Sealed
XVI
Author: Ms. Trick
Note: Reviews make my life. No seriously.
Chapter 16
It was well into the afternoon and the forest was humid and quiet. Except for a pair of voices.
"I'll go on ahead. I'm pretty useless as a medic nin," Temari said, watching Sakura dig through her large white medicine bag.
"Alright. I'll make sure Neji's stabilized and that the medical squad knows where to locate him and Chouji. Then I'll follow."
"Sounds good."
Gaara flew through the weaving rows of branches at a dizzying height, unencumbered by the familiar weight of the gourd on his back. He caught sight of uninterrupted sunshine ahead through the leaves and estimated that he'd soon reach a place where the forest's dense population thinned.
The redhead began descending even as he travelled forward. His calculations proved correct as very soon, the forestry gave way to a field of long, summer green grass. He hit the ground running and only got a glimpse of a milk-pale ninja poised for a fight in the middle of the field before, much to Gaara's surprise, a familiar form came flying through the air in his direction.
Almost without command, the cork popped out of the heavy gourd and a spray of sand shot towards Lee's falling body. It curled and bubbled before catching the ninja in a golden cushion of sand.
Lee was still tensed, ready to hit the ground. He breathed in shock at the realisation that he was floating.
Sand...Gaara's sand...But how? Lee wondered as the cloud settled softly into the long grass.
The sand's commander slowly stepped in front of his line of vision. Lee looked up at him, clueless as to where the hell his stoic husband had come from. Gaara was having similar thoughts.
"What are you doing here?" Gaara asked in a curious and mild voice. Meanwhile, his eyes fixed on their silver-haired opponent.
Tired of being on the ground, Lee sprang into a standing position behind the younger shinobi and gave a brief explanation to the gourd-burdened back.
"My team and I were returning from our mission and we saw the enraged Kiba-kun with Akamaru locked in battle. I, being the only one uninjured enough to join a fight of such calibre, sent the rest of the team home and then offered to take over for our dog-loving friend. Kiba-kun and Akamaru then raced into the forest there after informing me they were chasing Hinata-san. Were you sent as their back-up?"
"Mm," Gaara confirmed.
"Yosh!" Lee hollered enthusiastically, clenching a fist. "Let us do our best to defeat this opponent! We shall have to become defenders not only of youth but of marriage!"
As expected, Gaara didn't offer a response. But when Lee glanced over, the redhead was fishing something out of a pocket in his mostly-empty weapons pouch. He then lightly tossed the object to Lee, who caught it and broke his gaze on Kimimaro to see what it was. A smile lit up his face.
It was a peach.
When Shikamaru unfolded his arms from their protective cross in front of his face, he was hit with the bright, clear, suddenly very visible blue sky. He nearly gaped at the wide radius of deforestation now surrounding them thanks to Temari's jutsu. The cacophony of branches and slices of tree trunks crunching down to the forest floor still continued as he gazed around, finally spotting his opponent's red-orange hair. The small, crumpled form of Tayuya lay lifeless under a mass of heavy tree limbs.
With a sound of sliding steel, Temari folded her battle fan and then clunked its closed form down with a sense of finality.
"What do you think?" She asked, a smirk coming through in her voice. "The battle's over."
Even as the aches and exhaustion from his fight began to settle in (specifically the dull throb of his broken finger), Shikamaru blinked and marvelled at the amount of force the woman in front of him had just conjured up.
She looked over her shoulder at him and bared her teeth in a victorious grin. Then she swung the heavy fan over her shoulder and as she approached him, slid it into the red sash tied at her back. He gave her a smile as she sashayed closer. Then the palms of her fingerless gloves were grazing his neck and her soft lips were brushing his.
He liked this contrast, her rough battle manner and the rough leather of her gloves followed by the supple taste of her mouth. His uninjured hand found its way over her hip and pressed the small of her back warmly.
The light thumps of a pair of feet landing nearby on the tree branch startled them.
"Shikamaru," Sakura's voice came suddenly.
They jumped apart, both their hearts pounding a guilty adrenaline through their systems. Caught red-handed, they could only stare at Sakura and expect some sort of reproach. But the pink-haired girl's face was a deadly blank and when she spoke it was in a brief military fashion.
