Chapter IX: Whispers In The Dark

"... Daylian-san, I'm being serious." Fugaku growled through his teeth, his patience with the injured Uzu nin finally wavering. His arms were folded across his chest and his fingers drummed impatiently against his own arms while he sat across from Daylian. The Uzu nin just snorted, folding his own arms across his bandaged chest.

"So am I, frankly enough."

"... Che." Fugaku gritted his teeth and sneered slightly, before he opened his eyes and returned daggers at Daylian. "Then describe the rogues to us again." He growled.

Daylian snorted and uncrossed his arms, raising them to his face to pull the corners of his eyes a bit so they appeared small. Daylian then used his pinky to pull the corner of his mouth back into an odd sneer. "Kinda like thiff..."

Tsume stifled her snickers the best she could, covering her mouth with her hand. But as soon as Fugaku looked at her, she dropped her hand and hardened her expression over. Kushina, who stood beside the other kunoichi, kept laughing despite Fugaku glaring at her. Minato only smirked lightly, keeping his chuckles to himself. Fugaku snapped his head back towards Daylian, growling this time and anger clearly written on his face. Daylian lowered his arms and slipped them over his chest, folding them while he smirked smugly in response to the Uchiha.

"... I'm serious, though." Daylian snorted from where he sat cross-legged. Fugaku frowned, before he regained his composure and erased his angered expression. Daylian frowned at this.

"... Continue, then." Fugaku muttered, the only visible evidence that he was annoyed. Daylian's smirk returned, though it wasn't as big as the previous one.

"Okay, so one of them had a long line o' stitches right here..." Daylian ran his index finger down the side of his face, the eye on the same side of his face squinting slightly. "And he had a funny eye like this."

Kushina stopped herself from laughing, trying to pull a serious expression as she watched her brother describe the rogues one by one. Of course, Fugaku always had to remind him to not fool around and properly describe their physical appearance as well as any weapons they carried. Despite Fugaku's warnings, Daylian would always describe the rogues in a childish manner, just to annoy the Uchiha. Kushina snorted and smirked smugly whenever Fugaku's emotionless facade slipped for a few moments. This process carried on for a good amount of time, until Daylian leaned back with a tired sigh, turning his head to look at Tamura, whom was standing silently in one of the corners of the large hut.

"Ne... Tamura. I think I need some more medicine... Everything's startin' to sting again." Daylian grumbled wearily, flinching when he placed a hand on his stomach. Kushina looked concerned at this, her gaze immediately snapping over to Tamura. Just in time to see the young doctor scurry over to the injured ninja, pulling out a small bottle and pulling the cork out. Both Daylian and Kushina grimaced at the aroma that drifted from the bottle, while Kuromaru and Tsume gagged a bit. Daylian hesitantly took the bottle and gingerly drank it down, pausing every now and then and coughing. Tamura frowned a bit, which was an unusual expression to the Konoha nin, and tipped the bottle so that Daylian properly downed all the contents.

When the bottle was removed, Daylian dramatically clutched his throat and gasped, coughing a couple of times. But in a more serious tone, he looked at Tamura. "Crazy man..."

"I'm only doing my job." Tamura murmured in response, capping the bottle and storing it into the small medical bag he carried.

Fugaku only regarded the scene by shaking his head, shifting and standing up with a small grunt escaping him. He brushed the dirt off his Uchiha attire, then steadily stared down at Daylian. "Thank you for your cooperation." Fugaku couldn't stop himself from sneering at the last word. Daylian just frowned and got to his feet, flinching a bit. He grumbled and slipped past the Chuunins, Tamura following closely behind. Fugaku's onyx gaze followed Daylian, until they shifted over to Minato.

"Namikaze... tonight you take the first watch."

"Hai..." Minato murmured.

Kushina shifted a bit, before she quickly spun around and followed her brother out the door without waiting for any further instructions from Fugaku. Minato looked over his shoulder at this, half tempted to follow her, but remembered his place and returned his attention back to Fugaku. The Uchiha growled a bit, but turned his gaze over to Minato.

