Whoo boy, getting down to the very final chapters here. Thanks so all my wonderful readers out there. I hope you enjoy the next installment!

Chapter 45: The Song of Aether

"Tsunade-sama?" Shikamaru groaned from his pallet on the floor. His eyes opened a tiny crack, and he scanned the medical tent as well as he could with blurry vision. "Is that you?"

Tsunade unceremoniously dumped herself on a mat next to his. "Yo."

"You didn't get hit by one of those zombies, did you?" he asked, panic rising in his voice.

Tsunade grunted. "No. Just chakra exhaustion. I'm too old for this crap," she muttered in disgust. "I left the Kazekage in charge."
Shikamaru blinked, and he pulled himself up on one elbow, though it cost him some effort. "Is that really...okay?"

"It's fine," Tsunade snapped, laying down on the pallet and draping an arm over her eyes. "It's not like I had much of a choice. Anyway, now we can bitch and moan for status reports together." She snorted at her own ill-humor. "We're holding our ground, for now at least. I intend to rest before I go back to kicking some more zombie ass."

Shikamaru dipped a cloth in a lukewarm bowl of water next to him and put it on his forehead. "I feel like ass," he said, making a sour face.

"You look like it, too."

"Thanks." Old hag, Shikamaru thought bitterly, but then smiled despite himself. They were holding ground; things were going to be okay. They had to be. Shikamaru held onto his rekindled hope and closed his eyes, settling down on his mat once more, trying to relax.

They lay like that in silence for a while, the red moon beating down on them, crimson light leaking into the tent through the cracks in the canvass walls and through the small triangular windows. A walkie talkie cracked to life, breaking the unsettling silence.

"Kchhhh. Tsunade-sama! ANBU backup has returned from Akash! I repeat, ANBU back up has returned—"

"Temari! Where the hell is Naruto? Temari!" Tsunade demanded in rapid succession, her fingers white around the communication device.

"Kchhh. Calm down," Temari barked, weariness evident in her voice. "Naruto and Sakura weren't located at the time when the ANBU left Akash."

"What the…? How the hell did the ANBU return without Naruto?!"

There was a long pause before Temari spoke again. "Um... You remember those ninja from Akash that tried to abduct Uchiha Yuki and who had their summons fight Naruto and Sasuke?" she answered, all in a rush.

Tsunade stared in disbelief at the walkie talkie in her hand. "Yes…?"

"Kchhh. So...they used this portal jutsu thing to bring them back—" Temari broke off abruptly as a swooshing noise crackled over the communication device. "Gah," Temari muttered when the noise cleared. "Hold on." Temari neglected to turn off her walkie talkie, and so Tsunade and Shikamaru were able to hear the undignified sound of a zombie (re)dying, his hideous death gurgle resounding over the intercom. Then Temari continued, as if nothing dire had just happened. "So yeah, the Akash nin brought the ANBU back along with some reinforcements. Man, those Akash nin rule. They're really kicking the crap out of these zombies."

"You. Let. Unidentified. Potentially hazardous. Ninja. Into our village. In the middle of a war?" Shikamaru ground out, his face pressed so close to the walkie talkie that he could feel the hot plastic against his cheek. He just couldn't believe this.

"Kchh. They're killing zombies. That's all I care about. Okay, got to run. Places to go, zombies to blow up. Later."

The line went dead. Shikamaru looked at the Hokage. The Hokage stared up at the tent ceiling as if she could bore a hole through the canvass with her glowering eyes.

"I'm definitely too old for this shit," she growled. And with that, she rolled over and went to sleep. The faint sounds of her snores reached Shikamaru's ears a moment later.

Shikamaru just stared at the former Hokage's back, thinking that he was probably just dreaming. He was sure that when he woke up, he wouldn't be caught in a post-apocalyptic horror movie any longer.

#

"Damn it, we're not getting anywhere with this!" Sakura hissed over Naruto's prone form, the latter having passed out moments ago. "What the hell are we going to do?"

Ino sighed. "Karin, maybe you'd be kind enough to use that jutsu?"

