OMG, this chapter is so dramatic. I played intense music the entire time. But don't worry, everything will turn out all right at the end. The end of the story, that is.
Chapter Seven: Fighting for their Lives
It was after lunchtime, everyone having already eaten as peacefully as they could in the current living conditions. The eight Jounin left from the original teams years ago were performing the tiresome task of washing dishes, the normal crew having been struck with a unanimous bout of the flu.
Kaede's arms were soaked up to the elbows in suds and warm water, her hands red and raw from scrubbing plates, bowls, and utensils. She had lost count of the amount of kitchen things she had washed at around fifty-seven. Miki, though, was still drawing little tick marks for every bowl, plate, fork, spoon, and chopstick that went through the makeshift assembly line at the washing basins.
"Eighty-three bowls!" the Hyuga announced to groans and complaints. Everyone was tired and soapy from this tedious task. Kaede was right up their with them, trying to keep her thoughts on something other than her hurting hands and aching back.
The sound of unsteady feet stumbling down the hallway turned everyone's head towards the door, ready to wince at the crash that seemed inevitable. But, surprisingly, it didn't come.
Balancing all of the eating supplies precariously on his hands, shoulders, arms, and head, Rock Lee appeared in the doorway, an impish grin pasted on his face. "Here are more for us to wash!"
After the groaning, moaning, and muttering, Miki half-turned to Kaede as she dunked a few more plates in the washing basin in front of her. "You know, I have half a mind to knock him over and let all of those damn things break."
Kaede giggled, wiping a splash of suds off of her cheek with her shoulder. "Yeah, and you know what would happen then? We'd have to wash floors, cause no one would have anything to eat on."
"Oh, no, please!" Miki whined, feigning a dizzy spell. She spun around, bobbled, and stumbled a few steps. Kaede watched her, amused. She was almost brought to laughter until Miki actually tripped.
The little misstep sent the Hyuga girl spiraling towards a wobbling Lee. She was an unstoppable force, and Kaede cried out, "Miki!"
Everyone looked, horrified, and the scene that was about to occur. Naruto was the only one that leapt into action, though.
He launched himself at Miki, knocking into her and sending them both into the wall. They hit with a loud thud, and landed in a tangled mess on the ground. Rock Lee and the rest of the Jounin heaved a sigh of relief.
"Nice one, Naruto," Lee congratulated, taking a step towards the counter so he could set the plates down. Just as he was about to relieve himself of his breakable burdens, a resounding bang chorused down the halls, coupled with shouts and slow, but urgent footsteps.
At the same time, they all jumped in surprise and darted for a look out the kitchen door. In their rush to see what the hell was going on, they didn't realize they had spun Rock Lee around several times, and sent him and the eating supplies crashing to the ground.
The sound of breaking glass and clattering utensils echoed through the room, momentarily distracting everyone but Naruto and Kaede from the ruckus in the hallway.
Bleeding, doubled over, and with pleading eyes, a Konoha ninja ran as fast as his injured self could, shouting, "Help! Help, Lord Hokage! An invasion! They're here!" His pained and hopeful eyes spotted Naruto and Kaede rushing into the hallway, having finally understood what he was saying. He grabbed onto Naruto's arm for support, hacking up a mouthful of blood and spitting at their feet. Kaede placed a hand on his shoulder, scanning his injuries.
The man had long, gaping slashes across his stomach; he was bleeding out of the corners of his mouth; Kaede was surprised that he was able to form whispers, much less shout down the hallway and run to find the Hokage. He was, truly, dedicated to his village.
"Man!" Naruto said firmly, holding the ninja's distancing gaze. "Where are they? How far have they gotten? Speak!"
"Naruto!" Kaede snapped. "The man is dying, he can barely talk."
The Hokage glared. "If he can yell loud enough for us to hear him, then he can talk long enough to tell us what is going on." He turned back to the ninja, and his eyes widened. "I know him…"
Slowly, those eyes ran over Kaede's face, and she gasped. She had thought he looked familiar, but this was…this was just too close to home for comfort. His gray eye was squinted tightly, against the pain, as if he knew he was fighting a losing battle for his life. The other eye, though, was worse. The red and black orb stared firmly up at them; if weakened it did not show it. The intensity of its gaze took Kaede's breath away, and she had to look away to his forehead. His headband was righted, as it was when the battle was fierce, and his gray hair was cropped short. It lay meekly in small locks around his pale face, no longer spiky and alert as it once had been.
