Chapter 4: Run
"Iruka-san!" Hikari shouted. "Take the kids to the safe house!"
"Already on it," he responded already rounding up the first few students.
Hikari grinned. "You'll make a great jonin Iruka-san."
"Hikari," Itachi said. "We have to get the kids out of here."
"Yeah," she said a sad frown on her face. "I think that they'll have to leave."
"Come on." Itachi said ignoring her last statement. "Sasuke!"
Sasuke's head popped out from under the desk where he and his friends were hiding. "Hai, nii-chan?"
"Grab your bag and friends," he called his face grim. "You have to get out of here."
"Oka-." Sasuke was cut off as another blast rocked the school, but unlike the last one this explosion blew a hole in the side of the classroom.
"RUN!" Hikari yelled at Iruka as she and Itachi grabbed the corner kids and leapt over the giant snake that had broken through the wall.
"We'll draw it off," Itachi called. "Now get out of here!"
"Itachi! Look out!" Hikari yelled as the snake whipped its head around and made a lunge for Itachi and the two boys he was carrying.
Itachi gritted his teeth in frustration as he did his best to dodge. Unfortunately he wasn't fast enough and one of the snake's long fangs grazed his left calf. Itachi grimaced as he felt poison slowly make it's way through his blood stream. "Hikari! Catch!" Itachi yelled as he tossed Naruto at his fellow jonin. With out even flinching, Hikari shifted the girls so that Sakura was on her back and Hinata was nestled under the crook of her left arm. Jumping up off of the snake's back, Hikari twisted around and grabbed Naruto with her right arm before she spun back to face forward and land softly, hitting the dirt at a run.
Itachi wasn't paying Hikari any attention as at present he was doing his best to stop the giant snake from following them. "Hang on tight Sasuke." Itachi warned. "It is going to be really rough."
Sasuke nodded and tightened his small arms around his brother's neck. "I'm ready."
"Good." Was all Itachi said before he launched himself into the air. His Sharingan were activated and the three black blades spun ferociously as he moved his hands to form the proper seals for his jutsu. "Dragon-fire no jutsu!" He shouted and a large fire dragon erupted from his out stretched hands. An ear splitting roar sounded from the dragon's mouth and Sasuke flinched, wishing that he could place his hands over his ears.
"Itachi-nii," he whimpered.
"Sorry Sasuke."
The snake screeched in pain as the dragon burned his scales, stripping them from his body. "Orochimaru!" It roared before it vanished in a large burst of smoke.
"What now, Nii-chan?" Sasuke asked as his sharingan disappeared from his eyes.
"We have to find Hikari and get you four out of Konoha." Itachi responded almost sadly.
"Leave?" Sasuke asked in surprise. "But nii-chan! I don't wanna leave!"
"Not now Sasuke," Itachi rebuked as he began to bound away in the same direction Hikari left in.
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"Hikari-nee?" Naruto asked. "What's going on?"
"I can't tell you right now," she answered. "But as soon as we're relatively safe, Itachi and I will explain."
"But Itachi-nii isn't here," Hinata whimpered almost inaudibly.
"And neither is Sasuke-kun!" Sakura added frantically.
"Don't worry," Hikari soothed as she dodged around an upturned oak. "They'll catch up."
"Hikari-nee!" Hikari heard Sasuke shout.
"See?" the white haired girl asked rhetorically.
"Hikari," Itachi called. "Head for the clearing."
"'Kay!"
"Our clearing?" Sasuke asked in confusion. "But isn't that the other way?"
"Not your clearing, Sasuke," Itachi answered as he caught the blond boy Hikari had tossed his way. "Our clearing. Where team four trained when we where genin."
"Oh."
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Yotaro ran swiftly in the direction of the academy. He wasn't sure if anyone was there but it was better to be safe than sorry. As soon as his teammates took off, Yotaro had rounded up his charges and herded them towards the safe house. Just in time too, because as soon as they were about fifty meters from the Sakura Niwa a large snake erupted from the ground causing a deafening explosion. The ground shook and the children screamed, but Yotaro forced them to continue forward even as worry began to mount inside of his stomach. He had to get these brats to the safe shelter and fast so that he could get back to the academy. Hopefully he would be able to get rid of that snake before anyone got hurt.
