Recommended story: 'Closer' by Lynns
Chapter Thirty-Three
Moving at ninja speed the group of shinobi excelled in getting away from the castle. There were no patrols or anything that would prevent them from leaving and with it being a succubus country, most escape attempts would have been aerial so any attempt to barricade them would not have been expecting them to leave on foot.
"This is fucking awesome!" Tayuya cheered, running for the first time since the Sasuke retrieval mission. Her body was healed enough to allow her to move freely, and whatever changes to her body were occurring were apparently making her faster than she was before. She was easily ahead of the rest and trying to find her limits.
"Slow down Tayuya!" Kushina called out, trying to keep up. She was carrying Isaribi on her back since the girl was a much better swimmer than runner, so that was slowing her down a little. Naruto was carrying Moegi on his back too since she was the slowest overall, and Ino was being carried by Ayane since she was the slowest kunoichi and potentially still recovering from her injury. Sure Ino felt great, but she didn't have the training Hinata had or the succubus traits Sakura did.
"I've been on my ass for too long sis! I'm seeing what this new body can do!"
"Still not as fast as me!" Sakura taunted, flying close by to the former Oto kunoichi.
"Fucking cheater." Tayuya grumbled, trying to go faster than the girl with wings.
"Guys stop!" Kushina called out in a warning tone, though it sounded more commanding than anything. "Don't get too far ahead of me!"
"Then you better pick up the pace!" Tayuya teased.
Kushina sighed then looked to the others. "You heard her, pick up the pace."
"Thank you for being so understanding." Zara said to some delegates. She allowed them to leave the room then she herself left, only to be confronted by both Sasa and Ursha. "Well, you'll be happy to know the vampires won't be warring with us in the future. They accept that one of their own was out of line biting an unsuspecting girl like that and Kushina was... within her rights to make her anger known."
"You don't look happy." Ursha noted, seeing her mother look like merely saying Kushina's name left a sour taste in her mouth.
Zara struggled for a moment, as if unsure how to explain. "Vampires value strength, to them strength should be respected even if it's used against them. I don't think they really liked what Kushina did, but they admire her for being able to do it. They even went so far as to recount stories they heard of her in the recent battles."
"So why do you sound like you wish they had been offended? I thought a Grudge was what you wanted to avoid." Sasa asked.
Zara frowned. "Kushina's bad attitude and shameful behavior should not be rewarded! It should be punished! She's been nothing but a barbarian since she got her! Going out into battle of all things!"
"That's simply how she's been raised." Sasa pointed out. "You were raised to be royalty, she was raised to be a warrior. You can't blame her for being the only thing she knows how to be."
"I can when she makes our family look bad." Zara hissed.
Sasa looked annoyed. "Are you really that concerned about our family image Zara? Because I find it hard to believe you're doing all this just because Kushina gave some vampires a black eye."
"This goes beyond starting a potential Grudge. Kushina is trying to monopolize the incubus."
Ursha looked disgusted. "The way you said that Mom, makes it sound like she's reproducing with her own son."
Zara sighed. "No, not that. She had the nerve to say the incubus has no responsibility to Ai no Kuni or our species. That it's perfectly okay for him to ignore his duty to us in order to pursue some childish dream."
"And you think it isn't?" Ursha asked, not liking what her mother was saying. "Mom, if Naruto has his own dream, doesn't he have the right to-?"
"Not if it dooms us to extinction!" Zara objected. "Don't you get it? Kushina is taking the incubus back to Midgard with no intention of bringing him back! She's dooming us all if we don't get him back!"
Ursha slightly tilted her head. 'She keeps calling Naruto 'the incubus', almost like that's all he is to her.'
"Zara, Naruto is Kushina's son. While you may be the queen, she is his mother and he is not a citizen of our land. He is under no obligation to obey you in any way shape or form." Sasa pointed out.
"I don't care! I will not let him walk away from us!"
"And what are you going to do about it? Declare a Grudge after worrying about starting another one? By the time we'd be ready to fight the boy would already have several mates and children of his own." Sasa reminded her daughter.
Ursha nodded. "Yeah and by then we might already have an incubus born here anyway."
Zara looked like she wanted to stomp the floor she was standing on. "What do you want me to do? Let Kushina get away with disobeying me?"
Sasa stepped closer to her daughter with a firm expression. "Now see here daughter, don't think that just because you're the queen that I can't still put you over my knee and paddle your butt! Because I will if you keep whining like a child over this!"
