**Authors Note:
Told you I wouldn't keep you waiting :D
Let's keep this battle rolling!
Again let me know what you all think. Vote, comment and of course enjoy! :)
**
Sasuke
I didn't think she'd actually do it and then part of me was somewhat offended that she would. I had seen her put both her hands on the hilt of her katana and when she brought it around I could see it happening in slow motion. It made me flinch, I heard someone shouting at her to stop. I heard her yell, but instead, nothing hit. I opened my eyes slowly and glanced to the side. Rin's blade was stuck in the cement right beside my head. Rin's arms were shaking as her head faced the ground.
"I can't do it" She breathed, shaking her head.
"I-I can't..." I caught her wrist and felt her tense.
"Seems you're the one standing in my shadow, Princess" I mocked and slammed my foot into her torso. Her grip left her katana and she slid across the ground. I pulled her Katana from the wall.
"You kill for a living Rin; you've killed innocent people. You've killed more people than Itachi and I combined! How are you not desensitized to this!?" I spat at her. She sat up slowly, and wiped the blood from the corner of her lip.
"Because I have regretted every single one" She replied coldly.
"Every kill, every man, woman or even child that I was hired to kill. I regret all of them. I have no reason to kill you Sasuke and I refuse to sink to your level. I'm here to stop you, both of you" She said firmly. I turned slamming my heel into the side of her head causing her to roll against the ground. I was beside her in seconds and put my foot on her throat before she could move.
"All you had to do was help me kill Itachi, that's all I've ever asked of you Rin" I said calmly.
"It didn't have to be like this"
"It still doesn't" She managed to choke out as I pressed down on her neck.
"This time, I'll make sure you die" I looked to the sky, the dark clouds and lightning flickering through them. Just as I had planned.
"I don't have very much chakra left" I admitted as the rain began to fall.
"However I came here prepared to kill you both, and this is one justu that can't be blocked or evaded. Just like the Amaterasu or your dark chakra" I explained as Rin caught my ankle, trying to keep some of the weight off her neck.
"I-Itachi can still get away" She tried but I put more weight onto my foot.
"He wouldn't leave you behind" I replied and her eyes widened in the realization. To exploit his only weakness, I had to overcome mine. I had to threaten Rin's life to ensure Itachi wouldn't simply leave the battle.
"This is the end, Rin"
Zetsu
I realized then, that Sasuke had planned this from the beginning. The set up for this jutsu. That fire jutsu wasn't meant for Itachi or Rin. It was to change the temperature in the atmosphere, to create his own storm, his own lightning. Now he has no need for his own chakra, instead, he'll take advantage of the enormous energy above him to create a lightning style jutsu. The lightning began build around us, drawing closer to the centre of the hideout. Itachi seemed to not notice, the chains had fallen and now he could only focus on Rin pinned to the ground and struggling to breath. I noticed him flinch when Sasuke took both their katanas and forced them through Rin's forearms keeping her pinned to the floor. Rin's scream seemed to paralyze him as he knelt on the roof, unsure of his next move.
"This will be like nothing you've ever seen" He shouted above her scream as the chidori appeared in his hand. He jumped away from her then, Rin struggling to even move her arms. Sasuke gained height as he jumped to the highest point of the hideout. This was on a completely different scale of what anyone could create, even using change in chakra nature. I could see Rin gathering dark chakra but even she needed to weave hand signs to apply it.
"This jutsu guides the lightning down from the heavens all I have to do is merely direct it's power right at you" Even Itachi wouldn't be fast enough to avoid that.
"This jutsu is called Kiri" He shouted and Itachi finally looked up, the sound of it becoming deafening as a beast formed. Itachi's eyes were wide as he looked up at Sasuke.
"Now be gone with the thunderclap!" Itachi shot forward as the beast followed Sasuke's movements. I had to avert my eyes when the light became blinding. The explosion tore apart the building and I barely managed to avoid the debris as I switched hiding places. I waited until things settled before looking back. Sasuke let the lightning die from his hand, his Sharingan fading.
"It's over" He breathed as he dropped to his knees, but when the dust settled there he was. Leaning over Rin, using his body as a shield.
"Is the death you had imagined for us then?" Sasuke's eyes shot up at the sound of his voice, his curse mark releasing.
