A/N: Oh, man. Well, here's the monstrosity that is chapter 29, folks. Banged most of it out in three days or so… Even wrote some during class time. That's right… I wrote my freaking fanfiction in class. I go to culinary school. Let your mind be blown.
It's the day before Thanksgiving, and all through the house, not a turkey was roasting, not even a… ok, I can't think of a decent rhyme. Sue me. I'm stuck in San Fran for this year's Turkey Day celebrations, which SUCKS. Oh well. I'll be home for Christmas. (Speaking of which, does anyone have any idea what I can get my fourteen-year-old sister for Christmas? Help!)
This is (thankfully) the end of the "Rescue Fū" arc. That's what I call it in my head, anyway. Next begins the "Council of Nine" arc. What is this "Council of Nine" in the first place? … Oh, come on—you think I'll tell? I'm evil. Deal with it.
My other stories are coming along slowly. Don't expect anything for a while (besides Second Chances in a week or so).
Review-answering time.
Dhaem17: Sorry, bud. This is the last you'll have to deal with this.
Dragon Man 180: Enjoy. This might be to your tastes.
Sweet Heavens: In response to you, I decided to keep the fights short and sweet. If they suck… sorry.
Silver Warrior: THANK YOU! FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, THANK YOU! I keep trying to tell people: Hinata acts OOC BECAUSE SHE IS OOC! She is a different person entirely! She's the same girl at heart, but this is what I think Hinata could be if she was allowed to come completely out of her shell!
I love Kill Bill. I was actually watching that the day I finished off the last chapter, and thought it was too good to pass up. Not exactly a subtle placement, but I don't much like subtlety.
As for Naruto and Deidara… well, this should answer everything.
Twilight- The Moon Spirit: Um… Yeah. Deidara. About that… Well, just read, and review. You're gonna kick my ass, but still… That's the way it turned out.
About Fū and Naruto… um, yeah. The way it's shaping up, Hinata could have some good reason to be jealous. Read on. You'll see why, maybe… There are some odd, unfortunate implications in there that I didn't catch until I reread it, but it was too perfect to cut
I hate trolls. God. Ugh. But Naruto's house is quickly becoming interesting, isn't it? Makes you imagine how it could end up…
Also, I hate it when there are stories where they magically get Akatsuki-level strong before the timeskip era without some extreme justification. I think they're at the right strength level here, though.
Ally: (another unregistered reviewer) Again, THANK YOU! You are one of the few people who actually get it!
IfOnlyIf: Yeah, sorry bout that. This chapter should settle things for you. Hope you keep on reading, and thanks for reviewing with some truly constructive criticism.
Shrumples: (another unregistered reviewer… Seriously people, make an account! We love you here at !) Quick answer: Deidara lied about how much clay he had. He knew that there was someone watching and listening, so he decided to deceive them as best he could. That he lied to Sasori at the same time… Who knows? Maybe he was backing himself up in case Sasori decided he wasn't worth the trouble?
Cool cool 2000: I actually have a couple ideas for books on paper right now. Very sporadically continuing with it. Have about half a notebook's ideas worth of a short story done. I enjoy writing fanfiction, though. It is proven that people who are creative dream much less than people who aren't, and for the past two years… almost three… Well, let's just say that I used to have some bad dreams, and this is kinda therapeutic. I just like writing!
Kendo14: Thanks man. Glad you like!
Before We go on, I gotta say one thing: some of you are going to be mad with the way I wrote this story, and I can't blame you one bit. But it's the way it is. If you dislike the creative path I took, I'm sorry. Write a nice, scathing review. At least you'll let me know what I did wrong, right?
Enjoy!
Chapter 29
Oh, fuck this shit! Naruto screamed internally as the massive dragon fell to the forest below. Kyuubi, help me get out of this! I can't break free! Each and every time he tried to pry an arm from the dragon, the other would be sucked ever deeper into the mucky clay. He felt it siphoning chakra from him at an alarming rate, draining it from his tenketsu as fast as he could draw it from his core.
I don't know what to do! Kyuubi roared at his host. This damn clay is sucking all of my chakra and funneling it into the bomb inside of this thing! The more you struggle, the worse it'll be!
Naruto roared, his demonic-inclined throat sounding off a gut-wrenching note. What should I do, then? Just give up?
No! Stop drawing chakra, and reinforce your shell! If you make it compact enough, you might survive the explosion! That's your only shot!
The boy shook his head wildly as he thrashed his body. But Fū will be killed! I can't let that happen!
Kyuubi growled. They were now only six hundred yards away from the forest's border, three hundred or so off of the ground. Deidara had left enough chakra, apparently, to have it guide itself to where Naruto had disappeared from aerial view. It was moving much more slowly than it had with the bomber to pilot, but still, that only gave him less than a minute to escape. Are you really willing to die for someone you don't even know? the fox asked wildly. Because I'm sure not ready to call it quits yet! If you die, it would be extremely inconvenient for me!
Naruto ground his teeth. Just be quiet! I have an idea, but it might not work. I need you to trust me!
Trust you? Why should I give you any trust?
Because it's all we fucking have! Just listen to me, just this once! I need you to disengage the chakra flow from you, and I need you to reconnect it on my mark, got it?
The Kyuubi was dumbfounded. What?
Kill the chakra flow! Three-two-one NOW!
Without further consultation, Naruto reached inside himself to where the Kyuubi's power met with his own and severed the link. Instantly, the red chakra shell that enveloped him dissipated, leaving not a trace. His skin was raw and smoldering in patches, peeled back a layer at exposed bits, and steam was issuing ominously at his open wounds.
The instant he let go of his transformation, the dragon ceased all movement. I knew it! The bastard had set it up to operate with my chakra as a source! Little fucker! The liquid clay almost instantly stopped sucking him in every time he moved. This, too, was reacting to his demonic chakra. He quickly slogged to the edge of the pool and clambered out, his body covered with muck. He ignored the filth, though, and ran to the head of the dragon.
There! he thought, looking down and out over the forest. That's where I left her! He wiped his hand of grime and dug it into his hip holster and removed the pronged kunai that he'd found in his father's drawer. Thankfully, it was untouched by the clay muck he had been submerged in.
