Chapter 67.- Almost there

Kagome was one of the only two persons in his life he could really say he loved.

Looking at the corpse's normal-looking skin, Sasuke reminded himself of that little fact again. This was very clearly not the same man they'd been fighting against, and it was evident the girl had to have figured that out before sending him and Suigetsu out without giving them a single warning. With how good she was at sensing those around her, it wouldn't surprise him if she'd also known these people had been little more than puppets; had she said a word about his brother, they would've only lost time by arguing. Time that the Kazekage could not afford to waste...

As if Sasuke gave a damn about Gaara's life...

Of course, that was also why she set Suigetsu up with him. Had it been Juugo who'd accompanied him instead, the other teen would've obediently followed him if he'd decided to just turn around and rejoin Kagome. The hot-headed nin would never turn back from testing his strength, even if it was just against a copy of his own intended target without a fight. Sure, he could've abandoned the water-jutsu specialist, but he knew he'd have to deal with her anger if she were to lose a piece she was already counting on for her plans. She left him with no other choice but to bite his tongue and keep up with the fight.

Not like he could snap at her, he'd agreed to let her deal with the idiotic prankster, and technically that was what she'd done. Usually, he liked to watch her play her word games, but the last time he'd been on the wrong end of it had been so long ago that the Uchiha had actually forgotten how frustrating it could be.

"Huh? Who the hell is this?" Suigetsu kicked the body with a scoff.

"Doesn't matter." Random dead Suna nins were none of his concern. "Just move it; we have to..."

A wave of warmth went through him, the usual signal sent by the Higurashi whenever she was making her way to him. A sigh left him; whatever, they would just make their way back to the actual fight and...

Red was all over her.

Drying crimson was staining fabric and skin alike as she landed in front of them.

"Sasuke..." She cut herself off, looking down to her blood-soaked sleeves before giving a small laugh. "Oh, this? Not a drop of it is mine, I swear."

It was all wrong.

Her smile, the tone of her laugh, even the look in her eyes.

All of it was wrong...

But she wasn't lying. Kagome may be talented enough to lie to even the most experienced of shinobi, but she couldn't lie to him. Not when he'd been the one to help her perfect so many of the masks she wore. It had been his brother and Mikoto who helped her create the basis for most of them. But she'd pulled him into helping her practice so often that he knew it all like the back of his hand.

"The fuck happened then, princess?"

"Well, it would seem some people were following us, so..." she trailed off, still smiling.

"Wha- again?!"

"Three people, but it's nothing important."

Unlike the clothing the Uchiha or any of their apparent allies wore, the Higurashi girl had insisted her outfits had to be far more expensive and decorated. To the point that even during their stay with Orochimaru, she'd insisted on having Kabuto follow her designs instead of agreeing to wear the simpler fabrics, much to the medic's chagrin. She had an image to maintain, a reputation that played a part in her plans, and it wouldn't do to show up with bloodied clothes in front of others. Even while traveling from facility to facility, Kagome took care not to make messy kills and clean the stained fabric as much as possible despite being practically in the middle of nowhere. She didn't like killing like that...but that was not her own blood. Nor was it Juugo's. Why would she ever...?

Kisame's copy had clearly run out of chakra...but it had taken Sasuke managing to slip by the man's insane defense and deliver a blow. Sure, it was too weak for it to have been considered a fatal one had it been the real Akatsuki member, but he'd still stroke to kill. With no chance of the corpse left behind being the source of the chakra he fought, his brother's copy probably was the same, and someone like the Higurashi girl was always aware of those around her, especially since she had to have closed her eyes for the whole fight.

If the requirement for the puppet's death was the same, then not only did she have to see her attack land...she felt Itachi's chakra dying out.

"...Kagome," he started, words failing him.

"No matter how useful a jutsu is, there are limitations to keep in mind." Her words were firm before letting him find something to say. "I think they are close; that is why they picked them out of all people who got sent to stall the recovery teams. Naruto and the others are getting in their way, if we move now, we have a chance to find the real bodies, but I won't be able to run."

"Huh? But don't we have those other two here?" Suigetsu's confusion was probably valid enough. "We can definitely get some info from them, and there's no guarantee we can find Kisame and...well, you know."

"We have one objective." The harshness in his voice was probably unwarranted, but he didn't care if Suigetsu got offended. With a sigh, he turned to look at her. "Just focus on finding them."

He understood.

