I don't own Naruto.
I'm sorry! I lied! I did have most of the chapter done when I updated last but I never got the chance to finish. High school's killing me.
Anyway, Once Again is coming to an end; there will probably be one more chapter to this. You guys are best, continue to support me!!!! I'll apologize beforehand if the story didn't turn out the way it was supposed to.
But I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!
By the way, the chapter sounds better if you read it aloud and it's rated T for some foul language for some reason threw in here.
Minamo was silent as an image flickered before her. It was the same feeling you get from staring at the mirror and not knowing who your reflection is.
But in this instance, Minamo really had no idea who she was staring at. Since it was a whole other person.
Despite the fact that it was the same exact body she possessed, there were so many little nuances gave the difference away. Like her demonic red eyes and her evil smirk and other things that Minamo just didn't have, like a bust.
"Who are you?" Minamo finally asked after a long look at her other self.
"You, of course, who else would I be?" her voice was sinister and soothing, like the sweet liquid of a Venus fly trap. It was enticing and deadly.
"You're wrong, you're not me,"
"But he's not either," she pointed her. A translucent image of Namikaze Minato came into view, wearing a sad and empty face. "So—who are you?"
Minamo, unable to answer, felt her face cringe and she looked down as inhaled nervously. She forgot how long she had been in the darkness. After finally closing the deal by accepting the help of the death god, the Shinigami disappeared and her other self took his place.
"Maybe I shouldn't have asked for the eyes," Minamo thought to herself. "But what else can I do? The success of the counterattack depends on me and how I deal with Orochimaru. Damn it, I don't even know where he'll be during the Battles! Why did it have to turn out like this!? But then again, I can't see- I won't see Konoha fall. And plus, my body wouldn't survive at all if I didn't make the deal," she gazed at her transparent hand.
"I can't believe you went through all these trouble," the other Minamo started,"…just to put me back into this worthless body," she scoffed while taking a good look at herself.
"Shut up, demon," Minamo seethed, her fists clenched. The other self chuckled.
"O-ho-ho, so you do know who I am. Then why'd you ask before?"
Minamo snarled. Who would have thought that her previous life was actually a human body possessed by a demon, not the life of Minato? Minamo didn't like it at all, and plus, the demoness was sarcastic and crude.
"Stop being impatient, you ninny, I'll be out soon to grant your idiotic wishes," the demon smirked.
Minamo glared, "You better not kill anyone! Or hurt anyone I kno-!"
"And who says I can't? As soon as I'm on solid ground, in your body, I can do whatever I please. That is, as long as I kill that Orochimaru,"
"B-BUT WE MADE A DEAL! That's the whole reason why-- my soul-!"
"The reason why you sold your soul to my master, right? You're so stupid," she slowly slurred, "Who in their right mind would sell their soul to the devil and still think that they have a say in the matter? You're not very good at making deals," she smiled.
Minamo was near to tears. She was caught, trapped, jailed and with no way to escape the prison she built for herself.
A week earlier, the Shinigami had revealed a way that would allow Minamo to have a hearty body that would be able to assist Konoha's counterattack. But there was a cost.
If Minamo agreed to it, by asking for the death god's eyes and insight, the Shinigami would allow her former self take over the body and renew it and in exchange her soul.
Which would be at the hands of the lord of hell, the devil.
Like what everyone else believed, Minamo thought that the spirit of the Yondaime would surmount her body. But instead it was her body's previous owner, a blood-thirsty goblin whose power made the tailed beasts look like tame petting zoo animals. And they were, to her at least.
"Oh, don't worry, I'll finish those other obligations you asked for," the demon snickered, "But then after that, I get to terminate anyone who wronged me,"
At those words, Minamo was overcome with trembling and began to hyperventilate. She clutched her throbbing throat but before she collapsed, she turned to glare at the god of death and mutter: "You knew!"
And then, her other half was freed.
Over at the Konohagakure Arena, Hinata sat amongst the crowd, fiddling with her fingers and taking deep, long breaths.
She was scared, and she had no idea why.
At first, she thought that her worry was caused by her anxiety for Naruto's success. But that wasn't the case, because as soon as Genma announced him as the victor, the pain and the concern increased.
