Out of the Ashes

Chapter 27

The Final's Fight

The day of the finals was bright and sunny. Waking up that morning, I knew it would be a nice day. As I went about, stretching and doing my usual morning routine, you could feel the general pleasant mood in the air. When I walked to meet up with Bu and Kyuketsu before the finals the village was alive. Civilians were excited to see the matches and were taking bets on who would win.

"Good luck, Fushicho-san!" one of the vendors I usually bought my vegetables from called as I walked past. I waved back and gave him a thumbs up.

When I got to our training grounds, Kyuketsu was reading, as per usual, and Bu was pacing nervously. When I showed up Kyuketsu gave me a wave of acknowledgement and Bu nearly had a stroke.

"Fu I don't want to fight you!" he whined, "Only one of us is going to make it past the first round!"

I was in a pretty good mood so I remarked, with a joking smile that only Kyuketsu saw, "Or neither of us, if it's a draw."

Bu made a noise that sounded like he was about to keel over and die. He sat down and thumped his leg and I wondered if Onna had given him caffeine. We spent an hour stretching together and Kyuketsu joined us for this. Bu seemed to have gotten even more flexible over the month we hadn't trained together although I was able to almost do a full split now. Kyuketsu looked slightly pained as he watched us bend.

"So I bet you learned some new shit, right?" I asked Bu as we got up from stretching and checked the time.

Bu just grinned, "Not telling."

"Fine then, I won't tell you what I learned either." I retorted. Kyuketsu rolled his eyes at us.

It was kind of strange walking into the finals because I had never been in the arena before. It was rarely used and I was a competitor so I went in a different way than the audience. Bu and I split off from Kyuketsu, who gave us what he probably called a heart felt good luck, and we walked in silence. We weren't the first to arrive but there was no one here we would really talk to.

Eventually Bu and I started messing around and played some of the stupid hand games that were popular in the academy. Neji watched us with disdain until Naruto showed up and was pleased to see me.

"Shicho! Where's the teme?" Naruto questioned as he walked up to us.

I shrugged, "Knowing Kakashi-shishou, he'll be late."

Naruto made a face. But then he started to blabber to us about how he met this cool old guy, Jiraiya, who was teaching him how to summon toads. Bu was interested in what he was saying while I tried my hardest not to yawn while I watched the audience. When the crowd was full and mostly seated the exams began with a few long speeches. The anime was nice and cut down a lot on the politics that were actually going on here.

"Where's Uchiha Sasuke?" the proctor questioned.

When no one answered, Genmna looked at me, "Uchiha Fushicho, where is your brother?"

Rather blandly, I stated, "He was training with Kakashi."

Genma made a face. Naruto scowled. Bu choked down a laugh. The other contestants rolled their eyes and looked relatively peeved in different ways when Sasuke's fight was decided to be moved back if he didn't show up.

Everyone cleared the area for the first fight.

Me against Bu.

Bu and I stood across from each other while Genma watched the rest of the genin walk away.

"This is gonna be a good fight, right Fu?" Bu commented.

I nodded, "Hell yeah."

Genma called the match to a start.

Immediately I got the hell out of the way because Bu had wired the arena while we waited earlier. I noticed because I was a sensor and because while Bu did act like he had way too much energy to stand still sometimes, his pacing was never as broad as he was moving before.

Bu pouted, "Saw me, didn't you?"

I didn't even respond to that. I pulled out my tanto and Bu whistled at the sight of it. He attacked first with a few kunai in my direction and I jogged towards the trees. Bu followed and like that, suddenly chakra got involved. I shot into the branches and Bu faltered when he saw how fast I moved.

"Speed training?" he asked, sounding like he suddenly hated life.

I hummed, "Probably."

I felt the flicker of chakra in the tree I was in so I jumped to the next one as an explosion destroyed the tree I had been relaxing in. I moved through the trees while dropping wires but every wire I put down ended up getting blown to shreds. I was getting uncomfortable with the amount of fire in the tree area so I brought the fight back to the dirt. I tried to clothes line Bu but he pulled off an impressive last minute kawarimi and I ended up splintering a smoldering log.

"Son of a fu-!" I blocked a kunai with my tanto.

