I don't own Naruto, because if I did you'd see a lot of deaths and thereby ruining the show completely…heh. Well enjoy this long awaited chapter my peeps and THANKS SOOO MUCH FOR THE REVEIWS! .
Listening to-Dio: The Last in Line "We're off to the witch/ We may never, never, never, come home/…we're the last in line"
Gaara's stoic green eyes blinked open hearing the swift motion of approaching feet. Shukaku grinned with anticipatory blood lust as he immediately recognized who was coming and commented towards his human vessel,
It seems we'll spill blood before the night it through
"I wouldn't anticipate it." Gaara sternly thought, "we still have to surround Konoha so as to make sure none will escape and await for the signal."
Aww you're no fun, I don't see any hurt in killing a few stray humans.
"You wouldn't, but I would and so will the rest of Suna if we don't fulfill our debt."
You humans and your stupid morals, life was easier when you were a rampaging killer without reason.
"Perhaps for you but for me I was doing nothing but proving everyone in Suna right about what I was, and now I believe I am content with the way things are now."
Psht, ever since those fools nearly succeeded in tearing me away you've been more human.
Gaara raised a mental eyebrow (well he doesn't have any --;) towards Shukaku, "I am human, you are just an unwelcome resident dwelling inside of me."
Sigh, without me kid, you wouldn't be as powerful as you are now
Gaara could feel Shukaku's condescendingly caring smile and shook his head as the approaching feet stopped before him.
"Konoha is weak and the snake awaits the venom."
Gaara gave a nod and stood up, "I shall take my team over to cover the eastern and western ends, you can take the rest Tobias, and spread them on the North and Southern ends."
Tobias put two fingers to his mouth and let out an ear piercing whistle. Everyone spread around their campfires scurried to their feet partially drowsy with minds fully alert.
"Alright Team red is going with Gaara and Team black is coming with me, no excuses and no arguments. Don't pack any of your gear unless its weapons, scrolls or healing tools of sorts; you can always come back to get your camp gear later."
"But what if enemy nin spot the campsite?" Temari questioned.
Tobias turned to face the campsite and did a rapid succession of hand movements to form an illusion jitsu, making all the tents seem like small trees and bushes.
"Happy?" He sneered before turning his back towards all of them and faced Gaara, "Wait for the signal, anyone acting without it will perish and Suna can't afford that. Black team we're heading in!"
With swiftness of a Hawk, Tobias disappeared into the tumultuous night sky with his group of fifty Shinobi following in close persuit.
Gaara turned to see Kankurou and Temari looking at him expectantly and he gave a small nod towards them and the others.
"Good thing I'm wearing waterproof make-up, it looks like a heavy storm is about to come" Kankurou tried his best in lightening the mood, but when he received several glares from various weapon wielding shinobi he decided that being quiet was the best way to go and took off after his brother.
"Good evening Kana"
Aleia cringed as she heard that all too familiar hiss and turned to face the yellow eyed demon,
"Father" She stiffly acknowledged.
Her mind was reeling a thousand thoughts a second but she easily dismissed them as she had a role to do and she was going to do it well.
Orochimaru's heavy feet crossed the room in just a few powerful strides until there was half a foot between him and his daughter. He wanted to tell her everything to get her to understand why he was who he was and he sighed as he motioned for her to sit on the cot. From which she only gave him a shake of her dyed-brown hair, preferring to have some height in the approaching conversation.
"I killed your mother because she was going to kill you. She knew what you possessed could be the undoing of the village and sent you outside where an assassin nin from Suna would kill you. And I stopped it from happening and in my fit of rage, I killed everyone on her side including her, hoping I could protect you and help you grasp onto your powers."
