The Escort
In the morning, Team Kushina departed together on a B-Rank mission. With two Chuunin and one Genin, they were able to take on a mission to escort a higher up from the outskirts of a distant village all the way back to Konoha.
The sun shone brightly in the clear blue sky, birds chirping in perfect harmony. Long behind them were the gates to Konoha, a soft dirt path showing them a potential way home. Each of them had packed lightly, prepared for a few days on the road at most, not more. The backpacks they carried were neither heavy nor light, an adequate weight for Shinobi to be subjected under. An ideal start to a mission.
"Sensei, do you we really will be away for two days?" Chihiro had begun to walk beside the woman, peering up at her.
"Hmm," Kushina thought for a moment, placing her finger on her chin as she did so. "Most likely."
Chihiro took on a dejected expression. "Oh, I see."
Kushina turned towards him, inspecting his emotions intently. "Is there something you need to do?"
"My little sister graduates academy by then. I promised to be there for her and I never break my promises."
"Then we will make sure you will be there. We don't want your little sister to be disappointed, y'know!"
He smiled at his sensei, grateful. "Thank you, sensei."
Kushina let out a delighted chuckle. "No promises though."
Izumi hurried to catch up with the two, interested in their topic of conversation. "Cho is already graduating? Your parents must be over the moon with you participating in the Chuunin exams again soon."
Chihiro blushed slightly. "Yes, they are very proud of us."
"This time around you can totally do it, Chiro." said Izumi, smiling at him in encouragement.
"I hope so."
"I know you can."
Sen let out a laugh, joining her teammates side. "Yeah, Chihiro, crush them mercilessly."
Izumi couldn't help but giggle at the comment. "Or just crush them."
"But without mercy. Don't forget that."
Chihiro gave both of them broad smiles. "I'll crush them … without mercy."
Their sensei turned towards them, holding her thumbs up in agreement. "That's the spirit, y'know!"
━━━━
In the afternoon they had picked up their client, a stocky man with 40 years of age on his back wearing a wry smile as they approached. On his back he carried a backpack with several scrolls peeking out of the opening, the latch barely held together by several rows of complicated string.
"The Konohan Shinobi!" He greeted them cheerfully, raising his arms into the air dramatically. As he grinned, his mustache twitched. "Asami Kento, pleasure." He held out his right hand for Kushina to shake.
Kushina grabbed his hand tightly. "Uzumaki Kushina. And this is my team," She let go of his hand, keeping hers raised in order to point at each of the team members. "Sen, Chihiro, and Izumi."
The latters waved at the man, smiling. Sen meanwhile inspected him carefully, allowing her gaze to wander. Then, she narrowed her eyes at him.
The man sweatdropped at the sight, but chose not to comment on it.
During their travel back to Konoha, Izumi tilted her head in curiosity, looking up at the man. "Say, Asami-san, what is it that you carry with you?"
"This?" With his thumb he pointed at the backpack he was carrying, letting out a small laugh. "Oh, they're just your odd scrolls filled with all kinds of useful things. Food, water, weapons. Your average fuinjutsu."
Izumi nodded in understanding. "That's really interesting! What are you bringing to Konoha then?"
"Probably weapons." Sen now stood beside Izumi, having wormed her way into the space between her and the merchant.
"What a clever girl." smiled the man.
Sen hoped to be clever enough.
━━━━
In the evening they were confronted by enemies. Moments before Kushina had estimated them to be only a few hours away from Konoha, their mission coming to an end sooner than initially expected. Chihiro had clapped his hand in excitement, sporting a grin at the thought of seeing his sister early.
It was then that a foreign Shinobi landed on the walkway in front of them, kunai glittering in the soft evening sun. "Hello." He gave them a smirk, crimson eyes gleaming dangerously. His eyes wandered over to Asami, who had taken on a similar expression.
Sen noticed immediately how similar the two men looked, same smirk, identical glint in their eyes, their color only several shades apart. Even their stances had their similarities: posture as taut as a bow, backs straight, muscles tensed. Something was up, she knew. A trap most likely. But why?
Kushina had moved in front of her students, pushing her behind her back. The sensei had taken on a protective stance, arms tensed, ready to engage in a battle. "What do you want?" Her voice was devoid of emotion.
"You ran right into our trap, little fox."
If possible, Kushina's muscles tensed even more. Her face set into a scowl, lips turning downwards. "What do you want?" She repeated herself.
