Rise of the Guardians

By Daishi Prime

- 24 – Travels & Encounters -

"So, what say we start with a review of what Anko's already put you three through?" Shikamaru was lying on a bench beneath an awning, one knee bent, the other hooked over the first, hands cupping his head. He appeared to be staring at the scattered clouds passing by overhead, but was plainly paying attention to his surroundings, as Raiden, Mitsumi and Hinata had barely topped the stairs of the platform when he spoke. "Grab a seat and settle down. You talk, I'll listen, then we'll come up with something relaxing to do to test you three, ne?"

"Anko wasn't exactly detailed in what we were supposed to talk to about, Nara-san," Raiden replied, moving to lean against one of the pavilion's columns.

"Shikamaru's fine," the Jounin replied, lazily waving his dangling foot in a vaguely dismissive way. "Hokage wants me to figure out this link of yours. I've got some housework I should be doing today, but this sounds like a lot less work, so... talk."

"Mitsumi, can you verify this guy?"

Hinata swatted his shoulder, "Raiden! Don't be insulting." Shikamaru just chuckled.

"He's Shika-chan," Mitsumi said after a moment, drawing a twitch and sigh at the disrespectful familiarity, "only jutsu he's got on him right now is a Kagemane, going that way," she pointed south, between a couple of buildings.

"Just keeping an eye on things," Shikamaru said easily. "Just 'cause I'm cloud-watching doesn't mean I'm not paying attention. Now talk, gaki. Don't make this more troublesome than it already is."

Uncomfortable and unwilling though he was, Raiden was here under orders. So, setting his reservations aside temporarily, he waved at Hinata to start. Of the three of them she understood the link the best. For the better part of an hour, that was what they did. In many ways, it was no different from any number of discussions the three of them had held on the subject, save that it was entirely verbal instead of mostly mental. Shikamaru spoke only when necessary to remind them to speak aloud, otherwise merely laying there, listening, watching the clouds float by.

Also as usual, it soon devolved into a debate about how closely the three of them were linked, how much of their mental 'sharing' was unavoidable and how much merely psychological dependence. None of them could really hold to one position in these arguments, there were too many examples all of them could point to of the link being tight or loose, but the debate itself was interesting enough, even for Mitsumi, to keep them going for the better part of an hour. It also ensured they told Shikamaru everything they knew, as the give and take of arguing cleaned out their memories.

He interrupted when the three of them reached their original positions in the debate, "Right, I've got a good idea where you are. Thing is, I'm no expert on minds. Good thing for you kids I've got a friend who is."

"Ino," Hinata said, "I expected her to be here already."

"She should've been," Shikamaru told them, grinning up at the sky, then continued in a somewhat whimsical tone, "but she's been standing at the corner for the past half hour for some strange reason. Should be coming around the corner right about... now."

"Shikamaru!" the screech was deafening, even from a block away.

Hinata glared at the Jounin, "you didn't."

He again settled for just chuckling, as Ino charged up the steps to the platform, leaping the last few and leading with a knee. "Shikamaru! I'll kill you! What the hell was that for!"

Shikamaru blocked her knee with one hand, barely moving but grabbing a hold, and grumbled, "Mandekuso, why do you have such a screechy voice? You were early, these guys were on a roll and I didn't want to interrupt them. It would've taken forever to get them going again. It's not like anything happened to you."

"Sakura saw me! With Lee! And Kiba!" Ino wrenched her knee free, then snarled and spun in place to glare at Raiden. "What the hell are you laughing at, gaki!"

Raiden quirked one eyebrow at her, replying, "Nothing," before adding for Hinata and Mitsumi, I'd never have believed it, but I think she's actually louder than Mitsumi.

Urusai, teme, Mitsumi sent back, though she was grinning, no one's louder than me, and I'll prove it if you aren't careful.

Politely please, children, Hinata requested, she's going to help us figure out this link. "Ino, please, this is not a good time to be yelling. The post-exam feast went quite late and my father kept me there until it ended."

Ino was instantly apologetic, though only to Hinata, plunking herself down next to her smaller peer on the bench beside Shikamaru's. "So, why'd you want me here again, Shikamaru?"

"You've got all those Yamanaka mind jutsus, right?"

"I know a lot of them, but there are always more techniques. I'm not a Jounin yet, remember? My family won't teach me a lot of techniques until then."

