Thanks for the reviews, everyone!
Yeesh...I've been so busy lately. I JUST came on the computer. So the update's kinda late...and so will be the update on the website. Don't expect one until Saturday... Then again, I can sort of blame myself for procrastinating so much. What was I doing, you may ask? Well, let's take a peek in the life and times of Hikari Midori-chan...(Heheh...filling up space? Whatever do you mean?)
I was Mary-Sue-Hunting this week. It was odd. Anyone ever hear of the Mary Sue Litmus Test? It's long. Heheh...I tested Midori on it and got a 68. XD I think 68 qualified as an "Uber-Sue" or something. I was so amused. I probably got 68 because Midori is a self-insert. I JUST REALIZED SELF-INSERTS AUTOMATICALLY MEANS SUE! Yeah...Don't laugh. I guess there's more to Mary Sues than perfect everything.
I didn't realize they had stuff on LiveJournal that completely KILLED OCs. People really hate them, but I can't really blame them. It's terrible, the stuff they write, though I can't say I didn't read only one. Even if the story was particularly...not good...I find it pretty mean. Though I did laugh multiple times at their crude but clever humor...I'm happy to say that my story was no where to be found on these flaming communities...PHEW.
Speaking of flames, I discovered users that ONLY flame. It was scary, reading their flames and their profile as well...I didn't realize people actually got an account on FF just to flame...Now I see how ignorant I am. XD Ah...what an entertaining week I've had...
ANYWAY. About the story. This will be the concluding chapter to the little mission...arc...thingy. It's a good thing too. School's coming up...and the next time I update, I'll be in school ALREADY. It has sort of an exciting feeling to it though...
Now that I've probably spent about half of your time on pointless things, I suppose I should just get on with the chapter. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Last time on Narutoverse no Jutsu...
"It's them," Midori gasped. "Itachi and Kisame."
"H-How did they get past the elite team?!" Sakura stuttered. "They didn't even contact us! Do you think…?"
"No way," Midori shook her head. "They couldn't possibly have enough chakra after their battles to defeat a team of elites…could they?"
"No time to ponder that now," Shikamaru said as he immediately started thinking up any possible way of escaping with everyone intact. "It seems none of the couriers have noticed the enemies yet. It's best not to alarm them unless the situation is fatal."
"But Itachi and Kisame will be here soon!" Sakura pointed out. "It is fatal!" She looked back to check how far away they were again when her expression turned to that of confusion. "Where'd they go?"
CRASH!
In a split second, the cart the four of them had been riding on had split into two, sending the horse onto its hind legs and neighing alarmingly. That easily brought the residents from Kiba no Kuni's attention towards the back where a large bandaged sword laid smack dab in the middle of the broken wooden pieces. Grasping the hilt was a very dirty-looking Kisame.
All four of the genin had narrowly avoided the assault, Midori leaping onto the second load where Naruto and Nami had been sleeping (they were awake now), Shino grabbing Sakura at the last minute and pulling both of their bodies to the safety of the ground, and Shikamaru ducking and rolling onto the trail before Samehada could slice his head off clean. Now they were scattered, staring down the enemy who had appeared before them.
Nami, who was annoyed to be awaken from her nice dream (whatever that was) found that Kisame was hard to look at. He was still covered in a fair amount of the sludge she had dropped on him although it seemed he had made an effort to get partially clean. The vines were gone, at least. It was obviously a rushed job.
"I've got some payback for you and that other brat, little girl," Kisame grimaced.
"How did you get past the elites?" Midori demanded.
"Those guys? Easy. They're a little busy with a false trail at the moment, and by the time they figure it out and come to rescue you little rats, you'll be dead," Kisame scoffed. Then he turned his attention to Nami and Naruto and glared. "But more importantly…You two trying to make a fools out of me and Itachi with your little tricks?"
The mentioned Uchiha stepped out from behind the taller man, and everyone around almost dared to start pounding the ground, laughing themselves to tears. They didn't, of course. It was Itachi, after all. But still…he was just asking for humiliation, what with the hearts and swirly things painted on his face. He even had a few flicks of whisker marks, courtesy of Uzumaki Naruto.
