Second Time's The Charm

by Reader06

Tobirama knew bringing back the dead was possible. He knew that anything was possible in the ninja world. That didn't mean, however, that he ever believed in reincarnation. But here he was, with a new family and a ragtag group of friends, in a village he barely recognized, facing the same demons as before. Would he ever find some peace and quiet?

32. Chapter 30

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Naruto landed on a branch, located high in the thick forest. He placed a hand on the trunk of the tree to lean on it. Beneath him was a small clearing. His eyes focused on the men standing beneath him. The area was a mess, the ground torn up and a few trees had fallen, so Naruto knew a fierce battle had occurred. Now, the two shinobi just appeared to be talking, rather than fighting.

"…The one with gray hair…" Sasuke started as he approached Naruto from behind, "…He's the same ninja we faced briefly in Suna – during the invasion."

Naruto turned to Sasuke with a shocked face, "Wait, what?!" Naruto turned and squinted his eyes at the laughing ninja below, "…How can you tell..." Naruto closed his eyes and thought back, "And which ninja are you talking about…"

Sasuke's serious expression didn't change, "The Sand ANBU that showed up while we were fighting Gaara… The one that activated the seal on Gaara's neck."

Naruto's eye went wide. His head jerked back to the scene below. Naruto's fists clenched as he growled lowly, "…Shikamaru almost died because of him… And Gaara… If Kanoko wasn't there, Gaara would have…" Naruto shut his eyes in anger. Every day, he faced the fear of one day losing control to the demon fox. And this guy… He nearly caused Gaara to destroy everything in sight.

Sasuke eyed Naruto suspiciously. He knew exactly how passionate Naruto could be about those close to him. In fact, he witnessed it first hand during the Suna invasion. So Sasuke wondered… Was Naruto going to act recklessly now, or had he matured at all?

Both Leaf genin were jerked from their thoughts when an explosion boomed below them.

"Ack!" Naruto cried out lightly as a flying branch hit his cheek while he jumped out of the way. Quickly, he leaped behind a thick tree and avoiding the rest of the debris as it flew through the air. Once the smoke blew passed him, Naruto peaked his head around to look for Sasuke.

His blue eyes locked onto Sasuke's form – who was also behind a large tree a few feet from him. Sasuke nodded to him before looking below. The smoke took a moment to clear, and when it did, they found both men missing.

Sasuke held out a hand, indicating that Naruto hold his position while Sasuke went to investigate. Naruto frowned and gave Sasuke an annoyed look as the black hair boy quietly dropped to the ground.

"Who put him in charge?!" Naruto thought, getting antsy. Looking back and forth, Naruto also leaped to the ground. Sasuke either didn't see Naruto move, or ignored him, as he continued to move slowly through the bushes and upturned trees.

Naruto quietly spoke, "Shadow Clone Jutsu." Three clones appeared before smirking and running into the forest, covering more ground. Naruto's eyes moved back to the explosion area, "Tch. Amateur." The area was a mess, but was nothing compared to the destruction Kanoko left in her wake when Kakashi-sensei annoyed her with his Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu. Naruto chuckled to himself at the memory.

Naruto stilled when he heard the sounds of heavy panting and low grunting. Hiding behind a berry bush, Naruto silently peaked through the leaves – biting his tongue when the thorns scratched his skin, "Should have picked a different bush, damnit!"

After yelled at himself, Naruto focused his eyes on the scene ahead. On the ground, holding his bleeding side, was the other man from before – the one Naruto had never seen before. The man looked a little younger than Kakashi-sensei and had messy platinum blonde hair. His outfit looked like a shinobi's, with the white armor plating and dark under garments, but Naruto couldn't place where he had seen it before.

"Shit…" The man hissed out as he lifted his hand from his side, to take a look at his wound.

Naruto's stomach churned. The man was clearly in need and Naruto wanted to help him, but…

The man's head hit the ground as he laid down flat. He stared at the sky with a dull expression, his hand still pressed into his bleeding side. Naruto heard him sigh loudly and relax into the grass below.

…He reminded Naruto of someone… Who…?

Naruto shook the thought from his head after settling on a course of action. Despite the repercussions, Naruto jumped out of the bushes – surprising the shinobi, who struggled to sit up straight. The man cursed lowly while sucking in air. He continued to move, pulling his sword in front of him as a shield.

Naruto just crossed his arms, "I was just going to help you!" Naruto took a defensive stance and growled out, "But I'm always ready for a fight!"

The man's eyes narrowed, staying silent before a sudden pang of pain in his abdomen made him hiss. His eyes drifted to his wound again, and then at the boy in front of him, "It could be a trick by Kabuto…" Darui thought. His eyes analyzed the boy in front of him, "A Leaf nin… If this was Kabuto, or one of his tricks, why would he try to blow me up and then pretend to be a kid?"

Darui raised an eyebrow and spoke, "Kid… What's your name?"

Naruto smirked, "The name's Uzumaki Naruto! Believe it!"

"Idiot." Darui thought, giving Naruto an unimpressed look.

Naruto seemed to relax slightly as his moved out of a defensive stance to ask, "And who are you, huh?"

Darui didn't respond, he simply stared at Naruto and asked him another question, "Do you know any medical ninjutsu?"

Naruto squinted and frowned in annoyance as he muttered, "I ain't telling you nothing until you answer my question!"

Darui sighed out loudly before lowering his sword and falling back onto the ground. Darui just gave the sky an annoyed look before mumbling, "This is all so dull…"

Naruto raised an eyebrow before snapping his finger with a smile, "That's who!"

Darui lifted his head slightly to give Naruto a tired and confused look.

Naruto laughed, crossing his legs and sitting crisscrossed on the ground. Grinning widely at Darui, he spoke, "I have a friend that acts just like you! He's suuuper lazy and thinks everything is a drag!"

Darui just stared at Naruto, like he was crazy before giving up and chuckling lightly, "A drag huh? Well… I think most things are dull, so I guess I can't say much."

Naruto just chuckled with a large grin on his face before suddenly jumping up with a screech, "Ahh! I totally forgot! I need to get moving!" Naruto held his head while Darui's eyebrows rose at the sudden change. Pulling at his hair, Naruto looked towards the sky in misery, "How could I forget?! Sakura's going to kill me when she finds out…"

Darui blinked before started to cough out aggressively, blood spitting from his mouth.

Naruto looked down at the coughing shinobi before pulling out a scroll from his pack. Darui's body tensed and jumped slightly when Naruto dropped down next to him. Darui's hand shot out to grab Naruto's before he could activate the scroll.

Naruto gave him an annoyed look and yelled at him, "Look! Like I said before, I'm just trying to help! I got better things to do too, you know!"

Darui stared into Naruto's clear blue eyes. Even as Darui's body pulsed at the pain, he wasn't sure what to do. He looked into Naruto's eyes and saw sincerity in his words, but…

"Perhaps it's the guilt." Darui thought to himself. The only reason he was even in the Land of Fire was to take something that belong to the Leaf.

And not just something, but someone.

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The worst kind of theft.

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And here was a Leaf genin, trying to help him.

Darui chuckled lightly. It was ironic. He had kidnapped a child of the Leaf, was seriously injured by a traitor of the Leaf, and was now being help by another child of the Leaf.

And the worst part, the most ironic part, is that this mission was one he told himself, told his mother, that he would take part in…

"Just leave." Darui told Naruto, letting go of his hand and lying back down.

Naruto stared at him bewildered. The foreign shinobi made no further movements and Naruto couldn't understand – the man was slowly bleeding to death, why would he refuse help. Being the direct person Naruto was, he decided to be blunt, "And I thought my friend was lazy! You're going to die if you just lie there."

Darui shrugged, hissing again at the movement, "It's likely…"

Naruto growled low. Crossing his arms and standing up, he yelled at the man, "So that's it?! You're just going to do nothing and die?! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Darui looked up at the sky with a heavy sigh before turning his half lidded eyes to Naruto, "…Look… Naruto, right?"

Naruto nodded.

Sighing lightly, Darui continued, "Naruto… If you don't leave now, you may never find your friend." Darui laid back down and stared at the sky, "So please leave."

Naruto's eyes went wide while he stumbled over his words, "W-What? You know why I'm out here?!" Naruto roughly grabbed Darui's collar and brought his face to Naruto's, "Did you see her?! Where?! Is she ok?!" Naruto paused before asking a final question, "How did you even know?"

Darui winced at the pain of being moved, but gave Naruto a dull look before answering, "…Is there any other reason a genin would be so far from Konoha? Without their jounin?" Darui raised an eyebrow at Naruto and muttered lowly, "You remind me of someone too… Reckless and bull headed when their friends become involved…" Darui almost chuckled as he thought, "Just with less rapping…"

Naruto frowned before asking his question again, "But how did you know my friend was in danger?"

Darui just returned Naruto's question with a dull look before turning away and shrugging.

Naruto growled, his fists tightening around Darui's uniform. His breathing started to hitch and his arms began shaking lightly.

Darui was waiting. With the thought of death on the horizon and his own heavy guilt, he had foolishly given the Leaf nin enough information to form the conclusion that Darui had been involved in Naruto's friend's disappearance. He knew, if the tables were turned, he'd likely be a hand deep in the nin's body – trying to squeeze out any information about his comrade.

Pain.

Capture.

Yelling.

Those were all things Darui was prepared for.

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The wetness on his shirt, however, shocked him out of his daze.

"…Please… Please… Just tell me that Kanoko's alive… That she's ok…" Naruto was struggling to speak, tears pouring down his face and snot seeping from his nose, "...I… Didn't have any family growing up… And Kanoko… She's like the sister I never had, but I always wanted… Sometimes we fight, but I know… No matter what, she'll be there for me – just like a real family would."

