A/N: Now part two of the triple melee. It's hard to believe that I've come this far in so short a time. It'll be harder to accept the fact of its completion when its all over.

There are some special moments in this chapter. (Sniffling) I'm so proud of Naruto and Hinata. On the other hand, though, I'm having trouble figuring out how to write Sakura's fight, so that will have to wait until next chapter, along with Keisuke and Haruka's fight. Give me a few more days, I'm sure I'll think of something good for both fights.

Chapter Eighteen: Triumph of Light

The air in the room was so hot by now that Naruto's lungs were beginning to feel as though they were burning. At least, that was what he believed to be the cause of it. In truth, the burning sensation was due to more than one factor; not only was the air incredibly hot and dry, but its oxygen content was rapidly decreasing due to the repeated lightning blasts that had marked the earlier battle.

At this rate, he thought, we'll either suffocate or get burned to a crisp. He had already started on the latter option, in fact, and his clothes rubbed painfully against some of the burns inflicted by Hikaru's attack when he moved. Judging by the way his heart and respiration rates were increasing to compensate for the lower intake of precious oxygen, desperately trying to supply him with whatever it could, the former was not far off, either.

Additionally, they also knew the terrible extent to which this Cloud nin would go to kill Hinata. He had been so driven as to ally himself with one of the world's most reviled superpowers and had received the boon of seemingly unlimited power. Hikaru was in command of his own electric generator, which could generate lightning faster and in greater quantity than he ever could on his chakra alone. He was also directly linked to Orochimaru's facility, which gave him oxygen and the ability to use his stealth technique to hide things in other parts of the base. This was why Naruto and Hinata had been unable to detect the danger that had taken Shino. The link to all of it was through his wounded arm, encased in a mechanical shell.

Neither Naruto nor Hinata remained afraid for long, however. As soon as the next bolt struck towards them, they were moving again, and with a new purpose. Hikaru might have beaten them if he had not allowed himself to be goaded by Naruto's words or boredom, but now he had revealed his weaknesses.

"We're gonna cut him off from his power source, Hinata!" Naruto said, dodging around another blast. "Those wires that lead between him and the wall, we could cut those easily!"

Hinata nodded. "Naruto-kun, I can't see him, so you will have to find him for me." She landed lightly on her feet by his side, waiting for him to take the lead.

"Not a problem," he said. "I'll find him and see if I can make him stand still for a while. All you have to do is cut him down. Let's go!"

"HA!" echoed Hikaru's voice, booming over all the other noise in the room. "Like I'll let you catch me, you slow, clunky freak! It's not like you can see me, either."

Naruto grinned as he forced his body to move, leaping out of the middle of the room towards one of the walls. His injuries hurt him and his lungs ached, but there was still plenty of strength left in him. Hinata was being stoic, as well; they would both be fine. This strategy was going to work.

"Stop talking like you're god," he yelled, closing his eyes, "And run for your life, you sneaking coward. We're comin' for you!"

Shutting down his eyes, Naruto was able to let the arms of his Reiude guide him as Keisuke did. Though Hikaru was essentially invisible, he could still be easily detected if one of those arms came into contact with him, and since the Cloud nin had to be near a wall to stay connected to his generator, Naruto and Hinata already had a good idea of where to look. Naruto ran clockwise around the room, hugging the walls and trusting Hinata to guard his back while he devoted his energy to the search.

Hikaru, surprisingly, did not fire off much lightning at them as they ran. Those few bolts that he did throw were easily deflected by defensive bursts of lancing chakra from Hinata's palms and did no harm. The Synch'ed team did not relax their vigilance, but it seemed hardly needed against this minimal offense. They found very little blocking their path.

In fact, they found hardly anything at all, and Hikaru wasn't in the list. His laughter rang out at them as they went. And idea occurred to Hinata.

"Naruto-kun," she said, "Do you think he may be mirroring us?"

"Running the same circle on the other side of the room, laughing at us while we run out of air?" Naruto asked. "So you think so, too, Hinata?"

Hikaru's laughter increased. It took them long enough to catch on!

"Yes," Hinata said. "We should probably use the advantage of our freedom of movement, and try to cut across to where he might be..."

