[FFML] [Naruto] Dead Garden - Chapter Seven: Enemies
Aaron Nowack
anowack at mimiru.net
Sat Sep 8 22:30:37 PDT 2012
Previous chapters available at:
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7173680/1/Dead_Garden
Dead Garden
A Naruto Fanfic
By: Aaron Nowack
Chapter Seven: Enemies
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Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi, who apparently is not
actually me. The actual text of this story belongs to Aaron Nowack, who
apparently actually is me. The subjective experience existing only in
your mind when you read this story belongs to you, who is not me, unless
you are me, in which case... oh, forget it.
***********************************************************************
When Naruto tried to remember the rest of the battle against the
rogue ninja Hidan, he could only remember it in fragments and glimpses.
He remembered the cold rain, the lightning-lit darkness of the rapidly
descending night, and most of all the powerful, warring killing intent
that made it hard to breathe. He remembered the triumph of Kakashi's
apparent victory turning to ash as Hidan cut down the Hot Springs ninja
Tora and sent the massive demon hound summoned from his blood after the
three genin.
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Naruto grimaced as he bent the still forms of Keikan and Araimi.
What had Hidan done to them? There was no sign of physical injury, and
they were breathing at least, but that breath was weak and halting.
What sort of technique had he used?
He looked up at a loud snarl from the advancing demon hound.
His eyes met the green flame of the monster's gaze, and he resisted the
urge to shiver. Beside him, Sakura tensed, her good hand reaching for a
weapon. "Sakura-chan -" he began. Even with her regenerative ability,
it couldn't be good for her to strain herself, not with her shoulder
already so badly wounded.
"I can fight," she answered.
Before Naruto could respond, Sasuke did. "Protect the clients.
Naruto, with me."
Naruto half-straightened before he followed Sakura's worried
glance at Araimi. He didn't need to wait for her to speak. She wasn't
a medic, not even to the limited extent he was. "I can't," Naruto said,
hating it. "Their breathing sounds wrong. I don't know what kind of
technique this guy used on them, but I'm the closest thing we've got to
a medic who could figure it out." And Sakura was in no condition to
fight to protect Keikan and Araimi if they were threatened.
"Fine then." Sasuke was irritated, but not angry. He
understood the reasons. "I'll go by -"
Naruto reached out, but was too late to grab Sakura's good arm
and stop her from jumping down to the muddy ground. She drew a kunai.
"I'm... I won't be useless, Sasuke-kun."
Naruto swallowed his instinctive protest. He had to trust she
knew what she was doing. Without another word, Sasuke hurled shuriken
to cover his advance, and Sakura followed him into battle. Naruto bent
back over the clients - his patients - and tried to remember everything
Shizune had taught him about sleeping techniques.
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"You know don't have to stay up all night, pervert." The
hammer-wielding girl's - Kasumi's - words shook Naruto from his musings
as he kept watch over the still, sleeping forms of his teammates. She'd
taken over the watch from the other kunoichi on her team - Eimi - almost
an hour ago.
Naruto wasn't dumb enough to say that he didn't trust the Cloud
team, not when they had three effectives and he was the only Leaf ninja
who could fight. "I can't sleep," he said, and then he realized what
the dark-skinned girl had called him. "And I'm not -" he sputtered.
Kasumi laughed, holding out her hand. "Are you sure you don't
want another show?" she asked, grinning. "Five hundred ryo."
Naruto shook his head frantically, drawing another laugh. A
bolt of lightning crossed the night sky, followed by rolling thunder
that echoed through the mountains. The patter of rain on the roof of
the way-station - which unfortunately was nothing but an open pavilion -
intensified.
For a moment, one of the patients stirred, almost waking. The
girl's grin faded as she looked at her heavily bandaged teacher. "I
want to hit something," she stated, one hand reaching back and caressing
the haft of her hammer.
"This just sucks," Kasumi continued. "Our mission was supposed
to be over, you know? We'd scouted out those fake bandits causing
trouble, and Tetsu-sensei had just gone to tell the Hot Springs to stop
taking their money to look the other way, and once he got back we were
going home."
"Fake bandits?" Naruto asked, a memory coming to mind.
"Yeah, some thugs paid by some rich merchant guy to attack
traders going overland through here." Kasumi froze for an instant.
"Damn it, I shouldn't be talking to you about that."
"I think we ran into them," Naruto said. "They were captured."
"Oh." Kasumi paused. "Well, I guess that makes it a trade of
information. Maybe Tetsu-sensei won't be too mad at me." She glanced
at her teacher again, worry clear in her eyes.
"Hikaru-san seemed to know what he's doing," Naruto said. "I'm
sure your teacher will be fine, Kasumi-san," Naruto said.
"Hikaru's great," she agreed. "Everyone'll be fine."
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"You're a medic?" Naruto asked the pale-haired boy who'd joined
him on the wagon.
"Yes," the boy - his name was Hikaru, Naruto thought he
remembered - said shortly. "Let me look at them."
Warily, Naruto moved aside, allowing the other boy to kneel down
over Keikan and Araimi. "Their breathing is weak," Naruto said.
"Heart-rate is high, even though they're unconscious."
"It might be a paralysis technique," Hikaru said. "If the enemy
put too much chakra in it..." He trailed off, green light gathering in
his hand as he touched Keikan's chest. Almost instantly his breathing
deepened. "That's it, then. You're lucky I'm here."
Naruto understood the theory. A paralysis technique intended
for use on ninja might be a slow death for a civilian less able to fight
it off. A simple medical technique would allow the medic to use his own
chakra to strengthen the victim's resistance. Hikaru kept his hand on
Keikan for several more moments, then turned to Araimi. "She's strong
enough that she's not in danger," he said.
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, ah -"
There was a blinding flash as lightning descended from the trees
at Hidan, who caught the bolt on his rapidly spinning scythe, sending it
blasting at empty ground. Kakashi attacked, joined a moment later by an
unfamiliar man in a Cloud uniform. The Cloud team's teacher?
"Hikaru-kun!" a female voice called out. "Sakura-san is down!"
Naruto turned to see Sasuke and the two kunoichi on Hikaru's team
standing over the dead body of the demon hound. His eye's met Sasuke's
gaze, and Naruto started at the sight of the crimson Sharingan.
The three adult ninja stood in a triangle, talking. Naruto
ignored them, torn between the need to stay near Keikan and Araimi and
desire to rush to Sakura's side. The dilemma was solved when, after the
jounin rejoined their battle, Sasuke gently picked Sakura up and brought
her over to the wagons.
She was barely conscious, moaning in pain as Sasuke laid her
down next to Keikan and Araimi. Naruto paled as he took in the damage
to her shoulder. It had been bad before, mauled by the demon hound they
had killed, but she'd aggravated it by fighting, and the bandages he'd
wrapped around it were torn and bloodstained.
"That doesn't look good," Hikaru said.
"I'll take care of it," Naruto said, grabbing a bottle of
painkillers from his medical kit. They wouldn't help much, but they
wouldn't hurt. Once Sakura had taken the pills, he went to work. The
first step was to clean and disinfect the wound.
Without asking, Hikaru started helping him. "You're a medic
also?"
"Training to be," Naruto said shortly.
"I didn't get your name."
"Uzumaki Naruto."
"Nii Hikaru." The spectacled boy's hands glowed green briefly.
"I can't heal it, but this will help a little."
"Thanks." Only when they'd finished bandaging Sakura's shoulder
and immobilizing her arm with a sling did Naruto have a chance to see
how the battle was going.
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Naruto wasn't able to stop himself from doing a mental inventory
as his eyes swept across the sleeping patients. Sakura's shoulder was
probably the worst physical wound; ordinarily he would have said it
would take months to heal without advanced medical treatment. In
Sakura's case, he couldn't say. Beside her rested Sasuke, recovering
from a mild concussion.
Kakashi was out from chakra exhaustion, not having stirred once
since collapsing at the end of the battle. The Cloud team's teacher had
a nasty wound across his side and chest from Hidan's scythe. That had
left him awake to approve Eimi's plan to head for the way-station
together to recover. Despite Hikaru's efforts to heal the wound, the
young medic estimated it would be at least half a week before it was
safe for Tetsu to travel.
Keikan and Araimi had woken on the way. The merchant had no
memory of his time under Hidan's technique, but Araimi had apparently
been aware the entire time, just unable to speak or move. Naruto had
examined both of them, glad to find no sign of any lingering effects.
Hikaru had agreed that neither needed anything more than a good night's
rest to fully recover.
He was now sound asleep, next to his teammate Eimi and Kasumi's
now-empty bedroll. Naruto hadn't even unpacked his own. There was
hardly any point in this situation. Unlike his kit, Sakura's first aid
kit contained some caffeine pills; Naruto figured she wouldn't mind and
had unsealed them from the scroll and taken a few to ward off sleep.
He didn't know that he needed them. After that fight, he didn't
understand how anyone could sleep.
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The battle between the jounin ended with shocking suddenness.
One moment, there were blurs of motion Naruto couldn't follow all
around, bolts of lightning flashing and bursts of flame flying between
them. The next, the Cloud jounin lay face down in the mud, and Kakashi
was on one knee, a few feet ahead of Naruto, breathing heavily.
Past Kakashi stood Hidan, leaning on his scythe. He was panting
too, but after a moment he straightened, grinning widely. "Now, it's
time for the fun part." He stepped forward.
That broke the younger ninja's paralysis. "Tetsu-sensei!"
shouted Hikaru, running straight for his teacher's fallen form. Hidan
turned toward him, raising his scythe.
Beside Naruto, the Cloud kunoichi Eimi's hands raced through
seals. She mouthed something Naruto didn't catch, something about
fireflies maybe, and tiny, flickering sparks of electricity flew from
her outstretched hands, forming a wall in between Hidan and Hikaru.
The silver-haired man stopped short, reaching out and touching a
bolt with one finger. The shock didn't seem to bother him. Hikaru
passed the man and reached Tetsu, kneeling over his teacher, hands
glowing green.
"Medics," Hidan said disgustedly. "You're hardly even worth
killing. What the hell kind of moron learns ninjutsu and uses it for
something as fucking pathetic as healing?"
"The kind who cares about his friends!" Naruto knew he shouldn't
have answered aloud. It was stupid, idiotic, to attract this man's
attention. But Naruto didn't want to let someone like this Hidan mock
his dream like that.
"Naruto," Kakashi said weakly.
Hidan turned back to the rest of the ninja, throwing back his
head and laughing. "Friends? A real ninja doesn't have friends, kid."
His eyes seemed to gleam in the dim light. "There's only two kinds of
people in the world. Ones I can kill, and ones I can't kill yet." He
grinned. "Care to take a fucking guess which one you kids are?"
Hidan pointed his scythe at Eimi without waiting for a response.
"You die first, lightning girl. I guess you're supposed to be a chuunin
or something, so try to be entertaining." His killing intent flared.
Eimi shook, but it was Kasumi who answered. "Fuck you,
asshole!" she roared, raising her hammer and charging.
"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said, "what do we do?" He didn't
answer for a moment, still just kneeling and panting.
"We... we have to run," Sasuke said, his voice sick. "We can't
-" Kasumi reached Hidan, who blocked her first blow with the haft of
his own weapon, then caught her across the stomach with it, knocking her
back several feet.
"Wait your turn," Hidan mocked, kicking at the ground. A wave
of mud swamped the hammer-wielding kunoichi, knocking her down and
sliding her away from Hidan. A ninjutsu or just raw strength? Naruto
wasn't sure which was worse.
"We can't run," Eimi said. "He'll just hunt us down. We..."
she trailed off, shaking visibly. "We lost when the jounin went down.
It's over." The wall of dancing electricity shielding Hikaru and Tetsu
faded away. Hidan laughed and turned away from his fallen foe, back
toward the rest of the ninja.
"Kakashi-sensei's still -" Naruto started to protest.
"I'm almost out of chakra," Kakashi said quietly. "I've only
got one more technique in me, and he's too fast for me to hit with
anything strong enough."
Something flew at Hidan from behind. He whirled about, striking
it out of the air with his scythe, and Naruto saw Kasumi's hammer,
electricity crackling around it, slam into the ground. The impact made
a crater, mud flying everywhere.
