Author's Note: It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about that. Life has been super weird this year, but I am happy to report that I am still writing, and this is where I found my inspiration to start back up again. I hope you're ready to continue from where our story left off!

Before we get started, I would like to announce that I've gone back through and fixed a few grammar and spelling issues in previous chapters that I noticed when rereading my story before writing this chapter. Hopefully it is much easier to digest if you're reading through a second time, or if any newcomers make it this far! This is also the first chapter with more than one point of view - which is not something I am generally a huge fan of. I just felt it was the best way to share this chapter, so it is what it is.

My biggest challenge in writing this chapter was getting started, actually. I wrote so many different versions of different scenes with both Minato and Kushina as the point of view character. What we have here is what I ultimately decided was the most realistic and fitting for our story as it stands. This decision included a lot of scouring of the wiki and google for notes and musings on the Naruto timeline and world-building. Anyway, I'll check in with you again at the close of the chapter! Enjoy!

Human

Rin's Capture Arc

Chapter 4

Kushina

Kushina sat in the lotus position, her hands in the tiger seal. She was in the ancient shrine on the edge of the Leaf village. She came here to meditate often, to focus her chakras, and to be close to the only known standing memory of her clan. Around her was a history that she was determined not to forget, the history of her clan, her people.

What little had survived the destruction of Uzushiogakure, the Whirlpool Village, was now here, stored and sealed away until the day her clan was restored. Though she had little hope of ever finding another member of her clan. It had been years, and there was never a sign.

Tomorrow, she would make her annual trip to the ruins of her birth village, and see if anyone had arrived. As a clan heiress, and Jonin, Kushina had organized and paid for a D rank mission with no end date. Every ninja outpost and allied village was supplied with information for any members of the Uzumaki clan to rendezvous in the old Whirlpool village on a certain day every year.

She had paid for this mission every year since she'd been promoted to Chunin, but never once had anyone showed up. She didn't expect any change. But she had to keep hoping.

With a final slow, deep breath, Kushina opened her eyes, lowered her seal, and got to her feet. She needed to get home, pack for her mission, and rustle up some dinner. She'd probably eat out tonight.

Her fiancé was on a mission, so there was little reason to head home first. That meant it was ramen time. She exited the shrine, bowing with respect to her fallen clan, closed the door, and reapplied the seals that kept the shrine in pristine condition, and kept anyone who wasn't her out.

Five minutes later she was back in the village proper, and a moment after that, she was entering the newly established ramen shop run by Teuchi - a recently retired Jonin. He'd suffered a very nasty wound during the Third Ninja War, and could no longer use ninjutsu.

"Ah, Kushina," Teuchi said boisterously when she entered. "Good to see you!"

"It's good to see you, too, Teuchi. How are you adjusting to civilian life?" Kushina asked, taking a seat at the bar.

"It's as good as it can be, I suppose. I think I've really got down the miso recipe now. Hopefully business will start picking up soon," Teuchi said.

"Well you know I'm a loyal customer. Have to look out for my former squad leader, after all," Kushina said.

Teuchi chuckled. "I was your squad leader in war time, and only for a few months. It's not like I was your Jonin sensei."

Kushina shrugged. "We're friends, Teuchi. You know that I always look out for my friends. And I love ramen."

Teuchi really laughed now. "My ramen is terrible. I chose to make it a ramen stand because you took me out to eat at a ramen stand when I got out of the hospital. Stuck with me for some reason. Gave me purpose, no matter how small."

"You'll become a great ramen chef, Teuchi. I know it," Kushina said, beaming at her former captain.

He smiled at her, a bittersweet expression crossing his face in a flash. It was gone in less than a second, but Kushina had seen it. She felt horrible for him. She didn't know what she would do if she lost the ability to safely mould her chakra. Losing a limb wasn't necessarily a deathblow to a ninja's career in the same way that a permanent injury to the chakra network was. It would have been kinder if he'd lost an arm.

Teuchi waved a hand dismissively. "It'll happen or it won't. What'll you have?"

Kushina ordered, and Teuchi turned to prepare her bowl. She swiveled on the barstool, throwing an elbow onto the counter and leaning back. People bustled this way and that, as they finished their business for the day, and Kushina enjoyed the few moments watching them. Konoha was peaceful at night, and she liked the sleepy feeling that permeated the air.

