(A/N: First of all, I would like to take a moment of my author's note time to honor the brave men and women who were injured, killed, rescued, and rescuers in the 9-11 attacks. They deserve to be remembered, and their families to be prayed for. May those first-responding, brave men and women be remembered and honored on this national day of sorrow and unification. "Let us not remember this as a day of terrorism, but as a day of heroism" – Quoted from my church's associate pastor from this morning's service.
On another, less serious note, I can't remember if I've said this before, but Tobi is not going to be Madara in this story. I couldn't figure out how to make that work, so Tobi is just Tobi, the good boy. Also, I would like to thank you incredible people who had such patience with me in the last two chapters. You are all so wonderful! (:
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Warning: Much more violent than anything I've ever written before. I went all out for yall, so I hope it turned out well!
Mysterious Captivation: Chapter 15
"Well, well, well. Itachi-san, look what the cat dragged in," Kisame said, observing the dark haired Panther ANBU who stood at the front of the pack. He seemed to grin at his own pun, revealing sharp, shark-like teeth.
He looked down on them from a story of stairs, leading into a large, sturdy building. The hideout was not elaborate, only large enough for ten Akatsuki to live comfortably and train within its walls. The pale, white stone of the steps led to the obsidian door placed within thick oaken walls. Red painted pillars lined the landing where the stairs ended, holding the roof above their heads.
"Is now really the time for jokes, Kisame-san?" Itachi shot back, calmly looking at the faces of the crowd. Once more, he saw the golden hair and cerulean eyes of the boy on whom Hinata once had a crush. Without shifting his focus from the Konoha ninja, he approached the slightly younger girl. "Are you going to be okay?" He whispered for her ears only. They were too far up for the ANBU to hear, but he didn't want to take any chances.
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As much as Hinata wanted to say no, close her eyes, and run away from her once-comrades, she fought the urge. "I don't know. I don't have a clue how I should feel," she admitted, just as quiet as Itachi had been.
She knew that Itachi had heard the underlying panic in her voice, despite her low tone, when he stepped in front of her and blocked her from the view of the opposing ninjas.
"What is your purpose here?" Konan's question rang softly into the air, yet it carried to each and every ninja present.
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"We're here to stop you murdering monsters from getting away!" Naruto shouted furiously, glaring through the Uchiha to the Hyuuga that had once led the pack. He would have rushed forward had Panther not intercepted him once more.
That ANBU grasped his collar and held him back, bending down to warn him in a deep, gravelly voice, "If you don't stop rushing forward, I'll allow them to kill you next time."
This stopped Naruto in his tracks. I've been so worked up and angry about Hinata's betrayal that I've been so careless as to almost attack four Akatsuki by myself. He nodded his acquiescence to Panther and backed further into the Konoha group.
He looked to Kakashi and Jiraya, the team leaders, and found that they were intently focused on the older woman of Akatsuki. "What's going on?" The Uzumaki demanded.
"That woman used to be one of my students. Her name is Konan, and she was one of the first people that I taught to become a ninja." Jiraya admitted. Naruto looked to his white haired sensei for confirmation, and was stunned when that man nodded in agreement.
The only thing that the ramen loving boy could make leave his mouth was one word, "Why?"
"She and the two other boys she was travelling with were orphaned by our ninja. It was the least I could do to help them survive," the elder silver haired man revealed. He raised his voice to speak to the dark haired woman, "Konan, what is the meaning of this?"
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That woman's eyes flickered in recognition before they fell to her feet. "I should ask the same of you. It is not us who are seeking a fight. It is you who are attacking," she simply stated. The reappearance of her sensei had shaken her slightly, dredging up memories that had once been precious to her, but were now painful.
She took the opportunity of glancing at each one of her Akatsuki, knowing that it could be the last time she saw them alive, and then tilted her head forward.
It was a silent motion to attack.
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The first to catch her movement was Kisame, whose sharp sight and blood lust made it difficult for him to miss that type of order. He grinned fiendishly, pulling his sword from its holster on his back. Leaping forward, he threw himself in the midst of the ANBU and forced them to scatter.
