The Nibi hissed when something sharp and burning hit her on the back. She looked around furiously for the source of it, but couldn't locate it. The pain came again, and this time she managed to figure out that it came from above. Nekomata craned her head up, to find the last thing she expected to see.

A clay bird.

Didn't… That Akatsuki member used it. There are more of them here?!

That sure was interesting to know. It not only meant that this wouldn't be as easy as she'd initially thought, but it also meant that the remaining members could somehow communicate with each other. But…why now? Before, she had attacked her member several times, some of them even when he was partner-less. So it had to do something with Kirigakure…

Did they just all come to Kiri to save it? No, they wouldn't be so loyal to a village. So that had to mean that they had some connection to someone in Kirigakure itself. The Mizukage? Had he called them all here? Perhaps that was something to look into…

The cat's eyes opened wider as the night sky around her melted. The nearly black sky dripped onto the flames with the consistency of wax. The Bijuu shook her head, and the illusion promptly disappeared, revealing that it was just that--an illusion. Nekomata scowled, looking around for the source of that, too. No Akatsuki member had used genjutsu in their fight, and she thought that the Uchiha was dead… And who could pull off a genjutsu, of all things, that could affect a chakra demon? That alone spoke of great skill with illusions. Something else to look into.

It had definitely been a good idea to come to Kirigakure, the Nibi decided. Even if she was getting her fur wet with all of the water jutsus.

-.-.-

"What are you doing here?!"

They hadn't been in Kiri twenty minutes before someone found them. And unfortunately, it was Miki's mother. The woman had a soot-blackened face and was panting, but overall she appeared alright. Miki couldn't help but rush forward and hug her. Still, it meant they were busted, unless they could talk their way out of this.

"We came to help!"

"You kids shouldn't be here!" Her mother detached her daughter from her waist, holding her at arm's length. She looked her up and down, checking for injuries. The woman even went as far as to glance over at the other three children to make sure they weren't hurt, either. "You will get hurt--or-or worse…! You'll have to all go back to the safe house, now, and hope the Bijuu doesn't follow you--"

"No can do." Ryo shook his head, somewhat bored by this entire exchange. He never had been good with interacting with others' parents. "We're not exactly drained of chakra, but we're fairly certain we don't have enough to make it back unless we want to swim."

"Then swim!" Miki's mother shot a disdainful look at Kisho, clearly asking, 'how could you have let them come here?'. She turned her daughter around and started shooing them towards the wall again. Miki dug her heels into the dirt below.

"No, we came to help!" she repeated firmly. "Mama, we can help! We've already promised Kisho to stay on the other side of the village, and we can help rescue trapped people and stuff!" It had sounded like such a good idea on the island, when all they had to contend with was a talking cat, but now, the rationale behind the move seemed flimsy and weak...

"You will do no such thing, young lady. We are handling ourselves and our village quite well, all things considered, and now you'll only have the adults worrying about you. What if you get hurt, Miki? What if--"

What Miki's mother was worried about and was trying to protect her daughter from was danger. It was generic, mysterious in nature, but it was all around them, especially in their current situation. It could come in any form, whether it be Bijuu, fires, or some other horrible thing. Right then, it came in the form of a jet of fire from the Nibi.

The fire-breathing cat launched an arc of flames over the village, aiming at something in the air. It probably missed its intended target, but instead just rained downward once gravity took back over. It was an accident. Somehow, that only made it worse. After all, shinobi could usually tell with that unnerving sixth sense of theirs when an angry attack was coming at them. Now they had no such protection.

The area was very suddenly bathed in fire, simply put.

Oh, sure, because of the distance, there were holes in it and it had been weakened greatly. But the fact remained. Seishirou suddenly found himself hugging Hitomi to his chest, boxed in on all sides by crackling flames higher than his head. His heartbeat suddenly skyrocketed, and he could feel Hitomi shaking against him. With his arms around his sister, he made signs behind her back. Coughing from both the dry smoke and the lack of oxygen, he barked, "Doton: Obutsu Boufuu no jutsu!" The dirt underneath them shot up into the air, effectively suffocating the fire--and kids--until there was nothing but quietly smoldering embers remaining.

