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Dragonheart	By : UmbreonMessiah Category: Naruto > General Views: 1644 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
A/N: I want to thank everyone who�s been reading Dragonheart. I
only just realized, after posting Chapter 15 that I have over 20k views on
FF.net, which flipped my mind. For those of you that didn�t get it last time,
there is a Dragonheart website now. You can get it at �http://dragonheart.
Exofire. Net/fansite� without the fancy spaces or quotation marks. The link can
also be found in my profile. Come in, sign up, and join the fun!

Dragonheart

Chapter 16

A flicker of orange danced across
a sullen backdrop. Depthless and blurred, the small glimmer continued to sway
back and forth in a movement of its own energy. Slowly its brethren joined it, each tiny blaze twirling together
in a spectacle choreographed only by nature itself. Eventually a huge gasp knocked
each one to its knees, nearly eradicating all of them. Before doom could be
spelled for the family of flame, the one at the front raised its head high in
defiance of the wind�s will. Right after it, each of its partners stood up
again, returning to licking the black sky with their heat.
The scene around the simple line
of fire was much more drastic and searing. Three figures remained in the
fanciful backdrop of the rolling brook and stony creek, separated by mere feet
and a stream of burning ground. One of them stared parallel to the waves of
heat, keeping his muddy gaze away from the others. Another slowly made his way
to his feet, hand steadfastly attached to the handle of his katana. The third
was only just rearing himself onto his knees, shaking a set of invisible spider
webs out of his head.
�Ugh, what was that about
Yakusho?� Naruto groaned. �That really hurt you know!�
The blond�s voice seemed to fall
noiselessly onto the clearing. Jiyumaru didn�t even tilt his head in the
direction of the sound, keeping his vision strained on the patches of red
before him. There was anger and more building up within the great ANBU squad
member, a series of emotions he had practiced for years to keep under wraps.
Blood raged through his vision and threatened to cloud his judgment.
�Is he serious?� Yakusho�s voice
was not like it had once been. Though the statement could easily have been made
in his all-too-well known sarcastic tone, it was instead spoken with a dripping
malice that was unbecoming of the last member of the Ryumoto. �I knew he was
dense�but come on.�
�What the hell?� Naruto had still
not caught on. Or rather, his mind refused to catch on. It appeared as if
something was simply not allowing his mind to register what was going on.
To illustrate the point, Naruto
began to slowly approach Yakusho without worry. Jiyumaru reached out with his
arm to try and stop the blond, but was too slow. Another line of fire rushed
out from Yakusho�s feet as he swung the Dragon Fang upward, attacking Naruto
from a distance. This time the orange-clad shinobi dodged to the right,
watching the searing strike fly off into the woods, blowing up a tree and
knocking it to the ground. The blazing trunk shuddered as it connected with
rock, scattering embers about.
�Yakusho�why?� Naruto stared at
his former comrade, attempting to burrow his gaze deep inside the dreary
confines of the Dragon ninja�s conscience.
�You just don�t get it, do you?
Should I spell it out?� He pointed the curved blade at the Jinchuuriki, keeping
a scowl affixed to his features. �I�m your enemy.�
�Liar!� Naruto cried out. His eyes
had already begun to mist, his form trembling as his voice cracked. �You�re
lying! I don�t believe you!�
�What the hell kind of an insolent
attitude is that?�
�This is a bad joke, I know it!�
Naruto did not seem fazed by the situation, although his lip continued to
tremble. �Any moment now you�re just gonna tell me you were kidding. We�re
gonna go home after we rescue Hinata and laugh about this.�
Yakusho looked infuriated as
Naruto continued to speak. Surprisingly it was Jiyumaru who silenced the
continued defiance of fact, his sword barring Naruto�s slow progression towards
the fire-wielding ninja.
�Stop it Naruto,� he said deeply.
�That�s enough.�
�What�re you talking about
Jiyumaru?�
�It�s obvious what�s going on
here.� The ANBU member rubbed his mouth, clearing his lips of a fine layer of
dirt that had gathered there from his fall. �I�d been asking myself a lot of
questions since this whole thing began, but it�s starting to make sense now.
�How did Katai know about Hinata
and the Kyuubi? How did they manage to get information on the layout of the
village and the surroundings? How did they find the village in the first place?
There was too much about all of this that didn�t make any sense�until just now.
Now everything is clear.�
�I see at least you figured it out,� Yakusho chuckled.
�Bravo.�
�What the hell are you talking
about Jiyumaru?� Naruto seemed desperate, grasping at the threads that made up
the truth. Once again, it wasn�t that Naruto didn�t understand. It was more
apparent that his mind simply did not want to accept it.
In response to the blond�s latest
statement, Yakusho raised his fist. A single finger stuck out of the clenched
ball, hanging in the air as a visual numerator.
�Step one,� he started,
�infiltrate Konohagakure and assimilate yourself into its population.�
��Stop.�
A second finger unfurled from
Yakusho�s fist.
�Step two, assess the position,
power, and mindset of the Kyuubi�s Jinchuuriki, and report weekly.�
A third finger.
�Stop��
�Step three, set date, time and
place for retrieval of the Jinchuuriki after a plan has been made.�
�S-stop��
A fourth finger.
�Added to the mission, learn as
much as you can about the subject that displays the qualities of the Kyuubi�s
Jinchuuriki.�
�STOP!!!�
Yakusho slowly lowered his fist,
allowing the fingers to release their grip and fall idly to his side. Jiyumaru
had angled his eyes toward the younger shinobi, watching blue eyes dribble
liquid across scorched cheeks. The whisker marks on the teenager curled with
his scowl as he flicked his gaze higher.
�Do you get it yet?� Yakusho
asked. �I was a spy. Since day one, it was my mission to learn as much as I
could about you, and send information back to my allies. We were eventually going
to kidnap you�but then White-Eyes decided to go and give herself demon powers.
I quite correctly assumed it would be far easier to capture her and bring her
back than challenge you. After seeing what you did to Karimaru�and especially
after how you fought against me, I now know that it was definitely not a
mistake to go after her.�
�How could you?� Naruto rasped,
clenching his fists tightly. �You were our friend�how could you just��
�If you�re about to say �betray
us�, try and remember what Katai said. It�s hard for me to betray you when I
was never on your side to begin with.�
�So it�s all just been one giant
lie!? What about rescuing Sakura, twice!
