She sprinted for all she was worth, desperate to reach her student. His screams tortured her as her heart pounded against her ribs with every one of her steps. Water splashed around her feet, threatening to give way at any moment that she didn't focus on her chakra. She was vaguely aware that she was being followed as the splashes were doubled by Shikamaru. All the thoughts that consumed her mind were focused on the ninja hound user that she had taught and eventually witnessed grow as a shinobi. His screams rung through the night, even breaking through the discombobulation of the surrounding battles.

Boom!

A chain of explosions reached her ears. She almost lost her footing as an colossal force broke through the lake's surface, creating a powerful shockwave that carried a rush of water underneath her feet. Stumbling, she regained her balance to reach her distraught former student.

Running into a portion of the lake that was clear of islands and rock formations, Kurenai couldn't help but gasp at the sight before her eyes. A harsh glow drew her attention to the towering figure with an equally bright head of hair.

With a wailing Kiba held by the giant paw around his throat, Naruto's toothy grin reflected the luminous chakra that seemed to emanate from his palm. Kiba's choked sobs matched the glistening of tear tracks down his cheek. Despite not being much smaller than the Uzumaki, the Inuzuka's legs crumbled under the immense pressure that suffocated him. The rogue shinobi's other arm was occupied, fending off the giant ninja hound with his jaw clamped onto his wrist. It didn't seem to bother Naruto though, his sadistic gaze focused on his victim.

Without thinking Kurenai screamed. "Let him go!"

Her voice didn't come out quite as courageous as she would have hoped. It turned to be more of a squeal than a commanding shout. But, it apparently worked. Naruto released his grip, dropping Kiba unceremoniously onto the clear surface. It also seemed to have worked a little too well since Akamaru let go and took his place in front of Kiba, protecting him.

Turning towards her, Naruto's grin widened. "Look who it is, Kiba!" he gestured towards her. "It's Kurenai-sensei!"

Without blinking, he continued. "Wow! I almost forgot how pretty she was, don't you think so, Kiba?"

He took a step towards her, to which she responded by taking two away from the jinchuriki.

Over her shoulder, Shikamaru finally appeared. He took in the sight of Kiba, defeated. A particular mark drew his focus to Kiba's neck. Intricate designs of daggers curved along his flesh. Surrounded by a spiral marking, the dark blades etched into Kiba's skin, glowing with an ominous energy.

"What did you do to him?" Shikamaru questioned his comrade.

Taking notice of the subject of Shikamaru's query, Naruto cackled. "Nothing much, just a little seal, I'm sure he'll be fine"

Considering the ninja hound user's head was dropped low, Shikamaru couldn't really believe that answer.

"Get away from him!" Kurenai drew a kunai from her hip pouch.

Even with a weapon in her hand, Naruto didn't seem to care. To both Kurenai and Shikamaru's frustration, he just smiled at the latter. "You don't seem very worried, considering there's an enemy right next to you, no matter how weak she is" he observed her annoyed pout. "Don't tell me you're going soft on her, Shikamaru!"

The Nara gritted his teeth. "You know that's not true" he tried to keep his voice steady. He didn't care that Naruto's accusations were sort of true, but the way his eyes bored into him with a weight of suspicion was really starting to bother Shikamaru. It didn't help when those same eyes were currently roaming over the outline of Kurenai's womanly figure. He didn't know why it irritated him, only that his fists clenched tighter in response, a similar scratching at the back of his mind whenever he caught Naruto and Hinata ogling Temari.

"Ah! Who cares anyway?" Naruto shrugged. "She couldn't help Kiba or Kakashi even if she gave her own life!" he doubled over, barely breathing through his unrestricted laughter.

Frothing at the mouth, Akamaru clearly wasn't too pleased that one of his favourite humans was being insulted so casually. He lunged at the Uzumaki, ready to tear his vocal cords from his throat. Naruto reacted quickly, however. Weightless in the air, Akamaru couldn't do anything but watch as the back of Naruto's fist connected with his ribcage, swatting the ninja hound away with a whimper.

Kiba raised his head after hearing the cracking of bone. His body shook at the sight of his partner lying, as still as the water's surface, with only faint exhales providing evidence of life. He attempted to rush to his ninja hound's side, but a giant paw curled around his neck. Before he knew it, Kiba was hoisted into the air. Motionless, Kiba dangled from Naruto's arm, choking with teary eyes.

