"Will you carry me down the aisle that final day
With your tears and cold hands shaking from the weight
When you lower me down beneath that sky of gray
Let the rain fall down and wash away your pain"
Chapter 11: Carry Me Down (Demon Hunter)
It was later on, after Takai had brought me home and helped me wash because I was so drained emotionally, that there was a knock on my door. Arakita-sensei stood there, her face downcast and sad, unshed tears glistening in her dark brown eyes.
"Sensei?" I question, alarm making my tired body begin spiking adrenaline through my system.
"Oh, please don't get excited." Sensei says, unnaturally subdued. She puts a hand on my shoulder… and then came the blow. "Hokage-sama has died in battle. There will be a funeral tomorrow."
My eyes widen in shock. The Hokage was supposed to be the most powerful ninja in the village. "How…?"
"Orochimaru." Sensei's eyes fill with hate as she spits out his name.
"But… Orochimaru was Hokage-sama's student." I say, surprise still laced through my voice.
"Orochimaru teamed up with Suna to destroy Konoha."
"Then that means…" I trail off, thinking of a certain misguided red head. "No…" I mutter.
Sensei cocks her head, looking at me questioningly.
"It's nothing." I say quietly. "What time is the funeral?"
"Ten."
"Thank you Sensei." I say, turning my back and closing the door in her face. I flop into my armchair and stare blankly at the wall, my thoughts wandering over the Third Hokage and Minato, the only other Hokage I knew who had died to protect the village.
I stand behind the yellow haired man's legs, peeking shyly at the old man who had just walked into the room. His eyes were kind, and were full of wisdom. He cocked his head to the side as he tried to look around the yellow haired man's legs at me. I buried my face into the back of the yellow haired man's legs, and he turned to smile at me.
"Minato." The old man says, looking up at the yellow haired man.
"Hello Sarutobi. This is the girl I saved." The yellow haired man turns and picks me up. I squirm in protest, but he has a firm grip on me so I resign myself to my fate and hide my face in his neck.
"And you're sure about…?"
"Yes, I stopped the rampage." Minato says, smoothing my blonde hair down my back as he tries to reassure me. "I've already talked with Kushina, and she has agreed to her living with us."
"And what's her name?"
"Her mother called her Kira. I don't know her family name. We've been discussing giving her me or Kushina's family name." Minato says quietly.
"I see." The old man named Sarutobi says, looking slightly disapproving. "I really think she should have a name separate from you. I don't want people to know of her connection to you. Imagine what she'll go through if people find out about the wolf? They'll try to get to her through you, or vice versa."
Minato sighs and adjusts me on his hip. "I know where you're coming from, and I'll respect that. Kushina and I will select a last name for her."
"Good." The old man steps forward and smiles at me as I peer at him between the blonde strands of my long slightly wavy hair. "Welcome to Konoha Kira."
I respond by hiding again in Minato's neck and both men chuckle at me.
"Oh and one more thing Minato."
Minato looks up, curious.
"Don't ever tell the Elders about this. If they ask, she is an ordinary orphan you adopted. Only yourself, me and select ANBU are to know of this. I don't want them using her as a tool or holding her back, and I'm sure you want the same."
"Of course." Minato says, nodding his head in affirmation.
Several days later Minato was helping Kushina give me a bath. I hadn't spoken during the week I had been with them. I kept hoping that Mommy or Daddy would show up to take me home.
I sat quietly in the tub as Minato and Kushina fussed over me. Kushina would kneel long enough to wash my hair and body, then Minato would rinse me clean. Kushina's tummy was big and very round. I wanted to touch it when I could see the baby moving around, but I was scared to ask. As soon as the suds were all rinsed off my body, Kushina would help me stand and then Minato would wrap me up in a big fluffy towel before picking me up and carrying me to the nursery they had already set up for the baby that was in Kushina's tummy.
As Minato was drying me off, I turned my head at Kushina's sharp intake of breath. On her tummy was a perfect handprint, as if the baby was trying to push his way out. I pushed away from Minato and went to Kushina who looked down at me questioningly.
