Warning: Some gore I guess? It's a war people bleed

Shikamaru knew what to expect of a war before actually going to one. His father had made him go over document after document relating to previous wars. He had to pick and choose strategies for the best outcome. War was violent, emotional, sometimes people lost sight of why they were fighting, people die.

He knew all of that but what he didn't know was how the air would reek of blood and ash, the screams that echoed every so often, the chaotic mess that would be war. Knowing about war was not the same as experiencing that, it was sobering. He turned to his team, all looking over the battlefield like he did.

He positioned them just outside the range of the best sensor so that they could make their entrance. It had to be big, bold and draw attention to them. It was to draw the attention of the enemies to hopefully keep them away from when my team would enter the village. It was also to alert the allies of their arrival, so they could group together, strength in numbers and all that jazz.

"They said make an entrance right? Might as well do some damage in the process." His lips curled into a smirk, it wasn't a happy one but it was there. He handed each person on his squad an explosive tag, it was one Naruto and he had worked on for weeks. The explosions were massive, bigger than a regular tag but not only that, the fire and smoke the explosions let off were colored brightly. Perfect for doing damage and drawing attention to themselves.

A tag like this was cocky, it was meant to anger the enemies making whoever uses it seem like they think so little of their proponents they would set off a location marker. It was pompous and effective against the fragile ego of Shinobi, especially those who feel like they have to fight to prove their worth.

"Yosh, let the skies light up in a youthful array of color!" Spaced far enough apart, each member of his platoon threw the kunai with their tag out into the open. The explosions went off, lighting up the frigid air with heat and color, destroying the ground in loud bang. Not a minute later, ninja of all caliber descended on their position.

They moved like Zombies, snarling at the arrival of more Konoha ninja, shouting that they were bastards and the like. With one nod, both teams went off fighting the ninja who never seemed to keep coming. Like the enemies came, their comrades in arms came as well.

Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji fought together, working like the perfectly suited team they were. Choji had his first official kill almost too soon in the war. Ino had moved to heal one of their allies when she was attacked, Choji defended her, killing the man with his brute strength. The kindhearted boy puked, his heart clenching at taking a life.

It didn't matter, he had no time to grieve because he had to keep fighting. Shikamaru wanted to say something but he couldn't, not yet. He had to compartmentalize, push away the feeling of dread with each life taken. He was a ninja, he was trained to kill.

Neji and lee were like oil and water, one used the strong fist and the other the gentle fist and yet they were perfect to fight together. Combining their close combat with the skill and agility of Tenten, they took down enemies close and far. Lee shook when he killed but his resolve, his reason for fighting for his village outweighed his guilt.

Tenten attacked with a fierce strength, anytime a weapon was sent to her or her comrades, she had the perfect counter. This was her specialty, her excellence. She used any and every weapon perfectly and made the others using their weapons, especially the projectile kind, useless.

These ninja were fast, good but they were nothing compared to Gai-sensei. They had their numbers going for them. The only way to win was overwhelming Neji's team with sheer numbers and forcing them to run out of chakra, nothing else would make it possible.

Everyone was dead tired, bleeding from superficial wounds, fighting to survive and push through, following Shikamaru's orders perfectly. It was becoming too much, no matter what they didn't have the reserves of someone like Naruto. Even with the chakra pills, the number of shinobi throwing weapons and jutsu, skilled and not were becoming too much.

They had all seen people die during their battle, heard the cries of men and women being struck down and they were prepared to fight until their last breath. Shikamaru unleased a torrent of water from a seal, bringing it to life with a lightning seal not a second later. It fried all it touched but was not enough. He was ready to go down when the air seemed to shift.

A kunai was heading for Ino's head, one she'd be too slow to dodge and Choji was too far away to deflect it. She closed her eyes, only to open them when instead of death a groan greeted her.

