Leaping back, Kotori grunted as she hit a tree and leapt to the side, avoiding another hit from Miyori. She hissed in pain. This fight had gone on long enough, however she had managed to hurt Miyori just as much as she had hurt Kotori this time. Kotori glanced round, hearing footsteps. Multiple steps, actually. Was Miyori getting reinforcements? Or was someone else appearing to help her?
Kotori got to her feet, coming into view of Miyori. The woman smirked, her dark eyes looking straight into Kotori's. She wiped blood from her lip and Kotori raised her chin judgingly.
"You called in help?" Miyori cussed, "What a coward. Who've you called?"
"No one." Kotori snapped, "I didn't even know they were nearby! This fight was meant to be between us!"
"I'm sure it was." Miyori taunted, "Did you want to find out more about Kotaro? Was that it?"
Kotori tensed and glared, narrowing her eyes. She heard them coming closer, and the running feet behind her caught her off guard. Kotori snapped her head round, seeing Naruto race past her, rasengan twisting in his palm.
"Get away from Kotori-sensei!" he snarled, and Miyori's eyes widened. She then smirked and thrust the kusarigama out, letting the chain whirl behind Naruto and move to run round him, however Sakura grabbed the chain and yanked it forward before it could wrap around him. Miyori grunted as she was jolted forward, however Sakura's strength was suddenly matched. Miyori yanked back, leaping backwards and up as Naruto tried to hit her. Kotori grabbed Sakura's wrist, the young girl's fingers gripping around her wrist. The girl's stood together, stopping Sakura from flying into the air.
"Naruto, back off!" Sakura demanded. Naruto suddenly skidded to a halt and looked at Sakura. She glared, and Naruto leapt to the side, joined by Chiyo and Kakashi. Kotori looked round at them, then snapped her head back round.
"Kotori-sensei, let me go! I-" Sakura was caught off guard as the chains in their hands turned to water, disappearing. Kotori's eyes widened and she relaxed her body, looking down at her wet palms. Sakura looked round, Naruto narrowing his eyes.
"What happened? Where'd she go?" he snarled, "Why did she leave?"
"She probably saw Kakashi and myself." Chiyo explained. Kotori looked over at her, straightening up, "It would be a tactical disaster to go against all of us."
"But Miyori could." Kotori countered. Chiyo glanced at her.
"Miyori? From the Mist village?" she questioned. Kotori nodded, and Chiyo looked down at her feet. She shrugged slightly and then looked at the others, "Then she may have been ordered to leave."
"She works for Akatsuki now." Kotori explained, looking at Kakashi. He nodded and walked over, looking her up and down and she crossed her arms defiantly, "What?"
"Nothing. You just look a little beat up." Kakashi answered, looking away. Kotori rolled her eyes and walked on, pointing through the trees.
"The entrance is this way, but we get separated a little-"
"No." Kakashi took her by the arm before she could move any further. Kotori looked round, glaring a little and Naruto looked at him.
"What? What's wrong, Kakashi-sensei?" he questioned, catching his breath. Kotori looked at Naruto. He was sweating slightly and trying to catch his breath. He looked tired. Kakashi looked up at the reddening sky then looked back at them.
"We're taking a short break."
"That's a wise decision." Chiyo agreed. Naruto glared and clenched his fists, stepping forward dangerously. Kotori watched him, feeling Kakashi let go of her arm and she crossed hers, planting herself down on the ground.
"What do you mean?" he ran up to him, wanting to make his opinion clear, "Come on! You were the one that said not to waste any more time, if we just lay around doing nothing, Gaara's gonna be-"
"Naruto!" Kakashi interrupted, "Our pace has slowed since we fought that bogus Itachi."
"What?" Kotori perked up. Sakura sat down beside Kotori, rolling her sore neck.
"He's right, Naruto." she added.
"If we take a break now and replenish our energy, we will ultimately reach our destination faster." Kakashi explained, trying to get some sense into Naruto's head. Kotori frowned, feeling bad for the poor boy, but it was the right decision. Kotori looked up, frowning.
"Naruto." she stated. He suddenly looked at her, "You will most likely be facing the guys that kidnapped Gaara tomorrow. You don't want to be low on energy when that happens."
