A/N: Where have I been? Everywhere! Sorry about the wait got caught up in life and all it's shenanigans (tehe I love that word!).Why is it I do a good thing by giving blood and I am rewarded by a cold? Karma hates me -.- So it's finally up and a little different than before, some of you will like, some of you won't, but please review and give me opinions because I don't improve any other way!
The beloved reviewers: Whisperintherain (Thank you! More reactions later to see more of an effect, there's not much in this chapter compared to the unedited version :)) AbandonAllHope (I get mixed feedback about using japanese so your review was really helpful with that, I'm planning to cut down or include translations at the end :) I only know very limited japanese, I wish I was luck enough to be bilingual!) Kuro-Ookami4 (Thanks for the input, more will be revealed later!) Bella (lots of practice, google and subbed episodes! xD), cutiekyoto (as always, thank you for everything!) AmmyChey3X (Glad you liked that bit! xD One of my better plotbunny moments!) Naruto-Lover (you'll soon find out!;D), Shifuni (Thank you x22! All your reviews are appreciated!), Shakira (thanks for the feedback! Honestly, I want to write it all over again but I can't keep re-editing forever), kaiunastar2.0 (you're so dedicated, thank you!), Chloe-neonninjafairyofdarkness (Hehe in the sequel ;) they're still young remember! But thank you very much!)
Each and every review makes me happy, constructive/improvements or just what you thought, so thank you all of you :)
Disclaimer: Seriously, I'd be so rich... But unfortunately, I'm not rich in the slightest as I do not own 'Naruto' the anime or manga. I'm just a simple little wannabe that means no harm :)
Eien no Shasai
(The Edited Version)
Chapter 23;
Itami
Pain
痛み
In the end, willpower is what inspires you to get up after each blow.
You only lose when you give up.
Satisfied at the turn of events, Kari used the bar to pull herself up, ignoring the waves of pain that seemed to crash with more enthusiasm through her body. She had half wanted to wait and see if she'd feel better a few fights later, but this way it would be over and done with in case she got worse instead. She could see the worried faces of her friends in her peripheral vision but decided to discard it. She needed to believe in herself, even if they didn't.
"You don't have to," Sakura began with pleading mint eyes. Kari smiled to herself and patted the pinkette on the shoulder as she began to move towards the stairs. She was dreading them, the room was spinning and she was already fairly clumsy. Falling over on the stairs to the tower damn hurt!
"Knock 'em dead, Kari-chan!" Naruto said with a grin which she returned with a nod. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes, he was worried, but he believed she'd win. He could see she was in pain.
She paused when she drew level with Sasuke who was standing beside their sensei and refusing to look at her directly. He knew how the mark burned, knew how it scorched veins and skin at any moment. She was ghastly pale and littered in injuries. Annoyed at his lack of confidence in her, she spoke.
"Ne Sasu," she murmured and his eyes turned to pierce her. "You better cheer for me."
"You better win, it's not right if I'm fighting with my all and you're in the stands stuffing your face with pocky," he muttered in reply in a way that almost sounded like he cared. She smirked to herself and kept walking, deciding not to fuel Kakashi's overprotective fire by commenting to him. He didn't need another reason to try and stop her fighting.
After successfully descending the steps without further injury, Kari headed to the middle of the arena where the proctor and her opponent stood waiting. Akio was tall and bulky, with the same eye and hair colour as Akira, which she assumed was his younger brother. The larger male practically oozed confidence which irritated Kari slightly as that smirk spoke volumes about how much he was underestimating her.
"Sensei, will Kari be okay?" Sakura questioned, holding her hands to her chest worriedly. Kakashi took a while to answer, stroking Kita as he tried to calm his thoughts.
"We'll see," he replied eventually, not able to think of a blatant lie when he himself was worried. He could sense how erratic her Chakra was, could see the way she swayed slightly and how her posture sagged. Kari was already at her limit.
"Do your best, Kari-hime!" Lee encouraged youthfully. Tenten gave him a stern look and then glanced at Neji who seemed on edge. His arms were folded tightly and he wasn't moving a muscle, eyes fixed on their apprentice. Tension was radiating off him like a cat with it's hackles raised.