"Even that way," Naruto argued, "He'll still see which way we're cutting, and go off in the opposite direction. We might find him, but it'll take too long. We'd be better off using Kage Bunshin to spread out and find him..."

"But, Naruto-kun," Hinata argued back, "There's so little breatheable air left... can you imagine how much faster it will be gone if there are more of you?"

"More of me, huh?" Naruto snapped. "You trying to say I gulp too much of your precious air?"

"Naruto-kun, this is no time to be..."

Hikaru was positively guffawing as he watched this scene unfold. He was laughing too hard to even throw a single bolt of lightning anymore It was better than he had expected! Not only was he running them in circles, but now he had turned them against each other, the fear and desperation that he had inflicted causing them to search for anything, even if it had to be each other, to blame.

This is too perfect! Hikaru thought, fighting to keep enough focus to maintain his stealth. He almost stumbled over his own feet for laughing so hard. At this rate it won't have to be me who strikes the killing bl... What the?!

There was a loud screech, and then fire suddenly erupted right in front of Hikaru, blazing red-hot and high and threatening to consume him. He had no idea where it had come from, but it was certain that if he stayed near it, the delicate circuitry attached to his arm would not remain stable very long. Reflexes took over, making him leap backwards and away from it...

Right into the waiting arms of Naruto and his shining Nine Tails of Light. Hikaru's arms were seized and pulled behind his back, held in place by Naruto's physical arms, while the Tails held his legs and waist. The Cloud nin was caught and held fast while Hinata approached for the attack that would sever all of his power in one shot.

"Finally caught ya!" Naruto exclaimed in relief. "It was only for a short time, but that charade was hard to keep up. Plain and simple, I just suck at arguing with pretty girls."

"What the hell?!" Hikaru yelled, canceling his stealth. "How the hell did you do that? You can't have figured me out that fast just from seeing me one time!"

"Heh, but it looks like I did!" Naruto gloated. "Normally when I use a trap seal, I have to activate it myself. But the Katon trap is a little different, since it can be lit by pretty much any heat source that's strong enough. So when I saw that track your wires are attached to, I made a little dent in it, so the friction would make sparks and light it up for me when you passed. After that it was just a matter of keeping you distracted, which worked out well enough, I think."

He thought of all that, and relayed the plan to the Hyuuga without saying a word? Hikaru thought, amazed and angered. Just... just how good a team are they?! Ayaka-chan and I could never work that well together, even on our best day! Damnit, these two are making me really pissed!

When Hinata's hand, filled with the power of Jyuuken and angled like a knife at a person's back, came mere feet from his wires, his anger exploded. Hikaru drew on all of the power that his generator would put out and sent it flailing all around himself, like a hurricane made of electricity rather than air. It made the atmosphere sizzle and burn, made the lights in the room flicker and the ground shake.

Nothing escaped the storm's crackling wrath. Naruto and Hinata were thrown back, landing in seperate heaps across the room. The tags from which the original lightning had spouted were all burned up and rendered useless. Hikaru himself was not unscathed; his own energy backlash caught him in several places, burning and charring his skin. He, however, did not seem to care about the pain that he inflicted on himself. The storm raged around him, the manifestation of his own hate and fury.

"You are not leaving here alive, you cocky bastard!" he raged. "Neither you nor your Hyuuga whore is getting out of here alive! I'll incinerate you together!!" His voice carried the weight of one thousand deaths. This was his last chance for vengeance, and he was dead set on having it. The electrical storm stopped whirling around him abruptly and began focusing itself before him, readying one final, overwhelming bolt of destruction.

Naruto climbed shakily to his feet, seeing death staring him in the face. He was awed at the sheer magnitude of it; the blast would be worthy of Kyuubi himself, were the beast still free! There would be no way that both he and Hinata could survive if they allowed themselves to be hit, and the thing was half the size of the room already. How could they evade a thing like that?

We can't, he realized. We have to counter it. We have to use that jutsu.

