Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Lost Soul ❯ To Save A Life... ( Chapter 20 )

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me, but I do claim the Yominokunis, Yakubyougami and the Tekigougan for myself!

 

A Note from Katana Haibane: Well, things seem to be back on track with my writing now that I've gotten another chapter finished. Sorry I took so long (again…) but I discovered I'd written and planned a MAJOR plot hole in the story that just messed everything up so I had to rewrite the entire chapter as well as the plan I'd made for the next five chapters. I got kind of paranoid about it for a bit so that's why it took so long. Go figure something like this would happen…

 

Either way it doesn't look like I'll be able to stick to any self imposed deadlines at all. Life just doesn't seem to allow me to do so. Too much stuff (work…) going on. I'll just try to turn out chapters as fast as possible from now all. That's all I can promise. At least I've nearly finished planning the story. Anyway, read, enjoy and REVIEW!

 

Chapter 20: To Save a Life…

 

A rather strange, off-key tune was being whistled throughout the Hokage tower that was causing most of the occupants to just shake their heads. Because it was such a rare occurrence nobody had the heart to tell the whistler to shut up. That and nobody felt suicidal enough to risk having their head torn clean off their shoulders.

 

With a spring in her step and a tune in her heart - and mouth - Tsunade entered her office actually anticipating working on the mountain of paperwork that perpetually covered her desk. She had finally gotten around to refilling her emergency saké stash, even remembering to increase the size of the bottle holder latched to the bottom of her desk to handle a larger bottle. In her other hand Tsunade twirled the progress report that Shizune had finally reached her this morning - at a reasonable hour too!

 

Just because she could, Tsunade flipped over her own desk only to land in her swivel chair and slid towards the large bay windows. Tsunade set her saké bottle down and flicked open the tie that was on the miniature scroll.

 

Hokage-sama,

 

The many conferences of the past month have finally paid off. The respective head negotiators have agreed to a temporary truce until our diplomatic party has completed its investigation into the start of the Mizu/Kumo conflict. We have been given one month to find an answer beyond the indications of Orochimaru's involvement we have delivered so far.

 

Shizune

 

Tsunade had to work fairly hard to keep herself from doing anything more than smiling as the urge to break out into childish giggling nearly overwhelmed her. Things were finally going her way once again. Naruto was no longer openly moping about Sasuke's death - she had actually feared that he might sink into a depression - and was getting along very well with his new teammate. The Anbu squad that she had been assigned to keep track of communication between Iwa and Orochimaru had noted that communications between the two had slowed to a crawl, possibly giving Konoha enough time to regroup and take Orochimaru down permanently. At least he didn't seem to be making any sudden moves quite yet.

 

Now Shizune, Sakura and Team Ten had finally produced results. Later than Tsunade had hoped admittedly, but at least they were willing to listen to the voice of reason once again. With a brief sigh, Tsunade spun around to face the mountain on her desk. Pulling a new pen from her drawer Tsunade decided to take page out of Naruto's book.

 

“Kage Bunshin Jutsu!” Tsunade cried as seven copies appeared in a cloud of smoke. With a vigor for work rarely seen the Tsunades launched themselves at the pile of paper work.

 

A few seconds later the door burst open as the Anbu guards sensed the use of a fairly large amount of chakra. The sight that met their eyes was one they had never imagined in their wildest dreams. Eight Tsunades were flopped around the Hokage office in various positions all wildly scratching away at paperwork. Doing a double take at the sight of their Hokage actually putting a lot of effort into her work, the Anbu left the office in a daze, purposely leaving the door open a crack. Who would have thought it possible for Tsunade to voluntarily work?

 

First one hour of hard work passed and then another. Outside the door to Tsunade's office a crowd had started to gather to watch the spectacle of their Hokage actually finishing off her paperwork. This was a once in a lifetime occurrence after all.

 

Another hour of diligent work passed and the novelty of having a hard working Hokage once again wore off, the crowd dispersing to their usual positions inside the tower. Then, just as the pile of papers was almost completely cleared from Tsunade's desk, a messenger bird flew in through the open window and started causing a racket.

 

Glancing up at the bird Tsunade frowned as she recognized the brown and black feather pattern of Suna's fastest messenger bird. Anytime that bird was sent somewhere it meant that something major was happening in Suna. Ordering her clones to finish stacking the papers they had finished Tsunade dispelled them and held her hand up for the bird land on. Landing with a shrill trill the bird stuck its right leg out offering the scroll canister to Tsunade. Pulling her second message of the day free Tsunade set the bird down on her desk lamp to read it.

 

Hokage-sama…

 

Tsunade scowl deepened when she realized that it wasn't Gaara who had written her the note, but someone whose writing she had never seen before.

 

Suna is in need of immediate assistance from Konoha. Gaara, our Kazekage had been captured by a pair of Akatsuki members and most of our elite ninja are unable to pursue them as they are stationed to protect Suna from further attacks. Your village currently has the most knowledge on the organization Akatsuki and we need your expertise in the pursuit.

 

Baki - assistant to the Kazekage

 

A growling sound reached Tsunade's ears and it took her a moment before she realized that it was coming from her. She knew how much of a risk it had to be for anyone from Suna to send word that their Kazekage had been capture - besides, he'd grown on her in the year or so he'd been Kazekage.

 

Punching the call button on the intercom built into the wall Tsunade couldn't help but nearly scream into, “I NEED YOU TO GET ME TEAM SEVEN RIGHT THE HELL NOW! Drop whatever you're doing buster and get them in my office in ASAP! Get Hinata too!” Not bothering to wait for a reply Tsunade burnt the letter to a crisp before stomping over to her desk to write her reply to whoever was currently in charge in Suna.

 

Alert confirmed. Assistance is being sent immediately - Tsunade, Hokage.

 

With a practiced twist Tsunade rolled the slip of paper up and slipped it into the bird's leg canister. Picking up the bird Tsunade gave it a quick boost out the window as it began to wing its way back to Suna. Her good mood now completely ruined Tsunade threw herself down in her chair before reaching under her desk. Pulling out her recently enlarged saké stash out Tsunade took a long swig before she recapped it and hid it under her desk. Leaning back in her chair she tried to remain as calm as possible while she waited for her secretary and the Anbu to round up the only team she would consider sending in pursuit of Gaara.

