Chapter Nine: Deadline
A/N: Yay finally got internet back. Reader Response at the bottom. Enjoy!
Two years had passed since Isaribi joined Akatsuki and Naruto was now ten. The years had passed with a lot of training and an occasional mission now and then. Missions were become less and less and things were getting quiet.
"Hey bozu get up." Kimimaro said from the doorway.
Naruto rolled over from where he was laying. "What time is it?"
"Well into the afternoon." The white haired boy spoke leaning against the frame of the door.
"Give me another hour."
"Training that hard? And no can do you have to get up. We actually got a mission and I'm not turning it down."
"A mission?" The blonde asked sitting up. "What kind of mission?"
"Information gathering, leader discovered another location of a scroll. But hey information is better then no mission."
"Yeah, I'll be ready to leave in an hour okay?"
"Alright, meet me by the lake. Try and hurry we have to go all the way to mist."
"Mist?"
"Yup, that's where the scroll is."
"Why didn't blue man take this mission?"
"Because him and Itachi are looking up some rumors that have been going around."
"What rumors?"
"Can't say."
"Fine, fine. I'll be out at the lake in an hour."
"That was simple. I mean it was like they wanted us to take it." Naruto joked when they were out of the city.
"You forget I did the planning this time. I had every little detail down to a T."
"Uhuh rub it in my face I make a mistake now and then."
Kimimaro laughed, "I'm sorry, you just always mess up timing."
"Yeah, yeah sure." The blonde pushed the older boys shoulder. "Look out!" He screamed pushing the boy to the side. He flew back as a kick landed on his gut.
Kimimaro turned to see Naruto sliding across the ground. Then turned to face the man who had attacked them. The man was wearing a black facemask and suit with black gloves. The white haired boy took a fighting stance and shot a bone out of the palm of his hand towards the man.
The man jumped back and out of the way before throwing a kunai that was deflected by a bone. Kimimaro lifted up his hands and shot out his fingertips like bullets.
Naruto got up from where he was kicked and ran towards the unidentified man and slipped to the ground with a sliding kick to knock the man down. The man jumped over the attack. "Damnit." Naruto muttered as he got back to his feet.
The man threw a series of long thin needles at the blonde who cried out in pain. He then turned towards the white haired boy who now had what looked like a sword made out of bone.
Naruto tried to move but found his arms and legs useless by the needles in his pressure points. He had to watch the fight unable to help at all.
Kimimaro looked over at Naruto and saw that he was still conscious but wasn't moving. "You okay?" He asked keeping his eyes on the man in front of him.
"It hurts a little, but I can't move."
"Okay, I'll get rid of this idiot then come help you." The white haired boy swung his sword around and took a step towards the man.
"Silly kids playing with weapons." It was the first time the other person spoke and they now realized it was a woman. She ran forward and threw needles at the bone user who deflected them with his sword.
Kimimaro jumped and then sliced at the girls arm cutting it opens.
She grunted when the blade sliced her skin, looking down she saw blood. "Little runt, I'll get you for that." She spoke before disappearing.
The white haired boy looked around trying to find where the unidentified girl went.
"Behind you!" Naruto screamed.
Kimimaro whirled around just in time to have a needle gabbed into his neck. The woman pushed then plunger down injecting him with the entire contents of the syringe. The white haired boy screamed out in pain from the stinging sensation. He then fell to his knees where he yanked out the now empty syringe and clapped his hand on his neck.
"Let this be a lesson for betraying Orochimaru." She spoke pulling off the mask and letting her long purplish hair fall down her back.
Flash Back One Week Ago
"Orochimaru-Sama! Orochimaru-Sama!" A boy with short brown hair hollered running into the room.
"What is it Zaku?" The older man asked turning to face the boy.
Zaku took in a deep breath to recover from running all the way over, "It's the camera's, you remember how you sent someone to recover all the tapes to check and see if the scientist had turned?"
"Yes, is there a point to this?" Orochimaru asked getting annoyed.
"You wont believe this, but on the tape it was Kimimaro-Sama; he's alive sir!"
