She landed in the gap between Koumori and Kisame, standing and turning towards Kariudo, who was looking at her directly, although she maintained her effort in avoiding to make eye contact. She could feel the skin on her forehead burning as he wordlessly threatened her with the seal she had been placed under upon acceptance in to the organization, but he did not activate it.

"What took you so long?" asked Shirotaka, poking his head around Itachi to survey her.

"...I had to escape without the use of my chakra, and steal back the Ikichi," she said, leaving the Sugi part out.

"Without your chakra?"

"They sealed it with a seal I've never seen before," she explained. Kariudo broke from the line and approached her.

"Show me. You cannot fight without the use of the orbs and your chakra."

She hesitated for a moment before unbuttoning her trenchcoat and letting it drop to the rocky floor. She lifted her tanktop only enough for most of the seal to show, and shifted slightly as Kariudo raised his hand, which was practically dripping in chakra.

"What an odd seal," he muttered, narrowing his eyes. "But, this should work. Roku Ikkakukaiin."

She winced slightly as he spread his fingers and slammed them over her seal, the chakra burning the skin of her stomach for a few moments before she staggered back, feeling the chakra flowing through her again. He shook his hand out and dropped it as she clutched her stomach and lifted her cloak from the ground, replacing it over her shouders.

"What are they doing?" she asked Kariudo, looking out across the silent troops. There was an explosion from where the three summoned animals were battling.

"Waiting for someone to make the first move," he said simply, falling back into line. She examined the leaders of the troops as she waited, but she was looking for one in particular, one who belonged to the Sound.

The Sound's troops were led by four people, the Tsuchikage on the left, and a Rain-nin on the right of a gap. On either side of them stood two more Sound-nin, one with silver hair done up in a ponytail with round glasses that glinted annoyingly in the sunlight, and one dressed in completely black, save for a red music note on the front of his uniform. But her eyes fell back to the gap, where she supposed another should be.

As if on que, there was a flash, and another man landed between the Rain-nin and the Tsukikage. He was wearing a loose, tan-coloured outfit with black shorts and a black t-shirt underneath, and a length of light-purple rope around his waist. He wore white shin guards and had a pair of long, black gloves that reached up to just below his elbows. Across his back was a medium-sized katana, the sword's case strapped neatly across his shouders, ready to be used. His skin, although not unhealthily pale, was made to look so because of the long, glossy-black hair that framed his face, reaching to his shoulders where it had been neatly trimmed, and curled in under his chin. She was looking him directly in his eyes, which she recognized immediately. They were not cold and dead like hers, but alert and wild, with a dull golden glow to them and snake-like slits for pupils.

"Akisu," she whispered. But he seemed not to recognize her, as he turned to the side to say something to the Tsukikage. Do I look that different that even he cannot recognize me?

"Kariudo, why do you hesitate to begin the battle?" called out Akisu, the apperent leader for the Sound's side. She immediately noticed that his voice had changed, not only in pitch, but in the way he spoke. His voice was clear and loud enough for all sides to hear, but there was an angry sharpness to it, as if he were always mad at something or someone. Kariudo smiled and stepped forwards.

"I was going to let you do the honours, Akisu-kun."

"I see," he replied, stepping forwards. Kariudo stepped forwards as well, but Akisu suddenly stopped, vanishing. What?! she thought, glancing around. She soon spotted him though, standing at the head of the Leaf's army, beside the Hokage.

"This battle is between the Leaf and the Sound, the Akatsuki plays no part in it. Please remove yourself from our presence, or I will kill you," he said, standing. The Sound's side was perfectly still, not beleiving what had just happened. Was he a spy? she thought, narrowing her eyes.

"Orochimaru-sama will punish you for this, Akisu-kun," said the silver-haired man from the Sound in a calm voice. Akisu did not acknowledge him.

"Your kind is the worst, Akisu-kun," said Kariudo in a mocking voice. "To betray your own country like this... Unspeakable. You deserve nothing less than death, filthy brat."

