Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or the picture that I got this idea from.
Just so you know, this happens during Naruto, not many years after, and if you don't feel comfortable with a pairing of Young/Old, get over it. With what's going to happen in this story, this will be the least of your concerns. Evil grin
Ages:
Everyone is a year older, so 12s are 13s, 13s are 14s, etcetera, etcetera.
And yes, Sakura and Ino both have short hair. No spoilers, just that they're all chuunins now, and I know you know whom I'm talking about.
Oh! I forgot! One more warning, there's character death. Ok, character deaths . . . a LOT of character deaths.
Dead LoveSlowly, the crowd began to thin, until only Team Seven was left.
Naruto stared at the stone with sullen eyes, arms hanging loosely by his side. Sakura had stopped crying awhile ago and now just sat on the ground at her teammates feet. Sasuke, on the other hand, looked as he always did; no emotion, glaring at everything, hands in pockets, the usual. But, you could tell, under all that indifference, he was sad, just like the rest of them.
Crawling forward, Sakura touched the cold stone, running her fingers over the newly added name, Hatake Kakashi.
"So . . ." Naruto started after a while, "Who wants Ramen?"
Though he didn't receive an answer, Sasuke started back to the village, which would have been a yes, while Sakura stayed in her position, kneeling in front of the K.I.A. stone, obviously a no.
As the two young men walked away, the pink haired kunoichi couldn't help but notice how familiar it seemed. I'm always behind those two, and now with Sensei gone, no one will come back for me.
With one last slide of a tiny hand over the engravings and a sad look, the girl got up and headed home, sadness consuming her at the thought of never seeing her sensei again, getting a new sensei, and being alone for the rest of her time.
A female figure stalked out of the bar, palm throbbing from the smack she delivered to a certain dark brown haired jounin with a certain senbon in his mouth. Actually, the throbbing hand twirled a long metal stick, a smirk making its way to her face, the sendon that was in his mouth.
Her bright, red eyes flashed in the moonlight that shone down upon her with all its grace and glory, lighting her way to the memorial stone.
"You were right," Kurenai whispered once she had gotten there, "Asuma and I are a great couple. And-" at this part, she choked back the tears, "And, I'll never be able to say thank you."
A groan sounded behind the jounin, but before she could turn to see whom it was, a hand slapped itself over her mouth, and she was pulled into the woods to her left.
Even though she couldn't tell who had captured her, the fact that a chunk was missing out of the dirty arm, (she could see the humerus) did frighten her quite a bit, since it seemed not to bother the person pulling her through the coppice. As much as Kurenai struggled, tried to use a jutsu, even make a grab for her weapons, she couldn't; didn't know why, or how, she just . . . couldn't.
That's to bad really; it might have saved her from the pain.
"Alright, where is she!" Kiba shouted angrily, drumming his fingers on his knee while his head rested in his right hands palm.
"K-Kurenai-s-sensei?" Hinata stammered, blushing when Kiba's dark eyes found their way to hers.
"Yeah, why is she so late?"
"Maybe Asuma held her up." Shino interjected, the light glinting off his sunglasses.
Hinata blushed deeply, while Kiba grinned perversely, "Hell yeah!"
But suddenly, the very person that they were talking about, including his students, walked by, heading to the training grounds.
Kurenai's team looked at each other before running over to them.
"Asuma-sensei! Asuma-sensei!" Kiba panted, stopping in front of them.
"Hmm? What is it Kiba?" He asked, looking at the three faces.
"Yeah, can't you see we're busy?" Ino asked snobbishly, glowering at them with her fisted hands on her hips.
"Do you know where Kurenai-sensei is? She never showed up."
Concern played over the older man's face after hearing that, "No training today, instead, we will look for Kurenai," Asuma turned to his girlfriends students, "And you three will help, won't you?"
"Of course we will!" Kiba shouted, punching his fist into the air.
Shino only nodded while Hinata stammered that she could get her cousin, Neji, to help them as well.
"Alright, where was the last place you saw her?"
