[log] What was. [Naruko, Sakurai, Sachiko]
High noon, and an unmistakable feeling of deja vu. Sakurai ran a hand through his hair restlessly as he waited for Sachiko on the bridge, leaning against the railing to look out at the water passing below. He'd left at daytime this time, but still didn't fell comfortable around too many people. So the bridge at the edge of downtown was a good spot. Few people passed through unless they had business in the area, and the cool breeze off the water mussed Sakurai's already messy hair. Finally having enough of that, he reached back and tied it in a small ponytail.
He had taken to wearing his hitae-ate around his neck, like Temaru did, so he still had something covering the mark. Sakurai looked back in the direction of downtown, scanning the horizon for any sign of Sachiko.
Sachiko approached the bridge from the direction opposite where Sakurai was looking, noting the boy's hairstyle and how he was wearing his hitae-ate. She declined to comment on it however; she understood the desire to cover the seal up. Admittedly, that was where her high-though-wide-collared shirts came in handy.
She was wearing her typical outfit - blue shirt, white pants, armwarmers, calf-wraps. She didn't have her hitae-ate on. No particular reason; she simply didn't feel like it. "Hey," she called as she walked over, hands in pockets.
"Hey." Sakurai called back, breathing a sigh of relief to see Sachiko approach. He tugged a fly-away strand of hair back into place and shoved his hands into his pockets as well. HE wasn't wearing his normal clothing, instead a simple red cheongsam. It covered most of his skin, which he still wasn't keen on displaying when he thought others might see him. A part of him was worried that somehow they'd see marks the snake left on him in places he'd rather forget she had been. "...How've you been?" he ventured, though even as the words left his mouth they felt lame somehow, and he held back a flinch.
Sachiko gave him a quick glance but answered, "Training." She had been, after all. Kureno-sensei had told her they would meet up again in a few days, and she was working hard on getting that genjutsu to be as perfect as she could make it. It wasn't absolutely perfect, but if she did say so herself (which she did, privately) it wasn't half bad, either.
"...Yourself?" And she realized she still didn't know if Sakurai had been officially discharged from the hospital yet.
"Surviving?" Sakurai answered, though the weak laugh seemed to only make things worse. Even now, he still didn't know what to do with himself around Sachiko. "Um, getting re-acquainted with normal things. People. Mom and dad, they-" he was starting to smile, then abruptly remembered that Sachiko didn't have a mom or dad anymore and fell into an awkward stretch of silence for a minute or two. "...They're glad I'm back, but. ... ... It's nothing. I'm doing okay. It's good to see you again."
Sachiko nodded in reply. Her family had been dead for almost a decade now so she thought she was almost getting used to the fact, but she still felt a little like sharp slivers slipping inbetween slits in armor. She mentally shrugged it off, difficult as that was.
"So they officially let you out of the hospital?"
Sakurai shrugged. "More or less." 'Can't hide from the world forever.' was the exact words he'd told himself upon leaving. As much as he wanted to... wanted to just curl up and hide from everyone. But he couldn't do that, he had responsibilities. Obligations. To Naruko and Sachiko, to... protect them? 'But you can't, can you?' he thought to himself and was unable to keep back a look of pain. 'Not from anything except themselves... and you can't even do that well.'
"You aren't wearing your hitae-ate. You weren't last time, either." Sakurai commented, reaching out to Sachiko as if to brush back her hair out of her eyes, but halted mid-movement.
Awkward.
Sachiko didn't miss the flash of pain on his face, or the way it seemed to linger in his green eyes. Part of her thought it didn't belong there. The rest of her wondered why he was reaching for her face. Reflexively she closed a hand over his to pull it away. "I don't normally wear my hitae-ate when I'm trying to sleep," she answered. "And I didn't feel like it today."
The first signs that they weren't alone was the sudden change in the air pressure. The anger that had been gradually building up, only suddenly released by Naruko's reactions to Sachiko were still boiling just beneath the surface of Naruko's mind, and she'd been trying to work it out in the training that Kakami had started her on. But Naruko couldn't train when she couldn't focus, and in her frustration, she'd torn through a tree before giving in, grabbing her jacket and heading for Ichiraku, overindulging in ramen being her main source of comfort when she was troubled.
She hadn't looked up while she walked, but the faint breeze brought a mixed scent, something reminding her of long days when Team 7 had spent collapsed under a tree after Kakami-sensei had worked them to the bone. Funny, it would happen when she came across the bridge. Naruko almost smiled, glancing up for once to see where she was going.
The beginnings of the smile was wiped from her face when she spotted Sachiko, and Naruko instantly bristled, her chakra spiking in retaliation at the sudden surge of bottomless rage that suddenly flared. The air around her practically sparked with her surpressed chakra, and Naruko's eyes flashed with hurt and anger as her jaw set. Sakurai always liked Sachiko better, it doesn't matter now. Blue eyes narrowed, the pupils slit, and Naruko simply ducked her head, intent on moving past them.