"Jashin fuckin' dammit, that hurt like a bitch ya know? What kind of heathen are you, thinking you can stab me in the chest." Hidan was crass, kind of scary, the way he was dripping in blood yet seeming to love it was repugnant but Ino had never been more glad to see him. The kunai pierced his chest, it should have been fatal but he pulled it out with nothing more than a wince.

A woman's head exploded near them, others following soon after. A loud laugh screaming about art echoed from above. Deidara was there too. Sasori and Kakuzu also made it to them, fighting with a vicious brutality and love for battle that none of them could understand, they used jutsu that amazed and scared everyone equally. They fought like monsters, like demons. Hidan cackling all the way through. It was vile but at the moment Shikamaru's platoon appreciated it more than words could express.

The tides for his team changed, the Akatsuki were not bullshitting when they said they were strong, maybe strength equalled insanity but nobody dared to care at this point. Even if Hidan and Neji wanted to stab one another, the Jashinist took a blow meant for the Hyuga.

"Couldn't let the Hot Bitch cry if her Neji-nii died. Gotta get those brownie points for saving your girly ass."

With the newfound courage—and soldier pills— the ex-criminals brought, they were able to continue fighting as well as get in some rest. Ino fought and healed as many as she could, guarded by everyone around her to keep their allies alive. She was invaluable in her ability to mentally contact everyone for plans as well as her healing.

***

Our battle was a chaotic hurricane of destruction. We had all found one another again, looking worse for wear but still alive. There were a few Chunin and Jounin who joined our movement, they were directing us to the barracks that had been set up. We all took soldier pills and guarded as each of us got a fill of water, a necessity to survival. I wasn't sure about how long we'd been fighting, it could have been an hour or a few days. Like Alaska, during certain seasons the sun never set in Kōri so night might have passed and I'd never know.

"Kiba-kun?" Shino questioned his unusually solemn mate. Kiba had blood covering his hands, and smears over the already bright red of his cheeks. I was ready to heal him when he pushed me away.

"I'm fine." He grimaced. "It's not my blood." Oh. I healed the cuts and bruises on everyone as we moved, Naruto had clones stationed to make sure I'd have time to help each person and not get stabbed. I was exhausted, we were all exhausted but had to press on. On our way to help, we had a few hours to sleep.

It was difficult, My sleep was shallow at best. Even in sleep my senses were on high alert, my chakra was always scanning and rolling ready to fight if it came up. It was like how sensitive I felt when Orochimaru came to the Chunin exams but amplified. Everyone was feeling the same, those out to war longer than us were even more anxious.

I let myself relax, even if just slightly when we moved forward. There were signs of Shizune's battle here, we were getting closer. Men and women lay dead, plunged with senbon the poison used by Shizune alone was frozen to them. Their veins were black and their skin blistering, definitely her fast acting venom she was able to spew out of her mouth and into the air.

There were enemies everywhere, we were still fighting our way thorough this place. They kept getting stronger the more we advanced.

Konoha ninja fought around us, fighting with strength and heart encompassing the will of fire. No chakra I knew well enough had entered my field of vision until a giant wave of water crashed down.

That chakra, that overwhelmingly powerful chakra was one I knew well. I darted off towards the wave that crushed enemies beneath its force, running atop the surface of the water easily. There. I found Kisame swinging Samehada, the skin was unleashed as it shredded through the chakra infused metal. Suigetsu was not too much further away, lightning running through his blades and attacking those around him with vigor.

The air was so cold Suigetsu was forced to dodge a lot more often than normal. If he shifted into water too often he would freeze from the below freezing temperature. I was attacked on all sides, ice formed under my feet, one of the weapons was able to shoot out ice apparently, and I wasn't ready to stick to the surface with my chakra so I slid, my momentum pushing me backwards.

A robot descended on me and slammed he hard into the ground. The breath was pushed from my lungs. Its face heated up and I slammed my fist into its head, the heat of the chakra being converted into something hot burned through the glove and skin of my right hand.

