The rain was stopping, but the air remained thick with it, wet and muggy from the heat that lingered in the forest. Kabuto pulled down the hood over his head, his glasses slightly fogged as he glanced to his companion.
"It's stopping," he said quietly, "they'll pick us up soon."
"I know that." The other ninja snapped, shrugging off his own cloak and standing up fully, a lean and dark figure. The medic sighed, standing as well.
"Well then," an irritated voice, "let's go."
It wasn't long at all before the enemy was close again. Even at full speed, the two injured and tired ninjas couldn't out run them. Kabuto cursed his ill luck on this mission, damned from the very beginning.
It was supposed to be a good chance to test Sasuke's skills when one of Orochimaru's spies in the Mist had turned on them, ratting out the location of one of their many bases. It was unoccupied at the time, but the Sannin would lose valuable data in the destruction of it. In retaliation he'd sent Kabuto to lead a group of ten Jounin and Chuunin to retrieve what they could of his data—orders to kill any opposition they met. As for the spy, Orochimaru was going to deal with him personally.
Though it had been a full month since the raid on the base, the Soundnins had met with a fierce ambush upon arrival. The medic would be pleased to report to Orochimaru that Sasuke had taken down eight of the enemy single-handedly, in brilliant flashes of blood and lightning. The medic had found himself distracted by it for a brief moment, the spinning and graceful maneuvers reminding him all too clearly of another Container… However, the opposition was greater than they had thought. For every ninja they killed another slipped from the shadows like a never-ending tide. One by one the ninjas of the sound had fallen until only Kabuto and Sasuke remained. Up to their knees in dead bodies, fighting in the narrow hallways become near impossible, and Kabuto had chosen their last option: Flee. Most of the data left behind, the two had barely escaped. The rain had helped that; making tracking them through the trees near impossible through loss of scent and evidence. It had rained all through the night, allowing them a few much needed hours of rest—well, for Sasuke anyway. Kabuto had opted to take the last soldier pill that he'd brought with them, staying wide awake.
The rain, however, had stopped a full two hours ago. Still a good four to five hours from home, another fight looked unavoidable. Kabuto's glasses were fogged, and Sasuke's eyes had developed dark shadows underneath them. Both were bleeding from small wounds that Kabuto dared not use the chakara to heal. Clothes were wet and clingy, hair damp and frizzed with humidity, same as their moods.
"They're—"
"Gaining." Sasuke finished, glancing behind him. His hand moved to the sword behind him, but both ninja stopped suddenly on the same tree when an unexpected presence came over them. Puzzling over the development and danger of more company, they hesitated long enough to hear the approach of the remaining Mist.
"Looks like we've no choice."
"Shut up and let's do it." Irritation was brought on by exhaustion, and Sasuke was dead tired. Red eyes glared behind them, promising a slow and painful death to those in pursuit. Just as his hand tightened on the handle of his sword, and Kabuto built up the chakara that lined his hands a light blue, a chilling voice spoke up from behind them,
"What is this?" It said coolly, and a rougher chuckle followed. "I guess it's true after all… even you've become his lap dog."
"You mean it's these two? They got what we were sent for?"
"Probably. He's here after all, Saso…no, Orochimaru's spy."
Breathing stopped as heads turned, beholding the final stab to weary and wounded hearts this day. Standing just a few trees away, black and red cloaks wafted slowly in the wind. Black and vivid red eyes stared into the gray and equally red, the latter two stunned into silence. Kabuto glanced to Sasuke without turning his head. Just as he feared, the boy was beginning to lose it already. His body shook ever so slightly, and his half-way drawn sword clattered in its sheath.
"Itachi…" He whispered, low and deadly. The older Uchiha remained calm, lifting his head a little to reveal more of his face, tilting his hat back. He could have been smiling. Kabuto grimaced,
"Sas—" The whistling sound of kunai stopped him, and both were forced to jump aside as they struck home, sending chips of dark flying where they had been. Kabuto glanced back to their original pursuers, any hope of surviving seeming to flee at the sight of the twelve of them. Luckily, Sasuke seemed to have enough thought left to understand the situation. He sprang into action the same time as he medic did—attacking the foremost of the Anbu from the Mist.
