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Chapter 13

"Byakugan!"

"Well, Hinata?" Kiba asked, stopping next to the Hyuuga.

"I see them," Hinata replied, scanning the forest with her bloodline. "They're barely ahead of us, and they've stopped to rest."

Kurenai nodded. She had been appointed unofficial leader of the mission, and therefore everyone reported to her. "Do you want to stop, too? Does anyone need to rest?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Okay, then, let's go!"

Asuma cocked his trench knives and sprang up into the trees, Kurenai at his side. The rest of the ninja fanned out behind them, fully prepared for battle.

OOOOOOOOO

A smirk spread across thin lips, lighting up golden eyes.

"Well? What do you think?"

A pair of small shoulders shrugged innocently. "I say…choose a side, now."

Raven hair slid forward over a paper-white face as the sannin leaned forward for a better look at the ninja below. "Very well," he said slowly. "Akatsuki, of course."

A silver ponytail waved as the boy nodded his assent. "Fine. When will you make your move?"

"…Now."

OOOOOOOOO

Yasu kept running, praying her clones and genjutsu would hold. She had stopped briefly to heal Zetsu, then each member of the Akatsuki left a clone of themselves to slow down the Konoha nin and possibly buy Yasu and her team more time.

"Damn," she muttered. "Stop making so much noise!" she called back. Tree leaves were rustling, branches were snapping, and both leaves and branches were falling from trees.

"Either you're really clumsy ninja or someone is trying to draw our attention," she said. "Which is it?"

"It's not us," Hidan said nervously. "I'm barely touching this tree!"

"Then…who-?"

Yasu skidded to a halt, looking up towards the sounds. "Come out, coward!" she screamed into the trees. "Come out and fight like a man, lest you take our side!"

"Yasu, Yasu, Yasu." The voice came from above her.

Yasu started. That voice-!

"You…why are you here?"

"Don't be so rude to one of your own." Orochimaru continued. "You have something I want, and undoubtedly I have something you want."

Yasu's eyes narrowed. "Keep talking, snake."

"Orochimaru-sama!!"

Orochimaru turned to the silver-haired teen who had just jumped down from the branch above Orochimaru. "What, Kabuto?"

"Tayuya's in a fit, Jiroubou's in trouble with her, and Sakon now hates me."

"That's nothing new, but I sense there is something else. What?"

Kabuto's chest heaved and sweat dripped down his face. Orochimaru realized he must have been running hard and fast. "Kimimaro's gone."

Orochimaru sighed. "What happened?"

"He said something about shredding something, Konoha, you, and then he took off. I have no idea where he went, but he might have caught a scent-"

"Who's that little brat after, us?"

Kurenai stood on a tree branch, tossing a kunai into the air. "Nice to see you again," she drawled, flicking her wrist. The kunai sailed through the air to strike a tree next to Orochimaru's head.

"And you," the snake murmured. His tongue flicked in and out of his mouth, tasting the air and searching for a scent.

"Ah…" He turned to Kabuto. "There are many more of them. Watch yourself."

Kabuto nodded and pressed his back to Orochimaru's. "Don't move for a second."

"What?"

"Just do it!"

Orochimaru hissed in warning, but otherwise complied. Kabuto shifted his weight, then abruptly sprang away.

"Kabuto?"

Orochimaru tried to turn to the boy-

But couldn't.

"Brat! What did you do?!"

"I'm sorry, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said lightly. "But I was using you as bait to lure out the rest of them. I'll free you in a moment."

"Kabuto, you'll pay for this!"

"Even if I deal with Manda myself for a week?"

Orochimaru paused. "Make that two."

Kabuto smirked and began counting weapons. Okay-smoke bomb, light bomb, darkness bomb, twelve feet of wire, twenty kunai in various places, and fifteen shuriken. Should be enough for what I'm planning…chakra enhancers, healing potions, injections, pills…I'm good. Orochimaru-sama, it pains me to see you prisoner, it really does, please, just don't hurt yourself, I'd never forgive myself-

"Shikamaru, now!"

A shadow hand skated up Orochimaru's body to wrap its ghastly phantom fingers around his neck.

"Shadow Neck Bind!"

