A/N: Itachi has a big role in this chapter. You might be surprised. Oh and I noticed recently that I made Neji have a silver car and made a connection to Twilight. That was unintentional. Personally, Twilight is a ridiculous concept, and I will make fun of it every time I can. Therefore, Neji doesn't own a silver Volvo. It's a silver Honda. You happy? ENJOY!
Chapter 10: Rivals
"Guys, we're meeting up with the girls, and we're going to the park!" Naruto declared.
"Yeah? How are we going to do that, eh?" Shikamaru asked, emphasising the 'eh'.
Naruto shrugged. "I don't know, but we should."
Neji came down the stairs.
"Hey Neji," Naruto began.
Neji looked at him. "What?"
"You're best buds with Tennie, right?"
"WHAT?"
"Can you call her and ask if we can meet up with them?" Naruto asked.
Neji rolled his eyes and walked into the kitchen.
"What was that?" Itachi asked, straightening his shirt as he walked into the room. "You know Tenten's phone number? You stud!"
A plastic cup nailed Itachi in the forehead. "OW!" Itachi cried.
"No, I don't know Tenten's phone number, and if you call me that again, you'll get more than a plastic cup in the face." Neji growled.
"Chill! I was kidding!" Itachi laughed.
"You're jokes are hopeless, nii-san. Sorry to tell you." Sasuke muttered.
"Well, damn you!" Itachi cried.
A ring tone suddenly tore through the air.
"Oh my god, who's got that song set for their ring tone?" Naruto cried.
Neji opened his phone. "Hinata-sama, how many times have I told you to change your ring tone?"
The group laughed.
S-Sorry, Neji-san... Hinata replied.
"It's fine. What do you need?"
Um...well we were wondering if you guys wanted to meet up with us somewhere.
"I'm not the one to ask, actually." Neji caught Naruto's eye. "Catch." Neji tossed his phone at Naruto. Naruto caught it.
"Hello?" He said cheerfully.
"Nice ring tone Neji." Itachi snickered.
Neji's fuse blew. "It's not mine, okay, it's Hinata's!" He cried.
Itachi laughed.
"Yeah!" Naruto cried happily. "If we knew Neji had your phone number, we would have conned him into calling you anyway."
Neji rolled his eyes.
Tenten watched as the silver car pulled into her driveway.
"Yo!" Naruto cried jumping out of the car.
"Yo," Temari laughed.
"Where first?" Naruto asked.
"Jeeze let everyone get out of the car first!" Sasuke cried, stepping out of the car. Neji shut the door to his car, and pocketed the keys.
"Let's just go to the park, okay?" Sakura suggested.
"Let's." Shikamaru agreed dully.
The group began to walk. They got quite a few stares as they strolled down the street. They were unmistakably The Fifth Element, and they were unmistakably taken.
"I love the stares." Itachi laughed. "They're looking at us sideways."
Neji snorted.
The group continued to walk towards the park. It was now in their sights. Tenten noticed a group of four people already at the park. One of them had bright orange hair.
Itachi stopped dead in his tracks. "Guys, we're going somewhere else." Itachi turned around and walked away from the park as fast as he could without running.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.
"Don't worry about it." Itachi said stiffly. The group followed Itachi from the park.
The orange-haired person watched the large group leave. Up in front, was unmistakably Itachi Uchiha.
"We've found him guys," The carrot-top said with a smile.
Carrot-tops grey-haired companion laughed. "Itachi...You'll have your divine punishment yet."
The other two, one redheaded the other a blonde laughed in response.
The group ended up at another park.
"Itachi, what's going on?" Sasuke asked him. "I've never seen you like this."
Itachi shook his head. He was biting his fingernails now.
The group looked uneasily around each other.
"Don't worry about it." Itachi said simply. "It's all good."
Nobody believed him.
That night, Itachi lay in his bed. He couldn't sleep at all.
Why are THEY back here? What do they want?
Itachi slid out of his bed. The clock read 5:00 in the morning. The sun was just beginning to rise. Itachi quickly changed out of his pyjamas. He quietly opened his door and walked down the stairs. He pulled his shoes on, grabbed a jacket, and walked out the door.
