Title: A Demon's Tale
Author: swiftstar85
Genre: Drama/Friendship/Romance
Rating: T for some strong language, violence, suggestive material, and crude humor.
~Chapter Twenty-Seven
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, though I wouldn't mind if I did.
Her eyes closed, she was listening to the sounds of the trees and the wind blowing through their leaves. It was quite peaceful there and she enjoyed the sounds and the smells and even the warm breeze that blew across her caramel colored skin. She could hear song birds singing their luscious melodies, almost welcoming her to their part of the woods. It was so nice to hear.
That is until she heard the single sound of many blades slicing through the air.
Eyes snapping open and a wide smile curled across her pretty face, Yugito Nii moved as quickly as she could, flipping over her head and to her feet as a line of kunai and shruiken landed right where she had been sitting. She had to keep moving to avoid Tenten's weapons coming at her. She flipped backwards several times and even had to twist and turn to avoid the sharp bits of metal coming at her.
Not one hit her, much to her satisfaction and putting a crinkle on Tenten's face as she failed to hit her. It was not something that she was used to, though she didn't actually want to hit Yugito.
With a jerk of her head, though, Yugito turned sharply to see a black and white blur coming at her before she brought up her arm to deflect the punch that Neji was sending at her. They both smirked at one another before they became blurs of their own, swinging at one another and moving so quickly that it was almost hard to see their fists and feet. They stood as a match for one another and all they could do was smirk at one another.
"ARGH!"
Both Yugito Nii and Neji's heads jerked up to see the green blur now interrupting, causing both to leap backwards as fast as they could to avoid getting hit. It was now Rock Lee's turn to take on Yugito.
Smirking at her newly made best friend, Yugito leapt forward to meet Lee's challenge and they exchanged a fury of fists and kicks to one another. More than once did the Two Tailed Jinchuriki have to twist and dance away to avoid getting hit by Lee's powerful kick. She knew very well that he was pulling most of them, not wanting to hurt her. She would have been angry if it were anyone else but it being Lee, she didn't care. She had never felt this way about anyone now that she felt for him. He was her new best friend under Killer Bee and it made her feel honored to even know him.
Since the mission in the Land of Waves and returning to the Fire Country, there had been a few short pauses during the journey home did Team Guy stop with Yugito just to train with her. They had wanted to see what she was incapable of and they were satisfied to learn that she was extremely talented with Taijutsu. It was basically her strongest ability. She had openly admitted to them that it had been Killer Bee who taught her everything she knew when it came to hand to hand.
It only drove Might Guy to want to challenge Killer Bee to a sparring match when or if they ever got to meet him.
Of course, Yugito Nii just smiled and warned him to be careful of what he wished for. She explained to Guy that Killer Bee was the strongest Taijutsu artist that she knew. It still drove Guy to determination to test that theory.
Either way, Yugito Nii and Team Guy were enjoying their selves with their training together and it satisfied each of the Leaf Ninja to know how strong their new team mate was. They openly told, including Neji, that they were honored to have her as a new companion and friend. It was enough to make Yugito feel extremely confident in herself.
After finishing their training session, Team Guy and Yugito sat down for a lunch break and breather. The Two Tailed Jinchuriki was sitting with Tenten though, watching Lee as he downed an entire canteen of water. She knew that she was staring but she couldn't really help it. She had never felt the way she did now for anyone. She knew that a lot of people might question her about her feelings for someone who looked like Rock Lee, but she knew very well that if anyone insulted her friend's looks, she would probably come unglued with them.
And heaven helped that person if the time ever came.
"You really like Lee, don't you?" Tenten asked in a quiet tone, almost directly into Yugito's ear.
Yugito felt her face flush as she looked wide eyed at the Weapon Specialist, who was smiling knowingly at her. She knew that her face must have darkened but all she could do was shake her head and look away at the ground. "I don't know what you're talking about, Tenten!" She said, quickly taking a drink out of her canteen.
Tenten smirked at her and shook her head. "Uh-huh. I'm sure you don't. Just admit it, Yugito. You like him." She told her still quietly. Still, the young Jinchuriki refused to look at her or even agree with her at all. So the Weapons Specialist shrugged and leaned back on her palms. "Okay. Whatever you say. I can't really see why you'd like him anyway. He's always looked weird and he's so weird, himself. I can see why you don't like him." She said, trying to goad her.
Her head jerking around and glaring at Tenten, Yugito couldn't help but ball up a threatening fist. "Don't you dare talk about him like that! You don't have a clue what you're talking about! He's brilliant! I don't care what he…..looks….." She winced when she saw the smirk on Tenten's face before her face fell. "You just used reverse psychology on me didn't you?"
"Yup!" Tenten said cheerfully.
