DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything from the Naruto universe.

Here's a hopefully helpful Author's Note:

The Guardian Twelve:
Asuma
Chiriku
Seito
Kitane
Nauma
Tou
Mei
Kazuma
Lee
And the Nameless Three

Thinking (+ flashbacks, "Mito speaking to the Kyuubi in her mindscape," etc.)

Emphasis

Bijuu, etc. speaking

Bijuu, etc. thinking

It happened two days after Minato and his team reached Suna.

"I - I've had a vision," Kiko exclaimed in a gasp once she was alone with Mito-hime. She needed to get Mito out of the temple where they were fairly well-protected. "We were under attack in it - and you were wearing exactly…" Mito had already begun peeling off layers of clothing, dropping them unceremoniously on the floor as she began to move out before opening a scroll that had her Chunin vest, gloves, and more weapons within it, however. "You were doing exactly this!"

Kiko, of course, knew the attack was coming but had to play the role of the innocent maiden/priestess-who-needs-to-be-protected if her father's plan was to come to fruition.

Mito had begun stripping as soon as she sensed an incoming force, and Kiko hoped that the teen's apparent sensory abilities wouldn't cause too much trouble. Father had promised a force that would easily overcome the Guardian 12. Kiko didn't believe that the Guardians of the Fire Temple were terribly impressive.

"Are you gonna help or what?" Mito asked sharply while she twirled a kunai menacingly just when Kiko thought she'd be rid of her.

"Whatever do you mean?" Kiko asked in a breathy, confused voice.

Mito rolled her eyes, smirking, as she knelt down to the floor, slicing her palm with her weapon. "Fuuin," she said, pushing out her chakra and holding her bloodied hand to the floor.

"Later," Mito added as she ran out of the temple cackling like a loon.

Kiko stared around her at all of the interwoven seals that had lit up all over the room. She was trapped! Mito must have been putting these seals up for days or even weeks. "That bitch!"

As much as Kiko had liked the younger gal, she was getting in the way. So when Kazuma came to her with his plan - how he'd found out that her father was Shimura Danzo was a bit of a puzzle as only a few knew that her father even had a daughter - she had easily agreed.

"Rest in peace, Mito-hime," she snarked.

She blanched when she ultimately noticed what might be a camera up in the corner behind an air vent. She'd never been that good of a kunoichi when it came to the jutsus and even some of the basics, but she should have known and been more careful. Her father would be so disappointed! Trying to reach for it, she was shocked before her hand even touched the grate.

She was left unconscious on the ground.

.

"Daimyo-sama," Mito cried out, apparently late for the party.

"Ah, Mito-hime. I was just telling six of my men - excuse me, Tou-chan: five of my men and my gentlewoman here - an interesting story."

"Let me ask you," he said after a beat, pretending to really wonder, (although Mito, of ALL people, shouldn't want the Hokage eliminated,) "where do your loyalties lie?" It was a question he had asked all of the others standing before him before Mito arrived.

"With you and my father, Daimyo-sama," Mito said automatically, giving her chest a slap with her crossed fist after dropping to kneel on the ground.

"We can obviously believe her," the daimyo smiled to Bonsai, the ninja monk next to him who would be staying with him while cooling himself with his large hand fan. He winked at Chiriku whom he'd put in charge of his latest little problem. "Kazuma-san approached me with the dreadful idea of 'uniting Hi no Kuni under one leader,'" he continued with a ridiculous pout. He had also used a deep, snarky voice to make fun of mean ol' Kazuma.

"Hi no Kuni IS united under one leader," Mito said, still kneeling. The daimyo began to grin again behind his fan.

"Rise, Mito-hime. As I have explained to everyone else, I want your rebellious comrades brought to me. Or killed if they cannot be reasoned with."

Mito's dual-colored eyes went wide, realizing that only the seven of them were there to fight. She closed her eyes, reached out her senses, and realized where her (apparently) former comrades were.

