So here goes another round of excuses of the pathetic kind... Uni. That's all I have to say... and maybe hibernation.
This chapter is dedicated to Maren. And I want to say that I'm a better, greater and much more beautiful Kakashi-obsessed-freak than Kathrin! KAKASHIIIII!
I wanna thank everybody for reviewing end encouraging me to continue! Hugs for everybody! I love ya all... breaks down and cries
As always, flames, praise and constructive criticism (not necessarily in that order) are welcome. I'll also accept hugs,
cookies and food for my pets.
Now on with the show!
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"Mahahahaha!"
Eyes half closed, Gai looked up from the small puddle of dark liquid he was kneeling above. He felt another drop sliding down his hand where he was pressing it hard against the gaping wound on his chest.
It was bleeding profoundly, and already the first symptoms of blood loss had made themselves obvious.
Gai was feeling lightheaded and the fast beating of his heart was loud in the silence of his ears. His breathing was shallow, his lungs seemingly refusing to draw in air properly with the searing pain shooting through his shoulder and chest with every attempt to heave.
A deep fatigue spread throughout his body, clawing at the edge of his foggy mind. He had the nearly overwhelming desire to lie down and sleep.
But again he got up.
"Ya sure you don't want to give up?" The mocking voice of Kisame echoed across the small space between him and Maito Gai.
"You don't seem to be on your high... well, to be frank, you've already passed it years ago!" A loud roar of laughter errupted from the shark-man's throat, but Gai was too tired to care about replying anymore.
With an effort he straightened. A trembling arm lifted a bloody hand, beckoning his opponent that he was ready again.
A wave of dizziness passed momentarily through his stomach and he feared he would throw up, but after another calming breath the haze lifted partly from around him. His legs suddenly started shaking almost violently and for a second Gai thought, that maybe it hadn't been such a good idea after all to stand up already.
Before he had a chance to follow the train of thoughts further, his eyes caught sight of the glimmering side of the shark-skin katana Samehade piercing the air as it was thrust towards him.
Flipping backwards into a handstand, Gai swung his boot around to dodge the sword. It connected with an impact that nearly made him lose his balance on the slippery surface of the roof. With a grunt he dug his fingers into the tiles and pushed back against the weapon.
Suddenly there was a feeling of utter exhaustion running through his body. He felt like the chakra was draining from his skin... as if somebody was sucking out his very energy.
"I see you still have some power left, green beast... lucky my Samehade never ceases to lose its appetite for chakra!"
So he actually 'was' losing his chakra.
'What can I do...', Gai thought with a twinge of desperation. Opening all eight gates was not an option anymore. He had lost too much energy to even consider attempting it.
Jumping back onto his feet, the black-haired shinobi watched the nuke-nin carefully.
It was obvious that Gai wasn't the only one exhausted in this 'game', as Kisame preferred to call their fight, though he was pretty sure that the Akatsuki member was in much better condition than he was. The chances of him winning against Kisame were thin...
Gai had to end it now. There wasn't much of a choice.
Staring squarely at Kisame, Gai clenched his hands into tight fists, ignoring again the searing white pain from the deep wounds.
He forced himself to calm down his breathing and heartbeat, concentrating on focusing chakra at four parts of his body, the first four spots of his inner chakra coils.
His breathing got deeper as he drew more chakra to this gates and with a final sharp exhalation he forcibly released the brain's restraints that controlled the chakra flow.
Gai immediately felt masses of energy spurting through his exhausted body, his muscles tensing in anticipation as he prepared for his next move.
Gai was gone before Kisame could do anything.
Where the black-haired ninja had been standing was only a puddle of dark blood left, glistening in the fading moonlight.
Suddenly there was a slight shift in air pressure. Kisame didn't even get the chance to draw in a last breath before Gai attacked.
A massive blow to his chest sent the large man flying through the air, forcing the oxygen out of his burning lungs in a rush.
But he never hit the opposite side of the roof. Instead he felt two hands gripping the front of his cloak tightly, stopping him dead in mid-air.
What followed was a fire of kicks to his back and head, breaking his shoulder blade and some ribs like the bones were matches.
As he waited for the next blow, his jaws clenched in anticipation of the pain, Kisame didn't see Gai's next move coming.