"Shh, little baby." I whispered quietly, rubbing the spot where the baby's hand had been. Kushina and Minato were both looking at me now, and I looked between the two, scared that I had done something wrong.
Kushina knelt down and wrapped me up in a big hug, then took my hand and placed it on her tummy once more, and I could feel the baby settling down. "You're a very sweet girl, Kira." She said as she kissed the top of my head.
Minato stooped down and hugged me tight. "I think I've got the perfect last name for you. Chikako, because you are such a clever girl." Then Minato put me down and got me into my jammies.
"You know what Kira?" I turned to Kushina, who was smiling at me. "I know you miss your real parents, but if you want, Minato and I can be your mom and dad, and when this baby is born, he can be your brother!"
A small smile tugged at my lips, and I hugged her legs. "You can be my mom and dad until my real ones get here." I whispered before beating a hasty retreat and climbing into bed.
I woke up the next day to Minato bustling about my room and pulling out some clothes for me. A cute little pale blue floral dress that made my blue eyes seem bluer. After he helped me dress, he took my hand and led me into the kitchen, where Kushina was making breakfast. The smell was heavenly, and I climbed up into my chair, an actual smile on my face for the first time since coming here.
"Kira, after breakfast, you and I are going to go see Sarutobi again." Minato says as Kushina puts a bowl of rice and some miso soup in front of me.
"'K…" I mutter quietly as I dig in to my food.
Kushina smiles at me and kisses my head.
As soon as I'm done eating, Minato takes my hand, and we leave the house, walking the warm streets. Many people greet Minato, calling him Hokage-sama. I look up at him questioningly, but he is distracted by another passerby who wishes him a good morning.
"H-Hokage-sama?" I whisper quietly, and I finally catch Minato's attention.
"The Hokage is the leader of this village." Minato says, smiling at me.
"Should I call you Hokage-sama?" I ask, fearful that he's going to tell me that I have to call him by his title.
"No Kira. You call me dad."
I smile at him. "Ok… Dad." I whisper, quite happy on the inside.
After a few more minutes of walking, we come up to a tower. I stop and look at it questioningly. Minato sees my curious gaze and answers my unasked question. "This is the Hokage's tower. When I go to work, this is where I go."
"You're going to work?" I ask. Today was the first day I had been curious about anything. And it had been a week since I had spoken at all. I think Minato was relieved that I was talking.
"Just for a little bit. We have to see Sarutobi."
"Ok." I say, as Minato starts leading me towards the building once again.
We climb the stairs and go to the topmost floor of the building. As we make our way into the office, I notice that the old man is already waiting for us. I hide behind Minato's legs again, peering around shyly.
"Come on Kira." Minato whispers encouragingly, offering me his hand to take. I gently place my small hand in his and step out from behind him timidly.
"Well you're a shy thing, aren't you?" The old man asks, kneeling down and offering me a hand. I stare at it nervously, and decide that it's too much. I bury my face in Minato's leg. Minato chuckles, and the old man stands back up.
"So, you decided on a last name?"
"Yes, Kushina and I both like Chikako, because this little one has proven herself quite clever this past week."
"Chikako… Clever killer…" The old man, sighs and looks down at me, sadness in the depths of his eyes. "Why her parents would give her that name is beyond me…"
"I know, she's such a sweet girl for a name like that."
"Alright. I'll put this name on her adoption papers, and then after the Elder's sign them, she'll officially be your daughter." The old man says, his face lit up in a warm smile. "Sometimes Minato, I think your heart is too big."
"But, that's why I was made Hokage."
"That it is… that it is…" The old man chuckles.
I'm startled out of my reverie by the clock on my mantle, chiming six times. I sigh wearily and get to my feet, a sad smile on my face. I really missed Minato and Kushina, they were always so kind to me…
The next day was fitting, even the sky was crying for the Hokage. It seems like the entire village has turned out to pay their last respects, regardless of the downpour. My black ankle length dress clung to me wetly, making me uncomfortable and soggy. My blonde hair stuck to my neck and back, and the weight of it was making my neck tired. Tears dripped down my face, concealed by the falling rain.
