DISCLAIMER & A/N: I don't own anything from the Naruto universe. This is my Mito, though.

I'm not sure if I made a note about it before but I hope by now that it's clear that this follows along with canon, but will definitely change SOME things here and there. Considering Minato's alive, that's pretty obvious, huh?

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

Emphasis

Bijuu, etc. speaking

Bijuu, etc. thinking

A couple of minutes earlier -

Mito flashed next to the man whom she was fairly certain had left her that little origami fox. –The one who definitely said she had pretty hair! "Imagine finding you at a place like this." Her lips curled up in a sly grin when she saw his posture change so much. He'd had his legs crossed and had been alternately reading or playing with a much larger camera than he had last time. She and Anko had been spying on him.

Something about him sure did look familiar when he'd been more at ease. Now he was sitting up tall and the rather bored look that had been on his face only moments earlier had gone through a series of micro-changes.

Interesting.

Mito had a strong feeling that she knew exactly who this guy was - even if his chakra was suppressed!
What was his game, though? WHY was he doing this?

Asuma must have put him up to it.

"Mito." He bobbed his head. "Lovely to see you again."

He had a nice, soft smile: not too big, not too small; not cheesy, not overly flirtatious. That was good.

Mito glanced over at her brother who was spying on one of them from the trees, finding it especially funny since she and Anko had been doing the same thing to them since they left the club where her group and the Mist nins had gone out. Zabuza and a few of the other Mist nins really liked to dance. She and Anko did, too, although they held back since they each had missions in the morning.

And because our potential dance partners were Mist nins.

Mei had also wanted to dance with her father which was amusing: both watching her ask him and seeing her Hokage father turn into a blushing maiden over it.

Aside from last night's break, Anko had been running in and out of the village non-stop since Suna betrayed them. Mito felt like she should be doing the same thing but what could she do? She was assigned to the Mist nins (and had earlier been under tons of rock.)

The probably disguised gray-eyed shinobi smiled a little more at her. "You look stunning tonight."

Mito's brain shut down. She wanted to ask "Really?" but held herself back.

"Thank you," she said quietly (remembering her kunoichi lessons from her godmother and Shizune) as she pulled the origami fox out of her utility belt. "Did you leave this for me?"

The supposedly retired shinobi rubbed the back of his neck after almost putting it in his greyish-brown hair.

Surely he's not wearing a wig: that would be so lame.

"I did."

"Thank you," she grinned a little more. "As a child, a fox was my favorite animal."
Kurama was such a downer lately it was hard to say that was still true, however.

"I read the note," she then explained. "If I'm in town, Thursday night sounds good. Where should we meet, Keiya-san?" He tilted his head, amusing her to no end. "I heard Naruto-kun call you that, ne?"

"Uhhh… Yeah. Just uh, 'Keiya' is… fine!"

"Your name is pretty. In kanji, is it read as 'jubilation?'"

Her supposed future first date grimaced hard. "It… is?"

That was not a good answer! It was a sort of funny one, though.

She looked up and frowned at her father who had just flashed over from the treeline, wondering what his deal was. He put his hand on her shoulder. "What's… Hey!"

Off they went.

.

Mito was still pissed off at her father for ruining her "fun" the night before but set out with him just before dawn to set up some Hiraishin markers somewhere they most likely wouldn't be ambushed. From that spot, they could go to Kiri.

"You're not talking to me?" Minato asked.

"I said good morning," Mito groused. "I just didn't have time to grab coffee this morning." Plus she had been so close to getting proof of who that "Keiya" guy was last night before her father had jumped in and grabbed her!

She'd retaliated, of course, flicking him across the residence and then disappearing, so things were going pretty well between them this morning, considering. Mito should probably be glad that she wasn't put in jail or something.

