Kyandi: Hello everyone, I have returned!
Aisa: And she apologizes for taking so long to update.
Kyandi: My muse had been horribly singled-minded these last few months. As a way to make up for it. I have two chapters done for all of you lovely people.
Aisa: It was only going to be one chapter, but then she got caught up in a fight scene.
Kyandi: I always get caught up in fight scenes.
Aisa: I have noticed.
Kyandi: Anyway, lets move on. I'm sure everyone is ready to get to the actual chapter. So, everyone enjoy and review.
Aisa: Kyandi-sama does not own Naruto.
Chapter 6 First Mission
"Twenty-four hours?"
Aisa tilted her head to the side. It was still so strange for Sakura to stand in front of Aisa, knowing that Aisa couldn't actually "see" her, even though she acted like she could. At the moment, the two kunochi stood facing each other, Aisa standing with her hands on her hips. Yamato sat just behind Aisa, concentrating on Naruto as he trained.
"Tsuna-nee said that?" Aisa asked.
"Yes. She said if Naruto couldn't perfect his new jutsu in twenty-four hours she would send a different team." Sakura told her.
Aisa half turned towards Yamato, as if trying to get a read on what he thought about this. Yamato glanced up at her and gave a shake of his head. He didn't believe there was any way Naruto could do it. Not in such a short time limit.
"If anyone can do it, it's Naruto." Aisa remarked. "He's amazingly stubborn."
"I don't think amazingly should be the word you should use." Yamato replied.
"It is if you grew up in the family I did." Aisa retorted. "My family would have loved Naruto."
Yamato didn't even want to be begin to imagine what kind of family Aisa must of grown up in to have a family that would love Naruto's stubbornness and strangeness. Aisa, though, wasn't even paying attention anymore.
"This explains where Hatake-san vanished off too." Aisa remarked.
Aisa crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head towards the field where Naruto was still training. She had no doubt that Naruto could manage it. The boy was rather determined and sometimes, determination was all it took to pull a person across the finish line. Even it if was only barely. She was sure Naruto would do it. He just might end up using every last second allotted him.
"One more thing." Sakura said, drawing Aisa's attention back to her. "My Lady wants to see you, Aisa."
Aisa raised one thin brow in questioning. What did Tsunade want that she couldn't have Sakura tell her? Aisa had a pretty good idea what it was, but one never knew with Tsunade. The woman could surprise a person if they weren't on guard all the time. Aisa sighed and turned to Yamato.
"I'll be going then." Aisa told him.
"Right. I can handle things here." Yamato told her.
"I'm sure you can. Thank you for coming, Sakura." Aisa said.
She pat Sakura's shoulder before vanishing, as always, in a whirlwind of red. Aisa made her way to Tsunade's office, ignoring those she passed, even when some stared or whispered about her. Aisa never had paid much attention to rumors but she knew there were a few going around the village about her. Some sang praises of her abilities, which Aisa thought was ridiculous, and others spread lies and slander about her...which she found ridiculous.
Either way, ridiculousness was ridiculousness and Aisa didn't care for it.
She flew past others once she reached the office building and stopped when she finally reached Tsunade's office. She knocked once and waited for Tsunade to call for her. When she did, Aisa stepped into the office. She knew that Shizune was there as well, could sense her standing at Tsunade's side.
"Ah, Aisa! You came, good." Tsunade greeted her.
"Though I'm pretty sure I know what this is about, Tsuna-nee, what is it you want?" Aisa asked.
"As you know, by now, Kakashi has gone with the members of Team 10 to find and either kill or capture, the two Akatsuki members that are responsible for Azuma Sarutobi's death." Tsunade told her.
"I'm aware." Aisa replied.
"I want you to go catch up with them. If he can finish his jutsu in time, Naruto and the rest of Team Kakashi, will join you." Tsunade told her. "Aim to capture, Aisa. If you can't...eliminate the threat."
"Understood." Aisa said, bowing to Tsunade.
"Then leave as soon as you can." Tsunade ordered.
