This chapter is a bit shorter than the last one, but it's actually longer then my usual chapters. So there.
I got it out as quickly as I could. Sorry! ^^' I also apologize to the people that are reading my other stories as well; I'll have those chapters out soon, too! I have a feeling that this is the next story I'll finish, but I'm not sure. SOH is coming in a close second; as soon as I get off my ass and write all the boring crap for it, I can finally move along to the good stuff. :D
Please read and review!
One day.
'Tobi' stared blankly out of a window in the small branch base, mind whirling in double-time. He was alone in the room, thankfully, so he didn't have to keep up his clueless-idiot façade. Deidara was up in the air somewhere on one of his clay birds, hidden in the clouds as he watched for messenger birds traveling to or from Konoha. Zetsu was underground, currently infiltrating the village to get a lock on the Kyubi Jinchuriki and make sure the boy hadn't disappeared anywhere. Sasori was off in one of the rooms, making adjustments to his prized puppets as he prepared for battle.
All that was left was one day.
Tomorrow morning at dawn, the entire Akatsuki would swarm Konohagakure no Sato and rip it up from its roots. Uzumaki Naruto was the last-remaining Jinchuriki that they had yet to remove a tailed-demon from. They had been hunting him for seven years, and he had managed to escape them every time they caught up. Infuriated by this, Pein declared that Konoha would be destroyed for protecting the boy, and then they would steal him and take the Kyubi Kitsune.
He only had to wait until dawn the next day. He knew today would be a very long day, because he had nothing to do. Uchiha Madara was not a patient man by any means; he wanted to go in and kick some ass right now, but he knew Pein had formed a plan and he would screw it up by attacking too early. Damn that man.
To pass the time lazily, Madara imagined how he would kill the Godaime Hokage. The thought brought a smirk to his face. He would enjoy seeing the life fade from her eyes as he crushed her throat in his hand, and a thrill would shoot down his spine when he watched her limp body fall heavily to the ground.
It was worth the wait, he decided. He would soon have his revenge on the Hashirama family and all of Konoha.
o o o O O O o o o
When Sakura awoke that morning and came down to the main room that the task force worked in, she received a rather strange surprise. Aizawa, Matsuda, and Soichiro all sat around the dozens of computer screens, watching the other three members of the team — Ryuzaki, Light, and Misa — via multiple cameras. She blinked when she recognized what room the trio was in: Misa's make-shift bedroom in the building.
"What's going on?" she asked, crossing her arms and joining them at the large desk. She leaned against the back of Matsuda's chair and looked up at the screens in interest.
"Misa-Misa wanted a date with Light," the youngest of the three men explained with a smile. "And since Ryuzaki is hand-cuffed to Light and he wants to monitor them twenty-four/seven, he's with them."
Sakura laughed and shook her head incredulously. "I didn't peg Ryuzaki as the dating type of guy," she remarked in amusement. She couldn't really remember when she had begun addressing him as 'Ryuzaki' rather than 'Ryuzaki-san'.
"Me neither," Matsudo agreed jokingly.
The smile on Sakura's face slowly began to slide off as she took notice of the situation. Misa and Light were standing, the female covering her mouth in shock and the male glaring down at Ryuzaki, who looked to have been knocked to the floor. The super-genius was rubbing at his cheek absently, listening to what Light had to say. A moment later, said reddish-brown-haired man snatched him up by the collar of his white long-sleeved shirt.
"The police, the FBI agents, TV announcers; how many innocent people do you think have been victimized?!" he yelled angrily. "You're the one who put Misa and me in confinement!!"
Sakura's eyebrows shot up. "What's this all about?" she asked.
"Ryuzaki's apparently kind of depressed," Matsuda replied, his enthusiasm dimming a bit. "Something about Kira's power jumping around and it'll be harder to catch him. He said we shouldn't even bother to keep trying to get him if Kira's power can be transferred, because then it could move as soon as we catch each new one; and when he said that he thought he was going to die so many times, Light punched him in the face."