Speaking of retaliating and jail, she'd taken advantage of a small, easily-misread clause in the Hidden Village Charter System that allowed her to take retribution against the nurse's aid who had cut her hair rather than leave it alone as she was instructed to. Tsunade didn't appreciate her whacking off all the woman's hair but it did make Mito feel better. When Nurse's Aid Bitchface swore to kill her - a clan head - while she slept in front of MANY witnesses, she got put in jail. Mito didn't press charges but she bet the woman had an interesting night with Anko's buddies.

"I hate you! Shisui-kun will never look at me like this!"

"Yare, yare."

Even considering all of that, last night was still a good night.

1. She hadn't been under a pile of rock.
2. Mei hadn't been mad at her for busting Yugao out of jail. She barely mentioned it the day before, only finding it "cute" - or so she said - and had been incredibly grateful for the Terumi Clan scroll Mito had turned over to her.
3. Mito got to speak to the probably disguised shinobi who wanted to take her out on a date. She let out a little simpering sound that quickly turned into coughing. Get your head in the game, Mito! She cleared her throat and couldn't even look at her father.

.

Mito let her father flash her to the Hi no Kuni border, then she'd take over from there. She groaned and pinched her brow. "Guh. I had nightmares last night." Even with all of that fun, she'd had nightmares: goddammit.

"I'm sorry," Minato said worriedly. He knew Mito often had nightmares (that he'd seen her suffer through since she was very little - too little) although she rarely brought them up. "Do you remember what happened in your dream?'

"That plant guy: the one with the Mokuton?" she reminded her father of the humanoid she'd experienced when she'd been trapped. "I… I swear his plant parts swallowed up his head." What had been much more disturbing about the dream was being unable to breathe under all of that rock, however.

It had crushed her painfully and slowly.

Then there were her even WORSE nightmares about Rin-chan.

"How could you, Fox-chan?"
"Don't you know what they did to me?"
"Don't you know what he means to me?!"

It had been a long time since she'd dreamt about Rin.
Rin never even knew my name.

Minato waited for his daughter to say more but she only took his arm and flashed him to their next spot. He gasped. "Uzushio."

"As I said, it's the best spot for me to sense chakra signatures in Water Country, as much as I can." She proceeded to walk out on the pink beach she'd marked when she'd been here so many times before. Never enough. She sat down and began meditating, really focused on sensing the world around her since something within her still felt very off.

Mito was beginning to think the reason she still felt so fuzzy might be the the crap Tsunade was having her take. She decided to forego taking any more of the compound, at least for now. "You can walk around and check things out if you want," she said uncomfortably. "This might take me a little while." She wanted to keep her father and Mei as safe as possible.

Minato wondered just how often she had been here and how she remained so calm about it. This place… Uzushio… His beloved wife had SO wanted to return here and had filled him and Mito with stories of everything she could remember about it. "How did you deal with the… ghosts?" Figurative ghosts, of course (he hoped.)

Mito opened her eyes and cast him a sideways glance. "While she's never at peace, Uzushio knows she was defended well."

Minato raised his eyebrows and decided to leave that alone for now. His wife and daughter could get (creepily) oddly philosophical when it came to Uzushiogakure and the Uzumaki clan. He slowly walked along the beautiful beach and thought back to a time when he and Kushi were very young - and he challenged her to stop making references to the sea. They had just been little kids; he hadn't meant to make her so upset that day. "It's beautiful."

Mito nodded her head and closed her eyes as she concentrated harder.

"Traitor!"

Mito pushed out a kunai but as she looked around, realized that no one else (aside from her father) was there. "Okayyyyyyy," she whispered to herself.

Really, she'd been waiting to hear the island or its ghosts call her that one of these days. She had never felt comfortable taking all of the stuff that was now in seals on her body but her mother felt that Kumo would steal everything Uzushio ever was and rewrite history. Mito couldn't allow that.

But she didn't only say that about Kumo did she Mito?
- Damn Kumo: taking my student! Her father still wouldn't tell her the current status between Kumo and Konoha.

But back to the disembodied voice: Kiri, Iwa, Taki, and Kumo had combined to destroy Uzushiogakure.