"Get me the tape now!"
"I brought it sir." Zaku said pulling the tape out of his bag.
The long dark haired man took the tape and made his way over to the VCR. By the time the tape was done he was scowling. "Yes he is alive, but he has betrayed me. He's with them. I didn't expect him to cross. Zaku!"
"Yes sir?" The boy asked staying where he was.
"Get me Takara, I have a mission for her."
"Yes sir," He said running out.
Flashback End
Kimimaro looked up at the woman that was now unmasked. "Takara, why?" He asked once seeing it was the woman that had been like a mother to him when he was loyal to Orochimaru.
She frowned down at the boy, "You betrayed us, all of us. I hope you suffer till your last breath. You will be a lesson to all that question their loyalty to Orochimaru. Goodbye." Takara turned and ran from the seen before jumping into the trees and vanishing from sight.
The white haired boy groaned feeling like he was going to pas out. He crawled over to where Naruto was still laying and yanked out the needles. "Are you okayhhh…" Kimimaro fell to the side unconscious.
Naruto moved to grab him. He was able to move now that the needles were gone. He held his best friend close, "Hold on, I'm gonna get you home." The blonde pulled Kimimaro onto his back and ran as fast as he could in the direction of Akatsuki.
Naruto sat next to the bed that Sasori had helped him set Kimimaro up in. He had run the whole way back only stopping when he ran out of air. The white haired boy had woken up a few times coughing before falling back asleep.
The blonde looked up when the door opened, "Oh it's you. Have you figured out what he was injected with?"
Sasori shook his head, "I have started the process of figuring it out. It will take a few hours to get the results. You should sleep. I brought a cot so you can sleep in the lab."
"I'm not tired." Naruto lied.
"You just ran for two days without rest, you have to sleep. If he wakes up I will wake you. But you need to sleep. If you want I can give you something to help you rest."
"No it's fine Sasori, I'll sleep. Where's the cot?"
"In the hall."
"Alright, thanks." Naruto said before hugging the older man, "I'm just scared he's been asleep for awhile now."
Sasori realized just how shaken the blonde was when he was hugged. The last time Naruto had hugged him the kid had been seven and that was three years ago. "It's going to be okay."
"I know I'm just worrying. And something weird happened. It was something the woman that attacked us said. It's like I've seen here before and part of me feels it was important and the person she was talking about, I know I've heard that name before. It is all just really weird like part of my memory is fuzzy."
"Just rest, some sleep will do you good." The red haired man said. 'I need to tell leader this.'
"Yeah, I will." Naruto said going to get the cot.
Naruto woke up when he heard coughing. He brought up his hand and rubbed his eyes before remembering everything that had happened and jumped up to go to the bed.
Kimimaro coughed again bringing down his hand and noticed blood speckles. He looked up and noticed the blonde walking towards him.
"How are you feeling?" Naruto asked concerned.
"I'm feeling okay, how long was I out?" The white haired boy asked sitting up and leaning against the pillows.
"Two days, three nights. So who was that lady? Why did she attack us?" The younger boy asked sitting on the bed.
"Her name is Takara, she is working for a very bad person. She attacked us because of a choice I made. I'm guessing she didn't kill me because they want me back. That or her attack failed."
Naruto scrunched up his eyebrows in thought. , "You betrayed us, all of us. I hope you suffer till your last breath. You will be a lesson to all that question their loyalty to Orochimaru. Goodbye." He replayed what she said in his head. "I don't know what she did, but you scared me when you weren't waking up."
"You know me I'm strong." Kimimaro laughed slightly before coughing again.
Naruto's eyes widened when he noticed the blood. "How long has that been happening?"
The bone user looked down at the small speckles of blood, "This, its nothing. I probably just took a hit and injured something."
"I'm not so…" He stopped and looked at the door when it opened to see Sasori standing there.
"Naruto will you come here for me." The red head asked moving his hand to have the boy come.
"Yeah. We will finish this talk when I get back." Naruto said pointing and Kimimaro with a small smile before getting up and walking out into the hall. "So what is it?"
