A/N: Yup, I'm back – and miraculously enough right on time, although I've had quite a bit of hassle going on! (grins) BUT, first of course… GOSH, you just keep amazing me – thank you from the bottom of my heart for those absolutely incredible reviews! You guys are the GREATEST! (HUGGLES) Thank you! (beams) As per usual, responses to anonymous reviews can be found from underneath the chappy.

Awkay, because I think you deserve to get on FAST especially after the latest review… Let's rock on! I truly hope ya'll have a good ride.

CHAPTER 10: The Final Blow

In the darkness, Sasuke's eyes flew open. The little breath he'd had faded when he felt the pair of warm arms wrapped around him, and realized that he wasn't alone.

It took several long moments before memories finally slid to place.

That's right, he was in Naruto's house. The person sleeping next to him was Naruto, not someone who's mere touch made him feel sick to his stomach.

He frowned.

Then why did he have this clear and extremely dark, unreasonable feeling that there was a threat approaching? Why had he woken up to such a feeling?

Then he heard the steps – distant, yet approaching steadily. And before he could do much more than pull in a hasty breath of air, the room's door was opened.

None other than Orochimaru stood there in the darkness, looking at him with an expression he couldn't and didn't even want to see. "Well hello again, Sasuke-kun. You sure have been a lot of trouble lately." The voice was dark, ominous. "Did you really think you'd be able to run away from me?"

He sensed movement beside him as Naruto started to wake up. Before he could make a single motion to keep the boy from making a huge mistake the blond spoke. "'suke, what…?" The blond then noticed Orochimaru, and something between a hiss and a growl escaped as the teen recognized. "You fucking asshole…!"

Metal shone when Orochimaru pulled out his gun. "I'd mind my manners if I were you, Naruto. Or would you rather join Iruka?"

Ibiki rubbed his face with one hand while sitting in one of Tengoku's quiet rooms, the headache that'd been bothering him all day escalating still.

It took a long moment before he managed to take a deep breath and pull out a tape-recorder. "I know that this isn't easy, but I need you to tell your story one more time, okay?" He knew it was inhuman, but there was really no other choice.

Neji was pale on the opposite side of the table, and he was fairly sure that the teen was shivering. The brunet wouldn't look at him when starting to speak. "My mother was always mentally very sick, and it got much worse after my father died – she never got over it. That's why we moved to my uncle Hiashi's house." The teen's eyes darkened. "It was a huge mistake. For my mother seeing someone who looked exactly like my father but wasn't him was too much. She got even sicker until she couldn't tell what was real anymore. She started drinking, and her moods swung worse than ever before. Other times she would lash out badly at me and my cousins – Hinata and Hanabi – and other times she would spoil us with expensive gifts and little trips to absolutely everywhere. We were too young to understand any of it, just brats. We were scared of her, and it was exhausting to try and keep her in a good mood. And Hiashi was too busy with work to see any of it." The boy closed his eyes for a moment. "One day, Hanabi had been sick all day, and it was getting on my mother's nerves. She didn't know what to do with a sick child, and so… She gave her medication. A lot of medication. Hanabi fell asleep, and we couldn't wake her up anymore. And then… Then Hiashi came home…" Without a warning Neji slumped forward, burying his face into his hands. "God, there was so much blood – it was anywhere… And Hinata was screaming so loudly – they all were… And then, then she was still. I tried to wake her up, but she wouldn't move…"

For a long time the teen couldn't speak. In the end Ibiki broke the silence. "Neji? Are you sure you want to continue?"

As though not even hearing him, Neji went on in a feeble, barely audible tone. "Hinata… She loves her father, because she didn't have to face the man he turned into after that night. That night… It was far too much for her. That's why she created a story inside her head that it was this homeless guy we met earlier that day – Tazuna – who killed my mother. She believed in that story like some kids believe there are monsters under their bed, and that story – a lie – became her whole world, Tazuna was everywhere. She started having night-terrors again, she was terrified or people and withdrew into herself. And Hiashi was more than happy with that, because it meant there were no evidence against him. He did a good job with creating evidence that supported Hinata's story." The boy seemed to swallow down something. "I… I watched how she got locked up, and… I couldn't do anything. I couldn't…" The boy's voice faded under a turmoil Ibiki couldn't even imagine.

