Hey. This is chapter 30. Sorry for the slight late update, my finals are coming, so I'm a bit busy these days, where even if I turn on my laptop, its mostly for studies etc.

Anyways, here it is.

XXX

With Hikari, she was closing in after Sakon. The girl had the advantage since she didn't need to carry a huge barrel, so it was only a matter of time before Hikari reached him.

Sakon also knew it, but he only needed to stall for time. But Hikari wasn't going to let him. As soon as he entered her range, Hikari shot out a dozen chains from her palms, wrapping them around Sakon and the barrel.

Then the girl swung hard towards the ground, sending both the Oto shinobi and the barrel crashing into the ground. Miraculously, the barrel remained intact, probably due to the seals. Sakon however, wasn't that lucky.

The man was in pain all over from the impact and painfully stood up, glaring at the girl as he did. Sakon immediately charged, drawing a kunai.

The man closed the distance between them quite easily, but the same couldn't be said for his attacks. Every slash Sakon sent at Hikari didn't touch her, and after several slashes, Hikari conjured several chains and flung them at the man, sending him crashing into a tree, bringing up a cloud of dust.

Hikari wasted no time and sent another wave of chains at the Oto shinobi. But this time, to her surprise, something caught her chains.

The dust soon cleared to reveal Sakon with four arms and two heads, with said four arms grabbing the chakra chains.

Sakon growled, "Don't think this is gonna beat us, you damn bitch."

The second head, Ukon, growled in agreement, "Yeah, we're gonna butcher that pretty face of yours."

Hikari just stared in surprise at the two headed man, but then again, she had a huge fox in her gut and she had a boyfriend who could grow wings, so maybe that wasn't the strangest thing that happened.

In her seal, the Kyuubi chuckled, "So they have two heads, in one body, well, not so different from us, right?"

Hikari smiled, 'Maybe, so, how many tails should I use?'

The Kyuubi pondered for a while before he answered, "Half a tail should be more than enough."

Hikari nodded as she let the bijuu's chakra flowed through her body. Her eyes became red and slitted, her whisker marks became darker and her nails sharpened into claws.

Hikari stared at the two brothers coldly before she vanished. In an instant, the Jinchurikii appeared in front of the two brothers of one body, and she swung her claws at them.

It was only due to their instincts did Sakon and Ukon pushed their back against the tree they were previously in, just in time to dodge the potentially fatal strike.

The Oto shinobi took advantage of Hikari's failed attack and tried to punch her in the face. But the girl saw it coming and quickly regained her footing, grabbing Sakon and Ukon's wrists with both her hands.

Then she pulled hard, swinging Sakon and Ukon flying away. As soon as the two brothers landed, Hikari charged, but she was pushed back slightly by a wave of foul chakra.

Hikari stopped charging immediately, wary of the wave of chakra. The girl knew it was a cursed mark, Hikari also noticed that the chakra was considerably tame compared to Sasuke's mark, but nonetheless, she decided it was safer to wait first.

The dust cleared and Hikari was slightly shocked to see the demonic appearance that Sakon and Ukon had taken. The two brothers' faces had completely changed, taking the form of demons, each of them with a horn on their forehead. Their skin also turned red, making their form look more demonic.

Sakon spoke, "Now, let's see how you do against us now?"

Ukon just laughed as the two brothers in one body charged the girl. Hikari narrowed her eyes as she jumped back to dodge a swipe from the brothers. The girl landed and quickly swung her right arm, extending several chains from her arm and chakra arm as she did.

The combination of the Kyuubi's chakra arm and Hikari's chakra chains struck Sakon and Ukon straight in the chest, sending flying again.

But the Uzumaki wasn't just gonna let them crash into a tree again, immediately, Hikari raised her right leg and stomped on the ground hard, causing five chakra chains in a chakra arm to shoot up from below where Sakon and Ukon flew past.

The chakra arm and chakra chains quickly wrapped around the two brothers, more specifically their legs, before it started to fling them around, hitting the ground several times. After stopping for a while, the arm started again before it threw them into a boulder that was so conveniently nearby.

