Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Chapter 1: Traveling
"Fuck this sucks! I'm so damn bored!" Hidan complained. "This...this fucking sucks is what it does!!"
Team 'Akatsuki' was halfway to Konoha Forest, and considering the days it took and the time that they couldn't waste otherwise, they had not seen much action. It was merely constant jumping from cliff top, to tree, to tree, to cliff top. They had barely eaten anything or slept. Sleeping didn't seem to bother them, though, as most of them were insomniacs, but the fact that Hidan had been complaining since Day 1 didn't seem to lift their spirits too much.
"Quit bitching." Kakuzu responded. The others were glad that he had spoken up, so they wouldn't have to waste their breath that they were currently using to move so fast to tell him themselves. Also, it was Kakuzu's partner, not theirs, so why should they have to say anything at all?
"We've been moving for nearly one week straight! There's nothing to do, I'm pretty sure Jashin-sama is peeved at me for not having made sacrifices, which I should daily," everyone was rolling their eyes at this point. "And, to top it all off with a fat, fucking' cherry, I think I'm getting rashes from not having killed a person in so long!"
"Hey, you're immortal, aren't you? Suck it up, we're almost there." Kisame replied in annoyance at his constant jibbing.
"You said that three days ago." Sasori reminded him. "If there's one thing that pisses me off more than waiting (and keeping someone else waiting), it's someone who gives false timings for how long we have to wait."
"Yes, yes…the usual complaint, huh, Master?" Deidara muttered, as he rode on his special, clay-formed bird.
Sasori scowled through his cowl, but kept moving. More than anything, he wished he had permission to extend that metallic tail he owned, and drill it through his teammate's head, but he didn't.
Itachi, who had not uttered a single word since their departure, did not even make eye contact with any of his companions. He stared straight ahead, almost as if he could see their destination from where they were at. He had one thing on his mind: get the mission done.
Kisame, his partner, looked back every now and then to make sure everyone was keeping up alright. He was almost reminded of the times that he had traveled alongside as one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist, but quickly pushed that thought way back. He had his reasons for leaving that team.
Zetsu was casually leaping, along with Hidan and Kakuzu, while Tobi seemed to skip along with it. Where does he withdraw his energy?
It was quiet for several minutes, as they continued to move. The space around them gave to whistling sound at the rate that they covered the land. Sure the waiting was boring, and the travel conditions were terrible, but they were actually getting by pretty fast in regards to where the gathering point could have been. They did not leave directly from the main base; they were communicating by seal projectors in the Chamber of Ten. They needed to meet up elsewhere before the mission could begin, and it was actually amazing at how close together the pairs were. Everything should proceed on time and as planned.
Suddenly, Tobi broke the long silence.
"Who here wants to play 'I-Spy'? Come on, show of hands! Who wants to play?"
It was going to be a long week.
That night, they stopped for the first time since they departed, and silently cursed their leader for not giving them the time to make decent preparations. They were no pushovers with the wilderness though, and in no time at all, they had created an entire campsite using the natural resources around them.
While Zetsu went to soak himself in the stream (yes, it is a plant thing), Tobi apparently following him, Itachi stood on the edge of the viewpoint, watching for bandits, or enemy shinobi that would seek to harm, or otherwise, report them. Most of the others stood behind and sat around the bonfire. Some of the members were chuckling slightly at Sasori, first looking at him, and then looking at the burning firewood.
"What the hell is so funny?"
They immediately cuffed their mouths, and looked away.
'They do this every damn time they see a bonfire and me in the same area…' he thought to himself, glaring at his teammates, who were trying to hold themselves from laughing even more. '...it's annoying.'
"Sorry, master," Deidara answered, a wide grin spread across his face. "I fear that we just torched…your cousin, un!" The others, unable to hold it in any longer, burst out laughing at this. Ordinarily it would have been a pathetic thing to laugh at, but running at top speeds through forest and wasteland without stopping for days, you'll find yourself going a little crazy. And that is when anything seems funny.
"Ohhh, har-hardy-harr…" Sasori mocked them, getting up and ambling away inside of his puppet. "…bastards." He muttered.
