Kitsune no Tsuki – Arc 1: Ch 07-09

Hino Rei, genin of Konohagakure, student of Mitarashi Anko, this is who most of the shinobi society recognized her as. She was in fact also a princess of the Martian royal line, a member of the Moon Princess’s inner court, which in turn noted her position as sailor senshi of Mars; however even without all of that, she was still something more. A priestess of the sacred flame, and this was no honorary position amongst the Martian religious sect; no, she was a gifted priestess in her own right. What did this mean in terms of her current position? Nothing outwardly, inwardly though, she could sense auras and intent. Now this had almost been a handicap for her when they had first arrived in the village hidden in the leaves, as shinobi threw around killer intent like it was a friendly hug. Yet this killer intent rarely went as deep as the shinobi’s aura, especially within the village. So, it was completely understandable, when you took these things into consideration, that she was incredibly cranky the morning of the Chunnin Final Exams. After all, the sheer amount of aura’s shaded with intent to do violence and cause harm was way out of proportion with what the Martian priestess had thought to expect.

It seemed she had been reading the auras of various leaf shinobi correctly the past few days. Something that had not been originally planned for was now expected. Tensions were high, and even the most seasoned shinobi were hiding nervous tension in their auras. Something that, had she not had her particular skill for sensing, she never would have suspected, and would not have known to prepare for. She did though, and so after she had yelled at Usagi for oversleeping, which lead to yelling at Naruto for also oversleeping, and then at Minako for taking too long in the bathroom, she made a point of passing on the information that something was going to happen before the day was over, something big.

The five other genin had looked at one another, a chord of seriousness struck, and then forgotten as Usagi stole a piece of toast off her plate and more normal morning banter continued. The group had planned to all head to the arena together, with plans to pick up Sakura and Hinata along the way. Once there, the group would end up splitting up, of course, as Naruto and Minako were the only ones competing, Usagi and Ami had been requested to join the on-duty medic teams, and the rest of them would be finding seats in the stands. Rei also hoped to find their sensei before the matches started so she could pass her warnings on to her as well.

When Rei had first explained what it was, she sensed on a daily basis, Anko had been skeptic. Rei had then rattled off several things about her sensei that she had been able to pick up from her aura alone, things that were not obvious parts of her character. Anko had pinned her to a tree with another kunai at her throat after that, but the point had been made for both of them. Anko took her seriously when she told her about something she had detected, and Rei did not go about revealing secrets she had no right knowing. This last part had not really bothered Rei as it was, in fact, something of a moral quandary among the Martian priestess’ to begin with.

In the meantime, though “Whiskers! Mina-chan! Usa-chan! HURRY UP!! You are going to be late!”

.:o:.

Anko sometimes wondered if she should have refused the request to become a jounin sensei. She liked her genin squad, but they seemed to have a particular knack for uncovering complications. The most recent of these complications was a warning, or premonition if you wish, from her raven-haired spit fire, Red. She had learned to give the girl’s intuition some serious consideration and to not ignore what she had to say. So, when Rei had approached her outside the stadium before they went into find seats, she had suspected she wouldn’t like what she was about to hear.

“Enemy nin in the village,” was what her student had said. Anko had frowned at that, after all this was the day of the finals and there was all sorts of foreign traffic, which included shinobi. Her student had anticipated her skepticism though as she had elaborated.

“There are hundreds of auras shadowed with plans of violence, and killer intent. They are not all in the village but are nearby.”

Anko had cursed and then shooed her genin off to join her friends as she then considered her next course of action. Her student had confirmed one of the possible scenarios they had thought her old sensei may be planning, an invasion. Unfortunately, this confirmation came nearly too late to do any real good, but not completely. They had made several contingency plans after all.

Anko snagged a nearby chunnin she recognized, doing a quick genjutsu check in the process. “I need you to deliver a message to the academy immediately.”

The chunnin frowned, “But the matches…”

Anko held a kunai to his neck, “Are more important than a superior’s order?”

The chunnin shook his head quickly.