"Nice make-up, Uchiha," Nami said audaciously.
Itachi narrowed his eyes. "This. Is. Nothing."
He was clearly lying.
How the heck did they get Itachi's face…like thatMidori thought.
Nami laughed. "Yeah ri—" She was stopped short by a kunai appearing several millimeters before her neck, Itachi standing right behind her. Nami's heart skipped a beat.
"Don't act as if you have the right to belittle me," Itachi growled. "You're just an arrogant girl who deserves to die."
After using Mangekyou twice he still has the power to move so quickly? Nami thought as a drop of sweat ran down her face. No…He was a little slower this time…I was actually able to see him move. But…
"You…!" Naruto shouted. "Get your ass over here! I'm the one you want!"
Itachi glanced at Naruto for a moment, and Shikamaru saw it and immediately took advantage of the moment. Muttering, "Kagemane no Jutsu" his shadows started to extend, slinking towards the Akatsuki member speedily. Before the shadow could round its way around Nami, however, Itachi leapt out of harm's way, causing the Nara to retract his shadow with a curse under his breath.
"So there are more brats to deal with…Now which one of you has the scroll, hm?" Kisame demanded. He glanced at Midori and gave her a toothy grin. "You, maybe?"
Midori couldn't help but flinch. Of course she was the one with the scroll, but how did he know?
Kisame chuckled. "Yes. I believe you do have the scroll." He lifted Samehada onto his shoulder and said, "You're not very good at hiding emotion. Easier for me, I guess. But don't worry, this'll be quick." As he started to walk, Shino outstretched his arms, silently commanding his insects to attack.
The larger Akastuki member automatically carved through the swarm and took that chance to swing at the open Konoha genin. Shino ducked backwards and flipped hastily several feet away, then deployed another horde of insects.
Midori could only watch this for about half a second, for her senses were screaming to move out of the way before Itachi pummeled her. She darted to the right, barely avoiding Itachi's attack. Her feet left the ground as she dodged a sweep kick, but felt the presence of the mass murderer behind her in a split second. Tossing herself forward and rolling against the ground, Midori knew she couldn't be able to keep up with Itachi forever. Sure enough, she tripped more or less gracefully onto the ground, completely vulnerably. It would've been the end…if she didn't have allies with her.
Sakura flung a round of shuriken in Itachi's direction, forcing him to avoid the weapons by stepping back. Shikamaru appeared behind Itachi and made a kick at the head, missing by inches.
Meanwhile, the non-shinobi men were cowering behind their merchandise, watching with bated breath. Noticing this, Nami shouted, "What're you waiting for?! Get out of here!" She knew for one that if those men didn't have the scroll, they wouldn't be followed. Even more, the Akatsuki wanted them, not a bunch of random Kiba no Kuni occupants.
Hesitantly, Nemuru wordlessly obeyed her command and started barking orders to the men to continue. Soon, they were starting to move, and just as the Konoha genin had hoped, Itachi and Kisame did nothing to stop them. They were useless to the Akatsuki members anyway.
"So you think just because we're outnumbered, you genin can defeat us?" Kisame laughed. "Truly amusing."
"Enough," Itachi snapped. "Get the scroll from the girl."
"You're not going anywhere!" Shikamaru shouted. "Kagemane no Jutsu!" His shadow expanded for a second time as it ran towards Itachi and…
"What the—!" Kisame roared. First he had been blocking a bunch of disgusting pests and the next minute he couldn't move his body.
"Now we're getting somewhere," Shikamaru muttered. He stood up in a straighter position, and Kisame did the same. Shikamaru was currently standing behind Kisame, and Kisame couldn't see what the young genin was doing at all.
"Kisame, you fool," Itachi said. "Falling into another trap like that."
"It really isn't my day, Itachi," Kisame growled. "So spare me."
The Konoha nin weren't about to give the men a chance to chat more. Shino instantly released a throng of dark bugs buzzing around Kisame, whose face had a hint off anxiety.
"What is this?!" Kisame demanded angrily.
"My insects will eat away at your chakra until you're too weak to even move," Shino said coolly.