It wasn't until she was whiter than snow and Akamaru barked relentlessly, that Kiba noticed her condition. (Which isn't too surprising since Inuzuka was just as oblivious as our beloved Naruto is.)
"I think I need to lie down," Hinata muttered deftly. Kiba nodded and he began to escort her to the back.
There Ino ran into them.
"Hinata!" she called. "So this is where you were," Ino smiled, "Chouji and Sakura are just over there," she pointed behind her. "I left because Chouji was making a mess with his snacks and Sakura was being all gloomy and depressed. Geez."
Hinata uttered a small laugh. Ino looked down to the arena to where Naruto was.
"Our Naruto did pretty well, right?" she asked Hinata, then she frowned, "Unlike that idiot Shikamaru, what was he thinking!? Quitting like that, the stupid dork," she cringed.
Hinata nodded while struggling to hold onto Kiba.
"You alright?" she finally asked, noting Hinata's pale features and her trembling legs.
She reached out an arm to support the other half of Hinata's body. She gladly took it. Then together, Kiba and Ino set Hinata down at the back.
An ANBU quickly made his way to them and offered his assistance, which Hinata eagerly accepted. Seeing that Hinata should rest, Ino offered to get a blanket from the Lobby downstairs.
"No, the ground should be fine. We need to hurry if we don't want her to be in harm," the ANBU said, laying her down.
Ino and Kiba turned edgy as the ANBU examined Hinata. After a few moments, Hinata was soon fast asleep and Kiba sighed in relief seeing color returning to his teammate's face.
But Ino grew suspicious.
"What did you do?" she asked the ANBU, placing her hands on her hips.
"After a quick rest, she should be well enough to walk," he said, ignoring her question.
Ino began to fume.
"I'm not asking about her condition, because I know she's unconscious, I'm asking about what you did to her to make her unconscious."
Before Ino could even blink or ask another question, the ANBU attacked, striking Ino in the gut, making her fall and quickly subdued Kiba and Akamaru likewise.
Kabuto, disguised as an ANBU corp. turned around to make sure that no one caught him in the act. And he smiled when he saw no one in the audience took notice of him. It was a lucky coincidence that everyone was too busy cheering at Sasuke's flashy entrance. But it wasn't lucky that someone did see him.
"You know, I actually liked those girls too,"
Kabuto turned to face a cloaked figure, whose features were hidden by a dark hood.
But at one glance, he could tell it was Minamo.
"Where the hell were you, Minamo? You weren't at the rendezvous point," Kabuto asked, taking off his ANBU mask.
"Of course I wouldn't be there, after all I am betraying you," she smiled.
"Minamo, you idiot," Kabuto frowned and was about to charge when something grabbed his arm.
Shocked, Kabuto quickly turned to stare at what caught him, and his eyes turned cold at the sight. A thick, black vine appeared from the wall behind him and wrapped itself around his arm and as Kabuto struggled with it, another appeared and another. He tried harder to resist but his energy and strength suddenly depleted. Soon enough, his body was dragged and pinned to the wall with demonic chains of ivy and the audience had disappeared from his eyes. He was completely captured and immobile.
"Surprised?" she grinned.
"No one can subdue me that easily! Not even Minamo!" he thought aloud, trying to free himself.
The figure smiled as she sauntered up to him.
"I'm not Minamo," she commented, placing a hand on the wall besides the vines and leaning on it. "I'm Hisaki," she whispered into his ear, "Jigoku no Hisaki, the Flame of Hell,"
"Just so you know-- I'm the reason why you were attracted to Minamo-chan," the demon began, "For some strange reason, you're attracted to people with sin bubbling in their soul," she whispered into his ear, making him shiver before the vines cracked his neck and he fell lifeless. "I like that about you,"
Hisaki snickered and then her eyes suddenly grew wide and she backed away from the Kabuto's comatose body.
"You really can't let me kill anyone, can you!?" she screamed seizing her chest, "Damn you! No one can see anyway with the frick'n genjutsu on! He's not even dead!"
After a few moments, Hisaki collected herself and the illusion disappeared only leaving behind a limp body.
She turned to face the backs of the spectators as they immersed themselves into the match between Sasuke and Gaara.
