Koe was on guard duty. He stood there, leaning against the tree, shivering and jumping at every small noise. He nearly screamed when a cricket jumped onto his sandal. After a while, Koe began to relax, taking deep breaths and trying not to get distracted from Nariko's loud snoring. He'd just started nodding off when he heard a rustling in the bushes.

His head shot up, and he scanned the area around him for movement. A louder, closer rustling struck fear into his heart like a bolt of lightning, as he turned his head around slowly, afraid of what he was about to see.

The bushes' branches waved in the night air like a thousand clawed arms as their shadows pulled at the trees in front of Koe. The moon shone behind Koe, casting his long, cold, deformed shadow onto the grassy ground before it. Koe licked his cold lips, biting them, straining to control his overwhelming fear.

Koe's shaking hands groped for the wakizashi, and he clung to it with the grip of iron as he called out, "Wh-wh-who's th-th-th-there?"

Koe jumped back and knocked his head against the tree when the bushes began to shake more violently, the arms waving frantically, the ash-black tendrils held up in the air, searching, feeling, reaching...

"G-g-guys," Koe whispered.

"G-g-g-g-guys," he said louder as longer shadows rose in the air in front of him, rising out of the inky darkness from whence they came.

"G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-GUYS!"

Nariko jumped up, kicking her legs and coming up in a fighting stance with her hands held in a clapping position.

"Whazzzupwazat! Gerflunk flyin' fish! Whaz goinon! Where are they? I'll pulverize them!"

Nariko kicked Kiiro awake and screamed in his face. Typical Nariko, even when they were under attack.

"Oi, oi, oi, GEDDUP WE BE UNDER ATTACK!!!"

Kiiro screamed, leaping three feet into the air before landing in a perfect roll, shuko claws at the ready. 

"I'm up, Mother! What! Where! What's goin on!"

Koe pointed a shaking finger at the figures, who rushed at them without hesitation. Nariko shouted and clapped her hands, throwing them onto their backs.

"Don't move, or we'll attack!" shouted Kiiro.

The figures moved and flung themselves at Kiiro before he could attack. Koe shouted, "NO!" Nariko moved to help him, but she was tackled from behind.

"Oi! Leggo!"

Koe watched helplessly as Nariko tried to shake the figure off, and Kiiro slash desperately with his claws.

"Stop," he whispered.

The figure began to choke Nariko.

"Stop."

Kiiro's stomach was slashed with a knife, and he was punched in the face.

"Stop."

Kiiro landed hard on the ground. He didn't move.

"STOP."

Nariko went limp, and she was dropped to the ground like a rag doll. The figure lifted his foot to crush her head.

"STOP!!"

Koe screamed, and the figures suddenly flew back, somehow being pinned to the trees by an unknown force. Upon closer inspection, one could see that they were nailed to the trees by their own weapons. One person hung eighteen feet up by a well-honed kitchen knife that they gripped in their hands. Another was impaled through the side of his stomach by a long katana.

"What-what IS this?!"

"What the-"

"What's going on?!"

Koe fell to the ground, drained and pale. He felt as if he needed to vomit. Nariko got up shakily as Kiiro stirred, dazed.

"What was that, ye ask?"

"Heh, that's the power of-"

"-the Shinobi o' the Branches."

Kiiro looked confusedly at her as she finished his sentence. Nariko continued speaking to the thieves.

"We be rebels trained in the ninja arts. The rejected people come ta fight back. An' ye are gonna spread the word. Yer gonna say that there be new ninja in town. Ninja strong enough that even kids like us could beat bandits like yer lot. Yer gonna tell 'em that we take anyones an' train 'em ta be strong ta fight against Tamaka. Ye tell 'em that the ones that beat yer 'mighty force' was none other than Koe of the Metal Style."

They left the thieves there, and moved on. On the third night, they came to a village. They didn't stop for the night, and Koe didn't complain. It reminded him too much of Imin.

By the time a week had passed, Koe had collapsed on the path and held his aching feet. The straps on his sandals were cutting into his flesh, and they were burning as if he had been walking upon live embers.

