As pain jolted through his limp, he struck out at the unseen creature with his kunai. When the weapon simply cut through air, Jun found himself losing his balance, the combination of his injured shoulder and ankle resulting in him having to catch himself with one hand to keep from simply tumbling over. His senses stretched out around him- attempting to pick up on any sign of movement- as his mind searched for anything in all the books that he'd read that would match up with this genjutsu.

If it was documented, then he might have read it. If he'd read it, he'd be able to get an idea of how to fight it.

This in mind- he needed time.

"Why?"

The word slipped from his slips upon the realization that time was to his advantage. It was the obvious question and while he didn't admit it to himself- or perhaps he it was that he couldn't at this time given the circumstances- the question was one that he desperately wanted the answer to.

"They all trust you. Why?"

Everyone trusted Sadou- he was given sole responsibility of the princess after all. Sure, Saichi was in charge of her protection when she left the palace, but Sadou was always with her. No matter where she went, he was watching over her. The security risk would have been obvious- they would have checked the male out. He'd always backed down like a civilian when matters of danger came into play. He'd cared for her- taken the time to show Kazue the ropes of the role when she'd played Ai after the girl had run away.

The sinking realization that there had been a sign crossed his mind in that single moment.

Ai- practical, yet uneasy Ai- would she have honestly run away without any influence? She came back far too easily for someone who'd set their mind on the idea of not marrying Noaki. If he'd learned anything about Ai it was that she shared Kazue's stubborn nature. The girls were far too similar.

So how was it that a few words on Saichi's part changed her mind? Had someone influenced her in the first place? Said something to make her run- putting herself in danger if Saichi hadn't shown up and found her?

A chilling chuckle swept through the room.

"Does it matter?"

This time Jun sensed the attack coming, flashing out a kunai and striking into something solid. A yelp answered the attack and his eyes narrowed thoughtfully despite the pain still flooding his system. An animal? Perhaps a summon?

Either way, with the multiple layers of genjutsu, he had no way of knowing what was being hidden by the dark. The only way he could sense it even was just through the slight changes in the fabric of the genjutsu- something he was only as sensitive to as he was due to his nature. He may have held little skill in sensing others and their locations, but when it came to a genjutsu, he'd rarely come across one that he couldn't eventually unravel.

"I'm curious."

As he spoke, he returned to his previous occupation of feeling out the illusion with his sensing ability, carefully checking or any weakness or hole in it's weaving. As he did, he kept himself knelt in place, his kunai free hand grazing over the skin of his ankle. His lips formed a thin line, fingers growing sticky with the blood gushing over the skin. More to the point of what he was looking for, however, he felt several indents in the skin- telling him whatever it was that had attacked him was definitely animal like. In that same second, something else lunged for him, sending him sprawling back as his attempt to fend it off resulted in his kunai catching it's teeth, keeping the creatures unseen jaws inches from his face. He could feel the heat from it's body as it bared down on him, forcing itself against his limited strength.

"Perhaps it's normal to wonder," Sadou mused, his voice seeming to come from everywhere at once. "Very well. It's simple- I was never from this country in the first place. Just because there's no war doesn't mean countries aren't still fighting, Jun. It simply means that the fighting goes underground. Imagine this- being given a decade long mission with the only goal being to give the country hell. If these two die--"

With his words came a thump and a groan, causing Jun to grit his teeth and without thought to the action, his eyes flick to the side away from the creature and into the black. Had Sadou kicked the captives? That would mean he had to be on that side of the room still, wouldn't it?

"--imagine what will happen? The daimyo of the fire country won't be pleased- he'll probably be pissed. The fragile peace between the moon and the leaf would probably crumble. Then, there's the fact that this guy--"

There was another thump, only this one was met with silence.

"--couldn't protect them. The Goto clan, despite their ties to the crown, would probably be disgraced. I can't imagine so many people would revere and fear them if they failed to protect the princess from a simple group of ransom seeking thugs. And of course, the only survivor will tell a tale of how horribly he failed. A wonderful thought, isn't it? Two countries pitched into war while mine simply escapes without as much as a scratch? Then, when the leaf and moon have torn each other apart, we can step in and pick up the pieces.

"Why, you ask? Because it's beneficial. Because why not?"

