Chapter 3

Mikuru's duel continued. She wielded her spear with all the skill she could muster, jabbing at perceived opening and making spectacular slashes with the wickedly sharp scythe blade. Her opponent was equally skilled, blocking and thrusting with a pair of kunai. The two of them traded blows until the advantage swung in Mikuru's favor. Gripping the weapon horizontally, Mikuru smashed the shaft of the spear against the man's left leg. A mask that only left his eyes exposed covered his face, but she could tell that she had hurt him. Without delay, she swung the same end of the spear up, connecting with his chin. The man hobbled backwards.

Mikuru charged forward, with her weapon primed for a swing. She swung. Both kunai came up and parried. Now the two of them were face to face, each pushing against the other. To her surprise, Mikuru found that the other ninja was not as stunned as she had thought. With great effort, he pushed her back. Mikuru hopped backwards. Instead of charging her in return, the Sound ninja threw both knives at her, one and then the other. Her own weapon angled to deflect them both. But by then, his hands were already making seals. Mikuru saw this clearly, her eyes flashing in alarm.

The seal of the tiger… She jumped up quickly, and the ground beneath her erupted into flames. On the way up, her left hand gripped the roof of Griffith's cot. With a push, she somersaulted into the rooftop, and crouched down like a cat. "So, you know Katon jutsu." She muttered. "Interesting." She didn't expect a Sound ninja to know that one, but it didn't do him a lot of good. "How's that leg of yours?"

"Surrender." The response came from below. "We know who you are and what you can do. Even if you win here, my comrades will catch you. You've spent too much time fighting here. You can't beat us all."

"You know who I am?" She laughed derisively. "And you ask me to surrender myself to Orochimaru? Don't fuck with me!" She descended upon him with full fury. Once more, she rained blows upon him that forced the man to block and backpedal. Each time he did, pain shot up his wounded leg. A jab of the spear was not fully blocked and the sharp edge made a small cut on his hand. When Mikuru made a thrust a second time, he found that his arm would not move. The spear skewered him in the chest. Mikuru held it in as the man's body rapidly cooled and pulled out. She breathed deeply and gave a satisfied nod to herself.

Griffith pulled himself off the ground and looked defiantly into Irene's eyes. She was nonplused by the hostile glare. "Who are these people? Do you know?"

Griffith watched as their mystery woman battled. "From the looks of it, they're ninja." He started explaining before Irene could ask him again. "Ninja are the soldiers in this part of the world. Or mercenaries. I've only seen a handful, but compared to ordinary people, they're incredibly strong." He saw the flash of fire and they both ducked quickly. The fireball passed them by and exploded behind them. He got up in time to see the woman running her opponent through. "Well, if you want answers…" He pointed at her. "Be my guest."

Griffith and Irene ran up to her. "Oh? The two of you still here?" She asked sardonically.

"Who were these men?" Griffith asked her brusquely, ignoring her tone. "What did they want? Who are you?"

"They want nothing from you two. You were just at the wrong place at the wrong time." She answered. "It's me they want. Best you don't know more than that. I'd run, very fast." She turned her back on them and started to walk away.

"Wait!" Griffith shouted, reckoning her to stop. "Where would we go? If what that one said was true, then there are more of them."

"Figure it out yourself. I'm busy." She started to turn away again.

"Dammit, don't you walk away with me!" Angry and frustrated at this day's events, Griffith channeled it at this woman. He laid his hand on her shoulder and forced her to face him again. "You're the reason why we're involved in this mess so how about you-"

Mikuru punched him in the gut hard enough to send him flying back. He landed and groaned. Mikuru pointed her spear at him nonchalantly. "How about you shut up and leave me alone?" At that point, Irene decided that she had observed enough and had to act, before any harm came to her hired guide. She moved in front of Griffith and parried the weapon away from him. Sword and scythe clanged. The two of them stared at each other.

"There's no need to be hostile. Right now, we have a common enemy." Irene's speech was incomprehensible to Mikuru, but the woman's calm voice bade her to listen. "It seems that you are trying to flee from them through the port. We can help you." Griffith caught his breath and stood up. Irene looked at him. "Tell her what I just said." Griffith nodded, not very happy but complying anyway.

