So, with a long absence again, I finally updated what I started like, months ago, probably over six?
Pairing: Kushina(Sakura) x Minato
Disclaimer: Don't own anything in the Naruto realm unfortunately.
Note: I decided on doing a part in this chapter now because Kushina has started her own ripples. I may or may not have left off on a cliff hanger but at least it'll leave me all the more reason to get my crap together and write the next one.
Enjoy, and I look forward to reviews/suggestions. To all those that have been waiting, I'm sorry for the delayed update.
Drifting Blossom Chapter Thirteen
Scrolls were scattered throughout the library, not a single part of the table was showing as Kushina shuffled through each one. Her hand skimmed over a section of the one she was reading and paused as she finally found the information on what she was looking for. She had seen the hand seal so many times, but Kushina needed to read the theoretical portion first before attempting it. Tobirama Senju had always amazed her on how powerful he had been and these hand-written scrolls on everything he was willing to share was priceless.
Tobirama probably wanted to make sure other Senju within Konoha had a chance at continuing to learn and thought that having words written down and added to the collection of seals that Mito was creating, would be a way to leave behind a legacy.
He had created so many jutsu that went to waste, sitting in scrolls and having no access to them. There were a few, like the one Kushina was currently reading about, that were forbidden for a reason, but Tobirama Senju had created more than just forbidden jutsu. Kushina made a mental note to give Hizashi and Shibi some scrolls on their elements. They could use them for the Chuunin exams and develop further.
Reading through the scroll, Kushina frowned. She already knew this information. Having heard about it from her previous sensei and such, it honestly didn't surprise her that there really wasn't anything else to add to the information that she already knew. At least she knew everything needed instead of just a basic understanding of the jutsu. A simple hand seal was all she needed and with the same concept being used as her other clone, less hand seals of course, a Kage Bunshin appeared in a puff of smoke. The clone didn't even need to ask Kushina what to do and she was already picking up more scrolls to read. With a devilish grin, Kushina made another handful and set them to work.
She had finally found the one jutsu that Naruto had over used throughout his shinobi life. Kushina would make sure to abuse it to its full potential.
Oooo
Mikoto squirmed in the stadium chair, eyes wide as she took in the large audience and arena. Kushina sat next to her, hair pulled up into a fishtail braid and out of her face. She was sitting at the edge of her seat hands fiddling with the hem of her outfit, waiting for the final exam for the Chuunin exams to start. Shibi, Hizashi and Tsume had all made it. They had been one of the leading teams, alongside the Ino-Shika-Cho group, who were going to be competing in the last part of the Chuunin exams. There were others involved as well, but none that Kushina knew. Nawaki's team hadn't entered the exams either, having forgone them and decided on focusing more on developing as ninja, and supplying the front lines.
Nawaki's team had just graduated a little over two months ago, so they weren't ready for the Chuunin exams in Kushina's opinion. Nawaki had seemed disappointed when he mentioned not being placed in the exams, but he understood as to why his team hadn't been recommended by their sensei. Nawaki had also started on seal work as well, having finally found an interest when Kushina has subtly mentioned that he could probably do anything with seals, imagination the only thing that might hold anyone back (and seal calculations and layers that didn't layer correctly) but the interest had been enough to get him started on the beginner's scrolls.
She would make sure that the Senju siblings and plenty of others had seals at their disposal, just in case Kushina stepped into the same path that had once taken her in the future. She would make sure that each individual seal was made specifically for that person to use as well.
Someone sat down next to Kushina and Mikoto sent a grin towards them before nudging Kushina. The red head, who was lost in thought, turned and looked at the new comer before she smiled at her friend as well. Minato had finally arrived, not much later than she had expected. Minato had stated that there were chores that had been assigned to him at the orphanage earlier and had to finish them before being allowed to leave.
"Does anyone know when it's going to start?" Minato questioned, looking out onto the arena that Kushina had once seen from the same stands in a different time. Hopefully no invasion happened this time around.
"I think in half an hour?" Mikoto questioned, glancing at Kushina who shrugged.
When the exam proctor finally set foot into the arena, silence swept over the entire stadium and Kushina couldn't help but lean forward, waiting to see who was the first to spar.
Embarrassing her teammates was her main goal for today. She would make them suffer from embarrassment. Either way, she was supporting them.
