A/N: Well, now we come to it at last. This is an action-packed chapter, and I'm really not kidding. I can't believe that I wrote this . . . . damn. Just damn. And please don't kill me. This story isn't finished, so I can't kill off anyone yet.

UNSPOKEN

Tomo's body shook with hatred as she looked at the two figures standing on the other side of the river, her hazel eyes blazing as she stared at the smaller of the two. Her teeth clenched and ground together, her hands balled into fists at her sides. Somehow she knew without having to see his face. Somehow Tomo knew that the smaller of the pair of arrivals—both clad in black cloaks with red clouds and oddly adorned kasa hats—was the man who had taken her father from her. Somehow she simply knew who he was.

Her voice was raw with anger as she spoke, the tone guttural and like that of some wild animal facing an enemy. "Uchiha Itachi . . . I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!"

There was no slow telling of the evils that Itachi had done. There was no long stare of blazing, angry fire. Tomo simply charged, her hands in fists clenched so tight that her knuckles were white and colorless. However, tears of loss did burn in Tomo's eyes, even as her mind and heart screamed for Itachi's blood. Blood shed was against her nature, and yet part of her lusted for the blood of Itachi as she lunged at him. She sped across the river, feet splashing as she kept herself on the surface. Then her feet were on solid ground again, the two Akatsuki members only yards away. She continued on, her hands in tight fists and her hazel eyes fixed on Itachi.

But, mere seconds before Tomo reached Itachi, the larger, second figure came between them. Tomo's fist crashed into the broad surface of the figure's sword. She hissed in pain and instantly leaped back and to the side, away from the blade, as she knew well both it's wielder and the blade's abilities. Tomo skidded to a stop in a crouch, eyes now fixed on the man she knew to be Hoshigaki Kisame. He lifted a blue hand slowly, and pulled away his kasa, letting it fall to the ground as he hefted his massive sword up to rest on his shoulder.

"Get out of my way," Tomo growled, rising back to her feet. "I have no business with you, Hoshigaki Kisame."

Turning to face the young woman, Kisame tilted his head to the side. "You know my name, onna, but I don't believe we've ever had the pleasure of meeting," he said, rough voice oddly polite.

Tomo scowled at him. "My name is Agaru Tomo, the new Dragon of Konohagakure."

Kisame raised a solitary brow. "Agaru? Dragon of Konohagakure?" he said curiously. He turned and looked at his companion. "Hey, Itachi, didn't we kill this girl?"

When Itachi spoke, his voice was cold; emotionless, save for a slight tone of boredom. "No, it was her father, Taro-san. We killed him nine months ago."

Kisame looked back to Tomo, his smirk baring sharp teeth. "So, the little girl wants revenge for what you did to her family," he said, amusement in his voice. Then he chuckled. "This revenge thing is getting a bit old, with Sasuke being as stupid as he is. We don't need another weakling trying to get at you, Itachi."

There was a flash in Tomo's hazel eyes. "Don't talk about Sasuke-san like that!" she spat, hands darking into her vest to arm herself with senbon. With a speed that surprised even Kisame, she flung the senbon at him. Kisame barely had time to bring Samehada before himself to block the senbon. Suddenly, he felt the cold press of a knife against the back of his neck, and the hiss of breath beside his ear. "Get out of my way. Now."

Itachi turned his head to the shadow clone that now stood behind Kisame, a kunai pressed against his neck. "You are fast, I'll give you that, Agaru," Tomo's eyes widened as she felt the press of metal against the back of her own neck, "but not fast enough."

Everything slowed to a crawl as Itachi drew back the blade to strike. The shadow clone behind Kisame vanished, and the real Tomo whirled to face Itachi. She suddenly understood that this was the real Itachi, and that the one beside Kisame was the shadow clone. At the last moment, Itachi changed to a slash, cutting Tomo across the cheek before planting his fist in her gut. The air was driven from Tomo's lungs and she coughed as she fell to the ground. Powerful though she was, Tomo's ability was not at the same level as Itachi's.