"I understand that," Ryuzaki murmured quietly, his hair casting a shadow over his eyes. "But whatever the reason…"
Ryuzaki was suddenly kicking Light in the face in nearly a perfect copy of something Rock Lee would do.
"Once is once!" he finished, almost in a yell.
Light crashed to the floor, Ryuzaki flying after him clumsily. Kicking him probably hadn't been the best idea, seeing as they were handcuffed together. The man's words echoed in Misa's head as she stared at the two in shock.
Once is once…?
"It's not just that my reasoning was wrong…," the black-haired man grunted, raising from the floor into a crouch. "It's the fact that the case can't be solved as 'Yagami Light is Kira and Amane Misa is the Second Kira'. So I'm a little disappointed. I'm human — that's not allowed?"
Light slowly pushed himself to one knee. "No, it's not," he said. "The way you talk, it's like you won't be satisfied unless I'm Kira."
"Not satisfied unless you're Kira…?" the other man echoed. "Yes, that may be true…" He met Light's gaze evenly. "I have just realized something… I wanted you to be Kira…"
Sakura stared at the screen silently, committing Ryuzaki's expression to memory. Her features were unreadable as she watched the fight continue, starting off with the world-renowned detective getting punched in the face again. This time, however, he wasn't knocked back; his frame just trembled and tensed, Light's fist pressing into his forehead.
"Once in once," he repeated. "I'll have you know that I'm quite strong."
A moment later, he was down in Lee's position again, kicking Light in the chin. The man's head snapped back and he yelled out as he was thrown back.
They were just like Naruto and Sasuke.
"I'll call the room and make them stop…" Matsuda reached out for what Sakura had been told was called a "phone".
"Matsuda…," Soichiro muttered, his forehead in his palm. "Let them be…"
Aizawa remained silent, regarding the screens with a 'I can't believe these two are geniuses' look. A moment later, a song began playing out of nowhere. Sakura stiffened up, eyes darting around the room. She watched intently as Matsuda looked down at his pocket in surprise, pulling out a small silver rectangle-thing — a "cellular phone", she'd learned. "Oh," he said.
"Hey Matsuda, you have your cell phone turned on?" Aizawa asked, looking over at the younger man. "If Ryuzaki finds out…"
"Oh no, this is my cell phone as Misa-Misa's manager," he replied, flipping it open. "Ryuzaki told me to always leave it on." He answered it and listened for a moment. "Yes, this is Matsui." That was his manager alias. "Yes… Yes…" he suddenly brightened. "Really?!" He hung up without saying 'goodbye' and grabbed the room's phone. "Better tell Misa-Misa!" The other three members shot him questioning looks.
In the camera-infested room, Ryuzaki and Light had each other by their collars and were both pulling back their fists to punch one another in the face when the phone rang. They both paused and stared at it for a moment, neither moving. Finally, Ryuzaki separated himself from the other man and answered the phone.
"Yes?" he asked.
"We did it, Ryuzaki!" Matsuda said cheerfully.
"What happened?"
"Misa-Misa was number one in the Eighteen Magazine reader poll!" he explained, a grin splayed across his face. "Her disappearing for two months created tons of buzz and actually increased her popularity!"
He spoke blankly. "Yes… I see…"
"Come on, show a little more excitement… This means she'll be starring in Director Nishinaka's next movie!"
"…"
He abruptly hung up.
"What was it?" Light asked curiously.
"Nothing, just Matsuda being an idiot again."
"Well, Matsuda is a little slow."
Sakura burst out laughing while Soichiro and Aizawa watched Matsuda's expression. The dark-haired young man was still holding the phone up half-way.
"Those two know we can hear them, right…?"
.
.
.
"Don't be a baby," Sakura said, grabbing at Ryuzaki's chin as he turned his face away. "If I don't heal the bruise while it's still forming, it'll get bigger and feel a whole lot worse in a few hours."
He ducked under her hand, spinning around in his swivel computer chair to avoid her attempts at medical ninjutsu.
"It's only a bruise," he replied simply. "It's not as if I will suddenly develop a brain tumor from it; it won't kill me. Save your chakra for more pressing matters."