“Good, find Umino Iruka and give him this message,” Anko stated and then leaned forward to whisper in his ear, “Snakes are in the guarded nest.”

The chunnin nodded and then took off. Anko smirked, and then went off to find one of the ANBU hidden amongst the crowd. It was too late to notify the Hokage personally, but she would get word to as much of the rest of the staff as needed. Iruka would see to it the civilian population evacuation plan went into effect when all hell began to break loose.

.:o:.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was not surprised by many things. He was, after all, old for a shinobi, something that was an indicator of his experience and skill. This included expecting the unexpected, or at least not being so surprised when unexpected things happened. For example, the fact that the Kazekage who sat to his left was in fact an imposter didn’t surprise him. Though he did have to admit to the fact that he found the move for his former student to impersonate the Yondaime Kazekage rather bold and perhaps even foolhardy, however, his former student had always been prone to a bit of overconfidence and arrogance. Much like the young Hyuuga boy, who was even now being assisted out of the arena after a very thorough defeat by the hands of one Uzumaki Naruto.

The match off between the Hyuuga prodigy and Konohagakure’s number one most surprising shinobi had been impressive. Both of the young teens had demonstrated extraordinary skill and talent. He had believed that his favorite blonde genin had lost when Neji completed his divination technique. That is when he had been surprised, despite his own experience with the blonde boy. Naruto had in fact re-opened his tenketsu, now this in itself wasn’t as unexpected as it could have been. It was the fact that Sarutobi was sure he had drawn on the Kyuubi’s charka, but it had not felt demonic… it had been pure, warm, calming… everything that he remembered the fox’s chakra was not. It was at that moment he gained a new respect for the orphaned twins and the powers they seemed to share. For he was certain that their unique ancestry and the ritual he had allowed to take place was responsible for this unexpected turn of events.

“That was, most unusual.” The charlatan to his left spoke.

The Third inwardly grimaced, but made no visible reaction, “Ah yes, Uzumaki-san seems to have a knack for the unexpected.”

Before anything more could be said a jounin stepped up next to the Hokage and crouched at his side, “Hokage-sama, Uchiha-san has not arrived yet for his match. Genma-san would like your confirmation to disqualify him.” He spoke softly.

“Uchiha-san is late? A pity, I was greatly looking forward to his match against my son Gaara.” The imposter then spoke.

It was almost enough to make Sarutobi want to grind his teeth. However, he did not want to tip the scales on whatever his former student’s scheme was just yet.

“Well, I suppose we can delay the match to the end of the first round. If Uchiha Sasuke has still not arrived by that time he will have to be disqualified.” Sarutobi answered.

He could literally feel the smirk coming from the false Kazekage at his words.

“Very well Hokage-sama.” The jounin replied before vanishing.

The fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure, the hidden village of the country of wind, was in fact dead. This however was not a widely known fact, as it had been a very private affair with no amount of ceremony afterwards, not even a cremation. The man currently wearing the robes of the Kazekage however was currently seething. From the moment he had taken his seat next to the Sandaime Hokage, things had not gone quite according to his plan. He had not been able to keep all four of his guard as close as he would have liked, each Kage only being allowed two guides within their seating area. Then there was the fact that he had the nagging suspicion that the old Monkey Sarutobi suspected who he really was. And now, Sasuke-kun was late. He blamed that damn Hatake brat.

It was fortunate that the old monkey had agreed to the subtle request to postpone the match, he really wanted to see how Sasuke-kun dealt with the unstable Gaara. He frowned inwardly for a moment, though this could cause further complications if any of the Suna or Oto shinobi that were awaiting his signal blew it before then. He inwardly grimaced as he heard the announcement that Kankuro, one of the late Kazekage’s children forfeited his match without even entering the arena. What was the point in that? Did he think his skills so important to the invasion that he didn’t want to risk the match now that the timetable had been adjusted?

“A pity Kazekage-san, I was looking forward to seeing more of your son’s puppet skills. Skilled users in such arts are so rare after all.” The old monkey said in his oh so courteous tone.

