"Talking"
'Thinking/Thoughts'
Yami the Kitty
By Yami a.k.a Rachel
Chapter Eight: Game Over
The Hokage's office was silent for a long time, before the old man finally said "We need to get Kabuto out of hiding. We just have to think of where he could be hiding." The jounin nodded their heads in agreement. It was at this time that an unfamiliar bird came flying onto one of the window seals in the office. The bird had a piece of paper tied to it's leg. The Hokage walked over to the bird and took the letter and the bird flew off. As the Hokage read the letter, the room fell silent again. All that could be heard was the deep breathing of Sasuke and the low purring of Yami as the two continued to sleep. As the Hokage finished the letter, he looked up at the jounin with an odd look on his face.
"What is it Lord Hokage? What does the letter say?" Guy asked. The old man sighed and said "It's from Kabuto. He actually sighed this one." Asuma asked "Could you read it to us, Lord Hokage?" The Hokage nodded and started to read. "Bring the Uchiha and kitten to the village gates. The game is over and everyone must collect their rightful prize." Everyone looked shocked. Asuma looked a bit more angry than shocked and said "So, he thinks this is a game huh?" "Remember who we're dealing with Asuma." Kakashi said. He didn't like it anymore than Asuma did. These were his students that he was messing with, and it was going to end soon.
The Hokage looked from the jounin, to the two sleeping, then back to the jounin and said "Kakashi and I will take Sasuke and Yami to Kabuto, but I would like for the rest of you to warn the others that Orochimaru could be planning something." The jounin nodded and the old man continued "This meeting with Kabuto could be some smaller part of a big plan that Orochimaru has going on." They all once again nodded and all the jounin, save for Kakashi, left the office to start warning the others. When they were long gone, the Hokage turned to the two sleeping and released the sleeping jutsu. Sasuke was slow in waking up. His eyes slowly opened and tried to process where he was.
When he finally remembered where he was, he quickly looked all around him. He then spotted the two men and asked "Have you found Kabuto?" Kakashi saw fear and worry in his student's eyes and said "Relax Sasuke. Kabuto sent us another note." Sasuke then noticed the small piece of paper in the Hokage's hand and the old man handed him the letter. When Sasuke had finished reading the letter, he was no longer fearful or confused. He was angry, he was furious. He crumbled the letter, picked up Yami, who had finally woken up, and ran out of the office. "Kakashi, he must not get to Kabuto before we do!" The Hokage shouted as they both ran after Sasuke.
As Sasuke ran, Yami looked up at him with worry. 'What's gotten into him?' She thought. Sasuke continued to run, despite the shouting of Kakashi and the Hokage behind him. All of the villagers were staring at them in confusion. When he finally made it to the village gates, Sasuke saw him. The man that had made Yami suffer for the last few days, but not anymore. Yami would finally be back to normal again and would be able to participate in the Chunnin exams. When Sasuke got closer, he could see Kabuto was wearing a sick smile and in his hands was a blanket and a scroll. Yami hissed at him as Sasuke glared and the Hokage and Kakashi finally caught up to them. "Kabuto...hand over the scroll..." The Hokage panted.
Kabuto continued to smile and said "Sorry old man, but I can't do that." When they all stiffened, he continued and said "However, I do have a proposition for you." Sasuke growled and said fiercely "I'm tired of playing your games! Just hand us the scroll!" Still smiling that sickly smile, Kabuto said "At least hear my proposal." Sasuke narrowed his eyes listened as Kabuto made his proposition. "Let's make a deal. I use the scroll to reverse the jutsu and Yami's good as new." He paused and let the shinobi process this. He then continued "In return, I'd like Sasuke to come with me." They were all stunned, save for one. Who was angry.
Yami leaped out of Sasuke's grip and lunged at Kabuto. Kabuto, however, was too skilled for her and caught her in midair and flung her into a near by tree. "Yami!" Sasuke shouted. Kabuto looked over at Yami, who was trying to spring back up and said in that annoyingly calm tone "Foolish animal, you should know better than to think that you could harm someone like me." Sasuke growled and shook with anger. He started to charge at Kabuto, but was stopped by his sensei. Sasuke looked up at him in irritation and Kakashi just stared back. Silence fell on them like the blanket that now fell on the ground at Kabuto's feet. "Well?" Kabuto said. The three of them looked over at him. "What do you say? Do we have a deal?"