Naruto took a step forward. "If I snared him," he replied, just
as softly.
"How?" Sasuke demanded. "He's too -"
"We can't just give up! If we can't run, we might as well fight
with everything we have!" Damn it, since when was Sasuke such a coward?
Having attracted Hidan's attention once more, Kasumi stood,
raising one hand. Her hammer flew out of the crater toward her, and she
caught it with practiced ease. Seals Naruto couldn't recognize at this
distance glowed bright blue along the stone head. "I might not be a
chuunin, but I'm no wimp!" she shouted. "Don't you dare turn your back
on me!"
"Neat toy," Hidan said. "I think I'll kill your teammates with
it." Ignoring everyone else, he slowly walked toward Kasumi, scythe
spinning in his hands.
"I... I have to help her," Eimi said. She still shook, but only
a little, and she glanced at Naruto. "You're right."
"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.
"If you can snare him," Kakashi said, and Naruto didn't begrudge
him the dubious note in his tired voice, "I can kill him."
"That settles it, then," Naruto said. "We give Kakashi-sensei
his chance."
"You're not that good," Sasuke said. His eyes were black again,
Naruto realized. "You can't snare me half the time, how do you expect
to -"
"Shut up!" Naruto said. "I know, bastard! Do you have a better
plan?"
"No," Sasuke said.
"Then stop being a damn coward!"
"We have a chance," Eimi said quietly. "Numbers matter, and I
have a binding technique also. We all go after him. We only have to be
lucky once." She sounded like she was trying to convince herself.
"Are you with us, Sasuke?" Naruto demanded.
"Yes," he said tightly. His eyes flickered and became crimson
again.
Naruto heard someone moving behind him. "Sakura-chan, no!"
"You heard her," she said weakly. "Numbers matter."
"Sakura-san," Eimi started.
"No," Sasuke said. "You'll just get in the way, dead last.
Stay back." For once, Naruto didn't want to hit him. If that made
Sakura back down like she usually did... he'd forgive Sasuke for the
harsh words.
Sakura didn't say anything, but she sat back down on the wagon.
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, and turned back to where Hidan was
toying with Kasumi. "Let's go," he said, reaching into his pouch for a
weapon. Eimi visibly steeled herself, and together the three genin
broke into a run.
Sasuke stopped short, hands flicking through seals. Rolling
fire poured from his mouth over Naruto and Eimi's heads, lighting the
night and covering the final feet of their advance. Naruto hurled his
kunai through the flames, and heard it strike home over the fire's
roaring, but as Sasuke's technique died Naruto saw it falling to the
ground.
"A swarm of weaklings is still weak," Hidan observed, spinning
his scythe in a circle and forcing his opponents back.
Naruto dove under it, hand reaching for Hidan's leg. "Chakra -"
Hidan kicked him in the face. "No," he said. His scythe came
down on Naruto.
Then Sasuke was there, blocking the blow with a kunai. The
force drove his blade from his hands. His feet skidded through the mud,
unable to find traction.
Before he could even fall, Hidan brought the blunt end of his
scythe up with a flick of his hands, striking the dark-haired boy across
the forehead with perfect accuracy. Sasuke went flying, and didn't rise
when he landed.
"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, echoed a moment later by Sakura's own
distant cry of "Sasuke-kun!"
"Don't worry about him," Hidan said. The two Cloud kunoichi
tried to attack from behind, only to be warded off by his scythe without
him even having to turn around. "Those eyes are too fucking valuable to
kill. Worry about your own sorry hides."
His scythe came down again, but Naruto was able to roll out of
the way. He tried to rise, but suddenly a thick, smothering miasma of
killing intent paralyzed him. Kasumi and Eimi fell to their knees. "I
just noticed Sharingan Kakashi moved," Hidan said, raising his scythe
again, "and hid his presence. I can't play with you if you're plotting
something with him." Bizarrely, he actually sounded sorry.
"No!" Even through the paralysis, Naruto started at the sudden
cry.
"Sakura-chan," he gasped. "No -"
The pink-haired girl awkwardly ran at Hidan, one arm still in
its sling. Hidan stared at her as she drew near. "What are you even
trying to do?" he asked. "Seriously." Casually, he bent down to pick
up a fallen kunai and tossed it at the charging girl.
Sakura threw herself to the ground to avoid the weapon. Hidan
shook his head. "Stay down and I'll kill you last," he advised, turning
his attention back to the other young ninja. He raised his scythe.
Naruto tried to rise, with every ounce of willpower he
possessed, but the primal terror that Hidan caused so effortlessly was
too powerful, sapping his muscles of their strength. All he could do
was shake.
"I... I won't let you hurt Naruto-kun or Sasuke-kun!" Sakura
said, slowly crawling to her feet. "I won't!" How could she even move?
"You can't stop me," Hidan said amusedly. His killing intent
flared again. "You won't even be fun to kill. Just give up."
Sakura bent over, shaking, but she didn't fall. "No," she
growled, in a voice that didn't sound like her own.
"Just die then," Hidan commanded, raising his scythe and drawing
in range of the girl in a single stride. The little bit of extra
distance from the man let Naruto struggle to his knees, but it was
futile. Hidan's scythe started to fall.
Then it flicked aside, blocking a kunai that flew out of the
darkness. "Not smart, Kakashi," Hidan said. He half-turned toward the
source of the thrown weapon.
Sakura slammed into the man, actually driving him back a step.
Her good hand clawed pointlessly at Hidan's chest. Not that Naruto
imagined a weapon would have done much better, since he'd survived
having his throat cut by Kakashi.
Keeping his scythe between him and the direction Kakashi's kunai
had come from, Hidan grabbed Sakura's arm with his other hand.
Laughing, he lifted her into the air. She kicked at him, but Hidan
weathered the blows without showing any pain. Sakura snarled and bit at
his hand.
"Bitch," Hidan said lightly. He swung her about to face where
Kakashi must have been hidden. "Care to toss another kunai?" he asked
mockingly, drawing Sakura in close to shield his body.
Sakura's injured arm tore lose of the sling, pressing something
against Hidan's chest. Naruto had just a moment to recognize one of the
explosive tags he'd made for Sakura. "Bitch," Hidan snarled, much less
amused, an instant before it detonated.
The explosion was weak; either Sakura hadn't had enough chakra
left to fully activate it or Hidan had somehow partly defused it. The
blast still threw Sakura loose and sent Hidan staggering back. Most
importantly, the killing intent that froze Naruto shattered, the will
that drove it distracted and unfocused for an instant.
Everything happened at once. Hidan almost went for Sakura, who
wasn't moving, then whirled about to face the attack from the others.
Naruto dove for Hidan's legs again. Hidan's scythe moved to intercept
him. It stopped short, Kasumi's hammer blocking it, seal-light and
electricity glowing around it as it pressed against the metal haft.
"When I hold my hammer," the dark-skinned girl grunted, "there's
nothing in this world I can't destroy!"
Seemingly taking the boast as advice, Hidan did something with
his weapon Naruto couldn't follow, sending the hammer flying, then using
the haft like a staff to knock its wielder to the ground.
Naruto darted for his legs again, but Hidan danced out of the
way. Then Eimi was coming down on him from above. Her hand caught the
edge of Hidan's shirt as he dodged. "Raiton: Lightning Bind!" Discs of
electricity wrapped around his arms and legs, forcing them together.
With a roar, Hidan broke through them, the lightning shattering
into a thousand shards, but they held him just long enough for Naruto to
reach him.
"Chakra Chain -" He just wasn't fast enough. Hidan was
slowing, Naruto thought, but the gap was just too big. Even as the man
forced Eimi back with a wild swing of his scythe, he stepped back, out
of Naruto's grasp, almost tripping over Sakura's still form.
Sakura's good arm suddenly lashed out, grabbing Hidan's ankle.
She pulled down, and Hidan actually stumbled. "Naruto-kun!" she yelled
hoarsely.
Naruto was already in motion, closing the distance before Hidan
could shake Sakura off. "Chakra Chain Snare!" Naruto poured his chakra
into his technique, forming more chain then ever before, enough to loop
around both legs. He could feel Hidan's own chakra fighting it off,
knew he could only hold him for a second or two.
It was more than enough. Blood flew everywhere. Kakashi's hand
was rammed through Hidan's back, spine, and heart, coming out the front
of his chest. Bright, electric light danced around it, and a sound like
chirping birds filled the air.
"It's over," Kakashi said, his voice calm and composed. "Take
your own advice and just die."
Hidan coughed up blood, and then Naruto no longer felt him
struggling against the chakra chain that bound him. Unthinkingly, he
let the chains dissolve.
Kakashi withdrew his arm, letting Hidan's corpse fall to the
ground. His other arm, shaking, lowered his forehead protector over a
crimson Sharingan that Naruto was too numb to wonder about. "Good job,
all of you," Kakashi said.
Then, he collapsed, splashing Naruto and Sakura with mud as he
landed.
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There was really only one thought that came to Naruto's mind as
he studied the sleepers. "We were lucky." That Hidan guy had claimed
to have destroyed the Hot Springs village. Even if that was an
exaggeration, he'd still basically beaten Kakashi and Tetsu. One
chuunin and five genin, one of whom was walking wounded, should have
died.
"Yeah," Kasumi agreed. "We were."
***********************************************************************
Sakura was neither the first nor the last of her team to wake
after the battle with Hidan. Sasuke had, she learned, awakened at dawn
the next morning, though Naruto had insisted he continued to rest.
Sakura had woken in the afternoon, but had only had time to reassure
herself that everyone was safe and eat before, exhausted, she had
returned to her bedroll. Kakashi had stirred once, slightly after
Sakura had woken on the second day after the battle, but only for a few
minutes.
Today, Sakura felt no more tired than normal, and her arm -
bound tightly in a sling - ached so little she considered freeing it as
she dressed, but she had no desire to advertise her inhuman
regeneration. The weather had finally improved, and she had to blink
several times from the unexpected brightness of the sun shining brightly
in a clear sky when she briefly poked her head out of the way-station
pavilion's shade. It was bitterly cold, but still far more enjoyable
than the endless rain of the past week.
Sakura exchanged morning greetings with Naruto when he came
inside as she ate a small breakfast. The blond's response was muttered
and almost incoherent. Worried, Sakura followed him as he went over to
check on Kakashi. The two jounin were the only ninja left bedridden,
but the Cloud's teacher was awake, his team clustered around his bed,
talking quietly among themselves. They hushed briefly when Naruto and
Sakura passed, then resumed when they saw what the pair of Leaf ninja
were doing.
"Is Kakashi-sensei going to be okay, Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked
quietly herself. She knew chakra exhaustion could be serious from the
harsh warnings the academy teachers had given all their students.
It took Naruto several moments to answer. "He should be... up
and moving in a couple days." He blinked several times and shook his
head as if to clear it. "A little longer to travel."
"When was the last time you slept?" Sakura asked him.
"Not since we got here," someone said suddenly.
Sakura started, and - embarrassed to be snuck up on so easily -
turned to see the Cloud medic Hikaru. The rest of his team had departed
while Naruto examined Kakashi, and his teacher now seemed to be dozing.
The boy smiled gently, one of his hands adjusting his glasses. "He
wouldn't sleep, watching over you and Uchiha-san," he explained.
As if on cue, Naruto yawned loudly. "You should get some sleep,
Naruto-kun," Sakura said. Had he really been up for the past two days
without sleep? "Sasuke-kun and I will be fine, and we can wake you if
anything happens with Kakashi-sensei."
Naruto yawned again. "I guess," he said. "Let me get my
bedroll." He started to wander off, but in the wrong direction if he
intended to retrieve his things from the carts.
"You can just use mine for now," Sakura offered quickly, giving
her friend a soft push in its direction with her free arm.
"Thanks, Sakura-chan," Naruto said with another yawn. "Remind
me to replace your caffeine pills when we get home." It took Sakura a
moment to realize what he meant; she didn't remember the first aid kit
Kabuto had given her containing caffeine pills, but she hadn't memorized
its contents. Naruto didn't bother to undress, almost collapsing on top
of Sakura's bedroll. Moments later, his loud snores filled the air.