The problem with Bu and I fighting is I'm quicker than he is which means I can get away from his explosives. The problem I have is I can't get near him because of his close range explosives and his katon jutsu. Bu tried to drop a genjutsu on me but Fushicho sparked her chakra and I pushed it away with my own.

"C'mon, Bu!" I stuck my tongue out at him, "Fight me like a man!"

Bu shot forwards and I met him. There was a clang as my tanto met his kunai and we exchanged rapid blows. I showed off my new Shisui shunshin after a few seconds, appearing behind him and leaving him confused as to what the hell happened. The great part about Shisui's shunshin is even sensors wouldn't have enough time to figure out where you've ended up.

Bu though, seemed to know I would end up behind him. I guess you can usually assume your opponent is going to try for you back.

There was a flicker of chakra beneath us and we both leaped into the air to avoid the explosion below us. The crowd went wild as dirt kicked up and we traded a few kicks in the air. Bu was likely a crowd favorite as his jutsu were flashy and entertaining.

Bu tossed out a stink bomb and I pulled my red bandanna over my nose and I charged in while turning my sharingan on. I probably should have started the match with it on but I was fighting Bu. He couldn't really pull too much over on me. When we landed in the crater Bu smirked and I realized for a moment that I may be in trouble. His fingers, bleeding from the tips, stretched out and he slammed his hand down like he was about to summon something.

The tags that surrounded us all lit up at once and suddenly fire rose up around us. The heat hit me immediately and I broke out into a sweat from the sheer anxiety from being near fire. It arched up into the air and connected in a box above us. Before I could get to Bu to strangle him, flames shot across and made a grid pattern to separate me from Bu.

"Sorry Fu, I got the idea from Haku-san and... I know you're afraid of fire." Bu scratched the back of his head, "Not much of a fair fight but... sensei suggested it."

I held my ground, glowering at Bu and the fire started to close in. I held out for a few more seconds before my legs started to tremble. Bu looked genuinely sorry, especially when my knees gave out. As the fire got closer and it was everything I could see, I felt like I was dying again. The flames never touched me in that stupid box, Bu made sure of it, but let me tell you.

Burning to death is something you will never forget, nor will you see fire in the same way ever again.

I inhaled smoke and that's when Fushicho screamed. Suddenly we were burning in my head and Shisui was confused as fuck. He was trying to put out the fires but I curled downwards and convulsed. Something must have scared Bu terribly because he stopped the flames that separated us and ran towards me. He knelt down by me and I grabbed the dirt. It was nice and cool compared to the air.

I choked, "I forfeit!"

Bu looked trouble, "I'm sorry Fu. Please forgive me."

As the fire around us died out I said again, louder, "I give!"

And that fight ended in Bu's win and my loss.

Bu went to help me up and I smacked his hand away, standing on my own, "I'll remember this, you know."

"Fu-"

I walked towards the competitors stairwell. A good fight, he said? Fuck, that was terrible. Neither of us were even scratched in that fight! Only the arena looked like shit.

Bu jogged to catch up and I hissed, "I'm pissed off at you right now, Obu."

His heart might have just broken in half but I didn't care. I was extremely pissed off. Bu knew I was afraid of fire and specifically used that fear against me. I would have done the exact same thing but I was just... hurt. I would have expected such a thing from Kyuketsu, but Bu? Bu was supposed to be like, I guess my best friend. Neither of them knew how deep my fear ran, nor did they knew what it came from, but that did not mean I would simply forgive Bu for using it against me.

As you can assume, I'm also a bit of a sore loser as well. I was genuinely hurt though.

"Fu c'mon, please don't say my name like that." Bu begged as we climbed the stairs. I ignored him and when we got to the box I settled next to Naruto who pestered me about Sasu. The next two fights weren't even fights. Temari and Kankuro both forfeited giving the wins to Shino and Tenten, respectively. The next fight after that I was actually on the edge of my seat.

It was Gaara vs Lee.

Bu noticed my change of mood and watched, also with bated breath as he remembered Kin's murder, as Lee outran the fuck out of Gaara's sand. I had to use my sharingan to keep up with all of Lee's movements but despite how damn fast Lee was, Gaara's sand armor was nearly impenetrable. Even when Lee hit Gaara it did nothing other than spook the crazed child a bit.