It was silent once again and Sasuke stood there, thinking and thinking. He wanted Yami better, he wanted her back to her normal self. He'd do anything to change her back, even if it meant going with scum like Kabuto. Sasuke had a feeling he was going to be taken to Orochimaru if he did, in fact, agree to go. Sasuke tried to think of a way out of it and still be able to put Yami right again. He was about to speak his decision, when out of no where, Yami leaped at Kabuto for the second time and was successful in knocking the medic to the ground. The scroll fell out of his hand and rolled along the ground. Kabuto started yelling as Yami tried to claw at his eyes. He no longer had his glasses on.
Sasuke acted quick and picked up the scroll. The Hokage was right behind him and was about to tell the young shinobi something, when they heard Kabuto shout angrily "You retched creature!" The medic shinobi stood up and threw Yami as hard as he could. Time seemed to slow down to Sasuke as he watched Yami falling and skidding on the ground. Once the skidding stopped, the kitten laid motionless. "NO!!! YAMI!!!" Sasuke shouted. His shouts could be heard all throughout the village. Sasuke, whose face was now tear stained, tried to run over to her, but was stopped by the Hokage. The Hokage used all his strength to hold Sasuke back from running after the kitten. "YAMI!!!" Sasuke continued to shout out her name, in some hope that the kitten might spring back into life.
Sasuke continued to sob and shake with grief. Once he was sure the boy wouldn't move, he let go and when he was sure Kabuto wouldn't see him, he rushed over to examen the kitten. Kabuto was so busy fighting Kakashi, that he didn't notice the Hokage run right past him. Sasuke just sat on the ground, sobbing and trying to convince himself that Yami wasn't dead. 'She can't be dead, not now.' He thought. The Hokage bent down and with great relief, saw that Yami's tiny chest was rising and falling. He carefully picked Yami up into his hands and made his way quickly back over to Sasuke. When Sasuke looked up, he saw the Hokage standing over him with Yami in his hands.
The young shinobi sprung up and asked fervently "She's not dead right? She can't be dead!" "Calm down Sasuke. She's not dead." The old man said. Sasuke's eyes light up with happiness and relief. The Hokage continued and said "However, she isn't in good condition. Though she may be breathing, it's shallow and uneven." Sasuke began to panic and the Hokage said "We must act quickly. Take the scroll and we'll head to my office." Sasuke nodded and quickly picked up the scroll and the two headed off to the old man's office. Sasuke looked back to see that Kabuto and his sensei were no longer fighting, but they appeared to be talking about something.
Panting, Kakashi said "Game over Kabuto. You've lost." Kabuto, who was panting as well, said smugly "I may have lost this game, but the next time we play, I will be the winner." With a puff of smoke, the medic ninja was gone. Kakashi sighed in relief and thought of the others. "Oh, right!" With another puff of smoke, Kakashi was gone as well. Kakashi arrived in the Hokage's office just as the old man and Sasuke opened the door. The old man set Yami down on the floor and said "Stand back. Sasuke, could you please hand me the scroll?" Sasuke nodded and handed the scroll over to the Hokage. Before the old man started the jutsu, Kakashi said "Wait. I think we should put this blanket over Yami, I'm sure Kabuto brought it with him for a reason."
Kakashi walked over to the kitten and noticed her uneven breathing. 'She doesn't look too good.' He thought. He placed the blanket over her and stood back. Pressure started to build up in Sasuke's chest as he watched. He felt as if he was going to suffocate as the Hokage finally finished the jutsu. For a minute nothing happened and Sasuke thought that maybe Kabuto had cheated them out. When he started to speak his thoughts, however, the small lump under the blanket started to grow and take shape that of a human. Sasuke smiled brightly as he knew the jutsu had worked. He could hear her uneven breathing pattern. He looked over to Kakashi and said "We have to take her to a hospital now!"
