Watched 'The Last'...

I just have to say, Sakura is the best wingman ever.

"Summoning: Rashomon!" the boy roared, the sigil beneath his palm flashing briefly before expanding violently into a wide line, smoking heavily. The ground rumbled, and the colossal gate began rising from it, its' face stuck in a vicious yet knowing grin.

Shikamaru shouted something, but his voice was drowned out by the roar of the summoning, the only thing he could do being to watch as the great red construct rose between him and his oldest friend, mind dancing the line between focus on the mission and panic over getting separated.

It was its' purpose, after all, a tool to be used to divide the foes and protect the user, an unlikely weapon that uses the simple principle of perspective to empower; stand below the Rashomon, and its' size will dwarf you and crush your will to fight, stand atop it, and you are no different from a bird of prey eyeing its' next meal.

The rumble died down, and where once stood one foe, now were two.

"You now face a barrier that is beyond you, leaf ninja," one of them spoke, crouching down and staring at the boys with a hungry look in his eyes. Every few seconds, his long tongue would flicker across his lips, re-coating them with a thin film of fluid.

"And your poor ally is isolated, left alone to fend against me," the other carried on, right before he turned around, "I wonder if you'll be able to hear him scream..."

Kicking off of the wall's top, he plunged down, disappearing behind the grotesque face of the Rashomon. His brother, left alone atop the construct, spared no time in going to the curse mark's first stage, dark black spots marring his skin as a malicious aura began swirling around him.

"Alright then... let's have some fun!"

The mark was a masterpiece of fuinjutsu, even though the methods of creating and applying it were far beyond anything usual sealing required. Only powerful bodies, ones that could bear the power of true senjutsu chakra could survive it; the twisted manner in which it bastardized the user's regular chakra into a primitive version of sage chakra was painful, but the pain was unnoticeable when compared to the almost euphoric feeling of power that came with the transformation.

His landing was almost perfect, and he shot forward, hand poised to strike at the first vulnerable spot he could reach. Yet the two young men from Konoha stood their ground, each priming their own attacks.

Sasuke had the luxury of reacting fast. While his eyes weren't yet fully developed, they did see the world more sharply than mundane ones. He had a sense, a fleeting feeling about where his foe would land, and he acted on it. His hands made the same set of seals he had first made when he first tried manipulating his own chakra, and he felt the heat bubble up inside.
All he needed to do in order to fire off the technique was focus his mind on the words, the name of the technique, "Fire Style: FIreball Jutsu!"

The attack's light was blinding, and the heat felt uncomfortable on what little was exposed of Shikamaru's skin. He couldn't focus, not right now, not while the foe was rushing him and while Choji was alone on the other side...

If he could somehow calm himself down, if he could somehow think...

Sasuke needed to take the heat, to be the diversion necessary for him to collect his thoughts, to breathe. He could make a plan... he could always make a plan, the only thing he needed to create it was the smallest window; a window their foe seemed so very unwilling to give.

For Sakon, the fireball was close. Not close enough to hit, of course, but he could feel it sear his skin all the same. It was irksome, having this Uchiha attack him so brazenly. Back in the village, it was simpler, the kid tried rushing him with a close-range technique, one he could easily avoid.

At range, however, he was at a distinct disadvantage. HIs dependence on his brother made techniques difficult to use; only when they were together could they tap the limits of their abilities, parted, they could do so very little... Yet even that little would be enough for this Konoha trash.

Of all the sound four, it was him who was the quickest, him who was the strongest. Kidomaru was more intelligent, Jirobo more resilient, but in the end, it was he and his brother who were always the ones to lead.

The Nara might be clever, but he was weak, Sakon reckoned. Whatever he could throw at him, he could easily shrug off with the curse mark's power, even if he had to go to stage 2.

With that in mind, Sakon bared his teeth, lunging at the Uchiha. Any damage he'd do could be healed by the maniac Kabuto, and Orochimaru-sama would still have his new body, the eyes he so desperately craved for some reason.

Yet, as his hands shot forward to grasp at the boy's throat, he found that his enemy was quick enough to sway out of the way just in time to dodge the straightforward attack.

But he would not relent. Arms lashed out in savage swings, each attack hoping to latch onto the foe in some way, put him at the sound-nin's mercy... a pitiful kind of mercy if there ever was one.

Blocking yet another heavy swing with his forearms, Sasuke skidded back, eyes focused solely on the enemy in front of him. There was a vague concern for the others somewhere in the back of his mind, but he couldn't afford to think about them. Thinking about anything other than the sickly-looking freak in front of him would be a fatal mistake.

His recovery was cut short; the sound ninja dashed in with the unnatural speed only a curse mark could grant, intending to connect with a knee - he missed.

"Where's your bluster now, eh?" Sakon taunted, realizing that just rushing at the Uchiha won't get him results, "it's just you and me now, and you're still as helpless as you were then!"

