Hiruda winced in pain as Naruto settled her against a tree. They have arrived outside the Leaf village where a nearby forest resides across the emergency gates. Villagers were relieved as they made themselves comfortable on the grass, muttering a genuine 'thank you' to the ninjas who have saved their lives. Sakura knelt down beside her to scrutinize the stab wound.

The pinkette took a long exhale, trying to calm her nerves. Encouraging thoughts filled her mind like a mantra as she recalled her training sessions with Tsunade.

"Thankfully, the wound is not that deep, but she could still lose consciousness because of blood loss." She glanced up at Hiruda with a smile, placing her hands in front of her thigh.

"Stay still, I'll heal you right now."

Hiruda could only nod mutely in response, hanging her head low with her lips pressed into a thin line. Not only she was struggling in keeping her whimpers at bay, but the blood oozing out of her wound was giving her unpleasant flashbacks of her home tainted with bloodshed.

Naruto watched her, a pitiful expression fixed on his features. Seeing others in pain and agony is the last thing he wanted to witness, especially not a young girl. He had noticed how small and scrawny she looked, her legs were almost as thin as a broomstick. Her cloak outsized her tiny frame, its hood almost covering the entirety of her face with only her mouth visible.

The boy turned, facing away from Hiruda. "Sakura, you take care of her. I'll be back in a minute."

The pinkette whipped her head at Naruto in surprise, only to find him making a beeline towards the emergency gates. "Naruto, hold on! Where do you think you're going?! There are samurais all over the village!"

"I just need to get something! I'll be back!" Naruto exclaimed, keeping his gaze ahead.

Before Sakura could even stop him, her teammate had disappeared into the village. She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, mumbling something about giving the blonde a good scolding once he gets back.

Hiruda stared at the direction where Naruto had left with worry. "Is he gonna be okay?" She asked.

Sakura made her hands glow as green light emitted from it, a smile tugging along the corners of her lips as if she had remembered something. "He will be. After all, he's the most unpredictable ninja in my team."

The ravenette didn't say anything, although, an impressed glint was found in her eyes. She wished to earn such a cool entitlement once she officially becomes a samurai.

She winced when she tried to move her wounded leg accidentally. Hiruda muttered a quick apology to Sakura.

Sakura sent a reassuring smile. "It's alright. Just bear with it for a while, the wound is slowly closing up."

The pinkette had finished healing her when half of an hour already passed.  However, there was still no sign of Naruto. Hiruda felt something gnawing at her chest. She wasn't given the chance to express her gratitude to the boy, and now her opportunity might be wasted.

Sakura noticed her distress as she glanced at her. "You don't have to worry about him. Even if he may be an idiot, Naruto is more capable than he looks."

Hiruda tilted her head. "Naruto is his name? Like the topping in a ramen?"

The pinkette chuckled. "Well, you could say that. Speaking of which, I haven't introduced myself yet. The name's Sakura."

"I like your name, Sakura. It matches your hair, and I'm Hiruda." She introduced with a coy smile.

"Thanks! Yours is really unique, Hiruda." Sakura chirped.

Hiruda smiled in response. Out of all the girls in the Samurai Academy, Sakura gives off a pleasant, amiable vibe. Despite being the daughter of a noble clan, she wasn't treated fairly by her classmates, especially by the girls. A leader of a popular group spilled milk all over the pages of her favorite novel during break time that Hiruda had to skip class and have a mental breakdown in the bathroom.

She considered her books as her source of consolation. The library was her usual spot even before she was enrolled in the Academy, a place that soothes all her worries away. Her obsession towards novels and stories began when her mother gave her a thick book for her tenth birthday present. The plot revolves around a teenage princess who was sent to a dungeon by an evil queen, a sadistic scheme for the young maiden to die. To Hiruda's surprise, the princess wasn't like the other heroines in fairytale stories who were a damsel in distress, waiting for a knight in shining armor to save them. Instead, she stood her ground and fought the monsters courageously, which intrigued Hiruda.

She wished she could be that heroine.

And when she saw the determination in Sakura's jade-colored eyes as she heals her, Hiruda knew that she could become that kind of heroine too.

Sakura rose on her feet, scrutinizing the forest.

"What are you doing?" Hiruda asked.

"Most of the villagers are safe and sound so I figured we could look for your family, they must've been worried about you." The pinkette said.

Hiruda felt like something snapped within her as her face went pale. "They're gone..." She choked on her words.

Sakura's eyes widened momentarily as she knelt beside Hiruda, searching for her face frantically. "I... I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry."

Hiruda wiped a tear that had strolled down her cheek. "No, it's not your fault, Sakura. You don't have to apologize."

As much as she wanted to reassure Sakura that she's not at fault, Hiruda couldn't stop the quiet sobs escaping from her lips, her hot tears just kept coming down. She couldn't help it, her emotions are so sensitive and fragile that concealing them would be pointless. Sakura patted her shoulder but didn't say anything, she didn't want to make matters worse.

Hiruda heard the pinkette gasp. It only occured to her that the astounding sight in front of her was the cause of Sakura's reaction. Naruto stood, a weak smile stretched across his face as he could barely maintain his footing. His form was hunched over, slash marks littered all over his clothes. Blood stained his arms and stomach, a line of red liquid found on the corner of his lips.

