A/N: Revamp. I don't own Naruto. Now we get into the attack! CHA!


Chapter 7: The Attack Begins

Mitsuko trotted down the stairs and to her seat.

She pulled her thin sweater tighter about her body as a small wind blew through the top of the stadium and wished she'd thought to bring a jacket or something. Sakura sat just in front of her, not seeming to mind the cold. The pink-haired kunoichi's eyes were clouded over in thought, as if she was troubled by something. Mitsuko frowned and reached over to place a hand on her shoulder. Sakura jumped and whirled around in her seat. Mitsuko gave a low chuckle.

"Easy. It's just me. What's wrong? Something on your mind?"

Sakura shook her head, turning back around. She folded her hands in her lap. "No, not really. I'm just…Worried, is all." She fiddled with the hem of her red dress, eyes downcast and faraway. Mitsuko frowned.

"About Sasuke, right?"

Sakura turned back around and looked up. She bit her lip, as if debating on whether or not to confide in this demon girl. She heaved a sigh. "Yeah. I'm just not sure if he can…Er, beat his opponent. That sand kid looks tough." She smiled bravely, and turned back around.

Mitsuko crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. What a horrible liar…Her blue eyes darted about the stadium. "ANBU…?" she muttered, counting nearly eight of so of the elite ninja. How strange.

Perhaps they fear something is about to happen. At least you didn't call them the AN-who this time.

Sakura glanced over her shoulder. "What was that?" she asked, looking on curiously. Mitsuko turned back around, her eyes having landed on an ANBU in a brown coat, covered from head to toe. His mask swiveled towards her as if he sensed her gaze, and Mitsuko quickly looked away.

"Nothing. Just wondering why it's so cold up here."

Sakura shrugged. "It's because we're up higher than normal. The wind is a lot worse up here, especially since it's channeled through all the halls and such." Mitsuko nodded, as if she hadn't already known.

Her eyes scanned the fields below, waiting for someone or something to happen.

Where was Naruto? There was no way he could possibly be late for his match…Right? Mitsuko sighed and shook her head. Who was she kidding? At least he wasn't Kakashi; if it was Kakashi they were waiting for, they'd not only be a few hours later, but also be treated to a rather amusing story about 'saving a cat from a tree on the road of life.'

Shifting uncomfortably, she trained her focus back on the grounds below.

I wonder…

What is it, kit?

Do you think…This has anything to do with Sand?

Maybe. They seem….Suspicious. I would not trust them as far as I could throw them.Mitsuko snorted. Considering it's you, you could throw them pretty far.

A disgruntled grunt was all she received in reply. Looking back onto the designated fighting area beneath them, she caught a brief glimpse of an orange blur streaking into the stadium. Her face lit up as she recognized that orange blur. It seemed Naruto was not about to miss his match for anything in the world.

Although she was worried at first, as the fight progressed, it seemed Naruto was gaining an upper hand. She couldn't hear what he was saying to his opponent, a long hair boy with pale blue eyes and some type of Bloodline limit, but whatever it was seemed to have literally and figuratively thrown him off balance. A small gasp escaped Mitsuko's lips as Naruto called upon the chakra of the Kyuubi. "That is some powerful chakra, to be able to see it," she murmured softly. Sakura glanced over her shoulder, nodding briefly, before turning back to watch the match. With the Kyuubi's enhanced power, it didn't take Naruto long to take out his opponent.

Smiling to herself and very proud of her little friend, Mitsuko didn't quite notice the two presences that sidled up beside her. Looking over her shoulder, she was slightly startled to see a man in a green spandex suit, followed by a boy who looked a little worse for wear.

Holding back a giggle at the sight of the oddly attired man, she allowed her gaze to stray to the boy once more. It looked as though his limbs had been broken, or something. He sported a cast on both his left arm and right foot. Was this…Bushy-Brows?

The two glanced at her, almost simultaneously. As the man let his gaze slide over to her form, he seemed to smile and she could have sworn she heard his teeth 'ping.' "Ah, fair lady! I do not believe we have ever met! I am Maito Gai, Konoha's Beautiful Blue Beast! May I have the honor of knowing your name?"

Mitsuko blinked back her surprise, staring a little wide-eyed at the spandex man in front of her. "Er, Mitsuko…" she mumbled, after an agonizingly long pause in which the man simply stood in his 'thumbs up pose' for a good long time.

