Chapter 19

I coughed, dodging another one of Kisame’s blows. I was weak, no surprise there, but I still managed getting myself into this mess. I think I just earned the “Dumbest Sixteen Year Old of the Year” award.

“Mia!” Gaara called, tossing me my weapon pouch, “Here!”

I lunged at Kisame, moving towards the weapon pouch. He dodged it, moving to the side, kicking the pouch to the other side.

I groaned, running backwards to the pouch.

Hurry, Katana urged, I sense more ninjas coming your way.

I mentally cursed; I was already in pain. I didn’t want to deal with more Akatsuki ninjas. I already had to deal with Nemo, after all.

As I leaned down to pick it up, Kisame punched me into the wall.

Ow, I thought.

I got back up in a pained manner.

Let me take over, Katana offered, You’re in too much pain. I’ll be able to handle it better.

I shook my head a little, my hand on my wounded stomach.

No, I refused, It’s my fight.

I raised my twin katana, lunging for Kisame, cutting the corner of his cloak off.

“Stupid little Nemo,” I muttered, jumping off the wall, kicking him in the back, and throwing my newly acquired kunai at him.

I felt a sharp pain in my stomach, my breath hitched, and I bent over.

I sank into the familiar unconsciousness.

Katana

I barely felt Mia’s pain. I would have to teach her how to heal herself when we get back to Konoha.

I looked at Kisame.

“Ready to play, Nemo?” I taunted, using Mia’s new nickname for the blue skinned ninja.

“It’s Kisame, you brat!” He yelled.

My eyes narrowed. I didn’t like being called names…

I lunged, cutting Kisame’s arm, though unfortunately, it stayed intact.

I continued cutting at his clothes, until they were just shreds. He managed to block any fatal blows.

“Ah!” Kiba yelled as he clutched his arm in pain. A kunai had been thrown into his arm.

Kisame took his chance, slamming me against the wall. Now I was angry.

“No one,” I snarled, pulling him off me, “And I mean no one touches me, or Mia, for that matter.”

I could feel the anger from before rise, the anger I had tried to suppress when he was giving Mia a beating. I could feel my hair grow, my eyes turn that cruel red I knew, my face losing any color it had, besides the bruises.

I punched him, slamming him into the wall beside him, making a small dent.

“That was for beating Mia,” I snarled, “I’m sure she’ll be happy to hear of your death.”

I was too absorbed in my anger to notice his leg kick me into the wall on the other side of the hall.

“You’re so dead,” Kisame growled, “You’re not getting out of this alive, little Miss Spirit Brat. I’m sure your death can pass for an accident.”

He raised his sword, ready to plunge into my chest.

I closed my eyes, ready for the absolute pain of being stabbed.

This is it…I thought, Sorry, Mia.

Clank!

The pain never came.

Opening my eyes a crack, a tall figure clad in a black robe and red clouds, long, silky black hair cascaded down his back in a gentle ponytail.

Itachi. My savior was Itachi.

Everyone stopped what they were doing, confused. Sasuke looked angry beyond belief, Gaara was barely restraining him, and Kiba was plainly confused. The ANBU’s emotions were unknown, of course.

“It’s unwise to kill her, Kisame,” Itachi stated emotionlessly, but I recognized that angry undercurrent in his tone.

My heart swelled. He had saved me – but I didn’t fully forgive him for that little incident in the dungeon.

He turned around to face me, his eyes holding surprising warmth in them.

I pushed his outstretched arm away, kneeing him in the stomach. I was one of the very few who could even touch him in battle, and he knew that. I kicked him, not surprised when he clutched my foot. I twisted in the air, kicking his head and landing on the ground a few inches from his head, then holding him down by the neck.

“My fiery Katana,” Itachi’s voice was barely audible, and I was sure I was the only one who heard him.

Everything was silent, until we heard distant footsteps.

To my relief, it was only Kankuro.

“Hurry the hell up!” He yelled, “Either we run, or we get the ANBU’s help!”

The ANBU nodded, taking off at full speed.

“Come on!” Kiba yelled, running off, “Let’s get out of here.”

I looked back down at Itachi. His eyes were emotionless. Pushing him back down, I ran off after the others, Sasuke by my side.

“Are you going to change back?” He asked quietly.

“Not till we get out of here,” I replied, “Mia’s badly hurt – she can barely handle the pain. It’s a wonder how she could still fight that Nemo dude…”

I could practically see the question in his eyes – so much like Itachi’s.

“It’s a tiny fish weakling Mia used to annoy him so she could escape.” I explained.

