Orange

Part One

Golden eyes tracked Suigetsu as he prowled towards Karin's fallen form. The Mist shinobi had a distinctly murderous aura about him as he stalked to the red head's side, allowing his sandal to dig rudely into her side when he reached her. Juugo was quiet as the sharp toothed man casually hauled the dazed kunoichi up by her hair. She snapped to attention immediately, screaming and clutching her pained scalp. Angry, watering red eyes glared out at her teammate.

"OUCH! What the HELL, Suigetsu?" Karin clawed vainly at the strong grip on her mane. A surprisingly chilling laugh was her only answer. Her angry tone went sharp as the hand in her hair twisted viciously. A thin line of blood trailed down her forehead, catching on her eyebrow before trickling towards her jawline. The female's expression went dark as she screeched, "STOP!" Her open handed strike toward the center of Suigetsu's chest was intended to smash the heel of her palm into his solar plexus but only resorted in five broken fingers for the kunoichi. The Mist nukenin simply caught the hand and snapped the digits startlingly calmly, one by one, between his thumb and first finger.

The white haired shinobi just tilted his head, smiling maliciously at her pained shout. When she quieted to a sob, clutching her injured hand to her body, Suigetsu cooed, "I can do this all day, Karin. There are plenty of bones in your body and I know how to break each and every one." His voice dropped to a quiet hiss as he finished his statement, staring callously into the woman's tear stained visage. "That was a dirty trick to play on Sakura." He laughed lowly. "One I'm sure you'll live to regret."

A hysterical scream ripped from the tracker nin's throat at the Konoha kunoichi's name. Her eyes were deep garnet as she preformed a furious henge, casting herself into the image of the young medic. A hateful expression twisted the false pinkette's expression as she snarled, "Woud you say that to me if I looked like her?" Suigetsu growled in disgust, flicking the kunoichi in his grip into the nearest piece of furniture. Karin impacted her vanity with a huge amount of momentum, sending its mirror to the floor. The sound of shattering glass filled the suite and the disguised female nearly lost her footing on the suddenly hazardously strewn floor.

Once her stance was secure, Karin batted fake green eyes and tittered, "Sui-kun, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Fury rose in both shinobi members of Hebi as they watched the kunoichi before them mock the kind Konoha medic. Juugo hoisted the impostor by her shirt, allowing her to dangle over the floor by more than two feet as he ordered, "Drop the henge!"

Karin glared through ruffled pink strands at the fist the beserker had pulled back, ready to strike. She watched, narrow-eyed, as curse marks spilled sickeningly over the large man's skin. Lilting her head to one side, she continued to impersonate Sakura, "Why are you so angry?" Widening her eyes dramatically, she acted terrified. Suigetsu howled behind his teammate, drawing a kunai and stepping up beside the raging Juugo. Cool steel found her jugular as the Mist shinobi said slowly, "Listen and do as we say or die slowly."

A sudden commotion outside on the patio made all three Hebi members freeze. With a swirl of long, blonde hair and a banshee wail, a Jounin kunoichi tore into the wrecked suite, ripping the door completely from its track. Baby blue eyes flashed as the female's hands formed rapid hand seals. A tall, dark haired shinobi in a similar flack jacket alighted behind her an instant later, tossing a cigarette to the side as he slowly drew a kunai. The blonde's voice was choked with anger as she yelled, "You picked the WRONG KUNOICHI TO BEAT ON, SHARK TEETH! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Her male counterpart just smirked, smoke billowing from the curled corner of his lips.

Suigetsu looked from the henged kunoichi in Juugo's grip to the pair of Leaf Jounin with an expression like dawning dread. Team Konoha had arrived, and things were getting increasingly out of hand.

Naruto slipped suddenly, narrowly avoiding plummeting to the forest floor. Gripping tightly onto the first branch that found his flailing hands, the blond shinobi swung himself back into rhythm, catching up quickly with Sai. Continuing to leap from tree to tree, the dark haired boy glanced sideways, smiling as he asked, "Is everything alright?"

Blue eyes were wide as saucers as they met those of his teammate. "No. I have this horrible feeling..." When the former ANBU member dropped his absent smile for a vaguely concerned look, Naruto clarified, "I don't know what it is...I just think we should get back to Shikamaru and Ino as fast as we can!"

Sai was left to stare after an orange blur as it lurched forward, sending branches backwards with recoil from the strength that the kyuubi vessel was kicking off with. Nimbly avoiding the whipping limbs, the dark eyed male increased his speed as well, trailing along behind the blonde.