"I'm glad you were able to convince him," Hikaru said quietly.
"It's not healthy to abuse those stimulant pills like that."
Irrational guilt welled up in Sakura, but a moment's thought was
enough to push it aside. She wasn't the only member of the team who had
been out of commission after all.
"Loud kid." The new voice almost made Sakura jump again, and
she and Hikaru turned to the Cloud jounin, who had woken from his brief
doze.
"Sorry, ah..." Sakura realized that she couldn't remember the
man's name.
"Tetsu," he said. "And don't worry about it. He deserves the
rest, and I've slept through worse." He smiled briefly, then closed his
eyes. If he had any trouble falling back asleep the instant they shut,
Sakura couldn't tell.
After a few moment's awkward silence, Hikaru went outside, and
Sakura followed a second or two behind. Looking about, Araimi and
Keikan were by the carts, deep in conversation with Eimi. Kasumi sat on
a branch halfway up a tree, idly playing with her hammer and keeping
watch over the road. Sakura couldn't see Sasuke anywhere. Where could
he have gone? Naruto hadn't said anything, but in the state he'd been
in Sakura didn't know if he'd have noticed.
Sakura headed toward the carts, but Hikaru didn't follow,
instead wandering in Kasumi's direction. As she drew near, Sakura was
able to overhear Keikan and Eimi speaking.
"You have our thanks," the kunoichi was saying.
Keikan snorted at that. "You're paying me, and it's the least I
could do after... well. Thanks are hardly required." They were making
some kind of deal? What did the Cloud want?
Araimi noticed Sakura first, and she quickly broke away from her
father's side, rushing over to embrace Sakura with a force that almost
knocked her over. "Sakura-chan!"
"A-raimi-chan," Sakura stuttered in response, surprise at the
exuberant greeting making her stumble over the other girl's name.
"I'm glad you're okay," Araimi said. Then she suddenly released
Sakura, giving her injured arm a worried glance. "I didn't hurt you,
did I?"
"It's fine," Sakura said automatically.
Keikan approached the pair of girls. Eimi had politely
withdrawn a few steps, although not so far that she couldn't hear every
word. "How are you doing?" the merchant asked quietly.
"It's fine," Sakura said again.
A frown passed over Keikan's face, but he didn't press the
issue. "It seems I owe you another thanks, Sakura-kun," he stated.
Sakura shifted under his gaze. "I didn't do that much," she
said. She'd killed a demon hound while Naruto held it down, and against
Hidan... her memories were clouded with rage, but she remembered the
fear as she'd struggled in Hidan's grasp, barely remembering to use the
explosive tag hidden in her injured hand as a final, desperate gambit.
"Naruto-kun is the one who caught him, and Kakashi-sensei..."
"To hear Araimi tell it," Keikan said, "you faced him down alone
after everyone else was... incapacitated."
"It... wasn't really like that," Sakura said. He was making it
sound like she'd done something brave, like she hadn't been half-insane
from terror. She thought she heard Eimi make a sound, but she wasn't
certain.
"Sakura-chan," Araimi started, but she stopped at a look from
her father.
"Be that as it may," Keikan said. "I've already given Naruto-
kun and Sasuke-kun my thanks, and our friends from Cloud. He bowed,
Sakura thought even more deeply than when he'd thanked her after the
incident at the hot springs resort. "Thank you, again."
Sakura felt her cheeks heat. She wasn't any more certain how to
respond to this than before, either. "You're paying us," she said
weakly, echoing Keikan's own words of a few moments before.
Keikan snorted as he straightened. "I'm paying you to scare off
bandits. Not to fight... whatever that man was."
"A jounin, and a powerful one," Eimi said quietly, abandoning
the fiction that she wasn't listening. "That's why it's important that
we recover the body."
Sakura looked at the other kunoichi. "Eimi-san?"
"I am hiring one of Keikan-san's carts, to retrieve Hidan's
corpse." She paused, then added. "And the other Hot Springs ninja."
"Tora-san," Sakura said. She hadn't thought of the man once,
had she? But... he'd been cut down, right in front of her. And...
Hidan had said something about children.
"Yes," Eimi said. "If your team wants to send a representative
along..." She trailed off.
"I..." Sakura looked around. Kakashi and Naruto were asleep.
Where was Sasuke?
Eimi seemed to grasp her thoughts. She gestured at the woods
behind the way-station. "Uchiha-san went off to train privately," she
said.
"I need to talk to him," Sakura said.
"We'll need to unload the cart, anyway," Keikan said. "Araimi."
"Yes, Papa," his daughter said. "I'll get started." She gave
Sakura a parting smile, then raced off to the cart she usually drove,
which had less cargo than Keikan's.
Sakura headed off to find Sasuke, but hesitated as she reached
the edge of the woods. With Naruto and Kakashi asleep and Sasuke off
training, she was the only one of the team present and awake. She
couldn't just leave Keikan and Araimi, not to mention her sleeping
comrades, alone with a team of foreign ninja. Not that she'd do much
good if she had to fight Eimi, Kasumi, and Hikaru all by herself, but...
not much good was better than none.
"Sasuke-kun!" she yelled out as loudly as she could. What had
he been thinking, going off on his own like that? Sakura forced down
the sudden irritation. Sasuke knew what he was doing, she told herself.
Surely he had a good reason.
There wasn't any response. Sakura yelled Sasuke's name again.
What was she going to do if he didn't come? What if he was hurt
somewhere?
Finally Sasuke emerged from the cover of the trees. Sakura
opened her mouth, but she stopped as he fixed her with a crimson gaze.
What looked like an extra pupil on each red eye stared at her. The
sight made her stomach queasy for some reason. Unthinkingly, she
stepped back, swallowing nervously. Her stomach itched, and she
imagined she could feel the spiral seal that marred it darkening.
"What?" Sasuke demanded.
"Your eyes," Sakura managed to say.
Sasuke blinked, and when his eyes opened again they were black.
"The Sharingan," he explained.
"I... know," Sakura said, the strange feelings fading away just
as quickly as they came. "I just..." She tried to come up with an
explanation that wasn't awkward. "I wasn't expecting to see them like
that." It sounded weak to her own ears.
Sasuke's mouth twitched, and Sakura told herself it was a smile.
"What do you need?" he asked.
Sakura quickly explained the situation. "Are the clients
going?" Sasuke asked, glancing in the direction of the way-station.
"They didn't say," Sakura said.
Sasuke grunted irritably, and started to walk back to the way-
station. Sakura trailed after him. "Where's Naruto?" he asked suddenly
as they neared the rest of the group.
"Asleep," Sakura answered quietly. Sasuke just frowned, and
didn't say anything more until reached the carts. Eimi had started to
help Araimi unload her cart.
"Uchiha-san," Eimi said in greeting. Sasuke just nodded
shortly.
Sakura realized it was up to her to ask the question. "Are you
or your father going to be driving the cart, Araimi-chan?" she asked.
Eimi raised a hand. "I understand the position that would put
your team in, Sakura-san," she said. "Hikaru-kun can drive a cart."
"Good," Sasuke said simply.
"If one of you wishes to come, though," Eimi said, "the offer
still stands." She flushed suddenly. "I'm not trying to hide what
we're doing or anything," she added quickly. In the distance, Kasumi
laughed. Eimi shot a glare over Sakura's shoulder, probably at the
other Cloud kunoichi.
"Or to trick them into splitting up through reverse psychology?"
Kasumi asked loudly, walking up to Araimi and the other three ninja.
Araimi started to laugh, but trailed off when no one else did.
"Kasumi," Eimi almost growled. "You are not helping."
"Man, only the civilian seems how funny all this is?" Kasumi
asked. Sakura really didn't see the humor. The Cloud and the Leaf's
last war was in her own lifetime, fought in this very country. "So is
fancy-eyes or Sakura-chan coming or not?" As always, Kasumi stressed
the inappropriate familiar suffix after Sakura's name.
Sakura looked at Sasuke. "No," he said firmly, glaring at
Kasumi. The redhead smirked back at him.
"I understand," was all Eimi said.
About a quarter-hour later, the cart was unloaded, and Eimi sent
Kasumi and Hikaru with it to return to the site of the battle. Sakura
spent the next while silently watching as Keikan and Araimi checked over
their cargo for damage. Sasuke didn't go back to his training, but he
didn't seem inclined to talk, seating himself on an old tree stump where
he could watch both the clients and the way-station where Naruto and
Kakashi slept. Eimi gave both Leaf ninja a wide berth, alternating
between checking on her own teacher and watching the roadway.
Sakura found Sasuke much more entertaining to watch than Keikan
and Araimi's slow inventory. After a few minutes, he noticed her
attention, and much to Sakura's surprise and pleasure he gestured for
her to join him.
"What is it, Sasuke-kun?" she asked, not quite meeting his eyes
as she sat on the stump next to him.
He edged over to give her room, but didn't speak for a few
moments, his gaze following Eimi as she went into the way-station.
"Your arm," he said quietly. "How is it?"
"It's fine," Sakura said automatically. Her cheeks felt like
they were on fire.
Sasuke snorted. "Fine or fine?" he asked.
"Fine," Sakura answered, and then she felt her blush deepen.
"It doesn't hurt," she admitted, shifting uncomfortably. Couldn't
Sasuke talk about something else? "I think it's healed."
"Don't tell anyone," Sasuke ordered, "and don't let their medic
look at it."
Sakura hadn't been planning on doing either of those anyway, but
she just nodded and said, "I understand."
Eimi emerged from the way-station, apparently done checking on
her teacher. She glanced curiously at Sakura and Sasuke, but didn't
approach. Sasuke watched as she walked around, aimlessly so far as
Sakura could tell.
"How was your training, Sasuke-kun?" she asked. "What were you
working on?"
Sasuke frowned suddenly, his eyes not leaving Eimi. "Don't ask,
dead last," he said shortly.
The unexpected harshness stole Sakura's voice for a moment.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun," she said when she found it.
Sasuke just grunted, and he expression didn't lift. After a
moment, he stood. "I'm going to watch the road," he said. "Keep an eye
on the others."
He walked away without another word, and Sakura silently watched
him go. Why had he reacted like that? Sasuke could be... like that
sometimes, but it was usually when Naruto annoyed him or she'd screwed
up somehow.
Araimi and Keikan were finishing their examination of the cargo,
and thankfully it looked like only a few boxes of cigars were damaged.
As they finished, Eimi approached, holding something in her hands.
Sakura quickly rose and joined them, discovering that the other kunoichi
was holding a blue bag Sakura vaguely recognized.
"I never did get the chance to give you the haircut I offered,
Araimi-san," Eimi said by way of explanation.
"Oh," Araimi said. "I guess since we're all friends again..."
She glanced at Sakura.
Sakura couldn't see any reason to object, and just shrugged
awkwardly. She still watched as Eimi set to work undoing Araimi's
braid, but when she thought she heard Naruto saying something from
inside the way-station, she felt comfortable enough to go check on him.
Both Naruto and Kakashi were sleeping soundly, but Sakura reminded
herself to come back and check regularly. The Cloud jounin woke when
Sakura passed him, but didn't say anything.
Sakura returned to her clients' side, and after Eimi finished
trimming Araimi's hair, the next couple hours passed uneventfully.
Sakura wasn't able to stop herself from sending frequent glances at the
tree Sasuke had occupied as his watch post, but he didn't show any sign
of stirring until Kasumi and Hikaru returned.
The two bodies on the cart were covered by cloth tarps, which
the two Cloud genin didn't remove as they gently placed the bodies on
the ground before returning the cart to Keikan. Sakura swallowed as she
stared at the two fallen ninja. With the covering, there was no way to
tell which was which.
"I'll get Tetsu-sensei," Eimi said, and she went under the
pavilion. She emerge a few minutes later, supporting a clearly weak
Tetsu as he slowly made his way over to the bodies.
"Show me," the jounin demanded simply.
Hikaru nodded, pulling back the covering from the first ninja's
head. It was Tora. Someone had closed his eyes, Sakura noted, before
she had to look away. He was someone she hardly knew, and he hadn't
been a friend, but it was uncomfortable to see him like that. Even
Sasuke looked a little sick, only looking at the body for a moment.