"I'm betraying my country? No, I was with the Leaf this entire time. I have been loyally spying for them for the past three years. You are worse than I am, and for that, I will wipe you off the face of this earth!"

With his last words, he launched himself towards Kariudo, who remained in the exact same position, simply staring at the other man mockingly. But Akisu suddenly pulled out the katana, the metal flashing in the sunlight as he descended on Kariudo. All humour suddenly left Kariuda's face, as he jumped back, but Raine knew it was too late for that. This... This should be my fight, she thought, suddenly moving forwards with a speed that could only belong to the Aohane. She skidded to a halt between the two men as a single, silver orb appeared before her, sending sparks flying as the katana connected with it and Akisu landed on the ground a few feet away, still no recognition in his bright, yellow eyes. The orbs should have been a dead giveaway, she thought almost angrily.

"Please, Kariudo-san. Let me begin this battle."

"...If you wish to do so, then please do, Raine."

"Raine?!"

Too late. Before Akisu could wipe the expression of shock from his young face, she had charged him, the other twenty-three orbs appearing around her as she began furiously attacking him. The war had begun. The other sides launched into their own battles, jumping across the canyon faces and engaging in battle with eachother. She suddenly jumped backwards and launched towards her former companion fron a new direction, but instead of dodging it, this time he brought up his swords, swinging it in an arc towards her. But she was ready. She whipped out her last fan from inside of the Akatsuki cloak, bringing it up to block the blade and trying to overpower Akisu, who still looked shocked.

"Raine, it's me, Akisu," he hissed, trying to force her back as well.

"No shit," she growled. But there was a hint of fear in her voice.


"The Aohane was the basic experiment, the first experiment, but Hikaru is a more advanced version of the same concept. But the Aohane still has it's advantages-there are no side affects for using its powers, at least none too severe, and it can be called upon easily, at will. The Hikaru, however, will put great strain on whichever capsule it is placed in."

"But I thought the capsule got away. Ran."

"Keh," he scoffed, lowering his chopsticks. "The capsule was a two-year-old kid who couldn't even walk probably. My dad stole him."

"What? Why?"

"Well... Mum was the one to steal him in the first place, so he's just reclaiming what's his. But he knows what she did to him. I almost feel sorry for the kid, when he grows up he'll have a harder time in life than you have right now. He's like you, accept he's easier to hate."


He has the Hikaru, and he could beat me if he wanted, so I'll have to make this quick, before he gets serious. If worse comes to worse, I can always use that... She jumped back and released the seal, throwing off her Akatsuki cloak as the charcoal-black armour shot over her body, leaving only her stomach, neck, and the backs of her legs exposed. She winced slightly as the wings broke the skin on her back, growing outwads through the two, small holes in her armour, showering dark-blue feathers around her. Akisu caught only a glimpse of her blood-red eyes before she charged again, flicking up the visor on her helmet to see more clearly.

But this time, he was ready as well. At the speed she was travelling, she failed to notice a subtle change in his eyes. They had changed from their normal, golden colour to a striking, emerald green. As she brought her clawed hands towards his neck, they met his katana, and she struggled to overpower him for the second time. But, as if she were nothing more than an insect, he suddenly fully released the seal and threw her back into the air. She spun backwards a number of times before snapping her wings back and righting herself, landing on another cliff and facing him. The last time she had seen the Hikaru, it had been on her side, saving her before she hit the surface of the ocean. But this time... This time, things were different.

The Hikaru was a much more magnificent being than the Aohane, it looked almost angelic. The seal had not been fully released, or else it would be attacking her at the moment, it was only half released, but it had still taken over Akisu's physical appearance. He had a helmet almost identical to her own, along with armour that encased most of his body, but it was not black and scarred like her own, but smooth and silver. He was facing her, looking her directly in the eye with his emerald orbs, and her eyes travelled up and down the pair of ivory-white feathered wings that reached above him, folded neatly. His katana was pointed directly at her where she was crouched, and they simply stared at eachother for a few moments.

