And just to show that life really does move on, no matter how depressed I made myself with Chapter 16, here's another chapter! :D
ENJOI
Ari
I would wake up just about every night from nightmares. Mom was gone. Dad was gone. Kushina and Minato were gone. All but two of the Taile Beasts were gone.
And now Itachi was gone.
Hyperventilating, I ran into my closet and pulled out Ita's Akatsuki cloak. That and his Konoha headband were all I had left of him. I hadn't gone back to the house yet, and I turned down Kisame's offer to clean it out for me. I left his necklace with him…it was my gift to him after all, and I wasn't one to take back gifts.
I wrapped the cloak around me, rocking myself back and forth as I cried. I missed him so much…it was unbearable! My heart was broken and shattered and I wanted nothing more than to end my misery and join him, but I knew I couldn't. I couldn't leave Hana all alone in this cruel world.
Sighing heavily, I stood up and went downstairs. I sat on the floor of my living room, unable to focus on anything in particular. I curled up in Itachi's cloak and took a deep breath, inhaling his sweet scent. I still couldn't believe he was gone. I felt so…empty.
"Mom…?" a little voice came from out of the blue. I turned to find Hana holding Tim-Tim tightly in her arms, her locket tucked inside her nightgown. She looked at me with a puzzled expression, but her eyes were wide and her cheeks tear-stained.
I stood up, embarrassed by the state Hana had found me in. I sighed heavily and walked over to her, "Hi sweetie…did you have a bad dream?"
Hana nodded her head but didn't say anything. I knelt down and asked, "do you want to talk about it?"
Tears welled up in her eyes and she shook her head but wrapped her little arms around me whimpering, "I miss Daddy…"
Unable to keep my composure, I began to cry as well as I pulled Hana into a hug. I picked her up and walked her over to the couch, stroking her hair. "I do too, Hana, I do too," I whispered, my voice shaking. Trying to stay strong, I wiped my eyes and forced a smile, "you know what I do when I miss Daddy? I wrap myself up in his cloak like I'm doing now to keep warm. It smells just like him and when I'm bundled up inside, it feels like he's hugging me, just as he promised."
Hana looked up at me and rubbed her eyes, her lip quivering, "does it work…?"
"Yeah," I said, "come on, let's wrap you up inside." I unbuttoned the cloak and Hana snuggled close to me as I cradled her, both of us enveloped by Itachi's scent. Neither of us could admit it, but on this particular night, his scent alone couldn't do too much to ease our sorrows. Hana kept crying, and in an attempt to distract her, I turned the television on and put Finding Nemo in. The movie wore on and Dory's antics eventually got us both laughing. I inhaled deeply, enjoying Ita's scent as the two fish sailed through the E.A.C. when there came a knock on the door.
I stiffened, and quickly took off the cloak, stuffing it under the couch cushion. Hana whimpered when I took her father's cloak away but I kissed her cheek and held up the locket around her neck.
"It's just for a little bit," I said, "but for now, read the poem. That makes you feel better, doesn't it?"
Hana nodded and opened her locket up, reading the several lines she had probably memorized by now. I went over to the door and opened it, surprised to find a solemn Iruka and a really depressed Naruto.
"Sorry this is late," Iruka apologized, "but may we come in?"
"Sure thing," I said, opening the door wider. Hana stood on the couch looking to see who the guests were. When she saw Naruto, her face lit up and she ran to give him a hug.
"Uncle Naruto!" she cheered, jumping on him. I sighed in relief. That was the first time I had seen her smile all week.
"Hey…Hana…" Naruto replied in a forlorn voice. Hana looked up at him confused, her eyes saddened.
"Do you miss Daddy too?" she asked.
"What?" Naruto gave her a confused look. I held my breath and took Hana into my arms, shaking my head.
"It's been a long week," I explained. I peered over to the couch to make sure the Akatsuki cloak was completely out of sight. I had a feeling it would have to stay there for a couple hours at the least if Naruto was here. "But anyway, what's up? What are you two doing out so late?"
Naruto looked to the ground, his lip quivering. I raised an eyebrow. What had the kid so worked up? Iruka sighed heavily and explained, "Naruto's had a rough day. He got some pretty tough news and I think he just needs someone to talk to. I gave him a pep talk, but you're really the driving force that will be able to cheer him up."
I nodded, biting my lip. Hana still needed me, I couldn't just put her off to bed if she was going to have more nightmares…but what was wrong with Naruto? Sighing heavily, I put Hana on the ground and said, "sweetie, I need to talk to Naruto for a little bit, do you want to go upstairs and finish watching Nemo?"
Hana shook her head, "I want to watch Nemo with you and Daddy…"
I sighed again…here we go… "what if I tucked you into Daddy's cloak tonight and you can watch Nemo in my room? You can sleep with me the rest of the night too. I'll be up in a few minutes."
Hana looked up at me with hopeful eyes, a small but sad smile creeping up on her face, "mmkay," she said.
Now came the hard part: getting that damn cloak back up to my room.