Orochimaru seethed but refused to give the old man any sort of satisfaction in his subtle jibe. “Ah. I am sure he had his reasons.” He answered.

“Of course.” The third responded.

No further commentary was made however as the participants for the next match entered the arena and Orochimaru relaxed a fraction as the Kazekage’s brat daughter entered the arena, he had half feared she would follow her fool of a brother’s lead and forfeit her own match as well. Apparently, she had more brains than her brother after all. He let his mind wander back to Sasuke at this point as he wondered not for the first time just what it was, they had managed to do with the curse seal he had blessed the boy with. He had known the instant that the seal’s influence had been completely blocked before the preliminary matches had even ended. He had seen the seal that the scarecrow Hatake had used and had known that it would not be enough to really interfere. What had the third kept hidden up his sleeve that could deal with his curse seal?

He had seen Sasuke himself at the end of the preliminary matches when the boy had returned with one of the genin med-nin. When had that program started anyways? Kabuto’s information network had some very large holes in it. He’d have to remember to question his own silver haired worm about that later. Such lapses were not acceptable. Sasuke had seemed worn out but there had been no sense of his seal. He had even very subtly reached out to it and seen Anko flinch ever so slightly, but the Uchiha hadn’t even twitched. Now to add insult to injury, the Uchiha was late, and He was beginning to wonder if he would show at all or if his watchdogs would keep him away and guarded. No matter, the Uchiha was not his main concern today after all. No, that honor was reserved for the old monkey.

His attention was brought back to the current match as the Nara boy managed to snag the wind brat in his shadow jutsu. Keh, it figured she would fail here. Gaara was really the only one of any potential out of the entire Sand lot. Well, that was that, and the Uchiha still has not arrived. He supposed he would just have to wait and see if the Uzumaki boy would give Gaara any sort of a real fight or not. Then he saw a brief flurry of leaves in the arena leaving behind two figures and smirked, seems he would get to see the Uchiha face off with Gaara after all.

.:o:.

Gaara’s eyes stared forward with intensity as he arrived on the arena floor. Uchiha or Uzumaki, he didn’t care which, but he wanted blood to paint the arena red. Everything in him screamed for it. He had felt this extreme urge to make everything red ever since that night on the roof. The numerous wildlife and random sound shinobi he had come across in the last few days had done nothing to sate this desire. He felt a twinge of glee as the Uchiha appeared before him. Oh yes, this one would do nicely, then he sensed it… it was there barely… this one had been touched by HER! Oh, he would pay for that.

No sooner had this thought passed through the red headed boys mind than the match began.

Up in the stands violet eyes watched the fight below with avid intensity. Rei’s hands clenched in fists as the first blows were exchanged. This was bad. This was very bad. She had been on edge for at least the last 24 hours with all the dark intention laced auras she had been feeling, so many that there was no hope in blocking them out or ignoring them. But now this was a whole different level. She had sensed Sabaku no Gaara’s aura after his session with Usagi, he had been stable, centered, at peace. Whatever had happened in the last few days had completely undone any good Usagi had managed. The boy was now practically unhinged as anger and hatred completely clouded his aura. “Watch yourself Ducky!” She hissed out after another exchange. She only hoped the raven-haired member of Team Kakashi could sense himself that something was very wrong.

“What is it Rei?” Makoto asked from her right. Rei didn’t take her eyes off the fight below and wished that their group wasn’t so split up. Ami and Usagi were both in the medic wings, their sensei had not reappeared after she had passed her warning earlier. Minako was in the competitor’s box which only left some of the other rookie genin team members seated near them in the stands. Though she absently noted that both Kakashi and Maito Gai were not far from them either, had Kakashi or Gai received news from Anko though? She had no way of knowing.

“Rei?” Makoto asked again.

“The sand boy has become unstable. If anything, he is currently worse than he was before.” Rei answered leaving the before what unspoken knowing Makoto would know what she meant. She sensed the brunette tense beside her. At least the two of them would not be taken by surprise at this point. She hoped Hinata and Sakura would be similarly prepared as they had been present when she gave her message to Anko-sensei.

