UPDATE. MORE OF THE WAR CONTINUES~
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! MASASHI KISHIMOTO DOES! I also do not own any of the OCs introduced within this fan fiction, save for:
The Tsukuyomi Clan
Ikiteiru Kage
Mushishokan Gatsuki
Uzumaki Kaede
Nero
Roku
A/N: THIRD POV!
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Chapter Forty-Four: Secrets Resurface! The Battle Continues?
Sasuke sneezed, wincing before he flung his foot up into an enemy's face, stumbling back to swing his leg around to kick another shinobi before doing a flip to land beside Itachi, who had easily knocked the shinobi around him back.
"You know, they say when you sneeze, someone's talking about you." Itachi pointed out before he cocked his head to the side, flinging a kunai in that direction. Sasuke huffed, holding his sword firmly in front of him.
"Hmph! Superstitions are for losers."
"So you say-Sasuke, look out!" Itachi ordered and skidded back across the dirt, Sasuke doing a flip to avoid a jagged zigzag of rocks that shot from the ground toward them. They looked up as a female back flipped off a tree top, landing before them. A white headband covered her eyes, her dark magenta hair in a bob, save for two long strands on either side of her face. Her white flowered patterned jacket, which stopped just under her breasts was caked thickly with blood that still dripped off her sleeves. Her white pants were almost completely stained red as was her magenta sash, her tall black boots sharing the same sticky red liquid. Her lower lip was painted a thick black.
"Che." Sasuke darted forward, swinging his sword around and releasing a hot slash of electricity through the air around him like spider webs. The woman easily flung her foot up, jumping at the same time over the sword and kicking Sasuke in the jaw, sending him flying back before she landed on her hunches and back.
"It is kind to introduce one's self before attack so rudely… I am Kinjo Miyuki." She added on monotone-like. Itachi frowned, clenching his fists in the sleeves of his cloak as he studied the posture of the woman standing before them. Sasuke flipped back to his feet, glaring at her.
"It doesn't matter if I'm going to kill you." He muttered, then went to charge up chidori, but Itachi put a hand on his, lowering it.
"Don't underestimate her, Sasuke."
"She's blind."
"Not quite, but whatever she's hiding under there, don't dare look. Keep your eyes on her footwork."
"How the hell…?" Sasuke's voice trailed as he shut off his Sharingan immediately, lowering his eyes as Miyuki shifted on her feet before making hand signs quickly, jumping up and doing a flip before landing hard on the ground, sending it inwards and causing the earth to rumble and crackle apart. Sasuke and Itachi leapt away, hopping away from the crackling earth with winces. Itachi's Sharingan flickered on for a split second before his eyes widened, the redness shutting off immediately.
"Sasuke! Get off the ground!" He commanded and pushed off the ground quickly, Sasuke already doing the same as hot water spurt from the ground, shooting through the air like thick fountains. Miyuki stood up straight, her arms at her sides as she lifted her face to follow the Uchiha into the air before they landed. The corner of Miyuki's lips seemed to tip slightly in the hint of a smirk before she swung one of her hands up, holding the other in a hand sign at her lips.
She swung her free hand around, two fingers pointing outwards before parting to release to blasts of water. Itachi ducked easily, his shoes skidding and kicking up shirt. Sasuke dodged to the side before throwing his hand forward, releasing a thin stream of electricity into the water. Miyuki's lips seemed to drop back down and she leapt back, stopping the jutsu as the blue jagged stream shot at her.
Itachi took his chance and used quick hands signs, spewing a huge dome of searing hot flames around the darting woman. Miyuki's lips seemed to twitch and her body vanished into the ground as the flames swirled about before vanishing.
"Damn," Sasuke cursed, immediately hopping onto a tree branch, "She's underground… If she's not blind, what the hell is she hiding behind that headband?" Itachi landed on a tree branch across from him, frowning thoughtfully as his eyes slid across the ground.
"I don't know, but one glance at her with Sharingan and I could see the chakra built up behind her eye sockets through her headband. It's powerful and dangerous." He murmured. Sasuke gritted his teeth, clenching his fists as he kept his guard up, his eyes darting around on the ground before he activated his Sharingan. His eyes moved slower now, studying the ground, his eyes narrowing in annoyance. Faint, fading streams of chakra were rushed through the water underground, doing all sorts of twists and turns.
Itachi's Sharingan lit up as he scanned the surrounding area before looking up at Sasuke, just about ready to shut off his Sharingan when he saw it, moving up the tree trunk behind him at a high speed.
"Sasuke! Move!" He winced, cutting off to cough into his palm. Sasuke blinked, jerking his head up and whipping around in time for Miyuki to morph right out of the tree trunk, swinging a kunai up to slash him across the face. Sasuke stumbled and lost his balance, falling toward the ground below before he kicked off the tip of his toes on said ground, flipping back onto his feet at the base of the tree Itachi was in.
"You," Miyuki murmured, pointing a finger at Sasuke stoically, "Must learn to silence your moves. A ninja must not be heard… However, your chakra amuses me. Stay put." Sasuke glared at her, then flung his sword forward. Miyuki's hands came up quickly, catching the blade on both sides in between them just an inch from her chest. She tilted her head slightly to the side.