Either Kiri was the reason the voice was calling her out or maybe it was all her imagination.

As if it's not bad enough that I have Kurama occasionally speaking in my head, now I'm hearing other voices, she thought bitterly. Shaking off queasiness and the feeling of something being very "wrong," Mito checked her father's position and closed her eyes again.

When she was doing her terrible impersonation of an infiltrator, trying to find and aid the Kiri Rebellion, Mito had placed permanent markers on dozens of small islands in Water Country. Sensing no one on the majority of them, she felt those were safest to Hiraishin to and now just needed to add her father's seal so that his guard could transport the Kumo delegates. There was no way she was bringing Kiri to Uzushio, not after what they'd done to her clan. –To her friend…

"So the Uzumaki Clan Head knows what those villages did to us and she does nothing. No, worse: she's helping them. She's a traitor to her core!"

"She said she wanted to be my friend," Rin's voice added.

"I did!" Mito felt a sheen of ice-cold sweat cover her body. "Those few of us left behind are holding onto what's left: the debris, as we're thrown through waters and events we were ultimately unprepared for." She signaled her father and flashed him to one of the uninhabited islands in Water Country that were closer to Kiri.

Traitor to Uzushio or not, last night's meetings, (both the formal and informal outing that followed,) showed great promise for an alliance between Kiri and Konoha. Mito wasn't naive; she knew that Kiri had enormous challenges but that also gave Konoha opportunities. She was glad Mei was reaching out her hand - and that by the end of the night, her father seemed to want to accept it.

It was difficult for him, particularly after what Kiri had done to his student. Mei supposedly brought proof that all of those involved - even in the planning of Rin's kidnapping - were dead now. That wasn't all that surprising, considering how many people in Water Country had been killed in Kiri's Civil War.

There were benefits of allying with another nation or village. Especially now that we can't rely on Suna and there's so much destabilization.

In one spirited part of their more candid talks between formal negotiations, Konoha officially learned that like them, Water Country was still on the hunt for shinobis or shinobi children who had disappeared after previously being hidden from the books. An official task force was discussed although Mito thought that might do as much or more harm than good. There could still be moles or worse within their ranks.

The Akatsuki also came up. Mito was thankful that her father had shared the little information they had about the organization, and Mei-sama then revealed that one of Kiri's legendary Seven Swords, Helmet Splitter, had been (they thought) locked up tight after the Rebellion's victory since Suigetsu was still in training. Learning that Hoshigake Kisame had it, despite that, was a shock to them and something they'd be interrogating people about once back in Kiri.

"You alright?" You were talking to yourself; Minato was positive.

"Yes," Mito lied. After dropping his marker, Mito insisted on skipping a return to Uzushio this time. They had work to do.

Several hours later, Mito tried to stay alert as Ao read the spreadsheets everyone in the room had in their hands. She was pretty sure that everyone there knew how to read! Mito did finally end up covering a yawn with her hand, quietly laughing behind it when Mei "went dark" and threatened to kill Ao if he kept being so damn annoying.

Sometimes Mito wondered if Mei lived not so much for the one-day glory of Kiri as much as she did to one day kill her closest advisor.

Mei snapped out of her terrifying funk and blushed a bit, smiling demurely at the Leaf contingency - only half of whom seemed surprised at her angry death threats to her closest annoying lieutenant. She turned back toward Ao, better remembering her audience; her next words to him were kind, if not a little sugary sweet. "Thank you for that fascinating report on how each proposed trade route could benefit both our countries and villages, Ao. Excellent work."

"It really is encouraging," Minato said, all perked up and eager to take Ao's findings back to the council. "I do have a few questions about the methods you used in your statistical analysis."

Mito sighed. It took energy not to sink to the bottom of her chair or even the floor, and she imagined hanging her tongue out of her mouth, groaning about her father going into "Dork Mode" like she (and her Mom) did when she was a little kid. She may not have seen much of her father when she was a child but she definitely remembered him nerding out like this.

"He's a dork but he's our dork, ne, my little ocean?"

