WARNING!!!!: More blood, violence, and a SPOILAH! Character death. Uh, angst? Maybe. Disclaimer: I've said it before: go to Chapter 1 for the f'in disclaimer!
note: gomen infinetly for the late update. bows repeatedly the epilogue is written. review now.
Chapter 8: More Surprises!?
"Yes, Naruto. I can see your anger. I can see right through you." Ayumi said manically, waving Sakura around like a rag doll. The kunoichi was completely under the older girl's control, green eyes wide in fright and breath coming in hitched pants. Naruto had his hands clenched at his side, so much so that even more blood leaked from the tight fists, adding to the injuries from being slammed into a tree. Kakashi and Tsunade were both tense, staring at the scene in anger. Sasuke's head still hurt, he hadn't fully recovered from his earlier fight.
Ayumi let out an evil cackle as Sakura hovered above the clearing. "Oh, come now, dear Kyuubi container. I've put one of your friend's life on the line, and you're just standing there looking like an angry idiot." "Put her down." Naruto commanded in a quiet voice. Bright green flashed in excitement. "Make me."
All the audience could do was watch as Naruto growled and made a hand sign. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Two more Narutos appeared, and all three charged the last Edochi. The older girl just smirked crazily and used her left hand to raise the splattered blood on the ground into three spikes. Several cries of 'Naruto!' were heard from the spectators as the two sides met, and a second later three puffs of smoke could be seen.
Ayumi growled as the two outside clones disappeared and a log fell where the third one had been. "Damn clones" she muttered to herself. Her eyes scanned the area carefully. I almost missed him last time. But not now. I refuse to fail after coming so close, after working this hard! Suddenly she turned to the left, turning her back on Kakashi, Tsunade, Sasuke and Sakura. There stood two Narutos, one focusing an immense amount of chakra in his right palm while the other was hitting in, forming it into a perfect sphere.
What!? I thought that was only a rumor!? ran through Ayumi's mind as the Naruto on the left disappeared in a puff and the Naruto on the right ran toward her. She stood, snarling, until Naruto was about three feet away. Then she brought her right hand, which held her fan, up, forward, and down again before Naruto's attack could land.
(Now, if you've been paying attention, dears, you know what happened. If not, I shall explain, the gracious authoress I am.)
Ayumi smirked as the body between her and Rasengan fell limp and blue eyes widened in shock, sorrow, fear, and anger. Naruto growled dangerously low as his gaze switched from Sakura's expressionless face to Ayumi's sparkling eyes. "Well, thank you, Naruto! She was a troublesome girl. And that was more entertaining than killing her myself would have been!"
A group of gasps and growls could be heard from the onlookers as Ayumi snapped her fan shut and Sakura's body slumped to the ground, Naruto's gaze following it. "Now," the girl said slowly, "where were we?" Naruto growled as blue eyes narrowed and bled into red. "That's it." Ayumi hissed to herself as the shinobi in front of her transformed into his demon-like self.
The whisker marks on Naruto's cheeks darkened and grew, his teeth became sharper, and of course his eyes were as red as the Sharingan, if not more so. "Kyuubi has come out to play. Finally." "You killed Sakura!" The figure before her declared in a menacing, deep growl. "Technically, you killed her. I just put her in your way of killing me." Ayumi pointed out casually. "You'll pay for that!"
And before a cynical retort could be made, Naruto had disappeared in a flash of red chakra and punched at his enemy from her left, making the girl fly to the side a good few feet, fan dropped and forgotten. As the girl got up on stumbling feet, she chuckled darkly. "Finally... the time has come!" Green eyes flashed in anticipation for the upcoming battle. "Kyuubi, now's your day to pay for what you've done to me."
The girl put both hands in her sleeves, bringing out eight shuriken between her fingers, and six kunai on the digits themselves. She thrust out her left hand, sending out three knives. Naruto, slowly walking toward her, deflected them with a weapon of his own. Next the stars went flying, this time getting stuck in the bright orange clothes of the Kyuubi container. Naruto paused in his stride for a second, looking down his front at where the annoyances had lodged themselves.
All it took was one flex of the muscles for the shuriken to fall to the ground, completely useless. Ayumi smirked, lazily launching four more throwing stars, which missed their target. Naruto had suddenly vanished. A noise of disbelief was heard from the fighter before her white head was swinging around, looking for any sign of the boy. "Up here!"
