Disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto
Chapter Three
Tsunade yawned, and breathed in the crisp morning air, while leaning against one of the large Konoha gates. It was 4:48 AM, and if Kakashi did not arrive within the next two minutes she vowed to assign him to only D-rank missions permanently. She did not have the patients to wait around for the tardy man at such a hellish hour, she was not a morning person.
Yawning again, she watched as the other four members of his team made their way down the street towards her. Tsunade noted that Shizune had already changed into her Sakura-henge.
As the four shinobi gathered around her, Tsunade straightened up turning on her Hokage-mode. She opened her mouth, about to say something, when there was a "POOF" and Kakashi appeared a few feet to Tsunade's left.
"Yo."
Rolling her eyes at the orange book he had planted in front of his face, she turned back to the rest of the group. "Now, you all know the details of the mission, and should fully understand your rolls completely." She gave Naruto a significant look. In response Naruto gave an embarrassed grin, laughed nervously, and nodded 'yes', while rubbing the back of his head.
"Good. I want you to abort the mission if it gets too dangerous. We cannot afford to let our intentions be known, so if you have second thoughts I want you to head home before you get in too deep."
The Jounin nodded their agreement. They were all in business-mode now. Even Kakashi had put away his book and now had a no-nonsense squint to his eye.
"Keep me informed whenever you can."
Tsunade turned to Shizune and eyed her Sakura-henge. "Sh-Sakura, you're fully prepared for this, correct?"
Shizune nodded her head stiffly. "H-hai."
Tsunade took one last look at the four other Jounin. If everything went as planned, this would be the last time she saw them for a while.
"Don't get yourselves killed," she barked.
"Don't worry Tsunade-Baa-chan I can't die yet, 'cause I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm gonna be-"
"The next hokage," Sai blandly finished for him. "We know already, dickless."
"Hey!"
"Okay you two, shut up," Kakashi said making his way through the gate. As he passed Tsunade their eyes locked, and Tsunade could see solid determination in his one visible eye. This was going to be a hard mission, but Tsunade knew she could count on Kakashi to get everyone through it alive.
Tsunade stepped back and watched as the four shinobi followed Kakashi through the gate. They all turned and took one last look at the sleeping village behind them, and Naruto waved with his big goofy grin. Then they turned away toward the awakening forest and , with a rush of wind, leaped into the trees, one after the other.
Tsunade felt her chest constrict as she watched their backs disappear into the thick mass of trees. You better come back alive.
When Tsunade returned to her office she slumped heavily into he chair and put her feet up on her desk. She closed her eyes, deciding to take just a short nap before she had to face the load of paperwork that was already stacked in teetering piles on her desk. Besides, Shizune wasn't there to berate her for slacking off. With that happy thought she began to drift into dream land.
Barely a minute later a loud knock jerked her from her slumber, and a stray foot sent the painstakingly-stacked piles of papers flying.
Sighing heavily, and feeling like she wanted to punch someone through a wall, she barked, "Come in!"
When the door opened she was greeted by an ANBU squad. All four members of the squad were covered in blood.
"What happened," Tsunade asked briskly, bolting upright. She gave each ANBU a quick glance to determine if they were injured, but she could see no wounds or tears in their clothing.
"Hokage-sama," The ANBU Captain said, bowing quickly. "We came upon the Jounin team that failed to report in yesterday."
Tsunade visibly stiffened. She knew which team they were referring to, mainly because two of the teammates happened to be the parents of her favorite apprentice.
"What happened," she repeated, sounding slightly panicked.
"We're not quite sure, but..," the ANBU captain gulped behind his dog mask. "They're all dead. Whoever they were fighting was immensely strong, and violent. They were torn apart. We...we brought the body...parts back in bags."
Tsunade's face had turned white as a sheet, but her voice was steady. "Are the bodies identifiable?"
"Hai," The ANBU captain bowed his head slightly. "Their heads remained intact."
Tsunade gulped as she eyed the slouched figures of some of the strongest shinobi in Konoha. Each man was visibly shaken. "Go clean yourselves up. I'll get your full report later."
"Hai!" Each shinobi quickly bowed and made their way out the door.
