Chapter 16 - A Desperate Manuever

“Damn it! Yamato, Sakura, you two I can order! Go! With you two, I don’t have to worry about having corpses on my hands.” I’m so sorry I made that bet…I need Ekyt back. But I can’t apologize, it would make me look weak as a Hokage. I’ve got to catch him. He’s doing the right thing, and I know it…that’s what makes this so hard.

“Right!” Sakura and Yamato chased after Sai, Katsuyori, and Ekyt.

“How could you, Grandma?! First you bet AGAINST him, THEN you try to punish him, and you don’t even TOUCH the closet perv that caused this whole mess! I wish Old Man Third had never died! He was a great Hokage, he NEVER would have let this spiral out of control like you!” Naruto had swung an accusatory finger at Tsunade, and was shouting.

“Sasuke, Ino, go- What?!” Temari and Kimimaro squared off with Sasuke and Ino.

“You know what, Naruto? You’ve got a big mouth, but you made a good point. Ekyt never told us all this. Probably to protect the Hokage. Well, thanks for the heads up. You, the brooder and the anorexic blonde- you try to leave, you go through both of us!” Temari declared.

“Shizune! Time to get involved!” Tsunade shouted to her aid. But Shizune shook her head.

“No! You’re wrong! Hunting down three innocent boys is wrong! I’ll have no part of this, Lady Tsunade!” Shizune stepped to Naruto’s side. “Naruto’s right! He’s never done ANYTHING to hurt the Leaf Village! You’re driving away your most loyal Shinobi! This has to end!”

Kakashi was silent on the matter. But which way he was going to go on this was debatable. His comrades, his village, or his morals? One would be compromised, no matter what choice he made.

--

“Thanks for the help, Sai.”

Ekyt, Sai, and Katsuyori were hidden in, of all places, the Forest of Death. They had hunkered down under a giant tree root that was raised up. (As seen in the Chunin Exams in Naruto, where Sakura protects Naruto and Sasuke)

“I’m curious, though…” Ekyt muttered, cooking food as rapidly as he could, not wanting a fire to attract attention.

“Oh? About what?” Sai wondered. Katsuyori smiled; if HE was weird, then these two were something beyond weird.

“About why you’d help Katsuyori and I, to be honest. I’m thankful, and I trust you, but what made you decide?” Ekyt wanted to know, handing out the fish he had caught.

“It’s simple. Look at this file,” Sai’s smile seemed genuine. Ekyt took the file Sai was holding out to him, and noticed that it was about ANBU. It had Sai and Ekyt listed as squad mates, just before Ekyt’s unceremonious fight with Tsunade.

“Squadmates, huh? It’s a shame that never happened. It would have been “Bunbu Itchi”,” Ekyt smirked.

“Huh? Wait, I know what that means! ‘Pen and Sword in accord’! Why would that apply to the two of you?” Katsuyori wanted to know.

“Oh, that’s right, it’s a samurai term, of course you’d know. See, I do sword work, and Sai fights with his pen and brushes.” Ekyt explains. It was a lousy explanation to someone who hadn’t seen Sai’s jutsu before.

“How do you fight with a pen?!” Katsuyori couldn’t help but ask.

“Like this.” Sai made a fast drawing. “Great Beast Animation Jutsu!” The lion he had drawn had sprang off the page and to life. It sat next to Katsuyori, whose eyes were about to pop out of his head from shock. So this is how Ninja’s fight? It reminds me of the Mist Village…I should tell Ekyt…

“Hey, Ekyt…You should know…Sorry I didn’t say right away…but…” Katsuyori held up a Mist Village Hitai-ate!

“You’re a Mist Ninja?!” Ekyt exclaimed.

“Yeah…I’m a genin. But I don’t know much…after my father got killed, I quit school. That’s why the Mist tormented my family.”

Ekyt and Sai were silent. Gradually, Ekyt began to understand.

“If you’re a Mist Ninja…that’s why they’re hunting you, to return you…I get it. Well, there’s only one thing to do…”

Katsuyori gulped. But he needn’t have worried.

“Katsuyori, ninjutsu can assist your sword work. As I recall, the Seven Ninja swordsmen came from the Mist. I hate to say this…but to survive, you may HAVE to use any jutsu you know. I know you swore not too…because of your father…but I think he’d rather you were alive and well, and trying to carry on his name, than dead with all the morals in the world. It’s not your time to die for your beliefs. Sounds funny coming from me, but sometimes, you’ve got to bend your morals.”

“Ekyt-kun!” Sai pointed with two fingers. Ekyt looked and listened, but didn’t hear anything.

“Sai, your mice, can you send them out there? If we know who we’re facing…”

At that moment, Wood shot up from the ground. Sai grabbed Katsuyori and leapt up and away.

“Yamato…Sai, please, take Katsuyori and go! This is my fight…don’t let them take Katsuyori, he’ll be killed!” Ryouko pulled his mask down enough to get the chakra cigarette in, taking up a defensive guard.

