~Tenshi's POV~
Why does everyone keep telling us to leave them behind? I mean, first Choji and now Neji?! We can't keep leaving our comrades.
"It seems that this guy's stronger than the fatty we fought just before and quite much so," Kiba said while Akamaru his in Kiba's jacket.
"If we don't calculate it so one person's responsibility for getting rid of their own enemy, it's gonna be a rough one…that's what we said right?" Neji asked.
"Yeah, that's exactly right," Shikamaru confirmed.
"Also, if you stop here, you won't be able to catch up to Sasuke," Neji said looking at me and Naruto. "Naruto, Tenshi, you both have better eyes than me. Sasuke is currently within the darkness, and I know both of you are his light, especially you, Tenshi," Neji said to me. I looked at him with shocked eyes as Naruto grabbed my hand in a comforting way. "Hurry up and go! I'll catch up with you guys later!" Neji ordered us. We all nodded, but I hugged Neji.
"…May the wolves watch over you, my friend," I whispered to him. He hugged me back.
"Get him back, I don't want my friend to be miserable," he said to me. I nodded and we took off. Tamotsu was right beside me as always as we kept going.
"You know…I actually feel sorry for this kid," Tamotsu told me. I nodded and looked at Naruto.
"You really changed Neji, even Tamotsu is starting to like him," I said to Naruto. Naruto grinned at me.
"I didn't say I like him!" Tamotsu growled. I just laughed a little bit. "It's not funny! He is on probation which means he could still be my future chew toy!" Tamotsu yelled making all of us laugh a little. I'll give it to Tamotsu to lighten the mood. "Same goes for Uchiha…when we get him home, he is going to be my chew toy for the next month!" Tamotsu growled. I nodded in agreement.
"You free to do so," I said to him.
"Really?" All three guys asked me in unison. I shrugged.
"Just because I love the guy doesn't mean I'm not going to hurt him for doing what he did. Lesson for the future boys, you mess with a girl's heart you better be ready for pain…and a lot of it," I told them. They all shuddered at the thought.
"Thanks for the advice," Kiba told me. Akamaru bark in agreement.
"I'm glad you're not my girlfriend, troublesome woman," Shikamaru said lazily to me.
"I don't think I'll date if I accidently say something wrong," Naruto said to me. I giggled a little bit.
"Just think before you talk and you'll be fine," I said to him. He nodded at me. "Oh! And don't follow Uncle Jiraiya's or my dad's way of talking to girls. You'll just be called a 'pervert' and beaten to hell and back," I told…all of them. They all shuddered again, this time worse. Kiba then looked at my neck.
"Where did you get that? I've never seen any girls wear something like that," he said to me. I sighed and looked at it.
"Sasuke…he gave it to me when I was knocked out last night," I told them. I felt the back and felt engraving on it. I took it off my neck and looked at the back. It had read this: I love you, Angel. I felt a tear in my eye, I smiled a little and put it back on. We will bring you home, Sasuke, it's a promise. Kiba and I started sniffing around.
"There close!" Kiba and I told everyone else.
"We've got two more enemies and we've got four. So it's four vs. two. If we play our hand right, we might be able to finish it in the next encounter," Shikamaru said.
"Alright! Alright! Let's do this!" Naruto shouted.
"NO!" Kiba and I shouted in unison making Naruto and Shikamaru look at us with wide eyes. "It's six vs. two," I told them with a smirk. Akamaru barked.
"You said it, pup! You not leaving us out of the action!" Tamotsu told them.
"Aye, aye. Sorry, it's six vs. two," Shikamaru corrected himself.
"Next we'll finish it quickly with our new techniques!" Kiba grinned.
"Hey, hey! If things get tight, I'll just use my Shadow Clone Jutsu, so don't worry!" Naruto grinned.
"That's good to hear," Shikamaru murmured. "But strategy comes first, got it?" He asked us. We nodded. Soon we all landed in front of the last two Sound Nin with smirks on our faces.
