Twice Shy - A continuation

Twice Shy
By eternalshiva

DameWren has given permission to anyone that wants to continue her wonderful fic Two Halves, which I intend to do. I greatly appreciate any feedback/comments.

AN – I could list all the reasons as to why this is retarded late but I won’t – writer’s block needs no reason – hopefully it won’t last too long! My brother had a baby :3 A girl named Payton and I’m an aunt for a third time! (Happy late Canada Day)

Thank you Hinata’s Husband for the beta, I appreciate all the hard work you do.

Chapter 14
The hourglass

They had just finished settling in for the night, the perimeter of the camp was checked out, and traps were set to warn the group of any attack. They could finally relax for a few hours before picking up the pace again in the morning.

Naruto stared at the crackling fire, the orange light played with his features as he sat in thought. Gaara watched his friend from the corner of his eye and wondered if he should ask him what the matter was. Kiba, on the other hand, leaned against his dog and kept his eyes closed in an attempt to give the impression he was sleeping. Hinata was chatting softly with Sakura, the two girls were enthralled into one of those conversations that made Naruto suspicious. Her light blush screamed it was about him, never mind how Sakura’s green eyes gleamed with interest.

He had a really bad feeling.

He shook his head and sighed. They’d spent the rest of the afternoon racing through the thick endless forest, the constant on-guard atmosphere kept him from really reflecting on what had transpired between him and Hinata. He watched the moonlight kissing her pale skin, squinting slightly at the contrast of orange and milky white. There was something more beautiful about her. Maybe it was the blush creeping. Maybe it was how her hair seemed to flutter in the wind, the way her fingers moved while she spoke. He didn’t know what it was but it made him feel... different.

Hinata bent down to her back pack, digging through she pulled out some modest toiletries. She glanced over to her lover who sat to the far end of their camp; his arms were crossed tightly against his chest, his back straight. His chin was tilted downwards in thought and she felt her heart beat quicken when he gazed up from the fire to her. His stare was intense and without realising it, her face warmed. He smirked before she straightened up and grabbed Sakura by her arm, flustered. Sakura looked over her shoulder and puzzled, then laughed. He heard a “he did what?” on the wind and he groaned.

Shit he hated when they got together and had their chit chats.

“You two are disgusting.” Kiba muttered under his breath, loud enough for the blond to catch. Naruto shot him a glare but was met with the dog ninja’s eyelids.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh nothing,” started his friend. “It’s just hard to track down enemies with you two reeking of-”

“Whoa!” Naruto cut him off. He didn’t want to know where that sentence was going to end but he had a pretty good feeling it wasn’t flattering. He didn’t know what was more embarrassing, the fact that Kiba knew or it being announced so crudely in front of Gaara.

“Keep that under wraps.” He whispered harshly. Kiba peered out of one eye, grinning slowly. Gaara tried to ignore them but Naruto’s agitated waving of his arms was making him curious.

“What has you in such deep thought?” the low tone cut through the night unexpectedly. Naruto stopped moving, Kiba glanced over to the source of the question. The dog ninja wasn’t necessarily afraid of Gaara, he was just very cautious. That was one guy he never wanted to piss off. Ever.

“Eh, it’s nothing.” Naruto’s shoulders slumped. Gaara remained impassive while the blond resisted the urge to fidget under the sleepless host’s heavy questioning stare. Kiba chuckled and wondered how long he could torture the blond with this.

“It has to be something, you seem quite distracted since this afternoon.” The Kazekage noted casually.

Naruto desperately wanted out of this conversation, the last thing he wanted to do was discuss his insecurities on the subject of sex with his girlfriend.

“Well...” he started, “you know how things with girls are.” He tried to chuckle but it came out in an awkward squeak. Gaara narrowed his eyes which made Kiba swallow hard subconsciously.

“No, I do not. Please,” the red-head tilted his head towards his friend, his amusement hidden behind his stoic façade, “enlighten me.”

Naruto was reminded once again that he wasn’t the sharpest kunai in the tool bag. His friend’s obvious remark hit close to home since they were jinchuuriki, they were feared living weapons of destruction. Love was a rare thing for them when it presented itself, it was selfish of him to ignore the other man’s outreach. He glanced over to his friend and got up, he passed a hand through the messy yellow hair and sighed. Gaara frowned slightly, wondering if he’d upset the blond but Naruto grabbed his arm and pulled him up to his feet.

