Author's Note: As promised, an update a week until Christmas! I want to do it every Monday, but it might vary. So far, I'm keeping on track. Hope all of you enjoy!
Smiles: Oh my goodness, it's good to have you and Miss back! -huggaggles- Thank you for all the sweet reviews, and especially for doing so on each chapter you missed. =3 I'm glad you're happy with everything that is going and I hope you enjoy this one, darling!
Missthescreaming: Hello to you too, sweetheart! Glad to have you back! I love that you can still give constructive criticism when reviewing a bunch of chappies in a row! I know, there's some points where Mana is a little iffy, and there were plenty with Sayo, but I'm trying to keep them pretty in-character without making them sue-ish. Everyone is so happy Youko is back too, which made me happy. Also, you thought Madara would be coming back into things with Sayomi and now you'll see what I had planned for him and why they encountered each other earlier. It was all for this point and what happens in the next chapter. You also get clarification on Kimimaro's feelings too. I'll reply to your PM shortly, if not tomorrow, but I've read and have to say you have a LOT of great theories. -winks- Until then, enjoy love!
XXIX: Broil, Madara
Kobayashi Sayomi
Third Person's Point of View
Sayomi could feel the eyes burning into her back as she supported Sasuke, Naruto, and Ichiro. Fox, snake, and toad all ravaged against the miniscule versions of the Juubi and tore to shreds any that stood in their way. They were aiming for the head of this onslaught, and she made sure to lend any aid she could while letting the true stars of this war have their place.
That is, until Uchiha Madara intervened.
How he had come through the barrier was beyond her, but she barely had the time to register the attack when Father Oinari was sent toppling backwards. Sayomi held tight to his fur, fusing chakra into her feet and hands at the same time Youko did his paws. The great summoning staggered, outside the barrier again, and she heard a familiar shout.
"Sayomi-sensei!"
"Naruto, I'll be fine." She was unsure of her words, even as they echoed across the battlefield. Many of the shinobi and kunoichi had strayed away from the three attacking the Juubi, worried they might be in the way of such monstrosities and in need of healing. "Well, hello Madara. I did not assume we would meet again so soon."
"Our last fight ended prematurely, and though I have bigger battles to wage," his unnatural eyes cast over to the clones of Hashirama, the God of the shinobi world, "I refuse to dance with a worthless clone. You have answers to give me, Sayomi."
She grinned darkly beneath the blue mask, letting the laugh bubble into her throat. The words she called across the battle echoed once more, though they were directed to two people she barely knew instead of her beloved students, her family.
"Hashirama-sama, allow me to distract your friend for a while. I'll be waiting for you!" Sayomi's fingers began to weave the signs. "You want to play, Madara? Let's play!"
Because this time, it was not Father Oinari and Sayomi against the legendary Uchiha, but instead the trio that had once been able to tear apart entire organizations. Youko was back, and with his support- both his presence and his strength- she knew she would be able to hold off the Uchiha for a short time.
"I don't know what connection you hold to that black-haired weakling," Madara called, weaving his own signs, "but she was worthless compared to what you know."
His attacks were unforgiving, but she had an edge he did not possess.
She could feel the love of her family and friends burning into her as the masses watched, startled at the power of one kunoichi that refused to stand aside any longer.
Sayomi could not kill Madara, she could not win against him, but she was good for a distraction.
-( Our Sweetest Memory )-
Haruno Sakura
First Person's Point of View
"Who is she?" The troops were in awe of what the silver-haired woman was capable of as she let steam descend upon the undead Uchiha, riding atop a white fox.
"She's like a knight, riding a white steed," another fighter said quietly as he was being healed.
I knew the feeling well; pride swelled into my heart as I stared upon a woman that had been the source of such great sorrow to Kakashi. I remembered now why I looked up to her and any resentment that had been born in my heart at how she had left us dissipated. She had always been there when we needed her and now, nearly a decade after she disappeared, she had returned to stand at our backs in our time of suffering.
"She's back," Ino whispered and I heard how hopeful she sounded. "Sayomi-sensei is back…"
"Sayomi-sensei will always return to us when she knows we need her," I said confidently. "She will need our support! Everyone, be ready to intervene whenever Sayomi or Naruto needs our help!"
"Right!"
