Rating: T

Warnings: Family feels, my shitty fight scenes, language, Kurama whump, the dreaded CLIFFHANGER, etc.

Word Count: ~5300

Pairings mentioned: Kakashi/Kurama.

Disclaimer: Sorry for the delay in posting, but I'm finally fully recovered! (Apparently sleeping for sixteen hours straight is helpful; who knew?) And back to work, which…meh. Regardless, I know I said the Wave mission would start in this chapter, but I lied. It will definitely be next chapter, though. Promise. :)

(Also, Xcruze, I apologize, as the Kotetsu-Genma-Izumo scene didn't end up as intended. But hopefully you'll find some humor in it anyway. A funny omake just didn't suit the seriousness of this chapter.)

backslide

Chapter Twenty-One: Ambush

The mission comes while they're eating breakfast together—out, because this is the last day of Kurama's payment for the kids dying Kakashi's hair pink. (He'd added two extra days for the sparkles, because that was just vicious and wonderful and beautifully creative.) Kakashi has tagged along as well, hair finally back to normal—though Kurama suspects a henge at work. The restaurant isn't busy and the day feels lazy, regardless of training and missions later. Naruto is cheerfully explaining his new seal, while Sakura and Sasuke are carefully listening and Kurama is carefully not. Kakashi's watching them all, expression relaxed and easy as he leans on his elbows, and it feels good.

It feels like family.

But Kurama sees the messenger hawk alight on the windowsill, yellow band around its leg, and goes still. The bird turns its head, surveying the interior of the restaurant, and its sharp eyes settle on him without further hesitation.

No, Kurama wants to say, because for the first time he has a reason to stay, to be here and not traipsing across the most distant reaches of the continent. But he's a shinobi, he's a jounin, he was almost a kage, and he's long since learned that duty trumps his desires every time.

He slides the window open and lets the hawk hop onto his wrist. It sticks out its leg, clearly impatient, and as soon as he's taken the scroll it's gone again, swooping away.

Yellow band. A-rank mission. Red edging means it's urgent. Kurama breaks the seal and reads it quickly, mouth tightening. A solo assassination mission, critical, ordered to report to the Hokage at once for mission details—he crumples the paper without care, closing his eyes. He's been lucky so far, not getting called on for anything more taxing than a courier run, but he'd known it couldn't last. Not with his skills, not with his acceptance in the village. He's valuable, and even though he's not the Kyuubi jinchuuriki here, it's still just as true as it was back in his time.

"Kurama-nii?" Naruto asks, and there's poorly buried concern in his voice. When Kurama looks up, worried blue eyes are watching him as though he's about to disappear. "Are you okay?"

Kurama clears his throat and musters up a smile, though he's not entirely sure how genuine he makes it. Not very, judging by how the worry only increases. "It's just a mission, Naruto—not even a long one, probably. But it's A-rank and urgent, so I need to leave now."

"But…aren't you helping with our team?" Sakura asks, her face pale.

"Not officially," Kurama explains, even as he rises to his feet. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. The Hokage wants to brief me in person."

Sasuke, sitting between him and the end of the table, stubbornly stays seated. He looks up at Kurama with something strange about the set of his mouth, the lines of his face, and it's only after a moment that Kurama recognizes it as a mixture of dismay and fear. But he knows the cause well enough: Sasuke's scared of losing someone after he let them in. He's scared of his world ending yet again.

"Hey," Kurama says gently, looking between the three genin, and they're all wearing variations of the same expression. It's strange, because he'd half-expected Naruto to be enthusiastic and the others interested. "Hey, it's just a mission. Not even S-rank. I'll be fine, and back before you even start to miss me." He slides carefully past Sasuke out of the booth, then crouches so that he's looking up at the trio. "Have a bit of faith in me, please."

Naruto's lower lip is out in a definite pout, and he leaps from his seat to throw his arms around Kurama's neck and squeeze tightly. Kurama grunts a bit at the impact—Naruto isn't any definition of the word waifish, and he's put on muscle since training started in earnest—but hugs him back. An instant later Sakura is on him, too, and even Sasuke is hovering just a little too close, dark eyes full of a precocious sort of understanding and fear.