The hands that held him in arm's reach suddenly let go and Kisame was pushed into the roof with a hard kick to his stomach. Blood filled his mouth, the taste of iron all too familiar to the shark man. For a fraction of a second his vision blackened, white dots dancing through his view. He never saw the fist flying towards his face...
Gai watched as his enemy smashed backwards into the chimney, stones flying into all directions. He was breathing heavily, arms and legs trembling from the effort. He had only succeeded in opening four gates fully and even that action had used up most of his energy reserves to accomplish. Gai wasn't sure for how much longer he'd be able to keep that speed up.
He didn't have time to pursue it further.
He found the spot where Kisame had landed deserted. The only sign that the shark man had been there was a large hole gaping open in the structure.
Right then a greyish hand shot out through the roof underneath Gai, grabbing blindly for his ankle. Fortunately Gai was faster and he moved to the right before the hand got a chance of getting a hold on him. Out of the corner of his eyes, Gai could see Kisame crawling out of the newly made hole with a face set in anger and hatred.
With muscles tensed to the point of snapping, Gai dashed forward, aiming his fist at where the Akatsuki was crouching on the shattered roof.
Breathing heavily, Kisame jumped high into the air, watching as the tiles exploded where he had been standing some seconds ago.
But he still couldn't see him. The Konoha shinobi was too fast for the bare eye to catch. He had to make him slow down enough for him to be able to strike. He had played long enough with the beast, the time had come finish 'it'!
With a thud Kisame landed on the roof. In the same heartbeat he swung around his Samehade, not actually aiming for anything, or better anyone. He just wanted to clear the area around him to gain enough time to prepare his jutsu.
For a fraction of a second, he saw a green swirl running past him, avoiding his sword and changing directions abruptly.
This was his chance!
Kisame let go of his precious sword and instantly his hands flew through a set of seals, the whole act not taking longer than the second his weapon needed to hit the roof.
Almost immediately after he had clasped his hands together into the final seal, the whole house started shaking, the broken tiles clattering and falling from the building into the streets.
With a wide malicious grin, Kisame watched as the roof exploded at several places, blades of water piercing the construction and flying through the night in high speed. The sound of breaking wood and tiles filled the air as more watery weapons appeared.
At first they swivelled through the air seemingly uncoordinately, but after some moments they had zoomed in on a fast moving figure, chasing it... hunting it down, like a pack of bloodhounds their prey.
Gai sped across the rooftops as fast as his burning legs allowed him, but he could already hardly dodge the water blades attacking him from all sides. Just when another weapon struck from the left, Gai slipped on the wet roof and crashed into the tiles, the sharp edges cutting his already bloody skin.
He flipped onto his back and was just about to get back up, when a water blade shot down on him. It pierced his shoulder and pinned him effectively against the roof.
Blood seeped out of the wound, spilling onto the tiles and dyeing the water of the blade crimson. Gai hissed as the pain shot through his chest, making it impossible to fill his lungs with much needed air.
Eyes tightly shut, he listened as Kisame landed beside him on the roof. A loud splashing indicated him that the shark-man had lifted the jutsu, the blades dissolving in small waterfalls that cascaded down the slightly beveled roof.
"Seems the beast is trapped... as much as I enjoyed this little hunt, my time is precious." Kisame chuckled, blood dripping out of the corner of his mouth. He had picked up Samehade again and lifted it high into the air.
Gai stared at the sword with glazed eyes.
This was it. He was at the point where he couldn't even force his arms to shield his body from the arriving strike.
He watched the weapon slice through the air and his brain started working in overdrive.
Would Akatsuki get Naruto? Did Lee find a medic for Tenten? Would Kakashi visit his grave just like he did with Obito's?
Would Lee forgive him for breaking his promise to him?
He allowed a bitter smile to appear on his split lips, eyes slowly closing as he shut out Kisame's laughter.
A fraction of a second before his eyes closed completely and the sword hit his body, Gai glimpsed a flash of green and black crashing against Kisame and sending him reeling into a the wall of a house...
----------
'Dammit! Dammit!'
Hot tears prickled at the back of Sakura's eyes as another large boulder slid down the mountain of debris just as she had succeeded in rolling away enough to glimpse a small space underneath the remains of the collapsed house. She had to work faster!
God only knew how much time Naruto had before he got crushed under tons of rubble... if he wasn't already dead.
Shaking her head in denial, Sakura picked up another heavy piece of wall and tossed it to the side. Her arms were already trembling to the point where she could barely lift them, but she refused to listen to the screams of her totally exhausted body.
