3-29-2015
Hey everyone, I might not have much up for chapters for the rest of the week. My craft show is this Saturday so I'm busy making jewelry on... Well it's April Fool's day but this isn't a joke. My wrists have been increasingly hurting in these last few chapters so now that I have an ice pack and Advil I'm hoping it will go away but I need to keep a move on with the necklaces. If you're curious my business is Classy By Nature. I have a few websites for it but I'm currently working on a light blue/mint and white necklace. Halfway through with one and then two more to go before I start on a new version to the teal and burgundy multi-layer necklace. I guess you could say my wrist won't be getting a rest anytime soon since it is 2:47 AM… lol but I got a new idea to add on to the fight scene that was inspired by the review VirusYoukaiChild. Thank you everyone for the reviews, it really puts a smile on my face and is very rewarding
Taking Chances
Chapter 19
Kage and the others were effectively separated from their charge. The buffalo was stronger than they imagined as they attempted large scale techniques to take it down. He couldn't see Kagome anymore; she had taken off after she was able to escape the Pain that was in the area. He swore under his breath as they continued to struggle against the animal summon.
Tsunade was worried when it was reported that Kagome had been separated from the Anbu assigned to her and now the Anbu stationed around her had informed her she was trying to keep away from the one that was in the forest a couple weeks ago. He was after her just as she predicted. 'Hang in Kagome, Naruto will be here soon,' she hoped.
Kagome was losing out; it was on her mind to just use up her chakra and forfeit her life like she had heard would happen. She hoped that they couldn't use her if she is dead. Creating more clones she was held back by them but this time it was stronger and they lost out, disappearing as she was pulled out of the barrier.
Like a magnet she was attracted to his hand where he has some power to force her to him. Grabbing her kunai she tossed it at him and she went flying right by him as he was forced to get out of the way again. Readying her shuriken she flicked her wrist, delaying him further as she drew out the battle.
Many were watching as they fled to go around them and into the barrier, one ninja held back, waiting for their chance to strike. Kagome did her best to keep everyone out of the battle but as she swayed a little on her feet she knew that if nothing else happened then it would be the inevitable. She hated to think of it that way but it was the truth.
Forming her bow she shot off arrows at him in rapid succession, anything to keep him busy at this point. Watching him dodge she added a spell to the next ones before launching them, watching them explode upon her activation.
"Look around you Kagome, you are only stalling the inevitable," he declared.
He waited for her next attack, he could see she was still being stubborn about coming with him but knew it couldn't be helped. She has not yet seen the Leaf village in a bad light so he is the bad guy in her eyes. Once she is given a chance to see things his way then he is certain she will not be able to stand by any of the villages once their treacherous pasts are revealed.
Kakashi was in pursuit of finding Kagome when he landed just in time to stop the rod from claiming Iruka's life. He hoped by taking out one of the Pain's he could give her and the village a fighting chance as he prepared for his battle.
The other Pain coming had not been lucky for him though. Choza quite possibly sacrificed his life to save his son's, just as a parent should. Hearing Choji crying he spoke up from where he was crushed in the rubble, giving the younger ninja the courage and drive to take the information they had gathered to their Hokage. Having seen the other Pain leave he was glad at least one was taken down, until it came back to life...
Urging Choji to get moving he watched a missile came out of the head, aimed at taking Choji out to prevent him from giving away crucial information. The missile took off and he prepared his eye, he knew with this one last move it would claim his life but for the sake of Choji and the village, it was worth it.
There were only a couple feet between Choji and the missile, it was closing in and if something didn't happen fast his life would be forfeit. He was running as fast as he could, being more of a guy based on bulk rather than speed and stamina, he wouldn't last long if the missile didn't get off his trail.
Following the trail they took his eye widened, Kakashi got it set. When they were finally going in a straight path he launched his counter attack and activated the Kamui Technique, sucking up the missile just like he did the nail and Deidara's arm. Feeling fatigued he could breathe easy now that Choji was safe. Looking up at the blue sky above he knew now was his time as his eyes slowly slid close.
Kagome prepared herself, focusing on her two powers she attempted something she had only done once in training by accident. With her arms extended outwards and hands cupped she gathered both powers into a swirling vortex. Opening her fingers the vortex shot out of her palms hitting Pain just barely before he moved out of the way. With the same idea she copied a move of Kagura's while he was distracted. Five mini tornadoes shot at him, he dodged each one but didn't realize what her true aim was until it was too late. He was caught up in her dancing tornadoes as they turned into large swirling vortexes.
Preparing for his next move she created three clones, each of them lining up on either side of him, making the hand signs for a barrier she learned from the Anbu, trapping him inside with the tornadoes as he did his best to avoid them in such cramped quarters. She watched him warily, hoping it might be a victory.
