Hey guys! Sooooo....it's August 20th! What's that? Well, yes, it is Demetria Devonne Lovato's birthday today, but that isn't just it. It's the two year anniversary of my wattpad account!! Yeaaayy! And so guess what...? I've decided I am going to upload a shit ton of chapters for each of my stories!! Yaay! So...let the shit ton begin here!
Remember, the mammoths will erupt from the frozen tundra of Antartica (I don't really know how to spell it :/.....) and become living again if you share and vote for this story ;)
Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you're excited for more ;)
~Stephanie ;)
"So, what'd he say?" Toge asked me when I put myself back together and went back to the arena. I plastered on a smile, for her sake.
"He said that he'd have Kakashi and some ANBU deal with those two. Neither of us will be joining the Akatsuki." I assured her. A smile spread on her face, too. I didn't realize how long I had been gone until I noticed that the battle was with Choji and Dosu. I also noticed, that Dosu had just won.
"I've been gone for this long?" I asked Toge. She nodded and pouted.
"You really missed out. The matches are even better in real life." She praised. I laughed. I wondered how Lee was doing. Probably not very good.
"I will now explain the third round." The Hokage announced when everyone got down to the main arena. Toge followed with the others, but I stayed on the railing, overlooking them. I noticed how beat up and exhausted they all were. How could they take that much? It was obvious, they had a clear objective. I gripped the railing, making my knuckles turn white.
"Hey, Kuraun? Are you alright?" Sakura asked me. I forgot that I wasn't alone on the railing. I released my death grip from the railing, and let out a heavy sigh, leaning over the railing, resting my head in my hands.
"Just...confused. The Hokage never makes understanding things easy." I told her. She smiled.
"You're right. He always has some odd metaphor for everything. It confuses me, too." She laughed. I smiled. At least I was getting along with Sakura better.
I then looked back at the genin in the arena. I looked at them, one by one, thinking about which ones would die or get seriously injured if I failed. I couldn't fail. The fact that they weren't fake, that they were now real people, in this real world was enough motivation for me. I didn't want them to suffer loss, or to suffer with unneeded pain that war would bring.
"Kuraun? You seem really...distraught." Sakura pointed out, shaking me out of my thoughts. I sighed.
"I'm tired. As always, I guess." I laughed. She nodded, and kept listening. Before I knew it, I was the only person in the small building. Everyone had left. I sighed and turned around, heading...well somewhere, I just wasn't sure where yet. But a body stopped me.
"You seem quite out of it. What's with that? From what I've seen, you're never off your guard." Kankuro mocked. I walked passed him, heading straight for the door.
"Hey! Don't ignore me!"
"Fine. I won't. But why do you care? Last time I checked, you were threatening me." I told him stoically while I lazily pushed open the door. He looked at me confused.
"Yeah, I know...but with the effort you made, and what you said to Gaara..." He didn't finish. He didn't need to, either.
"I know it was sudden, and out of line. I apologize for that."
"Wha- really? I mean, how did you even know that, anyway?" I sighed, taking a seat on the grass right outside the arena. Kankuro sat next to me.
"I know what is going to happen to you all. I know what has happened to you all. I can't explain it, for reasons you don't need to know at the moment, but I just think you should know that I can. And that I have a good reason for everything." I paused, unsure of what I should say next.
"Make sure you tell your siblings that, too." I said, pursing my lips.
"What do you mean? Why would I tell them that?" I sighed, looking down at my lap.
"I don't know. Just...please do it as a favor, alright? Promise me?" I asked him.
"Uh, sure. I promise." I smiled a bit.
"Thank you, Kankuro. Now, I should probably be going. I'm a little overwhelmed." I told him, a smile still on my face.
"Overwhelmed? From what?" He asked as I stood up. I brushed myself off before answering.
"Just...this place, I guess." I admitted before walking away. Man, was I ready to get some sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Kuraun! Kuran!!" I started to wave my arms above my head as the voice called my name. I finally felt something, and I hit it harder with my hand, and received a slap back.
"Kuraun, wake up or I will slap you again!" I opened my eyes, and l sat straight up.
"Oh, hey Thorns. Uh...this isn't home...?" I started, getting on my feet. Toge sighed.
"No, you fell asleep under a tree. I came to get you. It's morning." I yawned, indicating she was right.
"Then shouldn't we get back?" I asked her, heading toward the village. She nodded.
"Yeah, we should. Listen, Kuraun. I have something to ask you." She started as we started to walk.
"What is it?" I asked, yawning once again.
"Well, you said you wanted to stop the war from ever happening. That mark Orochimaru made on Sasuke's neck, I decided to look into the gold around it. I think that you made your own curse mark on him too." I coughed at the comment, and kept looking at my feet.
"Yes, and?"
"And I think it released him from the curse Orochimaru gave him." My pace slowed, taking in what she said.
"How do you mean?"
"Well, I looked into the villages files on Orochimaru, and I found something that told me how he made the curse marks. He poured some of his chakra, some of his soul, into those people. Whoever can maintain it, can keep it. You did the same thing. To heal him, you poured your chakra into him. And since it was light, of course he could maintain it. Don't you think that because of that, things are going to change?" She asked, excitement in her voice. I kept my slow pace.
If that in fact did save him, then what had I just done? What had I just talked about with the Hokage? Would his power in the village help it, or just make Naruto weaker? My plan was based around that fact that Sasuke was going to leave the village. If he wasn't going to, then what was I supposed to do?
"Kuraun?" I sighed, quickening my pace a bit.
"I don't think so. He still has the mark. He might seek out Orochimaru still for power, however little it may be." I told her. He had to go if I was to complete my plan and stop the war before it even happened. I needed to convince him.
"Why are you thinking that? This could change everything!" She complained, still excited. I shook my head.
"No matter what the Akatsuki still exists. Even if Sasuke stayed in the village-"
"They could be defeated even easier and even sooner! With Sasuke and Naruto working together-"
"We don't know if they will work together if he doesn't leave!" I snapped, stopping and looking at her. She furrowed her eyebrows and frowned.
"Of course they will. It's Sasuke and Naruto." She reasoned, crossing her arms.
"They have a feud that no matter what will last them forever. It could tear each other apart." I said, my voice getting calmer.
"Even if they fight together, they will inevitably end up fighting each other. No matter if Sasuke leaves, or if he stays, the Akatsuki will continue its rein, and use their feud against each other. There is no escaping the wrath of the Akatsuki by just letting it play out." I explained. She sighed and started walking again, and I followed.
"I wanted to know what you wanted to do, then. If Sasuke doesn't leave the village, we could work together, the four of us, Naruto included, and we could defeat the Akatsuki. Pein would be even easier to destroy." She suggested. I nodded, and smiled, going along with that.
"I agree. And what about if Sasuke leaves?" I asked her. A huge grin spread across her face.
"Then we can help Naruto, Shikamaru, Choji, Neji and Kiba get him back. This time, that mission won't fail." She smiled. I kept my smile on, too.
"Looks like we've got one heck of a plan." I smiled. She nodded. And I swear, in that moment, I felt my heart break and fall out of my chest.
_______________________________________________