Kisame saw him start to move away, and stopped laughing, but still bore his humored grin. "Aww, come on Sasori, don't be like that," he called out to the puppet master, as he shrunk in with the distance. "We were just kidding! We were just looking for something to laugh about!" Even with the face he wore, and that no one else would have guessed it, Kisame was being quite serious. He had always been the more understanding type when it came to his colleagues' unusual conditions. He didn't exactly look normal himself, after all; often referring to himself as 'strangely colored'.
Sasori turned his head back, and glared at him from out of the corner of his menacing eye as he continued to shuffle away. Apology unaccepted.
What did they know about sacrifices...of what it takes to get things done? In the very beginning, Sasori didn't choose to become the way that he was - it was the only way that Akatsuki would accept him. To get stronger. But over time, he grew to like the idea of never being able to feel pain...of never dying. What in Hell would it possibly take for them to understand?? Nothing. And Sasori could care less. He had already gotten used to being teased by his sense of immortality long ago; mostly from his effeminate partner, Deidara, and to some extent, that traitor Orochimaru while he worked alongside him. That's right... Sasori had agreed to himself at one point that he would never let anyone judge his characteristics again...or his pride in his work. He did, after all, feel nothing of it.
As he left the area, Zetsu came out past him. The cannibal slowly approached the camp to check in with the others.
He would have felt refreshed and all from his soaking in the stream, if not for the fact that Tobi followed behind…singing. While doing so, he had both of his index fingers pointed at Zetsu, and did a dance that would embarrass anyone who would witness it.
"Oh, when he bangs, he bangs…oh baby, when he moves, he moves…I'm crazy cause he stings like a flytrap, but he looks like a tree…"
Zetsu closed his eyes wearily. 'Tobi... The travel conditions have reached the poor boy's head...'
'We should eat him.'
'How creative you are...'
"Tobi, stop singing." Zetsu called from over his shoulder.
"Like every plant in history…"
"Tobi, be quiet!" He spoke again, a little less patient than before.
"Hai, sensei!" Tobi responded, giving a soldier's salute.
It would take every ounce of energy reserved in Zetsu's chloroplasts not to eat this kid. He really didn't like the thought of killing people, but it's dangerous having dual personality.
Deidara walked up to them, still having a giggle fit from making fun of Sasori.
"Hey, Zetsu, did you see which direction our…little wooden friend headed off to?"
"I believe he blew right past us, just now." Zetsu pointed in the direction he came out of. "Let me guess…" he continued. He turned back to Deidara, and crossed his arms. "…you were making fun of him through means of a bonfire again, weren't you?"
"Maybe…yes!" Deidara responded, trying his best to hold back his laughter. "How did you know, hmm?"
"As I passed by him, I looked at his face, and saw his world famous 'I really feel like killing my partner right now' expression…you know, you really should keep it to a minimum…one of these days, he might just snap on you."
"Snap? It's a pun! Snap, or split, or break…" Deidara continued to jest, chuckling.
"Oh! Deidara-san! You arrived at just the right time!" Tobi cut in, and began a new song, this time, pointing at Deidara.
"Dude, dude…dude looks like a lady. Dude, dude…dude looks like a lady…"
"Tobi, I'm going to kill you, h'n!" Deidara responded, his laughter gone and now had a rather unhappy look on his face.
"Oh, snap!"
He made an effort to reach and grapple Tobi, but he ducked under him, and raced behind Zetsu. He had his face, or otherwise, mask buried in Zetsu's cloak, and was gripping the fabric hard with both hands.
"Sempai, she frightens me!" He called out in a muffled voice, gripping the fabric even tighter. Zetsu winced in surprise at his companion's unexpectedly strong grip.
"SHE?!" Deidara responded with his face crinkled tightly with anger. He approached Tobi again, with the expression that he usually uses in the midst of obliterating someone with his C-4 clay.
"Make him stop, Zetsu-san, make him stop!!" Tobi cried out.
"SHUT UP!! I'll kill both of you!"