Both girls flinched as the fight escalated, Sasuke barely breaking away from the sand sphere that he had struck only moments before.

“That arm had demonic chakra!” Rei hissed. No sooner had she spoken than she found herself blinking as white feathers slowly drifted through her field of vision. Genjutsu! Her mind quickly supplied and in moments she had broken free of the sleepy effect and then locked eyes with Makoto who had similarly broken free. A clash of metal caught their attention, and both ducked as a brace of kunai whizzed just over their heads. Additional clangs met their ears as the kunai were deflected before they could intercept with any living targets behind them.

Kakashi and Gai suddenly appeared and various sound and sand shinobi were taken out before harm could befall the other genin.

Rei stiffened as Orochimaru’s name was spoken, and idly wondered just how much worse this would get. Then Kakashi began giving orders. “Sasuke has gone after Gaara and the others. Sakura, wake Naruto and Shikamaru then go after Sasuke and the Sand-genin. This is an A-rank mission. Rei, Makoto, get your teammate and begin assisting the civilians to shelter. Recruit any other able genin you find to help as well.” As he finished those orders, he then summoned a small dog. “Sakura, Pakkun here will go with you.”

Rei and Makoto glanced at each other and then both reached out through the bond that bound them together as senshi and gave a sharp tug on the energy they identified as Minako. The blonde appeared a few moments later. “Shino has gone after Naruto, Shikamaru and Sakura. The Med squads are already in the field waking shinobi caught in the genjutsu and healing as needed. Ami and Usagi are with them.”

Kakashi blinked slightly surprised and then raised a fist to punch a sound shinobi who had been coming at him from behind. “Good. You three aide in civilian evacuation, wake the rest of the rookie genin to assist. Keep your movements minimal and avoid drawing attention to yourselves. There are sounds of battle outside of the stadium in several directions. Now go!”

Minako immediately took charge. “Rei, Makoto start rousing the other genin. I’m going to build us a cover net.” Both girls nodded in response and made their way to the other rookie genin who were nearby.

Kakashi spared a glance at the seating area he and Gai had just vacated and felt a bit of surprise pass through him. He took a second glance with his Sharingan and felt himself impressed. It looked like everyone in that area was still lying around unconscious, no movements at all. Gai landed at his back and chuckled. “They are an impressive lot, aren’t they?”

Kakashi took out another sound nin who had tried to rush him. “Ah.” He answered Gai and then focused on the task at hand. He was certain the rookies would carry out their mission well if not safely.

Beneath Minako’s illusion however, things were anything but still. Nine genin all sat in a crouched huddle as Minako explained the situation and their orders. “Now our biggest challenge is how to evacuate the civilians without drawing enemy nin attention. Leading them through the standard exits is going to leave us very vulnerable but as of right now it seems like the best option. I did learn from the medic teams that there are security bunkers below the stadium so that will be the end goal. Any further insight?” The blonde then asked.

There was a slight metal grating sound and then an additional, though familiar voice chimed in. “How about we use the service tunnels for evacuation. It will be a snug fit for some of the larger adults, but it will draw the least amount of attention. Especially with you keeping an illusion net preventing the invading shinobi from seeing where they are going.”

“Usagi!” Several of the genin exclaimed as they spotted the blonde-haired girls head poking out of an opening that before had been covered by a grate.

“Shhh! The Blonde hissed. “You guys are helping with the civilian evacuation then, right? Then let’s start getting them moving. We have several others already helping guide people down to the bunkers from within the service passages.”

The remaining genin quickly set to work. Those who had the ability to free others from the genjutsu did so, taking care to caution each person to remain silent as they guided them towards the service panel and the waiting tunnels. In surprisingly short order they finished the section they had been sitting in and moved into the service tunnel to move to the next. As with before Minako built a genjutsu illusion of her own over the area they were evacuating. Usagi was soon hard at work giving field first aide to any who had taken injury in the fighting.

When they did find disabled enemy nin, those that were still alive, they secured and bound to await a visit to Konoha’s holding facilities. This continued through two full sections of the stadium before the genin evacuation squad had an enemy stumble across their activities.