Blood flew in high arcs, Sasuke's sword alight with his full-body Chidori; Kabuto's curved kunai split the enemy wide open, and neither could avoid the red rain of their attacks. One after the other, they numbered the Mist down. Almost no time for any jutsu at all, back to the basics of kunai, shuriken, and hand-to-hand. The Soundnins didn't even spare a glance to each other as they both made their way to the forest floor. Flat on their feet they'd have a better advantage than on the rain-slick branches.
Hitting the ground, Kabuto pulled a scroll out from behind him, spilling it out as he did. "Shikon no jutsu!" He shouted, forming the seal. From the scroll, two bodies rose swiftly, masked and fully armed. They charged the enemy, and Sasuke dodged one skillfully as he sent the medic a glare. Kabuto didn't even have time to give him a smirk as he was working on dodging another Anbu's kunai. One of the bodies was taken down in his break of attention, but the other ran an enemy through with a short sword. That left four… He caught a flash of black and red in the corner of his sight and he let a curse slip past his lips. Not just four…
Sasuke was in his own world now, even if Kabuto was still paying attention to the both of them. The younger Uchiha spun to evade another attack, a creative little jutsu of wind and leaves. When another caught his ankle, he would have laughed if he had not seen his brother just a moment ago. A hand of water held his ankle tightly, leading back to an Anbu with the mask of something that resembled a fish. The medic wisely jumped onto a low branch just before the electricity hit the rain-soaked forest floor. It traveled the length of the water-arm faster than the jutsu could break, paralyzing the man instantly with its force. Kabuto's kunai finished the job, three inches into his chest, just between his ribs. That would have been a nice jutsu to learn…
Something solid hit Kabuto's left side, forcing him to hit the tree so hard that he lost his breath. Without even a grunt of pain, he avoided the next wave. Wave? It looked more like a shark. Fuck. Gaining a little distance, the medic took good look at his new opponent. Kisame stood out in the open, obviously a face-to-face fighter, smirking widely to bare his pointed teeth as his hand rest as if casually on the hilt of the giant sword over his back. Calm down… You've faced a Sannin…
But from Orochimaru, Kabuto had learned that Kisame supposedly had the biggest chakara supply of any of the Akatsuki. Even if he got close enough to touch the other, how long would it take to wear him down? Avoidance was the needed tactic, and he had little chakara left for it. With a deep breath and a seal, he went under ground.
Just as he broke the surface the sword Samehada came down, and Kabuto narrowly kept from making contact. Smirking, he hit Kisame hard on the calf with one of his hands before springing over another swing. It sprained his wrist to do so, and he ducked under the backswing, surprised at how fast the giant man could swing his giant sword. Kisame hadn't even stumbled from the hit. Kabuto was able to get out of sword range, but he had to fight to keep that distance. So his skin was thick as well? Fine. The glow around his hands increased, and he grit his teeth. If he was going to die here, he wanted to give the shark-bastard something to remember…
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Not all too far away, Sasuke still fought off the four persistent Anbu remaining, knowing he was being watched. Every move he made was being judged, criticized, and torn about in his brother's mind. If Sasuke had a weakness, it was rage.
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The fist hit Kabuto's face before he could even think to react, and he barely missed hitting a few trees as he skid across the ground. His glasses were lost this time, leaving his vision slightly blurred. Flipping back onto his feet, he came in towards Kisame just as the other charged. He'd underestimated him, thinking his main skill was in that sword. The fucking shark-man was fast, and his hits reminded the medic of Tsunade's strength all too much. Each of them struck and dodged, but it was Kabuto that was getting skimmed more often that not. Once when the other had swung high, he'd gotten one good hit in on Kisame's chest, and he'd heard the other gasp. Knowing better than to take his time, he'd jumped back enough to regain his balance. Blood slipped from Kisame's lips, but he licked it away with a smirk.