Without hesitation, Kurama opens his arms to Sakura as well, pulls Sasuke down into the group and murmurs to all of them, "Hey, don't worry. If I didn't know better I'd say you thought a simple A-rank could take me out. Come on."

Sakura chokes on something that might be a laugh, and pulls back. She rises to her feet, carefully brushing down her skirt and smoothing her hair, and then nods decisively. "Come back quickly," she orders, and the tone almost manages to hide how her voice is trembling. "Otherwise Kakashi-sensei will be completely useless and just hide in a tree with his book all day."

"Maa, maa, Sakura-chan. Don't be mean," Kakashi protests, feigning wounded pride with the very best. "You make me sound lazy."

Sasuke snorts derisively as he steps away, cheeks faintly flushed but composure firmly in place. "You promised to teach me that next kenjutsu kata," he reminds Kurama. Kurama knows that tone, that phrasing; Sasuke wants a promise that he'll return, but isn't willing to ask for one.

"Yeah," Naruto chimes in, voice suspiciously thick, though his face is buried in Kurama's shoulder so his expression is entirely hidden. "I want to learn that barrier seal you keep talking about, too. So come back quickly, okay?"

Kurama smiles softly, ruffles blond hair and drops a kiss on the boy's brow. "I promise," he says, and then meets Sasuke's eyes as he repeats softly, "I promise. Don't worry about me, all right? Just keep training. Do your own missions and get stronger. Deal?"

"Deal," Naruto agrees, pulling back, and he's finally smiling. "It's awesome that Hokage-jiji trusts you enough to give you important missions, Kurama-nii. I can't wait until we're jounin, too!"

"Soon," Kurama assures him, grinning. "Practice more, beat the Exams, and then we'll see. Stay safe, brat."

"You too, Kurama-san," Sakura whispers, and Sasuke nods sharply, just once.

But it's Kakashi's eyes that Kurama meets as he stands. The other jounin looks relaxed, at ease, but there's a new tension in the line of his shoulders as he lifts a hand in lazy salute.

"Break a leg," he says, and if Kurama didn't know him better he'd mistake that tone for cheer.

He does know better, though, and offers the man a smile. "I'm looking forward to finding out what color your hair will be when I get back, Kakashi," he teases, dropping a hand on his shoulder and squeezing gently.

"Kurama, don't give them ideas," Kakashi protests, but he lays his fingers over Kurama's and returns the gesture. They linger for just a moment, and Kurama sweeps his eyes over his gathered family, then smiles.

"I'm off," he says with a wink and a wave, and engraves the sight in his memory before triggering a shunshin and disappearing from the restaurant.

It's a simple mission in the end. The Daimyo has been watching a spy in his household, feeding her information, but she's started to go beyond what he can control and he wants her eliminated. She's a shinobi with a bloodline that negates other bloodlines, which is the reason for the high mission rank. Sarutobi hands over the details with an even expression. There's no warning of danger, but Kurama has been a shinobi long enough, and through enough crises, to understand what's merely implied.

"Don't worry," he tells the Sandaime, and it's strange to speak that phrase so often. For so long it was only him and Sasuke, and such things were silently understood. "I should be back within three days."

Sarutobi nods to him, but the lines in his face don't fade. "She's killed before to keep her secret," he says. Sharp eyes meet Kurama's, and he adds, "I hope you are, Kurama-kun. I would hate to tell Naruto that his last family was gone."

Kurama winces, because as far as motivators go that much guilt is a good one. He steps back and salutes. "You won't have to, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage nods in return, gives him a small, warm smile. "Dismissed," he says formally, and Kurama is out of his office and on his way to the gates before the last syllable has even left his lips.

The sooner he leaves, after all, the sooner he'll get home.

Single shinobi mid-mission rarely have the luxury of stopping for medical treatment. It's one of those unspoken rules; if a shinobi is able to move, they're damn well able to return to their village and report in. If the injury is something life-threatening, there's no other choice, but returning to their village is always supposed to be a shinobi's priority.

Usually, this kind of thing never effects Kurama, because previously he had the Kyuubi, and then ever since the fox's sacrifice his healing rate's been slower, but still formidable. It's a rare thing that he actually has to break out the bandages, regardless of who he's up against.