The creature snarled, shoving past Jun's kunai in his distraction and burying it's teeth in his injured shoulder. He locked his jaw to keep from crying out in pain, instead twisting his hand and burying the hilt of his kunai in the creature's gut. It yelped, releasing his shoulder, giving him time to get a leg up beneath it and slam his knee into its already rapidly bloody gut. The creature was thrown free of him, giving Jun a moment to shove his pain to the side and scramble to his feet. His gaze settled on where he had heard the groan from. He shifted his foot against the ground, testing how it would hold up, shoving the dizziness assaulting his mind to the side.

Apparently his slight frame didn't take well to the blood continuing to gush from his shoulder. One heavy wound atop of another wasn't exactly something his body was equipped to handle when he'd already spent quite a large amount of chakra and lost an equally staggering amount of blood.

His foot would hurt, but he could walk on it. That was the thought he focused his mind on, even when despite the darkness, he could make out Kurai suddenly standing next to him as clear as day.

"Hey, Jun, this is pretty bad, isn't it?" Kurai mused.

"Shut up," Jun muttered in response. "Just shut up."

Kurai's lips twisted up, his eyes flicking over Jun's ragged form, his heaving chest, and then to the direction Jun was peering in.

"Okay..." he replied simply, his smile turning into a full out grin. "Whatever you say, Jun~!"

Coming to a decision, after sending out several shuriken in retaliation to the creatures he could sense coming closer, Jun launched himself towards where the groan had come from. Almost instantly, there was softest of sounds from the flutter of clothing as someone jumped away that Jun only picked up on due to the intense concentration of his senses. His eyes flickered upwards, narrowed as he skidded to a stop- sending a flash of pain through his entire leg. Rather than follow it, however, he kept a careful amount of his attention on the feeling of the genjutsu around them as he felt out with his injured foot- as he could put all his weight on his good foot using this method- for the captives. When he struck something solid, he knelt down, hand flickering over the figures gathered there. When his hand touched one that was obviously Saichi, he instantly shoved chakra into his hand- going with the easiest method he could think of to at least pull Saichi to this layer of the genjutsu instead of whatever was keeping the boy still and silent. Instantly there was an intake of breath as he was jolted to the present.

Which Jun could only hope was a good sign as in that same second, he sensed someone behind him. Without hesitation, he spun, thrusting his kunai towards the figure. It was met with the clash of metal as Sadou caught his kunai with his own, eyes narrowed at where he could perfectly see Jun standing before him. After all, even if the room had gone black for the boy, Sadou could see perfectly. He had to wonder what sort of power lurked the child- he knew what was supposed to be there- but beyond that slip at the beginning of the trip to the Moon, he'd never seen a sign of what was allegedly lurking beneath the surface.

Some part of him- some sickly curious part- wondered what it would take to provoke that sort of power out of Jun. Would injuring him further do it? Or was there some sort of trick to the the matter?

He was stalling for time... what harm would come from satisfying his curiosity? After all, how often did a strong genjutsu user get the chance to go up to one of the monstrously gifted Kurama clan members?

Sadou shoved his strength against Jun's, causing the boy to skid back as the weight against his injuries made it difficult to handle his own. What Sadou had seen- however- that the boy was unaware of was how close his attempt to free Saichi for assistance had taken him to the wall. Within a second of his taking a step back to try and keep from losing his grip, his back hit the surface, leaving him no where to run unless he could miraculously get past the shinobi. This in mind, he gritted his teeth and despite the pain he knew was about to flood through him, he shoved his weight onto his bad foot and struck out with his good one. Sadou- distracted by his intentions- grunted as it sent him back several feet.

Jun's lips twisted upwards in a humorless smirk, even as another wave of dizziness swept over him, causing him to stagger back into the wall once more. He shook his head, attempting to clear it. If the world hadn't already been black he had no doubt that at this point, fuzziness would have been invading his vision. Perhaps it was a good thing that he couldn't see anything- he didn't have to worry about the problematic matter of the blood loss affecting his sight. Just as he was about to shove away from the wall and meet Sadou's next attack, the sound of a door somewhere flying into the wall next to it met his ears.

He froze.

"Jun!"

