The War of Two Worlds
By Inner Self
"History" lesson: The witches and wizards of Europe regard the number seven as the most magical number. Or something—most potent in runic spells and such. For Eastern cultures, the number is number nine. The Kyuubi, for example, is the strongest bijuu. Thus, the title arose for chapter nine. But I changed last chapter's title to be cooler (and more relevant to the working plot.)
Chapter 10: Soul on Fire
Sakura lied in a dungeon setting in the middle of the floor. The walls were grey and water-stained. Occasionally a drip, dripping sounded from the ceiling. A figure stood above her, a foot away from her head. She opened her eyes. The place was so surreal but it reminded her of her Slytherin home at Hogwarts. She spotted the handsome figure immediately.
"Please help me. I think I'm dying," she wisely pleaded. Now was a time for truce.
"You are not dead yet. You healed yourself before passing out. You have lost much of your blood. A woman's body bleeds out quicker than a male. Using a regeneration technique is no reason for fighting recklessly." He held his hand within her view. She took it and stood up.
"I had no other choice."
"Yes, you did. You have also developed a unique skill set. You have potential as they do, but you are neither like Naruto nor my foolish little brother. You have the ability to push away negative emotions during a fight. Yet, when faced with my brother, you lost that level-headedness. Strategy can turn the battle in favor of any shinobi, even bring down the great Akasuna no Sasori. Naruto and Sasuke have great stamina and perseverance. You have vast intellect, but never have you fought on your own. Sasuke took advantage of this dependency on others."
"I've always watched their backs. I've never had to fight so hard before. Even against Sasori, I had Chiyo-baasama at my side. I had my potion-making skills to null Sasori's infamous poisons. Never have I been at such a disadvantage."
"You and Sasuke could be evenly matched. The Sharingan negates ambush, not exhaustion. Earth chakra can absorb and sooth a lightning storm. You only need to find the will to live. You need to find a reason to fight. Without a will to live, Sakura-san, even demons fall."
"Will you help me?"
"I cannot afford to help you anymore in this state. In order to help you, you must help yourself."
"In this state…? So how can you help?"
He points behind Sakura. "There lies the aid you seek. If you demonstrate an indomitable spirit, you will survive and attain the power that can aid you. Please do not fail, Sakura-san. My investments are important. Just remember not to kill my foolish otoutou."
She turned around. Damp, cobblestone steps descended deeper into the tunnels.
"It's funny. I never would have believed the Uchiha Itachi was helping me."
"If you die, I lose my chance for rebirth. If you want to see your family and friends again, you will summon the power to thwart Sasuke."
Sakura clenched her fists. "So that power lies down there…?" she asked. She took his silence as an affirmative.
"Will you follow?" she inquired.
The rogue paused. "I cannot. I must meditate."
She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "Suit yourself."
The stairs had no rail. Sakura trailed her fingers along the wall as she descended. At the bottom of the stairs was a dark corridor. She kept on her journey. The corridor was damp and humid. The farther Sakura walked, the warmer the air felt. She fanned her face as she walked. She abruptly stepped into a puddle. Her curiosity drove her forth. The puddles became more frequent. By now her shoes were soaked.
Sakura saw firelight at the end of the tunnel. The tunnel opened up to another flight of stairs that descended into a partially submerged room. The firelight emitted from its source at its center. A vibrant ball of orange chakra burned on the water in the middle of the pool. Sakura could feel the power radiating from its orange glow. Sakura realized after her initial awe that she was not "alone." She looked left to find Inner Sakura sitting against the dungeon wall a few feet from her. She had her palms extended toward the chamber. Her eyes looked to be glazed with lethargy.
"Long time no see. Sorry, I've been busy. I hoped you could avoid coming here," said Inner Sakura.
"What is this place?"
"Quarantine. I sensed an explosive mental disturbance little more than a year ago. I built this quarantine zone in the recesses of your mind. Now I keep a constant watch on the chakra floating in the center. The water projection has a stasis effect on the chakra, but it requires constant attention. Despite my meticulousness, you had to go and kill that Deatheater. That chakra reacted violently when it sensed death, or when it sensed death at the hand of its host. Anyway, the blood turned red and began to boil. I've managed to restore order, but I've no idea for how long. Did Itachi tell you anything useful? How to get rid of it?"
"He said that chakra would give me the power I require."
"…Fuck. I guess I should have known. Alright, alright…In the words of Anko-sensei, 'Just don't die!' Really—don't."
"Er, I'll try my best not to," Sakura said.
Sakura trudged down the steps, hoping she'd be able to stand above water when she reached the bottom. No such luck. She swam through the calm water to the chakra at the center. Treading water before it, she raised a hand to touch it.
"Kami-sama give me strength," she prayed. Inner Sakura nodded confidently from the sidelines. Sakura took a deep breath, and then she touched the glowing flame.
Sakura grunted in pain and clenched her teeth. The fire wrapped around her hand and burned its way up into her torso. She felt as if she was being torn open. The pain concentrated at her navel. The fire entered and tore mercilessly at the center of her being. She screamed herself hoarse. Her tears collected in the pool. The chakra seeped into the water, bringing it to a boil. Meanwhile, it kept pouring into her body. She felt it penetrate her defenses and she hated it, wished so much that it would stop; that time would freeze; that she could die.