"Could you excuse us for a few minutes?" I asked. Iruka and Naruto nodded and went into the kitchen. I swiftly knelt by the couch and stuffed the cloak into my shirt and ran up the stairs and to my room as fast as I could. I then ran back downstairs, grabbed Hana, popped the movie out of the DVD player and ran back up to my room and popped the movie into the player on my television. I lifted the covers of my bed and set Hana down, draping the cloak over her followed by the sheets and my quilt.
"There," I said, tucking the blankets up to her chin, "isn't that better?"
Hana nodded as I handed her Tim-Tim to hold onto. I kissed her forehead and said, "I will be just a few minutes, okay?"
"Okay!" Hana smiled.
Finally, I was able to return to the kitchen, and was shocked to find Naruto motionless at the table. He hadn't moved an inch. Normally, he would have followed me around, trying to see what I was hiding or be shuffling through my pantry for food. But tonight…something bad must've happened.
"So what's going on, Boxers?" I asked, shortening his Foxy-Boxers nickname.
Naruto remained silent for a long time before he sighed and said, "Tsunade called me into her office this morning…Pervy-Sage, he…well, I mean Master Jiraiya…" Naruto pursed his lips and began to cry. My eyes widened as I realized what he was trying to say.
"Oh my god…" I said aloud, "Naruto…"
I then looked up at Iruka who sighed heavily and asked, "can I just leave him with you?"
"Yeah, sure thing," I said.
"Thank you, I'll just leave you two alone then," Iruka said, bowing. I walked Iruka out and then returned to the kitchen to find Naruto still crying, his head bowed as he gritted his teeth. I knelt down next to him and put my hand on his shoulder, rubbing his back.
"Naruto, I am so sorry," I said. Naruto looked up at me with tearful eyes as he threw his arms around me, sobbing.
"He's…he's gone!" he cried, "and I never got to say goodbye!"
"I know, honey," I hushed him, stroking his hair, "Believe me, I know…everything will be okay."
"Why did he have to be so stupid?" Naruto spat, "he didn't have to go at it alone! He didn't have to go after Pein all by himself! He could've just asked for help! He didn't have to die!"
I took a shaky breath. Boy, did that sound familiar…
"Have you had dinner yet?" I asked out of the blue, trying to distract him.
Naruto looked up at me and wiped his eyes, confused, "what?"
"I take that as a no," I said, I then sighed and said, "alright, well, it's late so I can't give you anything too heavy. Do you want some dumplings? I made them earlier today."
Naruto looked up at me and sniffled as he nodded his head. I smiled warmly and said, "Hana's been having a pretty rough time too. She's watching a movie in my room if you want to go join her while I heat these up.
"O…okay…" Naruto said. He went upstairs to join Hana as I heated the dumplings up. I wasn't worried about Naruto finding Ita's cloak because I had tucked Hana in well enough and she knew not to show it to Naruto. I went back upstairs to my room and opened the door to find Naruto sitting on the bed next to Hana, both of them watching Nemo intently. I looked over at the TV to find the fish at the Dentist's office rolling around in piles of algae. The shrimp was running around trying to clean everything and Naruto and Hana began to burst out laughing. I shook my head and smiled. Those kids…
"Hey, give me some space," I joked as I took a seat in between the two. I handed them each a dumpling and a glass of water and the three of us finished Nemo and then popped in Naruto's favorite kid's movie (and Hana's second favorite, coincidentally), Toy Story. I crawled under the covers and held Hana tightly, getting underneath Ita's cloak. Naruto, being one who hated sleeping under covers, snuggled close to me, lying on top of the quilt. Eventually, the two fell asleep, my arms around both of them and their heads resting on my shoulders, so I turned off the TV. I sighed heavily, lying awake in the dark. I had to stay strong, I had to comfort these two and protect them from their sorrows.
However, I had never felt so alone before in my life, and I desperately needed someone to protect me from my sorrows.
Naruto and Hana were resilient people. As the days wore on and reality that someone most precious to them was gone, they were slowly starting to move on and recover. Hana would still wake up in the night crying, but all it took for her to feel comforted was the protection of Daddy's cloak or a verse from You Raise Me Up or just reading the poem in her locket. Naruto was asked by the great sage toads to train at Mount Myoboku which would help him achieve one of the ultimate shinobi forms: sage mode. He left with them, and for the month he was off training, things started to settle down and return to near normal.
Almost.
Old enough to register, I signed Hana up for preschool at the academy. Being the sweet little thing she was, she instantly made friends and became one of the more popular girls in the class. Not popular like Izayoi was, gaining attention through her looks, but popular in the sense that she was a genuinely likeable person. Her teacher raved about how kind she was to others and how mature she was for her age. I was proud of Hana as she excelled in class, but there were times that Hana's progress only made me feel worse, because I realized then that Itachi would never be able to see her grow up.
Under the impression that Haru was Jiraiya's main source for the Akatsuki and the one who revealed Pein's location, Tsunade called me in and requested I join the autopsy team of the body Fukasaku brought back with him after Jiraiya's demise. I agreed, under the impression that Pein had in fact been killed as I had taken a leave of absence when Ita died and was not yet up to speed on everything that was going on, so when I stepped into the autopsy room with Shizune, I was shocked to find a completely different person lying on the table. He still had the Rinnegan and the orange hair, but this man was completely different from the Pein I met.
