Even top jonins get tired, although they won't really admit it. Asura looked behind her, to see how her subordinate- she liked subordinate better than student- was doing.

'We're almost there.' Asura informed, between breaths. 'Should we take a break?'

'We should be at the border in about half an hour, if my calculations are correct.' Kaiya said, after a few moments. 'We should be able to manage without a break.

Asura nodded, along with a hn.

To be fair with herself, Kaiya felt fatigued, as running for a good 5 or 6 hour with hardly any break wasn't doing any good. But she also knew that time costed a price too expensive at that moment. They couldn't afford it. Not then.

Well, it was a good deal. They arrived to the border to the Land of Lightning, where a small, three-man cell of genin waited, along with a man, presumably their sensei.

'When will they arrive? We've been waiting for hours!' A red-headed girl with pigtails asked.

'Be patient, Hana.' The man said, calmly. 'They'll arrive soon.'

Kaiya looked at Asura, who nodded.

'Excuse me.' Asura adressed to the man, who turned to her quickly, along with his team. 'Are you waiting Konoha shinobi for an investigation mission?'

The man hesitated for a moment, in doubt, before analysing. Both women had Konoha headbands. It must be them.

'Yes.' He said, reserved. 'Are you the ones we're waiting for?'

'Mhm.' Asura nodded.

'I see. Please follow me. Guys, get up. We're going.'

Hana mumbled something along the lines of finally! As she and her teammates got up and followed their teacher.

'So, we'll go a bit in the east, the place we must go to is about an hour away.' The man explained.

'We must check on that family, right, Akio-sensei?' One of the boys in the team asked.

'Yep, we need to check on that family.'

'What... What family?' Kaiya asked, feeling her face twitch. She felt like she could connect some dots, but she needed more information for a conclusion.

'There's a weird family living in the woods.' Hana informed. 'They aren't affiliated to any land, but they live here in the Lighting. Raikage-sama sends someone every other week to check on them. To make sure they don't plan anything, y'know.'

Kaiya nodded. She knew exactly who they were going to investigate, and she had mixed feelings about it. Asura noticed how something was off- and her only guess was about to get confirmed.

'What's their name?' Kaiya asked, half-absent.

'Kobayashi.' Akio said. 'They're a pretty popular legend here, but you probably haven't heard of them.'

You have no idea, Kaiya thought with a sigh. Asura looked at the girl for any reaction that might give her out, but she did nothing. Asura shook her head, in an attempt to brush it off.

'We should hurry a bit, Akio-san.' Asura suggested. 'It's nearly afternoon, and we might want to check on them while they're still active.'

Akio bit his lip, and Kaiya couldn't help but notice his hand twitch a little. Maybe it was some sort of tic, but taking what Lady Hokage warned about, it was better to be alert. Kaiya turned around to Asura and mouthed a be careful. Asura blinked with a nod in assurance.

'Fine.' Akio said, as he jumped on the trees. 'Let's go.'

Kaiya crouched down next to the team as they watched behind the bushes. It was, indeed, a good spot for hiding. Except, a small problem.

'We shouldn't stay here for long, twenty minutes at most.' She said. 'They'll sense us otherwise.'

Akio frowned. 'What do you mean?'

'They have a pretty good sense of smell, and they aren't stupid. If we sit more than twenty minutes, our smell can hardly be hidden anymore.'

'How... How do you know this stuff?' One of the boys, Nobu, asked.

Kaiya paused for a moment. 'I know some stuff as well. Now, let's get that investigation done.'

Everyone bid quietly. They analysed everything, but nothing really happened. The place that they were looking at was fairly small meadow with a wooden statue in the middle, surrounded by various tents made out painted animal skin that was sustained by tall wood sticks.

The tents spread out on the meadow and a bit into the woods. The family was quite large, but since most tents held three to four people, it wasn't a surprise that the amount of tents wasn't too large.

'You guys see that large tent over there? The biggest one.' Akio told his team. 'That belongs to the Alpha, their leader. I think it's a woman.'

'I know.' Kaiya said, without getting her eyes off the small camp.

