A/n: It's...been a while. I'm trying to get back into writing things again, and while re-reading Loyalty, I decided to try and continue it into a story instead of just a one-shot. Reviews are greatly appreciated and if anyone wants to help me plot some things out and just generally make sure im following along the time-line feel free! Kurogaine and Sazuko are both my OC's, as is Yemon. This story will probably not have a happy ending, and I don't have a pairing in mind, its more of a way for me to express my creativity and try to get out of the writing funk I've been in for a while now. So without further ado!

Edit: added more content, extended the chapter a bit. Also please be aware this is AU, I am trying to keep it as cannon as possible but if nothing else, I hope you enjoy the story.

"Yemon!"

Sazuko's startled laughter spilled out of her throat in more of a bark then a gasp. Golden hues watched the massive blue-grey ninken with wiry amusement and unbridled mirth as her companion practically danced away from the grasping hands of her cousin Hana. A large wolfish grin could be seen around the mouthful of freshly washed bedsheets he was gleefully dragging through the mud.

"Damnit you incorrigible mutt! Get back here!" She tried to contain her laughter. One arm pressing into her stomach as her knees began shaking. Her cheeks heating to an unbearable flame as she reach out to grab the laundry post for support. Her eyes screwed shut as her free hand came to press firmly over her mouth. Strained snorts of laughter escaping her despite her best effort.

"Sazuko get your damn wolf, or I swear I'll have a new fur coat before the end of the day!" Risking her sanity, Sazuko dared a peak at the scene before her, before she utterly lost control and doubled over howling with delight. Yemon, her beloved ninken was rolling around in the largest muddy puddle he could find, dragging the poor bedsheets with him despite Hanas indignant squawk of outrage. Sazuko could feel her lungs burning for air, ribcage feeling like it was going to implode as she tried to get her laughter back under control. "Sa-zu-ko!"

To be fair, she really had no control over her silly ninken anyway, but Hanas indignant yelp as the large wolf-dog tackled her back first into the mud just set off a whole other round of laughter, that she had no hope of even containing.

Sazuko couldn't help the bitter smile that tugged at the corners of her lips at the fond memory of her companion, but it only served to further remind her of the gaping hole left inside of her heart. If she closed her eyes, she could still feel the silky texture of Yemon's fur sliding under her fingers. The ghostly sensation of his warmth pressing into her side. She can still see his beautiful grey-blue fur, thick and curling over the ridge of his back and around his neck reminiscent of a german shepard despite his obvious lupine genetics. His vibrant orange eyes, and the curling white pattern outlining them like ivory kohl. A dark blue mask easing up to fade to a pale grey before mixing into the shaggy dark blue mane she had so loved to run her fingers through. She still had his forehead protector wrapped around her thigh, the one he had kept tied around his neck during every mission, marking him as a Konoha ninken. The golden bells pierced into his large ears had been worked with seals, and even now, Sazuko swore she could faintly hear their tingling chime as they lay dormant in her thigh pouch.

Yemon no Reihai had been a perfect example of his breed, and an excellent shinobi ninken. Her partner had been a testament of Inuzuka pride and a true embodiment of what her clan stood for. Well, up until that dreadful missio-

Blood dripping from a hastily severed neck. Dead cold eyes the color of sunsets-

Bluestainedredredred-

AnDoHsHeWaSsCrEaMiNgAtThEmWhAtHaDtHeYdOnE-

With a ferocious slap to her own cheek, Sazuko came back to herself with a ragged breath. Her lungs burning for air as she took long shallow breaths. Her nails were digging deeply into her palms and the overwhelming tang of copper filled her mouth. The smell was what triggered the episode, she would later surmise. She had sunk her nails so deeply into her own palms she had made them bleed, small drops of crimson sliding down her fingers before getting washed away in the near constant drizzle of rain around her. Breathing deeply through her nose, Sazuko used the scent of wet earth to ground herself, as her hearing slowly came back to her. She had almost gotten trapped in a spiral of insanity again. Such things would do her no good. The light sound of rain hitting the earth helped her to clear her senses, and with a final shake of her head she let loose a deep sigh of exhaustion. She had finally made it to Ame after many months of nearly non stop travel. Of course, she hadn't made the journey alone. It seemed she wasn't the only shinobi displeased with the way the hidden villages had been acting lately.