“Let’s talk, I’ll answer any questions you have about this.” Gaara was about to object but Naruto scoffed. They both knew Gaara was curious about the mechanics of love and Naruto was more than happy to provide him with some answers. Unlike a certain someone who seemed to discuss everything with Sakura, he would be a little bit more tactful.

“You’re not allowed to listen in, mutt.” He hissed at Kiba. His friend only laughed and shook his head. The blond and the red-head headed in the opposite direction of the girls and delved into their own little chit chat that would make even Sakura blush.

* * *

Sora was exhausted.

Konohagakure’s gates were still about a day’s travel at their pace. She was worried about Naruto, she didn’t dare to send a messenger falcon to warn Tsunade of what had happened to them, since it could potentially give away their position. It didn’t help that she couldn’t tell if Itachi had given chase or was still at the village searching. Whatever it was he was looking for, she hoped he’d found it already.

She could sense the exhaustion radiating off Sasuke, his injuries were taking a toll on his body. Yasu seemed to have returned to her senses after three days on the run, and Miki had thankfully been quiet: not once did the child complain. She didn’t know how Yasu had managed to convince a five year old to not utter a sound but she was grateful at the tactic.

“Should we stop for the night?” Yasu whispered her way before they pushed off again, Sora knew they should rest but she still felt the need to keep going further.

“We’re only a day away, we should push-“

“That’s beyond idiotic.” The Uchiha cut her off. He forced her to stop by letting go of her grip, He landed on the ground below quite roughly but still on his feet, the clearing he’d spotted a little earlier was more than adequate for a short rest. She glared at him and was about to tear a strip off him when he cut her off again.

“If we were to be attacked in the next 24 hours, we wouldn’t even be able to run from them, let alone survive.” His glare matched her own, daring her. “We need to rest.” She couldn’t argue with that logic and it was a complete pain in the ass to have to be forced to agree with him.

“Fine. We’ll rest for a few hours. Were almost th-“ a sound brought her into silence. The darkness was suddenly quiet, no animal or insect uttered a sound. This was a bad sign. Sasuke tensed, knowing full well he was nothing more than a useless lump, he began to gather chakra into his chest in preparation to a single attack that couldn’t miss. Sora crouched down, dragging the shinobi down as well; she motioned to Yasu to lay low. Miki dug her face in the crook of her mother’s neck and shut her eyes, knowing full well what this meant.

They waited.

* * *

Gaara blinked at the sudden brightness. It took a moment for him to register the fact that a large burst of fire was coming towards him without warning.

“What the -” Naruto shouted before he jumped in front of the Kazekage. With a quick succession of hand seals, he conjured a wall of clones that absorbed most of the ninjutsu’s fire. He felt his eyebrows singe from the heat and realised there was no need for his protection as the red-head was already wrapped in his sand shield.

Naruto pulled out several kunai from the pockets on his cargo pants before crouching down in a battle stance. After the initial attack, there was complete silence. He listened closely for their enemy’s position in the dark but there was nothing. Minutes slowed to what seemed hours, neither side moved. Naruto motioned to Gaara to get ready as he prepared a plan.

A small shuffle to his right caught the blond’s attention. Without waiting a moment he quickly threw the weapons in that direction, tumbling out of the way as another fireball came exploding out of darkness. The Kazekage stood up from his crouched position and raised his arms slowly, pale turquoise eyes seeking his target. A slew of shuriken flew towards him from several directions, the soundless attacks were all blocked successfully thanks to his auto-defence. Gaara’s eyes twinkled with the anticipation of battle while he let his sand spread all over the ground in preparation, seeking the other ninja.

The area was suddenly flooded with Naruto kage bunshin, searching the wooded area. The blonde cursed under his breath. He couldn’t see anything in this thick darkness. ‘Hinata would be real handy just about now. I need to get her here.’ Gaara’s sand touched the feet of one enemy and it began to crawl up the limb, trapping them there.

“Found one.” Gaara drawled out slowly, the sound was almost hypnotic. Naruto nodded, following the hand that pointed towards the thickly wooded area.

