I'm drawn to the unknown where shadows hide
A slave to the powers that magnetize
There's something inside of me, I can't fight
Forces of gravity taking me, taking me
Weightlessness forsaking me
Oh, this pull is astronomical
Can anybody, anybody
Can anybody stop me?
~Astronomical - SVRCINA
The scream echoed through her mindscape, a howl that tore across the sewer, tiles cracking as it went. The gates behind her bent outward with a loud clang, gap widening, and red chakra spilled forth unchecked, coiling thick in the water and air, a scarlet haze in the very expanse of her mind. The floor tilted, ceiling rumbling dangerously, water splashing in a frenzy at Inosuke's feet as the very solidity of her mindscape started slipping.
And all he could hear was the blood-curdling roar of the Bijū, mixed with the girl's screams, as the liquid at his feet turned red, bubbling white-hot against his form. His mouth opened in instinct, either with a shout of pain or with a warning, but no sound came out, a terrible dry choke crawling up instead as red chakra poured down his throat, filling his lungs, searing them on the inside.
His hands shot up, clawing at the flames in his chest, to no avail. His skin was on fire, stabbing red irons in his mind and he felt himself shattering, the solid concept of his consciousness losing shape in the throngs of agony.
No, he wanted to shout, the drilled-shinobi part of him reminding him even amidst the haze of pain that he hadn't done his job, hadn't wrenched the memory away from her, hadn't-
Bloodshot eyes lifted at the girl, seeing her at a dozen angles all at once, his technique slipping, every nerve-ending on fire.
Not a girl. A demon.
She was standing in the middle of the sewer, red chakra swirling around her, clinging to her form, crackling the air with a horrifying force, her hair snapping all about like the very tails of the beast she had unleashed. But worst of all were her eyes – a deep red like the Bijū within, slitted, narrowed with pure contempt, they fixed on him all at once with a terrible knowing, all rational thought vacant.
Her lip curled up, a snarl making its way past her lips, chakra sharpening in a frenzy around her, resembling claws; it shot at the fragments of his mind, the girl's animalistic screech thundering through him and Inosuke recoiled, terrified scream frozen in his blackened lungs as he let go, the broken pieces of his consciousness falling through the cracks as he cancelled the technique.
The body of the Suna nin dropped heavily at his feet, the man gurgling up blood as he slid down the red-stained blade of his kunai.
Locust kicked him aside, scanning briefly around himself for other enemies before his eyes fixed on the girl in the clearing, trying to will his breathing calm, fighting off nausea.
Kushina Uzumaki was kneeling in the dust ahead, blood-stained hands gripping Minato Namikaze's body in an iron grip, hair whirling about her as wave after wave of vile chakra rolled out of her, swirling red and thick in the air, taking the shape of a tail behind her, twisting in the afternoon soon. It pressed at his senses, the unbridled malice of it coiling in his throat, the very blood in his veins running cold.
A flicker of movement and Locust pushed back in instinct, brandishing his blade, positioning himself before Moth's lifeless form propped against a tree-
But it was only Mantis, the girl landing unsteadily before him. There were splatters of blood on her mask, drops of it rolling down the smooth porcelain, painting scarlet lines. Her hands, he noticed, were trembling despite the years of training.
"Taichō-" she started, eyes sliding back to the Uzumaki girl. "What-what happened, the others-"
"They drew the fighting away from here."
Mantis swallowed audibly, her throat working below the edge of her mask as she tried to form words. She was a sensor, he remembered, wondering what the Bijū's chakra might feel for her if it was enough to make a non-sensor like him fight not to retch.
"The mission- We were compromised, the jōnin saw us-"
"Minato Namikaze is dead. He used his teleportation technique when he was out of chakra. He used up his body's reserves." Locust stated critically, reigning in his agitation.
"But- the girl, she didn't lose her chakra, the seal caught him instead, why-"
His lips drew in a firm line. He could guess why, remembering the horrified scream tearing out of her as the boy collapsed in her arms, her tears swirling through the air along with the red burst of the Bijū's chakra, gleaming like raindrops all about her in the rays of the sun.
Emotion. Such a fickle thing. And so very complicated to grasp, for one raised in Root.