Within fifteen minutes, the pair had reached Team Konoha's camp, finding the fire extinguished and the packs vanished. Another moment of search revealed the supplies to be stashed behind an illusion in the top boughs of a nearby tree. The shinobi agreed that it was likely that their leader and his Genin teammate had most likely moved toward the village to do a little surveillance on Hebi. Sai quickly tested the warmth of the ashes in the hearth and declared, "They're still warm. They couldn't have left too long ago."

Naruto nodded contemplatively. "Should we wait or follow?" Sai didn't get a chance to finish as the night sky flashed ominously. Both shinobi looked up, watching as raw lightening crackled and arced toward the ground near the resort in an enormous bolt. The screams of a chorus of birds rent the still of the darkness in the forest. Tan cheeks paled under red whiskers. A tone between awe and disbelief tumbled form the blond. "...no. It couldn't be...TEME!"

Sai was left again to hurriedly run after his teammate. This time they were headed for the villas and what looked like an eminent showdown with Team Hebi. Something like a ghost of worry skittered over his placid features. Emotion and not shinobi instincts were going to reign in a battle like the one on the horizon. As he shot off, pursuing the rapidly shrinking orange figure flying through the woods to the north. Team Seven was about to have another reunion.

Chunks of plaster, wood and stone rained down as Sakura jumped back, arms crossed over her head protectively. She heard the ring of blade on blade before the debris had completely settled. A shout was heard as metal clanged to the ground. Something like uninvited pride swelled in the pinkette's chest as she assumed that Maito had attempted foolishly to parry Sasuke's kusanagi.

Dropping her arms to her hem, she quickly freed the abbreviated scroll she'd brought along in case things went south. As she glanced toward the two shinobi, bathed in the flickering blue illumination of lightening, she decided that the situation warranted the weapon she was about to draw. She lifted a hand to her mouth, drawing blood on her thumb and quickly summoning the enormous axe she'd begun to favor.

As soon as the tip of the blade cleared its parchment casing, Sakura deftly freed the pink leather edge guard and coiled her muscles for a strong jump. Green eyes locked onto the two battling shinobi as she headed towards the fray. She had already pushed off and was nearing the apex of her leap when the doors behind her flew open and armed men stormed in. Twisting lithely, the kunoichi redirected her momentum. A moment later, she alighted a few yards before the personal army, hefting her mighty cleaver.

Swinging the humongous blade and smirking as the air it sliced through sang, the petite girl murmured, "Hello." Her rapidly swelling jaw twinged as she spoke. She tried to ignore the cool air blowing across her mostly exposed chest and the height the hem of her kimono had climbed to as she propped her weapon on her shoulder. The lecherous grins on the faces of the men only made her more determined. A particularly burly, ugly man stepped forward. "Look at the little harlot, she thinks she can take us."

Green eyes narrowed as the pinkette pumped chakra into her arms, making wielding her axe infinitely more manageable than looks would suggest. She decided that she'd level the man who'd spoken first. A single step forward and a flex of her shoulder sent a man nearly three times her size flying, a gaping wound weeping across his chest. The metallic spike at the uppermost point of her blade scraped chillingly as she let it drag on the stone in front of her dainty feet. Leaning lazily against it, she wanted to say something witty, but the throbbing in her jaw convinced her to just tilt an eyebrow expectantly instead.

The men didn't jeer further, but they didn't retreat. Groups of two and three began to charge her, making themselves easy to drive back or cripple with sweeping blows. Once perhaps ten or more of the obviously expendable rank of lackeys had been dealt with, a stronger group appeared. They were at least Chuunin rank and gave the kunoichi considerably more trouble. She had already dispatched two of the stronger ninja when one with double kodachi breached her defense and opened a long cut on her arm. Blood flowed from her left elbow almost to her clavicle.

A low curse burst from her as Sakura hurled her battleaxe at her attacker in an attempt to buy herself a little time. The whirling weapon caught one of the man's kodachi and sent him wheeling back, only just managing to keep his entire forearm intact. The pinkette didn't give herself time to feel proud, focusing instead on funnelling chakra towards her injuries. Necessity told her to repair her arm first and once it was mobile once more and the blood flow had stymied, she half healed her jaw as well. Conscious of her energy levels, the kunoichi only brought the swelling down and set the bones on the path to recovery. The bone was now simply fractured, rather than completely broken as it had been before.

The air around her shifted as the shinobi bounced back, ready to pounce once more. Green eyes hardened as she finally allowed herself to loose a battle cry, smashing a chakra loaded fist into the floor. The ground between she and the leaping ninja ruptured, surging up and flinging the assailant back. Retracting her hand and grimacing at the feel of the broken skin over her knuckles, Sakura agilely scaled the small hill she'd formed. The chuunin was out cold against the wall beyond.