"Well, then it is a pleasure to meet you, lovely Mitsuko!" He, once more, flashed his teeth and gave her the thumbs up. Sakura and Mitsuko both sweat dropped.

As the fights continued, Temari and Shikamaru squared off, while Kankuro forfeited and left Shino to fight absolutely no one, a fact that Mitsuko was sure pissed the bug boy off a bit. She knew if that had been her, she definitely would have smacked the Puppet Master a good one.

After Shikamaru forfeited his own match, it seemed, to Mitsuko at least, all the events were leading up to the climactic clash between Sasuke and Gaara. She folded her arms lightly over her chest. "I hope Sasuke loses," she muttered, earning a glare from Ino, who had found a seat beside Sakura, and a worried glance from the pink-haired Kunoichi beside her. "What?"

It seemed Sasuke had picked up the habitual lateness from Kakashi, as the two barely arrived in time for the match. Mitsuko snorted; at least Sasuke didn't tell try to spin some ridiculous story about having to fight off a dozen tigers before he could make it to the arena. "Idiots."

"Aw, we're not that bad."

Mitsuko started slightly at a voice to her left, turning just in time to see Kakashi waving lazily at her from where he leaned against her seat.

"Yo."

Mitsuko sighed. "You and your lateness are going to get your pupils in trouble one day, you know that, right?" As his one visible eye curved upwards in amusement, Mitsuko decided then and there that he was a lost cause.

"But we got lost on the road of life…" he explained slowly.

Mitsuko quickly clapped a hand over his mouth to keep him from saying more. "Yeah, yeah. Save your excuses, Copy Ninja," she drawled, turning back to where Sasuke was beginning his fight with Gaara of the Sand. "You know, I hope your student gets beat into the dust, right?"

Kakashi lazily looked her over. "Why?"

"He's rude."

"Wonderful explanation. But so am I. Do you want me to get beat into the dust?"

Mitsuko glomped onto his arm, smiling happily as she hugged the ensnared appendage. "Of course not. You're my friend!"

The silver-haired Jounin sweat dropped, prying his arm loose after much maneuvering on his part. He cast Mitsuko a slightly amused, slightly creeped out look, before focusing his attention back on the match at hand.

It seemed, now that they had missed almost half of it, that Sasuke and Gaara were both resorting to some of their most powerful attacks. Che. Pulling out all the stops on this one, eh Rooster Hair? Gaara enclosed himself in a ball of sand, seemingly completely solid, while Sasuke used…

"Chidori?" the man in the green spandex suit asked Kakashi, suddenly serious. The lazy-eyed Jounin merely nodded slowly, before leaning on Mitsuko's chair once again.

"Yeah. Just watch."

Mitsuko looked back at the black-haired Genin, eyes widened ever so slightly as his palm lit up with chakra, the force of his energy so powerful that it was visible. He had gathered chakra on the soles of his feet, and was now powering up whilst standing on a wall.

Only a freakin' ninja could do something like that.

Mitsuko watched in bewilderment as the young Uchiha prodigy charged the ball of sand, preparing to take it and Gaara out in one fell swoop. Her eyes flew closed, not wanting to see the carnage that was presumed to follow. She braced herself, waiting to hear the cries of agony that would surely resound through the stadium in a mere moment...

But nothing happened.

Her eyes popped open, and she was startled to see Sasuke struggling valiantly to pull his arm from the sand encasing it. He jerked violently, and wrenched it free, just in time for a spike of sand to emerge where he had been trapped only moments before. Mitsuko sniffed carefully.

The Silver haired Jounin beside her looked over curiously. "What's wrong?"

Kit. The boy with the sand. He's…

I know, Tsubaki. I-I know.

Mitsuko growled softly, her eyes narrowing as she watched the Uchiha shake off his attack, holding his arm as though it pained him. "Someone is bleeding, and it's not your prodigy," she muttered crossly, folding her arms stiffly over her chest.

Kakashi looked surprised, and turned back to the fight, noticing that Sasuke looked a little worse for wear with a slightly crispy-looking arm, but he was most definitely not bleeding visibly. His gaze slid over to the woman beside him, who seemed to want the young Uchiha to lose. How could she have known that with a simple sniff? Something was most definitely wrong with her.

