Okay!

In order to honour Christmas, and in thanks to those who stuck with this story up to this point, I present you with this awesomesauce chappie!

ENJOY! ^_^

You know when you first say 'Bring it on' to someone, it makes you sound cool and unafraid. Unfortunately, that's when the hard part comes into play. For some reason, most people take that phrase as a challenge, and they bring it on. And they bring it on hard.

That's why no sooner than I said those words I found myself squashed into the ground like a bug, just in time to avoid being hit by a fireball. I jumped up as soon as I could and ran over to Kabuto, fists pumped with chakra ready to strike. But the damn bastard just had to weave around swiftly, as if me flying at him with a punch that could immediately crush his jaw into smithereens, was no big deal. Stupid prick. I swear his ego will make his head implode on one of those days… Oh, what a glorious day that would be…

I was snapped out of my daydreams as a scorched corpse was bare inches from grazing the side of my head. I jumped to the side and assessed the body, my jaw tensing when I saw the shiny metal of the headband.

Suna.

Well, shit.

Couldn't have said that any better myself.

I turned to Kabuto, eyes narrowing when I saw the cocky smirk on his face. I grit my teeth. "Would you mind explaining why the fuck there are Suna nin fighting? They're Konoha's fucking allies!"

Kabuto clucked his tongue. "My, my, such harsh words coming from such a nice mouth. Hm, pity."

I hissed. "Don't avoid the question, bastard!"

He shook his head, the ever-present smirk widening. "They aren't Konoha's allies anymore, Sakura-chan. They're loyal to Orochimaru-sama now. I thought that you out of all people would have realised this."

I was shaking, the killing intent that was coming off of me was thick enough to cut through it with a knife. I think that Kabuto noticed this, because the smirk on his face turned into the most feral, bloodthirsty expression I'd ever seen. That was when I realised that I would finally have to get serious. I assessed my chakra. Less than a half left. Shit.

I breathed in deeply. There was no doubt. No hesitation. I was afraid that if I hesitated I would hear that second part of me, the cowardly one that I usually managed to keep hidden would be able to persuade me that there are other methods, that I don't have to rely on the power given to me by Him.

I shuddered, and concentrated my chakra to that single, small spot on my collar bone. I felt the effects immediately. My Ten no Juin is rather powerful as my chakra is apparently a strong force by itself. I sighed as I felt the hot trails of chakra seeping onto my skin, marking it. I had half a mind to just let it go all the way, to allow myself to bathe in the sheer, inescapable power of his chakra.

But no. if I did that, I would be admitting weakness. I would be admitting that I need his power to fight. Truth be told, I don't.

I looked up at Kabuto and saw that he was momentarily shocked, having never seen my Cursed Seal before. I smirked, and concentrated a good amount of chakra into my pointer and middle fingers.

"Blade of Wind." I whispered, and disappeared.

I didn't truly disappear. I just ran at such a pace that to an untrained eye, I seemed invisible.

It looked as if Kabuto finally snapped out of his daze, and turned around to block any attacks that I may have planned, but he was too late.

The chakra-enhanced blade pierced right through his right shoulder, and I made sure to channel a bit of my own, unique black chakra into the wound.

"Paralysis Technique." The broken whisper meant nothing to a stranger, but I saw Kabuto's eyes widen a fraction, before he raised his leg and delivered a swift kick to my abdomen, promptly making me fly back and hit one of the arena's walls with my head.

"Oww." I moaned quietly, and sent a tid bit of chakra to heal the wound. I didn't want a concussion.

I saw Kabuto furiously poking his right arm, and although the wound was long gone, and the blood had dried, I knew that he wouldn't be able to move his right arm for a good couple more hours.

Heh. Score.

But then I paled slightly when I saw the sadistic glint in Kabuto's eyes. Let me tell you this; whenever you see a medic-ninja with a sadistic glint in their eyes, there's only one piece of advice to give:
Run Bitch, Run.

I turned, ready to flee when I had the chance, but then I felt something wrap around me. I looked down, horrified when I saw multiple snakes coiled around my torso and waist.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands." Kabuto muttered. I swore that the moment I was free I would wipe that damn smirk right off his face. The bastard looked pleased with himself!

I was reduced to nothing more than watching as he walked toward me, an almost predatory look in his eyes. When he was right in front of me, he extended his hand and grasped my chin firmly. Yanking it upwards to look me in the eye, his expression changed to something almost nostalgic. I was seriously ready to puke. He smiled a phony smile that sent shivers down my spine.

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen…" he purred, an odd glint passing through his eyes. "I hope that the next time we meet you can provide me with more of a challenge."

I bared my teeth, red spots obscuring his face from my sight. I was enraged. I was honestly ready to rip through those snakes with sheer muscle power. Not that I had many muscles. Damn. Let me reword that; I was ready to rip through those snakes with sheer adrenaline.

I smirked, a plan already forming in my mind. "You want a challenge, Kabuto-kun?" I murmured. "I will give you a challenge, all right! Poison Mist!"

I took a deep breath and exhaled, and watched with sadistic fascination as the mixture of chakra and poisonous chemicals reacted with the air. Kabuto seemed surprised, as I felt the snakes loosen their hold on me. That was all that I needed. I ripped through the snakes dispelling their hold on me for good and jumped back to avoid the fog. I scanned the arena looking for a silver ponytail but no luck. I swore and waited till the fog truly disappeared. What I saw shocked me.

Or rather, what I didn't see.

Save for four or five bloodied bodies lying around, the arena's floor was empty. Trees and grass and blood and corpses. No signs of Kabuto.

Okay, calm down. Relax. He's not the type to flee, that's for sure. I also know that none of the bodies there belong to him. So… where is he?

Behind?

I turned around, but nobody was there.

Above? Left? Right? In front? Above?

No, no, no, no! But then, what does that leave us…?

BELOW!

I moved to jump up, instinctively knowing which technique he'd used. But just as I was about to jump, a hand wrapped around my ankle. I cursed enough to put Hidan to shame.

For someone with one hand disabled he sure is a very damn persistent bastard!

You said it.

I assessed my chakra for the last time. Just enough. I muttered a few barely coherent words and my hands glowed bright blue. I bend down and slashed at Kabuto's hand.

A grunt of pain and annoyance was my response.

Unexpectedly, the earth beneath my feet shook slightly as Kabuto jumped out in all his half-limping,
half-insane-medic-on-the-run glory. I blinked back tears as my head and back suddenly collide with one of the walls. I looked up only to see Kabuto staring down at me with frightening intensity.

I whimpered when I felt the tip of his kunai slide down the column of my throat, down my chest and to my abdomen. The pressure applied was just enough to cut through the skin and bleed, but not enough to be life-threateningly painful. It was more of the fact that he held my entire life in his hand that scared me.

I blinked when the blade left my skin. I glanced at Kabuto to see him with that same predatory look in his eyes. He bent his head to whisper in my ear. "You've caused Orochimaru-sama enough trouble as it is. Allow me to end it here."

The last thing I heard was someone shouting my name. That was when the searing pain of having a kunai stabbed into my stomach caught up with my mind.

Then everything went black.

DUN DUN DUUUN!

I hope you enjoyed, and I apologise for the long wait. If you have any questions, ask away in your REVIEW!
Oh yeah, if any of you have some spare time, there is a cool story which I seriously recommend for you to read. It's SasukexOC and it's well cool. It's called Daughter of Sound by Dark Akuma Hunter.
Check it out!

~Peace out!