Sparing a glance at the surroundings, Sasuke could only confirm his foe's words - they were alone. Whether Shikamaru's absence was intentional or not, he couldn't tell... and it hardly mattered.

He was an Uchiha, by birth alone, he was already far superior to this pathetic excuse for a shinobi. The Sharingan didn't matter, the curse marks didn't matter, whatever technique the foe used to inhabit the same body as his twin... nothing really mattered.

Whatever happened, Sasuke was fighting to win.

"Kaiten!" Neji shouted, reactivating his technique once again. The barrage of blades rebounded off of the chakra bubble, lodging themselves into the surroundings with varying degrees of success.

As soon as he arrived, the enemy had changed his strategy; instead of trying to snare him, the spider skipped ahead to piercing him with bladed weaponry. While such trivialities wouldn't be an issue for him, his Byuakugan being the perfect counter for such ranged attacks, the sheer relentlessness of the assault kept him from setting up any sort of counterattack.

Lee was nowhere to be found, either... this new trend of Lee strategizing was a slightly worrisome one; there wasn't a soul alive, save for maybe Guy-sensei, that could guess what the self-proclaimed beautiful green beast was going to do.

The worst part, however, was the fact that Neji wasn't worried... at all.

There wasn't a move his eyes couldn't see, not an attack he could not parry. Even if the foe were to multiply himself and attack from every angle at once, he would still see it coming... he would still triumph.

A brief noise shot past his head, his own blank eyes reflected in the blade's strangely metallic surface. It could not be metal, of course, there wasn't a jutsu that would make one turn chakra to metal, but it was close, close enough that the difference was insignificant, anyway.

"Do you see him?" he asked the empty forest around him. He had been moving ever since the fight started, trying to drag the spider away from his unconscious teammate and his own comrade, Sakura. While he wasn't too successful, they were beyond his Byuakugan's range, and that was enough.

There was no answer, of course. Lee was still missing, and the only reply Neji could get was another barrage of blades.

"Alright, I've tried everything I could possibly think of with the shivs..." came a voice from somewhere up above, sounding anxious and angry above all, "... which means I'll have to move on to the next plan!"

Two hands pressed against the tree bark, chakra burning into the summoning symbol for the one beast that took care of its' prey the same way Kidomaru did - slowly and thoroughly.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

The Kyodaigumo was fast. It was little more than a personal summon, not nearly as vicious and utterly terrifying as the boss-level creatures of the spider kind. Yet, even as it was, it embodied the characteristics of its' kind; it was one of the apex predators of the insect world, fear itself given form.

While regular spiders were little more than creepy pests that hid their dens in corners and tight spaces, the Kyodaigumo turned its' very surroundings into its' den. Within seconds of appearing in the forest of silent movement, the one west of Konoha, the very same one that inevitably led to the valley of the end, the great spider had unleashed enough webbing to darken the sky.

"See this?" the sound-nin taunted, the anxiety in his voice replaced with something that sounded like pride, "only actual challenges get to see my summon... Consider yourself lucky, punk!"

"I'm euphoric," Neji replied dryly, adjusting his stance to face the monstrosity that hung in the canopy above him.

"Yeah? Laugh this off!" with a stomp, Kidomaru urged his summon to start its' technique, a white sac slowly appearing on its' underbelly, growing steadily. After several seconds, the lump grew to be half the size of the summon itself, prompting the sound ninja to toss one last blade, slashing it open and unleashing the dozens of hatchlings the technique produced.

"So now you get the choice, Hyuga..." the boy began, cracking all six of his knuckles, "...and I'm telling you this out of a professional courtesy to your no-show teammate," he added, with a smirk, "focus on the swarm, and stay mobile, or focus on me and Kyodaigumo, and avoid getting a shiv in the back."

The choice was void, of course. Whichever the opponent picked, they would be both swarmed by the hatchlings and torn through by sticky gold blades. Maintaining the illusion of choice was all part of the game, the ritual that not one of his so-called comrades would ever understand.

He couldn't win by just stopping the opponent's heart, he won by destroying their hope of victory, by having them yearn for death before he's ever willing to bestow it upon them. This was the essence of Kidomaru's game, the one he was so very good at.

"Hmph..." Neji grunted, scanning his surroundings.

The swarm was heading towards him, he had a few seconds at best until he'd have to start fighting them off... but on the other hand, his foe and the primary summon weren't going to just wait up there. He had no clone techniques, no Hyuga ever did, and Lee was still absent; things definitely weren't in his favor...

/Ost: Experienced Many Battles

But he couldn't lose heart. Not while the others were still out there, while he still had something to prove...

That would be his burden, he realized. He had been named a genius by his peers, by his superiors... for the rest of his life, only exemplary results would be acceptable from him. No matter what happened, he would be expected to always be the one with the solution, the one who gets the mission done.

