Tenten stretched her hands to the sky until her back popped then she relaxed with a contented sigh. She loved traveling to Suna. There was so much sky here. Not that she didn't love Konohagakure, but sometimes the trees felt like the bars of a prison cell, especially after a day spent in the company of the Hyuuga Elders. She didn't even have the Caged Bird Seal, and she still felt like they controlled her life. Suna was a nice break from everything, even if she did miss Neji a little bit.
"It's so bright," said Karin.
Tenten smiled at Ichigo's younger sister. They had been traveling across the desert sands for more than a day, and now that they were in the village, she complained that it was too bright. Karin was very practical in the same way that Ichigo was strong and Yuzu was kind. The entire family was definite in a way that puzzled Tenten as if they had all decided to be a certain way and hadn't wavered from that path since.
At times it reminded her of Lee declaring he would follow Gai's teachings, sometimes it reminded her of Naruto shouting his nindo for the whole world to hear, and other times it reminded her of Kakashi, who had lost his friends and never really moved on. Karin returned her smile, and Tenten set the thought aside.
"I'm sorry you couldn't participate today," she said.
Karin shrugged. "I'm not even a genin yet, so I understand. Sakura-sensei said I could join them tomorrow while they were working on less sensitive stuff."
"I hope you'll have a good time with us, anyway," said Tenten.
"I'm being shown around Sunagakure by the Kazekage's sister," said Karin. "What's not to like?"
"That's the spirit," said Temari as she approached.
The Suna kunoichi was dressed casually today, and she had left her battle fan behind. She did have a few normal-sized fans tucked into her sash and sleeves, which were just as deadly in the hands of a master. Temari was definitely a master by now.
She and Tenten nodded to each other in recognition. They were friends, but they were also rivals, and it felt good to be acknowledged by someone who saw a warrior first and woman second. Then Temari turned an appraising eye on Karin.
"Your brother caused quite a stir when he was here for the Exams," she said.
"That's Ichigo, alright," said Karin. "I'm much less trouble."
"So you won't be spouting philosophy while shrugging off a mortal wound?" asked Temari.
Karin rolled her eyes. "Only boys think surviving a fatal wound is cool. The rest of us know not to get injured like that in the first place."
Temari laughed. "I like this one. Where did you find her?"
"Karin and her family found us," said Tenten. "But I'm sure you would have been their second stop on their search for Uzumaki."
"Do you want to see what you missed out on?" asked Temari.
"Ichi-nii did say your bazaar was awesome," said Karin.
Temari grinned. "We'll go check it out before the real heat of the day hits."
Tenten enjoyed scouting the village with Temari. The woman had great pride in Suna and the work her people had accomplished since Gaara assumed the title of Kazekage. The Village Hidden in the Sand thrived as much as a desert city could.
Karin tried to hide it, but she was fascinated by the village and the surrounding country. She had all sorts of questions, mostly disguised as questions about desert survival, about the plant life, trade, architecture, everything. Temari happily explained as much as she could, though even the kunoichi faltered when asked for some of the medical statistics. Not even Konoha under the leadership of Tsunade kept track of its citizens' health that closely.
Another benefit to traveling with Temari was that the food vendors loaded her down with samples. She received some food because the locals wanted to reward her for her service, but mostly they were interested in earning a contract with government. Temari ran the Kazekage's household, since Gaara had never learned to manage that sort of thing and didn't have a partner to do it for him, so she also decided the menu for most of the formal events.
"I see why you told me to skip breakfast," said Karin after swallowing a handful of sticky dates.
Tenten smirked. "The handouts are a perk."
"I can't cook worth a damn, so it works out for me too," said Temari.
"I would think that most shinobi would be pretty invested in knowing how to cook," said Karin.
"Who has the time?" asked Temari. "It's always kill that guy, spy on that woman, protect that noble. Field rations are good enough for the field, and at home you can always eat out."
"Unless a clan's techniques focus around it, like the Akimichi focus on food, most shinobi only learn the basic household skills or what's needed for a mission. Bigger clans have servants or retainers, and individual shinobi usually rely on vendors," said Tenten. "It does keep the money flowing through a village."
"Is that on purpose?" asked Karin.
"It's just the way things are," said Temari. "You can learn to cook a meal or you can train to save your life, or someone else's life in the case of medic-nin. Ninja provide a valuable service, just like any other professional, and we have to focus on that. I can organize a dinner, but I leave the cooking to the cooks."
Karin's face was skeptical, but she didn't press the issue. Tenten recalled from conversations with and about Ichigo that in Karin's homeland school extended well into adulthood for some, and many people Karin's age were still training for their profession. They had time to pursue multiple hobbies even as they worked to achieve their career. Once she started attending the Academy, Tenten had focused almost all of her energy on becoming the strongest kunoichi in the village. It wasn't until after becoming a chunin that she found time to do other things for purely personal reasons.
The three women had just entered Suna's lower market when an explosion rocked the outer wall followed by several smaller explosions in the village itself. Some people screamed but Suna's civilians were just as well-trained as Konoha's and, except for a few vendors hurrying to pack their wares, the crowd was moving toward the shelters.
"Of all the days not to bring my weapons scroll," muttered Tenten. She glanced over her shoulder. "Are you alright, Karin?"
"I'm fine," said Karin.
Her voice was firm and her gaze was steady. She was tense, but Tenten was tense too. No matter how much Ichigo tried to shelter them, Tenten realized his sisters must have run into really trouble at some point for Karin to be so calm right now.
"We need to get back to the Capitol Building," said Temari. "I need to help Baki coordinate the jounin. It looks like Gaara's busy."
Tenten glanced at the golden dome that was served as Suna's government building. There was a wide umbrella of sand over the entire thing. Some sand was moving to reinforce the destroyed walls, but most was stabbing down into the village. They must have been breached, but why hadn't anyone noticed until the explosion?
Tenten took a knife and several metal skewers from an abandoned cart. She only had twenty kunai and ten shuriken without access to her scrolls and she felt naked. "Alright, let's go."