This is what being an ambassador was all about, though, wasn't it? –Boring meetings, spreadsheets, numbers, and smiling when you wanted to smack someone. Mito wasn't the type of person for this, she strongly felt, but the other candidate her father was seriously considering for the post was Ebisu. That guy had a conceit stick up his ass and was a closet pervert to his irksome core and the stick within!

Mei would probably kill him once Ebisu felt comfortable enough to stare at her assets - if he didn't die at the hands of the other quirky but often brutal Mist nins.

After lunch, which included an involved discussion (and promised follow-up presentation) of deep diving and surfing, Mito saw Ebisu yawning and KNEW that he wouldn't work out! If anything was exciting so far today it was definitely discussing water sports and exploration! Mito just wanted to DO it rather than talk about it!

Much like the groups had in Konoha, they toured a factory and then a salinization plant that was being built outside of the village. That's when Utakata finally approached her, one-on-one. "I have to admit, I was a little surprised to see you in these meetings, Utakata-kun." He hadn't been with the Mist contingency in Konoha.

Utakata shrugged. "Mei-sama wishes to make me an ambassador."

"Oh?" Mito tried to coo, just to be an ass. So Utakata was the one Zabuza had been talking about back in Konoha. "Congratulations?" –She hadn't necessarily meant to make that sound like a question but what could she do now?

- See, this is a good reason I shouldn't be an ambassador.

Utakata shrugged again but ushered her toward where they could talk more privately. "I was interested in doing something different. Mei-sama said the position is for a year which isn't too long - and well… Ao figured 'a jinchuuriki ambassador for a jinchuuriki ambassador.'"

He wanted to warn her.

Mito raised an eyebrow. "You told them." She decided that if Utakata did tell them she was a jinchuuriki, she'd challenge him to a spar to end all spars later. Utakata shook his head. She took a step back to better observe him. As far as she knew, outwardly, Utakata was the kind of person not to care what anyone thought of him. It's the result of having been poorly looked upon for the burden he bears.

Mito sighed loudly, crossing her arms and leaning back against the nearest wall. "So you're saying that someone told Kiri's leadership? If it wasn't you, then I guess someone's got a dojutsu, ne?" Mito threw a significant glance toward Ao and then back at him again.

Ao wasn't truly hiding it. An eyepatch over an eye was one thing but having a thick one nailed into your head to cover your supposedly empty eyesocket (when eye banks were a thing!) was going too far. It was thick, bold, and drew a lot of attention. It's probably a seal covering the stolen dojutsu. Mito couldn't feel the thing but it made sense.

"I never said that," Utakata drawled easily. "What do you think of the idea?"

"Of dojutsu theft? –I think it's creepy and wrong," Mito shrugged, knowing that was not what he meant. Utakata just stared at her. Sadly, the jerk hadn't flirted with her once on this trip. His flirting was always phony but used to brighten her pathetic days. How sad is that?! she asked herself and had to force herself not to pout miserably. She stroked her chin, thinking about that.

She had a date coming up! Whether or not it was real or intended as a prank against her, Mito planned to suck all the datey-goodness she could out of it just for the experience if nothing else. If it was a prank, everyone involved would be getting their asses pounded.

Back to Utakata: pay attention, Mito! "But if you mean the status thing: 'one for one?' It's fine. I don't want anyone else knowing about me that doesn't already, hm? I won't tell anyone about you." Her father already knew. "And I guess you'll be decent enough to work with."

Utakata bobbed his head and figured that was about as close to a compliment as he was going to get from the tempestuous kunoichi. "Do you believe Hokage-sama will officially make you ambassador? –I cannot see things going well if Zabuza-san is representing Kiri while Ebisu-san reps Konoha," he said distastefully.

Mito groaned. How was Ebisu already losing votes here? Oh, right: his personality is clear although he's trying to hide it. "Yeah, we'd probably have World War Three on our hands." Both she and Utakata winced, fearing that was no joke once the words were out of her mouth.

