Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Sacrifice ❯ Desperation ( Chapter 13 )

Chapter Thirteen: Desperation

 

Sasuke had barely been gone for ten minutes before Kira came running after him. She was out of breath, and she had brought a bag with her.

“Sasu—Sasuke, wait up!” she called, still a few feet behind him.

“No. I told you, I'm not going to stay. I'm going to go, and you don't have to follow me.”

“Well yes, I know, I just…Sasuke, just wait, please?” Kira was pleading, and however strong his resolve was, he couldn't help but slow down.

“What do you want?” His voice was gruff, and impatient, and Kira flinched.

“What, do you hate me now?” she said, scowling, but he could see the hurt in her eyes.

“No, I don't hate you, I just don't want to waste anymore time. Sakura could be dead for all I know…”

“Yeah, well that's a better fate than being tortured—like me! You're hurting me so much, Sasuke-kun…” Kira started to play on his fears and guilt, pouting miserably, clutching her heart.

“Stop that!” he snapped, and continued walking down the road.

“She's over in that direction, Sasuke dearest.” Kira smirked, pointing in the opposite direction. “She's heading for Itachi.”

He rounded on her, his mask slipping with fury. “What—what are you talking about? How would you know where she is?”

She smiled an evil little smile and twirled something around in her fingers. “Oh, I like to say I have some contacts.”

Sasuke bristled. “What did you do now?”

“Oh, nothing really.” She said breezily, strutting around in circles, whirling a baton-like item in her hand. “Just…they give me information, those kinds of things.” She narrowed her eyes. “They follow my orders. And last time I checked, I saved your little girlfriend's life.”

“She's not my—” Sasuke growled, hands clenched into fists.

“Yeah, okay, I don't care anymore.” She waved a hand vaguely in his direction. “Here's the thing. I can either kill her, or save her, or do whatever the hell I want to do with her. I've been told she's weak. So okay, how about I spare her from living out the rest of her miserable life? Let's say I want to kill her?”

He took an involuntary step forward. “No. You wouldn't.”

Her eyes were drawn into slits. “And what if I did?” Her voice was soft, dangerous, and she knew damn well she was the one currently in control.

“If you did…then I would cut all ties from you.”

“And if I chose to pursue you?”

“Well then I'd fight you to the death.” His voice was cold. “Don't look at me like that, Kira, you know it's true. I know where my loyalties lie. It's time you learned yours. I never break a promise, Kira.”

She looked at the ground. “Don't talk down to me.” She said stiffly, playing with her hands nervously. “I hate it when you do that”

“No, Kira, I'm not talking down to you. I'm talking to you like I talk to normal, intelligent human beings. You're no different. I think it's time you looked at the real world.” His voice was soft, gentle. “Just open your eyes, Kira, and take a look. Sometimes you can't always be in control.” He reached out a hand and cupped her cheek. She was crying silently, and her glazed eyes were pained and hurt. He leaned down. “Times like this.” He kissed her gently, and in a flash, he was gone.

Kira stood there silently, as still as a statue. She turned around and walked the other way, a slight, mournful smile playing on her face. Her? Give up? No way. Slowly, she unwrapped her hand. The thing she'd kept in her hand was a container for a transmitter and its locator. The transmitter was gone. The locator was beeping. Yeah. She'd never give up. Ever. And in the end, she was going to win. She knew it.

 

 

Someone was following her. No, she reflected, tilting her head slightly, some people were. Not that it was uncommon, anyway. People still hunted in this forest. But since when did they prey on people? No…it must be ninjas.

Sakura scowled. So this is what came out of being alone—arguing with yourself. She looked around quickly, and disappeared. She'd programmed the ring to answer to her thoughts. Pretty smart, right? However, she was only invisible, not invincible, so she still had to watch out. She could hear agitated stirring behind her. She turned around quickly and hopped onto a branch, so her footsteps couldn't be followed. Who were the people following her? Presently, they came into view. There were three or four people, with no large or visible weapons. They seemed so familiar…but with no headband to distinguish what village they were from, and with black clothing that covered everything around them, it was hard to tell. Even their voices were muffled and unrecognizable under their masks.

“Where'd she go?” The tallest one asked, looking around, confused. It was a male.

“I don't know. She was just here.” It was a girl this time, and she seemed really worried. Her voice was quiet and barely audible. “She couldn't have just disappeared.”

“Hmm.” A boy. He was crouching down, staring at Sakura's footprints. “I guess you're right. But it makes no sense. Sakura doesn't know any jutsus like that. I don't think she would have learned that much in so little time. Not for her, anyway.”