"S-She said s-she was g-going-g to the f-fores-st in-in search of a r-rare fl-flower that she c-couldn't get in t-town."
"Good, we will start there. Everyone, do what you have to do!"
The group split up respectively and headed to their destinations.
"She might just be sick," Neji said while the two Hyuuga's jumped through the trees.
"K-Kurenai-sensei c-could be-be s-sick. I-I supp-ppose."
"You go left, I'll take the right," they went their separate ways at the fork in the forest, not knowing of the evil that was still traveling through it.
Asuma was alone now, searching for the woman he was going to propose to, the sapphire ring, that had been burning a hole through his pocket for weeks, felt as though it had grown a ton and was pulling his stomach down with it.
Dropping from the tree, the jounin leaned against it, the tree's cortex digging into his back as he slid down and settled into a relaxed posture, sighing.
"Where are you Kurenai? I hope you're ok, I love you so much." He mumbled, touching the pocket that held the ring.
Just as Asuma was about to stand and continue his search, pain engulfed his face and his vision blackened. Screaming, the jounin grabbed his bleeding eyes, or, his bleeding eye-sockets, since his eyes weren't there anymore.
Kiba and Akamaru turned and ran in a different direction as their sensitive ears picked up the faint sound of a scream.
"Do you see anything?" Akamaru barked his no as Kiba walked around the area he was sure the scream came from, "Neither do I-!" Blinking, Kiba stared up at the tree's undersides from his position on the ground. As he turned to get up, the sight of his fall made Kiba want to vomit.
There, only a few inches from his face was a smashed eye, lying beside a fully round one, the blood covering the organs was dripping off slowly.
"Just . . . Eyes!" Ino asked incredulously, face twisted into one of disgust, her arms in the air.
"That's what I said, didn't I!"
"Whose were they?" Shikamaru asked while wondering how Choji could still eat through this particular conversation.
"How should I know? I didn't ask them!"
"Where's Asuma-sensei?" Choji asked between chews.
Everyone looked at each other as they suddenly realized whom the bloody eyes belonged to.
"Are you sure?" The third Hokage asked, fingers interlaced, his elbows resting on the desk.
"Yes, first Kurenai-sensei, and then Asuma-sensei." Neji reiterated.
"Thank you, you may go home, and promise not to tell anyone, we don't want the village to be in a frenzy."
"Yes Hokage-sama." The six bowed and left, going back home.
But, if the village is naive to the whole thing, wouldn't that put it into more danger then if they knew?
And just like that, one by one, villagers started to die. Some left parts of them behind; others just disappeared all together.
Finally, the Hokage called a meeting with all those responsible for watching out for this mysterious killer.
"You are to tell everyone, I repeat, EVERYONE, that you see about this. We are not to keep it in the dark any longer."
"Yes Hokage-sama!" The Ninja bowed before disappearing, going back to looking out for the villagers.
Why did I wait so long? Now people are dead, and it is all my fault. The third Hokage sighed and finished a paper he was looking over.
"No one is to tell anyone that we are doing this, is that understood?" Neji glared at the chuunin group, which consisted of:
Neji, TenTen, Lee, Shino, Kiba, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. Hinata wasn't told about this because they thought it would be to dangerous. In fact, they hadn't been planning on taking Sakura either, but when Naruto blurted it out to her, she just had to come. And it was obvious that Ino would come, Asuma was her sensei!
Yeses, Yups, Nods, and the like all came from the group before they snuck into the forest. After all, that is where the killings were coming from.
Splitting up, the now smaller groups each went a different way; Neji, Sasuke, and Kiba in one group, TenTen, Shino, and Lee in another, then there was Ino, Choji, Shikamaru, and lastly, with a very pissed off kunoichi, Sakura and Naruto.
"I can't believe I got stuck with you!"
"I can't believe the way the groups were split."
"What?" Sakura asked, turning to Naruto.
"Well, they put three very skilled ninja together, three slightly skilled ninja, all of Team Ten, and us."
"Wow . . . You called Sasuke skilled!"
