Damn, I put up a chapter and it gets deleted!! Well, whatev, here it is again...
Okay, I know this is wrong. I gave you a filler chapter. But...I was soooo pissed off when Kisame and Suigetsu's fight wasn't shown at all in the manga!! So, there's a little bit here- I didn't write a full blown fight, after all the story isn't about them- but there's enough to satisfy those who think Kishimoto is a dipshit for only focusing on his beloved Sasuke for like..ever. And I had to add in Itachi and Sasuke's fight, because, well, there's a lot implied there. After all, he gives Sasuke his eyes even though Sasuke is too dumb to realize it, or to realize why...I mean, believing Madara, after everything Itachi told him(see the manga, chapters 393 and on) was soo dumb! But anyway, here he was giving him his eyes to prepare him for what needs to be done, as well as placating Madara just in case he was watching or whatev...because Madara wanted this fight, to ensure that Sasuke is finally at a level that's worthy of his plans for him and for everyone. :) All this stuff didn't leave much room at all for SasoSaku action, and besides that, Konan has to gum up the works for them, lol. So I apologize. But hey, in real life, love doesn't always go as planned... there are plenty of roadblocks to overcome.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Nor do I own any characters in aforementioned series. All rights and privileges belong solely to Masashi Kishimoto, the series' creator. I just wrote this fan-fic was all...
Daughter of the Dawn
Chapter 14
"Wait, stop!" Karin's shrill voice called out.
"What now, staring at Sasuke's ass like you've been for the past 3 hours got to be too much for you?"
"No! Dammit, how dare you?! I wasn't…" Karin suddenly looked away distracted, and Sasuke followed her gaze, feeling something as well. "There's just a really huge chakra signature or something up ahead, and it feels really weird."
Sasuke ignored her, pressing on even though he couldn't deny that he had felt it too. But there were more important things to worry about right now, like reaching his brother, and that was definitely not his brother's chakra signature.
"Hey, Sasuke-kun. How've you been?" A familiar voice broke out just as he stepped into the clearing before the temple. "Long time no see. Your brother has been waiting for you." Itachi's partner smiled, pointing listlessly behind him with a thumb.
Sasuke didn't even spare Kisame a second glance as he ran on past him in a blur, his team struggling to catch up.
"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. Sorry, but Itachi-san expressly said, only Sasuke-kun. You guys will have to wait here." Kisame had gotten up from the upturned log he had been sitting on, and was before Team Hebi in seconds, blocking their path with his immense sword.
"Oh my gosh, but what if he gets hurt?..." Karin mumbled to herself, her face growing pale. Juugo went and sat by the treeline, calmly settling a sparrow on his finger, remembering that Sasuke had said that when it came time to fight his brother, he wanted no interference from anyone. Karin was obsessed though, so he wasn't surprised that she didn't seem to recall.
Suigetsu on the other hand just plain didn't care. His wide toothy smile slowly crept across his face, as he rested his sword across his shoulder, and walked up to Kisame. "Hoshigaki Kisame, and his great sword Samehada…" He said airily, before looking Kisame in the eyes and smiling even wider. "Hey, Kisame-san, do you remember me?"
Kisame cocked his head, staring at him for a moment. "Did I kill your dog or something? Look, I don't have the time to remember little punks like you…" As he took Suigetsu in, he suddenly noticed Zabuza's sword. "Hey, where the hell did you get that?"
Suigetsu laughed. "I can't believe you forgot me, Kisame-senpai! I'm Houzuki Mangetsu's little brother, Suigetsu."
"No way… Damn, I never would've recognized you! You've really grown." Kisame shook his head, smiling.
"Heh, yeah. Hey, since we've gotta wait here for Sasuke anyway, you wouldn't mind having a little fun, would you?" Suigetsu smirked, lifting the sword from his shoulder and holding it along the ground before him.
"I see you've still got that mischievous streak and that attitude of yours. Why not? I'd love to shave a few layers off of you, and I don't think Samehada would mind either." Kisame lifted his sword up as Suigetsu suddenly lunged the remaining distance between them, nearly managing to chop an ear off before Kisame could react.
Kisame laughed. "Heh. Well kid, I didn't think this was going to be any kind of a challenge, but I'm glad to see that you're almost as good as your brother now." Kisame jumped back a few feet while simultaneously swinging his sword out to try to land a hit on Suigetsu's legs, simultaneously going through handseals with his free hand, creating a fairly large body of water around the two. Suigetsu jumped up quickly to dodge the blow, then suddenly liquefied as the water threatened to drag him away.
