Shadow of the Night

Chapter 2

Genin are quite annoying. 

Walking with the kids was like traveling with a beacon. I really didn't want to attract the attention of Orochimaru's subordinates, however I still haven't sensed their chakra.

Another thing to worry about; Asaki. She was five years younger than me, so I had kind of adopted her as my baby sister. If she was caught, I wouldn't forgive myself.

"Hey lady! Where are you from?" The boy Naruto kept bothering me with questions. Also there was something about him...

I closed my eyes and searched into his chakra. I could feel a massive amount of the kid's blue chakra; it was warm and quite inviting. However, as I looked closer, I saw a hidden source of malevolent energy. The glowing red power repelled me, and I realized he must be a jinchuriki for kyubbi. What an interesting group. 

I walked next to the jounin, seeing as he wouldn't let me walk behind him. Smart man.

"Where did you come from?" The question came from the man beside me this time. Before I could answer, the other boy, Uchiha Sasuke spoke sharply. "Kakashi-sensei!"

The jounin, Kakashi, nodded. So they finally noticed our tail. Nothing to worry about, just low level chunin shinobi. I smirked as I felt one tense in the bush to my right. My smirk was replaced with a slight frown as I felt seven more sneak into my radar. I sighed, not wanting my traveling group to get in the way. I really needed their assistance getting to the Hokage, and didn't need one of them inured. The enemy shinobi were probably after me anyways.

"Stop." 

My group halted, surprised, and the pink haired girl gasped as I pulled a shadow to cover them completely. I then jumped on top of the dome. My shadows solidified underfoot, creating a protective cave for my traveling partners.

"Come out where I can see you all!" I shout. One by one, the ninjas crept out of the forest, surrounding me in a lazy circle.

"Yuro no kage! You killed our master! Prepare to meet your end!" (An: yuro no kage- shadow of the night). The leader was quite a bit bigger than me, but I wasn't worried. A shadow solidified in my hand, forming seven kunai. Not waiting for them to attack, I flung the weapons at the foolish shinobi. The captain, whom I then recognized as Gorou, barely had time to blink. He took a shaky step back as his comrades fell to the forest floor. 

Gorou had been the second in command to an important feudal lord of the Land of Lighnting. Hiroshi, who had been embezzling money from the government, became a blip on my radar. 'Yuro no kage' had been my only known name in most lands' bingo book. I hadn't killed many people after Asaki and I left the Akatsuki, however Hiroshi had recently been causing trouble. I decided to kill him after I witnessed him beat a woman in the street.

I jumped over Gorou, flipping in the air, then dropped to the ground, kicking his legs out from under him. Shadowy shackles twisted around the mans wrists and ankles as I approached.

"Have you come across my partner today?" The only real use I had for the worthless piece of shit; he might have seen Asaki on his way settle the score with me.

The man paled and shook his head. I sighed, and without much thought, sunk my katana into his chest.

My shadow dome suddenly exploded with a burst of lighting, revealing the group of mildly freaked out shinobi. The jounin, Kakashi, let his Lightning jutsu fizzle out as he saw the incapacitated enemy shinobi. The raikiri, I thought. I knew it; Kakashi of the Sharingan. The Copy Nin. I'll have to watch my back, especially since he doesn't exactly trust me. That's one shinobi I really don't want to go up against. I wonder if he really has the eye...

"Sorry about that, I needed to get rid of some visitors, and I wouldn't want you guys to get hurt."

Kakashi eyed me. I knew he was trying to figure out my motives. That man was smart, and I knew if I got on his bad side, things could turn ugly for me. I decided then I would try to not piss him off.

Feeling stiff, I stretched, cracking my back and unfortunately splitting my side stitches wide open. 

Goddamn it! 

I gasped as blood trickle down my side. My wound I received while escaping Orochimaru was deep, and Asaki had stitched it up as best she could.  I slumped, then fell to the ground, both hands trying unsuccessfully to staunch the bleeding.

*Quick 3rd person POV

Kakashi's eye widened and he swiftly knelt, pulling Hikari's shirt up a little to see the gaping slash in Hikari's side. "We're running home now. You three in front, stay vigilant." Kakashi picked up the woman, one arm supporting her back, the other behind her knees. She was barely awake at this point, eyes rolled back so only the whites were visible.

And with that, they jumped onto the trees.

Sasuke's POV

That woman is not doing so well. She all of a sudden just started bleeding! And if Kakashi-sensei is holding her, we are vulnerable to attacks. At least Naruto and Sakura are finally taking this seriously. For once Sakura's eyes were not trained on my back, but were warily watching the unconscious (and suspiciously strong) woman currently bleeding out in Kakashi-sensei's arms. Naruto had fallen into silence at last, his face had taken on a preoccupied expression. We sprinted in the direction of the gates.

*************************************

Two hours later, we were nearly there, and I could see the gate maybe 10 meters away. Unfortunately, we didn't make it before being assaulted.

Kakashi had his sharingan uncovered, and shouted a quick "Get down!" and we flattened against our respective tree branches, narrowly missed by the flying kunai. A dark haired woman was hurtling to Kakashi, and in the blink of an eye, Hikari was snatched away and tucked into the new arrivals arms. 

This new woman had the same raven hair as Itachi, and her red sharingan eyes flashed dangerously at the platoon. I assume she was Hikari's partner.

An Uchiha? I thought they were all killed by Itachi! Where did this girl come from? 

Kakashi moved forward, palms up in away that would seem careless. I could tell his indolent movements were to mask his frayed nerves. "Are you Hikari's partner? She is injured and we are taking her to a medic in Konoha. Will you accompany us?

The woman growled and clutched her friend closer. She quickly inspected her partner's laceration and pulse. I could tell the situation was serious, as the very aggressive Uchiha took a deep breath, and spat out "lead the way."

*AN

There wasn't an authors note on this one either?!

-Hanna