"Tell her that she takes the second shift. Inuzuka, you take the third and I'll be on the final watch until dawn." Fugaku ordered. "And tell Uzumaki that we're going to scout around the village for any rogue activities, so she better not hang around Daylian-san. We're still on a mission."

Minato hesitantly nodded at this, before he turned around and slipped out the door, the mat falling back into place behind him. He took a few big strides and soon caught up with Tamura, whom was murmuring small warnings to the injured Uzu nin ahead of him.

"Yeah yeah." Daylian growled over his shoulder, before he returned his attention back down to Kushina whom walked along side of him. Tamura shook his head and sigh, turning his head to catch Minato's glance. The blond Chuunin just dipped his head in a nod and then quickened his pace slightly so that he was a footstep behind Kushina.

"Kushina-san..."

"Nn?" Kushina spun around and walked back wards, folding her arms behind her head. "What is it? Fugaku-taichou mad at me for ditching?"

"No. Err, sorta. We're all going to scout around the area in a bit. And he said that you have the second watch." Minato murmured. Kushina only rolled her eyes and snorted a bit.

"Maaan..." She whined. Daylian shook his head and just patted her on the head with his bandaged hand.

"Hey, hey. You're on a mission, aren't'cha?"

"That's exactly what Fugaku-taichou said..." Minato muttered to himself, though Daylian seemed to catch this since he halted in his tracks. Minato blinked and halted his own walking as well, tilting his head slightly to look up at him.

"Daylian-san...?"

"Crap." The injured man only hissed before he continued his strides. "I can't believe I said something that an Uchiha said..." He grumbled. Kushina shrugged and glimpsed back at him, continuing to walk back wards casually. Minato continued to follow as well. He has a problem with Uchihas...?

Kushina only regarded all of this, rolling her eyes again before she glued her gaze to the sky. The gray clouds covered the sky like a blanket, only adding onto the chilling air. Tamura shifted a bit and followed her line of gaze.

"It seems like it'll start snowing in a matter of weeks or so..." Tamura murmured to himself. "Though I'm not sure... the leaves haven't completely changed colors yet."

Kushina shrugged again, before she lowered her gaze back down to Minato. "So when are we leaving?" She questioned boredly. Minato shrugged a bit as well, making his sword go up and down with his shoulder.

"I'm not sure... Probably real soon. We should probably head back to the group." Minato murmured. Kushina groaned a bit, before she looked over at Daylian. The Uzu nin just halted in front of the hut he was occupying, turning his head to gaze down at her.

"What? It's just a quick scouting. Nothing life-threatening." Daylian rolled his eyes. "And with Tamura around, I'm sure I can't do anything dangerous like oh, I dunno. Twirl a kunai and maybe accidentally stab myself in the eye." He rolled his eyes again at his own sarcasm. Kushina tensed at this, her eyes narrowing at the thought.

"Don't!!"

"Whoa there, I was just kiddin'." Daylian grumbled. Tamura sighed and tugged on Daylian's arm and towards the hut. "You need to rest now, Daylian-san... The medicine'll knock you out any minute now..." Daylian snapped his head towards the mission client.

"That shit is going to knock me out?!" He practically yelled. That caused the pain in his stomach to come back despite the medicine, making Daylian flinched and stifle a groan.

"Stop yelling already, dattebayo!" Kushina cried, gently pushing him towards the hut. "Get some rest..!"

"Yeah, yeah... I'll go do that..." Daylian grumbled as he got both pulled and pushed into the hut. Kushina backed into the street again, exhaling a deep sigh. Minato approached her, his blue gaze flickering over to the hut for a few brief moments.

"You're really concerned for him, aren't you?" Minato couldn't help but question. Kushina sighed again and lowered her gaze down wards, staring at her zori-covered feet.

"I just... don't want to lose him. He's the only family I have left..." Kushina confessed, grumbling. Minato had to keep reminding himself that Kushina and Daylian were siblings by law. He had a hard time remembering, though, considering that they looked nothing alike. Minato shook his head and diminished that thought, looking up to find Kushina staring at him. He could feel his face turning red when their eyes met, so he quickly turned around to hide it.