"… Right." Naruto looked down at his feet. He then sat down and Kakashi looked up.
"I'll go get some firewood then." he stated, heading away from the clearing to the forest. Kotori got to her feet to help, walking after him and looked at him when she caught up with Kakashi. He looked at her.
"Are you okay? You've got blood on you." he asked. She looked down at herself, studying the blood splattered on her top and she put on a smile.
"I'm fine. You should see the other guy." she commented, picking up a few sticks. Kakashi smiled a little behind his mask and looks back round.
"I'm glad you arrived." he spoke, "I can keep an eye on you better, so that you don't run off again."
"You're not gonna let that go." Kotori rolled her eyes, but smirked in amusement. He looked over at her, and she hesitated but shrugged, "I asked to come. Lady Tsunade wasn't sure but, I know I need to do my best to gain people's trust again."
"You'll always have my trust." Kakashi stated quickly. Kotori smirked a bit and nodded, but he continued, "When you were gone, your dad visited me a lot, actually. I think he thought I had given up on you… He would tell me stories about how trustworthy you were, and that he knew you'd return. I did believe him."
"Yeah, he said that to me." Kotori thought about Arashi momentarily, and Kakashi nodded. They walked back towards the camp together. She paused, then quickly looked at Kakashi, "About the returning thing! We never talked about you. No offence."
"None taken." Kakashi spoke with amusement. Kotori huffed a little, seeing Naruto and Sakura already setting out blankets. Kotori hesitated, remembering she hadn't taken anything with her. She was too hasty. Kakashi glanced at her as he set down the sticks and Kotori kneeled down, lighting them quickly.
"So, Kotori." Chiyo spoke. She looked up, eyeing the old woman. Chiyo smirked, "Your great grandmother, Sayuri. What do you know of her?"
"She was a great medic nin." she answered, sitting down by the now lit fire. Sakura shifted, feeling the warmth and opened her eyes a little. She stayed still however, not feeling the need to sit up.
"Is that all?" Chiyo snorted, "So she never told you how she became blind?"
"… No." Kotori eyed Chiyo, frowning, "I thought she just went blind with age."
"Ahahaha!" Chiyo chuckled, smiling and looking at Kotori, "The Kuromura naivety shines through, dear."
"If you're going to sit here and bad mouth my family," Kotori began, looking away. She glared at the grass by her side, not wanting to hear another word, "This conversation is over."
Kakashi glanced at Chiyo from his position on the branch. The old woman watched Kotori before smirking and nodding, keeping silent as she slowly looked back at the fire, her mind wandering to something else almost immediately. Kotori wrapped her arms around his knees, which came to her chest, watching the fire. She vaguely wondered how Kishi and her team were doing, but she let the thought escape her mind. The area became silent, bar the crackling fire.
"Alright. We've had enough rest." Kakashi leapt from the tree to land beside Chiyo. Chiyo and Kotori nodded, getting to their feet as Kakashi woke Sakura and Naruto. The blonde, however, seemed more intent on sleeping and he rolled over. Kotori rolled her eyes, fixing her hair so the ponytail was tight and high again.
"I thought you wanted to save Gaara." Kakashi challenged, knowing it was the only thing to truly wake the boy up. As soon as it was mentioned, Naruto was sitting up and ready to get going, determination riddling his face.
The group moved on, Naruto taking the lead. Kotori eyed the young boy as they followed after him, then glanced at Chiyo. The old woman kept a stern expression. Turning her head, she looked up at the sky through the branches. The sun had risen.
"We're getting close." Kotori stated. Kakashi nodded, glancing round.
"They're confident they delayed us long enough." Kakashi mumbled. Chiyo agreed, and Kotori glanced around, only now noticing what they had spotted. There were no more enemies or delays. She couldn't find any hint that even Miyori was around. Her heart tightened.
"That means…" Sakura began, however was unable to finish her sentence. Kotori looked ahead, seeing Naruto tense. He seemed so different suddenly, as if he had become more feral. Kotori frowned as he sped up ahead with surprising strength.