They took off for the village-center encountering almost no one on their way. The civilians were all in hiding and the fighting was focused either outside the walls or around the capitol. When they reached an elevated plaza, Tenten spared a glimpse for the desert.
"No way," she said.
The desert was filled as far as the eye could see. An army surrounded Suna swarming like an angry anthill. Tenten knew there was no way a group that size could get close to a Hidden Village without anyone seeing them.
"Impossible," whispered Temari.
"There's something not right about those guys," said Karin a moment later.
Temari tore her gaze away to look at Karin. "What do you—"
She fell silent just as the first enemy reached them. Tenten recognized the bland face and empty gaze instantly. It was one of the fake-shinobi that had tried to kidnap Ichigo. A skewer to the eye only slowed it down, but when Tenten took its head off it stopped moving altogether.
"We need to leave, right now," said Tenten turning her face away from the melting body to look for more enemies.
Temari didn't respond. She was slumped partway over the rail of the plaza completely unconscious. Next to her, Karin was awake but struggling for every breath.
"Shit," said Tenten. The report from Team Taka said that Karin had collapsed without warning. Ichigo had too, when the kidnappers first attacked him, but he had used his weird powers to recover. Karin wasn't as strong as her brother, so it was possible she couldn't recover completely.
"Can you move?" she asked Karin.
The young woman took a few hesitant steps away from the railing. "Yes."
"We have to move before more of those things come here," said Tenten. "I'll take Temari, and you follow me. Hopefully we'll run into a Suna patrol."
"I'll take Temari," gasped Karin reaching for the older kunoichi. "You'll have to do all the fighting. I can't move my chakra right now even if I could make ice in the desert."
Tenten frowned. "Will you be able to carry her like that?"
Karin's eyes were determined even if her face was pale. "I have to."
They started moving again at a much slower pace than before. Tenten knew Karin had made the right call after they ran into more of the fake-shinobi. She tried to dispatch them as quickly as possible, but she was running low on weapons, and they kept coming. Worse, they were starting to use jutsu. Fire, lightning, earth, water, wind, whoever or whatever was controlling the fakes had mastered every type of jutsu imaginable. Karin's burgeoning abilities wouldn't be much use against those.
"Tenten, I can't—"
Karin crashed to the ground. Her face was gray with exhaustion and her chest heaved like she was starved of air. Tenten grabbed Karin and Temari and dragged them to the nearest corner. Temari was sprawled across Karin's lap while the girl fought for every breath.
Tenten turned to her opponents. There were at least twenty of them. She only had five kunai left and no shuriken at all. She had never imagined needing her weapons scroll while wandering around in Suna. Tenten brandished two of her knives. Close-quarters combat wasn't her preferred style, but she couldn't afford to lose any more weapons. It was a good thing she had been doing all that extra practice with Neji to try and take down Ichigo.
Tenten fought as hard as she could. More fake-shinobi appeared every time she cut one down, but they seemed reluctant to use directional ninjutsu when Temari and Karin were in the line of fire. It was the only advantage Tenten had. Even the parched earth of Suna rejected the rotted meat and ink of the broken-down fake-shinobi making the ground slick beneath her feet. She was down to one kunai and her enemies' weapons melted as soon as they did, making them useless. She wouldn't last much longer without back-up.
Another large explosion, closer to their position rocked Tenten. A second wave of fake-shinobi swarmed into the village from a new hole in the outer wall. Sand shifted frantically through the air as Gaara responded to the damage.
"Partial Multi-Size Technique!"
A giant fist slammed Tenten into the wall breaking stone and some of her ribs. She clung to her last kunai like a lifeline. Head ringing from the impact and choking on bile, she looked frantically for the source of the attack. Had an Akimichi hit her by accident somehow? She saw one of the fake-shinobi withdraw a too-large arm and felt the blood drain from her face leaving her dizzy.
How had one of these fakes learned one Akimichi Clan's hidden techniques? Was there a traitor in the Leaf? She discarded the thought as soon as it crossed her mind. Had some missing-nin Akimichi taught the fake shinobi the technique? She hadn't heard of any missing-nin from that Clan, but one of the members of the missing ANBU teams was an Akimichi. Was she dealing with some bizarre form of Edo Tensei?
Tenten struggled to her feet. Keeping a wary eye on the maybe-Akimichi.
"Partial Multi-Size Technique!"
Another fist slammed into her from the side sending her crashing into the wall next to Karin and Temari. She was too stunned to cry out despite a broken arm and more cracked ribs. After a moment, she rolled onto her stomach and managed to reach her knees. There weren't two missing Akimichi-ANBU, so it couldn't be Edo Tensei.
"Ichi-nii," whispered Karin behind her. "Help. Please. Ichi-nii."
Tenten closed her eyes. It looked like she wouldn't be able to keep her promise to protect Ichigo's sister after all. She hoped Neji wouldn't take her loss too hard. He'd still have Lee to cheer him up, so that was good. As long as he didn't turn into a pervert-recluse like Kakashi, she'd be happy.
She opened her eyes and gasped. She could see Konoha hanging in the sky. It was upside-down and backwards, but it was home. The vision winked out almost as soon as she laid eyes on it, but there was a familiar feeling lingering in the air.
A black wave of energy, shaped like a crescent moon, hit the desert sands biting through the gathered army. A second, pale silver wave did nearly as much damage.
Half of the fake-shinobi surrounding her turned to face the new threat. The rest continued to stare down Tenten. She should feel flattered that she was as much trouble as a mysterious army-destroying force, but she was mostly annoyed. There was still no way for her to take them all down.
A third wave of energy, black again this time, was much closer to the village and suddenly Tenten recognized the familiar feeling. It felt like Ichigo, powerful and angry, just as he had been the first time he was kidnapped. What had been a black speck in her blurry vision suddenly resolved into a body.
It was Ichigo, and he was flying toward them. The waves of energy stopped as he passed over the wall and entered the village's airspace, she watched him dodge a grasping spear of sand, and then he was there in front her. His landing knocked over the closest fake-shinobi, and Tenten wavered slightly as the bricks beneath them cracked under the pressure.
"Ichigo?" she asked.