Tsunade sighed and slid a hand down her face. "I need a drink." But instead of reaching for the half empty bottle of sake sitting on her desk, she made her way out her office door. She was headed to the morgue. She needed to positively identify the bodies herself, before she broke the heart of a girl whom she cared for like a daughter.
An hour later...
Sakura awake to the sound of knocking on her front door. She sat up and glanced at her bedside table. Her alarm clock was flashing 6:15 AM.
Yawning, Sakura stretched as she rolled out of bed and made her way down the stairs to her front door. She didn't care that she probably looked like a mess, with her bed-head and her pajamas still on. Whoever was bothering her at such an early hour, on her day off no less, deserved the hideous sight she was sure she created.
As she walked through the house she was struck with the feeling that something was off. It was quiet, yes, but she figured her parents hadn't come home yet, she would have heard them enter. But for some reason the hallways seemed eerily quiet.
She made her way into the living room and slowed to a stop as she eyed the front door. Sakura wasn't sure what triggered it but something in her gut told her something was wrong.
She didn't want to open the door. She was afraid to see who stood behind it, and she was afraid of what they wanted, what they came to tell her. But she knew, deep down she knew, what it was she was afraid would be confirmed the second she opened the door.
Sakura stood there, frozen in place at the entrance of her living room as she stared down the little walkway that passed behind one of her couches to the front door. The second knock resounded throughout the house like the metaphorical nail in the coffin...but maybe not so metaphorical. She had to open the door.
Sakura willed her suddenly-stiff legs to cross the last few feet to the front door. She could actually feel the person behind the door without using her chakra. She knew who it was.
She held her breath, turned the nob, and pulled the door open. Looking up she took in the distraught and sympathetic expression chiseled into Tsunade's paler-than-normal face. Their eyes locked, and that was all the confirmation Sakura needed.
"...no," she breathed, shaking her head slightly. She closed her eyes to rid herself of the pity pooling in Tsunade's.
"No." Her voice was louder but came out strangled.
Sakura clutched desperately at the door frame and slid down to the floor in a heap, still shaking her head. Her tears were streaming from her eyes so heavily that when she opened them she could barely see through their liquid sheen. Tsunade crouched down in front of her and pulled her into a tight embrace.
"I'm sorry,"Tsunade whispered into her hair. They sat there, weeping in Sakura's front door, oblivious to the morning buzz of the village that continued around them.
The border of Sound, two weeks later...
Five shinobi sat hunched in a tree, speaking quietly until-
"All I'm saying is that Sakura needs us," Naruto said/yelled, causing a few startled birds to fly from their perch. "Why can't we postpone the mission?"
"Naruto...Shut.Up." Kakashi's voice was low, but laced with steel. Naruto clamped his mouth shut, but looked like he was going to burst.
"Dickless, if you keep yelling all of Sound is going to hear." Sai was crouched on a branch above the blond loudmouth, his voice condescending and his face contorted into his normal false smile. "And that won't be good for two reasons. One, they'll know Sakura is back in Konoha mourning the loss of her parents, giving away Shizune's disguise. Two...we'll be dead."
Naruto continued to glare at a random leaf, attempting to refrain from jumping up and pounding Sai's newly expression-making face into the ground.
This had been a common argument within the past few days. Ever since Jiraiya's messenger toad had finally caught up to them, five days ago, informing them of the deaths of their favorite kunoichi's parents, Naruto had been insistent that they abort the mission.
He wasn't the only one who wanted to go back to help console Sakura. But they knew that the mission was critical for her safety, and if they quit now all that they had worked for in the past two weeks would be for nothing.
Yamato had been staring at the back of the head of the henge-Sakura. Shizune had kept up the henge ever since they left Konoha, and it was becoming increasingly difficult not to constantly think of the torment Sakura must be going through.
He knew that the life of a shinobi was almost always punctured with deaths of friends and loved ones, but he had hoped that somehow that fate would bypass Sakura. A girl so full of love didn't deserve anything less than a happy life.
He thought of his own less-than perfect life and all he had lost, or never had in the first place. He was an experiment as a child, and grew up as an orphan once he was rescued from Orochimaru's labs. Sakura had a fairly normal life in comparison, and he wanted it to stay that way; at least she could have the chance for a normal existence.
