A/N:As promised, this WILL be completed. Eventually. Ironically enough, it was a song on the radio that kicked the muse back into gear - I won't post it here, because if you know it it could be sort of spoiler-ish. But I will post the band/title at the bottom, if anyone is interested.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto.

Inari stared, wide eyed as the bug using ninja he'd been so creeped out by stumbled, exhaustion evident in every line of his body… but stood back up. The boy – and he was a boy, the younger realized, not too many years older than Inari himself – had been fighting non-stop, dozens of Gatou's hired hands littering the ground around the warehouse. The insects he used, weighted down by the driving rain, were slowed, slaughtered by the dozens. Though relatively unskilled, sheer numbers broke through the ninja's guard again and again.

But still the Konohan fought. Injured, exhausted, dripping with rain and blood, the teenager never faltered, never hesitated to engage the next of the seemingly endless horde.

In spite of his own judgment, Inari felt admiration creep into his heart. He was barely conscious of his own tension when Shino was forced to duck away from a blow, his wince when the teen didn't dodge fast enough… or his grin, when the visible member of the team he didn't realize he was coming to believe in laid out yet another of their mutual foes.

Kiba swore, twitching, shuddering muscles fighting his mental command to get up. Through the ringing in his ears, he heard his enemy swear worse than him. Looking up, a tiny grin flickered at the sight of the girly bastard's arm hanging limp by his side, that lighting sword flickering on and off. Since the weapon was clearly chakra based… 'Hinata got him' the tracker realized. Then the grin vanished, as his fuzzy brain registered the crumpled form of the kunoichi at the Rain Nin's feet – and the steel held high above her.

Pure panic flashed through him, and Kiba forced his body into a stumbling lunge even as a flash of white in the corner of his eye made him reach out an arm, Akamaru veering enough for his partner to grab hold as they raced towards the unconscious Hyuuga girl.

The green-haired man spun, danced back, kunai coming up fast enough to stab into Akamaru's right shoulder – but not fast enough to keep Kiba from pushing away from his partner's side, his own kunai biting deep into the Ame shinobi's ribs. Abused muscles unable to hold under the strain, Kiba twisted, using his weight to rip the blade around and through his enemy's spine as he collapsed.

Kiba couldn't see the shock on the man's face as he blacked back out, but he could hear the gurgle as Akamaru's fangs ripped into their enemy's exposed throat.

Drenched in red, the nin-ken whined anxiously as three different shinobi bled into the mud.

Lee's heart froze in his chest as the world caught fire. Flames leapt, hot and hungry, reaching out for the Genin pair in their midst. He shared one horrified glance with Neji, and then that reaching blaze caught, latching onto the black tar caking their clothes. Choking back pained screams, the boys dragged in one desperate burning breath and dove beneath the surface.

The view from underwater was nightmarish, the storm dragging up silt from the bottom, leaving little visibility as fire painted it all a lurid red. The glow spread for what looked like forever in any direction, and Lee realized with a sinking heart that they would never be able to swim all the way out – they would have to resurface into the flames or drown. And somewhere in the mess was the Rain trio, breathing easily and waiting for the Konohans to choose their paths.

A flash of pale color snatched his attention, urging Lee to dart away as steel sliced through the water he had just been floating in. The Rain Nin had found them. Dodging more kunai, Lee learned quickly that fighting underwater was very different than fighting on top of it, the sting of salt in accumulating cuts only serving to supplement the burning in his chest. He needed air. Soon.

A swift glance showed that his teammate was faring little better, the advantage of his Byakugan eyes lessened by the water's weight slowing his movements. Twisting out of yet another weapon's path, he vaguely saw his genius teammate's expression light up. Catching his gaze, Neji made a circular motion with his free hand, pointing urgently from the taijutsu specialist to a sand bank a dozen feet below them. Thick brows furrowing in confusion, the teenager nodded – not quite understanding, but trusting his friend all the same. They dove, and on touching ground Lee drew one knee to his opposite shoulder, torqueing his body into his Konoha Senpuu even as Neji dropped into stance and pushed off into his Ultimate Defense.

To Lee's shocked cheer, the combined rotational force swirled the sea around them, pushing wave and flame alike outward. He spun faster, trying to breathe shallowly as the lack of flame did nothing to reduce the heat in the air, somewhat aware of Neji doing the same.

He did not see when the artificial whirlpool reached out and snatched their enemies into the outer wall, though he did flinch when they screamed, the tar and fire meant for the Konohans catching their makers instead.

Suddenly Neji stopped, immediately dropping into an opposing spin rather than his prior complementary one. The conflicting rotations clashed, the force shoving the two Genin away from each other – and through the outer wall of their whirlpool so quickly that they barely had time to feel the burn. Sheer speed flinging him back into the depths of the sea, Lee fought back to the top, coming up just in time to see Neji resurface yards away – and their man-made vortex collapse, dragging the three Rain shinobi into the center as it imploded.

Choking on swallowed water, wheezing through burned airways, the two Konohans turned and began the trek back towards the shore.

