A/N: Yes, I realize it's taking me forever. No, I'm not forgetting about you guys. Yes, I do have a good reason. Yes, I will be doing Vision for the Future. But I will need help. I may need a co-writer to help me out since so much of my time is taken up by the Navy, but yes, I will finish it all. ALL of it. Every last word. ((insert fiery, determined facial expression))
Chapter Twenty-Four: At the Breaking Point
Sasuke sat, cross-legged and arms folded in contemplation, atop a gargantuan-sized boulder which rested at the base of a high, sheer cliff that served as the border between the Grave and the forest above. All around him was nothing but dry, cracked dirt and air full of dust; the ruined village and the secret facility that lay beneath were too far away to be seen by normal eyesight. Had he been looking for symbolism in his hiding place, he would have chosen this exact spot as a representative of the relationship between his titanically mighty, solid self and his barren, scarred, and shrouded life.
However, Sasuke being a man of practicality, he had instead chosen this spot because of its distance from the exit to the underground tunnels and because it would be impossible for anyone to see him up here through the choking dust cloud below. It was also a suitable vantage point from which his Sharingan, now more powerful than ever, could detect the chakra signatures of every combatant taking part in the struggle within the Grave.
Sakura and the Ibara girl were about halfway through the tunnel now. Sasuke could feel Sakura's tremendous power tearing through the barricades that he had set up as though they were paper. It did not concern him much, as it would take up a substantial amount of time for the two of them to cross the Grave to his position even if they traveled in the exact straight-line path from the tunnel's end right to him. Sakura was strong and Ayaka fast, but neither was strong or fast enough to reach him before he had moved on. Sasuke disregarded their movements, and cast his gaze over to the far end of the Grave.
Neji and Kiba were there, as was Shino, who actually stood horizontally halfway up the southern cliff face, directing his insects as they hauled unknown non-combatants—Sasuke presumed that they were prisoners from the lower level of the base, Orochimaru's former test subjects—up out of the Grave and into the forest. It was difficult to fully see their chakra through the distance, but he could recognize a sense of urgency in Neji and Kiba. Most likely, they were fleeing the repeated blasts of power that had been screaming down from the sky since the battle had begun. Sasuke doubted that any of them knew what the power was, and so it must have been surprise and fear of the unknown that drove them, but they would have run even they had known...
That weapon, Sasuke knew, was being driven by Akatsuki—in particular, by his own brother. Uchiha Itachi was the only Sharingan that was available to that organization, and since they had been unable to find any other way to regulate the enormous combined energy of all the stolen Bijuu without committing the time and energy and unbroken concentration of all their members at once, which would render them vulnerable to attack while using it. By using Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan as a controller, they could safely and effectively wield this weapon, which could destroy entire armies and villages if fired accurately. This was one reason why Orochimaru had been forced to keep moving almost constantly, for if a hideout were discovered while he was inside it, Akatsuki's weapon would vaporize him no matter what body he inhabited.
Now, it seemed, they had heard about the lair in the Grave, but were unsure exactly where it was. Sasuke could see deep craters everywhere in places where they had test-fired. He felt the ground vibrate and saw the sky light up as yet another shot came down, and directed his attention to it. His observation confirmed that it was indeed composed of Bijuu chakra, destructive and savage, focused in a beam that was approximately a quarter mile in diameter. He followed its path of travel straight up, trying to see in which direction it came from, but the shot ended before he could find the change in direction.
That didn't last long, he thought to himself. It's power must be limited without all nine of the bijuu. Orochimaru's information suggested that at full power it should be able to fire for a longer duration, with a larger diameter, and without having to wait this long between shots. Right now the weapon is potent, but not perfect.
Still...
Sasuke looked toward the rough middle of the Grave, where he could detect two massive chakras locked in deadly combat. Both energies only kept getting stronger with time, drawing on more and more power in an effort to overpower one another. Sasuke knew that if Akatsuki picked up this battle, they would immediately know where their target was. They would destroy the base, leaving only Naruto barely alive, and then they would pounce on him. Their weapon would become even more deadly, and one by one the other Jinchuuriki would fall until the weapon was at last perfect. Then all the shinobi villages would be obliterated, and the world would belong to Akatsuki.