He planted his feet against the oncoming storm and concentrated, bringing the Rasengan to life in his hand. Under any normal circumstances, this powerful jutsu could deal with almost any opponent by itself. However, these circumstances were infinitely more dire. Although he had not yet been able to speed up the preparation time anywhere near enough, there was no other option at the moment. Fuuton: Rasengan was the only hope he and Hinata had for survival. With that determination in mind, he began making the change from normal chakra to Wind-nature chakra, slowly and carefully, watching for errors and fighting to retain the chakra again when it got out of line.

But though he had determination, Naruto was missing one thing necessary to complete his jutsu: a brain supplied with oxygen. The fire trap, followed immediately by that immense outburst of lightning, had burned up almost all of the remaining oxygen in the room. Naruto could feel his head growing faint and his heart pounding in his ears like that of a frightened rodent. His concentration wavered, and the jutsu began to fall apart.

Damn it... he thought. Am I going to let myself die like this? Am I going to let Hinata die like this? Chakra flared up around him, both his own and Kyuubi's. His determination redoubled, and for a moment longer the jutsu held and made progress.

Kyuubi, however, no matter how much power he had, could not give his host any fresh air. This time, the fox could do nothing to save itself and its container. It's own consciousness was waning along with Naruto's. The Rasengan began to die out again.

"D-Damn it..." Naruto choked. He kept trying with all of his strength, to no avail.

His eyelids began to droop as his awareness slipped away...

"Na... Naruto... kun!" came a gasping voice.

Naruto's eyes snapped back open when he heard Hinata. She was calling for his attention, trying to tell him something! But where was she? Everything was so fuzzy in his vision... So use the Reiude, dolt, he told himself. You're still Synchronized.

Oh, yeah.

He searched through the connection to access Hinata's senses, and found her. She was standing next to him, and her eyes were fixated on a ball of light held in a hand. The Rasengan! Hinata had her own hands around it now, as though cradling it. When he looked down at them with his own eyes, her gaze flicked to his face, as though trying to say something with her white eyes that her mouth had no breath to say.

She's retaining the chakra for me, he realized. Sharing the work of the preparation so that it will be finished more easily... like back then, when I had to use the bunshin to make Rasengan work! I understand now!

And with that understanding, he poured his last remaining energy into the jutsu, completing the nature manipulation faster than he ever had before. The sphere went wild, trying to escape its round confines, but Hinata retained it all, keeping it in its spherical pattern with her own advanced chakra control skill. In seconds, the jutsu was done, and the ball of rapidly swirling compressed air howled with power.

Hikaru howled also, and threw his massive bolt straight at them. Whatever oxygen was left in the chamber burned away in that instant, carrying out Hikaru's final desire for revenge with electric fury.

Naruto, heart pounding and head fuzzy, tried to run forward to meet the attack, but stumbled. Hinata caught him, keeping the jutsu from plunging into the ground and sinking their last hope. Then she stumbled herself, the lack of air taking its toll on her. Naruto helped her rise again with his free hand. Then, supporting each other, they walked into the blazing, crackling death with only a small spherical light of hope in their hands. They held that light aloft together.

We never go back on our word, and we don't ever give up or regret... That is our nindo!

"Futon: RASENGAN!"

The entire world became crackling electricity and howling wind. Then, for Naruto and Hinata, all was blackness.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Acid rain" had never been taken quite so literally in the history of this world. Yet now, without a cloud or event open sky, it was here, about to fall on Shino. The fruit pods ruptured on command from their mistress, releasing the deadly aqueous solution into the hands of gravity. Acidic death descended upon the bug user.

The insects worked tirelessly and single-mindedly even in the face of this danger. They clawed and scraped and bit at the diamond-hard ground in which Shino's legs were trapped, trying to free him with all the strength that a beehive would use in defense of its queen. Their grinding made some progress; the top layer of hardened soil was chipped away, turned into coarse dust.

It was nowhere near enough, however. Shino still had his feet and lower legs buried, and could not leave the spot to which he was rooted. Meanwhile, the acid fell, and the bug user watched it come as if in slow motion.

There will be no rescue from the dark one, this time, Ayaka said to herself. Certainly enough, Uchiha Sasuke did not appear, and the acid impacted with a huge hiss and a cloud of steam as it fell all the way to the ground and kept eating, completely disintegrating the earth-mover plant's enzyme and all in its domain. Fitting, that he should die with such a glorious display, she added, observing the white steam cloud.

