Epically Epic Author's note
Can't believe I'm already on chapter seven of this thing :o I'm really really REALLY happy to see how many people are actually reading this it literally makes my day whenever I go look at my story stats /
You guys rock!
If you're all really liking this, then I have some other fics I've just uploaded, if you guys are interested in reading them *o*
Anyway, read and enjoy! (and don't forget to click the review button on the bottom of the page when you're done, kaythanksbye)
**Chapter seven**
Sakura had been tending to Shikamaru's burns for the last couple of days, and he was slowly making an improvement. The sheer amount of chakra Deidara had packed into the bomb had caused a lot of damage, and Shikamaru was still having trouble walking, so the group rested frequently to allow him time to heal. Sasuke was starting to get impatient with their slow progress.
"Look, why don't you just heal all his wounds in one shot so we can get moving?" he snapped at Sakura one morning.
"I can't do that, Sasuke," the pink-haired medic replied calmly, wrapping bandages around Shikamaru's torso as he sat on the hood of a wrecked SUV. Shannon sat next to the injured nin, glaring at the Uchiha. "His wounds need time to properly heal or he'll never be back up to his full fighting condition."
"We can't keep going at this pace!" the black-haired ninja growled, shaking his head. "The Akatsuki could be tracking us! We'll be sitting ducks if we keep taking so many rests!"
"There's nothing we can do about that," Sakura finished with the bandages and stood, wiping her hands clean with a rag. "We'll just have to keep going and keep a vigilant lookout. It won't take too long for Shikamaru's wounds to heal completely, and then we'll be back to our normal efficiency."
"We had better be," Sasuke growled.
"Will you stop talking like this is all Shika's fault?" Shannon snapped, standing to face Sasuke. "He had no control over any of this."
"Shannon…" Shikamaru shot her a look that told her to sit down and be quiet.
"No, he has to stop being such a whiney little bitch and grow up!" Shannon shot back at him, her temper flaring. She was sick of people getting blamed for her mistakes.
"Troublesome," the brunette ninja muttered under his breath, shaking his head.
"A whiney little bitch, am I?" Sasuke hissed, clenching his fists. He took a few steps towards the girl, but she refused to back down. "You should learn to watch your mouth!"
"And you should learn to respect your team mates more!" Shannon growled, her posture mirroring the Uchiha's. "You're not as perfect as you think you are, Sasuke. Everyone has their flaws, even you. It's time to stop looking down on everyone as inferior and treat them like equals! That's why you're all in this squad! Teams work together, they're not controlled by a single person. So back off and learn some humility!"
"And what about you?" Sasuke pointed accusingly at her, his eyes cold and hard. "You think you can just go around preaching to everyone about how to act? The last time I checked, you were just a scared little weakling looking for everyone else to protect you! It's because of you that we're in this mess in the first place!"
"You think I don't know that?" Shannon's voice rose an octave. Sakura made to calm her down, but one look at the girl's face stopped her.
There was so much rage and frustration there that it was scary. But hints of fear and guilt crossed her features in equal amounts, and Sakura felt a pang of sympathy for her. She knew how she felt, being so helpless, so lost. So weak. Unable to help anyone. Always relying on others and never being able to do anything right.
"I take full responsibility for my actions!" she continued, blinking back tears. "You think I don't wish every day that goes by that I was stronger? That I could protect myself and wouldn't need people to put themselves on the line for me? I HATE being this weak! But I'm going to change that, just wait and see," remorse crept into her voice. Shannon turned and started walking away, in the direction of where the others were resting a few yards away. She paused and looked over her shoulder, her cold gaze landing on the silently fuming Uchiha behind her. "But if I can change, then what's stopping you, Sasuke?"
But Sasuke just kept silent and watched the girl walk away, her head hung low and shoulders tense.
"Well," Sakura said brightly. "She sure stuck it to you, Sasuke."
Later that night, long after the sun had fallen behind the smoldering remains of civilization and dropped from the horizon, the group of survivors sat around their large fire. They kept as close to the flames as possible, staying well within the circle of light.