Sakura rolled her eyes and grabbed the back of his chair, twirling him back around. She held his gaze sternly, hands resting on her hips.
"Don't make me knock you out," she warned. "And don't think I won't. I've dealt with stubborn shinobi that won't come to the hospital for years; you wouldn't believe how incredibly chicken-shit some of our most powerful ninja are when it comes to getting a physical or a tetanus shot."
Ryuzaki opened his mouth to argue that he wasn't a ninja, therefore none of that counted toward him, but Sakura cut him off with a reprimanding glare.
"Lighten up, you chicken," she muttered. "I'm just healing a bruise on your face, not mending a shattered bone. You won't even feel it."
"If the healing is so easy, then the injury in not important," he countered easily, blinking his wide dark eyes for the first time in a while.
He attempted to spin his chair around again, but Sakura slammed her hands down on the arm rests, effectively locking him in place. She lowered her head to meet him at eye-level, eyes narrowed.
"Don't argue with me," she ground out. "My patience is wearing thin; either grow a pair and let me heal your stupid bruise, or I'll sit on you and do it. Your choice."
Ryuzaki stared blankly at the girl before him, not speaking. Aizawa, Soichiro, Matsuda, Light, and Misa watched the scene with growing disbelief. Her crude language never ceased to amaze them; she had just insulted his manhood with that last statement. Sakura was determined to take care of that bruise even if it meant inflicting a few of her own — and then healing those as well, of course.
The detective opened his mouth to reply, then closed it, thinking better of his words. He tried a second time, then closed it again. The third time was the charm.
"You are extremely stubborn," he noted, holding her gaze. "You get your way often, I suppose."
"Yes, in fact, I am and I do," she agreed, keeping a firm grip on his arm rests. She wasn't going to let him distract her with conversation. "Now sit still."
She reached out with one hand and he ducked down again, managing to slip out under her arm. With an indignant scowl, Sakura grabbed him by his left arm and yanked him back, nearly tackling him in the process. She shoved him down on the floor and sat heavily on his chest, pinning him with her weight; even though he easily had fifty pounds on her, she had a lot more muscle on her side. Ryuzaki attempted to worm his way out, but Sakura trapped his arms beneath her knees and grabbed his chin again. She had to force herself not to 'accidentally' slap him when she pressed her palm against the large bruise on his cheek.
Pale green light enveloped her hand and cast an ethereal glow on their faces as her healing chakra came to life. Ryuzaki felt warmth surging around his cheek, not enough to be uncomfortable by any means, but enough to surprise him. He went still, ceasing in his struggles, and waited out the healing process. The slightly purple tent faded from his cheek as the blood that had pooled beneath his skin began regulating normally again, and with it the healing chakra slowed. He was almost sad to feel the sensation stop; it had been heavenly and like nothing he'd ever experienced. Sakura smiled down at him triumphantly, releasing his face and crossing her arms over her chest.
"There," she said, a tad bit of pride coloring her tone. "That wasn't so bad, now, was it?"
Ryuzaki just stared up at her in his usual way — the kind of way that creeped Misa out. She sighed and shifted off him, pushing herself to her feet before holding out her hand to him. When he looked at it blankly, she rolled her eyes again.
"Come on," she muttered, bending over and grabbing his hand off the floor. She pulled him up easily, making sure he didn't lose his balance. When she went to turn toward Light and inspect his own bruises (he had two instead of one), she found his hand glued to hers. She raised an eyebrow. "Ryuzaki…can I have my hand back, now?"
"No."
It was her turn to stare blankly at him, something akin to '…eh?' displaying on her face. He gripped her hand with no intention of letting it go, bringing it up to his face and inspecting it. He flipped it over and studied her palm, going back and forth between it and the back of her hand a couple dozen times. Ryuzaki didn't blink once. The task force wasn't sure what to think any longer.
"The healing doesn't seem to affect your hands," he noted, eyes locked on his specimen. "I didn't expect it to damage your hands my any means; it is healing chakra, after all. However, I did expect at least something to happen."
