A/N: Heeey everyone! Bet you all thought I was dead, but fear not, I'm alive and well and finally over the most insane writer's block ever (a year? SORRYY!). Surprisingly I had a lot written, it's just I had a hard time connecting it all and making all the parts mesh with the plot and everything. Thankfully, I managed to figure something out in the end, so here's the latest chap!
"Gai-sensei?"
"Right, that was the idiot's name."
"Oh calm down, he's a great guy once you get past the flashy jumpsuit."
"...And that ridiculous bowl-cut."
"..."
"And the eyebrows."
And so the two sat at the furthest corner of a small bar, casually talking as if they weren't just about to head out to their final destination of Jiro Island. Whatever serious or morbid thoughts either Sakura or Kisame had about their upcoming battle dissipated as they joked around in the empty bar, exchanging various stories and experiences with one another. They had spent the remaining four days training nearly non-stop and going over every detail of their strategy to fight Madara with, and now they were all packed up and ready to go. Sakura had made one last batch of various soldier pills and they had left their little motel in the unnamed port town which they had spent the last month in. Having paid for their stay- and extra for damages, much to their mutual chagrin- they left, each feeling a slight heaviness of the heart as the door was closed- and it wasn't solely because of Madara.
Sakura chuckled a bit, listening on as Kisame told her about his unpleasant encounters with Konoha's most enthusiastic jounin, Maito Gai. It was a strange experience, having heard of Kisame for the first time from Ten-Ten's recollection of their fight, and now having him re-tell it from his perspective. Either way, Sakura was inwardly glad that her part-shark companion was no longer a member of the Akatsuki, otherwise the guilt associated with him nearly killing her friends would have been something she wouldn't have been able to overcome. And in turn, she wouldn't be sitting here with the man, and somehow, that thought saddened her. Quickly returning her attention back to their conversation, Sakura spoke, an index finger thoughtfully tapping against her chin.
"You know Kisame, both you and Gai have a lot in common."
"You better be joking, kunoichi."
"Seriously! You're both weird, old men with creepy grins... Oh, not to mention also a little dense at times..."
"Old? Dense?"
"All you need to do is strike the 'nice-guy pose' and you'll pretty much be twins!"
Kisame uncharacteristically raised a brow at the girl sitting across from him, winking, grinning, and striking the world's most corny thumbs up, right in his face.
"Heh, and here I thought you couldn't look any more ridiculous," he scoffed, taking a swig of beer and then letting himself chuckle at the sight a little. He had to hand it to her though; she did a pretty good impression- cheesy grin and all.
Sakura stuck her tongue out and took her drink to her lips, shooting it back.
"You're a jerk, but I'm going to agree that it's a little dorky- Gai's attitude- sometimes. Either way, he's really not so bad. Better to have a little enthusiasm than to be a complete stuck-up ass all the time, right sharky?"
"Hmm, I'm gonna disagree, pinky," he responded, tipping his drink towards her.
"Of course you'd never allow yourself to openly agree with anything I say, but I'm sure inwardly you're taking notes," she said smirking, "Anyway, now you have to tell me about some of your buddies back in Akatsuki."
Kisame just rolled his eyes at her and sighed, "They weren't my bud-"
"Whatever," Sakura interrupted, remembering how much he hated that term and anything associated.
"So what was it like? Were they all secretly down to earth as well, or were you the only one who turned out to be a big softie under the scary exterior?" Sakura prodded, taking note of the eyebrow twitch on the man beside her.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."
"Pretend all you want, but it's true."
The man sighed in exasperation at his female companion, wondering just why he agreed to let her join his drinking session. It could very well be the last time he'd have himself a nice, cold beer, and it was getting ruined by the kunoichi's incessant prodding.
'Like you'd have it any other way,' Kisame told himself inwardly, then smirked at the girl across from him.
"What do you want to know?"
"I don't know. Did you get along with anyone while you were there?"
"I got along with Konan well enough. She was certainly more mature than you are..."
"Okay, you know what? I take back this line of questioning. You really do suck at conversation."
"Heh, take a joke, kunoichi. Don't get so damn defensive, lest you prove me right," he grinned fiendishly, taunting her.
Sakura sneered, unimpressed by the way her words always came back to bite her in the ass, but she raised her sake up to her lips, waiting for Kisame to continue talking.
"I mostly kept to myself back then," he said, looking out the window, "Well, sometimes Itachi and I would talk, but that was rather short-lived in the end, so to speak. Although it was different after he told me about his past."
"When you realized he was a man of character?"
"I always knew there was more to that Uchiha than met the eye, but yeah I had a bit more respect for the guy afterwards."
The dull thunk of heavy glass hitting a damp wooden table was heard as Kisame put down his empty beer.
"But other than Itachi or Konan, Deidara was one of the less irritating ones too I suppose."
"Dei- the bomb guy?"
"Yeah," Kisame said with a slight chuckle, apparently remembering something.
"Kakashi and Naruto took him down," Sakura murmured, recalling her own dark memories of the blonde Akatsuki member.
"Actually he survived that- Deidara fought Sasuke later, but ended up blowing himself up. Only Sasori was killed that one day after the one-tailed jinchuriki was captured."
Sakura opened her mouth to speak but then looked down at the table in front of her, as she lazily spun her sake cup around with one finger. She remembered it clearly, when Gaara was captured and a team of Konoha shinobi was sent out to rescue him- after all, she was one of those team members.
"That day... it was... well- myself and another woman took down Sasori."
Kisame looked at the girl, brows furrowed in disbelief.
"You? Took down Sasori?"
"The puppet guy, right? But it wasn't just me; if it wasn't for Chiyo, it wouldn't have been possible."
Kisame blinked as he processed the information.
"I find that a little hard to believe, kunoichi. Even with help, Sasori was one of the better fighters."
"Well, you can believe whatever you want. Here, look," Sakura said, pulling her maroon vest up, exposing the base of her right ribcage. There was a large, ragged, scar there, and she traced its raised surface with her fingers as she spoke.