Naruto took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes before yelling, "Don't you understand what it's like?! Don't you have a family?! Or someone you care about?! Someone it would just kill you to lose?!"

Darui stared blankly at Naruto. He didn't respond as Naruto continued to rant and cry. He just watched. It wasn't the first time a ninja has begged him for mercy by bringing up their family or loved ones. One day, perhaps today, Naruto would have to learn that the world wasn't a fair or even happy place – one day he would lose someone important to him.

Forever.

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But, Darui couldn't help but think of his mother again, when Naruto asked him to think about a person he cared for.

His mother had always been a strong constant in his life. Even though he was from a large family, his never knew his father nor did he know much about the fathers of his siblings. Back when kidnapping children with kekkei genkai from other lands was common, it was also common that those children be breed like cattle to strengthen the Cloud's army.

When he was young, Darui didn't know any better. Seeing his mother pregnant more often than not, he just assumed everything was normal. His mother always smiled kindly around him, giving him love and kisses until he wiggled out of her grasp, running away screaming something about "mom coodies". While he never felt too close to his siblings, all of them being so different, he wasn't the only kid that was from such an odd family, so he accepted things as he saw them.

After entering the academy and going on missions with his fellow genin and jounin sensei, Darui learned of Kumo's dark truth.

He remembered running home to question his mother. He was more on the angry side at the time – believing the only reason he was alive was to serve as a solider for the Cloud. When he yelled and screamed at his mother, asking her why she would willing have children just to send them to war – as if they meant nothing to her – she broke down.

Watching his strong and loving mother wail on the floor, telling him through painful huffs that he and every one of his siblings meant the world to her, but there was nothing she could do but watch as they were used as cannon fodder and it killed her a little more each day. She told him how she was taken at a young age from her family, her friends, and her home – only to be broken to the point that she would never be able to hold a kunai again, and then forced to breed children, in the hopes that some of them would inherit her kekkei genkai.

Darui didn't know how to respond.

He simply brought his mother close to him, hugging her and crying with her. Crying for her, for him, and for his siblings.

After that day, he spent all of his energy in trying to become the best shinobi in the Cloud. At first, he wanted to hurt those that hurt his family, but the Cloud was his home. He had friends, family and a life here. For all the bad things, even the horrible truth about him and his mother, there were many things about his home that he loved.

So he did the only thing he knew, he trained. He trained hard and long. He even trained with the Third Hokage at the time – learning the black lightning technique.

Darui hoped, perhaps if he trained hard enough, became strong enough, he would get into a position of power and influence and outlaw Kumo's practice of stealing children and breeding them as live stock.

And then Cloud nearly forced itself into another war with the Leaf. They attempted to steal the Hyuuga heir with a poorly executed plan and had the gull to act outrage when the Leaf prevented the Cloud from following through with their sick plot.

All of Kumo let out a breath of relief when the Leaf sacrificed one of their own to avoid war.

That was the first day Darui felt respect for the Leaf – specifically the Hyuuga clan. Darui wasn't sure if he would be able to make that same sacrifice for the Cloud…

It was only a few days after that his mother finally passed.

Her body had been in poor shape the last few pregnancies and had finally shut down.

Darui remembered being there with her, holding her hand while a few of his siblings stood around her bed. She told them, with kindness and warmth, how much she loved each and every one of them, and how she would miss them. She asked them to make her proud by living full and joyful lives, to find happiness and pursue it to its fullest.

And then, just before she passed, she turned to him and whispered to him how she was the proudest of him. He was strong in both mind and body and had a heart larger anyone she had ever met. Silent tears ran down her eyes as she looked at him, one last time, and asked him something her would never forget.

"Promise me… Promise me that you won't let it happen… Won't let what happen to me… Happen to another…"

Darui would never forget those words.

And when his Raikage asked him to lead the mission into the Leaf's home to kidnap a small girl from her family, from her home…

Darui tried to burry those words from his mother, his own feelings on the matter, and everything else that would compromise him from completing his mission, deep inside himself.

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But.

Hearing Naruto beg him for someone he considered his family… It brought all those feelings to the forefront.

Darui was torn.

He loved his home. He loved his friends. He loved his family.

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"Promise me… Promise me that you won't let it happen… Won't let what happen to me… Happen to another…"

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Darui exhaled deeply before reaching a hand up to Naruto's shoulder. Lightly placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder, he gave Naruto a strong look in the eyes. Breathing harder from the pain in his stomach, he spoke, "Nara Kanoko is alive. If you leave me now and race towards to northeast border, you should make it before my team. They will not go down lightly..." Darui closed his eyes, "…Or they might. Samui and C are support shinobi and Atsui is injured. …And reckless…"

Darui signed before opening his eyes and locking them with Naruto's blue ones, "I only ask that you spare my team. Once Nara Kanoko is freed, please leave with her. My team will not pursue if they see the battle is lost."

Naruto slowly wiped the tears from his eyes while breaking out in the largest grin Darui has ever seen.

"Hehe. Sucker!" Naruto thought, holding in a fox like grin.

Focusing back on the injured nin before him, Naruto thanked Darui before taking off into the trees – intent on finding Sasuke and then Kanoko. Nothing was going to stop him from bringing his teammate home.

Lying back on the ground, Darui stared at the white clouds with a small smile on his face. Even as a part of him recoiled and attacked himself for betraying his team and village, a larger part of him felt light and free. It may make little to no difference in the long run, but Darui felt as though, through this one act – no matter how pointless it may end up being – he fulfilled his promise to his mother.

The promise he also made to himself.

To never let what happened to him and his mother happen to anyone else.

Staring back at the sky above, it occurred to Darui that he had never really watch the clouds before, but something about their light movements as they drifted through the sky had him fixated on the sight.

Darui lifted his head to look as his wound again, "That wound is too deep… Knowing my luck, there's probably a piece of tree in there too…" Darui cursed tiredly. He had never dabbled in medical ninjutsu, since C was always around. They had been genin teammates and after losing their third teammate and sensei, they turned into an unbeatable team of two. They had impressed their superiors so much with their tagged team abilities that they were almost always given missions together.

Now, Darui sorely regretted never listening to C whenever he rattled on about medical ninjutsu.

Darui closed his eyes, feeling the warm wind blow through his hair, "It's a nice temperature here… but I miss the chill of Kumo."

Darui's eye snapped open when he felt his hand moved out of the way. He stared at Naruto shocked. Naruto ignored him as he slapped a tag on Darui's side, where the bleeding hole was. Darui opened his mouth to yell at Naruto, but stopped when he saw the tag glow and then spread over his side.

"ARG!" Darui growled out, the pain hitting him in full force. His side felt like it was on fire and he could see steam flow up from his wound. After what felt like forever, the steam thinned and the glowing faded.

Darui panted as he caught his breath. After a few moments, he turned his head to see a grinning Naruto staring at him. Darui turned his suspicious eyes from Naruto to his side. His eyes widened. Darui sat up slowly and placed a hand over the previously injured area.

He pulled at his attire. His skin was a darkened reddish, purple color, but it was completely fused together – he was no longer missing a part of his side. Darui started pinching it, hissing slightly at the pain, but was still shocked the patch-work.

Darui looked up at Naruto in shock, "…How?" Darui quickly changed his question, "Why?"

Naruto stared at Darui like he was crazy, "Duh! You were dying!" Naruto crossed his arms, "What was I supposed to do, just leave you to die?!"

Darui felt his head slowly nod. When Naruto gave him an annoyed look, Darui just shook his head with small smile, "This kid's crazy…"

Naruto rose to his feet with a large grin and his arms crossed, "Well, now that my work is done here, I need to get going!" Naruto paused before a thought hit him. Looking back down at Darui, he spoke, "That was a seal that forces the skin to grow over the wound while your body tries to repair the damage at a normal rate – or at least, that is what Kanoko told me…." Naruto shrugged and continued, "So, apparently, your wound's not actually healed, so you may not want to open it again, because the speedy repair of your skin that you just saw was a onetime thing." And with that, Naruto turned to leap away.

Darui sat up straight quickly, trying to stand up, "Wait!"

Naruto turned around, "Huh?"

Darui stumbled to his feet, "I… You're really just going to leave me here?"

Naruto tilted his head and gave Darui a quizzical look, "Yeah… I can't exactly bring you with me."

Darui shook his head, "That's not what I…" Darui sighed before smiling tiredly, "…Nevermind. Just…" Darui paused, trying to find the words he was looking for before settling on, "Thanks kid. You really saved me."

Naruto's grin widened and it blinded Darui with how bright it shone.

And in the next moment, Naruto had leaped away into the trees, leaving Darui to his thoughts.

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Sasuke dropped down on the ground after clearing the area from above. Taking a closer look at the recent battleground, Sasuke started to look for clues that would tell him more about the shinobi that were fighting here.

He wasn't finding anything.

Frowning, Sasuke started walking around the area for tracks leading away. Perhaps he can at least find the other shinobi, who is likely too injured to move. As Sasuke started to look around, his mind began to wonder.

A part of Sasuke wondered if this rescue mission wasn't a rescue mission at all. Sasuke didn't find the idea of Kanoko leaving the village as all that strange – or even outside the realm of possibilities. Kanoko never seemed very challenged when they weren't in the heat of battle. She loosely listened to her sensei, if Sakura's ramblings were anything to go by. Sasuke wouldn't be surprised if she got bored and was out looking for greater challenges and teachers.

If she was even interested in a teacher…

When the rookie teams got together for skirmishes, Sasuke noticed something about Kanoko. Often, she took lead of their training, telling them where their faults lie and what they could do to get better – or even what techniques they should focus on to cover their weaknesses.

Watching Kanoko with her team really frustrated Sasuke.