A squad of Genin entered the ramen shop, talking animatedly to each other. "I can't believe our first mission was to pull weeds!" One of the Genin said.

His teammates agreed.

Kushina laughed. She did not miss the pointless missions that all young ninja started with.

"Here's your ramen," Teuchi said, putting a bowl down in front of her. Kushina swiveled in her bar stool, barely able to contain her eagerness, and reached for a pair of chopsticks.

"Thanks for the food, Teuchi," Kushina said. She broke apart her chopsticks, and looked at her bowl with a smile. She hadn't had a bowl of ramen in nearly a week. And while it wasn't a record, it was still up there as a testament to her own self-restraint. The steam brought the warm aroma to her nose, and she breathed in the inviting smell of the broth. Even if it wasn't the best in the village, she knew it would hit the spot. Ramen always hit the spot.

"Kushina Uzumaki!" A voice said from behind her.

She paused, her first bite halfway to her mouth, and sighed. The official tone of the ninja behind her could only mean that she was being called to the mission desk or to an intelligence briefing. And leaving meant no ramen. Unacceptable. "What is it?"

"You have a mission. You are to report to the Hokage at once." Kushina put her chopsticks in her bowl, and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I know I have a mission. I'm scheduled to leave tomorrow morning." Maybe if she just said no she would be allowed to eat the ramen. Yes, that would totally work. Kushina picked up her chopsticks and plucked a particularly delicious looking noodle from the broth.

"You misunderstand. You are being assigned to a new mission, effective immediately. You are to report to the Hokage's office."

Kushina slapped her chopsticks back into the bowl, and turned around with a scowl on her face. A young Chunin she did not recognize was standing a tactically sound amount of steps away from her. He seemed nervous. And she liked that. Because even if he was just following orders he was interrupting ramen time.

Ramen time was sacred.

"All right," Kushina said with a long suffering sigh. She fished money from her pocket and slapped it on the counter next to her untouched ramen. "See you next time, Teuchi!"

Kushina ditched the Chunin on principle, and made her way to the Hokage's tower, using the rooftops to avoid any foot traffic. She landed gracefully outside the tower, and opened the large doors.

"Can I help you?" Asked a receptionist.

"I've been summoned by the Hokage. Uzumaki Kushina reporting in."

The secretary nodded, checked a sheet of paper on her desk, and said, "You are requested for an urgent assignment. Priority one. Go on up."

Kushina took the stairs three at a time, turned the corner and followed the curved hallway until she was in front of the large double doors of the Hokage's office. She knocked.

"Enter."

She pushed the doors open, and entered the office. One she hoped to call her own some day. It was spacious and circular, lined with bookshelves along two walls. The back wall was taken up by windows overlooking the village, and in the center of the room was a large wooden desk. The Hokage was seated behind the desk, hands folded in front of his face.

"Thank you for coming in such short notice," Hiruzen Sarutobi, The Hokage, said as Kushina stepped into the room.

"Is there a complication with my mission to Whirlpool?" Kushina asked, stopping before the desk. There was a dog she recognized as Pakkun drinking from a bowl near the desk. Were Kakashi and Rin back already? They'd stopped by before they left on a scouting mission to see their sensei, but Minato had already departed on a long mission to the Land of Earth. She'd promised to pass their mission details along if Minato returned before his students.

"No," Hiruzen said. He took a deep breath, and fidgeted with his pipe. "There's no easy way to say this, Kushina, but I have an urgent A rank mission for you. Kakashi and Rin ran into some hostile ninja on their scouting mission. Pakkun delivered the report that Rin was captured by enemy ninja - their route would suggest hold outs from the Mist village, but Kakashi didn't give Pakkun specifics on their origin. He tracked Rin and her captors to a hidden base, and sent Pakkun to get backup."

Kushina clenched her fists. While they'd never officially been her students. She'd spent countless hours with her fiancé's team, helping them learn, eating with them, laughing with them, and crying alongside them. When Obito had died, they'd all felt his absence deeply. She couldn't even imagine how Kakashi must be feeling. Losing a second teammate, especially so soon after Obito had passed, would be devastating.

"Is my mission to back them up?" Kushina asked. Already she was making a pre-mission prep list.

The Hokage nodded.

"Parameters?" Kushina asked, putting her exuberant personality behind the competent, professional ninja training.