"Dammit," he spat out, his voice more hoarse than he would have liked. "Tenten, get out!"

She froze in the doorway, confusion flooding her as the room she could have sworn had light leaking from it out into the hall when the door was shut was revealed to be pitch black. Within a second she'd recovered, however, and came to an instant decision. She couldn't use her usually fighting method with her scrolls, at least until she knew where her allies were. There was the chance of injuring them if she couldn't see them. That known, she armed herself with a kunai in each hand, took a deep breath as she let her eyes fall shut, then focused on the only sense useful to her at the moment.

Sound- Jun's ragged breaths were eerily easy to pick up on.

Twirling the end of her kunai around her finger, she pursed her lips, focusing on the noise. Jun was there. A grunt came a second later, the clash on metal as Jun obviously threw himself at someone that was armed. The sound was soft, as if there was something between her and it.

Tenten's eyes snapped open despite the black she knew she would see.

It was a risk.

Her fingers caught the kunai's handle, her teeth clasping her lip as she weighed the decision in her mind.

She'd have to trust him.

Then, without a second's more of hesitation, she brought back her hand and sent the kunai flying through the air. Following it up, she crossed the room in seconds, the sound of her kunai being deflected touching her ears just as she flung her foot towards the air in front of her, the distinct woosh of air indicating that she'd barely missed someone flooding her senses. Reacting instinctively, she slunk one hand into her weapon's pouch, drawing out a smoke bomb and dropping it to the floor.

Tenten was no idiot after all. If someone could react so easily to an unseen attack- then obviously it wasn't unseen. What sort of ability would be able to match Jun? Obviously, high-level genjutsu or close range fighting would be the most likely choices. The fact that the room wasn't dark from outside, the fact her opponent seemed to be able to see, and that Jun was in trouble- it all pointed to a genjutsu. If it was a genjutsu, then her opponent wasn't caught because he was the user. If that was the case, a smoke screen would put him on the same level as her- blind.

A chuckle echoed through the air.

"Smart little girlfriend you've got there, Jun."

The sound had no one location, causing a curse to escape her lips. She reactively struck out a second later when the sound of movement caught her attention, but was startled as the sound of metal-meeting-metal was echoed by a grunt of pain.

"Jun?"

She hesitated and didn't bother to create a deadlock- which gave him the chance to grab ahold of her arm and draw her closer to him. She swallowed as his hands traced her arm, then without an explanation turned her around, within a second the feeling of his back against hers assaulting her senses.

"Back-to-back," he informed her in an unusually clipped manner. "If we know where the other is, then we won't hurt each other."

"What's goin--"

"Throw your kunai, now!"

She reacted instantly, doing as said and was startled to hear an animalistic yelp of pain in response. Jun's back slouched against her's, something she had to wonder was relief at the idea she'd listened, or just a reaction to whatever was causing him to breathe as heavily as he was.

"Tenten?"

"Yeah?"

"I'll... I'll tell you when they move. Can you keep them off of us long enough for me to catch my breath and end this?"

"Ju--"

"Don't argue," he cut in with a firm, very un-Jun-like tone. "His genjutsu is stronger than mine. What chance do you have of breaking it? Three o'clock."

She struck out once more, the same animalistic cry of pain echoing her action. She gritted her teeth, searching for anything to change his mind and coming up empty. At the same time, the scene from the beginning of the mission flashed through her mind- of the man becoming littered with cuts without Jun even touching him.

"I...." she began, trailing off hesitantly. "... I can. You can trust me."

"Good."

Jun stretched out his senses once more, focusing his spinning mind on the air around them. Once more, he felt out the jutsu. This time, even as he called out lunges to Tenten, he turned his attention completely to the build of the genjutsu himself. He didn't bother looking for holes or weaknesses, just focused his mind on where it was. Then, Jun took one more ragged breath.

His hands, despite the protest in his shoulder, raised to press together in a simple sign. His mind flickered over the low amount of chakra he had left to spare- at least, the amount he could spare until he risked Kurai stepping in. One, strong attack, there was enough left of him for that, he decided. His eyes slid shut, mind pulling up a genjutsu. For what he had planned, the exact genjutsu was of no problem. He doubted he'd actually be able to catch the man in something that wasn't influenced by Kurai- whom he was barely holding back at that moment. No, what mattered was shoving through the fabric of the one currently in place and breaking the man's concentration long enough to shatter it.

