Kushina hated hospitals. She hated how clean they always were, how perfect. She hated the smell of the places, a blend between latex and the cleaning chemicals that they scrubbed every square inch of the place with. She especially hated the pretty boy that worked behind the desk that tried to pull her number every time she came in. She never got angry though. If he knew what she was here for every time, he never would have done it.

She sat in the waiting room, a place she knew well. She hated when the waiting ended. She hated when it was time to do what she came here to do, and loved it at the same time. Was she a masochist? Did she love torturing herself? Is that why she always came here?

"Miss Uzumaki."

She looked up at the old lady who spoke her name, the woman who always told her that the waiting was done.

"The doctor will see you now."

"Right…."

Kushina followed the woman down the same winding hallways she had grown familiar with over the years. She had dreamt about this place many times…except it had been her mother walking in front of her instead of this old woman. She always woke up from those dreams holding back tears. She hadn't cried since she was a little girl…and she wasn't going to for the rest of her life, she had promised herself. She just wished her dreams wouldn't make her so sad. She shook such thoughts out of her head as she noticed they were almost there. They had descended deep into the hospital…and all the rooms around them were abandoned.

The old woman stopped in front of a closed door. The label next to the door on the wall said "Uzumaki Saitou". The name was always freshly written every time she came here, the ink black and the letters thick. The first time she had visited this place, she had stared at the name for minutes, and ended up walking away, unable to go in just yet. She was much stronger than she was then…she was a woman now.

The door opened…the room inside was dark. The old woman pushed the door open and hurried off, but not before telling Kushina she only had a few minutes before they had to close it again. She stepped inside warily, feeling on the wall for the light switch.

"You don't have to turn it on." A smooth voice said from the back of the room. The speaker was cloaked in darkness.

"Hello…brother." She said, her eyes watching the darkness carefully.

"Kushina…it's been a month since I last saw you. What are you doing these days?" His voice made her skin crawl…and he always had that mocking tone, like he was on the verge of laughing.

"Missions…mostly. The war's been keeping me busy." She replied. Her hand was no longer reaching for the light switch. She was too scared to move it any farther along the wall.

"Ah…the life of a shinobi. Full of suffering and sacrifice. I know it all too well. Tell me sister…when are you going to get me out of here?"

Kushina stiffened and began to feel sick. The pit in her stomach grew larger. She didn't want to answer the question but she didn't want to make him angry. She could never give the answer he wanted to hear.

"I….I…I can't do that. You're in here because…of the things you've done."

"Are you talking about the children? I only gave them what they wanted."

Kushina was certain she was going to vomit if she talked to him any longer. She wanted to leave this place and never come back…get miles away from this man…this man that claimed he was her brother. Something felt…wrong. The last time she had come here they had talked for hours. He had been bad when she first came to see him...but every visit he had been getting better...more sociable. He was almost normal last time she came. He had wanted her to turn the light on, so they could see each other clearly…and they had talked about how things used to be before…

"They deserved it, Kushina. You know exactly what I mean. How is it fair that we must lose our parents, and they go on having their own? I was trying to make us happy again. If you want to be happy again Kushina…you should get me out of here. We can create our own happiness."

"Stop it…..I can't….let's just talk, please." Kushina said, trying not to let the fear that was gripping her body creep into her voice.

"Talking isn't going to get me out of this place. You know that. You've always known that. You don't give two shits about what happens to me. You've been hoping they'll execute me soon, so you can finally stop feeling obligated to visit me all because our whore of a mother asked you to before she died."

Kushina saw Saitou's eyes suddenly appear in the dark. Two red orbs that stared directly at her. She looked at the floor, fear squeezing her chest in a vice-grip, trying to look anywhere but into his eyes. She could feel them boring into her, looking into her soul, into dark places where she had hidden away certain things. She felt naked before them. She wanted to run from the room and never look back. What was making her stay? I have to be strong. For my mother.

She steeled herself, planting her feet firmly and mustering up all the courage she could. Trying not to let her fear into her voice, she looked up and met the terrible eyes that were staring back at her.

"I enjoyed talking with you the last time I came here. Something has changed. I can't get you out of this place…and I won't. You don't deserve it. You did terrible things and you're going to pay the price. It's nothing less than you deserve. I'm leaving now. I have more important places to be than listening to the drivel that comes out of your mouth."