Mitsuko and the lazy Jounin were both startled when long, tentacle like arms of sand burst from inside the shield of sand Gaara had erected, and danced like a snake towards Sasuke. The Uchiha pranced backward, trying to dodge the blows that could surely crush his bones.

"Something is very wrong..."

A scream cut off Mitsuko's next comment, and all eyes turned towards the Kage's balcony, where it seemed to Kazekage had turned upon the Hokage. Mitsuko growled, a deep rumble beginning to edge it's way up her throat as she prepared to spring from her seat and make her way to the private booth.

"Damn," she cursed, and before she could leap, a strange feeling washed over her. She felt faint, and her vision became fuzzy. Distantly, she could hear the sound of fighting nearby, before a voice close to her hear whispered,

"Release!"

Mitsuko snapped back up, looking around in wild bewilderment. "What just happened?" She was met with the worried green gaze of Sakura, the pink haired kunoichi being the one who had saved her from falling victim to the Genjutsu.

"It was a Genjutsu. It made almost everyone in the stadium fall asleep, except Kakashi-sensei, Gai-sensei, you, and me. I think a few other Jounins and Chuunins fought it off as well." Her gaze cast about, looking worriedly from one person to another. "What are we going to do now?"

Mitsuko's blue eyes slowly bled to gold as the attacking ninja suddenly swarmed the stadium, ready to kill anyone who had escaped the Genjutsu. While it was a surprise that they had the guts to go after the Hidden Leaf, Mitsuko had a feeling they'd bitten off more than they could chew. A dark grin spread across Mitsuko's face, and in a voice that was clearly not her own, she began to growl.

"Now, little kunoichi? Now, we kill the invaders."

Mitsuko grumbled softly, edging away from her seat where Sakura crouched, ready to defend the young Kunoichi, and anyone else who happened to survive. Her nails slowly elongated, turning into claw-like weapons she would most assuredly be using.

A dark grin curved her small lips upwards as Tsubaki's chakra took precedence over her own, no longer melding, but overpowering it completely. Anyone who met her waiting claws would surely perish.

And of course, it wasn't long until this prediction came true.

A dark haired ninja, wearing a black body suit with what Tsubaki-Mitsuko assumed was the Sound Village's Chuunins or Jounin vest, darted towards her, kunai raised offensively in front of him.

Tsubaki-Mitsuko's eyes traveled over the length of his body, assessing both strength and skills. He was weak enough, and she knew he would be easy to dispose of. Leaping from where she stood, and using her chair as a catapult, she landed on top of the charging shinobi, pinning him with both feet firmly planted on his shoulders. Leaning down, she smiled viciously, bringing one arm back behind her head as she prepared to drive it straight through his heart.

Tsubaki.

A voice in the far reaches of the demon's mind sounded warningly, a low growl rumbling in the back of her throat. An invisible force grabbed a hold of the creature's arm, holding back as it strained to strike.

He is the enemy, kit. You are not allowed to let him live. Release my arm.

With a small sound of annoyance, the force disappeared, and the strain that had been on the arm dissipated, leaving it to plunge freely into the body of the pinned Shinobi. He let out a blood-curdling scream, and then fell silent, his body going limp beneath the demon.

Pulling her arm free of the hole she had made with a wet, sucking sound, Tsubaki twitched as she shook the blood from her crimson covered appendage. Mitsuko had never truly let Tsubaki take over before, and now she knew what might happen if she did.

It scared and amazed her all at the same time.

Righting herself, she turned back to see Sakura watching with wide eyes, her mouth hanging open. For a brief moment, Tsubaki felt ashamed that she'd let her baser instincts rule, but it was quickly averted as another enemy jumped her from behind, a kunai grazing the flesh of her neck.

A low growl escaped the Jinchuuriki's throat, and she reached behind her, flipping the attacking shinobi over her head and onto the ground at her feet. The sound of bones cracking met her ears, and she smiled victoriously, stepping on his chest and hearing another sickening crack as she completely destroyed his rib-cage.

The demon launched from atop the downed ninja, coming to a stop near Kakashi and Gai, where they easily dispatched one enemy after another. She smiled as she sidled towards them, punching a random shinobi that came up behind her.

"How goes it?" she inquired sweetly, though her voice was not her own. She received a confused look from Gai, and a suspicious glance from Kakashi.

