Cloudless Sky
Chapter 10: Internal Battles
Temari's body felt as if it had been caught in the Kagemane no Jutsu, although she knew she hadn't. Sakura looked at her, expecting orders, hesitating just long enough for Deidara to kick her down. Her body skidded across the dirt. She got up, faultering once, twice, and wiped the blood off her face furiously. She held three kunai in her fingers on each hand and charged towards Deidara.
Ino smirked and brought out two shuriken. Zetsu looked her down, and smirking, walked towards her slowly. Ino narrowed her eyebrows and threw the shuriken. Zetsu caught them almost too easily, barely any movement involved.
Temari stood, her spine tingling, eyes pacing, processing. Ino against Zetsu, Sakura against Deidara. That left her with the hardest opponent of all.
Shikamaru stood a ways back, watching the fight. She peered under his hat from afar to see an unexpected expression. Pain.
Shikamaru stared on at Ino and Sakura with a slightly worried look, trying to look away. 'They're gonna kill them! Man, troublesome...I have to do something..but..they can destroy Konoha...man, what a drag!' Shikamaru's frustrated look was clear upon his partially covered face. Temari glared, smirking coldly.
"Well, isn't this familiar!" She smirked, speaking loudly. "A lazy idiot not wanting to fight. I'll have to make the first move again, won't I?!" She cried, bringing out her fan in a flourish. Shikamaru looked at her, mouth slightly agape, then stared around him. Deidara and Sakura were facing each other, Sakura bleeding profusely. Ino was hiding behind a bush, which Zetsu found easily. He didn't say a word—just prepared for impact. Suddenly he heard a voice giving out a gruff scream. Everyone turned.
Sakura's chakra flowed around her, and she manipulated it, sending it toward the ground.
In an instant, the ground erupted into a huge earthquake. Everyone was shot out in different directions, dust preventing them from finding each other.
Temari's hands flew to her face as her body flew through the air. She only felt her eyes open a few moments later, when no impact came. She looked around quizzically, only to see herself in the arms of an Akatsuki robe wearer.
Shikamaru stared down at her, surprised at his own actions. 'What the hell am I doing? She could kill me, troublesome woman...' His arms held her back and waist slightly firmly.
He was even more surprised to see her eyes widen and a blush creep its way onto her face. It was the perfect moment...
WHAM!
Next thing he knew, Shikamaru was on the ground, his head next to a tiny crack that Sakura's earthquake had formed in the ground. Temari's fan was wielded, eyes flaming. She was quick—he had to give her that. He got up lazily, facing her.
"You could have at least thanked me for saving you. Again. Troublesome woman." He muttered. "The man always has to save the woman. And the woman always hits the man!" He grunted, taking off his hat to rub his now-bruised head. She kept her eyes locked on him.
"Still going on about that men and women crap. And never serious! You better fight me or your new friends will find you drowned in your own blood!" She snarled, fan rising higher. His eyes took on a more intelligent look as his fingers found his thinking place. She ran towards him, thwacking her fan on his hands. "This isn't a strategy battle, this is real combat, idiot!" She growled once again. He looked angry, but stayed calm.
"Kagemane no Jutsu." He said, his shadow creeping onto hers. She tried to flip backwards, but tripped on a small fissure, her body flinging backwards. The shadow caught her, and her body straightened rigidly. Shikamaru walked towards her, the shadow urging her to do the same. They were feet away. Shikamaru stared at her, seeming to hesitate.
"...I'm sorry." Was all he said. He looked at the ground, his eyes burning. 'Damn, not the tears! I'm such a troublesome idiot. Everyone's right. I'm not meant to be a shinobi. I'm a nobody.'
"What?!" Temari said, looking at him, eyes narrowed. Her eyes locked onto his. His face darkened. His fists clenched and he looked at her surprisingly fiercely.
"Damnit, Temari! I know as well as you do that I can't fight you. I couldn't before, and I can't now." He said softly.
"Yes you can! You're an Akatsuki, for Kami's sake!" Temari hissed, trying to break free of the binds of the shadow.
"Stop saying that!" He said bitterly. "It's too troublesome! You would understand if I told you..." Hs said, looked down slightly, causing her to copy his movements.
"Then why don't you tell me." She said, sounding dejected. He closed his eyes.
"Blackmail is an art, a specialty for those who have the ability to craft it." He started. She listened intently, although the shadow didn't allow her to look at him. "For S-class criminals, it is as common as shinobi learning to mold chakra in the academy. But, as troublesome as it is, Akatsuki have mastered it. They've binded me into a web of tangled lies." He said softly. She listened still, not saying a word. He hesitated, then began again. "First, your life." He muttered. Her eyes widened. He tilted his head up, she did the same. He touched his neck, making her touch hers. The cool chain of the necklace grazed her fingertips.
"What?" She whispered, her spine turning cold.
"It's a justu-activated device, made in the village of rain. Used on criminals who are especially dangerous. A troublesome device—by the movement of hands, it can tighten, constricting the wearer. Fatal." He said softly. Her heart slowed. "They put it on you after they captured me. I pushed you down to miss the kunai. They put the necklace on you." He said hoarsely. She kept her hand on her neck, until his slowly lowered. 'He's caught in the web...just as he's said...Shikamaru...are you too far lost?' "But that's not all." He said bitterly. "A poison, strictly sand-made, was put into the Genin headbands for graduating Shinobi. Another flick of wrists, and they die. Don't you see where this will lead, Temari? Death of Genin by a sand poison, death of the sister of the new Kazekage—an all out war. Alliances will be made, countries will be weakened, defeated. Then the Akatsuki step in. They begin to further weaken the countries, until all that is left is them." Temari's heart turned cold.