"We should go back..." He murmured. Kushina blinked from where she stood, before she nodded and followed him when he began walking, soon falling into pace with him. Minato kept his head lowered a bit in an embarrassed manner, his blue gaze flickering over to her before a small smile crossed his face.


"These guys are rather sloppy." Minato murmured as he paused in front of another set of sliced foliage. He examined how the vines and leaves were slit, then stared down at the footsteps that were messily left behind in the grass and bushes. He shook his head and pressed forward, Kuromaru trotting along side of him and sniffing the air, while the rest of the group trailed behind while their own eyes searched for more obvious trails. Minato couldn't help but roll his eyes in response to all the trails. He didn't want to sound like he thought he was superior than everyone else, but could the rogues be anymore obvious? It's like they might as well just have put up a huge sign saying 'We're over here!!'... If they were dumb enough to leave such tracks then dealing with them would be cake.

Kuromaru halted suddenly, and Minato stiffened and looked down at him. The Ninken sniffed the air a couple of times, his gaze flickering around the area that was visible before them.

"About another half a mile west of here, they're camping out." Kuromaru and Tsume both spoke in unison. Kushina and Minato both looked at the Inuzuka pair, while Fugaku nodded from where he brought up the rear.

"Let's go." Fugaku murmured before he blurred out of sight in a shunshin. Minato instantly followed, while the remaining three swiftly followed.

Kushina inhaled deeply to get a good amount of the rain-scented terrain. She exhaled a bit and then grinned a bit as she followed the rest of the group, clearly enjoying the fresh scent. Things have been going in a good turn out for her... The first major thing was that her brother was alive and healing. Now she would be able to maybe punch a few dumb rogues around to relieve any anger buried within her. Yup, that was a pretty excellent turn of events for her, considering that her village was wiped out. Oh, and she made some friends who were girls and didn't care for the fact that she acted like a boy. Kushina inwardly grinned a bit, but was snapped out of her thoughts when she collided into Tsume's back, nearly starting a whole domino thing with the platoon.

"Whoa there..." Tsume murmured once she regained her footing. Kushina muttered quick apologies, while Kuromaru was stifling his laughter.

"Shh." Fugaku only hissed through his teeth, glaring over his shoulder. Kushina had to admit the glare effected her when Daylian wasn't around, so she flinched a bit and shrunk back. Fugaku regarded this and returned his attention to the front, motioning with his hand to the small trail ahead of them.

Smoke was now scented in the air, and it made Kushina scowl since she was enjoying the fresh-air smell. Though she had to focus on the mission now. The smoke indicated the rogues' camp.

"Namikaze."

"Hai." Minato just murmured, his hand slowly raising to the hilt of his sword before he swiftly blurred out of sight. Kushina tensed slightly, but then she flinched suddenly. She instantly jerked around to look back in the direction of the village, eyes narrowed.

"What is it, Uzumaki?" Fugaku growled from where he waited for Minato. Kushina gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

"The village is being attacked...! Now!!" She snarled. Without stopping to explain, the kunoichi shot back in the direction of the village, right when Minato blurred back into sight.

"The rogues camp is empty..!"

Fugaku scowled darkly at this, while Kuromaru snarled.

"The smoke's scent must've covered up their recent trail!!" The Ninken barked, before he spun around to dart after Kushina. Tsume gritted her teeth and followed her companion, while Minato and Fugaku quickly shot after the rest of the group. Kushina jumped over a few lines of bushes, a kunai drawn to hack away at the walls of foliage that stood in her path. Despite her focus on getting to the Saiwaichou Mura, Kushina could feel the other chakra bursts of her teammates approaching. Minato was the first to catch up, naturally, flickering in Shunshins beside her.

"How do you know the rogues are attacking...?"

"Before we left, I snuck a bunshin to guard the village, datte'sa." Kushina growled. Her upper lip raised a bit in a sneer. "Stupid Fugaku didn't think about leaving one of us behind to guard the village in case the rogues attacked... And if I suddenly see a rogue attacking me, then there's no doubt that my bunshin was killed..."