Karin snorted. "It's not a lack of chakra that's the problem, it's the organs that we can't get to heal. And I'm not letting anyone bite me ever again." Sakura bit her lip at the mention of Karin's former sadomasochistic relationship with her husband. She colored slightly, but said nothing. Now was not the time.

Saki glanced over her shoulder from her defensive position on the periphery, looking at Sakura quizzically. "Mom? Why don't you guys take a break. We'll hold down the fort."

Sakura wiped her brow and contemplated the request. After all, Naruto was in somewhat stable condition—or he was as stable as they were going to get him out on the field. There was not much more they could do here, and Sakura could feel herself sagging with weariness. "Fine," she answered tensely. "We'll stand guard."

"You sure that's wise, Sakura?" Ino asked.

Sakura shrugged. "We'll be standing right here if anything happens. The kids already saved Naruto's life once today, and I'm not afraid to let them watch over him while we take a much needed break. It's not like we're accomplishing anything, anyway," she concluded bitterly.

"Point taken," Ino replied as she rose on shaking limbs and brushed herself off.

Soon, Saki and Hoshiko arranged themselves on either side of Naruto's head while Cho positioned herself by his torso. "Cho," Saki commanded, "plug us in. Hoshiko, let's activate our doujutsu."

"Okay."

Ino looked at Sakura and whispered, "What does she mean, 'plug in?'"

Hatayo, who stood at Ino's side, whispered back at her, "Cho is using her mind-jutsu connection so that all three of them can 'see' through the byakugan and sharingan."

Ino blinked in rapid succession for a moment before she understood what Hayato had just said. "Whoah," Ino murmured, her mouth parting in surprise. "When did our kids get to be so amazing?" Ino turned to Sakura with a lopsided grin.

Sakura smirked, then shook her head. The kids really were amazing, she thought bemusedly, but she couldn't dwell on that now. She had to stay alert. Keep everyone alive. Her eyes burned with exhaustion, and the hand clutching her kunai was slick with sweat, but she dared not relax, not even for a moment.

Just as Sakura began scanning the battlefield, Karin shouted, "Shit! It's coming! It's coming!"

"What's coming?" Sakura asked, trying not to let panic seep into her voice. She did not see or sense a thing.

"Quick!" Karin cried, ignoring Sakura, "We need to make a wall between us and the barrier! Now!"

Not really knowing what else to do, Sakura punched the ground and used the displaced earth as a shield. Choji stood next to her and braced his weight against the earth as well. In a moment, they were glad of the protection: without warning the earth roiled under their feet, and the dust from an explosion washed over them.

"The barrier's down!" Karin screamed.

Sakura gasped as the earth she had been holding in her hands all but disintegrated. She let the last pieces fall back to the ground and took in the scene before her, the land billowing with black, acrid smoke.

There was no sign of Yuki or Sasuke in the blackened landscape. Her heart leapt into her mouth. Where the hell were they?

#

Every time she and Itachi scored a hit on Madara, the susano sword Yuki held in her hands exploded with fireworks of multicolored light. Madara was having a hard time avoiding her supernatural sword, and to prove it a few of the eyes studding his arm had closed from using Izanagi to dodge. But Yuki was far from feeling confident: Yuki's joint susano with Itachi had already sustained some damage, and she wasn't sure how long they could maintain their attack before their own susano disintegrated from Madara's intense parries.

Yuki, Itachi thought at her, take the reins for a while.

What? Where the hell are you going? she thought back at him furiously, panic clouding her mind-voice.

Just then, Madara came in for a blow and Itachi raised the sword to guard: bright sparks flew from the impact, lurid magenta and dazzlingly bright green, before suddenly, Yuki's arms were in her control again and Itachi gone.

Itachi? ITACHI!

It was no use. There was no was going to have to man the susano by herself until her spirit guide came the hell back. God damn it! I've never driven one of these things before!

Thankfully, Madara's movements seemed to have slowed too. Perhaps he had sustained more damage than she had thought. Gritting her teeth, Yuki took the opportunity to swing her sword back for an attack. In the place where she raised her sword up into the starred heavens, an eternity seemed to hover under her blade. There was a breathless, gut-wrenching pause. Then, with all the strength she could muster, she gave an inchoate scream and swung the sword down over the head of her enemy.

