[41] Forward

"I see that in all periods, there is war." Kagami stares at Hashirama Senju, stars making their way to her eyes.

She may seem cold, but these two seem to give her warmth as a ninja.

"But you like war, don't you?"

Kagami snaps out of it as Orochimaru speaks again, his tongue slithering around dangerously. He holds up two kunai, tags swaying off the ends. His face darkens as he looks over at Sarutobi.

"Now, shall we begin?" His hands sink into the heads of the two Hoakge's, the kunai sinking into them.

He smirks while doing this, leaving the kunai within the men. He steps back, anticipation growing within him. He brings his hands up and makes a sign.

"Now, please enjoy it."

The two Hokage walk forward, seemingly being controlled by Orochimaru. They walk with unsteady steps, and the First even walks onto his coffin instead of just simply stepping to the side. The First attack quickly, ignoring Kagami and aiming for the Third. Kagami jumps back as they engage in hand to hand combat. Her eyes widen at the skill and quick thinking.

The Second jumps from the top of the roof, flipping over Kagami and the Third, much like Kagami had done not so long ago to Kankuro. Her eyes sparkle again.

'I have a similar fighting style to Lord Second. I can die happy.'

'Kagami calm down,'Once again the two engage in close contact, she focuses diligently on him, making sure to pick up his fighting style in case she did have to fight him herself.

'He favours his legs . . . . much like I do. Us fighting each other would not be a battle of skill but a battle of strength. I may be able to fight him but I won't be able to hold out for long.'

Kagami glances to the right, noticing that Lord First is staring at her. She crouches into a stance reading to fight him, but instead of fighting her, the man runs at Sarutobi again once his brother jumps back beside him.

Kagami holds her breath as she jumps further away from the battle, hoping to get to Orochimaru. She just needs a distraction. Kagami's chakra starts to pulse dangerously, alerting her of Shukaku. She cripples a little, the force of her own chakra becoming heavy to her. She keeps moving along the roof though, watching carefully at the Hokage's throw Jutsu's at each other. Fire lights up the sky but is quickly followed by a large wave of water.

She glances back at her superior to make sure he wasn't overwhelmed and lets out a breath of relief as another mud wall rises in front of him, seemingly protecting him. But the water curves around the wall, almost hitting the man. Kagami shakes her head and focuses on Orochimaru.

To get the Hokage's out of his control, she must injure him enough. She runs along the peak of the roof, making sure to dodge incoming jutsu's that have strayed from the battle. It has become apparent to Kagami that the Hokage's will not aim for her while Lord Third is fighting them, she is an independent variable that wasn't supposed to be added to the formula. An error. Orochimaru didn't create their jutsu to fight her, they are only going to fight Sarutobi.

She jumps off the top of the roof, katana in hand. She flips forward, aiming her bland to Orochimaru. His eyes widen dangerously, not expecting her. He dodges at the last minute, her blade sinking into the tiled roof when he was standing. She yanks it out and holds the grip with both hands, once again using Yua's chakra to sharpen the blade and reinforce her movements. She can't do much more than that with Yua's chakra. She has always avoided relying on it.

She has always been wary that someone may notice or that if she was found out as a Jinchuriki she may not be alive to see the next day. But this is different, she must kill this man before more people are harmed. She is also wary of the damage being dealt to the village by the snake summoning and its accompanying criminal ninja. She sprints to the man, hopping around him and hoping to land a hit before he does.

Orochimaru chuckles and starts to make hand signs.

"It may have been a while Kagami, but I still know what scares you." He summons snakes, maybe a hundred, aiming for her.

She doesn't react, she isn't three anymore. She has been through worse in Root than what she did at his lab. She jumps up, sprinting over the snakes at such speed that they don't have time to react to her. She clenches her katana and swings heavily at Orochimaru, who dodges her easily. She brings it back up, nicking his cheek with the edge of her blade. His eyes widen at her contact with him. He didn't think she would be this skilled by now. She brings the kunai around with her other hand, throwing it at him sneakily while he is distracted.

He curses at her, just barely missing her attack now, but she doesn't hold back. She swings at him over and over again. Him just dodging her strikes. He isn't attacking her and she has an idea as to why. The only thing she can do now is to hope she can tire him out. She isn't sure how much of Yua's chakra she can summon to help her, or how long she can withstand it.

She hops back and takes a deep breath, glaring at the man in front of her. She feels her hair start to move, undoing itself from her ponytail and tightly entwining itself into two tightly braided buns, much like how her hair was while she was at the Nara's. Chakra engulfs her body, making her shine a bright silver.

Kagami's nose turns up in disgust, Yua is forcing a clothes change. The only other time she did this was when she would be stripped naked at the lab and then thrown back into her cell with nothing to keep her warm. Yua would magically put something on her back and keep her warm or the night until they came to do it again.

Kagami never really liked it, she found it unnecessary, she can change herself. The light disappears and her eyes widen at the sight of herself.

It's very revealing.