Karin screamed as the water nearly dragged her under, barely managing to get away before the huge wave overtook the area.
Kisame easily made his way to the water's surface, Suigetsu slowly rematerializing moments later, making his arms larger to put more force behind his blows.
"I don't remember you knowing how to do that Suigetsu-kun. I guess you really are as good as your brother now, huh?" Kisame ripped at the cloth covering Samehada, leaving almost a quarter of the huge sword bare.
"No, please, I'm tons better than Mangetsu, Kisame-senpai."
"Doesn't mean you have a chance anyway kid, but this should be fun…I haven't had a good fight in months." Kisame grinned, running at Suigetsu.
Suigetsu pumped more water into his arms, bracing to block Kisame's attack as his sword contacted with Kisame's. Kisame growled in frustration at having his attack blocked, but put all of his weight behind Samehada. Finally Suigetsu stumbled back under the weight, and Kisame broke through his block, Suigetsu's weight falling to the right as the heavy sword hit the water and pulled on his arms. Kisame took this moment, when Suigetsu's strength faltered, to quickly swing Samehada back around his head and come in for a blow at Suigetsu's neck, hitting him squarely on the left side.
Kisame smiled, "See kid, I told you-"
Suddenly, Kisame's sword went right through Suigetsu's entire neck, and Suigetsu reemerged on the other side of the sword, completely unscathed. "Sorry Kisame-senpai, but you'll have to do better than that."
"So… you see me dead?.. Why don't we see just how good your eyesight has become?"
"Gladly. But before I kill you, there's something I want to know you bastard." Sasuke drove the katana deeper into Itachi's torso, causing him to make a strained gurgling sound. "Who is the third Uchiha survivor? Because when I'm done with you, I'm going to kill him! Answer me, unless you want to know what real pain is!!"
Itachi chuckled lightly. "You, kill him? That's rather doubtful Sasuke. But I see you've finally figured things out. I'm surprised you don't want to know about your little friend. Surely you know that we have her."
"That's not important to me right now! Just tell me who helped you to kill the Uchiha clan!"
"Uchiha Madara. The first Uchiha to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan. My teacher…and the clan's founder." Itachi said evenly, his lips tugging up at the ends.
Sasuke nearly dropped his grip from his katana, leaning against the back of the stone seat Itachi was reclining in. He thought back to the Kyuubi's words, trying to piece everything he had learned together. "The founder… Then he'd be long dead!.. You're lying to me! Stop screwing around you asshole!"
"Madara is very much alive Sasuke, as I'm sure you will see. However, people decide how to live their lives and what to believe based on their own concepts of reality. Who's to decide if these are true or merely their own constructs? It may be better for you this way….."
"My eyes are wide open Itachi, and I can see what's real just fine!" Sasuke screamed, turning around and sending a charge of lightning at his brother, seated in back of him and completely unharmed.
"That may be so Sasuke, but I can't help but notice that you still don't have the same eyes as me." Itachi chided, getting up from his seat.
"Fine then why don't you try to kill me now, and see just how much I need those eyes? Or am I too much of a challenge for you?!"
"Confident, aren't you Sasuke?" Itachi glared at him calculatingly. "However, there is something you must come to understand… The Mangekyou Sharingan has a…unique characteristic, which quickens with more usage. The kaleidoscope eventually loses its light."
"Blindness? That's the price you pay for the power to control the Kyuubi?!" Sasuke shook his head in disbelief.
"So you did as I said. You read the family scrolls. I'm pleasantly surprised Sasuke." Itachi smirked, unbuttoning his cloak so his left arm hung freely out of the wide neckline.
"Why? Why pay such a price for power? Who is Madara, and why did you do it?!"
"As I said Sasuke, Madara is my teacher… as well as the only person to unlock and possess the full power of the Sharingan. He is an invincible immortal, and although he is today only a pathetic shell of his former self, the only one capable of surpassing him is me. See that you keep that in mind, in your petty plans to kill him. There's more to it all than controlling the Kyuubi. A permanent Sharingan, a wholly new doujutsu..perhaps even more. And all that's needed he found, to rekindle the light, are the eyes of one's sibling. For generations Uchiha have killed their siblings to try to obtain this power. You Sasuke, are my spare!" Itachi had never thought himself the best actor, but apparently many people had believed his story about his emotionless killing spree to test his capacity; so although it pained him to have to stoop to such manic rage, he knew there was no other choice in order to get his brother going and convey the information needed without giving too much away.
