'Promise'

Chapter 10: The Melancholy of Sakura Haruno

"Dammit, how many stairs are there?"

"Will you stop moaning Sakura! This is a house of magic tricks, its not going to make this easy for us."

"But...!"

"Shut up! I've had enough whining already."

The two bickering shinobi raced up the labyrinth of staircases and passage ways, whilst Hinata followed silently behind. The passageways were dark, the staircases were cold and the entire building smelt really, really old.

"I swear we went down that way a second ago..." Sakura peered down a familiar looking passage.

"But everywhere looks the same, how can you be so..."

"Guys, wait! That way!" Hinata pointed in the direction of a particular passage, her Byakugan active. The three shinobi ran as fast as they could, hoping that Naruto could just hold on for a little while longer.

*****

"So, how are you feeling, Naruto?"

"Quite good actually. Considering I'm naked from the waist up, strapped to a wall and not like totally needing the toilet anytime soon..."

"Attractive..."

"Yeah... So anyway, remind me again why I'm here?"

Kyoko smiled cheerfully at him. "It's to lure your friends in here."

"What are you going to do to them?"

The smile turned into a grin. "I'm not going to do anything. I'm going to sit back and watch the show."

"What do you mean?" Naruto glared at her. This just seemed like a huge, silly prank to him, which he wouldn't have minded as much if he wasn't being used as the bait.

"You'll see when they get here."

*****

"How much further Hinata?" Sasuke growled.

"Another two floors up... I think..." Hinata bit her lip. The Annex's structure was dynamic, so it never stayed as it was for long. Which was really annoying, as giving the rest of the squad directions was next to impossible.

"We'll be there soon..." He turned back to look at Sakura. She had gone quiet in the last ten minutes. Her moaning had completely died down, which was a relief. But she looked lost in thought.

And a Sakura lost in thought was usually a thing to be feared. But thinking about it, he remembered a time where it was just him playing on her mind, constantly. According to the stories Naruto had told him since he had returned to Konoha, Sakura was desperate to see him again, even training to get stronger just to see him again.

However, being the arrogant bastard he had once been, he had lost pretty much everything precious to him. Including Sakura.

But recently, he had been happy. He had his friends back, he had his life on track and more importantly, he was on a mission to save his closest friend from a feared demon, or a beautiful girl, depending on which one suited the occasion.

Finally stopping to catch their breath, Hinata spoke up. "This is it. This is where we get to Kyoko, and Naruto." She was looking at a wall that looked just the same as every other wall in the Annex. Using her gentle fist, Hinata broke through the wall at three specific points, revealing a hidden staircase behind it.

"Finally." Sakura walked through the remains of the wall. They had been running around the annex for a few hours, trying to find the entrance. Behind her Sasuke and Hinata followed cautiously.

The stairway was old, creaked a lot and had cracks running through the sides. Nobody had used it in a long time. Walking slowly up the stairs, Sakura had a kunai out and ready, in case a random trap activated. The atmosphere was spooky, but nothing appeared to hinder them in their path.

They reached the top, where a single door greeted them. Sakura put her hand on the handle and placed her ear to the door. She could hear Naruto complaining very faintly, and Kyoko talking to him.

"This is it guys." She whispered. She turned the handle, and pushed the door open.

Naruto was tied up, but still able to talk, whilst Kyoko smiled at them cheerfully.

"It's about time you guys showed up!" Naruto growled. "Can somebody please explain to me what this is all about!?"

"This genjutsu, it's all her doing!" Sakura pointed at Kyoko.

"I already know that. She said she wants to keep me here forever, that's why she's doing it." Naruto glared at Kyoko. "But then she said something else is going on. Something I'll have to bear witness to."

"Something else?" Sasuke looked at Sakura, and Hinata.

Kyoko smiled. "I think one person here seems to have figured it out. Isn't that right, Sasuke?" Sasuke nodded slowly, the realization of what was about to happen still hitting him.

"Sasuke, what is it!?" Sakura yelled at him.

"You're going to have to fight..." He said slowly.

"You're going to have to fight Kyoko., and you're going to have to fight Hinata."

A dark silence passed between everyone in the room. Naruto was looking between the three girls, confused. "Why?"

