UPDATE~! YAY!
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! MASASHI KISHIMOTO DOES! I also do not own any of the OCs introduced within this fanfiction, except the following:
The Tsukuyomi Clan
Ikiteiru Kage
Mushishokan Gatsuki
Uzumaki Kaede
A/N: THIRD POV~
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Chapter Forty-Three: Welcome to War, Konohagakure! Battle to the Death!
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"The village gates are up ahead," Itachi informed, coming to a halt on a tree branch, Ruriko and Sasuke doing the same, "Go inside, inform the Hokage, find the records and change them before running back here. If Kotaro's army reaches the gates within that time, Sasuke and I will go in anyway. I'm sure, as Sasuke mentioned, they'll be more concerned with Kotaro's army attacking than with us."
"All right," Ruriko nodded, clenching her fists and glancing through the trees, "But don't go killing each other while I'm gone or anything. I'll try and be back as soon as possible, but don't count on it being, like, super fast." She kicked off the branch and shot through the trees toward the village. Sasuke watched her before sitting on the edge of the branch, his legs dangling and his elbows on his knees. Itachi glanced down at him, then looked away a bit tiredly.
"So, her name is Sakura?" He asked. Sasuke twitched and scowled at him.
"Will you not bug me about that? … Yea, her name is Sakura."
Konohagakure
Ruriko's boots hit the dirt of the path as she descended from the trees, heading toward the village. She glanced up above at the darkening sky before she found herself staring at the gates of Konoha. A brunette Chuunin was standing there beside a black haired Jounin, they seemed to conversing about 'youth' or something along those lines. Ruriko couldn't really focus on that right now.
"Hey!" She yelled, making the Chuunin jump and the Jounin whip around.
"YOU… You look familiar." The Jounin mused, folding his arms over his chest and taking his chin between his thumb and forefinger thoughtfully. Ruriko sweat dropped, then looked at the Chuunin, who sighed, shaking his head.
"Excuse me, my name is Tsukuyomi Ruriko. I'm part of-"
"That's it," The Jounin announced, thumping his chest, "That's who you are! You're part of the Sunagakure Criminal Information Squad! Wow, what a mouthful."
"Guy…" The Chuunin muttered under his breath with a sigh.
"Uh, right, exactly," Ruriko went on, rolling her eyes, "I was sup- I was kidnapped just, like, a month ago or so, but I'm here with really, super important information for the Hokage."
"Hold on," The Chuunin exclaimed, "You're talking so fast, I can't hardly catch up. What kind of important information?"
"The kind that's warning you there's gonna be a huge fight going on here." Ruriko drawled, gesturing her arms out as if to say 'uh, duh'. The Chuunin blinked.
"What?"
"You heard the girl, Iruka," The guy yelled, almost blowing Iruka over on his side, "A battle of sorts! This could put citizens in danger! We need to get her to the Hokage immediately!"
"I think I can hear you without you yelling in my ear." Iruka said with a weak smile before nodding to Ruriko and opening the gates. Iruka and Guy led her at a fast rate toward the Hokage's residence. Most of the people had gone inside their homes, only a few select shinobi standing around and looking for something that was causing the tension in the air.
"Exactly what kind of battle are we talking about?" Iruka decided to ask as they pushed off rooftops. Ruriko shrugged lightly, acting as if it were no big deal.
"Eh… Just a big huge one that'll probably ruin like, half your village maybe?"
"What?" Both Konoha shinobi cried in unison. Ruriko raised an eyebrow for a split second before keeping a sort of annoyed expression.
"That is, unless I can get to your Hokage as soon as possible with the information that I have now. I also have to see your criminal records immediately. If I can read over some old files, I'll be able to figure out what we can do to prevent any large scale attacks." She explained simply.
"Question," Iruka said, "Who's the enemy?" He looked at Ruriko, who smiled a little, but said nothing as they landed at the doors of the Hokage's residence. They ran across the tiles, shoes scuffing and boots clomping all the way up the wooden stairs. Guy was the one that gladly threw the Hokage's door open, almost knocking the poor wooden door off its hinges.
"LADY HOKAGE!" He boomed and stood at attention stiffly, Iruka running in afterwards, trying to catch his breath.
"Jeez, Guy… You're getting faster…" He managed. Ruriko managed to scramble in next, flashing Guy an almost annoyed glare for making them pick up the speed. Across the room, Lady Tsunade sat at her desk with a pucker lipped stare of surprise. Shizune yelped and almost strangled TonTon in shock as she stared at the shinobi entering the room, uninvited and rather rudely in fact.