"Fukasaku says that there were six bodies that all collectively made up Pein which Jiraiya fought," Shizune explained. I nodded my head, taking a scalpel and examining the body more closely.
"I ran into Pein once before without realizing he was the Leader of the Akatsuki," I said, "Though it was only one. I wondered why his skin was so cold…but now I realize it's because the body he was using was that of a corpse."
"What?" Shizune asked, shocked. They had been running the autopsy for the past month and the decryption unit was busy trying to crack and encrypted message that Jiraiya had left behind. They had the message figured out for the most part, but the autopsy was still running as a mystery to the team. "How could you tell?"
I took the scalpel and sliced open the hand where it was easiest to see, "if you examine the muscles closely, you can see signs of Rigor Mortis. The calcification around the muscles has dissipated since the body has been dead, however, the amount of calcification left over from the Rigor Mortis does not match up with how long this body has supposedly been dead for."
"Which could explain the chakra rods," Shizune noted. She pulled out a rod that was sitting on the counter next to the exam table. I took on one my hand, looking at it closely. Huh…and all this time I was grossed out because I thought he was just into piercings…
I thought hard about the evidence before me and walked over to a window. Shizune continued the autopsy and began examining the body more. I stared out the window and noticed what looked to be a missile launched into the sky.
"Shizune…" I gasped. The missile turned into missiles and began striking several buildings. The room shook as several explosions sounded. My heart began racing inside my chest and I had a feeling that I knew who those attacks were coming from.
"What was that?" she asked, panicked.
I threw my scrubs off and ran out the door, "I'll have to help you with the autopsy later! Send word to Lady Tsunade that Pein is attacking the village!"
I ran outside the hospital and looked around. Sure enough, I caught a glimpse of the red and black Akatsuki robes leaping atop the buildings. People were running around screaming in a wild panic. I began to run home to grab my gear, but then I saw the next explosion: it was at the Academy.
"HANA!" I screamed, sprinting towards the school. I let out a scream as a giant centipede with the Rinnegan came crashing down on the street, crushing several individuals with it. I helped as many people as I could, but I had to get to the Academy. I had to get to my flower!
I finally reached the academy to see one of Pein's bodies standing outside the academy as the children came running out screaming. The sensei's tried to detain the students and hide them inside their classrooms, but everyone was in such a mad panic, that it didn't do any good. I scanned the crowd, I didn't see Hana anywhere!
Pein locked eyes onto me and began walking towards me. I looked over at some of the teachers and motioned for them to get the students to the evacuation tunnels. They quickly caught on and began gathering the children.
"Ariala Uzumaki…" he said, "if you're hear then I must be in the right place."
"Why are you attacking the village?" I asked in a low voice, "Are you after Naruto?"
"Among other things," Pein answered curtly, "now tell me, where can I find Naruto Uzumaki and Hana Nii?"
My heart stopped in my chest. Naruto was out of the village and safe for the time being. But what did he want with Hana?
"Why do you need to know that?" I gulped hard.
Pein stared down at me with emotionless eyes and stated, "because the three of you are coming with me."
My eyes widened. The three of us? What did Hana and I have to do with his plot?
Oh no…was it because we were half-breeds?
I glanced over to see the line of students being evacuated, but still no sign of Hana. I began to stall for time so the academy could all escape.
"Now why do you need us, Zombie-boy?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips, "I'm telling ya, I can't do much good for the Akatsuki and Hana's about as much of a fighter as I am a princess! There's not much we can do to help you guys out."
"Whether you're any help to our organization or not is not the deciding factor in this," Pein stated, "What we need are your chakras. Or, more specifically, your souls."
I held my breath. Well piss, that didn't sound good…
At about that moment, I spotted the top of Hana's head running out with the preschoolers. I had to give her enough time to get the shelter. She would be safe there.
Of course, with my luck, Hana looked up at around that moment and saw me. She began shoving her way through the line of kids and the teachers started calling out for her. I held my breath and tried to motion for her to run away, but I was too late. Pein turned to find Hana standing on the other side of him. He gave a small smile, "well, I guess this is my lucky day…"
"Dammit, Hana, run!" I cried out, but Pein lifted his hand an invisible force pulled Hana off her feet and into his hand as she screamed.
"MOMMY!" she cried. As she reached him, Pein grasped hold of the collar of her shirt and held her off the ground.
"Dammit, you bastard!" I spat, glaring at Pein. I made to attack him, but he used the same force on my to pull me into a chokehold.
"You won't be able to escape," he said, "you're coming with me."
Tsunade
She was busy transmitting her chakra to Katsuyu to heal the wounded when she heard feet tap the ground. She turned just as Pein landed, throwing Ari and Hana to the ground.
Tsunade gasped, "Ari!" she called out, "what happened?"
Hana was crying and Ari staggered onto her hands and knees, coughing as she held her throat.