"You're getting better at that, you know. Pulling yourself out of them, I mean." Sazuko's eyes slid over to her companion as he spoke. His voice was light and cheerful, with a hint of boyish youth underlying the dark rasp that rattled from his chest. How he managed to sound both like a teenage boy and a heavy smoker she had no answer for. But she was glad for his company all the same. Kurogaine was another missing nin she had "Acquired" in her long trip to Ame. Originally her fellow missing nin had come from the endless grassy plains of Kusa, from some minor clan that held issue with the country's Daimyo. Not that Sazuko could recall off the top of her head what the whole ordeal had been about at the moment. Sazuko didn't rightly care either way. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Sazuko released a quite sigh as she did her best to clear the foggy sensation of her head.

In truth, she had Kurogaine to thank for helping her to manage the near endless bouts of insanity that tried to overtake her mind. When he had first ran into her, she had been near feral with madness clouding her judgement. If it hadn't been for his general jovial disposition and his near inane dedication to befriending her, Sazuko wasn't quite sure she wouldn't have stayed trapped in the despair from having her bond with her ninken broken so harshly. It had taken him months to coax her back to sanity, and while nothing would ever fill the gaping wound in her very soul, she was eternally grateful to the man for his help. Not many Inuzuka could recover from the loss of their bonded, and even fewer could continue to stay sane for nearly as long as she had. Kurogaine was a strict taskmaster in that he knew exactly how hard to push her, and by setting his strict training regime and occupying her fractured mind with other tasks he had managed to drag her back to sanity kicking and screaming. Otherwise, she was quite sure she would still be a feral mess lurking the tall grasses and attacking anything that came too close to her impromptu 'den'.

She had had to re-learn how to properly fight, but after years of being a shinobi it was more like remembering how to ride a bike. Although, without her partner her clan jutsu's were practically useless, so he had been forced to teach her other styles and fighting techniques. Honestly, it made Sazuko feel like she was an academy student all over again, and she didn't want to repeat the experience any time soon. Training had helped to hone her mind, but she still slipped every now and again into madness, but given the mental and emotional trauma of having her ninken's bond ripped forcibly from her, it wasn't really all that unexpected.

"Sorry Kuro...I didn't mean to get lost in my head..." She muttered lowly, turning her gaze fully to her recently acquired traveling companion in time to catch the wistful look on his face. Sazuko found herself pouting slightly at the wolfish grin that graced his features. Kurogaine could have passed for an Inuzuka, were he not missing the large crimson markings that the clan boasted. His dark chestnut hair was kept short, falling to his jawline in messy spikes. White bandages littered with crimson writing crossed over his face, covering his right eye and the heavy scar that peaked below the edge. His singular orange eye watched her with something akin to amusement lurking in its depth. Kurogaine, for all of his easy going cheer, was around her own age- not that he acted it. Both of them were dressed in matching attire, black hakuma with plain white haori, although Sazuko also wore a dark purple top underneath, Kurogaine tended to favor the bare chested method. Not that the man couldn't pull it off though. Sazuko just preferred the extra protection her armoured undershirt gave her.

Truthfully, Sazuko felt the attire made them look like the temple monks that trained in the mountains of Iwa or Kumo, but she couldn't argue with the fact that it made life infinitely easier on them both as it made them look less like shinobi. It probably also helped that they kept their chakra coiled down deep under their skin and passed themselves off as traveling merchants. Unless a sensor was nearby, most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference unless they were highly observant, or were shinobi themselves. A step too light, the way weary eyes took in the scenery around them, the inherent lethality a trained shinobi exhumed. Of course, by the time someone noticed they were either dead or the pair was well enough away from the location for it to really matter.