"Not bad… that one stings my lung pretty bad…but who needs breath?" he asked, hefting his sword once again. Kabuto glared. At the edge of his attention, he could hear Sasuke fighting the Mist Anbu, telling him he'd been brought back to where they began. He was being played with, he knew it! Time for last-ditch efforts. Kabuto's hands lined with blue again, and he took a few swift breaths, his eyes firmly on the sword that was heading for his chest. He swung, and hard, jumping forward instead of backwards or to the side. He felt Samehada hit his shoulder, and he couldn't keep from crying out this time—feeling his bones crack and shatter under the force. He'd been expected to dodge the brunt of it. As luck would have it, he had just enough chakara that when he hit Kisame's shoulder, he felt the muscles tear under his hand. Kisame grit his teeth, and both jumped back away from the other. The sword having sucked his chakara away, the hit that he could have mostly healed left him feeling faint and panting raggedly, fighting the urge to heal himself with what little he had left. Left arm damaged, and right wrist sprained…
Kisame on the other hand was obviously in pain as well, and he glared at the medic. "That one hurt… Look at this… my arm is useless…" He said, grimacing. Unfortunately for Kabuto, it was Kisame's left arm, and the blue-skinned man swung with his right. "I underestimated you, but that's alright… I don't need this arm to beat a rat like you…" He should have been watching his enemy, but the flash of lightning caught his attention. He saw Sasuke's sword touch one Anbu's stomach just as another came up behind him.
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Sasuke's sword sank deep into the Anbu's stomach, and he smirked as he placed his hand on the man's shoulder to shove him off. This one had been trouble, but he'd gotten him anyway.
"SASUKE!" The familiar voice shouted from the side, but the Uchiha didn't even have time to turn before something solid hit his back, and he heard the clash of metal followed by the sound of it slicing through flesh. Just as he turned to yell at the Kabuto for interfering, his throat dried up, and his eyes went wide.
Black and red…!
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Though the fist but brushed his cheek this time, Kabuto slipped on the mud as he made to jump. He hit he ground hard, and was on his stomach in a split second, his right wrist jerked painfully up towards his shoulder blade as he felt the knee pressed to the back of his neck. Grunting in pain, he tried to turn his head to see what had happened to Sasuke.
"Caught him." Kisame said to his partner calmly, and the medic groaned in pain as his injured wrist was twisted. "Noisy, isn't he…"
"Don't kill him, Kisame." Itachi said firmly, stepping up into the medic's fuzzy line of sight. "He has to tell us where it is."
"I'll find it." Kisame said, and Kabuto felt that large hand on him, searching him none-to-gently. Itachi merely sighed, crossing his arms. It took a while for Kisame to give up, frowning. "It's not on him."
"Of course not. He hid it as soon as he saw us. Don't worry; we have time to make him tell us."
"And your brother…?"
"Taking a little nap. He'll be out for a while… Long enough to make this lap dog talk…"
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Sasuke opened his eyes slowly, confused. The back of his head hurt like hell, and it throbbed as he sat up slowly. Just as he was about to touch his forehead his eyes snapped fully open. Turning his head sent bright flashes of pain into his vision, making his head swim. He groaned, clutching it as he stood, weaving from side to side until he grasped a tree for balance. Itachi… Itachi had… he had saved him… His vision slowly came into focus again, and he looked around—slowly, this time. Now why the hell did he have to go and do something like that? Something fell from his shoulders, and he grabbed it on impulse. His cloak? But he'd dropped it before the fight... He looked around again. It took him only a moment to find Kabuto.
The medic sat upright against a tree near where the teen had been laying, his cloak pulled tightly around his body, head bent low and legs drawn up against himself. His shivering was the only thing that made him look alive. Blood had soaked through the dark cloak in many places, some small, and some rather large. Dark eyes looked up to meet the teens, and the medic sighed.