Itachi walked down the streets, his face hard, and his eyes blazing. He barely encountered anyone, but if he had, they would have gotten out of his way. He arrived at the park where he had seen the orange-haired person. He sat down on the bench, his stomach flipping every time the wind blew. It was dead quiet.
Itachi glanced nervously from side to side. He heard the jangling of a pendant on a metal chain, and he leapt up off the bench and whipped around.
"Good to see you again, Ichi-kun." A grey haired man said.
"I wish I could say the same for you, Hidan." Itachi growled.
Laughter came from his right. Itachi turned his head to see the redhead. "Aw, look at him. Do you see some regret in his eyes?"
"I have no regrets, Sasori!" Itachi spat.
The man called Sasori laughed again.
More laughter from his left. "Ah, if only Pain could see how helpless you look right now!" The blonde laughed.
A twig snapped behind Itachi. "I can see clearly, Deidara." Itachi looked at Pain. The orange haired man with about ten pounds of piercings in his face smirked at him. "Poor Itachi."
"What do you want with me?" Itachi asked Pain.
Pain smiled. "Don't you just love how once you surround someone, they begin to beg for their lives?"
"I'm not begging for my life, Pain!" Itachi spat. "What the hell do you want? Why the hell did you come back here?"
Pain laughed. "We're participating in KM Studio's Rising Star contest." He said simply. "That's why we're here. And as for what we want with you,"
A hand grabbed Itachi's hair and held tight.
"ARGH!" Itachi cried attempting to fight Hidan's grip. Hidan grabbed both of Itachi's wrists and held them tightly enough to cause pain. Itachi continued to fight. Hidan brought his knee into Itachi's gut. Itachi grunted and went limp.
Pain grabbed Itachi's jaw and forced him to look at him. "Now who's helpless?" he asked with a smirk. "Did you ever think this would happen? Did you ever think we'd come after you some day, and punish you for abandoning our little group?"
"I didn't think you would. I knew you would." Itachi growled. "And I didn't care. You were nothing without me anyway! A band without its vocalist is like being in a canoe without a paddle!"
Pain smiled. "Indeed. But it's the same way with everything else too. It's just harder to find a new vocalist than it is to find a drummer, or a guitarist." Pain smirked. "And still, you left us."
"Why do you think? You spent most of your time attacking other bands that were a threat to you! Do you really think I was going to put up with that?" Itachi glared at Pain.
"Ah, Itachi." Pain sighed. "You don't realize the predicament you're in."
"Do your worst, bastard!" Itachi spat in Pain's face. Pain recoiled as it ran down his face. He rubbed it with his sleeve.
"You've just signed your death warrant." Pain growled. Pain waved a finger. Itachi knew this signal. Itachi whipped around, and bit Hidan's shoulder. Hidan yelped and let Itachi go. Itachi blocked Sasori's fist, but got smashed by Deidara's foot. Itachi was fighting a hopeless battle. With every attack blocked, another came from behind.
Pain's knee connected with Itachi's gut. Itachi grunted and fell to the ground. He was quickly surrounded. Itachi did the only thing he could. He pulled his arms up over his head, and lay on his stomach while the people who had once been his friends kicked him over and over. Itachi ignored the stabbing pain in his ribs. A foot made contact with the side of his head, and the world went black.
Tenten, Temari and Sakura sat at the kitchen table eating their breakfast. They hadn't said a word to each other since they woke up. It was now 7:00. Tenten couldn't shake an uneasy feeling.
"I don't feel so well, guys..." Temari muttered, staring at her food.
Sakura nodded. "I feel really uneasy. I can't stop thinking about those people Itachi avoided. What if they're-" Sakura was cut off by a knock at the door.
Tenten stood up. Who on earth was knocking at this time of the morning? Tenten opened the door and almost screamed.
Itachi stood at her door half bent over clutching his chest. He had a black eye and his nose didn't look so hot either.
"I-Ita-" Tenten began.
Itachi fell.
"GUYS! HELP!" Tenten cried. Temari and Sakura whirled around the corner.
"Oh my god." Temari gasped.