The fight at least didn't end with Lee being crushed. Rather Lee realized nothing he did would hurt Gaara even after he drove Gaara into the floor a few times. So, after encouragement from Gai in the crowd to give up, Lee forfeited.

"I didn't expect that." Tenten murmured. Neji made a noise in agreement.

Sasu's match was almost timed out but he and Kakashi appeared in time. I could hear Sasu complaining about being embarrassed later.

I actually didn't catch most of Sasu's fight. After Gaara came back up the stairs he decided he had to let me know he was disappointed I didn't show off my fire in my fight.

I blinked when I realized Gaara was talking to me and honestly didn't actually catch the first part of what he said, "Uh, sorry?"

"You should have cooked him." Gaara growled, eyeing Bu who inched a bit behind me, "Shown him whose fire is stronger."

Temari and Kankuro were watching from the corner of the room with wide eyes. Temari whispered something to Kankuro and both didn't seem to know what to do.

"Well, I lost so what's done is done." I demurred.

Gaara didn't blink, "Losing means death."

"Not in a tournament." I replied evenly. I was mentally preparing to throw myself out into the arena if Gaara's sand so much as twitched. Then I would Shisui shunshin as far as I could. I could only Shisui shunshin for a few minutes before getting tired as I had only been training for a month. Shisui, who had years under his belt, could shunshin all day. If he wasn't, you know, dead.

There was a cheer from the crowd and we all turned to see Shikamaru had caught Sasu in his shadow and Sasu had to give in or get his head cracked into the wall like Kin in canon. The next fight was entirely canon as it was Naruto against Neji. When Sasu joined us he complained that Kakashi had trained him in speed and taught him something cool that he couldn't use against someone like Shikamaru.

"Well, that sucks." I huffed, "We both lost our matches."

Sasu blinked and rubbed the back of his head, "I missed yours? Sorry."

"It's fine. It was mostly bullshitting and explosions." I shot Bu a displeased glance and he looked down at the arena.

The second round fights were supposed to be Gaara vs Naruto, Shikamaru vs Bu, and Tenten against Shino. But as soon as the Naruto vs Gaara fight started every high ranking shinobi seemed to freak the fuck out, silently since they're high ranked shinobi, and prepare for the worst. It eventually fell into the point where the invasion started just like in canon. Feathers started to fall from the sky as Gaara, shrieking below from a sand mound, exploded outwards and started to run. Naruto, without thinking, yelled after him and chased.

I shrugged off the genjutsu and growled, "Crap."

Sasu was looking where Naruto ran, "Did the moron really just run after him?"

Bu snapped out of the genjutsu as he started to sway, "Holy shit what's happening?"

"Shicho, I'm going after the moron." Sasu announced, jumping out the window and hurrying in the direction Naruto went.

I gaped after him, "Wait come back! Naruto can handle himself!"

Sasu either ignored me or didn't hear me. Temari and Kankuro flew after Sasu and Bu gave me an alarmed look. There was the distant sounds of fighting but I looked at the remaining genin in the booth with us. Lee was up and ready to go while Tenten stood next to him. Shino was unreadable but probably ready to fight while Shikamaru was pretending to take a nap.

I pursed my lips as Kinoe appeared beside me. He put a hand on my shoulder and took in the situation, "Alright. Nara and will you stop pretending to sleep, and Aburame, you two head after Naruto and Sasuke. The rest of you should help with civilian evacuations."

Tenten nodded and Bu, still confused, asked, "Sensei what's going on?"

"We're being invaded." Kinoe said gravely.

Bu sobered up quickly and we ended up finding Kyuketsu but losing Tenten and Lee as we left the arena. Helping civilians was more so protecting them from buildings that were falling due to some of the larger attacks and giant snakes invading the village. There was the occasional enemy who would try to get to a civilian but Bu was typically on them before anything else. Bu really tried to restrain them at first but after awhile seemed to give up and just blow off some limbs. Kyuketsu gave not a single fuck and I knocked out enemies with blows to the back of the head.

