Rainstorm Chapter 21

*Clash*

Well. Sorry. I can't describe how much I just messed up. Thanks to those of you who stayed with the story or marked it while it froze in production. You're the real MVPs.
We passed 100 favorites, and now the story is in full triple-digit territory! I honestly never thought the story would get this kind of response, and even if it doesn't seem like much to you all, it's a lot for me. So thank you, and let's go!

"Okay, everything seems to be normal," Tomaya's younger sister, now known to Hideki as Emi, stated with a smile and click of her pen as she glanced over her clipboard. The blonde nodded to Hideki as she grabbed her white lab coat, throwing her arms through it with what he noted as unnecessary extravagance. "You should be able to start physical therapy in a few days, as long as nothing goes wrong."

"Physical therapy?" Hideki frowned, sitting up slightly in the hospital bed, holding himself with a single bent arm. "Can't I just leave? What good would therapy do for me?"

Emi simply pointed at the stump where his right arm used to be. "Missing any appendage can be quite the adjustment. First: if you've tried to walk, you already know your balance is messed up. Second: seeing as that was your dominant arm, you'll have to adjust to working without it. Third… third was… umm… One moment please."

Emi's face flashed red as she scoured Tomoya's notes to her. The awkward pause awarded Hideki with time to release a snicker, throwing her off even more. With a flurry of excess and jolting movement, she flipped through the pages one last time to stall as she took her brother's warnings into account: be gentle, quiet, and in no way, shape, or form, threaten his pride.

"Your shinobi career will have to be put on hold as you adjust. We can't determine if you'll ever be back in fighting shape."

The room's temperature plummeted, freezing Emi's next comment in her throat and causing goosebumps to erupt all over her body. "I shoulda expected as much… with all the people who just can't stand me. 'He doesn't listen,' they say… 'He's just an immature brat,' they say… They want to get rid of me, I always knew it…"

Emi tried to say something, to move, but his predatory glare froze her in place, the sheer terror it brought tearing into her. But then, as it came, Hideki's personality shifted, and the killing intent that filled the room before evaporated into panic.

"They can't do this to me…. No, no, no, no, nononononono… I'M STRONG! THEY KNOW I'M STRONG!" his voice escalated to a raw scream, and he curled into a fetal position, holding his head with his single arm. The black-haired teen saw the emptiness left on his right side with horror in his eyes. "Haru…" His voice came out like a mocking song, raspy with a cross of desperation and anger. "You did this to me… You did me wrong… My arm, my arm, my arm, my arm, oh… it was worth so much more than you."

Emi slowly started backing up, actively staying just slightly out of the doorway, hoping that any second someone would burst in to inquire about the screams. What could she do, anyways? Against a shinobi… she hadn't even trained for field work! Common sense told her not to make any sudden movements, but otherwise, she had no idea how to get out of this situation.

Another shift from the hospital bed snapped her out of her daze. "It hurts… so much pain…" Hideki hid his face behind his legs, pulling at his hair with his remaining arm. "It's not even there… how do I feel something that's not there? It blew up! From the inside! Poof! The nice girl even removed the dangling flesh that had the audacity to stay behind… WHY DOES IT STILL HURT!? WHY DO I STILL HURT!? EVERYWHERE!"

Hideki tore free from himself, his eyes latching onto hers with pure desperation.

"Please…"

They were bleeding.

"Help me…"
His eyes bled purple.

"Emi! What's going on?!"

The door burst open, its thin frame giving way to Tomoya.

"Oh, hey, doc…" Hideki mumbled like a spoiled child would when they didn't get their way. "How're you doing? Fine, I hope. Actually, no… I hope you're doing terribly." The teen paused, staring into blankness for a full three seconds as purple liquid continued to leak from his eyes, before cracking up as if he remembered a hilarious joke. "Yeah, yeah! That's it! I wish you knew exactly what I'm going through!"

Tomoya, calm and collected, chose his words carefully. "Hideki, we can help you get through this. I've healed you before, and I have dealt with enough amputees to understand the situation. We can-"
"Oh, that's rich! You canunderstand the situation? I killed, and was nearly killed by, my sensei. I had already accepted that… but do you understand what he did to me?" Hideki's cackle emanated through the room, and quickly dropped to a whisper. "Let's go down the list, shall we? Two stab wounds, pulsing with every beat of my heart! One, count 'em, one, missing arm! Woo! I can't see straight! My eyes are so fucking blurry it hurts! And, lastly, there's a tiny voice in my head… his voice, Tomoya. Haru's in my head and I don't know why… Why? Why, why, why… That's the question, isn't it? He's speaking gibberish, though… How unfortunate." With a mirthless sigh and a one-armed stretch, Hideki kicked and used the momentum to put himself on his feet in front of the new medics.

