A/N: You guys may have guessed this already, but for a bit the majority of the story's gonna be focused on Kazue. Miki's plotline will take time to develop and, well, you know what's wrong with Jun's. XD

The moment that the fifth shinobi appeared, Miki knew she was royally screwed.

Given the fact she already held a kunai in each hand, she was more than prepared for the ambush, but Miki had to admit that the numbers were leaning in a rather discouraging direction. Honestly, she'd only asked a question. Who would have guessed that it would turn the entire tavern into a war zone?

Oh, look, there were six now.

Where the fuck they coming from was what she wanted to know. Cursing under her breath, she glanced over her shoulder to discover two more blocking the path to the doorway. So, there were eight in all. Despite all of this, Miki didn't budge from from where she'd relaxed on one of the many red velvet couches that decorated the tavern. Her hands were thrown up over the back, kunai resting against where the cushions dipped down. Rather, she simply cocked a brow at the slowly growing number.

"I'm warning you now," Miki said, pitching her voice so she could be certain it was loud enough to be heard around the room. "I'm in a piss poor mood. If you don't want to die, you'll put your weapons away and discuss this matter like intelligent individuals."

As one might guess, her words did little good. The first shinobi launched themselves at her, several shuriken burying themselves in the back of the couch as she ducked out of the way. Her kunai came up, skimming the shinobi's cheek as she landed a rather solid kick to their gut without standing. Honestly, did they think the fact she was sitting down meant they could approach her without caution? The shinobi was sent skidding back as they clutched their gut and doubled over coughing. Several of the others followed in the idiot's lead, launching attacks which she deflected without any real effort.

"Dammit," she hissed when one of them managed to skim her arm. "I. Just. Want. To. Talk!"

With that, she slipped her katana from its sheath and lunged off of the couch. With a movement that the majority of the shinobi in the room couldn't hope to see, she slid the katana smoothly through the shoulder of the offending male. They went still instantly, Miki jerking the katana from their corpse with little concern. The others backed off, as if only just then realizing that the woman before them might be just a bit more than trouble than they'd originally guessed. A grim smile crossed her lips, Miki settling the tip of her katana were two of the floorboards met.

"Now," she began. "Two options. You keep being morons and I take you all out without a second thought. Like I said, I'm in a piss poor mood and you're making it worse. If you haven't noticed the lack of forehead protector, I'll point it out to you now. No one is watching me at the moment to make sure I don't wipe your asses from the face of the planet."

She paused in her speech, meeting the uneasy eyes of the shinobi around the room. Her appearance when doubled with her rather wide-spread reputation should have sunk into their thick skulls by this point. She held little doubt that most of them should have placed her name, forehead protector or not.

"Or, there's option two. You answer my question and I'll walk out that door. This option leaves you breathing."

Hesitation swept over the faces of the enemy shinobi.

"Do we have a deal?"

Unsurprisingly, they seemed to calm down somewhat.

"Good. Now, let's talk. When's the last time you saw these men..."

*****

Etsuko lunged forward, swinging her foot towards Jin's head. Quick as a whip, Jin dropped out of the way of the blow, thrusting out with one of her sai to block the kunai that plunged towards her face at that same second. Kazue's breath caught in her throat at the sight, only the slight shake of Neji's head keeping her from moving to stop the fight. By all rights, Jin appeared to be an eleven year old at the most.

Why would Etsuko go all out against a girl like that?

As this went through Kazue's mind, Jin put space between her and Etsuko, her sai laying lightly against her thighs.

"Am I to assume you wish for me to use genjutsu?"

Etsuko paused, spreading one hand in the air.

"Either or," she replied. "I'm curious about how far you have to be pushed before you use it. From your movements just now... however... I'd be open to you simply using it as well. I highly doubt forcing you to use your genjutsu would be a short task, would it?"

Jin shook her head, lips pursed. The action gave the girl an unusually cautious feeling. Typically, Jin didn't seem to hesitate when it came to her opponents. So, why in this case did it matter? An uneasy feeling crept up the back of Kazue's neck. She had to wonder... if Jun's genjutsu was as bad as it was, what could Jin's possibly feel like? She'd been allowed to grow without any outside interference when in Orochimaru's care. In fact, Kazue assumed Jin's monstrous side was encouraged.

What were they about to see?

Jin seemed to come to some decision. She stowed her sai, her eyes studying Etsuko critically. At the same time, she raised one of her hands to brush her neck, fingers lying just behind a layer of black hair. It wasn't the first time Kazue had seen the action. She'd realized it to be a subconscious gesture on Jin's part, whenever the girl was uneasy.

Still, it was the first time she'd seen this personality of Jin's do it.

Just as she opened her mouth to question if Jin was okay, the girl snapped her hand down and pressed her fingers together. Her eyes were narrowed. There were no words to describe how... off the air felt at that moment. The only thing Kazue could compare it to was the seconds in the past when Jun's control had frayed. It just felt... off.