"You little…"
Itachi started moving swiftly towards Shikamaru to put an end to the Kagemane, but the other members of the makeshift team would have none of that. While Shino sent more insects at the Uchiha, Sakura started gathering chakra into her hand the way Tsunade-sensei had. Although she wasn't able to do so while running yet, the blow would be horrendous. As soon as she had gotten a sufficient amount running through her hand, she charged towards the older shinobi, fist arched.
CRACK!
Itachi had dodged back at the last second and Sakura's attack cracked the natural ground in front of her. The Uchiha didn't look too impressed, and he merely darted behind the pink-haired kunoichi and gave her a hefty kick sending her flying forward. Sakura tumbled painfully several meters, skidding to a stop with plenty of scrapes and bruises.
"Sakura!" Midori called out. She narrowed her eyes and extended her right arm, pulling back her left. The familiar light of visible chakra forming into the transparent bow she had used during the fight with Kidoumaru appeared. Once the arrow had shaped, she let the molded chakra fly.
Itachi stepped to the side briefly, avoiding the projectile. Getting slightly annoyed with all these bothersome genin trash, he regretted using the Mangekyou Sharingan more than once. His plan to finish this assignment quickly had been dashed, and now he was starting to feel the after-effects. But even now, he wasn't about to let a hodgepodge of mere genin get the best of him.
By this time, Kisame was feeling his chakra drain faster and faster, and the sensation of millions of insects crawling all over his body didn't make this experience any better. His thoughts right now were along the lines of "I'll slice those damned brats to pieces!" and "What's taking Itachi so long to get rid of them?" Kisame knew that Itachi was probably fatigued from the events that had happened, but seeing him like this was just plain odd.
At that moment, Kisame felt strange. His body felt…lighter. Then he noticed he was able to move freely on his own and grinned toothily. Excellent.
I'm at my limit now… Shikamaru thought tiredly as his shadow receded. Hopefully t0hat guy's chakra's been cut down to size…
"DIE!"
Shikamaru ducked when the sword swung over his head. "Wha-What?!"
"Don't underestimate how much chakra I have, kid," Kisame said. "A few minutes of draining still leaves me with enough to spare." Without another word, he abruptly slashed at Shikamaru who dodged once more, unable to avoid a shallow cut that bled instantly. He was forced off his feet again; Kisame wasn't going to give him a break.
Itachi noticed his partner's release while stepping back to avoid another attack from a relentless Naruto.
"Step aside, Itachi!" Kisame shouted, heaving Samehada.
Naruto dodged out of the way just in time and aimed for Kisame's gut. The shark-like man dodged his attempt and ducked, making Nami's surprise attack miss. The girl flew overhead, landing roughly several meters away from the Akatsuki member.
Most of the genin were starting to go aid Naruto, and Itachi had plenty of time to think. The trap we set won't keep the elites away any longer…They'll be coming soon. Things will start to get difficult for such a simple mission if that is so; we aren't well-prepared for such an attack, especially since the elite group consists of them…
"Hey Itachi!" Kisame called as he managed to get away from the mass of genin attacking him at once. "What's with you?!" He maneuvered his sword swiftly, cutting Naruto and making him fall back, Midori rushing to his side.
"We should leave, Kisame," Itachi said.
"WHAT?!"
"Idiot, the elites should be on their way by now," Itachi grimaced.
"But what about the mission?! Our punishment won't be—" Kisame suddenly noticed Itachi wasn't there. He turned his attention in the direction of a scream and saw his partner holding up the black-haired girl up by the neck. Guess he hasn't weakened fully yet…
Without a word, Itachi reached into her back pouch and pulled out a scroll. Then, dropping Midori, he turned his head toward Kisame and said, "We're leaving." Then, he disappeared.
Kisame frowned, but followed Itachi's lead.
Meanwhile, Midori was sitting on the ground, gasping for breath, and rubbing her neck gingerly.
"You okay, Midori?" Nami asked as she helped her friend up.
"Yeah," Midori responded.
"You're lucky he didn't kill you," Shikamaru said.