There was no rest for one who was branded a genius. His life would be summed up in training and successes, and his reputation would be the only thing he'd leave behind;this was the fate of a genius...

But fate, as he was taught by the unlikeliest of teachers, was never set in stone.

If he was fated to die this day, Neji Hyuga would do so without fear, with few regrets... his memory as the prodigious nephew to the clan head would die quickly to the clan, but would perhaps live on in the hearts of his comrades, maybe, just maybe...

The young prodigy of the Hyuga clan, their highest hope for the year's chunin exams... a spectacular fool, beaten by the dead-last of a junior generation. The receiver of a loss that would be remembered, one that would be told time and time again in the dining rooms throughout the Hyuga estate for years to come...

But they also called him a genius, and that had to count for something.

The enemy preferred guarding with his right side, and his attacks came out quicker from the left. His preferred range of combat was close, not unlike his own. He was a bearer of the curse mark, and was currently using it... what that was doing to his system was anyone's guess, but it could hardly be good.

And therein lied the key to his victory, Sasuke realized.

He liked fighting up close, his eyes enabled him to perceive attacks better than any other Shinobi could, and that translated into a distinct taijutsu advantage that only monsters such as Rock Lee could hope to match.

He also had the Chidori, a short-range technique that could kill if it landed properly. A technique that was strong enough to punch through the absolute defense of Sabaku no Gaara, the unstable jinchuriki of the Ichibi.

Yet neither of those two would help him against the sound ninja... to win this fight, he needed only the one thing he was always so desperately low on - patience.

The curse mark's power was a cancer... while it did feel so overwhelmingly powerful, it ultimately had to draw its' juice from somewhere, and that somewhere was most likely the user's chakra system. So, if he could pace himself in such a way that he conserves chakra and maintains a distance, he'd either force the foe to burn himself out, or have him switch it off intentionally, allowing for more even footing.

Shikamaru wasn't there... that was acceptable, Choji probably needed his assistance more, anyway.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

On command, a flurry of small fireballs left his mouth, the chakra igniting on contact with the outside air, soaring across the battlefield, intent on hitting the grey-haired oto-nin. It wasn't a very destructive technique, but it was far from a simple one; it was a deceptively complicated technique for a C-rank, and its' primary purpose was distraction, hence the low chakra cost.

"Stop it with the fucking fireballs!" Sakon raged, bobbing, weaving, and rolling his way past the majority of the attack. The few globs that did manage to touch him were barely felt, the mark's numbing influence rendering the injury all but unnoticeable.

There had to be some truth to the legend of the Uchiha, he realized; no other way could someone like this punk kid manage to last so long against him, seeing though each and every one of his attacks, dodging them all with ease that made their battle look more like a children's spar.

"Make me," the Uchiha replied, holding his stance and the smirk on his lips.

"I'm going to kill you..." Sakon drawled, readying himself for what was to come.

"I'm goint to break your arms," Sasuke answered, confident expression giving way to surprise as something began to happen to his foe.

The black markings were spreading across the skin, completely covering it... Excess chakra bled out into the surroundings, picking up dust and leaves as if it was a particularly strong gust; his features twisted and contorted, inhuman colors coming flourishing on his face and arms.

Within seconds, what stood at the base of the Rashomon looked no longer like a normal young man, but rather like a demon, the red-faced oni that only ever lived in tales of times long past and the nightmares of the wicked.

Sakon, if that thing was even Sakon anymore, cracked his neck, pointing a clawed hand towards the Uchiha, "I said, I'm going to kill you, Konoha trash. I don't give a fuck about Kimimaro anymore!"

His voice breaking into a roar at the end, the sound-nin shot forward faster than ever before, arms poised to tear through the Uchiha should he find himself not quick enough... And for a moment, that seemed to be the case.

Yet all too quickly did Sasuke spin out of the way, hearing the dull crack of the Rashomon as his foe yanked a carapace-coated arm from the now seriously dented construct. His eyes widened for a moment, the briefest twinge of panic running though him before his own thoughts pulled him back.

He wasn't fighting him... he was fighting the clock.

"So that's Orochimaru's promise, hm? I'm not impressed," Sasuke stated, taking off in the direction opposite to the great gate's grinning face.

"One touch, Uchiha! One touch is all I'll need to kill you!" Sakon roared in reply, already moving in to cut the dark-haired boy off. He was faster now, stronger too... but he couldn't hold this form forever without his brother, and something told him that the Uchiha was catching on.

"You won't even come close."

A step misjudged, and Sasuke's foot skidded out further than he wanted it to. It was the window his foe was waiting for, and he wasted no time; within moments, his hand was clutching the boy's shoulder, his malformed face revealing an expression of murderous glee.

"Parasite Demon Demolition Technique; I'm ending you right now..."he all but hissed, feeling the indescribable sensation of his own cells being broken down as the technique began.

