"Shit. Kakashi!"
Naruto's heart stuttered in his chest. He watched helplessly as the lanky form of his sensei fell bonelessly to the shuddering deck of the speed-boat. For the briefest of moments Kakashi's crumpled figure was obscured by the thin frame of the rogue ninja as the youth knelt over him. And then, before Naruto could fully understand what was happening, the roaring vehicle had hurtled over the jagged edge of a protruding boulder. A terrific metallic shriek rent the air as the sleek belly of the boat grated over the rock in a splash of orange sparks and white spray. Izanami let out a strangled cry as the vehicle surged wildly up into the air.
Naruto balked.
The silhouette of the air-borne vehicle was illuminated against the hazy orange backdrop of the setting sun for the briefest of moments. Black shadows slid smoothly over the sleek surface of the boat, coloring the machine's elegant curvature with darkness. Crystalline water droplets unfurled majestically on either side of the rising boat like the diaphanous wings of a butterfly, the fine blossoming spray tinged a soft pink by the receding sunlight.
A sensation not unlike being punched in the chest overtook him and Naruto's stomach quickly plummeted with dread.
Before him, the moment forever branding itself into his memory despite the all-encompassing unreality of it, the speed-boat began to capsize in midair. The smoldering snarl of the thrumming vehicle choked to a stuttered halt, and there was nothing he could do but watch the shadowed figures slide across the deck.
Izanami tumbled from her seat with a shrill scream. She dropped with a high splash into the rough waters, landing a couple meters from the muddy edge of one of the sloping banks. But Naruto's eyes were trained on the collapsed figure of the Copy-ninja as the jounin slid limply from the tipping deck and tumbled into the frothing surf.
The arms of the rogue-ninja had been clasped firmly around his former sensei's waist.
"Sensei!" Naruto heard himself yell hoarsely.
A flash of silver hair, a glimpse of the rubber sole of a sandal, and then Kakashi was buried under wave after wave of rushing water and cresting white spray.
Sakura let out a sharp cry of distress from somewhere above him.
Why did Kakashi-sensei have to be so stupid?
Why did he always have to put himself smack dab in the middle of a dangerous situation and take the brunt of everything? Didn't he know that it was just as much their job to protect him as it was his job to protect them? Wasn't that what he'd been teaching them all this time that he'd gone croaking on and on about teamwork? Or did that rule just not apply to the legendary Copy-Ninja? Was Kakashi so far removed from them that it was against the rules for them to care about him just as much as he did for them? Who the hell gave him the right to decide he was going to be alone anyway! If Naruto wanted to help Kakashi, if he wanted to be the one doing the protecting this time, then where-where! did Kakashi get it into his head that he could just go off and do stupid shit like this!
The powerful rush of heated rage and stinging distress that had swelled up inside of him at the sight of his sensei falling into limp unconsciousness was suddenly dispelled with an icy wave of fear. Naruto's sprinting steps stuttered over the bucking surface of the rushing water below. His blue eyes widened and his mouth parted in mute horror at the scene unfolding before him.
The smooth, white belly of the tipping speedboat arced slowly into the splashing waves before him, like the death roll of some primeval whale tossing in the final throes of agony-
-and then it was rolling.
Nearly a thousand pounds of unforgiving metal and plastic churned over the exact spot that his former sensei had slipped into only moments before.
"Naruto!" Sakura's terrified scream of warning was distant.
His mind has crashed to a stunned halt, but, even as the bitter tang of shock resounded within him, one thought blared clearly through the haze of panic.
Get Kakashi.
Time warped around him. The very air seemed to thicken, congealing into what felt like countless layers of transparent, thin elastic barriers. Naruto sent a burst of blue chakra whizzing through his bloodstream, pushing his muscles to a threshold of speed and power that normal humans couldn't experience without the very fibers of their muscles shattering.
Naruto rocketed forwards, his every thought bent solely upon the task of breaking through and shattering the invisible boundaries of time and space.
The over-heated engine of the tumbling vehicle let loose one last bone-reverberating, defiant roar. There was an ear-splitting shriek of tearing metal and grinding gears. And then his world was a blinding crescendo of billowing heat and flame.
"Naruto!"
Sakura's scream was so shrill and loud next to Sai's ear that for the briefest of moments his vision was spliced.
