Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Regret Not A Thing ❯ Ch. 21: Rite of Passage ( Chapter 21 )

Regret Not A Thing

By Mizerable

 

 

 

Ch. 21: Rite of Passage

 

 

 

Tsunade escaped, spending time she didn't have, to stop being reminded she was the Hokage and just be a woman alone. She sat at home, curtains drawn, and pretended it was nightfall. Pretended she didn't feel guilty for this blatant weakness of character.

 

Her glass needed filling.

 

“It's not your fault.”

 

She didn't startle. No, she rather expected this person would show up eventually.

 

“Hnn…Evidence rather points to the contrary.”

 

“Then I am as much to blame,” Jiraiya emerged from the shadows.

 

“Once more, we seem to find ourselves repeating our same mistakes,” Tsunade drained her cup dry, “And we stand to lose everything all over again.”

 

“Has my lady saved me even but a drop of her poison?”

 

Tsunade smiled weakly, bitterly, as she filled it once more. Of course he hadn't forgotten that, not that she expected him to…He reached over her shoulder for the drink, his rough palm ghosting over her hand as he relieved her of her glass.

 

“You know,” he paused to down his liquor, “There hasn't been any rain. I could still track them…”

 

“I know,” her voice strained. She didn't mention that he was standing too close, that she didn't want him to go. Not because she didn't want him to help those kids, but she selfishly feared losing him, as well.

 

Nawaki, Dan, Sensei, Naruto, Sakura…Orochimaru…

 

She did not think she could bear losing Jiraiya, the final link to her youth. Even Shizune's place in her life could not fill that void. They always say you know you've grown old when all that you've loved have gone before you…

 

His hands were on her shoulders, large and warm.

 

“Tsunade,” he spoke her name firmly.

 

Give the order.

 

She gave a soft nod, let her hair fall before her eyes. “…okay.”

 

He slid her green jacket from her shoulders, his hands returning to massage her without the cloth in the way.

 

“I'll come back to you.”

 

“As if I have any chance of ridding myself of you.”

 

He laughed richly at her words. It sent shivers up her spine and she decided she was entirely too old for this.

 

“As if, Tsunade-hime,” he echoed, “I am forever the jester of your court.”

 

She reached for him blindly, ran her fingers along the back of his hand, while he grew very still. Far too many years seemed to keep words they meant to say far from their tongues.

 

“Jiraiya…”

 

“Oh, ye of little faith.”

 

Don't say your goodbyes, Tsunade.

 

“I'm sorry,” she finally managed.

 

“I was teasing you,” he answered lightly as he ignored her far-too-serious tone.

 

“Things should have been very different.”

 

“Shh,” he circled the pads of his thumbs against her collarbone, “Tell me when I get back.”

 

Suddenly he felt like a foolish schoolboy as he pressed a kiss against the crown of her head. She abruptly turned in her chair to face him, but he was already gone. Just what she expected of him. She was slow in bringing herself back to the table, and then poured another drink. Her finger traced the rim of the cup, and for reasons unbeknownst to her, she recalled a conversation from her Academy days.

 

“A second-hand kiss…”

 

The liquor traveled smoothly down her throat. She blamed her warm belly on the burn of the drink.

 

I've grown too old for this.

 

* * *

 

One would think a four-on-one were good odds to have in a fight. But that assumed that the one opponent was normal. They weren't particularly sure he was entirely human.

 

“It's almost insulting,” Kisame commented as he deflected a barrage of Tenten's kunai with his sword, “That you would try to fight me on water.”

 

He swung Samehada around, his aim for Gaara who stood by passively. The blade sliced through his middle as his body turned to sand.

 

A bunshin.

 

The sand turned to mud in the water, earning a frown from Gaara. This probably wasn't the best match suited for him, considering the elements they utilized. But this was exactly what Shikamaru developed in his plan, and since Temari trusted him…

 

Lee charged in, using his speed to flow through a blurring series of combos. Unfortunately, none of them seemed to connect very well—

 

An opening!

 

His heel connected with Kisame's temple and slid through water.

 

“Bunshin!”

 

Kisame was bearing down on him now, closing in fast. Gaara sent his sand with the wave of his hand, only to watch it splash uselessly into the river.

 

“Don't bother,” Kisame taunted, “Samehada eats chakra!”

 

Lee braced himself for the hit. There wasn't enough time to counter or dodge.

 

“Lee!”