Hopping nimbly back to the unbroken floor, the pinkette quickly collected her axe and made her way toward Sasuke.

Kakashi glanced to the sky, beginning to feel honest dread. Black, unnatural clouds had been forming over horizon for the fifteen minutes or so. What made him uneasy, though, was the distinctly clustered, coalescing pattern they were swirling into as they began to hang toward the ground. It looked like an extremely advanced lightening technique. Grey eyes shifted hue as he came to terms with himself. He'd only passed a lightening based jutsu on to one of his students.

The elite Jounin's speed accelerated even further, making him a mere blur amongst the leaves. A black, shadow like cowl flickered just as rapidly behind him. He was beginning to doubt that this second reunion between his students was going to be salvageable. Time tested steps kept him from faltering against the coarse bark as worry began to surface inside the Copy Ninja.

His foolish students had each grown so much in their own rights, he wasn't sure they were all going to be able to walk away from their little melee. Sasuke's utter power, Naruto's unbreakable will and Sakura's insurmountable desire to protect her precious people. The three were a volatile mix, and with their tempers, Kakashi didn't know what to expect. The wizened man didn't bother turning to check his team's camp. He knew it would be empty.

Instead he continued to sprint dead on towards the resort. He reached it soon enough, heading directly for the villa he knew Team Hebi had been inhabiting. The clanging of metal and sounds of a battle were audible from a distance. The silver haired man's expression revealed nothing as he called over his shoulder, "Try and stay with me, ANBU-san." Shooting the dark clad man a glance, he added, "I want to be sure that you see what you need to clear Miss Haruno's name."

The two lethal shinobi alighted silently at the destroyed rear entry to a suite. Kakashi caught a glimpse of Ino's long, blonde hair and heard Shikamaru's distinctive "Troublesome." He wasted no time in entering when he saw a flash of pink. The interior was utter chaos.

The Nara clansman had tossed furniture pieces into the walls, forming strategically placed shadows in the dimly lit room. The Yamanaka kunoichi was like a furious feline, twisting this way and that, carving out punishment on the two shinobi she and her partner were fighting. Kakashi nodded in response to Shikamaru's similar gesture and jumped into the fray. The Jounin had soon subdued a large, raging man with an extremely quick succession of pressure point jabs.

The huge frame of the berserker fell in something like slow motion, making the floor quake upon impact. Dropping back to join a panting Ino on the back wall, near where he had entered, the elite shinobi watched Shikamaru work. Keeping his eyes glued to the shadow user, he asked the blonde at his side, "Why did you engage?" His voice wasn't necessarily angry but he certainly wasn't happy.

Ino wasn't abashed in the least. "They were beating Sakura." Her voice was closer to a growl than Kakashi would have thought possible for the slender kunoichi.

The grey eyed man nodded, observing coolly as the dark haired genius finally caught the final Hebi member in a clever trap. He heard the genjustu specialist at his side gasp in terror as the Mist nukenin lashed out violently, not escaping the restraint but managing to wound Shikamaru heavily. Ino rushed forward, supporting the still concentrated shinobi as his nearly compromised knee gave out beneath his weight. Shikamaru braced heavily against her slim shoulder as he manipulated the nukenin into dropping the enormous blade he was wielding.

Glancing to the injury on the Team Captain's leg, Kakashi deemed that it wasn't fatal, just crippling until he found a decent medic. If memory served, Ino a proficient healer, perhaps third in the Village behind Tsunade and Sakura. The silver haired shinobi decided that the pair had things here under control. He stepped forward, addressing the kunoichi holding up her team leader. "Where did Sakura-chan go?"

Baby blue eyes met his as she replied, nodding toward a door that seemed to lead to a hallway. "She ducked out once the other two started fighting us. There. She took a right I think." Solemnly, Ino concluded, "She was bleeding, I don't know how badly."

Kakashi didn't wait long enough to respond to that last, melencholy comment. Instead he flashed to the door she'd indicated, hanging a tight right once he was through. He found himself faced with a large living space. Mission honed eyes latched onto a rusty trail that stained the pale surface of the wood flooring. He followed the path quickly, the ANBU close at his heels. The blood lead to a door at the end of a short hall on the opposite side of the large room. Grey eyes narrowed as he stepped soundlessly into the suite he found there.