Tetsu just nodded, and Hikaru covered Tora back up before pulling the
tarp away from Hidan.
Hidan's eyes had been left open, and Sakura let out a breath she
hadn't realized she'd been holding when she saw that unmoving face. For
all his monstrous power, he was really dead. Hikaru had pulled the
cover back further than he had with Tora, displaying the hole Kakashi's
final technique had made in Hidan's chest. Sakura could feel herself
going green, and she looked away again. Strangely, this time Sasuke's
gaze was fixed on the man, and for just a moment it turned crimson.
Tetsu started to bend down, but seemed to think better of it.
"You checked?" he asked.
"It's his real body," Hikaru said. "No alterations or disguise
techniques that I can tell."
"Good," Tetsu said. "Eimi, put them in one of the storage
scrolls." The chuunin nodded. Tetsu glanced at Sakura and Sasuke. "I
assume the Leaf have no objections to us taking possession of the
bodies?"
Sakura waited for Sasuke to say something, but he didn't. After
a moment, she shook her head.
"What's going on?" Sakura started at the unexpected voice, and
turned to see Naruto, rubbing at his eyes.
It took a few minutes to explain matters, while Tetsu went back
to his rest and Eimi set to work dealing with the corpses. Naruto
quickly dragooned Sasuke into helping with reloading the cart. With her
arm theoretically unusable, Sakura couldn't really help, so she went to
check on Kakashi.
Once again, Tetsu seemed to wake instantly as she drew near, but
he still didn't say anything. Sakura stared down at her teacher for a
few minutes, wishing she could do something to help him. Kakashi's
breathing seemed to be better, and he actually stirred a little when
Sakura whispered a quiet wish for his quick recovery, but he didn't
wake.
Once the cart was reloaded, to her surprise Naruto dragged
Sakura aside, a bundle of scrolls under his arm. "You offered to help
me with my studies, right?" he reminded Sakura.
Sakura nodded. "I don't know how much help I'll be," she warned
him as they sat down over the scrolls. "I haven't studied any of these
before."
"I'll loan you the ones I'm done with," Naruto said. He
grinned. "They're even more boring than those Gutsy Shinobi books,
though."
"The Gutsy Shinobi series is excellent," Sakura protested, but
she wasn't able to stop from laughing.
Before they could start studying, Sasuke approached. "I'm going
to train," he announced, and turned to leave. Naruto nodded and started
to unroll one of his scrolls, then stopped as he followed Sakura's gaze
as she watched Sasuke vanish into the trees. "Wait, he meant he was
going off into the woods?"
Sakura nodded weakly.
"And he calls me an idiot?" Naruto rose suddenly. "I'm going
to go drag him -"
"Don't," Sakura said quietly. She didn't want the two of them
getting into a fight. "I'll get him," she added quickly.
"All right," Naruto said slowly. "You're second-in-command, I
guess," he added with a laugh. "Make sure he remembers that if he gives
you any trouble."
Sakura started at the reminder. Kakashi had named her second-
in-command, when the mission started. But that was before things had...
gotten serious, right? It didn't mean anything.
Shaking her head, Sakura went into woods, and tried to figure
out how to get Sasuke to come back without making him angry. After a
short distance, the woods behind the way-station ended in a sheer cliff.
The cliff rose about ten feet over a small set of natural hot springs,
and Sakura found Sasuke standing on one of them.
"Sasuke-kun," she called out hesitantly. Was that lightning she
saw flickering around him?
The boy spun about, looking up at Sakura with his red eyes.
Sakura steeled herself and met his gaze. "What is it, dead last?" he
demanded.
"You... you shouldn't go off like this on your own," Sakura said
hesitantly. "If something was to happen... if that Hidan had allies..."
"I'm not going to just sit around and waste my time," Sasuke
said.
"You can train at the way-station," Sakura said.
"In front of the Cloud?" Sasuke snorted.
Sakura blinked. "Was that... Eimi-san's technique?" Sakura
asked. The Sharingan was supposed to be able to copy ninjutsu, wasn't
it?
Sasuke glared at her. "Don't say anything," he ordered.
"I wouldn't!" Sakura answered. But she guessed he had a point
that he couldn't train with the technique in front of the girl he'd
taken it from. "We still have to stick together, though," she said.
What would she do if Sasuke refused? No matter what Naruto said, she
couldn't try to pull rank on him. That would be ridiculous.
Sasuke grunted irritably, but his eyes turned black and he
walked up the cliff-side and started back toward the way-station.
Sakura followed him, but right before they emerged from the trees Sasuke
stopped in front of her. "Is it true?" he asked harshly. "What Naruto
says about the fight?" He didn't need to specify which one.
"I... I don't know what Naruto-kun said," Sakura answered
weakly.
"That you could move under his killing intent," Sasuke said.
"That you hit him with an explosive tag and held him down so Naruto
could snare him."
Sakura swallowed. It was... it was true, even if she hadn't
thought of it in those terms. "Yes," she said. For the moment, a brief
image of Sasuke thanking her for saving him and confessing his love
passed through her head, but she forced it aside. That wasn't Sasuke.
Sasuke turned back to face her. "How?" he demanded.
Sakura didn't have an answer. How had she done that? The
killing intent, she had felt at first, but with the rage of the Nine-
Tails burning in her gut, it had paled in comparison. She couldn't say
that. As for the rest, though... "He toyed with me," Sakura said
quietly. "I wasn't a threat. And I got lucky."
Sasuke just grunted, but he seemed satisfied with that answer,
and together they walked back to the way-station. Naruto flashed Sakura
a grin when he saw them. Sasuke grunted, but all he said was, "Don't
take too long with this. I want to spar later."
Naruto nodded. "Any time, bastard," he said. Sasuke just
nodded and left his teammates to their work as Sakura sat down beside
the other boy.
Much as she'd predicted, most of the material went over Sakura's
head as she'd only read a little beyond the academy courses and Naruto
was working his way through the course-load for apprentice medics. She
got even more lost when Hikaru noticed what they were studying and
joined them, but Naruto's enthusiasm was infectious and the little she
did understand of the boys' discussion of medical ninjutsu was
fascinating. None of it was likely to be of any use to her, though.
Everyone knew that medical ninjutsu took almost perfect control, and
Sakura had barely maintained passing marks in the chakra control
exercises in the academy.
Soon enough, it was time for dinner, and Naruto had to put his
scrolls away. Tetsu actually emerged from the way-station, once more
supported by Eimi, to join them, but he waited until everyone was almost
finished with their food before speaking.
"Which one of you is in command?" he asked the Leaf ninja
suddenly.
"Sakura-chan is," Naruto answered quickly. Sasuke rolled his
eyes, and Sakura felt her cheeks heat. It was technically true, but
still... she wasn't any sort of commander.
"Very well," Tetsu said. None of the Cloud ninja showed any
sign of shock or disbelief, to Sakura's own surprise. "We need to
discuss where we go from here."
"This sounds like a conversation I should be a part of."
Everyone looked up.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said happily, jumping to his feet. The
jounin was up, and had somehow acquired a large stick that he used like
a cane as he hobbled out of the way-station.
"Thank you for taking care of me, Naruto-kun," Kakashi said, but
his eye stayed fixed on the Cloud jounin.
"Kakashi," Tetsu said. He covered his metal arm, resting at his
side, with his other hand.
"Tetsu," Kakashi replied simply.
Waving off Eimi's efforts to help, Tetsu slowly stood. "Let's
talk," he said, and the two jounin slowly made their way back to the
way-station. No one seemed to be inclined to follow them, and the two
teams of ninja awkwardly stared at each other. Araimi nervously inched
closer to Sakura.
Despite the sudden tension, Sakura still let out a sigh of
relief. If Kakashi was awake, he would take care of everything, and it
would all be okay. There'd be no more of this nonsense from Naruto
about her being in command.
No one spoke until the jounin returned.
"I imagine you're impatient to be on your way," Kakashi said the
Keikan as he seated himself and started helping himself to what was left
of the food. Somehow he managed to eat without ever lowering his mask
while Sakura was looking.
"I won't lie and say no," Keikan said, "but I understand the
situation."
"Eimi," Tetsu said.
"Yes, sir?"
"You will be traveling to the Frost Country border. Their
should be a Frost team waiting for Keikan-san there. You'll advise them
of the situation and bring them back here to start their escort duties."
"Yes, sir," Eimi stated again.
"I can't pay you -" Keikan began, sounding surprised.
"It's no matter," Tetsu said. "I would be sending her anyway,
with messages for my commanders." His gaze swept the ninja. "We're in
an unusual situation here, if the Hot Springs were wiped out."
"But discussion of that can wait until Keikan-san and Araimi-san
are safely on their way," Kakashi interjected.
Tetsu nodded, and said nothing more, and soon afterward Naruto
and Hikaru had both jounin back in bed resting. It wasn't too much
later that Sakura joined them, weariness sinking into her bones with
enough suddenness that she was asleep almost before she finished getting
into her bedroll.
***********************************************************************
"It's him," the kunoichi said firmly, though quietly. Two Leaf
ninja hid in the trees over a clearing, not far from the empty, trapped
house of Tazuna the bridge-builder.
The ninja by her side didn't seem surprised by the application
of the male gender to the figure down below, despite the feminine kimono
he wore. Apparently unaware of the two ninja, the boy knelt amidst a
cluster of herbs, carefully selecting which ones he plucked and placed
in the basket at his side. "Go fetch Hana-taichou and Kabuto-kun,
Tsubaki. I'll keep watch."
The woman in the trees frowned at her companions words. "Be
careful, Takeru. He's dangerous."
"I know." Takeru smiled thinly. "He won't even know I'm here."
Tsubaki didn't answer, but she left, not disturbing a single
leaf with her passage. Takeru settled in to wait. The minutes passed
with agonizing slowness, but long experience with similar watches,
though in far less dangerous situations, helped the ninja stay calm.
Even when the boy below took his basket and rose, turning to leave, he
didn't panic.
The genin's hands moved through a well-worn set of seals, his
green eyes focused on the boy as he cast his genjutsu. The boy's path
out of the clearing turned, becoming a circle around it. The watching
ninja smiled, and settled in for another wait.
The boy stopped before he had completed a single full circuit.
While one hand held onto his basket, the other formed a single seal, and
the illusion twisting his direction shattered. His hand started to move
through more half-seals.
Years of reflexes guided Takeru's reaction, a pair of kunai
leaving his hands without thought, one in the other's shadow. The boy
caught one, used it to block the other, and then tossed it aside, not
even dropping the basket he held in his other hand. His free hand
reformed a seal. "Hyouton: Ice Blade."
Takeru's green eyes widened in surprise, and he leapt away
instants before a sheet of glistening ice sliced through the branch he
rested on, sending it crashing to the floor. He didn't have time to
recover his balance, a pair of senbon the boy tossed negligently forcing
him to abandon his next perch. He landed on another branch. A moment
later his eyes widened again, this time in fear, as an explosive tag
flew through the air and pasted itself to the tree trunk next to him.
He dove for the ground, the loud explosion chasing him down.
He landed in a roll, coming up into a crouch. The boy, still
unmoving, watched him with impassive eyes, his hand forming more seals.
Ropes erupted from out of the ground, wrapping around Takeru and binding
him to a tree trunk. He tested their strength, and found he could
barely move his arms.
The boy finally set down his basket. He stepped toward Takeru,
but didn't come closer than a half-dozen paces. "Zabuza-sama will be
pleased with me," he said.
"Haku, right?" Takeru asked.
"You have me at a disadvantage," the boy answered.
Takeru glanced at the ropes binding him before answering.
"Haruno Takeru."
"I am sorry, Haruno-san," Haku said, "but you will be coming
with me. If you are cooperative, I may be able to convince Zabuza-sama
not to kill you."
Takeru's hand twitched. "If I betray my teammates, you mean."
"Yes."
"I don't think so."
Haku bowed his head. "I expected no less, but I hoped for the
chance to spare you."
"There's nothing stopping you from letting me go."
"I will not betray my comrades either, Haruno-san."
