A/N: Gomen, gomen! It's been too long! This chapter was going to be longer, but I figured I'd made you wait too long as it is, so brought it out now. I was ill when writing this, I'm sorry :( but I like the ending. The next one will be interesting :D
Disclaimer: Naruto does NOT belong to me, he belongs to Kishi-sama. If I owned it, the Akatsuki would be comedians.
Claimer: Kari, Kita and everything regarding them are MINE.
Clutches of the Snake
He smirked as he coiled himself round his prey
Oh they were interesting indeed.
Team seven sat huddled in a little square, trying to think of a plan. Kita lay in Kari's lap, unnerved by the strange emotion that flashed in Kari's eyes when the rain-nin was stabbed.
"That proves that we can't just trust appearances. Kari and Kita can tell by scent, but the rest of us have to come up with a way of knowing each of us is who we say we are and not some impostor using a transformation jutsu." Sasuke said. Kari's ears twitched and her eyes darted along the ground, Sasuke gave her a light nudge that went unnoticed by the others and she stopped, still on full alert.
"All right so what do we do?" Sakura asked.
"We need a password" Sasuke said.
"Hm? What kind of password?" Naruto asked suspiciously.
"A secret one... known only to the four-" Kari shot him an offended look "fine five of us and don't trust anyone who doesn't know it... no matter what" Sasuke said.
"Ok then so what is it?" Naruto asked.
"Ok listen up 'cause I only want to say this once. The question will be... What is the ninja song Ninki? And the response is; it is a good chance when a large amount of enemies are making a scene. There are no hideouts even in a quiet place. It is important for a shinobi to know the right time. The time when the enemy is tired and has his guard down. That's it." Sasuke said. Kari half forgot about the enemy for a moment and gave Sasuke an exasperated look. How did he expect her to remember all that when she's never heard it before?
"I got it" Sakura said with a nod.
"Can you say it one more time?" Naruto asked confused, Sakura gave him an irritated look while Kari tried to repeat the answer in her head.
"No, I said I would only say it once" Sasuke said.
"Didn't you get it all?" Sakura asked. "You're such a baka, I memorised it straight away."
"I memorised it perfectly too! I just wanted to hear it one more time to make sure I heard it right!" Naruto lied awkwardly.
"Kari, you still have the scroll?" Sasuke asked as he stood up. "Oi baka" Kari ignored him, her eyes staring focused on one point.
"Wait a minute Sasuke!" Naruto winced and held his hand to his face as a trickle of blood ran from it. "What was that?"
"MINNA! MOVE!" Kari shouted, shooting to her feet and grabbing Kita.
"Eh?" Naruto asked as Sakura stared at her. Kari didn't have time to repeat herself as a huge gust of wind attacked them head on. Being small and light Kari was easily thrown back, but Sasuke grabbed hold of her arm to stop her being blown away.
"A new enemy?!" Sasuke cried, shielding his face with his other arm. There was a huge bang and dust flew everywhere.
"You two go have fun somewhere else…" the grass-nin said to its comrades. The fur on Kari's tail bristled at the familiar voice as her eyes flashed. "I'll go it alone from here." Sasuke tightened his hold over Kari's mouth, feeling her body tense from next to him. He was slightly laying over her from where he dragged her beneath the bush and was desperately keeping her as still and quiet as possible. Her body was slightly shaking so he shifted more on top her to hold her still, his grip tightening round his kunai. Kita lay still and silent less than an inch from Kari's side, her eyes darting from her mother to the furrow left from the attack.
"Sakura?" Kari whispered, her eyes darting to the right. Sensing another presence, Sasuke jumped backwards out the bush holding his kunai defensively.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried. Kari mentally sighed, then turned her eyes back to the grass-nin, who to her horror, had disappeared from sight.
"Stay there! First answer the question! What is the ninja song 'Ninki'?" Sasuke said.
"Oh! It is a good chance when a large amount of enemies are making a scene. There are no hideouts even in a quiet place. It is important for a shinobi to know the right time. The time when the enemy is tired and has his guard down." Sakura said. Sasuke glanced at Kari wanting confirmation.
"Baka, sense anything?" Kari appeared on his other side silently, making him jump.
"It's her." Kari confirmed, her eyes scanning the area, Kita trotted to her side and leapt onto her shoulder.
"Good" Sasuke sighed.