Yugito groaned, her head falling very low. She really hoped that Rock Lee hadn't heard that. She would have died if he had. But with a glance over, she noticed that he was talking enthusiastically with Guy while Neji was smirking in her direction. So he obviously heard their conversation.
Again, the Two Tailed Firecat groaned, listening to Tenten and even Nekomatta snicker to their selves.
"Okay, okay. I guess I do like Lee. So what of it? He's the most amazing person I've ever met. And he's the first person, other than Killer Bee to tell me that I'm not hideous. He hasn't even cringed away from Nekomatta like most people would have." Yugito groaned quietly.
Tenten merely smiled and shook her head as she leaned over to the dark skinned girl and leaned against her shoulder. "Don't worry. Lee's like that. And I know he really likes you. And I'm really glad that you two are getting along so well. Lee is really great and he'll take care of you. And I'm really glad you like him. It takes a lot off my mind to know that he might have just found someone." She whispered to her.
Yugito gave her a curious look, tilting her head to the side like a curious kitten. "Why do you say that?" She asked quietly.
"Well," Tenten began carefully. She tilted her head up to look at the blue sky with a thoughtful look on her face. "Lee had this really big crush on a fellow Leaf Ninja of ours. Sakura Haruno. He liked her for years but she never felt the same way. It kind of hurt him for a little while until she started liking Gaara of the Sand. He was a little disappointed that she wouldn't like him back but he liked the idea that she liked Gaara. If anyone really deserves love, it's him. He's never had it at all almost his entire life. Still," She shrugged again. "Now that he's moving on from Sakura, I really hope that something does happen between you two. You two are actually kind of cute together." She told her new friend with a smile.
Yugito's face flushed with embarrassment but she couldn't help but smile a little sheepishly as she looked down at the ground. She wasn't sure if she would be good for Lee, due to her demon. But she felt like if she could be with him, her life would never be the same.
And that was probably a good thing.
"I don't want to hurt him. If the Akatsuki did ever manage to get a hold of me….." Yugito was saying.
Tenten shook her head as she reached over and patted her arm. "Don't worry. They won't. You're with us now. We won't let anything happen to you. And I know that Gaara and Naruto wouldn't either. They've sworn to make sure that none of the Jinchuriki ever has to face what Gaara did. They will die fighting for you and the others." She told her.
Somewhat forlorn, Yugito shook her head as she reached up and ran a hand through her thick violet colored hair. "That's what I'm afraid of." She then looked at Tenten with determination. "I won't let any of them get hurt either. I will fight for the other Jinchuriki too. And Lee and you guys." She told her with determination. Then she got a bright eyed look as she glanced towards Neji. "Hey, I'm going to see if I can sneak up on Neji." She whispered.
Snorting, Tenten shook her head as she leaned closer to Yugito. "Okay. But just so you know, he can basically see through the back of his head. It's not easy sneaking up on him." She whispered right back.
Yugito nodded with a grin on her face before she quietly got to her feet, yet stayed in a crouch. Carefully crawling towards Neji, not making a sound, her grin turned into a serious looking smile as she zeroed in on him.
"Don't even think about it." Neji finally spoke without even turning to look at her.
Immediately, Yugito pouted, not even glancing at Tenten as she began to roll on the ground with laughter. She was obviously not amused at all while everyone else was. But with a smirk, she charged anyway, causing Neji to swirl around to meet her challenge, not quite amused that she was even taking the risk of starting up a sparring match with him again.
Suddenly, before Yugito could even engage with Neji again, her eyes snapped wide open as her senses kicked in and she screeched to a halt and leapt back just as a blur came down at her. She had moved just in time to avoid getting hit by the blades coming at her. She had to flip over several times as many kunai came flying at her before she stopped in a crouch several feet away from Team Guy, who were all on their feet and looking ready for whatever fight that came there way. But to their surprise, several blurs came out of the trees all around them and they were all ANBU Black Ops. They were all looking at Yugito as if she was a threat. Each ANBU had their weapons out, ready to attack her, while she stayed crouched low to the ground, growling at them. They didn't even seem to care that hot steam was starting to drift right off of the violet haired Kunoichi while her eyes seemed to spark up flames.
However, before any of the ANBU could move to attack her, the four members of Team Guy moved quickly to stand all around her, looking ready to fight their fellow Leaf Ninja in defense of their new team mate.
"Hold it, all of you." Guy said from behind Yugito, defending her backside from the ANBU behind her. "That won't be necessary, gentlemen. She is not an enemy ninja."
