Flash of Red and Black
Chapter XXII
"We're moving him! Now!" I heard a familiar voice shout nearby. I drowsily opened my eyes and started to rub then, but I stopped and flinched when pain shot through my hand. Slowly, memories floated back to me and I shot up in a panic, only to gasp with pain and collapse back down, but I was immediately scooped up into a set of arms that I immediately recognized.
"Wait, what's—" I started, but Kakashi cut me off.
"The mutated shinobi have started filing out of the hideout. We're moving you somewhere safer until you've recovered," he said, dashing behind Ino with me in his arms.
"Where's everyone else?" I asked, looking up at him.
"Shikamaru's already at the site where we're going. Yamato's going to follow after us. Everyone else is going to try to contain the fight," he said quickly, pressing on.
"How long was I out?"
"A little over two hours," he said, and then Ino hung back a little, looking over at me.
"How are you feeling?"
"Still tired, but it's easier to breathe now, so I think I'm healing," I said and she nodded, looking a little relieved. I glanced up at Kakashi, and his expression was more conflicted, but seemed relieved for the most part.
After a while, Kakashi slowed and Shikamaru appeared next to us. He led us to a small clearing, saying there was a spring nearby. There were already two tents set up at the edge of the clearing, partially covered by shrubbery. Kakashi carried me into one and Ino followed behind. She started with running glowing hands over me, apparently checking my progress healing before rewrapping me with new bandages, and again the entire time she just told gossip from the training school, apparently trying to keep me from paying too much attention to what she was doing. I was grateful. I knew my body was getting better, but I had doubts about my mental stability still. Kakashi just sat in the corner of the tent, watching quietly until Ino finished.
"How is he?"
"Internally, he's mostly healed already. His external wounds haven't made much progress yet, though, and his hands are in the same state as before. Not to mention fatigue," she said, looking between Kakashi and me. Kakashi just nodded.
"Thanks, Ino," I said after a silent moment, giving her a small smile. She returned the smile before leaving the tent. I heard her talking to Shikamaru on the other side of the clearing, but they weren't loud enough for me to hear exactly what they were saying.
I just stayed there silently for a while, but then I looked over at Kakashi and saw him staring back at me.
"Come here," I said quietly, sliding my hand in his direction some, ignoring how much it hurt to move. He hesitated, but then nodded and crawled next to me and laid on his side, lightly resting his hand on mine. I knocked my forehead against his lightly and closed my eyes, resting there without saying anything. I could tell he was exhausted. He used Raikiri too many times while rescuing me, and I was sure that he hardly slept the entire time that I was captured.
"How much longer until I'm healed?" I asked, mentally turning to Kurama.
"The faster your body gets used to all the chakra, the sooner I'll be able to heal you," he replied. I could tell that Kurama was tired too, but he looked much better than when we left the base. I guessed that the extra chakra let him recover twice as fast as normal, so I hoped that it would make my body heal twice as fast too. Still, I knew the fastest way for me to heal would be to sleep, and despite all my worries about my comrades fighting, it didn't take long for me to doze off again.
oOo
My eyes suddenly flew open and Kakashi was on his feet next to me, kunai already in hand.
"What the hell—" I started, but then my sentence was drowned out by several more loud explosions.
"I'll be right back," Kakashi shouted over them, dashing out of the tent. I tried to sit up to follow him out, but I flinched and fell back again when I tried putting weight on my hands. I cursed to myself before speaking to Kurama.
"How much longer?"
"It'll still be a while," he replied and I frowned.
"How long's 'a while'?"
"I don't know, brat, but bothering me won't make you heal any faster," he growled.
"Alright. Just try to fix my hands. I can't do much of anything without them," I said before leaving him to it. Immediately after that conversation ended, though, Kakashi crawled back into the tent just as another explosion rattled the ground.
"What's going on?" I asked as he sat next to me.
"Shikamaru and Yamato are heading to battle. The explosions were from Shino's bugs. They finally caught up with him and are trying to force him out of the tunnels," he said rather calmly, though I could still hear anger in his voice as he kept from saying Orochimaru's name.
"How long did I sleep?"
"Another couple hours. You should keep resting," he said, running his hand through my hair.
I bit my lip and my eyebrows knit together. I wanted to help, but I knew he was right.
