Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, just the Gushikans and a select few

Many notices in the Author's Notes at the bottom.

Trigger warning: Violence, Swearing, Blood, Death

Chapter 36~ Seeking

I was in that familiar dark place. I had been there several times over my life. Like when my mom died or that time I was impaled.

Yes it sucked. But it only felt like I was there for a minute before a rumbling woke me up.

I twitched and coughed as my eyes opened in a completely dark room, nearly scaring me into thinking I had gone blind. A cloth was wrapped tightly around my head, gagging me.

I started to move around but realized there was a cord tightly wrapped around my wrists and ankles, biting into my skin painfully.

I quickly rolled around, bringing my wrists- which had been bound behind my back- to my front.

I brought my wrists to my face and pressed the wire to my canines, avoiding the gag, before cringing and pulling back. Both startled the wire was metal and now worried I could've chipped a tooth.

After reaching down for my kunai pack I felt my heart drop as I realized it wasn't there. And only a moment more for me to realize Balance is gone as well.

I began to panic, throwing my body about in the small room before wacking my head on a wooden door and having light wooden poles land over my body.

'A broom closet' I thought, before forcing my way up to a standing position and reaching around blindly for a door handle. When I didn't find one I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead against the door. Defeated.

Defeated?

Fuck no.

I am Takara Gushikan. Heir to the Gushikan clan!

'If I pull at my wrists or ankles it will shred my skin. But I can't knock the door down without my legs. Maybe there's something in this room?'

I began feeling around. Finding a metal bucket, mop, broom, the metal scooper for the broom, bottles probably filled with chemicals, and-

'A light!'

I grabbed the chain hanging from the ceiling and yanked, flooding the tiny room in yellow light.

My wrists and ankles were bleeding and all of my weapons were gone. Including my clans code.

I reached up and managed to undo the gag at the least.

'What else? Do I have anything flexible and metal? Literally anything sharp.'

I grabbed the metal scooper and touched the edge. Not sharp but very thin. I nodded and sat down on the floor before placing the scooper firmly between my feet, flat edge up. I readied myself to swing my wrists down and hopefully snap the wire on the edge. But I hesitate.

If it doesn't work it might cut me to the bone… I glance around the room a bit more.

"Sulfuric acid?" I mumble as I reach over and pick up the bottle. I read the directions before smiling and then frowning again.

It's used to dissolve organic compounds, so it's probably here to clean up blood. But it damages metal. But how can I pour it on my wires without getting it on my skin? Or breathe it in…

After a moment I take a deep breath in, and take my cloth gag to dip the tip in the acid. Then I quickly close the bottle and attempt to gently rub it on the outside of the metal, right where I plan to hit it. I also rub it on my ankle wires, hoping it will work. I do all of this as quickly as possible before tossing the rag away, careful to not get any on my skin.

After that I wait. I close my eyes, hold my breath, and count. As a well trained ninja I can hold my breath for a solid four minutes. And I'm not even that good, I hear swimmers can hold it for longer. I try to ignore the sounds of combat outside my door. The clashing of weapons in the distance. The distinct rumble of bombs. I think of Usa and Dad. And my friends. I cannot wait to get out.

Once I'm sure I cannot wait any longer, I open my eyes, inspect the clearly damaged metal before smashing my wrists while simultaneously pulling them apart. There is a loud snapping sound and to my surprise I am relatively uninjured besides some surface level bleeding. But I am still running out of oxygen, so I pick up the scooper and chop it down at my ankle wire, also snapping it.

Finally free, I stand up and reach for a broom stick as a weapon but pause. There is a much more devastating weapon in here. So I pick up the sulfuric acid and look at the door, knowing fully well I don't know what's on the other side. I back up as far as I can and then run straight into the door.

It made a cracking sound as it gave out, landing me flat on my stomach into an empty hallway.

I jumped to my feet and began running, vaguely following the signs until I reached a door allowing entrance to the audience viewing area.

I didn't hesitate as I swung the door open to see chaos.

Ninja fighting ninja, passed out civilians, and a weird glowing box on top of the Hokage seating.

I am immediately attacked by a ninja with no markings holding a kunai. I'm able to dodge as he slices at me, but hand on cap, I pop it off and slosh the chemical strait into the man's face.

He screams before turning around and running off. Man, I almost feel bad about that one.

I crouched next to the closest enemy ninja body and raided it of its kunai and shuriken, attaching the holders to my arms and legs.

I then jogged up the stairs until I was at the top of the stadium rows. I was looking for someone. Anyone to explain the situation. Surprisingly none of the enemies seemed to be approaching me anymore.

I also looked for any corpse with a katana, but my luck is never that good.

I carefully speed walked until I saw some very familiar hair, silver gravity defying hair.

"Kakashi!" I yelled out, and I watched the man quickly do a double take at me before leaping up to where I was.

"Takara! Where have you been?!" He grumbled and shouted at me.

I held up a wrist and felt myself glare, "I was kidnapped. What? Did you think I ran away?" I bit back, ignoring the sting of my fresh injuries.