She turned and began walking towards the chamber door, stepping over the corpses of her insect-savaged plants as she passed them. Her thoughts turned to the events ahead, and she was surprised to find that she hadn't the slightest clue as to what was supposed to happen next. Hiroto had given her no plan; only told her to wait here and play her part. She had assumed that her part was to stall the intruders, among them Aburame Shino. Now that this was done, where did she need to go next?

Going to find Hikaru and then getting out of this place was the most appealing option. They would return to Kumogakure no Sato, give their report, and recover. Then they would likely be assigned a new mission, one that took them closer to the battlefront.

A sudden and unexpected pang of discomfort pulsed through her. To the battlefront... why did that sound so unpleasant right now? She and her clan had disagreed with getting into this useless war in the first place—after all, the element of surprise would only help them so long, and the other countries would retaliate strongly sooner or later—but had known it was useless to question orders. Now, however, there was something else in her that was even more strongly averse.

What was it? Could it be that forcibly working with the one who had started the war, learning of how Orochimaru had started it merely because it was the easiest way to have his needs met? Was it fear of meeting the Aburame clan on the battlefield, being victim to their retribution for the loss of their heir? Was it at all possible that with this victory, she had lost all further reason or motivation for fighting? Or was it some combination of all of it?

And if she did not want to go back to Kumo to rejoin the fighting, then where did she want to go? Her entire life had been preparation for this fight, and she had killed all of her other desires and feelings; she did not know what she would do with herself even if she did get out of here alive.

She was so absorbed in this thought pattern that she never even heard the whistling in the air that signified her danger. Three shuriken stuck in the back of her left shoulder and arm without meeting an ounce of resistance. Ayaka fell to her knees, clutching her arm in pain. Gritting her teeth, she looked over her shoulder to find the one she knew had thrown the weapons.

Aburame Shino stood ten meters away from her, shrouded in the last wisps of steam. His arm was extended to show that it had indeed been he who had attacked. No insects hovered near him, and Ayaka thought that those that had been with him had evidently sacrificed themselves to absorb as much of the acid as possible.

They had not absorbed all of the impact, however; Shino's jacket had taken a large amount of it, too, and he had removed it, discarding it behind him. For good measure, since the jacket had been entirely eaten through in places, he had also discarded the shirt he wore underneath it. His torso and head were uncovered save for his sunglasses, now, but they were still hale and whole. His feet were unharmed, as well, having ripped free of the loosened ground before the acid could reach them. Some of his pant legs had been splashed, but the damage was not serious; there were only a few holes here and there on the upper legs.

Despite the fact that he had just chucked three shuriken into her shoulder, Ayaka found herself fixed in place, staring at him. His expression was stoic and unangered, as though she had not just tried to drench him in acid at all. He seemed to be calm, treating it almost like an exercise.

"You did not mean to destroy me, this time," he said, "Or you would have ensured that my remains were not moving."

Did not mean to destroy him?

Before Ayaka could even decide how to respond, he moved. Without bugs, he resorted to his kunai, charging her head-on. She fought the pain in her injuries and stood up to meet him, raising her own knife. Her left arm was useless, but her right was still in good health, and her legs were not damaged at all. Sparks flew as their kunai clashed for the final time.

Her reflexes found her, and she managed to dodge the next attack to one side and retreat further into the darkness of the chamber, getting a better angle of attack. Ayaka knew nothing of what Shino had meant, but though it confused her, she was still prepared to fight to the death—after all, that was what her life had been about for so long...

However, Shino did not press his attack, and instead lowered his knife. He stood silent with his head lifted for a moment, as though listening for some far-away signal. What was that signal? Ayaka did not know, but steeled herself for an assault from insects or reinforcements; she would not be brought down without a bloody fight.

All her mental preparation was in vain; the attacker was not bugs or human reinforcements, but something else entirely. It came with no warning but a slight trickle of soil from above that lasted only a moment before it was upon her. One section of the chamber's ceiling between Shino and Ayaka fell away, crumbling to a pile of dust.