“Do it.” He nearly whispered to Gaara. The Kazekage let a smile lace his lips, the murderous twinkle still gleamed.

“Sabaku Kyuu,” the command was crisp in the midnight air as the red-head’s hand squeezed down, completing the jutsu. Naruto had to suppress a cry of glee when he felt the shift of chakra in the air. Unfortunately, there was no scream, no blood seeping into the sand to quench its thirst. Gaara frowned as the sand retreated, then shook his head lightly at the expectant glance from his friend. Naruto puzzled over the action. Gaara wasn’t one to miss his target and by the looks of things, this enemy had entirely fooled the Kazekage about their position.

This did not bode well. ‘Kage Bushin no Jutsu!’ The clones rushed the darkness again while Naruto summoned Gamakichi, he’d wasted enough time already, things were about to get serious.

* * *

Kakashi stood aloof in Tsunade’s office, thumbing through the favoured passages of his trusty smut. His heavy lidded eye focused off page a moment as he noted the time. It was a rare occasion when he made the effort to be on time for something and he was a bit surprised Tsunade wasn’t in her designated place. He flipped another page, smirk hidden by the tight ninja mask.

The office door opened behind him. He turned towards the sound and nodded to Tsunade in greeting. Her expression was held in check as she strode past him. He put away the orange novel, sensing the heavy air.

“I’m surprised you’re here early.” She sighed while sitting down behind her desk. Her elbows rested on the wooden surface and her fingers took this opportunity to massage her temples. She was troubled by too much bad news and she didn’t know how to break it all to one of her most trusted ninja.

“Well, considering it’s near midnight and you summoned me, I figured it was in both our best interests that I come as soon as I was able.” Kakashi replied. She gave him a faint tired smile, appreciating his perceptiveness.

“Asuma is dead.” She announced without warning, there was no real way to say this in any other fashion but straight to the point. There was no reaction at first from the grey-haired ninja, since he wasn’t entirely certain he’d heard her correctly.

“Dead?” he repeated. The concept wasn’t foreign to him, he’d seen many friends die over the years – it was part of the job. But this was definitely closer to home than most.

Tsunade nodded. “I sent Chouji and Ino earlier today to meet with Shikamaru and retrieve the body.” Kakashi narrowed his one visible eye as the solemn Sannin continued. “He was injured as well and couldn’t do the deed himself.” She paused, her mind drifting to the future conflict that would involve the Jounin and his team.

“The Akatsuki are responsible for this.” She added. “According to Shikamaru’s report, the two Akatsuki members were called away mid-battle. Something about extracting a bijuu from another host.” He raised a brow at the level of detail revealed by the enemy, they must have been pretty confident about killing the opponents they were facing.

“They let that information out like that?” he found that hard to believe. She shrugged slightly at his question before nodding and straightening in her chair. There was only one viable conclusion to this and it wasn’t one she was entirely ready to say out loud.

“They’re finally on the move. That training with Naruto and Hinata will have to be done carefully and quickly.” She eyed him as he folded his arms across his chest, his thumb and index curled around his chin in thought. “There’s no guarantee they will wait until he’s the last one remaining.” The Kyuubi was the most powerful of the bunch. She doubted they would come for him directly at this point considering he’d managed to destroy a few of them in their last encounter.

“Does this mean they will be going after Gaara?” he was worried about the implications. There were currently two jinchuuriki together walking blissfully ignorant to the sand. He knew Gaara could handle himself but Naruto had no control over his demon, it was more cumbersome than helpful when he drew on the power with his new taijutsu.

“Yes. It’s safe to assume that they will be going after Gaara. I’ve already sent a report to Sunagakure with regard to the attacks and the rumour that they are extracting bijuu from their hosts.” She closed her eyes in resignation: this was getting messy rather quickly, and she wasn’t done yet.

“Jiraiya has a lead on where the main hideout of the Akatsuki could potentially be. He hasn’t made a move yet.” She leaned back into the chair and pressed her lips together. Kakashi shifted his weight from one foot to the next, waiting for her to continue.

“He will be returning here first to aid Naruto in the training with you and Tenzou.” He nodded, agreeing. There were a few things in the scrolls he wanted to discuss with him. They were clear but some of the techniques were difficult to dumb down for the boy.