.

Later -

Mito had never had time to engage in this activity when she'd been here before. She was really taking a risk but if Mei-sama was willing to do it, then so was she.

"You've snorkeled before," Mei said to herself as she tapped her chin: they'd done that together. She wanted to ensure the younger woman would enjoy her first time and not freak out. Or die.

"You know I have," Mito grinned, pulling out the fins Mei had lent her.

Mei rubbed her chin, knowing that she should have told the Hokage about their plans. Mito told her that she had let her father know that she was going out scuba diving tonight but Mei had a strong feeling that Mito had left a clone behind to take her place. And that she hadn't told her father a thing!

Mei used to be young once! She knew how these things worked.

What was she thinking? She still was young!

"Water is your primary affinity which should make it easier for you. Normally one would take classes and have to go through a lot more than this. –I can't believe I'm allowing it!"

"Hai, hai," Mito nodded, ready to get this show on the road. She felt bad that Mei was so worried, though.

Not only had she left a clone back at the hotel, but she'd also left a note just in case the clone was dispelled. It was pretty damn late and her father had turned in early after having a few drinks at dinner.

Mito also bribed their guards (and may have told them that she had a side-mission and was a clone while her original was in her room. She figured she could say that she must've been misunderstood if that came back to bite her in the ass later.) Mei had also written a statement ensuring Mito's safety as Mizukage. Mito left it in her room and the only person who could get inside it was her father.

Tonight Mei had taken her out on a speedy boat (the Mizukage had laughed at her when Mito thought it was a yacht since it had a canopy leading down to the engine room) and Mito only wished that she could see the scenery around them. The night was cool but her wetsuit was thick. It even had a hood.

It smelled wonderful out here. The waves the boat was skipping over were so relaxing.

Mito smiled brightly when a lighthouse suddenly burst into life in front of them. "I'm not sure that's a very good lighthouse!" Aside from the boat's lights, there had been nothing but blackness surrounding them before. Wouldn't someone hit it?

"Ah, it's only used for tourism," Mei admitted as the lights dimmed. "Heavier vessels aren't allowed in this area anymore and I wanted to see your reaction," Mei said with an elated grin. "We're considering making the lighthouse's reveal part of our ad campaign. Our captains know these waters well."

Mito just couldn't stop grinning. She couldn't wait to see what all of the fuss was about. "So we'll be going down how far?"

The captain "parked" the boat and began answering her question while he and his crew worked to secure the site. "First dive here's pretty shallow. You lot will sit on the sea floor and point your lanterns up; that will attract the plankton. The mantas will come sweeping down to eat it. It's a site to behold! …Now I know how you ladies are," the oldtimer said, not knowing what these two women were like very much whatsoever, "but NO TOUCHING OR REACHING FOR THE MARINE LIFE!"

"Hai!"

"We'll assemble in a circle and then things will get really interesting!"

"I can't wait," Mito said, glad that there weren't TOO many people with them. Most of them were civilians. Mei had her test out or check her regulator and gauges (again) and go through the signals they might need underwater (again,) plus gave her even more tips about efficient air usage and staying alert underwater. (Again.)

Soon enough, she found out why she and Mei had to tuck their hair inside their wetsuits. The huge Manta Rays were gobbling up the plankton and swooping down so close to their heads that it was… thrilling! When they were finally back on board the small boat, Mito was beside herself. "That was the coolest thing I've ever experienced! Seriously! I want to retire and become a professional diver! –I thought I just wanted to be an old beach bum someday but no! –That's just not enough! What can one do as a diving professional exactly?! Do you have to have a boat license or boat?" Her questions were unending.

Hell, even Kurama had watched through her eyes and been struck mostly silent.

The second dive was deeper and although Mito wanted to go inside the lit-up wrecks they observed, Mei wouldn't allow it. The third spot was absolutely beautiful and Mito couldn't wait to come back and visit it during the day.

Screw it all: she was going to become the ambassador to Kiri.
It wouldn't ALL be paperwork and boring meetings!