"I didn't know missing ninja were big on loyalty."
Haku's eyes were hard. "I am Zabuza-sama's weapon." He formed
a dual-handed seal. "I will give you one last chance, and then I will
give you what mercy I can."
Takeru clenched his fists tightly. He smiled. "Release," he
hissed, and the ropes that bound him vanished. A spear of ice pierced
only a piece of deadwood left behind by the replacement technique.
Before Haku could follow up, a pair of kunai thudded into the ground at
his feet, explosive tags dangling from their hilts. He jumped away,
then froze for an instant too long as he landed near a pair of puddles
that hadn't been there before.
Two copies of Tsubaki erupted from the water, short blades
crossed underneath Haku's neck. Two more ninja emerged from the shadow
of the trees, a silver-haired man and a tattooed woman trailed by a dog.
Takeru reappeared next to them. "Just in time, Hana-taichou," he
gasped.
The woman just nodded, before grinning at Haku. "We're going to
have a long talk, fake hunter ninja."
The boy stood impassively, ignoring both the blades at his
throat and the question. "When did you know it was a genjutsu?" he
asked Takeru.
"From the start," Takeru answered.
The boy smiled. "It takes strength, to let yourself stay at an
enemy's mercy like that, the strength that only comes from protecting
something." He glanced about. "Your teammates?"
"Sure," Takeru said.
"It was an impressive ambush," Haku said. "Leaf genin are quite
skilled."
"We try," one Tsubaki said.
"Enough chit-chat," Hana said. "Kabuto."
"Right." The silver-haired medic approached Haku. Green chakra
gathered around one hand.
"Farewell," Haku said. The two Tsubaki doubled over, spears of
ice erupting from their chests before they dissolved into water. Kabuto
darted forward, his chakra brushing Haku's face for just an instant
before the boy vanished in a swirl of leaves.
"Damn it," Hana snarled. "Get him!"
"Where's Tsubaki?" Takeru asked.
"If we're lucky," Kabuto said, and then he was interrupted by
Haku flying back into the clearing. "Right on top of him." Hana's dog
pounced, jaws closing around Haku's right leg and drawing a moan of
pain.
Tsubaki entered the clearing. "You're not getting away that
easy, kid. I've got a good taste of your chakra now. Body-flicker
isn't going to work."
Haku seemed woozy, and only responded with another moan.
Kabuto adjusted his glasses, smiling. "It looks like he didn't
escape my anesthesia technique entirely."
"Finish it quickly, then, before he recovers," Hana ordered.
"Of course," Kabuto said. He cautiously approached Haku, then
in one rapid motion placed his hand over the boy's mouth. It glowed
green once more. "Sleep well."
***********************************************************************
The next day passed mostly without incident. The Cloud chuunin
left on her mission to the Frost border shortly after dawn; if Sasuke
had judged their position correctly, then he expected she would reach
her destination sometime in the evening. With both jounin awake, the
awkward intermingling of the past days was thankfully over. The two
Cloud genin stayed by their teacher's side; so far as Sasuke could tell
doing nothing but keeping wary eyes on the road and the Leaf ninja.
Kakashi, still hobbling around on that stick he'd found
somewhere, let his team rest for a while before announcing his plan for
the day. "There's no point in wasting the day," he said, loudly enough
that the Cloud were sure to hear him. "I'll be giving each of you some
one-on-one training." His mask wrinkled in what Sasuke knew was a
smile. "The other two of you can practice tree-climbing while you keep
an eye on Keikan-san and Araimi-san."
Naruto gave a theatrical groan. "That's boring," he complained.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Why can't we at least go out back and practice
water-walking?"
"Because we're supposed to watch the clients," Sasuke replied.
"Idiot."
Naruto laughed. "They could come with us?" he ventured. Sakura
smiled slightly, but didn't say anything.
Kakashi's mask wrinkled again. "That's where I'll be taking
you," he said. "And since you're so eager, you can be first, Naruto-
kun." His mask smoothed. "Sasuke-kun, Sakura-chan. I'm in earshot if
anything happens."
"Yes, sir," the two said, Sakura a moment after Sasuke.
Kakashi led Naruto toward the hot springs hidden in the woods
behind the way-station. With a sigh, Sasuke found a good-sized tree
overlooking the clients' carts - Keikan was doing some sort of
maintenance while the girl was reading one of Kakashi's books - and set
to climbing. The exercise wasn't challenging, not anymore, but he
supposed it was better than sitting around and doing nothing.
On a smaller tree next to him, Sakura started make her own slow,
hesitant way up. Sasuke resisted the urge to snort. He supposed that
with her arm bound, her balance was off, but that was no excuse for
almost losing her footing halfway up the tree. How the hell had someone
as pathetic as her managed to fight someone like Hidan while he'd -
Sasuke forced the thought from his mind violently, but he could
feel his face twist into a snarl as he reached the top of the tree and
turned to make his way back down.
"Sasuke-kun?"
The boy almost froze at the girl's quiet voice, and smoothed his
face as he turned to look at her, pausing a few feet below the top of
her tree, almost at the same level as him. "It's nothing," he said
firmly, and continued on his way down. He was not going to be...
jealous of the dead last. She'd said it herself; she'd only managed to
do anything because of how little threat she'd presented. That wasn't a
strategy that would work against that man.
They kept working in silence for perhaps a half-hour before they
were interrupted. "Dead last," Sasuke said when he saw Sakura hadn't
noticed, even as he jumped to the ground and positioned himself between
their visitors and the clients.
Sakura made her way to the ground much more cautiously.
"Hikaru-san, Kasumi-san," she said in greeting to the two Cloud genin.
Sasuke just grunted.
Hikaru nodded, and Kasumi grinned lazily. "Sakura-chan," the
dark-skinned kunoichi returned. "Fancy eyes." Her smile widened. "Is
that what they call training in Leaf?"
"It's none of your business how we train," Sasuke said bluntly.
"What do you want?" He sought out their teacher, and found him sitting
on the same stump Sasuke had used the day before, clearly ignoring the
confrontation.
Kasumi glanced at her companion. Hikaru adjusted his glasses
with one hand before speaking. "I was wondering if you'd like me to
take a look at your shoulder, Sakura-san," he said.
Sakura froze. Her face smoothed quickly, but too artificially.
"That's... not necessary." Idiot.
Hikaru pretended to ignore her mistake. "Are you sure?" he
said, stepping forward so naturally that even Sasuke almost let it pass.
He raised one hand. "Now that Tetsu-sensei is mostly healed, I can
spare some chakra. It will cut weeks off the healing time." He smiled,
and despite it all Sasuke couldn't see any sign it wasn't genuine.
He still interposed himself between the pale-haired boy and his
teammate. "Naruto is our medic," he said firmly. "We don't need your
help." Sakura took a step back, and Sasuke moved himself further into
the gap between her and the Cloud medic.
"Easy, fancy eyes," Kasumi said, one of her hands hovering over
her weapon.
"It's fine, Kasumi," Hikaru said, taking a step back and raising
both hands. "I'm just asking. I understand your position, Uchiha-san."
His eyes went over Sasuke's shoulder to Sakura. "I'm surprised your
chakra control is good enough for that exercise with all the painkillers
you must be on, Sakura-san."
Sasuke didn't have to look to know Sakura froze again. "I've...
always had... good chakra control," she said hesitatingly, the lie
obvious.
Hikaru didn't press, smiling gently, and still the damn
expression looked genuine. "I see," was all he said. "Have a
successful training session, then," he added, and he turned to leave.
Kasumi hesitated. "I could make your training more
interesting..." she began. Sasuke couldn't stop a curious look from
passing over his face. One of the girl's hands briefly caressed the
haft of her weapon. "You can try to dodge my hammer while you play
squirrels," she offered. She actually sounded hopeful!
"No!" Sakura said quickly.
Kasumi laughed. "Have fun then," she said. "Later, Sakura-
chan." She gave them a wave as she turned and followed Hikaru back to
their teacher's side.
"She's a bigger idiot than Naruto," Sasuke muttered, not quite
realizing he spoke aloud.
"I heard that, fancy eyes!" Kasumi shouted back at him.
Sasuke shook his head, and turned back to his tree. Sakura
gazed worriedly after the Cloud for a short while, but soon she too
returned to their training. It wasn't too long after that Kakashi and
Naruto returned.
"Sakura-chan," Kakashi said. "Your turn." He turned to leave
without another word.
"Tell him," Sasuke ordered the girl quietly. She just nodded
and hurried after their teacher.
"Tell him what?" Naruto asked too loudly. Sasuke noticed that
his friend's clothes were soaked, but answered his question before
asking his own.
Naruto frowned, glancing at where Kasumi and Hikaru were lightly
sparring, practicing taijutsu, under their teacher's watchful eye. "So
they know," he said.
"Since dead last can't lie," Sasuke agreed.
Naruto glared at him, but shook his head. "They probably
already knew," he said. "Since she was able to get back up during...
the fight."
"I suppose," Sasuke said. "What did Kakashi-sensei have you
doing?"
"Taijutsu practice while walking on water," Naruto said. "It's
harder than it sounds." He shivered. "I'm going to go change. It's
too damn cold to go around in wet clothes."
The Cloud didn't bother them, and about an hour later Kakashi
returned with a subdued-looking Sakura. She wasn't wet, and Sasuke
guessed her training must have taken a different form. No doubt her
failure at it was the source of her mood.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted her with a wave.
Sakura smiled weakly at him,but didn't say anything before
returning to her tree. "Sasuke-kun," Kakashi said, and Sasuke followed
him through the woods, down the short cliff side, and out onto the
natural hot springs. Wisps of steam hung in the air as Sasuke and
Kakashi faced each other. "Show me," the jounin said. "The technique
you copied from Ogushi Eimi."
Sasuke didn't bother to ask how his teacher knew, instead
forming the seals with practiced ease. Soon a field of small,
flickering bolts of electricity floated between the two ninja. It
wasn't as large an area as he'd seen the girl fill, but it was more than
twice the size of his first attempt. There didn't seem to be any way to
control the electricity, which instead moved randomly.
Kakashi nodded once. "It is called Dance of the Fireflies," he
said. So Sasuke had read the girl's lips correctly that night. "A not
particularly rare C-rank technique of the Cloud Village. What are its
uses?"
Sasuke thought a moment before answering. "Area denial," he
said. "Disruption of replications and transformations. Distraction."
It wasn't capable of any real damage unless the enemy just charged
through it like a moron.
"Not bad." Kakashi observed the field of electricity. "How
long can you hold it?"
Sasuke shrugged. After the initial cost, he only felt a minimal
drain on his chakra.
Kakashi's mask wrinkled. "There's other techniques, building
off of this one, but I'm afraid I don't know them. Still, not bad for
your first stolen technique." His eye fixed on Sasuke for a moment.
"Lightning and fire, huh?"
"You knew him," Sasuke concluded instantly. He knew more than
well enough what the first elements that man had mastered were.
"Yes," Kakashi said. "I did."
Sasuke waited for the words of fake sympathy and pity he'd heard
so many times before. Instead, Kakashi reached out a touched one of the
electric bolts. With a sudden crack, the electricity discharged, though
Kakashi didn't seem to feel any pain. "Since you were so kind as to
provide an obstacle course," Kakashi said, "reach me."
Moments later, Sasuke discovered that the shock, while only
mildly painful, was enough to send him plunging into the warm water.
Kakashi mask wrinkled as Sasuke swam away from the electric field and
pulled himself onto the water's surface. "Again," was all he said.
An hour later, tired, sore, and soaked, Sasuke was back at the
way-station, and he pointedly ignored Naruto's laugh as he went to go
change before lunch. "I guess Sakura-chan wins," the blond said as they
ate. "How'd you stop him from tossing you in the water?" Kakashi had
gone off to talk with the Cloud jounin about something, while Kasumi and
Hikaru ate their own lunch out of earshot.
Sakura froze in mid-bite. "It... wasn't like that," Sakura
said.
"What did he have you doing?" Naruto asked curiously.
Sasuke would have had to be blind not to see that Sakura's
answer was a lie. "Chakra control exercises."