"Hideki…" Tomoya warned, pushing Emi behind him and towards the door and coating his hands in green medical chakra. "Calm down. You need rest. This is just a side effect of-"

"Of having my arm blown off, I know." Hideki's pale eyes bled like they were being fed by a severed artery, covering most of his lower face and dripping down onto his bandaged torso, yet that seemed to be the one condition of his that he couldn't see. "You know what shouldn't come from an external injury? Voices. Not just Haru, but he's the loudest… He's mocking me…" Soft giggles shook Hideki's frame as he took a small step forward, glaring at nothing.

Finally, the blonde doctor gave up. He slowly brought his arm up and began forming a one-handed seal, one used only for particularly violent paitents. When the seal went off, it would release a jolt targeting the patient's nerve center, knocking them out, and then injecting a strong sedative to keep them down while a Yamanaka defused their anger and stress, allowing them to be awoken and treated. If that didn't work…
"Don't do it…"

"I'm sorry, Hideki," Tomoya replied, closing the hand seal as quickly as possible.

"I told you NO!"

Instantly, the pressure in the room dropped enough to pop the ears of everyone present. Hideki crumbled to the floor, unconscious.

"Emi," Tomoya called with staggered breaths, sensing the shaking form of his younger sibling just behind the door, "Get Hiroshi here, ASAP. He knows more about what we're dealing with than we do, and he left out some quintessential information."

It took all Nagato had just to force himself to inhale and exhale. The pain with each breath killed any thought of focus from his mind… All he could think of was the branch ripping through his shoulder. Blood oozed from the hole, already covering the broken rocks beneath him.

He saw Mikoto, knew she was with him, but that was it. Every time she moved, Nagato attempted to follow with his eyes, but soon even that became too much. The cave… no, pocket… The space they resided in was too small, too cramped to be called a cave. Not that they could see that, though. There were slivers of light breaking through the collapsed earth, but nothing substantial enough for Nagato to see anything.

Except, perhaps, the red of Mikoto's Sharingan frantically dashing through the black. After what felt like an eternity, they rested on Nagato, giving him a fixed point to focus on. The eyes got closer, to the point where the Uzumaki felt if he could just reach out he would be able to touch them. Suddenly, a small flame flared into existence, causing the Rinnegan-wielder to squint as his eyes tried to readjust. That small action caused a wave of pain to erupt, burning him as the branch splintered and cracked inside his shoulder.
Mikoto's mouth moved as if she was speaking, but Nagato couldn't hear her. It just hurt too much… he couldn't focus. Focus, focus… All he knew then was the pain.

"Nagato, listen!" Mikoto lightly brushed his uninjured arm, her cold hand giving him some relief. The small respite felt like a drop of water in hell, a second of something to feel that didn't burn him.

"Nagato…" He heard her! "We need to take the branch out."

Yes! No more branch meant no more pain! If she could… Wait. Take it out? Nagato bit his lip, eyes widening in primal fear. The thought of the branch being pulled out of his body… the sickening rips, tears of his flesh, accompanied by the grinding of wood against bone… Unbearable. The pain now was unbearable, but that? That would be-

"I'm starting now. I'm sorry… I'm not Fugaku. I don't know genjutsu very well. I'm really, really sorry... You'll have to bite this," Nagato felt a kunai's cold, blissful hilt rub against his lips, and craned his neck to bite down on it. The small pull on his neck rubbed the foreign object further around his flesh, making the kunai instantly useful as his breathing burst into short, rapid gasps.

A drop of some kind of liquid hit Nagato's forehead, giving him a moment of peace before real torture started.

Guerilla warfare was the base of all shinobi battles. Their skills, their strength, all stemmed from their ability to ambush and kill their targets before they could react.

At least, that was how it started. When placed on an open battlefield, with huge numbers on both sides, stealth didn't matter anymore. Sakumo and Yurikoto both knew this, and developed their abilities to be able to adjust between the two styles. Their innate capacity to evolve to different fighting environments, along with natural charisma and huge stores of knowledge and raw power, is what qualified both of them command their troops.

The difference between them was how they adapted.