"Don't fight me, Raine," he said almost angrily. "I will just end up killing you."

"I'd like to see you try," she retorted, almost in a snarl.

"...You know the power of the Hikaru, I could easily overpower you."

"You have not seen the true strength of the Aohane. It was made differently than the Hikaru, with many disadvantages, but there are a few key things that can give me the advantage. You can't kill me, asshole."

His katana lowered slightly as he examined her with his emerald eyes. "What made you turn to these people? Why-"

"Shut up!" she almost yelled, standing and falling into a fighting stance. "Everyone always asks me that! You wanna know what made me snap? It was you! It's your fault I've turned into this monster! But now... Now there is no escape. The only thing left to do is kill you!"

With her last words, she launched directly up into the air, giving a short yell of anger as she released the seal completely, something she had done only once or twice before. The result was instantaneous. Her mind went suddenly numb, and she could feel the chakra pumping through her in phenomenal amounts, so overwhelming she almost became drunk on the power for a few seconds. Her vision sharpened incredibly, and the world around her seemed to slow as she sped up. But she currently had little control over the main body. It was being controlled almost entirely by the Aohane.

She suddenly pitched in to a freefall, beating her wings hard as she plunged towards the Hikaru with unimaginable speed. It took less than half a second for her to reach the Hikaru, but when she connected, it was with the hard rock instead of the other's flesh. She made no effort to break, simply smashing directly in to the stone and shattering it as if it were nothing but thin glass. she caught a glimpse of silver to her left and did not hesitate to pursue it.

She chased Akisu through the battles around them, taking down many other shinobi in the process as they two streaks of black and silver wove in and out. Akisu suddenly took off into the ar, and she followed, beating her wings hard and attempting to overake him. But it was at that time that Kariudo released her worst nightmare.

"Kuro Umi no Jutsu!"

She swerved just in time as a large blast of water exploded from the direction Kariudo's voice had come from. This jutsu had been created by the fourth Mizukage, and he had stolen it and improved it. The water formed in to a gigantic, inescapable wave that crashed over the cliffs and rocky outcroppings of the canyon, flooding the cracks and easily overtaking all who were caught in its path. As the wave slowed and welled up into a large, black body of water, the remaining ninja were forced to fight on it's surface, forcing a constant flow of chakra to their feet to support themselves. Raine scoffed, beating her wings hard to avoid getting anywhere near the black water. Water and her did not get along very well.

Before she could re-locate Akisu, he smashed into her left side, knocking her off balance and nearly in to the black body of water below, had she not caught herself at the last possible second, bringing her wings back and flipping back to face Akisu, who was charging her again. She flew to meet him, raising her clawed hands as they clashed in mid-air. His katana twisted oddly as she clashed with it, and it suddenly lost all solidity, changing in to a thick-bodied, purple snake that wrapped around her arms.

"What the-?!" Akisu smashed into her again, before she could remove the snake and free her hands. A few moments later, their positions were reversed, with Raine doing the running, and Akisu chasing after her. She struggled with the snake, but it did not seem to want to give. She paused for a moment, before chakra exploded out from her wrists, forcing the snake off, where it was caught by Akisu as a katana again.

A shadow dashed in front of her and she had no time to swerve, both her and the shadow ending up falling towards the sea. She looked over the person, just about to kill him, before she recognized him. He had light brown, almost blonde hair and hard, grey eyes that were staring back at her fearlessly.

"Sora?" she said, remembering when she had met him three years ago in the Leaf when she had met Akisu. She used his body to launch herself back in to the air and make a number of seals, locating Akisu quickly.

"Katon: Ryuho no Jutsu!" A red orb appeared in front of her as she drew in a deep breath, bringing a seal up to her lips and exhaling. Fire exploded from from her, tripling in size as it contacted the orb, and burning everything in front of her, englufing Akisu completely in flame. I'm not done, she thought, making another string of seals.

