The beginning at the End
"Naruto"
He called again but still the figure didn't turn around. The shorter of the genin stood across a waterfall on the immense statue of a shinobi from nearly a century past. Sasuke felt a strange sense of foreboding. He had only made peace with what had happened a short hour ago. He hadn't even begun to consider how he was actually going to complete his mission. Did I really think he would just come back with me? Now that he was honest with himself, he wasn't sure what he thought was going to happen. Moving forward had seemed to have been the easiest thing to do. Still… I can't let him leave.
"Naruto!" this time he called with more urgency. Slowly, the remainder of Team 7 turned around. Sasuke stifled a gasp. His fellow shinobi's face was a contorted mask, the eyes gone red, the whisker-like shading of the cheeks dominating his pink flesh. The front of the ridiculous orange jumpsuit he insisted on wearing was ripped in a dozen places; it looked like he had been mauled by an animal and left rabid.
"Oh, it's you," came a growled reply.
Naruto? Sasuke was at a loss. Even across the divide of the waterfall he could feel the hate and bloodlust.
Naruto spoke again before he could think of anything to say himself, "I'm leaving Konoha. I know who I am now, and I won't stay there." With what seemed to be an effort the stunted runt in torn orange jerkingly turned away and began staggering north away from the only place he had called home.
And Sasuke knew that he had failed. What did you think was going through his mind? What could anyone have said to you to change your mind after what happened? Sasuke hated himself, felt his own tears well up, his head fell. Now, we really are the same. "Naruto," he whispered into the dead air. On a whim, he lifted his head back up. It saved his life.
Sasuke Uchihia's reflexes threw him backwards as Naruto Uzumaki fell like a thunderbolt into the space he had been standing in a moment prior. His double handed knuckle drop smashed into the stone instead of the Uchiha's skull, tossing fist sized chunks of rock fifteen meters into the air. Sasuke had three meters max between him and his would-be killer. Given the distance Uzumaki had just covered in an instant, Sasuke knew it wasn't near enough. He triggered his sharingan just as the assault began anew.
The third tomoe in his irises had added hyper sensitivity to his vision, allowing the detection of every twist in orange fiber, every muscle movement in his friend's pulsing arm and animated frame; coupled with his analytical ability, Sasuke could correlate and imagine precisely what was about to happen based on the action momentarily prior to its occurrence. For all intents and purposes, Sasuke could see a split second into the future.
And he was needing every second he could get. Naruto was throwing wild haymakers, shooting multiple jabs, even lashing out with his short legs in powerful, wild kicks. The flurry was on par with the speed of jonin. Naruto had never been a taijutsu expert, but Sasuke was more than aware that this attack lacked even the finesse of a brawler. Naruto had gone feral.
The raven haired youth turned aside one blow with an open palm, slid sideways away from a savage kick and slipped under a brutal slash that was probably meant to tear one of his eyes out with fingernails. Sasuke was dancing a quick step between life and death, and the margin for error was shrinking.
How is he this fast?
Sasuke calculated he had one chance. He had to stop his friend's assault- had to reason with him for a moment.
If this is the way you want it- fine!
Sasuke saw his opening in the next wild hook Naruto made with his left. With a sudden chakra-fueled pounce Sasuke had his left arm up, pressing into the other boys elbow, locking it out and forcing the arm flat against the owner's chest. Same time, Sasuke's right fist fed Naruto his teeth. Naruto's head snapped back, his right arm going in wild, desperate to return punishment on the sudden aggressor. Sasuke was ready. From his periph he saw the right, pulled back as the fist came in, caught the wrist with his own right-fully extend, left still pressed into the elbow lock, short skip, right foot to back of left knee, lean forward-
CrasHSrak!
Sasuke landed on top of the thing masquerading as Naruto. Arms crossed across chest, both elbows were now locked under Sasuke's weight and he had felt the tendons hyperextend- Naruto wouldn't be able to push him off. Just to be safe the Uchiha had him by both wrists as well. Red eyes glared into crimson.
"Naruto, what are you doing!"
Sasuke tried to put a little of a commanding tone into his voice that he had heard Kakashi use on occasion, but he had a feeling he was just coming off as scared. He seemed to have control, but…
The Naruto-thing laughed in his face.