(The last time was after facing Kisame. It was mostly his fault, because he hadn't been able to get around the fact that Itachi had counted this man as something of a friend, but Kisame had taken advantage and Kurama had ended up convalescing in a cave in the middle of nowhere for a week afterwards. It's not an experience he's eager to repeat.)

Now, fresh from his encounter with the spy and her ability to block bloodline powers, healing is slow in coming, because the Kyuubi's gifts are just enough like a bloodline to be effected and mostly shut down. Kurama's taped ribs and bandaged shoulder feel like he's painted huge, flashing targets on them. He's not used to being injured for more than a day, and it's the next best thing to unnerving, being even a little bit vulnerable. Too long with Madara waiting in the shadows, ready to destroy him and Sasuke both at the first sign of weakness, probably, but it's a habit that Kurama can't shake regardless of the fact that Madara is currently dead and nearly all of his enemies are defeated or converted.

The forest feels endless, but Kurama favors it over the road regardless—another habit gained in a war that was more often fought with guerilla tactics than openly. It's good cover as well, and the mere fact of its existence eases something in his mind that's still far too used to being a resistance fighter forever on the run. Madara isn't here, there's a day-pale moon above him, the air is fresh and free of smoke, and trees stretch away on all sides, vast and comforting.

Kurama breathes deep, tries to release his anxiety and accept the fact that his mission is nearly complete and he's headed home. It almost works, so close, and he can nearly see the stately height of the Hokage Mountain in the distance. Home, his heart says, leaping bright and joyful in his chest, and he pauses, perched on a wide bough, to savor the feeling.

Home. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, Sarutobi, Genma, Raidou—everyone. Home.

He's distracted and finally focused on something more than his surroundings, blatantly in the open and unmoving, a perfect target. And when a hail of shuriken come flying out of the leaves and right for him, it's only his complete reliance on long-since honed instincts that let him dodge even part of them. One clips his arm as he flips out of the way and he curses himself for his inattention, landing lightly on a higher limb three trees over. Senses straining, he catches the hiss of air just in time to leap away again as the branches fold in around him like grasping arms.

Damn.

Mokuton means one of two things, and somehow, Kurama doesn't think his attacker is Tenzo mistaking him for an enemy. The Konoha hitai-ate is clear, after all, and he knows that Tenzo has been Sarutobi's guard at least one of the times they've met, enough to recognize his face at the very least.

But if it's not Tenzo, then there's only one other person with mokuton in all the Elemental Countries.

As if answering his thoughts, a flash of orange in the shadows catches his attention, and Kurama barely manages to flicker out of the way as a fire jutsu roars past, scorching the ends of his hair. He feels the presence appear behind him half an instant too late, and a strong kick catches him in the side, hurtling him back into an unyielding trunk even as his ribs shriek their painful protest.

Tobi's chakra vanishes again, but even winded, aching, and half-dazed, Kurama manages to dodge, just as a warping spiral of flames consumes the tree he'd struck. It's enough to pinpoint a location, and Kurama channels all of his speed as he leaps forward. Ginkaze whirls from its sheath like a flash of silver lightning, like its namesake, and he plunges it towards the heart of the fires that are just now dying.

Too late, always, always when fighting Tobi, and the blade simply catches a sleeve as he goes intangible, fades away and darts back into the trees. Kurama curses and doesn't follow, heads the opposite way because facing Tobi right now is practically the same as facing Madara. He's crafty and quick and has backup plans for his backup plans, never mind his damned ability to improvise and make it work. Tobi is fast and dangerous and ten miles of crazy on a very short track, and Kurama hasn't learned his Obito's plan yet, is still working out the final kinks in the seal transfer and has yet to even look for a tattoo artist to make the necessary alterations to his seals. If he's not very careful, this will be a short fight, and Kurama won't be coming out on the winning side.

Another streak of fire sends him darting out of the branches and onto the ground, where the weathered trunks are at least slightly less flammable than the leaves, and a moment later Tobi joins him, lunging forward. There's no hint of his jokester mask, no masquerade as Deidara's childish partner—this is a madman thwarted at every turn, all of his plans upended around him. Kurama hasn't just been poking a sleeping dragon; he's been setting off firecrackers under its tail, and Tobi is angry. The cold, burning fury is etched into every movement as he strikes out, taijutsu almost too fast to follow, let alone block, and Kurama doesn't even bother trying. He flips over the man's head and bolts, heading deeper into the shadows in the vain hope of at least buying some time.

