Three more chapters left, and this is my longest yet. I am quite happy that this is almost over. It has been a ball to write my first part in my grand series, but now it is time to pack things up and move on. What I mean by move on is get started with the new parts to the series. But that does not mean that I intend to make the last few chapters crappy. Two will be full of action, and the last will be different so to speak.
For all those who think I have forgotten about the romance half of this story, I have not. There is a reason for all the back to back action that will be apparent here and in the final chapter of the story.
Thanks to all the reviewers of the last chapter.
After this chapter, the biggest fighting in Fire Paved Skies will occur.
Symbiotic
April 11
Outside Konohagakure
"Everything back there ok ma'am," Eiji questioned, taking a quick glance at his female passenger while he kept the Harley guided on the road ahead.
"Yep," Kurenai repled, putting her left hand on Eiji's left shoulder. "Everything is A ok Eiji, you just keep on moving."
In reality, Kurenai did not feel ok, and she had all the reason to be frightened. It had been over an hour since they had begun riding away from the radio towers, and lost all chances of having any radio contact with anyone while on the move. Plus, this was a highway. An open highway with little cover other then a few measly bridges that could hardly hold their weight of various automobiles and trucks, much less take a blow from a rocket or autocannon fire.
Another first just happened for Kurenai at that moment, and she had another thing running through her mind at the time.
"First time for everything I guess," she pondered, "First time to get shot down, first time to work with the enemy, first time meeting an enemy willing to cooperate, first time riding on a motorcycle off road." Her smile quickly faded, as she realized there was another first for her.
"First time to lie," she thought, sighing at the thought, "Damn it." Her thoughts then silenced on her as Eiji kept on guiding the motorcycle along the paved road, and she needed time to relax. Like she had thought, she was on a motorcycle, and that alone was enough to make Kurenai forget about all the bad stuff that had happened today.
Kurenai's senses however weren't exactly totally forgetting what could happen, and they alerted Kurenai to what could happen, in the form of the whine of an aircraft engine gaining speed in a dive. "Eiji," Kurenai yelled. In a single, fluid, almost unconscious movement, Eiji put the bike in an incredibly hard right hand turn, right as a rain of bullets then came down and missed them by what seemed like inches. Two Coyotes then flew past them.
"Those sons of bitches," Eiji cursed, turning the bike back on it's path. "Black Swan san, why didn't you take them down?"
"A Tommy Gun wouldn't have done much against the metal plating of those planes," Kurenai said, "I would need at least a BAR to piece any plane made of metal. Wood is another story though."
"Coyotes are made of wood," Eiji told her, "They just have a thin metal skin over their wood frame. You ever notice how easily they explode into pieces?" Now Kurenai felt angry that she wasted her chance to take a shot, and that she had been proved wrong.
"Just ride Eiji," Kurenai ordered, "Don't stop till we reach the tower's airfield."
"Yes ma'am," Eiji replied, "Next stop Hokage tower." Eiji then gunned the throttle to a higher speed, taking occasional glances at the explosions in the distance and the deadly chatter of machine gun fire. To both him and Kurenai, this was nothing new. But for Eiji, it was the first time he'd witness these things for real. Being a chuunin in Sunagakure, he wasn't exposed much to the firefights and tank fights on the ground, and the dogfights in the air. Most of the time, his service in the Blood Reds was slave work, not so much battle work until a few days ago, when he knew that they were going to loose from the amount of normal airship deckhands getting crash courses in aviation and dogfighting.
But for the moment, Eiji thanked god that he was able to live without such fear. The fear of being whipped for not doing work, the fear of being shot by drunken Blood Red fighters, the fear of being shot from the sky by Black Swan .Oddly enough, this comfort came from the oddest of sources for him.
It came from his enemy.
The best way to sum up her feelings was mixed up.
Sakura had flown for hours trying to get to Tsunade's secluded home, tried to talk to her and her apprentice, was rejected, and now felt like she had failed. For Haruno Sakura, no feeling was worse then failure. It was a feeling that Sakura tried to suppress as much as possible, becoming a battle inside that was as great as the real life aerial and ground battles she had fought in so much. But unlike those battles, this one had one thing that Sakura could not achieve.
She could never win this battle, no matter how hard she tried. She had already failed once, with her mother and siblings, and now she had failed again. That was what hurt her the most. The fact that she failed not just once, but twice. That was something that really killed her on the inside.