The man's twisted expression curled into a devilish smile. "Konoha's Jinchuuriki, of course. What else?" As if on cue, behind him appeared at least a dozen men, kunai drawn in anticipation.
Kushina froze at the revelation, eyes widening. Quickly she schooled her expression, not wanting to reveal too much about herself. "You are wrong here then."
The man chuckled loudly. "I'm not, Uzumaki Kushina. Your secret is not so secret anymore."
Her students followed the interaction completely bewildered, not understanding what exactly was happening. Their sensei, a Jinchuuriki? It was like some sort of ever dream to them, the furthest thing away from reality. They had their own weapons drawn, muscles taut in distress. Not even under supervision, they were safe as it turned out.
"Your students look surprised. Didn't they know? Their sensei is a monster."
Kushina-sensei was never a monster and never would be.
"How do you even know this?" All the love in Kushina's heart couldn't bear if the man managed to influence her student's perception of her. She couldn't fail them, no, she couldn't.
The answer was obvious: there were spies in Konoha. They needed to report the information to the Hokage, immediately.
"Konoha needs to watch their backs better." Asami stepped up to stand beside his accomplice, letting out a chuckle.
Traitors.
Sen glared at the man. "I knew there was something off about you."
Asami smirked at her in response. "As I said, what a clever girl. But not clever enough."
Sen took a step forwards with her kunai balanced in her dominant hand, ready to throw it. Her sensei held out her arm towards the Chuunin, successfully stopping her in her step. "Sen, don't."
"Listen to your sensei." mocked Asami, barking out a laugh.
Sen took a step back, almost resuming her place beside her teammates. Izumi reached out towards her friend, grabbing the sleeve of her top gently. When Sen turned to look over at her friend, she felt her stomach drop at the expression the younger Chuunin wore. Her eyes were blown wide as she stared ahead at their sensei, fingers twitching.
When their enemies made the first move forward allowing for a kunai to rush towards the team, the beginning of the battle was announced. Thoughts about what they had learned about their sensei were pushed to the back of their minds, surviving becoming their main thought.
━━━━
The situation was looking grim. All members of Team Kushina felt the exhaustion ringing in their bones, no amount of teamwork able to compensate for being so outnumbered. Sweat decorated their bodied and their clothes clung to their skin. Their hair felt matted, sticking to their foreheads. Shivers ran down their spines at the slightest breeze.
When Kushina had removed her careful gaze from two of her students, their opponents used her lack of a watchful eye to their advantage. Before the sensei could even rush to her students, kunai were lodged into their stomachs, their eyes wide in fear. Tears came to them quickly, lips wobbling before both fell over, sprawled out by each other. Their hands were positioned to weave hand signs, though neither was fast enough, too inexperienced to be. The surprise of the attack had caught them.
Izumi could feel the blood in her veins rushing through her frame, some spilling out by the wound of her stomach. The material of her forest green Chuunin jacket took on a crimson, a bitter reminder of her previous success. Now, as she lay on the floor, the feeling of ecstasy as she had raised her hand vanished. When she attempted to lift herself onto her elbows, she fell back down with a pained grunt. She couldn't help but think how ironic it was, that they were crushed without mercy.
Kushina gasped, anger pulsing through her. No one hurt her students, not under her watch. Crimson chakra leaked from her chakra points in the form of bubbles, coating her frame. Her usually violet eyes took on a shade of red, pupils growing into long ovals. To add to her new appearance, her fiery red hair became gravity-defying, lifting up to resemble tails.
Sen gasped in surprise, not used to seeing her sensei like that. Though, she didn't allow the startle to distract her from her goal. As fast as her short legs could carry her she rushed over to her two injured teammates, kneeling in the space between the two of them. Her heart was beating rapidly against her chest once her eyes had begun to inspect the wounds, her short months of medical training feeling useless all of a sudden.
The next startle came when the red-haired woman was suddenly to the side of her, her hand placed on Sen's shoulder in an attempt of comfort. With a quick look behind her, Sen was able to see all their enemies, all knocked out. The sight startled her yet another time.
"I haven't learned enough to help them, sensei!" Sen was desperate as she looked up at her sensei for guidance. "I have been a medic-nin in training for what? A few months, maybe. They need proper medical attention."
Kushina placed a comforting hand on the shoulder of her student. "You can do this, Sen. Trust me, you are capable. Do your best, I believe in you." In her own eyes tears gleamed.
Sen tried, she really did, but in that moment, for the first time, she felt absolutely lost, mind blank.