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Chapter 02
The Winchester Tapes
Minutes passed in silence, maybe even hours, Naruto couldn't tell as he waited for Sasuke's reaction. He knew, the Uchiha would demand answers eventually, whether Naruto had them or not; so it was just as well that he had some time to prepare himself and let the battle play itself over in his mind again, just so he wouldn't forget to mention anything.
Sasuke on the other hand didn't notice the time running by, since he was still lost in memories of all the atrocious and unspeakable things he'd committed to over the last eight years for this one goal, only to be denied the satisfaction of spilling that man's blood in the end. To have it all been in vain now, and to have that satisfaction taken away by Sakura of all people, who had always been weaker than him, whose dream had been to become a medic-nin, not a killer (yes, he'd been listening …well sometimes). She didn't know the people Itachi had killed - to her they were just memories, a part of the past, she'd never met them, never even seen them. But he had, he had seen them drowning in their own blood, had seen the fear and despair in their dead eyes. And he had loved them…
Pictures of his parent's faces - smiling at him over a birthday cake, pride glistening in his father's eyes as his youngest mastered his first Katon, his mother's eyes full of light and joy as she explained the names of the flowers in her garden – swirled in front of his mind's eye, pushing Naruto's helpless and rather unsatisfying reply to the outskirts, where it went unregistered for a while. However as the question of how she did it came back to him, so did Naruto's presence and he finally noticed that the blonde hadn't elaborated yet. And from the look on his face, he wasn't going to without further prodding. Idiot, he'd been there, so what was so hard to explain about it?
"Dobe, you saw what she did, so how can you not know!"
He still had that curious way of asking for answers without actually posing a question, but rather by making a statement, Naruto realized.
"Having seen it, doesn't make it any easier to understand, teme." He took a deep breath and began to describe the events of that fateful day for his friend, while the memories replayed themselves like a movie in his head.
He is arguing with Baa-chan when the first explosion rocks through the tranquillity of what had been promising to become a beautiful winter day. From the window they can see the smoke rising over the shopping district and four black clad figures standing on the surrounding rooftops, watching the citizens scatter and run for their lives in confusion and panic.
"Akatsuki" exclaims Baa-chan, just as he recognises the cloaked attacker on the roof of that closing store Sakura-chan had dragged him to last week. "Itachi!"
They turn in unison as the great oak doors fly open, revealing Sakura and Shizune, looking dishevelled from their sprint up the stairs. For a moment time seems to be slowing down as they stare at each other. 'They're here for you' it rings in his mind and he can see the same thought reflected in Sakura's eyes, she nods in unison with him, decision made, there was no turning back.
And then time seems to speed up again, running faster now then ever before - how many were dead already, how many others out there injured unable to help themselves? The Hokage is shouting orders now ("Tell the genin teams to evacuate the villagers and have them brought to the hospital. Send four ANBU teams out to fight and station the rest as defence with the civilians.") and Shizune is running again. But Sakura and he stand still, forming hand seals, thinking as one.
"They're here to get me, Tsunade-sama! We'll lead them away from the villagers!"
"Don't worry, Shishou! We're too stubborn to die!"
And they're gone in a whirl of leafs.
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On a rooftop a few blocks away from the marketplace they reappear, crouching, and survey the scene. The four Akatsuki are still standing above the destructed shopping street, no doubt waiting for him. He can see Sakura's mind working, taking in all the details.
"Itachi, Deidara, Kisame and Tobi. They are not here to destroy Konoha, or they would have caused far more damage already. The explosion was only meant to get you out here. There're Tenten and Neji, and there's Team 8 running straight for them." She turns back to him. "Naruto, we have to get them out of the village before we engage them in battle. I'll intercept the other teams and bring them along; you go get the Akatsuki out of here. Lead them to the outskirts, to the old training grounds. And remember, whatever you do, don't look at his eyes!" And she was gone.
He stands up to his full height, immediately catching the attention of the older Uchiha's eyes.
They are bleeding red, even from this distance.
"Kyubi vessel," Itachi addresses him in a monotone voice, "come quietly and no one else will have to die! We are only here for the demon fox."
All that pain, all those deaths - because of him. No, he will not 'come quietly', he will not let this injustice go unpunished. Believe it.
This fight is for more than today, this is for twelve years of pain, for a lost brother and a cherry blossom that doesn't smile anymore! It will all end today! For Sakura, and for Sasuke!
He smirked at the older Uchiha, speaking only to him.
"If you want him …come and claim him!"