Chakra flickers ahead of him, familiar and aggravating, and Kurama curses as he spins to the side to avoid the roots that surge up to grab him. Kamui has got to be the most fucking frustrating manifestation of the Mangekyo, or of any damn bloodline in general. Add mokuton to that, and even without the Rinnegan Tobi is a bitch and a half to deal with on a good day, let alone on one where Kurama is injured and tired and already cranky.

A flicker of orange catches his eye again, and Kurama doesn't wait, fires off three jutsu in quick succession, Raiton and Suiton and then Doton, in the vague hope that it will do something, then spins and catches Tobi's head-aimed strike on the flat of his katana. The one-eyed mask is eerie this close up, a reminder of a time when everyone thought this was the worst they'd ever have to deal with. But he doesn't speak, not even to taunt or gloat or try and crack Kurama open with words. Tobi is entirely silent, and that's more unnerving than anything.

Kurama opens his mouth to try anyway, because words at least helped get through to him last time, but before he can even get the first syllable out Tobi is gone again, sending Kurama stumbling forward. He's off-balance when the man appears behind him, unable to stop the kick, but he throws himself forward just in time to keep it from shattering his spine, lets it glance off his hip instead and drops into a roll. He comes up facing Tobi, Ginkaze still in hand through sheer stubbornness, and forms the familiar hand-sign. "Kage Bunshin."

Three clones settle into being and immediately lunge forward, swords flashing. In the trees, two more flicker around to get behind Tobi, then leap at him. Another three, and another three, and another, and Kurama knows it won't hold him for long, will give away the fact that his chakra reserves are suspiciously large even for an Uzumaki, but there's no other choice. Distraction is his only option, defense defense defense until Tobi gives up or a Konoha patrol notices and he decides to leave. And neither of those options have anything but the smallest chance of succeeding.

Ten clones vanish within seconds of each other, leaving Kurama with memories of ten merciless killing blows, and he knows better than to think that the last two will fare any better. Another half a heartbeat, and even though his next jutsu is already on his lips, about to fly, the forest comes alive around him. Branches grasp for him like hands, roots trap his legs like chains, and Kurama slices through them with a furious curse. There's too much ammunition here for someone who can turn the very trees against him, and Kurama has been glad before that Obito changed sides, chose them, but never more than now, when he's facing all of that power turned against him. Tobi has mokuton and Kamui and likely Madara's eye as well, and it's very possible he's the deadliest shinobi alive today.

This isn't the kind of fight Kurama can go into halfheartedly if he has any expectations of survival.

Ten more clones jump Tobi, barely enough to be cannon-fodder, but Kurama doesn't have the Kyuubi's all but unlimited chakra reserves anymore, no matter how much larger his are than the average shinobi's. He doesn't have a Tailed Beast Mode and he doesn't have the ability to release the strongest of the bijuu, but he does have one trick left up his sleeve, desperate though it is.

The real Kurama was a creature all but made of natural chakra, forever open to the flow if it, and he passed that ability on to this Kurama with everything else.

It's an advantage that he'll never underappreciate.

Sage Mode comes easily, like slipping on a favorite coat, and the rush of it is heady, his sudden awareness of the rest of the world unfurling like a bud under the dawn. Not the toads' Sage Mode, because his name was taken off their contract after the Kyuubi's sacrifice. But the foxes bound themselves to him instead, so it's their training that he calls upon, and moves.

Tobi is ready for him. If he feels any surprise at all it's entirely concealed, and his strikes are harder than ever, rattling bones and forcing Kurama to dodge more often than not, even though he finally has the speed to match them. Ginkaze dances, a shimmering, twisting shield, but he's still on the defensive, still being pushed back one step at a time, and—

A sword-hand blow to his ribs and he can all but hear them give way, the pain too heavy to even breathe through as he's tossed away, thrown into the trunk of another tree. His world is white with agony even as forces himself to stagger back to his feet, and there's barely enough thought left over to deflect the fuuma shuriken that flies at him. Even that rattles him, forces him another step back, and he's healing but he's not healing fast enough, a bare trickle when he needs a flood if he's going to last.

