Disclaimer- No I don't own Naruto.
Author's Note- Ah, here is the next chapter! I would have updated sooner but I was just so eager to start The Last Dance (You should check it out, ne?) that I sort of put these off for a few days. And now I will clear a few things up.
1. Naiteki does know Shukaku and will meet him, but you have to wait to see what happens. Let's just say Kyuubi isn't thrilled. Bwahaha I'm so evil! (Is bonked on head.) DAMMIT, WHO KEEPS DOING THAT!
2. Itachi didn't kill the Uchiha clan- Orochimaru did. Sasuke wants power to kill whoever slaughtered his clan, which is Orochimaru, but Sasuke doesn't know that.
3. In the previous chapter, Sakura's eyes were pink because Naiteki had taken over. Now they're green and regular.
Chapter Eight
Sakura groaned and stirred lightly, feeling someone gently place something wet and cold on her forehead. She felt several people huddling over her, along with a few voices. Someone's calloused fingers lightly brushed a few bangs out from her face and tucked a blanket under her chin. Wait a minute… blanket? Sakura moaned again and forced her eyelids to flutter open, groggily taking in her surroundings.
'Oh god,' Inner Sakura held an icepack to her head, 'My brain is on fire…'
"Hey," a bright voice called, "She's awake! Sakura-chan, how are you feeling?"
"Dobe," a deep voice snorted, "Stop. Let her have some time to focus."
"Where am I?" Sakura sat up and rubbed her head. As the room came into focus, she saw Sasuke, Naruto, Sai, and Tazuna all huddled around her bedside, along with an unfamiliar woman. She noticed that Sai and Sasuke were staring at her with intent eyes, while Naruto drooled. She cocked her head and attempted to get up but Tazuna pushed her back down.
"Don't try and get up," he commanded, "You're still tired. Rest some more."
"But where are we?"
"You're at my house," Tazuna said, "You and your sensei were exhausted from the fight and collapsed. We brought you here."
"Sensei?" the girl thought for a moment. Suddenly, the memories from earlier flooded back to her head. Everything, the fight with Zabuza, the release of Naiteki, the hunter nin, and her collapse. A draft came in through the window and rustled her pink locks. Wait… how could she feel that? Her hood would have blocked that out…
"AAAHHHH!" Sakura screamed and hurriedly pulled the blanket over her head. She remembered that Zabuza sliced off her beloved jacket, "DON'T LOOK AT ME!"
"Ah," Sai smirked, "So she finally realizes how ugly she really is." Sasuke and Naruto both shot glares at him.
"But Sakura-chan," Naruto perked up, "What are you doing? You look really, really, really pretty!"
"No!" she shoved them away and burrowed further under the blanket. "Y-You can't look at me," Sakura warned, "Stay back!"
"But Sakura-chan," Naruto pouted, "You're not ugly if that's what you're thinking. In fact, I think you're really, really, really pretty and-"
Sasuke chucked a book at the dobe's head, "She gets the point."
'Aww,' Naiteki grinned, 'Naruto's so sweet.'
Sakura blushed from under the covers. Naruto continued, "Well anyways there's nothing to be afraid of. We've seen what you look like, especially Sai. He's been staring at you for like three hours, and Sasuke-teme too. I think they like you but who cares because I'm obviously the better choice."
He was cut off as several kunai were flung at him and pinned him to the wall. "AIYEE!"
"Shut. Up. Dobe." Sasuke growled and clenched his fists.
"If you keep talking then a dick won't be the only thing you're missing," Sai smiled ever so sweetly.
Sakura giggled. Well, Naruto did have a point. The boys already saw what she looked like and there was no point in concealing it around them. Shyly, Sakura poked her head out from the mass of blankets.
"That's better," Tazuna sighed. He then introduced the unfamiliar woman, "This is my daughter Tsunami. We brought you here about a few hours ago, and don't worry about your sensei. He's in the other room. He woke up before you did but was too weak to get up."
"Oh," Naruto said, "By the way, Kakashi-sensei said he's going to give us a training session tomorrow."
"So early?" Sakura raised an eyebrow, "But isn't he exhausted?"
"Nonsense! Training will be fun!"
"No it won't," the stony voice of a young boy entered the conversation. They all looked over to see a boy standing in the doorway.
"Who are you?" Sasuke lifted an eyebrow.
"Inari!" Tazuna scolded, "Where have you been? I'm sorry, this is my grandson Inari."