Of course. They're both jinchuriki, they have a connection. Kotori thought, eyeing the fast moving shinobi. She knew what it was like to feel connected to someone, only to lose them. She felt sorry for Naruto. She remembered all those times she was cruel to him - ignoring him, yelling at him. She was afraid of the monster inside of him, so afraid that she didn't give the boy a chance. Kotori frowned, letting out a low sigh. Did he remember what she said to him? Does he even like her?
"Naruto not so fast! Wait up!" Sakura called, bringing Kotori back to reality. Kotori looked up, watching him run on. Kotori frowned, leaping on and easily caught up with him. Sakura's eyes widened a little, "Wow, her speed!"
"Naruto, slow down!" Kotori demanded. Naruto snapped his head to look at her, seeing his glare. There was anger and pain in his eyes. Kotori hesitated, thinking her words over, "You need all the energy you can get! Slow down!"
"I can't!" Naruto snapped, looking ahead and ducking from a branch, "I need to save Gaara! We're the same! But you know that…"
"Naruto." Kotori frowned, "I'm sorry for what I said about you all those years ago. I'm sorry about what I said to you. You've… You've grown, and I can see that. But you must have matured too. Don't leave your team behind-"
"I'm not. You can catch up." Naruto interrupted, "I want to get to Gaara."
"You might even be too late!" Kotori insisted, "Just slow down a little!"
"I'm not too late!" Naruto yelled, racing forward and almost disappearing into the distance. Kotori glared and sighed, slowing so she was with the group again. She only came half way into the conversation, and so stayed silent.
"He's only felt the same pain Naruto's felt." Kakashi explained, "Naruto's dream is to become Hokage. So the news of Gaara, hit him pretty hard."
He still wants to be Hokage? Kotori smiled inwardly, amused. He kept his determination and confidence after all these years. Chiyo began to explain her past. She looked round at her, however looked back ahead, frowning.
The sound of rushing water rang in their ears. They leapt off the last branch of the last tree and over the edge of the cliff, leaping down onto the water's surface. Kotori looked up, hand on her hip to see Team Guy, and she smiled at the sight of them.
"Late as usual, Kakashi." Guy taunted, however smiled at Kotori. She nodded to them, however Naruto was through with greetings and wanted to get to the other side.
"Well?" he snapped. They walked towards Team Guy, but Kotori was more interested in the tag on the boulder. That looked like a troublesome barricade, however with this amount of people and skilful shinobi, she wasn't worried.
"Let's do this, Kakashi." Guy said confidently, and Kakashi nodded. Neji activated his Byakugan and inspected what was inside. Narrowing his eyes slightly, struggling, Neji enhanced it.
"It's difficult to tell. There are a few people in there." he stated. Naruto grabbed him by the shoulders, carelessly shaking him. He wasn't up for vague information.
"What about Gaara? Is he one of the people you see?"
"Back off!" Neji demanded, and Kotori took Naruto by the shoulders and brought him back. Naruto shoved her back, grabbing Neji by the arm.
"Neji!" Naruto demanded, "Come on Neji, tell me what's going on! Neji! What did you see?"
"Don't touch me." Neji demanded. Naruto hesitated and did as he was told. Guy smirked, flexing his arm and rolling his shoulder before leaping back.
"Get back." Kotori stated, and they stepped away to give Guy room. He then zoomed over the water, thrusting his fist out and slamming it into the rock. However, a barrier blocked his hit and caused vibrations through the area instead.
"Huh." Kotori crossed her arms, "So… We figure out what the barrier is and we get inside."
"What kind of barrier is it though?" Sakura asked. Kakashi mused before looking at Chiyo. They discussed the type of barrier and then Neji scouted them out with his Byakugan, saving the group time. Kotori smirked as he found each one.
"Each one of them is pretty far apart. How will we signal each other?" Sakura questioned, however Guy was already taking off his backpack.
"I have these! Wireless radios." he revealed, and Kotori grinned.
"Good thinking." Kakashi agreed, and Guy nodded, handing them to his team. Kotori cracked her knuckles, looking round at the tag on the boulder, but was distracted as Lee began to yell into his radio.