Itachi reached down, and grabbed Tomo by the front of her vest. He dragged her to her feet, holding the small young woman—she couldn't have been much older than Tsume—several inches off the ground. "You are even weaker than my brother," he said coldly. "You're decades away from being able to challenge me, Agaru." Slowly, Tomo raised her head, her hazel eyes meeting full on with Itachi's Sharingan orbs. In an instant, she was engulfed in the world of the Tsukuyomi, with a red sky, and a black world lined in white. Itachi lifted Tomo even further up, holding her away from him at arms' length as if she were something dirty and distasteful. "I'll get rid of you quickly."

"No, Itachi, you're not," Tomo said, voice low. "I'm going to brake out of this hell. You won't subject me to the horrors that nearly killed Sasuke-san."

Itachi allowed himself a chuckle. "You're not even an Uchiha," he said. "It's impossible to escape."

"No," Tomo lifted her head and her eyes blazed with sudden green fire, "it's not!"

The pupils in Tomo's eyes turned to reptilian slits, and the once haze orbs now burned bright green. Itachi's eyes suddenly burned in pain, the Sharingan shutting off against his will. They were back in the real world before Itachi could understand what happened, and Tomo's foot caught him beneath the chin. He was kicked up and back, skidding across the ground as Kisame stared on in disbelief. This girl—this whelphad just hit Itachi, and sent him flying.

"I told you, Itachi!" Tomo yelled, rising up from her crouch. "I'm going to kill you!"

Itachi quickly righted himself and looked past Tomo to Kisame. "Take care of this Kisame," he said quietly. "I'll get the Jinchūriki." And then he turned and leaped away. Tomo snarled and made to leap after him, but a devastating kick to her back send her flying forward to land hard on the ground several feet away. She rose up and twisted her head to see Kisame grinning at her, sword in hand.

"I thought that you'd just be a weak little kid," he said. "But I suppose I underestimated you, Agaru-san." His grin widened. "I'm going to enjoy this fight."

UNSPOKEN

The edge of Tsume's sword grazed Lee's cheek as he only just managed to get out of the way in time. Sakura vanished and appeared behind Tsume as she alighted on a branch. Sakura pulled back her fist to strike Tsume. However, Tsume twisted just as quickly and ducked down and away, swinging the sword around in a sweeping arc aimed at Sakura's mid-section. Sakura jumped out of the way, and Tsume's sword cleaved through the thick trunk of the tree. Tsume leaped out of the way as the upper quarter of the tree tilted and crashed to the ground, taking several smaller trees along with it. Sakura and Lee did the same, jumping out of harm's way.

However, harm was not to be avoided in the situation that the two Konoha nin found themselves in. They all landed in a small clearing, the sounds of the fallen tree still echoing behind them. Tsume, facing her adversaries, returned her sword to her back, bending her back in a slouching stance. Sakura found the image bringing back memories of Momochi Zabuza, but she spared no time reminisce. She lunged at Tsume, gathering chakra in her fist. Lee launched himself as well, arms out behind him as he ran towards Tsume. Tsume waited until Sakura had thrust her fist forward before ducking down and sweeping her leg in a wide arc, catching Lee by the ankle and making him stumble forward. Tsume instantly braced both hands against the earth, pressing her legs together and thrusting upward. Her feet caught Lee square in the chest. The air was knocked from his lungs and he was thrown back.

Pivoting on one hand, Tsume crossed her legs and wrapped her ankles around Sakura's neck. She then jerked forward with all the force that she could muster. Sakura was pulled through the air; her head would be smashed into ground! Her hands flew in katas, and she thrust her arm out before her.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Smoke exploded around both Tsume and Sakura, and Lee looked on in worry, trying desperately to catch his breath. When he could finally speak, he called out. "Sakura-san! Sakura-san, are you alright?!"

Tsume cursed, pulling away and jumping free of the smoke and dust. She landed in a crouch several yards away at the edge of the clearing, her hand on the hilt of her sword. Her amber eyes narrowed as she stared at clearing smoke. She bit her lip; had her attack worked? Her heart was pounding in her chest as the seconds ticked by without a sound. Then, without warning, there was a deafening crash that shook the earth, and huge cracks shot out from the center of the smoke. The cracks shot towards Tsume, the earth braking and heaving as they came.