"I need to inquire about the position of the rest of your squad members."
Shikamaru tried not to stutter as he reported Sasuke and Naruto's descent into the gully and then indicated the direction Kiba and Akamaru had taken. Sakura's facial expression still hadn't changed and when Shikamaru was finished, she merely gave a curt nod and then about-faced to take a route to the chasm.
"Sakura..."
Her medicine bag swinging around her, Sakura briefly hesitated at apologetic tone in Temari's voice. But then the younger girl stated icily, "This mission is still in progress. I have work to do."
She stalked forward several steps but then suddenly paused again. Without turning around, she asked, "Shikamaru, are you in any need of medical assistance?"
His eyes lowered to his bent and twisted index finger and he felt the broken bone pulse painfully.
"No," he muttered.
Sasuke just breathed, trying to ignore the minor itch indicative of an overused Sharingan that refused to abate even when his eyelids shut.
His eyes had been crimson throughout his entire spat with Naruto and he had only thought to deactivate his bloodline after finding himself pressed into Naruto's chest. After allowing himself to be held for several minutes, he had felt tremors begin to course through the other's body and had managed to get a good grip on him before his legs gave out. Sasuke had ended up propping himself against the rock Naruto had rested against earlier and then Naruto had curled around him. The jinchuuriki had passed out with his head near Sasuke's hip shortly after.
Now Sasuke just breathed and counted Naruto's breaths while he absently ran his fingers through the gold hair. His other hand was still holding his sword though the gashes in his shoulder still stung excruciatingly and he could feel the swelling bruises indicative of a fracture in the thigh that Naruto's head wasn't resting on. He eyed how the Kyuubi vessel's arms had folded loosely but protectively across his opened stomach even in unconsciousness.
"Naruto? Sasuke-kun?" A familiar voice echoed around the damp canyon.
"Here," Sasuke called with a small frown. Sakura's voice had sounded a little...wobbly. Was she crying?
The pink-haired girl approached them quickly and slung her plump, white bag down before sinking to Naruto's side. She pulled off her gloves as she did so. Making sure his head stayed comfortably on its make-shift pillow, she rolled him onto his back gently and took in the defensive position of the blonde's arms.
"Abdominal wounds?" She asked, her tone still somewhat shaky even as her hands expertly unwound Naruto's arms, unzipped the blood-stained jacket, and lifted what remained of his black shirt to take in the damage.
Sasuke nodded. "Deep ones."
"How 'bout you? Anything besides that nasty-looking shoulder?"
"Fractured thigh."
There was a long pause and the only sound was the hush of healing chakra being expelled from Sakura's crossed hands. The two gashes that hadn't closed completely on Naruto's stomach absorbed it hungrily. They watched in silence as the wounds closed and the intricate black seal around their team mate's bellybutton finally vanished, sinking back into the tan skin.
She looked over her handiwork and inspected the unconscious ninja's breathing and heart rate. When she was satisfied, she moved to Sasuke's other side and hovered her hands over his bloody shoulder. He heard her take in another wobbly breath and saw her green eyes fill with more tears.
"Sakura..."
"Don't ask."
He stared at her for a minute and she steadfastly kept her eyes on her work. Understanding that now was not the time, Sasuke gave a short nod and let her continue the medical jutsu, ignoring that she had to keep blinking to stop her vision from blurring.
The late afternoon sun cast sprawling leafy shadows over the two exhausted ninja. Slumped against a tree, Lee sat with his legs stuck out in from of him as he tried to catch his breath. He eyed the loose bandages wreathing his wrists and forearms but didn't move to rewrap them yet.
Cradled against the trunk of an adjacent tree, Gaara was resting his elbows on his knees in the same worn out state. His large gourd, once again packed full of its dense contents, was slumbering nearby. It lay on an angle somewhat and a stream of sand was drizzling out into a puddle on the grass. The redhead watched it a little sullenly; he had lost the cork during the fight.
For a few seconds, both of them mulled on the recent memory of Kimimaro amidst the forest of bones, frozen in mid-attack with his mouth bloodied. Despite being rather glad that they weren't still locked in battle or dead, both Konoha nin sensed how deep it would pain such a strong ninja to know that his own body would be the one to betray him.
