A/N: Hate to say it but we're nearing the last chapter. Thanks for reviewing guys!

Cold

The news nearly shocked him out of his wits. The HQ had a lot of alarms that are hard to disable. The security systems are tight and computerized, made only by the resident genius Nara Shikamaru. Yet how were Sound members able to get inside? Most of all, his brother is more skilled than he is, but he got captured by someone like Kabuto? This guy wasn't anywhere near Itachi's strength or skills, so how did Oro's right hand man managed to confine Itachi? It was hard to believe.

"There's no way that guy will be able to reach my brother's level!"

Sakura didn't say anything and just looked down at the phone she clutched in her hand, scared at what will happen. Afraid of what could lead to Sasuke's decision. She too was wondering, how was SS and BL immediately conquered by mere henchmen? Especially with Kakashi, Kurenai and Itachi being there; Shino's bugs could've done something, Shikamaru's mind should've thought of something. All together, they would've brought down the invaders, so… how?

Finally reaching the HQ, they didn't bother to park and just got out, not even taking the key or turning off the engine. They just left, running towards the entrance, rushing up the stairs until they reached the floor where Kakashi's office is.

"Something's wrong, I can feel it…" Sakura thought, stopping when her partner did, both waiting for the other to open the door. Sasuke clenched his fists and raised one to touch the knob, twist it and push it open. Sakura readied herself by taking out a few kunai and shuriken, ready to block off attacks or start an offense.

What they saw made their eyes widened and bodies frozen on the spot.

Chapter 8: Decisions, decisions

Something was definitely wrong, especially since Sakura wasn't the type to joke about all of this. The whole gang was there, staring at them, wondering what their fighting stance was for. Kakashi cleared his throat and stood up, raising a brow at Sasuke and Sakura. "Can you please explain what this is all about?"

"Kakashi-san..?" Sakura voiced out her thoughts. "H-how..? When I called you, you said you guys were under attack and taken captive?"

"Au contraire my dear Sakura," Kakashi said, raising an index finger and shaking it from left to right, stating his point. "We can't be beaten easily since we made the alliance." He chuckled and she sighed in relief, returning her weapons. She looked at Sasuke who still had his fighting stance and eyes fixed on Kakashi. "Sasuke..?" she asked. "It's a fake." He said and he threw a kunai directly at Kakashi who ducked it.

Sasuke smirked. "Just as I thought, this is an illusion." He said, taking out his katana from its sheath. "The real Kakashi would've caught it and scolded me by now, not evade and look at me with wide eyes." He turned serious and glared at the fake. "Who are you?"

The faker sneered and did a hand seal, the whole place turning into its real form. Broken chairs and desks, scattered papers, blood on walls and the carpeted floors with knives and bullets around the place. Standing there before them, alone and smirking smugly, was none other than Kabuto himself. "You know, you should also pay attention to what's behind you." And when the two were about to turn, their hands were tied behind their backs and had guns pointed on the back of their heads, the owners threatening to pull the trigger if they did anything funny or drastic. "Shit." Sasuke cursed and glared at Kabuto who still had a smug smirk on his face.

They were both brought to the underground part of HQ. Sakura tried to think of a plan on how to escape, glancing at her surroundings, trying to see if there could be a way for breaking the ropes or a way for one of them, if not both, to be able to run and get to safer grounds. A snicker reached their ears as they froze and looked deathly pale. Right before them stood Orochimaru, behind him were the rest of their friends and most were beaten up, some were better off dead, some were already on the verge of meeting Death himself.

"You thought you could escape me, didn't you?" He asked, directing the question to Sasuke who remained impassive. This irked the snake-man a bit and still smirked, never the less. He gestured the men to bring Sakura over here then turned to the ones behind him, telling them to drag Itachi before him. Sasuke's fists clenched tightly behind his back; he was having a really bad feeling about all this.

"Now let's see," he ordered one man to stay near Itachi and another to Sakura as his yellow eyes turned to Sasuke with a smirk. "You managed to escape my third challenge. I knew that somehow, you were bound to give in and come to me on your own, fearing that your precious friends and family will get hurt. However, just when I was about to win, she," he spat at Sakura who gave him a fierce glare; trying to remain fearless at the situation they're in. "…interfered by giving you hope, love and everything that an assassin shouldn't and must never have," he turned to look at Sakura's supposed to be flat tummy. "A child…"

He most definitely disliked where this was going; especially since Orochimaru has just mentioned about his soon-to-be kid. From the corner of his eyes, he estimated the number of men that was there behind him, adding to that several more that were guarding the rest of the SS and BL assassins, including his brother.