"But you know more than the rest of us do. So, now that I've got a fair idea of how they think the link works, I'd like you to take a look and see how you think it works."

"Should've waited for me to get their report," Ino grumbled, "then I'd know what I'm supposed to be looking for. Now I'm going to have to rehash all of it again."

"Nope," Shikamaru grinned, rolling upright to face her, "I want your clean unbiased opinion. Start from scratch. Prove to me that these three are linked, and how. Ask questions if you want, but you three," he looked at Hinata, Mitsumi and Raiden in turn, "don't volunteer anything unless she asks for it directly."

"Tche, such a great help, Shika-chan," Ino snapped back.

For another half hour, Ino merely asked questions, sometimes of all of them, sometimes of one of them at a time. Most of the questions were straight-forward enough, and easy to understand, but some of them came out of left field. Eventually, she settled back and began attempting to use various techniques against them. To Raiden's discomfort, most of them worked, and he proved to be an apt target. Still, gaining control of their physical forms did little to explore their mental link, save that Ino claimed she had a harder time holding her control than she should have. Whether that was due to the link or to the Guardian's chakra almost began another long debate.

Finally, still watching his clouds, Shikamaru asked her, "What about Thought Stealer?"

Ino twitched, then glared at him. "Urusai, baka! I'm not allowed to learn that one yet. It's only taught to Jounin."

"But you do know it, don't you?"

She flushed a little, then sighed, "How you keep figuring these things out I will never know, Shikamaru. Yes, I know the basics of it. I'm not very good, though, it takes forever, and I can't get in unless the target lets me."

"I will let you," Hinata offered, "if you'll explain it to me."

"Thought Stealer is one of the more advanced Yamanaka jutsus," Shikamaru told her. "It lets them get in someone's head without the target necessarily noticing. Once there, they can dig around for the information they need, plant memories, give orders, that sort of thing. Varying usefulness, because like Ino said, it's incredibly difficult to pull off. Most users carry around scrolls to aid them, and it still takes a while. Also leaves some rather obvious traces, if you know what to look for. But when it works, it's a powerful jutsu, worth the trouble."

"I'm not sure I like the sound of that," Raiden said, "letting someone prowl around in our heads? Not a good idea."

"I won't look at anything private," Ino snapped, glaring at him before muttering, "hentai."

"Relax, Raiden," Hinata said, "I trust her, and... I think I remember blocking someone else from doing this, so if I have to, I can stop her."

Ino looked at her wide-eyed, then shook her head, "No way, Hinata-chan. No one can block the Thought Stealer once someone's inside, there are no defenses. Even my family members can't block it."

"But I remember something," Hinata insisted, sounding hesitant and obviously struggling to remember, "a tall woman, short blonde hair, green eyes, pointed face," Hinata's eyes widened slightly, "And an Akatsuki cloak."

"The pair that attacked you and Kakashi's team during the Chunin Exam," Shikamaru said. "We never did identify what villages they came from."

Hinata nodded slowly, "I believe so."

Ino blinked at her, then shook her head, "I don't know anyone like that. Far as I know, every Yamanaka still alive is here in Konoha. We're not the only clan with the Thought Stealer, though, some others have developed or stolen it."

Shikamaru interrupted to return the conversation to topic, "Can you do it, though, Ino?"

She shrugged, "So long as none of you tell my parents, sure."

"Try it on me," Hinata said, "and please, do not look at anything personal, just the link."

"Trust me, Hina-chan," Ino grinned maniacally, "your crushes are safe with me."

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Ino took quite a while to set up the jutsu, most of it spent writing and re-writing a scroll. Once the scroll was set, she rolled it up, then sat lotus-style facing Hinata. Holding the scroll in both hands, Ino formed a long, complicated string of seals around it, then thrust her hands towards Hinata, index and long fingers extended, stopping just short of touching Hinata's forehead.

For a couple of seconds, the two of them held that position, immobile. It was more than a little creepy to Raiden, seeing Hinata with such wide eyes but totally unmoving. Then the two girls flinched violently back from each other, both falling off the bench. Hinata rolled upright, with a wince and groan, massaging her temples slowly. Ino's reaction was far more dramatic – she rolled onto her hands and knees, brought one hand up to clutch her stomach, and rather violently lost her breakfast.

