Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Naruto. Please forgive any spelling and grammar errors, I try to catch them all but I know I'm not always successful.

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xXx-Chapter 34-xXx

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The sky was overcast as the Raikage stood in the center of the small valley, his two bodyguards, Samui and Gi, standing just behind him. All three of them waiting for Eiji to arrive with the Konoha delegation. With every passing second the tension rose, finally the silence is broken by Samui.

"Here they come." Samui says calmly, instinctively taking a single step forward to place herself between the Raikage and the Konoha shinobi being led by Eiji. She was young and a lot of people had been annoyed at how quickly Samui's star had risen, but there was no one in the village that he trusted more. Through her skill and loyalty, she had earned his everlasting respect.

"This is it cousin, here, the future of the Hidden Cloud Village will be decided." Gi says, his voice low and steady.

"Konoha will accept my terms, they can no more afford a war than we can." A says confidently. The leaf village tended to be self-righteous pricks in his opinion, but he had to give them credit where it was due, they were usually willing to negotiate where others wouldn't. A lot had changed since he had taken the mantle of Raikage, while there were some who grumbled that he was too hesitant, too forgiving, those with half a brain knew that they were stronger than ever and it was because he didn't send his shinobi to die for every slight to their honor.

He had used these years to help build and repair their infrastructure. The war with Konoha had been devastating but his people had performed above and beyond what anyone could ask of them. They rebuilt their home and made it better than ever, he would not throw away their blood, sweat, and tears on a needless war. They deserved better than that, they deserved a leader who would not sacrifice them needlessly. The negotiations would not fail.

"Some might say that this is the opportune moment to strike. Remove the massive threat of Shikaku Nara here and now. Strike them down with the fury of the storm… it's what your father would do." Gi says conversationally, watching A out of the corner of his eye.

"And he would have been wrong. Konoha will answer for its crimes against us but I will not fight a needless war."

"It is not needless to defend our home-" Gi growls.

"Enough." Samui interrupts, cutting Gi off from speaking further. "Lord A has made his decision and you will respect it."

Gi glares at her and there is a flash of killing intent that causes A to shift slightly to intervene if necessary, while Samui seemingly ignores him completely, as calm as a mid-summers day. It was another reason he held her in such high regard, she never lost her cool and never let anything ruffle her feathers. If he didn't know her so well he would assume she was made of ice.

But A didn't need to worry as quickly as the anger was there it was gone and Gi gives him a small bow. "Forgive me cousin, you know I support you one hundred percent."

A nods his head in acknowledgement before addressing the arriving Leaf shinobi. "Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Akimichi Chouza, your names are well known to me." He doesn't address or acknowledge Eiji who moves to stand just behind and to the side of Samui.

"Lord Raikage, we are honored by your presence." Shikaku says with a bow, flanked by his teammates.

Eiji and Gi share a quick look, the time was almost here to enact Eiji's plan. A, Samui, and the Konoha nin were hyper focused, neither side willing to trust the other not to betray them. Any abrupt action would catch their attention immediately, which meant in order for them to act, Eiji and Gi needed an outside source to draw their attention and provide them the opening that they needed. Luckily for them, that was where the spy came in and any second now they would make their move.

A and Shikaku stared at each other, taking stock of the other, trying to gain the measure of the man with whom they would be negotiating the future of their villages with. However, before they can start to speak, their attention, along with Samui's, Inoichi's, and Chouza's are drawn away from each other back towards the direction of the castle as a spike of chakra use and the faint sounds of explosions can be heard.

"What the?" Inoichi says, sensing the two forces engaging in combat, chakra flaring as jutsu are activated in the distance.

Eiji moves swiftly, drawing his blade and stabbing it through Samui's back and out through her stomach. Samui lets out a sharp gasp of pain as the blade moves through her, before falling to the ground as he pulls the blade back out.

"Eiji!" A roars enraged as he watches his friend and subordinate fall to the ground, blood starting to pool around her. He gathers his chakra into his arms, ready to remove the traitors head with his infamous lariat. However Eiji ignores him and moves to place himself so that he could face the stunned Konoha Nin. Simultaneously, before A could attack Eiji, he finds himself being tackled and sent flying back by Gi, who rapidly gives pursuit.