What are you doing? the fox asked anxiously.
Naruto walked to the tip of the dragon's beak, his body nearly horizontal to the ground. I'm speeding things up! With all his might, he hurled the kunai at the spot he thought Fū had been deposited. I seriously hope this works! He counted the seconds until it slipped into the canopy…
Suddenly, he felt something in his mind activate. The mental connection with the kunai had been triggered. In a yellow flash, he was on the forest floor, beside the tree that the kunai had dug three inches into. He yanked it from the wood and placed it in his pouch.
Now, Kyuubi! Now!
At once, he was once again enveloped in the chakra shroud with five tails billowing out from behind him…
He cast his eyes around swiftly to get his bearings. Where is she, where is she? He sniffed the air for her distinctive scent. There! He turned his head to the left and gave one more sniff. Yes, over there! He crashed through the forest, barely taking time to dodge between trees and saplings. In seconds, his greatly-enhanced speed took him to the spot that he had deposited Fū.
She was still there, still unconscious, still helpless. Without a word, he gathered her into his arms, taking care to tone down the corrupting influence his chakra shroud had to not damage her any further. Ok, ok, the dragon's that way, so I have to run THAT way! he thought anxiously. He began running west as quickly as he possibly could without hurting her any more, leaning his body forward and using his tails to balance himself out. He had no idea how large the explosion from this bomb would be, but it had been actively absorbing his chakra, even for a few seconds, it could potentially be considerable. Move it! MoveitmoveitrunrunRUN! Between tree and tree and tree, over a dry streambed, over a pile of boulders there inexplicably…
Forget about it and RUUUUUUUNNN!
He didn't run far or fast enough.
What sounded like the loudest thundercrack he'd ever heard hit his already-sensitive ears, knocking him dizzy and almost causing him to drop his cargo. The sky lit up white with released energy, bright as a thousand bolts of lightening.
All at once, a mighty concussion tore through the forest, tearing up everything behind him. A quick glance over his shoulder gave him everything that he needed to know: the land was being tossed in an upheaval the likes he had never seen before. The ancient, majestic trees were torn apart as the ground beneath them was raised in a gigantic earthen tsunami.
"HOLY SHIIIIT!" Naruto screamed aloud. He may have escaped the explosion itself—a miracle in itself—but there was still its aftershock to worry about. I fought THAT? he asked himself. What the fuck was I thinking?
He ran as he had never before. Come on, Kyuubi! More chakra! MORE FUCKING CHAKRA!
More chakra won't do you any good, kit! You can't go faster than this without dropping the girl and running on your hands, too!
AARGH! I already told you that that's not happening! Can't you do something to help at all?
I can—maybe, maybe I can clear you way! Boy, give all control of your chakra to me! All of it! I have an idea, but I need you to keep running and trust me!
But what—
I said trust me!
Naruto was losing precious time weaving between trees; the farther west he went, the thicker, larger, and closer together they became. Fine! Do what you gotta do! He let all control of his power slip to the beast inside of him.
Good! Now, open your mouth!
What? Kyuubi, I swear, if this is some kind of—
I said open your goddamn mouth!
Naruto snapped to obey the demon without anymore hesitation. To his surprise, a ball of condensed chakra appeared a few inches in front of his lips. Fox? Fox, what are you doing?
Letting loose, it grumbled. Now, shut up. This takes focus to do while moving.
While moving? Focus? What the hell are you talking about? Tell me what you—
Without warning, the demon pumped as much chakra as he could into the ball in front of his mouth, then swallowed it. Seconds later, a violent wave of crimson chakra, damn near fifteen feet in diameter, emanated from his gut, out of his mouth, and tore apart the landscape in front of him. There! I cleared a path for you, but I don't know how long you have before it collapses! The gaping hole revealed before him was a straight line through the forest; trees either had holes blasted right through them, or had large chunks blown off the sides. Either way, he now had an expressway through which to escape the destruction, and he was going to take full advantage of it.
The instant his feet hit the small trench made by the blast, he put all the gusto into his step that he could. Without having to dodge between trees, his speed increased dramatically. Another look over his shoulder confirmed what he hoped—he was moving faster than the explosion's shockwave! He and Fū were safe! Finally, something goes my way!
A loud crack from the path in front of him brought him back to reality. One of the damaged trees had broken at the point where it had been ripped apart. As it was falling, Naruto realized that he either had to dramatically increase his tempo, or jump over the damn thing when it fell. How about option three…
Instead of either, he reared back his right hand and pumped as much chakra into it, increasing the size and density of the paw-shaped fist. Without a misstep, it smashed into the wood like a hot knife through butter. Its splinters sprinkled against his face, but he kept on, ignoring the sure catastrophe behind him, only pressing on, pressing on, running, not for his life, but for the girl named Fū…
Seconds later, they were finally out of the trees. Naruto didn't know how far he had run, or how fast he had gone—it was all a blur. He knew that he had never attained such speeds in his young life, though, so realistically, he could be anywhere at the moment.
A small lake was at the forest's edge. Perfect! He crossed the lake, his footfalls kicking up a wake behind him, and stopped at the other edge of the water. Kyuubi! Drop the shroud again! Do it!
By now, the fox had learned not to argue with Naruto; usually, the kid had some pretty bright ideas. The red and black chakra dissipated once again, though his skin wasn't nearly as damaged as it had been before.
Naruto slung Fū onto his shoulders and flashed through hand signs. "Suiton: Mizu no Tate!" Water from the lake swarmed to surround him and the girl in a shield of highly dense water. He winced as the onrushing tidal wave of earth and trees crashed into the front of his construct, but he held his ground and, more importantly, the tori seal that was the signature sign for this technique. "Come on! Come on! HOLD IT!" he roared, the shield weakening as ton after ton of dirt and mud pummeled against his shield. More and more chakra was needed to keep it together, more and more was needed to keep them alive.
Dirt and dust blotted the sun until there was no sun anymore; soil ran over them until they were buried alive, saved only by a wall of water a few inches thick. "HOLD IT TOGETHER! KEEP IT TOGETHER!"