He had to give her credit where it was due; she certainly is creative and is a fast learner. He never would have thought she could pull off these moves and wondered where she got the extra power to pull off the techniques. He was certain a few minutes ago that she was running low, unless she actually is and has instead decided to be reckless and forfeit her life. Standing in the middle of the swirling masses he used his almighty push power, sending the tornadoes into the barrier and destroying it and the clones in the process.
In front of him he could see the growing fatigue as she dodged out of the way trying to hide it, forcing her body to take even and controlled breaths. She was trying to fool him into thinking she can still fight, most likely figuring he would be more apt to play with her rather than basically go in for the kill. It was clever, he will give her that but it didn't change the fact that she failed at fooling him and she is running out of options.
Getting tired of the stare down he began to use his pull but she had been waiting and ready. Gathering her whips she went into a spin, his pull put him right in her path and range. His Akatsuki robe tore as he was caught up in the whirlwind of her whips, making several slashes before he was sent flying into a nearby building. It buckled under the intensity and crashed around him, if not for the fact that this body is already dead it could have knocked him out if not killed him. Pulling out of the rubble he studied her and was satisfied that her adrenaline was leaving her. With a plan in mind he put it in motion.
"Take a real good look. Your Hokage will not be able to last much longer with trying to protect all of those that are still alive," he stated, they both turned their heads towards the tower as part of it crumbled from an anger filled punch. "I believe even she is beginning to understand."
"Lady Tsunade wouldn't give up on her village," she was certain. "She has faith in us just like we have faith in her," her assuring words were met with a harsh laugh.
"Oh then I assume you believe there is still all that much of a village for her to have faith in," he watched her narrow her eyes, obviously considering his words as she tried to gather her breath.
"Let me point a few things out to clear up your confusion. Several are dead, your jinchuriki Naruto Uzumaki has yet to appear. He is possibly one of your strongest ninja and yet he is not making an appearance to defend his village. That wood-style user has yet to make an appearance which leads me to believe he is not within the village which is also quite unfortunate," he began to drawl out.
"Your Hokage might perish with the next attack, she has already expended a lot of her chakra, your Anbu guards are scattered around the village in their desperation to find you but none have thought to come this way yet. On top of that one of your most recognized and capable ninja, Kakashi Hatake, is dead from over doing it with his chakra. He played possum on me quite well but this time he is definitely dead," he announced to her, watching as she was getting ready to cry over her dead friend.
"You're wrong," she yelled defiantly.
"Am I, you seem to have sensory abilities, why not feel him out for yourself. Even the slug that is healing people had moved on past him, thus relaying back to Lady Tsunade of his death. He is over there, crushed between the debris of the collapsed buildings," he pointed in the direction to help her out.
"It was just exhaustion," she weakly replied, as her aura touched him.
"And that is deadly to a ninja. Once you exhaust all of your chakra it kills you and that is what he did. He quite possibly would have been paralyzed regardless so it was better this than living with only the ability to move a fraction of his body," the crude answer received a watery glare from her as she fought off the torrent of tears that threatened to escape.
He watched on as a couple made tracks down her face before she wiped them away, her gaze serious once more. "How do you call this peace?" She yelled at him, angry that he could even suggest this would bring anything like peace to the era of ninja. "That is like my deceased enemy, which tortured others back in the Feudal Era, saying it is for the good of all man and demon kind! Destruction like this doesn't lead to peace; a hero stepping up is what brings peace!"
"Oh, so you know how this all works then," he egged her on. Letting her get worked up because when she comes crashing down it will be for the count.
"Yes! I fought alongside many others and we won! We ended the pain and suffering by defeating him first and then I defeated that stupid jewel that used him like a puppet! They may not have gotten their lives back but at least they could begin to move past the pain and suffering they had endured. Those who were deemed natural enemies were then allies and even friends, if we could do it back then I am certain people can do it now!" He shook his head at her, she still didn't get it.
"Then what happened, a new war or was it eternal peace?" He mocked her, riling her up once more on purpose.
She stood silent, he had caught her there. The wars were even worse after that leaving entire cities destroyed and deemed unlivable. Even in the Feudal Era there were still wars among the human lords, it wasn't true peace.
"People betray each other, it's a fact. Itachi Uchiha had slaughtered his clan before joining the Akatsuki. He was then killed by his own brother who has also defected from the village and joined the Akatsuki in our efforts. He has attempted to kill his own best friend Naruto and teammate Sakura who loves him. Hate will always exist in this world," he sounded out with a voice of reason.
Kagome stood, unbelieving at what he said, "That can't be true! Itachi wanted me to protect the village; he helped me get away and was even adamant that I not get caught by your group!"
He considered her words, it was certainly something new to discover Itachi had in a way betrayed him, "That may be but anyone here will inform you that he did in fact slaughter his clan, only leaving his little brother alive. He even tortured his mind during a confrontation when he attempted to capture the jinchuriki. He attacked leaf ninja including Kakashi, these are all facts," letting her decide what to make out of the truth.
