Last Time:
"Yeah, you ain't going anywhere, buddy," she smirked.
Now:
Kakuzu immediately grabbed on the chakra threads connected to him and tugged by detaching his hand from his wrist.
'Okay, what the fuck? Do all the Akatsuki members have some special thing that makes them completely different from normal people? Deidara's hand-mouths, Hidan's immortality, Kakuzu's weird string joints, and Sasori's whole 'I-am-a-puppet' thing...'
Sadly for Hanara, Kakuzu was smart and stopped struggling against the threads moments later, instead opting to grab Hidan's head with his detached wrist.
"Oww... hey! Quit pulling my hair, will you? It hurts!" Hidan complained.
"Your neck wound should hurt more," Kakuzu deadpanned.
'I'm getting the feeling that if he weren't on the opposite side and didn't have messed up morals, we would be friends...'
"Idiot, the neck pain is unbearable!" Hidan exclaimed.
"I don't even know how to begin to explain this one..." Izumo murmured.
"He wasn't kidding when he said immortal," Hanara shrugged.
"Yeah, but even if he's alive, as long as he's not attached to his body he can't do anything." Shikamaru said. "He may be immortal, but he's useless."
"So, one left to go, huh." Kotetsu said.
Asuma-sensei got ready to attack, but Kakuzu's wrist smacked him onto the ground, abandoning Hidan's head.
"Argh!" Asuma-sensei groaned.
'He channelled chakra for that hit... must be a ninjutsu specialist. I doubt the Bingo Book would miss out on something as obvious as medical ninjutsu.'
"Asuma-sensei won't be able to get up anymore..." Hanara sighed.
Izumo and Kotetsu nodded grimly.
"Now that you've asked for my help, you'll be getting it whether you like it or not," Kakuzu growled.
And then, by some miracle, he sewed Hidan's head onto his body.
"His head..." Kotetsu murmured, staring at it in shock. "What in the world are we up against?"
"Hanara, you hold down Hidan, I can keep Kakuzu still with my shadows." Shikamaru said.
'Kakuzu is on another level. Even with his clan jutsu...'
"You won't be able to–"
"I know! But every second counts. Izumo, Kotetsu–"
"Got it!" Izumo said.
Shikamaru's shadow stretched and Hanara released Kakuzu moments before it connected, rendering Kakuzu motionless. Hanara's threads connected to Hidan, who was forced to stay still and watch as Kakuzu was attacked by Izumo and Kotetsu.
Kotetsu summoned his huge, spiky weapon as Izumo weaved hand signs.
"Water Style: Syrup Mouth Trap!" Izumo yelled.
Hanara saw Kotetsu channel chakra to his feet in an odd way to walk on the syrup. Kakuzu attempted to take a step forward but was stuck. The Leaf chunin took that to his advantage and jumped, aiming his large weapon to Kakuzu's head. At that moment, everything went downhill.
Shikamaru lost control of his Shadow Stitching jutsu right before it could harm Kakuzu, allowing him to detach his wrists once more, and attack Kotetsu. Hanara wasn't fast enough at attaching chakra threads to Kotetsu, and was only able to watch helplessly as Kakuzu choked him. She was taken aback when Kakuzu actively went after Izumo as well.
'I'm the only one left.'
Still holding down Hidan, Hanara ran towards Kakuzu, taking two kunais out of her weapons pouch and channelling Wind-Natured chakra through the metal. Each was meant to cut the threads connecting Kakuzu's wrists to his arms. She threw the knives oddly, aiming to cut with the sharp edges instead of the pointy tip. And... success! Both the knives cut through their target.
"Izumo! Kotetsu! Take care of Hidan!" Hanara commanded, not taking her eyes off her opponent.
She sent chakra to her feet, allowing her to step on the sticky water that trapped Kakuzu, and charged. There was no way that she could manage a sneak attack given her situation, so a suicidal frontal attack had to do.
'I've never had to do Gentle Fist one-handed and on water while maintaining chakra threads...'
"You think I can't reattach my limbs, girl?" Kakuzu sighed.
If she had any less control over her reactions, she would've shrieked with surprise. Instead, she hurriedly dodged the two wrists coming at her. She was fighting with one hand and taking her chakra control to its limit with her water walking, Gentle Fist strikes to Kakuzu's wrists, and chakra threads, and she wasn't even getting close to Kakuzu. Hanara couldn't even do ninjutsu because her chakra threads were attached to her fingers.
'It doesn't matter if you don't do damage, just stall,' she thought. 'Help is on its way.'
She determinedly ignored the fact that Asuma could bleed to death if people took too long. Anxiety was not going to help.
Luckily, Izumo and Kotetsu were faring much better against Hidan, seeing as he couldn't detach limbs from his body. Their only annoyance was that every time Hidan was beheaded, Kakuzu would reattach his head.