"We finally caught up!" Naruto said to them. The male Sound Nin came at us.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll kill them all within seconds!" He shouted. He came at us really fast. Naruto made a Shadow Clone to do the Rasengan, but when he was caught, Kiba then did the Piercing Fang which was really aimed for Sasuke's direction. Shikamaru then got the female Sound Nin in his Shadow Possession. I appeared in front of the male and punched him making him fly into the female. Kiba grabbed the coffin and threw it over to Naruto. We regrouped with smirks.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to go home," I said to them. They all nodded and started leaving. Before we knew it, Kiba, Akamaru, and the male Sound Nin were practically thrown over a cliff from the explosion of the bomb paper. The girl then started coming after us.
"I'll do something about this! Naruto, Tenshi, you gotta take that barrel and go ahead!" Shikamaru ordered. We hesitated. "Hurry!" He shouted. But then the girl stopped with a shocked expression.
"Kimimaro!" She shouted. Then Kimimaro grabbed the coffin and took it.
"Sorry about that you two, seems I've miscalculated," Shikamaru mumbled. I growled.
"It seems that we both did. Dammit!" I growled. Naruto went to punch Kimimaro but the Tayuya punched him away and into mine and Shikamaru's arms. We then came up with a plan to trick her. Naruto and I were going to hit her when she least expected it…but it was only a distraction has we moved past her with smirks. Naruto, Tamotsu, and I started running towards Sasuke and Kimimaro, along the way, mine and Naruto's fangs and claws grew, our chakra radiated off our skin, and our eyes changed. We were partially changed into our Tailed Beasts. Soon, we landed across from Kimimaro.
"Now, how should I cook this one?" he asked us.
"What does Orochimaru want?!" Naruto shouted.
"Why is he after Sasuke?!" I growled afterward. He looked expressionless.
"Lord Orochimaru has already completed the Jutsu of immortality. In order to acquire all Jutsu and the entire world, he needs time," he told us. I growled in frustration.
"What does that have to do with Sasuke?!" I growled again at him.
"Immortality does necessarily indicate the immortality of his body. He must replace his body with a newer and stronger one before his current one succumbs," he told us.
"That…that's what Sasuke's for?!" Naruto growled at him.
"Yes, exactly," he told us.
"We won't let you do such a thing!" Naruto and I growled. We did a hand sign and summoned up Shadow Clones. There was half of mine on the field while there was half of Naruto on the other.
"Interesting," was all he said.
"We'll crush you!" We all growled, all of us then started attacking him. We kept fighting but our Shadow Clones kept getting defeated. I looked at Naruto.
"Naruto, distract him, I'm going to call my other summons to find the others, they should have made it here by now," I said to him. He nodded.
"Be careful, we'll watch your back," Naruto said motioning for him and Tamotsu, who agreed. I nodded and jumped a little bit away. I bit my thumb and made the symbol. I then did the hand signs and slammed my hands to the ground using all the Chakra I can to summon four wolves; Hige, Akira, Kouga, and Emi. I was pretty exhausted from doing that.
"Lady Tenshi, what's the problem?" Hige asked.
"I need you four to help some of my comrades. Hige, I need you to help Choji, he's back a ways. Akira, you help Shikamaru, he's close by here. Kouga, I want you to find Kiba and Akamaru, he should be close to Shikamaru. And Emi, I want you to help Neji, he closer to Choji. Please, guys, I need to know if they're alright," I told them. They nodded with determination in their eyes.
"We'll help anyway we can, Lady Tenshi," Akira nodded.
"Well, you all heard her, let's move and find our comrades!" Hige ordered. They all nodded and left as I went back to help Naruto and Tamotsu with Kimimaro
~Hige's POV~
I ended up having to run faster than my family to reach Lord Choji, but when I found him, he was under an arrow that was carved into the tree. He had lost weight and looked a little pale. I licked his cheek and nudged his arm with my head to wake him up. When he did he looked at me and gave me a small, tired smile.
"I see Tenshi decided to send help…always caring for others, that girl," Lord Choji smiled. I nodded in agreement.
"She felt that you all needed help, that rest of my family are helping the others. I shall help back to the village, Lord Choji," I said to him. He sighed and shook his head.
"I don't want to burden you just because Tenshi asked," he said to me. I smiled, he reminds me of Tenshi when he's like this.
