Here we are my darlings, the 21st Chapter of Ten Years In Sand Country. Enjoy!
I do not Own the Rights or Characters of Naruto
Nightfall had at last befallen the land, disguising everyone in the unfriendly darkness of the night. Without the moon and its guiding light, shinobi had to rely on their intensive trained senses and instinct. There were small groups scattered across a twelve mile radius all waiting faithfully for the time to prove themselves to their respective country and Kage.
Among the many trees and fields, a diplomatic kunoichi moved to where the gathered Kages were located. Several months after the encounter with the Akatsuki had already passed. The attempts to capture Naruto were more obvious , thus sending the blonde shinobi into hiding, much to his dislike. Atashi was one of the few that knew about his current whereabouts, despite its up most secrecy, because seriously, how many new shinobi transfers were obsessed with ramen and saying 'Believe it'?
In other words, the hyperactive blonde had been 'traded' to Suna under a false identity, as well as false looks.
The red cloud organization had eventually learned of the switch much to the Godaime Hokage's anger. In fact, the Akatsuki had seen it fit to send not one or two, but FIVE members to retrieve said container, much to the stress of the diplomat who had been assigned to 'watch' over him.
So, they both left the said country for a while, taking on different disguises, moving constantly to avoid detection. Atashi took extra precautions with Naruto, since the Akatsuki had several different ways to locate the chakra of tailed beasts. By using several different seals, Atashi had taken care of that little problem hiding as well as sealing the fox's chakra from sight, but after twenty-four years, the Kitsune and blonde's chakras had become entwined, sealing away some of the blonde's chakra as well, a serious drawback.
It wasn't until late July that the Godaime had been able to get into contact with them. The plans of war had been finalized, thus making it necessary for Naruto's return.
The diplomat traveled with the container back into Konohagakure, staying only a short night before returning to Suna.
In Suna, Atashi helped Gaara, Kankuro and Temari to organize the forces that would fight against the criminal organization.
After much deliberation, three squads of four were decided upon, their leaders being Temari, Gaara and Atashi. The rest of the shinobi forces were to remain in Suna in case of attack, under the command of Kankuro. Out of the nine that has been chosen to come, none of them had even come into contact with the Akatsuki, switch seemed to be a bad choice.
It was quite the opposite in reality, since six out of the nine were ANBU medic shinobi, the other three being used to guard and protect the medics in case of breech in the lines,
Atashi and Temari were to act as communication between Suna and Konoha, both having experience with the other's government.
Already four days had passed since the forces had gathered.
From Konoha, the not so rookie nine and Gai's group were present for the battle, as well as the remaining two sannin and the legendary copy-cat nin, Hatake Kakashi.
From other allied countries were recognized Kage leaders with small battalions of skilled shinobi troops, ranging in groups of three to groups of fifteen. The groups all had different qualities, messengers to medics, hunter nin to chakra support units; shinobi who normally work together brought together for what civilians were calling the fifth hidden war.
The chosen spot for the war was at the border of Grass country and the Land of Fire where there was plenty of open space but with tree cover further away for support troops. It was in many ways an excellent place for the upcoming battle. Seeing as it was dry season made air dry and unpleasant but the earth was still wet enough not to be bothered by fire type jutsu.
The area was also rather bowl-shaped under all of the grass with a relatively lower water table, thus making it harder for summoned lakes to hold.
Having had pervious experience with the Akatsuki criminals, Atashi knew there were plenty of attributes that would help in the fight overall but there were also many that could contribute to the enemy, but its all they had to work with.
While Sasori Pein and Kisame came from places with different surroundings, they still had the power as well as the chakra to take them on (Like Kisame's insane ability to summon lakes) seeing as their abilities lay in areas other than their current elements with some exceptions.
Deidara and Hana-san were self-efficient bringing their needed supplies to battle. Itachi, Tobi and Zetsu had all grown up in the environment where they were to battle, making them the "hard to beat" enemy.
Despite circumstances, the diplomat believed these were the best possible circumstances to work in.
Atashi could see the opening to the vast fields and veered left in the trees. Her feet connecting with the
hardened bark of a tree.
Scouts that patrolled the area farther into Grass country had reported earlier that the S-rank organization's members were on the move, coming in their general direction. That had been nearly three hours ago, at ten, when the last of the sunlight disappeared.
The black haired kunoichi dropped from the trees to land among a group of ANBU that were guarding the battle planners. They stepped away from the hidden doorway after the diplomat had identified herself, through name and then a special card that would only react to the person's chakra that was correct.
Atashi walked through the doorway hidden by genjustu, descending the hidden stairs into the meeting room at last.
There was little light considering the number of people that were present in the room. The Kage leaders along with several tactical advisors stood in the center overlooking the battleground map as well as all the information gathered on the Akatsuki members, compliments of their home country.