"You're...saving them." She stated softly, eyes wide. Slowly, the shadow shrunk away from her body. He turned away."I saved no one. Especially you. After everything I've caused you to feel..." He said, choking back a bitter laugh. "I'm no better than them, an equal." She narrowed her eyes.
"You're a hero for what you've done. Any other shinobi would have killed themselves to save the trouble. But you...you've kept with them to save others." She said, realizing his words. She ran to him, tugging his arm hard. His head turned down to hers. He stared at her, then turned away, shrugging her off.
"I'm just a pawn in the game." He answered feebly.
---
Sakura got up, wiping the blood off her face. 'Damn, too much chakra. I need to train more.' She thought as she inspected the fissures around her. Suddenly a hand clutched her neck, hard. She gasped for air as she struggled to turn around.
Zetsu smiled. "Insolent girl." He muttered, narrowing his eyes and smirking. Suddenly he heard a yell.
"Shintenshin no Jutsu!" Cried Ino, hands held up in his direction. It was too late to move. In an instant, he was shut out of his own mind. Ino's body fell limply to the ground. Sakura gasped.
Zetsu's eyes opened, and his body shuddered. "This is so wrong." Ino/Zetsu remarked. "I've never taken over a GUY'S body before." She said, biting his/her lower lip. She shook her head. "Anyway, I lost Deidara. I'm gonna knock this guy out, which will make my body switch back and we'll both be unconcious. I'm counting on you to take out Deidara and Temari to take out the other one." She said.
"Wait, no, Ino!" Sakura protested, running to her. Zetsu's fist was raised, and it hit his face. He fell to the ground, and Ino's body pulsed as her mind switched back. Both lay unconcious. "Damnit!" Sakura cursed, looking around her, trying to get ready for an attack.
Deidara smirked from atop his clay bird, crossing his arms in a sure victory. Sakura's eyes widened as she tilted her head to look up, a shadow covering her path. Deidara grinned down at her evilly.
"Ready to fight, un?"
---
Temari looked at him sadly.
"I..." She coughed, straightened. "Well you're a man, get out of this mess!" She said, that fierce quality coming back to her again, shielding her from weakness. He looked at her lazily, but still not the same that he used to be, a comfortable laziness.
"Temari..." He said with a small sigh, shaking his head. "Don't tell anyone...it'll be too troublesome...we have to see what our partners are doing." He said.
"Partners?!" She said, furiously. "Are they your real friends, Shikamaru?! They captured you!" She cried. He looked at her desperately.
"I don't know right know, Temari! They respect me, they don't hurt me. They take away the loneliness...they aren't much different than us...man, this is too troublesome, I can't figure anything out!" He moaned, slapping a hand to his forehead, closing his eyes in thought. She looked at him with a small amount of pity. She had long felt that enemies were truly to be killed, but if she were in his position...would she feel the same way?
Would anyone?
---
Deidara smirked, flipping around to dodge the kunai she threw. "Katsu!" He hollered, exploding clay in front of her. She crossed her arms to shield her face, the clay's force pushing her against a tree. She blinked the dust out of her eyes, and got out more kunai. Her chakra was low because of the earthquakes she had made earlier, and she was getting tired. She looked around desperately. 'Temari, are you okay?!' Suddenly she looked up, to see Deidara above on the clay bird again. She gaped. 'He's fast..!' She thought, before he dive-bombed towards her. She flipped her hands in front of her face.
"KATSU!" He cried, ready to land the final blow. She gaped, then regained her composure, determined. She flipped her gloved wrists aside, and made a quick hand movement to mold chakra. Blue formed around her body. She looked up with a courageous smirk. Suddenly the ground began to crack, rocks sliding everything.
In seconds, the ground had pushed up to meet the exploding clay, resulting in a large crack, a strong force pushing the two back. Deidara fell onto a tree, limbs flinging off the ends of the branch, breathing shallowly, unconscious.
Sakura's body skidded back onto the ground, her arm cut and bleeding profusely, a pool of red dripping down her red shirt. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was slow and labored.
---
Temari and Shikamaru split ways, ready to help their partners. She glanced at him, only to see him looking at her. He adjusted his hat, looking away slowly. She looked down.
"I did miss you...when I thought you were dead...I, erm..." She stopped, shaking her head. "I'll get you out of here, you lazy crybaby. And when I do, I'll be winning in the saving and rescuing department!" She said, letting out a proud smirk. He gave her a sidelong smile.
"Thanks...Temari." He said, before they split ways.
---
Shikamaru leaned down over Zetsu's body. He lifted him up, grunting from the weight, and went to find Deidara.
Temari found Ino on the ground, slumped in a pile, blood drained from her pale face slightly, red dripping from her mouth. She picked her up, throwing her over one shoulder.
Shikamaru inspected Deidara's body, sighing. "At least no one's dead. I don't think I can deal with something that troublesome right now." He murmured, throwing his other partner over his shoulder. He glanced back to see Temari picking up Sakura, tying a rag around her bleeding arm. They nodded, smiled sadly at each other, and parted ways.
'I'll find a way, Shikamaru. You better count on it, you lazy crybaby.'
A/N: Thank you for the AWESOME reviews. I love your comments, and I'm really glad you like it. And I'll try to stop the cliffhangers...maybe. Just kidding! Thanks again!