The ANBU standing all around them still looked very tense as they eyed Yugito with suspicion and distaste. They did not believe Guy for one second that she was not an enemy. One of the ANBU even stepped forward and pointed at Yugito with his kunai. "Might Guy, how could you say that's not an enemy? That is a Cloud Ninja! As far as I know, we've never had a friendship with the Hidden Cloud Village! She could be a spy for all we know!" He said in a very dark way. "As it is, the Cloud Ninja were never pardoned from the Hyuuga clan for what they had done to them!"
Neji frowned at the sound of his voice before stepping forward and shaking his head. "If there is any Hyuuga that should hate the Cloud Ninja more, it should be myself and not you, Tokuma." He said rather coldly. "It was my father who was killed by them, not yours. But I have found my peace with this Cloud Ninja and so far, she represents all of her village. She's come to make peace with us and join us in the fight against the Akatsuki."
The ANBU were no doubt surprised by his words but not as surprised as Yugito and Team Guy were as they glanced at Neji, wondering how he knew that certain ANBU. They looked even more surprised when the ANBU moved forward a step and removed his animalistic mask to reveal that he looked similar to Neji. He was much older, of course. But he had the traditional pearly white eyes of the Byakugan. And he was not looking as pleasant as Neji was for Yugito. "Neji, the Cloud Ninja were the ones who killed your father and you swore that you would never forgive them for it. And now you protect one of them. Who is this blasted Cloud Ninja that makes you change your mind? By the rights of the Hyuuga clan, she should be sentenced to death for even stepping foot on the Land of Fire!" He growled viciously.
All of Team Guy frowned at him but Rock Lee shook his head as he stepped forward in front of Yugito to protect her. "She is Yugito Nii and she is the Two Tailed Jinchuriki! She deserves more respect than you are giving her!" He scolded.
Tenten nodded as she gripped her weapon scrolls tightly in her hand. "That's right! She's helped us a lot during our mission! I will not have you speaking to her like she's a criminal when she's done that much!" She snapped angrily.
Yugito had to smile faintly to both of her friends for standing up for her. She didn't think she would ever be more grateful as she was now to them. Some of the ANBU were even starting to relax when Guy set a hand on the Cloud Ninja's shoulder to show that they had friendship between them.
But the ANBU, Tokuma Hyuuga was not one who grew relaxed. He actually looked more angry and even started to take a step forward, looking threatening. "I will not have that Cloud Ninja near the Hyuuga Clan, Neji! Your uncle, the Head of the Clan will not stand for it!" He snapped before moving forward to attack Yugito, who tensed up just like everyone else did.
But before Tokuma could even move another step to attack, a strong gloved hand lashed out of a sudden cloud of smoke and yanked him backwards while another smaller hand snatched the kunai right out of his hand. "That will be enough, Tokuma Hyuuga!" The harsh voice of Ibiki Morino snapped as the smoke drifted away to reveal him and Anko Mitarashi. They were both glaring at the spoken ANBU before turning to look at Yugito, who looked just as surprised as everyone else did. Both of them eventually smirked at her, looking amused. "As it is, if she really is a Jinchuriki, you attack her, you're not only going to have our two Jinchuriki on your back, but the Lady Tsunade as well. She's made it very clear to all that we're making peace with them so we can protect them from the Akatsuki." The rough Head of the ANBU squad shot Tokuma a look when he started to protest. "Do you really want to anger both Gaara and Naruto for attacking one of their fellow Jinchuriki?" He snapped.
Tokuma, however, shut up. He seemed to know exactly what he meant by warning him that.
So once again, Ibiki turned to face Yugito before walking towards her. He glanced at Guy, who nodded and stepped back with Lee and Tenten. They were taking a chance by letting Yugito face the harsh ANBU Head. "So, you're the Two Tailed Firecat of the Lightning. Well, either way, welcome to the Land of Fire, Yugito Nii. I'm glad to see that you haven't been captured by the Akatsuki. That is our primary goal right now." He told her, offering her a respectful bow of the head.
Yugito finally smiled and bowed low in return to him. She was just glad that he wasn't going to attack her like Tokuma Hyuuga had. "Thank you, sir." She told him. "I've come to help protect the Jinchuriki. Even if it means breaking a long term hatred between our villages, I will do what's necessary."
Ibiki nodded with a smile before it vanished and he looked directly at Guy with a serious look. "Actually, Guy. You're return to us couldn't more perfect. I'm afraid to tell you this but," He paused for a moment, giving them all the idea that something serious had happened. "But Asuma Saturobi has been killed in battle with the Akatsuki."
Within that second, all of Team Guy froze with shock. And even Yugito had to frown in alarm. Especially to hear that someone was killed in battle with the Akatsuki. She didn't know who this Asuma was, but he obviously meant something to her friends just by seeing the horrified looks on their faces.
"What? Asuma is dead?" Tenten gasped, her hands slapping over her mouth as tears prickled her eyes.
