Back in Konoha...

Naruto has gathered everyone at his house to discuss what to do about Himawari. Currently they are all scattered about his open concept dining room that joins his living room trying to come up with a reasoning to all of this. Himawari is still sealed from what they can see as the back of her neck holds a dark symbol upon it.

"This is bad."
Konohamaru says as he lifts the hair off Himawari's neck revealing the seal.

They had finally settled her down in a chair at the end of the dining room table a fair distance away from everyone. For once she entered their home she began to get agitated, even lashing out at her brother. It took five jonin to subdue her and strap her down. She now sits with a blank look on her face, eyes bearing the same darkened glaze and pale looking skin.

"That seal is making her sick." Naruto cries out. He slams his hands onto the table, cracking one of the legs. "We shouldn't have let Hana go. We should have fought against her! This is all her fault!"

And that just tips the barrel for Kakashi. He lets out a substantial amount of chakra in anger catching everyone's attention. He is growing so tired of everyone blaming her for their own mistakes.
"It is not her damn fault and you know it, Naruto! She gave her life in exchange for Himawari's. Who knows what is happening to her now! And here you sit with the odacity to blame her for our enemies attacks! This is not only their fault but yours!"

"MY FAULT?!" Naruto lashes back." How is any of this my fault?"

"As our Kage, you have failed to keep Konoha safe. You have left us with half our defenses trying to manipulate the situation between the land of iron and lightning. I never would have dispatched as many shinobi out as you did. You focus far too much on what is going on around us in other lands when you should be focussing on what is in front of you!"

He growls loudly at Kakashi.
"I doing my fucking job, Kakashi! It's my job to protect us from harm outside of this land."

Kakashi stops him there.
"And what about what is inside lurking about? You failed to recognize our safety first! With this many people under your care you must be selfish and not give ourselves out to other the lands before securing our own. Stop blaming Hana! She's out there right now doing what you should have already been prepared for!"

Naruto stands stunned unable to speak. In fact the entire room has gone silent without any protest. Everyone knows Kakashi is right. He stumbles back, slumping down onto one of his dining chairs, his ass kicked with Kakashi's truth. He stares at his sick daughter across the table wishing he had made better decisions. Wishing that he had been a better man...

Then suddenly something goes terribly wrong. Himawari begins to growl loudly in a two toned voice. Her eyes seem to explode with black and purple negative chakra. The seal on her neck glows brightly and she rises from her chair snapping the restraints effortlessly.

All ninja stand in defense.

"Take Hinata and Boruto out of here. I don't want them to see this!" Naruto says.

Hinata desperately grabs onto her husband.
"What are you going to do?!"

"Just get Boruto out of here ok?" He replies sincerely.

They share a moment of understanding together.
"Save her, Naruto."

Naruto nods.
"I plan on it."

Hinata and Boruto are ushered out of the room just in time for Himawari to climb up onto the table. Her tiny feet patter against the table top until she has placed herself directly in the middle.

Naruto watches her closely not moving from his position even though she is only feet away. Everyone in the room is gathering chakra ready to take her down if the time comes.

"Something is triggering the seal." Kakashi states.

"It must be Hana and Shirou!" ShiKamaru says.

Kakashi knows it is too. He can get a sense of it for small sparks of azure blue seems to float around Himawari. The same sparks he sees when Hana triggers her stone. That can only mean she is fighting for them...he positions himself beside Naruto trying to predict Himawari's next move. He knows that if she is still here and sealed, there is a likelihood that the portal will reopen soon. But who will step out of that portal? That is the question. He is thankful she has Shirou by her side right now. They are one hell of a force to reckon with.

It was then Himawari began to recite words in an unknown language. Some type of ritualistic speech. She falls to her knees, arms spread wide and lifts her head to the sky. A gust of wind spirals out from her tearing the room apart. Glasses shatter, the chandelier above her rips completely from its chain and is flown across the room.

"What is happening?!" Konohamaru shouts.

Kakashi shields himself from the debris.
"I'm not sure, but Hana and Shirou are fighting for us right now."

Thunder strikes the sky above shaking the walls and every window shatters around them.
"Himawari! Stop this!" Naruto calls to her.

But she can't hear him right now, for she is bound by her soul to something dark, something not of this world. All they can do right now is hold out for Hana and Shirou....

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"This wasn't what I was expecting!" Shirou shouts as he ducks just in time to dodge a large piece of earth whipping his way.

"What the hell do you mean?!" You shout back.

You thought for sure Shirou knew exactly what he was doing. But as the seals were placed and the scripture was read in reverse out loud by yours truly, a new portal had opened. A portal to a hellish world...
"I had expected them to be sucked in, not sacrifices for something else!."

You stare at Shirou trying to understand all of this. What in the hell does he mean by sacrifices?

"Sacrifices?!"

He waves his hand over what used to be cursed shinobi.
"Their entire souls are being sucked from their bodies! Don't tell me you can't see this!"