Raiden and Mitsumi moved to check Hinata in a single action, while Shikamaru helped Ino regain her balance. It took the two some time to recover, but finally, still struggling to breath normally, Ino looked over at Hinata and said, "girl, you have got one screwed up head in there."

"W... what did you find," Hinata mumbled, "I just remember a flash of you surrounded by white, then... I was back here, and now my head hurts even worse." She was obviously struggling against a massive headache. Raiden could feel it himself, whenever he touched her, a whole-head throbbing that would have driven him nuts in short order.

"There's this thing," Ino told them, "'Bout the Thought Stealer jutsu. Supposedly, there's a way to go inside your own mind and fight whoever's using it on you. But... you've gotta be really good at the Yamanaka jutsus. I mean, really good, like... Sanin-level good. No one can really do it, it's just a rumor, a legend, used to scare the Genin out of trying the jutsu before they're trained for it. I think you did that, Hinata. You took me out of your own mind into... someplace else, then all three of you showed up." Ino frowned, looking over the three of them, then added, "Really weird thing was, you all kept calling each other 'Hinata'."

"I... I don't remember any of that," Hinata whispered after a moment, "just a glimpse of you, then a sudden headache when you broke the jutsu."

"I didn't break it," Ino corrected her, "I couldn't get out when you turned it around on me. God that was scary."

Shikamaru took in the exchange, and asked, "Would you be willing to try again, Ino? Maybe with Mitsumi or Raiden."

"Me," Raiden said, "I'm next."

"No way in Hell," Ino said, voice a whisper as she stared at Raiden. "Whatever's inside Hinata's head, the 'you' in there was way too freaky." Her voice climbed an octave, "You were talking about skinning me!" She sucked in a breath and visibly calmed herself before continuing, "Not you! In fact, none of you. I'm sorry, Hinata-chan, but I... it's just..."

"It's alright, Ino-chan," Hinata said, "I know how dangerous everything involved in the Seal is. Raiden, Mitsumi, did either of you sense anything?"

"No," Raiden answered, "just your headache after the jutsu ended."

"There was something right before it," Mitsumi said, "a twinge, like something around me... I don't know... shifted." She frowned, then glared at Raiden, "No idea what it was, but it was probably his fault."

Shikamaru pushed for a while longer, pulling a detailed report out of Ino of exactly what she had seen, and pushing the three Guardians for any and every piece of information he could get. Raiden had to admit that, despite the names used, the three figures Ino had encountered did sound rather like himself, Mitsumi, and Hinata, at least in personality. Finally, however, with Ino still refusing to try again, he decided it was time to move on to the next experiment. "Tomorrow, Anko's team is being sent to one of the medical farms. They need some extra labor for a harvest, and you guys drew the short straw. Hinata, you're not going with them." he held up a hand to cut off Raiden's instant protest, "Wait, there is a reason. One of you isn't going, and Hinata is the best option for that.

"Kakashi's team is going to Suna again, escorting the Kazekage at his request. He's curious about you seven, and Tsunade wants to indulge him in the interests of minimizing paranoia. Keep in contact, check in with each other regularly and keep notes about when, where, how clear the link is, what sort of information you can send, all of that. When you all get back, I want a complete report from all three of you, detailing all of this. We'll talk it over again then. Any questions?" At three shaking he heads, he nodded, rolled back to lay on the bench again, and ordered, "Raiden, go get something to clean up the mess here. The rest of you, dismissed."

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The medical farm was tucked into a small valley south of Konoha, a lower spot with a small pond and several streams making terracing and irrigation easy. Like most such places, it relied more on innocuousness than strength for protection, and on the fact that most of what was grown here needed to be processed prior to being useful, and was too bulky before being processed to be easily transported. Which processing usually fell to Genin, at least in the initial, non-dangerous stages.

Looking down on the farm from the last rise in the road, pausing as Mitsumi continued, Raiden shook his head. "I can't believe how insulting this feels. A D rank mission? Us?" Below him, three wood-frame buildings were clustered about a well, surrounded in turn by several large green-houses, then the tiered fields.

Anko swatted him once on the shoulder, "You're spoiled, gaki! Most of us had to struggle through hundreds of these missions as Genin. You should feel honored, for how well you've been treated until now! And lucky you never pissed off Tsunade enough for her to dump one on us. At least, not until all six of you failed the Exam."

