Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or Naruto. Please forgive any spelling or grammar errors, I try to catch them all but I know that I am not always successful.
s
xXx-Chapter 36-xXx
s
Hizashi breathed a sigh of relief. The helplessness he had felt as he watched Hana's fight had subsided, because now both Yugao and Rin were on the scene. He had tracked their fights through his Byakugan, not focusing on them, but still being able to see them. He had seen Yugao fight before and she was as impressiveness as ever.
But it was Rin who had surprised him. The power of her jutsu, the grace with which she moved, it was well beyond her years. Her sensor abilities aside, he could now see why the Hokage had been adamant that she join them on this mission. Her kills had been difficult on her, but looking at her now, he wouldn't know it. She was overtly calm, the rage and fire inside of her only visible through the eyes.
If he were facing them in combat, she would be the one he would keep a wary eye on. As it was, now that Hana was safe, he could focus wholly on his enemy. He had kept this Raiko away from Nami so far, but it had been a full-time job. But this fight was over, whether Hizashi struck the killing blow himself or whether Yugao or Rin came and assisted, it was only a matter of time. Hizashi lets a smirk form on his lips, which served to enrage his opponent further. He resumes his attack with greater vigor, but while the blows are harder and faster, they are also sloppier and Hizashi is able to deftly dodge each electrified strike.
s
xXx-Scene Break-xXx
s
Quinn tears her eyes away from the two Kumo shinobi, and kneels down next to Hana. Her body is cut up and broken, but she is still breathing, and though weak, she can also pick up her faint chakra signal. Hana's eyes crack open slightly and she manages a weak smile up at her.
"Hey…" She croaks out weakly.
Quinn smiles back and lightly touches Hana's face. "Hey yourself."
"If… if you'll give me a sec… I'll take care of these guys… no problem." Hana jokes weakly, leaning in slightly to Quinn's gentle touch.
Quinn chuckles lightly. "Yeah, I bet. But you know, if it's no trouble for you, why don't you let me handle them. I could use the practice."
"Sure thing…" Tears begin to form in Hana's eyes as her smile fades away. "Ichi… Ni… San… they're, they're…"
"They're going to be just fine." Quinn says soothingly. "I promise, and you will be too."
"But Ichi… he…"
"Shh," Quinn shushes her gently, "Save your strength. I promise, none of you are going to die here, not today and not while I'm around."
The tears begin to fall from Hana's eyes as she thinks about her nin-ken, "I just… I…" She had to do something, but what? What could she possibly do in her condition or that she hadn't tried already?
"You just rest." Yugao says her eyes locked onto the two enemy Kumo-nin, both of whom had taken up a defensive stance observing and trying to gage the strength of the two new arrivals. "We'll handle this."
"But…"
"You've done enough, you've done your part, now let us do ours." Quinn says gently. She had spent so much time around Ino, Naruto, and Sakura and worrying about how young they were that it never occurred to her just how young Hana was. Hana couldn't have been older than fifteen, maybe sixteen. How much combat had she seen already? She had been chosen for this mission, she was a chūnin already and well on her way to becoming a Jōnin. How much death and violence had she been exposed to in order for her to be here right now? She was definitely younger than Quinn had been when she had died.
Quinn shifts her focus to the two enemy ninja and a part of her, the part that had spent the better part of the last seven years training for moments like this, hated them. They hurt Hana, they hurt one of her own, and a part of her wanted to make them pay. But the other part of her, the part that was still Quinn Fabray felt sorry for them, because how were they different from any of the people she loved and cared for? What choice did they have in all of this, really?
And so she made a decision. It went against everything she had learned in the academy, from Sarutobi-sensei, and Yugao-sensei. It flew in the face of what it meant to be an assassin. She was going to give them a chance. In the end it probably wouldn't matter, they would fight, and they or her or all of them would die, but for the sake of her own soul she had to offer them an out. Quinn stands up and steps forward placing herself just ahead of her sensei and Hana.
The two Kumo-shinobi eye her suspiciously while her sensei watches her with a slightly anxious gaze. "Rin?"
Quinn however doesn't respond to her sensei; her eyes are locked onto two enemy shinobi. Her sensor ability washing over them and telling her just how strong they were and how much they had left in them. "I'm giving you one chance, walk away, please."