“I want you two to head out to the escort team and begin training right away while they make their way to Suna.” He was a bit surprised at the urgency. Training openly before an opposite village’s leader seemed like a breach on several counts.

“What about Gaara? Should he be exposed to this specialty training?”

Tsunade shook her head. “There’s nothing to worry about with the Kazekage. He’s one of Naruto’s closest allies and one of mine. There’s no risk of breach.” He refrained from sighing, there was plenty wrong with this picture but he wasn’t going to question her, the sense of urgency was too great.

“Regardless, there’s still time to for you to catch up with them since they’ve probably camped for the night already.” Kakashi pursed his lips under the mask.

“What about Kurenai?” He thought about her growing mid-section, and the baby nestled there. She was going to be devastated. Tsunade’s expression fell, her fingers meeting the temples again.

“Shikamaru asked to deliver the news as soon as he came in.” There was a heavy pause between the two. “He said he needed to pass on something from Asuma to her. It was very private.” She had to suppress the emotion swelling. Another child would grow up not knowing the sacrifice their parents had to make to keep their world safe.

“You’re dismissed.” She stood up from her chair, turned towards the window of her office and looked over the city. Lights twinkled peacefully in the night. Kakashi disappeared from his standing point and set out to wake his comrade. She sighed, alone once more in the office. She wondered...

She wondered how long this peace could really last.

* * *

The bunny hopped out of the bush, Sora glared at it with as much as murderous intent as she could muster while Sasuke let out a sigh, dispelling the chakra built up in his chest for the fire ball. He shook his head and almost had to laugh when the woman grumbled. Yasu, on the other hand, let out a small laugh in relief and petted her daughter’s shaking form to calm her.

“A rabbit. A fucking bunny.” Sora muttered in disbelief. Sasuke smirked, his mouth open to retort her paranoia but no sound from his mouth came out. The loud bang startled all of them, Naruto’s distinct cry of anguish resonated in the midnight darkness. Sasuke was on alert immediately, his head whipped in the direction of disturbance and a large orange flash blinded them for a moment. There was a sudden pressure in the air, it felt thick and a chill went up Sora’s spine as she recognised the chakra.

“Oh no. We have to-“ Sora started, adrenaline rushing through her veins, her warning cut off by another bang. A large gust of wind exploded from the east followed by quick succession of bangs that nearly deafened them. Miki cried out in surprise and tried hard not to cry. Her mother shushed her, worried. Sora looked at her charge and quickly debated what to do.

“Yasu, stay here. Hide yourself and Sasuke. I’ll go look for Naruto.” Yasu glanced at her before putting her gear down, never letting go of her daughter. Sasuke was furious.

“What! I can’t stay here and hide like a coward!” he glared at the dark-haired woman as she transferred his weight onto Yasu. She ignored him, which only infuriated him more. “That scream! It was Naru-“

“You’re no real use to me right now.” She said deadpan, cutting off his tirade. He didn’t have time to retort since her eyes flashed purple and forced the boy still with her bind jutsu. She smiled at him sheepishly. He was reminded suddenly that this was the exact same type of smile Naruto would give him when they were kids just before he was about to do something so fucking stupid it was probably going to kill one of them. He wanted to yell some more but he was unbearably silent and watched her leap away towards the direction of the destruction.

‘Dear gods. Don’t let this happen.’ was all she could think before Yasu shrouded them in darkness.

* * *

“What was that?” Sakura’s green eyes met with Hinata’s as the explosion’s echo resonated in the darkness. Hinata was about to ask her the same thing but was interrupted by an unexpected splash. The pink-haired kunoichi had nearly drowned when the wave climbed over her head and she stood up quickly in shock as she coughed the water out of her lungs. Hinata had luckily escaped the small tsunami and took the opportunity to look around in the confusion in a stark naked battle stance.

Her Byakuugan was activated and she slowly realised that it was Gamakichi rising to meet them from the depths of the lake. The top of his head popped out of the surface and his large yellow eyes focused on the indigo-haired woman who stood ready to attack him.

“Hinata.” his voice was dead serious, which was unusual for him. She dropped her battle stance and tilted her head as it sunk in that this was her lover’s summon.

