18 Haku's Whereabouts (1)

Soon, only a few people were left milling about by the outcropping, unsure of what to do. The majority had, fortunately, decided to come with us to Konoha.

I bowed towards those who decided to stay, feeling mixture of sadness, respect and understanding for the choice they had made, and spoke only a few words of farewell.

"I hope to see you all again one day."

With that, I turned to the people that had decided to follow me, not wishing to dwell on the fates of those who stayed any longer. There was simply no time to try and convince them to flee, that they could make a new place for themselves in this world if they would only try.

"Everyone, we need to get going immediately. I know a village that was left relatively intact near the coast. We can head there for now, and then decide on our next move from there. Cover your tracks as best you can. Any shinobi specializing in this, please move at the back to help hide our trail. Let's go!"

I shouted out a series of directions with a commanding tone, not wanting to waste any time. Who knew when the Kiri ninja would finish fighting and send people to check on the prisoners. We needed to be gone before that happened, with no evidence of a trail left behind.

I took the lead, jumping into the trees. Mom and Mio followed slightly behind, and the rest of the ninja soon after.

Two of the shinobi followed from slightly behind the group, staying behind to cover our tracks. They both had kekkei genkai that seemed tailor made for this task. One of them possessed some sort of mud style release, able to cleanly remove any traces of mud from our boots on the snow, as well as fill in any depressions left in the ground from our passing.

The other, a middle aged, white-haired shinobi, possessed an even more astonishing ability. He could liquify parts of his body according to his will, an ability displayed only by the Hozuki clan in the anime. As he moved, he kept his feet in a liquified state, able to sweep any displaced snow back into place without leaving a trail of his own thanks to his ability.

'How odd... why would a member of the Hozuki clan be one the run from Kirigakure?' I couldn't help but wonder. The Hozuki clan was one of the most powerful clans in Kirigakure, even producing the second mizukage of the village. It didn't make sense for a member of that clan to have been pursued and captured.

Not far in front of him ran a kid similarly sporting the trademark features of the Hozuki clan: white hair and purple eyes. I hadn't noticed the kid before in all the confusion, but he seemed to be around Mio's age, maybe slightly older. Interesting... I wonder what kind of combination attacks I could make if I threw a liquified Hozuki in amongst my steel snow vortex jutsu...

I was worried to note that I didn't even feel the slightest bit of shame as different images of how I could use the poor Hozuki kid as a part of my various jutsus flashed through my mind...

Ahem.

Anyway, as good a job as our 'track coverers' were doing, not much could be done about the various broken branches and sticks our group left behind apart from sweeping them under the snow as much as possible. I set as intense a pace as the battered bodies of the prisoners, as well as my own drained body, could handle, fully intending on maintaining it for the entire duration of our escape.

A looming nervousness overshadowed the joy I felt at being reunited with my mother. We had not escaped just to be captured again after. I would let down my guard and truly savor the fact that Mom was still alive once we were all safe.

Even so, we all needed a break eventually. Our movements were slowing and becoming more sloppy, risking leaving more of a trail. None of us were in good states before this, and trying to escape at full speed now was putting a strain on our bodies that we simply couldn't bear.

A small clearing on the side of the river proved an irresistible temptation, as I sighed an motioned for everyone to stop for a quick break.

The group settled in various positions near the river, some going to drink from the icy waters while others remained in the trees around as lookouts. I sat with my mom and Mio to one side.

A thought suddenly struck me as we sat there.

"Mom. You once mentioned that someone from your family had left to start a family somewhere at the very start of the war."

She looked at me blankly for a moment, not understanding what I was getting at or why this was important in our current situation.

"Yes. Nayumi-chan and little Haku. They left a while ago, why?"

"Do you know where they went?"

She looked at me, a sudden light of understanding passing through her eyes.

"Not exactly. But I know around where they should be. She is after all, family, so she told me where she planned on heading."

It was much better than I had now. Hopefully, it was enough.

"Good. I want to find them and bring them with us, Mom."

She hesitated for a moment, seemingly thinking.

"I would like that too. But... even if I know vaguely where they are, there's no guarantee that you will be able to find them, or that they will even want to come. Also, who will go?"

"I know. I know all of the risks, but I still want to try Mom. They might be the only other surviving members of the Yuki clan."

My voice cracked slightly as I said this, choked with emotion. I could see a similar shadow pass over Mom's eyes.

"I... I can go with Mio. Tell me where they are, and I will go get them with Mio. You can lead the others to the village I told you about, and we will meet there. You can get boats ready, and we will leave for Konoha as soon as we get back. I-"

"No. Out of the question. I am not sending you and another child off alone again."

Her interjection was harsh and determined. It was the clear cut tone of a mother who will not be swayed no matter what her child argues.

"...."

A voice suddenly broke the awkward, tense silence that had arisen.

"I can go with them."

We all turned to see who had spoken. A well-defined, widened face framed by white hair approached us. It was the man who had been covering our tracks before, the one who seemed to be from the Hozuki clan. The kid was following slightly behind him.

"Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear. I can accompany them to get these people while you lead the rest of us to the village." He said, addressing my mother.

"Um, who are you?"

The clear implication behind her words was, "and why should I trust you with my son?" Mom was in full hostile mode at this point, not wanting to give an inch. In truth, it warmed my heart slightly to know she was this concerned for me.

The man maintained a calm expression, answering smoothly.

"I am Kirihara... Hozuki Kirihara."

I cringed slightly at the James Bond style introduction, but taking note of the widening of the kid's eyes when he said this, I surmised this must actually be quite significant for him to reveal.

"A member of the Hozuki clan? What are you doing as a prisoner?"

I could see Mom's guard suddenly snap back into place, as if she were facing an enemy.