Sasuke recoiled as his brother explained his intentions, and the statue behind him suddenly began to move, reached out with long tendriled hands for his eyes. Shutting his eyes quickly, he jumped back a few feet, tearing off his cloak and the bandages around his head and forearms. When he reopened them, the statue was back in place, Itachi standing a few feet from where the genjutsu had placed him. "Screw you. You're going to die, and once you do I'm going to kill Madara and take Sakura back from you sick bastards."
When Sakura woke up, her usual breakfast was nowhere to be found. As she looked around, she started, pulling the covers closer around her instinctively.
Sitting at the end of her bed was that blue-haired woman who seemed to be attached to her father like a third arm, though Sakura for the life of her couldn't remember the woman's name. She eyed the woman suspiciously, and the woman just stared back just as harshly.
"I hope you've slept well, Sakura-san. I apologize for not having made better acquaintances with you before, but well, I had duties and all." Konan smiled, patting the bed. "But hopefully we can be better friends now. After all, it must be hard for you here, stuck with all these ugly old men. I'd been telling Pein-sama that it's hard to go without someone to have some good old girltalk with." She laughed lightly, rearranging the flower in her hair absentmindedly.
"What happened to Sasori?" Sakura broke in bluntly, ignoring everything that Konan had just said.
"Well… isn't it better to have me here? We can go shopping, talk about guys, do each others' hair… Really, I thought you hate Sasori-san anyway?..." Konan's smile suddenly got much smaller, and the blue-haired kunoichi couldn't help but notice the distinct lack of honorific placed on Sasori's name. But if Sakura had been trying to show her contempt and lack of respect for him, then why bother even asking about him? Why not just be grateful? There was something she was definitely missing here, and she didn't like it.
Sakura paused, unsure of what she should say. She wasn't even sure herself of why she'd blurted that out. Why did she care where he was? She shouldn't care if someone went and lit him on fire and used him for kindling.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she finally replied, "I don't really care. And I don't like him, though I guess I don't hate him anymore either. But I was just wondering… I mean, I was the mission he was assigned after all, right?"
"Well, yes. But since Deidara-san is, ahem, well... gone," Konan looked at Sakura for a moment, but Sakura refused to allow her mind to drift back to Sasuke and his fight with Deidara, "someone had to fill his spot. It isn't safe to let the daughter of the Leader of such a renowned organization be supervised by only one shinobi. Sasori-san is still here; I gave him a few days off, so that we could get to know each other better."
Konan's smile returned, as she patted the bed, then stood up. "I'll give you a few minutes to get dressed, and then we'll go and do something fun, how about that? You choice. And we can have a nice little chat while we're at it too; I haven't had any girls to talk to in forever, it's been horrible."
Konan left Sakura more confused than when she'd woken up. There was something about the woman she didn't really like too, but Sakura chided herself for being too stereotypical. After all, here she was trying to reach out to her in a place where she was all alone.. "But I'm not all alone…" She whispered to herself. "I don't need that…damn, I forgot to ask her her name!! …Well, I don't need her…. I'd rather be alone than friends with her anyway; but I have Sasori. He.. I don't know how, I mean, he's a damned sadistic bastard, a lifeless puppet, but he understands everything I'm going through. What's Ms. Blue here going to do for me, she hasn't even been around…"
Sakura shook her head, half out of disgust, half confusion at everything, but did as she was asked and got up to get dressed, searching the closet until she found a short, stylized pink and black party kimono among the clothes that had been provided for her.
She was just about to walk out the door when her eyes fell on the Akatsuki cloak, and her mind was brought back to Deidara's words. Grudgingly, she slipped the cloak off the chair and around her shoulders, knowing that if she was going anywhere outside of this building, she would have to wear it, especially around her father's little mistress.
"Yes, I heard what you said quite clearly when you came in this morning Konan-san. However I thought you said that you were taking Deidara's place; so, why can't I come on your little excursion? Please, explain." Sasori leaned against the wall glaring at Konan, arms folded across his chest.
