Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Regret Not A Thing ❯ Ch.23: In Faith and In Memory ( Chapter 23 )

Regret Not A Thing

By Mizerable

 

 

 

 

Ch. 23: In Faith and In Memory

 

 

 

Both sides remained still, eerily so, caught in the calm before the storm.

 

Shikamaru exhaled slowly behind his mask before taking the initial step. He kept an eye on his enemies, watching them like the wild dogs he knew them to be, as he approached Lee. He made each calculated movement appear casual in their presentation, lest he tip his hand too soon. Perhaps he should have felt nervous, but the fire in his gut was raw with adrenaline.

 

He understood Sasuke a little too well, this time.

 

“You got enough gas left in the tank?” he whispered softly, looping an arm nonchalantly around Lee's shoulders.

 

“Of course,” Lee smiled tightly as Shikamaru's free hand pressed something into his palm.

 

Tenten kept a keen watch as Lee's fingers shut around the unknown object, before she tore open a scroll to start the show. The assault of kunai drove a wedge between the Zombie Twins and they went airborne, cloaks fluttering about like ghosts. Hidan was the first to counterattack with the swing of his scythe. It found its mark as it cut through Shino, whose body collapsed in a swarm of insects.

 

“Well, there's an inventive bunshin,” he grumbled.

 

Kakuzu kept his hold on Yugito as he let his other arm pull apart at its seam, letting thick tentacles unfurl. They moved with liquid speed, making its first contact with Temari. She turned smoothly in kind to slice through them with her fan

 

“Ugh! I'm sick of fighting vines. Get something original!” Temari growled, with a gust of wind following.

 

Lee darted though the chaos, dodging stray tentacles, at a speed only afforded to him through the Second Gate. His body unseen, his hand unnoticed as it swept past one of the severed oily masses. Temari's attack only proved to be a further distraction to the evading Akatsuki as Lee slipped discreetly back to Shikamaru's side, placing the vile in his hand.

 

“You brats are gonna have to try harder than that, seriously,” Hidan taunted, “You'd think me killing that pathetic Konoha jounin of yours would'a taught you I'm way out of your league!”

 

Shikamaru's face visibly darkened at that. So that's how they wanted to play, huh?

 

Ino seemed close to shouting something snide in return, until she caught a glimpse of Shikamaru out of the corner of her eye. She knew that look of his well enough to know he was up to something. Not even a literal mask could hide that from her.

 

Please, please, don't do anything stupid.

 

The thought barely finished crossing her mind before Shikamaru went airborne and threw down a pair of kunai. The pair easily evaded the attack, mostly, until Kakuzu realized it.

 

“Damnit, explosive tags!”

 

Hidan cursed under his breath when he realized the rope attached to his scythe had been severed.

 

“Kakuzu!”

 

“I hardened my arm, so I'm not injured,” a pause, “Watch the ground. This guy uses shadows.”

 

They avoided being captured by Shikamaru's attacks, giving Hidan another burst of confidence.

 

“Is this all he can do? Seriously…”

 

“Hidan, above you!”

 

He caught sight of Shikamaru throwing another round of kunai, coming inches from taking one through his skull.

 

“Don't let it get near you,” Kakuzu advised, “I bet he'll try and pin your shadow with it.”

 

Ino kept her distance, knowing better than to get in Shikamaru's way when he was like this. But…

 

This isn't good. These guys aren't stupid at all. They know exactly what Shikamaru's trying. Maybe this is one of those moments Temari-san was talking about when I should try and stop Shikamaru from getting in over his head…

 

Before Shikamaru's knife hit the earth, a curious weapon like brass knuckles with a curved blade, his shadow jumped up from the ground. It caught the blade by the handle and hurled it forward.

 

Hidan scowled as he evaded the onslaught.

 

Shit, that fucker picked it up and threw it with his shadow…

 

Asuma's old knife embedded itself in the wall right in front of Hidan's nose. He eyed the explosive tag tied to the end for a curious moment before it registered it wasn't going to detonate.

 

A fake, huh? Pathetic.

 

I guess it doesn't really matter. Long as I don't let that shadow touch me his jutsu will never work.

 

He glanced up just in time to get a good look at Shikamaru's fist.

 

“What the fuck??”

