A/N:So sorry about the delay, ended up having to re-write this chapter after a power outage that just completely erase it on Thursday night as I was giving it the final check and as much as I tried there was just no way to get this done by last weekend. Anyway, here it is…
Chapter 80.- Controlled chaos
It was…eerie.
She'd never been in this place before; hadn't even been aware it existed before the bait for this trap began flooding her information network.
The paranoid nature of her clan's practices made it so even the maps she'd salvaged from the ruins of the compound in Konoha's were incomplete. Yes, Kagome had been in her clan's estate, but she could count those times on one hand with fingers to spare. Still, as she walked the empty streets that she'd never seen in her life, there was no denying... all this felt…familiar.
For all that the stillness blanketing the abandoned compound was reminiscent of the silence that dominated the Uchiha district; it just wasn't enough to justify how at home the kunoichi felt, not even with the faint buzz of reiki that brushed against her senses. Konoha was made up of winding streets and colorful buildings, with scattered tall structures that made it easy to identify where all the important places were located. It made sense for the way the village had grown in size; it created quite the picturesque sight, but from what she'd been able to tell, the Higurashi were far more careful about the layout and architecture of their compounds. All it took was one glance to know that this complex was built to be easy to defend, with all the taller buildings congregated in the center, and the circular paths made it hard to hide from snipers. Plus, the narrow streets and hidden underground passages would make it hard for an invader to take over the estate. The kunoichi resisted the urge to groan. Between how often her family's preferences came back to bite them and how unsettling the odd nostalgia she got from the religious ravings and small shrines peppered over the estate, Kagome wasn't sure what could be more of an annoyance during today's incoming battles.
A flick of her wrist had a senbon sliding into her grasp.
Playing with the long needle did little to soothe her increasing anxiety. For once, the hum of reiki under her feet only made things worse; the legitimacy of the ruins brought up way too many questions for her to push out of her mind. Because whoever was behind this trap knew far more about her family than she'd initially suspected. When it came to information, the man in the baboon pelt had an advantage the girl didn't even want to think about. Her bloodline never failed to bring more trouble their way.
Now, it was distracting her from the ambush she was walking into.
Long nails dug into the skin of her left hand before flicking out a handful of papers; a number of small fake animals scrambled out with only a burst of reiki. Preparations needed to be made regardless of how stressed out she may be. Azure eyes glanced at the shikigamis that remained surrounding her, and it was all she could do to keep the tension from showing in her frame. This was her plan. They were all acting on the best strategy she could come up with, considering how many moving pieces she had to make assumptions about. It left her feeling like she was 11 years old again, her feet itching to take her to wherever Sasuke was. But doing that would only make things harder for them.
Uchiha Itachi, the real one, was keeping a perimeter. Meaning their priorities had changed from extracting information from the Shichinintai to making contact with the older Uchiha without being overheard. Even if the outside barrier had been destroyed, the underground level remained undisturbed and would give her cover from whoever had been watching her the last time she attempted to approach the Uchiha prodigy. In a way, they'd been lucky. But since she'd need to lure the older teen away from his partner, they'd need a distraction to keep Hoshigake Kisame busy. And unless both the Taishos' information and her recollection of the encounter with the blue-skinned man were woefully wrong, that would be no easy task. Juugo and Suigetsu were strong, but the nuke-nin was a monster; even if Sasuke stayed behind, their odds weren't favorable enough for her to feel confident.
So she'd steal the other pieces on the board.
The Shichinintai were upstarts, but they were far from weak. If those seven were added to the battlefield, Sasuke and the others would have an easier time finding an escape once she gave the signal. Of course, this strategy carried one glaring issue: every member of the mercenary group needed to be alive and in fighting condition by the time the Akatsuki members inevitably joined the fray. Until then, they couldn't go for the kill. It put her on edge. Going by their individual strength, they should be more than able to handle them, but teamwork could alter the odds. Fighting all of the Shichinintai with one hand tied behind their back was too risky, so the mercenaries had to be separated. And since the Uchiha had a bounty on his head, it was up to Kagome to ensure her opponents remained on this side of the compound until the Konoha team reached them.
Cold metal pressed against her skin. If they insisted on crashing their plans with their ineptitude, the least they could do was have the courtesy of not becoming yet another hurdle they'd have to work around. But that was apparently asking too much. Itachi was far too attuned to her reiki; he'd notice if the Higurashi and her group loitered on the borders, and if he got suspicious, chances were he'd run away again. So, now, the only viable option was to jump head first and bide their time.