 

Impatience and frustration were familiar feelings for Tsunade but they felt magnified a hundred fold as she waited for Team Seven to arrive. Leaning back in her chair to try and remain focused Tsunade tried to sense the team's chakra signatures as they arrived. She only had to wait ten minutes before the first signature arrived. Mikomi's soothing signature - Tsunade could only assume it was due to the healing chakra flowing through her body - came from the south, the direction that Mikomi's favourite dango shop was. Another five minutes passed before she felt Naruto's hyperactive energy enter the building beside the calmer chakra of Hinata. Then there was only one more to wait for.

 

Despite knowing full well that Kakashi would arrive far later than everyone else on his team she still couldn't help but feel annoyance towards that tardy teacher. Still, Tsunade couldn't help but smirk a little bit despite the situation when Kakashi arrived only fifteen minutes after the rest of his team did. He was apparently started to learn that when she said ASAP, she meant be there or be punched out an open window.

 

Schooling her emotions Tsunade prepared herself to send some of the people she cared about on an incredibly dangerous mission. Still, she knew that there wasn't a better suited team for the task.

 

When Team Seven entered Tsunade's office a few minutes later they were met with a very serious Tsunade. “It's good to see that you're started to understand what I want when I ask for you to report to my office immediately. You were only a quarter of an hour later than your students.”

 

Kakashi just rubbed the back of his head, “Ehehe, well my head still kind of aches at the though of being sent on my mission courtesy of Tsunade-sama airlines. After the tenth straight time I've tried to keep my tardiness to a minimum.”

 

“Good. Now down to business. The four of you are being sent on a very dangerous mission. It's been ranked as class S, but the four of you are the only people I could even think of sending on this mission. Sabakyu no Gaara, the Kazekage of Suna has been captured by the Akatsuki. Suna has sent a request for assistance in dealing with this matter as their forces are severely restricted due to the need to place their remaining elite ninja on guard duty. Now, the task that I set before the three of you is this: head for the Village Hidden in Sand immediately after you've packed the needed supplies. Once there you are to contact the current village representative in Gaara's absence Baki. Once you know the direction that the Akatsuki left the village in you are to pursue them immediately and rescue Gaara.” Tsunade looked the team over to make sure that they absorbed the information.

 

Just before she was about to continue Naruto suddenly burst out, “WHAT? GAARA'S THE KAZEKAGE? SINCE WHEN?”

 

Tsunade glared at Naruto while trying to stifle the sudden urge to burst out laughing while Hinata filled him in, “Gaara has been the Kazekage for just over a year Naruto. I met him as the Kazekage for the first time a while ago when this whole mess with Orochimaru started. Now's not the time though.”

 

“That right Naruto, focus on the task at hand,” Tsunade scolded, “You've got a mission to perform. Now as I was trying to say, your task is to rescue Gaara. He is a well known Jinchuriki, a demon jailor as the Shukaku is sealed in him, and recent intelligence suggests that the Akatsuki are specifically targeting them. I plan to send a back up team after you've left - more than likely lead by Maito Gai as his team is returning tomorrow - so be sure to bring a decent set of radio gear to be able to get in touch with them. You'll need to move fast so I suggest heading out immediately. You're dismissed.”

 

 

As the noon sun shone overhead Team Seven was assembled at Konoha's west gate and were preparing to head out. While Hinata did a quick inventory on the medical supplies that she had packed Naruto was still busy stowing kunai and shuriken in his hip pouch as well as his back pack. Mikomi was in charge of carrying the emergency rations for the trip and was just finishing tightening the straps on her bag when Kakashi appeared with the radio equipment needed for the mission.

 

Kakashi was lazily spinning one of the throat microphones around his finger as he explained their itinerary, “First off, all of you need to put one of these guys on. There is no sense in being any louder then we need to be during this mission. Second, Tsunade commissioned four soldier pills for our team to use so that we can make the trip to Suna without stopping. Any delays could mean the difference between rescuing Gaara and rescuing a corpse. Finally, we are to send word of the direction we are heading in our attempts to intercept the Akatsuki so that we can meet with whatever team Hokage-sama is sending to support us.”

 

Serious nods were exchanged all around as they accepted the throat microphone systems that Kakashi had brought for them. After helping Mikomi figure out how to put them on and properly use the system, Team Seven took off for the Village Hidden in Sand and the Akatsuki.

 

 

`We're making surprisingly good time,' Kakashi thought absent-mindedly as Team Seven continued to speed across the blistering desert, `And I haven't even been able to come up with an excuse to arrive late yet.'

 

Anyone who knew the route to the Village Hidden in Sand from the Village Hidden in Leaves understood how tough it was to make the transition from forest country into the blasting heat and frigid cold of the desert. With temperatures dropping close to freezing during the night and sun baking the area to a scorching fifty degrees Celsius during the day it wasn't hard to understand why. Team Seven just sped out into the desert, ignoring the drastic temperature change from night into day. Even now with the wind causing sand to tear at their skin and clothing they remained single-mindedly focused on their goal: get to Suna and then save Gaara.

 

As the sun rose overhead signaling the middle of the day, so too did the Village Hidden in Sand. It appeared in the horizon over the dunes of sand, a solid wall of rock in an ocean of drifting sand. Their building thirst forgotten, Team Seven weaved through the sand dunes to the end of the first leg of their rescue mission. Putting on a little bit of extra speed the team made it to the Village's eastern gate in a matter of minutes.

 

Looking around at Suna's defensive battlements Kakashi couldn't help but feel a little bit worried. Suna looked as if it was operating on a skeletal operating force with barely enough around to keep up a regular shift change. Suna appeared in worse shape than he thought possible despite the capture of their Kazekage.

 

As they approached the East Gate entrance a squad of Chuunin dropped from above to surround them. Naruto reflexively reached for a kunai only to freeze when he felt Hinata's hand catch his arm. “We came here to help them not fight them,” Hinata whispered in Naruto's ear.

 

“State your business for coming to Suna,” barked the lone man wearing an Anbu mask standing directly in front of the gate. “You,” the Anbu barked at Kakashi, “Jounin, slowly reach for the documentation your Hokage would have given you to entitle a visit to Suna. Any sudden moves and we won't hesitate to kill all of you where you stand.”

 

Amazingly, Naruto was wise enough to keep his mouth shut and let Kakashi do the talking, “We were invited here by a man called Baki. The documentation is in my hip pouch that should grant us entrance to Suna as well as a meeting with Baki-sama.” Slowly reaching into his hip pouch Kakashi pulled out the thin, white scroll that Tsunade had given him.