But what did he care? Wasn't revenge his only concern?
No. Not anymore.
He stood up on the rock, a look of conviction on his dark face. His eyes flashed red, and the Mangekyou Sharingan was alive with cold, commanding power. By his own hand, he had destroyed any chance he'd once had at a happy life. The memory of Sakura's fist in his face served as a constant reminder of the happy bonds that his own lust for revenge had snapped, that he could never, ever repair. He was an S-class criminal in the bingo book, a bringer of destruction and terror that the village would never allow to live. He could never go back, and his friends had forsaken him forever. Only now did he allow himself to feel the burning pain that he had concealed from the others, the pain of self-inflicted loss that gave him the power of Mangekyou Sharingan. The death of Uchiha Itachi was still an ultimate goal, but no longer was it only one, nor was it the most important.
An explosion of intensity flashed between Naruto and his opponent, a burst that he would not have needed the Sharingan to detect. It was a clear presence even this far away, and Sasuke knew that it would be felt for miles and miles away beyond that. It seemed likely that even the armies that were battling near the Hidden Village of Rock would notice it, and send scouts here. And if they noticed it, then it was a good chance that Akatsuki would pinpoint the origin in minutes.
Or maybe, he thought, looking up at the mass of bijuu chakra that was accumulating in the sky, they already have.
The weapon was channeling energy, but it had not yet fired. It was instead building energy for what might be a concentrated or sustained shot, either one of which would mean the end of the battle and death for one or more of the parties involved. Naruto had, at most, fifteen minutes to escape.
Unless, of course, another Mangekyou Sharingan were present to combat the one in control of the weapon. Sasuke did not waste time thinking about it. He leaped from the rock and disappeared into the thick dust cloud on the ground, moving at inhuman speed towards the deadly struggle that took place beneath the manifesting death in the sky.
OoOoOoOoO
Hinata was nearly rendered as blind as Keisuke by Naruto's initial clash with his enemy, but now that her eyes were adjusted, she was in awe of the battle that she was witnessing. Naruto was stronger than she had ever seen him—stronger even than he had been in his battle against Sasuke. He was attacking with the full force of all his normal chakra combined with Kyuubi's, and without Kyuubi struggling for control or an opponent that he feared to kill because he was once a friend, there was no restriction on his enormous potential.
A punch flung from a distance of thirty feet sent a fist of red chakra flying at the demon so fast that there was no time to run, and the evil combination of Hiroto and his demon possessor could do nothing but throw up a feeble chakra barrier with their hands, which was easily blown apart. The black-and-yellow titan flew backward into the wall, and a portion of the wall, along with a section of ceiling, collapsed on top of it. Hinata watched with eyes wide open, her hands clenched, her face alive with hope.
The demoness was not finished, however. She channeled a huge mass of dark chakra and released it through every chakra opening in Hiroto's stolen body, blasting the stone rubble around her into pebbles. Her melted-silver eyes found Naruto in an instant, and in the next second she was dashing towards him again. Instead of attacking directly this time, however, she instead shot a humongous Hakke Kushou towards him as he himself was sprinting forth to meet her.
The red glare in Naruto's eyes stared right back. He pushed at the ground with his fiery tails, leaping aside without the use of his feet, and evaded the spiraling stream of black Hyuuga power with ease. His feet hit the ground still running. He and the demoness began to circle each other, running the same wide path over and over again as they sought a better angle of attack. Hinata could not help but notice the tracks that both fighters made on their circular path—the demon's electrical aura cracked the ground where her feet landed, leaving crevices and stray pebbles along her route. As Naruto passed over these tracks, his tails melted the ground, so that the end result was a circle of slag bordered by small fissures and debris.
Then, when neither fighter could find a good angle, they both decided, simultaneously, on trying to make one. The demoness hurled another Hakke Kushou into Naruto's path, while Naruto threw another red chakra fist. The two powers met in mid-air, deflecting off of each other at opposing angles so that each fighter had to skid to a halt to avoid hitting his or her own attack before it smashed into the cavern wall.
With a cry of frustration, the demoness began tossing bolt after bolt of spiraling chakra, laced with black lightning, at Naruto, who countered by flinging the nine-tails's fiery power in massive bursts. As before, the attacks bounced off each other, flying at random angles into the cave walls.
