Wow... I guess no one liked the last chapter
Anyways, here's Chapter 7, and this is the conclusion to the whole Sasori fight.
Disclaimer: I own Kakashi! *points to a poster of Sasuke and Naruto that has Kakashi in a tree in the background* And yes, this will continue until I run out of posters! xD
I ran forward towards the triangle shaped mass of iron sand, Chiyo controlling me for the most part as I did. I was yanked into the air just as the triangle slammed into the ground, ricocheted off it, and went through the wall beside the cave entrance. I landed on one of the large boulders, looking up to find the rectangular mass plummeting at me. I leapt backwards, Chiyo pulling me further so I completely dodged it. I hit the ground on my side, quickly rolling to my feet.
With Chiyo's help, I pushed myself forward and slammed a chakra powered fist into the enormous mass. I felt several bones in my hand shatter with the impact, the large mass flying into the ceiling of the cave and getting stuck there. My eyes widened as the ceiling collapsed, and I dodged the rocks that I could, getting cut to ribbons in the process. I winced, panting heavily as Sasori pulled the two masses of iron sand together, making them collide. The collision was so loud my ears rang, but I ignored it.
My eyes widened in shock as the sand exploded into a massive web of needles that went everywhere. Shit! I can't dodge! I thought in alarm as Chiyo yanked me backwards. I felt the needles slice me in several different places and very deeply, blood dripping from the wounds. Shit… poison… I thought in a slurred way as the world spun. I felt my body going numb as I fell to the ground. "Heh… Looks like I need to make a change of plans… Oh well… It was nice knowing you, Sakura." Sasori chuckled, and I narrowed my eyes, inching my hand to my pouch.
I swiftly grabbed the syringe full of the liquid I had made four nights ago, removing the cap and stabbing it into my leg. I heard the air move around me and quickly jumped to my feet, slamming my unbroken fist into the Third Kazekage puppet, shattering it. I watched as the sand collapsed, jumping to Chiyo immediately. "Sakura, you…"
"Made an antidote." I murmured to her with a smirk, and she smiled lightly at me. "I was only able to make three… I just used one, so that leaves two. Take one for yourself." I handed her one sneakily, and she chuckled quietly. "Because I used this antidote, I'm immune for three minutes. We need to finish this in three minutes." I said and she nodded.
"Yes… Let's end this." Chiyo said as I healed her arm. "Sakura… You're almost completely out of Chakra."
"Don't worry, Chiyo. I'm fine." I said, taking out a couple soldier pills. I took four of them, feeling the effect almost instantly. I watched as Sasori removed his robe, and Chiyo narrowed her eyes. My eyes widened in shock and disgust at the sight before me. Sasori was nothing more than a human puppet. Forced onto the defensive, all I was able to do for the first minute and a half was dodge. Then, suddenly, the long blade on a rope the Sasori kept in his abdomen came out of nowhere too fast for me to avoid. I cried out in pain as it went through my side, not deep enough to kill but deep enough that I would bleed painfully for some time.
"Die!" Sasori screeched, for the first time not speaking in a bored tone. I watched in shock as he launched himself towards Chiyo, who wasn't too far from me. Knowing I couldn't get close to her in time, I grabbed the rope and pulled on it as hard as I could while running towards him, using both hands to pull the rope and thus him towards me. Which, by the way, hurt like holy fuck since I was pretty sure I shattered at least twelve bones in my right hand. A split second from hitting Chiyo, the rope ran out. I gave a sharp jerk, sending him flying towards me, and raised my fist to hit him. I slammed my left fist into him, shattering him. But when I turned around, my eyes widened in shock to see he was put back together. I looked behind me to see Chiyo pulling out a large scroll.
"This is a jutsu that I forbade myself. I thought I'd never use it again, but it seems fate has other plans." Chiyo said calmly as she summoned ten puppets from the scroll.