"You should leave," Inari ignored his grandfather, "There's no way you'll beat Gato and his men."
"Don't speak to our guests like that," Tsunami chided her son, "After all, they were the ones who brought your grandfather back here safely."
"Whatever," he stormed off and left them all alone.
"That brat!" Naruto fumed, "What does he mean can't take Gato on? I'm freaking going to be the next Hokage!"
"Sure," Sai snorted, "And Sakura will become beautiful."
"Well," Tsunami picked up a few medical supplies, "I need to tend to Inari, now. If you need anything just tell me." She smiled and then headed out the door, leaving them to continue their talking…err, arguing.
The next morning Kakashi was feeling better and was able to get up, but not without the assistance of some crutches. He told his team to meet in the forest near Tazuna's home for some training, but being his 'adoptive' daughter, Sakura decided to stay behind and escort Kakashi out.
Soon they were at the clearing where they were supposed to meet, and found Sasuke, Sai, and Naruto already arguing. They sweat dropped.
"For your information, I do have a penis!" Naruto stomped his foot on the floor.
"Liar." Sai snorted.
"Shut up," Sasuke snarled.
"But I do have one! I'll even show it to you!"
Sai raised an eyebrow. He was really going to do it? Sasuke backed away. The now ego-inflated Uzumaki puffed up his chest and started to unzip his pants.
"NARUTO UZUMAKI, DON'T YOU DARE!" Sakura hollered as she entered the clearing.
'MY EYES!' Naiteki screamed, 'AH! MY POOR VIRGIN EYES! THEY BLEED!'
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelped and hurriedly zipped his pants up, his face flushing so red that it looked like someone had placed him in a steamer. Sakura's eyebrow twitched and Kakashi's eye crinkled in mild amusement.
"If I'm still sane after their training, it will be a miracle."
"No!" Naruto whined, "It's not like that! Sai was the one who wanted to see it!"
"And you agreed to show him?" Sakura raised a single versatile brow.
"Erm…" he scratched his head.
Sasuke coughed, "Gay."
"It wasn't like that!" Naruto whined.
"Suuure," Sakura scooted away from all three of them.
After getting that all sorted out, Kakashi launched into a speech about how Zabuza was still alive and how anbu were able to fake death. He explained to them how the senbon pierced two nerves in the spinal column that sent the jounin in a coma-like state. The silver haired jounin stopped when he realized that the only one listening diligently was Sakura… the others were busy staring at her.
'Sakura-chan's got cute pink hair…' Naruto sighed dreamily.
'There's something about her…' Sasuke couldn't put his finger on it but just found something intriguing about his female teammate. For starters she was probably the only girl who didn't swoon at sight of him, and she contained far more power than he imagined.
Sai really wasn't thinking anything. He was just staring at the strawberry haired genin. Her hair, her face, even her body. Since her baggy clothes were so bloodstained, she was forced to ditch them. Now she sported a red tank top, mesh arm warmers, black spandex shorts, a tan overskirt, and regulation ninja sandals, along with a pair of mesh leg warmers. In her new attire and true identity, she looked…cute. And not ugly. But Sai would willingly chop off his own balls before admitting it.
"Naruto," Kakashi snapped, "What is chakra?"
"Huh? What?" Naruto snapped up. He was busy daydreaming and drooling at Sakura. She flinched and scooted back a few inches.
Kakashi sighed and rubbed his brows, "Sakura-chan, explain to him what chakra is."
"Chakra is the energy needed by a ninja to perform special ninja arts and technique called jutsu," she lectured, "Chakra is generated within the body by two elements, physical energy that comes from the body's cells and mind energy that is obtained through training and meditating." She ended it with a grin.
"Very good," their sensei's only visible eye crinkled. Sasuke and Sai cocked their heads at Sakura. Ever since her hood came off, she had been showing more emotion. They didn't know if they liked this Sakura better… but for some reason they couldn't take their eyes off her. Sakura seemed to catch them staring at her as well and winced.
"Now," Kakashi positioned himself in front of a tree, "I'm going to show you an exercise that will help hone your chakra skills. And all you have to do is climb up a tree."
"Climb a tree?" Naruto scoffed, "Pbfft, I can totally do that! Yeah!"
"Without using your hands," Kakashi finished.
Naruto's face paled. "…Uh…well… SURE! YEAH, I CAN STILL DO IT! THERE IS NOTHING TOO TOUGH FOR THE FUTURE HOKAGE!"
