- Hans Zimmer: "Rise" (The Dark Knight Rises)

- Two Steps from Hell: "Heart of Courage" (Legend)

60. Lost and Found

Something was definitely wrong. War was chaos, but the Kiri-nin were retreating the wrong way; had the commanders meant 'retreat', anyway? Kushina stroked a few strands of wet, loose hair from her face and shouted at the general.

"They're not heading back," she shouted when general Hiromu approached her and slipped a little on the strong waves. "They're heading South -"

"What's happening in the South?" he shouted back, but Kushina could only shake her head.

The weather was foul, with dark clouds and a chilly wind. The current was strong and the waves unruly, and it was difficult to hear what anyone were saying; to keep track on what was happening wasn't always easy, for neither Konoha nor Kiri. Kiri had fallen back eventually, and was relying on a strategy of levels; the strongest stood in front and created a barrier Konoha had trouble getting past. Konoha used the opportunity to heal as many as possible and regain their strength, but Kushina was among those who still fought against the barrier, and watched as the second and third layer of enemies disappeared.

The general sent two chuunin back to the beach to gather information, but it would take time. They were far out on the sea. He looked back at the front line. "Kushina, I need you to go and hold one of the retreating enemies back."

"Are you insane?" Tsume shouted over a particularly strong wave and gave the general an incredulous look. "They recently put a prize tag on her head and you're sending her straight into -"

"Then go with her," the general interrupted. "I need to know where they're going, and I need to know before I can decide how many to chase after them!"

"General!" A chuunin Kushina had never seen before appeared behind them. "I was sent by the communication division at the beach -"

"Do you have any information why the enemy is heading South?" the general interrupted.

"Not directly," the chuunin said and shook his head. He was breathing rapidly after having sprinted quite a distance. "But they picked up a message between Kiri-nin not long ago -"

"What kind of message?"

"Headquarters in the North was destroyed by captain Minato's team."

Kushina felt her heart skip a beat. She had heard his name during the war, of course, more times than she could count, but never had she heard of him being so close.

"So they're retreating to the Headquarters down South?" the general said, and the chuunin shook his head again while he caught more breath to talk with.

"We don't know, because the message says that the captain himself wasn't involved," he said. "They suspect that he went South to take care of the other Headquarters himself. That's all I've got."

The general nodded and sent the chuunin back to the beach with new orders.

"What does this mean?" Tsume asked.

"It means that they're probably too far from Headquarters down South to receive orders," the general said and gestured for them to follow him. "Based on the information, I assume that if Minato went South he got such a good head start that protecting the Headquarters will be too late, so I don't see why they're not giving up. But on the the other hand, every time the enemy gets a chance to catch Minato on his own they're taking it for all it's worth."

He gathered a number of shinobi and roared orders to follow the retreating party. He turned to Kushina, and said, "You no longer have to bring one back, but follow them, you can delay them in any case. If you see Minato, tell him I have to speak to him and get him here as quickly as possible."

Kushina nodded shortly, determined to find Minato. The general found a platoon leader who had just arrived, and he set off immediately with thirty Konoha-nin tailing him in the direction of the retreating enemies. Kushina hurried to catch up with the platoon leader, Tsume right behind her. When she appeared next to him, she recognised him as Shira, a tall, quite handsome man who was often seen running between the tents on the beach, exchanging messages.

"Orders?" she asked.

"Follow them for now," Shira replied and grimaced when a particularly cold wave hit them. "Delay them so they won't sabotage captain Minato's mission."

"So he's actually there?"

The platoon leader nodded. "They set off six hours ago from the beach. I met them right before they left."

"That's a while ago," Kushina shouted over the cold wind. "So they're out to capture him, aren't they?"

"That's what I thought, too," Shira shouted back.

It wasn't that Kushina was worried. Yes, there was a large amount of enemies searching for Minato at the moment, but he had what it took to manage. The fact that he was alone didn't change anything unless he was in a very poor situation, and that was rare … But she remembered his scars, the one on his shoulder, the one on his stomach, which he had gained before the previous war was over. They had happened, and they were proof that he was mortal.

'April 3rd.

Dearest Minato.

No time home, huh? I heard things are still bad with Iwa. I understand you have a lot to cope with, but I also hear you're doing a really good job. Wouldn't expect anything else from you – you always do your job well.

I want you to know that what you said to me a few letters back – the one from June last year – made me feel better than you might think. Every time I get upset about my role in this life, I remember you. And then I get upset because I miss you. I hate this. All right, so I said I felt better when I thought about you, and it's true, because it doesn't matter what everyone else thinks. It doesn't even matter what I think, it only matters what you think, and I am so grateful that you can look past my classification.

