Fiat justitia, ruatcaelum

{{A/N; Oh…man…. Kaa-san is gonna hate me… Umm… I kinda chose False Dawn for some really good reasons… mostly, err… plot related… I‘m really sorry about Satoshi… And as far as Ino and Sasuke… Shika kinda spills the beans… But Yuyu is a different dragon than the one Zabuza knew. I had entertained thoughts of doing an AU focused on this Zabuza, telling the story of the Swords of Mist, Haku, and filling in the holes between Itachi and Rena, and perhaps even the scene where Lee and Orochimaru made the holes in the square for those big ass fountains. It’s an idea I’ll keep on hold warm, but no promises.
Back to this… The hour after ‘false dawn’ is the darkest, coldest hour of the night. And as I opted for the classic kung-fu movie ending… I apologize. Lots of death, tears, heartbreak… But happiness in the end, honest. Tenten is mentioned and Choji makes an appearance at long last. Despite his character, I’m still not a Shika-hater. CD}}

Eclipse

Lee was smiling like the biggest fool. Perhaps even larger than Naruto had managed. “AH! To see the flames of youth in two young people unite on a bright spring day such as this!!” He took a new breath, the loose sleeves of his white robes fluttering in the breeze, “The air runs sweet with blossoms who shall be ashamed of their own lackluster shine as the bride strides among them!!”
“Careful, nii-sama,” Sango patted his back, “There’s a lot left in the day still and it wouldn’t do to have our priest pass out.” She pulled a loose thread from the dress vest in charcoal gray, pants that matched and a black shirt beneath.
Lee shrugged, “Do not fret so! This is a fine day! LO!! Itachi!” He waved, “I am honored beyond the feeble ability of my limited tongue to express my joy at your choice, but how so is it that I am chosen to be the priest?”
The Uchiha brothers came forward dressed almost exactly alike; full formal pants and wide sleeved coats in the darkest black. Crimson tunics tucked in neatly, wide belts of cloth tied into clean square knots, the bow ends tucked in and out of sight.
Itachi held Sasuke under the arm, almost forcibly dragging him, though his resistance lessened as the approached. “He’s still whining about not getting to have a bachelor party.”
“We’ve still got half an hour or so…” Sango piped up, “Can Hinata dance?”
Sasuke didn’t try to run when Itachi released him, focusing his attention on the sword at his hip as he adjusted it. Itachi stroked the long braid, “I nominated you, Lee, because I had no idea what to say. And you can’t do anything without enthusiasm running out of you and leaving a puddle on the floor.”
“It is true!” Lee clenched one fist, “I do wield passion as gracefully as the fan dancer shines with temptation!”
Sakura slipped around the corner of one building, a smirk of mischief on her face and a short hambo staff, white as sun bleached bone and shod with silver ends in her hands.
Her kimono fluttered quietly in the soft breeze, the bright teal trimmed in white piping soundless.
She took careful aim, steadying the shaft and hurled it like a javelin.
One hand came up with the speed of a mongoose, the forward tip landing in the palm of Lee’s hand with a loud smack, stopping the staff dead.
The trailing end fell to the grass and Lee leaned on the staff, turning to smile at Sakura. “You’re getting faster.” He shook the catching hand, “It is fortunate we are not enemies.”
Sakura nodded as she padded the last of the distance, snuggling up under Itachi’s arm, “You really hardened up over the winter. Are you back up to knocking over trees?”
“Hahaha!” Lee laughed loudly, “Sad, but no. I shall never again be what I once was. I have harnessed the full power of my life and already spent much of that.” Lee sighed and his demeanor brightened, “But that has no place in today! Come, young Uchiha! Show your joy! Certainly you must be bursting from within!”
Lee put his arm around Sasuke’s shoulders, “It is not every day that a woman with such Beauty as Ino has declares herself to only one man! How I envy you, Sasuke!!”
Sasuke blushed, a half hearted smile crossing his face. “You’re right. It’s been calm and this is going to be the happiest day of my life.” He looked around, his smile growing, “I love all you guys. Except Itachi.”
“Hn…” Itachi growled through a smirk.
“You hair is fine, you freak! Now move it!” Hinata’s voice echoed across the way as she half carried her sister, hands at the small of her sibling’s back.
Hanabi had her jet black hair done up in a pair of buns and dressed in a powder blue pants suit, the pallor of her skin gently offset by the light tone.
Hinata peered around her sister, the dark green sundress cut low down the front and high on the hip, her lace up sandals reaching to her knees and her hair faded to a bluish black done into three thick braids that had themselves been braided.
“Oi, Hinata! Showing off that winter tan?” Sango called.
“Still dressed for training?” Hinata fired back with a smirk.
Sango looked down at herself. “Umm…. Maybe some light sparring during the reception.”
The pair of siblings came into the group, Hanabi fidgeting with the air at her side, “So where’s Satoshi? Is he coming?”
Lee shook his head, “No. He…”
“Couldn’t make it.” Itachi finished. “For reasons we needn’t drag up now.” His tone was edged with finality.
“Figures…” Hinata rubbed at the twin marks joined by a thick line on her shoulder, “All dressed up…” She sighed forcefully, falling silent.
“Don’t simmer, sister.” Hanabi pouted, “Lee certainly thinks you look nice.”
Lee blushed, “I was trying not to call such attention to myself, but yes, Hinata, you are glorious on this wonderful day.”