Surprisingly the matches went by quickly and Kushina couldn't say she was surprised at the winner.
Shikaku Nara was the one to win the exams. It seemed that Shikaku really was a great strategist, almost all outcomes for each person had already been calculated and countered. Probably before even setting foot in the arena.
At least there was no invasion this time.
Oooo
Kushina swept an ink brush over one of the existing seals, watching it glow before absorbing the new addition into its fold. She couldn't undo the clan security seals, so she was just adding in a couple others that would allow her two friends entrance. Hopefully it worked this time.
Minato was a bit weary on approaching the compound from last times experiment. Kushina had sworn that she had placed the seals in correctly, but instead of allowing them entry, a dome had appeared and snapped electricity at the closest one, that being Minato. He hadn't been too pleased when it caused him to twitch every other minute for the next couple of days.
Mikoto stood back from the compound, eyes weary as she looked at the entrance that Kushina gestured towards.
"We'll never know unless you try!" Kushina finally stated, crossing her arms and huffing at the Uchiha. Minato stood even further than Mikoto, refusing to edge any closer until the Uchiha herself went. Mikoto sniffed before squaring her shoulders, stalking forward and proceeding into the building.
It looked fine at first, that is, before a shriek left Mikoto as she went flying out of the compound like she had been attached to a slingshot. Minato watched wide eyed as Mikoto stumbled to her feet, having landed in a heap just outside the compound property.
"I don't know what you did this time Kushina-Chan, but I'm seriously not going back in there, ever again." The girl stated, sending a glower towards the Uzumaki.
Kushina couldn't help but stare at the large complex before her. What was she doing wrong? Why wasn't it working like she wanted it to? None of the seals that she's been merging with the larger one even called for harm, rejection, and so forth.
With a wave over her shoulder, she went back to looking over the papers she had dug up on the large seal. Maybe she should read each one over again to make sure she didn't miss anything important. This would take forever though, seeing that there were so many mini seals, which were connected to even smaller seals on top of that within the layers.
Retreating back to the clan basement, Kushina stared at the large array, eyebrows furrowed. She had the correct layers for entrance, so why wasn't this working?
Countering her seal and deactivating it, she stood up and brushed her hands off. Maybe this needed more time than she thought.
This was frustrating the young girl and her mind was starting to feel strained from thinking about it.
With a heavy sigh, the girl left the compound, not wanting to stay there for dinner. It would be lonely, like always, to have dinner in an empty complex. Heading towards the restaurant that the Akimichi owned, Kushina faltered for a second before turning toward the orphanage first. She wanted Minato to go with her and she knew that he probably would like to go as well.
Now that she thought about it, she should have asked him before he left when she was working on the compound seal.
The matron at the orphanage answered the door when Kushina knocked, her eyes taking in the red head that seemed to always visit these days. With a sigh, she took in a large breath to call Minato down, when said boy appeared right next to her. He was, after all, a sensor and even if those skills weren't refined yet, Kushina had such large reserves that it would be hard to miss her.
The matron jumped before grumbling about teaching kids these types of skills before leaving the two alone.
"Kushina-san! Is everything alright?" Minato questioned, looking at her with worry written all over his face. Kushina smiled, watching the flush that spread across the boys face.
"Do you want to eat dinner with me at the Akimichi restaurant?" she questioned, Minato flushing a brighter red before a smile lit up his face. It faltered though and Kushina could see the subtle way that he brushed his hands over empty pockets.
"I think I might-" he started, but Kushina grabbed his arm and tugged him out of the doorway.
"My treat, you'll owe me dinner another time."
Said blonde flushed brilliant red when he heard Kushina telling him to treat her to dinner another time, when he could.
The two were greeted by an older Akimichi, who cooed over how adorable both of them looked. Kushina herself flushed and puffed her cheeks out before holding her head high, trying to ignore the embarrassment. Minato had looked down, chin length blonde hair falling in such a way that it hid his bright red face. Kushina instantly grasped Minato's wrist and tugged him forward when the waitress started to lead them to their table, Minato stumbling over his own feet before regaining his balance and sitting down at the booth offered to them.
"I'll have green tea." Kushina stated, Minato also asking for green tea as well.