"Stupid Tsunade," Sakura thought, "Never comes through with anything. She probably forgot to teach me something. She never cared for anyone but herself. She's just protecting herself as usual." She then smirked and laughed lightly. "Yeah that is it, she's afraid of death." Her plane then touched down on the runway, a welcome relief for Sakura. "Good thing I don't have to deal with her. She'd probably only hold us back here." After taxiing her plane out of the way of other planes, she then stepped out of it and let maintenance crews take the plane.
"Haruno," a voice called out. "Haruno is that you?" Sakura then saw a man calling her. It was none other then Lieutenant Hatake Kakashi, standing there in his flight jacket and blue jeans holding an M1 Carbine.
"Wonder what he wants," Sakura pondered, walking over to the man who was calling her. "Something wrong?"
"Madame put you in the place to handle negotiations should the time come for them," Kakashi said, "So we need you to do some negotiating."
"What kind," Sakura questioned, beginning to walk with the man that she had once respected as a commanding officer, but now didn't care much for.
"See for yourself," Kakashi told her, "That's all I can say." Sakura found herself being led to a circle of people, much commotion stemming from the small crowd. With this, Sakura came into the circle to see a group of Blood Reds standing there in the middle, looking quite confident at what they were doing and their presence at the airfield. Around them, Black Swan operatives looking for Blood. This was not a negotiating situation.
But Sakura knew how to make it one.
"Sir," Sakura said, "Can I see that carbine?"
"What do you have in mind," Kakashi questioned.
"Just watch," Sakura said. "Now, are you going to give me the piece or what?"
"Fine fine," Kakashi said, handing over the small caliber yet hard hitting firearm to his old subordinate. Sakura smiled as the firearm entered her hand, and she then checked to see if it was loaded. Much to her happiness, it was fully loaded with a fifteen round magazine.
"Perfect," Sakura said to herself. She then pulled off a feat Kakashi did not think was possible.
In under five seconds, Sakura fired off the whole clip into the air, making everyone stop. The Black Swan operatives had been frightened by it, and the Blood Reds had wiped the smug look that they would be able to breeze through this negotiation easily.
"Good," Sakura said, "You were looking a bit too confident about what you want to tell us Red. Why are you here?"
"My name is Masao Nakasura," the leader told Sakura. "I am second in command to Satoshi Kasumora, and his closest confident."
"His gay lover basically," Sakura said, tightening her aim on the missing Sand nin's head. "What do you want?"
"To negotiate a truce," Masao said, "Lives will be spared if this is done. You want your city, keep your city. You want your private army, keep your army. You want your wealth, keep that as well. Keep all of it. All we ask is that you kneel down to Satoshi, and become part of his force. Together, we'd be unstoppable."
"Well," Sakura said, nodding her head, "That is a tempting deal. But there is a problem. Black Swan san does not bow down to men like you and your buddy, and neither do I. Neither do the men around us. Plus, we'd be able to win a fight against you guys quicker then this negotiation is taking, right boys?" The Black Swan operatives began yelling and cursing at the Blood Reds. Kakashi managed to get them silenced with a raise of his hand, and Masao began to speak again.
"You're a crazy little woman," Masao said, "You should learn to submit more."
"There is someone I submit to," Sakura replied, "The devil himself." She then shot three other Blood Reds around Masao.
"You're crazy," Masao yelled, "We are messengers of peace, and you dare to shoot us?"
"You're messengers of deceit," Sakura said in angered manner.
"We have more planes then you," Masao told her, "More airships then you. More pilots then you. We outnumber your forces five to one. We'll have so many aircraft in the sky tomorrow, we'd block out the sky like a swarm of locusts."
"Then we'll fight in the shade," a woman's voice said. A series of more bangs went out, and everyone went and looked to see the remaining Blood Reds dead, and Masao being the only one left. They also saw two women standing in the circle next to Sakura. One of them was holding a rifle as her brown hair blew around in the wind, and the other stood there and looked sternly at the others, her blond hair dangling down. It made Sakura smile.
"Good to see you come Ba chan," Sakura said, "You two Shizune."
"You have a good way of making me feel bad about my decisions Sakura," Tsunade said, "And for you." The older woman then went up and kicked Masao in the chest, then bringing him up to her face. "Let me ask you something?"