Rather than kindness, what she needed right now was the reassurance of finding his brother's chakra in the world of the living. Offering any sort of kindness would not help her, not when she was barely holding on as it was. That would only lead her to break down and chain her down until she managed to calm down. Instead, Sasuke grit his teeth and watched as the dozens of shikigamis still inactive burst to life and spread in specific directions.

Her form felt more fragile than usual as he took her in his arms and began running in the whispered direction; the other two followed behind.

When she'd described how it felt to be controlling multiple shikigamis, the girl had had some trouble explaining, and for all her efforts, the Uchiha couldn't quite get it himself. It wasn't like deploying clones who could move on their own and blindly obeyed direct orders. She was in the fake beings heads, observing it all at the same time, and too many of them ended up with her getting a migraine that refused to fade away with usual medicine, and even reiki did little to help. Around them, he could see several more of her fake animals outrun them, fueled by the pre-stocked reiki inside. In his arms, Kagome kept quiet, only whispering slight corrections to their course.

He had promised himself he would be the one to care for her.

That no matter what, he would not her to get hurt again.

Yet, here she was, suffering because knowing she'd have to face Itachi when she wasn't ready and all on her own, Kagome still chose to do it.

Because even now, the girl was still trying her best to protect him from his own rash actions. Because he did not actually want Naruto dead, but he wasn't sure the hatred he felt for the beats inside the blond could be contained. Had the Uchiha been the one to intercept Kakashi's group, there was a very real possibility he would've done something he'd regret later.

In a way, Sasuke supposed, that stupid self-sacrifice of hers was just like his brother's.

"I'll smash you all to pieces!"

He didn't need to know just what was going on behind the two black-cloaked figures to understand he couldn't allow this to continue. This...whatever this fucking ritual they were doing was, it needed to be stopped, and it had to be done right this instant. No matter what it took.

"That one..."

"Well, seems like it, yeah."

"What the hell do you think you are doing?!" He shouldn't let his emotions get out of control. Naruto was well aware. "Let him go! Let him go, right now!"

"Yeah, you don't get it, do you? He's dying, just like we want him to, yeah." The blond Akatsuki waved away, smirk on his face.

"Give Gaara back! You bastards!"

He rushed forward, rage fueling his movements. A part of him vaguely noticed the trickle of demonic chakra slipping through the seal. Only to barely stop before crashing into Kakashi-sensei.

"Calm down..." There was a clear scolding in his teacher's voice. "If you go rushing in there without thinking, they'll destroy you."

The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth as he did his best to try and regain some sense of control over his frayed nerves. Kakashi-sensei was right. He knew it...of course he knew it. Hell, those sort of comments had followed him for most of his life, from Iruka-sensei to his...childhood friends, and even Jiraiya constantly reminded him how important it was to keep calm. The entirety of the last three years of training had been centered on keeping the demon under control...his eyes kept going back to Gaara as he was surrounded by the chakra leaving his body.

"It seems like that jinchuuriki wants to take this one back." The oddly looking Akatsuki was less loud than the other but just as hateful.

"Master..." the blond said. "This will probably make you angry, but...I'll handle this jinchuuriki, yeah."

"Can you handle them when you had so much trouble with the Ichibi?"

"Hmph, as long as that girl doesn't come back, I can manage them." The two kept talking as if Naruto and the others weren't there. "Besides, if an artist doesn't get high-levels of inspiration, his sentiments are dulled...master, it's said that the Kyuubi jinchuuriki is considerably strong, yeah."

"What? You call those explosions fine art? Fine art is something wonderful, that's left long into the future...eternal beauty."

"They involve the same skilled labor, I respect you, but fine art is the beauty of that single fleeting moment of explosion." This sounded like a rehearsed conversation. "Also, this is better for you, anyway, isn't it? If the Higurashi girl comes back, she's probably going to come here, that's what you wanted, yeah? This one would actually be pretty and useful."

"Wha...what kind of people are these?" Sakura-chan whispered in disbelief.

"Stop playing around, bastards!"

It snapped.

And this time, Kakashi-sensei would not stop him.

His storage scroll was in his hand in a second, the puff of smoke not big enough to cover the oversized shuriken that only rested in his hand for a second before he threw it...and was blocked by a...tail?

"I mean, most of your dolls used to be kind of ugly guys, yeah? This one would be nice to look at."

"Deidara, you little shit...are you trying to piss me off?"

"You know you want her in your collection, so it's a win-win, yeah?" Not once had they turned to look at them. "My fine art is explosions. Completely different to your little puppet show."

Maybe it was because his anger was so close to the surface that he couldn't even be shocked at the weird, white, gigantic bird and jumped on top of it, hovering right in front of them.