"Aren't you Uzumaki-san?" a voice questioned and both classmates blinked at one another before looking towards the booth that happened to be across the aisle from them. Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Choza Akimichi were seated there, a large buffet before them, looking like they were celebrating Shikaku's achievement. Kushina nodded her head, looking between all three.
"Congratulations, Nara-san, on your accomplishment." Minato stated, drawing attention to himself. Shikaku tilted his head in acknowledgement and Kushina grinned brightly.
"You kicked everyone's ass, ttebane!"
Inoichi and Choza choked on their drinks at the girls use of profanity and Shikaku raised an eyebrow. Minato just stared at the girl with a dead panned look, knowing exactly how she was. Mikoto and he had known her for the past couple of years that it honestly didn't surprise them one bit as to what came out of the girl's mouth.
They were all interrupted when Kushina's and Minato's food arrived a bit later, having enjoyed a bit of conversation with one another. Minato seemed to get along with Shikaku quite a bit, debating over things that were currently happening because of the war that was starting.
"Maybe you two should play a shogi match." Kushina innocently stated, causing both Minato and Shikaku to look at her and then towards one another.
"I think I might take you up on that offer, if you're interested in shogi, Minato-san."
Minato looked wide-eyed between Shikaku and Kushina before grinning.
"I'd like that, Shikaku-san."
They eventually said their goodbyes, the trio staying where they were because it was Choza's relatives that owned the restaurant.
On their way out, Kushina bumped into someone a bit taller than her and she instantly apologized, eyes turning to take in the figure. Black eyes met hers, reminding her so much of Mikoto's, that she did a doubletake, realizing that the long brown hair pulled into a pony tail was not Mikoto's color. She was a bit tanner, and face slightly thinner. The scowl that had been on her face slipped at Kushina's apology and she finally smiled.
"It's okay." And she went on her way. Kushina stared after her, eyebrows furrowed. Why did she look familiar?
Her eyes followed the girl and as she came to a stop at the table with Shikaku Nara, she found herself realizing exactly who that girl was when Shikaku looked up at her and a lazy smile came over his face. The girl then sat next to him, hand gently brushing his arm before pulling back just as quickly.
Yoshino Nara was the name that her brain supplied for her. It looks like those two were already in an arranged marriage, and if not arranged, they were already interested in one another, or at least close friends. If only she could just tell them how great of a son they would eventually have, and Kushina had to stop the choked sob that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She was here and all she can do now is protect and help everyone grow stronger. Help them become the generation that would bring peace to the nations, if possible.
Minato and Kushina went separate ways when they came to the section in the road where one led to her place and the other was the orphanage. Kushina said goodbye, but before she could take a step, a hand grasped her upper arm. Turning, Kushina had to tilt her head back just a bit, for Minato was getting taller, or was that just her imagination?
"Thank you, Kushina-san." Minato stated, the look on his face making Kushina's heart stutter and her throat started to ache at the sudden need to cry. It really meant a lot to an orphan and Kushina kept forgetting that Minato didn't have a family to go home to. Kushina was in the same predicament, but she had known a family before and as well as in this life too. Minato had been alone since the beginning.
A smile took over her face and tears welled in her eyes, causing the boy to look worried.
"Thank you Minato-san, for being my friend. Thank you for accepting me."
The blonde flushed and nodded his head before Kushina surged forward, wrapping her arms tightly around his upper chest. Minato stiffened at the sudden move before he slightly relaxed after a second.
Kushina pulled back just as quickly as she had hugged him and sent a large grin his way.
"I'll see you at the academy tomorrow ttebane." And spun on her heel before heading toward the compound.
The last she heard was a 'goodnight' from him and he headed back to the orphanage.
Oooo
Mikoto and Kushina stood at the Nara clan entrance, both fidgeting as the two lazy Nara sitting on the sides of the entrance watched them in amusement. Both girls didn't know exactly how to proceed and Mikoto finally mustered up enough courage to speak, shifting from side to side as she did so.
"Um…can you inform us where we can find Yoshino Nara? We…er… wish to ask her if she wanted to have some sparring partners?" She stuttered out, feeling intimidated by the two men before her.
