CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Kaya slammed her blood palm onto the rough ground rashly as her heart thumped loudly in her chest. With a puff of smoke, a large wolf with fur so black that it was almost shining appeared. His eyes were bright and gold, very much alike to his summoner. Even though he was standing on all fours, he reached Kaya's shoulders, making it easy for them to maintain eye contact.

"Kaya, what's wrong?" the wolf asked, his voice low and haunting, though concern was evident in his tone.

"Yato," Kaya breathed. "I need you to find someone."

It was a little after dusk and the sky was starting to lose its light. The gem of the First Hokage's necklace reflected the soft rays of the sun as Kaya proudly wore it around her neck. She was on her way to the Hokage Tower after completing a rather short solo mission for the first time. Though the mission wasn't difficult, it was mentally draining for her to go through it alone, since she always worked with other people, a blond jōnin in particular. She thought about eventually having to lead a team of shinobi in the future and how she would do, since she didn't see herself fitting in the role of a leader.

"Kaya!"

The purple-head jolted at the sudden call of her name. She hadn't been expecting anyone to call out for her and she quickly whipped around, finding her blond friend running down the street and approaching her quickly. For some reason, Kaya felt a chill down her spine and she knew something bad had happened.

Upon seeing Minato's expression, she knew she was right.

"What's wrong?" she asked immediately.

"The Hokage summoned us," Minato informed her breathlessly, his legs not even stopping as he passed Kaya on the way to their destination. Without a doubt, the girl followed closely behind him. "It's Kushina," he said, feeling his stomach drop even lower than it already had. "Her team was ambushed on their way back and now they've gone missing."

Kaya frowned as she ran beside the boy. Though ambushes were expected during missions, for an entire team to disappear didn't happen often. "Where did they go for their mission?"

"I'm not sure, she wasn't allowed to tell me before she left," Minato replied, already pushing past the main doors to the tower. "An ANBU contacted me and told me to bring you with me," he added having sensed her unasked question.

As soon as they reached the Hokage's door, Minato quickly rapped on the wooden door and they were instantly permitted to enter.

"Uzumaki Kushina and her squad is suspected to be in the hands of Kumogakure shinobi," Hiruzen stated gravely, his aged eyes serious and stern.

Minato froze. It was like history replaying itself as he saw his twelve-year-old self standing before the Hokage and being informed the same thing.

"Again?" he couldn't help but question.

"Unfortunately, yes," Hiruzen confirmed. "It seems as though Kushina was not their original target," he continued. "Kushina being a part of the squad was pure luck on their end." The Hokage sighed apologetically at the situation they were in. "The two of you will set out to rescue her team, though your priority is Kushina. This mission is of top secrecy; do not tell a single soul. Leave now, Tora and Kuma will back you up when you need them."

"Hokage-sama," Kaya spoke up, seemingly more in control of her emotions than her seething friend. "Are there any leads as to where Kushina is?"

"Our spy network identified Cloud shinobi and it would be most plausible if they are heading back towards their land – the Land of Lightning," Hiruzen replied.

"Will we have permission to enter their border?" she asked, her brows knitting. She wasn't particularly fond of that country – their people were aggressive and easily angered – and from the stories she heard from Tsunade, the Land of Lightning was not a country you should visit unless you absolutely had to.

"I hope you will be able to reach Kushina before reaching their border," Hiruzen said. "But, you have my permission to enter their country if you need to. Kaya, Minato, you must recover Kushina at all cost – kill if necessary."

Kaya held up her set of keys and let the large wolf sniff the scent. The keychain had been a gift from Kushina as a present for becoming jōnin, and since it hadn't been too long since Kaya started using it, Kushina's scent should still be intact.

"Can you pick up her scent?" Kaya asked in worry.

"It's faint, but it's still around," Yato replied, his snout close to the ground as he sniffed around. Almost instantly, he distinguished Kushina's scent. "This way."