While he probably never admit it out loud, being on a team with Kiba, Hinata, and Kunerai-sensei had done a lot for his mental state. They gave him space when he needed it, but knew the right time to pull him out of his shell and spend time together just enjoying life. Sure, sometimes Kiba got on his nerves and it was tiring keeping an eye on Hinata all the time, but they were both growing and maturing – and at a pace Sasuke was comfortable with.

Kurenai had focused on training him in the art of genjutsu, something he would always be grateful for after learning how much of a genjutsu master his brother was – even for an Uchiha. Kurenai-sensei was always a mix between calm and stern with him. In fact, she had a personality for each of her students, which intrigue Sasuke at first. To Hinata, Kurenai was tranquil and supportive. To Kiba, she was firm and indifferent – playing on his need to be seen, much like Naruto.

They were nothing he expected them to be and he was slowly accepting them as more than just a team, but as friends. In turn, Sasuke started to feel a sort of, sense of responsibly for them.

So it frustrated him when Kanoko, his rival from the academy, took her band of losers and started turning them into the kind of ninjas you hear stories about.

And now Naruto…

Sasuke thought back to the Suna invasion: The massive amount of clones, the incredibly large summon, facing off Gaara who was more monster than man at the time…

And after matching his Chidori to Naruto's Rasengan…

Sasuke gritted his teeth as his fists turned white, "There's no other explanation. I'm not progressing under this kind of training. While I don't like it, it doesn't surprise me that Kanoko has gotten stronger than me. But Naruto?!"

Sasuke scoffed lowly to himself before stepping farther into the forest. Eventually, Sasuke reaches a small clearing. Looking around and finding no more signs of an escaped nin, Sasuke turned to leave.

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"Well, well. What is Uchiha Sasuke doing so far from home?" The voice paused to chuckle, "They finally extend your leash?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the voice before calling out to him, "Show your face!"

"Now, now. No need to yell." The voice spoke before dropping down from above, a few feet from Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes went wide slightly before narrowing again. It was the gray haired ninja from before, "You. You were in Suna during the invasion. What is the Sound doing in the Land of Fire?"

The shinobi chuckled, adjusting his glasses, "Kabuto is my name – so you don't have to keep referring to me as the "Pretend Sand ANBU"."

Sasuke just glared, not responding to Kabuto's playful attitude.

Kabuto smirked. Resting a hand on his hip, Kabuto started to speak, "I can see you're busy, so I'll be brief." Kabuto paused before continuing, "You aren't going to get stronger, in the limited amount of time you believe you have, by staying in the Leaf village."

Sasuke scoffed, "Is that so?"

Kabuto just hummed slightly, "Why, of course it is." Kabuto chuckled again, "But don't take my word for it. Find out for yourself."

The Uchiha eyed Kabuto with distrust, but was curious as to what he was planning, "…And how am I supposed to "find out for myself"?"

The end of Kabuto's mouth twitched up, "…Farther ahead is more Sound shinobi. All of them are recent additions to the Sound, and when they came to us, they were quite weak." Kabuto smirked, "And now? I would say they are on the same level as jounin."

Sasuke stilled, trying desperately to control his face, "Shit! I need to grab Naruto and catch up to Shikamaru and Kiba." Sasuke was quick to organize his thoughts, "…How many Sound shinobi?"

Kabuto turned away and shrugged, "You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" And with that, Kabuto started to casually walk away.

"Wait!" Sasuke called out, running after him with a kunai out.

With a chuckle, Kabuto flickered out of sight.

Sasuke cursed as he looked around, trying to find where the man, Kabuto, went. After a few moments, Sasuke gave up on the task and leaped into the trees – focused on grabbing Naruto and heading out to warn his teammate of the upcoming danger.

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"See you soon. …Uchiha Sasuke." Kabuto's voice drifted through the area.

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"Remnants of traps… Clearly, the group that has Kanoko isn't taking any chances and are going all out on the group ahead of us." Shikamaru clicked his tongue on his teeth, "They're not your average ninja – They're high level shinobi or at the very least, are smart enough to stay one step ahead." Shikamaru exhaled, his eyes unmoving from the path ahead, "But the group ahead of us… The Sound shinobi aren't taking us seriously. We haven't run into a single trap – leading me to believe they assumed their comrade would be enough to stop us…"

Shikamaru felt his eye drop slightly, "They're either over confident in their abilities, or are very strong and I just left Neji to his death… And I have a bad feeling it's the latter…"

Shikamaru turned his head to find his best friend's eyes. Choji returned his look with a worried expression.

"What's the plan, Shikamaru?" Sakura asked, being careful not to trip as she sped through the forest.

Shikamaru was silent, leading Sakura to believe that he was ignoring her. Behind her, Choji gave his best friend a worried look. He knew this mission was taking its toll on the shadow user. Choji knew the scariest and toughest thing Shikamaru had ever been through, to date, was the Suna invasion and even then, the situation was so far out of his control, he likely didn't get a chance to over analyze or freak out. And in the end, it was Naruto and Kanoko who handled the situation.

Now… Not only was the successful completion of this mission his responsibility, but so were the lives of everyone on the mission. He had just been named chunin a couple days ago and the only experience he had to pull from was leading his own team – since Asuma preferred to have Shikamaru lead them on their missions.

But Choji also knew that, if the only weight on his best friend's shoulders was the mission objective and their lives, he would be able to push his insecurities aside for the most part and lead effectively.

The real reason Choji was worried was due to what they saw moments ago: Kanoko's body limp on the ground.

Shikamaru could tell them that he was not affected and that he still had complete control of his faculties, but Choji knew better. To Shikamaru, Kanoko was like… An older brother? He knew that sounded weird, but that's just how Choji felt about Shikamaru's relationship with his sister.

Sure, Choji had seen the beginnings of a sister complex from his buddy, but starting from the moment they met, Shikamaru had always talked about Kanoko as if she was an older, wiser, stronger sibling of his. If Shikamaru didn't know the answer to something, he would walk up to his sister and ask her. If he and Choji were getting picked on by some older kids, Shikamaru would lazily drop his sister's name – making the kids scatter in fear. If he just needed some sagely wisdom, he'd look for his dad until he got bored and asked his sister instead.

One night Choji had stayed over at Shikamaru's for a sleep over. They had a blast until they were forced to go to sleep. Not one to stay awake when he didn't need to, Shikamaru was quickly out like a light. Later that night, Choji was woken by the smashing of glass. There was a storm raging outside and a tree crashed into Shikamaru's window – shattering it. He was terrified and when the thundered roared, he quickly hid under the blankets. When Choji peeked an eye out, he saw Shikamaru doing the same thing - shaking slightly with a pillow over his head.

Lightening flashed again, followed by the roar of thunder, upsetting the young boys even further. Choji remembered being close to tears before feeling warm arms enclose around him and Shikamaru. Choji remembered looking up in shock as Kanoko pulled the two of them in close and told them it was ok, she wouldn't let the storm harm them.

She would protect them.

Shikamaru immediately calmed down and closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth and safety of his sister. She then took them to her room, which didn't have a broken window, and had them take the bed. She grabbed a blanket and told them to go to sleep before getting comfortable on the ground.

The two boys quickly drifted to sleep, but when Choji woke up the next morning, he found Shikamaru on the ground, curled up next to his sister.

It was after that, that Choji knew for certain.

To Shikamaru, Kanoko was his protector, his role model, and the person he relied on the most.

To see her like that – unmoving, vulnerable, and completely at the mercy of another – it probably shook him to his core.

Choji just hoped Shikamaru snapped himself out of it.

"Shikamaru!" Sakura called to him again, trying to get his attention.

Shikamaru just "tsked" before drawling out, "…Clearly they don't see us as a threat, since we haven't run into any traps."

Kiba sniffed the air before looked over his shoulder, "…were getting closer."

Shikamaru took the information in while speaking, "Normally… I would suggest one of us henge as their comrade and infiltrate their group – since they seem certain we are either dead or still occupied."

Sakura looking at Shikamaru's back quizzically, "But…?"

Shikamaru sighed, "But… That wouldn't actually help us. This group doesn't have Kanoko and outside of the fact that they are after her too, we don't have anything to fight with them about."

Silence took over the group as they leaped through the air, hopping from branch to branch. Shikamaru focused ahead, running through the information they gathered so far. "Going around them would take time and it's unlikely we would be able to catch up if we do that."

Shikamaru gritted his teeth, his fists clenching, "We only have one option…"

"One of us is going to have to push forward while the others take on the Sound team." Shikamaru spoke in a grave voice.

Silence took over the group again as they replayed Shikamaru's words in their head again. Shikamaru exhaled lightly, his eyes dropping, "…There's four of them left, and there's five of us… We don't know what kind of abilities they have, or how powerful they are…"

"I will stay behind." Lee spoke in a determined voice, "And I think I should be the one to take the leader on."

Shikamaru turned his head to look at Lee, "You're the most experienced and strongest of us… I want you to go ahead and leave us to handle the group…"

"No. If anyone should continue after Kanoko, it should be you, Shikamaru." Choji spoke from the rear of the team.

Kiba nodded, turning around to look at Shikamaru, "Choji's right man." Kiba shrugged with a smirk, "When Naruto and Sasuke show up, they're going to need you to lead them – if they haven't already killed each other."

Shikamaru frowned at the two of them, "Naruto and Sasuke are too far away. At this rate, they aren't going to catch up in time. Lee is the one with the best chance-"

Sakura crossed her arms and gave Shikamaru a hard look, "Whether Naruto and Sasuke show up or we finish our fights, both are going to take time. There's only one person in our group who was raised in stalling and trapping tactics – and that's you, Shikamaru! You're the only one that can slow the three that have Kanoko enough for reinforcements to arrive."