Growing up he'd never become close to anyone. Being experimented on as a child tended to have a negative effect on one's social skills. He'd really never had any emotional attachments until over a year ago, when he temporarily took Kakashi's place, and gained four friends, who then became like family.
He especially never had much of an inclination to associate with women, save for the occasional one-night stand (he did have his fare share of women throwing themselves at him). Sakura was the first female to have ever garnered his attention. He truly cared for her - maybe a little too much for his own good.
He inwardly grimaced. That was not something he could afford to reflect on at that moment. He probably shouldn't reflect on it at all. Not only was she twelve years younger than him, she was also the sweetest, most innocent kunoichi he'd ever come across. She didn't deserve to be the subject of the fantasies that he unsuccessfully attempted to rid his mind of.
He wasn't showing it, but it was driving him crazy not being able to comfort her. He just wanted to get this damn mission over with and head home. But he knew the success of this mission needed some sacrifices, and Sakura's safety was something he was not willing to compromise.
Finally turning his attention away from Shizune, Yamato took stock of their current situation. They had taken their time getting to Sound. They were purposely trying to draw attention, but not make it obvious. So far the team had already made their way from the borders of Grass all the way to Oto, stopping in a number of towns along the way. If anyone were trailing them it wouldn't be hard for them to follow. All they would have to do is ask a villager, at any of their previous stops, whether they'd seen a uniquely beautiful pink-haired kunoichi traveling with four shinobi.
It had worked. Two days ago Pakkun had detected two groups of shinobi trailing them. The first enemy-nin to reach them had been four surprisingly tough Jounin level shinobi.
After a drawn out fight the five Konoha-nin were able to incapacitate the four Oto-nin. Using a couple of 'persuasion' techniques that Shizune, being an amazing med-nin, had come up with herself, they were able to gain as much information from the nin as possible, before they passed out.
Currently, the Sound-nin's unconscious bodies were stuck in a jutsu, piled up in a hollow log a half a mile away. Team Kakashi had not needed to think twice about the usefulness of keeping the captive Sound-nin alive.
Now, outside the border of Sound, they were waiting for the other group of nin, trailing them, to catch up, so they could ambush them. Before that though, they needed to know whether they were really trying to capture Sakura.
Naruto had made two clones, disguising one as Sakura, and had ordered them to sit in the glade below them and act casual. Team Kakashi was to stay hidden in the trees to see if the unknown nin tried to capture the fake Sakura, or if they attempted to kill both clones.
The clone disguised as Sakura was currently scolding the flustered Naruto-clone for some reason or another. Yamato thought vaguely how accurate Naruto's interpretation of Sakura was.
A loud "POOF" rent the air, and the Konoha team's eyes widened as they watched a kunai fly right into the head of clone-Naruto. No one had felt any shinobi around them, save for the nin following them who should still be miles behind.
Suddenly it made sense, when two shinobi jumped from the trees into the clearing opposite from where Kakashi's team lay hidden with their chakra cloaked. The two nin were wearing high collar cloaks, with red clouds spread out over black material.
The Konoha-nin were stunned. The two nin were unmistakably the Akatsuki Deidara and Sasori. Not only were these shinobi Akatsuki, there were supposed to be dead Akatsuki!
Crap! Kakashi shouted to himself, crouched on the branch next to Yamato's. They had not expected the nin following them to be Akatsuki. The last time he had summoned Pakkun, the pug had been able to smell four nin with medium chakra levels. Their chakra was too low for Akatsuki, and the group hardly ever traveled with more than two members per team.
They must have been cloaking the majority of their chakra for two days straight and then fully cloaked themselves as they snuck up on us.
Kakashi was craning his neck searching the forest around them. The remaining two Akatsuki had not appeared yet, and Kakashi couldn't sense them.
He never would have expected Akatsuki to send four of it's members for Sakura's retrieval. Apparently Sound isn't the only one's taking no chances in capturing Sakura, Kakashi thought, thinking back on a tough battle they had with the Sound-nin earlier that day.
This time they were way over their heads. The chances of them surviving this inevitable fight and completing the mission weren't looking good.
"POOF!" Now the Sakura-clone got a kunai through the head.
They knew they were clones, Kakashi thought. That means they probably have an idea where we're hiding.