"Pathetic," Tobi hisses, and he's right behind Kurama's shoulder, snarling the word into his ear. Kurama tries to dodge, tries to get away, but a kunai stabs into his side, buries itself deep and tears a cry from his lips. He falls away even as he lashes out, feels Ginkaze catch flesh and tear half a moment before the sensation is gone. It's too risky to use a Rasengan or any of its variations, too close to his true identity and even now he's not willing to give that up, not to Tobi who has yet to become his friend Obito. No Rasengan, and his Hiraishin is poor at best even if he did dare use that. Instead he reaches for his wind, for the one element that's always come easiest, even with the conversion matrixes inked into his skin.

"Fuuton: Blade of Wind!"

It's Baki's jutsu, taught to him by Temari, and meant to be done with no weapon in hand. But Ginkaze was forged for this, to channel chakra and shape both wind and lightning, and that makes it simple. Simple, too, is guessing Tobi's point of emergence, because Kurama is wounded and dizzy with blood-loss and breathing's getting hard, something wet in his chest that rattles when he inhales. He's a target, weak, and Tobi won't be cautious, won't think that Kurama has anything left worth worrying about.

It's sometimes amazing to think he knew another Uzumaki, knew Kushina, and still is able to make such assumptions.

A flicker, a twist of chakra in the same moment as braches shoot from Tobi's stiffened arm like javelins, but Kurama is prepared. He lunges forward, even as pain makes his head spin, cuts through the reaching wood as if through water, and stabs the wind-honed bade deep into Tobi's unguarded side.

It's not a killing blow, but it's a grave one.

Tobi chokes on a cry and his mokuton surges again, but it's wild, uncontrolled. It knocks Kurama back into another tree, sword flying from his grasp, but he's prepared for that too, blood-covered hand flickering through seals and then slamming into the ground.

The whirl of smoke, a deep snarling growl, and a shape bounds forward, settles itself defensively in front of him. Not Fuji, who for all her ferocity is made for speed and quick-darting, distracting attacks. Not Ume and Oka, who excel against large numbers. Not Kaede for stealth or Momiji for chakra attacks, but Ran. Black, fierce Ran who despite her delicate name is the biggest and bulkiest of his regular summons, who despite her laidback demeanor has seven tails and claws like a tiger and all the protective instincts of a desperate mother bear. She rises out of the shadows, white teeth bared menacingly, and in this light she's the size of a horse.

Foxes aren't like toads; they don't get as large as houses as they age and gain power. All of their strength is confined in their tails, and while it puts them at a disadvantage facing creatures like Manda and Gamabunta, against a human—even a human as skilled, cunning, and ruthless as Tobi—it's enough.

It's more than enough.

And clearly Tobi knows it, because he hesitates. He's wounded and outnumbered, and while there's a chance he could still win there's also the chance that he won't, and Kurama is already certain that's not a chance he's willing to take.

With one final snarl he disappears, and the world goes still.

"Kurama-chin," Ran says worriedly, pushing upright and darting over to his side. Her ears are laid flat back against her head, dark violet eyes full of worry as she noses at his side. Kurama has just enough strength to let his Sage Mode fade away, senses feeling deadened with its absence as he drops a hand on top of her big head.

"Ran," he says. "Sorry, I didn't have a chance to call you before. Do you—" Pain flares as the adrenaline fades, and he just barely manages to strangle a gasp. "Konoha—please, get help. Can't heal—argh." He grits his teeth to keep in the cry that wants to come out, swallows it down and drops his head back against the tree as he hisses, "Please. Go."

Ume would argue, insist he call another fox to stay with him just in case, but Ran is easier to deal with; she doesn't ask questions or make demands, just goes, as swift as a bird in flight as she bolts towards the far-off village.

Kurama listens to the faint sounds of her passing, already growing distant, and closes his eyes.

Just a moment's rest. Just a minute. Then he'll get up and keep moving.

Just one moment.

When she's completely gone, he lets out a breath and closes his eyes, lets the darkness sweep in and take away the pain. He drowns in warm shadows, happily, contentedly, and surrenders himself to their gentle grasp.