.

Minato narrowed his eyes at his daughter. She was smiling from ear to ear and chatting it up something fierce with some civilians that ran a boating shop Mei-sama had taken them to while he and the Mizukage discussed a few remaining issues that needed to be resolved on the upper deck of a yacht. He THOUGHT he'd heard them discuss his daughter diving with them the previous night but that was impossible, wasn't it?

And did he mention that he'd never even seen a real yacht before?! Now he was on one.

Really, negotiations had been going spectacularly and that was most important thing. Talks were going so well, Minato almost expected the vessel they were on to sink!

He and his group of shinobis were currently being taken deep sea fishing. Minato felt that as long as he could actually catch something, this trip definitely beat the caves Rasa used to show off when he and his shinobis went to Suna. Rasa swore there were dragons within those caves but they and their guards had only ever found overly enormous versions of the hideous "bugs" Suna was well known for. –Angry, vengeful ones that didn't appreciate being bothered.

A great hunting trip, it was not! He had enjoyed touring Rasa's greenhouses as well as an oasis that was simply marvelous on his last trip there but never liked Rasa's "hunting trips."

He'd like to think that Rasa didn't betray him; that the man had been killed by Orochimaru before Suna (and Rasa) had an opportunity to choose to side against Konoha but Minato had been a part of the shinobi world for far too long.

And he was worried about Rasa's kids. He felt like a monster for trying to seal a deal between Suna and Konoha with a political marriage but considering the alternatives, it would (in the future) be for the best.

"Mito-hime and Utakata-kun will make fine ambassadors, don't you think, Minato?" Mei purred. "And maybe the next time I'm in Konoha you can show me something a little more interesting, ne? A little more… private?" After all, she'd taken Mito on a rather private diving trip, hadn't she?

Minato gulped and tried to smile at her charmingly. "There is… much to see and experience in Hi no Kuni. I'm sure that we can find something you like. –Would like to do," he lamely clarified.

Lady Mei smirked at him before slowly biting a cherry off of the toothpick garnishing her drink.

She maintained eye contact with him the whole time! Oh my goodness…

.

Having wrapped up things much sooner than he thought possible, Minato was packing his last scroll when Mito came crashing into the room.

"I have to go!"

"Mito?" he grabbed her shoulders. Tears were beginning to run down her face and she was clearly panicked. "What are you talking about?!"

"Naruto's in trouble! I'll take care of it!" And then she was gone. He heard shouting and turned to try to figure out what in the world had happened to shake Mito so.

Ebisu was thrown into his open room by an angry Momochi Zabuza who claimed Ebisu had been "perving" on the Mizukage. Minato internally slumped but glared at the shinobis, asking for a better explanation.

Mito… Was it the fox?
Could it have told you something?

I don't know what you know, Mito, but please aid Naruto if you've really sensed something.

Seconds earlier -

"Mito," Kurama said gravely, "your brother is dying." And with him part of myself: he chose to tell himself that was the reason he was bothering to tell her about her brother. He was definitely not being kind; he definitely didn't care about whether or not she'd be in pain should her brother die, he told himself.

It certainly didn't affect him that Mito flew into action without questioning his words. She teleported out of Kiri within seconds.

"NARUTO," she screamed as she saw him lying on the bank by… The Valley of the End? "What are you doing here?"

He was alone! She skidded toward him on her knees, her hands already lit up in the green hue of her jutsu. "His heart! God, his lung is just… just destroyed!" His ribs were a mess: shattered and the bone fragments were everywhere.

She cried, working like mad to get his heart started again but there was too much damage. She was making things worse! Kurama's chakra started wafting out of him, burning her and she did the only thing she could: the one thing she'd promised her mother never to do but if it was to save Naruto, she'd gladly do it - as often as he ever needed!

Mito pulled up her sleeve and shoved her wrist into his mouth. Using chakra, she forced his jaw up so that he'd bite her and shook all over, trying not to scream as her blood, chakra, and life force flowed into him.