Quietly, Atashi placed herself at the wall, observing the leaders with determined eyes. There was no doubt that tonight would be their final showdown with the Akatsuki. If they managed to succeed, it would be more the likely the end of the hidden villages. If the Akatsuki lost, the villages would, in most likely situations, disband from their current alliances, returning to pre-war negotiation terms, not that it wasn't unexpected.
Another pair of footsteps could be heard descending the stairs, soon to reveal Temari who looked slightly uneasy about the situation, but became more calm once she spotted Shikamaru at the table with the Kages. That brought a slight smile to the corner of the diplomat's mouth. So much depended on whether they won tonight or not.
Another four pairs of footsteps came from the stairway, revealing some Rain shinobi who also took their place on the wall along with all the others. It was only a few moments longer before the planning among the people at the table became final.
"Thank you all for coming on such a short notice," Tsunade started, her eyes going over all the faces that were in the room. "As you all know, tonight is the night that we are to battle the Akatsuki, the very people who wish to end the existence of the hidden villages and capture and put to use the tailed demons that we have worked many eyes to keep under control. As the leaders of the hidden villages, we have called you all here specifically to assign you duties in order to make it more efficient and orderly to win this battle. It is in the best interest of all for you to listen and follow exactly what we say."
The light in the room became brighter, as the overview of the battlefield was positioned for all to see. Red Xs were scattered along the map, arrows pointing to certain areas that were located in the open fields of Grass country.
"As you can see, we have determined the placement of the troops and have divided the forces in order of use. It is the mission of you all to see that everything is prepared and ready before the battle begins. First, Nana-san, you will move your squad to this area here, "Tsunade tapped the map on the far north, the position currently farthest away.
She continued to go on about how important it was to follow those specific guidelines. All of the troops were slowly dispersed to move the troops into position until only a few were left.
The Kages were all there, meaning the Kazekage, Hokage, Amekage, Mizukage, and Iwakage. Also present were the diplomat Atashi, Kakashi, Gai, and Jiraiya. Deep down, Atashi knew that there was a reason to why they had been the last ones to be assigned any task, and she was sure she knew what it was.
"As for you who are remaining, we are about to ask you to risk yourselves more than all the others present here today. We want you to be the ones to fight directly against the Akatsuki members, rather than being the back-up." Tsunade looked over the three Jounin and remaining Sannin before her, before looking to the other Kages for permission to continue. There was a slight nod from them all and so she started her explanation again.
"The Kazekage is to go against Deidara, whose specialty is bombs. He will be able to counteract the bombs and protect the troops while working to eliminate him. Kakashi, we have requested that you fight against Uchiha Itachi since you possess the Sharingan as well, if you see it fit."
"Hai, Hokage-sama, there are perhaps only myself and Sasuke that could take on a serious Itachi. I would be glad to take him on."
"Thank you Kakashi. Gai, we request that you take on Hoshigaki Kisame who you have previously fought against, if you see it fit."
"Of course Hokage-sama! The Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha will take on such an opponent gladly!"
'Yep… Gai is overly enthusiastic as usual. There aren't many left so who are they going to stick me with?'
"Atashi-san, we want you to go up against Akasuna no Sasori. You were one his subordinates for nearly two years, you know his weaknesses best."
'Great, that guy again. I should have guessed.'
'Ne, Kid. I think it could be worse, c'mon you could be against Itachi instead.'
A short shiver ran down the diplomat's spine, "I accept Hokage-sama." It was all she could hope to say. It was the right thing to do, but Atashi knew that there was an underlying feeling of hatred and revenge deep within herself that compelled her to answer. Sasori was someone that deserved the hate she felt, he had ruined her reputation and made her lose two years worth of her life. And to top it off, it was his fault for the whole entire Itachi incident. Even though it was for the good of the villages, Atashi would personally see to it that he was killed at any cost.
'Don't let your hatred cloud your judgment Atashi. It will only lead to your own downfall. Don't get carried away by revenge, because fighting for those you care about give you real strength.' Atashi let out a long shaky breath nodding slightly to herself.
"And Jiraiya and myself will be taking on the leader of the Akatsuki, Pein. Please see to it that you are all ready for your battle. The time approaches. You are all dismissed."
Kakashi, Gai and two of the Kages were immediately gone, leaving Jiraiya, Tsunade, and the Mizukage to slowly make their way out of the meeting room, leaving behind Gaara and Atashi.
"So, this could be the end huh? Who would have thought that only ten years ago we first met." Atashi smiled at Gaara, walking over to where he stood across the room. "But, you know, if we do survive this, you still have to put up with me another two years right?" she laughed, patting his robed shoulder softly.
"Atashi."
The diplomat looked up in question, "Mmm?"
"You better survive this in one piece or you'll regret it," he growled, a serious look etched upon his pale face.
"Heh, you know that I have an aptitude to survive even the end of the world just to get on your nerves. I don't plan on dying before my opponent."
"As the current Kage you serve, even if it is only for diplomatic reasons, I order you not to die." Gaara stated staring at the black haired kunoichi contently.