"NO! You mustn't give up!" Inner Sakura yelled "It's alright to let it in, but don't let it control you!" Inner Sakura frantically jumped into the pool. She swam to Sakura's side. Inner Sakura seized her burning flesh. With a grunt of pain, Inner Sakura lent her energy to the fusion. "SHAA-! We aren't dying here, you got that?"
Exhaustedly, Sakura replied, "Got it. …it's not so painful anymore."
"Here, take my energy," said Inner Sakura. "Grab my other hand!"
And so Sakura did. The fire split between them into two branches, one leading to each. The fiery chakra split into two more banches. Each ran up an arm and merged on its victim's torso. The fire burned its way to the belly and into the navel. The fire burned through Sakura's insides. It welled up in her stomach and slowly cooled. She felt hot and cool at the same time, but the pain was gradually lifting. After enduring for what seemed like hours, the last bits of flame transformed.
"I didn't think I could last much longer," Sakura panted.
Sakura swam sluggishly to the sideline. She didn't stop to rest and started climbing the stairs again.
"Did you find the power?" Itachi asked once she reached the top.
Sakura eyed him confidently, as if through her poise she could defeat sluggishness, when she remembered reality. "Harry, Dumbledore-san… ." Itachi nodded to her and left the room. Sakura searched herself for that newfound power. She willed the fire in her to burn. The chakra condensed into a fiery colored liquid. She grinned victoriously, the chakra giving her a heady rush of warmth and power. On the surface, Sasuke made to slice at her neck. Defending its host, the angry red chakra morphed into a tail and threw Sasuke into countless shelves. Billions of prophecies rained down to the floor.
[Scene end]
"Stick together and run!" Sakura yelled urgently at the young wizards. Harry and the others did just that. They ran behind the shelves of prophecies, searching for a connecting room in which to stake their ground. As members of Dumbledore's Army, they considered themselves remnants of the former Order of the Phoenix. Not one student broke off for the exit. Instead, they heeded Harry's orders. Besides, their numbers were enough to take down the remaining Deatheaters. If Sakura was to stay and fight, Harry and the others agreed to do the same.
Sakura's diversion gave them twenty seconds to regroup. She kept the Deatheaters occupied, and the DA members sprinted into the Brain Room. They ran behind the shelves and took a turn at row 53 into the Time Room. From that room, they cut the corner of the Death Chamber and secured a position in the Brain Room. There Harry was bombarded with questions. "Keep it down!" he whispered harshly from their cover behind the back shelf. A tank full of brain specimens set in the middle of the room.
Harry turned to Ron. "Any suggestions for our formation?" he asked.
"Keep Luna in the middle of our formation. She will be our healer. Hermione, take the rear. Focus on defensive spells. Neville and Harry will bombard the Deatheaters with offensive spells and keep them off you and Luna," He grinned and clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I won't let them put us in checkmate."
"We can do this, Ron, everyone," Harry assured his friends. Harry saw a brief flash of platinum hair and spun with a non-verbal stupefy, mindful of the occupants of the other room. Lucius Malfoy fell in a mess of inky black robes. Alas, the spell rebounded and shattered a glass container. Sickly looking brains washed onto the floor.
Luna cast an incarcerous and asked shakily, "What should we do with him?" The word "kill" was at the tip of her tongue. She could not bear to be the first to suggest it. Harry apparently read her mind.
"It's okay, Luna. We'll summon the Order once we are out of this mess. They'll know what to do with him. Let's—watch out Mione!"
Rather than the Deatheater she expected, Hermione dodged the cool embrace of an animated brain and spinal cord.
"What the bloody hell?" Ron swore under his breath. He sent a hex at the brain as it latched onto Hermione's wrist. Hermione flung the limp brain. It landed near the entrance to the room. Harry and his friends heard the brain get squashed, as well as the resulting shill of disgust. Sakura's diversion had ended. Their enemies waltzed slowly, confidently toward them. Harry and the gang moved quietly to the back of the room. They took cover behind a bookcase full of ministry files.
Sakura's battle cry sounded from the Hall of Prophecies, as well as a more immediate crunching of glass. "I will get you children. I will get you like I got your parents," called the new ringleader, Bellatrix Lestrange, with bloodlust. "Rabastan, take point! You, the other!"
Harry touched Ron's shoulder, signaling he keep watch for movement on their right side, Neville the other. Hermione cast a protego charm. She focused on it, storing up magic within the spell and weaving another layer of protection over the base. They were taking a stand.
A frontal assault was unexpected. Bellatrix blasted through their cover. Hermione flinched and her charm faltered due to the surprise attack. Ron had foreseen this as one of many possibilities. He hastily resurrected Hermione's protego charm. Bellatrix had covertly directed Alecto and Rabastan to wipe out the remaining brains while making it sound like a flanking order. Instead of flanking, Bellatrix attacked the students directly. By chance, she launched a confringo at the students' hiding spot.