Hinata gave in to a smile, gently knuckling her sibling’s head, “Little pervert. But thanks…”
Sakura pulled herself from Itachi’s arm, “On the topic of young women of beauty, I’m going to see if Ino needs anything.”
The house behind them was open invitingly, the back door wide open dropping into the kitchen.
“Ino?” Sakura passed the morning dishes still in the sink and crossed into the living room.
“First door on the left!” Ino echoed.
The long hall carried down to the bathroom at the end and the bedroom door stood wide open.
The blonde wore her hair loose down her back, watching her long white skirts flow in the mirror, hands one over the other on her belly. The skirt was tight around her legs, flaring as it passed her knees and the coquettish top was tailored loose with open shoulders.
“Oh, Sakura…!!” Ino threw herself onto the kunoichi, “I’m so happy!” Tears of joy ran from her eyes and she laughed through her sobs.
Sakura returned the embrace, patting her friend’s back hesitantly, “We’re all happy for you, Ino.”
She pushed Ino back, “You’ve finally got Suke to yourself and nobody can take him away.”
Ino laughed wiping a tear from her eye, “I’ve been dreaming of this day since I was a little girl…” she turned, picking up the black jacket she’d worn to the chunin exams, “I’m going out in this jacket and I’m going to take it off as I say my vows…” She turned it around, the embroidered bouquet still bright, “…and as Suke-kun says his, he’s going to take off his jacket and help me into it.”
“Wow… That’s so…” *Gag me with a spoon.* Inner Sakura interrupted, “…sweet.”
Ino chewed her lip, “But would you take my jacket…? I know it’s supposed to be the father’s place… but…”
“Don’t worry.” Sakura put a hand on her shoulder, “No sad thoughts today. This is going to be in your memory for the rest of your life. You’ll remember everything. The shine of the sun, the singing of the birds, the way Sasuke blushes when he realizes he just said his vows with his fly down… All of it.”
Ino laughed softly, “Talk about a head start on reviving the clan…” She fidgeted with the front of her top, “And about that…” Ino met Sakura’s eye, then looked down and away. “…I… uh…I’m…” Ino sighed, steeling herself, “I’m… Sakura, I’m…really glad Itachi found someone.” her words rushed out like flowers from an upturned vase.
Sakura smiled, “Thanks… I think…”
*She’s got a few cards left in her hand…*
*Yeah…*
“Oh, no!” Ino blushed, “Gods, no, It’s not like that… I ehh…I’m just really happy you two found another who loved you.”
*She’s still got something up… See the flush in her neck?*
Sakura nodded. “We’re happy too Ino. And we’re happy for you and Sasuke. It’s your day today and everyone’s ready outside. Unless you want to duck out he back. There’s still time for that.”
“What?” Ino laughed, “No. I’m ready.” She picked up the jacket and slipped it on, “I’m just a little nervous is all…About the autumn.”
“What for?” Sakura lifted the long blond hair, resettling the natural curl at the end, “Don’t look past this afternoon. As your best friend and your lord, I command you to not to worry.”
Ino turned around and pulled Sakura into a deep, tight, embrace. “I’m naming our first child after you!”
“Umm… alright…” Sakura hugged Ino back, “Can we get you married first?”
Ino pulled back again, “Right… you’re always right. Gods, Sakura… it must have been them that sent you.”
The pink hair kunoichi felt the hair rise on the back of her neck.
“Just give me a minute to dry my eyes.”
Sakura listened intently, “Go ahead and fix your make-up too… I’ll be right back…”
Sakura stepped into the hall. All was still. The living room was empty. The bathroom door was still open.
Her hand sought out the pouch she wore. Remembering too late it had been left behind.
*Damn…* Sakura drew a thick cord of chakra, casting her senses outward, *Happy feeling’s gone…*
“scream and you die…” The voice was masculine and whispered.
The masked presence behind her shimmered. The long skirts and sleeves came up as Sakura turned. Two anbu held Ino, one pressing her forward by a pinioned arm, the other with the razor edge of his katana against Ino’s throat.
The black masks stared at her, motionless. Sakura stiffened up as needle point pressed at her back, the cold steel of an odachi lifting her chin, pushing her jaw around. She looked into the eye of the man behind her, the long, cruel scar of white drawn down the black mask.
“Now where did my invitation go?” The anbu captain growled.

“And then we… shall…” Lee’s enthusiasm stilled as his instincts redirected the energy. The old sense tingled, shaking off the cobwebs. From a distant place in his mind, he heard the pop and crackle of knuckles as he flexed his hand tight around the staff.
Lee pulled out his voice, speaking slowly as his heartbeat slowed, “Sango… gather Hanabi and Ino.”
“Nii-sama?”
“Take them to safety.” A subtle tension seeped into the air. Itachi was wound tight, like a tripwire ready to snap.
Hinata turned slowly, one foot sweeping through the grasses in an arc. Perhaps not so slowly. “I see them…” She dipped lower, a dry wind running through her, “Damn fine time for the jinchuuriki to be on vacation!”
The air had grown quiet still.
Lee tried to pick out the bodies. The enemy hadn’t shown themselves, but he could hear them. Their foot falls, teleports.
“Sango!” Lee snapped, “Do as I say!”
“I can fight too, you know.” She bristled, standing beside him.
“I know.” Lee smiled, catching her eye, “That’s why you’re going. You must safeguard those too precious to be lost.”
