The next morning, Sora woke up feeling incredibly sore in places she had never felt before. She felt Sasuke's arms wrapped around her naked body from behind and tensed slightly in surprise. What the-? Oh, right… She exhaled slowly and tried not to move too much since their legs were intertwined and her back was pressed up against his chest. The sound of Sasuke's soft breathing floated through the air and she could feel his warm breath on the back of her head. A million thoughts raced through her mind of all the possibilities that could happen from their love-making. The "what ifs" screamed at her making it impossible to go back to sleep. Finally she stirred slightly to get out of Sasuke's embrace. She hoped that she could get out without waking him up but it didn't work.
"Mmm…Sora?" Sasuke asked groggily opening his eyes.
Shoot, Sora thought. She quickly freed herself from his grasp and walked swiftly out of the room covering herself with her arms.
Sasuke's vision was still a little dim and all he saw was a blur of Sora exiting the room. "Sora," he said sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He didn't care if he was completely naked in front of her.
Sora soon came back in with a robe around her. She was carrying an extra one for Sasuke as well. "Here," she mumbled handing the robe to him keeping her eyes down.
"Is everything all right?" he asked cautiously taking the robe from her. He saw that her hand was slightly trembling.
Sora nodded and walked towards the kitchen after she felt the cloth leave her hands. She went right to work on getting something to eat for the two of them to get her mind off of things.
Sasuke quickly wrapped the robe around him and tied the string loosely around his waist still revealing his muscular chest. He made his way over to Sora who was getting some dishes off of a shelf. "Sora," he said embracing her from behind. His actions made her stop. "Please tell me what's wrong."
Sora put on her best fake smile, turned around, and placed a quick kiss on Sasuke's lips. "Nothing," she insisted and moved out of his embrace. She placed the plates and cups down on the counter and proceeded to the fridge. "Did you want anything specific to eat or drink?" she asked avoiding eye contact. She reached for a pitcher in the fridge.
Sasuke wasn't convinced. Doubts came flooding back into his mind of her love for him. He hardened his expression and advanced towards Sora. He grabbed her wrist before she could lift the pitcher.
"Sasuke?" Sora asked in surprise but she knew what he was thinking.
"I don't understand," he said pulling her away from the fridge. "Did I do something wrong? Do you regret what we did? Do you still love me?" He pulled her closer to himself and forced her to look into his eyes.
Sora's breath shuddered out of her at his intense gaze. He always sees right through me, she thought. But love? Can he see through my love? NO, I do love him! I DO! "Nothing, it's just…" she took a breath, "it's just it was my first time. I'm not used to the feeling."
Sasuke planted a firm kiss on her lips then pulled back slightly but leaned his head against hers. "It was mine too," he said softly and stroked her hair.
Sora took in what he said. She was a little shocked since almost all the girls in Konoha would give up anything just to be noticed by him, but then again his personality didn't exactly make him that type of guy. "I'm afraid," she whispered, her voice trembling, "that I might…someone might-"
"Find out?" Sasuke interrupted. "Why would that be a problem?"
"What?" Sora asked completely taken aback. She pushed him away. "Sasuke, what if I get…get pregnant or something? What would people-"
Sasuke pulled her forward suddenly cutting her off again. He gripped her tightly to his body and breathed in her scent. "Let them know," he said with a low voice. "What would it mean to us if anyone knew?" He began nibbling on her ear lobe causing her to shiver slightly. He smiled to himself. Let the whole world know that you're mine.
"Please," Sora said trying to push him back. "We have to think rationally about this." Sasuke didn't seem to hear her words and held her even more tightly and continued to suckle her ear. "Sasuke!" This time she succeeded in pushing him back a little. "We've got to keep this a secret! It…it wouldn't look right! I mean, what about missions? Aren't we supposed to be shinobis now? Aren't we supposed to be able to control our emotions?"
"Sora-"
"What if some mission comes along and we'll have to either choose for the good of the mission or for each other? Emotions are dangerous in those situations!" The small fear that had started in her heart now grew to a monstrous terror. She was breathing heavily and her eyes were wide with a mixture of emotion.
Sasuke didn't know what to say in response. I… The thought of his brother came flashing across his mind and he clenched his teeth. "I see," he said his voice dangerously low. He let Sora go and began walking towards the living room where they had spent the night.
"Sa-"
"I'm not strong enough yet," he said without turning around. He exited the kitchen.
Sora stared after him. Oh, no… She shook her head and ran after him.
Once she entered the living room, she saw that the robe was draped over the couch and Sasuke had his pants back on. He bent down to grab his torn shirt that he had taken off of Sora's wrists sometime during the night.
"Sasuke, what-"
"I will be worthy of you," he interrupted her again and walked to the door. He paused and turned his head slightly. "I will prove that I am strong enough for you." With that he opened the door and disappeared in an instant.
"SASUKE!" Sora shouted and ran to the door. She skidded to a halt in the hallway outside her apartment and looked around frantically for the raven-haired boy. "NO!" She ran down the hall and out in the streets. She didn't realize that she was still only in her bathrobe. "Sasuke!" she called frantically.
The streets were busy with people still rebuilding and cleaning from the attack by Orochimaru but they all stopped to look at her.
Sora then realized what she had put herself in. "Uh," she stuttered in embarrassment. "S-sorry…" She quickly backed inside her apartment building and shut the door. Her heart was racing a million miles an hour and she was panting from embarrassment. She beat herself up mentally and then she ran up the stairs to her apartment. Once she was at her door she began searching her pockets for her keys, but they were nowhere to be found. "Dammit," she muttered under her breath and her fist pounded the door. What am I going to do now? She wrapped the robe around her more tightly as she began to think. I can't go out like this, she thought. I don't want to break down the door either. But if I don't find Sasuke soon…
"GRRR!" she said in frustration. "FINE!" She took in a breath and kicked open the door breaking the lock. Now I'll have to pay for that, she thought miserably. She went inside and shut the door. It bounced off the door frame and swung open again since she had also broken the knob. "DAMMIT!" she shouted. She dragged the couch over and slammed it against the door keeping it shut. "THERE!" She was mad. Mad at Sasuke for leaving, mad at those people who stared at her in the streets, mad at herself… "I'm such an idiot!" she angrily whispered as she wiped her newly wetted eyes. She quickly took a freezing cold shower and brushed her teeth. She didn't bother eating breakfast as she threw the couch to the side and ran out the door. She wasn't worried that someone would come in and steal anything since there was nothing worth stealing in her apartment.
Now that she was dressed in her regular ninja dress, she sprinted through the streets at top speed desperately searching for Sasuke. Where the hell is he? she thought. She jumped up on the roof tops to further her field of vision. Her eyes scanned the village. Dammit, dammit, dammit! She was beginning to sound like Naruto. She knew that he was gone. She could feel it. Heavily panting, she dropped to her knees on the roof of the building. "Why?" she asked no one. Tears brimmed in her eyes. She looked up towards the sky. "What's wrong with me? Why did I tell him I…" She slammed her open hand down on the concrete. A strong gust of wind blew her damp hair into her face. She didn't bother trying to calm it down. I told him I love him, she thought shaking. I told him…is it real? She cared deeply for Sasuke but she also cared about Naruto, Kakashi, and the others. She cared about every single one of them but none of them in that way.
A few minutes passed and Sora was still sitting on the roof of the building letting the cool wind clear her mind. Soon, she pulled her hair back so that it wasn't in her face anymore and stood up. Where did the strong, determined Sora go? she asked herself with a hard expression on her face. She narrowed her eyes. I'm a shinobi. I won't allow myself to be pushed off my course, my duty, my promise. I won't let this interfere!