The earth finally settled after several long moments of turmoil. No longer was his shield being pounded and battered; but a new problem was now present.
They were buried alive, and he didn't see a single way out.
I hate puppets! I fucking hate puppets! Hinata thought wildly as she backpedaled once again and slashed at the iron sand needles that kept forming around her. Fuck you, Sasori! Fuck you, puppet with your damn iron sand! Just fuck you!
Hinata had almost been close enough to cut Sasori with the Supakamaru when he had released yet another puppet from his arsenal. Without warning, black needles shot from its chest compartment at her body.
She had leapt backwards, the spelled sword in her hand automatically swinging to intercept the offending appendage. As soon as they touched, the sand-made metal needle lost physical shape, and Hinata felt a small surge shoot up her arm. What the… what just happened? She felt her chakra reserves become minutely replenished, as if she… she had…
No way! The sword absorbs chakra? I can use this! What followed was nothing more than her running away from each attack sent out by the puppet, each contact of her blade on the metal siphoning a little bit more chakra, each touch demolishing whatever he made.
The problem was, she was completely on the defensive. Sasori was keeping his distance, his puppet just before him. From what she could deduce, this doll was able to manipulate magnetic forces and shape the sand into various shapes. If she could just get close enough to strike him, the fight could be over in an instant. But every time she tried to advance on him, another lattice of sand tried to enclose her, and if it wasn't for the automatic reaction of the sword, Supakamaru, she would have been dead twice by now.
She had absorbed enough chakra to perform one more Kaiten, though it probably wouldn't be as powerful as before, and it would be a one-shot deal, and would be more exposed and helpless than ever. She had to play this right… just right if she was going to survive.
She flipped backwards away from Sasori and his damnable puppet as another network of the iron sand attacked, just barely dodging a dozen or so piercing stabs. The iron weapons chased her and moved as quickly as she moved, effortlessly keeping up with her. The enhanced Byakugan let her keep her body out of harm's way, but only just.
She slid behind a tree as soon as she could and pressed her back against it. With her rear protected, all she had to do was guard her sides, slashing and stabbing left and right at every needle and spar that came her way. With almost-casual flicks of her wrists, her defense became absolute.
Don't get cocky… this isn't done yet.
The sand withdrew back to Sasori and his doll. More poured from inside of it to collect in front of it, massing in the shape of a ball four feet wide. What now? she wondered. She didn't have long to wait; the ball shot forward a foot and instantly morphed into a gigantic shuriken, similar in shape to Sasuke's Fūma weapon. It began spinning rapidly, almost instantly becoming nothing more than a blur. The grass beneath it bent away from the epicenter, rippling in waves.
The Byakugan caught each and every single detail. Oh… no. No, no! This is so not good! The iron-using marionette shot its hands forward, and the monstrous shuriken, ten feet in diameter, shot forward at speeds exceeding one hundred miles an hour directly at Hinata's location. Had she been operating on her own steam, she would have been bifurcated. The Supakamaru, however, took over her reactions enough to fall flat to the ground as the tree she had taken refuge behind was sliced in two less than three feet from the ground. For a half second, she felt triumphant, but the spinning disk stopped fifty feet from her almost without decelerating and simply hovered there for a second. Not good!
She leapt over the stump that had once been a tree and dashed at Sasori and the dark-haired doll. Get him before he can get me! That's the only chance I have!
Little one!
I see it, Aoiryu! Hinata said to the dragon. I see it! She was moving fast—faster than she had ever gone before. The sword in her hands moved her body independently of her will; she had exceeded her physical limitations. Yet as she rushed across the grassy plane at the monster called Sasori, the excessively large shuriken was hot on her tail.
Use me! Let me—
I can make it! Just a little—little bit more—
She put all the focus she could on the man in front of her and the iron behind her, excluding all else. She was five feet from the summoned puppet… the shuriken was four feet behind her…
She prepared the Juuho Soushiken, chakra forming around her hands in the shape of lion's heads. You cannot make it!
I can make it!
The shuriken suddenly picked up a burst of speed, catching her unawares. No! Gods, no! She closed her eyes, turned, and put her hands in front of her chest in instinctive defense in the last split second she had; it was too close to dodge now, no matter what she did.
Naruto… I'm sorry.
Deidara sat upon the bird that he had made with the last of his clay. The wind whistled through his hair as he caught his breath—that had been one of the most intense battles he had ever been in, and never once before in his life had he been forced off his creations, much less twice. That Uzumaki kid was a pain in the ass… but at least now he was finished.
The explosion set off by his C3 was glorious. He managed to clear the minimum safe distance and then some, but was still rocked by the shockwaves and warmed air decompressing from the blast site. The bird held up—just barely—and he was now coasting aimlessly, trying to figure out what he would now do.
He had just killed two jinchūriki, of that he was sure. Even at full power, there was no way in hell that the Kyuubi brat could survive a detonation of that magnitude, and the girl? Not a chance. She was already out of the picture. All she had left to do was die.
Of course, that was the kick in the pants: he had been sent with Sasori on his first official Akatsuki mission to capture the Nanabi.
And now she was dead.
He sighed and put his head in his shaking hands. He knew he was strong—very strong. He knew that with his intelligence, lauded as genius-caliber, and his bombs, he could be a match for damn near anyone out there. But he was out of clay, and the ones who had recruited him–Kisame and that damn Uchiha Itachi—had told him that the cost of failure or betrayal was high, and it could be interpreted that he had done both at once.
Where to now? he asked himself. What now? Is there anywhere that I can escape the reach of Akatsuki? Anywhere? Is there anywhere outside their reach? Since joining the group, the only ones he'd met had been those who had recruited him and Sasori himself. It was on Kisame's word that they had been assigned together, probably because their unique talents complemented each other so well. But he had yet to meet the leader of this terrorist organization, or to hear its exact purpose. After the humiliation put upon him by Itachi, he was told that he'd be able to use his supreme art to his black heart's content, so he put his anger out of the way and grudgingly accepted the invitation.
Now, two months later, he was contemplating escape from the same men. It would be risky, and quite dangerous to flee—perhaps his clan would accept him back?