"Oi Minnaaaa! Daijobu ka?!" an orange clad ninja came running towards them. At once Kari growled and pulled out a kunai. Sasuke grabbed her wrist and pulled it down giving her a warning look.
'Matte.'
"What's the password!" Sakura cried.
"Yosh! It is a good chance when a large amount of enemies are making a scene. There are no hideouts even in a quiet place. It is important for a shinobi to know the right time. The time when the enemy is tired and has his guard down!" Sasuke smirked and threw a kunai at the impostor while Kari shot the Uchiha a dirty look; she had wanted to do that!
"Nani?! Dattebayo!" the impostor cried falling to the left to avoid the kunai while Sakura gasped.
"So this time we have one that can dodge my attack!" Sasuke said.
"What are you talking about Sasuke-kun?! He just got the password right word for word!" Sakura cried.
"Exactly that's what's wrong. You really think Naruto could memorise such a long password?" Sasuke asked. "What would the real Naruto say?"
"'Gomen, I forgot'" Sakura said at once
"While thinking; 'Teme! What was all that about anyway?! When you said password I wasn't expecting a pass-speech'" Kari added.
"And the way he dodged my attack was different to Naruto's movements. And Kari's reaction to him made it clear it wasn't the real Naruto. Show your real self, faker!" Sasuke shouted. The impostor smirked and licked his lips.
"Aren't we the clever ones" the impostor said, revealing himself as the grass nin. "Tell me... if your team-mate was really that dim-witted... why did you come up with a password he'd never remember? And you girl, from the very beginning you could tell it wasn't your team mate, but how?"
"Kari could sense your chakra nearby and I figured out you were eavesdropping from the ground. It was meant as a trap and you stumbled right into it" Sasuke said.
"Well neither of you has dropped your guard... this promises to be very entertaining" the grass nin-licked his lips with his unnaturally long tongue. Kari's ears twitched and she looked behind her. She could sense Naruto, but he was a fair distance away. She glared at the grass-nin, searching for weakness. This guy was a bigger threat, they'd have to find Naruto later…
The grass nin pulled out a scroll causing Sakura to gasp.
"Oh? You'd love to get your hands on our earth scroll wouldn't you?" the grass nin asked coyly. "It would go so nicely with your heaven scroll..." his tongue wrapped around the scroll and he forced it into his mouth. Kari shuddered slightly in disgust as it gulped it down. "Let's begin the fight over the scrolls, by putting our lives on the line!" he pulled his bottom eyelid of his left eye down sending them plummeting into a genjutsu.
Kari's breath was ripped from her lungs as blood spurted out of her body, a crushing force pressing against her from all sides. All she could see was red light and blood flying everywhere as she was ripped apart. A kunai sped and struck her in the forehead, and she was struck back into reality, eyes wide, jaw dropped. She was trembling, her breath raspy as she tried to get a hold of herself. Blood, blood, blood! So much blood! Her mouth felt dry and her eyes felt moist, she felt hot, yet cold at the same time. She couldn't move, why couldn't she move?! MOVE KARI! MOVE!!
"K-k-Okaasan!"
That small terrified voice sent a jolt through her heart. Looking down, trembling in her lap was Kita, her face pressed into Kari's stomach as barely audible whimpers escaped from her. Kari tried to move her shaking hands to touch her, to reassure the little wolf, but she couldn't force her shaking limbs to function. She had to protect Kita! She had to protect the others! I have to move! What's going on!? We can't die like this!! Kari would be damned if she let that creep touch anyone she cared about!
"K-Kar-ri… S-sa-ku-ra…" Kari looked round to meet Sasuke's wide horrified eyes. Her breath hitched at his pale face, at him shaking with fear. "Y-your… ey-yes"
To Sasuke's horror, Kari's bright eyes had dulled to a grey so dark they were almost like his own. Blood left tracks down her cheeks, red tears from her heavily bloodshot eyes. Her light peachy skin, pink lips and rosy cheeks had drained of colour and she now was paler than freshly fallen snow. Her expression was indescribable, her eyes were wide like she was screaming, the rest of her face looking mildly surprised as though asking him if she was dreaming, asking him if it was real. Her ears were down and back in horror and she too was trembling. Sakura didn't even look at him; she was staring at the grass-nin silently crying.
"You're paralyzed with fear" the grass-nin teased.
