"Speaking"

'Thinking'

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, so many tears!!

Chapter 8

'They're so quiet…but I guess when you're all but riding to your death there's not much to say. I'm surprised Naruto isn't trying to be cheerful by fighting with Sasuke. I'm surprised Sakura isn't defending Sasuke from whatever Naruto said. I'm surprised Sasuke's not smirking at Naruto's sad face and at what Sakura's yelling. Maybe at this point they've finally matured and realize how cruel life really is. I'll miss their innocence; they'll never be the same. I can already see dark humor growing in Naruto, melancholy in Sakura and vengeance in Sasuke. But maybe all that's my imagination, I can only hope all of this is an illusion from being hopped up my apparently useless meds…oh that girl had nice legs.' Kakashi parked the car down a block from Orochimaru's office building. They all just sat there for a few minutes mulling over various things in their heads.

"I guess it's time huh?"

Kakashi looked to his right and saw Naruto looking at him with a small smile on his face. He nodded his head in answer. Naruto's smile grew a bit and he opened his door and stepped out; always the one to break boundaries. Sasuke soon followed his brother; Sakura followed her boys and Kakashi followed his young charges. At the trunk of the car they got ready together: securing things for each other and making sure each other was equip with what they needed. Sasuke had trouble securing the clap of a line of grenades around his chest and Sakura put down Baby to secure it for him. Naruto couldn't find a clip for his gun and Kakashi found it instantly. To say the team was finally perfectly in sync was an understatement.

They crossed the street side-by-side, weaponry in hand, suits crisp as ever and entered the Senator's lobby. It had polished white marble floors, not good for running, and high white ceilings, easily collapsible. And finally the second bad omen of the day: an empty reception desk. The team immediately formed a circle so they could view all directions.

From a dark hallway came two figures. One was tall with bad posture, spiky brown hair and tanned skin. He wore baggy black jeans, a tight black muscle shirt, arm and hand guards and a bandanna around his lower face. On his shoulders lay a large sword and chains were wrapped around his left shoulder. The much shorter person next to him appeared to be a woman because of its long black hair and delicate angular features. Pale skin stood out against a forest green sweater and skirt. Her face was covered in a plain white mask with a few red stripes on it, further hiding her identity.

"Well Kakashi it's been a long time." The man finally raised his head to stare straight into Kakashi's eyes.

"It has, Zabuza."

"Look I don't have a lot of time up here so let's get this over with so I can relax. I'm going back to that damned swap tomorrow and I'd hate to spend it all killing you." He lowered his sword and scraped the tip against the perfectly polished floor, producing a sound equivalent to nails on a chalkboard.

"I'll try not to waste your time. Sasuke go on ahead and clear the way a little. Naruto, Sakura you two decide who'll take the girl, Haku." Sasuke sprinted and entered the elevator as Kakashi and Zabuza started on their way down the hallway.

After Kakashi and Zabuza disappeared Naruto shot forward and slid to try and kick the woman's legs out, but she jumped up and evaded him. He looked up and got an eyeful. "Oh my eyes!" shouted Naruto as he stood up and grabbed his face as if he would gorge his eyes out.

"Naruto what happened?" shouted Sakura.

"She a dude!"

"What?"

"Oh God Sakura please take her, I mean him, I mean whatever! Please I can not handle this!" shouted Naruto as he ran to the elevator. "I'll back Sasuke up!" he shouted as the door closed.

Sakura faced off against her opponent. The shemale was shorter and smaller than Sakura meaning it'd be faster than her. With Haku being more familiar with the surroundings she'd definitely have a disadvantage, but that didn't matter right now. Sakura shot forward just as Haku did and they collided with their forearms together. They both jumped back a few feet and then joined again in a flurry of hand-to-hand combat. Suddenly Sakura felt a sharp pinch in her side. She jumped back from the fight and examined her side. In it was a thin silver needle, she pulled it out and stared at it. In front of her Haku pulled out three more in each hand and threw them at Sakura who narrowly dodged only four of the needles, the other two struck her left arm. As she pulled those out, her vision got hazy. Sakura shook her head and it quickly passed.

Haku rushed at Sakura as she was getting her bearings and knocked her over. Haku sat on Sakura's midsection and repeatedly tried to land a punch to her face. Finally the she-male resorted to grabbing Sakura's hair and pulling her head up and slamming it back down. Sakura's vision swam for a minute before she noticed the pink tendrils stuck to Haku's nails. She seethed inside, it had taken her forever to grown her hair out.