"We would've been completely defeated," Gaara stated once his breathing and heart rate had settled mostly back to normal.
"That's not true," Lee countered. "Gai-sensei always told me that luck was a part of strength."
Once Gaara would have rolled his eyes at yet another proclamation of the magnificent Gai-sensei's teachings, but now he stayed silent. He conjured tiny, vague shapes out of the sand that had leaked from the gourd's mouth, musing on Kimimaro's last words of praise and defence for his Orochimaru-sama.
"He reminded me of Naruto, in a way...always defending his most precious person," Gaara said pensively. "Even if the important person isn't always good."
Lee thought for a moment, looking up into the cooling breeze. "You don't always have to take someone bad as your precious person. Maybe our doomed opponent would have been better off never meeting Orochimaru."
"...I don't know. Even if you knew that the person who acknowledged you was evil, loneliness is impossible to defeat alone."
Hearing the quiet note of empathy, Lee looked over but the younger ninja's gaze was still on the miniscule sand swirls and stars he was crafting on the ground. A few seconds slunk by and then Lee reached down to unwind the already unravelling bandages on his right arm. As he finished, he sidled over until he was flush against Gaara's side. Gaara tensed minutely out of habit but made no move to pull away.
"Gaara. You've never told me why you have 'love' written on your forehead and judging from your silences, I take it to be a negative memory. But...I was hoping...that if we share the mark, it could come to mean something beyond your association with solitude."
He held his now bare wrist out for Gaara's inspection and the redhead's eyes widened. His breath paused in his throat and the sand shapes melted back into piles unnoticed as he gingerly reached out to grasp Lee's arm with both hands. Tattooed there on the soft skin of the older boy's wrist was the kanji for 'love' the same size and colour as Gaara's.
"...why?" Gaara murmured the question in awe, raising his gaze so he could meet Lee's eyes.
A dazzling grin appeared before him and then, like a comet with white bandages for its tail, Lee's left hand shot into a thumbs-up. "Because that's what love is! Living fully in the springtime of our yo--mmph."
A burble of sand had suddenly swelled behind the spandex-clad ninja, lightly shoving him forwards so that Gaara could place both hands on either side of Lee's head and kiss him.
As the day headed steadily towards evening, the blue sky became overrun by grey, snarling clouds. Sakura didn't spare the parading storm clouds a single glance as she raced towards the Valley of the End. She swept aside any lush foliage draped in her way and kept a firm grip on the shoulder strap of her white medical bag as it flew out behind her.
The forest suddenly broke and she came upon the wide lake with a gasp. A flock of seagulls glided far above the cliffs and found purchase on the two great monuments' hands and heads. Though any and all squawking was drowned out by the full roar of the clamorous waterfall.
Sakura didn't stop running until she reached the water's edge. She skidded to a halt on one of the large rocks that made up the base of the granite cliffs, where they melted into the blue lake. She bent over and rested her hands on her knees as she caught her breath, finally too tired to remember her tears. Her bag dropped next to her with a light thwump.
Suddenly, a rush of ripples ploughed into the edge of the rocky shore, sending waves through her reflection and up to lap at her shoes. Sakura frowned and looked out across the water. Her eyes widened when she saw Akamaru's large white head break the surface of the disturbed lake. His shovel-like paws plonked onto the rippling water and he hauled himself up to a standing position before shaking himself dry. Judging from where the nin-dog had landed, Sakura calculated that he must have jumped from the crest of the waterfall and she hadn't heard the splash over the noise.
A second later, Kiba crashed into the lake mere feet from Akamaru and Sakura realised that the canine hadn't jumped.
He'd been thrown.
Akamaru stuck his nose to the water's clear ceiling to confirm that his partner was conscious and swimming. Then he turned his gaze to the top of the cataract and Sakura instinctively imitated him. A dark figure appeared on a rock amidst the spray and leapt over the edge unhesitatingly.
The ninja landed with a grace unnerving for a drop that height and Sakura's breath froze in her chest when she realised she was looking at Hinata.