Hermione's protego charm absorbed the blast. Pieces of wood deflected at odd angles from the shield. Alecto and Rabastan cast curses of their own at the shield. "Fortify!" yelled Hermione. Everyone pitched in to sustain the shield. Bellatrix pulled out a silver knife and cut her palm. She thrust her bloodied through the shield, which crackled at the disturbance. Her nails sunk into Hermione's thick hair and cut her scalp. The shield broke.
"Now Deatheaters! Curse them!" Bellatrix cackled.
"Hermione—!" Ron yelled shortly before Alecto and Rabastan blasted the others away from Hermione and into the wall. Lucius Malfoy's body also smacked against the wall due to the reckless performance of magic. Alecto and Rabastan, like many dark wizards of average ability, preferred blasting spells. Accuracy and focus did not matter so much. The damage was much less than say, septumsempra, but it was a quick and effective crowd control spell.
Alecto and Rabastan cast another blasting hex. Harry and Luna drew up protego charms. Ron and Neville cast expelliarmus toward Bellatrix. Bellatrix deflected one, but the other disarmed her of her wand. Bellatrix dove away from the heat of battle in search of her wand. Hermione stumbled back toward her friends. Alecto threw yet another blasting hex, but Rabastan conjured up another type of horror. While Alecto kept the students occupied with his magic and Bellatrix rejoined the fray, Rabastan summoned up enough hate to begin the killing curse.
Once the first three syllables left his tongue, Ron pushed Hermione and hollered, "Move!" Their group split at the center. Harry, Ron, and Neville dove left and shot retaliation spells. Hermione and Luna dove right. Luna stumbled and Hermione helped her quickly to her feet. The boys found immediate cover behind the bookcases still standing in the corner of the room. The girls fled, sprinting from the battle, luckily in the opposite direction of Bellatrix Lestrange. They left the room, cut the corner of the Death Chamber and found refuge in the Time Room.
Bellatrix Lestrange, in ecstasy, called to them, "I will not let you escape, darlings! You will be punished for breaking curfew; having a night on the town!"
Bellatrix circled behind Alecto and Rabastan, who covered her advance with curses and hexes. Ron, Harry, and Neville had no time to curse the new formation as they were put on the defensive. If only they'd learned that damn blasting hex. Three against two was supposed to be good odds. The boys threw everything they had at the remaining two Deatheaters. As they fought, Ron decided on a new strategy. "Tire them out!" he told his friends. So Hermione and Luna would receive no support in their battle against the witch unless the boys won via attrition. With their youth and stamina, it was the best possibility.
Hermione and Luna found a place to hide in the Time Room behind a display of time-turners. The glass on a cabinet adjacent to them reflected the image of the door through which Bellatrix would enter. Luna tried to disguise her worry as she looked to Hermione for an answer. "Hide or fight?" Luna asked quietly. Hermione took a long, deep breath to calm her nerves. She'd been Harry's friend the longest and done the most stupid shit. Hermione knew she stood the best chance in a duel against Bellatrix. "Hide well. Cover me with defensive spells so I can focus on offense. I'll keep an eye out for her. Send a patronus to Dumbledore."
Luna had barely released the patronus when Hermione spotted Bellatrix's reflection in the glass of the cabinet.
"Where are you hiding, traitorous darlings?" the vicious witch called. Luna crawled to the far side of the room. She signaled to Hermione that she was ready. Hermione cast a stupify as she stepped out of cover. She cast every spell she could remember, but she was not the best duelist. She regretted coming out of cover now. Hermione felt foolish. She should have tried battling out of sight before entering a duel with the Bellatrix Lestrange.
Hermione made a few careless moves due to the stress of fast-paced dueling. Luna saved her skin twice within the first two minutes. Hermione was being pushed back by the power of Bellatrix's curses. Hermione dove behind cover and dashed back into the open room before Bellatrix blasted the bookcase into splinters. Hermione was now behind Bellatrix. She slammed Bellatrix with an expelliarmus that knocked her off her feet. Luna realized that Hermione was moving toward the exit and covertly followed her. Luna bravely cast an expelliarmus as well. Hermione took cover behind the exit doorway. She threw covering fire at Bellatrix so Luna could run for the doorway.
Unfortunately, the dark witch turned her attention to strictly offensive spells. She cast a slicing hex at Luna, to which Hermione cried, "Look out!" Luna jumped toward the doorway. The hex skimmed across her back shoulder. Luna crawled away from the door so Hermione could close and seal it with a quick-casting, medium level locking spell. Hermione cast a duro spell to prevent Bellatrix from simply busting down the door, then an anti-apparition jinx around the hallway.
Luna took a dittany from her robe pocket and poured it over her shoulder as Hermione sealed the door to the Time Room. When Hermione came to apply first aid, Luna was patched up and ready to go. "I'm fine, Hermione. Help me up and we'll get moving." So Hermione offered her hand. They flinched at the sound of a confringo hitting the door. Alas, Bellatrix would have to open the door the old-fashioned way. Bellatrix's antics stopped momentarily when a thunderous crash echoed through the halls. The walls shuddered. Hermione feared they would cave in.