Caught unawares, Tsume was thrown off balance by the heaving earth, her legs giving out. She fell to the ground, striking the side of her head on an exposed rock. She cried out in pain as she scrambled to her feet, leaping away from the broken ground. "What was that?" she gasped, crouching as she held a hand to the wound on her scalp. She looked up to see that the smoke had finally cleared. Sakura was standing there, a large white slug, marked with a blue stripe down its back, set behind her. Tsume understood quickly; Sakura had summoned the slug at the last moment to brake her fall.

"Is their anything else you need, Sakura-san?" the slug asked in a female voice.

The kunoichi shook her head. "No, it's alright. Lee and I can handle this." The slug nodded, and then vanished. Sakura looked back to the wounded Tsume. Part of her hated the idea of hurting this young woman, but Sakura knew that Tsume had to be dealt with. She was a threat to Naruto and Konohagakure; she had to be eliminated. However, Sakura would give her one last chance. "I won't say this again, Tsume-san. Let us pass or be killed."

Tsume rose to her feet, letting her hand fall from the wound. "No," she said firmly, jaw set in determination. "If I let you pass, you will try to hurt Itachi-san and Kisame. I already told you, I cannot let that happen."

Sakura's green eyes narrowed. "Then you die." Sakura vanished abruptly, making Tsume's senses scream. But she suddenly couldn't move. White hot fear burned in the pit of her stomach, making it impossible for her to react in any way.

"No!" she inwardly screamed, unable to speak. "I can't! I have to help Kisame! I can't let him get hurt! No! NO!"

But then Sakura reappeared, standing mere inches away from Tsume. And then her fist was thrust forward, hitting Tsume in the stomach with devastating force. Sakura released her concentrated chakra in an explosion of power, sending Tsume flying back to crash into the large trunk of a tree. The wood split and Tsume fell forward, trapped under the weight of her own sword. Sakura darted to Lee's side, placing a glowing hand on his chest, quickly healing any injuries.

"Sakura-san . . ." Lee said softly.

Sakura continued her healing. "She's done, Lee, we need to go after the others."

"N-no . . ." a strained voice said. "I w-won't . . . let you . . . hur-hurt Kisame . . ."

Lee and Sakura's eyes widened as they looked in the direction of the voice. Shock filled their eyes as they realized that it was Tsume who had spoken. Despite Sakura's blow, she had risen to one knee, her head hung low while small drops of blood fell from her mouth to spatter the ground. Slowly, she lifted a hand and placed it on her stomach. Like before, her hand began to glow with a green light; with chakra. Fingers splayed over the skin, Tsume slowly healed the internal injuries caused by the pink-haired kunoichi. Sakura's abilities were carried over to her, and the injuries were soon mended. Tsume undid the buckle of her sword belt, letting it and the weapon fall back to the ground.

"You are not," Tsume said, voice more firm, "going to hurt Kisame or Itachi-san. I will kill you if you touch them!" Her head snapped up and she glared at the the Konoha nin with rage. "I'll kill you if you hurt them! Do you hear me?! I'll kill you!"

"H . . . how?" Sakura breathed, at a loss for words. "You . . . you can't."

Then the anxious voice of the Hokage crackled across the communicator strapped to Sakura's neck, breaking the strained silence. "Sakura! Get back to the village now! Part of the Academy has collapsed! There are kids in there! We're getting them out but we need a medic!"

"But, Tsunade-sama, I—!" Sakura began.

"No!" Tsunade snapped. "NOW!" Sakura cursed, looking back to Lee. He shook his head, saying that he would be fine. Shooting a hated look Sakura leaped back up into the trees and sped off back towards the village, leaving the healed Lee alone with Tsume.

Lee rose to his feet and slid into his stance. "Well, it's just you and me, Tsume-san," he said, voice and jaw firm. "Let us give this fight our all and fight with everything we are! I, Rock Lee, will not allow you to harm Naruto-kun!"