The shy kunoichi was barely recognizable. She was like a negative photograph of herself; her pale eyes were now alien, cold black pools; her hair had become a shocking snow white and also sharper, and it fell past her shoulders like icicles; her lips were a stain of blood red against smooth, inky grey skin that had swallowed her Inuzuka markings. But what made Sakura's gut clench was that Hinata's hands had morphed into huge claws more befitting a gargoyle than a girl. Silver webbing was stretched between the elongated fingers which were tipped by ten black talons.
Does Sasuke look like that when he's...? Sakura wondered, her mind in a daze.
Kiba had clambered to his feet on the water's surface and immediately shifted into an attack stance. With her empty black eyes fixed on her opponent, Hinata made no move to attack or defend and merely twisted her garish lips into a small smile.
With a determined yell, Kiba charged forward and Akamaru followed suite with his teeth bared. Hinata didn't move until they were within two feet of her, when she swiftly flung out her arms and spun in a motion more reminiscent of a dancer than a ninja. Arcs of gleaming silver chakra appeared in the wake of her hands. And effortlessly, Kiba and Akamaru were thrown backwards to again land noisily on the lake's surface.
"Stop fighting this, Kiba," she drawled, at once bored by the ease of the fight and delighted at her obvious advantage. "Let me go. Don't you want me to be happy?"
Sakura listened with a sense of dread. She was definitely hearing Hinata's voice but there was an arrogant, mocking tone that Sakura was sure had never been present in Hinata's thoughts before, let alone her throat. And yet...even underneath the new lugubrious layers, Sakura could still catch a glimpse of their sweet Hinata at the core.
It hadn't escaped the medic-nin's notice that Hinata had only played defence so far and that she was trying to convince Kiba to back down from the fight.
"I'm not letting you go to that bastard!" Kiba snarled, back in his standard, low-to-the-ground attack position. "You belong at home with your family."
"Do you really think I was happy being reduced to a housewife?" She sneered, her stoicism fading. "Did anyone ever stop to consider that I didn't want to remain weak my entire life?!"
"So turning yourself into this is your answer?!"
"It's the only answer I have!"
"But look at yourself! This isn't you, Hinata!"
She gave him a long, suffering stare. "No..." she said. "It's better than me."
"You can't mean that..." He stammered, frozen in his battle stance and gazing at her empty eyes with a mixture of quiet shock and despair.
A humourless smile crossed her face and she calmly raised one of her bat-like claws to flick a lock of snowy hair over her shoulder.
"Do you know what I can see now?" She said in hushed wonder, pinning her husband with her eyes. "Not just chakra. I can see your heart beating, your lungs expanding in your chest, red veins filled with your blood...I can see every part of you. I can see straight through you. It's beautiful."
He listened silently.
"You want to take that away from me? Still want to take me back?" She mocked. "Just let me go."
"Never."
She scowled. "You'd rather I go back with you to that miserable existence? You want me to just sit and obey like one of your dogs?"
"No!" Kiba yelled. "I want you happy."
"Then let me leave!"
"This isn't going to make you happy!"
"But it'll make me powerful," she stated with assurance.
"This isn't the path to true power," Kiba argued. "This is...This is just cheating."
"Like I have any other choice!" She yelled, breathing heavily. "It's not like you won't benefit from having a strong wife."
"I'd rather just have Hinata," Kiba said through gritted teeth. "I'd rather you just come home!"
"You'll make me weak again!" She screamed, lunging towards Kiba with a sudden vicious desperation.
Scythe-like talons swiped wickedly at Kiba's midsection and the Inuzuka's leather jacket suffered several gouges. That was the extent of the damage until Sakura saw four bloody scratches rake across Kiba's chin and immediately after, Akamaru got a nasty claw mark to the back of his head. She could only watch in horror, wondering whether Hinata had just struck a fatal blow to her husband and if it would be really appropriate for her to interfere in such an emotionally-charged fight.
While in such close proximity, Kiba retaliated with a sudden gatsuuga that drilled straight into the kunoichi's chest and knocked her backwards several yards. It was then Sakura saw with some relief that Hinata's slash had completely missed Kiba's jugular. Kiba must have tilted his torso back at the last second, causing the cuts to slice into the bottom of his face and the underside of his chin rather than sever the fatal vein lying just a few inches lower.