Was that just a lie? What about what you said by the waterfall? Was it all just
nothing more than a damn lie?!�
�That�s��
�Naruto, that�s enough.�
Jiyumaru spoke forcefully,
commanding the attention of the other two shinobi in his presence. Yakusho
barely tilted his head, acknowledging Jiyumaru only out of a small, nearly
invisible form of respect. Naruto however, was drawn to the powerful voice out
of desperation, seeking the older man for the answers he was about to give.
�Go Naruto,� Konoha�s elite
swordsman ordered. �Go complete the mission. I�ll deal with this.�
Naruto�s heart fell as Yakusho�s
voice broke into small jostles of laughter. Jiyumaru�s professionalism
prevented him from striking anything other than a profound glare at the
red-dressed man before him, and allowed him to completely ignore Naruto�s
oncoming outburst.
�The hell are you talking about!?�
Naruto cried. �I can�t just�you two will kill each other!�
�And?�
Naruto felt his neck twist against
its will towards the mocking pluck of Yakusho�s latest retort. The bleary eyes
of the wearied and tormented lad placed the blotched form of his friend
somewhere to the right of where he had previously been. Naruto realized the
haze from both his anger, confusion and tears was ruining his vision. He
quickly rubbed the fogginess away, turning his questioning glance toward black
and red.
�What part of I�m not on your side
don�t you get? You�re seriously going to start worrying about the bad guys now?
I knew you had heart, but come on�that�s just pushing your luck.�
�Stop it, damn it!� Naruto
hollered, feeling his own voice scrape against his throat. �I know this isn�t
you�you�re my...our friend!�
�You think this is some sick joke?
Wake the hell up!�
Naruto�s body went to move, but
was kept stationary as another blazing thread surged out from the ground at
Yakusho�s heels and flew off into the woods. This one did not explode,
announcing its travels only by the intense heat it emanated.
�Do I have to keep throwing
Searing Lines at you, or do you get the point?�
�But ��
�Naruto, GO!�
Jiyumaru did not compose himself
this time. His expert command was replaced by a tangible sense of urgency,
which he continued to drive into his companion.
�Stop wasting time, damn it! The
longer you sit here and waste your time with scum like this, the further away
Hinata will get.�
�But Jiyumaru, I ��
�Listen to me,� he said solemnly,
keeping his eyes on Yakusho. �If you stay here and fight, then the last
kidnapper will get away. If he does, then all of the people who�ve fought
here�all the sacrifices that have occurred this night will be for nothing. Is
that what you want?!�
Jiyumaru had played dirty.
However, the elite ninja believed that people had to play the hand they were
dealt, and Jiyumaru had been confronted with very few options. He felt the
heaviness of his dark play the most from the awkward gaze Yakusho threw him,
feeling all the worse for having gone there. There was no other way though, and
no going back now that it had been thrown out there. He regretted it
wholeheartedly.
Naruto nodded slowly and withdrew
himself from the fray. He remained still for but a moment before turning his
back on the proceedings and heading straight into the forests where he knew his
love to be. His escape did not go unnoticed by Yakusho, who was in action
almost immediately.
�Don�t think you can just turn
your back on me!�
Another small lane of flames flew
across stone at the blond, aimed directly at his back. The attack was thwarted
just as quickly as it had been launched, blocked by a single, well-aimed
shuriken. As the small steel star blocked off the path of fire, a large
explosion cluttered the air and cut off vision from the fleeing Jinchuuriki. By
the time the smoke and fire cleared, Naruto was long gone into the limbs and
branches of the woods beyond.
�Well that�s just great. I let him
get away!� Yakusho growled and dug his left pinky finger into his ear, cleaning
the orifice with an agitated growl. �Now I�m really in for it.�
The relaxed attitude that Yakusho
displayed only irritated Jiyumaru more. He was already incensed and enraged
that a spy had not only deceived him, but the entirety of Konoha. Not only
that, but he had deceived good people, pretending to be their friend when the
reality was far more sinister. He too had fallen into that trap, and felt even
more the fool for it. To top it off, the obnoxious male remained uncaring for
the pain he had put others through. Jiyumaru felt his fist begin to tremble as
he fixed his position steadily in front of the betrayer.
�You want something Blades?�
Yakusho asked.
�How could you just use us like that?� Jiyumaru questioned,
holding his katana firmly. �How can you stand before me with that smile on your
face after what you�ve done?�
�Oh trust me, it�s just eating me
up inside. Honest.�
�You son of a � how dare you?!�
�Are you forgetting that I�m a bad
guy here?� Yakusho ran his fingers through his patch of brown hair, reveling in
the moment with a short laugh. �I don�t care what you think, or how you feel.
I�m here to complete my mission�and right now it looks like that�s going to
include killing you.�
There were no more pleasantries or
taunts to be passed around. Jiyumaru rushed forward with a strike driven by
anger, a rage so heated it boiled over and escaped the confines of the raging
pot that was his mind. The sharp blade of his katana raced downward from the
air, aimed at Yakusho�s shoulder so the enraged ANBU could cleave his foe down
the side.
A loud clang replaced the expected
noise of flesh being opened. A single gloved hand and a strangely shaped sword
stood between Jiyumaru and his intention, keeping a small space between deadly
strike and safety. The Dragon Fang shook slightly under the intense pressure as
Yakusho delivered himself from death with but a single hand. Jiyumaru�s
silver-stained brown hair fluttered in the slight breeze as he stared in
disbelief at the defense the dragon ninja had supplied.
The two combatants separated a
moment later, a good distance being placed between them by the surprised older
male. His katana flashed moonlight across the brook behind him as he turned the
blade, laying the edge flat as he struck another fighting pose. One perfect
block was something Jiyumaru had gotten used to in the many years of his
career. He was an expert at finishing fights in a single strike, and had met
more than one person able to block his first attacks. There were people he had
known to put up tremendous fights before falling to his one fatal swing.
Thusly, he paid the single-handed block no heed as he prepared for a second,
lightning-fast attack.