Minato's eyes narrowed, before he looked back at the Uchiha who followed a few yards behind. Kushina did raise a point... Fugaku nor the rest of them thought of leaving a guard at the village in case of an ambush... What a way for Kushina to think. Minato turned his head back to the front and bit his lip.

"I'm going to go ahead..." He murmured. Once he took another step, he lowered a bit then immediately shot forward in an amazing burst of speed, leaving Kushina slightly dumbfounded. But she shook her head and darted forward, increasing the flow of chakra to her feet to further her speed. Adrenaline began to gush through her veins, and she shivered with both anticipation and fear.

Because she had left her bunshin to guard Daylian's hut.


It was a mess when Minato arrived in the Saiwaichou Mura. The villagers were screaming to escape while the wave of rogues smashed through their weakened homes, weapons being brought out to steal lives. Some huts were already collapsed, and Minato shivered. Is this similar to what Kushina went through...? He thought grimly, before the blond Chuunin shot forward and drew his sword, taking a final leap off the tree branch. Minato shot at the nearest rogue, slashing at the bulky man's shoulder to stop him from bringing his spiked club down on some dusty and crying children. The rogue shrieked and dropped his weapon, clutching his bloody shoulder and glaring at Minato. The Chuunin glared back darkly, pointing the tip of his weighted sword to the taller man's throat.

"Get lost... You've lost the use of your arm..." He hissed through his teeth, before he swiftly used a Shunshin to appear by the terrorized children, yanking them to their feet and pulling them into yet another Shunshin. Minato quickly released the children's arms once he was in the outskirts of the village.

"Run!"

The children didn't have to be told twice, immediately getting to their feet and scurrying further away from the village. Shortly after, Minato spun around and darted back in the direction of the village, blue eyes narrowed as he drew his sword down on another rogue's weapon, slitting the wooden club in half right when the rogue was about to bring it down. The rogue looked dumbfounded when he saw half his weapon gone, turning around only to be greeted with the butt of a sword hilt slamming into his chest. All that just happened gave enough time for the terrorized villager to escape. The rogue backed up and growled, wheezing to regain the breath that he lost. Minato parted his feet a bit to prepare himself for when the rogue lurched forward to attack. The blond Chuunin jumped and lightly used the rogue's arm as levering, bringing his sword down on the rogue's shoulder before Minato used a Shunshin to move onto the next rogue.

Wails were audible all around- mostly from the villagers. To be honest, it made Minato a tad lightheaded. When were the others going to get here...? Minato continued to attack rogues one by one, and the iron-tinge scent of blood began to hover lightly in the air. That's when it hit Minato.

Why were there so many rogues?!

When he and Kushina were eavesdropping on them, there weren't this many! Maybe only like five or so. How many did Minato deal with just now? At least ten?

Minato gritted his teeth and jumped onto a nearby rooftop, stiffening a bit when the hut nearly collapsed from his sudden weight. He remained frozen until he felt it steady itself, before his blue eyes flickered around the small village.

"...!" Daylian-san...! Yumi-chan, Hiroshi-kun and Tamura-san..!

Minato wildly looked around, cursing through his teeth. Where were they? Who did he have to save first?! The Chuunin groaned a bit and held his head in one hand as he felt himself getting dizzy. The pressure... What if one of them was already dead? What if all four of them were dead?

"Namikaze!!"

Minato flinched and was instantly brought back to reality. His gaze slowly trailed down to the street, where Fugaku discarded a bloodied kunai. A rogue lay dead at his feet, and the Uchiha didn't at all seem fazed.

"Calm down... In battle, there is no time for panic. Any hesitant and panicked thoughts will get you killed instantly." Fugaku growled, turning his head to look up at the panicking blond. Minato shivered. A pair of Sharingan eyes were staring up at him, piercing through him with such intense blood lust. Minato reeled a bit and nodded, shooting off to get away from the Uchiha.