"Fuck off you shitty Ultron knockoff." Kisame hefted me back to a standing position, grinning down at me. My knees were shaky but I managed. We were finally in the heart of the battle if the size and skill of what we were facing had anything to say. I had felt outmatched before, overwhelmed by numbers sure, but this, this was different.

Everyone was fighting for something, fighting with a passionate fury that made them that much more dangerous. Combining that with the weaponry I didn't even know existed, a misstep was deadly. I was tired, but so was everyone here, I had to pretend like I was better and fight like I had just gotten here.

"I was wondering when you would join the party little Orokamono." He took note of my expression and calmed slightly even when sending three enemies back with one powerful swing of his sword. "First war?"

"Yes. I just—how do people do this—why." I didn't even know how to explain the feeling that was overwhelming me.

"It doesn't get better 'specially not for a softie like you, just think of it as good training." I rolled my eyes, I didn't have that luxury. I was team leader so they were on me, I had to make sure nobody died and I had to bring aid to Shizune and help heal whoever else was in the barracks.

"I'm not soft." He snorted and went back on the prowl to fight, the cuts and bruises not even bothering him in the slightest. I joined up with Suigetsu, using my smaller size and speed to help him take down the giant, angry man who wielded a high powered crossbow, one that shot arrows that wherever it hit turned to ice. I unsealed a water bottle from the seals painted onto my med pack and tossed it to Suigetsu. He downed the entire thing in a single gulp, his face already looking less pale.

" Man, I love you sometimes." He grinned, his body thrumming from the adrenaline of battle and the new water imposed into his system.

"I know." Suigetsu had the bottom of his pant's leg burned off, there was obvious blistering on his shin all the way up to his knee. He kept his weight more on his right leg to avoid putting unnecessary pressure on the burned limb. The crossbow man, in his dying breath pulsed his chakra, flaring it to surround the area.

The ground shook as a giant version of a shinobi came out of the freaking ground along with many soldiers on his flank. Their killer intent was palpable and they outnumbered us 8 to 1. The giant batted away attacks easily, it needed something equally as big to take it to the ground. Naruto's Rasengan barely dented the surface. It had five chakra's inside of it, each person had to take out one if we wanted to not die.

"There are 5 chakra's, one person per limb. Each of us take one, Suigetsu you keep it occupied. Sasuke, you take on the Kōri-nin."

"Hn." He shot off, Susanoo flaring to life in all of its purple glory as he attacked. It flickered, still no a complete shell yet but it was enough. Jutsu's bounced off of the purple casing and Sasuke shot arrows into the crowd of people, stumbling only when the Susanoo was cracked with the force of the Earth Jutsu's slamming against him.

"Man, how the hell am I supposed to do that, it's MASSIVE!"

"Naru, still got a fire tag?" I shouted across, chakra on my vocal chords making my voice echo in loudness.

"Yeah!"

"Keep Suigetsu warm when I say." He gave me a thumbs up. I focused on the air around me, drawing out the moisture from the ice, from the leftover water Kisame had used, from the moisture in my body. I condensed it into my chest, breathing it in and forcing the water molecules to fuse with my chakra, expanding, making it stronger, larger. I concentrated, as I dodged an attack I made my chakra liquify, take the composition of water.

Exploding Water Shockwave! My chakra drained quickly as water burst from my mouth, creating enough water to fill a small lake. It was easier this time with all the ice around me, Kisame had made me practice this until I didn't black out doing it once. I directed all the water towards Suigetsu and as soon as it touched his skin, I could feel his chakra lacing into the water, absorbing it into his body.

"Hell yeah, now we're talking. Let's see how you can compare to the might of an elite robot freak."

His upper body grew in size, and his lower half took up that of water. He was just barely smaller than that of the giant, his swords raised and ready as he charged the bot, drawing its attention so we would all have a shot at taking out one of the people charging this monstrosity.