"The tests aren't finished, but I have discovered what it's doing. He was injected with a bacteria that is acting like a virus. It is destroying the vitamin K in his body. And with the…"
Naruto interrupted, "Destroying the vitamin K, what does that mean?"
"Well if your body doesn't have vitamin K it causes bleeding. If it gets low enough then the person will bleed out of every orifice until they die."
The blonde looked at the ground his fists trembling, "And a cure?"
"I'm still waiting for the chemical composition. I have to wait for that, then evaluate and find something that neutralizes it. It will be hard, but I've done it before. I just need time."
"And how long until his vitamin K gets too low?"
"With the speed that its moving right now, five days maybe a week. It all depends on his body."
"Is that long enough to make a cure?" Naruto asked looking up from the ground with a mix of pain and hope in his eyes.
"I am going to do my best, I've never seen anything like this before. It's like a living disease. But I will do everything I can. I need to get back to the lab, stay here with him."
"Isn't there anything I can do?"
"Just stay here with him; stay with your friend. Leave the lab work to me." Sasori said giving a soft squeeze to the blonde's shoulder. "We are going to fight this."
"Okay." Naruto said taking in a breath and making his way back into the room. He looked up at Kimimaro and started crying.
"What is it bozu?" The white haired boy asked.
The younger boy ran over and hugged the other crying onto his chest. "I don't want to lose you. Don't you dare leave me. Don't you dare." He cried harder clutching onto the older boys shirt.
"I'm not going anywhere, don't worry. I'm staying right here." Kimimaro hugged his sobbing friend trying not to cry as well. "This isn't going to get me."
Naruto then realized that he had heard the conversation from the hallway. "I'm not going to let it get you, because I'm not wiling to let you go."
"I know bozu, I know."
It had been a few hours since the two boys found out about the bacteria's threat. After Naruto stopped crying they talked about all the things they used to do when they were younger.
Isaribi stepped in and closed the door quietly.
"Yeah and then the water balloons filled with syrup." Naruto said laughing.
Kimimaro laughed, "But nothing is better then that time you convinced Kisame that we couldn't train because all the water had turned into Jell-O."
"Well you did help me stop up all the pipes." Naruto laughed harder. The older boy laughed to until he started coughing.
He used the back of his hand to wipe off the blood that was slowly becoming more each time he had a coughing fit. "I'm fine. Oh Isaribi, I haven't seen you in awhile."
The brown haired girl made her way over. "Hey, I just heard about what happened. How are you feeling?"
"I'm feeling fine, been better though." Kimimaro said using his hand to motion the girl over.
Isaribi walked over pulling up a chair. "So what are you guys talking about?"
"Just memories." Naruto said with a small smile. "What have you been up to?"
"Oh just training. Trying to get down all the moves Kisame is giving me."
"That's good, how is blue man?"
"Fine for all I know, him and Itachi are still on a mission."
"Really? I have talked to Aniki in awhile."
Kimimaro laughed lightly, "Maybe he's avoiding you, because you are getting older and he isn't ready to give you 'the talk'."
"The talk?" Naruto blinked and tilted his head to the side, "I don't get it."
The white haired boy laughed harder. "Nothing bozu."
"You're so mean taichou!" He said lightly hitting the older males shoulder.
"I'm sorry." He said trying to stop a laughing. Isaribi laughed to at the blonde's face.
The three talked well into the night till one by one they fell asleep.
Sasori opened the door and looked in at the three sleeping forms. He walked in quietly and woke the blond that was curled up near the end of the bed.
"Wha…huh?" Naruto blinked his eyes open looking around.
"Shh." The red head motioned to the other two sleeping figures, "Come with me."
The younger boy nodded and got off the bed following the other male down the hall.
"I've got the chemical composition."
"So you can make a cure?" He said with a smile.
Sasori paused for a moment decided just to come out and say it. "I was right in thinking it was a living disease. I haven't come in contact with anything like this before. I see no way to neutralize it. The only way would be to remove it from the body, but that would need and extensive surgery and we just don't have the resources for that and then there's only a 20 chance that it would work without knowing how it was created. I'm sorry, but there is no way to cure it."
