Aniwolfgirl: I'm sooo glad you enjoyed the last chapter dear! I'm trying to show that Sayo is a badass at long last, considering we really haven't seen her in full-blown action yet. This chapter will hopefully leave you pleasantly satiated. The second part of the epic Akatsuki showdown is here!
Angelforver06: And so you shall have more, my dear! -stomps staff like Gandalf from Lord of the Rings- XD Enjoy!
ShadowAmaris: Faithful as always, darling! -huggaggles- Considering you only reviewed 2 days ago, I'm hoping this came soon enough! It's the end scene of the fight. Sorry for the MAJOR cliffhanger, but I needed all of you to stay on your toes. XD And thank you for saying Sayo is not a Mary Sue. -.- She used to be, back when this story was first created on Quizilla! but I have reworked her so pain-stakingly hard to make her a better, more believable character that this is the outcome. Tell me what you think of the end of the battle! =3 Even though the rest really is not a battle... . Eh! -shrugs-

XIV: Za Youma of Kirigakure no Sato

"Summoning Technique: Father Oinari!"

The earth began to quake hard enough to jar Youko from the hands of Itachi and scatter him mercilessly on the hard ground. Both him and Kisame were staring as a massive cloud of smoke appeared from nowhere, huge in size and covering the clearing I had created with my previous jutsu.

The growl that came from the smoke was frightening, though I had long since been used to it. Slowly, it began to dissipate, my legs leaping into the fray and onto the back of the giant beast of a summoning. At last, the Akatsuki members were able to see my favorite of all alabastrine foxes- I use that term loosely, because I really wanted to strangle the fox half of the time-, a beast that rose more than forty feet in the air, possibly far larger than that, glaring down at them.

The creature was a solid white, his fur glinting a deep red every here and there should the sun be out, though unfortunately it was not. His eyes were a blood red, identical to Youko's, and a tobacco pipe sat in his teeth on one side. His single tail swished aggressively, throwing his paw out and retrieving my partner with little effort before throwing him up onto his head for me to catch.

"What sort of mess have you gotten me into now, Sayomi-teme!" Of course, this was why he was a last resort situation and the reason I often wanted to strangle him. The creature had a foul mouth on him and went out of his way to shoot insults at me. I knew the beast valued me though, for I was the first to attain these summonings in centuries. "I smell four dead, something that wreaks of cooked wobbegong, and various other disgusting aromas."

"I am not a carpet shark, you big oaf!" Kisame attacked with a snarl, though Father Oinari easily dodged the sword and stared at it with interest. "Are you afraid, mutt?"

"Not at all. I'm wondering why that chakra-draining sword has scales on it. I suppose they keep making things uglier and uglier these days. After all, you're obviously only a few decades old. They probably should have stopped before the paint process though. You look like what I hack up in the mornings," the beast laughed, a wheezing noise that echoed around what was left of the forest, as steam poured fluidly from his pipe. Steam not smoke, as most would believe.

"Why you!" And so, Father Oinari exploded the area in a jutsu unlike any other, feeding off my chakra to keep him out. I had learned Steam Release, Kiton, from him and Youko personally many years ago, a combination of my two chakra types- water and fire. It was unlike Mei's in many aspects, but also similar to one of her specialties.

-( Trust is a Sacred Vow )-

Again; it had happened again. I had been out of my league, in so many ways, and was now lying in a bloodied heap on the ground. My mask was half-torn off, hiding just what it needed to, but I was drenched in a viscous liquid. Various weapons were etched into my flesh and Youko and Father Oinari both poofed back to his world to recover a short few minutes ago.

They had taken down my fiercest summoning... Hoshigaki Kisame, ex-resident of Kirigakure no Sato, was a true monster. Now, I expected my death, though I tried in vain to move against it. His sword was raised above his head and I wanted so badly to move, yet my body refused to respond.

I would not be able to do it; I was breaking a promise to one of the few people my heart cared for in this world. Sasuke would be disappointed in me, for dying that is, and I knew he would never forgive me for it. I felt sick at the notion, nearly wanting to cry at the thought, but I was a kunoichi and I would not die with tears in my eyes. I was a Jounin, the best of the village, and here I was, bleeding profusely on the floor of the forest.