"It's still insulting," Raiden muttered, shifting his pack back into place and starting down the hill, "and Yohko and Mitsumi didn't fail, they were forced to forfeit."

Anko grinned, "Ah, you're just uncomfortable without your security blanket, aren't you? Missing Hina-chan's company already?"

Raiden shot her a glare, then admitted, "Yes, actually, I am. She's too damn far away, feels like I'm off balance all the time."

Mitsumi stopped then, a few meters further on, then twisted half around to look back at the rest of the team, "Oi, Yohko, how many people at this farm again?"

"Eight," Yohko answered immediately, "one shinobi guard, two nurses to verify the harvests, two farmers, the nurses' spouses in this case, and a trio of children. Why?"

"I got no one," Mitsumi told her, "not a single chakra-signature in the whole place."

"No one?" Mitsumi just gave her a look, and Yohko shrugged, "Sorry, it's just..."

"A problem," Anko said, stepping up next to Mitsumi and studying the farm intensely. After a moment, she continued, "Right, assume the worst and all your surprises will be pleasant ones. On guard, gaki. Mitsumi, keep searching for chakra signatures. The rest of you, remember, people have fooled her technique before. We'll move in, develop better info, and decide what to do from there. If we encounter trouble, fall back on this hill. Spread out, and let's move in."

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"Gah, someone get me a fan," Juubei whined, sprawling on the side of a dune. "It's too damn hot here."

"Fan's won't help," Temari commented, sitting in the shade of her own, "not enough for a soft-skinned foreigner like you."

"Bury yourself," Kuma recommended, sitting next to his teammate, "sand'll insulate you."

Juubei shot him a dirty look, "What, and trust you guys to dig me up when you leave? Not a chance, I'd rather bake."

"Then stop complaining," Temari ordered. "You're a shinobi, on a mission. You're supposed to be polite, diplomatic and stoic, to impress us with your manly toughness and ninja will. Stop whining like some Academy brat on survival training."

"She is correct, Juubei," Hinata told him, "complaining about heat in the desert makes little sense. Though I do wish we were traveling at night."

"No you don't," Temari countered, shaking her head, "at night, it's freezing cold. Either way, the desert's no place to spend time."

Hinata smiled, "But at night, I have an advantage in detecting potential threats. During the day, anyone can see farther than Mitsumi's vision jutsu. At night, the jutsu can see farther. Also, you can always wear a coat when it gets cold."

Rumiko tapped her shoulder, then asked, How are you doing, Hinata-nee-san? This far from the others?

Hinata closed her eyes and mentally prayed for patience, "I am... getting better, Rumiko." Rumiko had been asking her the same question almost as often as Hinata had been checking in with Raiden and Mitsumi.

"No more dizzy spells," Temari asked, "or vision shifts?"

Hinata sighed, and shook her head. Everyone in the party, even those whom she had never met previously, had been very careful of her since this journey began. One incident the first day out, and everyone started treating her like she was made of glass. Even Gaara was being careful and solicitous of her, which was fundamentally disturbing. "No, Temari-san, I have not had any more problems that severe."

"Yeah, we'd've noticed something that impressive," Temari agreed, "grown ninja falling face first into the mud on a flat track. Embarrassing that was. But what about less severe symptoms, eh? Anything at all?"

She's a worse mother-hen than you are, Hinata signed to Rumiko, who grinned, but responded more politely verbally, "I am fine, Temari-san. Just the occasional twinge, and even those are just as likely to be caused by the length of this journey."

"I am not," Temari muttered, then smiled and poked her shoulder, "Ehhh, getting out of shape are you? Going soft, with all these kiddy missions?"

Hinata scowled at her momentarily, then shook her head. "No, Temari-san. Just not used to taking such a leisurely pace. Anko prefers to travel more rapidly. Why are we stopping now, anyhow? We've been eating lunch on the move, so why...?"

"Genjutsu. Whenever I leave my village, I require a particular genjutsu to be maintained at all times," Gaara said from where he was standing, still as a statue, atop the dune the rest of the party was half-way down. "It shields Suna from intruders while I am not present to deal with them myself."

"There are scouts out," Temari added, "they'll take word back to Suna that we're here, then the genjutsu will drop, and we'll proceed in. Takes a bit, though, we're still a couple hours out from the village."