He didn't answer but stared down the small horde of fakes. Tenten couldn't imagine who else it could be. He felt like Ichigo, had the same head of orange hair, but at the same time, the anger in the air made him feel different, dangerous.
Tenten had a truly excellent view of his back as he faced off against their attackers. He was wearing an unfamiliar black outfit with a white coat tied around his waist. There was a complicated looking harness on his back. It didn't look the right size to hold Zangetsu, but now Ichigo was holding two different swords. One obviously went there while the other normally rested at his hip.
Ichigo launched himself and the fake-shinobi with a roar. The sound sent shivers down Tenten's spine. It was in no way human, yet it conveyed every enraged cry, desperate plea, and evil howl she had heard in her life all in one horrible noise.
Any regular person would have flinched, but the fake-shinobi charged. Ichigo sliced through them like they were air. Every attack was batted away or ignored as if it never happened. One of the fakes used Gokakyu, the Great Fireball favored by the Uchiha Clan. Ichigo charged it head on and emerged from the other side completely unscathed, not even his clothes were burned.
He was far more acrobatic than any swordsman Tenten had ever seen. He was willing to attack from any angle and seemingly could. Tenten finally caught a glimpse of his face and realized she couldn't see it at all. He wore a mask. She could have almost mistaken it for an ANBU mask, except his was shaped like a human skull, complete with skeleton grin, and had two black stripes over each eye as the only decoration. An ANBU would never wear a mask like that.
A crumbling sound distracted Tenten. She looked over her shoulder. Two of the fakes were trying to haul Karin and Temari up the wall.
"No!" she cried and lunged with her kunai.
She managed to sever their arms but she knew from experience they could shake off wounds like that. Karin and Temari dropped back to the ground. They were both unconscious now.
"Duck," said Ichigo from behind her.
Tenten shivered again. His voice didn't sound right. It was doubled, and the second voice almost sounded like it was shrieking. Nonetheless, she flung herself over Karin and Temari's still bodies.
"Getsuga tenshou!" roared Ichigo.
There was boom above Tenten's head. The world shook. She braced for impact from falling debris because surely that attack had damaged something important.
There was no impact. Dazed, Tenten raised her head. The wall, the whole level, immediately above her head was gone. There was deep scar in the wall supporting the next level, and she could see into a handful of empty rooms that had once been quasi-basements. If there had been anyone in those buildings, then they were less than dust.
There was also silence. It wasn't just from the ringing in her ears. All of the fake shinobi in the area had been destroyed or were retreating. Carefully, Tenten twisted around to look behind her. The roofs of several buildings were missing in a suspiciously even line. Ichigo stood roughly a meter away with a sword hanging from each hand. He was barely breathing hard.
Tenten went limp in relief. They were safe. There was a soft whisper as Ichigo sheathed his swords. The frightening mask remained firmly in place and beneath it his gold on black eyes were piercing in their intensity. Approaching the women, he ignored Tenten completely, understandable given the circumstances but still rude, and reached for Karin.
A senbon pierced his outstretched hand, or it would have if Ichigo was remotely normal. Instead the no doubt poisoned needle bounced off harmlessly and clattered to the ground. Tenten glanced up and saw the panicked face of a Suna-nin. Ichigo straightened and reached for the sword strapped to his back. Tenten jumped on his arm.
"Stop!" she said. "The Suna-nin are our allies. He's just worried about Temari!"
Ichigo lowered his arm. Tenten slid to ground and landed with a pained grunt. She could hardly blame the Suna-nin for worrying. Ichigo didn't exactly exude friendliness at the moment. The rest of the man's squad caught up a moment later. Temari was relieved to recognize Baki.
"Tenten," he said. "Is Temari with you? Kazekage-sama dispatched us to find her."
"She's here," said Tenten. She spat out a mouthful of blood. That wasn't a good sign. Moving around must have done something bad to her ribs. "She's unconscious, but that's normal for this sort of attack. So is Kurosaki Karin, Sakura's apprentice."
"All of you are going to the hospital," said Baki prompting the members of the squad to produce the materials necessary for stretchers. "But who is this? One of the other medic-nin?"
Ichigo shifted slightly. "Kurosaki Ichigo."
Tenten really wished he had let her talk, blood or no blood. At the sound of his weird, doubled-voice every Suna-nin froze. She could practically see their hackles raise.
"That Leaf genin that got his arm cut off?" murmured one. "No way."
"How did you get here?" demanded Baki.
Ichigo titled his head at question. Tenten supposed with the mask in place there was no other way to express confusion.
"I think he came through that thing that showed Konoha," said Tenten.
"Garganta," supplied Ichigo.
The shinobi closest to Tenten gulped audibly. She knew his voice was frightening, but it was nothing compared to that roar from earlier.
"Will we be receiving more help from Konoha?" asked Baki.
"Not that way," said Ichigo.
The whole group was suddenly showered by sand. Tenten blinked her eyes clear and saw to her horror that Gaara's protective sand was collapsing. Even the portions of the wall he had reinforced were falling. She could hear the agonized cries of the Suna-nin around the capitol.
"No, Kazekage-sama!" shouted the squad around her. They started to turn to leave.
"Enough," barked Baki. "Our priority is to get Temari-sama and the Leaf kunoichi to the hospital. Then we can pursue Kazekage-sama. Not before."
The squad fell in line. All three kunoichi were neatly placed on makeshift stretchers, even as every Suna-nin kept an eye on the horizon line. When they lifted Tenten, she could see out into the desert. There was still an army out there, smaller now, but still larger than all of Suna's forces combined, even without the losses they had surely suffered today. How could they find Gaara in all of that? Naruto had been devastated when they lost him to Akatsuki. How much worse would it be now?
Tenten sat up, nearly overturning the stretcher, and grabbed hold of Ichigo's sleeve. "Ichigo, you found Hanabi and Konohamaru when they were kidnapped. Can you do the same for Gaara?"
Ichigo's gold-on-black eyes focused on her. Tenten's heart skipped a beat and not in a good way. It felt like staring into the face of death, and death didn't care about anything. But Ichigo, for all his history, wasn't the Shinigami, and he cared about his family.