"You bitch!" Sakura roared as she punched Haku and sent them tumbling. Sakura gained the upper hand and returned the favor. Long black locks were shaken from her delicate hands. Haku starred at her icily before slapping Sakura, shoving her off and standing up. Sakura was stunned for a second before she took Baby off her back and rushed at Haku. They tumbled and rolled around again, each trying to get the upper hand and tear at each other's locks. Sakura eventually gained the top position and started to choke Haku. Haku looked for anything to help her out of her position when she spotted Baby less than and inch from her hand. She quickly grabbed it and bashed Sakura in the back of the head. Sakura fell over, dazed and Haku crawled from under her. As the smirking she-male started to walk away there was a BANG! Haku stopped and looked at her stomach. There was a bleeding bullet hole in it. She clutched her stomach and dropped, not moving even when Sakura nudged her stomach with her foot. Clutching her bleeding head, Sakura made her way to the elevator to help Naruto and Sasuke. The doors chimed as they closed in front of her.

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Kakashi and Zabuza squared off and measured each other up. It had been many years since they had last fought each other, back in the days when Orochimaru was just coming to office and crime was still running amuck thanks to his ruthless take over.

"You're looking old Kakashi. You sure you want to do this? I wouldn't want to win just 'cause you threw your back out." Zabuza said as he unsheathed his sword.

"Don't worry about me. I'm not as old as I look. You worry about yourself. I remember winning last time," quipped Kakashi.

"Ah, and I remember letting you win, but not to worry. I've got some new tricks up my sleeve." Swinging his sword to the ready position, Zabuza rushed at Kakashi while zigzagging right and left. When he reached a four-foot distance from Kakashi he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his arm. He stopped and looked to see a lightly bleeding cut on his bicep.

"Silencer," said Kakashi. "Makes the gun heavier to handle, but easier to sneak up on a target. Next time I won't miss on purpose."

Zabuza laughed and wiped the trickle of blood away. "Still got that quick wrist I see. Nice to see some things don't change with age. An example if you'll humor me." He moved his sword to his right hand and shook the chains from his shoulder until they were lightly wrapped around his forearm and in a pool at his feet. "Truth is I'm a little older than you Hatake and unfortunately all my years of killing and lugging this thing around haven't done the old shoulder any good. I've had to downgrade to a much lighter one." He lifted his sword and tossed it into the air, catching it by the hilt as it came swiftly down. "And had to figure out a new technique." He brought his sword up over his shoulder and rested it there. "So, think fast!" He tossed it at a casual breakneck speed straight at Kakashi who dodged it easily. "Careful!" Kakashi suddenly found himself being rapidly approached by the chains that less than a minute ago had been pooled at Zabuza's feet. His leg was securely caught and he found himself being dragged back. "Should've remembered my aim was always better on the left side. Not so cocky now huh?" Kakashi pulled out his gun and shot the chain effectively breaking the hold on his leg and allowing him to back flip from his precarious position and to relative safety. "Now that's no fun." He sighed. "Now I have to get the damn thing back." He opened his right hand and stretched the palm towards the sword. It immediately sprung to life and it seemed as if an invisible force was dragging the sword by the hilt across the floor. The dreadful nail on chalkboard sound was like music to Zabuza's ears as he saw the pained and shocked look on Kakashi's face. "No, I'm not a Jedi if that's what you're thinking," he said as he grasped the hilt firmly. "The Senator got his hands on some stong-ass magnets for me. I just open my palm and my sword comes right back to me. So, how about we try this again?" He slammed the tip of his sword down producing a loud 'ping' sound.

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The elevator sounded as its doors opened and Sasuke deftly somersaulted out and came up to a crouch with a shotgun at the ready. He surveyed the empty office lobby and stood up. He proceeded to kick open each office door and check them. All were empty. Sasuke didn't like his team's situation. It was the middle of the week and still early morning yet there was no one but Zabuza and Haku here. He was about to open the stairwell door when he dropped down into a crouch with his gun at the ready and one hand on a grenade. The elevator had chimed again.

