Tsunade slammed her fist on her desk at the news of Asuma's death. "Dismissed."
The funeral was a few days later. Shikamaru did not show up.
Two weeks later, he went to both Choji and Axel with a plan to capture the Akatsuki members.
"We leave before dawn."
The two of them nodded, not knowing that Vladdy had overheard the plan.
She went to Tsunade with the news of what the three were going to do; she didn't want them to die too.
"I understand." Tsunade said.
She caught them before they left in the morning. While she lectured they they weren't going to go get themselves killed, Axel noticed, Kakashi, Vladdy, Raidon, Yamato, Sai, and Naruto standing behind her.
"Choji, Shikamaru, and Kakashi will be one search party. Yamato, Sai, and Naruto another. And finally, Raidon, Vladdy and Axel in another." She went onto explain the routes they would take, and that if they had battle with Akatsuki members without waiting for another team to arrive, that they were fools, and would not be welcomed back with honor.
Shikamaru hated the plan, but she was the hokage and the fact that she was even letting them search was a great deed on her part.
Raidon's group seemed to be assigned to the most unlikely place that akatsuki would go: The Nara forest. Probably because of Vladdy's protest to what Raidon's reaction might be; but she was one of the only available jounin.
Vladdy decided to be in the middle of Raidon and Axel during the search, and could almost feel the tension hitting her.
"Axel…I know you became close to Asuma these past years, this must be hard, and I'm sorry." Raidon said.
"Yeah, he was a good sensei, always honest with us." She responded bitterly.
There was silence from that point on until Raidon signaled for them to stop. There was presence sensed near by. Axel felt that it was the same chakra as before and quickly summoned a messenger bird.
The three kunoichi moved in closer, and could see three Akatsuki members. The two from before…and Neji. Vladdy gasped, followed by a kunai skinning her cheek. They had found them out. They quickly faced the Akatsuki.
Vladdy's eyes narrowed at the sight of the grey haired one; she had faced him on one of their first missions as genin, but they dropped it because it became too much for them to handle.
"Let's get out of here." Neji ordered the other two.
"Aw, come on man. It's just a bunch of Kohana, we already killed one. Besides their a bunch of girls." Hidan laughed.
Vladdy was outraged, her mind spinning. She attacked without real thought. Full force at him.
She was able to knock him backwards with a punch.
Meanwhile, Axel glanced over at Raidon to see her staring at Neji. Her hair and eyes were slowly turning different colors.
Axel couldn't take Cathrina anymore, it had all been a lie, and selfish lie. How could Raidon be so uncaring towards her own students?!
"You bitch!" She released her seal, and charged at Raidon, pinning her by her throat to a tree.
Vladdy looked over, wondering where her backup was, and dropped her arms. "Wha-t?!" She observed Axel pinning Cathrina/Raidon to a tree; Axel, whos seal was released, and was almost bleeding chakra.
"i-is..this…her power?"