Of course she knew. It was common knowledge for her.

'Hm?' Akio questioned.

'Nothing.'

As they watched, something catched Kaiya's eye that made her smile a little. Her step-father, Kaito, was trying to teach her little brother Kouta some archery.

'Dad, Kaiya-chan didn't teach me archery like this! She did it otherwise.' Kouta commented.

'Well, your sister isn't here. You'll have to bear with me.' Kaito said.

Luckily for Kaiya, the team from the Lighting had a weaker hearing than her, so they probably couldn't make out what the two were saying. Unluckily for her, Asura trained herself for this kind of situations, ao she could understand them a bit better.

'Is that your little brother?' Asura asked, quiet enough that only Kaiya heard her.

Kaiya nodded. Suddenly, Kouta turned around in their direction. Just like his mother, he was gifted with a really sharp eyesight so it wasn't a big surprise when he noticed Kaiya. On Kaiya's behalf, she muttered some language worse than a farmer's.

'Dad, Kaiya's here!' Kouta said, pretty loudly.

'We need to leave.' Kaiya demanded. 'No questions allowed. I'll explain later.'

She seemed to have some effect, as nobody questioned it and dissapeared within seconds. As they ran through the forest, Kaiya noticed Aiko's tic of hand movement. This time, though, the aftermath came. Within seconds, they were surrounded.

About ten to fifteen shinobi with Lighting headbands stood ready for attack, each with various weapons in their hands.

'What's happening, sensei?' Hana asked, obviously panicking. 'They're from Kumogakure, just like us! Why are they attacking us?'

'Sorry, kids.' Akio apologised. 'Raikage-sama's orders.'

'You knew of this...?' Asura asked, her voice trailing off.

Their intentions were clear. The fact that the small team didn't stand a chance was also clear.

'Actually, Plan B!' Kaiya said.

Before anyone could say anything, the girl let out an long, almost inhumane howl.

'What are you doing, are you out of your mind?!' Asura yelled. 'You'll give off our location!'

'Too late.' Kaiya said, with a smirk. 'Katon: Fire breath!'

The attack went down with some good damage, putting down two unprepared men. The group lost composure for just a few moments, but it was enough for Kaiya's next attack to appear. Tens of voices could be heard coming towards them.

'I swear I heard it!' Someone said. 'I'm not going deaf, I know that for sure.'

'I heard it too, idiot.' A different voice answered. 'But the kid's supposed to be in Konoha.'

'Maybe she's on a mission!' A younger, familiar voice suggested. It was Kouta.

'How about you help me out?' Kaiya yelled, without looking back. 'I'll explain it later.'

'That's... Those are the Kobayashi!' One of the Lighting ninja yelled.

'What...?' Akio murmured in disbelief. 'How did you summon them?'

'Nee-chan! What did you do this time?'

'I said I'll explain it later, Kouta! Shut up.' Kaiya snapped. Sometimes, her brother proved to be more stupid than she thought him to be.

'Nee-chan?! Are you a Kobayashi?' Akio exclaimed, his face twisting in surprise.

'Shit.' One of the Lighting shinobi muttered. 'Maybe we should back out, Doko-sama.'

'They're just a bunch of wild animals. We can handle them. Attack!' Their leader, Doto, demanded.

The group obeyed immediately, landing various attacks with their swords and weapons. Unluckily for them, the clan that arrived out numbered them easily, and each person had weapons with them.

'Earth release: Mud wall!' Kaiya said, creating a wall behind the Lighting shinobi, making sure that they wouldn't escape easily. 'Wind release: Air bullet!'

Kaiya's bullets send the shinobi falling down on the ground. The distance between wasn't too high, so there were hardly any injuries. Asura felt impressed. Although the jutsu didn't land as much damage as it could when she did it, it was still very well made for someone who learned it just a day or two earlier.

Not only that, but the girl managed to put three jutsus one after the other and still have chakra left. With some more training, she'd give the girl a reccomendation to become jonin for sure.

For one thing, the enemy group was weakened. It wasn't quite a good thing, they all knew that. Even their leader. But would he back away? Raikage-sama would kill him!

