Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Sacrifice ❯ A Victory and a Loss ( Chapter 8 )

Chapter Eight: A Victory and a Loss

 

Sasuke was still stuck in the same position as he was before—standing by the window, with an indignant, but beautiful, girl in front of him, demanding that he profess a love he hadn't yet known existed.

“Ikimono-chan, I—I can't answer that.” Sasuke frowned, furious at himself for supplying such a lame excuse.

“Don't lie to me, Sasuke-kun.” Her eyes suddenly brimmed up with tears. “Don't you dare! You love her, don't you? Don't you?”

Sasuke looked at her, his face a mask. “Why do you care, Ikimono?” When she didn't answer, he searched her dark brown eyes for an answer, but when he couldn't find it, he tried another tactic. “You obviously know where she is and who took her. You might as well save me from this and we'll leave right away.”

Ikimono glared at him. “I don't know where she is and I'm not positive I know who took her, so why won't you just answer me? It's not such a hard question, Sasuke-kun.”

“Yes it is.” Sasuke said simply, seeing no other way out.

“No it's not!” She growled, hands clenched at her sides. “Don't tell me you don't know love, Sasuke-kun. That would be an outright lie. Don't say that a person like you who has experienced more pain than most wouldn't love. Well, stop being so selfish! There are people out there that are worse off than you! People who have experienced more than you! You've never felt heartbreak! Don't let me down now, Sasuke-kun. Tell me now and I can rest easy!”

Sasuke stared at her, surprised at her outburst. “You? So you can rest easy? What does this have to do with you?”

She scoffed, looking away. “It has nothing to do with me. But it has everything to do with Kira.”

“You do know her! But what does it have to do with her?”

She looked at him again, and for a second he saw her despair, her hurt, pain that shouldn't have crossed the features of such a carefree girl. “You've broken her heart, Sasuke-kun.” She whispered, shaking her head, a mirthless smile on her red lips. “How could you fall in love with someone else when she's loved you all these years? How could you?” A single tear leaked out of her eyes, and she suddenly looked very much like Kira. Her green eyes were penetrating his, begging for an answer. “How could you forget me, Sasuke?”

Sasuke started. Green eyes? He could have sworn they were just brown. And before that, he could have sworn they were green. Thunder crashed outside, the sky suddenly bleak and empty, like his confused heart. What was going on? What had he gotten himself into?

 

 

Kisame caught up to Sakura seconds later. He seemed as surprised to see her as she was surprised to see him so late. As realization hit her, she silently cursed herself for being so stupid. The wind had been blowing hard in her direction, so his voice must have carried far. She had had enough time to find a sufficient hiding place, and even set a trap. But she had just stayed there like a sitting duck waiting to be shot.

“Why doesn't Itachi want to kill me?” demanded Sakura, proud of herself for keeping her voice so steady. “What does he want with me, anyway?”

“Ha…stupid girl.” Kisame rasped, reaching towards his sword. “You're just bait! Soon, we'll have killed two birds with one stone!”

Sakura stared at him, light bulbs popping up all over her head. But as each one lit, her face became more and more grim. Itachi's plan would soon become reality and there was nothing much she could do about it. But if she couldn't escape now, she would be as good as dead, if not really. Her hand crept down her thigh, hoping to reach the weapons pouch before Kisame cut her down.

He saw her movement and drew his sword, throwing back his head in laughter. “Little girl, you think you can beat me? Me, the master of—”

He didn't get to finish his sentence. He had obviously underestimated Sakura. She had taken of his opening and her speed and threw ten shurikens. To her surprise, more than half of them had hit. Two shuriken hit his gills on both sides of the head, one had hit his sword hand, knocking the sword from his hand, two embedded themselves in his knees, and one grazed his chest, opening a long, diagonal gash under his collarbone. The long hours of target practice had finally paid off, she thought. She chose to ignore the four shuriken in the trees by him. He gaped at her.

“Little bitch!” He howled, scrambling to pick up his sword. He didn't quite make it. Sakura threw another shuriken in front of his face. He staggered backwards, narrowly avoiding it. As long as she kept him away from his sword, Sakura thought, I might have a chance of winning.

