Destiny of the Cursed
Chapter 9: Breaking Apart
Naruto came back after 2 weeks, bringing with them Tsunade, the new appointed hokage. She was strong. And by strong, it means carry-a-50-meter-gigantic-sword-and-not-even-break-a-sweat strong. A lot of Konoha kunoichi idolized her. Sakura and Ino were one of them. Katana simply had a lot of respect for her. As soon as Naruto got back, Katana found him at Ichiraku's with Iruka-sensei.
She tackled him from behind. "You're back!" she yelled happily. He laughed and resumed eating ramen. "By the way, Naruto", she said, "Swing by the hospital later. Sasuke's there. Sakura and I will wait for you." Naruto's head jerked up from the bowl. "What? What happened to him?" he asked. Katana didn't know how to explain it. "I'll um…I'll tell you the whole story later." But the blonde would have none of her excuses. He quickly inhaled his food, wiped his mouth and ran along side of Katana towards the hospital.
Both Naruto and Katana saw an unexpected scene before them. Sakura was there, which meant she arrived earlier. That wasn't surprising. The confusing part was that several pieces of cut apples lay on the floor. Sakura was holding her wrist, which seemed to be bruised. And she stared at Sasuke wide-eyed. Sasuke was glaring at Naruto. Katana knew Sasuke didn't like Sakura back, but she also knew that Sasuke had never harmed her physically before. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Naruto asked the moody boy. "Naruto…", said Sasuke, "Fight me…NOW." It sounded like a threat and Katana didn't particularly like where this was going.
She motioned for Sakura to stay by her side. She obliged. "What are you talking about? You're still recovering." Naruto replied but he was cut off. "Shut up and fight me!" growled Sasuke, activating his Sharingan. Sakura looked worried. "Naruto, tell him to stop!" begged Sakura. Naruto only smirked. "I was also waiting for this all along." He said. Katana furrowed her eyebrows together. "Naruto! Sasuke! Both of you stop right now." She ordered. At times like this, she needed to go commando. But they ignored her. "Come with me." Sasuke told Naruto, signaling his head. Naruto followed outside and climbed up the stairs that led to the rooftop. Katana and Sakura followed behind.
The two girls stayed by the side. Katana gripped the handle of her sword, readying for any hints of danger. "Sakura", she said. The pink haired girl turned to her. "Both of us know that this will not end well. I will try my best to stop them, if they reach the killing point. But if I failed to do so, please call Kakashi-sensei." Sakura nodded in understanding.
Sasuke and Naruto began trash talking each other. Sasuke seemed to lose his cool. It was so unlike him. It was usually Naruto who would get riled up. But right now, Naruto was confident of himself.
"Admit it!" teased Naruto. "You're still too weak, Sasuke-CHAN!"
"NARUTO!" roared Sasuke in anger.
"SASUKE!" yelled Naruto in the same tone.
They made a mad dash towards each other and aimed a punch. Both blocked the attack. Naruto used Kage Bunshin. Hundreds of Narutos attacked. Sasuke dodged them all. He did the tiger hand seal. "Katon!" A huge breath of fire swept off the clones. When the flames diminished, two Narutos remained, a solid ball of chakra in their hands. Katana focused on Naruto. A new jutsu?
She asked herself. Looking up at Sasuke, she noticed that he used a Chidori. Katana eyes widened. Looks like Sasuke does want to kill Naruto!
"S-Stop!" yelled Sakura. Both lunged for each others' necks. Katana knew she had to move fast. Before she could, Sakura went in. "Sakura!" She ran in between using her katana to deflect Naruto's jutsu, hugging Sakura tightly so that she wouldn't be hurt and braced the other side of her body for the impact of the Chidori. She shut her eyes closed.
Sparks cut her skin but that was it. The powerful thrust that she'd been waiting for never came. "Waahhh!" screamed a voice that resembled Naruto. She opened one eye and put a hand on the wounded part. "You okay, Sakura?" she whispered to her friend. Sakura only nodded. She was frightened. Looking up, she saw the face of Kakashi. It seems like he threw them in opposite directions… she thought and winced as the wound stung.