"No matter how much you complain about the three of us, Genma, at least we never set Konoha on fire," Kotetsu says cheerfully, dropping down on the Jounin Standby Station couch where Genma is doing paperwork.

The tokujo doesn't even bother to glance up. "And the fact that I distinctly remember you brats scorching my kitchen almost beyond repair means…?"

Kotetsu has the grace to look sheepish. "Um…that you didn't appreciate our birthday surprise nearly as much as we intended you to?"

Genma gives him a deadpan stare, one brow faintly arched, and says nothing.

"We weren't as bad as Kakashi's genin team are, though," Izumo adds quickly, leaning against the back behind Kotetsu and fixing their surrogate mother with his most innocent expression. "They just about destroyed Training Ground 4 last week. Kotetsu and I had to help them put it out."

"Is that why you came home smelling like smoke?" Genma asks absently, shuffling through his papers. Kotetsu and Izumo share a grin, because no matter how often Genma insists that his apartment is too small and that they moved out and therefor for longer have the right to loiter, he always calls it 'home', and they do, too.

A moment of shared glee, and then Kotetsu returns his attention to the older man. "Yep," he agrees cheerfully. "It's a good thing I have a water affinity, and 4 has a lot of rivers, or the whole thing would have burned to the ground."

"They also," Izumo puts in, sounding inordinately cheerful, "told us the entire story of how they dyed Kakashi's hair pink. With sparkles."

That finally makes Genma look up, and his warm brown eyes are bright with mirth. "Oh?" he says in amusement. "Care to share?"

Izumo looks about as close to gleeful as he ever gets. They caught Kakashi flirting with Genma once, a couple of years ago now, and have never forgiven him for that, so Kotetsu is entirely in line with his way of thinking. "Well, apparently—"

The door of the Station flies open with a harsh crack, knob broken clean off, and a dark, hulking shape bursts through. Kotetsu is on his feet before he can even register moving, kunai in hand, and when he finally sees what it is his pulse only races faster, accelerating like hasn't since that awful night twelve years ago.

A huge black fox with multiple tails, in a Konoha that's finally, finally recovered, where the Kyuubi caused so many deaths—Kotetsu's entire clan, because Hagane clan lands were practically where the rampage started—

"Please!" the fox cries, and its voice is definitely feminine, definitely desperate. She darts over to them, and even though she's hardly the Kyuubi's size she's still intimidating, as black as pitch with deep purple eyes and seven tails fanned out behind her. "Please, my master, he's injured!"

Genma, who will forever be first to help regardless of his suspicious nature, is already rising to his feet, and Kotetsu follows him, because tokubetsu or no, ANBU assassin or no, he's hardly about to let Genma walk into an uncertain situation alone. Raidou is the only one he'd even vaguely trust to go with the blond, but Raidou is on a mission and not due back until tomorrow.

"Who and where?" Genma asks, already headed for the door.

The fox follows him in a blur of dark fur and anxiety. "Uzumaki," she says. "Uzumaki Kurama. He's about a mile to the west, and normally he heals but something's happened and I don't—"

"Kurama?" Genma repeats, and this time his tone is alarmed. Kotetsu feels the same thrill of apprehension lance through his chest, because he knows Kurama, if only as an acquaintance, and he likes the man, who always has a smile and a kind word to offer. Who doesn't treat him and Izumo as lesser just because they're chuunin and gate guards and sometimes-errand-boys for the Hokage. "He's hurt?"

"He was attacked," the fox confirms. Their group is drawing attention now—hard not to, what with the summons's appearance. "He only called me at the end, but…I think it's quite bad."

"Go, Shiranui-san," another jounin says. A Hyuuga, by her eyes and long brown hair. She's on her feet and already headed towards the street. "I will alert the Hokage. Retrieve him quickly."

"Thanks, Rui-san," Genma acknowledges, and then darts forward, and even after years of practice it's all Kotetsu and Izumo can do to keep up. They flash past the gate, then out into the forest, and the fox takes the lead. She's quicker than they are, and Kotetsu can see that she wants to race forward, get back to her summoner's side, but restrains herself.

He thinks how he would feel, if it were Izumo or Iruka or Genma hurt out there, and pushes himself just a little bit faster.