"Pretty good," he replied, using his kunai to slice through and enemy's stomach. Gai followed his example, but the ninja he fought was sent flying over the edge of the stadium from the force of his kick.

"Ah, that's good," she murmured, pulling out a kunai form Kakashi's holster while he dispatched another enemy. The silver-haired Jounin watched with quiet apprehension, suddenly wondering if this new Mitsuko would turn on him. When she instead whirled to slice through another opponent, he visibly relaxed.

"I'll be back," he told her and Gai, leaving the two back to back as he moved over to where Sakura was. Tsubaki tracked his progress with her eyes, before her attention was called away by another enemy.

Sighing, she pressed closer to Gai, making sure there was no way an enemy could get between them and hack at their backs. Her dark hair began to come loose from it's hastily thrown together bun, and Tsubaki cursed. Che. Nuisance. With her free hand, she grabbed the bun and yanked it out, letting her hair flow freely. In the next instant, her claws had sliced through the strands, leaving them to brush delicately against her cheek and around her ears.

Tsubaki! You bitch! It took me years to grow my hair out!

We must all sacrifice for the greater good.

Tsubaki's golden eyes suddenly widened as another opponent sped towards her, and she had no time to bring her arms up in defense. The shinobi's kunai plunged into her right shoulder, eliciting a pained yelp from the young Jinchuuriki. She snarled, and pulled the knife from her tender flesh, watching as the blood seeped out in red rivulets. The ninja who had stabbed her took a fearful step back. He had never heard something so feral come out of any human's throat. His face visibly paled when she looked at him, and he could see the anger shimmering in her cold, bright eyes.

"You shouldn't have done that," she murmured, a growl rising up to reverberate through her chest.

Mitsuko, in the back of her own mind, watched in silent horror as Tsubaki began to take full control. The round human ears faded away, and atop her head, long, spiraling dog ears formed, materializing out of nowhere. The pupils in he pale amber eyes slanted, dilating as they focused upon the enemy ninja, her prey. Mitsuko's canines slowly elongated into fangs, protruding from her mouth in a feral grin. Her nails lengthened into claws, while her hair shimmered and faded into a pale ivory, tipped in blue towards the end. Three long, navy stripes appeared above and below her eyes, glowing brighter with each passing moment.

"You really shouldn't have done that."

The ninja screamed as Tsubaki lunged forward, digging her claws into his chest. She yanked him towards her, holding him mere inches from her face. "Don't worry, fool. Your death will be quick." Raising her arm, she drew it back, and let it fly with deadly force. It plunged through his throat, and Tsubaki dropped the dead man as his blood sprayed across her face and dark clothes.

A wicked smile spread across her features, and her feral gaze flew around the stadium, looking for another victi- er, opponent. Her eyes darted past Gai, who was watching her in a mixture of horror and disgust, and then strayed to the bottom of the stadium. There, yes, there was her next unwilling victim. The one Gaara called his 'teacher,' though she highly doubted that the fool, Baki, taught the Sand shinobi anything. Tsubaki leapt from her perch high above the stadium floor, landing beside the other Jounin, who she knew, from his position as the referee, was named Genma.

The Leaf Jounin looked startled, and fearful for a moment as the demon possessed woman landed beside him. But as her eyes glanced back at him over her shoulder, he seemed to relax, taking this as a sign that she was on their side.

Baki was not feeling as confident as he had been before, and definitely not as reassured as Genma.

In fact, he looked like he had just seen a ghost. Tsubaki grinned wickedly, and brought a pale hand up to watch the blood slid down her arm. "What's the matter?" she purred in a sickly-sweet voice. "I thought you would be used to being around demons?"

If possible, he looked even more frightened.

She watched in silent amusement as he raised a shaky hand, clicking his fingers together in an attempt to send some sort of attack her way. She tilted her head in a bemused manner, not seeing the wind blades until they hit her. Startled by the sudden force of the impact, she skidded backwards as they sliced through her thin clothes, cutting at the tender flesh beneath. Yelping in pain, she leapt back, landing on all fours a few feet away.

Baki seemed to think he had put her on the run, and repeated the attack, aiming at her new position only a little ways off. Tsubaki was ready this time, and jumped to the side, easily avoiding the dancing blades of wind. She watched them hit the wall behind her, and slowly turned back to Baki.