"Well, if you put it that way, I better not die," Atashi laughed, giving Gaara a short embrace, "After all, I can't leave my best friend to fend for himself against his jerk brother and the ever persistent council members, right?"
Gaara shifted somewhat uncomfortably once released from the kunoichi's hold. He knew that it something normal friends did when they were close, he had seen it many times when he watched over the people of the village during daylight, seen it in children, teenagers and even adults, all who seemed to be comfortable with the close body contact.
He just couldn't bring himself to get over the feelings that manifested themselves in his chest. It was as if he needed to do something similar, maybe even more close to alleviate the pressure that constantly built in his chest. But he also knew that now was not the time to try to figure out the feelings he felt, even with the person he considered close to him, in such a near proximity. what
"You know what? Let's make a promise. That no matter what happens we will meet each other at the end of this all, okay?" Atashi smiled, before leaving Gaara behind so she could go back and tell her squad to join up with Temari's on the south side of the battleground.
Gaara stood in the meeting room left behind by all. "Promise," was all he said before disappearing through his sand.
Atashi arrived to her squads encampment at Two Fifty, finding that two of them were asleep, one of them serving as a guard. "Wake the other two up, we are moving." Atashi ordered, gathering her pack from the tree she had set it in.
The three of her squad landed on the tree branch behind her, "Where to Atashi-san?"
"We're moving you three to Temari's group, since I have been assigned to do something else."
"And what may that be Atashi-san?"
"I am to go against Akasuna no Sasori in the upcoming battle, please respect my wishes for you to go to Temari's group so that you may be used efficiently. I will lead you there if you are ready." The ANBU medics hesitated slightly before reluctantly agreeing. "We're ready whenever you are."
"Good, let's move out then!"
"Hai Atashi-san!" the ANBU replied instantly, following after the sprinting ninja who was quickly disappearing into the surrounding foliage. They all secretly wished to remain with the diplomatic shinobi, having seen what she could do, as children of nine years. She was one of the reasons that they wished to become such high level ninjas. Someone who could defeat a Kage, yet was benevolent enough to let them live despite their intention to kill her.
"You too, Atashi?" Temari questioned, seeing the diplomat arrive with her own troops in tow. Gaara had already moved his own squad to his sister's command it seemed, as they were already present and accounted for without their assigned squad leader present.
"Yeah, I can't let these three fend for themselves without someone's guidance, I hope you don't mind and can put them to some use over here." Atashi said with a smile, indicating for her squad to settle in.
"Well, I think that I can send some of them to the other squads nearby since we have such a concentrated amount of medic nins in one place, I don't think that many thought about the importance of medics in small groups. I will see what I can do though, please be careful Atashi."
"You got it Temari, as for you three, take care, I intend to see you again soon." Atashi nodded to her squad before disappearing from the southern point, making her way to the center point where it was most likely for the Akatsuki to appear.
Three a.m. came faster than expected as Atashi came to a stop mid-step, feeling a familiar feeling taking over her again. A kunai came to her hand in a flash, as she sliced behind her, jumping backwards to the tree she had come from a moment before. "So this is where you've run off to is it, Kabuto?"
"You're a lot faster than before Ichimaru-san." Kabuto replied, wiping a chakra-clad finger across the small gash that Atashi had inflicted, healing it without much effort. His hair looked rather ragged and dirty, his face paler than the diplomat remembered.
"Something you need with me Kabuto or are you just here to distract me from my task?"
"Now now Ichimaru-san, why in the world would I do that?"
"I don't know, why don't you tell me?"
The healer shinobi smirked, adjusting his glasses with a practiced movement. "You seem to be worried about something or other already Ichimaru-san. Rather distracted, in fact."
"Well if I seem that way, you may be losing your touch at reading one's emotions, wouldn't you think Kabuto?"
"Hmm, if that were true, I don't think that your heartbeat would be so erratic or your blood pressure that high up. Why don't you just give up and run away, you're obviously not strong enough after all."
"Strength isn't measured by muscle, chakra or amount of concentration, it's the measure of will that one possesses to protect what they consider to be important to them. But you don't seem to hold that kind of reserve seeing as your precious Orochimaru-sama is already deceased."
Atashi could tell that she had struck a nerve, seeing Kabuto's fist clench tightly. Well, if he wanted to push her buttons, she would return the favor tenfold.
"You still don't have any respect for your enemy do you?"
"Not particularly," Atashi replied without any remorse staring at the white haired ninja with suspicion. It wasn't likely that he would just show up without a good reason, seeing as he was a wanted man. From what she had heard from Naruto during their travels together, the shinobi that had chased him after the meeting in Snow country had been easily killed and send back into the village to be used as human bombs, killing several hunter shinobi and medic nins. Since that time he had disappeared from all sight, until now it seemed. "So what is it you want anyways Kabuto? I don't have much time to play doctor and patient with you."