'Help me' Kari thought desperately. 'I know you bloody things are in there! HELP ME!'
'Pain.'
'Nani?!'
'Use pain to counter fear!'
Kari wouldn't usually trust something so vicious sounding, but it wasn't like she had much of a choice. She gripped her kunai tightly and shakily pulled it closer to her. With a second thought, she managed to tip Kita off her lap and next to Sakura. She hated seeing the wolf curled up in terror, but if she didn't do something they were dead meat!
"Ka-ri!" Sasuke cried in alarm as she sank her kunai between two ribs, fresh pain flooding in waves through her body. Blood oozed steadily from her left side as she shakily pulled herself to her feet, struggling to balance. She was thoroughly shaken, but now her thoughts were clearer she could just about move. The grass-nin smirked in amusement.
"I see we have a defiant one. You have a startling amount of fierceness in those eyes." Kari growled, her long canine's bared, her eyes a deep red. "My, you are quite the demon aren't you little one?" the grass-nin began taking slow steady steps towards them as Kari brought her kunai in front of her, her hand shaking so hard she could barely hold it. Sasuke shakily pulled a kunai and managed to stand behind her. "But tell me, what are you going to do with those?" the grass-nin asked mockingly, his eyes falling on the kunai Kari and Sasuke were clutching for dear life. Sasuke gasped and Kari growled louder, her eyes burning.
"Don't worry I'll make it quick, but I don't have to tell you that do I? You've seen it with your own eyes" he chuckled as he pulled out four kunai. "I expected you to be more of a challenge... How disappointing..." with a simple flick of the wrist, he threw the kunai directly at them.
With a deep breath, Sasuke imitated Kari's earlier action but instead stabbed the kunai into his thigh, shocking his body out of its paralysis. Kari grabbed Kita and Sasuke grabbed Sakura, then Kari grabbed hold of Sasuke and dragged them all full speed into the trees. They stopped on a large branch and fell to their knees. Kari didn't give any warning; she just grabbed hold of the kunai in Sasuke's leg and yanked it out. He hissed in pain, but she ignored it, pulling out some bandages she quickly wrapped it before it became infected.
"Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun, Kari those look deep! Daijobu?!" Sakura cried, noticing Sasuke's leg and the wound in Kari's side. Sasuke slammed a hand over the pink kunoichi's mouth, listening in case the grass-nin came back. Kari picked up Kita and stroked her to calm her down, soothing her tense muscles. Kari's ears shot up and she spun round.
"HEBI!" Kari shouted, pushing Sasuke and Sakura off the branch and leaping off herself. The giant snake's jaws crashed down on where they had been sitting seconds before snapping straight through it, it then twisted round the trunk of the tree and lunged at Sasuke.
"AAAH! NO STAY AWAY!" Sasuke screamed hysterically, pelting it with shuriken. The giant snake roared then fell limp, unmistakably dead. Sasuke landed on a branch, his breath ragged.
"Sasuke!" Kari hissed, landing next to him. "Get a grip! You need to stay calm!" she grabbed hold of his shoulders and gave him a little shake. He just stared at her in terror. "Sasuke!" she growled. "I can't do this on my own!" Sasuke didn't respond as his sharingan stared horrified over her shoulder. "Sasuke!" Kari cried, getting desperate. Hearing a disgusting squelching noise she looked round, following Sasuke's gaze and held in a scream. The grass-nin's head was ripping through the scales; it was coming out of the snake's side!
"I sense your fear and desperation, it's only natural..." Kari's courage began to melt away as the grass-nin slowly lifted its head, covered in a thin yellow slime. "The prey must never let down its guard not even for a moment... in the presence of its predator!" It laughed its tongue lolling out its mouth. Kari's eyes widened as her breathing quickened. That monster was looking straight at her and Sasuke! It lunged forward and swirled up the tree's trunk, from the hips down its body like a snake's, its lower half looking like rubber, like it had no bones. Sasuke screamed in terror, grabbing hold of Kari and pulling her close to him, she didn't know whether he was trying to protect her or himself, but felt as though his fear was slowly infecting her, freezing up her body and blurring her mind. She wanted to scream for someone to help her, to help all of them, to get this monster away from them!
Kashi, Neji, SOMEBODY HELP ME!