His eyes softened, "I'm sorry, I'm glad you are okay."

I ignored his apology and glanced at our surroundings, "What's going on?"

"The sand has attacked. The Kazekage... and the Hokage are fighting in that box up there." He said pointing to the place over the private seating.

"And we can't get in to help?" I questioned, already knowing the answer.

"Correct, even the Anbu can't get in." Kakashi conformed before he cleared his throat. Then he looked down and raised an eyebrow, "why are you holding a bottle of chemicals?"

"Surprisingly good weapon," I shrugged him off and continued, "Where's Sasuke and Naruto?"

Kakashi looked disturbed for a moment, "Sasuke went after the sand siblings alone and Naruto went after him with Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji." He looked a bit ashamed for a moment, "We assumed you must've moved to take care of your family first."

"Did you see my Dad? Or Usa?" I asked and I couldn't tell if I was relieved or not when he shook his head.

'We have to go after Naruto and Sasuke,' Conscience chimed in and I shook my head. I already knew that.

"Right, then I'm going." I said walking over to the hole in the wall, where I assume all my friends had left through.

Kakashi held up a hand to stop me, "Let me summon a dog to take you to them."

I shook my head, "Don't bother, it's a waste of chakra."

I closed my eyes and rubbed my nose, focusing on the smells. Yes I could smell Naruto, I'm already well acquainted with his odor. I could almost see his footprints from how easily I could pick out his scent.

I frowned as I turned around and looked back into the stadium. Something doesn't smell right. It's a familiar scent. Maybe something I never got to smell after I got my summons contract, but I came in contact with before.

"What are you doing?" Kakashi asked, looking… almost nervous. Well as nervous as his personality can allow.

I looked back at him confused, "I have a heightened smell from my contract with the bear summon." He should know that, after all, he too should have heightened dog smelling. Did... he forget I can summon?

Turning away from him I could smell the trail perfectly, but before I could leave I heard a familiar voice.

"I'm coming along too. All my cute students were dragged into this mess and I need to check on them!"

I looked at Asuma sensei and smiled at him, "Right, we'll go together." And I handed the bottle of chemicals to a confused Kakashi, swearing it was worth it.

"Can you keep up?" He teased me with a smile.

"I don't even have to remove my weights. Let's go."

And without another word I left with Asuma, following my nose. Kakashi was acting oddly. I bet he missed my battle. But now is not the time.

We jumped from tree to tree as I easily followed Naruto's scent. We had only gotten a few minutes into our journey when Asuma stopped and held up a hand to signal to me to quietly stop as well. I crouched on a branch and watched as Asuma seemed to stare into the distance before quietly saying, "Do you smell something?"

I raised my eyebrows before closing my eyes and inhaling deeply, "Yea I can smell some unfamiliar scents. It's possible the wind is mixing it up but..."

"There is a ninja ahead of us, since we are downwind we can sense them easier than they can sense us. Thankfully you have hardly no chakra presence and I can just cover mine. We need to sneak up and take them out." Asuma explained and then motioned for us to begin moving again.

"But why is there only one? That's not the standard treatment of ninjas in any nation." I said just loud enough for him to hear.

Asuma furrowed his brow, "That's true. It's possible that there is an even larger group ahead of him. That's the mixed up unfamiliar scent you probably noted. That means the guy ahead of us is a precaution against ambushes."

I turned my gaze to in front of us and thought about Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, and Naruto. What would they do if there was a group behind them? What would I do?

I don't have the skills to handle an ambush, since I'm more of a taijutsu-ist. That is unless I managed to catch everyone in a genjutsu, but that doesn't seem possible. Out of everyone, the only one in that group who could conceivably stop a group is-

"Shikamaru," I said quietly as we continued to close the gap between us and the enemies.

Asuma only nodded and held a finger to his mouth to silence me.

As we neared the single man, I could make more sense of the group ahead of us. Several ninjas. And it wasn't long until I could smell the fear on my friends, signaling their realization of the situation.

"Asuma, what do we do?" I questioned with my face feeling stiff with worry.

"Easy, don't doubt their skills too quickly." Asuma chided me.

As we landed on a branch Asuma held a hand up to signal me to stop before soundlessly jumping up and out of view. I crouched down and readied myself with a kunai in each hand.

After a moment I heard the distinct sound of "hrcht!" Like someone getting the air knocked out of them. Asuma reappeared in front of me holding a man casually at his waist.

"Done!" He said with a grin and I couldn't help but grin back.

"I don't think we are far off from the group." I said standing up and moving to stand next to him.

"I agree. We need to intervene quickly." He said, now with the tiniest degree of urgency.

We moved forward and he carried the body of the man he killed with no hindrance at all. And we came upon an interesting scene within only a few bounds.

Down on the forest floor there was Shikamaru with his shadow jutsu activated, stretched out thinly but securely holding eight grown men.

For a brief moment I thought he was alone. He had most likely sacrificed himself for his team. I felt a sharp surge of pain and anger. The pain of him accepting he may die alone and the anger that a genius like him would accept that. But then another person moved to stand next to him. Choji.