"Lady Tsunade," Ruriko finally managed to catch her breath, "You probably don't care how the hell I got back here or any of the specifics, but you if care… Holy crap, my legs hurt." She stopped, making Guy smack his forehead and Iruka sweat drop. Tsunade rose to her feet, leaning on her desk and putting her hand on her hip.
"Excuse me, if you have something important to say, skip the complaints."
"You try running away from a mass murderer and his army!" Ruriko snapped back. Tsunade blinked and stared at her, dropping her hand from her hip. Guy and Iruka shared looks and Shizune seemed to stiffen, her eyes widening.
"What did you say?" Tsunade demanded sharply, coming around to the other side of her desk. Ruriko sighed.
"There's a man named Kuromura Kotaro. Don't ask how or why, but he's pretty pissed off about something that I have absolutely nothing to do with and he's coming to Konohagakure… With said army that I mentioned earlier." She explained.
"What? Why the hell is he coming to Konohagakure?" Tsunade demanded.
"Good question," Ruriko said with a shrug, glancing around the room for a moment before looking back, "Look, just get some shinobi up and fast. Konoha is a large village with a large population. You don't want that to get knocked down, do you? I came all this way, almost got myself killed so many times I've lost count, and I've had my fair share of encounters with Kotaro. I'm telling you right now that Kotaro's intent on killing everyone, so do the world a favor and do something already!"
"Kuromura," Tsunade muttered, raking her nails across her desk, "All right… Iruka, alert the Jounin. Guy, the others. Shizune, go the hospital immediately and inform the medical staff. And you…" The Hokage's brown eyes locked on Ruriko, who frowned back at her.
"I have a job for myself," Ruriko replied, "I need to see the criminal records of Kotaro as well as several others. Kotaro has a good amount of S-class criminals accompanying his army. It's best I take a look at them to keep your shinobi updated on exactly who they're fighting."
"… Just how can I trust you with that sort of information?" Tsunade demanded, although, her voice held no suspicion at all. Ruriko folded her arms over her chest.
"Lady Hokage, I came all this way to tell your village that there's a big bad guy coming this way. You'd be doing everyone a favor by letting me see those records. I swear not to do a thing more, but study them and gain information. That's all I do anyway. It's my job to protect the villages from criminals like Kotaro. I've put my life on the line and it's still there. Now show me the files." Tsunade's eyes narrowed a bit, but she walked toward the door, her green jacket billowing. Ruriko sighed and followed after her. Tsunade led her out of the Hokage's residence, only to walk to a small building nearby. Ruriko glanced up and blinked at the cracked symbol on the front of the building.
It was the Uchiha symbol at the center of a star-like structure. She didn't have time to admire it, however, as Tsunade led her inside. It was an old building, but most of the inside had been fixed up; repainted, the floors and walls, ceiling, all replaced with better wood and stone. It was kind of eerie, Ruriko noted as she stepped over a box of papers before Tsunade led her through a corner.
"Sorry about the disorganization… This place was just recently altered when Konoha was informed of Sunagakure's new criminal information squad. We decided to find an area to keep a bigger stock of criminal information. Most of this was gathered by your brother… Hioshi." Tsunade explained quietly, her eyes scanning the building cautiously. Ruriko winced.
Hioshi… That's right. He's also part of Kotaro's army… Maybe if we really can defeat Kotaro, then I won't have to worry about Hioshi anymore… He'll just give information to the village after that. He won't have to be hassled with Kotaro anymore… At least, I hope not… She thought as Tsunade walked into a dark room. Tsunade reached out and flipped on the lights to reveal almost a library of records. Ruriko stared.
"Holy shit…" She managed in awe. Tsunade nodded, looking around the room for a moment before looking at Ruriko.
"Be careful. As nice as the building seems, it's still under construction and if the battle begins while you're inside here, the possibility of the ceiling collapsing is there. Whatever information you gather, inform me of it immediately… Or you'll make me suspicious." She added before she turned and left the room. Ruriko frowned, waited until Tsunade's footsteps vanished before she shut the door and whipped around, running down and aisle.
Okay, from the looks of it, they're in alphabetical order… So I just need to find Uchiha… And on my way, grab Kotaro's too. Hopefully the village has information on Kaede, Kage, and Gatsuki as well. They're bound to be on their master's heels… She thought, glancing at the shelves. She hopped over a few boxes that were still sitting out and wide open. Her lavender eyes over the silver plaques that hung over each shelf before she found the U's. She skidded to a stop and ran her finger over every little box that held a group of files within them. She frowned, skimming before she came to the name she as searching for. She tore the box from its place and fingered through the files, frowning until her eyes landed on one. She pulled out Itachi's file, dropping it on the desk part of the shelves.