The purple-head pocketed her keys safely in her pouch before leaping after the wolf, entering the thick forest. Unluckily, as soon as they entered the deeper parts of the forest, she had been separated from Minato, who was hasty and rash, very much unlike his usual demeanour. Kaya couldn't blame him though, since it was Kushina who was in danger.

Kaya didn't know whether the ANBU were still on her tail, but since they were not allowed to show themselves, it didn't make much of a difference to the girl. She wasn't a strong tracker, nor was she a sensory type like Minato, therefore she opted to summon Yato, who was far better than her at finding her friend.

Although neither Minato or Kushina had mentioned the first time Kushina was kidnapped, Kaya knew about it from Jiraiya, who had told her during one of his visits to Tsunade. Apparently, the Cloud village had their eyes on the Nine-Tailed Fox and taking its container was the quickest and easiest way of obtaining the beast. Thankfully, Konoha was able to retrieve Kushina before that could happen, mostly thanks to Minato's efforts, but for it to happen again must have been a blow to Minato, hence the way he was acting.

Speaking of the blond, Kaya had no idea where he was or what he was doing. She knew he was more than capable of defending himself, Kaya just hoped he was calm enough to not get into any dangerous situations.

"Pup, you're falling behind," Yato suddenly spoke, startling the girl. She had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't realise the wolf had purposely slowed down for her to catch up. "We're getting closer to her, but there's a group of other people, and they don't smell friendly at all."

"Most likely the enemy," Kaya said to herself. "Can you tell how many there are?"

"Five, give or take," the wolf replied. "Your blond friend is close too. Get on my back, pup, we're moving too slowly."

Kaya immediately gathered more chakra in her feet and jumped onto the wolf's back. As soon as she landed on him, she felt him enlarge his body, allowing him to carry more weight as well and increase his speed. "Sorry about this," she said apologetically.

"You can make it up to me after we get your friend," Yato replied with a wolfish grin. "Hold on tight."

The wolf flew through the woods silently. He knew there was a lot of things in the mind of his summoner, hence leaving her with some quietness to prepare for whatever they were heading into. They travelled for a few more minutes before Yato slowed down. Kaya was about to question his speed when she spotted a familiar blond on ground level.

"Yato, stop!" the girl yelled. "Minato!"

The blond was too focused on the chakra of Kushina to notice his comrade approaching him. "Kaya?"

Yato landed gracefully before the blond, his body barely making a sound despite his heavy weight. His appearance had definitely surprised Minato as his blue eyes widened. Somehow, the blond knew the animal was not wild nor dangerous with those golden eyes that reminded him so much of his friend.

Speaking of his friend, Kaya jumped off from Yato's back and descended on the ground beside the blond.

"Finally found you!" the purple-head exclaimed. "Don't run off like that without telling me!"

"Never mind that," Minato dismissed, not wanting to waste time on trivial matters. "Are you getting any leads? I tried sensing Kushina's chakra but it's too thin for me to get an accurate bearing."

"We were on our way to Kushina, actually," Kaya replied. "Yato caught her scent along with a group of five others, a couple of tens of kilometres ahead."

"Really?" Minato looked at the wolf with hopeful eyes. With Yato's enlarged body, he was taller than the boy even while standing on all fours.

"Enough with the chit-chat," Yato growled. "Get on my back; we better head off now if you want to catch her before they reach the border."

Minato looked at Kaya for confirmation. At the nod of the girl's head, the pair of them jumped onto Yato, Kaya taking the front while Minato sat behind her. As soon as the teens were secured, Yato leaned back on his hind legs and pushed off powerfully, launching himself into the air and sprinted at full speed.

Hang tight, Kushina. We're coming!

"Shit, the trail ends here," Yato hissed as he touched down on the ground. He lowered himself for the teens get off and took the chance to sniff the ground, confirming his words.

"They must have noticed us following them," Minato commented, his brows knitted in annoyance.