"Intriguing… You are young… Keep trying." She encouraged calmly, dropping the sword with a clatter. Sasuke gritted his teeth and his hands whipped out in a series of rapid hand signs before he leapt back, releasing a powerful amount of flames as large glowing orbs.
Miyuki's hair fluttered as two went by her head as she merely leaned out of the way, ducking once and hopping right into the air in a slash, her knees bent as she held her hands in a hand sign, her head bowed. She jerked her head up, spewing a thick jet of hot water that drenched Sasuke to the bone, Itachi leaping back an inch as the water splashed up on his feet. He frowned, glancing down and grimaced. Sasuke blinked and sniffed a little, bringing his sleeve up to his nose before his eyes flickered upwards. Miyuki landed to the ground, holding a thick branch that was glowing with flames from Sasuke's attack before she tossed it a couple feet before him.
As soon as the glowing end touched the pool of liquid, it set flame, shrieking up at the sky, making Sasuke stumble back, blocking his face from the heat before Itachi dropped down, grabbing Sasuke up by his collar, jerking him into the air so he plopped down on the tree branch.
"You're careless, little brother…" He murmured, glancing up at him. Sasuke glared heatedly, clenching his fists.
"Shut up! It looked like normal water!" He shot back before flicking his eyes up at Miyuki, who cocked her head so it almost touched her left shoulder.
"Ah… Uchiha. Your chakra is familiar, your footwork as well… I can feel just a flutter of your movements through the ground, unlike the careless vibrations that your younger brother seems to enjoy arousing." Miyuki mused, her arms resting at her sides stiffly. Itachi frowned, ripping off his cloak and throwing it over the flames so it burst at the contact, vanishing with the flames as they died.
"That's good," Itachi commented before making a hand sign with one hand, "Let's see you keep up." Miyuki's lips tipped up slightly again, her feet shifting apart slowly to feel for the vibrations. Itachi had already leapt from the ground, Miyuki's head jerking up as the sound of whooshing air touched her ears. She gritted her teeth behind her closed lips, clenching her fists and reaching the senbon in her weapons pouch.
She flung them forward, Itachi easily blocking them with a kunai in his free hand before releasing the same jutsu Miyuki had used to drench Sasuke. Miyuki winced as the water splashed into her, knocking her flying back into a tree trunk before she stood up straight, dripping wet. Itachi moved fast, making hand signs, Miyuki following right up. Itachi spewed hot flames just in time for Miyuki to thrust her palm into the air, releasing a huge shower of water now, blocking the flames and drenching the oil around her.
She flung her foot up to kick Itachi in the face, but he kicked off her foot and skidded back across the dirt. Itachi went for her again, kunai in hand. Sasuke took his chance and slid off the tree as quietly as possible, making hand signs. Itachi had thrust a kunai out, pinning Miyuki's sleeve to the tree trunk, jumping back in time for Sasuke to shoot forward, holding a screeching orb of electricity in his palm. Sasuke slammed the jutsu right into Miyuki's chest, causing her head to jerk upwards, her headband flying off and blood bursting past her lips.
Sasuke frowned as soon as his hand jerked forth from her chest before his eyes widened and he immediately skidded back, Itachi doing the same and more off to the side. Miyuki's body trembled for a moment before her head fell forward, lifting up slightly to reveal empty eye sockets, her skin slowly peeling and ripping off. Sasuke gritted his teeth.
"Shit." He cursed. Itachi grimaced as the skin slowly ripped off, revealing the true victim as a member of Kotaro's army. However, it wasn't all bad, Sasuke noted. One down, hundreds more to go! But where was the real Miyuki? He moved forward to get a better view when something grabbed onto his ankles and held him in place. He blinked and jerked his head up as Miyuki seemed to pull herself up out of the pools of water, her head held down as her headband stayed behind in the puddle.
Sasuke's eyes automatically flicked toward her face, just as Miyuki lifted her head, but Itachi moved fast, slamming into Sasuke and knocking him onto the ground. Sasuke winced and gasped, his feet coming free from the water's hold. However, a throbbing sensation in one of his ankles told him he had sprained it badly. He jerked his head up in time to see Itachi's eyes flicker lightly before they grew cloudy and empty. He fell to his knees, appearing dazed. Sasuke didn't dare let his eyes meet Miyuki's as she worked her jutsu.
SPLAT! SPLASH! Paint splatter of deep red blood, staining the evening grass that brushed gently in the wind. Shrieks, yells, and screams echoed on the battle field as weapons and jutsu flew, slicing the air inhumanely. More thick red blood pooled and the sea of red only stretched on…
"Take care of your brother while we're gone, Itachi!" Mikoto waved, laughing as she hooked her arm with her husband, who kept a stern expression. Itachi nodded, giving his parents a quick wave before he looked down at Sasuke, who was held in his arms, wrapped in a deep blue blanket.
"I'm glad you're not crying anymore, little brother." He smiled, giving his head a little tilt. The baby in the bundle blinked, then giggled and reached his hands out, grasping eagerly at the smiling face above him. Itachi smiled back and reached a finger toward him, only to have Sasuke grasp it, beaming.
"Don't cry, Sasuke. Your big brother is here to protect you no matter what happens." Itachi said softly to his sobbing and wailing brother, who wiggling in his arms. The air was dense and heavy, reeking with danger and it made Itachi hold Sasuke a bit tighter, averting his eyes. When were mother and father coming home? Something was wrong…
"Big brother! ANIKI! Come play with me! Please, please, please!" Sasuke pleaded, clasping his hands together under his chin and beaming up at Itachi, who had just arrived home. Itachi smiled at him and gave him a little jab in the forehead.