Kushina had been the one to suggest befriending Yoshino Nara earlier that week and Mikoto had agreed readily. Minato wasn't around today and Kushina thought that having Yoshino added to the group might be interesting. She could probably create some seals that could make the Nara Clan jutsu cover a wider distance, and so many ideas started flowing that Kushina had to simply push them aside until she could get her hands on her scroll for sealing ideas.
One of the Clan's men raised an eyebrow lazily before pointing to the houses on the left from his position.
"She lives with Akira-san, three rows down on the left, fifth house on the right."
Kushina bowed, Mikoto quickly following right behind her. "Thank you Nara-san."
He lazily waved the girls in, chuckling as they scurried passed them and in the direction that they were told to go.
The two girls watched as the door they knocked on opened after a minute, revealing a tall man staring down at the two with an eyebrow raised.
"Are you Akira-san?" Kushina questioned and the man's eyebrow rose even further, if possible.
"I am, and who might you two be?"
"I am Mikoto Uchiha and this is Kushina Uzumaki, we, um… we thought Yoshino-san might want to spar with us? We're looking for another girl that might be interested in meeting up with the two of us every so often?"
"We wish to befriend her." Kushina added, grinning brightly at the Nara. The man turned slightly and looked over his shoulder, lip quirking at the side as he spoke.
"And what would my daughter, who is hiding right around the corner, have to say about this?"
Yoshino stumbled from her hiding spot, flushed brightly and grinning sheepishly at having been caught. Mikoto hid her smile behind her hand while Kushina looked off to the side, trying not the embarrass the girl any further. It didn't stop the small snort from escaping her though.
"I think…I think I'd like that." Yoshino finally decided, eyes taking in the younger girls before her.
The two grinned at the Nara before she quickly ran off to grab what she needed before heading out with them.
"We'll have her back after dinner Nara-san! My mother will be supervising us, so don't worry!" Mikoto stated, a wide grin on her face. Akira simply nodded, ruffling Yoshino's hair as she was just about to pass him.
"Take care Yoshino. I'll see you later."
Yoshino shot him a scathing glare at her father for ruffling her hair before grinning.
"I will." She responded before following the two other girls.
They sat down in Mikoto's back yard, her mother having brought tea and snacks for the three to munch on.
"So Yoshino-san, why haven't we seen you in the academy?" Mikoto asked after swallowing a dango. Yoshino blinked at the Uchiha.
"I'm actually in the same grade as you two, I'm just in a different class that hasn't merged with you two yet. I'm not surprised we haven't seen one another, seeing how our class rooms are on opposite sides of the building. I only know because I have a relative that is in your class."
Both girls blinked in surprise and Kushina laughed, unable to keep a grin off her face.
"Well, we can spar from now on!"
Yoshino nodded her head in agreement before Usagi-san came out and made the three girls get up and start sparring, spotting the girls just in case anything went wrong.
Hours passed before Kushina and Yoshino could be found leaning over a seal that she had scratched into the dirt.
Usagi herself was reading a book on the porch, listening to the two girls talking to one another.
"You see this portion of the seal?" Kushina pointed out and Yoshino nodded her head, eyes watching as the girl added another symbol. "I'm incorporating 'shadows' into the seal and I thought that, a single layer dedicated to gathering a shadow, and another to 'control' can actually help you with your shadow technique and its weakness?" She murmured, brows furrowing in thought. The control portion was just to keep the shadow portion in a defined shape. It wasn't meant to interact with anything outside the shadow seal.
Yoshino leaned in, interest peaking.
"Like, let me place them on the ground and you use your clan technique to control the shadows produced from it." Kushina stated, getting up from her crouch and gesturing for the Nara to follow. With a scuff of her foot, a seal withered on the ground before forming the exact type of seal that Yoshino watched Kushina etch out in the dirt.
A spike of chakra activated it and Yoshino felt her breath stall. A single black orb of shadow sprung up, low to the ground and hovering. Another seal activated, followed by another and Yoshino had eight small orbs of pure shadow just floating in the sparring clearing.
Mikoto sat off to the side, her eyes taking in the orbs in interest and her mother lowered her book, ready to intervene if necessary.