"It doesn't matter. She's lost control, as planned. Prepare to draw her towards the Suna camp. Suppression seals at the ready for the aftermath-"
A groan from behind him interrupted his sentence, Moth stirring against the tree he had been leaned against. Locust kneeled beside his teammate tentatively, his eyes still locked on the girl ahead; it was shinobi rule 101 – never turn your back to the biggest enemy in the vicinity.
"Moth?"
The Yamanaka groaned again, eyes jumping beneath closed eyelids, visible through the holes of his moth mask. The cords in his neck were taut as if he was in pain.
"Moth. Report."
His words were left unheard, the man's breathing turning laboured.
"What's wrong with him?" Mantis mumbled, going to kneel by his other side.
A frenzied murmur reached them, the Yamanaka stumbling through incoherent words and Locust's eyes narrowed beneath his ANBU mask.
"He hadn't cancelled his technique when the girl lost it. He got caught in the Bijū's chakra."
"One. One- One-" Moth was mumbling, a frantic whisper beneath his mask, like a mantra to hold onto. "One mind. One."
"Moth-san? Moth-san, can you hear me?" Mantis was saying, shaking his shoulders. "Taichō. He's not well."
"Check his vitals. Break Directive One."
"But-"
"Just do it, Mantis. You have my permission." He snapped, his eyes still on the Uzumaki girl; always on the Uzumaki girl.
Directive One – always keep the mask on. Conceal your identity at all times. But it wasn't like they didn't know who was behind the Moth mask – his clan's ability was enough of a signalling beacon. The girl lifted the mask off the Yamanaka's face with trembling fingers, slowly moving to measure his pulse, check his breathing, and lift his eyelids, before sending a spike of chakra through his system.
Moth sat up, body reacting as if zinged, eyes snapping wide and unseeing as he yelped out in pain, his muscles convulsing-
And the Uzumaki girl.
Turned.
Locust froze, caught in the slitted terrifying red of her stare, not daring to move or breathe. And then her eyes slid over him, fixing on the Yamanaka beside him with singular intent. Her eyebrows furrowed, mouth twisting, lips curling over her teeth and the Root Captain had to wonder whether her canines appeared longer, sharpened to points.
A Sunagakure shinobi appeared up ahead amongst the trees, somewhere to her right, flinging a set of explosive kunai at her in a fluid move. A solid red tendril of chakra met them in the air, wrapping around them in a swift move, and their tags went off with a dull thud within the cocoon of energy. A second chakra tail shot out, coiling around the Suna nin's ankle in mid-air, and he barely had any time to yelp as the tendril snapped forward, hurling him to the ground, his head cracking with force against the forest floor.
And all throughout, the girl's eyes didn't leave Moth's form.
Shit.
"Moth-san? Can you hear me?" Mantis was repeating beside him, shaking the Yamanaka's shoulder, oblivious to the very menacing problem at hand.
"Nngh, my- my head-" Moth groaned, bringing shaking fingers up to his forehead.
"Mantis. Moth. Prepare to move."
"Taichō, he is in no state to aid the remainder of the mission-"
A roar split the air, thundering through the forest. The red chakra around the Uzumaki girl swirled faster, a frenzy that snagged at her clothes, the very air crackling with the vile energy of it as her trembling hands lowered Namikaze's body to the ground. Her fingers, Locust noticed, had twisted, resembling claws.
"Move. NOW." The Root Captain snapped as he grabbed the Yamanaka's arm, slinging it over his shoulder before launching them both in a harried shunshin, shooting blindly through the shrubbery ahead just as a tendril of red chakra crashed into the spot they had been standing in, cracking the ground in a small crater with the impact.
Left, right, left- Locust moved without thinking, rushing through the foliage, channelling chakra in the sprint, branches snagging and tearing at his clothes and skin as the sound of snapping trees rumbled behind. He could feel, rather than see, the girl- no, the thing – giving chase, its terrifying chakra barrelling down on them with inhumane speed, racing at their heels.
A tendril of energy shot at him, the zap of it being enough of a warning and Locust dodged sideways in the last moment, the chakra tail crashing in a thick branch ahead instead, splintering it to pieces. It grabbed at the nearest tree trunk, claw-like chakra constructs digging in the bark, chipping it, and the Jinchūriki swung around it, sling-shotting forward with a hair-rising screech. Locust threw them both in another shunshin, bleeding chakra to keep both himself and his comrade ahead. Moth groaned beside him, semi-slumped against his form, feet blundering against the branches in their wake, his weight an added impediment.