She leaped off towards the forest so that she could take her mind off of everything with hard training. Once she could see the field, she increased her speed and leaped high into the air. "AHHHH!" she shouted in a release of pent-up fury. She aimed straight for the ground. Her fist came in contact with the still damp dirt but the ground shook around her. Mud, dirt, and sand went flying everywhere but Sora didn't wait for them to fall to the ground. She ran through the shower of falling earth towards a gigantic oak tree. She concentrated her energy into her right hand and powered up. With one frustrated punch, her fist went through the entire tree trunk and the tree crashed to the ground. Birds and small animals scattered from the tree in fear.
Sora stopped to catch her breath closing her eyes. I am a shinobi, she thought. I may not be a Chuunin yet, but I have the principle. I will not let these damned emotions get to me. I've got to be strong! She opened her eyes and took in the damage she had done. The huge tree lay in front of her silently asking why. But Sora didn't care. She lifted her hand up and saw that there were splinters sticking out of her hand and numerous other cuts. She sighed and picked the pieces of wood out without flinching from the pain she felt. Then she took off the old bandages that were shredded and took out some new ones. She saw the old burn mark on the palm of her hand. "Sasuke…" she whispered. She used her teeth to rip the bandage cloth and then wrapped her hand covering the mark. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes.
The wind shook the branches of the fallen tree in front of her causing some of the leaves to break free. They flew towards Sora and caressed her body as they passed. Sora opened her eyes with new determination. She struck out a fist in front of her. "I won't give in." She jumped into the air and delivered a spinning kick then landed on the ground with her hand touching the loose dirt. "I'll find my Chakra…" She kicked her legs into the air and spun around on her hand then she pushed off from the ground. She did a flip through the air and landed on her feet. She put her hands in the focusing position and concentrated on her body energy. "I'll find it then I'll return to my village." She raced across the field towards another tree and jumped up. She swung through the branches getting higher and higher. When she reached the top, she paused slightly. "I'll pay them the respect they deserve and then…" She jumped off of the tree and allowed herself to fall towards the ground. "…I'LL KILL THAT MAN!" She was falling faster and faster. The wind rushed past her body pulling her hair back.
Her eyes became silver but she didn't notice. Her fist she had pulled back began to glow with a blue fire. "AHHHH!" she shouted as she neared the ground. Then she threw her fist forward striking the ground with incredible force. An excruciating pain shot through her arm and branched out into her body. "AHHH!" she yelled now in pain and but with fierce determination as well. The blue fire on her hand spread into the ground. The dirt flew up in the air from impact but didn't fall. A wind from the blow she had made on the ground shot up causing everything within a few feet of Sora to rise into the air. Sora tried to release her hand from the glowing blue ground but she couldn't. The pain was rising inside of her. She cried out as she tried again to get free from the blue fire but to no avail. The fire spread all across her body and the field. "AHHHH!" she screamed as the flames engulfed her. Then she lost consciousness.
A few hours later, Sora woke up. She was still in the field but something felt different. She couldn't move her body yet but she blinked her eyes to clear her vision. Then she gasped at what she saw. Her breath became a cloud of mist. She forced herself up even though it sent waves of pain throughout her body. She ignored the pain and looked around her. The entire field was covered in a layer of ice. The tree that she had punched through earlier was now an ice figurine and the wind couldn't move its branches anymore. The ice felt immensely cold against her bare legs. She stood up but then fell back down. The grass, the dirt, everything was all covered in ice. Even the animals that were unfortunate enough to be in the field were now frozen solid. Sora shivered from the cold. Did I do this? she asked herself. The she shook her head. No, I couldn't have. My Chakra is gone. The Third… But she knew only she could have done this. How is this possible?
She finally found the strength to stand. She turned in a complete circle and tried to measure how far the field of ice went. On the forest side of the field, the trees for at least a mile were all frozen up to the very tops. On the other side, the ice field stretched for more than 2 reaching just up to the outskirts of the village. Dammit, someone's going to notice that… She tried to think. So this means I have my Chakra back right? She did the fire ball jutsu seal progression Sasuke always used to hopefully melt some of the ice. "Fire Ball Jutsu!" She put her hand to her mouth and blew out, but nothing happened. "DAMMIT!" she shouted in frustration. Then she paused. She felt a presence. Oh crap… She slowly turned around and saw two figures dressed in black robes with a red cloud pattern in the middle and bottom. Their collars were up and they wore straw hats so their faces were covered. "Hello?" she said cautiously. She still couldn't feel their Chakra even though she tried. The two didn't move but the taller one whispered something Sora couldn't hear to the shorter one. She didn't like their secretiveness. "Can I help you two?" she said more loudly.
The two paused in their whispering and the taller one stepped forward. "Why, yes," he said. His voice was like icy metal as it floated through the cold air.
Sora shivered. He doesn't sound nice, she thought.
"We're looking for a young man here in this village of, Konoha, is it?"
"Yes," Sora said cautiously. She wanted to run but she didn't move. She glanced back at the shorter one and saw that he still hadn't moved a bit. "Do you have a n-"
"What the hell?" a man's voice said from behind Sora. She turned around and saw that it was Asuma and Kurenai was with him. "Sora?"
"Asuma-sensei!" Sora said in relief. She glanced back at the two strange men.
"Who are you two?" Kurenai asked them.
The taller one then reached for a bundle on his back. "Wait." The shorter one finally spoke. He walked up to his companion. "We don't want any trouble," he said to Kurenai.
"Then state your business here," Asuma said gruffly. He felt something was wrong with these two. "Who are you?"
Then the shorter one reached up his hand and took off his hat revealing his face.
Sora gasped. Oh my god, she thought. It's that man…
The man was looking at Asuma and didn't seem to notice Sora's expression of recognition or surprise but he saw it. She remembers, he thought to himself.
"I knew it," Asuma said clenching his fists that were already dressed in his trench knives. "Uchiha Itachi."
Sora's eyes widened even more. She slowly backed up towards the two Konoha Jounins. So he is Sasuke's brother…
Itachi looked coldly at Asuma and Kurenai. "I don't want a fight so I suggest you let us pass."
Asuma snorted. "No." He rushed at Itachi, his trench knives all ablaze with his Chakra. "AHH!" he shouted and threw a fist forward. But instead of expecting Itachi to block or dodge, his knife came in contact with a huge weapon wrapped in cloth. The taller robed man had blocked the attack with the bundle he had had on his back.
"You'll deal with me," he snarled.
"Huh?" The man pushed Asuma back. This guy's really strong.
Kurenai saw her chance to attack Itachi. "Kishibari no Jutsu (Tree Bind Technique)." She disappeared.
Sora couldn't move. The realization of having the man she swore to kill right in front of her stunned her body. Why can't I move? she thought shakily. I need…I need to attack! She was about to pull out a weapon but then saw that a tree had appeared behind Itachi and had entrapped him. What?
"You're trapped now," Kurenai said as she appeared to be coming out of her illusory tree.
"Hm." Then all of a sudden, he disappeared and reappeared in front of the tree while Kurenai was entrapped by her own illusion.
"What?"
How did he do that? Sora asked herself her fear level rising. He's that strong to be able to get out of a Jounin Genjutsu illusion?
Asuma and the other man were clashing metal but Asuma was quickly losing ground. Dammit, he thought as he was pushed back again. His arm was bleeding badly from a hit he had taken from the man's monstrous weapon. Who is this guy? Then he saw the opportunity to attack. "AH!" he shouted and swung his knife at the man's head. He dodged it but Asuma managed to knock his hat off. "It can't be!"
"Hahaha," the man said. His face looked like it was made of metal. He had shining evil eyes and jagged teeth. "Surprised to see me?"