"I can't believe your audaciousness in sending only two ANBU teams and a little boy to fight the entirity of Akatsuki!" He roared, slicing the air with his sword.
Kakashi's team, the one closest to the shark-like man, leapt out of the way as quickly as they could. Otter was even forced to use Kawarimi no jutsu to replace herself with a wooden log.
Her slick, dark brown hair trailed after her and was cut unevenly by the ragged-edged sword. She was on the short side of the spectrum, making Kisame look like a giant as he hit the ground less than three feet away from her.
She kept her cool, turning her generously curved body toward the blue-skinned man and pulling the katana from its sheath on her back.
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The moment the Hoshigaki hit the ground, the fighting began. Itachi stood his ground as Konan, the Angel of Death, made her way into the skies above the battle and the ANBU began to throw jutsu at the both of them.
"Hinata-san, I want you to listen to me, okay?" He felt as she nodded her head, looking frightened at the sudden outburst of battle. "I want you to stay as near to me as you can without being hurt by my jutsu or someone else's," he relayed what he knew would keep her as safe as possible.
He watched her hesitate for a moment.
A cry sounded from the grass-less area that surrounded them. One of the ANBU had been scraped by Kisame's sword, those jagged edges digging into the skin and ripping a large chunk of it away from the body of the Otter. The cry turned shrill as the owner of that mask had the bones of her forearm crushed on the next swing of Samehada. Along with her blood loss, the chakra that was being stolen from Otter was causing her movements to slow.
She had managed to land several inflictions on the Hoshigake that should have been debilitating, but only made him more ferocious. Soon, however, she met her end as the sword continued to drain her chakra and her open wounds continued to drain her blood.
Itachi watched as Hinata observed the inhumane way Kisame fought. All that was left of Otter was a pile of shredded skin, split muscles, and fragmented bones. She shivered, wobbling on her feet, and the Uchiha held her elbows to steady her.
"What if I get in your way and you get hurt because of me?" The girl in his arms questioned hesitantly as the worry and sorrow shone in her eyes.
"You are the medic of Akatsuki. I trust you," he replied, saying not only the truth, but also what he knew she needed to hear.
Glancing back at the mangled body of Otter, she nodded to Itachi, and the two joined the fray.
"What about Kisame-san? Should I see if he needs me?" She asked as they hit the ground and stood back to back. Each pulled out several projectile weapons, keeping their focus on their surroundings, but continuing the conversation to the best of their abilities.
"He should be fine for now. I wouldn't worry about him too much," Itachi relayed to her. "We've been partners in Akatsuki for a long time, and I've seen him lose over half his blood and press forward even more powerfully."
One of Jiraya's team, the Horse, flew at the clanless ninja. His forest green hair was cropped short and spiked. He was rather tall and lanky, but his nimble fingers gave him away as the powerful ninja that he truly was. He expertly drew and tossed several shuriken between the two, forcing them away from each other.
He swiftly turned on Itachi, making sure not to look the Uchiha in the eye. Horse began making seals for Buushin no jutsu, and another Horse appeared. The clone, he sent do deal with the newbie Akatsuki.
The real ANBU exchanged physical, weapon-aided blows with Itachi several times, the same going for his clone and Hinata. The comrades met up between the two Horses moments later, continuing to speak without losing focus on their battle.
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"That's not healthy. If he collapses, there won't be anything we can do to stop Konoha from killing him," the ex-Hyuuga heiress commented. Her eyebrows furrowed in worry and concentration.
The clone was beginning to form other types of jutsu, so she would have to get rid of it quickly.
She began to form the hand seals for her own creation, Shugo Hakke Rokujuuyonshou, allowing the chakra to flow from her palms as she released it. She managed to hit both the clone and the real Horse with several of the sharpened beams of chakra. Itachi had seen her motions and dodged out of her range the moment she loosed her jutsu. The clone disappeared, and the leftover fighter had several deep incisions from where her defensive chakra had sliced into his skin.
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"If he's that careless, then that is how it will happen. He knows that you are medic now, and he will come to you if necessary," he assured her as he came back in range, hoping that what he said was both true and enough to convince her to stop worrying.