She opened the file and scanned through it, frowning. Well, this is weird… Their file on Itachi is way different from the one Sunagakure has… Our information on him came from an abandoned Akatsuki base on the west coast… Then again, Itachi originated from this village. No wonder why it's different… Oh wow, he's got a lot of information. Even down to the height and weight he was as a baby. Even the time of his birth… I feel like I'm peeking into his life… Ugh, I shouldn't be doing this. I should be trying to erase his name from the criminal records… She thought and made a few hand signs, brushing her hand over the file before shutting it.
"Ta-da." She smiled and picked the file back up, shoving it into place before taking out Sasuke's. She held back from trying to delve into what was written and merely placed the same jutsu before taking the box and putting it back into place. There was an eerie silence, Ruriko noticed as she stepped away from the shelf.
Not a sound. No talking, no wind whispering, no bugs creaking, no animals mumbling… The feeling was much too uncomfortable. Ruriko took careful steps down the aisle now, carefully moving over boxes. She got the oddest sensation that someone was following her, but again, there was no sound to prove it. Just her nerves, she figured, stepping over another box before coming to a new aisle with a large K written on a silver plaque.
Ruriko took a step into the aisle when the oddest sound echoed throughout the village, making her wince and stumble over a box, falling to the floor.
"Ow! What the hell?" She demanded and rolled over onto her back, gasping as a crack shot across the ceiling. The sound, the terrible sound of something exploded, came again and the ceiling crackled, causing the lights to flicker and go out. Ruriko cursed and darted out of the way, just as a chunk of the ceiling fell inwards and crashed to pieces where she had been lying earlier. Ruriko frowned as light shown in from outside, but just barely as the clouds overhead began to darken. Ruriko scrambled to her feet and went for the K's, searching quickly now.
"Shit, shit, shit…! Where is it?" She cursed, her eyes darting around before landing on an empty spot just where Kuromura should be. She frowned and the sensation of someone moving behind her made her wince and whip around. At the end of the aisle, closest to the door in the darkest part of the library, Kage was standing with a box in his hand. Ruriko glared at him.
"How the hell did you get in here?" She demanded. Kage studied her closely, gripping the box.
"I followed you. I've been following you since you spotted us exiting Kotaro-sama's previous residence. I saw you peering down at us and I immediately connected myself to your shadow." He explained calmly. Ruriko frowned, clenching her fists tightly in annoyance at not having suspected it earlier.
"So you heard everything then?"
"Of course."
"Then why didn't you tell Kotaro to stay away from Konoha? From the sounds of it, he's already here."
"Whatever," Kage muttered, "It's one step closer to Kotaro-sama's ultimate power. There's no need to warn if he's stronger than the Hokage."
"Or maybe you did it knowing that someone would kill Kotaro?" Ruriko pressed, raising an eyebrow. Kage's eyes flashed and he took the box, throwing it hard against the wall, cracking it and causing the files to go flying across the floor.
"Don't question my loyalty! I live solely for the purpose of serving Kotaro-sama! There's no doubt Kotaro-sama will crush this pathetic excuse for a village, including all the little insects that squander in its filth. You've embarrassed me in front of him and I'm going to kill you for it. You've caused enough hindrances." Kage seethed and his hands moved fast.
Ruriko flinched and dodged to the side, just in time to avoid a harsh whip from a strip of shadow. Shit, this is his domain. Darkness. There's plenty of places for him to get shadows from in here. I need light… And it doesn't help that the power is out… In this room. I need to get to a different room and lock him in there, but I don't know this place at all! She thought with a wince and dodged another harsh whip. She skidded back, making hand signs quickly and thrusting her hand forward. Bolts of lightening burst from her fingers and zigzagged toward Kage, who back flipped and practically splashed into the shadows behind him, his smoky form easily seen skimming up the wall to the ceiling.
Ruriko took her chance and bolted for the door. Kage made a hand sign before flinging his hand forward. The dark shadows separated into thin strips, resembling senbon before they shot down. Ruriko flinched as the thin dark forms zoomed downwards, cutting into her skin. Ruriko managed to duck and roll out into the hallway, knocking the door off its hinges as she scrambled to her feet, bolting down the hallway.
The hall was still somewhat dark as the lights had never been turned on, the only glow coming from outside, but it was slowly fading. A huge blast of hot air slammed into her back, knocking her skidding across the floor, slamming into a pile of boxes. Ruriko gasped and looked at her legs, grimacing. Blood seeped from her skinned shins and knees as she struggled to stay on her feet. Kage came sweeping out of the library, a huge dark mass of shadows creeping and rolling around his legs, sticking to the walls and floor, moving up across the ceiling like black gunk.