Tobi shot away from Zetsu like a rocket, knowing full well when his darker part had control. Unexpectedly, he darted behind Deidara, and followed the same procedure that he did earlier, trembling slightly more, now. Deidara was too freaked out now to even notice him. They both stared with eyes the size of dinner plates at Zetsu.
"I'm so sorry," Zetsu said at last. "…he gets a little worked up when we hear people yelling." He finished, obviously referring to his dark counterpart.
Deidara and Tobi slowly turned to look at each other, and then slowly turned to look back at Zetsu, their horrified expressions remaining the same at all times.
After staring for awhile, Zetsu just shrugged his shoulders (if that was at all possible) and continued off to the camp.
Deidara was the first to snap out of his expression, and turned to call back to the maneater.
"Where are you going? Leader-sama wants us to stay together as a big group."
"To sleep." Zetsu replied, not bothering to look back as he continued onward. "Leader-sama is just going to have to cope with the annoyingly disgusting fact that sleep deprivation comes with sprinting for an entire week, nonstop. And now..." He shifted his body halfway to peek his golden eyes through the fly trap jaws that now concealed his head. "...I am tired, and half of our squad is hysterical, if you haven't caught on. "
Deidara nodded, furrowing his lower lip into somewhat of a half-pout. He did indeed notice this. Hidan was taking his anger out on all the creatures of the forest, jogging through the path and waving his scythe around like a mental machine, and Kakuzu was counting over the group's stash of money fifteen times more than he usually does (he'll be at it for awhile), while muttering something both inaudible and unintelligent to anyone who came near him. With that said, he was still counting.
Kisame hadn't stopped smiling since they arrived, which was creepy aside from the fact that he didn't exactly have any way of giving a non-threatening smile, and every time someone would walk by, they couldn't help but look over their shoulder. He probably just did something that nobody would like to find out about.
Deidara turned his head to face the shivering being next to him.
And Tobi was just acting plain, freakin' weird. Singing like a crackhead while doing pelvis thrusts, and more disturbingly, pointing at people while doing pelvis thrusts. There is man, there is the primate, and then there is Tobi, who goes somewhere in between.
"Well can't you just go to sleep where you're at, hm?" Deidara asked.
Zetsu nodded. Being a mutated plant-being meant that you could do unrealistic feats like go to sleep while standing with jaws closed around your head for protection and to keep the light out. Zetsu had only done this on rare occasions around the other members, mostly because they hardly ever saw each other in person, and also because he didn't entirely trust sleeping around them. Even though they are his colleagues, they are still very unpredictable, and to some extent, unstable.
"I plan to, as soon as I check the briefings. I'm the only one who can really be trusted with documentations around here, namely now of all times. Then I'm going to find a dark place where no one could possibly find me."
Zetsu dominated at hide-and-seek. Obvious reasons. He wasn't appointed Akatsuki's main spy for nothing.
Deidara and Zetsu gave one simultaneous nod to each other, and Zetsu sank into the ground and formed a moving bulge in the earth, moving to his destination.
Deidara prepared to follow behind.
"Tobi." He spoke suddenly, causing the other figure behind him to finally jump from the paralyzed fear of what had happened with Zetsu. It was not ethical to be touching Zetsu while he was multi-persona shifting. He could have been eaten.
Tobi slowly turned his head to respond. "Hai...?" He creaked out sheepishly.
Deidara turned halfway to leer at the good boy with one crazy eye as he spoke through his uniform's neckband. "You had better keep an eye open, and it had better be the right one, through the socket in your mask."
Itachi was still at his viewpoint spot, looking straight ahead at their destined direction. Dawn was breaking. He had not slept, nor eaten, nor made any effort to socialize with his comrades. Sasori ambled up slowly next to him, and joined him to help him with the lookout. Neither one spoke to the other for the first fifteen minutes. Birds chirped to greet the morning sun that began to stretch over the horizon as they looked on overhead. Their destination lie before them; Konoha Forest was there. Tall trees stood proud beyond the canyon border that cut into Fire Country. The two just stared on ahead. If they were at all impressed by the brilliant colors of the sunrise radiating upon the land and sky, they certainly didn't show it.