Naruto didn't press, and a moment later Araimi distracted the
other girl by engaging her in conversation about some inane plot twist
in the book she was reading. Apparently the daimyo was really the
daimyo's sister? Whatever. Sasuke rolled his eyes, and smirked when he
saw a similar expression on Naruto's face. What kind of idiot wrote
those books anyway?
Kakashi more or less left them to their own devices for the
afternoon, and Sasuke was at least able to win a few quick spars against
Naruto before the other boy dragged Sakura off to go study those medical
scrolls. At least this time, Hikaru kept his distance. In fact,
neither Cloud genin approached the Leaf for the rest of the day.
Kakashi must have told Tetsu to tell his kids to stay away, Sasuke
guessed.
The next morning, Kakashi had discarded his improvised cane and
made them play hide-and-seek. Sasuke saw the point, of course, but
couldn't he have at least called it something more... ninja? His ears
were more than sharp enough to hear the amused bark of laughter from
Kasumi when she overheard Kakashi's instructions.
Naruto won. Every round.
A few hours before noon, Eimi returned escorting a blue-haired
woman wearing an armored jacket in a color that almost matched her hair.
She wore a forehead protector like a choker; it took Sasuke a moment to
recognize the four circles of the Hidden Frost. The woman introduced
herself as Aoi, and announced that she was here to take over escorting
Keikan's small caravan.
As Eimi left the Frost ninja's side to return to her team,
Keikan introduced himself and exchanged some quiet words; she must have
known whatever passwords had been arranged, because the merchant nodded
to Kakashi, who relaxed visibly at the gesture. Sasuke did his best to
ignore the overly emotional goodbyes between his teammates and Araimi,
but the girl eventually made her way over to him. "What do you want?"
he asked her. It wasn't like she liked him, after all. Thankfully,
really, he got enough of that back home. It had been years since he'd
gone this long without a request for a date.
"You really are grumpy," Araimi said, "but you saved us too. So
thank you."
Sasuke grunted.
"Grumpy," Araimi observed with a smile, but then she went to her
cart and hopped up onto it. "Ready, Papa."
Keikan turned again to Kakashi and the three Leaf genin. "I
can't express my gratitude fully," he said, "but I usually visit your
village at least once a year. If there is anything I can do to aid
you..."
"That isn't necessary, Keikan-san," Kakashi said.
The man nodded. "Very well. Safe journeys to you all." A few
minutes later, they were on their way. Sasuke watched them go, feeling
strangely empty. This mission had been... more than any C-rank should
have been. And now it had just... ended.
"Now what?" Naruto asked. "We go home?" There was still that,
Sasuke supposed, before the mission was really over. They would make
good time, not having to escort a pair of civilians. It would take less
than a week.
"Not quite," Kakashi said. "Tetsu?"
Sasuke looked up, and saw the Cloud team approaching.
"According to Eimi-kun," the metal-armed man said, "the Frost border
teams have been overwhelmed dealing with refugees. No one's gone to Hot
Springs." Sasuke blinked.
"No one was expecting anything like this," Kakashi said. "It's
unprecedented in peacetime."
"Which is why the two of us," Tetsu said, "will be scouting out
what's left of the village."
"What about us, Tetsu-sensei?" Hikaru asked.
Kakashi answered. "You six will come with us, but we'll leave
you in a secure location on the outskirts of the village." His tone
brooked no argument.
"The Hot Springs Village isn't far," Tetsu added. "We should be
there by early this afternoon."
"Questions?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke felt like he had dozens, but
none he wanted to air in front of the Cloud. At least those three
looked similarly discomfited. Kakashi chuckled. "Team meetings?" he
asked Tetsu. The other man nodded once, and with a gesture of his good
arm ordered his team to follow him away.
"You three don't like this," Kakashi said bluntly once they were
out of earshot.
"Of course not," Naruto said. Sasuke nodded. Sakura just
looked a little sick.
"Good," Kakashi said. "You shouldn't. If accurate information
on the state of the Hot Springs wasn't so important..." He trailed off.
"Why?" Sakura ventured.
"A sudden power vacuum could cause a war," Kakashi said. "Maybe
even the Fourth Ninja World War."
Naruto swallowed loudly. "Do you trust Tetsu-san?" he asked.
"No," Kakashi said bluntly, but then his mask wrinkled. "I am a
jounin. I can take care of myself."
"You haven't recovered fully," Naruto argued.
"Neither has Tetsu," Kakashi said. "We both have too much to
lose to make it worthwhile to cause trouble." His eye flicked in the
direction of the Cloud team.
"What if we run into trouble from... someone else?" Sasuke found
himself asking when it was clear neither of his teammates would dare ask
the obvious question.
"Hidan seemed to be operating alone," Kakashi said. "The worst
we should encounter is paranoid survivors from the Hidden Hot Springs.
That's where having someone with a Cloud forehead protector should
help."
"Should," Sasuke said.
"Should," Kakashi agreed.
"I don't understand," Naruto said, "how one person could destroy
an entire village. I know Hot Springs was a small village, but they
still had jounin, right?"
Kakashi sighed. "There are monsters in this world, Naruto-kun,
that could kill most jounin out of hand," he said, and Sasuke clenched
his fists, so tight he thought he would draw blood. "Hidan was just one
of them."
Sakura shuddered.
Kakashi's eye went to her, and his mask wrinkled in a clear
smile. "None of you should encounter anyone like that again for a very
long time, though." Sasuke didn't bother pointing out that he'd used
the word 'should' again.
"On the bright side," Kakashi said lightly, "this is the first
joint mission with the Cloud since the war. You three will be part of
history."
Somehow, Sasuke didn't feel very honored. Still, it was clear
that neither Kakashi's own misgivings nor those of his students would
change his plans, and shortly thereafter the eight ninja left the way-
station. With no civilians to slow them down, they left the roads. The
two teams traveled in their own groups, keeping a fair distance between
them but staying in eyesight. Kakashi and Tetsu took the lead, only
occasionally exchanging words.
They only stopped for a rapid lunch, but the jounin kept the
pace fairly slow. Even Sakura, with her bound arm, could keep up
without too much trouble. Still Tetsu's prediction proved accurate, and
a few hours after noon they caught sight of the Hot Springs Village,
perched on terraces atop a high cliff. A long, winding path was the
only visible route up the cliff to the village, but other than that the
only defense seemed to be a large ornamental arch at the top of the
path.
There was no sign of life from the village. If eight foreign
ninja traveling openly came so close to the gates of the Leaf Village,
surely they would be intercepted. Kakashi and Tetsu conferred briefly
while the band of ninja rested, then the two jounin led their students
to what seemed to be a small hot springs resort nestled under the cliff.
It was silent, clearly abandoned.
"This is where you'll be staying," Kakashi announced after the
jounin briefly searched the premises. "Stay out of sight, don't wander,
and be careful."
"You heard him," Tetsu told his own students. "We'll be back as
soon as we can. You know what to do."
"Yes, sir." Eimi's voice was firm. "Kasumi, take watch in one
of the upper windows."
"Got it," the other girl said.
Eimi glanced at Sakura. "You may want to have one of your team
up there also, Sakura-san."
Sasuke resisted the urge to snort. Why Naruto had decided to
tell them Sakura was in charge, he didn't know, but there was no point
in correcting the Cloud. If it made them underestimate the Leaf team,
so much the better. "I'll go," he said.
"A... all right, Sasuke-kun."
"We'll be going then," Kakashi said. "We won't be long." There
was a sudden wind, and the two jounin were gone.
"Let's get inside," Eimi suggested, and no one argued.
Sasuke followed Kasumi upstairs, and found a window that let him
see the entrance while still being able to look over a balcony into the
large front room where the others were staying.
Kasumi smirked at him. "Paranoid much, fancy eyes?" she asked,
but Sasuke just snorted as she found a similarly advantageous position.
Time passed, slowly and without incident, despite the tension.
No one traveled along the road to the Hot Springs village. Below,
Naruto and Sakura sat down at a table and started studying again. This
time, the Cloud medic joined them. Eimi paced about the room, looking
nervous and glancing out the windows frequently. Sasuke couldn't blame
the chuunin. This whole scenario stunk.
Though it felt like ages, they had only been there for an hour
or two when it happened. Kasumi suddenly grabbed her hammer, pointing
out the window with her other hand. "Do you see that, fancy eyes?"
Sasuke turned to see what she meant, changing his eyes with a burst of
chakra that was already second nature.
The road was empty. What -
There was a sudden, muffled, feminine scream. Sakura!
Sasuke whirled about to see Hikaru standing behind Sakura's
chair, pulling her long hair back with one hand and pressing some kind
of cloth to her face with the other. She struggled, but as Sasuke
watched her green eyes closed and she slumped over.
Naruto stood frozen, half rising. Two senbon were embedded in
the wooden table, on either side of one of his hands. "Don't move,
Uzumaki-san," Eimi ordered, another pair of needles held in one hand.
"Fancy eyes," Kasumi said, and Sasuke reflexively turned to face
her. She raised her hammer. "Make them black," she demanded, "or
Hikaru might have to hurt little Sakura-chan."
Biting back ill-considered words, Sasuke complied for the
moment. It was hardly any effort to activate the Sharingan again. What
could he do? He couldn't reach Sakura before the medic could do
something. Damn it... it was up to Naruto.
"What the hell are you doing?" the blond demanded loudly.
"I'm sorry," Eimi answered.
"It should be obvious," Hikaru finished for her. The boy's
voice was tight, barely under control.
"I thought we were..." Naruto trailed off. "You bastards."
"It was not our decision," Eimi said. "Orders are orders." She
hesitated. "I'm sure you understand." Naruto growled something
impolite, and the chuunin kunoichi winced. "It is not the decision I
would have made, but that does not change anything. Surrender, please."
Kasumi smirked at Sasuke. "That means you too, fancy eyes.
It's kind of a shame we won't get to fight. It probably would have been
fun." She gestured with her hammer. "On your knees. Hands where I can
see them. You know the drill."
Sasuke slowly raised his empty hands. Damn it. Naruto would
come up with something, right? As soon as Sakura was out of danger, he
could act, but until then...
"Let Sakura-chan go," Naruto demanded. "Now."
"We can't do that, Uzumaki-san," Eimi said.
"You can't hurt her," Naruto insisted. Damn it, couldn't he see
appealing to fake friendship wouldn't work?
"If you mean because she is one of our targets," Eimi said, "her
rapid healing is hardly as unique as the abilities of the Uchiha or the
Uzumaki."
"No," Naruto said, grinning like he did when he had managed a
particularly clever trick. "You know about her regeneration? So you
should understand that I meant what I said. You can not hurt her." He
straightened, unhurriedly and apparently unconcerned. Sasuke fought not
to let any expression show on his face.
Hikaru wavered, glancing at Eimi for instruction, and in that
moment of distraction Naruto acted. A chakra chain - since when could
he make one that long, a part of Sasuke wondered - whipped out at
Hikaru, snaring his wrist and yanking him over the table toward Naruto.
The medic's body shielded him from any retaliation by Eimi as Naruto
jumped up to meet him, fist slamming into the other boy's face. "You
can't hurt Sakura-chan because I won't let you, trash!"
In that same instant, Sasuke launched himself at Kasumi. The
girl raised her hammer, but Sasuke caught her hand with a powerful kick.
She kept her grip, but with the weapon out of position, Sasuke got
inside her guard, following up with a rapid sequence of blows to her
stomach.
Kasumi staggered back, swearing. A wild blow of her hammer kept
Sasuke from pressing the attack, and she regained her balance. The
seals engraved on the weapon's head began to glow, and lightning danced
around it. "My turn, fancy eyes."
Sasuke backpedaled, avoiding a rapid sequence of strikes. He
drew a kunai and threw it in one smooth motion, but Kasumi batted it
aside easily. She drew back her weapon in preparation for a throw.
"Last chance to surrender."
Sasuke smiled grimly. They needed him alive, of course. Her
pointless threat just gave him time to regain the offensive. Rolling
flames erupted from his mouth, a globe of fire engulfing his foe.
