Sorry for the long wait! Even though I promised to update after the last chapter, but things had happened, babies were born, and the holidays are HERE, people!!
I'm really gonna try to update one chapter more before I officially pause for a few months (SPM exam. Form 5 Malaysian readers, Ganbatte!!) But I'll still be checking in here every once in a while!! So, R & R!!
Here's chapter 10!! Like it or not, leave a review for me to know!! XDD!!
DISCLAIMER: (SO SORRY ABOUT THIS. KINDA FORGOT TO DISCLAIM IN THE LAST FEW CHAPTERS.) I DO NOT OWN Naruto IN ANYWAY, BUT IF ANYONE WANTS TO SELL HIM OR SASUKE, CALL ME!! XDDDD!!
Chapter 10 Part l…
My Life, Your Life, Our Lives…
Clang!
The sound of metal weapons clashing together rang throughout the spacious room. Eight people all covered in masks were fighting their asses off, trying to stay alive by knocking the lights out of their opponents.
"Come on," the wolf taunted, pointing the kunai straight at the cat's face.
"Fight me."
Sasuke gripped tighter on his kunai, trying to hide his excitement in having found a worthy-to-be opponent.
"I don't do as people order me to." He disappeared, reappearing behind his enemy's back, whispering. "So let's see what you've got."
"God! Watch where you shoot those! You could have really hurt someone like that!" Naruto yelled, darting at all the senbons, shurikens and kunais that were thrown at a number of half a dozen per minute at him.
The wolf he's up against just ignored his plea, taking out a huge shuriken, hurling it at him.
"Damn it!" he jumped out of the weapon's way, flinging back a couple of shurikens himself.
"Why won't you just keep quiet and fight me seriously?" Tenten is getting tired of chasing after her opponent. Even though she's not the one for compliments on her enemy, she's gotta admit—he's fast.
"I hope that you really are an assassin, you coward." She continued lunging her attacks at him. "'cause what I'm seeing now, is a boy in the middle of a practice."
Even the idiot of the idiots can sense the insult in her tone, Naruto not being anywhere near that level. He snarled at her for the first time in almost half an hour.
"You want a fight?" he said through clenched teeth, his battle aura increasing.
"I'll give you one."
"Hey, cutie. Are you looking for me?"
Neji jumped around, slashing his kunai at what seemed to be nothing behind him.
"Whoa. You're a fussy little thing aren't ya?"
The flirt continues. Ino hid in the shadows, taunting her opponent.
"Why don't you just cut down on the words, slut," the Hyuuga said through clenched teeth, his anger rising as he dashed for the giant debris not far from him, veins starting to grow around his eyes.
"And get the hell on with the battle."
Shikamaru winced at the spot his opponent had slashed him, his blood dripping from the cut.
'This is bad. It's insulting enough that we have to go against girls, but skilled ones? Give me a break here…whoops!'
A shuriken flew past him, lodging itself into the concrete wall.
Hiding in a small opening behind a fallen part of the wall, he checked out how his teammates are doing.
He saw Sasuke using his 'Shi-Shi Ren-Dan' on his opponent, her recovering fast from it, and aimed a punch and a powerful kick into the back, slamming the Uchiha into the opposite wall all across the room.
'Freaky strength…' the Nara thought as he saw what happened, silently thanking Kakashi for not choosing him as the leader.
Over at the other two of his group, they had teamed up with their opponents, both sides fending one another, trying to get the first hit of the hour.
Shikamaru cursed as he tried to think of a plot to go with this situation. It's not everyday you go up against female killers who are skilled in combat. It's just not…fair.
Turning back, he met eye to eye with the sharp edge of the opponent's kunai.
The wolf in front of him stayed silent, as if she's looking down at a sure prey.
"Play time's over. Let's get this over with."
Sakura panted under her mask, keeping alert of her surroundings. She looked around, searching for that bastard that made her ran around all night.
"Boo."
A side kick was leashed out, making the Haruno slid half way before she vanished and met mask to mask with her opponent, the cat flying all the way back into the wall once again, bits of the concrete smashed into pieces.