As Kari's fear started to climax and the grass-nin made its way quickly towards them her heart pounding in her chest confusing all reason. Closing her eyes tight and grabbing hold of Sasuke's arm which was locked fearfully round her middle she tried to calm herself down, but it was no use.
NA-NARUTO!! SOMEBODY!!
Answering her prayers, the grass-nin was blocked by kunai and shuriken embedding themselves in the trunk in front of it. Her eyes warily opened and she looked up.
"Gomen Sasuke" Her eyes lit up and a smile spread across her face as hope and courage bloomed in her chest, chasing away all fear. "I forgot the password."
"NARUTO-KUN!!" Kari hollered at the top of her lungs, her beloved kitsune-niisan standing on a branch high above them, grinning superiorly.
"Naruto you look kind of cool…" Sakura said surprised. Kari's strength and focus returned to her at the sight of Naruto and she watched the enemy as the grass-nin looked at Naruto in irritation.
"NARUTO GET OUT OF HERE! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE UP AGAINST! RUN! HE'S WAY ABOVE OUR LEVEL!" Sasuke shouted. Kari was disappointed Naruto didn't give Sasuke the courage he always gave her, but focused on the grass-nin, her body ready to sprint at any given second, her hand still gripping Sasuke's arm.
"Looks like you managed to escape from that big snake Naruto-kun" the grass-nin said teasingly.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! No-one picks on Kari-chan! Now that I, the great Uzumaki Naruto-sama am here, you're going to get beaten to a pulp! So you better go slithering back into that hole snake-lady before I make a pair of shoes outta ya! Dattebayo!" Naruto shouted. Kari looked round at Sasuke, feeling him relax slightly, however she was startled when holding her still with one arm, he reached into her pouch and grabbed the scroll.
"Matte, I'll give you our scroll, now go and leave us in peace" Sasuke said, holding the scroll out towards the grass-nin. Sakura, Naruto and Kita gasped as the grass-nin smirked.
"Nanidesu ka?! Sasuke!"
"Quiet Kari!" Sasuke ordered, restraining her as best he could. She struggled, but his grip was too tight.
"SASUKE WHAT ARE YOU DOING TEME?! YOU CAN'T JUST HAND OUR SCROLL OVER!" Naruto shouted.
"SHUT UP AND STAY OUT OF IT!" Sasuke shouted, surprising and confusing Naruto.
"I see you're smart, the only hope a prey has from a predator, is to hand over something else to save itself." The grass-nin said smirking wider.
"Take it" Sasuke said, throwing it towards the enemy, ignoring Kari's shout of his name. Before the grass-nin could so much as touch he scroll, Naruto shot forward and snatched it, flipping off a tree and landing beside Sasuke and Kari.
"TEME! Stay out of it!" Sasuke shouted but was caught off guard when Naruto turned round and punched him in the face, throwing him off Kari. The blonde kunoichi was surprised, but knew Naruto was bound to do something. He silently put the scroll back in Kari's pouch and glared at Sasuke. The Uchiha managed to flip himself over a branch and stop his fall, but then turned and started shouting at Naruto. "TEME! What are you doing!?"
"I forgot the password… So I can't make sure of this but, you're a fake Sasuke aren't you?" Naruto said panting. Kari looked at him in confusion, what was he talking about?
"Naruto, wha-what are you saying?!" Sakura cried.
"Baka! I am the real one! Tell him Kari!" Sasuke shouted.
"Liar! The idiot and coward I see in front of me right now can't be the Sasuke I know" Naruto said. "I don't know how strong he is, but there is no guarantee that he'll let us go even if we hand over our scroll! You're the one who is scared, who doesn't understand the situation!"
"Sasuke… Naruto…" Kari said sadly, looking between them. She felt exhausted, drained. She couldn't handle her comrades arguing right now, she had just come close to bordering insanity. The grass-nin chuckled.
"Naruto-kun," the grass-nin pulled itself to its feet. "You're correct" it agreed, its eyes widening as its tongue lolled out of its smirking mouth. It pulled up its sleeve to reveal a black tattoo of a snake like pattern. "Well, I'll just have to kill you all to take the scroll." It bit its thumb then ran the blood along the tattoo.
'Hebi Kuchiyose; Snake summon!'
One of Kari's many inner voices cried in warning. Naruto shot forward, kunai in hand.
"NARUTO! IIE! RUN!" Sasuke shouted desperately.