 

Kisame glanced up to see Tenten descending, sword in hand, ready to skewer him. He wheeled Samehada around with hopes of knocking her out of the air, when she landed gracefully on the blade. She wasted no time and charged headlong down the weapon. But all the shark did was grin at her. Tenten barely had a chance to react as Samehada broke free of its bindings and tore open the backs of her calves.

 

“And Samehada doesn't cut, it shaves!”

 

Tenten fell gracelessly to the side, at least avoiding further injury, and her weapon vanished in a puff of smoke. Lee managed to catch her before her body made impact with the water.

 

“Damn it!” she hissed.

 

“We have to get that sword away from him,” Lee declared.

 

Gaara used Kisame's preoccupation with the pair in front of him as a chance to launch another attack. Sand snaked towards his ankle—

 

“Suiton! Suiryuudan no Jutsu!”

 

Wide-eyed, Gaara swept his sand shield into place as the water dragon sped forward. Water splashed against his face as the shield dropped away in muddy clumps. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Ino. She'd been keeping her distance since the fight began. And now she knelt on the water, her hands drawn in front of her body to form an odd triangular seal.

 

That seal…She couldn't be—!

 

Her body slouched forward.

 

“Ino!” Tenten cried out.

 

“What is that silly girl doing?” Kisame laughed.

 

“She missed!” Lee gasped.

 

Kisame wielded his sword with both hands, taking no notice of the glint of light striking wire. It wasn't until the Samehada's own handle lashed out and impaled his palms did he realize his mistake. He reacted blindly, jerking back with a roar while his sword embedded itself into the side of the cliff.

 

“You bitch!” he howled at Ino's slumped form, “What did you do?!”

 

“She disarmed you,” Gaara replied blandly.

 

Kisame turned to face him with a snarl and narrowly dodged the sand reaching for his arm. It put him closer to Ino who, while remaining perfectly still and apparently unconscious, had strands of wire wrapped firmly around her balled fists. But he didn't have the chance to observe any further, for now Tenten stood before her. Knees shaking and blood flowing into the river, but she stood there, with a weapon scroll unraveled within her hands.

 

“You can barely stand, girl. What do you hope to accomplish against the likes of me?”

 

He tried to summon his sword, as he'd done a thousand times before, but it would not obey his call. It would not budge. And Tenten, she grinned.

 

“Don't even bother,” a mockingly sweet voice, “Nobody has a stronger mind that Ino. She can bend anything to her will.”

 

Kisame scowled deeply at her. And to think these little kunoichi weren't even the least of his concerns. He had the One-Tail to contend with. It would be a damn lot easier if he only had to kill the guy. Capturing was far more tedious…

 

That was when he noticed the steam.

 

Lee stood with arms crossed, body crouched, as he seemed to amass a large amount of chakra.

 

“Shit,” Kisame prepared to strike, “Suiton!—”

 

The shockwave drove him back.

 

“Sixth Gate: Open!”

 

The water was swept aside as if by the hand of god. Kisame had all but blinked but it was all the time Lee needed to disappear. Sand bore down from the left, a barrage of steel from the right.

 

Explosive tags!

 

Tenten's weapons hit Gaara's sand as Kisame went airborne, creating a spectacular blast of fire and metal and dirt. Kisame had leapt high enough to clear the attack, looking up just in time to see Lee lit a brilliant red.

 

“Asa Kujaku!”

 

An onslaught of flame and fist launched Kisame downward, his body crashing into the now-barren riverbed. Lee landed gracefully as he powered down, only to stumble forward with his next step. Gaara grabbed him by the arm none too gently, jarring his body back, but it kept Lee on his feet.

 

Kisame lay twitching in his crater, blood spilling over his lips, as he began to chuckle. Even as sand began to block out the sun.

 

“So this is the sort of darkness you knew,” he murmured to himself, “I hope you won't mind the company, Itachi-san…?”

 

“Sabaku Sousou.”

 

Tenten touched Ino's shoulder and the wire glowed bright, quick, before she jolted back into consciousness.

 

“You're crazy,” Tenten chided playfully, her smile tight from the pain.

 

“Here,” Ino took a look at Tenten's bloody legs, “Let me fix those.”

 

“Not bad…huh?” Lee panted, a tired and silly grin plastered on his face.

 

Gaara eyed the dried river, eyed Kisame's grave.

 

“Excessive,” he replied in his usual monotone.

 

“Well, it's one less guy chasing you. That's a good thing, right?”

 

Gaara defensively crossed his arms across his chest.

 

“Hn.”

 

* * *

 

Neji, Shikamaru, and Temari formed a half-circle around Zetsu, their muscles drawn tight in defensive stances.

 

“Mind the ground,” Neji advised in a low tone.

