Authors'Note This chapter is dedicated to everyone who waited patiently for this chapter to come out… Sorry everyone! And I hope that I you enjoy this? (As another small note though… this chapter contains a bit of Sakura bashing.)

Prelude

Naruto throughout the entire exchange seemed to be shocked at the attention that he was getting off from Vincent. It made him feel strange and as to what ever it was making him feel was kinda of important.

Standing on the side lines watching quietly Kakashi watched as he patiently waited for the three to sort out their differences and hoping like mad that Sakura would finally get over her self important arrogance.

Chapter VIII

"Who in the name of Kami-Sama do you think you are," screeched the girl hotly. "You listen here you white skinned dullard! How dare you tell me what to do and don't you dare interfere again!"

"And what would you do if I did?" Vincent replied calmly making the girl even angrier.

"What would you know you stupid Gaijin! It's because of that moron that Sasuke-san is in trouble," stated the pink haired child. "Don't you understand that it is all his fault!"

"And is why is it his fault child?" asked the gunman.

"Because he promised that he would bring Sasuke back to me!" screamed the girl. "He promised and now Sasuke is stuck in some stupid holding cell because he ran off and it is all that stupid dead-last ignoramus!"

"I fail to see as to why it is his fault?" inquired Vincent. "It sounds to me that this Sasuke choose to leave and that Naruto did indeed full fill his promise to you. So why is this so hard for you to understand?"

"Why it is so hard for me to understand!" Sakura started to rant. "Because of that stupid Naruto, Sasuke is now stuck in a holding cell and not with me! How hard is that to understand?"

"Ahh! I understand now," Vincent said knowingly. "You are nothing more than some selfish child whose only care is to herself and is not aware of everyone else due to your own view of self importance." (1)

"Why you stupid..." Sakura started up only to be stopped by a white cloud becoming evident.

"Yo!" grinned Kakashi as he saluted while he lent against the bridge. "Sorry I am late but I got asked to help a little old lady back with her shopping."

His 'audience' on the other hand did not seem to be impressed on the explanation. This is probably why two of them shouted liar.

"How could you be late?" inquired the golden armed man. "You where watching your students for awhile now. May I suggest you explain to this child as to why this Sasuke is being held in a cell?"

"What would you know you stupid foreigner!" spat Sakura. "You are just some stupid bastard who shouldn't be here so what would you know? Besides Sasuke is strong enough to wipe the floor..."

"Sakura that is enough!" ordered Kakashi quickly shutting up any more rants that she might have. "You will apologise to the Hokage's guest now!"

"I refuse to apologise to someone who probably couldn't best a Genin in a fight!" she spat at Vincent.

"Tell you what child," inquired Vincent diplomatically. "If I can best you and your fellow team-mates in a fight will you at least listen to your teacher?"

"Hmm. From what I can gather from the Sand-nins you are deadly, but I do recall the Hokage requesting us to evaluate your fighting skills today," a thoughtful Kakashi stated.

"Then it is decided," Sakura smiled. "The three of us will defeat you!"

"Hang on Sakura, I am the Sensei," Kakashi explained to the irate girl. "I am the one to make the decisions here."

"I agree," Vincent turned to the Jounin. "The three of you shall fight me and I shall show you as to how... what was it you implied child... as to how weak I am compared to this Sasuke."

"Hang on this is not right?" Kakashi explained to the gunman. "I am a lot more stronger than these Genin."

"So is Sephiroth," Vincent told them quietly as he moved to the edge of the forest. "As a warning to you. If I let my demons out I will have control over them to a certain degree, but it will be sparse. So if it is the case they do make an appearance... do not push your luck as I may not be able to stop them."

"And how many demons are you supposed to have..." sneered Sakura. "Half a dozen!"

"I have four," Vincent told her seriously. "They are the 'Gailan Beast', 'Hellmasker', 'Gigas' and the worst of the lot is that of 'Chaos' and pray you do not meet with the likes of the last one."

"Ohh I am sooo scared!" mocked the pink haired girl.

"You would do well to remember that my control with 'Chaos' is still limited at best." Vincent explained as he turned to fix the girl with a cold glare, his eyes turning a baleful yellow with sinister slits in the pupils. "But it is something I am working on trying to control." (2)

"This is a waste of time," Sakura rudely stated. "Look I still think that you are full of it so hurry up already."

