I Wait
Chapter 29 – Running Up That Hill
"You don't want to hurt me,
But see how deep the bullet lies,
Unaware I'm tearing you asunder."
The breeze was light, but cold and Sakura pulled her cloak tightly around her as she watched quietly as Sasuke made the fire for the night. As always, his movements were precise as he positioned the firewood in the small pit he'd created only moments before. The sun had set hours ago but they'd continued traveling until well into the night to close some distance to their next destination. As always, Sakura had gotten straight to setting up their bedrolls – since Sakura had noticed when Sasuke had shifted his bedroll slightly closer to hers as the mission went on, Sakura continued placing it in that spot, not daring to place it closer and not wanting to put it far away again. She sat down on her bedroll and watched him when she was done. The moon wasn't full yet so there was no relying on it for light but the sky was full of stars, lighting the area around them just slightly, just enough that Sakura could see his face. When it was this late, and she was this tired from traveling for hours, Sakura didn't have the energy to hide that she was looking at him, there was no doing it covertly – usually she tried harder, snuck glances or looked when his attention was on something else. As much as she'd wanted to stop herself, to give him the space he clearly wanted to sort things out, the longer they travelled together, and the longer she was alone with him – it became harder. Harder to deny the way she felt around him. Harder to deny what she wanted. Yes, he'd kissed her and touched her of his own accord many times but…Sasuke had yet to actually say anything. To say he cared for her. Yes, there'd been looks – and a look with Sasuke held enough weight to actually mean more but Sakura needed the verbal confirmation. Sometimes her heart would twist painfully in her chest with such desperation that she wanted to cry. Just say it, she would think with enough frustration that she could actually groan out loud. Things between them had changed irrevocably. There was no denying that. The moment they'd kissed there would have been no way they could ever go back to being what they were before and Sakura was sure that Sasuke knew that. Sakura wasn't entirely sure where this mission would take them but she was sure at some point – it would have to end. And that was the only reason she'd managed to keep quiet, because at some point she would have that moment. The moment she could put it all on the line, the moment she could show him how much she cared instead of just saying it as she had time and time again. Sometime after this mission where they would leave Kakashi's office after reporting, she could show him. Not that she was exactly sure how she could do that, but this was Sasuke. He would understand. He glanced up, the flames now lighting up his handsome features completely. He took one look at her and his head dropped, a ghost of a smile she wasn't sure she'd seen.
Sasuke stood and walked over to his bedroll. "You look tired. I'll take first watch."
Sakura blinked. "I- what. No, that's okay, Sasuke-kun. I'm totally fine." Sakura felt a yawn coming on just then and her eyes watered with the urge to supress it.
Sasuke lifted a brow as he sat down, it was clear he hadn't missed that. "Really?"
"Yes," Sakura said, defiant. "Really, Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he stared at her, obviously waiting for her to back down. Sakura lifted her chin stubbornly, her lips tightening. Sasuke's eyes flipped down towards them and Sakura tensed slightly, her heart bu-bumping in her chest. She swallowed, her lips parting in a soft inhale and Sasuke blinked, realization of what he was doing clearly dawning on him. Sasuke closed his eyes, his brows drawing close as he turned away sharply and cleared his throat. Was he…embarrassed? There was no way.
And yet.
Sakura bit the inside of her cheek. She would blame her lack of control on how tired she was later. She yawned, stretching her arms high above her head, her cheeks already red. "Okay, Sasuke-kun." She relented, her voice dramatically tired now. "I'll sleep first." She leaned over, placing a quick peck on his cheek before she hurriedly turned over, squeezing her eyes shut as she laid down in her bedroll, listening. It was a long moment before she heard him shift. Sasuke let out a long, low breath as he leaned back against the tree behind his bedroll.
Sakura grinned, a giddy feeling in her stomach.
The world around her became blurry and she blinked, once – twice.
Oh.
Sakura coughed and thick, warm blood bubbled past her lips.