Naruto face-faulted, "That's not the point! And he's not skilled! He's stupid!"
At this point, the statement Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned came to poor Naruto's mind as he sat on the ground and nursed his abused head.
The kunoichi, Sakura, on the other hand, took off ahead of Naruto, steamed about what he said.
"Oh no, " Kiba mumbled, "Not again."
"What?" Inquired Neji.
"A scream."
The three took off in the direction that the second group, TenTen, Shino, and Lee, had went.
When they got there, Akamaru hid in Kiba's coat while Kiba's stomach emptied itself all over the closet bush.
Sasuke bent down slightly and picked up the fried, and bloody arm nearest them, "Whose do you think?"
"TenTen," Neji took the arm and examined it, "Definitely."
Millions of squashed, fried, sliced, impaled, and other such ways, of bugs littered the ground, some still moving a leg or two. Ripped and scorched gauze floated about the place, mingling with a few green and light cream-colored strips.
Taking a step forward, Neji broke the pair of dark sunglasses that lay innocently under his foot. He didn't even bother to look at them, just kept going until he came face-to-face with a face, Shino's face, a small point from the branch it hung on sticking through his forehead.
"We're to late, let us go and warn the others." Sasuke offered, before another scream sounded.
No one bothered to say anything, just left to the scream.
They met with the same scene; shredded clothes, a limb or two, other bodily parts in random disarray; the evidence of a fight, and, even though the team was close this time (close enough for all to hear) it was still to late. Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji were no more.
"Naruto." Sasuke whispered. He had to get back to his teammates before his greatest rival (And friend, Sakura, though he would never admit it) were killed! "Lets go."
"Sakura!" Naruto shouted, looking about for his best friend, "Where are you?"
"Naruto!"
Turning around, Naruto hoped that Sakura's voice had only deepened, but was saddened to see that it was Sasuke. "Sasuke-bastard! Where's my Sakura!"
This made Sasuke stop in his tracks, followed by Neji and Kiba, "You don't know where she is?"
"No, she took off after she hit me for calling you stupid-OW!" Naruto held his head again, glaring at Sasuke, "What was that for!"
"For calling me stupid, dobe. We have to find Sakura."
Neji had already turned his Byakugen on a while ago and was now searching for her, Kiba and Akamaru on the other hand, were scenting the air and listening to any sound that she might of made.
"Oh god!" Kiba covered his nose; dry heaving.
"What?" Sasuke and Neji asked, looking at Kiba.
"The smell of rotten flesh! It's even worse then the smell of death and blood!"
"WHAT!" Naruto shouted, "Who died!"
"The other teams." Came Sasuke's short reply, "From which direction is it coming?"
Kiba pointed to his front and left slightly, gagging on the stench.
The men jumped into action, preparing for the worst.
"I hate Naruto! How could he say that!" The young pink haired woman kicked a tree, then yelped and grabbed her foot, hopping up and down while muttering curses.
"Sasuke and Naruto wouldn't be in pain."
"I know sensei! But I'm not as strong as-" silence. Sakura didn't move; didn't breathe.
"What, no hug? After all this time?"
Slowly she turned, and then screamed her throat raw. There, standing before her, was her Sensei, Hatake Kakashi, in his undead form. Skin was missing from certain areas, his hair was disheveled (more then usual) and shorter in some spots, but what made her really terrified, was that she could see his face. The evil, pointy-toothed grin she was receiving did, indeed, frighten her, but the fact that he was hot frightened her even more.
"H-How?" And then she remembered! It was her fault!
FLASHBACKSakura put the scroll down and looked at herself in the full-length mirror in her bedroom. Soon Kakashi-sensei, soon.
Moving until she was kneeling front of the mirror, Sakura did everything that the scroll requested, right down to a 'T'.
"And now the hand seals." Manipulating her chakra, the young woman brought her hands together, twisting and turning her fingers until she had completed the set.
A light green glow was emitted from her hands until it spread out and filled the entire room, becoming to bright to look at. Sakura opened her eyes little by little until she could see fully again. The scroll was in ashes, and her mirror was shattered.