"Break!" At Kasumi's sharp cry, the fireball shattered, ribbons
of flame streaming past her on either side. Her hammer, held before her
with both hands, glowed so brightly that Sasuke instinctively raised a
hand of his own to shield his eyes. An instant later, he lowered it,
realizing that he felt no need.
"You trying to burn this whole place down around us, fancy
eyes?" Kasumi asked, visibly wearied. The seal-light on her hammer
faded. Behind her, the remnants of Sasuke's fireball had scorched the
floors and walls. A small ornamental table smoldered, but nothing else
seemed to have caught.
Sasuke didn't dignify her question with a response, drawing a
kunai and attacking while she was still tired from however she'd blocked
his Great Fireball Technique. He ducked under a slow hammer strike and
came up -
A short kick to the back of his ankle staggered him. All
Kasumi's weariness vanished, her hammer reversing direction in an
instant. Sasuke barely had time to drop his kunai and form a single
seal.
The smoking table Sasuke left behind shattered. Kasumi whirled
about to face him as he rose from a crouch. "Replacement? That
quickly? You're something else, fancy eyes." Did she ever intend to
shut up? This wasn't a friendly spar.
Sasuke took advantage of the distance to risk looking over the
balcony to see how Naruto was doing. He found the blond pinned behind
an overturned table, guarding Sakura's still form while trading thrown
weapons with Eimi. The Cloud medic was sitting in the far corner of the
room, green chakra glowing on his hands as he tried to fix an injured
leg. Not bad.
Sasuke glanced back at Kasumi, and didn't like the smirk he saw
on her face one bit. The dark-skinned kunoichi raised her hammer,
electricity flaring around it. Then, her smirk widening, she turned to
the balcony.
"Naruto!" Sasuke cried in warning as Kasumi threw her hammer.
He saw his friend grab Sakura and jump backward. There was a deafening
crack of thunder, and the table that had sheltered Sasuke's teammates
shattered.
Sasuke didn't have time to watch what happened next, instead
charging his weaponless foe. Kasumi dodged his first strike, but he
spun around into a quick kick that caught her in the stomach. She
almost flew backward, slamming into the balcony railing. Sasuke didn't
let her recover, following up with a short uppercut that knocked her
over the barrier.
Another table broke her fall, but she didn't rise, groaning
loudly. Sasuke jumped over the railing and made a more controlled
landing, beside Naruto. "Thanks for the warning," Naruto said shortly
as he gently set Sakura down, his eyes not leaving Eimi.
Sasuke just grunted in response to that. "How is she?"
"Some sort of knockout drug," Naruto said. "Nothing harmful, I
think." Sasuke grunted again. "Down!" Naruto shouted.
Sasuke didn't ask questions, dropping prone next to Sakura. An
instant later, Kasumi's hammer flew overhead. She rolled to her feet,
snagging her weapon cleanly out of midair with one hand. "I'm tougher
than that, fancy eyes," she snarled. Not far away from her, Eimi's
hands filled with senbon.
"They're poisoned, I think," Naruto warned. Sasuke frowned.
Even with his eyes, blocking every needle without the aid of cover would
be hard.
Kasumi raised her hammer for another throw, but stopped at a
gesture from Eimi. "Uzumaki-san, Uchiha-san. You've both fought well,
but you cannot win."
"Doesn't look that way to me," Naruto answered.
"Thus far," she said, "I've held back to avoid injuring you."
Sasuke glanced at Naruto, wondering whether or not that was actually
true. "Please surrender, and no one will need to be hurt."
Sasuke let Naruto answer. "Screw you. You're not fooling
anyone."
An instant later, a senbon sprouted from the floor, less than an
inch from Sakura's neck. "Are you certain?" Eimi asked. "That could
have been Kasumi's hammer."
"I told you before," Naruto said. "You can't hurt her."
"That was more believable," Eimi said, "before I watched you try
to protect her while we fought."
"She's target number three," Kasumi said. "We've already got a
couple healing bloodlines, so we can sacrifice her to get yours." She
raised her hammer again. Sasuke almost blinked. Did they think the
Uzumaki had a bloodline? Why?
Naruto drew and threw a kunai in one smooth motion. It flew
straight and true, embedding itself in the wall over Hikaru's head.
"Boom," he said firmly. There was no explosive tag attached to the
weapon, but the message was clear. Sasuke allowed himself a small smile
when he saw Kasumi's hammer shake for a moment.
Eimi seemed no less disconcerted, the facade of cold competence
broken for the moment. "Ah..."
"You're forgetting something, Uzumaki-san," Hikaru said,
reaching up and pulling the kunai out of the wall. He threw it back,
but Sasuke reacted without thought, intercepting it with one of his own
kunai. Meanwhile, the medic stood on a shaky leg. "I'm not
unconscious."
"Cover him!" Eimi snapped, and Kasumi charged. Hikaru started
to hobble toward the closest door. Sasuke started to move to intercept,
but a trio of thrown senbon from Eimi forced him to change direction.
Naruto met Kasumi, but was having no luck getting past her hammer.
If Hikaru got out of the room, they'd have no counter for
threats against Sakura. Sasuke's hands blurred through seals, and a
moment later a field of electricity blocked the medic's path.
"My technique." Sasuke could feel Eimi's eyes on him, and he
turned back to face her as Hikaru - probably painfully - rolled under a
table for cover.
Kasumi laughed. "Remember we need his eyes intact, Eimi."
"The Sharingan is fearsome indeed," Eimi said, ignoring the
other kunoichi. She formed seals of her own, the same ones Sasuke had
just made. "Raiton: Dance of the Fireflies," she announced.
Lightning sprung into existence, surrounding Sasuke. A bolt or
two collided with him, the minor jolts causing brief pain but nothing
more. Sasuke looked for Naruto, and found him outside of Eimi's
technique, but Kasumi was driving him back against the edge of it.
Naruto created a short length of chakra chain, using it to try to disarm
his foe, but Sasuke could spare no more attention to watch the fight.
Eimi's technique would keep him from closing; his practice with
Kakashi had taught him that charging through the floating bolts of
electricity was painful enough to stop him. Slow down enough to slip
through them, and the Cloud kunoichi would turn him into a pincushion.
This was going to be a ranged fight. Sasuke reached for another kunai -
he had two more left, and then he'd be down to shuriken.
Before he could throw, Eimi launched a storm of senbon, dozens
of needles flying at Sasuke. Without his eyes, Sasuke was sure he would
have been hit. Instead, he managed to block every one with his weapon,
a good thing if Naruto's suspicion that the senbon were poisoned was
accurate. He threw the kunai at Eimi, but the tall girl easily
sidestepped.
"Fearsome indeed," Eimi said again, holding a single senbon.
"You haven't had a chance to copy this one," she added, and then she
formed a sequence of seals Sasuke didn't recognize. "Raiton: Firefly's
Sting." Then, bizarrely, she tossed the senbon away, not in Sasuke's
direction, before forming and holding another seal. What was she -
The senbon hit one of the electric bolts surrounding Sasuke, and
with a loud crack both the needle and the bolt vanished. Some instinct
made him throw himself aside, ignoring the pain as he collided with more
floating bolts. The senbon came from behind, passing through where
Sasuke's neck had been, electricity crackling around it. As though
drawn to the weapon, another electric spark intercepted the senbon, and
both vanished in a second thunderous sound.
The senbon emerged from another bolt, flying straight for
Sasuke. He managed to dodge again, and a moment later the sound of
thunder came from behind, and the senbon came out of a bolt near his
feet. The technique was simple to understand. Even with his eyes, he
couldn't track the weapon. The electric field made dodging difficult.
He had to force Eimi to break the seal she still held and end the
technique. One hand closed around the hilt of his last kunai, while the
other groped for an explosive tag.
The senbon flew by again, missing him by inches. The
electricity around the metal needle was growing denser; the weapon flew
faster with every pass. He was almost out of time. Wrapping the
explosive tag around the hilt, Sasuke threw his weapon, straight at
Eimi.
She sidestepped, the weapon flying past her. "That won't -"
Sasuke's hands locked into the final seal of a sequence he'd
never before performed, his chakra instinctively moving in unfamiliar
patterns he'd only seen once. He smiled grimly as his weapon entered
his own lightning field, the one he'd used to block Hikaru's path. He'd
only get one chance. His kunai emerged traveling in the opposite
direction, pointing at Eimi's feet.
The explosive tag detonated the instant it emerged. The blast
at least impacted Hikaru, sending the table he hid under flying and
knocking him into a wall. Eimi, though, was well out of range. "So you
don't learn all the limitations of the techniques you copy," she
observed, and then her senbon hit Sasuke in the back.
A scream tore from Sasuke throat as all the electricity the
needle had absorbed discharged into him. He fell to the floor, limbs
twitching helplessly. He barely felt three more senbon hit, two in his
right arm and one in his left. Cold, almost pleasing, numbness flooded
through him. He couldn't move, couldn't mold his chakra, and his vision
reverted to normal. Paralyzing poison.
The electricity that surrounded him vanished. His fixed field
of vision let him see Hikaru groaning and rubbing his head where he'd
hit it, but not Naruto's fight against the two kunoichi. It was
infuriating. He could hear the fight, knew that Naruto would lose, and
he couldn't even move. He was helpless, almost as helpless as... damn
it, why was he so fucking weak? If some random chuunin could so easily
defeat him, how would he ever -
Naruto came into view, barely holding off Kasumi's hammer with a
chakra chain. Senbon stuck out of his clothing, but either none had
fully penetrated or Eimi had run out of poisoned weapons. Behind him,
Sasuke heard a soft moan. Sakura was waking?
"Sasuke-kun?" He couldn't answer Sakura's quiet question,
couldn't even give any sign that he'd heard. With extreme effort, he
managed to twitch a finger, and for a moment he dared to hope that the
poison would run its course soon enough for him to rejoin the battle
before Naruto fell. With Sakura also awake, they could -
With a loud crack, Naruto's chakra chain shattered as Kasumi's
hammer glowed with a painfully bright light. It hit home, and Sasuke
could have sworn he heard bones break as it slammed into Naruto's chest.
The blond collapsed, electricity dancing around him, and he didn't rise.
"And stay down, you annoying -"
"Naruto-kun!" Sakura's panicked cry interrupted Kasumi and
finally attracted Eimi and hers attention.
"Don't move, Sakura-san," Eimi instructed. "Your teammates are
defeated."
"How the hell is she even awake?" Kasumi demanded, raising her
hammer. "Hikaru said -"
"You... you hurt... Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun..." Sasuke almost
couldn't recognize Sakura's voice, the words snarled in a low, almost
inhuman-sounding growl.
"Don't move!" Eimi repeated.
A blur of red passed over Sasuke, tackling Eimi. Since when was
Sakura so fast? The two kunoichi rolled around for a moment, then Eimi
managed to kick Sakura off. She rolled away, and Sasuke saw blood
running down her face. Kasumi moved to stand over her teammate as
Sakura rose into a crouch, the arm she'd injured ripped free of its
binding and apparently fully healed.
Growling wordlessly, Sakura charged. "You know," Kasumi said
lightly as she danced out of the way out of a wild series of kunai
slashes, "when we first met, I never figured you for the berserker-type,
Sakura-chan."
Sasuke struggled to rise, managing to raise one leg an inch, but
not more. Damn it!
With a roar, Sakura tried to close with Kasumi again. Before
she could, the dark-skinned girl threw her hammer. Thunder echoed
through the building as it struck home, sending Sakura flying through
the thin rear wall of the room. There was a loud splash, then the
hammer came flying back out of the hole in the wall. Kasumi caught it
with one hand. "Berserkers are easy, though," she gloated.
Sasuke managed to get to one knee. "None of that," Eimi told
him, drawing near and forming seals. She touched him, and lightning
encircled him. The binding technique she'd used on Hidan, from Naruto's
story. Sasuke held himself still. He hurt, all over. Trying to break
through the lightning would probably just knock him out.
"Are you okay, Hikaru?" Eimi asked.
The medic was standing, hobbling over to his teammates. "Broken
leg," he said. "And I lost my glasses somewhere."
