Love and Death
Disclaimer: I don't think I'd be sitting here, writing a fanfic, if I owned
Naruto itself...
A/N: Hey! I actually updated today! Wow...anyways, This chapter might be the longest I've wrote yet. I think anywhere from 13-16 pgs. in length. Oh well. So, this chapter is basically from where it left off last time all the way to when they find team 00, practically save them, and start off to the Wind Country, not reach it. That's in the next chapter. There's going to be one major fight in there, and maybe some traps. I'm not sure if I'm going to put in another fight yet. Oh...there may be some of the "Four Sound" in this chapter! Enjoy, o-kudasai! **Kampai! -^-___-^-**
Chapter 12-
M . I . A
Sasuke ran towards them with incredible speed. He heard a scream, one that could only belong to his female partner. "Kuso!" He had been swearing a lot as of late. Running faster, he began to worry. "I have no time to fool around." Once more, he gathered his chakra to the soles of his feat. Leaping into the air, he landed on the base of a tree. Continuing upward, he stopped when he reached the topmost branch.
"I can see them!" Forming the hand signals, he called out "Katon Housenka no Jutsu!"
Miharu shut her mouth abruptly, mentally berating herself. 'How the hell could I be so stupid? What if there are more of them?' That's when it came to her. Why didn't she just dodge? Seconds before the knifelike blades of winds sliced into her skin, she sprinted to her left, still carrying Neji.
'Why won't he make an effort to help?' she wondered angrily. Stopping suddenly, she pinned his body to a tree using her kunai. He was still glaring at her hatefully, and she wished he would stop. Yet, he was helping to make what she was about to do a lot more enjoyable.
SLAP!
Neji jerked his arm out of the hold it had been in by the kunai and lifted it up to his face, massaging the reddest part, where Miharu had just slapped him. He spat at her, yet she just moved at the side and looked at him, disgust clearly shown within her cold gray eyes. "Wake up, you idiot." Moving nearer to his form, she began pulling the kunai out of the tree, so that he was free to move. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Are you going to get off your lazy butt and help out or what? We could very well die here!"
Averting his gaze from her angry face, Neji's eyes widened in surprise. "Nani?" Miharu asked infuriated that he wasn't paying any attention to what she was saying. Turning, she saw behind her, she saw four very distinct figures, of which she had only seen once before, yet whom she would always remember...
**Flashback**
Sakura dropped to the floor suddenly, tears rushing down her face. Gasping for breath, she stared straight ahead at the five retreating figures, hands clutching her chest.
Kneeling down beside her, Miharu held on to Sakura as if her life depended upon it. Looking up, angry tears held in the corners of her eyes, she screamed at them, "Come back here! Bring him BACK!!!" when they didn't turn to face her, she directed her anger to the sole cause of Sakura's pain. "SASUKE YOU BASTARD! GET BACK HERE!"
All of a sudden she saw a man with blonde hair. He was right in front of her. Looking past him, she saw only four figures retreating. Clutching Sakura's limp figure closer, she spluttered out a meek "Wha-?"
"The Four Sound do not answer to anyone." He whispered into her ear. A chill raced up and down her spine. She could hear him laughing softly, and then there was no one. They had all disappeared.
**End Flashback**
"It's them..." she whispered in horror. Three of the figures grinned, while the third, a pink-haired female, just frowned. In a matter of seconds, all four heads whipped around to stare behind them, where they had come from.
"Do you feel it?" Asked the largest one there. He was answered by the blonde haired man.
"It's him..."
Suddenly, a steady blast of fire came from the left, straight at the four. Miharu smirked to herself. "Katon Housenka...Sasuke, you've finally decided to show up..."
*
Hinata walked back into the dark room slowly, fingers once more at work twirling nervously around themselves. Something was wrong...something was wrong...something was wrong...something was wrong...