Disinterested eyes pretended not to see the thin wire in front of her. Faked carelessness pushed her forward to examine the washed-out banner sporting her clan's emblem. Two auras entered her senses, racing at her.
Biting her tongue, she swallowed a curse.
It was fine. Better even. Sasuke's copy was the only one that could withstand more than a single blow, but the lack of chakra would give the trick away. She could buy more time this way. The longer she could put off being forced to rely on mind games or genjutsu, the better.
A polite smile pulled on her lips as she felt the sudden build-up of chakra almost on top of her. She and Sasuke used and disposed of one of the three great Sannin; if the Shichinintai thought a simple trap was enough to kill them, they'd be the ones to pay the price.
Metal clashed against metal.
He could feel the strain in his arms as his feet dug into the ground, and crimson took over black.
Kagome was bound to end up unamused with her luck, though it looked like the leader of the Shichinintai might just prove himself a half-decent distraction.
"You're the other Uchiha, huh?" Gleeful and arrogant, the mercenary tried to push him back. "Say when I kill you, will the Uchiha prodigy be bothered enough to come at us?"
"Who are you supposed to be?" With a burst of chakra, Sasuke pushed the tanned man back.
"Let's see how long you can keep that cocky attitude for!"
The man's shout seemed to be all that was needed for the others to act, a massive burst of chakra from his left rushing straight at them. Too slow. Even for Juugo and Suigetsu to figure out they had to get out of the way. Chakra rushed through him, barely managing to catch his movements; Sasuke jumped back with more than enough time for him to see the veritable missiles exploding right where they were.
Machinery, the civilian artillery-user was in this group then.
As well as the giant rushing through the Higurashi's buildings and the gauntlet-wearing medic. Not that either of them managed to get to him, stopped by Kagome's pets as he landed, the girl's doll unscratched in his arms. Frustration welled up inside him, and the Uchiha forced it back down. Kagome's kindness towards the Suna jinchuuriki meant that the shikigami that should've been able to keep up with her basic skills, would now burn out with ease. Thanks to the Higurashi's work on her reputation and the fact that Suna's rebellion swallowed up talks of her performance during the chuunin exams, making the mercenary group think she was nothing but a sheltered princess shouldn't be too hard, but it still left a sour taste in his mouth, undermining her strength like this. People from Konoha were imbeciles, but even they would've known Kagome would've been perfectly capable of blocking or fleeing from the explosion without needing him to help her.
Glancing down at the paper doll for a heartbeat, staring into the nearly identical blue eyes of the shikigamis, the Uchiha willed himself to focus on the fight to come. Scanning the four visible enemies in front of him, he supposed at least the Taisho's detailed information was accurate. So, the missing fifth member was either the strategist or the poison user.
Either way, they could deal with it.
"Juugo, get rid of the giant idiot." A silent nod was the response he got as the orange-headed nin launched himself against Kyokotsu. "Suigetsu, deal with the machine user, and don't fuck this up."
"I know, I know. Like I'd dare to mess with the princess' plans." He winced.
Losing solidity, the ex-Kiri nin melted into the floor, rushing to get at the sniper. Whatever happened when he sent the teen to get Kagome, it made him noticeably more nervous around the girl, but he supposed that was a problem to be dealt with later. For now, he placed the doll on the ground. Going around two opponents with a thud waiting on the wings while protecting such a fragile shikigami without going for the kill would be tough, even with the aid of the sharingan. Orochimaru's curse mark pulsed on his neck, and the Uchiha fought back the urge to unleash the energy inside him. The seal wasn't widespread knowledge outside Konoha, and he was in no rush to make them take him seriously. Besides, if he had the leader in front of him, then he should at least try to get some info on the mastermind behind this petty ambush before the moron and the rest of the trash got here. Just because their priorities changed, it didn't mean he would happily let the bastard trying to kill him to get at Kagome keep this idiotic hunt going if he could help it.
"Don't tell me you think just because you managed to separate us you'll actually have a shot at beating us." The long-haired leader whirled the massive sword around like a toy.
"I figured anyone willing to try and go after us had to be slow, but you're completely delusional." Sasuke scoffed, stepping in front of the paper doll. "I only wanted those two out of my sight."
"Are all people from Konoha this fucking annoying?" The medic, Suikotsu, frowned.
"Heh, fine, let's have one fun here." Using the halberd to point at the Uchiha, the leader was still grinning. "It's not often that my Banryuu gets to taste the blood of a soon-to-be-extinct clan. The girl can run away if she's scared."
