Hello, and I apologize for taking so darn long to update! I've been extremely busy x_x Lol obviously. Well there's some kiba in here, and for those of you who get confused I've decided to switch to the adult-akamaru…I like 'em big :P sorry for the confusion, but I hope you like the long-awaited battle scenes!

Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji dashed across the darkened rooftops, Shikamaru leading with Ino and Chouji following a little behind on either side in the Eagle-Eye battle formation. They were rapidly approaching their first enemy group, who was currently knocking in the rooftop door of an apartment building.

Damn, there's no moon, Shikamaru noticed in distaste. Though, this could be used to their advantage…

"It looks like there's at least six," Shikamaru called over his shoulder. "So troublesome. Can you guys handle that many?"

"Of course," Ino snorted.

"No problem," Chouji answered.

"Two apiece, then," Shikamaru answered, lazily bounding ahead. They were practically on top of them now. A shinobi spotted them and shouted a warning. One of them succeeded in bashing open the door and two disappeared inside.

"We need to go after them, before they hurt anyone!" Ino shouted. Chouji grunted in agreement.

"After we take care of these," he added, nodding to the shinobi ahead. They were close enough now to read their hitai-ate's.

Hm…They're from the Sand Village…Shikamaru observed. I didn't expect them to be attacking again.

The three sprang into the air. Shikamaru landed in the forefront of the opposing shinobi, just in front of the door, Ino behind, and Chouji to one side.

"You're dead," one of the masked ninja shouted, whipping out a kunai.

Shikamaru simply smirked as he put his hands together. "Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu!" he commanded. With one hand he reached behind him and flicked the light switch he knew would be inside.

The shinobi, partially blinded from the sudden burst of light from overhead, looked around uneasily as two of their shadows—yet unseen—joined Shikamaru's. They didn't even have time to cry out as a dark arm reached up from the depths and crushed their windpipes.

The distraction gave Ino and Chouji a chance to engage their jutsu's.

"Babun Baika no Jutsu!" Chouji shouted. His enlarged arm flew out and knocked one ninja into the other. Their heads conked together, and they fell, out cold.

Ino sprang forward and engaged her shinobi in combat. She ducked a punch, swiftly knocked the feet out from beneath her attacker, and stabbed the other with a kunai. The remaining ninja was halfway up from the ground when she karate-chopped him in the throat.

They all stood up straight, warily, as they listened for more approaching shinobi. It was eerily quiet.

"That was too easy," Ino stated flatly.

Shikamaru fell into a crouch, eyes narrowed. I wonder what happened to those two that got away, he thought. Certainly if they were still below the group would hear cries of terror from the residents, but all was silent. Something wasn't right.

"Behind us!" Chouji roared, leaping back. The other two followed.

A storm of kunai rained down upon them, and Ino was forced to deflect them with her own, deftly knocking them away.

They were decoys! Shikamaru thought, amazed. Who would sacrifice six of their teammates for an ambush?

Mitzy bashed the turbaned ninja in the base of the skull with her kunai, then flung the body away from her in disgust.

"You're not killing anyone, I notice," Naruto pointed out, curious. Mitzy tossed her head.

"I would never be so crude," she sniffed, then added seriously, "Besides, you've made up your own nindo, your own destiny. I made mine long ago—never to kill unless absolutely necessary."

"AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!" Another Sand ninja ran up behind Naruto, scimitar held high.

With a flick of her wrist, Mitzy threw the kunai towards Naruto, where it embedded itself in the assailing shinobi's gut. He froze in mid-swing and keeled over. Naruto glanced over his shoulder at him and raised an eyebrow at Mitzy.

"That was necessary," she defended.

"Hypocrite."

"Why, thank you!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Now what?"

Mitzy looked around, frowning. Her hair was tangled from the fighting, and blood smeared her arm. Sounds of the discord emanated from everywhere; cries of both battle and anguish from the wounded came from all around. There was no fixed place she could think to go; the best they could do was follow the screams.

Kiba leapt out of the way of a sweeping katana, but not quickly enough. The blade caught him straight across the face, and his head exploded in a shower of blood and bone. The enemy shinobi let out a yell of triumph, before becoming engulfed in a puff of smoke.

