Yo! Greeatings and sulatations. Thanks goes to my reviewers. This chapter is pretty confusing if you are bad at visualizing things. Never fear though, I will explain all the jutsu later on. So please read and review. And enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 7: Rescue
Kanashimi froze. She breathed as deeply as she could before slowly turning around. A man in a black cloak with red clouds stood half-immersed in the bushes. Kanashimi barely registered the clothes. All she was focused on was his kunai pressing against her sister's throat.
She raised her gaze and found herself looking into crimson eyes. Three tomoe orbited black pupils. "Itachi, nice of you to drop by," Kanashimi said, but she was focused back on her sister. "Well unfortunately Akatsuki thought you might have doubts. I'm here to make sure you get the job done," Itachi explained.
"Ah, I presume your genjutsu is why you have been chosen." Itachi nodded from behind Kanashimi's sister. "We need to know you will do whatever we ask, no matter how distasteful you find it. You know what will happen if you do nothing." Kanashimi swallowed.
"No need to get all doomsday-prophetic about it," she remarked. "If I refuse, you say you'll kill my sister. On the other hand, if you do you would lose a big asset since I'd never work for you again."
"Your time away from the Akatsuki has brought some defiance. There's always a cure for that," Itachi warned. Kanashimi's head suddenly started to throb. "You wouldn't kill her unless push really came to shove," she gasped through her pain.
"I know I wouldn't, but, I would injure her enough to need urgent medical attention. That would make you act." Kanashimi started towards him. She stopped after a step, her face ashen. She collapsed, squirming on the ground. "Sorry. You're not coming any nearer. You kill Kakashi or she dies," Itachi told the writhing assassin. "Since I won't be able to heal the fatal wound I'm about to give her."
Kanashimi screamed, clutching her head. Through her clouding vision, she saw her sibling watching. She pushed past the agony long enough to open her mouth. "No, Haruka," she whispered, her crystal blue eyes locked on their sister's. Another wave of pain hit and Kanashimi scrunched closed her eyes.
She grounded her teeth. Her muscles refused to move, involuntarily shutting down from the assault on her brain. "You care about a complete stranger as much as you care about your sister. How sad," Itachi murmured. He drew back his kunai. With a glance at Kanashimi, he moved the weapon over Haruka's stomach.
His muscles tightened as he thrust the kunai to the flesh. Kanashimi flinched away at the movement and waited to hear her sister scream. "Well, it seems someone has Stockholm syndrome," Itachi's voice drawled. Kanashimi turned back to him. Kakashi was standing next to the Uchiha.
His hand grasped the deadly kunai, a few millimetres from Haruka's skin. A thin line of blood flowed down his hand, the only clue as to how tightly he was holding the weapon. Her eyes widened. Kakashi had saved her. "There's always a way out," Kakashi said. Kanashimi nodded.
"Concentrate," Itachi warned. He let go of the kunai and swung his other fist towards Kakashi. The sensei ducked and grabbed Haruka, somersaulting her over his back. Kanashimi's headache eased as Itachi stared at Kakashi. She staggered to her feet. "Haruka, are you okay?" she asked.
Her sister nodded. "Stay back," the assassin ordered. She stepped towards the other two ninja. Itachi sprang back and made the tiger seal. "Fire style Fireball Jutsu." He belched out a huge flame. Both Kanashimi and Kakashi made hand signs. "Earth style Earth Prism."
The ground shuddered and rose up, swallowing Kakashi. "Water style Liquid Suit." A spring of water erupted from the ground, dousing Kanashimi's body and forming a protective shell around it. The fireball engulfed the pair. Kanashimi felt its intense heat pass over her.
The warmth intensified and she realized her water was evaporating. She renewed the armour. The spring was being sucked dry. She gathered the remaining water in her hands. "Water style Human Extinguisher." Bending her knees slightly, Kanashimi focused on the hottest point, the place nearest to Itachi.
She raised her arms and shot water into the sky. It fell back to the ground, creating a small opening in the fire. Itachi stood, still breathing fire, revealed by the gap. Kanashimi sprang upwards. The opening closed but she knew. She could target him. She aimed in mid-air. "Take this!" she cried, flinging streams of liquid.
The fireball shrank. It gave a last dying hiss before disappearing completely. Kanashimi landed back on the ground. Kakashi's earth prism collapsed as he burst out. "Is everything okay?" he inquired, combing his fingers through his hair. "Yeah. You better be ready to help though.
I'm running a bit low on chakra," Kanashimi replied. He nodded, "Sure." He suddenly stared at Itachi. "Get down!" he yelled, grabbing Kanashimi by the waist and pulling her to the ground. A spear of water shot over their heads. "I really am beginning to hate that jutsu," Kanashimi fumed.
The spear turned for another swipe at them. "Earth style Shield of Dirt." A mound of earth formed before them. Kakashi compacted it into a tight wall. The spear of water slammed into the shield. Kanashimi watched as the earth grew dark with moisture. "We need to go on the offense. We can't avoid his jutsu forever," she advised. Kakashi nodded. "I have a move. However the jutsu cannot be aimed," Kanashimi said.
"We don't exactly have many options right now. If it will work..." Kakashi trailed off.