“Don’t even argue.” Hinata had her eyes closed, hands swaying as she tracked the foes just out of sight, “You’ll only piss me off.”
Sasuke had his ornate blade at the ready. “I suppose you’ll want me gone too?”
Itachi smirked, “Does this mean you aren’t going to argue?”
“This is me arguing.” Sasuke stood fast.
“I have one word.”
“Ino…” Sasuke growled. “Damn you. Why do you always get your way?”
“Easy; I’m always right.” Itachi smirked. “We’ll cover you to the house. Use the scroll I made for the honeymoon to teleport out.”
The younger siblings ran for the house as the elder trio formed.
“So how bad is it really?” Itachi whispered.
Hinata scowled, “I can’t seem to keep an eye on any one for very long… could be one, or twenty.”
Lee shifted the staff, “No matter their numbers, they shall soon regret this day.”
Hinata growled, “The only thing that pisses me off worse than the bastards choosing today of all days is that my shoulder feels like it’s coming apart.”
“You gonna be alright?” Itachi glanced her way. Hinata’s head blurred as it turned this way and that. Her hand flickered from her side to her shoulder. But her feet were solid.
The red stain of blood rushed down her arm, then vanished.
“I’ll be fine. It just aches is all.”

Sakura’s vision swam, her eyes refused to focus. The ground was soft and unsteady beneath her feet.
“How much fucking chakra do you have?!” The captain gave Sakura a shove and she stumbled forward, holding her feet.
“Oh, fall down already, bitch!” He grabbed her by the hair and yanked, kicking her knee sideways and forcing her down.
Sakura fell on the chakra control device planted against her back, the shallow tines ripping from her flesh, breaking the contact.
Inner Sakura laughed with malice, *He has no idea how bad he just fucked up.*
Sakura could feel a bubble in the depths of her chakra well. A tickle in the bottom of her heart. A warmth in her bones as the last remains peeked out, like animals growing bolder in the absence of the predator.
“The stoic bitch isn’t any fun.” The captain stepped over Sakura, “Let’s pick on the blonde.”
The first strike echoed across the room with Ino’s cry.
“Flash your chakra all you like. Not even the Hyuuga can see into the room we stand.” The captain struck her again.
“Ino!” Sasuke’s voice cut the air, “We have to…”
Sakura looked up as a thin buzz cut the air, a gentle jingle ringing from the bell tipped senbon pinning the paralysis tag to his chest.
“Suke!”
“Suke!” The captain mocked, a smoke bomb bouncing into the hall and exploding, deep violet glittering smoke filling the corridor. “You’re all so damn overdressed. Did we interrupt something?”
Sakura shook weakly as she tried to lift herself from the floor. *Damn… Why can’t we move…?*
A hard boot caught her in the ribs for her effort.
“So doll?” The captain turned back to Ino, “What are we in the middle of?”
“My wedding, you ego inflated snake sucking…” The slap of steel against flesh cut her short. The red mark grew darker than it’s mates, the rivets on his gauntlets had cut her cheek.
“So you’re the dumbshit’s choice to ‘revive the clan’?” He laughed cruelly through the mask, “He could have picked someone with bigger tits.”
“Fuck you.” Ino looked up, blowing a mouthful of spittle and blood over the young man’s mask.
The gloved hand gestured to pick Ino up higher as he wiped the mask clean.
“I think you got fucked, actually. And if that is true, and you are the Uchiha dork’s lay, then this must be his too.”
He reached back and hammered Ino’s belly.
“One…” he pulled back, striking from a different angle, “Two. Figures the fertile bastard would seed twins.”
“Nooooooo…” Ino fell limp in the lock the anbu held her in.
Sakura felt a wall within her break. Something like chakra flooded through her starving channels and burned in her veins. Her eyes burned and she lifted herself from the floor.
*oh fuck…* Inner Sakura ducked back into the mind.
“You sick monster…!” The floorboards creaked and the air popped as an area jutsu gave way.
Sakura lifted one hand, neon fire lapped across her arm and she could hear his heart speed up.

“What the unholy fuck!” Hinata flinched, looking back over her shoulder, “What is that?”
Itachi had turned for the house, “It was a mistake to bide our time with the illusion…” He pulled his coat off, leaving it behind on the ground, “That was Sakura… I think…”

Glass exploded as two bodies passed through the window.
*Wait! Shit! Think!*
Sakura drove the captain into the grass and charged her fist to the elbow. She fell over him, ignoring the signs he flashed. Inner Sakura pulled at the arm, stopping her fist as smoke flashed, Ino’s face appearing on the grass as Sakura’s arm flamed out.
“You’ve been an excellent playmate, Hanuro!” The clap of his leather bound hands called from the broken window., Satoshi stood between them, arms up as if fending away an invisible foe, unmoving. “But I have a gift for you! And don’t worry about the siblings over here! I’ll take good care of them!”
She was airborne, fist back as he flexed jutsu signs and touched the ground, a massive plume of smoke engulfing her as something huge crashing into her, knocking her back.
The wall fell as the summoned creature crashed against it, the serpentine body topped with two wide heads glaring and hissing down at her.
“They teleported out! They took them!” Hinata shouted as she slid to a stop. Stuck within the house.
Behind her, the raging storm of songbirds unique to the chidori rose quickly.