“Oh.”

We kept on running, almost catching up to the others, when I was jerked to a stop

An arm pulled me from Sasuke’s side, slamming me against the wall.

“What is it with people and slamming me against the freaking wall!” I asked, exasperated, with a newly formed headache. Leave it to the man I love to give me a headache.

“What the hell?” I groaned.

“You’re not going anywhere.” His husky voice was emotionless, as always.

I tried kicking him. “Not a chance.”

“Let her go, Itachi,” Sasuke snarled, inching closer cautiously.

“Foolish brother,” He smirked slightly, “I will not do that. “

I tried, again, to kick him. “Would you atleast give me some personal space? This is Mia’s body, you know.”

Itachi smirked. “No.”

“Asshole,” I muttered. Creepy asshole. “You do know that Sasuke’s right here you know?”

“Hn.”

“Itachi,” Sasuke snarled through clenched teeth, fists balled at his sides, “Let her go.”

“And what if I don’t?” He taunted.

Sasuke lunged at him, throwing a few shuriken. Itachi dodged, bringing me with him.

If not for the circumstances, I would have smiled at the contact Itachi and I made…

I sighed, knowing I’d have to get out of his arms sooner or later. I jabbed him in the stomach, running out of his arms once he released me.

“Run!” I yelled.

Sasuke stayed put.

“Run, you idiot! Run, damn it!” I yelled. He snapped out of it, running along side of me, at full speed.

Mia just had to pick a guy who chooses to be idiotic at the wrong times, doesn’t she? I thought.

We ran through the halls. “This way!” Sasuke yelled, turning a corner.

A sudden puff of smoke blocked the exit thirty yards away.

Why does Itachi have to be evilI thought, Why did I have to love the evil guy?

Notice the emphasis on the word ‘evil’.

“Fireball Jutsu!” Sasuke yelled, blasting a hole in the wall. An explosion rocketed the hallways.

Sasuke pulled me out and weak sunlight filtered through my eyes. We were outside.

Massive fighting was going on, ANBU and the Rookie Nine were fighting Akatsuki members, more coming with each passing minute.

We ran, signaling to the Leaf ninjas to retreat.

Tenten, the genius weapon mistress, planted a series of explosive tag when everybody left, running away to safety at the top of a nearby hill.

“Is everyone okay?” An ANBU member asked.

Everyone nodded, while Naruto stared at me.

“You’re not Mia!” He yelled, “Nice going Sasuke, you got the wrong girl! Now we’ve got to go get her again!”

He started walking, oblivious to the glares he got from numerous people.

I grabbed him by his collar, turning him to face me. “You didn’t get the wrong person, Naruto.” I stated.

“Mia? That’s you?” His eyes widened, “What happened to your hair?”

I tried suppressing the killing aura that was growing.

“First of all,” I said through clenched teeth, “I’m not Mia, and second, there is nothing wrong with my damn hair.”

Gaara and Sasuke stepped behind me.

“I sense your killing intent,” Gaara whispered, “Don’t kill him.”

“Though I wouldn’t really mind…” Sasuke whispered absentmindedly.

It’s like having an angel and devil on your shoulders.

“He’s lucky I don’t know where he lives…” I muttered.

Naruto, oblivious to our whispered conversation was staring at me.

“So…if you’re not Mia, then who are you?” He asked.

Everyone groaned, including me.

“Who do you think?” I asked. No answer. “Her spirit, dumb ass!”

“Oh!” Sudden realization claimed his face. “What was your name? Katai? Katan? Um…”

“Katana!” Sakura exasperated.

Idiot…I thought.

I could feel Mia wanting control now, so I decided to cut in.

“Mia’s itching for control now,” I said calmly, changing back to Mia’s body – black hair, blue eyes, short stature, etc.

“Goodbye, nice meeting you…and thank you.” I smiled, before letting go.

But not before I heard Naruto say, “Man, Mia’s spirit sure is weird…Is she bipolar?”

Stupid idiot…

Mia

I fell, though lucky for me, Sasuke caught me.

“Sup!” I greeted, slowly standing up, wincing at the pain.

“We need to go now,” Tenten said nervously, “My explosion tags won’t last much longer.”

“Right,” An ANBU said, “Let’s go!”

I tried to walk, but I was still in pain.

“Um, that’s a problem,” I said, “I can’t really move much without feeling extreme and excruciating pain…”

“I’ll carry you,” Gaara offered, though I had no time to respond, since he had already put me in his arms.