There was a heavy silence amongst most of the teams as the match was ready to begin. Most expected Akio to knock Kari out in one hit. Others expected Kari to come through, like she always does. One or two wondered if she would be the first fatality.
"Let's make this quick, eh little girl?" Akio teased cockily making Kari's ears twitch in irritation. He seemed amused as his eyes ran along her animalistic extras and she half wished she had the time to hide them again.
"Tch," she huffed glaring to the side. He was ridiculing her!
"Begin," Hayate rasped and Kari acted quickly to gain the element of surprise. Dragging her limited Chakra stores to support her wounds as she moved, she charged, leaping into the air and using the momentum to spin and crash her foot into the side of his skull. She span, aiming to connect another hit but it was blocked and Akio grabbed her ankle, spinning her and throwing her against the opposite wall. Kari managed to absorb some of the impact by turning in mid-air so her feet hit the wall but fell to the ground afterwards, winded.
She sighed irritably, spitting out blood from catching her tongue on her canine. Forcing herself into a crouch she lunged again, racing towards him and pulling her fist back, preparing her attack. He was ready for her and his fist crashed into her jaw sharply, knocking her off her feet.
"Kari-chan!" Naruto cried in alarm as she hit the ground hard.
"Sensei, this isn't fair!" Sakura protested with hints of tears. Kakashi ignored her, not turning away from the fight for an instant. Kari had surpassed her limit and it was only a matter of time before her collapse. He felt agitated at waiting, though made sure his body language didn't reflect it. Kari had too much pride to lose and in the end, it would destroy her.
Kari lashed out in frustration and Akio evaded each sloppy attack with frustrating ease. Following a close swipe towards his jaw, Akio retaliated with a steel fist pounding into the indent of her ribs so hard she retched bile.
"Give it up kid," he whispered into her ear and lifted her by her shirt. "You're just killing yourself at this rate."
His reply was a defiant head-butt that knocked her out of his grip and onto the ground. She forced herself to sit up, breathing harshly. She needed to finish quickly, she knew what the black spots and blurriness meant and she refused to accept defeat. But as much as she thought that she had to win, her body refused to comply and her legs only twitched as her brain told them to run and kick.
"Damn it, I was gonna make it easy on you because you're a girl but forget it!"
Almost instantly he was on top of her palm on her sternum pushing her into the ground.
"This might sting," he mentioned with a smirk as his hand glowed with a purple Chakra. All at once she was struck with a horrible pain as though a thousand scorching hot needles were being pressed into her body. Her eyes rolled back and she tasted blood on her tongue as her lungs collapsed and refused to inflate. The bones felt as though they were bending into contorted shapes, squeezing the organs as they moved. He suddenly swore, his hand being ripped from her smoking with Chakra burns, blood pooling in his palm and across his fingers. Through the pain Kari's survival instinct roared to life and taking advantage of his momentary lapse of attention, she desperately lashed out with the only limb able to move – her right leg, which crashed directly into his crotch with enough sheer force to send him hurtling upwards and off of her.
"Did you see that Hokage-sama? That kid just kicked her opponent in the balls!" Anko cried appreciatively.
The adrenaline from the pain allowed Kari to launch into the air and with a flip for added momentum, she crashed her heel into the softer abdominal muscles and sent him hurtling into the tiled floor with enough force to send cracks a three metre radius around him. She landed off balance though and fell to her knees, hands rushing to protect her face as the lines of the tiles swirled in her vision.
She had minutes before her body caved.
"You can do it Kari-chan!" Naruto encouraged and her body trembled in denial. She couldn't take much more... It hurt...
Snapping herself out of her depressing thoughts Kari fuelled her determination. Naruto was right, if she tried, one lucky hit and this match was hers! She could rest all she wanted afterwards but people were watching and she wasn't going to let them down! She was not a coward and she was not a quitter. So what if things hurt? That's what being a ninja is about.
"Bitch..." Akio hissed as he stood shakily, knees quaking from the pain. "That damn hurt."
Taking advantage of his pain she charged forcing him into close-range Taijutsu. It seemed none of her hits made contact as her vision doubled and tripled as her seal ached. She felt his fists and feet brushing against her but ignored it until she felt the force of all his weight crash into the side of her skull. Her vision completely blacked for a second and desperately she launched one last attack knowing this was the end for her.
