Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Wasted Years ❯ Ch. 13: We've All Our Demons ( Chapter 13 )

Wasted Years

by Mizerable

Ch.13: We've All Our Demons

* * *

The rank smell of bile and blood bit into her senses more overwhelmingly with every step. This building was a goddamn slaughterhouse. She could only pray they weren't too late. But surely Naruto had to be okay. If anyone could endure this, it would be him. Though the entire situation surrounding his disappearance seemed so irrational. Why only Naruto? Was this just an Akatsuki plan to pull the Anbu away? That thought was what surely kept Jiraiya from sending more help. But if it wasn't that terrorist group and yet were still strong enough to disarm Naruto, the Akatsuki might be of little consequence by now.

Could it be Orochimaru?

Hinata was getting a terrible feeling about this. It was time to just find Naruto and get out. She would definitely save him now to make up for being unable to protect him earlier. Hopefully she could get through this unnoticed.

"Byakugan."

She could see through the infested wood; through the dust and debris and the decrepit. Above and a little off to the left was a figure bound to a chair. The light of the room was too dim for even her eyes to make out everything but the person was injured.

Hang in there, Naruto-kun. I'm coming.

Signaling to her fellow squad member, they proceeded with caution in the direction of the room. The sporadic creak of the floor boards above were filling her with the anxiety that they were by no means alone. Things were going to get rough from here. A horrid shriek that didn't even hold a completely human quality ripped through the building and caution was thrown to the wind. Naruto was in grave danger and they didn't have time to play it safe. They would not fail the mission.

She would not fail him.

Making it to the room seemed far too simple. There were no guards and no opposition. This had set-up written all over it, but they were Anbu. They could handle whatever was waiting. Her failure against Sasuke would not affect today's mission. Hinata entered the room while two other team members flanked the door. It appeared the pitch room was empty aside from its prisoner. It wasn't a genjutsu this time, either. This was the real Naruto and even the darkness could not hide the heady scent of blood richly saturating the air.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata spoke in a whisper just in case someone managed to escape her eyes in the dark. He was visibly shaking, his breath coming out in harsh gasps.

"Get…out…"

She blinked beneath her mask in surprise. He must have been worried that she, too, would be caught. Or maybe he was even being foolish and wanted to be able to escape without depending on another person. "Don't worry. I'm here with the Anbu. We'll take it from here." She began cracking open the lock of his handcuffs, suspicious that no one was here with the captive. Moreover, the terrible chakra that this building was drenched in only seemed to grow more powerful with every second.

Naruto was muttering protests but Hinata finally wrenched the bindings open. They had best get Naruto to a doctor now. The state of shock he reached from the beating he took must have given him a fever. His skin was burning to the touch. "You're free now, Naruto-kun-"

"Get away from me!!"

Hinata jumped as his voice reverberated through the empty spaces. He was hunched over in his seat, his arms hugging his quivering form. Her hand gingerly reached out and rested between his shoulder blades. She barely had time to hear his snarl before he whipped around and sent the chair toppling over, his hand clamped firmly around her throat.

Immediately, the two other Anbu members charged in with weapons drawn. It must have been a trick, after all. It couldn't be the real Naruto. He would never--With a sweep of his arm, Naruto's chakra sent them both into the darkness with sickening crunches as they hit the wall somewhere across the room. Hinata ripped her mask off, her lungs burning for air and her spine begging for the pressure to be released. In the swirling blackness, she found copper eyes staring back at her filled with an immeasurable amount of contempt and hatred.

"N-Naru-to-kun," she gasped. It was getting harder and harder to ponder what they had done to him as it became harder and harder to breathe. Even as she struggled to press the chakra points in his arm, there was no change. This was it. There was no one to stop her killer this time. She still lacked the power to win on her own. She was still weak.

Suddenly, she was roughly thrown aside and bounced over the rot and broken glass. Naruto was gone before she rolled to a stop, leaving her coughing, confused, and feeling betrayed in a room soaked in the smell of his blood.

* * *

It sounded like things were getting pretty bad upstairs. It looks like he would have to fight after all. What a pain in the ass…

This place was pretty dark. Without a sliver of light, it would be hard to pull off his attacks in surroundings like this. The odds weren't looking too good. A pained gasp to his right followed by a thump left the hairs on the back of his neck standing. Someone was moving around so closely and they couldn't even sense another person there. Though it was hard to sense much of anything with that strange chakra permeating through everything.