"Damn you!" He screamed, obviously frustrated but Itachi didn't seem to hear him as he looked down at Rin. I noticed their hands connected, dark chakra circling both. A red and black aura erupted from the both of them as a skeleton formed around them, a shield. Itachi used his other hand to remove the blades from Rin's arms before he helped her stand.
"If I hadn't had this, we'd both be dead. You really have gotten stronger Sasuke" He admitted.
"Now I'm going to reveal to you my final trump card" He continued.
"The Susanoo"
Itachi
This was my last chance and I knew it. I didn't have much time left. Every jutsu I used only brought me closer to the end and by now I was right at the door but I had to save Rin, I didn't have a choice. I knew Sasuke had tried to kill her once before, but to see him attempt again first hand had proven to be too much. I was pushing him too far. This battle needed to end, quickly. Rin was leaning into me as the Susanoo took on its full form. Her arms trembling from the pain, but her focus was our hands, the dark chakra crawling from her skin onto mine.
"Y-You used my dark chakra" Was the first thing she said.
"I've borrowed it, briefly. My body can no longer withstand it like yours" I replied.
"But I still need it." I admitted.
"For what?" She demanded as she stepped from my grip, releasing my hand.
"Dark chakra isn't something to mess with Itachi, it has serious consequences if channeled through another body that can't host it" She scolded and I sighed.
"We need to draw out Orochimaru"
"Orochimaru is dead Itachi" She reminded and I shook my head.
"Not completely, Sasuke absorbed his power. He reversed the jutsu Orochimaru was going to use to take his body." I explained.
"So Orochimaru..."
"Is inside Sasuke" she finished and I nodded.
"Your dark chakra can draw him out completely, I've already forced Sasuke to use up all his tricks. I need you to finish this" Rin stared at me, then glanced at Sasuke then at the sky that had already begun to clear.
"Alright" She agreed as her eyes faded to her mangekyo.
"I can do this" She confirmed and black marks appeared across her body as she turned her back to me and faced Sasuke.
"I've got this" She said more to herself than to me. She started hand signs then and the dark chakra focused to her arms.
"Black labyrinth jutsu!" She spread her hands out and the dark chakra met with the shadows, connecting together like a puzzle as iIt grew higher and higher creating a dome around us. The chakra became dense enough to block out the sun. Rin released a slow breath and I noticed Sasuke staring at the dome.
"W-What is this?" I asked. I could barely see Sasuke from where we were, the only light that remained was from the aura of the Susanoo.
"It sucks out chakra, usually I form it into more of a maze but that's not what we need it for right now" She explained and when I looked towards Sasuke, I could see what little chakra he had left leaving him.
"This should do the trick" She stated and as if on cue Sasuke lurched forward grasping at his curse mark. He screamed as serpents shot out of his shoulder. I recognized this jutsu and I knew Rin did as well.
"Orochimaru's eight-headed serpent jutsu" I noted and Rin nodded.
"It's him alright" Rin agreed. The serpent hissed and flinched away when it hit the walls, but the walls didn't even shake. Rin's jutsu was powerful and only gained strength from those trapped within its walls.
"I can't hold this jutsu for long, so what do you need?" She demanded.
"A clear hit, not at the snakes but at Orochimaru." I explained.
"So you think he's somewhere in that?" She questioned.
"Yes" She released a slow breath then and brought her hands together.
"Looks like it's my turn for this jutsu" She replied, her gaze focusing on the serpent.
"Rin, wait you shouldn't..."
"We don't have time for this Itachi, I can still save you but every second you hold this jutsu your heart get's weaker!" She argued.
"It's like you said; we've exhausted Sasuke's abilities, he can't fight anymore. I can knock him out and get you both to a hospital. Just let me do this!" She begged and I fell silent, the realization hitting me then. She was still trying to save me; she was still trying to save Sasuke. She may have come on her own accord but even in that was still the decision to keep us both alive. To keep us safe.
"You're not ready" I whispered under my breath. She either chose to ignore it or didn't hear me at all. She wasn't ready, she wasn't ready to lose me or to help Sasuke heal. No matter what I did or could do, she would never be ready. This was my one miscalculation, my one mistake; that Rin would not be prepared for this. After all these years, she was still too gentle. I released a slow breath and put a hand on her shoulder, trying to give any support that I could.
"Go ahead" I finally said, and at this point it was the only thing I could say. It didn't take her long to complete the hand signs and I heard her say it under her breath.
"Amaterasu"