Author's Note:

Wow, it's been over half a year since I posted the first chapter of TWHF. Time really flies- and I feel like I've kinda gotten nowhere with the story so far. Sadness. (I know where I'm going! I swear! I just- am very slow in getting there? Ahaha, ha…) You guys would not believe how slow things are progressing with the upcoming chapters...

On the other hand, TWHF just broke 1,500 views a few days ago! Yay! I'd intended to post the chapter that day in something like commemoration of the event, but, uh… *sweats nervously, darts glances sideways, giggles nervously*

That being said, I've noticed that there is a significant drop in the number of people that view Chapter 1 and Chapter 2, which I'm hypothesizing means that they clicked on TWHF, saw the dense mass of words, went nope, and checked back out. Upon self-reflecting and reviewing the first, like, two pages of it, I'm considering rewriting at least the beginning of it, which I do personally find rather clunky and awkward now. What say you, my beloved readers?

Side note to a certain reviewer named haise, yes, I shall be attempting to keep to my current rate of one chapter every 1-2 months, though at this point it seems likely it'll be leaning towards the latter end of the range, at least for now. (Also, thank you for you lovely review, these are the things that keep all us writers motivated through our writers' block! 3) For all you guest readers, which I am assuming you are as I am unable to PM you, please do make a FF account if you can, it's free and will allow me to respond to you directly and in a much more timely manner. ^-^ (I also do not intend to be making responses in AN's a regular thing unless it's answering questions everyone should get the answer to, as I am aware that extendedly lengthy AN's tend to simply be ignored in general.)

Additionally, it seems asking for reviews shall get me reviews, so I shall shamelessly do so from now on! Read, review, fave, and enjoy!

Warnings: Blood. Lots of blood. And death. Lots of death. (Actually not really this time, but eh. Semantics.)

Whatever the chakra cloud was doing, it seemed to be quite useful in concealment. Genjutsu, Asuga guessed. The Masters had not made use of it often in the manner that the friend-friends were, but it seemed close enough to what she did remember.

They kept to the streets, maintaining a brisk clip, avoiding touching any passerby as they allowed them to walk directly through their formation and asked her to do the same. She obliged, watching the passerby curiously- they didn't seem to have the slightest inkling of what they were walking right through. High up above, a smattering of shinobi roof-hopped for easier travel. Most likely they themselves weren't out of consideration for her bulk.

Coming to a large white building capped by a blue roof, they skirted around to the back and were ushered inside through a larger entrance by a small group of white-garbed people. 'Doctors,' the friend-friends called them. They eyed her warily and with a tinge of fear. She ignored them.

She laid down in the half of the empty room the doctors directed her to only after she watched them set her Master and the friends down and begin working on them. A group of doctors approached her then, cautiously shuffling around to her back after the friend-friends explained they would do what they could for her burns, infections, and lacerations while waiting for the 'veterinarian'. She permitted this, keeping one constant eye on the doctors around her Master and the other around herself. It would not do to be incapacitated again.

On that note, she had sustained her semi-awakened form for over three days now. The strain was starting to show. It took more and more effort to channel the natural chakra constantly pouring into her body back out. Her reaction time was steadily declining; her body thrummed with heat.

Eyeing the scurrying doctors, Asuga decided that the friend-friends would do for a preliminary defense. They'd taken up defensive positions in the shadows of the room, out of sight but still simple enough for her to detect.

She allowed her eyelids to droop lower until they were hooded, purple-gold starbursts half-hidden and slightly dilated. Sound and scent and sight and taste and touch shifted, muted slightly as if the world had been pushed away and held at a distance. Mental processing disconnected from awareness until all that she discerned was threat or notathreat. The world went on, and she watched as her body shut down until all that remained were automatic functions and a constant periodic tail-twitch.

-she asleep?

No, heart rate- … -but- -mental activity-

-can hear- … -see the way- … -tail- ...

A needle, many needles, tiny, taped together, taped into the crook of her forepaw, too small to overcome her metabolism. Heads bowed together, three bobbing white-garbed forms, flicked glances, stacks of sheets of printed words and charts in hand. Another form, female, sharp-eyed, smelling of something canine.

-condition- … -bad, infection's eaten deep- … -extraordinary rate of regeneration-

-heavy scarring, yes, though mostly- -discoloration-

-how long?- … -no signs- -sleep deprivation-

An arrival of a new group of signatures, muted, strong, recently familiar. Bone-white masks, a gentle brush of fingers over ruff, a quiet murmur of thanks. An older face, creased in stress lines and laugh lines, gravelly voice, succinct responding reports.

-fractures, we set the- … -not sure- … -rapid healing-

-likely no adverse- … -fully-

-posses an extensively developed- … -tenketsu are- … -likely- -absurdly large reserves-

-even for summons- … -not?- … -shouldn't- -possible anyways- … -bone age shows-

Exactly what- -she?- … -like nothing- -ever seen before-

Perhaps- -answers when- … -inform- -upon awakening-

Another brush of fingers, murmur, a… friendly? comforting? reassuring? smile, the vanishing of signatures.

As the arguably least-injured of the friends, Fukuro was the first to stir to true wakefulness. Asuga followed her there.

"Fukuro," the Hokage greeted, striding into the room, Enma and the elite-leader at his shoulders. Doctors bowed, elites came to attention in the shadows. He waved them off. "It is good to see you up."

"Hokage-sama," Fukuro returned, craning her neck to see him from where she was laid flat. Her voice cracked and rasped from disuse, though still smooth with the cool calm characteristic of all the elites. She still wore her mask on one side of her head, only briefly removed during the initial diagnosis to check for injuries. A doctor held a cup up to her lips, and she nodded to him briefly in thanks.

"No need for formalities. We're a little past that stage at this point." The words were a strange mix of amused and rueful.

Fukuro made an aborted motion with her head that might have been a tilt if she'd been upright. "I almost don't want to know."

"Oh, you do, actually. Your captain got quite a kick out of it. But, stories for later. How do you feel?"

"Been better," she admitted without hesitation. "Been worse. Mostly just chakra exhaustion for me."

"Fair enough."

"Verbal report?"

"If you would."

"How long have I been out?"

"By your wounds, we approximate about three days of travel, plus another half a day in Konoha."

"Three…" Fukuro glanced in Asuga's direction when a gap opened between the milling doctors. She found clear starburst purple-gold. "How much have you heard already?"

"Bare bones. Enma played translator for a bit when you first arrived."

Fukuro blinked. "I see."

Asuga was interested to discover that she had been correct in her deductions. Her Master's team had initially been sent in search of the red-ones, who were apparently members of a prominent clan skilled in sealing techniques. Uzumaki, they were called. They were members of an ally of her Master's people, and so they'd aided in the search.