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Zabuza rushed at Kakashi and swung widely when he got close enough. Kakashi easily dodged when he felt metal brush his side. "Ah, ah, ah careful there Kakashi!" Kakashi dodged to the side but ended up with a good-sized slash just above his hip for it. He jumped back just in time to avoid a losing an arm. "Ooo! Someone's slowing down! Feeling the age now Hatake?" Zabuza resumed his stance and rushed at Kakashi who leapt back into a series of backhand springs until he got dizzy and slowed down. Seeing his chance Zabuza brought his sword down and smirked when he saw Kakashi land on his back clutching his eye. "Well? Let's see." Kakashi stood and lowered his hand. To Zabuza's irritation, he had only scratched it.

Quick as a flash Kakashi whipped out his gun and fired some shots at Zabuza. Being swift as ever, Zabuza dodged a shot before bringing his sword down in front of him. Kakashi saw that the sword was so broad that it completely shielded his whole body when he turned to the side. He looked up and spied a crystal chandelier directly above Zabuza. "Zabuza!" he shouted.

"What?" Zabuza growled.

"Heads up." Kakashi fired two shots at the chandelier and rolled out of the way.

Zabuza sighed, "Damn." He brought his sword up over his head and crouched waiting for the blow. Crystals and glass shattered everywhere as the chandelier crashed onto him, creating little dinging sounds as they touched the marble.

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"Naruto you dumbass what are you doing here?" shouted Sasuke.

Naruto stepped from the elevator. "Dude you don't understand! That weird girl downstairs is a dude! She still has her bits and pieces and everything! I couldn't handle it."

"Say no more! You poor bastard," Sasuke consoled before becoming grim. "Naruto, Orochimaru's not in his office. No one's here and I don't like it."

"Shit, you think he's escaping in a helicopter or something?"

"Only one way to find out."

Together they entered the stairwell and jogged up until they reached a door at the very top. With a nod from each other they simultaneously kicked the door open and cautiously stepped out with their shotguns at the ready. Immediately they were greeted with a line of ten or so men dressed in variations of the black suit with a white shirt, red tie, and the Akatsuki pin. He looked at the freak show in front of him, remembering Zabuza the mummy and Haku the shemale from downstairs and whispered, "Dear lord what's wrong with these people?" Many of the men sported piercings on what seemed to be very painful places, hairstyles that defied gravity and all logic, and tattoos on any place they could fit them. Naruto recognized Kakuzu in the group, he took aim while Sasuke focused on the other side. Then BANG one shot was fired and hit the wall near Naruto's head. He and Sauske backed up to the cover of the stairwell and returned fire., Sasuke tossing some grenades in as well. BANG!

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Zabuza groaned as he pushed the heavy chandelier off of him with his sword. Unfortunately some of the looser strands of crystal had whipped under the protective covering of his sword and scratched up his arms and part of his back. Crystal shards as well had dug themselves into his skin. He stood up and cracked his neck while scanning the room for signs of Kakashi. "Playing hide and seek are we Kakashi?"

"Well it is my favorite game Zabuza." Kakashi's voice seemed to come from everywhere as the acoustics of the room made it echo. Hidden somewhere nearby Kakashi though, 'I've got to get him away from that sword.' So he waited for his moment. Minutes later he got lucky.

Zabuza was a very impatient man and was getting exceedingly annoyed with the fight. So, he decided to go look for his slippery opponent. He heaved his sword down off his shoulders and stuck it through a cracked tile and into the ground and walked towards the back of the room. Kakashi, seeing his chance, swiftly left his hiding spot and ran towards the entrance only to be grasped from behind and slammed down onto the ground. Kakashi groaned and rubbed the back of his sore head, cracking his good eye open to see Zabuza smiling down at him.

"Oh Kakashi," he said. "You really should've learned by now." He grabbed Kakashi's leg and started dragging him back towards his sword. "I mean really! Knowledge is supposed to be gained with two things: experience and age. And really man, judging by your hair you've got bo-gah!" He dropped Kakashi's leg and looked over his shoulder to see one bleeding hole through his shoulder blade and one through his calf. Kakashi tried to crawl away, but Zabuza recovered and stomped on the back of his calf making Kakashi gasp in pain. "Damn son of a bitch! Give me that!" Keeping his foot on Kakashi's calf he hopped over and took Kakashi's gun and threw it towards the side of the room. Seeing Kakashi wasn't going anywhere, Zabuza limped over to his sword and heaved it up with a grunt. Kakashi came of his pain filled daze to see Zabuza coming at him. He summoned all of his might and crawled desperately towards his gun. Zabuza however soon overtook him and lunged and swung his sword at Kakashi's head before BANG!