Sasuke and Sai cocked their heads. Now they were interested. "How do you do that?"
"Like this," Kakashi closed his eyes and performed a few hand seals. His feet glowed blue briefly and he raised a crutch and began walking up the tree. He did it so casually that it seemed as if he was walking on regular ground. "Every jutsu requires a certain amount of chakra to be focused on some part of the body, and this whole time you've been guessing the amount needed. The hardest place to concentrate chakra is at the soles of your feet, and if you can find the right amount of chakra needed for that part of the body, then every jutsu will be a piece of cake. Well, theoretically of course. Now you will be trying to climb up a tree. Use a kunai to mark your progress. Is everyone ready?"
"Hai." His students took their places in front of a tree.
"Go."
All four of them closed their eyes and focused chakra into their feet, trying to balance it out. Once ready, they all ran up their respective trees.
"AHH!" Naruto grunted and swiped the bark with his kunai. He groaned as he landed on the forest floor and looked up to see his progress.
Three feet.
Naruto sweat dropped. Beside him, Sai and Sasuke were matching each other's paces and made it about twenty feet up the tree before falling back on the floor. They grunted and weren't satisfied with their first try. Kakashi snickered at them.
"Hey," Naruto piped up, "Where's Sakura-chan?"
"Here!" a voice called up from high in the tree tops. "I'm at the top of the tree!"
All the boys' eyes widened. Was she serious?
'HAHAHA!' Naiteki smirked triumphantly, 'Look at them! They're gaping! Hell yeah! Cha!'
Sasuke snorted and looked away, his Uchiha pride hurt because a girl managed to beat him. Sai crossed his arms, for once having no witty remark. Naruto cheered, "Yeah! Go Sakura! You're so awesome!"
"Thank you," she grinned as she leapt down from the tree. "I believe I'm done now, Kakashi-sensei."
"Very good," he smiled, "I'm surprised you got it on your first try. Well done." Sakura grinned and took a seat next to them. Sasuke, Sai, and Naruto huffed and began their ascent on the trees all over again.
Dinner rolled by quite swiftly and Kakashi and Sakura literally had to drag Sasuke, Sai, and Naruto away from the trees so they could go eat. Since Kakashi was in crutches, he got the "liberty" of taking Naruto, while Sakura got to handle Sasuke and Sai.
"Ow," Sai winced, "Ugly your fingers are burning my ear."
"Good." Sakura gave him a sickeningly sweet smile and tugged harder. In one hand, she was clutching Sasuke by the collar, and in the other she was gripping Sai's ear. "And if you don't shut up then this ear of yours is going to be flat." She gave him a threatening squeeze. Once they were back at Tazuna's house, Sakura dumped her teammates in two chairs and sat between them. Everyone was at the table, including Inari.
As soon as Tsunami had placed the food down and given them the okay to eat, Sai, Sasuke, and Naruto dug at it as if it were the last food they were ever allowed to have. Sakura flinched.
'What pigs.' Naiteki made a face.
The boys wolfed down their rice and swallowed their soups without even chewing, and wolfing down their bread. Sakura sweat dropped when they asked for more and then threw up. "Don't eat if you're going to end up throwing it up later!"
Sai ignore her and fought to keep from gagging, "More please."
"I want to eat," Sasuke said while wiping his mouth.
"Because the more we eat the stronger we get, and then we can beat Ghetto or whatever his name is!" (A/N: Haha. Ghetto.)
Suddenly, Inari rose and pounded his fists on the table. "Why…Why do you insist on training? Why? You'll never beat Gato and his men! NEVER! STOP ACTING AS IF YOU CAN! GET OUT OF HERE. YOU'RE NO MATCH FOR THEM! THEY'LL KILL YOU!"
The genins opened their mouths to retort but Inari held an infuriated hand up to stop them, "Shut up! Don't try and say anything- because it's not going to help! You don't know what it's like here! You're always acting as if you're so strong and been through so much, BUT YOU HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT THE LONELINESS AND SUFFERING I FELT AND HAD TO ENDURE! EVERYTHING IS JUST SUGAR AND PONIES FOR YOU! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT PAIN REALLY IS!"
Sakura and Naruto froze. He had definitely struck a chord. Both of their faces darkened.
"Inari!" Both Tazuna and Tsunami scolded him. But Sasuke, Sai, and Kakashi were busy studying Naruto and Sakura.