"We arrived in the mountainous region after five days of travel. Whoever named the region was very descriptive- giant skeletons everywhere. We identified a large stretch of land, approximately one hundred fifty by two hundred kilometers, that was heavily trapped and began to systematically search the area. I can include a more detailed account and mark out the designs and types in the written report later?" The Hokage nodded wordlessly, seemingly content to listen.

"On the fourth day after arrival, we came on the first of a more complicated trap that incorporated seals and triggered it with insufficient preparation. Zouge-taichou pulled us out of it, but got caught himself and disappeared. When we inspected the debris, we were only able to determine that a reverse-summoning had been incorporated. Due to mission parameters, distance of travel involved, and a possible addition of a time constraint and target alertness, we were unable to send word of this or wait for backup. We continued the mission with Dobutsu in command and the retrieval of our captain as an added objective.

"Over the course of the next forty-seven days, we cleared approximately twenty thousand of the thirty thousand square kilometers of the trapped area before coming upon the target site. There were none of the usual give-aways to its location, since it appeared to be fully self-contained and self-sufficient. Later, we even found large underground farms connected to the main facilities. Mushrooms, tubers, the like.

"Upon our arrival to the site, they appeared to be bringing in a group of captives to be used as experimental subjects. Two hundred, maybe more. We slipped in when the perimeter defensive seals were dropped to let them in. When they were raised again, we were able to get a better look at them and realised they were of Uzumaki make, and clearly high-level. We didn't bother trying to mess with them.

"A day of recon got us the main entrances to the underground. We spent another two scoping it out. There were a few structures built into the surrounding area, and some spaces that looked like they were dedicated to combat exercises, but the vast majority of the facility was underground. Five distinct branches, going down over two hundred feet in places- agriculture, barracks, captive containment blocks, laboratories, and some sort of bastardized training grounds.

"We located the Uzumaki, made contact, determined that they were being held against their will, confirmed the nature of the facility's operations, and obtained more detailed information on the guard shifts and security protocols. Based off of their information, we concluded that we would not be able to extract them without engaging in combat, and that the best course of action would be to incapacitate as many as possible initially to decrease the disparity in numbers. Our target was the lowest containment block, holding the most dangerous experiments. The safe room in that block housed the trigger to the facility's self-destruct seals. We were also informed that the captain was most likely being held in one of the lower levels in the containment blocks.

"We used another day to prepare. At sixteen hundred hours the fifth day on-site, we bypassed the external defensive measures and entered combat within the facility itself, and assassinated the three leaders of the project. High jounin, skilled. Minimal contact, bodies retrieved. We returned to the Uzumaki immediately, and went through with their extraction. It triggered the alarm and tracking seals placed on the Uzumaki since we used reverse-summoning seals of their design to transport them above ground. Our team made its way down to the last containment block."

Here Fukuro slowed down, carefully choosing her words as if to remind herself the order of events.

"The captain- no, the creatures- We met heavy resistance just before the entrance to the last block in the form of several dozen inhuman creatures. We'd run into similar creatures prior to that, but these- these were significantly stronger, as well as more savage in appearance, disposition, and behavior. Up until then, the creatures had been genin-level, a few chunin in strength, though not skill. These were approaching low jonin in brute strength. They were less intelligent, though, less patient. More beast than man. We cut through them to the cell block.

"There were more creatures there. Slightly more intelligent, could work as a group. We had dealt with most of them when there appeared to be infighting in the safe room. A group of shinobi and non-combatant personnel had taken refuge there. One of them released a seal on the wall that released the restraints on her- on Asuga, she'd been in an isolated cell. Another one released a seal that would kill her." Fukuro looked to Asuga again as if to check she was still there. "She was still inside a cell. The captain was with her.

"We opened the cell, and I went in to check on his condition while the others covered us. The one who tried to kill Asuga threw a kunai. At her. Poisoned, and tagged. The captain- the captain blocked it for her. Nasty blow to the back.

"Asuga, she- I'm not sure what she did. Some sort of blood contract. With the captain." Asuga merely blinked placidly back at the barrage of piercing attentions she suddenly found herself on the receiving end of. Fukuro rushed to add, "Nothing bad, I don't think. At least not for the captain. It looked-" She swallowed as her voice cracked again, a grim expression twisting the corners of her mouth downwards. "It looked like a contract of servitude- a, slave contract, if you would- with her as the slave."

The Hokage was frowning heavily. "And she was the one to initiate it?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

He frowned some more, silent in thought for a long minute. A glance to the Monkey King.

Enma pursed his lips and directed the next question to Asuga. "Why?"

Asuga blinked in the sudden shift in address, surprised. While it was not so surprising that her Master's people would, too, speak to her and not at her, Fukuro was awake and clearly easier to communicate with. Nevertheless, she gave him a reply with barely a missed beat.

"Because they would have died otherwise, and she didn't want them to die, she says," Enma relayed. "And because no one has willingly gotten hurt for her before, so that kind of person, shouldn't she- err, she should-" He squinted at her as if that would make her disjointed phrasing more coherent. "Uh, that is, how could she do any less in return?"

"She's a good kid, sir," Fukuro supplied, the barest tinge of anxiety in her calm tone. "She-"

"I gave my word to your captain that she would be treated fairly," the Hokage interjected, not unkindly, noting the use of 'kid' in her phrasing. "I intend to keep it, Fukuro. Continue with your report for now."

Fukuro nodded, not quite at ease, but continued her account. "The blood contract seemed to trigger the transformation into this form. Before, she was much smaller. And… human. Definitely human."

"Well that certainly explains some things," Enma grumbled.

The Hokage raised an eyebrow at both of them in turn but said nothing, though his chakra signature felt vaguely disturbed beneath its calm surface.

"The man that tried to kill Asuga before, he triggered another seal on the wall. The self-destruct, apparently." Fukuro's tone was ironic and entirely unamused. "Asuga managed to grab the four of us and shield us from the worst of the blasts. The whole place came down on us, knocked us out for a moment. It was at this point we sustained the worst of our injuries, and lost combat functionality. When we came to, we were in a little gap between the rocks with Asuga holding up the earth around us. She dragged us up through two hundred feet of dirt and debris to the surface." She paused and confided nervously, "Speaking of which, none of the creatures use hand seals." And can still perform jutsu went unspoken.

Alarm flooded the room, muted though it was. Asuga was confused, but remembered the strange hand signs not-creatures made and filed it away as another way-of-things.

Fukuro continued. "She engaged in combat with a group of hostiles upon reaching the surface, and dispatched them quickly. The external defenses were still functioning, and the patrols that had been out were returning. She extracted us a distance from the facility and returned to deal with pursuers. Given the length of time she was gone, and the sounds and chakra patterns we could sense, I think it's more likely that she dealt with them, rather than merely misdirected them. There should have been over a hundred hostiles.

