A/N: Yeah, I've been forced to give this A LOT lately, but nonetheless… I'm truly sorry for it having taken this long to update AGAIN. (cringes) I seriously hope I'll be able to update more regularly in a not so distant future. (crosses fingers)
Before getting to the business, tremendous thank yous for all those AMAZING review! (HUGE bunches of chocolate and hugs to all of you) Seriously, this lil' fic seems to have A LOT of friends – thank you!
I was basically kicked out of my own computer, so I didn't have time to search for Lady Renyel of Arella and Belladonna-Isabella's messages from my e-mail folder, so your responses are on the bottom of this chapter, just like good old times. I'm so sorry!
But now, because I've already kept you waiting for so long that I'm surprised you haven't come hunting me down yet, let's get going! I really, really hope you'll like chapter seven!
/ I won't stay long, in this world so wrong.
Say goodbye, as we dance with the devil tonight.
Don't you dare look at him in the eye, as we dance with the devil tonight?
Hold on. Hold on.
Goodbye. /
(Breaking Benjamin; "Dance With The Devil")
There was a small, strange sound in the darkest room of the Akatsuki's brand new lair. Very slowly Madara's eyes inched open to meet a hologram of a very familiar figure.
He could almost see a quirked eyebrow. " So it's getting worse."
Barely managing to restrain himself from growling he nodded, suddenly far too aware of how vulnerable and exposed he was without his customary mask on. " That brat… gave me something before she left", he snarled. " I don't have a clue of what it is, but it requires all my skills to slow down the effects."
The other mused for a while before speaking out. " You know… There's a way to find out." There was a pause until his undivided attention was received. " One of my subordinates has a Hyuuga and Suna's leader within her grasp. If one of them would face the same… unfortunate accident as you, I'm sure Konoha would be willing to make a little trade."
He was immediately intrigued. " So… You're trading one of their life for mine?"
" Yes." The other's voice all but purred. " Those Konohans are quite foolish when it comes to saving one of their own, especially the younger leafs."
He arched an eyebrow, impressed although he would've never admitted it out loud. Finally, he had an ally of some use. " Well, in that case… Why don't you get going then? It sounds like you'll have quite a bit of work to do."
" What about you?"
He smirked. " Oh, me? I've got a war to start out."
The other radiated surprise, but didn't say a word. In a matter of moments he was alone.
It wasn't long until there was a knock on his door. He responded while carefully putting his mask on. " Yes?"
Konan entered slowly and soundlessly. He wondered if the woman herself noticed how her current state made her glow. " Pein needs you", she explained. " It seems everyone's finally recovered enough, and our new members are on their correct spots. It's time."
He was mildly surprised. It seemed things were progressing far faster than he'd anticipated.
Careful to hide just how much effort it required, he pushed himself up from the edge of his bed, instantly longing for its warmth. " I'm afraid I don't have the time to meet him right now. Just tell him to send a two man team to fetch the Nine Tailed's container, as we've planned so far."
Konan frowned. " What about you?"
" There are some things I need to take care of in Kirigakure." His eyes flashed. " Once I'm done, a storm will blow over Konoha."
CHAPTER 7: Dance With The Devil
The surroundings of Konoha were completely quiet while Shino made his way towards the edge of the forest – so quiet, in fact, that he didn't trust it.
It was still slightly shadowy and mist made seeing anything even harder, but his trained eyes had no problem with seeing perfectly. That's why he was rather quick to spot the figure staggering through the woods. He didn't recognize the approaching figure immediately, but when the arrival slumped to ground his eyes widened behind his glasses.
It can't be…!
Forgetting all guardedness and not even bothering to make sure if there were any possible attackers he rushed over to the girl leaning against a tree while giving wheezing pants. As soon as he was about a step away, a bloodied sword was raised his way, almost managing to touch his throat.
He recoiled a step. " Suzume, relax", he commanded in a remarkably even voice considering the turmoil inside him. The blade disappeared. It took all his training to keep emotions from appearing to his face and voice when he examined the girl's injuries, saw all broken bones and spilled blood far too clearly. Actually, blood still seemed to be escaping in a constant flow, and the girl was barely conscious. " What… What happened?"
Suzume emitted a hiss – that of pain or annoyance can only be guessed. " That… damn… Kisame happened." She winced. " And Danzou… was great help."
No matter how much he would've wanted to, he didn't dare to ask, fearing what the possible answer would cause him to do.
Finally managing to gather his wits, he walked up to the girl, placing one arm to underneath her legs and another to behind her back. He was surprised by how someone who appeared as tough as she could weight as little as she did.
Suzume arched an eyebrow at him, obviously not used to being babied like this. " What… do you think… you're doing?"
He had hard time fighting against the blush that wanted to appear on his cheeks when he realized just how close to him her warm body was. " You're obviously in no condition to walk. I'm taking you to see a medic."
He couldn't help thinking it felt good when she leaned just a little bit closer, silently accepting his help. She must've been far more exhausted than she'd given out, because after only a couple of steps her head fell to rest against his shoulder.
His eyes immediately moved her way, and he picked up speed upon discovering her eyes closed. " Are you hanging in there?"
" Hmph." One corner of her mouth twitched an inch. " Although this is… the most… humiliating experience in my… entire life."
He dared to smile, knowing no one would see it.
As much as they were ninjas, neither seemed to notice that even though not another word more was spoken, the atmosphere around them was intoxicatingly comfortable.
Unlike majority of people thought, Naruto had always been the type that wakes up rather early in most of the mornings. In fact, he even liked mornings – the rays of pale light, the slowly awakening and lighting up world.
But that morning, something was amiss. There was something wrong and deceitful about the light that tickled his face, especially with how little warmth and comfort it held.
It'd been three days from when Sasuke had been arrested, and so far Danzou's giant-sized guards had made perfectly sure he hadn't gotten anywhere near the raven. And it was driving him insane.
Sasuke was still too damn weak – he could barely eat and walk on his own. Hard as he tried, he couldn't keep himself from thinking about just what might've been done to the Uchiha.
" Naruto." Iruka's soft voice managed to bring him out of those thoughts. Brown eyes gazed at him with immense worry. " You came here filled with cuts and bruises from your training-session, and now you've been spacing out for at least ten minutes. What's on your mind?" The schoolteacher then clicked. " It's Sasuke, isn't it?"
Chewing his lip hard he looked away, towards the plateful of ramen Iruka had ordered for him the second the man had checked up on his injuries. " I'm just… worried, about what they'll do to him." He swallowed. " I… He just came back. I don't want to lose him again. And I don't want him to get hurt, either."
