A/N: Oh, heavens! I last updated nearly a month ago…oops…heh…I guess I can't get away with "I got lost on the path of life" excuse, can I? Damn. Thought not. Anyways, here is the long-awaited next chapter…Shoujo Queen and I have decided that we really should step up production on this. There's this chapter, then an epilogue. If anyone wants a sequel…WRITE YOUR OWN! Just kidding…we probably wouldn't do a sequel anyway. We are quite busy with our own individual works, like my Tears of the Sun and Time is Relative, and her as-yet-to-be-named (translation: I-can't-remember-the-names) Gundam SEED and InuYasha stories. Anyhow, enough chitchat…
Disclaimer: Surprisingly, I thought I owned Kakashi. This morning, I found out that my license was revoked in favor of some woman calling herself "A.H." If you find her, kill her.
Chapter 12: Leaving
Kakashi and Ayumi sat together on the front porch of Higurashi House, enjoying a late breakfast and the early afternoon sun. Rain clouds were gathering, so Ayumi had suggested that they make the most of what little sunshine there was left.
There was a conspicuous absence of noise and genin, but that was to be expected – they had probably gone off into the woods to train or some such.
Ayumi took a deep whiff of her coffee, inhaling its scent and sighing with pleasure. Kakashi watched her with a smile on his masked face, his curved eye the only indication of his facial expression.
Kakashi broke the companionable silence with a cough and a question.
"Erm…Ayumi? Do you think you're ready to go back to Konoha?" He scratched the back of his silver head and grinned nervously, unsure as to her reaction to his question.
Her eyes lit up, and she leaned forward excitedly.
"Really? I can go back?"
She stared expectantly at the masked jounin, her emerald eyes dancing with excitement.
He looked surprised.
"Of course! I mean, I won't make it a secret that part of my mission here was to learn all about the current occupant of the house, and, on a purely practical note, I'm sure the Hokage would be pleased to find out about you himself. Plus, I've missed you…I'd be really happy if you came back, to stay. And I'm sure that Iruka and Kurenai will feel the same. I mmphff…"
He trailed off as she enfolded him in her arms, giving him a massive squeeze.
He laughed softly and put his arms around her, a little more gently.
She loosened her grip and turned her face up to his.
"Let's tell the genin! I'm sure that they'll be excited, won't they?"
He looked down at her excited face and murmured, "Your coffee's getting cold. Let's finish eating before we disturb our digestion with Naruto's yells."
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"That's it," pronounced Sakura, zipping up Naruto's pack. "You have enough food to last you from here to Sound. I'm sure that you won't starve from here to Konoha. You have everything else you need, too."
She handed her teammate his bag, and he shouldered it excitedly. She put on her own pack, and checked her hip pouch to make sure all her shuriken were there. They were. She turned to Sasuke and smiled.
"Sasuke, do you have everything you need?"
The raven-haired boy nodded and gestured to the road that lay close to the estate.
"Let's go…I'm sure that the Hokage is expecting us."
Naruto nodded, then grimaced at the sudden thought that came into his head.
"But…but…what about Kakashi-sensei? What'll he do when he discovers we aren't here?"
The others signed in unison.
"Baka," Sakura uttered, smashing his arm with her fist, "we already discussed that. If and when he finds that we're gone, he can always follow us. Hello, our sensei is the copy-nin Kakashi. I'm sure he can find a couple of genin. And, WE'VE BEEN THROUGH THIS ALREADY!" She would have continued, but Sasuke laid a hand on her shoulder and gestured with the other for her to stop. She abruptly shut her mouth, blushing furiously while Inner Sakura screamed in triumph.
Naruto nodded his blonde head slowly – as he had done the four previous times one of them had explained this particular dilemma to him – and pointed in the general direction of the forest.
"We should go that way, 'cause Kakashi-sensei and Ayumi-san are sitting on the porch. They'll see us go to the road unless we take a detour."
Sasuke took his hand off Sakura's shoulder to whack his blonde teammate. "Naruto, we already decided that. Three hours ago. You're such a dobe, dobe."
Naruto scowled.
"Oh, yeah? Well, mmphff…"
He stopped as Sakura put her hand over his mouth and glared at both boys.
"What have I said about teamwork? And your endless fighting? LET'S MOVE!"
They nodded, Naruto smiling weakly, and followed her into the trees.
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Nariesha stared down at Itachi's sleeping form, a faint smile on her lips.
Poor boy.
He really had worn himself out yesterday. Her as well, but that was another matter entirely, as she was used to it, and he wasn't. She began braiding her long hair, watching as the sun glinted off the gold in the different shades of brown.
She sighed softly as she fastened a narrow green ribbon to the thick plait, and resumed gazing at the still sleeping Itachi.