"You'll only be a burden if you don't allow me to help you. I may not of have fought alongside you, but you are still my comrade, comrades help each other. If that means I have to drag you back to the village kicking and screaming then so be it," I told him. He chuckled and nodded.
"Alright, Hige, thanks," he said to me. I nodded and helped him stand up. Once he was standing, I laid down so he could get onto my back with ease, once on I started walking back. "You know, the first time I met Tenshi, I thought she was going to hate me. She was always so beautiful and strong while others thought I was weak and useless. But Tenshi, she came up to me and smiled," he told me. I saw he had a smile on his face as he was laying down while keeping hold on my fur so he did fall off.
~Choji's POV~
FLASHBACK –Six years ago-
I was in the park watching the other kids. I walked up and saw a couple boys and a girl with silver hair and a wolf. They were all playing ninja, the girl was laughing...her laugh sounded nice and warm. They all saw me and stopped playing.
"What do you want?" A boy asked rudely.
"I was hoping I could play with all of you," I said to him shyly. I saw that the girl smiled with the wolf while the other boys just gave disgusted looks.
"No way! You would suck at it!" Another boy said. The girl glared at them.
"That's not very nice, he just wants to play with us, what's wrong with that?" She asked them while standing up for me. I was shocked, no one but Shikamaru did that.
"Tenshi, come on, he's useless, all he does is eat," the first boy said. Tenshi rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, and you drool all over your desk when you fall asleep in class. We're not perfect, that just makes us human," she told them. She then looked at me and gave me a soft, warm smile. "How about we go play somewhere else?" She asked me. I grinned and nodded. She grabbed my hand and we started running. She then stopped and looked at the wolf. "Well, come on, Tamotsu! Let's go play with our new friend!" She smiled at the wolf. Tamotsu nodded and ran over to us. He had us get onto his back and we rode around. When we were done we got off of Tamotsu who looked like he hadn't ran at all. The girl looked at me with a big smile. "My name is Ookami no Tenshi Hatake, what's yours?" She asked me.
"I'm Choji Akimichi, it's nice to me you," I smiled at her. My smile than turned into a frown which made her frown too. "Did you really mean it back there when you said you were my friend?" I asked her. She grinned and nodded.
"Of course! Your both mine and Tamotsu's friend, that is if you would like us to be. Your fun to hang out with, Choji," she said to me. Tamotsu nodded and I felt tears in my eyes. Someone beside Shikamaru wants to be friends with me. Tenshi frowned when she saw me tears. "Did I hurt your feelings? I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, please don't cry," tears started pricking her eyes as she hugged me, thinking she hurt my feelings. I hugged her back.
"You didn't hurt me, Tenshi. I'm just really happy to have another friend or two including Tamotsu," I told her. She pulled back and smiled.
"I'll always be your friend, Choji, and I'll always be there for you when you need me, even if it's in spirit! Tell you what! If you ever see a wolf, think of me, we protect our own…our pack! You're now a part of that pack, Choji," she told me. I felt more tears and hugged her. We both laughed and pulled apart to wipe our tears away. I then saw my dad.
"Hey, dad! Over here!" I called over to him. He waved and smiled at me. He saw Tenshi and Tamotsu. "Dad, these are my new friends, Ookami no Tenshi Hatake and her Ninken, Tamotsu. Guys, this is my dad," I told them. My dad smiled at them and pat their heads.
"It's nice to meet you Mr. Akimichi," Tenshi smiled politely at him. He nodded.
"You too as well, Tenshi, Tamotsu. Thank you for befriending my son," he said to her.
"I'm happy to be his friend, he's a nice guy and I can tell he's a true friend," she smiled at me. I couldn't help but smile nonstop for the next couple of days. Every time I saw her, I couldn't help but smile.
FLASHBACK END
~Hige's POV~
I listen to Lord Choji's story on how he met Lady Tenshi and my son…Tenshi, you always manage to touch someone's heart…even if it's just with your smile. This boy is lucky to have a sweet hearted girl like you for a friend. I looked at Lord Choji.