"Rin, what are you doing!" Yugao-sensei hisses at her.
"What I have to." Quinn responds, keeping her focus on the two Kumo ninja. And she did, she had to do this, she had to offer them an out.
"What!? You think after all the shit you leaf-nin have pulled we're just going to let you walk away!? You think you can beg for your life!?" One of the Kumo shinobi snarls at her.
Quinn shakes her head, "I'm not begging for my life… I'm begging for yours."
They both appear taken aback by that and she can sense the confusion coming from not only them but Hana as well. But she can also sense the understanding from her sensei and she is eternally grateful for it. They both knew it was a fool's errand on her part but Yugao-sensei understood that she had to at least try.
After they get over their initial shock at her declaration both Kumo-nin scoff at her. "Pretty gutsy move, I'll give you that, but take a look at your friend there, do you honestly think you can beat us!?"
"Yes." Quinn answers, a tone of finality and bitterness in her voice. She knew it was over now. She could sense their anger and incredulity and Quinn knew that no matter what words were exchanged from here on out, this was going to end in blood shed. Still, she had to try. "In your current condition you can't beat me and you certainly can't beat my sensei. So, walk away. Go home to your family and friends. Please, choose life."
Yugao's heart aches for her pupil and a part of her wished for her student's sake that their enemy would take Rin up on her offer. But they wouldn't, no ninja would. Pride, nindo, revenge, a million and one reasons why they wouldn't. If the situations were reversed and she was being offered this chance, she knew that she wouldn't accept either. They had a mission to complete, and in the grand scheme of things their individual lives didn't matter and every shinobi knew this. But she knew and understood why Rin had to offer.
Yugao doesn't bother reacting when the Kumo shinobi make their move, because Rin was already on it. During her offer Rin had realized what Yugao had already known, that this would end in a fight to the death. And so while she had been offering them an out she had also been preparing, converting her chakra until she reached her threshold point. Rin's hands were already in motion completing the sequence for her most powerful technique, the Fiend Fyre Jutsu, when the two Kumo shinobi had made what they thought was a surprise attack.
Having been on the receiving end of this jutsu herself, Yugao knew just how potent this technique was and that was before Rin had started training under her. It was over in less than a minute, as Rin called out the name of her technique and crimson flames spewed forth from her mouth and began to rapidly consume the area. The red flames taking on the various forms of beasts and monsters, quickly surrounding the two Kumo shinobi.
Yugao had to give it to them, they reacted quickly and maybe if they were at full strength or if they had the third member of their team with them they might have been able to stop it, though Yugao sincerely doubted it. They quickly gathered their chakra and combined their technique into a storm release jutsu, creating a shield of wind and lighting chakra around themselves to keep the crimson flames at bay. On a weaker technique, it may have worked, but this was a jutsu developed by the Third Hokage himself and that Rin had made her own. A technique that by the Third's own admission she could use better than he could.
The fire consumes the wind chakra within the vortex protecting them and overwhelms the lighting chakra, consuming the storm release technique into itself and using it to enhance its own power. A large vortex of fire swirls around them, a pillar of flames that reached to the sky itself. Within the vortex monstrous visages of beasts appeared within the fire tornado and were accompanied by the brief shrieks of pain and agony of the two Kumo ninja as they were incinerated.
Quinn collapses to her knees as she ends the technique. Even with all of her training the Fiend Fyre Jutsu took a lot out of her. She had ended the technique as soon as she sensed the last flicker of life leave her victims. That was now four people dead by her hand on this mission. Four people whose blood she would never wash away. But what really scared her about all of this was how easy it was, not the actual execution but just her willingness to do so.
Not counting Mizuki, her first kill had been devastatingly hard, it still bothered her. Her second kill had been difficult as well, but not as much. But these two… it was too easy. When the moment came she hadn't even hesitated. And the regret that she felt at their deaths, was it actual regret? Was she sorry to have killed them? Or, was she only thinking about it because she thought she had to think about it? She's brought out of her thoughts when she feels Yugao place a hand on her shoulder.