"Don't call me that," it growled, "I'm going to Orochimaru. And I'm going to kill him. Then I'm going to come back to the village. And kill everyone else. But first, I'm going to kill you."
Sasuke blinked. Kill Orochimaru? Kill the villagers? These seemed to simply be gross impossibilities. Then the Naruto-thing did the impossible. Sasuke had no idea how he had gotten airborne, below him the Naruto-thing was on its feet, knees bent, preparing to spring up after him.
Move!
Sasuke twisted mid air, just avoiding the creature's attack, he felt the hem of his jacket tear as knife-like fingernails just failed to touch his flesh, then it was falling like a star, arcing toward the river below. Sasuke made a three point landing on the statue once more, bending the knees and using his left hand to cushion his landing.
He threw me off with chakra!
The stunned savant watched as the thing that had once been his friend splashed into the river, hundreds of meters away.
Then the surprise went away. Uchiha Sasuke felt the beginnings of a new emotion. He wasn't sure what it was just yet. But it was telling him one thing.
Move forward.
Sasuke Uchiha shot down the statue like a man possessed, stealing momentum and forming handsigns.
I'm going to bring you back. I'm not going to lose.
Two Days Before
To dodge every blade would have been like trying to dance through raindrops. This didn't mean that the jonin didn't try to, merely that the odds weren't in their favor. It didn't help that Genma and Raido were both used up from the raid into Fall-nin territory; stumbling into a trap set by an enemy clearly expecting serious quarry would have been difficult to get out of in its own right, but in the state we're in...
Genma spat his senbon at a golden spike heading straight for his face, corkscrewed his body, twisted forward, raised his left arm to avoid another part of the razor storm, and thirteen blades struck his body. Somewhere through the blinding pain, the proctor saw the incoming punch. The fist was covered in grey chitin and seemed to be flying out of a nightmare. SWIp!cRaK! With a twist Genma managed to let the blow glanced off the side of his skull instead of crushing his nose. Genma's eyesight disappeared again for a moment and he found himself scrambling away on his fingertips and toes, anticipating the next blow to be the finisher.
Did they know we were coming! Genma's vision returned and he was able to see the monster which the fist belonged to. What on earth-! Gone was the pale teenager, in its place a beast with a horn and two heads. Cat's eyes brimmed with madness and a mouth(s) full of fangs emptied laughter into the air. It was speaking, gloating, enjoying the situation. Genma wasn't paying attention. He pretended he was, and he couldn't hide the pain from his face, but he was too professional too waste the opportunity his opponent was giving him.
Instead , Genma felt. Of the thirteen blades only one was lodged in a vital position, nearly passing through a gap in the ribs, making it difficult to breath. My skull might be fractured also, the way I'm seeing double. Genma knew he'd have to end this quickly. Somewhere to his right he heard the crunch of blade against armor and knew that Raidowas fighting for his life against the six armed freak. This guy still hasn't shut up, I might be able to get him in a rush-
"-that's why your tra-" Sakon's prey sprung at him, catching him by surprise. The twin(s) only managed a brief step back as the blur slammed into him with a kunai. My heart! His sternum would have buckled under the impact, the point would have hit the muscle, and even more blood would flowed out over his attacker's hands- if he wasn't the twin(s).
"YOU!" came the angry response of Ukon who had generated his hand in the center of their chest, taking the blade through his palm instead of their heart(s).
Genma tried to pull away, get out of range of any counterattack, but found himself unable. A clawed hand held onto his wrist, refusing to let him disengage from the handle of his weapon. There are two of them!
Genma didn't see the other clawed fist which smashed like a hammer into his previously bruised temple; he had lost all feeling in his legs as they buckled, motor control brained away. He felt the monster cast him aside, his nerveless fingers slipping off his kunai's handle, leaving it to rest with the monster(s) flesh. He landed on his side and the momentum of the throw rolled him painfully over unto his stomach, driving the blades in deeper. The one between his ribs shot forward a painful inch, and Genma felt his left lung collapse. So close...
Sakon and Ukon looked away from their beaten victim, turning their attention to the battle between the Leaf and his fellow Sound. The jonin had lost his black katana, blood was running into his eyes, and his right leg wasn't working correctly, pin-cushioned by Kidomaru's custom kunai. Unlike his partner, he had chosen to weather the blade storm by protecting his primary organs, sacrificing his limbs instead.
