I am sorry, fight scene's are not my speciality and I found myself somewhat lazy in the making of the fights in this chapter. Was it needed to make the chapter more full? Or is the abbreviated version fine? Let me know, not saying I will change it but it will make a difference to my writing in the future, I like to know what readers prefer:)
Itachi knew they were getting close. He could feel the taint of twisted blood magic on the edge of his senses. They were following the shoreline, he considered it a good place to be, given that if she was alone it would make sense that she would find the largest body of water and stay near it in case she needed to flee. Water, and lots of it would be her best defence.
They were sleeping, Sasuke was on watch when she bolted upright, eyes wide and terrified. Itachi was awake a moment later, Shisui just mumbled and rolled over.
'He's coming'
"How do you know?" Sasuke demanded.
"From where?" Itachi asked rising to grab his weapons and strap them to his person, it was show time. She pointed in the direction of the open water, Itachi turned to observe, eyes turning ruby red as he probed the darkness with his magic.
Sasuke kicked Shisui awake, the other started to complain loudly before the intensity of Itachi's posture registered in his mind and he went silent.
"Idiot" Sasuke muttered as he went to stand next to his brother.
"We are going for a flight" Itachi said, voice low and filled with promise of things to come. He held out a hand to the little Siren, a wordless invitation to join him. She hesitated.
'Is that a good idea' He cocked his head, analysing her fear.
"Tonight, the snake dies" He said simply. He saw resolve harden in her eyes and she reached out to take his hand. He pulled her to him and took off in the same motion, leaving Sasuke and Shisui to follow his lead.
It was a ship, a large one, lanterns were lit though you could not see them unless you were within the illusion cast over the entire boat. The taint was so strong here it was almost a taste in the air, all the cloaking wards were formed using the vitality and magic stolen from other creatures, it reeked of death and decay, tasted of despair on his tongue.
They circled several times outside of the ships protective wards, their own wards and illusions cast heavy about them to avoid detection. They observed those on watch, garnering what they could of the watchmen in place that would prohibit them and raise the alarm. She was scared, her little hands fisted in the material of his shirt underneath where his sword was strapped between his wings. He had to choose deliberately to not let it distract him.
"Could you get us in?" Itachi asked Sakura. He glanced down to where she was clinging to his chest. She was chewing on her bottom lip in concentration fingers tightening absently, eventually giving a nod of affirmation. "Aim a gap at the crows nest, the wards are weaker higher up". She nodded again.
He watched carefully with his magic sense as she worked, trusting Shisui and Sasuke to watch out as they flew. It really was amazing to observe the way in which she managed to bypass perfectly functioning protection spells, fooling them into thinking she was a friend and that she meant no harm, using their automatic built in functions against them. He felt the moment there was an opening, dropping down into the crows nest through the gap, grabbing the lookout there and slicing his neck open with the talons on his wings before the man could make a sound.
Sasuke and Shisui remained outside the wards, unable to slip through the quickly closing opening she had made. Itachi signed them orders to watch, wait, and challenge the wards directly if it was necessary.
He coaxed Sakura to release him, her fear making her a tad clingy, just what had The Snake done to her? He was finding, that after this he would maybe attempt to tease some answers out of her, his curiosity and desire to disentangle knots had now extended to her as a person and not just the seals she wore on her body.
He slid out onto the cross mast still cloaked in his illusion and shadows, she followed. They observed for a moment before he felt her magic reach out to him, he observed in a distracted kind of manor as she wove her own kind of illusion, he was unable to witness the effectiveness of her work, but he suspected it was to a higher level than his own. This sneaking was her area of expertise.
He didn't see it coming though when she grabbed one of the ropes and went to slide to the deck. He followed closely, somewhat baffled by her sudden courage, and realising that perhaps they should have discussed a course of action before entering, he could not just depend on years of experience and mutually fought battles like he could with Sasuke and Shisui. So, he followed, she knew the situation on board better than him.
They landed silently on deck, Itachi was careful not rustle the air or hit the deck with a thump, she was as quiet as a wraith next to him. Those on watch were human, not able to see through their illusion.
She crept forward, releasing the locks on the doors that led to the brig and opening it enough to slip through. They slid past rows of snoring sailors swinging in their hammocks more than one of which was definitely less than human. But they were ill trained to notice the stealth of the danger posed them while they slept.
They reached the bottom most layer, the stench here was almost overpowering. There were cages, stacked crates with several creatures. He saw the sorry broken figures of several pixies, the bloody heap of what must have once been a werewolf, shackled by silver chains to the wooden wall. A white haired human adolescent, a hunter if the tattoos on his face were any indication, he was the most alert, unable to see them but sensing their magic on some level.
Sakura released her magic then, and the human suddenly scrambled to his feet. The one pixie that wasn't out cold was suddenly alert as well.
"Sakura" the white haired human breathed, awe and reverence in his voice. He didn't even seem to notice the demon that followed behind her.
'he is here?' she asked. He shook his head.