 

With practiced ease the Anbu slit the seal on the scroll and unrolled it. Quickly glancing over it he nodded once before passing it back to Kakashi, “Good. Alright, come this way - we've been expecting your team. We're to take you to the hospital where Kankuro-sama is staying with Baki-sama and Temari-sama. You'll be fully briefed there.”

 

Turning on his heel, the Suna Anbu jumped on top of the nearest building and headed straight for the hospital with Team Seven following closely behind him.

 

 

“Good to see that you're team arrived so quickly,” A familiar turban wrapped Jounin greeted Team Seven as they were shown into the hospital room where Kankuro was staying, “We need to give chase as soon as possible.” Glancing back at Kankuro who was resting on the bed, Baki nodded at his former pupil's bed, “Kankuro-san was the last person alive who saw the Akatsuki team. He'll be briefing you on what he knows about their abilities.”

 

Gathering around Kankuro's bed, Temari gave an acknowledging nod to both Hinata and Naruto before sitting back in the chair by Kankuro's bed. Out of his cat-like suit for the first time since they had met, Team Seven could see the clear resemblance to Temari with his thick blonde hair and skin tone. Even the definition that the Yondaime Kazekage possessed showed up on Kankuro's body. Kankuro just gave a tired grin before he reached out to shake Naruto's hand, “Heh, it's good to see somebody Gaara thinks so highly of. Naruto, I'm glad to see that you'll be helping rescue my brother.”

 

“Hey, I never abandon my precious people,” Naruto said with a slight smile, “and Gaara is a friend to me. I wouldn't have it any other way.”

 

“What happened to your arm?” Hinata asked as she deactivated her Byakugan after taking a quick look at Kankuro's arm, “It looks like somebody tried hacking it off while failing several times! How did this happen Kankuro-san? Did the Akatsuki do that to you?”

 

Kankuro's face darkened as he frowned at the very recent memory, “Yeah…well, they're responsible for this happening anyway. The guy who captured Gaara gave the other guy these freaky senbon. He stuck me in the hand with one and my skin just started rotting right off my bones.” An involuntary shudder went through Kankuro as he remembered it, “I could feel it falling off my body…”

 

Mikomi wasn't sure what it was about Kankuro's description of the senbon that made her feel uneasy about it - what it did to a person was scary enough - but it just didn't feel right to her at all. “Were you able to get your hands on the senbon afterwards?”

 

“Of course we did,” Baki said, “And using the information that was left behind after our top disease expert was killed by those Akatsuki bastards we were able to determine that both the sickness that has crippled our village and the one that nearly killed Kankuro both come from a similar base source. We don't know why exactly though.”

 

“That's just weird,” Mikomi muttered, “They're two radically different conditions so they shouldn't have the same source.” Shrugging off her unease, Mikomi glanced back towards Baki, “Who was the expert Baki-sama?”

 

“Our Kazekage's chief advisor, Juuboku-sama.”

 

Mikomi stiffened. The man who knew her parents, that was the only link that she had remaining to her life before the Sound captured her, that had gone out of his way to befriend her during the Chuunin Exams…was dead. A her stomach began to clench up as she felt herself drawing back inside of the protective shell that she used to put up in the Village Hidden in Sound.

 

`Shit, shit, shit!' Mikomi screamed at herself in her head, `You don't have time to be thinking about this. You've got a mission to do and a life to save. Don't let yourself stop caring like you did in the Sound. Pull yourself together!' Mikomi gave herself a mental shake down before tilting her head to the side and cracking her neck to try and calm down. It wasn't until she felt Hinata gently put her hand on her shoulder that she was able to focus on the situation at hand once again.

 

“…crazy strong the both of them.” Kankuro was saying when Mikomi tuned in once again, “Although I didn't get to see too much of that Blondie's abilities. I'd imagine that both of them would be a challenge to fight against.” Kankuro glanced down at the stump of his left arm to firm up his resolve before he continued on, “I'll start with what I know about the asshole that kidnapped Gaara. Frankly, I think he was the leader of the pair. I believe I caught him introducing himself as something like Yakabyou, or Yakubyougami or something. Anyway, he's damn fast, putting that Lee kid to shame except for when he did that gates thing. He wields a long, black blade that's almost as tall as he is, though it's at most a handbreadth wide. Now, he uses wind based Jutsus, but I'm not entirely certain what he uses as a medium for them as he was obscured by Gaara's cyclone of sand. However, I though that I saw his sword retracting into a blade as the storm cleared, so he might have some way of creating a fan out of that sword. He also was able to summon a pair of black wings on his back, letting him take off like some sort of hell-bent angel or something. That, and he's the guy who had those senbon that destroyed my forearm.”

 

Kakashi nodded, making sure to remember everything that Kankuro was telling him. Looking around at everyone else, so were they. “Alright Kankuro-san, and the blonde? What do you know about him?”

 

“Besides the fact that I couldn't tell whether he was a guy or a girl he didn't seem like the kind of guy to fight up close,” Kankuro said with a wry look on his face, “He's the one who hit me with the senbon. Anyway, I attacked him with my triple puppet combination that I'd been using regularly only to have him blow Karasu and Kuroari away with what looked like a couple of exploding birds. Beyond that I don't know how he fights, just that he made no move to get in close. That's the most I can accurately tell you about that pair.”

 

“That's all we can ask for,” Baki assured his former pupil, “The fact that you stayed alive to tell us at all is enough. Now, you need to point Konoha's team in the right direction. Where were the Akatsuki pair heading?”

 

Closing his eyes for a moment Kankuro tried to recall the direction that the Akatsuki were traveling, “Towards…the River Country I believe. They were heading out from the eastern gate and they weren't heading towards Fire Country so that's the only place that I can think of they'd be heading towards. There's no way to track them in this sand except by scent, so you're going to need a dog and a piece of Gaara's clothing to ensure you're heading in the right direction.”

 

“I can handle that,” Kakashi said while he quickly scratched a note to Tsunade explaining the direction they were going to be headed, “And it seems that we have gotten lucky. River Country is roughly the same distance away from Suna and Konoha. We should be able to meet the second team being sent and proceed with the mission without any delays.”

 

A loud smack echoed through the room. Naruto was standing there with his fist pounded into his palm, “Then let's get to it! I'm not leaving Gaara with those Akatsuki bastards any longer than I have to!”

 

 

“…buzzzzbuzzzzbuzz buzzbuzzzz buzzbuzz…” crackled through Team Seven's headsets during their fourth hour of following Pakun through River Country. Kakashi easily recognized the pattern to the crackling sound and knew exactly what was going on.