Sound waves rippled out from the explosion below. His trained artist's eye picked up on the faintly visible walls of warped air rolling powerfully towards them. Sakura's hands convulsed around his shoulders, small fists curling in the loose fabric of his shirt as she crumpled forwards against his straight back. Sai clamped his legs tightly against the heaving sides of the flapping ink beast and leaned back, steering the soaring creature into a sharp upwards spiral. Air whooshed loudly around him and he felt the infinitesimal pressure of his hair laying flat and his clothes pressing against his skin as a great flap of the ink-beast's wings sent them careening upwards.
The sound waves caught up to them, a sensation not unlike being punched in the gut lifting them a couple inches from their seat. The force of the blow buffeted the gossamer-thin wings of the straining creature beneath them with all of the intensity of a powerful gust of wind. Sai closed his eyes, tensing, and he found himself leaning back into Sakura as her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. They steeled themselves, cringing.
A blistering wave of heat rolled thunderously over them. A wall of blinding fire followed not a second later, roaring as it whooshed by his ears in a flurry of licking flame and sparks.
The ink-beast disappeared beneath them.
For a moment they were weightless, eyes closed, clinging tightly to each other in a world of searing heat and roaring fire.
And then, just as quickly as it had come, the moment passed. The oppressive heat was swept away from them and cool air rushed in, whipping against their singed clothes and hair as they began to plummet back to earth. For a fraction of a second, Sai was compelled to remain in this intimate world of rushing sensations and heightened emotion. To bask in the revelry of this strange, new connection with his teammate, this instinctual needing of another person, that transcended all his previous understanding.
And then the lurching tug of gravity fully gripped him and his mind was rudely yanked from all fanciful delusions.
His hands shot back into his pack, delving through the contents with practiced ease. He yanked his notebook out, his emergency paint-brush sliding from the inner sleeve of his shirt into his hand deftly. He was swirling smooth lines of ink onto the grainy surface of wildly rustling parchment before he had even opened his eyes.
There was an explosive pain in the back of his head as Sakura's prominent forehead crashed against his skull, the sudden motion of another winged ink-beast cutting under them catching her by surprise and jerking her forwards.
Sai made a mental note to broaden his already extensive repertoire of forehead-related insults as he leaned forward in his seat and peered down at the thin stream of rapids with watering eyes.
Swells of thick black smoke roiled up from the white waters below, swirling slowly up through the humid air around them to brush against the low-hanging sky of swollen, murky thunderclouds. The artist's coal-black eyes narrowed and his somber gaze traced the winding path of the water, searching for any sign of his two teammates.
He could just make out the silver gleam of a fragment of the speed-boat's shattered hull peeking out through the splashing waves from between two boulders. Farther down the river a flash of tanned leather, a scrap from the vehicle's once-pristine seats, was tossed into the air with a spray of foam. Even farther and there was a nebulous cloud of mist where the rushing waters spewed forth in an angry spray of white over the steep edge of a towering cliff.
Ah yes! Sai mentally congratulated himself on his keen observational skills, Those two entangled figures going over the top of the waterfall must be Kakashi-sensei and his young assailant.
"Oh my god," Sakura breathed behind him in horror, her arms tightening around his waist, "Ohmygod! Sai! They're falling down a waterfall!"
Falling down a...
"Shit." Sai remarked.
"Go! Make this thing g-" Sakura's scream was ripped from her throat when Sai suddenly jammed his heels into the ink-beast's sides.
Miscalculation. Sai's mind had just enough time to blare this single warning as his overly-enthusiastic kick sent the ink-beast rocketing forwards with enough force to flatten his stomach against his spine.
He was slammed backwards into Sakura with a brain-rattling jerk.
The air rushed over them with a keen, whistling shriek that had the exposed gums of his gritted teeth stinging and his cheeks flapping audibly. Sai had just enough awareness to keep his eyes cracked open against the rushing force of the wind, his gloved hands squeezing the reigns as the air buffeted him powerfully.
They hurtled downwards in a sloped dive towards the waterfall that had all of the blood in his body whizzing upwards. Just when it felt like his eyeballs were going to touch the back of his skull, the ink-beast's wings sprang open.
They were instantaneously slammed forwards against the beast's broad back as the whooshing air was caught in the creature's straining wings. Sai distinctly felt the spinal fluid cushioning the vertebrae of his back compress with a bone-grinding squeak as inertia compressed him down into his seat.
Sakura's bludgeon of a forehead slammed into his shoulder with the force of a falling meteorite. The thick inky lines of the creature's wings vibrated with the strain as it yanked them out of their steep dive and swooped them around to face the falling spray of water.