We almost got crushed by the giant snake at one point so we hightailed it out of there and ended up near the hospital. Kyuketsu wanted to help out there but the hospital sounded like a target the stronger enemies would head towards.

"This is a terrible idea." I said flatly as we approached the hospital from the side.

Bu shrugged, "It's better than nothing."

I still wasn't talking to him. I was slowly getting over my sourness towards Bu considering the fact we were fighting together, but I hold grudges.

I almost tried to take out Kabuto when he entered my field of vision but I remembered he was masquerading as an ally. I forced a smile on my face, "Kabuto-san! I almost thought you were an enemy for a second. Good thing I looked."

Kabuto smiled easily, "Yes good thing. I found some civilians who need assistance on the outskirts but I need help getting to them. Can you come with me?"

I tried to find a reason to say no but Bu had a bleeding heart, "Of course we can!"

Kyuketsu nodded in agreement and Kabuto pursed his lips briefly, "If you still want to assist the hospital, Fushicho-san will likely be enough to help."

Bu and Kyuketsu shared a brief anxious look at the idea of splitting up and I paused for a moment as I felt Kakashi's chakra leeching to Kabuto's. That gave me an idea. My face must have changed because he tilted his head to the side, "Is something wrong, Fushicho-san?"

"Why do you have Kakashi-shishou's chakra on you?" I asked slowly. I knew exactly why but Bu and Kyuketsu didn't know. They didn't know that the man in front of us was a spy. And they didn't know he worked for Orochimaru. And they didn't know that Kabuto was probably trying to lure me away for being an Uchiha.

A look flashed across Kabuto's face and his smile disappeared, "You've been too perceptive, Fushicho-san. It would have been easier had you just come along willingly."

"Fu?" Bu questioned and Kyuketsu's face tightened at the change of atmosphere.

I drew my tanto without showing how nervous I was, "This guy... I think he's a spy. Probably for Orochimaru."

Kabuto smirked, "So you are as smart as your file says you are."

I swung my tanto widely and put myself in front of Bu and Kyuketsu, "Be careful! Kabuto is probably stronger than he seems."

As I called on my sharingan Kabuto pushed out chakra scalpels. He dove forward and I pushed myself out while ducking under the blades. We both turned and Kabuto slipped past my swing as I felt something strange cut through my left arm. Immediately my fingers felt numb and I lost all ability to move them. I held my tanto with my right hand and bit my lip.

There was no way even the three of us together could take Kabuto even now while he's at his weakest point in canon. We just had to hope someone would come along and help while we held our ground.

This proved to be no simple task as Kabuto easily dispatched Kyuketsu's first summon and he was too nimble for Bu's bombs to be any affect. Even with our new training neither Bu nor I could do anything to surprise him. I almost lost the use of my right arm a few times trying to hit him with my tanto but I managed to pullback each time. When Bu singed a bit of his clothes after all three of us managed to get in sync, Kabuto kicked Kyuketsu so hard he went through the fence and into the building beside the hospital.

"Kyuketsu!" Bu yelled, turning towards the hole to see if he was alright. I bit my lip.

Fushicho whispered, "Call on me. You know you need me."

But I refused. Kabuto wasn't Orochimaru. If we kept doing what we were doing eventually someone more matched to his level would come along to save us. We were right next to the hospital: someone would find us.

Kabuto, as the fight paused, smiled again, "Fushicho-san. If you come with me I won't even hurt your friends."

I narrowed my eyes. I didn't believe him in the slightest. Kabuto was not someone I would trust with anything like that.

We engaged again. Fighting Kabuto was difficult because I couldn't parry and counter like I could with physical weapons. Chakra scalpels are dangerous in that they completely numb my nerves and I can't even force myself to fight through the pain like I could with a cut. I couldn't do anything about them and that sucked.

Kabuto wasn't a flashy fighter which meant I had to be a flashy fighter. I was quick and continued to use my Shisui shunshin but Kabuto wasn't phased. I wasn't good enough yet that I could use it in a fight against a greater opponent. Bu rejoined the fight and Kabuto changed his aim from me to Bu. The tide of the fight switched in that now I became focused on guarding Bu from Kabuto's swipes. Bu got nicked in the leg as Kabuto aimed low and he went down with a yelp.