I just hate being away from you, that's all. During the years we've known each other, I think we've spent more time apart than together. I look forward to making that up for both of us.

I hope you'll be here the next time I come home.

Much love,

Kushina.'

For some reason, Minato wasn't smiling. He had felt extra warm after seeing her two replies on the kitchen table, but upon reading the words 'don't feel terrible about yourself', the warmth faded, and he felt himself becoming stone hard.

She was right; he had been thirteen himself when he went to war. Obito had turned thirteen already, but that was the last birthday he ever experienced.

He clenched the pen she had used to write the letter. He knew he should write to her, but part of him felt so ashamed that he wanted to repress the memories. It was no good; he would be reminded every day that he had brought children to war. After all, neither Kakashi nor Rin were in their teens yet, and he was still responsible for them.

'Don't feel terrible about yourself.'

The stone dropped from his chest, and he felt such a strong longing for his girlfriend that he had to close his eyes and take a deep breath to get himself together. She had the ability to make everyone optimistic, and particularly to make him feel like everything was going to be all right. If only she had been there.

Taking another deep breath, he turned a page in the notebook and placed the point of the pen at the top of the paper.

'June 14th.'

A despicable part of him felt that it was all right to get up and leave now that he had written the date and confirmed that he had seen her letter. She deserved a lot more than that.

'My love.

I heard about the attack, and about Rabi. I know it's a long time ago, so it might be too late to say anything. I just know that what he did was honourable, and I never doubted that he would be there to protect you. I'll forever remember what he did.

Were you injured after the attack? It didn't sound like you got out of it without a scratch. Still, it's a long time ago, and since you went back there, I guess you're fine, right?'

It took all his willpower to keep the pen from stopping mid-sentence; he had never felt his mood changing so quickly before. What he had written sounded lame and fake, even though he meant it. Bitterness grew inside of him, and suddenly, he could barely stop himself from writing.

'We're going to the coast. Whatever higher greatness that still owes us a moment together is out there, they should know that I feel severed. I want to think that I can finally see you, but I'm trying not to hope too much. For all I know, you could be out on a mission right now. I just know that things are getting heated up and you're probably busy fighting, something that keeps you away from me, as it has these past two years.

When I say 'we', I don't mean the whole team any more. Obito was killed during a mission not even two weeks ago. Kakashi was leading his first mission as a jounin while I went to the front lines. The Grass country is finally no longer a problem, nor is Iwa. But Obito was one of those who had to pay for it, and I'm going to admit that once I could pick up the other two and we made our way back to the nearest border post, I felt crushed. I know that he didn't die under my watch, but that's just it. I sent three kids of twelve and thirteen, on their own, into enemy territory. I know he's not the first child to die in war, but I swear, as soon as I'm promoted, I'm putting an end to this. Children don't belong in war, no matter how strong they are.'

Minato's hand was shaking by now. He had always been one of those who could keep his composition at the worst of times, he was calm and reflected and stable, but things were falling apart right next to him and he could do nothing about it. The only thing he could do, was to take into consideration everything that had gone wrong during the war, and try to make it better in the future; but what good was that going to do to him? How was that helping his team survive this war, or Kushina from being taken?

He told himself to calm down, and he did. It was just a moment of weakness. As soon as he got back out there, he knew he would be his usual self. He finished the letter.

'I can't tell much about our mission on the coast. Hopefully, you'll be there to hear it face to face. If not, I'll keep thinking about you, like I do every single day.

Love, Minato.'

If the waves could only calm down, it would make things much easier for Minato. These were waters the Kiri-nin were used to, and even though Minato had closed in on them, this only meant that he was currently being a victim of their desperate attacks to hold him back; the water was already a problem, and it didn't improve his situation when the Kiri-nin used the waves as their weapons.

Minato used his experience from sparring with Kushina for all its worth, trying to find an opening he could use to throw his Hiraishin kunai into the crowd and slay at least some of them. He had to make it before they made it to the Boat village; the island of Whirlpool was approaching a bit too fast for his taste. He ducked when an arrow of water shot towards him, and threw himself to the side while he threw a Hiraishin kunai towards an unsuspecting enemy. The relief was great when they couldn't block it before it came too close, and he transported himself to it, slew the first enemy – he was within the rear of the group, and a moment of chaotic panic commenced as their speed could not keep up with his in the battle.