"Sakura-chan," Naruto whispered urgently. Sakura wheezed in a wet breath that rattled into her chest. That light, giddy feeling she'd felt just a second ago was now replaced with hot, searing pain. Why had she thought of that moment now? That had been… before they'd reached the Land of Waves. Before they'd found out this was connected to Kaguya. It was a strange memory to have now. Had it been the kiss on his cheek? How easily Sasuke had been distracted by her and she'd never noticed? Sakura glanced over at him, her vision blurring on and off. He stood over Seiki, the tip of his blade pierced through the young Ōtsutsuki's chest.At some point she would have that moment. The moment she could put it all on the line, the moment she could show him how much she cared instead of just saying it as she had time and time again. A gurgling laugh bubbled from her lips and Naruto made a panicked sound. Well, you wanted your moment, she thought to herself humourlessly. You finally got it.
She lifted a shaking hand to her chest, slowly beginning to heal what she could. It was becoming hard to breathe and she knew she needed to hurry, if she lost any more blood she would become too weak to even heal herself. Naruto's fingers tightened on her shoulders but Sakura ignored it. She focussed on her chakra, mentally picturing her muscles and flesh twining back together. Chains rattled and Naruto cursed lowly as Seiki gave an angry yell.
"How dare you! Try to kill me?"
"Go," Sakura breathed. "I'll be right there."
She could feel his hesitation and Sakura opened her lids and gave him a reassuring smile but it only caused his frown to grow. "I promise."
Naruto gave one, albeit hesitant nod and his fingers slipped from her as he rushed back in. Sakura closed her eyes again, trying to heal herself faster. Her chakra would only last so long and she knew she needed to reserve some. She couldn't let Naruto and Sasuke down. Especially if they needed healing after the battle. That was her unspoken promise to them. To keep them alive. But she also knew that out of the three of them in this battle – and in what was waiting for them after this mission…she was the one that was disposable. And although Sasuke and Naruto would both deny this…it was the truth all three of them had to know. The world needed its two strongest shinobi to protect it. And in this battle, Sakura had to ensure that at least the two of them made it out alive. Sakura opened her eyes, her vision was no longer blurred and although the sun had set, and the cave was darkened in the night air now, she could once again see the battle clearly. There was only so much you could do, could feel – when staring death in the face – and Sakura had done it more than once in her life. So she knew exactly what she needed to do. Sasuke glanced over at her, the look so brief she'd almost missed it if it weren't for the slight downturn of his brows. Sakura pushed herself to her feet despite the tightening of her muscles.
There was only one thing they could do. Since they had no way of sealing him away again and chances of them capturing him was slim to none. They needed to make sure that when this battle was over that there was nothing left of him.
And Sakura knew just how to do that.
x-x-x-x-
"Hokage!" The Raikage's voice boomed over the connection. "We want an explanation. Now!"
"Just what exactly are these earthquakes we've been feeling?" the Mizukage asked, her hands folding together in front of her.
Kakashi supressed a sigh. He'd been in the middle of reading Shizune's full autopsy report when he'd received word that the Kage wanted an immediate meeting. Since Shikamaru had yet to return and he'd had no word from Sasuke and Sakura, his guess was as good as theirs. It turned out that the tremors he'd felt in Konoha weren't the only ones. Around the same time, these quakes were undoubtedly felt all around the world. And as much as he wanted to deny it, they were without a doubt connected to this mission. At this point, Kakashi had no answers for them, despite the Raikage's demands. If this mission failed, it was obvious that it would put strain on the shinobi alliance. Perhaps even break it entirely. Anything to do with the Ōtsutsuki clearly was an end-of-the-world type of bad.
"Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura have yet to return from their mission. But I believe that once they do, it would be best for us to meet in person to discuss this." Kakashi told them.
"But you're saying you believe these tremors are related to their mission and the Ōtsutsuki." The Tsuchikage said.
Kakashi nodded. "Unfortunately at this point, I can't attribute it to anything else."
The Raikage opened his mouth again but thankfully the Kazekage spoke up. "I'm going to send teams to attempt to find where these tremors originated here. I suggest you all do the same." Gaara stood. "And leave to rest to Naruto. We've placed our trust in him before and I know he won't let us down now."