Furious pale eyes glared out at him, anger smoldering in their depths as she slowly proceeded towards the Sand Jounin, stalking around him on two legs. Briefly, he saw something waving from behind her, and noticed that she had...A tail?

Yes, Tsubaki had grown a tail, and it twisted and twirled like a snake behind her lithe form. The demon creature giggled, a sound that felt foreign in her throat. "You know, I rather like this look, don't you?" she drawled, waving one clawed hand in front of her. "Makes me look...unique, eh?"

Baki gulped audibly, and Tsubaki grinned as the fear in his scent suddenly spiked. He was absolutely saturated with fright, and she could sense every bit of it. "Before I kill you," she murmured darkly. "Tell me why the Sand and the Sound are attacking Konoha."

This seemed to snap him out of his fear-induced trance, and he snarled viciously. "I don't think that's any of your business, demon," Baki spat, glaring down at her as she watched in silent amusement.

"Oh, I think it is," she drawled. "You see, even though I was not born here, this village has become my home. I will defend it with my life. You are attacking it, therefore you must die. I merely wanted to know why this was happening,. But if you don't feel up to talking, I suppose you must feel up to dying. So, all I have to say to your petty insult is; Goodbye."

She launched herself towards the startled Sand Shinobi, and hit him full force in the chest, using her shoulder to take the brunt of the impact. Baki fell backwards with a winded 'Oomph,' before she landed on top of him, digging into his chest with her claws. He cried out, squirming wildly to try and break free.

Tsubaki snarled, digging her claws in deeper.

Suddenly, and seemingly out of nowhere, a foreign force hit her in the back of the head, and she whirled to find another Sand Shinobi, accompanied by three of his comrades, and two from Sound. The leader of the small gang held a small rock between his fingers, and Tsubaki looked over to see another rock rolling away from her. She leapt off of her previous opponent, and stalked straight towards the new ones, stopping short five feet away as they brought out their real weapons.

Baki edged away from the crazed demon-girl, quickly collecting himself as he leapt the stadium wall and disappeared. Tsubaki spared him only a glance, before she turned back to the six ninja that had just saved his life.

"Your friend abandons you while you stay and get killed in his place. That is true loyalty," she murmured, and the Sand Shinobi took a step back at her appearance.

Tsubaki merely watched them quietly, head tilted at an odd angle as she sat back on her calves, hands splayed out on the ground in front of her. If not for the demon-like markings, she might have looked like a lost dog, just searching for it's next meal and a nice place to stay. But there was no mistaking this demon for a dog.

"We-we will d-die defending o-our comrades!" their apparent leader claimed valiantly, not noticing the two Sound Shinobi edging away from them. Mitsuko watched in silence, before leaping from her spot and landing with one foot on each of the Sound's shoulders. They lifted their arms simultaneously to try and unbalance her, but she stayed firm as their bodies wavered under her weight.

"Seems to me like that loyalty is pretty thin, especially in the Sound. Next time you make a declaration about something like that, be sure of yourself and your comrades, and make certain it's actually true," she told the Sand's captain, before flipping backwards and sinking her claws into the both backs of the two Sound ninja. They fell to the ground with a thud, unconscious and bleeding, but still alive.

Tsubaki straightened, turning her head to look at the Sand ninja who watched her with fearful apprehension. "Go on. I have no reason to kill you. Get out of here before I change my mind."

The four remaining ninja nodded mutely, and took off without so much as a backwards glance. Tsubaki rubbed the bridge of her nose, minding her claws, of course.

"This is going to be one hell of a day."


Mitsuko pinched the bridge of her nose, for what seemed to be the fifth time in only nine minutes.

After dispatching Baki and his, well, un-loyal minions, Mitsuko had taken it upon herself to assure Genma that, yes, she was on his side, and no, she would not live very long if he were to launch his entire arsenal of senbon in her direction.

Needless to say, she came away with her already injured arm looking, more or less, like a porcupine.

After Gai had descended from the stadium, and reinforced Mitsuko's assurances (and subsequently saved Genma from being mauled), the demonized girl was left on her own.

Pushing a strand of unkempt hair behind her ear, she wearily made her way back up to the stadium. Tsubaki had used up the last of her reserves in the fight, and had retreated back into Mitsuko's mind with a quiet command for Mitsuko to look after things. That left the girl to figure out how to look after herself with a dwindling chakra supply and no back up; Kakashi, Gai, and Genma had long since dispersed, each going their separate ways and taking on their own list of burdens.