"What's it to you bitch," Masao sneered.
"Have you ever heard of the battle of Thermoplae," Tsunade asked, "And the last stand of the 300."
"Why should I care about something like that," Masao asked. "I never bothered to learn."
"In 480 BC, King Leonidas and 300 Greek Spartans held off an advance of thousands upon thousands of Persians," Tsunade said, "They stood up against a tyrant in the face of insurmountable odds. That's what we're doing . We're standing up to a tyrant."
"And if you seriously got that many planes Nakasura san," Sakura said, walking up to her teacher and the Blood Red being held by her, "We'd fight in the shade, just like Leonidas and those Spartans." Tsunade dropped him, and Masao then ran back to a Kubelwagen that he had came in and drove away.
"Lock and load bastard children," Tsunade said, putting a clip into her handgun that she kept on her shoulder. "It's going to be a hell of a fight coming up."
Hanabi had missed the whole negotiation, but she believed that Black Swan wasn't in a position to negotiate anything right now. Right now, she was in a quonset hut that Black Swan had turn into sort of a lounge for the pilots and soldiers to take time off from the fighting in, but be in relative safety while doing such.
At the moment, Hanabi was showing just how good she was when it came to playing darts.
"Alright Byakugan girl is up now," one of the Black Swan operatives said, "Who's putting their money on this girl? Put your money down right here, right here for Hyuga Hanabi." Various operatives began laying down their pay that they had made on the table with the guy. "That's right come on bet on the winner, bet on Hyuga Hanabi!"
"Not like she'd beat me," Hanabi's opponent scoffed, "She isn't anything special."
"Put your money where your mouth is then," Hanabi said. "And watch a master at work." The rest of the men placed their bets on the table, divided by who they bet on. Once their money was on the table, they watched quietly to see who would win the match.
Hanabi's opponent threw a dart. It hit the board, but in the white ring. The first inner ring of the dartboard. This meant he had scored ten points
Hanabi threw her first dart and she got a bullseye. The men applauded as the dart made it's distinctive twang when it hit the board. She had scored twenty points
Her opponent threw again. This dart hit closer to the bullseye, in the third, black ring of the dartboard. Now he was ahead of Hanabi by five.
Hanabi threw again. Another bullseye. Now she had forty.
Once again, her opponent threw. Another ten points in the white ring. Hanabi threw her dart, and hit the small red bullseye.
Two more darts were thrown. One dart hit the black ring again. The other hit the bullseye. The one that hit the area desired came from the Hyuga girl.
"You know what," Hanabi said, "I bet if I throw both at the same time and hit the bullseye I can get it."
"If you do you win," her opponent snickered, knowing for sure the little girl would not get it. Before he could start laughing however, the darts made a twang against the dartboard, and he looked on in horror.
Both darts were in the bullseye. The older male was stunned. A little girl had beaten him at darts, and had gotten a perfect match. Those were two things that were very very rare. All around him, people were cheering for Hanabi. But one cheering penetrated the silence more then anything else for the Hyuga girl.
"Way to go Hanabi," a voice cheered. It was a young voice, one that was full of life yet was not the voice of a child. But it wasn't the voice of an adult either. It was the voice of someone in their late teens to early twenties, and Hanabi recognized it very clearly.
"Excuse me," she said, starting to move through the mass of men and women. "Pardon me, watch it, excuse me." Hanabi moved slowly through the people, being careful not to hit any of them. They moved out of the way for her as well. Not so much out of courtesy, but out of respect. She had just won a match of darts, and as the winner she was entitled to something out of respect, and if she needed them to move out the way, then out of respect for her, they would.
"Hanabi, over here," the voice called out again. Hanabi then looked over to her left and saw who had been calling her. It was a young man with spiky brown hair in a white shirt and blue overalls, covered in grease and oil with goggles around his head. Hanabi couldn't believe her eyes at all.
"This must be some kind of illusion I'm thinking up," Hanabi thought, rubbing her eyes. When she quit, she then looked again. The person was still there, and was motioning for her to leave the building. As he did, Hanabi followed him out of the quonset and outside into the night air. She was still shocked to see who it was.
"Hanabi," the male said, "That was so awesome at darts, really good job. I knew you could win! I knew you could. Just as always and..."
"Konohamaru," Hanabi stammered, walking a little bit closer to the male, "Is that you?"
