Walking back to the village was more of a pain than it should have been. 

I managed to stop the bleeding from the wound Hidan caused, but it was still throbbing with pain with every movement I made. He must have cut me deeper than I thought. Hide was also in the same boat, with his body cut way worse than mine and a cracked rib from being thrown like a rag doll.

As we got closer, there was a pool of blood that still looked fresh. That rang alarm bells, so I pushed myself to walk faster toward it.

My eyes widened when I recognized Raizo, sprawled on the ground, his chest rising and falling shallowly. His eyes were closed and he had a crimson stain on his stomach. 

"Raizo!" Hide cried with worry. 

We both rushed over to his side and I checked his pulse, a wave of relief flooding over me. 

"How is he?" Hide asked.

"He's alive," I replied, "But barely,"

Hide, with my help, lifted him off the ground and slung both arms around our shoulders. Definitely didn't help the wounds, but Raizo had it worse than us.

"They're going to pay," Hide muttered, his voice hoarse. "They won't get away with this,"

I nodded in agreement with him. "They won't. But first, we need to get Raizo taken to the hospital immediately,"

The sun set, with hues of orange and purple. The light was fading fast, and that meant we had to get back quickly since the three of us are vulnerable. We pushed ourselves to walk as fast as we could and finally made it back. The air was still thick with anxiety and some of the villagers were staring slack-jawed at us as we walked to the hospital.

Once we had got to the hospital, I noticed Hide straining to stay strong. 

"Hide, you need to stay here," I said, eyeing his injuries.

"But Hana-"

"Just stay, Hide. You have a cracked rib. I'll be okay and I'll explain everything to the daimyo. I'll stop by when I'm done," I said again, this time more sternly.

He sighed with defeat and nodded. I checked them in with a nurse, who took them right away and I left to head back to the daimyo's tower. He was going to be in for a shock when I tell him that Hidan also had Kakuzu, the bounty hunter with them.

The fact that they are a part of the Akatsuki was unsettling. It made me wonder who else do they have? Now that I know that Hidan and Kakuzu had some weird power that made them nearly unstoppable, I had a bad feeling that the rest of the world would be in danger if they're not stopped.

I pushed the doors open to the tower and walked through the hall, still thinking about whether Raizo would survive or not. Hidan and Kakuzu must have gotten to him first. I knocked on the double doors to signal that I was here and opened them. The daimyo looked shocked when he saw that I was alone and injured.

"Where are Raizo and Hide?" He asked.

"At the hospital. You were right about it being Hidan, and he definitely got stronger from the last time you encountered him," I answered.

"But what about you? Your wounds look bad too," The daimyo eyes scanned over my wounds and seemed to zero in on the cut on my shoulder. 

"I was the only one able to come back to report to you. Raizo and Hide needed medical attention before me," I explained.

I told the daimyo everything. How Hidan got stronger, is part of the Akatsuki, and that he had Kakuzu with him. I even told the daimyo that Hidan and Kakuzu got to Raizo first and nearly killed him.

"Did he give a motive for his killings?" The daimyo asks, "There must have been something he wanted,"

I shook my head, "No, he's just sadistic. He thinks of murder as some sort of game, while his partner only seemed to care about bounties,"

The daimyo ran his hands over his face and let out a breath of exasperation. "Well, whatever the reason was for them leaving, I hope they don't return. Thank you for your report, Hana. Please go to the hospital before you go to get your wounds checked out,"

I bowed to him and turned around to leave. As I opened the door, he called my name. I turned my head to look at him, "I apologize for misjudging your skills. Seeing how you held your own against two Akatsuki members, I understand why the Slug Queen sent you."

"Thank you sir," I smiled and closed the door behind me. 

I did as he said and went to the hospital to get my injuries treated. They tried to make me stay, but I insisted that I had to go back home to complete my mission with Lady Tsunade. Now I was on my way back to the Leaf Village, and I had A LOT to tell her. 

The trip back took about three hours and now the sky was dark blue and the stars were shining brightly in the sky. The sky was completely clear of wind, gust, and clouds. I couldn't help but admire all the constellations in the sky, but I still kept thinking about the two Akatsuki men. I just hoped that those two wouldn't cause any problems for a while, at least. 

I was now at the gate of the Leaf Village and walked through, seeing Izumo and Kotetsu half falling asleep. They perked up when they saw me. 

"Hello Hana,-"

Izumo stopped his sentence when he noticed the bandages wrapped on my shoulder. 

"Rough mission," I said, answering his unspoken question. 

"Well, take it easy at least. That looks gnarly." Kotetsu added. 

I continued walking to Lady Tsunade's tower. The pain wasn't as bad as earlier, but it still hurt. I was given medicine to reduce the pain.

I opened the doors to the tower and walked down the hall. I knocked on the door and Shizune answered it. 

"Welcome back," She said, eyeing my injury with worry.

"Glad to see you're back, how did it go?" Lady Tsunade asked, cheeks slightly flushed. 

She must have been drinking. She had paperwork everywhere on her desk and she looked glad to take a break from that.

I explained the entire story to her, and she seemed worried when I told her about Hidan and Kakuzu. 

"Why would they just leave like that?" She wondered outloud, "Hopefully it doesn't have anything to do with Naruto's mission,"

I felt the sudden rush of anxiety when she said that.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm only telling you this because I know you want to protect him, but I sent him on a mission to retrieve the Kazekage of the Sand because he was taken by the Akatsuki," She replied.

I looked at her, worry flashing through my eyes.

Why him specifically if he's got what they want? I mean, knowing Naruto I know he probably insisted on going since he never takes no for an answer. I didn't want to question her judgment since she is our Hokage, but I still couldn't stop worrying now. Especially after Hidan and Kakuzu just left without a word.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Hana. I'll mark your mission as complete now, but I'll tell the others to be wary about Hidan and Kakuzu. I've seen those two in the bingo book before. Please take it easy now and don't strain yourself since you're injured."

With that, she dismissed me. I exited her office and Shizune shot me a sympathetic look since she was aware of why I was worried about him. He has Kakashi with him though, so maybe I don't need to worry as much. 

I made it back home and got ready for bed. I inhaled sharply when I lied down because my shoulder was still in pain. This will probably take about a week to heal, so hopefully Guy doesn't try challenging me again anytime soon. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I wrote the previous chapter, I forgot to add the detail about the Akatsuki lol. I fixed that in both chapters.