Akamaru barked, leading Kiba to smirk and laugh, "Even Akamaru agrees!"

Shikamaru gave the group an annoyed look, which they returned with a laugh. Sighing, Shikamaru smiled slightly, "…I really couldn't ask for better friends." Sighing again, Shikamaru grumbled out, "Fine." He moved his eyes to the path ahead, "In that case, here's the plan…"

000000000000000000000000

Kimimaro's eyes narrowed, "Kidomaru hasn't returned..." He shifted his red line eyes to Tayuya and Jirobo, "Useless..." Kimimaro continued to leap through the thick forest. The farther north they went the thicker the deep green brush got.

"Where is that fucking idiot?" Tayuya scoffed out, her face turning into a sneer.

"Tayuya! You're a lady! Start speaking like it!" Jirobo shouted.

Sakon chuckled, "I don't know why you even waste your breath. Tayuya wouldn't know proper etiquette if someone shoved it up her ass!" Sakon broke into a full out laugh at his own joke.

A low growl slipped out of Kimimaro before he opened his mouth to tell the other Sound nin to shut up, but was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Kidomaru - leaping out from behind the leaves of a tree.

"Did you miss me?" Kidomaru asked with a smirk, keeping pace his other teammates as they moved from branch to branch. Kimimaro narrowed his eyes in response.

Sakon was the first to speak, "Took you long enough. You shouldn't play with your food - it's bad manners." He finished with a chuckle.

Tayuya just scoffed while Jirobo nodded at his spider-like teammate.

Silence took over the group again for a moment before Kidomaru interrupted it, pulling their attention, "You know... Twice I've had the pleasure of having you guys get in the way of my mission... And twice has my team fooled you. …The Sound must not favor brains over brawn."

Shock rolled through the Sound nin before Kimimaro leaped over Tayuya and shot towards Kidomaru with his bone sword out. Kimimaro swung his arm back and pointed the tip at Kidomaru.

Just before the bone sword hit, Kimimaro was stopped by several thin metal wires. More than fifteen metal wires flew gracefully through the air and strung themselves around the Sound team and the trees surrounding them. Tayuya was the first to make a quick brake, just barely missing the trap.

Sakon grunted as his legs and ankles were caught - the wire cutting into his thin skin and making him hiss. Jirobo was completely wrapped, fighting against the tightness.

Kimimaro was pushed back and swiftly moved through the trees to a higher spot, his eyes rapidly moving over the area to identify the threats. His head shifted towards Tayuya, who was pushed back towards Jirobo and Sakon by a large fireball.

Slowly stepping out, a group of three Leaf shinobi smirked at the pinned Sound nin. One of them, the shaggy one with a small dog crossed his arms and smirked up at Kimimaro, "You gonna come down and save your friends?"

Tayuya was the one who answered with a scoff, "We aren't all bleeding hearts like you weak Leaf bastards!" Tayuya finished by pulling out her flute and holding it up to her mouth.

Jirobo and Sakon both cursed before Sakon cursed at Tayuya, "Bitch!"

A light tune started to ring through the area.

"Genjutsu!" Sakura shouted to the group, pushing her chakra into her two comrades to disrupt the illusion.

Kiba just smirked, forming a quick hand sign, and then rushing forward with Akamaru, "Fang over Fang!" He leaped into the air before spinning around at a high speed and heading straight for the musical shinobi. Tayuya cursed, leaping back – trying to holding her tune – with Kiba and Akamaru hot on her tail.

While Kiba was busy with Tayuya and the others distracted by the genjutsu, Sakon pulled himself out of the jutsu by twisting himself further into the wire, causing pain, before breaking from the trap a leaping towards Sakura and Choji.

Sakura was quick to react. Running through another set of hand signs, Sakura sucked in air before blowing out another medium sized fire ball at Sakon.

Sakon cursed his luck. He threw a kunai with a wire towards a tree and pulled himself out of the way. Sakura watched him carefully with a kunai in front as Sakon swung around and landed on a branch not far from her.

Choji turned from Sakura and her opponent, to the Sound shinobi still restrained by the wire trap. Choji frowned at him. He knew that he needed to defeat this guy - if he didn't he would be putting his team in danger - but at the same time, the guy was caught and Choji wasn't sure about attacking a nearly defenseless enemy.

Jirobo watched as the Leaf nin struggled with the morality of the situation and smirked. Tentatively, Choji pulled out a kunai and slowly walked towards Jirobo - an upset look in his eyes. Just as Choji got within reach, he paused again - wondering if he had the stomach to kill someone for the first time.

"I'll just knock him out." Choji thought, turning the kunai around and bringing his arm down to knock the enemy out.

Jirobo couldn't hold his deep laugh, catching Choji off guard before Jirobo burst from his restraints. Choji's eyes went wide in shock and failed to move away in time, earning a sucker punch to the gut.

Choji grunted and coughed up spit as he stumbled backwards. Jirobo was quick to follow up, dropping off the branch and hitting the ground with a loud boom.

The ground shook – making the ground crack into large pieces. Cracking the ground further, Jirobo lifted up a large piece of earth and hurled it towards the Leaf nin. Choji dove out of the way, falling from the branches in the process, and meeting Jirobo on the ground below.

Choji moved into a defensive stance, his eyes turning serious as he observed his enemy carefully.

Jirobo chuckled darkly – a large grin plastered on his face.

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Kimimaro observed the fights below. He cursed at himself when he lost track of the fake Kidomaru in his haste to escape the trap, "It doesn't matter now." Kimimaro looked down at his fellow Sound shinobi and scoffed at their sloppiness.

Turning away from the scene, Kimimaro leaped to another branch, intending to continue the chase for Nara Kanoko.

"Leaf Kick!" A loud voice shouted from Kimimaro's side. Flipping backwards, he landed on another branch with easy.

Kimimaro gazed blankly at the sight before him. A Leaf nin, with dark hair and green jumpsuit, took a taijutsu stance in front of him.

"You will not be continuing. I am your opponent now!" Lee shouted to the Sound nin, preparing for an attack.

Kimimaro narrowed his eyes. Bringing his bone sword up in front of him, he stared at Lee, "I will not let Orochimaru-sama again. I will complete the mission – regardless of how many corpses I must walk over to do so."

00000000000000000000000

…He took off, ignoring her struggled cries and whimpers.

With ease, Tobirama navigated swiftly through the trees until he reached a small clearing. Slowing his pace, he approached the sparkling creek. Tobirama bent down, cupping his hand and taking a small sip. Satisfied, he shook the remaining drops of water off of his hand and gazed up at the sky.

The clouds were plentiful and bright, traveling slowly in the sky. Tobirama marveled at the beauty of the sky. Ever since Tobirama was born, he never truly felt at peace. He remembers being carried often – not because his parents liked to hold him, but rather due to the constant fleeing from enemies or simply traveling to new lands.

When he was old enough to walk on his own, that was the moment he learned no one would be coming to his rescue. Not his mother, not his father, no one. Hashirama, his older brother… Hashirama who was kind, loyal, and cared too much… Hashirama was the only one who looked out for him – who was there for him – but his older brother wasn't old enough or strong enough yet to protect Tobirama and his two younger brothers.

So, everyday, Tobirama trained hard and longer, in order to get stronger. Everywhere he went, he assessed and monitored his surroundings for traps, enemies, and natural dangers. Everyone he met, including those dubbed "ally" by his clan, were met with his suspicious gaze and tense form – ready for a fight, should one break out.

Tobirama had never known peace, and he was starting to think he never would.

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Tobirama's body stilled while continuing to stand by the stream. Someone was approaching – and was struggling to do so too, if their pulsing chakra told him anything. Once the chakra got close enough, and the loud sounds of stumbling was heard, Tobirama shrugged – already aware of the individual and not in the least concerned for his own safety.

Pushing through the berry bushes was a small girl with long tomato tinted hair. She was holding her arm close to her body and had a firm frown on her face. She was mumbling low. "Likely curses", Tobirama reasoned, before she gaze caught a bored looking Tobirama at the side of the creek.

Her face quickly morphed into one of anger, a long growl escaping from her throat. Raising her other arm, she pointed aggressively at Tobirama and snarled out, "YOU!"

Tobirama raised an eyebrow in response.

Her face turned deep red in anger. Then, to Tobirama's bewilderment, she started jumping up and down while screaming out curse words.

"She's crazy…" Tobirama thought, his eyes wide as the girl continued her tantrum. Choosing to leave, fearing she may be carrying a disease, Tobirama turned and started to walk away.

The girl stared at him in shock for a moment before roaring at him, "NOW JUST WAIT A MINUTE! Don't think you're getting away so easily, you pompous jerk!"

Tobirama didn't stop walking, but replied without a care, "I have nothing to do with you. I neither set the trap, you so foolishly fell into, nor did I push you into the trap."

The girl scrambled to follow after Tobirama, a fist in the air as she continued to yell at his back, "You could have helped me when you found me there!"

Tobirama just rolled his eyes and ignored her.

She stomped her foot down, her face going red again before she jogged up to Tobirama again, "Don't you ignore me!"

Tobirama spun around on his heel to face the girl, who took a small step back – surprised by his sudden movement. Quickly, she took a defensive stance, ready for battle.

Tobirama just raised an eyebrow at her before speaking in a dull voice, "I had no obligation to help you. Now leave me alone." And with that, he turned and started walking away again.

The girl looked at him shocked again. She huffed angrily before running up to him again and telling him, "And I have no obligation to leave you alone! Jerk!"

Tobirama just shook his head, completely annoyed, before continuing to walk away.

.

"She's just going to keep yelling at you until you apologize, you know."

Tobirama froze. How the hell did someone sneak up on him?!