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Her eyebrows were still furrowed, but she allowed herself to be complacent with that answer. The two Akatsuki attacked the man as one entity.
Even though she was not up to par with Akatsuki fighting standards, she was still a force to be reckoned with. Her precise chakra control allowed her to waste no chakra, and thus conserve her energy. Her newly aquired medical skills had increased her fighting styles, and she could now use Chakra no mesu. With a scalpel made of her own chakra, she could cut through muscles and blood vessels without an incision of the skin of her opponents.
While she attacked from the right with the Chakra no mesu, Itachi attacked from the front with a concentrated Katon style attack. His fire lit on the dodging Horse, and severely burnt his arm.
Because the Horse had partially dodged the fire attack by Itachi, Hinata missed her mark. Instead, she was attacked while she was recovering from the failed jutsu.
That was the very reason that she been reluctant to use it in her training, much less in battle, but the Uchiha had assured her that he would have her back in battle, so she shouldn't worry.
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Horse took the opening and moved forward, pulling a kunai from his pouch and nearly slicing into her skin. The only thing that stopped him was a powerful grip on his burnt arm. The ANBU turned to Itachi to send forth an attack, a powerful Suiton jutsu, causing the crimson eyed man to be whisked away in a torrent of churning water.
Horse seemed to bite his lip to keep from crying out in pain as his arm was wrenched away from the powerful Uchiha. However, in his pain, he had made the mistake of looking into the oldest living Uchiha's eyes. Before that man had been swept away, Tsukuyomi had been cast.
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The ANBU began clawing at the mask that covered his face, ripping his nails and jerking the porcelain away in pieces. Not even five seconds later, the man collapsed, his misty blue, lifeless eyes wide in fear and his face twisted in pain and fright. His mouth was open in a silent, never ending scream as his chest stilled and his body began to cool. Hinata observed the man, feeling sick to her stomach that something Itachi had shown him could have caused that to happen.
She forced herself to turn away from the gruesome sight and find Itachi. Her knees were unsteady, and as she ran over the grassy landscape, she nearly tripped over the uneven surface.
The Hyuuga's Byakugan helped her see someone approaching her, and dearly hoped that it was an Akatsuki. Her wish went ungranted as she saw Kakashi approaching her from behind. She turned, tall and proud, to face the man.
"Kurenai made me take this mission. She's more worried about you surviving this battle than she is me, I hope you know," the man calmly stated as he caught up to her. He didn't move to attack, giving her a moment's rest. She knew if he was there, no one else would attack. This must have been part of a plan.
On the inside, in the midst of thoughts of her safety, Hinata cringed at the mention of her former sensei and surrogate mother's name. "She shouldn't worry; after all, she's no longer mine to worry. Accept the fact that I will never return, and leave it at that, Hatake," she demanded, purposefully dropping the standard 'sensei' that should typically follow his name.
The man raised an eyebrow at this. "She says differently. It seems that you haven't fully convinced everyone of your complete betrayal, either. After all, Neji still lives, and he admitted to me that you two planned the attack on him," he casually remarked, narrowing his focus on her unchanging expression.
"Really? I didn't know that," she responded with the same lack of urgency. "It's amazing what one can find out from other people about their own actions."
"Enough word-play, Hyuuga," he said, suddenly serious. "I know you haven't completely abandoned Konoha in your heart. Maybe you say you won't return, but I know someone who can draw that urge from within you," the sensei said, motioning to the young man who had followed them at a distance.
Hinata had seen him coming, of course, but had vainly hoped he would pass them by. "Uzumaki," she greeted caustically.
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Konan had opted to attack Kakashi's Dragon ANBU. He looked to be the second in command, carrying himself with an air of power and dignity that most of the others lacked. His oceanic blue hair was nearly as long as her own, but his was wild in the same manner that Jiraya's had been when Konan had first met him.
Her Shikigami no Mai gave her the ability to reform her body and attach wings to back. These wings allowed her to hover above the Dragon, waiting to let him attack first.