UNSPOKEN

Tomo flung the mace at Kisame with practiced skill, only just missing his head as he ducked to the side. He then sprinted forward, swinging Samehada out as he did. Tomo jumped high into the air as the blade swung at her legs, flinging down a mix of shuriken and kunai. Kisame blocked them easily, jumping over to where Tomo landed. She whipped out two kunai and blocked the crashing blow that he dealt. Her arms shook and her muscles screamed in protest as Kisame pressed down with Samehada. He was using only one hand, and yet Tomo was straining to keep the chakra-eating blade away from her flesh. She knew well what Samehada could do to flesh and bone, and she didn't want a first hand demonstration; she was quite happy with her limbs attached to her body, thanks all the same.

"You're stronger than you look, Agaru-san," Kisame said with a wide grin. "And you've got guts, too, I'll give you that." Then he bared all his teeth, the grin turning to a nearly psychotic smile. "How about I show you those guts of yours, huh?! How does that sound, gaki?!"

Her face twisted in a snarl, adrenaline pumping fresh strength into her body. "I'm not a brat, you shark-faced freak!" she yelled. With a spike of power that surprised even Tomo herself, she surged forward, pushing Kisame back. Her kunai were destroyed by Samehada as Tomo pushed forward, but she let them go as she came close to Kisame's chest.

Kisame gasped as he felt the sharp stab of a blade enter his chest; Tomo had stabbed him, driving a kunai up to hilt in his chest. They both stood perfectly still, frozen in the pose. Kisame knew that his lungs had been missed, but a chest wound was never a good thing. With speed disproportionate to his size, Kisame used his free hand to punch Tomo in the jaw, following up with a sharp kick to the chest. She was thrown back, skidding across the ground and accumulating many scrapes and bruises in the process.

"Fucking . . . dammit!" Kisame cursed, his polite speech vanishing as he glared hatefully at Tomo. He jerked the blade from his chest and threw it to the ground. "There's no way I'm going to let the likes of you kill me! I still have to protect her!"

Tomo froze as she rose up on one knee, looking at Kisame in surprise. Protect? Her? What was the shark-nin talking about? It was only then that Tomo saw it. That familiar spark in his eyes that Tomo had seen so many times. It was the drive and determination to protect someone precious to you, to protect someone that you loved. The realization hit Tomo harshly; Kisame was protecting someone he loved. A woman who he loved. He was refusing to die so that he could continue to protect her. Tomo's heart suddenly ached. Kisame was fighting her for the same reason that she was fight him. She was fighting him so that she could get to Itachi and protect Naruto. Kisame was fighting her so that he could remain alive and protect the woman that he loved.

Tomo's expression changed to that of a sad smile as she rose slowly to her feet. "Whoever she is," she murmured, keeping her head lowered, "she's lucky to have someone so intent on protecting her. Whoever this woman is, she's lucky to have someone who loves her so much. She's lucky to have you and your love, Hoshigaki Kisame." Tomo lifted her head, and Kisame saw tears in her eyes. "You would die to protect her, wouldn't you." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

Kisame's expression remained hard. "Yes, I would do anything to protect Tsume," he said, pointing his sword at Tomo. "Even if it means my death, I would protect her from anything. I will kill anyone who threatens her, destroy anything in her way. I will protect her with everything that I am."

The tears rolled down Tomo's cheeks and fell to the ground. "Then I am truly sorry," she murmured. "Were you not on Itachi's side, I would not fight you, I would not hate you. But you and Tsume are protecting the man that I hate, and trying to hurt my friend. I cannot forgive either of you, and I can only hate you." Tomo's face hardened, and her hands clenched into fists. "If I die here, you must promise me something, Hoshigaki. You must promise me that you will protect this Tsume forever. You will never let any harm come to her, and you will love her with every fiber of your being. You must never hurt her, and never leave her behind. You must promise me that. If you kill me, you will never let any harm come to the woman that you love."