Tenten was trying to pick Itachi off the ground. The two girls could only stare.
"Help!" Tenten cried.
Temari and Sakura proceeded to help Itachi off the ground.
"Ah!" Itachi cried in pain as they lifted him off the ground. Finally, the three girls got Itachi on the couch.
"C-Call Neji..." He gasped.
"Call Hinata, Tenten!" Sakura cried.
Tenten wasted no time. She grabbed her cell phone and hit Hinata's name on speed dial.
H-Hello? Hinata's voice murmured tiredly.
"Hinata! Quick, what's Neji's phone number?" Tenten cried.
What's wrong? Hinata asked.
"Get your ass over here and find out! But first give me Neji's number NOW! It's an emergency!"
Hinata realized how severe the situation was. She quickly recited the number. Tenten wrote it down.
"I'm coming over." Hinata told Tenten. The line went dead and Tenten quickly dialled the number Hinata gave her. The phone rang three times before it was answered.
Hello? Neji's voice asked curiously.
"Neji!" Tenten cried.
Silence for a moment. Is that you Tenten? Where did you get my number?
"Hinata gave it to me just now. But that's not the point! Itachi's hurt! He's at my house! Get over here!"
All of you! Into the car! NOW! Tenten heard Neji's voice yell from the other side of the phone.
What's going on? Naruto's voice said faintly.
Take the phone! Neji ordered. Put it on speaker! Itachi's hurt!
Tenten heard the grinding of chairs on floor and cutlery hitting plates.
Is he all right, Tenten? Sasuke's voice said through the phone.
"I don't know! He's awake, but he's really beat up!"
The sound of car doors slamming met her ear.
Hinata tore through the front door, panic in her eyes. "What happened?" She cried when she saw Itachi.
Neji's silver car pulled into her driveway. Tenten closed her phone, tossed it on the table and ran to the door.
The group tore into the house and ran over to Itachi.
"Itachi, what the hell happened?" Sasuke cried.
Itachi's breath was ragged.
"Dial 911." Neji said.
"NO!" Itachi gasped.
The group stared at him.
"Itachi, you're seriously hurt!" Sakura protested.
"It was them." Itachi gasped. "Them, at the park!"
Everyone stared at him.
"I used to be a member of their band. I left them, and they came back for revenge." Itachi's voice wavered.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Shikamaru cried.
"It's my fight!" Itachi gasped. "I didn't want to get you involved. I didn't want you to worry." Itachi coughed, then cried out in agony.
"That's it." Neji said, pulling out his phone. "I'm calling 911 now."
"NO!" Itachi cried. "If you call 911, we won't be able to play at that contest!"
"Your life is more important to us than that bloody contest!" Neji cried.
"They're going to be at the contest." Itachi gasped. "If you call 911, I'll be in the hospital, and we'll miss it. That's what they want! They want us to miss the contest so they have a better chance at victory!"
"Those dirty bastards!" Shikamaru spat. "Those bloody," Shikamaru began uttering a string of profanities. They waited for Shikamaru to finish.
"Shall I go on?" He asked.
"No that's quite enough." Temari murmured.
"You understand, right?" Itachi gasped.
"Itachi, you're seriously injured." Sasuke told him.
"I know. I can't even breathe properly."
"That's why you need to be in the hospital!" Sasuke cried.
"Itachi, there's five days until the contest." Neji growled. "You'll get out of there before then!"
Neji then ignored all of Itachi's protests, and dialled 911.
Less than ten minutes later, paramedics were on scene. Sasuke rode in the ambulance to the hospital. The rest followed in their cars.
Itachi was admitted to the hospital with a broken rib, and several more ribs fractured. The rest were bruised. Itachi had a mild concussion, and he was covered in bruises. Itachi's injuries were severe, but they weren't life threatening.
A/N: You have now been introduced to the bastards of the story. If you don't hate them now, you will grow to hate them. Trust me. What I already have planned for the future of this story will bring nasties that you'd never expect. Just know, beating up Itachi is small scale compared to what they do later. You're scared now aren't you? HAHA! You should be.
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SilverEyeShinobi