"Please, Ichigo! You have to rescue Gaara. Baki is the strongest shinobi in Suna. He can definitely protect Karin. But if something were to happen to Gaara, Naruto…Naruto's sorrow would be endless as the ocean. Please, I'm begging you!"
The Suna-nin held their breath. Every eye was on Ichigo. He watched her silently. Tenten wasn't sure how to break through that bone-white mask to the person hidden underneath, but she knew one thing that could reach him.
Tenten lifted her last kunai—she had held onto all this time—and stabbed him in the chest as hard as she could. The kunai shattered in her grip numbing her hand and sending painful reverberations through her entire body. There was the thinnest tear on Ichigo's kosode, the only damage it had sustained since his arrival. A single bead of bright red blood glistened on his chest like fire in night.
Ichigo took a step back. The gold of his irises blinked out leaving two yawning black holes in his mask and a sick feeling in Tenten's heart.
Then the air started to shimmer. Tenten and the other shinobi found themselves struggling to see through a forest of white ribbons. Ichigo snatched one from the air, seemingly at random, and the rest vanished.
Ichigo turned on his heel, holding tight to the ribbon, and took off across the rooftops. He reached desert and disappeared from sight in pursuit of the now hidden army.
Tenten collapsed back onto her stretcher, nearly unbalancing it again, and gazed at the broken off hilt of her kunai. She had barely been able to scratch him, and he had decimated an army. No wonder he was so reluctant to use his sword in practice.
Tenten lost the trip to the hospital, and most of her healing afterward. She woke up to a reassuring smile from Sakura and the pink-haired medic-nin's green-sheathed hands. She slipped into unconsciousness again reassured by the other woman's presence. Sakura was the best; Tenten would be fine.
When she woke again, it was late afternoon and the setting sun cast long shadows in the room. Her weapons scroll had been removed from her quarters and placed beside her bed. She wasn't in a normal hospital room, but there was Sakura, another man Tenten recognized as one of Suna's medic-nin, and Temari and Karin, both lying on their own separate beds. She could hear shinobi running in the hall beyond the door but no shouting or sounds of combat.
"Where are we?" she croaked. Her throat was dry as dust.
Sakura flew to her side. "We're in the Kazekage's private medical facility," she explained as she brought a straw to Tenten's lips. "Someone promised Ichigo that Baki would look after Karin if he found Gaara, so he brought you both here."
Tenten gratefully took a sip. "I didn't think he'd go, if he was still worried about Karin."
"It's possible," said Sakura. "Baki was also mildly concerned that you tried to stab Ichigo, and I wasn't sure how to explain that you were just making a point."
Tenten groaned at the pun. "Has he come back yet?"
Sakura shook her head. "No, not yet."
"How is it out there?" asked Tenten.
Sakura frowned. "It's not as bad as it could be. But Gaara is missing, of course. And it seems Kankuro is too. Baki's in charge until Temari wakes up. You can hear him collecting reports outside. I don't have a total number of casualties, but the living outnumber the dead."
"That's good," said Tenten. "Thanks for bringing my scroll."
Sakura's eyes twinkled with mischief. "You were running a little low, except for that one of course."
Tenten was still holding the broken kunai. "I suppose I can bash people in the head with the ring."
"You weapons nut," said Sakura fondly.
Tenten started to lever herself up but was stopped by Sakura's arm as stiff and unmovable as an iron bar. The fond look had been replaced by irritation.
"Little kunoichi who have fractured most of their ribs, an arm, and suffered a severe concussion will stay in bed until they receive permission to move," said Sakura.
"Yes, ma'am," said Tenten meekly. She had always been impressed by Tsunade's strength, and her apprentice was no less terrifying if her will was defied.
Lying in bed was boring, and Tenten dozed through what little remained of the afternoon and into the night. The moon had risen just enough to peek inside the infirmary when something landed on the balcony startling Tenten awake.
Sakura and the other medic-nin both whirled and reached for the nearest weapon, but the doors opened to reveal Ichigo carrying precious cargo over one shoulder.
"Kazekage-sama!" gasped the medic-nin. He raced to take Gaara while the door to the hall opened to admit Baki.
"Don't forget this one," said Ichigo. He unhooked something from Zangetsu—Tenten recognized the hilt sticking over his shoulder and wondered what happened to his other weapons—which turned out to be Kankuro. Sakura took the unconscious puppeteer and carried him to another bed.
"You found them both," said Baki approaching Ichigo. "Thank you."
Ichigo shrugged. "They were being carried together, but there were a lot of splinter cells. I don't know if anyone else was taken or not."
"You can't track them?" asked Baki.
"Only people I've met," said Ichigo. "The Kazekage stands out."
"He does," said Baki. "Again, thank you."
Ichigo just shrugged and peered around the jounin, who obligingly stepped out of his way. "How's Karin?"
"Stable, but still unconscious, according to Sakura," said Tenten.
Ichigo walked to his sister's bedside and brushed a stray hair off her face. Tenten took the time to study his appearance. The white coat was gone leaving him in a fairly simple black uniform. He only had Zangetsu, and there wasn't any sign of that frightening mask.
"What happened to your swords?" she asked. "They were bad-ass."
"Sealed them," said Ichigo.
"And that mask too?" asked Tenten nervously.
"I don't usually need it outside of combat," said Ichigo.
"What about your coat?"
"With the swords," said Ichigo. "You're feeling chatty."
"I'm so bored," said Tenten. "All the fighting is over, and normally I could entertain myself watching Lee try to train on the fly, but he's in Konoha."
"You could try to train on the fly," offered Ichigo.
"She cannot," snapped Sakura from where she hovered over Kankuro.
Tenten blanched. "Yeah, what she said."
"Sucks to be you," said Ichigo. He squeezed Karin's hand where it lay on top of the blanket then stood and turned toward the balcony.
"You're not staying?" asked Tenten in surprise.
"Karin and Yuzu don't like it when I mope around the clinic," said Ichigo. "I'll be outside."
"Wait a moment, Ichigo," called Sakura.