With all the Chakra left in her small body she flung her arm back and then let it spring forward with a sharp punch directly into his nose with a sickening crack, knuckles cracking from the force of the hit. He was thrown away from her and into the wall behind him, blood flooding from his nostrils, the bone clearly broken. She had hit him just right and had knocked out cold.
"Murasaki Akio is unable to continue, winner Kari."
It was as though those words were a magic switch and she felt every last piece of strength leave her as she collapsed to her knees, her sight darkening as the floor came closer.
Kakashi stopped her face-planting the tiles at the last moment and lifted her like a baby into his arms, her head limply in the crook of his neck. He could feel the way her skin burned in reaction to the seal.
"You went too far..." he murmured as he took in the bloodstained and bruised tiny body in his arms. She didn't stir, no longer needing to fight and at complete peace with him. His expression darkened and he turned the medics away as he started heading for the doors.
"Kakashi-sensei! Is Kari-chan okay?" Naruto called down, the rest of the challengers poking their heads over the bar curiously.
Forcing a fake smile and a nod he called Sasuke down, ignoring the Uchiha's complaints about wanting to watch the rest of the fights and Naruto's whines about wanting to congratulate Kari properly.
"Will she be alright?" Sasuke questioned as he scrutinised her unconscious form. He'd never seen her look so weak and fragile before and in a way it scared him. For an instant her hair seemed black and he mentally shook himself, forcing the images of corpses out of his mind. Kakashi led them into the back room and then rested the unconscious girl in the Uchiha's arms.
"She needs to be awake for this, there's no time to lose," Kakashi said quietly and Sasuke rested her on the ground, too tired to hold her.
"Baka," he said tapping her cheek to try and get a response. It made him nervous when there was no reaction. She was so still it was hard to tell if she was still breathing. He continued to nudge her relentlessly until she frowned in her sleep and peeked an unfocused eye open.
"Sasu?"
Her voice was small and hoarse and all at once so pathetic that the Uchiha couldn't stop the feelings of pity rising up within him. No matter how cold he had become, they had formed enough of an attachment that he reluctantly cared for her well-being.
"Now I need to draw seals on the both of you," Kakashi said reappearing after drawing most of a Chakra circle on the stone floor.
"Kashi... that's not blood is it?" she complained, trying to swipe hold of his bleeding fingers to make them better,
"I need to seal you both together, I don't have enough blood for you to be separate and more importantly, we don't have time," he explained.
"Time for... wha- itai!"
Noticing her words slurring Kakashi had given a sharp poke in her stomach to wake her up. She scowled darkly at him as he lifted her into a sitting position, ignoring her complaints.
"I need to write seals on your skin, both of you strip to your underwear."
"Say what?"
"Kari this is a dire situation," he said sternly and shot Sasuke a look telling him not to argue. "If I don't do this, both of you could die."
"Yare yare..." After a moment she finally relented, deciding that she trusted Kakashi and so should listen to him. "But... bandages... going to need help."
"Alright, Sasuke are you able to deal with yourself?"
"Hn," the Uchiha grunted, turning his back on them in embarrassment and removing his shirt.
"Look how scrawny you are, you need to have Naruto's diet for a month," Kakashi scolded, talking to keep her awake. She looked painfully fragile as she was and in a way it truly terrified him. It was alike to how he had seen people on the battlefield, clinging to life. A certain half-healed wound caught his eye and he knew with a start it was he who had inflicted it. For a fatal Raikiri wound it was healing well, though he doubted it would ever completely disappear.
"This?" she asked, pointing to the wound as though reading his thoughts. "I don't mind because it was for a good reason, if it was pointless or due to carelessness then I'd be annoyed."
It was a surprisingly mature answer. Yet he could see her logic. He knew even if it did mar her skin until her dying day, that she would wear it as an almost badge of honour. She'd tell her children "I got this trying to save my friend's life."
"And it was you Kashi. So that's fine too."
Now that was a bit too absurd to be logic, he supposed it was a sign of affection and that she'd treasure it because it was him. In a way, it was complete and utter forgiveness and it made his heart ache.
By the time Sasuke had gathered the courage to peek back around to see how Kari was doing, Kakashi had finished the symbols on Kari and was heading towards him.
"It shouldn't take long."