Iruka was silent for a moment. " He really does mean the world to you, doesn't he?"
He blinked with confusion when meeting the man's eyes. Something he couldn't recognize squirmed in the pit of his stomach. " He's my best friend. Isn't he supposed to?" Though he had a feeling that he wasn't telling himself the full truth.
Iruka smiled as though knowing something he didn't just yet before speaking out. " You should try to go and see him again."
He scoffed. " It's not like Danzou would let me any further from the doorstep."
" Since when have you been one to give up like this?" It was beyond him how the man's eyes could be so soft and hard at the same time. " Naruto… I know how much you miss him. If you don't want to wait until it's too late, you should go, now."
For a moment he simply stared at his former teacher in utter disbelief, until one of his bright grins came. " Thanks, Iruka-sensei."
-
Once Naruto had left, Iruka glanced towards the blonde's plate. At first he blinked, then smiled faintly.
It was the first time he saw Naruto leave ramen uneaten.
Emitting a deep sigh, he twirled a chopstick in his own ramen, as though it'd suddenly been the most repulsive thing in the entire world.
I really hope Naruto won't end up making the same mistake I did, he mused darkly. Nothing's more heartbreaking than watching the young follow in the footsteps of us old fools.
All of a sudden, his warm eyes widened ever so slightly when he was almost sure he spotted a flash of silver amongst the food. He closed his eyes, only to find that the fragment of imagination had disappeared when he opened them again.
Shuddering a bit, he got up from his seat, deciding to leave.
He wasn't that hungry anyway, and he had a pile of exams to go through. Drowning himself to work sounded like a very good idea at the moment.
When Neji woke up slowly that morning, he immediately frowned at the strange, dark feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was almost like a part of him had sensed a disaster approaching.
He, however, quickly dismissed that thought as a trick of overactive imagination, and pushed his oddly stiff body into a sitting position with some stretches. Some surprise was allowed to show from his face when he discovered that Gaara had, for once, woken up before him.
Shrugging off the surprise he got up and took a sip of the water that'd been delivered to them, deciding that in this village absolutely everything was bound to be bizarre.
Not paying much thought to what he was doing or his surroundings he walked to the inn room's small bathroom and opened up the door. What he faced forced him to freeze completely.
Inside, Gaara had his back towards him while getting dressed. He could see far more pale skin than he would've been ready for with how little fabric the redhead had on.
The fact that he was supposed to be a ninja didn't manage to do a thing to help him disguise emotions while he kept staring, unable to tear his gaze away although every single trace of reason told him he should've.
At that exact moment, Gaara spun around with a small, sharp blade in his hand. The redhead seemed ready to attack, but changed his mind in an instant upon recognizing him. He could swear the village-leader was blushing when his cheeks turned chalk white. " Neji?" Surprisingly enough the tone was filled with surprise instead of anger, but it did nothing to ease his humiliation.
Fortunately (or so he thought at the time), he was spared from having to think of an answer, for there was a firm, almost irritated knock on the door a little bit behind him. Swallowing down whatever words had rose into his throat, he turned around and walked up to open.
He wasn't exactly surprised to find Murotashi Kikyo from behind the door. There was an odd look upon the village leader's face.
He fought the urge to sigh. " What is it?"
The girl eyed on them both, seeming to be fighting between being impressed and repulsed by their lightly dressed appearances. " Put some clothes on and come with me. There's something I want to show you."
Shikamaru and Temari barely noticed that three days had already passed while they worked on the mysterious code. So far, they'd gotten next to nowhere, and seeing how impatient natures they both were it was getting pretty infuriating.
Shikamaru growled, leaning back in his chair and grabbing his hair. " This is too damn troublesome!" he announced irritably. " I swear, this was made just for the spite of us!"
Temari, who was currently sitting far closer to him than would've been entirely necessary, glanced towards him, not seeming a slightest bit impressed. " With an IQ of 200, that's the best you can come up with?"
It took his all to fight the urge of sticking out his tongue.
Both turned their heads when hearing approaching steps. They weren't surprised to find Shiho's familiar, thick glasses. She'd been hanging around them a lot during the past days (far more than Temari would've pleased, although she would've never admitted that out loud).
" What's up?" Shikamaru inquired. Both girls figured it was because of him being a man he failed to notice how Temari's hand moved half-subconsciously a bit closer to him, almost like possessive.
Shiho fixed her glasses. " I found something interesting. Could you show that code to me again?"
Seeming mildly confused, Shikamaru pushed the tiny, extremely worn piece of paper forward on the table. " Right now, any clues whatsoever are appreciated."
He and Temari watched with some puzzlement while Shiho turned the paper ever so slightly, looking at it from a whole another angle. " Remember how you dropped that paper yesterday? It was turned this way, and I came to think of something. I've done some research."
Temari was getting quite impatient by then. " Yes?"
Shiho grinned victoriously. " Take a look at that nine." They did as ordered. " It's not a number at all."
Shikamaru blinked with utter disbelief as the ridiculously simple truth cleared out. " How the heck didn't I figure that out?"
For staring at them directly into eye wasn't a number, but a letter. 'Ta'.
Temari smirked. " Well how about that."
" We'll better start going through Jiraiya's work", Shikamaru pointed out.
Shiho was immediately in action. " I can go and fetch some, if you like."
The boy seemed surprised. " Well… Thanks."
As Shiho practically stormed off, Temari spoke out, shaking her head. There was a strange expression upon her face. " That girl is so obvious."
He frowned. " What are you talking about?"
Temari seemed to fight between urges of smacking and laughing. " You guys really don't get some things, do you?" Quite slowly, she pushed herself up from her chair. " I'll go and get us something to eat."
Shikamaru was left staring at her distancing back with utter confusion. After some moments, he groaned and shook his head. " Troublesome."
Anyone entering Izumi's tiny prison-room would've found the sight inside unbelievably adorable. For there, inspecting her weapons with a unnoticeable smile Izumi was sitting only a hand's brush away from Kankuro, who was laying lazily on her bed reading. Hajime had long since fallen asleep, cuddled as close to Kankuro's warm body as humanly possible, one tiny hand clutching determinedly to the much older boy's shirt.
Yet again Kankuro's eyes shifted from the book towards Izumi and the weapon in her delicate hold. " I don't understand how you can handle those without seeing them."
