Chapter 30: The Fight Continues!

"I figured we could spare a few moments to chat."

I was seeing double, my head was reeling and I had a sour taste in my mouth, bile mixed with sharp iron. But, I could feel something wound tightly around my body, and the more I struggled the more whatever bound me cut into my skin.

I slowly lifted my head, struggling to make sense of the dizzy world before me until I found him, standing right in front of me, his vibrant green eyes cutting into my skull and if anything appearing brighter than I last remembered.

Kimimaro, his skin so pale, it was almost translucent. He wore robes similar to the ones Tayuya had been wearing except his pants were looser and his shirt was lavender. His gray hair was still up to his shoulders and he had two sections bound with red a hair-tie. He stared down at me, his expression plain and almost bored.

I groaned in response, rolling my head back and I realized from the sharp foresty smell filling my nostrils suddenly that that's exactly where we were and I was tied to a tree with the translucent wire.

"How have you been, Miyuki?" Kimimaro asked, bending down before pushing back onto his haunches. "Because I've heard you've been doing well."

"Bite me." I breathed. I needed to escape, needed to get to Sasuke. I didn't have time for Kimimaro of all people. I remembered that he had been extremely sick the last time I had seen him. I had even been forced to care for him. There had been one point in time where I had enjoyed his company but then my memories melded together and all I could remember vividly was the sharp disgust and annoyance in the task.

Kimimaro shook his head and reached out, cupping my jaw between his fingertips, holding my head steady.

"Let's not be rude, Miyuki." He said. "Now answer the question."

I fought the urge to spit at him and knew my flesh wound would be much worse if I did. I swallowed back what felt like a small bit of blood and gritted my teeth at him.

"Fine." I managed.

"That's good." He said a moment later, his eyes observing every angle on my face. "Aren't you going to ask how I'm doing?"

I didn't hold it back then, I spit at him and took great pleasure in the starkness of my blood against his skin. He didn't even flinch. He continued to stare at me and my blood-spit landed right on his cheek. He didn't even wipe it, but I heard the sound of his skin pulling back, and imagined a piece of his bone slipping out. Not even a moment after, I caught sight of the sharp piece and watched in mute horror as he brought it down right on the palm of my hand.

I screamed out in pain before he clasped a hand down over my mouth and shoved my head back, right into the tree. My head felt like it was rolling around more than before. It was a fierce, hot pain that shot through my entire body, but mainly radiated through my now wounded palm.

"That's the second time you've made me hurt you." Kimimaro said, his hand still pressed against my mouth. "Now, let's carry on with our conversation."

Tears lit my eyes and he pushed his hand away from my mouth. I coughed up more blood, my tears spilling out from the sides and Kimimaro reached out, tenderly, to wipe at my stray tears before sitting back and staring at me, expectantly.

"H-how are you?" I managed.

"Fine." He said, which only made me burn even more. In the distance I heard screams and looked only to see a snake rising from the roof of the stadium, slender and slick. Orochimaru. I felt him then, his presence somewhere in the village and I wondered how the others were doing.

"Miyuki." He turned my focus back to him and I glared at him.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to ask what I'm doing here?" He asked.

"What are you doing here?"

"You're not going to guess?"

"You're here with him." I growled and to my surprise, Kimimaro shook his head.

"Then what are you doing here?" I asked, annoyed.

"Here to watch the fireworks." Kimimaro said. "I'm too ill to fight."

"I doubt that."

He shrugged and stood up, taking a few steps to the side as his gaze falling somewhere between the trees, probably to marvel at whatever the Leaf was becoming. His emerald eyes were ablaze, the only thing on my him not all sluggish.

"I wasn't part of this mission." Kimimaro said.

"Here to see if your dogs are doing well?" I growled.

"Tayuya's in charge now." Kimimaro said, glancing down at me. "How do you think she'll do as acting leader?"

"I'm surprised the team hasn't burned."

He looked away, back toward the village. "I heard you've become quite friendly with that Uchiha. Lord Orochimaru thinks highly of it."

"I'm sure it's a good two for one with him." I spat.