"It was the hardest battle I'd ever been in- despite having an extremely skilled woman fighting with me. At one point, we thought Sasori was dead, but when I came up to confirm it, he got me with his sword. Luckily, I healed myself from within so it wasn't a fatal blow," she said quietly, fingers still tracing the white, ragged lines.
"I managed to stay alive, but I hated this scar that I was left with afterwards. As much as I tried, I just couldn't seem to heal it fully, but now I'm kind of glad it's there," she continued absent-mindedly, and then rolled back her vest and sat normally.
Observing the girl intently, Kisame let her continue.
"Chiyo- the woman who I fought Sasori with- ended up dying that day. She sacrificed herself so that Gaara could live again, and after that it seemed a little foolish to care about some dumb scar- as ugly as it may be- because she had lost something much more valuable."
Sakura smiled sadly, her hand brushing past her ribcage once more as she put both arms on the table.
"Hm," Kisame grunted after a bit. Sakura's words stirred something in him. He knew all-too well about self-sacrifice, considering his upbringing and the values instilled in him as a Mist shinobi. But now, as a rogue-nin, he could care less about such acts.
"Sasori, huh," he said, pensively murmuring to himself as he reconsidered Sakura's strength.
"Were you friends with him?" she quickly asked, looking slightly concerned.
Kisame snorted.
"Heh, puppet-boy? Oh, no. Never liked him," he responded crossing his arms, mind still elsewhere.
Both of them finished the rest of their drinks in silence as each mulled over their thoughts individually. Quickly after, they payed and left the small bar, standing outside as Kisame looked over his map again.
"Alright, time to head to Jiro," he said turning in the appropriate direction, waiting for Sakura to finish stretching out her stiff legs.
"Ready?"
Sakura didn't want to think too deeply about the word "ready" and its implication in their nearing battle with Madara, so she just quickly nodded, and stepped in line with the man as they walked towards the coast.
They didn't speak the entire way there, as each thought of the upcoming task. Sakura focused on remembering everything that Kisame had told her about Madara- his teleportation skill, the sharingan, and whatever else she had learned. Every detail was thoroughly re-analyzed and assessed as she went over it, as well as her countless spars and battles with her partner Kisame. She went over their planned strategy hundreds of times already, but did so again, so the memory was fresh and available in case they were caught off-guard.
Sometime during her mental strategizing, Sakura noticed the span of sparkling blue ahead, and realized they had reached the coastline already. Masking their chakra in order to attract as little attention as possible, they crossed the distance between the two islands by "borrowing"- as Kisame had so eloquently described it- a small rowboat anchored at the bank.
After arriving on the small island, they quickly sought out cover in a heavily-wooded rainforest and began their search.
Neither Kisame nor Sakura were strictly sensory types, but they both put forth whatever efforts they could in trying to track down the smallest hint of a chakra signal from anywhere nearby. Kisame's heightened sense of smell as well as Samehada's ability to sense chakra were the best assets the team had, but Madara was no sloppy fool, as there was no trace of peculiar chakra anywhere. There was no time to talk as they carefully canvassed the humid forest, hours going by to the rhythmic sound of cicadas and foliage being brushed aside. Sakura was sweating bullets in the heat, exerting herself to be as discreet and soundless as possible while they walked on, but never once even thinking to complain.
Her hands kept busy by constantly brushing them over her shorts and vest, checking to make sure every weapon was in its right place to be used as necessary.
The bright yellow spots of sunlight filtering through the canopy above slowly dimmed as dusk settled in. Sakura wondered how large this island was, and just how much they had covered in what seemed like such a long time. She was going to question Kisame about it, but she felt him tense next to her as his steady pace halted. His dark-rimmed eye shot her a look of warning, and instinctively the kunoichi prepared her muscles for combat.
Kisame withdrew Samehada from its holster on his back, slowly as if it were telling him something.
"There's... a familiar presence here," he said, and Sakura's eyes darted nervously around, her heart-beat increasing steadily. As if his sword guided him, he leapt towards an area up ahead, Sakura quickly following. Stopping a short distance away, Kisame found what he was searching for. Crouching down towards the leaf-covered ground, he noticed something shiny glint in the waning sunlight. Sakura watched as the man brushed away the large leaves, exposing the hilt of a sword jutting out from the ground at an angle. He sniffed, and grabbed the metal hilt, unearthing the weapon in one steady sweep. Damp earth and moss fell from the large sword as Sakura looked upon it in confusion. It was almost as big as Samehada, and had a wide blade with a hole in it.
"Wait a second-" she said, her mind conjuring up an image as she remembered something from her past, "I've seen that sword before..."
"Kubikiribocho. One of the legendary blades of the Seven Swordsmen," Kisame said, a frown marring his face as he shook the dirt off of the broad blade.
"Zabuza had a sword like that," Sakura whispered, wondering what the hell was going on.
"And then Mangetsu's kid brother," Kisame said finally, remembering the last time he saw the boy- and more importantly who he was with.
This was a bad sign, he thought to himself darkly, thrusting the blade back into the earth.
Sakura would have inquired, but something jolted her out of her thoughts as the air around them shifted in an instant. Her hand flew to the kunai at her hip, and she crouched, readying herself for a confrontation.
"You..." Kisame said, and then Sakura's blood froze.
Ahead of them, a dark figure had manifested, rustling the leaves around the area. She didn't need to look upon him to know who it was- that strong chakra was one she had all but forgotten.
The trembling fingers on her kunai didn't still as her eyes widened.
"Sasuke," she breathed out, feeling like her breath had been knocked from her lungs.
The shock of seeing her former love was threatening to overwhelm her and bring her to her knees, but she wilfully steeled herself, gulping as if it could help distract her from having a breakdown. She had not expected this. Sakura didn't really know what they were going to encounter on the island, but she certainly wasn't planning on seeing Sasuke, alone, and dressed in the very same garb she expected to see Madara in.
She knew her former teammate was affiliated with Madara somehow, but seeing him in the Akatsuki colors, standing before them so physically real and close was almost too much for her to handle. Frantic, she searched her mind for words.
"Sasuke..." was all she could manage again, her throat dry despite the humidity humming in the air. She just wanted him to address her- at least answer to the name in case he was somehow a jarringly similar lookalike.