The ball of shrieking thunder ripped past her shoulder, landing in the open mouth of the left head. The jutsu detonated, gore and flesh raining down. The jaw was gone, the head retained by two lose straps of flesh, a massive bleeding hole where the base of its skull ought to have been.
The live head peered down at the wound, at Itachi. It swung to Sakura as her forearm glowed, trying to slither backwards, away from her.
*Is it afraid… or smart?*
Sakura moved, leaping up at the creature, even as the house around it was demolished. The limp swinging head served as she charged, stuck and rebounded.
The chakra charge whipped around her shoulders as the left hook came around and landed in the soft flesh behind the jaw.
The manifested chakra crowded from her arm as it channeled into the serpent’s neck like lightning, the sheer power blowing through like kinetic force, taking pulpy flesh and blood spraying out the other side.
Sakura kicked away as the monster fell, sliding to a stop in the grass.
“Sakura!” Hinata shouted, “It’s Ino! Hurry up!!”
The misplaced kunoichi found Ino, Hinata kneeling by her side. “I can see blood pooling inside her… And something else…”
Sakura knelt, laying hands on the blonde, seeking the extent of the damage… And the bottom of her stomach fell away. *We haven’t got enough… not for this…*
“Itachi!” Sakura met his eye, “I need…” He turned and was off for the house. Sakura took a deep breath and reached back inside with her senses. The surface bruises were still growing. Her innards were upset, possibly unsettled. The flow of energy was chaotic, completely random would have been better.
*Gentle fist?*
*No.* Sakura answered herself, *Just sheer trauma.*
Hinata stood over them both, “Why is she bleeding like that, Sakura?”
The med nin reached through the blood, into the organs. The infants, not yet three months old, drifted dead.
“Her womb has ruptured…”
Ino’s hands covered her face, her weakened body shuddering. Hinata simply collapsed to her knees.
*Real smooth.* Inner Sakura growled.
Itachi dropped to one knee beside Sakura, the chakra control device in hand. ‘What’s wrong?” The Uchiha went pale as Hinata met his eye, his lips setting into a hard line.
Sakura pulled the device from his hand, ripping the housing off. Her eyes could see better than the diagrams she had learned. Two silver wires rich with chakra still pulsed in time with Sakura’s aura. She pulled them and held them tight in her hand, feeling the outside well of power draining back into her body, even as she poured it into Ino.
The damage healed slowly, Ino’s own chakra almost fighting Sakura’s.
“The others?” Lee arrived at last, “Was their egress successful? Lord Uchiha?”
Itachi stood silently, a demeanor of ice Sakura remembered well veiling him, his rage.
“Godless Nara Shikamaru…” Hinata growled, clenched fists shaking, “He did this to Ino… Used Satoshi like a fucking summon tag… He kidnapped them all, Lee.” Her eyes blazed, one hand going to her shoulder, “He took them and he laughed!!”
Lee darkened. “Small consolation that his creature of two minds is not so great as he appears…” There was a long moment of silence as Sakura worked.
When she pulled away, the pins and needles of deep healing burned her bones. *I can deal with battle damage… simple wounds… emergency care… but this is beyond my ability to heal… I’m only a medic…*
*Not a doctor… It’s alright, Sakura… You did all you could… That’s enough.*
Hinata pulled Ino closer, helping the blonde climb into her lap.
“…Never again… never again…” Her quiet wails tore Sakura’s heart as Hinata wrapped Ino in her arms. “…I’m so sorry Sasuke…”
Sakura felt an arm encircle her. Itachi stood, eyes closed, holding her close.
Lee knelt, one hand resting on Ino’s shoulder. “Weep not in such sorrow, young Lady Uchiha. Sasuke shall be returned to your arms soon and your wounds will heal in time. There is nothing Nara could have taken that cannot be regained.”
“…hn…” Itachi held Sakura tighter.
“…my babies…” Ino sighed, her voice breaking. She buried her face in Hinata’s shoulder. “…he killed my babies…”
“We..have..a..problem…” Hinata spoke softly, her sentence broken.
Lee picked his head up, the staff coming to hand. “The creature has more spirit than I gave it credit, it would seem.” He glared over Sakura’s head.
The low hiss filling the air was joined by a rumbling growl.
Sakura turned, felt Itachi doing the same. The serpent glared down at them. One head focused on Itachi, the other pinning Sakura down by gaze.
She could feel the pulse of its agitated chakra.
Behind her, Lee was breathing deeply, the aura of his presence alone greater than most peoples’ chakra.
Behind him, Hinata had hunched over Ino, the chakra turbulent in her left shoulder.
*This sounds too much like what we just did and failed…* “Lee. Get Ino out of here. Hinata…Cover him. Itachi and I will take care of this and catch up. Momoshi house.”
Sakura could feel the rift in her heart oozing the dark chakra and she drew upon it as she stood, bringing the damaged control device with her.
“I’m staying.”
Sakura turned to Hinata. “You will go if we must break your legs and cast you away.” The buzz in her voice, like an echo in a bottle.
Itachi tensed as the viper began to encircle them like mice.
But it stayed back as well. One head watching each pair unblinkingly.
“Let us be away.” Lee let his staff fall into Hinata’s hands as he cradled Ino, “The servant of the snake sannin cannot catch us.” The dark eyes glared at the great serpent as it came nearer.
He stepped back slowly, “I would love to play your mongoose, perhaps another day…”
The head peering at him rushed, jaws opening as they came closer.