“Alright, now that that’s solved, let’s go!” Naruto exclaimed.

We started running, us in the back with a few other ANBU. I glanced at Sasuke, who looked kind of worried. I returned it with a smile.

“I’ll let him carry you later,” Gaara whispered in my ear.

“Huh?”

“I know you’re together,” Gaara smirked.

“What!” I exclaimed, “How’d you know?”

Sasuke looked annoyed. “He didn’t.” He replied.

“Oh…” I said slowly, realizing I’d been duped.

“Don’t worry,” He said, “I won’t tell.”

“Good.”

Glad we’re out of there…I thought.

I am too, somewhat. Katana agreed.

You miss Itachi, don’t you? I asked.

Obviously.

One question, I began, Did Itachi do anything…you know, weird?

Um, if you count him slamming me against the wall, and me kinda liking it weird, then yes…

Oh, God. I thought. You liked it?

Somewhat, she replied, I found our…closeness…rather nice.

Are you having wrong thoughts, Katana? I asked, slightly annoyed at the fact she probably was. And with Itachi in her fantasies, no less. Ew.

In my defense, Katana said, I’m four thousand years old. I think I’m old enough to have…inappropriate thoughts!

I’m not even going to comment. I thought.

I turned to Gaara. “So how’d you find out?”

“It was obvious,” He replied, “You guys spend most of your time together, Sasuke opens up to you more than most, you blush slightly – it’s almost unnoticeable though – when you’re around him, etc. Need I go on?”

“No.” I said, returning back to the fortress called my thoughts.

We had been running for a few hours – okay, everyone but me – when the ANBU decided it was safe enough to rest for a few minutes.

“Neji, Hinata, scout the area with your Byakugan,” Shikamaru instructed, “Shino, use your bugs to scout the area as well. Sakura, heal Mia’s injuries, and any others’ who can’t heal themselves.”

“We have four ANBU that were KIA.” An ANBU stated.

My eyes widened. For someone who was a kind of dunce when it came to ninja things, even I knew what KIA meant.

They died in battle. For me…life just keeps biting you in the ass, doesn’t it?

Sakura walked over to me, green chakra illuminating her hands.

“Where are you hurt?” She asked.

“Legs, stomach, back, head…basically everywhere…” I replied sheepishly.

“Wow, what’d they do to you?” She mused.

I chose not to answer.

“I don’t have enough chakra to heal everything,” Sakura began, “I need to heal others as well, so I’m just going to heal your legs and arms.”

I nodded. “That’s fine,” I said.

Her chakra infused hands tingled my skin at the touch, and soon I felt the pain ebbing away.

“Thanks,” I smiled, though in a rather pained way, considering I still had bruises and cuts on my face.

“No problem,” She smiled back, walking over to Neji, Tenten, and Ino, who seemed to have injuries.

I turned to Sasuke. I was at loss of words – what does a girl say to her boyfriend when she’s just been rescued from her kidnappers?

“So…what happened when you first tried to escape?” Sasuke asked.

I raised an eyebrow. “How’d you know I tried to escape?”

“We were there, but Shikamaru said to wait until you either escaped yourself or got captured.”

“Oh,” I said, “Nothing happened, really, I just tried to annoy the hell out of that fish guy – Kisame, I think it was – and it worked for the most part. I got lost, and Itachi knocked me out…”

I noticed Sasuke’s fists clenched at the mention of his brother’s name.

“Is that how you got those injuries?” He asked.

“No,” I replied, “It was part of my punishment – Kisame got to beat the hell out of me.”

“Well,” Sasuke said, “Atleast you’re alive…”

“I think we lost them,” Hinata stated.

“I agree,” Neji said.

“My bugs cannot sense any threats either,” Shino added.

Shikamaru nodded. “Let’s not risk it. We should get to Konoha as fast as possible.”

“How long is that going to take?” Choji asked, “I’m getting low on snacks.”

“If we keep the pace up,” An ANBU replied, “Two days, maybe three.”

“LET’S GO!” Naruto exclaimed, “I WANT RAMEN!”

I rolled my eyes.

Idiot…Katana said.

Gaara ran alongside me, silently, until I spoke up.

“I guess you couldn’t keep your promise, eh, Gaara?” I teased.

“Guess not,” He smirked.

“Are you going back to the Sand after we arrive in Konoha?” I asked. I didn’t want him to go. I missed him, after all.

“Not immediately,” He replied, “Temari would want to spend time with Shikamaru.”

“They’re getting pretty serious, aren’t they?” I snickered.