Mitsuko decided that she would do well to follow their examples.

Leaping from the top of the dome, she landed on the outer wall, the one Gaara had escaped over, and Sasuke had followed in pursuit. Briefly, she wondered how they fared, but her mind was soon elsewhere as a shuriken whizzed by her head.

"Damn it all," she muttered upon seeing the form of a very distinguishable Konoha Ninja headed her way. At the Kunoichi's side was a rather large canine, it's fangs very clearly bared in a warning to the demon girl. However, before they got too close, Mitsuko hopped from the wall, and landed in the city streets, hitting the ground at a run. The kunoichi followed, though her giant companion was far ahead of her.

Mitsuko briefly glanced over her shoulder, and heaved a large, annoyed sigh, before skidding to a halt and whipping around. She had thought the dog might follow suit and stop as well. But he didn't.

Mitsuko soon found herself pinned beneath one hundred and fifty pounds of snarling fury. The ninja dog snapped it's teeth inches from her neck, before it's dark words penetrated the air.

"Who are you, demon? And why do you walk our streets?"

Surprised by it's voice, Mitsuko could only stare up into it's glowering, furred face, sputtering out a few squeaks here and there. A sharp whistle brought both creatures' attention to the kunoichi who had followed them. She stood only a few feet away, wild brown hair tousled from her run, and cheeks bright pink beneath two large, red triangles.

For a second, recognition flared up in Mitsuko's mind, and she vaguely recalled meeting someone who looked quite similar to this rather odd woman.

"Kiba!" she suddenly exclaimed, sitting up and, inadvertently, knocking the large dog off of her in her haste. It growled scornfully, before walking over to sit beside it's master. The woman lifted an eyebrow, before scratching her dog behind the ear.

"You, a demon, know my son? How?" She suddenly seemed to remember herself, and drew a kunai. "Give me one good reason why I should not kill you right here and now, demon."

"Oi," Mitsuko scoffed, clearly offended by the name she had been given. "I am not a demon. My name is Mitsuko. You could at least-" Her words were cut off when a shuriken embedded itself in her already wounded arm, renewing the bleeding it had taken her only moments to stop. She clutched her damaged appendage in pain, before blinking up at her attacker.

It seemed the female ninja did not take kindly to drawn out answers. "Fine. Kimiko Mitsuko. New resident of Konoha. I have freaking papers." Reaching into her back pocket, she drew out a small booklet, which was now quite rumpled and torn, and shoved it into the Kunoichi's face.

A small growl from the giant dog caused Mitsuko to rethink her proximity to the two, as the woman read and re-read her certified forms. "Very well. If you are indeed a fighter, then you will come with me."

"W-what?" Mitsuko was clearly confused. "How on earth would you have known I was a fighter?"

The woman sighed. "It says so on your papers. And I just saw you run across the wall and hop nearly thirty feet to the ground. Without any injury, I might add."

Mitsuko's face flushed a deep red, and she rubbed the back of her head with her hand. "Eh heh. I guess so. Sorry about that Miss...?"

"You may call me Inuzuka. Nothing more. No Miss. No Mrs. Just Inuzuka. Got it?"

Mitsuko nodded curtly before standing up on shaky legs. The woman glanced at her arm, before muttering a gruff apology. The demon girl waved it off. "Ah, it's nothing," she assured, before allowing the woman to take the lead. "For now at least."

Two hours later, it seemed as though they had all but cleared out the last of the remaining Sand and Sound forces. Many Konoha ninja lay dead, but even more ninja from Sound and Sand had fallen to the larger forces of the Leaf. Mitsuko wasn't surprised by this.

She and Inuzuka had stopped to rest near a battered looking building. Mitsuko knew that it was not usually so worn down, since she had passed by here only a few days ago. It seemed as though the outbreak of fighting had indeed taken a toll on Konoha.

Mitsuko rested her arms on her knees, trying to catch her breath. Inuzuka stood only a few feet from her, staring carefully into the distance. She looked well rested, and was really no worse for the wear. Mitsuko vaguely wished she had that kind of endurance. The large dog, whom the demon girl had found out was named Kuromaru, sat beside Mitsuko, panting, just like his new ally.