Then Sasori, being the bored and impatient person that he was, decided to break the silence.
"So…" he began, struggling to find a subject that would interest him. "Your brother…he's going to Orochimaru on his own free will, huh?"
Itachi gave him a side glance, and then answered. "…Yeah…apparently…"
"Isn't he the one who…?"
"Yeah."
"…Do you want me to-"
"No."
"Hmph. Fine."
Guess that was a red wire.
Neither one spoke again for another fifteen minutes. Suddenly, Itachi muttered something illegible to anyone else's ears.
"Did you say something?" Sasori asked, turning his body to look at him.
"…sound shinobi…three of them…two leading…one taking up the rear…a boy with silver hair…with what appears to be a second head growing out of his back…a girl with red hair and a cap…and a man with six arms… They take turns carrying something…some kind of package…"
Sasori was astounded at his companion's perception. He continued to stare at him, at the eyes he was using.
"I heard that the Mangekyo Sharingan was actually supposed to impede sight, and promote blindness…how is it that your perception is so good?"
Itachi pointed down below the cliff. Sasori leaned forward for a better look. Sure enough, three shinobi ran along the cliffs below, and were holding some wooden device.
"Oh…" Sasori responded, eyes wide.
"Come on…" Itachi said, preparing to sprint. "…we've got to warn the others."
Sasori nodded in reluctant agreement, and the two shot off in the opposite direction.
"Keh!" Hidan scowled at the squirrel that he caught in the wilderness, and was now preparing to sacrifice with his dagger.
He had a triangle in circle symbol, the seal of Jashin, which he made with his own blood, on the ground, where he held the squirrel with one arm pinning it down. The squirrel was furiously making an attempt to escape, resorting to biting and scratching his hand, which caused him to grip the rodent even tighter.
"You little shit…" He grumbled. He closed his eyes tight, in prayer to his dark god, but the struggling and thrashing of the damn animal made things even more difficult. He prepared to make a precise incision on the squirrel.
"I can't believe that I have to resort to using a forest rodent as a sacrifice to Jashin-sama. There must be some mortal meat around here…" He continued. "…a bandit…a traveler, a shinobi that wants to kill me!"
"If you're going to kill that thing, then do it already." Kakuzu said, cutting him off.
Kakuzu, who had been polishing his masks and checking the hearts inside for any damage or filth, looked over at the squirrel that now seemed to be crying that it's life was going to end so gruesomely.
"Put the poor thing out of its misery, before I start crying myself."
"Fiiiiiiine…" Hidan rolled his eyes, and raised the dagger higher. Then, he brought it down with devastating speed.
-chink-
"..."
"Aww, sick!!"
Deidara, and Tobi were both walking back to the campground, when two blotches darted right past them, leaving the two spinning to the ground, and dizzy. Zetsu calmly stared down at them, and then back up at the direction the two figures dashed through, blinking several times with bright, glowing, golden orbs for eyes.
"Wha…what the hell…?" Deidara stuttered, as he held his head in place to shake off the dizziness.
Itachi and Sasori were now leaping through the trees at full speed. Sasori turned his head and called back. "Turns out the action is closer than we thought - we've got targets! Come on! Quit screwing around! We have to gather the others and move, before they're out of our reach!"
The three nodded, and sprinted with equally fast speed in the same direction.
'So much for a good day sleep...'
'You are not a vampire. If you want to complain, complain about not having a feeding in so long...speaking of which, I'm hungry.'
'I thought you just said that we weren't vampires.'
They were nearing the camp now, and another blotch jumped in right next to the others, going in the same direction.
"Hey guys, you know, you missed out on our 'sacrifice' episode…" Kisame stated, grinning and revealing his sharp teeth.
"Oh! Oh! I love episodes!" Tobi exclaimed, clapping his hands together rapidly. The others wondered where the hell he had come from, but all the same, they decided to ignore him. Same old Tobi...having his...episodes.