"Try to control the shadows with your own shadow?" Kushina suddenly called out, standing away from the area so that Yoshino had room to maneuver. Yoshino crouched low to the ground, her hands coming up in a seal before her shadow shot out, darting to the closest orb and she paused as it connected with the orb, her pupils dilating as she took in the information of the shadows, the seal, and the feel of it. Seconds passed and Kushina hesitated in stepping forward. The shadow orb bubbled before spikes shot out of it, surging in all directions before merging into seven thin tendrils and darting towards the other shadows.
Kushina and Mikoto locked eyes as they watched Yoshino weave a large network of shadows together, hundreds of tiny shadow strands connecting and weaving together in the circle of seals that Kushina had placed down for her.
Yoshino was starting to branch the tendrils further out, the shadow orbs allowing her to further her reach and stretch them without a problem. Her hands began to shake before she cut off her chakra, shadows snapping back and merging together before eight orbs were left floating by themselves once more.
The Nara drew in a deep breath, sweat having started to sprout on her forehead.
"I…" she began, her eyes wide as she turned her gaze towards Kushina. "This is amazing." She breathed. "This can solve…this is so…this solves so many problems with our reach. We could use it in so many different ways…" she got out, unable to clearly articulate what she wanted to say at first.
The giddiness in her body language had the three watching her smile as she literally bounced in place.
Kushina smiled, pulling a piece of paper out and drawing the seal upon it. "I'll have to show you how to do a touch seal, especially for this, but we'll work on it together. This is for you to give to your clan if you wish. Or we can work on it and see if we can edit the seal. There is a chance that the shadow orbs can follow the person who activates the seals, instead of being anchored to the ground."
It'll give Yoshino a constant source of shadow to work with, on top of her own. Her range wouldn't really be limited on the field if Kushina could get the inside workings of the seal worked out and cemented.
Yoshino watched the girl furrow her brows in thought, no doubt her mind already going over options on what she could do to advance what she had already drawn out.
"Thank you…for coming by the clan compound and introducing yourselves." Yoshino finally spoke up, her embarrassment peeking through and causing her cheeks to flush.
Mikoto bounded over to the two, stopping for a second before launching herself at the girls. Her arms hooked around their necks, causing Kushina to grunt at the sudden attack.
Reeling them in, Mikoto couldn't help but pull them flush against each other.
"We're going to be the most epic group out of everyone in the village!"
Kushina couldn't help the large smile that came over her face. This was why she came back. This was why she needed to change everything. They were all going to live, she would make sure of it.
Oooo
"Seriously?" Mikoto asked, eyebrow twitching as she stood within the Senju compound.
Kushina frowned at the group before her, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest.
"Yes, seriously. It was that simple. I looked at the blueprints, rescanned them over thirty times, and it was right there. Right there!"
Minato and Yoshino glanced at one another before Yoshino cracked up, clutching at her stomach and trying to keep the loud laughs contained. It didn't last long before Minato and Mikoto joined, making the red head flush in embarrassment and anger.
"Hey, hey! It's not my fault that the guest seal was inactive ttebane!"
Guest seal. Kushina cursed the day the Uzumaki made a guest seal. Mito had deactivated it, only allowing those that were Senju and Uzumaki blood the ability to pass on the compound grounds. It was, after skipping over the seal blueprints and unrolling the scroll closer to the end, that she came upon the 'Guest' section.
It was created to allow Clan heads to gather for teas and simple get togethers to talk about clan business. It was always deactivated after the guests left, but Kushina still couldn't believe it had taken her this long to figure it out. About three months after she had first attempted to get Mikoto and Minato to enter.
Mikoto went to say something else and Kushina sent a nasty glare at her.
"Don't."
The laughter that filled the room made Kushina stalk off, cheeks as red as her hair.
The group went through some spars, Mikoto and Yoshino having fun with the shadow seal while Kushina and Minato worked on seal theory. It was slow, but steady progress. Minato asked questions, thoroughly examining each piece handed to him and storing the information as they went. Kushina hadn't started him on seal work yet because she didn't want him to be injured. Yoshino's seal was easy because all she had to do was slap down a tag and spike her chakra into it. That was it.
She didn't have to worry about the seal work, the process of piecing together layers and making sure they worked together and not react violently with each other.
Hence why the shadow user had probably over two hundred tags in a pouch at her side.
She already had a seal in mind for the two others, but she had to work on them first before anything else.