Turning his head over to the location the voice came from, his eye twitched violently. "Mind your own business, Nara."

Lying against a tree with his arms behind his head was a young boy, around Tobirama's age. He shrugged at Tobirama, "Whatever."

"And who the hell are you?!" The Uzumaki yelled, running over and zooming in on the intruder.

The Nara sighed dramatically. Turning a droopy eye to Tobirama, he drawled out, "You sure know how to pick them, don't you?"

"Clearly." Tobirama answered with annoyance, his comment aimed more at the Nara than at the Uzumaki.

"Hey! Have your little boy moment on your own time! You and I aren't done, you hear me Senju?!" The girl shouted at the two before raising a fist at Tobirama again.

"Oi. I was just trying to help you, girly." The Nara sighed, closing his eyes, "I don't even know why I even tried… You women are all the same…" He opened his eyes as he scratched his chin in thought before mumbling, "Maybe I should learn from Tobi and just walk away when I see a woman in need…"

Tobirama glared at the Nara, "I told you not to call me that."

At the same time, the girl whipped her head around to face the Nara, her red hair whipping around in the air, "What was that?!"

The Nara just shrugged, getting bored with the conversation and wanting to go back to sleep.

The Uzumaki girl just shook with rage before looking at Tobirama, then back at the Nara. After stewing for a moment, she raised a hand in the air and pointed between them as she shouted, "My name is Uzumaki Misako, heir to the Uzumaki clan, and you both are going to rue the day you decided to pick a fight with me!"

The two just stared at her with dull expressions, as if to say "who cares".

Misako screamed in frustration before turning her heel and marching away.

The boys stared at her until she was out of sight. It was quiet between the two of them before the Nara broke the silence, "…I know I'm sexist, so my views on women are a bit screwed, but... That one's just crazy."

Tobirama couldn't help but nod in agreement. After which Tobirama turned and started walking away, but not without one last comment.

"Sounds like perfect Nara wife material to me."

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"Oi! Don't joke like that!"

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Kanoko's eyes snapped open, "That's it!"

Kanoko moved her eyes around. She noticed that they were still in the Land of Fire – if the trees and landscape was anything to go by. The group was moving swiftly through the forest, and Kanoko noticed the two excess members of the team were jumping around, setting trap after trap.

Looking up, she found her captors eyes staring straight ahead, biting his lip - likely in anxiety. From the way the team was setting traps, Kanoko guessed either the Sound team hadn't been dealt with or her comrades were hot on their tail.

Quickly, she closed her eyes and calmed her breathing. She didn't want them to realize that she had awoken. They likely wouldn't care, due to the seal, but there was always the possibility that her conscious state would upset them.

And the last thing she needed was to be knocked out. Again.

With her eyes closed and her breathing even, she started focusing inward, deep into the pit of her stomach – where her chakra was located. The seal prevented the chakra from traveling out to her extremities – not stop her from manipulating the chakra at its core.

"For every bit the genius Misako was – to the point that many of her seals had me completely baffled – she had one significant weakness…"

Kanoko's eyebrow twitched as she struggled to manipulate the chakra, turning it into the yin element within her.

"Every crippling, devastating seal or jutsu she created, she added in one flaw, a skeleton key – so to speak."

She felt a small snap inside before chakra flooded into her right arm – a burning pulse of pain ripping through her arm as it did – like the pin needles you feel after you lay on your arm, cutting off the blood.

"It was both ingenious and devastatingly idiotic."

The yin chakra grew within her, slamming through the walls of the seal inside her. Left arm, right leg… She was almost there…

"…But I suppose that is what love is: A drug and a poison."

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Kanoko sucked in a large amount of air before her eyes snapped open again.

"Water Style: Heavenly Weeping!"

Thin, condensed needles made of water stabbed into the Cloud nin's chest.

"Ahh!" C shouted in agony, dropping Kanoko, who flipped around to land of her feet. The other two were quick to return to their leader's side.

"What the hell?! How's she get out of the seal?!" Atsui shouted, a wild and shocked look on his face.

C coughed out some blood before lifting his head to look at the Leaf nin in front of him, "…I don't know…"

Kanoko's eyes narrowed at the three before her. Slowly standing straight, she carefully moved her hand behind her leg. Slowly, she started making one handed seal as she spoke, "…All the effort you have gone through to capture me… It has me curious. Just what does the Cloud gain from someone like me?"

Samui glared at the child before her, but didn't respond.

C started to respond, who was starting to heal himself, but was cut off by Atsui, and "We would just waste time telling you because your memory will be wiped anyways!"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "A memory wipe? Fascinating… I was not aware the Cloud had acquired such skills. I had always assumed you instilled fear into your captives – making them loyal to you. Perhaps even indoctrination or torture." Kanoko paused for a moment before continuing, "But a complete wipe?" Her eyes narrowed further, "I must not be your first victim from the Leaf…"

C gritted his teeth, "Damnit… Now we really have no choice… Even if it means her death – she isn't leaving here with that information."

Samui looked over to C. When she caught his expression, she nodded.

Kanoko watched them carefully, "The youngest is no longer with them… And their leader is gone as well." Kanoko focused her eyes on Samui, "The woman is an analytical fighter – not likely to be fooled." Her eyes shifted to Atsui, "A hothead, if I remember correctly. The girl seems to watch him carefully. Either she cares for him or doesn't trust him. Either way, I can use this to my advantage."

The female Nara narrowed her eyes on C, "…That one will prove to be the most challenging. I didn't feel his presence the last time he snuck up on me. A sensor, most likely… Outside of that, I don't know anything about his skills."

C's hand stopped glowing over his wounded chest. He stood up slowly before speaking to Kanoko, "There's three of us and one of you. Surrender now and we won't have to harm you."

Kanoko gave him an expressionless look as she cocked an eyebrow, "Tell me… Has that line ever work for you?"

C frowned, "Then you give us no choice."

Samui raced ahead with her tanto out front. She leaped into the air to bring her sword down on Kanoko. Kanoko pushed back, "Water Style: Liquid Bullet!" A ball of water shot out from Kanoko straight towards Samui.

"Fire Style: Flame Sword!" Atsui called out, swinging his sword coated in fire at Kanoko.

"Water style: Water Wall!" A wall of water formed in front of Kanoko, blocking the attack as she dashed to the right. Running around the two, she started running through hand signs. Her eyes rapidly moved through the area.

C was nowhere to be found.

"Damnit it." Kanoko cursed in her head, before skidding to a halt – facing Samui and Atsui. Kanoko sucked in a large amount of air, "Water Style: Severing Wave!" A thick and condense jet of water shot out from Kanoko's mouth and ripped through the area – splitting the ground and cutting into trees.

The two Cloud ninja dived out of the way, hitting the ground at opposite ends.

Kanoko pushed off the ground and raced towards lying figure of Atsui.

"Atsui!" Samui called out to her brother.

"Damnit!" Atsui cursed as Kanoko threw kunai with explosive tags attached to them at the ground around Atsui.

The area exploded, a thick cloud of smoke covering the area. Samui held her breath, her eyes rapidly searching the area for her brother. She let out a large breath when she saw Atsui leaning again a tree panting, "He's ok. Thank god…"

Samui was interrupted from her thoughts when she felt pain in her side, "Ahh!" Samui screamed out in pain as Kanoko kicked her into a tree before pinning Samui's shoulder to the tree with a kunai.

"AHH!" Samui screamed again as blood spurted out from her wound. Kanoko ignored her screaming as her eyes focused on the sword on Samui's back.

"I'll be taking this back…" Kanoko thought, ripping her sword out of its sheath from Samui. Pulling her arm back, Kanoko spun the sword around and aimed it at Samui's neck.

"Lightning Illusion: Flash Pillar!"

Kanoko raised an arm to block the bright flash of light while squinting in order to catch a look at her attacker. Her eyes widened when she saw an outline of shadow – her vision harmed from the explosion of light – make a race towards her.

Kanoko leaped back, but that proved to be a mistake as Atsui appeared behind her with his sword. He swung it around and fire flew out at her.

"Shit!" Kanoko cursed in her head before using the replacement jutsu – a log burning on the ground appeared where she was standing. Kanoko panted far up in the trees as she watched the Cloud nin below.

She wasn't given any time to think before the three charged the tree. Kanoko gritted her teeth in annoyance as she was forced from the tree by the cracking shock of lightning. Kanoko dashed around Samui and Atsui before pulling out four kunai attached to wires.

Kanoko threw her two kunai straight and the other two to either of her sides. The kunai hit the trees with a bang, emending themselves into the trees' trunk. Kanoko took out four more kunai and did the same in the opposite side – away from the Cloud nin – before taking the other end of the wires and attaching them to one kunai. Kanoko stabbed the last kunai at her feet, into the ground – her wires creating a web-like trap.

Samui and C eyed the wires carefully – unsure what Kanoko was planning.

Atsui, on the other hand, growled at Kanoko, "You think we can't navigate through a trap by a simple Leaf chunin?! Think again!"

Samui called out to her brother as he raced forward, moving through the wires and leaping into the air, "Fire Style: Soaring Flames!" Several balls of fire burst from Atsui, heading straight for Kanoko like a meteor shower. The ground below Kanoko exploded from the fire, creating a thick dust cloud.

"HYAA!" Atsui yelled, following his fire balls down and swinging his sword down were he last saw Kanoko at. Atsui hit the ground and nearly fell forward when his sword hit thin air. Angry that he missed, Atsui started looking around for the disappearing Nara.

Kanoko calmly walked into view, on the other side of the area of the Cloud shinobi.

Samui looked from her brother to the wires and back to Kanoko. Narrowing her eyes, she thought to herself, "Why did she set that trap if it doesn't do anything?" Although suspicious, she exhaled in relief that her reckless brother was ok.