"Luna, we need to head to the revolving room. Something is making the Department of Mysteries unstable."
"Sakura left the door open in the Hall of Prophecies. Won't we have to bypass that Avenger?"
"Yes, if we don't want to be crushed." Hermione quickly sent a message to the boys. As she did, a silver phoenix appeared to Luna. It said in a mist-like voice: "Hide and stay safe. Help is coming."
Another confringo resounded from the Time Room, followed by a curse from Bellatrix. "I will have your heads once I unlock this door!"
Luna remembered that the Time Room led to the Hall of Prophecies and asked, "Why don't you circle through the Hall of Prophecies? The door is open there."
Bellatrix was quiet for a moment before she started bellowing slander against their ancestries.
"Come on, Luna," Hermione said. She grabbed Luna's hand and ran into the colossal Death Chamber.
Ron, Neville, and Harry circled behind the Deatheaters when they received Hemione's message. Alecto and Rabastan were on their heels when the boys met up with Hermione and Luna in the Death Chamber. They circles around the steps to the entrance into the Halls of Prophecy.
The students saw Sakura fighting the Avenger with impressive vigor. Something made them afraid of her though. Harry dared to step closer. He saw a brilliant red-orange glow surrounding Sakura. It seemed alive in the way it lashed out against the Avenger and anything in her path. "Back up, everyone," Harry said solemnly. "We aren't leaving any time soon."
Once again, they were on the defensive, caught in a fight with the three Deatheaters while the shinobi blocked the way to the exit. The whole place was humming at the stress of the shinobi battle. The Deatheaters had their apparating technique. Harry and the other DA members did not. Splinching was not an option for fear of never recovering any lost limbs. The students were trapped in a fight to the death until the Order could arrive and safely rescue them.
Bellatrix Lestrange had unlocked the door with great irritation and only a bit of trouble. She met up with the Deatheaters in the Death Chamber. Once again, the students were on the defensive. Dueling on the stone steps was hazardous. Harry's group managed to corral itself in the middle of the room after minutes of intense fighting. Just when the group morale had dropped as low as it could possibly sink, charcoal wisps of apparition filled the room. The Order arrived in time to rescue its kin. Sirius and Harry locked into heated battle with Bellatrix on the stone platform. Hermione and Luna sought the comfort of the sideline, until they remembered their captive in the Brain Room. The two girls ran as stealthily as possible toward the Brain Room, where they found Lucius Malfoy. They returned to the Death Chamber with Lucius Malfoy following under a mobilicorpus spell.
By the time the girls returned, Alecto had conceded defeat and disapparated from the Death Chamber. Another tremulous shudder racked the walls of the Death Chamber and the other rooms throughout the Department of Mysteries. Rabastan, with a viable excuse to retreat, apparated out of battle.
Bellatrix, knowing she was outnumbered, cut a stripe along her arm with her knife. Sirius sensed her plan and knocked Harry away from the platform. Harry fell off the platform just before Bellatrix raised a blood barrier around it. "The blood traitors will experience loss today. Oh dearest cousin," she cackled. "How I will enjoy ending you!"
[Scene end]
Sakura shook her head and stood up. Sasuke was right in front of her. He grabbed her by the throat and summoned a chidori. "This should do the trick. Let's test your regeneration technique one more time."
He plunged his hand into her stomach. Searing pain, concentrated in her gut, shot to all ends of her body. The pain was too much, and his chokehold was not allowing a proper supply of oxygen. Her eyes could not stay open any longer. She felt a mocking pressure on her lips as she passed out…
Sasuke kissed her good-bye. He dropped her body on the floor and retrieved a cloth from his cloak to clean his blade. He watched in fascination as the last bit of her chakra reserves stitched up the gaping hole of her stomach. The hole sealed completely.
"Hn. You're not dead yet." He pocketed the cleaning cloth. He considered her prone form. He gripped his blade and eyed her prone form.
Her body twitched. Abruptly, a new chakra swarmed around her, a red and angry chakra. The force of it physically gripped him and threw him into shelf after shelf of prophecies. Thousands upon thousands of crystal balls rained down to the floor. Sakura stood. Her body looked as if it was being supported by chakra strings, like the angry red chakra was supporting it. Her eyes were glowing bright red, like there was a fire inside her body. "You were right, Itachi. You have such a foolish little brother… I could beat him to a bloody pulp…shannaro!"
Sakura said these words with such rage. Her chakra-enveloped form radiated brilliantly. She reigned in her emotions, calming it to a faint red-orange aura. Nevertheless, the power bestowed to her reeked like a wild beast and glowed like demon chakra. In the years she'd been a loyal friend to Sasuke, Sakura never voiced any conflicting opinions. Now she released her bottled-up grudges. There was no relationship to ruin anyway.
In an inward-directed monologue, she said loudly, "Your brother has wronged me so many times. Still, I don't have the heart to kill him. I will make him regret coming here." She swore this and then turned her attentions to her former teammate. Several more chakra strings attached to the surrounding area. Her tired body was preparing once more for battle. "Leave, Sasuke-kun or I'm going to rip you limb by limb, tendons and all. I won't stop until I reach bone."