"Kisame Hoshigaki," Asuma said through clenched teeth.
Itachi drew a kunai calmly and swung it at Kurenai. She managed to get out of her technique and dodged, but barely. The blade cut the tips of her hair off. "I said I didn't want to fight," Itachi said coolly.
Kurenai didn't respond but attacked instead. She took out a kunai and swung at his head. Itachi easily dodged and threw a fist at her. She dodged as well but then saw his foot coming towards her face. She crossed her arms in front of her face and blocked his oncoming foot. But it was too powerful and she was thrown a few feet backwards through the air.
Sora watched the fight in front of her in fear. These guys are too powerful. I can't sense their Chakra but I can sense-
"We're going to need back up!" Asuma shouted to Sora. "These guys are members of the Akatsuki gang! Run!"
Sora finally snapped back to reality and turned to run towards the village but she quickly skidded to a halt when she saw Itachi appear in front of her. Dammit.
"I can't let you cause any trouble now," he said as calmly as before.
What? Sora thought. It's like he's a different person.
Itachi wanted so badly to just grab Sora and go but since he was with his Akatsuki partner, he couldn't reveal his true intentions. "I wouldn't run if I were you," he said taking a step forward.
Sora backed up slowly. I have to fight…but last time he was so powerful, even with my Chakra I… She shook her head and whipped out her kunai. "Well, you're not me," she spat. She focused her body energy in her blade. "AHH!" she shouted as she ran at Itachi.
I don't want to hurt you, he thought but calmly readied his own blade.
Sora slashed at Itachi but only caught air. She knew he wouldn't go out that easily and turned around sensing that he was behind her. She was right. "HAH!" She swung again.
Itachi didn't dodge this time but grabbed her hand as it came for him stopping her attack easily. It sent a shiver down his spine when his hand came in contact with her skin.
Sora narrowed her eyes and used his grasp as a support to jump into the air and twist around to deliver a kick. He managed to block that attack as well but Sora then kicked herself out of his grasp on her wrist and flipped backwards. Then she sent a shower of shurikens at him.
Itachi dodged them and quickly moved so that he was going to be behind Sora when she landed.
Sora landed but couldn't sense him anywhere. What? Then she felt his hands around her throat.
"Your Taijutsu skills are much improved," he said in a low voice knowing that Hoshigaki was too caught up in fighting Asuma to hear him. "I am impressed." He leaned towards her and inhaled deeply taking in her scent. His hands slightly slipped down so that they were resting on her collar bone. His fingers caressed her smooth skin.
Sora shivered at his touch. What is he-is he going to kill me or what?
Kurenai had now recovered from Itachi's earlier attack and she saw that Itachi had Sora by the throat. "Sora!"
Sora didn't dare respond or move. He could easily just kill me now. Why doesn't he do it already?
Then out of nowhere, a kunai came right in between Sora and Itachi making him let go in surprise. Sora reacted quickly and sprung out of his reach towards Kurenai. At the same time, another blade came towards Hoshigaki forcing him to jump away from the exhausted Asuma. Then a voice was heard. "Well, well, well."
Sora recognized the voice. "Kakashi-sensei!" she exclaimed in relief. He appeared in front of her and Kurenai in a protective stance.
"What brings you back to Konoha, Itachi?" he said.
Hoshigaki walked over to Itachi. "One of your old buddies, eh, Itachi?" he said smiling wickedly.
Itachi didn't respond to his partner. "We didn't want to fight," he said to Kakashi.
"I see," Kakashi said faking amusement.
"All we are looking for is the Fourth's legacy," Itachi said ignoring Kakashi's sarcasm.
Legacy? Kakashi thought. Does he mean-?
So he's…not here for me? Sora thought. She breathed a sigh of relief. But wait, he's still…
"A boy by the name of Uzumaki," Itachi said seeing their expressions of confusion.
"Naruto?" Sora whispered softly enough so that only Kakashi and Kurenai could hear her. What does he want with Naruto? I…I've got to warn him!
"What do you want with him?" Kakashi asked gripping his kunai.
Itachi sighed. "Well, I see that you're not going to let us carry out our mission, Kakashi." His eyes turned from black to red. "Sharingan."
Sora's eyes widened. This is bad. Even if Kakashi has the Sharingan as well, he's still not going to able to stand up to a pure blood Uchiha. Especially Sasuke's brother.
Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector revealing his own Sharingan. "Don't look into his eyes," he ordered the rest of his group. "Only I can handle this."
"Are you sure?" Itachi mocked. He quickly glanced at Sora but then refocused his attention to Kakashi.
"Ninpou Suiton Suijinheki (Water Wall)!" Kakashi said getting more power from the Sharingan to melt the ice covering the field to change to water for his technique. A huge wall of water rushed towards Itachi.
But Itachi seemed to disappear.
"Get back!" Kakashi yelled as he leaped forward to meet Itachi's attack.
Kurenai grabbed Sora and leaped backwards towards Asuma who was still badly bleeding. When they landed Kurenai placed Sora next to Asuma and stood ready in case Itachi or Hoshigaki would attack, but Hoshigaki only watched the battle between the two Sharingan users with a look of depraved amusement on his blue, metallic face.
When the water settled, Kakashi and Itachi were seen in a deadlock. Their blades were locked in a ferocious battle of pushing and scraping. Then they finally broke apart and each landed a few feet back on the wet grass. "Close your eyes, now!" Kakashi ordered the others. "He's going to use-"
"Tsukuyomi (God of the Moon)," Itachi said calmly and focused his Sharingan straight at Kakashi.
Sora and the two Konoha Jounins quickly closed their eyes. A few seconds later, they heard gasping and a thud of someone dropping to the ground. "Kakashi-sensei!" Sora shouted but didn't dare open her eyes. "What did you do to him?" she angrily demanded but didn't expect an answer.
"Sora," Kakashi's voice whispered. It sounded incredibly weakened. "Don't…" He couldn't finish and had to gasp for air.
"I made him go through 3 days worth of torture," Itachi said evenly and started walking forward.
"What?" Sora said.
"It's my special illusion technique that only a full blooded Uchiha can do with his Sharingan. The Copy Ninja can't use the Sharingan to its full power because he's not of my clan."
Sora shivered at his voice but decided that she was going to open her eyes. "Damn you!" she hissed as she opened her eyes. She kept her gaze down but saw Kakashi kneeling on the ground panting heavily. Then she ran forward not caring that Itachi could attack. Kakashi-sensei! She caught his falling body right as he collapsed. She gently lowered him to the ground and tensed expecting some sort of attack from Itachi but it never came.
"HAHA!" another voice shouted as a figure wisped over Sora and Kakashi straight for Itachi.
Sora saw a pair of green legs land on the ground in between her and Itachi. "Huh?"
"Take this!"
What? Itachi thought barely dodging the attack. Another one?
"Itachi!" Hoshigaki said readying his weapon.
"I know how to fight your stupid Sharingan!" the green-legged man said confidently. "It's all thanks to being Kakashi's rival for all these years."
Sora finally found the courage to look up. "Gai-sensei!"
Gai flashed a smile at Sora and gave a thumbs up. "You're getting the idea," he said to her. "Always keep your eyes down and use your peripheral vision to sense attacks."
Itachi backed away. He's going to give us trouble, he thought. "Hoshigaki."
"Hm?"
"Let's go," he said. Then the two took off heading away from the village.
"Huh? Wait!" Gai called not having enough time to cut them off. "Ah, dammit."
"Gai!" Kurenai
called. "We've got to get Kakashi and Asuma to the hospital
right now!"
"Uh, right!" Gai said. He quickly picked up
Kakashi. "Asuma, do you have enough strength to teleport?"