Midori smiled half-heartedly. She noticed his wound had been healed by none other than Sakura during the Four vs. Kisame fight. Looking around, she realized that although she hadn't caught it during the confusion of the fight, Shino was heavily breathing due to the extensive use of his insects and chakra. Nami also had a few shallow wounds here or there. Sakura was busy healing her minor cuts, and Naruto was panting with his newly-closed wounds. Shikamaru was looking as if nothing in the world was more troublesome than this mission.
A few minutes later, a masked ANBU ninja and none other than Gai, Kakashi, and a few other jounin the genin didn't recognize showed up.
"Nice timing," Nami sighed. "You missed everything…"
"There were several difficult traps along with a few kage bunshin," the ANBU stated. "Forgive me. What happened here?"
What came next was a brief description of the events that had taken place just moments before.
"So now the clients are heading towards Kiba no Kuni unguarded?" Kakashi said, raising an eyebrow.
"I doubt anyone else is going to attack them," Midori said. "All the enemy wanted was a valuable scroll that the clients were trying to smuggle in without proper payment to Konoha."
"I can't believe he stole the scroll after all we've done…" Nami growled, clenching her fist. "I swear, we'll get it—"
"Don't blow a gasket, neechan," Naruto said, giving her a weary wink. "I got it covered." He reached into his back pouch and pulled out a scroll. It wasn't just any scroll, however. It was…(insert unnecessary suspense music here) THE SCROLL OF A THOUSAND JUTSU!
After Naruto had shown this, the older beings exchanged surprised glances. Knowing this useful little piece of information, they knew that if the Kiba no Kuni residents got to their country without them, they either wouldn't have to pay the additional fee for carrying a valuable item and they'd get their money back or they'd be able to charge them for stealing. Not to mention Kyoko and Marieke were still onboard...So, naturally, the Konoha nin raced off to catch up with the group. Luckily for them, they had stopped a distance well away from where Itachi and Kisame had attacked so the horses would be able to rest.
When the Konoha team got there, Nemuru assured them (quite nervously) that he wouldn't have dreamed ofdemanding a legal refund. The older group of ninja must have scared him more than the young genin did.
Now all the genin were sitting on one of the cargo carts like earlier before while the jounin and ANBU walked along the sides. The ANBU ninja did state, "You kids deserve some rest" and they weren't about to complain about it.
"So you didn't tell us how you managed to keep the scroll!" Nami said.
"Well—" Midori started.
"It must've been when you went to heal Naruto, am I right?" Shikamaru asked knowingly. He smirked slightly when Midori stared at him. "I saw it."
"As always…" Midori said, a bit jealous Shikamaru got to uncover the mystery.
"Then what was the scroll Itachi took?" Sakura asked.
Naruto and Midori exchanged amused glances.
---
Itachi and Kisame had finally reached the Akatsuki hideout and were greeted by Deidara and Sasori.
"You're late," Sasori growled.
"We know, we know," Kisame sighed.
"Hey Itachi, you've got a little something on your…" Deidara said, a smile growing on his face.
"Shut up," Itachi said as he tossed Deidara the scroll. "Here it is."
"That thing's more trouble than its worth…" Kisame commented tiredly.
Deidara opened the scroll for verification and raised an eyebrow. "What the hell?"
Itachi narrowed his eyes and leaned over to see what it was. Kisame and Sasori, curious, did as well. Kisame turned considerably red and Itachi closed his eyes as if secretly trying to calm himself down.
---
"And what exactly were you doing with one of those porno scrolls in your pocket?" Sakura said with a low, dangerous voice.
"Eh…it was…a gift for Kakashi-sensei?"
Sakura then proceeded to lecture Naruto about hiding perverse smut. In other words, she beat the tar out of the poor boy while shouting threats of what she'd do the next time she caught him turning into a mini-Kakashi-sensei. Naruto didn't need to be told twice.
"How humiliating," Shino commented.
AND THE ANNOYINGLY LONG MISSION ENDS! Sorry, Itchy. I had to do it. It was really hard to keep Itachi and Kisame in charater...But I think I did a decent job, don't you? I hope so. Anyway...I suppose the story will go on for another two or three chapters...Looks like I won't make it to 300 reviews. Aw well. There's always...THE SEQUEL!
R&R please!
-HM