"I think we have a bigger problem, Daimyo-sama. There is an… army of shinobi marching from the West. I originally came here to report this; please forgive my intrusion."

She swallowed hard, wondering if the goofy Daimyo would get what she was going to imply next, especially as he'd just dropped his fan. "I have asked Shimura Kiko-sama to fight with us, but she feigned ignorance of being a kunoichi, thus refusing."

And now she's not going anywhere!

"Shimura Kiko?" the daimyo asked uneasily. "Kiko-sama, the temple's head priestess, is Shimura Kiko? I believed she was an orphan!"

"Her true identity was recently confirmed," Asuma said, giving Mito a dirty look. She was so troublesome.

"How recently?" he asked darkly. He knew those tricky shinobi had been watching him even in his more private moments. He was an exhibitionist, something his wives didn't understand! But he didn't anticipate this!

"Yesterday," Mito lied. She had gotten a package via toad last night, so her answer should be believable. Yesterday's delivery was actually one of Jiraiya's soon-to-be-published novels that he wanted her to go over for editing - she was something of a "Grammar Nazi" as they supposedly said in the West - and it looked like the daimyo would be even more pissed at them for withholding information on Kiko since she and Asuma had had it for a while.

So he didn't need to know THAT.
- And what in the world should they have said to him upon finding out that his mistress was Danzo's daughter?!

Mito averted her eyes from everyone but continued. "Jiraiya-sama was familiar with her."

Yeah, that's one way of putting it: "familiar." Why did her godfather have to tell her that one scene in Makeout Paradise was inspired by Kiko? She'd never be able to look at the book in the same way! "I have sealed her in the temple," Mito resumed when the daimyo only worked his bottom lip, glad that she didn't have to deal with one more person to fight at least. She had no idea what Kiko's true abilities were. "Shall we? They're quickly approaching the perimeter."

Mito was ready to fight! The daimyo surprised her by throwing a sash at her, as he did to the other half of the Guardian 12 that remained loyal to him. They were light blue instead of the white the Guard normally wore but otherwise simple and identical to the ones the guard had previously worn. They all quickly tied them around their waists and filed out after receiving a blessing from Bansai, a rather young (and thankfully, un-lecherous) elder.

"May the Fires and Hi-no-kami, himself, protect you," the Daimyo said before giving them the go-ahead.

Tou patted her back and welcomed her to the "brotherhood" almost without thinking, but glad to have another woman officially in it. Mito looked proud (and a little blood-thirsty in her opinion,) but Tou's primary thoughts were of her partner. She was in disbelief that Mei, a proud member of the Guardian 12, would ever turn against her or refuse Daimyo-sama's orders.

"Where are our missing comrades?" Chiriku asked Mito.

"It seems they've gone to join those who are headed our way," Mito replied, glad that she was still a very good sensor. "It's a big group: they have the capacity to take the entire capital. They're mostly Chunin, but there are also Jonin-level shinobi among them - and that's aside from the traitors," she continued, making some of the Guardians wince. "We need to put them down before they get to our civilians."

"Can you put up a purple barrier?" Asuma asked her. Mito nodded, then made four shadow clones, but he held on to her shoulder. "Coms," he ordered.

Seito handed Mito and her clones most of the remaining communication devices that he'd had in a seal, still in disbelief that his brothers in all but blood had been planning something like this. He was the only guard of the 12 who had grown up in the temple: it was the only home he'd ever known! "Don't put up the barrier until we can see the whites of their eyes, Namikaze."

"Hai!" Mito's clones darted off to take their places at the inside corner perimeters of the temple, ready to literally hold the fort.

"If it's that large of a force, we'll have to separate. Let's go," Chiriku ordered. He and Asuma took off toward where the fighters were coming from - Asuma first giving Mito a quick yet lingering and worried look - while Tou and Seito headed north. Kitane and Nauma ran southeast, which left Mito alone to protect the castle's other side.