Kanoko's dull expression didn't change as she waited patiently for Atsui's next move.

Atsui smirked, "Some trap! Figured you Leaf nin were nothing but all bark!" Atsui pulled his sword back and raced towards Kanoko.

Samui's eyes went wide seconds before she let out a high pitched scream, "ATSUI! GET OUT OF THERE!"

Having never heard such terror in his sister's voice before, Atsui turned his head back to his sister while running. Samui was racing towards him and he didn't understand why.

Until a glow from below caught his attention.

The entire area beneath his feet shined dark pink, cracking from seal taking form.

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BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

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Rock, dirt, and plant life rained down as a large dust cloud took over the area – all a result from the massive blast.

Kanoko just stared at the debris, looking for a sign of her enemy – a detached arm or eyeball.

C's eyes were wide in panic. He leaped forward, pushing his chakra out and trying to find his teammates' energy signatures. Feeling a sudden pulse of energy head for him, C pushed back at the ground and barely escaping the sharp cut of Kanoko's blade.

Kanoko didn't pause in her movements as she followed him out of the dust cloud and into the thick forest.

Racing through the leaves and branches, C kept his eye on Kanoko as he focused chakra into his hands, "There's no holding back with her – I've already lost too many teammates who've underestimated this chunin's resolve."

Kanoko threw a kunai at C, forcing him to flank to the side. Kanoko followed him through the bushes, but recoiled when C turned around, thrusting his glowing hands towards Kanoko.

Kanoko twisted her wrist around uncomfortably to strike his hand with her sword – forcing C to recoil instead. C skidded to a halt a few away from Kanoko while she eyed him suspiciously, "…A high level medical ninja. Great. Just my luck."

Holding her sword so it pointed to the ground, Kanoko narrowed her eyes at C, "From what I've gathered, your intent was to take me from my village while branding me as a traitor – forcing my village to abandon me. After which, you planned on taking me to your village, Kumo, to wipe my memory." Kanoko raised her chin slightly, a thought suddenly coming to her, "…I had originally assumed your village wanted me for my abilities – abilities I would lose upon my memory being wiped. Surely you understand this?"

C was silent as he planned his next move, "Getting too close is mistake. She's using that sword as if it's another limb. She also plans ahead and is quick with traps and diversions. …And she hasn't even attempted to use her clan jutsu yet." C focused on her chakra signature and was frustrated when he found her chakra fluctuating at a high rate, "The amount of energy and mental concentration she is putting into keeping her chakra flow so random that I can't tack onto it and create a strong enough genjutsu is frustrating as well!"

Kanoko's eyes narrowed further when C didn't respond, "None of this makes sense. It's sloppy and provides no real reward if they do complete their mission." Kanoko slid a foot back slowly and raised her sword, moving into an attack stance.

Again, Kanoko called out to the Cloud nin, "What is your intention in inciting this war between the Leaf and the Cloud?"

And again, C did not respond.

Shaking her head slightly, Kanoko exhaled in irritation before leaping forward – her sword glistening in the light as it glided through the air. The blade ripped through the air, causing the air to bend around it. As Kanoko closed in to deal her powerful blow, aiming straight for C's neck and slicing off his head, he called out.

"Your brother's here!" C shouted at Kanoko.

Kanoko stilled, her blade stopping a hair away from C's neck. She controlled her features as she slowly gliding her eyes to lock with his.

C swallowed in relief when the sword stopped in time. Watching his words carefully, he continued, "…Your brother is close by. He and his friends caught up to us while we were fighting those Sound shinobi."

"Shikamaru? Tsunade sent a newly promoted chunin?! What was she thinking?!" Kanoko started cursing in her head, her breathing getting heavier in an attempt to calm her rage, "And his friends? As in people his age?! Damnit! Fucking damnit!"

The Cloud nin waited for Kanoko to respond. He felt her chakra fluctuate and watch her breathing turn harsher, "She's upset… Ok, just a little more."

"I don't believe you." Kanoko said suddenly. She didn't want to believe her grandniece would be so reckless and she didn't want to give the enemy something to hold over her.

C saw right through her tough act, "Then your brother will suffer the consequences."

Kanoko gritted her teeth, "…Explain."

"Those Sound shinobi were heavy combat fighters. While my team was designed more around stealth and speed, we aren't push overs and we were forced to flee our fight with them." C told her plainly.

Kanoko scoffed, "I'm not impressed. With your leader gone, you Cloud shinobi aren't much of a threat."

C narrowed his eyes, but controlled his tongue, "The chakra those Sound nin were using felt dark and unnatural, but it made them incredibly powerful. You may say we're not much of a threat, but do you think your brother and his friends would be able to defeat us as easily as you have?"

Kanoko was silent as she listened and thought over the Cloud nin's words. She had no reason to trust him and she wasn't sure where the benefit lied with him to tell her these facts. Telling her this information wouldn't make Kanoko spare his life nor would he be able to use this information to convince her to come with him to the Cloud.

Brown/reddish eyes snapped to C's calm ones, "…You're stalling."

C hissed in pain as Kanoko pressed her sword into the skin of his neck, "I have no idea what you're on about!"

Kanoko scoffed again, but ignored C in favor of pushing out her chakra and searching the surrounding area. The forest was quiet as even the birds and other animals had moved out of the area once the fighting started.

Light peeked through the heavy brush and the only movement was the leaves slow drifting to the ground. Kanoko gritted her teeth when she struggled to find anything. There could be no other reason why the Cloud nin would distract her like this.

C watched as Kanoko frustrated herself over finding something when there was nothing. C smirked internally. Slowly and lightly, he lifted his arm, "Almost there."

Kanoko's eyes snapped to the movement in the corner of her eye, "Wrong move, Cloud nin." Pulsing chakra into her arm and sword, Kanoko swiftly pulled back her sword and took a slice at C's neck.

C was just as quick as he leaned back while continuing to reach out towards Kanoko.

Blood squirted out in front of Kanoko's eyes, some of it hitting her cheek as she also inclined backwards to avoid C's glowing hand.

C's fingers grazed Kanoko's cheek, sending a large pulse of chakra into her head and through her entire body.

Kanoko felt the shock roll through her body and fry every one of her nerves.

Both fell to the ground, on their backs, with a soft thud. C's glowing hand quickly grasped around his neck. He coughed up blood, both out of his mouth and out his bleeding neck, while he struggle to keep his eyes open long enough to close the wound.

Kanoko twitched and jerked around on the ground. Shock after shock pulsed through her body. With each breath, she could feel her nerves scream out in agony. She only hoped that this point that she didn't bite her tongue in half and choke on her own blood.

Lying on the ground, restrained by their own pain, it was now a race.

A race to see who would recover first, and finish what they started.

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000000000000000000000000000000

Shikamaru leaped through the trees. The plan, for as flimsy as it was, worked. Shikamaru had snuck out of sight while the others trapped the Sound shinobi in a fierce battle. Now, he only hoped that his friends would come out victorious.

Calming his breathing, Shikamaru focused his thoughts ahead. He needed to push his legs as hard as he could afford to. There was no telling how far ahead the team with Kanoko had gotten. And the traps they had left in their wake were succeeding in raising Shikamaru's irritation.

After deactivating another wire trap, Shikamaru pushed his feet off the ground and started racing through the woods again. His eyes stayed sharp on the area surrounding him, watching for more traps when he caught sight of something out of place.

Stopping to take a look at the tree near him, he placed his hand over the deep, but small gash in the tree. Turning around, he noticed several broken branches, "There was a small fight here…"

Shikamaru followed the signs of battle for some time, until he came across a clearing.

The area was a mess. Pieces of the ground were missing and the surrounding trees had been blown back. Shikamaru sniffed the air and could still smell the dirt in the air, "An explosion…" Shikamaru's eye then caught the glistering of metal and leaped over the rubble to the metal panted into a tree.

Pulling the kunai out, he analyzed it, "It looks like a Leaf kunai… This must mean that Kanoko escaped! Or another Leaf nin joined in the fight." Shikamaru's felt his heart start to beat harder, hope filling him and motivating him to move quicker.

Shikamaru's head jerked around, until he spotted a few snapped twigs and damaged branches. Shikamaru took off at an incredible speed, following the tracks he hopes were left by his sister.

"I'm almost there Kanoko… Just wait a little longer…"

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"Where did that orange-clad, big mouthed, worthless buffoon go?!" Sasuke hissed low in annoyance as he dashed through the area in search of Konoha's number one knucklehead. He had told Naruto to stay put, but when he returned he was angry to find Naruto nowhere to be seen.

"Doesn't he realize that his teammate's life is on the line?" Sasuke growled again. Stopping on a branch, Sasuke moved his head around, looking for a flash of orange or blonde hair, before pushing off.

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BAM!

"OOOF!" A scratchy voice called out.

"Arg." Sasuke hissed out, after colliding with the hard cranium of one Uzumaki Naruto. Holding a hand against the spot that Naruto hit with his head, Sasuke glared at Kanoko's teammate. Naruto was whining on the ground about Sasuke having a hard head before Sasuke growled louder, "Idiot! Where were you?! You're wasting time we can't afford to waste!"

Naruto continued to rub his head as he got up from the ground. Giving Sasuke a one eyed glare, Naruto grunted and answered, "I know!"

Sasuke opened his mouth to yell at Naruto again, but Naruto interrupted him, "I found some information! Kanoko's ok, just restrained – and if we hurry towards the northeast border we'll catch up to the guys that have her!"

Sasuke's eye wide slightly wide as Naruto told him what he had found. Shaking away his shock, Sasuke became immediately suspicious, "And you know all this, how?"