"Impressive… Chiyo's Great Jutsu… 'finger by finger'. I've heard rumors about it. They say you used it to take down an entire castle… That is a considerable amount of puppets, but…" Sasori trailed off as he tossed a scroll into the air, summoning a massive amount of puppets. "With this, I took down a country." He let out a heavy, extremely annoyed sigh. "How will I explain this… How long it took me to take down a little girl and an old hag… that I even had to take out my last trick…"
"Sakura…" Chiyo said, and I ran to her side. "The antidote has already worn off… Do not do anything." She instructed, but I just smiled at me.
"Please, Chiyo. You were my mentor for years. I think you know by now that that is the last thing I'm going to do." I said with a little laugh.
"Indeed… But, this will be the final act. Are you ready?" Chiyo asked, and I translated it to 'Are you ready to die, but at least die honorably, and hopefully take your crazy-ass father out with you?'.
"Yes." I answered honestly, and she nodded. I watched as the puppet armies collided, Chiyo's puppets taking out several of Sasori's with each attack. Even so, we were losing. Every time a puppet would get close to her, I would crush them. I heard Chiyo grunt in pain and turned around to see one of his puppets slicing her. "Chiyo!" I shouted in alarm.
"Sakura, go for him. I will handle the rest." Chiyo said and I nodded.
"All right." I agreed, running into the mass of puppets, barely dodging each attack. One of her puppets dropped something into my hand as I passed it, so I gripped it and charged at Sasori. Now! I thought, throwing the ball at Sasori. The ball turned into a giant seal that pinned Sasori to the wall, parts of his body breaking apart.
"You lose, Sasori. That sealing jutsu completely suppresses all chakra. You can't even use a chakra thread." Chiyo said before falling to her knees with a groan.
"Chiyo! Hurry! Take the antidote!" I said in alarm, running towards her. My eyes widened when I saw Sasori rise up from behind her, and realized it was a trap. It must have been a regular puppet we sealed! I realized as he came at her with a sword. Without hesitation, I moved between them, the blade going straight through the left side of my abdomen. Sasori stared at me, his eyes wide with shock.
"Sakura!" Chiyo exclaimed in alarm as I coughed, blood specking Sasori and dripping from my lips. I started to heal the wound even with the blade in me, but my eyes widened in shock. I can't fixit… It's a mortal wound… Uhg… And the poison is making my chakra unstable. I realized just as I felt a needle stab my leg. I looked down to see Chiyo injecting my antidote bottle into me, her shattered syringe lying a few feet away, the antidote soaked into the earth.
"Ch..Chiyo…" I gasped, pained. "Why?" I asked, but she fell to the ground. I felt the blade getting yanked from my body and quickly grabbed it with my left, unbroken hand, holding it in place. "Not so fast… Chiyo!" I shouted just as Sasori disconnected his arm and jumped backwards… right into the blades held by 'Mom' and 'Dad'. I fell to my knees, the blade still stuck in me. He could have dodged it… I thought, looking at the seal that now surrounded him from Chiyo's puppets.
"A part of your real body is still needed to control chakra, Sasori… That was your weak part… and the only part left of that body of yours was the left part of your chest." Chiyo said. "A puppet body, after all, is just a puppet. Your real body is that chest part that uses chakra." Chiyo said before collapsing. My world spinning from bloodloss, I followed her, falling to the ground. I landed on my side, the sword still in me. I felt Chiyo put her hand on me and pull the blade out, causing me to cry out in pain.
"Pointless. I hit a vital point… She'll bleed out." Sasori scoffed, but Chiyo continued to close my wound.
"I'm not doing medical ninjutsu… I am doing a tensei ninjutsu." Chiyo said in a stressed tone, and that was when I fell unconscious.
When I came to, I quickly helped Chiyo up and helped her make the travel to where the others were. We found them in a grassy area just away from the forest, almost an hour's travel away. When we got there, the first words I heard were, 'Sakura, can you do something?' from Naruto, who looked desperate. Everyone was there. Neji, Lee, Tenten, Gai, Temari, Shikamaru, Naruto, Kakashi, and Chiyo. After laying him down, I stared at Gaara's corpse for several seconds, completely unmoving.