"I c-c-can't do it, I c-c-c-can't d-d-do it!"

Koe started to sob dejectedly as Nariko stared at him and Kiiro began to comfort him in a soft voice.

"Well, guess what, ye fish! We all be tired an' we all got hurt feet. We can't stop now, we be too close ta the port. Ye gonna quit when we be so close ta our goal? Too late ta stop now, we gone too far. Ye can rest all ye want in the boat." 

After much badgering, comforting, lecturing, and remarks about fish, Koe finally got up and started walking again. He was glad when they finally got to the port, where Nariko exchanged a red slip of paper and several other green papers for entrance onto a wasen, a smaller boat with sails and paddles.

They got into the boat, and Kiiro took his first turn rowing. Koe curled up on top of the scrolls that he'd been carrying and slept until it was his turn. 

Koe decided that he loved boat trips. He was able to lie down and stare at the sky until it turned black and freckled with stars. Nariko, however was a different story altogether, and Kiiro seemed indifferent. When it wasn't her turn to paddle, Nariko would pace all the way around the ship and snap at anyone who talked. Kiiro was irritated, but Koe took comfort in the silence as he stared up at the sky.

The only part Koe disliked was when it was his turn to row. His hands simply were not used to it, and would be rubbed raw until he bled by the time his shift was over. It was very distracting when he was trying to relax and stare up at the sky. He counted the days and collected the skies.

Day One. Bluebird sky. Koe counted fifty-seven birds before he fell asleep.

Day Four. Marshmallow sky. Nariko would not stop singing a fish-counting song, and insisted that Kiiro sing with her.

Day Six. Ocean sky. There was a glimpse of land on the horizon, like a floating bunch of seaweed floating in the water if Koe stuck his head off the side of the boat and looked at it upside down.

Day Eleven. Bluebell sky. Koe found a leaf in the water, and held it up in front of his face as he looked up.

Day Fourteen. Whatever sky. Nariko and Kiiro were arguing incessantly about whose shift it was, and Koe was getting increasingly annoyed. How was he supposed to come up with a name for the sky with all that commotion? They were rocking the boat, interrupting the serene stillness of his meditation. The noise they made with their voices was loud, impatient, and getting on Koe's nerves as they just kept rising.

"Koe, yer jest a lazy, flyin' fish-sniffin' bum!"

"Ha! Says the one who does nothing all day but complain about how it is just so hard for the itty-bitty princess-"

"I BE THE NEXT OWL LORD, YE CAIN'T DISRESPECT ME LIKE THAT!"

"I don't care of you're the next Owl president, you're just a kid like the rest of us, so get a grip for once!"

"Look who's talkin', ye fish-fersaken tub of chum-!"

A black blur suddenly collided with the boat, nearly spilling the threesome over into the ocean.

"What the fish was that?!"

Something suddenly exploded out of the water beside the wasen, spraying water onto them as it flew into the sky and landed in the water in front of them, between the boat and the island. A pale white hand shot out from black robes, grabbing onto the nose of the boat and stopping it's movement.

"Oi, ye cain't do that! Who the fish do ye think ye are?!"

"We mean no harm. All we ask is that you let us pass in peace."

"P-p-p-please d-d-don't h-hurt us!"

The figure was somehow kneeling on top of the water, as if it were land. What sort of magic was this?

 "Who am I?"

The voice that came from beneath the black hood was female, smooth, and sent chills down Koe's back. It was as if an ice-cold finger slid down the length of his spine.

The figure began to laugh, and Koe started to tremble. There was something about this figure... he sensed evil, malevolence.

"Oi, what's so funny? Why're ye laughing?"

"Please, we just want to get to the Land of Snakes."

The figure kept laughing as she lifted her head. Koe's lip began to bleed from biting so hard at the sight of serpentine, yellow eyes with purple markings, and a face that was as pale as death.

"I'm Sute of the Metal Style. And I'm gonna kill all of you."

Please vote and/or comment.