"Find Kakashi Hatake, back him up, and recover Rin Nohara. If possible, capture an enemy for possible interrogation," The Hokage said. He opened a tin on his desk, and picked out a small amount of pipe tobacco.

Kushina nodded. "Am I meeting with anyone else, or is this a solo mission?"

Hiruzen packed the tobacco into his pipe, lighting it with a snap of his fingers. "We don't have time to organize a full team, and our forces are spread thin in the aftermath of the war. I need you to leave within the hour. However, if you come across anyone on your way out of the village, you have my permission to recruit them for your mission. Within reason."

"If I find anyone, I'll let the Chunin on guard at the gate know," Kushina said. "What about Minato? He can get there faster than any of us. Do we have a way to get a message to him?"

"Unfortunately, he is deep in the field, and the only one who could send him a message is Jiraiya, who is in the Land of Storms, which is in the opposite direction." The Hokage let out a long breath. "It's not an ideal situation, but that's war."

"The war is over, Lord Hokage," Kushina said.

Hiruzen smiled wryly. "If only that were true. Our wars are never over. They are just less overt from time to time."

"You should still send someone to Jiraiya, and to Minato. The more pieces we have in motion, the better off we'll be." Kushina crossed her arms, trying to keep her temper in check.

"Our resources are spread thin enough as it is, Kushina. Sending more ninja away from the village now will leave us vulnerable. And as much as I hate to say it, Kakashi Hatake and Rin Nohara are hardly our most valuable assets." The Hokage said.

She saw red. "They're just kids, damnit! They're good kids who have been through more hell than they should ever have to." It was true. She'd already been in a relationship with Minato when he'd taken the squad on as their Jonin instructor, so she knew the kids very well. She'd been their unofficial second sensei for years. They were part of her family.

"They are fully qualified ninja of the Leaf, and they are doing their duty," The Hokage said.

Kushina scowled, and bit the inside of her mouth hard enough to draw blood. "Yes, sir. I understand that your orders are in the best interest of the village." She tasted blood, and she all but spat the words at their leader.

"Then you are dismissed," The Hokage said. "Take Pakkun with you, he can guide you to Kakashi's last known location.

Pakkun rose and trotted across the office. "I'll follow your lead."

Kushina turned to leave, but paused at the door. Taking a breath to steady herself. "Lord Hokage?"

"Yes?" He prompted.

"What about my mission to Whirlpool?" Kushina asked. "I know it's not likely that anyone is there, but… but it's important to me. Are we spread too thin for that, as well?"

"You are free to head to Whirlpool after this mission has been resolved," The Hokage said.

"Thank you, sir," Kushina said, and she exited the office in a huff.

She and Pakkun took the streets instead of the rooftops. Kushina was hoping against hope that she'd bump into another off duty Jonin. Or at least a full squad of Chunin. Chances weren't high. It was getting late. Most ninja were resting for tomorrow's work, or already off on missions.

"How far out are we going, Pakkun?" Kushina asked Kakashi's dog as they turned down a small street that led towards the outer ring of houses near the east wall of the village. Kushina and Minato had just moved into a brand new home that was constructed on the edges of the village. While out of the way, it was the perfect place to raise a family.

Not that they wanted kids just yet. But someday soon, perhaps. Like after Kushina was Hokage. Then she'd be stuck in the village anyway. Which made it the perfect time. But for now they had to focus on rescuing what remained of Minato's team.

"I ran non stop for almost a full day," Pakkun said. "They were about as far away from Konoha as you can get before falling into the ocean."

"That's not good," Kushina said. "We'll have to make good time, if we want to have any impact on the outcome of their mission."

When they arrived at Kushina's home, she was in and out in a matter of minutes. Dressed in her shinobi uniform, headband tied in place, with several scrolls of sealed ninja supplies, food, and medicine in her vest, and a ration bar half eaten in her mouth.

"Let's go!" Kushina said with her mouth full.

She and Pakkun made a mad dash for the village gate. The buildings flashed by in a blur, and they touched down at the exit to the Leaf village in under a minute.

A team of Chunin was showing their documentation to the guards at the gate. Kushina smirked as she strode towards them. She only recognized one of the kids, a member of Maito Gai's Genin team, Genma Shiranui. The other two she was sure she'd seen before, but she couldn't put names to their faces.