Aisa nodded, turned on her heel and left the office. She hurried home where Ihai greeted her at the door. The moment he saw her, it was like Ihai knew that she was in mission mode. He instantly stopped his wiggling and ran straight into her bedroom, coming back out dragging her ninja pack behind him. Though the bag was almost three times as big as him, he still managed to drag it. He met her at the doorway to the living room and Aisa snagged the bag from him.
"Good boy, Ihai." she told him.
Aisa carried the bag into the living room, checking its contents to make sure she had everything she needed. Because Ihai would be accompanying her this time, she made sure to pack extra rations for him. The bag packed and ready to go, she turned to Ihai.
"Time to suit up, Ihai." she told him.
She had saved his "battle suit" of sorts, just for this. It wasn't anymore than just a little doggy shirt made from a thicker mess armor, which would protect part of him, and a headband baring the Leaf Village symbol. Ihai, once it was on, held his head high, like he was the proudest little puppy that ever walked the earth.
"Alright, boy, this is crunch time. Time for you to prove to me that you can be a ninja hound, got it?" Aisa asked.
Ihai barked his agreement.
"No biting anyone on our side and if I tell you do something, move quickly." Aisa added.
Ihai barked again. Aisa nodded and grabbed her pack. Before leaving her apartment, she wrote a quick message to Yamato, telling him that she had been sent ahead, and sent it along to Yamato. With that down, Aisa and Ihai, set out. Even though he was a small puppy, Ihai was fast. He took the lead, following Kakashi's scent, the moment they left the gates of the village.
"Find them, Ihai." Aisa called.
Ihai barked back his reply, leading the way into the trees. Now it was time to get to work and full fill her true purpose for being back in the Leaf Village.
-0-0-0-0-
What was going on!?
Kakashi couldn't believe his eyes. Kakuzu, the Akatsuki member he had attacked from behind, was standing once more, and when Kakashi was sure he had pierced the other shinobi's heart with his attack. Instead, just when he thought Kakuzu was down and had attack Hidan, Kakuzu popped back up, catching him off guard and landed a solid kick to Kakashi's chest, sending him flying back into a tree.
"Nice! Let's hurry and get this over with!" Hidan called to his partner.
"That's what I was planning on." Kakuzu said, opening his Akatsuki cloak and removing it.
He threw it to the side as four, strange creatures formed, coming straight out of Kakuzu's back, each wearing a different mask. One of the creatures had a mask with a gapping hole in it. Kakashi figured out pretty quickly that that had been what he had destroyed with his attack. As soon as it was free from Kakuzu's body, the creature with the broken mask basically dissolved and died. Shikamaru called a warning to Choji to remain on guard as his Shadow Possession jutsu reached it's time limit, freeing Hidan.
"Wh...what is that!? Why isn't he dead!?" Choji asked.
"Who knows...but with these guys as opponents, I don't get surprised with the small things anymore." Shikamaru said.
"I can finally move." Hidan said, rolling one shoulder and popping his neck. "Alright...let's kill them, Kakuzu."
"Step back, Hidan...I'll finish this." Kakuzu replied.
"W-wait! Just wait! We've been getting beaten since then and you think I'll just sit back and watch!? Let's do the usual." Hidan demanded.
Annoyed, Kakuzu let out an annoyed noise, getting ready for their next attack. Kakashi got back to his feet, a kunai in one hand. He was taken off guard when Hidan, swinging his scythe, suddenly attacked. Kakashi jumped back, distracted by Hidan's attack and only noticed one of Kakuzu's mask creature as it appeared behind Hidan. It's spread open its mouth and let loose a wind based attack that destroyed a great bit of land.
Ino came out of her hiding spot, calling a warning to her teammates as another mask creature attacked them. This time, when the creature opened it's mouth, the attack was lightning based. Kakashi, missing his vest and a glove and looking a little disheveled, appeared in front of Shikamaru and Choji in time to stop the jutsu by matching it with a lightning based jutsu of the same strength. The force was still strong enough that it ripped his remaining glove to shreds.
Kakashi had to admit that Kakuzu and Hidan were strong. Especially Kakuzu. Not only did Kakuzu have a high level lightning element jutsu, but he had earth style and wind style jutsu too. Ino, now revealed, joined her three teammates.