"Sorry pups, looks like you're gonna have to do the work now," the wolf chuckled helplessly and shrunk to a smaller size. "But I think we're still going in the right direction. The closest way to cross the border is a few kilometres ahead and I don't think they'll be taking any detours at this rate."

"You've been a great help, Yato," Kaya said, patting the wolf's head lovingly. "Without you, we wouldn't even be here."

Yato dipped his head at his summoner and instead of dismissing himself, he chose to stay with her, just in case he could provide further help. Seeing his posture, Kaya knew the wolf was staying behind, which she was thankful for. With Minato's mind clouded by worry and rage, Kaya doubted she could deal with him if he lost his temper, hence having Yato there acting as an anchor for her helped her a lot.

"Minato, try flaring your chakra," Kaya said as she came to stand beside the said boy. "If what Yato said is true, we're really close to them."

Minato closed his eyes in concentration and attempted to single out the living things around them. With his level of sensory skills, he was able to distinguish between those that were non-living and those that were living. He just hoped that Kushina was the latter. However, he failed at sensing her. Not only that, he couldn't sense the enemies either.

"I can't sense them," he stated disappointingly. "They're out of range."

Kaya frowned. "Could they be hiding their presence?"

"I don't think so, pup," Yato replied, shaking his head. "While you can hide your own chakra, you can't hide someone else's – unless they're dead."

The girl widened her eyes in horror. "No, that's not possible," she muttered. "They're just out of range, that's all," she said, convincing herself. "We just need to find their bearing and go full speed at– Minato, what are you doing?"

Instead of focusing on Kaya and Yato's conversation, the blond had been looking at the ground, searching for something. If this was a repeat of what happened before, surely Kushina would have left something for him to follow as well. Thankfully, under the brightness of the moon, Minato found it. Strands and strands of red hair were scattered on the floor, creating a trail that lead away from their current location. Slowly, a relieved smile made its way to Minato's lips as he began to follow the hair, knowing that Kushina had left them behind for him to notice.

Wordlessly, he started running, following the strands of red hair that he came to admire and love.

Kaya had noticed the way Minato was acting. She didn't know what he was doing, but she trusted him and followed after him. She knew the bond between him and the red-head was deeper than she could see, so she only hoped whatever he was doing would reach Kushina in time.

The girl felt useless as she ran in the shadow of her friend. She couldn't do anything to help him – her tracking skills were nothing without Yato, and even though the wolf was there, the enemy somehow inhibited them from smelling their scent.

Why can't I do anything at a time like this? she scolded herself, feeling as if she was more of a nuisance than a help. If only I was stronger and more powerful. If only–

"Pup, calm down," Yato urged, his golden eyes bearing into her own. "Your other chakra is acting up."

If Yato hadn't mention it Kaya wouldn't have noticed it. She could feel her Tengu chakra bubbling deep inside her, seeping through her body as it mixed with her own chakra. She knew it was dangerous to utilise the power until she had proper training from the Tengu King, so she closed her eyes momentarily and withdrew the Tengu chakra from her system, locking it up in its container within her body. Instantly, she felt her body temperature lowered and a wave of calmness greeted her.

"That's better," Yato commented after noticing the change in her chakra. However, he could still see her uneasiness.

The wolf had known the girl for many years and had grown rather fond of her. They had been through many ups and downs together and Yato was proud to call Kaya his summoner. He still remembered the day she rescued his summoning scroll from a fire in an old mansion. Although Kaya had no obligation to do so, she recovered his scroll nonetheless. As gratitude for saving his scroll, as well as his initial interest in her, he proposed that she become his summoner. It was a bet for him, a rather big one too, since he wasn't sure how the girl would treat him. If she was anything like his previous summoner, Yato was much better off without a single link to the human world. However, he trusted in his instincts and the girl, who saw him as family. There was no master-servant relationship between them, and the wolf couldn't be more thankful for that; after all, he hated taking orders from humans. Soon, Yato found himself growing more and more attached to the girl as their bond deepened, and that was exactly how he could see her suffering beneath her smile.