Mikoto and Yoshino ended up sitting off to the side, watching the two do theory work before Yoshino interrupted.
"Shikaku-kun requested a shogi match with Minato-san."
The blonde perked up in interest.
"I'll be sure to stop by the compound later tonight to see if he wants to play a couple matches." He replied.
The girls then started talking about possibly going out for dinner, maybe the ramen stand? And Kushina instantly brightened at the thought of ramen.
Oooo
Yoshino Nara stood before Kushina, knees bent and arm stretched out in front of her, trembling with a kunai clutched so tightly that her knuckles were going white. She bared her teeth, brows furrowing, but Kushina could see the fear, the confusion swimming in her eyes. The kunai was pointed at her, but angled upwards, towards the person behind Kushina. A cold blade rested against the red heads throat and Kushina's hand twitched, the need for a weapon becoming a strong urge.
She dared not move.
They had gone out for ramen that evening. They had enjoyed dinner and had decided to walk through the Konoha park before heading to the Nara compound to watch Shikaku and Minato play shogi against one another. None of them had expected this situation to be waiting for them.
A strangled sound left Yoshino's throat as her eyes darted towards the other people that had appeared out of nowhere. They were outnumbered and the Nara knew it.
Kushina felt her chakra chains ache to be released, but she couldn't make a mistake. Not with Yoshino and Mikoto this close to danger. She couldn't afford to let either of these two die, not with the impact it will have on both the Nara and Uchiha clans now and in the future.
Her fingers twitched again and she could feel Kyuubi at the edges of her mind before Mikoto Uchiha screamed. The strangled, heart wrenching sound of her friend screaming had her head whipping to the side and lurching towards Mikoto's captor. A nasty jagged cut appeared across the Uzumaki's neck as Kushina jerked out of her captors hold, medical chakra already surging to that point and healing the wound the kunai had made. The Kyuubi's healing properties were working just as fast as her healing chakra. The person behind her cursed, but she could care less before chains erupted out of her back and swept him out of her personal space. Chakra rushed to Kushina's fist, but the sight of a deep cut gouged into Mikoto's right cheek had Kushina faltering for a second. That was all it took for a seasoned shinobi to react.
A hand wound tight in her red hair and pulled, halting her motion and sending pain throughout her scalp. More screaming reached Kushina's ears and she struggled, chains whipping around but not finding the target as she tried to pull her hair out of the person's grip. Strands ripped from her head and she gritted her teeth as she struggled. Her fingers found a hand and Kushina surged chakra up through her arms and onto the person, a seal instantly forming into existence.
It felt like hours before her knees and palms hit the ground from a harsh shove, the man above her giving an earsplitting wail as he scratched at the seal on his skin, trying to get it off like it was a simple ink smudge.
Skin split, blood froze, organs popped, eyes bulged before fluid burst from them, freezing instantly. The man hit the ground, looking like a red covered porcupine and at the same time, unrecognizable. Time seemed to still before the enemies moved with a vengeance. One was dead because they had underestimated Kushina.
Mikoto screeched, her body being hauled up and over a shoulder. Kushina tried striking those that got close to her, but with the fear and worry that something was going to happen to Yoshino and Mikoto, she didn't see the strike coming until it was too late. The distraction of worrying was all it took for a shinobi to advance on her. Pain flared at the base of her neck from a hit and her eyes rolled into the back of her head as darkness took her. In the back of her mind, Kyuubi growled low and irritated. The girl dropped like a sack of potatoes before a tag with a seal was slapped upon her neck.
Yoshino smothered a scream rising up, her eyes wide in panic but at the same time, her shadow racing along the ground and trying to take hold of her opponents. It would only work for so long, her chakra was being drained by the second at the messy use of her clan jutsu. She struck at anything that was deemed a threat with thin shadow tendrils, but it wasn't enough for she was outnumbered and overwhelmed. She may have been advanced for her age, but adult shinobi were something entirely different and not what an academy student could handle.
Mikoto's teeth found their way into her captor's neck as she twisted in his hold, sinking in and causing a strangled sound to leave the man as he and two others tried to get the girl off him. She fought, teeth not letting go and pain blossomed in Mikoto's side as a female ninja dug her kunai's edge into the girl deep enough to cause pain, but not enough for a life-threatening injury. The pain was unbearable and Mikoto cried out, fear latching onto her as she struggled to get away from them and stop the agony. She needed to help her friends but she hadn't been conditioned in compartmentalizing these kinds of situations yet and her emotions were leaving her brain feeling uncertain in what actions to take.