Guy frowned, now looking very serious and not so cheerful as he usually did. The situation was calling for it as it was. "How did Asuma die? When did it happen?" He asked sternly.
Ibiki just shook his head, looking just as serious. He didn't like telling this to them, knowing how they would take it. But they needed to know. "Three days ago, we got a message from the Fire Temple that two of the Akatsuki had attacked them and stolen the body of one of the Guardian Priests. Apparently he was an old friend of Asuma's, serving as a Guardian with him. Therfore, Asuma lead a four man team; himself, Shikamaru Nara, Kotetsu and Izumo to track down the Akatsuki and take back the body." He shook his head again, looking grave. "According to Shikamaru, they fought pretty hard against at least one of the Akatsuki but they did not succeed. It wasn't a good battle at all because the Nara kid said that Asuma had actually sliced the Akatsuki's head right off his shoulders. But…" He was saying.
"He still lived." Yugito spoke, almost breathlessly. She was already starting to get the idea of what Akatsuki had killed the Leaf Ninja. She didn't need any clues at all. It just came to her. "The Akatsuki member didn't die at all."
Everyone looked at her in surprise but Ibiki nodded as he just looked at her with a grave look. "That's right. According to Shikamaru Nara, the Akatsuki called himself Hidan and he claimed to be an Immortal. No matter what damaged was done to him, it was done right back to Asuma. Eventually a stab to his own stomach, Asuma was the one who took the damage." He paused to tilt his head to the side, looking gravely curious at the Two Tail. "You sound as if you know these two."
Yugito's face darkened at the thought of the two Akatsuki who attacked her village was attacking this one. She felt Nekomatta even starting to growl, causing herself to do so. "Oh, yes. I know those two. If I'm guessing right, the one called Hidan, took on some kind of witch doctor look or something. He fights with a huge scythe and the other with millions of sharp threads, correct?" She received a nod. "Then they are the same who attacked my village to retrieve me. They nearly destroyed my village just to capture me but I managed to fake my own death to get them to stop." She nearly bared her teeth, which seemed to sharpen as her eyes blazed furiously. "They threatened my Raikage for me and I don't even know if they took Killer Bee, who is the Eighth Tail Jinchuriki. I have a personal score to settle with these two and I tend to take it." She growled.
"Be careful with what you say, Yugito Nii." Anko said, her arms folded across her chest and looking lazily at the Two Tail. "The Akatsuki has proven to be really tough so far. And they did wipe out Asuma, who was a really tough Leaf Ninja."
Yugito merely shrugged as she looked just as lazily at Anko as she did for herself. "Well, I'm a tough ninja, myself. And do tend to make them pay." She glanced over at Ibiki. "Where are these two, anyway?" She asked.
Ibiki just frowned and shook his head as he looked at Guy. "Well, it'd be crazy to go after them, since you are their goal anyway. But this morning, Kakashi Hatake is leading Team 10 to hunt the two Akatsuki down. Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka and Choji Akimichi tried taking off on their own but they got caught by the Fifth Hokage. She nearly made them stay in the village until Hatake took over and offered to lead the team. I have no idea where they've gone and that's why we're out patrolling the forests. I don't like it though. By the sounds of these two criminals, they're suppose to be Immortals. And from what I heard, it was tough for you lot," He nodded to Team Guy. "And Team 7 to take down at least four Akatsuki when they tried tearing the Shukaku out of Gaara. And they weren't even Immortal." He stated.
Guy just nodded as he looked thoughtfully away, along with Neji. "True. Fighting Itachi Uchiha and Kisame what's-his-face was pretty hard. They were both very strong opponents. And then that blonde guy, what was his name?" He asked, frowning.
"Ugh! It was Kisame Hoshigaki and Deidara, Guy-sensei!" Tenten said impatiently. She looked over at Yugito with that said. "They got a point. If you're going after those two that killed Asuma, then we're going to back you up."
Yugito only smiled and nodded. She felt grateful for her words and even more so when Lee nodded with a grin and Neji just dipped his head into a nod without smiling. She looked at Ibiki again, raising an eyebrow. "So, where are they headed?" She asked, coyly.
Again, Ibiki frowned and shook his head. "I just told you, young one. I don't know yet. That's why we're looking for them." He growled at her.
Shrugging, Yugito sighed and shook her head before she turned away from him and closed her eyes. She figured it was time to count on Nekomatta for that bit of information. 'Nekomatta? Can you stretch out your senses and try to locate them?' She thought to her demon.
'This will be tough, kitten. But I remember those two Akatsuki's scent. So I'll try that. Give me one moment.' Nekomatta purred to her before she stretched out her power, trying to pick up the scent.