"Sensei! Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah...I guess so." Kakashi replied.
Too many strong jutsu like that and his chakra wouldn't last long. There was only so much even he could take before he grew tired. Especially with attacks as strong as the ones Kakuzu had up his sleeves.
"You're the first one to survive this attack, Hatake Kakashi." Hidan called out.
"You saw it with your sharingan..how about this one?" Kakuzu asked.
A third mask creature, opened it mouth. Kakashi had a feeling that this jutsu would be of a differing element too. He was proven right when it turned out to be a fire based one. To block now with so little time would do no good. Kakashi would never make it without some damage on their side. Suddenly, through his Sharingan eye, Kakashi could see a network of spider web-like chakra lines fall over the battle field. Moments later, a familiar voice reached his ears.
"Firestorm Jutsu!"
Suddenly a vortex of spinning fire fell out of the sky, landing between Kakashi and his team and Kakuzu and Hidan. The tightly swirling vortex of fire gathered the flames from Kakuzu's own attack, adding them to the vortex and saving Kakashi and his team from damage while redirecting the flames into the sky, where they dispersed. The vortex broke apart then, completely vanishing and out of the smoke...stepped Aisa. The spider web effect of chakra lines was coming from Aisa, weaving through the ground and the air around her, spreading from her finger tips and constantly shifting around her to take in everything.
Was this the jutsu that replaced her sight?
"Aisa!?" Kakashi said, surprised.
"Hatake-san...are the four of you alright?" Aisa asked, turning towards them.
"We're fine. What are you doing here?" Kakashi asked.
"Tsuna-nee sent me. She thought you could use a little assistance. Ihai led me right to you." Aisa replied.
With a growling bark, Ihai popped his head up out of the pack on Aisa's back. The puppy barked, his tongue rolling out of his mouth. Kakashi had no doubt in his mind that the dog was wagging his tail inside the bag. Aisa dug a milk bone treat out of a pouch on her belt and held it out over her shoulder. Ihai snatched it up and disappeared back inside the bag.
"Good boy, Ihai." Aisa told him.
She half turned then, her head tilting in the general direction of Kakuzu and Hidan. Seeing the solid visor over Aisa's eyes, Hidan turned a questioning look on Kakuzu, who seemed intrigued as well.
"Who are you?" Shikamaru asked.
"Noroi Aisa. She's a new member of Team Kakashi." Kakashi replied.
Aisa wasn't really listening. She was focused in on something else, her head tilted a little to one side. Kakashi could see the chakra lines around her shift and wrap around Hidan and Kakuzu. They shuddered, Aisa doing the same thing, before they returned their their shifting through the air.
"These two have icky feeling chakra." Aisa remarked low enough where only Kakashi, Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino could hear.
"They're immortal." Ino told her.
"Oh...their worshippers of Jashin?" Aisa asked.
"You know of Jashin-sama!?" Hidan called, hearing that part.
Aisa turned her head towards Hidan, raising on eyebrow. He sounded a little too thrilled by the idea that she knew of his religion. If one could even call it that. It seemed less like an honest to heaven religion and more like a blood bath cult to Aisa.
"I take it, only one of them is a worshipper." Aisa remarked.
"Damn straight!" Hidan snapped.
Aisa eased herself back so that she was standing even with Kakashi. When she stood beside Kakashi, Ihai started growling from inside her bag. Aisa elbowed the bag lightly earning a little yelp from the puppy. Reaching back, she zipped up the pouch the puppy was in, leaving just enough open so air could easily get into the bag.
"Hush, Ihai." Aisa told him.
"What's this about worship?" Choji asked lowly.
"There is a so called religion called Jashin that worships a god it is named after. It's rumored that by experimenting with the god's secret technique, a stout believer can be granted immortality. Apparently the religion focuses on complete destruction and outright slaughter. Anything less than that is considered a sin against their god. I have heard that those who are granted immortality, even partake in rituals where they deliver what is suppose to be fatal blows to themselves in reverence of their god. Its more of a blood bath cult than a religion, in my opinion, but this man is evidence that the rumors hold true." Aisa explained lowly.
