Title: Night raid on Konoha

Rating: PG 13 to be on the safe side

Pairing / Characters: Nara Shikamaru, Haruno Sakura, Hatake Kakashi, Genma, Mitarashi Anko, Izumo and Kotetsu, Uzumaki Naruto

Word Count: 851 words

Warnings: Bit dark, kind of gruesome stuff with Naruto

Summary: Shikamaru runs into Kakashi and sakura, Anko and Genma consider motives, Naruto tries desperately to prevent himself from being a murderer

A/N: Two things: I don't know what Izumo and Kotetsu are capable of. I could be wrong, but I think they can use the Katon jutsu. The second thing is that the piece with Naruto isn't as illogical as it sounds – technically, if he's unconscious, kyuubi's chakra can no longer affect him, except to heal his wounds, so it's not like I'm killing him off. Mah, read it for yourself…

Shikamaru ran through the streets, keeping his eyes open. The first person he wanted to find was Sakura; as the fifth's apprentice, she was one of the more valuable genin, and besides, Tsunade herself had requested that he find her, and Shikamaru wasn't about to say no.

Two figures came out of the darkness towards him, and Shikamaru reached for a kunai before he recognized Kakashi's distinctive silver hair.

'Kakashi-sensei!'

'Shikamaru,' Kakashi said quietly. 'Are you all right?'

Shikamaru's nod was a barely perceptible movement in the darkness. 'I'm fine – and thankfully I'll stay that way now that I know Sakura is with you.'

'You were looking for me?' Sakura asked in surprise.

'Yeah – Godaime sent me to find you and bring you to Hokage Mountain – she doesn't want you out here anymore.'

Kakashi's relief was palpable. 'Shikamaru – make sure she gets there safely, will you? There's something I need to take care of.'

'I'll protect her with my life,' Shikamaru promised. 'Come on, Sakura.'

Sakura hesitated. 'Kakashi-sensei – give me your arm –'

'I'm fine, Sakura,' Kakashi told her reassuringly, but Sakura ignored him, already molding chakra and reaching for his arm. In the faint green glow, the terrible wound could be seen clearly, and Shikamaru blanched. 'What the hell happened to you?'

Kakashi sighed. 'It's a long story, Shikamaru. Thank you, Sakura,' he added, as his student lowered her hands.

Sakura nodded. 'You're welcome.'

Kakashi glanced around. 'Right you two, get going,' he said briefly, watching as they obeyed immediately before he went in the opposite direction.

Sakura managed to hold out until they rounded the corner. Only then did her knees give way, her body refusing to hold her up. Swearing, Shikamaru lunged forward, his hands biting into her arms as he steadied her.

'This is so damned troublesome,' he growled.

'I'm sorry, Shikamaru…' Sakura whispered, and Shikamaru sighed.

'It's not your fault. Get on.'

Sakura blinked at him as he crouched down before her. It took a minute before she could get herself to move, and it was in a dream-like state that she felt her arms cling to his shoulders, his hands supporting her body. Feeling curiously lightheaded, Sakura dropped her head against his shoulder as he stood up, closing her eyes.

Shikamaru felt her slender form sag against him, and suddenly worried, began to head back to Hokage Mountain.

Tsunade was going to kill him, he thought miserably.

Izumo and Kotetsu stood back to back, each wielding a kunai. Kotetsu took a breath. 'Ready?'

'Always,' Izumo answered tersely, and in unison, they brought up their hands, voices raised as one.

'Katon: Gokakyuu no jutsu!'

A ring of flames engulfed the surrounding mist ninja them, incinerating them into oblivion.

Genma didn't blink as he felt Anko's presence behind him. 'Well?'

Anko rolled her eyes. 'I think things are turning in our favor – Tsunade-sama certainly seems to believe it.'

'Only time will tell,' Genma murmured.

Anko rotated her shoulders, loosening the stiff muscles. 'Any intruders?'

'Not so far. ANBU is on the move, we're just clearing up the mess.'

Anko laughed suddenly. 'What a night.'

'You're telling me.' Genma sounded weary.

'Been a while, hasn't it?'

'To tell you the truth, Anko, I've been expecting something like this for a while,' Genma admitted. 'Since the Fifth was inaugurated, we've been on the brink of… infiltration, if not outright war. You know it as well as I do.'

'Aa. They want to test us, see if we've regained military power – I would say that this is proof enough that we have. However…'

'Something wrong?'

Anko frowned, tilting her head up to the sky. 'Something about this bothers me. If you're going to infiltrate a hidden village, you send a platoon, not an entire army. If Kirigakure is truly behind this, then they've lost their men – but why? Konoha is not yet at its full strength, but there must be at least three dozen mist shinobi here, if not more. It's not quite right, Genma.'

Genma yawned, although Anko was well aware that he was paying attention to her.

'Tomorrow is another day. For now, let's concentrate on surviving tonight,' he told her.

Anko grinned fiercely. 'Good idea.'

Naruto sank to his knees, clutching his throat, unable to understand why it hurt so much to breathe, why every inch of his skin felt as though it was being peeled off his body. He extended a hand, his kyuubi-enhanced eyesight seeing how badly it shook, and he wondered vaguely why he was still bleeding so much when all he could taste in his mouth was blood.

The more lucid part of his mind was screaming in horror at what he had done, but kyuubi was no longer listening.

'Have… to stop… can't kill… anymore…'

Naruto could only think of one way to stop the terrible chakra from raging through his bloodstream. Reaching into his kunai holster, he clutched a kunai tightly to prevent it from slipping from his bloodied hands – and with a smooth, sharp movement, plunged the triangular blade into his stomach with all his strength.