"I have homework, silly…" His voice trailed at Sasuke's stubborn pout, making him laugh quietly. "But I'm sure it can wait. What game did you want to play?"
"YAY!" Sasuke cheered and grabbed onto his brother's arm, beaming happily.
"Kill them…" Itachi's eyes widened for a split second before going back going back to normal, his fingers flexing and clenching at his sides. The meeting was split up and Itachi exited, his shoes clacking and echoing as he made his way out onto the roof, where the Third Hokage was already standing, watching the wind rustle the tree leaves, his eyes scanning the Hokage Faces.
"Lord Hokage…"
"Anikiiii! Aniki, what's wrong? You look sad." Sasuke murmured, tilting his head and looking up at Itachi, who had taken his time walking home. He looked up and immediately smiled, patting Sasuke on the head after giving him a quick jab in the forehead.
"No, I'm just tired… How about some dinner?"
"Okay! Let's make tomato sandwiches together!"
"Sure… Whatever you want, Sasuke…"
Blood splattered on the side of the wall, a kunai clattering to the ground as bodies fell one by one. KUR-SPLAT! A body smacked into the wall and slid down, leaving a trail of blood before it hit the ground. The blood, the bright red blood was everywhere again. The silver blade glistening in the bright moonlight, another blade joining it in the massacre. An Uchiha fell at the hands of another, like lambs to the slaughter, their thick red blood pooling and streaming down the streets as well as solemn face.
"All done, Itachi… Get ready for the main event." A taunting voice cooed, slightly muffled by an orange black flamed mask. Itachi's red eyes glowed as red as the liquid that dripped down his face and from his left eye, leaving a dark trail down his cheek before he turned away.
Sasuke flung a kunai forward, Miyuki wincing and jumping back to avoid it. He rolled onto his back, sitting up to see Itachi jolt from whatever deep trance he had been sucked into, gasping quietly before he cringed and leaned over, holding his stomach with a sickened expression as he vomited, blood dripping along with it.
"Itachi!" Sasuke yelled and gritted his teeth, making a hand sign as Miyuki went to lock eyes with Itachi again, sending fireballs shooting after the woman, who back flipped out of the way, using her chakra to stick to a tree. She frowned, tilting her head as Sasuke leaned forward, glaring at Itachi, who was coughing blood into the palm of his hand.
"Itachi, what the hell's wrong?" Sasuke demanded, digging his nails into the ground. Itachi managed to catch his breath, panting, but still keeping a mostly straight face.
"I'm fine… Give me a second." With that, Itachi's Sharingan burst back to life in his eyes as he lifted them back up. Sasuke's eyes widened.
"Itachi!"
"Foolish." Miyuki murmured as her eyes locked with Itachi's, but they flashed. Miyuki's round, purely white eyes, containing no pupil, no iris. Nothing, but an endless pit of white. Before she could even stop it, she was torn back. She found herself sitting on her knees in a room, unable to move. She gritted her teeth and glanced down at her wrists, blinking in surprise. She was small… A child? She blinked and looked around the bamboo room, her eyes widening lightly in recognition. The meeting room within her sealed home, where they received punishment for academy failures.
Then she felt it. Swift, sharp, and stinging. WHA-CRACK! The leather whip cut into her back, making her gasp.
CRACK!
CRACK!
CRACK!
She could feel heavy drops leak down her back before she clenched her fists.
"You are well skilled with your Sharingan…" She murmured and her eyes glowed a bright white before her heart pounded, everything vanishing before reappearing. She was on her knees, shaking slightly as Itachi stumbled a little, grasping at his eye. Miyuki frowned and slowly rose to her feet, swaying slightly.
"Spare me," She said calmly, bowing at the waist as best she could, closing her eyes, "As I attacked you, you may want revenge… And I normally do not find it in my best tastes to ask for mercy… But I have a child waiting for me back at home and he is only a year old." Itachi frowned, clasping his hand over the left side of his face. Sasuke glared at him, then at Miyuki, huffing in her direction. Neither boy said anything, so Miyuki nodded and whipped around, shooting off.
"We should've killed her." Sasuke muttered, struggling to stand up as Itachi walked over, helping him steady himself on the sore ankle.
"How would you feel if Sakura was in that position?" Itachi asked. Sasuke blinked, then averted his eyes and gritted his teeth. He had no response as Itachi studied his expression, slightly concerned. Sasuke jerked his head the other way, closing his eyes in refusal to answer.
"SASUKE!" Sasuke looked up, his eyes flashing sharply as he wore an expression of pure annoyance and mild surprise as a familiar blondie came bursting through the trees.
"Loser." Sasuke muttered as Naruto landed across from him. He flashed Itachi a short glare, to which Itachi said nothing to and looked the other way.
"What's going on…?"
"I'd love to sit here and chat, but my ankle's broken, I'm sopping wet, and we're engaged in a battle to the death against a sadistic psycho. Or did you forget?" Sasuke asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Naruto gritted his teeth, clenching his fists before he blinked.