Kisame looked at Tomo in surprise for a moment, but then he chuckled. "You're a lot like her, you know that?" he said softly. "I'll give what you ask, Agaru. If you do not survive, I promise to protect Tsume forever, and to love her with everything that I am."

Tomo raised her fists and slid into her fighting stance. "Very well. Now, we fight to the death."

UNSPOKEN

Both Kisame and Tomo flew backwards, rolling over and over until they skidded to a halt. Their clothes were ragged and torn, and their bodies were covered in scrapes, slashes, cuts and bruises. Tomo was in fact nearly Kisame's equal, and he knew that she would be promoted to Jounin if she survived. He slowly rose to his feet, spitting blood from his mouth, as well as a few teeth. But being as shark-like as he was, new teeth rolled forward to take their place. He gave a low chuckle as Tomo rose as well, the lenses of her glasses cracked in many places.

"Guess I won't be showing you your guts yet, huh?" he laughed.

Tomo gave a grim smile. "I plan on keeping my innards exactly as they are. In." She pulled a bloody kunai from her thigh and held it up before her. "And sorry about calling you a freak," she added. "The only really freaky thing about you is your strength. I'm glad that I'm as strong as I am, otherwise I'd be shark-bait. Oh, 'cuse the pun."

Kisame shrugged, lifting Samehada to his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm used to it by now. Anyway, I hope that your friend is strong; Itachi's nearly impossible to beat."

Tomo grinned. "Yeah, he's a lot stronger than the last time you met him." Then, Tomo dropped the kunai, bringing her hands together before her. "Sorry, Hoshigaki-san, but I'm going to end this."

UNSPOKEN

Lee eyed Tsume warily as they circled each other. She now mirrored his stance, and had executed his various attacks with perfection. Had he not known better, he would have thought her a possessor of the Sharingan. Both of them were breathing heavily, their bodies battered from head to toe. Tsume had no time to use her healing abilities, and she was growing agitated, making mistakes. There was something bothering her.

Suddenly, a roar of agony rent the air. The voice was male, and obviously one that Tsume's recognized. Her eyes went wide as she froze, hardly seeming to breath. Tsume knew that voice, she knew it all too well. That scream of agony had come from Kisame's throat. He was hurt; he had been wounded, and wounded badly. Tsume's pupils shrank to pinpricks of black among amber. Her face lost all color, and her body went limp as she fell to her knees. Tears brimmed in her eyes, rolling down her cheeks. She paid no attention as Lee moved in closer, about to make the finishing move.

"No," she breathed. "Kisame . . ." Her voice shook just as her body trembled. "I wasn't there. I wasn't there . . . to protect you. I . . . I failed you. No . . ."

Then Lee's foot slammed into the side of her head, splitting her lip and fracturing her jaw. Tsume fell to the side with only a whimper, mindless of the blood that filled her mouth. She'd failed him. She'd failed the man she loved. He was hurt . . . he could be dying . . . could be . . .

"No," she whispered, the words hissing through her cracked jaw. "I won't let him die." She suddenly was on her feet, and had retrieved her sword. She strapped it her back and then turned to face Lee. "Forgive me." Her hands flashed in katas. "Suiton: Bakusui Shona!" Lee remembered the jutsu only when it was too late. An immeasurable amount of water shot forth from Tsume's mouth as she ignored the searing pain in her jaw. Lee was caught in the waves and carried tumbling through the trees.

Tsume whirled, jumping up into the highest branches of the tallest trees. She raced as fast as her battered body would carry her, pushing herself to go faster. Faster! Faster! She heard Kisame yell again, and she dropped to run along the sloshing surface of the water. It grew lower as she continued on, and soon she could hear the sounds of a fight, a fight that was nearing it's end. And then she broke from the trees . . . . . and froze in her tracks.

"KISAME!!"