"Naruto! Where have you been?! I told you that it's dangerous in the village right now!" Sakura was about to aid him when the blonde stopped her with a lift of his palm.

"I'm fine, Sakura." He uttered in a raspy voice, wincing in pain when he took a step forward. "I just need to talk to her." He spared the ravenette a glance.

Hiruda wiped her tears before looking up at him in curiosity.

Naruto hissed in pain when he crouched down, and Hiruda felt pity for the boy. She noticed the way his left hand was behind his back.

"Hey," He spoke, catching the girl's attention. "You were crying earlier, are you okay now?"

The ravenette was touched by his genuine concern, she felt like she could be honest with him. So she told him the truth. "Honestly? I feel dreadful." She confessed.

Naruto smiled. "Sorry, I kinda eavesdropped your conversation with Sakura, but I know how hard it must've been for you."

The boy averted his gaze and scratched his cheek awkwardly. "And uh, I know it's nothing much but..." He trailed off, revealing an item that he was hiding behind his back. Hiruda's breath got caught up in her throat.

Naruto held a purple pansy flower with a yellow pistil, its five overlapping petals resembling of hearts. The ravenette found herself speechless as she stared at the beautiful flower in utter amazement.

The blonde ninja grinned sheepishly. "I found this by the flower field at the Academy, the color reminded me of your eyes." He admitted.

Sakura chuckled, amused. "That's surprisingly thoughtful of you, Naruto!"

The boy puckered his bottom lip out, deflated. "Wait, what do you mean by surprising?! I'm pretty thoughtful towards girls, ya know!"

Hiruda was left in awe, ignoring the playful teasing of the two ninjas. For the first time, a boy provided her genuine kindness. She carries a grudge towards boys, her life as an Academy student was hellish and an everyday torture because of them. And yet, a young male ninja, a threat to the samurais, gave her the nice treatment she had always wished for. She didn't care about the oddities as of the moment, it wasn't a usual occurence and Hiruda wanted to cherish it. She smiled.

"Thank you, this is actually my favorite flower." She said quietly, yet sincerely. Her whisper was enough to catch the boy's attention as he flashed a crooked grin.

"Heh, well I'm glad that I chose the right one!" He said proudly, puffing his chest out as he held his head up high.

Hiruda touched the stem of the flower, a warm sensation travelling to her cheeks when her fingers brushed against his. Naruto's grin didn't cease as he watched her admiring the flower.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, why would you give me a flower?" Hiruda asked curiously.

Naruto stood up, placing his hands behind his back. "Well, my master once told me that a flower is one way to make a girl smile."

This warmed the girl's heart. "I see. I appreciate it, Naruto."

The boy blinked at her in surprise. "How do you know my name?"

"Sakura told me." Hiruda replied, gesturing to the pinkette who was leaning against the tree trunk with a casual smile.

"Oh! Makes sense." Naruto said with an awkward chuckle. "What's your name?"

"I'm Hiruda."

The genin hummed, intrigued. "Hiruda, huh? That name is..." A strong gust of wind passed by abruptly, interrupting him.

Hiruda gasped as she felt the hood come off, causing panic flooding her system. She was never confident with her looks, with a skin tone as pale as a dead person, unusual violet eyes, and long black hair similar to Sadako from a horror film, it's no wonder she hates her appearance.

Her lips quivered, unable to look at her saviors. She could feel their gaze at her, making her stomach churn.

Would they give her the looks she had been receiving from her classmates?

"... Pretty."

Her head shot up to see a flustered-looking Naruto, a red tint found on his cheeks as he gawked at her. Hiruda avoided his gaze, twirling the pansy flower in her hand.

"Thank you..." She said timidly. Deep down inside, she wanted to jump for joy. A boy her age thought she looked pretty!

The boy snapped out of his dazed state as he grinned boyishly. "U-Uh, yeah!"

Sakura smirked, elbowing Naruto on his side. Her teammate yelped in surprise and clutched at the aching spot. "Sakura! That hurts, ya know!"

"Smooth move, Naruto." She teased.

While Naruto continuously protests in defense, with Sakura pestering how he might be interested in Hiruda, the said girl smiled fondly at the duo. The warm, pleasant feeling was something she hasn't experienced in a long time.

"This feels nice." Hiruda thought.

o==[]::::::::::::::::>

As the tables have now turned, the ninjas gained dominance over the samurais in the war after the arrival of Kakashi's team and the reinforcements. Squads team up to take on each samurai which proved to be an effective strategy, combining their capabilities to outrank the powerful, defensive armor and the sword mastery of their enemies.

Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma settled with fighting Mifune after witnessing a fatigued Tsunade, who was now being healed by a group of medical ninjas. Asuma took the lead, engaging into a hand-to-hand combat while dodging each swing of the sword swiftly. Blue light glowed from his weapons inserted on his knuckles which were called trench knives, perfect for wielding.

Asuma jumped at a safe distance after inflicting a graze wound across Mifune's cheek. He formed a hand seal. "Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!"