"At twenty hundred hours, she returned. She'd found the Uzumaki- chased them back to us actually. I don't think she likes them very much. They argued against her then, too, but the captain had told us to trust her. The Uzumaki attempted to catch us unawares as we prepared to leave, but failed. We apprehended them and moved on to avoid being in the vicinity if any hostile reinforcements came.

"After that point, any of our team's accounts of the passage of time is unreliable, since all of us spent a significant amount of time unconscious. We stopped at a river to clean our wounds at one point, and eat, but then Asuga managed to communicate that sleep was not a bodily requirement for her. I presume she ran nonstop from there on. The next thing I was aware of beyond Land of Iron forest is waking up again here."

The Hokage rubbed his chin, processing the information. "Twenty-seven Uzu citizens were taken three years ago, eleven among them Uzumaki, and eight among them shinobi. There were no signs of the others?"

"No, sir. The Uzumaki confirmed the deaths of all but two of the civilians. Presumably they, too, were used as subjects when it was confirmed that they held no ties with the others and held no worth as bargaining chips."

He hummed and turned to Asuga. "You are human?"

She blinked slowly at him, considering the question. Rumbled a response.

"She doesn't know," Enma conveyed, a dark expression overtaking his face. "She used to be."

"I see… Then, the transformation that gave you this form- can you reverse it?"

Another rumble, a touch more wary.

"Since the change of, modes? was triggered by Zouge's being in critical condition, it can only be, uh, turned off? changed back? by him. When he's no longer in critical, that is." Enma idly scratched his cheek, gaze never leaving Asuga. She still made occasional incomprehensible gestures, but for the most part seemed to have gotten the hang of communicating.

"Ah," the Hokage nodded agreeably. "Of course. So is that to say that the change was a sort of defense mechanism?"

"Yes."

"What does it do besides increase physical abilities? Other supplementary effects?"

"Yes."

"This blood contract seems to be rather more complex than the average if it's able to affect one holder based on the physical state of another."

"It's part Uzumaki design, she says."

"I see…"

Nobody really seemed to know what to say to that, at least in her presence. Asuga simply continued to observe them passively.

The elite-leader made an almost imperceptible shift of weight, catching the attention of every elite in the room alongside the leaders and Asuga. It was a test- and testament- to each individual's level of skill, and not one of them missed the way Asuga's attention had instantly flickered to them at the movement.

"Those creatures," the elite-leader spoke for the first time in a voice that reminded Asuga of unheard rivers concealed in the depths of ancient forests. Quietly powerful. "Please elaborate."

"Untrained in shinobi arts," Fukuro spoke up, "but capable of using chakra, and capable of fighting on that level. Body enhancement, elemental manipulation for the better ones. None were armed, so they probably can't use weapons. Presumably, they'd started off as human, but their physical appearances were warped, twisted, with what looked like mixes of animal traits. Fur, claws, tails, wings, feathers, abnormal coloration. A few seemed to have developed poison. No two looked the same. No genjutsu, no taijutsu. Deteriorated intelligence and self-awareness. They seemed to be running on instinct."

"How would you compare them to Asuga here?"

"Dumber," Fukuro replied firmly, one hand loosely curled over a fold in the thin cover over her lap. "Less intelligent by far. On average about the level of a non-ninken dog. Asuga is perfectly coherent. She's stronger than all the others we saw, too. We only saw her fight after sustaining heavy injuries, and not extensively, but what we did see and the discharges of chakra we sensed when she went back place her at least on the border of S-rank territory at the time." Another round of spikes in tension. "I don't think she's trained in the shinobi arts either, but her chakra control is exceptional and we've yet to get a good measure on the total size of her reserves. Jounin-level speed and reflexes, and high stamina and pain tolerance."

"And the creatures, do any remain?"

"Most were in cages when we went in. Those died in the self-destruct for the most part. It might be best to ask Asuga, actually."

[Went back for them. No more now.]

Enma translated.

She could not see the elite-leader's expression. She was also sure that their questions for her were blatant tests, though she did not know what they were looking for. "You killed them?"

[Yes.]

"Why?"

[Would chase. Asuga, friends, injured, weakened. Leave back open, not good. Clean up, then leave.]

Fukuro's hand curled a little less loosely around the folds in her covers, but said nothing. This really was her leader, or at least a superior, it seemed, and it was not her place to interrupt. Asuga did not resent her for it- she understood.

"Were they not, to say, like you? You didn't feel anything about killing them?"

Ah. Were they afraid she would turn on them without cause, like the red-ones had accused? [Not like. Ones changed most not able think in words, only wants, hungers. Ones changed little only think for selves. Many times tried kill Asuga to steal food, before. Both. Or when masters say to. Not friends. No feel for them. Not for long time.]

"Why are you different?" They cocked their head. "Why should we believe you're different?"

She tilted her head, mirroring them. Blinked. [Why do I need make you believe? You not my Master.] Straightforward, curious.

Laughing lightly, the Hokage redirected the conversation. "That's right, how rude of us. We never did do proper introductions. How about we start over from there?" He smiled disarmingly, not quite the open warmth of her Master, but not the deceptive expression of the masters either. "I am Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, or that is to say, its head and protector. My friend here goes by the name Kamaitachi, and serves as my ANBU General. The one you spoke with earlier, Enma, is my contracted summons partner.

"As for that point you brought up just now, allow me to try to explain. I do not know how much you know about what is going on in the world right now, but to sum it up, we are at war. Already there are those who are beginning to call it the Second Great Shinobi War, and the previous Great Shinobi War, the First. We are very grateful that you have aided our own, but we have many enemies, all of whom would be glad to infiltrate our ranks and wreck whatever havoc they can. We cannot be sure that you are not one of them. Even then, we must also discern whether you are a threat to our people, intentionally or not, as it is our responsibility to protect our own. As you know, I have promised Zouge that you will be treated fairly. Please help us do so."

Asuga blinked at him slowly, processing the information. They were asking for her cooperation. They were asking for proof of allegiance. They were asking her to understand why they did not yet fully trust her.

She could do that.

But only with her Master's input.

Of course, seeing as they'd gone to the trouble of explaining things for her, she would do her best to be forthright with them as well.

[Asuga semi-awakened form is part control, manipulation. But first part is seals. On Asuga, many seals, many uses. On Asuga head, here,] she concentrated a sliver of chakra into the ink camouflaged with her fur until it lit up with white-silver lines, [is also seal. The masters never allowed creatures speak. Asuga never learned before Master. Answer was this.]

"Memories," the elite-leader, Kamaitachi, murmured in a mix of intrigue and something muted.

[Memories,] Asuga agreed.

"And here I was about to suggest the Yamanaka's," the Hokage mused. Catching her eye, he explained, "They're a clan known for their mind-walking techniques. They can also view others' memories in that way, among other things."