"Yes," Konohamaru replied, "It is. It is me. I came back like I said I would and..." The aircraft mechanic soon found himself being held in a tight embrace by the girl, interrupting what he was about to say. "I wanted to see you more then anything else. I was given leave for a few weeks, and unless I'm called back I'm going to spend all my time with you."
"Never ever frighten me like that again," Hanabi sobbed, her tears starting to get on Konohamaru's overalls. "Never ever do that again. Do you know what it did to me? How dare you just walk on me Konohamaru, it made me want to kill you!"
"So why don't you do it," Konohamaru said, stepping out of Hanabi's embrace and standing still, "I made a vow to you years ago that I would do anything make you happy. If killing me would make you happy, then do it."
"No no," Hanabi said, going back to Konohamaru slowly, "I can't do that now. I wanted to do it to you after you left, because you wouldn't be there for me. But now you are, you're right here. I'm here for you as well." The two were embraced again. "Just don't leave me anymore. Can you promise me that?"
"I won't," Konohamaru assured, "I will never leave you. Not now, not ever. Never again will I leave you." Right after he said that Konohamaru felt his lips become entwined with Hanabi's own lips. It surprised him at first, but he quickly adapted to the situation and began to kiss her back. Both fell into a state of complete bliss. After being separated for almost three years, they were now back together again, and it felt just perfect. To both of them, it felt as if nothing could break this state of perfection.
Except another Hyuga.
"Imouto chan," Hinata screamed, "What are you doing?"
"What what," Hanabi yelled, looking around frantically, only to see her sister, Naruto, and Ino staring in shock at her and Konohamaru.
"Konohamaru," Naruto said slowly, "What are you doing here?"
"Um," Konohamaru muttered. "Lieutenant Hatake said I was sent on leave up here, and I could go see Hanabi chan boss," he explained. "It's all true, you can ask him."
"Is this him Hanabi imouto chan," Hinata asked, "Is this the one who you told me about?"
"Yes oneechan, it is," Hanabi gulped, "He's the one who I was in love with for years. Is something wrong with that." The mood of an interrogation between two sisters was then interrupted by the sound of a motorcycle coming up and skidding next to the group of people standing there. On it were Kurenai and Eiji, having arrived back from their long ride through enemy territory.
"What's going on here," Kurenai asked. "Anybody want to speak up?" Everyone at the scene remained silent. It was simply too hard to speak at a time like this. "Hinata?"
"Nothing at all sensei," Hinata said, starting to walk off towards their barracks. "Nothing at all." It wasn't long before Hinata vanished into the darkness, and Kurenai could definitely tell something was wrong. Other matters had to be taken care of first though.
"What's this word around here about a negotiation," Kurenai questioned, "Some Blood Reds walking onto the airfield demanding something?"
"They demanded surrender," a woman said. All of them looked to see Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura walking up to them.
"You came through after all Sakura," Kurenai said smiling, "I'm impressed."
"Arigato Kurenai san," Sakura replied, "But it is true what Ba chan just said."
"They came here demanding we surrender Kurenai," Tsunade said, "If we did many lives would have been spared, but Black Swan would have become a hit squad for Blood Red. I don't think you would have liked that would you?"
"Honestly I don't think I would Tsunade," Kurenai said. "How do they plan on attacking?"
"How did you know they were," Shizune exclaimed, amazed that Kurenai knew what had happened.
"She's reading my mind," Tsunade said, "You may not know it Shizune, but Kurenai is very good at reading minds. By air is how they intend to attack. They said they got so many planes and airships they'd block out the sun with the attack. I told them we'll fight in the shade."
"We are outnumbered you know that," Kurenai said, "I don't know how well we can hold it off."
"Come on Kurenai," Ino said, "You've done this before. Grass Country, four years ago. Remember what you did?" Kurenai's memory began to recall the incident that happened in the sky four years ago, recalling it in such a fluid and vivid way that Kurenai felt like she was watching a movie by recalling the events. She remembered how though Black Swan was outnumbered, they defeated their enemy over the sky of the Grass Country.
And this was just the time to replicate what could be done.
"Put them in a Canae," Kurenai said, "Is that what you were thinking Ino?"
"I think if it can be done there it can be done here," Ino said, "Lets do it."