"It's been a long time, Lady Tsunade, the last remaining member of the legendary Sanin," Pein said, "you and I have something to discuss."
Finally catching her breath, Ari sat up and warned, "Tsunade, get the hell out of here!"
Pein in response kicked her to the ground, pressing his foot on her back as Ari cried out in pain. Hana let out a scream. Tsunade bit her lip as she watched the two in Pein's custody. What did he want with them?
"Wait…" Tsunade noted, "you're that child aren't you? That boy from long ago."
"So you do remember me then," Pein said with a straight face. Ari looked up, glaring at Pein confused.
"What…?" Ari groaned, but Pein in turned pressed her harder against the ground.
"Naruto Uzumaki, where is he?" Pein asked.
Tsunade took a shaky breath, she had to protect Naruto. "No one knows," she said.
"We have no collected almost all of the jinchuuriki," Pein explained, "so the balance of power between the villages is now gone. It's meaningless to continue harboring the Nine Tails now. Answer my question or I will kill the both of them. Starting with the child."
Pein aimed his hand at Hana, pulling her up into his grasp by some invisible force. Hana cried out as a rod extended from the man's hand and he pointed it at her neck.
"HANA!" Ari cried out, she narrowed her eyes, her irises turning a blood red like the Nine Tails' as she growled, "Leave her alone! She has nothing to do with this!"
"So your target is Naruto after all," Tsunade spat. Pein said nothing but pressed the rod against Hana's neck. She whimpered as he broke the skin lightly, causing a trickle of blood to escape. Ari let out a growl, struggling under Pein, but could do nothing, for the more she struggled, the closer Pein drew the rod to the girl's neck. Tsunade held her breath. Haru had been killed protecting his comrades in Root on a mission, and now Hana was all Ari had left in this world. If Pein killed her…Tsunade didn't know what would happen.
"The rising conflicts are imminent," Pein sighed heavily, "The kindling fires of war are rising, and we will contain those fires. If you cooperate with us, we will not be averse to helping you. From the state of this village, you must be aware of our strength by now. Even your very own demons are struggling in my grasp."
"Don't underestimate the five kage!" Tsunade snapped back, "you are just terrorists striving to destroy the peace that our predecessors worked so hard to achieve and to maintain. We will not head you!"
"Such arrogance!" Pein growled. A gust of wind seemed to come from him, blowing Tsunade back slightly. What power. Pein raised the hand with the rod and yelled, "you talk about peace and yet you know nothing! Tell me where Naruto Uzumaki is or I will kill the half-breed!"
Tsunade froze, staring into little Hana's terrified eyes. He would not hesitate to kill the girl.
"Tsunade!" Ari called out, terror in her eyes, "do not tell Pein where Naruto is! He plans to kill the both of us regardless what you do!"
"Mommy…" Hana whimpered.
"I'm right here, sweetie," Ari said gently, "remember what Daddy said!"
"I'm trying…" Hana began to cry, "Where is he?"
"He's with you, right now," Ari assured, "but you've got to stay calm, I'll get us out of this!"
Pein glared down at Ari and said as he went to cut Hana down, "and just how do you plan to do that when your child is already dead?"
"Like THIS!" Ari grunted as her eyes rolled to the back of her head and glowed blue. She lifted her hand, pointing it at Hana, whose body also started to glow blue. Pein's rod bounced right off of her and in shock, he dropped the girl. Tsunade stared at Ari with wide eyes. Had she inherited Chinatsu Uzumaki's psychic abilities? Ari took the opportunity to grasp hold of Pein's foot and threw him off of her as she rolled onto her back and caught Hana before sitting up.
Ari stood and ran to Tsunade's side, holding her crying daughter tightly. "Everything is alright," Ari breathed, "See? Mom can handle it…"
"So you inherited that trick from your mother?" Tsunade asked Ari in a low voice.
"Yeah, among other things," Ari shrugged, "I've been playing with my mind powers a bit lately, figured out I had a few more tricks up my sleeve other than a chakra shield."
"Well whatever you can dish out, Ari, now would be a good time to use this," Tsunade said, "I received intel that each body of Pein has a different ability. This one can attract and repel anything with the command of his mind."
"Great," Ari groaned.
Pein recovered, glaring at the group as he spat out, "What you like to call peace, has only brought violence on us all."
"And this hasn't?" Ari spat back.
"I cannot say that everything the Leaf has done in the past was just or correct," Tsunade continued off of Ari in a low voice, "but your actions here are unforgivable."
"Be careful what you say," Pein warned, "this is your final warning from a god. Where is Naruto Uzumaki?"
Ari
I stood by Tsunade, holding Hana in my arms. She was still crying and I trembled as I stared this man down. Had he not been a kind aid to me in the past? Had he not allowed me to take Hana home and protect her as my own? Where was all this coming from?
"Where is Naruto Uzumaki?" Pein asked again, getting angry.
"Nothing personal, you said?" I spat at him, "well, it seems like you have a whole lot of pent up aggression towards me and my family…"
Pein ignored my jab and ordered, "Speak."