Tears ran down my face at the sight of him dead, and my legs gave out. I fell to a kneel beside him, putting my hands on his chest. He's dead… But… Not for long. I decided, wiping my tears away on the back of my unbroken hand. I placed both hands on his chest, being carefully with my broken one, and they glowed white, the light surrounding the area around my hands. "What are you doing?" Naruto asked with wide eyes.
"Sakura…" Chiyo said, but I just focused on Gaara's face as I felt my life draining from me. Sweat lined my face, and I did nothing to wipe it away. I wanted my last sight to be of Gaara, the man I always loved and always would love. "Sakura, stop it." Chiyo growled, kneeling down opposite of me and putting her hands on his chest as well. I blinked in confusion as her hands started to glow as well.
"Chiyo…?" I questioned, confused.
"Let me do this, Sakura. I'm dying… Allow me to at least do this last good deed." Chiyo practically pled, and I looked at her in confusion.
"Why?" Was the only word that escaped my lips.
"Because you are innocent, Sakura." She said and my eyes widened in surprise. "I know that the Kazekage forced you to take that mission, and I know that you rejoiced when he died because it meant you wouldn't have to hurt Kankurou and Temari. I know that you truly fell in love with him, and I know that you hated yourself so much for taking that mission that you were punishing yourself when you didn't try to defend yourself. I know that Sasori had poisoned Kankurou, and I know that you saved him before anyone could even get to him." Chiyo said and I stared at her, stunned.
"I know that from the second you felt Gaara's chakra disappear completely, you planned to do this. But despite those plans, you took a fatal wound for me. If I hadn't been there, you would have died… but you trusted me enough to know I'd save you, and you'd be able to bring him back at the cost of your own life. I know that despite the distance, from wherever you were, you would always look in the direction of Gaara. Always."
"How-" I began, but she cut me off.
"I know this because I know you, Sakura. I know the last part because that is what I always did with you, ever since you left. I also know that you blame yourself for your mother's death and your father's insanity, and now that we've killed him, you blame yourself for his death as well. I know that you punish yourself for things that were never your fault, for things you never did wrong, and that's why you accept your exile without a sound. And I know that if I don't stop you now, you'll die to save him because you think you deserve death… and because you love him more than your own life."
"Chiyo…" I began, tears streaming down my face. Her hands gently nudged mine, and I very hesitantly pulled them away from Gaara, cutting off the jutsu.
"I also know that despite everything I said, you're going to run before he can wake up so that he doesn't know that you never did anything wrong, because despite everything, you still blame yourself." Chiyo murmured, looking away from me and down at Gaara as she gave her life for him.
"Chiyo… I love you." I said honestly, ignoring the fact that everyone surrounded us. "You were the best great-grandmother anyone could ask for, and you raised me well… Thank you." I murmured, hugging her tightly. I knelt down beside her and she leaned into my embrace as she continued the jutsu. Finally, after several moments, her hands left his chest, and his chest gave a jerk as he inhaled, still unconscious. I let out a sob as I held my limp great-grandmothers body, carefully lowering her to the ground.
I stood up and was immediately hugged by Temari. I hugged her back, crying onto her shoulder for a moment. "I need to go…" I said, pulling away from her embrace and turning to leave.
"Just like that? Sakura, don't go… It's not right without you in our lives." Temari said in an almost begging tone.. All hostility was forgotten with Chiyo's revelation, but I still found myself unable to meet her eyes. I didn't want to see the pity or remorse.
"I need to. I'll come back when everything blows over." I muttered regretfully.
"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru asked curiously, but I shook my head.
"Don't tell him anything… At least, not yet. Don't tell anyone that I was here. I'll tell him myself once I take care of a few things..." I said before I started to leave.
"Thank you, Sakura-chan." Naruto said before I got out of earshot. I waved over my shoulder, slowly limping into the forest where I planned to collapse and sleep for two days, recover my chakra, and then get back to my border town. Hatsuri, Miyuki's father, had probably cut off a hand or something without me around, I thought with amusement.
Well, here's chapter 7. I hope you guys liked it more than you liked the last one. And I promise it won't be too long before Gaara finds out! =) Please review ^^
Also, I'm in a creative mood, so I'm going to try to name the chapters. Again, I appreciate any ideas.