"Silent Illusion: Snake's Charm."

Kazue's eyes widened. How could Jin know Silent Illusion of all the genjutsu techniques she could know? As far as Kazue was aware, it was a technique unique to Jun's branch of the Kurama family. She'd heard him tell Miki as much when she questioned having not seen it before. He'd mentioned digging the scrolls out of the techniques his parents had left behind.

Whatever the reason behind it, she could only watch as the air around Jin shimmered, then twisted as a glimmering, emerald snake suddenly seemed to tear out of the earth next to her feet. It curled itself around where Jin stood, it's massive, probably two-foot thick body working as a shield while it's head ripped up and down through the earth as it lunged towards Etsuko. She easily dodged, eyes narrowed thoughtfully as she studied the snake. Her shuriken flew through the air, then jerked back as they were repelled by the snake's scales.

Kazue could only stare. This snake... it was real. Just like Jun's genjutsu. Jin really was...

The snake twisted through the air in an impossibly sharp movement. It's fanged mouth slammed shut only inches from Etsuko's heels as the woman dodged out of the way once again. Etsuko cursed, this time putting distance between her and the thing-- well, as much as she could with it constantly lunging at her-- as she drew out another weapon. The kunai glinted in the sunlight as she twisted it in her fingers.

Then she suddenly slashed it across her left arm.

"What in hell--"

"Dammit, Etsuko!" Akito hissed, taking a step forward. It was only the woman pointing her kunai in his direction and snapping that he better stay put that kept the man from lunging out to help his wife.

The snake lunged for Etsuko again. She didn't move, instead dropping her kunai and placing her right palm over the blood gushing from the wound. Last second, she lunged to the side, roughly hitting the earth as the snake once again snapped its jaws shut on thin air. It turned, rearing up in the air before her as Etsuko flashed her hands through sign after sign. It's head lunged forward, teeth glistening with deadly poison. Etsuko ducked last second, her hands brushing the bottom of it's head as the snake's body lunged over hers.

"Taira's Demand: Release!"

The snake shattered like glass, then disappeared.

Etsuko simply flopped back on the grass, a breathy laugh escaping her.

"Well, that was fun."

Akito snorted, obviously not amused. He was the first to dart out of the shielded grounds, dropping to his knees at Etsuko's side and putting out his hand expectantly. The woman rolled her eyes, but shifted her arm into his hand. Instantly, a familiar green glow surrounded where their skin touched. Kazue looked towards Jin, who was looking suspiciously pale. She could easily guess why. That sort of genjutsu, it couldn't have been easy for someone who rarely practiced anything beyond ninjutsu. Still, she said nothing. Jin wasn't the type to accept concern, not when she was like this.

So, as she and Neji moved towards Etsuko instead, Kazue asked the question that was no doubt on both their minds.

"How did you do that?"

Etsuko peered around Akito, amusement on her lips.

"You didn't see?" she asked. "I was all dramatic, you know. Theatrical. I thought you'd appreciate the gesture."

"Try, you thought you'd give me a heart attack," Akito grumbled.

"Taria's Demand requires blood," Neji said.

It was obvious, Kazue realized. Every time she'd seen the jutsu used, blood had been involved. Why, though?

"Yeah," Etsuko replied, dropping her head back onto the grass. "It does. Care to take a guess?"

Kazue glanced at Neji, who'd pursed his lips. No doubt he was putting thought into whatever he'd seen during the fight. At one point he'd had his byakugan activated, so he'd probably seen enough to wager a guess. It was Jin, however, that supplied the answer.

"Pure chakra."

Etsuko beamed.

"Right! Pure chakra, straight from the body itself. Kurama genjutsu is a bundle of emotion and chakra. Their fears, expectations, hatred, all of it. That's what the scrolls say at least. You'd have to ask Kurama-chan over there how true that is. Anyways. Normally, people try to jerk themselves out of it, but that doesn't really work when with this genjutsu, you know? It's overwhelming given it attacks every single of your senses and practically forces itself into reality. Imagine if someone took pure, unmolded chakra and threw it at a blind man. You trying to break out if it is like you telling that blind man to dodge it. He knows it's there, but he has no clue what way to go to avoid it. Your mind has no clue what path to take to untangle itself from the web of chakra Kurama genjutsu is."

"So, you don't dodge," Kazue realized.

"Right! You tackle it head on."

Neji's eyes narrowed, his body tensing somewhat at whatever realization had come to him.

"Then the danger it poses..." he began.

Etsuko nodded, evidently pleased.

"Death. The jutsu can drain you of every bit of chakra your body possesses to counter the jutsu before it. That's what Taria's Demand is."

A/N: Short, but a good place to leave off. Plus, I'm still musing over how long to make this arc.