Hinata blinked, then brought up Mitsumi's vision technique. Sure enough, extremely faintly, she could see threads of chakra spread out over the ground around them, the basis for a large-area genjutsu. It actually extended beyond them, in part, further from the village. "That's... impressive. Yohko would love to see this."

"No," Gaara said, "Iraisen will never see this. She would copy or subvert it too easily."

Hinata nodded, he was probably right after all. Still, she committed as much of the structure as she could see to memory, to share with her sister later. It would probably not be enough to re-create the genjutsu precisely, but it would give Yohko something to worry at when she got bored.

"While we wait, I wanted to ask you some questions, Hyuuga-san."

Hinata blinked away Mitsumi's jutsu and looked up to find Gaara now standing behind her, glaring down past his crossed arms. "Ano... about what?"

"The Seal."

Hinata looked up at him for a moment, then at Juubei, Kuma and Rumiko. All three of them had been relaxed, but were now tense and wary, watching the Kazekage carefully. Catching Juubei's eye, Hinata made a calming gesture, "You may ask, Kazekage-sama, but I am not required to answer you. It is a forbidden technique in Konoha, so I can reveal very little of it."

Juubei's eyes widened, and he looked even more frightened. Looking back up, Hinata could understand why. The small red-haired man leaning over her, one of the most dangerous killers in the entire shinobi world, was smiling widely at her. "Trust me, Hyuuga-san," he said, "I'm well aware of why it's forbidden. So, let's begin."

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Shikamaru walked quietly into the office, closing the door gently but securely behind him. Privacy as assured as it could ever be, he continued across the room until he was the prescribed two meters, then waved negligently, "You called, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade grunted once in exasperation at his lackadaisical attitude, then shook it off, "You've trained one of them directly, and had a chance to talk to the terrible trio. What's your opinion of these 'Guardians'?"

Shikamaru shrugged, "Eh, I won't really be ready to report until after they get back. Other than that, what can I say that you haven't already told me? They're crazy, have a ridiculous amount of chakra, and can't manage even the most basic ninjutsu exercises without cheating. They've got potential."

"You read the journal?"

"Yup."

She waited a few seconds before realizing he was not going to expand on that casual answer. "What did that tell you?"

"Exactly what you told me, Hokage-sama," he said, grinning slightly, "although, it appears to have been rather heavily… edited. There were parts missing, possibly some large parts, definitely significant."

Tsunade frowned at him, "How can you tell? I still haven't been able to make heads or tails of the original."

"Really, Hokage-sama, it's a basic tenant of solving any mystery," Shikamaru said, shaking an admonishing finger at her, "recreate the circumstances, and see where your results vary from what originally happened. Hinata told me the substitution code used in the original, and while I can't get past Yondaime's seal to decode it myself, I could take the copy you gave me and re-encoded it. Came up with a journal about two-thirds the size of the original." He reached beneath his vest and pulled out a book, flipping it to land on her desk. "That's the re-encoded one."

"Damn gaki," Tsunade snarled, hefting the copy that, even without direct comparison, she could tell was smaller than the actual journal, "I told them not to hold anything back!"

"Can't really expect them to tell you everything," Shikamaru commented, "Kodachi's even more paranoid than Sasuke, doesn't trust anyone except his siblings, and the others are almost as bad. Even Hinata's gotten real cagey about what she'll talk about. Besides, they're shinobi."

Tsunade sighed, nodding her agreement. "No shinobi ever reveals all their secrets, even to their friends, allies and family. There are times when I really hate this life."

"All of us do, eventually," Shikamaru said.

"What about the link Hinata has with Raiden and Mitsumi?"

Shikamaru was silent for a moment, relaxed expression fading into a frown. After a moment, he asked, "Can I ask you a question first, about them?" Tsunade gave him a questioning look, then nodded. "Hinata is dependant on them, the other two, isn't she?"

Tsunade's eyes widened in surprise, and she hissed, "How did you know that?"

Shikamaru shrugged, "I pay attention, Hokage-sama. The way she reacts to them, the way they react to her, other things. I watched them through the whole Chunin exam, like you asked me to, and paid attention. What I'm not sure of is, how strong is the dependency?"

