Destiny of the Cursed

Chapter 15: Once again, like once before

Flashback:

"Our objective is to capture the target. Under no circumstances must they be killed." Captain Yamato explained to them. "All we need to do are these 3 things that I will tell you. First:", he said, "I will restrain the target. Second: If restraining fails, then a battle ensues. You will all act as my back-up. I'll signal you in that case. And lastly, if we reach a situation such as that, we must fight via the buddy system." He took a glance at each one.

"I'll decide on the buddies. First, Naruto and Sai. Second, Katana and Sakura." He said.

Naruto interrupted him. "Yamato-taichou… Isn't it better if you have a partner? You're the one with the security risk." Pointed out Naruto. Yamato thought about it. "But then, one of you will be working alone." Said Yamato.

'Well, it's better than working with that penis-crazed guy…' thought Naruto as he gladly volunteered himself. But Yamato shook his head.

"It's too risky. Especially since you carry the Kyuubi." Naruto grumbled at this. "But whhhyyy?" he whined out childishly. With a little help of Yamato's 'scary face', he finally shut up. Sakura was about to volunteer next when, "Sakura, you are our only medic ninja. We can't afford to lose you in the battle." Her face fell.

"Katana." Katana's head snapped up. "H-Hai!" she saluted. "You will be the one to work without a partner. Understand?" She paled. "Bu-but, w-what if I mess up?" she asked nervously. "You won't." he reassured. "Kakashi-san never messed up before…" he turned to her. "So why would you?"

End Flashback

Everything was going quite well on the plan. It turned out that Kabuto, Orochimaru's witty assistant, was the Akatsuki spy. There was a harsh blow of air. Suddenly, another person joined in. "You two seem to be talking about something interesting…" the Snake Sannin hissed out." You wouldn't mind if I join, right?"

"Orochimaru!" gasped Naruto silently beside Katana. Both girls became alarmed. His snake coiled tightly around Kabuto, but the medic escaped in time. "Thank you for that boy you sent me, Sasori." Said the smirking Orochimaru. He glanced at Kabuto. "Thanks to that boy's medical ninjutsu, I was able to use the same test subjects any number of times." The teenagers couldn't do anything but watch and wait for their captain's signal. Kabuto charged his hand as a blue chakra blade and sent Orochimaru a dirty look but lunged for the wrong person. He charged for the fake Sasori, cut the puppet open and revealed a very shocked Yamato. Kabuto smirked.

Katana's eyes narrowed as she watched their captain jump away from the S-rank criminals. "They knew it all along." She whispered to the others. "Oi, oi!" whispered Naruto, calling everyone's attention. "There's the signal!" Sure enough, Yamato signaled for them. They jumped out of their hiding spot. They landed in front of their team leader. "Ah, you again…" sighed Kabuto in sight of Naruto. Orochimaru let out a laugh. "Well, well, what do you know? It's the Kyuubi boy."

Naruto's eyes turned red and his irises became slits. Red chakra surrounded his body. Whiskers became more embossed. "Give Sasuke…back." He spat out. Kabuto only snorted. "He came to us on his own. I thought you got over that? You're hardly behaving your age."

"Shut up, four eyes!" sneered an angry Sakura. "You don't know a thing about us! I've had quite enough of your attitude!"

Orochimaru wore a teasing grin. "Why don't you force information about Sasuke-kun out of my mouth? That is…if you can." A kyuubi-fied Naruto sprung up from the ground and charged for the Sannin. Orochimaru hadn't dodged in time and Naruto's charka claw sent him flying 12 kilometers away from the bridge. Sakura stared at him wide-eyed. "That's one big problem…" muttered Katana under her breath as she saw Naruto's rage and power. "You sure have grown into a stronger jinchuuriki, Naruto-kun…" stated Orochimaru, now back on his feet and near the group once again. "And you…" he glanced at Yamato. "You should be thankful, guinea pig. If not for me experimenting on your DNA's like the 59 other failed tests subjects…you would've never gotten the First's strength." Yamato grimaced at the topic. Orochimaru looked at Naruto again.

"Anyway…I would like to see Naruto-kun fight our Sasuke-kun. I wonder which had gotten strong—"

"He isn't yours." Hissed Naruto, gaining another tail. Katana gritted her jaw. He needs to calm down. He's going to be hard to control later on! The Kyuubi's chakra rumbled inside Naruto's body. His eyes turned bloody red. "In my presence…" he warned, "don't ever talk of Sasuke as though he belongs to you!" A harsh wave of chakra in the air made Katana wince and brace herself. She slowly lowered her arms and saw something horrifying enough to give her nightmares. It was Naruto, only with long canines, red slits for eyes and an incredibly strong chakra shield.