"We gotta get moving! Those sound nins have showed up, and we don't want to lose them! Hidan and Kakuzu are still at the campsite, right?!"
Kisame nodded. "I went ahead to look for all of you, to warn you it was time to head out, but I guess we have even more of a reason now, eh?"
"Have we even been doing anything proactive this whole stay?!"
"There they are!"
They came to a clearing from the trees, and jumped down directly in front of the two. Hidan was licking his sacrificial dagger clean of blood, and Kakuzu was counting all of the ryo, to make sure none of the money got left behind.
"Hey guys – killed a squirrel." Hidan stated, holding up the remains.
The other members sweat-dropped at the sight, but quickly shook it off.
"We have to go! GO NOW!" Sasori repeated this for a third time, and everyone could see that it was starting to annoy him…a lot.
"B-But...it's still bleeding out!" Hidan complained.
"Quit. Screwing. Around." Sasori replied, deathly serious. "We found the enemy."
"Eh?"
"That's right…" Itachi explained. "…three of them, and they're carrying something that must have some value to them, or perhaps…to the traitor…it must be Sasuke…"
"So let's get to it! The fun is about to begin!" Hidan shouted as he held up his three-sickled scythe, waving it in the air.
They nodded to each other, and disappeared in a flash instant, leaving their camp behind. For the first time in what seemed like so many weeks, they were finally going to see some action.
The three sound nins were nearing the border now. Now out of the canyon, they were leaping through the trees at quick speeds. Sakon and Tayuya held the front, and Kidomaru held the wooden barrel with relative ease, using four of his six arms to support it. It was nearing dusk, and they knew that they had to arrive soon, before their lord lost any patience with them that he had before.
"Tch! What's taking that fat-ass so long?!" Tayuya asked with much impatience.
"Dunno," Sakon replied. "But all that matters is getting the kid to Orochimaru as soon as possible, or we're all going to have it, big time."
"But he seriously didn't get beaten by those snot-nosed Leafs, right?" Kidomaru asked, frantically worrying for his best friend. "He honestly had to pull through, right?!"
"Don't know, don't fucking care. We need to go on, without him if necessary." Tayuya replied, still bounding through the trees with the others.
"Both of you just relax." Sakon said with a calm tone. "We're near the border, and near a job well done. It's gonna take a lot more than a few measly genin to stop us now."
The others never shifted from their serious expressions. There was something in the wind…something in their minds that told them that the mission was not quite over yet.
A few minutes behind, was the Sasuke Retrieval Squad. Choji, one of the team members, had stayed behind to fight, with what the Sound Four considered their weakest member, Jiroubou. The others sprang through the trees, trying ever harder to reach the border before the enemy did.
"Come on guys," Kiba shouted with excitement. "Their scent is getting heavier! We're getting close!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!" Naruto shouted with a fire in his eyes. "I'm not about to let them get away with Sasuke!!"
"Calm down," Shikamaru said in his usually relaxed voice. "Don't get too riled up, or it could mean the end for us…"
"What are you talkin' about?! We've gotta speed up, or we've lost them!" Naruto responded, outraged that their squad leader did not seem serious about catching up to Sound."
"Neji," Shikamaru turned his head to the Hyuuga clan member, completely disregarding Naruto's complaint. "How far are they?"
Neji responded by closing his eyes tightly. "Byakugan!"
In an instant, his eyes lit up, and eye veins covered his face.
"Approximately five hundred yards away, moving slightly slower than us, of course."
Shikamaru turned away from Neji, and looked straight on again. 'Something's not right…' Shikamaru thought to himself. 'Why do they seem so cocky…? They haven't set any traps for a while now, but I know that they're smart enough to expect interference since their previous comrade hasn't returned to them yet.' Shikamaru closed his eyes. 'A drag. This whole thing is such a drag…' He opened them again.
"Well…we're gaining…that's a plus, I guess…" he stated, his expression not changing from the usual.
As they continued on, Naruto got more and more of an unnerving look on his face. He bared his teeth to reveal strong, sharp canine fangs - and his hair looked increasingly ruffled. He would do whatever it takes to get his longtime friend back from the coils of the snake, Orochimaru.