As if to confirm his suspicions, there was a deep chuckle from behind the tree they were hiding in.
"We know you're in there little leaf." The voice would have sounded like someone coaxing a kitten out from the tree if it weren't for to the edge to it. It was the voice of a man who would find sadist pleasure in squishing said kitten.
Kakashi turned his gaze from the glade where the first two Akatsuki still stood, now gazing up at them, down to a tall blue Akatsuki squinting up into their tree right behind them.They couldn't see them through the branches but, even though Team Kakashi had expertly cloaked their chakra, the Akatsuki knew they were there.
The Leaf nin's eyes flickered to the left of the blue S-class missing-nin to find Konoha's own S-class missing-nin, Uchiha Itachi, emerging from the trees.
Shizune's grip on her tree branch tightened.Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, and Sasori, all here for one kunoichi? What are they planning?
Looking sideways she caught Kakashi's gaze. He gave her a meaningful look, and she nodded, understanding exactly what his plan was. We'll have to attempt to complete the mission, even though the odds are stacked against us.
Shizune knew that if all did not go as planned this could very likely be her last mission. She briefly glanced at the members of her team. They were studying the enemy-nin on both sides of their hiding spot. All four shinobi's jaws were squared in determination.
They're so willing to sacrifice their lives for this mission because, if by the slightest chance it's successful, it might possibly help save Sakura from abduction.
Shizune quickly took stock of her weapons and medical supplies. They had planned on running into both Sound and Akatsuki at some point during this mission, but they hadn't planned on both groups within the same day. As if the odds weren't bad enough, the team had already used up a significant amount of chakra on the Soud-nin battle a few hours ago.
Kakashi signaled to Naruto and Sai and then pointed at Deidara, who was currently looking up at their tree with a gleeful smirk and an excited look in his one visible eye, signaling for them to team up and attack him. Before either shinobi could acknowledge that they understood, Kakashi - followed quickly by the rest of the team - leaped out of the tree half a second before a deafening blast rippled passed them and the tree exploded into countless shards of wood. The Konoha-nin, mid-air when the explosion went off, were propelled in multiple directions.
Kakashi landed agilely with a somersault, all the way across the clearing, attempting to dodged the shards of wood that had turned into deadly missiles. Yamato landed a couple of feet from Kakashi, and with a few hand seals a barrier of wood sprung up, protecting both shinobi for the oncoming projectiles. Naruto, Sai, and Shizune, thrown into the dense forest on either side of the clearing, were easily able to take cover.
The nin remained crouched in their positions as the roar of the explosion echoed across the forest and faded away, leaving them with only a high pitched ringing in their ears.
A moment later, Shizune dropped from a tree and onto the shadowy forest floor a few yards from the edge of the sunny clearing, barely avoiding two kunai that had embedded themselves into the the branch she had been standing on.
Shizune's heart rate increased, and she took a fighting stance and shook her head, trying to clear herself of the incessant ringing, as Itachi, dropping from the tree next to hers, landed softly a few feet in front of her.
Though she knew that, despite who her opponent was, she was the most likely to survive this encounter, she was still terrified. Akatsuki needed to capture Sakura alive, so Itachi would not have to kill her.
No he won't kill me, at first he'll just beat me into submission and then they'll find out I'm not Sakura and kill me. Shizune's thoughts weren't helping to calm her in the slightest.
Unless they already know that I'm not really Sakura.
Shizune banished the thought quickly. She could not dwell on it and the extreme complications that would occur if it were true. She'd just have to play it out as Sakura and hope everything went smoothly.
"Kunoich." Itachi's deep, velvety voice startled Shizune from her frantic thoughts. "I suggest you make it easier on yourself and come willingly." He sounded like he was bored and that he didn't honestly think she'd take him up on his offer.
Shizune looked up, briefly forgetting to keep from making eye contact, and studied his face. His head was tilted to one side, as if scrutinizing her, but his face and eyes reflected nothing of what he was thinking. A shiver ran down her spine, and Shizune forced herself to look away.
Composing herself, she lifted her gaze back upward, but stopped at his chin and throat. Her voice was small but steady. "That's not going to happen."
