Author's Note: I'm surprised I got this chapter done in a week to be honest. I thought I wouldn't because it's been a very busy week, but when I started writing this I just kept going. Thank you all so much for your support! Please enjoy!

Kenshi's sorrowful smile twisted into an expression of conflict as he yanked the blade out of Kurushimi's chest. The stunned male's body gradually fell to the ground, landing with a resounding thud. Kenshi, breathing heavily, dropped his bloody sword and stumbled backwards until he could latch onto the fallen boulder for support. The man went back to clutching the open wound in his stomach, his exhausted gaze staring at Kurushimi's face down form. The swordsman appeared to be doleful, yet resolute at the same time.

Kenshi shifted his gaze towards Sakura. "Good job kid."

The pink-haired medic offered a nod of acknowledgement to the scarred male.

Sasuke tilted his head towards the kunoichi, flashing the woman a look of confusion. The Haruno didn't appear to be very surprised by Kenshi's action, only a bit dejected. He then whipped his head around to face Naruto, who seemed perplexed, but considerably less so than the Uchiha himself.

"Hold on! Timeout!" shouted a thoroughly baffled Kankuro. The sand shinobi took a couple steps forward, hands massaging his temples. "Someone better explain to me what the heck is going on!"

Sakura and the swordsman shared a questioning glance. Kenshi sighed and pushed himself away from the boulder, regaining his balance before leisurely walking to stand next to his friend's body. The blond's lips parted in preparation to elaborate when a cough captured everyone's attention.

"You t-traitor!" Kurushimi spat, angling his head so that he could cast a malicious glare in the man's direction.

Kenshi spared the man a frown and a fleeting glance before turning his attention back to the bewildered Leaf and Sand ninjas. "Let me explain."

Sakura stood up and shifted so her body could face Kenshi along with her friends. "I have a few things to tell you all as well."

The crowd offered Sakura and Kenshi their complete attention as the pair began to clarify.

Sakura's eyebrows raised as Kenshi went from frowning and looking like he was ready to attack, to chuckling as if he were sharing a joke with a good friend. Was this some kind of joke to him? "Tell me where Sasuke is!" the medic commanded, tightening her grip on the kunai.

Kenshi's expression became somber as his chuckling ceased. He peered at the Haruno again, this time with sullen eyes. "I see why he's so into you..." The swordsman offered another short laugh.

Sakura only stared at the male this time, her eyes softening a touch.

Kenshi took a deep breath, straightening his back. "I'll take you to Sasuke," he began seriously, "but you won't stand a chance. You need to listen to me."

The kunoichi had an expression of utter confusion on her features. Sakura snorted with frustration. "Give me a single reason as to why I should trust you."

Kenshi's frown made a reappearance as he looked her straight in the eye. "I can't give you one," he replied simply. "But if you don't listen to me, Sasuke will be gone forever."

The man's words sent a thought through her mind. Maybe she should hear what he had to say, just in case Sasuke truly was in more danger than she perceived. On the other hand, every moment she wasted here was another moment that Kurushimi had to torture or kill the Uchiha. "Why are you telling me this?" Sakura questioned, genuinely curious as to why the swordsman suddenly desired to assist her.

"I can't give you a reason to trust me, but I can give you a reason as to why I'm trying to help," Kenshi responded.

He began explaining his childhood to Sakura, how he'd come to live with Kurushimi because a terrible war killed both his parents. He told of how they'd become good friends and how he'd met Akemi, the love of his life. He went on to tell of how he fell in love with her and in the meantime Kurushimi's father forced his son to be his lab rat for experiments, all to prove the village wrong, that he wasn't some worthless old man. He then went on to explain how a rogue Uchiha came to find his deceased brother's eyes, the Sharingan that Kurushimi's father had taken and experimented on. He told of how the Uchiha slaughtered Akemi and Kurushimi's parents and of his and Kurushimi's escape. Kenshi described how he and his friend obtained their powers and defeated the rogue ninja. Sakura listened carefully and silently to every word that left the man's lips.