Ichigo paused and looked to the medic. She left Kankuro to the Sand-nin and crossed the small space between beds to lean in to Ichigo's space.
"The other Karin took several hours to rouse and needed almost a full day to recover her mental facilities. At a time like this, I don't believe Suna can afford to have all three of its leaders incapacitated that long," she explained. "Is there anything you can do?"
Ichigo frowned. "What exactly is wrong? When I was effected it felt like my chakra froze up."
Sakura nodded sharply. "It's the same. Their chakra is frozen except for the bare amount necessary for life. I can't move it with my own healing techniques. Is there anything you can do?"
"I'm not very good at healing kido," said Ichigo. "And I can't just shove my reiatsu at them. That would be bad." His frowned deepened. "Maybe I can…"
The air around Ichigo shimmered. Tenten shrieked. Briefly. It was a tiny noise, but it drew everyone's attention. They all recoiled at the sight of Ichigo, even Baki, so Tenten didn't feel quite as bad about yelling.
"What is it?" asked Ichigo.
"What is that armor?" demanded Tenten.
"It is a bit strange, Ichigo," said Sakura trying to play it cool.
The left side of Ichigo's body was covered in bone-like armor, mostly shaped like skulls. One of his eyes was completely hidden by a different skull mask on top of his head. The teeth of one skull covered half his waist like armor plating. Tenten peeked over the bed. His leg had armor too.
"It's a power I got from the Kushanada when I rescued Yuzu," said Ichigo. "I can't really use it for much, but it the safest way I can think of to put my reiastu in someone else's body."
"Would you mind trying on your sister first?" asked the Suna medic-nin.
Ichigo glared at him, and the shinobi flinched back. Ichigo huffed and went back to Karin's side. "Like I said, the safest way I can think of."
He reached his out his armored hand to hover over Karin. His entire body glowed gold then hers did too. Ichigo abruptly cut his power off. Karin let out a heavy sigh. Even from her awkward position, Tenten could see she looked much better.
Sakura called up her Mystical Palm technique and let out a sigh of her own. "Yes, her chakra is moving again. She'll be fine once she wakes up."
Ichigo glanced at the medic-nin. "Do I have your permission?"
"Yes, please," said the man.
Ichigo repeated the process with the Sand Siblings. Once Sakura and the other medic-nin announced favorable results from all three, Ichigo let the disconcerting armor fade and disappeared to the balcony to wait. If Tenten turned her head just right, she could see him sitting on the railing with Zangetsu across his lap. She supposed that keeping guard just outside was technically not the same as moping around the hospital room.
"A remarkable young man," said Baki.
"Ichigo's full of surprises," said Sakura.
"I am very surprised, since none of my sentries have yet to report seeing him enter the village," said Baki.
Tenten closed her eyes. The exciting stuff was over. She could let Sakura handle that one.
"Full of surprises," insisted Sakura.
Tenten's mouth twitched into a smile. It was certainly the truth.
-0-0-0-0-0-
After arriving in Suna, which thanks to Sai's ninja art took the team barely more than a day, Naruto wasn't sure who he should fuss more. He could obviously leave Tenten to Neji, Lee, and Gai. Normally, his attention would go to Gaara, but he and Kankuro had been only kidnapped briefly, and they were busy working to repair Suna. Temari would probably tolerate comfort from Shikamaru, but unfortunately the pineapple head was still in Konoha, and she was possibly even busier than her brothers.
Sakura-chan would definitely hit him if he tried to worry about her, and he didn't want to distract her from any patients that might need her. Karin, Naruto knew already, hated being fussed over. She had her own job applying mundane first aid to lesser injuries, so the medic-nin could see to the severely wounded. There were a lot of severely wounded, most of the fake-shinobi hadn't bothered to strike killing blows, but the number of casualties was still grotesquely high.
That left Ichigo, who, to Naruto's distress, wasn't even in the village anymore. His cousin had hung around until Karin woke up then spent the rest of the night on the wall staring out into the desert. Around mid-morning he had taken off with only a brief word to Tenten that he'd be back to indicate he was going anywhere at all. He still hadn't returned by the time the combined Team Kakashi-Gai arrived later that afternoon.
Naruto was worried and frustrated, and the fact that Ichigo was apparently a one-man army was not as reassuring as some might think. He threw himself into helping the rebuilding efforts. Between the Sound Invasion and Pain's attack on Konoha, all of the Leaf shinobi knew plenty about rebuilding. Yamato wasn't quite a useful here as he was in Konoha, where houses made entirely of wood could endure for a long time, but the temporary shelters he had grown were packed, and an army of Naruto clones were excellent at manual labor without needing to worry about the heat.
"Don't worry, Naruto," said Karin around dinnertime. "Ichigo can take care of himself."
"He took off into the desert," wailed Naruto.
Everyone else was ignoring him. Gaara had invited the response team from Konoha to eat with his family and stay in his apartments to free up more rooms for homeless civilians and shinobi. Naruto had readily accepted the offer wanting to keep an eye on his friend. Sakura, Tenten, and Karin's things had already been moved into the rooms in preparation of their departure tomorrow. Udon would stay with the medical team already in Suna, and Shizune would arrive in a day or two with the other support teams.
At the moment, dinner meant sandwiches and a host of shinobi running in and out of the dining room to report to Gaara, his siblings, or Baki. There was also a significant number of guards stationed around the apartments. No one was pleased about almost losing Gaara a second time.
"Ichigo's been in the desert before," said Karin. "He's even been in this desert before. He'll be fine."
"But what's he doing?" demanded Naruto.
"He's indulging his new habit," said Karin.
"New habit?" asked Kakashi.
Naruto could feel the questions building in Kakashi-sensei's brain. He hadn't had a chance to explain to anyone about the Kurosakis' situation while they were on the road, and he definitely didn't want to start while they were in Suna. Gaara was basically the best Kazekage ever, but Konoha's shinobi deserved to hear the truth first.
"Picking up strays," explained Karin.
"He's gone into the desert to find some animal?" asked Naruto. He had Kon. Wasn't that enough?