"Any last words, little fox?" Kisame was smirking, though I will say I did some damage to him. One arm was broken and the bone was protruding from it, along with a decent-sized hole in his gut. I did not see how he was still moving with the thick liquid dripping from his mouth so swiftly. Any normal person would be dead on contact with the blow to the stomach, and yet he lived... I was clearly outmatched, despite how I hate to admit it.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi..." I made sure the man could not hear me as I whispered it to myself. "I'm so, so sorry... Sasuke..." With those words out of my mouth, I felt a weight lifted from me. I would have to watch over those two, Youko, and Mei from whatever Hell I was sent to. What Heaven would want a murderer like me?

"What? Oh never mind! I'll be keeping your head as a trophy!" Kisame plunged his sword downwards, my eyes locking on his and wanting him to see the burning hatred with the last few seconds of my life. I wanted to go down with a bit of dignity, at least.

What happened next, I will never fully understand, you see. Itachi grabbed Kisame's shoulder, the one of the broken arm, and stopped the shark from lobbing off my head or whatever he was aiming for. With that thing, he would probably be able to vertically chop me in half without much effort.

"What are you doing, Itachi?" Kisame growled while spitting blood off to the side. "I understand you have some strange fascination with this girl, but I'll find you a bedmate like her. Well, I bet she's real fire under the sheets, but I'll try. She's going to die today. You let her live the last time, not this time."

"Kisame." The word was short, sweet, and simple, spoken in a very collected and deep voice. "Leave. I'll be back shortly." Kisame, almost protesting until he saw the seriousness in those Sharingan eyes, turned and stomped off with a lewd string of profanities openly spewing from his bloodied lips. Itachi's attention turned to me and he kneeled close.

"So now I take it you'll do the honors?" I groaned, glaring for what little I had left. I was exhausted, close to losing consciousness, and tired beyond a doubt. I was going to die here, and I had so many regrets...

"No, I am not," he murmured while his eyes bored into mine. I did not care at this point, heatedly gazing within those red orbs, that beautiful face. God, he looked like an angel of death. "Why do you live?"

"I live for those I love," I remarked immediately without even thinking over the answer. "I live for Mei, Youko, Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto... And I live for Uchiha Sasuke. I live for a boy that is without a family and one that was forsaken by a brother that did- no, does- not care." I swore something moved across his face, some emotion, but it was too quick and unreadable. "And even if I die, I will watch over them. Be warned, Uchiha, if you ever, and I mean ever hurt Sasuke again, I will find a way to destroy you from the afterlife, even if it condemns my soul for all eternity. Though, I have questions for you, one in particular. Did you really save me from my death so many weeks ago?"

He did not respond to my question, instead staring at me with that fixated gaze of his. I did not need the answer, as he gave it without a word otherwise. He had indeed injected me with that serum, something that brought me back from a short, unknowingly swift death. But... why? This man was one said to be filled with hatred, not one to save another life. What in the world was going on here? He had abandoned Sasuke, led him down a path of darkness...

"You will not die today," Itachi added quietly, Sharingan never leaving my own cerulean orbs. "Do not pursue us again. I will not stop him next time. Now, sleep." I feel my body convulsed once and I groaned loudly. He was slipping me into seventy-two hours of hell again, of that I was sure.

But something strange happened as my body was overtaken. For a brief moment, a whisper of something entered my head. I had invaded his mind, if only for a moment, a second, and heard a thought the man probably never wanted another to hear.

'Watch over him with me. And now, I will watch over you as well, Kobayashi Sayomi... For Sasuke...'

After that, all I could see was myself strapped to a cross with hundreds of the Uchiha coming closer with weapons raised. Again, they go easy on me, yet the agony was excruciating. I had not died...

'Sasuke, I will return to you...' And then, I wept within this void. I wept from the joy, not the blinding pain searing through me, but the happiness that my promise would not be broken. I would return for his match, and I would help him overcome his demons. One way or another, I would love Sasuke like no one ever had or ever would.

Author's Note: Wow, that's definitely a strange side of Itachi... But we all know he secretly loves Sasuke more than the world and everything in it. Well, you know if you've watched through a good portion of the anime... If not, sorry for the half-ass spoiler! XD

Next in 'Trust is a Sacred Vow':
She had never been one to sit around for long. She could not stand how boring it was, and as of late she had been spending far too much time in a bed recovering from something or the other. She was tired of it. Flat out tired. Fortunately, she had a pleasant and missed face to share her time with. And what was this about Kakashi's abs?