"After that Kurushimi declared that we'd end the Uchiha clan, one by one if we had to," Kenshi finished, his head lowered.

Sakura's defensive stance gradually vanished the longer the male spoke, until it disappeared completely. A frown settled on her lips after Kenshi fell quiet. "I'm sorry you had to experience such things," she apologized with sincerity. "But that still doesn't answer my question. What reason do you have to tell me all this?"

Kenshi swallowed hard and replied, "I made a vow that day. I vowed to never let something like that happen again as long as I could help it. Over the years, I became so blinded that I believed I was still keeping my vow. Needless to say, I haven't been..." He trailed off, deep in thought. "Sasuke helped me realize that all I'm doing is betraying Akemi."

"So that's why you're offering to help," Sakura muttered.

"Tch," Kenshi shook his head, "I've been doing exactly what I set out to prevent. All this time..."

"You're willing to assist me even if it means betraying your friend?" Sakura asked, eyeing the man suspiciously.

"That man, the one who's been leading this operation, is not my friend. The day Akemi and his parents were murdered, he changed. Kurushimi has never been the same since. The Kurushimi I knew, my friend, would never use me and all these other people as his pawns. He wouldn't be so secretive, so manipulative..." Kenshi clenched his fists with frustration.

Sakura had to come to a decision. Every word that left the man's mouth seemed authentic, but she needed to know more before reaching a resolution. "You said that Sasuke would be gone forever. What did you mean by that?"

Kenshi forced himself to relax upon hearing the woman's inquiry. "I never questioned Kurushimi for so long, but this, this was the pinnacle for us, our biggest plan, the reason we started all this. We were going after Sasuke Uchiha, the last of the Uchiha clan. We were gonna end him, then we'd complete our mission. I was so eager to know what our grand finale would be, you know? But Kurushimi kept on keeping secrets, more and more everyday. It was the first time I was truly bothered by it," he explained. "I attempted to push away my curiosity, but I could never really drive it away. There was an incurable wedge driven between Kurushimi and I. Then Sasuke came willingly to sacrifice himself. He told me things, that I was just a pawn in one big chess game. I remember thinking that he was just lying, that I could still trust Kurushimi with my life."

Kenshi paused, attempting to string his words together. "Then that happened. Everything Sasuke said before that was already plaguing my mind, but this really had me thinking seriously about it. When Kurushimi tried to use his powers, Sasuke somehow reflected it, I guess you could say. I was forced to rewatch all of those terrible moments, when the people closest to me were killed... After that, I just thought. I don't know for how long, but I just sat there thinking about everything. It truly hit me then. I asked myself, what have I really been doing all these years? I thought so much about my vow and Akemi. I'd told myself before, over and over, Sasuke is an exception!" The man stopped to laugh condescendingly at himself.

Sakura's lips parted, but no words came from her mouth.

Kenshi blinked and shifted his gaze to the troubled Haruno. "Look, even if you still don't believe me now, I know what's going to happen later. When you see it for yourself then you can decide whether or not to trust me," he declared.

Sakura gave a small nod. "Okay, Sasuke then," she replied, urging the man to stay on topic.

"Ah," the swordsman hummed. "For years," Kenshi began, "Kurushimi has done many experiments. There's one in particular that he's been so intent on testing. He's been preparing it, improving it, testing it, so that he can use it on Sasuke. Our little army, do you think they all came here willingly? Of course, Kurushimi has proven to be very persuasive over the years, but we wouldn't have half of these people here without him manipulating and scaring them. Anyway, he's performed this experiment many times on his underlings. They're left with black markings of various patterns on any part of their body, depending on where Kurushimi engraves them into their skin," he finished, a hint of disgust in his voice.