She watched as he prepared seals for a jutsu, and she attacked with chakra infused paper shurikens the moment he moved to make the seal for 'tiger'. Her attack caught his wrist, leaving it with a small slash in the muscle. However, he continued the seal, making use of the pain to fuel his power. Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu flew from his mouth as he spit fire into the sky.
One of the paper wings caught fire, causing Konan's body to drop in altitude and her course to be skewed. Her eyes widened in temporary surprise as this caused her to catch sight of Itachi being swept away by a tidal wave.
Though her expression never changed, her mind immediately panicked, flashing to ways that she could save the man whom she thought of as a son. A thousand different ways came to mind, but none were a fast as the course of action that she decided to take.
Using this small idea to her advantage, she swept away from Dragon for a short moment, immersed herself in the water to douse the flames, and rescued the Uchiha from the surge.
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Itachi glanced gratefully into the face of his savior, seeing why the Ame villagers referred to her as 'God's Angel'. He bowed his head slightly, still struggling to breathe, as she set him back on the ground.
Her singed wing gave her the appearance of a fallen angel, but Itachi held this thought about how beautiful the Akatsuki mother figure looked for only moments. He thanked the woman, then turned his attention immediately back to the battlefield, searching out his Hyuuga companion as Konan made her way back to her own fight.
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She approached Dragon, soaking wet and dripping water over his head. Had she been a less serious woman, she would have smirked at the anger that crossed his face. "Your fire technique will not help you much anymore," she advised him.
Predictably, he brought his hands back up to form signs. The origami kunoichi sighed, wondering if all Konoha ninja liked to do what they had been told they could not.
When he finished his signs, however, Konan knew it had been a mistake to assume. He loosed his jutsu, this time Fuuton: Kaze no Yaiba. The disturbance of the air caused by the Blade of Wind sliced off her wings, along with several patches of skin, and caused her to plummet to the earth.
Mere moments before she hit the ground, the blue-haired woman was able to use her chakra to create another pair of paper wings and soften her impact into rough grass below.
She stood, rubbing a possibly sprained wrist and taking inventory of the other injuries caused by her fall. Several scratches, a few bruises, and a deep gash on the side of her waist from the attack itself were the only other pressing problems. The gash may prove to be troublesome, but I should be able to hold out until I finish.
Dragon quickly approached the woman, taking care to keep quiet, but not hiding the sound of his advance from her.
Spinning so quickly that no eye could follow her, Konan tossed several paper shuriken at the man, making sure they were imbued and sharpened with her chakra. One imbedded itself in the man's shoulder, cutting through to the bone and drawing a sharp, quiet gasp of pain from him. Another rebounded harmlessly after hitting the porcelain mask on Dragon's face. The final one had been aimed well, landing a hit in the man's left eye through the mask's eye hole.
Forced to rip the mask off to tend to his injured eye, the Dragon's face was revealed. The man was much younger than she expected, and she found herself gazing into a single chocolate brown eye. His face lacked the wrinkles that came with experiencing death, but he was ANBU, so he must age very well. Konan thought, passively sad that his life had to end so soon.
She took advantage of his distraction, summoning several more paper shuriken with her chakra. They flew toward their mark, slicing through his left ear, wrist, and neck.
Dragon fell back, tossing a kunai with an explosive tag into the air.
Though she moved out of the way, the explosion shifted the air currents, pushing her back to the ground and knocking the breath from her lungs. Looking back to Dragon as she stood, she realized the thrown kunai had been a bodily reflex. The man was lying dead on the ground as blood pooled and cooled in a puddle around him.
Glancing about the combat zone, Konan saw Tobi finish off the Fox ANBU. The latter's hair was a firey orange, similar to the color of Tobi's mask. While he was not fat, this ANBU was by far, the largest member of the team. He was swift on his feet, and more nimble than his size should have allowed, she realized as she watched them parry, hit, and dodge for a few moments.
Both men were breathing raggedly, but the orange masked man was still standing tall. While Fox was nearly doubled over in pain, Tobi swung his fist into the man's head, smashing the porcelain and slashing it across Fox's face.
The ANBU growled, but his protest was cut off when the orange masked ninja fearlessly drove a kunai through the man's temple and into his brain.