A groan from the wood signaled the movement but when he saw his opponent's eyes, he couldn't move. He couldn't defend the sword as it pierced through belly to back. He hit the floor with his eyes still fixated on the crimson eyes coolly regarding him.

Sasuke…!?

He couldn't get out any questions for his attacker as his body snapped with spasms on the ground. How was it possible? Sasuke died three years ago. Even if he were somehow alive, why would he attack?

Itachi could sense the recognition. This Anbu soldier wasn't all that old. Perhaps this one, too, knew of his younger brother. Perhaps here in the dark, this boy questioned how a dead ninja could attack him.

He hadn't been ignorant of the rumors over the years, though. Talks of a boy with dark hair and Sharingan eyes now traveling with Captain Yanagi of the Aohi reached his ears some time ago. She was just the type to take in that child, too. If the rumors were true, it would be interesting to see what she was capable of transforming him into.

Perhaps his brother would become all he dreamed him to be. And perhaps, she too…

Shikamaru couldn't call after the retreating form as it slipped away into the black again. He couldn't help but realize rather bitterly how angry Ino was going to be now that he couldn't keep his promise. He couldn't come home to her again. He couldn't return to her bed again.

No regrets, huh…

* * *

"Sensei, there's a weird lady staring through the window," Konohamaru announced, which quickly earned murmurs questioning if she was an Akatsuki spy. She was so unobtrusive, even Iruka hadn't sensed her until she was right before the glass. Perhaps they should have kept the Academy closed after all, until matter passed. It had been hard enough for him to get through the lessons with his mind worrying endlessly over Naruto on top of everything else. But his class was set to graduate soon. They couldn't call off school when they were about to earn a new set of shinobi to help protect the village.

"Stay calm, kids. I'll take care of this," Iruka announced. If this were an Akatsuki assassin, even his chuunin level skill would probably not be enough. He opened the window to call out to her regardless. He could hope his voice would signal other shinobi in the nearby vicinity.

"Identify yourself and state what business you have in this village."

Yanagi, of course, was never very good at doing what anyone said and walked up to the window before perching herself on the sill. Iruka immediately drew his shuriken but Yanagi took firm hold of his arm to keep him from attacking. She already had enough scars, after all.

"That ain't a real nice way a greetin' somebody," she pointed out with mild irritation.

"Sensei!" Moegi cried out. This lady was stronger than the teacher? They were in big trouble now.

"Wha? Is this a school or somethin'?"

"Yes, it's a school!" Konohamaru shouted, trying to hide his fear, "Didn't you see the sign outside?" Yanagi shrugged and released Iruka before coolly sauntering past him.

"I ain't never been ta one before," she stated, pulling out her trusty cigarettes, "It don't matter if I saw any signs. Can't read 'em, anyway."

She relished the tobacco as it burned strong in her throat. It was a simple pleasure she allowed herself, one of the only things she kept by her side tried and true over the years. It was a feeling that never changed, so much like herself.

So much unlike him.

"Are you gonna kill us?"

She blinked in lingering surprise after the voice of a frightened kid reached her ears.

"Shit, ain't your village leaders good for nothin'? Ain't y'all been told they hired me?"

"Yanagi," Iruka realized, "You're Captain Yanagi."

Well, at least the man in charge heard about her. That was slightly more gratifying to know.

"Sensei? You know who she is?" The class was now buzzing with questions.

"Uh…Yes, she's the leader of the Aohi, a strong group of ninja who are going to help defend the village from the Akatsuki."

From the sound of it, this teacher didn't know much outside of that. Though Yanagi was sure he heard of her reputation. The poor bastard probably thought she planned on gutting every last one of his students despite her "protection" orders. Well, she did threaten to burn down the village earlier, didn't she…This whole ordeal was starting to annoy her more and more.

Iruka was, in fact, terrified. Putting aside how easily she countered his attack minutes ago, he had heard the stories about the Aohi. Before this group made a name for itself, its captain was infamous for committing absolutely heinous murders. Always to survive, was what she told a shinobi who managed to escape her blade. She killed in unimaginable ways for the sake of her own survival.

"Hey Teacher," Yanagi called, "You ever have a kid named Uchiha for a student?"

Uchiha?

"You mean Sasuke-niichan?" Konohamaru piped up, eyes bright and shiny. Someone from far away remembered a Konoha hero! Yanagi gave a vague nod. She came to this place not really sure what she was looking for, maybe question a couple of kids if they had seen anything weird going on lately. A bunch of brats like these kids might have seen an Akatsuki soldier and not even realized it. But somehow this was turning less into work and more of something else.