He's SO cute when he's asleep, she thought, all sprawled out on the bed, with his arm over his eyes and his black hair all messy…
Unbeknownst to the intrepid watcher, Itachi was looking at her from under his arm. He allowed himself a momentary feeling of companionship towards the girl before squelching it. He did have a reputation to keep up, after all. And he knew he didn't "love" her, per se. Lust, that's all it was, and he was perfectly comfortable keeping it that way.
He must have moved slightly, for she came closer and peered at him.
Her eyes narrowed as she saw the hint of red from beneath his arm, and she punched it away from his…closed eyes.
Shaking her head, she looked at the bedside clock and began to absentmindedly stroke his head. She simply loved the feel of his smooth hair sliding across her fingers, cascading over her knuckles, so soft and silky…
He moaned softly and sat up.
"What time is it?" he asked sleepily, stretching his tired muscles.
She fought the urge to rip off his tunic, and answered civilly with the time on the clock.
"Breakfast, then," he announced, and got up off the bed.
She followed him to the door, where he stopped suddenly.
"Damn," he swore, "I've lost Konohomaru."
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The three genin stood back to back in the shadow of the steadily gathering rain clouds, shuriken and kunai knives in hand.
Sakura was unobtrusively leaning on Naruto, her chakra getting low from so many jutsus. Already she had performed three Genjutsu, two senbon umbrellas, and a series of Taijutsu learnt from Rock Lee. In doing so, she has assisted her teammates in killing one shinobi, and had nearly brought down another on her own.
Sasuke was breathing heavily and his Sharingan were swirling blood red. He had managed to save the others twice already with the eyes, and, even though they drained considerable chakra, he would need them to survive. The trees around were scorched from his Katon Housenka and Katon Ryuuka no Jutsu attacks, and even without the ominous glow of the Sharingan his eyes would have been red from the smoke.
Naruto was covered in scratches and had lost many of his shuriken, but was otherwise unaffected. His chakra was practically limitless, and he hadn't been struck with any blows deep enough to cause more than momentary pain. Plus, with the Ikaesu Gaisen, he was impervious to any jutsu. Unfortunately, in a group battle like this one, if he used it too much he risked cancelling his teammates' attacks.
The attacking shinobi were very good.
And none of them even so much as took a second glance when one of their number was felled by use of shadow clones, fireballs, and senbon umbrellas, all covered by a variety of Genjutsu.
Each genin was using all their skill, but it swiftly became apparent that, with all that, they weren't really getting anywhere. For every opponent they killed or disabled, another stood to take his place.
And then the rain started.
It effectively neutralized any chance of a fire attack, and provided more ammunition for the jounin's and chuunin's water-style attacks.
Naruto began to swear loudly and vehemently, while Sakura tried to catch her breath. Both boys could sense that she was fading – fast – and neither had a clue how to help. The only thing to do would be to finish the fight as soon as they could. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be an option, as their numerous opponents seemed to have one-track minds in that respect.
Through the fog of pain clouding her brain, Sakura remembered.
There WAS a way out of this.
A way that would probably put her out of commission for several days, but a way all the same.
Breathing hard, she informed the boys.
"Naruto, Sasuke. I have an idea. If I form the link between you two that'll drain Naruto's chakra into Sasuke, then you two will have a better chance at defeating the enemy ninja, and you may even be able to search with your chakra so Kakashi-sensei can sense that you're in trouble."
Naruto nodded, wordless for once, and Sasuke laid a comforting hand on Sakura's shoulder.
"Do it," he murmured.
She closed her eyes, and, summoning all the chakra in her body, began to make the required hand signs.
She mouthed the words, saving her breath for the actual jutsu.
She felt her companions tense up, but felt so far away from it all…as if she were looking at herself from across the clearing, watching as the frail pink-haired girl strained to make the signs, seeing the eyes clenched tight in concentration, the concern evident on the boys' faces, Sasuke's arms going around her to keep her standing…
With a voice that was as dry as autumn leaves, she breathed the words that would set the jutsu into effect.
And Sasuke felt himself getting stronger, even as the kunoichi he had been supporting sank limply into his arms.
He set her softly down on the ground, and his eyes began to swirl red, even as Naruto let loose a massive stream of ice-covered senbo at the attacking ninja.
Back to back, now, the two genin fought, Sasuke copying jutsus left and right, avoiding the ones he could see, and sending shuriken and Taijutsu at all comers.
Naruto continued the water attacks that he had only just learnt, encouraging his clones to attack as well. With flashes of purple from his eyes, he easily repelled many of the jutsus aimed at him.
For all their efforts, they managed to fell one shinobi, and disable two others.
Naruto was now bleeding from the deep gash in his leg, and his left hand hung, useless, at his side, a shuriken piercing each joint.
Sasuke was stuck full of senbo on his left side, and had a kunai knife protruding from his right foot.
Sakura remained unconscious on the ground, bleeding steadily from her temple, where a stray shuriken had struck her.