I grinned spectacularly and looked at an equally pleased Asuma. While Shikamaru had frozen the enemies in place Choji had stood by his side- ever vigilant- and protected him.

We could hear the enemies jeering at the two and promising their ninth comrade would come and slay the both of them. After all Shikamaru is almost out of chakra and Choji clearly not strong enough to handle one, let alone nine, enemies.

Shikamaru's response to this was to pull out throwing stars. Clearly to test where the final enemy had hid, and hopefully where Choji could focus his attention. However when he released the throwing stars there was no one to stop them and they sank in the enemies with violent force. Some in their chest or legs- none fatal, but certainly painful. There was an alarmed and pained scream from them all. Asuma and I could only grin as we both leaped from the trees to land behind the two boys.

"Wow wow wow, and you men are supposed to be ninjas! You are much too loud for little scrapes like that." I smile and cross my arms.

Shikamaru and Choji whip around and look at the two of us.

"Asuma Sensei! Takara!" Choji exclaimed with joy, just as Shikamaru sinks to the ground and sighs loudly.

"Man what a DRAG!" He yells. "That was too close."

I quickly bent down and set a hand on one of his shoulders, "It's okay now, you are safe." I turned to look at Asuma, "Can you finish this up?"

The adult gives me another shit eating grin as Shikamaru's jutsu flutters and fails as he runs out of chakra. The enemies, affected by Shikamaru sitting down, were exactly like sitting ducks as Asuma launched into them to quickly end the stand/sit off.

The three of us watched in amazement before the young man came back completely unharmed. "I'm so glad you both are safe. Can we assume Ino and Naruto are still after Sasuke?"

Choji nodded, "Yes, and they are being led by Kakashi's summons."

I slowly drew in a deep breath before nodding and standing up. "Asuma Sensei, I think Shikamaru is tapped out. Can Choji take him back into the village? I think you and I should keep going."

There was a slight silence as everyone seemed to put together what I had said.

Asuma silently turned around to look at the growing fires in the distance that surrounded the stadium.

"My fathers still there." He spoke aloud and I felt myself get a chill.

It was easy to forget that the Hokage is Asuma's father.

"I understand," I said quickly, "if my father was there I'd also want to try to help in any way possible."

Asuma looked back at me and gave me a tight lipped smile, something a tad uncharacteristic for him. He nodded and apologized.

I frowned at his apology and shook my head. "Don't worry! I'll take Choji with me; just focus on your Dad."

He took a step forward and held out a hand, so I took it and shook it.

"I'm sorry. I'm going to entrust my Choji and Ino to you. Please keep an eye on them."

I nodded, "Of course! I'll protect them with my life!" I grinned and looked at Choji, "but we better get going."

Asuma looked like he wanted to say something else, but he didn't. Instead he released my hand and helped Shikamaru to his feet.

Choji and I said goodbye before jumping off and back onto the trail of the ninjas before us.

"That felt weird," Choji commented and I couldn't help but agree.

"It's gonna be okay!" I reasoned before sniffing the air and turning us slightly to the left.

"Are you… sniffing?"

I laughed, "Ever since I learned to summon bears my sense of smell is insanely good. Even without having a bear present. And fortunately I know what Naruto smells like."

I laugh again at Choji's disturbed face.

"I know, it's kinda gross. But everyone smells. Like you smell like-" I paused to think, "Barbecue and smoke. Your chakra element is fire right?"

Choji looked surprised and nodded. "Not many people know."

"Well I can smell it." And I laughed a bit more. We continued on for another moment before I remembered something. "Wait! Who won each battle?"

Choji made a noise, "You didn't see?"

I frowned, "No! I got kidnapped right after my match. They shoved a dirty rag in my mouth, tied my wrists and ankles in wire, and took my-"

Oh kami. I lost Balance.

The thought shook me and I slapped a hand on my forehead. "My Dads gonna kill me! They took my sword! Oh my kami. So many generations of Gushikan used it. It was a tradition and it's gone."

Choji tried to calm me, and said maybe they have it on them.

I can only hope.

"I'm so sorry you got kidnapped and we didn't notice. We knew you were gone but we figured you went to sit with your family. If we had known…"

I sighed and shook my head, "It's fine. It's not anyone's fault but my own. I poked the bear and got captured. I'm the dumbass here."

Choji continued on, "Well after you Naruto and Shino fought. Naruto was a little distracted at first… although maybe it was because you were nowhere to be found."

I smiled a little at the thought that Naruto knew I was missing.

"So Shino brought out his bugs to drain Naruto's chakra. At first it seemed to be working but then it was as if he opened a gate or something. Suddenly it didn't matter how much the bugs drained, he had more than enough to compensate."

I hummed in thought but it was pretty obvious to me. Naruto probably started using the foxes chakra and with that had an insurmountable amount of chakra to spare.

"After that, since Shino is a distance fighter and his main move was useless, it turned into a brawl. Naruto summoned his clones and the actual hand on hand combat didn't last long. He overwhelmed Shino and knocked him out."