"Pain?" Sakura laughed, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She spoke with a lowered tone, "Suffering? HA! Try having your parents abandon you like trash- try living with a demon inside of you that could kill everyone in an instant- you shut yourself off from people to protect them and yet they still torment you! You know what? I don't have to take this!" Sakura rose abruptly and stormed out of the house.
Naruto then took his turn, "You think being dramatic and depressive is going to get you anywhere? I'm impressed you can just sit and cry so well, you big baby!" he snarled and bolted out the door like Sakura.
Taken aback by their words, more tears welled up in Inari's face as he went out the back door. Tazuna ran a hand through his hair while Tsunami buried her head in her hands. This was so stressful. Kakashi looked at Sasuke and Sai, both of whom nodded and went after Sakura and Naruto. The silver haired jounin sighed and decided to fetch Inari. "I'll get him." It didn't take long for Kakashi to find the said boy. He was crouched over on the porch, sniffling and sobbing.
"May I join you?" Inari flinched when he felt a presence sneak up behind him. He looked up and saw the team's sensei: Hatake Kakashi. Inari nodded and scooted over for Kakashi to sit. "You know, they weren't trying to be mean to you. They just don't have that essence, you know what I mean? See, Naruto and Sakura both grew up without parents. Both were picked on when they were younger."
Inari blinked away his tears. Kakashi continued, "Naruto and Sakura used to be just like you. They used to take all the insults and just cry… But then, one day they decided to grow up and not cry anymore. People continue to treat them badly, especially Naruto, but they don't care. They take it all with their heads held high. I don't know about Sai and Sasuke, but something tells me that you four are all very similar."
Somehow, that had struck a chord inside Inari's mind. He looked up at the silver haired jounin, "Really?"
Kakashi nodded, "Let's get back in the house now." The boy nodded and took his hand as they entered the bridge builder's home.
Sakura yawned and arched her back, relishing the feel of her muscles stretching. It was morning and she was sent to guard Tazuna while he worked on the bridge.
"Hey," Tazuna said, "Where's blondie, darkie, other darkie, and your sensei?"
"Kakashi wanted to train them a little more," Sakura yawned, "Since they struggled a bit with the test. I passed with flying colors."
"I see," Tazuna didn't feel too comfortable with just a genin girl guarding him. Though he first handedly witnessed her strength against Zabuza, he had a feeling that Zabuza wasn't the only person she'd have to face.
Suddenly, a heavy fog drifted into the area. 'This isn't right…' Sakura narrowed her eyes.
'Sakura-chan,' Naiteki whispered, 'Do you think it's-'
The demon was cut off as they heard a worker cry out in agony. The sickening sound of a dead body falling on the floor was heard. Sakura instantly sprang up and stood in front of Tazuna, kunai poised and ready to defend. Then, a lone figure started walking towards them. Sakura recognized him. 'Zabuza?' Wait- there was somebody else…
"The hunter nin?" Sakura said it out loud.
"Well, well," Zabuza sneered when they were close enough, "I see I'm up against only brat today. Pity. I wanted to see Kakashi again. Oh, and this hunter nin? Sorry to break it to you, but he works for me. His name's Haku- but I guess you won't need to remember that since you're going to die anyways."
Sakura growled and gripped the kunai tightly, her knuckles turning white. She was up against two high leveled jounins- and alone too. Fuck.
"GI'ICHI!" Tazuna hollered to a nearby worker, "QUICK, GO TO MY HOME AND GET THE OTHER NINJA!"
The worker nodded faintly, his jaw trembling in fear. His mind told him to obey Tazuna but his body stood glued to the spot. He saw Sakura narrowly duck a double assault from Haku and Zabuza, blocking both senbon and sword with one kunai.
"DO YOU WANT THAT GIRL TO DIE?" Tazuna shouted. He glanced worriedly at Sakura. She was holding them off well, but he wasn't sure how much longer she would last.
Gi'ichi shakily shook his head and turned on his heel, running towards the bridge builder's home. At first he tripped over his steps but soon managed an even sprint. His mind was still distracted by the fight. He had never seen anything so intense…
"Ah!" Sakura screamed and felt a senbon pierce her shoulder, narrowly missing a valuable nerve. She quickly pulled the needle out and leaped in the air just as Zabuza's sword swung at her legs. She jumped up and landed on top of the gigantic blade, running down its length with shuriken in hand. Once Sakura was close enough, she threw several shuriken that left deep gashes in Zabuza's shoulders and upper arms.