If Ichigo was this desperate for an animal companion of his own, then Naruto would make him sign the Toad Contract as soon as they got back to Konoha. Gamabunta even knew kenjutsu and was super-protective of his family. It would be a great fit. Naruto tried to imagine any of the Toads—the smaller ones—in Ichigo's apartment. Cats and turtles both ate frogs, and Unicorn and Sandy were very strong-willed. Maybe not the Toad Contract then. But the village also had Snakes, Slugs, Dogs, Hawks, and Monkeys. Surely, he didn't need to wander alone into the desert to find company. What could possibly survive out there, anyway? Scorpions?
"I can feel him coming back," said Karin.
"Are you sure?" asked Naruto.
Karin shot him a miffed look, and Naruto subsided. If Karin said he was on his way back, then he was on his way back. Further down the table, Neji activate his byakugan.
"Shit!" said Neji blinking rapidly. "That's fast."
Everyone stared at the Hyuuga in surprise. Neji's formal upbringing usually curtailed his language. Ichigo must be moving very fast to have shocked the man into cursing.
"Where is he?" asked Kankuro.
There was a commotion from outside the apartment. Naruto could hear yelling. Ichigo's voice was prominent. While Naruto couldn't understand the words, his tone was annoyed.
"Baki," said Gaara.
The jounin went to settle the matter. A minute or so later, Baki returned with an irritated looking Ichigo following in his wake cradling something in his arms. Presumably, it was the animal he had gone to find.
Ichigo stomped to the end of the table to hold the creature out to Gaara. "This one is yours."
It was a raccoon dog, a small one though obviously not a pup. It had light brown fur with a darker wave pattern reminiscent of sand dunes. Naruto bit his lip. Someone needed to work on Ichigo's sense of humor. Had anyone told him that Gaara used to host the One-Tailed Beast?
Gaara carefully retrieved the tanuki from Ichigo. The redhead retreated to the empty cushion next to Karin, after leaning Zangetsu against the wall behind him, and snagged a sandwich with a quiet "thanks."
The Kazekage peered at the animal, and a puzzled frown overtook his features. "Shukaku?"
The tanuki stretched its muzzle and delicately licked Gaara's nose. Naruto's jaw dropped. There was no way that that was shukaku. It was tiny for one thing. For another, it had barely any chakra. Even Naruto could sense the chakra of other biju.
Gaara regarded the tanuki calmly. "You may stay, if you agree not to kill any more of my shinobi. Or Naruto's."
The tanuki chittered with glee and wiggled out of Gaara's grip. It climbed his arm and draped itself around the Kazekage's neck like a breathing fur collar. If it was a cat, it would have started to purr.
"There is no way that is the Ichibi," said Kankuro faintly echoing Naruto's thoughts
The tanuki twitched its tail. A vortex of sand appeared behind Gaara. All the shinobi tensed. Something heavy crashed to the floor and the sand settled. There was a giant statue forming the kanji for "ichiban," the first or the best.
"It is Shukaku," confirmed Gaara. "He says his energy, and that of the other loosed biju, was severely depleted by the Ten-Tails incident. They have assumed forms similar to this one to conserve power until their chakra is replenished."
Naruto paled. "All of them are like that? Even Matatabi and Isobu?"
Shukaku growled softly.
"All of them," said Gaara. He frowned slightly. "I do not understand what is so funny."
Naruto could feel something a lot like laughter coming from Kurama now that he thought about it. He turned to Ichigo and Karin. The pair wore matching inscrutable expressions. He even had the audacity to reach for another sandwich like he wasn't someone currently hiding two biju in his apartment.
The rest of the party from Konoha had caught on just as quickly. Kakashi-sensei looked like he wanted to summon his ninken right then and there.
"I didn't notice anything unusual when I used my byakugan just now," said Neji.
"After a thousand years, I'd guess anyone would learn a few trick for hiding from the byakugan," said Gaara calmly.
Naruto thought it was a bit strange how well Gaara was taking the return of the biju that had caused his so much pain. Naruto and Kurama's relationship was a bit strained at the beginning, but nothing like what the other two had suffered. Then again, Shukaku wasn't actually in Gaara anymore and he was small and adorable. Just like Matatabi and Isobu.
"Sandy and Unicorn?" hissed Naruto.
"Perfectly acceptable nicknames," said Karin smoothly. "You're responsible for them too."
"Am I missing something?" asked Temari. She was trying to act as though everything was normal but kept eyeing Gaara, or more likely Shukaku, every few seconds.
"Nothing important," said Ichigo calmly.
What was worse, Naruto was fairly certain that he meant it too. Even Naruto was nervous about having two biju loose in Konoha, and they all liked him for the most part. He didn't see how he was responsible for either of them since Ichigo was the one who picked them up without telling anyone."
"They wanted the opportunity to talk to you freely," Kurama informed him. "And when you failed to recognize Isobu, well, who are you to ignore the opportunity for a prank?"
Naruto groaned. That wasn't fair. He had given up on pranks when he became a genin!
"A well-executed prank is always a good thing," said Kurama solemnly. "To answer your earlier question, Shukaku has missed Gaara. It is hard to be alone after living so closely to humans. I think he desires to make amends for his earlier behavior."
"And how do you know that?" snapped Naruto.
"We chat. It is quite convenient that you have played host to all of our chakra at one point in time," explained Kurama. "You are the one who values communication so highly."
Naruto sighed. It's not like he could argue against that. "Please, feel free to use my seal for your gossip sessions."
"We will," said Kurma smugly.
"Um, Naruto? Are you okay?" asked Sakura.
Naruto blinked. Everyone was staring at him. Well, everyone except Karin and Ichigo, the former of whom was holding a cup of water and trying to shove it on her brother while the latter was trying to finish a second sandwich, or was it a third? They were also arguing very quietly. Naruto heard them mention Pluses and Soul Society.
"I'm fine," said Naruto. "Someone was just pointing out that I shouldn't complain about people sitting down to talk."
"No, you definitely shouldn't complain about that," said Sakura smirking.
"Hey!" protested Naruto.