A tumbles to a stop and then pushes himself up to a knee and wipes some blood from the corner of his mouth. "Gi, you bastard, what the hell are you doing!?"

"I'm taking back my village. You're weak A, undeserving of the title of Raikage. You are unfit to lead and an embarrassment to your father's legacy."

"Treacherous bastard…" A growls as he pushes himself to his feet and begins to gather his chakra. First he was going tear the heart out of his snake cousin, then he was going to kill Eiji, much quicker than he deserved, and if those Konoha ninja were involved as well, he would wipe them out too.

Lightning begins to crackle and spark around him as he gathers his chakra, "You're dead!" A shouts as he charges Gi at an incredible speed. A is so enraged, so worried about finishing this quickly so he can help Samui that he doesn't notice the smug look of victory that creeps up on Gi's face, who seemed more than ready for him, his hands already flying into a series of complex hand seals.

While all of this is happening in a matter of seconds, Shikaku looks to his teammates as Eiji places himself in a position to engage them. "New mission, protect the Raikage." It seemed this was what Eiji had been playing at all along, and if they wanted any hope of peace the Raikage had to survive. And so without missing a beat, the Ino-Shika-Chou trio spring into action, and rush towards the Raikage who had just been knocked away and was now getting to his feet.

Eiji flings a kunai with an explosive tag towards Chouza who is forced to jump back to avoid it. Inoichi grabs a kunai from his pouch and engages Eiji who is forced to face him head on, using his sword to block Inoichi's attack, but leaving an opening for Shikaku to rush past him and towards Gi and the Raikage.

Shikaku's hands form the seal of the rat and as he's racing towards the Raikage and his opponent, his shadow shoots out ahead of him, racing towards the enemy combatant. At the moment his shadow connects with Gi's shadow, the Raikage has reached him as well, electricity arching off of him as he moves in for the kill. And just as Shikaku thinks this fight is going to be over quickly, he sees that Gi has completed his own technique.

"Lightning Style: Magnetic Sealing Jutsu!" Symbols race along the ground from Gi, and the earth beneath himself, Shikaku, and the Raikage begins to shake as four pillars of rock shoot up from the ground. Evenly spaced they surround them, each one about twenty feet apart and has three metal spikes protruding from it facing inwards, and all of them pointing towards the Raikage who was in the dead center. Shikaku cries out in agony as a surge of static electricity blasts through him and his legs give out from under him, his body twisting in agony at the power of the electricity coursing through him.

The Raikage who had been about to attack Gi finds himself slamming into the ground, a small crater created by the force of his fall. Lightning arcs from the Raikage's body and towards the spikes at random intervals, while Gi is violently flung from where he was and outside the range of the four pillars. He slams his hands into the ground, his grip digging out a ditch in the earth as he slows and steadies himself.

As the dust clears, Inoichi and Chouza can only look on as the Raikage and Shikaku are both lying face down on the ground inside the pillars. Eiji gives a confident smirk as he locks eyes with Inoichi, while Gi dusts himself off and moves to engage Chouza. "That worked even better than I had hoped. Gi really outdid himself." Eiji chuckles, his voice slightly amazed before it takes on a malicious edge to it, he was hungry for some pay back against Inoichi because of his earlier insults. "And now for you."

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xXx-Scene Break-xXx

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The spy takes a deep breath as they stand on a rampart and watch Lord Eiji lead the Ino-Shika-Chou trio to the meeting place with the Raikage. With the exception of a couple of easily fixed deviations, everything had worked out the way Lord Eiji had said it would. The Raikage was isolated and soon he would be dead. His death would be blamed on Shikaku and his team, and they would soon be dead as well. At the speed they were traveling it would take Eiji and the Ino-Shika-Chou trio approximately thirty minutes to reach the valley. That meant that in twenty minutes it would be their turn to act.