"Bitch!" he hollered and flipped his sword over as if to swat a fly. Sakura jumped up at the last moment and saw Haku aim at her.
"Shit!" she cursed and held her arms in front of her as a flurry of icicle shards flew her way. Sakura hissed as the cold arrows grazed her.
'Come on!' Naiteki ushered worriedly. She bit her lip and watched as Sakura pulled herself up, knees bracing in pain. Naiteki could only be brought out by emotional affliction, and not by free will like Shukaku. Before she was brought out by intense fear, and unless Sakura experienced another emotional explosion there was nothing Naiteki could do but watch.
Sakura was a strong girl on her own, with strength that hovered somewhere in the upper chuunin ranks. But she was up against two missing nin whose power was far from chuunin. Everything had a limit, and Sakura was just about to reach hers.
Kakashi sighed and shook his head. He scheduled a brief training session with his male students to give them one last checkup on their tree climbing skills. And so far, the only thing he's got to see them do was argue. "You know, this isn't exactly a good show of teamwork." The boys ignored him and continued to hurl insults at each other.
"Look at all the ramen fat you have," Sai snorted, "I mean you make Chouji look like Tsunade."
"Oh yeah?" Naruto snarled, "Well I'm not the one who's hell-bent on penis sizes."
"Just shut up," Sasuke growled, "The both of you are gay. End of discussion."
Sai and Naruto opened their mouths to retaliate but stopped when they heard something in the distance. Kakashi and Sasuke listened as well.
"HELP!" the voice of a middle aged man ricocheted through the forest. "HELP! SOMEBODY, COME QUICKLY! THE BRIDGE BUILDER IS IN DANGER!"
"What!" instantly, all four of the boys leapt to where the source of the voice was. There they saw a frantic looking man, scanning the area in despair. They went down and grabbed the man, "What did you say?"
"A-Are," Gi'ichi was shaken, "A-Are you the shinobi from Konoha?"
"We are," Kakashi said, "What's wrong?"
"W-We were working on the bridge when these two ninja appeared out of nowhere and attacked us. The girl sent to guard Tazuna-san was able to protect us and now she's facing off against Zabuza and Haku all by herself. Quick, you need to help her before she's killed!"
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto gaped, "She's facing them alone?"
"What are we waiting for?" Sasuke shouted and sprinted off towards the bridge. Sai left too, followed by Kakashi and Naruto. Gi'ichi was taken aback at how fast the boys were, leaving him stumbling a bit from the after wind.
Kakashi narrowed his eyes, 'Hang on. We're coming.'
'I can't… hold out much longer…' Sakura panted and ran at Zabuza, only to have Haku block her and shoot senbon at the girl. Sakura blocked all with her kunai, but Zabuza took advantage of her distracted state to kick her to the floor.
'Sakura!' the demon screamed as she watched her container barely avoid an ice missile.
Haku reappeared in front of her and swung a kick at her torso. Behind her, Zabuza aimed a punch towards the back of her head. Sakura feverishly wove her fingers in a replacement jutsu and turned into a log. Haku whirled around and shot several senbon behind him, nearly missing Sakura. She let out a yell and axe kicked him in the jaw. As he recoiled from the hit, Zabuza reappeared behind her and swung his sword at her backside, leaving a deep gash.
Sakura screamed out in agony and sank to the ground. Haku took this opportunity to summon up an ice jutsu that froze her legs to the bridge. 'Fuck!' Sakura felt Zabuza and Haku advance on her on both sides. Concentrating chakra into her arms, she managed to blast the ice blocks away and roll out of the way just as the two mist nins closed in.
The pink haired genin panted and whispered a jutsu. "Kage no Bunshin!" Three more Sakura appeared and split up.
"You think this little trick will work on us?" Zabuza scoffed. "Haku, summon your ice mirrors."
"As you wish," he bowed. The boy performed a brief number of hand seals and instantly, a dome of ice mirrors materialized around them. Haku strode over to one and stepped in. The Sakura clones quirked their eyebrows. What was going on?
Naiteki flinched. She recognized those ice mirrors as a bloodline trait. Haku was no ordinary prodigy…
"Look in the mirrors," Zabuza smirked, "The clones don't have reflections."
'Kuso!' Naiteki tugged at her hair desperately, 'He's right!'