"The biju gather in your seal to talk?" asked Baki sounding worried. He was also watching Gaara and Shukaku.
"It's an after-effect of holding them all at once," said Naruto quickly. "They're not really there anymore. But they've always been able to talk to each other telepathically when they're near each other."
"Is that so?" asked Temari.
"Yes," said Shukaku aloud.
His voice shook the room startling all of the shinobi, including Gaara. Even if Shukaku was tiny at the moment, he still sounded like the giant monster Naruto had first encountered.
Well, not everyone was surprised. Ichigo and Karin hadn't even flinched, still wrapped up in their argument. If Naruto had needed more evidence that they knew exactly what the raccoon dog was, then he had it right there. No one would expect a sound like that from a normal animal unless they had experienced it before. There was no wonder he never heard Sandy or Unicorn talk.
Unfortunately, in the silence that followed, Ichigo and Karin's conversation was easily understandable.
"—old you I stopped for water on the way back," said Ichigo. "It's got to be food."
"Pluses need water, and this has been handle by actual people," countered Karin. "It might work better since you're going to be pig-headed about it."
"It doesn't work if I discorporate my own food," said Ichigo. "It's basically a wash."
Naruto had seen Ichigo eat one sandwich, so he could still do that. But he wasn't in his body anymore, which apparently meant he couldn't absorb energy from the food, or at least not very much.
"Are you okay?" asked Naruto, suddenly worried about his cousin starving to death. Could shinigami do that? If Karin wanted him to eat, then it was apparently possible.
"I'm fine," said Ichigo rolling his eyes. He caught sight of Naruto's worried expression, and his features softened. "I'm fine, really. As long as there isn't another army camped nearby."
All of the Suna-nin scowled at that.
"We have had no reports to that effect," said Baki. "And teams have been dispatched to check carefully."
"It looked like that army just appeared out of nowhere," said Karin having given up on Ichigo for the moment. "I mean, seriously, one minute desert and the next that."
"We have uncovered a handful of missing-nin from Suna among the bodies of the slain," said Gaara calmly though there was clearly anger there too. "It is likely that they helped set the explosions, but we do not know how the larger army approached."
"Could it have been a massive space-time justu?" asked Lee, who only had theoretically understanding of any ninjutsu.
"Moving an army that size all at once would take an enormous amount of power," said Kakashi. "And if every individual of the army could perform and space-time jutsu, then I think the distortions would have been obvious beforehand."
"There was nothing like that from the army's appearance," said Baki. He turned his gaze on Ichigo. "But I was not familiar with the technique you used, which the rest of the Konoha shinobi could not."
There was utter silence from the group from Konoha, except for Tenten, who didn't know about Ichigo's condition. They all knew that Kon was currently occupying his body back in Konoha.
"It's called a garganta, and it's a technique Hollows use to get places," said Ichigo. "It's not safe for other people to use without special equipment. I'm not even sure how to make something like that."
"Hollows as opposed to Pluses?" asked Gaara.
Ichigo nodded once. "Hollows live in Hueco Mundo. Pluses live in Soul Society, where our dad was born. Pluses, or rather the shinigami of the Thirteen Court Guard Divisions, have a different method called the World Penetration Gates, or Senkaimon. But they don't connect to Elemental Countries, and they're not that much safer."
"So Konoha will not be moving any armies of its own anytime soon," said Baki.
Ichigo shook his head. "Just me."
Oddly enough, Baki did not seem relieved by that announcement. Given that Ichigo had destroyed quite a lot of the mystery army of on his own, and done considerable, though excusable, damage to Suna, Naruto could hardly blame him.
"It did look cool though," said Kankuro. "Seeing Konoha appear in the sky like that."
Karin blinked. "Wait, you saw Konoha?" She looked at Ichigo. "Normally, it's all black inside a garganta, right? And all in light inside a senkaimon. What changed it?"
Naruto wondered if that was anything like the light at the end of the tunnel. He'd have to ask Gaara. Or no, that would be inappropriate, especially after his recent kidnapping. Having to explain why he wanted to know could be awkward too. Maybe Isobu would know? That was one advantage to having the Three-Tails in Konoha.
"The Elemental Countries aren't connected to the Dangai," said Ichigo.
Karin subsided, satisfied by the answer. Obviously no one else was, but Naruto wasn't going to be encouraging anymore questions at the moment.
"That's too bad we can't use that garganta thing," said Naruto. "It would make the trip back to Konoha a lot faster."
"Naruto, when you return, please inform Tsunade that I will support her decision to call an emergency Summit. I will make my recommendation to the other Kages as well," said Gaara.
Naruto had thoroughly regretted missing the Kage Summit that formed the Shinobi Alliance. After the mess with the Ten-Tails was over, he had pestered Tsunade, Gaara, and anyone with any authority who had stood still for too long that wouldn't it be useful if all the Kages met every year. That way they could share information about threats to the entire shinobi world before the problems were too big for one village to handle. Mostly to make Naruto shut up, the other Kages had agreed. General Mifune, from the Land of Iron, agreed to host emergency meetings but refused to host annual ones. Naruto suggested holding the meetings in smaller Hidden Villages, which meant inviting their Masters to the meetings too.
Now the Kage Summit was an annual affair which all the Kages and Masters of all the Hidden Villages attended. It was, quite frankly, a week-long madhouse for the hosting Village, much worse than a multi-Village Chunin Exam, but the smaller Villages competed fiercely for the right to hold the next Summit. They had the schedule planned out two years in advance, and since there were so many smaller Villages that meant each one had years to recover before trying again.
Between the Kage Summit and the Chunin Exams, all five Kages met formally at least three times a year, which Naruto, and everyone else, thought directly contributed to the lessening of hostilities in the shinobi nations. Their host Elemental Countries were unnerved by the change, but the Daimyos also appreciated that their lands weren't in danger of being torn apart in a "secret" war. The greatest objection came from shinobi who couldn't adapt to the new peace. Kiri still had the most missing-nin, but the number from every Village had increased, even in Konoha.