“Oh, ho, ho, what is this? A bunch of brats trying to play hero?” A Sound nin asked in amusement.

“Jii-san! Are you injured? Do you need medical attention?!” Usagi quickly exclaimed as she rushed up to the sound-nin’s side and then took his arm to escort him to a seat. “You should sit down. Any open wounds?”

The sound-nin could only stare as the small blonde-haired girl guided him to seat and began performing a diagnostic as she asked questions without even giving him time to answer. He blinked once then slumped unconscious.

“Tenten put him with the others.” Usagi directed as she dusted off her hands and frowned. They would have to be more careful. “Chouji-san, Makoto-chan, you two take guard detail. Keep an eye out for anymore that may drift our way unexpectedly. Hinata-chan, Rei-chan please continue your efforts to rouse the civilians. Ino-san, Kiba-san, Akamaru-kun, help those that need it into the service tunnels. Minako-chan, keep your focus on your illusion. We can’t afford to take extra risks.” She then moved to quickly poke her head in the opening of the service tunnels they were currently using. “Ami-chan, Lee-san, any troubles?”

There was a murmur of voices from within the tunnel that those who were outside couldn’t quite catch but they assumed was a negative response as the blonde med-nin nodded and then went back to work herself. The rest of the genin stared at her. Minako, Makoto, and Rei then smiled and got to work, nudging the others out of their shock as well. Apparently, none of the other genin had expected the petite blonde Uzumaki to be so well, practical.

.:o:.

Iruka sighed to himself as he once again tried to regain order in his classroom. He suspected the day would be a lost cause, however. The entire class was hyper off the excitement that surrounded the Chunnin finals being hosted in their own village. Some students were even absent as their parents had excused them for the day as they were going to watch the exams. Those that had not been excused… well he was having to deal with the fall out. He was greatly considering giving up on his lesson plan and just giving them a free study day, not that most of them would actually study.

It was then he noticed a chunnin just outside the classroom door signaling he had a message to deliver. Iruka excused himself from the class and stepped out.

“Umino-san I have a message for you from Mitarashi.” The chunnin stated once the classroom door was closed behind the academy teacher.

Iruka arched an eyebrow in slight surprise, he did not know Mitarashi Anko well, but had run into her more often as of late with her position of jounin sensei. He was not expecting any sort of message from her, however. “Ah, thank you,” he said to his fellow chunnin, “What is the message?” He then asked his curiosity piqued.

The chunnin glanced around slightly and then said very quietly “Snakes are in the guarded nest.”

Iruka froze, and his gaze caught and held the other chunnin’s, “You are certain that was the exact message?” he asked a bit of steel creeping into his tone. The chunnin seemed surprised by his reaction but nodded.

“Absolutely.”

“Did she give you any other messages to deliver or pass on?” Iruka then asked.

“No sir.” He responded seeming to react to Iruka’s own change in demeanor. Iruka took a deep breath.

“Very well. I request your services here in the academy then. Please visit each of the other academy teachers and give them this message. “May nesting stones guard the future of fire.”

The chunnin sighed and turned to go deliver yet another message. Iruka watched him go for a moment and wondered what the sigh had been about, as it was apparent the chunnin had no idea of the meaning behind the messages he was passing. Ah well, he turned back toward his classroom. Now for the real trick, to convince his class the surprise evacuation drill really was just a drill when it in fact was not. He spared a few seconds to glance off in the direction of the finals stadium and hoped Naruto was safe.

.:o:.

Konshu wished, for not the first time since Naruto had become a genin, that his position as his guardian was not an s-class secret that may never be able to be revealed. He signaled for two of the Auxiliary Corps lieutenants to head out as sounds of battle began to spread across the city. He wished more than anything to be able to be at the blonde boy’s side as his sister and Artemis stayed with their own charges. The fact that neither was likely with Usagi or Minako at the moment didn’t reassure him either. He motioned for the reimaging lieutenants to follow him as they moved into the next district. From there he would then dispatch them to gather up the various Auxiliary Corps members and begin carrying out their rolls in evacuating all the civilians to secured locations while the full-time shinobi corps faced the invading force directly.