I was sandwiched between Naruto and Takai, both wearing similar expressions of grief. A small rumble of thunder makes me flinch and Naruto puts a hand on my shoulder. I turn slightly to look at him, and as another small rumble breaks out, his fingers tighten reassuringly on my shoulder. I rub a cheek on his hand in thanks, then lean into him, taking solace from my friend. Kakkaku glances at me from the other side of Takai, traces of worry in his face. I try to give him a reassuring smile, and I think I succeed.
Hinata is standing next to him, her eyes downcast. Kakkaku puts an arm around her shoulders, and a small bit of happiness blooms in my chest at her blush, only to disappear moments later as my eyes turn forward once more.
"We will begin the memorial service for the Third Hokage, who lost his life in battle, as well as the other victims of this battle." One of the Elder's says, and my tears stream faster down my face.
People begin bringing up flowers and Konohamaru, who is standing in front of us, begins to cry. I put a hand on his shoulder and pull him into me, and he turns to cry into my dress. Soon it is our turn to bring up a flower, and as I stand in front of the grave, all I can do is stare at old man Hokage's picture, remembering how kind he was to me when Minato-san had brought me to the village. I glance at Naruto and see Minato in his face. I lay my white flower down, sighing internally, wishing I could tell Naruto that he is the son of the man who saved me from myself.
Naruto stands in front of the grave next, looking lost and forlorn dressed in black and clutching onto the stem of the white flower. As the last flower is placed, the rain trickles to a stop, and I gaze at the black clouds above me. They begin to clear, and a lone ray of sunshine falls on the fallen Hokage's picture.
The next day I corner Naruto as he is leaving the village, a green travelling pack on his back. I hoist my own black bag, a scroll from the Elders in my hand. "Naruto, Naruto! Wait up!" I shout, running to catch up.
"Nani?" Naruto asks, blinking at me in bewilderment.
I skid to a halt beside him, panting. I had just full on sprinted here to catch them in time. Jiraiya, standing a little ways off, raises his eyebrow at me. "I'm coming with you." I pant, holding the scroll I carry out to the white haired Sannin. He takes the scroll and opens it.
"So, depending on how well you act on this trip, the Elders will promote you to chunin huh?" Jiraiya says, looking me up and down. I had planned out this outfit carefully. I'd heard the stories about this particular Sannin. I had thigh high black wedge heeled boots and black low rise shorts that only exposed a little leg. My shirt is sleeveless, black, with purple lace trim around the edges that exposed just a little tummy. On my arms I wore matching black fingerless gloves that rose to mid bicep. This was definitely the most conservative I've dressed in a long time.
"Hai." I say, watching him warily as he looks me up and down. I didn't want to have to break his face.
"Ok then, let's go." Jiraiya says, walking off. Naruto and I follow.
It isn't long before I'm completely bored. Jiraiya is mostly quiet, his arms crossed as he leads us down the road. My thoughts kept turning back to Gaara, wondering how he was, if he had changed. I hoped our villages weren't going to stay enemies.
"Hey, hey, Ero-Sannin!" Naruto's voice has me perking up and looking at the blonde questioningly. "What kind of new jutsu are you going to teach me?"
I sweat drop at Naruto's tenacity, and glance at Jiraiya. "You keep calling me Ero-Sannin. So you have no idea how superb I am huh?" He says indignantly.
"Huh? A superb Ero-Sannin?" Naruto asks, looking confused.
I burst out into a fit of giggles, and both of them turn to look at me. Jiraiya is scowling, and Naruto still looks confused. "Naruto…" I can't stop my fit of giggles, and am soon clutching my stomach as it begins to ache from my laughter.
Jiraiya growls and storms off ahead of us. "Listen carefully!" He says, turning to face us once more. "Toad Sage is only a disguise." Jiraiya begins hopping sideways on one foot, and it's all I can do to hold in my laughter. "As a matter of fact, in the North, South, East and West I am known as… the white-maned toad charmer, and as a legendary Sannin whom celestial being can't defeat!"