When he caught her eye, she smiled, and he gave her a nod. A thanks, in his own way, for her assistance. The small group had encountered quite a bit of opposition while trying to reach the Hokage cliffs. They knew the children of Konoha had hidden there, protected by only a few Chuunin, and one or two Jounin.

It was not an optimistic fact.

So Inuzuka had instructed Mitsuko to cut a path through the opposing forces with her Water Barrier Jutsu. It had worked fairly well, until the Sand ninja had discovered how to repel it. A few well placed wind blades had sent Mitsuko hurtling into a nearby wall, Inuzuka, into a merchants cart, and Kuromaru into a telephone pole.

Needless to say, they had been in quite a bit of pain after that. Adding to Mitsuko's arm injury was now a bruised thigh, a bloody lip, and a large bruise on her left arm. She felt horrible. Kuromaru was definitely feeling the pain too. He seemed to gurgle when he breathed, and she thought he may have a broken rib. He was most assuredly covered in multiple bruises, though his thick fur prevented his two human allies from seeing them.

Inuzuka was the only one who looked semi-normal. She had minimal bruising, but her back seem to be in a lot of pain. She had probably injured it when she crashed into that cart, the demon girl surmised.

Mitsuko sighed, before pushing herself to her feet. "Well, we're not going to get anything else done just sitting here," she announced, receiving a nod from Inuzuka, and a wince from Kuromaru. Inuzuka glanced at her companion, before bending down to eye level.

"Stay here, my friend. we can make it the rest of the way on our own. The opposition has dwindled enough for Mitsuko and I to get there relatively safely. Just rest. I will be back shortly."

Her companion gave her a relieved smile, before allowing his head to rest on the soft earth. Nodding her head to Mitsuko, Inuzuka leapt to the top of the nearest building, landing lightly on the tiles as she scanned the rooftops for any visible, or invisible enemy. Mitsuko followed, though quite a bit more awkward and clumsy. She slipped once, before scrambling up to stand beside Inuzuka.

"It's a straight shot to the Hokage monument. I don't perceive any threat from here to there, but that doesn't mean anything. Think you could make it if we were attacked again? Your arm is starting to look really awful."

Mitsuko glanced at her now hastily bandaged appendage, wincing a little as she tried to stretch it. It had gotten worse indeed; every time she moved it, a searing pain spread through her entire limb. But that didn't mean she couldn't use it. She tested it again, suppressing the hiss of pain that rose up in her throat.

"I think it'll be fine for now. It hurts, but it's still useable." She gave Inuzuka a curt nod, before taking a kunai the older woman offered her.

"All right then," she muttered, returning the nod to the younger girl. "Let's get going."

She sprinted down the length of the rooftop, nimbly leaping to the next one as she neared the end. Mitsuko followed at a slower pace, still quite awkward and slipping every now and again. Not for the first time that day, she found herself wishing she had Inuzuka's stamina, and, with a bit of envy, her grace.

As they sped along the rooftops of a bruised and battered Konoha, Mitsuko was vaguely aware of another mass presence follow close behind. Inuzuka must have sensed it as well, for she increased her pace, sending a meaningful glance over her shoulder at her companion.

The two did not get very far, when what they had feared surfaced.

Four Sound ninja, accompanied by two Sand, seemed to appear out of thin air. Of course, this was simply an un-clock-able speed, but it did not help Mitsuko's uneasiness. They were much faster than her, and probably a lot stronger than those she had fought in the stadium. With Tsubaki resting and recuperating after her strenuous bout of control inside of her mind, Mitsuko knew that, this time, she would be on her own.

Not counting Inuzuka, of course.

Readying her kunai, she saw Inuzuka do the same as the two prepared to fight for their lives.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Two Konoha ninja. And all alone, too. We could have some fun with this. What do you say, boys?" The rest of the Sound man's companions agreed, and there was a chorus of laughter that flittered through the small group as they began to close in.

Mitsuko growled, baring her still sharp fangs at the advancing enemy. Inuzuka did the same, though her fangs were much more real. The ninja that surrounded them did a double take, and then let out another bout of laughter.

"What's this? I think we have a couple of wild dogs on our hands. We'll be sure to be extra careful, now."

That was the only warning they go, as the rest of the enemy launched itself towards them.