She turned from the 'good boy' ninja to observe the rest of the battles. Kisame was embroiled in a bitter battle with Panther, both seeming to have inexhaustible reserves of chakra.
Samehada was having a field day with Panther, Konan could tell. She watched Kisame swing at the ANBU once again, shredding the skin on his left hand, but doing no serious damage that could tips the scale of the battle in his favor.
Moving on, she saw Itachi had been intercepted by Gazelle, another of Jiraya's ANBU, on the way to meet back up with Hinata.
She had yet to see Jiraya, though. He had disappeared at the start of the battle. Wondering where he had gone, she allowed herself to land on the bloodthirsty ground. The once dry dust beneath her boots had turned to a gory, coppery mud.
"Konan," a male voice called out to her.
"Jiraya-sensei," she responded, knowing the owner of the voice immediately.
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Kisame was furious. Samehada had eaten a good deal of Panther's chakra, but that man must have had stores of it equal to mine! Who is this guy? He thought, striking out with the sword once more.
This strike hit its mark. Panther's tall stature overbalanced, falling to his knees as Kisame sent a Suiton: Suikōdan no Jutsu toward his prone form. The water shark bullets pelted into his frame, ripping his right arm from his body and sinking their watery teeth into his juggular vein.
The ANBU's life was ended as he fell to the ground. His throat had been ripped from his body, following in the path of his arm, and as his body cooled, his life's blood continued to flow into the thirsty ground.
Kisame stood above the man, smirking as he allowed Samehada to eat the remenants of the dead man's chakra.
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Itachi warily watched Gazelle as she stepped into his path. "I would love to stay and chat, but I have somewhere to be," Itachi claimed, only to be stopped by a very feminine purr.
"I don't think you do. You really should stay and play with me," she taunted, stepping gracefully toward the Uchiha.
"I don't have the patience to deal with you," Itachi told Gazelle, narrowing his eyes as she continued to stand in his way. Not only would she not move, she also wouldn't look him in the eye. Smart on the latter count, not so much on the first. He watched her bright crimson hair shift with the breeze, neither person willing to attack the other first.
An outraged war cry shouted by Naruto distracted him for a split second. In that moment, Gazelle took a chance to attack.
What she was met with, however, was a Karasu Bunshin no Jutsu. She hit the clone, and it burst into a flock of crows. Her voice was quietly furious when she spoke, "You will pay for thinking less of me as an opponent."
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The eldest Uchiha approached Naruto, Kakashi, and Hinata, only to find the former two standing as far away from the young woman as their fighting ranges would allow. Said woman's hands were glowing, and the Uzumaki was clutching his ribs in pain.
She must have hit him with her Hyuuga style attack and mixed a bit of her medical training with it because there are no pressure points above the ribs. Itachi decided. "I'm back, Hinata-san," he announced his presence.
She smiled at him as relief flooded her expression. "You're okay!" She exclaimed, turning to face him, but still keeping an eye on her opponents with her Byakugan.
The raven haired man nodded, turning to the other two men. "Five of your ANBU are dead, and we have yet to lose an Akatsuki. Do you really wish to take on five Akatsuki while your forces are diminished so greatly? You two, Jiraya, and the Gazelle are the only Konoha ninja left," Itachi informed the two.
"We have to finish what we started! We can't let you get away from us, or we'll never see Hinata again!" Naruto exclaimed desperately, trying to convince Kakashi as much as Itachi that they had to persevere.
"I-" The Uchiha started to say something, but a blur of red shot past him, cutting at the back of his legs and forcing him to his hands and knees.
He rolled onto his side, avoiding a katana through his heart. He heard Hinata approach to try to heal his legs, but she was not given proper time.
He could stand, however, and the moment his muscles began to support him again, he saw that the young woman was in danger.
He leapt into her, knocking her to the side in a last-ditch effort to keep her alive.
His reward was a shrill shriek of success from the Gazelle ANBU he had abandoned earlier, a soft cry of sorrow from Hinata, in whose arms he was now held, and a small grunt from his own mouth.
