Hello people! Hope you guys like this chapter. Thanks to Mizu Hime, uchiha black, unknown player, Mrs.MonkeyD.Hitachiinx3, The Memories Of Old, lovingo0Kawaii0oGirl, Valinor's Twilight, Lighting Wings, Lyris88, MissDramalicious, ruler of dragons, and Tateno Atsukino for reading and reviewing. Please review if you have the time. One of the reasons I like writing this story so much is because I always get a lot of reviews I feel so loved. I love getting up the day after I update and getting a lot of reviews, it gets me in a good mood even after I pull a Rei and end up on the ground next to my bed. Now without further ado, here is the long awaited battle at the Valley of End!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the lovely Rei.

Chapter Fifty-Five

It was early in the morning when Rei groaned and sat up slowly in her bed. She glanced around the room with a dazed look. For a moment she didn't know what had happened the night before, but slowly, a look of comprehension appeared on her face. She jumped out of the bed and jumped out her bedroom window. She remembered what had happened and how Sasuke had left. She ran to the Hokage's building ignoring the weak feeling in her legs from having just woken up after being knocked out.

Rei ignored the people in the building as she hurried to the Hokage's office. She didn't bother knocking and just walked into the room. Tsunade looked up in surprise at the girl standing before her, panting.

"Hokage-sama, Sasuke's gone!"

Tsunade frowned and looked at the girl with sympathy.

"I've already been informed by Sakura who saw him leaving last night. I sent a team to retrieve him just a while ago." She said calmly.

Rei was surprised to hear that, but she was also relieved at the news that a retrieval team had been sent. However, she knew if Orochimaru was behind this he had probably sent someone to take Sasuke to him.

"Who was sent after him?"

"I asked Shikamaru to gather four other gennin and go after him, Naruto should be with him."

Rei frowned and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Tsunade said.

Rei looked back at her with a serious expression.

"I'm going to help them, if Orochimaru is behind this then they'll need all the help they can get. Besides, I still have a score to settle with that snake bastard."

Tsunade looked at the girl as she clenched her fists. She sighed and nodded knowing she was right. It was better if she went to help. Rei didn't wait for the Hokage's approval. She left and hurried off to find Sasuke. She made it out of the village in record time, but she wasn't really paying attention.

She was still thinking about Sasuke. It was hard to tell if she was mad or sad at what had happened. She was hurt by Sasuke's decision to leave even after she pleaded with him to stay, but she was also mad at him for leaving with Orochimaru. Even as she ran she couldn't help but wonder what he had been thinking when he decided to leave Konoha.

She knew it he left he would be branded a missing nin and a traitor to the village. It was hard to think that he would rather abandon everyone and go to Orochimaru than stay in Konoha just so he could be stronger and defeat Itachi. She couldn't believe that he had left her. It hurt her to think that he was gone and that he had left on his own. The fact that he didn't care about leaving his friends behind, about leaving her behind hurt more than anything. She wiped the tears that had just appeared in her eyes and pushed herself to go faster.

She couldn't afford to let her emotions get the best of her. Orochimaru had probably sent someone to get Sasuke and she knew how strong some of his subordinates were. If she let her feelings get in the way of her fighting she could die before she got to Sasuke. She frowned as she thought of the others. She hoped they were alright, but she also hoped that Naruto was fine and that he would be able to stop Sasuke. She had faith in him, but something in her heart told her that it would be hard to change Sasuke's mind.

She ran through the forest for what seemed like hours when she finally stopped to rest for a moment. She looked around and saw a footprint on a branch as she took a closer look she saw what looked like a dog's footprint.

"Must be Kiba." She muttered.

At least for now she knew which way they had gone. They were probably heading to the border of the Firecountry. She knew she had to hurry to catch up so she hurried off to find the others. After a while of traveling she saw no sign of the others. She felt a drop of water hit her face and looked up to the cloudy sky. She knew she had to hurry before it started to rain or it would be harder to track Sasuke. She just hoped that she could reach him before it was too late.

Sasuke stood before Naruto as the blond boy lay on the ground. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret for what he was doing, but he knew he was right. He couldn't stay in Konoha any longer. Even as he had fought beside his best friend and argued with him on a regular basis, he knew he was happy, but he also knew that his happiness couldn't last. He was too different. He had always been different from everyone else.

No matter how hard he tried he couldn't let the past go and as much as people told him that he was wrong for wanting revenge so badly he knew they didn't understand. They could never understand the pain that he felt everyday as he woke up in an empty house or when he entered his dark and cold home. No one could understand how much Itachi had taken from him and no one could ever know how much hatred he harbored for his brother.

