Despite the setbacks at the mansion, they were still the first ones to arrive at the location the nobles had hidden the girls. It was a low, gray building, set farther away from the village than any other house. It had a single, iron door that was locked with a chain and padlock. It looked like an old warehouse. Akira could sense five chakra signatures inside.
"They're being held here," Akira told Kakashi. Kakashi nodded, then used his chidori to break open the lock. Akira ripped the chain off the door, then stepped into the gloom.
She used her sensing ability to make her way through the building, to the back where the girls were being held. She could see a faint light from there, around the old pieces of machinery that filled most of the room. She rounded a corner, and the sight she saw made her want to personally kill every single person that had ever harmed these girls.
Five girls were laying or sitting on the ground in a huddle, chained to the wall at their ankles and wrists. None of them had any clothing on, and they were all beaten and dirty. A single lightbulb hung from a chain connected to the ceiling high above.
"Dog, can you go guard the door please?" Akira asked, keeping her voice low. Kakashi nodded in response and made his way back through the warehouse.
She waited until she could no longer hear his footsteps, then she removed her mask and stepped into the light.
The girls started when they saw her and a couple of them started screaming.
"Hey, it's okay! It's okay! I'm not going to hurt you, I'm here to set you free."
They had crammed themselves back against the wall, huddled up. Akira clipped her mask to her belt and picked up some blankets that had been discarded to the side, out of the girls' reach. She tossed them towards the girls and crouched down, keeping her hands out in front of her.
"Use those to cover up, okay?"
The girls scrambled for the blankets. They drew them up over themselves, still huddled together and eyeing Akira warily.
"My name is Akira. I'm from the leaf village, and I'm here to set you free. Those men that did this to you won't bother you anymore."
One of the girls, the oldest, spoke up. But she couldn't have been any older than Akira herself. In fact, all of the girls looked younger than she was. "How do we know we can trust you? That you won't hurt us?" Her voice had a slight shake to it, as if she was working hard to hide her fear and put on a brave face for the others.
She noticed that a couple of the girls were eyeing the katana on her back warily. Akira slowly reached back for it and unsheathed it. Two of the girls gasped, and the one who had responded widened her eyes in fear. Akira set the katana on the ground and shifted away from it.
"Is there a key somewhere that will unlock the chains?"
The girl shook her head. "They always kept them on them."
Akira sighed. She was afraid of that. "Okay. I have to cut the chains off. I can pick the locks, but I have to use one of my kunai knives, okay? I'll give you each one to hold for protection for now, how's that sound?"
The girls each nodded, and Akira pulled six kunai out. She gave one to each girl, then used the sixth one to break the locking mechanism on the padlocks and break them open. Once all of the girls were freed, they were able to move into more comfortable positions with the blankets wrapped around their shoulders.
"Where are your clothes?"
"They destroyed them. We don't have anything to wear." This time it was the youngest girl who spoke up.
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Will of Fire: Kakashi Hatake
FanfictionAkira was born into war. The Third Great Ninja War raged for many years, and death followed it every day. Friends died, leaders were struck down, and enemies were vanquished. But not without a price. With every win came an even deeper sorrow. And Ak...