"How is she?" Sasuke found himself asking. Being an Uchiha, Sasuke didn't miss the tension in his sensei and the extended pause it took for him to answer. Reluctantly, Kakashi decided blatantly lying to Sasuke would not help matters.
"She's very sick and very hurt... but she'll pull through."
Sasuke seemed to have his doubts with the statement but didn't argue. Once effectively covered in Kakashi's blood, they were sat opposite each other. Kari refused to look him in the eye, angrily glaring off to the side with her face as bright as a ripe tomato. Sasuke's eyes easily caught each bruise, each wound and what seemed to be an almost healed wound just under her right lung. It looked like a mix between scar tissue and a burn and he realised that it was where she had been caught between Kakashi and Zabuza's fight.
For it to last this long when she healed rather quickly, he wondered what sort of monstrous attack it had been.
"If you touch it should make it easier for my Chakra to flow into both of you. Hold hands or touch palms or something, it's for a good cause so don't you two start arguing."
Sasuke snatched her hands before she had the chance to protest, wanting to get this over and done with so she could cover herself. To her merit, she wasn't gawking at him like he knew a large percent of the girls in their generation would. She was far too busy being mortified sitting in her underwear in front of another person. She started to fidget uncomfortably.
"It may hurt."
"Just do it," Kari snapped through clenched teeth as he finished the circle. "I can't stand this much skin being on show!"
"Tch, like I'd look at you."
"Urusai!"
"Try and relax then, Kari do your best to stay awake."
She swallowed thickly as Kakashi's hands blurred into countless hand-seals, gripping Sasuke's hands tightly from nerves. Her instinct was telling her this was going to hurt and she really just wanted to either cry or sleep. She was just so tired and everything hurt so...
"Fuuja Houin!"
Kakashi slammed a hand down on each of their seals and forced his Chakra into them and the circle. Sasuke cried out in pain, but Kari's reaction was peculiar and frightening. She started retching and bringing up blood and her Chakra flared angrily burning his hand. He could feel his skin tear and blood start to leak out of the wounds but kept going, trying to ignore the way they screamed.
Eventually it was finished and they collapsed into a heap, still clutching hands. A ring surrounded their seal now and Kakashi sighed deeply, hoping it was enough. He wrapped his hand quickly, resisting the urge to wince at the intense stinging. It was surprising but he supposed it shouldn't have been totally unexpected.
He re-wrapped her carefully and covered her in hers and Sasuke's clothes as well as his own green vest in an attempt to stop her shaking. He brushed her bangs out of her face and thought sadly how she looked in pain even unconscious. They both looked vulnerable, like the children they were.
It was unfair and cruel how those two in particular had to suffer so young.
"If either cursed seal tries to activate again, the power of the Fuuja Houin will hold it in. However, this seal utilizes your wills as its main source. If either you lose faith in your power and your will sways… The cursed seal will activate."
He smiled to himself and wondered how insane he must look to an outsider, lecturing two sleeping children.
"So you can use sealing techniques now? You've grown Kakashi..."
Chills tumbled down the Jounin's spine at an eerily familiar voice he had only heard a handful of times but was unable to forget. The voice where each word sounds like a menacing hiss...
"You..."
"It's been a long time, Kakashi-kun," the man said silkily, smirking widely at the sight before him. Long dark hair framed a starkly white thin face, eyes slitted and yellow, features that made him appear reptilian, monstrous.
"Orochimaru," Kakashi stated, barely able to retract a growl in his voice. For him to appear when Sasuke and Kari were at their most vulnerable couldn't be a good sign. He wondered how the snake had managed to slither in through the security but then again, this man was a Sannin, one of the best ninja of their time.
"Gomen, but I have no business with you," Orochimaru said simply. "But I do have business with those two little ones behind you."
Kakashi's anger flared. If he didn't do something and protect his students, Orochimaru would snatch them in a heartbeat. He knew without being told that if that happened, Kari wouldn't be able to receive appropriate medical care and the chances of her surviving were close to nil. Also, the snake would easily be able to take them out of reach – he had himself disappeared without a trace for years.
Sasuke would be only too easy to corrupt, Kari would be only too easy to destroy.
"Why are you after them?" this time, he couldn't help the soft snarl that had slipped into his speech. It was aggressive and threatening and it didn't go unnoticed.