 

“What the heck?” Naruto blurted out from behind Kakashi, “Why is there somebody horribly misspelling `guy' in Morse code over the headsets?” The sound of somebody crashing through the thin tree branches and Naruto shouting in pain quickly followed his comments.

 

Mikomi just slapped her hand over her face at her attempt to shut Naruto up before keying her throat microphone, “You idiot Naruto! I've never used one of these mikes before but even I know enough that any conversation should be done over their local channel amongst ourselves. So shut-up, Kakashi-sensei should know!”

 

Pouting, Naruto rejoined the group as Kakashi explained what was going on over his headset, “That clicking sound is the one that Maito Gai has been using with his teams for years. Since his name is so close to `guy' when people hear the clicking they generally just get confused unless they are listening for it. The initial staging area where we are to meet Gai's team is just up ahead so I'll signal my response.”

 

Ignoring the new buzzing message that Kakashi was sending over his Mikomi was trying to calm down as best she could. This was the first mission that she had agreed to participate in since leaving the Sound that they knew was going to be dangerous from the moment they had set out. There was defiantly going to violence and risk to her life - something she had experienced countless times already - but now it felt different somehow. She was willingly putting her life on the line for somebody she had never met before. Something just felt so different…so wrong to her. Then Mikomi felt her gut clench.

 

Sasuke wasn't with her to protect her this time.

 

`Why?' Mikomi thought as she kept pace with everybody else, `why do I keep returning to Sasuke as some kind of security blanket when I'm on a mission even if he doesn't help me at all? He's dead and never gonna be around to help me again so…I should just deal with this! Ahh, who am I kidding, I relied on his presence to keep me going in the Sound more than I've relied on anything else in my life. He kept me going, kept me anchored and balanced…to an extent. And here I thought that I could take on anyone and anything when it came to missions now…'

 

Absently taking note of Maito Gai's overly enthusiastic response through the radio system, Mikomi looked around at the new team she had joined. Even if she could rationally understand that Sasuke was never coming back she couldn't help but compare her new team to the young man that had saved not only her mind, but her body as well; honing her into the fighting machine that she had become. Kakashi, with his Sharingan and great wealth of experience replaced Sasuke's own Sharingan and brilliance. Naruto's immense power, chakra and unpredictability replaced Sasuke's strength, deviousness and his keen eye for on the fly battle tactics. Then Hinata…she was something entirely new. Hinata was something, somebody that Mikomi would have never encountered in the Sound, if Sasuke hadn't freed her before losing his life.

 

Hinata was someone special to Mikomi, changing her life in ways that differed from the ways Sasuke had changed her life. No, not just someone special, in Hinata's own way she was Mikomi's connection to the past life she had lived before being captured by Orochimaru. Her mother's caring smile and gentle touch, her father's passion for healing and a helping hand. Both teacher and friend, Hinata was Mikomi's true link to Konoha. She had gotten her settled in the village, had given her a home and so much more.

 

The sudden twin green blurs snapped Mikomi out of her musing and had her ready for battle and already sealing for a jutsu before she realized what - and who - the two green blurs were.

 

“Kakashi!” Gai exclaimed in a subdued, but still overly loud voice, “At last out two teams meet to join forces in the noble task of saving the life of the Kazekage! My pupils are ready to assist you in any way that they can.”

 

“Alright then,” Kakashi said absently as he consulted with Pakun on which direction to travel, “Then perhaps you can start by shutting up and following me. At least your students seem to understand that we have to stay quiet on this mission. We are potentially walking into a den of nine S-class missing nins.”

 

“Eight, actually,” Neji drawled as he gave a nod in Hinata and Mikomi's direction, “One of the members is said to come from no village at all so he isn't classed as a missing Nin. He remains in the bingo book as an honorary S-class target despite the lack of information known about him. You're a Jounin Kakashi; you should know this sort of thing.”

 

Kakashi nodded to Pakun who took off on the scent trail once again and signaled for everyone to follow quietly before he responded, “After what we heard of the unknown nin's abilities in Suna I can assure you that he has had ninja training of some kind so I'll treat him as such. We've acquired a sketch of his abilities as well as a name, likely an alias. I'll fill you in on what we know about the abilities of the two Akatsuki who attack Suna as we move.”

 

 

The leader of the Akatsuki growled as remained in his place on the right thumb of the statue that was slowly pulling the One-Tailed demon Shukaku out from the Kazekage of Suna. For the last hour he had been sensing eight chakra signatures slowly closing in on their location in the cave and assumed that they were the rescue party being sent in response to the kidnapping.

 

Kisame put into words how the Leader felt when he finally sensed the chakra signatures approaching the cave, “Grrr, dammit Yaku, you and Deidara really fucked this up, you know? We've got eight chakra signatures approaching the cave already? I thought you said that you had crippled the entire fucking Sand village with one of your freaky virus creations. You didn't even bring alone any mediums that we could use to delay those fuckers from getting into the cave! What's the deal?”

 

Yakubyougami frowned, “I'm…not sure. I can't sense any signatures at all yet, but I know that Suna barely has enough ninja left to keep a skeletal guard on the walls and nobody strong enough to be able to crack the barrier we've erected on the cave. Hell, I don't even know anybody healthy enough to track through the sand from Suna…” Yakubyougami paled slightly when he realized the major miscalculation he had made in his plan, “oh shit! I didn't properly take into account the possibility of Konoha responding to a plea for help.”

 

“That could cost us this chance to take Shukaku,” Itachi calmly pointed out, “as I'm sensing the chakra of the Nine-tails Jinchuriki approaching the cave. This is no amateur search and rescue squad that has come after us.”

 

“If those assholes make it through the cave's barrier you're the ones who are gonna fix this fuck up” Kisame growled, “All of us have our own missions to carry out.”

 

“Just concentrate on the task at hand,” the Leader said, his annoyance under control once again, “The seal is a very strong one so we'll just have to hope it holds until we're finished with this Jinchuriki. Yakubyougami, Deidara, fuck this up and you'll have to make up for it big time. Don't forget you've got the capture of Houkou, the Five-tails to deal with as well.”

 

“IF they make it through the cave's seal, with or without the ritual being completed I'll deal with them,” Yakubyougami said after pausing to think for a moment, “Deidara, I want you to create that massive bird of yours and take flight with Ga - the Shukaku host. I'll take out anybody who rushes into the cave afterwards and pick off anybody on your tail. Be ready for the worst.”

