Uchiha, Koto 's Sharingan got sight of that incredible combination starting - and in an instant, Koto was off, her own hand raising into a half-ram seal and chakra beginning to funnel toward her legs, increasing her speed to incredible, nearly superhuman levels - outspeeding even Shiori, though she didn't quite have as much control. This was going to be a battle of a split second at the most, and truthfully...

Well, it seemed like Koto was going to walk away from this the loser.

But she was okay with that. Protecting Shiori and ensuring the safety of the captives was a priority, her own existence paltry in comparison. If this was how she met her end... well, there were worse ways to die. The goal was a simple one, to position herself between Kisei, Shiori and the blades that phased into existence, likely before the water sphere barely started to form, and take every single blow to protect the lightning-clad Jounin and allow her to do her job.

Naturally, provided she were successful, it would not end well for her. The blades would tear into her without trouble, and the Rokudaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato would have perhaps a few split seconds of life left in her before everything ended, her body torn to literal pieces.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaWFc4TvoRE]

She recalled standing outside Konoha's local shop - a gaggle of children hanging around, for reasons she wasn't completely certain of at the time. She just liked the white noise of people talking, something to fill the air as she sat off by herself and read a book.

That, of course, being the day that she had met Hao, Nahoshi.

Fast forward to the academy's final semester coming back into season. After many days of hanging with the Hao Study Group, her first ever friends, she had stuck with one of its members -- Akimichi, Chogen -- in the training exercise held by one Shirusu, Koma. And of course, in that training exercise, a young girl with blue hair accosted her, demanding to know her name.

'Hey, Koto, you're pretty shy, huh? Let's be friends, then. My mom told me to help shy people make their way around in the world. I'm Suzuri.'

And from there, so much. A lifetime of adventures and perils, of sorrows unparalleled and of happiness the likes of which some could only dream. Her struggles with Nozomi, carving out her place as her own person. The many nights spent crying on Suzuri's shoulder. The bickering and the bouts with Kobayashi, Matsuo. Kusagakure. The Chuunin Exams, and the death of her best friend. The war with Akahoshi, and the struggles to keep herself from drowning.

The budding romance with Omoikane - but the hesitance of letting go of the past, with Ansem. The in-fighting she had been such a big part of in the ranks of her village. Trying to lead, to guide Kisei -- the very man who would grow to kill her -- toward a brighter future. So many other incomparable, cherished experiences that had made her into the woman who would lose her life here, today, doing what she thought to be the single most important thing in the world.

From the day she had lost her innocence, it had never truly been about her.

It had been a fight for a future where children would not have to suffer as she did. A fight for countless individuals, the next generations. People far more important than little old Uchiha, Koto, the stubborn, stupid brat would ever be. Shiori embodied that quite well - a cherished member of the society she had come to love. Someone who could grow into a brilliant leader, despite what Koto thought of as her many flaws. That was a cause worth fighting for - worth trading her paltry, insignificant little life for.

Koto would fall toward the ground, and she would swear in those final moments that the crackling blue of Shiori's electrical aura were locks of blue hair, an old friend coming to her side to see her off onto the next great journey. True to her words, she had carried her down to the finish line.