"Don't underestimate us! Damnit I've lost faith in you Sasuke!" Naruto cried as he jumped up and prepared to attack from above.
"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" A gust of wind, less powerful than before pushed Naruto back. Instinctively, Kari shot up to aid him, white feathery wing sprouting from her shoulder-blades. The grass-nin stood upon the head of a massive snake similar to the one from earlier. It swung its head at them and Kari swerved to avoid it, though found it hard to stay straight with the wind pushing her in all directions. She was still shaky using her wings, and Naruto's extra weight was making things incredibly difficult. She flinched as some splinters from the tree the snake had smashed embedded in her left wing.
"What a tasty little meal you'll make for him. Careful he likes to play with his food" the grass-nin teased. The snake's tail came swinging towards them again. Kari narrowly dodged, but felt the pull as the scales brushed the end of her wing. She hoisted Naruto into a more secure hold. He looked like he was about to be sick. The trees underneath them snapped as the snake's tail cut through them, sending an onslaught of more splinters into her skin delicate wings. She winced, blood trickling between her feathers.
You see, Kari's wing felt like a mutated arm of sorts, and the feathers were like nails on the hand. When the feathers were broken or twisted, it was painful, thus much harder to fly.
"KARI-CHAN!" Naruto cried. Kari didn't have time to move before the tail swung and hit Naruto in the stomach, sending them both crashing through branch after branch, until Kari's back collided with the thick trunk of a tree. She coughed up blood, winded by Naruto's weight crashing into her.
"NARUTO! KARI!" Sasuke and Sakura called, their voices echoing through Kari's ears as she fell back down, towards the grass-nin and its giant snake. Sasuke looked away, torn by his urge to help them and his fear. Kari held tighter to Naruto, and his voice boomed through her mind.
No way! I gotta help Kari-chan! We can do this!
"YEAH?! EAT THIS!" Naruto hollered. Kari gasped as Naruto twisted, and delivered a powerful kick to the snake's nose. It hissed furiously and reared up as Kari managed to straighten them with a strong flap of her wings. She held in a gasp as she caught sight of Naruto's face. Just like when we fought Haku… His eyes are red, his whiskers deep… That chakra…
Throw me down at it!
Kari immediately did what Naruto told her, though hesitant at throwing her friend towards the jaws of a giant snake. He furiously punched at the snake's nose with incredible power, looking wild and animalistic.
"But how? It's impossible" the grass-nin hissed. Kari gasped and dodged the snake's tail, missing it by less than an inch. She really regretted not practicing with her wings more, but luckily it felt really natural so she wasn't having too much trouble.
"Where did Naruto get all that power all of a sudden? And when did Kari learn how to use her wings?" Sakura whispered.
"Okaa-san" Kita murmured worriedly, being held in Sakura's arms she felt helpless.
The snake flicked Naruto away with its tongue like he was a mere bug. Enraged, he flipped and then pushed off a tree, hurtling back towards it.
Katon!
Kari's eyes widened as the voice in her head shouted out 'fire technique!' Naruto would be burnt to a crisp! Her eyes blazed as she shot off with speed she had never reached before, hurtling towards Naruto as the grass-nin blew a ball of flame towards him. Kari grabbed hold of Naruto just as the flames hit her wings. She winced in pain as the fire burnt her back and feathers, sending them tearing through branches again. This time, Naruto landed on the bottom with a painful thud.
"The fire in his eyes, there's no mistaking it! And that girl... Could she really…? Things have gotten very interesting... Now then, lets see how well you do Sasuke!" the grass-nin cried as the snake shot towards the Uchiha.
"SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura screamed, but Sasuke stood rigid with fear. He screamed as Kari and Naruto both shot towards him.
Kari's claws embedded themselves into the snake's scaly nose like Naruto's kunai. He faced Sasuke as Kari's arms still shook from the strain she put her muscles under as she stopped the huge snake. Both she and Naruto were panting from the effort of saving Sasuke.
"Hey" Naruto said between breaths as Sasuke stared at them in shock. "You're not hurt are ya? Scaredy cat" Naruto growled, lifting his head to glare at Sasuke. The Uchiha stared at Naruto's red eyes as Kari turned round to look at him with similar eyes, but a deeper, brighter red, disappointment etched onto her delicate face. "Standing there frozen like a frightened rabbit... No way. You're not the Sasuke I know!"