I can't help it, I burst out laughing, while Naruto just looks at Jiraiya, unimpressed. Jiraiya scowls at me some more as I try to contain my laughing once again. "Jiraiya-sama, you're just as bad as Naruto!" I giggle.
"I am nothing like that little twerp!"
"If you say so!" I say, finally able to calm my laughter. I link arms with a still befuddled Naruto, and we continue on down the road.
We walk for awhile more in silence, and Naruto leaves me to go look at a road sign. "Hey, hey, Ero-Sannin!"
I roll my eyes, a smile on my face. Here we go again! I think to myself.
"My name is Jiraiya." He grumbles, giving Naruto a sour look.
"So the fact that such a strong Ero-Sannin like you is taking me along as his travel companion means that I'm potentially a genius right?" Naruto asks, his blue eyes wide with happiness and excitement.
"I already know that you're a genius Naruto." I say, ruffling his hair. He gives me a 'cut-it-out' look and runs his hand over his hair to smooth it out.
Jiraiya however, doesn't respond and Naruto takes this as encouragement. "Hey, why did you choose me?"
Jiraiya closes his eyes, his face tilted up as if asking 'lord-give-me-patience'. "A long time ago, the Fourth Hokage was my student. And you resemble the Fourth Hokage so much it's kinda funny. That's the only reason." Jiraiya begins walking off again, and I fall into step beside him.
Of course Naruto flips out at this news, running around and cheering. I sweat drop. "You just had to tell him he resembles one of the Kage…" I mutter, amused. "I'd have been surprised if he didn't grow up to resemble the Fourth Hokage, given the circumstances."
Jiraiya looks at me in shock, stopping abruptly in his tracks. "How do you know about that?" He asks, his voice low.
I stare at him, surprised. "Don't you remember when he brought me to the village?" I question. "I lived with the Fourth Hokage for a few months, until the Kyuubi attack."
Jiraiya's eyes light up in recognition then. "You were the little blond girl?" He asks.
"Yup!" I say happily, smiling.
Naruto's voice cuts in then, his eyes bright. "The fact that I resemble the Fourth Hokage means that I also possess genius of his level, right? I'll become the Hokage after all! All right!" Naruto twirls and leaps around, making me smile wider at his enthusiasm.
I glance at Jiraiya, a small, knowing smile on his lips, and we start forward again. We only make it a few steps before the sounds of Naruto freaking out has us looking at the orange clad blonde.
"EW! I stepped in dog poo!"
I burst out laughing again, tears of pleasure streaming down my face. "Next time don't go jumping and skipping around!" I laugh, making a point to give the offending squashed turds a wide berth.
Jiraiya sweat drops, and points at Naruto, clearly exasperated. "The only areas you resemble the Fourth Hokage in are your hair and your stubbornness."
"What was that? You're senile!" Naruto shouts, wiping his foot on the grass to try and purge it of crap. I smile and shake my head at the two. Jiraiya sighs, and we are off again.
At lunch time we stop at a shrine. I sit next to Jiraiya and pull out the onigiri I had made for myself. As I sit and munch hungrily, Naruto plays with the bells dangling off of the structure of the shrine. It soon became quite irritating, and I turn to glare at the blonde. He's in his own world however, and takes no notice.
"You'll be cursed if you keep doing that." Jiraiya states, taking a bite out of his lunch. I roll my eyes as right on cue, the bells come unattached and Naruto tumbles down the stairs, successfully tangling himself up.
"Naruto, why don't you come and eat?" I ask, patting the ground next to me.
"Put the bells back first." Jiraiya says.
Naruto gets up and fixes the bells, pouting the whole time. "Here, have some of my onigiri." I say, holding out a rice ball. Naruto takes it and eats half in one bite. "Er… You can just have the rest." I say, pushing the last two over to him.
"Thanks Kira-chan." Naruto smiles up at me and takes the box of onigiri out of my hands.
Once we reach our destination, Jiraiya makes a bee line for the nearest hotel and hot springs. As he gets the key from the person at the desk, a pretty lady with black hair stops outside. She looks seductively at Jiraiya and Naruto, and I swear the both of them get instant wood. I sigh and roll my eyes at her obvious ploy to flirt by tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear. This only serves to make both of my companions more excited.