Kakashi slowly opened his eyes and at first saw bright light and swore. Then, however, he turned his head to the side and saw Zabuza's sword less than an inch from his ear. He looked up and saw Zabuza knelt over him with a bullet hole straight through his forehead. Kakashi had reached his gun and turned over, firing a shots blindly while praying he got his target. He had a team to help. He sighed and slumped down to breathe before grunting as Zabuza's corpse fell on top of his chest. "Damn," he swore.

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The dust cleared and revealed ten figures clad in blood covered black suits laying strewn about the rooftop. Naruto and Sasuke cautiously stepped from behind the stairwell walls to check the area. Suddenly though six more figure were revealed as the dust completely left. All of them had orangey blonde hair and various piercings all over their faces. Each also sported the typical Akatsuki uniform.

"Oh fuck," Naruto whispered.

The shortest of the six stepped forward and addressed the two. "Hello boys, my name is Pein. I presume you are Naruto and Sasuke, the brothers I've heard so much about. I'm sorry to say that you've just missed Senator Orochimaru. He's been called away on very pressing matters, but don't despair. He's left us to properly handle any problems you may have. So, shall we?"

Simultaneously Naruto and Sasuke pulled up their guns and hit the triggers. However, nothing came out. "Damn," Sasuke swore as they both discarded themselves of their useless weapons.

"My, my, quite under equipped I see. Why don't my siblings and I show you how to properly arm yourselves so this never happens?" Pein and the other sextuplets pulled out an assortment of knives, clubs, and needle like objects from inside their jacket and pants' pockets. "Now that you've got your visual how 'bout a little demonstration?" Pein rushed forward and jabbed Naruto in the side with a needle before either could react. Naruto punched him in the face and Pein used that momentum to flip himself backwards to a safe distance. Naruto pulled the syringe out and cursed when he saw it was practically empty. Pein stood up and wiped the blood from his mouth before shouting, "Get them!" His sibling rushed forward as he watched from the side.

Ignoring his stinging side, Naruto and Sasuke rushed into the oncoming onslaught. Sasuke, being the less wounded of the two, took on three while Naruto took too. They barely dodged a barrage of club swings and knife slashes as they fought for their live. Finally Sasuke tackled the smallest of his three combatants and disarmed the knife wielder and using his weapon against him, stabbing it through his heart. Unfortunately Sasuke was then hit in the back by a metal bat and knocked way off the dead sextuplet. He staggered back up, clutching his aching back and squared off with his two remaining assailants. He ran at them and they again entered into a parry of blows.

Naruto wasn't fairing any better. The pain in his side seemed to multiplied with every dodge he executed and it was starting to affect him. A man wearing brass knuckles had already hit him in the chest and his forehead had been clipped by a clumsy swing from a knife. During that clumsy swing Naruto took advantage of the man's lunge and elbowed him in the back, dropping him temporarily. The sextuplet with the brass knuckles then lunged and tackled Naruto to the ground and started pummeling him. Then a BANG sounded. He stopped and rolled over dead. Naruto looked up and saw a bloodied Sakura holding her hand out to him. He took it and she helped pull him up. "Damn! What happened to you?" he asked. The sextuplet with the knife slowly got up to his hands and knees and threw his knife at Sakura who dodged it.

"Later!" she said before running over to the fallen man and kicking him in the stomach. After the third kick he grabbed her leg and pulled her down before rolling on top of her and grabbing another knife.

Looking at the scene in front of him Kakashi could only curse the elevator that had decided to take it's time climbing the floors before he finally got out and ran the rest of the way up. Sakura and a man with orangey blonde hair were wrestling with each other on the ground, both bleeding. Sasuke was fending off two large men with the same bright hair color who looked to not be slowing down. Naruto had squared off with who seemed to be the shortest of all the men on the roof, but was obviously the strongest as he had not a single scratch. So he decided, Sasuke was the one to be helped. He ran over and distracted one of the men and brought him to the side giving Sasuke a better chance against the sextuplet with the bat.

Silently thanking Kakashi for the help Sasuke focused on trying to beat the sextuplet in front of him. He ran at the man, trying to take him down so he could gain the upper hand, but the man was quick and bashed his bat into one of Sasuke's knees. Sasuke gasped and fell to the side, clutching his knee. The man chuckled darkly and bashed the other one in. Sasuke cried out in pain and the sextuplet went in for the kill.