It was silent for several moments and he grew tired of the squabble. "We are done with this chit chat, it is time that you come with me and take your new position in this world and the next," he avowed and prepared himself.
Putting more power into this attack he knew she was finally exhausted of all other avenues after having expended so much energy into protecting the village and making clones which had in turn protected others along the way. She was out of weapons and both powers were low as well as her adrenaline. Using the pull she lifted easily into the air.
She was just a few feet from him when he could see the attack coming from a kunoichi of the village. With his pull it added to the speed and she was suddenly hit with several kunai to the back before a barrage of shuriken ripped into her skin and imbedded into her back.
"See Kagome, you fought hard to protect this village and the people within it and even you were betrayed, this pain is real and it came from a ninja of this village. Remember that before you try to use your strength to be stubborn," seeing the agony run through her as her eyes grew wide from the stinging pain that assaulted her.
"When no one in the village would sell out Naruto Uzumaki, you easily betrayed a comrade. Why is that?" Curious but figuring she will only prove him right in some sense.
"She is not a comrade and is not a leaf ninja. All she is is a hindrance and a liability," the kunoichi responded as if he insulted her for calling that woman her comrade. He had seen her watching Kagome with jealousy in her eyes, he wasn't quite certain why she was so jealous but it was nonetheless the truth.
He held her up with his arms, she gasped in pain as she slumped against him as her knees gave out as the strength in her body rapidly receded. Pulling a kunai from her back he sent it flying back at the kunoichi, getting her in the stomach with it before she pulled it out and retreated. Holding her to him he left the village and went deep into the forest surrounding it knowing much destruction will still take place.
Setting her down in the roots at the bottom of a tree he carefully pulled the weapons from her back as he watched her bite her lip to keep from screaming out. The weapons were extracted making her wounds bleed more. With the tools scattered around him he sat back.
"I will have to leave you here for now while I finish in the village. Your healing abilities should be enough until I return," and then he was gone, leaving her on the forest floor a good distance from the village.
Kagome could feel her body being attacked; she realized that it was some kind of poison. Her breathing grew labored as a cold sweat gathered on her body; she was soon racked with chills as each second passed by slowly. Her pumping blood grew loud in her ears and with her last coherent thought, 'I'm not healing,' she realized as her body grew ill.
Kage and the others were forced to abandon the buffalo, having struggled to get rid of it. They spread out across the village looking for their charge. He paused in his journey when he spotted Pain talking with their Hokage. 'Kagome isn't with him,' taking that as a good sign.
He wasn't sure what was being said but the guerilla tactics were suddenly stopped. The summons vanished and the other Pains retreated from the village. Watching the one before him rise up into the air before the sun he could see the Hokage looked panicked as she left the tower. Looking around him he spotted Kakashi crushed within the rubble, 'he couldn't be,' seeing his still form he waited, tensed up for him to show a sign of life.
He could see the Akimichi's down there, it looked like the son was still able but he went from tears of happiness since apparently his father was still alive to tears of sorrow when his eyes landed back on the jonin teacher. 'He's dead,' he realized, it was hard to believe but it was true.
About to head down there and pull his body from the rubble, as a respectful gesture, he was suddenly blinded by a bright light. Then he went flying off the building as debris surrounded him. He couldn't tell up from down as some great force pushed him away from the center of the village. Hitting several objects hard, daylight was suddenly gone as he was buried under piles of debris.
Faintly, he could feel several strong chakras enter the area just after he was hit. He couldn't use his right arm and his legs were stuck. Sucking in air to call out for help he began hacking as a bunch of dirt entered his throat.
It was very quiet out there, 'what the hell happened?'
With only his left arm to use he wasn't sure how he could get out from under here. His communication device was broken. It had an annoying static sound ringing in his ears. He turned it off and focused on listening for anyone nearby, he had to squeeze his eyes shut as a bunch of dirt blew in.
It hung in the air making it hard for him to call out to anyone until the dirt finally settled. He waited patiently since he was not able to do anything else while his legs were trapped. He remembered he had been looking for his charge, "Damn it! Kagome!"
He suddenly realized she could be somewhere in trouble too. An image of Kakashi's corpse lying among the rubble came to him. It had to have been a tough opponent to take down the copy ninja. For a few more minutes it was quiet and then he could hear a battle in the distance. It was too far away for him to know who all was in it but he figured Pain was definitely one of them.
Slowly the dirt had stopped in the air, wetting his throat he called out, "Hey can anyone hear me!"
"Is someone out there?!" He yelled as loud as could, warming his throat up.
"I need help!" He called out before trying to move his legs, taking it as a good sign that he can feel them so far.
Pushing with his left arm on the rubble he tried to push some of it away from his mouth, needing to make his voice heard instead of being muffled by the rubble. Moving a sheet of metal his eyes latched on to the still hand above him, making him pause in his movements.
"Hey I'm trapped down here! Can someone help me get out?!" He yelled again.