She turned and opened the door, letting the light from the hallway into the room, and silhouetting her brother's image for a moment. She stepped out into the hallway, giving one last look back at him as he lay against the far wall, heavy chains wrapped about him and connected at different points around the room. His face remained in darkness, for which she was glad. She didn't think she could gaze upon it now.

"And one more thing….never call my mother a whore again."

"You stupid bitch…you fucking bitch. I'll kill you when I get out of here. I'LL KILL YOU!"

She shut the door quietly; the screams of her brother following her out and down the hallway as she walked towards the entrance. She held back the tears with all her might, keeping her promise that she would never cry again. She wondered if she had done the right thing as pushed open the double entrance doors and stepped out into the sun. I did what I had to…I broke all contact. He's beyond help now…I can't bring him back from that dark place he's buried himself in.

She couldn't recall walking back to her house, but the next thing she knew she was outside her front door, her head still spinning. The tears were no longer trying to force themselves out of her, but her heart was beating a thousand miles a minute. What had she just done? She plopped down on her bed, lying back and rubbing at her temples with shaking hands.

She closed her eyes…and her mother's words from all those years ago came rushing back to her.

"Take care of your brother Kushina. He's a troubled boy…and you are everything I ever wanted you to be. I need you to do this for me. He needs your love now more than anything."

She had died moments later, succumbing to her wounds. Kushina had been a child then, only ten, her brother even younger. They had called him a genius…everyone had. He was the second youngest person in Konoha's history to graduate from the Academy, and reached Chuunin and even Jonin at a remarkable rate. But it was also said that genius and madness were two sides of the same coin.

Kushina rolled onto her side, staring at the pillows neatly arranged at the head of her bed. For a moment, she erased all thought from her head, and just lay there, staring into space. She was trying to keep the thought she was so afraid of from formulating in her mind. She failed.

I'm so sorry mother…I failed you.

She drifted into an uneasy sleep, and in her dreams, she cried.

Minato's eyes swept across the barren landscape. The vegetation that had before covered this brown, battle-scarred piece of earth had been long burnt away by the fires of war. Flame still raged over the remainder of the forest, spreading in every direction. It spread slowly, he noted. He would have to deal with it later. The environmental state of this area was the last thing on his mind though. He would have to kill a lot of men today. The enemy was massing in their trench a mere two hundred meters away. They were taking their time.

Minato looked around him. There were four of them sitting around him, eyes full of hope as they stared at him. They were looking to him for salvation, looking to him to get them out of this mess. Lucky for them, he was good at solving these sorts of problems. Konoha shinobi all of them, but they were frightened, shellshocked. He didn't blame them. Behind their little planning area, body bags stretched far down the trench.

He hadn't really believed it when they gave him the mission briefing. Four? They had taken over one hundred casualties, the worst battle of the entire war. The only good news was that they had done just as much damage to the enemy, but they had been so outnumbered that it made little difference. That was nearly always the case in this war. Konoha was fighting on two fronts, and they were spread thin.

Now these men… his men, sat huddled around him. They were wet, tired, and grieving for their fallen comrades. They had seen enough death, enough killing . Minato would relieve them of their burden. He would do the killing for all of them, and avenge their fallen brothers. He would make the enemy feel how they felt right now.

He pointed to the many kunai sitting in a pile in the middle of their huddle. Each kunai had a small piece of paper wrapped around it, with writing on them. It was a seal, he had told Jiraiya. A contract. That was all he said, even though his sensei had tried to hours to get more details. Then he had showed him what these kunai did, what their purpose was. The pride in Jiraiya's eyes as he realized what his student had created would probably stick with Minato for the rest of his life.

"When the enemy starts charging, throw these kunai in their direction and get down. I'll take care of the rest."

His associates nodded, picking up the kunai and giving the seals odd looks. Jiraiya was still trying to understand that seal, and it had been weeks. These lesser experienced shinobi definitely wouldn't be able to decipher it. Minato was nervous though. He had never tested the technique in this manner in an actual battle. Should be interesting.

