Chapter 26

Ayumi woke up in the hospital, and saw Tsunade walk in with Naruto and Sakura. "Hey guys…what's up?" "Ayumi-chan!" Naruto ran to her side, hugging her tight. "Naruto-kun…I can't…breathe…" He released her, smiling sheepishly. "So…how's Sasuke?" "See for yourself?" Tsunade answered, moving the curtain beside Ayumi's bed, showing Sasuke in his own. "Nii-san…" Tsunade healed his mind, and he finally woke up. "Nii-san! You're okay!" Ayumi almost sprang out of bed, but Tsunade held her back, saying, "Calm down! You haven't regained all of your chakra…" "At LEAST let me get up!"

Tsunade released her as way of answer, and Ayumi got up. She went over to her nii-san, and hugged him tight. "Are you okay? I've been so worried…" "I'm fine…" She released him, feeling that something was wrong, and that's when Sakura hugged him, crying. Naruto hugged Ayumi from behind, smiling. "What's wrong, Ayumi-chan?" "I'm…not sure yet…" She smiled weakly at Naruto over her shoulder. "But I'm sure its nothing." 'Or it could be everything…' she ended in her mind, that's when Tsunade said, "Ayumi, you need to sleep. Come on." Ayumi sighed, but obeyed Tsunade's orders.

She got into the bed, and noticed Naruto take a seat in between her and Sasuke's beds. She smiled as she drifted into sleep…and was awoken by the sudden silence. She noticed no one was in the room and, feeling refreshed, got up and went to look for them. Hara found them on the roof, and Ayumi's heart almost stopped when she saw Sasuke and Naruto running at each other, one using Chidori and the other using Rasengan.

"SASUKE-NII-SAN!!! NARUTO-KUN!!!"

They couldn't stop, and Ayumi felt tears burn her eyes, blurring her vision. 'I'd rather die than lose one of them…' she saw Sakura, crying, on the floor, and ran forward. "Ayumi-chan! Move!" "Move, nii-chan!" she planted herself in between them, almost opening her arms to the release the attacks were offering her, when a shadow appeared, throwing both boys into water tanks. "Ayumi…" she looked up to see Kakashi, and she let the tears flow as she said, "They…they were…going to…kill each other…" "I know…I know…"

She hugged him tight, crying. She noticed Sasuke leave, and Kakashi said, "I'll go talk with him…" Ayumi nodded, and went over to Naruto. "Naruto-kun…" he looked up, and the guilt was obvious.
"Ayumi-chan…I'm sorry…" "Why'd you do it?" Naruto looked at the ground, saying, "Sasuke did Chidori first…" "Why were you two fighting?!" "Sasuke just challenged me…" Ayumi kneeled down next to him, saying, "I don't want you two to fight…you two are the most precious people to me…I don't want to lose either of you…" Naruto nodded, saying, "I promise I won't fight him again…not like this…" Ayumi smiled, saying, "That's all I wanted to hear…"

She hugged him tight, and that's when Tsunade's strict voice asked, "Ayumi, why aren't you in bed?" Ayumi turned to her sensei, and said, "But…I feel fine…" Tsunade sighed, saying, "I want to be sure, though." After a few tests, Ayumi was finally released the next day, and was eating Ramen at Ichiraku's with Naruto when Shikamaru came, saying, "I need you two to come with me." Ayumi gave him a questioning look as she quickly finished her Ramen, and both her and Naruto followed him to the gate.

"Okay…this is a retrieval mission. Sasuke Uchiha was captured by Sound shinobi and is being taken to the Sound village. We have to get him back before they cross the border." He turned to Ayumi, saying, "Since you have the Ayaka Sharingan, you can see what will happen. If you see any danger, hide in the trees. If you can't help, then keep going and shadow them until you can get Sasuke." She nodded, and he explained his strategy to the others. Ayumi took up the rear as they set off, though she was frantic to find her nii-san. 'That snake-teme! I'll kill him if he hurts Sasuke-nii-san!'

They were catching up, Hara kept getting agitated in Ayumi's backpack, and that's when a big fat shinobi appeared. Ayumi obviously knew, and jumped into the trees. She saw him trap the others in a chakra-eating orb. She went to the other side, and stabbed a kunai in so deep that it went all the way through, and jumped back into the trees. She ran ahead, masking her chakra, and saw three shinobi. One looked sickly, another had six arms, and the other was a foul-mouthed kunoichi. She was good at hiding, and Hara knew when to stay quiet. But, just in case, she kept the Ayaka Sharingan activated.

She saw a strange container, and felt an evil chakra emanating from it. 'Nii-san?' that's when the others came, and they started moving again. Everyone got into a one-on-one fight except Ayumi and Naruto. Sasuke came out of the container, but he ran away, and Naruto followed close behind. Ayumi followed, but at a slower pace, as thought plagued her mind. 'Why is he running? Doesn't he want to come back? Doesn't he want to stay with me? Doesn't he care?' she made it to the Valley of the End as Naruto's and Sasuke's fight had reached its climax. "SASUKE-NII-SAN!!! NARUTO-KUN!!!" that's when Rasengan and Chidori clashed.