 

“No need to tell us that,” Shikamaru quipped, the corners of his mouth twitching into a weak smirk behind his mask.

 

“Ah, of course.”

 

Shikamaru and Temari had been the ones to study the notes. Every bit of planning against the enemies they would face was courtesy of this unlikely duo. They knew damn well what they were up against. And perhaps that might have been all the more reason for the two to be afraid.

 

However.

 

With a sweep of her fan, Temari decimated the tree and earned a raised eyebrow from Shikamaru.

 

No subtlety at all…

 

Neji immediately wheeled around, a smooth flow of silk, as Zetsu rose from the ground behind them. Neji moved flawlessly, aiming a palm strike for Zetsu's chest, only to have the “mouth” of the fly trap that encased his enemy's body snap shut in defense.

 

It's as hard as iron.

 

Neji could already feel his hand begin to bruise.

 

Shikamaru's shadow snaked along the ground towards Zetsu with the intention of forcing the plant to open. Just as the shadow crept up, a vine moved silently behind Shikamaru. Temari leapt into action, guarding his back, and let her fan take the hit. The force of the hit drove her back, her feet digging into the earth. The strength of the blow would have been enough to impale and sent a shower of sparks into the air. It pushed Temari until her back was pressed against Shikamaru's, providing enough of a distraction for him to lose concentration for a brief moment. His shadow slipped away into nothing.

 

Neji, meanwhile, was busy fending off another barrage of attacks. His fingers jabbed at the vine, withering after its chakra was cut off. Neji winced, knowing he'd broken two fingers just to accomplish that, and barely had the chance to dodge another vine. Though not before it left a deep gouge in the side of his Anbu mask. He whirled about, prepared to launch a counterattack, before a swarm of insects arrived. They were upon the vine as a plague, devouring, leaving nothing behind.

 

Zetsu revealed his smirking face to his opponents. It appeared the irony of the fly trap being eaten by bugs was not lost on him.

 

Temari rounded on the vine she was battling, slicing clean through it with her fan.

 

“Enough of this crap,” she growled and jumped above the battlefield. She descended, fan snapped shut, and aimed at Zetsu as if she wielded a spear. Naturally the “trap” moved to protect him, but Temari knew to expect this. She grit her teeth as she felt a close around her fan, muscles twitching as she kept her hand and feet pressed against the weapon as they slipped towards the iron jaws. She felt Zetsu push further, try to snap her fan in two, but she knew that would be no simple feat.

 

She moved like liquid, a fluid motion as she flipped herself upside down, balancing herself in the air as her hands gained purchase on the fan.

 

“Those who see the Third Star don't live to see anything else.”

 

She jammed the fan open completely, wrenching the trap apart, one side now hanging at an impossible angle. Her arms burned with the effort to maintain her position.

 

“Now!” she screamed.

 

Shikamaru's shadow threads sprang to life, pinning the assaulting vines in frozen motion. Neji charged forward with little care for his wounded hand as he prepared the killing blow.

 

“You think you've won?” the light side taunted.

 

“Yes, come closer,” the dark hissed.

 

Neji was only a few short steps away from finishing the fight when Zetsu's body began to quiver and spasm, nearly knocking Temari from her perch. Neji had barely enough time to stop short as Zetsu's halves tore apart at the seams. Revealed was a hideous thing, a wide-mouthed creature with rows upon rows of razor teeth.

 

Temari let out an undignified yelp as she and her fan fell towards the gaping maw. For the briefest of moments her mind panicked that she was going to be eaten alive. That was before she flipped the fan under her body and crouched atop it.

 

“Hakke Kuushou!”

 

Neji's jutsu gave a burst of wind to ensure Temari sailed to safety. As she floated to less perilous grounds, the swarm returned. An angry black mass of an army flooded Zetsu's mouth, and it was not until every last one had been swallowed did his two sides put themselves back together.

 

“You accomplished nothing.”

 

“I consume everything.”

 

“It is natural selection.”

 

“I am higher on the food chain.”

 

Shino stepped into the clearing at last.

 

“You won't be able to stomach my bugs.”

 

He nodded to Shikamaru, who released his hold on the vines. One immediately lashed out towards Shino, who blocked the hit with his forearm.

 

“What…?” Zetsu watched the vine drop limply to the ground. Only to then watch the rest follow in rapid succession.

 

“The things you consume are things of flesh,” Shino explained flatly, “My insects eat chakra, and are ravishing you from the inside out.”

 

Zetsu's body gave an unnatural shudder.

 

“How…?”