They don't need me anyway.
Still holding onto Sakurai's hand, Sachiko turned her attention to the too-familiar chakra presence in time to see Naruko's pupils change before the blonde dropped her head. The rage coming off the other girl was almost palpable - and to Sachiko's sixth sense, it burned.
Shit.
The last time Naruko had been in anything close to this state, it had been at the Valley. Though Sachiko didn't quite recall feeling this much raw hostility before.
And if she recalled correctly, Naruko's eyes were the first to change. With the emotions pouring out... Kyuubi was too close to the surface. Sachiko could handle a Kyuubified Naruko even if last time she'd gotten her ass handed to her but she doubted Sakurai could.
The next movements weren't done consciously. Still holding Sakurai's hand she pulled him behind her, placing herself between him and Naruko without a word. Black eyes watched Naruko carefully; as long as the other's eyes stayed blue it would be okay. Easiest thing all around would be to simply let Naruko pass.
Off his game significantly and caught by surprise, Sakurai actually stumbled as Sachiko suddenly pulled him behind her and he had to put his other hand on her shoulder for support so he wouldn't fall. His eyes looked between Sachiko and Naruko. Sure, they'd had their fights, but there was the underlying friendship there... he'd missed any outright hostility like this. What had happened?
"Naruko?" he called, with concern. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." She spat, her eyes darkening with hurt, her lips stretched to bare her teeth as if she'd been struck, flinching away from them. Her canines were already growing longer, sharper, and Naruko quickened her pace. Obviously she was interrupting something, and she wasn't in the mood to have her other failures thrown in her face.
"Let her go, Sakurai," Sachiko said quietly.
Some instinct had her activating her doujutsu. She didn't question it; she simply obeyed it.
"No." Sakurai said to Sachiko, with a stern tone he normally didn't use with her. It wasn't even really an argument. He would not leave this be, and she could either accept that or not. He removed his hands from Sachiko and attempted to push by her. He hadn't regained all of his strength back, but it was enough and she didn't seem inclined to force him back.
"Hey, Naruko. It's me, what's wrong? Did something happen?" he asked, approaching her, though carefully. She was worrying him, but he was determined to not show fear, hadn't even become aware how much of his old self returned when he had time to focus on someone else's pain rather than his own.
"Why do you care?" Naruko spun to face him, her question almost a shout, and her eyes shot through with the faintest traces of red. "I never mattered before, why now? You got what you wanted, didn't you?" She glanced at Sachiko with open hate in her eyes before turning away again, trying to escape, trying to run. If she knew she was starting to move like a caged animal, it didn't show, her eyes darting and the whisker marks on her face flaring to deep scar-like ridges.
"Naruko -- listen to yourself!" Sakurai exclaimed, incredulous. "Do you even hear what you're saying? We're your friends! Of course we care!" He'd never seen Naruko get like this before. Not this bad, and it was really starting to frighten him.
He couldn't let her go like this, she might accidentally hurt someone, or herself. He reached out and grabbed her arm, trying to keep his grip gentle but firm.
"YOU'RE LYING!" Naruko was almost crying now, yanking her arm out of his hold, one clawed finger pointing accusingly at Sachiko. "She never cares about anyone but herself and her stupid sister, you think I'm lying then ask her yourself! I didn't go out of my way to help her, with Leigh-chan and the others nearly dying just so she could be a selfish bitch! I tried to help her and all she does is throw it back in my face and I am sick and TIRED of her! And I'm sick of you always worshipping the ground she walks on when she does nothing but push you around and call you names!" She was crying now, Naruko hadn't cried openly since Iruko-sensei had openly stated her belief in Naruko to Mizuko.
"I hate you Sachiko! I hate you! I wish you actually had killed me, 'cause then at least everyone would be right! At least they'd have a reason to treat you like crap! All you ever do is care about yourself, your own problems, you never even bother to think anyone else may have something to be upset about, and I hate it! Maybe you should have gone to Orochimayu! You selfish bitch!"
It had only taken almost four years, but finally Sachiko had managed to do what she'd tried to back at the Valley - break that bond with Naruko.
Only she didn't expect it to cause her stomach to twist into tight, painful knots, or for it to leave the taste of ash in her mouth. It was a hollow victory in more ways than one. She knew Naruko meant what she said. Those eyes... They weren't the same eyes Sachiko would see in the mirror occasionally, but she knew what hate looked like.
And yet... Part of her was calm. Relieved, almost. If Naruko hated her and their bond was broken, that meant the weren't closest friends anymore. Which meant there was no chance of getting the Mangekyou from her death. Which meant Naruko was safe.
She closed her eyes, her shoulders falling a fraction of an inch.
But the hatred wasn't complete. Not yet.