"Yes, he was one of my students. He graduated at the top of his class, even," Iruka answered cautiously, "Though I must admit I find it strange that you asked. I'm afraid Sasuke Uchiha died three years ago."

What was she getting at? Perhaps she was only curious, as it was Sasuke's elder brother that was an important member of the Akatsuki. She likely just wanted as best of an understanding of the situation as she could gain.

"He ain't dead, you know," Yanagi took a seat on the corner of a desk, "Little Uchiha."

Even if that memorial stone said otherwise.

Judging from the sheer surprise on the teacher's face, as well as the students, everyone must have been kept in the dark on this matter. One could suppose it was for the best. Sasuke never received attention very warmly. It was likely a wise decision to keep his return out of the spotlight. Though she supposed they somewhat should be warned just to avoid another round of startled reactions, should they see him. But if she had anything to do with it, they would be leaving soon enough so that none of these people would get a chance to bother the kid.

"But how?" Iruka asked, rather incredulous to the news. He didn't need to ask aloud why the boy never returned for her to hear it.

"You could say he's in my care these days," Yanagi replied plainly.

Funny, wording it that way almost made her feel responsible for him somehow. She couldn't recall ever describing such a sentiment in regards to her other soldiers. Everyone would take care of their own person and just concentrate on surviving through the hell of continual war and poverty. You kept an eye on your traveling partner, as their help kept you that much further from your own execution, but you couldn't quite ever say there was an affinity on a personal level. They were all mercenaries, being paid with the freedom of life, and this was business. It had nothing to do with feelings. She didn't even have those.

Though somehow he became her charge, of sorts. Yanagi took care of him over these years--trained and scrounged with him. Even became a bizarre sort of teacher to him. Though that's how everything started, didn't it? She had looked after him.

* * *

It was a bold move on her part to enter a clearing, especially in such a miserable state. But through her crimson haze, the stream's voice still reached her ears. The fight held a scrap of success, considering he'd fainted. It would have been a little easier to sleep if he were dead but that time would come soon enough. There was no pain that could be inflicted upon her that whiskey could not fix and there was no person in this world that she could not outlive. Next chance, she would remember to take out his traveling companion first. Itachi would fall easily enough to her once all other obstacles were cleared from her path.

The blood gripped sticky, weighing down her clothing against her skin. The water would likely alleviate some of her discomfort. Afterwards, she was to meet with some of her fellow troops and head in the direction of Cloud Country. It was a gray place, an unchanging place and it felt more welcoming than this one. She was only a few days away from a Hidden Village and that would not bode well for her. She was in no mood to slaughter whatever assassins from there that might pick up her trail.

Though this sun was a tad more forgiving this time of year than all the rain of that place.

Shuffling towards the riverbed, something off to the side caught her attention. Gleaming white under the sun and stinking of death, her curiosity tugged her towards the prone form. What made such high level Akatsuki bother killing this one? They usually didn't waste their time if it was someone unimportant. Especially since they must have known she was nearby--today was far from the first time she and Itachi danced together. He should have felt her deep in his bones, and yet...

Whatever the reason, she could only wonder if perhaps this corpse had once been one of her own while still alive. Though a less likely possibility from Itachi, Kisame was likely to cut down any Aohi member he spotted as if this were a deranged gang war. She doubted he saw the situation as it really was: survival of the fittest.

And she always survived.

She imagined surprise must have had the rare misfortune of showing upon her features when her eyes fell upon the pitiful looking creature. The terrible splash of crimson across his belly robbed the rest of his form of all its color--a monochrome and empty shape. He'd bled out from an expansive puncture in his side and it now clung velvet and cooling from the bowing blades. The arm that wasn't bent so awkwardly still had its fingers grasped tightly around the grass even in death. This boy had lied here suffering tremendously before his body finally quit.

Dark strands curtained colorless features, almost urging her to brush them aside to see this child's face. There were no traces of pain there, no trauma from injuries save for the red that had spilled over his lips. It was a gruesome death and while it certainly wasn't the first or even the worst she'd ever seen, it somehow felt unjustified. How did killing this boy grant the Akatsuki any gain? He certainly couldn't have been a threat to them. If he had been, he would have likely had even more injuries than he did now.

