A/N- I HAVE RETURNED!

To this story at least. Not sure if I mentioned it before, but my inspiration comes and goes for each of my stories at random. And although I could push myself to write a chapter without it, the quality would be sorely lacking. And nobody wants that.

It took me some time to pin down exactly how I wanted to proceed with things, and I think you'll be satisfied with what I did.

However, I have a little bit of bad news. I had taken the advice of my reviewers and changed a few things in the previous chapters. But unfortunately I lost all the data as a result of technical difficulties (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!). So right now the only thing I have is the next proper chapter. You will no doubt notice that a few things have changed as a result in this chapter, particularly Orochimaru's encounter with Yumi.

I will eventually go back and re-write the changes I made, but as of right now I just can't. Regardless of if it's 100 words or 1000, if I lose any work then my ambition is completely annihilated with the knowledge that I have to do it all over again and will probably forget some of the content I wrote.

Other than that, I hope you like it and be sure to leave a review or point out any mistakes I made.

Unfortunately there will be no Omake at the end this time, but I have one set for the next chapter most likely. Be sure to leave any suggestions in a review.

And I hope you're all as excited about Senran Kagura Burst Re:newal as I am!

Disclaimer- I OWN NOTHING!

(-)

The tension in the air was palpable. Each of the combatants were ready to spring into action at a moments notice, waiting to see who would make the first move.

Orochimaru brought his thumb up to his cheek and wiped away the blood from the cut. Pulling the digit away, he looked upon his own blood with a sort of excitement at the prospect of the coming battle. Grinning, he turned to face Yumi. "It's been quite a while since I've had an opponent who drew first blood."

For her part, Yumi remained impassive at the snake-mans words.

"Though I must admit, it is quite unfair. Being able to completely hide your presence behind ice... That must be very useful for assassinations. If I hadn't sensed the unusually frigid air," Orochimaru said as he ran his hand across his neck. "Then I'm sure my injury would have been more than a little debilitating. But to think I would encounter someone with the hyoton kekkei genkai here of all places... I'm not sure if my luck is amazing or abysmal. I know for a fact that the last of the Yuki clan has perished recently, so that means you must be from the Land of Snow. What brings someone like you down here, so far out of your element?"

"I see no reason to answer you." responded Yumi.

Orochimaru shrugged. "Oh well. Not that it matters anyway. Whatever answers I truly desire, I shall just have to settle for ripping out of you by force. After all, even with the research I did on the hyoton, I haven't come across a jutsu like the one you used." the rogue sannin's lips then curled up into a smirk. "Tell me, is it one you created on your own, Yumi?"

The girls eyes widened somewhat in surprise. "You know my name?"

"I have eyes and ears everywhere. Both the Hyuuga heiress and the Nine-Tails brat are capable of the same strange jutsu's. And I had already connected the boy's link to Miyabi, so I just needed to follow the trail left by the timid heiress."

"You certainly are resourceful. I'll give you that."

"But regardless, that ends today." spoke Hiruzen. "With Yumi's help, I shall rectify my mistake from those years ago, and end your life."

"Big talk coming from a frail old man." taunted Orochimaru. "Just because you have me outnumbered right now, doesn't mean that it will stay that way. And besides, after taking into account the unknown variables of Miyabi and Yumi, I decided it would be wise to purchase some insurance~."

Several minutes earlier...

Two figures were seen walking towards the front gates that led into the Hidden Leaf village. Both wore long, bulky, black jackets that completely concealed their features with matching hoods that shadowed their faces, making it impossible to discern who they were.

"This is it; Konohagakure." spoke the lead person. "And it looks like we're just on time."

"Yeah. The signal hasn't gone off yet." spoke the second person in a quieter voice.

"But we might as well head inside anyway. Not like it's gonna throw off the plan that much. Plus I really just want to get this over and done with so we can move on."

"You really can't stand waiting, can you?"

The lead person coughed. "Well, it's not like we're here to die for the snake-mans cause. We just so happen to be tagging along for our own benefit." they then scoffed. "'Lord' Orochimaru thinks that he can just throw a few thousand ryo at us and we'll play the part of the good little toy soldiers who will march to their deaths just so he can achieve his goal. Unfortunately for him, these toys have a mind of their own."