The rest of the Kage seemed placated by this and the connection was terminated soon after. Kakashi let out a weary sigh as he leaned back into his chair. Night had fallen some time ago and it would be a lie to say he hadn't at the very least expected Shikamaru and Hinata to have returned by then. He had no doubt that Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were engaged in a fierce battle. And even though he was fully aware of what all three of his students were capable of…he still worried. They were his family. Whether they were fighting Shinichi or something else, it took everything in him to stay and not go to them. He was the Hokage now and that meant that he needed to stay and protect the village, despite what he wanted. Kakashi rubbed a hand over his face as he sat up. Naruto needed to hurry and up and become the Hokage soon.
"I'm getting too old for this kind of stress," he muttered to himself as he lifted Shizune's report up again. It was even more disturbing than what he'd seen in person. The rot and decay on the surface had been just the tip of the iceberg. Multiple organs had sustained extensive damage, muscles in their hearts were nearly completely damaged, and veins had become hardened. Kakashi was surprised they'd both survived this long. But it just went to show how powerful the pendants were, despite the side effects. It was safe to say there was only one way forward, the pendants would have to be destroyed. Shizune had also done some extensive DNA testing on Yua. When she'd been taken into custody, some basic testing had been done which gave Shizune some reference to begin with. Her DNA had shifted dramatically. As if some foreign invader had taken hold of her native DNA structure and had attached itself to it. The invader DNA, according to Shizune, did not have a human structure.
Which meant that Yua's appearance wasn't the only thing that matched Kaguya. It went deeper. Kakashi could only surmise that the pendant Shikamaru had gone to retrieve with Naruto and Hinata was somehow responsible for this. Kogen had no such issues with his DNA that Shizune analyzed, so it had to be that pendant. Kakashi was sure of it. If so, it was even more dangerous than the other pendants.
Taking a deep breath, Kakashi lifted a hand to signal his personal ANBU.
Within a second, one of the ANBU appeared in his office. "Yes, Hokage-sama?"
"Summon Yamanaka Ino and Akimichi Chouji immediately."
"At once, Hokage-sama." The ANBU bowed and then she was gone.
x-x-x-x-
Hinata cried out as her back hit a tree and she bounced off, hitting the ground on her side. Blood stained her face from her hairline to her jaw and she pushed herself up with shaky arms. Shikamaru gave a low curse. This thing just seemed to be getting stronger the longer the battle seemed to go on. Naruto also hadn't returned, which meant that he also had his hands full. The creature took off towards Hinata and Shikamaru dashed towards her. Shit, if only he had a second to think. There was one thing Shikamaru had noticed. The creature always protected its forehead. At first he'd assumed to reaction was natural. People always protected their faces first but the more Hinata had attacked it, the more he'd begun to realize that it was the pendant. It always dodged or turned away in order to protect that spot. Which meant one thing. It was a weakness. One they could no doubt exploit. The only thing was, the longer the battle went on, the stronger this thing became and the more fatigued they did. The creature had grown out of the pendant, and Shikamaru theorized that if the pendant was removed or destroyed, the creature would – hopefully – simply fall apart without its central point. The problem now, would be to somehow accomplish that.
Hinata flipped back as the creature reached her, grabbing hold of a tree she spun herself away – landing further into the woods.
Fifteen seconds. That was all the time he had to execute this plan. Hinata would have to throw everything she had into one hit. Shikamaru looked her over. Would it be enough? In her current state…he wasn't sure. It was the unfortunate truth and both of them were just not a good match against this thing. Someone with brute strength like Chouji or Sakura could have easily crushed it. Or even someone with incredible speed like Sasuke could have been fast enough.
This plan was a lot more direct than anything he'd ever come up with. But Hinata had the precision needed for this thanks to her Byakugan. Her eyes turned to him and Shikamaru tapped his forehead once, it was an inconspicuous enough move – but Hinata understood.
Shikamaru leapt to the side, close enough for his jutsu to hit its mark. Shadows slid across the ground, rushing towards the Ōtsutsuki figure and curling around her feet. Hinata was there in the next second, her eyes zeroing in on the target. Twin lions appeared on her arms, taking shape with surprising speed. She drew her arm back and with a yell released her strength towards the pendant. The shockwave rushed through the trees, rustling the leaves in a hard breeze. Shikamaru could hear the cracking of the pendant but there was no time to celebrate. A thick cloud passed over the sky, blocking out the light of the moon…and his shadow disappeared.
The creature turned and slammed its foot into Hinata's abdomen, sending her flying back once more.