Training his ears he listened carefully for any movement out there besides a battle. Then a slug came down through an opening in the rubble. "Lady Katsuyu?"
"Yes, I'm here to help you," she responded.
"Are you able to heal my right arm, its broken?" She attached herself to it and he could feel a slight tingle.
"I will do my best but I have already used up Lady Tsunade's chakra," she informed him.
"Lady Tsunade, is she… is she alive?" He asked, worried about the Hokage.
"She is unconscious right now, Sakura is taking care of her," her voice reflecting her sadness.
"What about Shizune," wondering where she could be at a time like this.
"Lady Shizune is dead, one of the Pains took her down and was able to read her mind to find out where Naruto is," she regretfully informed him.
"How bad is the damage to the village," not sure if he was going to like the answer.
"Pain has destroyed it, all that remains is the wall and the Hokage monument," his shock kept him silent for several moments as he let that knowledge settle.
"Who is fighting out there then if the village has been destroyed?"
"Naruto appeared; I'm attached to him as well. He came with several toad summons and is taking Pain on by himself."
"What is he, nuts? If Pain managed to do this to the village then how does Naruto think he has a chance alone against him?" He puffed out, worried for his comrade and remembered Kakashi is dead once again.
"Naruto asked everyone to stay out of his fight. He took a Pain down with one hit. He just took out a second one. He mastered sage jutsu so he has a plan in mind to take down all of them," she eased his nerves a little.
He had to cover his face as a bunch of dirt and debris lifted back into the air. He could hear several heavy bodies go crashing through the rubble, one of them felt like it had only been a few feet away. "What was that," he asked, feeling like he would have been crushed if it was any closer.
"Pain has used his Almighty Push technique again; the large toads including Gamabunta had been pushed out of the village. That is the attack he used to destroy the village," she supplied.
"I was in the process of looking for my charge. Her name is Kagome," then he gave a quick description of her. "Have you by any chance seen her?"
"I had seen someone like that fighting one of the Pains below the Hokage monument. I'm not sure why but she was attacked by a leaf kunoichi when her back was turned," the information had him struggling to get free.
"God damn it!" He shouted. "Someone help me get out of here!"
He kept yelling and calling out for someone to come to his aid for several minutes. The battle had suddenly gone quiet but he didn't stop to ask why. His mind was on finding a possibly dying woman. He will find out later who dared to strike her in the back. A person like that has no business serving the leaf.
"Can't someone hear me?!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.
The rubble shifted and he listened when he heard a voice, "Hold tight, I will get you out!"
"Finally," he sighed.
The rubble was slowly getting lighter, when he could finally see a face he called out to them. "My legs are stuck, I can feel them but they are wedged in there good," he informed them.
They kept pulling more and more rubble off, he heard the guy shout to someone, "Hey I have a survivor over here; can you help me get them out?"
Then there were two bodies working on getting the rubble cleared. They lifted the body from his sight, laying it down somewhere and then he was able to push some of the rubble off his legs and move them more. He only just now realized his Anbu mask was missing.
"You're Anbu right?" He was asked by one of the ninja.
"Yeah," he confirmed.
"Looks like everyone took a beating then. It's not looking good," he offered a hand down to him and helped him climb out of there.
Once out he looked around, the village was unrecognizable beyond the Hokage Monument and the wall just like Katsuyu said. "The battle," he questioned.
"Pain has Naruto pinned to the ground. Lady Hinata of the Hyuga family is down there battling pain and trying to free him," earning a surprised face.
Stumbling forward he went to get a better view of the battle. He watched her body go airborne and then Pain did something. Narrowing his eyes he waited with baited breath. Everything went still and then it happened. A beam of red chakra shot up into the sky, an unnatural wind blew his cape around. "Naruto, the fox, he isn't in control anymore," he was worried, feeling the menacing chakra all around them.
Naruto was free but free as the six tail fox. He looked down by Pain and could see Hinata had been struck down, 'Hinata must have been killed,' he thought solemnly as the battle started up again.
Remembering Kagome he turned to the other ninja, "Have you seen Lady Kagome?"
"I'm sorry I haven't," he replied.
"Thank you for your help," he said before he took off running towards the Hokage Monument.
Yamato felt scorching pain on his hand while he was going over things with Anko and Sai just as they located Kabuto. Looking down he was horrified, quickly leaving with barely a reply he went as fast as he could to get back to the village. 'Naruto, what could have happened, you were supposed to be training,' he thought to himself.
The survivors of the mess couldn't help but watch the battle taking place. Seeing what the fox looked like at different tails as it became more enraged. Though the adults still held disdain for the fox, they were still worried about its host, Naruto. He had lost so much in his short life and now he had watched a friend be struck down right in front of him. No one knew what to do for several minutes as Naruto and Pain battled it out.