"Oh, are those part of your orders? I wouldn't imagine people with your reputation cared too much about collateral damage." Right, the complexity of the shikigamis didn't hinge on the amount of reiki they were charged with. As long as he kept the doll intact, it would try to get information by mimicking Kagome's actions.
"So what if it is?" Though it looked like Bankotsu was truly as slow as he seemed, admitting to such a thing as that. "Higurashis can heal, can't they? All we have to do is to only slice your head off!"
Yes, the Taishos were certainly good when it came to information gathering. Bankotsu may be the leader, but the young shinobi was far from the sharpest kunoichi in the pouch, holding on to his position via charisma and raw power rather than any kind of strategic intelligence. Having the girl here would've been better. Then again, Sasuke wasn't sure how much the fool-hardy idiot in front of him had. With a bit of luck, the strategist had some actual information, and the one cowardly hiding back in the winding adjacent streets was the poison user so that ago he could get them something of value out of this part of their plans.
Flames licked at her feet, consuming the second of her paper dolls. Great. Human shikigamis were far more complicated than any of her other ones. Especially if she wanted them to be able to speak and act on their own. A frustrated huff got stuck in her throat as blades chased after her, she'd need to make some time to prepare decent replacements; they were far too valuable in diversionary tactics. Speaking of…azure eyes glanced back at the Uchiha's copy. Recalling it would probably be better sooner rather than later. It looked like pairing the temperamental swordsman with their strategist was a sound plan, considering the constant barrage of attacks that hadn't stopped since those two showed up.
"Stop moving around, you bitch!"
"I'm not particularly fond of pain, so I'll have to decline." With a jump, the girl got more distance, forcing herself to keep a polite smile on her lips. "I'll be quite grateful if you could stop with the badly aimed attacks, though. This is getting a little pointless."
"Heh, that's assuming that thing can aim in the first place." The Shikigami scoffed.
"Why, you…!" Jakotsu lifted his arm again.
"Jakotsu! Wait!" Racing to snatch his partner's, the strategist, Renkotsu spoke, clearly agitated. "That's not the Uchiha! All he's done so far is run away, and he hasn't used the sharingan even once."
"Bold of you to assume he'd need to use the sharingan against you people, but I guess there's no need for me to figure out when to show my card."
With a seemingly careless wave of her hand, the shikigami behind her turned back into its original paper form. Taking the chance, the girl sent out a wave of chakra; she could feel the two Akatsuki members patiently waiting at the border of the ruins. Kagome had no clue if they were aware of the Konoha team on their way here, but unless they were terribly wrong, Itachi would wait until she regrouped with the others, as that would give them a better chance to escape amidst the chaos without it looking obvious. There was a time limit, of course; attempting to make this standoff last for hours would end up with them eventually being interrupted, but it'd still take some time for Naruto to get here, so the Higurashi girl really needed to keep these two here for a little longer then.
Fine, she could work with this.
"You're telling me I got stuck with that worthless wench?!"
"Oh, trust me, I'm not too happy with the opponent assignment myself," Kagome muttered under her breath, raising her voice when she saw the two turn to run back to the compound's entrance. "Leave if you want to lose a nice part of your commission."
Now, that stopped them. Well, stopped the fire specialist; Renkotsu was quick to bark an order to stop the loud swordsman to look at her. Apparently, the man's decent talent in strategy meant little when it came to his capacity to remain unbothered by cold reading.
"Get Uchiha Sasuke's head, but don't touch the Higurashi…those were your orders, were they not?" The girl twirled a senbon absentmindedly. "Regroup with your team, and I'll do the same. Of course, if it looks like Sasuke's life is at risk at any point, I won't hesitate to get hurt in his place. I'll die for him if it comes to it. That said, the man wearing the baboon pelt has spent so much time and money hiring people to come after us. I can't imagine he'd be happy for such a crucial part of his orders to be disobeyed."
"So, you know about him…" Dark eyes narrowed.
"Like I said, after such a long time chasing after us, it'd be rude to remain ignorant about our wanna-be hunter." The girl sent another polite smile their way. "So, you see, it's better for all of us to just stay here. Unless... you're scared your teammates will die."
"What does it matter if you know about Naraku or not, 'sides, Higurashis can heal themselves, right? A missing limb or two shouldn't be too much of an issue!"