Sakura watched as Lee gingerly sidestepped the strike, turning to lay a hard kick into the snake’s eye as the head turned to regard him, the strike failing.
Sakura charged her arm, steadied the flow of chakra, pushing it out from her elbow, down the forearm, across her hand and out three more feet. The shaft of luminous pink energy resting in the palm of her other hand.
Four running steps and Sakura drove the Valkyrie Lance into the snout of the head before it could retreat, jumping back as the creature roared.
A chidori screeched and howled past her again, impacting in the mouth of the other head as it lashed out.
“We’re out. Come on , Lee.” Hinata was up and running, leaping over the creature’s body, Lee vaulted over the back behind her.
The wounded but living head turned to the running bodies leaning out after them.
Sakura shifted the flow of the chakra, grasping the center of the focus in her fist and launching the hardened chakra like a javelin, piercing the hydra’s jaw and passing through, splattering against the shield overhead.
“Gotta fix that… Get it to detonate, maybe…”
“I do love fine tuning a good jutsu now and again, but we need an idea that works now.” Itachi spoke quickly, though he smiled, “I haven’t got many of those left in me today.”
Sakura shrugged out of the kimono, standing in her sarashi wraps and picked up the chakra control device, “We’ve got half an idea…” Quick hands ripped the remains of the housing away, revealing the mess of wires, vacuum vials, and the chakra battery itself.
The hydra head glared down at Itachi, leering back. The limp head had already stopped bleeding and the wound was obviously mending.
“I’ll just keep him entertained, then, shall I?” He charged another chidori watching the viper heads carefully as the wounded head lifted, eyes blazing anew.
He extended one arm out, holding the chidori in the upturned palm straight back. The orb of lightning arced across his shoulders and down his arm, breaking free at his hand, wide wings of electricity spreading as the jutsu flew.
Arcing talons levered forward and the summoned bird slammed into the neck, the wide wings cleaving the head cleanly, a fountain of crimson spraying into the air.
“It worked! Holy shit, it really worked!” Itachi pumped on fist into the air.
Sakura pulled out a vacuum vial and tossed it over her shoulder, cramming a wire into the socket it had come from, “What was that about tuning jutsu, love?”
“Aww, shit…” Itachi readies his stance. He could already see the heads reforming, two definite forms lifting from the stump. “This is one of the scaly bastard’s better experiments.”
Sakura pinched a vacuum vial, breaking it wide open. “I’ve got a plan now!” Sakura stood, device in hand.
Itachi looked at the device, then nodded, “Hand.”
Sakura grasped his wrist, pulling him in for a quick peck on the cheek and nodded. The Uchiha pulled Sakura over his other hand, lining her up like a spear, his chakra gently gripping her center. He reached back and his nails dug into her bare belly as he hurled her for the joint between necks.
The head still attached ripped at the filling sack of flesh, two other heads still growing, forming as they were freed.
Six eyes watched as the pink haired missile flipped and landed, blasting the flesh with chakra as she planted the jury rigged chakra control device against the gore slick scales, cramming it firmly beneath the folds.
The small green test light lit, flared brightly, and burst.
*That’s supposed to be very bad for very good reasons…* Inner Sakura’s worry came through
* I certainly hope so!* Sakura reached her chakra away, grasping a large chunk of demolished house, substituting it for herself, teleporting away.
She was orienting when Itachi picked her up around the waist at a run, rounding the corner and dashing for the fountain.
“You are either a genius or you’re completely mad!” Itachi shouted as he threw her into the pool of water, diving in after her and sinking to the bottom like a stone.
He drug Sakura down and the world flashed, the dull thud of a massive explosion ran through the earth and rippled the surface of the fountain.
Sakura broke the surface, coughing up water, “So…” She blew out another cough, “…that’s why they tell you not to do that…”
Itachi tossed his hair back, “ I don’t know where you learned that, or why, but you are one hell of a kunoichi.”
A thin streamer of smoke lifted into the air.
Sakura frowned, “I can still feel chakra… It isn’t dead yet…” Sakura drew a cord from her well, suddenly aware of her chakra running low again and made her way toward the remains of the house that had once been.
The blast had ripped a smooth crater in the soft ground and a great bulge of flesh writhed and thrashed from within on what was probably many necks.
Itachi stared, “I hope Orochimaru thought of a good name for this cursed thing… It’s invincible…”
“No.” Sakura glared, “If it bleeds, it isn’t invincible. Just too stubborn to give up easy. Let‘s cook it.”
“Hn… blackened snake does sound good.” Sakura followed his signs as he wove them slowly, “Red beans, thin gravy, and cold sake. Sound good?”
“Let’s kill it first.” Sakura followed his lead, drawing a deep breath and they fired the Blaze of Glory, immolating the six screaming heads of the Hydra.
Sakura ran out of lung before Itachi, but the creature fell still and silent before he was finished.
Pinching the jet of flame with a flourish, Itachi smiled down at Sakura, “I can hold my breath for longer…”
She pushed him, “pervert.”
They surveyed the massive corpse from where they stood. “That was way too easy a solution…” Itachi sighed, “We need to get out of here…”
Sakura wrapped her arms around him, “I love you, you know.”
His swirling eyes looked down at her, “I love you too…” He pulled out his shirt, draping it over her shoulders, “But walking around in wet wraps like that calls way too much attention to things I’d rather we didn’t share with everyone.”