They had one simple job to do, they needed to get the two forces fighting and Konoha had to be seen as the aggressor. The story sold would be a successful assassination of the Raikage by one of Konoha's most infamous teams, meanwhile a botched assault from Fire nation forces stationed at East Castle would be stopped by the valiant efforts of Lightning's forces. All of it led by a heroic Lord Eiji, who not only stopped Konoha's aggressive and unwarranted attack but he also avenged the Raikage's death by killing those who were responsible for it.

The outrage and grief at the death of the Raikage at Konoha's hand would keep the general populous from asking too many questions or looking into what happened too deeply. And Lord Eiji was politically powerful enough that any opponents that he had would be unable to act against him, and with him being the one who killed the Konoha ninja who killed the Raikage, he all but assured the two Jinchūriki's loyalty to himself.

By the time the elders, ranking shinobi, and Lightning Lord confirmed Lord Eiji's position as the new Raikage, it would be a formality only. And for all of their service to the new Raikage and all of their information on Konoha's defenses in the area they would finally be able to forge their own destiny and live the life they deserved. Honored and respected, without answering to anyone but themselves. It was time to think for themselves, act for themselves. Selflessly serving their country, following orders, being the good soldier, all it had gotten them was forever stuck in an assignment out here in the most dangerous ass end of the Land of Fire.

Only one thing was holding them back. One thing was keeping them here, making the final act of betrayal difficult. And they knew exactly where to begin, what they had to do to sever that final tie to Konoha and the Land of Fire. Only one thing held them back and it had to go before they could ever be free to live the life of their choosing. It was selfish, it was cruel, it was evil, they had no delusions otherwise, but for the first time in their lives they were choosing themselves and it was far too late for them to turn back.

Once twenty minutes had passed the spy made their way off the rampart and into East Castle. Walking the familiar halls that they had come to know better than anyone else. Calmly they make their way to the main war room and slide the door open, stepping inside and closing it softly behind them. The room was completely empty of people except for one other person and themselves.

Takeko Nakano, her big sister and the one final bond that she still had tying her to this life and this place. It was time to end it, time to sever that bond, and do her part in Lord Eiji's plan.

"Yuko?" Takeko says, turning to face her sister a gentle smile on her face. "I'm glad you're here I… I want to thank you."

Yuko shakes her head and smiles, "For what?"

"For speaking up earlier, for standing up for me… I mean… you're right I do blame myself, this is my fault. I could have stopped this, I should have stopped this and now-"

"Hey." Yuko interrupts moving to stand next to her sister. "You did everything you could. Anyone who blames you is a fool and not worth listening to. You held this place when no one else could and no one has any right to ask more of you than what you've already give."

Takeko smiles and bows her head, wiping away the tears before they could truly form and fall. "I love you little sister. I know you resented being stationed here and I'm sorry… I snatched you right out of the academy, you didn't even get to be on a genin team but… I needed you. I had just been given this huge command and I was scared and I needed you. It was selfish and I know that. I've held you back all these years and I am so sorry. When this is all over… I think I'll retire, I think I have given enough, and if you want to go and forge a life for yourself away from me, I won't try and stop you. I've held you back for too long and I am so sorry. You deserve to live the life that you want, not the life that I needed you to." Takeko says, her voice quivering slightly with emotion, guilt overwhelming her at the way she had used her ever loyal sister. Tears begin to fall down her cheek as she can't hold them back any more.

Yuko nods her head, but doesn't say anything.

"I love you Yuko, please know that."

"I do, I know that. And I love you too sister." Yuko says, wiping the tears from her big sister's eyes, she then moves in and pulls her sister into a hug. "And I accept your apology… but I'm afraid it's too little… too late."

"Yuko what are you… uh…" Takeko gasps in pain as Yuko steps away from her, and when she looks down she sees Yuko's hand holding the handle of a blade, that had been slid through an opening in her armor and into her stomach through the side. "Why?" Takeko asks confused and heart broken.