"And how do you know all of this?" Shikamaru asked.
"I grew up outside of the village. You pick up on a few things when you travel as much as I have." Aisa told him.
"Well, your timing is great." Shikamaru told her.
"I could see that. I'm told you're the master mind behind this mission, Nara Shikamaru, so tell me what you need from me." Aisa said.
"Just don't get killed." Shikamaru told her.
"Well that's a pretty simple task." Aisa retorted.
"You'd be surprised." Choji assured her.
Aisa perked up then and, quickly, she reached out for the two nearest people to her. She shoved Ino to one side and Shikamaru to the other, before jumping into the air. Choji and Kakashi took the silent warning and moved in time to avoid the attack launched their way.
"Ino, Choji! You okay?" Shikamaru called.
"I'm fine!" Ino called back.
"Me too!" Choji answered.
Aisa landed on the under side of a tree branch, chakra in her feet keeping her feet planted to the bark despite hanging upside down. Kakashi had jumped straight into the air to avoid the attack.
"Hatake-san, behind you!" Aisa called.
Kakashi snagged another kunai out of its pouch as Hidan came at him from behind with his scythe. The two moved quickly, darting around the wide trunk of a tree before clashing and separating. Both landed on the ground below, sliding apart from each other. Choji, Shikamaru, and Ino joined Kakashi, but Aisa remained where she was, hanging upside down over their heads.
"You alright, Kakashi-sensei?" Choji asked.
"Yeah." Kakashi replied. "Aisa?"
"I'm right as rain." Aisa replied.
Kakashi nodded, keeping his eyes on Hidan. Between his Lightning Blade and the Sharingan, Kakashi knew he was pushing it. Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji were strong in their own rights and Aisa was a Jōnin, the same as him, but if these two were giving him a run for his money, then it was only a matter of time before his teammates ran out of steam.
"This is the problem with fighting people like this." Aisa remarked from above their heads. "Their teamwork is nearly flawless, plus their immortality...capture is definitely not an option here."
With that said, Aisa released her hold on her chakra and fell towards the earth. She twisted in mid air to land on her feet lightly beside Kakashi. She called out to her puppy in her bag, to see if he was alright, and got a bark in reply. Assured that Ihai was fine, Aisa turned to the others. She couldn't see it, but she knew Shikamaru was staring at her. She had a pretty good idea what for, but didn't say anything.
"That being said, while the one who worships Jashin is, without a doubt, immortal, I highly doubt that is the case with the other." Aisa said lowly.
"You're kidding right!? Kakashi-sensei definitely got him. How is he not dead if he's not immortal?" Choji asked.
"If I'd gotten his heart, he would be." Kakashi agreed.
"I sense a "but" somewhere in that sentence." Aisa remarked.
"But what I actually hit was one of those masked monsters living inside him. I think it died in his place." Kakashi said.
Aisa hummed in thought. To her, the masked monsters felt like a buzz of chakra. One solid mass of chakra with a beating center, like that of a heartbeat.
"Same as when he escaped the Shadow Mimic Shuriken Jutsu. There was some beating heart-thing in the middle of the mass acting on its own." Shikamaru said.
"Funny that you say that."
All four turned to look at Aisa. She had her head tilted to the side, almost as if she was listening to something that none of them could hear. One corner of her mouth was turned down in a frown. The chakra lines around her, that Kakashi could see through his Sharingan, were twisting about the masked creatures as if scooping them out.
"What is it, Aisa?" Kakashi asked.
"I can't see, that's a fact. How I get around is kind of like...echolocation, if you will, mixed with a spider web-like effect, except with chakra. To me, those creatures feel like a mass of chakra and at the center of each of those masses, is something that's beating. Like that of a heart." Aisa explained.
"What's that mean for us?" Choji asked.
"I think I know what she's getting at." Shikamaru said, looking at Aisa. "You think each one of those monsters has its own heart."
Aisa nodded. It seemed that both of them had arrived at the same answer.
"And they all feed back to him." Aisa added.
"So essentially, he's got five hearts." Shikamaru said.