Kimimaro shrugged and walked over to the nearest tree, bracing himself against it, his eyes still trained forward.

"Remember when we were younger, Miyuki?" He asked. "Children playing together?"

"I try not to think about it." I grumbled as I fidgeted under my confines. I needed to reach the stashed blade I always carried in my boot and as I wiggled my foot closer, my good hand stretching against the binds, Kimimaro turned around at the last second, just as my finger had reached inside my sandal.

He stared down at me and I felt sweat begin to gather on my brow. Slowly, he walked toward me and bent down again, one of his hands reaching out and capturing my kneecap. I swallowed, but a lump had formed. It was the worst feeling, the heat of his palm on my knee.

"You're going to make me kill you, Miyuki."

I tried to swallow again, but it proved even harder to do under his severe gaze. I didn't want to dare him because he was just the type to do it. He lived to please Orochimaru and though he wasn't part of the invasion, I wasn't sure what orders he had been given or what agenda he was following. He reached over, his free hand caressing my arm before sliding down to the wires. I felt them loosen and seconds later, I was free, but his other hand was still on my knee.

"Let me go." I breathed. I struggled to keep my eyes even.

"What does he mean to you?" Kimimaro asked.

"Wha—"

"What do they mean to you?" Kimimaro asked. "What if I killed all three of them? That obnoxious blonde, the Sand demon and the last member of the Uchiha's? Would you cry, Miyuki? Would you cry like you did before?"

I couldn't breathe, only stare at him. I refused to show that he had gotten to me and yet, it was proving to be impossible.

"Wh-why are you really here?" I asked.

His grip on my knee tightened. "I already told you."

He pushed himself up to his feet, his eyes never leaving mine. "I came to watch the fireworks."

With that, he was gone and I was alone in the small clearing, my heart slamming in my chest, my body trembling and the edges of my vision turning black. I pushed myself, knowing that they were out there somewhere, Gaara and Sasuke. I managed to rip off a part of my shirt and bound it tightly around my wounded hand. I wasn't sure how long I had been out for initially and though it had felt like just a few minutes, with the way the sun was in the sky, it had been a few hours.

I shot forward, knowing that I was in no condition to do so, but determined to try. I couldn't let them fight each other. I couldn't let them hurt each other and the fact that Kimimaro knew about Naruto proved that he was in the middle of it all too. I landed before an explosion of dust and smoke rose a few yards away from me. I gasped just as a blast of hot air slammed into me, throwing me back against a tree. I groaned and coughed, looking up just in time to see a dark shadow moving above. My eyes widened.

"The perfect possession." I breathed the moment I made out golden eyes in between the dust. I spotted them all then, Temari on a high branch watching the horrors below unfold. Sakura held in place by one of the sand demon's hands, twitching every now and then as it pressed into her. There was a small Leaf dog beside Sasuke who was shaking, his cursed mark on his skin. Then there was Naruto, his body thrown onto another tree branch, his eyes wide as he looked up at the shadow.

"Gaara!" I shouted, making everyone flinch. "Stop it!"

"M-Miyuki?" Temari breathed, her eyes wide and slightly terrified as she took me in.

Sasuke's eyes widened too and Naruto slowly turned to face me as did Gaara's demon form.

"That's enough!" I continued. "It's over!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Gaara shouted and sent a pillar of sand in my direction.

"Miyuki!" Sasuke shouted.

I was getting ready to jump up and dodge when everything in front of me turned a little blurry. I knew I could jump, but there was no way I'd be able to make it out of the way in time. Dodging was not an option and if I even tried it, I'd be sure to fall to my death, bashing my head against the side of a tree on the way down.

"This is the end for you!" Gaara shouted.

The pillar was getting closer and closer and I held my breath just as Naruto's voice cut out from across the clearing.

"SUMMONING JUTSU!"

He was about to be buried in the Gaara's sand when suddenly something exploded from within, the sand scattering out into the wind, the dust cloud from inside growing bigger and bigger. An orange frog jumped out of nowhere and managed to push me out of the way just in time, but once the pillar was near me, the sand crumpled, falling onto my legs.