Tears begin to fall from Yuko's eyes as she withdraws the blade and jams it in again. She does this three more times. Takeko lets out a grunt of pain with each stab before her legs begin to give out and Yuko catches her. Holding her closely and cradling her body as they sink to the floor.

"Please don't hate me." Yuko pleads softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "I had to do this, I had to. I've already done too much to stop now. I had to see this through, I'm already a traitor, I already betrayed Konoha to Lord Eiji a long time ago. If I didn't do this then I was dead, I would have been executed."

"Yu… ko…" Takeko chokes out as she begins to choke up blood.

"Please don't hate me." Yuko says again, gently stroking her sister's cheek. "I hated it here, I hated that you needed me, hated that I was stuck, but I never hated you and I never meant to betray you. But I was captured and they were going to torture me, kill me and… and so I did what I had to in order to survive. So I betrayed our people in order to save my own life and by the time I was finished… I was too far gone to ever make it right. It was nothing you did wrong sis, I was the one who gave up Nami Yamata's existence, I was the one who passed along her escape route to Kumo. I helped Lord Eiji plan all of this…"

"Yu… ko…" Takeko gasps out weakly, her eyes fluttering as she begins to fade.

"I don't know if you can ever forgive me and I'll understand if you can't, but if you can, be happy for me. I've made sure that my future is secure, I'll live on. It's selfish I know and… I'm sorry I had to do this to you but… I couldn't stand to live in a world where you and I are enemies. Sleep big sis, you've done enough and your fight is over." Yuko then leans in and places a soft kiss to Takeko's forehead and as Takeko loses consciousness, all she could think was that this was her fault, that she had turned her sister into this, she had failed her sister, and she was the reason their people were going to die… it was her fault.

Yuko takes a moment to cry over her sister body, grieving for the life she had just taken and then she shuts it off. She turns off her emotions, she had a job to do, and the only way her sister's death would have any meaning is if she completed it. Takeko was the only tie she had left to Konoha and now it was severed.

She takes a deep and steadying breath before she cries out as loudly as she can. "Guards! Guards!"

She hears the stomping of feet as shinobi and soldiers alike flood the room, gasping in horror at the sight before them. Yuko Nakano cradling her sister's body, blood gushing from a wound in Takeko's stomach. A bloodied kunai with Kumo markings lay beside them.

"Lady Takeko…" One of the commanders stationed here under Takeko's command stammers, unable to believe his own eyes. Sure that they must be playing some kind of cruel trick on him.

"I found her like this…" Yuko says softly, allowing her voice to sound broken. "They killed her, all of their talk of peace and they killed her… THEY KILLED MY SISTER!" Yuko screams, her body quivering with rage as she gently, almost reverently places her sister's body on the floor, before standing up.

"Kumo's treachery knows no bounds, all of their talks of peace and yet time and time again this is how they act. No more, they must pay for what they did to her!" Yuko shouts, getting furious shouts of approval back.

"Yuko, Lord Nara gave us specific orders not to attack." Another one of the commanders tries to speak up, but his voice is hesitant and uncertain. He wants revenge for Lady Takeko just as much as everyone else here does.

"Do you honestly believe he's still alive?" Yuko scoffs, "This was an obvious ploy, the Ino-Shika-Chou trio are gone and my sister is dead. The greatest defenders of this castle, of this land are now gone. We trusted Kumo to hold the same values of honor and integrity that we do and we were betrayed." Yuko looks around the room, staring into the eyes of each person there. "You must decide, do we let their treachery go unpunished, do we let my sister's murder go unanswered or… or do we take a stand here and now and fight!"

The cries for battle resound around her, Takeko had earned the loyalty of the men and women assembled in this room a million times over and now that same loyalty would be used to destroy them. Any sympathy, any regret that Yuko might have had about what was going to happen had died with her sister. She had chosen her side for better or worse, now all there was to do was see it through until the end.

"Then we go to war… for my sister." Yuko says, her voice full of conviction.

"You heard her!" One of the commanders, Kimura, shouts out taking overall command, "Send word, everyone to their battle stations, we attack immediately!"