Now, Izumi's smile became visible. Moves soft, she set the metal away from her hand and replaced it with another. " Trust me, it's taken a lot of practice. I have no idea of how many cuts I managed to get before learning at least somewhat what I was supposed to do." Regardless to the fact that she couldn't see, she looked at him. " Is that book boring you? I've only heard you turn page five times in half an hour." (Had he been blessed with a little bit greater gift of reading people, he would've been able to distinguish the knowing teasing in her tone.)
Horrible as it made him feel, Kankuro was relieved she couldn't see the nice touch of blush that appeared to his cheeks. " No, I've just… been deep in thought." At that moment, he chose to switch topic to spare at least small piece of the dignity he still had left. " Half an hour, huh? Danzou's being generous today."
Something almost dark flashed across Izumi's face. " That's because he's not here. I heard guards say something about him being busy."
He smirked. " I bet they're having a small party."
He found himself welcoming the sound when Izumi chuckled. It'd been a rare visitor lately.
So lost into that thought he ended up, that he was almost taken aback when the girl spoke all of a sudden, putting away the last weapon she'd had to inspect. " Have you heard anything about Gaara?"
He shook his head, pretty sure she'd be able to sense it, choosing to ignore the slash of worry that crossed his body. " No, but I'm pretty sure he'll be alright. Those clues he was sent to follow are pretty surely false, anyway. Besides, he has the Hyuuga with him." All of a sudden, another smirk appeared. " I can't wait to see his reaction when he comes back and sees how Temari and Shikamaru are dancing around each other."
Izumi smiled yet again. " So he's a bit of his siblings' keeper?"
He sweatdropped. " Let's say that he has a tendency of being overprotective."
" He sounds like a good brother", the girl pointed out in a soft tone.
He just had to smile as well.
Of course he'd known to expect that their little moment of peace and quiet wouldn't be allowed to last eternally. But nonetheless, he felt a flare of extreme annoyance when the room's door was pushed open. It, however, subsided when he recognized the arrival. " Tsunade-sama?"
The woman's tense face held a strange expression he didn't manage to name. " I only have a couple of minutes, so you need to listen to me carefully." The former village leader's eyes were harder than he'd ever seen them when they locked to his. " Something Konoha is far from ready for is approaching, fast. I need you take Izumi to Suna, as soon as possible."
-
Izumi barely heard Tsunade's first few sentences and nothing about the ones following, for her mind was sent into a huge spin.
She… She recognized that voice, from so very far away…
/ Although five-years-old Izumi had sky-high fever, she still woke up to the sounds coming from the other side of her room's door. A man and a woman were speaking, quite heatedly.
" … to hospital", the man insisted. " You are skilled, but she…!"
" Jiraiya, don't you remember why we decided to send her as far away from Konoha and its scheming as possible?" The woman sounded like she'd been close to tears. " She's only safe in here. If we take her back there now…" There was a tiny pause. " She's our daughter. We can't do that to her."
Hard as she fought to stay awake, she fell asleep only an instant later.
When she woke up, she figured those voices had been just a dream. Rin confirmed those assumptions. /
" Izumi." She shuddered a little when feeling a warm hand wrap around hers, although she had no idea of why. " We have to go, before Danzou returns. This is our only chance."
She nodded, still dazed by the woman's voice and that flash of memory. It took a while before she managed to speak. " I'll pack and wake up Hajime."
-
Such a mixture of emotions was twirling in Tsunade's mind that it was almost impossible to keep them all from showing.
She was about to say goodbye to her daughter all over again. But… At least Izumi would be safe. And that was all what mattered.
When the girl seemed distracted enough while preparing Hajime for leaving, she walked up to Kankuro. The boy seemed far beyond confused when she handed him an envelope. " When the time is right, read this to her", she all but ordered in a hoarse voice that didn't sound a bit like hers. " She deserves to know."
Kankuro's confusion grew evidently, but instead of asking the boy nodded and hid the envelope into his clothes.
At that moment Izumi appeared, a small bag in one hand and the other holding Hajime. " So…", she stated edgily. " Should we go?"
Kankuro nodded, taking the bag from her. " Yeah." It was clear he thought about offering an arm to support her, but decided against it.
Just before the couple walked away, Izumi turned towards her once more. " Tsunade-sama…" The girl swallowed, seeming unsure. " Thank you."
All she could do was nod, although she knew the girl wouldn't see it.
With that the girl started to walk away. She forced herself to watch, even though it felt like heart had been torn from her chest.
See that, she asked in thought, although she couldn't be heard. Her eyes were burning so badly that no matter how hard she blinked, tears almost spilled. She's finally going to be safe, Jiraiya. I'll make sure of that. Although it couldn't be real, she got comfort from feeling a hand holding hers.
" That was a pretty smart move." The guard's unexpectedly soft voice managed to startle her. Only a couple of steps away was standing a young man with eyes of rich violet and maroon hair. " You just sent her somewhere she'll be untouched for diplomatic reasons."
Her expression was grim. She waited for a while before finding her voice to speak. " I assume you want to arrest me."
" For what?" The young man turned around and started to walk away. " I didn't see a thing."
The group of four sauntering through woods far away from Konoha was silent due to intense fatigue and bad omens they'd had since Kakashi and Rin had spotted the two figures observing them. Since then they'd barely dared to stop, and during night time someone had always stayed awake to keep guard. (Though more often than not, they'd ended up staying up in pairs – for safety-reasons, they'd told themselves and each other.)
Despite all the worries, Rin just had to grin as she watched Kiba and Hinata, who were currently walking ahead of them with Akamaru. They weren't touching, but their hands loomed nearby each other and they were walking very close. Every once in a while they whispered something even her trained ears couldn't catch to each other. " Those two are absolutely adorable."
She was almost sure Kakashi grinned behind his mask. " Yeah. And the best part is, that they've forgotten to spy on us since we left that inn."
That day's peace was just then disturbed. Rin felt shivers of alarm go through her when Akamaru suddenly stopped and started to growl at thin hair, all its fur spiking upwards.
She could actually hear Kiba's gulp. " Something's wrong."
She opened her mouth to ask, but never got the chance.
The air before them seemed to move a little, and after a moment a huge puff of smoke came. When it disappeared, they all froze.
Stood before them were two people, dressed into Akatsuki cloaks – a extremely tall man with shortcut, mauve-coloured hair and deep blue eyes, and a woman with long hair of fuchsia and blood-coloured eyes.
" Hinata." Kakashi's voice was far tighter than any of them had ever heard it before. " Run and get help. Right now."
After hesitating for a moment, the girl obeyed with apparent reluctance. The female-attacker teleported off in an instant, obviously to go after the Hyuuga.