"Make sure Uzumaki-san is stable," Eimi ordered, "then signal
Tetsu-sensei. Kasumi, get Sakura-san, and be -"
"Careful, I know," the other girl finished as she headed for the
broken wall. "I saw her against that Hidan guy too. I'll make sure
she's really out before I try to fish her out of the hot springs."
Then the chuunin's attention returned to Sasuke. "I'm sure you
don't believe it, but I'm truly sorry about this," she told him as she
pulled a coil of wire out of an equipment pouch. She shook her head.
"But you proved in our fight that Tetsu-sensei was right. The Sharingan
is too valuable a prize for us to pass on."
Sasuke didn't answer her, though he thought he could have spoke
if he wanted. Eimi wiped blood away from her eyes - Sakura had managed
a shallow cut on her forehead - then started to bind Sasuke's hands and
legs with the wire, the lightning of her technique moving to accommodate
her.
"I'm sorry," she said again, awkwardly, as she finished and
released her technique. Over by an open window, Hikaru released a flare
into the sky. "Our teachers will be here soon," Eimi said, and then she
picked up a kunai and placed it against Sasuke's neck.
***********************************************************************
When the prisoner awoke and asked for water, it was the green-
eyed man who not long ago had briefly been held captive who approached
the tightly bound boy and offered a drink from a canteen. The prisoner,
still dressed in his feminine pink kimono, didn't hesitate to accept the
meager kindness. If the Leaf ninja wished him poisoned, they had no
need of trickery.
"My chakra?" the boy asked once he was done drinking.
"Suppressed for now," the man confirmed. "We aren't stupid."
"No," the boy agreed, shaking his head as though to clear it.
"The medic's work, I assume." In the distance, the mentioned ninja
looked up, and the sunlight that filtered through the thick tree cover
briefly made his glasses shine with reflected glare as he smiled. Then
he returned to his work, checking the still-healing wounds of the pair
of dogs injured by the missing ninja Zabuza in the battle of several
days past.
The green-eyed man didn't answer that question, instead saying,
"I feel I owe you this chance, Haku-kun. Tell us what we need to know,
and we won't have to kill you."
The boy smiled mirthlessly. "Since I made the same offer to
you, Haruno-san? I won't betray Zabuza-sama's location any more than
you betrayed where you've hidden your clients." He glanced about,
perhaps searching for the bridge-builder and his family, but no surprise
showed on his face when they proved to be absent from the small, hidden
campsite. "Since you seem to be missing your commander and her healthy
dog," he said, "I assume they are with Tazuna-san. Most likely they are
within earshot, or at least your sensor's range. Am I correct?" The
young ninja smiled again.
Seated next to the medic, a dark-haired kunoichi opened her
mouth, but at a quiet, "Tsubaki-san," from the silver-haired boy, the
woman stopped before she might have said something to regret.
Haruno Takeru matched the boy's smile. "You're not stupid,
either," he said, "so you understand that we can't afford to let you
live if you remain our enemy. We don't have the resources to restrain a
prisoner as dangerous as yourself for long."
"A weapon does not fear death, Haruno-san," Haku answered.
Takeru sighed. "I expected as much." He was silent for a
moment, then spoke again. "We checked our bingo book. You've escaped
notice so far. There are no bounties that we know of for you. No
crimes against the Fire Country or the Leaf Village that you need answer
for.
"If you were not our enemy, we would have no reason to hold you
once this matter was resolved. If you proved to be an ally..." He
didn't continue, but the implied offer - one a mere genin would have no
authority to make explicitly - was still clear enough. There were
missing ninja who would have happily betrayed their closest comrades for
even that slim potential of being allowed to join a village such as the
Leaf.
"I'm afraid that has no appeal for me," Haku said. "All I
desire is to serve Zabuza-sama."
"Do you want to die, kid?" Takeru asked harshly. "For him?
He's certainly in our bingo books. You're delusional if you think a man
like the Demon of the Hidden Mist returns your loyalty."
"I am well aware of who Zabuza-sama is, Haruno-san," Haku said.
He shifted. "You will not convince me to betray him like that."
The kunoichi stood, walking over to stand beside Takeru. One of
her hands rested on the hilt of her short wakizashi. "That's that,
then," she said. "Do you want me to do it?"
Haku turned to her. "Can I have the name of the one who would
kill me so lightly?"
The woman snorted. "No."
Haku glanced back to Takeru. "Well, Haruno-san?"
The man sighed. "I don't see how a man like him could have won
such loyalty from you."
It took a moment before Haku answered. "I'm sure you know the
attitude of my country to those with bloodline limits, such as my own
ability to control ice." He paused, perhaps for a response, but neither
Takeru nor the kunoichi gave him one. "Zabuza-sama found me, took me
in, and gave me a reason to live, when before I was alone and without a
purpose. I repay him as best I can by being his tool."
"What happened to your parents?"
Haku blinked at the unexpected question from Takeru. "My mother
hid our abilities," he answered quietly. "When my father discovered
them..." The boy trailed off, for an instant seeming younger than his
age. "She died."
"He killed her," Takeru said, his voice tight.
"Yes," Haku said. "And then my father tried to kill me."
Takeru almost shook. "Then he doesn't deserve to be called a
father," he snapped, and Haku blinked at the vehemence.
The kunoichi at Takeru's side laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Takeru, he's not -"
"I know he's not her, Tsubaki," Takeru snapped. "Just give me a
moment." He stalked off.
"What -" Haku began.
In one smooth motion, Tsubaki drew her sword and placed it at
the boy's neck. "If you made up that story to try to manipulate him, I
will make your death long and painful. I promise."
"I don't understand," Haku said.
"Maybe not," Tsubaki said after a moment, and she sheathed her
blade.
"Tsubaki-san," the medic said from his seated position by the
dogs. "Should one of us -"
"He hasn't gone far, Kabuto-kun," she answered. "He'll be back
in a moment."
Indeed it was less than a minute before Takeru returned, but he
ignored his comrades to crouch down in front of the prisoner. "Kid," he
said roughly, "I don't want to have to kill you. Help me by helping
yourself. Tell us where Zabuza is hiding."
Haku shrugged. "If I fight only for myself, what am I?" he
said.
Takeru grunted. "The Sage of the Six Paths," he said,
identifying the legendary source of the quotation. "Zabuza must have
given you a good education, at least."
"Yes," Haku said.
Takeru shook his head and stood. "He also said, 'If I do not
fight for myself, who will?'"
Haku smiled sadly, and finished the famous set of questions.
"And if not now, when?"
Then the boy stood, the ropes that had bound him falling to the
side, neatly slit by a tiny blade of ice. A gust of wind swirled leaves
around him, and he vanished, only to reappear at the edge of the
campsite. "Thank you for your hospitality," he said, "though I am
afraid I must repay it poorly."
Tsubaki drew her sword. "How -" One of the dogs howled.
Haku looked at Kabuto and answered. "The basic chakra
suppression technique isn't useful against a medic who knows the
counter. You should have known better, if you're as talented as you've
shown."
Kabuto stood. "I didn't know you were a medic. I won't make
the same mistake again."
"You can't hope to escape," Tsubaki warned. "Hana-taichou will
be here in a moment, and I can track you wherever -"
Takeru interrupted her, swearing. "No, don't you understand?
If he's a medic, then -"
A low chuckle filled the air. A bundle of something flew at
Haku, who caught it with one hand. He slipped the mask of a Mist hunter
ninja over his face, incongruous against the pink kimono he wore, and
calmly began to secrete the weapons on his person.
Zabuza emerged into the campsite out of a patch of shadow,
easily carrying his massive blade with the arm that Kabuto had crippled
with a lucky blow. With it, he gestured at Takeru and Tsubaki. "Deal
with those two, Haku," he said. "I'll take care of the medic myself."
"Of course, Zabuza-sama," Haku said, bowing slightly, and then
he formed seals. "Demonic Crystal Ice Mirrors."
***********************************************************************
Sakura awoke lying face up in a puddle of warm water and staring
at a cloudless, crimson sky that glowed with a uniform light. She
stood, and realized that she was not where she had been moments before,
in the abandoned hot springs resort fighting Eimi and Kasumi. Instead,
she stood in a vast, ruined city. Fires burned in places, but they were
still, frozen in a timeless instant. Sakura could hear no sound of
anything alive.
She looked around and her eyes found the mountain that loomed
over the destroyed city, and she realized where she stood. Terror
seized her, and her stomach heaved. How was she here? What had
happened? What had she done?
Staring down at her with grim disapproval, the stone faces of
the first three Hokages told her that this was the Leaf Village. Where
the Fourth Hokage should have been, the mountain was marred, a massive
scar running down its side like the Fourth's visage had been gouged out
by a massive claw. Acid rose in her throat, and she swallowed
painfully, trying to stop from vomiting.
If this was the Leaf Village, then she knew where she was with
painful exactness. The ruin before her was the academy. She turned and
she fled through the empty streets, seeking the hidden, abandoned
building Mizuki had shown her on the day she became a genin. It was the
only shelter she could imagine; she did not want to see what had become
of her home.
She did not find the refuge she sought. Instead, a large hill
rose from the center of the patch of woods. At its summit stood a
silent temple, with no windows that Sakura could see. Around the hill,
the trees were stunted and withered, half-dead mockeries of their former
selves. Driven by some perverse impulse, she couldn't stop herself from
climbing the steep stairs that ascended the hill to reach the temple.
At the top, she found that the path led to the temple's one
gate, a pair of wooden doors. Painted across them in red was the
familiar spiral pattern she felt starting to burn on her stomach. The
gate was ajar, just enough that Sakura could slip through. Something
drew her inside, a call that she could not resist, and trembling in
fear, she let it pull her through the gate.
It opened into an inner courtyard; there seemed to be no access
to the inside of the temple building proper. There had been a garden
here, once, but neglect and drought had killed it. Dead plants crunched
under Sakura's feet as unthinking steps brought her closer to what she
found in the center of the courtyard.
It was a massive tree, large enough that she should have seen it
peeking over the temple structure from outside. Though it was as dead
as everything else in this place, Sakura knew with absolute certainty
that it was a cherry blossom tree, her namesake. Hanging from a low
branch was a metal cage, and seated inside the cage, legs dangling over
the edge through the bars and facing away from Sakura, was a girl.
The girl wore a red dress, a mirror of Sakura's own clothing,
though in a darker shade. Her hair was pink as well, long enough that
Sakura thought it would reach her feet if she stood, and tangled as
though it had never known a brush or a comb. Unwillingly, Sakura took
another step forward, and the sound of dry leaves crumbling under her
weight seemed like an explosive tag going off.
The caged girl slowly found her feet, and turned to look at
Sakura. Both the hands with which she clutched the bars of her prison
and her bare feet were clawed, but it was her face that Sakura stared
at, unable to tear her gaze away.
Crimson, inhuman eyes glared at Sakura out of her own face,
marred by three marks on either cheek. Their number and position
reminded Sakura of the whisker-like markings on Naruto's face, but they
were nothing like those pale, scar-like things. These were thick and
dark, giving the girl the feral look of a wild animal.
Sakura opened her mouth, but she couldn't find the words to
speak. Her heart beat rapidly, feeling like it might burst at any
moment. The spiral around her navel was a line of fire, hot enough that
she almost thought her dress might burn. She couldn't look away, no
matter how much she wished she could.
"Hello, me," the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox said with Sakura's voice,
and she smiled, revealing a mouth of sharp fangs. "I was wondering when
we'd finally have a chance to chat."
***********************************************************************
Author's Random Ramblings
1) I've been waiting to end a chapter on that line since I started
writing this story.
2) Did I say last chapter was too long? This one was about 4000 words
longer. The original plan for this story was for chapters to be about
4000 words long, total. I knew that wasn't going to happen when the
first chapter blew past that allotment, but I'd still hoped to keep
things a little saner than this.
3) This chapter's meaningless bonus points go to anyone who recognizes
whose words I'm mangling and putting in the Sage's mouth during Haku and
Takeru's conversation.
4) As always, my thanks to everyone who commented on the drafts of the
chapter on The Fanfiction Forum and Space Battles.
Draft Started: July 24, 2012
Draft Finished: September 08, 2012
Draft Released: September 09, 2012
Final Released:
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