Her broken wrist was already numb from the pain, but she could still feel the sickening grinding of the fractured bones as she moved her hand. She would need a large amount of chakra to get her bones back together, especially now that she was messing them up with her effort of moving tons of debris. But she forced herself to ignore it. The pain, the sound, the possibility of never being able to use her hand ever again...
Sakura was already preparing herself for the upcoming healing session, gathering as much chakra as she could spare from every body part. Chakra she would soon need for both Naruto and Kakashi... she just hoped that it was enough when the time had come.
With a grunt she smashed another boulder that was almost as tall as herself, the stone crumbling under the strength of the blow.
"Just hold on... hold on..." She mumbled under her breath, sweat trickling down her face and stinging in her watery eyes.
Suddenly she heard a cough from somewhere inside the pile of rubble that had been a four-storey building some minutes ago.
"Narutoo!" With newly found energy, she started digging almost frantically into the debris, the pain in her torn fingers nothing but a distant tingling of nerves.
He was alive. Naruto was alive!
The thought alone made her roll away stones and boulders and lift beams the size of a tree.
"Naruto! I'm almost there!" She was panting heavily, eyes darting through the hole she had just uncovered. The dust that had risen from within was so thick she could barely see the hand before her eyes, her throat itching and making her cough a few times. "Naruto, gimme a sign! Where are you?"
She was regarded with an ominous silence that droned in her ears.
Suddenly there was a low moan coming from her right. Sakura immediately dashed to where she thought it had originated from and took hold of another beam. As she heaved it up from the ground, her eyes saw something faintly orange moving faintly underneath it.
Looking around, Sakura tried to find a way to discard the beam, but when she noticed that a large part of the building was resting on it, she realized that throwing it away meant burying Naruto underneath the crumbled building and possibly herself along.
"Naruto... please, you have to help me!" Her arms were burning from the strain. "Try to crawl outta there... I can't hold it much longer..." She hissed through gritted teeth, forcing the beam up another few inches.
In the corner of her eyes, Sakura saw him moving slowly into her direction, a pained grunt reaching her ears as he reached her legs. Sakura could see from where she was standing above him, that he was dragging his leg behind and that his right shoulder was dislocated. She watched him as he finally emerged fully from under the beam and tried to get up into a standing position,
crawling more than walking into the open street behind her.
As soon as she thought he had reached safety, Sakura let go of the heavy beam and jumped back just when the rest of the building broke down completely, a cloud of grayish dust rising from the mountain of debris and engulfing her.
"Naruto?" Carefully, she walked up to him where he had collapsed on his back in a bloody and dirty heap. Crouching down beside him, Sakura gingerly touched a large laceration on his cheek. Blue chakra seeped out of the tips of her fingers as her hand travelled down his neck towards his shoulder and down his arm.
With a swift movement she pulled Naruto's arm towards her, waiting until she heard the sickening 'plop' of his bone sliding back into the joint of his shoulder. Immediately her hand covered it and the blue chakra entered the purple skin, healing the damage and suppressing the immense pain.
Sweat trickled down her temples from the exhausting process and her breathing got heavier the longer she needed.
"Sakura..." Staring at the bloodied face of her best friend, Sakura fought the urge to cry. She watched as his eyes fluttered open, bright, hazy blue being revealed.
Sakura's lips began to quiver when the laceration on Naruto's cheek started sizzling, slowly disappearing as red chakra emitted from his body.
"You shouldn't have done this! You're such an idiot!" She said angrily, taking the young man by surprise.
Sakura felt tears sliding down her cheeks and falling from her chin onto Naruto's chest.
She was angry at him. For having risked his life 'again' for her. For having run headlong into the enemy without thinking because of her. For having been hurt badly and for having almost ended dead.
With some shock, she felt a warm hand cupping her cheek carefully.
As she blinked away the tears, she found Naruto smiling warmly up at her, eyes sparkling. It almost made her lose it completely.
Why in hell was he so, so... Narutoish?
"Maybe if you stop worrying, I'll stop being an idiot..." He retorted, grinning cheekily up at her and making her lips tremble even more.
Sakura felt his hand leaving her cheek and found him pushing his torso up from the dirty ground into a sitting position.
He regarded her with a dirt stained face, looking like he had had a fight in a puddle of mud.