"There! I see them! They're right there, in front of us!!" Kiba shouted, an excited smile caused him to show his full set of sharp fangs.
"I see em' too…" Shikamaru's usually lazy face became a lot more serious one. "…get ready, guys!"
They nodded simultaneously, and drew their kunai. The enemy was, indeed, in view. The three sound nins continued to leap through, their purple, bow-tie belts, vibrantly visible, and so was the barrel that Kidomaru carried on his shoulders. Suddenly the three enemy shinobi stopped abruptly, and as the leaf genin continued to watch, Kidomaru threw the barrel out from over his shoulders, and it was then caught by Sakon. Then Kidomaru turned in his comrades' opposite direction, and sped towards the surprised leaf genin. In the timing of only a few seconds, he was already on a branch, right in front of them.
"So, the Leaf has come to play, eh?" He smirked at the group, who returned it with glares. "I guess the least I can do is play at least one game with you little children." He crossed four of his six arms, and continued to smile.
Naruto, who was still baring his teeth, was now growling loud enough for everyone to hear. "Grrrr!! Out of my way!!" He shouted at the spider-like shinobi, who gave him a somewhat annoyed look. Naruto sprang at him with killing intent. What he did not expect was a mouth full of sticky spider webbing that sprang out of Kidomaru's mouth in retaliation, knocking Naruto to a tree, and pinning him to it.
"Naruto!" Kiba shouted. As he looked back, he saw that Neji had already activated his Byakugan, and was in the act of leaping up to the web that held Naruto captive. Then, with a swift motion strike from the tips of his fingers, cut the webbing, allowing Naruto to drop to the ground. Naruto then faced back up to Kidomaru, who had a look of surprise on his face.
"You…you bastard!" Naruto shouted up at him.
"Well…you're certainly welcome…" Neji muttered, hearing no 'thank you' from the teammate he just freed.
"How…?" Kidomaru asked, his face still full of shock at what just happened. "…how did you cut the webbing? That stuff is supposed to be near indestructible from the loads of chakra I've pumped into it…"
Neji smiled. "Well, to put it simply, my special blood limit, the Byakugan, gives me the ability to see chakra, and even moreover, the ability to neutralize any chakra-based attack. Your webbing is helpless against me." He continued to grin up at his thrown off opponent.
Suddenly, Kidomaru threw one of his hands up onto his head in realization. "I can't believe I didn't catch that before." He said, a grin spreading across his face. "The Hyuuga clan. Lord Orochimaru had us study all about you and your techniques. But it's still not enough to win the game with me. I'm one of Orochimaru's elites."
Neji grin turned to a frown at this remark. "Don't underestimate the Hyuuga clan's techniques. Shikamaru…" he gave his squad leader a side glance. "…take the others and go…I will teach this one…what happens when someone mocks the Hyuuga clan."
"Are you sure? The guy looks powerful." Shikamaru called up, having half a mind to stay behind and fight with him.
"Yes, I am sure! Now get a move on, before it's too late!"
"B-But Neji..." Naruto protested feebly.
"Naruto." Neji responded grinning over to him. "Sometimes your eyes are even better than mine."
Naruto gave him a surprised look, not knowing exactly what he meant.
"Sasuke is in the darkness... Only you can save him now."
Naruto nodded hesitantly.
The he jumped back with the others, and together with them, they bolted off.
"Oh, no you don't!" Kidomaru shouted from behind. He then proceeded to fill his mouth with his chakra-imbued webbing. Leaning back slightly, he shot a long rope in their direction, which quickly unfolded into a large net. Before it could reach its destined targets, however, Neji jumped in the way, and throwing his arms out in a vertical cut movement, he completely shredded the webbing.
"Not good enough!" Neji called down at the now scowling shinobi.
Then, Kidomaru's scowl slowly developed into a grin. "…Fine then…on second thought, maybe I will stick around and play a game with you…" Kidomaru said smugly. "…although, I'm pretty sure you're gonna be the one who does the 'sticking' once I'm through with you!!"