The spider monster had moved to a tree branch, a golden trail of secreted armor marked his path, discarded once he had gotten clear of his opponent's katana. Kidomaru was toying with his prey now, taunting him by explaining he wanted to play a game. Fool, just end him already! Sakon had a poor sense of hypocrisy. Idly he pulled the kunai casually from his brother's pierced hand, allowing them to begin the regeneration process.
Kidomaru was aiming a vicious curved arrow along his secreted bow, aiming down on the nearly immobilized target. Sakon felt his annoyance begin to shift to minor appreciation. This would at the very least be a little entertaining. He could feel his (their) blood start to flow the injured appendage, felt the wound start to close. He was going to owe Ukon when this was over and his brother would never let him forget it. He never did. Kidomaru drew his bead, arrow drawn back. The Konoha nin looked tense, truly worried. That leg isn't going to give you much room to maneuver is it? I wonder how you're going to try to avoid this?
The archer held his pose. And continued to hold it. I enjoy the anticipation in these games too, but- "What are you waiting for? Kill him already!" Sakon was starting to get tired of holding his curse seal in place. Unless he was killing something there was little reason to continue to waste the chakra flood he had forced to the surface.
"Sakon, I can't move… GeurrK!" The chirping had appeared a moment before the assassin- a nin with grey hair who had punched straight through Kidomaru's chest from behind, his hand glowing with power, catching hold of the ballista round, severing it in two.
"Kakashi," breathed the injured Leaf, and suddenly Sakon had a feeling he was in a good deal more trouble than he initially anticipated. Shikamaru released the shadow jutsu a moment after the lightening blade punched through the six armed monster with three eyes. He would have hated to have engaged in a fair fight with these things; given the state of the two jonin they had found being massacred, he could only imagine what they might have done to him and his teammates had they been sent instead. Thank God we have Kakashi with us.
Moving back into the foliage, keeping his head down, the chunin began to work his way quietly headfirst down the tree, remaining in the shadows that served his family so well. One down, one to go. This might be easier than I though-
The blades were in Shikamaru's left shoulder, arcing into his flesh, metal tip striking bone. Sharp pain forced the ninja's hands out involuntarily and he hit the forest floor unglamorously. "Ghah!" the chunin pushed himself back on his hind quarters.
Oh man! There's a third one somewhere? We may have blown it- Shikamaru threw a hand up in a vain attempt to shield himself from the oncoming kunai that were headed his way.
C!langclanclinkclack!
Blade struck blade, and an opposing spread of kunai scattered the enemy projectiles, sparing Shikamaru's form.
"So this is the Uchiha we've heard so much about. Let's hope he can do more than just this,"
The beast in front of them looked identical to the one that had just watched them kill his partner, but Shikamaru's mind could barely register that at the moment. His brain was backpedaling like mad, trying to analyze the situation and come up with a new exit strategy, all while trying to pry the kunai from his back shoulder. All the cards seemed to be on the table. Sasuke had sprung from his overwatch position, whipping shuriken and daggers with pinpoint accuracy to protect his teammate. They were aware of his shadow jutsu, and Kakashi was definitely already in play. They had nothing else going for them.
Kakashi…
"Don't move Copy-nin, or all give this one his last scar."
The monster had moved- split into two monsters and moved- one heading into the woods, the other taking Namiashi hostage. One monstrous claw held the wounded jonin under the chin, the other a dagger which he pressed cruelly into his throat.
The split had caught the jonin by surprise while he had been disentangling himself from the corpse of Kidomaru. The body fell like a ragged lump of flesh and thudded on the forest floor, arms splayed about like some cast down idol. Kakashi had of course made use of the moment when he pulled his hand free of the freshly slain foe, and only a select few would have noted the handsign he had formed behind the corpse.
"Let him go," spoke the second Kakashi from behind the hostage taker, blade pressed into the Sakon's throat.
Sakon's eyes widened in surprise. Then realization set in and he snickered at the cruelty of the turnabout. "Shadow clone, what a pathetic cop out." The doppelganger pressed the blade forward half a millimeter and the monster's breath caught.
"I said let him-" the Kakashi-clone stopped in mid-sentence, is that music?
Then the forest exploded.