"Minna! Something isn't right!" She called out meekly. No one heard. Either that, or they just didn't bother to listen to what the quiet girl had to say. Eight years had not changed her that much. 'Why aren't they listening?' She thought to herself desperately. 'This is important!'
She tried again. "Minna-" she was cut off by a loud bark-like laugh. 'No...' she thought franticly. 'They have to listen!' Squeezing her eyes shut, she clenched her fists and screamed, "Urusai yo!"
A surprised silence filled the room. Everyone turned to her direction, mouths open and eyes wide. 'W...was that really Hinata-chan?' Sakura wondered to herself in awe.
'H-hinata?' Kiba questioned silently. 'Was that really you?'
Hinata, too, questioned what she had just done. 'I...I just...' Dipping her head in a deep, apologetic bow, a steady stream of "Gomen!" escaped from her delicate lips. Straightening up, she explained her actions. "I- it's just that...I r-really think that they are I-in trouble...and no one was l- listening..." Blushing a bright red, she turned her head away. "I-iie. It was foolish of me. Gomen ne!"
It was Shino who stepped forth and spoke. "No...I believe that you're right, Hinata. They would never be this late," He turned his head to the clock on the wall, showing that it was two hours after they were to leave, to further accentuate his statement, "unless something serious showed up."
Lee nodded, getting up from his position on the floor. "He's right. They might have gotten caught in a trap..."
"...Or maybe someone stronger than them has them backed against a wall!" Ino gasped at the thought.
Sakura stepped forth, determination shining brightly in her eyes. Ever since her newfound skills in both nin- and genjutsu had come forth, she had more confidence in her fighting abilities. She was still the second smartest (second to Shikamaru, that is) in the village, but she was now able to defend and fight for herself. Pointing to the open door which Hinata had come through, she stated boldly, "We should go and look for them!"
Everyone in the room walked up behind her, with the exception of Hinata, who now stood behind her, with the same determination she had shown when fighting Neji at the third test. Nodding her head quickly, she called to them all. "Now!"
All twelve, the second group of most advanced shinobi the Konoha Gakure had to offer sped through the open door and into the light, searching for the missing team.
*
Neji walked up beside Miharu, crossing his arms across his chest. Looking him over, still angry at seeing him, Miharu turned back to the scene in front of her. "So, you've decided to actually fight, asshole?" She asked him sarcastically, a hint of anger tainting her words.
"Shut the hell up, you bitch." He spat at her. Flinching, she moved away from him. That had to be the worst thing anyone who knew her well had ever said to her. In that moment, she hated Neji more than anything she ever had known, whether she loved or hated it. Meanwhile, Neji watched the Sound carefully, not noticing that Miharu had moved further away. She was really starting to piss him off.
The Four Sound had scattered into different directions. Shuriken lined the ground where the Fire Flowers had hit the ground in misfire. Miharu had no need to say anything to Neji. Neither did she need to look his way to check on what he was doing. Just as she had suspected, he whispered to her, "They're in all four directions...surrounding us." Risking a glance over his way, she saw that indeed the grotesque veins had appeared around his eyes, a sign of, in her opinion, his most useful attack.
Sasuke jumped from a height of about 20 meters (Hope that's high enough for you!) landing in front of Miharu and Neji. Pulling up, he rested his right hand upon his hip and smirked. "Humph." Looking directly at Neji, he narrowed his eyes. "It seems you can't even last without me."
"Oy, that's not fair, Sasuke!" Miharu complained. "I had to fight off a team of ninja by myself, remember?" When he didn't reply, Miharu felt an incredible urge to punch his stupid smirking face in. However, she managed to settle with just clutching her fists so tight that they bled.
"Urusai." Neji muttered under his breath, just loud enough for the two to hear. When they stopped bickering and turned their attention to him, he continued. "In case you have forgotten, those four are still here...whoever they are."