"Look, I was asked to spend time with the girl, time that you can't provide. You're not a woman, and you're an emotionless shell to boot- Leader-sama wants to make sure his daughter forms bonds here, and is happy, since now this is the only place she has to call home. That's all. Call it a girl's night out if you will." Konan replied smugly.
"Fine. Whatever. Go do your thing. However I expect that when you return, Sakura will be my charge again? I don't want Leader-sama to accuse me of shirking my duties, and I wouldn't put it past you to make it look that way."
"Sasori-san, I'm offended!.." Konan said in mock distress, putting a pout on her face. She turned away from him and plopped herself onto one of the chairs. "And we'll see about later, Sakura-san and I might just be having too much fun bonding you know to allow for any male interference."
Sasori pushed off the wall and walked out the door, nearly knocking Sakura over as he slammed it open.
She got up immediately, fixing her eyes on the intricate stitching of white material around the red clouds on his cloak. Sasori quickly closed the door behind him before stepping a few feet away.
"Sakura." His voice was much softer than during his talk with Konan. She glanced up at the sound of her name, a blush immediately painting her cheeks a deep magenta and putting her hair to shame.
Sasori looked at her for a moment, and Sakura could swear she saw concern in those deep, unfeeling glass eyes, before he quickly turned away to proceed down the hall. "Have fun Sakura, doing whatever it is you young ladies are planning on doing with this 'bonding' time." Instead of the usual even tone, the hints of sadness in his voice were undeniable.
"Wait!" She said unsurely as he began to walk away, her voice hardly above a whisper. Sasori turned around meeting Sakura's gaze as she stared into his deep glassy eyes quietly, as he slowly began closing the difference between himself and Sakura.
He was just about to reach out and wrap his hand around her waist, when suddenly as Konan chose to open the door.
She took in the scene quickly, before taking Sakura's arm in her grasp. Sasori quickly took a step back, his expression turning to one of indifference.
"Well, you finally showed up. And don't you look pretty! Well, let's go then Sakura-san! You're going to love the day we're going to have."
Konan looped her arm with Sakura's, chatting animatedly as she led her away, reaching sedately into her cloak with her free arm and removing something in her fisted hand.
"Perhaps I'll see you later then Sakura?.." Sasori said as he watched her go, waiting to see if the girl gave any response.
As Sakura, smiling, glanced back over her shoulder, Konan reached up and swiftly jammed a syringe into her other arm, moving so fast that her movements were barely a blur. Sakura made a choked gurgle as she immediately slumped over, nearly falling to the floor. Konan caught her around the waist in a fluid motion and leaned her sagging frame against her, continuing to walk as though nothing had happened.
"I can't help but notice that you used my poison… at a much higher concentration than I used to deplete her chakra. If you aren't careful, you might kill her." Sasori mentioned offhandedly.
"Leader-sama's orders, what can I say? I'm supposed to build her up on this slowly, so that by the end of the month, she'll be able to handle the biggest dose available without dying… Talk to him if you have a problem with it." Konan answered brusquely, not bothering to turn around as she walked out the door.
"I have no problem…. It's just interesting is all." Sasori replied quietly, contemplating the Leader's reasoning in using one of Sasori's most powerful and painful poisons on his own daughter. Yes, he'd used it to torture the girl and keep her chakra in check, but even he had been careful to monitor the levels of poison carefully. Leader-sama seemed indifferent to the long-term effects such strong chakra suppression could have on the chakra and nervous systems, and after his doting behavior before, Sasori was determined to find out why there was this sudden change.
As his brother reached him, Sasuke's face contorted in the most horrific terror he had ever felt, his whole body shaking. This was it…
As Itachi reached out, coughing up huge amounts of blood again, he managed through coughs to get out, "My eyes… Sasuke, you will be my light…." Sasuke braced for the inevitable, unable to move from the severe chakra depletion, when Itachi reached out, and poked his forehead, his hand lingering for a moment before trailing down Sasuke's face.
Sasuke was too shocked to even comprehend what had happened, but his brother fell onto his back, letting out a choked laugh before everything suddenly went silent.
After a few moments passed, and he didn't get back up, all of the day's events rushed back onto Sasuke, who no longer had to think only of saving his life. Hyperventilating, he fell too, trying to figure out how Itachi missed his eyes- his aim couldn't have been that bad.