Even a powerful genjutsu user would have trouble putting something as complicated as this genjutsu into place a second time. Especially given that Jun had no doubt that the moment Sadou came into view, Tenten would attack.

He was counting on it.

"Silent Illusion: Leaf Storm!"

Jun slumped against Tenten's back, the sudden surge of chakra that left him making the dizziness sweeping through him all the worse. At the same second, he was acutely aware as the genjutsu around them shattered, his own cutting through it. His vision blurred as light flooded the room and a cry of pain met his ears, something that while unable to collect his scattered thoughts, drew Tenten's attention instantly.

Her breath caught in her throat at the sight- it was the scene in the forest again. Cuts littering the man's skin, no reason in sight. Within a second Sadou had dropped to the ground- landing lightly on his feet as he broke through whatever jutsu had been holding him, but the effects remaind. Trails of blood carving their way down his skin from each, straight, deep cut.

For a moment, she was simply frozen in place.

"... Jun."

His gaze flickered to Sadou then, narrowing despite everything when he picked up on the signs. Kurai was there, even if he didn't feel him at the moment. Otherwise- his illusion would have been just that- an illusion. Not reality- not sharp enough to cut through skin. The awareness decorated Sadou's face, excitement and anger mixing, creating a strange combination that sent a chill down Tenten's spin despite everything.

"Showing your true colors, Kurama Jun?"

Sadou's hands moved- preparation of casting a jutsu- and Tenten reacted without thought. She whipped her scroll out, casting her jutsu before he'd had time to gather any chakra. Unlike Sadou and Jun, she wasn't near spent. An array of weapons flew at him from the scroll, causing the man to use the chakra he'd been gathering to instead propel him into the air, snatching shuriken from his pouch as he did and sending them raining down on the duo.

Her eyes narrowed, Tenten twisted the scroll and used it as a shield to catch each shuriken with one, swift movement. Then, without pause, she snatched them from where they'd buried themselves in her makeshift shield and sent them back towards the shinobi where he'd attached himself to the ceiling. With a scowl, he dodged, his path landing him a foot ahead of her as he struck out with a new kunai retrieved from his pouch in the movement. Tenten met him, a kunai snatched from her own pouch in a split second.

Genjutsu- she couldn't handle. This, a weapons fight? A walk in the park for a girl who had been throwing kunai before she'd fully learned how to mold chakra.

Meanwhile, Jun sunk to the ground behind them, shifting so he press his back to the wall as a support. Next to him- Kurai snickered- his own childish form relaxed, arms over his chest as his back also graced the wall.

"She's not going to let it go this time, Jun," he announced in a sing-song voice.

Ignoring the figure only visible to him- Jun focused on the ones that anyone could see- the captives. Saichi deadly cold eyes were settled on the fight- his mouth gagged, hands gathered behind his back. Jun couldn't help the stray question of how exactly the jounin had got himself into this situation. A helpless Saichi simply didn't compute in his head- fuzzy thoughts or not.

A fact which changed the moment that the fight shifted and Sadou's foot came within reach of the trio of captives. In a movement even Jun had trouble following, Saichi's arm struck out from behind his back, a glistening kunai burying itself in Sadou's leg. The shock of the action caused the man to stumble, another gash in his form being created as Tenten's weapon made it past his defense. The more important wound- however- was the one on his leg.

After all, it was Saichi who'd attacked.

Saichi- a Goto.

Sadou had attacked the princess- strike one. He'd managed to subdue Saichi- strike two. He'd plotted to tear their country apart- to humiliate the Goto clan- strike three.

Gotos killed for less on a daily basis.

The pain struck first- something Sadou gritted his teeth against as he quickly leap back, despite the injury in his leg to put distance between him and the others. The skin blistered- seemingly without a cause- something which sent the alarm bells ringing through Sadou's mind. Within that same second, however, came the numbness. A sign that it was already too late.