Along with her own, Kurama's chakra spilled into him, too.

"Live. Please, live, Naruto. Please let this still work."

"Why did that man bite me, Mama?"

Her mother looked so angry.

"He had an owwie but it went away…"

Uzumaki Kushina looked horrified. "Never EVER let someone bite you, 'ttebane! Swear it, Mito-chan!"

"I didn't… I - I swear, Mo- Kaa-chan! I didn't want him to!"

"You told him no?"

"He felt… kinda different and like he was lying, so yeah. I told him to leave me alone! I'm sorry!"

Mito didn't remember what her mother did but she most likely took care of that guy - whoever he was. She couldn't have been more than three, if she was that old when it happened.

.

Mito heard splashing in the distance and turned to see Kakashi running toward them. She tried to sit up more and began sobbing with relief when her diagnosis revealed how much the bite had healed.

"You saved him."

"You saved him, Kurama. Had you not told me…" Mito couldn't bring herself to think about it! "And you gave him your chakra!"

"It's not like I had a choice." The other part of him had latched onto and sucked his chakra quickly away from him. It was almost as if his other half planned this! Ha. He probably did.

Kurama used to be a real piece of work - and he could imagine his other vengeful half pulling a stunt like this. Taking advantage.

Kakashi was panicked. "Is he alright?!"

"No. We need to get him to the hospital."

Kakashi's visible eye widened even more and seeing that Mito was quite weakened - what is she doing here? I thought she was in Kiri! - he made a clone to help her get Naruto onto his back, noticing that her wrist was bleeding. Does she have the Uzumaki bite ability? "Sasuke?"

"Sasuke?" Mito asked, confused, as she put one hand on her brother's shoulder and the other on Kakashi's. She pulled Naruto's arm further up so he wouldn't fall. Naruto groaned. "Shh, shh. It's okay, Naru. We'll get you home. You're going to be okay."

She prayed that was true.

"You didn't see Sasuke when you arrived?"

"No?"

It was pouring down rain. Kakashi couldn't smell his other student anymore but he had to be close. "Let's go." Naruto was more important.

Kakashi felt the familiar pull of the Hiraishin and found himself in the Konoha hospital and then another short pull brought them to a more secure operating hall. While he gently put Naruto on a bed, Mito was giving orders but seemed very sluggish for her. She entered one of the ORs and after an incredibly long two minutes, Tsunade burst back through it to take Naruto into another operating room. Mito didn't come back out. He sat down, feeling a cold knot of reawakened dread and terror in his gut. He grabbed his wrist, refusing to leave to scrub Rin's blood away from his hand, no matter how much the wet feeling itched for him to do something to alleviate it.

But Kakashi didn't know what to do.

Naruto's destroyed jacket revealed that although it looked like he had healed, he'd received a wound that went straight through the boy. Kakashi knew how such a thing was possible, better than anyone. He had seen that when he killed Rin - and so many others.

Sasuke had used his jutsu, the Chidori, to nearly kill his little brother. He'd never forgive himself!

Mito couldn't imagine what had happened but now she was scrubbing up to finish healing a very skinny Akimichi Choji - the sweet boy - who, at only 13, had OD'd on Akimichi food pills. He also had other injuries. "You poor kid." Thankfully, she'd confronted Akimichi cases before although Choji was awfully young.

She cursed herself for not being at Tsunade's level so that she could effectively heal her brother.

Tsunade… Thank God for Tsunade… I need to be as good as Tsunade!

From what her godmother said, five kids had gone out and four of them were returned to Konoha in serious to critical condition through the medical unit that was dispatched to follow them, now including her little brother.

She nodded at the techs, nurses, and aids that were present as she drew chakra replenishing and reinforcing seals on the boy. Then she'd have to possibly dive into his gut. "While I'm finishing up for Tsunade, can anyone here give me details of the mission these kids were on?"

What the fuck had been going on to get these kids so hurt, so far out on the edges of Fire Country?