Shannon had her back against a fallen concrete pillar, her knees drawn up to her chest. After her fight with Sasuke, she hadn't spoken to anyone in the group for several hours, seemingly deep in thought. Hinata sat on her left, offering companionable silence as they both stared into the flickering light of the fire, lost in their own thoughts.
Shikamaru sat on Shannon's left. Her head rested lightly on his shoulder. He was sure he should feel uncomfortable with her close proximity, but strangely enough he didn't mind. After all, she had defended him against Sasuke earlier.
He thought back to their argument and felt a small pang of guilt at Shannon's low opinion of herself. What she lacked in physical strength, she more than made up for in spirit and temper. He just wished she'd stop putting herself down and see it. Shikamaru sighed inwardly. Women were all so troublesome and complicated.
There was a loud keening sound, and Shannon shot up, looking around wildly. The rest of the group cast weary glances around the perimeter of their resting place. They had tried their best to barricade themselves into a lighted area by making their fire in the centre of a ruined traffic circle, surrounded by the decaying carcasses of cars and trucks.
There was the sound of sharp claws skittering over tar and a loud thud as something large landed on the skeleton of a truck. The keening came again, but closer this time. There were more thuds on the opposite end of the traffic circle. It sounded like they were being surrounded.
The squad was on their feet in seconds, kunai and shuriken drawn. Shannon pulled a burning wooden pole out of the fire, brandishing it like a flaming club. She'd be damned if she wasn't going to fight this time.
The scraping of claws on metal and sharp keening was echoing all around them now, setting everyone's nerves on edge. They knew the Creatures wouldn't venture into the light, but eventually the fire would burn out. And the squad had no tinder or firewood left.
Shannon swallowed her fear and tried to let her eyes adjust to the darkness. With the bright light of the fire behind her, all she could see were vague shadowy figures leaping from one wrecked car to the other, circling them like predators.
An idea suddenly occurred to Shannon and she flung her burning stick out into the darkness. As it flew through the air, it illuminated the scene infront of the group of survivors.
"You have got to be kidding me," she breathed, dread settling in the pit of her stomach.
Winged Creatures screeched and took to the air as the flaming torch sailed past them. The flap of leathery wings was soon drowned out by the hisses and growls the remaining Creatures directed at the group of humans when the flames finally hit the ground some few meters away. Four-legged monsters with hundreds of eyes and long fangs poking out from their leathery jaws watched them hungrily from the flickering shadows, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. The winged Creatures, with their disproportionate limbs and massive wings, soon circled around, away from the flames, and landed with loud screeches on the decimated cars.
There must have been hundreds of them.
"How the hell are we going to get rid of all of them?" Naruto shouted in alarm, eyes wide.
"What a drag," Shikamaru muttered, taking up a fighting stance even with his injured back.
"Are you crazy?" Shannon scolded him, pulling him out of it. "Do you want those wounds to open up again?"
"Well I can't just stand here and do nothing," he replied, eyes narrowed.
"I have an idea," Sasuke interrupted, looking intently into the shadows. He activated his Sharingan, the black marks around his iris swirling in circles. "You all might want to take a few steps back."
Casting the Uchiha wary looks, the other hurriedly complied with his suggestion.
Taking up a position infront of the group, Sasuke faced down the growling, screeching Creatures with a smirk on his face. He formed a few hands signs and narrowed his eyes in concentration.
"Katon: Phoenix Immortal Fire Technique!"
A hail of small fireballs were launched from Sasuke's mouth, raining down on the shadowy Creatures. They screeched and roared in panic, the winged monstrosities taking to the air in fright. Many of them were hit by fireballs and disintegrated on contact. The four-legged Creatures roared in frustration at the loss of a meal and turned tail, bounding over cars and rubble, some of the slower ones succumbing to Sasuke's fireballs. In a few moments, they were all gone.
Sasuke turned around, the expression on his face neutral. He made him way back to the fire and prodded it was a metal road lying close by, stirring the flames. "I don't think they'll be back for a while."
"I remember the first time you used that jutsu," Naruto commented, taking up his position on the other end of the fire. When his team mate only grunted in reply, Naruto smiled slightly.
"Thanks, Sasuke."