"Okay... Tamura-san first..." Minato shivered as he landed back on the ground, running through the streets with his speed gradually building up. His instincts kicked in and Minato immediately shot up to stand on another creaky rooftop, watching as a small group of rogues ran through the street. Moments after, Kuromaru and Tsume darted after them, the Inuzuka kunoichi lowered on all fours and snarling in a feral-like manner. Minato watched them for a moment, before he remembered his original objective and turned back in the direction he headed-

Only to get cut off by a high-pitched scream that made his free hand instantly shoot up to his hear in an attempt to block out the sound. Minato's eyes narrowed when a sudden thought struck him. Was that Yumi-chan?!

Without giving a second thought, Minato spun around and shot off in the direction he came from, his footsteps light as he traveled over the rooftops and over the villagers whom ran to escape the chaos of the rogue attack.


The very sight of the village being attacked terrified Kushina. She froze at the first sight of the screaming villagers, and Tsume, Kuromaru and Fugaku just shot past her without stopping to look back at her. Kushina remained frozen there as images of her own village being attacked flashed before her very eyes.

"Go forward..."

Kushina stiffened at the light whisper, turning to look around for the source of it, half expecting a rogue to be behind her. No one. Just the empty forest, and the echoes of the villagers screams. Kushina shivered and slowly turned her head back to the front, swallowing most of her fear and darting forward into the chaos. A couple of seconds after she ran, a rogue was already in her line of sight. Kushina's eyes narrowed when she saw that the rogue was towering over a woman holding an infant closely to her chest, her back turned to protect the child. Rage replaced fear and the kunoichi jumped forward, her hands flickering in a small set of seals. Moments later a Bunshin appeared in a poof besides her, both of them snarling as they threw multiple fists at the rogue's head.

The assaulter lurched forward at the first strike, turning around and growling only to get pummeled in the face by several more fists. The real Kushina growled and halted the attack, but made sure the Bunshin kept attacking the rogue. Kushina landed back on the ground, her body lowered as she quickly approached the cowering woman, pulling her to her feet.

"C'mon, you gotta get outta here!!" The kunoichi hissed through her teeth, shoving the woman down the street. The new mother stared at her for a bit, before she nodded and clutched the infant closer, weakly running down the street to escape the invading village. Kushina nodded when she saw this, before she turned to glare back at the rogue. Her Bunshin was still smacking away at the rogue, until the point where her knuckles began to turn red.

"There's more than one rogue..."

Both Kushina and her Bunshin stiffened a bit, before the bunshin pushed off the rogue's chest and landed on the ground, watching as the man groaned and landed roughly on his back. Blood trailed from his nose, and there were several forming bruises on his face. The corner of Kushina's mouth twitched, before she spun around and darted down the street that lead deeper into the village, her bunshin swiftly at her heels. Soon enough, another rogue was in sight and the two jumped him, swiftly making due of him by beating the daylights out of him.

This process continued for quite some time, until they paired off with a rogue that had managed to make the bunshin disappear with the rusty katana he bared. Kushina jumped back, her eyes narrowed as she stared at where her bunshin was before it was forced to disappear. The rogue seemed to be accomplished in making the bunshin disappear, before he raised his rusted weapon over his head to bring down on the kunoichi. Kushina, however, reacted quickly and drew a kunai from her holster then blocked the weapon. Seeing the wide opening, Kushina shifted her footing and kicked the rogue in the stomach, making sure he got a gut-full of chakra.

The rogue snarled as he was sent flying back wards, skidding against the dirt and rocks and groaning. He shifted to try and get up, but he lay still after two futile attempts.

Kushina smirked a bit, but a sudden thought occurred to her.

What about Daylian-nii-san?!

Kushina cursed to herself. How could she forget her original objective?! Kushina jerked around to shoot off in one direction. She nearly stumbled when she heard a loud, high-pitched scream that rang above all the other yells. Kushina paused and looked around wildly, but only regarded this as she ran towards the hut Daylian was occupying. She found it soon after, and shuddered when she saw that the woven mat was torn off, and the wooden door frame was half-collapsed. Kushina was short enough to pass under it, however, and ran into the hut.