"Naruto, keep Suigetsu warm, he can't freeze in this state or we're screwed. Let's take this fucker down." Naruto had his clones place seals on either side of Suigetsu, both sparking to life giant pillars of fire that warmed up the entire area as they burned out, warm enough to keep the water from freezing.

We attacked from behind. Suigetsu used his blades to strike fast and often, the monster forced into defense with each strike. Kiba took the head, drilling into it with impressive speed. Naruto took the left shoulder, Shino the right. Kisame and I took a leg. I spun, slamming my foot into the metal. I could feel the shockwave reverberate through the metal and my body. It was dented but not even close to broken through.

I attacked the alloy with a barrage of kicks and hits until finally it was thin enough to break through. My hand slammed into the metal, coming out the other side of the dented wall, blood dripping from the cuts the metal caused by shredding into my skin. I peeled the metal hole open, making enough room to drag the user out.

He swung a hand and hit my wrist, his chakra burned as it touched my skin. It had that same property of the laser beams from some of the other weapons. It was a kekkei genkai, one that is terrifying if it was in the wrong hand. A blast ht right above my hip, I hissed in pain, biting my tongue to not let out a cry, I'd have to heal it at some point. The guy was probably 13, young. It didn't matter, it couldn't matter. I struck his chest, my gentle fist blocking the points around his heart. He sagged, gurgling blood. I slit his throat.

A strike with lightning charged swords did the job, the ninja were dead and Suigetsu crushed the bot. We all took off once more, fighting for our lives.

There were screams, blood was sprayed, I didn't even realize when I kept making their numbers smaller. Even then, they still outnumbered us, we were in their village and that gave them an advantage. My chakra sensory was on high alert, anyone and everyone that came within a short distance of me I could feel them. I wasn't going to die, nobody was going to die if I had a say in it.

My chakra was becoming low, too low to do any real jutsu without dropping from exhaustion. This was a bad place to be. Most of us were pushing our limits, good or bad. I stumbled as my vision went blurry for a second, my eyes were burning, I could feel the blood pulsing in my eyes as I strained to keep them working. I missed a dodge, my body too slow to react and I received a kunai to the forearm.

Samehada sliced down my opponent and Kisame scooped me into his grasp. He was holding me around the waist and my body was limp, I looked like a sack of potatoes.

"Time to retreat for the night, you need some rest." He dodged an attack, biting into the neck of an opponent and ripping the skin off. Blood oozed from the wound as the man choked in his own blood. It was disgustingly cool.

"I can still fight." I pushed against him and he tightened his hold, using the pressure of his chakra to force me into submission.

"Stand down." He commanded, no hint of the playfulness he usually spoke with. I listened, going lax in his grip once more. Suigetsu was chilling on Kisame's broad shoulder, drinking water and looking ready to drop dead. Kiba and Shino were both in the same state, being carried on Akamaru's back. Sasuke had an arm around Naruto, limping.

Wherever we were, Shizune's squad wasn't here. There were barely any supplies here at all. Konoha Shinobi were nursing wounds or savoring what was left of the ration bars. I slept for a few hours, dreamless thankfully. Somebody wrapped my hands and cleaned the wounds.I ate a ration bar and let my chakra manually regenerate until I needed to go back, when that was, I'd finish the process with a food pill.

Naruto unsealed one of our supply packs, the morbid mood lifted slightly with the rations and replenished resources. Anxiety was still running high, my platoon had heard of war of course, but the toll that it takes is something we never learned. To top it all off, we still hadn't found Shizune's team. They needed us for something and we needed to get to them soon, it's apparently been almost a week already.

I tended to the injured, any superficial injuries that wouldn't have an affect on the person I cleaned and bandaged. A few of the deeper cuts I healed until they were shallow enough to bandage. The lucky break was how anybody who was struck with the lower level lasers, the wound cauterized on its own from the heat of the blast and I just had to treat the burn not the blood loss from it.