"Baka!" I yell, punching the both of them over the head. "Don't fall for such obvious ploys!"
Jiraiya glares at me and shoves the key into Naruto's hand. "Go work on your chakra control." He says, before bounding off after the woman.
"This always happens to me!" Naruto seethes, glaring angrily at the key in his hand.
"Don't dwell on it. Besides, I can help you with your training." I say as we make our way to our room. Once inside I plop my bag at the end of one of the two beds, and kick off my boots.
"So, let's start by building chakra." I say, pulling Naruto down onto the floor next to me. I put my fingers together and relax, concentrating on feeling my chakra and bringing it up to pool into the palm of my hand. Naruto huffs grumpily and copies me.
"Does he even want to oversee my training?" Naruto gripes after a few minutes.
"You have to stop thinking so much or you're never going to be able to build up chakra easily." I say teasingly. Naruto however, continues to sulk.
After a couple hours, I'm about to put an end to the exercise when a knock at the door startles the both of us. "Who is that?" I wonder aloud, and Naruto shrugs.
"That woman probably said 'see ya'."
"Well, go see who it is." I say, motioning for him to get a move on.
Naruto stalks over to the door and opens it. "Who is it?" I ask after several seconds of silence. I turn towards the door, and immediately I open my water skin and let the water flow out. "Naruto, get away from the door." I command, my voice menacing.
He glances back at me, and slowly backs away. I glare at the two cloaked men standing in the door. I only recognized one of the two men however, Itachi.
"This kid doesn't look like the container of Kyuubi…" The blue guy says. He reminded me of a humanoid shark.
"Stay away from him." I hiss, the water wrapping around Naruto and dragging him behind me.
I call the water back to me and advance several steps forward, getting ready to charge lightning through my water.
Shark-Man stalks towards me, his hand on the handle of something that's like a sword wrapped in bandages, but this doesn't seem right. I eye the weapon wearily, and lash out with a water whip. It's blocked by Shark-Man's sword, and the water that touched the sword falls down uselessly.
Damn, that thing eats chakra! I glower at the weapon, wondering how I'm going to defeat him.
"Long time no see… Sasuke." Itachi pipes up, making Shark-Man stop and look over his shoulder.
"Uchiha Itachi." Sasuke growls, an evil glare in his eyes.
Naruto looks at Itachi, surprise all over his face. I can smell the fear radiating off him, and I glance behind me. "Be strong." I whisper, and Naruto gulps in response.
"Oh? He has the sharingan, and resembles you. Who is he?" Shark-Man asks, stowing his sword like thing and glancing at Itachi.
"He's my younger brother."
I think Naruto is about to pass out from the shock, and I go to put a steadying hand on his shoulder.
I'm glad they don't know about me. If they did they would have made a comment already. Gobi says, growling at the two from in his cage.
They won't get me or Naruto. I will die fighting. I growl.
Just don't do anything to reveal yourself. Gobi says wearily, before pointing out how thin my control on my anger is.
Shut it! You're just making me angrier. I yell at the wolf, who immediately hushes up.
The crackling of Sasuke's chidori has me looking up. His red eyes and deep glare make him look hell sent, and he runs for Itachi. "I will kill you!" He hollers, raising his lightning covered hand to deliver the blow.
Itachi easily deflects the hit, and when the smoke clears from half the wall being blown out, Itachi has Sasuke's wrist in a tight grip. Both brothers glare at the other, pure loathing in Sasuke's eyes.
"I've gotta do something…" Naruto mutters, drawing up the Kyuubi's chakra.
"Naruto, no!" I hiss, fear for the outcome racing through my own system. Right now, my body was urging me very strongly to flee. I knew there was no way we were going to be able to defeat these two at the levels we were currently at.
"You're in the way." Itachi says rather coldly, snapping Sasuke's wrist. He falls to the ground in pain, clutching his now useless wrist.