"You have a choice Sasuke," Orochimaru said, snickering at how the boy struggled from the ropes that bound his wrists. "Your brother's life," he said, turning to Itachi who had his hands tied behind his back and a gun pointed at his head. "Or Sakura's and your child's?" he faced the girl who was in the same position as Itachi but had a katana ready to stab her stomach. "Choose now, otherwise, they both die."

Silence followed as Sasuke lowered his head, his bangs hiding his eyes away from their view as seconds passed. The tension was thick and everyone held their breaths, waiting for the Uchiha's answer. Itachi knitted his eyebrows at this and decided to speak. "Sasuke, just choose Sakura, it doesn't matter anymore if I die as long as you won't go to Orochimaru." Sakura looked at the older Uchiha with wide eyes and shook her head. "There is no way I'm going to live in place for your life! You're the only other living Uchiha besides Sasuke, he needs you more than he needs me!"

Itachi gave her a stern look. "Are you kidding me? If Orochimaru killed you, it'll be taking two lives, yours and that child in your womb, while if it's me, it'll only be one life!" Orochimaru gritted his teeth and told the two to shut up as he turned back to Sasuke. "Well? What's your decision?"

They heard a small laugh, more of a mocking one, coming from the mouth of Shadow Assassin. His shoulders were shaking from mock laughter and it only pissed Orochimaru even more. Sasuke raised his head slowly, a smirk on his face and the sharingan activated. He taunted Orochimaru with the look he gave. "What makes you think I care?" he said, his smirk getting more sadistic than ever as Orochimaru was taken aback by this, daring him to repeat what he had said. Sasuke spat and straightened himself up. "Pathetic." He said. "You're even lower than dirt, just to get me; you step so low into this, involving others when it's only between you and me!" He laughed; something very unlikely for the assassin which made the others gape at him. "Like you said, I'm an assassin, I can act right? All along, I've been tricking you, making you believe that I actually care about them! Why the hell would I waste my time with friends, love and family? Che," his twisted smile turned to the opposite, his eyes becoming cold and distant. "Love, that feeling in me died down the day my parents tried to kill me. I thought I could learn to have emotions again, so I played, tricked and toyed with them," he turned to Sakura who flinched from his gaze. "Most especially, I only fooled her."

Stunned; that was what everybody felt. It was hard to believe that Sasuke managed to deceive all of them, including Kakashi, who raised him, even Itachi, his brother, even Sakura… it was a hard fact to swallow. Naruto couldn't believe his best friend did that to him, to them. Behind those smiles, smirks, insults and tone of authority as well as care was actually a real killer, an inhuman being. It was all hard to accept.

Sasuke turned to Orochimaru, glaring at him icily. "If you want proof, I can kill my own brother, or anyone you want me to kill, besides, don't you have a few things to tell me? I hate my time being wasted you bastard." Kabuto, from behind Sasuke, was unsure at first when his master had told him to untie the young assassin. Sighing, he did what he was told to do, cutting the ropes with a dagger. Sasuke rubbed the rope burns he had and turned to Oro.

"Alright, prove to me, kill all of them."

A smirk; Sasuke took his katana. "With pleasure." And without warning, he spun around and slashed every one of Oro's henchmen, barely slicing Kabuto's head off. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at this. "You-" Sasuke stopped and smirked at him. "When you said all of them, I thought you meant including these guys. You are an assassin as well right? You shouldn't be aggravated just because I reduced your army. Orochimaru smirked as well, liking the way his attitude and way of talking was. "Alright, leave Kabuto alive. The rest," he turned to the SS and BL assassins. "…must die."

Shadow Assassin approached the group, a stoic expression on his face. He stopped before Itachi who looked at him in disbelief. "You should be honored actually." He said and Itachi gave a confused look. "That the sword that killed our parents, will be the sword that would kill you." He smirked and Itachi's eyes widened when Sasuke had stabbed him right through the stomach. The others gasped and Orochimaru and Kabuto gave an amused smile. Sasuke retrieved the sword and turned to Sakura when Itachi fell dead on his feet. "I didn't lie when I said I love you, too bad it didn't last long." He said, walking closer to Sakura.