Yotaro skidded to a halt just outside of the academy's demolished wall. "Hey! Anybody still in here?"
"Yesss, as a matter of fact," an oily voice slithered from the shadows. "I am sstill here."
Yotaro shivered and drew several kunai from the pouch at his side. "Orochimaru." He stated dully, trying to hide the fear he felt creeping up his spine.
"Very good boy," Orochimaru hissed as he melted out of the shadows and into the light. "Where are the corner clan's heirs?"
"I have no idea."
"Liar!" he shouted. "The Haruno girl's sent lingers about your own. Now tell me!"
"I don't know!" Yotaro responded. "And even if I did, I wouldn't tell YOU!" As he shouted the last word he launched a barrage of kunai and shurinken at the snake like man before he launched himself backwards into a series of handsprings and back flips. Landing hard he slid a few feet while his hands flew together, creating seals almost to fast to see. Finally he bit his thumb and slid it across a large scroll that he had pulled out off of his back. "Summoning no jutsu! Tornado of blades!"
Orochimaru watched, smirking in amusement as the large tornado of spinning blades flew in his direction.
Yotaro breathed heavily and gazed expectantly at the tornado, hoping that Orochimaru wouldn't come out but knowing that he would. His fears were confirmed as he heard a dark chuckle coming from the dying cyclone.
"Not bad boy," Orochimaru said as he reappeared. "How would you like to join me? I can make you even stronger."
"I would rather die." Yotaro responded through his pants.
Orochimaru grinned evilly. "As you wish."
Before Yotaro could work out what he meant, the ground started to tremble violently and the dirt under his feet began to rise up in a mound. Yotaro gasped and was about to jump away when a huge snake suddenly rose from the ground and locked its jaws around the young jonin.
Orochimaru smirked. The boy didn't even have time to scream.
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Three miles away from the area where Yotaro was battling Hikari stumbled and lost her footing, plummeting dangerously to the hard ground from the high trees that she and Itachi were racing through. She twisted just enough to land on her feet nimbly while holding the girls close. Hikari's face was sheet white and her breaths where coming in short gasps.
Itachi leapt down from the trees and lightly hit the ground next to Hikari. "What is it?"
Tears glistened in Hikari's emerald green eyes, making them appear even brighter than normal. Itachi was worried. Hikari almost never cried. In fact, he could count all of the times that she did on one hand.
"Hikari," He repeated firmly. "What happened?"
"Yotaro," was all she managed to get out while trying to bring her emotions under control.
Itachi took a heavy breath through his nose, attempting to calm himself. "We have to keep going, 'Kari." He whispered finally. "He did it to let us get away, I'm sure. We can't let that be in vane."
Hikari nodded stiffly. "You're right," She sniffed. "Let's go."
The two eleven-year-olds quickly made their way back into the trees and continued on towards team four's old training ground.
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Uzumaki Yume was absolutely frantic but, being the hokage, he couldn't let anyone see it. Still, when your only child is six, and missing, I'd say you should be entitled to your panic. Anyway, He sent out orders to as many nins as he could get a hold of, sending them to where the defense was the weakest. He grit his teeth angrily. He had hoped that once he learned that Yume was the Hokage that Orochimaru would stay away. Apperantly, he had found someway to increase his strength otherwise he wouldn't be here. After all Yume was stronger than him by quite a bit and Orochimaru only started something if he could finish it.
It was only about an hour after the first attack when Kakashi entered his office and layed the mangled body of Yotaro on his couch. Yume's fist clenched and a loud curse flew from his lips. "That's it," he spat to himself. "It seems like it is time for the Hokage to step in."
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Orochimaru stood at the top of the hokage monument gazing contentedly at the black smoke that rose up from the burning buildings below. It was only a matter of time before the Hokage showed up and when he did Orochimaru would get rid of him and then the whole leaf village would crumble under his rule. A dark chuckle escaped his lipless mouth. Ah, revenge is sweet.