Burning Bright

‘Hinata…’ The fog of sleep lay thick on her mind… But the voice cut through to her…
‘Hinata…’
She jolted awake. And instead of fading, the grisly details of her nightmare only grew more vivid as she trembled where she sat.
The room was of poured concrete, windowless, cold.
Sasuke lay on a steel table, thick leather straps holding him down. His hands were bound in thick metal mittens, a nail driven through the palm and a chakra control machine was perched on his chest, thin trails of dried blood running down his side.
And from his eyes, the sockets ravaged and empty, the pale mist of chakra drifting like smoke from hot water lifting away.
Bound suspended by four thick chains, Sango was drawn taut. The chains ran over pulleys, running back to a stone slab beneath her. Her limbs looked distended, pulled out of joint. Her head hung limply.
It was difficult to tell if she was even still breathing. But her heart still beat. Slow and weak as it was.
Hinata was breathing hard as the memory refused to stop, carried forward as her view turned to look up at the moon pale skin of Hanabi. She hung from a pair of shackles against the wall, her feet still dangling above the floor, the iron cuffs gnawing at her wrists. Her smooth neck bore a pair of fresh pair of puncture marks and she was sweating feverishly, mumbling.
“…Hinata…”
The voice echoed though her head as Hinata awoke again. She was still leaned uncomfortably in the chair beside Ino’s bed. And Ino hadn’t moved.
Hinata felt the brow, *She’s cold as ice, yet she sweats like she’s feverish, vomits though she’s eaten nothing… And it’s been three days since you’ve said anything… Not even moaning in your dreams…*
“We have to get her to a hospital…” Sakura’s firm tone drifted around the corner, “She may not last another night.”
“Take her and we’ll never see either of you again…” Itachi’s voice was warm, soft…
Hinata closed her eyes and used her gift to peer through the wall. Ino caught her byukaguran eyes first. Her body was running on a dwindling chakra pool alone, and even that was slowing, like her heart.
*She died three days ago…” Hinata felt her throat tighten, “Died in my arms… Her heart just beats in denial…*
Hinata lifted her head, her gaze directed at the ceiling, it didn’t hide Ino from sight. She gathered chakra in her hand, laying her palm over Ino’s heart. *I can feel the pain in every beat…*
She leaned forward, a soft kiss on the blonde’s brow, *Forgive me… And my your lover find you…*
Hinata let the charge go off, the Gentle Fist strike silently rippling through the beating organ.
*rest well, Uchiha Ino…* Three rapid pulses quivered before Ino’s heart stopped, her body going dark in Hinata’s eyes.
“You worry about us…” Sakura’s voice paused, “…What about your brother?” Her tone grew quieter, “What about Sango and Hanabi…?”
Hinata peered through the wall, the pair tight in embrace.
“Ninja expect to fall… It’s just part of the life we live…” The sudden ice in his tone sent a flutter though Hinata’s heart. Itachi’s chakra dimmed, withdrawing deeper into his bones, “I expect to die by the sword… And Hinata has shown many times her dedication…”
Sakura’s pulse was heavy and slow, her mind aglow with the chaos of her thoughts.
Hinata reflected inward… *I would die for her…almost did…*
“Sango was a Moerku… They can’t do anything with going further than they ought to… Lee is proud of her though… He hasn’t shed a sad tear…” Itachi sighed, the channels beside his eyes lighting dimly. Not blood, his eyes remained dark. His heart quivered in his chest and his arms tightened around Sakura.
And the kunoichi’s chakra flared. “I’ll never back down…” She looked up at Itachi, running a hand down his jaw, “…never go back on my word…”
Sakura’s chakra began to burn, growing brighter as her voice rose, “I’ll become as strong as I must, as great as I must…” She stepped back as her voice rose higher, “…So I can protect those important to me.”
Hinata stood. She could feel her chakra rise in response to Sakura’s words, her presence as she blazed almost painfully bright.
“That’s my ninja way!” Sakura held Itachi’s hands, “That’s what the greatest ninja I’ve ever known said. He was known for being a failure. But the day he said those words, he walked away from one victory to the next. He defeated the gifted, the talented, the prodigies, and the demons that crossed his path. His goal was to be Hokage, so he could protect the village.”
Hinata stepped around the corner, “Sounds like a better way than we were taught.” She smiled and crossed her arms, “To hell with this hiding bullshit. Let’s go pick a fight.”
Itachi looked between them. “Who stays with Ino if we go?”
Hinata looked away, for all the good it did her. “…Sasuke will catch up to her soon…” The visions of the dream crept across her mind. Her mind’s eye seeing fallen friends over what lay under her gaze. “…I saw them… in a dream… I don’t think we can save them…”
“Then we shall avenge them.” Lee stood behind Hinata, staff in hand. “We shall leave our indelible mark upon the memories of the village and be spoken of for as long as there are those who remember the havoc we wrought!!” He smiled widely, “And there’s always the tiniest chance we might actually achieve victory!!”
“Way to pep talk, Lee.” Hinata looked him over, “Is that why you’re wearing those ridiculous green tights?”
Lee just smiled, “You seem to be enjoying the view.” He adjusted the legwarmers and similarly puffy gauntlets. He rolled his shoulders in the tight vest and stretch up, the bones in his body chattering like a bundle of straw.
“Forgive us, Zabuza-sempai… we seem to have gone mad and are about to do something so very…”
“Valiant!!” Lee shouted as Itachi paused.