Without thinking I felt flames tickle my fingertips as I reached for Kabuto's neck. He swung his arm and I didn't feel any pain as his scalpel disconnected the nerves in my right arm and it fell to my side, limp and useless like my left arm. I jumped back and Kabuto put his foot on Bu's chest, pushing him back and pinning him.

"Well, Fushicho-san?" Kabuto asked, smirking, "Will you come now?"

My mouth was dry. I didn't want anything to happen to Bu, or Kyuketsu who was probably unconscious where he got kicked. But at the same time I had Shisui's eye in my eye socket and my own life to think about.

I didn't have to answer though as the world suddenly warped in a violent genjutsu that made me shudder as I released it. Kabuto was a second too late in getting out of the genjutsu as a heeled foot kicked him farther than Kyuketsu had gone. Kabuto's feet made trenches in the ground as he tried to stop and he brought a hand to his chest. It glowed green and he wiped a trail of blood away from the corner of his mouth.

Onna stood in front of her son beside me. She looked at me with a smile despite the fact she looked incredibly tired. She was dressed in full jonin attire with her hair pulled into a long braid that had wire intertwined in it. Blood and dirt was smudged on her pants and she had an empty pouch where she likely stored her kunai and shuriken.

"I don't appreciate you picking on my son and my future daughter." Onna huffed, crossing her arms.

Bu made a groaning noise as he sat up, "Mooooom."

"Shush, Uchiha grandbabies sound perfect." Onna cracked her fists and produced a pair of iron knuckles from seals inked into her pouch.

Kabuto finished healing himself and started to walk our way, "I'm afraid that won't be happening."

Onna only pushed chakra into her iron knuckles and their fight began. Kabuto's chakra blades seemed suddenly less useful as Onna was a dangerous mid-close range fighter. Watching Onna fight gave me some idea of what Bu someday wanted to be. She fought in a boxer's stance with explosive punches. Literal explosive punches. Her fists probably hurt with the knuckles but the real danger came from being in front of her hits. The explosions shot outwards and hit anything about two feet in front of it.

Turns out Onna could also do kicks like these. Kabuto found out after almost losing his head to one. Unfortunately he ducked and tried to hit her other leg. Onna did a majestic flip and I felt a genjutsu get cast on the area. Kabuto was out of it just as quickly as I was and he got the hell out of the way of another punch. She used a katon jutsu for a long range attack although she clearly didn't want to hit any of the buildings and light them on fire.

With this disadvantage something told me she was severely limited in what she could do.

Onna started with an advantage but as the fight drew out, she started to lose her head on Kabuto. She was already tired from helping around the village and Kabuto was mostly fresh aside from dealing with us for a bit and whatever happened with Kakashi. I wanted to help her but I was only a genin, no match for a fight between two jonin level fighters. I was also unable to use my arms besides moving my shoulders and flapping my noodle arms around.

But then, it was like we could all tell when Onna put everything she had on a final shot.

Onna wound up a clear punch and dashed forward before jumping and propelling herself forward with two explosions from her feet. Kabuto struck forwards and she shifted and stopped herself despite her momentum, an impressive feat that showed Onna had trained her body to its max potential. She turned and brought a roundhouse kick straight to his knees. Kabuto buckled forward but a nasty grin came across his lips as he jabbed forward.

I choked when I saw a chakra scalpel protruding from Onna's back. Bu scrambled to get up but his leg was preventing him from doing anything. Onna staggered backwards towards us and toppled backwards like a domino. She landed in a back slap out and promptly coughed up a full mouthful of blood. Kabuto put a hand to his horribly broken and sideways knee as Bu army crawled to his mother.

"Onna-san!" I knelt beside her and she shook her head.

"I took that risk. Finish him before he heals himself." Onna closed her eyes as Bu reached her and shoved his face into her shoulder, crying. She wrapped her arm around him and pet his hair. She kissed his head and brought her other hand to my face.

Her eyes softened, "Fushicho-chan. I'm sorry to put the burden on you, but please remember what I want."