"TESTING, TESTING!" he called, causing Kotori to let out a bark of laughter and cover her mouth, giggling away at the other's misfortune. Kakashi groaned, rubbing the back of his neck and gave Kotori a look, causing her to quickly look away altogether. Guy then began to 'hmm' powerfully, waiting for his team to put their hands into the middle. Tenten and Neji stared, causing Kotori to snicker some more.
"Neji, just do it!" Sakura hissed, not wanting to hear any more deranged humming. Neji sighed and put his hand in, and Kotori watched Guy prep them up for their mission before yelling 'scatter' and running off. Naruto brightened up, clenching his fists in front of him and turning to the team.
"That was so awesome! Hey, we should do that!" he thrust his hand out.
"I would rather die." Sakura glared.
"Me too." Kakashi agreed.
"Not a chance." Chiyo disagreed.
"I will!" Kotori agreed, putting her hand over Naruto's. Naruto looked up at her, eyes widening a little before grinning and nodding.
"Alright! Let's go! Team Kakashi!" Naruto called. Kotori and Naruto thrust their hands into the air in celebration, letting out a loud 'woo!'
Kakashi moved above the tag, looking down. Sakura made her way to the other side of the river as Chiyo, Naruto and Kotori moved to either side of the boulder. Kotori stretched out her arms, fingers linked, and smirked at the crack of her fingers.
They prepared themselves, and Kakashi ripped off the tag.
"Now, Sakura!" Kakashi called. Sakura nodded, charging for the boulder and smashed her fist into it as Kakashi leapt off, landing beside Kotori and Naruto. Kakashi paused, waiting for all the rocks to fall before signalling and they crossed over each other, skidding inside the cave.
But…
Kotori's eyes widened and she stared at the scene in front of her. Naruto glared, clenching his fists and Kakashi narrowed his eyes.
"We're too late…" she heard him mumble. Kotori eyed the two Akatsuki members in front of them, one having the nerve to sit atop Gaara's dead body. She could feel the anger emitting from Naruto as he realised what was happening, and she quickly watched him as his appearance became feral again. His blue eyes melted into red and he stepped forward.
"Gaara! Get up!" he hollered, "Come on, answer me! Get up-"
"Enough, Naruto!" Kakashi snapped, interrupting Naruto's hopeful calls, "You know full well that…"
Kotori hesitated. She looked round at Deidara and Sasori as the blonde suddenly spoke.
"He's been dead for a while now. Your friend's right." he smirked. As he spoke Naruto became more enraged, his hair flaring as his chakra multiplied. Kotori winced, knowing what was coming.
"Give him back! Give him back, you damn-" Naruto couldn't even finish his sentence. He raced forward and Kakashi moved immediately, appearing in front of him to stop him in his tracks.
"Cool it." he demanded, and Naruto winced but snarled and eyed the blonde Akatsuki. Suddenly, they began to speak and Kotori tensed, clenching her fists and preparing herself to follow or fight. They continued to speak, and she… She could hear them talk about art.
"Hey!" Kotori suddenly snapped, narrowing her eyes.
"You lousy, rotten…" Naruto hissed, "Enough is enough!"
He removed a scroll and summoned a large shuriken, throwing it at the enemy. Sasori quickly blocked it with his tail, but was concentrating on his conversation with Deidara still. Kotori glared, watching Deidara finally get to his feet. He made a hand signal and there was a puff of smoke, and Kotori squinted.
"What is that?" she glared, seeing the bird pick Gaara up with its beak. That wasn't made of any natural thing - or maybe it was. Was that clay? Kotori had heard only indefinite information on the Akatsuki members, including this one. Apparently he did use explosive clay after all. As he leapt onto his creation, Kotori tensed.
"See you around, my man!" he called as the bird swiftly glided out of the cave. Naruto glared and ran after him immediately.
"Naruto, no!" Kotori called. She looked at Kakashi, who nodded, and she ran after him.
"Just where the hell do you think you're going?" Naruto demanded, watching Deidara. Kotori skidded in front of him.
"I could ask you the same thing!" she snapped, however Naruto turned and raced along the rocks and then along the logs above the water. Kotori snarled and raced after him, easily keeping up with him. Kakashi wasn't too far behind.