There were two amputations, I closed the skin by burning it closed. I didn't have enough chakra to do much else. They were done in the war, there was nothing they could do that wouldn't result in their death. Men died under my hand, I couldn't save them. I'd never been in a situation like this, even saving Itachi was different. Each death hurt, I had no time to mourn, neither did those who lived. I had to be numb, a soldier not a person. Seeing the death toll, it wasn't massive in the scheme of Konoha but it wasn't small either. Maybe about 4% of the total population, about 73% of those who were sent to this war.

My chakra was a little over half and I took a soldier pill to double it, I needed the unnatural boost to keep going and not get stabbed like last night. I dreaded going back out, we all did but we had to fight for our country and for our friends. Sasuke was the one who encouraged us the most, surprisingly, in his Sasuke way of things.

When he riled Naruto up to go back out and fight, that boosted the morale of everyone else.

***

The icy snow was whipping around everywhere, chilling me to the bone. It stung my face and burned as it whipped into my eyes. I really, really hate snow and this ice version of it is that much worse. Vision was more limited with the weather and moving was harder but nobody let that stop them.

I could feel each person/thing getting closer from their chakra, I could feel the outlines of my team's chakra, hear the taunts of Suigetsu, feel Kisame's chakra launching attack after attack. There was no chakra right in front of me until there was. The chakra had just appeared, it was gone and then there was someone there. I turned to strike but my hand was caught.

"Quick reflexes kid, calm down." Genma, no wonder. He could use a toned down version of the thunder god from when he was taught by Minato as a Hokage guard, never thought I'd get to see it used by him. He looked worse for wear. There was blood covering his large coat and rips littered throughout the thing. His eye was bruised pretty nastily and a cut was on his cheek. "Time to get you to Shizune-chan, things are pretty bad over there." My chakra fluctuated and I wheezed as we were pulled to a different area of the battlefield.

"What the fuck." Was all I managed, looking at the fucking giant ass robot that had cannons for arms. Cannons that shot bright balls of chakra condensed and hot enough to melt through whatever it hit.

"What the fuck indeed." It ran on chakra differently than the last giant, this one couldn't move it's legs. It was rooted to the ground and drew chakra from the ground, from the life around it. It needed to be hit with something big to crush it completely.

"Is this the reason we came? To stop this monster." Another blast of that burning, laser chakra shot from the cannon. It was off to the distance but the cries were real. This thing needed to be stopped. I didn't have a giant Suigetso or Susano sized Sasuke right now and nobody had chakra so I had to make do.

"Yes." It didn't smell like blood here, it was so much worse. It smelled like burning flesh, there were bodies burned to the muscle and bone. This was the main base, it was overrun and being attacked. Our ninja fought back valiantly, even those covered in bandages were attacking and destroying what they could.

This was war pushing its end. It was the fighting of men who had nothing to lose, both sides were fighting like caged animals, to win, to survive. If we had to fight another day, even with the new provisions, it wouldn't matter. Chakra was low here, morale was obviously low, the loss would be too great to have any chance of winning if that thing wasn't gone. People were already planning to die.

Both sides had massive casualties and today would be the deciding factor. Either we crush them, breaking their weapons and their spirit or they kill us all and make it to the border, starting another great war. Genma was underselling how shitty it really was here. At some point my squad would catch up, but for now this falls on those of us in this area...those who are still able enough to fight.

I swiped the blood dripping from my lip, my hands running quickly through the seals I needed. I slammed my palm flat to the ground and expelled as much Chakra as I could dare, I had to keep my reserves full enough to fight and heal whoever Shizune needed me to. I was not a frontline fighter and combat medic for nothing.

The world spun with the massive flux of chakra, instead of the freezing sleet burning my cheeks and eyes, I was enveloped in a soft warmth. Muramasa's soft paw was pressed right beside me, guarding me and Genma from the cold weather. Ninja of all caliber stopped, turning to look at the giant Lion who had his fangs bared in a menacing growl.