"Uchiha grandbabies?" I whispered. But we both knew she was referring to keeping Bu safe.

Onna smiled faintly as blood started to dribble from her nose, "As many as I can get."

I stood up and left Bu to his mother. Turning to Kabuto, I was outraged.

I had never felt this angry in my entire life. Rage was boiling through my body and Fushicho was laughing hysterically in my mind. Shisui sounded a bit worried but he got shut out as I heard a few of Onna and Bu's whispered goodbyes.

I screamed and flames circled my feet and I charged forward. My arms swung uselessly at my side but I was too hysterical to really know what to do. Kabuto got the hell out of the way as I barreled towards him like a bull. I stopped and turned, growling as Kabuto tried to fix his knee in a hurry.

"I'm going to fucking RIP YOUR HEART OUT!" my voice mixed with Fushicho's as I, or maybe even we, charged again. I felt the fire climbing my legs and coming to my waist. I flew at Kabuto in a flying sidekick and I caught sight of my leg, entirely engulfed in fire. I splintered a log instead of Kabuto and I turned around again, locating his chakra at the end of the street. I charged him again and smoke started to rise from my throat. Kabuto wasn't sure what to do as I relentlessly went after him. I was a half a human fireball at this point and I was angry.

Finally, Kabuto seemed to deem me not worth this, and he started to run up the hospital to get away. I gave chase and we rushed up the building. I only felt slightly bad about the scorch marks I was leaving behind. When we reached the top Kabuto did a flip and spat, not water at me, but fire.

I screamed as his fire touched me and I promptly covered my face with what part of my arms I could move (I could move my shoulders so I essentially tried to catch the fire) as I slipped off the side of the building. I saw white when his fire scorched my arms and engulfed my upper half. I fell freely and only managed to catch myself on the building by the ground. I let myself slide off gently and I rolled on the floor to get rid of the constant feeling of burning. As I fell I must have lost my flames because nothing was left on me, not my fire nor Kabuto's fire.

I writhed for a few moments but I came back to my senses when Bu let out a noise that sounded like a banshee. I crawled over to him and Onna to find Onna's chest was no longer moving. Her eyes were open and still looking at Bu but had no focus anymore. I closed them while Bu tried to shove his face into her shoulder. I felt like the world was coming down around us and all I could do was sit there and watch.

We couldn't have been there for too long until Kinoe came to find us. But Bu came back to his senses, kind of, before he got there.

"Why didn't you stop him!" Bu screamed and for a moment I didn't realize he was talking to me. His eyes were red and his nose dribbling more than his puffy eyes.

I opened my mouth but couldn't think of anything to say and Bu continued, "He-he said he was here for you! Why? WHY?"

"It... it's probably... I'm an Uchiha." I stammered, feeling flustered and upset.

Bu shook his head, "Why did my mom have to die for you?"

I felt like I got hit in the heart. I would have grabbed my chest had my hands worked.

"You... you've always been the center." Bu babbled, "As a kid you were mean and no one said anything because you're an Uchiha! That's not a reason my mom should have died for YOU though!"

"She-she didn't die for-for me, Bu. Yo-"

Bu cut me off, "Now we're back to Bu? Now that my mom's dead you think calling me Bu can fix this?!"

This was terrible timing considering I was mad at him earlier. But how could I stay mad when we had been fighting together for our lives, and when his mom died in front of us? I'm a terrible person, and I'm aware of it. But I'm not this terrible.

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" I yelled back.

Bu growled, "Fuck, Fushicho! I'm, sometimes you're just so hard to deal with! Like even back in fucking Wave, everything was centered around you!"

I blinked, "The fuck-?"

"That woman knew you! And you wouldn't even tell me, I thought we were friends! Teammates! Something! But you're, you're just terrible. I've tried, tried waiting for you to open up. I care so damn much about your selfish, entitled ass but you're just, sometimes I just can't help but be angry! And now, even my own mom's dea...death is centered around you!" Bu started to cry heavily and I teared up a bit myself.

"Bu you're just being emotional-" I tried to reason why he could possibly be like this now.