Even after meeting Rei, he hadn't given up on his vengeance and it was this that sometimes made him regret having confessed his feelings to Rei. He had always known that he would end up hurting her, but he had pushed those thoughts back in order to enjoy the little time he was allowed to spend with her. He knew he had been selfish, but he couldn't help it, he just wanted to be with her for as long as he could.

He doubled over on pain and fell to his knees as he coughed up blood. He looked down at Naruto as his face rested a few inches above his. As much as he had tried to he couldn't bring himself to kill him. He really was his best friend, but he wouldn't sacrifice him to gain power like Itachi had said. He would get power on his own.

His headband slipped off his forehead and fell next to Naruto. He stood up slowly ignoring the cold rain soaking his body. Sasuke turned to leave, but stopped as he looked up at the top of the waterfall. His heart skipped a beat as he saw Rei standing there with a pained look on her face. She jumped down and landed gracefully on the river. She stood on the surface looking at him as he held his arm.

Even as she stood there looking at him with pain and sadness reflected in her eyes he couldn't help but remember the last time he had seen her standing beneath the rain. He remembered that day as they walked down the streets of Konoha. She still looked the same as she stood there with the rain sliding down her hair in front of her clear blue eyes which shone brighter in contrast with her pale skin. It pained him to see those eyes clouded with pain.

"Sasuke, I won't let you leave." She said seriously.

He frowned and knew he would have to fight her. As he thought of this he knew that he would have to ignore his feelings for her if he really wanted to leave. Apart from that he would have to finish the fight quickly. He had already spent a large portion of his chakra while fighting Naruto. He wouldn't be able to use the curse mark of the Chidori.

"I'm not going back. I told you, it's time we go our separate ways."

"Why? Why do you always have to do things on your own? Just stay with us."

"No, I'm not like you I can't stay in Konoha any longer. I have to get stronger and I have to do it on my own."

Rei scowled and clenched her fists. Sasuke could tell she was holing back her anger. She looked down for a moment and when she turned her gaze back at him he was surprised at how dark the look in her eyes was.

"You've made up your mind haven't you?" She asked quietly.

Sasuke nodded.

"Fine, then so have I."

She disappeared from his line of vision. He activated his Sharingan and turned around time to block her attack with his own kunai. The sound of metal hitting metal echoed around the valley even through the sound of the pouring rain. He stared directly into her eyes and frowned at the cold look in them.

"I'm taking you back to Konoha and I don't care how."

Sasuke glared at her as she jumped back and threw her kunai and several shuriken at him. He deflected them and threw his kunai at her as she made some hand signs. She didn't move, instead the kunai was lost in the water that rose before her.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Missile!"

Sasuke ran to the side to avoid the attack, but it was too fast. He was hit by it, but avoided most of it. Still, he was pushed down into the river by the water. He struggled to reach the surface, but as soon as he made it out he was kicked back into the rock wall several feet back. He hit the wall hard and then dodged to the side as several kunai flew his way. He stood up quickly and saw Rei charging at him. He threw some shuriken, but she dodged them easily as she made some hand signs.

"Elemental Taijutsu: Earth Style!"

She punched the ground as soon as she reached the shore and caused spikes to shoot out of the ground. Sasuke quickly moved out of the way and ran at Rei. She dodged his attacks and tried to punch him, but his Sharingan saw her next move and he was able to catch her fist. He punched her in the stomach and she stumbled back. He made some hand signs as she stood up.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball!"

He watched as she disappeared among the flames. Smoke rose from where she was. When it cleared he saw that she was no longer there. He jumped back as she shot out from the water beneath him, but she spun and kicked him. He stumbled back even though he had dodged and she took the chance to punch him on his cheek. She continued to hit him and then kicked him back into the rocks behind him. Sasuke groaned and looked up to see her heading down towards him ready to kick him. He jumped out of the way and scowled as the ground cracked from the force of her kick. She glared at him as she stood there and he wondered if she actually wanted to kill him.

"Sasuke, just give up. I know you're tired from the fight with Naruto."

He smirked.

"I still have enough strength to beat you."

"We'll see about that." She muttered.

Sasuke ran at her and she dodged his attacks for a while, but he kicked her legs and she stumbled and lowered her guard. He took this chance to land a few blows and kick her back into the rocks behind her. She stood up slowly with blood trickling down the corner of her mouth. Before she could fully raise herself to her feet she was slammed back into the wall. She gasped as she felt Sasuke's hand clamp down around her neck. She looked up at Sasuke and was surprised by the intense glare that he was directing at her.

"I told you it's useless, I won't go back."