[Probably bad idea. Many seals on Asuga, many safeguards against theft.]

The Hokage's brow creased slightly. "Theft?"

She blinked. Tilted her head back the other way. [Yes. Asuga is weapon.]

"I… see…" The crease deepened.

Well, that wasn't entirely so. Not anymore. [Asuga created to be weapon,] she amended, and admitted, [Master said Asuga not weapon.] Master said Asuga more. She didn't really understand. Master said he would explain. Master said he would show Asuga. So Asuga called Master Master. And Asuga followed.

The Hokage, Kamaitachi, and Enma shared looks she couldn't interpret in the slightest. To one side, Fukuro signed something with a hand that Kamaitachi gave a brief nod of acknowledgement to. "I see," the Hokage repeated. "Thank you for that explanation. It was rather… clarifying. Please do continue to share your thoughts like that, it will make it easier to understand your situation and less so to jump to flawed conclusions." She blinked in acknowledgement. A reasonable request, beyond the strangeness in giving her opinion. Clarity was good.

"About what you said before, though, about your memories. How does it work?

[Master has greatest access. But secondary Masters can see. Others, if Asuga want share. Can share many things. Sight, sound, smell, taste, feel, chakra. All senses shared. No mistakes in recall, only things perceived.]

Enma broke off from translating to ask, "Can you explain the differences in all these masters you keep mentioning before we go further? I understand there are differences, I can practically hear the capital letters, but a bit of clarification wouldn't hurt."

She hesitated for a second, agreed, but didn't know how to put it. She'd never had to share her thoughts with others before. Even the way she categorized things for herself was often subject to instinct and change, just as much as the masters' and other creatures' moods were.

[In that place, many masters, many kinds. Know many things, tell what do to change creatures. Cut creatures open and put back together. Broke things, fixed things. Wrote seals, made strange medicine. Made things hot, made things cold, made things hurt.

[Secondary Masters have position in command matrix seal. Can be more than one. Give orders. Asuga can resist, do slower, do messy, but must obey. Can take Asuga to battle, fight commands. Limited access to Asuga's seals.

[Only one Master. All access to seals. Direct commander in battle, always obey. Registered in highest control position on command matrix. Before, never compatible. Seal never took. Zouge first and only.]

"So, in non-literal terms, specialists of sorts, people with whips, and mind-controllers. Good to know."

The Hokage did not deign the commentary worth commenting further on. "Do you know why Zouge was the first?"

[If ask red-ones, will say is because Asuga have no fear or dislike of. Will say is because no instinct prevent. This wrong. Is because Asuga reject others before. But Master is Asuga's Master.]

"Are there any others besides Zouge remaining that belong to any of those three categories?"

[No.]

"You're sure of this?"

[The masters never left facility, and most not very strong. Died in self-destruct. And Asuga cleaned. Only three secondary masters, strongest of the fighters. Friends killed them.]

The Hokage rubbed his chin. "So then, this memory seal, it would probably be best if we waited for Zouge to use it, since he would have the most control. The only problem is that we've no clue when he'll wake up."

They wanted to use the secondary Masters' access. She had anticipated this since mentioning it, and accepted that it was probably a necessary compromise, one that her Master could override easily if he so chose later, but the thought of it still left her uneasy. If that was the case…

[Other option. Asuga can initiate share. Can even share with many at once. Drawback is amount shared much more limited. Not all senses at once. And less control. Asuga not able control which.]

The Hokage hummed and shared a few hand signs with Kamaitachi. "For the moment, that does sound like our best bet for at least a preliminary check. Let's hold off on doing anything for now, though, and see if Zouge wakes up. We would also like to get a few people to meet you, to ensure that your seals won't do you or anyone else harm, and that they really do what you think they do. You understand." She did. She agreed to this.

"Which brings us back to Kamaitachi's earlier question, I suppose," the Hokage mused. "Why are you different? Clearly you are, since Fukuro's descriptions of the creatures' and your behavior are completely different. No need to convince us further there. But why would they lose their minds, and not you?"

She didn't know why she didn't lose her mind like the others, she had to admit, but the reason why she was different- [Reason, all ones could be like, dead. Different, because no others.]

"Dead?"

[The masters' changes very dangerous. High mortality rates.]

"I see," said the Hokage again, hand at his chin. "Thank you for your cooperation, Asuga. That will be all for now. Please rest. We will send some people to check your condition later."

Time passed. The world outside the room hummed with activity, rose, crested, receded.

The signatures of the red-ones clustered together in a spot perhaps a hundred meters away in the same building. She watched them.

Dobutsu was the next to wake. Hai soon followed. Fukuro explained everything that had happened to them. She watched, listened. Accepted gentle touches from all three, her sprawled form large enough to reach each with minimal movement.

The white-clad doctors orbited all of them constantly, checking and rechecking things, writing things down, coming and leaving. She watched them.

The elites watching in the shadows switched out with others multiple times, explaining some things in passing to their replacements. She watched them. They watched her.

Others came. Two elites, a Yamanaka and a seal master, they introduced themselves as. They looked long and hard at the seal on her head, and a few others. The command matrix elicited a particularly vehement reaction, though both reassured her it was mostly stable when Fukuro and the other friends asked. She watched them carefully.

A doctor she recognized by signature, that had examined only her, that had spoke to the Hokage when he'd left, returned to hover around her. The veterinarian, she presumed. A woman that did not wear the white-garbs, and smelled strongly of something canine. She watched her.

Time passed. The world outside the room hummed with activity, rose, crested, receded.

Her Master woke up.

Asuga was the first aware of her Master's return to consciousness- she felt it in the stirring in the bond.

Nudging aside a startled doctor, she nosed her head into the spot by her Master's left, the side of his gut wound, and waited, ignoring the flustered fuss the doctors briefly made at her. They gave up after a minute when the various contraptions they'd hooked her Master up to began beeping and whistling and flashing little lights and symbols. Her Master came to slowly, blinking silver eyes into focus before drifting to the side- to her.

A wan smile touched his face. "Asuga."

Her purr lightly rattled the nearby contraptions.

Edging into his personal space, she nosed the exposed cheek, the one left uncovered by his half-donned mask, and checked his fever. It was still there, but no longer the building, burning heat she'd carried on her back. Her Master chuckled at the brush of her whiskers, then winced.

"ANBU-san," one of the doctors cleared his throat as he came up on her Master's other side. "It's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

Her Master opened his mouth to respond, but then paused. His brow wrinkled. "Strangely well, actually." He considered this. "How much are you pumping me with, and how long have I been out?"