And now that you look at them, they do look like the life is being ripped from their bodies.
"It looks that way doesn't it?!"

"Let's open that portal and get the hell out of here!" Shirou scrambles to pick up the rest of the beacons in his hands.

That sounds like a great idea, except for the fact that you have opened up a portal to a world that could possibly cause a lot of damage in your own.
"We can't just leave! We need to close that portal!"

Shirou turns towards you fumbling with the amount of beacons in his hands.
"Are you kidding me?!"

"If we don't close this portal it could cause some damage, or it could follow us home!!"

He scowls then whispers something under his breath and looks back at the suffering shinobi. .
"Fuck sake!...fine! We will need to save at least one!"

Save one?....that is the last thing you wanted to do. However, now that you think about it, saving one would disrupt the entire summoning and sever the connection to the portal. But who do you want to save?

You begin to analyze each individual.

Akashi, a level headed jonin who has always been on the more quiet side. He has never really caused you problems growing up. He is much older than you and far less creepy than Jun. Yet he is the one leading the group through this whole devilish escapade. The one to fool you first...

And then there is Jun, a loud mouthed pervert who is terrible with the ladies. He lacks a lot of respect for most but can be put in his place easily with the flex of your power, especially Shirou's. He knows his place amongst you and you have had far more positive experiences in your past with him than anyone else in their group. But he is also a big nasty perv....

Then there is tarot, he is young and bold. Not afraid of anything. You have watched him go up against foes with no fear or caution. How he made it this far is beyond you. But now that you look at him, like really look at him, you can tell he is far too gone. The curse has taken over most of his body. As he screams in pain he shows inhuman fangs. His eyes are just like the mute ninja and his personality has been stripped of him.

There is only one ninja you can save....the pervy one....

As if Shirou has read your mind completely you both call out the name of the ninja you will save.
"Jun!"

At that you two leap into action drawing stone energy and chakra.
"Shield and arrow!" Shirou calls to you.

You know exactly what to do, he will create the barrier around the subject, blocking the soul sucking portal from your path and you will snatch him using your cohort speed. Except this time you will transform into her Panther form to harness her full potential backed with the stone.

"You have a fraction of a second to get him out!" He shouts through the sounds of screams, wind, and buzzing energy.

That is not a whole lot of time. Good thing you and your cohort are working together now. You get into position with determination.

"Be quick!" He reminds you.

"I plan on it!" You snap back.

"Ready?!" He asks, powering up chakra and stone energy.

In your mind you make your connection with your cohort. She sits waiting for you as always, her reflection glistening in the pool of water below her. She opens her mouth panting, and lowers her head to the pool. You reach out to touch it and just as you both make contact power erupts from inside you.

It was a soft comforting feeling without pain this time. It envelopes you in a blue light, transforming your body in just a few seconds. You open your eyes to the chaos unraveling, getting a sense of it all through your now hybrid eyes. All of your senses are at their peak, your speed and agility are well known and you realize how powerful you really are in this form. You know you can do this with less time he has given you.

Wasn't it Naruto who asked if you have ever stopped time completely. Well no you haven't. But what you can do is move faster than the speed of time. To Naruto it may look like you've stopped it completely as everything around you slows to a near stop. You can now see the dark energy floating around the shinobi in light and airy wisps. You take off towards your target, cracking the earth below you.

Shirou has already placed his barrier which you can clearly see. A capsule of dusty red smoke repelling the dark energy. In no time you have reached Jun, you pounce on him with such speed and force he is blown entirely out of the summoning ring. To save his bear skin from scraping against the desert floor you curl yourself around his body protecting him as best you can while you skid across the desert away from the portal.

It was quite sometime before you two slowed your momentum. In the meantime Shirou has taken it upon himself to gather up the beacons and follow you. Getting as far away as possible from the portal is your only chance of survival. For once you had forced Jun to break the circle an explosion of dark chakra bursts from it and every ninja there was torn to dust.

Screams of entities beyond the portal rim can be heard. They are approaching the opening fast. But not fast enough.

Shirou flies by you as you come to a stop and he tosses the largest beacon into the air towards you. Just as your paws grip into the soil you snatch up the beacon in your mouth, spit it out onto the ground and stomp on the red button with your paw engaging the core.

"Ready?!" Shirou shouts.

You growl back in response and pour your energy into the beacon, at the same time Shirou activates the rest of the beacons using the snakes slithering out from his torso. With precise synchronicity you both manage to open a new portal. However, as it spirals open in front of you a massive explosion erupts behind you sending a wave of dark energy towards you.

Time slows once again, but only due to shock waves and the fact that your mind hasn't quite caught up with your body as you are soaring through the air towards the now fully open portal. Your mind still hasn't registered the fact that you are barreling towards Himawari who sits kneeled on a table with her back turned away. Only instincts are available right now, no thoughts can be processed. Not even the image of Shirou screaming fuuuuuuck as loud as he can as he soars by your right side while Jun soars by your left, clipping your jaw with an unconscious flailing arm. No...you don't even notice them...you have hit a white puffy cloud in your mind and aren't quite ready to come back to reality just yet...