Both of them are breathing in and out heavily, glaring at each other through their masks.
'We've been at this for almost two hours. Been a long time since I've fought somebody near sensei's level. 'Sakura thought, frowning.
Sasuke thought of the same thing. It has been a long time since he had fought for so long without resting. Which, in his case, can't unless he wanted to get maimed by either the monstrous force or the explosive tags which, gives off a quite a damage.
"KYAAAA!!" Sakura yelled out as she jumped, twirling herself tornado-like barrier, aiming for Sasuke.
Thinking fast, he sprung at her as well, his kunai pointed to her, preparing to end the battle.
Neji had given Ino cuts all around her arms and her back, all the while sensing a familiar chakra pattern. Flipping away from her, he stopped midway, turning his attention towards the wolf who is fighting his partner in the current double battle.
'No way. That move…it's…'
The Hyuuga's eyes widened as he witnessed what Hinata is lashing out on Naruto.
'Hakke Rokujuuyonshou…'
The Uzumaki barely missed the attack, somersaulting into the air again.
"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!!" Thousands of copies appeared, all charging for Hinata.
She took no notice to the amount of copies coming right at her, calmly striking every one of the clones within her Jyuuken.
Neji had let his guard down in shock while observing the female Hyuuga fight, letting Ino taking the chance to get aim a kick in his face from the right.
"Don't keep looking at my teammate, Mr." she said it through her mask, at the same time throwing shurikens at Neji again.
"Look at me for a change." The Yamanaka chuckled, putting her right hand on her hip while standing a couple feet away from Neji.
There's only on word that Neji could find to call his opponent now. Yeah, only ONE.
"Bitch…" he cursed as he lunged at her with his Jyuuken as well.
"Goukakyuu no jutsu!!" The Uchiha casted, drawing chakra from his mouth into his chest, immediately exhaling it. A stream of fire is blown, erupting into a large sphere of flames.
The flames directed at Sakura, her sphere of wind defending her from getting hurt. Inside the globe of air, Sakura took out another explosion tagged kunai, equipping it as her defense came in contact with her foe, an explosion went off.
Every person in the room jerked their heads to the blast, bewildered by the fact that something had gone off.
'Sasuke!!' The Cats thought at the same time.
"Damn!!" Naruto cursed.
'Sakura!' Ino thought, about to make a dash for her teammate, only to get blocked by Hinata.
"What are you doing?!" Ino said as dust builds up all around them, hazing their view. "She may be hurt! Get out of the way!"
"No, Ino." The Hyuuga stood in her position.
"Shikamaru! What happened!?" Neji yelled.
"How do I know?! I'm busy here too, you know!!" he yelled back.
"Damn it!" Naruto cursed again.
"Teme!! You better not be dead yet!!"
The Yamanaka scowled from inside her mask and tried to force her way out of Hinata's grip.
"Please calm down, Ino." She said, unmoved.
"How can I be calm in this situation??" Ino's eyes' flared anger behind her mask. "Tell me, Hinata!!"
"We have to go by the rules, Ino. Mission over teammates. That's what Kurenai thought us."
"What the hell are u sayi—"
Suddenly, a figure stepped out, panting. Dusts cleared away, the scene of broken ceilings and walls appeared.
It was Sakura.
Relieved, Ino stopped fidgeting with Hinata.
"Sakura…thank god..." She whispered.
Hinata looked at the ground under her, her eyes emotionless.
Chapter 10 Part ll…
My Life, Your Life, Our Lives…
'I'm the future heir to the Hyuuga clan.'
She hung her head, her Byakugan fading.
'I can't break the rules.' Glancing at her pink-haired accomplice, she felt forever guilty.
'Sakura, I'm sorry.'
She gripped her kunai tighter, not allowing herself to crumble beneath the clan's tradition.
'I'm sorry. I really, really, am sorry.'
Out of the eye, the Cats saw a familiar being getting up grunting near them.
"Ugh…damn…" The person coughed out.