That's not suppose to happen! What if . . . What if I did something wrong? How right she was, what the girl didn't know was that there was a second scroll, she only completed half of the jutsu. Maybe next time, if there is a next time, she'll learn to read the whole scroll before attempting it first.
END FLASHBACK"Oh sensei! I'm so sorry!" Sakura whispered, "This is all my fault!" Crystalline tears streamed down her face, hands covering her mouth as her shoulders shook in sorrow.
The grin directed at her grew, somehow, larger. Kakashi walked over to her and put a hand on one trembling shoulder, "It's alright, you were just distraught and wanted to make everything better."
"No it's not! I've messed up everything, and I don't know how to fix it."
"Giving me the chance to see everyone again is enough for me to accept being . . . in this state."
"I'm so sorry." She whispered, looking up at him.
Those strong arms of his wrapped around her slender waist as he whispered comforting words into her ear.
The moment that Sakura's arms encircled Kakashi back would forever haunt the young woman as the biggest mistake of her life.
Sakura's fingers had just barely touched the green fabric of the undead jounin's vest when she was slammed against the tree, said arms held in a tight grip above her head and feet not reaching the ground.
"S-Sensei?" She asked fearfully.
"Yes, say it again bitch. I am your sensei. I am your master. I. Own. You."
She gasped as long, cold fingers ripped away her only covering, until pitiful strips of what used to be clothes remained.
"Kakashi-sensei! Stop! What are you doing!"
"You guys were right about Icha Icha Paradise being a bad influence on me, ya' know. From the very moment I saw you, I knew I would have you. Your Sasuke-kun is no match for a jounin, even a dead one! And, my precious cherry blossom, I know that you've been saving yourself for him, so . . ." Kakashi's eyes glittered with lust and evil, "I will make this as painful for you as possible!"
Try as she might, Sakura could not get away from Kakashi, and before she knew what was happening, he was standing before her, completely naked.
Kakashi didn't bother to cover her mouth, her ready her for that matter, just slammed straight into her maidenhood, laughing with glee at the scream that erupted from the barely teenage girl.
The moans and grunts he emitted made her sick, but the pain was so numbing that even if she wanted to up heave, she couldn't because the muscles in her lower abdomen were practically dead. Just like this thing!
But all to soon for Kakashi, he exploded into her, dropping his full dead weight on the slim girl. "Wonderful, just wonderful." Pulling out of her, he then proceeded to rub her throbbing core until she cleaned her outer self of him with her own juices. "Good girl."
"I hate you!" She bitterly announced, "You should have stayed dead!"
"But, my dear, I am dead. And besides, you wanted this, isn't it? That is why you brought me back, right? To see me again?"
"Not in this way, I didn't!" The tears had stopped, not of their own accord, oh no, they stopped because she didn't have any more tears left. She had literally cried them all away.
Needing his other hand, Kakashi performed a binding jutsu on Sakura; one that kept her arms and legs stuck to the ground, spread eagle style.
"It seems as though we shall have company soon, better make this quick then."
"Make what quick!"
Instead of giving her an answer, Kakashi's face dove into her secret place, eliciting another scream from the girl.
"Sakura!" Naruto yelled, "We have to go faster! I can hear her!"
"Dobe, we can all hear her!"
"Shut up Sasuke-bastard and just move your bloomin' ass!"
"I'm already ahead of you, you little shit."
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!"
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Kiba yelled at them, smacking Naruto in the back of the head and passing him.
"Hey! Wait for me!"
Neji shook his head in irritation, and just continued on.
"Good bye, my dear." Kakashi kissed Sakura on her bruised and bloody lips before getting up and putting his clothes back on, "oh, and do keep my little present, I may have to harm you if you get rid of it." And with an eye crinkling smile and a wave, the dead jounin had gone, taking the binding jutsu with him.
"Sakura!" Naruto jumped out of a bush only seconds after Kakashi had disappeared to stop dead in his tracks.
"Naruto?" Sasuke asked, coming up behind him. He looked at Sakura and his jaw slackened.