I clicked my tongue, a tad sorry for Shino. He lost and he lost in a way that didn't show any of his skills well. It's just plain unlucky he fought Naruto.

"Then there was Ino vs. Kankuro. It sucked." Choji grumbled.

My eyebrows rose, "She lost?"

"NO!" Choji shouted, clearly getting worked up. "After a month of training, training harder than she ever has before, that idiot forfeited."

I stared silently, "… Ino forf-"

"Kankuro! He forfeited! Ino was pissed! I'm pissed! Everyone's pissed!"

I nodded and looked ahead of us, "You know, he probably forfeited because he knew the attack was happening and didn't want to be weaker beforehand. Maybe it means he considered her a threat?"

"I don't care. It was disrespectful." Choji bit and grumbled.

I nodded agreeing with him. I can just see Ino screaming at Kankuro now. Poor girl.

Choji tried to shake his anger off and continued, "then Shikamaru faced the sand girl, Temari. It was rough. I'm surprised he had enough chakra to stop those men earlier. They are both distance fighters and tried not to get too close to each other. However, Temari was not afraid to try to hit him with that giant fan more than once. For a while it was a stand-off and Shikamaru acted the way Shikamaru acts."

I snorted and agreed.

"Anyway they were on opposite sides and Shikamaru was seemingly waiting for the sun to go lower when he tossed a kunai with a shirt parachute into the sky for his shadow jutsu to use. And just when she was out of range, with his shadow still touching the parachute, he popped the chute with a different kunai. The shadow moved suddenly, and since she always stood just barely out of range, he snagged her."

I fist pumped at the news.

"Theeen he forfeited cuz he was tired and out of chakra."

I facepalm but nod, "yeaaaah sounds like Shika. Did Ino freak?"

"She did but I told her to expect it!"

I laughed a little and adjusted our direction again. "And Sasuke and Gaara… I can imagine it didn't go well."

Choji was silent for a moment, maybe pondering my statement. "It was weird." He settled on.

"Sasuke had the advantage right away. He was faster- maybe even faster than Lee which had seemed impossible. Maybe… faster than you."

I furrowed my brow but didn't comment. Faster than me? Me? What the HELL did Kakashi teach him?

"By the way, did Sasuke arrive right before his match?"

Choji nodded, "Yea, he was very close to being disqualified. Allegedly."

My mouth formed a straight line as I thought about Kakashi. What should I do about that man?

"Gaara must've thought he was in danger because he sealed himself in a ball of sand. That's when Sasuke used a weird move that created lightning. It was insanely powerful but I'm not sure what it's called."

"Chidori," I responded shortly. Getting more frustrated with both myself and Kakashi.

"It hit hard and Gaara left the ball bleeding and kinda freaking out. That's when his siblings and sensei jumped in. They had a brief conversation before the bomb in the Hokages' box went off. Then everyone fell into a genjutsu sleep. I was woken by Shika and Ino. That's how everything started."

I absorbed the massive amount of info he gave me and nodded. "Thank you for updating me." Then I caught wind of an interesting scent. Choji and I stopped for a moment as I sniffed the air and looked around. Conscious muttered in the back of my head and I frowned.

"Shino got knocked out right?"

Choji agreed.

"Did you happen to see Kiba after you woke up?" I asked tensely- I'd know that scent anywhere.

Choji frowned and shook his head, "not once."

I nodded back and looked ahead, "Smells like our buddy also came along for the ride… but he's fainter than the rest, I think he's ahead of everyone."

Choji and I look at one another. I'm not one for wasting things but I quickly removed my weights and dropped them to the forest floor. "We need to hurry."

We had been traveling as fast as possible, and cut the distance between us and the rest dramatically. The smell of Kiba vs the group split off and I had to make a decision of who to go to. The answer to me was clearly Kiba as I could smell him with a slightly recognizable scent. Maybe… Kankuro.

We came upon a scene that looked like a horror story.

Kankuro's Karasu puppet was torn in half and splintered everywhere. Its top half draped over a branch and its bottom somewhere below.

Kiba was laying on a branch with a pained look on his unconscious face, blood trickling out his nose. Scratch marks littered around him from clawing the tree in pain. Akamaru was laying on a tree branch several feet away near a trunk. Knock out after seemingly being thrown into the trunk.

And Kankuro lay in the center of it all bleeding from a large bite mark on his forearm and several deep scratches to his chest and abdomen. He was slightly conscious, but not enough to run away. Just drowsily staring at us.

"Fuck," I breathed at the sight. This is bad.

I landed at Kiba's side and checked his pulse; rapid and uneven. Choji shouted over that Akamaru needed a vet and probably had some broken bones.

My hand flew to my pack but it was gone. Because those pricks took everything I had!

I turned to Kankuro and found myself leaning over his incapacitated form. I reached down, grabbed his shoulders, and gave him a good rattle. Making his eyes open a bit more.

"Where is my bag? The one I had tied around my waist." I hissed at him, but didn't wait for an answer before I shook him some more. "Or an antidote, you must have one in case you poison yourself."