At the same time Hinata felt both excited and afraid. Naruto was definitely more than a match for this enemy, even without her help. Yet, as his power and the power of his opponent continued to build up and release, the battle was rapidly endangering her life, as well as the lives of Keisuke and Haruka. She looked about, trying to locate the blind man and his partner, but even with the Byakugan she could not pick up his chakra; there was so much chakra flying everywhere that it was impossible to tell whose was whose and whose was where, with the notable exceptions of Naruto and the demoness, who were the most powerful concentrations of chakra in the room. She grew worried when she saw that Haruka was not where she had fallen only moments ago.
"Keisuke-san!" she called, trying to make herself heard over the noise of hundreds of chakra flashes hitting each other and rocks. She could barely hear herself. Distressed, she barely noticed the blast of black power that had just bounced out of the clash in her direction. Desperately, she threw herself prone upon the ground, and felt death pass mere inches over her exposed back. Hinata realized that she needed to get out of here, and quickly.
But she couldn't just leave Keisuke and Haruka behind! If they were still alive, she had to find them. She steeled herself and began to run across the wrecked underground battlefield, dodging chakra flashes and deflecting falling chunks of rock from the ceiling with brief slashes of her Shugo Hakke. It was difficult to keep track of incoming threats and search for her friends at the same time, but she was determined not to give up, no matter the cost; Keisuke and Haruka were as much friends to her as they were to Naruto.
They were nowhere to be found. She circled the field once, twice, three times, but did not find them. Each time she came around to where she started, her sense of dread built up more, and she had to apply more force of will to keep it down.
If they were not in the space surrounding the fight, then they had to be...
In the crossfire, she thought, swallowing heavily. This was going to be tricky; one false move, just one, and she would be dead. Yet she could not avoid it. If she was getting out of here, it would be with all of her friends. Mustering her courage, she made ready to plunge into the raining death.
She stopped when her Byakugan and her ears made her aware of the enormous slab of stone and soil that was gravitating directly down upon her. A gigantic portion of the cave's ceiling had just broken and fallen away with a great and loud cracking noise, carved out by rebounding blasts of chakra, and the light of the sun could be seen flooding the chamber.
Well, flooding parts of the chamber, anyway; the part with Hinata in it was stil very dark, shadowed by the massive quantity of rock and soil that was falling on top of it. There was no way that the Shugo Hakke would stop something that insanely large. There was no possibility of running away in time, either. Hinata's face grew pale with fear, but she did not cower. She was through with cowering. She would go down fighting, and hopefully her death would not make Naruto lose control. She moved her arms in a frenzy, concentrating all of her power into the Shugo Hakke: Rokujuuyon Shou.
The rock drew nearer, falling faster as it came, reaching terminal velocity...
"Reiude Ninpou: Raikou Daigeki!"
A blue-yellow strand of chakra reached toward the very center of the rock slab, right above Hinata, and then flashed like an exploding sun, making a noise like a thunderclap. A large dent appeared in the slab's underside. From behind her curtain of bright-blue chakra blades, Hinata watched Keisuke come sprinting towards her, Haruka dangling in his embrace. The Ghostly Arms were visible and very bright, protruding from many points on his body. He had merged them into the state of Thirty-two Ghostly Arms, pulling out all the stops to save himself and his partner, even though the risk was great.
"Again, and again!" he yelled, and another Ghostly Arm flashed, widening and deepening the dent in the slab. As he finally reached Hinata, he did it a third time, and this time the blast burned all the way through to the top of the slab, splitting the enormous rock in half just as it came down on them. Hinata's Shugo Hakke did the rest, widening the hole so that the pieces fell to either side of the three battered shinobi, raising a great cloud of dust.
"Hinata-san," Keisuke yelled over the noise, "You may have noticed, but if we stay here much longer we're going to be cooked fairly quickly!"