Kotori glared, watching Deidara as they skidded to a halt. She glanced round, feeling eyes on her and spotted a shadow slithering along the rock side. Her eyes widened as it disappeared through a crack, but she quickly looked back at Deidara.
"Give him back!" Naruto snarled, right in her ear. Kotori looked at Kakashi, seeing him reveal his Sharingan. Looking back ahead, Kotori eyed Deidara and removed kunai from her holster. Glancing at her, Naruto frowned.
"What are you doing?" he demanded, however looked back up at Deidara as he began to speak. Naruto snarled and narrowed his blood red eyes, hatred boiling up inside of him. Kotori rolled her eyes as he spoke about art, glaring.
"Is that all you ever talk about? Art?" she snapped, "What you do is destroy things! That's not art!"
"I create the best kind of art there is, hm!" Deidara snapped, personally insulted. Kotori grit her teeth and watched as Deidara glared, "How confident are you in the young girl and the old lady? You really think they're good enough to handle my man, Sasori, huh?"
They glared, however Naruto stepped forward.
"Kakashi-sensei, Kotori-sensei. Go ahead and help Sakura. Don't worry about it, I'll save Gaara!" Naruto leapt away and at Deidara. Kotori and Kakashi's eyes widened in shock, glaring at his speed. Letting out a loud 'aah!', Naruto smashed straight into the cliff side as Deidara dodged. Kotori glared, leaping forward to check if Naruto was alright, however Deidara threw something unfamiliar in his hand. It exploded to become a large bird, zooming for the pair at an alarming rate. At the sight of the attack, Kakashi jumped into the air and threw shuriken at it before it could get too close. Deidara glared, allowing it to explode.
"Naruto!" Kotori called, standing on the wall beside the hole Naruto created. He bust through the rocks, eyes on Deidara.
"Let go of him!" he ordered, "I'll never let you have him!"
"Naruto!" Kotori repeated, and he snapped his head to look at her. She glared, but quickly smirked, "We won't let him take Gaara! Understand?"
"… Right." Naruto nodded, turning his head to look back at Deidara. Deidara hesitated and glared, but quickly smirked.
"No one has ever tried to save the previous jinchuriki. Not a friend or neighbour… You're the first I've found to care." he stated, "I saw them as more sullen loners. You feel connected to this pathetic creature, don't you? That's why you're trailing after him."
Kotori grabbed Naruto's shoulder, attempting to still him. She knew Deidara was merely trying to anger Naruto and encourage him to attack. Naruto, however, was too blind with rage to contemplate that.
"He died when we extracted the first tail from him." Deidara continued, "Very soon now, the same thing will happen… To you!"
Naruto seethed, clenching the rock beneath his hands. Kotori glared at him. She tightened his grip on his shoulder, however she knew it would do no good.
"If Gaara's dead, you're gonna pay!" Naruto warned, "I swear!"
Kakashi and Naruto leapt to the water below, eyeing Deidara. Kotori watched as Deidara began to fly off, and Naruto raced along the water to keep up with him. Kotori grit her teeth and looked at Kakashi.
"Naruto, wait!" he called, "Damn it… Kotori, I-"
Kakashi stopped mid sentence, eyeing Kotori. Her shadow was larger than it should have been at that angle, and was moving too much to be her own shadow. He eyed it carefully, seeing it slowly disappear and become only her own. What was that?
"Kakashi? What!" Kotori snapped. Kakashi shook his head, eyeing her. Was this really Kotori?
"We need to keep up with Naruto." he demanded. He wasn't about to take any chances and leave a potential enemy with Sakura and Chiyo. The pair raced on, Naruto leaping above Kakashi and Kotori. Kotori watched Naruto, and then glanced at Kakashi.
"What were you going to say to me?"
"What?" Kakashi asked, glancing at her. Kotori frowned, looking at Deidara again.
"You changed your mind on what you were going to tell me. What was it?"
"Oh." Kakashi paused, but glared, "Nothing."
Kotori hesitated but nodded, looking back ahead. Her eyes caught something shining and she glared, clinging to the kunai still in her hand before throwing it up into the sky, allowing it to catch the shuriken that was aiming for Kakashi and Kotori. It exploded - clearly a tag attached - and Kakashi winced. Had she been on Deidara's side, she would have allowed that weapon to hit. He hadn't even noticed it.