"Oh surely you know about her?" Orochimaru asked. "I was quite surprised, but of course there's no mistake. Such a special little thing can hardly escape my notice. She has the potential to be anything and I'm insufferably curious to see what I could make in my hands. Also, I simply want what you have. You certainly didn't have that all those years ago, the Sharingan in your left eye." He grinned with sickening glee. "I simply want the same, the Uchiha's power."
Kakashi felt his blood run cold in his veins. He knows.
"What is your purpose?" Kakashi demanded, his muscles tensing, desperate to get closer to his students so as better to protect them.
"The recently made Otogakure is mine, surely you understand if I just say that, ne?" his smirk darkened substantially sending chills down the Jounin's spine once again.
"Such a stupid ambition," he snapped.
"Maa, that was blunt. But you see, to accomplish my ambition I need pieces to be my arms and legs for me."
Kakashi was sickened by the way that Orochimaru dealt life as a game, that he considered lives to be mere pieces of that game, that they were dispensable.
"So Sasuke and Kari are just two of those pieces?" He was becoming too emotional, he had to keep a cool head. This wasn't a normal enemy.
"Oh no, Sasuke-kun and Kari-chan are supreme pieces, they're not really replaceable you see. The ones taking the exam now are hmm... mere sacrifices," Orochimaru stated, yellow eyes flashing in excitement.
Kakashi was broken out of his disgust by the distinct echoing of footsteps as Orochimaru started to approach his students. At the sudden increase of danger Kakashi's control snapped and he slipped in front of them swift as the wind, sliding into stance with his muscles taut and prepared to attack.
"Don't get any closer to them!" Kakashi ordered, eyes blazing as blue lightning erupted from his palm. "Even if you are one of the legendary Sannin, I will sacrifice my life to kill you!"
His threat seemed to have the opposite effect to what he intended when Orochimaru bowed his head and laughed, a sound so mocking it cut like a kunai.
"What's so funny?" Kakashi snapped.
"What you say and do don't agree with each other," Orochimaru teased. "There's no point using that seal, you know ne? He has a heart that seeks power no matter how evil it is. He possesses that kind of disposition. He is an avenger."
"So you took advantage of that. But Kari will never allow Sasuke…"
"Eventually, hewill seek meout, seek me out for power that is" Orochimaru said simply. "And she will follow. Then I'll have both."
"She wouldn't-"
"Aa, I have to agree that she's rather malicious towards me. It's as though our very chakra clashes violently," Orochimaru chuckled gleefully. "However, I'm certain he means more to her than her hatred for me."
Kakashi's Raikiri faded as Orochimaru turned to walk away, but he paused after a couple of steps.
"Also, you said that you could kill me? Try, that is, if you can."
Kakashi's eyes widened in horror and his body trembled from the killing intent. Sensing no advance to attack, Orochimaru disappeared with a smirk.
"Threatening a Sannin, I must be insane," Kakashi said weakly. With the threat gone, he crouched at Kari's side. "It must be your influence, making me reckless."
"...shi...?"
He shushed her, stroking her hair as her eyes fluttered in hopes she'd fall back asleep. Her body must have reacted to his chakra spike with Raikiri and forced her into consciousness, sensing danger.
"Are you okay?" she murmured looking up at him. He tried to appear reassuring, even if he was slightly shaken. With her free hand she caught the one playing with her hair and gripped it loosely. How ironic that she would be the one comforting him.
"You need rest," he said gently and she hummed softly in response. She lost consciousness without argument, still clinging to his hand like a stubborn child. Picking Sasuke up under one arm and cradling her in the other, he headed to the emergency treatment room on the top floor. They'd be moved to hospital later in the day once all the matches had been finished.
He let the nurses fuss over his Genin and get them cleaned up and into bed while he watched tiredly. One nurse tried to approach him about his hand, but he managed to shoo her away without too much trouble. Once they had finished he stood between the beds, taking in the pale faces, the oxygen masks, the machines, the fluids attached to their veins.
Rest well, I feel the worst is yet to come...
Thoughts, feelings, good, bad, worse/better than before?
Too depressing?
Please let me know so i can improve and be stupidly happy over feedback. :)
Thank you.