"Your ankle-"
"Shut up. Lead us to the nearest medical dispatch so I can get back out here and bash these assholes into the ground." Sasuke ordered, putting a hand on his hip and glaring at Naruto seriously. Naruto stared at him with wide blue eyes, shocked, before a grin spread across his face.
"I couldn't have said it better myself! Let's go, bastard!"
"Shut up, loser."
Meanwhile…
"Get the fuck outta my way!" Ruriko ordered, waving her hand out and clenching her other fist angrily. Daiki sighed.
"What a bad mouth… Come, we're relatives. I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement." He added, tilting his head and smiling so falsely it was shameful. Ruriko scowled and made a hand sign quickly just as Daiki vanished. Ruriko winced.
"Shit, that's right." She cursed and released the spider web of jutsu, skidding back just in case. The electricity crackled like a blanket before slowly vanishing. Ruriko went still, listening to any sounds of shoes moving. There was nothing, but the sound of explosions everywhere and weapons clanging. The sound was terrible, Ruriko noted. War was a lot scarier than she'd imagined. She bolted forward, only to have someone's foot stick out and trip her. She winced and whipped around as Daiki stood over her, slowly revealing himself.
"Don't attack me right away. I just wanted to talk. I'd never try and kill my niece." He murmured, his eyes glowing down at her as well as his genuine smile. Ruriko clenched her fists, propping herself up on her elbows, glaring.
"Shut up. I'm not talking anymore, especially to the likes of you. ANYONE who joins Kotaro's army is a worthless parasite to me now." She snapped and swung her leg out to kick Daiki, but he jumped over and back, giving her an amused stare, folding his arms.
"Is that so…? And what of poor Hioshi? What will he think when his favorite sibling says such a thing to his face?" He asked. Ruriko blinked, her heart pounding as she remembered the file she'd tried to steal from Kotaro. The one in Hioshi's hand writing before she cringed, slowly standing up and keeping her eyes on the ground.
"Hioshi… I'll… I'll talk to the Kazekage… Maybe I can just get them to lock him down."
"With all his computers and technology? His own little cage of hawks to send mail out? And what will it matter if Kotaro takes over the village anyway? You'll be on your knees, dear niece, as bloodied as the other useless shinobi of this village. Don't waste your time fighting for them. If you beg Kotaro to join, he might just consider. However, he was pretty angry after that letter you left behind for him." Daiki added with a shrug, gesturing his arms up. Ruriko blinked, then smirked slowly.
"Good. I'm glad he's pissed. Because after I kill you, I'm going to find that selfish bastard and shove my foot up his ass! Just like I wrote!" She yelled and whipped out a kunai, rushing at him. Daiki frowned and dodged to the side, aiming to kick her down, but Ruriko back flipped and swung the kunai down at him. Daiki skidded back and vanished. Ruriko made hand signs quickly.
"Water Style. Dark Abyss." She whispered and swung her palms out, dark fog rolling out thickly. It spread throughout the entire village, much to Ruriko's disappointment, but she stayed utterly silent, glancing around and listening for any sounds. Some explosions nearby had completely halted, voices yelling through the thick fog. Ruriko waited and heard a foot slid across the dirt somewhere in front of her. She frowned and got down on her hunches, glancing under the fog in case she's see who's feet it was.
Much too late, she'd realized that someone was bound to go through the fog and get hit by her jutsu instead of Daiki. She mentally cursed herself for the careless mistake.
She heard a weird slinking sound somewhere, like something sliding through the dirt and coming closer. She held her hands together in a hand sign, moving slowly. Something shot forward and Ruriko yelped, bringing her hands out so electricity shot through the fog, pushing some of it aside and revealing the burnt corpse of a large lizard. Ruriko panted, standing up and grimacing. She listened more carefully, daring to take a step forward when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She swung her fist around, but hit air and fog. She blinked and something clamped over her mouth, making her wince. She felt something sharp cut just between her ribs into her stomach. Her eyes widened slightly as the warm spread of blood dripped down her belly and stained the top of her shirt. The hand left her mouth, making her gasp and look down. A kunai stuck out of her stomach, embedded in pretty deeply.
"A careless move, niece. Tell Kishiko I apologize." Daiki said quietly, stepping back. Ruriko winced and reached down to the kunai, gripping the handle. Daiki frowned as she tore it out, yelling in pain as blood splattered to the ground. She stumbled a little before swinging it around, slashing Daiki in the face. Daiki flinched and jumped back, clasping a hand over his face. Ruriko breathed hard, pain ripping up her torso and down her legs, everything tingling.
"Yea… No, tell my mom I said hi… And I was glad to kill you." She responded shakily and swung the kunai out. Daiki smirked, ready to side step it, which he did, but as soon as he did, the kunai stopped in mid-air, being jerked back just as he stepped forward again. The blade sliced into the side of his neck, making him gasp and throw a hand up over it. Ruriko jerked the kunai back by the wire around it, smirking as blood ran from her mouth.
"Gotcha, just kidding. Here's the real attack." She swung the kunai back out. Daiki ducked this time and Ruriko made a hand sign, sending a shock of electricity through the wire and into the kunai, which she only tugged lightly to so it hardly went back any and hit Daiki in the shoulder. He gasped and struggled to escape the webbing of blue electricity, stumbling back. Ruriko smirked, but winced at the pain in her gut as she collapsed to her knees at last. Daiki, scorched and bleeding in places, walked up to her slowly, clenching the kunai in his fist.
