Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I own my OCs.

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NOTE: Thanks to thefourthhoakge for ideas.
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Thoughts of a Broken Family, Chapter 35

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Ino Shikamaru: Toshi, now 13 (almost 14). Satoru, now 6 and a half years old.

Sakura Sasuke: Saeko, now 14 and a half

Kiba Temari: Kiyoshi, 15.

Hinata Naruto: Kohana (F), and Atsuhiro (M), 11 and a half. Twins.

Tenten Neji: Hikari, 17. Hiroshi, almost 12 years old.

Kakashi Kurenai: Ayami, now 17 and a half.

Gaara and Crazy Lady (Grace/GaaraCutie): Hajime (M) and Mamoru (M), 8 months old. Twins.

I was still crying by the time I reached the street; in the process, I passed my mother in the hallway. She'd screamed after me, but I just bowed my head and kept running. Despite my bleary eyes, I made it halfway across the town without incident. Then I turned a sharp corner and bumped into something with enough force to knock the breath out of me. The collision would have sent me crashing to the ground in my weakened state if Kiyoshi's hands hadn't locked around my elbows, saving me.

"Sae, where were y-"

He stopped and turned me around to face me, and his eyes grew wide when he saw the tears gushing down my face.

"What's wrong?"

I shook my head, unable to respond otherwise. He understood that I couldn't explain, it seemed, because he didn't press the matter any further. Trembling, I leaned forward to rest my head on his chest, and he held me close, his cheek pressed into my messy hair. I don't know how long we stood there like that, but when I finally pulled away, his shirt was soaked. He frowned in concern.

"Are you gonna be ok?"

The continued tears made my responding nod less convincing. "Yes," I whispered, bowing my head again. "I'm just…. Stressed out."

He nodded, too.

"I told him what I was doing," I admitted, and looked away, ashamed.

It took him to reply, and his voice was calm. "You told him about the rebellion?"

I nodded weakly. "Yes. But I told him it was just me and Suzume."

He sighed. "Do you really think we're going to let you take all of the glory like that?" By glory, he should have meant blame. But he was grinning impishly when I looked up.

I sighed. "Don't. It's my fault- the whole thing. I started the group, and I told our secret. Don't turn yourself in for something I did."

"We'd have to, anyway. Kakashi knew. Even if it was an accident, you turned yourself in. It would look bad if we let you take it all by yourself." The lopsided grin normally would have made me feel better, but not today.

Of course Kakashi knew. How could we have believed that he didn't, even for one second?

"I have to go," I said finally, and walked past him. "I'll talk to you later."

I couldn't be around when they turned themselves in, knowing it was my fault. So I left him in the alley, and then I was walking again, staring guiltily at my feet. I buried my hands deep in my pockets.

When I looked up again, I was in the forest, the creek glistening in the sun through a thicket of trees to my right. I made my way to the water's edge and sank to my knees, staring absently at my reflection. I looked miserable, to say the least. My hair was a ratty nightmare, my mouth a grim line. Everything had gone so wrong today. I'd let our secret out, and now the others would be in trouble for it. I'd even made my dad want to leave. Anger boiled up in my veins, at myself. My eyes narrowed, and I slapped at my reflection hysterically, sobbing broken sobs once again.

My reflection vanished, and the water became a tidal pool, wrinkles dancing across the surface.

I was lying on the ground then, my back in the damp grass, the tips of my hair fanning out in the water. I could feel the little waves buffeting the locks, fighting over them. I should have gone to the stupid meeting. Maybe we could have gone to the Mist, and I would have fallen into a trap trying to be the center of attention. Maybe I would have died.

Dying sounded pretty good right now.

Stress, as I learned that day, was more than enough to drive you to a mental breakdown. Make you crazy, if you weren't strong enough to fight for your sanity. I'd probably go insane, then. I wasn't strong. I used to think I was, but now… Pointless. Now, I was nothing.

The next thing I knew, I was opening my eyes to a dark, crimson sky. I sat up slowly, my hair sending wet drops trickling down my back. That wasn't a normal color clouding the sky. Too murky, sienna. Not the last light of the day before the sun sank beneath the horizon. It was more like the setting sunlight masked by fog. Smoke. Yes, I could definitely smell smoke now. Something rumbled from far away. Thunder? No. It sounded like something was collapsing, like an entire city.

The village.

I gasped and jumped to my feet, shaking. Was I dreaming? No, this was all real. I could hear my heart pounding disjointedly in my ribs, smell the acrid plumes all around me. What was going on?

From somewhere far, far away, I heard someone screaming. I was running then, stumbling all over myself, vines tearing and lashing at my face. How far had I walked before? Something caught my foot, and I lost my balance, tumbling down a rough slope. I caught myself before I hit the ground, splitting both of my palms open on jagged rocks. Blood pooled up, seeping through the lines in my hands and oozing through my fingers. But I was going again, branches catching my damp hair, my breathing uneven. The screamed were closer now, more ominous. A few more yards and I'd be able to see the gates.

Something moved from somewhere behind me. I froze, muscles growing tense as I forced myself to turn around. He flew at me so fast I barely managed to block the attack. The kunai he'd thrown as he got closer barely skimmed my arm, but it was bleeding. And it hurt.

"Lost, girl?" It was a Mist ninja, his hair matted to his face by his headband. He stood just feet away from me, an evil gleam in his eyes.