Kisame sensed the girl's dilemma, and stepped slightly in front of her.
"What are you doing here? Where's Madara?" the shark-man asked firmly, hoping this wasn't going to escalade to some sort of melodramatic showdown.
He was not happy about this. Something about the Uchiha kid made him uneasy this time, and the fact that he was alone just made it worse. There was something different about him, that was for sure.
Sasuke ignored Kisame's question, just staring at the two of them, an unnerved look on his face as he glanced over at Sakura in particular. They weren't expecting to see him there, but clearly, neither was Sasuke.
His expression became more steeled as he let whatever questions he had wipe off from his face. The seconds that transpired felt like an eternity in the tense silence as all three were trying to figure out what to do.
Sakura felt her speeding heart tighten a bit at Sasuke's stern face, but she did notice how he had looked at her seconds earlier and wanted to say something. Instinctively she gulped down the fear, and blinked, clearing her tumultuous thoughts.
'Stop it Sakura. This isn't the time for weakness. Be strong. Sasuke needs your help,' she told herself inwardly, and breathed in a shaky breath, stilling her frantic heartbeat.
Kisame decided to speak again, unsure of what Sasuke was prepared to do with Sakura there.
"I'll ask again, where's Madara?"
The Uchiha's eyes narrowed at the shark-man's demanding tone, wondering how to deal with this unexpected intrusion, and the fact that she was here...
"Madara is none of your concern," Sasuke said icily, his right hand flexing at his side, ready for action.
Kisame was taught how to read faces from a young age, and there was definitely something going on with the Uchiha. It looked as if he was trying to think of some sort of plan- likely how to dispose of them both. From what Sakura had told him, when they were teammates, she had been weak, and Sasuke likely still thought that, so why was he acting so hesitant? If any lingering camaraderie was there, then the boy would have acted more compassionate back in Kabuto's lab when he saw her there, but instead left her to her fate.
Kisame gritted his teeth, hoping Sakura wouldn't lose her nerve in light of this unfavorable situation, but even so, could literally hear her heart pounding next to him.
"My business is with your leader, but if you want a fight then you'll get one," Kisame said, not wanting to draw out this petty stand-off any longer.
Sakura visibly tensed next to him, clearly not liking the idea, but Kisame's hand was firm on Samehada's hilt, his eyes locked on to the dark-haired man's ahead of them.
Sakura's eyes darted around between the two men anxiously, frantically searching for something to say to avoid the fight.
"W-wait! Please! Don't do this! Sasu-"
Before she could finish, the loud chirping of chidori resonated in the air and the resolved gleaming eyes of Sasuke were locked on Kisame's, intent on one thing only. Then the Uchiha man began walking towards them, almost as if he were going to just brush past and continue on to wherever he was headed, except for the increasing spike in chakra as he approached. Every fibre in the kunoichi's being was trained to recognize this as danger. Every muscle in her body was screaming at her to move- to get to safety now- but her mind kept reminding her of one thing: this is Uchiha Sasuke.
My Uchiha Sasuke.
And Uchiha Sasuke was no enemy. He was simply not capable of harming her, an ally, a friend. A potential...
Said man's hands twitched as the hairs on his knuckles stood upright from the static electricity which was being generated under his skin. Sakura remained crouched, almost trying to taste that chakra and somehow prove that it was different, and that he was an imposter. She watched as that familiar white-blue of his chakra pulsed out towards his fingers, and she closed her eyes as if she didn't want to see what was going to happen next.
Because she knew.
The man's chakra was the same, but his intent was certainly different. Her eyes re-opened and any lingering doubt was stamped out as Sakura realized Sasuke truly intended to kill them.
'But why?'
She could hear Kisame's teeth grit in preparation for counter-attack. Realizing she was running out of time, Sakura fished around in her head for something to say to him-something, anything to make him do a complete three-sixty in a couple of seconds.
"I know about Itachi," she blurted out desperately, the words cutting through the air like a sword.
And it seemed to have truly struck the man as Sasuke paused for a moment- his eyes darkening over as they locked with the kunoichi's- a scowl marring his face. She took the short moment to look at his face intently, taking note of how much older he really looked. His skin had lost its youthful glow, and around the corners of his lips he had faint lines. But most alarming were the blotchy, dark-red circles around his eyes- he looked as if he hadn't slept in weeks. His hand flexed dangerously at his side and hastily she spoke again.
"You don't have to do this, Sasuke," Sakura's voice was calmer than she thought, yet the erratic heartbeat in her chest was telling a different story.
"Look, please just hear me out-"
"I don't have time to chat," he responded icily, the electric sound of chidori once again filling the air around them.
"No! Sasuke, this isn't you! Please, you still have friends who care about you! Come back to Konoha- you don't realize what Madara intends to do-" she pleaded desperately, losing her calm state to her emotions.
In an instant, mist covered the area, and Sakura felt Kisame move from her side off to the trees, most likely. After all, they had trained this strategy for a while now and she had memorized it perfectly. Instinctively leaping the opposite direction, she grimly realized they'd have to use it against Sasuke instead of Madara like planned.
'Oh god, oh god, oh god! What am I going to do?' she repeated anxiously, trying desperately hard not to scream as she ran through the mist.
Having gained enough distance, she backed up behind a tree, her mind trying to forget about what to say to Sasuke for the time being, and think only of the fight and survival.
As she bit her finger in order to summon Kagyuu, something clamped firmly around her throat, stopping her in her tracks.
Instinctively, her hands wrapped around the assailant's hoping to loosen his grip, and he did, only enough for her to be able to breathe.
"Ngh... Sasu...ke...why-"
With great displeasure in his face, he watched the jade pools of his former teammate's eyes crinkle and glaze over with tears from the suffocating pain.
"Konoha, you say?" he said dangerously, addressing Sakura's plea from before. She tried to keep her eyes on him even through the thick mist, searching still for any sign of hope- any crack that she could snake her way into and remind him of who he was- but only deadened black irises stared back into hers, full of nothing but hate and anger.