"So, let's make some art, yeah?" the blond, Deidara, smirked at them while he jumped on top of the bird-thing. "Well, even if you don't follow me, I'll just get explosions out of the sad little village this guy tried to protect. Since I won't be interrupted this time, I'll get the jinchuuriki no problem, yeah!"

No...

He couldn't mean...but Kankuro did say it, didn't he?

That the reason Gaara had been so tired had been because the redhead had been forced to use a massive amount of sand to create a dome above the whole village. That had been the point where Kagome had suddenly appeared and told the Kazekage to lower the shield. Gaara had learned to love his Suna... Despite it all, he'd been willing to die to protect it. For the sake of his people, he forced Kagome to shield the villagers and took charge of the battle. And yet...and yet, this bastard was still intent on destroying everything the redhead cared for...

Shivers ran down his spine, and he was running before he realized it, rushing to chase after the man. He would not let this asshole destroy what Gaara had tried so hard to protect.

Intent on the chase as he was, the blond barely noticed the moment they stopped running across sand and jumped on top of trees, his teacher behind him. His frustration was growing with every second that passed.

"I said to wait!" A forceful grip pushed him back, stopping him in his tracks. "Didn't I?!"

Until team Gai gets back, try not to overdo it.

That's what Kakashi-san had said, but the words that had come of what Chiyo-sama assured her was a puppet made it clear the man had no intentions of letting them simply waste time away. No...even without taking into account the rogue nin's intentions, they couldn't just waste the precious time they had when the Kazekage's chakra was being visibly drained away right in front of their eyes like this. Whether she wished to listen to her team captain or not, Sakura needed to act.

If only acting was as easy as thinking about it...

Experience could be the difference between life and death in a battle; the medic was supposed to have learned that during training. She thought she did. After all, Tsunade-sama wasn't exactly holding back when going after her; there was no denying the woman held oceans of experience that simply outmatched that of the young, promising genin. Facing the man that had just described in blood-chilling detail how he'd take out their entrails and turn their corpses into nothing more than another puppet for him to use made it evident that the pinkette had missed something vital.

Bloodlust.

No matter how much stronger the Godaime was, the woman was not actively trying to kill her. Compared to what she felt back then...she could feel cold sweat drip down her neck. All of Chiyo-sama's explanation had only served to feel the weight of this fight more heavily on her back. And yet, there was little Sakura could do to refuse to help. Because while it was never said outright, everyone could hear the unspoken and shame-filled Kankuro had said while debriefing for this mission had it not been for his and his people's interference. Then Higurashi Kagome may have been able to achieve her goal of stopping Gaara from being taken in the first place. In just three years, that girl had managed to fight without being a hindrance to the Kazekage. If not for the poison, maybe Konoha's team would not even be needed.

Poison...

Really, poison users were all the same, weren't they?

Bunch of cowards who used dirty tricks to avoid putting themselves in danger. Forcing down a shaky breath, the chuunin did her best to focus on the coming fight. Yes, she managed to come up with an antidote gotten from the toxins extracted from the corpses, there were only so many doses at her disposal. Plus, this guy could always have a different poison.

However she looked at it, the cards were definitely not stacked in Sakura's favor.

Poisons and puppets.

Confident as she may be with her medical abilities, puppeteers were a different story. She didn't really know much about the topic other than the few looks she'd gotten at puppet masters during her two chuunin exams, and even then, she hadn't gotten the chance to see much of anything. It wasn't exactly a popular kind of technique within Konoha, nor the other elemental nations. Frustrating as it was to admit, even with the viable plan, Chiyo-sama had proposed, tension still filled her frame.

"Alright..." the words felt like a sentence for torture or execution. "Let's go for it!"

"So, you're finally ready? I was beginning to think all capable Konoha shinobi left the village already." The puppeteer's words were yet another mockery. "I'm sure you know, I don't like being kept waiting."

"Relax, we'll kill you quickly," Chiyo said, with a confidence the pinkette didn't feel.

She felt it as soon as she managed to see the needles coming out of the puppet's mouth. Chiyo's pull moved her body in the kind of acrobatic movements that the medic still struggled with now. Not one scratch on her skin. This could work; they could make it.

Metal passed just a breath away from her, it was odd, being moved to somebody else's will, but she wasn't about to complain. Especially when the alternative was o be hit by the grenade projectiles sent towards them. Taking advantage of the opening, she felt her body be pushed forward, breaking into his range. The tail started to move against her; her movement wasn't stopping.