Ibiki swallowed thickly, not managing to rid the horrible taste in his mouth, then rattled the necessary information to the recorder and pressed 'stop'. It took a while before he managed to look towards Neji. "Thank you."

The boy pulled in a hungry breath, still not looking at him. "Can I go now?"

He nodded stiffly. "Of course."

Neji bolted out before he could move a muscle.

-

Once he got into the hallway Neji couldn't feel or think, he barely even managed to stand. In the end his shuddering legs gave way and he slumped to the nearest chair, his eyes wide and utterly empty.

Gaara's voice caught him by surprise, but didn't startle him. "Neji?" The redhead looked at him with a frown. "Are you okay?"

At first he couldn't do a thing, but eventually he managed to make himself shake his head slightly while looking away.

To Gaara, it seemed, that was the only needed sign. Without saying a word the redhead sat to the chair next to his, so close that he could feel the boy's warmth. And suddenly he found it easier to breathe than before.

Neither noticed that their hands were linked and held on tightly.

Naruto could barely breathe from the mixture of fear and rage that took over absolutely all of him, sending his head whirring. His eyes narrowed while he jumped out of the bed like a furious panther, and his fists balled as he stood only steps away from Orochimaru. "What the hell did you do to Iruka? Where is he?"

Orochimaru shrugged, stepping further into the room. "If I were you, I wouldn't worry about him right now." His heart lost its focused beat when the man lifted his weapon, quite clearly preparing to use it. "I should've taken care of this situation a long time ago, but perhaps it's not quite too late yet."

Rage and terror had numbed Naruto's instincts. That's why he didn't manage to realize what was happening until it was much too late.

He felt a dark flare inside him when Orochimaru was suddenly stood before him. The man's eyes were even more chilling than before. "Don't take this to the heart. I'll get back to you soon – but first, I have some unfinished business with Sasuke."

He opened his mouth, but the scream was hopelessly too late.

There was a sharp jolt of pain when something hard hit his head. After that he faded into a dark hue.

-

Sasuke was fairly sure his eyes widened a fraction as he watched Naruto fall down limply, and for a while all breath abandoned him. When he finally found his voice, he all but bellowed. "Naruto!" No response came from the blond. His eyes flamed with fury that can't be described with words when they found Orochimaru. "Leave him the fuck alone!"

Orochimaru seemed between amused and irritated. "I merely knocked him out – for now." The man pointed towards the unconscious teen with his gun, snake's eyes hazardous. "But if you try to disobey, I won't hesitate using bullets the next time around."

As soon as he made it to the station, Ibiki could tell that something was badly wrong. Everyone gave him cautious looks and stayed as far away as possible, as though they'd been expecting an explosion of some sort.

He frowned. "What the hell is going on?"

The others exchanged looks, as though trying to determine which one of them was the unfortunate one who'd have to break the news to him. In the end Mizuki – one of those amongst the staff who knew him best – stepped forth bravely with an expression he couldn't read. "Let's… go somewhere a bit more private."

He nodded tensely, not sure if he even wanted to hear what was to come.

They went to his office. As soon as the door was closed Mizuki spoke. "Look, Ibiki… We haven't managed to contact Anko for the past few hours." The man searched his eyes, like to determine whether it was wise to go on. "She… never came back from her visit to Iruka and Naruto's house."

He felt utterly cold all over, and was forced to fold his arms to his chest. It took his all to keep the emotions at bay – now wasn't the time for them. "What about Orochimaru? Is there a single clue on his current whereabouts?"

Mizuki shook his head, most likely finding it the wisest not to speak out for a moment. The man hesitated for the longest time before voicing what was to come next. "There's… something else you should also know." The man's eyes were unreadable when he spoke. "It's more than likely that one of our own warned Orochimaru and told him where Sasuke is. There's a leak in our system."

A flare shot through him, and he actually felt every single one of his facial muscles stiffen. It took a mighty while before he could speak. "Gather a group – we're going over to that house right now. As for that… leak…" His eyes flashed. "I'll take care of it."