As Itachi charges at him, he wakens the demon deep within him and speeds past the older man, straight through the group of Akatsuki, showing them the finger for good measure. Sure enough, they are enraged by his cheekiness and they follow.
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And then he is amongst trees, path blocked by the Uchiha, but the other Leaf-nin are already in view, splitting up, to stave off the rest of Akatsuki.
He can feel the Kyubi's strength seep into his veins as he taps into his powers; already two tails are swishing around him. More Leaf shinobi are turning up - he can see Sakura-chan already healing the first injuries, and there's Gai aiming his foot at Kisame's head - he knows they have an old score to settle. He forces himself to shut out the rest of the world and concentrates on the monster before him, charging at the Uchiha and creating bunshin along the way.
They are exchanging blow after blow and after all the confrontations over the past five years Itachi finally fights him as a serious opponent instead of looking down on him. But it seems the Uchiha has never before shown him his true strength and he is thrown back again and again.
Another tail.
It's hard to fight an opponent when you have to look at his feet and he has never before appreciated Might Gai and his unique view of the world as he does now. But this way of fighting goes so much against his nature, because he's always made it a point to look people in the face and show himself to them just the way he is, no matter what they might think of him. So he is thrown back again, unable to not look up…
Another tail. More bunshin.
He can control the fox in this stage now and the rasengan is stronger than ever before - it will end today! And the teme may never forgive him for taking his revenge, but at least he'll come home and Sakura-chan will smile again.
"Futon: Rasengan!"
But he never gets to finish the sphere, as another explosion detonates close to his right and throws Sakura and an unconscious Sai into him. They get up quickly and he can't see the others anymore. Where formerly lay a small clearing, is now a gigantic bonfire and boulders cutting them of from the rest. So it is just Sakura and him against Itachi now.
The Uchiha has seemingly evaded the shock wave of the explosion by jumping farther back into the forest and is now waiting for him to attack again. Mocking him.
He looks at Sakura and they communicate without words, there are none needed anymore.
Heal Sai!
I will. Finish it!
I will.
"Futon: Rasengan!"
And then the world goes black…
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He comes to and all he can see is pink. Deep inside he can feel the Kyubi has tasted blood and rages in his cage, doubling his headache - he must've hit his head somewhere after Itachi kicked him away. His hands are shaking as he tries to control the demon. 'Get away, Sakura-chan. I don't want to hurt you again.' But Sakura's hands are on his temples now and he can feel her cool chakra seeping into his head, soothing even the beast within. The headache lessens and his thoughts become clearer and he remembers the Kyubi's words about her.
"She has saved your life and in turn mine, she is useful to me. I will not harm her unless it is necessary."
The comforting feel of her chakra stops suddenly and he looks up, only to find her gone. Confused he looks around and sees Itachi holding her by the hair, her back to his chest and a kunai at her throat, but there is no fear in her eyes, only determination and disgust. He yanks at her hair, exposing more of her slender throat, drawing a thin red line with the blade.
"Haruno Sakura, the blossom of the Leaf, rumoured to have already surpassed the Hokage Godaime herself. Talented and beautiful. You will make a wonderful private nurse!"
"Never!"
He sees Sakura prepare to punch at the Uchiha and give him an opening, so he prepares himself to run at him again. Her punch is powerful, yet misses, but he is already there with a kick that finally connects. Together they actually manage to gain some ground on Itachi.
Together – as it should be. Kakashi had always tried to instil the importance of teamwork on them and it had worked, to a degree, but in the end his fierce protectiveness had left Sakura on the sidelines for most of the time. He knows she is strong, he knows she is capable, he knows she is brave - but he also knows that he couldn't live with himself should something happen to her. He would die for her and she for him, but maybe they should finally start working together so they could actually live for each other.
Although the oldest Uchiha is in slight distress now, he seems to bask in the hatred directed at him. There's a glint in the mad man's eyes that he has only ever seen when face to face with the demon fox and it disturbs him to think another human being is capable of such malice.
But is Itachi really still human? Didn't he lose that part of him, when he slaughtered his family, leaving his own little brother broken and empty? Isn't he a demon in his own right?
"Tsuku…"
He realizes his mistake to late and is already captivated by the three-bladed pinwheel circled in blood.
"…yomi!"
A body slams into him, tackling him to the ground, and he is ready to lash out at whoever attacked him. Nearly too late he recognises pink hair and emerald eyes, boring into him, disapprovingly.
"I said, DON'T look at his eyes!"