�You aren�t going to try this
again, are you?� the younger brunet seemed bored, leaning back on his heels in
an odd balancing act. �You should have figured out by now that this isn�t going
to end in a single attack, and you should know why.�
The realization had dawned on the
beleaguered shinobi a few moments earlier, but he had been slow in accepting
it. He had spent the last while training Yakusho in the use of the sword,
teaching him things that Jiyumaru had known since he had been five. It had
never occurred to him during the training sessions and sparring matches that
anything he knew was special or unique. The purpose for Yakusho�s want to learn
only now flourished in his mind, leaving him to remember the bitter scent of
treachery.
�All of that was just for this?�
he scowled. �Why?!�
�Oh, so you figured the first part
out, but the second part just flies over your head?� Yakusho shook his head
with a sigh, rubbing his temples. �I was right�you really aren�t as bright as
you let on. I guess that raccoon was evidence enough��
�Answer me damn it!�
�Of all the people I�ve met since
I came to Konoha, you were the only one I ever considered a threat.�
Jiyumaru found his words lost in a
sparkling sea of doubt and astonishment. He quickly drew himself up, leaving
his battle stance despite his better judgment as curiosity devoured him.
�The hell? Me?�
�Yes, you�Naruto may be powerful,
but he�s unfocused. Sakura has too much emotion to be truly frightening in
battle, even though I�ve never really seen what she�s capable of. Everyone else
just seemed lacking. But you�you�re centered and headstrong. You know what
you�re doing�and that made you a real threat.�
�There are countless other shinobi
with more talent than me�why the hell do I worry you so much?�
�I hate repeating myself,� Yakusho
growled. �Do I need to dumb it down a bit? You�re the only one with the skill
to beat me. I learned that when we sparred.�
�So because I can beat you, you
want to take me out first?� Jiyumaru�s posture corrected itself, putting him in
a fighting mode.
�That�s one of many reasons. I
guess the other is�I simply wanted to fight you.�
The distinguished member of the
Kenshin clan faltered on his feet as he absorbed Yakusho�s words. It took him a
moment to stand straight again, keeping his steeled gaze fixed upon the
treacherous being before him.
�Is there something wrong with you
or what? You just wanted to fight me?�
�You act as if you didn�t want to
do the same thing,� Yakusho smirked. �I could see it in your eyes and in your
actions. You�ve wanted to see what I�m capable of, just like I wanted to see of
you. You�re a warrior�it�s only natural, isn�t it?�
The perverted silence that
followed quieted the entire globe. Jiyumaru tensed his hands on his sword,
letting his enemy�s words scrape across his mind as the time went by. His other
senses shut off completely, cutting out the chirp of birds and the rush of
water that should have been tickling his hearing. There was an entire existence
moving on without him that he could not hear or feel as the seconds passed by.
Finally he sucked in but a single breath and blew it out into the slowly
chilled night air, producing a faintly visible cloud.
�That makes a lot of sense, I
guess,� he admitted, tightening his hands around the handle of his sword.
�You�re right�I have wanted to see all you can do. But not like this.�
�Beggars can�t be choosers, you
know?�
The chuckle wasn�t what enraged
Jiyumaru. It was the twisted grin that accompanied it. Words failed to act once
more as the two sword-using shinobi charged one another, letting the loud clang
of metal ring out into the darkened sky.

Sakai rushed across a sea of
fluttering green as the thickness of the trees began to dwindle. He realized
that soon he would have to take to the ground, which to him was much more
comfortable than gliding through the air. He was a man that preferred solid
earth, as it was where he performed the best. The fight that had occurred only
moments ago in his memory had been too close for his liking. He was a master of
chakra manipulation, but he�d almost failed to gather the correct amount of
other elements to make his shields effective. Had he failed back then, he truly
would have left the world as a miserable catastrophe. He would never have been
able to forgive himself if he had let Katai down like that, even in death.
As his feet hit the damp soil, Sakai
began to recall the conversation he had had with Katai just before they had
been caught by the Konoha shinobi. It had been about the things the longhaired
teen had said to their companion, who had been set to hold off the group of
ninja tailing them.
�Why did you tell Rokujoyu to run from that blond boy?� he had
asked. �He hardly seems like a threat.
Even if he is a Jinchuuriki like you say � �
�There is something surreal about that boy and his power.� Katai had
not even moved his eyes as he had spoken. �When
he used not even what I would assume is half of his bijuu�s strength, he was
able to take Yakusho to the limit. Even the Ningen Karyuu Endan barely put a
scratch on him.�
�What the...!? How in the hell could he have the power to withstand
Yakusho-kun�s ultimate jutsu!?�
�I don�t exactly know. I have always heard the Kyuubi was the strongest
of all the bijuu but�I never imagined�
�If he used that power against me, I know I�d lose in a heartbeat.�
Those words had disturbed Sakai
far more deeply than any others that had even been spoken to him. He had barely
flinched when the villagers had relayed the information of his parents� deaths
to him. He hadn�t even reacted when people had told him he�d probably be forced
to work as a slave or worse, despite coming from very powerful and noble
lineage. But to hear the most important person in his life, the strongest man
he had ever known, admit that before another he was powerless, was something
that Sakai simply could not fathom without response.
Grass and dirt scattered under
Sakai�s pressured footfalls as he exited the woods. His mind raced just like
his feet, constantly moving through thoughts and memories as he fled his
pursuer. He knew somehow that someone was still following him, even though he
could not confirm it at all. The mission had gone from nearly assured to
practically disastrous in the span of an hour. How was it that something so
carefully planned could go so wrong? Sakai figured it had something to do with
the impromptu group assigned to chase them down. Had it just been a set of
regular chuunin, they would have been easy to deal with. None of them but
Yakusho had probably been prepared for the Takaibattou to enter the fray. In
reality, they should have all prepared for it. But that wasn�t the only thing
that had caused them problems.
Those things were behind him now
though. He was the last one standing, and he was still quite a ways from the
border. If he could make it into the Waterfall Country, he would be alright.
That was where the meeting place was to be. It wasn�t exactly close to the main
base, but it was far enough away from it that if they were caught in the final
stretches of the mission, they would not have lead the enemy to their hideout.
It had all been carefully planned out.
Then how had it come to this? He
realized he may never know the real answer.
The faster he ran, the more his
thoughts flitted into the past. It was the only way he could push the failure
of the mission out of his head. It was also brought on by his concern for his senpai.
Sakai off-handedly noted that he had only ever felt this way once about his
superior, in a time many years previous to the mission. That was before he had
gotten to know him and the rest of the people who would become Sakai�s friends
and allies.