"What do you have in mind," Naruto said, "What is a Canae, what are you planning Kurenai?"
"I'll talk about it later Naruto," Kurenai told the blond, "In the meantime, you come with me. Ino, where is Tenten?"
"Still at Hamura airfield I think," Ino said, "She's really upset though."
"Tsunade, can you work with her," Kurenai asked.
"I'll see what I can do," Tsunade said, "Can we take a jeep?"
"By all means go ahead," Kurenai said, "Come on Naruto, lets go talk to Hinata." Both Naruto and Kurenai began to walk away, leaving Hanabi and Konohamaru confused .
"What are we supposed to do," Hanabi asked, perplexed by what was going on.
"Make love and be happy," Naruto replied. "Do what you want just don't hurt yourselves." Hanabi and Konohamaru smiled, took each others hands, then walked off together.
Confusion and anger was what Hinata felt. Her sister was in love, and had someone that loved her back before she did. She felt cheated out of a prize, having gone through many hardships to reach the status that she was now, and she still was not cared about by anyone like she wanted to be. She was tired of people loving her like a parent loves a child, or how sisters love each other, she wanted to be loved in a different way, the way that Hanabi was being loved.
"Stupid sister," Hinata thought, "How come she gets to be loved." She then crashed on the bed and began sniffling. "It's always been Hanabi getting the good stuff. She gets the good plane, she gets away without broken bones, she gets..." Hinata stopped and began to cry, tears flowing down her face like a waterfall. "Loved. She gets loved by everyone. I'm never loved by anybody."
"If you weren't loved by anyone would you be here then," Kurenai said, walking into barracks. "Stand outside Naruto, I'll tell you when you can come in." The woman then walked in and sat on a bed across from her student. "What's wrong Hinata?"
"Shut the hell up," Hinata ordered, "You have what I don't. You're just here to rub it in."
"What do I have that you don't," Kurenai asked, "Money, planes, fame, skill? You have all that to. I don't see what you don't have that I do."
"You have someone who loves you," Hinata said.
"So do you," Kurenai said, "You have me. You have Sakura. You have Ino. You have Tenten. You have your sister. You have..."
"You have someone who loves you in a way sisters don't love each other," Hinata said in a raised voice, "The way two people who want to be joined forever love each other. I do not have that. Hanabi imouto chan does, and I don't. I deserve that Kurenai sensei, not her. She does not deserve such a privilege."
"Privilege," Kurenai said, disgusted, "You think love is a privilege? I know what you're talking about, with my relationship with Asuma, but that is not a privilege. That's a gift Hinata. Love is something you give to another person, and hope to god that they return it. You've given so much love Hinata, and so much has been returned to you. Yet you say that it's a privilege to have a boy love you? That's the biggest amount of lies I've ever heard. You just need to give your love to one, and it will be returned."
"Will you cut it out," Hinata ordered, "So I give them my love, they take it and throw it away. That's how it works with me, I'm always just thrown away."
"Then if you think that you need to look at yourself and the people around you again," Kurenai said angered, standing up to leave. "There is someone so close to you that will return what you give to them. In one case, they already have returned what they've given to you." Kurenai then walked out, leaving Hinata alone in the room. Naruto then approached her as she walked outside.
"What happened in there," Naruto asked.
"Nothing much," Kurenai said, "I'm going to go get the squadrons ready. Will you go in and talk to her?"
"About what," Naruto questioned.
"Just talk to her," Kurenai said, "You'll find out." Kurenai then walked away, and Naruto then walked inside the barracks. Hinata was still on the bed, still having tears flow down her face. Naruto was a little concerned, thinking that Kurenai had said something to the girl that had upset her.
"Hinata," Naruto said in a calm voice, "Is something wrong." He then sat down on the bed Kurenai had sat down on. "Did your sensei say anything to you that hurt you?"
"No," Hinata sniffled, "I'm just angry at myself."
"You are," Naruto said, concerned about what Hinata was saying, "What are you angry at yourself about?"
"I'm jealous of something," Hinata said, "Not just of something, but of someone."
"Who and what," Naruto asked, "You can tell me, I would never scorn you for that."
"I'm jealous of Hanabi," Hinata said, still giving off small sobs. "Because she has someone who loves her. Now before you say that other people love me Naruto kun, I realize that. Kurenai sensei loves me like a mother loves a child, and the other girls love me like a sister. But they don't love me like Hanabi and Konohamaru love each other."