"What's up pops!" The orange frog greeted, waving a webbed limb.

I stared at it in awe. A talking frog of all things and I looked back over at Naruto who stood towering over all of us on the head of a rusty red toad with a scar on its left eye and a pipe poking out of its mouth.

"Hey kid! Kid! Hold on!" The orange toad beside me said, one of its webbed hands coming down on the side of my face.

"Miyuki!" Temari shouted. "Miyuki!"

I coughed again, more blood coming and the pain in my chest increased. I was sure Kimimaro had stabbed a piece of my lung in the process and knew that even though I could survive with only one, the pain didn't help me think so. I was fading out, barely able to hold on much longer and I knew it would only be a matter of time until it all faded to black.

"We're losing her!" The orange toad called.

I made out the small paws of the dog shinobi jumping onto my branch and felt his small paw pressing into the side of my head.

"Badly wounded. We need to get her back to the village immediately." The dog confirmed.

"Miyuki! Miyuki! Hold on! Hold on!" Naruto called out to me just as I faded out.

I woke in Sasuke's lap, one of his hands in my hair, supporting my head while the other was in a tight fist at his side. I shifted and he stopped me, his eyes dark as he glanced down at me as movement from my right caught my eye.

"Couldn't let you die on me." Temari said. "Stay down."

"Wh-what's going on?" I coughed as Sasuke helped me to a sitting position, letting my head rest on his shoulder. Behind us lied an unconscious Sakura, her body trembling slightly. The dog was beside Sasuke, his eyes trained below and I followed his gaze only to find Gaara and Naruto on the forest floor, blood at the center of their foreheads.

"N-Naruto!" I coughed, leaning forward and almost slipping if Sasuke hadn't caught me in time.

"Easy." The dog said beside me as Temari jumped down toward Gaara, tears in her eyes.

I pushed away from Sasuke even if I was weak and jumped down to Naruto's side. I was in no condition to fight still and though I felt a little better, it was only slightly and I still felt dizzy. But, I wasn't going to have Temari or Gaara think that they could take him on alone. I planted myself behind Naruto and was about to place a hand on his head when one of his eyes snapped open. He had rolled onto his stomach and was looking at Gaara and Gaara returned the favor, their eyes cutting into each other.

"Naruto." I breathed.

"Miyuki." Naruto panted. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." I said.

"How's Sakura?" Naruto asked.

I glanced back up into the trees only to find Sakura awake, rubbing the back of her head as she smiled up at an annoyed Sasuke.

"She's good."

"That's great." Naruto breathed.

"Miyuki." Gaara called to me weakly. I looked over at him, and watched as Temari pulled him up into a sitting position, pulling one of his arms around her neck and holding him close. Concern lit her eyes as she looked him over and I could only imagine how she felt. I knew she hated seeing Gaara consumed by his monster and while sometimes she'd be able to calm him down, most of the time she'd just be in the way, an annoying fly in Gaara's eyes.

"I hope you're both happy!" I called to them. "I hope you found some sort of fulfillment!"

"I regret patching you up!" Temari growled.

"Naruto…" Gaara coughed. "You were a worthy opponent."

I froze and Temari's eyes widened.

"You've taught me the importance of friendship." Gaara continued. "And I thank you Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto continued to pant beside me just as Kankuro jumped down on Gaara's other side, taking his free arm and wrapping it around his neck. At the same time, the dog, Sasuke and Sakura jumped down to our side.

"We're sorry for the trouble we've caused." Gaara panted. "One day…one day I hope we can look past this."

I wanted to tell him that I didn't see how but I realized it wasn't my place. Konoha wasn't my village to speak for. Also, the words were coming from Gaara's mouth, out from his tired and worn down face. He was paler than usual, sweat dripping down the side of his face. Kind words, words that despite everything it really looked like he meant. I wasn't sure if the Sand could be welcomed back with open arms, but I could see it being that way over time.

"One day." Naruto said before his eye closed and his breathing stilling.

"Naruto!" I said, placing a hand on his back.

"Let him rest." Temari said, her grip around Gaara tightening. "Let them both rest."