"S-Sasuke..?"

"Thanks for the pleasure you gave me." And he pierced his katana right through her chest, stabbing her heart and killing it emotionally and physically. He eyed the remaining people, eyes focusing on Naruto. "My best friend and rival, it's a shame you can't fight back." And he sliced off his head, much to Hinata's horror. She screamed but was silenced as soon as the blade slit her throat. "Four down," he said, looking at the others. "Eight more to go." And he went to Kakashi, "And how about you? How should I kill you?" he asked, raising his sword. "Maybe I should split you in half." The rest turned to him with eyes wide. "This is it, goodbye to all of you."

And before Orochimaru could laugh at the victory, he felt a sharp object prick his arm and everything around him slowly faded. "W-what..?" he turned to his left and saw Itachi there with a kunai at hand and a smirk on his lips. "H-how..?"

"It's all a trick! That brat hypnotized us with his sharingan!" Kabuto exclaimed as he was engaged in a battle with Naruto and Hinata. Orochimaru clenched his fists and glared at Itachi as he took a fighting stance. He felt another kunai pierce his skin from the back of his shoulder as he spun around to see Sasuke, throwing him three more kunai. "And I almost had you there if only this bloodline didn't take up too much energy!" Sasuke yelled, rushing head on. "At least I managed to kill his henchmen."

"Kabuto, fall back!" he commanded as he reached his comrade's side. "This won't be the last that you'll see of me." Orochimaru snickered. "He's definitely who I want to join in my guild." And when Kabuto threw a smoke bomb, they both disappeared. The rest got up, some of them panting from fighting the two. Sasuke shut one of his eyes; feeling drained out and nearly fell on the ground if his brother hadn't caught him on time.

"Hey, easy there bro." Itachi said, placing Sasuke's arm over his shoulder and helping the younger Uchiha up. "That plan of yours was great, on the spot too, sadly, you can't make it last long." Itachi grinned as his younger brother smirked, letting hi onii-chan help him walk. "Well, Orochimaru knows my trick now, you have any plans?"

"As if he'll be coming back soon," he said, rolling his eyes. "I mean, with those injuries, I doubt it." They both looked up to see Sakura approach them. Itachi smiled and made Sasuke sit on the floor while he went to check on the others. Sakura knelt down before Sasuke, casting a worried glance at him as he avoided it by looking down. "Sorry…" he said. "…for saying those… words…"

Trembling slightly, she looked at him, eyes a bit watery. Sasuke looked up and was about to speak again when she suddenly grabbed his shirt and buried her face on his chest, sobbing a bit. "…I…was scared." She said in between sobs. "Scared of losing you…" he didn't say anything. What was there to say? He only comforted her by wrapping his arms around her frail body, his eyes looking down at her as she continued to shed silent tears. "Sorry…" he said in his mind, letting her cry some more.

Hinata glanced at them. The illusion they saw seemed real even if it wasn't directed at them. They could still see how Orochimaru and Kabuto didn't know that the real assassins were escaping, and that the real Sasuke was concentrating too much on the illusion, making it look factual that even they thought it was real. Itachi seems to be the only one who wasn't bothered or affected at all, being an Uchiha and also having the sharingan.

As for Naruto, he had to be restrained from hitting Sasuke on the head for the words he chose to say. Enough said. The blonde was struggling to get to his feet after being tied down for a long time. He turned to look at the others who were badly beaten but still okay. It was hard to fight the Sound assassins but was worth it to live. SS and BL must protect their title of being the top and always number one. They've been tied for too long so Kakashi and Kurenai had decided a truce, a joint mission, and finally, becoming one.

Itachi turned back to his brother and Sakura, combining every bit of pieces and clues together to figure out what Oro's plan really is. His eyebrows knitted at the guess he made. "I think I know why he wants Sasuke." Everybody turned to Itachi and raised their brows, telling him to continue what he was about to say. "First of, Sasuke is the top assassin in SS and Sakura in BL. His first target was Sasuke originally, then, he found out about Sakura. I think he plans to get her to have BL join their org, but then, Kakashi comes up with the joint mission which causes that plan to backfire. So now, since both guilds are over their rivalry and are now one, Orochimaru fears that his own group will never reach the top. If he gets Sasuke, it would mean a 50 or more, chance of overthrowing the number one league." He punched his right fist onto his left palm and smirked. "I have a plan that's bound to work."