Tsunade and Pein shared a long staring contest as they each glared at each other. Beyond us, explosions continued to sound off in the village. Dammit…everything that Itachi had fought to protect just went right down the drain…I had made a huge error in my judgment of Pein. I made the mistake of thinking he was a decent man when I first met him. True, he had warned me that Naruto was a target of the Akatsuki, but this? This was just…it was wretched. Peace? That was all a load of bullshit!
Suddenly Pein closed his eyes and breathed in heavily. When he opened them again, he said, "well, it would appear that Naruto's not here, but at Mount Myoboku."
Tsunade and I both jumped. How did he find that out?
"Mount Myoboku," Pein said, "the Toads' hidden village. Well I will linger here no longer…but I am taking the half-breeds with me."
"Like hell you are!" I spat back, but Pein ripped Hana back out of my arms and into his as he lifted into the air.
"MOMMY!" Hana screamed bloody murder. Oh no! What was he going to do to her?
"Feel pain…contemplate pain…accept pain…know pain…" Pein said as he rose higher and higher. My heart raced through my chest. No…I was not going to lose my flower!
"Wait, Pein, come back!" Tsunade called out. I fought back the tears as I watched Pein grow more and more distant. He rested Hana on his shoulder and his lifted both of his hands. Hana held onto his cloak for dear life, riding piggy-back. I looked into her eyes, terrified of what could happen.
"Itachi…please…" I begged out loud, falling to my knees as I began to cry. This couldn't be happening…
"Those who do not know pain will never understand true peace!" Pein called down to us. He lifted his arms higher in the air and Tsunade and her ANBU took off running towards him.
"Pein! What do you think you're doing?" Tsunade called out. I could feel an enormous amount of chakra coming from his body and the earth began to shake. He meant to destroy the village! Hana began to lose her grip on Pein's cloak and started screaming. I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to save the village; I didn't know how to save Hana.
A bright beam of light flashed throughout the village, blinding me. And then the next thing I heard massive explosions as buildings fell, crumpling at my feet as the village was obliterated. I heard faint screams ring out, and I couldn't tell if they belonged to Hana or anyone else.
"Itachi!" I cried out again, begging, "PLEASE PROTECT OUT FLOWER!"
When the dust cleared, I was lying on the ground, underneath the rubble. I felt something warm surrounding me like a blanket. I opened my eyes, and realized that Katsuyu, Tsunade's snail, had shielded me.
"Lady Ariala," she asked, "are you alright?"
I coughed, choking on the dust. As I looked up, I saw nothing but a massive crater where Konoha once stood.
"No…" I gasped, "How could…this happen?"
Before reality started to finally kick in, Pein landed back on the ground, Hana in hand, and grasped me by my hair, pulling me out of the rubble and into the center of the crater. He then sat us down in front of him on our knees. I glanced to the side and saw another one of his bodies walking towards us. I bit my lip, by the looks of it, this was the Pein that could suck your souls out.
"And now finally I can be rid of you nuisances," Pein spat, "I should have never let this child leave with you and Itachi…"
"Mommy…" Hana whimpered as the soul-sucking Pein placed his hand on her head.
"It's…" I began, but was at a loss for words. Tears escaped my eyes as I realized this was it. I didn't care what happened to me, but Hana at least deserved a chance to live!" "Itachi…help us…"
And as if it were heaven-sent, Pein was momentarily distracted as a large cloud of smoke appeared before us. Standing now a few feet away from us were several toads with Naruto on top. While he was distracted, I pulled out a kunai and sliced Pein in the ankle, causing him to hop back. I then took Hana in my arms and began to run away. I had to protect her, no matter what the cost!
"No you don't…!" Pein growled, lifting his hand. He used his shinra tensei to pull us back towards him. I yelped as I struck my head, rolling on the ground. When I tried to stand, I was too disoriented to balance, but I looked down and for the most part, Hana seemed unharmed. I looked up at Naruto, he was still disoriented as the smoke cleared. I looked to my left and saw Sakura running towards us, trying to help. I motioned for her to stay back, but remain still. She needed to get Hana the hell away from this place!
Pein began walking towards us. I stood on my feet, drawing a kunai, but Pein lifted me off the ground, throwing me at least ten feet to the right. I hit my head again, landing harder this time. And as I made contact with the ground, my leg twisted underneath me upon impact and I heard something snap.
"MOM!" Hana cried yet again. She began running towards me, but Pein blew her away. I sat up at the sounds of her screams. When she landed, she began sobbing, unable to suppress her wales. Despite the pain I was in, I leapt to my feet and ran to Hana's side. I practically collapsed on the ground as I reached her. I sat her up, she was crying uncontrollably and she had a scratch on her forehead, but for some reason, she wasn't hit nearly as hard as I had been. I looked back to see if Pein would blow us away again, but he just stood there watching us.
I realized then that Pein could only use that technique so much before he needed to recharge. I looked back down at Hana, her face covered in tears and dirt, much like the day I had found her. The indescribable need to protect her overwhelmed me in that instant as I began to cry. I tried to pick her up and carry her out of harm's way, but my body couldn't do more than tremble in pain.
