[X] She ran callin' "Wildfire~!"
Whether by the power of friendship or the power of pretty beasts of burden, Ami slowly sheaths her sword and alters her course to approach you instead. Her eyes stay on Sorato, however.
"Kiba, tie him up," she orders, adding to the boy on the ground, "and if you get any ideas about escaping, just remember I can burn your vile little face off with or without my sword."
"... why?" Sorato asks, again trying to sit up, face red from crying, nose beginning to run. "Why...? I just tried to make you happy!"
You laugh, and feel a rush of relief that you still can. It has a touch of hysteria to it, but at the moment you'll take what you can get, comedy-wise. "Ya really think sex in a barn is the proper way to make a 13-year-old girl happy?"
He shakes his head vigorously as Kiba pulls his arms away from the wound they've been clutching at and behind his back to be bound. "What? No! Not sex, I wouldn't! We aren't even married!"
Kiba glares at the back of his head. "That's the point you take issue with?" he asks, disgusted.
"It's not like I was going to hurt her!" the boy protests.
"That's right!" Mei says, yanking on the rope Menka's binding her with, trying to get down to where her boyfriend is. "Sorato-kun would never hurt a lady!"
"I have heard more men make that claim than you've had warm baths," Ami says, almost under her breath. She gives you the once-over. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"... I think I will be," you say.
To your surprise, she hugs you. After a moment you return the embrace, ruffling her hair.
"Of course she's okay!" Mei shrieks, Menka having finally hauled her over. "Sorato-kun's the one who's bleeding! You've got to take him to a doctor!"
"What a coincidence," Nabiki says, "I'm a doctor."
She's in an Edajima School gi, with her hair pulled back in a topknot. Asuma is on her heels.
She glides up to where Sorato is lying and, crouching, examines the wound. "Asuma-san," she says, "there's a medicine chest in the carriage. Fetch it for me if you would?"
"Yes, ma'am," your teacher replies.
Your eyes bug at the state of his shirt. "Wow, that's, uh... that's a lot of blood."
"Most of it isn't mine," he says mildly, ducking into the carriage.
"Hello, there," Nabiki says to Sorato in a sympathetic tone. "I'm Rouga Nabiki. What's your name?"
"Sh.. Shinyuu Sorato, ma'am," he says hesitantly.
"Nice to meet you, Sorato-kun," she says. Nodding in thanks as Asuma brings her her medical kit, she continues: "I'm going to do what I can to save your knee, but in exchange I need you to tell me how it happened."
"That little witch stabbed him for no reason!" Mei says, jerking her head in your direction. "She seduced him to get close enough to kill him!"
You're still reeling at the sheer balls on this girl, lying in the presence of at least two witnesses, when Ami slaps her in the face.
"Ino is not that kind of girl," she says, a 5'8" tower of fury.
You feel the urge to point out that being that kind of girl might sorta be your job, but decide to shut up and enjoy the moment.
"Ami-san, please," Nabiki says softly. She goes to work on Sorato's knee, carefully cleaning the wound and picking out the shards of patella for reassembly. Sorato winces at her every touch, but makes no audible complaint.
"If Ino-chan's intention was to seduce Sorato-kun," she asks, "why is she here, standing guard over my dowry, and why isn't Sorato-kun in his dormitory with the other second-year boys?" She gives Sorato a dead-eyed look. "Or, if you must be out of bed, in Momotaro Hall, helping the seniors fight off the attackers?"
Kiba suppresses a younger-brother smile.
Nabiki doesn't end up using anaesthesia.
=
"Why didn't you call me out sooner?" Menka asks fretfully as the pair of you settle down to sleep.
"Please don't start, man," you groan. "Asuma was bad enough..."
"You know my sensing range isn't as wide as yours," he says, curling up at your feet. "How am I supposed to keep you safe if all you do is try to go it alone, all the time?"
"What would you've done, stabbed him for me?" You roll over. "The greatest ninja in the world can't sit back and wait for her yojimbo to finish off one measly rapist."
"You're not the greatest ninja in the world yet, Ino," Menka says flatly. "You aren't even the greatest ninja in this stable."
He rubs his face on your ankle. "I love you, sis, and I know one day you're going to be able to run rings around the Sannin. But you're on a team. You don't have to do everything yourself. There're going to be enough situations we face when we're outnumbered or I can't get to you; there's no need reason to make more of them yourself."
You don't say anything. You just lie there, in the dark, until you fall asleep, to dream of close calls, one in a million shots, and the unerring sword.
=
Pick your desired Omake:
[X] Doin' Time
[X] Ami and Kiba's Bogus Journey
That's what you think happened here? Oh, dear me, no, it's worse than that.