But the puppet's did.

"Now, Sakura!" The old kunoichi actually made it; she created an opening. "Break into it!"

"Got it!"

Chiyo's pull guided her fist but it was her own strength that filled her hit. She pushed through the hardened shell of the puppet. She could feel the wood splintering as the loud crack echoed across the cave. A dark, cloaked form jumped out, quickly landing away from them and somewhat close to the place where Gaara remained suspended. It worked...they managed to get rid of it!

"Of course...that's my grandmother." Sakura heard Sasori's words, but a part of her struggled to process them. "No wonder even that little girl would be able to avoid my traps. You saw all of my attacks, but...you used chakra threads from the puppet jutsu to control her. Furthermore, you even cleverly put chakra thread on Hiruki's tail...wasn't it when you attacked with the kunai at the beginning? The chakra threads attached to the kunai switched over to the tail when they hit it."

"Indeed...even though I was suppressing the chakra as much as possible so it was invisible, you worked it out well." The Suna kunoichi didn't even hesitate.

"Well, of course, who was it who taught me to play with puppets?" the Akatsuki didn't even seem worried. "No one else but you."

"Yes...well, we're done playing for today."

"Do you really think it will be that easy?" Slowly, the puppeteer took a step closer to them. "Chiyo-baasan."

Whatever she expected the Akatsuki member to look like after finally forcing him out of the freaky-looking wooden doll was certainly not what she got. Short, well cared, red hair framing a youthful face that couldn't be older than 20 at the most. If someone were to say they were the same age, Sakura wouldn't be hard-pressed to believe it. Every little bit of information they had on the man would contradict that to be his correct age. And then, the words finally sunk in. Grandmother...then, were these two?

"Chiyo-sama...this is Sasori?"

Shocked silent was all the reply the medic could get out of the old woman. Not that she could blame her...

"I'll show you what I brought along." With a fluid movement, their enemy took out a summoning scroll. "Killing him for my collection gave me a hard time. That's why I like him the best."

"That's...it can't be..."

"What?! What is it?!" Panic colored Sakura's questions.

Facing a new puppet wasn't exactly what the young medic wanted to do, not when it took such considering planning for them to pull off the first one. But the complete and utter disbelief in the puppet master's voice and their enemy's satisfied look meant she was missing something. Something unbelievably important. Risking a glance, there wasn't much she could say about the new wooden doll, with a black robe covering most of it. It looked less bulky and inhuman to the one they just broke, but that was about all Sakura could make out.

"That is...the Sandaime Kazekage."

"Let us begin, then." The redhead's soft smile sent a shiver up her spine.

"I told you to wait!"

Growls came out of him at the arm, pushing him back.

"It's alright; we'll stop them for sure." Kakashi's voice finally broke through the angry fog in his mind. "Besides, this one isn't even going towards Suna."

They didn't stop moving, but this time, Naruto managed to calm down just a little, enough for him to try and pay attention to what his teacher was saying.

"Listen to me, Naruto. You're not used to this type of opponent. You specialize in close combat, so this long-distance fighter-type is a bad match for you." Elongated fingers dug into his skin. Naruto already knew everything his teacher was saying. "There are only two ways to defeat an opponent like this."

"What are they?"

"The first is to draw the opponent into short-range and defeat them," Kakashi-sensei said. "The other is to outdo your opponent with your own long-distance attacks."

"But how do I do that?!"

While training with Ero-sennin, there had never been any real need for him to get into too many real fights, and the old man was not a long-range fighter either. The only person he'd ever trained with that sort of specialty had been Kagome. And for all of her skills, she still fought on the ground. His strategy usually involved trying to sprint his way into her guard. Something that would not work here.

"Either a companion who specializes in long-distance attacks or someone who can use long-range combat comfort with support ninjutsu must be in your team," Kakashi explained far too calmly. "If that's not the situation, defeating the enemy is impossible. Well, unless you have a brain like Shikamaru."

"Get to the point!" They had no time to waste. "So, what are you, Kakashi-sensei?!"

"Oh...me? I guess I'm a jounin with a brain like Shikamaru and long-range combat support ninjutsu."

"Then we have what we need!"

"I told you, calm down." The Copy ninja's hand pushed him back once more. "It's not that easy; no matter how much we follow, he's not giving us an opportunity. He's someone who entered Suna by himself and went head to head with Gaara. Not only that, but he also managed to get away from a long-distance specialist like Kagome."

"Then what do we do?" Naruto's patience was close to snapping.