Ashamed he is unable to look at her and lowers his head - he never wants to anger her, but always manages to nonetheless. It's a miracle she hasn't given up on him yet. She's always been better at following the rules than him and while he can live with the villagers' disapproval, hers is something he cannot take. Her picture of him has always been the one that mattered most – first as the beautiful girl who was so far beyond his reach and now as the sister, no, the family he's never had.
"Know your place, little kunoichi!"
Itachi's voice echoes in the trees and it's the first time he has heard it filled with a real emotion – anger – instead of the usual forced boredom. The words fill him with dread however and as he looks back up, Sakura is no longer at his side, but struggling in Itachi's firm grip around her throat. She is facing the Uchiha this time and while one of his hands is strangling her, his other is prying her eyes open, dragging her eyelids up.
'No, no, no. I won't let you do this to her!' He pushes himself up and runs, hoping to push her out of the other man's gaze, like she'd done for him, but time is working against him again and he knows he won't reach them…
"Tsukuyomi!"
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Sakura-chan is lying on the ground, lifeless except for a few whimpering sounds escaping her pale lips. Her skin is sickly grey and paler than usual and her face is etched in a pained frown.
No! Kami, no! Please, why couldn't it have been him? Why her?
Deep down he knows, she won't survive this, that the mangekyo will destroy her from the inside out. When they'd been twelve, Sasuke-teme had survived by barely a thread and only because he'd had his own Sharingan to strengthen his defences. But Sakura-chan has no defences against something so cruel and powerful as the Tsukuyomi, she's trapped in a make-belief world of Itachi's creation and there is no way to help her…
…except to kill the creator!
Suddenly there's a bloodlust in him that he's never felt before and it seems even the Kyubi is infuriated by Itachi's actions. He feels himself slipping away in a haze of blood-red mist and cannot bring himself to care about losing his control over the fox. There is only one thing left on his mind, echoed by the fox in a blood-curling howl.
Kill Him!
He is lost to the world around him, as he charges headlong at the Uchiha - no more looking at his feet like an obedient dog, no more holding back his darker side so the fox won't take control, no more plans that will get him nowhere anyway…
He really should've known better…
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"Shit! My head hurts!"
"I'm working on that, boy. Keep quiet, so I can concentrate."
Huh, isn't that the Kyubi's voice? Right, there's the big gate and the fox's glowing eyes, narrowed in concentration. He remembers this place.
"So I got knocked out again, huh?"
"That is usually the outcome, when one looses his head and storms blindly into battle, boy."
"Great, now I just need to wake up again…"
"Your injuries are not lethal, I will have them fixed in a few seconds, but prepare yourself for another attack. Our opponent is not to be underestimated, I realize that now. I did not see him for what he truly is before, but now I recognise the real nature behind the human mask. Be afraid, boy! Even I cannot measure it's ultimate power…"
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The world comes slowly back into focus as he blinks his eyes open and idly wonders why Itachi hasn't finished him yet. He must've spent a few minutes unconscious and he doesn't think the Uchiha is honourable enough to not kick an opponent when he is down. And what the fuck had that damned fox been talking about anyway?
But Sakura-chan's hopeless situation comes back to him, and he has no more time to heed the Kyubi's cryptic words. There she is, still lying on the ground, but he hasn't expected anything else. What does surprise him, is the Uchiha's posture. He is standing slightly bend at the waist, as if under enormous pressure and looking at Sakura with pain evident on his face, one hand clasping his temple. There's also panic in his eyes, something he never expected the older man capable of.
Although he is still dizzy he slowly pushes himself upright and gets to his feet, but to his astonishment sees that he is not the only one doing so. Shocked, he looses his balance and clumsily falls back on his ass, staring bewildered at Sakura, who is now standing upright, eyes closed and face calm, almost serene.
Her head held high, she turns to Itachi, whose shocked expression probably mirrors his own, and he can only see her profile now. It's enough to show him that she is smiling…
Slowly he gets up again, unsure what to do. What the hell is happening here?
Her eyes open, locking instantly with those of their enemy, and he almost falls on his ass again, when he sees that the beautiful orbs are no longer their usual bright, emerald green, but instead show a white pinwheel encircled in a rich dark green, almost the colour of the grass under Konoha's oldest trees. It's three blades are thinner than those of Itachi's Mangekyo (which almost describes a triangle with extended peaks) and appear more like the blades of three scythes interwoven in the middle, where they meet around her pupil, which is also green now. He's seen this before, Kakashi's form of the Mangekyo Sharingan looks the same, only coloured differently.
Before he has time to figure out what is happening with her, he notices a small wind pick up on the ground between her and Itachi, circling and throwing up dust. As he watches the mini-tornado grows larger, it's circle now almost reaching their feet.