Tsunade considered him for a moment, then nodded, "You understand this is classified information, even more so than most of what you know, right up there with the identities of the current Akatsuki. Understood?" It was Shikamaru's turn to nod, but she still hesitated before telling him, "Hinata is utterly dependant on those two kids. Her heart and respiratory rates, sensory readings, all her vitals, even her blood chemistry, precisely match either Kodachi Raiden or Mitarashi Mitsumi. Only her chakra and personality are different, and even there the influence of those two gaki goes far beyond what such recent acquaintances should have, more like what I'd expect out of twins. Those two do not show similar mutual dependency, as you termed it. You understand now why I am concerned, and why I have not told her father?"

Shikamaru was, to say the least, stunned. No two people, not even newborn twins, were ever that closely matched in all their vitals. It simply was not possible, the human body was too variable, too individualized, for two people to read so similarly. "Kuso," he whispered after a moment, "if anything happens to one of them…"

"It will most likely happen to Hinata, as well," Tsunade agreed.

"Yeah, I can see why you're concerned." He paused, still contemplating that, disturbed by the thought that Hinata was so vulnerable, disturbed by the idea of anyone being that vulnerable. Then he shook himself, remembering everything he had observed, "Well, in that case, I have to say I feel sorry for Akatsuki."

Tsunade blinked, then ordered, "Explain."

He shrugged again, "You told me the main reason you want me to look into this is because Akatsuki's showing an unusual amount of interest, ne? Well, like I said, I've watched them. I haven't seen the trio of them fight against a single opponent, but I've talked with anyone who has, and taking on those three simultaneously would be… unpleasant. Especially with what Kodachi and Mitarashi learned preparing for the Chunin Exam. Hinata's control and experience, Kodachi's ruthlessness and willpower, Mitarashi's unpredictability… I wouldn't want to fight that, not all at once in three separate but unified packages. If Akatsuki goes after these kids, they'll fight back. They won't be as bad as Naruto when he lets the Kyuubi loose, but the three of them at once?" Shikamaru shook his head, "I feel sorry for Akatsuki, especially if they're expecting to face just a Chunin and two Genin."

Tsunade nodded, understanding what he was saying, "Let's hope that's all they expect, then."

"Especially since I sent them off in different directions," Shikamaru muttered.

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The farm was apparently abandoned. The largest of the three central buildings was the barn, filled with various farm tools, all of which were well maintained and neatly stored, with a small space in the upper rafters that had been used as an apartment. The two smaller buildings were houses, both with the 'occupied' feel of a lived-in house, one as neatly arrayed as the barn, the other slightly messier but still clean. All three were empty of current signs of life, but showed no signs of having been either abandoned, or emptied suddenly.

The ring of greenhouses were similarly empty but orderly. Long shelves of plants, all closely trimmed and carefully labeled, connected by clean but dry irrigation chutes. Here, too, there were tools, smaller but just as well made, neatly arrayed on storage racks. Everything was ready for use, waiting for people who simply were not there.

Pausing before leaving the last greenhouse, Raiden stared back into the orderly profusion of green, frowning in thought. Wherever the people who were supposed to be here had gone, they had done so calmly, unhurriedly, and without expecting to be gone long. Which was impossible, in practical terms if not absolute, without the intervention of a shinobi. Reaching out, he asked, Anything, Mitsumi?

Not a twitch, she answered from somewhere on the far side of the farm, where she and Anko were searching, no active genjutsu, no chakra signatures, no traces of prior jutsus of any type. Oh, there's a little over the barn, but there was a shinobi guard, remember?

"Yohko, any ideas?"

"Look for footprints," his sister said, suiting actions to words and scanning the ground around the greenhouse. "Too many here," she continued after a moment, "lots of traffic. Perimeter sweep?"

Raiden nodded, passing on to Mitsumi, Tell Anko, Yohko and I are heading out to check the perimeter for tracks.

Roger. Don't worry, I'm sure she'll keep the vicious squirrels from attacking you.

Raiden sighed and shook his head. On the one hand, the insult was annoying. On the other, Mitsumi had been quiet since they go here, so having her back to normal was sort of comforting. But it was still annoying.

With Yohko following, Raiden headed out from the cluster of buildings, angling across the surrounding fields rather than along the paths. Paths were too obvious, too easy to trap. The fields would be better, still dangerous but safer than the paths. Scanning for tracks he left to Yohko and her less paranoid mind. His own attention, as point man, was saved for spotting traps and ambushes, looking for any least little sign of danger.