"Ke..." Sasuke spat. He remembered all to well. They were the four who had almost killed him that night. The night he had, with their help, convinced himself that he needed Orochimaru's power to help him kill Itachi. And it turned out to be true. But he had lost much of the trust he had gained in his younger years for that power. Now, however, Itachi was dead. The Uchiha clan had had their revenge. He didn't need Orochimaru anymore.
The three tensed, looking in the directions which Neji had pointed out. Although they couldn't see what was happening, he could. Suddenly realizing he had not been paying any attention to what the four had been doing, but to what his teammates were bickering about, he turned his head quickly to look at them all. What he saw did not make him feel any better. "What the hell?" He asked himself.
Sasuke and Miharu both took the chance to look at their partner. They saw his eyes widen slightly, saw his mouth form the words, heard them escape from his pale lips. "Not good!" he yelled. However, it was too late.
Four voices joined together harmoniously to form the word "Shishienjin!" (Four Man Purple Flame Array). A purplish box shaped barrier covered the three ninja who stood upon the dusty trail. Burning brightly, it cloaked them. There was no way for them to escape.
"Hah!" Miharu called out the four. "You honestly think this pathetic barrier can keep me in?" She wasn't able to see three grins, one frown, through the thick purple barrier. She began running toward the nearest wall.
"Yamete!" Came Neji's cool voice. She stopped abruptly.
"Nani?" She asked angrily. "I want to get out of here! We have to..."
"I know what we have to do, you idiot. But if I were you, I wouldn't touch any one of these walls."
"Well, you're not me, so shove it!" Angrily, she grabbed a kunai from her pouch and threw it at the wall. Sasuke smirked as it came into contact with the wall and burst into purple flames. Miharu dropped to the ground, shock drawn upon her face. "What the hell...?"
"He did tell you..." Sasuke stated matter-of-factly.
Miharu blushed furiously. "So then, Mr. Smart Ass, how the hell are you planning for us to get out of here?" She turned her back to the both of them, and moved as far away as she could, careful to keep a safe distance between herself and the purple box of flames.
"Simple...we wait."
*
Bounding through the trees, Hinata surveyed all. They all had the same look of determination on their faces, though some were more so than others. Speeding up so that she could catch Kiba, she slowed her pace once she reached him. "W-we'll find them...won't w-we?" She asked quietly.
Looking at her, he nodded, though she couldn't see. "Of course! You have to have faith!" Facing frontward once more, they continued on in silence, until...
Stopping suddenly, Hinata looked ahead to see why they had come to such an abrupt halt. Seeing Sakura in lead, talking, she listened attentively. "Now, of course, being the genius that I am, had a brilliant idea! Hinata-chan!" Looking over everyone else, Sakura spotted Hinata and waved her over. Walking forward tentatively, Hinata stopped in front of the pink-haired girl. Bowing her head slightly, she answered.
"Y-yes, Sakura-san?"
Smiling widely, Sakura asked her in a sickly sweet voice, "Do you think you could use your Byakugan to check for them?"
Looking up, a slight blush warming her cheeks, Hinata nodded slowly. "H-hai! Of course!" Looking around her, she saw Kiba. He flashed her a quick thumbs up.
"Gambatte, Hinata!" He cheered her on.
Closing her eyes slowly, she softly murmured "Byakugan!" and opened them once more, revealing grotesque veins, which resembled Neji's a great deal. Pointing North-West, she told the rest that they were in that direction. Trusting her entirely, the group sped off.
Stopping abruptly once more, several minutes later, Sakura stared in front of her in shock. Creeping up behind her, the rest of the shinobi's faces began to take on the same look as they saw four figures (well, actually three jeering and one frowning...guess who...) jeering those who were in a flaming purple box, seemingly unable to move.
It was Ino's voice who first broke through. "Holy shit..."
A/N: Ok ya, I know. Took me long enough. Actually, I could have finished this on Saturday or Sunday. I just was feeling extremely lazy. But I finally got it up, and that's what counts, right? Ok, three more chapters to go! I have them all planned out and everything. So then, ja ne!