Seishirou collapsed to his knees, coughing. Hitomi fell out of his arms, stunned into silence, except for the occasional polite cough, covered with her dusty kimono sleeve. Her naturally black hair was lightened by the dirt into a chocolate hue. Seishirou's own was probably a matching color. She was blinking, probably trying to get the remnants of the jutsu out of her large eyes. Seishirou rolled over onto his back, breathing gratefully. He was definitely glad sensei had pushed him to learn the 'stupid dust cloud' move now. At the time, it had seemed silly, but it only showed him that sensei really did know best. (And here he thought that excuse was lame. Who knew there was some truth behind it?)

"Sei--Seishirou, did you put out the fire?" Ryo stumbled into his field of vision, also panting and coughing. His face was as dark as his hair and he was holding one shoulder. Most of his shirt had burned away (which Hitomi blushed at) to reveal and badly burned shoulder and arm, which he was holding with his other hand. But at least he was still alive.

Seishirou just nodded.

"So where's--" He didn't like the way his teammate cut himself off. The ginger-haired genin sat up, looking for Miki. Ryo staggered over to where she was kneeling as Seishirou picked himself up (pulling Hitomi up by the hand with him). In spite of the near-death experience, now his heart rate suddenly dropped, and he felt a cold shiver go down his spine when he found her.

Miki was kneeling, but she didn't appear conscious. She was probably only upright because her mother was lying against her, keeping her there. Her hair was singed several inches shorter in some places and she, too, suffered some burns on her exposed arms and one leg. Miki's eyes were open, though, and were staring blankly ahead of her. Ryo waved a hand in front of her face, getting no response. He frowned, and then knelt down and put his fingers to her neck. Seishirou just stared.

"She has a pulse. It's…I don't think it's too strong, but it's definitely there." He nodded to himself, furrowing his brow. Then he looked over at Miki's mother. "…" She was most obviously dead. Seishirou, personally, would have been more shocked if she wasn't. "…Miki-chan, Miki, wake up…"

Miki blinked, and then slowly raised her head, trying to focus. "…Huh?" The girl frowned faintly, and then blinked again. She winced when she tried to get up, and only fell again. Ryo caught her. But then they both fell over; apparently Ryo couldn't support her with his injured shoulder. Seishirou glanced at Hitomi, and then let go of her hand, running over to help. His sister tottered after him after just a brief, betrayed pause.

Hitomi was handed off to Ryo, who had her tiny hand in his unburned one, which made her blush even more. She wouldn't look in his direction, which made things awkward. Ryo politely pretended not to notice; now was not the time for such things. Seishirou, as the least injured of the group, helped half-carry, half-lead Miki to the village walls. It was the safest place they could think of, considering all of the burning buildings around them.

None of them would admit what a horrible idea this had turned out to be.

"Where's my mother?" Miki asked thickly, raising her head a bit. Seishirou looked at Ryo for a reply, but the black-haired genin couldn't offer any. "Sei-kun? Where's my mama?"

"She…" He couldn't continue. How did you tell your teammate her mother just died? Died trying to get her daughter to safety? Seishirou exhaled, trying to come up with something. Nothing jumped into his mind as inspiration. The silence hung in the air like the smoke around them. "Wait--where's Kisho?"

Hitomi jumped slightly and looked around with wide eyes. "I…I have not seen him." Seishirou grimaced. If he had gotten Kisho killed or lost, he would never be able to live with himself. Sure, the cat got annoying, but he was a friend; not to mention how attached his sister was to their pet. It was rather horrible to think of it that way, when Miki's mother had just died, but Hitomi knew Kisho better than the woman, anyway. This was a blow closer to home. "Seishirou, where is Kisho?"

"There--he's on that roof." Ryo nodded ahead of them, where a dimly silhouetted shape was perched. But as they neared, it just turned out to be a regular cat, escaping the nearby burning building. Hitomi offered a small frown at this, lower lip trembling. Miki, too, was near tears, probably because she had figured out that her mother wasn't with them for a reason. She had that 'I must act like a kunoichi' look on her face, though, trying to stave off the crying until later. Seishirou could feel control of the situation slipping out of his hands (though it wasn't like he had much to begin with). "I'm sure he'll show up eventually…" Ryo said uncertainly, giving Hitomi's hand a little squeeze. She didn't even blush this time, but just nodded with a cheerless expression.

