******* (This was taking place in the middle of the fight between Sasuke and Sakura.) "Eh Naruto. you never seemed to be so curious about Hinata before... what's the occasion?" "It's nothing." Naruto's eyes darted to the side innocently as Shino and Kiba pressed him on why he kept asking them questions about her. They were located in the thick woods on the outskirts of the village, that if you continued walking soon enough you'd reach the edge of a vast desert. Naruto had specifically come to take a walk with them. They of course thought this was odd for a few reasons: 1) Naruto never "walks" there is always some action involved, 2) Naruto never really hangs out with them, 3) What would they talk about? Obviously, Naruto wasn't exactly thought of highly as the brains in conversation and they knew he lacked any sophisticated hobbies. Kiba at first expected him to ask something about a rematch or try to play some dumb trick on them. What he was not expecting was this. Did Naruto finally realize Hinata's more-than-obvious crush, or did Naruto actually like her? To Kiba it was unnerving. He himself took a liking to the girl. He, Akamaru and Hinata always had great times together as friends. As for Shino. well who knew what Shino was thinking? He just stood there silently without a word. Many times Shino knew every gossip detail, but none of it ever came form his lips. He was considered the most trustworthy to keep secrets. He noticed through the dimness of him sunglasses that there was tension between Kiba and Naruto, yet Naruto was oblivious for the most part, wound up in his own confusion. Shino knew perfectly well what was going on, after all, he was the only one Kiba told. After the long lasting silence, the mostly silent Shino spoke up, to take away the tension, "I find it really odd that there has been such a time of calm and peace in the village. It's so rare, it doesn't feel natural." "You too?!?" Naruto groaned loudly into Shino's face. He quickly the arched his back and put his hands behind his head, giving and exasperated sigh of irritancy. He was relieved they got off the topic, not feeling it was necessary to show that he even brought her up. "Everyone in the village has been saying that! I'm just happy that there's a break. So what if there is no peace in the future? I say we enjoy what we have. I mean-" "Humph. Naruto. I wish I could say the same, but I think Shino's right." Kiba harshly answered, sniffing the air neurotically. "What's your problem?" Naruto asked the seemingly insane Kiba with a cross look. "Blood." Kiba snapped when he stopped sniffing, "Lots of it." "The bugs have been gathering in clumps lately. I figured as much. More flies were disappearing than usually. they're probably where the blood is." "Where's the closest spill?" Naruto's blood boiled as he retorted. "The freshest blood spill and closest is about 400 yards from here." Shino added almost monotonously. Without another word Naruto raced in the direction Shino pointed with Shino and Kiba following steadily behind. The aroma arouse in Naruto's nostrils and the stronger it got, the more angry he got. "Naruto! Wait up! There's something you should know!" Kiba panted. Naruto turned his head slowing down so that Kiba could catch up with him. "I recognize the scents. They're of Sasuke Sakura and two others . I think Sasuke and Sakura are fighting." Wide-eyed Naruto jolted his head back and zoomed until he landed seeing the sight to lie before him. He noticed Sasuke and Sakura staring each other down, both wounded severely. it. After watching the battle go on, he sat silently, too much sweeping over him. Then he never expected what happened next, it was Sakura. His eyes froze in their sockets and his face became pale. She was. dead. He cracked his knuckles and glared at the woman who was to fight Sasuke now. "Naruto! Stop!" Kiba commanded abruptly in a strict whisper as Naruto was about to join in the fight, wanting to kill both the woman and Sasuke for hurting Sakura. "We can only watch. Sasuke. well I have a feeling he wants to fight alone. You can't join. it's too late now. we've already been watching for too long." It was true. Sasuke was so fixated on defeating the snake-like ninja that he disregarded the more than obvious fact that Naruto, Kiba and Shino were there. They hid, watching the fight from afar.