A squad of genin sound shinobi landed before them grinning with confidence. “Looks like we found a group of shinobi wanabees. I imagine they will make lovely screams.” The leader of the group purred and licked her lips, a hand resting on her cocked hip.

Konshu frowned. They looked like academy fresh genin. He casually placed two fingers on an ink marking on the inside of his right wrist. In moments a long sword rested in his right hand, and he brought it into a guard position. “I’m sorry sweetie did you lose your nanny? Perhaps we can guide you home?” Konshu offered and smirked as the sound group’s faces all twisted in immediate rage.

There was a brief scuffle and Konshu sighed resting the flat of his blade on his right shoulder as he looked down at the now unconscious sound genin. He hadn’t even had to draw blood. He turned back to the lieutenants who had stood out of his way behind him. “Hitsu bind them and tuck them into the holding alcove in the next alley then head to point Shinkou Gamma. The rest of you let’s keep moving.” Konshu ordered as he focused on the task at hand, doing what he could do to safeguard the village for his charge’s future.

.:o:.

Usagi frowned as she finished up healing a few minor wounds on the last of the civilians in the service corridors before they moved on down to the security bunkers. Something was pulling at her senses, and she couldn’t quite put a name to the feeling. She helped the civilian to his feet and gave him a smile as she motioned for him to follow the others down the corridor. She turned her own gaze the other direction though and bit her lower lip as she considered the situation. Another chord of energy resonated within, and she began moving. This was serious and she could not ignore it. She heard one of the others call after her but ignored them. There was not time to explain.

Shinigami… Saturn, how could someone be drawing on such power here? There is no way Hotaru… no this is not the power of Saturn, but it is definitely linked somehow. I have to hurry I can’t shake the feeling that something horrible is happening. Her mind raced as she dashed through the service halls barely noticing as a violet hued barrier vanished just as she would have run into it. She turned into another service tunnel and then dashed for the service hatch and quickly began undoing the latches that held it closed ignoring the tree roots that had pierced the metal to either side of the hatch.

She peeked out carefully but disregarded caution quickly as she spotted the figure lying motionless on the ground only a short distance away. “Sandaime-sama!” she exclaimed and dashed forward deftly slipping past the grasping hands of an ANBU standing nearby as she collapsed next to the crumpled form of the village’s Hokage. She immediately began a diagnostic to determine the worst of the damage and priority of injuries to be healed.

“Why didn’t you stop her!”

“She’s a med-nin! A very good one, if young from what I’ve heard.”

“But— “

“Hokage-sama needs medical attention now; we can’t wait for anyone else.”

Usagi ignored them. Her attention focused entirely on the very injured man before her. He was in bad shape. His right lung had been punctured clean through by a blade wound starting from his back. This had also sliced into a kidney. There was internal bleeding in various places, and she also found tell-tale signs of heart failure. A very nasty poison had also entered his blood and other organs from every point of the blade wound. She set to work first inducing a stasis like state over his body to prevent anything from getting worse. Then she began dealing with the worst of the damage, but he wasn’t breathing. She reached deeper and what she found scarred her. There was no soul for her to touch, no spirit to help her fight this battle from within.

She fought back a wave of panic. No soul meant no life. Even if the body was healed completely, it would be nothing but an empty shell. Even those in coma still had a soul she could sense even faintly. This is what she sensed earlier, something drawing souls to the Shinigami. She gently rolled the thirds body onto his back and pulled out a brush from her hip back, pricking her finger on the small needle that was on the brushes edge. She then began drawing, ink flowing from the end of the brush despite the absence of an external ink source. She heard another brief discussion behind her as those watching considered what she was doing but she had no time for their concerns or to explain her actions. As a final step she added just a touch of hidden power and activated the seal array with a flood of chakra.