"Suiton: Suikoden no Jutsu!" A dark blue orb appeared before her this time, and instead of fire, a torrent of water exploded from her mouth, plunging directly in to the center of the flames. And one more!

"Suiton: Iteru no Jutsu!" When she exhaled this time, a clear, condensed fog escaped her mouth, engulfing the torrent of water. Upon contanct, the water froze completely, falling into the black water below as if it were a giant ice cube. But before she could celebrate her victory, the surface of the ice broke, and a silver shape streaked towards her, driving the blade of the katana deep into the side of her stomach and out the back. There was a moment when time seemed to freeze.

Akisu had both hands around the handle of the blade, and she had her hands on the blade itself, her face showing the shock she was in. That should have killed him... She tilted backwards slightly, and felt the blade slide from her side, the tip finally leaving her body as she tumbled backwards, her muscles frozen in shock. How can he still be here? She had not been pannicking, not until she tilted fully upside-down and saw the black pool approaching. But her wings were frozen, they simply would ot respond. She closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around herself as the water approached faster and faster, until she thought that it would be the impact itself that would kill her.

She had not expected the liquid to be so cold. As soon as she hit the surface, she began sinking, the armour dragging her down deeper and deeper. It was only a matter of seconds before the dark water became devoid of all light, and she found herself in a very familiar situation.


She slipped. Her right foot simply slid forwards on the stone, followed by her left as she shot out her arms for balance, but it was too late. She hit the stone hard, her head connecting with the icy surface as her feet hit cold water. Her head had hit the stone hard though, and the moment it connected, everythin went black. Again.

Everything was cold and black as she stirred. Her limbs were numb and seemed paralyzed from the impossible cold water, and her eyes snapped open as she realized what had just happened. Water. It filled her lungs and stung her eys, chilling her to the bone. She was under water. She could see the light of the surface above her and the botomless darkness beneath her, threatening to swallow her up. She was moving quickly downstream as she began struggling, but her clothes seemed to slow her movements and drag her further into the dark depths.


But she knew, this time, there would be no hands. She was too frozen to even struggle, so she simply sunk deeper and deeper. The pressure caused her ears to pop over and over, and she finally opened her eyes and asped for breath, the ice-cold liquid rushing into her hungry lungs and filling every part of her, suffocating her. She tried to cough, but all there was was water. Water and cold and darkness and... pain. Her side was screaming in pain, and she could taste the water around her, which was salty from the amount of blood in it.

You are so weak, she thought, her attempts at struggling fading. She fell still, her hair flowing around her as she looked up with half-closed eyes. You can't save yourself? Why have you become so weak? Why must you always depend on other people to save you? There is... no one to save you this time. No hands to pull you from this water. No one. She could almost feel herself slipping away, her eyes closing further and further, until they were completely sealed. But something happened then that she had not expected.

She hit the bottom. her body came to a rest on the stone floor of the canyon, and her eyes opened again to stare up at the pale light coming from above, from the surface of the water. So weak. She could feel something burning, weighing her down, and she moved her hand slightly to grasp the necklace, the Ikichi. Her eyes suddenly snapped wide open. I can use that! It's the only way out of here.... I have to kill Akisu... Kariudo ordered it.... Kill him.... Her eyes began to slip closed again, but she forced them open, grasping the Ikichi tightly. No, I have to keep going, finish what I've started!

The Ikichi suddenly exploded in light that seeped in to the darkness around her, repelling it. there was no going back now. The water around her shot away, flying up around her as she coughe up water and sucked in the oxygen as fast as she could. The black water was hovering around her, kept at bay by the Ikichi, until she rasped the next words, the words to complete the technique she had been forbidden to perform.

"Kinjutsu! Nijushi Youso Betsushori Kyuutai: Gyou gappei..." (Forbidden Technique! 24 Elemental Orbs: Elemental Merge technique.)