Naruto itself...
A/N: Hey! I actually updated today! Wow...anyways, This chapter might be the longest I've wrote yet. I think anywhere from 13-16 pgs. in length. Oh well. So, this chapter is basically from where it left off last time all the way to when they find team 00, practically save them, and start off to the Wind Country, not reach it. That's in the next chapter. There's going to be one major fight in there, and maybe some traps. I'm not sure if I'm going to put in another fight yet. Oh...there may be some of the "Four Sound" in this chapter! Enjoy, o-kudasai! **Kampai! -^-___-^-**
Chapter 12-
M . I . A
Sasuke ran towards them with incredible speed. He heard a scream, one that could only belong to his female partner. "Kuso!" He had been swearing a lot as of late. Running faster, he began to worry. "I have no time to fool around." Once more, he gathered his chakra to the soles of his feat. Leaping into the air, he landed on the base of a tree. Continuing upward, he stopped when he reached the topmost branch.
"I can see them!" Forming the hand signals, he called out "Katon Housenka no Jutsu!"
Miharu shut her mouth abruptly, mentally berating herself. 'How the hell could I be so stupid? What if there are more of them?' That's when it came to her. Why didn't she just dodge? Seconds before the knifelike blades of winds sliced into her skin, she sprinted to her left, still carrying Neji.
'Why won't he make an effort to help?' she wondered angrily. Stopping suddenly, she pinned his body to a tree using her kunai. He was still glaring at her hatefully, and she wished he would stop. Yet, he was helping to make what she was about to do a lot more enjoyable.
SLAP!
Neji jerked his arm out of the hold it had been in by the kunai and lifted it up to his face, massaging the reddest part, where Miharu had just slapped him. He spat at her, yet she just moved at the side and looked at him, disgust clearly shown within her cold gray eyes. "Wake up, you idiot." Moving nearer to his form, she began pulling the kunai out of the tree, so that he was free to move. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Are you going to get off your lazy butt and help out or what? We could very well die here!"
Averting his gaze from her angry face, Neji's eyes widened in surprise. "Nani?" Miharu asked infuriated that he wasn't paying any attention to what she was saying. Turning, she saw behind her, she saw four very distinct figures, of which she had only seen once before, yet whom she would always remember...
**Flashback**
Sakura dropped to the floor suddenly, tears rushing down her face. Gasping for breath, she stared straight ahead at the five retreating figures, hands clutching her chest.
Kneeling down beside her, Miharu held on to Sakura as if her life depended upon it. Looking up, angry tears held in the corners of her eyes, she screamed at them, "Come back here! Bring him BACK!!!" when they didn't turn to face her, she directed her anger to the sole cause of Sakura's pain. "SASUKE YOU BASTARD! GET BACK HERE!"
All of a sudden she saw a man with blonde hair. He was right in front of her. Looking past him, she saw only four figures retreating. Clutching Sakura's limp figure closer, she spluttered out a meek "Wha-?"
"The Four Sound do not answer to anyone." He whispered into her ear. A chill raced up and down her spine. She could hear him laughing softly, and then there was no one. They had all disappeared.
**End Flashback**
"It's them..." she whispered in horror. Three of the figures grinned, while the third, a pink-haired female, just frowned. In a matter of seconds, all four heads whipped around to stare behind them, where they had come from.
"Do you feel it?" Asked the largest one there. He was answered by the blonde haired man.
"It's him..."
Suddenly, a steady blast of fire came from the left, straight at the four. Miharu smirked to herself. "Katon Housenka...Sasuke, you've finally decided to show up..."
*
Hinata walked back into the dark room slowly, fingers once more at work twirling nervously around themselves. Something was wrong...something was wrong...something was wrong...something was wrong...
"Minna! Something isn't right!" She called out meekly. No one heard. Either that, or they just didn't bother to listen to what the quiet girl had to say. Eight years had not changed her that much. 'Why aren't they listening?' She thought to herself desperately. 'This is important!'