"Man," Genma said after he handed his ninja id to the guards. "I am so glad we're done with that mission. Three weeks escorting a construction crew to outposts. What an absolute bore."

"I can't wait for a hot shower and a warm meal. Trail rations are the worst!" Another of the Chunin said to a chorus of agreement.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I am going to be taking your squad on a high priority mission," Kushina said.

"What? Now?" Genma asked. "But we just got back, and we haven't even reported to the mission desk yet."

"Yes, now," Kushina said. "I have permission from Lord Hokage to take any backup I deem necessary. It's more a matter of timing than preference. I had less than an hour to prep and get out of the village, and your team just so happened to be here when I touched down."

"What's the mission?" Asked one of Genma's squad mates.

"I'll tell you en-route. We'll be pushing it. No rest tonight," Kushina said. She turned to the guards. "Please pass along to Lord Hokage that I am taking command of this unit for my mission and that they will report the details of their previous mission when we return."

The Chunin guards nodded, and Kushina motioned for Pakkun to lead the way.

"First things first," She said. "Sound off. The only one of you I know is Genma."

"Genma Shiranui," Genma said.

"I'm Raido Namiashi."

"And I'm Iwashi Tatami."

"Nice to meet you all," Kushina said. "I'm Kushina Uzumaki, Jonin, and this mission is A ranked. We're being sent as backup for Kakashi Hatake and Rin Nohara. They were on a routine scouting mission when Rin was taken by hostile ninja - Lord Hokage suspects they were from Hidden Mist, but it's not confirmed. Kakashi went in pursuit and sent Pakkun here to inform the village. That was over twenty-four hours ago."

"That's not good," Raido said.

"Are you and your team in good enough shape to travel without rest?" Kushina asked.

"We are," Genma said. "It was just an escort mission to some of the outposts, we haven't been in combat for weeks. It was Iwashi's first mission as a Chunin squad leader."

"We can do this," Iwashi agreed. "Let's go save our comrades."

"Good to hear you're ready for this mission. It's sure to be dangerous," Kushina said. "I'll need to get a basic idea of your abilities before we get there. Genma, you start."

They turned from the road, following behind Pakkun as he took to the trees. They were running to the east, away from the setting sun, and into potentially hostile enemy territory. But they would have the advantage of being Leaf ninja in a dense forest.

"Right," Genma said. "Let's give you the rundown of our skills."

Rin

The chakra cloak that surrounded her would have burned under normal circumstances. But it didn't. It was warm, and powerful.

There had been fear.

And then uncontrollable anger.

There had been a bloodlust that she couldn't sate.

And then the carnal pleasure of violence.

Rin slowly came back to her senses, body trembling and breath erratic. She was covered in blood, everywhere. The smell, the wetness, the stickiness were disgusting. Around her were dead men, and before her was her dying teammate. Her dying best friend.

She'd done this. She'd done that to him. He was going to die and it was her fault. But she felt the energy of the monster with and around her. She was a medic, and she could fix him. Willing herself not to break down and cry.

If she panicked now, he was going to die. But if she attempted ninjutsu, the pain would return and she would feel only agony. What choice was there, though? Kakashi was on death's door and it was her fault! She had to try, despite the risk.

"I can do this," She said in a voice not her own. It was deep, guttural, powerful. What had she been turned into?

Rin made the hand seals for the mystical palm jutsu and watched as her chakra cloaked hands turned green. Or what should have been. The chakra that was leaking from her was turning everything gray and purple.

She looked Kakashi over. He was a mess of blood and cuts and bruises. She put her hands to his leg and focused on restoring him. It was the smell that alerted her first. Burning flesh.

With a gasp, she pulled her hands away from Kakashi's leg and saw, to her horror, that instead of stemming the flow of blood from a wound, she had cauterized the cut and burned the skin off of nearly a foot of his upper leg.

"No!" Rin screamed, falling away from Kakashi and scrambling back until she was up against the trunk of a nearby tree.

She brushed her body with her hands blindly as the panic swelled within her. She tried to pull off the chakra that surrounded her as one might try to pull a spider web from themselves. Rin knew nothing but overwhelming fear as she screamed in terror and blindly scraped at herself. All she wanted was for the chakra to go away, but it persisted. Flaring wildly around her as she lost all control and sense of herself.