The water around her completely exploded, the small droplets flying everywhere as she raised her wings and shot up after it, following the twenty-four orbs circling above her as she rose above the canyon again. Every muscle in her body was screaming at her to stop, to just fall back to the earth, but she was not moving of her own accord. It was neither her, nor the Aohane that was currently in control, but the orbs and the Ikichi, forcing her higher and higher above the battle until the orbs stopped. She had not expected it to be so incredibly painful, and when it came, she nearly blacked out in mid-air.

The twenty-four orbs had suddenly surrounded her completely, closing in closer and closer until they connected with her skin and the black armour. They seemed to pause for a moment, before melting in to her, sinking into her body or into the armour until only a small fraction of the orb was above the surface, glowing dimly. But that was not what hurt. After twenty-three of the orbs had melted into her body, she noticed the last one hovering directly before her. It was a dark, deep purple, almost black orb. The psychic orb. She had not nearly mastered using it, and had only used it once before, as it was the hardest to manipulate. For a few moments, the orb seemed as if it were not going to move, but before she could relax, it shot forwards, through the visor of her helmet, and into her forehead.

She immediately crumpled into a small ball, clutching her head as if someone had just smashed somwthing over it. The pain was so incredibly intense that she could not scream. Her throat tightened to the point at which she thought she would either vommit or suffocate, and her breathing stopped for a few seconds. She was falling again, but this time, she was prepared.

A few moments before she hit the surface of the water, which was slowly draining away, her wings shot open again as she regained control, skimming the surface before pulling up and quickly locating Akisu, who was waiting and watching her. The jutsu was complete, and for the next few minutes, she was literally invincible. But there would be a large price to pay afterwards. She pushed the thought from her mind and descended upon Akisu with a new killing intent.

He had apparently been unprepared for the ferocity in which she attacked him with, as if she had infinite speed and stamina. She landed and charged him on foot, slashing at him left and right and quickly forcing him back further and further. Her attacks did not slow down in the least, insted speeding up to a blurringly-fast pace, until she finally landed a hit on his right shoulder. The moment her right hand connected with the armour, fire exploded around it, nearly engulfing him as the orb which was embedded in to her right hand took effect, activating and searing the skin beneath his armour. He grunted and turned, taking flight and streaking away.

When he circled around, his eyes had taken on a new look, burning with a hatred that could not be his own. Raine noticed, but didn't care. Even the Hikaru fully released was not currently as powerful as herself when using this jutsu. She streaked towards him at the exact same pace, and the two forces met in mid-air, chakra and fire exploding from where they clashed, sending them both backwards. Raine recovered first, shaking her head and taking off after him again. The moment he turned, he was met with her left hand, the water orb activating and blasting him back before forming into a number of spiked icicles that showered down on him, several finding their target and slicing deep into his chest, arms and legs. She dropped to the ground and brought her leg around as he took flight, circling and diving at her, somehow managing to pierce her left shoulder. But instead of hesitating, she quickly grabbed the blade, and electricity crackled out from her palm, travelling up the blade to his arm and forcing him to drop the sword.

She pulled the blade out and tossed it in to the canyon below, charging him again as he prepared his next attack, but she suddenly halted, spinning around in mid charge to look behind her. For the first tie, she caught a glimpse of the battles around her. Hundreds upon hundreds of shinobi lay dead or dying on the cliffs, others still fighting, with bload soaking everything, dripping from the rock and staining what was left of the dark water a deep, blood red. But it was not the war in general that she had broken her concentration for.

On the highest cliff to her left stood four of the nine Akatsuki, at their head Kariudo lifting a slightly smaller figure up by the collar of his black and orange jacket. It was her half-brother, Naruto. As Kariudo brought back his right hand dripping in chakra, something hit her hard in the gut, knocking the air from her lungs and sending her flying backwards. But her mind was still on her brother. Her eyes widened suddenly as she flipped fully around, landing cat-like and skidding to a halt as she processed what she had just seen. The Kyuubi! She thought, her mind racing. Kariudo is going to release the Kyuubi! If that happens, everyone on both sides will be crushed along with the village!