Mizuki nodded. The man seemed to be close to saying something for a moment, but then changed his mind and left instead.

Ibiki's eyes were hard as he looked at the closed door of his office.

Maybe it was time to trust his instincts.

He picked up the phone.

The first thing Naruto sensed when waking up was a crushing, all-consuming headache. He groaned and rubbed his face with both hands, fighting to gather his spinning thoughts. "Sasuke…?"

There was no response. And the silence was what it took for everything to find place.

His eyes flew open and he gasped, his throat feeling unnaturally tight. It took much longer than it should've to get up, and when he managed to do that he felt so dizzy that he had to look for the support from a nearby wall.

The room… was utterly dark, and empty. His whole body turned unnaturally cold while horrifying thoughts coursed through him.

What the hell had Orochimaru done to Sasuke, and Iruka? Where were they? How long had he been out?

More determined than ever despite his dizziness, he started to fight his way forward. And all he could do was hope from the bottom of his heart that he wasn't too late.

But then again… Would Orochimaru have left without finishing him off? It was ridiculous how much hope such a bleak thought gave him.

As he made it downstairs, his head started to clear little by little. He could think once more – and that's when he heard the sounds of someone breaking a window and enter. Steps started to approach slowly, sounding unnaturally loud in his ears.

He prepared to defend himself – until he was face to face with the intruder, and emitted a sharp gasp. "Itachi?!"

The slightly older raven lowered the gun he'd been holding against him slowly, appearing just as surprised as he felt. "Naruto?" The older Uchiha remained silent for a moment, as though trying to see. "Are you okay?"

He nodded, then realized that the other couldn't see it. "Yeah, yeah, I am." He then noticed the still bleeding gunshot-wound on Itachi's side, and shivered. "Shit… You're hurt!"

The Uchiha made a grunting sound. "It's just a scratch." The raven then frowned, appearing alarmed all of a sudden. "Naruto… Where's Sasuke? Is he here?"

He swallowed laboriously, his eyes starting to sting all of a sudden. This whole nightmare was becoming more than he could handle. "Orochimaru's got Sasuke. We have to find him."

Itachi nodded grimly. They continued their way in silence, he guiding the blind raven the best as he could in his current mental condition.

It took what felt like ages although it couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes, but in the end they froze at what was waiting for them nearby the door that led to the house's basement.

Sasuke sat there, hugging his legs that'd been brought tightly to his chest and completely glazed eyes looking at nothing at all. The teen was shaking, so badly that sitting upright seemed to be a difficult task.

Naruto's eyes widened while wrath traveled through him once more.

What the hell did he do to you?!

Without thinking he rushed forth, kneeling to Sasuke's side and laying a hand to the boy's shoulder. It hurt him how the boy flinched to his touch and pulled away, as though not quite sure that it was really him. "Sasuke?" There was barely any reaction. He swallowed with difficulty, his eyes stinging a lot worse than before. "Sasuke, we need to get out of here, okay? So… Can you walk?"

Hearing his brother's name, Itachi gasped faintly. "Sasuke?" The blind raven took a nearly cautious step closer, obviously not quite daring to believe. "Sasuke, is it really…?" The voice faded away.

Itachi's voice seemed to trigger something inside Sasuke. The tiniest hint of life returned to those onyx orbs when the boy looked up slowly, something that simple visibly taking all the younger Uchiha's courage.

And then the brothers were staring at each other, although one couldn't see and the other was most likely in no condition to really understand.

Naruto would've given almost anything if the reunion that'd been waiting to happen for such a long time would've continued, but yet again fate wasn't on their side. For just then steps approached, and in a matter of moments Orochimaru was standing only steps away. Snake's eyes filled with irritation. "So this crowd keeps growing?"

It took Itachi only seconds to locate the direction of Orochimaru's voice and point the gun he'd been carrying towards the man. The raven's jaw tightened before he all but hissed. "It's time to end this sick game of yours – for good."

Orochimaru laughed. "And how are you planning on doing that when you can't even see?" Naruto gulped and moved instinctively towards Sasuke when the man pulled out his own weapon. "Make one wrong move… and one of these pests ends up dead – and you won't even be able to see which one it will be."