 

 

“Byakugan!” was the twin cries from Neji and Hinata a little over an hour later when the scent trail arrived in front of a massive boulder covered cave at the foot of a dried up waterfall. The foliage that surrounded the area was such a tangled mess of vines and brambles that the cave was completely hidden from every direction except the from dried river bed leading up to it. Mikomi was starting to believe that had they arrived in Suna any later than they had, the scent trail might have been completely burned away in the blistering sun and sand. They never would have been able to find the cave or even Gaara's body.

 

“Wha…” Neji trailed off as he tried with all his might to peer inside the covered cave to get a glimpse at what might be inside. Confusion and astonishment were written plain as day across his normally stoic features, “This may be more of a problem than we anticipated.”

 

“Neji-san is right,” Hinata said, trying to push even more chakra into her eyes, “The entire cave is hidden from my eyes except for a brilliant glow that seems to be coming from somebody lying on the ground. I…I think its Gaara-san! The chakra is streaming from his body!” Hinata frowned as she shifted her focus from Gaara to the rock itself, “But this rock…I don't get it. There's chakra covering it which would suggest a seal of some kind but I don't understand why I can't see anybody but Gaara-san inside the cave.”

 

“I believe that the Akatsuki designed this seal on the rock-face in anticipation of any situation,” Neji supplied as he studied the seal for himself, “The chakra seems to pull back inside the cave and surround it from its focal point in the center of the boulder. However, there seems to be four lines of chakra streaming away from the seal's focal point each separated roughly ninety degrees from each other, almost in the four compass directions.”

 

Kakashi moved closer to the boulder and reached out a hand to touch it as he extended his senses trying to get a grip on the nature of the chakra surrounding the boulder. However just before he placed his hand on the boulder's surface he pulled away and pulled back his Hitae-ate to reveal his Sharingan.

 

“About time,” Mikomi muttered under her breath, “I may not know much about seals but even I know that the Sharingan should be able to see through the seal to figure out how to remove it.”

 

“Hmm, I should have expected something like this from the Akatsuki,” Kakashi said as he studied the seal on the boulder over the cave entrance. With a pulse of chakra he dispelled the Genjutsu that was in place over the seal's focal point to reveal a piece of paper stuck to the cave with an intricate seal design placed on it. “It's a four-point compass seal that they've placed over the cave to prevent anybody from entering. It seems that they've under laid another seal beneath this one to prevent anyone from detecting the Akatsuki members inside.”

 

For once, Gai was all business, “Seems we'll have to work quite a bit harder than usual Kakashi. We've had to deal with this seal before and it's no picnic. All four points to the seal need to be released simultaneously or else the chakra surge won't be contained and used to dispel the barrier. Rather, it will backlash upon the person trying to pull up the seal.” Gai sighed slightly as looked back at the cave, “My team will handle the seal. Naruto-san deserves the chance to save his friend.”

 

Nodding to himself Gai suddenly spun and blinded everybody with his `Nice Guy' pose, “LETS DO THIS! Neji, now that you know what to look for I need you to guide us to where the four seals are located. They shouldn't be too far away from here, less than half a mile. I'll give the signal to remove the seals to allow Kakashi's team access to the cave. THE FIRE OF OUR YOUTH WILL ALLOW US TO SUCCEED AND OUR PASSION WILL LEAD US TO VICORY! WE SHALL RETURN!”

 

“You should be the one to go after Gaara-san Naruto.”

 

“Eh? Well…that was what I was planning on doing Mikomi…but thanks letting me go after him. I didn't want things getting screwed up when I tried to get him away from those bastards. Are you sure you don't mind staying behind to cover me? These are any kind of normal opponents.”

 

Mikomi just cracked her knuckles. “No problem. Hey, don't forget that I don't exactly have a history of doing safe or easy missions. There were probably more times than I'd like to count that I should have died with…,” Mikomi couldn't help but exhale sharply as she tried again to overcome her internal taboo of saying his name, “with Sasuke…but my chakra defence was able to save my life. Heh, don't forget that I can heal pretty quickly too Naruto. You no longer have that monopoly.”

 

“Enough,” Kakashi quietly said before lowering himself into a fighting stance, “There's no doubt that the Akatsuki have already sensed our presence and are probably ready for us. There will be a fight.”

 

“Soon,” Hinata said as she watched Gai's team approaching several faintly glowing areas in the woods, “Neji-nii-san's team is nearing the seals in the woods and…hold on a second!” Hinata shifted her attention to the interior of the sealed cave and realized what caused her to pause for a moment, “Kakashi-sensei, whatever was pulling the chakra out of Gaara-san's body has stopped! Maybe they have some kind of trigger to alert them when somebody approaches the seals!”

 

“Gai,” Kakashi calmly said into his throat mike after switching to Gai's channel, “your team needs to be ready for anything. Whatever's going on in the cave stopped the second your team neared the seals so we'll need you getting back here ASAP. Switch over to the universal channel and count down the simultaneous release on it. Deal with whatever happens and get your team back here.”

 

“Okay,” Gai's voice crackled over the radio, “counting down now: three…two…one…”

 

 

Inside the cave Yakubyougami could finally sense the approaching Konoha ninjas and had convinced their leader to stop the ritual early and hid away the statue. He wasn't about to let another miscalculation on his part lead to an early exposure of such an important resource that the Akatsuki used.

 

Glancing around the inside of the cave Yakubyougami felt a pang of annoyance; there wasn't enough room to properly use his sword in here - unless he wanted to stand in the open entrance - and he'd volunteered to remain behind and clean up any pursuit.

 

First things first: Deidara had to get clear of the cave.

 

“Alright Deidara, get on that bird of yours and get ready to fly out of this cave as fast as you possibly can. Losing Shukaku at this stage of the operation would be an inconvenience as it will be much harder to recapture him.”

 

“Alright, I'll just take to the skies, yeah,” Deidara said, grinning into the gloom, “They won't even be able to touch me…yeah. Besides we'll only have to deal with four of `em. The other four'll be tied up by the trap embedded in the seal itself.”

 

Then, with a crackle of energy resounding throughout the cave, the seals that had been put in place to keep people from entering, collapsed.

 

 

“RELEASE IT!”

 

“Open it now Mikomi!”

 

With those twin cries resounding almost simultaneously Mikomi leapt forwards and threw the strongest haymaker that she could throw. A sharp crack rent the air for a moment as multiple fractures spread throughout the boulder from the initial shock of the punch before Mikomi's chakra struck. The shockwave caused by the boulder blowing out of the cave mouth blew the surrounding smaller stone away from the entrance in a hail of rock and earth, giving way to the gaping black maw of the Akatsuki cave.