"Alright," Kiba said, stretching his arms. "Let's hear it."

"Well, we need Sasuke to go to Orochimaru of course." He smirked. "Looks like you'll be luring the fly to your web after all little brother.

"Sasuke,"

He stopped and turned to her, wondering why her tone of voice was filled with worry. They already talked about this. She understood what he had to do, yet something told him that she can't help but worry. The way her hands were clasped together in front of her chest and how her head was hung low; he knew very well that something was bothering her, something about the whole plan that his brother came up with.

"Sakura, we talked about this."

"I… I know that but…"

She trailed off when he got up from his crouching position. He was rummaging in his closet for a shirt but this was more important. He sighed and walked over to her, one white towel hanging around his neck, his hair slightly damp with water and clad only in black pants that were a bit loose on him. "What's bothering you?" he asked when he was in front of her. Sakura slowly looked up at him then turned the other way, avoiding his gaze. Again, he sighed, thinking why she was so annoying at a time like this. But heck, that's one of the many traits she had that attracted him anyway.

Grabbing her shoulders, she faced him again when he hunched over a bit to be in eye level with her. "Answer me." He demanded and she knew she had to. Dropping her hands to the side, she clenched her fists, biting her lower lip to prevent herself from starting to cry again. When she became an assassin, she never did cry anymore, until… until the day she felt an emotion called love, or maybe even care and tenderness, when she met Sasuke. Something about his aura the day they made eye contact made her want to know him, and even got more than she bargained and yearned for.

Sighing for the third time that night, he leaned his forehead on hers, eyes closed and eyebrows knitted together. "Look, just tell me what it is and- I'll do something about it to ease your worry, how's that?" he asked, opening his eyes and staring right back into her green ones that were beginning to water as she continued to hold back the salty tears. She too, sighed, finally managing to stop herself from breaking down again. "I'm scared…" there, she said it, she finally admitted it. He knew anyway, she told him herself earlier that she was afraid.

Still, he smirked at her and she raised a brow as he removed his forehead from hers, standing up straight. "What are you afraid of?" he asked. Sakura crossed her arms at this and looked away, a cute pout on her face. "Mood swings." Sasuke thought, finding it amusing. His eyes landed on her belly, remembering that she now had his- no, not his but their child in her womb. His smirk turned to a slight smile and his eyes half-closed. "This isn't really the right time, but I guess it's better if I do it now." He thought, watching as she was still in her pouting position. Shrugging, he knelt down on one knee and grinned at her confused expression.

"It's kind of awkward to be doing this, especially since I'm topless and you're…" he looked down; she only had her long and loose white blouse that covered her upper body, including her arms and the end of the top was just seven inches below her hip. "You get the idea." He said, a blush tainting his face. Smiling slightly, she gave a nod and waited for him to continue. He coughed and frowned, a cute one in her opinion; the blush not fading but remaining there as he shifted uncomfortably, taking something out of his pocket. "You only did wear this once, when we were at Izegawa's dinner party." He muttered, opening his palm to her where the ruby ring was, still looking new. Her eyes widened, finally knowing where this was going. She looked at him, seeing him still averting his eyes from her own. "You already know where this is going, so… will you…" he gulped. Why would he? Wasn't he confident a while ago? "Will I what?" she asked, grinning. "You already know." He murmured; a glare forming in his onyx eyes as her grin widened. "Nope, I don't."

"Sakura,"

"Yes?"

"Will you- um…"

"I'm listening." She said.

"Oh for- Gah! Come on Sasuke! Say it!" he said to himself and gazed in her eyes. "Will you marry me or accept me or whatever it is that a guy asks to the girl he loves and would like to have for the rest of their life- uh! Just- damn it…" He muttered, loosing his cool.

She smiled.

"Sakura..?" he raised a brow.

"No duh Sasuke." She said. "Of course I will."