"What do I have there? Memories of a family, destroyed by the village they resided in? Konoha, and its blood-stained residents are all dead to me," he said, emphasizing that last remark with a firm squeeze, "And don't ever tell me you know about Itachi."
Sakura felt his grip tighten again, as the veins in her forehead rose to the surface from the pressure. His cold voice dripped with a deep loathing, and in that moment of utter shock at his words, she realized he was too far gone. The boy she once knew had died, and solemnly, she wondered when exactly that happened.
A tear slid from her reddened eye down her cheek and she made a choking, muffled sound as her hands clasped his. They started to tingle as Sakura realized she was running out of oxygen. Desperately, with every ounce of strength she had, the girl clawed at him to let her go, and give her a chance to make a move. As stars began dotting her vision, she heard Kisame's voice echo through the dense mist.
"Is that your idea of a fight?"
Sasuke spat defiantly, and flung Sakura to the side violently, her body hitting the ground a few feet away. She gulped in air desperately, breathing made even harder in the mist which now engulfed the surroundings.
Kisame was behind the Uchiha, Samehada pointed straight at his back as chakra was being sucked out of him in waves.
"Face me," Kisame ordered, glancing over quickly to where Sakura was, and then back at his opponent.
Quickly, Sasuke turned and withdrew one of his katana, swinging it at Samehada in an attempt to disarm its wielder. Kisame's grip was firm, but he leapt back in a defensive stance, allowing for enough distance between them so that the sharingan would be ineffective.
In the thick, misty fog, he heard Sasuke laugh darkly.
"A chakra-eating sword and vision-impairing mist. You came prepared."
"Not that I need to be for shrimp like you," Kisame barked, lunging forward, mainly in an attempt to lure Sasuke away from the girl on the ground nearby. Cursing under his breath, he pursued the Uchiha, all the while distracted by the choking sound behind him.
Luckily, Sasuke took the bait, and focused his attention on the shark-man, following the path he was weaving through the mist.
"Don't underestimate me," Sasuke growled, and all too suddenly he was behind Kisame, readying a fatal blow to his spine. Fortunately, his reflexes were fast enough, and the shark-man dodged, all the while wondering how Sasuke located him that quickly in the fog. Deftly weaving some hand signs, the Mist-nin created a water clone to distract the Uchiha just in case.
'It shouldn't have been that easy...' Kisame thought, silently leaping away hoping to put more distance between them.
And then he realized he couldn't hear Sakura's labored breathing anymore and a trace of panic struck him. In that moment of distraction, Sasuke had once again gotten close enough, still trying to separate Kisame from his sword.
'Good, he's still focused on me, and he's threatened by Samehada,' the Mist-nin thought, knowing that he had a great advantage with his weapon. He had managed to suck out a decent amount of the man's chakra earlier, and hopefully limit Sasuke's attacks. He knew they came prepared to fight a far stronger enemy, but still the kid's abilities were better than he had anticipated. And with Sakura god knows where, he had a feeling he would be going all-out against his enemy very quickly.
Deciding to go on the offensive, Kisame lunged forward and swung the hulking sword towards his opponent again, a wave of water bursting out of his mouth as he weaved signs with his other hand, simultaneously dousing Sasuke's sudden katon jutsu in the process.
"You have one last chance to tell me where your leader is," Kisame said as he duelled his opponent in the thick, cool mist. Inwardly, he knew he was still stalling. It was unlike him to do so, yet truthfully he didn't know how he was going to deal with this situation. His blood lusted for the Uchiha's death, but something put the brakes on. After all, he was the one thing Itachi valued most in his life, and now... well, Sakura too. He scoffed in frustration. It shouldn't have mattered, considering how far gone the boy had fallen, but something compelled him to hold back his full strength for a bit longer.
Luckily, Kisame had the upper hand when it came to stamina, and he had already taken a fair amount of Sasuke's chakra, but still, he was uneasy about letting this drag on. And Madara could very well be lurking somewhere in the shadows, which really meant death if he decided to join the fight.
'Where the hell are you, kunoichi?' Kisame wondered once again, actively scanning for signs of the girl, hoping she hadn't passed out in the deadly mist. They needed to work together in case the worst happened.
"So this is what my brother had as a partner? A coward who hides behind a veil, and refuses to face his enemy directly?" Sasuke laughed, taunting his opponent.
Rationality told him not to take the obvious bait, but Kisame was running low on patience now, seriously itching to draw blood. With an angry growl, Kisame lunged with his sword, and with a forceful grunt, bore all his weight downwards as he swung towards the Uchiha a few meters away. They clashed violently, the mist clearing a little with every sweeping swing of their swords. Sasuke had infused his blade with electricity in order to provide an adequate match for the powerful Samehada, as it couldn't absorb it efficiently since Kisame had a water-based affinity. The blue-skinned man needed to create a large amount of water to have full advantage, but he couldn't do so if Sakura was passed out, lest she drown. Running quickly through his options, he continued fighting Sasuke, until he sensed the slight change in scent in the damp air.
'Sakura...'
She was somewhere behind Sasuke, that much Kisame knew. But as for her intentions, he was unsure. Suddenly, he feared she was about to do something immensely stupid and he knew he had to act fast.
Sakura had gotten up after regaining her breath, and mustered enough energy to hide behind a tree and think of what to do. Pinpointing Kisame in the mist wasn't hard now that she was trained adequately, so she quickly tried to come up with a plan. As she began healing her swollen esophagus tissue, the pain from what Sasuke had done slowly became replaced by anger.
How dare he?
If she hadn't looked him directly in the eyes as he tried to squeeze the life out of her, Sakura wouldn't have been convinced. He wasn't just a confused, misguided genin anymore- he was a serious threat to her and anyone else who stood in the way. And remembering the hateful way in which he talked of Konoha- of her friends, of her- Sakura panicked. Were the lives of countless citizens of her hometown less valuable than Sasuke's? She bit down on her lip hard, desperately hoping reason would outweigh her strong emotions. No, she had to do something about him. Brushing aside the still-lingering desire to save her former teammate, she ground her teeth and balled her hands in fists. If he could so easily try to kill her, he would do so to every person in Konoha, and that included Naruto too.