"No, its Kabuto"
'Where is he?' she asked as she moved forward to release his him from the cell.
"I don't know, he was supposed to be here soon" She released the other prisoners as well, helping the pixie that was awake haul what must have been her kin from the other cage. The werewolf was out cold, and fell in a heap when his chains no longer supported his hanging form.
The boy stepped forward to support the werewolf, hauling an arm over his shoulder and dragging the dead weight forward with a strength that belied his half-grown form. He gave Itachi a look, but given his obvious alliance with Sakura he did not question his presence or motives.
Itachi felt the frustration of being no longer in charge of the mission. It had not been his goal to rescue victims, he wanted Orochimaru dead. Who was this Kobuto? Perhaps this night would have to be fulfilled by the killing of a mere peon of The Snake. He resigned himself to the possibility of loosing their element of surprise in this chase, Sakura seemed to think this was important so he followed her lead.
They turned back then, out of the depths of the ship, but this time there were more of them and they were not able to slink back past the rows of sleeping sailors.
The brawl was instant and explosive, sailors of every race shape and size spilling from their hammocks grabbing for weapons. Itachi had drawn his long sword and cut through a good deal of them before they even had a chance to gain their feet. His wings snapped out at his sides, filling the low space with his ominous presence. He registered the crouched form of Sakura, the long knives that he had given her had been palmed and brought to bare.
One of the men got his feet under him, Itachi twisted abruptly to avoid the spell that flew past to blast into the ships side. The force rocked the boat and he had a brief flash of worry as he lost site of Sakura in the smoke of the aftermath. No, but there she was, green eyes bright, fangs flashing in a silent snarl as her daggers danced in her fingers with a sort of skill he hadn't known her capable of.
Frustrated with the escalation of the situation he cast a wide spread genjutsue on the men, to distract them, to buy them some time that they may find themselves in the open with backup and better defensive positions.
He grabbed the pixies by the scruff with the talons on his wings and all but threw them up the steep stairs that led to the deck, Sakura caught them there and hustled them away.
"My, my, what have we here" Sakura faced the bespectacled man that spoke, her expression murderous. He smirked at her, arrogant in his countenance, that is until he saw Itachi as he burst from below deck, eyes red, wings spread, an avenging demon. Abruptly his stance changed to defensive. "Well, haven't you been busy little bird" he commented. "Making friends in very powerful places."
Very suddenly Sakura smiled at him, it was a smile of victory.
'You don't know the half of it' she mouthed, before Sasuke slammed into him from behind, through the gap in the wards she had formed in those brief moments..
Even with the various enchantments the man had woven in and through him, he could not survive the hand that was driven through his chest, and he died choking on his own blood.
Shisui was wielding a wicked set of curved blades on the sailors that remained on deck.
"Move out" Itachi ordered. He sheathed his sword grabbing Sakura around the waist and one of the pint-sized pixies, before bursting into the air, trusting his brother and cousin to retrieve the other three tag-alongs. He shredded the wards as he flew through them, they were much easier to destroy from the inside.
When they had all gained sufficient distance from the vessel Itachi turned and blew his trademark black fire Amaterasu. It would ensure that there was nothing left of the vessel for Orochimaru to find. And with that he turned and headed back in the direction of their campsite.
They were still a long ways off from where they had left the horses when Itachi became aware that he would not go without meeting the Sannin on this night after all. Orochimaru was indeed waiting for them.
He placed down his burden on the beach. Sakura would be better able to defend the comatose pixie by the water, Shisui and Sasuke, likewise deposited their burdens alongside her before advancing with Itachi, staying low against the brush that grew there.
The snake didn't have time to beg for his life before he was pinned on all sides, no way to run. More likely though that they had managed to quell a last sarcastic comment, in the past it seemed that The Snake always had the last word, an imperious statement that usually was left to make his enemies reading too far into his riddles. Itachi didn't intend to allow him the opportunity for such dialogue tonight.
They had caught him by surprise, that much was obvious. He had come looking for Sakura, but they had been one step ahead of him, even with their detour to the boat it looked as though they had remained one up on him.
A cornered animal is a dangerous thing and he fought with a viciousness that all three demons had expected of him. His techniques had indeed progressed, and he hit them with everything he had. Itachi was reluctant to use Amaterasu here, if it got out of control there would be very limited ways in which they could reign in the damage it would do to the country side.
Shisui took a hard hit that no doubt broke one wing and damaged his side, but The Snake was panicking. He was good, but he was still only a human, a twisted, rank version, but still only human. And he could not stand up to the combined power of three high level demons. He fell, hissing and screaming curses on their line and descendants. Itachi burned the body, destroying any chance The Snake had of preforming the reappearing acts that he was infamous for.
There was some cheering and whooping in the background, the sole conscious pixie and the whitehaired boy were celebrating. Itachi looked back to see Sakura's reaction, she was subdued, and in the moonlight, he thought he saw the tears sliding down her cheeks in twin tracks. Strange.
He did not think that he would ever understand the reactions of the female species.
...
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