 

“You don't scare me,” Shikamaru spoke crisply as Hidan's feet skid to a stop, “My jutsu is a success.”

 

Hidan stood stiffly, seething, as he could no longer control his own movements.

 

“Let's take a walk,” Shikamaru began leading him unwillingly from the rest of the group.

 

“Shikamaru!” Ino called. He couldn't be serious about doing this on his own.

 

“Idiot,” Temari muttered, “What the hell are you trying to pull?”

 

“By my calculations, we'd be better off separating them.”

 

“And did these `calculations' involve you fighting him one-on-one?” she hissed by his ear.

 

“I may have left it out of my notes,” he gave a casual wave, Hidan awkwardly following the movement.

 

“Man, just you wait `til I offer your corpse up to Jashin-sama,” Hidan warned.

 

“You better not take all day with that ritual,” Kakuzu called after him, “I don't want to get stuck here babysitting a bunch of brats—!”

 

A jolt to his back cut off his words abruptly. He glanced over his shoulder into a bird-like Anbu mask, which did nothing to conceal the white eyes behind it.

 

“You were saying…?” Neji spoke as calmly as ever, his palm still pressed against Kakuzu's back.

 

“Heh, you only stopped my heart,” Neji leapt back as hulking masked creatures sprouted from Kakuzu's body, “Good thing I have plenty to spare.”

 

As the monsters formed a semi-circle around him, one detail stuck out in everyone's mind. It had somehow been forgotten amidst the initial mêlée, the fact that Kakuzu had clung tightly to the body of an unconscious young woman.

 

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

 

“It doesn't look like he'll give her up too easily,” Tenten muttered as she studied the captive's uniform, before glancing in Neji's direction.

 

What's a Cloud-nin doing here, anyway?

 

“What? You don't think he'll hand her over if we ask nicely?” Temari commented as a terrible grin took hold.

 

You better watch out, Nara. When I'm through with this guy, you're next!

 

“Interested in the girl, are ya?” Kakuzu taunted as one of his arms detached to pin Yugito's body to the far wall, “Then go get her.”

 

Shino decided to test the waters first as he let a swarm fly towards the girl. Unsurprisingly, one of the masked creatures took action and scorched the bugs in a stream of fire. Tenten, however, took advantage of it having her back to her as she let knives fly from her scroll. She vaguely heard Lee shout a warning at her before evading a blast from the “wind mask.” She turned sharply to engage the creature, already swinging a chained sickle in a wide arc.

 

The blade swiped smoothly through the black rolling mass of its arm, but the wound did little to deter her opponent. Already she was switching weapons to deal with closer combat, letting her sickle disappear in a puff of smoke only to be replaced with a ninja-tou. This certainly wasn't going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination, yet she couldn't keep a smile from creeping up.

 

This moment, this very fight in this very place, this is what she lived for.

 

I have trained my entire life for this day.

 

Her body flowed like water between strikes and parries, carefully avoiding the monster's powerful attacks.

 

I will face down my Village's, no, the world's, greatest threat and I will win.

 

She was descending over the being, the edge of her blade poised to pierce through its mask.

 

What do you think, Gai-sensei? Did I make it?

 

* * *

 

“From today you are genin! I'd like to hear your goals, yes!!”

 

“I would like to become a strong ninja…like the legendary female ninja Tsunade-sama.”

 

* * *

 

A particularly hard hit from one of those tentacles smacked solidly against her collar bone and sent her reeling backwards. Tenten winced through the pain, not entirely sure it wasn't broken. Hopefully it was only a bad bruise…A glint of metal caught her eye briefly as she avoided another hit from the monster. It took her a moment to recognize that she was watching her wedding ring tumble through the air; the chain it had been secured to around her neck now broken.

 

Her mind was slow to keep up as her body immediately jumped into action, her eyes set firmly on the ring. Because there was a reason she was still here, still a ninja. An oath sworn to keep this dream alive. Their dream.

 

* * *

 

“It's unfortunate there is nothing to be done to help you gain your own last name. But would you at least accept mine?”