'Naruto... I can't let you see him like this. Not like this...'
Screwing her eyes in pain at the thought, she knew what she had to do, and it almost made her sick.
'I told myself I would stop being selfish,' she said, thumbing the handle of the poisoned kunai at her hip, and blinked away the last of the unshed tears in her eyes.
With a ferocity in her eyes, she leapt towards the sound of clashing swords.
Sasuke wasn't stupid. Kisame was toying with him, but he couldn't get the relentless shark-man to stop his attacks long enough for him to think of something. With a frown, he considered his options, realizing he was half-way through his chakra. At least for the time being, his electricity-laced chakra was a decent barrier, but he would have to think of a good offense fast, without having to resort to any risks. Smirking, he reassured himself that he was fine. Sakura was likely unconscious by now, and Kisame was no match against him, especially not if he could get out of this mist long enough to capture him in a simple genjutsu. No, he had this, and if anything it was good training- a good time to try that.
Sasuke thrust his katana into the ground, readying himself to jump off and switch courses to distract the shark-man long enough to injure him. As he jumped up onto its hilt, and prepared to flip, he saw a blur of pink behind his fluttering black coat sleeve. Losing his footing, he changed direction, but Kisame was already headed straight towards his chest with the unravelled sword- its scales ready to shred him apart. For a split second, the Uchiha's eyes widened in surprise, then closed and reopened, not as the dark brown of before, but blazing, spinning red. Kisame's own eyes widened at the sight- the all-too eerily familiar sight.
It was unmistakeable. Itachi's eyes.
Knowing full well what he was up against, Kisame sought to warn the kunoichi.
"Sakura, move!" he yelled, but it didn't get through, as the girl stood unmoving, now behind a still Sasuke. From the mist, Kisame couldn't see much other than two shadowy figures, but he couldn't come close now that the Mangekyo was activated. If Sakura was going to kill him, this was her only chance- from behind, just like they had strategized- but with another Uchiha as their target.
Seconds went by which felt impossibly long, as Kisame waited for the scent of blood to permeate the air- the scent of tears, the scent of regrets.
And Sakura waited too. She waited for the images fluttering by in her head to stop showing her faces of rare smiles from a dark, brooding boy. She waited for them to stop showing her the lone child, dangling his feet on the pier of a still, silent lake. She waited for these images to pass, and give her her strength back, because she couldn't kill this young orphaned boy.
Except he was already dead.
'Sasuke, forgive me-!'
She sobbed and thrust forward with her blade.
Kisame heard the girl's pained cry, and instantly the ground shook with fury and a loud, steely moan echoed in the mist. Sakura was thrown backwards with force, as an enormous entity manifested itself seemingly from out of nowhere, rising high and through the tree canopy above, spreading the mist around them dangerously thin.
Crying out in pain, Sakura gripped her buzzing arm, feeling as if her bones had splintered from the impact of the unknown thing hitting her, and then a strange force gripped her, preventing her from moving. Looking up, she noticed the source of her pain, and felt terror, as she gazed upon the enormous skeleton-like entity now protectively surrounding Sasuke.
She had never heard about this kind of power, and panicked, as she watched a huge, bony hand heading towards her, likely in order to crush her body.
Sakura ripped her eyes from her impending doom, and looked into Sasuke's. Now that the mist was clearing, she could see his sharingan looked different, and that's when she realized the source of this new power.
He looked coldly into her soul, his eyes bleeding from the apparent strain he was causing by using this otherworldly jutsu, and Sakura could no longer see the boy she once knew. Immense grief gripped her at that moment, and she put all of her effort into not breaking down. If she was going to die, then he would have to as well; there was no way she could allow Naruto to even see Sasuke this far gone, as it would surely kill any spirit left in her optimistic friend.
As Sakura reached for another kunai, Sasuke spoke.
"You think you understand my situation, and what it's like..." he ground out, a scowl on his face, as he looked ahead into the distance.
His calm, icy tone from earlier was becoming much more maddened, as his words fanned the angry flames of his emotions. Sakura knew if she didn't think of something fast, it would be too late for them all. Instinct told her to reason with him, just try once more, if any shred of the old Sasuke was left in him, but she knew he was beyond reasoning now. Whatever Madara said had taken drastic effect on him, and Sakura's lip quivered as she looked upon the hate-filled, swollen and bleeding eyes of one who was once not so.
Then he turned to her, as if he knew she was resolved to kill him, and he smiled.
"You think you know..." he repeated.
Sakura's blood ran cold at the words and his inhumane expression, and then at where his eyes focused next.
'No...' she gasped breathlessly, as she followed Sasuke's gaze, her eyes wide as she turned her head slowly as if through honey.
In the distance she saw Kisame on his knees, head hung low, arms limp at his sides and unmoving- eerily reminiscent of another time and place. Sakura scrambled to her feet in an instant, every atom in her body knowing only one purpose.
"...you know nothing of loss..." Sasuke growled out like a madman.
Sakura knew what he meant to do and she forced her shocked muscles into action. Quickly biting her finger, she summoned her slug.
"Restrain Sasuke!" she had managed to order Kagyuu before she took off towards the unmoving Mist-nin, running like she had never thought possible.
The slug immediately headed towards the Uchiha, going underground so as to avoid the skeletal defender. Sasuke buckled towards the ground as Kagyuu split off into smaller slugs and tried to render him immobile, but it was too late. Dropping down on his knees, eyes bleeding and wide as he laughed, looking straight ahead at Kisame.
'Oh god, oh god-!' she panicked, her fingers weaving the genjutsu release signs as she ran, but she was still too far.
"Release! Release! Release, goddamnit!" she screamed desperately, her hands slapping together roughly as she continuously ran.
If she could just force chakra into his body to awaken him! Her body shook from the speed, tendons stretched to the maximum, as she nearly flew towards the unmoving man.
"Kisame!" she screamed, her throat nearly ripping from the force.
"Amaterasu!"