Hinata nodded vigorously, watching the demoness give a horrendous cry as one of Naruto's shots hit her in the shoulder, and let loose a double-handed Hakke Kushou that was five times the size of any of the others she had fired so far. In response, Naruto formed an enormous Rasengan composed of both his own chakra and Kyuubi's, which he used to shield himself. Black electricity crackled from the point where the techniques met, and Naruto skidded back across the ground several feet. He was determined, however, and once he had stopped sliding he began to walk forward, pushing against the Hakke Kushou's continuous, mighty force towards its source. The demoness cried out in horror and increased her attack's power, but still Naruto came. It was in that moment that everyone present came to know the ultimate truth of the situation, and the battle in general.
Naruto was going to win. With all his power and Kyuubi's together and no restraints, he was among the mightiest warriors that ever walked the planet. The demoness had grown powerful, but with nothing left to feed on, her power was rapidly diminishing. In time, Naruto and Kyuubi's virtually bottomless well of energy would wear her down.
In the meantime, though, the others were highly vulnerable to the backlash from both fighters, and they were very much aware of it.
"Can you climb out of here, Keisuke-san?" Hinata asked. "Do you have the strength?"
"Not at the moment," Keisuke said, smiling wanly and pointing up at his face. The bloody sockets that had recently held eyes were only now beginning to clot. "Both of us are going to need medical attention soon. We've seen enough action for a lifetime at this point."
Hinata saw that he was not joking; both he and his partner were broken and bleeding and burned in several places, and neither they nor Hinata had any soldier pills, or even a clean bandage. They had to get out of here and find professional help. But how?
"I couldn't carry you," Hinata said, looking up at the hole in the ceiling, the daylight that poured in through it. "Not both of you, and not that high. If we had one of Naruto-kun's summoned frogs, we could jump up there easily, but I don't think we ought to distract him now."
Keisuke's smile grew as he heard the word, "summoned." Hinata stared at him inquisitively. Surely he was not thinking of interrupting Naruto's fight to borrow Gamabunta, was he? Or did he have some trick up his ragged sleeve that Hinata didn't know about?
"That Uchiha Sasuke," he said, "May not be such a bad guy after all. He had to have known this was coming, giving me something like a summoning contract back in the cell."
Hinata reeled with surprise on learning that Sasuke, of all people, might actually have done something helpful to their cause. She was immediately suspicious that he might have done so just to further his own ends.
"Wait!" she shouted while Keisuke formed the necessary seals with his bloodied hands. "Are you sure that whatever he gave you to summon isn't dangerous?"
Keisuke half-smiled, half-grimaced as he kneeled, his hands hovering a foot above the ground.
"Honestly? I have no idea."
Then, to Hinata's horror, he slammed his palms to the earth, completing the summon. A loud bang and a cloud of smoke signified the jutsu's success, and Hinata raised her hands, concentrating her chakra into them, ready to deliver the deadly Jyuuken if a monster flashed into being.
She was surprised when a loud coughing was heard, followed by a high-pitched, almost screeching voice spoke in a highly annoyed tone.
"Eeeeeeeyah! What's the meaning of this? Summoning me onto flat ground, in the middle of broad daylight... don't you have any manners, any common decency?"
Hinata watched as the smoke cleared to reveal a hulking, winged form covered in dark fur. It had beady black eyes and triangular ears that looked like small caverns. Two white fangs protruded from its upper jaw, glinting evilly in the bright light. Yet, despite the appearance and the annoyed attitude, Hinata suspected that the creature was not evil at all and did not intend to harm them.
"Yabun-Hane, prince of bats," Keisuke said, recognizing the creature. "This is most fortunate!"
"What?" the enormous bat screeched. "Oh, it's you. Keisuke-san, you should have told me it was you! You know I'm as blind as you are in daylight! When did you get your hands on our contract?"
"I'll tell you later, my good prince," Keisuke responded, putting a great deal of respect into his voice, "And I'm ever so sorry for bringing you here. For now, won't you lend us your wings and get us out of this filthy hole that we've dug ourselves into in our misery?"
Yabun-Hame's ugly nostrils flared in a huge snort. "Hmmph! You SHOULD be sorry, a peasant like yourself dragging royalty out here to do the common soldier's work. But since you and your mate and young Naruto-kun helped my family two years ago, I suppose I owe you a favor..."