"No, no, no, wait a minute. Are you saying that he's going to die?"
"Yes when the bacteria has destroyed the vitamin K to a certain point then he will die."
"This can't be happening I mean he's thirteen, thirteen year olds don't die! I…I can't. This isn't happening." Naruto grabbed his head and stepped back to where he was leaning against the wall. "He can't die. I could go and find to girl that did this force her to tell us how to stop it. Please anything?"
Sasori set his hand on the boy's shoulder, "I'm sorry, but I can't let you go chasing someone that we don't have any information on." 'Plus according to Kimimaro this is connected to Orochimaru and I cant let you get near there' "Plus I'm sure Kimimaro would want you here for him and not chasing shadows."
"I'm not ready to believe that there's nothing we can do. I'm not ready to just sit there and watch my best friend die!" The blonde punched the wall. "You have to do something, there has to be something!"
The red head was quiet for a few seconds. "I will keep trying, I'll go over the chemical make up again, and maybe I will find something. I wanted to tell you first so that you could be strong for him when I tell him."
Naruto slid down the wall and sat on the floor, "Okay, just promise you'll keep trying."
"I will. I'm going to go talk with him." Sasori turned and walked down the hall towards the room.
The blonde banged his head against the wall and pounded his fist on the floor. This couldn't be happening. He was going to wake up and this all was going to be a nightmare. Yeah that's it all just a nightmare.
He startled when a hand made contact with his shoulder.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you. Sasori just came in to talk to Kimimaro and asked me to leave the room. That's when I noticed you were missing. Do you know what's going on?" Isaribi asked sitting next to him.
Naruto clenched and unclenched his fists. "Just some technical stuff, nothing to worry about. Everything's going to be okay. We're gonna get a cure."
The brown haired girl set her hand on top of the boys, "we will get through this."
"I know," Naruto said fighting back tears, "I'm just really scared."
"It's okay." Isaribi wrapped her arm around the boy, "It's going to be okay." The blonde turned and cried on the girls shoulder. "It's going to be okay."
Naruto slowly opened the door and stepped inside. It had been half an hour since he found out and Sasori had just walked out of the room Kimimaro was staying in.
Kimimaro looked up when the door opened, "Hey."
"Hey." The blonde replied forcing a smile. He finished walking across the room and sat on the bed.
"So where'd Isaribi go?" The white haired boy asked.
"She had to go do something with Kisame." Naruto replied deciding not to add in he asked to be alone to talk. "So Sasori told…"
"Yeah he did."
"But he's wrong were going to find a cure, even if I have to go find that lady myself we are going to find away to stop this thing. We are believe me…"
"Naruto." He started off quite trying to stop the blondes ranting, "Naruto…Naruto!"
Blue eyes turned to look at his friend hands still in motion from what he was saying.
"Now that I have your attention, calm down. I want your full attention." Kimimaro spoke softly.
"Ok."
"I don't want to die from this."
"I wont let you..."
"Please don't interrupt me, just listen." Kimimaro waited for Naruto to nod. "I don't want to die from this. Sasori told me what would happen and I don't want to die that way. So when things start getting bad, I want you to kill me."
The blonde jumped up from where he was sitting on the bed. "WHAT! NO!"
The older boy motioned his hand for the other to calm down, "Not right now; just when things start looking bad. Sasori said I have any where from three days to a week."
"I'm not going to kill you and you aren't going to die. We are going to find a cure. You just hang on we'll beat this. Come on me and you get through everything! You have to fight this. You have to. You can't leave me alone again." Naruto started crying again.
Kimimaro looked down at his hands. "Okay, okay. Just keep it in your mind."
"Shut up, just shut up you don't know what your saying." The blonde grabbed the older boy, "Don't think like that its like you've already given up. Don't give up on me."
The white haired boy looked up at the crying boy, "I'm sorry. I'm fighting, I'll hold on."