Kankuro looked a bit more lively and he seemed to peer behind me at the dying boy laying only feet away. He didn't say anything at first and instead opted to look bitter as he turned his head.

I crouched down, forced Kankuro to sit up and turned his head forcibly to look at Kiba.

"Look at him. Look at what you did. That boy is a child the same age as your brother, who has an older sister who loves him and teases him relentlessly. He has a mom who scolds him and loves him unconditionally. He raises ninja dogs and has many friends. And if you don't do anything his death will be on your hands. Think of his older sister. Think of your family."

Kankuro stared at Kiba for another moment before grumbling "It's the clear vial in my kunai pack."

I wasted no time cutting the pack right off his leg and reaching in. There were kunai and three vials in it. One clear, one green, and one purple.

I stare at Kankuro and I pull out the clear one. "This is the antidote? Be careful your life depends on it."

Kankuro looked away and grumbled at me for not trusting him.

But what choice do I have?

I leapt back to Kiba and gently rolled him to his back. I put his head in my lap before I uncorked the bottle and tilted it in. Then I rubbed his throat until he swallowed.

"How fast does it work?" I yelled but Kankuro only ignored me as his face scrunched up in pain from his own injuries.

I waited a minute, gently rubbing Kiba's hair before setting him back down and moving to Choji and Akamaru. The puppy had no symptoms of poison but was whimpering and twitching. Since its legs looked fine I could only guess it broke some ribs in the fight.

I heard a pained gasp and went back to Kiba's side as he opened his eyes and coughed loudly. "Oh man, I'm gonna throw up." He declared and I slapped a hand over his mouth.

"You better not! I just gave you an antidote."

He mumbled and grumbled till he eventually relaxed enough for me to remove the hand.

After a moment I heard Kankuro wheeze in pain again before I made my way to him.

"I cannot believe you are a ninja with no bandages on you." I complain before I grab his face to make him look at me again, "and if someone hadn't stolen my things like a little thief then I'd have something to fix you with."

He had enough energy to roll his eyes at me.

"Got any bandages, Choji?" I asked and the standing boy shook his head.

I sighed, "you may be shit out of luck."

"I have some." Kiba grunted before he dug around in his pouch and threw me two.

I stared at him and the bandages in my hand. "Wow… a Saint."

He told me to shut up and laid down again.

I did my best wrapping Kankuro till I was satisfied all his injuries were protected and compressed. "Look I would stick around to hold you together until help arrives but I can't." I told him as he continued to look away. "I have to get to your brother and my friends."

Kankuro still said nothing and I frowned at his defiance.

"Okay fine, be silent." I turn to Choji and Kiba. "I would recommend that Choji escort Kiba and Akamaru immediately to a vet and then doctors. I have to catch up with everyone so I need to go too. Mr silent treatment over here is no longer in danger. I mean he needs a doctor but he can wait till one of you tells a squad to pick him up. Sounds good?"

Choji and Kiba nod before Choji helped the poor poisoned boy stand up. I smiled at both of them and wished them luck before they tried to make their way down to the forest floor.

Then I look at Mr… Mr Sad sack. I sigh and set a hand on his arm. "Don't worry you're not going to die. But good luck and see you around."

"Takara," he vocalizes right as I was about to leave. "It's not his fault."

I stared at Kankuro before nodding, "Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you." And then I jumped away to follow the scent of Naruto, Sasuke, Ino, and a pain in my ass.

I knew no matter what it was the correct decision to go to Kiba first. If I hadn't, it's possible he could've died. But the scene in front of me, froze me to my spot as my brain worked overtime to understand it.

There was a… creature. That looked to be partially made of sand but also skin. It was engulfing the form of Gaara. Only his legs poked out the bottom of the creature and the top was mad, vicious, and simply…overwhelmingly powerful.

I watched the battle for a moment as the creature created sand shuriken and launched them at Naruto who had to… pick up a little frog before jumping back? My eyes followed Naruto and accessed that he wasn't too injured yet. But I quickly found Sasuke and Ino.

Sasuke was collapsed on a branch with the curse mark spreading more than I would like on his body. And behind the creature was Ino. Her body was clamped to a tree trunk face first. I couldn't even tell if she was conscious.

My mouth was agape at the scene before me and then it dropped down in a comical style as I watched Naruto fling himself around the creature before sticking a bomb right in its butt.

Naruto got slapped away just as the bomb exploded- taking a lot of the creature's shell with it.

I body flickered myself behind Naruto and Sasuke jumped his body there as well to keep Naruto from getting more injured.

"Damn Naruto, of all the moves you have-" I complained just as Naruto and Sasuke turned to me in surprise.

"Takara! Where have you been?!" Naruto exclaimed, but Sasuke took a more serious approach.

"Takara, you need to release Ino- she's getting crushed." He told me, gripping my shoulder. "Then you, Naruto, and Ino need to escape."

I frown, "I'd love to help guys, but I got kidnapped by the sand siblings earlier and one of them took my katana. In a battle like this… I'm afraid I'm limited."

Naruto slapped my back and gave me a confused smile, "But you're Takara Gushikan."