Hisaki couldn't help but leer as she saw the engrossed audience. They were completely ignorant to her arrival, but now she was going to make herself known. With a flick of her fingers, she transported the bodies of the Genin and Kabuto. Then slowly made her way to a spot where she could see the sparring grounds.
As soon as she saw Gaara, her eyes suddenly filled with ecstasy, turning a darker red than her own blood red pupils which vibrated dangerously.
"My kittens," she muttered madly, "Your mommy's returned!"
Meanwhile, Sakura and Chouji were cheering and eating several aisles away. After taking a big breath after screaming her joy at Sasuke's performance, she glanced at the empty spot besides her.
"Where's Ino?" Sakura asked, as she looked to and fro. Chouji shrugged and kept on eating.
"She's hasn't come back," Sakura bit her finger, showing concern, while at the same time, glancing down at Sasuke.
"Ino will be fine, Sakura-san," Lee said walking up to them with a pair of crutches and a smile. Then he flashed an encouraging and generic 'thumbs up' with the hand that wasn't injured. "I am certain,"
Sakura smiled weakly as thanks while Gai helped Lee down the stairs.
Kakashi was right behind the Dynamic Duo, "Rock Lee's right, there's no need to worry. I just saw her with Hinata," he casually lied.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura's eyes lit up, "Is Sasuke's mar-"
Suddenly the whole arena was filled with the sound of chirping birds, the calling card of the Chidori. The group watched with wide eyes as Sasuke ignited the technique.
Ino was forgotten.
But before Sasuke's lightning could strike, a crash of thunder beat him to it. Everyone looked up to see a cloudless sky and feathers.
Fluttering down from a non-existent source, the feathers became the only objects of focus for the audience. And soon enough, everyone drifted off to sleep except for the ninjas, who immediately displaced the jutsu, the demoness that brought the shower of sleep, and the captured Hokage forced to a reunion with an old student.
Thunder still roared.
With the people around her dropping like stones, all Hisaki could do and would do was laugh maniacally.
"I forgot how fun this was!" she screamed.
Another blow of thunder sounded and this time it was accompanied by its colleagues. Great dark clouds loomed over the arena and flashes of lightening sparked. It was an evil sight indeed.
Temari and Kankuro dashed over to Gaara's broken state while Sasuke released the Chidori and tried to interpret what was happening around him.
As the older Sand siblings lifted Gaara onto their shoulders, a cackling Hisaki appeared before them in a sudden gust of air.
"Traitor!" Temari spat at her, guessing that she was the cause of everything, which she was.
Hisaki ended her line of laughs with a sharp caw.
"Temari- I thought you were smarter than that," the woman dropped her messy hair so that it covered her eyes, a wicked chuckle emerging from her throat.
At that moment, Temari guessed, no, she knew, that Minamo had been replaced with someone who drifted around the thin line that separated reason from insanity.
Hisaki let out another cackle, "How could I be a traitor when I wasn't even on your side to begin with!?" Hisaki unveiled her eyes with a sudden movement, revealing her dark, intense eyes.
"Quick, we have to get out of here," Temari whispered to her brother, her eyes locked with Hisaki's deadly gaze.
"You're not going anywhere—well, not like this,"
By impulse, the siblings inched away from her and caught a glimpse of the darkle sky. Even though they were trained to keep their emotions at a standstill, they couldn't help but stare agape and mouth open at the sight.
The grey depressing clouds converted into billows of dark murderous red and the blood-colored bolts of lightning didn't make the image any brighter either.
Anyone could tell that the storm wasn't natural, since the thunder and the lightning flashed simultaneously and spontaneously. After all no scientific explanation could be given for the supernatural.
The shinobi stationed on the borders turned to watch the sight. The clouds started to envelop the arena immersing everything in black and red until the only thing that could be seen of the stadium were its ground level doors.
"What the-, this wasn't part of the plan," one of the border guards uttered in complete shock.
His partner grabbed his arm, "Don't worry about that! Look at that!" and pointed at the looming figure above them.
Orochimaru had begun his attack.
"Don't let it even near the wall!" Ibiki ordered as his subordinates charged at the over-sized two-headed snake and its Sound-nin and Sand-nin companions.