The silence between them was broken by a scream.
A bone-chilling scream that seemed to penetrate her to the core. A noise so unhuman, that Sakura's gut tightened as she listened to the echo bouncing off the walls of the remaining houses.
"Kakashi..."
Right then she saw a form staggering to the edge of the building she had been standing on some minutes ago. The figure stumbled backwards, clutching its head in both hands. And then he was falling like a rag-doll into the abyss.
Eyes wide in horror, Sakura dashed towards the house wall. Focusing chakra into the soles of her feet, she jumped off the wall up to where the body was falling towards her. She caught him in mid-air, her arms winding around his torso and hefting him over her shoulder as she descended towards the ground once again.
Landing with a heavy thud, Sakura got up with a grunt and moved swiftly to where she had left Naruto behind.
To her surprise she found him already standing there, hands clenched into tight fists as he waited for her return. Sakura noticed immediately that he was able to use his leg again, probably the work of the kyuubi.
"Kakashi!" Naruto asked concerned, running up towards Sakura and helping her lay down the unconscious body of their former sensei. He could see his eyes moving erratically underneath closed lids, looking like he was caught in a nightmare. His face was ashen and Naruto could see the jaw muscles clench and unclench underneath the smooth fabric of the black mask.
Sakura's hand caressed the pale skin of Kakashi's cheekbone gently, asking herself, what powerful and horrid thing Itachi must have done to make such an outstanding ninja fall into such a comatose state of shock.
At the same time she prayed, that she would never have to find out...
"What happened?" Naruto asked suddenly, gaining her attention.
"It's the genjutsu of the Mangekyou..." Sakura mumbled almost to herself, her hands already busily preparing a healing jutsu.
Naruto exhaled sharply and almost immediately Sakura felt a tingling sensation crawl across her skin. When she looked up she found Naruto crouching beside her, red chakra engulfing him in an eery glow that gave her the creeps. His fingernails had grown into long claws and his bared teeth looked more like those of a fox than a human being. It was then that she heard a deep guttural snarling sound.
Not able to prevent the shiver from running down her spine at the sight of the 'kyuubyfied' Naruto, Sakura noticed that he was no longer staring at Kakashi. She followed his gaze and found an unmoving figure standing atop the roof Kakashi had fallen off, looking calmly down at them.
Sakura drew in a shaking breath, doubling her effort of healing Kakashi to the point where he was at least responsive, when suddenly the figure disappeared from the roof, just to re-appear in a blur right in front of them. Itachi's stoic figure remained standing some four meters away.
But to Sakura it seemed he was no longer focused on them...
It was then, that she noticed a slight change in atmosphere... a new chakra pattern had appeared. A pattern, Sakura knew better than any other.
With eyes wide in realization, her gaze shifted from Itachi to Naruto and then back to the eldest Uchiha. The ominous, powerful chakra was slowly but steadily increasing in intensity and Sakura wondered why he wasn't trying to conceal it? Why wasn't he trying to hide his presence?
Out of the corner of her eyes, the pink-haired kunoichi found a black form emerging out of the shadows of the streets. She couldn't prevent the surprised gasp from escaping her lips.
Something in Itachi's eyes changed then.
"Long time no see, little brother."
----------
'Damn, that asssshooole'
Grunting, Jiraya grabbed the tongue that darted towards him from behind and pulled hard. Turning around in a semi-circle he suddenly let go of the organ and watched with dark eyes as Orochimaru landed silently in front of a tree.
The toad-sannin was standing, shoulders square and hands clenched into fists, between the unconscious Tsunade and the smirking ex-Konoha shinobi.
The smile on Orochimaru's lips widened as the tongue disappeared again in his throat.
"As expected from the Hokage. Only a weak country would chose a weak kunoichi as leader." His chuckle didn't contain any humor. "Tsunade has always been an unworthy person, both as comrade and as opponent."
Snorting, Jiraya crossed his arms in front of his chest, glancing sideways at the prone figure of his dear friend and secret love. "Ya know, Orochi... she's always had a soft spot for your pale ass. As a medic, Tsunade has always had the urge to protect the ill. Physically or mentally. You just happen to be one of the latter."
"Kukukuku." The snake-sannin watched as the bemused expression on Jiraya's face vanished within a second.
"Now, now, my dear 'friend'. No reason to get hostile."