Keisuke did not object to being called Haruka's "mate," but instead bowed low to the creature—a fact that Hinata thought rather ridiculous since neither the man nor the bat could, in actuality, see—and almost visibly oozed with respect, blatantly sucking up to the creature.
"We would be most indebted and honored if you would lend us your undeserved aid, noble prince," he said. "Our humble, insignificant fate is in your hands, Yabun-Hame."
The bat seemed to consider for a moment, and Hinata thought he was simply dragging out his decision for dramatic effect. His high-and-mighty act nearly cost him his ear as Naruto and the demoness's clashing energies sparked, sending several bolts flying in random directions.
"All right, all right!" he screeched loudly, ducking his head. "Climb on, peasants, and hold tightly! We're leaving this mud hole, and don't think you won't owe me for this! No service is worth dragging me here!"
"Thank you, Yabun-Hame!" Keisuke cried as he and Hinata rushed onto his back, not wanting to waste any more time in deliberation. They laid Haruka out between them, Hinata grabbing onto her legs while Keisuke cradled her head and shoulders. Both of them adhered themselves to Yabun-Hame's back by focusing chakra to their knees and feet.
When he was certain that his passengers were secure, Yabun-Hame raised his head, cocked back his ears, and gave a silent screech—he was using his biological sonar, reverberating his ultrasonic voice around the cavern and listening to its echo to "see" in the manner of bats. It only took one pulse to find the way out. He flapped his massive, leathery wings, and in another moment they were airborne. Hinata's stomach lurched as they rose rapidly, climbing higher and lifting out of the cave in the space of two seconds.
Yabun-Hame began circling over the ground, banking to the left and sending out more ultrasonic pulses. While he was angled like this, Hinata could peer down, back into the hole, and see the battle taking place below through her enhanced vision.
Naruto had nearly exhausted the demoness's Hakke Kushou. As Hinata looked on, the demoness yelled in fury, broke off her attack, and leaped to the side, hoping to use Naruto's own momentum to send him and his Rasengan crashing into the wall, burying him in his own hole. Naruto was better prepared, however, and when he hit the wall his flaming tails fanned out in all directions, digging into the sides of the hole and stopping his momentum even as his jutsu drilled into the soil. Using his legs, he sprang off of the wall, leaping at his opponent in a high arc, his tails forming a protective ball around him. The demoness jumped away and came into a defensive stance as Naruto landed gracefully and began swiping at her with hands, feet, and all nine tails. It had turned into a flaming, sparking, deadly melee.
Hinata wanted to watch more, but Yabun-Hame interrupted her.
"Keisuke-san, where do you want me to set you down?" he screeched into the wind. "I can't stand flying in all this sunlight!"
Keisuke, who had had his head bowed over Haruka's unconscious body since takeoff, seemed surprised at this interruption. Hinata supposed that in his haste to get them and Haruka out of danger, he had not been thinking about what they would do once they were flying. He looked at Hinata, as though questioning what she thought they ought to do.
"I'm not sure," he said. "Hinata-san, who did you and Naruto bring with you?"
"Neji-niisan and Kiba-kun went looking through Orochimaru's base for information," she replied, "And Shino-kun and Sakura-chan came with us, looking for you. Shino-kun was attacked and separated from us, and Sakura-chan left us when we split up at a fork in the path. We... we haven't seen them since." Hinata's face grew pale as she realized that she had forgotten all about them, and that they might still be inside.
Keisuke frowned.
"I thought you might have brought friends. We're going to have to find them, too, which will take time, but at least they aren't in terrible danger. Unless they run into Orochimaru himself, which isn't likely since I take it he's focused on Uchiha Sasuke, then they should be fine."
Hinata nodded in agreement. They should find their companions as quickly as possible, especially since Sakura would be able to take care of Haruka's injuries. Naruto might also need Sakura's help, though at the moment it looked as though he would be quite fine. One never knew, though...
"Great Yabun-Hame," Keisuke shouted, "I thank you profusely for your help, but I now must ask of you another favor. I promise you that I will compensate you well if you will only help us find our comrades! All of them are noble warriors who have sacrificed much. They are far worthier of your assistance!"
The bat prince grumbled. "More work, more flying through sun? For your sake, Keisuke-san, your promises had better be genuine. My family will not treat you kindly if you are lying."