 

Before Mikomi could even finish landing after she rebounded away from the cave a brown and black figure burst from the darkness and shot directly down the dried-up river bed. On top was a smirking blonde figure in a black cloak with red clouds. And something dressed up in maroon Suna-style clothing was on its back.

 

“THAT BASTARD'S GOT GAARA!” Naruto cried as he took off at top speed trying to keep up with the flying Deidara.

 

“Aw shit, wait Naruto!” Kakashi shouted after the orange and black clad ninja as he joined the pursuit. “Shit!” Kakashi swore as he shouted back over his shoulder, “One more member should be with this pair in the cave! Hold him off until help arrives!”

 

In tandem, Mikomi and Hinata with her Byakugan activated rushed headlong into the cave. Dropping back a half step, Mikomi followed Hinata as she zeroed in on the lone Akatsuki member that remained inside the cave.

 

“You can't hide from my eyes Yakubyougami!” Hinata cried as she spun a Rasengan up in her right hand before plunging it into the stalagmite that she had spotted the cloaked figure hiding behind. What Hinata hadn't counted on became clear to Mikomi when she saw the Rasengan's energy tear through the stalagmite and knock the cloaked figure a good distance across the cave floor before he slid back onto his feet. Mikomi continued her headlong sprint through the stalagmite shrapnel even as it caught in her hair and bounced off of her chakra toughened skin to try and catch Yakubyougami off balance with another punch.

 

Mikomi could hardly see what hit her.

 

Just a split second before her fist would have connected with Yakubyougami's body seemed to blur in front of Mikomi's eyes before she felt his fist connect with her stomach. The sudden change in direction caused even Mikomi's chakra defence to fail her, leaving her feeling winded as Hinata snagged her arm to prevent her from crashing into the stalagmites that littered the cave floor.

 

“Careful Mikomi,” Hinata said in Mikomi's ear, “he used his chakra to drastically speed up the reaction time and movement of his body for a split second. He's in the Akatsuki for a reason.”

 

While Mikomi was catching her breath Yakubyougami was taking the opportunity to recover from the surprise of getting blasted through the column that he had been hiding behind. `What the hell was that? And her eyes…where have I seen those before?' Yakubyougami couldn't help thinking as he peered through the gloom at the shorter girl beside the lanky powerhouse, `That packs more of a punch than most of the techniques I know of, at least in raw power. Damn, I can't see them clearly in these shadows. Who the hell are these kids? And the other one's punch…it just tore right through the damn entrance boulder.'

 

“I normally avoid having to kill children,” Yakubyougami growled as rolled his shoulders to loosen up once again, “but I won't hesitate to take you down if you still wish to interfere with Akatsuki's business.”

 

“Don't call me a child!” Mikomi shouted back at Yakubyougami in a sudden rage, “I haven't been a child for a long, fucking time you bastard. We came here to save Gaara-san and rip your head off if we could get our hands on it.” Mikomi started sealing as fast as she could, her anger lending fiery energy to her chakra, “Take this: KATON: GRAND FIREBALL JUTSU!”

 

Yakubyougami smirked as he began to Hyper Step out of the way of the fireball. When he used this technique everything looked like it was moving in slow motion allowing him to easily evade the attack. “Too slow!” Yakubyougami cried as he rebounded off of the cave's roof and dove at Hinata and Mikomi. Yakubyougami pulled the final two tubes that he had filled with senbon coated in his flesh-eating virus and crushed the cases in his hands. Rearing back he hurled his deadly payload down on the pair even before Mikomi stood back up from her fireball.

 

Hinata saw everything unfold thanks to her Byakugan. She remained calm and poised, waiting for Yakubyougami to make the first move before she reacted. She even could pick out every single senbon that was thrown after Yakubyougami tried to leap around them. With spinning jump Hinata let chakra pour from every tenketsu in her body, “Kuutei HakkeshÅ Kaiten!” The airborne spinning defence easily caught and deflected the tiny senbon, preventing them from striking either of them. However, Hinata didn't realize that her chakra had also completely destroyed the virus coating the senbon.

 

“Tch,” Yakubyougami snarled as his hands flashed through seals just as Hinata's spin was stopping, “Futon: Great Breakthrough Jutsu!” The solid ball of air blasted Hinata out of the air and into a nearby stalagmite, cracking it, before hitting Mikomi with a glancing blow.

 

Landing lightly, Yakubyougami stepped in and threw an uppercut at the hunched over Mikomi. Yakubyougami couldn't help but grunt as it felt like he was trying to punch through a boulder himself as he connected with her chin.

 

When Mikomi felt the air blast clip her body, she knew that in terms of speed she was completely outmatched by Yakubyougami. That didn't mean that he was unbeatable though, she just had to find the right moment to attack. When the black-clad feet landed in front of her Mikomi saw her chance. Anticipating the uppercut that followed had Mikomi shifting slightly to cause the punch to glance off of her chin. Rolling back, Mikomi threw a left hook of her own at Yakubyougami's head.

 

Yet again Mikomi saw the figure in front of her blur out of the way before she felt an iron grip pull her left arm upwards, throwing her off balance. Mikomi felt another shot land on her stomach before she saw the black form of a sword aimed at her chest. Mikomi's right hand shot out reflexively to catch the blade, feeling it bite deeply into her hand before her left was released, throwing her into a stalagmite opposite Hinata.

 

Yakubyougami shifted away from Mikomi at the last second as he felt a kunai zip past his cheek. Realizing his mistake at pincering himself between two ninjas, Yakubyougami ran to the left to keep both girls in front of his sight and sheathing his sword once again.

 

Hinata leaping out from behind a stalagmite in front of him wasn't expected. Nor was the searing pain of a tenketsu in his arm being sealed off as he blocked the kick. But Yakubyougami did finally realize where he had seen those eyes before.

 

“Shit, a Hyuuga!” Yakubyougami muttered as he threw Hinata back and away with his blocking arm. The green glow of healing chakra appeared in his other hand as he quickly unsealed the tenketsu while Hinata hopped up onto a stalagmite. Yakubyougami felt the chakra pulse and whipped his head towards Mikomi.

 

“DOTON: HELL PIT JUTSU!”