I would never stand behind Naruto or Sasuke again, and I had proven that this day. I would stand by their sides, with the love of my former instructors at our backs and the hope for a bright future just on the horizon.
-( Our Sweetest Memory )-
Sagase Kimimaro
Third Person's Point of View
Kimimaro could hear the sounds of war in the distance and could feel the steam from even this far away, but he could not leave. Truthfully, he did not want to. He wanted this world to be a better place for his family, but what good would this world be without that family?
His green eyes strayed to Maname, taking in her ghost-like form and how intangible it seemed. She was beautiful beyond words, and not for what he could see, but instead for what he felt. She was kind, forgiving, and loved deeper than any he had ever found. Most of all, she loved him as her family and had fostered him for years.
Long ago, he had been deathly sick and had given his life to Orochimaru after the man pledged his love and loyalty to the wielder of the shikotsumyaku. He had died- or so he thought- for that very man, but to what end? His supposed death had left him suspended in a bone tree for years and none had ever thought he might be comatose. None had tried to save him, except the woman he watched over now so carefully. She had saved him, and not only from an eternity of a half-life, suspended in limbo, but also from himself. Thanks to the Sagase family, he had never felt so whole in his entire existence.
Maname did not use him, did not covet him, and never asked too much of Kimimaro. Everything he did, he did because he wanted to, not because she had ordered him to do it. Because of this, anything he did for the woman and her child, he did graciously. He knew the boy looked up to him as a father, but all three of them knew he would never be with Sagase Maname in any sort of romantic sense.
Long ago, he had entertained the idea that he loved her in a way he should not. He silently coveted her instead of vice-versa and the first year he spent in her home had not been because he felt obligated to repay the woman for saving him. Yes, he did feel something of the sort, but his feelings had tethered him to that quaint home in Kumogakure no Sato, not a debt. It took him two full years to realize he did not want to be with her, but instead beside her. He did not cherish her as one would a lover, but instead as one would a sister… or even a mother. After all, Kimimaro had never had someone that loved him as Maname did, wholly and truly.
His life would be meaningless without people as bright as Sagase Maname and Sagase Ichiro to light his world.
Kimimaro's reverence was broken by a noise nearby and soon, a man slithered from the shadows. He was alone, but his presence was stifling and the bone wielder nearly drew back further than the few yards that separated them. The only thing that stopped him was his will to protect the ghost behind him, lying against a tree.
"Kimimaro, you're alive, I see." Orochimaru's words were not a question. "I had a feeling you might have been alive in that bone, but I did not have the means to tear you out of it."
The lie was obvious; Orochimaru had the ability to do whatever he pleased.
"Why don't you come and join your loving master in this war?" The white hand was held out, but he still did not come closer to Kimimaro. "Kaguya Kimimaro, we're both alive again, so come back."
Years ago, Kaguya Kimimaro would have leapt at the opportunity to rejoin Orochimaru at his side, serving out his every whim. He might have even left Maname in the dust during his first or second year with her and Ichiro. Yes, he was certain he would have.
"Orochimaru-sama," he said cautiously, "I… No."
"What?" The snake twisted his head around to see the thing behind him. "Oh, what is this now?" As he moved to step closer, Kimimaro's skin hardened into bones and he made it known he would not allow his former Sannin to progress any closer. "This woman… It can't be. Yes, I suppose it can. My daughter did know how to manipulate things. She had a hand this, and then some." His mouth turned up in a grin.
"What are you doing here, Orochimaru-sama?" Kimimaro asked, his voice low in his chest and resembling a growl.
"I sensed your chakra, and something familiar," he said as his grin spread further. "It seems I have other things I need to see on the warfront. Your services are no longer needed, Kaguya Kimimaro."
With that, Orochimaru turned his back and strolled away from the two. Kimimaro felt how empty the feelings in his words were, as if he had never truly cared for the Kaguya at all. It had always been a thought at the back of his mind, but never had the bone wielder wanted to believe it.
The snake had only used him, after all.
"It is Sagase Kimimaro, for now," he called and Orochimaru ceased his movements for just a moment.
"Of course." And, just as he appeared, the snake vanished into the shadows to step into the war.