"Orochimaru."
"Ah," Orochimaru turned. "Yume-ssama. How nice of you to join me. Have you come to see the end of the show?"
Yume glared. "I have come to see the end of you."
Orochimaru's grin widened. "We shall see."
Yume kept his frozen blue eyes fixated on the pale snakelike man as he flung his Hokage robe from his shoulders revealing his basic ninja garb. "You will regret ever challenging the yellow flash Orochimaru."
Orochimaru did nothing but grin.
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The sound five stood at stiff attention; protecting the border of Orochimaru-sama's fight, their seals quickly spreading across their bodies. They didn't even flinch when the other three corner clan heads, as well as Hyuuga Hizashi, skidded to a halt right in front of them.
"Let us by," Haishi demanded. "Or you will face the consequences."
Sakon chuckled darkly as his seal finished spreading across his body, the black marks distorting his pale flesh. "I doubt it."
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Hikari and Itachi fell from the trees and landed soft footed in the small clearing below the trees. Gently they set the kids on the grass and made their way over to a good-sized bolder at the other end of the clearing. Reaching out Hikari grabbed Itachi's right hand with her left. Closing their eyes the two of them concentrated heavily. Drawing just the right amount of chakura into their hands as they began to form a series of hand seals, Hikari using her right hand and Itachi using his left. As soon as they finished the rock in front of them began to glow a mixture of red and white before it seemed to melt away into thin air.
The kids were shocked. They had never seen anything like what had just happened. You could almost hear the wheels in Sakura's head turning as she tried to process what had just happened, at the same time you could see the wheels working in Sasuke's eyes.
"What was it Sasuke?" Naruto asked, eyes wide.
Sasuke shook his head. "I don't know," he answered. "I couldn't copy it or anything."
"Of course not," Hikari said as she kneeled down next to the revealed box that had been under the bolder. "Do you honestly think that Itachi would let someone copy a jutsu that he created? Nope, this jutsu is one hundred percent sharingan proof."
"Wow," Naruto said in awe. "Your brother's good."
The others just nodded in agreement.
Itachi, who had been ignoring them all, poked his head out of the hole and reached out to Hikari holding two worn leather backpacks in his hand. "Here they are, Hikari."
"Thanks, Itachi-kun," Hikari said as she took them from his hand and moved back so that he could vault back up onto the ground.
"Sasuke, Naruto," Itachi said as he motioned for the two boys to come closer. "You two will carry the packs."
"The contents are very important," Hikari continued seriously. "You will be in charge of keeping them safe."
"What are they?" Sasuke asked, staring at the pack in confusion.
"Each bag holds an assortment of secret scrolls," Hikari answered. "They are given to the heirs of our clans to hold until we have learned them all."
"We also have the Uzumaki and Hyuuga scrolls," Itachi said. "We were to hold them until you two were old enough to learn them."
"But why are you giving them to us?" Sakura asked. "You two are the Haruno and Uchiha heirs. You should keep them."
Itachi shook his head. "It would be to dangerous for them to stay here," he said.
"If Orochimaru was to get a hold of them…well, let's just say that we can't let that happen."
Hinata spoke up suddenly. "You said that they can't stay here," she said softly. "But you're giving them to us. Why? We aren't going anywhere."
"Yeah," Sakura and Naruto added, Sasuke stayed silent.
"Unfortunately you are," Hikari said as she lowered herself to her knees. "You can't stay here either."
"What? Why?" Sakura asked as tears began to fill her wide emerald eyes. "What did we do wrong?"
"You didn't do anything," Itachi said firmly as he too sank to his knees. "Don't ever think that you did."
"Then why are you making us leave?" Sasuke asked, his face lowered to the ground with his bangs shadowing his face.
"We don't want you to," Hikari answered hastily. "But there is a very bad man after you and we want you to be safe."
A large blast sounded, echoing loudly. Itachi and Hikari's heads shot up and they watched worried as black smoke rose thickly from the Hokage monument. "I have to go," Itachi announced.