"Had to be Ice huh kit?" His low voice purred, dripping with a disdain for the cold weather. "What do you need? I expect payment sooner or later." His tone turned sharp, menacing as he turned a predatory gaze to the war around him.

"I promise I will bring you whatever you want later. See that giant metal thingie?" His claws sprang from behind his paws, each larger than me and each looking menacingly sharp, shining like steel.

"The one taking chakra from what is living around it?" I nodded.

"Consider it a new toy, It has laser canons and those need to stop killing our soldiers. Destroy it." His head lowered and he licked up my body. I was his kit, part of his pride. We stuck together.

"Be safe kit." I nuzzled his nose with my own. Nobody dared to come near us yet, they knew he would kill them before they could try to land a shot.

"You too Muramasa-sama." The muscles in his body tensed and contracted, I could feel the deadly power emanating from him as he pounced at the bot, claws digging into the giant. The arms flowed with chakra, glowing brightly even to the naked eye and when the ball left the canon, Muramasa let out an ear splitting roar, the force of it pushing the laser right back at its creator. It slammed into the metal giant and the sound echoed for miles.

"Damn kid, Kakashi-kun really does have a team of monsters." Genma let out an impressed whistle as he readied himself to fight once more.

"Where is Shizune?" We ran, I followed a half step behind Genma as he directed me. Finally, I could see her, feel the familiar comfort of her deadly chakra. Shizune's chakra was getting low. She was spouting out poisoned Senbon and her hands were on Aoba's back, healing the dripping wound slashed across his chest.

Her dark eyes looked up as soon as we were in her line of vision and she smiled. It was as if the whole world slowed down in that second, right as she smiled at me and her worry melted into relief, chakra flared, light flashed. Shizune stumbled back and I moved on autopilot, my mind shut off completely.

Someone was screaming, it was full of guilt, pain, grief, anger. It was horrible to hear, it was the only thing I could hear. My mouth was open, I... I am the one screaming. Shizune had a hole straight through her chest. It was not clean, her insides were shredded and blood quickly pooled around her. I caught her before she even hit the ground. My hands were green as I tried to heal the wound. This was not supposed to happen.

Genma reacted in the same instance I did. The blast came from a man who had been difficult to kill this whole time, his chakra converted into beams of light hot enough to burn through flesh. As soon as Genma saw Shizune stumble, he was on the man, a white hot fury flowing through his very being. The man was dead before he had any time to scream, Genma mutilated the body and those around him before coming to my side.

"No no no no no. Dammit, no no. Come on Shizune. This-this wasn't... it's...my fault." I choked out, muttering incomprehensibly as I forced more and more chakra into her. Aoba was on guard, Raido also retreating to our side to guard us as I tried to heal her. Blood pooled from her lips and she breathed in choked, raspy breaths. Skin was hanging, some organs visible, I knew them, I could name each one but that did nothing. I...This is my fault.

I couldn't feel the snow against my face, the tears freezing as fast as they were coming, I couldn't hear the roars of Muramasa or the angered attacks of Genma. Everything was muffled, there was only Shizune, the gaping wound in her chest, and the overwhelming guilt flooding me. This was my fault, if I wasn't here, if it wasn't me she wouldn't be hurt like this.

No healing I was doing was making a difference, I prepared my chakra to break the seal, I'd most likely pass out after I use it but it was the only option. I readied myself and Shizune caught my hands before I could do any more. Both of her hands were wrapped around mine tightly, they were bloody, mine were bloody too, coated in a deep crimson of her life force fading.

She smiled, how could she smile at a time like this. It was that same smile she always gave me when we trained, though her eyes were different. They were accepting death, no no no she cant. Often Tsunade didn't have time to train me so when I was still learning to use mystic palm, Shizune was the one helping me.