And because it was her Bijuu doing it, Yugito felt her power stretching out far and wide as far as a hundred mile radius. She wasn't as acute to it but she could sense quite a bit of life through Nekomatta. She took a deep breath and let her senses all connect with Nekomatta's. For a moment, they both got nothing. But a moment later, they sensed a pretty strong bit of Chakra from the west. Yugito could sense that a pretty big fight going on in that direction and she knew it had to be the two Akatsuki fighting the Leaf Ninja. She certainly could tell that it was the two Akatsuki that attacked her village. She recognized that eerie feeling of death that had come off the Voodooist one.
"I found them." Yugito stated, her eyes snapping open and looking at the others, who did look a little surprised to hear that. She looked right at Lee, Tenten and Neji though, turning slightly away from them. "I'm going right now."
"Hey, wait a minute." Anko tried to interrupt, frowning sternly. "You're a Jinchuriki! You're what they're after! You'll be walking right into their hands if you go after them!"
Yugito merely glanced at her, a sly smile on her face as she turned nearly fully away from everyone in the direction she felt the battle coming from. "I know. But there is one upside to all of this." She smirked when Anko and Ibiki both gave her a questionable look. She just shrugged innocently as if it wasn't even a big deal. "They think I'm dead. They won't know I'm coming." She announced before she turned and bolted.
Immediately, Lee, Tenten and Neji were hurrying after her.
"Geez. She sure is brash. Reminds me of that blondie that Bloody Bob hangs out with." Anko grumbled, folding her arms.
Ibiki just chuckled before looking around at everyone in the clearing, including Guy. "Yes. Yes, she is. I think I might just like her. We better go with them and make sure that the Akatsuki doesn't get a hold of her. Everyone move out!" He ordered. And with that said, all of the ANBU began running through the trees after the young Jinchuriki and the young Leaf Ninja.
Merely glancing over her shoulder, Yugito almost smiled to see her small army right behind her. She had to give Rock Lee, Tenten and Neji a grateful smile for backing her up on this. They each gave her a nod to let her know that they were with her all the way while she faced her village's attackers. They knew that she had every right to face these two Akatsuki for what they had done to her village.
It was not long at all before they reached the battle field, which they heard the sounds of it before they saw it. There were explosions going off all over the place as they soon arrived in time to see a rather eerie looking Ninja attacking Naruto Uzumaki who had just used his Rasengan on him.
Yugito had immediately recognized the sharp thread wielding Akatsuki member from her village. He was pretty torn up from his fight with Team 10 and Team 7, much to the young Two Tail's satisfaction. His black and red cloak had been torn to shreds and was discarded far away from him while he had at least millions of threads pouring out of three spots on his back. What surprised Yugito and everyone else was each of the three towers of threads had some kind of strange mask on the end. One extra hole in his back revealed that he had had four of them but it seemed that it had been destroyed already.
So clearly, that was what Teams 7 and 10 were aiming for.
Right at the moment, the three remaining masked threads were moving in to attack the rambunctious blonde, who had fallen to one knee from exhausting himself. He was breathing rather hard and glaring furiously at the attacking Akatsuki, daring him to attack him. His rather fiery red eyes were narrowed dangerously as he was trying to push himself back to his feet.
"NARUTO!" A pink haired Kunoichi cried out and started to move forward to help her blonde friend before he could get hurt.
However, it was so sudden that a burst of flames and whisps of dark smoke erupted right between Naruto and that Akatsuki that stopped her. No one had seen Yugito move because it was so swift and precise. She was already in the middle of the attacking, surrounded by flames and sending them crashing against one of the towers of threads, burning them through until they hit the Akatsuki, Kakazu's back.
Everyone nearly stopped in surprise and shock to see this dark violet haired Kunoichi just appear out of nowhere. Even Naruto was staring up at her with alarm as she stood over him with flames dancing all around her. He, like his companions, did not know her at all.
But Kakazu sure did. His eyes widened in surprise before they darkened again in recognition. He did not need to think twice about who Yugito was. "You." He growled darkly at her. "So, you did survive that fall after all."
Yugito glared right back at him, not even glancing at Naruto as he climbed to his feet and stared wide eyed at her. She just dipped her head down, letting her eyes flicker to the side as Team Guy quickly jumped down into the clearing, surprising the others. But either way, she kept her eyes on her true enemy, glaring hatefully at him. She didn't even bother to glance over her shoulder at Naruto when he exclaimed, "HEY! You're on fire!" He whirled around and looked at Team Guy before the gray haired Leaf Ninja who looked worst for wear. "Kakashi-sensei! Quick! She's on fire! Put it out before she burns to death!"