"Wake me if anything else happens," I told him before closing my eyes to sleep some more, hoping that I would wake up with a better-rested body.
They're strong. They can do it. Just be patient, then you can help, I repeated to myself again and again as I drifted back asleep.
oOo
"Oi! Nap time's over, brat!" I heard Kurama yelling, and immediately I shot up, panicking. Had my rescue been a dream? Was I still in that cell? Frightening thoughts shot through my head for a few seconds until I felt a warm set of hands clamp onto my shoulders. I was about to retaliate, but then I suddenly recognized Kakashi, shaking me with a panic of his own in his eyes. I shook myself for a second before looking at him again, apologizing.
"Sorry! Sorry…" I trailed off.
"What happened?" Kakashi demanded, though he loosened his grip on my shoulders some.
"I thought I was back there since Kurama woke me… What the hell do you want anyway, damned fox?" I demanded before glaring at him in my mindscape.
"You're fixed up for the most part, you ungrateful brat," he growled at me. I just started at him blankly for a second before saying a quick "thanks" and instantly taking off my bandages.
"Wha—Naruto! What are you—" Kakashi started, startled and moving to stop me, but I cut him off.
"Kurama says I'm fixed," I said, giving him a smile as I flexed my hand in front of his face. Then I continued taking off the bandages. He just sat there for a second in shock before rushing out of the tent. I didn't know why, but then Ino appeared, looking scared until she saw my unbandaged arm, no longer covered with injuries. There were pink, tender lines left from the injuries, but even those would go away after a while. She let out a sigh of relief and sat down next to me and ran a glowing hand over me, checking for any injuries left while Kakashi helped me take off the wrappings covering my body.
"How long was I asleep this time," I asked, turning to Kakashi once my bandages were all off.
"Almost three hours," he said, and I nodded slowly, feeling my excitement from being healed slowly fade.
"Any word from the others?"
"None. Just a few more explosions."
"How long ago was the last one?"
"Half an hour."
"How far from here?" I asked, flexing my muscles to make sure they were all responding as they should. They moved perfectly, but I couldn't help feeling like something was still off, but I ignored that. I was just glad to have my body back.
"Six miles," Kakashi said after hesitating a moment. I nodded before standing.
"Then let's go," I said, looking at the two. They both looked like they were about to refuse, but then they saw my expression. I wasn't injured and useless anymore. I was Hokage, a Hokage with some pent up frustrations that were ready to be let out.
The two glanced at each other before standing looking back at me.
"Follow me," Kakashi said, and then we were off. We dashed through the trees, and man did it feel great to be controlling my own body again. The two kept a close eye on me as we ran, ready to stop me at the first sign that I wasn't ready for battle, but I was more than ready. My body needed to move. My friends needed me. My mind needed a distraction, and fighting had always been the best distraction.
"Ino?... Kakashi! What are you—Naruto! What the hell—" Shikamaru started shouting the moment we reached the battlefield with three unmoving curse-marked shinobi around him. Immediately, Raikiri pierced the first shinobi while I left the other two bleeding out at their necks.
"I recovered and thought you could use some help," I said as the three fell to the ground at Shikamaru's feet. He looked at Ino and she just gave a small nod. He looked back at me, just staring for a second before sighing and engaging another enemy.
"Sakura took the other medic-nin and set up a first aid area on the east edge of the field. Yamato, Neji and I are the only ones outside the base other than the med-nin and those getting healed by them. We still haven't found Orochimaru," he reported as he threaded an enemy with his shadows. I downed another shinobi that was aiming for Shikamaru's side and Kakashi covered his back.
"Ino! Go help Sakura and the others. Where are Yamato and Neji?"
"We spread out. Yamato is covering near the medical camp. Neji went north, near the last explosion," he said, freezing another enemy as I took him out.
"Kakashi, cover me," I ordered before dashing out of the fray and sitting down, Kakashi following behind, leaving Shikamaru to himself for a while again.
Immediately I started gathering natural energy, hoping it would work out alright despite having so much more chakra than normal already stored up inside me. It didn't take long for me to be pleased with the results. Not only was I able to go into Sage Mode easily, but I also stored much more natural energy than ever before while still being able to maintain a balance.