Naruto's gaze met Shikamaru's. "So, Shikamaru…" he gave him that mischievous smirk of his. "… what are you planning on doing with a mature kunoichi like Kurenai-sensei here?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shikamaru replied with a raised eyebrow. The grimace on his face must have been obvious since Naruto's grin widened.

He scratched his chin in a thoughtful manner, an otherwise terrifying gesture for the unpredictable shinobi. "Well, I just wouldn't have thought that you were the type of guy who's into milfs" his eyes took on an intense glint. Ignoring the gasp that Kurenai let out along with her efforts of rebuttal, he continued. "Although, it does make a little more sense considering Temari is a few years older than you. So, I guess I just wasn't expecting you to be into older women, especially as old as Kurenai-sensei"

At his comments, the air around Shikamaru's face seemed to grow warmer. He shifted his head towards his side, only to discover that Kurenai was staring right back at him. Her face carried an irritated expression. Her striking make-up didn't award any clue as to what she was imagining. Though, the erratic rhythm of her breaths offered Shikamaru a chance to consider the possibilities, no matter how broad the number of them was.

With each simulation that ran through his mind, Shikamaru grew increasingly more concerned. Taking into account the extensive marks that covered her neck, the more imaginative part of his mind hijacked his overwhelmingly logical side to flood it with fantasies that became even more obscene with every image of Kurenai in a lewder position.

Giving up on waiting for Shikamaru to protest Naruto's rambling, Kurenai intervened. "Why aren't you denying it?" she interrogated Shikamaru with her dazzling rubies. His familiar mumbling served to further her frustration. So much so, that she chose to ignore him to turn on Naruto, fiercely. "And I honestly hope that you don't speak to Hinata like that!"

She did her best to ignore her desire to free Kiba from his clutches. As long as he was held hostage, Kurenai had to contain her urge to attack Naruto for Kiba's wellbeing. That fact was reinforced when Naruto swung the ninja hound user in front of him.

"Well, of course I do!" Naruto broke out into another fit of sinister laughter. "In fact…" he took a deep breath, panting. "I'd say that my cute little Hinata has an even dirtier mouth than me"

Kurenai couldn't quite believe what she was hearing, so she lashed out. "No, you're lying! She loved you! How dare you talk about her like that!" She stomped towards him.

Recognising the cruel gleam in the jinchuriki's eyes, Shikamaru grasped Kurenai's shoulder, locking her in place. On instinct, the burning wrath that Kurenai emitted was directed at Shikamaru as she came close to his face, glaring into his soul.

Their closeness didn't go unnoticed by Naruto, who lifted Kiba's head towards the sight. "Look at that, Kiba! I can't believe you're so weak that you couldn't stop both your cute teammate and your sexy teacher from being stolen away from you!"

The still surface beneath him soon began to become disrupted by a sprinkling of water that didn't belong to the lake. Sniffles drifted through the chilled air. Kurenai and Shikamaru paused their face-off, spinning towards the source. Tears trailed down Kiba's cheeks to fall off his dropped chin.

To Kurenai's surprise, Shikamaru let out a growl. "Naruto, we're here for the Eight Tails, not for you enact your idea of torture on our old comrade-in-arms" he reminded the Uzumaki.

Naruto replied with a quirked eyebrow. "This…" he shook Kiba for emphasis. "… wasn't my idea"

"What?" Kurenai asked. "Then whose idea was it?"

Her question only served to further amuse Naruto, who thought Kurenai would be able to figure out the answer to her own question. "Well, it was Hinata's, obviously"

Shikamaru wasn't even expecting that answer, frustrating him due to his knowledge of Hinata's current personality, so Kurenai had no chance. But smothering her minute squeak was a sharp gasp of air followed by a series of strangled coughing and spluttering coming from right next to Naruto.

"Why?" Kiba managed to dig the words out from his asphyxiated throat.

Naruto lifted him, effortlessly before promptly dropping him back onto the lake's surface. "Aww! Is the little puppy confused why his beloved Hinata would ask me to place that seal on you?" his teasing tone singed Kiba's ears as his cruel words rebounded against his eardrums. Kiba placed a finger to the burning mark on the side of his neck, hiding beneath his jaw.