"We have to create an opening here. Both of us together..." Ok...actual teamwork now. "When you've taken in all I've said, listen up. I'll tell you the plan."

Patience.

The entirety of the plan relied on him being patient until his teacher was ready to actually try and attack. But the man had apparently been right when he said that this Deidara had likely run out of weapons during the attack against the redhead earlier because all he'd done so far was keep making them run in circles.

A part of him felt tempted to turn around and go back to help the other half of their team and get Gaara out of there, but Naruto didn't need the Copy ninja to tell him what would happen once they stopped following the blond bastard. With or without many weapons left, the whole of Suna had effectively been taken hostage.

Of course, a separate part of him...it wished to go back to the place where she could still be fighting on her own...now that the rage from seeing the redheaded jinchuuriki had calmed down a little, his thoughts ended up going back to them. Because if Kagome was here...then so was Sasuke. Three years and here they were, close enough that he'd actually seen the girl once more, and was forced to leave. Frustrating and planned, the blond was sure. Because it was just the kind of carefully planned strategies the Higurashi was fond of, and annoying as the bastard was, he never could say no to her. Her words were true, however. There just wasn't any time for him to confront them when Gaara's life was on the line.

"Kakashi-sensei, still?!" Impatience had him yelling again.

I told you, don't be in such a hurry. Since I don't have as much chakra as you, it takes time, but..." The teacher glanced at him. "I'm ready now. Let's go, Naruto!"

The same shade of crimson that he'd been used to see in the youngest Uchiha stared back at him from his teacher's borrowed eye. The black pattern within the iris, on the other hand, was not what he'd seen in Sasuke's eyes.

"That's..."Naruto trailed off. "What you were talking about before?"

"Yes, it's a new form of sharingan."

Once upon a time, the prankster figured, he would've been amazed. Wowed and utterly confident in the man's strength and the promise he'd made way back when. Now, looking at the eye-technique failed to impress him. Every jutsu has a cost, Kakashi-sensei liked to repeat that phrase at one time, and Naruto had seen the price the regular sharingan had on a non-Uchiha body.

"What is it?"

"Kakashi-sensei...it's okay if you screw up," the blond said. "Cause I'll finish it off!"

"If you get a chance," the man scoffed.

"Got it!"

A life shared together had allowed Sasuke to learn pretty much everything there was to know about the girl in his arms. From the inconsequential little things to what he'd learned were the signs he needed to pay attention to. Because she was just too damn preoccupied with him to complain out loud.

Time had changed things. He remembered a time when it only took one look at the Higurashi's face or listen to her voice to know she was lying. She'd been worse than just terrible at telling lies or keeping secrets, but whatever kind of training she'd been through had done the job. Day after day, her tells would get harder to notice, but he learned to catch those too. No matter how good her masks became and how careful she was with words, Sasuke could still tell...which was why he knew this search party was taxing her far more. The short bursts of tension that racked her form betrayed the pain she had to be feeling.

As long as the bunch of idiots facing the actual Akatsuki members managed to do their jobs halfway decently, then there was a chance they could-

"Back!" The word left him in a yelled order.

With her consciousness spread so thin amongst so many paper dolls, Kagome's attention was focused solely on finding their target. The job of keeping her safe until she could come back into herself was his, which was the only reason he'd been paying so much attention to his surroundings. Narrowly, the Uchiha managed to jump back before something landed just a breath away from him and sliced the ground.

Behind him, their two tagalongs barely managed to avoid the attack.

Chakra rushed to his eyes, tainting them crimson as his gaze swept across the arid land. He didn't need to.

"Ohh, now that is such a good-looking face there...definitely worth all the excitement." A somewhat high-pitched voice rang across the air.

When compared to the byakugan, his bloodline limit was somewhat limited when it came to what it revealed to him. One moment to observe the delicate-looking man standing on top of one of the many rock formations on the areas was all he needed to curse silently. An impractical lavender kimono that was only half-tied up so it wasn't totally restrictive, and curved sword in a relaxed grip. If the massive gash in the ground was the man's opening move, then he was more than the usual trash they typically dealt with.

In his arms, the girl's eyes remained closed.

It would likely remain that way unless she detected a big change in his own chakra unless he took it upon himself to shake her out of her meditative estate.

"Hmm, the other two are not quite up to that level, but I can work with that." The unknown man all but singed as he spoke before focusing his attention on Sasuke. "Say, why don't you ditch that wench and play with me a little."

"What was that earlier supposed to mean, you fucking...!" Suigetsu's temper had him waving his halberd.