Letting in the sunlight.

Ayaka gasped as it hit her full in the face. Burning, itching sensations started in all of her exposed skin, and these began to spread under her clothes as time passed and the sun went through the cloth. She felt her chest begin to tighten up, becoming painful as the reaction began, and nausea made itself felt in her stomach. Unable to stand it, she leaped out of the bright sunshine and withdrew to the very back of the room, where darkness still had reign.

"Porphyria," Shino said. "An inherited condition that causes the skin to be extremely sensitive to sunlight. Exposure to the sun will result in the skin becoming very fragile and developing blisters and sores. In extreme cases such as your own, the reaction also may induce nausea, high blood pressure, and heart palpitations. You cannot continue to fight me in this place."

Ayaka was stunned. He had remembered that from twelve years ago, but had not remembered the incident itself? "I underestimated your resourcefulness, Aburame Shino," she said. "I did not think that you would remember such a detail."

"In truth, I did not remember it," Shino admitted. "I remembered only that a child with a heavy cloak came to our house twelve years ago, and that the garment was important somehow. I thought that it might still be important now, and when I considered your previous attacks on our party—always attacking near or after sunset, or hiding in dark places, only removing the cloak or its hood when there was no sun out—it made sense to me, and so I capitalized on it. I knew this chamber was near the surface, and so I ordered some of the bugs to dig upward while we fought."

The mentioned bugs returned to their master now, coming down from the opening in the ceiling to rejoin him with glad buzzing. The hive was not all lost. With them safely secured inside his body, the half-clothed Shino stepped toward Ayaka, moving into the sunlight that she could not stand.

"You spared me, though it may not have been your intent," he said, his kunai pointed at her. "I will extend the same courtesy. Acknowledge that you are beaten this day, and vow to return peacefully to your home. In return, I will grant you your life."

From her small shelter, Ayaka stared up at her triumphant opponent, unsure what to think. Should she be angry that her vengeance had been denied her? Should she feel thankful that she had been spared? Should she refuse to accept that the battle was over, and attempt to carry out what she had called her life's purpose at the cost of her life? More importantly, had Shino been the correct target for her vengeance in the first place? Yes, it was the closest match by which to measure the difference in the two clans' strengths, but Aburame Shino had not been the one to turn her over to the abusive ANBU in Konoha. What was an honorable victory if the defeated party was not the guilty party?

She exhaled heavily as the porphyric reaction faded away. Shino had told her that war changes people; she was beginning to believe that he was ultimately right. There would have to be time to sort out her thoughts, and if she continued to fight, she would never have that time.

"Once again, your honor and valor is supremely evident," she told him. "Having no other choice, I agree to your terms of surrender. I will return to Kumogakure no Sato as soon as I have found a new covering and treatment for my injuries."

Shino nodded. "Our own Sakura can treat you, if you will wait for the battle's end. You should be able to find a new covering in the facility's staff quarters, when those are located."

Ayaka smiled for the first time in a long while. "Your offer is noted and appreciated," she said. "But your medical ninja will most likely be averse to doing anything for me but being my second. I will, therefore, politely refuse."

The bug user gave another curt nod, and turned to leave the room. The pale, untanned white skin of his torso passed from the illumination of the sunlight—so rarely in contact with his jacketed skin—into the shadow. The bugs that remained to him emerged and flew into the locking mechanism, breaking it swiftly.

He paused before leaving, turning his head. "Kiba is still dealing with the changes forced upon him. It is questionable if he will ever lose the fear of combat in populated areas. However, he still knows what is right for him to do. Like everyone else affected, he has had to find his answer."

The door opened, and in the next moment Shino was gone. Ibara Ayaka sat alone, bleeding in the sheltering shadow, watching the open door through which he had left. There she remained, contemplating her defeat and its implications. What was her answer?

Until a shudder rose from below and roused her. There was still fighting below. Hikaru, she remembered. There was still something to do before she left this forsaken place.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"What the hell just happened?" Kiba asked, startled. The lights in the database room had just flickered, and several of the computer screens were now flashing brightly. A silent alarm seemed to be going off.