The word rang in her ears, along with the violent whipping of wind, as she sped towards Kisame, hitting his body full force from the momentum of her speed. The wet, dirt floor yielded as their bodies slid back a few meters, and her chakra hummed audibly out of her in waves, penetrating through Kisame's body as Sakura desperately tried to bring him back to reality. But she didn't even have a chance to look up at his face before an immense pain made itself known to her as the cackling, silky howl of flames was heard dangerously close. A pained cry escaped her lips, and the hands on Kisame's chest tore off of his shirt as she collapsed onto her knees next to him, now gripping her right arm.
Kisame's eyes flew open from the force of chakra now gushing through his system. His body physically ached from the hard switch from genjutsu to reality, but he didn't have time to even think about that as his head turned sharply towards the girl at his side. Sakura's small frame shook, as she was bent down on her knees, her right arm and shoulder burning with thick black flames. She threw her head back in agony and sobbed, one hand fisted in the wet grass, the other glowing bright green as it fought with the flames and tried to heal her burning flesh. Realizing it was futile and she was running out of time, Sakura bit back the stinging tears as she tried to think of something.
In those moments Kisame's gut twisted at the sight, knowing he could do nothing. Despite the girl's great healing powers, she couldn't douse the flames of Amaterasu without losing her arm.
"Don't touch them! Those flames can't be extinguished!" he yelled, but she looked up at him, her face contorted in pain as she spoke.
"Go... go Kisame! It's okay-" she demanded, half-screaming, half-sobbing, her hand on her arm still burning, still glowing green.
From what Kisame told her about Itachi, she knew about the inextinguishable fire of Amaterasu, but never had she considered Sasuke would have known the technique. Now, those very flames scorched her skin, and pain gripped her in unfathomable intensity, regardless of the adrenalin coursing through her veins. She had to act fast, before her body went into shock and they burned through her arm completely.
Tears freely crept down her face, as she put the remainder of her focus and energy on how to save her arm. She knew there was only one option, regardless of how risky: she had to activate her Yin seal. Tsunade was in the process of teaching Sakura how to store chakra gradually over time and keep it sealed, like she had done with the diamond on her forehead, but as the technique was time-based, it would take her years until she had stored up enough chakra to do the kind of regenerative techniques as her mentor. And on top of that, she had never attempted activating it on her own.
Regardless, Sakura realized it was her only option now - she had to try. Forming the memorized sequence of seals, a small diamond-shaped mark glowed on her forehead as spindly waves of chakra crept outwards like little veins, releasing the seal which held back what little chakra she had stored. Her heart-beat sped up as the chakra began to regenerate her damaged cells at a rapid rate, and she panted, gripping her still-burning arm as the pain grew double-fold. Light-filled blobs dotted her vision, and Sakura broke out in cold sweat, knowing she was either going to die or black-out from the pain, and before collapsing, she turned her head weakly to look one last time at the injured form of Sasuke, hands covering his eyes as he knelt on the floor immobilized by her slugs. The metallic creaking of the giant skeleton's bones was heard as it began to disintegrate - the result of Sasuke's chakra likely being spent.
She wanted to say something profound - anything - but could only let out shaky, ragged breaths, as she looked up at the shadow still towering over her. Kisame remained standing over her violently shaking form, still unable to move his feet despite the immense amount of rage-fuelled adrenalin coursing through every fibre of his being.
"It's okay... it's okay..." was all she managed to sob softly to the shark-man before collapsing, the world around her fading to black.
Kisame's body felt like an electric shock went through him. Whatever remnants of genjutsu-induced pain lingered in him were gone as he looked into Sakura's swollen, reddened eyes and that trembling, pained smile she managed before falling to the damp ground. The flames on her skin almost seemed to be waning, as her veins appeared to glow green, weaving their way over them. If he didn't have an extremely pressing matter to attend to, he wouldn't have been able to tear his eyes away from the strange and miraculous sight.
But, oh, did he have a pressing matter to attend to.
Kisame's jaw visibly clenched, the muscles in his face contorting in an energetic rage, and glancing once more down at Sakura's defeated form, he scowled. Scowled, and pinned Sasuke's own defeated form in the distance with only one goal in mind.
'It's okay,' her voice echoed in his mind, like some sort of permission for what he was about to do.
Sasuke was done for. Foolishly, he had used his sharingan too much and was now too useless to do anything else. Whatever noble hesitation Kisame felt earlier in killing the kid was now swept away, and all that remained was a bloodthirsty rage. Itachi would just have to rip him a new one in the after life, because he didn't give a damn at this point. Not bothering to find his sword, Kisame cracked his knuckles and headed forwards to land the killing blow.
"You really did learn nothing from your brother," Kisame growled scathingly, drawing back his arm as he readied a punch straight towards Sasuke's face. His Susanoo couldn't help him now - nothing, nobody could. Kisame felt his knuckles almost shatter with the force of the impact as they met with the Uchiha's blood-streaked face. He was knocked back immediately, but made no move to get back up.
"Face me, coward!" Kisame yelled, even more pissed now that Sasuke wasn't doing anything, just grinning smugly like he wasn't about to get beaten to death.
Kisame fisted his hand into Sasuke's collar and lifted him easily off the ground, staring him directly into his bloody eyes. Those disgusting, red eyes which were responsible for so much of the shit in the world. But now they were back to the dark brown, his sclera completely red from the torn vessels.
He wanted to scoop them out with his fingers just so he'd never have to look at them ever again.
"Tell me where that fucking Madara is, and I'll make this quicker than you deserve," Kisame spat, his teeth glinting menacingly at the Uchiha limp in his grasp.
"Hng, you'll know... soon... enough," Sasuke managed to gurgle out, and weaving one last sign with the blood from his mouth, his form dematerialized as Kisame was left with his arm still in the air, staring at the now empty space in anger-laced confusion. What the hell was going on? Did he just summon himself out?
'Madara,' Kisame inwardly cursed, spitting at the ground in anger that his revenge didn't get fulfilled.
Growling to himself, he dropped his arm to his side, not giving the situation any more thought as he pivoted on his heel and went back towards Sakura. He would have to decipher the cryptic events later, but now...