"What?" Hikari started. "But Itachi-."
"I have to go help," He said without looking at her. "They're in trouble."
Hikari opened her mouth to protest again but all that came out was a worried sigh. "Ok," she whispered. "But first we have to do that jutsu."
Itachi nodded and held out his right hand. Hikari grasped it loosely and lifted up her own right hand to place it against his left. Together they moved their hands in perfect unison. 'Bird, tiger, dragon, sheep, dragon, dog.' "Chakura-bind no jutsu!" Eight beams of light, four red and four white, shot from the rings on the two jonin's ring fingers and into each of the rings on the kids fingers.
"What was that?" Sakura asked in confusion.
"That was a jutsu that I made," Hikari said. "It makes it so that the only ones who can take off your rings are you four, me, and Itachi."
"Oh."
"I'm going now," Itachi said as he turned. "Take care of them, Hikari."
"Itachi!" Hikari called as she ran after him. "Wait!"
"What now, Hikari?" he asked in exasperation while turning to face her.
Hikari launched herself into his arms and planted her lips squarely on his own. Itachi's dark eyes widened in complete and total shock as Hikari continued to kiss him. Finally after what seemed to be forever and a millisecond all at one time, Hikari pulled back biting her lip slightly, her usually light skin cherry red. "For luck," she whispered hastily. "I'll…um…I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Sure….." Itachi said absently before he took off in the direction of the hokage monument.
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Yume was in shock. He had no idea that Orochimaru was this strong. He panted heavily, wincing slightly as the cut in his side started to burn. Blood dripped down his body and his eyes began to blur. 'Dang,' he thought. 'Lost to much blood….eyes…beginning to… blur…..'
"Muwahahahahahaaa!" Orochimaru laughed. "Oh how the great Yondaime has fallen! Do you except defeat?"
"Death shall claim me first before I agree to give my village to you." Yume said with a strength he did not feel.
"No," the snake said contemplatively. "Death is to good for you."
Suddenly Orochimaru's neck began to streach at an alarming rate. He opened his mouth and flashed his fangs, which were dripping with large amounts of what appeared to be poison. The Yondaime Hokage screamed with pain as Orochimaru's venom pumped viciously through his veins.
The remaining clan heads watched with horror as their hokage, and friend, fell into a pain filled unconsciousness.
"Kukukukuku," Orochimaru chuckled darkly. "I win."
A glitter of light flashed almost unnoticed in the late afternoon sun, flying with deadly precision. Orochimaru sensed the danger almost to late, but he still managed to mostly dodge the deadly blade, escaping with only a thin scar on his left cheek.
"Not yet," came a cold voice from behind the group. "I'm still here to stop you."
"Itachi!" Haishi exclaimed in shock.
End chapter 4
Kaliea: cliffhangers suck huh:P
Review Answers:
Gothbrat: Their bloodline limit was actually the hardest to explain just because it's so….different.
iluvanime493: That's ok, I'm just happy that you did. And about my mom ungrounding me…not a chance. I'm lucky that I was able to sneak this on.
ahnigurL: Thank-you. I tried my best.
Dagorwen of Ithilian: I did, but expect the others to be few and far between for a while.
Wildcat: Yes I did say that, but I also said that I wasn't sure. After all I'm not really a blood and angst like person. Ps: that wasn't a chapter. It was a nin scroll.
Susan: Sorry that I couldn't update the next day. I really did want to.
Dragon Man 180: He was sent on a mission to kill his best friend who was planning an underground attack on the Hyuuga. And don't worry. I'm planning on having him and Hikari get him pretty good before they get taken down.
Danny-171984: I really don't know all that much about them. I managed to put in what I did know but the rest I twisted around to fit my story. But thanks for the tip.
devinj2000: not really. She's just afraid that some one will steal my ideas.
Jays Arravan: Thanks, and yeah, that was really weird.
Kaliea: Thank-you to all who reviewed and be thankful that my mom didn't catch me! Till next time! Ja ne!