Seeing his strength and how far he has come firsthand they were all proud of him, proud to have him as a Leaf Ninja. It wasn't until Pain began fleeing from Naruto, taking him away from the village that their eyes went back to the Hyuga lying motionless on the battlefield that was once a village, there village.
That destruction is what Neji and his team came back to. His blood ran cold at seeing the familiar clothes and form of his cousin in the distance. He was quick to run to her side, searching for life in someone he now holds dear to him. He had been relieved to find her alive and not fatally wounded. Calling for a medic he couldn't tear his eyes from her form even though the village around him was now in shambles.
Sakura, although worried for her teammate and friend, Naruto, had to focus on healing Hinata. She had feared the worse, the horrors she kept seeing today from buildings falling right on top of people in front of her to seeing Naruto being pinned to the Earth with rods and be forced to watch Hinata presumably be struck down. She froze; of all things to do she had frozen when the chakra of the nine tail fox exploded out of Naruto. She never wanted to see him like that again but there was nothing she could do to stop him; she already learned that the last time she tried.
She became deeply worried, Yamato wasn't anywhere to be seen and Naruto had sprouted six tails right off the bat. It was two more than last time and only three away from losing himself as he became the nine tails. She had to focus though on healing Hinata even though she felt like her other friend was being ripped away from her as well.
Kage was going through the rubble, he found survivors and bodies but he still hadn't found Kagome. It was a slower pace since he only had one useable arm but he needed to find her. No one knew if Pain had taken her somewhere or if he was there to get rid of her. It was hard telling but he did know she could have been fatally wounded by that traitor.
It disgusted him that some villages would look upon those actions favorably since Kagome could have been used by the Akatsuki but that is other villages, not his village. If he ever found out who did that he will make sure they pay the consequences of their actions. Part of him wondered though if it was his ex.
He wished that his arm was healed but knew Lady Katsuyu could only do so much, he could tell she didn't have enough chakra left to mend it. "It is okay Lady Katsuyu, save the rest of the chakra for someone who needs it," he instructed the slug on his arm. He let her down to join with another piece of her and scout out for someone alive with horrible injuries.
Listening for any shouts from people that are alive and trapped, he worked away steadily going through the heap and tuning out the battle that had moved away from the village. As survivors were brought out they joined him in searching through the wreckage.
With so much devastation it was hard to think of how the village will survive and become prosperous once more. They are now sitting ducks compared to the other villages which could easily come in and destroy them. Many of their strong ninja were taken out and no one could be certain what would happen with Naruto losing control against the fox as they could see the signs of a battle still taking place off in the distance.
It was all hard to accept but they at least had a plan to find the one that is controlling the Pain's from the shadows. A few teams were dispatched to check out every high point close to the village. They were wary of getting close to the battling duo but they had areas to check over there as well.
Shikaku ran through the trees with Inoichi and a Hyuga, heading to the last few points and getting close to where the battle had been. When it was silent they wondered what had happened, if Naruto was captured or if Yamato showed up in time. They kept up their silent trek, surprised to hear Naruto was up ahead.
Calling out to him Shikaku could see the boy was tired. Somehow he defeated all six Pains and now wanted to confront the one behind all of this alone. He could still remember that day not too long ago when his son admitted those words and right now he felt the same way. Naruto had some special gift that made others want to follow and watch him, he has been pulling off some rather remarkable feats ever since his academy days and with that acknowledgment he convinced the others to just let him go.
He wasn't regretting it either; once again Naruto had done something remarkable. He stood there with a worried Yamato who was taking in the destruction of the village. The wood user looked for the most part relieved. Kakashi came back to life and decided to find Naruto, letting him fall on to his back when exhaustion kicked in. They were happy to see everyone was alive again as they rejoiced at Naruto's success.
Though they didn't have much more than just positive energy, it was enough to show Naruto that he is a hero to them. He had already become recognized as someone of value to the whole village without even having to become Hokage. As the day carried on and loved ones were brought together again, Yamato began searching the crowds for his girlfriend, figuring he would find her somewhere.
With people still trapped it took them into the night to get everyone out and get things slowly setup. It nagged at Yamato though that he still hadn't come across her yet. Seeing how tired everyone is he figured he would just let it be for tonight, Pain was defeated and everyone was brought back to life so she was probably just somewhere else busy helping someone since she wouldn't know he was back in the village yet.
The next day he helped to build houses with his wood style release. The village was slowly being rebuilt and people put up tents and scavenged around for the necessities. Sitting there feeling drained he wanted to take a break and ask Kakashi for a favor.
"Hey Kakashi," he caught his attention inside Lady Tsunade's tent.
"Yeah, Tenzo," he called to his fellow comrade.
"Hey! You're not supposed to call me that!"
Taking a deep breath he reminded himself of why he was here. "I still haven't come across Kagome. I was wondering if you could use your summons today to try and find her. I just want to know she is safe and doing alright."
