Hot 'N' Dangerous

Chapter 12: The Hunter-Nin

I was half-conscious as I felt the weight of Kakashi leave my back and someone pick me up and throw me on their back, "Ow..." I murmured half-heartedly.

"It's what you get for not listening to me," a masculine voice replied harshly.

"Sorry, Sasuke, I thought I could do it," I breathed the words out.

My head hung over his shoulder and I could feel his neck warm in his embarrassment. The blood from my wound soon soaked Sasuke's shirt as well, lowering his mood. I winced as my wound bumped against his arm, it felt as if it were on fire, burning at my waist. A large chunk of cloth had been ripped out of my one-piece as well, revealing a large chunk of bloody skin and raw muscle. I coughed and tasted blood on my tongue as the gruesome liquid seeped out of my mouth too.

"Holy crap! Elvira! Don't die on me!" exclaimed Sasuke, picking up his pace while trying not to jostle me.

I coughed again and choked as I could not suck in more air. I spat out some more blood and Liz rushed to my side.

"Oh my god! Vira! Where does it hurt?" she asked urgently as Sasuke hurried along.

"My throat and my chest," I answered obediently.

Elize paled, "The blood has already leaked into your lungs! That's why you can't breath! You need medical attention! NOW!" she screamed, panicking.

I shook my head calmly and looked behind me at Tazuna and Sakura, carrying Kakashi between them, "Help Kakashi-Sensei first," I whispered trying to conserve my strength.

"We'll help both of you!" announced Liz anxiously as we finally arrived at Tazuna's house.

Sasuke rushed to the door and rapped on it impatiently.

"Father?" came a female voice from behind the door.

"Yes! We've brought your dad back! Now open the damn door!" shouted Sasuke rudely.

The door swung open to reveal a young lady of around twenty-five, "Now, mister-" she was cut off as Sasuke dashed inside.

Liz hurried in right after and Sasuke fretted about, unable to do anything as I coughed out blood by the pint. Sakura and Tazuna set Kakashi down a little ways from me as Naruto was the last to come in.

"Oh my! What happened to your friend?" the lady asked grabbing a bowl and a towel, filling it with hot water.

"She's dying!" wailed Naruto, exaggerating a little too much.

"I-I'm n-not-" I coughed, "-dying, Naruto, d-don't j-jinx it," I smiled weakly.

I sat up suddenly and released another mouthful of blood.

The lady pushed Sasuke aside and dropped the hot towel on my forehead, "Move! Let me tend to her, she's lost too much blood already!" she declared and began to work at my wound with some alcohol-soaked bandages.

I winced and clenched my teeth as sweat beaded my face. The pain was gut-wrenching, burning at my raw flesh. I grabbed the nearest thing to my hand and squeezed like there was no tomorrow. Unfortunately, the object was Sasuke's hand and my strength was too much for him to bear.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" whimpered Sasuke as I cut off the blood circulation in his hand.

His hand was already snow white.

"Woah, Elvira is probably Superman's older sister if she can make Sasuke cry," laughed Naruto, tears at his own eyes.

I opened my eyes and looked up to see Sasuke teary-eyed and Sakura holding her hands up to her mouth watching the grueling process of bandaging my wound. The lady worked continuously until my wound was completely covered and I had eaten a few painkillers. It was then that I finally released Sasuke's hand.

He backed away quickly, "I think you popped a vein... or two," he said unhappily rubbing the circulation back into his hand and blushed as I looked at him sadly.

I sighed, "I'm sorry, but thanks," I said gratefully and sat up, performing a painkilling jutsu to my wound.

"Why don't you just heal it like you did last time?" Naruto asked, watching me attentively.

"Oh, that cut hadn't ripped my muscles yet and it wasn't too deep. Kakashi-Sensei wouldn't hurt me like this. Zabuza's blade cut through a tendon I think," I reported, feeling and pressing at the wound, "Ripped through several important muscles and was about... an inch away from hitting a major artery."

Naruto widened his eyes, "Then the stuff that the lady did for you can heal all of that?" he asked incredulously.

I shook my head, "No. It will just speed up the restoration of my blood and clear away any infection. Liz knows a jutsu she's learned from..." I wavered as a slight ache in my head made me dizzy, "... from our hometown," I forced out and collapsed but Naruto caught me before I could hit the wooden floor.

"Uh, I'll stop the questions for now," he suggested and used his sleeve to wipe away some of the sweat on my forehead.

"Thanks," I said, smiling sweetly at him.

Sasuke hustled over and pushed Naruto aside, "You're doing it wrong, idiot!" he scoffed and began to wipe at my face as well.

Sakura looked on angrily, jealous that no one was fussing over her. Kakashi and Tazuna laughed at the two boys fighting over who was wiping my sweat away the right way.

My hands shot out and grabbed theirs, "Thanks, guys, but you should look after Kakashi-Sensei too, I'll be okay for now," I advised and turned them in the direction of Kakashi.

They left my side unwillingly, still bickering, to sit by Kakashi-Sensei, although making no move to wipe any sweat from Kakashi. The lady had finally finished mopping up the blood that I had left on her clean floors and came to greet us officially.

"This is my daughter, Tsunami," introduced Tazuna.

"Thank you for your immediate reaction to my wound, Miss," I smiled warmly.

She blushed under my shining stare, "I-it was nothing," she stammered back, "W-well, are you alright, Sensei?" she turned her concerned gaze on Kakashi who was lying underneath a pile of blankets.

"Yeah, I just can't move for a week or so," assured Kakashi.

"Woah. The Sharingan is incredible but if it puts that much stress on the body, I guess you have to think before using it," pointed out Sakura.

"Well, we defeated that big, strong ninja this time! We should be safe for a while," Tazuna laughed awkwardly.

"By the way, who was that masked kid?" Sakura wondered aloud.

"That's the mask worn by the Hidden Mist's special Hunter-Nin team. They are also known as body erasers. Their duty is to completely dispose of the body without a trace. A ninja's body has within it secrets of the village's ninjutsu, information on different chakra types, herbs and other things that will reveal things about the village. For example, if I died, the secrets of the Sharingan could be revealed. If you don't be careful, there's the danger that the enemy will steal your jutsu," he took a deep breath and continued, "A ninja's body can reveal important information, so, by killing and disposing of the Missing-Nins who have abandoned their village, the Hunter-Nins protect the information from getting out. They are specialists who guard their village's secrets. No sound, no smell. That is a ninja's end," Kakashi ended brutally.

"So that Zabuza has been chopped up and disposed of? Scary," shivered Sakura.

Kakashi silently drifted off into a deep sleep while the rest of us were left to ponder what he had said.