(Just to give you guys a better image, its exactly how the Hulk flung Loki around in the first Avengers movie in Starks' Tower and how the Hulk flung Thor around in the arena in Thor Ragnarok)

Sakon and Ukon both groaned in pain as they got up from the ground slowly, trying hard to ignore the pain from the corrosive bijuu chakra and from crashing into the boulder.

Hikari thought, 'Time to end this.'

The Kyuubi grinned, "Hmph, about time. So, how will you do it?"

Hikari didn't reply, instead, a Chidori ignited in her left hand while a Rasengan swirled into existence in her right hand.

The two brothers seemed to knew what was coming and started to go through handseals for a summoning jutsu.

Then Hikari charged, the Rasengan and Chidori ready to pierce through whatever Sakon and Ukon threw at them. The two brothers reacted quickly, slamming their arms on the ground, "Kuchiyose: Rashomon!"

A huge demonic gate rose from the ground and Hikari's attacks slammed into the gates. For a moment, the gate seemed to hold against the combined attacks, but then, the gates broke apart, allowing Hikari to push through, but her Rasengan and Chidori had died out as a result.

The girl didn't let it bother her. Instead, she used the chance to shoot several spiked chains from her arms that pierced through Sakon and Ukon's chest. Then Hikari willed more chains to shoot out from the part of the chains that were in the brothers' body, piercing through their heart, brain and several other organs, killing them instantly.

Hikari sighed as she dispersed her chains, staring at the lifeless faces of the brothers. The girl then turned to where Sasuke's barrel supposedly was and started to walk towards it, "Finally..."

But just as she reached the barrel, she heard the Kyuubi yell, "Jump back, now!"

The girl's eyes widened as she leaped back just in time to dodge a slash from a white haired man in clothing similar to that of Orochimaru.

Hikari thought, 'The heck, reinforcements?'

The man glanced at the corpse of the two brothers and spoke, "So, Sakon and Ukon failed. Whatever, their weakness is not to be allowed."

Hikari glared at him, "What are you saying? Weren't they your friends?"

The man tilted his head, "Friends? You've got it wrong. Those two idiots were just soldiers, they failed to fulfill their mission, death would have been a fitting punishments anyways."

Hikari growled as she glared at him, "You bastard..."

The man took a stance, "Enough talk, I have received orders from Orochimaru-sama to capture you, and I assure you I am not like them."

Hikari narrowed her slitted eyes, still in her one tailed form as she retook her stance. Then before the two could charge, a foul chakra exploded from the barrel, pushing both of them skidding back several feet.

Hikari regained her bearings and looked up to see Sasuke standing where the barrel was, his skin seemingly grey before it turned normal again.

The Uchiha noticed Hikari, and for a brief moment, the girl could see a flash of guilt, sadness and regret in his eyes before they hardened. Sasuke looked at the man, "That clothing, you're one of Orochimaru's lackeys, aren't you?"

The man got up, "My name is Kimimaro, Sasuke-sama. Orochimaru-sama sent me in case the team that retrieved you failed. Please, proceed to meet up with Orochimaru-sama, I shall capture the girl as per my orders and meet with you later."

Sasuke nodded before he leaped off, making sure to ask Orochimaru why he wanted to capture Hikari later.

Hikari tch'd and tried to gave chase but was stopped by Kimimaro blocking her off. The man spoke, "Where do you think you're going? Orochimaru-sama has ordered me to bring you back unconscious, I don't take failures well."

The girl growled and sent a wave of chains at the man. Kimimaro huffed before he shattered all the chains with what seemed to be a sword made of ivory.

The man spoke, "As I said earlier, I cannot fail."

Kimimaro then charged and swung his sword at the last Namikaze. The girl summoned a dozen chains in both hands and swung them at him.

The man quickly jumped up to avoid the attack before he came down slashing at Hikari. But the girl wasn't about to let him do as he pleased. Extending a chakra arm from her back, Hikari punched Kimimaro and sent him flying away.