"Black markings?" Sakura thought to herself. Her mind immediately traced back to Orochimaru's curse mark. If Kurushimi's "black markings" were worse than the curse mark... No, she couldn't afford to make any assumptions. "What do these markings do?" she questioned.

"For a while, there was a difference between their intended purpose and what they actually did," the male explained darkly. "I witnessed many go insane. I watched others die. Some couldn't handle the effects and killed themselves... Then one day, Kurushimi succeeded. The original purpose of the experiment was to see if Kurushimi could invade other people's minds and take control of them. When he finally accomplished that, Kurushimi used it on so many of our subordinates. After taking control of them, he didn't need to really pay too much attention to them. A part of him is there in each of their heads, but no so much that it takes him out of reality. They were, and are, lost to his control. He tweaked it and tried to bring it closer to perfection following every time he conducted the experiment, all in preparation for-"

"For Sasuke," Sakura finished.

Kenshi nodded in affirmation. "Kurushimi knows he can't easily receive control of Sasuke. That's why he keeps trying to pry into Sasuke's mind, his memories. Anything precious to Sasuke is valuable to Kurushimi because he'll use it against him." Kenshi sighed heavily, his eyes lowering a fraction. "That was all I knew before recently though... Kurushimi didn't tell me what exactly he planned to do after taking control of Sasuke. After Sasuke reflected Kurushimi's jutsu, and after I thought about everything, I went into Kurushimi's lab." The man remembered waiting for Kurushimi to leave and slipping in unnoticed. Tables were flipped over and beakers shattered. Undoubtedly his friend had quite a meltdown. "I know he keeps notes on everything he does, all the experiments he conducts, so I searched until I found the notes concerning this matter. I didn't know how to feel when I read them."

Sakura remained silent, waiting for the man to continue. Her mind raced to comprehend everything and infer what was to come.

"Once Kurushimi takes over Sasuke, he plans on using him to kill all of you and then go to Konoha where the main villages are still gathered. Kurushimi wants to take over, to say the least," Kenshi breathed, his lips set into a straight line. It was absolutely crazy, what his friend planned to do, but if Kurushimi could achieve total control over Sasuke as he planned, the threat was significant.

Sakura placed a hand on her head, lips parting. This was a lot to take in. "Wait. You mentioned Kurushimi using what Sasuke holds close against him."

"Yeah," the swordsman started. He knew what the medic's next question would be. "Kurushimi is going to use the person Sasuke holds closest against him. You."

Sakura's eyes immediately widened, her cheeks turning red. "Me?"

Kenshi chuckled. "Of course it's you. It's too obvious how Sasuke feels about you."

The Haruno shook her head, forcing herself to get rid of the embarrassment. "So Kurushimi is going to use me against Sasuke. How exactly...?" She trailed off, perceiving where the conversation was headed.

Kenshi's features immediately fell. "About that... One thing Kurushimi did explain to me is how he plans on gaining control of Sasuke. Of course I didn't question it at the time, considering how much of an idiot I am... Kurushimi has never attempted the jutsu on a ninja of Sasuke's caliber. So he knew he needed to do something else, something more, to catch Sasuke off guard, to set him off," Kenshi reiterated. "With those marks engraved into Sasuke's skin, Kurushimi will already be inside Sasuke's head. They're connected through them and he's going to try his hardest to manipulate Sasuke. What better way to trigger something in Sasuke, to distract him, than take away the love of his life?"

Sakura's heart skipped a beat. "You mean..."

"Kurushimi wants me to kill you," Kenshi stated.

The cold air surrounding the pair filled with an ominous silence. Sakura was still trying to take in all the information. Kenshi finally spoke again. "But, I think there's a way around that. Sasuke only has to think you're dead."

Sakura's ears perked up at the man's comment.