"Hizashi is finished, he's just won." Quinn responds, she can sense the chakra of Hizashi's opponent being snuffed out as she says the words. "We need to hurry."
"Take a moment." Yugao says.
"We don't have time. Our fights attracted attention…" She looks off into the distance a far away look on her face as she feels them approach. "The Jinchūriki is coming."
s
xXx-Scene Break-xXx
s
Things looked bleak as Inoichi dodged another one of Eiji's strikes. Both Shikaku and the Raikage were down, trapped in some kind of cage jutsu. The Raikage's other body guard, the blonde kunoichi, was down. He could sense her chakra still but it was flickering, showing that if she didn't get help soon she wouldn't make it. Chouza was evenly matched with his opponent, neither one of them seemed to be able to get the advantage in their fight. And as for him… as much as he hated to admit it, he was out matched.
He had spent far too much time behind a desk and not enough time out in the field and it showed. At his peak, he had no doubt that this would be a much different fight between himself and Lord Eiji, but he was definitely not in top condition. He trained of course, exercised, practiced his skills, but he had let himself go a bit during these long years of peace and he was paying the price for it.
Physically, Eiji was faster than he was, not by much but enough to make his life difficult. Luckily, he knew how to read people, his whole career had been dedicated to reading the different signs that enemy shinobi gave, of getting inside of people's minds and figuring out how to manipulate them and that was translating into this battle. He was able to determine Eiji's tells and so each attack made was telegraphed, giving him just enough time to counteract Eiji's superior speed.
But that was only a temporary solution, eventually, he would miss something and that would be it. Inoichi wracks his brain, trying to figure out a solution to all of this, a way around Eiji's superior skills. He couldn't beat his opponent physically, but he could try to outthink him. Unfortunately, Eiji was as smart as he was skilled.
There was one way that Inoichi knew he could win this fight but it would take a bit of set up on his part. Inoichi jumps back from Eiji and reaches into his jacket and pulls out a couple of shuriken and flings them at Eiji who uses his blade to block the small projectiles.
Inoichi's hands then fly into a series of hand seals and he takes a deep breath, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" He calls out releasing a powerful blast at his opponent. As Eiji dodges the flame Inoichi reaches into his jacket and pulls out a specially prepared kunai with a seal on it and flings it at the other man. Eiji steps to the side and the kunai flies past him.
"For someone of your reputation, I expected more from you Lord Yamanaka." Eiji taunts.
Inoichi adjusts his stance and pulls out another kunai with a seal on it that matched the other one and holds it out in front of himself defensively. "And you are every bit as skilled as I thought you would be, it's no wonder you haven't beaten me yet."
Eiji's eyes flash with rage. "You Konoha dogs have been a thorn in my family's side for years now, a blemish on our noble history, I am going to enjoy destroying you." Eiji then dashes forward and brings his blade forward with a powerful thrust.
There's a loud crash as the two metal blades clash and Inoichi is able to successfully divert Eiji's attack. Inoichi moves swiftly as he backs away from Eiji, dodging and blocking Eiji's furious onslaught. The sound of metal striking metal echoing around them. "You have insulted me for the last time!" Eiji roars, bringing his blade around for a side slash, which he then follows up with a round house kick striking Inoichi across the face and sending him flying.
Inoichi grunts in pain, dropping his Kunai as he goes flying. It had been a calculated move on his part, but he hadn't anticipated how powerful the strike would actually be and it had left his head ringing. He shakily climbs to his feet, spitting out a tooth and some blood as he does so. If nothing else, everything was in position and it was time to act. This was a dangerous move on his part but it was his best option, because the fact of the matter was he couldn't beat Eiji in the real world. His only chance of victory was with his clan's techniques.
"Not so arrogant now you smug bastard. For the insults to my brother and my family name, I am going to wipe you and your entire clan from existence." Eiji growls.
Inoichi wipes the blood from his mouth, "You haven't won yet."
"Oh, but I will. But before you die I want you to know something." Eiji says, his eyes lighting up with malicious glee.
"And what's that?" Inoichi asks, not really all that curious, but if you could get your enemy talking and distracted then that was only ever a good thing. His indifference at what Eiji has to say is wiped away instantly and has his complete attention with the next words out of the other man's mouth.