Asuma nodded and the two were gone.
"Sora," Kurenai said.
Sora looked up.
"Go back to the village as quickly as you can and don't stop until you get there. I'm heading for back up." With that she left.
Sora got up and ran as quickly as she could after the teleported Jounins. She kept running until she reached the village then she slowed down to weave her way in and out of the crowd in the streets towards the hospital. Once she got to the building, she burst through the doors and ran up to the receptionist. "Where's," gasp, "Kakashi," gasp, "sensei?"
"Huh? Oh, uh," the receptionist was a little flustered. "He just came in a few minutes ago but he's in intensive care right now. I'm afraid you can't-"
"Just tell me where I can find him!" Sora pleaded.
"Uh," the woman flipped through her file. "He's in room 245, but-" Sora was gone. The woman sighed. "I probably shouldn't have done that." She shook her head and went back to work.
Sora ran up the stairs not bothering to take the elevator. Once she found the room in the intensive care unit, she found that the door was open and there were a number of nurses and doctors running around the room. Gai was still in the room as well. "Gai-sensei!" Sora gasped coming into the room.
"Sora!" Gai said in surprise. "You shouldn't have been able to get in-"
"How is he?" Sora interrupted. "Is he going to be ok?"
Gai saw the fear in her eyes. "Uh, he's…he's going to be out for a long time. I don't know when he'll be able to…" He trailed off. Although he was bitter rivals with Kakashi, it wasn't like Sasuke and Naruto where the two practically hated each other.
Sora was about to run over to Kakashi's bed but then upon seeing the frantic medics, she decided to stay in the corner with Gai. "But he will…wake up, right?" she barely whispered.
Gai looked down at the trembling girl and put a hand on her shoulder. "Of course he will," he said with a smile.
A few hours later, the doctors now declared that all they could do now was to wait for him to wake up even though they doubted it would be any time soon.
"Why's it going to take so long?" Sora asked the head doctor.
"The attack used on him was a mental attack," he said. "It's extremely dangerous and gives damage to not only his mind but his physical self as well."
"How is that possible?"
"If it really was Itachi he was fighting, it must have been some sort of immense torture. With his technique, he causes the feelings of the mind to become reality."
Sora shivered. He really is as powerful as he seems, she thought.
"I'll be heading home then," Gai said patting Sora on the shoulder. "You should get some rest, too. You've had a tough day."
Sora smiled weakly. "Yeah, but I think I'll stay a little while longer."
Gai nodded. "Of course. Just don't get home too late."
Everyone eventually left the room leaving Sora alone with her unconscious sensei. She pulled up a chair so that she could sit right next to his bed. She gently picked up his limp hand. "Sensei," she said in an extremely small voice. She stroked his hand lightly and let her mind wander. So this Itachi is going after Naruto, she thought. He said something about the Fourth's legacy. I wonder what that means…it must have something to do with the Nine-Tailed Fox. She shivered at the thought. I wonder where he is…
The morning came and a nurse walked in to find Sora asleep with her head beside Kakashi on the bed, their hands still connected. She quietly checked the stats on the screen next to the bed so as not to wake her up and then left with a small smile on her face.
A few minutes later, Sora groggily opened her eyes. Wha…where am I? She sat up and let go of Kakashi's hand to rub her eyes. Oh, yeah. I must've fallen asleep here. She looked at her sensei. His breathing was much more normal than it had been yesterday and he didn't look as pale. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, I'll head home and wash up, ok?" she said knowing he probably couldn't hear her. "I'll come back later." With that she gave a final squeeze to his hand and left the room.
Sora headed home and found her door open. She gasped in alarm. Did someone break in? She ran in and saw that her couch was turned over then it all came back. Oh… A piece of paper on her table caught her eye and she picked it up. It was a bill. She blushed in embarrassment. Well, I knew this was coming sometime or another. She sighed and pulled the couch back in front of her door. I'll get the locksmith to fix it. She took a quick shower and ate a light breakfast. Then she ran out of her apartment and went straight to the locksmith's. Once she gave him the details and payment, she left to find Naruto.
Upon arriving at her teammate's apartment, she put her ear against the door expecting to hear snoring but instead she heard silence. Huh, that's strange, she thought. She knocked on the door. "Naruto? It's me, Sora." There was no reply. It's not like him to be out so early. I wonder if he's training. After a few more knocks and calls, she left to find the spot where he usually trained with his new sensei. No one was there. What? Now she was getting worried. What if Itachi's already got to him? What if he was kidnapped? She worked herself into a frenzy. I…I've got to find him! She raced back to the main part of the village and jumped up to the roof tops. Her eyes searched the area frantically for any sign of her blonde friend.
After a while of searching and coming up with nothing, she sat down on a bench in the garden facing the fountain. Dammit, she thought as she rested. Where is he?
"Sora-chan!"
"Huh?" She looked up. "Hinata!"
"Wow, it's been a while since I've been able to talk to you!" Hinata said sitting down next to her. "Are you ok?" She could tell that something was bothering Sora.
Sora contemplated telling Hinata all of her troubles but decided against it. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. How about you? Have your injuries healed?"
Hinata raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I've gotten a lot better since the preliminaries. I was at the final matches but I must've passed out or something."
"What?"
"I don't remember anything passed the point where Sasuke and Gaara were fighting…Then I woke up and I was back in the hospital."
Sora breathed a sigh of relief. "How long have you been out?"
"I got out the day before yesterday. They told me about the Hokage's death and Orochimaru's attack on the village. I must've slept through the entire thing," Hinata said. "I feel guilty I wasn't able to do anything to help."
"Don't feel guilty!" Sora said automatically. "It's not your fault at all."
Hinata looked down and started playing with her hair. She bit her lower lip. "I wanted so badly to compete in the Chuunin matches…I wasn't strong enough for that."
Sora put an arm around Hinata and gave her a quick squeeze. "Don't think like that. The whole Chuunin exam was canceled because of the attack anyway so I don't think anyone passed."
Hinata remained silent for a while but then spoke. "It was unfortunate…there were so many strong competitors this year like you."
Sora blushed. "No, I just beat Ino out of luck I think." She smiled. "Next time we'll both pass."
Hinata smiled and looked up but then her expression immediately changed to worry. "Sora," she said softly. "Tell me what's wrong, please?"
Sora was a little shocked. "Uh…" How does she…well, she is a Hyuuga… "I'm just a little stressed is all."
Hinata didn't say anything and looked at Sora with her crystal clear eyes.
Sora shifted uneasily on the bench. "Oh, fine." She sighed and rubbed her temples out of habit. "I'm just…everything's so complicated now." She paused to think of how she would tell Hinata. "It's…it's my whole team." Then the words came flooding out. "The whole attack on Konoha was because Orochimaru was after Sasuke. And then Naruto's in danger because Sasuke's brother, Itachi is after him and I have no idea where he is. And then Kakashi-sensei's in the hospital right now and no one knows when he'll wake up." She stopped to catch her breath. She didn't want to tell Hinata about her little promise to kill Itachi or about the other things of her past that still haunted her. Her face flushed in embarrassment and she looked away.
Hinata was shocked. "Sora," she said softly. "I didn't know…I mean, I'm sorry…" Then something hit her. "But I can tell you where Naruto-kun is!"
Sora's head shot up.
"Really? Where?"
"He's off on some sort of training
mission or something with his new sensei, that white-haired guy."
Sora breathed a sigh of relief. Good, he's with Jiraiya…but what if he's not strong enough to keep him away? What if-?
"Sora?" Hinata said shaking her shoulder slightly. "Please don't worry too much about Naruto-kun. He's gotten much stronger than before. I…" She blushed.