"I just need to confirm a little something and then I will be on my way again Ichimaru-san." Kabuto lunged at her.
Atashi dodged to the left, swinging her air-clad kunai at him, as a quick reaction. Kabuto easily dodged to the side, tapping the kunoichi's arm with his healing chakra, causing it to go limp at her side. He slammed her into a tree, causing a gasp to escape her mouth. He quickly worked the collar of her black mesh shirt to the side, inspecting the area that had once held the Curse Seal Mark, his fingers moving placidly over the area, with a scrutinizing gaze. It was moments later that he sighed, pulling away from the kunoichi.
"That's all I needed to know. Goodbye Ichimaru Atashi." he pressed her paralyzed arm again before disappearing into the black night.
Atashi gingerly stared after the way he had ran, moving her arm back and forth trying to get the numb feeling to leave her previously severed muscle. 'What a bastard,' she frowned rubbing the place her Cursed Seal had once resided out of habit. "Always wasting my time for no reason at all…"
The kunoichi straightened herself out, resuming her journey despite the aching in her arm.
'Way to start a day kid, a battle against your biggest enemy and then your arm being mangled and then reconnected within a twenty second period. I have a feeling that today isn't going to be your day. Better keep up on your toes, kid.'
'Don't you try to lecture me, Siren. I know what needs to be done and that is what will happen, one way or another, got it?' Atashi jumped out of the trees, gliding with grace into the field below, racing up the middle of the hill that reigned over the bowled terrain.
No one was in sight, just as she expected. Stepping through the grass carefully, Atashi sent out a small burst of Chakra trying to sense any coming presence or where her allies may be. No one was in the immediate area, but Tsunade and Jiraiya were the closest to her, nearly three fourths of a mile away. Next was the Mizukage who was a mile and a half away to the south, the only leader to the southern side.
Gaara wasn't within her five mile radius, so he had to be to the far north, where the terrain was the worst, lots of hills and little cover.
It was a little weird for everyone to already be so spread out and ready for battle, because nothing guaranteed that their Akatsuki targets would go directly to them, unless of course, a message was sent ahead to them to tell them that the members were challenged to fight against so-and-so, which again would be a little weird but not totally unheard of.
The wind around her shifted to blow to the south, from its normal westward direction. Slowly, Atashi reached into her kunai hilt, pulling out two of the four, settling them into her hand comfortably. All of it was going to be coming to an end soon. A mass explosion to the far North ensured that.
Gaara let his sand shield drop, eyes scanning the land, searching for his target, the missing Iwa shinobi, Deidara. He was sure that the man was close, it was the only way that he could witness his 'art' at work. A flapping sound met his ears, causing him to automatically look up to find the man. Another flap dispersed the clouds that hung in the black sky, giving the clear shape of his flying bird into sight.
'There he is.' Gaara summoned his own sand, using it as a medium to help him also 'fly'. This battle wouldn't be a repeat of the one nearly six years before. The stakes were the same, the reason slightly changed, but the outcome would be unlike the last time. This time, Gaara was going to win, one way or another.
"Are you a ghost or did the Kazekage have a twin that we didn't know about, un?" Deidara stated, hovering on his clay creation slightly above Gaara who was glaring at him from a slightly lower level than his own. "Are you mute as well un? I guess I overestimated you then."
"I wouldn't talk to a man, who thinks that I am either a ghost or my non-existent twin." Gaara replied in a growl. His sand flowed slightly around him, dispersing itself into the air, to the point that only grains were scattered about, unable to be seen by the naked eye.
"Then, that would mean you are the one we killed? Is that what you are trying to get at, un?"
"Its exactly my point." Gaara gathered his sand in a split second, engulfing the Iwa nin with ease.
Two clay spiders dropped from above almost landing on the Sand leader, if he had moved a split second later he would have been nothing but a couple of body parts. The sand scattered in the air, falling uselessly to the ground, Gaara reappearing in a high vantage point at a Deidara, who had freed himself by replacing himself with a clay substitute, blowing the sand away with a rodent shaped bomb.
The only way this was going to end, Gaara decided was if he was able to trap Deidara on the ground, rather than fight him in the air, like what was currently happening. That meant getting rid of the flying clay bird that he was riding, easily said as it was down.
Gaara raised both his hands, let the many times he did as a youth, gathering his sand all the way around the bird, despite Deidara's attempts to blow it away. "Sabaku Kyu! (Desert Coffin) Sabaka Soso! (Desert Funeral)." The clay bird was crushed by the pressure of the sand, but no blood was spilled because Deidara had already used a replacement jutsu to get away from the would be death by crushing sand, just as the Kazekage planned and wanted.
"Is that the best you got, un?!" Deidara yelled from his position on the ground, stuffing his hands into the side pouches that carried his ever precious clay. Deidara would have to work super fast to get his next sculpture done if he wanted to live.
Already Gaara was on the ground, commanding his sand to wrap around the ex-Iwa shinobi's ankles, to immobilize him and keep him from escaping his next jutsu.