But there was still one thing I could do.
A memory flashed in my mind from several years before. It was faint, but all I remember was a scary man coming after me. My father had him distracted and my mother tried to take me away from the danger, but beaten and bloodied, she could stand no longer. I looked up at my mother as her body and eyes began to glow a light blue, she smiled down at me as she cried before she gave me her last light, her last ounce of power to protect me.
I wasn't as skilled a psychic as she was, but I could still protect Hana. I could still give her my light. I looked down at my precious little flower, my angel, and forced a smile as I touched my hands to her cheeks. She stared up at me, confused, as I wiped the tears from her eyes.
"My little wild flower," I whispered, "no matter what happens, Daddy and I will always protect you."
"What do you mean, Mommy?" she asked, terrified. I focused my energy and her body began glowing blue. I forced almost all of my chakra into her body, creating a shield. I could feel my energy drain as I did so as I gave at least four times the amount of chakra I had used to prevent Pein from slitting her throat earlier. This amount of chakra that I gave her, she could pass on to Sakura and the both of them would be protected long enough for Naruto to defeat Pein.
"Go to Sakura," I said gently, "she'll protect you!"
"But what about you?" she began to cry again, "Mommy! You said you would never leave me alone!"
"And I will never ever leave you alone!" I shouted back at her, "I will always be here for you! But you have to do me a favor and run! Run as fast as you can, save yourself! I promised Daddy, and I promised your mother, your real mother, that I would protect you with my life! Do you understand?"
Whimpering, Hana nodded. I looked back at Pein who glared at me, he lifted his hand again to attack. I turned back at Hana and pushed her away from me as I tried to stand, "Now, GO!"
Hana turned around and started running towards Sakura. Pein went to attack Hana, but his jutsu nearly blew Hana's hair in the wind. She turned back in surprise when she felt the sensation, confused.
"What?" Pein's eyes widened in shock before he glared at me. Hana looked back at me, confused as to what I had done to her.
"Keep going!" I screamed. Hana jumped, never hearing me raise my voice at her before, but then continued running. She made her way to Sakura safely, and as she leapt into Sakura's arms in tears, the chakra shield I had created surrounded both of them. "Sakura!" I called out, "get out of here! Protect Hana!"
Sakura frowned, wiping tears out of her eyes as she nodded, keeping her distance from us. Pein glared at the two, but I took a step in front of them. "I'm your opponent now," I said.
"You will throw your life away for some orphaned child?" Pein asked in disbelief.
"She's not an orphan," I spat at him. My entire body was screaming at me to stop, but I fought the urge to stand down as I said, "she is my daughter…AND SHE'S ITACHI'S FLOWER!"
Not amused, Pein simply lifted his hand and shot me into the air, higher than he had done before. I crashed to the ground hard, seeing stars as I landed. The air rushed out of my lungs and I fought to stay awake.
"Hmph, you certainly aren't putting up a fight," Pein noted. He was right, his attacks shouldn't have been fazing me the way they were. If anything, I should have at least been putting up some sort of fight. But I was drained. No matter how strong I was physically, I just couldn't muster up the desire to fight. "Has Itachi's death impacted you that much?" Pein asked. I winced as he said Ita's name. Pein continued, "No matter. I will just put you out of your misery…"
I felt a massive gush of wind blow against me as I was flung high into the air. As I rose, I heard Naruto screaming, "Ari! What are you doing?"
I began to drop back to the ground. I could have fought, I should have been stronger than this, but I simply could not fight any more. I couldn't stand, no matter how hard I tried. I closed my eyes, a tear escaped my eye. I couldn't do anything without Itachi…
But as I crashed to the ground, I felt a pair of arms reach out and catch me, before they gently lowered me to the ground.
Naruto
As the dust cleared, Naruto looked around. Where was he? This wasn't Konoha. But then, he saw a form being launched up into the air and Naruto gasped. It was Ari!
"Ari! What are you doing?" He cried out, but the blood drained from his face when he noticed Ari's eyes were closed. She didn't move, she didn't struggle, she wasn't even putting up a fight. What had happened to her? He watched in horror as she crashed to the ground, her body creating a dent in the earth as she landed. "ARI!" he cried out, but she didn't answer, her body only laid on the ground, broken.
"So much for the Demon of the Leaf…" an orange-haired man in an Akatsuki cloak noted. He then looked up at Naruto with rippled eyes. Naruto glared at the man. It was Pein! But soon, five other bodies gathered, and all six members of Pein stood before him.
Tsunade then appeared, her body weakened as well, as she stepped in front to protect Naruto, "I…am the fifth hokage…I will not let your trample on the dreams of my predecessors!"
"It seems you understand a little about pain," Pein said, "but I have no use for you, the one I seek…" one of the bodies leapt forward to attack Tsunade, but Naruto wasted no time and struck down the body.
"..Is me!" he called out as he took down Tsunade's attacker. "Gamakichi!" Naruto called out. The large toad leapt down from his perch as Naruto ordered, "take Granny and get out of here and protect the rest of the villagers. I don't want them involved in this. I can take over from here."