Kakashi remembered then that he had been looking for her before he came across Pain about to kill Iruka. "I haven't seen her since before the attack. I won't be able to summon all of them with my chakra still running low but I will see what I can do."
Understanding his own situation he left to continue with the construction, being kept busy for the rest of the day even though he was beginning to worry the longer he didn't hear anything from Kakashi or see a glimpse of Kagome. "Wood Release: Serial Pillar Houses Technique" he shouted before slumping back down to the ground in exhaustion.
He could hardly stand by the time night came and with no word from Kakashi; he took it they were still looking for some reason. He woke early the next morning feeling more rested. After finding something to eat Kakashi approached him with a serious look.
"Yamato," he started, "we can't find her in the village."
Kage then touched down in front of him with no mask, figuring it must have been ruined in the destruction of the village. "I have been searching everywhere as well as the others; no one has been able to locate her ever since we got separated in the attacks."
"Tell me what you know," Yamato demanded seriously, his fears starting to become real.
A few more Anbu appeared with a familiar woman in their custody. "Kagome was battling a Pain while we were kept busy with a buffalo summon. She managed to escape when several ninja took her place. She was then last seen guarding the Hokage Monument when another Pain appeared to presumably capture her. We have eye witness accounts that just as she was about to be captured a Leaf Kunoichi had attacked her with several weapons."
The other Anbu brought her forward but she refused to speak up and help them out. "This is the same one that attacked her in the office," Kakashi recognized her, a deadly glint coming to his eye.
"She is possibly the only one that knows what happened to Kagome now that Pain is dead. She was simply gone after that, only minutes later he destroyed the village so it could be that he had moved her quite the distance away," Kage continued.
Kakashi took charge then, "We need search parties and flares. I want as many out there searching for her, she could be in a critical state so if she needs medical attention fire off a blue or green flare. If she has been found but can be moved without assistance then fire off a different color," he instructed.
Everyone spread out and Kakashi did his summons, having already seen the paling of his friend's face. "Pakkun, I am creating search parties, Kagome is still missing from the village. I need each of you to join a group and spread out," he commanded.
Minutes later everyone was gathered and ready to spread out, he had six parties of three set to locate the missing woman. Each one had a ninken with them and another sensory type. "Okay everyone; she could be a good distance from the village since he was planning to destroy it soon. Keep your eyes peeled, on top of that she was last seen with multiple wounds to her back so you might be able to pick up the scent of her blood. Let's move out!"
Kakashi and Yamato formed their own party, going through the woods towards where Pain had been found. The nerve of that kunoichi, they hoped she is going to be sent to prison for this betrayal. It would do them no good though to lose their patience when Kagome was missing. They just hoped she would be okay once they found her.
They kept their eyes open in case a flare shoots into the sky. Kakashi was beginning to pick up the smell of something when he could hear one of his ninken howl. Looking to the sky they could see a green flare go off, alerting the medical unit that someone is in need of their help. The worry Kakashi was feeling because of this scent on the wind had grown when he began to realize that it was most likely coming from her.
Yamato felt like he was going in slow motion as his adrenaline pumped through his veins. It was taking so long just to reach her and she has been out here for a couple days. He had failed to find a way to protect her or even give him a clue as to how she is doing while he was away from the village.
He should have given her some of his tracking seeds to keep in case of an emergency like this but he hadn't thought about it, for once he was ill-prepared. That mistake was costing him a lot and possibly her as well.
It was only going to take them a few minutes total but the weight of them made it feel like an hour was going by as they continued to the estimate location. Kakashi pulled his headband up and let his Sharingan search ahead of them, they should be closing in on their location soon. Seeing signs of movement he pointed where and they veered off to meet up with them.
Landing down from the tree he could see it was Kiba, his mom, their companions, and one of his ninken. Yamato kneeled down, seeing the scattered weapons with dried blood on them. He pulled her shirt up and revealed her back was quite infected. The ones with good noses could smell the poison in her bloodstream and shared a look while they waited for a medic.
"Why hasn't she healed, her healing abilities are on par with mine, maybe even as good as Naruto's," he asked, feeling her forehead was scorching with a fever.
"The weapons have a clear poison coated on them; it is attacking her healing abilities," Tsume briskly said, answering the question and breaking the news to him.
Kakashi used his sharingan to look around them for the medic that should be coming. Looking back towards the village he spotted a couple coming, "The medics are almost here," he alerted them.
As they came through the trees they all stood up and got out of the way. They were informed of the poison and soon the tools were stored in a scroll for examination and evidence later. Kagome was placed on a stretcher and carried away to the hospital. Kakashi had a feeling Sakura and Shizune were about to have their hands full since they are possibly the only ones that could help Kagome at this point.
Yamato stood in the tent holding her hand and smoothing away her bangs while they waited for Sakura to come. "I'm so sorry you're suffering this much Kagome, I should have known you were in trouble," he apologized. He has seen her ill and feverish before but this was a new level.