He shook his head. He had burned too many bridges to go back home. He barely even missed them anymore. Especially since… No. Don't think about it.
An unexpected sound, followed by a slight dip of the bird, made him turn around in a blur. "Hi, Deidara-sempai!"
Deidara groaned. It was Sasori's fool lackey, Tobi. The brat had his uses, but he quickly got on his nerves whenever he opened his mouth. "Tobi, what in the hell are you doing here?"
The masked youth put his hand on the back of his head and ruffled his hair. "Um, I was hanging around, and Leader-sama wanted to know what was taking so long. So, where is she? Huh?"
Deidara grunted. "We've had some… problems. A couple complications came up that we couldn't predict, or take into account for."
"Aaah! What kind of problems? If I go back with bad news, Leader-sama will kill me! Me, then you, and maybe Sasori-sama! Bad day!"
The bomber closed his eyes and slowly counted to ten. If he had any clay to spare… any at all… "After we had captured the Nanabi," he said tersely, "Sasori-sempai refused to let me carry him on one of my birds or dragon sculptures. He opted to walk the whole way back to the hideout. I couldn't leave him behind—his puppet body was damaged to the point of falling apart, and he refused to leave it. He wouldn't give me the girl, either, and seeing as I was under his command…" He shrugged half-heartedly. "About forty-five minutes ago, we got ambushed by two young shinobi, a Hyuuga girl and what, to my surprise, was Uzumaki Naruto himself, the Jinchūriki of the Kyuubi. Talk about your coincidences, huh?
"Anyway, we were ambushed. We were separated for a moment, then Sasori gave me the girl to get to the hideout, while he stayed behind to take care of the interlopers. I flew off, but the jinchūriki caught up to me after a bit." His face clouded. "I kinda lost my temper, ok? I lost focus. He unleashed the Kyuubi's chakra, and there was no way I could stand up to that. Before that, he used this weird sword to attack me, and it flew to his hand when he lost it! So, I kinda…"
"Kinda what?" Tobi asked eagerly.
Deidara mumbled something under his breath with his head turned away. "What was that?" Tobi asked, a hand comically cupped to his ear.
"I said I might have used a C3 explosive on them and blown them to smithereens!" Deidara shouted. "There! I said it! Happy? Leader-sama is going to kill me, probably, especially since I don't have any clay with me!"
Deidara's unwanted passenger was silent for a moment. He turned back around to the beak of the owl he had created. Little pisser, he thought darkly. Kissing up to Sasori all the time, probably trying to get into the group on his own. Yeah… I'm going to blow him up. As soon as I get my hands on some more clay, I'm going to just blow him to smithereens!
"You killed the Kyuubi and the Nanabi?" Tobi asked. Deidara slowly turned his head; the boy's tone was oddly… different.
"I'm pretty sure I killed the bug girl," he said. "From what I know, she was injured and unconscious. No way to defend herself. The Kyuubi might have survived, if he ran fast enough, if he managed to escape my trap beforehand. I'd give him… yeah, a twenty-five percent chance. Her, maybe two."
He turned back around and began massaging his temples. "Just—just go back and tell Leader-sama that I'll be back soon, ok? I'll—I'll go out and look for them, see if they're still alive. If so, I'll figure something out. Try to catch them, maybe get Sasori-sama and go after them. Who knows? They could still be alive."
Tobi was silent as the grave. He walked up next to Deidara and sat down, just in front of the wing joint. The clay flexed up and down, moving him a bit in relation to Deidara. "This is fun," he said unexpectedly. "Do you do this every day?"
Deidara cocked an eye at his junior. "What? Fly?"
The masked boy nodded. "Yeah. Fly."
He nodded back. "Yeah… most days, at least. It's fun, being above it all… the world at your feet. Nothing above you, nothing higher than you in the entire world…" A small smile crept to his lips. "I used to be able to fly without my statues… but that was a long time ago. But it's still fun."
Tobi dipped his head. "You're very lucky, Deidara-sempai. I go from one place to another, skipping everything in between. But you see everything. I wish I could do what you do."
What? Since when was Tobi respectful? "No, you don't," Deidara said. "You don't want to know what I had to do to get… well, these." He held up his hands palm-up, the mouths wide open, salivating tongues wiggling eerily in the air.
"I am not going to ask!" Tobi said hastily.
Deidara laughed. "Good. It's a kinjutsu in Iwa that… well, you heard of Orochimaru, from Konoha, right?"
"Yeah? What about him?"
"Well, Iwagakure has its own share of wackos who don't have many personal scruples. The difference was, a lot of them were encouraged by the administration to experiment. This is the end result of one of them getting their hands on me. I gotta say, though, I like it. Yeah, I like it a lot."
Tobi stood up. "Where are you going? Back to Leader-sama?" He stood up alongside the boy.
"Not exactly," he replied.
"Then… what?"
Tobi leaned in. "Can I tell you a secret, Deidara-sempai?"
A puzzled expression came to his face. "What?"
Tobi looked left, then right—a useless gesture, seeing as they were in the middle of the air. "You see… the thing is…" He leaned just a couple inches further in. Entranced, Deidara followed suit.
Tobi's masked face had been slightly to the side, but he turned it until it was level with Deidara's face, his one exposed eye boring through Deidara's pale blue. "I am Leader-sama!"
Before Deidara could react, a sword appeared in Uchiha Madara's hand and plunged in the bomber's chest. "Guak!" Deidara looked down helplessly at the sword protruding from his chest. "Y-you!"
Madara nodded. "Yes. Me." He withdrew the blade and kicked the man off the side of his own creation. For a moment, the residual chakra in the bird kept it flapping in the same direction that Deidara had directed it. "You could have been useful," he told the falling body. "I regret it."
He looked solemnly into the sky. "Yes… Flying is fun. It truly is. I'll have to get someone else who can fly to take Deidara's place… Perhaps… Yes, he's a good candidate." He vanished in a warp, not a trace of his presence there… but, of course, for the corpse that collapsed with a dull thud anonymously in the middle of some scraggly scrub.
