The next several minutes were filled with rapid sorting and packing. Kakashi retook his position by the door, standing guard and staying out of the way in equal measure. Fukuda helped her sister dress in warm clothes and sturdy shoes. Raidou and Ryouma were directed to collect a few precious knick knacks — a grandmother’s quilt, a pair of bone-china sake cups, a hairbrush — while Genma prepared a sealing scroll. At some point in the production, the bedraggled yellow monkey found its way into Kakashi’s hand. He tucked it in the sling; Sango grabbed it and stuffed the tail resolutely in her mouth.

Then — silence, a muffled shiver of chakra, and they were done.

Kimiko’s eyes swept the dingy room; she looked lost. Fukuda’s hand curled over her shoulder. Kimiko’s mouth firmed. She focused on Raidou, holding the padded piggyback sling, and said, “I can walk, shinobi-san.”

“We’ll be running,” Raidou said. “You’re half-starved. This isn’t negotiable.”

Kimiko’s eyes flashed, steely blue in the low light, and her lips parted to bare lethally sharp teeth. Standing next to her sister, the resemblance was abruptly clear. “I can run.”

“Kimiko.” Fukuda’s voice cut in, smooth and calm. She tugged her sister around so they were facing each other, excluding everyone else. “I brought them here to get you out. That’s it. There’s no room for pride anymore. Leave it behind.”

Kimiko’s jaw flexed. She flicked a single, aggravated glance at Raidou, took a breath like she had much more to say, and looked back to her sister — the grim lines painted around Fukuda’s mouth, the pinned up sleeve which had once held an arm. She let out the breath, bitterly. “If it will get Sango out, I’ll do as you say, Nee-san.”

The tension in Fukuda didn't relax, exactly; it found a new target. She hugged her sister, one-armed and hard, pushed her towards Raidou, and lifted a challenging gaze to the Konoha ninja — particularly Ryouma. Her eyes were a lighter ice-chip blue than her sister's, but they said clearly enough: You think we can't love our families too?

Ryouma’s mouth whitened. He looked away first.

Kakashi checked a low growl for Sango’s sake. “Can we go?”

Genma had stepped forward to help strap Kimiko onto Raidou’s back. He glanced at his watch, and said quietly, “Four minutes.”

It seemed much longer. But finally Kimiko was in place, tied to Raidou’s back with the makeshift harness holding her under the legs and around the shoulders. Her hands clenched white-knuckled into Raidou’s shirt. Ryouma had settled into place behind Kakashi, restlessness making his fingers twitch. Genma angled his head to the north wall.

And outside, something in the north exploded.

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Continues in Soldiers Take Flight

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