Mikuru listened to his translation. With much distrust, she spoke to the strange woman through the fisherman. "And how can you help me?"

"I came off of one of those ships there today. If escape from danger is what you seek, I can get it for you. But tell us what is going on."

Griffith balked at her offer, but complied. Mikuru looked at the two of them, truly looked at them. The man looked like an unhappy bystander caught in the middle of something. The woman seemed like an enigma, a stranger. Neither seemed trustworthy, but the more she thought about what she had in mind, the more she came to accept that outside help was necessary if she wanted to get the hell out of this place safely. And since there's only one other ship that docked today other than mine.

Time for a change of plans. "Alright, I agree." She answered with a small nod. "But we have to move quickly. More of them will be here soon." She rested the spear on her shoulder and stalked towards one the unconscious men.

Griffith watched her go and turned on Irene. "What the hell are you doing?" He all but shouted at her, though he kept his voice barely above a whisper. There was no confusing the worry and frustration on his face. "That woman's nothing but trouble."

Irene responded to his hostility with serenity. Griffith was coming to hate that about her. It seemed like nothing could faze this woman, not even being set on fire. "True, but it doesn't look like we can untangle ourselves from this." Irene watched him closely, sensing that his fears were not allayed. Knowing the importance of this man's loyalty to her, she tried harder. "Out of all the strangers, she's the only one who didn't look at us with the intent to kill. In fact, didn't she save your life?"

Griffith's brows furrowed, but in a thoughtful expression and not a scowl. The Claymore woman had spoken truth, but still… "Nevertheless, why attach ourselves to trouble? Let's just get out of here and-"

"Where would we go?" Irene interrupted him. "Where would we go to hide from these people? Look at their clothing. What do you notice?"

"They wear uniforms?"

"Exactly." Irene said. In the background, Mikuru was kicking at one of the unconscious men. "Uniforms mean organization. In other words, there will definitely be others from the same organization seeking us. This woman knows more about the situation and the enemy, more than us. We will need that knowledge to get out of this troublesome situation."

"She doesn't seem like the dependable type to me."

"Don't worry. I haven't forgotten our goal. As soon as possible, we will resume our own course. But getting out of this place is a priority."

"If you're done with your chatting, then start moving." Mikuru yelled at them. "The enemy won't wait."

Mikuru walked over to the summoning scroll discarded on the ground. She kicked it into the air. The hand holding the spear went up and grabbed. She twirled the weapon until paper and metal spun together and the weapon disappeared in a puff of smoke. Meanwhile, Griffith examined the body of the dead man. The body seemed more like a grotesque statue than a corpse, frozen in its last moments of life. He held the man's fingers in his hand. They weren't cold. They were freezing.

At last, she turned to Griffith again. "Come on, let's go." She grabbed his arm and ran. "They're watching all the exits by land and I'm only gambling that they don't have too many people watching the port. We need to move, fast." Griffith looked one last time at Irene. This is really what you want? What's best for us?

He stopped and grabbed her arm. "Wait!" He shouted, hoping that this course of action was the correct one. "There is another way."

For the third time in a day, Mikuru found herself in a tunnel. This one was no better than the last one. A single, burning candle was all the light that she could see. The man who dissuaded her from making a rush for the docks took the lead as he guided the three of them through the tunnel.

"And you're sure this tunnel goes where it's supposed to?" She asked him again.

"Yeah. A couple of years ago, all shipping in this country was dominated by a single company." He started to explain. "Tunnels like this one were used to smuggle goods from incoming ships when they docked."

"Used to? You mean this tunnel isn't used anymore?"

"Well, after the monopoly on shipping was broken, this place really prospered." Griffith left it at that. His own dubious role in Gatou's criminal empire was none of her business. "When they were building new warehouses near the docks, the entrance on the other end just so happened to be where that was, and was incidentally paved over with cement."

Mikuru glared at him. "And you just happened to mention this now?"