Bzzzzzz… Hinata could hear the whizzing sound of the kunai cut through the air. Her closed eyes were clamped shut in total fear. Her Byakugan had deactivated in her slight mental breakdown, so for the first time since she and Naruto had encountered Sasori and Deidara, she was totally blind.
Bzzzzzz… Wait a second… Why aren't I dead? She opened a single eye a sliver…
The shuriken had stopped less than an inch from her throat. The whirring blades disturbed the air enough to vibrate her neck. It kind of tickled.
She looked up in dread. The monk, Araki, stood on top of the ring in a crouching lotus form. He looked completely serene, an expression of extreme calm in his deep grey eyes.
His staff was driven through the center of the shuriken, and though it strained to slaughter the young Hyuuga girl, it held fast.
Hinata was dumbfounded. "A—A—Araki-s-san," she stammered. "W-what are y-you doing here?"
He looked down on her from his perch. "Hyuuga… Hinata. Hello again. It is good to see you well."
Hinata let out a breath that she didn't know she had retained. "K-kind of a last-minute r-rescue, huh?"
The monk smiled genially at her. "Perhaps I didn't want a pretty young thing like you to become another battlefield corpse?" His face shifted from kind to serious instantly. "Go. Now. Let me take care of this little bit of unpleasantness." His eyes slowly drifted to Sasori, who was watching this exchange impassively. "It's personal."
"Personal? What do you—"
"Go. Now."
She nodded, nervous sweat dripping from her forehead. "Y-yes, yes…" She picked up the Supakamaru (which she had dropped, apparently) and, with one last look behind her at Sasori, ran away from the two older warriors.
She didn't stop running until her Byakugan couldn't see them anymore.
She had a boyfriend to find.
Sasori's painted eyes followed the girl as she fled from the scene and turned west, roughly in the direction that Deidara had gone. "Don't even think about it," Araki snapped at the puppetmaster. "You aren't going anywhere, especially that way. I'm going to end this right here, right now."
The blank gaze of Akasuna no Sasori held the monk's grey gaze as he slowly circled away from the direction Hinata had gone. "Ainu Araki… the Lost Monk of Konoha. I have heard of you. They say that you left after a friend of yours died. You have quite a bounty on you. Did you know that?"
Araki nodded. "Of course, you fool. It's at… What? Forty million ryo right now?"
"Forty-five. Someone from Iwa put a new price on your head two months ago."
Araki snapped his fingers. "And I'm usually so up-to-date on those too."
"Indeed." Araki didn't turn when Sasori and his puppet entered his blind spot. "In any case, you said this was personal. I've never met you before, though. How is it personal?"
The monk sighed. "I have only had a very few friends in my life. My teammates. My brother. And once—a long, long time ago, the Sandaime Kazekage."
Sasori cocked his head. "You were friends with the Kazekage? My, my… what a coincidence. I, over the years, became quite close to the Kazekage. In fact, you could say… he's with me after death, even."
Araki inhaled deeply. "Is that supposed to be funny, you sadistic fuck?" he roared.
"Such language from a monk," Sasori muttered. "You must not be very good at what you do."
Araki let a flicker of a smile light his lips. "You know… It's funny you say that." He flickered from existence, his staff remaining behind to hold the rapidly-rotating shuriken in place.
Sasori looked left, then right. Where did he go? he asked himself. Where is… His musing were cut short when a hole was blasted in his right chest panel, completely destroying the gear box that generated chakra strings. The Kazekage puppet collapsed with nothing left to instruct it to support itself.
Sasori turned around slowly. His own mobility was unaffected, but he could no longer control any of his dolls. He would have to use… himself. He began running checks on his own gimmicks. They ran on a separate chakra network than his precious puppets—connected directly to his heart. "You could have killed me," he said. Flamethrowers, check.
Araki was pointing his right index finger at Sasori. "I know," he said. "I saw that… that thing. I figured it was your core. Whatever was left of you. I didn't want to touch that… not yet." He extended his middle finger. "I want you to see just how helpless you are."
Cable spool… check. Manipulators… check. "Me? Helpless? I think you underestimate me, has-been." Hip blades… check. Blade turbines… check. All systems go. "Even without my puppets, I am more than skilled enough to destroy you." He's fast. I have to keep an eye on him.
"If you think you can kill me, then do it. I don't have all day."
Sasori kept supremely still for exactly one second. "Then die." He raised both hands and let out twin gouts of flame from pipes embedded in his palms. Not wanting to wait to see if his attack had succeeded, he leapt into the air and deployed his thigh blades and began rotating them at extremely high speeds to maneuver through the air and away from the raging fires. He couldn't truly fly, but with the propulsion he could move several hundred feet before having to touch down on ground again.
There's no way that got him. He is much too fast. But where is he? The plume of fire he'd created had died down, leaving nothing but ash and smoldering grasses, but no charred corpse. He looked left, then right, then swiveled his head completely around behind him and back again. Up! He shot his hands toward the sky and blasted… nothing. I could have sworn I sensed—
He was sure of it this time. Behind! Another gout spewed from his palm, his double-jointed shoulders flipping backwards in an instant. Did I get him? Where is he?
Before he could react, Araki appeared in front of Sasori. "Surprise." He thrust his palms at the puppet's shoulders, and some invisible force blasted them and his arms from his body. Wooden splinters and metal shrapnel peppered the air as he leapt back, the blades attached to his hips slashing forward at the monk to cover his retreat.
Araki held his hands in the air in the path of the whirring cyclones of death. They stopped instantly, immobile, trapped in an instant. "What?"
For a second, Araki held his ground. Then, with obvious effort, he spread his hands violently to his sides, ripping the blades and attached rods from Sasori's body.
True fear crept through Sasori's soul. No! No! This cannot be happening! He turned to run, an awkward experience as unbalanced as he was without his arms. I am Akasuna no Sasori! I am the greatest puppeteer in the world! I am—
Araki teleported in front of Sasori after letting him run for a few seconds. "You are done."
"How?"
The monk put his hand on Sasori's chest, just over the odd emblem that signified his core. "Easy. I'm good. You're evil. The Buddha shines upon me."