#

"Oniisan?" Sasuke whispered, his voice hoarse and barely audible, even to his own ears. Somehow, some way, he was in his own body again. He blinked, slowly, and realized that he was in the familiar grassy clearing from his dreams: the place without sun or moon or stars, but lit with eerie, bright light all the same. Was this real? Was he really here, or was he still a cobweb hanging in the corner of Madara's mind? He stared back at his older brother, a thousand questions running through his head, unable to voice any of them.

"Foolish otouto," Itachi replied, a sad smile on his face, "we're merely inside of your mind."

Inside of his mind? How bizarre. Sasuke was inside of Madara's mind, inside of Sasuke's body; and now Sasuke was having a (probably hallucinated) conversation with his long-dead ani inside of his mind. Sasuke supposed, if he tried to think about it too much, it would only hurt his (non-existent) mind.

Sasuke shook his head. Now was not the time for existential blathering. "Oniisan," he rasped at last, "please kill me already. I want to join you and mother and father. I want to stop making mistakes, to stop hurting everyone…" He trailed off, disconcerted by his brother's soft, sad smile. His own words sounded foolish to him, and he felt like he was nothing more than a whining child.

"Foolish outouto, don't you remember anything of what I told you? You're not supposed to let me kill you. You're supposed to fight Madara when you see me. Don't you remember?"

At the sound of Itachi's soft voice gently chiding him, Sasuke felt his throat constrict. "Onnisan," he whispered, his voice gruff with unshed tears, "I don't know how—"

"Tch," Itachi countered, taking a step closer and flicking his younger brother on his forehead—a simple, familiar gesture. "If you want to stop hurting the ones you care about, take responsibility for yourself. Push Madara out of your body so we can end this." His voice was hard, but not unkind.

Sasuke blinked, startled. He looked up into Itachi's eyes, dark like two deep wells, and in those waters, Sasuke saw and understood what Itachi had been trying to tell him all along. It was as clear as if Itachi was speaking directly into his mind:

Live, so that I may die and rest in peace. Live, so that I can watch over you in serenity, so that I can be proud of my little brother. Because I love you. Because I was wrong. Let's make this right together, finally, here, please. Don't give up. Please. I love you.

"Okay," Sasuke breathed, tears stinging his eyes. "I'm ready."

"Good." Itachi nodded, a hint of a smile curving his lips. "Here we go then."

The dream faded just as quickly as it had come. Reality came rushing back all at once, and Sasuke found himself imprisoned within his own body once more. But this time, there was fire in his veins and blood running through his heart. He could feel it, could feel his own power coursing through him. With stern determination and a burning fire in his spirit, he pushed with all of his might against the Madara's control.

#

Yuki swung down at Madara with the susano's immense sword, but as she did so, she felt Itachi rush back into her body all at once. He did not take full control of her body again. No, instead it was as if they were two dancing partners moving as one, their movements liquid and lethal.

And below them, it seemed as though Madara had stopped struggling.

"Now, Sasuke! NOW!" she shouted with Itachi's voice, although what Itachi wanted Sasuke to do was a mystery to her. She was just holding onto the sword for dear life, hoping that Itachi knew what the hell he was doing.

The sword arced through the air in a stream of hellish fire, just as a blinding green light exploded from Sasuke's torso. Yuki gasped in surprise as something moved out of his body, just before the brilliant sword made contact with a shrill ring—

After that, it was all green fireworks and billowing smoke. Yuki couldn't see what was happening, but she felt Itachi's spirit as he left her body once more. She was alone again. The world lurched under her dizzyingly, and despite her efforts, her susano faded. No longer buoyed by the jutsu, she began falling, falling through the vast space. She couldn't breathe, couldn't move. She was sure she would continue hurtling towards the ground, like a comet zooming towards the earth, when someone caught her smoothly and slowly put her down on the solid earth.

She struggled for breath, then spun around to face whomever it was who had caught her. "Itachi," she breathed, "you could give a girl some warning." She glared at him.