As the duo approached the gate, one of the guards stepped forward and stopped them. "I'm sorry, but due to the influx of visitors as a result of the chunin exams, anyone without a visitor pass is not allowed entrance to the village today. Are you in possession of one?"

"Yeah. I've got mine right up my sleeve." answered the lead figure as they raised their arm. Suddenly something shot out of their sleeve at incredible speed and struck the guard in the face before retracting back into their jacket.

The man was sent flying and landed sprawled out on the ground unconscious.

"Shit!" cursed the other guard. But before he could sound the alarm, the figure aimed their sleeve at him and repeated the previous attack.

"That was easy. I was worried that getting in would be a bit harder than that." said the quiet figure.

"The security must have been diverted to the stadium in order to protect all the nobles. Fortunately, that just makes this easier for us." the lead person said as they waltzed right into the village.

As the two entered the village, the sound of a loud explosion and the subsequent shock-wave that shook the earth reverberated throughout their surroundings. Moments later, a large cloud of smoke erupted across the city and from it emerged several enormous snakes.

"He certainly isn't one for subtlety." remarked the lead person.

"I just want to finish this already and go home..." the second one spoke softly.

"And we will once we deal with this mess. Remember, for now we play the part of the greedy mercenaries who are dancing to Orochimaru's tune. We wreck the village, deal with any resistance, and assist the Sound and Sand-nin. But as soon as we get the chance..." they first said, leaving the sentence hanging.

"Hnn..." the second grunted in affirmation.

(-)

The chunin exam stadium was utter pandemonium. Being ground zero of the attack, it was where the most serious fighting was going on. This was also attributed to the fact that many nobles were there that needed protecting along with some of the Leaf's more powerful ninja clans.

Kakashi and Gai stood in the stands guarding the area where the Leaf genin were. The copycat ninja glanced around and noticed that several of the young ninja were able to break the genjutsu and remain conscious. That was good. Less effort needed to defend them since they could fight. He then turned his gaze back towards the enemy who was approaching from the lower stands. Roughly a dozen Sound-nin along with an anbu traitor. "A large number..." Kakashi groused.

"It's not just that." replied Gai. "The situation is a bit more dire. Take a look at the roof of the central watchtower."

Turning his head to the side, Kakashi noticed the large purple barrier that encased the roof. "That's a barrier jutsu."

"Yeah, but take a look at who's inside the barrier." spoke Gai.

Focusing his vision, Kakashi finally saw what Gai saw. "Orochimaru!"

"Snake bastard?!" yelled Naruto at the mention of the rogue sannin. "What the hell's he doing here?!"

'Orochimaru!' Sakura thought in alarm. 'Why is he here? Did he come for Sasuke again?!' the pinkette spun her head in the direction of the arena, but Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. "Sasuke-kun's gone!"

It was now that the Sound-nin finally made their move. Two chunin rushed Sakura with the intent to kill her, but were intercepted en route. A flash of steel and the first man was cleaved in two, while the second man was grabbed by the throat and slammed to the ground. His attacker's hand then erupted with black flames and burned through his neck, killing him. Standing back up, Sakura was greeted by a familiar sight.

"Miyabi-san?!" the girl exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh hey, you're Naruto's teammate, aren't you? The one who's a total Sasuke fangirl." spoke the white-haired woman.

"What?!" Sakura screeched incredulously.

"Miyabi-nee-chan!" cried Naruto.

"Hey there squirt." she acknowledged Naruto with a nod of the head. "You did good in your fight earlier." she then turned her gaze to Shikamaru. "Who's your sensei? And don't say Asuma because you know who I really mean."

The lazy genin clicked his tongue in annoyance before grumbling out his answer. "Hikage."

Meanwhile Kakashi was busy appraising Miyabi. 'Hmm... She wields a katana. A common weapon used by Samurai in the Land of Iron. However at the same time she is capable of utilizing sealless fire jutsu, and a strange black fire at that. The slice she made through the first Sound-nin was precise and met with little resistance. That implies that she is skilled with the use of the sword. Not to mention she did it with one hand. Typically katana's are held with both hands in order to maximize their cutting potential. So to be able to cut someone in half with only the strength of a single arm... Impressive.'

"Yo, cyclops!" Miyabi called out, breaking Kakashi from his musings. "Looks like we got some trash to take out." she said as she turned her attention to the incoming Sound-nin. "Think you can keep up old man?" she asked as she pulled out a scroll.