Locust's heart was hammering in his chest, sweat beading down his face. His mind raced ahead, trying to grasp at a plan.
The Suna camp was due south of them; he could try to circle, draw the beast to them, but Moth- his condition was a problem, slowing him down. He could drop him, leave him behind for the beast; he could claim its attention after, and carry on with the plan, unburdened.
But, no-
-the Yamanaka's ability was vital for Root – Danzō-sama valued him, needed him, for many missions. His loss would be a blow. Locust might need him anyway, if the man managed to recuperate at least partially – you would need two or more shinobi to submerge a Jinchūriki, depending on the number of tails – one or more to pin it, one to apply the suppression seal. Ideally, he would need his entire team - Moth's summons and Wasp's elemental techniques to immobilise, Cicada's genjutsu to subdue and Moth and himself to attempt applying the suppresion seals.
Darn it all, they were supposed to drain her of her chakra and walk her to the enemy camp through Moth's control, force a technique out of her, draw the Kyūbi's chakra out amidst the Suna nin and force her to lose it there. Dragging a half-crazed Jinchūriki across the forest wasn't a part of the plan.
Jinchūrikis weren't supposed to hone in on one assailant anyway; he couldn't lead the thing to Suna's host if it was after Moth. Pressed between the Kyūbi and an enemy platoon, they'd both get killed with no one to subdue her after.
Where was Mantis? Where were the others? They had to get her to the enemy camp before Spider reached the delegates – Locust had sent him after the Sand shinobi appeared, so that gave them, what? Fifteen minutes more?
He gritted his teeth, leaping to the forest floor as he felt the hiss of a surge of chakra, a burst of energy slicing through the tops of the trees, raining leaves and branches overhead.
"Taichō…" came Moth's weakened voice.
"Get a grip, Moth. We're being chased, I could use your help here. The mission isn't over." he rushed through the words between leaps.
"I… I failed…"
There was a break in the trees ahead, signalling the end of the forest, and Locust frowned, trying to divert south instead. A tree trunk sailed through the air above their heads, crashing in the foliage ahead with a loud crack, cutting him off, and the ROOT captain cursed, switching routes again, aiming for the dreaded open ground.
The greenery of the grasslands met their ungainly run, Moth stumbling at his side. Ahead of them stretched a sea of green, grass rippling in the wind, broken only by the occasional boulder – Suna's land, enemy territory where they would be exposed. Behind – a Jinchūriki on a rampage.
This day just couldn't get any worse.
Locust ran ahead, reaffirming his grip on Moth's arm over his shoulder. The man had started making weak strides along his own, coming back to his senses.
"I failed, Taichō."
"Save it, Moth. The details don't matter before debrief, we return to the primary objective. We have to get the Jinchūriki down to the Suna platoon-"
"She- She remembers. I couldn't- I couldn't snatch the memory from her. She remembers the whole thing."
Locust stumbled, turning disbelieving eyes at the Yamanaka fool. Moth had never failed before; now had to be the time to start?
This was bad; more than bad, this was damnable. The girl was too valuable to get rid of; they had to subdue her and get Moth in her head again or she would speak of Root's involvement – their commander would be compromised. No, unthinkable. They'd have to activate protocol sixty-six… and damn themselves.
"I… I'm sorry, I…"
I should have left him to the Bijū. The acidic thought rocked through Locust, his grip on Moth's arm loosening as his jaw clenched.
No, they needed the Yamanaka to clear their names, they should protect him-
The ground below their feet shuddered, exploding upwards in a shower of jagged stones, wrenching them apart as a massive claw made out of pure red chakra shot out of a gaping hole. Locust reacted in instinct, kicking Moth's airborne form, giving both of them traction in opposite directions as the chakra claw closed around the empty space of air they had just occupied.
Locust landed back through a skid, swaying the grass stalks as he went, seeking out his idiot-of-a-teammate with a look. The Yamanaka's landing was not as graceful, the man crashing hard in the ground across, rolling in the opposite direction.
The captain blistered the air with another curse, chancing a glance at the Jinchūriki – she was kneeling some feet behind, her hands thrust in the packed earth, pushing chakra in the very soil. A coat of red chakra surrounded her, whipping her locks about.