"Rest now, Lord Choji, save your strength. We'll be back in the village soon," I told him. I felt him nod and saw him close his eyes. Lord Choji…you are stronger than you know, my friend.
~Akira's POV~
I went to look for Lord Shikamaru while my pups and mate went to look for their charges. When I reached Shikamaru, I saw him fighting a young woman with lightning like marks all over her body, and a flute in her hands. I saw that she was going to attack him, so I ran out to him and knocked her out of the way.
"Sorry I'm late, Lord Shikamaru," I said to him.
"You're another one of Tenshi's summons?" He asked me. I nodded.
"I am Akira, Second Queen of Wolves under Queen Yuzuki, I'm also Hige's mate," I told him. He nodded at me.
"Good to know. Tenshi always had reliable friends when she needed it…but why aren't you helping her and Naruto?" He asked me.
"Lady Tenshi ordered me, my mate, and my pups to help our comrades. Hige's helping Lord Choji, Kouga's helping Lord Kiba and Akamaru, and Emi is helping Lord Neji. I was told to help you, my friend," I told him. He nodded again. I looked at the three giants that the girl was controlling with her flute. I listened to the melody of the flute and saw the way the giants were moving. I looked at Shikamaru. "Lord Shikamaru, look into my eyes for a moment," I told him. He did as he was told and I set up the mind link. 'Alright, now we have our mind link. Use your Shadow Possession Jutsu on the Giants,' I told him. He looked at them then at me questioningly, I nodded. When he did, three shadow lines came out and got them with my help of knowing their movements.
"Impossible! How did you figure the movement of all three?! There is no way you could have possibly figured out the pattern of my melody!" She shouted. I smirked.
"I was the one who listened carefully to the melody as well as following your giants' movement patterns. It wasn't too difficult," I said to her. "The thing is, I didn't really need to do all of that…it was all in your fingers. You noticed too, Lord Shikamaru?" I asked him. He smirked and nodded.
"I just didn't think about using my technique for it, thanks for the help, Akira," he said to me. I nodded. He then spread his arms causing the giants to do so as well. "Now, it's my game. It's my turn to chase you into a corner with these pawns that I've obtained," he said. She simply smirked at us…not good. "Not alarmed are we? Why don't you at least ready your daggers?" Lord Shikamaru asked her.
"This flute is my only weapon! Don't make me repeat this, there's not a single soul who has lived to speak of the melody of this flute!" She exclaimed.
"That's quite the bit of confidence you have there…but there will be two souls that will live to tell of that melody and you're looking at them," Lord Shikamaru smirked. He sent the giants to attack her but she did a hand sign.
"Retreat!" She shouted making the giants disappear. "Too bad you couldn't use your pawns!" She shouted at him. Lord Shikamaru and I pretended to be down for a minute so he could use his Shadow Possession on her. He was able to do it. But then, the worst happened, she activated her curse mark making her transform, her hair was longer and she also had horns on her head. Lord Shikamaru tried to strengthen his Jutsu while I distracted her. Soon we were caught in a Genjutsu, my arms and legs were bound to the ground. I saw my fur and skin melting off, I screamed with Shikamaru. The girl then tried to stab Lord Shikamaru, but he used his shadows to break his left pointer finger as I reached down and bit my leg making me whimper.
"How many times do I have to tell you? The first hand is feint, it's the most basic thing to land with the second hand. Of course, the second hand is not the same as before, this shadow neck can bind the opponent stronger as the distance gets closer," he said to her. I smirked.
"That's not where you failed, it's where you said 'my only weapon is my flute'," I said to her.
"It can't be…" she gasped.
"Yes, I threw that dagger in front of you intending to miss. So you'd pick it up and approach me," Shikamaru smirked at her.
"Hmph, I must admit, you've got some guts for a shithead and a mutt," she said to us.
"Not only that, we're kind hearted," Lord Shikamaru and I said to her.
"Socking a defenseless woman goes against my policy but you don't seem in anyway defenseless," he said to her. He went to punched her in the stomach but she stopped him.
"Don't think that in beating the illusion you both gained the upper-hand, Shithead and Mutt," she said to us. This can't be good, I saw that Lord Shikamaru was getting exhausted.