Then, as Kimimaro got up, a gigantic fist made of sand appeared and crushed the man. Hikari blinked in surprise before the man burst out of the sand. But before he could act, a huge gust of wind blew him away.

The girl then heard, "Hey, Hikari."

She turned to see the three Sand siblings. Gaara spoke, "Go, we'll deal with him."

The Namikaze said, a bit surprised, "Why are you here?"

Kankuro grinned, "Well, Hokage-sama sent a request to our village, and the elders decided it wouldn't hurt to send help. But, it seemed that the others were done with their enemies, so here we are."

Hikari nodded, "I see."

Temari frowned, "Don't just stand there then, go get that Uchiha back."

The Uzumaki nodded, "Thanks, I owe you one."

The girl then quickly leaped away, chasing after Sasuke.

Kimimaro growled as he got up and tried to chase after the blonde girl. But he was blocked by another blonde girl. Temari smirked as she clashed her metal fan against his sword, "We came all the way from Suna, I seriously don't want to come here and do nothing."

Gaara chuckled before he willed a wave of sand to rise beneath Kimimaro, sending the man crashing into a tree. Kimimaro growled as he got up, but before he could act, he was slugged by Kankuro's Karasu, sending him flying into the ground.

The three siblings went to continue their onslaught, but they were stopped by a huge burst of chakra and a yell, "ENOUGH! I AM OROCHIMARU-SAMA'S ELITE! I WILL NOT FAIL MY MISSION BECAUSE OF YOU TOYING AROUND!"

The three siblings stared at the man, to find his appearance changed drastically. Instead of pale skin, Kimimaro had dark brown skin. His sword had engulfed his arm, forming a huge spear as his bones stuck out of his skin like spikes.

Temari said in shock, "That sword, was your bone?"

Kankuro said in awe, "The Shikotsumyaku kekkei genkai."

Gaara nodded as his sand swirled around him, "But, that chakra is unnatural."

The young redhead then heard a voice in his head, the Shukaku, but more tame, "It feels like nature chakra, but bastardized. Be careful brat."

Gaara smirked, 'Hmph, no need to remind me.'

After Hikari had fix his seal, the Jinchurikii had once entered his mindscape at night when he was meditating. He found the Ichibi and found out it was mostly due to the faulty seal that Shukaku went mad, not that he wasn't insane in the beginning anyways. Regardless, the two youngest among their respective siblings hit off quickly, and the Shukaku had allowed Gaara use of his chakra and powers.

Seeing the transformed Kimimaro, Gaara tapped into Shukaku's chakra, causing red bijuu chakra to flow out of his seal, covering his body.

(Just so I make it clear, Gaara can use all versions of bijuu chakra here. He can use the first version cloak, the second version, but only with one tail, and the full transformation)

Temari noticed her youngest brother entering the first version of his chakra cloak and readied her fan while Kankuro summoned all three of his puppets.

Then the four charged. Gaara swung his arm, sending a wave of bijuu chakra charged sand at Kimimaro as Temari swung his fan as hard as she could.

The two waves of sand and wind struck the man straight on, but the reinforced bones held strong. Kimimaro then thrust his spear at the Karasu, piercing through its chest. But through Kankuro's skillful manipulation, the puppet split into pieces and latched onto the man.

Kimimaro growled as he felt the puppet try to pierce through his skin with needles and blades, and worst of all he couldn't shake them off. Then all of a sudden, the puppet released him. The man looked up and saw why.

Above him, Gaara and Temari stood on a sand platform, more importantly, a huge sphere of wind and sand the size of a wrecking ball swirled above them, not unlike a sandstorm.

Then the two siblings released their attack. Kimimaro cursed, in his second state, he was very slow and couldn't possibly outrun the attack, so he did the next best thing.

Charging chakra into his bone spear, he launched it like a missle towards the sphere, ready to detonate it into shrapnel of bones to stop the attack.

But to his shock, as soon as the spear thrust into the sphere, the raging sand and wind seemed to grind against the bone, turning it into dust.