Sakura's fears were confirmed when all three of them stared in the ice mirrors, finding that only the original remained. The other Sakuras disappeared since they had no use anymore. Well, there goes more chakra… wasted. Now that they had the real Sakura alone and cornered, Zabuza and Haku launched their attacks. The three exchanged a flurry of kicks and punches, with Sakura barely managing to dodge them all. She was able to squeeze a few hits here and there, but when Zabuza and Haku started breaking out the jutsus… she was basically screwed over.
'I-I can't do it,' Sakura panted, 'I'm so sorry Naiteki…' She felt her knees buckle and sink to the cold, wooden floor. Haku took this chance to pin her here with ice missiles. Sakura didn't retaliate. She didn't have the strength anymore.
'SAKURA! DON'T DIE ON ME, WOMAN!' tears streamed down Naiteki's face.
The pink haired kunoichi smiled briefly and let a small whisper escape her blood stained lips, "I'm sorry for failing you, Tazuna-san." Upon hearing her words, the bridge builder shook. This was it, Sakura couldn't take it anymore. She relaxed against the ice missiles Haku pinned her down with and watched as Zabuza smirked and lifted his Kubikiri Houcho high above their heads. Sakura slowly closed her eyes, patiently waiting for the final blow to be delivered and slip her into that eternal slumber called death.
It never came.
CLANG!
The sound of metal clashing with metal rang through the air as Sakura felt someone knock off the ice missiles that pinned her to the ground. Two strong arms wrapped around her waist and scooped her up bridal style.
Viridian eyes snapped open. "What the-?" She saw who had picked her up, "Sai?" The artist nin held an emotionless smile on his face as he leapt out of the way. Sakura looked over to see who had blocked her attack: Sasuke.
The Uchiha held a kunai in front of him, successfully canceling out Zabuza's gigantic blade.
"More brats," Zabuza snarled, "And I was so close to killing that other bitch too."
"Shut up," Sasuke growled. For some reason, he seemed angrier than usual. He glanced quickly over his shoulder, "Sai! Get Sakura out of here!"
Sai didn't need to be told twice and tightened his grip on the weakened kunoichi. Sakura coughed up a spurt of blood and clung to his shirt. Sai quickly leapt to a safe side of the bridge and gently set her down, pulling out a vial of some sort while he was at it. He hunched over her and let his hands hover over her wounded body.
"S-Sai?" Sakura felt everything becoming fainter, "What are you doing?"
'Thank the lords they arrived in time.'
He said nothing and popped open the vial. As soon as it was open, he gripped Sakura's chin and wordlessly slipped a few drops of the bitter liquid into her mouth. "I'm healing you." Sakura nodded understandingly. Sai focused his chakra and let it course through his body and towards his hands. Soon, a light aura had formed around his fingers and began to flow into Sakura, jumpstarting the healing process.
Inside of the girl, Naiteki was also working furiously to heal the numerous cuts and bruises, lending out her generous supply of chakra.
Once her condition watered down to a semi-stable state, Sai stood up. "We'll take it from here." Sakura nodded weakly and watched as he joined Sasuke in the fight against the two mist nins.
"Damn you!" Zabuza cursed and swung his sword around in a 360 degree circle, grazing the Uchiha's stomach. Sasuke winced and flung four shuriken at the jounin. As Zabuza lifted his enormous sword to block them, Sasuke reappeared behind him and launched a kick at his back. As his foot met the missing nin's neck, Zabuza melted into a puddle of water.
'A clone,' Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He suddenly felt someone appear behind him.
Zabuza.
"Surprise, surprise."
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted as he caught sight of his female teammate lying on the floor. He arrived a bit later than Sasuke and Sai. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she panted, "Just go and help the others." Naruto nodded and obeyed.
Sai ran quicker and was about to throw a kunai at Zabuza when a certain masked boy cut him off half way.
"I'm sorry," Haku said, "But I cannot permit you to go any further."
"Bite me," Sai smiled and chucked the kunai intended for Zabuza at Haku instead. Haku caught it threw it back at him. Suddenly, a shuriken came flying out of nowhere and intercepted it before it could hit the artist. Naruto stepped up, "Glad to see me?"
"So the dickless wonder has arrived," Sai smirked.
Both boys gave out a war cry before heading at the missing nin.
Back with Zabuza and Sasuke, the missing ninja was about to raise his sword and rid the world of Sasuke Uchiha once and for all. He stopped when he felt the cold tip of a kunai against his neck.