You are so very thankful for your cohort, for she has taken over all thought processes. Your paws wrap gracefully around the child, your body turns onto its backside and you hit the table with a thud sliding across it until you reach the very edge where you come to a relieving halt.

Around you is chaos. But you can't even comprehend it. The only thing you know is the feeling of a child in your panther arms, curled up into your fur. There is a bad ringing in your ears, most likely from the explosion and or concussion and all parts of you are aching in pain.

You close your eyes instinctively whispering thank you's into the air....

And you black out right then and there. Not because of the stone this time, but because your body has truly just had enough. It is time for some much needed rest.....you've earned it....

—————————————-

As you slide to a stop in front of Kakashi, all shinobi in the room panic. For you are not in your regular form, you are in Panther form and no one can tell if you are yourself or if your cohort has completely taken over.

Yet Kakashi can tell right away. He knows it's you this time by the way you hold Himawari, shielding her from a blast pouring out of a portal opening that had suddenly appeared above Naruto's dining room table. You wouldn't have protected the girl if it wasn't truly you. He knows this. It brings him so much relief, that is until he watches you fall unconscious on the table.

"Hana!" He calls to you, but is interrupted by Shirou shouting at him.

"Smash the beacons!" He says and tosses him two.

Kakashi catches them easily and tears them in two effortlessly. Shirou hands out the rest of the beacons to the others and frantically searches the room for another.

"Where is it?!" He shouts in a panic.

"Where is what?!" Naruto shouts back.

"The last beacon! Hana had it...I can't find it!"

By now Kakashi has caught sight of it in the distance through the portal they had just come out of. He doesn't hesitate despite the warnings from Shirou and Naruto to body flicker over it. He grabs it in both hands and prepares for another body flicker but another explosion erupts behind him forcing him to the ground.

"Hurry Kakashi!" Shirou calls to him, reaching out a hand.

There is no time for body flicker now as another shock wave from the blast is now tearing up the ground in his direction. He scrambles to his feet running as fast as he can. Noticing the portal is now faltering and growing smaller. Just as he reaches the opening he dives through catching Shirou's hand.

Shirou pulls him back through the opening and Kakashi crushes the beacon all at the same time. They both fall onto the table and all its legs give out dropping Hana, Himawari, Kakashi and Shirou to the floor.

The portal disappears and all calamity subsides as the room grows eerily silent. Naruto comes to his feet and the others follow. It would seem that the last eruption had managed to force everyone in the room to the ground. It has also destroyed the rest of his home creating a large pile of debris and dust.

Coughing and sputtering, Kakashi comes to his feet. His head begins to pound as the blood settles back into his limbs. It is quite possible he has suffered a small concussion from that last blast. But he shakes it off and desperately makes his way over to Hana.

There she lies unconscious with Himawari in her arms. Her body no longer clothed due to her transformation into Panther and back to her human form. She is beaten, bruised, bloody, and covered in mud. His heart drops at the sight of her as he kneels down to place a hand on her neck, checking if she has a pulse. He knows she will never be that far gone, but it comforts him enough to feel the blood pumping through her veins. Just to make sure she is still a living and breathing being. It doesn't hesitate to bring tears to his eyes. But this isn't the saddest part of it all....no...the saddest part is that he is growing used to seeing her like this...even though he promised it wouldn't ever happen again....

He runs his fingers through her hair.

"She's not a Panther anymore..." Naruto states solemnly. "Get me a blanket or something to cover her up."

Quickly Konohamaru hurries to find something in the living room and returns with a torn up curtain which Naruto takes dismally. For she deserves something better than a ripped up curtain to cover herself up with. He drapes it over her with care then scoops his little girl up into his arms.

She whines into his shoulder as she rouses from her sleep.
"Dad?" She asks in a hoarse whisper.

"It's me sweetheart." He replies, and tightens his embrace, soothing her whines.

"Where's...Hana?" She asks.

Kakashi wraps Hana up in the curtain and picks her up gently.
"She's ok. I'll get her home for some rest."

By now Shirou has joined Kakashi by his side, pressing a dusty hand to her back.
"This was all too much for her." He says, shaking his head. "She's been through so much, I think she's just done with it all...."

Kakashi looks at him, analyzing his expression and energy. It was very concerning to hear that. To hear that Hana may have given up.
"She will be ok...." He replies, unsure of his own words.

Shirou shakes his head.
"Take her home, I'll deal with that asshole over there." He points to the lifeless body of Jun who is crumpled up against one of the very walls left in Naruto's home.

Kakashi nods and leaves the room with Hana in his arms...

Naruto begins to bark orders at his ninja...

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