'Lord Shikamaru, this Jutsu is taking all your Chakra, you can't hold on much longer,' I thought to him.
'I know, but I have to keep going, I'm working on it,' he thought back. Lord Shikamaru…I hope your right.
~Emi's POV~
I went to find Lord Neji when I found him on the ground. He was unconscious, I grabbed his headband and went up to him. I set the headband down and nudged his arm, that didn't wake him so I licked his cheek. He opened his pale lavender eyes.
"Emi…is that you?" He asked me tiredly. I nodded.
"Yes, it's me, Lord Neji, I'm going to get you back to the village, but you need to get on my back. Do you think you can get up to do that?" I asked him gently. He nodded and started to sit up while grunting in pain. I helped him as gently as I could. As soon as he was up, I handed him his headband and laid down so he could get on my back with no trouble. He was on my back laying down while holding on to me around my neck so be wouldn't fall off. "Lady Tenshi was worried about you all, she'll be happy to hear that you're alright now," I said to him.
"I will be if I don't bleed out from my wounds," he said hoarsely to me. I kept walking and remembered the wounds I saw on him. He had two holes, on his shoulder and the other in his side. Both were the size of a fist. I looked at him.
"You have to hang on tight, I'm going to run so I can get you to the hospital faster," I said to him. He nodded and tightened his grip, I started running to reach a hospital. I made it to the hospital to see my father and Lord Choji there as well. "Someone! We need help these two are injured severely!" I called urgently. Some nurses came and took them. I looked at father, we nodded and sprinted off back to the others.
~Kouga's POV~
As my family went to help everyone else, I went to help Lord Kiba and Akamaru. When I did, I saw them come out of the water. I ran over to them.
"Lord Kiba! Are you and Akamaru alright?" I asked him. He panted and showed me his wound. I helped him up, as he held his wound to stop the bleeding, I carried Akamaru between my teeth as if he was pup…which he still is. We found a place to take a break so Lord Kiba could rest a bit. He looked at me.
"So…Tenshi sent you?" He asked me. I nodded while flattening my ears.
"I was too late, your hurt and I couldn't protect you," I whimpered looking down. He felt up pat my head.
"It's not your fault, this happened a little while ago, I bet it was before Tenshi even summoned you," he said to me. I still whimpered.
"I just wish I could heal it like big brother can," I said to him. He kept petting my head in comfort.
"I know, I wish you could too, but there's nothing you can do about it. We can get back to the village, but those two Sound Nin are still after me," Lord Kiba told me. I nodded and sniffed around, something caught our noses. One of the Nin's appeared in front of us wearing Lord Kiba's coat. I stepped in front of Lord Kiba and growled.
"Heh, you have another mutt protecting you, no wonder I couldn't smell you, you covered in lake water and you have a mutt with you, we'll see how this works out," he grabbed a kunai and went to stab me as I was about to attack him. But something stopped it…it was a…puppet?!
~Tenshi's POV~
Lee showed up as Tamotsu, Naruto, and I were fighting, he told me and Naruto to go get Sasuke who was now out of the coffin. I told Naruto I would stay and help Lee with Tamotsu. He was hesitant at first but left. I was now in my Lone Wolf Warrior form and fighting alongside a drunk lee. Lee was almost stabbed as I laid on the ground with a bone sword in my side while Tamotsu laid on the ground unconscious. Lee was about to be attacked when sand blocked it and sent Lee away from Kimimaro. Lee landed beside me. Kimimaro looked at the source…I turned my head and saw…Gaara!
"Who are you?" Kimimaro asked him.
~Akira's POV~
We were almost attack when a fan came, it was Lady Temari! The Sound Nin asked who she was. Lady Temari smirked while standing in front of me and Lord Shikamaru.
"Allies of the Leaf…"
~Kouga's POV~
Kankuro! He's helping us. He said they were allies of the Leaf!
"Shinobi of the…"
~Tenshi's POV~
"Sand," he told him. That's right, the allies of the Leaf, Shinobi of the Sand. Gaara looked at me with worry. "Are you alright, Tenshi?" He asked me. I panted in pain.