And he returned the smile, stood up, took her left hand and placed the ring on her ring finger. He held onto her hand for a while before looking back at her. "This may sound cheesy but, what the heck- I love you." And he grasped the back of her neck and pulled her into a kiss which she returned all too sudden.

"Ow! Oh the pain..!"

"S-Sorry Naruto…"

Naruto bit his lower lip to prevent himself from yelling again. If it weren't for those Sound bastards giving him cuts galore, he wouldn't be in this situation. "Nah, it's not your fault Hinata—AHH! Ow!" again, he cried out. Hinata gulped and was now afraid to even treat his wounds. He grinned sheepishly. "Liquor really is painful on wounds huh?" Hinata nodded and took some bandages again. "H-here."

"Awww, aren't you going to treat my injuries?"

"B-but I might… hurt you again…"

"No-no, it's not your fault, it's just really painful."

"O-okay…" so she bandaged his wounds carefully, flinching whenever he would yelp at times but he kept giving her reassuring smiles that encouraged the girl to keep going. Smiling softly, she nodded and proceeded to securing the bandage on his arm, the final wound that she needed to treat for the day.

"Hey, Hinata..?"

"Hmm?"

"…Nothing." Oh how he so wanted to punch himself on the head for being a coward. Hinata nodded and continued with whatever she was doing. "…it still hurts." He said and she turned to him, asking where. Naruto grinned at her, his cheeks turning slightly red. "Can you kiss the pain away?" he asked. Hinata blushed as well and nodded meekly, giving the blonde a kiss on his cheek. "Aww… just there?" he teased and she giggled, cupping his face and giving him a chaste kiss on the lips. "Happy?"

"Yup!" he grinned again and Hinata only laughed.

The wind was blowing really hard yet he wasn't disturbed by it. His mind was focused on something else, and that was the task at hand. Raising his head, he looked at the gloomy and shabby-looking building. Some glasses were broken, some looking really dirty. The place was just near to deserted, and not a single soul was seen in the compound. He sighed and placed his helmet on top of his bike after getting off of it. He traced his fingers on the gun on his holster, making sure it was still there. Next, he felt the handle of his katana that was strapped around his back. Everything was set, he just needed to enter this, start the plan and they can finally rest assured that this is over.

Taking out a small communicator, he placed it on his ear, pressed on it and spoke. "Shadow Assassin here, I've reached the Sound HQ, I'm gonna head in." there was a crackling sound before his leader's voice spoke. "Alright, be careful." And he headed inside the double doors, making his way to the stairs. He'd rather walk there then ride the elevator. For all he knows, this place is about to break down and the elevator just had death written all over it.

Bored, he counted the steps he climbed, the floors he reached until he yawned, seeing a security camera turn to him. He raised a brow at it then shrugged, walking to the next flight of stairs. The place was silent and empty, it's not like he killed all of Orochimaru's henchmen right? But it seemed kind of creepy to even be here.

He stopped before a wooden door, debating to himself whether he should go in or not. This mission risked his life, and he plays an important part in this plan. If he fails, everything fails. Sighing, Sasuke knocked on the door three times, waiting for an answer. His ears picked up the "come in" sound and he pushed the door open, stepping inside the dimly lit room. Squinting, he alerted his senses in case something bad was to happen.

"Well, well, if it isn't the little Uchiha brat."

Sasuke faced forward, seeing a pair of yellow eyes gleaming in the darkness. He knew at that time that he was facing the boss, his fake boss since he was going to "join" them soon. His brows knitted together, seeing the smirk the bastard leader had. His right hand man just beside him, literally on his right and staring at him behind those round specs.

"What brings you here?"

Clenching his fists at the side, he straightened himself, grasped onto the dog tag necklace around his neck and pulled it. Three pairs of ears heard the sound of a snapping chain as Sasuke threw the tag over to Orochimaru's desk, the object making a clanking noise upon making contact with the table. Sasuke narrowed his eyes to Orochimaru who took the tag with one hand, examining the item. The silver tag shone with the single light in the room, where the name "Uchiha Sasuke" and below it was the alias, italicized "Shadow Assassin". Both were engraved with black letterings and below it a code: 072392. "Birth month, day, and year you became an official member of Shadow Serpents." Orochimaru voiced out his thoughts and turned to Sasuke. "So, does this mean..?"