Kakashi let out a slight sigh at the jab aimed at his prematurely white hair. "While I am not as young as you, I'll have you know I am far from being considered 'old'. So we'll just have to see who needs to catch up with who." he responded as he pulled out a pair of kunai that he held in a reverse grip.

"Good answer." Miyabi grinned as she tossed her scroll upwards. "SHINOBI TRANSFORMATION!"

A bright flash of light later and Miyabi's outfit had changed considerably. She was now dressed in a white coat with black trimming. A dark brown cloak was tied at her shoulders that had the Ouroboros symbol emblazoned on the back. Her left arm was wrapped in white bandages and black belts. She also wore white boots with black leggings.

"Just like Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru!" Sakura gasped in awe.

"Well, I guess you're the person who has been giving Naruto lessons on the side." mused Kakashi. "Under normal circumstances I might be a bit upset that someone is trying to poach one of my genin, but I suppose that will have to wait for another time."

The brief reprieve from combat was over and the Sound chunin clashed with Kakashi, Gai, and Miyabi. Seeing as how their current opponents were not that high up on the difficulty scale, just numerous, the trio held back their true strength in order to conserve energy for tougher opponents.

Kakashi jumped about the stands and sliced at the necks of the Sound-nin he passed. Gai on the other hand chose to simply overpower their defenses with his strong taijutsu. And Miyabi was content to let her opponents come to her. It was clear that the enemy ninja were not used to fighting opponents whose weapons had a long reach. The fact that they were armed with only kunai gave the white-haired woman the advantage of being able to cut down the attackers before they got in close enough to even scratch her.

As the trio fought, the onlooking genin couldn't help but be drawn to the merciless display from Miyabi. Naruto knew that Miyabi was strong, but he had never seen her in actual combat before. Unlike Kakashi and Gai who fought in a way so as to take control of the flow of combat and then crush the opposition without allowing them to recover, Miyabi welcomed her attackers to make the first move. Her style of combat was fundamentally different from Kakashi and Gai. Instead of taking control of the battle by force, she redirected the flow until it was at an ideal point for her. Once it reached that point, she would end it with a single blow. Whereas Kakashi and Gai left their opponents relatively whole, those who faced Miyabi were either put to the blade and dismembered, or put to the blaze and burned.

Although Naruto would never admit it, when he was watching Miyabi so effortlessly annihilate the opposition, he was a little frightened of her.

"Damn it!" cursed Gai as he stood against Kakashi's back. "I'm getting concerned about Hokage-sama. I wish we could do something." he said as he punched away another Sound-nin, snapping his neck in the process.

"Let the anbu handle what's going on above, besides..." Kakashi spoke as he deflected several shuriken with his kunai. "Hokage-sama isn't a person who will be taken easily."

"But..." responded Gai with a hint of worry in his voice.

"After all, he is the Hidden Leaf's Hokage!"

The two jonin looked up as they heard a sound above them, only to be greeted by the sight of an enemy ninja. Before either had a chance to react, the ninja was engulfed in a black blaze and flew off to the side. "Your Hokage will be fine." came Miyabi's voice. Swinging her hand out to the side, the black flames dispersed to reveal the charred corpse. "If he's as strong as you say he is, then you just need to have a little faith in him. Besides, he's not alone up there."

Turning their gaze to the barrier on the watchtower, the two jonin were surprised to see another person standing beside the Hokage. A woman wearing a kimono.

"Who is that?" asked Gai.

Miyabi grinned. "That would be Yumi." she answered, causing Hinata to perk up. "And back where we're from, she's commonly known as the Yuki-onna of Gessen."

'Snow woman huh?' thought Kakashi.

"Hey cyclops, bowl cut, you think you have this area covered?" asked Miyabi.

"Your question is irrelevant. Whether or not we are capable of holding the area, we must hold it regardless." answered Kakashi.

"Good." she responded as she turned to the genin. "Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, you three are with me."

"Really?!" asked an excited Naruto.

However his companions were less enthusiastic. Hinata was nervous and obviously still somewhat spooked from the attack, and Shikamaru looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.

