Chapter 5

The five tailed beast lunges at Naruto and me. It looks to spot the fear in Naruto's eyes and twists to bite his face in half. My world feels to move in slow motion... I examine the look in Naruto's wide blue eyes...the way his skin goes pale...

He's going to die. I can't stop myself! My body moves on it's own!

I push him out of the way. The five tailed monster hesitates at first, but settles for the next best thing. A dull set of powerful teeth dig into my left shoulder until the bone, pops! I screech in fury and agony. Kicking the beast in the gut with all my might I'm thrown into the nearest pillar and collapse onto the floor. Blood soaks my shirt. My vision is fuzzy as I stumble to my feet.

"Roarrr!"

It rears up like a horse. Both sets of razor sharp hooves are pointed at my chest like knives. This time, it's Naruto's turn to save me. He wraps his arms around my middle and we tumble out of harm's way. The monster hooves destroy the floorboards.

"Run!" Kakashi orders. "Everybody, outside now!"

He doesn't need to ask twice. Rock-Lee, Kiba, Ino, and Kabuto are the four out the door. The mighty beast snorts in disapproval. It lunges towards the door stopping Kakashi and the others in their tracks. It beats it's front-left hoof on the ground in an intimidating manner.

"It's going to charge!" Hinata screams in fear. Just as she predicted. It lunges forward.

This time, it's razor sharp horns are being used as a weapon. Shikamaru and Choji follow suit. Neji spins. He sees that Hinata is frozen in fear behind him. With a dissatisfied grunt the older man picks the Hyuga in his arms and carries her up the stairs followed by Kakashi.

Sakura runs towards Naruto and I, who are still bewildered and dizzy on the floor. I push Naruto off of me, but not with as much hate as before.

We just saved each other's lives...why? Why would I do that for some stranger? It's truly out of character for me…

Sakura grabs us both by the arms. "Get up! We need to run!"

Thankfully. The five tailed beast catapults up the stairs, slamming into the walls and destroying the steps as it does. The three of us run for the front door, but the sound of a chorus of screaming stops us. Sakura spins on her heels, staring up towards the second floor with her eyebrows furrowed.

"They're trapped up their…"

She's right, all four of them will die if that monster traps them.

Naruto joins her side.

"That means we gotta' help our friends! Come on, Sakura-Chan, we don't leave our team behind!"

I'm completely bewildered. "You idiots-" I bite back. "-this isn't some superhero movie! You'll die!"

Naruto growls his determined response. "We have to try!" The two of them arm themselves with knives and traverse the half-crumbled staircase.

"Idiots…" I mumble turning to face the safety of the woods. Then I pause again.

My mind conjures up an image of my family. Not dead, though; this time, they are smiling at me. Happy. Content. Alive.

Shikamaru said it himself...aren't we all a family?

"Damn it all!"

I spot an abandoned knife on the floor and pick it up.

"Wait!" I run to the second floor and gasp in horror.

A thick trail of blood leads into the first room on the right. Sakura's, Naruto's, Hinata's, Neji's, Choji's, Shikamaru's and Kakashi's screams of concern are intermixed with the wild howling of the five-tailed monster. As I cross the bedroom to the tiny staircase that leads to the third floor, I hear whispering in my head…

" e!"

My neck burns and I cover the fresh marking on my neck. It looks like three tomoe's in a familiar spiral pattern. I ignore the burning, and the warning signs; leaping up the stairs and entering the final floor.

Everybody is scrambling like worker-bees trying to avoid the monsters horns and hooves. Hinata has noticeable bleeding along her breasts and hip. She stumbles to the floor, three others come to scoop her out of harm's way. The monster looks angry. Afterall, nobody is dead yet.

On the other side of the room, the humanoid statue remains untouched. Every time somebody hides behind it, or crosses it's path; the five-tailed beast pauses and backs away. As it does, it bumps into glass jars spilling it's horrific contents on the floor. A set of eyeballs squish between it's cloven hooves.

With it's back turned towards the door. I muster up all my courage, and charge! I sink my dagger into its hind leg. It roars with anger and kicks me in the chest. I fly back towards the stairs landing in a half-conscious heap.

Neji continues the assault. He slashes the monster in the jaw causing it to back into Shikamaru and Choji.

Kakashi says. "It's too damn small in here! We have to get out-"

His words are cut short. The older man's legs are kicked inwards on a twisted angle and he falls face first onto the floor. Naruto rushes to save him from being trampled to death...but somebody else steps in the way.

STAB!

Razor sharp hooves rake across Neji's back sending a fireworks display of blood through the open air. His eyes roll into the back of his head. Between his loose strands of long black hair I see his spine jutting out against the thin strands of flesh. He lands into Naruto's arms. Already dead.

"Neji!"

Hinata screams. She tries to rush to his side, but the flesh-hungry beast turns on her roaring in defiance. Her wide, white eyes turn flushed with fury. She screams like a mad-woman, taking both her hands and digging her nails into the monster's face. At the same time. I join the fray, scooping up a glass jar from the ceiling and smashing it over it's head.

The five tailed monster tumbles to the floor.

"It's almost dead!" I shout.

Choji comes to deal the final blow. He kicks in it's head with brute force causing it's dolphin shaped jaw too, crack! Shikamaru slits it's throat with his knife...and the fight is over.

Downstairs, we hear a thunderous cracking sound. My comment is the only noise left in the quiet attic room.

"That must be the five-tailed statue destroying itself…"

It's a moot point. Everybody is focused on grieving for Neji. I didn't know the man well, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't pain me to watch them weep. Kakashi is silent as the dead. I glance at his legs and my eyes widen. His knee-caps are folded like paper. Kakashi lowers his facemask for the first time, revealing a blood soaked mouth and jaw. Everybody turns to him.

"No-" Naruto comments. "-not you to!"

"Ya. I'm sorry Naruto, I won't last long."

He's right. Of course. Kakashi's wounds are fatal. But both Sakura and Naruto seem unable to accept the daunting truth. They start to pick him up, but that only causes more blood to pool out of his mouth. He clutches his stomach, supposedly, the internal damage is what's causing him to die.

Kakashi smiles.

"I wish I could have stuck around a little longer. Naruto, Sakura...no, all of you. I'm so proud of you. I know we've all had bad things happen to us. We come from tough places. Myself, my best friends Rin and Obito died in my arms. But that doesn't mean we can't change for the better….the rest of you will make it out alive...I promise…"

He closes his eyes and falls silent. Naruto and Sakura whimper. Simultaneously, they fall into his arms and cry.

I backpedal into the corner of the room. My heart is twinged with a profound pain.

Could I have prevented this if I had helped sooner?