After the initial clash, Sakumo backed off to observe the battle from higher ground. It only took him two seconds and multiple kawarimi jutsus, so the only significant change in the battle was his viewpoint. However, for a commander, that was everything. His calculating eyes scanned every little detail of the battle, taking in the position of the enemy's frontline, backline, and command zone, as well as picking out the different squads and their leaders from among them. So far, Konoha's forces held their own, not taking ground nor losing it, just as Sakumo ordered before the engagement. His squad of Raiton-style users provided effective cover against the Iwa artillery, and he knew their chakra reserves could hold out as long as they could keep to small, single bolt-casts meant specifically for sniping bombs out of the air. Sakumo, deciding their backlines canceled each other out for the time being, switched to the frontlines. He usually occupied that area of the fight as well, but Danzo had ordered him to hold back and make sure there were no irregularities in Iwa's strategy, so wait he did.

Or at least, until Yurikoto left him an opening.

The enemy commander held much higher battle relevance then him, at the moment. Yurikoto was flanked by…

'Wait…' Sakumo thought, curiosity spiking, 'He usually has four guards, all of whom are Explosives Corps members… Why is there only one with him now?'

Sakumo's eyes widened as his gaze shot over the battlefield once more, taking a rough headcount of all enemy shinobi using explosive ninjutsu. The number of explosions and fireworks that usually lit up fight with Iwagakure were considerably less than usual, setting of an imidiate warning sign in Sakumo's head. The commander brought up his right hand straight, a signal that immediately summoned a Yamanaka to his side.

"Have the Information Corps send out warnings of a possible flank by members of the Explosives Corps, and have backline security tightened. The frontline is advancing to far up; they are susceptible to possible landmines. Lastly…" Sakumo slid his White Chakra Sabre out of its sheathe. "Tell Danzo I've found my opening."

Tsunade hissed out a curse, damning her luck. There was a battle between them and Konoha. Seeing all the blood rain over the center, even when it just looked grey, brought her queasiness back, and it was all she could do from just turning around and running into Ame territory. Unfortunately, that would be more dangerous than plowing through that frontlines of the war before her.

So they took the long way.

Darting through the remnants of a once lush and peaceful forest, the impromptu team stayed low and out of sight. If either side saw them, even from a distance, they could be perceived as enemy shinobi trying to flank around. Such a mistake could easily cost them their lives.

There were no more arguments, either. Yahiko simmered down, accepting the seriousness of the situation and adopting it in his actions. He moved quickly and silently, and even though he had been carrying Kushina for more than an hour, the orange-haired genin showed no sign of fatigue, save a small bead of sweat dripping down his forehead.

Konan, however, surpassed her limit long ago. With the constant use of chakra required for her to set up a perimeter, along with the wings she created to scout occasionally, the girl derived her energy solely from food pills, and would crash if they didn't reach a safe area soon. Fugaku figured out the level of her fatigue on his own, and opted to run on his own, claiming his clan taught him how to deal with injuries and keep fighting, so he would be fine. However, Tsunade knew a lie when she heard one, and she slowed their pace ever so slightly so the Uchiha could keep up. Most shinobi trained themselves to deal with injuries, but even after binding the bone herself, to the best of her capabilities, it was still obvious how much pain each step brought him.

The genin could not hold this pace much longer. Each of them hit their respective walls, and it was only a matter of time before they crumbled. They needed rest. Not just a break, a physical rest, they needed safety. Security. Their adrenaline-fueled minds were running on fumes, and while older shinobi knew how to deal with the stress of war, the constant movement and feeling of fear, the ones she led were lost. Yahiko and Konan knew the feeling, of course. They lived in a village where poverty and war brought these kinds of situations upon them, but they knew that lifestyle as civilians, not shinobi. Civilians taught themselves how to survive by fleeing and, maybe, minor self-defense. Shinobi survived mainly by killing those who would kill them, or disappearing until an opportunity to escape arose.

"Everyone, halt. Drop down behind these rocks," Tsunade ordered, scoping out her surroundings and absently playing with Shizune's hair. 'A child like her shouldn't be caught up in this…'

"We are about to cross perpendicularly to Konoha's back line. You all need to be alert; whatever you may think, you cannot let them see you. Understood?"

Tsunade felt a small sense of relief when no one asked her to explain her order. As long as Henge no Jutsu existed, anyone approaching either side would be seen as their enemy. They just needed to give them a wide berth, and pray to Kami that no shinobi saw them.

"Good," she affirmed with a weary nod. "We'll take a five minute break here, but always be prepared to leave on my mark." The three conscious genin grunted or nodded in response, pulling out rations and water and finding spots hidden from view and facing away from the clanging of kunai and shouting of shinobi as they ripped in to each other.

No one talked. There were to words to say.