All at once, light, airy laughter rang out. Startled, Yuki looked around her: she was in a light-filled clearing. All around the edges of the light, black smoke roiled and billowed, but where the light began, all was still. She blinked, and realized that the light emanated from hundreds of spirits, their forms translucent and flickering like candlelight in the wind, barely discernible but present all the same. The ancestors, Yuki thought, a chill running up and down her spine. They've been here, watching and waiting, the whole time. She felt a pang at that; soon, she would have to end the jutsu and return them to their own world.

Her eyes flickered back to Itachi, and she forced herself to glare at him again, though it lacked any real ire. Itachi simply grinned at her, and Yuki thought the expression strange on his normally impassive face. "We've sealed Madara away with Totsuka," he replied. "Now there's only one thing left to do."

Yuki nodded. That had been the plan from the beginning, to seal away Madara's soul with Totsuka, the liquid sword of fire that condemned the soul it touched to an eternity of genjutsu. She breathed a sigh of relief. It was finally over. But then, her shoulders tightened and her breath caught in her throat.

"Itachi-san," Yuki began, slowly, guiltily, "I didn't have a chance to tell you before…but Lady Death modified my mangekyo sharingan. The sword sealed Madara's soul directly to Lady Death, instead of the gourd." She looked back up at him, nervous to hear his response.

Itachi's smile faded. "That's...problematic. I was going to remove my mangekyo from your nerves and instead leave you with your own mangekyo, the one you earned through your journeys in the aether. However…" Itachi paused, lost in thought.

Yuki gulped. "Is what I did…really bad?"

Itachi shook his head. "The Lady works in mysterious ways. Keep my jutsu for now, niece. But take care not to use it until he comes again; and that time, when you use it, it will seal him properly in Totsuka's gourd."

"You mean—I'll meet him again?" Yuki asked in horror, covering her mouth with a shaking hand.

Itachi placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. "I don't know," he said evasively, and Yuki had the distinct impression that he was holding something back from her. "But for today, our work is done. You must restore the world to the way it was."

Yuki nodded, forcing herself to overcome her shock. "Of course." She knew what she had to do, and she was not afraid to do it. She took a deep breath, and began to weave the hand-signs, when she felt a light touch on her shoulder.

"Wait."

Yuki looked up and met Ryuu's smiling gaze. "Hey," he said, his blue eyes sparkling.

"Hey, Ryuu?" Yuki echoed dumbly, wondering why the spirit had returned.

"Itachi-san," Ryuu began, "take your mangekyo back. Let me give Yuki the rinnegan."

"What!" she cried, taking a step back. "I don't want the rinnegan! I didn't even want Itachi's mangekyo in the first place!" she protested.

But Itachi ignored her and inclined his head to Ryuu. "Yes. This is better. The light of the mangekyo fades, but the light of the rinnegan never lessens." Without warning, Itachi passed his hand over her forehead. All the sudden, she felt a light, floating sensation, as if a heavy darkness had just been lifted. She knew without having to look in a mirror that Itachi's ocular powers had been removed from her optical nerves.

When Ryuu took a step closer to her, she shook her head. "Listen," she began, facing Itachi "I'm grateful to have had the chance to use your mangekyo, as well as for the chance to return it. But I don't want any more power. I'm happy with the doujutsu I earned with my own two hands...er…or I guess, my own two eyeballs." She took a deep breath and exhaled hotly. "I just want to be normal." She peered at Ryuu and begged him with her gaze to understand.

Ryuu nodded. "I'll hold it for you then," he said, smiling widely, as if her words had made him happy. "And if you ever need it, I'll come to you."

Yuki bit her lip before nodding her agreement. "If Madara ever returns...then I will call on you."

Ryuu grinned toothily. "You can always visit me you know, now that you're an official spirit walker and all."

"Ryuu," Itachi said in a warning tone, "it's time."

Ryuu sighed. "I know. I just…" Quickly, he stepped forward to kiss Yuki on the mouth. She kissed him back, surprised at the tears welling up in her eyes. The light in the clearing around her began to pulse with gold and silver, and all the souls who had stood around her began to hum as they turned into amorphous spheres of light.