The charred orange of Naruto's jumpsuit twisted limply through the air in a sheen of white vapor above them as he tumbled over the edge of the waterfall. The thin layers of Izanami's indigo dress swelled and fluttered around her as she spiraled downwards a couple meters above them.
Too late for Kakashi-sensei...Somewhere deep inside himself, Sai cringed at the cold exactness of his inner voice.
Sai pressed his heels against the ink-beast's heaving sides and urged the creature forwards to intercept the woman's rapid descent. The great wings flapped powerfully, stirring the cool misty air around them, and Sai felt Sakura reinforce her steel grip around his waist with a tingle of chakra as he leaned forwards.
Sai stretched his arms out, his bare stomach brushing against the smooth surface of the ink-beast's head as he strained forwards to catch Izanami-
-A dark figure wreathed in flickering sparks of blue chakra shot out from the foliage on their left, snatching Izanami milliseconds before she landed in Sai's outstretched arms. The man curled around her smaller form and they dropped like a stone to the churning depths below. Their entangled figures somersaulted with the force of their freefall, spiraling into obscurity.
Suddenly, a volley of fire-tipped arrows cut through the air after him where Izanami had been moments before.
A searing blaze of glinting metal and flickering flame arced above them in a forbidding wall. Sakura shrieked and Sai had to arch his back powerfully to avoid having his arms and face peppered through with fiery arrow-heads. His sudden movement sent the ink-beast lurching backwards into a tight back-flip.
As they rolled backwards the cool damp air churned around them, and with it came something familiar and, at the same time, foreign.
Clarity.
They could still save Naruto, but only if they didn't waste time trying to rescue Izanami. The enemies hidden in the trees were going to attack again, and if they wanted to escape with their lives, they needed to leave the area fast. There was absolutely no chance of saving Kakashi.
And perhaps the most startling revelation...
All of this bothered him.
Consciousness wafted over him like a cool breath of fresh air, soothing and gentle.
In its wake a heated, aching pain tumbled through him, resonating along the frayed fibers of his muscles.
Kakashi groaned.
His awareness expanded.
He was able to identify the rhythm of the constant rumbling and hissing around him as the roar of breaking of waves.
Cool water swelled leisurely over his legs, washing up his ankles, knees, and hips to lap teasingly at the small raised arch of his back. Soft mud cradled his sprawled form, it's smooth touch chilling in its caress. A swift breeze, stinging and frigid, swept over his prone body. Small pebbles and grit skittered over him.
"Whas next?" The Copy-ninja mumbled deliriously, his brow furrowing as he tried to call to mind the next memorized section of Icha Icha Tropical.
It was one of his favorites. Ripe with plot twists and character development, it never failed to leave Kakashi squirming in his seat. Which was actually a little awkward whenever he had to spend any length of time in a waiting room or any other public setting, but that was besides the point.
Icha Icha Tropical frequently served as the backdrop to many a fanciful, erotic imagining. And, if the choking waves of agony rocking through him were anything to judge by-now was a really, really good time for a fanciful, erotic imagining.
The words came to him, parading through his half-conscious mind in a soothing and familiar pattern.
There was a distant sound of rolling thunder, the last grumblings of a retreating storm.
Prince Rokuro tried to lift himself from the soggy shoreline, but collapsed with a groan as a sharp shoot of pain ricocheted through him.
Thunder cracked, the power of the blast rattling the trunks of the trees leaning over Kakashi. The Copy-ninja jerked in surprise, and the motion sent a jolt of pain through him, making him groan.
Kakashi halted his mental narration of Icha Icha Tropical in shock.
"Oh... oh god..." he panted, his half-conscious mind quickly becoming delirious with excitement.
Somehow, someway, the words from the romance novel that he was reciting were crossing the boundaries of fantasy into reality-what was happening to Prince Rokuro, the dashing protagonist of the story, was happening to him!
Kakashi quickly skipped ahead a couple paragraphs to the part where a beautiful young exotic maiden slinks out of the tropical foliage and, seeing the compelling masculinity of the wounded protagonist, proceeds to administer aid to him in the most tender of ways.
He had been lying in a pain-filled daze on the bank of the river for so long that, when he heard the soft tread of approaching footfalls, he almost didn't recognize the sound for what it was.
A twig snapped somewhere to the left of him, quickly followed by several stumbled steps closer to him. Kakashi squeezed his eyes shut tighter, shivering with excitement. It was really working!