That had occurred almost eight
years ago now. Sakai had been nothing but a young child back then, only
starting on his family�s training. His clan, small but distinguished, had been
denizens of the Earth Country. Just after the war they had attempted to remove
the entire clan from the dying and oppressed land, and were caught by an
infiltrating team of shinobi from Kumogakure. The surprise attack decimated
Sakai�s family and left him homeless in the barren wastelands of the eastern
Land of Earth. He had spent weeks alone, hunting for food and sheltering
himself in small caves before the patrol found him once again, focused solely
on eliminating the last survivor of their previous assault.
That was when Katai had saved him.
Katai had only been two years
older than him, yet he had single-handedly eliminated more than half of the
patrol. When the element of surprise had worn off, the rest of the squad that
had been traveling the land engaged. A man Sakai had almost called �father�
more times than he had been willing to admit had dealt the final blow, a
sickening blade-thrust delivered to the Kumo-nin commander. That was the day
that had changed his life forever.
They had brought him back with
them to their home and given him food and shelter. They treated him like family
when he had none left. He soon learned that everyone else had fallen on similar
circumstances, save for Katai who had simply left his clan because he had
developed his Kekkei Genkai. The man that had brought them all together pried
into Sakai�s past gently and discovered his shinobi roots, taking his time to
draw out all of the lonely boy�s potential. That was how Ageru Sakai had ended
up the fourth member of his squad, along with Kongouseki Katai, Eiwotoru
Rokujoyu and Ryumoto Yakusho.
He remembered the days he had
spent training with his team, learning the ins and outs of real missions and
battle. He remembered being weak and looked down upon, constantly beaten within
an inch of his life by his teammates as they sparred. The only one who had
spared him that torture had been Katai, who had watched with muted interest. It
wasn�t that Sakai had been weak. It was more that he had been unwilling, and
that he had always thought his style more suited to defense as opposed to
offense. His lack of confidence had resulted in many defeats and a threat to
remove him from the family.
�Why do you even bother getting up?� Rokujoyu had sniggered that one
time. �Don�t be a total retard. Stay the
fuck down.�
�He has a point Sakai,� Yakusho�s voice still hummed. �If you�re just going to keep losing, you
should stop trying. We don�t need to be held back by someone like you.�
Those were the days that Sakai had
truly felt weak and useless. His self-disrespect had gone as deep as to make
him think his entire clan had been weak, which was why they had been killed
off. Had it not been for Katai, Sakai may have left that place and roamed until
his life had lost all meaning.
�Both of you, shut the hell up,� the well-groomed boy had shouted. �What makes you both so much better than him?�
�Don�t get your panties in a twist Katai,� Rokujoyu had cackled. �This kid�s trash anyway, he�ll never be good
enough.�
�The only trash here is someone who would say something like that.�
�Oh yeah? Well the only kind of moron that would stand up for trash is fucking trash itself!�
�Care to prove that?�
�I�ll show you. Eiwotoru Rokujoyu doesn�t stand down from anything. My
family was some of the best weapons specialists around. Compared to me, you�re
nothing!�
�You won�t even be able to put a scratch on me.�
That first real battle between
Katai and Rokujoyu had been the starting point of two of the team�s most
important relationships. It had been the groundwork for Katai and Rokujoyu�s
intense rivalry, which was born out of Rokujoyu�s utter defeat at the hands of
the Kongouseki prodigy. It was also the first time Sakai had really felt
admiration for anyone, especially the young man who became his idol.
�Thank you�so much��
�You don�t need to thank me,� Katai had smiled, rustling the younger
male�s head. �What you need to do is
learn how to stand up for yourself. Otherwise that Rokujoyu kid will eat you
alive.�
�But he�s so strong and I�m just��
�For starters, until Yakusho finally learns how to tap into his Dragon
Blood and Chakra, I�m the strongest one here. Yakusho is right behind me, and
Rokujoyu is after him. Sakai, you have the potential to be stronger than all of
us.�
�Wh-what? But I��
�Do you want Rokujoyu to always make fun of you? Do you want him to keep
beating you until you bleed? Or would you like to toss his attitude back into
his face?�
It had made sense that Katai would
understand more about Sakai�s ninjutsu than Rokujoyu or Yakusho. Yakusho had
been from the Fire Country originally, and his jutsus revolved around fire.
Rokujoyu, while being a native of the Earth Country like the majority of them,
rarely used ninjutsu. He summoned many weapons, but rarely if ever actually
used any ninja techniques. Thusly the only one of them that could be turned to
train him other than their leader was Katai. Together they formed an
unstoppable duo as they cultivated Sakai�s talent together, transforming him
into a powerful fighter from almost nothing.
The next time that Sakai and
Rokujoyu had fought, it turned into a smashing victory for the trash.
�How the hell�when the fuck did you get so good?!�
�I will make it clear to you, as it seems that you don�t listen to
Katai-senpai every time he beats you. You lack skill. You won�t be able to beat
him or me, because you just aren�t good enough. Someday when you�ve got the
talent, come back and show me what you�ve got.�
Those had been the happiest
moments of Sakai�s life. He had learned so much and become part of something
greater than he could have ever imagined. From nothing he had achieved more
than his dreams would have gifted him with.
There were times that he regretted
the importance of their team however. Katai had been more than once called off
for long periods of time to retain his role as the Tsuchikage�s successor. That
had been one of the most important parts of their leader�s overall plan. They
needed someone with an in, someone who could be part of the lives of the
higher-ups. Sakai hated it when Katai was forced to leave, and always awaited
his return loyally. Rokujoyu had once compared him to a lost puppy, but Yakusho
had used a much kinder reference of a devoted shinobi awaiting his leader�s
return.
For after all, Katai�s dreams were
his own, were they not? If anything, Katai was indeed his leader, both mentally
and spiritually.
�For dreams to come true, one needs power. The power to mold those
dreams, the power to give them light, and the power to achieve them. Without
power, dreams are pointless, as they will sit and stagnate, never growing. I
want the kind of power to make my dreams come true�that�s what this family is
about. That is what he is about. If you stay with us Sakai, I promise you that
your dreams, no matter how wild, will come true.�
Sakai had never had a reason to
doubt those words. They were his way, and his belief. He would die believing in
them, if for no other reason than it was what Katai believed in. He would not
fail no matter what it took.