Naruto grinned cat like, puffing out his chest and giving Sasuke a cocky look, "I followed my natural, Hokage-in-the-making, instincts and went in search for a lead. I came across one of the guys that were fighting. He had a deep wound to his gut and after some well-placed tears and sob story, he revealed to me that Kanoko was taken by force, but wasn't harmed in the process." Naruto's grin grew larger, "He even told me a little about his team." Naruto finished with a loud chuckle.

Sasuke's eyebrows flew up before his rolled his eyes, "Am I really surprised that class clown and resident trickster Uzumaki Naruto pull a fast one over some random shinobi?"

"Whatever." Sasuke responded simply before relaying what he was told, "I ran into the other shinobi, a man by the name Kabuto. He told me that there were powerful Sound shinobi ahead. Chances are, the team is already locked in a heated battle with them."

Naruto's eye went wide, "We need to go back them up!"

Sasuke nodded, "We should follow the tracks left by Shikamaru and the team, then relay what you learned about Kanoko and her kidnappers."

Naruto nodded, for once agreeing with Sasuke before taking off swiftly into the trees.

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Stepping out from the bush, Darui watched the leaves rustle from the movements of Naruto and his teammate. With a lazy smirk and a raised eyebrow, Darui thought, "That little runt tricked me." Darui laughed lightly at himself before sobering up and thinking, "But he didn't tell his teammate that he healed me…" Darui paused before thinking, "…And more Sound shinobi ahead?"

Darui cursed lightly, "I need to get to my team. The Leaf will likely spare them, but the Sound will do much worse if they're caught."

With that thought, Darui leaped into the trees and followed the two Leaf shinobi. He kept his distance while also moving gently in order to prevent himself from reopening his wound.

"How many more ways can this mission go wrong?"

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Sakura panted as evaded another swift attack from the Sound brothers. Shock didn't even begin to describe what she felt as she watched another person split off from her enemy. She was now in a deep fist fight with the twins – just barely holding her own.

Flipping over Sakon, Sakura raced over to where Choji was on the ground panting. Although Sakura had her own enemy, correction: enemies, to deal with, she was keeping close to Choji. Shikamaru had pulled her to the side and asked her in all seriousness to keep close to Choji if he started to ingest some strange colored pills.

Just before her enemy spilt in two, her eye caught Choji sticking a round green food pill into his mouth before he threw his own enemy across the field.

Kneeling down to Choji, with her eyes still on Sakon and Ukon, she asked Choji if he was ok. He struggled to find air as he nodded to Sakura.

She didn't believe him.

Choji turned from Sakura over to Jirobo. Jirobo's skin had turned a dark red and he had black markings all over his body and face. Choji cursed quietly. He had been winning until Jirobo's chakra tripled, making his body morph – into a scary transformation.

And Choji was down to his last pill.

Sakura and Choji stood back to back as their enemies walked slowly towards them. Sakura looked up, wondering how Lee and Kiba were doing.

She quickly lost track of Kiba when he raced after the Sound kunoichi, and keeping track of Lee was a pipe dream. He and his opponent were moving at incredible speeds. The only thing she saw was the remnants of their attacks: Broken trees, ground impacts, sharp bones imbedded in to trees and ground… The last one had Sakura on edge the most.

Sakura turned her eyes back to the Sound twins. She felt her heart drop into her stomach as their skin morphed and turned hard. She knew they were playing with her – not taking her seriously at all.

And for the first time, Sakura didn't mind the insult.

Sakon and Ukon were quick, strong, had an impenetrable defense – then take all that and times it by two. Sakura really cursed her luck.

Sakura's eyes snapped back to Choji when she heard the snapping of a lid. Immediately, her eyes caught the red pill in Choji's hand and jerked her own hand out, grabbing his wrist tightly.

"Shikamaru said you'll die if you take that pill!" Sakura whispered aggressively, her hold tightening onto Choji.

Choji tried to gently pull away, but Sakura was determined. Choji lightly glared at Sakura, "If I don't take it, then were both going to die and these guys will win!"

Sakura frowned, believing Choji, but still unsure about letting him do this. Turning her eyes sharply back to Choji's, Sakura was firm in her decision, "We need to find another way. Even if you take that pill, there's still a chance that it won't be enough to defeat Jirobo. And even then, you won't have enough energy to help me defeat these two – and I'm not going to last long on my own."

Choji turned to take a look at the two Sakura was referring to. There were patiently waiting, with sick grins full of promise plastered all over their faces.

"Sakura's right." Choji thought, taking a good look at the enemies surrounding them, "I can't let Shikamaru down by dying and leaving Sakura to face these guys." Choji took another look at the twins' crazy grins, "They'll kill me, but they'll torture Sakura…"

"We need to find a way to escape." Choji said finally, not seeing any other way out of their predicament.

Sakura, also coming to the same thought, looked around – racking her brain for something that would work.

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Kiba panted as he and Akamaru repelled another attack from the large giants. He skidded back on his feet before jumping in the air and knocking one of the giants back with his Fang Over Fang attack. The cub of another swung down towards Kiba's exposed back.

"RAWR!" Came from Akamaru, who also used Fang Over Fang to drill into the side of the monster attacking Kiba.

"Thanks Akamaru!" Kiba shouted with a grin, turning back to his real opponent: The flute playing kunoichi. Tayuya had changed in appearance, like her comrades, and now sported ram like horns and darkened skin.

Tayuya was cursed internally when she saw Kiba's eyes lock onto her form. Jumping back to avoid an attack, she blew on her flute – bidding her giants to reform around her protectively. Tayuya cursed her luck while staring at the tired, but still cocky face of one, Inuzuka Kiba, "I couldn't be more poorly matched!"

The Sound kunoichi growled lowly before filling the area with her musical tune, "This bastard is a mid to short range fighter – while I'm a long range fighter only." Tayuya's eyes moved to Kiba's copy, Akamaru, "And that dog is keeping me from landing a hit on its owner."

Tayuya suddenly smirked, her yellow eyes locking in on Akamaru's back. Lifting her flute up for a different melody, she turned her cruel eyes towards Kiba – who was moving rapidly through the trees to grab her.

"We'll see how energetic you are when your dog's life hangs in the balance."

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"Ahh!" Lee screamed out in pain as he was shot through the air before hitting the ground roughly. Lee quickly kicked the ground to move out of the way. Large needles made of pure human bone stabbed into the ground where Lee was.

The assault of bones continued, forcing Lee to stumble farther and farther back – being afforded no time to recover his stance.

Lee hissed in pain, yelping slight when another bone embedded itself into his arm. He was now bleeding in several places. Some of it was from the times Lee tried to get a hit on Kimimaro's body, only to have a bone stick out his body and stab Lee, and some of it was from the various types of bones Kimimaro was throwing at him.

Kimimaro stopped his assault to observe his opponent. He could tell the Leaf shinobi was struggling to keep up. He had lost a lot of blood and the only attacks he seemed to possess were taijutsu moves.

"It was unfortunate for him that he picked me as an opponent." Kimimaro thought, raising his bone slightly. Staring Lee down, Kimimaro spoke, "You are quick. I've only met a handful of shinobi capable of hitting me or evade my attacks. You have done both."

Lee panted but responded to the compliment, "Thank you. You too are a formidable opponent. Your ability is strange and difficult to repel – or break through." Lee took a moment to catch his breath before yelling out, "But you will not defeat me! I made a promise on my honor as a shinobi of the Leaf that I would bring my comrade back – while also keeping my teammates safe!"

Kimimaro stared blankly at Lee, as if he didn't even hear him. After a moment of silence, Kimimaro spoke, "I made a promise too." Kimimaro closed his eyes, "I promised my body, mind, and soul to serve Orochimaru-sama in any way he sees fit." Kimimaro's fists clenched, "…Unfortunately, I failed him. I could not overcome my body's weakness and in that moment, my life was over. I had failed in my life's purpose. What else was there?"

Kimimaro opened his dead eyes to stare into Lee's dark ones, "And then Kabuto told me of your comrade and how, with her, we would be able to bring back Orochimaru-sama – and making him even stronger than before."

Lee's eyes went wide, his mouth in a deep frown, "What do you mean? How do you plan on using Kanoko to bring your master back to life?!"

Kimimaro took a step forward, his bone sword raised, "…It doesn't matter. You'll be dead soon anyways."

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"GYAH!" Kanoko screamed, flipping over onto her belly. The shocks were getting worse with each movement. Struggling to push herself up with her arms, Kanoko panted from the pain and exertion. After what felt like hours, she pushed off the ground and was now kneeling.

Her lungs burned from her heavy panting and her body continued to fight her as she picked her sword off the ground and lifted herself onto her feet. Now standing, Kanoko turned to look at her opponent.

She could see the green glow of medical ninjutsu and correctly guessed he was trying to heal his wound. On the ground, staining the grass under his neck was a thin layer of blood. Even if Kanoko didn't take off his head, like she intended, hitting the neck always proved useful – if only to send the enemy into shock from the blood loss.

Roughly pushing her legs forward, Kanoko took slow steps towards C, the pain in her body starting to fizz away. Slowly, Kanoko walked over to C's bleeding form. Standing just next to it, she looked down at him – giving him an expressionless look.

C's eyes caught Kanoko's movements and struggled to heal his wound faster. Once she made it to his side, his whole body froze in fear as he gazed up into her cold, emotionless eyes.

Kanoko spun her sword around to point the tip down towards C's chest. Holding it in the air, Kanoko spoke in a blank, deep voice, "I've been asking you what your village wants from me, but you have refused to answer." Kanoko paused to narrow her eyes, "…I'm starting to think this isn't about me."

C moved his eyes from Kanoko's face to the sword press lightly into his chest. Between the gash in his neck and the sword a hair away from his chest, C was struggling to find air – terrified by which way he was going to die.