It was one such instance that landed the pair in their current predicament. Currently they were sheltering inside of a rotting shed inside the border of Ame. The pair had decided to take shelter in the crumbling remains of the building the night before after the rain had gotten too heavy for them to continue on their path. The building itself was sturdy enough, but in a few more years Sazuko was sure it would fall to the elements. After all, constant exposure to water tended to rot wood structures faster then not. Not that Sazuko was complaining, despite the few missing planks in the walls, the roof kept them dry enough, and the dirt floor they had slept on the night before hadn't turned into mud, so she couldn't really complain. She'd slept in much worse places throughout her lifetime.

"So, what do you think about this...Akatsuki group? Do you really want to join up with them?" Kurogaine asked, reaching forward to dig in their traveling bag before he pulled out their canteen of water, settling back against the rotting wall of the shed they were currently taking shelter under. Sazuko frowned slightly as she contemplated her answer, her hand coming up to absentmindedly tug one of the long brown curls that framed the side of her face, her eyes casting to the doorway as she gazed out into the falling rain deep in thought.

Originally Sazuko had been traveling to Ame just to get as far away from Konoha as she could. But after meeting Kurogaine and regaining her sanity, her end goal had changed. But then, running around lost out of your mind for months on end only to suddenly be forced back into reality had a way of changing your end goals. Originally the pair had been wandering from battlefield to battlefield aimlessly, picking up small missions or bounties with no real direction or goal in mind other than just staying alive. When rumors of a group of shinobi dedicated to bringing peace had surface, initially they had dismissed the claims, but over time as the groups accomplishments were lauded and praised, well. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Sazuko had no illusions about the current war sweeping across the elemental nations, and she held no hope that it would die down any time soon. Kurogaine seemed far more optimistic about the whole thing, and Sazuko just didn't have the heart to shatter his hopes about the whole thing. Still, if it was what he was set on doing, she wouldn't let him go it alone. She owed him far too much to just abandon him now.

The third Shinobi world war had been ravaging the nation for years now, and Sazuko was no stranger to war. Having grown up during the second, and having had to participate in it as a fresh genin, Sazuko found herself growing tired of the constant political repercussions war tended to have on her gender. It was one of the reasons kunoichi were expected to become broodmares- to churn out more cannon fodder to support the near endless loss of life on the battlefields. It was also why they were expected to retire very early on during their shinobi careers, in order to produce more children to fill the dwindling genetic pool's for their clans. While it wasn't as true for civilian born kunoichi, they were still expected to produce at least one or two children during their service, if not marry into a clan and produce heirs. The whole thing didn't sit well with Sazuko, but so long as War continued to rage across the elemental nations, it was seen as one of many duties that kunoichi were expected to perform for their clan or villages. During times of peace the matter wasn't pressed nearly as heavily, and the social stigma wasn't even an issue. But for as long as Sazuko could remember, there had been more war then peace- and she was growing sick of it.

So if there was a group out there calling for peace? She was damn sure going to be a part of it. Sazuko knew they would have to fight for that peace, and that it would take many years, and much more life lost to accomplish that goal, but in the end if peace was truly achieved, it had to be worth it. Right? On the other side of that, it could be argued that more killing would beget more killing, which was true. But Sazuko knew that even if one side laid down arms, eventually someone, somewhere would just pick them back up again. If someone wee to ask her how she would bring about peace, Sazuko wasn't so sure she would have an answer for them. Still, joining the Akatsuki seemed like a good enough start, and really, what did she have left to lose?