"Hey! You two! What are you thinking, fighting in the hospital's rooftop? If you're fighting, then you're overdoing it, both of you." He reprimanded. She turned to him. But in a flash he was gone. He showed up above Sasuke. "Why did you use Chidori?" he asked him. "Were you really planning to kill him?" By the mention of that, Naruto, Sakura and Katana's heads snapped at their direction. Sasuke shrugged it off and scowled at Kakashi for stopping them. Katana glared at his back as he walked off. She then heard sniffling beside her. "Sa-sakura-chan…" She was crying. Katana expected this. She patted Sakura's back gently. "They'll be fine…" she comforted but knew that it wasn't true.
Kakashi jumped of to the two young ladies. "It's all right. Everything will go back as it used to be." He forced a smile at Sakura. He didn't need to do this to Katana for he knew that she understood everything already as it is. Sakura smiled back. She nodded her thanks. Seems like Sakura doesn't understand…she thought gravely. She left her with Naruto.
Later on that night…
Katana couldn't sleep. She twisted and turned in her comfortable bed yet somehow sleep refused to welcome her. Sighing she got out of the bed. Kakashi wasn't home. He had a mission to do. Meanwhile, Pakkun was deep asleep. Opening the window, she jumped right out and took a night stroll.
The moon glowed softly making the Katana's reflection crystal clear on the cool pond. She looked around. There was no one around. She was all alone. She decided it too quickly. "Tap, tock, tap, tock, tap…" It was a series of weird sounds, but Katana was sure it was another person. She climbed back up the bridge quietly. There, she saw Lee, holding a lotus bloom with only two petals in it, the other hand holding his crutch. He looked depressed and sullen. She cleared her throat. He jerked his head back. "K-Katana!" he squeaked out in surprise. "What are you doing out her this late?" he asked. Katana smiled teasingly. "I should ask the same to you." She said.
Her expression turned from teasing to concern. "Are you okay?" she asked him. He looked down for a moment and then smiled a full blast grin at her. "I'm fine!" he stated and gave her a thumbs-up. Katana frowned. She propped up her arms on the railings of the bridge. "You shouldn't force yourself to smile, Lee. It just makes the pain even worse." With that, Lee dropped the facade. "S-sorry." He muttered guiltily. She shook her head. "You don't need to apologize. Just let me help you…What happened?" she asked once again. He bit his lip and slowly faced her. Figuring she could be of great help, he let it all out on her. "I don't know what to do. Tsunade-sama said that if the operation fails, I'll die. But I don't want to quit my life as a ninja yet…" Katana listened intently. Lee sighed. "What should I do?"
Katana took her chance to talk. "You know… us shinobi, we all have our dreams." She said. "Some of us found it difficult to reach their dreams, so they quit. Others tried to find another way of reaching it and failed miserably." She looked at Lee in the eyes, her grey eyes shining elegantly. "But only a few determined ones would take the risk…the hard way to fulfill their goals and refuse to give up even on the brink of death." She gave a smile. "And they are usually the ones to succeed in life." Lee's eyes widened. "I hope you know what to do now, Lee." She said. With a pat on the back, she said goodnight and walked home. Lee found himself thinking deeply about what she said. A true smile graced his lips. "Thank you… Katana-chan." he whispered into the breeze. A hand was brought down to his shoulder. He looked up and smiled. "Gai-sensei."
Katana walked down the road. Somehow, she felt less…sad.
She took the path that leads to the park benches, the place where they first stayed as a group. As she went nearer, she saw two figures.
A pink one and a blue one. Sasuke and Sakura! But what are they doing there? She asked herself and hid behind a tree. She peeked a bit and immediately noticed 3 wrong things in the picture. One, Sasuke had a bag with him. Two, Sakura was crying and begging him 'not to go away'. And lastly, Katana had this sick feeling in her gut that tells her something will go terribly bad. Sasuke appeared behind Sakura. "Thank you…" A faint whisper was heard in the air as he knocked Sakura out. He laid her down on a bench. Katana got out of her hiding spot. "Wait!" she shouted. Sasuke looked at her. "What do you want?" he asked, but not in his usually cold tone. He sounded regretful and sad, as if he didn't want to go, but needed to. "Please…" Katana begged. "Don't go."
