Naruto: Kakusei Heroism – The Hero Without A Name
A/N: Sorry, been sitting on this for a while, but now that I totally overslept today and am more sleeping for several hours, I am posting this up.
Please read and provide reviews. This is one of my more action heavy scenes in the story and I'm always looking for feedback towards how they can be improved.
Kakusei Heroism – The Hero Without A Name
Chapter 9: The Final Confrontation
"It's a shame I didn't realize how smart you were before now. You may have been an excellent member of Root," Danzō said, reaching down to pull out his own gun from his desk. "Now, let's get this done with - cleaning up the murder and suicide of two of Konoha's police force members will be quite a job for me to step into."
As he raised the gun, Sakura tensed and waited for moment when he would pull the trigger. Next to her Tsunade swore loudly in surprise and Sakura was turning towards her when a familiar figure in black suddenly appeared between them and Danzō. There was a flash of silver and with a startled swear Danzō dropped his gun, his hand bleeding from the kunai Crow had thrown. Even as Sakura started to react, two figures fell past her and she looked down to find the guards dead on the ground. Spinning around, she stared in shock at the second Crow standing the doorway with a bloody blade in his hand.
"You!" Danzō yelled in anger behind her and Sakura watched as the Crow in the doorway grabbed Tsunade and pulled her out of the office.
"Tsunade-sama!" she cried only to gasp as there was an explosion behind her, sending out a wave of smoke. Coughing, she felt an arm wrap around her waist and urge her forward through the smoke and away from the still cursing Danzō.
"Keep moving," the Crow next to her spoke and she felt only a split second of relief when she recognized his voice before concern for Tsunade resurfaced.
"Tsunade-sama – !"
"She's safe," Crow told her, turning them down a hallway. Sakura blanched when she saw the hallway littered with the body of Root members, though her thoughts were quickly pulled away from them as Crow passed her a gun. "Danzō will have an alarm going soon. We need to get clear of the compound before the rest of Root shows up."
"How many are there?"
"Fifty within the compound, at least," Crow told her and Sakura glanced at the gun that held only twelve shots. Before she could ask if he had a plan to get them out when they were so drastically outnumbered, there was a loud sound from outside as the building shook. "The explosions will only last for another five minutes, but should keep most of them busy trying to control the fires."
Nodding but not wasting time by asking more questions, Sakura followed him through the twisting hallways. They could hear movement all around them and yelling as more explosions went off, triggering the fire alarms, but only crossed paths with a handful that Crow quickly dispatched before they could alert others.
Entering a narrow stairwell, Sakura glanced up nervously at the stairs above them for signs of pursuers before following Crow down. At the doorway they paused and Sakura slowly opened the door to peer out only to slam it shut a second later as the people in the hallway opened fire on them.
"Damn it, the whole hallway is packed," she panted, wincing as the thick metal door took a beating. Thankfully the building was old and sturdy, so even the massive firepower couldn't reach them, though that could quickly change. "Any ideas what to do?"
Glancing up, Sakura watched as Crow pulled the pin on a grenade before pulling open the doorway and throwing it into the hall. As panicked yells came from the other side, Crow grabbed her arm and pulled her back up the stairs where they braced in the far corner just as the grenade went off. Swearing as the building shook all around them Sakura closed her eyes to protect them against the loose dust the explosion stirred.
In the hollow silence of the explosion, Sakura looked up at Crow only to widen her eyes as the door on the second story was thrown open above them. Bringing up her gun, she aimed over Crow's shoulder and fired at the three Root members entering the stairwell. Each took two bullets before collapsing, one sliding partway down the steps before stopping at an awkward angle.
Once she finished firing, Crow shifted as Sakura dropped her gun back to her side. Without speaking, she followed him back down the stairwell. Cautiously, they looked around the blown open doorway to take in the damage they had caused. Twenty feet from them the story above had partially collapsed and they could see the bodies of those caught in the explosion pinned under the debris. Those that had survived were badly injured or unconscious and before the dust settled, Crow and Sakura slipped into the hallway and went one of the exposed rooms that had a busted window.
In short order they were finally outside and Sakura found that they were no more than thirty feet from the nearest gate. Feeling Crow grab her hand Sakura let him lead her around the building, paying close attention the sounds inside to make sure they weren't ambushed again now that she was down half her bullets. Squinting as she suddenly found herself in shade, she glanced around to see he had pulled them into some kind of shed tucked inconspicuously against the main building.
