Aiko Halloween story teaser

Everyone gasped at the same time. Aiko stopped mid stride to put her hand on her chest, disbelieving the sudden change.

“I cannot feel my chakra,” Gaara said numbly. He turned in a slow circle, as if it might be behind him. “What is this?”

Karin was fighting for air, eyes wide behind her glasses. “I can’t see,” she said, bewildered. “It’s- I can see… is this how you see?” She grabbed at Aiko’s sleeve and clung on.

Aiko let her, despite her instincts barking for her to shake off any restriction. Everything was so quiet now, and she wasn’t getting all the sensory input that she expected. Unsure, she glanced back at Utakata. He was dashing to her side, running to catch up. He had been less than 20 feet away but she couldn’t smell his lotion anymore, or even his shampo.

Her stomach roiled. “Enemy action?” She asked quietly. “My best guess. Karin, Gaara, get to the closest shelter.” Before they could protest she added, “I want you to protect it. Do you have steel?”

Karin put a hand to her hair and pulled out a fine needle that glinted in the fading sunlight of a cold October day. “I have senbon.”

“I do not.” Gaara hunched in on himself. “I…”

Utakata pulled out a kunai and flipped it to hand over. “I trust you are proficient.”

Gaara took it reluctantly. “I am… adequately trained.” He looked unmoored and unsteady.

‘He looks more out of place than usual,’ Aiko thought, suddenly stuck by his desert tans and red in the middle of an island. Something about it left her feeling very unsettled. ‘Maybe I should keep them with me.’

She bit her lip and didn’t countermand her own order. They weren’t just children, they were soldiers. She took a deep breath and looked around the street. The civilians hadn’t seemed to notice anything was amiss, but every shinobi in sight was looking around. “May I have your attention?” She said, projecting her voice. “All civilians please proceed to designated shelters.”

The vast majority of the civilians were still walking and talking, ordering street food or cracking open a drink.

She… she couldn’t project her voice very far without chakra use. She glanced up at Utakata, a little surprised by her own inability. His black eyes met hers and then flashed away.

“Evac!” He called, cupping his hands around his mouth. “Evac!”

Someone else took up the call and it grew until it was ringing through the streets. Aiko nodded a goodbye to Karin and Gaara and then set off at a sprint for the tower. Any intelligence reports would come in there.