Rei glared and swung at him, but he caught her fist. She grabbed his arm with her other hand and tried to pry his hand off of her neck, but it was no use. After a minute her vision became blurry and she began to feel dizzy. Sasuke threw her to the side as he watched her about to lose consciousness. She gasped for air and rubbed her throat. She looked up at Sasuke and saw him walking away.

She stood up shakily and threw some shuriken at him. Sasuke turned around and dodged her attack. He looked at her with fake disinterest. He knew that she would keep trying, but from what he had seen, she wasn't fighting at her full capacity. It was obvious that she didn't want to fight him and neither did he, but it would be easier for her to accept his departure if she felt enough anger towards him.

"Give up, you have no chance of winning. You're too weak."

"You're the weak one, you can't even gain strength on your own." She growled.

"If I didn't get stronger it's because of you. All you did was get in the way of my goal."

Sasuke watched as her face changed from angry to furious. He had to admit that it was something he didn't want to see again. The water around her began to swirl around her and a moment later she was no longer there. Sasuke activated his Sharingan again and held his arms up just as she punched him. The force behind the blow was different from before and he slid back a bit as he caught her arms.

"You want me to help you get stronger? Fine, let's see how strong you are!"

She kicked him back and made a series of complicated hand signs before getting into a strange fighting position. Sasuke recognized it as one of the fighting positions she used with her Kekkei Genkai.

"Wind Style Taijutsu."

Sasuke scowled and knew he would have to keep his distance. He had seen her using that technique before and he had seen how dangerous it was. He slid into a fighting position and ran at her. Rei slid to the side and blocked a kick from Sasuke. She tried to punch him, but missed. However, she released some chakra mixed with wind which scratched Sasuke. He flinched as he felt the wind cut his upper arm.

They continued to fight for a while and Sasuke had gained several small cuts and bruises and some larger cuts on his arms and legs. Rei jumped back and Sasuke could see her panting. He knew that she had used up a lot of chakra. He was tired as well as he had been using his Sharingan for a while. If it wasn't for that he wouldn't have been to dodge her attacks.

It was obvious that she was taking the fight a lot more seriously now, but there was something that told him that she was still holding back. Rei glared at Sasuke as he looked at her. She didn't know what was wrong with her, she knew she should have already been done with him. As she stood there she knew she didn't have much time left. Her chakra level was low so she couldn't use her Kekkei Genkai anymore. Ninjutsu would be hard to use against Sasuke's Sharingan and the same applied to Genjutsu and Taijutsu. She sighed and reached into her kunai pouch.

Sasuke watched her and knew she was planning her next move. He took out a kunai as she reached for her weapons. She raised her hands and did some quick signs. A thick mist began to engulf them and Sasuke recognized the technique as the one Zabuza had used when they fought him. He put his guard up and got ready to defend himself. He deactivated his Sharingan as he knew it was of no use. Instead he concentrated on trying to sense her chakra.

He blocked her attack with his kunai and she jumped back before he could attack. As he listened for any sign of Rei he heard the faint sound of water as she moved. He turned and caught her by her arm. Rei was surprised and Sasuke took the chance to throw her up in the air. He jumped up and appeared above her. She new was he was going to do and so she crossed her arms in front of her.

Sasuke brought his leg down and she hit the water with great force. She gasped at the sharp pain in her arm as she sunk down into the river. She struggled to reach the surface and coughed as she held her arm. The mist was starting to disperse and she new she was running out of chakra. She stood up and looked around for Sasuke.

She turned as she sensed him behind her. She too out a kunai and slashed at him but he blocked. She jumped back and threw her kunai, she heard metal hitting metal and knew he had deflected it. The mist was almost gone and she knew she had to take advantage of it for as long as she could. She charged at Sasuke who was surprised by her attack. He expected another attack with weapons and held up his kunai, but Rei had none. He was surprised as he felt the weapon sink into her body. He looked up into her eyes and saw that she was as surprised as him. Warm blood trickled down his hand and he felt her weight increase as her strength gave out.

"I told you to leave me alone you idiot!" He growled.

Rei glared at him and gathered her strength into her fist as she punched Sasuke, sending him back. Her vision got blurry as pain from her various injuries racked her body. She felt her feet sinking into the water and looked up one last time at Sasuke as he turned and left.

He knew there was nothing he could do for her and although it hurt him to do so he turned his back on her and let her sink down into the dark waters of the river. Hurting her was something he had never wanted to do, but it was too late now. It was better if she hated him. He just hoped that help would arrive before it was too late. As it was, there was nothing he could do for her now and so he left in the hopes that he would become powerful enough to get his vengeance. He would make sure to get strong as this chance to gain power had cost him greatly.

End Chapter Fifty-Five

Hope you guys liked the cliffhanger! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Anyways, please review if you have the time, remember a happy author makes a good story. XD