Green eyes switched like lightning to stare at a tree branch directly above her, and red eyes filled with hate and anger stared back down. One single knife shot up, and Naruto knocked it away, leaving it to spin in midair. A hand shot out and grabbed it, the point faced downward. Naruto's grip tightened on the weapon, and a trail of blood ran down the edge, finally forming a droplet at the tip.
As it fell, Ayumi concentrated on that one spot, on this one moment. She felt the universe slow, all for one drop of blood. She sensed her own heartbeat and every other in the area speed up with adrenaline, all in preparation for this single conflict. And right before that single drop touched her very skin, she stopped it. Just a simple droplet, and the heavy, strong, torturous silence amplified between the fighters.
Fingers loosened, and more drops slowly detached from the kunai as it fell through the air, spinning like a windmill. Ayumi froze the drop above her, and gathered the others that were free-falling, bringing them down to protect her head as the kunai bounced off the makeshift shield and into a waiting hand. Red eyes never left their target as Naruto jumped down from the tree, following after his offering.
The last Edochi jumped back as Naruto left his perch, landing roughly where she had been standing seconds before. "Now is the time!" "You will pay!" were the simultaneous cries.
Ayumi switched to hold a kunai in her left hand and two in her right as she and Naruto charged. The blond took the weapon in his right hand and transferred it to his left, opting to make a Rasengan in his right. But right before he could hit her, Ayumi vanished without a trace. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he searched for any clue of the location of his opponent.
"Behind you" was whispered in Naruto's ear, and he turned sharply to find himself face to face with a bright-eyed nightmare. He thrust the attack forward, only to hit thin air as she disappeared again. An audible growl was heard. "What's wrong, Ayumi!? Are you afraid!? Well, you should be! I'm going to kill you for what you've done!" A small laugh could be heard. "Is that so?"
Ayumi appeared a good distance away from Naruto, a superior, smug smirk on her face. "The Fourth Hokage's... Legacy is going to kill me?" she said, placing special emphasis on the word 'legacy'. "That's right! I will kill you!" Naruto said before running once again toward Ayumi. "Well, I guess nobody's told you, then." she said teasingly before jumping backwards to stand on a branch. "What are you rambling about?"
Rasengan crashed into the trunk of the tree as Ayumi fell down and to Naruto's right, wood splinters flying against the fighter's skin, scratching and cutting. When they both landed, several cuts decorated their faces. "I mean, they never told you who you are, did they?" "I am Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage!" "But that's not all, didn't you know?"
Tsunade clenched her fists tighter, a vein throbbing in her forehead. "Damn her..." "Tsunade-sama, she couldn't possibly know that..." There was a hint of panic in Kakashi's voice. "It would seem she does, Kakashi." "Kakashi..." Sasuke faintly mumbled. "Sasuke, this isn't the time!" Onyx eyes focused on Naruto. "What is going on here!?" The jounin sighed and went back to glaring at Ayumi. "I'm afraid you're about to find out." The man's grave tone made Sasuke nervous.
"So, Naruto, do you want me to tell you? Who you really are? Who the Fourth really, truly was?" Ayumi asked, staring at the blond seriously. "The Fourth was the hero of the Hidden Leaf Village! And I'm going to be even greater! But first, I have to beat you!" Naruto yelled, glaring at his opponent.
"So, you really don't know who the child of the Fourth Hokage was, do you, Naruto?" At his hesitation, she continued. "That means you must not know what he really thought of you, Kyuubi container." "What are you talking about?" Naruto questioned cautiously. An amused laugh escaped the girl, much as she tried to cover it. "Wow, no wonder you're miserable."
"Tell me what you're saying, already!" Naruto demanded, one fist clenched. Ayumi only smirked insanely. When nothing had changed on Naruto's face, she sighed. "Idiot! You are the son of the Fourth Hokage!"
Red eyes widened at her exclamation and it's implications. "Wh-what?" Ayumi was still smirking triumphantly, eyes glittering in the sunlight. "That's right. You are the son of the Fourth Hokage!" "That can't be!" "But it is, Na-ru-to, dear. Poor boy," an expression of sorrow washed over Ayumi, "not even knowing who your parents were, or what they did. Do you even know about the decree the Fourth released about you before he died?"