"What the—" was all he managed to get out before Akamaru jumped him from behind and bit nearly right through his neck.

The huge dog tossed the body aside as the real Kiba leapt from behind a statue of the late Third Hokage.

"Good work, boy," he said, surveying the scene. Several bodies lay strewn about the square, grotesque in their death. Before he could do much else, however, three teams of ninja leapt from the shadows to continue their fallen companions' assault.

Oh shit, was his only thought.

Kiba immediately knew they were in trouble. He couldn't handle nine on his own, not even with Akamaru's help. He needed a diversion. He put his palms together.

"Jujin Bunshin!" he shouted. He didn't need to tell the giant dog what to do; they were both familiar with the Beast Human Clone jutsu. Akamaru and he both disappeared in a whoosh of cloud. A second Kiba appeared, and though it was really his dog companion, the opposition couldn't tell.

With a snarl, Kiba leapt into the air, ricocheted off a tree, and launched himself at the first shinobi. He tackled him into a second, who swore, having accidentally impaled the first with his sword. Kiba smiled grimly and cuffed a female ninja with flowing blood-red hair with his foot, causing her to hit the ground, out cold.

Akamaru was engaged in his own fight. Because of the night, Kiba's vision was limited, but from what he could see of his dog/doppelganger he had been swarmed by five. Kiba realized his disguise wouldn't last long.

With a heave, Kiba whirled in a round-the-house kick, catching someone just under the arm. The ninja cried out, and immediately another shinobi assailed him with a strange, scythe-looking device. Kiba back-flipped wildly to avoid a swipe. He could smell the poison coating the blade.

In his rush, he failed to notice the woman loitering behind him. He turned just in time to see her flicking a senbon directly at his right eye. He flinched, but wasn't quick enough.

Aw, hell—

He cried out as the needle punctured his ear. He didn't sense it had been poisoned, fortunately, but it still hurt like hell.

"Akamaru!" he cried out. It was time to leave.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kiba saw the wisp of smoke that indicated the jutsu had failed. Akamaru let out a yelp.

"Akamaru!" he yelled again. He dashed towards the mob of enemy shinobi where his dog presumably lay, incapacitated. He drew a kunai and jumped into the air, landing right in the heart of the danger.

At once he was caught up in the heat of the battle. He didn't allow himself to think; instinct itself took over as he dodged blades and fists and feet and even a head. But he was tiring, and his frustration that he couldn't reach Akamaru was taking its toll. He was slashed once in the calf, and again on his hip.

We need help, he thought desperately. But he knew none would come; everyone else was engaged in a fight elsewhere. He whipped his leg around, again catching one in the head, and flung a handful of shruiken at the rest. They backed off just enough for him to catch a flash of his big dog's fur.

A gleam of hope entered his sight. He dashed towards Akamaru, intent on saving him. An explosion sent him flying forward, and he did a face-plant right next to his dog. Akamaru whined pitifully.

"I know boy, I know," he whispered, forcing himself upright. His right ankle throbbed; it felt like he had fractured a rib. And the shinobi were closing in.

Mitzy's head abruptly came up, and she was still for a moment, listening intently. Naruto paused in mid-leap and watched her curiously. He had heard nothing.

What is she listening to? He wondered.

"I think I heard a dog," she said, frowning. "Could that have been Akamaru?"

"Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed. "Where did it come from?"

"This way!" Mitzy leapt away towards the center of the village, towards the square. Naruto followed quickly.

They had only leapt three rooftops, however, when they heard Kiba's cry.

"Akamaru!"

Mitzy's face hardened. "Hurry!"

They arrived at the square not a minute later. Naruto surveyed the scene; bodies lay everywhere. He could see the gargantuan form of Akamaru, and Kiba struggling to fend off six shinobi.

He was about to leap down when Mitzy held out an arm. "I'll handle this," she said, and stepped from the rooftop.

She concentrated on the flow of chakra, infusing it with her body. She landed ten feet from the battling ninja.

She called in an imperious voice, "I am a daughter of Kami, a savior to the people of this Village!" Mitzy swept the neck cutter from her back, whirled it once around, and crouched. The blue aura of her chakra whirled around her, casting her in an eerie light. She glared at the assailants with blazing eyes. "Flee if you wish to live!"