"Yes sir!" Choruses throughout the room, and in the next instant everyone is in motion readying for war.

Yuko feels a hand gently clasp her on the shoulder and she sees that it's jōnin Kimura, "We will avenge your sister. You have my word."

"Thank you." Yuko says with a resolute nod of her head.

"I would be honored if you would fight by my side in the coming battle. There was no one in the world that I respected more than your sister."

"Of course." Yuko agrees.

Kimura snaps his fingers calling to chūnin to his side. "You two, take care of Lady Takeko's body, give it all the respect that it is due. We can't allow those treacherous snakes to get a hold of it."

"Wait." Yuko says, stopping the two chūnin.

"What is it Yuko?" Kimura asks.

"Please let me take care of my sister's body. Please."

Kimura looks surprised for a moment but then his features shift into something softer and more understanding. "Of course." He then addresses the two chūnin. "You two, assist lady Yuko in any way that she requires then get to your posts."

"Yes sir." They respond, and with that Kimura leaves.

"What do you need us to do Yuko?" One of the chūnin asks, however she doesn't respond until she is sure that Kimura and everyone else is gone.

"Yuko?" The other chūnin asks gently, grabbing her attention.

"I'm sorry what?" Yuko asks.

The first chūnin places a comforting hand on her shoulder. They had known each other for three years now, under any other circumstance they would be a welcome sight, they would be friends. "What do you need us to do Yuko?"

Yuko smiles warmly at them both, "Of course, first things first…" And quicker than you could blink Yuko has drawn a wakizashi and slit both of the chūnins' throats. They are dead before they hit the ground. "I need you to die."

Yuko then walks to a window and looks down from her position near the top of the tower and she watches as Konoha launches a surprise offensive against the Kumo forces. Her mission had been a success, now all she had to do was wait.

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xXx-Scene Break-xXx

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Keep your focus. That was the first rule of combat that Yugao-sensei had pounded into her head. Focus on your enemy, your surroundings, and leave everything else behind. If you could keep your cool and remember your training, then according to Yugao-sensei, nine out of ten times the enemy would defeat themselves.

It sounds so simple when you just say it. Stay focused. But Quinn found she was having a hell of a time doing it. She couldn't get it out of her head, that girl's face. The look of horror as Quinn severed her head from the rest of her body. She could still feel the rain of blood splatter that had rained down on her. Every time her enemy provided her with an opening, and there were a lot of them, she would freeze.

Her training was kicking in just like sensei had said it would, just like Sarutobi-sensei had said, and her father, and every other teacher she had ever had along the way. Those hours and hours of practice and repeating katas over and over again, training with her sensei and sparring. Talking strategy and technique with Sarutobi-sensei and Yugao-sensei, all of it was coming to bear. And yet whenever she would go for the killing blow, she would freeze.

Her enemy was fast, strong, and had perfect technique. He was also an arrogant prick who apparently liked to toy with his opponents. Maybe she was biased, but this guy was an idiot who should never have been made into a jōnin. You never, never, did in three moves what you could do in one. You never toyed with your opponent, ever. The moment you had a killing blow you took it, because if you didn't your enemy would.

This guy had toyed with her, that initial strike, the very beginning of combat he had her and he knew it. He could have killed right then, but he didn't. He had to prove something, had to feed his ego for whatever reason, and he had to not only beat her, but humiliate her. And because of that, because of his ego and his need to fight her, not beat her, but fight her, she could read him now, read him like a children's picture book. With her sensor abilities, she could sense the way his chakra would flair when he was about to attack, and it was all so clear to her. He may as well have been calling out his attacks he was so easy for her to read.

But it didn't matter, she was so fucked up in the head right now that she just couldn't bring herself to kill him. She couldn't have another death on her conscience. He swings his fist towards her head with incredible power and speed, not so much trying to punch her, but actually knock her head off. But she ducks around his attack easily. He was fast, but she could see it coming along with another opening, and another chance for her to end this, to kill him.