"You won't have the honor of watching Kotaro-sama kill everyone… Oh well." Kage swung hand out, without any hand signs, causing the mass of shadows to pull off the walls, ceiling, and floor. They wrapped around his arm quickly, piling outwards at a fast rate before they plunged into a dagger sort of shape. Ruriko grimaced and ducked as the shadows burst over her head, knocking over boxes and crashing into a wall. Ruriko looked up to see the thing reeling backwards, releasing a hissing sound. Sparkles flew off the sharp end, some of it vanishing.
Ruriko blinked, then scrambled to her feet and went for the light switch that sat at the end of the hallway. Kage gritted his teeth, glaring as he sent the same attack forward again, however, Ruriko ducked again and hit the ground just under the light switch. Kage jerked the shadow back, making a hand sign with his free hand. The end of the shadow dissipated before coming back together and grabbing onto Ruriko's leg. Ruriko yelped as the shadow jerked on her, dragging her along the floor. She tried to get up on her other foot, but she was torn back down. She made quick hand signs.
"Please say this works…" She groaned and thrust her hand out at the light switch, a thin stream of electricity bursting from her finger tip and blasting at the light switch. The object sparked and the sparks flew up before the lights in the hallway burst to life brightly. Ruriko gasped when the shadow released her leg and reeled back. She rolled over in time to see Kage yell in pain, clasping his hands up to his face. His feet seemed to shine and glow an odd reddish color. He stumbled back and almost tripped before catching himself and vanishing into the library, the sounds of files and boxes and books being throw all over the place.
Ruriko bolted to her feet and whipped around hurriedly, making a few hand signs and thrusting her hand out at the opening to the library. Lightening exploded forth and crashed into the walls, knocking them toppling over. She whipped around and bolted out of the building quickly, trying not to trip and fall at the pain in her legs. She ran along side the building before coming around a corner and skidding to a stop, her eyes widening.
"No way…" She managed, gripping the corner of the building, wincing.
"Long time no see, Ruriko." Tsukuyomi Daiki greeted with a warm smile.
Somewhere Else in Konohagakure
"Nero, watch your back!" Akira yelled, flinging a senbon. Nero ducked, skidding in the dirt as the senbon flew past him and stuck through the head of one of Kotaro's subordinates. Nero popped back up, frowning.
"Thanks for that, Akira. Shouldn't you be with the medical squads?" He asked, unhooking his maul to slam into the ground, sending a deep crack through the dirt. Akira grinned at him, putting his hands on his hips before flinging his hand up to accidentally smack a shinobi upside the jaw.
"Haha, I'm all for fighting- Oops."
"Don't 'oops', stupid! That was the enemy!"
"I know that! Yeesh, no need to yell!" Akira huffed and whipped around, kicking the downed shinobi in the face twice before making a hand sign and bringing his hand back, smacking it hard into the man's neck and causing him to hit the ground. Nero frowned and swung his maul around, slamming its heavy spiked end into two bodies at once, knocking them flying back in a spray of blood.
"Akira," He ordered, "You have to go find Kazuya! Tell him to take Ecchio and Roku to where the rest of the civilians are! Unless you want to face Ruriko's temper if they die!"
"Ah, oh, fine!" Akira huffed and bolted off, killing two shinobi in the process. Nero frowned and blinked, watching a little moth flutter across in front of him. He swung his hand out and grasped it in his fist, clenching tightly.
"Hey, now, that wasn't very nice." A voice stated. Nero whipped around as Gatsuki hopped down from a rooftop, blood staining the front of his clothes, his arm sling gone. The green cloth over his mouth and nose had been ripped off to reveal a rather young looking face underneath, his teeth ranging from sharp to filed down, some chipped.
"Che, I don't have time to chat." Nero drawled, then made a hand sign and brought his hand to his mouth, allowing for a stream of hot flames to burst forth and collide forward, but he winced and reeled back as the flames crashed into a wall of earth, which melted downwards. Gatsuki smirked.
"Too slow." He replied, then swung his hand up in a hand sign, his other hand opened toward the sky. A flurry of black moths poured out, swirling around and becoming a dark cloud as they moved for their victim. Nero swung his hand up, knocking back some moths, the rest leaping in and biting down. Nero gasped and reached up, ripping a handful from his ear and squishing them with his fist. He ignored the others, bringing his maul up and slamming it hard into the ground, causing a gigantic trench to crackle toward Gatsuki, who flipped backwards onto the roof again.
"That's interesting… You can withstand a lot of pain… Means something sad happened to you." Gatsuki mused and made a hand sign, thrusting his hand forward to release a stream of bluish white moths that fluttered forward. Nero blinked and stumbled back a little, wincing as a heavy sleepiness overcame him. He swayed slightly, dropping his weapon and sinking to his knees. Gatsuki smiled and stepped onto the edge of the roof.