Had his attention been as powerful
as his convictions, he would have noticed the fact that Hinata�s twitching
fingers had evolved into a twitching hand, and from there the single clenching
and unclenching of a fist.
Hinata�s eyes slowly drifted open
with a muted groan. She felt her body on the move, yet her other senses were so
groggy she could not tell why. Pale lavender pupils finally dispelled the fog
and caught sight of dirt and meadow passing beneath her floating form. She was
vaguely aware, as her sense of feel returned, that something was holding her
about the waist. She was also acutely conscious of the fact that her forearms
were a bit chilly, signifying that her memories about the wedding had not been
false dreams. She truly was in her low-cut black t-shirt, being whisked across
the countryside.
Only the person holding her wasn�t
Naruto, like she�d seen in her dreams.
Instantly the entire situation
came flooding back into her brain. The last real thing she remembered was that
scruffy young man blasting her in the face with pink-colored gas. Her more
recent memories were fantasies, something she experienced while she was out and
under. But now that she was awake she remembered that she, Naruto and her
family had been attacked. Being a kunoichi of extreme intelligence, it did not
take her long to figure out that she had been kidnapped. The reason for which
was not readily available for her to mull over, but she had more important
things to deal with at the moment.
Namely the ninja dragging her from
her home.
A dual strike fueled more by her
own dark memories than her fear plunged into Sakai�s unsuspecting stomach. His
lack of forethought and observation finally caught up with him as the Jyuuken
attack flushed his insides with powerful chakra, stinging places his hands
could never reach with metaphorical knives. He quickly lost his footing with a
cry, tumbling forward and dropping his package to her knees. She quickly rolled
against the hard stones and dust of the hardened ground, springing to her feet
and coming to a sliding stop. Sakai was not so lucky and plunged almost
face-first into the harsh territory, skidding to a rough end merely ten feet
from Hinata�s current position. Without the night or the trees to cover him any
longer, the moonlight finally bathed the mysterious shinobi in its revealing
light.
Ageru Sakai was not even a month
older than Hinata, and stood but half a foot taller than her. His hair was
divvied into oddly stroked locks that bore down on his shoulders like wide
blades. Though his hair had appeared dark in the shadow of the forest, the moon
showed its true colors. Each strand was a wondrous blue, not quite the color of
the sea but certainly not that of the crisp sky. His body was thin, almost as
though it belonged to a skeleton or ghost, an unliving form for a living body.
His navy blue clothing seemed to be very loosely attached to him, fluttering in
the soft breeze like silk wrappings over a goddess.
If his form had not been enough to
unnerve the Hyuuga girl, Sakai�s eyes would certainly have chilled her to the
bone. Staring directly into them revealed that they were not pale or a light
color, but rather that they had no color whatsoever. His irises seemed to float
in nothing but a barrier from the white of the remainder, surrounding another
empty barrier of a darker shade. It was like looking into the eyes of a blind
man, save for the terrifying feeling that the eyes could see more than just
one�s form or soul. Somehow Hinata felt that Sakai�s eyes were staring into her
entire existence, picking apart her past, present and future, drilling into her
for information that even her most trusted loved ones were not partial to. The
empty, godless containers were motionless and lifeless, sucking her will to
live away bit by bit.
The low-cut shirt revealed
something else about the young male that Hinata found strange. A welcome
diversion from his eyes, the mark that adorned his chest absorbed her attention
fully. Where on her body there was fishnet, instead a dark symbol of a jagged
star was engraved on his. It did not seem to be simply on his skin, but rather
seemed to have dug its way into his flesh to find a home. The five thin fingers
extended out from the hollow center, each one ending in a spreading of
sharpened fingers. It was indescribable, for she had never seen anything like
it in any of her years. No book or roster held anything that remotely resembled
the motif that was emblazoned on his chest, leaving her utterly clueless once
more.
�I was worried that you would wake
up, but I tried to place that fear in the back of my mind.� Sakai�s voice was
just as eerie and empty as he looked, droning out from a past of sheepish smiles
and soft-spoken words.
�Who are you? What am I doing
here?� Hinata ignored his comments, steeling herself on the cold ground. She
would not let her curiosity get the better of her in a situation such as this.
Survival was the first priority, and all things could wait until she was sure
she was safe and back home.
�I suppose you have the right to
know. You have been kidnapped. I am taking you to the Waterfall Country.�
Hinata�s eyes widened. She was not
shocked that she had been spoken to. What had surprised her was how short and
bittersweet his response was. He continued to glare at her with those shells of
eyes, forcing an uncomfortable shudder to pass through her.
�Who sent you?�
�That you don�t have the right to know.�
�Answer me!�
Hinata�s arm came up just in time
to block the glimmering tendril that had flown out of the ground at her. It
hurt her to do so, sending a numbing pounding through her entire forearm. It
had been a weak strike she realized, an attempt at a corrective gesture and not
an attack. Idly she wondered if she would have even noticed it coming were it
anything else.
�I said you don�t have the right
to know. As my package you should remain silent, lest you draw attention to
where we are.�
�Why did you kidnap me?� Hinata
felt that a new line of questioning may earn her more results than her previous
attempts.
�You also do not need to know
that.� It was succinct and to the point. Hinata was beginning to see a pattern
with the man�s replies.
�What do I need to know?�
�That you are my prisoner, and I
will be bringing you to the rendezvous point. If you resist, I will fight back
until you stop resisting.�
It was clear to the Hyuuga girl
that she could not simply sit by and allow herself to be captured. She would
not have been taken hostage for any small reason. Going along with it was not
in the cards at all. She decided the best course of action would be to analyze
the entire situation, and then formulate her strategy based on the information.
It sounded much more gaudy and textbook in thought than it did when finally
played out. That was something Neji and her own experiences had taught her.
Cursory analysis of her own self
told her that what little weaponry she had had when she had escaped the wedding
had been stripped from her. Most likely it had been tossed aside or destroyed,
so as to prevent anyone from tracking her by the leftover tools. The other
obvious reason was to prevent her from having an arsenal should she awaken. She
had no kunai, no shuriken, no smoke bombs, no nothing. She even lacked her
medicinal salve that she had been in the habit of keeping on her person for
years. Whoever the people who kidnapped her were, they were not amateurs. They
had effectively disabled her and left her with naught but her basic ninja
skills.