Then before he realized it, the sphere was already right above him. The man cursed and reinforced his body as much as he could. Then the attack hit him.

As the attack started to grind into the ground, Temari thought aloud, "Did we get him?"

Neither of her brothers responded, but they didn't need to. The attack soon dispersed, revealing a huge smooth crater, more importantly, Kimimaro stood there, his clothes ripped to shreds, his body was bleeding all over, his skin gone.

The man growled in pain as he glared at the three siblings. The attack had almost destroyed his very being, had he not charge every bit of chakra he could into his bones and body, he would be dead now.

Kankuro grimaced, "Damn, that's not a pretty sight..."

Gaara shook his head, "No, but to survive a sandstorm of that calibre, he is strong."

Temari frowned, "Can you two not be so nonchalant about this? He withstood one of our strongest techniques!"

Kankuro chuckled, "Chillax sis, I think Gaara has this covered."

The youngest sibling huffed, "Obviously."

Gaara then thought, 'I'll be using that, Shukaku.'

The Ichibi grinned, "Yeah, go ahead."

The Ichibified shinobi raised his arm above him, forming a huge spear made of sand, more specifically the hardest materials Gaara could control. This was a technique inspired by the Sandaime Kazekage's Iron Sand, which in turn was inspired by the Shukaku who molded sand to his image.

The spear hardened and Gaara swung his arm down, "Ichibi no Yari!"

Kimimaro, being wounded from the previous attack, didn't even made a move to dodge the attack. He had miscalculated, believing that after surviving the sand storm attack, he could still take on the three siblings, but he realized it a tad bit too late.

The man just closed his eyes as the spear pierced through his chest, pushing him towards a boulder. The man thought, 'Orochimaru-sama, I have failed you...'

Then he gave his final breath as he fell to the ground, lifeless.

Gaara sighed, "We're done."

Just then, they saw a black and red blur fly past them towards where Hikari was headed. Temari spoke, "Let's go."

The two of her brothers nodded as the three siblings headed towards Hikari's direction, with Suguha, Sinon and Asuna doing the same not too far behind them, though unknown to both groups.

Meanwhile, right after Hikari left, the girl leaped through the trees, sensing Sasuke's chakra to follow him. The girl, for the life of her, was confused about why Sasuke ran off like that, it made her question if he was really kidnapped.

But following that line of thought, Hikari still didn't understand why the hell would he choose Orochimaru of all people. Hikari thought, if he went to the snake just so he could get stronger, then he seriously didn't think it through, since it was the very village Orochimaru and Itachi both grew strong in, that Sasuke was trying to leave.

Then she thought, if he left because of her. Hikari knew it was a possibility, even though she didn't like it, as since from the academy, Sasuke had shown interest in her, to the extent that one could call it borderline obsession. With how he was rejected at every turn, well, it wouldn't be too strange to say that he would betray the village for that reason. There are people like that after all.

The girl was brought out of her musings as she reached a huge area, with giant statues of the Shodaime Hokage and Uchiha Madara standing face to face, both holding the seal of confrontation, the Valley of The End.

Hikari burst out of the trees and landed on the Hashirama statue's head, noticing Sasuke standing on Madara's head waiting for her.

Sasuke spoke out, "Hikari, why are you chasing after me?"

The girl stared at him, "It should be obvious, I'm bringing you back to Konoha."

The Uchiha, for a brief moment, hoped that she was chasing after him because she could reciprocate his feelings, but the young man knew better. In his semi-death state to activate the second stage of the mark, Sasuke had regained a bit of consciousness, not enough to know what was happening outside the barrel, but enough to think of his actions and his life until now.

Sasuke knew he had done nothing to earn Hikari's affections. After leaving the village, he had cleared his mind and really thought about everything, and he realized that his approach to Hikari had been wrong.

The Uchiha stared at the girl, "Hokage's orders, huh?"

Hikari nodded before Sasuke asked, "Probably because they want the Sharingan, or they don't want my blood to fall into Orochimaru's hands, right?"