"We're close to the enemy," the purple-head stated as she saw Minato crouching behind a bush while suppressing his chakra. Kaya and Yato followed suit quickly and took a few moments to observe their surroundings.

"Seems like they're in an enclosed space, a cave probably," Yato noted as he sniffed the air. "I can't smell where exactly they are, but I can do a little scouting."

Kaya looked over at Minato for affirmation, but upon discovering that he wasn't sparing her any of his attention, she turned back to the wolf with unsure eyes. If there was a chance of saving Kushina, there was no doubt she would risk her life for it, but at the same time she didn't know what Minato was thinking. He could have planned something in his head, but without him communicating with her, there was no guarantee that her actions wouldn't ruin his plans.

"Tell you what," Yato began. "I'll shrink some more so if they see me, they'll think I'm wild. Wait for my signal, okay?"

The purple-head gave Yato an uncertain look, but since she didn't have a better plan, she gave him the go-ahead. She watched as the wolf shrank into a smaller size, only reaching her knees as a normal wolf would standing on all fours. He lowered himself onto the ground and sneaked out of the bush, acting as a wild animal as he disappeared into the darkness of the night.

Her golden eyes found the profile of the blond once she lost sign of her summon. "Minato…" she murmured in concern. The boy hadn't said a single word since he began following Kushina's trail and Kaya couldn't help but get increasingly worried about his condition.

"Kaya, not now," Minato brushed her off easily. Realising that he had never talked to her like that, he looked over to see the pain in her eyes from the iciness of his tone. Sighing, he shook his head. "I'm sorry, Kushina is my top priority right now."

She didn't need to be told twice to know that for a fact. It wasn't sensible for her to divert her attention from rescuing Kushina and it was even less sensible to falter because of her concern over his mental state. She should have known that Minato would never do anything that would bring harm to any of them, Kushina in particular, so why was she even concerned about him bursting out in anger? Minato was far better than that.

Kaya looked away from the boy and out into the distance. Her mind was still wallowing over how she was barely helping the situation, but the sudden spike of familiar chakra caught her attention instead. Instantly, she recognised it as Yato's chakra.

"He found them," she said, answering Minato's unasked question since he sensed the chakra too. "Let's go."

She didn't wait for Minato's response before leaping out from behind the bush, rushing over to where the wolf was waiting for them. She could feel Minato's presence behind her as well as his anxiety and worry, though she told herself to push aside all feelings and focus on recovering their precious friend.

It didn't take them long to reach Yato, who was staying low against the muddy ground. The [air followed the wolf's line of vision and spotted a group of six Kumogakure shinobi surrounding a tied up Kushina. The red-head looked exhausted – the bags under her eyes and her unusual pale complexion were clear indications of it – and it was as if the enemy had depleted her chakra to make things easier for them. The group didn't seem to be moving, but they looked as if they were planning to depart again after taking a short rest.

With one quick glance into each other's eyes, Kaya and Minato leapt into action.

It was now or never.

"Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!"

Minato jumped out from their hiding place and threw multiple shuriken towards the enemy, taking them by surprise. Of course, the enemies were not prepared to be followed and attacked, hence most of them suffered injuries from the simple technique. From that, Minato knew they were mostly chūnin, otherwise they would have sensed his attack the moment he launched it. He aimed to draw the enemies' attention to him away from Kushina, leaving her unattended and unguarded. As quickly as he appeared, he hid behind the shadows again, waiting for his chance to strike again.

Although Kushina was almost unconscious, she could just about see Minato rushing over, his blond hair shining brightly under the moonlight. Relief flooded her body as she knew he would save her, just like the first time she was taken away. She could feel her eyes rolling back, her vision blurring as she fell on her side, her head thumping against the ground as she collapsed. Before she fully blacked out, she smiled.

Minato, I knew you would come.