"I am here to join your guild." He said; his eyes showing that he was serious. Orochimaru only smirked even more and stood up, gesturing Kabuto to approach him. He did so and walked over to Sasuke, looking at him, finding any trace of betrayal or anything. Nothing; the assassin's face was void of any emotion. "He's serious."

At that, the snake snickered and went to them. "But to be an official member, you must kill at least one of your comrades." Sasuke shrugged. "Already did." He said. "I can even take you there and you'll see no one alive, I killed every member in SS and BL." Orochimaru only laughed and shook his head. "I don't think so, not after the little stunt you pulled off last time."

"Too bad," he said, turning around. "The place had new killing equipments too." He felt Oro's hand touch his shoulder, pulling him back. Sasuke smirked inwardly and turned his head to him, raising a brow. "Prove it, Uchiha." The 23-year old assassin took something out of his pocket, revealing the tags of his best friend, leader and two comrades, including Kiba and Shino's. Each tag was covered in dried blood and looking worn out. The chains were broken and stained by blood. Orochimaru turned back to him. "What's your proof with BL assassins?"

Sasuke smirked at this and took out a tape. "Care to view?" he asked. Orochimaru and Kabuto took him to the viewing room, calling a few others to watch. Sasuke counted the Sound members present. There were the legendary 4 assassins: Kidoumaru, Jiroubou, Tayuya and Sakon. There was also the very famous killer from Sound, Kimimaro, and the three rookies that were good as well: Zaku, Dosu and Kin.

"Ten Sound members all in all." He counted. "My brother and I would probably handle Orochimaru. Kakashi and Kurenai with Kabuto, the rest of the SS with the legendary four, BL against the three; but there's still Kimimaro…" Sasuke eyed each and every member discreetly as they all focused on the tape being played. Shouts and screams of the female assassins were heard as they watched how Sasuke got covered in their blood, walls splattered with crimson blood and limbs scattered everywhere, that including one of Sakura's head.

Orochimaru was amused and the others were stunned. If he can kill his comrades that easily, what if he joined them and soon, he too, will eliminate them? Somehow, the others weren't so sure about Sasuke anymore but Orochimaru still wanted him to join. "Impressive." He said, turning to Sasuke who only yawned and gave a shrug. "So, lead us to your ex-HQ." and he failed to notice the smirk that the young killer gave.

The Sound members looked at the building. It seemed new but when you enter it, it was all a wreck. Blood tainted the floors and walls, broken light bulbs and windows. There were even a few blades etched on the ceilings and walls, even on the marbled floors. Sasuke led them to the training area where more blood was splattered and where they saw the severed heads and limbs scattered all over.

All of them stepped inside while Sasuke backed away slowly. He smirked and pressed on the gadget on his right ear. "Shikamaru, start the torture." And he left the Sound killers inside, taking out an ID card and slashing it against the training door's lock where it closed, trapping the people inside.

"What the-!" Kabuto turned around to see the doors closed. His eyes widened when the limbs, heads and bloods soon faded, leaving only a plain old training room. "He tricked us." The speaker turned on as Kakashi spoke through it. "Welcome to the training area of doom, Sound bastards." All heads looked up, seeing Kakashi and the rest behind glass windows that were unbreakable. "And before I forget, this glass won't break, whatever you do, we're still safe here. Only our genius Nara Shikamaru knows how to deactivate it!" he said, patting the said boy on the head.

"You fucking tricked us you little-" Tayuya got cut off by Jiroubou, who clamped her mouth with his hand, giving a warning glare about foul languages. Beside Kakashi stood Sasuke who smirked at them "Not my fault you were all so easily fooled." He said, rolling his eyes. Shikamaru chuckled. "You guys fell for the androids that Sasuke killed. They looked like real humans because of technology, I can make them look real instead of robotic!" he grinned, proud of his creations. "And the blood and weapons you saw earlier were just holograms."

Kakashi took the microphone and grinned. "Orochimaru and all of you Sound members," he cleared his throat. "You are hereby sentenced to death by SS and BL for trying to overthrow us, as well as planning to take over the country by forcing and influencing some of my assassins to join you. As the rules of assassination squad states, I have authority to kill all of you in any way I want to."

"He just made that up…" Shino muttered.