He tried his best to clear his throat, but his voice still came out hoarse. "It doesn't… make any sense" he attempted to stand back up, though his shaky legs wouldn't allow him. "What does she want from me?" he asked, desperately shaking his head at the image of a malevolent Hinata that plagued his thoughts.

"There's no need to worry, Kiba" Naruto's voice grew louder as he squatted down to meet his distressed gaze. "I can't tell you what they are, but…" he took a potent grip of Kiba's shoulder. "… all I can say is that you should be excited; Hinata has delightful plans for you"

Even from the sizable distance between them, Naruto's sinister tone was enough to make Kurenai take a few trembling steps away from the sight of Naruto towering over her former student, viciously taunting him. A kind, but firm, palm pressed against her lower back stopped her. Risking a glimpse of its source, she found hardened irises of ebony providing enough courage for the both of them.

More than enough, in fact, as Kurenai felt a rush of blood, aggravated through her veins. Her forehead began to heat up, coinciding with a twitching of her brow. Echoing against her chest, her heartbeat deafened her. Her own body seemed to deprive her of her senses, numbing her to rational thought. In her fuzzy vision, all she saw was Shikamaru's worried expression, his widened eyes conveying his fear. A flash of golden light in her periphery drew her attention away to its origin. A head of bright locks, cropped and faded on the sides, shone like a beacon. As much as Kurenai was aware, beacons were supposed to represent all things positive in the world, celebrations and the remembrance of fond times. But the face of this beacon, that clearly had once held soft signs of hope and the will to fight for that hope, was now littered with rough symbols of a brutal desire for victory at all costs. And, not just any victory would satisfy it, only complete and utter domination would appeal to the hungry wants of the soul behind it. Once bright eyes were now fractured, the piercing cobalt was now infected by a blood-curdling crimson. A powerful smile, one that could inspire friends and allies, was now curled into a grin, pleasured by his sadistic actions.

Such a horrifying expression was enough for her body to beg for a retreat, as far away as possible from this monster. But inside, a matured sensation began to tug at the back of her mind, forcing her muscles to spasm slightly. Tapping her leg, her fingertips crawled down her hip, curling around her holster. Over a decade's worth of training as a kunoichi took control of her. Hooking her finger through the ring of the kunai's handle, Kurenai found her body steeling itself, akin to being battle-hardened like a veteran. With one fluid motion, she spun the kunai off her finger, firing it towards her enemy.

It should have been a clean shot, directed right between his eyebrows.

It would have been, if this was any normal enemy.

Naruto inspected the sharpness of the blade, between his first two fingers. Casually, he lowered his hand, watching how the steel caught the moon's light. He flicked it from one hand to the other, feeling it's feathery weight.

Darting his gaze towards his attacker, he smirked at her expression, a mixture of shock and frustration that might as well have been honey to Naruto's evil desires. That cursed smile was the last thing she saw before her body's base instincts took over her once again, clamping her eyelids shut and protecting her head with her wrists as she flinched.

When she regained some semblance of control over her body, she risked opening her eyes and the sight before them took her breath away. Standing tall barely a foot in front of her, was Shikamaru. With the majority of his back almost pressed against her, Kurenai could just about peak around from behind him. Guarding with his knife in hand, Shikamaru kept the serrated edge pointed firmly towards its target. Almost matching the pattern of the blade edge, Naruto bared his monstrous teeth, his canines glinting in the same light of hunger that flashed in his eyes. His hulking body was still larger than Shikamaru, even at the Nara's tallest, whilst hunching over in a primal lunge.

That was when she started to comprehend her current situation. A chill ran down her spine at the simulation of the event that would have taken place if not for Shikamaru's intervention. Without him, Kurenai knew for certain that she'd be weightless in barbaric arms as she bled out litres of blood from her throat, torn open to flood the lake with her life.

She wanted to take a step backwards, but her feet were locked in place. She understood her fear, but she thought that all her training would have at least stopped her from freezing up. Maybe retiring from her duties as a kunoichi to take care of Mirai had dulled her trained instincts. No, it had to be something else.