UNSPOKEN

Kisame roared in agony again as the fire hit him again, tossing him in the direction of the trees as easily as the wind might blow a leaf. But this fire . . . it was different from the usual sort. It burned with both heat and cold, burning and freezing the skin all at the same time. It was Dragon Fire. Kisame rose shakily to his knees, his entire body screaming in pain. He looked sideways at Tomo, but all he could see was a humanoid-shaped blaze of blue-white fire. Suddenly, water flooded out from the trees, hitting both Kisame and Tomo. Kisame hissed in pain and nearly toppled at the force with which the water hit him, but he held his ground.

Steam hissed and billowed around Tomo, the water evaporating before it even touched her. She turned her head in the direction the water had come. "Sakura-san, Lee-san . . ." she murmured.

However, Kisame knew better. There was only one person other than himself present who could have preformed a jutsu to summon so much water. Tsume. Tsume had done it to wash away her opponents, and by all the Powers, Kisame hoped that whoever they were, they were dead.

"KISAME!!"

Kisame's heart nearly stopped. Tsume had broken from the trees and was standing frozen in horror. Her own body was battered and bruised, and she bled heavily. And Kisame wasn't the only one who had noticed Tsume. Tomo had as well, and was already aiming another blast of fire at the amber-eyed young woman. Time slowed to a crawl.

The fire flew away from Tomo, aimed straight at Tsume. Kisame roared and lunged forward.

He would protect Tsume with his life.

UNSPOKEN

Kisame came before Tsume in a flash, his arms held out to either side. Tsume could only watch as the blue-white fire slammed into his back, as he roared in pain, and as he fell forward, crumpling like a lifeless doll and falling to the ground at Tsume's feet.

"Ki . . . Kisa . . . me . . ." Tsume said jerkily, unable to comprehend what had happened. Her eyes flickered beyond Kisame in time to see the fire fade away to reveal a battered young woman, who looked only a year or so older than Tsume herself. "You . . ." Tsume whispered. "You hurt him. You hu-hurt Kisame . . . why did you hurt him? He was kind. He loved me. Why did you hurt him?"

UNSPOKEN

Tomo stared at the new arrival, already knowing her name. The young woman's name was Tsume, and she was the woman whom Kisame had loved. Tomo's face showed no emotion. "He was in my way," she said coldly. "The one I want to fight is Itachi. I will kill him. Hoshigaki-san got in my way, and I had to kill him." And then she turned, vanishing off in the direction that Itachi had gone and leaving behind the battle that she had not wanted.

UNSPOKEN

Tsume shook her head as the woman vanished, and looked down at Kisame. Tears filled her eyes as she knelt at his side, her hands shaking as she gently rolled him over and laid him across her lap. "Kisame?" she whimpered, praying to any deity that would listen. She stroked his wet face, her tears falling from her eyes to mingle with the blood and water. "Kisame, please."

Slowly, Kisame's eyes opened, and he smiled up weakly at Tsume. "I promised . . ." Kisame whispered. "I promised that I would protect you, Tsume. I promised."

More tears fell. "Kisame, please don't die!" she begged. "I don't want you to die! I don't want to lose you! I love you! Please!"

Kisame lifted a bloody hand and caressed Tsume's cheek. "It doesn't matter, so long as you're alright, Tsume . . . nothing else matters . . ."

"Yes it does matter!" Tsume cried. "I won't lose you! I will not let you die!" Green chakra flashed to life around Tsume's hands, and she reached out to press her hands to Kisame's bare chest, his robe burned away. She poured all of her chakra into the healing, moving as quickly as she could and dared. She cared nothing for her own injuries as she tended to Kisame, refusing to lose another person that she loved. So much had been taken from her, and by the Gods, she wouldn't let it happen again! She would not lose Kisame. He would live. He would live.

UNSPOKEN

Itachi tossed the unconscious Tomo to the ground, and looked up at the two Sannin that stood between him and Uzumaki Naruto. His eyes narrowed. Another loss it seemed. He had to find Kisame and Tsume and retreat.

UNSPOKEN

A/N: (slumps over on computer) My God! Whatever the heck that was, I sure hope you liked it. I think it's one of the best pieces that I've ever written. Wow . . . I just go and get started on the next chapter . . . . (toddles off in a daze)