"It's so easy to make kids like you fall because of a simple Genjutsu. It's too bad you bored me…" He sighed, shrugging before taking a kunai from his pouch, flinging it forward. Nero's hand shot up and caught it. Gatsuki blinked.
"What the…?" Nero got to his feet slowly, gripping the blade of the kunai and ignoring the blood that seeped past his fingers.
"Idiot," Nero muttered, "What kind of ninja uses physical pain before trying for mental pain? The Genjutsu was a failure as soon as you used those stupid little moths of yours, which by the way are really super annoying." Nero dropped the kunai and made a hand sign, holding a hand upwards over his head and causing a quick curtain of electricity that caused all the little moths to shriek and burst into tiny flames before falling to the ground.
Gatsuki raised an eyebrow, getting on his hunches on the roof, folding his hands in front of him casually.
"Most people would make the Genjutsu work themselves, having such a scary past and falling for it even despite the pain. You've obviously got a hard shell to crack." He replied with a smirk. Nero frowned.
"Oh yea. And you're a jerk." He retorted and went to grab his maul, but winced as pain ripped up his spine and limbs. Gatsuki grinned.
"That's right, I forgot to mention… Those moths were a special type. I've used a similar type called Vampire moths. The ones I just used, the cousins, are called Death moths… They release a good amount of poison into the enemy's blood stream. It causes paralysis… It's really nifty for stubborn teens like yourself." He explained simply as he rose to his feet again. Nero glared up at him, trying to move, but his body wasn't going anywhere.
"You're a fucking coward," He spat, "You couldn't come down here and take a hit, so you stayed up there and made your pets do it. If I don't kill you, someone else will. And I hope they rip those hands of yours off."
"Too late for threats," Gatsuki sang, wagging a finger at him, "Time to die!" He swung his hands out and forward, making single hand sign directed at Nero, a cocky smirk spread across his face. He went to move, but stopped suddenly, wincing. A gasp followed his movements as he tried to move his hands.
"What the hell…?" He demanded angrily, gritting his teeth as orbs of water formed over Gatsuki's feet and hands, keeping them still. Nero frowned, then his eyes widened as a familiar laugh pierced the air joyfully.
"Hahaha! You won't be laying an itsy bitsy finger on Nero, little man!" A voice yelled and the water around Gatsuki's ankles exploded. Gatsuki yelled in agony and fell to his knees, trembling as the bones in his ankles became crushed, blood seeping from the holes in his ankles. Standing behind him, Botan was smiling, cocking his head to the side. He wore a pure white cloak, a hood hiding most of his face.
"No way…" Nero managed. He'd assumed Botan had died after not having seen him in so long. Botan did a little flip and landed on the ground in front of Nero, who flinched, but still found himself unable to move.
"No worries, Nero," Botan grinned at him, giving him a little pat on the head, "Botan promises to take you out of here and fast."
"You?" Gatsuki yelled angrily. Botan blinked and tilted his head sideways to look at Gatsuki with a bit of a pout.
"Oh, don't interrupt Botan! He hasn't seen his Nero in such a long time. And now that he has, he's getting hurt?" He added with a raised an eyebrow. Gatsuki glared at him and tried to release his hands from the orb of water around his hands, but nothing worked. Botan looked back at Nero, grinning again at his shocked expression.
"Ne, what's that look for? I mentioned something about coming back to see you, yes?" He asked, smiling warmly now. Nero blinked at last.
"B-But how…? I thought you were dead!"
"Oh, I almost died… Like several times because of their leader," Botan gestured a thumb in Gatsuki's direction before giving Nero a once over and smirking, "You've gotten taller… And so cute! Yes!" He hugged Nero around the neck, making him yelp.
"Ow! Botan, is this really the time? BOTAN!" Nero winced and rolled his eyes as Botan hugged on him and cooed at him, but his eyes flickered to lock on Gatsuki, who was glaring at them.
"Fine! I don't need to move! Summoning!" Gatsuki gritted his teeth and a glow emitted from the orb of water. Botan smirked and pulled away from Nero, tilting his head a little.
"You requested no hands? I give you no hands." He said and gestured up at Gatsuki, who gasped in shock as the water around his hands exploded. Gatsuki squeezed his eyes shut and screamed in pain, blood spurting through the air as the force of the summoning and the compressed water mixed. He easily fell onto his side, gasping for air and wincing.
Nero stared, then yelped as Botan lifted him up by the waist and over his shoulder, grabbing his maul with his free hand.
"Come, Nero~ I'm sure there are medical ninja around here that can get rid of the poison." He said with a smile. Nero wished he could thrash and move from Botan's grip, but his body still wouldn't move.