The Akatsuki shinobi didn't seem to notice the sand, as he continued to smirk at Gaara from across the field.
"Are you ready to become a piece of art, fleeting and momentary, mm?!" Deidara yelled throwing two high velocity bombs at the red haired shinobi. Not that it mattered.
"Ryusa Bakuryu! (Style of a waterfall)" A wave of sand started to roll across the field gaining height and speed as it moved towards the blonde haired enemy, who realized a second too late that he was stuck in place by sand that trailed all the way up hid legs to his hips. The sand hit, knocking over the clay manipulator despite being stuck in place, snapping his legs just above the hips. His scream of agony was drowned out as the sand settled onto the once grassy field.
The Kazekage's teal eyes scanned the sand feeling a disturbance still from beneath it. Deidara was still alive and seemed to be forming seals . Quickly he slammed his hands to the edge of the sand, sending a shockwave through the sand, engulfing and crushing the remaining part of Deidara's body, thus ending the enemy shinobi's life. His gaze traveled southwards to Atashi's position.
"You again. Didn't you have enough the last time when you fought my clone? " Gai
"HAHA, you would like to think so wouldn't you!? But the beautiful green beast of Konoha never gives up!!!" Gai exclaimed making a pose, like he normally would when fighting Kakashi.
Kisame stared at the leaf shinobi in suspicion, knowing that he wasn't one to be underestimated. The people had thought ahead somewhat this time, Kisame thought, but smirked knowing that it wasn't going to make the least bit of difference in this fight. "Suiton: Bakusui Shoha! (Water release: Exploding Water Shockwave!)."
The water sank into the ground slightly, but held its shape in the most case.
"Already pulling out the stops eh? Well prepare for I have been practicing for this moment since we last met!" The shinobi met in a clash of water and chakra doing their very best to take each other out of commission.
Two shuriken flew out of the grassy confines at the Diplomat, causing her to bring up her kunai and knock them aside, staring out into the dark abyss of the night. There hadn't been any explosions to light the sky for several minutes now, the scent of the sandy desert Atashi had become accustomed to, floating on the wind blowing south.
Atashi closed her eyes, tuning her senses to look for her enemy's chakra. Nothing showed up, making her somewhat nervous. He was out there somewhere, Atashi knew it and to make matters worse, he knew exactly where she was. The odds were currently against her to the max.
'Well, I guess I can try my hand with the vision of the night.' The diplomatic nin nicked the center of the pad on her thumb with her teeth drawing the blood from her body and wiping it onto her opposite palm. The seals came next, her mind focusing on her least used friend. " Kuchiyose no Jutsu ! (Summoning Jutsu)"
A black owl appeared flapping its way into the night air without orders, already knowing its purpose. It disappeared into the night sky silently gliding over the length of the open space in search of Atashi's enemy. 'I know he's out there somewhere, but that doesn't mean anything if I don't know even remotely where he could be.' The kunai in Atashi's hands was shaking, the nervousness of the diplomat visible for all to see.
With steady eyes, she scanned the area for any sign of movement and for any irregular shapes that might be the enemy. She didn't detect anything out of the usual, but that didn't mean anything to her. This wasn't a game, it was life and death, and someone would cease to exist by the end of the night.
A cry and a pop told Atashi that her owl had been killed for getting too close to the enemy, meaning that Sasori was within twenty feet of her.
"Are you going to spend the entire night hiding out there or are you going to fight me Akasuna no Sasori!" Atashi yelled out into the field, waiting for the response that she was sure would be returned within minutes.
"You've never disappointed me with your antics Ichimaru Atashi, always diving headfirst into a dire situation, but that is what makes you interesting, even when you were nothing but a mere mind puppet of mine for two years. Perhaps if you show me something worth remembering, I'll keep you by my side as a puppet for all eternity." The ex-Suna nin's voice floated on the air from all directions, a trick that he had always used on Atashi when she was under his control, annoying now that she wasn't connected to him by chakra.
"You would like that wouldn't you, but I don't plan on being the one to die tonight. Even if I do, I plan to take you with me no matter what," Atashi yelled into the darkness, falling into defensive position with ease, waiting for the upcoming attack.
Out of nowhere, or so it seemed, came Sasori's gaunt scorpion tail, striking directly at where her stomach was. With little effort, Atashi was into the air, kicking the bony structure with her chakra-laden sandal, causing half of it to break off, flying into the darkness of the field. She smirked at her effort and was nearly rewarded with death as another tail came out of the darkness, nicking her arm as she dodged out of the way.
Her breath caught in her lungs at the close call she had encountered. It seemed that Sasori had made some adjustments to his puppets since she had last met him, improving the once one-tailed puppet and surprising the diplomat with the change. Her arm throbbed in pain, as the tail had struck the muscle that had recently severed by a certain healer shinobi. Atashi tightened her grip on her kunai, as if clutching them more forcefully would alleviate the discomfort in her upper bicep.