Seishirou continued helping Miki towards the wall. It was the safest place to be, for sure. All around them houses burned merrily, one or two of them already partially collapsed. They passed two other bodies along the way, though whether or not they were breathing was unknown. None of them could work up the courage to check. Miki was acting like the soldier she was; she hadn't shed a tear yet, though occasionally she'd cough or make an odd little hiccupping sound. Even Seishirou couldn't quite swallow past a lump in his throat. So much for helping people…

Then, suddenly, one of Miki's coughs turned into a sob, and then more coughing. She collapsed, pulling Seishirou down with her. With one hand, she covered her mouth, but the over was clutching her chest. "Miki?!" Ryo ran over, pulling Hitomi behind him.

The coughing wouldn't stop. Now, too, though, it was clear there were tears streaming down her soot-covered cheeks, cutting tracks through the black. It was hard to tell if she really was coughing as violently as it seemed, or if she was sobbing. Seishirou could only kneel beside her and rub her back, nearly hyperventilating. Was this supposed to happen? They hadn't learned about what to do in this kind of situation at the academy! The other two just stood over them, watching, as he tried to comfort his sobbing teammate.

Nearby, one of the buildings caved in, sending a bright shower of embers into the air. There was a yowl, and just as the kids looked up, a blackened Kisho ran out from the doorway just as it vanished in flames. The cat was panting and burnt, but alive. "There you kids are!!" He sounded immensely relieved. Hitomi leaned forward and picked him up, hugging him tight enough to her chest to make him wince.

"Kisho," she said simply, but there was an untold amount of relief in that one word.

Miki's coughing, too, subsided and she gave them all a watery, apologetic smile. "I-I'm sorry, guys…"

"You should all just be lucky you're alive!" Kisho scolded, squirming in Hitomi's arms.

Then, something roared. Something that was much closer than the Nibi was. Something that sounded like it was just on the other side of the village walls they were resting by.

Something else was just-as-suddenly thrown through the village wall, sending rubble and dust down on the heads of the kids and cat. Another something followed it through, but seemingly much more willingly.

And then, a massive paw rested itself on top of the remaining village wall, and pulled up a massive head up after it.

"Damn, that hurt…" Whoever had been thrown through the wall stumbled back to his feet, rubbing his head. Seishirou was both surprised and alarmed that it was just a kid, probably only a few years older than himself. But--his ringed eyes then caught sight of what the redheaded stranger was wearing.

An Akatsuki uniform.

The Akatsuki member (or impersonator) suddenly noticed the genin (and Hitomi) there for the first time. His eyes widened, and then he shouted, "What the hell do you think you're doing here?!" They were taken aback that he would even notice them while fighting that thing, and were even more surprised when the cat responded.

"It's not my fault!" Kisho yowled in reply from Hitomi's arm. "They came of their own free will; I couldn't stop them…!"

Unfortunately, all of the shouting attracted the giant head's attention. The turtle-like creature looked down at the children curiously, but with no small amount of boredom. "Ehh? What's this you have here, Sasori…?" Just the creature's voice alone shook the ground below them. It was a massive beast. Seishirou racked his brain for which Bijuu--for it was apparent that was what this beast must be--was the turtle. Sanbi? Or Yonbi? And how had no one noticed it before?!

Sasori--if that was who the redhead was--scowled. He jerked his hand up, and whoever had followed him through the hole in the wall ran towards him, standing in front of him protectively. It was another man, it seemed, with white hair and, from what Seishirou could tell at that distance, mismatched eyes. Sasori, behind him, had pulled a scroll out of his sleeve and was busy unfurling it.

"Sei," Ryo hissed, behind him. He snapped his attention back to his teammates. "We have to get out of here. Out of the village."