They were quite a ways out, on their second circuit around the farm, when he spotted something. A patch of red, dark and flat, at the edge of a field. Signaling Yohko to wait, he moved closer, carefully, attention focused on the possibility of traps, relying on Yohko to watch around them. When he reached the spot, and looked over the small turned-earth curb that bordered the field, he studied the scene beyond for a moment, then reached for the link. Mitsumi, tell Anko, I found one of the kids. He's dead, has been for two, three days. No sign of a struggle, and I can't see a wound from here, but there's blood everywhere.

A kid? Dead? Kuso! Raiden this is the sort of shit...

I know, 'Sune, He said, trying his best to project calm and failing miserably. In truth, he could feel his own anger boiling just beneath the surface, the cold rage at failing, however indirectly. The rest of the people we're looking for are probably out here as well. Yohko and I will find them.

Anko says to stay where you are, we're coming to you.

It took a few minutes, as the Jounin and Genin moved slowly around the farm, as wary for traps as Raiden had been, especially now with proof of recent violence. While they waited, Raiden and Yohko scanned over the area carefully, not ranging far, but beginning to scout. When Anko and Mitsumi reached them, Raiden pointed at another spot in the fields, "Second kid, two more probable bodies further out."

"Ten sets of tracks," Yohko added, voice faded and flat as she controlled her own reaction to the scene. "All of them enter the field here next to the first body."

Anko studied her for a moment, then Raiden, face grave. "You kids are way to cold about this. There are probably seven dead civilians here, and a dead shinobi."

"Emotional over-reaction will gain us nothing, Anko," Yohko answered.

"We still feel it, baa-chan," Mitsumi said, "but we don't show it."

"We direct it, use it." Raiden added, then returned to the mission, "we need to be sure they're all here."

Anko glared at him for a minute. It simply wasn't natural that Genin this young were not panicking at the sight of someone younger than they were who had so obviously died by violence. But this place was too dangerous to get into an argument, that could keep until they were safely back in Konoha. "Right, we line-search the field, mark each body. I've sent Chibi back to Konoha, he'll let Hokage-sama know, but once we've found all of the bodies, we're out of here ourselves. It's too dangerous."

"Oh, you wouldn't be calling me merely 'dangerous', would you, Anko-chan? I think I'm insulted, I should at least be considered 'lethal'."

------------------------------

Hinata stopped at the entrance to the tunnel through Suna's walls, turning to face back towards Konoha. "Something is wrong," she muttered.

Those behind her stopped as well, alternating looks between her and each other. Ahead of her, Gaara stopped a few steps further in, turning to give her a considering look as well. "Where? I sense nothing."

"You wouldn't," she said absently, "Mitsumi is enraged, and Raiden has disappeared."

Juubei sucked in a curse, "Is he dead?"

"No," Hinata shook her head, frowning both in concern and thought, "but... Mitsumi's emotions fuel the link, make it stronger. Raiden's deaden it. And neither is answering me. Something is wrong, they are facing a great threat."

Kuma held up a fist, "Haven't triggered the summoning."

"Hmm, then they'll be done before we can get back," Kakashi said, "Either way. May think they can deal with it themselves?"

"We've reached Suna," Gaara commented, "Your team has fulfilled their mission, Kakashi. You may depart for Konoha now, if you wish, rather than proceeding within the village proper. I won't hold it against Konoha."

Kakashi looked over the short red-head, then nodded, "I think that would be a good idea. Even if Anko's team can deal with whatever threatens them, there'll be trouble from it, I'm sure. My thanks, Kazekage-sama."

Gaara waved that away, then caught Hinata's hand. The gesture caused her to flinch and stare at him in surprise. Gaara never touched anyone. "Thank you for the debate, Hyuuga-san, it was rather interesting," he told her, smiling again, "you gave away more than you thought, but not as much as I expected. We'll resume the discussion when next you come to Suna." Then he turned, and disappeared into the darkness of the gate-tunnel, following Temari and the rest of his bodyguard.

As the Konoha shinobi turned and began their return home, Rumiko asked, Any idea at all what's happening, Hinata?

Hinata shook her head, "only that it has them very angry."

"Tche, I just realized," Juubei muttered, "they're probably fighting each other again."

"No, Mitsumi and Raiden feel different when they fight, and they do not fight when they are angry with each other. Raiden would not allow it, and Mitsumi... has other reasons not to. Someone is threatening them. Someone dangerous."

"Someone like me, do you think?"