He spews a stream of chakra-infused gunpowder from his mouth, surrounding the General like thick plumes of clouds. With his current weakened state, Mifune's mind was completely fogged to register what's going on. It was only when a violent explosion occured did he realize that it wasn't an ordinary technique to block his vision. He was sent flying back, burns now garnishing his skin as he coughed. His armor was severely damaged, with large cracks blemishing the breast plate. Mifune forced his legs to carry on, clenching his katana tightly as if his life depended on it.

"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death." Kurenai uttered.

An illusion of a tree appeared before Mifune, long branches coming out of the tree trunk before enclosing around his body. His face paled.

"Genjutsu...?" He mused.

Kurenai's upper half body came out from above him, as if she were part of the tree as she held a kunai. Mifune struggled against the branches, cursing under his breath as he was immobilized.

"Are you prepared to die, General?" Kurenai said, her eyes narrowed dangerously.

Mifune didn't flinch. "You wouldn't kill me. You have questions left unanswered."

"We'll see about that." Before the General could say anything else, Kurenai had swung her kunai in a blink of an eye.

A pained gasp came from Mifune as his eyes widened, blood dripping down from the wound across his throat. He tried to speak, however, his larynx has been cut off.

"Now, Kakashi." Asuma said as he watched Mifune struggling under Kurenai's genjutsu.

Kakashi formed a hand seal. "Lightning Release: Lightning Beast Tracking Fang!" He formed lightning in his hand before launching it at Mifune in the form of a hound. It roared ferociously, leaping at the General before biting down on his stomach.

Mifune groaned in agony as the lightning electrified him, every cell in his body screaming in pain at the torture. Once the lightning hound disappeared, he collapsed on his stomach, too numb to move a muscle.

Kakashi sauntered towards the fallen warrior with a blank gaze. "Just give it up already. We've got you outnumbered."

"Consider that as your consequence for messing with our village." Kurenai said sharply.

The General coughed out blood as he lifted his head slightly, meeting the somber expressions of the three jōnin. He surveys his surroundings, witnessing each of his soldiers being killed off by the ninjas. The sight was truly heartbreaking and unfortunate. Mifune knew that victory was out of their reach the moment the Great Five Nations came in to the Leaf's rescue, but shattering the pride of his people, his land, and his own would compromise his morals as the leader.

And yet, if the war goes on, his army will be completely wiped out. Surrendering to the enemy may be the last resort, but Mifune prayed for a miracle as he kept fighting in the battlefield. Little did he know that hopeless pleads isn't enough for a spark of hope to appear before them.

It will only result to a devastating loss.  A melancholic defeat.

"I... surrender to this battle..." He spoke in a raspy voice. This earned surprised looks from the three ninjas.

"However," Mifune began before they could say something. His fists clenched, a determined glint found in his eyes despite the excruciating pain in his body.

"In the next three years, I shall form the strongest army and train them as warriors with hearts as cold as ice and hard as iron. And when the time comes..."

His legs trembled as he rose up, a confident smirk plastered on his bloodied features. "We'll declare the Second Ninja-Samurai War."

o==[]::::::::::::::::>

Hiruda sprinted through the alleys and the narrow streets, glancing at the Hokage Tower every so often as she drew closer. After Naruto and Sakura had left the forest to find some more survivors, she took the chance to escape. She fumbled on the pocket of her cloak, looking for the amethyst pendant in any means of reassurance, only to feel something soft and coarse.  When she fished it out, she felt like the worst traitor in the whole world.

It was the flower that Naruto had gave her out of kindness.

His boyish grin flashed in her mind, making her stop in her tracks. Just as when she finally made friends, she turned her back against them. She wanted to turn back, return to Naruto and Sakura and give them a warm embrace, reassuring how she'll never leave their side ever again. However, her inner voice said that they are a mere distraction to her goal. Hiruda took a deep breath, erasing their friendly smiles from her mind.

"I'm sorry Naruto and Sakura, but we're meant to be enemies, not friends."

"Lady Hiruda!" She flinched and whipped around to see a samurai. He was bleeding all over, large dents found on his breastplate. He grabbed Hiruda by her shoulders.

"What are you doing here?! You're not supposed to be in such a dangerous place!" He exclaimed.

"But I have to kill Danzo! He's the one who caused all of this!" She shot back, determined. This time, she will voice out her opinions and make them recognized.

The soldier sighed and shook his head. "That's highly impossible at your current state, milady. Besides..." He paused, his lips quivering.

"We already lost in the war, so we have to retreat now."

Shell-shocked at the unexpected turn of events, Hiruda could only say nothing as she allows the samurai to guide her back to the front gates.

ʕ•ﻌ•ʔʕ•ﻌ•ʔʕ•ﻌ•ʔʕ•ﻌ•ʔʕ•ﻌ•ʔʕ•ﻌ•ʔʕ•ﻌ•ʔ

A/N: Okay I tried making the chapter short and not too lengthy just like what some of you advised so I hope this is okay somehow.

I absolutely have no words for this poster other than simply beautiful and perfect! Special thanks to SarvikaGoel for putting an effort into this wonderful work :)

Word Count: 3,011