Idly wiping away the blood from his chin, she felt it. Almost confusing it with the wind, she was certain she felt his breath against her fingers. This kid was alive?? Pressing her ear flush against his chest the weakest and most erratic of heartbeats rattled beneath the bones. Somehow this boy was still clinging desperately to his life. Perhaps there was something more to this battle, something she didn't comprehend. Revenge. Anger. Despair. They weren't things she could grasp so easily. They weren't sensations the sting of a blade or the chill of raindrops could translate for her mind.

This child was important somehow. If she could get information about Itachi and Kisame from this kid, he would be a wonderfully useful find. She would only need him to live long enough to unravel the mystery. If he proved to be a problem, she could just as easily finish the job the Akatsuki started.

When he finally awakened, she found an embittered man waiting behind those closed eyes. In some ways, he was hardly the child she always called him. But he was a pampered boy so far as material comforts went and it had been fun for a time watching him rather indignantly learn to do without. To live on her level.

Somehow, it became a little disgraceful to view after a while.

The boy held a terrible passion within his eyes, an urge to hurt the one he fully believed put him in this very situation. Sometimes he saw that person as being his brother, other moments it was her for all the hell she put him through. Even after swearing he would give his trust, he lashed out at her. Hated her. Gradually, just as all things did at some point, that too slipped away from him. All his passions and furies bled away and left behind…Nothing. There was nothing left but an emptiness that she had no words for. Yanagi was never very good with words.

He wasn't accustomed to hiding the right things emotionally to the point that even she could see them, almost as if he wanted his secrets to be discovered. So she played on that. She tried physical things. She understood physical things. Anything to make him react, anything to make him move past it and forget. He'd be of no use to her if he couldn't function to the best of his abilities. She needed a soldier that could wake up in the morning and face it without a thought about the night before and all of its previous nights.

Somewhere along the way, it all changed. Just as he had.

It was autumn, if she remembered correctly. He was sick again and her body had more aches than she'd ever admit so they stopped at a desolate inn for shelter. After leaving him in order to replenish the cigarette stash, she returned to find him sitting on the floor with his head tilted against the window glass. His eyes were glancing outside but likely didn't see a thing that was out there. He probably hadn't even heard her come inside and if she'd been in a more enthused mood, she might have yelled about his inattention.

He'd left his features exposed and she could drink of his thousand regrets. Things he should have done, things he shouldn't have. All his wishes and failures in vivid colors, as he dreamt of a life where he didn't do everything wrong for the sake of that second chance.

His eyes drifted shut as he let all the darker elements eat away at his mind but she could only stand by and watch. She didn't understand what regret meant, having never done anything she felt required such. Her life was filled with too much chaos to stop and think about all she'd done with her time in this place.

Somehow she wondered if her lack of words was what left him enough silence to hear the agony in his head. Though she never could find her voice.

* * *

Things had been much simpler in the beginning.

Somehow breaking down his walls and stripping away everything he was left things all the more complex. The truth of the matter was perhaps those walls weren't meant to be taken. The truth was he was young man with nothing left to give when she found him. His family, his home, his ambitions. Everything he had was taken or thrown away by the time she met him. The barriers he'd built kept him a little more human. She wasn't an educated woman but she somehow figured out later that, physical endurance aside, he was not a man that could survive without his precious defenses. Those walls were armor that she robbed him of. Perhaps in that regard she did in fact earn every bit of his scorn.

Though of all the people he hated, he despised himself the most.

There was a whole room of people staring at her now and she inwardly cursed for getting lost in thought here. Thus, proving nothing good ever did come of thinking. She also got the feeling that no one here was bound to be particularly helpful.

"Well, guess I'll be leavin' now," she decided and got back on her feet.

"Where are you gonna go now?" some kid asked her, watching her every movement with impossibly large eyes.

"I need to look after someone."

* * *

The energy was suffocating. Sasuke was getting the feeling that Kakashi hadn't sent him so much as an escort but most likely wanted him to conduct the damn mission in place of Sakura. However strong she might have become, there was no way she could handle whatever was radiating such a powerful chakra.

"It feels like…" Sakura didn't finish her statement. She didn't have to. They both knew it felt similar in a lot of ways to Naruto, but there was a malignance spun within it that Naruto simply didn't possess. Furthermore, he was powerful but there was no way he could have been hiding this level of chakra. Either way, having Sakura with him would only slow him down. After going through all the shit he witnessed over the last three years, he was confident he could hold his own against whatever was waiting. He doubted she could say the same.

"You son of a bitch."

Both froze upon hearing the voice. The heavy energy soaked through everything and made it all the more difficult to pinpoint anyone's location. Damn it, where the hell were the Anbu?

"I thought I told you to stay away from Sakura-chan."