The remaining Sand ninja practically tripped over themselves running away, terror filling their faces.

After they disappeared, Mitzy stood and quietly dispelled her chakra. Naruto landed beside her, roaring with laughter.

"That—was the funniest thing I have ever seen!" he gasped. Mitzy cracked a grin.

"Thanks."

"Was that aura chakra?"

"Yep."

"Cool!"

In her peripheral vision, Mitzy caught movement. She whirled, a kunai whisked into her hand, just in time to see a hooded shinobi disappearing around the side of a shop.

"Naruto, what's that way?" she asked. Naruto turned, confused.

"Uh, the Academy, I think."

Hm…Mitzy thought, debating on whether or not to go after him. Then she remembered Kiba.

She rushed over to where Akamaru lay, where Kiba was crouching next to him. The dog was panting heavily but appeared otherwise unhurt. Kiba looked up with grateful eyes.

"Thank you," he panted. "You saved our lives."

"No biggie!" Naruto beamed. Mitzy rolled her eyes.

"You should get somewhere safe," she advised him. "There are enemies everywhere, and you two are exhausted."

"Yeah," Kiba agreed, now running his hands along Akamaru's body to detect injuries his eyes had missed. "I think we'll check in at the Academy. That's where they evacuate the ones too young to fight when we have no time to get to our outposts."

"Sounds good," Naruto said. He drew a kunai, looking unusually solemn. "We're going to circle around the Village and get as many of the Sand ninjas as we can."

"So it is Suna, huh?" Kiba asked, finally rising and helping Akamaru stand. He released his hand and the dog stood on only three paws. "Damn, looks like he fractured a leg. I'm going to have to find a medic-nin."

"Yes, it is Sunagakure," Mitzy replied frostily. "Which surprises me, to say the least. I've also seen some shinobi with a musical note on their hitai-ate's…signs of the Sound Village."

"It sounds like Orochimaru to me," Naruto said darkly. "Lets get moving."

Shadows and subtle bars of light slanted across Sakura's pale face. She watched, enraged, as two enemy ninja ruthlessly attacked a cell of genin devoid of their sensei. The first aggressor, one with a wicked scar that slashed across the mouth, pitched the weighted tip of a chain towards the genin. The second circled around with a lethal-looking rapier, eyes intent on the girl of the trio.

Run! Sakura screamed in her head as a little blonde without any weapon charged the adversary with the rapier. To her surprise, the shinobi swung, and the blonde leapt up and over his swing and slammed feet-first on his face.

The shinobi landed hard, but the other two genin were in trouble. The scarred ninja had successfully whipped the remaining Leaf ninja into a straightjacket of chain. He was approaching them, chuckling, with a knife in hand.

"Oh, no you don't!" Sakura growled. She sprang up from where she was hidden behind a stack of crates and leapt at the scarred man, her fist pulled as far back as it would go.

BAM

The ninja went flying, and would have kept going for quite some time if a building hadn't gotten in his way.

Sakura then turned to the adversary with the rapier. The blonde boy was watching her with wide eyes, as the rapier attacked.

Sakura deftly sidestepped left, then leapt above a horizontal swipe. She whirled and sent a powerful kick into the side, and then back-flipped away as some shruiken were flung. The shinobi turned and disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

Sakura stood still, listening intently. "Don't move," she whispered to the genin. They froze.

Suddenly Sakura sensed someone behind her. She bounded high into the night air, and landed precisely at the back of the rapier-clad ninja. Blood squirted as she finished him off with a slice to the throat.

Panting slightly, she turned to the genin. None looked hurt except the brave blonde boy, who was sporting what appeared to be a broken nose. She smiled encouragingly at him and crouched down to his level.

"Let me heal that for you," she told him, reaching for his face. He obediently stepped forward, and with a glow of green chakra his nose was repaired.

"You three should head to the Academy," she told them in a low voice. "Go in through the cafeteria doors. Those have been left unlocked but guarded. They will recognize you."

The girl looked up at her in wonder. "Thank you," she said incredulously. Sakura cracked a grin.

"You're very welcome. Now, go!"

The genin disappeared into the darkness.

Naruto crouched and panted, eyes flitting everywhere for signs of movement. The night was thick with burst foreboding; the worst had come for many shinobi. He listened for approaching footsteps. Mitzy stood stock-still, breathing evenly.