"UUUUOOOOOHHHHH!" a blood curdling scream was heard.

Kabuto charged for him. Naruto quickly jerked his head back and faced his attacker. Something exploded and Kabuto was thrown to the far side. The bridge was separated into two. Sakura, who was the closest one in the explosion, was sent flying back as well. She hit her head on the ground. Knowing that the bridge was about to collapse, Yamato sent pillars to support it. But the part of the bridge where Sakura was still fell. "Sai! Help Sakura!" He ordered when Sai rode an animated eagle painting. But Sai ignored the order and let Sakura's body slip out from his ride. Katana's temper and panic flared. "BASTARD!" she screamed at Sai as she dove down to catch Sakura. Sturdy wood caught them both and raised them up to where Yamato was. She placed the unconscious girl down. "Yamato-taichou! I'll go after Naruto!" said Katana in a hurry and jumped away before the jounin could protest.

Katana jumped from branch to branch, heading straight towards that red light. She reached a clearing and found Naruto bleeding inside the chakra shield. He let out a howl of agony as he further transformed into the monster. Her eyes narrowed. "He's lost control." She mumbled. She dashed for Naruto, but immediately skidded to a halt and hid behind a tree when boulders were thrown in any direction. She peeked out. "Oh boy…" she said. It wasn't Naruto anymore that she saw. It was a humanized monster with four tails. Without any more hesitation, Katana gathered the maximum amount of chakra she can in her body and activated her curse seal. She did it with ease, unlike the last time, for she had regained her stamina and energy. The now black-and-gold eyed girl drew her sword and leapt out of her hiding spot. Thousands of snakes made their way towards Naruto. Katana dashed to his side, planning to back him up. But it seemed like he didn't need one. With a big swipe, a mass shockwave of chakra blew them away. Katana included. She planted her feet down on the ground hard to lessen the impact. Katana did everything to get near him, but it was impossible. It was clear that he didn't want her helping. Orochimaru didn't appreciate her company as well. While distracting Naruto, he sent some snakes to chase after her.

Clenching her teeth in frustration, she killed them all in one swift blow. Looking around, she spotted Orochimaru and Naruto with round red and white chakra particles gathering at his mouth. "What is that?" she exclaimed. A giant chakra ball formed as a whole. The orb compressed. Orochimaru started to back away as the ground shuddered and shook violently. Katana knew she needed to escape but her heart was too stubborn to do so. She brought down her sword into the soil and held it tightly to refrain from falling. The quakes stopped. She saw Naruto swallow the ball. The ground rumbled again, this time, stronger. The monster inflated and made gurgling noises. He opened his mouth and a flash was all it took Katana to think of this: Run. It exploded throughout the whole forest and Katana felt something engulf her fully before she closed her eyes.

Katana pushed the rock particles that buried her. She wheezed and gasped for air. Steadying her breath, she noticed the thick black and gold chakra shield surrounding her. Where did this come from…? She thought quizzically. I've never had something like this before…

She stood up and searched for Naruto. Just then, she heard a loud crash coming from the bridge. Eyes widening, she sprinted her way there. She was just in time to find a crying Sakura running towards the transformed Naruto. She panicked. "RUN, SAKURA!" she yelled, drawing her sword. Both she and Sakura were bashed away. Sakura's arm bled. With the shield destroyed, Katana earned a deep gash in her head. She gently touched it and flinched when it stung. She heard footsteps nearing. She frowned and rolled over so that she pointed the tip of her sword in front of Kabuto. She glared at him. "Don't you dare…" she threatened. He shook his head. "If we let you live, you have a chance to eliminate one of the Akatsuki again. And that's an advantage to our side as well." Stated Kabuto honestly. Katana nodded curtly in understanding, both shared a look of silent agreement. "But", said Kabuto, "since you were the ones who brought this here, you're the ones who need to solve this problem." He disappeared in a whish of air. Yamato took the chance and jumped in front of the two girls. He did a hand seal and wood pillars shot up from the ground, encircling Naruto. Something sucked out the red chakra, and no sooner, Naruto was back in his original look. Katana sighed in relief and she helped Sakura heal his wounds. Tears fell from Sakura's face. Katana looked up at her. "I can only watch like before…Passing out in the middle of the battle…How stupid." She forced a humorless laugh as she wiped the endless flow of tears.

"I can only do the dumbest things for Naruto…"

Katana shook her head. "You don't need to fight for Naruto to feel that you care for him and Sasuke. Just to know that you feel strongly for both of them is more than enough for him." She said and Sakura smiled weakly. "Thank you, Katana-chan." She smiled at her.