"Daylian-nii!?" Kushina yelled, suddenly horror-struck when she didn't see her brother in the hut. Kushina immediately spun around and darted back into the street, red-brown eyes flickering around wildly in search of a track or anything that would lead her to Daylian. She was, however, cut off in her panicked search.

"Uzumaki! Tsume and Kuromaru have coursed the remaining rogues to one part of the village. We're going to finish them off there." Fugaku growled as he crouched on one nearby rooftop. Kushina's head snapped up in his direction, shuddering lightly when she saw that his eyes were red rather than their normal onyx coloring. But she nodded a bit and followed the Uchiha when he disappeared.

Please... Please let him be okay...! Kushina thought desperately as she ran down the street after the mission leader. She looked up to make sure that she was following Fugaku, but the Uchiha shot forward in a large burst of speed suddenly. Kushina growled a bit then picked up the pace to catch up to him. Right when she saw him in the distance again, a large rogue fell to the ground.

Fugaku flicked the bloodied kunai again, Sharingan eyes flickering over to Minato. The blond shivered a bit at the sight of the dead rogue, but looked back over at Yumi and Hiroshi, whom were hugging each other tightly to try and protect themselves. The blond lowered down in front of them.

"Go hide...!"

"Namikaze, we're going to finish off the rogues." Fugaku murmured in a monotone.

Minato looked up, but nodded and got to his feet. He turned to look at Kushina, whom approached moments after. Fugaku glimpsed between the two, before he started running off in one direction again. Kushina shot Yumi and Hiroshi a glance, before she looked over at Minato.

"Go on..." Minato murmured to the children. He returned Kushina's glance for a brief moment, but he turned to follow Fugaku. Kushina followed a couple of paces behind. Kushina growled when the distance between her and the other two was beginning to grow, so she forced some chakra into her feet to make sure she was atleast two steps behind Minato.

Fugaku skidded to a halt suddenly, and Minato slowed beside him. Kushina dug her feet into the ground, sliding a bit before she looked at the others.

"What's...?"

Fugaku just raised his hand in motion for her to silence her self, before he cocked his hand forward to the scene before them.

Kuromaru and Tsume were a couple of yards ahead, a bunch of overgrown rogues standing before the Inuzuka pair. One man stood in the front, looking the most cleanest and regular of the entire rogue group. He wore a regular, easy-moving hakama with no shirt, only a large coat hanging off his shoulders. His stomach was bandaged, but only to hold the small sword to his body. Tsume growled as she shifted her footing, narrowed eyes glaring at the group of rogues.

"What are you, a yakuza-wannabe?" She mocked loudly. The leader of the rogues frowned at this, but he snorted and unfolded his arms, running his hand through his oily black hair.

"And just what are you? Some hippie dog-wannabe?" He retorted coolly.

Tsume was so close to jumping forward to attack the man, but Kuromaru shifted in front of her to halt the kunoichi from doing so. Fugaku calmly approached the Inuzuka pair, with Minato and Kushina following closely behind.

"Why haven't you started attacking yet, Inuzuka?" Fugaku questioned. Tsume's head snapped over to Fugaku, sending the same glare at him.

"Because they have Tamura-san!!"

Minato could feel the Uchiha stiffen a bit from where he stood beside Fugaku. Blue eyes flickered at the Uchiha for a moment, before he looked back at the group of rogues to find the said client. Surely enough, off to one of the sides, one of the rogues held Tamura by the throat, threatening to crush the smaller man's neck. Tamura was gasping desperately for air, his eyes filled with obvious panic.

The man up in the front smirked at this. "Now just stand aside and let us finish what we started. Otherwise we'll kill this guy."

Minato shifted a bit, and immediately the rogues tensed at his slightest movement. Fugaku shot a glare at the blond in a warning to keep still. Minato returned the frown, though it wasn't as deep as the Uchiha's.

Fugaku-taichou... I can get Tamura-san.