"Come!" Neji replied, his Byakugan now activated.
The two jumped at each other, and clashed.
"Okay, now this is getting pretty damn ridiculous!" Tayuya exclaimed. She and Sakon were still on the same route, through the trees. "Two members now off-course, because of some freakin' leaf genin!!"
Sakon looked at her from the side, his eyes narrowed in annoyance of her constant complaints. "Have a bit of heart, Tayuya. Those two love playing around with their enemies before they finish them."
"Well I wish the morons wouldn't!" She continued, her voice not even giving a hint of calming down from what it was before – much to Sakon's dismay. "Not now, not while we're on a mission!"
Sakon sighed, knowing full well that there was nothing he could do to calm the angry red-head down. They continued to leap through the trees, hoping that their luck would change for the better. This was completely disregarded, however, as they looked back and saw the leaf genin once again closing in on them.
"Tch! Wonderful! Super! Terrific! Fan-fucking-tastic!" Tayuya was hysterical as they darted forward, evermore.
"Settle down, Tayuya…" Sakon replied. "…I'll take care of this." Without further hesitation, he lifted the barrel off of his backside/Ukon, and threw it to her. She caught it, and shot onward. Sakon shot the opposite direction, activating his cursed seal while doing so. The squad barely saw this coming in time, and made a sharp stop, as he did.
"Guess it's up to me then, huh, you leaf trash?" Sakon taunted them.
Kiba wouldn't stand to be called trash any longer. He grind his teeth together, and then picked up his dog, Akamaru. While putting him on the ground, he reached inside his pouch, and pulled out two tiny food pills. He threw one to his dog.
"I've had enough of this…let's go, Akamaru!" He shouted to his dog.
"Arf!" The dog responded.
With that, it became an exact replica of Kiba, and jumped on to his back. Then, they both did hand symbols and jumped up.
"Take this! Gatsuga: Dual Piercing Fang!!"
"Huh?! What?!" Sakon responded with a wide-eyed expression.
Kiba and Akamaru soon shifted into a silver jet as they shot towards Sakon. With all of the haste that he had, Sakon jumped up from the branch, and just narrowly dodged the brunt of the attack. Even so, the force that sped past him was so great, that it knocked him backwards, and broke the branch that he had been standing on. Then the three of them tumbled into a ravine that under looked the border.
"Kiba! Akamaru!" Naruto shouted from the side, but was helpless to do anything as they fell through the endless chasm.
"Leave them, Naruto!" Shikamaru grabbed his arm. "We have to focus on getting Sasuke back, or all this will have been for nothing." Naruto closed his eyes tightly, but knew deep down that Shikamaru was right. "Chouji…Neji…Kiba…they all knew the risks before they started this mission, and so did we! All we have to do is keep at this, and hope for the best…for all of them."
Naruto, with his eyes still shut, just nodded, and the two leapt forward, after the last enemy…and after Sasuke.
Tayuya was on her own now.
As she leapt through the trees, holding the casket firmly on her back, something caught her eye.
Shinobi. Three of them, positioned side-by-side on the same branch, standing right smack in the middle of her path. She could instantly tell that these weren't ordinary ones either. Her eyes narrowed on the headbands that each of them wore; there were long scars going through each one, horizontally. These were rouge ninja. They each had cloaks as black as the void, and red clouds that detailed each one. They also wore their wicker hats, so she could not see faces clearly.
Although she was headed right in their direction at full speed, the three were completely still…calm…waiting for her to stop. Which she did. She quickly set the barrel down right next to her, on the same branch, and took a defensive stance. Sasori, Itachi, and Kakuzu all had emotionless looks on their faces. Then slowly, they lifted their heads to look at her, and then turned their heads to look at each other, as if to say: 'is she being serious?' Tayuya reached into her pouch and took out her demon flute, which caused them to slowly turn back to her.
"So what do you assholes want?" She sneered.
They paused for a moment, as if to reflect on what she was asking. Itachi then spoke up. "The Jinchuuriki…where is the Jinchuuriki…?"