"Bubun Baika no Jutsu!"
Shikamaru's eyes grew wide as a large hand broke Hinata's fall, setting her down gently. A familiar blonde figure jumped down next to him and grinned widely. "Perfect timing, again." Ino winked. "It seems I'm always saving your ass, Shikamaru."
Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck but he was unable to hide the sheer relief he felt. "What are you doing here?"
Ino's cheeks puffed up. "Wow, that sounds kind of ungrateful."
Chouji and Hinata joined them then. "The Hokage was worried about this pendant."
The creature turned to them then and Shikamaru could see that Hinata had managed to crack the red stone quite substantially.
"So," Ino said, hand on her hip. "I'm guessing we destroy that red stone, we stop this thing."
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Then it's obvious." She shrugged. "I'll use my mind body transfer technique and you guys do the rest."
"This thing absorbs jutsu," Hinata said, wiping at the blood on her face. "I'm not sure how long your jutsu will last, but I…" she glanced at Shikamaru. "I think it could work. The stone is already damaged."
Shikamaru nodded. "It's worth a try at least."
x-x-x-x-
Seiki kicked out, catching Sasuke in the side and sending him flying back into the wall behind Sakura. She wanted to turn, she wanted to catch him, but she couldn't move. She had to keep her eyes on Seiki. She had to know if her plan would work.
She felt Sasuke move into the spot next to her, his arm brushing hers. "Sakura-" he began, voice low. "Whatever you're planning…"
"It'll be okay." Sakura whispered. "It can work. We can win this."
Sasuke said nothing but Sakura already knew he wouldn't allow it. Yellow chakra burned around Naruto's body as Kurama mode took over. A chakra arm slammed into Seiki, tossing him up into the sky and crushing him. Blood dripped around the arm but Seiki forced the talons away from him as he leapt away, landing on the other side of the cave.
Naruto rushed over to them with incredible speed. "Sakura-chan-"
"Wait, Naruto." Sakura murmured. "I have a plan. I know how we can end this."
Sasuke made a displeased sound but Sakura could feel how tightly he was pressed against her side. Naruto glanced at her, worry furrowing in his brows.
"Remember how we defeated Kaguya?"
Naruto nodded. "Sure, but we can't seal Seiki away. There's no way."
"I know that." Sakura chose her words carefully, knowing that there was a chance the Seiki could be listening. "Remember how you lost your arms."
Naruto's lips parted in an oh as he glanced from Sakura to Seiki and then to Sasuke who was staring down at Sakura with an almost pained expression. Sakura stared ahead, towards Seiki, her lips pressed into a tight, serious line.
"Seiki is faster than Kaguya, Sakura-chan. Much faster. Faster than any one us."
Sakura nodded. "Just like we defeated Kaguya." Sakura whispered. "I'll get him in position for you." There was no way they could leave anything up to chance. Even the slightest second could make this fail. So she would have to do what needed to be done. Because that was what shinobi did.
Naruto glanced back at Sasuke who closed his eyes briefly and then turned his attention to the enemy.
Sakura glanced up at Naruto and then she turned to Sasuke, her fingers brushing his hand as she spoke. "Let's finish this."
Naruto created enough Kage Bunshin to fill the room and they all rushed towards Seiki who made a sound of disgust as he moved through them. He was incredibly fast but the longer Sakura watched him, the easier it became to track his movements. Sakura took off, running along the wall around Seiki. She knew he was very aware of where she was because he kept glancing up with narrowed eyes as he leapt between the Kage Bunshin. It had only been a few seconds but he'd already taken most of them out. Sasuke lifted his sword, drawing Seiki's attention as he threw it. The sword spun through the air and Sakura took her chance. She leapt down, landing on all fours in front of the Ōtsutsuki, moving faster than she ever had. From the slight narrowing of his eyes, she knew she'd succeeded in catching him by surprise. Taking cue from Sasuke's Shishi Rendan, Sakura spun, kicking up and catching him underneath the chin. Seiki flew up and Sakura followed, slamming another kick into his back and sending him even higher up, his back bowing upward as spit flew from his mouth at the impact. She felt Naruto and Sasuke move and she knew Seiki would try to escape then. Drawing in a deep breath, Sakura did the only thing she could. She used her strength the only way she could – she threw her arms and legs around Seiki, locking him in a vice grip. Seiki tensed in her arms as he realized her plan.