"My prince, have I ever lied to you?" Keisuke's voice was once more dripping with respect. "I have made you a promise, and I intend to keep it! Please, just fly low over the ground, so that we may search for our companions, and allow us to collect them. We will ask no more of you."
"Fine," Yabun-Hame screeched, clearly still not satisfied. "I'm feeling generous today, so I consent. I'll have you know, though, that if I get sun-blisters you are going to find yourself in a heap of guano..."
And they descended, Hinata sweeping the ground all around them as they passed less than fifty feet over the baked earth. There was no sign of life for several miles around, and they flew for several minutes without finding anything, Yabun-Hame grumbling the whole way while Keisuke wiped blood from Haruka with a strip he had torn from his already-ragged pants leg.
"Ah!"
At last, Hinata had spotted something. At least a dozen human lives near the edge of the Grave, and three of them were Shinobi. Focusing her vision more in that direction, she confirmed the location of Shino, Kiba, and Neji all at once, along with several non-shinobi that she had never met. They were lifting the strangers up the cliff with Shino's bugs. All of them were battered and weary, Shino being the strongest, Neji and Kiba needing medical help, but none of them was dying.
"What is it, Hinata-san?" Keisuke asked, cocking an ear to her to show he was listening.
"Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, and Neji-niisan are all alive," she said, "And they're climbing to safety, but two of them are going to need help. Sakura-chan will be very busy when we find her."
"If we find her fast enough," Keisuke amended. "Yabun-Hame, please fly faster! We need to get to our other companions, quickly!"
"All right, I hear you!" the great bat shrieked. "Hold on, we're going to really move now!" At that, Yabun-Hame made a sharp turn, then pumped his wings once, twice, thrice with great power. Keisuke had to grab Haruka underneath her arms to keep her from sliding off as their airspeed nearly tripled in less than ten seconds.
Hinata cast her gaze in all directions, sweeping every piece of ground in range. She even glance upward once, in hope that they might somehow have obtained a flying mount as they had...
And then the true peril was made known to her. Why she had not bothered to look up before, she did not know, but it was certainly a good thing that she had; this discovery was just a little bit important to their survival.
"Keisuke-san..."
"What is it?"
Multicolored light was swirling above their heads, high up in the sky. It had the look of a technicolor hurricane, with the exception that it had a brilliant white focal point instead of a clear eye. Lightning flashed across the edges of the storming vortex, and as she watched, it seemed to be sucking away all the light from the sky. It was brighter than the sun now, and it kept growing brighter even though its light did not shine upon the ground.
Hinata shuddered. What kind of awesome power could be so bright, and yet make the sky seem so dark? Not knowing how else to explain it to someone who could not see, she said:
"Something is up there."
OoOoOoOoO
"HAAAA!"
CRACK.
The last poorly-set earthen barrier buckled and collapsed under Sakura's fist, clearing the way to the world outside. Light and air rushed in, and Sakura heaved a relieved sigh, wiping the sweat from her brow. Ayaka drew her makeshift head covering lower over her face; shying away from the sun and cringing at the same time; she had stolen cloth from Orochimaru's robe, and even though it kept her from the harmful rays of the sun, she could still smell the remnants of the sennin's evil. The moment she was home, the first thing she would do would be to find a proper garment.
Climbing out of the hole together, the unlikely allies found themselves amid a cluster of large rocks, behind one of which was the hole they had just emerged from. There were skid marks around the hole; apparently the rock had once been used to cover it, but Sasuke had not bothered to put it back once he had left the tunnel.
"I think he expected to be followed," Ayaka said, observing it, "But not by anyone with any speed. He only needed to slow us down as long as he was in the tunnel, and once he was on the surface he was fast enough to hide without blocking us further. He now believes that he can achieve his goal without hindering us."
"We still haven't figured out what his goal is," Sakura said. "But you're right, he definitely doesn't expect us to be able to catch him. With good reason, too." She spread her arms wide, indicating the expanse of the Grave all around them, filled with nothing but dirt and dust.
"So, where do we go?" Ayaka asked.
Sakura thought for a moment. There were certainly a lot of paths to choose from...