Naruto sniffed and wiped his eyes, "I don't want to lose you."
"I know. I know." Kimimaro hugged the younger boy.
"Don't leave me alone."
"You'll never be alone."
Kimimaro fiddled with the bed sheets. It had been four days since the initial attack and one day since he found out how the bacteria would work. Naruto had left late the previous night once he thought the older boy was sleeping and went to the lab.
The bone user looked up when the door was pushed open. "Hey you're awake, I made you breakfast." Naruto said as he walked in with a tray of food.
The white haired boy smiled, "You didn't need to."
"Well I wanted to." He set the tray on the other boy's lap. "This morning I was in the lab and I think we are getting very close to finding a cure."
Kimimaro paused mid bite, "Did Sasori say that?"
"Well, no, but I can just feel it."
"Oh, well that's good too." He said before continuing to eat. After he swallowed he began coughing violently. The tray slid off his lap and fell onto the floor. He brought up both his hands to cover his mouth. When he stopped coughing there was a pool of blood in his hands.
Naruto jumped up when the tray crashed on the ground. He stared at his friend then at the blood on the pale hands. He clenched his fists, "I need to go back to the lab I need to keep working."
"No, stay here." Kimimaro said wiping off his hands.
The blonde turned back around and looked at the older boy. He nodded, "Alright, I'll stay here."
"Naruto, it's getting worse and I know you don't like to think about it, but Sasori might be right and there may be no cure..."
"Don't say that, don't you say that."
"Naruto, please listen to me. As I said, I don't want to die from this. I don't know how fast its going to move, or how long it will take, but if it gets really bad I want you to kill me."
Naruto turned and started walking towards the door, "I'm going to the lab. We'll find a cure, just you wait."
"Naruto wait!"
"I'm not going to let you die and I'm not going to kill you." With that he closed the door behind him.
"Naruto! Naruto come back!"
The blonde spent most of the day in the lab going over everything he knew about chemicals and poisons. At the moment he was looking from his workbook to the print out of the chemical composition of the bacteria in Kimimaro.
Sasori stepped into the room and made his way over to the boy. "Naruto."
"What is it Sasori?" He asked without looking up.
"Perhaps instead of being in here you should be spending time with Kimimaro. I am the poisons expert, perhaps you should leave this to me." The red head asked sounding as all knowing as ever.
Naruto set his pen down and stared at the workbook, "I want to help."
"Yes, but what if this thing can't be cured, don't say anything just listen, if this cant be cured and Kimimaro really does die. Wouldn't you want to have spent the time he has left with him instead of in here?"
The blonde sighed and closed his book, "As always you're right. I should have listened before and paid more attention when you were teaching me formulas then at least I could do something."
"Don't say that, you were an excellent student for your age. How would you do more then I if I was your teacher?"
"Yeah," Naruto stood up and looked at Sasori, "It's just that when we were attacked I was helpless I just had to watch and do absolutely nothing. All the training all the work and I was useless."
The red head set a hand on the boy's shoulder, "Sometimes that's just the way that it is. Now go be with him."
"Yeah, I know," He sighed, "Thanks for talking some sense into me. I'm counting on you Sasori, find a cure." Naruto turned and walked out of the room.
"I'm trying, I really am," Sasori said turning back to his work.
Naruto stood outside the door to Kimimaro's room. He was trying to think of what to say about storming out earlier. He pushed open the door and stepped in.
Isaribi stopped mid sentence and turned to look at the blonde at the door. The white haired boy turned and looked at the door. Naruto looked from one to the other and had the feeling that he was being talked about.
"Well I should be going." Isaribi said standing up. She reached over and set her hand on top of the older boy's, "Remember what we talked about." She turned and walked to the door, "Bye Naruto."
"Yeah, bye." The blonde said before walking over to the bed. "I'm sorry about earlier. I just felt useless and wanted to help and I just…I was just and idiot and I'm sorry."
"No problem, I'm sorry too." Kimimaro gave a smile, "So are you going to stay this time or run off again?"