Kenshi retrieved a vial from his pouch, holding it up for the kunoichi to see. "Another one of Kurushimi's experiments. I stole it from his lab while I was in there. This poison slows the breathing and heart rate down so much that it'd be nearly impossible for someone checking for a pulse to find one unless they waited for about a minute. It also puts the body into a temporary state of paralysis. Your chakra signature will practically disappear for a time as well. I used it for a mission Kurushimi sent me out on. Hiding the chakra signature was just an extra precaution to make sure those I wished to fool would think I was truly dead."

"So essentially it puts you into a near death state," Sakura declared.

"Ah," Kenshi confirmed, placing the vial back into his pouch. "I assume Sasuke and I will meet in battle beforehand. I'll have to put the poison on my blade before I strike you. That means I'll have to find an opening, so it'll be random."

An awkward silence settled between the two as Kenshi trailed off. They each weighed heavily on what they'd have to do. Kenshi calculated in his head all the possibilities while Sakura was still slightly conflicted on the matter.

"There's a couple more things," Kenshi said, breaking the woman's thoughts. "As long as those marks are still there, Sasuke and Kurushimi are still connected. They have to be activated if you want to remove them. That means Kurushimi has to start the process of taking control. But... if Sasuke loses too much of his mind to Kurushimi, then he'll be gone forever..." Kenshi was able to piece all of this together from the writing in Kurushimi's notes. "I don't know how everything works exactly. I don't know what goes on in their heads, since I've never been experimented on. But I think if there's anyone who can break out of it, it's Sasuke."

The prospect of Sasuke being there, yet far gone at the same time, terrified Sakura. It reminded her of a time when darkness engulfed the Uchiha's mind.

When he was lost to darkness.

Sakura's eyes widened at the realization. That's what Kurushimi wanted. Kurushimi was going to revive those old demons residing inside Sasuke. An idea moved to the forefront of her mind. Sakura knew how she might get rid of the markings and she'd need a certain Uzumaki's help. She could do this. Determination rushed through Sakura at that moment. There was no way she'd let Kurushimi win.

"Okay," Sakura said, causing Kenshi to cast her a look of slight surprise. "If I see that those markings are really there and the things you described start to take place, then I'll trust you to do it. I think I know how to help Sasuke beat Kurushimi, too."

A small grin appeared on Kenshi's lips. "Then it's a deal."

A frown met her lips as she remembered another thing. "Hold on, you said a couple more things. There's something else you haven't said," Sakura interjected, remembering the man's words from earlier.

"Ah," Kenshi said, setting his lips into a straight line once more. "I've noticed something over the past few months. It'll give you guys a bigger shot at winning. I have reason to believe that Kurushimi is losing power."

Sakura blinked at the man's words. "He's losing power?" she repeated hopefully.

"He's been exerting so much chakra. Even though he hasn't had to 'focus in' on our subordinates much, those markings still drain some of his power. Not to mention, this entire cave structure," Kenshi paused to gesture at the rock surrounding them, "is controlled by him. Every tunnel and passageway was created by him. Everything is held up by Kurushimi."

"He's controlling so many things and people that it's become too much to handle," Sakura added.

"Exactly," Kenshi responded. "Those eyes of his, I don't think the effects of whatever that liquid was are supposed to last. It's taken quite a few years, but now I think the effects are starting to wind down. Kurushimi tried to recreate the same substance that created those eyes, and he thinks he did. He's been using it to try and keep his power, renew it. While I was in his lab studying everything, I also looked at the substance. It appeared to be the same at first, but after a while I noticed there were white tinges in this one, unlike the original liquid. I think Kurushimi was missing something when he tried to recreate it. He's been so desperate to keep his power that I don't think he's noticed though. I think that whatever this substance is has had a counter effect. I think it's actually making his power decrease faster. Of course, it's speculation but I have reasons to support the idea."

Not much of what Kenshi informed her of made much difference to Sakura. All she cared about was that Kurushimi was growing weaker. That means they had more of a chance to beat the man. Sakura offered a nod of confirmation, telling Kenshi she understood everything.