Sora eyed Hinata. "You what?"
"Uh…" Hinata took her hand away from Sora's shoulder and started playing with a strand of her purple hair again. "I talked to him before his match against my cousin…I could just sense that he was so much stronger than before." Her blush grew even deeper.
Sora had to smile. It was obvious who Hinata had a crush on. She sighed. Naruto…maybe this time away from him is good for both of us. He's probably too naïve to notice Hinata's feelings. "You're right," she said. "I worry too much." She said it but she didn't fully believe it.
Hinata nodded her head and stood up. "I need to get back to my house right now though. Father said that the doctor would be coming to check up on me."
The mention of a doctor reminded Sora of her hospitalized sensei. "Yeah, you should go then," Sora said also getting to her feet. "Get better soon, ok?"
Hinata nodded her head again. "Thanks." She waved goodbye and ran off towards her home.
Sora waved until she was out of sight. Ok, she thought. So Naruto's temporarily safe, but… She turned towards the hospital again and took off. Once she arrived, she checked in with the receptionist who said that Kakashi had been moved to a normal hospital room and was not in intensive care anymore but he was still unconscious. Sora made her way to Kakashi's hospital room but before she got there, she saw that the door was open and she heard voices.
"If it really is as Asuma said-"
"I don't think he would lie."
"But it's just so unreal. We just got attacked by Orochimaru and now this?"
"I don't doubt that it is him," a familiar female voice said sternly.
Sora recognized it as Anko's voice. What's going on here? She cautiously walked up to the door and knocked even though it was open. She saw Anko, Gemma, and a few other Jounins she didn't know surrounding Kakashi's bed. "Um, hello?" she said.
The Jounins turned to look at her. Oh, it's Kousetsu, isn't it, Anko thought recognizing her face. "Sora, what are you doing here?" she asked sternly.
Sora gulped. "Uh, I was just coming to visit Kakashi-sensei but I'll leave if-"
"No, stay," Anko said before any of the other Jounins could answer. "I think you should know this."
Sora nodded and fully entered the room but didn't go to Kakashi's side like she wanted to. She was too nervous in the presence of all these Konoha Jounins.
"Anko-sama," one of the Jounins Sora didn't recognize began to say.
"It's ok," she replied curtly. "Sora, you should know that Kakashi's attacker, Uchiha Itachi is your teammate Uchiha Sasuke's brother."
Sora nodded her head.
"He's had an incredible history as a Konoha ninja but he is definitely more powerful than before. If he could cause this much damage to Hatake, he is not someone to be taken lightly."
Sora nodded again.
"We also know about Sasuke's hatred for him. He's too dangerous for him or any Genin to get near. Since you're his teammate and Kakashi is out for now, we must ask you to watch him carefully and make sure he doesn't try and find him." Anko sighed. "And then there's Uzumaki Naruto, also your teammate, correct?"
"Yes."
"From the information we gathered from Kurenai and Asuma, Uchiha and his partner, Kisame Hoshigaki are members of a group that call themselves Akatsuki. They're a gang of dangerous criminals and most of their members are wanted in more than one country. They have all been able to avoid capture for quite some time now and we have no idea what they are up to except for the fact that they are after Naruto."
"Naruto is with Jiraiya-sensei right now I believe," Sora said.
"Jiraiya?" Anko asked surprised.
Sora nodded her head. She knows him?
Then someone appeared in the doorway. The Jounins turned to face the newcomer ready to attack if necessary but they found it was Sasuke.
"Sasuke!" Sora gasped in surprise.
"Sora?" Sasuke said equally surprised.
"Uchiha," Anko said quickly. "We need for you to-"
"Anko-sama!" a voice called from the hallway. Another Jounin appeared at the door. "We just found out that Naruto and Jiraiya-sama are on their way to Shikuba and Itachi was sighted following them!"
The whole room tensed in an awkward silence with each person thinking the same thing except Sasuke. His eyes shot wide open. "What?" He's after Naruto?
Oh no, Sora thought and began running towards Sasuke but he quickly turned from the door and sprinted down the hall. "Sasuke!" she yelled.
"Uh," the Jounin that had blurted said confused.
"You shouldn't have said that in front of Uchiha!" Anko snapped.
Sora ran down the hall after Sasuke but he was already gone. He's going to follow them and try to kill him! she thought and pushed herself to go faster. She skidded into the wall while trying to turn to go down the stairs but she pushed herself off and flew down the steps. She didn't bother checking out and saw that the hospital door was still swinging. She ran outside and looked for any sign of him. Shoot, shoot, shoot, she thought shielding her eyes from the sun. Where did that guy say that Naruto…oh yeah, Shikuba! She ran to the nearest store and went immediately to the map section. She grabbed one off the rack and scanned quickly through the names and found the small town of Shikuba. She put the map back and ran out again. Crap, I wasted so much time! He's probably already halfway there! She ran towards the gate of the village and practically flew through the door into the wilderness.
After running at top speed for a while, Sora stopped to catch her breath and read a sign. It said, "Shikuba Town: 3 miles" and it pointed north. Sora took a deep breath and started running again. Soon she was able to see the outskirts of the small town. She entered the town and slowed down a little to try and see if she could find Sasuke or Naruto. "Sasuke! Naruto!" she called as she ran through the streets.
She ran to a hotel and up to the front desk. "Uh, excuse me!" she panted as she rang the bell.
A young woman approached the desk slowly yawning. "Can I help you?" she asked lazily.
"Yes, did a guy about my age with blond hair and an older man with spiky white hair check in here?" Sora asked quickly.
"Uh, blond hair?" the woman questioned slowly. "I don't think so…when would they have checked in?"
Sora clenched her fist. "Maybe today or yesterday?"
"Let me check." The woman flipped through some papers taking what seemed to Sora hours. "Sorry, I don't think I can remember any blond boy or a white-haired man."
Sora was about to scream but she kept her cool. "But have you seen a black-haired boy my age around today probably asking the same questions as me?" she asked quickly.
The girl immediately reacted with a small blush. "Uh, yeah, there was in fact."
Sora leaned forward on the counter. "Which way did he go?" she demanded.
"Uh," the girl stuttered surprised at the sudden change in Sora. "He just ran out and I think he turned to the right…"
Sora was gone. She ran to the next inn she saw and repeated the process of asking if they had seen a blond boy, white-haired man, or a black-haired boy. At every single inn she went to, she kept getting the same answers every single time. Finally she stopped running to catch her breath. "Where the crap are they?" she asked herself frustrated. Then an inn that she hadn't been in yet caught her eye. She inhaled slowly and entered. She walked up to counter. No one was there. "Hello?" she called and rang the bell.
There was silence for a while and then an older man came out. "Why, hello," he said cheerfully.
"Do you have a blonde boy and a white-haired man here?" Sora asked.
"Why, yes," the man said. "In fact, a young man was just in here asking the same question but he ran up the stairs once I told him that we had-"
A loud crash came from the upper floors and the whole building shook. Bits of wood and plaster fell onto the street outside. "Oh, no," Sora whispered to herself and took off towards the stairs.
"What the hell?" the man asked running out of the building thinking that there was some sort of earthquake.
Sora took the stairs two by two as she ran. She finally made it to the third floor and saw some smoke through the small window on the door. She skidded to a halt and burst through the door. She tried to yell but inhaled too much smoke and clamped a hand around her mouth to keep herself from coughing. After she could breathe normally again, she looked up. The dust had somewhat cleared and she saw the outline of Naruto who was standing in the hallway trying to look through the dust. She also saw the familiar robed figures of Itachi and his partner, and Sasuke. His wrist was being held by Itachi through a humongous hole in the wall. His hand was still glowing with blue static shocks.