"I'll let you know when I get 'hostile'." Jiraya said angrily, taking a step forward.
He was in a situation he had rather not been forced into in the first place.
Standing in front of his former comrade, the number one nuke-nin of Konoha and worst S-class criminal known in the bingo-book,
Jiraya had only one option left. Fight to death.
Without Tsunade and her well-developed jutsu, that would have sealed away Orochimaru's ass into a nice portable scroll, and without the likewise smart plan to capture said ass, the toad-sannin would have to improvise. Not that he had ever had a problem making up some plan to fish himself out of some of the stickier situations (he was an older version of Naruto reagrding that one), but he would have been more comfortable with an angry, roused Tsunade with a hook that made every grown-up man wince just thinking about.
He would have to finish him in some good moves. Attacks that would bring Orochimaru out of his hole.
But with that snake-head being all cool and collected it would be hard to get him into the defence. Maybe he should play dirty first...
"I can't see that lil creep of an ass-kisser ya always keep around. What was the name of your lapdog?" He asked with a mocking smirk.
"Kabuto is unfortunately dead." Jiraya listened with some satisfaction as he noticed the slight tinge of anger in Orochimaru's voice.
"Oh yeah, remember hearing something 'bout him getting killed by that Uchiha brat, right?" Noticing a shadow fall over his opponent's face, Jiraya continued, "Weren't you supposed to get his body in something about two months, huh? Personal nurse worm-fodder,
a run-away second-hand-body and death slowly creeping up on ya. ... How'd ya feel 'ole buddy'?"
A malicious grin appeared on the pale features of the snake-sannin and Jiraya steeled himself for the upcoming attack.
He didn't have to wait long.
With blinding speed, Orochimaru formed a hand-seal and almost instantly the ground underneath Jiraya's feet broke up, uncountable snakes shooting out of the soil, large fangs twinkling in the light of the disappearing moon. He jumped high into the air, his eyes glancing back to where Orochimaru had been standing a second ago.
He felt a barely perceptible shift of air-pressure from below and formed immediately a seal of his own.
Right when a long katana appeared out of the nowhere, aiming for his stomach, his white hair grew into a tight armor, blocking the deadly weapon just in time.
Kicking the blade away, he stared into the dangerously glistening eyes of his opponent. He was already busy performing another set of seals and inhaled deeply...
A large wall of fire hit Orochimaru, the white skin turning black and sizzling under the heat.
The bunshin dissolved with a 'ploff', leaving behind burned trees and from the heat flickering air.
Jiraya landed on a large branch, eyes roaming over the forest and searching for a sign of Orochimaru. When he looked up, he suddenly stared at the swinging tail of Manda as he dashed deeper into the woods, Gamabunta hot on his trail. A second before the tail crushed the row of trees, Jiraya saved himself by jumping to where Tsunade was lying on her belly.
He landed with a thud some meters away from her body, head turning into all directions as he expected his ex-teammate to attack any moment.
Without warning, a shadow appeared from behind him and Jiraya jumped out of the sword's range before it could decapitate him.
The white-haired man turned in mid-air, a perfect ball of compressed chakra in one hand. He thrust it straight at the other man,
feeling hot blood splattering onto his arm as he pierced the chest... only to find the body slowly turning into a oozy mass of mud that slowly dripped down his arm.
Eyes wide, Jiraya swivelled around.
In mid-turn he saw a short glinting of metall, but he never got the time to stop his moving body.
In the fraction of a second the sword needed to impale his body, he realized his mistake as he stared into the large, maniacal orbs of Orochimaru, mouth wide open as the silver katana emerged further from deep within his throat.
They landed with a thud in front of the tree Tsunade had been smashed against and Orochimaru stepped forward, forcing the sword some additional centimeters through Jirayas body.
The Konoha shinobi coughed up some crimson liquid, the blood splattering onto Orochimaru's face. It seemed he was oblivious to it.
The smile broadened and with a chuckle, he pulled out the last part of the sword from his throat, saliva dripping from it. He took the hilt in one fluid motion and pushed it even further into the bloody chest of Jiraya.
With a grunt, the sannin backed off some inches, his back bumping into the tree behind him.
"You should have given up many years ago, Jiraya, my old friend. We both knew you would never be able to live up to the high expectations of our 'sensei'!" Orochimaru spat out the last part.