 

* * *

 

Tenten's hand was outstretched, fingertips ghosting over the metal just beyond her reach. Her vision has grown narrow, small. She could not hear the others calling out, warning her of the impending attacks. She didn't notice the burst of wind hurtling towards her back, nor Temari blocking it with her fan. Even Temari's switch to offense, snapping her weapon shut and slamming into the mask of that creature, slowed Tenten down. Only when the heat of the “fire mask's” flames bore down on her did she pull up short, as if the whole world suddenly expanded around her.

 

“Kaiten!”

 

The flames dissipated into harmless wisps of smoke. As Neji turned one last time, he caught the ring in one hand and Tenten's wrist in the other, yanking her close to him.

 

“You're completely hopeless,” he chided, almost humorous in his exasperation.

 

“Neji, I—” Tenten felt oddly bereft of the right words to say, “I didn't mean—I'm sorry.”

 

He casually slid her ring onto its proper place on her finger.

 

“There is no shame in defending what you hold dear,” he replied, giving her a rather pointed look.

 

* * *

 

“She has always been the one to make me a man without fear.”

 

* * *

 

“Neji…” Tenten murmured softly, cheeks pink.

 

“Tenten! That's—!” Lee stammered, looking positively stricken by the sight of a ring on her finger, “You, you're already…That means…”

 

“It's not what you think,” she smiled gently.

 

“We'll tell you later,” Neji added more tersely.

 

“Okay—Wait, what??”

 

“Later!” Tenten grinned as she turned her sights back to the “fire mask” with her sword safely in hand, “Now where were we…”

 

“Are you ready to play now, little girl?” Kakuzu sneered, “It's been a long time since I've been down to three hearts. You ought to do just fine as a replacement.”

 

Tenten hadn't bothered to hold still as she took off running head-on towards her target. The creature lashed out with its tentacles, anticipating her path. It hadn't expected her to pull up abruptly and throw her sword forward as if it were a spear. Even with the unexpected attack, it moved to bat down the weapon. Tenten's growing smile did little to deter it. Though perhaps it should have been an indicator, for with a wave of her hand, the blade changed direction midair. The creature's arm had swung too widely to recover in time before the sword pierced its heart.

 

That brat took advantage of the poor lighting to use wires. Was there anything that asshole Itachi didn't end up telling?

 

I'm down to two hearts now…It might be a wise idea to take the Two-Tail and run.

 

“Hey,” Ino spoke quietly from her position behind Gaara and Shino, “I need you guys to keep him distracted for a little while longer. I've got an idea.”

 

“What are you planning?” Shino responded in equally hushed tones, while Gaara merely glanced briefly at her.

 

Ino's eyes traveled to where Yugito was, still bound and silent.

 

“I'm gonna wake that girl up.”

 

* * *

 

Hidan glared at the final kunai slamming into the wall, essentially trapping him in a web of explosive tags.

 

“Not gonna allow me to escape, eh?”

 

Shikamaru's shadow wavered and slowly crept backwards, away from the enemy. Hidan glanced at his feet as it receded.

 

“That shadow skill of yours probably lasts about five minutes, max. And on top of that, we're alone?”

 

Shikamaru didn't bother to hide his sense of unease as his shadow retreated completely.

 

“You have no idea how much that is in my favor, moron!” Hidan charged forward, his blade at the ready.

 

Shikamaru tried to shield himself with his arms instinctively as he stumbled back, blood flying with a swing of Hidan's weapon. He hit the dirt roughly with blood spilling down his cheek, his mask rolling lamely across the ground. Hidan's tongue danced along the wet blade, savoring the taste. His body shifted, changed, into something not entirely human. Black and grotesque, his face now that of a skull. Like a reaper, Shikamaru thought vaguely, before Hidan pierced his own hand. His blood hit the ground and he used his foot to shape it into an odd symbol, a triangle within a circle.

 

“All the preparations are complete,” he pointed the blade at his own heart, “Now you die!”

 

* * *

 

Kakuzu charged forward, his last creature clearing the path for him.

 

“He's trying to run away!” Temari shouted, barely avoiding a blast of water.

 

“Ch',” Gaara sent his sand towards the monster, irritated such a bulky thing could evade his attacks so easily.

 

“Ino,” Shino whispered, his bugs giving chase.

 

She said nothing, her hands in a triangle seal before her, with Yugito in her sights.