Naruto was unconscious, and it looked like Sasuke was going to finish him off. "Nii-san!" she jumped down in-between them, protecting Naruto. "Why are you protecting him?" "Why are you trying to kill him?" "It's the only way to get the Mangekyou Sharingan…" Ayumi's eyes widened. "I won't let you kill him! You'll have to kill me first!" "Nii-chan, move." "I won't!" "I don't want to fight you…" "And I don't want anyone else to die, so I guess we're even!" That's when a snake's voice said, "A bit protective, aren't we?" A chill raced down her spine as she whispered, "Orochimaru…"

Orochimaru appeared behind Sasuke, saying, "I don't think you're going to change his mind." She glared hostilely, the commas of the Ayaka Sharingan spinning dangerously. Orochimaru smirked, saying, "Bring her back alive, Sasuke. I'll be waiting." With that, he disappeared, and Ayumi glared at Sasuke, asking, "Is this really what you want?" "Nii-chan…" "I'm not going without a fight, and you know it!" He sighed, saying, "Then we might as well start." He jumped back, doing some hand signs before saying, "Fire Release: Great Fireball jutsu!" Ayumi got Naruto and dodged the attack easily. After putting Naruto in a safe hiding spot, she jumped at Sasuke, punching him in the stomach.

He flew back, and she whispered, "I'm sorry…" As Sasuke stood, she said, "Don't make me kill you, nii-san." He ran at her with a kunai, and she took out her own, parrying it. "Nii-san, you don't have to do this! You don't have to leave…" "Then how else will I get stronger? You don't understand! You were born with power!" "I WAS BORN WITH A CURSE!!!" She kicked him away. "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE BORN WITH THESE EYES!!! IT'S LIKE HELL ON EARTH!!"

He stood up, feeling weak, and asked, "Are you going to finish me off?" Her hand was shaking, and she raised the kunai. She threw it, but it thudded into the rock right next to his head. "You know I'm not heartless. I'm not going to turn into Itachi, but I'm not so sure about you…" she turned her back on him, though it felt like she was stabbing herself in the heart, and got Naruto. Tears started flowing down her cheeks as she held Naruto in her arms. "He'll get you, nii-chan. You know that." "He's not getting these eyes. It may be a curse, but it's MINE to bear…I'm sorry…that I couldn't help you get stronger…" When she turned around, he was gone. "No!"

She was about to follow him when Kakashi appeared, lifting Naruto. "I need to stop him!" Kakashi held her back, saying, "There's nothing you can do…I'm sorry…" Ayumi cried hard, saying, "I feel…like it's my fault…" Kakashi felt bad for her, and brought both of them back to Konoha. Ayumi wasn't wounded, but she stayed with Naruto night and day until he woke up. When he did, he noticed her eyes were glazed over with grief, and weren't nearly as bright when she smiled, hugging him. "Ayumi-chan…are you okay…" "…Yeah…" He wasn't so sure about that, and said, "You couldn't bring him back…"

She tensed, before relaxing in his arms, saying, her voice choked by sobs, "Yeah…I tried…I really tried! But…he wanted to leave me all by myself…" "You're never by yourself! I'm here for you, and so is Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei! Not to mention everyone else in the village! Especially Tsunade! You should have seen her when she got here with you that first time. She did all of that hard work to make sure you would come out of it fine…there are so many people here that care for you…" he kissed her forehead. "But I care the most…" She smiled, kissing him, when the door opened.

They separated when Ayumi saw Sakura at the door. "Tsunade told me you two liked each other, but I didn't believe her…" Sakura smiled, giving Naruto some Ramen, and said, "You look better, Naruto." Naruto smiled, saying, "Well, I feel better!" Sakura looked at Ayumi, thinking, 'If Sasuke leaving is hurting me this much, imagine how much it must be killing her on the inside…' Ayumi smiled, saying, "Well, I guess I'll start my medic training with Tsunade again. She'll be mad if I take any longer…" Sakura went with her, and Ayumi persuaded Tsunade to teach Sakura, too.

Ayumi was obviously ahead of Sakura, but Tsunade started teaching both of them at the same time…though it was only an excuse to get away from the paperwork…"You two are doing good. Maybe you'll be as good as me some day…" Ayumi smiled, though Tsunade knew she must not have felt much like it. She let Ayumi leave early, and Kakashi tried to cheer her up with her favorite dinner. Ayumi hardly ate before taking a hot shower. "Why am I cursed? If I didn't have these eyes, none of this would have happened!" she punched the wall, denting it. "If I didn't have these eyes, Sasuke would still be here, and so would mom…" she finished taking her shower, not knowing that Kakashi had heard the whole thing.

She went to her room, locking herself in, and sat on her bed, hugging her legs to her chest, her chin on her knees. "Nii-san…I told you revenge would ruin you…you just didn't listen…but why am I the one that suffers? …My heart can't take much more of this…" Hara, whimpering, licked her fingers. Ayumi absentmindedly scratched Hara's ears, but she didn't smile, like she usually did. "I miss him, Hara…" Hara whimpered, ears lowered and tail tucked between her legs as she found her way onto Ayumi's lap. Ayumi smiled weakly, petting Hara's head. "I'll bring him back…no matter what…" 'Because revenge turns us into what we hate the most…'

That's when Kakashi expertly picked the lock on her door and came in. "Ayumi…I know your hurt, but you need to learn to move on…" Ayumi gave him a sad, innocent look, and he sighed, sitting next to her on the bed. "I know you feel like you've lost everything…but you haven't…this whole village is behind you…" He smiled, "And every single one of them can count on you as much as you can count on them." "I don't see why…" Kakashi smiled under his mask. "You protect them with your life, and they expect nothing less, and they will do the same in return." Ayumi smiled weakly as she said, "Then I'll protect this whole village with my life." "Like a guardian angel."