Sakura stared at him for a long moment before speaking.
"It does nothing to me," she explained. "Unless I pack my hand full of healing chakra to the point of getting a chakra burn, it won't hurt me."
"Very interesting…"
He flipped her hand over to her palm again.
"Your hand is covered in calluses," he stated simply, meeting her gaze. "You said that healing chakra doesn't affect you."
"It doesn't," she agreed with a small sigh. "That's from hand-to-hand combat and handling steel weapons."
He gave a faint nod and returned to his investigation. "What kinds of ninjutsu do you use?"
Sakura frowned slightly. "Ah, well, you see…" He looked up at her, catching her discomfort at the topic. "First off, there's medical ninjutsu," she began slowly. "I use that, obviously. Then there's the basic jutsu: like cloning, transportation, substitution — so on and so forth. I use that, too; every half-decent ninja can. And lastly, there's elemental-style ninjutsu." Sakura avoided his eyes smoothly, instead taking up a sudden interest with her hand that he held. "Each shinobi has a chakra-style that allows them to specialize in an element; most shinobi my rank specialize in two or even three. I'm a bit, ah…different." She paused for a moment, seemingly unwilling to share the rest of the story. All eyes were on her, though, so she couldn't stop now. "My chakra-style is wind," she finally said, "so I specialize in wind elemental-style ninjutsu. But I, um…can't…do…elemental-style ninjutsu…"
Ryuzaki watched her face with an unreadable expression. "You can't?"
"…no."
He blinked. "I see."
"Yep," she agreed lamely. "I've got the chakra, the chakra control, and knowledge of hand signs to execute for elemental-style ninjutsu, but…I don't know. It just never comes when I try to use it." She gave a little glare at their hands, unconsciously curling her fingers more tightly. "My birth-born specialty is genjutsu. I always had the highest grades in it — I did even better than Sasuke." Ryuzaki felt the slightest tensing of her hand when she said the boy's name. "But I've got a problem with it, too: I can detect and dispel any genjutsu effortlessly, but I can't…produce any of my own."
"Genjutsu," Ryuzaki repeated, thinking back to when she told them about the different types of jutsu. "You said that was mental art — creating illusions to fool your opponent's mind."
Sakura gave a short nod. "I can get rid of an opponent's genjutsu; no sweat. But I can't cast genjutsu. It just like what happens with the elemental-style ninjutsu: it won't come. That's one of the main reasons my own abilities couldn't make me an ANBU or Hunter-nin. So, naturally, I rely the most on taijutsu."
"Hand-to-hand combat."
"Exactly."
Ryuzaki held her gaze for a long moment before studying her hand again. The next second, however, it disappeared. He stared blankly at his empty hands and then looked up. Sakura was at least twenty feet away, eyeing Light sternly.
"Are you going to cooperate, or do I need to sit on you, too?" she demanded.
The man sighed and took a seat. "Cooperate."
o o o O O O o o o
After picking up Sasuke's scent the previous night, the patrol had decided to set up camp and rest until dawn. They were now traveling through the thick Fire Country forests at speeds only a shinobi could attain, having been doing so for nearly five hours. Suspicions were beginning to creep into Kiba's mind as he led the team along the Uchiha's trail, and he wondered if Shikamaru shared his thoughts. He took a chance and voiced them.
"Hey, guys," Kiba spoke up, breaking the silence. The others looked at him but kept moving. "I've been thinking…this trail is a couple weeks old, going by how much the other forest scents cover it up. But still, it's too strong; now that I really think about it, there's no way it's that old."
Shikamaru's eyebrows furrowed. "Are you sure?" he inquired, not waiting for a reply. "How old do you think it is?"
Kiba's nose twitched as he tasted the air again. "To be honest, well…it's like someone is laying this trail right now and throwing leaves and stuff everywhere to half-way mask it."
Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "A set-up?" he guessed. "Maybe Sasuke figured out we're following him and sent one of his teammates to lay a false trail."
Kiba frowned. "Yeah, maybe," he agreed uncertainly. "But how the hell did he find out we're tracking him? Hokage-sama just sent us out yesterday."