Naruto bites his thumb and starts making hand signs. Shark-Man flies into the room, checking me out of the way, his sword slicing through the bit of Kyuubi chakra Naruto had pulled up, effectively dispersing it. Naruto stares at the man dumb struck.
I growl angrily, my water lashing out to whip Shark-Man's cheek. He deflects it easily. I glare at him, biting my own thumb in the process. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!" I say, swiping the blood down my summoning tattoo.
"Would you look at that? This one doesn't need hand signs." Shark-Man says, giving me a sinister look. I glare back as Shiro jumps out in a puff of smoke, a snarl tearing past his lips. "And she summons wolves. A rare summon. Hey Itachi… Aren't the only ones who summon wolves the ones who are in line to have Gobi sealed away inside them?"
"That's not always the case." Itachi says boredly, glancing at Shiro. "I heard there's a whole clan in Iwa that can summon them."
"But there's always that 'what if?' right?" Shark-Man says, advancing on me. "I say we take her just in case…"
Fuck! Gobi what do I do?
Don't panic first off. Itachi is right, the clan you come from in Iwa does summon wolves, but that's because your clan are the only ones compatible with my chakra.
But they look smart enough to put two and two together! I say, panicking anyways.
"Just leave it be. If she is the container of the five-tails we'll be back." Itachi says, staring at me emotionlessly. "Our mission is to get the Kyuubi only."
Shark-Man continues to glower at me, while Shiro growls deep in his chest. A puff of smoke distracts all of us, and Jiraiya appears, carrying the woman from earlier over his shoulder.
"You guys don't know anything about me do you? I do not fall victim to any woman's allurement, but rather my forte is winning a woman's affections! When you get to my level, women yelp in delight at my sex appeal!" Jiraiya says, striking his usual pose.
I sweat drop and glare at the white haired Sannin. "Yeah, ok." I mutter.
"You were totally excited by a lame tactic like a woman winking at you!" Naruto yells, pointing accusingly at Jiraiya. "You shouldn't be the one trying to act all suave and cool, Ero-Sannin!"
I found this very funny and true, however given the circumstances my face didn't even so much as twitch in the direction of a smile.
"Don't call me that in front of people…" Jiraiya says quietly.
"Be quiet!" Naruto shouts angrily. "More importantly these people aren't normal!"
"That's because they're S-ranked criminals." I say, sweat dropping once more. Honestly, didn't anybody ever look at a Bingo book?
Shark-Man giggles in a way I don't like. "You are, after all, one of the legendary Sannin. I didn't believe I'd be able to stop you so easily despite the fact that you're a huge womanizer."
"What!?" Naruto screams, looking from Shark-Man to Jiraiya and back again. "You know the true identity of the Ero-Sannin?"
"Naruto, just shut up already." I growl, bashing him over the head with my fist.
"Well no, that's not who I really am…" Jiraiya says and I repress the urge to bash him over the head too.
"Are you just going to stand there making pleasantries, or are you going to do something about this situation!?" I holler, aiming my best death glare at Jiraiya while brandishing a fist at him.
Jiraiya puts the unconscious woman down with her back against the wall, finally some seriousness in his face. "You shouldn't be calling yourself a man when you use those hypnotic eyes of yours to cast a Genjutsu on a woman to separate me and Naruto."
I let out a sigh. It seemed like he was going into ass kicking mode now.
"So, your target is Naruto after all." Jiraiya says, giving the two rogue ninja a pretty good stink eye.
Don't say anything about me, don't say anything about me… I whisper in my head like a mantra, worried he may actually spill the beans about me too.
Naruto gulps, his eyes widening as he stares at the two S-rank ninja across from him. Sasuke, from his position on the floor, flinches in surprise.
"I see. So that's how Kakashi knew about our mission. The information source was you. Capturing Naruto is the number one priority of our organization, the Akatsuki." Itachi says.
Naruto again flinches in surprise, and I put a shield of water around him to keep him from doing anything stupid. "You sit still." I hiss at him, my eyes flashing dangerously. "I promise that I'll protect you."
"K-Kira-chan." Naruto's eyes are wide as he looks at me.