I felt a warmth in my chest and Sasuke gave me an oddly encouraging look as well.

I look at Gaara, then Ino, and then down to my hands.

"Wait… I may have an idea to release Ino, but it might take a large portion of my chakra." I look to my teammates. Naruto gives me a grin and Sasuke nods stoically. "I'll need a distraction."

Naruto put his fingers together and created clone after clone, until there were so many they filled the forest around us.

I grinned at the scene, took a kunai from my pack, and leapt up to go up and over the reconstructing Gaara. When I landed on the tree holding Ino I used my chakra to run down the trunk and crouch near her head.

"Ino," I whispered, "are you conscious?"

"Yeah and I'm pissed." She responded back quietly before grunting in pain as the sand visibly clenched around her. "Where have you been Gushikan?"

I chuckle, "Wow you really are pissed. But let's save the pleasantries for after. I'm gonna do something risky, and I only got one chance."

"Do it." She said before I could continue.

I set a hand on her head before walking down and landing on a tree branch below her.

I breathed in, then out. I held the kunai like it was a sheathed katana. And I thought back to my training.

"No Takara that is not "neat" that's insane. That is INSANE chakra control." Dad angrily grumbled, "Taka, if you didn't have your disability and you had this control all the time, you would literally… I don't know, become a folk tale. I've never seen anyone do that before."

I smiled at my Dads reaction. Become a folk tale huh? Well… let's see just how good my chakra control is. It's that or accidentally split Ino in half at least.

I stared down my target, imagined slicing the sand right off her body and then I did it.

The kunai left my imaginary sheath and flooded with a bright blue stream of chakra the moment it was pointed at the sand. I continued moving my hand to my upper right, and I kept perfect concentration. The sound of Naruto launching attack after attack on the creature too close for comfort left my mind. All in all, it was practically instantaneous.

Once my hand stopped, and the move had been completed, it took a moment for everything to settle. And then all at once the sand crumbled and peeled right off Ino. I rushed forward to help catch her as she slipped away too.

She landed in my arms and blinked, startled, before she looked at me and grinned. "You did it!" She squealed.

"I can't believe I did it." I said quietly, "who knew it didn't matter if it was a sword or a kunai."

Ino and I stared at each other for a moment before a roar forced me to turn around.

The Gaara creature bounded towards us but I easily jumped out of its destructive path. Bringing Ino and I back to Sasuke.

The creature began to yell and looked up before a column of sand shot out of it towards the sky.

"Oh shit!" I yelped and shoved Ino over my shoulder and grabbed Sasuke under my other arm. Then I took off till the three of us were a safer distance away. I set the two injured ninjas down and stared up in amazement as the column filled out into a giant version of the full creature. It was awesome and shocking.

"Uh… what about Naruto?" Ino questioned.

I shrugged, "Eh he wasn't nearly as hurt. I'm sure he's fine."

A puff of smoke grows in size until a giant… okay that's definitely a toad, not a frog… appeared. Naruto standing proudly on top.

"See! Totally fine!" I exclaim, and Ino and Sasuke stare at the large amphibian before us.

Taking in the sight of the giant animals in front of us, the thought of 'hmmm we might still be too close.' Crossed my mind, and as soon as the battle began I knew it was true.

Dirt, trees, sand, all of it came up as the animals attacked each other. Sometimes purposely grabbing handfuls of trees and throwing them at each other.

I jumped a bit away from my comrades while we tried to avoid the debris and I used the summoning jutsu.

I feel something appear and rise up underneath me. I set my hands down and hold on tight as Yamamoto quietly raises up on his hind-legs a bit and looks around.

"Gushikan?" The bear questions, "What is this situation?"

I lean forward and point to my friends, "We need to get to safety. This battle is too dangerous." I explained.

Yamamoto stared up at the feet of the toad and sand creature we were dangerously close to.

"Uh yea, let's go." He grumbled as he bounded over to Sasuke and Ino. I helped them onto his back just in time for him to jump out of the way of the toad's foot. It crushed the trees we had been on as if it were nothing.

He skillfully avoided the debris and got us a significant distance away incredibly quickly. After that the four of us stood back and watched the battle unfold.

Sasuke and Ino climbed off the back of my bear and stood gaping at the sight before them.

It occurred to me at some point that maybe no matter how hard I train. No matter how hard I try. I might never be better than Sasuke and Naruto. Is it a curse?

When I was young I was strong, and I could beat them in hand to hand combat. But that was before we trained seriously in ninjutsu. Now… with Sasuke knowing Chidori and maybe being faster than me. Naruto being able to summon a giant toad like that and not even seem tired…. I'm falling behind even though I'm trying my absolute hardest. I might… never be able to beat these guys ever again. Kami it's like they have

"Plot armor," Conscience answers for me.

I lessen my grip on Yamamoto and close my eyes.

I can hear the sounds of the fight. The snapping of trees, dirt being flung about, the world getting reshaped. And the jeering of the sand creature to the toad. It's all there.

And Naruto of course. His yells and commands. At some point Sasuke and Ino begin to whisper to one another about the fox. And I know I should open my eyes to bear witness to Naruto but… I don't. Instead the noises increase till it crescendos with a smack.

I opened my eyes to see the sand creature disintegrating. And the speck that is Naruto and Gaara falling.

I command Yamamoto forward.

He ran so fast it was jarring. We arrived in time to see Naruto punching Gaara in midair.

"Catch them both!" I yelled and Yamamoto pushed forward. He was able to catch the two of them, one in each paw. He certainly isn't as big as Naruto's summon but even being small he is incredibly strong.

We landed softly on the ground and I slid off Yamamoto's back and watched him place the boys on the ground facing each other.

Somehow they were both conscious.

"Can you get Sasuke and Ino?" I asked, and Yamamoto agreed.

Gaara looked terrified and Naruto looked determined.

Gaara began to say, "Stay away from me!"

But Naruto only shakes his head, "I know what it's like… to be alone."

I frown and slowly sit down near both their heads. I take a hand and set it on Naruto's head.

He smiles tiredly at me, "I know the pain of being alone. I've been there in that deep dark hole. That's why I value the people I care for so much. They make me happy and have removed that painful loneliness from me. My friends give me hope."

I give him a sad smile before looking over to Gaara. He too is within arms reach but I don't close the gap.

"Life is precious," I tell Gaara, "Don't you remember what I said? I forgive you Gaara. So let's start over again."

Naruto nodded a little, "Let's start again. As friends this time. But always keep in mind. If you threaten the lives of the people I love, who bring me happiness, I will kill you."

My eyes widened at Naruto's words, and I looked down to Gaara who was staring up. Absorbing everything my friend had said.

Gaara was very silent but didn't refute what we had offered. Instead he looked calmer than ever laying there with us.

Yamamoto arrived back and Sasuke and Ino got down to join our party. Sasuke looked pitifully at Gaara and Ino looked annoyed.

"Ino, Sasuke. I'd like to introduce you to Naruto and I's new friend. Gaara of the Sand."

The two looked surprised, but before we could react further Temari and Kankuro appeared next to us, crouching over Gaara.

We only made eye contact for a second but Gaara spoke up and said, "That's enough. Let's… go home."

His siblings seemed shocked by his words but didn't argue.

Kankuro helped Gaara to his feet and the three almost turned and left before I jumped up.

"Wait!" I shouted and they froze, "Where… Did you put my katana." I pleaded. "My Dad will kill me if I lose it."

The three stared at me before Temari cracked the tiniest of grins. She reached behind herself and fumbled with the strap on her fan before pulling out my katana.

"Almost forgot," she said as she tossed it to me. "And thanks for bandaging him." she added, referring to Kankuro.

I smiled and held the katana to my body like a baby for a moment before strapping it back in its normal place.

"Ah, I feel full again." I commented and my friends rolled their eyes. "Now then, we should get back."

Sasuke and I loaded Naruto onto Yamamoto and the five of us began to walk back. Ino took the time to regale us with the feeling of being squeezed to death and Sasuke described cutting off the sand limbs with a single well placed Chidori.

I got to describe fighting my way out of a broom closet before saving Kiba from being poisoned.

"I knew you weren't there!" Naruto exclaimed, "I knew it! I was looking for you and you were nowhere."

"Actually I was a room over from the observation room with a jug of acid." I joked.

Sasuke faltered as he walked, "Did you really throw acid in someone's face? That's bound to create a villain."

I frowned at the thought but shrugged, "It's not my fault, they shouldn't have tried to stab me."

Maybe I should keep the villain thing in mind…

As we got close to civilization Naruto demanded to get off Yamamoto. It wouldn't be very ninja-y to be carted in I guess. So Yamamoto poofed back after giving me an annoyed look. I guess this wasn't what he had imagined as a summons.

So I supported one side and Sasuke helped support the other and the four of us entered the village. It was… disturbing.

Bodies of leaf and sand ninjas covered the streets. Shuriken and kunai were strewn about. And crying could be heard in the distance.

Any jovial behavior melted away and we began walking in the general direction of the hospital. Naruto, Sasuke, and Ino could probably use a check up. For once, I'm relatively unscathed!

After walking along for a few minutes an adult body flicked in front of us.

"Kakashi!" I weakly exclaim with a shit eating grin. All the annoyance I had for the man had drifted away the moment we won. Yea okay, he hurt my feelings, but he's only human. We will just have to have a talk about it later.

"We did it, we won!" Naruto cheered.

"Naruto did the hard work, but in the end we worked together and won." Sasuke explained looking pleased.

"It was scary, but I think even Gaara left in a better state," Ino said in a completive way. "Takara and Naruto gave him a good talking to before he and his siblings ran off."

It was starting to feel like the end of a tv show. Everything being tied up in a neat little bow that we dubbed success.

Kakashi only gave us the faintest flickering of a smile before it fell. He took two large strides before standing right in front of me. Almost making me have to back up uncomfortably.

If I felt uncomfortable, Kakashi must have been in Hell. He looked conflicted before clearing his throat. "Can I speak to you alone for a moment, Takara." He asked softly.

My brows knitted together and I looked over to my friends. Their confusion was evident too. "Um… it's okay Kakashi. I'm sure whatever you have to say can be said in front of them," I reassured.

He looked at me with sad, sad eyes. "Takara, it's your father."

Immediately my world started to crack. I smiled at him and laughed nervously. "What about him? Stop looking so mournful, you're going to make me worry." I joked but he didn't laugh.

"I… I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry Takara, but he's very badly hurt. You need to go. Now."

"Where," I asked quickly, stiffening my entire body and I felt Naruto's weight shift off me.

"The arena rooftop."

I was gone. Running and jumping, but not really feeling myself as it happened. My arms and legs were numb. My head was numb. Everything was numb and dark and cold.

But it can't be him. It can't! He promised! He said he wouldn't protect the Hokage and he would instead think of his family. He promised. So it can't be him because he can't be on that roof.

I fell upon the rooftop, just vaguely feeling my knees scrape, but not having any sensation that it hurts.

Kakashi would have told me. Because he would have known.

I was in time to see a white sheet fall across a body.

Asuna… Asuna told me he needed to be with his Dad. And I told him I understood. He would have told me.

The Hokage sat next to the… person. He was obviously hurt, but seemingly refused to leave the body's side.

Maybe it's Orochimaru's body. They were close for a long time ago.

My body was shaking as I took shallow steps toward them. I was surrounded by medics who refused to meet my eyes.

Maybe they refuse to look because they hate the Gushikan Clan. It wouldn't be the first time.

Once I stood next to the Hokage, he finally met my eyes.

They wouldn't have sent me away if my Dad was here. No one would be so cruel. The barrier was already up when I escaped the closet, so they knew who was in here with the Hokage.

"He was a Hero." His words were thick with pain and he may have said more but I found my knees going out.

No, he's wrong.

I gripped the corner of the white sheet. Tears pricking in my eyes and a blackness dancing around the edges of my vision.

WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG

My knuckles went white, and I slowly pulled the sheet down to reveal the face. But I stopped at the forehead. The scar he had gotten so many years ago. It was there on deathly pale skin. I didn't need to pull the sheet down anymore.

"I didn't get to say… goodbye?"

Author's Note:

Heeeeeeyyyyyyyyy surprise! Since I haven't updated in four years, I'm not sure if anyones even waiting around anymore to hear what happens next, but I felt the sudden urge to write the chapter I've been preparing for since 2015.

While I was writing this chapter I got all nostalgic so I thought it might be nice for a peek behind the curtain moment. So below is kinda a long dissection of how I ended up getting to the point of this major character death.

I started writing this fanfic when I was a teenager. Admittedly it was pretty poorly planned (especially when I was actively deciding who her end game would be chapter by chapter… I know now…) but I knew certain events that needed to happen. Honestly I changed a lot of my original plans based on comments I got about characters and perceptions people had. But from the very start I knew Takara's Dad would die. His personality has changed a lot from his original incarnation and as I character I think it's for the best. At the start I wanted to make him mean. Darn right irredeemable.

And then a really weird thing happened. I got older lol. In fact I started to like his character so much that I started considering other ways I could make Takara grow without killing Tenchi. And maybe I could've made it work but let's be honest. It's the Naruto world. Parents drop like flies in the show and in fanfic. So when I plotted it out I knew Takara would be an orphan at some point. I even gave myself credit for not killing them off immediately. I think a part of the reason it took me so long to finally write this chapter was I had to solidify that yes. I'm killing him. I can't take it back, there's no retcon-ing this. And then life got in the way.

Now am I the best author… hahahahaha nooooooo very much so. I have no one to beta read so it's full of spelling errors, grammar mistakes, and…. times I said there's 100 seconds in a minute. That one kills me, honestly. And I frequently disappear for years at a time.

But, like I said once a long time ago, I'm always sort of thinking about Takara in the back of my mind. And saying I wrote a fanfic that is longer than several big name novels is very funny.

So. Will I be writing more? Yes.

Dear god, when? Hopefully soon! I want to fix the spelling mistakes in a few chapters. Gotta hit that 100 second thing.

Will Takara ever be happy? Yes. But life is constantly full of good and bad things. It's our own responsibility as humans to make sure the happy outnumbers the sad. But her Dad dying is probably going to make the next while a bit sad.

Will I ever draw fanart of Takara again? No joke this all started because I was digging for a fanfic I read when I was a teen and I thought maybe I saved something on my Deviantart that could lead me to it. I didn't. And then I looked at the HORRIBLE drawings I posted as an overconfident child and was like, she'd want me to update. By the way kids, follow your dreams because I'm paid to draw now lolol and you would not be able to tell from that fanart. And I guess to answer the question, uh sure! But no one was interested in the fanart I was posting, so I don't think that was the draw. Lol

Did I actually pole people for these questions? No, they are just what came to mind.

Well that's probably enough! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and are excited for the happy that comes with the sad!

Thank You and Have a Nice Day,

~ToL