"Kunoichi," he said, his brow furrowed as he knelt down next to her still-shaking, crumpled form. Her arm now had no trace of flames on it, but from the back of her elbow up to her shoulder the skin was severely injured - congealed blood and burnt skin marring the once-perfect flesh. A faint green glow still snaked its way across it, almost as if weaving its healing power through like a needle and thread, but was doing very little at this point.
'Shit,' Kisame cursed inwardly, his finger going to her exposed neck, checking her pulse even though he knew she was still alive. The skin there was tinged a reddish-purple from being nearly-strangled, and he lightly brushed it with the back of his bloody hand.
He was unsure of what to do. Whipping his head around, he sensed quickly for any remaining danger, and finding none, he hesitantly bent down and picked the kunoichi up, making sure not to aggravate her wound in the process. One thing was for sure - he had to get off this cursed island.
With Sakura limp in his arms, he found Samehada and the girl's abandoned backpack near a tree, and headed quickly back towards the coast.
A voice caught him off-guard as he prepared to leave, and he un-tensed as he looked down, noting it was only Sakura's slug summon.
"Sasuke's presence is gone from the entire island," Kagyuu said a bit nervously, "but you need to leave here. Sakura will live, but she has used her Yin-seal chakra which has left her spent."
"What the hell is that?" he asked.
"It's a hyper-regenerative jutsu she learned from Tsunade-sama. It's a long-term technique developed to store small amounts of chakra over time in a certain point in the body until it's required for use. When activated, the seal releases this chakra and causes the cells in the body to regenerate at abnormally high rates, which then can repair damaged tissue."
"Well look at her arm- why didn't it work?" Kisame inquired, both intrigued and disappointed at the same time.
"I-it did, Kisame-sama. The Amaterasu's flames struck her, did they not? By using the seal - despite how little chakra Sakura-sama had stored - she had managed to shed the burning layers of skin with new tissue," the slug continued, "But there wasn't enough chakra to grow all of the layers back so it is still damaged."
Kisame looked down at the girl in his arms, frowning in frustration. Whatever she did, her arm was still bleeding and he promptly needed to do something about this.
"Please, take her somewhere safe quickly. I will try to stop the bleeding for the time being, but I will be summoned back to my world any moment now," Kagyuu said, and then crawled up towards the girl and began healing her arm as Kisame watched warily. Not wasting any more time he headed towards the east into Sea Country where the next nearest island would be.
Not caring about masking his chakra this time, Kisame used the water to his advantage as he reached the coastline and sped through the sea in a water bubble so Sakura could breathe. Kagyuu had managed to stop the major bleeding before poofing out, and that put his mind slightly at ease as he travelled at a fast pace eastward. It felt like a million things ran through his mind, but none of them really absorbed long enough to give them any real thought. Every few moments, he would glance down, just to confirm the girl hadn't died on him.
'Goddamnit, kunoichi.'
She sure was reckless, but this was a whole new level, even for Sakura. Out of all the thoughts running through his mind at the moment, one kept creeping back, reminding him of the fact that this should have been him.
...Only much worse.
Had Sakura not jumped in front of him as Sasuke used Amaterasu, Kisame would have died. Blinking, he didn't want to let that thought sink in, mentally changing the subject and thinking of where the hell he was going.
And where Madara was. And what happened as he was about to land the killing blow on Sasuke. And what the fuck the kid meant with the last thing he said.
'You'll know soon enough?'
That mocking bastard. Kisame's hand around the girl's waist gripped harder, unknowingly pressing her body even closer to his chest.
The man noticed a mass of land ahead sooner than he thought, and was glad for it as he quickened his pace. Getting out of the water, he released his oxygen bubble, the water bursting around them, sending a small spray of moisture out into the already-humid air. Kisame wasn't sure where exactly he was, but it was somewhat cooler than Jiro and seemed less tropical. The landscape didn't matter though, as he just needed to find them some dry shelter, fast. He breathed in the salty air, and looked around. There was sand covering most of the place, yielding to small brush and grasses in the distance. Luckily, there wasn't any sign of civilization and even better, no sign of foreign chakra; the last thing Kisame needed now was another bout of fighting.
The genjutsu he was trapped in included much torture of his person, and it felt like he was there for days, being stabbed again and again with dull blades. He knew it was similar to the genjutsu Itachi had used the first time they went to Konoha and fought Hatake Kakashi, but never had Kisame thought the pain would affect him this much afterwards. Now that the adrenalin was fading from his system, his muscles were sore all over, causing him to involuntarily tremble but he pushed on ahead- Sakura in tow- as he trudged off into the distance.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Sasuke."
Dark tendrils of the Uchiha's hair snaked on the ground from his kneeling position, his hands covering his eyes as he panted from exertion.
"Sasuke," the clear voice in the darkness repeated patiently.
"I have nothing to say to you," said man growled in response, wanting nothing more than to slink away instead of having to discuss his failures in disposing of two inferior ninja.
"I did not gift you with your brother's eyes in order for you to be so reckless with them. And I also do not like to waste my chakra summoning you out of your messes when I am trying to conserve it for what lies ahead of me, understood?"
In the darkness of Madara's teleportation jutsu, Sasuke couldn't see anything even if he removed his hands from his eyes- there was just Madara's disembodied voice speaking to him from wherever he currently was. And Sasuke wanted to tear him apart for talking to him like that, but the pain from his eyes was threatening to overwhelm him. Was this what it was like for Itachi all the time? And on top of all that pain, what Konoha made him do...
His teeth gritted and he spat.
He couldn't wait to give them what they deserved.
"Who was it?" Madara asked, breaking his young charge out of his thoughts.
Sasuke coughed up more blood, the punch from the shark-man having done some serious damage. He was ashamed of how weak he still was.
"Answer me."
"The Mist-nin Hoshigaki Kisame, and..." Sasuke paused, disgust lacing his voice as he remembered just how close she got to his person, "and Sakura."
Madara's voice remained hauntingly silent, so Sasuke spoke up again.
"I didn't kill her, so you can release me now."
In moments, the darkness gave way to the familiarity of the hideout, and Madara's voice echoed once again before fading out completely.