"That's...nuts." Choji insisted.
"Technically speaking, it's four now, if Hatake-san destroyed one." Aisa corrected.
If the two of them were correct then it was going to be quite the job to finish off Kakuzu alone. With more hearts at his disposal, they would have to take out all four to finally destroy Kakuzu.
"So to completely finish him we need to destroy the hearts in those monsters!?" Ino asked.
"Yep." Shikamaru confirmed.
"You keep on impressing me, kid. You're absolutely right, they all contain hearts taken from shinobi I've killed. I'll have to stock back up...and you guys should do nicely." Kakuzu said.
"Sorry, I don't have a heart." Aisa retorted sarcasically, before reaching up to bump a fist to her chest over her heart. "Just a block of ice in here."
If it had been an easier opponent and not so serious a situation, Kakashi might have at least grinned at that. But that wasn't the case. He now understood how Kakuzu could manipulate four different chakra natures. By running his own chakra through the hearts he had stolen, he could use whatever chakra nature their former owners had been able to use. A formidable opponent indeed.
"How's it feel to realize your opponents are immortal?" Hidan asked, a wide grin on his face as he joined Kakuzu.
"I wouldn't really consider your partner immortal since, technically, he can still die." Aisa remarked.
Kakuzu humped at her in an annoyed way. Not that Aisa really cared. If she was right, she was right and they could just get over it.
"What's the plan, Shikamaru?" Kakashi asked lowly.
"We'd be better off separating them. First, we neutralize their team attacks, then we focus on killing the other guy four more times." Shikamaru replied.
"Sounds like a real task since we'll have to incapacitate this Hidan man." Aisa remarked.
Kakashi agreed with her. It could definitely be a task in and of itself. Hidan didn't seem like the easiest person in the world to handle.
"I'll do it." Ino volunteered. "I've got the most chakra left, after Aisa, and I'm not as skilled in straight fighting...I'll use the Mind-Body Switch jutsu and-"
"No way." Shikamaru said, instantly shooting her down. "That jutsu's only usable when I hold them down with the shadow mimic. If you miss, you won't return to your body for several minutes. It's too risky."
"Well there's always the obvious answer. While it won't kill him, separating his head from his body would keep him from moving...as long as you can keep the head away from his partner." Aisa offered.
None of them really relished the idea of carrying around an angry, foul-mouthed head while fighting. They didn't really need the distraction and that would be the only way to keep Hidan's head away from Kakuzu.
"No. I'll do it. I'll bind him with the Shadow Mimic and move him myself." Shikamaru said.
"How, though? You need to distract him for that, too. It's no different than Ino doing it." Kakashi insisted.
"Actually, I can see a difference. If he's better than Ino in straight up fighting, then he would be a better choice. Especially since, if he misses, he's not going to be left defenseless because his mind is out of his body. Precautions." Aisa replied.
Kakashi saw her point in this. Out of the two of them, Shikamaru was better with one-on-one fighting than Ino and if Shikamaru missed, he could still move. Ino couldn't. In a case like this, it was better that Shikamaru took up the mantle.
"We just need a distraction." Aisa added.
"I'll take care of that." Choji volunteered.
"That's risky, too. If he draws a single drop of blood from you, you're dead." Shikamaru told him.
"You know, that argument can be used against you, too." Aisa told him.
"What then? Are you going to volunteer?" Shikamaru asked.
"I have a feeling that if I did, you'd just shoot me down too." Aisa retorted.
"Yeah, I will. Both of you need to save your chakra for fighting the masked guy with Kakashi-sensei." Shikamaru insisted.
Kakashi glanced at Aisa, watching as one of her cheeks puffed out slightly. Aisa wasn't use to working in a team, wasn't use to taking orders from someone else, but he could tell that she was trying hard to keep her opinions to herself.
"Enough with the yakkin' over there! Let's do this!" Hidan called.
"I'll catch him myself and fulfill that role." Shikamaru said, ignoring Hidan.
Aisa didn't really like the sound of the idea and turned her face towards Kakashi, silently asking his oppinon on the matter. Kakashi glanced from her to Shikamaru before heaving a barely audible sigh.