Naruto's world stilled for a moment when Orochimaru's gun started to shift between him and Sasuke, as though having difficulties with picking the right target.

He, Itachi and Sasuke moved at the exact same time.

Outside the building, Ibiki's group felt chills when spotting the bloodied figure lay on the doorsteps. As soon as he recognized who it was, Ibiki moved. "Anko…!"

Even in the darkness, it took only seconds to finish the inspection. The wound on the woman's head revealed that she'd died in a matter of seconds. There was no life in her eyes anymore, nor was there any warmth or a pulse in her.

At that moment Ibiki felt so much at one go that none of it really registered.

"Shit…", someone whispered behind him.

He couldn't speak, couldn't even react. All he could see was Anko's body – and red. His fists shook as he balled them.

Orochimaru would pay dearly for this – he was about to make damn sure of that.

Just then three sharp gunshots could be heard from the house, followed by someone's shout they couldn't make out.

His eyes flashed while he got up, reluctantly abandoning Anko's body for now. "Sounds like it's time to go in", he stated gruffly.

After hearing what Sai had showed up to tell, Sakura found falling asleep impossible, even with TenTen's usually miraculous mixture of herbal tea.

Making sure Sai – who'd been exhausted even when arriving – was still in some sort of a sleep beside her, she opened her room's tiny television. In a couple of moments she found herself wishing she'd never done that.

For she found herself watching local news – and realized that the female-reporter with long, brown hair was stood before Naruto's house with a solemn expression. She added volume although she wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to hear, and waited with breath hitching in her throat.

The reporer's voice was as dark as her expression. "Two hours ago a tragedy struck this calm area when the neighborhood was awakened to gunshots and the police appearing. So far the details are unclear, but it's been confirmed that there's at least one casualty, and odds are that there'll be several more…"

Sakura saw that the woman kept talking, but she couldn't even hear the words.

Naruto was there, and after a phone conversation she'd had with the blond earlier she knew Sasuke was, too. What if…?!

Acting faster than her thoughts whirred, she pushed Sai rather roughly with badly shaking hands, her heartbeat picking up.

The boy looked at her with some sleepy confusion. "Sakura, what…?"

She cut him off rather sharply, not managing to think. "We've gotta get to the hospital – now. And I think you should call Kiba on the way."

TBC, for an epilogue.

A/N: Ooooh, man… (winces) AGAIN! (slams head against a keyboard)

BUT, at least the good news is, that this SHOULD be the last cliffie in this story. (grins cautiously) So… phew?

Awkay, I'm getting out of here before you'll start throwing things. But PLEASE, do leave a review to let me know your thoughts – and feel free to use it as a therapy after all these cliffies! (chuckles nervously, then screams as things start flying)

IN THE NEXT, and (sniffs) last, ONE: Not all lives go on as the story draws to its end, but those who survive try their hardest to build together a better life. Will they succeed? That shall be revealed in 'Epilogue – The Departure'.

ONLY ONE MORE TO GO! (weeps) Man, I'm gonna miss this A LOT! (keeps sniffling)

Until next time, folks – 'hope ya'll all join in for the final!

Be good!

kai: Kabuto's dead, at very least – there seems to be some justice in the world of this fic! Now if only we'd get rid of Orochimaru, too…

Let's hope that Itachi will make it out okay, and that Sasuke wakes up before it's too late! (gulps) Those brothers are some serious need of a happy ending, ne?

Monumental thank yous for the review!

C ya soon, I hope.

-

ZakuKura: I feel bad for those two, too. Are they ever going to get a break?! (sniffs)

Gigantic thank yous for the review – I'm beyond happy to hear that you've enjoyed the story thus far! (beams)

'Hope I'll c ya around.

ps: Awww, extra review, too! (grins) Thank you! Now that's the kind of a sandwich I'd like to have right now. (licks lips)

-

Naruto: Poor Naruto and Sasuke, ne? (sniffs) Let's hope they'll get out of this mess before it's too late. (gulps)

Massive thank yous for the review!

'Hope I'll c ya around next time.