That brought her to a second set
of thoughts. Just who was it that she was facing right now? She searched her
memories of the last few hours, finding the names �Rokujoyu� and �Sakai�
floating around in her conscious. They were the names of the men that had defeated
her father and Neji in battle. Though her thoughts were still slightly blurry,
she recalled one of them holding a giant scroll, while the other one fought
using strange tendrils of what appeared to be chakra. It only seemed to be
chakra because Hinata was at a loss to explain how anyone could fight with
chakra like that man had. The things he had done would have taken an amount of
chakra and chakra control that no other shinobi she had ever met possessed. The
concept was frightening, but not impossible. She would also have to swallow
that pill, she realized.
The third subject that brought
itself to her attention was the condition of her opponent�s eyes. She had never
seen or read about a Dojutsu that came anywhere close to the emptiness that she
witnessed before her. The effect they had seemed to be meaningless yet
encompassing all at once, drilling through her body into the world beyond her.
They did not seem to have any hypnotic abilities, or at least none that he had
used yet. She was faced with the prospect that perhaps there was no special
technique or illusion behind the eyes. Perhaps that was just how they were,
devoid of energy and life. That alone was enough to make her shiver.
Without warning, Sakai started
forward. The sudden movement broke the Hyuuga heiress from her contemplation
and thrust her back into the real world.�
He was making a dash towards her, a rather slow one, but a dash
nonetheless. Without even thinking her arms and legs began to move in the
rhythmic sway of the Hyuuga-style taijutsu, catching the blue-haired man by his
arm and gracefully swinging around it to catch him in the back with a single
palm strike. The blow rolled off his body as she delivered a light tap, but
sent a flush of chakra through her hand. The Jyuuken blow easily bruised and
battered his upper shoulder, causing him to cry out as he stumbled forward and
gripped the injured spot.
Five separate wisps of chakra
exploded from the ground around her and homed in on her body. The small
rivulets formed into powerful stems as they raced at her, attempting to smash
her from different angles with their blunt ends. She almost too easily ducked
under the quintuple strikes and rolled to safety as each tendril fizzled out,
leaving the rolling meadow devoid of the harrowing energy. There was a
stillness that followed the two calculated attacks that only enforced the
blowing of the wind, allowing the mellow howl to scrape across their ears.
The second rush came a moment
later, but this time it did not involve Sakai�s body. Knives of blue swayed
wildly as the kidnapper spun around, leaving his palms open but his fingers
curled. The result of his seemingly puzzling movement was a rain of blue from
the side as ten swirling masses of azure flew straight at her. The erratic
flailing of Sakai�s latest assault was hard to avoid, even amongst the flowing
elegance of the Hyuuga girl�s body. Though her body moved with a wondrous eddy
and ebb, she was unable to dodge every single tentacle. After managing to evade
over half of them, a single strand caught her in the ribs. That one blow set
her up for two more, both of which hit her in the chest. The force behind them
forced a strangled cry from her lips as she was slammed into the earth, pinned
down by twin cerulean stalks. A second later they also vanished, leaving her
alone on the cold grass.
A quick kick-up got the stranded
girl back on her feet. She had only been fighting for a grand total of about 48
seconds, and already she and her opponent had traded two blows. The fact that
she had avoided a fair number of them gave her a sense of fleeting pride, which
was quickly eliminated by the sense of danger that overcame her. Something
thick pressed against her back and thrust her skywards, carrying her into the
dark night as it ploughed into her from the ground. She knew, even without
looking, that Sakai � and she was sure of his name now � had lashed out with
another one of his chakra-based assaults. Knowledge did not give her the power
to fight back however, leaving her helpless as she was flung upward. She felt
the pressure leave her back as the launch was finished, catapulting her through
the darkness. Gravity enacted its stranglehold on her, dragging her toward the
ever-turning earth at a very alarming rate. She flailed out in an attempt to gain
some control of her descent, but found no amount of struggle seemed to give her
complete dominance of the act of nature. Her eyes did not catch the next set of
chakra beams until she had made enough of a turn to face the ground, for she
had neglected to activate her bloodline out of sheer shock for the moment. Each
glowing shaft snaked out of the ground and collided with her falling form,
knocking her body back and forth as she tumbled out of the sky towards the
beckoning earth. She was aware only of the sharp pains as her sight continued
to scatter and absorb blurred lines of green, brown and black in her
never-ending movement.
She impacted upon the ground with
a bone-shattering thud. Had it not been for all of her conditioning, she would
have most likely died there and then. She wasn�t sure how, but something kept
her bones tempered and lessened the damage the fall had caused. She was not
immune or immortal however, and the jarring slam still left her badly shaken
and battered. A small amount of blood dribbled from her lips, staining her
otherwise glorious alabaster face. She could not find a voice for the pain that
consumed her momentarily and then vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.
Sakai was above her, glaring down with those seemingly empty eyes, glaring past
her very soul with his hollowed barriers.
�Are you done fighting back yet?�
Hinata�s legs kicked out and
caught the ghostly man by his shin, taking the leg out from under him. His body
fell toward Hinata, giving her the perfect opportunity to claim vengeance for
the last few blows that had taken her unaware. The Byakugan activated
seallessly, giving her the sight necessary to use the Jyuuken at prime
efficiency. As Sakai fell forward, she bolted upward and drove her palm
straight into his chest, delivering a powerful surge of chakra through his
body. She could see the pitch of his breathing change and his heart jump
through her all-seeing eyes, reassuring her of the accuracy of her blows. Her
body pushed against his and kept him from falling but left him wide open for
the barrage that Hinata had planned for the unfortunate ninja. Another light
tap to Sakai�s chest with her left hand sent a second shockwave of blue through
the enemy shinobi�s body, causing his insides to shudder and jerk once more
under the strain. Three knife-hand strikes followed, closing off two of the
three intended tenketsu she had aimed for. Two more precise shots caught Sakai
in his pressure points, delivering a world of hurt in a small space. Her form
tucked into Sakai�s right side, turning her back to it and delivering a double
elbow strike to his gut and kidney. Finally she twisted herself once again,
ending up behind him to deliver a dual palm strike to his back. The amounts of
chakra put into the final blow was enough to throw the kidnapper several feet
forward. His balance was robbed from him, causing him to pitch over and skid
through the grassland, staining his face green as he finally came to a stop.