"I know all about your daughter, Rin, isn't it?" Eiji enjoys the way the other man flinches when he says his daughter's name. "I know she's here in our territory, I know that she's after the spy, and I know about her abilities."
Inoichi's eyes widen with shock, there was no way he should know about her, not yet anyway. Word about her was going to spread, he knew that, but it couldn't have spread that quickly. How, how did he know about Rin?
"I sent the Jinchūriki after her you know, I ordered her to hunt the little bitch down and bring her before me. For your insults to me and to my brother, I want you to know that I am going to visit unimaginable suffering upon her. She will beg for mercy, beg for death, but it will never come. I am going to visit every cruelty imaginable upon her and know that I will do so because of you."
A burning hatred fills Inoichi upon hearing those words, he would not only win but he would make the Eiji suffer. He raises in hands up and creates the modified bird seal that is used in the Yamanaka clan arts and aims in Eiji's general direction, but more importantly in the direction of one of his special kunai.
Eiji laughs when he sees Inoichi make the seal, "You really must be desperate if you're willing to try that. I'm well aware of the weaknesses of your clan's techniques, you'll only have one shot."
Inoichi glares at him, his mask slipping and his killing intent coming to bear so fiercely that it causes Eiji to shift slightly. He had threatened Rin, and so, Inoichi was going to destroy him. He was going to end this battle and then he was going to find his daughter. "I'm not going to kill you, but by the time I am through with you, you'll wish I had." Inoichi says, his voice soft and calm, belying the raging storm that was inside of him.
"Then let's end this!" Eiji roars as he charges forward, while Inoichi activates his jutsu and sends his consciousness out of his body.
s
xXx-Scene Break-xXx
s
Shikaku grit his teeth as the electricity surged through him and kept him trapped on the ground. He was currently trapped in the middle of a cage jutsu designed specifically to be used against the Raikage. A's potent chakra was powering the jutsu, draining his chakra and using it to keep him trapped. If he weren't in so much pain he would actually be impressed with how ingenious this jutsu was.
It was basically a giant super magnet and the more the Raikage used his chakra and tried to escape the more powerful the cage became. The cage's lightning chakra had the exact opposite polarity of the Raikage's chakra, the two opposite charges attracting one another forcing the Raikage to the ground, immobile. Unfortunately for him it also had the side effect of supercharging the area inside the cage, marked by the four spiked pillars surrounding them, with electricity.
He can hear the Raikage roaring with impotent rage as he worked to try and overpower the jutsu. It was possible, Shikaku mused, A may have enough chakra that he might actually be able to overwhelm the jutsu but it was a bad idea for a couple of reasons. Not the least of which was that Shikaku wouldn't likely survive it.
But another reason was that the Raikage would likely have to deplete his chakra to do so and so while he could possibly escape the cage, he would have no chakra to fight with once he did. And while Shikaku had every confidence in Chouza and Inoichi to handle their opponents, he currently had no idea as to how many enemies were in the area and the last thing they needed was the Raikage to be a vulnerable target.
"Lord Raikage!" Shikaku shouts out as an idea comes to him, his incredible mind working furiously to deconstruct the flaws of this technique they were trapped in. He wasn't looking forward to it, but if he could power through the pain then it presented them with their best shot at escape.
The Raikage's eye's flash towards Shikaku and he can tell instantly that he hasn't decided whether or not Konoha hasn't played some part in springing this trap. Truthfully, the relations between Fire and Lighting were bad enough that Shikaku couldn't blame him for being suspicious. The Raikage manages to rise to his feet, his body rigid and tense as he tries to power through the forces keeping him trapped, but his own immense strength works against him and the Raikage is forced back to the ground with a powerful thud.
While the Raikage was doing this electricity surges through Shikaku as the cage saps power from the Raikage to supercharge itself. When the Raikage finally collapses to the ground and the electric surge stops, it takes all of Shikaku's energy to not lose consciousness. He wasn't sure if he could survive another hit like that, the only way they were both getting out of here alive is if the Raikage listened to him.
Shikaku's muscles strain as he pushes himself up from the ground and on to his hands and knees. While this technique had not been designed to be used against anyone but the Raikage, it still held a tremendous force against him. The lighting chakra inside the cage, powered by the Raikage's own chakra, was so heavy and dense that it was effectively trapping him as well. But there was a flaw in the technique and he knew how to exploit it.