"It won't be the same…without you. Sakura, Naruto, me and Kakashi-sensei… We care for you a lot!" her voice was shaking. "Please don't leave us, Sasuke-kun. Please don't leave your family behind." She begged. For a moment, he seemed to consider it. Katana's hopes rose.
"Took you long enough." A voice mumbled. Katana looked up. Four shadowy figures were waiting for him. Sasuke turned his back on her. "I'm going to Orochimaru." He told her. She looked down. "Don't take this the wrong way. I am an avenger. I have to become stronger. Take care of them for me." He began walking away. He spared her a last glance. "Tell them… I'm sorry." He went off with the others. Katana gritted her teeth together. She balled her fists. Naruto…Sakura…I'm sorry, I've failed you. Her body shook hard with sadness and frustration. A drop of rain water hit her nose. It started to rain hard. She hurriedly carried Sakura out of the rain. Every drop that hit her seemed to hurt. Katana knew that feeling well. Pain…Loneliness… The same things that made Sasuke leave them behind to seek for revenge.
The next morning…
Katana ran as fast as her legs could do. She needed to tell Naruto before someone else does. She was panicking. How would she tell the hyperactive blonde that his rival/best friend/enemy ran away from the village to seek power from a dangerously insane man for revenge? "Arrgghh…" she groaned out. When she reached Naruto's door, something bumped into her. "Ow!" both of them complained.
She stood up angrily. "Watch where you're going!" she said. "Troublesome woman, you're the one who needs to watch it." The guy answered lazily. Her eyes widened. "Shi-Shikamaru?"
"Ka-Katana? The hell are you doing here?" he asked. She crossed her arms. "I'm here to speak to Naruto. What are YOU doing here?" she asked in return. "Same…" he sighed. They knocked on the door. It opened slowly and the said blonde peeked a bit. "What are you guys…*yawn…doing here?" he asked sleepily.
"Sasuke left the village!"
"Sasuke left us behind!" They both shouted at the same time.
"WHAT?" exclaimed Naruto, horrified and confused. They looked at each other. "Let me speak first!" Again they yelled together. Getting irritated, Shikamaru clamped a hand on Katana's mouth. Her eyes widened in shock and anger. Her look was like 'oh-you-did-not-just-do-that!'. "We have a mission. We need to go after him!" explained Shikamaru. Glaring at the Nara, she bit his hand. He yelped and withdrew his hand, glaring at her. She turned to Naruto. "Naruto, he left the village yesterday at night. I saw him go." She said. Shikamaru cleared his throat to get their attention. "We've got no time. Come on!" They ran. "I need five excellent ninjas." He added.
After asking Chouji, Kiba and Neji, they were complete. "Good, we already have the 5-man team. Let's go." He ordered. "Wait, wait, wait." Said Katana. She counted them. "We're six people. How does that make us a five-man team?" All boys stared at her. Kiba tried to talk first. "Well, um, Katana-chan…" he started. Chouji picked up the next sentence. "You might get hurt so maybe it's better if…" he trailed off. "…you let us handle this one." Finished Neji. Katana looked at them incredulously, mouth agape. "You'..!" she exploded. "Just because I'm a girl, it doesn't make me weaker than you guys are! And I have every right to go with you! Sasuke is my friend!" she said. Shikamaru sighed. "Look, woman, I'm—"
"Call me 'woman' again and this is the last time you'll see daylight." She threatened, sword at hand. The boys were amazed on how fast an angry girl could fight back. Shikamaru threw his hands up in frustration. "Look, wo-er, Katana! I am the squad leader here. It's better if no one gets hurt." He told her. "Oh, so if I come with you, I'm going to get hurt?" she asked sarcastically. "We're wasting time…" muttered Neji as reminder. "I'm not saying that…" said Shikamaru. "Then what are you saying?" she asked angrily.