"You've been in-village for about two days now. By your team's reports, we estimate it's been about five days total since you acquired your injuries." Her Master's eyes assessed the room, noting his alive and awake teammates listening in attentively. "As for the medication you've been prescribed, you're on the good stuff, but you should still be feeling some level of discomfort. You nearly got bisected, you know. It's a miracle you were around long enough to get emergency medical treatment."

"I know," her Master muttered ruefully under his breath, expression calmly blank. Asuga tilted her head curiously at him, recognizing the stoicism of the other elites. He twitched a finger, and a whisper of something unconsciously wanting trickled through the bond. Asuga obligingly moved to wiggle her muzzle underneath the hand, hungry for the friendly touch after becoming accustomed to it during their shared captivity, and decided that the neutral ways of the elites must be another of their rules of uniformity. Her Master was still the same underneath, and that was all that mattered.

For the next while, the doctor asked her Master questions and for him to do little things like wiggle his toes. The warm hand remained on the bridge of her nose all the while. Finally, the doctor finished his notes, made a few adjustments to the machines, and left the room. An exhausted group of remaining white-clads slowly trickled out after him, until all that remained were her Master, the friends, and the elites in the shadows. Asuga had no doubt her Master and the friends knew they were there, and was reassured they were alright with their presence when her Master glanced to one of them, shot a brief smile of recognition, and used his free hand to make a few signs.

The friends conversed quietly with her Master, each checking up with him and each other and even her as well, and caught each other up on the situation as they knew it. Asuga lowered her head to lay on the ground when she sensed her Master's arm tiring, and he let the arm drape over the edge of his bed to rest with fingers half-curled in the fur on her forehead.

The Hokage eventually came by, Kamaitachi and Enma in tow, and her Master gave them his report, supplemented by Dobutsu and Hai in places. It was much the same as Fukuro's, though included a summary of the time he'd shared with Asuga in the facility and an emphatic vouch on her behalf. The fact that she'd shared her rations with him and did what she could for his injuries likely did much to increase her standing in their eyes. Most of the last of the wariness in their attitudes towards her evaporated, though the fact did remain that she was stuck in a combat-ready mode until her Master had recovered enough chakra to manipulate premade seals without harm to himself. The doctors had estimated another day would be sufficient.

A brief bit of commentary was given on what the red-ones were saying. Apparently they had not let up on the backstabbing-killer-monster angle on Asuga, though had not since resorted to violence under the Uzukage's close scrutiny. The Hokage reassured all present that all circumstances and perspectives would be taken into account before anything was decided on the handling of anyone, and that included Asuga's yet-unseen memories.

It was confirmed that they would try accessing her seals the next day and were left to rest. The friends quickly returned to sleep, though lighter and rousable. Her Master slept, too, deeply and in fitful dozes in turns.

The elites in the shadows continued their interval guards. They no longer kept so wary an eye on her. Together, she and they watched over the injured in an almost comfortable silence.

The doctors didn't like it when she stood up, as Asuga found when she moved to rise while a few had come to check up on them. Seeing as they were not threats and several signatures with the potential to be were moving from their previous stationary positions in another area of the building towards them, she ignored the strongly disapproving white-clads that didn't quite dare to try forcing the issue.

Another day had passed.

She was carefully circling around her Master's bed with nonthreatening, plodding, silent pads when the Hokage swept into the room, the Uzukage at his side and Kamaitachi and Enma at his shoulders. He gave her a distantly searching look, though said nothing as he moved further into the room to leave the doorway clear. She'd reoriented herself to a satisfactory degree- injured back to her Master's wounded side, the full length of her body between him and the entrance- by the time the next group of visitors stepped through the door, and slowly, deliberately laid down, eyes on the red-ones all the while as she settled herself, claws pointedly flexing, once, twice, wickedly sharp points unsheathing and resheathing, another line of defense between her Master and them.

The oldest red-one narrowed his eyes at her as the others shuffled tensely and shot her a variety of looks ranging from wary dislike to hateful loathing. The oldest red-one said nothing, though, so neither did the rest. They would stand behind him, as they always had. At the very least, they knew it was their unity that had helped them survive the facility. That, and that which they had sacrificed on their path.

The Hokage was the one to open the conversation.

"It is my understanding that some among us have not been properly introduced to each other, so let us start there. I am Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure. This is Uzumaki Shin'en, the Sandaime Uzukage of Uzushiogakure." He gestured to the Uzukage, and then to the red-ones. "Uzumaki Sandaza, Morifu, Hurode, Kabeko, and Hekimaru, all hailing from the Uzumaki Clan." Another gesture, this time to her Master and the friends. "Team Aki, led by Zouge-taicho. Dobutsu, Fukuro, Hai." A final gesture, this time to her. "And, of course, Asuga." A round of twitching from the red-ones, but nothing outrightly forward.

"So far, we have managed to get a rough idea of what occurred during the mission that brought us all to this point. For the sake of clarity, allow me to explain the circumstances surrounding our current situation.

"About three years ago now, Uzushio was attacked by the combined forces of Iwagakure and Kirigakure in an attempt to destroy it out of fear of it and the Uzumaki clan's reputation as the home of skilled seal masters. During the attack, a number of Uzushio citizens disappeared in the chaos. They were initially listed as MIA, but a number of sightings were reported of strange creatures controlled by masked shinobi equipped with nondescript, unaffiliated gear. Some reports from later in the conflict mentioned that they seemed to be carrying bodies. As they had not been attacking any Uzu-nin, and even clashed with a few Iwa or Kiri, they were generally assumed to be friendlies and let be, since it was perceived that there were bigger problems at the time."

The Uzukage moved half a step forward to take over the conversation, presumably being the more knowledgeable one on the topic. "More thorough investigations came when one report mentioned a suspicion that the creatures had been under henge, and that one had attempted to attack its handler before being killed on the spot. We didn't know what we were looking at at the time, but then it was noted that a good number of these sightings had taken place around the areas in which some of our foremost missing seal masters had last been seen. That was the point that it became a kidnapping investigation."

"We were taken unawares for the most part," the oldest red-one, Sandaza, confirmed. "Though some of us were confronted with hostage situations and surprised from behind. They took a few civilians, too, to use as leverage. Mostly friends or relatives. "

The Uzukage nodded. "We deduced that your sealing skills were their target at that point. You mentioned before that they needed them in their experiments to create the creatures. Was there a particular reason why?"

Sandaza scowled. "They believed that seals were the most stable and reliable method, and most versatile. I'm afraid I have to agree with them there. Their more science-based attempts were much less… successful." He eyed Asuga with his customary distaste. She merely stared back levelly. "Especially considering what they were trying to meddle with."

"Nature energy," Enma interjected.

"Yes," Sandaza seemed surprised. "Nature energy, or natural energy, as it were. How did you know?"

"Asuga used it before. When she broke your chains."

"Ah." Sandaza remembered. He returned to scowling. "Yes. That."