The clan was an unexpected turn, but, again, nothing he couldn't handle, and there was no other choice- he needed to get rid of the clan.

'Attack!' He ordered. 'Attack that wretched clan!'

It was a blood bath. One or two people from the Kobayashi clan died, a few others were injured, but it couldn't be compared to the Lighting shinobi's fates- they were all massacred.

Kaiya's left eye twisted a little as her mother bandaged her head and arms in their tent that evening.

'I didn't expect to see you so soon, dear.' Fuzasane said. 'Especially not like this.'

'Why are you calling me dear?' Kaiya asked. 'You don't do that.'

'I was worried, and I'm glad you're ok. How comes you were here, anyway?'

Kaiya pursed her lips. Her mother wasn't really acting like her usual self, and she couldn't bring herself to tell her real motives. Yet, she couldn't really lie either.

'I got a mission nearby. We were attacked.'

Fuzasane nodded. 'I see.'

She didn't need her daughter to tell her that- she knew she was a bit confused. But, at the same time, she couldn't help it. Ever since Kaiya returned, she was more open and, well... mature than the one she remembered. She didn't seem to hold any grudge against neither of her fathers and, in a sense, it made her happy. They could be a happy family. Could.

But Kaiya had her own life now, and she didn't depend on the clan in any way. Fuzasane knew that, as a mother, she had no choice but to respect the path Kaiya chose.

'There, you're all patched up.' Fuzasane said, tying up the last bandages on Kaiya's arms. 'Are you hungry?'

'I'm good, I already ate something.' Kaiya said with a smile. 'Thank you.'

'You hardly ate anything.' Fuzasane frowned, before poking her head out of their tent. 'Kaito, bring some food here!'

Kaiya puffed in amusement. In just a few minutes, Kaito entered with a sack with various things to eat. He was a well-build man with scruffy-looking brown hair and various scars of his face, arms and animal skin jacket. While he would appear quite intimidating at first, his kind eyes would always give him off.

'I heard someone was hungry here.' He joked, as he ruffled Kaiya's head while sitting down next to Kaiya. 'How are you?'

'Been better.' Kaiya shrugged. 'What about you?'

'I'm fine, thanks. Haven't seen you in awhile, though.' Kaito said. 'Why don't you tell me how's everything going there in Konoha?'

Kaiya smiled. 'Let's see...'

She told him all that happened, and Kaito was impressed by the things that happened, especially how she was part of the team that saved the Kazekage. When Kaiya told him about how she was a Chūunin now and was training to become a jonin, he couldn't stop praising her (It's because they finally recognise your talent! No wonder they send you to save the Kazekage.). Suddenly, Kouta entered the tent.

'Nee-chan, Taka wants to talk to you.'

Kaiya pursed her lips. Taka was her cousin, the son of the Alpha. She never took a particular like to him, and she was pretty sure that the feeling was mutual, but the only option that the circumstances gave them was of tolerating eachother, no matter the negative feelings.

She took a jacket on and walked out of the tent, followed closely by Kouta. It was a pretty dark night, but luckily, people lit up some torches through the camp.

'Be careful.' Kouta warned. 'I don't like his vibe.'

Kaiya sighed. She didn't like it either, but she couldn't avoid it. Whatever happened, happened. They walked through the camp until they reached a tall-ish boy with dark hair and sombre eyes. Kaiya motioned for her brother to go, and he did so immediately.

'What do you want, Taka?' Kaiya asked, after Kouta left.

'I wanted to talk to you.' Taka said, coldly. 'Mind walking with me?'

Kaiya pursed her lips. 'Fine. But not too far.'

They began trailing off on a path in the forest, with neither of them saying anything. It wasn't really unexpected from Taka to not hurry but... he never really took a liking in wasting time. Not without good reasoning. It worried Kaiya.

'So?' Kaiya asked. 'What is it?

'I was meaning to ask you something.' Taka said, eventually. 'Do you like it there in Konoha?'

Kaiya blinked a few times, taken aback by the question. She thought it would be something different.

'Yes, I like it there. Very much, in fact. Why?'