Taking a deep breath, Kurenai composed herself. Her hands, a hair's breadth from Shikamaru's back, slowed their shaking. She tried to create some space from the two rogue shinobi. But, she found herself not moving an inch. Her feet felt like lead. Irritated, she attempted to discover the cause of her immobility. Wanting to lower her head to gain a view of her feet, Kurenai grew even more irate at the discovery of her neck's same ineffectiveness. Resorting to checking the edges of her vision, she strained against this unknown force that restrained her. Widening her field of view, Kurenai managed to catch a glimpse of her shackles. Around her locked feet, a pool of darkness looked like an oil spill in the translucent lake. She followed the tendrils as they spiralled around her ankles, like hellish chains, wrapping up her legs and spanning over her upper body like a straitjacket. Tracking them to its source, she discovered the pure energy that radiated off Shikamaru in shadowy waves.

Stood in the epicentre of the abyssal prison. If not for the fact that she'd known him for half a decade, Kurenai wouldn't have noticed the strain that Shikamaru cleverly hid behind his unbothered poker face. Searching for the reason why he was having so much trouble, Kurenai's cheeks grew cold at the sight of Naruto's powerful limbs struggling to break free from a monstrous mass of dark tentacles.

His dangerous smile was reflected by his cold, piercing stare that he directed towards his comrade. "Shikamaru…" he craned his neck, raising his chin to tower above both him and Kurenai. His tone seemed to drop the temperature of the landscape. "You're really pushing your luck, you know that?"

Shikamaru held his jutsu firm. "I didn't sign up for needless slaughter, Naruto!"

Behind his splintered eyes, it appeared that he registered Shikamaru's words. The Nara took that as his opportunity to continue. "You asked me to join you in changing the shinobi world, not to mindlessly kill our old… friends!"

Uncharacteristically, Naruto didn't bother to respond. It was surprising, considering his incessant need to have the last word. Instead, his jaw tightened and his stare never wavered. But, one thing about it his expression, worried Shikamaru. It took him a moment to ponder why, but he found his answer soon enough. It was the way his gaze was focused, but not on him or on Kurenai. It was if he was looking through Shikamaru, scanning through all his strategies along with his insecurities. Shikamaru could have sworn that the jinchuriki was listening to someone else's voice entirely, seeing the slight tilt of his chin. Someone else's voice…

No matter how fast his mind processed the facts, Shikamaru was still too slow to react to the intense crimson glow of Naruto's irises. They burned with a pure ferocity that shone through the natural brightness of his eyes. His shadowy jutsu was battered by an ominous power that rolled off Naruto, the air seemingly becoming denser with chakra. Visibly, potent chakra began to seep out from Naruto's entire body, forming around his cloak into lengths that stretched behind him, fanning out. Shikamaru's chains of darkness strained to contain the powerful energy that spread out into nine tails, a monstrosity.

Casually, Naruto rose to his full height. He backed away, ignoring the ease of how he broke free from Shikamaru's jutsu. On the other hand, Shikamaru almost fell as his shadowy chains were snapped, the recoil sending him backwards. Only a kind palm pressed against his shoulder blades kept him from falling.

"Fine!" Walking away, Naruto threw his arms up in exasperation. "Have it your way!" he headed towards Kiba once more. "But…" his eyes shone with mischief, throwing his head over his shoulder to glance between both Kurenai and Shikamaru. "If she isn't broken by the next time I see her, then I'll kill the both of you myself"

His threat seemed to cut through all the sounds of battle that rebounded off the lake. Despite the frown that tugged at her lips, Kurenai's inner thoughts more or less reflected the twitching of Shikamaru's brow. Aside from their expressions, neither of them attempted to respond, instead they watched Naruto, who was currently encircling Kiba whilst he enjoyed his pained sobs. The glow around him faded, his extra power subsiding for the time being, allowing Shikamaru to recover from his jutsu being broken. Kurenai pressed herself closer to Shikamaru, hiding behind his back. She withdrew another kunai from her pouch, her training overriding the logical thought that it wouldn't do much good if Naruto attacked her.

As she decided whether to put away her weapon or not, the silent bubble of tension that covered the four of them, gave way to an all-encompassing war cry.