 

Time slowed to a crawl for Yakubyougami as he used his Hyper Step technique as the earth surged towards him. Grabbing the sword from his back he swung it straight at the spikes of earth. With a quick spin Yakubyougami had reduced the earthen spikes to dust.

 

“I've held back enough!”

 

Yakubyougami once again sheathed his blade before he blurred inside of Hinata's guard while she swung a Rasengan where he had once been standing. He caught her by the throat before hurling her to the ground and landing a vicious kick to the side of her chest and heard a sharp crack before she was flung off into the shadows. Turning on the lanky figure of Mikomi he charged in once again, interrupting the seals she was making. He had to put both of these ninja out of the picture if he wanted to catch up to Deidara.

 

The punches began to rain in far faster than Mikomi could keep track of and only her chakra defence allowed her to remain standing on her feet. At first it was all she could do to keep her arms protecting as much of her head and sides as possible. Blow after blow struck Mikomi all over her body and it was only a matter of time before Mikomi's guard broke down. Mikomi felt the punch strike her left eye before she even realized she was staring at a fist. The chakra surged into her eyes, trying to protect and heal them as she stumbled backwards before taking another air blast that lifted her clear off her feet.

 

When the back of her head slammed into a stalagmite and broke clean through it with her entire body Mikomi felt herself becoming dazed. Feeling detached from the situation Mikomi could feel the chakra still flowing through her eyes as her eyes wandered in the direction of Mikomi and Yakubyougami. Everything seemed so different than usual…almost as if the world was slowing down.

 

Mikomi tried to shake her head to clear it once again but only succeeded in clearing her vision. `Huh, Hinata's gonna block the next two punches eh?' Mikomi thought for a moment before becoming rather confused when it actually happened, `Wha…t is going on? Their movements…am I seeing shades of what they're going to do before it happens? This doesn't make any sense…' But Mikomi couldn't deny it after she saw the faint outline of a chakra sphere appear around Hinata before it happened. It was really happening. It felt as if she was staring into the future and glimpsing what was going to happen before it actually occurred. `Hey…' Mikomi thoughts wandered while the haze over her mind was clearing up, `this kinda reminds me of what Sasuke-kun described his Sharingan to be like…but why the hell do I have it? Do I have it?'

 

Feeling her heart skip a beat Mikomi thought back to the words a man named Juuboku once spoke to her, ``DNA and RNA are the building blocks of life. They make up the different parts of every living human being along with every other aspect of life on the planet. If you understand them well enough you could theoretically create any kind of living thing you could imagine.'' Another memory suddenly surfaced right after that one. She was staring across a clearing at Itachi feeling angrier than she had ever felt. And she could see out of the corner of her eye the blood from the dead or dying Sasuke streaming up from his body and sealing the wound on her shoulder. `I've got a piece of Sasuke-kun inside of me…his DNA…I…I have…I HAVE HIS SHARINGAN!'

 

That thought tore the haze away from her mind in time to watch Hinata go down at last. Letting the chakra flow through her eyes Mikomi relished the feeling as she at last sensed the three whirling tomoe of a mature Sharingan spinning in her eyes. Then she started sealing.

 

“HEY FUCKER!” Mikomi screamed as she felt her chakra surrounding her hands with a pocket of condensed air, “GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HINATA! FUTON: BLADE STORM JUTSU!”

 

 

Naruto's eyes were completely focused on Deidara's bird as he dashed headlong through the expanding riverbed. One of his precious people was in trouble and he would be damned if he was ever going to fail them again!

 

“YOU AKATSUKI BASTARD! LET GO OF GAARA OR I'LL COME UP THERE AND KICK YOUR A-” A pair of explosions on either side of the riverbed cut Naruto off and he froze in mid jump when he saw the log he had jumped for collapsing and the earth crumbling for his head. Snapping out of his shock just as quickly, Naruto was barely able to snag a root protruding from the earthen wall and rebound up and through the thinnest section of the collapsing earth. As Naruto's ears stopped ringing he could swear that he heard somebody calling his name.

 

“Naruto wait! Don't get reckless! WAIT!” Kakashi's desperate voice finally registered in Naruto's head, causing Naruto to instinctively fall back in step with his long time Sensei.

 

“What Kakashi-sensei? I nearly had him!”

 

Pulling back his Hitae-ate Kakashi gave Naruto a sidelong glare, “That guy is Akatsuki! He's not somebody that you can take on alone. You're going to need my help to beat him.”

 

“Oh yeah? What do you have to help Gaara that I don't?”

 

“Besides experience?” Kakashi asked dryly before he focused even more chakra into his left eye, “I have this...”Kakashi turned his eyes towards Naruto and nearly caused him to miss his next landing, “Mangekyou Sharingan.”

 

Naruto nodded before glaring ahead at Deidara who still hadn't tried very hard to pull away from his pursuers, “Okay Kakashi-sensei, so what's the plan? How's the Mangekyou going to get that bastard out of the freakin' air?”

 

“Now's not the time Naruto. Let's just say that it can.” Kakashi began to focus more and more chakra into his left eye and he focused on Deidara's back. His vision seemed to almost telescopically focus on Deidara's back, allowing him to pick out even the fraying edges of his cloak. Kakashi could feel the dimensional rift attack that he had discovered charging up in his eye and he prepared to punch a hole through Deidara's back with it.

 

Just as Kakashi was about to blow Deidara in half Gai's obscenely loud voice caused Kakashi's eyes to reflexively drift away from his target, “KAKASHI! I'VE COME TO HELP TAKE DOWN THIS YOUTH STEALING MENACE!”

 

To everyone who saw the attack take place it seemed as if the air around Deidara's right arm rapidly compressed in the shape of a cutting blade before it blew his arm clear off. Kakashi cursed under his breath as the chakra drain that attack caused finally affected him after missing his intended target. “Gai! Get your ass back to that cave and help out Mikomi and Hinata! Everybody else should be enough to take on blondie here! GET MOVING!” Gai didn't hesitate; he just peeled away from the group and sprinted for the cave they had unsealed.

 

“Aw shit!” Deidara swore as he quickly slapped the wad of clay he had been preparing in his left hand onto his shoulder to stop the bleeding. Just as quickly, Deidara jerked his left hand down to try to catch and steady Gaara's still body. Lunging forward Deidara was able to lock his hand around Gaara's ankle before he fell from the clay bird. That was when things went from bad to worse for Deidara: sand started to curl around his wrist.

 

“Let me go…” snarled the semi conscious Gaara as he battled to keep his eyes focused on the man in front of him, “or I'll rip your other arm off!”