“Noble.” Hinata put her arm around Lee’s shoulder.
“Reckless?” Sakura shrugged as Itachi looked down at her.
Itachi smiled, “I was going to say stupid… but those work too.”

“I can’t pick out any of the usual patrols…or the posted guards… Or anyone. Just this damn fog glowing along the ground, filling the streets.” Hinata glared through the screen of trees and the city wall.
Sakura growled to herself. “Stay alert. We’re moving toward the gate. Keep our flank and call if you find anything.” Sakura herd the tick as the microphone ticked off.
It ticked on. “Middle of the night or not… There should be people out…” Itachi whispered. “I’m on the wall and the whole damn village is abandoned.”
“There is a fell fog upon the ground, Sakura-sama!” Lee followed, his voice overloading the radio, “It is sickly and corrupt. I believe I can see bodies on the ground. The gates are thick with the fallen.”
Sakura sighed, “It’s official; the fog is bad for you. Stick to the high rooftops and get out if you think it’s getting to you. We’re insane, not suicidal.”
“Hn.” “Yes, Sama!”
Sakura climbed the wall carefully, slipping through the window into the gatehouse.
The miasmal fog obscured much of the street below, concealing the deeper pieces of the streets completely.
The acidic stench burned her nostrils, even this high up.
Hinata covered her nose, “Uhg… maybe the storm will knock this down… Or at least blow it out…”
Sakura nodded.
“Sakura-sama. I seem to be delayed.” Lee stood at the crest of a roof to the left, “I will entertain these amateurs. Find the source of this abnormal atmospheric effect.”
The radio cut out and Sakura could hear his laugh across the rooftops, “I shall do battle with you, if that is what you truly wish!”

Lee pulled the tie from his topknot, the square cut hair falling loose. Three of the six anbu broke away as Sakura and Hinata began to move again.
Tiles clattered like they’d been dropped and the hearty crack of metal on wood echoed over the still skyline of Konoha.
Lee stood before the three as one of them fell, the tip of the white staff hovering motionlessly where the man’s temple had been.
“Do not…” Lee paused as the body hit the tiles. The dead man rolled and slipped over the edge, falling heavily to the street below. “…underestimate me.”
The five anbu reformed in a staggered line, facing the dark faced man. Lee knew how he looked in their eyes; lips set in a thin line, eyes as dark as the new moon, a stance solid as any bronze statue. Lee moved slowly, shifting into the low leaf stance, the end of the staff reaching up and back.
“I am the Moerkukage! My passion has endured the long winter and the fires of spring have come again at last.”
One of the anbu teleported away.
“We shall scatter your ashes, fool.” The man wore sergeants’ stripes and drew his katana slowly. “And you should know; I have awaited this day since you shamed me so many years ago.”
Lee gave the man his attention, aware of the other anbu stepping back. “I brought defeat in plenty that day. If you are unhappy with life after defeat, you should have finished it yourself, as I was not generous enough.”
“I was known for the strength of my arm.” The sergeant flexed his sword arm, “An arm you destroyed with one blow.”
Lee smiled at the man, “I did not recognize you. Had I but known you were the idiot that tried to stop the Konoha Hurricane with his fist.” He laughed, “Let us put your taijutsu to the test again, knave.”
The short staff buzzed in his hands as Lee levered the strike around his body, but he did not force it, he let the weapon flow… smooth and slow…calm.
The tip of the katana dropped, ready to ward the staff away.
The man in his tights smiled, letting the tip fall to the ground and stepping past the sergeant. The hambo propped against his shoulder, Lee pulled on the short end, levering the around and crushing the skull of the one anbu who might have thought he was safe.
The mask split down the center, falling away from his hateful sneer. The shockwave of the blow carried, the young shinobi’s head starting down as his feet lifted from the ground, falling so slowly in Lee’s eyes.
The tile his bare face impacted burst, bits of stone shooting off to the four corners.
The sergeant began to turn, hands flexing mid sign. Lee reached out, prying the sword from the man’s loose grip, his hands contorted by the jutsu. Blade in hand, Lee turned the steel on it’s master, the blade breaking three times as he drove it into the man’s chest.
“Your art is too slow, journeyman.” Lee waited for his heart to beat three times before pushing the sergeant away. The anbu folded like an old mannequin, falling from the rooftop and into the grotesque fog that shrouded the streets.
The staff raised, pointed between the two that remained. “Who will be the next to feel the power of my soul?” Two flashes of smoke rose behind him.
One held the anbu that had fled, the other a man with the captain’s mark, his ebon mask painted, a bright white spike across his right eye, a red chevron over the other.
The captain unfastened his chest plate, dropping the armor. “Remove those troublesome weights of yours. Your real strength… show it to me.” The bracers and greaves fell as well.
Lee drew away the cloth gauntlets, tiles breaking as they impacted. He dropped his vest, stiff plates within the garment holding form. The legwarmers unzipped. Lee faced the similarly stripped anbu, staff in hand.
“Still plated with armor… even in your tights…” He spit to one side, “Disgraceful.”
The anbu slowly withdrew a small item from his belt, “Your fury had been legendary. From the time you were just a student, your rage was feared on the field of battle. And yet now… Your tiger is a kitten.”
“I simply discovered the secret of true life.” Lee changed hands on the staff. “A person has all the life they could ever desire, they simply use it as they grow older. I found how to draw upon that life. To use the power of the days I may never live. To focus the energy of my life upon one moment.” Lee glared into the narrow slits in the mask, “I have lived my life to it’s fullest. Can you say the same?”