"Nice last attempt… Too bad you're dead." He stated and swung the kunai up, only to have someone come in and kick him in the ribs, knocking him slamming into a wall and crashing it inwards. Ruriko blinked, then looked up as the person landed.
"You're not dying yet, brat! We haven't even gotten a rematch!" Osamu yelled, putting his hands on his hips and glaring at her. Ruriko stared, her hand clenching over her stomach.
"Osamu… You have no idea how glad I am to see you." She managed. Osamu smirked.
"Of course, you are. Stay put. Kishi's bringing her medical equipment. I'll deal with this asshole." He glanced up as Daiki stumbled out of the wall, glaring at him.
"Nice intervention, child, but you don't stand a change against an S-rank." Daiki drawled before slowly vanishing. Ruriko winced.
"Osamu, that's his jutsu! He blends in with his surroundings. Be careful." She ordered. Osamu snorted, but didn't disobey, taking out a kunai quietly and his eyes scanning the foggy terrain before his hearing picked up on a sound. He smirked and swung his foot around, kicking something in the gut.
Daiki's arm reappeared, but nothing else as he flew back, crashing into another building. Ruriko's eyes flicked after him, watching as Daiki got up again, Osamu confidently still standing. Ruriko frowned when she got a tingle of goose bumps, glancing toward the building that Daiki had slammed into. Her eyes widened.
The Uchiha Police Building…! The library! She thought and whipped around.
"Osamu! Keep your eyes on the shadows as well as Daiki!" She yelled. Osamu frowned, glancing at her.
"The shadows?"
"Daiki broke into the library, where I had already trapped someone! He's a living shadow- And freaking right behind you!" Ruriko yelled. Osamu jerked forward and swung his foot up in the process. Kage easily stepped back. Ruriko was pleased, however, to see that Kage's was practically smoke, which meant it was damn close to vanishing.
"Shit." Osamu cursed and swung his kunai out at Daiki, who was rushing at him. Kage came at him from the front. Ruriko scrambled to her feet, ignoring the pain in her wound as she darted in front of the jutsu Kage had sent out. She went slamming to the ground, rolling a bit before she hit Osamu's feet.
"Ugh, fucking…" Her voice trailed as she winced, Osamu bending down to jerk her to feet.
"Don't do that! I could've handled it myself!" He insisted. Ruriko stuck her tongue out at him. Osamu twitched and went to yell at her, but looked up as Daiki tore the kunai out, swinging it back. Kage had sent another jutsu at the same time.
"Hold on." Osamu ordered, jerking Ruriko up into his arms.
"What the hell…? You jackass!" Ruriko protested, but winced as Osamu shot up, avoiding both attacks and landing on a nearby rooftop, glancing at her as he set her down against a chimney.
"Stay there and don't move, got it?" Osamu ordered. Ruriko glared, but said nothing as she held an arm over her wound. Osamu whipped around and made as few hand signs, holding his hand around his mouth and releasing a huge blast of fire jutsu. There was a yell from someone and Ruriko could only guess it was Kage. The fog blasted away from the air, shooting away in waves to the edges of the village and vanishing. Osamu stepped back.
"Your uncle's pretty good… But that other guy is completely gone. I can't see him anywhere." He muttered. Ruriko peeked over the edge, reeling back to avoid a blast from a wind attack from Daiki. She cursed at him, then looked at Osamu.
"He's probably dead. He can't stand the light and that fire was like a huge sun in itself, which probably killed him. Thank god, he's a pain in the ass… Daiki's jutsu is to blend in. He's good with fire and wind. Be careful, he's pretty manipulative too. Don't give him a chance to talk." She explained firmly. Osamu nodded and stepped forward onto the edge of the building, but Ruriko grabbed his wrist.
"What now?" He demanded. Ruriko glared at him.
"Be careful in general." She commanded. Osamu stared at her, then nodded and shot off the rooftop. Ruriko rolled over on her belly, looking over the edge as she watched Osamu start up a fire jutsu, sending it in Daiki's direction. Daiki vanished, except for his arm, signaling that his chakra was low. Ruriko smirked.
"Get him, jackass." She murmured to Osamu, who swung out several kunai, a huge blast of chakra emerging from him and shooting around like a tornado. Ruriko winced and leaned away from the edge on her hands and knees, panting and wincing. Pain radiated in her stomach. She coughed, blood splattering to the top of the roof. She glanced up to see Osamu throw her a warning glare before he made a hand sign, using a whirlwind of fire that got mixed up with his blast of chakra, rushing forward. She lost sight of Daiki in the mass of fire and lashing chakra. She prayed that Osamu had gotten him as she leaned back, breathing hard.
Suddenly, the earth seemed to shake heavily, making Ruriko gasp and fall on her side. She rolled over on her back, tilting her head to get an upside view of something that was causing the fog to blast away. It was shaking heavily, but it slowly subsided after having blasted down several buildings and knocking the glass from the windows. She caught a glimpse of heavy electricity sucking itself into non-existence. She frowned, but her eyes widened as she remembered standing by Kotaro's previous hideout.
The entire building had crashed and there had been a huge dent in the side of the cliff, practically cutting half of said cliff off.