He didn't respond, but he straightened his head, as if he were finished with his quiet observation of her. Then, too fast for Shizune to leap away, he flew at her. He kicked at her head, but Shizune was able to cross her arms in front of her, blocking it. She slid backwards a few feet from the impact, and then sprung into the air, flipping backward while shooting three poisoned needles at Itachi, and landed on the nearest branch. Itachi spun a kunai on his finger in front of him, easily deflecting the needles, and then countered with a blinding fast series of hand seals.
Shizune escaped onto the adjacent tree just as the branch she was on was consumed in fire, and then grabbed a branch above her head, using it as leverage, and propelled herself upwards, avoiding another volley of kunai and landing a few branches higher up, with Itachi closely following.
Kakashi and Yamato stood, in the center of the clearing, back to back, fending off a burst of attacks from their opponents on either side of them.
"This is unnecessary," Sasori spoke calmly, his eyes remaining emotionless as he maneuvered his puppet away from a wooden sphere that jutted from the ground. "If you would give up the kunoichi there would be no need for us to fight you."
Yamato deflected a few poison-tipped kunai flung from the puppets mouth."Yes, I'm sure that would save you a lot of trouble, but seeing as how I don't entirely despise her company I think we'll hold onto her for a while."
"As you wish, either way at the end of this battle you and your companions will be dead, and we will have what we came for." Sasori finished speaking just in time to fling himself backward as two spiraling branches burst through the ground, almost impaling him.
Yamato didn't think it was a good idea to tell him that what they came for was actually safely back in Konoha, so he kept his mouth shut, and leaped away from a cloud of poisonous smoke that was quickly seeping out of the right eye of Sasori's puppet.
Kakashi also leaped away from the small purple cloud of smoke and Kisame leaped after him, and in mid-air swung his Samehada down as he fell to the ground toward Kakashi. Kakashi rolled away and the large sward embedded into the ground where his head had been. Before Kisame could pull his weapon free Kakashi, still crouched on the ground, kicked up and into Kisame's side, sending him stumbling backwards.
Kakashi flipped himself into a standing position and sprinted after Kisame. With his right hand extended to the side he breathed the word "chidori," and the sound of chirping filled the air. As he descended upon the blue-nin, who was attempting to finish a quick set of hand seals, another loud explosion rippled across the clearing, forcing all four nin who remained in it to cease their fighting and brace themselves. Kakashi hazard a glance upward.
Deidara was standing on a large clay bird, grinning sadistically down at the tower of Naruto clones that he had moments ago blown to bits. The remaining clones were "poofing" out of exhistance as the unconscious Naruto, who had been at the top of the pile of clones, continued his rapid descent to the ground.
Acting quickly, Yamato and Kakashi began sprinting towards the trees below Deidara's bird. As he ran Yamato, still a distance away, conjured up a strip of wood that spiraled high into the air, catching Naruto's unconscious body, which gently slid down it toward the forest floor, disappearing into the trees.
The two shinobi quickly made their way toward Naruto, but caught sight of Sai slumped over a branch that was at least thirty feet from the ground. Sai, who had been in a tree beneath the explosion had also been knocked out and was now slowly slipping off his branch.
Yamato signaled to Kakashi, who nodded and continued to head toward Naruto, while Yamato turn and quickly made his way through the trees toward Sai. Sai's limp form slipped and became airborne for a fourth of a second before Yamato reached out and caught him. With Sai flung over his shoulder he dropped to the shaded forest floor and then held still, trying to sense where the others were at.
He could now sense the Akatsuki now that they were no longer cloaking their chakra. Sasori and Kisame were still where they had left them, and Shizune and Itachi were still battling in the forest on the opposite side of the clearing.
He knew Shizune would be fine, until Akatsuki figured out she wasn't Sakura. But he needed to regroup with Kakashi and decide what their next plan of action should be. They coudldn't hold out much longer with thier chakra so low from their last fight.
Yamato turned and began running deeper into the forest, toward where he knew Kakashi was with the unconscious Naruto, and was quickly able to glimpse Kakashi through the trees. He was standing rigid next to Naruto's slumped figure and looking straight up.
Yamato's pace slowed slightly when he was close enough to decifer the apprehensive expression on Kakashi's face. He quickly laid Sai down and continued to move forward toward Kakashi. Suddenly he came to a complete stop and looked up as a booming voice echoed through the forest from above him.