And behind her, three scarlet tails swayed in the gleam of the sun.
The doors behind them flung open, confinement barrier dropping with the intrusion, sand tufts stirring in the corners with the dissipated energy.
"You can't simply disrupt a negotiation, there's a barrier active-" Koharu Utatane started, half-rising from her seat, throwing an outraged look at the masked ANBU who hurried to Danzō Shimura's side.
"Fat load of good it did us, if your shinobi could disregard it and teleport at will-" one of the Suna delegates snapped, clearly still miffed about Minato Namikaze's disappearance.
They had debated interrupting the negotiation right there and then, Danzō Shimura being particularly perturbed by what he called "the boy's insolence", but had ultimately decided against it in the end… only to be interrupted now, not twenty minutes later.
Koharu-sama retorted something back, but Shikadai neglected to follow her words, focusing instead on the ANBU leaned over Danzō-sama's shoulder, whispering frantic words.
Spider Mask. One of Root.
The bandaged man was nodding at whatever he was being informed about, mouth set in a firm line. And then the Root member took a step back, staying firmly beside his commander, instead of retreating.
A bad sign.
Shikadai's eyes darted to the opening at the top of the room, calculating the angle of the slanting afternoon rays and the maximum range of his shadows.
When Danzō-sama opened his mouth to speak, the Nara almost expected the words.
"What's the meaning of this, Chiyo and Ebizō Kinyama? We come here in peace, on behalf of our Hokage, and you plot against us, attacking one of our own?"
The stillness lasted a grain of a second, shock roiling through the premises. And then Suna's elite jōnin and Konoha's ANBU guard detail rushed forward again, approaching the table, awaiting a signal. Chakra swirled through the air, mixed with the unmistakable edge of killing intent, a thrum of anticipation palpable in the space between.
Careful now. This could turn bloody.
"Attacked?!" the Suna general Koto Yūma roared, jumping to his feet, slamming two massive hands on the table. "We've done no such thing!"
"What's happened, Danzō?" Koharu demanded sharply, eyes narrowed.
"My operative reports that about half an hour ago Kushina Uzumaki was attacked by a Sunagakure Strike Team. His comrades were too late to assist before she was captured and taken towards the hard border where your platoon awaits. They pursued before being attacked by Suna shinobi, at which point Spider was sent back to inform us of the development."
He could hear several people sucking in breaths, Koharu Utatane being amongst them. Shikadai didn't take his eyes off the Sunagakure shinobi before him, registering both the words and their reactions carefully. Surprisingly, the shock of Konoha's delegates was well-matched in the faces of the Sand nin – they were either excellent actors, uninformed of the plot… or not involved at all.
But all of that was neither here, nor there; the fact remained – Konoha's Jinchūriki had been captured, confirming Sandaime's biggest fear about sending the girl out.
"Why you lying snake-" another Suna shinobi started, but was cut off by elder Ebizō, who raised a hand sharply to silence her.
"We've done no such thing." he said calmly, firmly, his quiet voice all the more authoritative for it.
Danzō Shimura tilted his head, one eye boring in the man across from him.
"My men do not lie."
"There's been a mistake then. I repeat, Sunagakure has done no such thing."
"You're awfully sure of all your men." Inoshin said, folding a hand below his chin.
"Why would we kidnap your kunoichi anyway?" one of the Suna women, Kyōshi Fuya, started, before Ebizō interrupted once again.
"Because she is Kyūbi's Jinchūriki." he said with a sigh. "I'm correct, am I not?" he continued when his words were only met with tense silence. "Don't look at me like that. Sunagakure didn't know. But it's easy to surmise, from your reactions just now. That, coupled with the fact she's an Uzumaki, is enough of a clue."
"We demand her immediate return-"
"We do not have her."
"Is it possible your men acted without your knowledge?" Chōgo demanded, picking up on Inoshin's hint, and Ebizō Kinyama fixed him with a firm look.
"No. I trust my men with my life. Sunagakure had no hand in this."