*******
"Well. Uchiha. I know you. so as a courteously I will tell you the name of the one who will kill you. I will gain revenge for my sister's death. I am. Hizashii." The snake-like shinobi hissed.
"I don't need your damn introductions. all I want is you dead!" He spat. It was so unlike Sasuke, he was off balance almost, rage consuming all of him. "Wha.wha!" Hizashii yelped. The ground beneath her started to burn against the black leather of her sandals. Sasuke was not shown to have any effect of it, except she noticed that his eyes, now with the Sharigan in use were glowing a blazing red. His palms were facing the ground, his fingers clenched slightly. In a swift movement he brought his arms up and from the ground flames sprung everywhere. He was left unharmed, but Hizashii was scorned. The more she tried to more, the more flames arouse. Sasuke suspected this would be the end of her but as she gripped her hands together she stuck out her snake-like tongue. A shock of energy rumbled in front of her and instantly a drop of blood dripped to the ground. Then blood began to pour form her mouth only to be soaked up by the ground. "Now here's something interest, anything that touches this blood looses the amount of blood connected in a path. that would be enough to wipe out your whole life. Try it Uchiha. You think you're so great? Well, try to get past this." The blood continued to spread through the ground. Sasuke desperately looked from side to side nervously. He stumbled up a tree, too out of focus to do it in his usual, almost seemingly casual way, making everything look all too easy. He sat on the branch that supported his weight. In almost a split second later Hizashii jumped upwards and landed on the same branch shook lightly. Like the flames to Sasuke, the blood was to Hizashii, ineffective. Sasuke was cornered, he couldn't move. he was already so injured that he couldn't move much in the first place, and flame attacks would just burn down the tree and leave him helpless, the blood sucking up his own soul. His eyes began to burn stronger. No matter what, he would win, he would have to. He wouldn't mind dying, but it depresses him to know that then he would never be able to have revenge, even thought that would never be enough for Sakura. "Tsukiyomi!" Sasuke yelled, his eyes fully focused on hers. Sasuke brought his hands together and gave a low deride.

********** Hizashi called out into the hollow woods. She felt a darkness surrounding her. There we no scents of blood. Where was she? She then turned to find her sister holding her wires in her hands. She curled her lips and as Hizashi and her sister stared at each other for a few moments, strings tightened around her. Endlessly they were cutting her skin, each day that seemed to go by, the strings tightened more and more. When she could hardly breathe, blood dripping all around her. The pain was agonizing, she wished it would just end. Each time as she stared at her smirking sister, she would cry, "Sister? Why are you doing this?!" Hizashi was desperate and for once she had lost her ferocity of the snake. She was the one being played this time, and she could do nothing. In the last stroke the strings finally tightened around her, her last breath was taken and her body was sliced into multiple pieces of flesh sprawled all over the wasteland that once used to be a forest.

*******
Sasuke's Sharigan disappeared as he fell to his knees, wide eyed. It was his brother's technique. In 5 minutes he saw the girl collapse and loose breath without him lifting a finger. The blood disappeared as well, dropping to the ground. She was so absorbed in the illusion, she forgot it was an illusion and was not able to get out of it. Because she believed it was real, it happened. He was confused yet amazed at the same time. Sasuke shivered slightly. so this was the power the Tsukiyomi held? The power he felt inside of him, he could understand for a brief moment what it was like to be Itachi, what it was like to be so, powerful. Then it hit him. What was the thing that made him able to gain such power? It was Sakura. he always thought that she got in the way.. To think that she could have beaten him, he could have been dead right now. He shivered at that thought, but he couldn't help think, 'she could have defeated me'. It ran through his mind. No girl had ever caught his attention this much ,ad now he wanted to protect her now that she was not being a burden, but someone he truly wanted to protect. He felt a lump in his throat. Crawling to the side of Sakura he sat there silently, not daring to say a word. He had killed her. He was the cause of her death, he led to it. He couldn't accept the fact that it was not completely his doing. Battered and worn he lifted Sakura gently. He gave a low snort, his eyes weak,
"And to think. I could have even loved you." ****** Chapter 11 End To be continued..