He'd pissed off Saichi- there was no going back from that. Jun blinked uncomprehendingly as the man's leg suddenly gave out behind him, sending him to one knee. Without a word, Saichi surged to his feet, dragging the gag from his mouth as he revealed his already unbound hands. At some point within the fight, Saichi must have released himself. Tenten and Jun simply watched as the boy strode over and studied the already struggling to breathe Sadou. For a moment, Saichi didn't move, his gaze icey. Then, however, he knelt, his fingers diving deep into his pouch as he dug out a vial, a smile touching his lips that neither Leaf shinobi wanted to ever see again.

"As much as I'd love to let that poison kill you- which I assure you it would if I let it run it's course- I'd rather take you home instead. What's the fun in killing you in seconds when we have positions there that can leave you in agony for weeks before death?"

As Sadou- a man who had only moments ago been able to taste victory- stared at him, Saichi simply pulled out a single kunai, drenching it with the vial.

"Oh, and while I'm sure you'd much prefer- well, that's if you weren't more fond of death than of the future you face- I allow you to drink this, I'd rather take the more painful route."

Without warning, he buried the kunai in Sadou's flesh, a smirk touching his lips. Then, without further ado, he stood and dropped the kunai, turning his attention to the two unconscious figures huddled in the corner, then to Jun where he was propped against the wall, then to Tenten. Without an explanation, he crossed back to the other captives and knelt, pulling Ai into his arms, and started for the door as if nothing had just happened.

"I'll be back."

Jun could only stare at his back.

After everything that had happened, it ended like that?

His gaze flickered to where Sadou was gasping for breath. Tenten hesitated, her gaze flickering between Jun and Noaki. A second later she started towards her companion, but Jun shook his head as soon as her movement clicked in his mind.

"Noaki first."

She paused, about to argue, then simply sighed and nodded her agreement. Their mission wasn't finished until the boy was out of danger, after all. Moving over to the unconscious male, she shifted him about until she'd managed to sling Noaki over her shoulder and followed in Saichi's footsteps. They didn't have time to waste- after all. Who knew what other dangers laid in the building beyond Sadou.

Jun's fuzzy gaze settled on Sadou the moment Tenten had left. Black threatened the edge of his vision, only held back by pure will. He wasn't going to collapse- not until they were out of this building. Their gazes met, despite the fact that Jun doubted the man was very far from unconsciousness. He'd felt the effects of Saichi's poisons before- they weren't easily handled, with or without an antidote. Despite all of this, however, Sadou's lips twisted up in amusement.

"They trust you."

His eyes narrowed.

"Go to hell."

Sadou simply laughed in response, an action which pitched him into a coughing fit.

"How wonderful- I wonder, how long is it until you betray them as well? Until the day appears in which it's not an enemy being cut by your hidden blade?"

Anger flooded though his system- cutting through everything. What right did Sadou have to ask that question? He wasn't the one who'd betrayed everyone. He wasn't the one who'd tried to kill them. Jun had helped- he'd completed his mission. 

He wasn't a traitor. 

The black that threatened his vision took over in that moment.

That familiar feeling- that euphoria- swept through his body. It was a welcome change to the pain- his mind not completely comprehending the meaning behind the feeling. He revealed in it- welcomed it- then tore himself from it the moment he actually realized it was there. His hands clenched at his sides, feelign distinctly more sticky than before.

His eyes snapped open- he hadn't even realized he shut them- as his feet gave out beneath him. When had Jun stood? How had he stood? His inflamed ankle hurt too much at this point, his head spun.

His eyes swept around the room, confusion flooding through him. Hadn't he been against the wall a second ago? When his eyes fell on Sadou, he stiffened.

No, it hadn't been a second ago, he realized. Otherwise- the blood gushing from the clean slice across Sadou's neck wouldn't have existed.

Kurai's laughter hit the air just as another voice swept over the room, one that sent a chill through his mind.

"...Jun?"

She'd let it go once.

He doubted she'd do it again.

"Oooooh, you really screwed up this time, Jun~" Kurai laughed. "You really should keep a tighter handle on yourself!"

If he could have punched the hallucination, he would have.

It was obvious what was happen- Jun had lost complete control. There hadn't even been a headache this time- Kurai had just taken over.

Forget signs of the end- it'd became all too clear in that moment that he no longer needed to worry about that.

The end had arrived.