"Fuck… fuck! This is too much," Mito whispered, panicking a little. Taking a deep breath, she remembered her center, remembered to tell the fox what was going on, (he didn't care and refused to share his chakra,) and decided to do something she knew she'd probably regret. Making even more clones, she sent several off to the monks' barracks.

One of her clones showed up in front of Chukaku: that old, misogynistic bastard. "Chukaku-sama: we may soon be under attack."

Chukaku slumped, which was really saying something considering that he already suffered from hyperkyphosis, commonly known as a hunched back. "You plan to fight, woman?"

Mito's clone wanted to facepalm or hit him, but she simply nodded and said yes, very much disliking this old turd.

"Then I shall protect you."

"No! You shall fight beside me or I shall seal you where you stand!"

Chukaku groaned and complained - but agreed in the end - especially when he heard the first sounds of fighting. He arrived next to Mito just before she let her clones know her position. The purple barrier immediately activated behind them.

The castle and temple were soon surrounded and the fighting was intense. Mito wondered if these shinobi really came from the Leaf! Although many had Konoha headbands under their white but otherwise ANBU-styled masks, they fought like robots, throwing themselves into fights that they had little chance of winning. Their teamwork was terrible!

How many had she drained of their chakra with her chains - and yet still they kept coming? Their chakra fed her own, so it wasn't like she was running out. What a bunch of morons!

Old Chukaku was impressive, easily moving around her chains and putting the beatdown on the shinobi that dared to try to take their territory. They had each other's backs.

One would never guess he was as old as he was, considering the way he could still move.

Between Chukaku's unusual and MANY elemental jutsus, (including one quite similar to Chiriku's,) Mito's chains, Rasengans, and the Hiraishin, (not to mention her monstrous punches and kicks) the first platoon they met were no match.

"Kazuma, what are you THINKING?!" Asuma yelled at the man he was fighting. Chiriku was holding his own against another one of their comrades, Lee.

Between himself and Chiriku, they must have already killed or badly injured more than 50 shinobi supposedly from Konoha.

"You would never understand," Kazuma scoffed, throwing another wind jutsu at him. Really, Asuma was not a good match for him. They were both wind-natured, and Kazuma knew from their previous training sessions that Asuma was as powerful as he was, although he didn't like admitting it. "The son of the Sandaime? The Yondaime Hokage's daughter's protector?" he sneered. "Do you know how much money goes to Konoha? How much wealth could be spread to Hi No Kuni's citizens if it weren't funneled to Konoha?! There cannot be two kings!"

"Are you shitting me?" Asuma asked after viciously attacking him with taijutsu. Kazuma was fast and his punches hurt like a bitch. Asuma was biding his time, though, and careful with his chakra usage since he'd been fighting for so long. Kazuma was predictable - or at least he had been in the past. And Asuma had trained most of his life next to a half-Uzumaki, so he knew how to react fast to unpredictability. He almost wished Kazuma would just get on with it and whip out a water jutsu so Asuma could take him down.

Kazuma was oddly powerful when he used water jutsus - just as powerful as Mito - but it always took Kazuma an inordinate amount of time to channel his chakra to perform water techniques.

He needed to keep his mind in the game, but if these Konoha traitors had a seal master, would they be able to get past Mito's barrier? And how was she doing?

"You dumb fuck," Asuma sighed after getting a few more hits on the traitor. "Konoha may benefit from her relationship with the daimyo, but the daimyo also benefits from missions and Konoha's prestige. Were you really planning to go up against the Yellow Fucking Flash: the most powerful shinobi in existence?"

Kazuma's face turned red with fury and he yelled "Switch" just as Asuma had popped gunpowder into his mouth, tired of talking.

Asuma's Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning jutsu, the first technique he had learned from his older brother, killed one of his friends and former comrades. He'd have to mourn later. He turned to aid Chiriku in fighting Kazuma, who had switched out with Lee, his now-deceased (former) Guardian 12 comrade, and gasped when he saw the Guanyin Bodhisattva in all her glory appear alongside them.