She raised her eyebrows. "I have…no idea…what the hell you are trying to ask me right now."
"Not talking, eh?" Kakuzu responded, removing his hat. "Then I guess we'll just have to beat it out of ya!" The three of them, as if on cue, simultaneously leapt one branch towards Tayuya.
"Yeah, I-I'd like to see you try…" she threatened, holding her flute near her lips.
"I'd like to see you try…TO ESCAPE!!" Kakuzu shouted as he leapt toward her with murder in his eyes. Tayuya was shocked at how fast he was gaining on her. She didn't even have enough time to summon her Doki. It was all she could do to survive his attack.
-SMACK!-
He was sent flying backwards by an unknown force. He caught a branch nearby as he flew back, and flipped on to it. "Wh-who the hell…is cheap enough to attack from out of the clearing like that?!" Kakuzu complained, throwing his arms everywhere in frustration.
"Well…for starters…a ninja would." Kakuzu glared back at Sasori, whom he had heard say this.
A figure jumped down from one of the higher branches, and landed right next to Tayuya. He had silverish hair, and wore an outfit similar to hers. "You're too late, Tayuya." Kimimaro stated.
"H-How?? You were already…" Tayuya responded, her voice stuttering slightly. "...Kimimaro!"
He leaned over her. "I no longer move by physical means…" he explained. "I now move by sheer willpower." He picked up the barrel right next to them. "I'll watch over the vessel…you dispose of them." He pointed towards the Akatsuki. They reacted by slowly turning their heads again to stare at each other.
"…vessel…?" Itachi responded. He looked straight on, as Kimimaro darted away with his brother. He then prepared to sprint after him. This did not go unnoticed by the others.
"Hey, wh-where are you going?!" Kakuzu asked in disbelief. "Didn't you want to take part in the big bashing?" He asked, pointing towards Tayuya. She scowled in response.
"No thanks." Itachi looked back at him. "…there's another one waiting for me, elsewhere…" With that, he leapt off in Kimimaro's direction.
"Uh!" Tayuya grunted in surprise at his lightning-quick speed. Tightening her hand into a fist, she jumped up in an attempt to punch him back away. She was quite unsuccessful, however, as her knuckles seemed to phase right through him, as if he were a phantom. Her eyes widened in reaction. As she landed, Itachi sped right passed her, leaving her, along with the others. By the time she turned around to retaliate, he was out of her reach, and long gone.
She turned back to the other two. "Keh! Just what the hell are you bastards, anyway?!"
Unknown to anyone else, Sasori was grinning. His puppet's artificial jaws and teeth clicked noisily together as he continued to leer at the girl. Suddenly, he made a ninety degree turn to look at Kakuzu, making a loud, creaking sound as he did so.
"Hey, teammate…why don't you follow Itachi and that other bastard. I want this fight for myself. She's mine."
"Uhh…are you quite sure…?" Kakuzu asked, rubbing his head.
"Just shut up, and do as I say. There's nothing I would rather do more than to clear the conscience of a terribly confused girl of what she's up against." Sasori turned back to Tayuya, who flinched in reaction.
As Kakuzu shot towards Tayuya's general direction, she made another effort to dash towards him and stop his progress. As she threw her punch this time, however, Sasori, inside of his puppet, jumped right in between them, and absorbed her blow. As her knuckle made contact with his thick, hard torso, she let out a brief shout in pain, and leapt back onto her branch, clutching her hand, and swearing under her breath. That would be the second guy who slipped past her today.
"Why don't you do me a favor and let him go for now." She turned back to the huge figure a few meters away.
"Tch!" She responded through her teeth.
"But don't worry…" He continued, as he creaked his joints thoroughly. "…I promise to keep you entertained for as long as possible."
"You damn rat! No one screws around with me and lives!" She shouted back at him.
"No one screws around with you and lives - so far." He corrected her.
"We'll see…" she muttered under her breath, as she held the flute up to her lips again.
"Good…good…let's have some FUN!"
A/N: And there you have it! Please review…I am just getting warmed up, so please let me know that you acknowledge my work. It would mean much to me.