"You mean like people who get married love each other," Naruto questioned, "Is that how?" Hinata nodded her head like that. "You're jealous because you don't have that right." Hinata nodded her head again.
"I understand that it's a gift that needs to be returned Naruto kun," Hinata said, "But I'm afraid that..."
"Shhhh," Naruto said, reaching over and taking her in his embrace. "Do you want someone to love you like Hanabi and Konohamaru love each other?"
"Yes," Hinata said, hugging Naruto back, "Yes I do."
"Then I will," Naruto said. "I'll love you like those two love each other." Hinata gasped. This was something she waited a lifetime for, and now she was getting it. It made her feel a feeling of bliss that she had never dreamed she'd ever feel. But after she felt this, she began having second thoughts.
"No no," Hinata said, breaking away from Naruto. "I can't do it Naruto kun. I really like how you want to give me that love, but I can't give it to you."
"Why not," Naruto asked. "I thought you said..."
"I do," Hinata interjected, "I really want that love. But I haven't give you my love first."
"Baka," Naruto said playfully, taking Hinata's hands into his own, "You stood beside me all those times in the sky. You helped me in all those dogfights I've been in. You helped me in that firefight at the railyard. You were the one who was friendly to me when I first came into The Goddesses. To top it all off Hinata, you were the one who found me after I had been shot down and brought me to the others. If any of that doesn't say you've given me love, then I don't know what does. So don't think you haven't given me any love Hinata chan, because you have given me more love then I have gotten in a lifetime before now."
Hinata was stunned that Naruto thought she had given him any love. She had viewed all those acts as just the right thing to do, a moral justice. Naruto was her comrade, and comrades don't back out on each other. But if Naruto viewed that as ways Hinata had loved him, then Hinata would accept that.
"Alright," Hinata said, a large smile coming across her face. She then reached over and hugged Naruto. "That counts I guess. I accept what you are giving me."
"And I accept what you have given me," Naruto said, holding Hinata again in his arms. "So from now on, we aren't just Naruto and Hinata, we're Naruto and Hinata the lovers. That sound good?"
"It sounds perfect," Hinata said, giggling and letting go of Naruto. "I'm very tired Naruto kun. Can we go to sleep?"
"Anything for you Hinata chan," Naruto said, going over to turn out the lights. Hinata then lied down in the bed she was sitting on. The lights then turned off, and the room went dark. Hinata activated her Byakugan so she could see Naruto walk across the room and lie down in his bed. Much to her embarrassment, she saw Naruto take his pants and top shirt off, seeing him now only in a boxers and an undershirt. It made her face turn the color of a cherry tomato. Before she could see anything else, she deactivated her kekkai genkai, and then only saw darkness.
"Good night Naruto kun," Hinata said. "Will you fly with me tomorrow?"
"Who else would I fly with," Naruto said assuringly. Hinata then laughed. "Good night Hinata chan." Both of them made themselves comfortable in their beds, and then fell to sleep. They would need it, for what lay ahead of them was something that neither of them would forget.
"Here to check out things," Ino said, showing her ID to the Black Swan guards at the gate of Hamura airfield. The guards then opened the gate. "Forward Sakura." Sakura pressed her foot lightly on the gas and then began to drive the jeep past the gate and then into the airfield. The Black Swan pilots and maintenance at the airfield knew what was going to happen, because everyone was running about the airfield, trying to get the place ready for battle.
"Kurenai sure knows how to rally her forces," Shizune said, amazed at how fast and efficient people were working.
"She's good at that Shizune," Tsunade said, also looking on at the men and women at the airfield, "Very good at that."
"Ino," Sakura said, "What hangar is Teni in?" Ino looked around at the hangars, then put her finger in her mouth and pointed at one of them.
"That one," Ino said, "Hangar ten." Sakura put a little break on the jeep to slow down, then drove up to the metal structure. With a simple command of "Open the door" from Ino, the door was opened, and Sakura was able to drive into the crowded hangar, where maintenance crews were welding metal patches onto planes, creating loads of searing hot and blinding sparks, and the constant sound of rivets being driven in and engines being tested. It made Sakura happy to see that Kurenai's organization was prepared. The last thing she wanted to deal with was being unready to fight.