Nearly everyone sweat dropped, minus Kakazu and Yugito, who were still having quite the glaring contest. It was obvious to everyone else that the flames around the Cloud Kunoichi were coming from her in the first place.
"Naruto," Neji sighed, shaking his head. "She's the one controlling the fire."
Naruto just looked confused and alarmed at the same time but he turned back when the Akatsuki stood up straighter, letting his threads just hover all around him. "Of course she's the one controlling the flames. She is the Two Tailed fire-ghost Cat after all. Her elemental ability is fire." He glared even harder at Yugito, who kept up the same glare. "You have caused us quite the trouble, Cat."
Yugito finally smirked coldly at him, though she could almost sense the surprised looks she was getting from Teams 7 and 10. She could already hear the wheels turning in Naruto's head as he was letting the words sink into his brain. "Good, Akatsuki scum. You attacked my village, threatened my Raikage and my best friend, and now you think you're going to get away with extracting the Tailed Beasts from Jinchuriki. This, Akatsuki, is not what I'm going to allow. From this day on, and take note of it, I'm going to join Naruto Uzumaki and Gaara of the Sand to protecting my kin from you scummy criminals!" She snapped. "Now, where is your partner? I made a promise that I would cut his head off and burn it to nothing."
Kakazu just snorted and shook his head as he stood up straighter, letting his strange thread masks just hover right above him, not yet attacking. He just nodded in another direction, as if replying to her. "Hidan was taken in that direction by the Shadow Manipulator to be dealt with. But I pity the fool who took him. He does not know what he is getting himself into. It is impossible to kill Hidan. He will die before they day is through." He dipped his head down a little lower, glaring at Yugito. "As for you, since you have returned, I think I should complete the mission we failed. Even if we were sent here for the Nine Tails. You will be an easier target than him." He growled before lashing out both of his remaining threads towards her.
Yugito snapped to attention, her eyes narrowing but she didn't bother to look at her three new friends as they quickly joined her to face the oncoming threat. Even Naruto was snapping into a defensive stance right behind them, looking ready to fight with them against this Akatsuki.
However, before the threads could even approach them, a wall of sand suddenly sprang up and let the masks smash against it, stopping them from attacking the five young Ninja.
Quite surprised, everyone stared at the wall before Naruto's eyes brightened with Team Guy's as they turned around only to see Gaara suddenly appear in a cloud of Sand along with Temari and Kankuro. Right behind them were several others, though they didn't really notice the woman somewhat hiding behind the large scimitar wielding Shadow Ninja.
"What?" Kakazu exclaimed, looking around before his eyes lit up to see Gaara and the young looking Mizukage standing right next to him.
"Gaara!" Both Naruto and Sakura cried out cheerfully.
Gaara did not meet their eyes as he looked coldly right at the Akatsuki, along with the youth right next to him. He just dipped his head down low with his arms folded across his chest as he withdrew his sand a little. He had only just arrived with his entire group but sensing the fight in this particular part of the forest, he had decided to investigate. And seeing that there was an Akatsuki member there, he knew what was happening. The Akatsuki had probably showed up to take Naruto.
Kakazu, however, growled as he looked around. He knew it was starting to get very dangerous with this many Leaf, Sand and even Mist ninja. He even recognized the symbols of the Shadow Ninja and they weren't even known that much to anyone. But he knew that it wouldn't matter if he decided to run or not. There was no way he was going to get very far.
"Hmm. Looks like you are pinned." The not so well Kakashi said as he climbed to one foot and looking right at the Akatsuki. "You would do better just to surrender yourself and allow us to take you prisoner, Kakazu."
Kakazu gave him a very cold look before his body began to shake and tremble. A high density of Chakra began to rise as his sides seemed to burst from threads, spilling millions more out into the open. They waved in the air like millions of arms, starting to fly through the air to attack.
"Well, seeing that this guy is taken care of, I'm going after the other one." Yugito said turning slightly away. She only paused when Lee placed a hand onto her shoulder and she turned to look at him. She could only smile when he looked concerned but she shook her head. "It's okay, Lee. I promise, I'm coming back. I'll be all right. But I really need to do this. It's for my village." She told him.
Lee finally smiled and nodded as he offered a thumbs up. "I know, Yugito. I just wanted to wish you good luck." He told her.
Yugito smiled, ignoring some of the surprised looks that she and Lee had gotten from the others. She just nodded, looking to Neji and Tenten, who both nodded to let her know that they were wishing her good luck too. Smiling, she turned and started to hurry away. It was only when the Akatsuki made to attack her from behind did she turn sharply and glare fiercely at him.