Shikadai's mind was whirling, jumping paces ahead. If not Sunagakure, it could be Iwa – it would stand to reason that they try to ruin the negotiations, make it look as if Suna betrayed Konoha, stop a peace treaty from being signed. Why would they target Kushina though? Sheer dumb luck or knowledge of her status as a Jinchūriki? It wasn't the first time it was suspected that Iwa knew with whom the Kyūbi resided – there was that incident at the Tokutsukai Pass of over a year ago...
But then, how would they know she would be thrown out of the meeting, without ANBU supervision? Was it luck again? Why had Danzō-sama put her at risk so?
Yet again Shikadai's eyes flickered to the bandaged man, before focusing ahead.
"Namikaze's departure was probably to aid her." Koharu-sama said quietly, throwing a fuming look at the man who had criticized him earlier.
"Well then. The girl must be fine, if Konoha's Yellow Flash is on the case." said man replied, words dripping derision.
"If he's attacked our men unprovoked, this negotiation is over." Koto Yūma said firmly, eyebrows mashed.
"If you're using this as a ploy to let that mass murderer loose on our platoon-"
"As if we'd need theatrics to take your men out-"
"Danzō-sama. We must act." Fugaku Uchiha broke through, eyes narrowed.
The new Uchiha head had always been a no-nonsense kind of man, Shikadai thought. And he was entirely right in this case – time was of the essence.
A chuckle cut through them, everyone turning a bewildered look at Chiyo Kinyama, whose lips had split in a smile.
"That's awfully clever of you, Danzō Shimura."
"Sister." Ebizō said, a tone of warning in his voice. The rebuke was only met with more chuckles.
"If you truly had no hand in this," Danzō started, ignoring the woman all-together, "I assume you wouldn't mind remaining here as my men search for our comrade. Should she be found at your camp…"
"You would have us to exchange for her." The Kinyama brother said simply. "A fair suggestion. We shall remain, but I'm afraid you'll find nothing of the sort. Three of our guards will send sand clones to escort your men to our encampment."
Danzō Shimura nodded.
"Tiger, Bear, Ram." He called out and the three ANBU stepped forward at once. "Send your own Shadow Clones with Sunagakure's jōnin in search of Kushina Uzumaki at their camp. Leave no rock upturned. Let the clones dispel themselves to relay information of any kind."
Prudent – this way the elders kept their guard detail numbers unchanged. Besides, sending anyone from Konoha within a platoon of potential enemies would be a terrible plan.
"Spider, lead Nara-sama, Akimichi-sama and Yamanaka-sama to the rest of your comrades. I trust you have a way to locate them? They might need our aid since they were attacked." Danzō-sama continued and said man saluted.
"Yes, sir."
"Danzō-sama." Fugaku Uchiha cut in and Shikadai could plainly see the downward curve to his mouth.
He had been assigned under Danzō- and Koharu-sama's command for this mission – he couldn't simply act, despite the respect owed him as clan head. But his exclusion from the search party had been obvious and much too pointed. It served him ill, even if Shikadai had a pretty strong suspicion as to why – Danzō-sama didn't trust the Uchiha where the Kyūbi was concerned.
"Your help might be needed here, Fugaku-sama."
"I trust you and Koharu-sama will suffice."
The silence stretched before the bandaged man nodded curtly.
"Spider, Fugaku Uchiha will join your party as well."
"Yes, sir."
His head was pounding. Jumbled images kept skittering through his mind, slipping back and forth, disconnected. His train of thought felt discontinued, veering further off-track with every attempt to focus.
There was something… Something he needed to do. Something...
"Moth."
Moth was his name.
But it wasn't his name.
His name was Inosuke. Inosuke Yamanaka. Yamanaka Inosuke. People always saw the Yamanaka first.
But Moth had no surname. Moth was simply Moth.
Moths were insects. They meant transformation; a connection to the spirits. He had chosen the mask.
The mask had chosen him.
Moth.
"MOTH!"
He shook his head, the fog of confusion lifting with a snap, the roar of his name ringing through his ears like a blast.
Locust was standing in a field of scorched grass, blackened stalks still smouldering all about. His clothes were singed too, one sleeve torn off his robe, blood gushing out of a deep wound near his shoulder that limited the movement of his arm. More crimson rivulets were coming down his face from a gash at his forehead, one eye swollen shut. His breath was racking through his teeth, arm trembling where he had planted it against the shattered earth.
A dome of packed rocks was rising ahead, stones crumpled together.