"Shut up! Just... just shut up. I need to be alone. My mom's... she's gone, now. She's, actually, not coming back." Bu fell back and closed his eyes, "And I'm going to be honest, I blame you. If you weren't here, he wouldn't have come for you, and... and my mom wouldn't... she'd be here. With me."

I felt some tears start to boil over and I cried silently. I didn't want to disturb Bu. I started to push myself away and Bu curled into a ball on his side. I heard a mournful, "Mommy." come from him and I let a sob come out. I curled onto my side, facing the hospital wall, and I shoved my face into my knee to try and silence myself.

Kinoe arrived to a mess with two crying preteens who couldn't talk to each other.

We had to wait for a medic for what felt like ages. Kyuketsu was perfectly fine although he was looking between Bu and I like we would explode. Kinoe determined he didn't have a concussion and nothing broken from his travels through walls. Kinoe also made sure we had nothing life threatening to worry about and when he determined we would be fine he left us to the medics after fixing our limbs. He explained he was needed in surgeries and to supervise nurses attending to jonin.

With my arms fixed, I left and went my separate way from Bu and Kyuketsu. I walked home feeling like a zombie as I passed crushed buildings and frantic families. I wasn't sure what Kinoe had done with Onna's body but I wasn't sure I was invited to the funeral after my last conversation with Bu. The compound was somehow entirely untouched and when I got home I collapsed on the couch and looked at my arms. They were a bit crispy and blistering from Kabuto's fire. My legs also hurt and were blistering over from where my own fire got out of control. My clothes were entirely ruined, the sleeves and front of my collar entirely burned away. My shorts were singed and almost entirely black but were still covering everything important despite the frequent holes.

Sasu arrived home tired and dirty probably hours after I crashed to mourn on the couch. When he walked in he almost jumped when he saw me, laying like a corpse, on the couch.

"Shicho! What happened?!" he knelt down and looked at my arms in concern. He grabbed burn ointment and started to dress my wounds while I just... disassociated. I ignored Fushicho's taunts and Shisui's concerned, but quiet, questions. When my wounds were dressed Sasu rolled me over and put a cool cloth on my forehead.

"Sis, what happened?" He asked, kneeling beside me.

I sighed deeply and broke my silence, "Onna-san's dead."

Sasu hissed as he breathed in deeply, not expecting that. He was silent for a few minutes.

"How is Bu?" Sasu inquired.

I moaned, "Mad as hell at me. Probably heartbroken."

"Why would he be mad-"

I cut Sasu off, "The guy who killed Onna-san was a spy for Orochimaru. He was after me. She died because of me, damn it."

"She didn't die because of you," Sasu retorted, "She died for you. There's a difference."

"No there really isn't." I huffed, rolling onto my side and giving Sasu my back. He was clearly tired so he said goodnight and went to his room.

I didn't sleep that night. I stared out the window until the sun rose and a new day dawned.

AN:

Honestly I have been waiting for that fight between Bu and Fushicho forever. They needed conflict, real conflict, in their relationship. Fushicho relied too heavily on him and now Bu needs to be able to rely on her and let out the stress he's been feeling over her general nature.

I think Bu went through every potential emotion ever in this chapter, btw.

No but Onna is gone and I'm SO SAD I LOVED HER AND FU.

So I was having trouble naming the chapter and I wanted it to be the Final Fight but that would allude to there being a death and what would you all do if I just killed Fushicho and that was the end of the story. Literally there's no resolution to anything I've set up just BOOM DEAD END.

Fun Fact: I made the team in Sims 4 and Bu is the most unique faced Sim I have ever created and I love him. Also, Sim Fu and Sim Bu make really cute kids together. But spoiler, Sim Fu makes cute kids with Kyuketsu too and even bland faced Kinoe. I play Sims 4 for the genetics, okay. Don't judge me.

Honestly, special thanks to Thomas Drovin and Girl-luvs-manga for always reviewing something, even on the meh chapters. 3 I think of you guys when I'm trying to get a chapter going.

Thanks to the following for reviewing (:

XxPrincessKanjixX
MegannAlyssaa
Ilikebob (Your name is familiar, FF might have done a thing)
Girl-luvs-manga
Anerali (Point)
Thomas Drovin