Tsunade placed Shizune next to her and allowed herself to drift off into strategizing and escape. By her rough calculations, she gave both armies enough space so that they couldn't be detected by sensory types, but one could never be too sure. On Konoha's side, the best way they could manage to avoid the Hyuuga specifically was to stay low on chakra, so she couldn't let her team rest long. If any Inuzuka weren't on the frontlines, they could potentially cause trouble. Eliminating scent took more effort and chakra than all of the combined currently had, and it would take away any slim chance they had of surviving long enough to be interrogated… Unintentionally, Tsunade let her hand touch the small purple diamond on her forehead. She only just developed the technique, and didn't have any time to really test it… but if worse came to worst, she could survive. It wouldn't last long, by her calculations no more than a minute, but during that time she could at least prove she was the real Tsunade and not some faker. Maybe she could even-

Tsunade didn't realize until after thirty seconds of staring that her gaze was being returned, and by something she definitely did not want to see. There was an insect on her hand, and not just any insect… a kikaichu beetle.

Tsunade acted instinct, smashing the back of her hand against a boulder and jumping to her feet, paying no heed to the rubble she just created and instead blazing though hand seals. In less than two seconds, she brought her hands together one, final time and, going against habit and not shouting her jutsu's name in case any potential enemy was nearby, released a weak but large chakra field, encompassing just a few meters more than the group occupied.

"We're in an Aburame's patrol sector, we need to move now. I sent out a pulse that will hopefully disrupt the chakra linking the insects to their master, but it's not going to work for very much longer. Move!" Tsunade barked, skipping over Fugaku as he strenuously got to his feet, favoring his uninjured leg so much he was basically balancing on it. Yahiko, who had been attempting to wake Kushina up, growled in exasperation before slinging her over his shoulder once again. Konan seemed to shake herself out of some kind of daze, but got up and moved as soon as Tsunade passed her, the small form of Shizune under her arm.

"Don't move."

Two punctuated syllables stopped the genin and their protector in their place. That, and the fact that they were physically immobilized by the unnaturally dark shadow connecting to all of their own.

"Damn it…" Tsunade cursed under her breath. Her inattentiveness got them caught, there was no trying to convince anyone otherwise. Aburame were too good at their job… they must have been sensed even before they stopped to rest.

And of course there was a Nara.

Said Nara, along with two other shinobi, appeared in a swirl of leaves and dust, forming a triangle around them. The Nara positioned himself farthest from Tsunade, the greatest perceived threat, near the rubble Fugaku hid behind. His attire was standard, with no uniqueness at all when it came to Konoha military uniforms, and his black hair was cut down to only a short stubble. He had no defining characteristics, a completely forgettable face, and was, in Tsunade's opinion, a perfect infiltration shinobi. One Konoha would want to keep alive as long as possible, hence his position in the backlines.

The Aburame blinked into existence behind Yahiko and Kushina, a swarm of insects already at her side. While most of her physical traits were covered by a large, hooded olive green coat, the woman's face was completely visible, save her black goggles-covered eyes. She was unnaturally pale, and her rough and scratched skin showed that she was used to deployment.

The last shinobi, the one blocking Tsunade and Konan, didn't seem to be a part of any clan, but he was well-muscled and held bo staff lightly under her chin. Also wearing the Konoha military uniform, a hitae-ate pushed back his straight brown hair, revealing a proud yet stern expression on his face. He had a kind of half-smile just managed to piss Tsunade off.

"Tsunade, huh? You should really keep up with Konoha news if you want to be able to infiltrate us, dumbasses. She's long since left our village," the staff-user taunted, twisting his right hand and letting the blade hidden in the end of the staff slide out until it touched Tsunade's throat. Konan's eyes widened in fear, but she was smart enough to keep quiet.

"You think I didn't know that? I was the one to leave the village. I am Tsunade. I got dragged into this damned mess by accident," Tsunade grit out, albeit as politely and calmly as possible. No need to upset the man holding a blade to her neck.

"You already know we won't believe you," the Aburame kunoichi spoke monotonously. "Tsunade, a child, and four genin reappear during a battle, acting as though they are trying to sneak around us? It is quite suspicious."

"Would you have done things differently if we walked right into your frontline?" the blonde medic asked back, trying to keep her annoyance off her tongue.

"No, the reaction would be the same."

"I'm actually surprised you didn't kill us on the spot," Tsunade spat, glaring at the emotionless woman and cursing her lack of response.

The Nara chuckled humorously, still holding his hand seal steady. "Let's just say your disguises had some things going for them. First off, that kid under your arm. What's her name?"