 

“You knew my abilities!”

 

“We have a reliable source,” Shikamaru drawled, watching Zetsu's death coolly.

 

“That damn Uchiha!”

 

“Sold us out!”

 

“Told his brother everything—” insects began to flow from his mouth.

 

“`Told his brother'?” Temari echoed, puzzled. But as insects burst out of one of Zetsu's eyes, she knew she wouldn't get an answer.

 

“He couldn't have meant…” Neji grimaced as he watched Shino's bugs continue their disturbing work on the body.

 

“Sasuke got his info from Itachi,” Shikamaru murmured, feeling as if he'd once again been doused by a spray of cold water.

 

Just how much have you been hiding from us?

 

* * *

 

Within the cave, at its deepest parts, Zetsu's hologram flickered, casting odd shadows against the looming statue residing there.

 

“They came prepared.”

 

“That traitorous weasel!”

 

“They know everything—”

 

The hologram blinked once, twice, faded to static before disappearing entirely.

 

“It seems we've lost our eyes,” Shisui declared, not seeming particularly impressed. He stared out into the depths of the cave at his few remaining followers.

 

“If you could clean up the vermin…?”

 

* * *

 

The final group of four raced through the dark cavern corridors, seeking, searching.

 

“How far?” Naruto called out, well ahead of the pack.

 

“The path forks ahead,” Hinata studied the layout with her Byakugan, “If we take the right, there appears to be dungeons further down…”

 

The trail curved ahead of them and as they made to round it, Hinata pulled up short.

 

“Wait! There's—”

 

A figure emerged from behind the bend, unnaturally large and hunched over, as it shuffled into view.

 

“So you are foolish enough to come here and die,” Sasori taunted, “How pathetic.”

 

“You're in our way,” Naruto snarled.

 

Sakura shot him a worried look as chakra began to roll off his body in angry, red waves.

 

“Then make me move,” Sasori's tail twitched beneath the folds of his cloak while Naruto slipped into a crouching stance. A fox ready to pounce.

 

“Naruto,” Sakura took hold of his arm, her clinical coldness lacing her voice, “Remember our real goal.”

 

“Like I'd forget,” he snapped, never once looking to her.

 

“She's right,” Kankurou spoke up as he took hold of the scrolls he carried on his back, “You can't afford to get held up here.”

 

“Hinata,” Sakura pulled her gloves tightly into place, knuckles cracking, “You and Naruto go on ahead. We'll catch up later.”

 

“You want us to leave you alone against that?” Naruto gestured to Sasori and his unnatural shape. Hinata's eyes darted nervously between her team and their enemy, her mind heavy with indecision.

 

“One life,” Sakura reminded him brusquely.

 

Naruto muttered a string of curses as he grabbed Hinata's hand and took off running. Sasori lashed out with his tail at the scurrying prey, but there was a flash of light and Salamander deflected the blow.

 

“A puppet…” Sasori murmured, glancing from it to Kankurou, “An interesting choice.”

 

It was only now that he noticed Sakura was nowhere in sight. He looked around, and finally up, just as she descended from above with her fist drawn back.

 

* * *

 

The door to the cell flew open with a bang.

 

Yugito squinted despite the light being rather dim. It was hard for her to focus on the blurry forms swimming across her vision. Could it be…? Were they saved?

 

“Sorry for the wait,” Hidan jeered, “Time to go, kitty cat.”

 

“What?” her sore voice rasped, the terrible shock of the Akatsuki appearing refused to sink in.

 

She shot a nervous look to Sasuke as he remained still and unconscious. Kakuzu made to grab for her arm and she just managed to pull away, howling like a wounded animal.

 

“No!” she screamed, her body all but collapsing across Sasuke's chest.

 

“Give me a break,” Kakuzu muttered.

 

Yugito took hold of Sasuke's shirt, hoping against hope that he would wake up. That he would tell her she was sleeping and this was all a dream.

 

“You liar!” she shouted at him, having no care for the weak breath rattling his chest, the blood on his face, “You promised me!”

 

“Oh, for fuck's sake!” Hidan rolled his eyes and hauled Yugito by the back of her neck, “Don't you get how pointless it is for you to keep fighting this?”

 

“Damn it!” she shrieked, pulling and clawing at her captors to little avail, “You swore we'd get out of this alive! You made me believe—!”

 

“Shut her up already,” Kakuzu grumbled. What a noisy brat…

 

“I don't want to die here—!”