"Lord Raikage! Listen to me! You can't escape this on your own, but I can help! This technique was designed specifically to trap you, it was never meant to hold anyone else. I can get us out of here, but you have to trust me!"
Shikaku's eyes meet the Raikage's and he can see the internal battle going on inside the other man's head. Could he trust an enemy? Were Shikaku and the Konoha delegations involved in this somehow? Even something as petty as whether his pride would allow him to accept this help, along with generations of mistrust between the two villages. All of this was coming into play in matter of seconds as the Raikage took in the entire situation.
"Lord Raikage, you need to trust me."
What felt like an eternity passed between them before the Raikage finally nods his head, gritting his teeth as he does so. "Fine," He growls, "what's the plan?"
"This is really going to hurt, but don't fight it, because I promise you it's our only chance." Shikaku says as he forces himself up from his knees and onto his feet, molding his chakra as he does so.
s
xXx-Scene Break-xXx
s
Hizashi, Yugao, and Quinn all exchange anxious looks as they try to decide on their next move. The three of them are kneeling next to Hana, trying to patch her up as best they can with the little time they have. "How much time do we have?" Hizashi asks Yugao and Rin.
Quinn and Yugao exchange looks before Yugao answers, "I give us about fifteen minutes."
"They're coming in fast and they're… furious, I've never felt this kind of rage before." Quinn adds. The jinchūriki was angry and afraid and the demon was near the surface. She could sense the demonic chakra bubbling over and consuming the human chakra. It wasn't as potent as the night that the Kyuubi attacked, but she could definitely feel the toxicity of demonic chakra to a degree she hadn't since that night. She had never felt this level of intensity from Naruto and it scared her. Is this what happened to jinchūriki who were fully trained, is this the future that awaited her best friend?
"Any chance we can make a break for it?" Hizashi asks, as he looks off in the direction of the jinchūriki. He wasn't a sensor but as they approached he could feel the shift in the air and the weight that the demonic chakra carried.
Yugao shakes her head, "Not without leaving Hana and Nami."
"Then leave me…" Hana groans weakly, "I'll keep them distracted as long as I can, just… just…"
"We're not leaving you!" Quinn yells, tears filling her eyes because she knew it was a viable option and she hated it.
"I don't matter… Nami does." Hana says, smiling sadly up at her. "That's the mission, saving her. It's important and I am more than willing to… to die for this. Save her, leave me, you know it's your best bet. Just… if you can, please, save my boys." Her last request coming out a whimper at the thought of her nin-ken not making it out of this alive.
Quinn looks at Hizashi because as team leader it was his call, the crushing fear that they would actually leave making her want to throw up. But Hizashi pays her no mind, instead he places a fatherly hand on Hana's head and smiles warmly down at her. "Not happening, we're not leaving you or the brothers to die. Yugao and Rin will get you, the brothers, and Nami out of here. I'll go meet the jinchūriki in battle and buy you all as much time as I can."
"You can't!" Quinn says, just as upset at that idea as she was about leaving Hana, who weakly echoes the same thing.
Hizashi carefully ruffles Hana's hair before looking at Rin and giving her a kind, warm smile as well. "It's been an honor to meet and serve with you Rin. I wish that your first mission could have gone a lot smoother, but I am proud to have met you and I know that you will one day be a spectacular kunoichi, in fact you already are."
"Hizashi, no, please there has to be another way." Quinn pleads.
"It won't work." Yugao adds, shaking her head.
"Yugao-"
"No, listen." Yugao interrupts. "Of course, we're not leaving Hana or the brothers behind, but even if you do manage to buy us some time, it won't be enough. The only thing I can think of to get them all out of here is with the help of shadow clone jutsu and that's going to severely weaken me and slow us down. The fact is, you'd have to win the fight to buy us the time we need, otherwise it doesn't matter how much time you buy, they'll just pick up our trail again and considering the fact that we'll be moving five severely injured individuals that won't be hard for them to do."
"Then what do you suggest?" Hizashi asks.