Sasori's stomach compartment slid open, a cable with a pointed end dashed straight at Araki's gut. It stopped short an inch from his robes, as if an invisible field protected him. At that instant, he knew who he was facing… who this living legend before him really was. He was the greatest fear of every sinner… every man and woman with a black heart on the continent. He was the single figure to kill more foes than Sasori himself.
"I know you. Ranged chakraless techniques. Shield. Telepathy. Teleportation. Tengu. You are Tengu."
Araki smiled wryly before charging his chi to his palm. "At your service."
Sasori's heart disintegrated in an instant, shards of wood and metal and blood and flesh blowing backwards, catching adrift in the mild wind. The puppet's body collapsed; with nothing left to give it life, it was nothing more now than a ragged pile of scrap.
Araki sighed. Sometimes, it simply wasn't easy to be a monk. He pulled a cigar from inside his robe and lit it with a long-stemmed match. Some old habits were hard to break.
"Narutoooo!" Hinata cried desperately as she ran over the ruined landscape. "Narutoooo! Where are you?" Churned earth and fallen trees covered the ground, radiating out from a horrifying center that was obviously ground zero of an explosion the likes of which she had never even conceived. "Naruto!"
Her Byakugan couldn't find him anywhere. She strained it to its maximum, then limited her focus to sweep in zones that much further. Where was he? Where could he be?
What if… Tears stung her eye as she ran. What if he was… was killed? What if that explosion got him? W-what if he…
No! He wouldn't let that happen to him! He's alive! I know it! Just think… if I were Naruto, where would I be? She glanced up for a second, but realized how ridiculous it would be for him to be in the air. But then where—Cold dread filled her heart as she realized the only option remaining. "He's underground," she muttered. "No, this isn't good. Aoiryu! Switch the Byakugan to scan thermal frequencies! If he's underground, that would make it easier to find him!"
Good idea, Hinata. Switching now.
An instant later, she was no longer seeing the world in the usual high-definition view her eyes showed. Instead, bright reds, yellows, and oranges danced and mingled over every surface as the sun's rays bounced off them and radiated in seemingly random patterns. If he's underground, he should show up like a bulb! She cast her eyes to the ground and telescoped her vision down… down… down.
She kept only the bare minimum focus on the ground before her as she ran across the broken land at maximum speed. It was only with the aid of the Supakamaru that she was even still standing—without the chakra that she had absorbed from those weapons of Sasori's weapons, she would probably be dead exhausted on the ground.
"Where is he?" she muttered to herself, the dank cold earth under her feet giving her nothing to work with. "Where is… huh."
What is it? Aoiryu asked.
That patch of blue down there… it's different from the other blue around it. I can't penetrate it, though. That may be him! Aoiryu, can you switch back to the visible spectrum? …Thank you. She gasped. There! Right there! That's a dome of water! Naruto knows that technique! It has to be him! I can't see through it, but I'm positive it's him! She changed course, then stopped running the instant she got to the spot directly above where he was buried. But how am I going to get him out? She bit her lip; she knew some Doton techniques, but nothing on the scale that this would need.
Maybe he's got a plan… maybe he doesn't. If I do something rashly, I could end up making it worse than it already is. I can't let that happen!
You are close enough to communicate with him,Aoiryu told Hinata. If you meditate, you may be able to enter your mental landscape and encounter him, if he is receptive.
Got it. Thank you, Aoiryu. I don't know what I would do without you.
Hinata felt the warm assurance flow from the draconic woman. Let us hope you never find out, my dear. Now, seek out your lover, and hope that he can respond.
Yes. She crouched down on one knee and placed her hand flat on the disturbed earth. She slipped into a meditative state, months of practice making it second-nature to fall to semi-consciousness instantly. She opened her mind's eye and found herself standing in a dark, empty void. "Naruto? Naruto! Listen to me! It's me, Hinata! I'm above you, on the surface, right now! Please, if you can hear me—respond!"
Several moments went by with nothing coming back. "Naruto! Naruto, damn it, answer me! You had better be alive! Aoiryu, can you contact Sando? If Naruto's unconscious, maybe he can reply?"
Aoiryu materialized beside the girl. "Aye. I can do that." She looked off into the distance, her long blond hair barely rustling with movement. She had a far-off look, and seemed to be caught up with something. "Sando is there… He is helping Naruto keep his shield maintained. It is taking incredible concentration to hold the Mizu no Tate with that many tons of earth crushing down upon him. Sando says that any further disturbance could make it collapse. If Naruto could, he would be here with you, but all of his focus is in keeping him and the girl alive."
Hinata's breath caught in her throat. "She's alive, then?"
Aoiryu nodded. "Yes, but… perhaps not for long. Your Uzumaki is weakening by the minute. He has already exceeded the amount of demonic chakra he can draw on for the day and his own is fading fast."
Anger bubbled up inside Hinata. "So, what does this mean? You're resigning him to die? He can't die from something like this! Not after all we've been through! I refuse to accept it!"
"You may not have a choice," Aoiryu said gently, softly.
Hinata turned on her spirit. "No! There is always a choice! There is always a way to change! Naruto taught me that!" She turned her voice to the void above them and bellowed. "NARUTO! I KNOW THAT YOU CAN HEAR ME! NOW, YOU LISTEN TO ME! YOU WILL NOT DIE! DO YOU UNDERSTAND? YOU ARE NOT GOING TO DIE ON ME! LIVE! SURVIVE! IF YOU HAVE TO SCRATCH AND CLAW YOUR WAY BACK TO ME, YOU DO IT!"
She fell silent, the wind from her sails. Aoiryu approached her from behind and placed her hands on the young girl's shoulders. "He heard you," the woman said gently. "He heard you, and it was enough. He will live on. You of all people know the effect you have on him."
Hinata nodded numbly. "I know," she whispered. "He's a survivor. He's a fighter. He'll come back to me. He'll have that g-goofy grin on his face, then he'll c-crack some joke a-about being l-late…" Tears were streaming down her face, both in the mindscape and, most likely, in reality.