"Keh..." Blood was dripping out of the corners of Jiraya's mouth when he drew in air to answer. His face was a mask of indifference.
Not the slightest sign of pain was visible. 'A shinobi should never show any sign of emotions or weakness', Sarutobi had told them on their first mission after Jiraya had received some hard punches from Tsunade for beeping.
"Ya know, Orochi... maybe Tsunade was right about snakes..." He inhaled again and watched with glassy eyes as the man with the long black hair stepped back half a meter, arms crossed in front of his chest as he watched with amused eyes.
"She told me once, that one can drive them away and pull their teeth. Their offspring will come back and bite you instead.
We drove ya off, Orochi, and made your arms unusable, but you returned and showed your ugly face yet again."
He drew in a shaking breath, a wet gurgle accompanying his futile attempt.
"She ended her remark with a conclusion... 'Only headless snakes don't bite'."
Eyes narrowed, Orochimaru regarded Jiraya with a wary look. The toad-sannin looked like he would collapse any second now, when suddenly a small movement of his hands caught the black-haired man's attention.
Jaws clenched, his head jerked around to find the forest disappearing, being replaced by something that looked like the intestines of an animal the size of a small house. Breathing quickening, he tried to step forward, but found his legs stuck in the sticky tissue up to his thighs already.
He couldn't move.
Suddenly six hands gripped Orochimaru's arms and torso in an iron hold, making him completely immobile.
Eyes filled with anger and blunt hatred stared at Jiraya in disbelieve. "Die already!"
A soft chuckle escaped Jiraya's bloody lips as he straightened with much effort, a jolt of agonizing pain running through his body with every move. Breathing was nearly impossible, but he knew he had to finish it as long as he had the smallest bit of chakra left in his system.
With one swift movement, Jiraya pulled out the long sword from his torso. Tsunade's words came to his mind unforbidden. 'Ya know, that this is gonna end in hell for us?'.
"She was right..."
Wide eyes stared at the glinting blade of his own katana as it pierced the air on its way downwards to his neck. Orochimaru felt a small sting as the blade touched his skin, like paper cutting into a finger. But there was no pain... just a blinding white light that spread out through his vision, engulfing everything around him and the dull eyes of Jiraya staring tiredly down at him...
----------
Sakura's eyes flickered back and forth between the two tall man, panic and fear clearly visible in the bright green orbs. Her heart was beating frantically in her chest, the constant 'thud' reverberating in her ears as the heavy silence surrounding her threatened to become unbearable.
Uchiha Itachi was still facing them, but his gaze was unfocused as he concentrated on the second man behind him.
In the semi-darkness of the breaking dawn, Sasuke's eyes glared bloody red at his older brother's back.
Her breath came out in small misty clouds and Sakura had to strain her eyes at the two opponents as her vision blurred from the lack of sleep and chakra.
She knew that Kakashi, Naruto and herself were currently on very dangerous territory, the bomb, they were sitting on, about to explode any second now.
Suddenly the body in her arms shifted slightly, drawing the kunoichi's attention at once from the scene in front of her.
Kakashi's breathing was labored, eyes moving rapidly under tightly closed lids as he was stuck in some kind of horrid nightmare, induced by Itachi's Mangekyou sharingan.
A low moan escaped his hidden lips and Sakura had to supress the temptation to whisper soothing words.
'What could I say? Everything is gonna be alright?'
Kakashi was very low on chakra, the long hours of fighting and the usage of the Mangekyou having taken their toll on him.
Sakura was aware that her own level of energy was practically nonexistent, especially after the attempt to heal as much of the damage done to her former sensei as possible.
The problem was, that mental wounds were much more difficult to cure than physical ones and she would need many sessions to get him back to normal. Or as normal as one could be after having had such an experience.
A slight noise behind her reminded Sakura that the last member of newly assembled team 7 was still present and by the way his chakra had already changed into that of a demon, she knew he was ready to clash.
She would have to get his attention. A berserk Naruto was definitely on the list of things she had to prevent from happening!
Especially with 'two' out-of-control Uchihas, one of them ready to kill anything that dared come in his way of avenging his family within a fifty mile radius and the other one ready to offer his help to extract the kyuubi out of Naruto whenever said young man would show any kind of weakness.
And in his kyuubi-induced state of mind, Naruto was one big weakness. Not thinking, not considering, doing nothing but getting headlong into trouble.
Sakura 'had' to get him back under control...