Chakra built up in front of her before exploding. Faster than before. Reiki rushed through her as she skipped through most of the seals. Bright pink surrounded her before the blades could touch her, fully stopping the snake-like sword as it failed to wrap itself around her. Wind chakra pushed against her shield. It looked like this guy was upping the ante. The Shichinintai's strategy didn't have complete control over the pieces on his side of the board.
"Unharmed, Jakotsu…we just have to make sure she runs out of chakra."
"Tch, fine." The swordsman made a face. "But after we collect, I'll rip her to ribbons!"
In order for their plans to work, Kagome's reputation needed to remain as spotless as possible. Meaning, for the most part, the girl stayed away from fighting. Usually, the practice didn't bother her too much, she'd never found the same enjoyment Sasuke did, and being underestimated gave her a card she could play later. At this point, however, it was getting rather tiring. To think one of her barriers would be so easy to break was quite insulting, really. Her free hand flicked a senbon into her fingers. If things went how they wanted them to, she needed to keep as much of her reiki and chakra untouched as possible, so maintaining her shield up wasn't a reasonable plan anyway. But staying on the defensive wasn't a choice for her to take either id-level jutsus should do the trick.
"Since your employer doesn't seem to have given you detailed information about us, let me offer you a bit of trivia." Her words slowed the attacks down. "First: reiki is far more flexible than many tales makes it seem." A slender needle was twirled between her fingers. "And a bit of trivia number two: barriers created with reiki are not nearly as limiting as those that rely on chakra. Not all of them block things from both sides."
Needles left her fingers, sinking into the swordsman's right shoulder.
"Fuck, that's..!" Jakotsu's leg moved forward in a stilted motion. "Huh?"
"What are you playing at, Jakotsu?"
"I'm not playing around!"
Precise slashes turned chaotic, ladies swinging far too close to his own teammate. Three silver needles pierced the swordsman's right shoulder. If there was something Orochimaru had been good at, it was understanding someone else's jutsus and stealing it, and for all of his obsessions, he'd been a decent teacher. Adapting Tsunade-sama's little trick from her fight with Kabuto to her particular long-range style hadn't been that difficult. It wasn't a move that'd work against more sophisticated enemies; the insane medic himself was only mildly inconvenienced. Someone like Renkotsu would probably figure out how to regain mobility in a matter of minutes. Jakotsu, on the other hand…
Bright pink faded as she jumped back. This much would be good enough for now.
"There are two fights going on!" Yamato-taicho spoke for the first time since they set course.
"Did they separate, or are they using clones?" Sakura asked. "Which one do we go for?"
"Kagome's in the back!"
"Are you sure about that, Naruto-kun?" The blond nodded to their captain. "We go to the back then!"
Emerald eyes glanced around the abandoned ruins. Only the sounds of fighting broke the silence; the abundance of shrines around the compound only made it feel like a ghost could just pop out of a random corner, repressing a shiver, Sakura had to fight down the urge to shiver. This whole place was just disgusting. She'd been insistent about being involved with anything related to Sasuke, and she knew that meant she'd have to deal with Higurashi, but despite it all, the pink-haired medic couldn't help but hate the idea of having to act as backup for the poisonous excuse for a clan heiress. No, it didn't matter. Even if she had to help her, what was important here was that she was finally close enough to reach Sasuke. Last time, Sakura lost her chance because the idiot blond lost control over the monster, if Yamato-taicho could keep Naruto down, then all the pinkette would need to do was find an opening to talk to the Uchiha and open his eyes to the real nature of the lying, manipulative being. It would work, it had to. Sure once she was out of the way, things would go her way. Everything would go the way it was supposed to. With a bit of luck, they may not even need to hold onto the girl as bait.
Higurashi was the one at fault. She was even dragging around Orochimaru's little pets. Surely, that was enough to show just how corrupt she was. If Sasuke were to declare the truth of this mess, surely Tsunade-sama would finally take away the protection that kept Konoha's hunter inns from chasing her. The village had survived without the so-called legendary clan for generations now anyway. It was better even, without having to worry about bothersome clans with their entitled self-important attitudes. As long as they could find their way through the almost maze-like paths of the Higurashi compound. Biting her tongue, the medic frowned; even the architecture of this place was annoying. Advancing through the roofs would be easier, but it'd also make it so the enemy could spot them from a distance.
The sound of an explosion reached her just a heartbeat before the wall to their right crumbled down, dust filling the street, half-covering a thin silhouette she wished she could mistake crashing into their path.
"Kagome!"