“What...?” Sakura sputtered out, a little shocked to see the large amphibian. Then again, if her master controlled the slugs, she shouldn’t be surprised that the idiot could summon toads since his own master had the contract.

“Naruto and Gaara have run into some problems, he needs you right now.” He had barely finished his sentence before she had already hopped out of the water, thrown on her clothes haphazardly, tied up the wet hair in a bun and yelled at Gamakichi to get Kiba from the camp. Before he could ask where camp was, she was pointing towards it and confirmed that the ninja was already running towards them with her eye limit. Sakura wasn’t too far behind her and Hinata wasted no time biting her thumb and summoning Seiryu.

“Mistress, we should stop meeting like this.” The falcon jested. She gave him a faint smile and noticed his growth again in passing. She could almost sit on him.

“I’d say something witty to please you but we’re needed elsewhere, urgently.” She looked over to Sakura. The other kunoichi was staring at the silver bird, wondering how it would carry both of them.

“Seiryu, can you carry us both?” Hinata’s voice held a certain tone that made him pause. The bird looked away from his master and eyed the other girl. It would be difficult but not impossible.

“For a short distance only, I am not yet powerful enough to carry both.” Hinata thought for a moment. She activated her Byakuugan and searched for the toad, she nearly sighed in relief when she found him flagging down Kiba.

“Take us to Gamakichi. I will guide you.” The falcon spread its wings not seconds after she ordered it and grabbed on to her forearms. She gave Sakura a look that told her not to argue. As Hinata begun to feel her feet rise from the ground, Sakura hooked her arms around her friend’s waist, she ignored the slight pain in her sides when Hinata’s strong legs wrapped around the other girl and they were off.

* * *

Itachi stood before Naruto, who was brimming with rage. He hadn’t anticipated meeting the two hosts while searching for that woman who still had his partner’s ring. He impassively stared at them. He had no intention to continue the fight but they were both quite persistent.

“You are not my prey yet, Uzumaki.” The black eyes of the missing ninja held no emotion. Naruto’s on the other hand had turned a molten red.

“What? Isn’t it your job to pick me up?” his emotions were out of control. Memories from Nori’s death surfaced and the gruesome scenery still unreasonably fresh in his mind. After all these months, he still hadn’t finished grieving for his master. Itachi smirked slowly and let another deep chakra breath out, fire lit every ounce of oxygen surrounding the blond.

Gaara barely managed to lift them up above the attack, floating on sandy platforms. The Kazekage looked over the edge and analysed the Uchiha.

“Calm yourself.” Gaara warned his friend, he could feel the Kyuubi stirring within the blond.

“I... I can’t!” he shouted. Another burst of fire engulfed them, it was getting hard to breath in the heat. The sand under the mounds was turning into glass from the constant heat. Gaara would soon be unable to use his jutsu if they remained unmoving and it was not an option.

“He murdered my master, I just can’t-“ the sharp sound of flesh hitting flesh silenced Naruto. Gaara retracted his fist from the blonde and glared hard. He wasn’t one to lose his patience but this was not the time to let his friend get carried away by emotion.

“Calm yourself and think clearly, Naruto. This is not the time to be caught up in the past.” He spoke harshly. His voice never raised but it struck the blond as though he’d screamed it. Naruto shook himself from the sting, he managed to get himself under control but his eyes were still shimmering red. He avoided Gaara’s glare and focused on the task at hand. The fox’s blood thirst had been awakened and Naruto was unknowingly welcoming it.

“Thanks...” Gaara ignored the subdued voice as black crows surrounded them, the Kazekage couldn’t help but think that this situation wasn’t looking well.

“Fuck.” Naruto was running out of options and fast. He did the only thing he could think of: he closed his eyes, took ten breaths and set his intention.

* * *

Hinata watched the glow of chakra illuminate the darkness. She was high above the tree tops, searching for them. They weren’t hard to miss by a long shot. She looked down and spotted Sakura riding Gamakichi. She couldn’t see her face but she could sense the determination. Akamaru barked in the darkness and she felt relieved, the support was there, they just needed to get to Naruto before...

A strong flash of chakra flooded the area, making her skin tingle with the feel of darkness, malice, and pure hatred.