"I can't let you have Naruto." Jiraiya states, his game face on.
"I'll stop you too." I growl at them, prompting Shiro to advance a few steps, his hackles raised as he growls deep in his chest.
"I wonder about that." Itachi says, eyeing me with his red Sharingan eyes.
"This is perfect, I'll get rid of you two right here." Jiraiya says determinedly.
"Don't butt in." Sasuke growls as he staggers to his feet.
"Don't you be stupid Sasuke." I say, glowering at my least favorite person in the world. "There's no way you can beat Itachi as you are now."
"Shut-up!" He yells, glaring at me. "The one that's going to kill him… is me!"
Itachi looks over his shoulder at Sasuke, his red eyes boring into his little brother. "Right now I have no interest in you." He says coldly.
"Don't mess with me!" Sasuke yells, clenching his hand into a fist and charging at Itachi who delivers a kick to Sasuke's middle, sending him flying through the air.
"Sasuke!" Naruto shouts from behind my water before trying to run out from behind it. I make the water grab him by his ankle and drag him back.
"I will restrain you if you do that again." I whisper angrily, putting Naruto back behind my water shield.
"I told you not to butt in Naruto!" Sasuke yells angrily from his place on the floor, where he landed after being kicked. Sasuke staggers back to his feet, using the wall at his back as support. "I told you before… I've lived only for this day!" Sasuke glares at Itachi, his own Sharingan activated.
"Jiraiya you have to do something! Sasuke is a loose canon right now!" I say, glaring at the Sannin angrily.
Right then, Sasuke charges at Itachi, yelling his fool head off, his fist again raised for a punch. And just like before, he is easily blocked, then kneed in the face. Sasuke flies back through the air, his back slamming against the wall.
"Not yet… This is my battle." Sasuke hisses as he tries to get air back in his lungs.
"Fine." Itachi says emotionlessly, and Shark-Man stands in front of the door, facing Jiraiya, effectively blocking the both of us from helping Sasuke.
"You heard that didn't you?" Shark-Man says, undisguised glee in his voice. "This is their battle. Let's not bother interfering."
I can hear Itachi's fading footsteps as he travels down the hall.
"Fine then!" Sasuke's angry voice rings loud and clear, before I hear a thump and then Sasuke coughing. This is followed by several more thumps, the unmistakable sound of flesh beating flesh.
"He doesn't show any mercy." Shark-Man says unfeelingly as he watches Sasuke get beat within an inch of his life.
I glance at Naruto, who is shaking in fear and anger, his blue eyes like steel as he gazes at Shark-Man. I put a hand on his shoulder, and his shaking stops slightly, but his eyes still blaze angrily.
"You are weak." I hear Itachi's voice faintly as he speaks to Sasuke. "You are weak because you don't have enough hate."
It's silent for several seconds, and then a terrified scream tears its way past Sasuke's lips, and I wince from the shear force of the fear and anguish inside it.
"Haven't changed at all." Shark-Man says, glee in his voice. "Using Tsukiyomi on your little brother."
"Stop it already, jerk!" Naruto shouts, trying to charge forward again. He uses Kage Bunshin to slip past my water, before darting out into the hall.
"Naruto!" I shout, charging after him as Shark-Man begins chasing after Naruto too. We all three freeze in our tracks moments later as red spongy stuff begins growing on all facets of the hallway.
"Ninpou: Toad Mouth's Trap." Jiraiya says, as Sasuke begins sinking into the wall of red stuff. "How unfortunate, Itachi, Kisame. You guys are already inside my stomach."
I resist the strong urge to throw up as the red material binds Shark-Man's foot to the floor.
"I summoned the esophagus of the giant toad of the rock cave. You guys are wanted criminal anyways. I'll turn you guys into fodder for the stone toad." Jiraiya says, a triumphant smile on his face. "Kira, Naruto, you two stay still."
I force myself not to glare at Jiraiya for telling me to stay still. I knew I was useless in this fight. I resist the urge to puke again when Kisame starts trying to walk around, the squelching noise making my stomach roil.