"What did you say?" Uchiha Sasuke still had his Sharingan activated, and he clearly saw the movements of her lips. Sasuke wiped the blood away from his eyes. He observed her form closely. Aside from the puppet like strings controlling her movements, a tail of chakra had formed on her person. He noted that the chakra was identical to the entity in Naruto. "That's very cute, Sakura. I'm not falling for anymore of your tricks. Hold still while I finish you off."
Sasuke sheathed his katana. He smirked and formed the hand seals for a fire technique. Sakura poised for a direct attack. She gathered red chakra into her fist. Like lightining she appeared just as Sasuke finished the hand seals.
"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" He pressed his lips together and released a giant fireball point blank. The burn enveloped Sakura. She veered off from her attack and crashed into the back wall, her fist leaving a gaping hole. Tremors vibrated through the Halls of the Department of Mysteries.
Sasuke's fire technique seemed to relish in the red chakra and expand. Once Sakura dislodged her fist from the wall, she rolled quickly onto the floor to brush away the fire. Sakura forewent healing. She summoned another tail of chakra. Sakura focused all the chakra into the speed of her attacks. She escaped one of Sasuke's ranged lighting techniques. He shot spark after spark at her, trying to paralyze and hold her down. Sakura kept advancing. When Sasuke could see the whites of her eyes, Sakura reappeared and slammed her foot into his back.
Sasuke saw her disappear, but failed to counter in time. He recovered quickly and threw a punch to her nose. Her punch grazed his shoulder. They traded blows until Sakura found an opening and slammed him into the ground. Sakura retreated to a safe distance.
Sakura redirected some chakra to her fist, just enough to hurt-a lot. When she slammed it into Sasuke's gut, he disappeared in a pile of smoke, substituting a pile of rubble. Sakura heard birds chirping and quickly dove out of the way. The Chidori missed its target, and instead burned the side of her arm.
Sasuke had one chance left at most to burn another hole in her. He redirected his attentions to beating the crap out of her. So did she. They traded several vicious blows, all geared toward knocking the other out. Meanwhile, Sakura's body stitched up gashes to prevent anymore blood loss. She was running low on everything but red chakra. When that ran out, Sakura wanted to survive transport to a hospital.
Sasuke and Sakura rushed each other, deflected intended blows, and ended up in a deadlock. They both struggled to throw the other into the nearest wall. Sasuke smirked. "I see Naruto's still helping you, even when he's not around."
"I see you're still a dick," Sakura said, not trying too hard to come up with a good comeback. "Sai was right about you being an ass. I should have said 'to fuck with first love' a long time ago."
"I remember saying 'fuck you' the first day we met. Don't blame your life drama on me."
Sakura sunk into her stance, grounding herself. She hoisted Sasuke off the ground enough to throw him into the nearest wall. She sank her fist into his gut and threw him across the room. Before Sasuke landed, Sakura reappeared to sock him in the gut. He flew into the floor and skidded.
Now that Sakura had him on the defensive, she could not stop dashing across the room, throwing punch after punch. When he blocked, she would break his guard with the first punch and make contact with a follow-up; another punch, an elbow, a knee bash, etc. Sakura never felt more alive. She thought she would never tire. When Sakura had him bloodied to a pulp, She grabbed his arms and threw him into the ceiling. The crash reverberated throughout the halls.
Sakura breathed deeply. She heard fighting in the so-called Death Chamber and hoped to aid the other students. When Sakura reached the door, she sensed a chakra that had her hair standing on end. Her back tingled with anticipation. She turned to look. Her eyes opened wide.
Sasuke had summoned the mighty Susano'o, the legendary Uchiha shield. Sakura almost swore she faced an oni. She needed to get through the vanguard to take down Sasuke. Focusing all her chakra into her fists, she swung repeatedly at the mighty demon-bone armor. Chakra from Susano'o welled up in front of her and threw her into the shelves of prophecies.
Sakura coughed up blood as she stood to face Susano'o.
Sasuke smirked under the armor. "He is impenetrable, Sakura. Run away while you can."
"Well aren't you feeling merciful today? We'll see about that," she growled. Sakura wiped the blood away from her mouth and gathered her strength. She flung herself back into battle. Sakura dodged attacks and resisted the burn of chakra on her skin. Her knuckles were bleeding at the futility that was Susano'o's barrier. Susano'o was not only a shield. Sasuke directed it to manifest arms that met Sakura punch for punch. Sakura was fighting a wall and feeling very foolish. She gritted her teeth and persevered. Sakura swore to break through Susano'o's defenses before it exhausted her strength. Sakura flinched when another spectral arm smashed into her. She fell back a couple meters before landing on her feet and skidding to a halt.
Sakura eyed her opponent from a new perspective. Blood was dripping from her hairline. It pervaded her sight. Sakura bit her lip. "Shit. Perhaps his armor regenerates? I need to break through. I'd have to put everything into one last shot."