Shikamaru emerged from behind a tree, hands in the sign of the rat. "Gotcha," he said with a smirk. "Anybody move, I snap his neck!"

"Gee, where have I heard that before?" Yasu muttered. Then she sighed and faced Shikamaru, watching Orochimaru out of the corners of her eyes. "Terms, Nara."

"Unconditional surrender."

"May I ask for one condition?" Yasu asked, trying to be cordial. It wouldn't be smart to piss off the Konoha nin now!

"Ask, but the chances are low it'll happen," Asuma stated, jumping down from a tree branch. Yasu sighed.

"Put me with Itachi. That's all I want, I don't even want to live, I just want to see him one last time.

And apologize for failing him. Shinobi...truly are tools. And with all the glory that comes with it...also comes a gross iniquity in which we all take part in, each and every one of us. And now...now, I have to kill my own half-blood.

Asuma sighed. "We'll figure that out later. For now…come quietly. Shika, can you take 'em all?"

"I doubt I'll be able to hold this one alone for very long, I mean, it's said that no one has ever seen him run out of gas, and I've definitely hit bone dry more than once, so just cit 'em up for me and I'll see what I can do. Aw man, this is such a drag, I mean, can't we just-"

"No!!" everyone shouted together. Shikamaru sighed.

"But he's a real nasty one, can't some bottomless chakra pit take him-?"

"What part of 'no' don't you understand?" Asuma sighed, exasperated, seeing Shikamaru's glance.

"All of it."

"Just do it," Asuma grumbled. "Kurenai, now's a great time to show off that fancy bloodline of yours!"

"Right."

The rings in Kurenai's eyes broke into segments and began to turn. She stared into Yasu's cold, unforgiving eyes, proud even in the face of death. Kurenai shivered: where had she seen those eyes before? Then she realized-

It was in herself.

All the time Yasu had taught her Ninpou, she had always told her to be heartless. And Kurenai had learned over time, and as she trained as a jounin, she knew what it truly was to be a shinobi; to kill, over and over again, to stain your hands with another's blood and treat it like water…she had seen the effects of being a shinobi on many people: Kakashi, Genma, Hayate, Asuma…Tsunade, and yes, even herself. They had all been changed by their lives as shinobi.

And now, she had to take the life of her own half sister.

Kurenai's hands moved into the sign the Yamanaka used for the Mind-Body Transfer and positioned them directly in front of Yasu's heart.

Yasu…please…

…Please, please, forgive me…

"Sakura Shintenshin!"

OOOOOOOOO

"Shadow Kunai," Kabuto muttered, still working at freeing Orochimaru from that damn Nara's jutsu. He had just finished perfecting this jutsu, and he had worked on it for weeks. He had designed it especially for this mission, knowing the signature jutsu of the Naras and also knowing that Shikamaru would be along. The jutsu created kunai out of shadows to attack the shadow arms used in the Shadow Possession Jutsu. The victim would be freed, and the user would be damaged.

Kabuto sent the knives forward.

Shadows arched and danced as Kabuto's knives plunged into Nara's shadows. Shikamaru looked up in shock, then saw Kabuto's sign: the rooster. He gasped, and Kabuto viciously attacked.

A screech of pain almost broke Kabuto's jutsu.

Orochimaru's neck was being crushed by the phantom of a black hand, and he was trying desperately to break the spell of paralysis Shikamaru had woven over him. Kabuto redoubled his efforts, trying even harder to free his master.

Orochimaru was abruptly released.

The sannin staggered, and then fell to the branch he had been standing on. Kabuto jumped down, picked up Orochimaru, and jumped back, holding Orochimaru to his chest.

"Kabuto, I can stand," he gasped, panting.

Kabuto hesitantly released Orochimaru but remained ready to catch him if he fell again.

"He's free!" he called.

The Akatsuki charged.

A/N: That was probably really, really crappy. But that's okay, because the next chapter is going to rock. Right…? Right…? Oh, come on! Bleh…review please! Again, I am tired of flames; they will be fed to my pet fire demon. And then if you still flame me, I will laugh, throw coal at your ass, and then delete your flame comment! Have a nice day!!