�I�ll take that as a no,� he
growled as he stood up slowly.
�HINATA!!!�
The voice that cut through the air
at that precise moment struck ice through Sakai�s blood and warmth through
Hinata�s heart. Uzumaki Naruto�s rasping call almost seemed to make the world
bend before him, freeing his path towards the pale-eyed jewel he had been
searching for. Her eyes did not betray her, his orange and black scattering any
doubts as he flew across the canopy not far from them. He would be at her side
in moments, a thought that caused her spirits to soar through the clouds.
�Now that simply won�t do.�
Hinata was unsure how, but somehow
she knew that Sakai was afraid. Not of her, but of the hyperactive and loyal
blond bearing down on them. His eyes flitted between Hinata and Naruto, as if
he were trying to make a very difficult decision. His hands pressed together in
an odd seal as the chakra around his body began to fluctuate, flowing
throughout him erratically before gathering around his palms. Without another
moment to lose he struck the cold dirt with his hand.
�Ninpou! Chakra Shouheki!�
A shockwave burst from Sakai�s
hand and flattened the grass in the clearing, knocking Hinata to her feet. The
wave ended not long after its creation, but left a thick feeling in the air as
the jutsu began to take form. From the edges of the original blast a thick wall
of blue energy formed, curving upward to form a dome around Sakai and Hinata.
Naruto arrived on time only to slam face first into the barrier, unable to pass
through the reinforced chakra. The loud thud that announced his crash caught Hinata�s
attention easily, turning her body around to see her love smashed up against
the dome Sakai had made.
�Naruto-kun!� she cried. She ran
towards the humming dome and slammed her fist upon it, hoping beyond hope that
it would shatter the barrier and reunite her with the boy she loved. Kami-sama
was not that forgiving or pleasant to her, as was the norm. The two remained
separated by little more than an inch of blue light. Her hand pressed against
the barrier stiffly, reaching out for his. Naruto could only press his palm
against it as well, in a mock of touching hands that could not be.
�Damn it!� Naruto shouted. �What
the hell is this thing?!�
�This is a barrier made from my
own chakra,� Sakai explained monotonously. �It is tempered with soils and metals,
just like my attacks. If you wish to break through it, then you will have to
defeat me. Something that I promise neither one of you are capable of doing.�
Sakai hoped his fa�ade was
convincing. Of the two of them, he had no doubt in his mind now that Naruto
possessed the ability to shatter the barrier at will. Not aggravating the boy
into trying was the first task that would prevent disaster.
�Rasengan!�
Sakai�s eyes widened as the
spinning ball of chakra collided with his barrier, grating against the solid
structure and twisting the energy in a perfect spiral. It took incredible focus
to prevent the divider from breaking under the intense power of the jutsu, a
focus that left Sakai dizzy with the effort. He fell to one knee just as Naruto
stopped, the ball of power dissipating.
�Damn it!� the blond cried again.
�What the hell is with this barrier? Rasengan!�
The Jinchuuriki�s stubbornness
aggravated Sakai more than the unhampered assault on his creation. With but a
wave of his hand, the ghost-eyed boy sent an arcing wave of chakra out from the
barrier and struck Naruto down. Before the wild teenager could right himself,
Sakai lashed out again. The barrier stretched out again and grabbed the young
man, dragging him up against the dome and crushing him against its side. Naruto
remained restrained by the cobalt force, his body unable to struggle free of
the containment it had been placed in.
�Naruto-kun!� Hinata shrieked. She
ran up to the side of the arena she had been placed in and slammed her fists
against the wall, trying desperately to break through and save Naruto from his
prison.
�You cannot break down my barrier,
and thusly you cannot save him.� Sakai�s words droned like the buzzing of
Shino�s kikai bugs, barely registering in Hinata�s ears as he spoke. �The
longer you leave him like that, the closer I may come to deciding whether or
not I wish to crush him. The only way you�re going to get him free is to beat
me.�
Sakai was taunting her into
fighting him. She knew it, Naruto knew it, and of course Sakai knew it. It was
his goal to get her focus off the blond. If they managed to team up together
somehow the barrier would break, and that was something Sakai could not afford.
He was the kind that excelled at one-on-one combat, but had problems with multiple
targets. Chakra Shouheki was one of the techniques he relied on most to make
sure he only ever fought one person at a time. Finding someone with the power
to destroy it only seemed to alarm him more.
�Hinata�don�t let him get to you!
Find a way out of the barrier and get out of here, I�ll be fine!�
Had there been any doubts in
Hinata�s mind as to whether or not to take Sakai�s bait, all of them were
erased when she heard the crunching of Naruto�s body under the pressure of
Sakai�s chakra. The whiskered ninja tried vainly to suppress a shout of pain as
his body was compressed against the shining barricade, and only succeeded in
making himself sound even more injured with the strangulation of his voice.
Hinata�s eyes flittered with fear and worry, still pressing her palms against
the window that separated her and her lover.
�Gomen Naruto-kun�I can�t do
that.�
�Hinata!� he gasped. �S-Stop!�
The Hyuuga girl whipped around
angrily, her bloodshot eyes firing spears of hate towards Sakai. The empty
young man did not even flinch as he was assaulted visually, simply blinking his
lifeless eyes once.
�You want a fight? You got one.�
There was a phrase fishermen used
for situations like this. As Sakai remembered it, it went �hook, line and
sinker�.

Steel, wind and fire met all at
once just above the brook, sending water and steam blasting across the stony
clearing. It took a moment for the heated swirls of air and gouts of steam to
vanish, but that did not stop the battle. If anything, the cover of the thick
white smoke only gave the two combatants more reason to continue their fight.
Two silhouettes rushed each other, two blades striking one another in the thick
fog and sounding the chime of metal once more. The twin swings dispersed the
cloud about the shadows, revealing Ryumoto Yakusho and Kenshin Jiyumaru locked
in confrontation. The mighty steel of the Kenshin-forged katana and the Dragon
Fang scraped and dragged as both shinobi attempted to overpower the other, each
sword barely gaining an inch before being pushed back by the other. Finally the
forces gave up and sprung apart, giving their weapons a chance to breathe anew.