Kanoko blankly watched her opponent start to panic. It had been sometime since she had seen this look. It was a common sight for him during the war, before Konoha was formed. Tobirama didn't like to waste a kill – anything he could learn from his prey before ending their life was worth the time it took. Tobirama only stopped doing it around his brother because he didn't like the way Hashirama looked at him: Like he was a stranger who very presence made him sick to the stomach.

Swirling the sword over her hand, Kanoko brought it down into C's thigh, making him scream out in agony. Holding it there, Kanoko looked over to C's face and locking eyes with him, "Why are you really after me?"

C's eyes squeezed shut at the pain in his thigh, biting the inside of his mouth to distract himself. Looking up at Kanoko, he spoke in a choppy voice, "T-The jutsu… The… Fourth's jutsu…" C coughed up more blood, his chest burning as he does so, "…We were ordered to… Grab you… F-for your skills in… Fuinjutsu – Ahh!."

C screamed in agony as Kanoko lifted her sword, only to bring it sharply back down. Blood gushed out on the ground below as the hole in his thigh grew.

Kanoko leaned in close to C's face, her hand wrapped tightly around her sword, "Stop lying."

The Cloud nin wheezed the air slowly out, "I'm not lying!"

Kanoko's voice dropped an octave, "You are. …And I don't have the patience to continue playing your game." And with that, Kanoko stood up, slowly pulling her sword out of C's body as she did.

C just whimpered, his hand immediately reaching out to his thigh to try to heal the damage. C looked up to Kanoko's cold, blank eyes – his own were wide with fear, wondering what she would do to him.

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Lifting her sword up, her eyes locked on the form below her. Slowly pulling her arm back, she took aim.

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"NO! PLEASE!" C cried, tears streaming down his face.

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The sound of metal hitting skin was the only thing heard as thick droplets of deep crimson blood stained the area.

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Shikamaru stopped suddenly on a branch. He had been following the tracks his sister had left for some time now and was starting to get suspicious. When he recognized a unique moss patter appear not once or twice, but three times, his suspicion turned into full paranoia.

Halting his movements, he held his hands up to make a hand sign, "Kai!"

The area around Shikamaru started to morph and he found himself in a clearing he didn't recognize. He was standing near a river leading to a large waterfall. At the top of the cliff, he noticed the two statues depicting two of most powerful men to ever walk this land: Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.

Shikamaru was caught staring at them for a moment longer than he intended before turning his head forward again and looking around the area, "Why would someone bring me here, then leave?" He started to walk around, kicking up dust from the grassless ground as he walked.

"Perhaps I ended their jutsu before they could complete their plan." Shikamaru thought, casually walking forward – his eyes peeled on the shadows around him.

After walking around the area, Shikamaru turned his feet towards the water and debated walking across it to investigate the other side. "Troublesome…" Shikamaru muttered when he couldn't make up his mind.

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"You remind me of a man I once knew."

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Light chuckling was heard from behind Shikamaru, making him turn around quickly. All he could see was the outline of a shadow emerging from the darkness of the forest.

Slowly, long, fair, shapely legs glided back and forth, hips swaying as they moved. A thin, glimmering material fluttered behind as it molded around the bare legs.

"He'd always mutter something underneath his breath when he was stuck on a puzzle or when too much physical exertion was asked of him." The woman stepped fully into the light, revealing her long golden locks and pale skin.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the woman before him. She was wearing a short white and maroon kimono and kunoichi heels. He could tell she was a ninja, but she wasn't wearing any village insignias.

"Who are you?" Shikamaru asked immediately, stopping her from moving towards him.

Full rosy lips twitched into a smirk, before quickly moving back into a kind smile, "A gentleman always introduces himself before asking a lady her name."

Shikamaru gave her a bored look, "You lured me out here. I don't intend to stick around to learn why."

The woman was quick to respond in a light, airy tone, "Even if I told you it involved your sister?"

Shikamaru stiffened.

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After willing himself to relax his muscles, not wanting to be stiff if he needed to escape quickly, Shikamaru spoke tentatively, "What do you know about my sister?"

The woman took a few steps to her right, her long wavy blonde hair flowing gentle in the wind as she moved, "Quite a bit." She smiled softly at Shikamaru, who only tensed at the look, "Your sister is in quite the situation…"

The woman paused to look over her shoulder, then back at Shikamaru, "...And she's not the only one."

Shikamaru's jaw tightened, thinking about his team, "I have to have faith in them. I can't let this woman get under my skin."

She continued to walk slowly back and forth, clicking her heels on the hard ground as she stepped, "…Since you seem like the kind of young man who would appreciate a direct conversation, I'll be blunt with you. …Shikamaru."

Shikamaru flinched when he heard his name roll off of her tongue.

She continued, placing a hand on her wide hip, "…When I was first told about your sister, I had thought, "This is it…"" The woman brought her dark blue eyes to meet Shikamaru's and with a cruel smirk, she spoke, "This is my chance to get back at that bitch."

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Kanoko yanked her sword out of the corpse. Droplets of blood flew out as she did so.

"Now that the Cloud threat has been neutralized, I will need to deal with the Sound." Kanoko thought, while turning around. Taking light steps on the thick grass below, Kanoko closed her eyes to focus on nearby chakra signatures.

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Low chuckling moved through the area, resonating from behind Kanoko.

Tensing before looking over her shoulder, Kanoko noticed the deep laughter coming from the Cloud nin she just killed. Narrowing her eyes, the dark haired kunoichi took slow and careful steps towards the corpse.

C's blood soaked face turned towards the young Nara. He laid flat on his back with blood pooled around him. Catching Kanoko's fixated gaze, his face broke out into a cruel grin.

Kanoko paused in her step, her sword arm twitching in anticipation of an attack. Exhaling through her nose slowly, Kanoko spoke low and deep, "…How are you still alive… I stabbed you through the heart."

C's eyebrow rose as his grin turned into a smirk, "Perhaps your age has made you sloppy. …Tobirama."

Kanoko eyes were glued to the talking corpse before her while trying to focus all of her energy on the enemy and not allow her shock to show. Her jaw tightened, forcing herself to stay silent. She needed to calm down before she would be able to think and speak rationally.

The blonde waited for Kanoko to rebut his statement. When moments went by, and she had failed to speak, he frowned at her. Glaring at her form, he spoke in a cold tone, "I hate you."

Kanoko was pulled from her thoughts. Raising an eyebrow, she asked silently for him to clarify.

C's teeth grinded together before growling out, "I DESPISE you!"

Both of Kanoko's eyebrows rose this time, "…You don't even know me."

The Cloud nin started chuckling low, "Oh… But I do." A dark and angry smirk took over his face, "You're the one that took everything from me. My people, my home, my best friend…" He paused, his breathing getting labored and his eyes turning wild as they fixated on Kanoko's feet, "And most of all. The one thing I valued and loved over everything else…"

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His head snapped up to meeting Kanoko in the eyes.

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Kanoko froze. Her heart stopped beating and her breath stilled. Something in the back of her mind screamed at her, "Look away!" Kanoko's eyes snapped away from his face – her eyes wide in completely shock.

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Blood soaked eyes with swirling black dots inside stared at Tobirama's reincarnated form.

And with two words, Kanoko knew exactly who she was dealing with.

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"…My brother. You took my little brother from me."

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"And I'm going to do the same to you."

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"This time, I'm going to take everything until you have nothing left."

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Shikamaru took a step back when he felt a shiver run up his spine. He cursed lightly when he realized another step, and he would be in the water. Turning back to the smirking woman, Shikamaru's eyes turned harsh, "What did my sister ever do to you?"

The woman's grin grew, "Oh, I've never met your sister."

Shikamaru gave her an annoyed look, "Then why do you want revenge on her?"

"I never said I did." Light chuckling followed.

Shikamaru cursed in annoyance, "Is there some sort of sign on my head that says, please, speak cryptic to me?!"

Sensing his frustration, the blonde let out a small laugh before continuing, "But… After watching you lead your team through the many trials this forest has to offer…" She locked onto Shikamaru with her eyes, "…I'm willing to make you a bargain."

Shikamaru responded with silence and a suspicious gaze before tentatively asking, "…And what is that?"

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The blonde smirked, "Your life, in exchange for your sister's."

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Author's Note:

A few people have asked me about pairings and I wanted to explain why I'm not going to be very clear with the pairings, yet. When they become teenagers (in Shippuden), I plan on playing around with these characters – a lot. Most of it will be for laughs, while some of it will be drama for the plot, so if everyone knows what the pairing intentions are, then it will kill some of the plot (and some of the wtf's/laughs)! :D

Also, as of right now, I don't have strong intentions to focus too much on romance (besides the laughs of it and some plot movement). This might change, or I may make a side series for requested pairings. Once I finally finish this story (which is sooo far from being done lol), I was planning asking you guys what one-shots or small series you would like to see.

I need a lot more experience writing, so I don't mind writing several small stories – maybe even another big one! So start thinking and let me know what you would like to see as a side series, new story, one-shot, or whatever!

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Also, I wanted to apologize! It's been so looong since I've updated… My time to write has been severely cut due to work. These next few months are going to be hard as I'm the only person that conducts hiring at my job and I need to hire six… And we're doing a remodel at work and I am the part-time IT person, so I've been spending a lot of time and energy on that too.

But I promise I am never giving up on this story! No matter what! :D

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THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR LEAVING REVIEWS (400+ YAY!) and FOLLOWS/FAVORITES! YOU GUYS (and GIRLS) ARE THE BEST! :D :D :D

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As always, let me know how I did! What you liked the best and what I can do better! If you tell me what I like, I can incorporate more of it in! :D