The man before them sneered. " Now… Would you three like to play a little game?"
That afternoon, Naruto finally managed to gather enough of inner strength to march down to the prison.
He hadn't been expecting an easy entrance. That's why he wasn't surprised by the huge, somewhat scarred man (who looked scarily lot like Ibiki, he couldn't help noticing) who blocked his path at the door. " Now what do you think you're doing here?"
He narrowed his eyes, although he knew it'd most likely be of no use. " You're keeping Sasuke here in who knows what conditions and no one's allowed to see him."
The man shrugged, not seeming a slightest bit affected. " He's a traitor, brat. What else did you expect?"
He felt his blood boil, and it was a close call he didn't just end up attacking the man. " He's my best friend! If you're not allowing me inside at this instant…!"
The man interrupted him with a haughty snort. " Then you what?" The older's eyes showed no signs of hesitation. " He's being interrogated right now, so…"
" Actually…", another voice – no less irritating than the scarred man's – spoke all of a sudden. A man who looked quite a bit like a hawk appeared. " The interrogation was just finished. If you want to see that traitor so badly, get in there before I change my mind. You've got five minutes."
Had he been a little less worked up by other things, he would've noticed that there was something very wrong with the situation. But as it was now, he dashed in without a question.
When he entered a tiny interrogation room, Sasuke was already there. For a reason he just couldn't understand it was very hard, almost impossible, to restrain himself from reaching out and touching the raven. But he managed anyhow, sitting still with his fists balled. " Teme, I had quite a bit of trouble with talking those bastards into allowing me to come here. So would you please at least look at me?"
Very slowly, Sasuke lifted his head, allowing him to see a pair of eyes that hadn't lost any of their newfound fire even in here. " Dobe."
He could feel his blood boil when he saw a huge bruise decorating the raven's right eye. His eyes narrowed to slits. " What the hell have they done to you?"
The raven cast him a somewhat hard look. " Dobe, don't. I'm not about to let you get yourself into a trouble."
Swallowing hard, he allowed his gaze to travel on Sasuke, and it was then he realized that although only three days had passed, it was already apparent that the raven hadn't managed to eat much of a thing during that time. (It was amusing, really, that at the exact same second Sasuke noticed the very same thing from him and frowned so slightly he failed to notice it.)
He didn't realize they'd been silent for several minutes until he spoke again. " Have… Have they made any decisions about your sentence?"
Sasuke simply shook his head, eyes darkening. " But I've heard them talking. It's pretty obvious what Danzou has in mind."
Unable to resist the urge anymore, he grabbed one of the raven's hands as tightly as humanly possible. Sasuke shuddered against the touch at first and tried to pull his hand away, but he refused to let go, instead held even tighter.
His eyes were filled with a stubborn gleam when they bore into the onyx ones. " I'm not letting those bastards hurt you, do you understand, teme? They're not going to kill you as long as I have even one breath of life within me."
For a long moment Sasuke simply stared at him with unreadable expression, then scoffed, managing to sneak out of his hold. The hand, however, never withdrew too far from his. " Even after all these years, you still are a moron."
He grinned. " And you're still a bastard."
They sat in utterly comfortable silence for a longest time, each other's presence the only thing they needed (although neither was ready to admit it). As expected, it was he who broke the silence. " Sasuke… What happened?" It was a question he'd wanted to ask ever since the day he'd found the raven from that chilling cave-like room. " After you killed Itachi… What were you doing in that place?"
Sasuke was silent for such a long time he was sure the boy wouldn't respond. But in the end, surprising them both, words started to flow. " Madara found me, and told me that basically all I've believed in is a lie." The flame of wrath awakening in those black depths that refused to meet his chilled him. " He asked me to join him, to fulfil my quest. I almost did."
He found himself shuddering, and it took a while before he found even a slightest trace of his voice. " What changed your mind?"
Sasuke still wouldn't look at him. " Hn."
He couldn't quite keep himself from wincing when the guard who'd been keeping a suspicious eye on them for the entire time started to tap his foot with impatience. His eyes moved toward Sasuke's. " I don't want to leave you here."
Still laying on the table nearby his, Sasuke's hand twitched, but didn't move. " Then you shouldn't have come, dobe."
He paid no heed to the words. " I'm going to get you out of here, teme", he announced, feeling a heavy flash of determination. " I'm not about to let these freaks keep torturing you like this. I'm going to get you home."
Sasuke's eyes were hard. " Naruto, no. It's already enough that I've managed to get myself into this mess. I'm not pulling you in as well."
He opened his mouth, but before he could actually speak out the door before him opened and Danzou entered, steps filled with confidence. " I can't say I'm surprised to find you here", the man stated, voice shuddering with disgust. " Based on what I heard from the guards, you've been here well long enough. Sasuke has another interrogation ahead of him – you're going home."
Barely managing to keep himself from attacking the man, he glanced towards Sasuke, feeling a sharp slash of guilt. When I swore to bring you back, this was definitely not what I had in mind. " I'll be back soon, teme. Okay?"
Hard as he tried, he couldn't tell if Sasuke was about to roll his eyes or smile. (Most likely the former.) " I'm a big boy, dobe. Just go before you'll get thrown out."
During his entire life, Naruto had never been as reluctant to turn his back and walk away as he was just then.
-
Escorting the blonde away, Danzou was just about seething.
It wasn't enough that he'd been forced to witness the boys' byes that made him feel absolutely nauseated, but it also seemed that he'd ended up misjudging Naruto.
Or… Perhaps not.
They were almost out when Naruto suddenly stopped, as though a switch had been flicked.
" No what?" he demanded.
" You know what?" He could tell that it was rare to hear the blonde's voice to crackle the way it did just then. Blue eyes were on fire when meeting his. " If you're about to torture Sasuke, I want to be there to make sure you won't end up breaking him beyond any prepare. You're not kicking me out when you're about to attack my best friend."
His eyes gleamed. That fool is playing straight into my pocket. " Fine, then. If that's really something you want to see, then come along. But I'm warning you – it won't be pretty."
Only Suzume's eyes moved when the door of her hospital room made a slightest sound as it opened. A cold tingle travelled through her skin when she recognized the arrival's face.
The man made a small nod, his face remaining expressionless. " Suzume."
She returned his gesture. " Danzou-sama." Her voice was frosty and even, so formal it would've amused her in any other occasion.
Danzou remained silent for a while, observing her injuries. " The medics said that although some of your injuries are severe, you'll heal soon enough."