He must've used the Chidori, Sora thought as she began to advance towards the group. No one seemed to have noticed her yet.
"I don't have time for you," she heard Itachi say quietly. "You're just getting in the way." Then he moved his hand holding Sasuke's wrist.
"AHHH!" Sasuke cried in pain as a loud crack echoed through the hall.
"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled.
Sasuke's wrist was completely broken now making him unable to use the Chidori anymore. Itachi swung him upwards and punched his cheek sending him backwards towards Sora.
"Sasuke!" Sora gasped and reacted just quickly enough to catch him. The force sent her back as well and she felt her body crash up against the back wall.
"Sora?" Naruto said finally noticing she was there.
Itachi and Hoshigaki both turned slightly to see Sora holding onto a shaken Sasuke. She's here, Itachi thought but then turned back towards Naruto. "Come quietly now or shall we have to force you?" he spoke to Naruto.
Naruto quickly reverted his gaze back to Itachi. "You bastard!" he spat.
Sasuke then shook his head roughly and wiped the blood from his mouth. He got out of Sora's grasp and stood up. "Naruto, I told you not to interfere!" he yelled and ran down the hall again towards his older brother.
"Sasuke, no!" Sora yelled and ran after him but it was too late.
"AHHH!" Sasuke shouted powering up for a punch.
Itachi narrowed his eyes and blocked Sasuke's powerful punch with ease and quickly twisted Sasuke around and punched him in the stomach. Sasuke coughed up some saliva and couldn't move, but Itachi wasn't done yet. He kneed Sasuke's head as Sasuke was keeling over sending more blood out of his mouth. Then he picked Sasuke up and kicked him the chest sending him back again to the wall. Sasuke hit the wall completely immobile from the pain and slumped over on the floor.
Sora had stopped running and felt a wind rush by her as Itachi passed her and went straight for Sasuke again. He was so fast she couldn't even see him pass. Then she realized. "Wait, stop!" she pleaded.
"Sora, stay back!" Naruto shouted as a red aurora surrounded. Then he turned towards Itachi. "I'll rip you to pieces!" he snarled, but then his Chakra seemed to disappear. "What?"
Hoshigaki had stepped forward with his weapon revealed. "My sword, Samehada, has the power to devour any Chakra I will it to," he said laughing evilly. "Including yours no matter how powerful you are."
Naruto narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. Dammit, he thought.
Itachi ignored what was happening behind him and gripped Sasuke by the neck, lifted him up, and slammed him against the wall. He leaned his head in. "You weak, pathetic, fool," he whispered into the barely conscious Sasuke's ear. "You lack power because you can't hate me."
Sasuke clenched his teeth. Move, goddammit! he screamed at himself but couldn't even twitch his finger. I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!
"Mangekyou Sharingan," Itachi said as his eyes flashed red.
"AHH!" Sasuke screamed in horror as his eyes shot open.
"You will relive that day for the next 24 hours," Itachi said and watched his brother's eyes roll back into his head.
"Ninpou Gamaguchi Shibari (Frog Mouth Trap)!" Jiraiya's voice sounded through the hall.
"Huh? Jiraiya-sensei!" Naruto said.
The walls of the hallway were now growing some soft sticky red coating on them. Sasuke seemed to melt back into the red mass on the wall and Itachi let him go to turn to face Jiraiya.
"Itachi, Hoshigaki," Jiraiya scowled. "I thought I might meet up with you two here."
"This could be troublesome," Hoshigaki said as he tried to take a step back but found that Samehada was stuck to the ground. "This damned frog mouth…"
Itachi seemed to be rethinking his plan but remained calm.
"What do you want with Naruto?" Jiraiya demanded already knowing the answer but wanting confirmation.
"The Akatsuki leader has need of him," Itachi said.
"I see that," Jiraiya said. "But you will not get away."
Itachi and Hoshigaki quickly nodded their heads at each other and took off running. Jiraiya directed the frog stomach on the walls to shoot out to cut the two off from escaping.
"They're gonna get away at this rate!" Naruto screamed attempting to run after them but his feet were also caught in the frog trap.
"Don't worry. They shouldn't be able to break through my technique," Jiraiya said with confidence and pulled Naruto out of the trap. He then walked over to a stunned Sora and pulled her out as well. "Let's go see what we've caught." He bounded through the hall and rounded the corner, but he didn't see two captured figures like he thought he'd see. Instead there was a humongous hole in the wall with a black fire around its edges. The two Akatsuki members were nowhere to be seen. What? He could break through? Jiraiya thought as he put Sora and Naruto down. He walked up to the hole inspecting the fire.
"What's that?" Naruto asked coming up behind the white-haired man.
"Stay back," Jiraiya said in a low voice. Naruto stopped in his tracks. Jiraiya took out a scroll and began writing on it. Then he placed his hand on the scroll and said, "Fuuinjutsu Fuukahouin (Sealing Technique, Fire Suppressor)!" The black fire still burning on the hole swirled around in the air and gathered in the scroll. New marks appeared on the scroll as Jiraiya sealed off the technique. He quickly rolled up the scroll and tucked it away in one of his pouches. "I'm surprised he was powerful enough to get out of my technique," he said to himself mostly and shook his head looking amused.
"What?" Naruto yelled. "He got away and you're not even angry that he could get out of this frog mouth thing?"
Sora had meanwhile walked cautiously back to where Sasuke was still in the frog wall. The wall began to go back to normal and Sasuke reappeared. She slowly lowered him down on the ground. He was completely unconscious. "Naruto, we've got to get him help," she said using a cloth from her pouch to wipe the blood from Sasuke's face.
"I agree," Jiraiya said walking over to Sora. Naruto stopped talking and followed closely behind. "It looks like a lot of his ribs are broken as well as his arm. Plus he was attacked mentally as well. This doesn't look good."
Sora shivered at the mention of the mental attack. Is Sasuke going to end up like Kakashi-sensei, too? she asked herself. "Will he be ok though?" she asked out loud.
Jiraiya looked at her. "There is only one medic able to heal these kinds of injuries besides time."
"Who?" Naruto asked.
"Tsunade."
"Tsunade?" Naruto and Sora asked at the same time.
Jiraiya nodded his head thoughtfully. "She was a teammate of mine back when we were young, as was Orochimaru."
"What?" Naruto said.
"Yes," Jiraiya continued. "The three of us make up what they call the Legendary Sannin." Then out of nowhere came a shout.
"HOOWAAAAHH!" A figure flew through the air and a foot came in contact with Jiraiya's face.
"WHA?" Sora gasped in surprise. Then the figure landed.
"Take that!" he said in triumph as he stood up.
"G-Gai-sensei?" Naruto shouted. "WHAT THE HECK?"
Gai looked down at the swrily-eyed Jiraiya and sweat-dropped. "Uh, oops. Hehe," he laughed nervously and put a hand behind his head. "I guess I mistook him for the villain."
Sora rolled her eyes and Naruto's mouth hung open. "How could you mistake the Perverted Hermit for that bastard of a brother?" Naruto practically screamed.
"Well," Gai said putting his hand under his chin in a dramatic pose. "I used my forehead protector as a mirror to see around the corner because I wanted to do a surprise attack. As I found out, the protector is made of a metal that isn't the best at reflecting so I could only see shady figures. I saw your and Sora's figures and could tell that you weren't the villains because you were much shorter, but when I saw Jiraiya-sama's I thought he was…uh, hehe, sorry."
Then Jiraiya sat up groggily and wiped some drool off of his mouth. "Wha happened?" he asked stupidly.