"Oh, God no," Kaede whispered, shaking her head. But then her instincts kicked in and she turned to the group of Jounin that had gathered around them. "We need Tsunade, now." When they didn't move, her expression turned venomous. "Did you not hear me? Get Tsunade now!"
The Jounin went scattering in several directions, and with Naruto's help, she and the Hokage carried their former sensei towards the medical wing. Along the way, Naruto gathered enough information from Kakashi to shout out orders to the ninja rushing around like madmen. News of the attack by the Sound Village had traveled fast, but was smartly and carefully kept from the civilians in the gymnasiums.
Fear shot through Kaede as her heart tore in two. She wanted desperately to save Kakashi, almost more than she wanted to fight for her village. But something kept her with her sensei, and she had never felt more relieved to hand him over to Tsunade. The gray-haired Jounin may be dying, but if anyone could save him, it would be the Slug Princess, the legendary Sannin.
As soon as they were sure Kakashi was comfortable for the worst, Naruto and Kaede sprinted back down the halls, both thinking of preparations for an evacuation. Somehow, the Sound had found their hideout, and somehow, Kakashi had been there to help fight, even after he had been assumed dead. He had known the entrance to the hideout, and made his way inside to alert them of the attack.
Even if they managed to push back the Sound army, Orochimaru would still known where their underground haven was, and would attack again and again until everyone inside was dead, had surrendered, or had been captured. Even if he had to come here himself.
An explosion could be heard above, and the ground shook, sending pieces of earth raining down onto their heads. Kaede and Naruto glanced at each other, urgency forming a unanimous decision between them—they were going to fight, and keep those damn Sound nin from harming what was left of Konoha.
Kaede, knowing that Orochimaru had no idea of her existence, took off her headband and wrapped it around her arm. She knew that, with her hair dulled and her forehead bare, she would be almost unrecognizable to anyone who hadn't been around to see these changes.
Nodding in approval, Naruto darted ahead of Kaede and through the door that Kakashi had slammed open. They ran straight into a mass of fighting ninja.
All around, blood was being shed, bones were being cracked, and fighters were falling. The speed and confusion of the battle spiraled around Kaede, and she was barely able to keep her sight on Naruto. The unknown Hokage was weaving in and out of the crowd, glancing back over his shoulder every few moments to check that Kaede was still following him. She was.
She ran as fast as she could, her trained speed kicking in at just the right moments, allowing her to be almost invisible to those attempting to attack her. Having forgotten her kunai and shuriken in the kitchen, she had no choice but to use whatever she had left, and that meant her fists.
Her knuckles connected with jaws, her palms blocked punches, kicks, and slashes. She ignored the jolting pain from the fresh cuts marking her hands, focused solely on stopping anyone in her path. Building up chakra, she performed the shadow clone jutsu that Naruto had taught her in one of their training sessions. She allowed her clones to go on their own killing spree, attacking anyone and everyone of the enemy. On her own rampage, Kaede sent carefully calculated hits at those daring enough to get near her. It was another advantage of changing her look in such a small and yet big way, she mused. The Sound had no clue who they were up against.
"Kaede!" she heard someone yell, and turned her head for the most fleeting moment to see who had shouted for her. It was Miki, who was pointing with one hand and shoving Sound nin away with her other. Kaede looked in the direction her friend was motioning to and felt her chest tighten. Why did everything have to happen at once?!
Standing completely still, but stiffly, watching an extremely furious Naruto make a beeline for him, was Sasuke, his hand resting on the handle of his sheathed sword. His eyes were locked on Naruto's, the tension between them almost visible. Kaede saw the trouble brewing, and knew that there would be no way to stop it.
But damn, why did he have to be here? Why couldn't Orochimaru have sent Kabuto or Kimimaro or something to fight? Why did it have to be Sasuke?