The captain tossed the item to Lee, “A token gift.” Lee didn’t look from his opponent. He felt the thing. Soft, silken and of many threads. Not wound, but bundled. He held it up in the weak light. Black as ink.
“The single largest piece of your dear sister that remains.” The captain laughed, “She died yowling like a kicked puppy, screaming so long after the torture had stopped, I felt I had to silence her before the headache got any worse.”
“Enough.” Lee dropped the lock of hair. He could feel his heart quicken. Each beat was hard. “You can save your cheek for the God of Death. You shall not see the man you thought to provoke, my heart has become greater than that.” The staff rotated to a new position, “But I will watch you fall before I leave this place.”
The anbu laughed, drawing the odachi over his shoulder, the slat cut into the sheath releasing the long blade, “You end the man’s clan and he will not release his greatest passion… Such a fool.”
His blade sliced the wind itself as the captain came with a high sweep.
Staff caught blade as Lee turned the strike aside, one silver tip lining up and shattering the mask, the captains head impaled on the end of the staff.
“Fine riposte, Moerkukage.” The doppelganger flashed away. “That was actually worth my time to see. But I have other concerns…”
“Fleeing again, Nara?” Lee looked over his shoulder, “You might even have fooled me, had you used one of your own men. But you were always quick to abandon a battle that turned against you.”
Nara sighed, “Goodbye, Lee. Give my regards to your old teammates.”
“Why?”
Nara hesitated.
“Why kill Neji? Did he irritate you?” Lee felt his heart hammering in his chest, the familiar ache coursing through his bones, “And why Ten-chan? She wasn’t even a ninja anymore. Not after your last betrayal.”
Shika turned back around. “Neji didn’t take kindly to the idea of my borrowing one of his eyes. As if the fool didn’t have two. But the girl…” Shika huffed, “The stupid bitch got between me and Neji.”
A wind began to blow, gentle, a whisper. Thunder rumbled.
Lee had his eyes closed, one hand brushing back his hair, tying it back again. “Why not stay…?”
The trio of anbu stepped back, swords drawn. One glanced back at Shika.
“Claim the last member? Make it a whole set?”
The staff hit the ground with a ringing clatter.
“Unless I’m just…too…troublesome.”
Shika looked him over. “You’ve had a change of heart, then?”
Lee tapped his chest, “Heart?” He tightened his scowl, the first drop of rain crossing between him and Nara. “I seem to have left it at home…”
Shika pulled a scroll from his belt, “Kunai scrolls!”
Lee blinked, he watched the rain come on. A thick sheet from across the city. His heart felt like it was tearing with every beat.
*This is my last stand…* The anbu lined up, scrolls falling over their blades. The air rippled as thunder arced, the bolt reaching up from the earth through the contorted air.
*I could have slain the three novices by now… But four men…* Lee sighed within his mind, *Is this what it’s like, Zabuza-sensei? Is this what it means to be feared?*
“…FIRE!!!…”
The stored jutsu began blasting kunai, the blades came slowly, and with poor aim.
*Before Shika… Ten-chan could out do them all…*
He had expected the knives to be faster. They were simply plentiful.
Lee reached out, grasping the tip of the first knife, plucking it from the air like fruit on a tree.
*May I be forgiven, my friends…*
With a flick of the wrist Tenten had forced him to master, the knife sailed true and fast.
He knew Shika would see the knife coming. And the young anbu captain dropped as the blade sailed over his shoulder. Lee pulled more from the air, stacking seven of them in each hand.
Lee turned, whipping the blades as his arm came around. The kunai shrieked like banshees as they sprayed toward the anbu.
Fourteen blades found three targets, Shika teleporting away. The anbu fell to their backs, two of the kunai had blown clear through, hitting no hard tissue to stop them.
The monotone whistle from above came in three cries.
Lee lifted one foot, catching the center of three as the heel crested over his head, catching the blades of the others and turning them on one and other.
The three doppelgangers burst like cheap party balloons, leaving Shika unaccounted for.
Lee reached back, swatting aside the blade tip and grasping the blade as the failed thrust slipped past him.
“Quantity does not make up for quality.” The blade shattered in Lee’s fist and he shoved the handful of steel shards into Shika’s chest, most of them passing through as Lee’s fist closed around the armor, wrinkling the steel plate riveted to the tights.
“It is terrible that we ended this way…” Lee sighed. He couldn’t feel his heart. The ever present beat was absent. Though his veins still thundered with the rush, his blood was slowing quickly.
“You… still…died…” Shika choked and then fell limp.
Lee let him fall. “It is not that I died, my friend… It is that I lived.”
Moerku Lee sighed his last breath with a smile as the rains truly began.
*Or perhaps I am at peace enough to see them…* Still standing, still smiling, The Green Beast of Konoha stepped into the embrace of death.
And a body stirred. Nara Shikamaru lifted himself. “You’ve still burned out.” He dusted off his tights, “I’ll have to get this repaired again… Damn.”
Shika lifted the mask far enough to spit out a jet of blood, “So much for the Black Squad. Laid out by one shinobi who couldn’t use chakra…” He pulled Lee, the body falling limp and sliding down the rooftop with the rains, vanishing over the ledge. “But you, Lee, though you could not see far enough, you were a damn pain in my ass.”