Her back had puss oozing out of wounds. The surrounding areas were a crusty green and red on the skin from the irritation and infection. He wasn't sure what had kept her alive this long but he was thankful it did. They had collected three kunai and six shuriken total; only one kunai was missing making the grand total of ten weapons that had been imbedded in her back.
After it was shown that the Kunoichi responsible was still favoring a wound around her abdomen, they discovered it was inflicted by the same poisoned kunai after they sent her to the interrogation unit. With Tsunade out in a coma they couldn't do anything with her except keep her bound and under surveillance.
Sakura entered the room and began checking her wounds over. Pulling her hair up she kicked Yamato out so she can focus. She had two assistants helping her and gave them instructions. "I will need plenty of water to get the poison out of her system. Make sure the water is boiled first so it is sterile. Have the men out there help you collect it all," she ordered and began using a sterile wipe to clean off the mounds of puss coming out of each wound.
"Kagome, you are going to need a lot of work done to get you back in good health this time," she remarked to her unconscious patient.
With Kagome on her side still she gently moved her on to her stomach. Just with one wound the wipe was disgusting. Tossing it into the trash next to her she pulled out another and cleaned the same wound again, gently pushing around the opening, forcing more puss out with the blood. "These are all badly infected, I wonder if that is another effect of the poison," she murmured.
Taking a new wipe as she trashed a second one, she had blood leaking from the wound again. Her body wasn't even responding to her touch, she decided to press harder to get as much out as she can. It was rather disgusting to look at; a normal person might have lost out and thrown up the contents of their stomachs. She was soon wearing a mask on her face and coat on her body as it squirted out.
She was only finishing on a second wound when the medics came in with Yamato and Kakashi. They were quick to look at the progress being made before helping the medics get the water ready to boil. With them busy helping out she didn't complain about Yamato being in the room again. She was surprised though, to see an Anbu member walk in with more water, but he wasn't wearing a mask. She wondered if he is one of the members that were charged with her protection. Since they usually had their hoods up, covering their features even it was hard to tell.
Looking outside the flap of the tent she could see two more standing guard at the entrance. Kagome just couldn't seem to catch a break. Beginning on the third wound a medic came over with more wipes for her to use before getting busy with another wipe to try and clean off the minor wounds she also had. Another medic released the tools from the scroll and began setting it up so Sakura can link them to her wounds and attempt an antidote.
Pressing on the third wound she got out the rest of the puss just in time for someone to take her spot. Ibiki and Shikaku came into the entrance of the tent minutes later when Sakura determined what the basics of the poison are. Giving them an incomplete detailed report and letting them collect the weapons for them to store as evidence they soon departed to speak with Shizune about the matter.
Yamato kept glancing over at the table he was able to create for her to treat Kagome's wounds easier. Though her back was beginning to clear up it worried him about fighting the poison with her being so weak. He didn't understand why someone would want to hurt her so badly, it was insane in his opinion.
A while later Shizune was in and able to help Sakura create the antidote. Not being able to determine what the poison definitely is offhand they began to draw it out with the prepared water to start with a base for the antidote, much like the time with Kankuro. Yamato was there right alongside the others as Kagome's body began to thrash on the table. It took a long time; they were both sweaty by the time the extraction was finished but so far it was a success.
With her wounds cleaned and bandaged they were then able to start on gathering the medicinal herbs to finally create an antidote. Thankfully, the destruction of the village didn't hinder them too badly since the plant life here flourishes. When evening came she was able to inject the antidote into her body and let it do the rest.
Yamato sat inside the tent thinking quietly, 'With Pain and most of the Akatsuki defeated we should be fine until the war breaks out. There is no way I am letting her join the war, she won't be ready in time,' he determined, hoping she could just stay behind with some of the others and protect the village in their absence.
His hope to seeing her wake up soon was shattered though when her body began to sweat profusely. Getting up after hearing her breathing became irregular he could tell something was wrong when he felt how cold and clammy her skin had become. With a shout to the Anbu outside the door Kage came in, seeing her sudden deteriorating state he left quickly to track down Sakura or Shizune.
Yamato watched over her as his heart beat painfully in his chest wondering just what could be wrong. The flap to the tent went up with both of the women coming in. Checking her over Sakura was quick to realize what was wrong, "She's going into shock!"
Shizune began checking her pulse and other details to determine what the cause is, "Her blood pressure is too low, it's hypovolemic," she quickly informed Sakura. "I'm sorry Yamato, you need to wait outside the tent," about to refuse he was quickly shoved outside and stared back at the flap with contempt before his worry kicked in and that began him pacing.
Not having a way to tell the time he used the moon as his guide, figuring a couple hours had passed by of them being in there with her while medic nin ran in and out of the tent. He could hear them saying they need to 'stabilize her,' and 'she needs more blood.' It would appear to him that her blood loss is what started this whole mess. Waiting out there he began to hate the new circumstances even more. It would appear that he will never catch a break for long.