Mitsuko was thrown off balance, and toppled backwards at the surprising assault. Her head knocked sharply against a tile, cracking the clay and sending a blinding wave of dizziness past her eyes. She wobbled precariously on the edge of the roof, before hauling herself to her feet.

She was immediately faced by three ninja. Of freaking course. It would figure that they split into even teams to tackle the two shinobi.

Narrowing her eyes, she snarled, and raised her kunai, which was still clutched tightly in her left hand. The ninja blanched for only a split second, before pushing off the roof and disappearing from view. Mitsuko cursed inwardly, before her hands flew through her favorite Jutsu seals.

"Water Style: Water Sword Jutsu!"

Instantaneously, two large blades of water formed on each of her hands, engulfing both limbs and kunai along with it. Just as soon as the water had solidified, the missing ninja reappeared, only this time, they were closer. Cursing her luck, Mitsuko back-peddled as far as she could, before being forced to leap to another rooftop.

The ninja followed, and a kunai, courtesy of their leader, flew straight towards her. Shakily, she knocked it away with one of her water blades, before rising to meet them head on.

Inuzuka was faring much better than her counterpart.

The moment the six ninja had spilt up, she had immediately began forming seals. A Shadow Clone Jutsu was very standard, but in this case, it was life saving. Her three attackers had no idea who was the real one, and so, leapt at whichever clone they saw.

Between the disappearing clones, and the puffs of smoke, Inuzuka quickly dispatched two of her assailants. Blood coated her kunai, and she paused for only a moment to switch hands and retrieve another one.

There was only one ninja left, and of course, he was far easier to deal with than his comrades. As she leapt towards him, he instinctively back-peddled, tripping over some loose tiling, and, Inuzuka thought, began to look incredibly like the clumsy girl, Mitsuko.

As she landed on top of him, her kunai pierced his chest, straight into his lungs. An odd gurgling sound accompanied his final breaths, before blood welled up in his throat, effectively choking the man to death.

That was fairly easy, she thought to herself, before turning to see how Mitsuko fared. Her eyebrow twitched lightly as she growled in annoyance. Honestly, that girl needs to learn to fight properly.

At least one ninja lay dead or dying near her feet, but the other two would not relent in their attacks. They slashed and hit and punched every part of Mitsuko they could find. She was dripping blood by now, and her mid-section was covered in cuts, but she was effectively blocking most of the hits.

Mitsuko failed to see Inuzuka as she leapt to the other building But she did not fail to notice when both of her attackers dropped dead, multiple shuriken and kunai lodged in their backs. Her water blades faded instantly, and she let out a heavy sigh.

"Thanks, Inuzuka. I owe you one."

The older woman smiled lightly, and nodded. "You do indeed. Let's hurry and get going."


"You know, we most likely would have been fine."

Mitsuko really felt like slapping Iruka.

Only a few minutes after arriving, the two combatants sat in a small room, where Iruka tended to their injuries. It took him longer to bandage up Mitsuko, since she was worse for the wear. Inuzuka had taken up a total of five minutes.

"Yes, we know, Iruka. But it was for the best that we came. Just in case. I doubt though, that there will be anyone or anything attacking us now. Most of the opposition has been forced from Konoha. Or killed."

Mitsuko's hiss of pain brought the Chuunin's attention back to the task at hand, as he nodded at his superior. "That is good news. Perhaps the children will be able to leave soon, and go back to the academy."

Mitsuko's face was grim. "I don't think so. It won't be safe for quite a while. At least, not until the Hokage has taken care of the Kazekage. Che, can't believe he'd be so underhanded as to attack just like that. Why, I bet he'll take care of him in no time flat. The Hokage-" She was immediately silenced by a look from her Jounin friend, and her eyes fell to the ground. Iruka looked between them curiously, but knew it was not his place to ask.

"Well, let's just hope he does," he told his patient with a smile. "There all done, Mitsuko."

"Thanks, Iruka." Mitsuko returned his friendly smile, and slumped back in a small chair, grateful to finally be able to rest. In the back of her mind, however, Tsubaki was beginning to stir.

Kit, she murmured gently, aware of just how tired her ward was. Is something wrong?

No, Tsubaki, Mitsuko replied quietly, wavering on the edge of sleep. Her eyes drifted shut, and she blocked out the sound of Iruka and Inuzuka talking quietly only a few feet from her. No...I think everything is going to be just fine.

Mitsuko had no idea how wrong she was.