She closed her eyes. Frustratedly, she searched for Itachi within her mind. His ghost-like presence assured her that her approach would be the most effective.
Taking a deep breath, Sakura said, "Here goes nothing."
Sakura summoned all her might into her fist and stormed toward Sasuke's armored fortress, dodging the blows thrown by the spirit armor, and hit Susano'o at the sternum. The armor cracked and shattered. Most of Sakura's chakra was absorbed by the armor. The excess slammed Sasuke's tired body into the wall, causing yet another tremor to assault the ninth floor of the ministry. Susano'o, unfortunately, resurrected around Sasuke as he hit the floor and repelled her into the other side of the room. Sakura felt a thin piece of the fractured shelf impale her back. It dug in farther as she fell on the shelf collapsed from her momentum. Splinters of wood clawed her back.
Sakura was using reserved chakra to fight. She had five percent left—enough to survive her trip to the nearest hospital. Still Sakura tried uselessly to stand up, to admire her handiwork. She struggled to prop herself up with her elbows. She craned her neck. Through heavy lids, Sakura watched Sasuke fumble to stand. He was gagging, coughing up ludicrous amounts of blood. A collapsed lung, Sakura thought. Through his pain, Sasuke watched her warily. In a flash, Sasuke formed a set of hand seals, dropped Susano'o, and left in a cloud of smoke.
"Gone," was all she said. Sakura coughed. If she were to guess, the splinter was lodged in one of her lungs. Sakura tried to slow her breathing, even as she realized that she had failed Naruto. Sakura dropped back to the floor and closed her eyes.
Sakura went through the extent of her injuries in her head. At the end of her list, she decided, she could only hope for rescue and to awaken later in a sterile, white room.
[Scene end]
Back at the Valley of Death, the former Team 7, current ANBU 7, scouted Konoha's perimeter. The perimeter check was standard procedure. Even though it was regarded as standard procedure, the ANBU operatives took every job seriously and made sure that their work was nothing less than thorough. Once Naruto and the others finished the search for suspicious persons and devices, they sat down for dinner. Naruto frowned throughout it. Perhaps the meal did not meet his former ramen standards?
"Naruto," Kakashi chided. "Eat your ramen. It's not all that good for you, but you love it regardless."
"I cannot believe you brought ramen on a mission. It is a comfort food. Now is not the time for comfort. We are bordering on enemy territory."
"Naruto, I cannot say your attitude is un-ANBU-like, but shut-up and eat your meal."
Sai coughed to hide his laugh. "I packed some pickled radishes, dick-face, to make it more ANBU-like. They keep in almost any condition."
Naruto sighed. His face became less stern, but still there was sadness. "Sakura-chan loved pickled radishes."
Sai adjusted his facial muscles to what passed for concern. "Wow, that's the first time I've heard you say her name in a long while."
Naruto bit off a piece of radish. "Her body never turned up. I can't put my finger on why her body never turned up. It bothers me."
Kakashi hunched over his meal as if extremely tired. "Naruto, please, let's not talk about that again. Madara has the Mangekyou. Whatever I can imagine… I do not want to imagine."
They stared silently at eachother, as if still in conversation. They'd had this conversation many times in private. Sai finished his meal and started unpacking his sleeping bag.
"Ne, asshole, what are you doing?" Naruto asked through a bite full of ramen.
Sai smiled and turned, answering, "What does it look like, dickless? I'm making camp. You didn't expect this to be a day trip, did you?"
"Did I not tell you before we left that it was?"
"No, you told us as we left. If you want to be un-ANBU-like and run home without your team, be my guest. I'll take third watch since you two are still eating anyway."
Naruto finished his dinner quietly, as did Kakashi.
Four hours later, Kakashi went to bed and Sai awoke. Naruto and Sai played a hand of cards before Naruto felt a disturbance in the air. Naruto rested his hand of cards in his lap. "Sai, did you hear that?"
Sai kept examining his hand. "No, so stop trying to scare me, dickless loser."
"I'm serious. You didn't hear anything?"
"No."
"I did. I think it's coming from the river."
"That would be the waterfall."
"I've been here before, dumbass. I know what I heard."
With a smile, Sai retorted, "Then go check. I have my birds scouting the perimeter as an extra precaution. If you are so sure that I don't know how to do my job, you go check."
"Fine. Stay here and guard Kakashi," Naruto said as he rose and left.
Sai called over his shoulder. "Make sure to holler if you get ambushed."
Under his breath, Naruto said, "Ha-ha…dumbass."
Naruto heard it again as he approached the river. It was like a whisper in the wind, but, well, not. He felt it the more he approached the waterfall. Naruto thought it might be coming from behind the waterfall. He followed his side of the river to its narrow ledge under the waterfall. Naruto hugged it and shuffled his way under the water.
Naruto stumbled upon a deep alcove. Using two kagebunshins, he had them create a rasengan to light up the room. "Concentrate," he told them and proceeded to examine the area. A multitude of columns kept the river above from drowning the cave and gave the illusion that it was small and cramped. Naruto recognized that a familiar presence brought him to this cave. He perceived that the columns blocked off his view and weaved past them to search deeper within the cave.