Her hand grips her blade, still sheathed in the scabbard on her back. There it was, the opening, the same one she had seen time and time again, she needed to take it. Duck down, draw her blade, thrust up through the rib cage, and sever the aorta. He would be dead before he hit the ground. Quick and easy with virtually no pain, as humane a death as any shinobi had any right to ask for. She starts to unsheathe her blade, her adrenalin is pumping and time seems to be moving in slow motion.

Do it.

Do it.

Do it!

'Draw your damn blade and kill him!' She screams in her mind, 'End this now!'

She stops herself, the blade not even moving an inch out of the scabbard, and for a moment she doesn't see the enemy in front of her, she is looking into the terrified and innocent blue eyes of the young girl she had murdered, and a fraction of a second later she is gone and with it the opening. Quinn jumps back, into a backwards hand spring away from her opponent, giving her space to breath, to collect herself. And like an arrogant, stupid, fool, he doesn't pursue.

What was wrong with him, if he didn't stop her, if he didn't kill her and quickly he was going to die? It's what her sensei would do, it's what she had been trained to do, so why wasn't he? Hell, an even more important question, why wasn't she? She could end this fight, she could kill him, so why didn't she? She was a ninja, she had trained and trained for this situation. She had agreed to this, agreed to kill and live in the darkness so that others wouldn't have to. So why, why couldn't she do it? People she loved and cared about were counting on her, so why couldn't she kill this nameless enemy? What was he to her, but someone that was a danger to herself and her sensei and team? She had to kill him, she had to.

"Damn, you're stronger than I gave you credit for." The Kumo shinobi chuckles, though she could see and sense the annoyance rolling off of him.

Quinn doesn't respond. The best way to get under a narcissist's skin was to ignore them, show them that they weren't worth noticing or responding to. And there was no doubt he was a narcissist. She would already be dead if he wasn't.

"You're definitely fast, not many people can claim to have lasted this long against my Taijutsu. Pretty impressive, huh?"

Quinn doesn't say anything, instead she closes her eyes and tries to center herself. Her mind was out of whack, this was her choice, and she couldn't afford mess around. Her father, sensei, and team couldn't afford for her to go off the deep end like she wanted to. She chose this life, she chose to become a ninja, to prepare for ANBU, what the hell did she think she was going to be doing? She needed to get over it, she needed to kill him…

"Hey! I'm talking to you, you little brat!" Her enemy shouts at her, and she could sense his annoyance and anger flare. She could tell, he felt humiliated. What should have been an easy win was turning into a real fight, one where he might not win.

Quinn once more refuses to say anything, instead she slowly draws her blade. There could be no hesitation, no chance to change her mind. When an opening presented itself she needed to take it. She couldn't give herself time to think, she could only react. She had to stay focused.

The Kumo shinobi chuckles, "You are one creepy little girl, you know that? You stand there all quiet and hollow eyed and it is freaking creepy. I mean seriously, how do you get like that? I don't know why you're fighting so hard to stay alive, you're dead on the inside already."

Quinn flinches at that and the cruel smirk that pulls at her enemy's lips tells her that he noticed it too. "Oh yeah, you see it all the time with the few old timers that manage to survive. They do really fucked up shit over the years and it kills them on the inside a little bit each time, so that by the time they reach old age they're just soulless husks who's body's just haven't realized their humanity has long left them…" He chuckles once more, "I can't even imagine the kinds of horrors you must have committed to get that look so young. I wonder, how many lives have you destroyed?"

He had done it, he had found her weak spot, and it was time to exploit it. He had lost everyone he had ever loved in the last war with Konoha, it was time to make one of them suffer even just a little bit of what he had suffered. It was time to hurt one of them the same way they had hurt him.

"Shut up…" Quinn growls, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm sorry little monster, I didn't hear you." The Kumo shinobi laughs.

"Shut up…" Quinn's voice quietly quivers with suppressed rage, a little louder this time, but only just.

"Why, that's what you are. Truth hurts, I mean look at you, you're already dead inside. They already have you doing covert ops in enemy territory and at such a young age. That's not normal. I mean, all shinobi are monsters to some degree or another, but I can't imagine what kind of freak you must be, to be here right now. I mean seriously, you can't tell me that the world won't be better off without a little monster like you."