She knew, along with everyone else in the war, the exact second the seal was released. A dangerous energy surrounded her, the air around her suffocating and crushing her with the energy that pulsed through it. The temperature seemed to rise several degrees in the few seconds it took for the energy to fill the entire battlefield, and moments later, the momentary silence was shattered by an ear-splitting screech, followed by a miniature earthquake that threw her off balance before she took flight. Not good, she thought anxiously. But there was no time to examine the large, red-furred demon that was forming below, because Akisu, completely driven by the Hikaru's will, met her in the air once more.

She backpeddalled quickly, dodging an attack from the Hikaru that had enough energy to kill her. What?! her head spun around to see Akisu surrounded in a dark red energy almost alike to that of the Kyuubi's, and his eyes were glaring directly in to her own. What is this? His speed had increased tenfold, matching her own, and they were now evenly matched, parrying through the air in a complicated dance of death. One slip-up and they would die. One hit and all would end. There was no option other than to continue fighting, if she paused, she would be killed, and if she tried to run, she would be killed as well.

"Stop... Stop it!" she grunted, avoiding blow after blow as she was pushed back further and further. "Stop it or we'll both be killed!"

The words just seemed to be meaningless noise that bounced off his head and had no effect. That alone told her he was completely gone. Asshole, she thought, narrowly avoiding a blow to her neck. I'll just have to... She brought chakra to her right hand, ducking and bringing it up into his chest, where fire exploded, throwing him back and sending him spinning towards the earth, the feathers of his white wings singed and smoking. But she suddenly noticed what was heading directly for Akisu.

"Akisu!"

There was a blur of blood-red fur and burning, slitted eyes, followed by a muzzle full of thick, pointed teeth dripping with saliva. The Kyuubi was ripping through the shinobi's ranks, but it broke its concentration to pounce towards the small, smoking, white and silver object that was Akisu, which was falling towards him, trying to regain control of his broken and battered wings. Before she could make up her mind, she found herself winging towards Akisu's falling form at an incredible speed. She snapped her wings back as Akisu slammed into her, bringing her wings up and beating upwards. But it was too late by then.

The Kyuubi's claws slammed into her left side, ripping through the armour as if it were wet paper and flinging her through the air as if she were a fly. She momentarily lost conciousness from the immediate pain and shock, but found her vivion again as she was headed towards the ground. She had her arms wrapped around Akisu as they smashed into the stone with such incredible force that the stone shattered, flying up around them as she released Akisu. When she hit, her limp body was tossed aside, rolling over and over before falling still on her left side, covered from head to toe in blood.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Akisu standing, still glaring angrily at her as if nothing had happened, still surrounded in the dark red aura, as if ready to kill her. She struggled up to continue with the fight as well, managing to prop her aching body up with her left elbow, before freezing again. There was a loud cracking noise, and she felt the ground shift slightly, her eyes falling on the small crater she and Akisu had left upon impact. There was a large, deep crack running along the rock, cutting off the section where she lay from the main part of the cliff, and she knew from that what was about to happen. That's it, she thought simply, lowering herself back to the ground. She lay her head on the cold, blood-soaked stone and let her wings fall messily around her as she simply gave up. This is too much work.

The red aura around Akisu faded suddenly as the cliff gave a few more inches, the rubble around her sliding into the dark void below. The water had drained by now, leaving nothing that could possible break her fall. I give up, she thought, her body shaking uncontrollably because of the unbearable pain. Akisu was no longer glaring at her, but he seemed caught between two things. He took a step forwards as the cliff nearly broke completely off, and she tensed in anticipation.

"Baka," she growled in annoyance.

"Raine-"

She squeezed her eyes shut and her tomach lurched as the cliff broke completely and she plunged into darkness. She made no effort to manipulate her hopelessly broken body against the flow of stone that followed after her, simply letting it carry her faster and faster into the abyss below. She no longer cared, her time was up. Dammit, she thought, trying to stop herself from shaking. I don't want to die yet.