“Seiryu! Hurry!” she yelled suddenly, things were starting to fall apart and she wasn’t anywhere near him yet.

* * *

Gaara winced. The chakra leaking out of his friend was hot, his eyes were blood red and his teeth cut into his lower lip. A hollow growl vibrated through the other shinobi.

“Naruto?” the red-head could barely recognize his friend.

“There’s no time to plan anything, the crows are part of a genjutsu.” Before Gaara could ask anything more, Naruto leaped over the edge. Naruto stretched his body, extending the newly clawed hand towards the Uchiha. Itachi merely stepped aside and smirked.

“Oh, this little trick?” he mocked the boy. “I’ve seen this already.” Naruto growled, his temper flaring.

‘Concentrate, don’t let the chakra take over like last time. Concentrate!’ he tried to push back the haze from the Kyuubi, the hunger for blood was hard to ignore.

-Kill...- the Kyuubi’s voice tempted him. The sound of his blood rushing in his ears drowned out his reason, his goal. ‘Focus on the goal. Focus!’ Itachi fought with genjutsu, he needed to get close to him and fast. Naruto couldn’t decide which principle would help him, he needed more than just one to get a chance at getting close.

“I’m more than just a one trick pony, Itachi.” He snarled. The power principle here would be useless if he was caught in a genjutsu, his best shot was delusion and engulfing. Could he really combine two principles?

“I’ve yet to see anything to impress me.”

Naruto snorted. Itachi watched him, Gaara moved away from the battle, positioning himself a little further away to prepare an attack and to be in reach of Naruto. From the looks of things, his friend had a plan. He decided that his best option right now was to observe.

‘Tajuu Kage Bushin no Jutsu!’ Naruto bought himself a little time while his hundreds of clones closed in on his enemy. ‘Two principles into one, how can I do that?’ Itachi slammed through his first few clones without much trouble. ‘The last time I focused all the Kyuubi chakra into destruction, I lost control and went nine-tails.’

Using the Kyuubi only was a very bad idea. He was the container, the one to suppress the demon’s chakra, to control it. ‘Focus... focus the goal...’ it came to him.

He’d have to use two and force the Kyuubi into cooperating.

* * *

Sora felt her skin crawl, the energy in the air was crackling. She could smell the burnt wood, and there was a high sounding wheeze in the air that made the hair on her neck raise.

‘Naruto...’ she couldn’t finish the thought, “What the fuck are you doing?” she snarled and pushed off another branch, letting herself be swallowed by the darkness.

* * *

Naruto created a new set of clones. Itachi lost his composure for a moment and let out a nearly inaudible snarl in annoyance at the constant attack. He had to keep an eye out for the clones that created Rasengan, and clones that used advanced taijutsu he’d never faced before. But he wasn’t tired by any means, or worried. He was bored.

‘Should keep him busy for a few more minutes.’ Naruto closed his eyes and delved deep inside him until he arrived at the familiar sewer. He stood before the cage of the Kyuubi.

“Hey, asshole.” He shouted. The large eye of the beast opened slowly, narrowed at his host. His white teeth flashed before his tongue slithered across them. The grin was unnerving.

-What a great honour.- he mocked. –The vessel comes for a visit.-

Naruto narrowed his eyes, his mind preparing for the backlashe he was expecting from the fox. He’d never thought to use jutsu here and he wasn’t sure how it would work entirely but this was his best bet.

“There’s no possible chance you’d ignore the urge to escape if I used you, is there?” he asked, he wanted to avoid this.

-I’d sooner eat my own shit.- The fox snarled, the water surrounding Naruto began to bubble. He closed his eyes and sighed. It was really futile to ask. He took a deep breath, focused his idea, thought out the seals he needed and prayed. His hands started to move quickly. The Kyuubi narrowed his eyes and watched him, unable to do avoid the shinobi and he gritted his teeth. He was up to something. Unknown to the fox, Naruto was combining the binding jutsu and the silencing jutsu in preparation for the next step. This was one of the stupider plans he’d come up with on the fly but he was out of options, he didn’t know what would happen.