Naruto's eyes went wide.
"TEME!! You're alive! Hell Yeah!!"
The two shinobis were struggling to stand up on their feet. Keeping a distance away from each other, they daren't move.
Slowly, something dropped down from one of the side of the two. It was half of the wolf's mask. Blood trailed down along with the cut, dripping onto the floor.
That was when Tenten, Hinata and Ino sensed Sakura's weakened aura, also as their sign of abort, fleeing from their opponents and rushing to Sakura's side.
Sasuke turned around and saw the ear of the mask sliced, blood trickled down from a deep gash near the forehead. He took a step towards her, heart thumping loudly in his ears.
'Something's not right.' He breathed. 'It's as if I've known her from somewhere.'
When he reached within 5 feet away from her, she fell. Just like that.
Her kunai colliding with the floor, she lay on the ground unconscious.
On instinct, Sasuke approached her within less than a second but stopped in his tracks when a katana was pressed on his neck.
"We'll be continuing this someday," Tenten said while holding onto Sakura's numb body. "This won't happen again."
A smoke bomb went off and both of them vanished.
"What the hell?!" Neji demanded, rushing towards them.
"Don't miss us!" Ino chuckled. Two more smoke bombs were activated and the Cats were left gaping.
Sasuke blanked out, reviewing the whole scene over and over his head. He was deeply pissed off from not finishing the fight and his body screamed pain all over. The last blast was a death sentence but astoundingly he was still standing.
Naruto and the others made their way through the crumbled bits and looked out for shurikens on the floor. The Uzumaki himself tripped a few times before reaching our brooding hero.
"Ughh…" He winced. "Teme, you okay?"
Sasuke looked at him from the corner of his eye and gave a slight nod, his focus still on his thoughts.
"I think we should leave." Shikamaru stretched to check his wounds.
"Wouldn't Hatake be amused when he hears about this." He winced at the throbbing pain at his back.
Neji stayed silent as well, his eyes at the furthest corner of their battleground.
"Neji? What are you looking at?" Naruto picked up a few shurikens and stashed it in its holder.
"I don't know…" he frowned. "It's looks like a…oh shit." The Hyuuga cursed as his face went paler than ever.
"…A?"
"DUCK!!" He screamed, tackling everyone onto the floor.
As if on cue, an explosion went off.
Loudly.
"SENSEI!!" Ino barged into Kurenai's office, followed closely by Hinata and Tenten, carrying Sakura on her back.
"Wha-" Kurenai started but stopped when she saw the state Sakura's in, rooted.
"What bloody happened to her??" Quickly recovering from her shock, she demanded an explanation from the conscious members of team RIDE.
"She used up all her chakra that's left for the combo jutsu, sensei." Hinata softly reported.
Ino looked at the Hyuuga through narrowed eyes, not knowing what to think of her after the incident before.
As Kurenai fumbled with the phone, she asked them their status.
Each of the three reported to be okay, but Ino has a back wound that haven't stopped bleeding since she got it. She waved the attention from Kurenai off as she will be able to heal herself at home later.
The Yuuhi nodded and spoke into the phone. Minutes passed while she tells the person on the other line Sakura's condition and Tenten sat down on the polished wooden planks by Sakura's side on the sofa, checking for other injuries.
"Okay. Be quick." She closed her eyes and breathed. "...Please."
The three shot up their heads at the same time. It's not everyday you hear the toughest person you know saying please.
"Well." The head of the organization sighed as she hang up the cordless phone. "Sakura's going to be in good hands now. You guys go back home to rest."
"I won't leave until Sakura's well." Tenten said without turning her head away from Sakura's face, wiping the sweat that are forming with a damp cloth Hinata gotten for her.
"Me either." Hinata and Ino said at the same time.
"I know its hard for you to consider, but it pains me more to see my students in the state they are in now." Standing straight at full height, she turned into strict mode.
"Team RIDE is now ordered to retreat from mission. Other teams can carry it out while you all are away."
"But-"
"No excuses. This is an order, Yamanaka." Her blood red eyes looking sharply at her. "And orders, you will follow."