"Well then Shikamaru, let the torture and killing begin!" Naruto said and the genius of the org pressed a button, starting the sentence given to the Sound members. Dozens of androids came appearing as each attacked the Sound killers. "This is definitely it Orochimaru…" Kakashi spoke. "Game Over!" He sneered, not liking this idea one bit. Orochimaru ducked and told his "soldiers" to destroy this room, and destroy it they did. Some battled against the robots, others began wrecking the training room.

Shikamaru's eyes widened as he continued to type a few things on the computer. "Crap, they're trying to break through the area!" The others gathered before him, watching as he tried to strengthen the defense until static electricity answered him. All backed away from the computer as it produced smoke and more crackling sounds. "Shit!" he cursed and ducked as the laptop exploded- not too loud or big, just a minor one yet it sent tears to the genius' eyes. "Damn it! I saved up to three months for that!" he clenched his fists and glared at the Sound killers as the robots lost power and life. He then opened the glass window that protected them as the others began to get ready to fight.

"Looks like we don't-" Kidoumaru got cut off when Neji threw three smoke bombs at them. They coughed and failed to evade the kunai that Ten-Ten threw at the group, missing some of the assassins by an inch or more. As soon as the smoke cleared, Orochimaru found Kin near to dying along with Zaku and Dosu. However, being stubborn, Zaku still got up and got his guns out. "That's it! I'm going to kill you all!"

Shino jumped down in front of him and kicked the guns away. Kiba followed suit, along with his dog, Akamaru, and tackled Dosu down. Ino took out a kunai and threw it at Kin, not wanting her to suffer any longer. "You were going to die anyway." And she turned around after hearing more blood splashed, seeing Zaku and Dosu take a few steps back from Shino and Kiba.

"Sasuke," Kakashi turned to him. "I'll leave Orochimaru to you and your brother." he got a nod from the assassin and he jumped down along with Kurenai, heading towards Kimimaro. He felt a hand on his shoulder as he turned his head, seeing Itachi there with a smirk. "Ready bro?" he returned the grin and nodded. "Always have, always will." And they both jumped down, facing Oro who snickered at the two. "What a pleasure to kill the two remaining Uchihas." He said, taking a blade and licking it. "I'll be glad to send you two to Hell."

Itachi gave a smug smirk. "Isn't your face enough to let us know we're in hell?" and the two brothers unsheathed their katana, running towards him as the Sound leader blocked and dodged. Sasuke managed to get behind Orochimaru and gave him a forceful kick towards Itachi who poised his katana to stab anyone. Sensing this, Oro dived down to dodged it as the older Uchiha pierced nothing but air. "Damn." Sasuke thought, eyes scanning the area. "This place is too small for a better fight, and it's a total disadvantage." He got up and stared at an exit door. "Guess we'll have to take this outside…" and he tried to force Orochimaru towards it.

Ten-Ten took out three kunai for each of her hands and got into a fighting stance, waiting for Neji to separate from Kidoumaru in their hand-to-hand combat. Seeing the opportunity, she threw it at the Sound assassin who turned towards the knives and deflected every one of it with his sword. He smirked at Ten-Ten who returned the gesture. "What the-?" and he felt someone hit the back of his head that it made him dizzy. Turning around, he saw Neji, only in his vision, he saw three of them. Shaking his head, Kidoumaru finally cleared his eyesight and charged at Neji who taunted him.

"You fucking bitches! Hold still!" Tayuya cursed, standing her guard as she watched Shikamaru and Ino move with swiftness. "Mind you, I'm not a girl." Shikamaru muttered and took out a few shuriken, shooting it towards her direction followed by Ino's multiple kunai. "Damn!" the girl cursed when a single Chinese star had hit her arm. "You're gonna pay for that you bastard!" Ino shook her head at this. "This woman really has a foul mouth."

"Hinata watch out!" Naruto yelled as the Hyuuga barely dodged a dagger. Jiroubou was a big and tough opponent that was slow yet hard to bring down. This was going to be a tough battle. They didn't have any choice, the Neji-Ten pair got Kidoumaru, Kaka-Kure got Kimimaro, Shika-Ino is handling Tayuya, Shino-Kiba is with Sakon since they killed Zaku and Dosu, the Uchiha bros are busy with Orochimaru and Sakura was fighting against Kabuto. Wait a minute! Naruto averted his blue eyes to Kabuto's direction, seeing Sakura fight with him. "Oh shit, Sasuke's going to kill me if he finds out I let Sakura fight alone!" he can remember clearly what his best friend told him before he left for Sound HQ, and that was to make sure Sakura was not fighting alone, especially in her current state.