"He has connections," Neji said grimly.
"Do you think that's it, Shikamaru?" Kakashi asked. "A ruse to throw us off the real trail?"
The boy was silent for a long moment.
"No," he finally answered. "I think it's a—"
Shikamaru was unable to finish his deduction as a huge figure suddenly burst from the tress, slamming into Kiba with unimaginable force. The Inuzuka was knocked off his branch, he and his assailant rocketing toward the ground. Realizing the potential danger of engaging in combat so high up in the trees with enemies such as that giant, Kakashi immediately ordered them all to ground themselves. They leapt off their branches and quickly descended the trees, Neji's Byakugan exploding to life in his eyes as his feet landed solidly on the forest floor.
Kiba managed to throw off his attacker, his breath coming in short gasps. A new cut bled lazily from his cheek just above his Inuzuka Clan fang-like marks. Akamaru took a threatening step forward and growled lowly in his throat, but he knew not to jump recklessly into battle.
A silver-haired man, a red-haired woman, and one Uchiha Sasuke all appeared before them, the large orange-haired man blocking their escape route.
Shikamaru's mouth set in a grim line.
"Ambush."
o o o O O O o o o
Seven Hours Later
Tsunade hadn't so much as looked at a bottle of sake since the departure of Kakashi's team. The situation was much too serious for her to be getting drunk. He mind was more clear than it had been in a long time. She sat t the large desk in her office, waiting patiently for any knocks that came at her door. She had finished every single piece of paperwork on her desk for the first time since she had become Hokage; she couldn't have a cluttered working space or the presence of important long-overdue-to-be-signed documents clouding her mind at a time like this.
All the ANBU in the village had been assigned a region of Konoha to guard for when the Akatsuki arrived. She had no idea when they would come, but she knew it would be soon. The blond-haired woman had authorized the use of deadly force against the S-ranked shinobi, and she had instructed her subordinates to show them no mercy; they wouldn't be receiving any in return, after all.
The ANBU placements were as follows:
Squads 1, 2, and 7 were stationed at the front gate, which was to the east. 13, 14, and 17 had the southern-most village boarder. 8, 10, and 12 took the western-most village boarder; 4, 19, and 21 were placed at the northern-most village boarder. 3 — the squad Sakura served on as Medical Specialist, 5, and 6 were to guard Naruto with their lives twenty-four/seven. All other ANBU squads had to protect the village in whatever way they saw fit and could serve best.
Naruto was, understandably, furious to know that he couldn't participate in the upcoming battle even though he was Konoha's most powerful ninja. He was, after all, the last-remaining Jinchuriki and the Akatsuki would stop at nothing to get him. So far, he hadn't attempted to ditch his guards or escape from the village in order to draw the Akatsuki's attention on himself; Tsunade had no doubt in her mind that he would eventually try to do so if given enough time. She could only hope that he wouldn't manage to break free, only to have those damned cloak-wearing assassins snatch him up and rip out the Kyubi Kitsune. That wouldn't end well for anyone, and she would have to bust in and kick some asses if they laid a hand on him. She knew if he was captured and Sakura found out, she'd be all over the Akatsuki like a raging homicidal psychopath.
Tsunade's lips twitched ever-so-slightly. Thinking about Sakura made her heart clench painfully. She chewed absently on her bottom lip and turned her chair around to stare out her large office windows.
She had to believe. She had to trust in Kakashi and the others to complete their mission. They had four days at most; Tsunade couldn't believe that the Akatsuki would wait any longer than that to attack. She just had to hold onto faith and pray to Kami-sama that she would have Sakura back before the impending war broke out. If her precious daughter was still gone afterward, there was no way the Council would let her send out another search party for a certain Uchiha.
Which meant she would never see Sakura again if she didn't get her back before the Akatsuki attacked.
Alright, so right now in the Death Note manga, there's supposed to be a ten-day timeskip. I'm not putting that in here, though, so the next chapter is going to pick up one hour after this chapter leaves off. Just pre-warning you all.