"Well, I assumed that since you're a ninja, you could do what that other guy did." He responded as best as he could. Apparently, his assumption was wrong. "You know, go underground and take us up with you?"

"What?" Mikuru asked incredulously. She started to explain that such things weren't her area of expertise when an idea came to her. "No, you…Fine, it's fine. I can do it." An uneasy silence came over the two of them. It didn't help that Irene didn't have anything to say. Griffith guided them through the tunnels. He drew from his memories of the few times he made use of them. Even though it had been years since he had stepped foot here things hadn't changed, and he remembered it all clearly.

"You never did say what your name was, or even why those men were chasing us." Griffith spoke.

"You want to know? Well, I suppose you're earned a bit of trust." She supposed that the basics wouldn't hurt. "My name is Mikuru. I am an agent of the Hidden Mist Village. I'm being hunted by Sound ninja. That's all I'm prepared to say."

"And you won't tell me why there these people are trying to kill us?"

"I think the less you know right now, the better." Mikuru turned around and glanced at the woman behind her. Her stance, her movements. There was something about her that made Mikuru wary. "And what about the two of you?"

"Griffith. As you said, I'm just a fisherman." He said. Now he wondered just how he was going to explain to her about that damned Claymore.

"I'll accept that." Mikuru answered, and got to the point of the matter. "And what about her?"

"Well, she's newly arrived here, looking for a new life. She hired me as a guide." Griffith replied, unwilling to talk too much on the subject.

"You can speak to her. You come from the same place as her? Across the vast ocean?" Mikuru continued her probing. The woman's foreign origins could explain why she was so unusual, so exotic.

"Yes. That's all I know." He answered her.

"Huh, care to explain how she swings a sword as big as herself, or pushing herself out of the ground with one arm?" Mikuru wasn't convinced. This fisherman knew more than he was letting on, more than he was willing to say. She could hear the lie in the monotony of his voice.

"You can ask her yourself later. All I have to say is that she's not human. This is it." Griffith was annoyed. Who was this woman to demand answers of him when she wouldn't even tell him why they were being hunted?

Behind him, Mikuru reached the same conclusion. She wasn't going to get any more answers and had probably exhausted what little goodwill she had. And again, there was silence. Behind both of them, Irene noted the exchange of incomprehensible words but said nothing. She thought it was likely the discussion revolved around her. How many times had she passed through a place and heard people muttering to themselves as she passed? And so, she changed the subject. "And you're sure that we're above a warehouse near the dock?"

The path stopped abruptly as they reached the end of the tunnel. Before them was a wall of dirt. "Yes." Griffith looked at her. He had done his part. Now it was time to see if the girl would do hers. "Now if you please."

Mikuru looked up and smiled. Her hands and fingers moved rapidly. "Get ready." Griffith and Irene watched as the girl's body hunched over. Then they both heard the roar of a flood as water started to quickly fill up the little hole in the earth the three of them occupied. Griffith cursed loudly as he suddenly fought against the fear of drowning in such a place as the force of the flood made him lose his footing. His arms and legs flailed as he adjusted. Behind him, Irene fared better. Her arm shot out with great speed and grabbed a support beam above her before the tide hit her. The tide that Griffith expected to engulf his head didn't arrive. Instead, giant swirling pillars of water shot up and slammed into the hard earth and stone above them. Out of Mikuru's mouth the flood continued. Four pillars of water drilled at the earth above her and splattered mud messily. She manipulated the flow of the flood. The water beneath them lifted them up as more and more soil was dislodged.

The light of the candle had been extinguished. The three of them floated higher and higher in darkness. And then there was light above. The water gushed through the opening in the ground and the three of them were dumped messily on the ground, wet and coughing. Mikuru looked around at their surroundings. Crates all around, stacked together. It looked like exactly what the fisherman had promised. Except for the eight Sound ninja gawking at them.

"Ah," Mikuru stated the obvious. "An ambush party." The trio stared at them. They stared back. And all hell broke loose.

"It's her!" One of them exclaimed. "Get them!" The eight of them started to charge. Griffith and Irene readied themselves for another fight but Mikuru stepped forward.