"Get back here, you fucking bitch!" A high-pitched voice was screaming at the Higurashi. "Fix my body!"
Before any words could form on her tongue, the Higurashi seemed to vanish, only to reappear right in front of Naruto. Bright pink rose around the whole team just before something seemed to crash all around them, stopped only by the barrier. Blades, her mind registered as she looked at the intricate web of swords coming to a complete stop as they touched the foreign energy. Of course, the people after Higurashi weren't just any other weak shinobi. Glancing toward their captain, she got a silent nod in response. The medic could feel herself tensing up as a colorfully dressed man landed in the middle of the debris, only to deflate when the enemy shinobi fell face first when he attempted to take a step towards them. High-pitched screams rose through the air, and that seemed to be the cue Higurashi needed to let the barrier fall.
Years of medical training under the Godaime's training had Sakura examining the swordsman's injuries. Not that there were many things for her to examine. She could see a small patch of blood on the shinobi's right shoulder, and there were a handful of scratches and bruises, but there didn't seem to be any big visible injuries on him. And yet, it was clear that his limbs weren't responding as he wanted them to. Had it been some kind of poison?
Someone as cowardly as her would certainly do that.
"Politeness goes a long way, you know." Higurashi's voice grated on her ears just as it did in Suna. "But if you drop the sword and say please, I'd be happy to help."
"I'll shred you to buts, you ugly whore!"
"Jakotsu! Suikotsu will fix you up, so stop moving around." A bald man landed next to the weirdo, voice tight and tense before he noticed the extra shinobis on the street. "Those are…Konoha shinobis."
"Well, you can certainly go to your medic. Although, I'd advise against trying to heal this in a rush. Injecting chakra into the nervous system can be quite tricky. It took me a couple of tries to get it right, even when I had someone explaining how the jutsus works." And there it was again, that smug, superior smile of hers.
"Hold on…" Naruto started. "Wasn't that what Tsunade-baachan did…?"
Wait…what?
"Right, a skilled shinobi can learn how a jutsu works after experiencing or even just observing it once," Higurashi said, unconcerned. "From what I was told, Tsunade-hime's fighting style is based in close-range combat, not something that particularly fits with me, so I adapted it into more of a long-range attack."
No..no way.
This had to be a joke.
Senju Tsunade's apprentice was Sakura. She spent hours after hours reading and cramming medical knowledge and had to prove her worth for well over a year before the Fifth conceded and began to teach her jutsus that could be used in battle. Even now, most of her non-medical techniques were centered around increasing her physical strength. Because adapting medical jutsus into combat was a delicate thing. That's why she had to wait and perfect her bases. And yet, Higurashi just went up and learned. Stolen, that's what she'd done. Stolen someone else's techniques without even witnessing the jutsu by herself in the first place! It was Sakura who was chosen to learn under the Godaime Hokage herself; she was supposed to be the only one smart enough to be trained by such an accomplished kunoichi. Not enough. Sakura wasn't talented enough; she'd never be as good as Higurashi.
:…enough talent should be able to figure out how to move their bodies soon enough." The woman was still talking, showing off her superiority. "It only ever took me a couple of moves to find a way to move around without affecting my fights."
"You fucking bitch!"
One swing of the weirdo's arm and the pink barrier was around them before any of the blades could get close to them.
"We're retreating!" The bald man shouted again. "Let Suikotsu deal with it. All we need is the Uchiha's head."
"We're not letting you go!" At last, Sakura managed to speak out, her anger bleeding through.
This was not going to go the same way as their last encounter. She was going to deal with these assholes and get to Sasuke-kun. Because Sakura was the one with the talent.
Chakra rose inside her, fueling her steps, uncaring for the smile bomb the weird swordsman threw their way or the panic on his teammate's face. Blood was rushing to her head, deafening the shouted order to get back as the ground floor underneath her vanished, darkness reaching out to surround her.
A/N: I know, this is a shorter chapter than usual but no matter how many times I went over it the pacing would get messed up, and I was already struggling with it after having to re-write the whole thing. Hopefully this flows well enough, and with a bit more luck there shouldn't be anymore delays, though I may add some chapters to Divergence just because I have FFVII on the brain, but those are things I'll be writing on whatever snippets of time I have free and shouldn't affect any of my on-going series.
Regardless, next chapter is probably going to be a bit longer and characters are finally starting to gather in the same spot.
As always, thank you guys so much for reading and any and all review/comment/criticism is greatly, greatly appreciated.