"Now you get to witness my ultimate expression of art!" Deidara yelled manically. Yamato could see the white wings of the Rock-nin's clay bird through the trees. He was quickly moving upward, ascending further into the air.
"SHIT!" Yamato turned and sprinted back in the direction he left Sai.
Kakashi threw Naruto over his shoulder like he weighed nothing and he too began running. He looked back to see Yamato looking over his shoulder at him and moving in the opposite direction. Their eyes locked and both men saw the same thought reflected in each others eyes. We can't out run this explosion.
A second later they heard their doom roared from high above their heads.
"C3 NO BAKUHATSU (explosion of C3)!"
And everything went black.
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"Dokugiri (Poison Mist)!" Shizune screamed. She watched as the poison mist swept over the clearing toward Itachi.
He's too fast, she cried to herself, as she watched him dodge yet another one of her attacks. She slumped to the ground, exhausted. She hardly had enough chakra to keep the henge up, but she somehow needed to get passed Itachi and find the others.
Moments ago she had seen, through the trees, Deidara blow Naruto's clone tower to bits, and she knew that, even if Naruto had survived the fall, his injuries would be extensive. She briefly wondered if the Kyūbi would still heal while the host was unconscious. Either way she decided she needed to perform the jutsu that Tsunade had taught her before Naruto died if she was to save him and salvage the mission.
Shizune watched Itachi's feet as he made his way calmly toward her. A few feet from her he stopped and turned toward the clearing. Shizune followed his line of vision and saw Kisame and Sasori speeding towards her and Itachi.
Crap!
Itachi turned back to her as Sasori and Kisame burst through the trees. They both stopped and stared at her, confused. She could feel Itachi's intense gaze on her as well. What are they looking at?
She looked down and, awww crap! She had dropped the henge without realizing it. She looked back up at Kisame and Sasori, who continued to walk toward her.
Kisame blinked, and they turned to Itachi. "That's not the right girl."
"So it would seem," was Itachi's flat response.
"Well this sucks!"
"Hn."
"I think I should point out that Deidara is in one of his...moods. I suggest we leave the area before he starts 'expressing' himself." Sasori's tone sounded as bored as if they were comparing brands of toothpaste, but Shizune felt dread well up in her gut as if he had screamed his statement.
"What should we do with her?"
"Leave her, she's too weak to outrun it," Itachi said, turning around and walking through the trees in the opposite direction from Deidara.
Suddenly a loud voice tore through the air and Shizune looked back through the trees in the direction she could feel the chakra of the rest of her team.
"Now you get to witness my ultimate expression of art!"
Shizune looked back to Sasori and Kisame, but they were gone. She stood up and briefly scanned the area. She was alone.
I have a bad feeling about this.
Desperately she simultaneously pulled out a small scroll from her medic-pack with one hand and bit the thumb on her other hand. She quickly unfurled the scrolled in the air and ran her bloodied thumb across it. She Dropped the scroll in front of her, and with a quick succession of hand seals and yelled "Seishin No Hen'i" at the same time she heard Deidara's booming voice screamed "C3 NO BAKUHATSU!"
The sound was sucked out of the air and then came back with a deafening roar as the impact of the bomb knocked Shizune over, but the shock wave rolled over her before she could even hit the ground. She, the trees, and even the ground beneath her, were torn from gravities pull and helplessly thrown into the air, becoming a part of the wall of debris that was tearing and ripping it's way passed her.
The dust and debris in the air embedded itself into her, suffocating and blinding her. She couldn't see the ground rappidly closing in on her, but she could feel gravity take control again, and before Shizune's body could make the inevitable impact, the roar and the pain were suddenly gone and there was - nothing.
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Wahoo! Sorry that took a little longer to write than I had anticipated. I made a discovery, writing a fighting scene is not as easy as it looks. It was like constipation of the brain, trying to squeeze this crap out!
lol Okay that was really sick. I apologize.
Anyhooo, I hope you enjoyed!
Thanks to my reviewers:
TeenageCrisis
DORFo
nekozr
starlit.kiss7
You guys make me happy! tear
Please review, it inspires me to write faster!
-JustALittleTwisted