"Don't worry." She told them. A summoning scroll was unrolled. Her hands reached forward quickly. Mikuru stood her ground with arms across her chest and her hands gripped eight kunai like black claws. The grin she wore was not a healthy one. "I can handle this." She released them all with a throw from both arms. The eight knives struck the ground right in front of the advancing enemies, each one attached to a paper tag. Before anyone could react, the ground exploded and filled the warehouse with a gush of rapidly freezing water.

"Ice?" Griffith asked incredulously. The eight ninja were frozen solid, completely incased under a layer of ice. Their surroundings were also frozen. Everything the exploding gushes of water touched had been frozen instantly. Mikuru just cackled and ran, taking the two onlookers by the arms. They burst out of the warehouse and found themselves near the dock, as planned.

"There!" Mikuru pointed at a small boat, the only one visible with a motor. The three of them ran forward. Their intent was so obvious that Irene understood it despite the language barrier. "We have to move. Get on that boat!" Around them, people were already starting to gather around. The trio raced for the boat and hopped in. Mikuru got the motor working when she saw swiftly moving figures jumping from rooftop to rooftop. She had to squint to see them clearly, but the unnaturally pale face was unmistakable. She gulped and looked back at the guy in front. "Drive. Get us out of here."

The boat pulled away from the shore, cutting through the water at its top speed. Mikuru played her last trick. "I hope this works." She muttered. "Kirigakure no Jutsu." The shoreline, the horizon, and the ocean itself were obscured by thick mist until nothing was visible.

From the shore, people watched as the mist from the sea covered all sight of the horizon. And then, as quickly as it came, the mist vanished, leaving no trace of the boat. The first group of Sound ninja looked at the ocean, stupefied.

"Where'd they go?" One of them questioned. "Orders, Captain?"

But the captain had no orders to give. The captain heard urgent footsteps behind him and turned around. His face paled. Someone had to answer for this, and he hoped it wasn't him. He and the rest of his squad kneeled and bowed. "Lord Orochimaru…"

Beneath the rolling waves a giant leviathan surfaced. Its blowhole sprayed water like a geyser while its huge maw opened. A small boat smoothly sailed out of the giant's mouth. All three occupants, looking filthy and haggard, greedily sucked in fresh air.

"Damn it, woman!" Griffith bellowed while wiping whale saliva from his face. "Next time you conjure up a brilliant, magical solution to our problem, you mind giving us a warning? When I saw its mouth close around us, I thought that thing was eating us alive!"

"Oh, shut up." Mikuru turned around to bellow back straight in Griffith's face. "I hardly had any time to explain my plan. In case you forgot, we were busy running away from people trying to kill us! And besides, we're all alive. So quit your whining." The giant whale behind them dove until all that could be seen was its tail. For a time, there was silence as each of them contemplated what had happened, and what was yet to happen.

"Then, we're safe?" Griffith asked calmly, translating for Irene.

"Safe?" Mikuru shook her head. "Not really. Your mercy earlier was not very wise. Your face is known to them. You can't return to your old life." Her words made him really think, about the life he led there, and the life he's had so far.

"That's alright." He replied without a hint of regret. "The truth is that I didn't have much to return to anyway."

"Is that true for the both of you?" Mikuru asked him. He turned to Irene and spoke. The blonde woman turned to her and simply nodded. She decided then and there that she liked these two. "I see. The present then, and the future."

Before anybody could say anything else, the giant leviathan surfaced, with its gapping maw ready to swallow them again. "Holy shit!" Griffith shouted and bolted to the engine to get it started again. "What the hell is that thing still doing here?"

"Idiot!" Mikuru rushed to stop him. The two fought over the engine, swaying the little boat side to side. Irene just sat and looked at them. Their group dynamic certainly was interesting. Meanwhile, the giant mouth gained on them. "Do you really think this little boat is going to get us anywhere? Back in the mouth! It's the only way."

"I don't care! That thing's scary and stinks like a sewer!"

"Just be a man and take it!"

What are those two doing?

The mouth closed around them, and the three disappeared beneath the rippling blue sea.

To be Continued