"I see...we should leave this to Shikamaru." Kakashi said.
Not something Aisa really wanted to do, but she had come to realize that Kakashi was a smart man. If he thought it was better to leave it to Shikamaru, then she would go along with it.
"Here, take this." Kakashi said, holding out his hand.
Shikamaru took whatever it was that he had in his balled up fist. Aisa caught a little whiff of the iron tang of blood as Shikamaru tucked whatever it was away. Shikamaru walked past Aisa and Kakashi, taking the head of the group. Without bothering with beating around the bush, Shikamaru cast his jutsu. Two snaking shadows shot out of his shadow, heading for Hidan and Kakuzu. Hidan and Kakuzu scattered, Hidan landing on the trunk of a tree. The two shadows split off, going after Hidan. When Kakuzu moved to assist his partner, Kakashi and Aisa stepped into his way.
"You're fighting us." Kakashi told Kakuzu.
Behind them, Shikamaru confronted Hidan and, after a few close calls, Shikamaru managed to successfully link his shadow to Hidan's.
"Get out of here, Shikamaru!" Kakashi called to him.
"Right." Shikamaru replied.
Shikamaru made Hidan leave his scythe behind and forced him to follow him away from the others. Kakuzu's eyes went from Hidan and Shikamaru's retreating forms to Kakashi and Aisa who stood in front of him.
"You sure you want to let him go alone? You're seriously taking Hidan too lightly. And to think that punk Shikamaru or whoever would probably have ranked in a pretty high price on his neck, will go off and die today." Kakuzu said.
None of them said anything in reply. There was no need to. Aisa didn't know Shikamaru but the others were confident in his abilities. Aisa half turned, tilting her head back as one of the masked creatures moved in behind her and Kakashi. Kakashi glanced at Aisa as she dropped into a crouch, one hand pressed to the ground. She looked like she was getting ready for the next attack no matter where it came from. He could even see the chakra lines thinning out, weaving a web completely around her so she would know the moment any enemy made a move.
"Anyway, you guys were right in picking me. I am strong. There is just too much of a difference in battle experience between you and me." Kakuzu said.
"I repeat...because every woman likes a prideful man." Aisa remarked lowly.
Aisa tensed up, as if sensing trouble, when Kakuzu raised an arm, the black threads just below the elbow spilling out of the seam.
"Looking at your forehead protector reminds me of the very first Konoha shinobi I fought...Shodai Hokage, that is." Kakuzu said, more seams unraveling.
Aisa's eyebrows snapped down. The First Hokage? This man was that old? After everything Aisa had seen growing up, she didn't doubt things like that anymore. With all the different types of jutsu out there in the world, some pretty strange and unbelievable things could happen.
"How old can he be!?" Ino asked, surprise filling the others.
"You're really immortal.." Kakashi said.
"No. Being immortal means there's no possible way he can die. He's not immortal...isn't that right?" Aisa called out to Kakuzu.
"Pretty sharp, aren't you? No one is immortal. By continuing to stock up on people's hearts right before they kick the bucket, I've somehow been able to lengthen my life span. By taking out the hearts of stronger and stronger shinobi while they are still alive, that is." Kakuzu confirmed.
"Disgusting." Aisa remarked.
"So you think." Kakuzu said, before turning his eyes to Kakashi. "The total amount of hearts I have in stock is, including your heart, five. Kakashi...I'm going to replace the heart that you took out with yours!"
Kakashi was surprised when two of the masked creatures, the wind and fire, fused together. He was taken even more by surprise when they combined their attacks and attacked him. Aisa darted to the side, as she had been prepared for. Snagging Kakashi by the collar of his shirt, she jumped, dragging him behind her. Kakashi let her force carry him backwards while covering their backs with a water wall that barely stopped the attack. Aisa released Kakashi as they drifted back down towards the ground. She twisted in mid air when she felt someone charge into the edge of her spider web-like boundaries.
"Hatake-san!" she called in warning, but it was too late.
Kakuzu seized Kakashi with the threads from one arm and yanked him out of the air and slammed him down on his back.
"Your heart is mine!" Kakuzu announced.