Jiyumaru did not relent even as he gave himself room, throwing a blade of wind
with his fingertips at his traitorous rival. The Kaze no Yaiba flew true and
fast, but Yakusho was quicker. No sooner had his feet hit the cobbled earth
than he rapidly flipped backward out of the road, springing off a single hand
as the cutting edge dug into the stony ground. Even as he returned to his feet,
skidding across gravel due to his momentum, he struck back. An upward swing of
the Dragon Fang sent a streaming bolt of fire straight at the silver-streaked
jounin. Seven shuriken whooshed away from Jiyumaru�s fingers, stinging their
sharp edges into the rocks ahead of him. Luck would have it that a single
shuriken barred the path of the moving blaze, causing it to explode well before
its intended target, leaving a small cloud of smoke to slowly drift off into
the blackness above.
Between the fizzling steam and
billowing charcoal air, both shinobi stared each other down.
�You�re more skilled than I
imagined,� Jiyumaru admitted without shame. �I thought I�d weaned myself off
the habit of underestimating my opponents.�
�I should be humbled as well I
suppose.� Yakusho was stoic, not letting the idle banter distract him. �Part of
me thought that by knowing your style and moves, this would be easy. It was
foolish to assume an ANBU jounin could be defeated so easily.�
The conversation was struck dead
as a loud blasting noise shattered the world. The ground shook horrendously,
knocking Yakusho to his knee and tossing Jiyumaru onto his back. It was as
though the entire globe had convulsed in agony. Though the initial jolt had
ended, a deep shaking and rumbling still remained. The source was from the
forest already traversed, a curiosity that drew the attention of both ninjas
despite the situation at hand.
The ebony trees that had been
constructed behind them what seemed like moments ago was crumbling before their
very eyes. The raven juggernauts began to collapse, crashing down on nature�s
beauty as they fell from grace. The savage crack of trees snapping under the
weight of the titans raced throughout the woods and stony brook. The immense
sound even masked the noise of hundreds of birds fleeing to safety, their cries
falling deaf before the monstrous cacophony.
The deafening display came to a
halt after that, leaving a few moments of nothing before the fluttering of
wings and squawks of upset aquilines replaced the bitter quiet. Yakusho had
regained his footing at an unknown time, staring at the toppled mess that had
been his teammate�s technique. Jiyumaru kept his eyes on the event from his
seat, only getting up after the disaster had ended. He felt the jabbing of
loose rocks on his body, but ignored every sting as he continued to observe his
opponent. There was a silent awkwardness to the entire affair that unnerved the
jounin, making his stomach turn. He could feel something from Yakusho, but was
unsure as to exactly what it was.
Eventually, he settled on bitter
denial.
�So that�s how it�s going to be,
huh?� Yakusho seemed removed, his voice hollowed as he spoke to nothing. �I
suppose it was also foolish to think I could hold back. No one else was going
to, right?�
The brunet Dragon Ninja made an
about face, facing Jiyumaru once more. His hand traveled to one of the pockets
on his vest and popped it open, searching the small pouch for its contents.
Just one second later he produced a small photograph. The colored page of the
past fluttered in the light breeze, keeping its image hidden from the ANBU for
but a flicker of time, before the gust settled and revealed it for what it was.
Time clicked five times before Jiyumaru fully understood what was being
presented to him.
It was a photo he was all too
familiar with. It was the picture of his genin team, which included himself,
Ichiraku Ayame, Zougen Gisei, and his sensei Gen. He remembered every detail of
that photograph, from the way he attempted to look roguish with his tilted hitai-ate,
to the way that Ayame fit into her revealing and fitting dark-blue and sandy
attire. He remembered Gen�s rust-colored silk shirt and rough goatee that
Jiyumaru had more than once attempted to imitate. He remembered how Ayame had
smacked him for making a crack about Gisei�s pink t-shirt and faded khaki
jeans. He remembered everything with clear, spiking detail. All of those
details were precisely why the photo disturbed Jiyumaru.
The third member of Gen�s team in
that picture was not Gisei.
�I see you�ve recognized this,�
the brusque teenager smirked. �I �borrowed� it from Ayame�s room before we
left. For an ex-kunoichi, she�s pretty lame when it comes to protecting her
stuff.�
�What the�you bastard, how can you
talk down to her like that?!� Jiyumaru�s fists clenched hotly as he heard ill
words spoken about his former teammate.
�Say what you will, she�s a flop
if she can�t keep up on things like this,� Yakusho chided. �She�s given me all
the ammunition I�m going to need to take you out.�
Jiyumaru did not understand how a
photo, which to his knowledge was flawed, could be used as ammunition in his
battle with Yakusho. His answer would come a moment later as Yakusho slapped
the very picture he had just produced onto the blade of the Dragon Fang. He
quickly bit his thumb open and drew the blood down the sword, covering the
photograph with it. Somehow his blood seemed to act like an adhesive, holding
the old photo to the blade without problem. He then took the handle between
both his hands and began to slide together hand seals as he worked a ninjutsu
together. It took Jiyumaru only a moment to realize that the seals Yakusho was
using were the seals used in a summoning technique, put together before him in
a methodic showing. Had he been planning on interfering with the process, his
thoughts came far too late to put them to use. The hypnotic rhythm of hand
signs ended abruptly, followed by Yakusho plunging the Dragon Fang into the
thick stone floor before him.
�Kuchiyose! Karyuu Yuudoudan!�
Fire erupted from the broken
crust, bathing the Dragon Fang in its blazing essence. Tendrils of red hot
power snaked out from Yakusho�s position, spiraling out with him as their
center. The show did not end until the fire had poured a considerable distance
outwards, leaving a shining pattern on the earth. The pattern flickered with
the life of flame before it contracted and lifted from the ground. Jiyumaru
thought it was nothing more than a pretty light show until each of the four
streams of fire that Yakusho had produced began to take form.
Now standing before him were four
serpentine streaks of fire, each with the head of a dragon. The blazing lines
snarled and hissed at Jiyumaru, their blood red, flaming eyes stabbing into him
viciously. Between all four of the fiery beasts was Yakusho, holding onto the
Dragon Fang while wearing a delightful smirk, outlined by the shadows and
burning figures about him.
�Well, now that we�ve stopped
playing soft�let�s see what you�ve got.�

Next chapter should
be out before Christmas.
- 16
- 17
- 18
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