She looked away, towards window nearby, feeling almost sick to her stomach. It took quite a bit of time before she managed to speak without her voice revealing too many emotions. " I've heard you've been busy while I've been away."
She didn't see it, of course, but she felt his eyes flash. " That doesn't concern you in any way whatsoever."
Her eyes narrowed, and from the reflection in the window-glass she could see her entire face tighten. " It sure as hell concerns me a lot that you're about to tear apart the village when it should be focusing on preparing itself for the attack about to come." She gestured to her patched up form. " One of them did this to me, and he was only fooling around. Just imagine what they're capable of."
" Watch your language", the man snarled. " And stop interfering."
She paid no heed, still couldn't bring herself to look at him. " You've always said you love Konoha. But this… This proves what I've known all along." Her voice was still cold and formal.
Danzou remained silent for a while, obviously until he felt composed enough to be able to conceal his emotions. " You may be my daughter, Suzume. But you're also a Root ninja and my subordinate. So you really should show me some respect."
She grit her teeth so tightly it hurt. Her voice was a screech as she spoke. " You've fulfilled your duty. So why don't you get going?"
The door made a furious hiss as the man went.
As soon as he was gone, door of the room's tiny bathroom opened. Out came Shino, who seemed mildly surprised although he was clearly fighting to hide it. She was extremely grateful he had enough of decency to not ask a thing, no matter how much he would've wanted to.
In a couple of moments she managed to regain some composure. " So… Is there something else you'd like to know?" Being alone sounded like a tempting idea at the moment, but so did Shino's company. After all, his questions about the Akatsuki and its members kept her from thinking about her irritating injuries, and the fact that she was trapped into a hospital.
Shino shrugged, seeming surprisingly sheepish. " Not really, but I think I'll stay for a while to make sure you'll rest properly. Besides, it's pretty boring in here with Kiba and Hinata on a mission, and Kurenai-sensei having disappeared."
She frowned, but in a few moments those names started to ring bells. " You should stop worrying about them", she pointed out with a slight smile. " I'm sure they'll be okay."
Shino's expression didn't weaver, but she still sensed a change of some sort. " Hmm."
Just then, she spotted something that'd flown in through an open window and landed to her sheet. It was a bug – beetle of some sort, she suspected, though her knowledge of insects was extremely limited – with three different shades of blue decorating it. It seemed to be shining like sapphire in bright sunlight. In a spur of a moment she reached out a hand and patted the creature gently with one finger. It shuddered, but didn't crawl away.
Shino, who'd obviously spotted what she was doing, was silent for a moment before managing to voice his thoughts. " Most people I know wouldn't touch that with even a stick."
She shrugged, watching as the bug finally had enough of her groping and started to crawl away, eventually flying away with its tiny wings. " I don't understand what's so repulsive about it."
She was almost sure Shino was about to say something, but never got the chance before the room's door opened and Sakura, who'd checked up on her and done what she could for her when Shino had brought her in, appeared. Amusement the pinkette didn't even try to hide could be seen upon the girl's face when she looked at Shino. " I know Suzume's information is valuable, but she needs her rest. You can come again later." The girl then looked at her. " And I'm afraid I'll have to give you a full check up now that you're finally properly conscious."
Had she allowed herself to be a little bit more immature, she would've rolled her eyes. " Fine." As though working on their own accord, her eyes moved to Shino. " I'll see you later."
Had she not known better, she could've sworn Shino blushed while nodding. " I'll go and fill out a proper report." The boy opened his mouth once more, but instead of speaking what was on his mind headed out, closing the door soundlessly after him.
Although her wounds were throbbing like hell and her little talk with Danzou still remained like acid on her tongue, she couldn't keep herself from smiling a bit.
-
Outside the hospital, Danzou's irritation didn't diminish any when one of his less bright subordinates dashed towards him. " Now what?"
The young man panted for a while before managing to speak out. " You… told me… to come and tell you… if Uzumaki Naruto shows up. Well, he's… meeting the Uchiha… right now."
His eyebrow bounced high up. Maybe this day wouldn't become a total disaster after all.
Ino had no idea of for how long it'd been since she'd sat into a chair beside Sai's bed to take a small break when her eyes suddenly flew open and she clutched to her chest, panting heavily as though waking up from a nightmare of some sort.
I fell asleep? She winced, rubbing her face with one hand. Great, Tsunade's going to kill me…
The woman had been particularly grumpy lately. She understood it was because of Jiraiya, but that didn't make the situation any more bearable.
All of a sudden she snapped into a full alertness when there were sounds of feeble movements, then a barely traceable moan of pain. Her rapidly growing eyes moved slowly towards the bed, and her heart jumped one extra time when she spotted Sai shifting on the very edge of waking up.
She swallowed thickly, barely daring to hope. " Sai?" She thought about taking his hand but decided against it, not wanting to face to consequences of startling him when he was like this. " Sai, open your eyes. You've slept long enough already."
Very slowly Sai obeyed, his eyelids first twitching and then inching open with visible difficulty. After a scowl of pain he seemed to relax when seeing her, but nonetheless frowned. " What…?"
" You got quite banged up on your mission", she explained, her tone clearly stating how she felt about the matter. Her eyes, on the other hand, were uncharacteristically soft. " You've been sleeping for a long time. 'Bout time you wake up."
Sai nodded, then seemed to sink into his thoughts for a while. His face radiated unwillingness to hear the response when he managed to whisper a question. " The others…?"
She swallowed, and inch from wincing. " Sai, they…" She gulped again, not managing to bring herself into speaking out the rest. " I'm so sorry."
Moving the best as he could, the boy buried his face into one hand, taking several deep, shuddering breaths. Then, so suddenly she was startled, his hand moved again and he looked towards her with scared eyes, medication wiping away his capability of hiding emotions. " Ino… How long… have I… been here?"
She frowned. " Three days. Why?"
Sai's eyes flew huge at her words. " Three days…?" He then swore under his breath, emitting words she could only guess.
She tried to smile reassuringly. " Sai, it's alright. Everything's going to…"
To her surprise, Sai interrupted her with a firm shake of head. She'd never seen the boy's eyes look like they did just then. " Ino, the mission… We… I tried to… to warn, but…" The boy swallowed, talking obviously wearing him down. " We… We were sent to Kirigakure… to gather information… And… We… We managed to sneak into the village, we saw it. They've organized. They… They're ready… for a war."
Those words struck all air and warmth out of her system. Her face lost all colour.
Holy shit!