Sakura bristled, both in fear and annoyance. She was perfectly capable of learning new jutsus, but she was frightened to hear that they knew so much about her.

“Argh, how could we lose her so quickly! Just like that, the moment we find her, she's gone!” There was another girl, annoyed and fiery. She was agitated about something and kept reaching to her back, but, feeling nothing there, quickly withdrew her hand and looked around her carefully. “Why didn't we bring that long haired brat? He has special eyes.” She looked sharply at the other girl. “Oh, I'm sorry, I know you do too, but I just—never mind.” She snapped and started pacing.

“He's coming soon.” The other girl said, shyly. “He promised that the moment he could, he'd come.”

The taller boy danced around in the leaves. “Oh, and wouldn't you like that, fan girl?”

“Alright you, stop causing commotion. We're supposed to be undetectable, not argument central.” The other boy (supposedly the leader) barked. “Don't say anything that'll give us away, you moron. What if other people are listening?”

“Aw c'mon, fan girl won't give anything away. She really is a fan, you see, get the joke, because she's in love with—” He never got to finish the sentence, because the more hyperactive girl had him pinned to a tree. He yelped in surprise and tried to fight her off. “Ack, get off me, you little bitch—”

“WHO YOU CALLING A BITCH, YOU RETARD! YOU THINK YOU'RE SO SMART BUT I DON'T HAVE AN IDEA WHY A COWARDLY FOX LIKE YOU IS EVEN ON THE TEAM! IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOUR SHITTY POWERS—”

“Wait no! Stop! Stop!” The strangled boy motioned for silence. The girl fumed but obeyed. The boy tilted his head and listened. They all followed suit. Suddenly, they all froze. A moment later, they scattered, and the small clearing they'd created was empty. Seconds later, Sakura realized why. Another force was about to enter the clearing. Her ring was pulsing desperately against her finger along with her racing heart, and she resisted the urge to just run. A split second later, a blue skinned being swaggered into view. Sakura's eyes widened in horror. Kisame.

 

 

Temari leaned against a tree trunk, gasping for breath. “My god, Naruto, how—how'd you sense him from—from so—so far away?”

Naruto scowled. He, too, was having a hard time breathing—mostly because he was being strangled mere moments before. “It's just a perk that comes with being the Nine Tailed Fox. It's nothing, really. But if you hadn't shut your mouth, then we'd all be dead.”

Shikamaru ripped off his mask. “Who was that? Who'd we hear?”

Naruto shook his head hesitantly. “No, I didn't hear him, I smelled him, more than anything. And he's probably the only person that smells like dead fish. It was Kisame, I'm sure.”

Hinata winced. “Oh…” Naruto hadn't had a very good experience with Kisame the last time they'd met.

Naruto hadn't heard her. He ran a hand through his blond hair, worried. His black bandanna was discarded onto the ground. “But…something was wrong. Something wasn't right.”

Temari bit back a sarcastic retort. She hadn't seen Naruto this serious since…well, since a while back. “What was wrong?”

He shook his head. “That's just the thing. I don't know. He smelled…dead.”

“But he came after us.” Hinata said, gasping, looking terrified. “Even zombies and the undead can't go that fast. He was too fast.”

Shikamaru frowned. “Are you sure it was Kisame?”

“Yeah, I'm positive.” The blond boy held his head in his hands, looking distressed. “He's more powerful than ever, but he smelled so weak. He was so confident, and he…I don't know, he just wanted blood. It was so strange. I could sense his emotions from that far away.” He looked up. “I still can. He's not very close or anything, in fact, I think we've got maybe ten or twenty miles on him, but I can still sense him. What's wrong with me?”

No one said anything. They didn't have a good reason for him, and if they did, it was sure to horrify him. Shikamaru scratched at his arm absentmindedly. He knew what it was, and it would be a nasty-sounding remark, and sure to frighten everyone else, but he thought it'd be better if they knew.

“Guys…” He stood lazily and stretched his arms. “I think I know what's wrong.”

Everyone's ears perked up. Naruto jumped to his feet. “What is it?”

Shikamaru sighed. “Don't take this the wrong way and try and kill me, but…” He closed one eye sleepily. “I think it's because Kisame's changed. He's a beast now too.”

Moments later, there was an explosion of cursing and screaming, though it was quickly subdued a second later. Miles away, a blue ninja looked up, and a pink haired girl sat shivering with fear in a tree.

 

 

<Hey there everyone, it's Cat again! Hope you've enjoyed this chapter, I plan to end the story in three more chapters or less. I've certainly had fun writing this story, and I really, really hope all my readers will be around to read my next one. =] Bye bye till laterz, Cat <3>