"Ever hear the phrase 'Divide and conquer', Uchiha?"

"Naruto, wait up!" Kiba shouted, leaping with practiced ease from branch to branch, struggling to keep that pace.

"What? Why? We need to get over there!" the blonde replied just as loudly, his relentless dash not faltering for even a moment.

"Woof!" Akamaru barked.

"Are we going to go in with a plan like we did with the fat guy?"

"Plan?" Naruto asked, sounding dazed for some reason, "we don't have time for that!"

"I get it, there's a big-ass gate summon! What's got you so panicked!?" Kiba pressed on, seriously bothered by the blonde's tunnel vision.

"The gate's in the direction where Sasuke went! He's the whole reason we have this mission - he's the enemy's target!" Naruto replied, turning to his comrade for the first time since he broke into his dash.

"Ok."

"Ok?" the blonde flinched, taken by surprise by the fact that Kiba, of all people, was taking his hasty reasoning so well. Usually, people would berate him for being careless and call him an idiot... often both.

"I get where you're coming from. You should always have your teammate's back," Kiba replied, smirking.

"Glad we're on the same page..." he drawled, still a bit surprised.

Quickly enough, however, his attention was diverted by something else - a massive cloud of dust simply exploded from one side of the big gate thing, a wide crack appearing along its' top. Whatever happened, it must have hurt... pretty badly.

"You think they're doing ok?"

"Hm? Yeah... It's Shikamaru and Sasuke we're talking about, right?"

"That doesn't sound convincing at all, Naruto."

"So I'm a terrible liar, go figure."

"Not really my point. What I mean is that you're supposed to have faith in your teammates."

"But what if..."

"If they're in trouble?," Kiba cut in, "Then you rush in to save their hides. I'm just saying that you won't be able to be everyone's hero."

What did Kiba mean by that? Was he saying that he won't be able to save everyone, or that not everyone would appreciate him coming in to save them? Why wouldn't someone be grateful that someone came to his rescue...?

Yet, even as he thought that, Naruto remembered the mission to the wave, and how helpless he felt when attacked by the two demon brothers. It was him who was rescued that day, and he couldn't recall himself saying thanks to his own teammate and teacher for protecting them...

Maybe Kiba was onto something, maybe he was trying to be a hero too hard. But wasn't that what every ninja was supposed to strive for? Isn't the goal of every shinobi to primarily serve the village and its' residents, coming to their aid when aid was needed?

After all, wasn't that something his dad would want him to be - a hero?

/Ost: Preview, Many Nights, Grief and Sorrow

She had constructed a stretcher from the destroyed branches left behind by Lee's fight with the other sound ninja. It was shoddy work at best, but it worked, and she managed to break out onto the main road.

She couldn't wait on Shikamaru's order, just as she couldn't go and ask for it herself. Her only option was to take initiative and head back towards the village, to do the only part she could do.

Sakura Haruno, despite having another person not a meter behind her, was feeling very lonely on this night.

She wasn't lonely in the way she felt when she was home alone on idle days, or the way she was before she became friends with Ino... this was something different entirely. It felt as if the only things in the world were this road, the trees surrounding it, her own pained shoulders, and the bright yellow moon that hung in the sky.

She had heard stories, when she was little, about the moon people. It was said that the moon was actually created as a great tomb for a beast of old, sealed away there by the Sage of the Six Paths, given to his brother to watch over... but that couldn't be true, right? It was only a children's tale.

It was a long road ahead.

Travelling at what people liked calling 'ninja speed' did cover a lot of ground quickly, but that was usually only feasible when adrenaline was high, when chakra was easier to push into muscles. Walking those same distances with a burden as heavy and as important as a real, live prisoner... it was much harder.

But she didn't think it was impossible. Nothing was impossible for her, so long as she could keep her faith, so long as she could believe in herself.

One girl, one lone girl, hauling her burdens through the moonlight in a silent forest. It was a picture seen all too often in the world of ninja. Not everyone had what it took, and the dreams of young girls were all too easily dashed against the harsh walls and realities of the shinobi life.

Faint winds blew past her, sending a quiet rustle down the path, bringing the trees to life with a momentary sway of their branches. For that one moment, the whole forest sprung to life, every blade of grass and every grain of dirt holding the golden promises of the future.

Her future... she couldn't see it right now, but she knew for certain, knew as surely as the fact that the sky was dark and the stars were bright, she knew she'd be strong one day. On that day, they would be the ones staring at her back, just watching, for the briefest of moments, before rushing into the fray.

But that one moment... the one moment she was going to live for, she could see that.

100th review seems likely.

In celebration, the person who writes the review gets to ask for something in the story. So long as it's not something too overdone or lame (chains, swords, etc.), and is in my power as an author to grant, they shall have it.

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