Hikari didn't reply, instead allowing Sasuke to continue, "Besides, why would I want to go back? There is nothing worth staying there for, not anymore anyways."

Hikari stared at him, "You think going to Orochimaru will help you get stronger? Where do you think Orochimaru and Itachi grew strong in?"

The Uchiha's blood boiled a bit at Itachi's name, but he forced it down, "True, its because of Konohagakure that both of them grew strong. But the village is not what it was at their time. At this rate, I will never catch up to Itachi, and Orochimaru offered me power. Plus, as I said, I have nothing left for me to stay in Konoha. But, you're always welcome to join me."

The girl narrowed her eyes at him, "You're still going on with that?"

Sasuke chuckled and shook his head, "No, I'm done. I finally see it, I never did anything to earn your affections, it was all one sided on my part. But, my feelings are real, that's why, I want to put an end to everything here."

Hikari stared at him, after all these years, he had finally let go, but not the way she would have wanted it. The girl sighed, 'Damn this is troublesome.'

Thr Kyuubi chuckled as he heard his host's thought, "You sure have it rough."

Hikari nodded, 'I suppose a fight is inevitable now. Finally the first time we talk normally, and its because he gave up and wants to go to Orochimaru.'

The Kyuubi laughed as Hikari's eyes hardened and she spoke, "Your personal feelings aside, Sasuke. I still have a mission, and I will bring you back, even if I have to use force."

The Uchiha sighed, "I see. I hoped you would see it my way, but, I suppose that's asking too much. But..."

All of a sudden, Sasuke vanished and Hikari raised her arm to block a punch from the Uchiha. Sasuke said, "I did say I will put an end to my feelings now, since you are here. That's why, I will kill you here and now."

Hikari's eyes narrowed, "I see. Then, I won't hold back."

Sasuke smirked, his Sharingan spinning wildly, "I expect nothing less from you, if you don't give it everything, then even if I kill you, it would be meaningless, and I won't be able to move on."

Hikari responded by shooting several chains from her back at Sasuke. The Uchiha tch'd and jumped away to avoid the chains.

He landed several feet away and quickly went through a set of handseals, "Chidori!"

Sasuke charged forward and thrust his arm at Hikari's chest. But the girl saw the attack coming a mile away and leaned away, letting the attack pass by her. Then, taking advantage of his imbalance, Hikari sent a hard punch to Sasuke's face, sending him flying down towards the water.

But the Uchiha wasn't just about to let himself fall, quickly reacting, he reached out and grabbed Hikari's wrist, pulling the unsuspecting girl along with him as they fell towards the water.

Soon, they reached the water and skidded across the lake before they flipped and steadied themselves, using water walking to stand on the river.

Sasuke quickly flashed through a set of seals and yelled again, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

Hikari responded by summoning a wall of chains to block the fireball. Then she dispersed the chains and dashed forward, throwing a punch at Sasuke.

If it was Sasuke a week ago, he wouldn't have stood a chance. But the activation of the cursed mark's second stage had further boosted his base abilities, putting him near Hikari's current level.

Sasuke, with his Sharingan, saw the punch coming and quickly moved his body away by leaning to the side, letting the punch pass by him. The Uchiha then quickly sent an uppercut at Hikari, punching her hard and sending her flying into the water.

The young avenger quickly ran over to where Hikari supposedly was and conjured up a Chidori, ready to thrust it into the water and electrocute the girl.

What he didn't expect, was that as soon as he moved past a few steps, the water around him erupted as hundreds of Hikari's clones shot out of the river.

Sasuke's eyes widened as the army of girls came down at him, and on a split second, he activated the first stage of his cursed mark. For the first few seconds, Sasuke managed to fend off the first wave of clones. But as soon as the second wave hit him, that changed.

The Uchiha couldn't even move as the second wave of blondes bombarded him with punches, kicks and attacks from chains. For every clone he dispelled, he received an attack from everywhere, and it was painful as hell.

Then, soon, the combo ended, with Sasuke limping on the water, barely standing. To be frank, Hikari was surprised Sasuke was still standing.