"How—are you still—not tired?" Naruto gasped. Mitzy smiled grimly.

"Lifetime of training, just like you," she answered bitterly. Under different circumstances, Naruto would have been thrilled at this glean into Mitzy's past, but at the moment he didn't have time to dwell on it.

Mitzy leapt aside just as a senbon embedded itself in the ground where she had previously stood.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" she exclaimed, and in a gust of smoke she disappeared and was replaced by five doppelgangers of herself. Naruto followed her suit and was replaced by a dozen more Naruto's.

Six Sand-nin leapt from a rooftop.

This'll be easy enough, Mitzy thought. Ten more ninja materialized in the street ahead of them. Maybe not.

The first group charged.

"How are there so many of them?" One of the Naruto's shouted. Mitzy had but a second to grunt in agreement before the wave was upon them.

Mitzy ducked under the swing of a rusty sword, then leg-swept the shinobi to the ground. One of the dopplegangers finished him. She whipped her neck-cutter from its sheath, felling four ninja unfortunate enough to be in front of her. She saw a Naruto out of the corner of her eye, back-flipping and punching at a ninja wrapped almost entirely in gauze and sporting a scythe.

The distraction cost her. A strange-looking warrior with scar-like tattoos rammed her from the side, slicing at her abdomen. The right side of her pelvis went numb.

"Augh!" Mitzy cried out as her hip was hacked open by the blade. She sprang up reflexively, dropping her heavy neck-cutter, and observed the scene below through hazy eyes. The woman who had cut her was now assaulting a Naruto—she had an ominous-looking blade, it glowed green…a chakra sword.

"Oh no you don't," she growled. She flung her a handful of kunai, which the ninja dodged. Mitzy landed back among the fight, swooped up her neck-cutter, and engaged the shinobi.

Mitzy was fast, but not with this blade. She tried a feint, spearing at the ninja. Each time the woman evaded, her green blade parrying every time. Chakra swords were dangerous—Mitzy was lucky she hadn't been hit somewhere more vital—they stopped the flow of chakra wherever they hit. Mitzy could feel the wound draining her energy as her chakra unconsciously tried to heal the wound, only to be sucked away. It could only be healed by someone else's chakra now. She needed to end this quickly.

The enemy shinobi snarled, and lunged forward. Mitzy sidestepped with difficulty, trying to bring her blade down on her, but failed at the last second as she danced out of the way. She gritted her teeth.

Mitzy flung the neck-cutter in desperation, and it whizzed over the woman's head. She straightened to gloat, drawing her arm back. She flung her chakra sword at the same time Mitzy flicked a hidden shruiken. Both could have ended badly, only Mitzy was anticipating a quick reaction. She bounded back just as the shruiken implant itself in the enemy ninja's face.

Mitzy somersaulted in midair, landed on her feet, and drew another kunai. She panted hard, blinking the sweat out of her eyes and wiping blood from her exposed hip. She saw that Naruto had taken care of the rest of the regiment. Her doppelgangers disappeared in a puff of smoke. Mitzy fell to one knee.

"Mitzy!" She dimly registered Naruto's cry. He rushed to her side.

"You have to heal me, Naruto," she told him, clenching her jaw against the pain. "Only someone else's chakra will work."

"But—but—" he stuttered, panicking. "I don't know how! What if I make it worse!"

"You know that jutsu I taught you," Mitzy said impatiently. She couldn't feel her entire right torso now. "You can do it, please!"

At the sound of her pleading Naruto dropped to kneel next to her. He placed his hand over the wound, as his hands glowed red.

Mitzy felt the bad chakra being sucked from her body as she gradually regained feeling in her side. She relaxed, leaning back on the earth, until she was lying on the ground.

"Are you ok?" Naruto asked anxiously. He hovered over her uncertainly.

"Yes. You did fine."

A little girl screamed in the distance. Mitzy looked around in dread.

"The Academy!" Naruto exclaimed in outrage, turning and dashing away between buildings.

Mitzy sprang to her feet, sprinting to catch up with Naruto. That shinobi I saw…he must have been heading there!

MUAAHAHAHA suspense! lol tell me whatcha think!