Aisa barely landed on a tree branch, her feet lightly touching the wood. Screw that! She wasn't going to stand back and let Kakuzu rip into Kakashi's chest. In that moment, right before Kakuzu could pierce Kakashi's skin too deep and right before Aisa could jump at him, Kakuzu jerked to a halt, gripping at his chest with his free hand. Aisa anchored herself to the bark under her feet, waiting to see how this went.
"Ugh...no...impossible..." Kakuzu ground out.
"It's that exact impossibility. I used your blood. Shikamaru knew Hidan used a blood ability, so I prepared a blood holding capsule." Kakashi told him.
Kakuzu collapsed and Kakashi pulled the threads out of his shirt front. Ino and Choji hurried to Kakashi's side, but Aisa waited, knowing that this wasn't over just yet. Kakashi knew it too and he started pulling at those threads that had made it somewhat into his skin.
"Hey, don't rush! I'll heal you-"
"Not now!" Kakashi said, cutting off Ino.
As if angered by the destruction of yet another of their master's hearts, the masked creatures left, charged them. Choji used his own jutsu to grow in size, smashing the creatures into the ground. Despite the attack, one of the creatures, the lightning one, slipped past Choji and rejoined with Kakuzu, giving him a beating heart once more. As it vanished back into Kakuzu, the mask crumbled away and Kakuzu got back to his feet, the mask on the lower part of his face now moved to reveal more of the threads coming out of his mouth. He basically exploded with the threads. The other two masked creatures even rejoined with Kakuzu, too.
"It's been ages...since I went through two hearts...in one fight..." Kakuzu said, obvious angry.
With him so close, Kakuzu was able to quickly, and easily, tangle Kakashi, Ino, and Choji up in his threads, leaving them trapped and in close range for his next attack. The wind and fire masks popped up from Kakuzu's shoulders, opening their mouths to let loose their combination attack. It was too close and too fast for them to stop.
Something white suddenly dropped right in front of Kakuzu. Confused, Kakuzu looked down, coming almost face to face with Aisa's visored face. His eyes widened. He had almost completely forgotten about her! Aisa let out a sharp whistle. Kakuzu was taken off guard when, with a growl, Ihai came flying out of Aisa's pack and jumped at his face, sharp claws digging at Kakuzu's face. Blinded by the ball of fur and claws, he didn't see Aisa's well aimed kick to his chest that sent him stumbling back. Aisa twisted on the spot, reaching back to pull open her pack. Another whistle and Ihai jumped clear of Kakuzu's face just as Aisa darted forward.
In a probably well practiced move, Ihai flew over Aisa's head and right back into the pack, Aisa pulling on the tie to close it. She never missed a step and was in Kakuzu's face once more. Far closer than Kakuzu, or her teammates, were comfortable with. One of Aisa's cheek puffed out, her hands flying through hand signs at a fast pace. Kakuzu was force to retreat further back as she let loose a fireball in his face. Aisa's only goal, at this point, was to force him far enough back that he would be forced to release her teammates, but her attack was cancelled out when the fire mask created a blast of the same power level.
Aisa darted back, trying to avoid the threads that came shooting through the resulting cloud of smoke, but the threads seized her by the throat and the bisceps, shoving her back off her feet. Aisa, instantly fearing for Ihai in the bag on her back, twisted, wrenching her shoulders and causing the threads to tighten around her throat, but she was able to keep from landing on her back. She smashed into the ground on her left side and was dragged across the ground by the threads until she came to a stop just in front of Kakashi.
"Aisa!" Ino called in concern.
But there were other things to be concerned about. More threads sprouted off of the ones holding Aisa, wrapping around her body to hold her in place. With none of them able to move out of the way, Kakuzu moved in to finish them.
"Die...now..." Kakuzu growled.
"Ihai! Go!" Aisa croaked out.
The puppy had come tumbling out of her bag when she landed and was now crouched next to her, tail between his hind legs in fear, but he refused to move when she couldn't. Kakashi would give the puppy one thing...he was loyal to a fault. Ihai huddled close to Aisa as Kakuzu let his attack loose.