"Now so loud Sasuke." Someone moaned in a weak tone. Sasuke looked over to see the bundle starting to move around and Yami slowly poked her head out of the blanket. As she was careful sitting up, he noticed that a deep blush was forming on her cheeks as she stared at the three of them. 'Of all the people in the world, why did the Hokage, my sensei, and my crush have to see me like this. I'm grateful to Kabuto for bringing this blanket with him. It's hard to tell what would have happened if he didn't.' She thought. Sudden realization struck Sasuke and he too began to blush as certain livid images sprung into his head. The images only made his blush deepen.
Kakashi and the Hokage were watching the two and couldn't help but smile at the two's discomfort. Yami sweatdroped and smiled as she mumbled "H..Hey guys." Despite his embarrassment, Sasuke couldn't help but smile at the sweet sound of her voice. It wasn't until now that Sasuke realized just how much he missed hearing Yami's strong and warm voice. It seemed like, to Sasuke, that whenever Yami talked, she sounded as though she had an answer to everything, but she would never boast about it. The Hokage smiled at her and said "I'm glad to see you are well again Miss. Koi." Yami nodded her thanks and the Hokage asked the question that she had been dreading to answer.
"Do you remember anything that has been going on lately?" Yami gulped, which made her chest hurt. She was pretty sure she had a few broken ribs from where Kabuto had thrown her so hard. Sasuke, forgetting his embarrassment, noticed that she looked nervous as she said sadly "There's something I need to tell you. And you probably won't like it." Sasuke started to worry as the sadness on Yami's face grew. She looked up at Sasuke and said "I know I told you all that I didn't recognize you, but I did. I knew everyone I talked to." She could not bear to see their faces, so she looked down at the blanket that she had wrapped securely around her.
"Why?" She looked up to see the hurt face of Sasuke. She hated seeing him hurt like this, but she knew the truth would have came out sooner or later. He looked at her and asked "Why did you lie?" Yami couldn't take seeing his face and started to cry as she said "Because I wanted to be able to get closer to you. To love you without being pushed away or hated." Sasuke looked at her in surprise, as did Kakashi and the Hokage. It was here that Yami completely broke and her crying became uncontrollable as she said "I love you Sasuke. I really do, and I never wanted to lie to you. I know what I did was wrong, and that I was selfish, but please-"
She was, however, cut off as Sasuke silenced her by pressing his lips against hers. She quieted immediately and her tears stopped. When they broke apart, she was too shocked and numb to say anything. All she could do was stare at him. Sasuke smiled warmly at her and said "I love you too. And I understand your reasons. I probably would have done the same thing if the situation was reversed." Yami was so shocked, that she barely caught the blanket that had started to slip off. Sasuke tried to help her, when one of his hands brushed up against her a bit too hard. She gasped and Sasuke asked in a worried tone "What is it? Are you alright?" As she squinted her eyes she said "No, I think I might have broken a rib or two when Kabuto threw me that last time."
Her eyes watered as she leaned on Sasuke for support. Sasuke looked over at the other two men in the office for help. The Hokage nodded and said "I'll get a medic in here as fast as I can. We don't want to move her anymore than she has to." With that, the Hokage quickly made his way out of the office. Sasuke looked down to see Yami panting and he could see beads of sweat rolling down her beautiful face. 'Beautiful face.' He thought. He no longer had to keep thoughts like those to himself anymore. He could tell Yami just how much he really loved her. It felt good to know he didn't have to keep it a secret anymore. She looked up at him and smiled "Some week this has been huh?" He smiled back and said "Yeah, some week."
"Sorry to ruin the moment, but the medic is here." Kakashi said, who was once again reading his book. Sasuke and Yami watched the medic ninja walked towards them and the medic told Sasuke politely "Mr. Uchiha, if you could please step aside." Sasuke nodded and with a quick glance of reassurance to Yami, he stood up and walked over to stand beside Kakashi. Yami directed her attention to the medic as the man said just as politely as before "Miss. Koi, could you please lay flat on your back for me." Yami did as she was told and the medic told the others to leave the room so he could attend to Yami's injuries.