An ANBU helped Tsunade onto Gamakichi's head and the frog took off for a safer place. Naruto then looked over at where Ari was laying. She wasn't moving a muscle. Anger began to well inside of him. What could have happened that could bring even her down?
"It seems your precious elder sister was broken before she even tried to take me on," Pein stated, "it looks like the death of her lover was too much for even the Demon of the Leaf to handle. She barely managed to protect that other half-breed child but didn't even bother putting up a fight. How pitiful…"
"Her…lover…?" Naruto's eyes widened in shock. He didn't even know Ari was dating someone. But who?
"You mean you didn't know?" Pein raised an eyebrow, "well, it's to be expected…I'm amazed you were able to accept her for the monster she is…but I can't imagine how you would have felt if she had told you that she was secretly seeing a man who wiped out his own people."
"What?" Naruto's heart began to race. Who was Pein even talking about?
Naruto's mind flashed back to a memory, the day Team 7 got their official picture taken. He couldn't help but think of the way Sasuke introduced her to Sakura…
"She's a friend of the family and dated…my brother."
Naruto thought it was strange that Ari was so friendly with Itachi during that mission in the Land of Ogres, but he had pushed that aside as reconnecting with an old teammate. She had mentioned that she and Itachi were no different than Naruto and Sasuke were. But…he couldn't have actually have been her lover, could he?
"Shut the hell up, you bastard…"
Naruto jumped and looked over as he heard Ari's voice growl. She staggered to her feet as if someone else was helping her up. Ari looked up at Pein, her eyes a blood red as dark markings outlined them similar to the Kyuubi. A red mass of chakra began to surround her body, but concentrated into a red light that outlined her body. What looked to be armor made of pure energy alone surrounded her shoulders and waist, and nine chakra tails whipped around behind her. Ari lowered her stance, ready to fight. She wouldn't give up so easily.
"And he wasn't just some lover…he was supposed to be my husband!"
Ari
When I awoke, I felt as if I were floating at first. The arms which caught me held me gently, keeping me safe.
*I'm…alive…? But how?* I thought, but I could feel myself drifting in an out of consciousness. As I attempted to regain consciousness, sharp pains would stab me everywhere as my body begged for me to give up. I was floating between a state of life and death, the only thing that was keeping me alive was this pair of arms which pulled me to my feet, cradling me gently.
*You didn't actually think I wouldn't keep my promise, did you?* A voice whispered inside my head. I-Itachi…? I must've been dead or dreaming. Itachi's voice chuckled at my confused thoughts and he said, *You don't have to fight to stay standing anymore. Let me carry you and I will protect you.*
I managed to stagger back onto my feet with what felt like strings holding me up. I glared at Pein as he revealed my secret to Naruto, cursing Itachi's name.
"Shut the hell up, you bastard…" I growled at him. With a wave of strength and chakra that was foreign to me flooding through my body, I could feel myself take on a new form as chakra swirled around me and took the shape of armor and nine tails. This must have been what they called a Bijuu Mode. This power…it was like anything I had ever known before. Pein and Naruto both turned to me in shock as I spat out, "And he wasn't just some lover…he was supposed to be my husband!"
I roared as I lunged towards Pein at speeds I had never known before. Shaking his confusion off, Naruto joined me as we fought against Pein as a duo. No matter how many times we attacked any of the bodies, however, we couldn't land a hit. With all of the bodies together, their shared field of vision made it impossible for us to sneak up on any of them.
"That's it, I don't have time for this," Naruto spat, "It's time I use my new jutsu! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Naruto summoned two shadow clones, and Pein began to speak, "I see, so you've mastered sage mode just like Jiraiya Sensei."
Naruto and I both froze, staring at the man, "Jiraiya…" Naruto said, "…you called him Sensei?"
"That's right," Pein said, "I also learned jutsu from Jiraiya. He was once my master as well. And that makes us sibling students. Sharing the same teacher, we are able to understand each other. Our master desired peace."
"Just shut the hell up already!" Naruto roared, raising his hand to reveal a massive Rasenshuriken.
"Naruto, don't! You aren't supposed to use that jutsu!" I warned, but I stopped myself from speaking further. If Naruto was in sage mode, then he wasn't using his own chakra to build that jutsu up…which means the Rasenshuriken wouldn't attack him with Pein. "Everything you've done here," Naruto spat, "all this destruction, what part of all that is peaceful?"
"You simply cannot see the forest for the trees," Pein explained, "You are unable to comprehend the meaning of peace or what I am trying to accomplish. Just let yourself be captured. Surrender, and your death will lead to peace."
Naruto glared at Pein and threw his Rasenshuriken shouting, "I already told you, SHUT THE HELL UP!"
I stared in awe as the shuriken flew through the air, but then bit my lip as one of Pein's bodies stepped in to absorb the chakra. We continued to fight as Naruto argued with Pein about peace. We managed to take out most of the bodies, but still two remained: the main body and the one which absorbed chakra.