Hearing Sasuke's yell, Kakashi knew he needed to end this quickly and unfortunately for him it seemed he would have to make some sacrifices. Taking a chance Kakashi let his guard down and allowed the sextuplet to tackle him to the ground. Struggling just enough to distract the man, Kakashi reached around him and searched for another knife. As soon as he found one he felt a sharp pain and looked to the side. The sextuplet on top of him had slit his wrist as he attempted to protect his head. 'Damn!' he cursed in his head. He tossed the knife down to his injured hand and started to fend off the sextuplet with his other one. Finally, he stabbed him and the sextuplet slumped down to the side. Kakashi felt another sharp pain so he rolled the sextuplet off of him and checked himself. His other wrist was now cut and bleeding. He looked at the man and saw razor blades clasped in his teeth. "Fucker," he muttered. He grasped his wrist to try and staunch the bleeding and got up to help Sasuke.

Sasuke opened his eyes when he didn't feel a bat bashing his skull in. He had already been hit in the chest several times and was sure he felt something out of place. He looked up and saw Kakashi had once again come to his rescue. Although his hands were bleeding, Kakashi was holding the man back with all his might. Sasuke smirked and grabbed a grenade from his line and pushed it through the sextuplet's mouth. Kakashi let him go and kicked him over the edge of the building. Seconds later they heard a BOOM.

"Sasuke you're too injured too fight so I'm going to go see if I can help Sakura out," said Kakashi.

Sasuke looked to the side and said, "I don't think she's going to need it."

Sakura and the second to last sextuplet had been rolling around most of the rooftop before she could finally hold a position on top. Unfortunately it was just her luck that she got the one with the brass knuckles. She'd been hit in the eye and it hurt like a bitch, but she was pretty proud of herself for taking the upper hand with only one good eye. Then, the bastard bashed her in the forehead. She fell back and blacked out, praying that she'd wake up and see a rooftop and not clouds. Soon she felt herself being shaken. She opened her eyes and thanked God when she saw Kakashi smiling down at her.

"Welcome back Sakura. You might want to stay down. You've been hurt pretty badly. It's all up to Naruto now." They both looked over and saw Naruto stalking to Pein.

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"It is unwise of you to challenge me in your condition," Pein stated. "The poison I injected you with is quickly eating away at you immune and nervous system. Soon you won't be able to move, to breathe, to think, you'll be helpless and completely at my mercy."

"It doesn't matter," said Cole.

Pein quirked an eyebrow. "Why are you so determined to get to Senator Orochimaru?" he asked.

Naruto smiled. "Because he's hurt someone I care about very badly. He's hurt a lot of people I care about….He deserves what's coming to him." His face grew determined and he locked eyes with Pein. "So regardless of how or when or where I die I'll make sure he dies. I don't care how many people I have to take with me."

"Very well then." Pein pulled out a set of silver spiked knuckles and put them on. "Come!" he challenged.

Naruto and Pein ran at each other and entered into a furious battle. To Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke who could only watch from where they had fallen, it appeared that they were evenly matched. When they finally sprang apart, they each appeared badly hurt. Naruto's left sleeve was torn clean off and his shoulder was at a funny angle. His chest was a bloody mess as well and he seemed to be having trouble bleeding. Pein was no better. His mouth was bleeding and he was holding his side as he took rapid breaths and winced with each one. Seeing an opportunity, Naruto whipped out his gun to try and end the fight, but Pein was too quick. He had reached Naruto and twisted his hand in the wrong direction before he could press the trigger. Naruto knew instantly that is he survived he would have to retrain as a lefty.

"You cannot win," rasped Pein. He punched Naruto in the stomach causing him to fall to the ground and gasp for air. "I am of a rank of assassin that far superior to yours. You cannot possibly beat me."

Naruto chuckled hoarsely. "If you were really so superior you would've done your research better." He looked up and saw a brief glimmer or puzzlement in Pein's eyes. "Everyone knows I have two guns dumbass." Naruto whipped his other 9x9mm gun and shot Pein through the heart. Pein's face was of pure shock as his dead body fell backwards and hit the ground. Naruto crawled over towards the side of the rooftop and leaned his back against the wall. He looked to the sky and sighed. 'Hinata…'

AN: Sorry for the long wait. I hope that the long chapter and fight scenes make up for it. I really want to dedicate this chapter to HaloChris because not only did he read and comment on my story when it was on DeviantArt, but he also did the very same when I switched to here. So here's to you HaloChris! You're freakin' awesome! Next chapter is the very last one. You'll love the ending!