Ruriko grimaced and forced herself up to sit up in time to see someone land on the roof across from her, her eye widening before the fog vanished. Kishi was running toward her, breathing hard. She had a cut in her cheek, but she ignored it.
"Ruriko, where's Osamu?" She asked worriedly, dropping down beside her. Ruriko stared at her, then smiled a bit tiredly, pointing.
"Down there, killing my uncle." She answered lazily. Kishi blinked and merely tilted her head before she made hand signs, frowning at Ruriko's wound. Moments later, Eiji seemed to follow, a frown on his face. He appeared a bit banged up, but in good enough shape to walk over, glancing over the roof toward Osamu. Ruriko let her eye wander back as well. Osamu had back flipped to avoid a blast of fire before he used his own fire blast, shuriken raining out after it had subsided. Seconds later, everything was silent, Osamu panting as his eyes flickered around. He frowned and jumped up, revealing himself to be bloodied and sweaty.
"He's gone… He was standing there for a second, said something about a kid, and completely vanished. Did you guys feel that earthquake or whatever? It made the hairs on my arm stand up!" He exclaimed, getting on his hunches to watch as Kishi healed Ruriko's wound. Ruriko winced every so often, cringing and biting into her lip, then glanced at him.
"Kid? He mentioned a kid?" She asked, confused.
"I don't know either, but as soon as we're done, we have to go back and find Kotori-sensei. She was in the area that explosion or earthquake or whatever came from. Think you're gonna be okay?" Osamu asked, looking at Ruriko, who laughed, ducking her head a little.
"Oh, please… As soon as she's done healing me, I'm going off to kick some more ass." Ruriko replied cockily, huffing. Osamu rolled his eyes, but smirked anyway.
"Good luck then… And I know what happened, a while back, so I'm still going to kick your ass for that too… But it's good to see you back." He added, averting his eyes a puckering his lips a little in distaste at admitting it. Ruriko twitched and scowled at him, but smirked afterwards as Kishi stepped back.
"Be careful. That's only temporary until this thing blows over and you can see a real doctor. That wound was pretty deep." Kishi advised. Ruriko nodded and smiled.
"Thanks, Kishi. I owe you one. Guess I'll see you guys later." She said. Osamu nodded and looked at his teammates before they all shot off. Ruriko watched them go before she turned around.
"All right. Let's see what there is to do next." She stated and shot off. Her boots hit the rooftops quickly. She passed several wandering members of Kotaro's army, taking the time to blast them with electricity or kick them in the head before she continued. She blinked when she saw the hospital coming up. It was ruined pretty badly, but there were still shinobi running around, some protecting the hospital from the flow of enemies and some going in. She saw a familiar shinobi kicking an enemy in the face before doing a flip.
"AKIRA!" Ruriko yelled at the top of her lungs. Akira whipped around, then yelped as Ruriko practically tackled him into the fence around the top of the hospital.
"Ruriko? Wh-Where…? What the hell are you doing here?" He demanded, staring at her confusion. Ruriko huffed, putting her hands on her hips and ignoring the dull throb of pain in her stomach.
"Jerk, that's now how you greet your younger sister!"
"But, I thought Sasuke and you…"
"No," Ruriko muttered with a frown, "The deal I made with Sasuke is over and- Oh my god… Where's Sasuke and Itachi?" Akira blinked, then glanced around.
"I didn't know they were even here… But they might be near the east gate. It was blown of its hinges earlier. Itachi? Isn't he from Akatsuki? Ruriko, stop hanging around criminals!"
"Oh, shut up! They're not criminals anymore…"
"What're you-"
"As part of Sunagakure's Special Criminal Information Squad, I declare they are no longer criminals to the ninja world. Damn, Guy was right. That is a mouthful, but that's not the point! I totally forgot I have one last piece of work to do before I come back here. Tell Kazuya and Nero I said hi, I love them, and I'll be back in a flash."
"Ruriko, what do you mean they're not- RURIKO!" Akira protested, but Ruriko merely pecked him on the cheek before whipping around and shooting off toward the east gate. Akira rolled his eyes, then yelped as he ducked a kunai, whipping around to kick an enemy in the jaw.
Ruriko shot over the rooftops as fast as she could, frowning as she easily knocked any attacking enemies from her. I can't believe I almost forgot. If I didn't do this, Madara'd probably be pissed. Gotta find Sasuke… Where the hell is he? She wondered, her eyes scanning the trees as she flipped off the last rooftop into the forest. She frowned, then yelped as she spun to her right, blocking a kick.
"Ow! You asshole!" Ruriko snapped. Naruto blinked, lowering his foot.
"You?"
"Oh my gods, me. Yea, it's me, you dumbass! Where's Sasuke and Itachi?" Ruriko demanded. Naruto huffed, putting his fists on his hips, but shrugged afterwards, pointing behind him.
"They were over there last I checked. Well, Sasuke at least. Itachi had gone off toward the hospital."
"What the hell? I didn't even- Oh, never mind. Take me to Sasuke now." Ruriko ordered, flicking Naruto in the nose and making him yelp before he huffed and shot off toward Sasuke, Ruriko following hot on his heels. Ruriko skidded to a stop as she caught Sasuke stumble, but fling a kunai into the face of an attacker.
"Sasuke!" She yelled. Sasuke stopped and whipped around, glaring at him.