"Sakura-chan!"
But she doesn't react, doesn't even seem to notice the wind that is now streaming along their legs, blowing around the skirt of her uniform and even Itachi's long ponytail. Their eyes still locked they stand motionless, as if they are statues.
Curiously, the tornado does not grow in height however and even as it widens it's circle to envelope them fully and lock them on the inside, he can still see them from the waist up. He begins to panic – she's conscious, so why isn't she moving out of there? – and runs head-on into the wind, only to crash into it as if into a wall, which makes it the third time now that he has hit his head today and he has to shake it to dispel some of the dizziness. He tries again, slower this time, to get through to her and keeps his hands in front of him, resembling a blindfolded man hoping not to run into a lamppost. His hands make contact with something solid only a breath away from the wind, but there's nothing there, at least nothing visible. He pushes against whatever it is but it wont budge, and he realizes that, although he can see the moving air just beyond his hands, he can't feel it moving against his skin…
He feels along the invisible wall a bit, pushes it with his shoulder, and even tries to kick it once. 'It's solid', he decides, 'like a protective barrier or a ban.' Abstractly he wonders whether it is meant to keep him outside, …or them inside.
"Naruto!"
He recognises the voice as Kakashi's and turns around to see him running through the still smouldering ashes of the fire that had previously cut them of from the others. The rest of them is following and he can see two of the Akatsuki, Deidara and Kisame, still fighting, but steadily getting closer to his position. He sees shock in everyone's eyes as they catch sight of Sakura and Itachi and the panic rises in him again.
"Kakashi-sensei! We have to get her out of there!"
"What the hell happened here, Naruto?"
"There's no time to explain, we have to get her out first!"
A massive sword is swung at their heads and they have to evade Kisame's attack, before they can come to a conclusion. Apparently there's not much loyalty amongst S-class criminals, as neither Deidara nor Kisame seem all too concerned with Itachi's situation. They carry on fighting around the circle and occasionally someone gets thrown into the barrier, but the two on the inside are not disturbed by it.
Suddenly the tornado starts emitting an ear-splitting roar, getting louder by the second, and time seems to halt again as the height of the circle grows and shoots into the sky like a giant pillar supporting the ceilings of heaven itself.
The wind has become so dense, that he has trouble to make out the two forms still standing in the centre of column and the fighting stops as everyone is staring at the tornado in awe.
And then everything is silent.
The wind collapses in on itself.
They all hold their breath as Sakura's pink hair shines brightly through the slowly settling dust.
Itachi is falling and Sakura is still smiling.
Slowly she turns her gaze from the collapsing Itachi towards the remaining two Akatsuki and he can see them flinch as they recognise the symbols in her eyes. They are afraid, he realises and watches as a slight tremor runs through their bodies and they turn their eyes away, unable to look at her.
And then Itachi hits the ground and doesn't get up.
Sasuke stayed silent throughout Naruto's tale, listening intently. But now that the dobe had finished, his head was spinning with so many new questions, which were giving his headache a new boost, that he almost wished he'd never asked in the first place. Sakura overcoming the mangekyo and possessing the Sharingan? What. The. Fuck?
The dobe was kidding him, …right?
"That's… what happened?" He asked doubtfully, right eyebrow raised almost to his hairline.
"Yeah, teme, that's what happened." Naruto, who had stood up sometime during his narration, to put more emphasis on some of the scenes and to even partially act them out, sank back into his chair and let out a sigh. He was exhausted, his neck was still hurting from sleeping with his head hanging over the backrest and damn, now his nose was hurting again, too. And to top it all off the teme didn't even believe him…
" Actually," he picked up again, as he remembered, that the story didn't end right there on the battle field, "there's a bit more. You see, when the Akatsuki saw that Itachi wasn't getting up, they babbled something about 'not being defeated yet' and 'coming back' and then made a run for it. And…"
"Naruto, that's enough!"
Bewildered they both looked towards the voice's origin and saw Sakura standing by the closed door. She must've snuck in while they'd been caught up in the dobe's tale, Sasuke guessed and had to give her some credit for her improved stealth. He looked inquiringly at her, waiting for her to call the dobe on his lies.
"Naruto's not lying, Sasuke." She answered as if reading his thoughts. So she was in on this shit, too. He snorted and turned his gaze to the window.
"You actually think me gullible enough to believe that a weakling like you," here he looked back at her, giving her his coldest glare, "could defeat the Sharingan!"
They locked eyes for a moment and she turned away first, looking down at her feet. No matter how much her body might have grown, her reaction showed him that she was still just the weak and easily intimidated little girl, he'd left unconscious on that bench eight years ago.