Kimimaro's heart ached as he watched him leave, but not nearly as much as he would have believed before. The moment they had just shared had felt like a dream, as if it had never come to pass, it had been so brief and unexpected. Perhaps he should have cared more, perhaps his feelings should have been blank as his heart broke.
The softest touch brushed against his ankle and his green gaze tore from the forest to the ethereal form behind him. She was still unconscious, but she had moved to him just as he needed her to. Somehow, despite being out of tune with the current world, she had sensed his heart tearing apart.
Kimimaro leaned down beside the nearly intangible form and gathered her soundly in his arms, yearning to feel her touch. The way she melted against him brought any shred of doubt crashing from his mind and instead, he felt the irrevocable pang of love so deep, it could cure even death.
He smiled and knew, at long last, that he had truly found his place in this unforgiving world.
-( Our Sweetest Memory )-
Sagase Maname
First Person's Point of View
I could see everything around me, if I wished it so, but even then I could progress further. Through the eyes of Ichiro and Sayomi, I saw the war and the devastation of the Juubi. I watched as Obito became the jinchuriki of the Juubi and as the massive stalk grew tall into the skies, signaling our upcoming end and the activation of the Infinite Tsukiyomi. Through Kimimaro's eyes, I saw him turn down Orochimaru, the snake Sannin.
And, for some reason, I could see a fight in a dark, desolate plane through the eyes of Hatake Kakashi.
I dreamed of him as well, but not dreams I had ever had before. I saw him sitting across from me at a table, laughing at some joke, as we ate some sort of food together. I witnessed him nursing me while I was sick in bed, ordering me to stay where I was. I could sense his worry when he found out I had to leave to some unknown destination. I felt his hand atop my head as I wept at a funeral in the rain. I danced across a ballroom with him, smiling and simply happy to be there. There was so much more; a torrent of images whizzed in my head, as if I had been there. Most of all, I felt everything. No, not the physical touch of the man, but instead the way he had buried himself in my heart.
And then, I realized I loved him and everything came crashing down around me.
Were these the haphazard assembly of memories from Sayomi, somehow twisting their way into my already battered head? Had she gone so far as to manipulate my emotions, to make me love a man she had wanted me to love?
Then, I saw him in a barren, white landscape, standing near to a boy with hair like that of the sun. He had spoken kind words to me then, as I whispered sweet ones to Naruto as he groveled in the cold snow. It was the first time I had met either of them, and since the Jounin had been near to me.
Each moment I spent with the man- as brief as they were-, each word we shared, and each glance we gave one another passed through my mind, stalling only long enough for me to realize them.
Then, I saw what could be the future if the Allied Shinobi Forces failed.
Death spread far and wide across a battlefield and I stumbled through, stopping briefly to aid any that appeared to be alive. My chakra could not heal the wounded, as they were approaching deaths door and even I did not possess that strength, regardless of what many rumors may have stated. Relentlessly, I stumbled through the carnage for a familiar face in the darkness that was now the world.
Finally, I found him.
Kakashi was barely alive and I knew the moment I laid eyes on him that I would never be able to save him either. I fell to the dirt at his side and felt the tears fall endlessly down my sullied cheeks, leaving trails in the blood and dirt. His mask was barely intact, thus I could make out the masculine trim of his jaw and his matted lips, still partially hidden behind the fabric that clung to the dried and fresh blood.
His hand lifted, caressing my cheeks, and his words were soft, but I heard them. I heard them so clearly, my heart ripped into pieces.
"I love you…"
And it was not Sayomi's name that left his lips in that moment. It was not her name that dropped from his tongue, and that hurt me more than anything.
"Maname."
I knew it then, without Sayomi's influence, that I had grown to love a man that was burdened by heartache. My mind may have created the image, may have changed what could be, but the effect was real enough.
I was in love with Hatake Kakashi.
Just as I made the realization, a sharp pain jolted my every pore and I felt blood leak from my lips, though not those of my unconscious dreams. Was I dying in real life?
I might have realized too late.
Next in 'Our Sweetest Memory':
This time, Sayomi's distraction would not be enough. As the war begins to draw to a close, things start to unravel before Maname's eyes, but so many now hold her heart that she might not be able to survive it. One thing was for certain, and that was her love for Hatake Kakashi, something that had bloomed over time, but had always been hiding. And now, she would get the chance to tell him, face-to-face, wouldn't she?