"Yeah. My orders from the Hokage are to ensure the safety of Sasuke Uchiha, regardless of how much of an asshole he might be." she explained as she sheathed her sword at her hip.

"What did you just call Sasuke?!" raged Sakura.

Miyabi simply ignored the pinkette's outburst. "The Hokage knew an attack from Orochimaru was coming, and he was also aware of one of the snakes targets. He has his eyes set on the Last Uchiha."

"What?! Why is he so special?! Everyone seems to want the teme!" shouted Naruto as he scratched at his head.

"I'm not at liberty to say why, but just know that Orochimaru wants him alive. And right now he's fled to the forest to pursue Gaara. Which makes our job a lot harder."

"Allow me to be of assistance." Kakashi spoke up as he used his kunai to cut his thumb. He then flew through a series of hand signs before slamming his palm on the ground. "Summoning jutsu!"

Once the smoke from the summoning cleared, it revealed a small dog wearing a headband and cape. "You called?" the dog asked as it stood up.

"Pakkun here will be able to track Sasuke down by his scent."

"Not bad cyclops." Miyabi replied with an approving grin.

"W-wait a minute! What am I supposed to do then?!" asked a neglected Sakura.

"Stay out of the way and find cover." answered Miyabi. "As of right now, you're a non-combatant."

"What?!"

"She's right Sakura." spoke Kakashi. "Anymore than Miyabi, Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Pakkun and it will be hard to maintain speed and remain hidden. And I think it's become more than clear that the strength of your three fellow genin dwarfs yours by a large margin."

"Alright! We've wasted enough time twiddling our thumbs here, time to get moving!" Miyabi ordered as she took off, followed close behind by her impromptu team.

"Alright! Time for some real action!" shouted Naruto as he followed behind Miyabi.

"N-Naruto-kun, wait up!" Hinata called out as she fell in line.

"Damn it. Why do I always get dragged into troublesome crap like this?" grumbled Shikamaru as he begrudgingly followed.

The brief lull in combat had ended and the enemy returned in force, forcing Kakashi and Gai to divert their attention.

'Damn it! I'll show them who's useless.' thought Sakura as she quietly made her escape from the stands. 'Sasuke needs me! I need to go to his aid!'

Meanwhile, the quiet person who nobody noticed finally made his move. 'I feel like I just blended into the background again.'

(-)

Orochimaru and the Hokage stared each other down in the confines of the barrier. Despite the presence of Yumi off to the side, it was almost as if they only had eyes for each other. But the fact that Orochimaru kept sending a brief glance towards the ice user meant he had not written her off as not being a threat.

Hiruzen and Orochimaru charged at each other, the Hokage throwing a shuriken as he did so, while Orochimaru simply went straight for the handseals to perform a jutsu. Yumi on the other hand had hung back and was spinning her fan in front of her and lowering the ambient temperature.

Once the Hokage's shuriken was halfway to Orochimaru, he flew through the handseals for his jutsu. "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" and suddenly one shuriken became two became four became many. A veritable wall of spinning blades of death.

However Orochimaru had completed the necessary handseals for his jutsu. "Summoning: Worldly Resurrection!" suddenly a massive coffin sprouted from the ground and took the impact of the shuriken. "One!"

'To use a summoning as a shield...' thought Hiruzen. 'And these corpses are... The audacity!'

"Two!" a second coffin erupted from the ground.

"Yumi! We can't let him raise the third!" shouted Hiruzen.

"On it!" she responded as a large chunk of jagged ice formed in front of her fan. With a flick of her wrist the ice shot forward, aimed directly at Orochimaru's position. The ice impacted the ground and exploded, sending sharp ice shrapnel in all directions.

"Three!" Orochimaru shouted, however a piece of ice grazed his cheek and his concentration was broken, preventing the final coffin from rising.

"It seems that we were fast enough. The final coffin wasn't summoned." Hiruzen noticed.

"So it seems. However things will only get tougher from here on out."

'Indeed.' thought Hiruzen. 'Of all people, for him to summon those two...'

The doors of the two coffins slowly creaked open before falling away to reveal their tenants. It was the corpses of the First and Second Hokage's. Both were looking rather worse for wear, but that didn't mean they weren't a threat.

"It's been a long time, eh monkey?" asked Tobirama, the Second Hokage.

Hiruzen nearly rolled his eyes at the old nickname.