"You haven't changed, Sakura." He told her cruelly. "You're still a spineless weakling."
"That's not true, you bastard. Sakura-chan's grown a lot since you left!" The dobe kept on spluttering beside him, but Sasuke paid him no heed as his eyes never left the girl at the foot of his hospital bed. "…And she once punched Sai through three concrete walls, boy, he couldn't get up for a week! And… and she's not weak!"
"Enough!" Her voice demanded authority and held a strange tone that he'd only ever heard his father use – once during a clan meeting (the first one he'd been allowed to sit in on) to dispel an argument. Back then his father had silenced the hole room full of over twenty shouting people without even raising his voice, leaving him awed at his father's strength - and he had no doubt that had there been twenty other people in his hospital room right now, they'd be cowering before her, like the dobe was doing now. And although he had enough self-control to keep it hidden, there was a small part deep inside him that had the urge to bow down and show his respect, like he'd learned to so many years ago.
Mentally shaking of these rather disturbing thoughts, he concentrated on the present and watched as her head rose and her eyes slowly opened to reveal eyes like none he'd ever seen before and yet were so achingly familiar. There was only one word running through his head.
Mangekyo!
A/N: So here's what happened through Naruto's eyes and like he said in chapter one, he has no idea what actually went on. Hope you liked it.
I want to take this moment to thank everyone who reviewed the first chapter.
Thank you metrogurl803, Mel Isabelle, kattylin, Valkyrie of the Rohirrim and Archerelf! You guys are the best!
God, I never expected anyone would actually like Sakura the Dragon Slayer, but I've always been a fan of the idea and once I figured out a semi-acceptable plot and a way for her to do it (cause let's face it, there aren't many ways to beat the Sharingan) I just started writing. And this is what came out. Truth be told, it's not exactly like I planned it, the story kind of keeps changing and adding onto itself while I'm typing it…
For example, Sasuke's mysterious headache that seems completely unaffected by the pain killers. I hadn't even thought of that when I made my notes, and then I wrote the first sentence and there it was. And I like it, so I'm keeping it around for a while. Oh yeah, we'll get a little info about it in the next chapter, courtesy of … Tsunade (as always accompanied by her two faithful, …uh, pugs)!
And again, a few explanations to this chapter:
The Flashback (yes, with a capital 'F'): I wanted it to be separate from the hospital scene without making big signs that say "Flashback starts here!" so I put it in Italics. And I changed into present tense to give myself a little challenge, as I usually write in past tense and needed the practice (yes, I'm masochistic that way…).
Also, it's solely from Naruto's PoV, so I made it my goal to never actually say his name (he's probably not thinking of himself as 'Naruto', right?) and I tried to keep the thoughts as close to his personality as possible. Therefore the choice of words and his articulation aren't as haughty as for example Sasuke's PoV. I purposely kept his description to the minimum and his thoughts a little jumbled, as that's the person I see him as. While he's not dumb, he doesn't have the analytical mind Sakura has and doesn't concentrate on every detail. I think the best way to describe him would be to describe the Gryffindor House at Hogwarts: "They feel before they think." And that's exactly what he does in this flashback, his every move is guided by his feelings and so they take on a more important part then 'what jutsus does he use' or 'how many times did he land a punch on Itachi'. That's just not the way he works. Sure, he wants to learn more powerful jutsu and better himself, but I think, for him that's more a means to an end. It doesn't so much matter how he reaches his goal as that he tries as hard as he can and never gives up.
Besides, if I had put in all the separate jutsu and described every little thing, I probably would have totally ruined it, as I'm not very good with fighting scenes and remembering what Jutsu does what, so I would've inevitably forgotten/mixed up important things.
Then there's the Kyubi. Of course he's not tamed in this story, but I mellowed him down a bit for story purposes (yes, his cryptic words will come up again) and there's also the fact, that he knows that Akatsuki are after him and why, and I don't think he actually wants to be sealed into a creepy statue so he's supporting Naruto as much as he can.
The Mangekyo: Man, that thing is fucking awful to describe! I sat there for an hour just for the paragraph about Sakura's eyes. That was the best I could come up with… And yes, Kakashi's and Itachi's mangekyo are very differently drawn in the manga, which will play an important role in this fic later on.
Anyone, who can tell why I chose green and white for Sakura's eyes gets Brownie Points! (And no, it's not because her eyes are naturally green…)
So, that's it! Please read and review. See you next time, when 'poor' Sasuke gets put through the wringer again as he learns some more shocking news…