"Naruto?" Sakura called into the dark. Naruto was the only person that called her "Sakura-chan" but that voice certainly didn't sound like him. It was something a little more primitive, a little more feral. Creeping into the faint light, copper eyes gazed back at them with bone white fangs snarling in accompaniment. His body held a predatory stance, crouched with claws poised as he readied to strike at any given moment. Though more than anything, in the poor lighting all eyes were drawn to the glowing mark on Naruto's stomach. Neither knew the Nine Tails was sealed within him; a burden he carried alone for all these years. More importantly, neither knew its seal was rapidly unraveling.

"What did they do to him?" Sakura whispered. Sasuke shook his head slightly, too focused on Naruto's desire to kill. This went beyond all the anger and hate he sensed when he and Naruto last fought. This was another breed of bloodlust.

"Sakura, leave," Sasuke ordered flatly. This was going to get ugly and she would just get in the way. Especially since Naruto would probably try to kill both of them if given the chance. What had these people done to him anyway?

"What?" Sakura couldn't believe it. They found Naruto and obviously something was wrong with him. He needed their help. There was no way she was leaving him behind in such a state. "I'm not going."

He should have figured she would be this damn stupid. She thought she could "save" Naruto, just as she thought she could save him. And that certainly turned out wonderfully. He was a goddamn murderer no matter how long or hard she tried to prevent that.

Then there was Naruto. All that power he kept locked inside all these years must have been pouring out right here and now. It was a dark power, lethal and it was going to tear them apart. He should have known.

"Naruto," he mumbled, "You always were a complete idiot."

The familiar burning sensation blossomed at his neck and wound over his skin, earning a horrified look from Sakura.

"But-But-" she stumbled, "You said Yanagi-san helped you control it!"

"Don't worry. I'm in control."

"Why are you using the curse seal though!?It's Naruto-"

"-Who is about to kill us both. Just shut up and stay out of this," he growled. He couldn't think about how upset she looked right now. She was a tough enough girl. She'd deal well enough, whatever the outcome.

Naruto was far less patient with his prey and launched the first wave. But if he wanted to spill some blood, Sasuke had no qualms with doing the same. After all, they never did get to finish their fight. Whatever had been unleashed in Naruto gave him speed that even the Sharingan had difficulty following. But if he couldn't dodge it, the curse seal could take the brunt of anything. More importantly, his body was beyond the pain. That completely earned Yanagi's thanks.

Yanagi, who never felt the pain.

Yanagi, who wasn't here today.

Instead, there stood the girl who had been by his side no matter how deeply the pain was driven into her bleeding heart. She knew his ugliness and though she couldn't protect herself from it the way Yanagi could, she always gave him the softest of smiles. No matter how badly he abused her. To be frank, he was quite a bit pleased that she slapped him when they met again. Maybe she, too, could overcome the pain and then stop caring so damn much for him. Please let her heart be hardened. He couldn't watch over her like he had when they had all once been teammates a lifetime ago.

Naruto hadn't always been like this, had he…He wasn't an educated boy. He had been the laughingstock of the Academy and even after his skills became more refined, he was still a dense and silly little idiot who needed to have information beaten into his head for him to get it. Always smiling, though. Even when he was hurting. He would never be a graceful fighter or the smartest man, but he always gave everything he had. It was funny to think about how similar he was to Yanagi in some ways.

He had made for a good rival, as far as rivalries went. At the time, it pissed him off to see this moron surpass him. But for a time, it drove him to become stronger. At least, until he began hating Naruto a lot less and hated himself a lot more. At that point, Naruto was only an object in his path. A measuring stick of sorts to test how much stronger he needed to-

**They were just a measuring stick to test myself.**

**You killed everyone for that…?**

His body jerked at the recollection. Ten years had passed since the Uchiha clan had been wiped out and he hadn't managed to change anything. He hadn't avenged anyone. He only became a little more similar to the man who stole his world. Yanagi warned him of thischange, didn't she? She stopped him from killing Hinata for solely that reason. The more he fought against it, the closer he found himself walking in his brother's footsteps. He became a murderer and was prepared to take the life of someone he once saved. Amidst the ice and fog, he hadn't wanted Naruto to die that time…

A fist cracked hard against his jaw and sent his body skidding across the wood and further into the blackness.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura's voice cracked and trailed of into a bitten scream as she clutched her head. Something tremendous was churning inside of her and it felt as if she might explode if she didn't release it. Her trembling hands moved against her will, drawn to one another by the magnetism of desperation. More than anything, she never dreamed she would unleash the power of the scroll against Naruto. It was he, more than anyone, that she wished to have been her dearest. Wonderful, devoted Naruto whom she hurt over and over again. She prayed that someday, maybe even a little, his heart could forgive her pitiful treatment of him.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

"That should be everything," Jiraiya stated as he placed the last scroll in his bag before hoisting it over his shoulder.