"You! I was hoping you were killed." He muttered.
"Fuck off," Ruriko snapped as she approached him, leaving Naruto to defend against an enemy, "I have something to tell you. I don't know everything about what happened with you and your clan, but I'm sure Itachi's given you a summary of what happened." Sasuke frowned, averting his eyes.
"Pretty much… How the hell do you know?" He asked. Not demanded, but asked simply and it almost surprised Ruriko into silence, but she managed to continue.
"When I went to destroy your criminal files… I saw the story in Itachi's file. The library has a file on everyone, even non-criminals. It's like a book of their life, told by someone else. I only read a little and stopped, so I don't know anything, like I said. Did Itachi mention a man by the name of Danzo?" Ruriko asked. Sasuke frowned, rolling his eyes thoughtfully before shrugging.
"He may have mentioned it."
"Kill him." Ruriko stated. Sasuke blinked and glared at her.
"He's from Konoha. If I kill him, they'll list me-"
"No. Take him somewhere else. Leave. Kill him and come back. If anyone asks, they'll assume he's amongst the causalities of the village. Do it while the war is struggling to stay afloat. It's almost over. I have a strong feeling about it." Ruriko explained quietly.
"…" Sasuke frowned at her for a moment. Ruriko huffed.
"When you left Konoha, you were a Genin. According to records, you're still Genin and I'm a Special Jounin. I order you to go and kill Danzo." She commanded. Sasuke clenched his fists, gritting his teeth in annoyance before smirking slightly.
"That's going to change after this is all over and I'll be your boss again… Just you wait." He swore and shot off. Ruriko smirked confidently, then swung around in time for an enemy to hop off a rooftop. She swung her foot up, kicking him in the jaw and sending him flying back.
"Naruto!" She yelled. Naruto looked up after defeating an enemy.
"What?"
"I'm leaving the east gate in your care! I have to go check on Itachi!"
"Got it!" Naruto grinned and gave her a thumbs up. Ruriko winked and shot off, hopping quickly across tree branches and rooftops, making her way back to the hospital.
Even though I'm a Special Jounin, however, She thought with a frown, I'm still a dog of Madara's… That's a pretty nasty thought. And pretty fucking ironic. A criminal information Jounin working for a criminal… She picked up the speed, skidding across a rooftop and coming to a halt as she winced. A small portion of the hospital was shrieking with hot flames that licked at the sky, rising higher and higher.
Shit, I don't know any water techniques that'll destroy that fire. She thought, her eyes watching the fire reach up higher. Suddenly, a blast of water shot out from beside her, dousing the flames. She whipped around to see Itachi just landing to the roof, lowering his hands.
"Itachi!" She cried. Itachi looked at her, blood dripping down the side of his mouth and staining his clothes.
"I was hoping to find you… Where were you?" He asked, approaching her. Ruriko frowned, shifting.
"Uh… Family matters." She replied stiffly. She suddenly hear Madara's voice in the back of her mind, as her eyes drifted over the ruined village. Itachi followed her gaze.
You are to lead Kotaro to Konohagakure… He will fight until his last breath and die. After that, stick around a little bit… Wait until I call on you again for some adventure. Something to make your little heart pound out of control…
Ruriko flinched. Itachi looked at her, frowning.
"Are you all right?" He asked. Ruriko blinked and mindlessly moved her hand over her stomach.
"Just a little wound… Sasuke said you said to the hospital."
"I had a bit of a detour… But I need to find pills that look like that." Itachi pulled a small velvet pouch from his pocket. Ruriko frowned and took them, opening it up. A single pill lay at the bottle. It was round and pale blue, a large T and some numbers on it.
"A pill for what?" She asked, looking up. Itachi was looking the other way tiredly.
"As much as I rather not say as Madara and Kisame are the only ones who know… I'm sick." He replied slowly, moving his eyes back to her. Ruriko blinked.
"Sick? What kind of sick?" She asked worriedly. Itachi just shrugged lightly, walking over and taking the small bag, sticking it back in his pocket.
"Let's leave it at, it's not a simple cold." He said softly. Ruriko looked up at him, frowning, lowering her arms to her sides.
"Then let's not stick around and find those pills." She replied. Itachi nodded and they shot off to the hospital. Ruriko gained them access through the roof, taking note that Akira had abandoned his post there. She opened the door, walking down the stairs. Their shoes were the only sounds that came down the stairs. Ruriko opened the door and gasped, leaping back.
"Oh my gods." She managed. Bodies were littered in the halls, some fresh and some a few hours old. A child's body was slumped near the door, making Ruriko jump back into Itachi, who frowned.
"I know it's useless to tell you to calm down," He said quietly, touching her shoulder, "But we need to keep going. There's nothing we can do." Ruriko grimaced and side stepped the corpse.
"My gods, this is creepy… It's worse than a lot of other hospitals." She muttered, averting her eyes as they walked down the hall. She opened a few doors to peek in, but found nothing, but empty beds. She followed a few signs, sighing.
"I'm starting to regret what I did… Maybe we should have just waited for Kotaro at the cave and killed him back in Uzushigakure." She murmured. Itachi frowned, glancing at her as he walked beside her.
"Don't say that… It was meant to happen. Even if we did stay behind, we couldn't have defeated Kotaro. It only takes someone with a strong will and great power. Sasuke's power is excellent, but hardly enough to even defend. My power isn't strong enough at all, neither is my will."