"Yeah." He swallowed nervously, pulling Miki up beside him as he stood up. She gave him a grateful, if a bit weak, smile. "Looks like that Akatsuki member will take things from here…"

"But…I thought you said that there was only one in the village. And that he was an albino." Ryo stood back up as well, grabbing Hitomi's hand once more (and she blushed again; that was a good sign). She was having some difficulty holding onto Kisho with one arm, and eventually was forced to drop the cat.

"…We got more?" Miki asked, gasping softly. Quite the revelation indeed. Maybe two Bijuu weren't so scary, if they had more than one Akatsuki-nin in the vicinity... "Is this the albino's partner? They were supposed to travel in partners…"

"Let's not question the gift," Seishirou said simply. Something about that young Akatsuki member was unnerving. Almost like it was déjà vu. But it really was better to get out of there instead of sitting there, wondering about the Akatsuki. Most of them were dead, anyway, so it wasn't like they would get any more members coming to their rescue.

"He knew Kisho…" Ryo said indifferently, though his tone hinted at something much less innocent. The cat laid his ears back against his head, looking away.

"Let's just go, Ryo-kun," Miki said firmly. "The important thing right now is getting us all out of here safely…" Her voice broke. Seishirou gave her what he hoped was a comforting squeeze. "Le-Let's just go…"

Unfortunately, the turtle Bijuu wasn't deaf. It reared back, and then shot a stream of water down at them, like a massive bucket of water. Probably not as harmless or funny, though, if it hit them. They all looked up in alarm, but something promptly stepped in between them and put up some sort of black shield between them, effectively repelling the water.

"Get out of here, idiots!" Sasori snarled. He was still standing behind his white-haired protector, but he appeared to have had a hand in whoever-this-was saving them. Ryo nodded uncertainly and led Hitomi onto the nearest rooftop. It took a bit of awkward rearranging, but Seishirou and Miki followed them. The group jumped from roof to roof, only having to dodge one more water attack from the Bijuu before it apparently got caught up fighting Sasori once more. Or maybe it just lost interest in a bunch of fleeing children.

Where have I seen that kid before? Seishirou couldn't help but think. Something about him was just familiar…

Unfortunately, as they traveled away from the turtle, they were headed towards the cat. Or rather, where the cat had been. More and more roofs they had to land on were scorched or even still smoldering; they tried to avoid the ones that were still obviously on fire. As they got towards that side of the village, it became harder and harder to do. They sped up, trying to spend the least amount of time on each rooftop, especially those with flames.

"Come on, come on!" Kisho hurried them, staying just behind Seishirou and Miki as some sort of would-be rearguard. Seishirou wasn't quite sure what the cat could do, but apparently he could perform some limited ninjutsu. Better than nothing as a guard, he supposed. And it was the thought that counted, right?

Then, as Seishirou's foot connected with the roof Ryo and Hitomi had just vacated, it promptly gave out.

He and Miki tumbled into the house below, flames roaring up all around them with the sudden burst of oxygen. They landed on their feet, but a moment later, when the rest of the roof fell in as well, they had to tumble to the side less than gracefully to avoid it. Both genin pressed up against the nearest still-standing wall, coughing. "You… Are you okay?"

"Mmhmm." Miki nodded. "Y-You?"

Seishirou nodded, too, already looking around for some way out. Not the way they came in, that was for sure. As he looked around, though, he was surprised to find Kisho. Either the cat had followed them, or had fallen in with them. He, too, was pressed up against the wall, covering his nose with his paw. The cat seemed just as lost as they when it came to finding an obvious escape route.

Then, as one of the Bijuu roared outside, the wall they were leaning against shuddered. And then rocked towards them.

Seishirou pulled Miki to him and kicked off against it, trying to get them both out of its range. The wall fell, shooting up embers at them, but it seemed both of them got out of it alright. He looked around for Kisho--only to find the cat sitting near his foot. "Come on," Kisho meowed, walking out into the middle of the room. "If you head up out of the open roof, maybe you can find something to stand on--"

Then the beam that had been supported by the wall came down squarely on the cat. For a moment, the grey feline just laid there, pinned to the ground by the burning wood, before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

-.-.-

Everything started going wrong very, very quickly. It started when Deidara was knocked out of the air by a tail, probably. Or maybe even earlier than that. He had noticed that the Nibi was actively trying to seek him out in the night sky, so he could only surmise that it knew he was Akatsuki. While he was flying out of the way of the cat's paws, one of its tails--the one that wasn't cut--swatted him out of the air like a bug.