He climbed out of the muddy trench that smelled of death, and the battlefield stretched in front of him. He couldn't see the enemy's trench, but he knew it was there, knew they were waiting for him. Would they flee, like many of his enemies in the past? There are too many of them for that. Even if they knew who I was…

The giant force seemed to come up out of the earth, emerging from their trench and running towards him. From this distance, he could only make out their shapes. They hadn't the faintest idea that they were running straight to their graves. Seconds passed…precious seconds. He had to time the throwing right. He raised his hand and looked back at the men under his command, who all stood poised, four to five kunai in each hand. They were just as instrumental to this plan as he was. He would make sure they were well rewarded when they got back to Konoha. The enemy was close now….just close enough for him to…

He dropped his hand and the kunai sped past him. They spread out as they flew, heading towards just about every part of the enemy host. Minato activated his chakra on one of the seals, appearing in the midst of three enemies who where preoccupied with the incoming kunai. The surprise on their faces as they skid to a halt and Minato sliced the exact same spot on their necks every time, made a tingle run up Minato's spine.

It was all done within seconds.

Minato looked at all the bodies around him. Blood covered the ground, flowing freely from the open wounds he had administered. There were at least fifty of them, maybe more, sprawled on the ground around him. Some were still thrashing around, the last seconds of their life ticking away as blood gushed from the open wound in their throats. He was soaked in their blood, his yellow hair running all over the place, his clothing heavy on his body from it. The entire place smelled like blood and death. He took his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and withdrew one, lighting it before taking a few puffs. Are you watching mom? This is for you. And for them. He looked over to his own village's fighting position, where all the body bags of his fallen comrades lay.

The technique had worked perfectly. He still had over half his chakra left. Granted, Jiraiya said he always had a very large amount of chakra compared to the average shinobi, but for the technique to take up such a small amount, when he had even used most of the sealed kunai more than once, was astounding. Now I just have to come up with a name for this jutsu…something cool.

"Minato-sama! We need to get out of here! They're calling for reinforcements, and the Mizukage will be with them! If we get caught up in a battle with him, we'll be killed."

Minato looked at the Konoha shinobi who had just spoken; a lanky boy of only sixteen with a mop of straw blonde hair on his head. He must have been in the Yamanaka clan, he had the look of it. A good clan, though Minato didn't really like their style of fighting. He smiled at the boy. His other three comrades were behind him and looking around at all the dead bodies, faces covered in disbelief.

"You underestimate me. You think the Mizukage scares me? You four can go back to the village, I'll stay and deal with it. Killing this many Kirigakure shinobi and taking down the Mizukage in one day? It's too good to miss out on."

"You chakra isn't drained from that…that…what was that just now?" Another shinobi, a Chuunin asked, still looking around in awe at the massacre. When Minato looked at him, he avoided meeting Minato's eyes.

Maybe I should withdraw. Make sure these four make it back to the village safe and sound. They're drained…and out of chakra to boot. I have confidence in my abilities, but facing a Kage level opponent now with little over half my chakra would be unwise. His escort's probably pretty formidable as well. He sighed in frustration, taking another puff on his cigarette, which had burned down about halfway.

"Alright, let's get out of here. We'll have to leave the bodies. As much as I want to give these men a proper burial, we can't carry all these body bags back ourselves. There's no telling what the MIzukage'll do with 'em, but their deaths weren't in vain, and that's all that matters. They'll be honored when we get back to the village. You four will be too. Without you, I wouldn't have been able to pull this off." He said, puffing on his cigarette contently.

A brief smile appeared on all their faces, poking through the sadness that they felt for their lost brothers. Minato smiled too when he realized he had given them a small moment of happiness in this overall shitty situation.

"Alright, let's go. We can get back to the village by tomorrow morning if we keep a decent pace." Minato said, tossing his cigarette and walking off, stepping smoothly over any bodies in his way.

He looked at the faces of the men he had killed, looked into their open eyes that were glazed with the thin film of death. He was familiar with things like this. He had been around war since he was a little kid. It had become a part of him. He was still covered in blood, but he'd change when they got out of this place. He didn't know when he started to enjoy the smell of blood…or killing. It had been a realization….a realization that came out of nowhere and haunted his mind. He stopped walking, causing the shinobi around him to stop in turn.

For the first time….he took a real look around….he REALLY saw the damage he had done. The moans of the dying reached his ears, and the smell of death reached his nose. He saw shinobi of all kinds lying around him, from the youngest Genin to the most experienced Jonin. He looked at his hands, which were covered in blood. How many people have I killed with these hands? Is It wrong that I enjoy this?

Images flashed in his brain of his mother…raped and killed by Kirigakure shinobi right in front of him when he was just a small boy. They're all savage animals that deserve to die. I'm wiping this earth clean of filth.

"Namikaze-sama…we need to keep moving." A voice said from behind him. He took a few seconds to respond.

"…..Right."