"And I'm terrified of the bastard…" Ruriko mumbled, ashamed. Itachi smiled lightly.
"It's understandable. Everyone's afraid of something." He replied, his eyes flicking back up as they approached a room, a sign beside it reading MEDICAL EQUIPMENT AND FILE ROOM. MEDICAL STAFF ONLY.
"Bullshit." Ruriko stated and stripped the sign off before they walked in. Ruriko winced at the many aisles of pills, files, and other equipment.
"Ah, needles!" She gasped, hugging herself and twitching at the sight of a box of sterile needles. Itachi glanced around and walked forward.
"Be careful. Don't knock anything over."
"Got it…" Ruriko started walking down the aisle, frowning at the dimness of the room before her eyes locked on a few files that were piled nearby. She glanced through the metal shelves at Itachi, who was looking through a box himself, so she glanced back and opened the files. She recognized a few shinobi: Matsuki Sora, Tachibana Ayaka, Souh Kasumi, Tsukuyomi Akira, Haruno Sakura, and Saki Kishi. She frowned nosily and started scanning the files as quickly as possible. Most of it was medical information, doctor dates, recent injuries, and recent missions. She recognized the last mission, a private and disclosed, as well as illegal, mission set without permission by the Hokage.
"It's not polite to delve into innocent people." Itachi's voice made her jump and drop the files, whipping around.
"S-Sorry… I'm a sucker for information." She admitted. Itachi nodded.
"Well, if they become criminals, feel free to dig into their information, but for now, leave the secrets to the doctors."
"Fine… Did you find the pills?" She asked.
"Unfortunately, no… But I found this." Itachi held up a small medical box, something strapped onto the side. It was beeping slowly, bright green numbers changing slowly. Ruriko's eyes widened.
"It's a bomb." She stated. Itachi nodded.
"Someone must have come in here earlier, set it, and left. It says we have two minutes before it goes off. We're going to the roof and throwing it."
"Throwing it?"
"I can't disable it. The best chance is to throw it as far into the air as possible and hope it explodes there."
"You're dangerous." Ruriko stated. Itachi shrugged, giving a light smile.
"I'm sure my file said that too."
"Are you mad that I read your files?"
"Nope."
"Then why do you keep pointing it out?"
"Because you blush when I do." Itachi replied calmly and headed for the door. Ruriko went pinker and bolted after him. They ran to the stair case, hopping over bodies and racing up the stairs. The time was beeping faster.
"Ten seconds." Itachi muttered.
"I don't mean to give you a heart attack or even a headache, but go faster!" Ruriko protested. Itachi threw open the door and flung the bomb as high as he could in the air, making a hand sign afterwards and sending a blast of cool air upwards to blast it even higher.
"Get down." Itachi commanded and slammed the door shut, grabbing Ruriko and jerking her down. They sat in silence before a loud explosion went off in the air. The door rattled and the sound of the fencing blowing off followed before silence. Itachi frowned and reached up, opening the door. Ruriko peeked out, whistling.
"Damn… That thing was huge…" She managed, her eyes scanning the blackened rooftop. The fencing had completely gone away and the front of the door was burnt as black as the roof. Suddenly, Itachi coughed beside her, making her jump and look at him. He was covering his mouth with his shirt, blood dripping from his lips.
"Itachi!"
"Does everyone have to yell? Calm down… We need to get back down stairs…"
"But-"
"Now." Itachi commanded. Ruriko sighed, but helped Itachi to his feet. They went back downstairs, pausing with the door a crack downstairs as a group of shinobi bolted past. Enemy shinobi. Ruriko clenched her fists, but they snuck out, running back to the medical room, only to find someone inside, poking around.
"I'll go in," Itachi told Ruriko quietly, "Stay out here and make sure no one enters."
"Got it." Ruriko nodded. Itachi slipped into the room. There was silence before the sound of a body hitting the ground. Ruriko thoughtlessly flinched, then looked up as a group of shinobi came racing down the hall, one yelling when he saw her. Ruriko smirked.
"Bring it on." She stated and made hand signs, flinging her hand upwards. A blast of electricity shot down, knocking several onto their feet. Ruriko frowned, glancing to her left as two came racing at her with shuriken flying. She ducked and swung her foot out, knocking them onto their feet before popping back up, one coming from straight ahead, kunai in hand.
"About time I got dinner." Ruriko muttered as she flung her foot up, kicking the enemy in the jaw and slamming her fist into his stomach, ripping out anything her fingers grabbed inside. Blood splattered across the floor as she brought her hand to her mouth, taking a bite out of whatever she'd grabbed. She wiped her blood hand across her cheek, listening as the eerie silence hung afterwards. She glanced up.
When is this going to end…? She wondered with a frown.
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A/N: I was going to go on, but this chapter was getting TOO long. lol. It's about 19 pages on Word. O.o Hope you enjoyed it! There's still a bit more of this war to come, so be aware. o3o Also, I was thinking of making a credits chapter, giving credits to everyone's OCs and whatnot, so look out for that at the very end. Also, as you send in your OCs Part III bios, be sure to send their children's bios as well, seeing as the children are mostly mentioned. Well, thank you so very much for reading, hope the characters are in character, and your reviews are loved very much!