"You better get a move on it. It doesn't feel like things are going too well there."

No, it certainly didn't seem that way at all. Perhaps it had been a mistake to listen to that brat Kakashi after all. It seemed those three kids were oil and water. Things just felt like they were getting worse and worse when that team mixed together.

"I'm counting on you to take care of things here without me," Jiraiya stated casually.

"Not a problem!" Tsunade answered with a self-satisfied grin, "There was no way I'd miss out when the stakes are this high."

* * *

She couldn't even leave the kid alone for a couple of hours without her having to come to the rescue. This whole place screamed deathtrap. She couldn't sense chakra, per say, but she knew what danger felt like and she recognized the scent of blood more so than her favorite brand of smoke. Every now and then, she would come across a corpse of some poor Anbu who had met an unfortunate end. If it wasn't the Akatsuki, whoever it turned out to be would at least be a little bit interesting.

She paused for a moment. There was a wheezing and troubled breath coming from nearby while trying not to get caught. After all, they'd have no idea if she were friend or foe. From the sound of it, even the best of shinobi wouldn't be able to hide it. Must be a dying man. Without much trouble, she found the wounded soldier crumpled on the floor.

She crouched down and pulled out her matchbook, striking one to get a good look at this one's status. His mask had already been pulled away and he stared back at her with bleary eyes. Through his tummy was the puncture while the puddle he was lying in indicated he was skewered straight through. "Boy, you got enough breath to tell me who did this?"

"Sharingan-He had Sharingan eyes," Shikamaru choked out, "Only guy I…knew who had those…died a while ago."

Yanagi waved out the match after it burned her fingertips. Sharingan, huh? Well, she figured this battle would be interesting…

"It ain't Sasuke who stabbed ya," Yanagi stated coolly as she took hold of the kid's trembling hand, "If he decided to kill you, he wouldn't 'a let you survive long enough ta suffer."

Another man, however, wouldn't care if he left you in agony. Wouldn't even care if you died, so long as you never got in his way again. She couldn't think of anyone else who that might have sounded like…

Yanagi pulled off her shirt, left now only with the netting, and rendered it into strips. "You got somethin' ta hang in there for, kid?"

"There…there's a girl back home-" he got out between his coughs, "She'd be pissed…if I didn't come back."

So some Konoha shinobi actually return to their women? How refreshing to hear.

"Heh, you're pretty smart, kid," Yanagi wrapped and bound the cloth around the wound, "Your lady better take good care of you."

The wound was pretty bad so it was hard to say whether or not he'd pull through. But so long as he had that drive, she could tell him he had a chance. She was meant to protect this village now. All their lives would be on her head. Even this boy and his simple wish were her responsibility now. Just what she needed…more responsibility.

Sword unsheathed, she walked away from the boy with a cigarette dangling from her mouth. With the smallest of smirks, she idly realized things wouldn't go quite according to plan after all.

"It's been a while, Captain."

"Have you missed me, Itachi?"

* * *

Violent and blistering waves of the purest energy, angry and red, rippled out of control. Even Naruto was shoved backwards as Sasuke shielded himself against the torrent of debris and heat. A portion of the wall gave way in a sizable chunk, letting light stream through in blinding white. Grateful to have the time to let his eyes adjust, they immediately located the source of the new and overwhelming chakra.

Wrapped in a cocoon of crimson light, Sakura's being pulsed with full fury the bizarre energy he sensed from her before. Opening her eyes, they gazed back at him golden and completely inhuman. What had she done?

What the fuck had she done to herself!?

His feet carelessly pulled him towards her, Naruto now momentarily forgotten. "You idiot!" he shouted at her, "Do you have any idea what you've done!?" His feet skidded to a halt when he realized he was likely too close, should she deem him to be an enemy while in this state.

Her hand was warm against his cheek, maybe even hotter than the curse seal. Her surrounding energy unfolded into wings, wispy and graceful as its crimson feathers fluttered about her.

"See, Sasuke-kun?" her voice seemed sweet yet somehow unrecognizably cold, "We're not so different, after all."

We've all our demons.

To be continued…