"You said that they bargained your lives for your cooperation," the Uzukage redirected. "Better conditions for more enthusiastic cooperation. Torture for failure to meet expectations or deadlines."

"Yes," Sandaza agreed. "The usual coercion tactics. Carrot and stick. We did our best to keep as many of us alive as possible. They had hostages and seal masters both in excess and were not afraid to remind us of that fact. We believed our return with information to friendly hands outweighed the costs. I will not deny we participated in… less than savory acts in order to survive."

"While not something to be proud of, it is understandable," the Uzukage was forced to agree. Sandaza nodded sharply, the slightest touch of something smug in the movement, affirmed in his rightness.

"Despite our best efforts, however, our numbers steadily dwindled over the years. They knew which among us were the more skilled and saved us for last, punishing the others for our failings. A few tried to commit suicide when they realized someone they loved would pay for their mistakes. It only happened once. Mariko-san. When they found out, they killed everyone related to her instead of trying to blackmail the rest of us with them. Nobody tried it again.

"A few also tried to escape. There were three attempts in total. Every one failed, and more were killed in punishment. We eventually stopped trying, deciding to play the long game, to try to gain their trust, to wait for our chance.

"Team Aki came at a most opportune time. The facility housed maybe four, five thousand total inhabitants. Around eight hundred of those were combat-trained, if not all considered true shinobi even on the level of genin. A thousand civilian equivalents, give or take. Relatives, hostages. Five hundred on staff for the experiments, mostly versed enough to serve as nurses. And a fluctuating number of experimental subjects. Fewest at any one point was about a hundred, from a time shortly before we were recruited. While we were there, it was an average of between one to two thousand, peaking at three thousand once. One of the more large-scale test subject acquisition operations had just been undertaken at the time, so about a fourth of the combat-capable forces had just came back and were below their usual standing strength. They'd brought back about two hundred fifty new subjects, and also had to handle initial processing procedures, which left the whole place slightly more distracted than they'd usually be. Normally, one bimonthly run would bring in maybe fifty.

"We gave Team Aki all the intel we could. The plan was to hopefully take out the top three overseers of the base first, before any alarms went out, and either with the alarms or once they were dead a clone left outside would use the summoning seals we'd hacked together to bypass security and pull us to a location outside. We're not up to snuff after all this time, and were never really frontline-oriented. We'd have only gotten in Team Aki's way.

"From there, Team Aki would have continued down the branch with the captive containment blocks." Sandaza gave a reservedly pointed glance to each of the friends, which Dobutsu stepped forward to pick up smoothly, nodding.

"We are not too sure as to the full extent of the containment blocks, but the facility's layout was relatively straightforward despite the heavy application of seal traps and containment measures. We believe most of it was mainly there for the creatures." A couple of the red-ones standing behind Sandaza distantly nodded in confirmation. "Our target was to trigger the facility's self-destruct seal, located on the lowest level, and keep an eye out for the captain. We reached the level with some obstruction, where we engaged with what appeared to be a last hold-out of some of the strongest creatures. The captain was there, sharing a cell with Asuga."

Dobutsu paused briefly to gather his words. "At this point, the exact sequence of events is a bit jumbled, but we were able to agree on several points. The final group of high-ranking facility personnel in the safe room on the level had a falling out. One side advocated triggering the self-destruct and destroying all evidence, including all the creatures. The other side wanted to use Asuga to buy them enough time to escape. They fought over a whip that appeared to be used to control the creatures, as well as a number of seals drawn into the wall. We believe the first set that was triggered was the releases to Asuga's restraining seals. The second set seemed to be contingent on the first, and appeared to fail when the restraints released. We believe this set's function was as a type of killing seal for Asuga. The third set was activated after a longer struggle. In this period, the surviving self-destruct advocate attempted once more to kill Asuga with a poisoned, tagged projectile weapon. Zouge-taicho shielded Asuga, and we engaged the survivors to provide cover. Asuga formed a blood contract with Zouge-taicho-"

"It did what?!"

Dobutsu cut off as if to afford Sandaza a frown from behind his mask. The red-one had jerked forward two steps on impulse, eyes wide and angry and completely disbelieving. It wasn't just him, either- behind him, the other red-ones were unabashedly staring at the elite with similar looks of nausea, though with a healthy dose more of fear than anger.

Calmly, evenly, Dobutsu repeated, "Asuga initiated and formed a blood contract with Zoug-"

"Impossible!" The declaration was firm, disbelieving, confident in the analysis. "Secondary contracts can only be opened with a complicated multi-faceted support seal and a large number of restraining and suppression seals while the divine beast is in a state of suspended animation. The primary position in the command matrix seal has never been successfully opened- it's killed every attempted contractee. We designed it to kill every attempted contractee. It was never meant to work."

Immediately, Asuga reached inside herself and snatched up the bond, pouring over it with a scathing pin-point focus, vetting it for any signs of instability, volatility, or malformation, sidelining the exterior perceived drop in temperature, even as a small voice inside her told her she knew what they spoke of had dealt with it already. She kept an eye on the situation, but until she could confirm no untoward effects would beset her Master they were a secondary concern.

The Hokage narrowed his eyes, expression stony. "Explain."

"In all our work, we had no choice but to provide results, but we did our best to drag our feet, slip in flaws and trips and pitfalls where we could in the designs, just generally make everything as inefficient and conditional as possible. When drawing up the control matrix, we wanted to base its structure on the most volatile and indecipherable foundation we could. We figured what better to muck up the translation of orders into something the feral creature could comprehend than the uncomprehending feral creature itself? Since we do not know as much about the creature's mind as we might like, whatever loophole you might have managed to slip through most likely occurred at that stage. However," Sandaza quickly added, "That was merely the failsafe. Before whatever 'message' the primary master might send can even be processed, it's bounced back to them as a sort of double-check, to ensure that the signals sent are neither interference nor coincidentally chakra residue of a harmonized frequency. We looped the rebound and planted an additional element at that point, a simple pulse amplification. When any sort of signal is sent, it gets bounced back at a frequency and strength greater than each previous time by a factor of five. In layman's terms-"

"-it basically rebounds back to the contractee until it's strong enough to obliterate their minds," the Uzukage finished grimly.

Asuga instantly relaxed. She did know what the red-one was talking about. It turned out the startle was for naught- she'd long since been aware of all the inefficient little bits of extra seals. She would have wondered at the strangeness of the uncontrollable impulse if she weren't so occupied with the conversation.

When she'd be left to herself in the facility, she'd made herself thoroughly familiar with every facet of her body and seals. If the constant state of injury had done anything for her besides increase her pain tolerance to impervious heights, it had also given her a high level of physical self-awareness. She usually let the seals function as they would, knowing how they had many small barbs and imperfections that made her use something of a double-edged blade to the masters, but during the escape she'd had precious little time to act, and had directly circumvented everything unessential, including and especially all the various little snag-points.