"I'll stay this time." Naruto said with a small laugh. He sat in the chair next to the bed and punched his friend's shoulder. "You know you really are scaring me. You have to start getting better soon."
The older boy looked down at his hands, "I'm sorry."
Naruto cut him off before he could say anymore, "I was joking." He sighed and sat back. "How do you do it?"
"Do what?" Kimimaro asked.
"Not get scared."
"I guess I just know that everything happens for a reason and I've accepted what's going to happen is going to happen. I'm not scared of dying."
"How? How can you not be scared of dying if I'm so terrified of losing you?" The ten year old forced himself not to cry as he turned to look at the older boy.
"Because I'm not the one that's going to be alone. But you know what, even if I do die you wont be alone. I'll always be with you." Kimimaro said with a smile and then poked the blonde's chest, "I'll be right there with you always."
Naruto wiped a tear from his eye before he pulled the other boy into a hug. "But I don't want to lose you."
"I know, I know." The white haired boy hugged him back. "You wont lose me, ever."
Naruto woke up to someone shaking his shoulder. He blinked his eyes open slowly and yawned, he couldn't remember falling asleep at all. Looking up he saw the Kimimaro was asleep in his bed. The blonde then turned to look at the side where Sasori was standing.
The red head kneeled down to be face to face with the younger boy. He spoke in a hushed voice, "Naruto, I spoke with Kimimaro earlier when he was awake. His condition is starting to go down faster. I told him that I would need to hook him up to a pump that would fill his body with healthy blood and liquids, but he refused. He said he didn't want to live off of a machine. By not going on the blood pump I don't know how long he has. All I can tell you is that the process of the decay is moving more rapidly. I'm sorry, but I can't force him. He asked me not to tell you, but I felt you should know maybe you could talk to him. I'm sorry Naruto." Sasori bowed his head slightly before standing and leaving.
Naruto stared at the space Sasori had been still frozen with shock, fear and anger. The blonde whirled around and looked at his friend. His skin had gone paler and his frame seemed smaller. There was a light blue ring forming under his eyes and his lips had lost their color. The blonde clenched his fist then shook Kimimaro awake.
"Huh?" The white haired boy mumbled opening his eyes.
"What do you mean by not doing something that can save you! Why aren't you trying! Why have you given up! Why are you leaving me!" Naruto screamed unintentionally.
The bone user blinked and then knew that the younger boy knew. "I'm sorry, but I cant. It wont save me, it will reduce me to being a machine, not human. I can't do that that would be giving in. That would be giving up."
Tears streamed down the blondes face, "That doesn't make any sense, how can not taking help be not giving up!"
"Some day I hope you understand my choice. I'm sorry if you don't right know." Kimimaro spoke and his voice said that nothing would change his mind.
"Don't, don't, you cant! If not for you for ME! You can't force me to watch you die!"
"It's not what I wanted." He spoke quietly.
Naruto went quiet realizing how harsh he was being. He couldn't believe what he had been saying. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean…I know it's not what you wanted. This wasn't supposed to happen. Where's the good in this."
The blonde was shocked when the older boy smiled, "I can't tell you that Naruto, but I'm sure its somewhere hidden waiting for someone to find it."
Naruto scrunched up his eyebrows trying to figure out what the bone user was saying.
Kimimaro began coughing violently and then began gagging. He bent over as the gagging became more forceful and he started throwing up blood.
Naruto jumped up and back fearful with wide eyes. He started breathing hard and pulled both hands to his chest as it became harder and harder to breathe. The room started spinning around and his heart clenched painfully. He let out a scream before falling to the ground unconscious.
Blue eyes opened slowly looking around groggily. He felt like someone hit him in the head with a baseball bat and then took a swing at his chest. Naruto sat up slowly and looked around. He was back in his room and in bed. He wondered for a second how he got there and then remembered what happened with Kimimaro and he lunged out of bed running down the hall.
He tore down the steps and turned down the next hall before crashing into something hard. Looking up he saw it had been Sasori.
"Ah Naruto I see you are up again. You took a hit to your head when you fell."