Neji closed his eyes to the sight, and Kiba turned away.
Sasuke, being the only one that could look at her and move, kneeled next to the broken woman and touched the side of her face, eyes darkening.
Both arms were bent in a way that they should not, her right foot was twisted completely around, surprisingly though, it had not come off, there was not enough hair left on her head to actually be called hair, her thighs and the ground around them was covered in so much blood and other juices that he was sure she would bleed to death. Shards of bone were sticking out of cracked fingers and, Sasuke noticed, the symbol for DEATH was carved into her lower stomach, OWNS on her right bicep, and YOU on her left.
"Sakura." Uttered Naruto, taking a tentative step forward.
"Naruto, maybe you-" but Sasuke was cut off as the child-inhabited fox ran to her side and fell, hugging her bloody body to his.
"I'm so sorry Sakura!" Naruto wept, breath coming in gasps.
"Calm down, Naruto, we'll save her. As long as-" and yet again, the raven-haired Uchiha was interrupted.
"Be quiet Sasuke, I have no time to deal with you. Kiba! Take Sakura-chan to the hospital."
"No prob., dude." Kiba gently took the broken girl from Naruto's arms after Naruto laid his jacket over her, and sped off back to the village.
"Naruto. It would have been better to let Neji take her, he's the fastest of us three." Sasuke put in, narrowed eyes staring the child down.
Neji joined the group, "No, he was right to let Kiba take her. I will be able to spot our foe, and the smell was to much for Kiba, if he had stayed he might have gone unconscious."
Sasuke turned to Naruto and was impressed, so, he does have some smarts down in there somewhere.
"Which way?" Once Neji indicated a direction, the angered young man with the blazing yellow hair stalked off promising pain like no other has ever seen or felt.
"I see it. There is someone up ahead, and it appears as though they are . . . relaxing."
"Relaxing! They'll die!" Naruto shouted, jumping past the foliage and skidding on the ground, landing on his back with a loud thud.
Groaning, the young teen rolled onto his stomach to get up and stared, wide-eyed at what he had slipped on. Blood?
Naruto got up quickly and turned around, taking in the sight of blood dripping from trees and bushes, bone fragments littering the ground and a pile of body pieces in the middle of the whole scene.
"Yo! How kind of you to join me Naruto, come, and let me, I mean us feast." Laughed a malevolent voice from atop the pile.
"You!" Naruto growled, before gasping, "You!"
"That's right, Naruto, it is I. Our precious Sakura-chan brought me back, wasn't that sweet of her?"
"Shut up! Just shut the hell up! You made Sakura look like that, didn't you!"
"Yes I did, and it was a glorious feeling, taking away her innocence, and those tight walls," Kakashi shuddered in pleasure, "Especially in such a painful way. I guess Sasuke won't want her now. After all, she's been defiled by the man that taught her; a man who's fourteen years older then her." Clapping lightly, almost playfully, Kakashi strode down the hill of body and gore and stopped in front of Naruto. "Aren't you proud?"
A fist connected with the side of Kakashi's face, sending him into the nearest tree.
"You bastard." Black markings advanced across a field of pale skin as devilishly red orbs gazed with hatred at his once respected teacher.
"And to think," Freeing himself of the tree and dusting debris away, Kakashi looked at his ex-students, "To think that you're suppose to be some famous Uchiha, that punch was pathetic. Let me teach you how to fight."
The undead jounin disappeared, only to reappear in front of Sasuke, fist mere centimeters from his face.
Sasuke didn't move, and, to tell you the truth, neither did Kakashi. Growling, the jounin tried to move but he was locked in place by, the Sharingan!
FLASHBACK
The chidori glowed brightly, cackling with chakra as the silver haired jounin ran, full speed, at the great snake Sannin of Sound.
Laughing, Orochimaru turned flashing, bright gold eyes to his prey, "Kakashi-kun, you can't defeat me, you know you can't, so why bother?"
"I must protect the village!"
"You mean, your loved ones?"