"See, this is what we were trying to warn you of! This thing is a viciously cunning beast- your faith in it is misplaced! We must-"

"So you're saying," her Master calmly interrupted, voice coldly blank and smooth, entirely uncharacteristic of a man who had not spoken for days prior, "that merely connecting with Asuga should have killed me."

"Instantly! Y-"

"And that beyond merely connecting with Asuga, any subsequent communication of any kind through the seals should have killed me."

"Yes, th-"

"And yet here I am?"

"The divine beast is unversed enough in human language to have possibly switched out interpretations of intent-"

"But you see..." Her Master canted his head ever so slightly, in the manner of a wolf singling out the weakest prey from the herd.

"-whatever malfunction might ha-"

"I did give her an order."

Sandaza scowled seethingly, frustrated at being repeatedly cut off. "You previous speech outside the gates was unstructured enough to possibly be passed over-"

"Before that." Her Master's gaze left the antagonistic man for his leader, his Hokage. "When she asked for orders so that she could save our sorry hides from being buried alive."

He tilted his chin up, balancing on the knife-edge of challenging. The Hokage remained placid, waiting.

"I told her to live."

The two shinobi held each other's level gaze- silently communicating, silently understanding.

"She made sure all of us lived."

She had deliberately interpreted the command in their favor.

Slowly, consideringly, the Hokage gave her Master the briefest, slightest of nods.

"Are you insane- Giving that sort of vague blanket order-" Sandaza spluttered disbelievingly before apparently deciding that the question of the man's sanity really couldn't matter less to him, "Regardless of what it's been doing, the fact remains that it's overridden the protocols-"

"And thereby prevented me from dying."

"-potentially including those that subordinate it to the contractee of the command matrix seal itself," Sandaza resolutely spoke over her Master, determined to be heard, "and therefore rendering the point of it being under control null."

"I never said I was compelling her to play nice." Her Master enunciated the word with detached distaste. "And no one ever made a point of her being 'under control' because of the blood contract. It was simply stated as a fact. Asuga is perfectly capable of differentiating friend from foe herself. In fact, I clearly remember stating something along the lines of 'she doesn't need a leash,' like those entirely uncalled-for chains of yours." Her Master's tone was completely neutrally polite for all the implied meanings of his words. Sandaza's face, which had been slowly rising in color through the heated discussion, was nearing the shades of fresh sunburns.

"Yes, thank you both for that clarification," the Hokage interjected. We can further address that matter later. Internally, he was a bit baffled by Zouge's behavior. He had no qualms with giving him some slack, though. Yes, the ANBU captain was a good man with a kind heart, but he was also a highly-trained professional. Then again, knowing that the massive… well, beast, in front of them was actually a human child was no doubt different from actually having seen it, to say nothing of having been held and possibly tortured together. Such would probably skew anyone's perspective.

Zouge took the not-so-subtle cue in step to push on with his recount. "The self-destruct seal was triggered. Asuga shielded us from the initial explosions and the following cave-in. The bulk of the worst of our injuries were sustained from this. She had to pull us all up to the surface, where we were immediately assaulted. Asuga dealt with them, and carried us out of the combat zone before returning and neutralizing the threat. She returned with the Uzumaki-"

"It was hunting us, it was only by coincidence that we happened to stumble back on your location," Sandaza insisted. Nobody seemed inclined to take him at face value anymore.

"-and Team Aki reassessed the situation…" Her Master continued with the debrief, with the friends chipping in from time to time on what little remained to report and the friend-friends' captains taking over at the end.

The Hokage rubbed his chin. "Sandaza-san, I notice that through all our conversations there has been a clear understanding that these people that took you and your fellows wanted you for the use of your expertise in their experiments, and that these experiments were on humans with the apparent intent to enhance combat potential. However, I don't believe you've yet to mention exactly what their final goal was. Would you happen to be aware of it?"

Sandaza straightened stiffly, abruptly, and a pensive sort of air came to him. "We are, actually. They did not succeed fully, but… they were well on their way to achieving it."

His audience did not miss the way he avoided stating exactly what that goal was.

The red-one ran a darting gaze across the others, only the briefest of hesitance before he visibly steeled himself.

"They were attempting to artificially create a bijuu."

Silence.

Sandaza raked a hand through his blood-red hair in agitation and sighed gustily. "They were doing other things, too. Focused on human weapons. We know they were working on binding the creatures into a proper clan-style summons contract rather than the usual single-use scroll individual contracts. But the creatures were mainly a side-product of their bijuu-making efforts." He gestured to Asuga with as much distaste as Zouge had used when addressing his attitude towards her. "This one is the closest any of them got. The beast lord, the divine beast, the child of the forest. They had no shortage of nicknames for it, and all of them were for good reasons- dangerous reasons."

To one side, Kamaitachi tilted his head slightly. "She called herself a weapon."

"Did it, now?" Sandaza seemed unable to decide if it was a good thing or not that Asuga apparently understood her 'place'. "It is disconcerting that it acknowledges that fact."

"I personally find it more disconcerting that she seems to acknowledge it a bit too much." Her Master reached for her, and she obediently shifted so that he could reach over and bury the fingers of one hand into the thick fur of her ruff once more. "Technically she's a minor, but from previous interactions with her I believe she has fully developed reasoning and comprehension skills. Rather than talk over her head, perhaps we could take her side of things into account now that we all have an understanding of the situation."

"I'm afraid I must protest the use of a summons that previously admitted to being unable to fully understand other species as a translator-"

"But of course."

"-seeing as-" Sandaza abruptly cut himself off. Stared at her Master. Opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it. "...Could you repeat that?"

"Miscommunication would be a terrible shame."

Another stunned second of blankness, and then Sandaza's expression was blooming into one of grim triumph and satisfaction as he opened his mouth once more-

-and was smoothly cut off. "Therefore I suggest now to be a suitable time to try reversing whatever process that changed her into this form, as well as the memory-sharing technique she mentioned."

Her Master seemed to be quite satisfied with the incensed spike in Sandaza's chakra signature. Asuga made note.

Rather than directly resort to confrontation again, though, the red-one narrowed his eyes and spoke in a toneless, black voice. "The semi-awakened state it is currently holding is indeed much more dangerous than its stand-by state- perhaps ten times faster at recovering chakra, and with all the physical advantages of its changed form. As part of the stimulus, the rebalancing of the various hormones and other chemicals affecting its body make for a more aggressive, more proactive disposition. It would not be a bad idea to reverse the change. It has never held it so long before, so we also can't predict what other side effects there might be."