He knew his death was not far off when he saw the Hyuuga's eyes fill with tears and felt the hole in his chest. "I'm so sorry. I told you that I would get in your way! I can't heal damage to this extent yet, Itachi-san," she nearly wailed. "You were wrong to trust me," she whispered for his ears alone.
He smiled up at the young woman for whom he held enough love to die. "I wasn't wrong. I still trust you. It was my decision to protect you. If I hadn't moved, I would be alive, but I chose my path. I love you, Hinata-chan. Now you have to focus on the battle. Don't mourn my death, especially not right now. Protect yourself, and stay alive. I'm sorry," he said, exhaling a deep gust of air and lowering his eyelids.
"I love you! Please don't leave me yet, Itachi-kun," she whispered, clutching him tightly before standing. If you will hold on, I swear I will come back for you. As she stood, she schooled her emotions, seeming to all the world that she didn't care that one of her loved ones could be dying.
She glared across Itachi's still-breathing body. Kakashi and Naruto stared wide-eyed at the small Hyuuga and the red haired Gazelle.
She began to fight, using a powerful version of the Hyuuga's Jyuuken. Soon after connecting a singular hit, she realized that she would have to try to heal Itachi soon, or risk him being too far beyond saving.
A piercing war cry was loosed from her trachea, calling the attention of Kisame and Tobi to their battle. "I honestly wasn't going to involve them. They're the most brutal fighters in Akatsuki, aside from Hidan, and I didn't want them to have to deal with you, Kakashi, Naruto," she said, nodding to each respectively. "But you've forced my hand in this."
Before either of the three Konoha ninja could even move, Kisame swept near, blocking Hinata and Itachi from view. "You called, Hyuuga-san?"
"Gazelle attacked me, and Itachi protected me. He is dying," Hinata admitted, her voice completely empty as she spoke what she knew to be true. "Take care of the three of them for me? I need to see if there is anything I can do," she asked, sweetly smiling at the monstrous looking criminal.
He grinned maliciously down at her, for she was nearly a foot shorter than him, and shifted the fear-inspiring look to his new opponents.
Tobi followed shortly after, though Hinata didn't know exactly when. She had to tend to the katana wound that had cut into Itachi's heart.
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"Why did you feel it necessary to bring two teams of ANBU and the nine-tailed child out to fight my family?" The origami mistress of Akatsuki asked her once-mentor.
"If you had escaped, it would have taken us years to relocate your organization. We couldn't risk it. Your Akatsuki are the most wanted criminals of the Five Ninja Nations," Jiraya responded.
"And you've come to kill me now," it was a statement, not a question.
"Unfortunately, yes."
Konan nodded her head, accepting this as her fate. After all, who was she to think she could harbor criminals from her once-mentor and still coexist peacefully with him? "So you say. Your people should know their limits, though. Only you, Naruto, Kakashi, and Gazelle remain. Five of us still live. Naruto and Hinata are equal power matches, though Hinata will hold back against him. The rest of my men, however, will have no problems with killing all of you. Unless Hinata is angry, I have never heard her raise her voice, nor have I seen her fight without inhibitions," Konan imparted.
"You may want to watch her now, then," Jiraya said, awe painted on his face at the nearly silent girl whom he had seen wander through the village before she had been kidnapped.
Her hands, glowing light blue with chakra that extended beyond the reach of a normal Hyuuga or medic, blurred in motions too quick for him to see fully.
Her eyes, veins of the Byakugan raised, were narrowed in what seemed to be pure hatred for her opponent. "What could have caused her to fly off the handle like that?" He turned to ask Konan, but met only with air.
When he turned his attention back to Hinata, her anger had melted away, and she let loose a cry that pierced his eardrums. The next moment, Kisame and Tobi were blocking his view of her, and he caught sight of Konan's winged shadow hovering above the three.
Upon closer examination, the white haired man realized that Itachi was lying in a puddle of crimson.
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"Itachi-kun, please don't die!" Hinata choked silently as she placed her green, chakra glowing hands to the wound, but couldn't close the hole that had been cut into his heart. "Please don't leave me," she wouldn't let the tears fall from her pearl-esque eyes while she was in the middle of a combat zone, but neither could she completely hide her devastation.