"Kisame, come here." Itachi says, glaring over his shoulder at Jiraiya. Kisame breaks free, and starts running towards Itachi.
"It's no use. There hasn't been one person who's been able to escape from this." Jiraiya says confidently. The fleshy walls begin moving, charging after the two fleeing criminals.
An explosion type sound has the place shaking and I hurry forward, ignoring the bile that rises in my throat at the wet squelching noises my feet make as I run. Jiraiya passes me, running full out.
"Wait! Kira! Ero-Sannin!" I hear Naruto shout as the sound of his running footsteps meet my ears.
I skid to a halt, just managing to not slide into Jiraiya as he comes to a quick stop. I gaze in wonder at the hole in the wall, and the black flames dancing around the hole.
"What's the matter?" Naruto yells as he skids to a stop next to me, our shoulders bumping.
"They managed to escape your jutsu." I say scathingly, glaring at Jiraiya. He ignores me, staring in disbelief and anger at the black flames that lick up the wall.
"What is this fire? It's black…" Naruto says, stalking forward and getting within a few feet of it.
"Don't touch it!" I shout, running up to him, and pulling him back. "That fire doesn't stop burning until it's destroyed everything in its path." I say. "It even burns water." Naruto looks at me in surprise, and I force him back towards Jiraiya.
Jiraiya pulls out a scroll, and seals the black flames away. "You know this fire?" He asks me, as we begin walking back towards Sasuke.
"Yes. I studied the Uchiha's because I dislike Sasuke and I wanted to beat his ass, so I was looking into their jutsu. It's called Amaterasu, a black fire that is summoned by the Sharingan to burn everything in its path. There is no known way to put out these flames. Although sealing it away seemed to work." I say, nodding at the scroll in Jiraiya's hand.
Jiraiya nods his head as we head back towards Sasuke, Naruto running off ahead of us to check on his teammate. The esophagus melts away and Naruto catches Sasuke as he falls from the wall. I look at Sasuke with concern, his eyes were blank and unseeing.
"Sasuke needs medical attention." I say, turning to Jiraiya as a kunai whips past my head and lodges in the wall. I turn and see a figure running towards us before launching himself through the air.
"Dynamic Entry!"
"Gai?" Jiraiya asks as a foot meets his face, sending him flying.
"Are you really that stupid!" I yell, waving my hands around angrily. "How did you even get promoted to Jonin in the first place!" I cross my arms and glare at Gai, seething. "I hate Sasuke, but he needs medical attention, NOW!" I yell as Jiraiya gets to his feet.
"But… I thought… the Akatsuki?"
"They're already gone! Way to get here late! Now let's go!" I say, hoisting Sasuke up and putting him on Shiro's back. "Take him to Konoha, and make sure he gets medical attention right away." I say more gruffly than I mean to.
"Hai Kira." Shiro says before bounding away, running full tilt towards the LeafVillage.
"That boy has been mentally beaten. He's going to need the skills of someone much more advanced. We need to find Tsunade Hime." Jiraiya says.
Meanwhile…
"Sir, it appears Konoha may be in possession of a second and third Jinchuriki." Kisame says, looking at the image of a holographic man.
"Oh? This is indeed some good news. Tell me who they are."
"One was a blonde girl accompanying one of the Sannin known as Jiraiya as well as the known Jinchuriki Naruto. He called her Kira, but did not use a surname. The other is a brunette we met while in Konoha. She had the eyes of a cat, and we suspect she could have the Nekomata. We were unable to get her name."
"I see. And what makes you think this Kira person is a Jinchuriki? Did she have any identifiers?"
"There were no physical traits, however, her summons are wolves, which leads us to believe she is host to Gobi."
"This evidence on Kira is purely circumstantial. There's an entire clan in Iwa that can summon wolves. Perhaps she came from there?"
"We will look into it." Kisame says.
"See that you do." The holograph dissipates, and Kisame turns towards Itachi.
"Let's go do some research."
AN: So… A little bit more of a background on Kira when she came to the village. Also, the Akatsuki have sniffed out Takai and possibly Kira… What are their fates? Leave me a review and let me know what you think!