"Botan, don't carry me like this! Put me down!"
"Let's go then~!"
"Botan, seriously!"
Meanwhile…
"Kakashi! Look out!" Kotori yelled and ducked a kunai that was flying at her face. Kakashi whipped around and slammed his foot into the side of a shinobi's head before ducking a punch to his neck, swinging his leg through the dirt and knocking the shinobi on its backside where Guy slammed his foot into the man's face.
"There's a lot of them and they came so fast…" Kotori managed, breathing hard. Kakashi frowned behind his mask, glancing out the corner of his eye at the flames that had engulfed the Jounin's building.
"Looks like they're pretty intent on destroying this place quickly… We need to hurry." He added and took a quick step back to avoid a shinobi falling from a rooftop at his feet, his eyes lifting to see Naruto hopping off the roof.
"Where are all these guys coming from?" Naruto demanded, whipping around in time to slash a kunai across an enemy's face. Kakashi's Sharingan glowed as he managed to dodge an attack coming from the left, his fist slamming into the enemy's face.
"According to Mayu-sensei, they've broken down a wall over there. She's fighting off in that area with her team as well as a few others." Kakashi informed as he skidded away from another attacking shinobi.
"Damn it," Naruto cursed, swinging his foot around and kicking a shinobi in the jaw before doing a back flip to jump over another enemy, making hand signs to call up a crowd of clones, "They're practically multiplying!" Suddenly, all the clones burst into smoke as kunai sliced through them. Kakashi, Kotori, Guy, and Naruto all whipped around to face the direction of the weapons.
"Kyaaa! This is so much fun, playing with you Konohagakure shinobi, kya!" Kaede laughed excitedly, landing on her hunches on the edge of a rooftop, a cocky grin spread across her face.
"Who the hell are you?" Naruto yelled, glaring. Kakashi eyes flashed and looked down at one of the kunai that had landed on the ground at their feet. A tag on the round handle fluttered in the wind, catching flame.
"Paper bomb!" He yelled, shooting back. Kotori skidded back across the dirt, Guy flipping out of the way as Naruto winced. The tag burst into a series of hot flames that screamed toward the sky before dying down in an instant. Kaede smirked, standing up and putting a hand on her hip.
"Good eye, kya! I've always wanted to fight Sharingan! And on such a handsome man, kya!" Kaede giggled. Kakashi narrowed his eyes, clenching his fists as he came to a stop away from the bomb. Kotori and Guy glared at her, body's tense and ready for a battle. Naruto scowled.
"You're fighting, not flirting! There's a difference!" He shouted. Kaede tilted her head to the side, her deep purple eyes glowing in excitement.
"There's no difference for me. Such lovely boys, kya. And the pretty lady… Ohhh, you, I know you… Kuromura Kotori… Master's twin, kya." She teased. Kotori flinched.
"You're kidding me… You're just a kid, what the hell are you doing joining a criminal's army?" She demanded. Kaede blinked and pouted, folding her arms over her chest.
"Hmph! You remind me almost of Gatsuki, kya," She giggled, gesturing her arms out, "Ah, but he's a dummy. Got himself caught… Looks like Kage and I are the only ones left, kya… Let's see how long you Jounin and the brat can stand against me, kyaaa!"
"Shut the hell up!" Naruto barked and rushed forward, whipping out a kunai. Kotori's eyes flashed.
"Naruto! Don't!" The Jounin shouted, but Naruto had already pushed off the ground.
"Shit, it's a trap!" Kotori told Kakashi, who grimaced.
"I know." The silver-haired man managed as Naruto leapt at the smirking criminal, who easily vanished into a swirl of silky smoke as soon as the blade of the kunai swept across her face. Naruto skidded to a stop, glaring.
"What the hell? Where'd she…?" He whipped around as Kaede appeared in the air, flying back in a jump, a cocky smirk on her face.
"Cocky little kid! Haha, what're you called, kyaa?" She asked with a grin, landing behind Kakashi, Kotori, and Guy who all whipped around to face her. Naruto glared.
"Uzumaki Naruto! And remember it as the guy who kicked your ass!" He yelled. Kaede blinked, her arms going limp at her sides and her eyes widening slightly.
"Uzumaki…? So there were more survivors, kyaa…" She murmured thoughtfully, tilting her head. Kakashi gripped the kunai in his fist, shifting his feet across the dirt.
"Weird, huh, seeing one of your own clan." He stated. Kotori blinked and stared at him in disbelief before looking back at Naruto, who went frozen staring with wide eyes. Guy frowned, putting a hand on his hip and gesturing a hand out at Kaede.
