Darkness began to give way to dawn and light shown through the clouds to fill the earth as the nin transgressed through the forest.

Everything was loud in their ears- their feet scrapping over branch after branch, their sharp and heavy breaths…..but all else was quiet. It was a deception of beauty- of calm. While the surface of the earth and the depths of the heavens roared their silent glory, below them havoc was being unleashed… their only hope was that the havoc stayed quarantined there and had not reached their homeland.

Tenten knew it was one of those mornings that were simply too calm… the daylight was too beautiful, something terrible was about to be unleashed before them. This was not their lucky day. This was not a successful mission. This was the beginning of perpetual unrest.

Naruto came to a halt before her. She took one final leap and landed beside him, gazing out on the scene before them. Her ears began to pick up the sounds that Kiba's had no doubt deciphered long ago. They were not the sounds of business, laughter, and small talk. Instead, screams that should have been harmless children's play were transformed into screams of terror. Confusion permeated the town. People were running, shoving each other and being grabbed by undead monsters. Bodies lay strewn across the ground like pieces of hay. Mothers reached out for their children. Shinobi were yelling over each other, commanding citizens of Konoha one way, nin another way… but no one was listening, they were all in a panic.

Sakura spoke, her voice trembling and soft "Of course he would plan this at a time of peace….when we least expect it."

"We're too late." Kiba said.

"There's no such thing as too late." Naruto growled darkly. He leapt off the branch and began running for the gates.

The group followed, despite their lack of direction.

Catching up to Naruto, Tenten asked, "So what exactly is the plan here?"

"Save lives, slay bitches" Naruto said, scaling a tree whose branch extended over Konoha's great wall.

Tenten sighed, exasperated, as she climbed the tree behind him. "We need a plan!" She yelled after him, but he continued to run on down the trunk. "We can't just go in this blind or we won't be of any help!" She continued, but he wasn't listening.

Naruto jumped down from the tree. He broke his landing by ducking into a roll upon hitting the ground. Then he was up and running toward the Infected.

She crash landed behind him, twisting her ankle as she toppled to the ground. Finding her way to her feet, she latched on to the only Infected immediately near by. Swinging her arm around its neck, she pulled out a kunai with her other hand. She bore her weight down on its neck, forcing its head into her kunai. When the body went limp she let go and it collapsed on the ground.

Her eyes rose to find Naruto passionately attacking the intruders. His mouth was tight, his eyebrows narrowed, his shoulders tense. She saw menace display itself through his entire being, and felt shame. She had to admit her feelings resonated more with what Kiba had said- it was hopeless. Yet here he was; fighting like the day was stretched out before him solely for his success. Like good would always win out against evil.

And here she stood, shameful in her lack of faith. Taking a deep breath, she let his passion permeate in and fill her. She shifted her vision to a couple of Infected walking toward her and took out her scroll, and selected a flail. She started it spinning as the Infected hobbled closer. Their dirty eyes locked on to her and they bolted forward. Taken aback by the sudden change of pace, she swung and missed.

A hand grabbed her butt. She swung around, in anger and frustration, only to land her eyes on a child of no more than 6 years old.

Time froze. Her breath caught in her throat. Her immediate thought fear for his life…but she saw his eyes. Its eyes. No, she couldn't think of him as a little child.

A hand caught her by the shoulder and the child growled, taking hold of her leg. She screamed as the other infected took her left arm.

She was surrounded. She had let down her guard. She flailed and screamed, gathering the attention of more infected, but she had no idea. She couldn't think. Her foot came in contact with the infected child's face. She felt warm breath on her neck, but was unable to accept this as her fate. She crouched and yanked herself forward, spinning out of their grasps and toward the child and in doing so taking her kunai out to dig it into the child's head. She took her flail and swung, this time hitting the first infected in the head and knocking it into the second. The points sunk deep, but she jerked it free. Twisting back, she used her body weight to swing again, damaging the brain of the second Infected.

Tenten was beginning to feel overwhelmed. She looked around, seeing her teammates and other nin fighting- and being overcome by the legion of Infected….the children. They were the worst, because she couldn't even find one that wasn't infected.

More were coming at her. She jumped onto the shoulder of one and stuck a kunai in its head. Then she was running. Coming out of the court and toward the buildings, she jumped yet again on top another Infected, using it as leverage to reach the roof of a building. Turning around upon her landing, she took hold of the bow that had amazingly made it all this way, and loaded it. She took her aim directly below her, to the Infected she'd used to get up there, and sent an arrow through its head.

She wanted to be safe, to save herself. Naruto's passion was not enough to keep her down there. She could help from here. The living, where were the living? Spotting a young, brave girl backed into a corner on the street below, she eyed the Infected surrounding her. She drew the arrow back, took a deep breath, aimed. She let go, the arrow soared straight and strong through one skull, and then another. Two down. The girl continued to bravely fight off one, as more surrounded her. Tenten kept up her defense, quickly loading another arrow and taking down those surrounding her. All except the one she was fighting. Part of her wanted the girl to have the satisfaction of saving herself. Part of her was afraid she'd miss.

Growling below her grew loud and she shifted her vision to the ground below her. They'd spotted her; they wanted her. They were jumping and spitting and screaming in their disgusting way. She took a step back and glanced back at her girl. She felt the muscles in her face weaken and her stomach drop. She aimed; this was not a target she would miss. Its face was buried in the stomach of the girl. She was crying out, her voice joining in the death dance of the rest, indistinguishable among the agony of her fellow villagers. The target went down, just as another fell upon the scene.

Tenten's gaze went harsh, she drew in a sharp breath and tightened her jaw as she pulled her arrow back and sent it flying into the monster that just took a bit out of the girl's neck. As it fell she could see the girl was gone, the entirety of her anterior neck was gone. Gushing blood spilled out all around her.

All because Tenten had gotten distracted. "I'm sorry" She whispered. But she wasted no time in finding a new soul to act as guardian over.