"And it was just convenient to you that all of the good shinobi left leaving behind corrupted arrogance? I'm not little dad, I am not your naive little girl who thinks her dad is the unstoppable knight in shinning armor. I gathered sources who told me their side of the story-"
"So you'd rather believe them over your own father?" Orochimaru's voice bellowed with irritation and Aleia just stood there looking impassive,
"I'd rather believe in a tree barking than you playing the innocent-offended card on me." Her voice was steady and borderline snide as she kept her green eyes on his yellow slits, "here's what I put together father; Mom indeed tried to kill me off because she knew what my powers could do in the wrong hands-those hands belonging to none other than my father and his growing underground of anarchists hell bent on overthrowing the Shadow's government. When you caught word of this you saw potential in melding it into your own excuses to kill off the royals while still gaining my trust. And it worked-for the most part. As the years progressed so did my thirst to gain all the details over that hazy-life altering event. When I did stumble across one remaining relative, it opened up the possibilities and my anger for you kept growing, though it was substantial enough after killing my mother. That's when I left the village and the country, to break free of the hold you had upon me and to find myself and my place in this world. The rest I deem you capable enough to put two and two together and if you can't then get a damn calculator."
Within seconds she was slammed against the wall and she felt a blazing pain shoot through her shoulder but her eyes did not waver nor did she show any signs of pain.
"I am your father you will do as I say." He hissed dangerously low with his eyes luminescent in the growing dark.
"Or what?" She challenged with the same low voice, her eyes narrowed a bit to show she was by no means backing down.
"I will kill everyone you've come to respect and like in the damned village of Konoha."
"Funny, by attacking haven't you already fulfilled that part?"
She was met with a furious punch in the stomach and she sharply drew in a breath of air.
"I could control you, one bite and you will be as good of a slave as Sasuke is."
"So he's just a pawn you intend to discard soon? Or use his body to once again prolong death?"
"He is noting but a mindless pawn and as the days slowly slip by, so does another memory replaced by murderous thoughts."
"So you're slowly weaving your way into him?" She gave a cold, mirthless chuckle before drawing her gaze back to him, "good luck with that because I think you're little pawn is all the wiser" with a short nod of her head she motioned for Orochimaru to look towards the entrance of the door and there stood non other than Uchiha Sasuke carrying in his arms the unconscious pink haired kuniochi.
Not wasting a second, Aleia deftly delivered a kick under his chin sending him back into the opposite wall. Glancing over towards the motionless Uchiha she let out a small smirk,
"Makes you feel stupid doesn't it?" Reaching for her pouch a small piece of parchment was pulled out and she threw it over towards the Uchiha, "if you want to regain all the memories that were lost and cut all ties towards him, then you better start the incantation."
Turning she saw Orochimaru stand on his feet with his eyes tinted red. She was amazingly relaxed as she waited for what may happen next.
"You insolent child! I train you to become strong and this is how you repay me?"
"Yeah sucks to know you've been used doesn't it? Oh the merciless twist of irony." Orochimaru charged her with an unforeseen wrath and she waited for the blow. Soon the sickening crack of his fist breaking her ribs echoed the stone room and she went flying through the walls and trees outside. Landing on her feet she took off towards the center of Konoha not bothering to look back to see if he was following her, his venomous hisses gave enough of a hint.
Sasuke felt as though he'd been slapped in the face.
How could he blindly follow Orochimaru like that without even acknowledging that everyday he woke up, so did another memory fade into the night? And how he couldn't even recall the slightest thing anymore pissed him off. How could he have been such a fool?
"Uuuhhnn" Sakura slowly stirred and opened her eyes. The warmth of the body holding her comforted her and she snuggled closer while mumbling contently, "Naruto." The person holding her stiffened and she looked up through blurred eyes. Rapidly she blinked away the sleepiness to see none other than Uchiha Sasuke. A flash of past events went through her mind and she gasped in surprise,
"I thought I killed you!" She tried to jump out of his grasp, but failed as he only held her tighter.
"I am not easily killed" was his cold reply as he dropped her unceremoniously onto the cot. Sakura had her senses on high alert and what she felt made her stiffen,
"Aliea, she was here, where is she? What did you do to her?"
"Yes. Fighting Orochimaru and nothing." Was his sharp reply.
Sakura's maternal instincts kicked in and she knew something was wrong and mentally fought with herself whether or not to help him, and the answer came swiftly,
"What's wrong Sasuke?"
"I'm a fucking bastard! I can't remember anything Sakura, ANYTHING of my past, and every time I try to it's all hazy!" His anger was escalating his chakra, but it was already low to begin with and Sakura knew that if he kept it up he would end up in a coma.