"I'll live…let's just kick his ass….and bring Sasuke home," I panted. He nodded in agreement, but worry was still visible in his eyes. Gaara used his sand to move me and Tamotsu behind him, he then moved Lee behind him.
"Gaara of the Desert," Lee gasped. I guess I would be surprised too, I mean, Gaara did break his arm and leg nearly killing him in the exam. I kept my eyes on Gaara.
"G-Gaara, watch f-for his bones…t-those are his w-weapons," I panted and stuttered. Gaara nodded and looked at Lee.
"Lee, stay with Tenshi and Tamotsu, keep them safe, I'll take care of him," Gaara said to him. Lee nodded and was at my side helping me sit up. I looked at Lee.
"This sucks, as soon as I need to vent, I'm taken down by a bone, remind me to kill Sasuke when we bring him home," I joked half-heartedly. Lee chuckled a little while I saw Gaara crack a very small smile. Kimimaro shot some pieces of bone at Gaara, but Gaara's sand blocked it. Gaara glared at Kimimaro.
"You're too hasty," he said to him. He then looked at Lee over his shoulder. "When you fought me before, you had more speed and edge in your moves," Gaara said to him. Lee looked at him.
"As if you had nothing to do with that," he said to him. Lee then smirked. "I'm not holding any grudges but, I've gone through quite a bit of hassle because of you," he told him. Gaara was silent for a moment.
"…I see," he was quietly.
"But, why are you here?" Lee asked. Gaara looked at me.
"I owe the Leaf a large debt," he replied thinking about me and Naruto. I smiled and nodded.
"Well, I'm glad you could join the party, old friend," I said to him. I tried to stand up but his sand and one of Lee's hands stopped me. Gaara shook his head. Lee bent down to my level.
"You and Tamotsu need to rest, you used too much chakra, first all those Shadow Clones, the summoning four wolves, and now the Lone Wolf Warrior Jutsu, your exhausted. Please, rest," Lee said to him with worried eyes. I looked at Gaara and he nodded agreement, I sighed and reluctantly stayed down. Lee tried to fight, but Gaara wouldn't let him, so Lee said he would be back up if needed be. Soon, Gaara and Kimimaro were in battle. Kimimaro was shooting bone tips from his fingers but the sand kept blocking it. I tried to keep my eyes open, but I was too exhausted from the blood loss and the amount of use of chakra I used. Lee saw this. "Tenshi, keep your eyes open! Stay awake," Lee ordered. I could barely hear him as it was. While Gaara's sand was block the hits, Gaara looked at me with concerned eyes.
"Tenshi, stay wake, I'll finish him and we'll get you out of here," he said to me. I tried to stay awake.
"I'm…so…tired…I'm…sorry," I said tiredly. My world then fell into darkness. Soon I was in dreamland, but it wasn't a dream…it was like a premonition of…Naruto and Sasuke's battle that's happening this very second!
~Gaara's POV~
Tenshi had lost consciousness, and it's all because of this guy! She was severely injured because of him, I'll kill him! Kimimaro mentioned how boring it is with me just blocking his attacks…I happen to agree. I lifted a hand up for the sand to surround him.
"But if I have sand, I can do anything," I said to him. I crushed him with my sand, but it didn't work, his body came out with marks covering his skin. "Those bones…he's a monster," I mumbled.
"That is one troublesome body," Lee murmured.
"What pressure, if I didn't create these bone masks right under my skin, I would have been crushed. I was taking you too likely but, this sand will never catch me again," he told me and a darker voice. I had no choice, he's strong so I need a stronger attack. I spread my feet and placed my hands together, soon there were waves of sand coming around him placing him under.
"Did you get him?" Lee asked me.
"No," I told him. I then slammed my hands down. "Desert Requiem!" I shouted causing the sand to harden. But I saw the sand move. "How persistent," I mumbled. I looked at Tenshi, I'll win this battle for her; she can't fight now, so I'll fight in her place. I remember, when I got here and looked into her eyes, she was…broken. Sasuke Uchiha, this is your doing isn't it? Naruto better hurt him enough for what he did to Tenshi…if he doesn't…I will.