"Uzumaki Kaede! She's well known as Kitsune for being a mischievous troublemaker! She's a big fan of jokes and gags, which explains the false attacks." He added, holding up a finger matter-of-factly. Kaede smiled lightly, her eyes closing halfway in amusement as she folded her hands behind her back.
"Uzumaki… Naruto… That's a nice name, kya." She mused. Naruto gritted his teeth and dropped his kunai to clench his fists in front of himself.
"If you're an Uzumaki, why are you doing this…? Why are you attacking Konoha?" He yelled angrily. Kaede shrugged a bit, averting her eyes before flicking them back with a smirk, snapping her fingers up by her face.
"Anything for Kotaro-sama, kyaa~ See you guys in the next life!" She laughed.
"Naruto, get out of the way!" Kotori yelled with a wince, Kakashi whipping around and shot off, slamming into Naruto and knocking him off the roof. They rolled and fell off, just in time for a bomb to go off on the rooftop. Guy and Kotori hit the ground from the impact, flinching as Kaede skidded back, doing a flip and landing on another rooftop.
"Let's play a game, kya! A family game!" She laughed and shot off. Naruto scrambled away from Kakashi after they rolled across the ground.
"Naruto!" Kakashi protested, but Naruto was off and on Kaede's heels. Kotori grimaced as Kakashi helped her to her feet, Guy scrambling after.
"We need to go after them," He stated confidently with a clenched fist, "Naruto may need back up!"
"No," Kakashi muttered, "Let him do this… Naruto has a score to settle with her."
Naruto pushed off rooftops quickly, gritting his teeth as he tried to catch up to the fast moving girl. Kaede laughed, her hair fluttering as she shot up ahead.
"Faster, little Naruto! Faster, kya!" She taunted. Naruto jumped up and made a hand signs, releasing a horrendous amount of clones. Kaede's eyes glowed as she grinned, whipping around, making a hand sign and holding her hands around her mouth as a huge stream of flames shot out, separating and each stream taking out a different clone. They burst into smoke as Naruto skidded onto a rooftop, Kaede landing on another across from him, smirking.
"I've never seen someone use so many clones, kya. This is gonna be fun." She teased. Naruto glared.
"I don't care who you are! No one attacks Konohagakure! No matter who they're working for! I'm not going to kill you," Naruto added with a confident frown, "If you're gonna act like a kid, then I'll treat you like one!" Kaede blinked, then smiled slowly and sinisterly.
"Oh, I wouldn't have it any other way, kya. Little Naruto, it's a pleasure to fight you. Show me what ya got, kyaaaa!" She yelled excitedly and back flipped as Naruto thrust a kunai in her direction. Kaede whipped out a round of shuriken, causing Naruto to wince and slid back only to be hit with plastic shuriken. He blinked and gritted his teeth, flinging out a kunai, which was easily dodged, but he slapped his hands together in a hand sign. He summoned another bunch of clones, making Kaede pout.
"What kind of game are you playing now, little cousin? Using clones over and over again, kya?" She asked. Naruto smirked.
"I don't lie to people, so I use purely real attacks!" He shouted and leapt forward with all his clones, which were all jumbled up now. Kaede stared up at the mass of clones, then grinned.
"Kya." She responded and made a hand swing, flinging her foot up and bringing a hot stream of flames up along with it on the tip of her foot. She slammed it into a clone, causing it to burst into smoke before she made another hand sign, jumping into the air and spinning around in a whirlwind of flames and wind. The clones all vanished, Naruto leaping back just in time to avoid the whirlwind that shot straight up into the sky. Kaede burst from the flames, aiming a punch at Naruto's face as she came down. He swung his arm up, blocking before catching Kaede's elbow and jerking her around so he could knee her in the jaw. Kaede flew up, wincing before doing a flip and making a hand sign.
"Wind Style! Death's Play!" She laughed and swung her feet forward to release a hot flash of wind, causing Naruto to flip, but skid across the rooftop and slam into a water tower, releasing a blast of the water. Naruto flinched as the water poured over, but an idea hit him. He smirked and stuck his tongue out past the water at Kaede.
"Is that all you got? So much for Kotaro's loyal subordinate!" He mocked. Kaede's purple eyes flashed, her fists clenching.
"Shut up, kya! My gods, you have a big mouth!" She yelled angrily and made a hand sign, causing a wall of flames to shoot forward. Naruto smirked and didn't move as the flames hit the wall over water that was spread out over him, he only made a hand sign to summon a single clone. Kaede squinted in an attempt to see past the hot flames, steam, and water before her eyes flickered. Naruto shot from the wall of water, holding a blue whipping orb in his palm. Kaede reeled back and quickly made hand signs, releasing a blast of air, knocking right into Naruto, who vanished in a poof of smoke. Kaede blinked.