Not daring to go against her teacher, Ino agreed unwillingly along with Tenten as they walked out through titanium doors, Hinata following after, taking a last glance of their pink-haired leader.
'...gomenasai, Sakura.'
The metal doors closed behind them with a click.
…blink.
The blonde tried to focus his blurry eyesight while adjusting his eyes to the stream of light shining in his face at the same time.
'Ugh…did Neji throw that encyclo-whatever-that-is thing at me again…?'
Dizzy, he tried to sit up.
"Argh…" Man, his muscles hurt like hell. Did the world fell on top of him?
Suddenly, images started flowing back. The mission. The girl attackers with wolf masks. The explosion. Naruto halted.
The explosion! The world did fell on top of him. Shit.
"Report!! Shit!" Naruto cursed as he freed himself from the collapsed bricks, trying to withstand the pain that ran all over his body.
"Report!! You guys still alive!?" His voice echoed back against what's left of the bare walls.
Nobody answered him back.
"Damn…" He tried to look for his teammates, clutching on his arm over a deep wound. He is covered in dust and bloodied cuts.
"Teme!! Hyuuga!! Nara!!"
Nobody answered Naruto. He looked around frantically to find any traces of them—a hand, a foot or something. At least show him that they are still with him.
"Answer me, damn it!!"
When Sakura finally came to, she found herself lying on something soft. Her body felt nothing but numbness and pain. Nothing, not even dying can cause this much pain.
…hold up.
She gulped but immediately regretted it as her throat hurts like hell.
'I'm not really dead, am I??'
Bewildered, she tried moving, but her body can't even freaking twitch. It's like something bounded her up. Or maybe she's paralyzed.
Sakura thought thoroughly for a second.
'HELL NO. This cannot be happening.'
"What happened to her?!"
'Wait, who's talking?? Hey! I can still hear!! That means that I'm not dead yet, right??'
"She exhausted herself during the mission, sensei."
'Kurenai-sensei!! The mission!!' Sakura swallowed the never-ending throbs and used all her strength to push her limb body up but failed miserably.
Giving up on that idea, she turned her head towards where the voice came from and tried to focus her eyesight.
"How can this happen?? She knew better than to rush out recklessly when her stamina is down!!" A well-known voice by Sakura continued yelling. Boy, does she have a loud voice…
"She's just a kid, sensei." Kurenai's voice sounded almost lost.
From what she can see, there are two people in the room with her.
"God." The voice sighed. "The important thing now is that she's safe, I guess. Her chakra flow is stable. But her wounds will take a day to completely heal itself after the ritual. How are the others?"
One, was Kurenai with her white and red outfit and long black hair. The other person is a female too, judging from her long, blond hair tied into pigtails and the fact that she's wearing black heels.
"They are in better shape than her." The Yuuhi replied. "Tenten is the safest one as she does long-distance combat. Ino and Hinata suffered cuts on the skin but they'll be alright."
"Hmm…I guess you're right but you better take a lot at them when you drop by later. Better to be careful."
Sakura suddenly felt a pang of jolt. No way. No freaking way. It can't be her. Although they look awfully familiar, there's just no way that she's…
"Tsu…Tsunade-sama…"
The said person paused mid-sentence and turned to look down at her.
Sakura felt as if all the air around her were sucked away and her eyes widened to the size of Hinata's frying pan, clearly having the shock of her life.
"Hey there, Haruno." The Godaime smirked, walking towards the bed Sakura's currently lying on.
"Feeling better?"
So. There ya go.
Thanks to all who had reviewed and to all of you who had been patient with me. Will change this bad habit of mine in the near future. I swear.
…or at least, I hope to. Shrugs.
Click on the review button. You know you want to. Or would you prefer to click on it if I tell you Sasuke is going to proclaim his love to you if you do?
Aww, too bad, folks.
Cuz if he is, you'll find a very dangerous Sakura behind you. Bwahahaha. Better luck next time! XD!!
R&R PEOPLE!!