The Hokage hummed, patting the exasperated-looking Uzukage on the shoulder at his long-absent subordinate's behavior. There wasn't much to be done for it. Confronting it would only sidetrack them and waste time. "I was informed earlier today that simple chakra manipulation should be alright for you, Zouge, so long as you do not outright expend it. You are still recovering from your ordeals. Do not overexert yourself."

Zouge nodded agreeably, glancing at the side of Asuga's face. She had not so much as blinked since the Uzumaki had stepped into the room, let alone look away from them.

"Asuga?"

A single large, thickly furred ear swiftly swiveled to perk in his direction.

The rest of her head remained riveted in place.

She stared at the Uzumaki.

Suppressing amusement, her Master ran his fingers soothingly through her ruff. "So, what do I do?"

"The command matrix located on-"

"I'm sorry, I wasn't clear. I was asking Asuga. I thought she would be better aware of her own condition since you'd so clearly stated you didn't know 'what other side effects there might be'."

Sandaza gritted his teeth. He said nothing. Let the fool prove his own foolishness if he was so eager to.

Keeping her eyes on the Uzumaki, and Sandaza in particular, Asuga lifted her head back to half turn it to bring her muzzle level with her Master's face, watching out of her corner of her eye all the while. Nuzzling him blindly and bumping his outstretched arm further down her back, she allowed a trickle of chakra to race through her body and over the camouflaged black ink carved into her skin and fur. Grey-silver-white light rippled over her, tracing the words and symbols in an initial flaring pulse as she evened out the flow and sustained it, permitting them to glow softly and regularly. It was becoming more difficult to regulate chakra- despite how much more stable it was than anything any other creature had attained, her form was still volatile in nature. Any light tap into the influx of energy her surroundings provided her would result in an overwhelming tidal wave of chakra.

The others watched on in rapt attention as her Master shifted his hand over the glowing lines of the command matrix. Asuga reached for their bond and urged him to grab onto her chakra through the seal, to spin it, twist it, slide the interlocking edges into place against the other connected seals in the grid grafted onto her skin, into her very chakra. She felt the moment the seals clicked together, helped buffer the rush of chakra that flooded through her Master's hand and into his body, confirming his own condition to be non-life-threatening before releasing the protocols designed to ensure her ability to defend him.

A dense sort of pressure fell over the space around Asuga as she reluctantly let her eyes slip closed and began to glow. Thin, swirling streams of deep purples and electric blues fluttered over her, illuminating the few stark stripes of white not covered in plaster and bandages amid the sea of inky ebony of her feathered fur before dissipating into the air like morning mist beneath the midday sun. The light emanating from her body was reminiscent of ultraviolet black light- there but not, dark but light. It was obvious that the light was the insubstantial form of chakra given substance, but somehow it fell on a range outside the blues of the usual visible spectrum.

A miniature whirlwind of chakra streams formed around her, thick and moving slow enough to have been mistaken for floating water, and within it Asuga's massive form sort of… fluctuated. Rippled. A massive shudder wracked the condensed agglomeration of raw chakra and a wave of pure energy sort of just scattered in a broken shell of chakra outward.

The sound of flesh splitting, pulling itself apart, echoed with a wet, gruesome reverberation around the deathly silent room an instant before the thick smell of fresh blood and disturbed infection assaulted the sensitive senses of all those present.

Zouge winced. Asuga's wounds had reopened.

Her form began to shrink, slowly, slowly, sloughing off layers upon layers as excess mass converted to raw energy- rich purples and blues and tinges of greens and nigh-invisible greysilverwhiteblacks- that promptly evaporated into nothingness. Chakra thrummed in the air, potent and volatile and yet unaccessible to the common shinobi. The air they breathed was a mess of contradicting signals, the chakra of life incarnate and the filtered hospital air of pain and rot and death.

They watched as she shrank- and shrank, and shrank. Smaller, smaller, until there was no doubt that she was a child, a small child, a child so tiny that she could not possibly have reached her double digits yet. The form warped, fur and feather retreating, unusually slim, corded limbs and more-lean-than-probably-healthy torso compressing and shriveling and withering away until one might have thought only a skeleton might be left in the end. And for all that the Hokage was the Hokage, and the Uzukage was the Uzukage, and the elites were elites, none could fully suppress the most miniscule, niggling awareness of the wrongness of it all.

Finally, the shedding chakra began to thin, drying up to a trickling stop as the glow began to fade. A large splattering of blood smeared the floors, black and thick and congealed in some places and thin and pink and almost clear in others. The large strips of plaster and bandages that had covered the worst of Asuga's hurts lay strewn amongst the red, now far too large for her. The more the light faded, the more obvious the trails of weeping wounds became on the now distinctly human child.

With one last pulse, the glow of chakra faded fully, leaving behind a tiny scrap of a child. Where previously the great beast's chest had been nearly level with a fully-grown man's head while laying down, the sitting child, coltish legs splayed out beneath her, barely came up to an adult's knees. Long, ragged, unkempt hair spilled from the crown of her head down the length of her back, obscuring parts of her face and doing a pitiful job of screening her chest and torso. She was naked, and so her body was on full display- discolored skin, a different shade every two inches, and a second look brought on the ghastly realization that the discolorations were scars- thick and thin, long and short, cuts and punctures and bruises and welts and burns and miscellaneous other marks of damage. Over them, the newer still-inflamed, infected, open wounds scrawled red and weeping, a mess of jagged cuts and tears and cracked scabs and burns. Baby fat was entirely absent, leaving paper-thin skin to stretch over prominently protruding bones. What meat she had on her frame was all lean, stringy muscle that only seemed to exacerbate the projected image.

The room was utterly still. On one side, fingers twitching and fists clenching, the red-ones were eyeing the child as if she were a crippled tiger- and perhaps she was, in their eyes. The Hokage and Uzukage were stone-faced and unreadable. Team Aki was staring down the red-ones and checking up on the girl in turns. And in the half-shadowed corners of the room, the elites on guard were watching everyone.

A twitch of a muscle.

Attention snapped fully to the child.

Haltingly, the child tentatively raised her downturned face. The curtain of inky black hair, which now could be seen to glimmer dully with deep blues and purples in the light, parted to the sides of her face with the motion.

Finely lashed eyes fluttered open.

Twin rings of concentric purple and gold, one inside the other, sharp and clear and precisely cut.

The child tilted her head.

Stared at them deeply.

And blinked.

Notes:

I promise to get around to properly describing Asuga's physical form soon! Both of them! There's a reason for not doing so yet! Kind of! I mean- definitely! Yes!

I'm in a bit of a conundrum with Asuga's characterization and personality right now. I know where I want it to go and what she'll be like in the future and the vague details of the difficulties that she'll have in getting there, but I'm having some trouble moulding her as she is now... Hopefully she doesn't come off too inconsistent...