The sealing array glowed blue then silver as the scrolling lines and marks came to life and flowed across not only the skin of the Sandaime Hokage but of the blonde med-genin at his side. The ANBU fidgeted but knew there was nothing more to be done but wait now. Another rushed up only to be stopped by the surrounding ANBU.

“Don’t interrupt her, she’s gone into a trance while trying to heal Sandaime-sama.” The ANBU advised as the others formed a loose circle around their fallen leader.

Usagi opened her eyes to see darkness surrounding her and the unmoving form of the third Hokage. She stood tall with her hands clasped loosely in front of her as she let her gaze travel up to the face of the shinigami standing before her. A glowing silvery blue seal array slowly spun around her feet with her positioned in the center. Also laying on the array was a nearly translucent body of the third Hokage. “Shinigami-sama, I must ask you to return a soul to the living.” She stated politely but with regal tone of command laced through her words.

The Shinigami did not answer at first as he considered the figure now standing before him. “What shall keep me from taking your own soul in payment for this audience child, let alone give you one of the souls in my keeping?”

“You have no command over me at this time Shinigami-sama and if you tried, I would have no choice but to enforce my own will upon you. Take heed of whom you speak with Shinigami-sama. I do not want a feud between us.”

The Shinigami nearly disregarded this slip of a girl but then paused as his own senses seemed to ripple into awareness of her. Her soul was incomparable… such strength and power, but most of all a purity that was unheard of outside of the … at that moment the Shinigami stopped taking this child at face value as he realized just what she was. Not just of the Lunarian race… but royal blood. He wondered for just a moment why she limited herself to this aspect but then reconsidered it as he recalled recent stirrings. He approached her and noted with approval that she did not flinch in the slightest.

“Will you allow me to examine your heart on the matter of this request?” The Shinigami asked knowing she would understand his request. The girl smiled.

“Of course, Shinigami-sama, I would not have expected otherwise.”

The Shinigami bowed slightly to her; she had been trained well. With that he brushed the edges of her spirit and absorbed the knowledge she offered and what brought her before him with such a request. It took only moments, and the Shinigami knew if it had truly been in his power, he would have granted her request. The girl herself did not know the soul known as Hiruzen Sarutobi that well personally, but she felt a close bond with him regardless as if the man was her own grandfather. No, even more than that she knew in her very soul that this man was a grandfather figure for the entire village. A man well loved, respected, and cherished. Despite all the darkness that faced the shinobi, a darkness the Shinigami was well familiar with from this world, the individual known as Sarutobi had kept a kind heart. Much of these feeling he recognized did not come just from the girl, no Lady before him, but from a strong bond to another of the blood who had grown up sheltered by this man despite all hardship. The Shinigami withdrew from his inspection. The soul she asked for meant much to the living children of Selene, but it would not be.

“Forgive me Lady, but I cannot honor this request. Even if I did return the soul of Sarutobi Hiruzen into his bodies keeping, it would not remain there. His body is too worn to contain a soul with such fire in it any longer. The bonds between soul and body were damaged beyond repair of even your power in his recent battle. Not once, but three times the bond was cut as he fought to defend the will of fire he cherished so. I would grant your request if it was within my ability to do so Lady.”

Her eyes shimmered with tears, but she nodded and bowed her head for several moments before raising it to address him again. It was at that moment that the Shinigami sensed a resonance within the souls of his keeping. He spoke before she could once more, “However, there is another soul in my keeping that I may be able to return to the realm of living. I cannot identify this soul for you, and I will have to investigate further before any action, but if I can, I will aide you, Lady.”

The girl smiled warmly, “Thank you for your consideration, Shinigami-sama. Until next we meet.”

And with that the glowing seals faded and Usagi opened her eyes slowly once more tears dripping down her face. She reached forward and closed the eyes of the third gently. “Rest well Sarutobi-sama, thank you.”

She felt a hand rest on her shoulder and turned to find Rin-sensei at her side. “Well done, Usagi-chan. No one could have healed this, but you tried your best.”

Usagi threw her arms around her first teacher and cried as others moved forward, all mourning the passing of the Third Hokage of Konoha.