The Uchiha however, was livid. He believed that with his increased abilities due to the mark, he would at least stand equal to Hikari. But apparently she was out of his league.

Sasuke growled and activated the second stage of his cursed mark, causing his skin to turn grey, a cross forming on his face and a set of claw like wings on his back.

Hikari stared in surprise at the transformation, "What did you do to yourself?"

Sasuke stared at the girl hard, "The same as you, you have the Kyuubi's chakra, right? This is what Orochimaru gave me, its nothing Konoha can give me."

The girl sighed and thought, 'Hey, Kyuubi, how many tails do I need?'

The Kyuubi pondered as he gauged Sasuke's power levels before he answered, "Three should be enough, since power wise he is around two to three tails, but I'd prefer you go with four, stay on the safe side."

Hikari nodded and allowed the bijuu chakra to flow through her body yet again. Then, to Sasuke's shock, red and dark chakra started to coat Hikari's skin, forming a miniature humanoid four tailed bijuu.

Then, before he could react, Hikari vanished and appeared right in front of Sasuke. The Uchiha barely had time to even move his eyes before Hikari slammed her fist into his face, sending him crashing into a boulder.

Sasuke struggled to get up as Hikari appeared in front of him. The girl then grabbed him in the face and slammed him onto the ground hard. But she wasn't done.

Not letting go of the Uchiha, Hikari pulled and flung Sasuke at the river, causing him to skid across the water for quite some distance. She then opened her mouth, allowing chakra to gather right in front of her.

The Kyuubi spoke, "Oi, are you sure he can survive that? I welcome the deaths of any Uchiha, but you have a mission, right?"

Hikari nodded, 'I know. Besides, he won't die from this. Fatally injured or unconscious maybe, but I'm certain he won't die.'

The Kyuubi just shrugged, "Eh, whatever then... '

Hikari didn't reply and instead focused on locking onto Sasuke. As soon as the Uchiha skidded to a stop, the Kyuubified blonde unleashed the mini-Bijuudama at him.

Sasuke didn't even have the time to look up as the bullet of compressed chakra slammed into his body. It was only because it was a low powered Bijuudama, along with his enhanced endurance from the cursed mark, that Sasuke wasn't vaporised on the spot.

Hikari let out a breath as she let the Kyuubi's chakra leave her body, reverting to her normal state. The girl then walked towards Sasuke's limp body on the water, as the water her mini Bijuudama blew away came raining down.

The girl thought, 'Finally, I can go home and take a bath.'

She looked at Sasuke before she reach to hoist him up from the water, unaware of the white snake below her in the water.

As soon as she grabbed Sasuke, she heard the Kyuubi yell, "Girl, move!"

But it was too late as the snake bit her leg, injecting her with its neurotoxin, at the same time, placing a suppression seal on her. The girl immediately felt dizzy as she stumbled, struggling to stay upright before she fell into the water, 'What... is this? I feel... so weak?'

The Kyuubi cursed as he tried his best to keep the poison from spreading, but to no avail, "Fucking shit! He placed a seal on the snake!"

Meanwhile outside, Orochimaru stood beside the fallen bodies of Sasuke and Hikari, "Kukuku, seals really are a wonderful thing. Sad I couldn't get the other girls, but these will do."

The snake sannin summoned a pair of snakes to carry the two teens. Truth to be told, Orochimaru was really intrigued by Hikari's prowess. Maybe he could clone her before he sent the girl to the Akatsuki.

Then, he was cut off from his musings by a voice, "OROCHIMARU!"

The sannin blinked, "Hmm?"

The man quickly jumped up just as a black blurr crashed into the water, slicing the snake summons as he released Hikari and Sasuke from the snakes' bindings.

The water rained down from the impact as the furious face of Kirito glared at Orochimaru, his swords drawn and gleaming in response to their owner's rage.

Orochimaru smirked, "You're late, Kirito."

XXX

Done. So, after the next chapter or so, I will close the poll for Unlimited Blade Works, and reopen the poll for the next story I'm doing.

So yeah, review please.