And then caught him before he could hit the ground. In its mouth.

Deidara could only feel blank shock when he thought of Tobi's demise. But the Nibi didn't swallow him, or even chew on him; it just caught him in its mouth, applying just enough pressure to stop him from going anywhere.

He could hear Hinata scream, even from the height he was stuck at. Deidara shut his eyes tightly, hoping it hadn't drawn the attention of the Nibi.

It had.

The Nibi growled something unintelligible around him. He could feel its hot breath against his skin, and hoped that it wouldn't feel the need to be breathing any fire anytime soon. But then suddenly, something that sounded suspiciously like a bomb went off below him, and the cat's front paws gave out, tumbling both of them towards the ground. Deidara fell out upon impact, but was too dizzy to do anything more than stumble to his feet for a brief moment. Worst yet: he was still standing just a few feet in front of the Nibi's muzzle.

"Stupid little ninja," it snarled, inhaling sharply. Deidara turned around and raised his arms to protect his head, a flimsy defense. But then, someone else jumped in front of him and grabbed him in a hug. Hinata had just enough time to give him a reassuring smile before throwing both of them into a spin, the Kaiten protecting them both from the fire suddenly issued from the cat's mouth.

The Nibi jumped back on its paws, snorting. Some of the fire had rebounded off of the sphere and hit its nose and whiskers, but only enough to annoy, not harm. "Stupid shinobi!" it yowled, tails bristling.

As the Kaiten ended, both Hinata and Deidara collapsed. Mostly because he thought if he had been dizzy before, that was nothing compared to now. He gagged, but thankfully didn't throw up. He didn't need to get sick now of all times. And apparently the strain of two people in a single Kaiten was taxing on Hinata. "Neji…said he did that…before…" she panted, getting back to her feet. Deidara grinned weakly at her, still feeling slightly sick.

"Never do that again, yeah…"

The Nibi's paw connected with both shinobi then, though, sending them into the air. And instead of catching them, it just let them fall back to the hard ground below. Upon impact, Deidara heard something crack and pain shot up to his shoulder. The Bijuu then walked leisurely over to them, grinning sharply.

Hinata struggled to her feet. She walked over and stood in front of Deidara, both arms out, protecting him. The blonde got up and shoved her out of the way, but then she responded by shoving him back. Clearly the Nibi was perplexed with this behavior, but that didn't last long.

"…Dark hair and white eyes. You aren't that little Hyuuga girl Youko told me about, are you?" The cat bent down until the bottom of its jaw was brushing the dirt, roughly eye-level with them. Both humans turned toward it.

Hinata paled. Deidara jumped to her rescue. "Are you crazy, you stupid cat?! I've just met this stupid woman! She probably thinks she's doing something noble by protecting an Akatsuki member, yeah."

The Nibi was not swayed. "You are that little Hyuuga girl. Shukaku told me about you, too. You went on the mission to capture his Jinchuuriki, and then Youko fought you with his Jinchuuriki… And… You're his friend, aren't you?" Its eyes darted towards Deidara. "You were the one that was always hanging around with the Akatsuki."

"No, she's not!" Deidara burst out fiercely, pulling a clay dragon out of his pocket. The Nibi snorted, the hot blast of air enough to knock it out of his hands.

"Only someone around Akatsuki level could use genjutsu on a demon," the Nibi said triumphantly.

Hinata looked scandalized. "I am not Akatsuki level!" Deidara would have smacked his head against the nearest hard thing if he could have. That was what she chose to deny? Nice to know her self-esteem hadn't changed much…

The cat demon let out something that could have been a giggle. It sounded like a cross between a loud purr and nails on a chalkboard. Both ninja clamped their hands over their ears, wincing. "I can't believe my luck! I came here to get that immortal, but instead I get an Akatsuki member and another body! And it's female, too!" Before they could react, she batted them into the air again, and this time caught them both in her mouth.