"STAND CLEAR!!!"
A high-pitched screech turned their heads behind them, and they barely jumped out of the way as a massive black form flew straight at them. It zoomed past and began flapping it's wings hard in reverse, slowing its momentum. As they watched, it came to a stop near a large natural stone arch, inverted itself, and grabbed the top of the arch with its back legs, folding its wings around it.
"Ah, that's much better. I was beginning to need a little respite."
"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Sakura said, her voice a little bit wobbly. She turned her head to look at Ayaka, who seemed completely at ease, as though a giant, talking bat were the most normal thing in the world.
"We're in luck," she answered. "Your friends are here."
She was right; as Sakura turned her head back to the bat in confusion, three forms fell from it's back. One of them—whom Sakura saw was Hinata—landed on her feet, bracing her long fall with her hands, and stood up somewhat shakily. Keisuke fell behind her, landing flat on his back with a small yelp of pain, and Haruka fell on top of him, her head and torso being cushioned by his chest. They looked like they might have been two lovers asleep together, if it weren't for the fact that both of them were bruised and bleeding quite a lot and Keisuke was clearly awake and in pain.
Sakura rushed over to them, still astonished but now much more hopeful. Hinata greeted her warmly, waving her over and smiling in clear relief. Sakura returned her greeting with a short, friendly hug.
"What happened?" she asked.
"I'll explain it to you while we work," Hinata said hurriedly. "Please, you need to tend these two quickly, so we can go back for Naruto-kun. Hurry!"
"Something happened to Naruto?" Sakura asked, making her way to the two partners.
"A monster," Hinata told her. "Keisuke-san's mother, if you'll believe me..."
"You've got to be kidding me," Sakura said, making an exasperated face as she pulled out her medical kit. "Giant talking bats, body-snatching snake hermits, runaway men, and now thousand-year-old, monster grannies... what will I be put through next?"
"You managed to surprise me, too," Hinata said, pointing at Ayaka, who stepped forward cautiously.
"I do apologize, Hyuuga-san," said the plant user. "I meant you no malice as Hikaru did. I was only following orders, which I have now seen to be unjustified orders. Sakura-san has been kind enough to trust me, for now."
"For now," Sakura echoed. She rolled Haruka off of Keisuke, who inhaled sharply once the weight was removed from him, and arranged her limbs comfortably beside him. Then she assessed them both, deciding to heal Keisuke first, as his injuries were more serious. She formed her seals rapidly, and set her hands upon the blind man's chest.
But Keisuke quickly said, "No," and pushed her hands away gently. "Tend Haruka first. I want to make sure she's all right."
Sakura found this odd. Just a short time ago she had been looked at like she had eaten someone else's main course just for suggesting that the two of them remotely cared about each other. Now Keisuke was insisting that she heal Haruka first, though she was clearly less healthy than he was? Confused though she was, she consented, and stepped around him to Haruka.
In a few moments, Haruka was fully healthy and sleeping soundly. A thunderclap sounded above them.
"Oh, don't tell me it's going to rain now," Sakura said, and looked up.
And continued looking.
"What... is that?"
"Something," Keisuke said. "That's all that Hinata here would tell me..."
"Light... that makes the sky dark around it? What is that?"
Hinata was now looking at it, too. Her face had a very worried look to it. The incredible vortex of power had grown larger since she had first looked at it.
"We need to hurry," she said. "Yabun-Hame-Sama! Please come down here and take us back to where we started! I don't think we have much time left!"
"Ooh, your voice is pretty!" called the bat prince, letting go of the arch and barrel-rolling before landing with a great gust of air next to them. "Why weren't you the one telling me what to do before? It would have been much more pleasant than listening to that oaf drone on like a peasant..."
"Great," Keisuke mumbled. "First I was a False Great Father, now I'm an unpleasant peasant..."
"Hold still," Sakura commanded. "I'm not finished healing you, and won't be for a while unless you cooperate."
"You're going to have to either heal him while we fly or wait until we land again, Sakura-chan," Hinata said. "At the rate that light is growing, I don't think we can afford to wait. Naruto-kun might be in a lot of trouble."