"Suigetsu..."

"Y-yeah?"

The warning in the Uchiha's voice was enough for the ex-Kiri nin to reign in his anger.

"Keep her out of the battlefield." Pushing down his annoyance, Sasuke forced himself to pass the quiet girl onto Suigetsu's arm. "Juugo, make sure no attacks reach her."

"You'll fight him alone?" the orange-head asked, concern lacing his words.

"We have no time to waste." With a glare, he added. "And remember, for every single drop of her blood..."

"Couldn't forget it if I tried." The former Kiri nin whispered before nodding. "We'll keep the princess safe.

Kagome's quick judgments were, admittedly, far more accurate than his. Eye technique or not, the girl's chakra sensitivity combined with her instincts gave her an incredible insight into her opponent's strength. The sort of analysis the sharingan gave him was more in-depth, but it took longer for him to be able to get a detailed read. Experience gave him enough to tell this guy would be a nuisance to deal with.

Trying to leave him behind to focus on their hunt wouldn't work either.

Because the chances of this guy being here by simple bad luck were null, especially when thinking back to the blood that soaked Kagome's clothing. Spies had been sent to them with coordinates, a bunch of non-important waste that had been easily handled only for this guy to show up out of nowhere... No way in hell all of this wasn't related.

Whoever this guy was, he was related to whoever was aiming for his head.

"Who's paying you?" If he had to deal with this guy, then he would get some info out of him.

"Oh, interested in me already?" the man leered at him. "But there needs to be some intrigue left for later, darling."

Irritation boiled over. Traveling only with the strays Kagome had picked up and spending a couple of weeks in a place like the Taisho compounds meant it had been quite some time since the last time he'd been forced to endure someone with this sort of undisguised lust.

Crimson eyes managed to follow the next attack, following the unnatural blades that seemed to unfold from his enemy's sword. The blades twisted, attempting to trap him. Bending his wrist freed his katana, the metal pushing instead against the warped weapon with enough force to send it back, and he could feel himself frowning. His initial assessment was correct. While not to the level Orochimaru had once boasted, this guy was far and away stronger than any of the bounty hunters had been so far.

Simple attacks would not work.

Not if he wanted to get things over and done with a single hit. Fighting here was nothing but a waste of time; he should be running to allow Kagome to get even a glance of his brother's still breathing, real body. Releasing the cursed seal would probably be enough, but the spike on his chakra would definitely force her attention back to her body. She was forcefully ignoring the pain, but once her consciousness was centered once more, spreading herself so thin would be impossible. They would lose the trail.

"If you won't talk, then hurry up and die."

"Ugh, that's so cold, you're so cruel, Sasuke-kun!" The man was pouting, playing around with the odd sword in his hands. "I'm not into that...but I will enjoy seeing that mask cracks as blood comes out!"

Dancing in between attacks was more Kagome's style than his. The unpredictable patterns of the extending sword left him few options; he had to use some of the girl's moves. Long-range attacks were far better suited for something like this.

But people who went this far to drive away enemies were rarely good at handling close combat.

Pushing chakra to his legs, the Uchiha drove through the countless blades in an instant, his body taking on some of the more acrobatic qualities he'd learned from years of sparring.

"Wha..."

Panic seeped through the man's hastened motions to bring the blade back into his guard.

Trying to push him back with a new swing, more than likely.

Sasuke was faster.

Metal clashed against metal; the blowback of blocking the attack made his enemy stumble back. This guy was trying to gain some space.

The Uchiha couldn't help but narrow his glare. He'd attempted to completely break his guard and take off a limb. Not fast enough, at least not without needing to resort to the cursed seal chakra boost.

Should he try with genjutsu?

Illusions were not his preferred techniques, but the sharingan helped make up for his lack of delicacy.

Kagome could detect and break out of most of his sharingan based genjutsu without breaking a sweat, but the girl refused to let that part of her talents be pushed back and remained a specialist. His gaze flickered to where he'd left the other two taking care of the Higurashi. She seemed to still be entirely focused on her search, her thoughts controlling the barrage of shikigamis. Would someone like this be able to detect it, or would it be safer to keep pushing like this?

"You know..." Another wild swing had blades all around him. "It's rude to be distracted while we play!"

A/N: Some more Inuyasha characters are finally entering the story, because really I couldn't not add the Shichinintai, they're also far easier to adapt into shinobis than many other demons so here we are.

As always, thank you guys so much for reading and any and all reviews/comments/criticism are greatly appreciated.