White hot rage begins to course through her veins, unlike anything she had ever felt before. It was just a flash, but it was inhuman and ancient, and the power behind it that was immeasurable. It was foreign to her, she knew it wasn't her rage, and yet it felt intimately familiar. She wasn't thinking clearly and she knew that was a bad thing, but she didn't care. She wanted to hurt him, his words had hurt her and now she wanted to hurt him. And this flash of rage, whatever it was, wherever it had come from, it felt as if it had supercharged her.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" The young Konoha kunoichi screams, and the Kumo shinobi takes a step back and for a moment he thinks he sees something standing behind the young Konoha kunoichi. An ethereal figure, manifesting itself around her, almost as if it were some kind of chakra cloak, like Lord Bee and Lady Yugito had when they called upon their demons, and then just as quickly as it was there it was gone.

The girl's hands fly into the seal of the tiger, "I AM NOT A MONSTER! Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb!" The girl spits out a flame towards the ground that rushes towards him, faster than he had ever seen any fire jutsu move before, and even some lightning jutsu. It digs out a ditch in the ground as it carves a path out of the earth towards him.

He barely has time to jump away and avoid being hit directly when the technique detonates, creating a huge explosion. The heat was unreal, he could feel his skin sizzling, popping and cracking from its intensity. The concussive force sent him and debris flying everywhere, the concussive blast slamming into him and shocking his body, and when he finally slams into the ground, he knows that the only reason he isn't in excruciating pain is because his mind hasn't caught up to his body yet.

He needs to move, he needs to get out of here and get back up. His teammates had told him that his fooling around during a fight would come back to bite him in the ass someday, he just never thought it would be in the form of some demon twelve year old girl. However, when he tries to move his legs nothing happens. He tries again, he had to get up and out of here before the dust settled. He needed back up, but still nothing happens. And as the dust begins to clear, he looks down at where his legs should be but all he sees are smoking and charcoaled stumps.

He gasps in horror, and he reaches down towards his leg but instead of seeing both of his hands, he only sees his left hand and a broken mass of flesh that used to be his right hand. His mind was racing and he knew he was in shock, he needed to move, he needed to get out of here. He didn't want to die, he wanted to live! And then she is there.

The little monster girl. She's breathing heavily as she stands over him, almost like she's fighting back a panic attack. Her eyes wild and unfocused, and he can tell, she isn't seeing him.

"I had to kill her…" Quinn gasps, as tears begin to fall from her eyes. "I had to… I had to… I didn't want to, but I didn't have a choice." She didn't know why she was explaining herself to him, why she needed him to understand that she didn't want to kill that girl, but he had to. Maybe it was because she had killed him too, she didn't know, but it was important to her that he knew she didn't want to kill that girl, and that she hadn't wanted to kill him either.

The rage had left her. She had performed the Dragon Flame Bomb what felt like a million times, but even at its most powerful, she had never seen it do anything like it just had before. Whatever that rage was that had consumed her, wherever it had come from, it was gone now. And now she just felt tired and empty. "I'm sorry…" She whispers, "I'm so sorry… I didn't…"

I didn't want to kill you either, is what she wants to say, but she can't bring herself to say it. It was done, she had killed him, he wasn't dead yet but he was as good as. It didn't matter that she hadn't wanted to kill that girl, it didn't matter that she didn't want to kill this man, at the end of the day she had. Quinn looks down at his smoldering form, legs missing, and body beaten and burned by the force of her technique.

Her eyes lock with his and she can tell that the reality of what has happened hasn't set in yet. His body was demolished and his mind was trying to protect itself. And when she kneels down next to him, Quinn can tell that he is terrified of her, and he should be. But it was too late, if he had realized what she was, run from her sooner, if he had not wasted time, if he had killed her immediately, he would still be alive.

"I'm sorry." Quinn says as she places the blade of her katana against his carotid artery, and as she puts an end to his suffering Quinn can feel a little bit of her die with him.