"Okay. Then get yourself and my sister below ground." Kanashimi hopped out from behind the shield. She drew out kunai from her bag at her hip. The weapons were tied to a ring with steel string. At the corner of her vision, Kakashi's hand reared up from the ground and pulled Haruka down.
Kanashimi tied a steel cable around her waist. She knotted the cable around the ring connecting the kunai. Itachi watched, mildly interested. "Here we go! Spinning Storm!" Kanashimi shouted. She held the ring above her head. She spun around, faster and faster. Kunai shot out from her in all directions.
Itachi dodged them easily. Kanashimi finally stopped twirling. Kunai were embedded in rocks and trees around her. Steel string ran back to her, linking the assassin and her weapons. "Phase two, the thunder release." Kanashimi gathered chakra in her hands. She concentrated.
Slowly the chakra became spikier and the air became charged with electricity. She spun again, this time in the opposite direction. Lightning streamed along the metal string, striking erratically out from the cable. The earth rose around Itachi, making the familiar prism.
He was safe from the lightning. Kanashimi skidded to a halt, panting slightly. "Phase three, water release." She pulled water from the ground. It circled up her leg and into her palms. She aimed and shot it straight at the earth prism. Silently, she watched as the earth became darker and wetter. Kanashimi sent a final spurt of water at the prism.
Inside the prism, Itachi had a bit of a problem. The water was soaking through the roof of the earth capsule. It was slowly dripping through. The ground was already sodden with the earlier rain. The water had nowhere to go down. The only available space was up.
Itachi swept his hair out of his eyes. The water was already soaking through his shoes. He had to go out and trust his reflexes to protect him from any attacks. He took out a kunai and released the prism jutsu.
Kanashimi peered intently at the earthen chamber, trying to determine the moment of Itachi's breakout. She saw a tiny crack appear. It snaked its way along the prism, spreading into a mega split in the shelter. The assassin rapidly gathered more water and chakra in her hands.
Again she spun, as fast as humanly possible. She listened intently for any sign of Itachi. A sharp crack echoed through the clearing as he burst out of the prism. Kanashimi released her water and chakra. Bullets of electrified liquid sprayed the clearing.
Itachi fell to the ground, shuddering from the electricity burning his skin. He managed to crawl under a low-lying bush. It sheltered him from the water missiles. The turning Kanashimi slowed to a stop. She dropped to her knees. Her chakra was low. Every breath seemed to contain too little oxygen.
She had forgotten how much that jutsu took. Clutching the dirt, she pushed herself back up. Itachi was also struggling up. Suddenly a hand shot from the earth, grabbing Itachi's ankles. He was pulled into the ground, until only his head showed. Kakashi emerged from the dirt next to him.
He pulled himself out and brushed off some of the clods of soil lingering on his clothes. "Earth style, Head Hunter Jutsu." Despite Itachi's capture, something was tugging at Kanashimi's gut. Why hadn't he used genjutsu? Obviously it wouldn't work on Kakashi, but what about her? As if on cue, her head began to pound. The last of her strength drained from her muscles and she crumpled. "Kana-chan!" a familiar voice yelled. Haruka scrambled out of the ground and ran to her sister.
"I'm fine. I just need a bit of rest," Kanashimi mumbled. She noticed Kakashi was watching her. "Can I help you?" she asked. Kakashi shook his head.
"Just thinking." He stuffed his hands into his pocket and walked over to his head band, picking it up and putting it on. A small poof came from behind him. The ninjas stared. Smoke was dissipating from where Itachi had been. "It was a shadow clone all along," Kakashi murmured.
"Does that mean the battle isn't over?" Haruka asked, her voice quivering slightly.
"If it wasn't over, he wouldn't have waited for us to find out about his clone. My guess is he is tucked away safely somewhere far away," Kakashi answered. He frowned. "We need to focus on the matter at hand. You are both fugitives. It is my duty as a shinobi of the village hidden in the leaves to take you into custody. Will you go quietly, or must we fight again?" he challenged. Kanashimi sighed.
"I had hoped you wouldn't remind me. I would have preferred to walk into the village seemingly of my own will."
"You planned to go there?" Kakashi questioned.
"Actually not until a minute ago," Kanashimi smiled.
"Why?" Kanashimi turned to the sensei.
"I suppose you're not really used to the Akatsuki's way of thinking," she mused. "Otherwise, you would have got it."
"Got what?"
"That battle was too easy. I've sparred with Itachi before and I know how strong he is. He let me get Haruka back and he wants me to know it. On top of that, I was to assassinate you, a shinobi of Konohagakure. Right now, you leaf shinobi are trying to track Orochimaru. Am I right?" Kakashi nodded. "Orochimaru, an ex-member of the Akatsuki. Akatsuki always has a plan B. This time, plan B is to track down Orochimaru and, most probably, kill him."
"So you are still in league with the Akatsuki?"
"Actually, I think they are offering me a way out. I get my sister and in return, I get to track a known criminal. That's hardly a crime." Kanashimi massaged her temples. "So are you going to tie us up, or can we be free?" Kakashi thought for a moment before making a hand sign.
"Shadow clone jutsu." Another Kakashi poofed into existence. "You can walk freely, but my clone will be keeping an eye on your sister," he decided.
"Great." The assassin paused to sniff. "Hey, have you got any food?"
So? How is it? By the way, a side-effect of the wolf transformation is an increased appetite. That explains a lot. So again, REVIEW! Please...