Sakura finally bid him to come into the tent. With Shizune they informed him of where she is at now. "We have Kagome stabilized again but we have some bad news. It would no longer be wise for her to do any sort of moderate - intensive activity. The poison had weakened her ability to create blood and that has put stress on her heart. I can't say for certain if this will be permanent but for now she is in a coma. Should she wake up from it we will need her to stay calm and relaxed as much as possible. Though a scratch wouldn't be bad, a gash could quickly escalate to more so I must stress that until we know if any of this will be lasting damage, we can't have her doing anything like her previous training."
Feeling like his heart was yanked out of his chest he confirmed that he understood before grabbing a stool and sitting next to her on the bed. Holding her hand, he swept the other through her damp bangs, it hurt to be so close yet be able to do so little for her. He kissed her hand and resigned himself to staying at her side while she continued to rest in this coma.
As a week passed by many events had taken place. Danzo was named Hokage, though that bothered them; it also meant they could move forward in pressing charges against the kunoichi. That was about the only positive thing that happened with his ascension. He stood by and watched her charged by the Hokage for her crimes and would serve her sentence in prison, just as they wished.
That had then brought Danzo's attention to his girlfriend, something that made his skin crawl. Since many files were kept up in the Hokage monument, of which Kagome protected, he was able to easily access the reports and everything on her. His growing interest had however died down when he received her medical files, basically equating that she could not be used as a weapon or for defense since it would most likely only bring her death.
He just hoped that if she did get better it wouldn't be brought to Danzo's attention or he will be removed from being the Hokage by that point. Watching out for his Anbu and notifying her Anbu of his interest, it heightened their wariness to the new Hokage. Today though, he found himself on a secret mission while Danzo was gone at the Hokage Summit.
After Naruto was able to somewhat speak with the Raikage and be refused his request, he hoped to get some rest at the inn they were heading to and then turn home. He knew Kakashi was only trying to distract him from the coma Kagome is in, it wasn't helping that he is now miles away from the village. If anything it only made him more concerned which meant he was primarily thinking of her.
After a few days of commotion from the masked Akatsuki member appearing to Naruto escaping to cross paths with Sakura, he finally was on his way home and quite happy for it. He probably would have put up more of a fight against Naruto but he didn't want to stay away from the village any longer.
"Finally, I'm back at the village again," he said quietly to himself as he looked over the village from the wall and watched the reconstruction going on for a minute.
Not wanting to waste any more time he headed straight to the tent Kagome was located in. Upon entering he realized she was still comatose. He decided to grab something to eat and sit with her, after being away he just wanted to be in her company.
"Hey Yamato, we need your help when you have a minute," a ninja came in and alerted him.
"I will be out shortly," he replied and began eating his bowl of noodles once again. "Sorry Kagome, I will be back as soon as possible," he spoke, giving her a kiss on the forehead before leaving to see what was going on.
He spent a few hours watching over the construction and helping out. Having created more houses he was glad when they asked for a lunch break. He grabbed more food and went back to the tent, finding Kagome getting a checkup. The wounds had healed over, not even leaving a sliver of a scar. All that was left is for her to wake up and for them to figure out if the other problems are permanent. Once he could sit back down with her he looked down at his sleeping beauty, hoping to find those eyes fluttering and revealing her beautiful blue eyes.
Her and Tsunade both remained deep in their slumber, both had recovered from their wounds but neither appeared to be close to waking up. Later on that day he was visited by Kakashi who had just returned. While they were gone much had happened it seemed.
Kakashi had spoken with the village elders and was informed that they decided to make him Hokage instead of Danzo. He could see the stone carver on the Hokage Monument, he had already been stopped once after it was announced that Danzo is dead. Now he is about to put his face up there and he couldn't help but wonder what his life will be like as the Hokage. Most of all he wondered if he will have enough time for all of his books that Jiraiya authored.
It will be some time yet until he goes to see the Fire Daimyo so he spent his time trying to wrap his head around all of the great changes and turn in events that have taken place. Finding his feet leading him up to Tsunade's hut her made a quiet entry and stood near her bedding for a while lost in thought. It would have been nice if she could give him advice but then again, if she could then he wouldn't be turning into the sixth Hokage. Finding more questions than answers he left the hut and soon he found the distraction he needed in his friend and rival, Might Guy.
Yamato was happy for his friend even though the news didn't come from better circumstances. It made everyone feel much better now that Danzo will no longer be appointed Hokage and though harsh, he wasn't upset by his death really. The man had always been questionable in his methods and theories, he is just glad that he didn't serve him longer than he already had.
Though he was happy for his friend, he was even happier at hearing the news that Lady Tsunade had finally come out of her coma. It gave him hope, hope that Kagome will too and maybe some even better news to her health as well. He watched with mirth from afar as plates of food were brought in to fill her ravenous appetite.