'Yua! What am I wearing?'

'Traditional female Hatake fighting clothes.'

'From where?!'

Bingo.

The only known heirloom of the Hatake clan, the White Light Chakra Sabre. It releases chakra when swung, so hoping that this isn't just an attempt to embarrass her, this may be another heirloom that does similar.

'Get up Kagami, you figured it.'

'Yua I am extremely uncomfortable.'

'You have shorts on under that skirt, get over it.'

Kagami takes a deep breath and tightens her grip on her now red-rimmed katana, hoping this outfit will help her in some way. She sprints forward, her bare feet smacking against the tiles. Her wing-like red sleeves sway in the wind and keep it off her shoulders. She attacks the man once again, her swings are more precise and powerful.

At most, the fact that her torso is almost completely bare with only a heart lined red top that hugs her ribs and protects her dignity means that she has more room for movement.

The skirt is short at revealing, but as it only just covers the necessary area and hugs her hips tightly, she has the full extent of her flexibility and power.

She shakes away her embarrassment and lifts her leg, bringing it around and down straight on Orochimaru's head as he focuses on her katana. Black material that wraps tightly from her ankle to thigh absorbs the extreme shock from her attacks. Though seemingly revealing and unnecessary, Kagami now understands.

'It's the perfect fighting attire.'

'Correct, now get on with it.'

Kagami chuckles at Yua's harsh tone, hoping she will forgive her later. Orochimaru's eyes widen as the girl's eyes flash silver dangerously. She aims for him again, making an effort to hit the man critically instead of just anywhere.

He curses, he can't see how she is moving her arms because of her sleeves, he can't predict an attack from her anymore. Instead, he tries to break her confidence.

"So you have had it all along," he dodges her, just merely missing the attack. "All along I thought your mother had told you where the Guardian was,"

He brings his hands together, summing his sword. He grabs it out of his throat, making Kagami feel extremely disgusted by the man, if that's possible. She ignores his words, knowing that he is trying to get to her, trying to break her facade and bring out emotion so he can weaken her easily.

She doesn't hesitate, her blade clashing loudly with the snakes. He smirks widely at her, his eyes widening in delight.

"But in reality, you had it all along, inside your body. How could I have been so careless?" He pushes down on the blade, forcing Kagami to jump back and away from him.

She had underestimated the power of him, but she isn't going to just let him walk around free. She hops away from him, towards the edge of the barrier. She places her hand to the ground, letting blood drip from her temple to her fingers.

"Summoning Jutsu: White Beasts."

Masaru and Yusi appear beyond the barrier, both in the form of larger wolves.

"Save the village, kill the snake." The two nod and hurry off, just in time for Kagami to turn back around and dodge an attack from Orochimaru.

She curses lightly under her breath as water rises around her. She jumps up, landing on top of the water lightly, sprinting across it and away from her attacker. She is running out of chakra and she doesn't know how much more her body can withhold Yua's.

She decides it may be best to act as a distraction than actually fighting. She had tired Orochimaru out as she planned but she isn't going to get much further than that in this state.

She grits her teeth and pushes forward, slipping right between Lord First and Lord Second, causing both to glance away from Sarutobi and at her. They watch her run, her sleeves flowing and her face slightly nostalgic. Tobirama's eyes widen as she makes eye contact with him, her eyes reminding him of someone.

"Ayame, she reminds you of Ayame, no?"

He looks over at his brother, nodding to him.

"An ancestor maybe? Daughter-no, a granddaughter?" Hashirama nods to his brother, "It is possible, that woman seemed to age slower than everyone else."

They are once again distracted as Hiruzen attacks suddenly, breaking them from their thoughts.

s.h.o.u.t.

Kagami is kneeling on a large branch. She has spent the last however-so-long sprinting between the Hokages and distracting them from their fight. She had many close calls where Tobirama had reached out and grabbed her sleeve or waist. But every time she seemed to just slip through his grasp, frustrating him greatly. He just wanted to ask her who she is and why she is here.

Hashirama chuckles at his brother's frustration, finding it quite entertaining that his brother can't even seem to catch a teen girl. He is also curious about her, but he has time to ask her later, now he must continue to try and harm his beloved student, under the influence of somebody else.

"Kagami rest. You have done well, but don't wear yourself out, I may need your help later." Kagami nods at the Hokage, jumping further up and into the branches that have been summoned from Lord First himself.

She finds a branch when she can sit quietly and still observe. She leans against it, trying to find her breath. Adrenaline is running through her veins, hand in hand with anxiety and admiration. She can't keep up with these people, no matter how fast she runs or how hard she attacks, her only weapon is surprise and she will use it until she wins.

She glances around anxiously, making Orochimaru isn't sneaking up on her while she rests. She notices him standing behind the two former Hokages, hiding almost. She takes in a few deep breaths before standing again.

No matter what, she has to keep moving forward.

s.h.o.u.t.

question of the chapter!

which Naruto fanfiction is your favourite?

~shadow