"Come on Sakura," Tsuande ordered. Sakura stopped the jeep, then stepped out with the other females. "So, is she really in here?"
"I see her plane," Ino said, looking at the red and black Brigand across hangar, sitting dormant among the other planes. "Tenten wasn't one to leave her plane behind, so she's probably still here." Ino then looked a few feet away from the plane, and saw who she was looking for. "Right there, come on." The four females then walked over to Tenten, who was sitting a folding chair with her arms crossed. She was still wearing the same clothes as before, and this made Ino and Sakura both a little sick.
"Teni chan," Sakura said, walking up to Tenten. "What's wrong?"
"Sakura," Tenten said, still looking at the floor, "What do you want?"
"First of all," Ino interjected, "I want to know some things. One, did you take a shower, use a bathroom, comb your hair, or do any of that stuff at all Teni in the past few days?"
"I went to the bathroom," Tenten said, "Never took a shower." Ino felt like throwing up after hearing that.
"Did you eat or drink," Ino said.
"I ate once every day," Tenten said, "But I drank. I drank a lot. Just look over there." Ino looked to her left to see bottles of sake lying on the ground in a pile, many bottles of sake. Even Tsunade, who was a heavy sake drinker herself, was a bit disturbed at how much Tenten drank in a span of a few days.
"Did you drink any at all today," Sakura asked.
"No," Tenten replied, "They told me they ran out, so I didn't ask."
"Look at us," Sakura ordered, "I don't want to talk to someone who looks at the floor." Tenten grudgingly looked up at her friend. Sakura could see that something was different about Tenten, just from the look in her eyes. It to disturbed her, for it was a look that Sakura thought Tenten would never show her. She looked guilty, and angry that she was. "Ten, is something wrong?"
"Arien's gone," Tenten muttered. "That's whats wrong?"
"Who's Arien," Tsunade asked.
"A Dutch boy who worked with Tenten while we've been here helping Kurenai," Ino told her, "He was killed by an armored car at a raid on a farmstead the day the siege started."
"I see," Tsuande said, "Ten, how was Arien important to you?"
"He brought me peace," Tenten said, "Something I can't have again. He cared for me, and I started caring for him. He was someone who made me feel and do things that made me feel very good, and was the only person to make me do those things, and the only person who was like that to me. We looked out for each other in combat, we flew in the same plane, he learned from me, he was like my little buddy."
"And he's dead now," Tsunade said, "Am I right?"
"Yes," Tenten said gruffly, "He is. He's gone, and he'll never come back."
"Would Arien have wanted to be like this," Tsunade asked, "Would Arien have wanted to see you sitting here, wasting away in a dank metal hangar, drinking sake and only eating one small meal a day. Would he have liked that?" Tenten didn't speak, but Tsunade could tell that she was thinking of something. "Look, we have to go now. Do you want to come with us?"
"Please Teni chan," Sakura begged, "There is a huge battle tomorrow, and we can't win it without you." Tenten remained firmly silent. "So will you come with us?" Tenten didn't speak at all.
"Come on Sakura," Tsunade said, feeling like she was just wasting time, "She's dead." Sakura acknowledged what her mentor had said, then began to walk out of the hangar and back to the jeep. They left that night feeling like they had failed, more like that Tsunade had.
But they would be in for a big surprise in the morning.
During the middle of the night, Satoshi met Masao for the first time during the whole battle outside of the walls of the mansion they had captured. They met in an old park that was part of the neighborhood that the mansion was in, under the cover of darkness. There was no one but the two men in the park. Satoshi watched from his spot on a park bench as Masao walked up to him.
"Did they accept my proposal," Satoshi said.
"They refuse," Masao said, "Like I said, they'd rather die then bow down to you."
"Get the insurance policy then," Satoshi said, "Make sure that Serb girl to me. I got plans for her. Heck, get all of the women and bring them to me. Take the boys so we can have some help around here."
"Hai Satoshi," Masao replied.
"Get up in the air to," Satoshi ordered, "You're leading the fleet, or what's left of it."
"We still outnumber them Satoshi," Masao said, "It will be like pigeons vs. falcons."
"Good analogy," Satoshi chuckled, "Now go and get ready." Masao bowed for his friend and commander, then walked away into the darkness. Satoshi stayed at the bench and pondered various different topics until he left the park as well, going home to get some sleep.