"I'm not really sure what to think." She answered honestly after a moment of silence. "It would be great...if they really can bring an end to this war..." She paused for a moment, taking the offered canteen from him, her lips wiggling as she tried to articulate her thoughts. "Their claim of peace is a nice idea...but, things aren't so often black and white like that. I'm afraid of what that ideal of peace is going to entail..." She admitted truthfully as she took a drink before capping the container and putting it back into the bag. 'Of what it's going to cost...' went unspoken. Kurogaine seemed to ponder for a moment before giving a light shrug of his shoulders. With or without her his mind was already made up, but he didn't want to force her to join him. That was Kurogaines main issue with the way things were, everyone was forced to pick a side, and regardless of neutrality or not you were either on one side, or the other. The villages in particular didn't accept the stance of neutrality. You were either one of them, or you were an enemy sympathizer. Particularly if you were a shinobi. It was no surprise to him at the sheer amount of missing nin cropping up across the nations. Not when your only choices were serve or die at least.

"So what will you do then? You already know my decision- Any chance to stop the fighting, I'm in." Sazuko grimaced slightly before giving two more tugs on the length of hair she held between her fingers and standing up with a sigh. Twisting side to side she popped her aching joints before settling her arms across her chest. "I don't think it's going to be easy. I'm hesitant to throw my lot in with a bunch of kids preaching peace, given...well. You know." Her hand gestured weakly towards herself. "But...I'll try. Any chance this cursed world has for change...I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't at least try to make things better." Kurogaine laughed slightly, clapping his hands together twice as he stood to his feet. It made him happy to hear that. At least he wouldn't be going into this alone, and he knew he could count on her to watch his back when it came down to it.

While her mental state was still rather fragile, he knew he could at least keep an eye on her until she got it fully under control. Kurogaine wasn't completely worried she would go off the deep end again, the woman was far too stubborn for that. But she did have her moments, although they were becoming few and far between. He suspected having a companion helped her to pull herself back together, but it still wouldn't do for her to have an episode in the middle of a fight, and until she fully realized all of her triggers he wasn't going to leave her completely alone. If she had decided against coming with him, he would have handed her off to one of his contacts in Ame, just to make sure she had someone who could pull her out of her half-crazed state. Kurogaine repressed a shudder as his thoughts wondered to the last time she had lost herself in battle. Inuzuka were already known for their ferociousness, but to have an insane greif driven powderhouse lose on the battlefield? When the lines between friend and foe blurred, no one was safe, and he could only imagine the horrors she could inflict if she still had her partner with her. The woman was truly vicious in the heat of battle, and when someones inhibitions were non-existent, their morals gone without a trace? Sazuko could get very creative when backed into a corner. Pursing his lips, Kurogaine repressed another shudder of fear before turning back to her with an over-abundance of sheer elation to mask his earlier thoughts.

"Well, I'm glad you've decided to come with me then! The future is already looking brighter, don't you think?" He spoke as he moved to sling an arm over her shoulder, pulling her slightly to his side. Sazuko's eyes narrowed slightly, but it would be a lie if she said she didn't enjoy the warmth that came with the gentle squeeze her companion offered her. It did nothing to ease the aching gape in her empty heart, but maybe, just maybe, the future didn't seem so bleak anymore when she thought about it. The fear of the unknown was still there. The madness lingering like a lovers touch just at the edge of her consciousness. But, kami willing she could pull through this. Sazuko may have broken once, but with literally nothing else left to lose, she had no reason to hold herself back anymore.

"So, where did this guy say to meet him?" She asked as she gently shoved the man to the side so she could pick up their things. Kurogaine was already stepping out of their shelter, turning around to face her as he held up what looked to be a scrap of paper between two fingers, a jovial smile on his lips. "Just follow the butterfly~" He sing-songed. A small flare of chakra, and the paper unfolded itself before fluttering down to sit on his outstretched hand. Hauling the bag over her shoulder, Sazuko checked to make sure her weapons were within reach as the paper butterfly took off and she fell into step beside him. "I just hope you know what you're getting us into." Sazuko muttered, giving one last glance around at their surroundings before she focused her eyes forward, and followed the fluttering scrap of paper.