"No," I said calmly, but my eyes narrowed. "Are you?"

He threw his head back and laughed. "Run away from the village, then? I don't blame you."

I glared. "What's going on?"

Another bone-chilling laugh. "We figured that you would see through our little plan. Don't you recognize me?"

I did. The younger man I'd seen in Tsukimano, now wearing a headband. My parents weren't the ones who had been fooled- I was.

"How did you know?" I choked out.

"They've been watching you. You and your little friends." We'd been watched. They'd faked the little meeting in Tsukimano, so we would believe they were in the Mist. It was all a trap. The Akatsuki were here.

A sudden, high-pitched laugh made me turn around. Himi stepped forward from the shadows, a headband of the Mist on her forehead. "Silly girl. My poor Kimiko was never going to get better. She was already dead when you saw her."

The Dead Soul Jutsu.

"Why are you here?" I demanded, looking at her.

An evil grin replaced her kind smile. "For you, of course. Why on Earth else?"

Then it started. The man was behind me, and I was jumping gout of the way of the dagger he had almost brought down on me. I threw my knee up, and the breath escaped him with a sharp woosh as it made contact with his stomach. In the moment he was doubled over, I smacked my palms to his back and leaped over him, knocking him to the ground. The kunai I drew from the pouch on my thigh clashed against a shuriken Himi had throw, and I ran at her as the projectiles fell to the ground. I flung my fist forward, but she grabbed me by the wrist and threw me to the ground behind her. On the way down, I managed to elbow her in the back. I got up as quickly as I could manage and whirled around.

Himi and the man were walking towards me, all four eyes narrowed into angry slits.

Something about the surrounding area seemed to change. The two were becoming fading shadows behind a curtain of fog. No, not fog. Mist. They were both coming at me now, and all I could do was dodge and defend myself helplessly. I couldn't see their movements clearly. Something cut into my shoulder, and I winced in pain. The attacks paused for a moment, and I seized my chance. The hand signs were easy to get through now, despite my shaking hands.

I could sense them drawing closer again as I drew in a deep breath.

"Katon! Gokyakou no jutsu!"

It was a full-fledged attack this time, not the soccer ball attempts I'd began with. The mist gleamed orange. I even managed to hold the jutsu out for a few seconds. And then I let it break off anf waited for the smoke to clear. Nothing but the charred remains of the forest around me.

"Hmmm. Not bad," said the man's voice. "For a girl, anyway." Something was falling from the sky, glinting in the light. Senbon. I felt them, landing on and breaking through my skin. Felt the sticky blood sliding down my arms. But where were Himi and the man?

I looked around through narrowed eyes, but the haze was too thick. There were footsteps coming at me, closer, closer. And then they stopped, and they were both coming again. I ran forward to meet them, clenching my teeth. I used something I'd learned from my mom this time, something she'd learned from Tsunade. The chakra flowed to my knuckles, and my fist made contact with the man's chest.

I heard his gasp of pain, then the collision as he slammed against a tree, sinking to the ground.

"You'll pay for that one, girl."

I'd forgotten Himi, I realized too late. All I could do was wait for the dagger in her hand to sink into my stomach, hear the sickening thud. Instead, the sound of metal clashing against metal reverberated through the trees.

Suzume stood between me and Himi, Sashi and Kobe across the clearing I'd created. Himi growled, and Suzume smirked.

"Go on, Sae. We've got these two. Your mom is looking for you."

"What's going on in the village?" I asked.

"Just go see. It's not good."

I was halfway across the clearing in only a second, but a cold hand wrapped around my ankle, restraining me.

"Oh, no you don't. You're not going anywhere, kid."

Growling, I tried to pull away, but he only held tighter. Then Sashi came over and stomped on the wrist, which broke with an earsplitting crackle. And I was free as the man screamed in pain. The village gate entrance was completely gone, nothing but a sea of debris, speckled with glowing embers. Through the smoke that filled my lungs, I could see the rapidly moving black shadows, the headbands glaring in the light of the flames that were engulfing everything. The sounds of battle reflected off of everything else. And then I saw it, so far away, yet too huge not to notice. I couldn't see its shape clearly, but it was giant, towering over and destroying everything. A monster of some sort, its footsteps rattling the earth. Was it a summoned animal? No, it was different, too controlled of itself. A real monster that had me frozen to the spot.

And then, amidst the screams and clanking of weapons, I heard something else. A voice. My mother's.

"Sae!"

I whirled around, and she was right there beside me, frantic. "Mom, what's going on?" I demanded, though I already knew the answer.

"The Akatsuki," was all she said. "Where is your dad?

My eyes grew wide, but other than that, I was frozen. I wasn't thinking about the animal monster thing destroying the village, or the screams echoing through the air. We didn't know where he was, and the Akatsuki were here, and I had run out crying and hadn't seen him since then-

I was running then, letting my mother's pleading cries disappear behind me. People were fighting all around me, the monster's footsteps making the earth shudder. But I couldn't focus on those now. As I ran, I fell often, my palms and knees still oozing blood. I looked around desperately, saw an occasional Akatsuki cloak, but they weren't who I was looking for.

And then I was in the forest again, and the smoke seemed thicker. I knew they were close. I was flitting along a downwards slope when the clearing came into view. I skidded to a silent halt and found myself seeing the two faces I'd been expecting to find.