Naruto stumbled upon an obelisk. Its two black slabs looked glossy in the blue light of his chakra. A wisp of white chakra swirled between the two slabs. The structure looked ethereal. The obelisk stood boldly in the center of the room, surrounded by supporting columns. The familiar presence called him to the obelisk. Naruto wanted to touch it. Something dictated that he jump through it. He sensed that what he searched for was on the other side.
"Naruto," called his teammates in unison. Naruto drew his focus away from the obelisk.
Kakashi asked, "Naruto…how long have you been here? Can you tell me?"
"About an hour," he readily replied. "I've been studying this rock carefully. I think I should walk through it."
"No!" they both shouted.
Just as Naruto frowned at the order, a robed man flew out. The ANBU 7 jumped back in shock. He spewed vomit, crawled some distance in his delirium, and then passed out on his side.
"Naruto," said Sai, "what the fuck just happened?"
"Oh, you think after an hour of studying this rock that I should be the expert?" exclaimed Naruto.
Kakashi kneeled down before the man. "I'll check him for vital signs."
Kakashi turned him over and felt for his pulse. He pulled out the knife in his back. "Yeah, he's alive. He has a knife wound that I can't patch up. Naruto, carry him back to camp. We'll pack up and take him to Konoha."
[Scene end]
Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange, dearest cousins, so Bellatrix would say, dueled behind the blood barrier. The Order aurors stood around helplessly. Hermione and Luna returned with their captive. Kingsley ordered Mad-Eye Moody to take Lucius Malfoy to headquarters, meaning Grimmauld Place away from Fudge's administration. "And don't start the interrogation until we arrive," Kingsley added hastily. Alastor Moody growled in his disappointment.
Hermione looked over Kingsley's shoulder to the door above the stone steps that led to the prophecies. She caught glimpses of the fight as it continued restlessly. Sakura's battle had to end eventually. Hermione hoped that Sakura would be alive when it did. In school, Sakura appeared frightfully strong (and snobbish). That Sakura's fight would last so long worried her. A quick battle would have an obvious victor, Hermione reasoned. One dead, one alive. Like a cowboy gunfight. But what happens when two people fight for hours? Hermione did not want to know. Still, she had to be brave for her ally. "Kingsley, another student was with us. Sakura Haruno. She's in the Hall of Prophecies—over there," she said while pointing to the door.
Kingsley called Tonks over to him. It took a couple of tries. Tonks was waiting intently on the outcome of Sirius's duel, as were the other aurors. "Wotcher, Kingsley?"
"Follow them to the Hall of Prophecies. The enemy is dueling with one of ours."
Tonks agreed with a firm nod. "Gotcha."
Suddenly, Bellatrix Lestrange let out a peal of cackling laughter. The blood barrier dispersed. Bellatrix had thrown one of her silver knives during the duel. It lodged in Sirius's gut. She launched forward as if to dig it in farther, but Sirius shuffled back in earnest. A wisp of something ethereal pulled him even farther back, into the veil of the obelisk. A loud cry erupted from Harry. Bellatrix Lestrange waved good-bye to her dearest cousin and sprinted out of the room. Everyone watched in horror as Sirius Black fell through the veil. Lupin held him back instinctively. "Harry, you musn't!" In a rage, Harry elbowed Lupin and ran after the murderer of Sirius Black. All aurors except Tonks quickly followed after him.
The Department of Mysteries gave a terrifying shudder, more sickening than any of the previous ones. Again it originated in the Hall of Prophecies. The tremors continued even as the Hall of Prophecies sunk into an eerie silence. "Hermione, blondie, let's hurry."
They ran up the black stone steps and into the Hall of Prophecies. An unspeakable would not have recognized the place in its state. Not a shelf was left standing. Several crater like holes decorated the walls. Seven bodies littered the floor as well as the destroyed shelves.
"Haruno," Luna said quietly, looking at the rubble nearest the shelves.
Hermione's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Haruno!"
The three of them ran over to her bloody body. It was battered and burned from head to toe. Tonks was almost afraid to move her. "Let's get this girl to Hogwarts."
"Couldn't we apparate straight to St. Mungo's?" asked Luna fearfully.
A tear slipped down Tonks's nose. "Dumbledore does not want to make the presence of his Order official. We cannot let anyone know that the Order was involved tonight. This floor will fall apart any minute now, but the upper levels are sure to remain intact. I'll get you past the revolving room and then apparate her out. Let's move quickly."
Hermione and Luna made it to the atrium level. Lupin appeared from an alcove and grabbed them before they could run over to Harry, Dumbledore, and Minister Fudge.
"Dumbledore snuck me this," he whispered to them. A piece of parchment. An unsanctioned portkey. They each grabbed a corner and apparated out. Thus, the Order of the Phoenix fled the Ministry of Magic.
Hermione and Luna landed in the Hogwarts hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey and Professor Snape greeted them none too happily. The two shied away to the beds where their friends had been placed. Professor McGonagall burst into the room.
