Chapter 20: New Crises
They were supposed to reach the next village by nightfall. They had slept scattered around the bonfire as it faded down, in much the same positions they'd kept to at the inn, with the obvious exception that now all the old couples were back together, Neji and Tenten also returning to their previous sleeping arrangements. They'd set out first thing in the morning, several eyes on the sky as Usagi took the opportunity to glide over the treetops, rather than walk.
Around noon Usagi was beckoned down out of the air by Sasuke. Letting the others build a fire and prepare lunch, he took the little girl aside.
"I know Shikamaru talked to you about the nine-tails, Usagi-chan," Sasuke told her once they'd settled a ways away from the others, well out of earshot.
Usagi turned her head and stuck up her nose. "I don't have the nine-tails," she said firmly, "father had it and now its gone."
Sasuke sighed and looked down, then turned his gaze back to her, wondering how to proceed. To his surprise, he looked up to see her staring distractedly off to one side. "But . . ." she started, "what happened the other day . . . that was pretty amazing, wasn't it? What do you think caused that?"
Sasuke thought for a minute. "I suppose there could be another reason. You could just have part of its power, but not its consciousness buried beneath yours." Usagi glanced at him, as though not sure whether to trust his explanation. "I can find out, if you want. Just hold still."
Sasuke reached out a hand and grasped Usagi's head, his palm to her forehead and his fingers in her hair. He shut his eyes and she simply stared at him a moment while he held the position. She didn't exactly feel anything, but she had an odd sense of something prodding at her insides, shifting things inside her around so it could look.
At last Sasuke drew his hand away. "I don't sense the soul of the nine-tails," he told her, smiling a little, "but you definitely have a good chunk of its chakra. Its strange though. You have a lot, but not all of it. Its like you've only got half."
"Well what does that mean?" Usagi asked, frowning.
Sasuke thought for a moment. "Well, Naruto's seal was designed to only allow him access to the fox's yang chakra. Its possible that that's all you got, and the rest is . . . wherever."
Usagi opened her mouth to say something. Sasuke never did find out what it was. At that precise moment a loud shriek split the air and all eyes turned skyward as a shadow fell across them. There was a great rush of air, and something huge came overhead, blocking out the sun for a few moments.
"Dark!" yelled Kiba.
"Shoot it down!" shouted Sasuke.
"I got it!" screamed Temari. She swung her fan up at the mass above them, and down below a slicing sound could be heard. There came another terrible shriek, but the creature merely flapped four enormous wings and rose higher into the sky, out of range as it continued to circle them.
"It's huge!" called Shikamaru, staring up at it. It was. The Dark was enormous. It was in the form of a great bird, with four wings, two taloned legs and a long neck, ending in a tiny, arrow-like head with a sharp beak and beady, evil eyes. It cawed its unearthly cry again and dove.
"Get down!" yelled Sasuke, grabbing Usagi and diving into the cover of the trees.
"Sakura-san, look out!" Lee cried, pushing her against a tree and covering her with his body. Neji wrapped one arm around Tenten's shoulders and together they dropped to the ground. Temari hid herself and Shikamaru behind her fan, and Hinata flattened herself to the ground. A shield of sand encased Gaara, one of bugs surrounded Shino, and Kankuro dived for the trees, Choji dragging Ino not far behind him. Two talons raked across the earth, leaving two deep gouges. Akamaru grabbed Kiba's shirt between his teeth and jerked his master out of the way, the leftmost talon missing Kiba's leg by inches.
"Usagi-chan!" Hinata half screamed, half sobbed, launching to her feet and sprinting towards where Sasuke had Usagi pinned to the ground.
"Hinata-chan, stop!" Neji called, jumping to his feet as well, "little rabbit stay there!"
"Mother!" Usagi shrieked as another earsplitting caw signaled a second attack. Usagi scrambled out from under Sasuke's arm, running towards Hinata. The Dark dived.
"No!"
One thick, sturdy talon hooked around Usagi's waist. As she was pulled upward Neji lunged for her outstretched hand, but missed. Each of them saw her face flash before them, a mixture of fear and surprise, before the pounding of four great wings at the still air pulled her up into the sky.
"USAGI!" Hinata screamed, running after the monstrous bird as it soared off over the trees. Tears flowed freely down her face, cry after cry of her daughter's name tearing her throat. Twigs and branches whipped at her face and hands as she ran, she could hear Neji and the others calling behind her but she didn't care, her whole being was focused on being below that bird when it landed . . .