“Enslave.” He spoke softly. He didn’t know what else to call this new combined jutsu, it seemed to fit. He focused his chakra towards the demon. The fox howled as Naruto forced the Kyuubi into submission, hand seals flew faster than anyone could follow as the shinobi conjured enough chakra within himself to focus on the extraction of the Kyuubi’s own chakra. He pushed back the will of the beast with his own, the jutsu completed.

The Kyuubi was silent, Naruto’s mental strain was unreal as sweat poured off his brow. ‘One down.’ He thought as the Kyuubi watched him from his frozen state. He couldn’t move. The boy had pushed his mind inside the Kyuubi and forced him to freely merge his chakra with the blond as it was intended.

He was furious.

* * *

Hinata dropped to the ground near Gaara. He glanced her way before voluntarily giving her a report on what had happened. Sakura wasn’t too far behind with Kiba and they arrived at the same time. They watched as the missing ninja fought off an unreal amount of green and black versions of Naruto.

“Whoa.” Kiba whispered. Flames licked the woods surrounding them and he was spellbound by the battle. Balls of fire exploded, groups of Naruto burst into flames, screeching in pain. Sakura blanched at the scene. It looked like they were in hell.

“Where’s Naruto?” she called out to Hinata. Her eyes searched the area, she couldn’t tell, they all had the same amount of chakra.

“I’m not sure. I.. I can’t tell, there’s too many of them.” She was beyond frustrated. The echoes were showing all identical waves as Rasengan crossed each other, some of the clones were cloning themselves. It was complete total chaos. Several dozen Narutos were piled up on Itachi, crushing him but he repelled them, grunting in effort.

“Reinforcements?” he glanced their way, His Sharigan spun in the orange flickers. A sadistic grin etched itself on his face as he recognized Hinata. “How nice to see you, Hinata.” She narrowed her eyes, looked to the ground and avoided any eye contact with any part of his body.

His genjutsu was still too powerful. Yasu was still suffering from the effects of the Mind Clouds. She would not fall prey to him.

“Where is the white haired woman?” he asked her. She was a bit confused. Wasn’t he after Naruto?

“What do you want with Yasu?” her voice sounded more confident than she felt. She continued to search for her lover. She still couldn’t tell where he was.

“She has something of mine.” He repelled another wave of Narutos, this time they were armed with weapons. He dispelled them with ease.

The air shifted. The four spectators never saw it coming. Hinata’s eyes focused on the one Naruto who watched.

* * *

Naruto was feeling the strain on forcing the Kyuubi to align with his own natural chakra. The canines dug into his lips, breaking the skin and causing it to bleed. He grunted as he focused the first intention on the reinforcement.

‘Focus... Focus... Delusion principle.’ He could feel the chakra tightening in his belly, the seal was searing his skin, the Kyuubi was still silent but his chakra was starting to burn him. Unknown to him a first tail appeared. ‘Set the intention...’ he grunted this time as pain racked his body. He couldn’t lose control. He couldn’t.

‘He must believe that I’ve lost control, that I’m not myself.’

A second tail formed. He fell to one knee and screamed. He felt the two chakra twist, tighten. ‘Infuse the second. Focus... focus!’

“Naruto... what...?” he barely heard Hinata’s questioning tone. He looked at her and grinned painfully, his struggle was apparent on his face. She paled.

‘Incursion.’ The second principle set itself, tightening the coil. He yelled as a third tail formed, the chakra bubbled and the clones disappeared in a violent poof. Itachi was momentarily confused as the torrent of abuse suddenly stopped. Naruto snarled, his skin was peeling from the violent expulsion of the chakra.

“Just three?” He folded his arms. There was no answer from the shinobi and Itachi smirked.

“You are weak, vessel. You will never acc-” Naruto disappeared. Itachi barely saw the chakra enveloped fist that struck his face with such violence he felt the bone snap. Naruto snarled as the Uchiha flew several feet from his standing point. Gaara blinked, surprised at the sudden burst of chakra from his friend.

Itachi stood up from the crater he’d created and laughed. It had been a long time since he’d been struck, let alone lost his balance.

“Well played, boy.”

* * *

Sora arrived to something that looked straight out of hell, Hinata’s cry was unheard by her brother who had three tails swinging behind him.

What had happened to becoming strong without the Kyuubi? What happened to protecting those precious to him without the use of the beast? She was furious.