.:o:.

Sasuke stared in stunned shock as the enormous toad Naruto had summoned, for a brief time vanished and was replaced by an enormous silver fox with multiple tails. The fox lunged forward grappling with the giant tanuki shaped sand demon. The illusion faded leaving the large toad in its place once more with Naruto on his head now only feet away from the slumbering form of Gaara half buried in the sand.

“Now Naruto!” The toad shouted.

Silver energy flared up around Naruto, his jacket flapping open and hiate flying off from the force of it as he focused. His eyes snapped open glowing an intense silver blue. He charged forward breaking each hold Shukaku lashed out to stop him until his own forehead finally collided with Gaara’s.

In a gust of displaced air, the two fell to land atop the trees as the toad boss Gamabunta left the battlefield. One more punch would settle this.

They both lunged forward, and it was Naruto’s fist that met Gaara’s face as they clashed midair. At that moment a connection was made. The two boys found themselves facing each other in a somewhat familiar setting. Behind Gaara the form of a large tanuki stood, behind Naruto sat a fox bearing nine tails. Two tails were pure silver, a strong contrast to the red fur that seemed to cover the rest of the fox’s body.

“The pain of being alone, I understand it well. The hurt… the way you feel. But… I have people that care about me now and that are important to me. To protect those people, I will not back down. I will protect them. I will protect you too Gaara, even from the demon you carry if I must,” Naruto stepped forward, silver energy flowing out from him across to Gaara.

Gaara found himself relaxing and he could feel the tanuki behind him also relaxing. The last remnants of blood, anger, and hate fell away under the silver energy as it flowed around and through him. Was this what it meant to have precious people to protect? Did he have…two faces flashed across his mind’s eye. Yes, he had people to protect. He opened his eyes once more a sense of calm radiating through him.

“Thank you. I will take your words to heart, both of us will.”

Naruto grinned and then blinked as he found himself laying on the ground several feet away from Gaara.

Sasuke landed next to him only a moment later.

“You can stop Naruto, Sakura is safe.”

Naruto smiled and then let out a sigh and fell unconscious.

Gaara stared at the sky as Temari and Kankuro landed next to him. “It’s all right, I quit.” He stated softly for the benefit of his siblings and a bit of warmth spread though him as Kankuro pulled him up and rested his arm across his own shoulders, supporting his weight. He let himself be carried and then closing his eyes. “Temari, Kankuro… I’m sorry.” And then let his exhaustion claim him.

.:o:.

Silver paws padded quickly and without falter as the sleek silver form slipped through underbrush and around trees. Overhead the half globe of blue green surrounded by twinkling stars hung unmoving in the sky. Jade green eyes kept glancing skyward at the orb as her feet followed an invisible path. She was almost there, the gathering place of her people. She had kept away from such gatherings for a long time now, her grief and sorrow too great. She had chosen instead to take guard duty and maintain a silent aloof distance from all kin and outsiders alike. That had changed several days ago, the first time she had sensed that silver energy originating from the green-blue orb above.

She skidded to a stop, her body shifting sideways slightly as she braced against her right side to slow her movement. Silver faces with eyes of varying shades all turned to her direction. She sat primly, curling her five tails neatly around her. She ignored most of those staring at her and met the pale ice blue gaze of the clan matriarch. “Twice today I have sensed the Lost One’s energy, and once more a week past. I had thought I imagined it until I sensed it again today. There is no mistake.”

Whispers erupted all around her, but the clan Matriarch’s gaze never left her own. The whispers silenced as one of the Matriarch’s tail’s twitched and then she spoke. “We will have to act on our own. The Lunarian are too caught up in civil war to be of any use and the royal line is missing if not vanquished. Are you willing to take on this responsibility eldest daughter of my line?”

“It would be my pleasure Mother.” She answered a wave of excitement traveling from the tip of her nose to the tips of all five of her tails. “I shall make the forbidden journey once all preparations are complete.”

The older Kitsune gave her a grin. “May your journey be swift and safe, bring word of our clan heir back to us.”