Sasuke looked slowly at him, his eyes wide. "You."

"They all fight over who gets you. Only then does the spell of the annex fade away. We're trapped Naruto, and the only way to get out is when one walks away alive."

Shock and panic spread all over his body like wildfire. They were going to fight, and kill each other over him! Hinata, Sakura and Kyoko. Only one of them would be able to leave this place alive.

"No!!" He screamed, struggling against his bonds, trying to get free. "Don't, there must be some other way!!"

"There isn't." Kyoko's smile had been replaced by a serious expression. "That's the magic of the annex. The 'Matchmaker's Lodge', where two people will be united forever." She looked over at him. "I'm sorry Naruto. I am the Kyuubi, and I've been with you since you were a little child. You know that by now. But the reason I pulled you into this genjutsu was simple. I fell in love with you, my host Jinchuuriki. You grew into a fine man after all the suffering that you've had since you were a born, and for all the good deeds and sacrifices you have made up until this point, I've shared them all with you, and I've been so happy to be able to have shared them with you." She looked up at Hinata and Sakura.

"However, two more share that same feeling of love for you. And the thought of losing you to one of them. It's a pain worse than death." She pulled out a kunai, and raised it in preparation. "I'll fight fair for your love, so I'll fight on their terms. But believe me, I won't lose." A fire raged in her eyes, intimidating Naruto.

She glanced quickly at Sasuke, who looked ready to draw his sword. "I can't have you getting in the way." Ropes materialized around him, and bound Sasuke tightly, tying him up next to Naruto.

"And now, we begin."

Sakura raised her kunai too, in anticipation for Kyoko's attack. "Hinata! Get ready."
Hinata's response was a kunai aimed at her chest.

Dodging the kunai, Sakura screamed at her. "What the hell are you doing!?"

"Kyoko's got a point. This is a fight for Naruto." She drew another kunai and pointed it at Kyoko. "I've loved him for as long as I can remember. And right now, I've got a chance to be able to make him mine." Glaring at the two girls around him, she yelled. "Naruto Uzumaki, I love you. And I'm never letting anyone take you away from me."

And with the confession over, the fighting began.

Sakura was fighting mostly on the defensive. She didn't want to hurt Hinata. And Kyoko was so fast she didn't have time for much else anyway. Hinata already had blood dripping from her arm after an attack from Kyoko, but she was far from out of it. Seeing an opening, Sakura tried to give Kyoko a chakra-infused punch to the stomach. Hinata's gentle fist technique tapped her twice on the arm, halting the flow of chakra.

"Hinata!" She screamed again, trying to dodge the flurry of punches Hinata was trying to throw. She got tapped again on the thigh, causing her to fall on one knee. Kyoko's kunai was going to come down on her head. She brought her own kunai to meet it, barely being able to dodge it.

While this was going on, Naruto and Sasuke were desperately trying to break free from the ropes.

"Come on!!" Naruto growled, trying to break himself free. His fingers lightly tapped his kunai pouch, and he suddenly stopped struggling, trying to reach in for a kunai. Sasuke was trying to do the same. "Naruto, look out!" Sasuke suddenly shouted. A kunai whistled and landed in Naruto's arm. He screamed in pain, struggling against the ropes even more.

The fight raged on, whilst Naruto calmed down enough from the sudden attack. "If we don't hurry up and get out of here, they'll kill everyone in here." He growled. The kunai that landed on his arm was still jammed into his arm, but had weakened the ropes. Straining against them, the ropes around the kunai began to fray, until eventually they snapped open, freeing his right arm.
Grabbing onto a kunai from his pouch, he quickly sliced himself out, and pulled the kunai from his arm. Slicing Sasuke open, they quickly turned round to intervene with the battle.

But it was already too late. All three of the girls were on the floor, bleeding from several, serious looking wounds.

"Why...?" Naruto kneeled down next to them. All three of them were still alive. Between them, Sasuke and Naruto tried bandaging the wounds.

"I'm not letting you kill each other. I don't want to lose a friend here." Naruto looked over all three of the girls. They were all looking up at him, breathing heavily from their fight.

"One way or another, we are all getting out of here! And then, we can all go home." As he spoke, the sounds of gears crunching somewhere within the annex could be heard.