OoOoOoOoOoOoO
Naruto had noticed the others were gone, but had no time to think about it. He knew that he was winning the fight, but he also knew that if he allowed himself to think for too long, the enemy would take advantage and he would pay for it.
He had fought with Hiroto before, back in Konoha, and he had nearly been defeated. This was Hiroto with more power and chakra than was normal for most humans, plus the mind that pretty much created the Hyuuga. Her skill was impeccable, and her power could be lethal with one touch.
He, Uzumaki Naruto, was stronger, faster, and had more limbs, and his enemy was losing energy fast. These facts became a mantra in his mind as he blocked and attacked in rapid succession, a constant stream of positive thought in his mind to ensure that no more strength was taken from him. As long as he kept this up, she would wear herself down. Without a source of despair to feed on, she was as good as dead already.
The demoness seemed to realize this as well, and this drove her to attack with greater and greater frenzy. Naruto would have to halt his advance for a few moments, but the flurry would only drain more of his opponent's power and he would soon be advancing faster than before, driving her back towards the wall.
In less than five minutes, it was over. At last, Naruto landed a grazing blow with a kick to her leg, and the demoness staggered, dropping her guard. He seized his opportunity, grabbing hold of her limbs and neck with five of his tails, and the flames made her scream in agony as she was lifted into the air. She was soon silenced, however, for Naruto threw one punch, then a second, straight into her stomach. The force of the impact caused two shockwaves, which scattered the rocky debris around them, and blood flew from her mouth.
Naruto was not finished yet, either. He released the grip of his tails, jumped, and drop-kicked her with both feet in her chest. She hurtled backwards and slammed into what must have been the last undamaged section of wall in the whole chamber. Naruto landed on his feet while she slid down the wall and fell to her knees.
"Those three blows," Naruto said, "Were for Hinata."
He formed three seals with his hands, lined up a Ghostly Arm straight at her, and fired. The demoness was blasted back again as biting cold surged through her, freezing her to the wall behind her. Black fumes seemed to be coming off of her body, and her dark aura grew thinner. She appeared to be losing the last of her power.
"That one was for Keisuke-niichan," he said, fixing her with angry red eyes. As he walked towards his beaten enemy, he held his palm up and out in front of him. A brilliant ball of blue chakra began swirling violently there. Not a trick. Not a hastily-crafted, innovative technique aimed to surprise and overcome. Just a plain, simple, bread-and-butter Rasengan. He was confident that it was all that he would need, and Haruka would appreciate the irony of it, the final trick; one who knew him would expect him to come up with something flashy, creative, but this time the trickster's lack of tricks was the trick.
The aura stopped bleeding from the demoness. She appeared to be completely out of power and out of time. It was over.
"And this..."
A great sizzling noise, drew his attention, coming from behind him. Holding the Rasengan just inches from his enemy's face, he turned his head. He could not believe what his eyes were showing him. Did this monster have no limit?!
The aura had not been bleeding off of her because she was losing power; it had been doing so because she was using it. A great black-and-yellow circle of power shimmered on the chamber floor in the place where they had circled each other in combat minutes before. It's black areas were darker than he had ever seen, it's yellow portions the sickliest and most evil-looking.
"The pain... that you've caused me... will be your undoing... boy," gasped the demoness. Her voice no longer reverberated in Naruto's mind like it once had. She no longer had any aura at all; she was little more than a normal-looking, mortal Hyuuga woman with eyes that were only a little bit luminescent rather than looking like melted metal. Other than that, the only change was in that she was completely healthy.
"I didn't think it would be enough," she said, "But you decided to cause some pain before killing me, and that was more than enough to complete the summoning and heal this body. I will watch you killed and walk away freely..."
And even though Naruto slammed the Rasengan down upon her, he was too late; the demoness had melted into the shadows and escaped, and his jutsu only shattered the ice that had held her. Meanwhile, the circle released its energy and the summoning began, a wall of black and yellow electricity flared up, so brilliant that Naruto could not see what was beyond it.
"Let us see how well you fare against one of your own kind, Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi!"
OoOoOoOo BANGBANGBANGBANG!!! End of Chapter Twenty-Four oOoOoOoO
So... does it live up to standards? Have you had enough action? Ready to get onto the climactic ending?
STAND BY.