"Okay, I'll tell you where Sasuke is. But first," he paused to retrieve a kunai knife in his pouch, holding it up to the side of his head.

Sakura's medical instincts kicked in and she couldn't stop herself from taking a step forward. "Wait! What are you-?!"

"Kurushimi knows you're here," Kenshi interrupted, hissing in pain as he made a cut on his head. Blood trickled down the side of his face. "Like I said before, he controls everything in these caves. He'll know we've confronted each other here. We have to make it look like we've fought. I'll have to find him soon or he'll be suspicious if he senses us both here."

Sakura calmed herself and sighed. "Makes sense," she breathed.

The pair looked funny, standing there and beating themselves up. After they decided their minor wounds seemed believable enough, the two prepared to part ways.

"I'll make sure you have enough time to reach Sasuke," Kenshi announced after telling her the directions.

Sakura offered no reply as she walked past him, staring at a bruise she'd made on her arm. Suddenly, the woman halted and whipped her head back towards the swordsman. "If it comes down to it... between you and Kurushimi... will you...?" Sakura trailed off.

Kenshi knew exactly what she was implying. He flashed a sorrowful grin and shifted his gaze downwards. "I'll do what I must..."

Sakura's expression morphed into a frown the longer she observed him. Finally the Haruno turned, leaving Kenshi to contemplate, and set out to find Sasuke.

Kenshi slowly closed his eyes and breathed a long sigh into the previously silent air. He focused on coming to terms with what he may have to do. The man lifted his heavy lids and stared forward, his expression blank. If it came down to it, Kenshi would kill Kurushimi. He couldn't bear watching his friend sink any lower. He had a vow to keep as well.

Sakura couldn't stifle a gasp upon catching sight of Sasuke's downed form. She immediately took off running towards the Uchiha. The medic crouched when she reached him, releasing a sigh of relief when she realized he was still breathing.

Blood was scattered across his body, both dried and fresh. The majority of fresh blood came from his exposed back, rolling across his alabaster skin and onto the cave floor or the front of his shirt. Sakura felt a pang in her chest when she laid her emerald sight onto the black markings engraved into Sasuke's back.

Somewhere deep inside her, Sakura had wanted for Kenshi to be lying, for it all to be a trap instead. At least one of the things he told her was true. Fear creeped back into the kunoichi's mind. If the other things were true...

Sakura watched Sasuke race off into battle, a slight blush settling in her cheeks after he kissed her. Those markings... They were shining a dim red on his back. "Kurushimi is already in his head," Sakura realized, swallowing hard. His expression upon waking up and miraculously healing was very different than before. It reminded her of his rogue days, of the time when he desired to start a revolution.

"Ha, about dang time!" she heard Naruto chuckle. "Now, let's go kick some of these wimps' butts!" Sakura watched the Uzumaki dash away, but he stopped once he noticed his friend wasn't following.

"Naruto," she began seriously, "I have to tell you something right now."

"W-What is it Sakura?" he questioned, slightly taken aback by the woman's tone.

"I can't explain everything right now," she started, "but I can give you the gist of things." Sakura hurriedly summarized most of the things Kenshi told her, from the markings to her own plan. She offered multiple pauses for her teammate to try and comprehend. Naruto still showed a look of utter confusion after she finished.

"So you're telling me that the Kenshi dude is on our side?" Naruto asked, a frown of frustration present on his lips.

"I was really skeptical at first, too," Sakura replied. "But everything he's told me has come true so far."

"Okay... so you're going to let him 'kill' you?" the Uzumaki asked in complete bewilderment, air-quoting the word "kill".

"If those marks aren't activated then we can't remove them, something to do with Kurushimi's jutsu. But if we can't remove them then we'll lose Sasuke," she explained once more.

"Sakura this is crazy!" Naruto yelled, rubbing his temples.

"I know Naruto," she agreed with a huff. "But I think that what Kenshi told me is true. You trust me, right?"