Rin thrashed about wildly, slamming herself against the tree as she flailed.

The world around her faded when she slammed the back of her head against the tree. She wanted it to stop. She hit her head again, and again and again until there was nothing.

Rin drifted. She ached, but somehow she was comfortable. She was calm in this place. It was away from the reality of her mission. Of her dead or dying teammate. She could forget here.

Everything was too loud and too quiet simultaneously. Darkness and light danced together in infinity. Distance was, and it wasn't.

The world was too close, and laughably far away.

It was like… well it was like floating in an ocean, only everything was dark. But dark didn't describe it well, because she could see her hands just fine, and the turtle was visible some ways away. There just wasn't any need for light, even if everything was visible here. And her surroundings were shrouded in darkness. Or perhaps nothingness.

And where here was, Rin didn't know. It was here, and it was there. Then and now.

There were sounds from elsewhere, and Rin sat up to look for them. Or, she thought she stood up. But she hadn't really been lying down to begin with. Or had she been sitting already when she stood? Or had she not moved anything but her head at all?

The sound, she eventually decided, was too far away and there were things more interesting here in the place with too much light and darkness.

She stood up, or so she thought, because when it came to it, Rin wasn't entirely certain she'd been lying down in the first place. And hadn't she stood already? Or sat up?

It was just... too hard to focus. She wasn't there, in that other place. She was here, in her dark and light place, with a turtle. It was off in the distance, swimming around in the nothingness. It looked cute.

A turtle? Why a turtle?

Rin had never had a turtle as a pet, or talked to one by any of the rivers or creeks in Konoha. She didn't think she'd seen one anywhere except for in books. She decided she liked it.

It wasn't her turtle, though, so why was she in this nowhere place with a turtle?

Perhaps the turtle would tell her what to do. Or at least explain what was happening.

Yes. That made sense. The turtle would explain. She could tell it knew what was happening, because it was swimming around without a care in the world.

She walked towards the tiny turtle, but it felt like floating. Or maybe it felt like flying through the air. Or swimming.

It quickly became clear that the turtle wasn't small, it was just very, very far away. Relatively speaking, at any rate. There was no way for her to tell how far she had or hadn't gone.

When she did finally get to the turtle, she was surprised to see that it was larger than any building she'd ever seen. It was big, and gray, and it had three tails. Rin wasn't even sure if regular turtles had tails in the first place. And she was sure she was supposed to be afraid of it. But this place was like no dream she'd ever had, and she felt nothing and everything all at once.

"Excuse me!" Rin called to the turtle.

The turtle shifted, and suddenly she was in front of its single, massive eye. The other one was closed, or missing, she reasoned. The turtle said nothing.

"Where are we?" Rin asked.

The turtle said nothing once again. It felt almost like it was sizing her up, but the turtle had to know that she was smaller than it was. Rin decided it was a silly turtle.

"Are you lost, too, Mister Turtle?" Rin asked.

The turtle blinked. "What do you want, human?"

"You can talk!" Rin cheered. But her voice was wrong. It was echoey and far away, but it was also too close and too loud.

"What do you want?" The turtle repeated.

"Want?" Rin asked. "Why would I want anything? I'm just here to float. There's nothing to worry about here."

"You took my chakra," The turtle said. "I did not give you permission."

"Took your… chakra?" Rin said. "But then you're the…" Rin screamed and tried to swim or fly or run away from the Turtle as fast as she could. But it was like she was caught in a riptide. The turtle never got farther away.

"Why are you in my prison?" The turtle asked. Rin didn't know why she was here, or how she got here.

"Go away!" Rin shrieked. "You made me kill Kakashi!"

"What you did with the stolen Chakra is not my responsibility, human. You took a power you cannot hope to understand, and now you fear it. You fear my power." It was not a question. It was a statement of fact.

The nothingness trembled with power, and ripples of chakra flowed out from the three-tailed turtle. Rin couldn't breathe, couldn't think. All she knew was terror.

"Help!" She called to the nothingness. "Help me!"

But no help came, and she was swept away into the infinity of darkness and terror.

Author's Note: If you enjoyed, please show support with a follow/fav and leaving a review if you're up to it. The more readers we have, the more feedback the story gets! It's also really cool to hit big milestones. What did you think of the three tails?