 

Almost there…

 

* * *

 

Hidan impaled himself through the chest, bleeding copious amounts everywhere. Shikamaru could only stare at him with surprised disgust.

 

This is how Asuma died? In such an awful way?

 

“Heh. This is pathetic. Even Jashin-sama would be rolling in his grave,” he eyed Shikamaru's body as it crumpled to the ground, before turning away from it, “Well, Kakuzu ought to be finished by now.”

 

* * *

 

Kakuzu doubled over while clutching his chest.

 

“No…This shouldn't be possible…”

 

“It's exactly what we planned for,” Lee spoke plainly, “I managed to give Shikamaru a sample of your blood, since we knew what kind of power Hidan had.”

 

“There's no sense trying to underestimate a guy like Shikamaru,” Temari added, leaning casually against her fan, “He knew just how he would kill you from the start.”

 

That asshole, he really did plan this from the start…

 

* * *

 

Shikamaru glared up at Hidan from where he lay on the cold stone. It was time to finish this.

 

“I should get going,” Hidan decided, though a sound from behind caught his attention, “Hmm?”

 

His eyes grew impossibly wide as he caught sight of a dagger coming towards his throat. Shikamaru swiped the blade across the man's neck, sending a shower of blood through the air along with Hidan's headband. Hidan slammed into the ground, slow to sit up with a gaping wound in his neck.

 

Shikamaru scowled. It was too shallow.

 

“Why are you…still alive…?”

 

“I was faking it,” Shikamaru wiped the blood off his cheek with the back of his hand, revealing there was no cut, “That's not my blood all over your weapon. It's your partner's.”

 

The look of shock on Hidan's face was one Shikamaru was certain he'd remember for a long time, he decided, as his shadow captured the guy again.

 

“Once we got a sample from him, all I had to do was trick you.”

 

Of course, Hidan's natural response was to start laughing as he struggled to his feet.

 

“After getting caught by the same jutsu over and over again, even an idiot would figure out how it works. It ain't as strong as it was earlier, since I can move now. It becomes weaker every time you use it. And your chakra's gotta be at its limit, right?”

 

Shikamaru didn't reply, even after his knees gave out. He could only stare up at Hidan while the man brought his weapon down, his crazed laughter echoing through the cavern.

 

“Had you vowed your life to Jashin-sama, he just might have saved you. Unfortunately, even if you converted right now, he would never forgive you!”

 

Shikamaru reached up, as if to grab hold of the weapon before it struck. It took Hidan a moment to notice the shadows circling his wrist like fingers, holding his arm in place.

 

“I don't need your fucked up god's forgiveness,” the shadows changed from hands to thread as they clung to the wires Shikamaru had strung up earlier, “Kageyose no jutsu!”

 

“Son of a bitch…” Hidan was now completely bound in place.

 

Shikamaru still had a hold of his dagger and through it to a spot marked with a circle with a line through it. His clan's mark. The blade hit the earth before it collapsed from the impact, leaving Hidan suspended above a bottomless abyss.

 

“What the fuck is this?!” he screamed, “When did you have time to set this up?”

 

“Just a little something I set up before I found you,” Shikamaru answered blandly as he calmly gathered the items that had fallen out of his pockets earlier.

 

Hidan couldn't even begin to wrap his mind around this. Even if Itachi had been a complete and utter sell-out, for somebody to plan something out like this…This guy had intended to separate him from Kakuzu from the beginning. He wanted to fight him alone, all along.

 

“You dug that pit yourself,” Shikamaru's voice was even, steady as he lit a cigarette, “When you killed my teacher…I didn't come out here to play around with you.”

 

He turned, facing Hidan dead-on, with smoke curling around his face.

 

“That hole is your grave.”

 

“Ha! I can't die! Even if my body's destroyed and all that's left is my head, I'll find away to escape somehow. And when I do, I'll find you and bite your fuckin' throat out!”

 

“That's the thing about this,” Shikamaru exhaled lazily, “When I'm through with you, I'm gonna kill the rest of the Akatsuki and then no one else will ever come out here. No one will ever find you. Our ancestors will keep watch over this place and keep you trapped here forever.”

 

Shikamaru flinched, as if he'd felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and swore he saw Asuma standing by his side.