Chiriku would be alright. He had a goddess on his side! Asuma ran at the remaining forces, his blades blazing with wind chakra.

Tou had just killed her best friend: her sister in all but blood. She and Mei had eventually been allowed to join the Guardian 12 after being rescued by Leaf Shinobi when their small village in the far west of Hi no Kuni was reduced to rubble by Iwa shinobi.

They had been dropped at the Fire Temple unceremoniously when their ANBU rescue team had to move on to find the Iwa infiltrators. The daimyo had been kind to them and eventually found out that they were both females, but never told anyone. She would forever be loyal to the daimyo who had sheltered and fed two somewhat scrawny orphans, even before he learned the truth about their fathers.

Both she and Mei had shinobi fathers who had been disabled in skirmishes between the Second and Third shinobi wars. They trained their daughters relentlessly to fight as shinobi and to always hide their gender before their deaths. Only recently had they "come out:" Daimyo-sama had encouraged it!

How could Mei do this to her?! WHY did she abandon her?! How could she betray Daimyo-sama?!

Seito watched as his partner in this fight ran screaming through the oncoming shinobi after killing Mei, using her lightning jutsus to at least paralyze everyone in her wake if not kill them outright. He followed behind her, deeply feeling her pain as he ended those she'd left behind. Many years ago, Chukaku-sama told him to fear a woman's wrath, and now he saw why.

Seito loved Tou.
Even though Tou loved Mei.
He honestly couldn't believe Mei had turned on her.

They'd pay for their betrayal: they would all pay!

/

"Chukaku-sama," Mito shouted in fear for the man's life, taking a second to make yet more clones to protect the man who had just been wounded again before hiraishining off. One of the clones began running a diagnostic and carefully applying medical ninjutsu to him while the others guarded his laid-out body.

"Mito-hime," he coughed, spitting up blood.

"Shit! Shit," the clone exclaimed as she continued trying to keep up with his rapidly failing organs. "Don't talk!"

"I… know you… are a clone," Chukaku got out between ragged breaths.

"Shut up, old man! I'm trying to heal you!"

"As a fellow protector," he coughed, surprising her clone, thus getting her full attention, "let me die… a protector's death."

"Crazy old man," Mito's clone cried between gritted teeth, refusing to let him go. "We can't let those traitors win!"

"Don't… let them," he panted. He smiled up at her sadly, knowing it was finally his time. "Princess, I am sorry. Tell Chiriku," were his last words, but he wasn't able to tell the young woman what he meant to say.

The small group of clones dispelled miserably after realizing there was no hope to save him, and upon receiving their memories, Mito was overcome with sadness and guilt for once disliking or even despising that guy. -And fury!

Fuck these soldiers! Even if they are from Konoha!

Mito threw her Hiraishin kunai in the air, enjoying the way all of the shinobi seemed to stop in their tracks and stare up at it. She felt their fear, but they would feel her wrath! She'd never done THIS before, but there was a first time for everything, wasn't there?

"Taje Kage Kunai," she shouted, using chakra to make her voice even louder, so they'd all know that death was fast approaching. "Taje Kage Bunshin," she then sneered: she and her clones teleported to where the massive amount of Hiraishin Kunais was falling, killing all in her wake, throwing their kunai up and multiplying them again and again.

Mito stood in the middle of them, panting and covered - no: soaked - with the blood of those she'd taken. Later she would learn that she'd killed hundreds of shinobi, supposedly in a matter of minutes. It would forever weigh on her heart and mind, but it did earn her some points from the Kyuubi who watched the whole thing gleefully, secretly feeding her anger and pumping his chakra into her.

Asuma was almost out of chakra when she teleported in front of him - although he wouldn't have recognized his little sister aside from the jutsu her father perfected. "Mito?"