She tried to ignore the fight, but was unable to when Naruto's resounding, "Sasuke!" reached her ears and she heard the sickening thud of the Hokage tackling the betrayer. Slamming her knee into the Sound nin in front of her, Kaede focused her attention on her friends.
Sasuke immediately drew his sword, using the handle to hit Naruto in the stomach. Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke, appearing behind the Uchiha and slashing the back of his neck. Sasuke lurched forward at the last second, causing Naruto to miss and fly over the other's head. The Hokage landed on his feet, and rushed again, his demon chakra activating and swirling around him in a mass of crimson. Kaede had never seen her teammate control this chakra with such skill, much less bring it to the surface with only a small thought. She was impressed with the way he had matured and developed in his fighting. He was no longer immature—no, he hadn't been immature in a long, long time. It had just taken her this long to realize it.
Sasuke's curse seal spread across his body, the marks burning red as he met Naruto with the slash of his sword, clashing with the other's kunai. Naruto pushed back, taking one step, then another, proving his determination to defeat his once-best friend.
All movement stopped suddenly between them, their power finally matched. Kaede watched this all, oblivious to the fighting going on around her, her eyes locked on the two young men locked in a battle of will versus skill. She could see the fury plain and boiling on Naruto's face, and the spark of anger in Sasuke's black eyes—wait, black eyes?!
Shocked, Kaede realized that Sasuke had yet to activate his Sharingan—he was making this an even battle. Her heart went out to them both, unsure of which one she wanted to win. No, she knew. She loved Sasuke with her entire being, and wanted nothing more than for him to live, but when it came down to it, her village was higher on the list than he was. She wanted Naruto to win, even if it meant destroying one of the two things she ever loved more than anything.
Something hit her in the back, and she fell to the ground. She hit with an "oomph", landing face first on the hard dirt. Quickly she rolled over and stopped the Sound nin's fist from landing on her cheek, struggling to hold him at bay. Her view of the battle might be out of range now, but that wasn't any reason to just knock this ninja out and let him live.
Fury enveloped her, and she focused her chakra into the hand that wasn't holding back the ninja. She formed a tight fist, sticking one knuckle out further than the others just as Kakashi had taught her to do if she found herself in a situation such as this. With a loud, angry cry that merely mingled with the others in the room, Kaede hit the ninja in the nose, pushing upwards as she did, shattering it. Kakashi had told her that, if she ever had to use this, the shattered pieces of bone would, with the right amount of force, be pushed back into the brain, therefore killing the person.
Apparently it worked, for the man's hand went limp, and he collapsed. Kaede rolled him off of her and stood up, leaping at the first ninja she saw. She pounded each ninja she could, hitting them in the air, slamming them back down with a kick that was taught to her by Tsunade, punching their faces in, hitting them in any and every way possible.
It wasn't long before she saw an exit route to the outside, where she figured Naruto and Sasuke would have gone. But they were at the back of her thoughts right now; for the moment, she cared only about destroying all of the Sound nin that had infiltrated their hideout. She forced her way through, joined by two other Konoha ninja she did not feel like identifying.
The bright light blinded her, and she threw an arm up in front of her face until she got used to it. When she lowered her arm, she saw a sight that was both heart-warming and shocking.
Fighting the Sound ninja with a gusto Kaede had never seen them use before were comrades she had once though fallen.
"Leaf Spinning Wind!" A crash followed the cry, and when the dust cleared, Maito Gai stood with that goofy grin still on his face. Kaede felt her heart swell even more at the sight of him standing proudly, nodding in her direction. A few feet away, a large, green ball with kunai attached to it rolled by, and Kaede smiled. It was Choji. Ten Ten was a little ways away, too, spinning in the middle of a twirled scroll, weaponry flying out and landing grotesquely in the bodies of the ninja surrounding her.
And there, on a rather large toad, was Jiraiya, a ninja thought to have disappeared, but definitely not killed, after the attack on Konoha. He blew fire, and the toad blew oil, creating an explosion that burned several Sound ninja.
The two ninja beside Kaede touched her shoulders, and she darted a look at each of them, finally noticing who they were. There, on her left, was Neji, and on her right, someone she really, really had hoped to see. Miki grinned, none the worse for wear save for a few scratches, bruises, and one burn mark on her arm. Neji gave a hint of a smile before he and Miki led Kaede in a dash through the crowd towards Jiraiya.