She brought me lunch and praised me when I succeeded at something. She was so nice, strict but kind. She kept Tsunade grounded, she can't...NO. The seal might not heal something like this on another person but I have to try.

"You can't-You can't no."

"Hinata. Stop." She coaxed, her voice breathy. "Don't use the seal. Not for me, please."

"I have to."

"Don't. I wont forgive you. Don't trade your life span for mine."

"But I-" I was sobbing and she was still smiling. Why was she smiling. She was asking for me to let her die. Each pump of her heart blood gushed from the gaping, mutilated hole where her stomach used to be. Ino, I had to tell her. Her teacher, when she wasn't doing her apprenticeship with T&I she trained with Shizune. I..no.

"You grew up to such an amazing girl. I know you can lead them to victory. Tell Tsunade I-" She coughed up blood, her eyes shedding tears full of resigned acceptance. "Tell her I love her and make sure she d-doesn't drink too much. Tell Ino she... was a g-good student, the best." This is all my fault. She shouldn't have to say goodbye right now. What good is my power, what good was changing the future if people who were supposed to live die? Was this what I caused by playing god, one life saved so another one is gone?

Genma put a hand on my shoulder. Shizune looked up at him, her eyes seemed to glow with unsaid words, with regret, acceptance, love. They were so big, so loving. No, she-they.

"Stop, don't disrespect her like this." He eased me away and took my spot cradling her in his arms. He was crying, I don't think he knew he was crying. "I love you so much. All these years, you're still the one for me. We might not have a wedding but you are my eternity." Genma wasn't one for words, he liked action but these, these were so personal. Shizune looked radiant even covered in blood.

"Forever, I'll love you. Don't die here. Not you too." She whispered back, struggling to get any more out. He brushed her hair from her face and kissed her, the blood didn't matter to him. None of it. They kissed until she ran out of breath, until she died. He closed her eyes and lay her down, the air shifting into one so sinister it felt like death itself.

Genma, Raido, Aoba, even Ebisu was here and they were all exuding such intense KI. I think I was too but I'm not sure. All I know is her blood is what is staining my hands, my gloves were dripping with my failure. They are all going to die. This war is over, I don't deserve anything but I have to make it home, I will fulfill her dying wishes and end this.

A cold clarity entered me, I was angry at myself, at this war, at everyone in this damned village of ice. I had only felt so merciless when fighting Orochimaru, but that was a blind rage. I don't remember fighting or killing him or anyone else. This was different, I could see everything, feel everything.

I would never forget this moment, this entire goddamned war. I knew each face, could remember each person I crushed under my fist, each jutsu I used to suffocate for break a person. The water needles that turned machine's into pin cushions. They were no match, I couldn't feel any hit, any cut to my skin, any bruise. They were nothing to any of us, they were gone, their once proud army was being crippled.

I don't know when Naruto met up with us, he was the only one. Everyone else stayed back to fight with Kisame. I didn't see him, I didn't know Naruto was there until I could feel him. He saw her, he saw Shizune. The raging killer intent stopped and was replaced with a fury that made my chakra writhe, it was so deadly and ferocious, filled with such anger, my skin itched from the pressure.

Everything was red, the sleet no longer froze, the ground shook and burned with chakra. Muramasa picked me up by the hood of my coat and shielded me. Naruto screamed it was pure anguish. Genma's chakra disappeared as soon as it came the first time, others followed, it wasn't the chakra retreat of those who died, it was just gone in a flash. People cried, begged, they were scared, there were rumbles, chakra burned my senses and I had to close my strained eyes. Then... silence.

Muramasa let me down, licked the blood from my skin and clothing the best he could, grooming me like I was one of his babies. It was gross but I didn't move. When he was done I stumbled to Naruto, Muramasa standing guard for if anyone else showed up.

Naruto was laying flat in the ground, the chakra retreating from around him. It was over. His skin was gone in some areas, burned by chakra. I couldn't do much for his chakra wounds but I mended the skin as much as possible. He was out cold but his eyes puffy, he cried.