Yugao looks to her student, eyes filled with regret, before looking back at Hizashi and answering. "We move Hana and the brothers into the cave and then the three of us make our stand here. The only way we get out of here alive is if we kill the jinchūriki. Once the host is dead, it will take time for the beast to regain its form and once it does it will just go on a rampage."
"And how is that a good thing?" Hizashi asks. "Last time I checked, rampaging demon was definitely in the 'worst case scenario' category."
"Because the demon doesn't care about us, if we're far away it won't hunt us down, it's only going to care about what's around it in the immediate area. If we're far enough, we don't have to worry about it, it becomes Kumo's problem. They're the ones who brought the jinchūriki into this, let them deal with the fall out."
Hizashi looks over at Rin. "And what about her?" He asks before looking back at Yugao. "A jinchūriki is like nothing else in this world, they are powered by a demon, they are no ordinary shinobi. You and I are both experienced shinobi, but it almost doesn't matter, we both know that those who stay and fight likely won't survive."
"I'm not leaving you." Quinn says, her voice sounding braver than what she felt.
Yugao places a hand on Rin's shoulder and gives it an affectionate squeeze. "Honestly," she says, smiling sadly at her student, "I don't think any of us are going to survive. But I can't leave any of you here alone any more than the rest of you could." She then looks back to Hizashi, "If we're going to die, at least we die together."
Quinn squeezes her eyes shut, trying to suppress the fear she felt. She had already died once and been given a second chance, she doubted she was going to get a third. Still, she manages to not start crying, though a tear does escape and roll down her cheek. "Defending my friends… I can think of worse ways to go." She says her voice cracking.
"Let's get to work." Hizashi says, as he carefully scoops Hana up into his arms.
Quinn doesn't dare look at any of them as she stands up, she doesn't know if she could maintain her composure if she did, but Quinn can sense the pride and regret coming off of both Hizashi and Yugao. She goes over to Ichi and lifts him, he whimpers slightly and licks at her face as she carries him into the cave and sets him down next to Hana. Yugao doing the same with Ni, while San limps in after them.
As Hizashi, Yugao, and Quinn go to leave, Hana grabs at her hand trying to stop her from going. "Don't do this." Hana pleads, "I'm begging you please..."
Quinn looks over at Nami's unconscious form before looking at Hana, "I'm sorry we won't get to go out to dinner." It had been such a throwaway comment when she said it, but now she found that she really was sad to not have the chance.
"Rin… please…"
Quinn places a kiss to Hana's forehead, the way a mother might do for a sick child. Which, Quinn noted, she kind of was. "No matter what happens, you're going to make it home. When you do, if you could do me a favor and just… tell my family, tell my sister that… I love them."
Quinn then stands up, gently but firmly pulling herself free from Hana's grasp. San whimpers and looks up at her dolefully, almost like he's begging her not to go either. Quinn scratches behind his ear, "Stay, protect Hana and the rest."
He whines pitifully, his ears and shoulders drooping, and Quinn gives him one last scratch. "Good boy."
As Hizashi, Yugao, and Rin are exiting the cave, Hana reaches deep inside herself, trying to find the strength to go after them, to stop them. But she couldn't do it, her body had nothing left to give and the best she could do was raise her hand up towards their retreating forms. Almost as if she could summon them back through sheer force of will. However, her hand drops to the ground and her world starts to go dark as she loses consciousness, her last sensations are of San lying down next to her and a deep sense of guilt, because she should be out there fighting with them.
s
xXx-Scene Break-xXx
s
Quinn follows Hizashi and Yugao out of the cave and over by the two charred corpses of the Kumo shinobi she had killed. This is where they would make their final stand, this is where she would die.
"We'll make our stand here, during the fight, we need to try and lure the jinchūriki away. Once they are down we need to get back here as quickly as we can and get them and ourselves as far away as we can. The demon won't care about us and any other Kumo shinobi in the area will be too preoccupied by the demon to pursue us." Hizashi says.
Quinn nods her head and Yugao asks, "So, how do we do this? What's our battle plan?"
"I will engage head on, the gentle fist style is our best weapon against this foe. It will basically come down to how quickly I can shut down their chakra versus how quickly they can restore it. Yugao, your job is to provide me with what openings you can and to keep it as distracted as possible. If you get an opening and can kill it, then obviously do so."
