A/N YAY! SasuNaru won! Everybody celebrate! Anyway, it's time for something I long to do… BRING IN HAKU AND ZABUZA! BECAUSE THE ONLY REASON THEY WEREN'T HERE EARLIER IS BECAUSE I FORGOT! XP
Random question: Has anyone ever looked back at their first one or to fanfics and realized how truly lame and pathetic they are? 'cause I sure have…
Oh, and… THAT MOST RECENT MANGA ISSUE WAS SO –sniff- SAD! CURSE YOU FIRST HOKAGE! AND YOU TOO, SECOND HOKAGE! I WOULD KILL YOU IF YOU WEREN'T ALREADY DEAD!
The group took a walk through the woods with the Tazuna as he explained more about the village's poverty to Kakashi. Naruto was chasing a butterfly, Sasuke was telling him off for being unmanly, and Sakura was watching and sweatdropping. The only reason they were out here was because Kakashi wanted to make sure there weren't any gaps in Tazuna's story, and Inari started crying every time he told it. They had heard about the figure Inari thought of as a father, and now Kakashi wanted to make sure it wasn't a set-up, like the typical Jonin he was.
"BUTTERFLY! IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL AND BLUE! ISN'T IT BEAUTIFUL, SASUKE?"
"NARUTO, STOP THAT!"
"You're both bakas sometimes…"
"BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLIES! HEY, THIS ONE'S RED! AND A PRETTY YELLOW ONE! AND A BLACK ONE! SAKURA-CHAN, IT'S A PINK ONE! AND A WHITE ONE OVER HERE! YAY! MORE BUTTERFLIES!"
By now, everyone was just staring blankly as Naruto leapt after the butterflies.
Kakashi: This is an insult to Konoha…
Tazuna: I thought these were ninja!
Sakura: The butterflies ARE really pretty…
Sasuke: It may be unmanly, but hey, what the heck? Those butterflies ARE very colorful and distracting… Maybe I can catch one and show it to Naruto! He'll be so impressed, he'll forget about what he was impressed about!
Yes, everybody, by now Sasuke has figured out how to stop Naruto from doing something that embarrasses the entire village's reputation.
He walked over, found a dark red butterfly, and caught it between his hands. "Hey, Naruto, I caught one!"
Naruto ran over and stared at the bug that Sasuke showed him, careful not to harm the fragile wings. "Sasuke, you're amazing, you can do anything!"
Here's the new thought status.
Kakashi: He really IS an idiot… Well, he DOES have potential, I suppose…
Tazuna: If anyone asks, hiring Konoha's ninja is a waste of money.
Sakura: I want Sasuke to catch ME a butterfly, too!
Sasuke: Yes! It worked!
Naruto: Pretty red butterfly… Sasuke caught it? Nii-san is amazing…
Nothing doing. As soon as he was done admiring the butterfly, Naruto saw distraction number two; a white rabbit. "SASUKE, IT'S A WHITE RABBIT! RABBITS ARE AWESOME!"
While Naruto chased the rabbit around, everyone sweatdropped. Or at least, everyone but Kakashi.
"A white rabbit in this season, ne?"
"What are you talking about, Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asked, turning around.
Sakura immediately understood. "That rabbit should have its summer fur coat on… That one is still white for winter…"
"That rabbit," Kakashi explained, "was raised indoors. It's for a replacement technique. Sasuke, help Naruto catch it."
"H-hai!"
Sasuke sped into the woods to follow Naruto, but it was too late…
(Warning: The next paragraph or two are descriptions those with weak stomachs may not wish to read.)
Naruto lay on the ground, throat literally torn out of his neck. His chest was cut wide open, and if you looked past his rib cage, you could see the organs, slowing down to a halt, as if this was done only seconds ago. Blood was dripping from his mouth, and his eyes were hazy, still moving and still painfully alive. Slowly, the movement stopped, and Sasuke immediately wanted to throw up at the scene. He slowly and shakily walked forward, eyes wide. "Naruto… Whatever you do, don't fall asleep…"
If the blood-soaked Jinchuuriki had heard, he was unable to answer. He tried to breathe in, looking terrified, but he was practically headless, his neck only being a flap of skin and muscle because of his lost throat. His eyes slowly became the color of mist as he died.
(Gory description over. Sorry to those of you who threw up reading it. XP To those who skipped it, Sasuke just saw Naruto's corpse.)
"Na-naruto…" Sasuke murmured, unbelieving. No, this wasn't happening… Nobody could deal wounds like that so fast… "Wake up… Naruto…" It wasn't a heart attack, it was a fatal injury… It was impossible to recover from… "Naruto, if you don't wake up, I'll… I'll set Ichiraku's on fire… Naruto… Wake up…"
In the distance, he heard the word, "Kai!"
The Uchiha slowly got up. "What happened?" he asked groggily. Then he remembered. "Naruto! Where's Naruto? Someone has to do something, CPR, we need a medical ninja, it's awful, my fault, I wasn't fast enough, WHERE IS HE?"
"Right here, Sasuke!"
Sasuke turned around and saw a very confused-looking blonde.
"So THAT was the type of Genjutsu you were in…" Kakashi sighed. "Don't worry, it's fine, Naruto isn't dead."
Sasuke hugged the Kyuubi vessel, not caring how un-Uchiha it was. "Don't you EVER scare me like that again, you hear? From now on, I'm not letting you out of my sight!"