“I will, Ekyt-kun!” Sai and Katsuyori took off into the distance.

--

Yamato’s wood tried to snare Ekyt’s ankle. Ekyt cut the wood with a chakra scalpel. He knew the odds were against him; Yamato was a jonin of the highest caliber. Talented or not, Ekyt was in trouble. He resigned himself to the fact that he may lose the fight, and tried to buy time.

“Shadow Clone Jutsu! Dragon’s Ember Jutsu!” Ekyt shouted, taking out the wood as quick as it came. There was no point in stealth anymore; Yamato had probably already reported where Ekyt was. The smoke wouldn’t matter now.

Yamato showed himself, and landed in front of Ekyt.

“I’m very sorry it’s come to this, Ekyt. But we have no choice. That boy is a missing-nin from Kirigakure. We have to return him.” Yamato looked genuinely sorry.

“He’s gone. If you want him, you’ll have to take me down. One thing, Yamato-sensei, and just be honest- how many others are with you?” Ekyt asked quietly.

“Just one. If it makes you feel better, all of Team Kakashi quit the mission, except myself…and Sakura…we both answer to Lady Tsunade directly, we don’t have a choice.

“You’re only doing your duty; the same as I’m doing mine. I don’t answer to the Hidden Leaf anymore; I wish I did. But I can’t, Yamato-sensei. After being betrayed like that…all I can do is try to make things right for myself. And I’m going to start by protecting that boy. He’s done nothing wrong. It’s not his fault. Just like it wasn’t my fault, losing that match…Should I be so bitter,Yamato-sensei?” Ekyt mused.

Yamato looked down. “You deserve better, I won’t deny it. But you can’t fight the system like this. You’ve got to get back on the horse that threw you off…You can’t leave your life behind…Even if I would have done the same thing. Tsunade-sama realized she made a mistake, but she can’t apologize, it would make her look weak. Or so she believes.”

“She would look HUMAN, just like the rest of us! HYAH!” Ekyt cut a vine that was snaking around his leg. “Looks like our conversation is over, then.”

“It is…but, at least, talk to Sakura...”

“Until she gets here, we fight. You didn’t come to talk me down, or you wouldn’t be trying so hard with this damn wood!” Ekyt snapped another attack in half.

“Wood Prison Jutsu!” Yamato shouted. Wood sprang up all around Ekyt.

“Dragon’s Immortal Circle!” Ekyt burst through the wood with his fire attack, and aimed for Yamato. Yamato used a “Wood Pillar” jutsu to create a blockade of wood. Ekyt dodged around the pillars, but the fire in his hand had gone out. Instead, he opted for a genjutsu. After so much practice, he could use his specialty, the Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique, without handsigns.

“Release!” Yamato said aloud, just in time to block Ekyt’s dynamic entry. Ekyt had to scurry away, as the wood began to chase him. He ran up a tree, then bounded off, tossing exploding tags on the wood as he went down. He hit the ground, and saw Sakura.

“Remote Detonation Jutsu!” Ekyt detonated the tags, ruining the wood.

Right after Sakura came Kakashi. But Kakashi had his headband raised. Ekyt swore to himself.
shoot, this isn’t good! I can’t match Kakashi with that Sharingan!

But Kakashi faced Yamato. “I can’t let my comrades die, Yamato. Ekyt is one of them, and he’s right. Your opponent is me!”

Ekyt couldn’t believe it. “Kakashi-sensei…thank you. I owe you…”

“Never mind. Just handle the other enemy!” Kakashi called, his Sharingan eye raised.

--

“Sakura…” Ekyt didn’t want to face her. But it didn’t look like their was a choice in the matter.

“Ekyt-kun…come here.” Sakura opened her arms, showing she wasn’t going to attack. Cautiously, Ekyt approached her.

“You’re right, about this whole thing, you know. I’m sorry you’re going through this…” Sakura opened her arms and embraced Ekyt. Ekyt blushed, and was just opening his mouth to finally say the dreaded three words- I love you. But that wasn’t to come to pass today.

“Forgive me…” Sakura whispered. She jammed her chakra-laced hand into Ekyt’s stomach, in a strike that rendered the target unconscious. But Sakura had seen the look of sadness in Ekyt’s eyes before he slumped onto her shoulder. She pushed it aside and put his unconscious body onto her shoulder.

“Captain Yamato!” Sakura shouted. Yamato and Kakashi, who had just clashed kunai, looked at her.

“Good job, Sakura. Kakashi-sempai, our fight is over. My problem ended the second he was apprehended. I hope you understand.”

“I do. Go on. You’ve got your prisoner. I’ll head back in a little bit…Let that be a lesson, Ekyt. You can’t always trust your friends not to betray you, or leave you…” Kakashi headed toward the memorial stone.

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