“Not such a big man without your sword, huh, Kisame?” Sakura smirked. If he were mad, he would be more prone to making mistakes. Score one for the girl who listened in class!

“Bitch…” Kisame was carefully extracting the shuriken from his body. He didn't touch the ones in his gills though—they were bleeding too much. He scowled at her. “You won't get out of here alive.” He bent his knees, trying to get back the feeling in them. Sakura had hit a key pressure point in them, numbing them.

“Yes I will. I'll get out of here, and leave your body behind.” Sakura clenched her hands into fists. This wasn't going well. Kisame could still stand and move around. He was recovering to quickly. She hadn't thought out her plan after all.

Kisame laughed, this time watching her warily. “Such bravado.” He clapped his hands. “Very well. Let's up the stakes.” He stood in front of her, legs positioned far apart. “I'll let your beloved Sasuke live if you can defeat me, not kill me. I have to admit defeat.” He growled. “I'm not one for pain.”

She stared at him, thinking it over. “But—”

He took advantage of her indecision and threw a rock at her. A shrewd weapon, but it did what he wanted. She stepped back, surprised. And he grabbed his sword. He straightened up, mouth stretched in a taut grin. “But you'll never get that far.” His sword began to glow, and Sakura realized with horror that she was weakening. She had used her chakra as a boost to throw the shuriken, and now she would have no chakra left. She backed up, watching Kisame carefully the whole time.

She glanced behind her, and in that second, impossibly, Kisame was right in front of her. His hand shot out and pinned her to a tree by the neck. Sakura was choking.

Kisame's voice was low, menacing. “Good bye, little girl.”

Explosions of red and black erupted in her eyes. She was dying…her numb fingers tore uselessly at his hands. An opening, she had to find an opening! Her half blind eyes focused on his gills, still tender from the wounds. She focused all of her energy into her right foot. And kicked. Her aim was true, and Kisame howled in pain, clutching his neck. Sakura collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath. She had succeeded. The shuriken had dug deeper into his skin, and it sure wasn't a pretty sight. Blood was bubbling at the surface, and Kisame's eyes had clouded over with pain. So he hadn't been lying after all. Pain was his weakness. She didn't have to kill him, though the more appropriate expression was that she couldn't. In her current state, it was a miracle she had even survived.

Kisame was on the ground, writhing with agony. He glared up at her, hate written all over his face. “You…you little bitch…I will kill you…”

She ignored him and went for his sword. His eyes opened wide, mouth gaping. She unwrapped the bindings and exposed the sword itself. It was an aquamarine color. Great. Her least favorite color. This made it easier. As far as she was concerned, Kisame was nothing without his sword. If she could destroy the sword, she could ultimately destroy Kisame. Of course, she knew she was wrong, but it made her feel better. She took a blade from the assortment Kabuto had given her and focused her remaining chakra on it. She struck down with all the force she could muster. She succeeded—halfway, anyway. There was a resounding crack, and as she glanced down, she saw that she had made a hole right in the middle of the sword. Sakura scowled.

She repeated the technique twice more until the sword was completely broken in half. Throughout this, Kisame had just laid on the ground, twitching once in a while, but still completely quiet. Sakura tapped one half on the ground. The sword's power was completely gone, and it crumbled into a dozen pieces. She did the same with the other half, and all that was left was the handle. She put it in the leather pouch and pulled the string tight, she hung it over her shoulder. The rain started again.

“Good bye Kisame.” She karate chopped both sides of his neck, and his eyes went blank. And she left. It poured.

 

 

Back in Konoha, the two fugitives had no idea what turmoil was boiling. The Hokage was furious, and she had broken at least a roomful of furniture already. The rain did no better for her mood.

“Sasuke I can understand, but Sakura?” Tsunade was screaming at Ino. Poor Ino was the last person to see both Sasuke and Sakura, and now she was being interrogated like she was a criminal. She flinched at every word. “What the hell happened here? Why didn't you do anything to stop them? Did you know this was going to happen?”