Zara looked shocked and offended. "I am not!"
"Yes you are! To you Naruto is just a toy that Kushina has and you want. You told your sister to share and she said no, and now you're throwing a tantrum about it. Well guess what? Kushina doesn't have to share Naruto if she doesn't want to, and if you want to declare a Grudge against Kushina until you get your way, let me remind you of one thing. Kushina has no reason to fight back on your terms."
Zara fumed, but she had to admit her mother had a point there. Kushina's tactics when the Lust Grudge had gotten physical were indeed very unusual and were what gave Ai no Kuni the upperhand in the war, allowing it to end before the succubi met the same fate as the incubi. Being on the receiving end of Kushina's approach to warfare would do Zara and her country no good.
"There is still time to stop her before she can escape via Yggdrasil. But should she succeed, perhaps we should follow her example and focus more on the battle than the build-up." Zara mused.
"With what army? Most of our soldiers have nothing but respect for Kushina for what she did in recent years." Sasa challenged.
Zara did not answer, but she did smile.
The group of ninja were still only human, most of them anyway, and had to stop for a break. They did so in a forest on the side of a small mountain, giving them some cover and shade.
"Okay, we've got enough of a start that it will take them time to get to us. The problem is they know where we're going." Kushina stated for everyone's benefit.
"So let's go somewhere else." Isaribi suggested.
Tsunade shook her head. "That won't work, we still need to get to that tree if we want to get home. Unless there's another way?" She turned to Kushina, who also shook her head.
"'Fraid not, the Yggdrassil is the only way in or out of a realm. We have to get there sooner or later, and if we go somewhere else that's only giving Zara time to barricade the place. Sooner is better, once we get out of here they won't follow. At least not right away. And that will give us time to barricade instead."
"And then what? Go back to Konoha and hope everyone who wants me dead has changed their minds?" Naruto asked, a hint of bitterness in his voice.
"I'm sure the problem has been dealt with by now Naruto-kun." Sakura assured.
He rolled his eyes. "This problem has been around since I was born. Pardon me if I don't think it's going to go away overnight."
"We won't head back right away, we'll contact Jiraiya and learn how Konoha has been handled since we've been gone. Considering the difference in time between this world and our own, I'm not sure how long it's been for them, so we'll scout ahead first to see if it's been enough time." Tsunade said.
That helped Naruto feel a bit better.
"What if it's not?" Sakura asked, carefully putting her hand on her stomach. "It's bad enough that Naruto-kun could be in danger, but I'm not even looking at Konoha if my baby's in danger there too."
"We'll be cautious. Though let's not announce any little Uzumakis until things calm down." Tsunade advised.
"What if it can't be avoided?" Hinata asked. "Kushina-kaasan said succubi pregnancies are a fraction of the time human pregnancies are. What if Sakura starts showing before the threats are resolved?"
"Then we be worse threats." Kushina stated firmly.
In one of the castles in another country of Alfheim, a strange bird showed up at one of the messenger posts before the sun finished setting. One of the cleaners at the castle had noticed it and alerted one of the nobles of its arrival.
Said noble looked like an elfin man with skin the color of pencil lead and hair the color of mud. Upon seeing it, he was confused as well, since this particular species of bird was incredibly fast in flight thus making it used for primarily priority messages, especially in times of war. He took the note attached to its leg and the bird flew off before he could read it. Clearly a reply was not necessary.
Kushina Uzumaki is heading for the Yggdrasil
These words made the man scowl. Kushina Uzumaki had been a notorious thorn in their side for the past six years, so while he had no idea where this letter came from the chance to get some payback was too good to pass up.
Kushina's group did some more traveling but came to a stop at some point for some more rest. According to Kushina they should reach the Yggdrasil the next morning. Along the way Tsunade and Shizune had noticed they weren't taking the same route back that they had used to get to the castle in the first place and asked why. Kushina had said the first route had been more public so Naruto and the others could get more comfortable in the new realm, while the second route was more obscure to give them better cover and more resources should they need to gather any. Considering how hungry they had gotten earlier, that had been for the best.
Tsunade was currently taking a guard shift, and using the opportunity to check out her new body. This new body made her feel... weird to say the least. She had yet to test it out beyond her normal kunoichi training, which so far only resulted in her adjusting to her new balance. Though she had to admit she hadn't felt this good training in years; being half her age again really did wonders for her.
Looking up at the sky she thought about testing out her wings, but decided against it. It would be more advantageous to practice flying when she could see better, and when she didn't have to focus on protecting one area.