“Hinata, what’s happening?” she called out to the girl. Seiryu blinked at the dark-haired woman, who stared at the falcon in shock. Was that the fledgling? Gaara was already on the move, his sand grabbed the warrior behind the heiress and quickly trapped her. She gasped as it began to squeeze around her, she could barely manage to breath.

“Gaara!” Hinata gasped out, she ran to Sora, demanding that the Kazekage release her immediately. He released his hold but not entirely. Sora pulled Hinata into a comforting hug, her eyes locked on the red-head wearily.

“What’s happening?” she asked again, Hinata couldn’t really tell her.

“I don’t know, I just got here a few minutes ago. I-I-I don’t know what to do! He’s losing himself again!” she could feel tears threatening to shed. All that training, worthless! She was losing him to the demon!

“Who the fuck is this prick?” Sora pointed to Gaara. “Let me go!” she threatened. Hinata had to keep from laughing.

“This is Gaara, Sunagakure’s Kazekage.” Sora almost fell over in shock. This kid was the leader of a village? “Gaara, let her go, this is Naruto’s sister.” The redhead hid his shock quite well as he let her go. He bowed in apology and returned his attention to the battle.

Sora stepped away from the Kazekage and greeted Seiryu. The falcon nodded in acknowledgement. She noticed the other two shinobi on the far side and called them over. Sakura eyed her wearily but Kiba merely strolled over, his brow knitted in worry.

“You must be Sakura,” she eyed the large white dog following the other boy, “and you must be Kiba.” They both looked at her in surprise.

“I have an idea.” She motioned them to get closer.

“Naruto’s in no shape to take on Itachi. We need to stop them.” They were all in agreement there.

“You, sand-boy.” Gaara narrowed his eyes at her. She ignored the killing intent. “I gather you can do as you will with this sand?” he nodded. “Flood the area. Be sneaky about it.”

“Hinata, you keep track of Naruto’s chakra, let me know if a fourth tail is going to pop. There’s a strong chance he’s still lucid.” The smaller woman nodded. Hinata turned her attention to Naruto and frowned, there was something unusual about his chakra patterns. It didn’t look like this the last time he lost control, there was still a huge amount of his own chakra active, almost wrapped around the Kyuubi’s chakra.

“And you,” Sora pointed at Sakura. “I hear you’ve got a mean fist and Tsunade’s healing abilities.” The kunoichi nodded. “Ok, good. Gather all that punchy smashy ability of yours and wait for my signal.” Sakura grinned, her fist glowing green. Naruto was right, she was scary.

“Dog-boy.” She pointed at Kiba.

“Kiba.” He corrected. He hated that name.

“Distract Naruto. I’m going after Itachi.”

The ground below the two battling shinobi was being crushed, rocks dissolved into sand and stirred to life, bending to Gaara’s will. He smirked as his preparations for the Imperial funeral silently built out of sight. He could be sneaky. The sand was a timeless killer.

Sora’s eyes flashed purple before a huge wave of water poured out of the sky. Itachi barely bounced out of the way before the water extinguished the flames. Naruto’s eyes focused on the newcomer and there was no recognition from him, a lump formed in the pit of her stomach. This was bad.

Naruto chased after Itachi at unreal speeds. They’d been locked in battle for several minutes. Itachi was bruised and bleeding, the fox was not satisfied. It wanted blood. He summoned his crows, setting up his genjutsu traps, smirking.

* * *

Ah wee~ A cliff hanger? WHAT? Chapter 15 is nearly finished ;p Read and review – long ass fight had to break it apart. D:

References:

The Principle of Delusion:
The act of deluding, deception, a misleading of the mind.

The Principle of Incursion:
A running into, an entering into a territory with hostile intention; a temporary invasion, a predatory or harassing inroad; a raid.

Enslave-
Now I know I pulled this out of my butt but it’s a Naruto specific Jutsu – he combined the binding jutsu and the silencing jutsu to force the beast into submission and raped Kyuubi’s chakra coils; which by the way – really, really pissed him off. Oh is this a hint? My bad~

Chapter 33 of Dame’s story for some references on the battle between Kisame and Naruto.

Mind Clouds Genjutsu - Chapter 33 DameWren’s Two Halves.