But, when Kotetsu gave a particularly powerful hit to Hidan at the same time that Kakuzu aimed both his wrists towards Hanara, instinct took over. She released her chakra threads and blocked Kakuzu's attacks with both hands before realization took over.
"NO!" Hanara shrieked.
"ASUMA!" Shikamaru yelled.
Shikamaru toppled over, the chakra exhaustion finally hitting him.
It was too late. Hidan moved quickly and by the time Hanara sent her chakra threads after him, he had already plunged his scythe into his torso. Asuma faceplanted onto the ground, too weak to hold himself up. The only thing stopping Hanara from breaking down right then and there was the fact that she could see his chakra still circulating.
"The end." Kakuzu smirked.
"Oh yes... that's it... that's the stuff..." Hidan moaned.
After a few moments, Hidan pulled out his scythe.
"I'm done over here, Kakuzu."
"Just give me a minute," Kakuzu responded, turning to the four remaining ninjas.
'How can he just– Sensei is– I'LL KILL THEM IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!'
"Izumo, Kotetsu, bring Sensei's body over here." Hanara said, her voice deathly calm.
They immediately complied.
Snake.
Before Kakuzu could do a thing, Hanara was spitting out an enormous wave of water.
"Water Style: Exploding Water Shockwave," she said.
The wave of water was larger than anything Hanara had ever spit out, and it had enough force to knock Kakuzu back. And what's more, Hanara now had the field advantage because of the water. She was about to create a water bullet when something caught her eye.
'Allies. They're here.'
There was a sudden flock of crows surrounding everyone, obstructing them from Kakuzu's view.
'Aoba's team. So Raido, Ino, and Choji, too.'
"A pitiful attempt at obfuscation," Kakuzu commented, sending his wrists towards them.
Raido body-flickered in front of Kakuzu and cut the threads connecting Kakuzu's wrist to his arm.
"Shikamaru, Hanara, we're here to help," Ino said from behind them.
"Get Shikamaru someplace safe," Kotetsu said.
"Absolutely!"
'Good thing they're here now... I've only got about a quarter of my reserves left.'
Aoba distracted Hidan and Kakuzu with his crows while Choji took Asuma-sensei to the roof of the bounty station, but the moment the crows dispelled, Kakuzu followed them.
Hanara jumped to the roof.
"You can't have the cash cow," Kakuzu snarled.
"You can't have sensei!" Hanara glared.
"Take Asuma and Shikamaru and run!" Aoba said from below. "We'll handle these two!"
Hidan started talking to air.
"Sir, give us a bit more time. We're getting to the good bit." he whined.
"Enough, Hidan," Kakuzu sighed, appearing beside his partner. "We'll be back in no time."
"Gah," Asuma-sensei groaned, spitting out blood.
"Sensei!" Hanara exclaimed, kneeling beside him.
"Let's take Asuma and go!" Shikamaru said.
"Oh no you don't," Hidan smirked as he prepared to leave. "We'll be back soon, and besides, he's half-dead anyway."
And in a poof they were gone.
"I'll start treating him!" Ino announced.
"Hurry!" Hanara urged.
"N– No..." Asuma groaned. "I wou– wouldn't make it an– anyway... I can f– feel it... Heh... bet y– you know i– it, too..."
"Shut up, sensei! You don't get to talk like that now!" Hanara exclaimed.
Shikamaru, Choji, and Hanara stared at Ino as she began to treat Asuma, trying to find some shred of hope. Instead of the comfort they desired, they found despair. Ino shut her eyes, trying to hold in the tears.
'No... No– Not again... There has to be some way–'
FLASHBACK:
Hanara was in the phoenixes' realm as her summons felt that she needed to know more about their abilities.
"We don't have a Sage Mode, like most summoning animals do," Pho was saying. "Sage Mode is connected to natural chakra, which is the life force of everything. As beings that constantly cheat death, we aren't able to properly connect with nature's chakra. However, we do have something that other summoning animals don't."
"What's that?" Hanara asked curiously.
"Each phoenix has the capability to save one human from death. We can pour some of our life force into a dying human and allow him or her to live another day. If the person we save has another brush with death, they won't survive unless you humans can save them. After you use this ability once, you can't use the same phoenix again. And, whichever phoenix uses their ability will no longer remain immortal forever. One day, we will burst into ashes and never reform. So use it wisely."
FLASHBACK END
Hanara bit her thumb and performed the hand signs.
"Summoning Jutsu!" she exclaimed.
Pho appeared in a puff of smoke, staring at Asuma-sensei worriedly.
"Should I... use that?" Pho asked.
"Please..." Hanara whispered.
Pho put her wing over Asuma-sensei's heart and clamped her eyes shut. Her wing glowed a strange mix of gold and blue, but it sputtered.