Mito turned and snarled at him. Her normally two-toned eyes were red and slit, and she was completely covered with blood.

Aside from the black slits in her demonic eyes, she was entirely red!

He always had suppression seals on hand for his jinchuuriki sister, even in his pajamas, but had never had to use them before. Would they still work when she was… drenched? "Mito, you need to calm down: it's over."

Her eyes flickered to purple, and he could see the whites of her eyes finally shining against a horrific backdrop. "MOVE," Mito screamed in a hoarse voice, seeming to return to herself for a second.

He sunshinned away from the massive blast of demonic chakra that probably could've killed him but came back when he saw her passed out on the ground. Her chakra, or rather, the Kyuubi's, had destroyed a large group of trees and all of the grass around her. Some of them were still burning.

"Kami-sama. You're a wreck, Scary Girl!"

Asuma picked her up and carried her off, never noticing the ninja monk that was hiding - who licked his lips in anticipation of soon taking a prize that was even more fantastic than he thought possible.

.

In the shower, Mito scrubbed her skin so hard that it began to bleed.

- Blood, which only increased her panic.

"Mito-hime," Tou said, approaching the younger woman carefully. "Let me help you."

Mito began crying, shaking her head, as she squatted on the floor, the water beginning to rapidly cool as it continued to fall on them.

"My goodness," Tou said, still grieving mightily. She hadn't really noticed before, but as she began to gently wash Mito's hair, she realized that the teen had already done that. "The red strands in your hair…"

"They look like blood," Mito cried out. "Mommy!"

"Oh, Mito-chan," Tou said, beginning to cry, too. It was at least two hours later when one of the men began pounding on the women's bathroom door. Both women were soaked and felt frozen to the core.

Very late that night - or maybe it was the next day - Mito tried to remember if she'd thanked Tou-chan for her assistance. Shock, she told herself internally, trying to diagnose herself. "Chakra exhaustion," she mumbled idly, hurting all over.

Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome will probably follow.

"I'm a fucking monster," she said to herself. She was supposed to be a healer, not - not this!

'Ruto-chan seemed to disagree as he chirped at her, and she tried to remember if she'd fed him. She clumsily got up - seeming to use all of her remaining energy - and did so, apologizing to him as she always did for keeping him caged.

Shit. She'd forgotten about Kiko: she was still caged in the temple, at the mercy of her sealing matrices, which had been all powered up. "Doesn't matter that I'm out of chakra…" she'll still be stuck there for days.

'Ruto began talking to her again as she fell back down onto her futon.

Shit. I forgot to seal the room.

- Well, it doesn't matter: all our enemies have been SLAUGHTERED… By me! Tears ran down her face, but she didn't really feel them.

Monster

Daimyo-sama had compared her supposed "heroism" to her father when the Yellow Flash faced off against Iwa. Although she always wanted to be like her parents and godmother, she NEVER wanted to be someone who killed like he did that terrible night.

Her father hated what he'd done, too. He knew that Iwa would never forgive him!

Would Konoha ever forgive her?

"And now I'm a Guardian 12," she mumbled, her lip involuntarily curling up in some semblance of a smirk when 'Ruto-chan said "Go Away Asuma," quite clearly.

Earlier tonight - after he was briefed by Chiriku, she guessed - the Daimyo met with the Guardian survivors and had promoted her to full Jonin: something she didn't know he could do. "Or Guardian… Four?" Did four of us manage to survive? She wasn't sure, and she couldn't even help heal anyone right now. She knew that she and Tou made it, and Asuma, of course. And Chiriku.

Four of us: thank the gods.

I'm so tired.

She fell asleep and only woke when someone was hovering over her. He punched her in the stomach so hard that she coughed up blood and passed out before her chains even had a chance to react.

Kazuma placed a seal he'd lifted from Asuma on Mito's forehead. "Almost time for negotiations, pretty girl," he sniggered as he put up a genjutsu to cover him.

He left with the unconscious false princess over his shoulder.