"Oh, it's you..." spoke Hashirama, the First Hokage. "You've grown old, haven't you Sarutobi? I almost didn't recognize you."

"I would not have thought I would meet with you two brothers again in a situation like this." spoke Hiruzen with a hint of disdain. "How regrettable it is."

"They are strong." spoke Yumi. It was not so much a question as it was a confirmation.

"Very." answered Hiruzen. "I'm sorry that you had to be disturbed from slumber, but I will take care of this quickly."

"Still, the Edo Tensei huh?" Tobirama mused as he turned to Orochimaru. "This youngster is the one who summoned us with the forbidden arts? He's quite something."

"If that's so, then, Sarutobi!" Hashirama spoke as he drew the Third's attention. "It seems that this means we must fight against you."

"How about you quit it with the old folks chatter," Orochimaru said as he drew two kunai with seal tags attached and approached the two resurrected Hokage's from behind. "and just get started with killing each other already?"

Hashirama sighed. "No matter how much the world changes... It seems that there will always be conflict."

"Don't act like your against it." chided Orochimaru.

"Making tools of the dead... No good will come of this my foolish pupil." Hiruzen scolded.

(-)

"Who the hell are these two?!"

"We can't stop them!"

"Where are these attacks even coming from?!"

Just as a Leaf chunin shouted this, something flew past him and sliced at his arm before it returned to the person using it. For the past while, the Leaf-nin had been engaging the two opponents in front of them but to little effect. The first seemed to be using some kind of extending weapon to bludgeon them while the second person was using a ranged bladed weapon that would retreat inside the back of their coat after they attacked. Whether or not it was the Devil's luck or their opponents just playing with them, none of the Leaf-nin had been fatally injured by the duo.

And given how the cloaked ninja's seemed to be holding back, it was more than likely the latter.

"You know, I honestly expected something a bit more impressive of the shinobi around here." spoke the first figure. "But it seems that our combat style is just to advantageous for fighting these mid-level fodder."

"I'm perfectly fine with not having a challenge..." the second said quietly.

"You'll never get stronger if you don't fight tougher opponents. You know that, right?"

"I don't need to get stronger. I just want to go home and sleep..."

The first person let out a sigh that was interrupted by a loud crashing. From their position on the rooftops, they were able to see the large toad that had just fallen out of the air and crushed one of Orochimaru's snake underfoot.

"Looks like we got a bit of a challenge on our hands. We should probably go and stop whoever it is from becoming too much of a problem."

"Hnn..."

The two then took off in the direction of the toad.

(-)

Jiraiya, having finally made his big entrance, turned his attention to the remaining snakes before taunting them. "All you snakes, frozen in your tracks by the glare of a toad! What an embarrassment you are!" 'He finally started it, huh... That Orochimaru.'

As the Toad Sage began plotting his plan of attack, Morino Ibiki jumped up and landed next to him on the toads head.

"Where's the Third?"

"He's at the test arena." answered the torture specialist.

"I see..." Jiraiya said, hardening his gaze. 'Don't you die old man.' "Alright, leave these overgrown reptiles to me!"

Suddenly he noticed one of the snakes heads began spurting out blood like a geyser. Looking more closely, he noticed the green-haired woman standing on top of it with several bloody knives in her hands.

'She took down one of those snakes with knives alone? Impressive.' Jiraiya mused as he hopped off his toad and ran across the rooftops towards the next snake. 'But I can't allow myself to be shown up by these youngsters.'

As he ran, he was joined by the woman who was going after another snake in the same direction. "That's a big frog you summoned." she said with a certain emptiness in her voice.

"It's a toad!" Jiraiya corrected.

"Hmm..."

The white-haired man huffed at the lack of an apology, but let it slide for the time being. "I'll take the one on the right, you take the left." he instructed as they neared the snakes.

"Got it."

"Not so fast!" came a voice.

The two stopped in their tracks as a pair of cloaked individuals landed in front of them.

"Great, more trouble." grumbled Jiraiya.

The lead figure let out a slight chuckle of delight. "To think, I would meet you here of all places. How fortuitous. It seems that I'll be able to let off a little steam from all the pain you've put me through."