"I don't get it, but okay…" Naruto responded, still wondering what the heck had happened.
It only took a moment for them to realize someone was laughing. Looking up, they saw a man sitting in a tree, and if you haven't realized who it is by now, you REALLY haven't watched enough of the show. Go back and more episodes before reading this if you don't get it, or at least re-read the author's notes.
The man just stared at Sasuke in a mocking way. "You care about that idiot? What ninja wears a flashy orange outfit?"
Naruto had anime tears. I should have listened to Sasuke when he told me to keep that red outfit… But I hate red…
"Who are you?" Sasuke demanded.
Kakashi held up a hand to signal for Sasuke to be quiet. "Yari, yari… It appears that we not only have some plain mist rogues after you, Tazuna, but an S-ranked criminal, as well… I have every right to take my team back home."
"Iie!" Naruto sniffed. "I wanna help Inari!"
"Stop crying, baka!" Sakura hissed at him. "You're a disgrace to all of Konoha!"
Naruto only cried more at this, sobbing into Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke glared at Sakura. "Gee, Sakura, thanks for the help," he said sarcastically.
"So… You're Zabuza," Kakashi said matter-of-factly.
"If you softies are done," Zabuza chuckled, "then its time for you to meet your deaths."
Tazuna sighed. "This is the end, I know it already…"
"WAI! Sasuke, I'm sorry I'm so pathetic, I'm sorry I disgraced your clan, and I am sorry I'm so weak!"
Oh, how Sasuke wanted to scream at him, tell him he wasn't weak, just not very confident… Ah, well. That would have to wait until later.
The group made for the clearing, Zabuza hot on their trail. By the time they got there, everything was shrouded in mist.
Kakashi looked around, knowing Zabuza must be there somewhere…
"You'll not find me like that, Kakashi, the copy-ninja…" a voice chuckled, but none of them could tell where it was coming from.
Kakashi reached for his forehead protector and lifted it up out of his other eye, cueing a gasp from the genin of team seven.
"Ne, Sasuke, why does sensei have Sharingan?" Naruto asked quietly.
"I don't know…"
"Isn't Sharingan exclusive to the Uchiha clan?" Sakura inquired.
"You two act like I have all the answers!" Sasuke hissed. There was a queasy feeling building up inside him that h wasn't sure Sakura and Naruto could detect. Two Jonin involved in a serious fight for life and death… The killer intents… It made every inch of him feel insecure. Naruto was too… Well, easily distracted to sense it. Sakura had good chakra control and wasn't as worried…
The Uchiha shivered as the wait continued, Naruto hugging his arm while Sakura stood in front of Tazuna. Using his free hand, Sasuke pulled out a kunai. I can't take this any longer… I'd rather…
"Sasuke-nii, you promised you wouldn't leave me alone," Naruto said simply, eyeing the kunai. It was weird how he was calm at that time, Sasuke noted. "You wouldn't leave me alone again, would you? I don't want to be alone. Don't leave me." He took one last look at the kunai. "But if you really want to… I'm not stopping you." At this, the blonde pulled out a kunai to match Sasuke's. "I'll die with you, if that's what it takes."
Sasuke just stared at him. The dobe looked like he was in a trance, halfway between sanity and insanity, yet strangely calm and collective at the same time.
And that last sentence was more terrifying than the killer intent going around like a pandemic.
Sakura couldn't hear, since it was all said quietly, but to Sasuke it was like he was being shouted at… Being scolded for nearly leaving his closest friend alone. "Gomen nasai, Naruto," Sasuke sighed, putting the kunai away. "The aura of the place was getting to me. Sorry for scaring you like that."
Naruto smiled slightly. "Arrigato."
The battle began.
A/N Cliffhangers! Fun to use, but awful to read!
YB: GAH! NOOOOOOO! I THOUGHT YOU STOPPED USING THAT AFTER THE FIRST FEW CHAPTERS OF "TRUMP CARD OF KONOHA!" DON'T USE IT AGAIN!
SCC: Sorry, I felt the urge to do that. XD Anyway… Back to mourning and cursing the first and second Hokages! WAIWAIWAIWAIWAI! POOR MADARA-CHAN! POOR ITACHI-CHAN! POOR SASUKE-CHAN! POOR LAST TWO UCHIHAS! One is the first Uchiha leader, and one is the last Uchiha of all time… Unless he decides to breed… XD Wait, no! That means he'd have to marry a girl! SASUKE CAN ONLY MARRY NARUTO! T-T
YB: Yuri is better than yaoi…
SCC: Why did I get a boy to be my assistant? -sigh- Well, not that I hate yuri… If I did I'd be homophobic. Which I am not. I just like yaoi better. - Hey, Ri hasn't thought of MadaSasu yet! Wait 'till I tell her THAT one!
YB: I still say that she has you beat. She said MIZUJIRA. MIZUKI as JIRAIYA'S SEME.
SCC: …A lesson to all readers! Start the "think of the best crack pairing" contest with your friends! It's fun even WITHOUT yaoi or yuri!
YB: JiraSaku… Heheheh…
Sakura: WHAT?
Jiraiya: WHAT? She's to fla-
Sakura: -death glare-
Jiraiya: I mean, young! DON'T KILL ME! -runs away-
Sakura: That's what I thought you said! -mumbles angrily about, "fanfiction these days"-