Ignoring his bloodied fur, Akamaru lowered his head and again charged towards Hinata, who was momentarily off-balance. But Hinata had always been good at sensing danger and she instinctively spun like a top, imitating Neji's kaiten. Zigzags of silver chakra were expelled from the grotesque palms of her claws and spiralled outwards, and the large dog was once again thrown backwards.
Hinata hadn't stopped spinning for two seconds before Kiba abruptly had his arms around her torso in a bear hug that pinned her upper arms to her sides.
"Let go!" She shrieked, her black eyes flashing. "Let me go!"
She thrashed in his grip but Kiba only tightened his arms around her. Hinata's blood-red lips parted with a gasp as air was rapidly squeezed from her lungs. The massive claws scrabbled against Kiba's abdomen and sides, slashing through leather and consequently skin.
Kiba grunted in pain, his eyes squeezing shut from the effort of the crushing embrace. As it got harder to breathe, Hinata's attempts to escape grew more frantic. Her feet inflicted a map of painful bruises and hairline fractures into Kiba's shins and blood was trickling down from his middle in heavy red streams that stained his clothes, ran over his shoes and through his toes before sinking into the lake's surface.
Sakura couldn't remember the last time she had blinked; she was so riveted on the couple struggling in each other's arms. But the sight of Kiba's blood lacing the water stirred the medic-nin's instincts back to life. She was reluctant to get entangled in such a personal battle but if Kiba continued to lose blood at such a rate, she would have to interfere for fear of his life.
"Please," Hinata struggled to whisper as her dark eyes swam with tears. "Don't. Please...let...me..."
With her breath gone and her spirit crumbling, her movements gradually became sapped of energy. Her claws scratched weakly at his stomach and as she began to fade into unconsciousness, they softened. Instead of the wicked black talons, Hinata's soft pink, albeit completely bloodied, hands were suddenly clutching the leather of Kiba's jacket. As her eyelids fluttered and sank shut against her will, the black pools lightened to their normal white. And when Hinata's breathless body finally grew limp in Kiba's arms, her hair fell down her back, black and silky.
With a helpless sadness, Kiba watched the face of the girl he loved pale to its regular flush and the Inuzuka marks resume their places on her cheeks. How had he not noticed her feeling so trapped and desperate? How long had she been silently screaming? How much had he contributed to her misery?
A worried whine escaped Akamaru, who was sitting soaking wet and exhausted nearby.
Kiba's vice-like grip loosened somewhat and he felt her breathing return to its regular rhythm. One of his hands gently traced up her back, running through her long hair and coming to rest underneath her head so he could softly cradle her smaller frame close. He felt a bite of frustrated tears and he rested his chin on the top of her head, tucking her against his bloodied form.
When they got home, he thought determinedly, he would change the entire village of Konoha if it meant her happiness. He would do anything. He swore it.
With a sudden growl of thunder, the sky opened and the rain started.
As soon as the drops hit the ground, it was like a spell had broken; Sakura snatched up her bag and finally ran towards the two wounded ninja as the surface of the water exploded under the rain like a tin roof under a barrage of gravel.
Author's Note:
LOTS of Thanks to: yaoi loveing wolf, Ichihime, KaiPhoenix, michelerene, ingome, Koolneko22, Clemen, keikeiaznqueen, VescaWithoutWings, Shounen-Ai, KunochiDreamer, Kai'sgrl, Mistress of Sadikus, lonelylulaby, SakuraKissy, and arisa0!
Luna – I don't have a definitive outline but as of my notes right now, I'd say the story only has about three or four chapters left. Maybe five. Thanks so much for the review!
TimeForTea – I'll hopefully explain more about Sasuke's time with Orochimaru in the next chapter or so. Thank you for the review! Your reviews always make my day.
Boejangles – Yeah, the outcome of Chouji and Neji's fights were different mainly because of the time jump. Thanks for reviewing!
Nikotehfox – Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. As for your questions, you'll have to wait and see.
Alley-Oop – Thanks so much for taking the time to send me that review. :) You kinda make my life better.
FREAKSHOW1 – LOL! Anything I can do to make it better? (Unfortunately, I can't kill Sasuke for you.)