 

“Tch,” Deidara sneered before throwing Gaara out and away from his bird. “I really don't need this shit...yeah” Deidara muttered before he leapt off his bird towards the top edge of the dried riverbed. With a flick of his remaining hand Deidara spun it back towards the Konoha ninja behind him. Not bothering to glance back, he took off into the woods, looking to circle back and retrieve the ring that had been left behind when his arm had been blown off.

 

Gaara felt a soothing sensation of weightlessness as he fell through the air from where he had been thrown from Deidara's bird. It felt peaceful, not even Shukaku seemed to be bothering him. The cries and the explosion he heard were nothing more than background music to the orchestra of the wind whipping past his ears.

 

Then he was jarred back into reality by a pair of arms stopping his downward descent.

 

“I've got you Gaara,” Naruto said as he landed with his new burden, “And I'm pretty sure that half of Suna is gonna be close behind me.”

 

 

This time Mikomi was sure she could track every move that Yakubyougami made. Mikomi was able to see the shade of where Yakubyougami was going to appear next before the wind blades struck him and sure enough he appeared there. Sending one last volley of wind blades at Yakubyougami, Mikomi charged where the Sharingan showed he would be moving towards next. She had to make this shot count as she might not get another one.

 

Having already gauged Mikomi's speed Yakubyougami honestly never saw Mikomi coming. One second he's dodging out of the way of the wind blades that were forming in Mikomi's hands and the next he felt her fist connect solidly with his ribcage. The only thing that saved his life was the fact that he was fast enough to roll with the punch and escape with only four broken ribs.

 

`Oh hell that hurts' Yakubyougami thought as he immediately brought his right hand to the left side of his chest to stitch together his broken ribs, `That punch feels like something that the Hokage or her apprentice might throw.' Flipping back onto his feet after his impromptu tour of the cave, Yakubyougami was once again met with a charging Mikomi. Yakubyougami had no choice but to put some distance between the two of them until he felt his ribs fully heal.

 

Mikomi was finally starting to get annoyed with their little chase through the cave when turn and started sealing. Mikomi just went with the information that the Sharingan was giving her and started sealing right along with Yakubyougami.

 

Their twin cries resounded throughout the cavern.

 

“FUTON: AIR BULLET JUTSU!”

 

Twin streams of miniature air pellets shot from their mouths only to collide against each other, canceling each other out. The jutsu dance had begun and Mikomi suddenly found her chakra control perfectly mimicking the level that Yakubyougami was using.

 

“FUTON: GREAT BREAKTHROUGH JUTSU!”

“FUTON: AIR FIST JUTSU!”

“FUTON: AERIAL SPEAR!”

 

After the fourth attack Yakubyougami attempted and the fourth time that Mikomi had perfectly mirrored it he stopped attempting more jutsus. Their fighting styles were just too similar and he couldn't tell if he or she was starting the jutsu's and the other picking up on the seals. So his speed came into play once again. No matter how much faster his opponent had become Yakubyougami knew that they couldn't match his speed. Not even Itachi and his Sharingan could easily keep up and he had far more knowledge and experience.

 

Mikomi couldn't help but curse as Yakubyougami moved in to fight hand to hand. Valiantly, the purple-haired Yominokuni tried to stave off the Akatsuki's onslaught, but even with the Sharingan's assistance she couldn't find an opening to go on the offensive. She couldn't even react fast enough when she saw his hand coming in to grab her throat. Mikomi once again went airborne as she was thrown towards the cave entrance followed shortly by a still injured Hinata. Twisting slightly, Mikomi was able to catch Hinata before she hit the ground.

 

Panting hard, Mikomi looked up to see Yakubyougami unsheathing his sword from his back and bringing it around in front of him. It took Mikomi only one quick look around to discover why he had finally unsheathed his blade: the cave entrance was the only area in the entire cave that had enough room to swing the massive blade around. Fear suddenly resurfaced in her as Mikomi suddenly realized she wasn't seeing the images that the Sharingan afforded her while it was activated.

 

Yakubyougami's red eyes seemed to glow in the caves shadows as he approached Mikomi, “It's over girl…for you or that Hyuuga you're protecting.” Shifting his sword to his right hand, Yakubyougami let it drift behind him as he started to charge the two young ninja who had given him more trouble than he had bargained for.

 

“DYNAMIC ENTRY!”

 

At the ridiculously loud cry Yakubyougami looked up only to have his face connect with the flying drop kick of Konoha's Beautiful Green Beast. Yakubyougami felt his breath leave his body and his senses jumble up after he slammed into a stalagmite yet again. Looking up he glared at the spandex clad man.

 

“Screw you all,” Yakubyougami snarled as he hauled himself back to his feet and pulled both sides of his sword's blade guard down.

 

“YOU SHALL NOT HARM ANOTHER HAIR ON THESE GIRL'S HEADS! I'LL SHOW YOU TRUE PASSION YOU HEARTLESS MONGREL!” Gai shouted as he pulled a pair of nunchaku out from the back of his vest before he set himself in a guard position.

 

Yakubyougami just snapped his blade open into a fan of blades, “Just die. FUTON: CUTTING WHIRLWIND!”

 

Gai's eyes widened as what looked like a solid wall of dust shot towards him. He couldn't do any more than protect himself as he was picked up by the wind and forcefully hurled from the cave.

 

Mikomi had barely been able to dig her hand into a crack in the cave floor before the wind blast had hit her. She could feel her arms straining as she tried to hold onto Hinata and the crack in the floor, hoping that she had the strength to hold on.

 

Then the cave floor broke.

 

A cry of shock was swept away with the wind as Mikomi felt her self blown out of the cave with Hinata still clutched in her arms. Shooting out of the cave, Mikomi felt her back strike the ground hard as she rolled with the impact. Coming to a rest Mikomi set Hinata onto the ground before she turned and faced the cave and the emerging figure of Yakubyougami.

 

Before Mikomi could even blink Yakubyougami was in front of her, swing the sword around in a vicious cross slash that even her chakra defence wouldn't be able to guard against. Centimeters before the sword struck home Mikomi locked her eyes onto the face of Yakubyougami.

 

And everything stood still.

 

Yakubyougami felt his chest seize up in horror as he looked down at the trickle of blood that was running down his sword. Mikomi's eyes just kept growing wider and wider as she stared into the sharp features before her. Slowly, their eyes moved towards one another.

 

Red eyes stared into red eyes.

 

And Mikomi gasped out, “T…tou-san?”