She tried again. "Minna-" she was cut off by a loud bark-like laugh. 'No...' she thought franticly. 'They have to listen!' Squeezing her eyes shut, she clenched her fists and screamed, "Urusai yo!"
A surprised silence filled the room. Everyone turned to her direction, mouths open and eyes wide. 'W...was that really Hinata-chan?' Sakura wondered to herself in awe.
'H-hinata?' Kiba questioned silently. 'Was that really you?'
Hinata, too, questioned what she had just done. 'I...I just...' Dipping her head in a deep, apologetic bow, a steady stream of "Gomen!" escaped from her delicate lips. Straightening up, she explained her actions. "I- it's just that...I r-really think that they are I-in trouble...and no one was l- listening..." Blushing a bright red, she turned her head away. "I-iie. It was foolish of me. Gomen ne!"
It was Shino who stepped forth and spoke. "No...I believe that you're right, Hinata. They would never be this late," He turned his head to the clock on the wall, showing that it was two hours after they were to leave, to further accentuate his statement, "unless something serious showed up."
Lee nodded, getting up from his position on the floor. "He's right. They might have gotten caught in a trap..."
"...Or maybe someone stronger than them has them backed against a wall!" Ino gasped at the thought.
Sakura stepped forth, determination shining brightly in her eyes. Ever since her newfound skills in both nin- and genjutsu had come forth, she had more confidence in her fighting abilities. She was still the second smartest (second to Shikamaru, that is) in the village, but she was now able to defend and fight for herself. Pointing to the open door which Hinata had come through, she stated boldly, "We should go and look for them!"
Everyone in the room walked up behind her, with the exception of Hinata, who now stood behind her, with the same determination she had shown when fighting Neji at the third test. Nodding her head quickly, she called to them all. "Now!"
All twelve, the second group of most advanced shinobi the Konoha Gakure had to offer sped through the open door and into the light, searching for the missing team.
*
Neji walked up beside Miharu, crossing his arms across his chest. Looking him over, still angry at seeing him, Miharu turned back to the scene in front of her. "So, you've decided to actually fight, asshole?" She asked him sarcastically, a hint of anger tainting her words.
"Shut the hell up, you bitch." He spat at her. Flinching, she moved away from him. That had to be the worst thing anyone who knew her well had ever said to her. In that moment, she hated Neji more than anything she ever had known, whether she loved or hated it. Meanwhile, Neji watched the Sound carefully, not noticing that Miharu had moved further away. She was really starting to piss him off.
The Four Sound had scattered into different directions. Shuriken lined the ground where the Fire Flowers had hit the ground in misfire. Miharu had no need to say anything to Neji. Neither did she need to look his way to check on what he was doing. Just as she had suspected, he whispered to her, "They're in all four directions...surrounding us." Risking a glance over his way, she saw that indeed the grotesque veins had appeared around his eyes, a sign of, in her opinion, his most useful attack.
Sasuke jumped from a height of about 20 meters (Hope that's high enough for you!) landing in front of Miharu and Neji. Pulling up, he rested his right hand upon his hip and smirked. "Humph." Looking directly at Neji, he narrowed his eyes. "It seems you can't even last without me."
"Oy, that's not fair, Sasuke!" Miharu complained. "I had to fight off a team of ninja by myself, remember?" When he didn't reply, Miharu felt an incredible urge to punch his stupid smirking face in. However, she managed to settle with just clutching her fists so tight that they bled.
"Urusai." Neji muttered under his breath, just loud enough for the two to hear. When they stopped bickering and turned their attention to him, he continued. "In case you have forgotten, those four are still here...whoever they are."