But before Kakazu could attack Yugito, Tenten snatched up her weapons scroll and snapped it open to send out a wave of weapons at the Akatsuki. Neji and Lee were both very quick to getting behind some of the flying kunai and shruiken, hitting them hard so that they would fly faster to slicing through the threads that were starting to attack their friend. To everyone's surprise, one blade that Lee had hit flew fast right into one of the masks, shattering it.
"ARGH!" Kakazu exclaimed in pain as he fell to one knee while the lump of threads fell into wispy threads, lifeless and un-moving.
"No one," Lee said rather seriously, surprising quite a few that were used to his cheerful stature. "Will ever…"
"Hurt our….." Tenten added.
"Friend." Neji finished very darkly.
Kakazu growled as he looked threateningly at the three who had just destroyed one of his masks. He was not amused one bit and it was going to take every inch of him to destroy all of them. "Four hearts. So many choices." He growled. "I think I'll take my four new hearts from the Four Jinchuriki!"
Everyone who didn't know about Kakazu's power blinked in surprise but everyone else were tensing up as Kakazu was preparing his next range of attacks with his millions of sharp threads. Gaara, however, quickly looked at Yagura next to him as he glared at the Akatsuki. "Yagura," He spoke calmly catching the Three Tails' attention. "My former mentor, Kakashi, he has lightening abilities. How about you two combine forces to finish this once and for all?"
Yagura just blinked once before he smirked and nodded as he looked directly at the spoken person, who hadn't heard yet. "Kakashi Hatake," He called over, catching the Copy Ninja's attention. "Toast him." He then snapped his hands together, forming a few signs with his hands before he opening up his mouth and spewed out gallons of water. With quick hands, he grabbed control of the water and sent it crashing against Kakazu, taking him by surprise.
Kakashi, however, had figured out what the young boy had meant before smirking under his mask. He formed the quick signs before lashing out one hand. "Lightning Blade!" He yelled out before turning into a electric blue blur and charging at Kakazu, who whirled around in surprise.
It was too late for Kakazu to defend himself for Kakashi's Lightning Blade struck his remaining heart mask, smashing it to bits. And because of the water coating him, the pain was intensified.
"ARGHHH!" Kakazu exclaimed from pain before he fell backwards and hit the ground with a thump. He did not move or breath again as his last heart beat its last.
Soon it was quiet as everyone just stood there. Yugito had already left, hurrying to find Shikamaru and Hidan, leaving all of the others just standing there, watching as Kakashi stood above the no doubt dead Akatsuki member. He wasn't looking too good, unfortunately. He was slumped over, breathing too hard to show that he had been strained greatly.
After a moment of defeating Kakazu, Kakashi felt the strain finally hitting him, causing him to groan and start to fall forward, too tired to catch himself.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Both Naruto and Sakura gasped starting to take a step forward to catch his fall.
But someone beat them too it.
Arms quickly caught Kakashi around the chest, stopping him from falling on his face and holding him up as best as they could. He didn't recognize the clothes that the person was wearing, though he figured that it was a woman due to her small frame. She was holding him up as best as she could, swooping under his arm to keep him steady. "Careful, Kakashi. You've overstrained yourself and the Sharingan. You really need to stop doing that. It might kill you some day. And I would hate for that to happen, my old friend." She said softly.
Kakashi stiffened against his support. He recognized that voice, though it did sound a little different from all of those years. He took it slow to lifting his head to look right into Rin Hayashi's eyes, who was smiling softly at him. He could not believe his eyes at all. "Wh-what?" He murmured in alarm. "Ri-Rin?"
Rin just merely smiled at him, ignoring the shocked looks on Guy's and anyone else's face that recognized her. "Hello, Kakashi. It's been awhile." Was all she could say as she supported her former team mate.
It did not take Yugito long at all to track down the two she had gone looking for. She had only had to listen to the pained cry that was only just up ahead and it didn't take her long to arrive in a part of the forest that was quite near the Leaf Village. She stopped abruptly in the trees and stared at the large pit sitting before her with the Akatsuki member dangling above it with binding cords tied from tree to tree. There were explosive tags all over the cords. The Akatsuki was the same one that Yugito knew from her last day in her village. She recognized his boyish good looks and extremely foul mouth language he was sprouting as he was yanking at the cords that were wrapped around his arms and legs. He was starting to get loose too with all of his struggling.
Near the edge of the pit, a young Leaf Ninja with a pineapple shaped hair style was struggling to get the lighter in his hand lit. He was obviously Shikamaru Nara and he was trying to lit one of the explosive tags to blow the Akatsuki member up. But the lighter seemed to be running low on fuel because no matter how much he struck it, the flame would not come out.
Smirking, Yugito knew what to do. She knew how to reveal herself and she seriously couldn't wait to see the look on Hidan's face when she stepped out of the trees. Hopping down from the branch, she was very quiet until she stepped out from behind the tree. "Hi there. Looks like you need a light." She simply said.