"Release me, you foul bitch!" he screamed, trashing in her arms.
Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force back the tears gathered there. "Now!" she yelled.
The sound of chirping birds filled the air around them and Sakura braced herself, biting down on her lip.
Don't let it be Sasuke-kun, she thought fiercely. Don't let it be Sasuke-kun, don't let him be the one to-
The weight in her arms disappeared and Sakura cried out, her eyes snapping open. For a moment everything around her seemed to freeze as she took in the scene above her. Seiki hadn't escaped like she'd thought. Sasuke had….Sasuke swapped with her. He had one had clamped around Seiki's shoulder and Naruto gripped the other. And for a moment, Sakura saw them frozen like that. Arms pulled back, jutsu ready. And then she fell.
"Chidori!"
"Rasengan!"
A bright light filled the room and Sakura squeezed her eyes shut. There was no time to catch her fall, she hit the ground hard, her impact knocking her breath from her lungs.
And then everything was quiet.
x-x-x-x-
"Shintenshin no Jutsu!"
Shikamaru was already in position with his Kagemane no Jutsu. He had no control over the clouds, but Ino only needed a second to make this work. Hinata caught Ino's body as it fell and the Ōtsutsuki creature went ramrod straight, the faceless body nearly shuddering under the effect of the jutsu.
Chouji shot Shikamaru a worried look but he didn't hesitate. "Bubun Baika no Jutsu!"
By now, usually Ino would give some kind of signal that she was in control, but nothing came. The creature continued to stay very still. Chouji drew his fist back, ready to attack.
"Ino-chan!" Shikamaru's head whipped to the side, Ino's lips had parted and blood ran from the corner of her mouth.
"Chouji!"
Chouji attacked, his fist slamming into the spot where the creature had been. Hinata set Ino down carefully and turned to the left. "There-" one of the clay arms shot out but it transformed mid-air, becoming long and sharp. Hinata gasped, there was no way for her to dodge. If she did, the attack would hit Ino. So she did the only thing she could, she brought her hands up and let it hit her. The spike pierced through her hands and sent her flying back. Chouji's large hands had captured the spiked arm on his side, but Shikamaru could see him straining to hold it back. Ino groaned on the floor and Shikamaru knew she had returned to her body. His eyes flew to the creature, arms spread wide and focused on Chouji and Hinata. So he took off running, leaping over Ino's body as he went. Chouji called his name but he didn't stop, Shikamaru leapt up, yanking a kunai from his pouch as he did before slamming it into the stone and twisting it around. The creature went very still for a long moment and then it began to shake, its skin bubbling and steaming once more. Leaving the kunai where it was, Shikamaru leapt back to where Ino was as the creature seemed to melt in on itself. He helped Ino to her feet. The creature seemed to melt until there was no clay left and only the pendant with the kunai remained on the forest floor.
"Well, that was creepy." Ino said but there was a pained edge to her voice as she wiped the blood from her face.
"Why couldn't you take control, Ino?" Chouji asked as he approached them.
Ino's eyes went to the ground. "There was nothing there. Just an empty hallway." She frowned, "There was something on the end of it. Someone. But I couldn't reach her. The walls started closing in."
"Her?" Shikamaru asked. "How do you know it was a woman?"
"I don't know. It just felt that way." She shrugged and turned to Hinata. "Let me heal your hands." Ino gave her a soft smile. "Thank you." She whispered lowly and Hinata gave her a smile and shook her head.
Shikamaru approached the pendant cautiously and crouched next to it. He couldn't sense any power coming from it but he glanced at Hinata for confirmation.
"I don't see anything coming out of it anymore. It should be fine now." Hinata said and he could tell she hoped that was the case.
Shikamaru ripped a piece of his cloak off and wrapped it up none the less. He stood with a weary sigh as he stuffed it into his pouch.
"Let's get this thing back to Konoha."
x-x-x-x-
Thank you to everyone who commented! As always, seeing those 'new comment' emails never fails to make me smile!
Here's a teaser from the next chapter - this is me trying:
If there was one thing she'd been desperate for in these last few hours, it had to be the feeling of his lips on hers.