Aoiryu lowered herself to her knees and wrapped her arms around Hinata's torso, pulling the girl close in to herself. "Shh… shh… Do not cry, little one," she crooned. "He's alive yet. There is always a chance. Just wait and see…" Very quickly, the breast of her silken gown was stained with innocent tears of worry. "Just wait… Just wait…"
"…CLAW YOUR WAY BACK TO ME, YOU DO IT!"
Naruto grinned ear-to-ear through his shaggy sweat-stained hair that was now hanging limply over his eyes and to his mouth. Damn, I love that woman! he thought with pride. Ugh… His hands were beginning to cramp in the tori sign. "I can't waver!" he said aloud. "I can't fall!" Carefully, very carefully, he sat down on the earth beside Fū. "Hey! Wake up!" He nudged her in the side with the toe of his shoe. "Wake up! We're about to die, and I need your help!"
The girl moaned after a moment and stirred, raising her head to stare up at him. She was set on her back, and she looked much the worse for wear. Dirt smudged her skin, streaked her hair, and stained her clothes. She had somehow gotten a cut on her forehead in their flight, and the amount of blood pooling in her hair was beginning to worry him.
She opened her mouth to speak, but coughed, a small puff of soil escaping. She hacked and spat, the minute glow of blue chakra-infused water illuminating the crusty wad as it hit the floor. "S-shut up, asshole," she said weakly. "I'm trying to s-sleep over here…" Her head fell back to the floor, hitting with a dull thud.
"Damn it!" he shouted. "Wake the fuck up, or we both die!" When she was unresponsive to his verbal provocations, he knew that he was going to have to take it a step further. I hope this works. He nudged her broken ankle with his foot.
The response was immediate: her eyes opened all the way, her red orbs almost glowing in the dark. "AAAAAHHRRR!" Her back arched off of the ground in pain, agony. "You little shit, wait until I get my hands on you! I'm going to kill you!"
Naruto chuckled dryly. "I'm sorry, Fū. Believe me. But I need you awake if we're going to get out of here."
Fū grimaced and clenched her jaw. "Where—ah—is here, exactly?"
He looked at her grimly. "My best guess would put us about twenty or thirty feet underground."
Fū's jaw went slack. "Under…ground?" She shook her head incredulously. "You better explain… and it had better be a good story!"
Naruto laughed and gave her the quick version, culminating in the C3 detonating and them getting buried under tons of rock and dirt. "I see…" She closed her eyes. "So, we're fucked."
Naruto shook his head. "No. We're not fucked. I've managed to hold this long enough, but I don't know how much longer I have. I need you to heal and use whatever jutsu you have to get us outta here. You do have some doton jutsu, right?"
Fū laughed. "Sorry, buddy. All I have in elemental techniques are Katon and Fūton, along with the basics. I know a buncha sound-based techniques, but without my weapon, those are kinda useless."
The blond shook his head and closed his eyes. Shit. "What about healing? Can you do that?"
"Um… about that… Healing takes up a bunch of chakra, and I'm almost out. If I could absorb some from you, I might be able to manage it… I don't know."
"How do you absorb chakra?" he asked.
"I kinda… suck blood. The more blood I suck, the more I can convert into chakra."
Naruto's stomach turned. "Oh, hell no. Not just no, but hell no. Next option, please. Can you transform?"
She shook her head. "The Nanabi is great at fighting, but I need a decent amount of my own chakra to kick-start the transformation process. If I don't have enough, I could be hurt by the morphing process. I wouldn't be any use to you then, either."
He opened his eyes and stared into hers. She was in critical pain, but she was toughing it out without excessive complaints. For her to let go of that pain, he'd have to let her bite him. He had gone through all of this to save her life—risked explosive disintegration, even. Maybe… Maybe…
Naruto sighed. "Son of a bitch," he muttered. "How much blood do you need?"
Her crimson eyes lit up. "In the condition I'm in, about a pint. Maybe more."
He ground his teeth. He knew that he produced blood much more quickly than the average human, but he was smaller than an adult male. He had no clue how much blood was in his body, but knew that a pint from him in his state could be dangerous, even for him. "How quickly can you transform? To what tailed state?"
She bit her lip. "I can… if I push it… maybe five tails?"
"Is that enough to get us out of here? Can you save me and you?"
She nodded. "Easily. Of the Bijuu, the Nanabi is the physically strongest. I can bench more than anyone I've ever met. Tearing through some dirt will be a cinch."
Naruto winced at the thought of what he was about to give her permission to do. "Do it, then," he said through tightened teeth. He scooted over to her and offered his leg. "If I release the seal, the dome collapses and we both die."
She propped herself on her elbow, wincing at the movement. "Not the calf," she said. "The meat's too tough." She gripped the hem of his shorts and pulled them up and over his knee with her teeth.
Naruto shivered at the familiar, yet alien, sensation of cloth sliding on and over his skin. "My thigh?" he asked nervously.
"Mmmhmm. There's a reason ham is the best part of the pig."
"So I'm livestock now, huh? Just freaking great." She put her lips on a spot on the top of his thigh, not so much kissing is as spreading saliva. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked.
"My spit has some antiseptic, antibiotic, and anesthesia qualities. It makes it safer to take blood without either of us getting sick. Human mouths are notoriously dirty, you know?"
"Just get on with it," he said, beginning to regret this already. "How long do you plan—OH!" He nearly jumped when her lips pierced his skin. It stung, though not as much as it should have.
He felt his blood slowly drain from him; he'd bled excessively before, so he was well-aware of the sensation. "How long does… hssss… this… usually take…"
She mumbled something with her mouth still on his opened flesh. "What?"
She jerked from his leg and looked him in the eye. "I said," she said, blood coating her mouth, "shut up and let me do this!" She dove back to his thigh and resumed her macabre suckling.
Her left arm suddenly healed itself with a dull pop, followed by her left, then her ankle. She crawled onto her hands and knees, her mouth not moving from his thigh an inch. The cuts on her skin seemed to be closing themselves… she was more energetic than before…
"Fū? I think you're done, Fū. Fū! Stop sucking my blood! Fū! Stop! Enough already!"