Moth groaned, fire running through his temples. His head was still pounding, the very act of thinking turning into agony. He could vaguely register he was kneeling over cracked earth, his body covered in soot and dust.
"T-Taichō?" he mumbled.
Just as he did, the dome of rocks ahead shuddered, cracking along its surface, shining red through the gaps. Locust grunted, concentrating on his containment earth technique, before tendrils of solid red chakra shot out of the stone structure, punching holes in its surface with force, raining rubble around.
"Moth! You need to move! I can't hold it much longer!"
The Doton technique fizzled out, rocks exploding outwards. A jagged stone tore a burning line through Inosuke's cheek as it went. He barely noticed. He had eyes for the thing ahead alone.
A coat of red chakra enveloped her form, swirling madly all about, bubbling against her skin. Three red chakra tails snapped back and forth behind her as she bent low, on all fours, her fingers twisted into claws, digging in the dirt, her face contorted in an animalistic snarl.
Her eyes had fixed on Inosuke, the red of them the colour of blood. The colour of demons.
It brought back a memory, wrapped in crimson haze – a dirty sewer and flames in his chest, over his body, under his skin. He froze, pain rippling through his temples, the very air stuck in his lungs.
The creature moved, taking a step towards him, before a hissing noise reached him and a set of kunai flew at her, striking the ground around. Locust swung about with the movement, pulling at thin air, and the metallic gleam of wire strings caught in the sun as they tangled the Jinchūriki in place. A blur of handseals and fire erupted down the lines, enveloping her in flames.
The roar that followed felt like a punch to his ears and Inosuke groaned, clutching at his forehead. It felt like his head was splitting itself in half.
One mind. One.
A shout of pain and a crunching sound. A glimpse of a red chakra claw, grasping at the wires, using them to swing Locust around. A water whip wrapping about the beast's throat, pulling it back.
Inosuke shook his head, trying to stitch back time. He felt like whole moments were zinging past him, engulfed in fog. There… There was something…
Mantis was rushing through handsigns for a summoning technique – Mantis? When had she arrived? – slamming them at the ground. A metal cage appeared out of nowhere, wrapping around the beast.
"We have to contain her, now!"
"The mission-"
"Damn the mission! We'll lose control of her if we don't stop her! She's at four tails!"
A rush of chakra, the fine hairs on Inosuke's neck standing in static, and a Raiton technique zinged ahead, surging across the metal bars, electrifying the entire cage. The Jinchūriki shrieked, a wave of vile chakra slamming into them with force.
Moth doubled over, stomach convulsing as he retched.
In between glimpses he saw Locust running ahead, a seal in his hand, approaching the cage. A blink, and he was before her, reaching through the metal bars. Another blink, and a tail of red had wrapped around his wrist, a second around his neck, lifting him off the ground. A blink, and her hands had grabbed the bars, bending them aside as if made of butter.
A ripping sound, a blood-curdling scream and the beast tore Locust's arm off his shoulder, seal and all. A shower of crimson stained the grass stalks around, the Jinchūriki discarding their captain's body like a ragdoll.
Moth groaned. He tried to push away, but his fingers were clumsy, clammy about the paper… the paper… when had he taken out the seal? There was something… something he had to do…
Mantis was standing in front of him now, a curse flying out her mouth, muffled by the mask. She threw a set of senbons at the Jinchūriki, rushing through handseals, multiplying them into hundreds, all of them crackling with electricity, but a red chakra claw swiped them out of the air as if they were nothing. As if all their attacks were child's play.
A blink, and the beast lunged at them, faster than Moth could follow. A blink, and it was slamming his teammate's body in the ground to the side, her ribcage crunching as it shattered against the packed earth. The wizened sound that made its way out of Mantis's lips replayed itself in Moth's head like a broken record, again and again.
A blink… A blink…
And then there was red.
Inosuke groaned, shaking his head, trying to clear the blur away. He tried to take a breath, to steady himself, but a wet choke made its way past his lips instead, blood spilling down his chin. His eyes widened, staring in shock at the slitted pupils right before him, the animalistic face twisted in hatred, teeth bared to reveal fangs. Patches of her skin were peeling off, to reveal nothing but crimson beneath. And the tails were swirling behind her, swirling, swirling…
There was something… something he needed to do… something…
He tried to move, to no avail, feeling a lance of pain shoot through his body. And then his eyes darted down, to the chakra-coated arm that had gone through his chest, dripping blood at his feet.