Hinata had never been the toughest of fighters. That was a fact she'd long since been forced to accept and cope with. That's why she knew better than well that she was in a deep trouble when the woman wearing Akatsuki's cloak was stood before her, starting to approach with utterly calm blood-coloured eyes.
He balled her trembling fists, trying her best to make her defensive stance at least remotely believable. " S-Stay away!" she all but piped out.
The woman chuckled while holding out a hand that had fire burning all over it. " Silly little girl." The flame grew brighter. " Don't worry, I'll finish this fast and effectively. You won't have to feel a thing."
The woman prepared to strike, and she readied herself for a final blow until a shuriken suddenly flew through the air, narrowly missing hitting the woman's blazing arm. Both she and the attacker turned their gaze – hers filled with gratitude, the attacker's rage – to see infuriated Rin. " I suggest you to leave her well alone before I'll have to step in to make you."
The attacker's smile revealed pearly teeth. " So I'll get to face the Eight Tailed's container. This is a honour."
Hinata's eyes flew wide with disbelief as she stared at the brunette who'd always appeared gentle to her. She… She couldn't possibly have a demon inside her – right?
Rin's eyes narrowed, she saw the woman's hand move swiftly towards weapons. " You don't know anything about honour."
The woman who'd attacked her shrugged. " Maybe so. But I'll have my mission completed. That's all what matters to me."
Without anything further, the women attacked each other like hurricanes, dodging and delivering attacks with such speed she had no chance of distinguishing them all. Her heart hammered madly with terror while droplets of blood spattered to the ground, but she couldn't bring herself to scream no matter how hard she tried. It felt like she'd been restrained by some jutsu.
Then, in a blink of an eye, the battle reached what seemed like closure. The strange woman hissed with fury when Rin's long, slender sword went through her right shoulder, making the whole limb grow completely limp and useless. The fire Rin had managed to avoid died out from the hand.
Rin's eyes flashed. " I told you to leave her alone, didn't I?" The woman nearly screeched when the brunette pulled her blade away, causing blood to flow. " Have you had enough already?"
Despite pain, the woman grinned icily. " No, I haven't. Not yet."
Before Rin had even a slightest chance to avoid it the woman's suddenly glowing left hand rose, slamming to nearby the brunette's neck. Rin hissed, but didn't manage to escape from whatever the woman was putting her through. When the hand was eventually pulled away, Hinata could clearly see a strange, dark mark against milky skin.
The woman smirked yet again, clearly enjoying of every single trace of pain she found from Rin's eyes. " Now, I've had enough. I'll be seeing you again very, very soon. And then, you'll be begging me to finish you off." With that, she teleported away.
Hinata's pale eyes were huge when they moved towards Rin, who was clutching to the mark with a scowl. " R-Rin, are y-you okay?"
The woman opened her mouth, but before another word came out she fell to the ground, unconscious.
Neji and Gaara didn't dare to lay off their guard while following Kikyo down stony stairs, towards a chamber that breathed out scents of moss and death. " This is my family's very oldest hideout, hundreds of years old. At the moment, only one person outside this village knows about this."
Gaara frowned, not trusting this one bit. " Why are you taking us here?"
The girl didn't look at him, but something extremely threatening could be sensed in the air. " Because I need you to understand something important about my village." The hallway was almost pitch-black when she lit up a torch and put it to a metallic holder. " This place is also the heart of the village. Reminds us of how it all begun."
He stiffened completely when they entered the cave, and the sight was presented to them.
The space seemed to be a tiny room, with a small, extremely uncomfortable bed and a bookshelf. But what their gazes locked into was the slightly bloodstained floor, from which a small carpet had been removed. For there, right before their eyes, two symbols had been engraved to the floor. One of them Uchiha family's, another Kirigakure's.
Gaara had hard time disguising his emotions.
That girl… was an Uchiha? But… How was that even possible? Weren't all but one of them…?
Neji, apparently, had a theory. He could barely hear the Hyuuga's near-whisper. " I've heard rumours going on around Konoha." The boy's eyes locked directly to Kikyo's dark ones that now seemed so familiar it chilled them. " Uchiha Madara…" He trailed off.
The girl nodded, seeming mildly surprised by someone having figured it out. " That's right. I'm Madara's only heir. And I'm about to make sure all his goals will be fulfilled." It was easy to tell her Sharingan was nearly activated. " Konoha will fall for what it's done to my family."
" Exactly how are you planning to make that happen?" he inquired gruffly.
The girl's eyes moved to somewhere above them, and soon enough they heard a strange, small sound instead of spoken words. They barely had the time to dodge when an arrow hit the floor ahead of them. Swirling around, they saw a figure disappear with lightning's speed into a tiny hallway they'd failed to see before.
Neji's eyes were filled with determination when meeting his. " I'll go after that guy." Before he could give even a word's protest the Hyuuga was on his way.
He was just about to follow when Kikyo was suddenly stood directly before him, blocking his way. There was a hard expression upon her face. " You're not going anywhere without passing me by, Subaku No Gaara."
He wasn't exactly overjoyed by the idea of hitting a girl, but this time he chose to make an exception.
Faster than the Kikyo's eyes moved his fist met her cheek, sending her head jerking to side. She spat out blood, then sneered at him. " Is that the best you can do?" He could feel something awakening inside her. " I can't believe they've chosen a wimp like you to lead a village."
He had absolutely no chance to defend himself before the girl's hands moved. He wasn't sure if she even touched him before he was flying backwards in a breathtaking speed, and hit the wall with his back first. Had air not been slammed out of his lungs, he would've coughed and winced when a painful crack was heard.
Her face almost perfectly devoid of all emotions, the girl walked up him. She then seemed nearly amused when seeing how hard he struggled to move. " You shouldn't waste your time on that. The potion I ordered to be put into you and your little friend's water causes you to slow down enough to make sure you won't be able to harm me. Besides…" Her eyes turned red. " Do you really want me to fight with more than just fists?"
His eyes flashed with something that felt like terror, his mind fixed on the girl's second sentence.
Neji…!
He'd went after that hit man alone, and he… He'd drank that potion, too.
His arms wouldn't move to defend him when the girl's leg first rose, then slammed to his head with dazzling force. He could make out only some words before the entire world turned black. " If you want to save your friend, I suggest you to wake up soon."
-
Neji's heart was beating unnaturally fast while he made his way soundlessly through the stony hallways, constantly keeping an eye on his environment and Byakugan activated.