 

The door slammed shut and cast the prison back into total darkness, total silence. Some small part of Sasuke's subconscious vaguely realized this, realized Yugito was gone. Maybe it was his own reaction, maybe it was an involuntary shudder of his body. But his fingers closed tightly around a broken strand of prayer beads that Yugito lost during her struggles.

 

…I have hope…

 

* * *

 

Jiraiya hurried through the streets of Konoha, dreading the conversation he was about to have with Kakashi. He needed Pakkun to assist in tracking down the Missing Twelve, and no doubt Kakashi was going to be livid over being left behind. Not that he could blame him…

 

“You might consider heading out to River Country.”

 

Jiraiya froze, his eyes wildly scanning a darkened alley. It had been years since he'd heard that voice, but he still recognized it all the same.

 

“You've got some nerve to come around here,” he backed the shadowed figure against the wall, out of sight from any potential onlookers.

 

“I'm not very reputable for making good decisions.”

 

Kabuto drew his hood back, and while looking relatively unchanged since they'd last met, there were telltale worry lines creasing the skin about his eyes. Something had been troubling him, but Jiraiya couldn't exactly say what that “something” might turn out to be. For some reason, he rather doubted Kabuto took Orochimaru's death very hard.

 

“Can't say I'm surprised to learn you're still alive,” Jiraiya spoke in his usual gruff tones.

 

“That would be my only goal, as it were.”

 

“Returning to Konoha probably won't help you there.”

 

“Perhaps if you hear what I have to say…?”

 

“Alright. And what might I find in a waste of space like River Country?” Jiraiya sneered, knowing perfectly well he didn't have time to spare on a creep like Kabuto.

 

“Not much, I'm afraid,” Kabuto shrugged, “Just the Akatsuki headquarters.”

 

Jiraiya took involuntary step back, relinquishing his hold on Kabuto. Even if by some chance this guy was telling the truth, there had to be a catch. He didn't do anything unless he had something to gain from it.

 

“And you just decided out of the blue to tell me this?”

 

“Oh no,” Kabuto laughed, an oddly nervous sound, “But as I said, I am trying to keep myself alive…”

 

“Ch'. Why would they be interested in a punk like you, especially now that your master's dead?” even the remote mention of Orochimaru in conversation left a sour taste in his mouth.

 

“Probably the same reason they're looking for Uzumaki Naruto, I'd imagine,” Kabuto spoke in what might have been considered a bland tone; Jiraiya heard resignation.

 

But more importantly, he felt foolish for not putting things together sooner.

 

“I'll take it you never wondered what happened to the Five-Tail of the Rock after it was spotted during the Battle of Bellflower Pass?” Kabuto spoke in a decidedly smug voice, even if he may not have been proud of this particular truth, “Or perhaps a lone child, a toddler, found alone on the battlefield littered with the dead raised no flags in your mind?”

 

“You would lead me to this location?” Jiraiya still felt dubious about the situation, no matter how credible a tale Kabuto managed to weave.

 

Rather than agreeing, Kabuto simply handed him a map.

 

“My apologies. I still value my life, and all.”

 

“Hnn,” Jiraiya perused the map, ready to call Kabuto a coward among other things.

 

“You realize we'll have to hold you in custody—” he looked up from the map to discover Kabuto was already gone, “—til we prove your word to be true.”

 

That damn brat.

 

Jiraiya silently cursed the whole lot of young shinobi that kept managing to vanish before his watchful eye. Perhaps he was getting old…

 

Perhaps.

 

* * *

 

He kept a vigil by his younger traveling companion's side, bedridden once again with fever. Despite his efforts to treat the source of this terrible illness, to keep them on the road forever moving, it was only prolonging the inevitable. Each crippling bout came over more frequently and more potent than the last. Though the pouring rain of the land they currently were traveling through did little to help the situation.

 

A brittle, wheezing laugh cut through the silence like a hot blade.

 

“So stupid,” his ailing partner muttered.

 

“What is?” he spoke softly, hoping not to goad the other in his weakened state.

 

“I was just thinking…Remembering…this girl back home—I probably should have bought her dinner, after all…”

 

He said nothing in response, not that he'd been expected to. But he certainly knew quite a bit about things he should have done and hadn't.

 

“That was what…Three years ago?” the other choked and coughed out his words, “Ridiculous…”

 

“What made you think of it now?” a seemingly general question, though an undoubtedly loaded one.

 

A wish for vindication…A need to justify that he'd never stopped thinking of her…Despite his secret oath to do so after all that happened in that place…

 

“I don't know.”

 

In that moment, staring into the guarded expression of the young man lain out in bed, he decided he would bring him home.

 

 

 

 

To be continued…