"Sir! I am sorry to have attacked you! I mistook you for the enemy and I thought I could ambush-"
Jiraiya held up a hand and shook his head. "Fine, fine," he mumbled. "Just get this kid and let's get out of this hotel." The others nodded and Gai picked up Sasuke. Soon the group was outside of the building.
"I will take Sasuke back to the village for medical treatment," Gai said.
"Good," Jiraiya said. "It seems that we now have to find Tsunade. I doubt that any of the medics in Konoha now can counter an attack from Itachi."
"Agreed," Gai said.
"Uh, I'll go back with Sasuke and Gai-sensei, then," Sora said nervously not meaning to interrupt.
"Hm," Jiraiya said focusing his gaze on Sora. For once he wasn't thinking anything perverted. "I think you should come with Naruto and me to find Tsunade."
"Wha-why?" Sora asked taken aback.
Jiraiya smiled. If what Sarutobi-sensei said was true, then I should definitely keep a close eye on her, he thought.
"You mean we're gonna come with you on like a mission?" Naruto asked getting excited.
"Something like that," Jiraiya said.
"All right!"
Naruto said making a fist. "We'll find this Tsunade and then
she'll be able to heal Sasuke and Lee and the others!"
Sora
didn't really want to go but she couldn't refuse. She was
worried about Kakashi and Sasuke but then she was also worried about
Naruto. But he's with this powerful Sannin, so he should be ok.
Why does he want me to go with him?
"Ok, but before you go," Gai said getting something out from his pack. It was a green rubbery looking thing. "Naruto, I think you deserve this!" He presented it to Naruto with a shiny smile.
Naruto's eyes widened. "Is that…?"
"Yes!" Gai said enthusiastically. "It is the suit of the Green Beast of Konoha. Lee has found it to be the perfect outfit for fighting to his maximum potential! I believe you are ready to improve your technique and this suit will help you achieve that goal!" He gave a thumbs-up sign.
Naruto took the green rubber in his hands and stared at it wonderingly. "Wow! Thank you, Gai-sensei!" He gave him a thumbs-up sign and smiled showing off his flashy, white teeth.
Gai smiled broader and his teeth shined in the sunlight as well.
Sparkles and pings went off around the two of them as they smiled at each other each holding up his thumb. Sora and Jiraiya sweat-dropped. "Er-herm!" Jiraiya fake cleared his throat to get Naruto's attention. "We should get going now." He turned to leave and signaled for Sora to follow.
"Come on, Naruto," Sora said shaking her head.
"Coming!" Naruto
said happily. Gai walked down the street and turned to wave at them
one last time and then disappeared.
Once Naruto and Sora caught
up with Jiraiya, Naruto began playing with the green suit. "Hey,
Sora!" he said happily sizing it up against himself. "Do ya
think this'll make me even better looking than before?"
"Uh-"
"Naruto!" Jiraiya interrupted. "I won't be caught dead walking around with you if you put that thing on!"
"Humph," Naruto said and grudgingly put it away. "I bet you're jealous!"
Jiraiya decided to drop the subject. "Let's just go on to the next village. I believe Tsunade should be somewhere there."
"How do you know?" Sora asked.
"Well, it's known for its many casinos and gambling houses, that's why."
"Huh?"
"I guess each of us three Sannin have fallen for one of the three great temptations," Jiraiya mused.
"What are they?" Naruto asked.
"Well, power, money, and women," Jiraiya said.
What? Sora thought with a twitching eyebrow. He's still that perverted, old…why am I going along with him again?
Naruto scrunched up his face. "I'll never fall for any of those temptations!" he declared. "I'll become the epitome of a ninja and won't stand to fall to any weakness!"
Sora rolled her eyes. "Naruto, Naruto," she muttered.
"Hm? Sora?" Naruto asked hearing her.
"Oh, nothing," she said and continued staring straight ahead. I didn't bring any supplies with me, she thought. How am I going to pay for food or shelter?
"Well, if you want to become the so called 'epitome' of a ninja," Jiraiya said, "I'm going to teach you that move I promised you I would."
"The one you said
was more powerful than the Chidori?" Naruto asked excited to no
end. "Finally!"
More powerful? Sora thought.
"Tell me how to do it now so I can start training!" Naruto said.
Jiraiya laughed. He's a little too eager sometimes, he thought. "Well, this is a move called the Rasengan."
"What?" Sora couldn't keep quiet at that. "Rasengan? But that's-"
"Yes," Jiraiya said. "It was the Fourth's most powerful technique."
"But only he could do that technique!" Sora said.
"Ah, yes, but I was his sensei," Jiraiya said smiling proudly.
Sora's eyes widened. He was the Fourth's sensei?
"No way!" Naruto exclaimed. "This is so cool! You think I'm strong enough to learn the Fourth Hokage's special move?"
"Well, I think that you might have a-"
"ALL RIGHT!" Naruto shouted. "How do I start? I can get this in no time!"
"Naruto," Sora said exasperated. "It took the Fourth almost three years to learn this move!"
"What?"
"You can't just take this technique like all those other ones you've learned. It's a completely different rank!" Sora said.
"Hm, how do you know so much about the art of Chakra if you were born without it?" Jiraiya asked.
The group stopped walking. Oh crap, Sora thought. Her little lie of not having Chakra from birth came back to haunt her. I swear I will never lie again… Sora thought miserably.
"What?" Naruto
asked. "That's not true!"
"Hm, I thought not," Jiraiya
said.
Sora beat herself up mentally. Stupid, stupid, stupid… "Ok, ok, I lied!" she finally said. "But it looks like you already know what happened to me anyway." She looked to side embarrassed.
"Now you know my reason for wanting you to come along," Jiraiya said.
Naruto looked back and forth between Sora and Jiraiya pretty confused. "What's going on here?" he asked.
Sora put a hand on his arm and forced a small smile. "Forget it," she said. "Let's just find this Tsunade as soon as possible. Kakashi-sensei is also in the hospital from fighting with Itachi."
"What?"
Sora
nodded. "The sooner this mission is over the better."
Naruto nodded and the three continued their walk to the next town. They arrived sooner than they thought. It was a very festive town with many people wandering about everywhere even though it was pretty late already. They checked into a hotel but didn't stay since Jiraiya said that he wanted to look around for Tsunade for a while.
As they went back into the streets, Naruto's mood went back to being excited as he looked around at all the stands steaming with delicious looking food and fun games he wanted to try out. He drew out his pouch with all of his money in it and smiled with glee. "This place is awesome!" he said getting out some money. He was actually quite well-off from all the pointless missions he had done with his team. "I'll buy you dinner tonight, Sora!"
Sora started. "Uh-"
"Hey, Perverted Hermit, since it's pretty late anyway, can Sora and I just hang around here for a while then?"
"Huh?" Jiraiya said looking at Naruto holding the money. "Hey! Remember what I said about the three taboos?" He swiped the wallet away from Naruto.
"Hey!"
"I'm
just making sure that you don't lose sight of your goal of being
the 'epitome' of the ninja," Jiraiya said tucking the wallet
away. "You've got quite enough money in your hands right now and
you don't need any more." With that he left them.
"That's my money though!" Naruto said getting a little frustrated.
Sora smiled slightly. "It's ok, Naruto."
"But I bet he's going to go and spend it all!"
"I don't think he would do that," Sora said kindly. Jiraiya hadn't said anything or acted perverted all day and Sora was beginning to respect him a little more. "I'll pay you back when we get home, ok?"
"What? No way!" Naruto said completely dismissing the absence of his wallet in his pouch now. "My treat!"