All of a sudden, so out of blue that he actually took a step backwards, a person appeared to stand right before him. " Well hello there", the attacker that appeared to be a boy of his age greeted him. " I figured one of you two would come and play with me for a while."
His eyes narrowed. " What the hell do you want from us?" Had he been less focused on the attacker, he would've grown alarmed by how slowly his hand reached out for weapons. " Who assigned you?"
" I'm afraid I can't tell you that. Professional confidentiality, you see?" He heard an odd sound, and saw the boy's hand move. " Now, if you excuse me, I don't have time to carry on this little chat any longer. I suggest you to stay perfectly still and relax – that way, this'll all be over soon."
He frowned, cold shivers running through him. " What the hell…?"
The rest of that sentence was never heard, because just then his opponent made his move. He could only blink when the boy moved to behind him. He tried his hardest to turn around, but even a single muscle wouldn't comply.
Coldness filled him
What the hell was happening to his body?
That, however, turned out to be the least of his worries, for then the odd boy spoke again. " This will only burn for a while. After that… Well, you'll have a real joyride ahead of you."
He didn't even manage to open his mouth before there was a swush in the air, and something struck his neck. He couldn't do as much as bring himself to gasp when a hellish, burning sensation flared through his entire being.
Through some haze, he saw the boy approach. Coal-coloured eyes bore straight into his. " Now listen to me carefully", the attacker instructed in a voice that brought him chills. " You're strong, young and healthy, so I'm guessing you may have even two months before the poison has damaged your veins and organs so badly that they'll give in and you'll die of inner bleeding. There's only one bottle of antibody made." By then, the boy was close enough to put a tiny bottle into his pocket. Those hard eyes were on his again. " You'll get that if you bring me another, containing a antibody for this – I'm fairly sure Konoha knows what I mean and where to find it. Do you understand these conditions?"
He glared the best as he could under the scorching inside that seemed to wipe all reason from his head. " Yes."
" Good." The boy's voice was filled with a grin. " Mission completed."
After a moment, the pain became simply too much, and he fell to the ground, sinking into never ending darkness. Very faintly, he could hear distancing steps.
Although his mind was in a world far away, a couple of tears of pain slipped to his cheek.
Gaara…!
Sasuke had answered to what felt like infinity of questions during the time he'd spent in prison. Most of them concerning Orochimaru – what he'd done under the man's orders, how many people he'd killed – few of them prying about the Cursed Seal and if it was properly gone, some even going as far as questioning the bonds he had to Konoha as well as its enemies. But today, it seemed his interrogator finally got to the real point.
A man who looked quite a bit like a hawk circled around him, knowing perfectly that he had no way to defend himself. It took a long time before the man spoke. " So, Uchiha… What exactly did Madara tell you about Itachi?"
His gaze scorched as he answered quite loudly, knowing full well that Danzou was listening. " Everything I need to know", he hissed.
The man's eyes were dangerous when measuring him. " What are you planning to do with that information?"
He locked eyes with the man without saying a word, hoping from the bottom of his heart that he could've activated his Sharingan.
The man, apparently, didn't appreciate his silence. No matter how hard he fought against it he growled with pain when a collection of thin, sharp needless was pressed through his flesh, exactly to the points that caused most pain. " Since you seem to be too much of a fool to answer, let's move on to the next question. I really wish you'll answer this one properly – as much as I enjoy giving a traitor what he deserves, this is getting rather boring."
He snorted. " I'm sorry if I fail to fulfil your expectations."
A couple of more needless appeared as a response. It took some moments before the next question came. " I assume Madara gave you an offer of co-operation", the man stated. Those eyes were on him again. " How did you respond?"
He chose to humour himself with replying. " For a long time, I was sure I'd say 'yes'. But in the end…" He shrugged. " I went there to kill him and almost succeeded. Unfortunately one of his techniques managed to stop me."
The man's eyes showed absolutely nothing apart from vehemence towards having to be in the same room with him. " Thank you for your honesty. Now…" The man pulled out a set of blades that seemed to shine. " … let's start out the real fun."
Sasuke felt cold shivers. Blades like that were only meant for a certain purpose – he'd seen such in Orochimaru's lair.
He was in a deep shit.
-
Stood only steps away from the room Sasuke was in, Naruto found himself unable to block out the sounds of flesh being torn that could be heard loud and clear.
His blue eyes were filled with despair when darting towards Danzou, who was stood beside him with an expression that gave him chills. " He's already in hell a lot of pain! You… You can't let them do this to him!" he screeched. " Stop this, damnit!"
Danzou looked away, evidently focusing on listening. " Why should I? It sounds like the fun is only just beginning."
-
Pain was making Sasuke feel dizzy, but he sat still as firmly as he possibly could, glaring at the man stood before him with fiery eyes.
The man didn't shudder under his gaze. " Had enough?"
" What the hell do you want from me?" he snarled.
The man's eyes locked with his. " I want you to break down, Uchiha", the interrogator spoke, careful to keep his voice so low that no one else could hear. " I want to hear you yell your rotten heart out now that the correct ears are there listening."
He clicked in an instant. His eyes were filled with disgust when meeting the man's. " You fuck…"
His expression not wavering an inch, the man pressed a hand against his forehead, obviously nauseated by having to touch him. " You should know, Uchiha… I've never failed a mission." Such pain he'd never experienced before flashed through him, time after time. " So trust me on this; you will scream."
Sasuke fought with absolutely all he had, but in the end the pain was just too much, too merciless. Against his will his lips opened and a howl of utter agony broke through his throat, sounding like a veil of some animal.
Although his eyes were clenched shut, he could see the man's sneer. " That's right, traitor brat. Keep yelling." The man's lips moved so that they were almost pressed to his ear. There was another mind numbing slash of pain. " It's only a matter of time before you've made enough noise to cause the exact results we want."
-
Naruto didn't even feel the tears rolling across his cheeks as he listened to Sasuke scream with such pain he couldn't even imagine, felt helplessness pulsate through his whole being.
Memories flashed through his mind.
/ He and Sasuke glaring at each other the day their team was formed. /
How could these people do something like this?!
/ Sasuke almost dying to protect him from Haku. /
Had he not been so focused on other things, he would've noticed how Danzou's eyes turned towards him when the subtle, yet dramatic transformation begun. " What's wrong, brat? Is this too much for you?"
/ He and Sasuke smirking at each other. /
He hissed through gritted teeth. " Shut… the fuck up, you bastard."
/ Their accidental kiss, back when they'd been just kids. /
After soft beginning the transformation continued forcefully, making him feel like he'd been set on fire. He wasn't sure if he was screaming out of pain or fury while the final stages became reached.