"Sasuke shut up and calm down!" Her voice was raised, "I agree, you are such an idiot to not even know the side effects of that damned seal he put on you, hell I knew and I'm just a moron in your eyes!"
His eyes narrowed, "Are you saying I'm stupid?"
"Did I stutter?" She responded, "Listen to me Sasuke, I'm going to make this perfectly clear as a whistle to you: You. Fell. For. His. Trap. And if you constantly berate yourself over it you accomplish nothing-not like you've accomplished much since joining his pitiful ranks."
"I got you" was his automatic reply.
"By killing off your best friend! The very one who believed that you had some good left in you when everyone, myself included, gave up on you!"
Sasuke continued to glare at the wall before him unable to come up with a reply until he spoke a few minutes later,
"You loved the dobe a lot didn't you?"
Sakura's heart twisted as an invisible knife pierce threw it with venom dripping off the blade. The thought of never seeing him again tore at her, "deeply" was her whispered response.
"I thought you said you'd always love me and wait for my return."
"And I kept that promise. I waited for you to return and loved you, but not as literally as when I spoke those words. I never made the effort to search after you when two years passed but still waited for your return, but my love for you never dwindled. Naruto though was there to fill the empty gap you left behind. He knew he could never fill everything but he and I still tried and our love for each other was great."
"So you still love me?"
"Love at the moment is too strong of a word Sasuke, not after what you did." Her voice was weak and she mentally cursed herself for coming off as such. Deciding a quick topic change was in order she spoke, "the matter at hand is how we are going to get rid of the seal and return most of your memories?"
"Your friend Aleia gave me this" he unfolded the parchment and it showed pictures of hand positions with each word written next to their respective illustration. "Did I know Aleia before leaving Konoha?"
Sakura shook her head, "she showed up a few months after your disappearance."
"I don't like her."
Sakura let out a small laugh and pointed at the parchment, "her ways are different but effective nonetheless, so get to the memory re-building before your master remembers he can turn on the seal."
The atmosphere was considerably lighter when she laughed and Sasuke could feel his heart speed up and an unknown weight lift off his shoulders. Letting out a small smile of gratitude, he began the tedious jitsu.
"Tsunade come quick!" Shizune called out when she entered the building dragging and unconscious Kakashi with her.
Tsunade immediately was at Shizune's side and for a moment looked over Kakashi, "Sakura's work, she had to go in twice each with different chakra amounts meaning-"
"She probably has no chakra left" Shizune finished. "He will pull through, though I didn't find Sakura, her signature was there as well as Sasuke's"
"But he was fighting Naruto" Tsunade pointed out, "more pressing is that bastard has Sakura! I swear I'm going to kill Naruto when he gets back!"
Jiraiya choose that moment to walk in with his face set, "it's time."
"You mean to say-"
"Yes Tsunade" he finished her sentence easily as though he could hear her thoughts.
"Alright then, do you have everyone assembled?" She was on auto pilot her thoughts jumping from Sakura to Orochimaru to where Aleia was and she cursed her lack of liquor for her jumbled musings.
"Yes everyone is waiting for you."
"Very well then, Shizune, you're to take over while I'm gone."
"Very well Hokage-sama." Shizune bowed respectfully and when she straightened she was left alone in the main hall with Kakashi, who was moaning himself back into consciousness.
"This doesn't bode well" she mumbled to herself, "everyone is being sent to their death on a false hope and nothing more to spur them but their incorrigible pride of a village that stood for so much and now ceased to remain standing at all.
"What has this world come to, are humans truly that illogical? Or are they truly that committed?" She shook her head from her pensive state and performed a small jitsu that transported Kakashi into the tower medic ward. "The ways of a shinobi are forever shrouded in mystery." With a sigh, she disappeared in a grey puff of smoke.
So reviews are always a great way to tell me what you think.
Until then, have a nice day!
OOOH And do you think I should make an epilogue to this story or not? I'm pondering because all of you should know that the ending will not be what everyone expects it to be as evil cackle WAVES HANDS FORESHADOW ALERT!