"You see Atashi, you were never really good at expecting the unexpected, seeing how you didn't even expect me to change up my last design."
"Che, from what I've heard, you weren't that good either, seeing as you were beat and killed by a pink haired medic kunoichi and your grandma with ease."
The next thing that Atashi knew was that not only did 'Scorpion' come out but also the 'Third Kazekage' puppet, a puppet that been reported destroyed in the battle between him, Chiyo and Sakura, information that was currently proving to be false.
'So troublesome, as dear Shikamaru would state,' Atashi thought dodging to the side of another one of Sasori's attacks, moving out of the way of the twin scorpion tails as they obliterated the grassy earth below. The Third Kazekage reacted to her movements, going to intercept her as she went sideways away from the 'Scorpion'. Atashi ducked backwards, her long ebony hair hitting the poisoned spike that had sprouted from the Third Kazekage's mouth, cutting it efficiently from her head.
Another swing of his tail could prove fatal if Atashi wasn't aware of where the Third Kazekage's puppet was at at all times. She could feel a numbing sensation running up her arm to her shoulder from where the cut was. Using her peripheral vision see could see that the skin near the cut was discolored; what was normally a healthy tan was turned into a decaying yellow with blue puss coming from the cut.
"I see you have finally noticed. I injected you with a preservative so that your skin and muscles will harden and become more wood-like. However, unfortunately for you, since its in your blood stream, I give you about another seven minutes to live before it reaches your heart and therefore killing you almost instantaneously, like a heart attack."
Atashi bit her lip, but continued to dodge and attack the puppets as well as she could, ignoring the pain that was now burning in her collarbone. Grip of her right hand was fading, the kunai she had previously been holding, slipping from her fingers. 'Damn it! Siren is there anything you can do?!'
'I regret to say there isn't much I can, I can however slow its progress through your body, extending your time to live to fifteen minutes rather than seven. I'm sorry.'
'Better than nothing, please do that, anything can help me at the moment.'
There wasn't much time until she lost the rest of the use of her right arm, Atashi guessed feeling her forearm starting to become numb as well. Soon her prominent hand would be out of commission leaving her to use her left hand indifferently for the rest of the battle. 'Better make this worthwhile while I still can!'
She started to think through how Chiyo and Sakura had defeated the puppet master before. Something to the effect that Sakura forced him out by critically injuring his Scorpion puppet, something that Atashi wasn't sure she could currently do, due to the state of her arm, but it was her only option, but once he was out what was she going to do? Well, she had always been the type to initially have a plan and then wing it afterwards if something deviated from the original outline.
She pulled away from the puppets and puppeteer, forming hand seals as well as she could with her right and left hands. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Nine clones appeared around her and started to put her makeshift plan into action, restrain the Third Kazekage and the Scorpion tails while the Original Atashi worked on a way to crack that new puppet into two.
Atashi jumped back to start forming a long line of seals while, three of the clones knocked over and held the struggling Third Kazekage, avoiding his swinging spikes and darts that would take them out of use. The remaining six held onto the twin tails as well as they could, trying to ground them, but it wasn't doing them very well, as they were airborne a majority of the time, barely making it out of the way of the swinging tails.
'Almost done!' Atashi thought as her long line of seals started to get progressively slower due to Atashi's difficulty in forming the right hand. 'Two more!' Her hand was shaking uncontrollably still.
Sasori had thrown the clones free and was charging at the diplomat who barely opened her mouth to yell out the Jutsu's name. A millisecond later decided the outcome. The one of the twin tails went right through her lower stomach, jutting out dangerously on the other side. A strangled gasp met her lips, as the chakra in her hands dispersed, the clones on top of the unmoving Third Kazekage puppet disappearing in a puff of smoke.
"So sad, to have to damage such a perfect specimen, but no matter, I can repair it to look like nothing happened in a little while." Sasori contemplated, as blood was spewed from the diplomat's mouth.
She started to laugh much to Akasuna no Sasori's dismay. "Game Over."
'Atashi' puffed away into oblivion, the true diplomat jumping from the shadows behind, " Kinjutsu: Kazekoko no Yaiba! (Forbidden Technique: Blade of Wind-cutting) (a/n: I totally came up with that off the top of my head XD)" A dense blade of air and chakra formed in her arms as she rammed the conjured blade into the far back side of the Scorpion, its weak spot on the top. Evasively, she moved past the tails, running the blade up the back of the puppet, splitting it into two from the top and bottom.
The Scorpion reared back, causing the diplomat to lose her balance and concentration, the blade disappearing into the air in a flash. Atashi rolled across the ground, coming to a stop a few feet away, only to have to roll out of the way once again as the two tails of the released Sasori came down to attack her.
Her right arm lagged behind, complete deadweight now to the diplomat, who was unable to move it. 'Damn it! How much time do I have left?!'
'Not enough, you have to finish this now Atashi!'