 

“You got him, Shikamaru?” Asuma asked warmly.

 

“Yeah…”

 

“Then we'll leave it to you,” Chouji spoke from his other side.

 

We entrust our Will of Fire to you.

 

Shikamaru smiled faintly as their images faded again into smoke.

 

Goodbye, Sensei.

Goodbye, Chouji.

 

He flicked the cigarette forward and it ignited the explosive tags with a fantastic bang.

 

“N-no fuckin' way. You actually got me,” Hidan's head was a bloody mess at the bottom of the hole, “Jashin-sama will punish you for this! You'll be the one to suffer when He brings his vengeance down upon you!”

 

“Your bullshit doesn't scare me. Ya see, you and I have very different beliefs. I believe in the `Will of Fire.' And you? Your `Janshin-sama' is such crap. The only one bringing down vengeance is me.”

 

Shikamaru tossed a kunai straight up, another explosive tag tied to it. A rain of rock descended down over Hidan.

 

“Don't you ever forget!” Hidan screamed, panicking, “Jashinism will spread, and the Lord will smite you. Got it?! And I'll be the one to carry out his judgment. I don't need a body to kill you! I'll bite you to death, motherfucker!!”

 

As it grew dark, the last thing Hidan saw was Shikamaru looking down at him with cold regard.

 

* * *

 

Kakuzu roared with abject fury.

 

“You'll pay for this! I'll rip your beating hearts right out of your chest!”

 

To be losing to a bunch a kids still wet behind the ears…How pathetic! He had to grab the jinchuuriki before he ran out of time.

 

His tentacles slithers back as he pulled Yugito away from the wall. He hadn't bothered to notice the blond girl hiding behind two of her teammates.

 

Shintenshin no Jutsu!

 

Ino let the familiar sensation wash over her as she left her body and prepared for the oddness she felt whenever she entered someplace new. Her body slumped over behind Gaara and Shino, however she certainly didn't find what was expected. There was some sort of shape taking up her entire field of vision, something old and overpowering. It opened its glowing eyes and stared back at her with feral animosity before its great mouth opened with a howl.

 

In reality, Ino screamed.

 

“What happened?” Shino knelt by her side.

 

“There—there's something in there. Something else…” she held her head as it throbbed, “Something not human…”

 

“Just as I thought,” Gaara murmured.

 

Yugito opened her eyes, her pupils now thin vertical slits. The tentacles holding her in place seemed to burn away instantly and she hit the ground on all fours like a cat. A tremendous violet aura rolled off her body in waves.

 

Temari watched the whole ordeal with an odd sense of detachment.

 

So she's one of…

 

Kakuzu naturally realized there was no running from this now. What he needed was another heart. It was only at this point did he spot Ino sitting on the ground in an apparent daze.

 

“Ino!” Tenten shouted, already firing off another round of kunai.

 

Temari, meanwhile, jumped instinctively in front of the other girl. Because no matter what Shikamaru might say, Ino was still…

 

She braced her fan for the impact that never came. The tentacles fell flat without so much as a twitch.

 

Kakuzu stared down at his chest, which now had Yugito's arm through it.

 

“Didn't you know?” she snarled, “The Nekomata is a vengeful spirit. There will be no forgiveness for you, no mercy.”

 

“Fucking jinchuuriki,” he gasped out his last breath, “Would've been better off collecting a bounty for your head…”

 

She yanked her arm free and let his corpse hit the ground before her knees gave out.

 

There was a long pause in the wake of what just transpired before anyone could speak again.

 

“Um, are you okay, miss?” Lee finally ventured.

 

Yugito smiled weakly, tired.

 

“I didn't mean for you to see that,” she replied, eyes downcast.

 

“It doesn't matter,” Gaara replied flatly, earning a snort from her.

 

“Easy for you to say. You don't have—”

 

“Don't presume anything.”

 

Her head snapped up, eyes wide, before her expression softened.

 

“You, too?”

 

Gaara crossed his arms defensively, while Yugito stood on her wobbly legs and approached him.

 

“Yugito of the Cloud,” she extended her hand, awkwardly hiding her bloodied one behind her back.

 

He stared unblinking at her outstretched hand before the sand tugged his own into action.

 

“Gaara of the Sand.”