A figure was bathed in pale candle light at her left and moonlight to her right. A kunai shone metallic white under the light pouring in from the window where it was clutched in the kunoichi's right hand while a red forehead protector dangled from the other. Fire danced over the shiny surface of the metal plate, shadows pooling in the swirl symbol etched into its dead center. Konoha. Hidden Village of the Leaves.

The arms of the figure began to move, hoisting the blade before jerking suddenly down. Pink hair was caught between blue and red illumination as the arm swung low, aimed for the Leaf symbol. Kakashi felt his gut twist as a metallic ring rent the air.

Lightening didn't feel anything like electricity in Sasuke's palm. It was more like a superheated glove, slipping over his hand, leaving phantom burns as it crackled over his skin. His precise control kept it from truly harming his flesh, but there was a wall in his mind that he couldn't quiet surmount. It told him that the act of holding pure power in his hand should be painful and so it was. Distantly he knew that it would most likely be simple for a shinobi like him to break the psychological trigger responsible. A masochistic tendency he refused to acknowledge made him refrain.

Rather he smirked as the familiar heat crawled over his forearm. The man before him fairly quaked with fear. He'd already lost what the Uchiha assumed was his favored blade early on to a foolish parry and things had only been a game of cat and mouse from there. Disgust filled Sasuke. He had wasted time here in Rain Country. The only thing that had originally deterred him from taking the blade he wanted by force was the attention this whole mess was sure to attract.

He'd half hoped he'd be able to attain the sword and use it as a surprise tactic against his brother. Sharignan blades began to spin dangerously as he drew back the ultimately honed blade he was wielding. In a low tone, he asked, "Where is the weapon?"

The man's eyes, glassy from their wide state, managed to open further. "G-gone." He stumbled back at the look that overcame the shinobi's expression at the revelation. Quickly, he contributed, "You took it!"

"What?"

Ken hadn't known that a single syllable could be so fear inducing. He scrambled to explain, "The-the man who surv-vived the vault raid said he saw r-red eyes! Like yours!" Throwing his arms up, he pleaded, "You have what you want, spare me!"

Sasuke felt raw fury spill through his form. Itachi had outmatched him once again. A screech of electrical energy was heard and Ken Maito fell lifelessly to the floor of his palace. Silence reigned until a rustle of silk interrupted the avenger's dark thoughts.

Black eyes detached from the floor, finding small feet encased in excessively lacy sandals. He followed the line of the kunoichi's legs for much longer than he felt was acceptable before arriving at the slightly stained hem of a cropped kimono. The pearly, green fabric hardly concealed anything from his gaze. Rather than truly covering Sakura's form, it seemed instead to cling and emphasize all that it covered. Pale rises of flesh were framed by the vee at the neck of the garment and most of her shoulders were equally revealed. Black met emerald and Sasuke began to move.

Sakura blinked, tucking a lock of tossled pink hair behind her ear. She fidgeted nervously under her team leader's heavy gaze. By the time she'd finally staved off the reinforcements at the doors and collected her weapon, Sasuke had defeated the damiyo. His form had fallen almost as she alighted behind the clearly seething Uchiha. She'd actually been ready to back away and retreat to the villa for a time when he had turned.

He had spun, following her body from her toes to her bewildered gaze. She was about to speak when he blurred out of sight. The sensation of warm, soft cloth settling around her shoulders made her start. Raising green eyes from the dark fabric of the shirt he'd pulled over her, Sakura met Sasuke's gaze. A spiced, masculine scent floated to her nose as her head shifted. The top was designed to be sleevless, but on Sakura's small frame, the garment fell to the crooks of her arms. The brush of its hem against her bare knees was distracting. When she refocused, she wasn't sure what to call the emotion lurking in his bottomless eyes.

Sasuke lifted the shirt from his shoulders fluidly as he flash stepped up to the petite, barely clad female. His dark garment was mostly situated over her form when she registered what had taken place. He paused for a moment when she looked up to meet his gaze. The paralyzation only lasted a moment before he finished dropping the shirt onto her. Scowling slightly as his hand brushed a rusty stain under her chin, the dark shinobi noticed the blood that had dried there as it flaked at his touch. Tipping her chin to inspect the patch, he was about to pose a question when a distinctive bellow sounded out behind the pair.

"TEME!"

End Orange Part One

Woo! BIG FIGHT SCENE NEXT TIME! Team Seven Reunion, too. XD I'm excited!


The explanation for the 'color' will be posted on the LJ page after the next chapter is posted. Keep checking it for sneak peeks, though! :3

Orange Part Two will be out by Saturday evening at the latest.

As always, thanks for reading and please review!