Don't be reckless, Namikaze. Just wait for an opening and then I'll get him back.

I'm fast enough, taichou!! Minato's glare hardened. Fugaku narrowed his own Sharingan eyes, but didn't say anything to add onto the silent argument.

I can easily just drop my sword and get him back... Without my sword, I can get Tamura-san back before they even realize it...!

Kushina and Tsume hesitantly turned their heads at the other two, as if sending the tense air that was emitting from them. Kuromaru kept his eyes on the enemies. Fugaku continued to glare at Minato out of the corners of his eyes, before he slowly turned his head back to the group of rogues, responding a single word silently. Minato's glare lightened at this, before he slowly turned his head and looked back at the rogues as well. The leader at the front smirked a bit.

"Well? Are you going to move aside?"

At the last word, Minato disappeared, his weighted sword dropping heavily to the ground. The leader of the rogues gawked at the sudden disappearance, but he snapped his head back at one of his lackeys, who was howling in pain with his fingers bloodied. He backed up and gripped his wrist tightly, his head thrown back as he continued howling. A second later Minato appeared besides the group of ninja again, Tamura's arm slung over his shoulder to support the doctor.

"... Good job, Namikaze." Fugaku muttered without bothering to look at the blond. Minato only nodded, motioning for Tamura to go into hiding. The client of the mission nodded weakly, panting lightly as he turned and stumbled back into the village. Minato picked up his weapon and slung the sheath onto his back, just as Tsume snarled a war cry and darted forward with Kuromaru in step with her. Fugaku didn't stop her, but instead lurched forward to follow in the charge. Kushina took a moment to crack her knuckles and dart forward as well. Minato shivered a bit, but he drew his weapon used a Shunshin to follow the group.

The rogues all scattered a bit, taking turns in trying to attack the ninja. The leader of the rogues just slunk into the back lines to watch the battle. Kushina saw this and made a move to follow the leader, but was immediately stopped when a rogue managed to kick her in the stomach. The wind was knocked out of her and caused the kunoichi to reel, stumbling back wards as she held her stomach and coughed to inhale the air that was lost. Minato turned when he heard the air leave her stomach, before his blue eyes narrowed.

"Kushina-san, behind you!!"

Kushina heard his warning and turned to look over her shoulder. A rogue was towering over her, his arm already halfway down to bring a weapon down on her head. Minato growled and shifted to save her, though the rogue's weapon was slit in half before it could come in contact with Kushina's head. Fugaku scowled darkly at the rogue, before he lurched forward and shoved the very kunai into the man's stomach. Minato froze at the sight, but he remembered what was going on around them and whirled around to slash at another rogue's arm.

Kushina stared at the Uchiha crest on Fugaku's back, before she flinched when Fugaku glared over his shoulder.

"Don't drop your guard in the middle of a battle!!" He growled, before he jumped over the unconscious rogue to assault another. Kushina slowly nodded, but spun around to look for the leader that had slunk off.

"He's hiding behind a couple of rogues..."

Kushina frowned and flickered her gaze around the battlefield. She quickly jumped right when a rogue smashed his fist against the ground. Kushina lightly landed on his arm and used it as leverage to fling a roundhouse kick at his face, making sure that she atleast shattered his nose. The rogue yowled and raised his free hand to his face, covering his bloody nose as he flopped onto the ground while rolling around. Kushina snorted and drew a kunai, twirling it by the ring before she seized hold of the handle, darting through some rogues to make way for the leader. She soon spotted sight of him, lurching forward to quicken her pace, gripping the kunai with both hands. The rogue leader seemed to be more experienced in battle than the other rogues, since he swiftly drew his small weapon to block the kunai.

"Hehe... You wanna try me, girlie?" He mocked, his arm quivering under the pressure of blocking the kunai. Kushina's own arm shivered a bit, but she gritted her teeth and spun a bit to kick him. The man shifted as well, easily catching her foot with one hand and twisting it. Kushina bit back a cry, and soon found herself on the ground with a grunt escaping her. She turned to look back up at the rogue leader, but her eyes narrowed when she saw that Minato was standing over her with his sword pointed at the leader.