Kurenai turned just in time to take in the sight of Temari charging towards her, her fan raised like a club, preparing to take Kurenai's head clean off. After hearing tales of the Cruellest Kunoichi's strength, Kurenai wouldn't doubt if that she could easily bat her into a new existence. Thankfully, her body had other ideas. The end of Temari's fan smashed through the calmness of the lake, where Kurenai had just been standing. Her attack wasn't too far off from hitting Shikamaru, a fact that apparently only occurred to her when she looked up to see him spin on her with a surprised look on his face that was now covered with drops of water to match his, now, soaked hair.

"What was that for, Temari?" Shikamaru crossed his arms, expecting an answer fast.

Taken aback, Temari stuttered. "I… uh… I thought that she…" remembering the image of Kurenai with a blade in hand stalking behind Shikamaru, she pivoted towards the mature kunoichi. "I saw her! She was about to stab you in the back, the ungrateful bitch!" she raised her weapon, once more training it on a trembling Kurenai. From the look on her face, Temari must have had a pretty terrifying expression on hers.

"What?" his tone conveyed his disbelief, along with the eyebrow he raised towards his alleged attacker. "Is that true?"

Even as he spoke, Shikamaru understood completely from both of the angered attitudes that the kunoichi presented. Kurenai seemed downright offended that Temari would even suggest such a thing, returning her accusatory glare with a defensive death stare as sharp as the kunai in her balled fist.

Their clash of wills was accompanied by a crash of thunder. A blinding light crackled in the distance, drawing everyone's attention.

"What was that?" Kurenai searched desperately for the source of the deafening boom. Her search led her to ask the others with concerned glances. She was left unanswered, however, by the one who she thought would have provided with a reliable answer. Shikamaru only offered a grimace, clearly knowledgeable of the current situation.

An amused cackle overtook the silent pleading that Kurenai begged Shikamaru with. "There goes Kakashi-sensei" he whistled, impressed by the display of Lightning Style jutsu. He shook his head, looking down at the ninja hound user on his knees. "What do you think about that, Kiba? Something tells me he's not gonna make it this time" his grin grew wider along with his eyes, glowing with a dangerous insanity.

It was Kurenai's turn to begin sobbing. A hand covered her open heavy gasps whilst tears streamed down her cheeks, splashing against the surface of the lake as they dripped off her jaw. Images of Kakashi, broken and defeated. The condition that he had returned to the Hidden Leaf Village in previously was bad enough, Shizune and the Hokage herself had to work night and day to save his life. Kurenai herself had prayed at Asuma's grave, wishing for a miracle to save one of her oldest friends. Thankfully, she had received the news from Guy that Kakashi had managed to make a full recovery. Hearing that her prayers were answered, Kurenai took Mirai, who had seemed to sense her mother's despair, to visit Kakashi in hospital.

Not again. She couldn't go through that pain again.

Blurry eyed, Kurenai caught a glimpse of something that shocked her. Considering her hopeful view of him, she was still shocked to see the trembling of Shikamaru's fists. Under his breath, he mumbled what looked to be a string of frustrated expletives.

Temari moved to comfort him discreetly, something that Kurenai instantly wished she would have done. Behind them, Naruto continued his verbal onslaught of the Hidden Leaf's greatest ninja hound user.

"So, now Kakashi's dead, Sai is nowhere to be seen after fighting with Temari, Akamaru is barely hanging on and a sensei who's more concerned with the guy who abandoned her along with the Hidden Leaf Village…" Naruto leaned down. "What are you even doing here anymore?" he yanked his head back by the hair to meet the lost expression on his face. "You're pathetic, maybe I should just kill you now" he suggested. "Hinata will definitely be annoyed with me since she had some really detailed things planned out, but I'm sure I can make it up to her with another new toy" he reasoned, grinning over towards the others, his gaze fixated on a specific shinobi.

In his self-debate, Naruto failed to fully notice the air becoming denser with chakra. Flooding towards Kiba, the Inuzuka's cries were halted, replaced by a deep and primal growl that poured into the night.

As Naruto went to inspect the disturbance, he was met with a strong claw arcing towards his face.

A/N- Hey guys, this is a little later than usual, so you'll have to forgive me for that. But, as always, I'm open to ideas and suggestions that could improve this chapter. I hope that you have enjoyed and I'll see you next time.

Yours truly,

Signing off