“I…Hokage-dono, I knew that Sasuke was going to run away, but I never imagined that Sakura would…”

“Liar.” Ino spun around, half in fear, half in fury, but her rage was complete when she saw Naruto, shadowed by the door.

Tsunade looked at him. “Naruto…what do you want?”

He smirked, a cocky grin on his face. “I want to tell Ino-chan that she's wrong. We all know that…Sakura has a `thing' for Sasuke. She'd follow him to death.” He said the last thought with spite.

“Oh, and don't you have a `thing' for Sakura?” growled Ino, refusing to be humiliated in front of the Hokage. “You could just be making this up so we can go after her…”

“Shut up, Ino.” Naruto bristled and Ino backed up a step. He had become much calmer, but much more dangerous. “I never said such a thing. It's all up to Tsunade.”

“You never did have much respect, Naruto. Then again I suppose it has everything to do with the person that taught you.” Tsunade looked at him, her eyes laughing but her mouth set in a straight line. But he had learned to trust her eyes better. She swatted at a fly buzzing in the corner. “You can stop hiding, frog man.”

And so Jiraiya, slid down from the corner in which he'd just occupied as a fly, a big grin on his face. “I never can fool you, can I, Tsunade?”

“Hey, look, it's the pervert Senin.” Naruto said, not altogether too surprised, but not angrily, either. “What brings you here?”

“I know why he's here. You want to organize a search party, don't you?” Tsunade butted in, giving him a scornful look.

“You don't know what Itachi's capable of.” The Senin said reasonably. “I mean, last time Orochimaru bit Sasuke, and look what he did! Almost caused a war! And Itachi's worse. I mean, hey, I can think of a billion different tor—”

“Shut up, bastard!” snapped the Hokage. “Get out of here!”

He sulked out of the window, but before he left, he winked at Naruto. The damage had been done. Naruto smiled. Now that was someone worth looking up to! Well, Kakashi was pretty amazing, too, but that Senin was on a whole other level!

Tsunade cradled her head in her hands and sat on what was left of her desk. Less than a second later, she hopped back up, scowling. Broken wood tends to wreak its revenge in splinters. She dusted off her backside and removed a sliver of wood, wincing. Naruto watched all this, trying hard to hold back from screeching with laughter. Ever since Sasuke had come back, he'd vowed to be Sasuke's match. The first step was controlling his emotions. Even now, months later, he still found it hard.

Ino looked on, almost in tears. The one who meant most to her was gone! Stolen from her clutches! (No, not Sakura.) And she was so close, too! Just one month, one month, and she was sure that she could have him wrapped around her pinky! And that evil little bitch Sakura had stolen him from her! No doubt, Sakura had captured him! Kidnapped him! Taken him away into her grubby hands when he was vulnerable and…ooooh it was too horrible to imagine.

“So…you two, what do you think I should do?” the Hokage peered over at them from behind the remains of a cabinet. She was rooting around in the misshapen drawers, as if searching for something. “Should I send out a search party?”

Ino was completely taken aback. “But—but Hokage-dono, it's completely your decision! I have no right to—”

“Jeez, Ino, shut up and stop oozing compliments.” Naruto snapped, a murderous gleam in his deep blue eyes. He turned his attention to a frowning Tsunade, though she was frowning at what she held in her hand rather than at him. “Send out a search party.”

Tsunade looked up at him, amusement tugging the corner of her lips. “Is that an order, Hokage-sama?”

Naruto had the grace to flush reflectively, but he quickly recovered and scowled at her. “Quit mocking me, woman. One day I will be Hokage. No one can stop me.”

Tsunade groaned and ran a hand over her face, as if to check if she had any new wrinkles. “The Kyuubi has changed you, Naruto. Either that or you've decided to take on Sasuke as your new role model. Honestly, Naruto, I don't know what I could've done to make you hate me so.”

Naruto smiled at her, his cheery voice contrasting horribly with the words slipping out of his mouth. “Oh, I don't hate you, Tsunade. I hate all Hokages that gamble.”

The Hokage raised an eyebrow. “In other words, me.”

“Precisely.”

Tsunade sighed and shook her head. “Well forgive me for my bad habits, but—”

“Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery.” Naruto quipped, his face set in stone.