"So you got a grudge against me, huh?" groused Jiraiya. "Can't say I'm surprised. I've made more than my fair share of enemies over the years. But you'll have to be a bit more specific about what I did to y-"

"Quiet, old man!" the person barked. "I wasn't talking to you."

"O-old man?!"

"My sight is set on Hikage here." they said as they pointed at the green-haired woman.

"And you are?" asked said woman.

The two attackers then grabbed their coats and ripped them off to reveal their identities.

"Remember me?"

The first girl had pale-brown hair that was tied into a pair of high ponytails in the back with her bangs framing her face. Her eyes were a shade of dark-green and had a pair of oval-rimmed glasses hanging from her nose. Her outfit consisted of a dark-green overcoat with several black crosses imprinted on it. A white thigh-high skirt covered her legs, and she wore matching boots and thigh-high red socks. Lastly, in her hands was a bo staff.

The second girl was quite a bit different from the first. She had long, violet hair, with a black ribbon placed just above her bangs. Her eyes are a much darker shade of purple, and held a certain emptiness about them. Like they lacked the usual vibrant light of other living creatures. Her outfit was a long black dress with light gray trimming. In her arms was a stuffed animal that was dark blue in color and somewhat resembled a bear. In her hair she had three tri-sided fuuma shuriken, the two on the sides being smaller than the one in the center.

However the most notable thing about her appearance was something Jiraiya was kind enough to point out.

"By Tsunade's tits! Those are bigger than Tsunade's tits!" he shouted as he pointed to the purple-haired girls impressive bust.

"Don't ogle my little sister you pervert!" shouted the other girl.

"Wait, she's the little sister?!"

A vein throbbed on the elder sisters forehead as her eye twitched. "And what exactly makes that so surprising?"

Even Jiraiya was smart enough to realize how dangerous the minefield he just stumbled into was. As such, he wisely chose not to answer her. Instead, he decided to move on with the conversation. "So I take it you two won't just allow us to pass by peacefully?"

"You catch on quick." responded the girl as she pushed up her glasses. "Murasaki, you can deal with ero-jiji over there. Hikage's mine."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes! How can you call yourself a student of Hebijo and shy away from fights all the time?"

"Don't go to school, remember?"

The elder sister took a deep breath to settle her mind before turning back to face Hikage. "Never mind. Just keep him busy then." she then spun her staff several times before aiming it at the green-haired ninja. "Here I come Hikage!"

"Very well." Hikage responded as she pulled out more knives. "Let's do this Miss Boxer."

One of the lenses on the girls glasses cracked at that, and her face turned a shade of red from a mix of anger and embarrassment. Then she lunged. "YOU DID NOT JUST CALL ME THAT! MY NAME IS IMU!"

As she reached Hikage, she swung her staff down at her. Hikage back stepped to avoid the attack. The staff impacted the roof and set off an explosion of debris from the force of the attack. The green-haired girl continued to retreat as Imu pressed her relentless attack.

And so that left Jiraiya and Murasaki on their own.

"Heh, your sister has a temper like a certain blonde I know." remarked the toad sage.

"She just has a history with Hikage..." responded Murasaki as she stood across from Jiraiya. "I don't suppose you would be willing to surrender?"

"Sorry, but I'm not one to throw in the towel without even trying. Though I could ask the same of you. You don't seem like you even want to be here, let alone fight."

Murasaki looked wistfully off into the distance. "You're right..." she replied softly. "All I want to do is go home, read some doujinshi and light novels, and spend time with Bebe-tan..."

Jiraiya raised a brow. "Then why don't you?"

The girl turned her cold gaze towards the Sannin, and for the first time in a long while, he felt the pure, unrestricted influence of despair. "I don't have a choice in the matter..." she spoke without emotion, almost as if she was just a puppet. "The world is a cruel and unfair place... Those who wish to change the world are born weak, while those who wish to remain uninvolved are born strong... I come from a long line of shinobi, and our clan has something you would call a kekkei genkai... I never wanted to be a shinobi, but the duty was thrust upon me when I began showing symptoms of that rare power..."

"Your family forced you to become a ninja because you were the only one of your generation to inherit your clans power." Jiraiya surmised.