"Let him go," Kakashi said with a deadly tone.
"Back on your feet, huh Kakashi?" Zabuza smirked, "Well you WON'T BE STANDING FOR LONG!" he roared and flipped his sword over so that it was swinging towards the copy ninja.
Kakashi grunted and held up a kunai against the gigantic blade, transferring some chakra so it wouldn't break against the Kubikiri Houcho. "Sasuke!" he ordered, "Go help Sai!"
Sasuke didn't need to be told twice as he abandoned his position with Zabuza and joined Sai and Naruto against Haku. Sai whipped out his scroll and painted a tiger on it. The feline came to life and assisted his master. Naruto flung several kunai at him while Sasuke wove his hands together in a jutsu. Haku put up an ice shield himself but Sasuke performed his clan's signature fireball technique, successfully melting the shield.
Sakura's lip trembled as she watched them fight. There was kick after kick, punch after punch, jutsus being thrown at each other like wildfire.
But there was something wrong.
She didn't know what, but something was missing.
Suddenly, she caught sight of a certain masked shinobi emerge from a mirror. Viridian eyes widened. So that's it! The boys weren't fighting Haku- they were fighting a decoy! A clone! The real Haku was behind them, and was pulling out a handful of senbon. He aimed at the unsuspecting boys, and then, much to Sakura's horror, he shot.
"NO!" Sakura screamed and sprinted towards the boys. Despite her weakened state, she urged her legs to move faster. She barged right through Haku's ice mirrors and leapt in front of all three of them, using her body as a shield. The senbon came quickly and embedded in her backside, striking several sensitive nerves. Sakura gasped in pain as a rivulet of blood escaped her lips.
"SAKURA!" the boys shouted and watched in horror as she took the blow for them. They saw her gasp in agony and cough up blood. Her eyes dulled and the weakened kunoichi felt her lithe form grow heavy. Sakura groaned and fell to the ground.
Naruto leapt up and caught her before she hit the floor, "Sakura-chan!"
"N-Naruto…" she whispered. She had just taken three men's worth of senbon. No normal person would be able to live through that. "P-Please… take care of everyone…"
"No!" Naruto held her tighter, "Don't say that! You're going to be okay!" Sakura smiled sympathetically at him. She turned her gaze to Sasuke and Sai. Was that…worry on their faces? Sakura didn't have time to do anything else as she felt another jolt of pain rip through her frail body, coughing up more blood. Her breathing became ragged and fainter… so faint… until finally it was no more. Sakura gave one last smile before closing her eyes.
There was an anxious pause. Her hand fell limply to the ground. The Uzumaki boy froze when he could no longer feel a pulse.
"S-She's dead…" Naruto whispered and set her down. Tears welled up in those clear, azure eyes as he saw Sakura's peaceful expression.
Sasuke and Sai froze.
Inside Naruto's mind, Kyuubi was struggling against the seals that binded him so. His eyes flared up at the sight of Sakura death. Her death also meant the death of Inner Sakura. Kyuubi hissed and growled, thrashing against the binds. 'NAITEKI!' he roared.
Suddenly, something inside of Naruto snapped. The boy roared and felt his eyes shift to a menacing golden red. He bared a set of newly formed fangs. The boy's chakra was so strong that you could actually see the red aura radiate from him.
Sasuke and Sai's faces darkened as their eyes narrowed, shoulders shaking with pure hatred. The kunai they held were gripped so tight that their fingers left dents in the metal dagger. The Uchiha's eyes flickered a deadly crimson as he grit his teeth. For once, Sai no longer had the smile on his face. Instead, it was replaced by the face of a cold blooded murderer.
Haku drew back slowly and armed himself with more senbon. 'What's happening?' he thought, 'T-Their chakra levels… they're so high…' Zabuza and Kakashi jerked their heads over as well to see what the source of that immense power was. 'Incredible…'
"You killed her…" they whispered.
You killed her…
He killed Sakura…
"I'LL KILL YOU!" all three of them roared and ran at Haku, a murderous lust for blood gleaming on their faces.
Holy cow! That was a long chapter! Like super long! Wow… 15 pages, people! You'd better appreciate it! Just kidding (grin). Yeah, I know I left out a ton of details but oh well. I didn't feel like making 3 seperate chapters. But you guys all know what happens anyways, right? you know- Gato yelling at Zabuza and what not. Eh. Anyways, review now please!