"What's she doing?" Ino asked.
"There's a technique the phoenixes have. It might save Sensei." Hanara said.
The golden-blue aura kept sputtering around Pho's wing.
"I– Is something wrong, Pho?" Ino asked.
"It seems as though someone has tied your sensei's soul to the Lord of Death, Kamatayan. I– I cannot transfer my life force..."
"Kamatayan?" Choji questioned.
"Ah, yes, you would know him as Jashin, perhaps? Or Hades? I sincerely apologize, but I cannot interfere if a soul is attached to a god. None of us phoenixes can..." Pho said.
She disappeared with a poof, leaving Hanara to her thoughts.
'Why is it that Kamatayan saw me as good enough to spare, but can't leave Sensei alone? Is it because I failed in saving him?'
"Y– You already k– knew that I couldn't be sa– saved..." Asuma-sensei forced out. "It's al– alright... Besides, I th– think I finally und– understood what L– Lord Third mea– meant... I've g– got something I wa– want to tell you fo– four–"
"Sensei, stop talking!" Choji sobbed.
"Choji! Ino, Hana, you too. Listen carefully to Sensei's last words..." Shikamaru said.
"Ino..."
"Yes, Sensei?"
"You m– may be a bit headstrong, but you're also considerate. Your teammates... they can be awkward and clumsy. Take care of them."
"Right!" she gave a watery chuckle.
"And... don't you ev– ever lose to Sakura, in ni– ninjutsu, or l– love."
"Yes, sir!" Ino nodded.
"Hanara, you sometimes r– rush into things wi– without thinking... but your spontaneity is your p– power. R– Remember that."
"Yes, Sensei!"
"Also, remember you have people y– you can rely o– on."
"Yes, Sensei."
"Choji, you're... a th– thoughtful, loyal friend, and a k– kind soul. In time, y– you'll become a st– stronger shinobi than everyone else. So, be m– more confident in yourself."
"Got it," Choji nodded, smiling through his tears.
"Also... y– you might want to drop a few pounds..."
"It might not be possible, but I'll sure try..."
"Heh... and f– finally Shi– Shikamaru. You're r– razor-sharp, with the instincts o– of a great sh– shinobi... Truly worthy of b– becoming a Hokage, th– though you'd probably try t– to avoid it, since y–" Sensei broke into a coughing fit. "You h– hate being bothered like that... All those shogi games, a– and not once cou– could I beat you. Which remi– reminds me... Remember th– that conversation about the king...? L– Let me tell y– you who it is. Give me your ear."
Shikamaru bent down and put his ear close to Asuma's mouth, allowing him to whisper. When Shikamaru sat up again, his eyes were wide with realization.
"Asuma– You– That's why..."
"I– I'm counting on you, S– Shikamaru. But, I guess... i– it's alright n– now. D– Don't ha– have to h– hold off sm– smoking a– anymore. Could... y– you get m– me... o– one l– last cigarette f– from m– my pouch?"
Shikamaru pulled out a cigarette, placed it in Asuma's mouth, and lit it. Hanara's thoughts wandered to the first time they met with the puff of smoke that was released.
'He was always smoking, even then. And he always went the extra mile for me...'
FLASHBACK:
Hanara was leaving the grocery store, bags in her hands, when she noticed her sensei waiting for her.
"Sensei? Did I miss training or something?" she asked, moving to the side, so she wasn't blocking the exit.
"No, it's nothing like that. I was thinking, now that the whole team is Chunin, Team 10 will separate. You'll have different schedules, and we can't do team training as much. What I'm trying to say is, I could still train you. I would offer an apprenticeship, but you'd have to change your whole fighting style... Anyway, how do you feel about that?"
Hanara blinked owlishly at her sensei, completely taken aback. Then, the meaning behind his words set in, and she dropped her bags.
"Thank you so much, Sensei."
FLASHBACK END
She focused on Asuma's chakra, which was getting dimmer and dimmer as the seconds passed. She watched, helpless to stop it as the blue glow of his chakra went out completely and Asuma's cigarette fell from his lips.
"SENSEI!" Ino screamed, burying her head onto his chest.
Hanara released her byakugan and tore her eyes away from the site, sniffling as she stared at the rapidly darkening sky. She didn't move, even after it started to rain, instead allowing the raindrops to mix with her tears.
"It was a death befitting of a shinobi," Raido said, taking off his cloak and using it as a blanket in order to shield Asuma's corpse.
'Why? Why spare me instead of him? Why take away my father-figures just as I cement a bond with them? Why force me to watch both times, always helpless and unable to save them? Why?' she thought angrily, releasing a pitiful sob.
Life was such a depressing thing. It always took things away from her, but she lived it anyway.
A/N: The next time I post will probably be in 2021, so I give you advanced New Year wishes!