Kushina had gone down faster than she had thought possible and Mikoto knew Yoshino was beyond exhausted in overusing her shadows to keep the three surrounding her from coming any closer.
Her fingers flickered through the jutsu she spent hours honing and as one of the guys finally managed to get enough of a hold on her, she let out a long whoosh of air.
Fire lit the dim clearing and Mikoto watched the man stumble back, screaming and cradling his face while cursing the girl. His face was beet red with a shiny sheen to it and his eyes were swollen shut, but that didn't stop him from striking her. Mikoto felt pain spread from the left side of her head as he cuffed her, snagging her ear with a kunai. The pressure that was building up behind her eyes finally snapped and Mikoto's eyes burned.
Everything seemed to come into sharp focus, movements were slow and her eyes ached in a throbbing sort of pain as she launched herself at the closest enemy. A tag that Kushina had handed to her a while ago that she honestly forgot what it did, was pulled from her pouch, crinkled and worn looking. She managed to catch the man off guard and with a surge of chakra as she attached it to his leg, Mikoto bolted from his range. Heat engulfed the back of her followed by a strangled scream. Something collided with Mikoto when she chanced a look back and something pinched the side of her neck. As darkness started to swallow her, she found her wavering gaze falling on a shinobi with half his leg missing.
It was easy to take the Nara down after she had realized that any escape was futile. They quickly knocked the girl out and tightly bound her wrists before silence engulfed the clearing.
"Fucking easy targets?" A voice hissed in pure anger. "Easy!? They're fucking children and shouldn't even know half this stuff if we were given the right fucking information! What if they actually had more of a chance to fucking retaliate?!"
"I'm going to kill Tomi that bastard!" another voice snarled, the Uzumaki thrown over his shoulder. "This was the entire reason we sent him to scout! We needed intel and he gave us basic academy information!"
"Shut the fuck up! We need to leave now!" someone snapped and they quickly departed with their prize. They had sorely underestimated the children and they wouldn't do it again.
They may have been here for the Uzumaki, but having a Nara and Uchiha would also get them a lot praise as well.
Oooo
Minato gazed at the bored, shogi pieces barely touched as he felt his gut clench in anxiety. Kushina and the two other girls hadn't shown up yet. Shikaku's hand twitched as he looked at the door and then the clock. It had been well past seven in the evening and Yoshino had told him that they would be there before then.
"They wouldn't just not show up…" Minato murmured, sending Shikaku a worried look.
"Well, let's go looking for these troublesome girls." Shikaku sighed and stood, followed quickly by Minato. The ramen stand their first destination. Minato's stomach dropped at the thought of something happening to Kushina and his friends.
Minato stood outside the ramen stand, his arms hanging loosely at his sides as his brows furrowed. The girls left this stand over an hour ago. Doing the calculations, they should have been at the Nara compound ten minutes before the time they would have started their shogi match.
Shikaku stepped out from underneath the curtains, hand coming up to rub at his face. His Konoha headband glinting in the fading sunlight.
"They headed off towards the park, if what the older guy said was correct."
Minato didn't even stop as he surged forward. Shikaku yelling at him to slow down before giving up and slouching after the blonde.
Red strands of hair were clenched tightly between fingers as blue eyes took in the blood smeared across the ground and a large hole with human flesh still splattered about. Shikaku stared at the mess, his face white as he realized what could have happened here.
"Shit." He cursed before his chakra spiked in hurried successions to alert any higher-ranking shinobi to their position. Minato barely registered Shikaku speaking, his eyes straying from the terrain and landing on the strands of hair within his hand.
Thank you for your patients and I hope that this at least makes up a little bit for not updating for a while.
As a side note, I started a self insert if any of you are interested. It's called Scattered Particles and any suggestions for that one is appreciated. I've been swamped with school and my full time job that I've barely had time for my imagination to just sit down and splurge. I've even had to let go of my part time job because I just can't function with two jobs and school, I've tried for the past year and I finally caved.