"Ehhh?" a confused voice rasped out. "Katana-chan? Sakura-chan…? What happened to me?" Naruto sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes. He looked at the two girls again. Sakura was in the edge of tearing up. He shot up so suddenly and surprised the girls with his outburst.

"Why are you crying? Did that Sai hurt your feelings again?" He jerked his head in search of Sai. "I'll show him! Where is he? Where is he?" he screamed like a lunatic. Sakura sent a light punch in the stomach. "Baaakkkaa!" she whined out. Katana laughed weakly at the two. "It's good to have you back, Naruto." She stated with a small smile. Naruto stared at her. He pointed at her wound. "What happened to you?" he asked worriedly. She looked at him for a moment before responding, "Ah, this?" she caressed it gently. It was still bleeding. "Just an accident." She told him. Technically, she didn't lie. But she didn't really tell the truth either. "Oh!" gasped Sakura. They turned to her. "Where's Sai?" she asked. The three just stared at each other in confusion. Yamato answered the question. "He's moving with Orochimaru." Eyes stared wide-eyed. "What?" they chorused.

"Follow me." Was all Yamato said.

'Click'

Yamato turned his key-shaped finger clockwise and the heavy door opened at his will. "Look who we have here." He mumbled. All four of them slid inside, glaring at the traitor. Sai smiled nonchalantly. "Seems like the fake corpse didn't fool you." He said.

"Explain what's going on here." Ordered the jounin captain. Naruto gritted his teeth and stomped in front. He grabbed Sai's collar. "YOU! Why did you betray us?" He all but screeched. Katana shook her head and sighed. 'Where's the surprise?' She asked herself. "You shouldn't make too much noise. You'll get in trouble." Sai told the blonde. Katana arched a skeptical eyebrow. "What? So after betraying us, you're worried about our well-being now?" She snorted. "Naruto, he may not be trustworthy but he's making enough sense. Let him go."

Naruto glared again before finally shoving him aside. Sakura handed something to Sai. "I believe this is yours? We found it when you left us." She explained. He took it from her hands gladly. "Thank you."

"You're under Danzou's commands, aren't you? You were chosen to negotiate with Orochimaru." Sakura guessed.

"What is he up to?" questioned Yamato. He answered his own question. "He's plotting the destruction of Konoha with Orochimaru, right?" Sai smiled wider.

"No, actually—"

"Stop it Sai." Said Sakura. "We know you're lying." Added Katana.

Silence dawned upon them.

"There isn't really much to hide anymore. As you said, he's planning to destroy Konoha." He admitted. "Do you realize what you're saying?" exclaimed the infuriated Naruto. "That's not the end of it." Said Sai. "My mission also concerns giving information about Orochimaru to Danzou-sama."

Sakura gaped at him. "You're planning to use him and dispose of him later on? How –"

"Foolish." Remarked Katana. "Disposing Orochimaru isn't a mere joke. He managed to kill two Kage at a single mission."

"Danzou-sama plans to be always one step ahead of him. In the end, it always ends in betrayal, one way or another." He said. "If Konoha becomes a place of war again, countless people will die! Didn't you even think about the consequences for a moment?" Sakura shouted. Sai snorted. "I just follow orders."

Sakura's eyes fell from his face. "Sai… Why are you so—"

"Heartless?" Sai offered. "Just to remind you, 'Sai' was just a given name to me. In reality, I'm nobody. I'm just a tool. I don't exist."

"Then why do you care for that book you're holding right now?" Katana's question took him by surprise. Gray eyes bore a hole in his forehead. "Even the best shinobi… cannot abandon their emotions completely. There's always something that will show our existence."

He stared in shock. Katana's eyes flashed towards the book. "That book… proves the existence of your brother and you simply cannot bring yourself to forget him. It's because your bond with that person is important."

His eyes widened and the smile faded. "Bonds…"

"Sorry Sai, but we're going to have to leave you with my bunshin here." Yamato apologized. "Right! Now let's go rescue Sasuke!" said Naruto.

"Don't." All turned to Sai. "I met Sasuke-kun. Orochimaru is always with him. Also… Sasuke said he didn't care about you. So why risk your life for him?"

"Sasuke is my friend…" Naruto explained with a smile. "That's why no matter what, I'm taking him back!"

Kunai rained around Sai. The four jumped away. Kabuto landed in front of them. "Judging from the situation, you were caught, Sai?" The medic nin inquired. "I'll trust you for now." He said and cut open the wood that restricted Sai's movements.

Katana took a step forward. "Naruto, Sakura, go ahead. I'll take care of him." Kabuto smirked. "I pity you. People change. Sasuke is no longer the old person you knew." All of a sudden, Sai locked his arms under Kabuto's arms. "What the—!"