Startled, Shikamaru whirled around, grabbing a kunai from his pouch while Hidan's head merely jerked up. But both froze at the sight of the young Cloud Ninja that had just appeared. "Huh?" the young Leaf Ninja hummed.
Hidan, however, looked stunned to see her. He obviously recognized her and wasn't expecting to ever see her again. He had certainly thought that she was dead all of this time. "Hey! It's you, you little bit…!" He was starting to yell at her, sounding quite angry to see her.
Giving him a cold smile, Yugito held up a hand and a ball of flames exploded in her palm. She smirked even colder when Hidan immediately shut up while looking wide eyed at her. "What did I tell you the last time we met, Akatsuki scum?" She asked coldly before lowering her hand and touched the end of Shikamaru's lighter, allowing it to light, much to his surprise. "I'm not a dog. I'm a cat." She looked to Shikamaru and waved a hand for him go first. "After you." She said coyly.
Blinking only once, Shikamaru finally smirked as he pushed himself to his feet and lit one of the explosion tags, causing a slight chain reaction.
The explosion only intensified when Yugito flung her ball of flames into it, causing Hidan to scream with pain as he burned in the center. She only watched with a very grim but determined look as he burned before falling into the pit when the cords were burned through. She stepped closer to the pit to look down at the mess at the bottom. Hidan was sure yelling a lot of choice words about what he was going to do to her and Shikamaru when he got out of that pit.
Without even a word, Shikamaru bent down on the edge of the pit and lit up a few more explosive tags before grabbing Yugito's arm and making her step back. Without even a pause, the tags exploded and caused the pit to cave in, burying Hidan under nearly twenty feet of dirt and mud.
For a long time, both of the two young Ninja just stood there, staring at the mound of dirt which served as Hidan's grave, not saying a word.
After a moment, Shikamaru turned to Yugito and raised an eyebrow before stuffing his hands into his pockets. "So, what's your name? And what did he do to piss you off like that?" He asked her.
"Yugito Nii." The violet haired Cloud Ninja said before jabbing a thumb towards her Ninja Headband tied around her neck. "From the Hidden Cloud Village of the Land of Lightning. He," She jabbed her thumb towards the mound next. "He came to my village, threatened my Raikage, tried to destroy my village, killed your sensei while trying to hunt down Naruto of the Nine Tail Fox, and he kept calling me a bitch when I'm a feline. I'm sorry, that just does not work for me."
Snorting, Shikamaru nodded. "Okay. I think I can buy that. And seeing that he knew you, and attacked your village, he was probably after another Jinchuriki. I'm taking it that's you, right?" He asked, carefully.
Yugito nodded as she placed her hands onto her slender waist and stepped back away from him. "Yup. I'm the Two Tailed Jinchuriki of Nekomatta, the Fire-ghost cat. Oh, and by the way, if you're wondering, your sensei is standing right behind you, smiling. I'm taking it that he's mighty proud of you." She said, smiling at the transparent man that was directly behind Shikamaru.
Surprised, Shikamaru turned around to see what she was talking about but he didn't see anything. He glanced back at her, almost wondering if she was pulling his leg or something.
Smiling, Yugito shook her head as she looked at the spirit of Asuma Saturobi before he slowly vanished. "He's a spirit. Of course you're not going to see him. I can because of Nekomatta's necromancer abilities. With it, I can sometimes see or hear the spirits that linger around. It can be annoying but sometimes it's not too bad. Your sensei is gone now but I can tell he was very proud of you for what you've done. I think he was even honored that you felt the need to even avenge his death. But you also helped me get rid of an Akatsuki member." She told him with a shrug.
Shikamaru just blinked a few times before he got a very peaceful look on his face and looked up at the blue sky high above their heads. He stood that way for a moment before looking back at Yugito. "Thanks."
"You're welcome. We should probably get back." Yugito suggested. "I know that they finished killing off the other Akatsuki guy, but your team must be worried about you. And I would like to meet the other Jinchuriki, Gaara and Naruto."
"So, why exactly are you here? If I remember right, the Leaf Village and the Cloud Village don't exactly get along." Shikamaru said as they started to walk back.
Yugito shook her head as she looked forward, a somewhat peaceful look on her face. "They don't really. But I'm going to change that. I've made friends out of Rock Lee and the rest of the team and I'm not about to give that up." She looked back at him. "I'm here to bring peace between our villages and help protect the other Jinchuriki. I am not going to let the Akatsuki hurt any more Jinchuriki." She said to him.
Shikamaru just nodded in understanding. He had to smile to hear that she was there to help protect Gaara and Naruto and he had to respect her for that. So far, he was already starting to like her for her help with Hidan.