"Something was heavily damaged in the lower levels," Neji observed, checking one screen.

"Well, that's good for us," Kiba breathed. "It was probably Naruto, going overboard like he usually does. Do you think that was the cell door for that Keisuke character being blown off?"

"No," Neji clarified. "It seems to be an electric generator. That would explain the lights and the alarm, and if there are any electric locks in the immediate area, those will be opened. Most likely, Naruto destroyed it to gain access to the prison level."

"Yeah," Kiba agreed, "You're probably right. That's definitely Naruto's way of doing things; if it's in the way, knock it down."

Neji smiled. "And failing that, blow it up," he added. As far as they were concerned, there was no need to worry about Naruto if there were still explosions going off down there. Hinata would be safe as well, as long as she stayed with him.

Kiba was concerned for Shino and Hinata, of course, but knew that neither of them would die on him. Hinata was a force to be reckoned with by herself, and with Naruto in tow she was invincible. Shino was the most highly resourceful and cool-headed ninja that he knew. If anyone could get through this, they could.

Meanwhile, he had discovered the confounded "any key" and was helping Neji to find information that might be valuable. So far, he had encountered a good deal of numbers, graphs, pie charts, statistics, calculations, and a million other things that made no sense to him. These he skipped over, trying not to fall asleep as he searched for something stimulating to look at.

After a few minutes that felt like number-filled years, he perked up when he found another familiar picture. It was a cross-section of a male human, appearing to be late thirties, with long, shaggy brown hair and blue eyes. He looked thin and emaciated, as though he had not been fed in weeks, and there were red marks on the image, presumably to show where he had been cut open.

"Hey, look at this," he said, calling Neji over. The Hyuuga Jounin joined him, and Kiba pointed to the diagram. "Do we know this guy? He looks familiar, but the stupid machine doesn't have a name on him. He looks pretty messed up, too..."

Neji's eyes grew wide, looking at the cross-section and then the data beside and underneath it. The man was familiar. If one were to cut the hair short and remove the eyes, the resemblance was uncanny. But that was not the most interesting part; the data which Kiba had skipped showed a wealth of information that the image did not.

"Experimental Subject 064R001," he read, "Or as we know him, Haka no Keisuke. Kiba, you say that you have no skill with computers, but your ability to find these important things suggests otherwise."

"What?" Kiba asked in amazement. "Keisuke? Oh-Six-Four-Ar-Oh-Oh-One?"

"The 064R likely represents the Rokujuuyon Reiude," Neji said. "Since this is what we believed Orochimaru to be testing him for. The 001 probably means that he is the first test subject in this experiment. So Experimental Subject 064R002 is likely to be..."

"Naruto," Kiba finished. "But we knew that already, right? What's the big deal, other than the fact that the guy's got eyes now?"

"We will need this information," Neji explained. "All of it. If Keisuke has suffered damage of a kind unknown to our healers, we will need it to cure him. If Naruto should by chance be taken, we will need this information to guess what Orochimaru will be doing to him. And if Orochimaru has planted a device in Keisuke to spy on us, or to perform some other function in his favor, then these records will have that information in them."

"'Some other function,' huh?" Kiba said, fishing out another disc and handing it to Neji. "Thinking about Orochimaru, it's probably something like that damned curse seal that those Sound guys had three years back."

"It could be," Neji agreed, putting in the disc and copying the files. "It could also be a controlling tool. I'm running a text search on all of those right now, just in case we need to deal with it once we find Keisuke."

"Controlling tool?" Kiba asked. "I doubt there is. Orochimaru isn't that Ayaka chick; he doesn't have those weird plants like got used on Sakura. Total control like that can't be possible in more than one way..."

"That is what we are all hoping, Kiba," Neji said.

OoOoOoOo Writer's Block. End Chapter Eighteen oOoOoOoO

Next Chapter: The battle between Sakura and Kabuto continues, and Keisuke and Haruka continue to wait for their opponents to arrive. Neji and Kiba, meanwhile, have found the experimental records of all operations that Orochimaru performed on Keisuke. Could it be that the enemy of Keisuke and Haruka is Keisuke himself?