"Is this the gardening shed?" she asked incredulously, noticing the rakes and other gardening equipment lining the walls. Shaking her head at the irony, Sakura turned to Crow to find him holding something out to her. "That is…?"
"The last of the evidence to finally bring Danzō down," Crow told her as Sakura took the compact camera from him with a frown. They had both known last night that the last, crucial, piece of their case against Danzō was proof of Root's physical existence. Shikamaru's information would only get them so far compared to pictures of the Root compound and their unsanctioned use of military weapons.
"Did you use me as bait, to draw him out?" Sakura asked softly, fisting her hand around the camera. Crow's unexpected appearance at the compound could not be a lucky coincidence, especially when she took in the appearance of his kagemusha and the forethought to capture the evidence they needed.
"It wouldn't be hard for you and Shisui to do, would it, Itachi?" she asked harshly when Crow remained silent, snapping her gaze up to glare at him. Reaching up, she saw Crow tense but he didn't stop her as she grabbed the porcelain mask and tore it away to meet the slate gray eyes of Uchiha Itachi. "Shisui would point IA in my direction and you would simply wait for Danzō to get his hand on the information and come after me. Then you could finally find Root, bring Danzō down, and get your revenge!"
Swearing at her own foolishness, Sakura tossed the mask back at Itachi who caught it but never took his gaze from her. His face was just as unreadable as the porcelain mask he hid behind and she sighed, closing her eyes. The night before suddenly seemed nothing more than a sick joke and she felt nauseous at the thought.
"Danzō's actions today were not predicted," Itachi finally spoke after several seconds of silence. Sakura cautiously glanced over to see him frowning, staring at the door rather than at her before slate eyes met hers. "I was not aware of what had happened at the station until Shisui contacted me and told me Danzō had come and taken you here. As it was, we barely made it in time."
Frowning as she thought over what he told her, she couldn't stop her heart from leaping in her chest when he spoke again.
"You said last night you trusted me."
She had, but so much had happened in the last twelve hours she wondered if it was still true. As if sensing her indecision, Itachi returned to the door to see what was happening outside as Sakura watched.
"I will take care of the guards at the gate. You need to return to headquarters as quickly as possible; you will find Tsunade-san there," he told her.
"What will you do?" she asked. Surely he didn't intend to stay here and keep fighting Danzō and Root!
"This is not the full force of Danzō's army. If he plans on resisting Tsunade-san, he will be mobilizing the rest of his forces that are in Konoha and those guarding the borders. The police and Special Forces will need to focus all their resources on controlling them, so I will take care of those left here," he explained, not looking at her.
One man against roughly 20-35 men was ridiculous, not matter how skilled Itachi was, Sakura knew. He was basically signing his death warrant by remaining.
"Come with me," she said softly, tightening her hand around the camera in her hand. She didn't know if she could bring herself to just leave him behind, even if she was still unsure of his actions.
"I can't. They will simply come after us if we both escape and it would be unlikely we would make it to the police before they caught up to us," Itachi told her and turned away from the door to meet her gaze again. "You know those pictures have to make it back, so I will keep them busy and provide you time you need."
"Yes, but…" Sakura started only to blink the tears that suddenly flooded her eyes. She couldn't bear the thought he would die by taking this suicide mission. Blinking when warm fingers wiped away the tears before they could fall, Sakura looked up to see Itachi smiling bitterly.
"I'm not someone worth crying over, Sakura," he told her softly as he traced the line of her jaw before dropping his hand. Before he could move away, Sakura wrapped her free hand in his shirt and pulled him down to kiss him, trying to put all her emotions and unspoken thoughts behind the action. When she finally pulled back, her eyes were clear and she took a deep breath before green met slate.
"Try to stay alive," she ordered and Itachi paused before finally nodding. Replacing his Crow mask, they exited and made their way to the gate. In short order the two men guarding the gate were relieved of their position and Sakura slipped through the gate with one last look at Crow before the metal doors shut and locked her out.
Knowing she didn't have any time to waste she started to move away from the compound, pulling out her cell phone when she a few blocks away. Thankful it hadn't been taken from her, she quickly dialed the number that went straight to Tsunade's office while hiding in the shadows of two buildings.
"It's Sakura. I need someone to come get me, quickly."
sSs
Ending A/N: And ya'll will hate me…this is the final main chapter of the story. I have the epilogue under progress (to be finished shortly), but this is it. The point of the story isn't the police vs Root, which is all that is left, so this is it.
Again, please review! And thank you for all that have in the past. I will see you at the finish.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Though awesome plot twist with "Tobi"; I applaud Kishimoto for some creative thinking there.
