The innards of the snake almost seemed larger than the outside. It was the biggest body Koishii had ever been in. But it was so different from what she had expected. The organs, the muscles... They almost seemed alive, secreting an ooze unlike anything she had ever seen. She dared not touch it, not even in her smoke form. But now, as she flowed through its insides, it seemed to morph. It began to engulf her.

She stayed in her smoke form, as the space was tight. She began attacking the muscle all around her, but it was of no use. The walls absorbed every hit she managed, and the ooze that coated them... Burned? Koishii was perplexed. How was this ooze able to burn smoke, even when she was not attacking? She began to look for a way out. A way to a major organ or artery. A way to anything. But the muscles began to contract, and more of the strange ooze leaked from them. They burned through her in her smoke, and forced her back into her human state. It was cramped. Her knees were to her chin, and her arms pressed against the walls around her, her elbows digging into her hip, trying to keep the walls from closing further. The ooze continued to leak. It scorched her severely; every touch was like acid, melting right through her skin; her hands were burning right through the bone in some places. She gritted her teeth, trying to fight through the pain. But it was to no avail. She let out a deathly scream as the ooze melted through parts of her face, and she vanished into a puff of smoke.

Koishii's eyes widened in horror as everything her clone had been through played out in her head. She jumped up from her crouched position, "Kakashi, we have to get out of here. Now. I'll explain on the way." Kakashi nodded, untying the last child. "Right. Let's take the kids and go. Can you still create any clones?" Koishii nodded, "I have about four clones left in me." "I only have one." The duo made their clones, and picked up the unconscious children. "If you can walk, get running, if you can carry a smaller child, do so, and if you have no strength, go to a clone. We have to get going now!" Kakashi ordered. The kids rushed around, and before long, the group rushed as fast as their legs could carry them, despite the kids being weak and Koishii and Kakashi drained of chakra.

Kakashi stopped midway down the hall. He hid himself underground, preparing his last jutsu. One chidori. That's all he could muster up before he was done. The snake would be here soon. Koishii was gone. He could feel it. But that was almost good. It meant the original knew. It meant the mission could still be successful. The snake drew closer. It was over him now. He used his Sharingan, waiting for his heart to be over him. There. "Chidori!" Kakashi burst from the ground, his chidori easily piercing through the skin, taking his whole body up and puncturing through the heart of the snake. The snake let out another ear-shattering screech before going on another rampage, slamming itself around the tunnel as it moved forward, trying to lessen the pain in its chest. Kakashi's clone had vanished, sending his experiences to the original.

"It looks like my clone hit it in the heart. But it wasn't enough to kill it," Kakashi told Koishii as they continued to run, each of them with a child or two on their back. "Dammit. What a monster," Koishii stated, picking up her pace. "Come on kids, we need to hurry. We're almost there." The group reached the fork in the tunnel. They would be out soon. But the ground began to rattle. The serpent appeared from the other pathway, rage written all over him. The katanas had vanished from his eyes, revealing two scarred, bloody, blind eyes. The children screamed, some of them stopping, frozen in fear. The snake grew closer, its nose set on the kids. It bared its fangs, and the few frozen children screamed before being scooped up by a Kakashi and Koishii clone. "Kakashi, take them and go on ahead. I'll catch up." Koishii told him, passing her child on to one of her clones. "But--" "I have just a little chakra left. You don't. I'll be fine," Koishii insisted, cutting him off and turning to face her foe as everyone continued on pass her. She drew her katanas, and as it went to engulf her, she jumped into its mouth, ramming one katana into the roof of his gums, and the other right under it into his tongue, creating a pillar to prevent it from fully closing his mouth. Crouching down and working as fast she could, she wove the hand signs for her last attack, "Great Fireball Jutsu!" Summoning the last of her chakra, she released a great ball of fire down its throat before grabbing her katanas and jumping from its mouth. The serpent stopped, shrieking as it rolled around in the cave, it's life slowly draining from it, and knowing she was out of chakra, Koishii sheathed her blades and turned to catch up to Kakashi. But could she keep going? The snake hissed once more, opening its mouth and spitting out a ball of acid.

Kakashi and the children waited outside of the cave, resting at the shore. Everyone was awake now, catching their breath. Koishii's and Kakashi's clones had all disappeared now. "Are we safe now? Are we going home?" asked one sobbing child, approaching Kakashi. Kakashi moved his mask to the top of his head and looked at the boy before looking at all the children, and then back at the boy that had spoken to him. "Yes. You are all safe now. You'll be home soon, safe back in your parents' arms." The boy's face lit up, as did everyone else's. "We'll leave as soon as my partner gets back."

But many moments passed. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Fifteen minutes. Should it be taking this long? Kakashi looked at the children. Some played, some talked, and others slept. He stood up. Something wasn't right. He scanned the cliff side for Kijo. She was just as they left her. "You kids stay here. I'll be right back," Kakashi ordered, diving into the water, knowing he was taking a risk in leaving them there.

Emerging from the water, Kakashi could see the body of the snake. Koishii had finally killed it. And just in front of it, was Koishii, lying on the ground face down, her body smoking. He rushed to her side. The smoke was coming from a liquid that was melting through her vest. Acid. He drew his kunai and cut her vest, ripping it off her body and throwing it onto the ground. He noticed right next to her was an unnatural hole. So she had managed to dodge most of it. He turned his attention back to her, seeing that her back had suffered a rather severe burn. He patched it quickly before turning her onto her back, her head resting in his hand. "Koishii. It's time to go. The snake is dead." Koishii moaned, opening her eyes. He helped her up, relieved to see that she would be okay. "The kids are waiting. Let's get back into town." Koishii nodded, and they went back into the water together.