"Hey," Jiraiya greeted them in his odd manner, waving before his eyes feasted on Kaede and Miki. "Well, well, you two have turned into quite the beautiful pair, haven't you?"
"Back off," Neji snapped, and Miki giggled. Kaede elbowed her friend playfully, even though the last thing they should be doing was fooling around. But she was just so happy to see some of those that had been assumed dead or disappeared.
Jiraiya looked momentarily surprised, before his entire demeanor changed to one of seriousness. "Get in there, kids," he barked. "No time for small talk."
Startled but willing, the three Jounin heeded his command and leapt into the midst of battle.
Kaede snuck up behind a Sound nin and stole his pouch of weaponry. She picked out a kunai, and, glad to have a weapon in her hand, stabbed the ninja viciously in the back. It was something that had to be done, and she knew that, and was willing to do it. From ninja to ninja, Kaede killed as many of the Sound she could. Sure, there was no way that in one day she could hurt the Sound village as much as they had hurt the Leaf, but she would do a hell of a lot of damage.
This task proved harder than originally imagined; the Sound nin kept appearing, and if she had to guess, she'd say there were hundreds to their limited amount of fighters. Jiraiya could count for a few men, and so could several of the Jounin, but it wasn't enough. She knew that soon, those who were injured to a certain extent would leave to help in the inevitable evacuation, and the rest would be left to hold back the Sound.
Knowing just who would say and who would go, Kaede leapt into the air, searching desperately for her friends. She saw most of them out here, fighting for their lives and for their village. Her heart wrenched at the dedication they were putting into this battle, but she had to get them out of there.
Making a chakra sign, she calmed herself and focused her chakra just enough for her next attack. She brought her fist to her mouth and blew out a Grand Fireball jutsu, pushing back the Sound nin surrounding her.
The Konoha ninja looked her way, and she waved her arm, signaling them to retreat to the door. She, too, dashed to the doorway and paused, looking at her comrades. They were injured, panting, tired, but still ready to fight.
"You know what to do," Kaede told them, and they nodded. Several of them parted into the hideout, while the rest stayed behind. She turned to those left and gave them as encouraging a smile as she could manage. "Listen up. Our only mission is to hold these guys off. Kill as many as we can. We most likely will not return after this. You're all brave ninja, and I know how much Konoha means to you." Feeling her own courage rise, she pumped her fist into the air. "Let's go kick some Sound ass!"
Roars and shouts of agreement, plus many other enthusiastic fists in the air followed her encouragement. Kunai, shuriken, and dozens of other weapons were drawn out as the ninja ran in a two-row arc at the Sound ninja. Kaede, at the head of this arc, knew that the chance of her coming out of this alive was slim to none.
But she fought anyway.
In the darkness of late night, or early morning—she didn't know which—Kaede and the remaining survivors trekked on weary legs across the dewy grass. There were only a few of them; herself, Neji, Miki, Gai, two other ANBU, and Jiraiya plodded along, tired, injured, but proud.
For five hours, they and fifteen others had held off the Sound ninja, proudly displaying the spirit of Konoha that inhabited each and every one of them. Kaede was the proudest of them all, but not of herself. Of everyone else. They had all fought valiantly, taking down as many of the enemy as they could. Five of them had perished in the battle; three from injuries after the fight.
After the long hours, the Sound nin had retreated at the command of some unheard voice. They had moved simultaneously, halting their attacks and merely walking away. Deciding that they weren't worth it, Kaede had ordered her ninja to leave the Sound alone and tend to the wounded.
The dead had been buried, the hideout door destroyed and caved in, and the injured bandages and healed as best as possible. Kaede had hated bandaging up her friends, burying their bodies, having to close the eyes of her dead comrades. But she had done it with as much resolve as she did everything else.
During the fight, no one had had any time to think about what had happened to the rest of their friends and family, where they were, if the evacuation plan had gone along as planned. And what had happened to their Hokage. Neither Naruto nor Sasuke were anywhere to be seen. All anyone could hope was that Naruto had defeated the Uchiha and gone to assist in the evacuation. No one wanted to see their strong, determined Hokage be beaten down.