"You've been out." He said smoothly.
"I know that, idiot! Where did they go?"
"You want to chase them?"
"Yes! … No… How long ago?"
"About an hour…Sasuke-kun…"
"What?" Sasuke hissed, but it wasn't in inquiry to Kabuto. "An hour! You could have woken me!"
"No, I could—"
"You could have tried! Itachi was right there, and I let myself be distracted!"
"Sasuke-kun…" But the angry Uchiha was speaking over his quiet voice,
"How stupid! I'm not strong enough yet!" His fists clenched tightly. "Of all things, to insult me like that—to… to save me…!" He clenched his fists tightly, turning away. They were both silent for a while then; Sasuke quietly fuming and Kabuto breathing slowly. "Let's go. I obviously have to train more…" the teen said at last, but no reply came from behind him. Glaring over his shoulder, his dark eyes widened. Kabuto's eyes were on his, and his arms were at his side. His clothing under the cloak was torn and bloody, he could see it clearly now that the dark cloak was out of the way. His skin was covered in cuts and bruises, and his left arm seemed to dangle lifelessly at his side while his right clenched the wet grass.
"My pouch…" He inclined his head a little, and Sasuke followed his gaze to the medicine pouch the always carried. Fetching it, he came back with it open.
"Which one?"
"The red round one. The brown one. The green injection, if it's not broken. And… the blue pill."
"I'm not a medic, and I know that's too much."
"I don't have a choice. Give them to me and leave."
"No." The one word made them both fall into silence. Kabuto didn't press, and Sasuke didn't explain. He got the pills that the medic requested, and he even gave them to him. Soft fingers against his lips as he swallowed the pills, wincing at even that much. Sasuke held the needle like it was a foreign object, and Kabuto frowned.
"Just find the vein on my arm, and do it." Kabuto said, holding out his good arm, which shook. Sasuke held the bruised and bleeding arm with distaste and did as asked. He jabbed the needle deep into the skin, and Kabuto bit his lower lips hard. "Slowly," He breathed quickly, "not so fast… ahh… th-there…" He was panting by the time Sasuke was finished, face as white as his master's as he stood slowly. "I'm ready."
"You don't look well."
"Let's go." Kabuto said firmly, the fingers of his left arm twitching slightly. "I'll be fine…"
"The disc?"
"They got it…" Kabuto said, and his right hand formed a seal. At least, it looked like one. Sasuke nodded, and they left the area. Hunternins would be coming for the bodies of the Mist Anbu soon, and they couldn't make it through another fight. At least, the medic would not.
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Kabuto had refused all help as he entered Otogakure, and it wasn't until Orochimaru himself stood before him did he give in and allow himself to fall to his knees. The Sannin leaned down, lifting the medic's chin with two pale fingers.
"In the forest… Third… fifth tree… from the right… K…Kunari… forest…" His breath was coming faster, and he hissed in pain. "It's… battle-marked…" He managed. Orochimaru smiled slowly, raising an eyebrow.
"You're overdosed. It was this bad?"
"It—hnn…Akatsuki…" Kabuto's breath hitched, and his eyes went in and out of focus. Another brow rose, and the Sannin regarded his medic carefully.
"You've hung on long enough. I'll send others to get the disc—you rest." He said quietly, and Kabuto managed a smile as he closed his eyes. Orochimaru caught him as he fell, lifting him easily. He glared to some of those that had followed Kabuto to him. "Get all of the medics together. He'll be in the infirmary. If he doesn't survive—neither do they, or you." He ordered coldly, turning his back to the others.
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Sephy's Notes: Well, that's it. I skipped "it" didn't I? Oi… if you people are sadistic enough, I might just write it out. Poor, poor Kabuto. I could have been so much meaner… Go easy on my fight scene! Was it ok?