"..." Kushina frowned and got to her feet, shifting to stand beside Minato, gripping her kunai once more. "I can handle him on my own, blondy..."

Minato shook his head, but halted half way through and backed up slightly. "I'll back you up..."

Kushina grinned lightly at this, but turned her attention sharply back to the rogue leader when she felt him move. The leader raised his arm up to bring the blade down, though this time his movement was slow so Kushina could watch every little motion. Kushina darted forward before he could bring down the small blade, elbowing him in the stomach and sending him stumbling back wards. But Kushina didn't finish there. She quickly brought her arm up in a swift motion, slitting his arm in an attempt to force him to drop the weapon.

The rogue leader was stubborn, however. He managed to keep his grip on the weapon, and barely got his footing back in time before Kushina darted forward with another attack.

"Just who do you think you're dealing with?!" The man snarled, his good hand shooting behind his back to retrieve something. Kushina's eyes narrowed.

"Watch it! He-"

Minato quickly flickered into sight, his feet parted and his sword already slashing away at the object the rogue leader had thrown. Before Kushina could realize anything, she felt Minato take her by the waist and move forward in a shunshin swiftly. Kushina was about to demand what he was doing, but a large flash and explosion answered her question. Everything went white in Kushina's side, which made her ponder if she had died in the explosion.

But her sight was steadily returning, and the first thing she saw was the blackened ground several meters away. Minato slowly turned to look over his shoulder, protectively shielding Kushina from the explosion. A few burnt bodies were visible and scattered, though the remaining rogue corpses were no where to be seen. Minato slowly calmed, then he stiffened when he realized that he was still holding Kushina and quickly pulled his arms back, already feeling the blood rushing up to his cheeks. Kushina glimpsed at him for a moment, but turned to look at her side when she spotted the other ninja out of the corner of her eyes.

Fugaku's Sharingan was still active and assessing the blackened battlefield, before they slowly faded back into their original onyx coloring. Tsume panted lightly, while Kuromaru shook the ashes off his fur.

"Well it seems like that got 'em all..."

The group turned to look back at the village behind them, only to see a stark, black-furred wolf trotting up to them. Kuromaru tensed at this, while Minato looked confused. Fugaku and Tsume's expressions were unreadable. The larger canine just stared back at the group calmly with odd violet eyes. It shook its head and slowly trotted up to them, a small limp in its step. He halted before Kushina, hilting his head to look up at her. Kushina was about to say something, but the expression on the wolf's maw changed suddenly to annoyance.

The wolf looked over his broad shoulder, snarling when he saw that Kuromaru was taking a few sniffs at his rear. He spun around and snapped his jaw threateningly at the Ninken. Kuromaru jumped back in time and bared his fangs, growling deeply from the pit of his throat. Kushina noted that a fight was about to break out between the canines, so she stepped in between the two.

"Don't, Kuromaru! It's Daylian-nii-san!!"

Kuromaru looked a bit dumbfounded at this, but he slowly calmed himself and looked over at the wolf, which nodded a bit. Smoke suddenly burst from the black wolf, a small poof echoing before Daylian stood where the wolf was. Without any warning at all, Kushina threw her arms around Daylian. The older Uzu nin yelped a bit when Kushina came in contact with his stomach wound, but he forced himself to ignore then pain and placed a bandaged hand on Kushina's head.

"Don't you dare disappear on me again, nii-san..." Kushina whispered shakily. Violet eyes softened a bit, before he stroked her hair.

"I won't..."

Fugaku cleared his throat from where he was, causing Kushina to look up at him as well as the rest of the group.

"We'll be resting one more night here, then we're heading back to Konoha... our mission is complete."


Author(ess)'s notes:
Kilala: The yakuza is like... a Japanese mafia, pretty much. xD; For those who don't know... and a hakama is like those 'skirts' that samurais wear. Again, sorry for the usage of unfamiliar Japanese words..!

A cookie to anyone who can guess what the title is from. O: