AN: New chapter.

Today had started off great.

No annoying Elders.

No pointless messages.

She had almost gotten comfortable in her role (of scaring people off).

She should've known something was going to go wrong, that this day would turn into a disaster.

Still, the morning had been good enough…

"So…your daughter wants another visit?" Jade couldn't help the smile on her face, the laugh that bubbled up from deep inside her. Hinata was a delight to be around. "Well, I'm a little busy right now so I'll stop by once I'm done here."

"Thank you." Hiashi rose from his seat, offered a small bow. Jade waved it off where she lounged in her seat. "I'll let her know."

Jade waved goodbye. Her red eyes stayed on the wall across from her once he was out the room.

"Jiraiya."

The man revealed himself without the customary style or smile at being caught, the familiar grin he usually wore. He looked entirely serious.

"Jade. We've got a problem.'

A dark eyebrow was raised. It was a silent question: What?

"Hiruzen, Danzo, they're going after your contract."

Jade's laughter was not what the older Shinobi expected to hear. The fact that she kept laughing, nearly toppled the Hokage's seat back with how much her body was shaking, was also unexpected.

"What's so funny?"

"The idea that they can find it. Kushina knew what she was doing even as a kid. They're not finding anything." Jade kicked her feet up on Minato's desk, was the picture of ease. "Not only can nobody even find it but Kushina made sure that she'll know the moment somebody tries. And if she knows, I'll know."

Her smile showed her fangs.

"And if I know, it's an easy fix."

The shadows around her darkened, a dozen Shadowkhan emerging along the walls and from the floor. They retreated into the shadows at her command.

"I'm not so sure." Jiraiya didn't sit down, his concern didn't seem settled by Jade's display of power. His worry was clear on his face. "They've never had Nagato's help before."

A dark eyebrow was promptly raised again. "Who's that?"

His dark eyes widened. "You don't know him? You've met him before."

"I've met a lot of people." Jade waved it off, crossed her arms over her chest. Her red eyes were focused on Jiraiya but she still wasn't taking this seriously. "But, let's keep going. Tell me about him. If you're surprised I don't know him, I'm guessing he's one of your students?"

"…Yeah. I trained him with Yahiko and Konan. You know those two, right?"

"Who doesn't? Kushina loves when those two show up and she can have them babysit Naruto. So, what, those three have a falling out?"

"No. All three lead the Hidden Rain Village." Jiraiya didn't like the pieces he was putting together, what Jade's ignorance of Nagato meant. "You saved all three of their lives when you took down Hanzo."

"Oh yeah." Jade remembered that at least. "It was after Danzo ticked me off. So I ruined all of his little plans." Jade laughed at the memories, how angry Danzo had been when she had torn apart ROOT. Danzo had been the first of the Elders to learn it was impossible to hide from the Shadowkhan in shadows. It had taken a while for the lesson to stick but Jade had been happy to teach it again and again. "He shouldn't have talked to Kushina like she was just some weapon. Can you believe that?"

"This isn't the time for jokes." Jiraiya's voice was harsh, actually surprised Jade.

She took a good look at him, at his face.

The Shinobi in front of her was deadly serious. The humor she had been feeling gradually bled away as she sat up straight.

"Jiraiya…" Worry. Anxiety. It didn't make sense. This pit in her stomach, this sudden feeling of 'wrongness' didn't make sense. It shouldn't exist if Kushina wasn't here to feel it, if she was so far away from the Hidden Leaf Village. She wasn't supposed to be human enough to even feel this.

At least she thought she wasn't.

"Jade, I need you to take this seriously. Nagato has intentionally kept his distance, has researched you for years. And now he's here in the village. Just like Kushina, he's from the Uzumaki Clan. Whatever she used for your contract, he may be able to undo. Change it. We need to find him, stop him from doing something he'll regret." Jiraiya hesitated for a moment, didn't speak his next words immediately. "I need you to take me to the contract Kushina and you signed. If we can move it, store it somewhere else, maybe we can stop anything bad from happening."

Jade grimaced at the idea.

"That's not a good idea." She couldn't tell him that she didn't trust herself not to act…rashly if she saw that contract. There was a reason she only ever stood outside the temple when she found herself there, made sure to never head inside no matter how much a part of her wanted to. "Not without Kushina here." Her red eyes met his. "Trust me. It's not worth it."

Jiraiya must've seen something in her face when she met his eyes.

He sighed but gave a nod.

"Alright." He had another idea. "I'll send a toad to Minato then." The blood sacrifice was simple, a small toad appearing in a cloud of smoke.

"Jiraiya? What do you need?" The goggle wearing red toad seemed surprised but was ready for whatever duty he had in mind.

"I need you to get to Minato and tell him he and Kushina needs to get back to the village as soon as possible." Jiraiya's serious demeanor had definite effect on the toad. "Can you do that Kosuke?"

"No doubt about it." The toad, Kosuke, gave a firm nod. "I'll head out right away!"

Jade watched the frog hop out the office via the window, little more than a blur as he did so. Jiraiya let out a sigh of relief.

"It'll be a while but he's our best bet to get to Minato. When it comes to speed and stamina, Kosuke's the best messenger toad on Mount Myoboku."

She didn't notice the way her nails tore gouges in the desk.

Jiraiya kept his comments to himself.

'Hopefully this all amounts to nothing.' He could hope. No matter how foolish it was.

AN: 1/2 chapters for this week.