She fell away from him in a blur. Falling back on her knees, propping herself up with her hands, back arched, dirty stomach exposed, pert chest heaving in and out, body quivering… "That was… *huff huff* fucking incredible. I've never sucked the blood of another Jinchūriki. You are delicious Uzumaki!"
Naruto cast a wary glance to his leg. "You've had enough, Fū. I'm not a vending machine. I have a freaking finite amount of blood. Now get busy getting us out of here, please! Between you sucking my blood and my chakra exhaustion, I don't know how much longer I can hold out! Hurry!"
She wiped her bloody chin on her forearm… then licked it clean. "No problem. Gods, your blood is rich. This shouldn't be a problem." She flashed through strange hand seals, ones that he had never seen before. "This is a jutsu that was developed to control the Nanabi more easily… When I tell you, let go of your jutsu, ok? Trust me. You saved me two or three times already, and I'm not going to let blood like yours get away!"
Naruto chuckled. In his circle of weird friends, she had to be somewhere near the top of the list. "Just hurry, please…" A dizzy wave hit him hard. "Hurry…" Colors began to run.
"Now, Uzumaki! Release!"
Naruto felt his hands slip… saw something from a nightmare appear in front of him…
Felt arms wrap around his torso and haul him through dirt, shockwaves blasting through the ground above them…
Open air once again…
Falling to the ground…
Hinata
Tears
Black
She had popped from the ground like a rocket, insectoid wing sprouting from her back, an odd whip-like tail sprouting from the base of her spine, her skin armored and coarse.
She had set Naruto down on the ground as soon as she saw Hinata and devolved back to her regular appearance. "Who're you?" she asked the girl as she crouched down by the boy.
Hinata looked up at Fū angrily. "I am Hyuuga Hinata, and this Uzumaki Naruto—the Kyuubi Jinchūriki."
Fū nodded. "I knew who he was. He introduced himself just a few minutes ago before we showed up. I'm Kazeto Fū, of Waterfall. He's fine, I promise, just exhausted. He pushed himself pretty damn hard to keep me alive. You have no idea how grateful I am, Hinata-san. If it weren't for him, I'd be pretty damn dead by now, probably."
"You don't see something like that every day," Araki said pleasantly, coming up from behind Hinata. She turned around to see the monk approaching, his staff clanking dully on the ground as he used it to navigate the broken land. "Explosions… Fights… Girls springing out of the ground like bean sprouts. Makes an old heart go jumping."
Hinata sighed. "So, you beat Sasori?"
He turned serious. "Yes. I beat him. He's dead."
She was oddly satisfied. "Good. I'm glad."
Fū looked at her incredulously. "Waitaminute… You beat the guy who took me down?"
Araki allowed a small smile. "Let's just say that I'm really good at being a bad monk."
Hinata couldn't help it. She began laughing… and laughing… and laughing until it hurt to even breath. She laughed until her chuckles got caught in her throat, until she had to sit down else she would fall over. She laughed so hard she lay on her side and pulled her knees to her chest, almost sobbing with the effort.
Fū looked at Araki quizzically. "Is she always like this?" she asked.
The monk shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me. I just met her about two hours ago. More jolly than any Hyuuga I've met, though."
Hinata stood up, supporting herself by putting her hands on her knees, chuckles still escaping her mouth. "Are you ok?" Fū asked, honestly worried for the girl.
"Y-yeah, I'm ok," she said, wiping a tear from her eye. "It's just been a hell of a day and… and… it felt good to laugh after all that being terrified." She grinned happily. "Now all we have to worry about is that Deidara guy… and escaping without their backup…" The smile disappeared in a flash. "Now that I think about it, we should go. Now." She crouched down next to Naruto and began to hoist him over his shoulders. "Listen, Fū—we don't know how many of these guys there are, or where they are, or if there are any more coming this way. You need to go away, as fast as you can. Stick to populated places if you can. Go home."
Hinata was strong, especially with chakra supporting her. But she was out of chakra, and almost dropped Naruto on his head after three steps. Fū caught them as she fell backwards. "You're going all the way back to Konoha like this?" She shook her head. "I don't think so, sweetie." She gently took Naruto from her and put him on her back piggyback style. "I'll carry him for you. I still owe him a couple. This should pay it off, right?"
Hinata smiled gratefully. "Yes, it should. Thank you, Fū-chan." She looked over her shoulder at Araki. "Would you like to come… Araki-san? Or should I call you Tengu-sempai instead?"
Araki's jaw dropped. "How did you… how'd you know who I was?"
She smiled again. "I'm the new Aoiryu."
"Ah. Is that a fact." He began walking briskly northwest. "Well, keep up. We have to hurry." He had gone almost twenty feet before Fū could react and move after him.
"What's the hurry?" Hinata asked, sidling up to him. "If we have you, we shouldn't have to worry about those guy's backup, right?"
Araki looked down on her, anger in his eyes. "I'm not worried about that, girl," he said. "I'm going back because I have to see the Hokage. The fact that you need an escort is merely a coincidence at the moment."
She slid in front of him, hands up. "Woah, hold on, Araki-san. What do you need to see the Hokage for?"
He drove the butt of his staff into the ground. "I am very, very angry with the old man right now. I need to talk to him to get it off my chest." He walked around the girl and marched on, just as Fū caught up.
"What's going on?" the jinchūriki girl asked in a muffled voice to Hinata.
The Hyuuga girl looked away. "It's something that I can't get too deep into," she said. "But it's safe to say that my Hokage is about to be in trouble with an extremely angry monk." She smiled. "With all that he's put me and Naruto through lately, this should be pretty interesting to watch."
Fū cocked an eyebrow. "Seriously? Is this guy that strong?"
Hinata nodded. "I think so. He beat Sasori, anyway. I don't think that it'll come to blows, but the old man deserves to be chewed out."
"Ahh… Ok. You selling tickets? Cause this should be pretty interesting."
Hinata merely smiled, chuckled, and shook her head. They had a long, long way to go to talk… "We'll discuss that later," she said. "For the moment, let's just worry about the trip, ok?"
Fū nodded. "Deal. And so we go."
A/N: So, yeah… Some of you are probably crapping your pants mad at me. Sorry.
Review please.
Merry Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays, friends.