"And what about me?" Quinn asks.
"You are not to engage it directly. Your job is to provide midrange support, use your fire jutsu where applicable and call out warnings when you can. Do not engage directly, do you understand."
Quinn nods her head.
"Good. How much time do we have? I can feel them getting closer."
"Two minutes, give or take." Quinn responds. Her heart is in her throat, she doesn't want to die, not again. She was so scared right now and all she wanted to do was run away, but she couldn't. As scared as she was right now, the idea of leaving Yugao and Hizashi to fight on their own was unthinkable. She would stay, she would fight, and she would die, but at least in this death she could find some meaning.
As she and the others stand ready, waiting for their doom, Quinn's mind drifts to her mother and her father. Did they know how much she loved them? Did they know how lucky she was to have them? She loved them, they were her mom and dad, and while she knew she didn't deserve them, she did love them. And Ino, her sister, her twin. What would Ino think? She hadn't even gotten to say goodbye. What would this do to her sister? What would her death mean to her friends? To Naruto and Sakura as well.
Mom, Dad, Ino, Naruto, Sakura… the most important people in her world. Her second chance to get things right. They loved her, she couldn't understand why, but they did. She never could figure out why this second chance of hers had blessed her with them, she knew she didn't deserve them. She knew that, and yet, she had been blessed with having them in her life anyway. She could only hope that her death wouldn't hurt them too badly.
"No tears. Stand firm and face your fate with the resolve of a proud kunoichi." Yugao says her voice firm. Both she and Hizashi are staring straight ahead, ready for battle.
Quinn wipes her eyes and hardens her resolve. This was it, the jinchūriki would be here any moment. Even without being a sensor it would be impossible to miss the overwhelming power of the demonic chakra. She could almost imagine a clock ticking down as the arrival neared, ten, nine, eight…
Quinn takes a single calming breath and focus on preparing mentally for the upcoming battle, seven, six, five, four…
This was it, even if she died, if the others lived, then that would be worth it. She wasn't here for herself, she was here for Yugao, Hizashi, Hana, and Nami. She was here so that Ino, Naruto, and Sakura didn't have to be. Her life, whether it was here or back in the other world held very little meaning or importance. But right here, right now, she could matter.
Three.
Naruto, Sakura...
Two.
Mom, Dad…
One.
Ino…
A cracked and furious scream filled the air as a blonde kunoichi leapt down in front of them. Her eyes were a demonic yellow, and her canines were elongated into fangs. Her fists clenching and unclenching, her fingers tipped with sharp claws. She stood rigged, her mouth turned up into a snarl as she glared at them. She looked feral and unhinged, with wisps of blue flame-like chakra covering her body, and the killing intent that leaked from her almost caused Quinn's knees to buckle and shake with fear.
"Where is she!?" Yugito screams.
Hizashi activates his Byakugan and Yugao draws her sword, the two of them getting into their fighting stances, ready to engage the enemy.
"TELL ME WHERE SHE IS RIGHT NOW!"
s
xXx- Author's Note-xXx
s
I am so, so, so sorry about how long it has taken me to update. I have not abandoned or given up on this story and I am already working on the next chapter, but things just got so hectic for me lately. First with school and then with family things, that I just didn't have the time or the energy to really work on this story the way that I wanted to. But believe me, I've been thinking a lot about this story and where I want to take it and things I want to do. And please know that I am still just as excited about this story right now as I was when I first started it.
I apologize as well if this chapter is a little rough. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I have a hard time writing fights, if I could skip them I would. Plus there are so many characters to cover right now. Things are definitely coming to a head, Inoichi and Eiji are clashing, Shikaku and the Raikage are trapped, the spy and what's happening at East Castle, and of course, Yugito catching up with Quinn/Rin and the others. A lot to cover, a lot of plot points to bring together an bring to an end, and I just hope that you are all still enjoying this. Thank you for reading and reviewing and for the continued support of this strange little story. I feel like there is so much more I should say, but I honestly don't know what, so I think I will leave it here on this note, expressing just how grateful I am to all of you who continue to read and enjoy this story.