So Sachiko would make it complete. Because it would protect the blonde.
She opened her red-and-black eyes again, showing nothing of the emotions swirling inside. Instead she sneered and crossed her arms. "Finally, you begin to understand what I tried to tell you from the very beginning." She spat, aiming for near her own foot. "Dobe."
"You don't mean that!" Sakurai yelled at Sachiko, disbelieving of what he was seeing happen. He didn't wait for her to respond, turning back to Naruko quickly. "She doesn't mean that! Naruko, we're your friends, your teammates, we love you! Please, just calm down-!" Sakurai just didn't know what to do. He was a logically-minded person, at least he liked to think of himself that way. Naruko wasn't, though. If there was one thing he'd learned about her in their time in the came cell it was that 'reason' was an abstract thing as far as she was concerned. She'd need proof, something she could feel and know was real, so he reached out to her again intent to pull her into an embrace.
Sakurai, don't! The thought became action as Sachiko grabbed the back of Sakurai's shirt and yanked him back. It was too late for hugs; Naruko was practically Kyuubi. All she needed was the fiery chakra to shroud her form and the eyes to lose any last traces of blue. Sachiko didn't know if the hug would actually work, and honestly? She didn't want to risk it. She already lost one best friend today.
She didn't want to lose another immediately after.
Muscles tensed and Naruko was moving, fist pulled back as the fiery chakra boiled up to engulf her arm, stretching and shifting as she launched herself at Sachiko. The snarl that tore out of the blonde's throat seemed to condense in the air, her chakra fist missing Sakurai as it extended to strike the girl behind him, the heat radiating off of her enough to make the air around her ripple.
Sachiko didn't even have the time to swear as the chakra fist caught her in the stomach, knocking the air from her even as she went flying. Stars exploded in her vision as she went through a tree trunk while pain wrapped around her body like a well-known lover. She didn't go through the second tree, but she did impact it good. She stayed there a few moments, embracing the physical pain. That she much preferred to the emotional.
She opened the seal, not fully, but enough that the black flame marks spread over half her body. She wouldn't go level two if she could help it, but with Naruto Kyuubified, Sachiko didn't want to take chances. Rising to her feet she forcibly shoved away the pain and, hands in pockets, walked out to where the others, especially Naruko, could see her.
She said nothing, but the cold distain in those blood-red eyes spoke volumes. Is that all you've got, Uzumaki Naruko?
Crouching on all fours as the chakra enveloped her completely, Naruko's eyes slid to a molten red, snarling in anger. She dropped down, then rushed forward, her chakra tail whipping like a banner behind her, the fox ears lying flat against her skull as she lashed out again.
Sakurai couldn't stop seeing their bodies. It was one of the many things Orochimayu had showed him, with genjutsu and other far more gruesome means. He couldn't remember how many times he'd been made to see both of them die, how many different ways. Naruko more than Sachiko -- Orochimayu had been much more fond of wearing her face and messing with his mind in ways that could only be done with Sachiko very much alive...
No, no, gods no not again please no- Sakurai's so often clear mind was getting more and more fogged with panic as he watched the two fight, the two he always failed at protecting, from themselves, from each other. Naruko might have gotten the lower marks in school, but everyone knew who the useless one of the team was. hissed a dark voice that was always so often at the back of his mind.
He launched himself forward, thinking only that he couldn't watch them dying again.
Not only was Naruko already growing tails, but once again Sakurai was putting himself between Naruko and Sachiko--putting himself where where he didn't belong.
She sprinted forward, slamming into Naruko before Sakurai could get hit. She bowled Naruko over and rolled with her, and tried not to think about how the chakra burned, or how it stank, or how it made her stomach churn violently with nausea. She kept them rolling, throwing all of her considerable seal-strength to keep from being pinned.
The hybrid, that dark voice whispered. Use the hybrid. Naruko broke the bond with you, but you’re still clinging to it like a pathetic weakling. Use the hybrid. Break the bond. Kill her and gain the eyes you need to destroy Itae.
Sachiko snarled. At the voice, at Naruko, at everything and nothing. The voices in her head, she decided, really needed to shut the fuck up.
She had to de-Kyuubify Naruko. She’d been reading the archives and had seen a mention of something called mindwalking. She hadn’t found the scroll that had actually talked about the technique (it's uses or implementations), but they way it was mentioned it required the fully-formed Sharingan and it didn’t seem like it was the same as the mangekyou. Instead of creating a pockt of reality, mindwalking allowed the walker to interact with the other person's psyche directly. She had to calm Naruko down, which meant talking to her, and talking to her while she was surging with Kyuubi's chakra wasn't going to happen.
Let this work, she pleaded silently to Whoever might be listening. Grabbing Naruko’s throat (the only way to guarantee the blonde wouldn’t bite her), she locked gazes with Naruko and pushed.
And wanted to scream as the red fire engulfed her completely.