"Do you know what the most primitive emotion people have is? It's fear." ~Death Parade

…

.30

I should have known, I should have been paying better attention. But I'd let my guard down, for the first time in my life I felt completely at ease with another human. Look where it got us, outmatch just inside home territory. Shikamaru's back is flush against mine, and for once he was completely alert. My eyes were locked with the two before us.

I never expected this to happen. I should have been paying better attention.

Kuruma snarls in the back of my mind, he's no happier about this than I am. Well then. "Shikamaru." My voice is low but he angles his head back to listen. "When I give the signal I'm going to need you to get up and out of the way as fast as possible." I catch a nod of his head in my peripheral as I turn my full attention back to missing nin before us.

They are ever so kindly waiting for us to make the first move, if we'd been any other pair of Leaf ninja they would have attacked by now. But we're not. Shikamaru is the Nara heir and had already started to gain traction as a tactical genius like his father. We both had bingo book pages, most shinobi did once they reached chunin.

Regardless it didn't change the fact that we were surrounded, and unless I did something drastic well it's not hard to put together. I close my eyes, take a long breath holding the air in my lungs and reach deep within my core. Kuruma's chakra comes flooding to the surface, it's angry as it washes through my coils.

"NOW SHIKIMARU!" I can feel the shift I his chakra as he jumps up. Startled. No doubt, at the sudden overlap of growl in my tone. Kuruma's chakra burns beneath me skin.

I only needed a little, no tails not yet.

Just a little chakra to give me an extra edge. Yeah

That should be just fine.

I should have known better

…

Yamato had dedicated one hand to each of the Uzumaki twins. To their individual seals, one hand. His left had been marked and synced to Naruto and his right to Mitomi. Over the years she had been working on improving that method's reliability and range. He could detect any change in there Jinchuriki's seals from hundreds of miles away.

The feeling is sudden, it works it's was through his entire core. Something is wrong. Yamato drops the tea cup in his right hand. He doesn't even notice the scolding water as it splashes up hitting his skin. The burning sensation ripping its way across is palm and up his right wrist close to unbearable.

"Kouhai?" Kakashi drops his book down from in front of his face to stare at the brunette. However as soon as he notices the look on Yamato's face his senses kick into high alert.

"Yamato, what's going on?" Yamato is frozen in his spot by the pure shock, or fear, or whatever it was that he felt when he thought about Mitomi's wellbeing was. Only that feeling was now magnified and smothered in dread.

"Something's happened. Mito, she's released 6 of the nine tails." He finally pries his eyes from his burning hand. Standing quickly without further explanation, vanishing completely from his spot.

Kakashi throws some money on the table before going after Yamato. Knowing that nothing would stop the younger male from getting to his student. He summons three of his dogs, one to report the situation to the Hokage and one to the Jonin commander because if something was wrong with Mitomi, if she'd unleashed that many tails then something bad had happened to them, and the third to track down the little red head.

Kakashi had a really bad feeling about this.

…

Shikamaru hissed, clutching at his side in pain. He doesn't understand how this had happened. They were just traveling home, they were in the land of fire. So why had they been attacked? How had it gotten this far? Why? The blood from the open wound pooled in his hand. Damn, this was bad. What were they going to do?

Mitomi coughed up blood trying to sit up. She'd landed a few feet from him. Shikamaru wanted to yell at her tell her to run away. It was obvious they weren't after him. No these two wanted her. "Shikamaru?" Her eyes was frosted over, there is a shadow cast over her face and whatever he's about to say to her dies on his tongue. It's the look in her eyes, it's the fact that one of her eyes has changed from their normal shade and was more fox like.

"Yeah?" He watches her carefully, she struggles to stand. Stumbling a little as she moves to her feet. Wipes the blood from her nose and mouth.

"We've been set up. Take a look at their cloaks, surely Asuma told you." He'd noticed that earlier, right after Mitomi had charged the one with his face half covered. She'd seemed to have known them, or at least had heard of them. Because she had attacked with such precision that she had to of known what she was doing.

He'd never seen someone plunged their hand deep within the cavity of another human's chest without any reservation. She hadn't even blinked. Pulling out the man's heart in a swift motion and throwing it to the ground like it was nothing. After a few seconds the person that should have been a corpse got up like nothing had happened.

These were members of the Akatsuki. The man whose heart Mitomi had ripped from his chest was apparently an immortal. His companion, well the red head and him they had apparently met already. Shikamaru knew Mitomi well enough to know she wasn't going to back down, she was just like her brother in that manner.

Those two no matter what, they never gave up.

"Can you stand?" She questioned, her voice wavered. It sounded like she was starting to lose control. He didn't answer aloud but did give a small indication with his head. Yeah he could move. It might not be easy, but he could.

He'd tried to help her, but he only ended up getting hit by the massive sword swung over the other guy's shoulder. "You need to get far away from here." There a certain sense of urgency in her tone, an unmistakable warning.

"I can't leave you here! Don't be stupid." How could she be so… why did she think he'd just listen to her? This was ridiculous, they were out of their league she couldn't hope to keep fighting them. On her own no less. What was she thinking! Shikamaru could really see the relation between the twins then. They were just different version of the same sort of stupid.

Mitomi looked over her shoulder then, staring straight at him eyes pleading. She actually growled before speaking. "Please, I don't want to be responsible. I don't want to hurt you." He understood then, giving a slight nod of head. For some reason Mitomi actually offers him a smile then.

Shikamaru jumps back before jumping on to the lowest branch. He's not going to be able to make it far, not on good conscious that it. He needed to time to figure out the best way to plan, what his next move was going to be. For the moment he'd give her the space she needed, but he wasn't going to just leave her alone.

The air pressure suddenly dropped, thickening around him. Becoming harder to take a breath. Killer intent, thick, potent, seeped into the air. From his spot he had a great view of the forest floor below. Deep orange chakra cloaked over Mitomi's skin, bubbling at the surface, tails building out of the mass great in length reaching out behind her.

Two. Three. Four. Five. Until there were six. She fell forward then, landing on her hands taking on the stance of a beast. Snarling at the two men in black cloaks.

Shikamaru had never witnessed such a sight. It was actually fascinating, terrifying, but yet fascinating all at the same time. To behold the power of a jinchurik. The nine-tails especially. It was horrifying and fascinating, and he knew better than to get in her way then.

For a moment only one thought registers.

Fuck, they were so screwed.

XOXOX

Betcha thought I'd abandoned this story! Think again! I am back. Like I said in my author not attached to the new chapter of Echo life is supper busy right now and I haven't had the time I'd like for these two stories. Please bear with me as I try to get my shit together. I won't make any promises regarding the frequency of updating but I will try to do better.

Thank you for reading this chapter, please let me know what you think!

Sincerely, La'Rae

Apologies for the shortness of this chapter.