"Miyori, you're just in time." Deidara mused, "You can make up for your awful fighting earlier on."
"Shut up Deidara." Miyori glared, standing by the cliff side and crossed her arms, however her neck was bandaged, "I ran into trouble the last time."
"Like what, hm?" Deidara questioned, eyeing her. Miyori huffed and looked back down at Kotori, their eyes meeting, "But that's fine. You can help me get these two away from the jinchuriki."
"My pleasure."
"Kotori!" Kakashi demanded. She nodded and leapt up, racing along the wall of the cliff and flipped at Miyori, however she blocked and skidded back, throwing kunai past her and at Kakashi. The black haired woman smirked.
"Looks like we meet again."
"Not for long." Kotori demanded, watching Kakashi and Naruto disappear after Deidara. Kotori looked back at Miyori, wincing as she kicked at Kotori. She blocked and knocked her back, flipping to the cliff edge and Miyori grinned, moving to punch her. Smirking, Kotori flipped in the air and smacked Miyori in the back as she jumped over her, attaching a tag to Miyori. Miyori fell forward into the air and snarled as she felt the tag burn before exploding, shooting her into the river. Kotori glared and ran on, keeping above the river as she went to catch up with Kakashi and Naruto. She could see them in the distance, however the water behind her bubbled and she turned, eyes widening as waves formed, Miyori appearing within the water. Of course, a stupid Mist shinobi would have to go to the extremes! Kotori looked forward, wincing as the waves smashed through the logs lodged above the water surface.
"Kakashi!" Kotori called. Kakashi glanced round, admittedly surprised by the sight, and turned his head to leap up to Naruto's level, however Deidara let loose a gang of clay birds, flying at them. Kotori flipped as the waves crashed into the side she was on, and then her eyes widen when she saw a gang of the birds heading her way. She jumped out over the water, throwing kunai at them as they exploded over the river. Leaping forward, Kotori avoided another crashing wave.
"Kakashi, keep going!" Kotori demanded, skidding to a halt. She began to make hand seals and glared as Miyori approached with her jutsu, smirking within the water. But suddenly the ground rumbled, and beneath the water rose a large wall, more than a metre thick. Kotori winced and took in a deep breath and winced when she heard the waves smash into the barricade. She watched as some rocks fell into the water, but for the most part Miyori was stopped. Glaring, she felt sweat run down her cheek and she turned, catching up with Naruto and Kakashi in time to see Naruto getting thrown off course by an explosion.
"Naruto!" Kakashi called, throwing shuriken at the oncoming clay attacks, and she landed beside him.
"Kotori, watch out!" Kakashi demanded, pointing out another coming for them. They both separated in time to dodge the explosion, Kotori wincing as she felt pieces of wood scathe her arms, and they leapt from the smoke to see Naruto's relieved face. He then turned and raced after Deidara, causing Kakashi to curse. Miyori was blocking the way back. Neither he nor Kotori could go against her and then make it to Sakura and Chiyo or Guy's team.
"Kotori, I need you to keep Miyori away from us." he spoke, "Stay close to us, but if you could continue making those barricades, it would help."
"I can try." Kotori agreed, however her pace was slowing and she felt weary. She hadn't had a chance to sleep for twenty-four hours. She frowned and clenched her fists, trying to keep her spirits up, however Kakashi could see her sagging shoulders. He looked back ahead.
"I need to get enough time to gather chakra for my next move." Kakashi said lowly. Kotori eyed him and he smirked, "While you were gone, I've been working on my Sharingan."
"I see." Kotori breathed and nodded, looking back ahead. She made more hand seals, and another barricade - thinner than the last - shot up from above the water. Deidara made a face, watching them before eyeing Kakashi.
"So she's blocked off Miyori. I need another way of separating them." he threw something at the logs. Kotori eyed them carefully and flipped over the logs, Kakashi beneath, however they exploded as they sensed them coming and Kotori's eyes widened.
"Kotori-sensei! Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto called, skidding to a halt. He watched in fear, waiting to see what had become of his team mates.