Naruto released a sigh, his frown morphing into a tiny grin. "Of course I do." He still had his doubts, but the Uzumaki placed confidence in his teammate.

"Okay," Sakura started, "I'll need your help to reach Sasuke and take those markings off his back." She then explained her plan and what she desired the Uzumaki to do.

Kenshi silently caught his breath as the debris settled. His eyes caught sight of Sasuke, now trapped under the massive rock. Luckily, the swordsman's plan worked. While the Uchiha came to terms with his circumstances, Kenshi surveyed the battlefield until he found the pink-haired medic leaning against a boulder to recover.

"Now is my chance," Kenshi thought. He assumed that Sakura fully believed him, as the signs he warned her of earlier were undeniable. The man cast a quick glance at Sasuke before hurriedly snatching the vial filled with poison from his pouch. He unsheathed part of his sword and poured the liquid onto the blade until it had a solid coat of the poison on it. Kenshi then snapped his sword back into its holster and walked towards Sasuke, kneeling beside him and wiping perspiration from his brow.

...

Kenshi rushed forward, readying himself to strike. He heard Sasuke shout at him in desperation, telling him to stop. The male gripped his sword tightly. He knew Sakura sensed him running towards her. He saw the woman briefly turn towards him as he came closer. She didn't attempt to block or evade his attack, to Kenshi's relief. She was officially on board with him.

Sakura elicited a hiss of pain as Kenshi's sword sank into her chest. She could already feel the poison activating, as she was already losing control of her movements. She could hear the man mutter an apology as he leaned forward.

"It's all up to you now kid," Kenshi told her before taking his blade out of Sakura's body.

Sasuke's lips were set into a straight line when the pair finished their retelling of events. It was truly hard for him to believe that he'd actually gotten through to Kenshi. It was even harder to accept that he'd been one of the biggest causes in Kenshi's turn.

Kakashi remained silent throughout Sakura and Kenshi's stories. The part that captured most of his attention was when Sakura told Naruto what was going to occur. Now it made sense. At the time, the elder male was utterly confused when Naruto asked him to keep the others back when he battled Sasuke. The majority of his questions were answered now.

"Traitor!" Kurushimi hissed from his position on the ground. He attempted to push himself up, but fell almost immediately. He couldn't stifle a groan of pain upon hitting the cold rock once more. Kurushimi clenched his fist in fury and growled. He then raised an open hand towards Kenshi, desiring to put an end to him. Kurushimi strained his eyes, willing anything to form and shred the swordsman to pieces. To his dissatisfaction, nothing happened except a searing pain shot through his head yet again. Kurushimi's hand fell and he pressed his forehead onto the rock below, hissing with frustration and agony.

Kenshi stood still while this occurred, unfazed by Kurushimi's empty threats. A frown filled with sorrow and anger settled on his lips. "I'm the traitor, huh?"

Kurushimi forced his head to turn in Kenshi's direction, silently watching the man with a cold expression.

"Tell me Kurushimi," Kenshi began, "what would Akemi think if she saw what you're doing right now? What would your parents think if they knew everything you've done after their deaths?" The man grunted in pain and pressed harder against his open wound. The swordsman could feel his strength leaving him by the minute. Peering down, Kenshi had to wonder just how much blood had he lost? His shirt was stuck to his skin and coated with red.

Kurushimi's glare faltered upon the mention of his deceased friend and parents.

"Look around you," Kenshi continued, gesturing towards the battlefield with his free hand.

The fallen male listened and twisted his neck to stare out at the rest of the cave. Corpses littered the entire area, some only slightly disfigured, others completely mangled and torn to pieces. The pungent, metallic scent of blood entered Kurushimi's nose. He barely stifled a gag before Kenshi spoke again.