"Naruto-"
He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her behind him as they weaved their way in and out of the busy streets. Naruto indeed had quite a bit of money and bought a bucketload of food for the two of them. Sora had insisted on getting at least one healthier thing but the rest were mostly treats and junk food. They sat down at a public resting area in much better spirits than before. Soon they were laughing and joking. Everything seemed to be back to normal. After eating, they ended up wandering the streets looking at the different displays and stands full of merchandise. Naruto saw a kunai throwing game and had to try it. He also saw that one of the prizes was a bracelet advertised to be worth six million yen. "Come on, Sora! I'll get you that bracelet!"
"Naruto, you don't have-"
"But I want to!" Naruto insisted and pulled Sora over to the stand.
"We should be getting back to the hotel soon," Sora said.
"Don't worry, this won't take too long," Naruto said and winked. "How much to play?" he asked the man behind the counter.
"That's five yen for ten kunai," the man said. "If you hit all ten targets you get to choose any prize you want out of the stand!"
"All right," Naruto said taking out five coins. He exchanged them for ten kunais. "I'm ready."
The man hit the start button and a target moved fairly slowly across the back of the stand. Naruto threw the kunai and easily hit the target right in the middle. "Haha," he said beginning to feel confident. "I hope it gets harder than this!"
Sora smiled shakily at the man behind the counter and shook her head. "'Pride cometh before a fall,'" she quoted.
Naruto laughed as he hit the next target that had come quite a bit more quickly, but it was nothing compared to ninja training. Next came two targets from opposite ends. They zigzagged across the stand at a decent speed but once again, Naruto hit each of them dead center. Then came two more but they were twirling, going in a random pattern, and moving much more quickly. Naruto concentrated with his eyes and let his kunai fly. Each knife found its mark.
A crowd had now gathered around Naruto and Sora. This game had a reputation of being impossible to beat and everyone was impressed that Naruto hadn't missed yet. They began rooting Naruto on and talked amongst themselves about his amazing accuracy.
Naruto was now getting incredibly confident. "Bring it on!" he said smiling at Sora. Sora laughed. This time three targets came flying out of nowhere it seemed and raced across the wall. They were flashing bright colors for distractions as they spun and hit each other. The bouncing made them go even faster. They were almost just blurs of light.
"I don't think anyone's gotten past this part," Naruto heard a guy say to his friend.
Naruto concentrated all he had on the swirling lights as they zipped across the back of the stand and then he let three kunais fly. The crowd gasped as they nailed the wall. "HA!" Naruto said and the crowd cheered. He had hit all three targets.
"Wow, Naruto!" Sora said impressed. "You've gotten much better at throwing. Is that something Jiraiya taught you or did you train yourself?"
"I trained myself!" Naruto said proudly. "That prize is as good as yours!"
Sora blushed and smiled nervously.
"One more to go," the man said. "You have to hit the black one this time."
Naruto nodded his head. He had one more kunai. If there's only going to be one target then it's probably going to be incredibly difficult to get. Sure enough, a whole bunch of swirling, flashing lights went zipping around on the stand wall. "What?" he said automatically.
Whoa, this game is hard, Sora thought as she tried to scan the wall for the black target the man had told Naruto he needed to hit. It would be hard for even a Jounin to hit.
Then at almost the same time, Sora and Naruto spotted the black target. It was smaller than the rest and it was moving extremely quickly so it was incredibly difficult to see amongst the other flashing ones. "HAH!" Naruto shouted as he threw the kunai at an incredible speed.
The crowd held its breath as the kunai zipped through the air. Then they heard a plunk and they scanned the board for where Naruto had thrown his kunai. It was almost silent.
The man behind the stand turned off the machine that made the targets move and flash and the stand wall became still. Then a little boy shouted, "There it is! He hit it!" The crowd gasped in awe as they looked to where the little boy was pointing. Sure enough, Naruto's kunai had stabbed directly though the little black target.
"OH YEAH!" Naruto shouted and grabbed Sora into a hug.
"Naruto, that was amazing!" Sora said and hugged him back. He has gotten better at throwing and concentrating.
"Whoa, that was like awesome, man!" "Are you some sort of specialist or something at knife throwing?" "I wish I could do that…"
The man behind the counter shook his head in disbelief and smiled. "You are the first to ever hit all the targets. Very impressive. You definitely deserve any of these prizes."
Naruto, keeping one arm around Sora, pointed to the very expensive looking bracelet that was inside of a glass case. "That'll do nicely," he said acting like he was some rich guy at a high class jewelry store.
The man nodded his head and carefully took out the bracelet. "You've got expensive taste, sir," he said chuckling. He put the bracelet in a box and handed it to Naruto. "That bracelet's made of pure platinum and the diamonds and emeralds in it are one hundred percent uncontaminated."
Naruto was beaming as he took the box carefully. "Wow, thanks!" Naruto said. Then he led Sora away from the stand and the crowd of people. They began walking towards their hotel and were soon away from the noise and bustle of the festivities. "Here," he said placing the box in Sora's hand.
"Naruto," Sora said blushing. "I can't accept this!"
"Hey, I said I'd get you a prize. You deserve the best," he said nuzzling her neck.
Sora pushed him away but made it look playful. "But did you see how much it was worth?" Sora asked.
Naruto smirked and grabbed Sora in an embrace. He slipped the box into Sora's pouch as he lightly kissed her cheek. "You're worth more," he said in a soft voice and leaned his forehead against hers. He smiled.
Sora was shocked at his actions. She didn't push away like she wanted to and surprised herself by smiling. "Naruto," she started to say but Naruto brought a finger to her lips. Then he slowly leaned forward and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. Sora's mind went blurry and she automatically closed her eyes and let Naruto kiss her.
He moved one of his hands behind her head and pushed forward to deepen the connection as he nipped her lip wanting her to part her lips. Sora obeyed without much of a struggle and allowed Naruto to slip his tongue into her mouth. Naruto slid his tongue over every part of Sora's mouth as he continued to push for more. Finally they had to break for air. Both were panting. "God, Sora," he whispered once he caught his breath.
Sora closed her eyes as she panted. What's wrong with me? she mentally screamed at herself but her physical self remained speechless.
Naruto smiled and let his hand slip down to grasp hers. "Let's get some rest," he said and led her into the hotel. They checked in and made their way up the stairs in a strange but comfortable silence. Once they were in their room which had two separate bedrooms, a bathroom, and a main room, Naruto switched on the lights but still kept one of his hands holding Sora's. "You go ahead and wash first," he said kissing her cheek.
Sora was still in a state of shock but nodded her head. She quickly went into the bathroom with a slight blush on her face and closed the door. She turned on the vent and the cold water in the shower and leaned against the wall. Her mind was a swirl of emotion and confusion. The water hitting the wall of the shower filtered through the back of her mind as she stared at the floor. I'm such a hypocrite, she finally thought. And to think I was just talking to Hinata-chan today. And Sasuke…I feel so… She shook her head and stripped off her clothes. She took a quick, cold shower and then dried herself off. She found that there were bathrobes in the bathroom closet so she put her undergarments back on since they were the only ones she had brought and slipped on the robe on. Then she used the toothbrush and paste provided by the hotel to brush her teeth. There was also a comb in one of the drawers.
She blankly stared into the mirror as she ran the teeth of the comb through her hair. They went through smoothly and her hair became almost completely straight. "Naruto-kun," Sora said softly. She laid the comb down and turned to face the door. She took a deep breath and then opened it softly. Peeking her head around the corner she saw that Naruto was asleep on the couch snoring peacefully. Sora smiled slightly and decided that she wouldn't wake him up. She quietly slipped into one of the bedrooms and shut the door. Hopefully Jiraiya doesn't come back too late, she thought. And hopefully he'll be sober.