"As you said, people change. And here I am right now." Sai turned to them. "But there are things that never change. Bonds… I want to learn more about them." A smile graced Katana's face. They left a bunshin to guard Kabuto while they split into three teams to search for Sasuke inside the lair. Once again, Katana decided to search by herself. With the others gone in different directions, she closed her eyes and focused. Where was the chakra that she was used to? Where? She needed to find it. Her senses found something. Her eyes snapped open and she ran as fast as her legs could take her. She took a left turn. Then a sharp right. She stopped. Sai was peeking inside the room where the chakra came from. "Sai…" she whispered, loud enough for the boy to hear. Sai turned to her. "Ah, Katana-cha—"

"Watch out!" she yelled and pulled him away from the door. They escaped just in time, for the whole room blew up. The two went outside of the newly created hole and was met by sunlight. Katana looked up and squinted her eyes. A tall and dark figure loomed at the top of the pile of debris. "Katana! Sai!" she heard from inside again. She turned. Sakura, Naruto and Yamato were racing to their direction. Sakura seized Sai. "How many times would you try to betray us again?" she growled angrily but was stopped dead in her tracks by a new voice.

"Is that you, Sakura?" She held her breath and slowly looked up. "S-Sasuke-kun…" she choked out, mouth agape. Even Katana found herself staring in disbelief. He's here… We found him…We found him! Her brain tried to process all the scattered thoughts. "Oh? And Katana too?" His voice was deeper now, more mature. "Naruto? You came too? Is Kakashi here as well?"

"Unfortunately, Kakashi-san couldn't be with us. I'm his subordinate." Yamato answered beside them.

"So another weakling was added to your group to replace me, huh? How pathetic." Sasuke remarked, tone as cold as steel. Katana saw the difference now. "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 once said those words with regret and sorrow. Now, he was nothing but a cold and heartless killer… an avenger.

In a flash, he was gone from the top and reappeared in front of Naruto. All of them were too shocked to move. "Isn't being Hokage your dream?" he asked Naruto. "If you had time chasing after me, you would've been better off training. Too bad, this time…"

Katana grabbed the handle of her sword. "This is not Sasuke… "

She moved at his pace, something her teammates hadn't seen since she got back. Black blade clashed with silver. Sasuke spared her a glance of his dead onyx eyes. Her intense orbs glared back in reply. He smirked. "You've trained well." He told her. Flinging Naruto away, he released chakra fast out of his body. Black and gold flames covered her. Lightning flashed at every direction. Chidori surrounded his whole body.

While he was distracted, Sakura chose this moment to attack, charging towards him. Unfortunately, his reactions were fast and he was able to face her, charging up electricity on his blade and thrusting it on her. Yamato blocked the attack with a kunai, but the blade cut through it and injured him. Sasuke backed him up against a boulder.

Katana sprinted swiftly, pointing her blade at his neck. She activated her curse. He turned his head to her, before clashing swords again.

Both were as strong as the other. Neither wanted to back down.

Sasuke's eyes changed into swirling red and black. He stared at Katana. Black and gold vortex stared back. Katana waited for the illusions. She waited for the pain but nothing came. Instead, Sasuke winced and his body shuddered. Katana saw an opening and swung her sword. She gave him a gash in the shoulder. He jumped back at the top again.

He did a seal but was stopped by a pale hand. A hand that belonged to Orochimaru. "Now, now, you shouldn't use that jutsu yet." Said the Snake Sannin. Sasuke only glared at him. "We should go now, Sasuke, Orochimaru-sama." Said Kabuto.

Sasuke looked at his old friends below. Then they disappeared like smoke. Katana turned to Sakura and Naruto, her curse worn off. Their faces were of pure despair. She sighed sadly. Slowly, she approached Sakura first. "Look, we should go home." No answer. "You saw Sasuke right? He's not what he was be—"

A sharp slap on the face cut her off.

She turned her head toward Sakura again. She was crying. "It's your fault." Blamed the pinkette. "It's your fault… If you have stopped him 2 years ago, then this wouldn't have happened!" she yelled. Pain stung Katana's injured cheek. Sakura charged at her. The boys came just in time to stop her. "Stop it, Sakura. You shouldn't blame Katana for this!" reprimanded Yamato.

"Sakura, it's no one's fault." Comforted Naruto. He glanced at Katana.

She stared at his eyes. He looked away.

Her chest tightened. Her friends were in pain. And she was the cause of it. Her hand trembled. "I…"

She stuttered. "I-I'm sorry…" She ran away.

Ohayo! Gosh, I missed updating! Goodbye school year, Hello summer break! Thanks for waiting for the new chapter. As you see, it's extra long. Please enjoy!

~ KatanaSabaku