"Naruto!" Kari cried in alarm as a long, wet, slimy tongue wrapped itself around Naruto's torso and pulled him into the air.
"Hey! Hey! Oh man, disgusting! Let me down before I yank this tongue out of your head!" Naruto cried, thrashing about helplessly.
"I see, when your anger is roused, some of the kyuubi's chakra is released…" the grass-nin brought Naruto close to his face as he made a hand sign.
"IIE! NARUTO!" Kari cried, spreading her wings, preparing to fly to his aid. A thick, scaly tail wrapped around her middle, crushing her wings to her sides and holding her tightly. Purple fire ignited on the fingertips of the grass-nin's right hand. "NARUTO!"
"What an interesting childhood you must have had…" the grass-nin mused. Using its abnormally long tongue, still holding Naruto he lifted up Naruto's shirt exposing his stomach. "The seal has appeared on your skin!" Kari thrashed desperately, worried about that strange fire, the snake's grip tightened causing a sickening crack and an explosion of pain to hit her left side. The grass-nin thrust his fingers into Naruto's stomach, causing the kyuubi vessel to scream in pain.
"NARUTO!!" Kari screamed, tears in her eyes as she thrashed in the snakes grasp.
"Sasuke-kun! Hurry! Do something!" Sakura screamed. Sasuke just watched, frozen. Naruto's tense body froze, then fell limp in the grass-nin's bind. With the simple flick of its tongue, the grass-nin threw Naruto aside, leaving him to fall to his death.
"NARUTO IIE!! LET ME GO!" with a sudden burst of strength, her wings pushed out, freeing her from the scaly bind. With a burst of speed, she flew straight at Naruto, beating her wings with all the strength she had. She managed to catch Naruto, but tired from the burst of chakra from a while ago she could barely hold him up. Unable to cope with his dead weight pressing against her injured side, she began to fall.
"HANG ON!" Sakura cried, flinging a kunai at them. It caught the back of Naruto's jacket pinning him to a tree. Kari let go of him and landed on the branch below. Kari breathed a sigh of relief, her hand grasping her injured side. She lightly hissed asshe saw a light trail of blood between her fingers fom her earlier wound. "Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, looking round at him. She gasped, her eyes filling with tears at the sight of him shaking with fear.
With a fresh surge of rage, Kari appeared in front of him, grabbed the front of his shirt with one hand and backhanded him across the face with the other.
"What is wrong with you?! Naruto's out there fighting to protect you and you just stand there cowering?!" Kari shouted, her other hand also grabbing the front of his shirt. "Baka! Get a hold of yourself!" she cried, shaking him roughly, trying to get sense into him.
"Kari's right!" Sakura cried suddenly. "Say what you want about Naruto-kun, that he's a pest, that he gets in the way, that he's just a kid. But at least he's doing something! At least he's... NOT A COWARD!" Kari was momentarily distracted from her rage to look at Sakura in shock. Boy, had Kari's respect for the pink kunoichi been raised. Sasuke closed his eyes and grit his teeth as he shook.
'Foolish little brother. If you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me, and survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life.'
Kari's eyes widened as her lips parted. She knew that voice! It's-
"NO!" Sasuke cried, Sharingan gleaming in his eyes.
"That's more like it" Sakura said relieved, a smile coming to her lips. The grass-nin smirked, with a touch of his arm the snake disappeared in a large gust of wind and smoke. Kari was pushed into Sasuke, but he stood firm, his body tense but not shaking. He gripped her arms, holding her so that she wouldn't be blown away, his hold was rough and tight, but his hands didn't tremble. Kari managed a small smile.
That's our Sasuke. About time you came back.
"Kari" Sasuke said firmly, his voice calm and arrogant like normal. She looked up to meet his Sharingan gaze, reminded of someone else... "Thanks. I guess your Taijutsu has improved… a little." Kari smiled wider, glad he was back to normal. "I know you're tired, but can you fight a little longer?"
"Of course" she said, a twinge of annoyance at the thought he still might be a little shaken, but one look at that fierce Sharingan and she was reassured. She released her hold on the front of his shirt and took hold of his hand. "Promise you won't die, no matter what?" she said, giving him a slight glare. He squeezed her hand for a moment as a smirk came to his face.
"Same to you Kari."
"Pinky promise?"
"Don't push it."