"Excuse me." She heard from behind her, prompting her to turn around. There was Ino, standing nervously and shaking a bit, most likely from the chill in the air. "Could I maybe talk to you for a few moments?"
"Well, I am still technically hokage and it is my duty to help young ninja when they ask for it." Tsunade replied, encouraging her to come closer. "Shouldn't you be asleep though?"
"I can't get my mind to go silent long enough to do that." Ino admitted, stepping up and looking behind for a moment as if worried about eavesdroppers.
"And what's troubling you? That thing with the vampire?" Tsunade asked, trying to sound helpful but having no idea what to say. Vampire attacks weren't exactly the thing Konoha taught people to deal with, and they lived in a world where people could use their own bones as weapons or turns others into puppets with their shadows.
Ino nodded. "Yeah, that really caught me off guard. There he was, some cute boy talking to me, and next thing I know it's like I can't control my body. My mind was screaming, but there was nothing I could do to stop him. He could have killed me, or raped me, or I dunno what, he could have done anything."
Tsunade tenderly put an arm around the platinum blonde, who leaned into the embrace. "Unfortunately that is a fear many kunoichi experience in their lifetime. I nearly claim close to it myself when I was about your age. Fortunately Jiraiya and even Orochimaru were there to help me."
"There's more to it than that." Ino continued. "Is this how the people I use my jutsu on feel? Do I make them feel helpless and screaming? Am I no different than that monster?"
"You're nothing like him."
"How?" Ino quickly asked, looking up at the older blonde woman. "How am I different? He was a vampire, he was doing what comes naturally to him. I'm a Yamanaka and a ninja of Konoha, I do what I've been taught to do. At the end of the day, are we really that different from each other?"
The slug sannin did not reply. She was trying to think of a good argument, but she could see where the teenage girl was coming from in this claim and honestly couldn't completely refute it.
Ino looked down, as if in shame. "How can I ever do that again, knowing what it feels like for the other person? How can I ever fight again if I'm afraid of the only skill I have? How can I be a kunoichi if I can be tricked and scared so easily?"
"Well you could just quit." Tsunade suggested. "That is an option, and you wouldn't be the first kunoichi to do so because a mission got too dark for them to want to repeat in the future."
"But then what would I do? I don't know anything else, except working in a flower shop." Ino asked, sounding like that option didn't appeal to her either.
"It would be safer." Tsunade pointed out.
"But it would be so... boring."
Tsunade shrugged. "Show me an exciting life without danger, and I'll show you someone who's never lived and doesn't know it."
"What do you mean?" Ino asked, getting confused.
"This wasn't the first time you risked death Ino, this was the first time you felt powerless. That's what scares you, not what he could have done, but the fact that you couldn't stop him from doing it. You now have two choices, you can either get strong enough so it won't happen again, or take up a lifestyle where you in will never have to deal with the problem ever again. You just need to ask yourself what's worth it, the thrill of ninja work or the comfort of civilian work."
Before anything else could be said, an arrow embedded itself in one of the trees beside them. Both women looked to it in shock, and immediately Tsunade's combat instincts came into play. "Go wake up the others." She ordered, pushing Ino away. The platinum blonde nodded and went back to camp while Tsunade went out to try and find their ambusher.
Another arrow was fired, this one tearing through the membrane of Tsunade's left wing. She winced in a lot of pain and clutched it close, to her it felt almost like taking a knife to the breast. Painful and in a spot where pain felt that much more sensitive. More arrows came, hitting her wings and a few digging into her flesh, but none of them were hitting her vitals. Now Tsunade chose to back away along with Ino where the trees gave more cover.
Ino had already started waking the others by shouting and shoving them, a little more aggressive than needed but she felt the situation called for it. Kushina, Tayuya, and Shizune were the first to respond, while Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura started to follow. Isaribi and Moegi were the last, since they were still not used to a shinobi's ability to wake up swiftly in times of crisis.
"Something's attacking us." Tsunade explained on the young girl's behalf when enough were awake to ask question. "I can't see who but they've got arrows."
"Oh crap, I think I know who it is." Kushina said.
"Who?" Everyone asked.
Kushina looked around the area, as if anticipating an attack already. "When I got to this world years ago, the succubi were at war. I think we're under attack by the people they were fighting."
"Who's that?" Shizune asked.
"Dark elves."
"What are those?" Sakura asked.
A few arrows came through, hitting no one except the trees.
"You're unfortunately about to find out." Kushina warned.