"What the…? Another clone, kya?" She demanded and whipped around, her eyes darting around to find the real Naruto in the mass below. Rubble was scattered with torn corpses, flames and water left over from the previous attacks, but no sign of an obnoxious blondie in a black and orange jumpsuit. She clenched her fists, smirking a little.
"Looks like I got him after all, kya." She stated, pleased with herself as she finally hit the top of a rooftop on her hunches before standing up.
"Not quite!" A voice yelled. Kaede jerked her head up and whirled around in time for Naruto to slam his fist into her gut. Kaede gasped, blood flying from her mouth as she flew back, flipping into the rooftop under the water town. She winced, her neon orange hair coming undone and hanging in dishevel around her. She wiped the blood from her mouth, lifting herself up in time for Naruto slam his fist into her jaw. Kaede jerked back, wincing.
Naruto punched her in the gut again, the face, the stomach, the face, the stomach over and over again, but she still hadn't collapsed. Naruto gritted his teeth, stopping to breath heavily. Kaede stood in front of him, her arms limp at her sides, blood dribbling down the sides of her mouth, a bruise forming on her left cheek just over a burn scar. She reached up shakily, wiping the blood from her face. A trickle was beginning to run down the center of her forehead, spreading to both sides of her nose.
"Keep trying, kya… I'm not going to go down that easily…" She smirked. Naruto clenched his fists, gritting his teeth before taking another deep breath and swinging his fist forward. Kaede flew back and hit the rooftop, skidding slightly on her elbows and knees. She went still, Naruto standing over her with a frown, his eyes studying her for a moment before his eyes flashed.
"Shit." He cursed and whipped around just in time for the fake Kaede to burst into flames as the real one came up from behind him.
"Sucker, kya! Remember the name, Kitsune!" She laughed and punched him hard in the gut, making him flew through the flames, hissing before he vanished. Kaede flinched and back flipped off the rooftop to avoid another punch in the face from Naruto, who hopped off the water tower. He came to a stop before jumping after Kaede to the ground. They shared quick flashes of blows with fists, their kicks flying through the air.
"I'm so glad we're related, kya!" Kaede giggled and slammed her foot down on Naruto's, making him yelp before he swung his hand back, smacking her across the face and knocking her skidding across the ground. Naruto turned to see Kaede getting to her feet again.
"We're not even close to finishing this battle kyaaa!" Kaede laughed and shot forward, whipping out a kunai. Naruto swung his arm up to block, but Kaede spun in a circle, slamming the kunai into Naruto's side. Naruto gasped, but blinked as the kunai bounced off his side. Kaede yelped.
"What the…?" She demanded angrily. Naruto smirked and caught her wrist, twisting it hard and keeping her arm behind her back before shoving Kaede to the ground so he was sitting on her back, a real kunai to her neck.
"You just lost to your own tricks. You didn't even realize that I ripped off one of your own gag kunai to trick you. Even I felt the rubber of it." He stated. Kaede gritted her teeth.
"We're not done yet, kyaa! I'll kill you, kya! Just fucking wait, kya! I'll slaughter you to itsy bitsy pieces, kyaa! And if I don't, KOTARO-SAMA WILL, KYAAAA!" She screamed furiously, then flinched as Naruto held her head to the ground, glancing up as Kakashi, Kotori, and Guy landed on the rooftop, breathing hard.
"Great job, Naruto!" Guy gave him a thumbs up, grinning with sparkling teeth. Naruto sweat dropped, but nodded and glanced down at the squirming and screaming girl beneath him.
"We'll take her to where the others are being kept, Naruto," Kakashi said, walking over, "Your battle here is done." Naruto didn't move, looking down at Kaede with a sad expression.
"I don't get it. Why is all this happening now? Kakashi-sensei-"
"It's okay, Naruto… You can get up." Kakashi cut in quietly, making a hand sign. Kaede cursed a final time and went limp. Naruto stood up slowly, stepping back as Kakashi lifted the limp Uzumaki girl in his arms.
"Naruto…" Kakashi said softly. Naruto looked up.
"Sasuke's back."
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A/N: Hope this was dramatic. :D Next few chapters are gonna be action-ee and whatnot since there's a war and stuffies… Ah, I would like to take this time to say that the Shippuden IS coming to an end soon. Your bios for Part III would be greatly appreciated. :) Please and thank you! Also, I have written a high school version of Shadows of Heroes, so if you would like to join that, please read the first chapter and check out the OC requirements on my homepage. Well, I think that's about it! Thanks so very much for reading, hope the characters are in character, and your reviews are greatly appreciated!