"What was the point...? You said you wanted to stop something like that from ever happening again. But look around you Kurushimi!" he yelled. "Every bit of this is our fault. What have we accomplished? Manipulating these people, using them as lab rats... Everything is much worse now than back then," he stated, trailing off.

Kurushimi stared outwards at nothing in particular, his face falling. All remained silent as he pondered the wounded man's words.

"I couldn't bear to watch you sink any further," Kenshi admitted.

Suddenly, a loud rumbling filled the caves. Naruto immediately whipped his head upwards and found the cracks in the roof spreading. He whirled around and noticed the structure's creaks and moans. The cave's collapse was imminent. "We've gotta go guys!" the Uzumaki shouted, capturing his friends' attention.

The shinobi immediately grouped up, assisting those injured worst so the process would be faster. Sakura and Naruto lifted Sasuke to his feet, his right leg dangling uselessly above the ground. The others turned towards the closest exit, ready to leave the groaning structure before it collapsed.

"Wait!" Sakura called, her eyes shifting towards Kenshi and Kurushimi. The ninjas halted upon hearing the woman's shout, tilting their heads to look at her curiously. "Someone has to help them!" she said hurriedly, pointing towards the pair.

"No," Kenshi immediately replied before anyone could move. "You all have helped me enough, trust me." He let a grin of reassurance lift on his lips. The corners of his lips lowered slightly when he looked at Sakura, seeing that his smile didn't help her at all. Sakura clearly hated the idea of leaving them behind, no matter how much pain and trouble they'd caused. "Besides, we'll only slow you down. Thank you though, really..."

Sasuke's frown deepened upon Kenshi's refusal of help. He knew that he and Kurushimi would both perish if they stayed here. Maybe that's what he desired though. "Kenshi," Sasuke piped up, capturing the male's attention. He gave the man a slow nod, both out of thanks and respect.

Kenshi returned the nod, smirking at the last of his clan a moment later. "Watch your feet next time Uchiha," he teased, motioning towards the man's broken leg.

"Tch," Sasuke chuckled, "I'll make sure I do." He offered a nod once more as Naruto and Sakura helped him turn around. The others quickly filed out of the opening.

"Thank you again Kenshi," Sakura repeated loudly as the rumbling in the caves increased, looking over her shoulder.

Kenshi gave her a nod of affirmation before she fully turned and the trio hurriedly exited. A frown settled on his lips when he sauntered to where Kurushimi lay, taking a seat beside him. The man silently watched as sections of the cave's roof began to fall and the cracked walls started to separate. Fear had left him a while ago. The swordsman had come to terms with what would occur momentarily and what it meant for him.

"I'm sorry Kenshi..."

Kenshi immediately twisted his neck to peer at Kurushimi, surprised to find the man lying there with tears flowing down his cheeks. "Don't worry about it. It's not all your fault," the scarred male nearly whispered.

Crashes sounded across the battlefield, debris flying all around them. The hideout would soon be a pile of dust and rubble. The pair remained silent for another minute until the crashes and booms became more frequent. It was nearly over.

"Thank you for being my friend Kenshi," Kurushimi croaked, flashing a minuscule grin towards the swordsman.

"Ah," Kenshi hummed, a tear-filled smile lifting on his lips as well, "and thank you for being my friend Kurushimi."

The impact was deafening.

The shinobi stared in silence, relief and sorrow lining their features, as the hideout came crashing down. The explosion caused any nearby trees or shrubbery to be demolished and hidden in the flying debris. Minutes dragged on until the chaos finally calmed, the air becoming as quiet as the ninjas from Suna and Konoha.

That was the last any of them saw or heard from Kenshi and Kurushimi.

Author's Note: The next chapter will be the final chapter! Makes me happy and sad at the same time. It will pick up shortly after the events of this one. I hope this didn't feel too rushed. I planned from the start to have Kenshi and Kurushimi die in the end and I felt like this was the way to go with it. Thank you all for reading! Hope you enjoyed! Please review! Thank you all for the support!