However, the front parts of the group had already reached shallow water. Minato threw one of his Hiraishin kunai with extra force, hoping to get further ahead to be able to stop them before they reached his precious country. His focus was forced to shift when he had to block a kunai aiming at his heavily beating heart, and he barely managed to kill the opponent before his kunai had reached what seemed to be the middle of the group. Without hesitation, he made a seal and disappeared from the rear, appearing at the coast of Whirlpool between fifty enemies – he felt very unarmed with only a few kunai but he had to take the risk -

He chased the ones in front rather than taking on the enemies behind him. He was quicker than them, it wasn't too much of a worry that he had a large amount of pointy ends aimed at his back when he could avoid them through his senses; the enemies in front kept running and he wondered why on earth they bothered; what good was it if he caught up and managed to put up a barrier in front of them, or if just a few reached the Fire country? Guards from the Fire country could put up with the few who possibly could make it. They were many, but not so many that they could afford to split up.

They had reached a wild forest, and was running so fast that Minato didn't have the time to check his surroundings. But as they ran, colours whizzing past him and leaves slapping his face, Minato slowly began to notice that the ground didn't seem naturally uneven. The wild forest eventually opened up, and there were obstacles, sometimes quite tall, shaped so geometrically that they couldn't possibly be roots or rocks; he glanced down for a moment.

Ruins. The remains of a front door. A kettle sticking up from the dirt. A fallen lamp post. He saw a broken stone sign with the words 'Eddy vil-' on it and realised he was sprinting on top of what was left of Kushina's birth village.

He cursed silently, and refused to look down any longer. He was certain there were worse things to be seen than ruined houses, and wanted to remain oblivious to whatever else there was underneath his feet. With his eyes set on the backs of his enemies, he set up the pace, nearing them -

The group was so split up now that Minato was sure their goal was not just to reach the Fire country any more. He fought the first few enemies he managed to catch up with, but more of them were still quite far ahead of him. The forest grew thick again, they had completely lost track of each other, and there had to be some sort of security on the other side of the Whirlpool that would save them if they reached it, or make it harder for Minato to get to them. He couldn't lose time, he fought his way forward harder still, and after having chased the Kiri-nin for so many hours and being so close, he just couldn't let them have it their way, not now when he was at the heals of the front of the group -

They broke through the thickness of forest, and the ground underneath Minato disappeared. He was suddenly airborne, looking down a the wild ocean underneath him. They were falling down from a tall cliff, but the Kiri-nin seemed more prepared for it than he did; what shocked him more, however, was the hundreds of Kiri-nin approaching them from the other side. In shear panic, he drew a kunai and threw it high up in the air, further away from the cliff; he couldn't get back on the cliff, but he could use the height to take as many enemies as possible. However, it wasn't possible for him to not end up in the middle of an amount of enemies he was very uncomfortable with.

The kunai had reached the height he wanted, and he moved to it, grabbing it with his left hand while his right palm opened and created a swirling mass of blue chakra; he threw the kunai hard towards the ocean where the crowd of Kiri-nin stood looking up at him, and they didn't have time to react before Minato skipped the thirty meters between them and pushed the large Rasengan in the chest of a Kiri jounin; he made himself lose control of the Rasengan so it would explode, and he clung to the spot with chakra while enemies around him where blown off their feet, hit by warm slashes of chakra, some of them went underwater -

He could take hundreds with simple techniques, but he didn't plan on staying at the spot. He had to get a better view of the situation, there was a possibility that Kiri had already infiltrated Boat village, and he had to get there and put up a barrier to save the village. Those who hadn't been affected by the Rasengan charged at him from all angles, and Minato was ready to do a wind technique to create distance so he could do his kunai cloning technique and erase them; but before the enemies were close enough for his wind technique to be worth it, the Kiri-nin were stopped. They were held back.

Golden chains appeared from underneath and behind Minato, holding their legs, arms, choking a few; there were so many of them, and Minato felt something stir in his chest, a feeling of warmth he thought he had lost until now.

Men were falling around him, clenching to the water for dear life so they wouldn't drown as they struggled against the chains; the chain at Minato's left had found a Kiri-nin holding onto the edge of the tall cliff. Of course, with so many chains it was hard use each and every one of them to their full potential, Minato knew that. He lifted his hand, stroking against the chain. It was warm, and his body was filled with the sense of that one person, the girl he so longed to hold. For some reason, it made him feel peaceful in the chaos. She was there, backing him up. Boat village would no longer be in danger, the Fire country would be safe. He could do this. For the first time, he was certain that he could do this.

He made a few seals and inserted chakra into the Hiraishin kunai he held with his right hand. It was glowing yellow, and he grabbed the chain next to him firmly; someone shouted behind him, but they weren't a threat. They were the voices of thirty allies, taking care of every opponent who were out of Minato's sight. His shoulder was injured, but it didn't hold him back any more; he yanked at the chain, and the Kiri-nin slipped and fell from the cliff. It was all he needed to make sure all of his designated victims would be gathered, and when he threw the kunai towards them, it split into hundreds, some flying slower than the other. He could hear her voice in the back of his head.