She felt a hand brush across her cheek, and she immediately grasped at it. She squeezed it as tightly as she could without injuring him further. "I am not going to live, Hinata-hime. Please, don't waste any more energy on trying to save me. Other than you, I have no reason left to live," he admitted. "And you need your energy to stay safe. Leave me," he sighed, gasping in a breath as pain racked his frame.
"I'll miss you, Itachi-kun. I can't just leave you to die," she admonished him through a lump in her throat. I want to cry so badly, but I can't. I have to be strong for Itachi-kun.
She held her emotions in check, grasping for straws as she tried to find something – anything! – that could help her save Itachi.
Her mind came up blank.
When she turned her attention back to the dying Uchiha, she become conscious of the fact that his hand, which she was still holding, had gone limp.
The great Uchiha Itachi had passed from the world.
Hinata finally allowed herself the chance to wail and sob, knowing that she was being protected by Itachi's partner, Tobi, and God's Angel.
For the first time in her life, she had been given someone who could grant her unconditional love, but he had been killed.
That thought crossed her mind, and her tears dried. I'll make sure you are avenged, Itachi-kun.
She made the hand signs for the Jyuuken, pushing more chakra through her finger tips and making a blunt blade through which she could transfer her chakra in the Hyuuga style.
Kisame must have seen her stand out of the corner of his eye, and subsequently backed out of her way. He allowed her to battle Gazelle, even though she knew he would have had more fun with it.
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Gazelle was surprised when the Kirigakure defect stepped back, only to be replaced with a glowing blue hand. She gasped in pain, feeling the chakra cut into her bicep and split the muscles to the bone. Her left arm hung uselessly as she tried to fend off another fierce attack using only her right forearm and the armor located there.
She felt the armor begin to weaken and dodged the blade just as her protection broke. Gazelle's red hair was cut short when the blade whooshed through it.
She was so busy dodging the chakra blade while submerged in misty pain that she didn't stay alert for a weapon of metal.
The ANBU spotted her mistake the moment she felt the cool bite of the metal kunai enter her larynx, cutting off any noise she could have made, ending her breathing, and flooding her lungs with her crimson life.
The red haired woman collapsed after habitually trying to fend off another attack by throwing exploding tags, soon after drowning in her own blood.
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Hinata's rage had faded the moment the red haired woman's life departed from her body. "Now, leave," she ordered the two Konoha ninja who were standing nearby.
The two men were speechless. Kakashi recovered almost as quickly as Hinata had, trying to talk the young woman down. "Listen–" he began to speak, but was interrupted.
"I don't care what you have to say. If you want me to return to Konoha, you will either have to drag me back kicking and screaming, or dead," she dead-panned. "I have no desire to call that place home any longer, not when they have killed one of my closest friends."
"She won't be swayed, and we're outnumbered, Kakashi-san. We should retreat now, while they are giving us the chance," Jiraya said, approaching the site.
"But then we'll lose them for good! They'll never return here again," Naruto exclaimed upon hearing the new plan.
"It would be three of us against four Akatsuki. Those odds are not in our favor, no matter how you look at it, Naruto," Kakashi agreed.
Hinata's hard, lackluster eyes followed the three men as they backed away.
"Are you going to allow them to leave, Hinata-san?" Kisame asked, respecting the loss of his Uchiha partner.
"I exacted my revenge upon the one who killed him. Those three mean nothing to me," she stated, turning her attention to the shark-like man as he approached her. "We should bury him."
The Hoshigake nodded, gently lifting the body of the closest thing to a friend that he had ever possessed.
The four Akatsuki managed to dig a hole in an area that had not been too polluted with blood, and placed a hand-carved stone above the grave the moment it had been refilled.
R.I.P.
Uchiha Itachi, 24
Beloved by his Akatsuki family
Sacrificed by his village
May he finally find his peace
(A/N: So, this chapter was the first one I've ever done that was almost completely fighting. Did you like it? Did you hate it? I hope I did Kishimoto-sensei's characters justice in writing this. If not, tell me why, please! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you again in three weeks!)