A startled gasp of surprise sounded above him, gentle concern coloring the feminine voice.
"Uhn." A low grunt of annoyance sounded above Kakashi. The Copy-ninja stiffened, determined to play the role of the charming protagonist despite the surprisingly masculine tone of his soon-to-be-lover's voice.
Rokuro tensed at the sudden sensation of tentative fingers brushing lightly over his broad shoulder, but soon relaxed under the gentle touch.
Kakashi's entire body flinched when the front of his green flak jacket was yanked open with a loud tear of splitting seams. He quickly wiped away the confused frown that had started to grow on his features and arranged them into what he imagined to be an unconscious, ruggedly attractive look.
So what if his manifested lover was a little forward? Love was love, right?
"What happened to you?" the definitely feminine voice muttered softly, as if lost in thought. A small hand, smooth and soft like velvet, cupped his cheek tenderly.
"Alright," Kakashi's soulmate murmured in a sultry tenor, "Show me the goods, old man."
Hands that were just the tiniest bit larger and heavier than the average young exotic maiden's rubbed coarsely up and down the Copy-ninja's sides, patting as they went. Kakashi squirmed, a little uncomfortable with his manifested lover's disregard for his injuries and disrespectful language.
But, unable to fully give up on the realization of his long-held dream, Kakashi swallowed and kept his eyes steadfastly closed.
Just when he was about to recite the next line, his train of thought was interrupted by another of his so-called lover's morally questionable actions.
"Huh?" Kakashi couldn't stop the soft noise of confusion from slipping out when the pair of hands giving his aching torso the rub-down started jerking him around to finger through all of the pockets of his torn jounin vest.
Now, that was just rude. They hadn't even gotten hitched yet and she was already scouring him for money!
The Copy-ninja floundered with indecision, the first traces of uncertainty beginning to leak through his rose-tinted fantasy. Should he keep acting like he was unconscious? She wasn't really following the script so maybe he should-
-Kakashi's eyes snapped open and he yelped loudly when the hands that had been exploring his jounin vest shot down under his back to cup his ass through the back pockets of his low-riding pants.
The startled freckly face of the young rogue-ninja stared back at him, shock widening his hazel eyes.
"Gahahhh!" Kakashi screamed and frantically shoved the kid off him before he could remember his injuries.
A whirlwind of heady pain swooped down on him instantaneously. The jounin could do nothing but roll onto his side and curl into a helpless ball as the youth quickly scampered around and picked up some of Kakashi's scrolls and weapons he had dropped. The boy hugged the stolen goods to his chest, panting with fright, and made to leap up into the trees, but then stopped, as if remembering something.
He whipped back around to face the fallen jounin, who was glaring accusingly at him through hooded eyes slitted with pain and betrayal. Indecision flickered over the young man's face.
And then he was stuffing as many of the scrolls and weapons as he could into his own pockets, pulling out a small case from where it had been stuffed into his left boot, and walking quickly back towards Kakashi.
"H-hey!" Kakashi choked in alarm at the rogue-ninja's sudden approach, writhing helplessly in the mud.
The boy cracked open the hand-held case, pulled out a syringe from the soft, cushioned lining, and knelt over the Copy-ninja. He bit his lip and raised his arm, his hand shaking slightly, over the jounin's sprawled form. Kakashi's eyes widened.
"Don't-"
The sharp prick of the hypodermic needle piercing the taut skin of his shoulder through the thin material of his shirt cut him off. Instantaneous heat, stinging and fierce, seeped through his arm as the plunger was steadily pressed down.
The heat began to grow in intensity, expanding throughout his body with each throb of his heart. Kakashi gasped, his body shivering at the foreign substance invading his system, and he was vaguely aware of the young rogue-ninja dropping the needle by his head and taking off into the trees.
"Y-You look nothing like her a-anyway!" Kakashi yelled hoarsely at the retreating youth's back, for a moment forgetting, in the midst of his steadily-growing disorientation, that the young man had no idea what he was talking about and, even if he did, he most likely had no wish to be compared to an exotic seductress.
I'm back!
I'm sorry it took so long for me to update, but you see I got lost on the road of life and... wow, when you think about it-that is actually a pre-tty va-lid excuse haha! But anyway, here's chapter 20, have fun reading, there's more to come on the way (oh little do you know poor reader, little do you know mwuahaha), and please feel free to review and tell me what's on your mind :)
thanks!
~Flinty