'Just wondering.' He paused for a moment. 'Would you come back to the clan?'

'I don't know- What's with these questions, Taka? Since when do you care how I'm doing?'

'Don't be rude. I was actually thinking of something. When I'll become Alpha, well, I want to be the next Alpha. After mother decides she's too old for the positions.'

Kaiya snorted out. Her aunt Ichika, the alpha who was also Taka's mother, was probably the most stubborn person she knew. The woman wouldn't give up on her position easily, even if for her son.

'So what's with that?' Kaiya asked, amused. If he just wanted to tell her about his goal about becoming the Alpha, then she shouldn't have stressed so much. 'Do you want me to tell you good luck, or...?'

'One can ease his job a little to become Alpha with the holy ritual.'

That moment, Kaiya felt her soul leave her body. 'The holy ritual' wasn't anything painful and was preferable that an Alpha had to do it before becoming Alpha, in order to focus on the clan and to bring purebloods into the world. In simpler words, The holy ritual was marriage. It was about then that Kaiya understood where Taka was going.

'What are you implying?' Kaiya sighed, shakily.

'I want you to help me become Alpha.' Taka said, stopping in his tracks. 'I think I'm almost as strong as mother.'

The holy ritual wasn't the most important thing in becoming an Alpha, of course- everyone gets married. The most important thing that one must do if they wish to become Alpha was, however, to defeat the current Alpha. That until one of them dies or alegedly gives up. If the current Alpha dies of old age or sickness without getting challenged, the succesor becomes the next Alpha. They can be challenged before getting named Alpha, too.

'So you want me to marry you?' Kaiya asked, quietly.

There was silence, and nobody make any sort of movement. They simply stood there in silence in the middle of the night, yet, Kaiya knew that she was right. Taka wanted, in fact, to have her marry him and bear his children.

'Taka,' Kaiya sighed, tensing all her muscles to hold composure. 'with all respect but, I don't love you. I have no interest in marrying you. It would make us both unhappy.'

Taka looked at her, the coldness in his eyes breaking a little.

'The final goal is much more bigger and rewarding. I'll be able to lead this clan into something so much better and, with your help, we might be able to get this clan into something many never dreamed of.'

Kaiya looked down for a moment with a sigh, before locking her eyes into an eye-contact with the boy.

'If I said that it doesn't sound good, I would lie. However, I still refuse. This isn't grandmother's teachings. You know them well too, don't you?'

Their grandmother was quite a wise woman who had some good t

'I know them very well and I respect them, but it isn't all about what a dead Alpha has to say. She's been dead for way too long for me to care anymore.'

'You're really determined to become the next Alpha, aren't you?'

'I will become the next Alpha. Is this your final answer?'

'My final answer is that if you really want to become Alpha, you'll have to look for someone else. Is this clear?'

Taka closed his eyes for a few seconds, taking a few breaths of the chill air.

'Yes. Everything is clear.'

'Perfect. Good luck, then.'

And with that, Kaiya turned around and left, without looking back. When she arrived back in the clan, she was greeted immediately by her brother.

'How's everything? Are you alright?' He bombarded with questions. 'What did he want? I swear if he hurt you-'

'I'm fine, Kouta. Believe me.'

Kouta pursed his lips as he tilted his head to an side. Kaiya was noticeably flustered, but it wasn't like she ever made a habit of opening up to him.

'Fine. If you need me, I'm here.'

Kaiya nodded. 'Thanks, dude.'

Out of nowhere, Asura appeared in front of her, followed closely by Hana. Just like her, the two were taken care of and were both bandaged.

'When are we leaving?' Asura demanded.

'Tomorrow morning, by sunrise. What tent are you in?' Kaiya asked, and Asura pointed to one of the tents nearby. 'Ok. In case you don't wake up in time, I'll wake you all up.'

'Don't worry.'

Kaiya nodded. 'Good night, then.'

'Goodnight.'

A/N

Hey guys! How are y'all? So, the last 2 chapters or so were kinda shorter than my usual chapters, but here's an extra long one with like 3K of words. Tbh I didn't expect to write so much but here we are.