“Yes,” He said, “And if he touches her, he’s going to through hell.”

“A little overprotective, aren’t you?”

“She’s my sister, it’s natural.”

“You need a girlfriend,” I muttered, “Maybe then you’ll get a life…”

“I heard that, and for right now, I’m content on having your friendship. You never cease to amuse me.” He smirked.

“Hey! What’s that’s supposed to mean?”

“And as for love…” Gaara trailed off, ignoring my question, his eyes looking distant, “I’ll never find it.”

I followed his gaze, not really expecting to find anything – until my eyes landed on a certain Hyuuga heiress…

“You’re crushing on Hinata!” I exclaimed.

“No I’m not.”

“Gaara and Hinata,” I sang quietly, “Sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g! You know, if Neji finds out, he’s going to hunt you down and have a restraining order put on you.”

“I take back my liking our friendship,” Gaara muttered, “Just don’t talk about it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I replied.

Too bad she likes that idiotic Naruto…Katana muttered.

True…I agreed, She and Gaara do make a cute couple…

A few days later

The gates of Konoha opened. I was relieved to be out of the clutches of the Akatsuki.

I followed the ANBU and Rookie Nine to the Hokage tower, finding Tsunade drunk.

“What? Oh, you’re here!” She looked up to see me, “What happened to you?”

“Tried to escape. Didn’t work and I got beaten,” I replied, “Mind healing me?”

“No,” She drawled, her chakra infused hands doing their jobs, “Report, please.”

An ANBU handed her a manila file, before leaving.

“Okay, now get out! I wanna read this in peace, with my sake.”

Crazy alcoholic…I thought.

“Let’s go home,” Sasuke said.

“Yeah,” I nodded, “I’m dead tired. Sleep hasn’t sounded so good in a while.”

Sasuke smirked, for reasons I don’t know.

The walk home was silent, but I relished it, loving the feel of sunlight beating down on my pale skin, wind rushing through my face every few minutes, and those usually annoying birds that chirped non stop were actually soothing.

Sasuke opened the door for me, closing it behind him.

“So…” He trailed off, “As a welcome treat…”

“Yeah?”

My only answer was strong arms wrapping around my waste and soft lips claiming my lips. Finally catching on, I snaked my arms around his neck.

When we parted for air, I was a light pink.

“You always have that affect on me, you know,” I said.

“I know,” He replied, kissing my forehead, “Get some sleep, tonight I’ll cook dinner.”

I smiled, making my way to the stairs.

“Later.”

“I’ll see you later,” I said.

I took a quick shower, letting the hot water massage my sore muscles, washing the blood off my body.

Jumping into my bed, wearing random clothes I found in my drawer, I had one last thought before being dead to the world.

I’m finally home…

Later

“Wake up, Mia.”

“Go away,” I groaned, turning over, “I’m still sleeping.”

He probably would have left if not for the fact that my stomach grumbled right then, and I realized I was ravenous.

“Fine, then no dinner for you.”

“I’m up, I’m up!” I yelled, jumping up from my bed.

I heard Sasuke chuckle as I headed downstairs. Discovering a set table with delicious smelling food, I settled down and ate happily.

“You know,” Sasuke said as he sat down, “You were supposed to wait for me.”

I blushed. Oops! “Sorry,” I shrugged.

“Whatever.”

The rest of the dinner was spent quietly, though we had made conversation every now and then.

I yawned.

“Still tired?” Sasuke asked, disbelief coloring his tone.

“Not really,” I shrugged.

Sasuke stood up and lead me to the roof.

“Why are we on the roof?” I asked, yawning once again, “Especially when I could be sleeping?”

“You sound like Shikamaru, you know.”

“Whatever.”

“I just wanted to show you the stars. They’re beautiful at night, when all the lights are off.”

I marveled at the stars. “You’re right…aw, you romantic fool!” I teased, jabbing him in the stomach playfully.

Sasuke groaned quietly. “If you ever say that in public, you’ll regret it.”

I snorted. “Not if I’m able to run, I won’t,” I countered.

Sasuke lifted my face by my chin, making me stare into his eyes. We stared at each other, not moving, not realizing our lips inching closer and closer. I closed my eyes, letting him claim my lips. I forgot all my tiredness; I was lost in that moment, that second in time.

“I’m glad you’re back,” Sasuke whispered into my ear.

“Me too,” I agreed, “I’m finally home…with you.”

Author’s Note: Well, sadly, this was the last chapter. But don’t worry, I’m starting the sequel soon! Anyways...please review!