"Ready?" I asked as I stood, looking at Kakashi. He studied me for a minute before giving a sharp nod. Instantly we dashed back into the field, clearing a path as we headed back to Shikamaru. I covered him as I searched for the chakra signatures of the others. I felt everything more sharply than I was used to, but I adjusted quickly and started mentally counting each familiar signature I felt. Then I smiled a little.
"Wash your neck and wait for us, Orochimaru," I mumbled before making a mass of bunshin. They all dashed off to meet up with the chakra signatures and to reorganize the teams, and I continued to fight while turning my thoughts to Kurama.
"Recovered enough? Or do you still need a nap?" I asked, taunting him a bit. He just roared in response, glaring at me, but I could see a bit of a grin in his eyes.
"Then let's do this," I said, switching into Chakra Mode. I used a chakra arm to down another enemy while I tapped Kakashi and Shikamaru on the shoulders, transferring some of Kurama's abundant chakra to them.
"Are you sure can do that?" Kakashi asked, worried as he was engulfed in the orange chakra.
"I'm healed and have more chakra than ever. When we first started running here, something felt off, but now I know why," I said, pausing to take down two more enemies. "I have more chakra that I know what to do with. My body's adjusting to it even more easily now that I'm healed, but I just feel it all coursing through me, powering up every movement whether I think about it or not," I finished, glancing over at the other two for their reactions. I could see Shikamaru thinking deeply, but with curiosity more than concern. Kakashi looked relieved and more energized thanks to the chakra surrounding him.
We continued fighting the endless stream of curse-marked shinobi, most of which had Sharingan of various strengths, all of which were knocked out easily, and after a while I saw Izumo and Kotetsu show up with my clone guiding them. I fought my way over to them and tapped both of their shoulders too.
"Glad to see you guys. You're partnered with Shikamaru now," I told them. They greeted me too before we made our way back over to Shikamaru and Kakashi. "Ready to go?" I asked, looking at Kakashi, though I started fighting my way through the crowd before he could reply, leaving my clone behind with the group.
"Where are we going?" he called behind me.
"To the med-nin," I said, forcing my way through. Eventually I got impatient and made two more clones to help me drive through the enemies. After that, it didn't take too much longer to arrive.
"Doing alright?" I called to Yamato. A clone I sent out earlier was already fighting beside him, so Kakashi and I made out way over too, letting my other two clones do most of the work.
"Just a little tired," Yamato replied, though I could see he was pretty exhausted, breathing heavily and sweating. I rolled my eyes a bit and tapped him on the shoulder transferring some more chakra.
"That should help. Keep at it," I said before moving towards a small wooden hut not far away. Inside, I found Sakura and Ino hovering over Sai and Tenten while Hojo-san and Shizune sat, resting over to the side.
"Need any help?" I asked, grimacing as I looked at the particularly deep gash on Tenten's arm and the several shallow but discolored wounds across Sai's chest.
"Can you power us up?" Sakura asked through grit teeth above Sai. Immediately, four chakra arms reached out and tapped each med-nin on the shoulder.
"Should I do it for them too?" I asked, looking at the two lying down.
"If you've got the chakra for it," Sakura replied. I had to force myself to hold back a laugh as I gently tapped the legs of the two, and I was glad to see the wounds visibly closing faster the moment the two were enveloped in the chakra.
"Anything else I can do for you?"
"Take Orochimaru down," Sakura replied, and immediately my expression hardened again.
"You got it," I said before heading towards Neji, Kakashi following behind, but the closer I got to Neji's chakra signature, the more I felt an ominous presence nearby. "Get ready," I said, looking over at Kakashi before pushing forward harder.
Then I saw him. Neji was suspended several feet above the ground while my clone was busy fighting off a hoard of curse-marked shinobi. Orochimaru held him up by his hair on top of Manda, and we arrived just in time to see Orochimaru thrust a sword towards Neji's stomach.
Instantly, I screamed and my chakra reached out to stop the sword, but I wasn't quite in time to stop it completely. Kakashi dashed ahead of me and ran up Manda with Raikiri crackling in his hand. Manda twisted and thrashed trying to knock Kakashi off, but in the process Orochimaru dropped Neji. Another chakra arm shot out and caught him as I ran over to him.