Naruto growled. "All I know is that nobody was allowed to talk about it." Ayumi sighed, shaking her head. "This village is worse for secrets than I thought!" She stared at Naruto, half pitying him and half smirking. "There was another decree, one that the village never heeded. It would have made your life so much easier..." She trailed off teasingly. "What was it?"
"Before the Fourth Hokage died by sealing the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox inside you, Naruto, he declared that you were to be treated like a hero." She began sweetly. "It was only because of you that the village could be saved. You were never supposed to be treated like trash, but respected as a savior." Ayumi ended spitefully.
Naruto froze, staring at the girl in front of him with disbelief written all over his face. No way she could be telling the truth, right!? He slowly turned to the left, and upon seeing Tsunade glaring at the ground and Kakashi staring wide-eyed at him, Naruto's stomach dropped in dread. Still staring at Tsunade, he said quietly "So it's true? The Fourth was really...my father?"
The Hokage let out a growl, clenching both her eyes and fists. "Yes, Naruto, he was." Naruto blinked, eyes still blood-red and wide open. No way... "So! Naruto-kun!" The blond shifted his vision to watch Ayumi, who was smiling slightly, eyes closed and head tilted. "Aren't you going to kill me?" She lifted one eye, the innocent-looking bright green focused on her target.
Remembering Sakura, Naruto recovered from his shock, narrowing his gaze on the white-haired girl and growling. "Ah, now that's what I'm waiting for, Naruto." She said pleasantly, still smiling.
Naruto began oozing red chakra, creating a visible aura the color of blood. Ayumi's smile gradually faded as he grew more and more angry and powerful, a look of absolute seriousness overshadowing it. He made eye contact and the combatants held it for barely a second before Naruto had disappeared.
On the defensive, but too slow to block it, Ayumi brought up her arm, blood levitating near her. Before she could make a shield, Naruto had come in from her left, delivering a powerful punch that sent the girl flying to the side. Ayumi gasped and held her jaw, which was broken and bleeding.
Standing up, she locked eyes with Naruto, blood coming from her mouth in three lines. Ayumi was again smiling like a maniac. "Now…" she spit, and a thick glob of dark blood landed in her open palm. "It begins."
Naruto ran forward as Ayumi began to levitate the glob. He got closer, it started changing shape. He brought out a kunai and held it at the ready, the once sphere began to form a sharp projection. Naruto brought the weapon back and forward, and she lunged forward, the point aimed at his neck.
Green eyes narrowed. Red eyes widened.
Ayumi growled and hissed as Naruto tried to bring back the kunai impaled in her empty palm. Naruto screamed as Ayumi wrenched out the blood-knife that had missed and gone into his shoulder. They both jumped back, watching, panting, and wincing in pain.
A breeze blew through the clearing, throwing white and yellow hair into blue and green eyes. When they blinked, the still figure had disappeared. Before they could gasp in surprise or react, a fist was rammed into a jaw, sending the body flying like a rag doll back. It hit a tree, a crash echoing and rings from the contact cratering the plant. A silent glare was sent toward the body as it slumped down, more blood seeping through the clothes and streaking on the wood.
"It's over…" came the growled call. Blood dripped from a fist onto the ground, and the figure relaxed, taking a deep breath. Eyes slid to the dead body of the pink-haired kuniochi, and saddened. "Sakura…" Tears slid silently down whiskered cheeks.
Tsunade ran past Naruto, casting one hazel, critical eye back to make sure he was safe. Naruto said nothing, only looked at the scene blankly. The Gondaime lifted the girls head up and leaned it forward, grimacing. Without a word, she laid Ayumi back, the lifeless body limply resting against the tree, green eyes rolled back into her head, blood covering most of her visible body and clothes.
Kakashi walked forward, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder, startling the younger. "It's over, Naruto." His grave face misguided his comforting words and made Naruto only more saddened. Tsunade sighed as she walked over. "Well, she's dead. Crashing into that tree shattered her spine and part of the skull; that sent shards of bone into her brain and lungs. There's no way she would have survived long, anyways."
"So…she died instantly?" Naruto asked blandly. "Yep. I think she should have suffered a little, but…" A stoic glance darted down for a second. "Her past…she suffered. And it's over."
Blue eyes traveled once again to the red-dressed corpse. "In more ways than one." Naruto gravely stated.