"Good. I expect you to rest and not get into any more trouble while I am away. I will return in a few days."
And with that his voice was completely gone.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
An hour passed before Kisame was able to find a suitable enough place, and it was in the form of what seemed to be an old, abandoned shrine. It was small, with a broken entrance and equally broken windows, but it would suffice until he figured out what to do next. Kisame looked around, really hoping nobody would decide today was a good day to pay their respects because they would be unpleasantly surprised. Fortunately, the shrine was nicely hidden with overgrown brush and trees, even the small path leading up to it being barely visible anymore. This place likely had no visitors, and Kisame decided to go inside after putting up a basic barrier around it.
The wooden floor creaked, and the musty smell of abandonment hit him full force as he walked inside, brushing away the dust-ridden cobwebs. It seemed even smaller on the inside- only a few paces walking room- and he had to duck down as the roof was rather low. Kisame wasn't about to complain though, and shrugged off his coat, setting it on the floor in the far corner of the room, a cloud of dust billowing up from the ground. As it settled, he knelt and gently laid Sakura down, her head lolling to the side. Kisame sighed, and sat back next to her against the paneled wall, taking a moment to rest and massage the back of his neck.
This was bad, but he didn't want to think. Thinking would just lead to a flurry of chaos which he wasn't prepared to unleash just yet. Kisame opened his eyes, not realizing he had allowed himself the luxury of closing them. He turned his head to the side taking a moment to observe the injured girl. Not waiting another second, he took Sakura's backpack and began to dig around for some first aid materials.
He found various tins of salve, herbs, and ointments, but even the labelled ones were all gibberish to him. Kisame had very minimal knowledge in medicine, but eventually found a small bottle of alcohol and a roll of gauze- at least he knew how to use those.
But first he had to inspect the damage closely. It was mostly the back of her right arm and shoulder which were affected, the fabric of her vest there having melted away, parts of which were fused to her skin. Hesitantly, Kisame began to peel it away, sincerely hoping Sakura wasn't bare underneath the garment. Luckily the girl wore breast-bindings- albeit damaged from the battle, but still intact where it mattered. Silently grateful, he took her vest fully off and tossed it to the side. He took a moment to observe her- the scar she showed him at the bar visible even in the dark shrine. If she thought that one was ugly, she sure would regret the new one she was about to get.
'Regret...' Kisame repeated in his mind solemnly.
No. No thinking. Brushing aside the thought, he carefully turned the girl over and onto her stomach, gaining better access to her injury that way. Going over to her other side, he noticed that some of the more deeper wounds were re-opening and starting to bleed all over again. Cursing under his breath, he found a needle and thread and began to slowly stitch the larger gashes up, disinfecting them with the alcohol as he went.
What Kagyuu had told him about this regenerative jutsu she used was quite extraordinary despite how unrefined it was in Sakura's case. She really was a formidable medical ninja, and given a few years, could turn out to be an invaluable asset to her village.
And perhaps if she knew that, she wouldn't have thrown herself so foolishly into the line of fire like that, Kisame thought almost bitterly. His hand stilled as he bandaged her arm. Sakura's light pink hair was dull and stringy from sweat and dirt - some strands stuck to her tear-encrusted face - and he couldn't help but bring his free hand up to brush them away. He wanted to see her face - wanted to see her smile or laugh or yell or anything except for looking so damn unreachable like she did now. Her expression was sad, her lips chapped, and her eyelids red and swollen. He breathed in, hoping to clear the dry, dank smell of the dusty shrine from his senses and fill it with Sakura's bright, clean scent, but all he could smell was her coagulated blood and burnt flesh.
It almost made him sick.
He didn't want it to be this way. He didn't want to associate her with these things. She should not be here, half-dead with a severe burn wound covering her flesh which would never fade, forever reminding her of how she attained it.
They should not be here.
Their mission was to be either a complete success or a complete failure, yet here they were somewhere in between.
'Failure,' his mind repeated.
Kisame frowned, allowing the facts to dawn onto him finally. They had failed against an enemy who was less powerful than the one they intended to go up against in the first place. His jaw clenched, an audible grinding of his teeth heard in the silent wooden shrine.
They were back at square one. No, negative square one because now they were both injured and had no clue where their enemy was.
But somehow... somehow even as Kisame's mind continued reminding him of this harsh reality, something was different. Because frankly, it just didn't feel like a complete and utter failure. Something was missing. The cherry on top. He squinted at the little bottle of alcohol he held wondering if he should take a swig, because surely he had lost his sanity somewhere while he was in that genjutsu.
And speaking of which, he was really starting to feel the after-effects physically. He wiped the sweat off his brow, taking note of the pains in his gut and shoulders from where he was stabbed during the genjutsu. Sakura's wound was now all bandaged and sewn up- to the extent of Kisame's abilities anyway- so he set her arm back down by her side and retook his position next to her against the wall to rest up himself.
But instead of sleeping- like his body so desperately craved - his eyes were unable to tear away from that arm he had just bandaged.
"Reckless little kunoichi," Kisame grumbled in the stark silence, allowing a small grin to flash on his face. Reckless or not, all that mattered currently was that they had survived, and he would make sure it would stay that way. It was no use sitting and mulling over anything else. So he took in a deep breath and proceeded to meditate, attempting to remove the lingering pain from his body, and waiting for a reckless girl to come back to the world of the living.
A/N: I hope this chapter was worth the wait! Sorry to Sasuke fans, but it's time we all realize what an unredeemable douche he is and move on with our lives. I feel like I made him slightly OOC, but still well within character. Feel free to review and tell me what you think either way! I haven't been keeping up with the manga for a few months, so from here on I'm going to divert a lot from canon (as if KisxSak wasn't indication enough, hah!) but still include aspects of the actual storyline (like the part earlier in this chap about Sasori, etc).
Also, thanks SO MUCH for your continuing reviews/support/harassment/death threats concerning Coercion. I'm so happy every time I get one, and seriously, without them I wouldn't have had the motivation to write. So please keep 'em coming, and I'll see you all soon with the next juicy chapter~!