Aisa didn't know if it was one of those almost-die-and-get-saved-at-the-last-moment things that made people appreciate their life and friends, but she was grateful nonetheless when Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Yamato showed up at the last second to save them from the blast. It was like a horribly cliche story and it had Aisa's heart pounding out a quick beat in her chest.
"Hope we're not too late." Naruto said.
Aisa, who had been released by the threads like Kakashi, Ino, and Choji, flopped onto her back. Ihai happily wagged his tail when he saw that Aisa would be alright.
"I'd say you arrived in the nick of time." Aisa said.
Kakashi walked up to her, holding out his hand to her, asking if she needed a hand up. Aisa held her hand out, letting him take her hand and pull her to her feet.
"Are you alright?" he asked, peering at her neck.
"I'm fine." Aisa replied.
Kakashi caught hold of her chin, tilting her chin up so he could look closer at her neck. There was a thin, red line forming around her pale neck.
"There's already a mark." Kakashi told her.
"It got a little tight there for a moment, but I wasn't going to let myself squash Ihai by landing on my back." Aisa told him, softly swatting his hand away.
Kakashi left it at that. He was just relieved that Naruto and the others had showed up when they did, and that Aisa had stepped in when she had. She had probably bought Naruto and Yamato the last few seconds they needed to get there. Yamato looked over his shoulder at Kakashi then.
"This is the first time I've seen you lose your cool, sempai. This opponent must be quite strong." Yamato remarked.
"Strong and stubborn." Aisa confirmed.
"What about Shikamaru?" Naruto asked.
"He's fighting this guy's partner." Choji replied.
"Hurry and get a two-man cell to Shikamaru. One should be a medical nin." Kakashi said.
Kakashi dropped into a crouch, laying a hand on the ground and summoning one of his ninja hounds. In a puff of smoke, Pakkun appeared before him.
"I'll lead the way!" Pakkun said.
"Right! Sai and Sakura, follow Pakkun and back up Shikamaru." Yamato ordered.
The two agreed with a quick, "Yes, captain!". Aisa turned towards Pakkun and Kakashi then.
"Pakkun, is it?" she asked.
"Yeah?" Pakkun asked, looking up at her.
"Could I ask you to take Ihai, here, with you?" Aisa asked, nudging her puppy with her foot.
Pakkun didn't need to ask to know that Aisa wanted the puppy as far from Kakuzu as she could get him and she trusted Sakura and Sai enough to feel safe sending the puppy with them.
"Yeah, sure." Pakkun told her.
"Thank you. Ihai, remember Shikamaru's scent as well." Aisa ordered.
Ihai barked obediently. Kakashi glanced at Aisa, pretty sure he knew what she was thinking at that point. Naruto declared he would handle Kakuzu and Pakkun turned to Sakura and Sai.
"Let's hurry and go!" Pakkun said.
"I'm counting on you, Naruto!" Sakura told Naruto.
With that, Sakura, Sai, and Ihai, led by Pakkun, took off. Kakashi turned to look at Aisa once the four were gone.
"You can't protect him forever if he's to be a ninja hound." Kakashi told her.
"I don't plan to. This is his first mission and believe me...this was not what I had in mind. He's just a puppy. I refuse to get him killed before he's too old to walk." Aisa told him.
Kakashi looked at Aisa closely. Ihai might be a dog, but he was more than that to Aisa. She could claim she had an ice block for a heart, as she had earlier, but it was obvious that she didn't. Kakashi couldn't help but poke one little bur at her.
"An ice block, huh?" Kakashi asked.
"Oh, shut up, already."
He would take that as her pouty confirmation that, yes, she had a heart.
At least she didn't deny it.
END
Kyandi: I get way too caught up in fight scenes.
Aisa: Yes you do.
Kyandi: I can't help it! I get as drawn in with fight scenes as I do aww moments.
Aisa: You're a sap.
Kyandi: Eh...not really.
Aisa: The next chapter?
Kyandi: Right! I have one more chapter finished for all of you. Just give me a short time and I'll have it up. So, with that, everyone enjoy and review.
Aisa: We'll be back shortly.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!