"T-tsubaki…run while you still can, I'm finished," Miziro said weakly, his body scraped and bruised, wounded and bleeding. "Take good care of Yuru for me." My body was rushed with a wave of pain. This was agony no one could put into words…it was eating at every thing I was.

"No Miziro! We can get you to the tower, you can make it!" I pleaded, "Don't leave, I-I-I love you!" I was sobbing deeply; so deeply that I didn't notice the enemy ninja behind me. The enemy's sword was drawn back to get rid of some wasted space.

"TSUBAKI!" Miziro shouted. Crimson blood spilled the forest floor, staining the leaves and his blade. My attackers eyes widened with shock……for he did not hit his target. I was still alive, but Miziro was standing behind me, sword in his chest. His eyes rolled back as he fell to the cold hard ground. He had died the very moment that sword pierced his chest.

"…N-no, n-n-NO, MIZIRO!" I screamed into the cold air. Yuru was hidden in safety and I was not letting them get to him.

"Hey, maybe we can have some fun with the girl before we kill her," The one who killed Miziro supposed, "You should give up girlie, or we'll make things more painful." I remained silent.

"I'm not letting you bastards leave this spot alive," I said bluntly. They laughed out loud, mocking me. I gave them a look that could kill them three times over. I raised my hand and water slowly seeped up from the ground, "Hyouton: Arctic Spear…" I uttered. The ice moved at a blinding speed and stabbed the murder's teammates; leaving them to oblivion. He began to run in fear, I slowly stepped towards him. He tripped on a rock and fell flat on his face.

"Please, d-don't kill me! Here, you can have the Heaven scroll!" he threw it at me, and I caught it, "Spare me!"

"You've got to be kidding me, spare you? You killed Miziro, and for that you must die. May you burn in the depths of Hell for what you have done!!!" I told him, my voice filled with madness. "Impalement!" I commanded my ice. It moved in a flash and stabbed him through his stomach, but it wasn't a fatal blow. "Don't worry; you'll only be alive for a few more days if you don't become hypothermic on me."

I walked away from my moment of righteous fury, and went to Miziro. I laid my hand over his eyes and closed them. Then I picked him up and went to Yuru.

***

"Tsubaki, its freakin' noon, get up, un!" Deidara shouted in my ear. I sprang up and hit my head on a low branch.

"…Ouch. Sorry I didn't wake up to make you guys breakfast, what have I missed?" I asked.

"Well, Tobi thought he could make something, but he ended up burning it all, un."

"How many times has he tried?"

Deidara looked frustrated for a moment, "He tried five, and by then all our food was burned to a crisp, un."

"Great, now what the heck are we going to eat? We can't go back to town, 'cause people would recognize us," I said annoyed. I looked over in the corner at Tobi, who was still sulking over it.

"Tobi is sorry, Tsubaki-chan," Tobi apologized.

"Oh…Tobi...uh...I'm sure I can find something," I said trying to comfort him, "Maybe there are some deer around here."

*Tsunade's Office: Konoha*

"Our mission was a failure Tsunade-sama. The Fedual Lord was brutally murdered by unidentified Akatsuki members. We may have been able to stop them but…" Hinata paused, "Tsubaki-chan held us off long enough for them to do there job. Then Akatsuki-no-Deidara set off an explosion and we lost the trail."

"While this is disappointing that you've failed," Tsunade began, "It is even more shocking that Tsubaki is fighting for them. Did you see any trace of a genjustsu, Hinata?" Hinata looked down; her face began to fill with pain.

"I-I didn't detect any genjustu, so she had to have been acting on her own free will," Hinata announced. Tsunade looked down at her tea.

"Tsunade-sama, should we tell Hamaguchi Yuru or Sakura?" Kiba asked.

"…Sakura would want to know, but Yuru couldn't care less."

"W-what do you mean? Weren't they squad mates?" Hinata asked Tsunade.

"Didn't she ever tell you what happened during the chunin exams?" Shino asked Hinata, "Her squad mate Miziro was killed by a team of Takigakure [Hidden Waterfall Village] ninja. In her rage at seeing him die, she brutally killed all of them. When she brought Miziro's body to Yuru, he blamed it all on her. They both graduated to chunin, but Yuru later became an elite jonin, then an Anbu agent. However, he never smiled around anyone again. She has tried to make-up once or twice, but Yuru never wants to patch things up."

"That's terrible, no wonder she hung around Sakura so much; she had to have been so lonely," Hinata said.

"There's no more room for sympathy. Takishira Tsubaki is now the enemy, and we can't hold back or we'll die. You're dismissed."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

7