Murasaki smiled. But it was not a smile of joy. It was a facade. A smile not just to fool others, but to fool oneself. A smile that spoke of every dark and negative emotion there was. Disgust, hatred, despair, loneliness, fear, resentment, sadness, loathing, apathy, regret, jealousy... Jiraiya felt himself slowly slipping, being pulled into the blackness and falling through a sea of dark. Sinking, sinking, sinking, sinking, sinking, sinking, sinking, sinking, sinking, sinking... Further and further into the depths.

I hate everyone. Why won't they leave me alone. I'm scared. It's not fair. I don't want this. I don't want to do it. Leave me alone. It's all a lie. You're weak. Stay away. Die already. It's your fault. I can't do it. It hurts. Let me go! No, please stop! Someone... Anyone... Help me. Help Me. HELP ME!

"The world is cruel and unfair..."

Jiraiya's breath returned to him at Murasaki's words. Quickly casting his gaze around, he realized that he was still on the rooftop and the Leaf was still under attack. 'What the hell was that? A genjutsu?'

"So long as the world continues to spurn me, I shall continue to reject it..."

Regaining his footing, Jiraiya put up his guard as he observed Murasaki.

"If you choose to leave now, then I will not pursue you..." the girl said as her clouded eyes bore into Jiraiya's. "But step forward, and I will fight you..."

"Are you sure you are capable of fighting me?" Jiraiya asked. Part of it was bluster as he was still somewhat shaken from... whatever the hell that was.

"Make no mistake. Just because I don't want to fight, does not mean that I am weak..."

Jiraiya nodded at that. He knew of quite a few people whose personalities and appearances belied their true strength. "Alright then... Here I come!" he shouted as he charged forward.

(-)

"Come on kiddies, try to keep up!" Miyabi shouted as she took the lead of the formation behind Pakkun.

The three genin had activated their Shinobi Transformations and were following close behind Miyabi as they blazed a path through the forest.

"I can't believe I'm getting pulled into bothersome crap like this again!" groaned Shikamaru.

"Quit your bitching pineapple head!" Miyabi called back. "You should consider yourself lucky that Hikage decided to train you. She's much more laid back than some of the other shinobi I know."

Pakkun sniffed at the air and made an abrupt turn as he followed Sasuke's scent. "This way!"

"So Miyabi-nee-chan, now that we're away from everyone else, now can you tell us why Orochimaru is targeting Sasuke?" asked Naruto.

"Sorry. But despite how much I want to break protocol so you guys know just what we're getting into, I swore to the Hokage I wouldn't."

As the team continued through the forest, Pakkun's eyes widened in alarm. "Hey! You guys, pick up the pace!"

"W-what's wrong?" asked Hinata.

"From behind. Two squads with eight, no, nine. Nine men are chasing us." answered the dog.

"Hey, Hey! Already?! You gotta be kidding!" yelled Shikamaru.

"Wait a minute, there's another. They're a bit further back than the rest. Ten in total."

"Pick a number and stick with it already!" shouted Naruto.

"Doesn't look as if they got a fix on our true position yet, but they're closing in on us quickly."

"Geez! They're probably all beyond the chunin level. What a friggin annoyance." groaned the Nara.

"So what's the plan Miyabi-nee-chan?"

"We can't stop moving or else Sasuke will be lost. But at this rate they'll catch up to us and we'll have to fight... Someone needs to ambush them."

The three genin looked between each other in thought before Miyabi spoke up again.

"Guess that means I'm the obvious choice." she chuckled. "You guys keep going, I hold back and deal with our pursuers and catch up when I'm finished."

"Are you s-sure you can do it Miyabi-san?" asked Hinata.

"Heh, less than a dozen shit jonin? They won't know what hit 'em." she said as she began to slow down. "Remember the mission! You are only to retrieve Sasuke! Anything else is unnecessary!"

"Right!" the three genin shouted in response.

(-)

Following the footprints and broken branches, the lead jonin made a turn at the tree. "They went this way."

They continued to track their targets, heading deeper and deeper into the forest. Eventually they ended up at a small clearing where the tracks stopped. "The trail ends here."

"What?"

"How is that possi-"

The man was cut-off as Miyabi dropped from the trees above and stabbed her sword into the back of his neck. 'That's one.'

"Shit! Ambush!"

"Surround her!"

Miyabi stuck the tip of her sword into the ground and dragged it forward, sending forth a wave of black flames that consumed two of the Sound-nin.

'That's three.'