There was a slight falter in Kakashi's step, but the calculating eyes of Orochimaru saw it, "Ohhhh, so the jounin does have a weak spot, hmm?"
"Be quiet and fight!"
"Perhaps . . . " the Sannin turned his head to the three students under Kakashi's care.
"Don't you look at them you shit head! Your battles' with me!"
A smirk played over the pale snake-like face before he slithered to them, grabbing the closest one. Sakura!
"I think I'll just play with this one a bit, maybe you could watch."
Kakashi made a wide turn, the chidori growing in size as he ran, faster then he's ever run before, I can't let anything happen to her!
Sakura screamed in fright, a pale hand clutching her chest tightly in its clawed grip. Unfortunately, Sasuke and Naruto had already been knocked out, Sakura was only conscious because Orochimaru hadn't deemed her a worthy enough opponent to waste the time to fight.
Jumping, Kakashi knew he would have to aim perfectly, or he would end up killing Sakura instead of Orochimaru.
The hand on her chest started to glide down, the smirk getting bigger until it was a full-out evil grin, baring fangs sharp enough to pierce skin.
"Please, don't." The young girl pleaded, trembling in fear, "Kakashi-sensei, help." She whispered.
The Chidori buzzed past her and smashed into the snake's face, splattering Sakura in blood and cortex. His grip loosened and she tumbled to the ground, panting and covering her face.
"Sakura? Sakura, are you ok?" Kakashi-knelt beside her, laying a hand on her arm.
"Yes," she whispered, "But you're not!" Light flashed off a kunai before it impaled Kakashi in the throat, sliding to the side and almost completely cutting his head off.
Wide-eyes stared at Sakura, who was Sakura no more. Short pink hair grew and darkened, green melted into gold, and the girlish figure grew a masculine air to it.
"Poor, poor, Kakashi-kun," Orochimaru laughed, snapping his fingers, "How did you not see through such a simple jutsu?"
A bound and gagged Sakura poofed next to the Sannin, scream muffed by the gag when she saw Kakashi, throat bleeding out and falling to the ground. The ties and gag disappeared, allowing Sakura to run to her fallen teacher and hug him tightly, tears streaming down her face.
"Sor-" Kakashi tried to speak, but his neck was sliced, making it extremely hard and painful to even breathe. Building chakra in his tattered throat, he managed to utter out one word, "Sorry," before mismatched eyes grew dull and his body stopped moving.
"NO!" Sakura screamed, sobbing so violently that her body swayed as though it was feather light in a harsh storm.
Orochimaru chuckled darkly before bowing back into the shadows, he would come for his Uchiha later, right now, he would let the girl rest in misery.
END FLASHBACK
"What have I done?" The stunned jounin looked around, seeing three powerful chuunin surrounding him and in fighting stances. "I promised I would protect her, and I . . . I." Somehow, a tear escaped down the side of Kakashi's face and he fell to the ground.
Turning to the chuunin, bottom lip trembling in sorrow, Kakashi bowed his head, "Kill me, please, I don't deserve to live after what I've done."
"You shouldn't be living anyway, " Neji put in, "You're dead."
"Just do it!" Kakashi yelled at them, glaring with glassy eyes.
"Sensei," Naruto started, before correcting himself, "Hatake Kakashi. You will die for what you've done to Sakura, and no matter how hard you beg and plead, you shall never be forgiven."
The Rasengen was formed into Naruto's palm, Sasuke and Neji standing back to watch.
"Good bye, Hatake Kakashi." Springing forward, Naruto slammed the ball of chakra into Kakashi's chest, his body disintegrating.
A small, sad smile made its way to Kakashi's face before that, too, became dust.
The three ninja stood there, eyes of different colors all staring at the same mound of ashes that the wind carried away.
"It's over, lets go." Neji sauntered into the blackened forest, Sasuke slowly following after him.
"Coming, Naruto?"
"Yeah, just, give me a minute." The fox child took another look at the havoc around him, sapphire eyes lingering on the few ashes that remained, before scurrying after his comrades, "Wait for me!"