"Pein," I said in a low voice, "if you honestly think that this resorts to peace…understanding pain, then you're out of your mind. Trust me, I've experience plenty of pain in my life! None of that could possibly help me be a more peaceful person!"
"But you're also a monster with no place in this world," Pein spat back at me. I panted, glaring at him. My chakra was running low and Naruto was on his last shadow clone back at Mount Myoboku. If we didn't finish this quickly, it would be our end. Pein continued to speak, "you are a half-breed who should never have been born. Your meaning of existence has no purpose in this world. But I can give it a purpose. If you would just come with me, surrender your soul to bring life back to your family which dwells within my sealing statue, you could become the fuel which drives peace."
"Not a chance," I growled, baring my teeth, "and you're wrong. My purpose in life…is to protect my children! Hana, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke! All of them! They are my purpose in life and so help me I'm willing to die if it means I can save their lives!"
"Such a pest…" Pein spat. The absorbing body went to attack Naruto, but I blocked him. Pein in turn grasped hold of me tightly and absorbed what was left of my chakra. I gasped as my Bijuu Mode diminished, all of the energy draining out of me. I fell to my knees, and Pein went to absorb Naruto's chakra, but Naruto managed to absorb extra energy from nature, causing the body to turn into a stone toad.
However, it was then when Naruto's sage mode ran out.
And Pein took the opportunity to strike. He attacked Naruto swiftly, knocking him to the ground. He froze him into place by stabbing him with several chakra rods. I gasped and forced myself to stand, my body on fire. Pein simply glared back at me, and with no more energy left to spare, I was pulled towards him as he ran a rod into me before throwing me to the side. I collapsed on the ground, grimacing.
When I opened my eyes again, I saw Hinata trying to protect Naruto but failing as Pein brushed her away like it was nothing. Naruto begged Hinata to stop, but she refused, and kept fighting until he knocked her unconscious with one swift blow.
Naruto stared at Hinata's unmoving form, his eyes wide. I lifted my head up slightly and croaked, "Naruto…! You're okay…!"
Naruto couldn't hear me, and I could feel a massive amount of Dad's chakra leaking out of him. Oh no…this wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. It almost looked like an explosion as Dad tried to rip his way out of the seal. Naruto let out a roar, the Kyuubi's skeleton surrounding his red and black body as seven tails swirled behind him. Oh no…if the other two tails came out…!
"Naruto!" I called out weakly, forcing myself to stand. I gasped in pain as my body began to fail me. No…I had to keep fighting…I had to…!
*Ari…* I heard Ita's voice whispering gently, *Stop fighting, I've got you…*
I slowed my breathing as I tried to relax. Slowly, I managed to stand back up. My body ached, but if felt as if Itachi's spirit was holding me up, carrying me. It was just as he had promised.
"I…tachi…" I choked out.
I thought back to the night after he had told me he was dying, the promise he had made, "I will always be there for you, protecting you. I will carry you when you are no longer able to stand…"
"Thank…you…" I said. Naruto and Pein took off in a destructive death match. I began to limp forward, following the two. I had to save Naruto…if I couldn't stop him from losing control then…then…!
"Ari!" I heard Sakura cry out. She came running towards me with Hana in her arms, "Oh my gosh, you need medical attention right away!"
"No!" I said, swiping her hand away, "take care of Hinata first. She's in worse shape!"
Sakura nodded and began administering medical ninjutsu on Hinata. Within several minutes, she woke up again. Hana hugged my legs the entire time, crying. I wanted to kneel down and comfort her, but if I made any sudden movements, I was afraid I would collapse. But I had to stay awake. I couldn't rest until I knew that everyone would be safe.
And then, after what felt like hours, Katsuyu gave us the news, "Naruto stopped the Nine Tails from emerging and he's defeated Pein. The last body was just destroyed."
Sakura jumped, a smile spreading across her face, "Really?"
Hinata began to weep, "Thank goodness…"
A smile spread across Hana's face as she began running around, "Yay! Uncle Naruto did it!"
I sighed in relief, that was it. It was finally over. I smiled to myself, but I felt a sudden jab of pain strike my body before my limps started to go numb. I couldn't stand any longer. Sakura looked up at me, panic washing over her, "Ari. Try to stay awake. Please."
"I can't…" I whispered, my vision blurring.
"Mommy…?" Hana asked, concern washing over her face.
I smiled as my knees buckled and I began to fall. You'll be alright now, Hana, I thought to myself, you're finally safe. "Hana…I…" I muttered, but I didn't have the strength to speak and all I could muster was, "Ita…"
As I collapsed, I heard Hana and Sakura scream before I collapsed into the same pair of arms. As I laid there on the ground, my vision blurred and changed from Sakura standing over me, trying desperately to keep me alive and a vision of Ita looking down on me, my head in his lap, as he stroked my face gently,comforting me.
*I've got you,* he said gently, *You can rest now…but don't give up just yet. It's not your time.*
Sakura rolled me on my back and attempted to stabilize me. I slowly closed my eyes, losing consciousness before waking up in a medical tent finding myself standing at the brink of war.