"Naruto"
The cold, controlled voice of the man she had vowed to love and protect, broke through her thoughts like a thunder.
When she looked back at him, Sakura found Sasuke hadn't moved an inch but his sharingan eyes had shifted from Itachi to Naruto and her.
A shiver ran down her spine as their gazes locked for the first time ever since he had shown up.
'This is my fight. Stay out of this or you'll regret it.', his eyes seemed to say and Sakura understood the unspoken message.
"Naruto...", she whispered, "help me with Kakashi"
There wasn't an immedaite reaction and Sakura could practically feel the deep frown on his bewildered face as he stared at the back of her head.
"We have to get him somewhere else. He's in critical condition"
"But"
"No 'but'." Sakura interrupted Naruto mid-sentence, her fingers digging into the vest of Kakashi. "This is not your fight." She finished in almost a whisper.
Naruto didn't reply.
He merely stared at the two Uchiha brothers, his breathing heavy from anger and slitted eyes glaring menacingly at them. As if this action alone could get Itachi killed and Sasuke back to normal.
But no such thing happened.
Walking up to Sakura's side, he kneeled down beside her and helped her carefully lift Kakashi's trembling body from the hard ground. His long nails ripped apart the side of his sensei's pants-leg, but he just found his anger growing when he felt the cold eyes of Itachi following their every move.
"Who told you to go." The Akatsuki member suddenly spoke in a low tone of voice, making Sakura and Naruto halt dead in the middle of the gloomy street.
"Or do you really think, I'll waste my precious time with scum like my little brother?"
Sakura's ears caught the faint noise of a kunai flying through the air, sounding like wind whistling through a field of rice.
Reflexes trained to perfection ever since genin days, she ducked just in time to see two small weapons whizzing past her head and imbedding themselves in a nearby house.
"You fucking ass!" Naruto roared, shoving Kakashi's still form into Sakura's weak arms and starting off into the direction of the older Uchiha, when suddenly a dark shadow appeared right in front of him, a hand on his angrily heaving chest keeping him standing in the middle of the poorly illuminated street.
Naruto's fox-like eyes stared at Sasuke's red ones.
After long seconds of silence, a sad smile graced the raven-haired man's lips.
"You have grown...", he told Naruto in a low voice. "Both of you... almost beyond recognition..."
Growling, Naruto grabbed him by his collar and drew him close to his face.
"Damn son of a bitch! Stop talking like nothing has happened!" Naruto exploded like a bomb, his chest heaving heavily from the anger that was boiling deep within him.
"Did you think we'd wait for you, doing nothing? We worked our asses bloody! Fought to become stronger and stronger just to show you lil bastard what you could have achieved here! So stop talking like you havn't caused all this shit, you... you..."
A sob from behind him could be heard above Naruto's panting as he searched for words.
"Naruto." Sasuke began, taking hold of the fist clenched around his shirt. He pried it away slowly.
"I'm not here to defend my actions... but I believe, I've finally found 'my' way of the ninja." With a rueful smile, Sasuke turned around, facing Itachi almost looking indifferent, but Naruto knew him enough to notice the small shift of his stance and the way his fingers curled slowly into a fist.
"I'll see ya later, dobe."
Chuckling humorlessly, Naruto averted his gaze, staring at the ground.
"I'll hold you to it, idiot!"
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FINIS?
So here is another chapter that forces me into a very sticky situation: What the heck will happen next! Ideas are welcome.
You can send them via doves, dolphines and snakes... or other lovely creatures you just found out exist! n.n
Assistant's notes: (my sis XD )
Wohooo! Kabuto's dead! But that you humiliated Orochi-sensei-sama-kun was soooooooo unfair! pout Rot in hell Kabuto-teme!
Author's notes II:
o.O'' uhmm... suman, suman... but (Yeah, the ominous 'but'), just for the records: I even made Kakashi look like a wimp, to get the story into the right direction! And I love/adore/love Kakashi! An his overly sexy six-pack!
So stop complaining about Orochi! Orochi here, Orochi there... blablabla! What about 'my' feelings?
Assistant's notes II:
Who's talking bout 'U'? You hurt Orochi's feelings!
Author's notes III: Well, I actually killed him...
Assistant's notes III:
Keh! ignorestares at picture of 'healthy' and very lively Orochimaru
Autor's notes IV:
Well, whatever... -.-