If only he knew just how deep the meaning behind his brother's words was, he wouldn't have allowed himself a moment's rest no matter how shocked or injured, but weakened and relieved as he was, he just lay there, drifting in and out of consciousness.
Kisame stopped, mid-swing, turning fully and looking out into the distance.
Suigetsu's blade missed him by inches as he tried to retract his attack, confused and curious as to why Kisame chose to stop and turn around right in the middle of their fight. And it was getting so good too. Yeah, Suigetsu had lost a hell of a lot of chakra to that sword of his, but still, he had to admit that Kisame was a really good opponent to fight, and he was having a blast. "What's wrong?"
"I have to go. Um, look, sorry Suigetsu-kun, it was nice to see you again, and I'm sure your brother would've been proud and all of that. But…I've really gotta go." Kisame quickly started to rewrap Samehada.
"Why? What-"
"Sasuke-kun!! I don't feel his chakra anymore!! Oh my gosh, what am I going to do?!... He can't be dead, he wouldn't leave me like this!!" Karin suddenly screamed, running in the direction of the Uchiha brothers' fight. Juugo followed after her, trying to calm her down.
Suigetsu looked at Kisame.
"Hell, I don't know about Sasuke-kun, Itachi-san said he'd probably come out of this alive. Some family member needed him or something, I couldn't get all the details. But I don't feel Itachi-san's chakra, so I have to go." Kisame dejectedly put Samehada on his back and left while Suigetsu ran after Karin.
"What do you mean?... Listen up you dumb frog, he promised me he was coming back, so you're obviously wrong. Shizune!"
"Y-yes, Tsunade-sama?..." Shizune asked nervously from the doorway, where she'd been standing to try to avoid the shards of desk, chairs, and sake bottles that had just recently been falling every which way around the room.
"Go get me 3 ANBU squads! No, make it 4! This is a rescue and recovery mission of the greatest importance!..." Tsunade sounded almost frantic in her order to Tsunade, and Shizune didn't dare argue with her in her manic state, even if her request didn't make much sense. She was out the door in seconds.
"Now you." Tsunade turned fiercely to the little toad seated on what was left of her desk. "Tell me more about this…Pein. What was Jiraiya's message to me?! And how do you expect me to believe that he lost?! Even against the leader of Akatsuki, still, he's a Sannin for Kami's sake!"
Tsunade leaned against the window, clutching her sake bottle for dear life as she took a long drink from it, downing almost half the bottle. There was no way she was going to believe that Jiraiya was really dead, that she's lost another one of her precious people. This stupid frog had obviously left before everything was over, she had even said that, so how could she know? All Tsunade knew was that she was getting Jiraiya back and wiping out every last Akatsuki member if it killed her.
"What can I say? When he summoned us he was already in bad trouble, but things got really bad when he got so outnumbered. Me an' Pa couldn't do nothing, no matter what we tried, there were still more." The toad broke eye contact, looking away and out the window sadly.
"So, all of Akatsuki was there? I thought you told me he was only fighting their leader?!..." Tsunade asked loudly.
"Well, far as I know, it was jus' the leader. But ya see, that's the thing. His kekkei genkai, there were like 6 of him, all with a different ability, all looked different, like they was different people- but they all got those eyes… Rinnegan Jiraiya says, he said you'd know what those were. Jiraiya almost beat 'im too, but he just couldn't do it, there was too many of 'em."
Tsunade stared hard at the toad. "Rinnegan…. Where's Shizune?... We need to call back Sakura's rescue teams immediately. Naruto is in grave danger…"
Okay, so the chapter ends in a retarded place, but it was either that, or go into stuff that would take like 5 more pages, and be a lot more in depth. I'd rather keep the more plotty stuff with Sasuke and with Sakura/Sasori to next chapter, where I have more room to flesh it out. And that way, that can be the focal point of the chapter, with a little of Naruto, and maybe some more Pein involved. I did promise Pein, but said I didn't think it could work with him this chapter. And so, the consensus is no lemon. I'm not going to just pile loads of fluff on you though, because fluff is unrealistic. What guy, really, only looks for fluffy kisses and cuddling in a relationship? There'll be a little of that, yes, but there will be more than that to come, and I may imply some heavier stuff...not sex, because some of you don't want to read that because of the pairing or whatever... but there's plenty more to imply right? Without having to go all the way, lol?... So yeah. Sorry for the filler chapter, but hopefully you don't hate me!! :)