Oh, he thought. Of course.
His fingers clutched about the paper seal in his hand, heavy as lead. And with a final shout he brought his hand up, slamming the containment seal across her forehead.
The forest opening was a jumbled mess of upturned boulders, felled trees and discarded weapons. A seal had been etched in the earth, but most of its form had been broken or erased in the fighting, making it indiscernible.
"Mother of…" Inoshin Yamanaka muttered, taking a step forward, a kunai in his hand.
"What did you witness before you were ordered back?" Shikadai Nara was asking, a steely edge to his voice – the tone of one used to command. Fugaku recognised it well – it was the voice he used with his own men, as head of Konoha's Police force.
"Fighting broke out, they had laid a trap. Some sort of seal. We were split up."
The bodies of three Suna shinobi lay motionless around, one amongst the nearby trees, a stab wound having done him in. Another was sprawled in the opening proper, the earth around him cracked with the force with which he had been thrown down. The third seemed to have been stabbed through the chest, a scorched gap visible in his ribcage as he lay motionless beside-
Fugaku took in a sharp breath, chakra swirling in his eyes, world coming into sharp focus as he activated his sharingan. He leapt forward, taking the distance in quick strides.
"I'm afraid Namikaze-san didn't make it. He got caught in the seal. We didn't expect his support so we couldn't aid him proper. I'm not sure what the Fūinjutsu was, something to drain chakra. It left him defenceless. He used a technique after, from his body's reserves." The ANBU recited dully, evenly, from somewhere behind. His words were met with shocked silence by the Ino-Shika-Chō trio. "I was ordered to retreat after, I don't know much more."
Fugaku frowned as he knelt beside the blond man. He had been stabbed in the back with a kunai, low below his shoulder, the blade still embedded in his form, which was probably good, because it had stopped him from bleeding out dangerously.
And even though his chakra levels were brought down to a minimum, barely detectable even for those chakra-sensitive… there was very little that escaped the sharingan. His breathing was low and laboured, interspersed with pauses, indicating the critically low amounts of chakra. His heart was beating slower to make up for it, skin cold to the touch with the slowed circulation… but he was still alive. For now.
The Uchiha gritted his teeth, taking a medical kit out of a pocket of his shinobi vest.
"What are you…" Spider started and there was something not quite right in his voice, a sense of misguided suspicion that made Fugaku look back up, his eyebrows furrowed.
"You're wrong, ANBU-san. He's completely out of chakra and unconscious, he's been injured, but he's alive."
The man didn't move, didn't react in any way, and if there had been some reaction in the lines of his face, it was impossible to see beneath the expressionless porcelain of his mask. But there was a spike in his chakra, an agitated thrum that rushed across his chakra coils, stripped bare before the three tomoe of the Uchiha's dōjutsu and Fugaku's eyes narrowed at the clear signs of unease and, dare he say it… antagonism.
Something was off.
"Thank the gods." Spider said automatically, as if nothing had transpired, just as Inoshin-sama was rushing forward to aid Fugaku with the medical kit.
"He needs immediate attention. We have medical ninja, back in the reserve platoon." Shikadai-sama was saying, scanning the trees about for any threats, much as Chōgo Akimichi beside him.
"I will take him-" Spider started, but Fugaku cut him off, voice curt.
"No. You will help the others locate your teammates – they might need help. I will take care of Minato Namikaze."
"I don't know if…" the ANBU started, but Shikadai-sama stepped forward.
"Go ahead, Fugaku-sama. We'll take over here."
There was something in the Nara's eyes as he glanced over Fugaku and the Uchiha head wondered for a second just how much the older man had surmised from intellectual prowess alone – he was a gifted strategist, but he lacked the advantage of the sharingan to notice the peculiarity in the previous exchange. Still, his look was full of knowing as he gestured to Fugaku to go ahead.
He nodded, bending to the task, ignoring the cool eyes that followed his every move from behind the Spider-shaped mask.
She was floating, weightless.
There were no sounds, not even the whisper of water against her skin, the silence deafening all about. The world had fizzled out, condensed to a red haze. She thought that if she cared to look, she could make out the outline of shapes in the sky, pipes that twisted every which way, covered in rust, like specs of stars on a canopy that was all wrong.