"Damn," Sasuke swore, breathing harshly, "If Kakashi-sensei doesn't come soon..."
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The rain was falling as Kakashi and Ayumi continued talking about their return to the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
It began to come faster and harder, and Kakashi became aware of a disturbance in the chakra of his students. Then, suddenly, he couldn't sense Sakura anymore, and Sasuke and Naruto were fading, and he knew he had to find them.
"Dearest," he called out to her, "I'm going to find the genin. Stay here in case they come back."
She nodded, her green eyes closed as she concentrated on gathering her chakra to protect the House.
"I sense it too. Go quickly, Hatake," she murmured, "they need you NOW!"
She yelled the last word as she opened her eyes and began creating the barrier around the mansion.
He began running, and met up with Itachi, who was doing the same.
Wordlessly, the two jounin looked at each other, and each nodded savagely.
For the moment, they were allies.
How long that would last, neither knew, but both sensed that it wouldn't be for long.
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Nariesha dropped her useless fans on Itachi's bed and tightened the green sash over the tight pink dress. She glared at the fans, lying there so innocently.
With the huge wind Ayumi was moulding around the House to protect it, she couldn't use her favourite jutsu – Kamaitachi no Jutsu. Sighing with frustration, she pulled matching green leggings over her bare legs, adjusting the mid-thigh dress to fit over them, and strapped two kunai knives to her leg.
She fastened her pouch of shuriken to her waist, and slipped a pack of senbo into her sash.
Pulling up her boots, she narrowed her eyes at her fingerless-gloved hands.
"Damn you, Itachi," she whispered, "this is all for you."
Sensing Ayumi's preoccupation with the barrier, she smiled grimly. "That won't do you any good, Higurashi. You shouldn't be worried about what's on the outside. Haven't you ever heard the expression; 'It's what's on the inside that counts'? Itachi wants the Higurashi clan extinguished, he's gonna get what he wants."
She continued along this vein as she raced silently down the stairs, and stopped just short of the pale-skinned figure in the black one-piece jumpsuit, her dark brown hair swirling in the wind she was calling up.
A shuriken whistled through the air towards the dark curls, and a fingerless-gloved hand caught it, the owner of said hand turning to glare with narrowed green eyes at the approaching kunoichi.
Ayumi spread her arms wide, and uttered a syllable. Energy crackled through the air as chakra-tipped senbo flew from the bell sleeves towards Nariesha.
She raised bare arms and sent up an earth shield, shattering the wooden floor of the house to draw it through the floorboards and protect herself from the approaching projectiles.
She laughed shortly, and spoke in a harsh whisper.
"You know, I've never fought a medic nin. I suppose you'll be weaker than the average shinobi, then, as you can only heal, hm?"
Ayumi graced that comment with a smile, and spoke lightly.
"Medic-nin? I've been called many things in my time, but that one's a first. I can heal, of course – what type of Higurashi would I be if I couldn't?"
She continued speaking as she dodged – barely – the fire-tipped senbo speeding towards her.
"What, afraid to use any jutsu? I promise I shan't cheat."
Nariesha grinned.
"No, I prefer hand-to-hand…I like to feel my opponent's hot blood running through my fingers."
That, of course, was a lie…blood made her feel sick to her stomach.
"Hand-to-hand it is," Ayumi gritted, bounding towards the younger woman.
She was met head-on with a kunai, and they pressed their respective knives against each other, both trying to gain the advantage.
Nariesha threw Ayumi across the room, breathing heavily as she sank to one knee from the chakra expended from using such a forceful Taijutsu.
"It's over, Higurashi."
Ayumi crashed into the opposite wall, but leapt to her feet again in one fluid movement.
"Are you kidding? We're just getting started."
She wiped her kunai knife off on her sleeve, leaving a red stripe on the black material before the fabric absorbed the blood.
Nariesha glanced down at her arm as she stood. Sure enough, there was a narrow cut on the naked flesh, bleeding slightly. She laughed.
"You think a little scratch is going to stop me?"
"You think a toss across the room is going to stop ME?" her opponent replied, readying another batch of senbo.
Nariesha threw a kunai, watching as it gathered speed, gaining force from the wind outside.
The senbo struck, leaving Nariesha's left leg numb and useless.
The kunai struck, cutting through flesh and breaking Ayumi's right wrist.
Both glared at each other, and then began making hand signs.
There was no point in prolonging this further.
A/N: NICE! –dances- I'm so happy with myself! Nearly 6 full pages! Anyhow, I'm going to have to stretch this chapter into two parts, as it's getting kinda long…either that, or I'll just make a super-long epilogue. In case you're wondering, all jutsu and Kakai Genkai (except for the Ikaesu Gaisen) in this story are taken from Naruto Chuushin's Jutsu list, which can be found at the following address: http/ people, review!