 

“I'm so glad you came,” she admitted, not letting go, “He promised me you would.”

 

“`He'?” Tenten asked, though she had a pretty good idea of who it was.

 

“There was a boy in the cell with me. He swore help would come. But he seemed to be in bad shape…”

 

“Don't worry about him,” Neji stated.

 

“Right!” Lee joined in, “He is our mission.”

 

“Good,” a long sigh, a breath of relief, “That's good.”

 

* * *

 

Kankurou shot Sakura one last look of concern as they arrived at the cell. Sweat dripped from her chin, her breath short pants.

 

“Hey,” he spoke in soft, grave tones, “You sure you can—?”

 

“How is he?” Sakura marched into the cell without preamble.

 

“About as stable as he's going to be,” Hinata answered solemnly, “All the preparations are complete.”

 

Sakura did a once over of the seal painted across the floor, across Sasuke's skin, to make sure not a stroke was made in error.

 

“Alright,” she exhaled, pulling her hair back, “Let's get started.”

 

She was slow to kneel, a hand pressed to her side.

 

“Sakura-chan…?” Naruto was no fool, not in this. Not when he could smell the blood, “—Hey! You're hurt!”

 

“I'm fine.”

 

Naruto wasn't hearing what she had to say now. He remembered what she told him four years ago, instead.

 

* * *

 

“What would the point be if I lost the both of you?!”

 

* * *

 

“I can do this,” she stated, finally looking up at Naruto with the most determined of expressions, “Just…just trust me, okay?”

 

Naruto rolled his eyes, feeling that twinge of magic that always came around when Team 7 was all in one place. That twinge of hope.

 

“Like I could ever not trust you.”

 

“…Fair enough,” Sakura looked away, trying to hide her flattered smile.

 

That was, until her eyes locked with Hinata's. The girls nodded once at each other before placing their palms side by side against Sasuke. It was time for the ritual to commence.

 

Hinata activated the Byakugan, looking past the seals and skin and marrow, right down to the chakra coils. She let her own chakra flow from her hands like water, poured it into the tenketsu to wash away the poison. She pushed the seals she and Naruto had created into the coils only she could see; an esoteric antidote. All the while, Sakura worked around the same area to reconstruct the tissue and flesh that had been damaged. The ink (blood) drawn across Sasuke's skin melding into his body. They could afford no mistake. There was no margin for error.

 

Tandem healing such as this was nigh unspoken. It was forbidden, no matter who you asked. But to perform on both the body and its chakra network, healing both separately yet simultaneously, while conducting a sealing ritual was unheard of. No one had ever attempted this and, more than likely, never even thought of it. It was, in theory, impossible.

 

Yet here they were. Together. One was not better than the other, one not more useful. There was no more insecurity, no more jealousy, no more inadequacy. There was only life. The life they were both saving.

 

They did not realize it now, could not. Their minds were far too intensely focused on their work. Their hearts far too set on doing exactly what they set out to do. But when this was over, win or lose, they would understand exactly how far they came to be here.

 

They would finally know they both had become great kunoichi.

 

* * *

 

“Do you believe in God?”

 

The question cut through the silence with the weight of a heavy sword behind it. The other man remained still, watching the campfire with eyes that could not see it.

 

“Admittedly, I haven't given it much thought.”

 

Or to be put more bluntly, he did not like the answer he may reach if he did.

 

“Then I don't suppose you have an idea of what might happen when we die?”

 

“Hmm…perhaps we come back.”

 

A snort.

 

“Reincarnation?” he spoke dubiously, “As what?”

 

“It wouldn't be so bad to have another try at this life…”

 

“This life?”

 

“Yes,” he spoke with shaky breath that the other pointedly ignored, “Only it would be different.”

 

There was no response to his words, as if to say anything more would spoil their chances of it coming true.

 

A world where they could exist just as they were now, without the metal tang of war.

 

They would remain safely within the land of their birth, surrounded by family that loved them honestly and unconditionally. There would be no motives or hidden agendas. With friends that never left, never had to.

 

Everything would be whole again. They would make the right choices and no one would have to lose. They would never be afraid, and they would never be alone.

 

All the same people, all the same people.

But different.

 

Next time would be different.

 

 

 

To be continued…