"Naruto, go help Sakura, I'll take care of him!" Hinata said, dodging every swipe of the kunai Jiroubou gave. The blonde shook his head and landed between his opponent and girlfriend. He gave a powerful kick to the big guy, making him stagger backwards. "You know Sakura better, you two can fight together a lot better, leave this guy to me, I can pull off a few pranks to defeat him in a snap!" Blood-Thirsty Girl smiled at this and nodded, jumping towards Sakura to assist her. "Besides, I don't think I can fight good with Sakura since I don't understand the BL codes."

This was going nowhere. They've been fighting for more than ten to twelve minutes and they aren't showing any signs of giving up. Orochimaru snickered at the two who were panting as the rain continued to pour on them. "What's the matter? I'm fighting the two great assassins yet I'm not even breaking a sweat." He watched as Itachi gripped his katana tighter and Sasuke curse under his breath.

"Just admit it; I am better than the two of you combined."

That annoyed them to no end. It was after all, an insult to an Uchiha if you belittle their capabilities. But as assassins, they shouldn't let their emotions get to them; otherwise, it'll be chaotic in Oro's favor. "Any plans aniki?" he asked, turning to his older brother who shook his head. "Not one, you?" he repeated his action earlier, shaking his head from right to left once. They can hear the others also reached outside, resuming their fight with their opponents under the rainfall.

Blood splattered on the ground as Neji gave a final blow to Kidoumaru with a stab of a kunai from the back, ending his life. Panting, he fell to his knees on the ground, his female partner running to his side and checking any fatal wounds. Kimimaro managed to put up a good fight yet against two assassin leaders who were elite ones in their younger years, it was hard to beat them, plus in the state he was in of having a rare blood disease, coming from his parents' genes. He sighed and gave in to them, asking for the two to end his life and suffering. At first, Kaka-Kure pair didn't want to kill someone who had no defense at all, so Kimimaro, with the last of his strength, charged at the two as they separated and threw their daggers at him, hitting vital spots of the anatomy.

Kakashi turned to Oro and the Uchihas' showdown, seeing that there was nothing new but the two brothers panting and Orochimaru snickering. "I never knew he was that strong." A frown made its way on his face as he and Kurenai aided their comrades. "Whatever made him strong, I still must have faith in Itachi and Sasuke, they can defeat him, I know they can." He glanced up at them. "They do have the blood of a great clan in them."

"This is it!" Jiroubou yelled and charged towards Naruto, a fist ready to punch the blonde. "You're going down!" Naruto wiped away the blood that trickled down his lip and he smirked, his right hand taking something out of his holster. "Heh, fat ass loser." He said and took out a gun. "Go to hell!" and with a pull of a trigger…

Bang!

Bang!

"Huh?" Naruto blinked, looking down at the dead body of Jiroubou. "I only pulled the trigger once, how come there were two-"

"Sasuke!"

His blue eyes widened as he heard Itachi yell out his best friend's name. Averting his eyes to the direction of the sound, he froze when he saw the Uchiha's body on the floor and Orochimaru snickering, holding a gun. "S-Sasuke..!"

To be continued…

Next on Cold: Chapter 9: A New Beginning

Itachi staggered forward to his brother, seemingly afraid that if he got nearer, his little brother might disappear. With one more step, he heavily fell to his knees, hands shakily grasping his brother's clothes as he tightened his grip on it. "Oi, Sasuke…" he hissed, his bangs shadowing his eyes that were starting to water with tears. "Get up… Sasuke..!"

A/N: I'm not telling you if he's dead or alive. Hehe. Damn, crappy action scenes. Anyway, that's right! The next chapter may be the last chapter! Depends! Don't worry though, Fallen's a lot longer! By the way, from the four upcoming fics I have in my profile, which do you want to be posted first? Tell me in your reviews or PM! Decision will be final after chapter 5 of Fallen where winner will be announced! To those who have voted, no need to, thanks though!