"Ke..." Sasuke spat. He remembered all to well. They were the four who had almost killed him that night. The night he had, with their help, convinced himself that he needed Orochimaru's power to help him kill Itachi. And it turned out to be true. But he had lost much of the trust he had gained in his younger years for that power. Now, however, Itachi was dead. The Uchiha clan had had their revenge. He didn't need Orochimaru anymore.
The three tensed, looking in the directions which Neji had pointed out. Although they couldn't see what was happening, he could. Suddenly realizing he had not been paying any attention to what the four had been doing, but to what his teammates were bickering about, he turned his head quickly to look at them all. What he saw did not make him feel any better. "What the hell?" He asked himself.
Sasuke and Miharu both took the chance to look at their partner. They saw his eyes widen slightly, saw his mouth form the words, heard them escape from his pale lips. "Not good!" he yelled. However, it was too late.
Four voices joined together harmoniously to form the word "Shishienjin!" (Four Man Purple Flame Array). A purplish box shaped barrier covered the three ninja who stood upon the dusty trail. Burning brightly, it cloaked them. There was no way for them to escape.
"Hah!" Miharu called out the four. "You honestly think this pathetic barrier can keep me in?" She wasn't able to see three grins, one frown, through the thick purple barrier. She began running toward the nearest wall.
"Yamete!" Came Neji's cool voice. She stopped abruptly.
"Nani?" She asked angrily. "I want to get out of here! We have to..."
"I know what we have to do, you idiot. But if I were you, I wouldn't touch any one of these walls."
"Well, you're not me, so shove it!" Angrily, she grabbed a kunai from her pouch and threw it at the wall. Sasuke smirked as it came into contact with the wall and burst into purple flames. Miharu dropped to the ground, shock drawn upon her face. "What the hell...?"
"He did tell you..." Sasuke stated matter-of-factly.
Miharu blushed furiously. "So then, Mr. Smart Ass, how the hell are you planning for us to get out of here?" She turned her back to the both of them, and moved as far away as she could, careful to keep a safe distance between herself and the purple box of flames.
"Simple...we wait."
*
Bounding through the trees, Hinata surveyed all. They all had the same look of determination on their faces, though some were more so than others. Speeding up so that she could catch Kiba, she slowed her pace once she reached him. "W-we'll find them...won't w-we?" She asked quietly.
Looking at her, he nodded, though she couldn't see. "Of course! You have to have faith!" Facing frontward once more, they continued on in silence, until...
Stopping suddenly, Hinata looked ahead to see why they had come to such an abrupt halt. Seeing Sakura in lead, talking, she listened attentively. "Now, of course, being the genius that I am, had a brilliant idea! Hinata-chan!" Looking over everyone else, Sakura spotted Hinata and waved her over. Walking forward tentatively, Hinata stopped in front of the pink-haired girl. Bowing her head slightly, she answered.
"Y-yes, Sakura-san?"
Smiling widely, Sakura asked her in a sickly sweet voice, "Do you think you could use your Byakugan to check for them?"
Looking up, a slight blush warming her cheeks, Hinata nodded slowly. "H-hai! Of course!" Looking around her, she saw Kiba. He flashed her a quick thumbs up.
"Gambatte, Hinata!" He cheered her on.
Closing her eyes slowly, she softly murmured "Byakugan!" and opened them once more, revealing grotesque veins, which resembled Neji's a great deal. Pointing North-West, she told the rest that they were in that direction. Trusting her entirely, the group sped off.
Stopping abruptly once more, several minutes later, Sakura stared in front of her in shock. Creeping up behind her, the rest of the shinobi's faces began to take on the same look as they saw four figures (well, actually three jeering and one frowning...guess who...) jeering those who were in a flaming purple box, seemingly unable to move.
It was Ino's voice who first broke through. "Holy shit..."
A/N: Ok ya, I know. Took me long enough. Actually, I could have finished this on Saturday or Sunday. I just was feeling extremely lazy. But I finally got it up, and that's what counts, right? Ok, three more chapters to go! I have them all planned out and everything. So then, ja ne!