Kurenai watched, eagle-eyed as she shifted hands into yet another of her area-effect genjutsu, then snatched for an explosive tag. She didn't expect it to work any more than her previous ones had, but… she thought she'd seen… there! She dove into an evasive roll for what felt like the millionth time that battle, paper fluttering out of her grasp as bloodied fingers lost their grip.

-o-

Raiga snarled, frustrated beyond tolerance as the little Konoha kunoichi's genjutsu failed again. How stupid was she?! Hadn't she realized yet that those didn't work?! Completely disgusted, he slashed his swords, sending strike after strike of lightning to pummel the woman. "This is pointless!" he growled, watching her duck and dance and roll aside.

Twisting and tumbling, darting close just to jump away when he slashed at her, the weakling's attempts were only serving to irritate him further. And then his partner moved, shifting slightly as the boy laid one hand on a muscled shoulder. "Um, Raiga…" he murmured in the soft voice the Jounin had come to rely on. "Something's not right… she's moving differently than she was…"

Blue eyes narrowed, his complete faith in his young partner causing him to study the kunoichi a little more closely. "All right, Ranmaru. Let's end this – she's no fun anyway. Not even worth a funeral." Raiga charged forward, lighting licking along his blades – when the little kunoichi dodged towards him, one hand flicking out.

The Mist Jounin pivoted on one foot, not needing the quiet warning to send one sword swinging across to bat away the slender senbon cutting through the air. Thick lips curved into a sneer, he stabbed both blades down, and time itself slowed to a crawl. The world registered in lightning flashes, brief snapshots between heartbeats.

He saw the kunoichi roll to her left, dropping off the roof onto a lower ledge. He heard Ranmaru cry out in sudden warning as they both realized what the bitch had done. He saw the lightning jump from his swords and onto the hair-thin wires where the Konohan had just been. He saw, with terrible, helpless clarity, that lightning arc from sword, to wire… to paper, supposedly 'dropped' in haste.

And he had just enough time to turn, trying to shield the frail body curled against his back as the world lit up in a different shade of light. The explosion threw them both, and he felt the harness break as he hit the ground, head cracking against brick.

The last thing he heard, as the world blacked out, was Ranmaru screaming.

Tenten fought to control her breathing, her ears buzzing as her eyes blurred the world into indecipherable blobs of color. Steel jangled softly as weapons jittered in trembling hands, and the girl swayed on unsteady feet. Cruel laughter rang above the storm, and dark forms stepped into her vision, the glint of light and metallic clanking revealing the spinning chain weapon she could no longer distinguish from the street.

One of the dark blurs darted towards her, and Tenten jerked away, her body heavy as she flung a kunai in the direction of the one moving past. But this left her open to the other, and even as she hurriedly formed the seals for the body replacement jutsu she felt a line of fire score across her ribs.

The technique caught, pulling her away before that line could slice beyond skin and into bone and organ, but the effected senses combined with the sudden shift to induce a severe disorientation, leaving the girl to stumble as her balance deserted her. Weakened, her knees gave out, spilling the teenager to the wet ground.

Her enemy snickered, tossing amused glances between one another. "One down" the cloaked one called, making the other laugh in delight.

"Yes" the excitable one cried, bloodlust dripping from his voice. "Let's cut her apart, brother!" The two Rain nin darted apart, circling wide around the disoriented Genin before sliding to a stop. "You're done now, little girl" they taunted.

Tenten shook herself once more, trying to ease the spinning of the world around her. Determined, the girl straightened her spine and shoulders, sliding kunai into each shaking hand. "No." she stated, quiet but firm. Brown eyes stared towards her foes, something hard glinting in them. "No" she said again. "I won't lose here - I won't fail. Youwill notget past me!" As her enemy moved, Tenten closed her eyes.

'Don't look' she thought, remembering years of training against Lee. 'Don't see where they are, know where they will be.' Deep breaths calmed a heart thundering in young ears, as muscles relaxed, unknowingly stopping fine tremors. Vision closed off, other senses sharpened, desperately trying to compensate.

Ears strained to pick up the soft thuds out of time with her heartbeat, warning where her enemy moved.

She heard.

Touch waited for the earth beneath her tremble, not with the harsh falling of rain, but with heavier motion approaching.

She felt.

The vague sense of something near registered in the air to each side.

She knew.

Hands raising up, elbows crossed; kunai handles against her wrists, blades pointing towards the ground; Tenten lashed out, blades stabbing down mere inches from her body.

And caught in the links of the shuriken-chain meant to savage her.

Hands moving down, uncrossing, wrenching out to form a t with her body, Tenten fell, spine thudding on the ground.

And her foes stumbled, pulled forward and off balance by the chain and their own momentum. Booted feet tripped over the girl lying supine in the street.

And vicious claws sank into an ally's chest, instead of the Genin they'd targeted.

As the demon brothers stared into each other's faces, life draining from their eyes as quickly as the blood from around each other's claws, Tenten laughed. Arms braced on the ground, she pulled herself back just as the pair slumped over, but lacked the strength to stand again.

So she lay, trembling, only able to breathe and stare up at the sky she could barely see.

A/N 2:The song is Black Veil Brides' "In The End".