Not a sky; a ceiling.
Not a lake; a dirtied sewer.
Her clothes were soaked through, chilling her. There was water on her face too, falling over her cheeks to join the liquid about. Her eyes kept staring straight ahead, unseeing.
Something was tugging at her, pulling her forward towards a metal cage with a loosely hanging seal at its gate. She was tired, worn threadbare, powerless to stop… unsure if she wanted to, even if she could.
What… what had happened? How had it gone this way?
Open it.
The voice carried through her, in her, rippling the liquid about.
Make the world pay.
The water around her swirled, splashing waves at her form, their colour red-red-red, bubbling against her skin, and her lips parted just as the whirlpool engulfed her, smothering her scream.
Gold gleamed bright in her peripheral vision, rippling over the murky water's surface above, breaking the monotony of crimson. A shudder ran through the sewer, raining rubble around. The water receded with a hiss and Kushina gasped, spluttering upwards just as chains shot out of gilded glyphs that had appeared along the walls. They wrapped about the twisted metal bars, pulling them back together with a clang.
A furious roar split the air, reverberating through the pipes, just as the golden kanji started moving, crawling across the sewer walls and through the floor under the water, liquid glowing amber as they went. A thrum of energy and they condensed around the paper lock of Kyūbi's cage, reinforcing it, dissipating the crimson haze about.
With a final laboured sigh, she collapsed back, her form splashing once more through the dirtied shallow water.
Her eyes fluttered closed, open, closed again. In between it all she thought she saw a glimpse of a deep blue sky, ablaze with the light of a desert sun. And above her, a man with a glinting Sunagakure forehead protector had bent low, kunai in hand.
And then it all went dark.
AN: Hello you lovely people! Another one to go, but I have actually started work on the next one as well so, I hope once again that it will come out sooner! Alright, alright, yes, you caught me, Minato is not actually dead *gasp*. But hey, I couldn't resist! Also horray for badass unstoppable Kushina?
But Lagadatte, you'll say, Naruto could somewhat control himself and not go on a murderous spree when he had fewer tails – he was even somewhat himself up to three, when he fought Sasuke. Well yes, you'd be right. HOWEVER, Naruto had only half of the Kyūbi locked in him. Kushina is sort of dealing with the whole thing – which is twice the power… and twice the hatred. It's a lot to take on, especially having in mind that her seal wasn't built to release bits of the Bijū's chakra in her own chakra stream, like Naruto's was (manga and anime both said Minato created the Eight Trigrams Seal used to lock the Kyūbi in Naruto, which I'm interpreting to mean that he created the version used on Naruto later on; which means Kushina's earlier version was different). It's a shock to her system – she can't cope. She's not her.
Which is whyyy I thought the lyrics to this song I quoted at the start fit this part of the story to a tee – every time I've listened to it, I've been picturing this moment, waiting for the time when I get to put it to the pen.
Also, the names I've coined for the Ino-Shika-Chō generation before Shikaku, Chōza and Inoichi (their fathers):
- Shikadai Nara (as I said, I came up with it before Boruto, so I'm keeping it! :D )
- Chōgo Akimichi
- Inoshin Yamanaka
Which means that (to answer a previous comment), no, Inosuke is not Inoichi's dad – as mentioned in the previous chapter, he is from the Yamanaka clan, but from a branch line, a distant cousin to the current clan head. In fact, he's been unimportant enough his entire life to decide to join Root and seek his own success, away from the limelight of the clan.
That aside, thank you once again for all of your reviews, it's such a pleasure to read through them, as always! I love learning what made you smile and what surprised you or what outraged you and what you think might happen next. See you for the next one!
Ja ne~
Glossary:
Taichō: A title of rank, meaning: Captain
Shunshin: Body-Flicker Technique, which enables the one casting the technique to move at bursts of speed over short distances
Raiton Technique: Lightning Release
Senbon: weapons resembling long metal needles, with sharp points on both ends
Tomoe: the black drops visible in the activated sharingan – when awakened, sharingan users usually have one tomoe, then developing two, and then mastering at three. The more tomoe are activated, the more potent the Sharingan's abilities.
Dōjutsu: ninja abilities that utilise the eyes