Bringing her blade up, she managed to deflect several kunai that were thrown at her as she charged the man throwing them. She quickly bore down on the unfortunate man and slashed across his stomach horizontally, disemboweling him in the process.

'Four. That's leave's only six left.'

"Get some distance! She's faster than she looks!" order the jonin leader.

"You can make all the plans you want, but they mean absolutely nothing in the face of my strength." taunted Miyabi.

The jonin snarled in response before widening his eyes in surprise and grinning beneath his mask. "Oh yeah? Well what about in the presence of someone's weakness?"

Miyabi raised a brow, confused by what he meant, until another Sound-nin dropped out of the trees holding something. Or rather, someone.

Miyabi let out a huff of annoyance. "God damn fangirl."

The newcomer had Sakura held in his arms at knife point. And it looked like he was more than willing to follow through with slicing open her neck.

"Now why don't we all take a step back and ponder this new development." started the squad leader. "While we may be unable to defeat you in a fair fight," he said as he walked over and caressed Sakura's cheek. "This little thing adds a new factor into the mix."

"Damn girl. I told you to stay put." scolded Miyabi.

"S-sorry..." the pinkette said as she looked ashamed.

"So, here's the deal; You forfeit your life and we'll let pinky here go. Resist, and we'll carve her a new mouth in her throat." the leader said with a smirk. "Whaddaya say? Is the life of one of your villages genin worth sacrificing yours over? Or will you just throw her away and-"

"Go ahead and kill her." interrupted Miyabi.

"Eh?" uttered the leader.

"Eh?" uttered Sakura.

"Do I look like I give a damn about the brat? I barely know her. I certainly ain't putting my life on the line for her." Miyabi asked as she stuck her sword into the ground and leaned on it.

"You what?!" raged Sakura. "How can you be so heartless?!"

"B-but she's a member of your village, don't you care about her? It's your job as a kunoichi of the Leaf to protect her!"

"Hey dipshit, do you see a forehead protector on my person?" asked Miyabi.

The man took a moment to give Miyabi a once-over, and to his surprise, he saw nothing that marked her as belonging to the Leaf.

"I'm just an outsider who got caught up in this mess. I don't protect or serve the Leaf, only the people I give a damn about. Anymore than that'll cost you." she then set her sight on Sakura. "So how much do you think your life is worth to me? You better start offering me something if you want to live."

Sakura was flabbergasted by Miyabi's audacity. "Wha- B-but- I-"

"Don't answer, that was rhetorical." interrupted Miyabi. "Because even if you do pay me, you're just paying me to sacrifice my life for yours. And I most certainly value my life more than some brat I barely know. Sorry fangirl, but I'm gonna have to ask you to die for the sake of the Leaf so I can kill these assholes. But don't worry, I'll be sure to leave a flower at your grave every year."

"YOU BITCH!" roared Sakura as she struggled in the Sound-nin's grasp.

Suddenly the man holding her was engulfed by a torrent of black flames. The kunoichi threw herself away from the man as Miyabi rushed in and sliced apart another two enemies. Now it was just down to the leader and one other.

"What?! Impossible! How did you set him ablaze?!"

Miyabi smirked. "Take a look at where he was standing."

Turning his gaze, the leader noticed a small hole in the ground that had a bit of black fire billowing from it. "From underground?!"

"When I stabbed my sword into the ground, I was using it to subtly inject my flames into the earth. Then I just had to keep you distracted while I guided them to where I wanted them."

"S-shit! I'm outta here!" cried the other Sound-nin as he turned and ran. He didn't get far as Miyabi swiped her sword in front of here and sent out a wave of fire that burned him in half.

The white-haired woman then turned to the leader. "You're all that's left."

"Grr! I'll kill you damn it!" he roared in anger as he charged Miyabi.

The two passed each other by in a flash of movement. And once they did, Miyabi sheathed her sword as blood erupted from the Sound-nin's chest.

Having finally resolved the problem, Miyabi turned to the trembling Sakura. "For your disobedience, I think a punishment is in order." she said with a sadistic smirk.

Some say that to this day, you can still hear the pink-haired girls screams echo through the forest.

(-)

A/N- Fun fact; did you know that Murasaki boasts the largest bust of all the SK girls? I don't know why, but I feel that's kind of a weird given that she's a hikikomori.