Tsunade's face turned an angry hue of red. “SHUT UP YOU LITTLE BOY!” Her clenched fist smashed into the wall behind her, crumbling it, the pieces falling onto innocent bystanders below. “NOW LISTEN TO ME! YOU WILL ORGANIZE A SEARCH PARTY AND MOVE OUT BY TONIGHT. I DON'T GIVE A SHIT WHERE YOU STAY BUT YOU BETTER BRING BACK SASUKE AND SAKURA!” Her voice, already a howl, was carried by the wind all over the village. Everything suddenly fell silent, but the usual hustle bustle of everyday life in Kohona resumed. The entire village was used to their new Hokage's antics. And as she stood there, steaming, Naruto merely smiled.

“I already have a team assembled, Tsunade. We just needed your permission.”

A new flood of fury washed over Tsunade, but she had to admit that the kid was smart. However, she hadn't forgiven him yet. It took all of her control not to slap him. But she had a way with words. “Who?” That single-syllable word was thrown at Naruto with all the force of one of her empty bottles when she was drunk.

But Naruto didn't even falter. “Shikamaru, Kiba, Shino, Rock Lee, Tenten, and Hinata. I'll find Sai, too, wherever he is.” Sai had taken to wandering lately, and Naruto suspected that he was creating a new jutsu of some sort. “Oh, and I'll get Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro too.”

“Hey, what about me?” Ino growled, bristling.

“That's a pretty big team.” Tsunade remarked, ignoring Ino. The wind shifted and she was starting to get wet. She began to regret breaking the wall, but of course, the rain was pleasantly cool against her burning, still fuming, skin.

For once Naruto seemed genuinely worried. “This isn't the regular A-rank mission…this is way beyond. We need the best of the best.”

Tsunade regarded him quietly. The howling brat of a couple years ago had disappeared, leaving an almost-man with a calm deposition (most of the time). It was too good to be true. Then she saw through the deception and snickered.

“Kakashi…you bastard.”

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed in amusement. There was a puff of smoke and, instead of Naruto, Kakashi smiled through his mask, though the cold fury at having failed at his act was very visible. “What, Tsunade, I didn't act the part right? I said everything that Naruto would. I even stood the way he did and memorized all the lines, damn it.”

Tsunade threw back her head in laughter, while Ino stood there, pale-faced and jaw agape. “You did it too well, Kakashi. That's how I was able to tell. Naruto slips sometimes, he shows different views of personality. You stayed on track all the time.” She winked at him. “Not to mention that he no longer wears that orange jumpsuit.”

Naruto jumped out of the closet, scowling. “It is not a jumpsuit!” Ino looked like she was on the verge of fainting. Naruto barely spared her a glance before crossing his arms at the Hokage, glaring at her. “Now can we go or not?”

Tsunade didn't answer him directly. She gazed at Kakashi, smiling. “What else is a set-up? Is Asuma hiding in that strangely shaped shadow over there?”

The shadow abruptly writhed and changed form. Jiraiya grinned. Tsunade groaned. “Let me guess…”

“A clone.” Naruto laughed, a cocky grin plastered on his face. “Now come on, lady, are we going or not?”

Tsunade moaned. “Oh, you people drive me crazy.” She waved a hand in the vague direction of her door. “Just go, go, and take your madness with you. You, Jiraiya, Kakashi, I want you with them. Take Might Guy with you.”

Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Naruto all stiffened at the same time and gave her the exact same incredulous look. Ino just swayed and fell to the floor with a dull thump. Tsunade stared back at them, with equal caliber. “What? He drives me nuts too.” She rubbed her forehead. “Him and his talking turtles…”

And the three remaining occupants of the room (except for Tsunade and Ino, of course) shared a laugh, umbrellas, and later, bowls of ramen, and most importantly, a plan, before they slept, gathered their troops in the morning, briefed them, went for more ramen (suggested by Naruto, of course), and finally left. And in all of the confusion and excitement and chatter, the soaked girl in the forest and the dark haired boy torn between his heart and instinct were momentarily forgotten.

 

 

 

 

 

<This is the most recent chapter so far! Please comment! =]>