Naruto took her shoulders and shook her lightly. "Katana-chan!" he shouted to get her attention. She turned to him with a look of disappointment. He stared at her. She sighed and looked down. "It's my fault Sasuke left the village…" she whispered low for only the boys to hear. "When I saw him go, I didn't stop him…It's my entire fault." She looked down and closed her eyes, waiting for Naruto's angry reaction.
"You shouldn't feel guilty because of that." She heard Naruto say. She looked up at him. He was smiling brightly. Kiba 'hmphed'. "We all know how ignorant he is…" he said. "And he's arrogant." Added Neji. "You shouldn't be blamed for his actions!" cheered Chouji. "I don't even like the guy…" muttered Shikamaru. Katana snorted, and then shook her head with a small smile. "Thanks…" she mumbled, looking at each one. Faint blushes appeared in their cheeks. "Wait up!" someone called out. They turned to look. "Sakura!" they all said in surprise. She was panting. "I heard you were going on a mission after Sasuke." Shikamaru was about to answer, when Katana beat him to it.
"Let's have the guys handle it." she told her. Sakura started to cry. "Naruto…I couldn't bring him back. I couldn't stop him." She sobbed. The guys were becoming uncomfortable with her crying. "Please, I beg you…Bring Sasuke back!" she pleaded. Katana draped a comforting arm around her. "There, there, Sakura…Shh, everything going to be alright." Naruto did a thumbs-up. "I'll bring him back, Sakura-chan! It's a lifetime promise!" he said. Katana looked at him. Naruto… she thought worriedly. "Come on, Sakura-chan. I'll make hot cocoa for you at home." The girl followed. She turned back at the team. "I'll give you a time limit of two hours. If no one is back here after that time, I'm backing up you guys." She said. This time, Shikamaru didn't argue. "Yeah, whatever. Tsk, troublesome." She had to smile. She waved goodbye and led Sakura in her house.
Katana was pissed. Oh, she was beyond pissed. When she gave them the time limit, she thought they'd understand that they should be back by now. Three and a half hours already past and not a single one of them was there. Seeing that Sakura had already fallen asleep on the couch, she figured it wouldn't hurt to leave her for a while. She got out of the house and found Pakkun staring up at her. "Oh hey." She greeted nervously. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked. "Um, I dunno. I'll just take a stroll perhaps." She lied. Pakkun shook his head hard. "No way. Nu-uh. Not this time young…" he looked around. "…lady." He sighed. "Gone again."
Katana ran fast. She had to. Muttering something about 'senseless guys', she went out of the gate without the guards knowing it. Her sword was on her hand, a scroll in the other and a kunai in her mouth. Her eyes were sharp, glancing at every opening direction possible. While running, she opened the scroll. With a 'poof', Pakkun showed up in a tree branch. "Come on!" ordered Katana, taking out the kunai from her mouth. Pakkun ran ahead of her. "I knew you'd summon me. Where's the surprise?" he sighed. "No time to scold me." She said. "Pick up Naruto's scent and track him!"
Pakkun obeyed. No sooner, they arrived at an open field. Katana found Naruto, whose fox features had been more emphasized. In front of him was the opponent. He had white hair, green eyes and pale skin. There were two red dots on his forehead and red shading under his eyes. On a corner, she saw Sasuke's figure run away. "Naruto!" Katana yelled at the boy. He turned around. "Chase Sasuke! I'll handle this!" He nodded and fled the battle area. Katana took up his place. "I am Kimimaro. Your name?" asked the opponent. Katana noticed that he was a decent one. "I am…" she paused. A thought came up to her mind. She smirked and put on a battle stance. "I am Katana Yotsuki of Kumogakure! Prepare to fight!" she declared. Kimimaro seemed amused at her confidence. "Very well…" bones tore his skin. Katana's eyes widened in horror and disgust. "As you wish." He charged.
End Chapter
Since our Christmas Break has ended and I have to go back to school, I'll be slower on updating the story. I'm really busy at school. But I'll try to update in 2 times in a week, 'kay? Sorry people.
Yours truly, KatanaSabaku