She nodded to herself, jumping to her feet, the second to last kunai she owned, flying into her left hand. She dodged and tripped up a little, but lunged at the main body of Sasori, aiming for his exposed heart container with her knife.
Her reflexes weren't fast enough, as her arm was easily caught, her wrist bone broken by the puppet master's grip, his scorpion tail coming from her left, wrapping around and puncturing her from the backside. With a ragged gasp, Atashi fell against Sasori's cold and hard puppet chest, her face directly right of his heart container.
"You tried so hard too, poor Ichimaru Atashi, the little girl the Kages thought they could depend on to destroy me. Your suffering will be all over soon and we will have fun together you and I. Me, once again as your master, you as my eternal puppet. Aren't you excited?"
Akasuna no Sasori's hand came up from behind her on the right, stroking her black hair delicately, as a parent would their child's. Another struggled breath came from the diplomat as blood started to run from her mouth.
'Two minutes Kid! Figure something out now!'
'I think I know what to do.'
Atashi coughed again, hacking up blood onto the puppeteer's chest, heaving trying to catch her breath. 'Concentrate Atashi, these are your final moments, do something right!'
She took a deep breath, checking internally the flow of her chakra, there was enough, to make this one final effort against the Akatsuki member.
In an instant, Atashi attached chakra to her right arm, jumping the chakra network in her fingertips, summoning her last kunai to her hand, swinging it around the puppet master's unguarded back and into his heart container. A faint fizzing could be heard as the red haired puppet looked down at the diplomat, in surprise.
"Boom," she muttered falling against his chest.
An explosion ripped through the area, exploding the puppeteer's heart and body apart, sending the leaf diplomat into a high arc, the fractured and smoldering tail still sticking from her abdomen. Upon landing, she bounced several times, landing on the tail. Unable to hold it in, she screamed, her hoarse voice echoing over the fields. The explosion had left her deaf from the blast, blinded from the flash. She could smell the scent of charred flesh and muscle, alerting her to the fact that her right arm was damaged despite not being able to feel it.
'Heh,' the diplomat thought weakly, unable to move, 'see Siren? I managed to go out with a 'bang'. Get it?'
'Good job, kiddo. I have to tell you something though.'
'Can it wait until later, Siren? I think I'm going to be falling asleep soon.'
'No! IT CAN'T WAIT UNTIL LATER!'
'Well, as long as its not about Gaara, I think I'll listen.'
'Atashi, if I give up my life, I can extend your's for another fifteen minutes, until help comes, while getting containing that poison somewhere in your body. I want to do this for you as my last action.'
'But, why? I cease to understand your reason…'
'Che, if you die, I'll die too anyways, so I guess its better just to die and give you a little bit more of a chance to live, although I will regret not getting to see Gaara's cute little blushing virgin face when you both finally hook-up. Good bye, Atashi. You were my only friend, thank you.'
Silence engulfed her, as she could feel liquid dripping from her ears, probably from a busted eardrum. "Siren?" she asked out loud. "Siren!?" Her body screamed in pain, as she tried to shift her position. She stopped and stared out with eyes that started to see the light of the next day come. 'She's really gone.'
Atashi fell unconscious finally, from the lack of sleep and blood in her system, not knowing the outcome of the overall battle.
"Atashi-chan! Hey Atashi-chan! Wake up!"
Atashi moaned, slowing opening her less swollen eye to come face to face with Naruto. "What is it Naruto-kun? Don't you know you are supposed to let injured patients rest whenever they are in a hospital."
"I know, I know, but I just had to tell you right away!!" The blonde kyuubi container was bouncing all over the Konoha hospital room like a hurricane on a sugar high.
"Well spit it out! The drug that they gave me is rather potent and I don't know how long I will be able to stay awake at this rate."
"Tsunade told me that she's resigning as Hokage and wants me to be Rokudaime Hokage!"
Atashi smiled the best she could at the blonde ninja, "Congrats, Naruto. You certainly deserve it after all that you have done. We'll go out and get a drink together when I'm better as celebration, okay?"
Naruto towered over her and smiled, "Sure, that sounds good. I'll see ya tomorrow Atashi-chan!" As fast as he had come, Uzumaki Naruto, the next Hokage, was gone from the room leaving the diplomat to her rest.
Already a month had passed since the battle of the Akatsuki and Shinobi hidden villages. The outcome was a win for the hidden villages, and the complete destruction of the Akatsuki organization. Tobi had been the first one to fall, having been crushed by the boulders of the Iwakage's jutsu, only to be followed after by Zetsu, who had gone past the Amekage and was attacking the back-up forces hidden away in the trees.
Thanks to Shikamaru's quick thinking, the plant man had been captured and killed before he could off anymore of the allied forces.
Deidara had been the third to die from the Akatsuki, Gaara's quick thinking taking care of the exploding master within the first ten minutes of his appearance.
Next had been Kisame, who had been defeated by Maito Gai.