He… He couldn't let this happen!
/ Their joined hands. /
He was going to bring a damn ending to this crap!
-
Danzou's eyes widened when he stared at the by then demon beside him, full gravity of the situation striking him full force.
What the hell have I done?!
-
Sasuke's mind was steadily growing numb from the pain when there was suddenly a sound that reminded him distantly of thunder. Very slowly, as though afraid, he opened his eyes he'd never realized closing and emitted an odd sound.
The man who'd been interrogating him gulped laboriously. " Oh shit…"
He found his heart beating more rapidly than normally when the now inhuman creature looked directly to his eyes. " How about this… It looks like I've managed to find an Uchiha. How very interesting…"
He narrowed his eyes. " Naruto, dobe, snap out of it right now! You're too damn strong to let that… thing overtake you."
At that moment, the guard decided to take his shot. He could easily see how badly the man trembled when taking a stand beside him, a weapon held out in unsteady hand. " S – Stay away, you freak." The man's eyes were now filled with fear, all horror stories of the Kyuubi's previous attack flashing behind them. " L – Leave my village alone. Go away!"
The Kyuubi was first too stunned to do a thing, then laughed in a way that chilled his blood. " 'Go away'? You humans really are pathetic." Those eyes he still remembered so very warm now filled with something sinister he couldn't even name. " I've been held captured for far too long. You'll be a fun one to start out with."
As the Kyuubi started to proceed towards the trembling man, Sasuke realized that he couldn't wait and watch any longer. Catching everyone present – including himself – off guard, he managed to get onto his still weak legs and took a defensive stance before the guard. " Naruto, stop this, right now!" he snarled out, eyes filled with flames although Sharingan refused to become activated. " You wouldn't be able to live with yourself if you'd kill this man. So stop."
To his immense surprise the now demon actually obeyed, stilling only a step away from him.
Feeling his heart thumping in his throat, he held out a hand and laid it to Naruto's cheek, ignoring how badly it burned his skin. " Naruto, I know you can hear me." His voice was firm and uncharacteristically tender, and he was almost sure that somewhere in there the blonde heard him. " You have to stop this. I know you can take control – you can't just give up now."
For a moment he could've sworn he saw Naruto there, terrified yet determined, but only a fragment later the demon was sneering at him. " Foolish Uchiha." Before he could move a muscle, the body that belonged to Naruto had moved away from him and started to leave. " I'll see you soon." And like sand slipping through his fingers, the demon disappeared through a huge hole it'd made to the room's wall.
Naruto's presence was gone.
His head was in so much buzz that he barely realized what was happening when his wrists were bind and Danzou stood before him with a nauseatingly haughty expression. " See that, traitor? That's what your little friend really is. Do you really still think he can save you, when he can't even save himself?" The man's eyes were filled with something he couldn't recognize. " He's a demon, nothing more."
His eyes were pure venom when glaring straight into the man's without a trace of fear. " You piece of shit already sent my brother to his death. Whatever the hell it takes, I'm not going to let you destroy Naruto!"
For a moment, he was almost sure he saw terror in Danzou's eyes, but it faded before he could be entirely sure. " This confirms what I've known all along. You're a threat to Konoha, and you'll be executed exactly one month from now." The older glanced at his men. " Take him to his cell. Then catch that demon and destroy it, whatever it takes, before it comes any greater threat to Konoha than it already is. Show no mercy."
While he was dragged away, Sasuke's eyes smouldered.
It'd require a small miracle, but he was going to make himself strong enough to find Naruto and safe him from those lunatics, before they'd cause any more damage.
He could only wish Naruto would make it until then.
Stood quite nearby to the path that the now unleashed demon chose to use as its escape-route, Kisame whistled silently as he watched the creature storm by. " Holy hell. That old idiot definitely screwed up this time around."
For a moment he considered following the Kyuubi, but decided that he wasn't that crazy.
He was almost startled when the air beside him moved just then. In a while Pein's figure appeared. " There was something sensed through the entire ninja-world. Has the Kyuubi been unleashed?"
He debuted for a while before nodding. " Yeah, so it would seem."
Although it was just a hologram, he could tell Pein had hard time keeping his emotions in check. " Return to the base immediately. It's time to prepare ourselves for the wave."
He frowned, not entirely satisfied with the idea of interrupting a mission. " What about the Kyuubi?"
" Once the attack has been done, Konoha will gladly deliver both Tailed Beasts into our hands. So get back here. We have a lot of work to do." With that, the leader disappeared.
With the hologram gone, he smirked a tiny bit, his gaze finding its way to the hospital.
Sorry, but there's something I need to do first.
Pieces of memories flashed into his mind
/ The voice was croaked by all the injuries on its owner, but firm nonetheless. " You know how water and electricity mix together, don't you?" /
His eyes flashed, and still scorched, bandaged fists balled.
He had no idea of why he'd let her live, especially with all her knowledge. But truthfully, he was quite curious to know if she'd been able to beat his challenge.
/ " Let's make a little test shall we?" He made a one last cut to the already tattered body, finding a tiny bit of satisfaction from how the girl hissed with pain. " If you make it to the village alive, I consider you worthy of being faced again. But just to warn you… I won't be this merciful the second time around." /
He'd pay his former partner a tiny visit – so quick she wouldn't even notice, just to see if she'd made it to the village. Then, he'd join to destroying Konoha.
It'd be interesting to see just how hard the village that'd been praised for being so strong and invincible would fight back before realizing that it had no chances of winning.
TBC??
A/N: Oh crap… (screams while running away from thrown, extremely sharp weapons) I seriously need to find some hole to hide myself into right now.
I really have to get going, but first… PLEASE, leave a note, yeah? Aww, I know you want to – especially since it's your only route to toast me after those infuriating cliffies… (sweatdrops)
See ya next time, un!
Be good!
Lady Renyel of Arella: Dear goodness, I really hope Sasuke won't end up getting killed! Just imagine what Naruto would do, especially since he just got the teme back. (hisses at Danzou)
Thank you so much for the review! 'Hope you'll be staying tuned.
-
Belladonna-Isabella: Aww, Naru-kun is such a sweetheart! He really loves his lil' teme, doesn't he? (yelps and runs when attacked by two furious, blushing young shinobis)
Suzume's in a deep t, huh? We'll see what kind of a plan Kisame has cooked up for her…
Gigantic thank yous for the review – I'm so happy to hear you liked the chapter! I really hope you'll like the twists and turns to come.