"This is worse than I thought," Ibiki thought to himself as he attacked a sound-nin, his overcoat flapping around him like wings of a hawk. "Minamo did say that Sand had betrayed Konoha but I didn't think they would give their undying loyalty."
The Sand ninjas outnumbered the Sound by two-fold, and fighting the fiercest. And even though the Konoha nin had a good number and gave a good fight, they were still hesitant about being aggressive towards to their former allies.
"But then again, nowadays everyone's assumptions are going awry," he said aloud, stabbing his opponent in the gut. He had no idea how right he was.
"The snake's coming down!" someone screamed from the heat of the battle. Ibiki immediately turned to where the large snake, trapped with stinging chakra strings, began to fall.
"Kill it!" Ibiki ordered, "I don't want it to move a single muscle!"
The ninjas surrounding him instantly stopped what they were doing and hurled kunai at the fallen reptile. Once struck, the serpent's heads screamed in pain then laid to rest at the foot of the boundary.
"Damn it!" a Sound cursed, "Team A4 retreat! Team B2 Diver-!"
Ibiki removed his fist from the ninja's stomach, "You scum don't deserve to attack this village," the examiner muttered with fierce pride. He impassively slit the man's neck and turned to his men behind him.
"Send the signal!" he commanded, "We begin the counterattack!"
"Yessir!" a messenger at his post ran into a watch tower and let loose several hawks into the air, all of them with red tags on their claws.
The messenger watched the birds fly over Konohagakure before returning to defend his village. One hawk flew straight into the clouds above the stadium and came back out dead.
"Minamo" Sasuke ran up to Hisaki, "What the hell's going on?"
"Everything's fine, dear-y," Hisaki chuckled in response.
"Get away from her, Kid!" Kankuro called out with mustered will, "She's wrong in the head!"
Sasuke shot him a look but then his sensei and the other jou-nin appeared before him, making a defensive line between Hisaki and the teens.
"You should listen to him, Sasuke," Kakashi said with a stoic voice, "She's dangerous."
At first Sasuke was about to object but then saw Hisaki's transforming figure and backed up a few paces.
All of a sudden, a bolt of lightning was falling close to where they stood, but then Hisaki stretched her hand out and the lightning diverted to reach her and envelop her open palm. Her fingernails grew considerably and wings tore out from her back as the dark lightning surrounded her body.
Hatake, completely unaltered by the transformation, looked over his shoulder to gaze at the siblings.
"We were just issued to counter your assault, but considering the circumstances we will fight alongside you against this person," he said to them, "Because of she did and what she's going to do, she is our common enemy,"
Temari and Kankuro nodded in tacit agreement. Kakashi nodded back and turned back to the demoness.
"Thank goodness you guys came," Genma approached them and joined them in line, "I was getting worried,"
"But I want an explanation later," Shino commented, also standing besides his fellow ninjas.
"I think we all do," Sakura said, joining as they all glared with fighting spirit at the antagonist, ready to come to blows.
Hisaki stared at the ninja for a moment with her bloody eyes then started to chuckle then her chuckling turned into loud and hysterical laughing. She lifted into the air and she let out another reprehensible cackle that shook the ground before flying upwards
"You ninja think you're capable of thinking 99 steps ahead. Too bad you're still 1 step behind," she called out to them. Then she sighed, "I have no time for you but I think I can let you play with my kittens to make you busy," she said lifting her open hands into the air making the storm roar.
"Go!" Kakashi ordered and the ninja rushed at her. But then two figures unexpectedly materialized before them.
"Naruto!" Kakashi uttered in surprise, keeling back.
"Gaara!" Temari called, shocked to see him out of her grip.
"You will fight us," the two jinchuriki said, their voices harsh and wicked. Both were practically floating in the air, towering over their stunned friends. Their bodies were enclosed with dark-colored chakra and their eyes were dilated and red. Their hands began to form claws and large tails were formed with the energy surrounding them.
"Have fun my kittens!" Hisaki called before flying up towards her real adversaries.
Kakashi glowered as he stared at his possessed student, "Damn it."
Yeah! One more chapter to go! And maybe even an Epilogue!
Wow, I never thought I would get this far. I usually don't finish what I start.
Well, I hoped you enjoyed it and I'm sorry if there was anything that you didn't like.
P.S. I need a beta-reader, fast.
Tafih