Sasori had been the fifth one, Atashi having taken care of him herself.
Hana was taken care of by the Mizukage, who surprisingly still had a lot of fight in him for being nearly into his nineties. He, of course, had passed on several days later, unable to recuperate from the injuries he had sustained while fighting the Akatsuki member.
Pein, after a long hard battle that had lasted until the actual morning light, not the false down that Atashi had seen, was finally killed by Tsunade, who had managed to get close enough to him to cut the artery in his neck with a chakra blade. Jiraiya had been critically injured, but was making a full recovery, a few rooms down from the diplomat.
Itachi had been the very last of the Akatsuki to die. Kakashi had fought him full out without a doubt, but he was unable to handle him when he had summoned numerous clones to overrun the backup forces in the nearby trees. At that time, Sasuke had come out and confronted his brother, finally as his equal. They fought until Sasuke was also critically injured along with Kakashi. The entire Northern flank could have been lost if it had not been for Naruto who had come and saved the day, using his devolved Element Chakra jutsu to kill off the scum of the Uchiha family.
Much to the like and dislike of grass country, their normal hilly terrain had been flattened in some places, make more rocky in several, had a mini beach installed and had a deep lake appear at their border (if you can't tell, it was the like that they liked).
Causalities had been rather low, fifteen injured and twelve killed. Not bad for the numbers that had been there at the attack.
The villages of course, had returned to pre-war negotiations as Atashi had predicted, all of them going their separate ways, only by a momentary truce. The injured ninja who were of Konoha or sand were moved to the Konoha faculties to recover, since they were allies, thus the reason Atashi was there and not in Suna as a diplomat.
The damage of her fight with Sasori had taken its toll on the kunoichi. She would never have the use of her right arm again, the chakra lines sealed off, the muscle tissue deader than a doornail. Atashi had accepted that, seeing as the Siren had sacrificed herself so she could live.
The hearing in her right ear was now down to the a forty percent rate, which Tsunade told her could increase to perhaps sixty depending on the next few weeks.
Her stomach, where the tail had protruded from her, was in the worse condition still, making her a patient that had to be carefully monitored until it was completely healed. Once it was in top condition, Atashi would have to be assigned a strict diet, since some of the organs were in bad condition and she could no longer stomach everything.
Her left wrist was in a cast, having sustained two fractures, one from Sasori, one from the explosion and landing she had managed when she killed Sasori.
Other than that, she had a couple of second degree burns on her shoulder and forehead, and a whole lot of bruises. She could return to Suna in a week or so, they had told her that morning after a through check-up and some food.
Reviews XD
Suna-Tsuki-Koinu- wow, I actually spelt your name right without having to look... XD thank you for reveiwing as usual
lilchristal- who doesn't feel bad for those who hadn't any chance? hehe I hope you liked the new chapter
Elemental Sisters- hehe thank you thank you, you haven't seen slow until you have met my step-sister
icegoddess52- thank you for the compliment, I try very hard to make my story entertaining
I'm A PureEvil- sorry it wasn't as ASAP as it could have been but thank you for reviewing, I hope you enjoyed
vneinhuis- haha I was having a fun time trying to pronounce your name just now, thanks for the review!
Demon of Water- but aren't I spontanous in itself? haha thanks, you gotta just love Deidara Tobi moments whenever they do appear
NotXReadyXToXMakeXNice- if you love it so much, why don't you marry it? XD haha classic 90's you so walked into that, thanks for your enthusiasm
Violet00- Story? Complex? What EVER gave you that idea? haha I'm so glad that it makes you happy to read it
Thunder Ring- Here's your more? haha
Charged- meh, I will answer your question for the after the epilogue, which will be in the next chapter, YOU WILL KNOW SOON!!!
Eve, Angel of Fate- oooo Quite good? hehe, thank you, I lobe compliements, sorry it was as soon as you probably wanted though
Mood-chan- and more I wrote XD thanks for the review
Charged- Did you review twice? haha thanks, I hope these fight scenes kept you captivated as well
Riley Lily Nikita- XD holy smokes, you sound just like me when I review haha, thank you for the encouragement, I hope you continue to love
Excellent, now that I have finally updated... haha well, we only have one more chapter left my lovelies and its been a long ride up until now. I would just like to ask that IF ANYONE HAS QUESTIONS TO PLEASE ASK THEM NOW IN YOUR REVIEW SO THAT I MAY ADDRESS THEM FOR YOU IN THE END OF THE NEXT CHAPTER. I may or may not answer them in the story so you need to ask them now so that I may address them properly. Thank you all for reviewing, I would like to hear more and get more since you all know that I am such a review whore with a lazy personality.
I hope to get the final chapter up by the end of the week (I would have it up tomorrow, but alas today is the last day of my offical Summer vacation years (meaning I am a senior as of tomorrow), so please stay tuned for it and review! Also, this IS now the longest chapter I have composed without any flashback type things from previous chapters o.o There must be something wrong with me in the head .