"Let the jutsu go," Ryuu whispered, his form slowly fading into golden light. "We'll be watching over you."

She closed her eyes. She had to, or she would't be able to say goodbye to Ryuu. Forcing herself to make the series of hand-signs, she released the jutsu that had called the ancestors back to earth. There was a loud sighing sound, as if the wind were breathing, or grieving. The golden spirits of her ancestors danced around her head like a crown of stars before they spiraled upwards. To her ears, the wind sounded like a song, a high pitched sound like a flute, accompanied by sound of rustling leaves. She opened her eyes and saw the movement of clouds against the stars. The wind sounded like the soft whisper of a guitar. Then the world around her swirled, and she was lost in a whirl of color and sound that vibrated all around her.

She had never known such joy, such perfect bliss, as she did in that moment. She felt as though her body might break, as if the vibration of the wind's song was too much for her mortal body to bear.

This must be the song of aether Aya told me about, Yuki thought dazedly as she was lost in the movement of the wind. The sigh of the air when things are put back as they were and nature is at peace again.

And as suddenly as the lilting, lyrical wind had begun, it ended. Yuki came to herself once more. Her feet were on the ground. Her body was in ordinary reality. All around her, the battle field was shrouded in black smoke, and before her, her father lay on the ground, unconscious, a smile on his ashen face.

Biting back a cry, Yuki threw herself on the ground and activated her sharingan once more.

"Otousan!" She funneled healing chakra into him, but he didn't have any outward signs of injury. She inspected him with her doujutsu, but there was no dark light hovering over him, no chakra virus gnawing at his soul.

"Itachi," Sasuke mumbled, still lost in a haze of semi-consciousness, "Itachi, everything is fine now. I did it, Itachi. Itachi?"

Yuki let out a low whistle between her two front teeth: Thank Kami. The battle was over. In that moment, all of Yuki's emotions caught up with her— the fear and the sorrow and the brokenness, the beauty of the song of aether and the brief moment of absolute joy she had felt in its presence. She bent over her father and wept, the tears spilling onto her father's face.

"You should heal your hands, Yuki-chan," a cool voice murmured behind her. "You've already lost a lot of blood."

"Aya-sensei?" Yuki cried with a start, looking up at her sensei through her tears. Then Yuki looked down at her hands, and realized with shock that the cuts on her hands were still open and bleeding profusely. She swallowed back her tears and forced chakra into her hands. The cuts make sizzling noises as they sealed, stanching the flow of blood. Ignoring her weariness, she stood up to meet her teacher and stumbled, her wooziness catching up to her at last.

"Eat this," Aya said as she caught the younger girl before she fell, "it will help to restore your blood levels."

Yuki chewed the bitter pills without complaint before kneeling back down by her father. "Is he...?" Her voice trembled.

Aya shook her head. "He's fine, but he'll need a few weeks to recover. Poor man has been possessed by a ghost..."

At that, Sasuke's eyes fluttered open and Yuki flew back to his side. "Otousan!"

Sasuke coughed heavily for a moment, blood flecking his mouth. Yuki bit her lip in concern as he spoke. "Yuki-chan?" he called, in a voice that was little more than a low rasp, "Is that really you?"

"Of course it is," Yuki replied in a whisper, fresh tears trickling down her cheeks.

"Of course it is," Sasuke echoed, a weak smile playing on this pale lips. "I would know your chakra anywhere, no?" He tried to smile more widely, but he was wracked again by a coughing fit. Blood trickled down the corner of his mouth.

"Shhhh," Yuki whispered, trying to keep the panic out of her tone, "just relax. We can all go home soon…"

"What about Sakura? Naruto? Are they alright?" he asked, trying to rise despite Yuki's restraining hand. "Your sister and her team—are they hurt?"

Yuki inhaled sharply. "They're fine, otousan. Please, don't—"

She cut off abruptly as she sensed others approaching. With a hiss of surprise and fear, she whipped her head up to see if it was a friend or foe who was coming their way.

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