"Hinata-chan, stop!" this one sounded closer. She barely felt Neji fasten his arms around her from behind but she just kept running, struggling against his hold. The bird was getting smaller and smaller at it flew away, the cries getting fainter and fainter.
"Usagi . . . Usagi . . . Usagi . . ." Hinata sobbed, at last going limp. She let herself collapse, crumbling to her knees and falling back into Neji's arms. He held her, letting her bury her head in his shirt, sobbing, until the others arrived and Kiba knelt down beside them, pulling Hinata into his arms.
"Hey . . . its ok . . . we'll get her back . . . its ok," he muttered nonsensically into her hair, staring off into space over her shoulder.
They all crowded around the three people crumpled on the forest floor. Each face held an identical expression of anguish. They had lost another one.
Shino stepped forward. Adjusting his glasses on his nose briefly, he put a hand on Hinata's shoulder. She looked up at him. "We'll bring her back," he assured her simply.
"You!" hissed a voice saturated with venom. They all turned to Neji, who was standing up, glaring at Sasuke with murder in his eyes. Sasuke took a step back.
"You did this!" Neji spat, pointing a finger at Sasuke, "This is your fault! You're the one that insisted she stay! You're . . ."
"Neji-kun . . ." Tenten murmured, looking scared, "we all agreed Usagi should be here. Its not Sasuke's fault she . . ."
"Yes it is!" Neji howled. "He's the one who said she should stay, even though she was a child, even though she had no experience, even though we couldn't train her to . . ."
"We all agree!" Sasuke shot back angrily, "It wasn't my decision to keep her here, she wanted to come, and we all said that . . ."
"You had hold of her!" Neji obviously wasn't giving up that easily, "you couldn't have held on for another . . ."
"She was reaching to you!" Sasuke countered, "couldn't you have . . ."
"SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU!" bellowed Sakura. They both whirled around to look at her and Lee, standing off to the side of the two of them as they argued.
Sakura put a hand to her head and moaned lightly, her eyes fluttering. "Sakura-san!" Lee cried, lunging forward as her knees buckled and she fell. He caught her and dropped to his knees, resting her against his body.
Ino shot forward. "What's wrong with her?" she demanded, kneeling beside her friend, Choji standing supportively behind her.
Lee looked like a deer in the headlights as he looked from Sakura to Ino, wondering what to do, until . . .
"She's pregnant," Sasuke said loudly.
"WHAT?"
Nobody much cared who this statement had come from. They were all thinking the same thing anyway.
Lee stared, in utter horror laced with bemused confusion, at Sasuke, "You knew?"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Of course I knew."
"Then why didn't anyone tell me!" Ino exploded.
"An excellent question," Shikamaru piped up, looking more lost than anyone.
Sakura's eyes fluttered open just as the most heinous question she'd ever heard spoken floated into the air.
"Who's is it?" asked Temari.
Then the most heinous answer Sakura could have imagined followed it.
"Mine!" said Lee . . . and Sasuke at once.
Sakura passed out again.
"Sakura-san! Sakura-san!" Lee sobbed, shaking her shoulders lightly as he begged his wife to wake up.
"What the hell is going on!" Ino demanded.
"He is lying!" Lee shouted, glaring at Sasuke.
"You'd know?" Sasuke shot back.
"Does Sakura know?" Choji asked tentatively.
"Of course she knows!" Lee proclaimed. "Sakura is well aware that the child is ours! It could not be anyone else's!"
Sasuke let out a small chuckle. "Right, 'cause if there was any way it could be I'm sure she'd tell you."
"Sasuke-kun," said Ino, turning to look at him,"shut up."
"Thank you," said Neji flatly.
"Um," said Tenten, "aren't we all forgetting something?"
"Usagi!" cried Ino, leaping to her feet, "we have to go after her!"
"Perhaps we should all take a minute to calm down first," Shino suggested, sounding a little shaken.
"That is a good idea, Shino-san," Lee said. Taking a deep breath, he passed the still unconscious Sakura to Ino. He stood . . . then drew back his fist and slammed it as hard as he could into Sasuke's jaw.
Sasuke swore and fell backwards, landing against a tree clutching his jaw. "You bastard," he swore, advancing on Lee.
"Fuck off!" Hinata's leg lashed out, her heel striking his shin. He crumpled to the ground, clutching at his leg.
"I think its time you left, Sasuke-san," Neji said evenly, getting to his feet.
Sasuke glared into the sea of angry faces. Then he spat out a mouthful of blood, and vanished.