He was already enveloped in the chakra from catching him, but the sword was still sticking out of the side of his stomach, and though the sword didn't fully slice through him, it was still deep. I thought of leaving it for a moment, not wanting to do anymore damage by pulling it out, but I didn't want to risk leaving it in case it was poisoned like most of the Snake Sanin's weapons.
"Take a deep breath," I told him before pulling the sword out all at once, silently praying I wasn't causing more harm than good. Then I made several more bunshin, two of them picking Neji up to carry to the medic-nin while the others plowed the way.
As soon as they headed out, I looked up at Orochimaru and watched him cackle as he stared back down at me. Then he jumped off Manda, dodging Kakashi's Raikiri. The attack instead pierced through Manda's skull, instantly downing the giant snake, and Orochimaru continued laughing as he gained his footing.
"Really, I'm just going to have to capture you and take some more samples, little Hokage," he said, his face slowly widening with a larger and larger grin. "Your vitality is just astonishing, even for that of an Uzumaki," he grinned before rushing at me. I immediately dashed straight towards him too, making a Rasengan in each hand.
"You're not setting a hand on him," Kakashi said, his voice icy cold as another Raikiri formed in his hand. He rushed Orochimaru from the side, thrusting the attack towards the Snake, but the Sanin managed to dodge, getting away with nothing more than a few singed hairs. As he regained his footing, though I thrust both Rasengan at him, but he just managed to dodge those too.
While dodging, Orochimaru's laugh died down, and instead he just stared at me, like I was a prey that he wouldn't let escape. The look sent a chill down my spine, but I forced my thoughts away.
"A fine truly fine specimen," he muttered to himself, his grin growing again. "I'll admit, I'm slightly disappointed that your friends didn't just find mangled remains, but since you survived that, maybe you'll be a more useful specimen than I gave you credit," he called to me, dodging all my attacks.
"Why the hell do you want me anyway?" I shouted at him as I continued my assault. Kakashi had fallen back to take care of the ever-growing crowd of mutated soldiers around us, and I made another batch of clones to help.
"Well, Mito's remains were a great start eight years ago, but a long-dead body can only hold so much information," he said, and I felt my blood run cold.
"The hell do you mean!" I demanded, shoving an extra-large Rasengan at him, though he just narrowly dodged.
"Karin's body only held so much use, since she literally had her life sucked from her every time she healed someone else," he said before grinning a little more and looking me straight in the eyes. "Really, if Sasuke wasn't so weak and useless, maybe she would've lived a little longer," he hissed, licking his lips before dodging the Rasengan of one of my clones.
I saw red, but this time I didn't say anything, and Orochimaru just continued.
"But you, you have some potential, at least—the potential for me to unlock the power of the Sage of Six Paths!" he shouted, cackling again as he dodged more attacks. I saw Kakashi hesitate out of the corner of my eye at the Sanin's declaration. My jaw clenched reflexively, but my head cleared of the anger slightly before I turned to Kurama.
"How do you feel about helping me shred this guy?"
"My pleasure," he growled, grinning. The next second, the battlefield was covered with the deafening roar of Kurama next to me.
"I'm only going to be unlocking the gates to hell for you, Orochimaru," I called to him as Kurama swatted away several of the Snake's followers like flies, but instead of backing down Orochimaru just grinned a little more.
"I'll admit, this is a bit much to handle on my own," he said, as though musing to himself about some minor problem. Then he made several seals and slammed his hand to the ground, laughing again as four coffins rose from the ground. Immediately, I frowned and tensed, wishing my bunshin would hurry the teams underground along a little more. I had a feeling I would need help, and when the lids fell down, I knew I wasn't wrong.
First, a redheaded girl stepped out and readied a kunai. Next was a blue-haired guy who slung a sword that was bigger than his body over his shoulder. The third was a larger guy with orange hair stepped out of the box, and what seemed to be a curse mark spread across his body. And at the last, it felt like my entire body was being torn to shreds in one moment.
"Sasuke…"
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. If you've got a prediction, I want to hear it. Please be looking forward to the next chapter!
Edit: I plan to have the next chapter up this weekend! Sorry for being so slow about it. I hope you'll be looking forward to it anyway, and I've gone through and edited chapters 17 through this one, so let me know if you notice any mistakes. Also, feel free to check out my other KakaNaru/NaruKaka fanfic, Wounds. (I went through and edited it too, so it shouldn't be as painful to read now. Super, super sorry about that.)