Then, the Nibi turned as she spotted something near the beach.

"Hey! You bitchy excuse for a housecat!" It was Hidan. He had cupped his hand over his mouth to carry his voice, though he really was loud enough he didn't need it. "I bet you can't fuckin' catch me, you fiery shit!" And then he turned and ran across the water, towards the mainland.

The Nibi growled, snorting out a small plume of fire. "Isonade!" it screeched around the two humans in its mouth. Deidara felt his ears ringing from the volume.

Oh, great…there's another one here? Wait, oh yeah. The Sanbi, he thought dully. As he thought that, the explosive artist was trying to wiggle his arm free, just enough to pull his other dragon out of his cloak…

There was an answering roar. The cat laid its long ears back, hissing. "Just go after the immortal!" And because it had to move its jaw slightly to speak around them, Deidara got the leeway he needed to get his bomb.

The dragon wasn't maximized, but it still packed a punch when he detonated it after throwing it down the Bijuu's throat.

The Nibi dropped them at once, reeling back with massive coughs and yowls. But it didn't waste any time. Before either he or Hinata even touched the ground, two tails lashed around and caught them both, squeezing hard. Deidara gasped in one breath of air before it was crushed out of his lungs and the world faded to black.

-.-.-

The Sanbi left. Sasori was more than surprised, but kept it easily hidden. He was more worried about what this meant. Still, he collapsed against the puppet of the Copy-nin, panting and wishing it actually served a purpose. He had been holding his own against the demon until those kids arrived… Sasori supposed he was just lucky that the Bijuu hadn't recognized Seishirou. Though it probably only would have if it had caught a glimpse of his eyes, thank the gods.

Imagine running into him like that, after all this time. Fate is a bitch, he decided, calling back his Sandaime puppet as well. He was keeping these two close to him, just in case. But he heard the splashing that meant that the turtle really was leaving. The Nibi had shouted something about the immortal… Hidan!

He didn't know that the Sanbi was here. He was only looking out for the Nibi. "Oh damn it, Hidan, you idiot!" Sasori took off running towards the other side of the village, hoping he could make it in time. If the other Akatsuki member was caught off guard, he'd be captured. And the Bijuu didn't need an immortal Jinchuuriki. The redhead glanced up, scanning the dark night for any hints of a clay bird. Maybe he'd gotten lucky and Deidara was already heading off to warn Hidan…

Sasori made it to the opposite village wall--or rather, the rubble of it--just as the Nibi left. What he saw, then, stopped him dead.

Two people were coiled in the Nibi's tails.

One of them had long, blonde hair and a black uniform.

Sasori felt someone run past him, and turned just in time to see a frazzled, slightly scorched Neji rush past. He didn't stop, but just kept running, trying to catch up to the departing demons. So that meant Hinata was the other one… That was even worse! Now, the Bijuu would catch Hidan, too, and have three bodies. Not to mention one of them would be Deidara--Sasori shook his head. He would not dwell on that. Instead, he just put the Sandaime and Copy-nin back in their scrolls, and tried to think rationally about this.

Neji just ran off to his death, but he wouldn't do the same mistake.

The Nibi wouldn't go in the water, he noted. It waited until the Sanbi came back, and then climbed delicately onto its back. Bizarre, but something worth knowing. Anything that could be used against those demons was worth knowing. But then, Sasori realized with a cold feeling that the Sanbi had someone in its jaws, too.

Sasori tore down the beach after them, logic and reason forgotten. "Deidara! Deidara!!" If they had Hidan, then the world would only go to hell in a hand basket, and Deidara would be at the front of that with his princess.

The shouting caused the Nibi to turn around, blood dripping out of its mouth. Without saying anything, the cat inhaled, and then exhaled nothing but fire. Sasori could only watch as the wall of flames came towards him.

-.-.-

End of Arc One: Kirigakure

-.-.-

Next Chapter: The survivors wake up and find their respective worlds in ashes. Sasori gives himself a week to catch up to Deidara. The kids go back to Kirigakure for some supplies, and then set out on their own, running into several people they'd be better off not knowing.