Tsunade had brought up the idea of an emergency Summit meeting at the last Chunin Exam, but without direct proof, Naruto knew most of the Kages had been willing to wait until the regularly scheduled meeting to discuss the problem. With an attack on Suna directly, Naruto suspected they would all be traveling into the Land of Iron in the next few weeks.
Naruto grinned. "You betcha, nobody can deny there's a problem now, even if the army melted."
"Oh, that's right," said Ichigo suddenly. He pulled a scroll out of his kosode and glanced around the table. "Here, Sakura-sensei."
Ichigo handed the scroll to Sakura, who unrolled it with a curious expression on her face.
"A containment seal?" she asked. "What's in it?"
"Hopefully, one of those pretend shinobi," said Ichigo. "They kept dissolving when I tried to tie them up, but this one was still whole went it went into the seal."
"What?" demanded Sakura. "Have you had this the whole time?"
Ichigo winced. "Yeah, sorry about that. I was worried about Karin then distracted by…" He waved a hand in the general direction of Gaara and Shukaku. "I forgot to give it to you earlier. But I thought maybe you could see what one was made of?"
Next to him, Karin covered her eyes and shook her head hopelessly. Sakura gaped in astonishment before gathering herself.
"Excuse me," she said rising to her feet. "I need to get this to an operating room. Neji, come with me. I may need your byakugan."
Sakura darted out of the room. Neji went after her. So did Baki and Kakashi. After a moment of hesitation, Naruto went too. Sakura led them to a currently empty operating theater, snagging an unfamiliar Sand kunoichi on the way. The Suna-nin must have been one of the local medic-nin because she helped Sakura prepare a table and activate the room's hidden security.
Naruto took an observer's position against wall next to Baki and Kakashi while Neji and the medic-nin took places closer to operating table.
"Neji, all reports indicate that the fakes will collapse with heavy damage to their torso. I need you to tell me anything strange about the body before we attempt an autopsy," said Sakura.
Neji nodded and activated his byakugan. "Ready."
Sakura unsealed the scroll. A body appeared on the operating table.
Naruto's vision greyed-out and he staggered. He might have collapsed entirely if not for Kurama's chakra surging up to cover him like a cloak. He braced his hands on his knees and took several deep breaths before managing to right himself.
"Are you alright, Naruto?" asked Kakashi.
Kakashi had activated both of his sharingan eyes and was watching Naruto intently. He looked like he wanted to reach out and check Naruto's pulse, but with the cloud of Kyuubi chakra still firmly in place that was an exceptionally bad idea.
"I'm okay now," said Naruto. Silently sending a thank you to the fox. "I just lost the connection with my chakra for a second."
"There's a seal inside the body," said Neji. "Several of them. I'm not an expert, but they look weird somehow. I think some are active."
"Right now?" asked Sakura. She had been watching Naruto too but immediately turned back to the body.
The body on the table shifted. All the ninja tensed and reached for their weapons. It sat up and turned its head to Naruto. The unsettling, empty gaze focused on the orange-clad ninja.
"Uzumaki Naruto, currently of Konoha. We have need of you," he said.
"Who's we?" asked Naruto. "What do you want?"
"Time runs backwards. All will unravel and be as it was. It is your fate."
Naruto smirked. "I'm not a fan of all that fate crap."
"No, you Uzumaki never were," said the fake. It sounded thoughtful.
"Is it a puppet?" asked Baki. "Can you see who is controlling it?"
"It's drawing natural energy to animate itself," hissed Neji. "One of the seals must be responsible for that. Shit, I don't know what half of those symbols are."
"Natural energy?" yelped Naruto.
The fake shinobi raised its arms. A hurricane burst from each palm blowing Neji and Sakura into the walls. It shoved its arms behind its back and propelled itself forward faster than Naruto, or anyone else, could react. The fake shinobi dropped the Wind Release and, ignoring the fox's chakra which scorched its skin away, placed a hand on Naruto's chest. Naruto lost consciousness immediately.
Naruto came to with a snap as Kurama's chakra roared through him. He had fallen onto the ground and was covered in disgusting smelling slime. Kakashi was shaking out his hand while Baki helped Sakura to her feet. The Suna kunoichi was running green-tinged palms over Neji's back, but the Hyuuga was awaking and sitting up, so Naruto figured he was fine.
Buried beneath the gross that had previously been the fake-shinobi, Naruto's fox-enhanced nose could pick out the faint scent of ozone. Naruto glanced at Kakashi's slime covered fist.
"Did you just chidori our only piece of evidence?" asked Naruto as he gingerly pushed himself upright. He was covered in rotted, inky yuck. Why did this have to happen while Suna was under the water-restriction following an invasion?
Kakashi lifted a pointed brow. "You were out, and Yondaime-sama wasn't the only one to have used seals for transportation."
Naruto couldn't decide whether to be pleased or annoyed at his sensei's overprotective nature. He settled for both and ordinarily would have started griping happily, but there was something else bothering him. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei."
"Yes, Naruto?"
"Time runs backwards. Does that sound like moving against the clock to you?" he asked.
"You mean, the report from Team Taka about their encounter with the former Uzu civilians," said Kakashi. "The old man might not have been rambling after all."
"I wish…" Naruto squeezed his hands into fists. He wished for a lot of things. That they hadn't lost that group of civilians. That Team Taka didn't have to wander the countryside being bait. That the lives of twelve dead or missing ANBU weren't hanging over his head. Most of all, he wished that the Uzumaki hadn't come under attack just as soon as he had discovered he had family again.
"Well, at least we'll have something to tell the Hokage when we get back," said Kakashi. "And she'll be relieved to know that Kurama's chakra will protect you if you keep your distance."
"Yeah," said Naruto glumly. He shook his head. Glum wasn't his style. "Hey, Neji! What was that about those seals?"
Naruto would get the Hyuuga to copy them down, and they could leave a set for the sealing masters in Suna to study. Every fuinjutsu master had their own tricks and style. Neji already said the seals were weird. Naruto would identify them in no time flat, and then they could pound the people responsible for the whole mess. No more of this "fate" stuff ruining his life or the lives of his friends, he decided. And once he decided, he would never back down. It was his ninja way.