"Shizune."

"Shizune…?"

"Dan Kato's niece. She doesn't have a family name for… reasons," the blonde replied, regretting having to sound like she was keeping secrets. The Nara nodded imperceptibly.

"Okay. Right on the money. You two being together adds up, of course, since your confrontation with the Hokage. But enough about you." The black-haired man motioned towards the genin. "Blue-hair. What's your name?"

Konan blinked rapidly, looking from side to side nervously. "Uh…" she gulped softly. "I'm Konan."

"And…?"

"A-and…?" she stammered out, still unable to move.

"Tell me us about yourself!" the staff-wielder grunted with a slight smile. "Anything you think we need to know to make your death less likely."

"W-well… I lived in Ame for most of my life-"

"You're really not helping yourself," the brown-haired shinobi interjected, causing Konan to pale.

"It's true!" Yahiko screamed, rage and desperation consuming his facial features. "Jiraiya-sensei trained us for three years! Then he took us back to Konoha with him, and we graduated the Ninja Academy with top marks! We even went on a joint mission with Kiri-"

"No one asked you, brat!" a familiar voice yelled, stealing the attention and delight of all those present.

"So these are the ones you were looking for, Lord Jiraiya?" the Nara asked as the white-haired sage stepped into sight, melting out of the darkness created by overlapping rubble.

One jovial grin from Jiraiya affirmed the Nara's suspicions, and he nodded for his teammates to step down. Before he released the team from their shadowy restraints, however, the Nara asked one more question.

"Where's Shizuka Nara, your sensei? Our report said she was with you."

Silence answered him, filling in the lines unsaid. With a shallow sigh, he released his hand seal, dropping the genin and Tsunade from their hold. After a brief moment of mournful silence, he spoke again. "We cannot leave our company, Lord Jiraiya. Would you like us to escort them to the command camp?"

"No, continue your patrol," Jiraiya ordered, dismissing them with a flick of his hand. "I would like to speak to them privately."

"Of course," the Nara replied, bowing slightly before signaling his team to move out. Then, like a gust of wind, they were gone, leaving the sage alone with two of his charges, two genin, and his old teammate.

"Tsunade."

"Jiraiya," the blonde clipped out, obviously avoiding meeting his eyes.
Jiraiya cleared his throat softly, so quietly it couldn't be heard over the clashing of kunai and screams of war only just behind him. Konan, the first to recover from the surprised stupor that took over the group, lit up with delight. Taking a few failed steps due to loose rubble and physical exhaustion, she broke into a run towards him, tears falling behind her as her emotions were overwhelmed. Yahiko nearly took off after her, but a groan from Kushina held him in place.

Jiraiya returned Konan's hug gingerly, taking extra care not to reopen any injuries she may have received, and lightly pet her blue hair as her sobs muffled against his chest.

"Tsunade, where's Nagato?" Jiraiya asked somberly, but everyone around him heard the hidden accusation. Konan stopped shuddering instantaneously, and Yahiko looked up at him with a grim expression. Fugaku turned away, watching Tsunade's silent turmoil instead. The medic-nin's guilt and panic showed clearly on her face, and rang out in her quiet hyperventilation. Every part of her answer made itself available to Jiraiya through her inaction, but even though he knew the answer himself, his eyes still pried Tsunade for answers, and his question still hung in the air, waiting to be answered.

"I don't know."

"Why not?"

…

"I had to make a decision, Jiraiya!" Tsunade sceamed. "We couldn't find him! There was no time to look, we would have DIED! I wanted to try, I wanted to save him, I… I-"

"It's okay, Tsunade," the Toad Sage said, stopping her guilt-fueled apology before it finished. "Just get these kids back to the village. Don't take any shortcuts, don't leave them right outside. Take them right back into the village you left, and make sure each of them gets to their houses.

"I'll find Nagato."

Author's Notes: Okay, so, since I've been gone for a while, I figured I might want to tell you what's been going on in my head. First, if I decided to right a segment of a chapter, or an entire chapter, in first-person, would that be too much of a switch? Even if it was only temporary? There are certain characters whose heads I'd like to get in more, and doing a sort of special chapter like that would allow me to do so. Would you guys like that?
Second, how'd you like that chapter? Which scenes were good? Which scenes needed work? Review/PM to tell me, I'd like to work on that.
Lastly, thank you. Thank you for still following this story even after, what, six months of inactivity? It means a lot. I had a lot going on (I was in two plays back to back, among other things), and I really can't believe how many activity pokes I got. Thank you.

Nayod