Go.

Kushina had seen the letter, but she was in a hurry. Her comrades were standing in the hallway, shouting at her to get her ass out, impatient and stressed. She had read the whole letter as quickly as she could and knew that this was a letter she had to reply to at all costs, but she didn't have time to do it. Frustrated, she grabbed her backpack from the kitchen chair, knocking it over in the process, and heaved at the pen to write the painfully short note on the next page of the note book.

'I love you.'

"Kushina, what the hell are you doing?" Tsume shouted from the doorway.

"I'm coming, calm down!" Kushina shouted back, tossing the pen at the note book and hurrying towards the front door.

"You know this is not the time to write a diary, right?" Tsume said in an annoyed tone.

"Shut up, Tsume," Kushina snapped back and locked the door. "It wasn't my diary, I don't have a fucking diary -"

"Let's move!" the platoon leader roared as soon as the key had left the keyhole.

She would just have to make it up to him, but she feared that it would be too late for that. Despite his final words always being loving and only for her, his letters seemed to become darker and darker; it seemed as though the war was eating at his good side more than it ever had, and she pictured how his expression had been when they had been in the Lightning and were assisting general Morikawa at the border; it had been cold, heartless, just like they described him during the second war and she hadn't really believed. He had come back from the second war, his general behaviour unaffected compared to so many others who had become passive and angry.

The more letters he had written, the stronger had that dark side of him become in her mind.

As a hundred enemies floated in the sea, the weather seemed to calm down. The wind paced down, the stream eased, and there were no longer drops of sea water hitting Minato in the face. He had eliminated two hundred and fifty Kiri-nin in a matter of seconds – it was sort of his trademark nowadays, anyway – while his precious allies had dealt with the rest. The chains had sunken into the sea and disappeared, and Minato was calmly pacing from the cliff towards the thirty Konoha-nin who stood some hundred meters away from him, to make sure all of the enemies were dead. He stopped in the middle of it all, looking around him. It was a dreadful sight; the ocean was thick with bodies and red with blood, and the view became more visible as the sun slowly rose in a cold, blue shade behind the thick clouds.

"Captain," he heard behind him, and he turned.

"Shira," Minato nodded back. "What was this all about?"

"The front lines split in half, and this part was supposed to retreat," Shira replied, glancing at the dead bodies around him and shuddered visibly. "But instead, they went South. We knew you were here so we could only assume they were after you."

"Right," Minato said. That explained the hundreds of Kiri-nin he hadn't accounted for; the guards from the headquarters had apparently decided to lead him as close to them as they could, just to wipe him out. He was so used to being head-hunted that he hardly found it troubling. He turned back to Shira. "What's the situation in the Boat village?"

"They're safe," Shira said, but nodded at Minato's wound. "We should probably get you back there to find someone who can fix that shoulder of yours, we had to leave all the medic-nin at the front lines."

"Don't worry about it," Minato said and continued on the walk towards his comrades. "I'll just get some first-aid, I need to get back to the coast. Do you have the status on my team?"

"No, I left the coast shortly after you," Shira replied. "But they completed the mission, as far as I'm aware. Headquarters up North was destroyed."

Minato let out a small sigh of relief. So far, so good. But this was hours ago, there was no saying if anything else had happened on their way back. The Konoha-nin had turned and began walking towards the Boat village as they approached, but one person was pushing her way through, and he walked faster, putting everything he held in his hands away -

As soon as she had squeezed her way out of the crowd, he grabbed her and pulled her close to him. It was such a tight hug that he was afraid he would crush her, but he couldn't help it. He buried his face in her hair and felt two hands clenching at his shirt. He breathed in, and smiled. She still smelled the same.

The hug was shorter than they wished for, but when they broke the hug, Kushina quickly pressed her lips against his.

"Thank you," Minato grinned when she sneaked her arm around him and they walked after their comrades.

"For what?" Kushina said, chuckling a little.

"For saving my ass. I didn't expect to stumble onto three hundred enemies at once."

"Huh, so even the Yellow Flash needs to be saved?"

It was funny how Minato could leave three hundred dead bodies floating in the sea and feel so calm. In a way, he scared himself a little, but heck; he could be anywhere, and it would still feel so good as long as he was with her.

All he had to do now was to get patched up, and he could go back to the Coast village, where the bright faces of Kakashi and Rin would be waiting for him, smiling, just like he did.