"Is it as you say? The girl must go to St. Mungos!" said McGonagall as she rushed up to meet Professor Snape.
"She can't," said Tonks fretfully before Snape and McGonagal got into it. "The Headmaster will not want to start all-out war so soon. It is too soon."
"The girl may die!" McGonagal contended.
Madame Pomfrey's voice boomed from Sakura's bedside, "Then you might want to lend a hand, Minerva. Since I have plenty enough female hands, I'll need all the men out. If you cannot walk, crawl."
Professor Snape left the room to gather blood-replenishing potions. He ordered Neville to assist and Ron to retrieve Ginny. "Miss Weasley is to assist Madame Pomfrey where we cannot."
Madame Pomfrey directed Tonks, Luna, and Hermione to levitate Sakura's body above the bed. "Don't let her touch anything." Professor McGonagall levitated a sheet over Sakura's body so that it covered the girl but did not make contact. Madame Pomfrey set to healing the burn wounds. Sakura's face had the least severe burns, her limbs the most severe. "Thank heavens she knew how to block the attack. I just wish she had remembered the protego charm. Alas, her beautiful face will remain intact."
When Ginny was "retrieved," only she and Professor Snape were admitted.
"Why does he get to help?" Ron asked in disbelief.
"You may not like him and I may be afraid of him, Ron, but he's one of the best healers in this school. He's one hell of a professor, though I dare not say so to his face."
Harry and Dumbledore appeared a minute later, Dumbledore guiding Harry with a hand on his shoulder. "Sit here until you are allowed to go in. I will do my best to help Miss Haruno." Professor Dumbledore looked to Ron and Neville, as if to say 'Take care of him.' The twinkling eyes the Ron and Neville remembered were absent.
Sakura had been given cotton underwear and bra soon after the burn healing started. Professor Snape and Dumbledore entered. Professor Snape started pulling out chuncks of wood and splinters from her back, anything he could find so as to get her clothed within the hour. Dumbledore cast a clotting spell everytime Snape pulled something out of her back. Ginny administered the potions to her under Snape's barked commands. Sakura made no sound. She acknowledged none of the pain induced during treatment. Ginny swapped places with Luna once the potions were administered, and Luna took a break. After half an hour, Hermione was relieved by Luna. Madame Pomfrey healed all visible third and second degree burns by the next hour.
Professor McGonagall transfigured cotton bed sheets for her attire. When Madame Pomfrey started healing the gashes on Sakura's body, Professors Snape and Dumbledore took over suspending Sakura's body. Professor Dumbledore was asked to release his clotting spells one by one as Madame Pomfrey closed the wounds. Sakura's white garments were stained with red stripes and splotches of blood within minutes. They were drenched by the end of the healing process, but much of it had been potion induced. When all the gashes were healed, Dumbledore and Snape left the room. McGonagal gave Sakura a fresh set of clothing.
Professor McGonagal wiped her forehead. She felt too old for this and bet Poppy did as well. "Her new skin should have nominal irritation. What now, Poppy?"
"I thought I saw a freshly healed wound on her abdomen. I couldn't examine it until now," said Madame Pomfrey. She waved her wand and began the scan. "Yes… it exits on the other side. This is horrific." Later in the scan, Madame Pomfrey picked up readings for internal trauma, as she expected. Madame Pomfrey found scarring on Sakura's internal organs. Somehow, they seemed freshly healed as well. After the scan, Madame Pomfrey came to the realization that Sakura should have died. Sakura was a healer. She survived under improbable odds. Once Madame Pomfrey got the opportunity, she sat down and cried.
"I need a rest. We all do. Let the boys in and go to bed," said Madame Pomfrey. The girl was a healer. She was stabilized. Madame Pomfrey would continue her work in the morning. The children's interrogations could start in the morning. Hopefully, Haruno Sakura would wake by morning.
She did not. Madame Pomfrey kept healing her. She healed her to full physical capacity. The diagnostic spell readings confused Madame Pomfrey. She was unfamiliar with the term 'chakra exhaustion.' A week passed. Sakura was moved to a private room in St. Mungo's. June arrived. The students took their O.W.L.s and were sent home on the Hogwarts express.
The students had absorbed every word of Dumbledore's end-of-year speech. Sakura Haruno had nearly sacrificed her life for her fellow students, he said. Hermione frowned as she stared out the window, her latest book in her lap. Ron and Harry inattentively played chess. Ron didn't gloat when he declared 'checkmate'. Luna and Ginny drew pictures of a certain witch in various heroic poses, smiting trolls and tree gnargles. Neville tended to his plant, one of three he would take to St. Mungo's. Draco hadn't bothered them in weeks. Seamus dropped in to finally apologize to Harry. After a year of storm clouds, the realization of war had finally descended.
[Chapter end]
Bwahaha
'Til next time!
Even more Itachi next chapter: Awakening! (Update: If I don't scoot him back to give Sakura time for reflection).
And please tell me if anything sounds "iffy." I will go back and perfect the coherency. Also, please disregard chapter 2. It sucks, I know, but I have to be thinking forward. Otherwise, I'll never finish!