"Kimimaro? What about Kimimaro, how is he?"
"Well he is doing as good as we can hope. He took quite a number and is resting now. He has entered the second to final stage. I am heading back to the lab now to see if there is anyway to prolong the next step from coming. But he wants to talk to you, so why don't you go see him."
Naruto nodded not trusting himself to say anything and finished making his way to the room. He pushed the door open and walked in.
Kimimaro turned his head to the door when it opened and smiled when he saw it was his friend. "Hey is your head okay."
"Yeah fine." Naruto smiled in relief at seeing that Kimimaro was indeed still alive.
"Sasori said you had a panic attack."
"Well you gave me quite a scare."
"I didn't mean to." He said with a small smile, "Come on, come sit down."
The blonde walked over and sat down, "The puppet man said you wanted to talk to me."
"Yes. Did Sasori tell you that this is the second to final step?" When he received a nod he continued, "The final step is death. I'm not looking forward to bleeding out." He said as a soft joke to try and lighten the mood. "Naruto, as my best friend I want you to end my life peaceful so I don't have to suffer anymore."
Naruto was caught off guard by the tone in Kimimaro's voice it was pleading begging almost. "Okay, I will. I don't want you to suffer." It hurt him to say the words, but somewhere in his head he knew that there would be no miracle cure at the last minute. "I'll go talk to Sasori and then I'll be back." Naruto stood up ready to leave.
"Thank you." Kimimaro spoke softly but his voice and the look in his eyes showed how sincere he was.
"Your welcome." The blonde replied letting silent tears fall down his face. He turned and made his way out the door.
He found Sasori in the lab and told him of what was happening and received a syringe that would let Kimimaro drift into a sleep that he would never wake from.
Naruto walked back into the room the syringe in his pocket. He took a breath to try and keep strong. He sat down in the chair next to his bed.
Kimimaro looked at him with a smile. "Will you tell Isaribi goodbye for me? I just don't think I can take many goodbyes."
"Of course I'll tell her."
"Hey, Naruto, I have a last request a sort of promise I want you to make for me."
"What is it?" The blonde asked ready to agree to anything.
"Have Itachi unlock your memories, tell him I told you to demand it. Then I want you to promise me that you will kill Orochimaru, for yourself and for me. Promise?"
Naruto was confused, Itachi had locked away his memories, what that didn't make any sense. Who's Orochimaru and what did he do. He was very confused. "Yes I promise with my life."
"Thank you. I'm ready then. I want you to remember, I will live on forever inside of you, soon you will understand how."
Naruto nodded and took a breath pulling out the syringe. He was hoping praying that someone would bust through the door with the cure that everything would be okay. "I wont every let you down." He spoke as his goodbye as he poked the needle into Kimimaro's vein and injected it in.
"Goodbye." The white haired boy spoke softly as he began to get sleepy.
Naruto held his hand tightly, "Goodbye."
Kimimaro's eyes closed and his mouth turned into a smile. His breathing grew softer and softer.
Naruto watched as his friend's chest slowed down and then stopped. Then it was gone. Kimimaro had passed on.
Naruto let out a blood-chilling scream as both hands covered his eyes. Pain was searing in them. He screamed again loudly.
Sasori who had gotten Itachi to help comfort the boy after everything was done busted through the door he was waiting by when he heard the scream. Itachi followed him closely; neither was ready for what they saw.
A/N: Well there you go the next chapter.
Reader Response:
mazzifnutz: No in the anime they are only three years apart.
Mican-chan: Well him and Naruto are ten years apart. Itachi was 13 at the beginning of the story when Naruto was 3.
XllShadowllX: Yes its kinda important that why its in there. :P
Fishlet: Well this is my Akatsuki so heh it may not be what you're used to.
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All right keep reading! I finally got my Internet back so yay. I'll try and update fast this chapter took me forever been working on it since before I posted the last one. Anyways I hope you like. Well you might not and you might hate me –hides- the next part follows from exactly where I stop. Since I usually don't do that. Review and tell me what you think. TTFN!