I don't know how long I sat there with Naruto, looking at his wounds slowly mend. Everything was slowly beginning to hurt, exhaustion was creeping in. I was tired of everything. Kisame showed up sometime later. Shigetsu, Sasuke, Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru in tow.

"It's over." We won, the cost was high but it was over. Nobody really looked excited or relieved, everyone was somber and still tense, ready for another wave of attack. A quick glance to Shizune and the battlefield and they pieced together what happened. Sasuke raised me to my feet and I slumped into his hold, Kisame took me from the Uchiha telling him to carry Naruto since nobody else could.

He was limping and dead on his feet but he still dragged the blonde, following behind Kisame.

We went to the base I was supposed to be at earlier, maybe if I was faster. No, I had to peace myself back together so we can go home, only then can I break. Tsunade can punish me for my failure.

I retied my hair back, it was brittle with blood and grime. My hands were bleached clean and I had a white lab coat on. I healed who I could, moving silently on my feet. I was tired, sleepwalking but they needed to be healed enough to travel home. The sooner we can leave the better.

Genma, Kisame, Raido, Aoba. All were healed enough to do whatever I directed them to do. We wrapped wounds, gave food and water, packed up supplies. Genma volunteered to seal away all the bodies and burn those not from Konohagakure. He left with a few others and they did the job none us wanted to.

My team was asleep, none of them were at peace though. I could see it in the furrow of their brows even during rest. This war opened our eyes to the life of a shinobi, the good the bad and the ugly of what we really were.

"I need the list of the dead." A field nurse, Shin, gave me the list. Most names were people I didn't know personally, their blood was still on my hands. Izumo, Kotetsu. They were on the list of the dead. My fault. They weren't going to be there to greet us or make stupid jokes and make it difficult for Kakashi to enter the village anymore. My fault. At the bottom. Shizune. My fault. I put the names of those we missed. My fault.

This village was a hidden village but unlike one of the larger ones, there were no true civilians. There were retired shinobi and children too young to fight yet but no civilians. The last directive we were given, the one that I hated the most. We had to burn this village to the ground. Children and all. Kisame was the one who offered, he and some of the ANBU went to their evacuation area and finished the job. When Shikamaru meets up with us, Deidara was going to flatten the area.

I fell asleep to the sight of Shizune's blood, the smile she gave even when bleeding out, the pain and anguish, the countless deaths. The only comfort I had in the Ice-land, even though I didn't deserve it, was with my team. It didn't matter, everything hurt, so bad it was numb. My fault.

I buried into Sasuke's side, squeezing the life out of him. He didn't care, returning the gesture with equal force. Naruto was on my other side, his body sore and bandaged but he still held me, deep in sleep. Suigetsu slept above me, his sleeping bag perpendicular to my head. War, even for someone who craved battle like him was rough. Kiba slept with Shino at my feet, Akamaru being cuddled between the two.

Kisame didn't sleep even when we told him to. He just left to go bring Shikamaru's squad and the Akatsuki to us. That worried me, what if they didn't make it too. My Fault.

A/N: So yeah Hinata is losing her shit and blaming everything on herself cuz yanno, if she wasn't born then this war wouldn't happen...probably right? Either way, man this chapter was the beginning of the development we need for Hinata again, to finally adress her biggest issues with herself in the chapters to come. Plus I needed some ppl to die before the next big war and more die so yay. sorry Shizune, Izumo, Kotetsu no Pein to bring you back to life this time. Hope ya liked it, I really was so excited to do the war chapters and the part 3 is coming out sometime soon especially when everyone meets up again. So many of them were too young for war so lets see how they deal...Hidan, Deidara, Suigetsu included in that mix

I love you all and you taking time to read this and sometimes comment makes my day! I just wanna thank you all for sticking with this story!