But now that they were no longer busy, and too tired to speak, there didn't seem to be anything else to think about. Kaede especially couldn't get the image of her two friends fighting out of her mind. Once again, the dilemma came to the surface, and once again she found herself answering that she would want Naruto to win over Sasuke. She loved the Uchiha to death, but if it came down to it, her village came first, and he had betrayed the Leaf.
Besides, Naruto was like an older brother to her. He had always been there for her, had been a great friend when they were young, and an even greater friend as they got older. Sasuke, on the other hand, had been confusing and cold as a child, and only showed his true self to her when they were well on their way to adulthood. Naruto definitely scored more points that Sasuke.
But this wasn't about points, she scolded herself, scowling. This was about what was right. Yet when you put it either way, Naruto always came out on top.
Bothered, but consoled by the fact that she hadn't actually seen either of them die, Kaede halted what was left of her ninja and pointed.
In a clearing about a half-mile away, there was a strange looking tree that seemed totally out of place. Kaede knew the entrances and exits of every single sector of the underground "city", as some people called it, and this was one of them. The tree was merely a barrier for the actual entrance, a large wooden door that opened onto a staircase leading into black nothingness. At least, the semi-permanent jutsu seemed that way.
Smiling, Kaede urged the ninja forward to the clearing, and, encouraged by the sight of an entrance, they reached it in not even three minutes.
Kaede made a chakra sign and concentrated her energy on the tree. The ground shook, and the tree slowly moved backwards. Its roots detangled themselves from the wooden door and retreated into the ground. Kaede reached down and pulled the handle on the door, murmuring a jutsu under her breath as she went. When the door was completely open, all they saw was darkness. As gasps and mutters went through the small group, only Jiraiya and Kaede staying silent, the darkness slowly receded until a dimly lit case of stairs was visible.
The seven ninja started down the stairs, carefully closing the door and latching the tree back into place behind them. Kaede led the way, quickly maneuvering down the staircase and through a skinny hallway. There were no doors on the sides, just a long passage ahead. The other ninja were becoming hopeful, but Kaede's hopes were falling. If she had judged right, at their current distance from the door, they should've been able to hear voices and the calamity of dozens of people crammed into one room.
She heard nothing.
Fear tightened around her heart, and she gasped for breath. What if they had all died? What if Orochimaru was waiting for the last of them to come, poised to kill? What if…
She never finished that "what if" because a loud shout of, "Kaede!" bounced off the walls and down to the seven ninja. Kaede grinned at the sound of Sakura's voice, and met the girl in a hug. It was a quick hug, though, because Sakura began dashing to everyone, loosing squeals of happiness at those she hadn't seen in a long time as she hugged them.
Still grinning, Kaede took a few more steps before turning and calling, "You all coming or not?"
As if a light bulb had just clicked in their heads, the other ninja ran past Kaede, all hurrying to get into the room and see their friends, if those friends had lived or not. Kaede waited for Sakura to catch up, then snatched the kunoichi's arm and halted her in her steps.
"Sakura," Kaede said in a low voice, "who made it back?" Sakura's face visibly fell at the question, and she seemed to be fighting back tears. Kaede dropped her hand from the other girl's arm and stared, wide-eyed, afraid of what she was about to say.
"Naruto," Kaede began, then stopped as Sakura wiped tears away from her face and sniffed. Immediately, she knew what had happened. Naruto hadn't come back. She pulled Sakura into an embrace, rubbing the other girl's back soothingly and leading her down the hallway again.
She knew what this meant—Konoha was left without a leader, and there were only a few people eligible to fill the position. Kaede was one of them. Without Naruto, their great Hokage, the village was nothing.
Dread seeping into her veins, Kaede realized that the only hope Konoha had left was….her.
sniff Poor Naruto, disappeared. But have no fear. He'll be back...or will he? Oo Haha, you'll just have to wait. And I'm sorry if it was a little shorter than my other chapters, but this was the best place to end it. Keep on reading and reviewing--I enjoy opening my email and finding a bunch of reviews in my inbox!
Nicola