"If you keep it up child, you will be scared, as of the lot of them the one with which I control the least well as of yet is that of 'Chaos' as that one is a force to himself," Vincent growled at the ignorant child his voice sounding hollow, angry, demonic and distant as if belonging to someone else.

"Is that supposed to scare me?" spat Sakura cruelly. "I'll have you know that Sasuke can also change his eye colour so why should I be scared, you no good Gaijin!"

"Child, I am Vincent Valentine one time member of the TURKS and a companion of the group who helped to save my world from a threat more deadly than you can imagine," Vincent explained in his dangerous voice, his expression was that of disgust towards this child. "I have fought with more dangerous creatures and villains of the like you could only dream of. What you are going to witness is only going to be a starting point of what you can encounter from where I belong."

"You think that your pathetic words and the fact that you can change your eye colour is going to change my mind!" laughed Sakura. "As far as I am concerned you are just some poor delusional freak with visions of grandeur that is not suited for a dead man."

"In a way child you are correct," Vincent smiled evilly. "I am a freak as I am dead."

"What is that supposed to mean?" spat the pink hair trouble maker. "Listen here you stupid dumb Baka... If you are standing and breathing you are alive."

"Sakura that is enough!" called out Kakashi who had finally had his fill of his wayward students bickering. "Master Vincent here has already proven to the Gondaime as to his claim of being dead. And quiet spectacularly too as I was told."

"He blew a hole in his head," Naruto told her quietly. "He still got up."

"And how would you know Dobe?" sneered Sakura.

"I was there," Naruto told her calmly. "He calmly killed himself in front of everyone and then just got up."

"Nonsense!" she screeched at the boy. "No one can survive that. You are just making things up."

"Then I suggest that we begin this test," inquired Vincent his features back to normal.

"Then before we begin I'd suggest you explain as to how dangerous this Sephiroth is?" counselled Kakashi as he pulled out his book to begin reading.

"Yea, if this so called Sephiroth is so powerful what is he capable of?" sneered Sakura. "Picking cherry blossoms."

"Sephiroth was a highly decorated general of Shin-Ra. His strength with his sword incalculable. He is the product of the union of Hojo and the beloved Lucretia," Vincent told his 'captive' audience. "Hojo experimented on Sephiroth while he was still in the womb of his mother... Hojo put an infusion of Mako energy and Jenova cells into his own child."

"Are you telling me that he is strong because of something his father did?" scoffed Sakura.

"His father was a scientist who delighted in his work. He twisted his own son to the point of trying to make some sort of super soldier," explained the gunman. "When I found out that Lucretia had gone into labour I went to see if she was okay... Only to find that Hojo has torn into his wife's own body to tear out that of his sons'." (3)

"So what did you do?" queried Kakashi curiously. "Surely you didn't let that man go about his business unattended?"

"Oh come on Sensei... Surely you don't believe this crap?" snarled the female nin.

"Let's just say that episode in my life now is over with and the results of me challenging Hojo is what you see now. But please do not ask any further let us not get caught talking when a certain young child is still asking for a match which in her eyes... shall lead to the death of your visitor, if she can get her blades into the foreign upstart that has so unhinged her current lack of reasoning," announced the red coated man with the ease of one discussing the weather.

"Why you...!" Sakura grated angrily as she pulled out a kunai quickly banishing it at Vincent.

"And so we begin," Kakashi noted as Sakura leapt at the gunman.

Sakura slashed viciously at the spot at which Vincent occupied only to be met with the ringing of steel.

Vincent, (Kakashi had noted.) had used his claw to catch the girl's kunai with ease.

Grunting Sakura tried to put more power in behind her Kunai to try and make it budge or even slice the gunman's hand. But the only thing to come from it was the fact that Vincent just squeezed his hand together to make the kunai shatter.

"You will have to try better child," Vincent smiled hauntingly at her as he jumped up into the air to disappear into his cloak.

The cloak then seemed to jump from tree to tree with the grace of a breeze of air blowing a leaf around.

The trio watched the 'cape' fly to a branch at the top of a tree where Vincent revealed himself to the three Ninjas, his metallic weapon glinting dangerously in the sun.

"What are you two waiting for?" screeched Sakura. "An engraved invitation! Hurry up and help me."

Vincent seemed to be moving his arms strangely. He moved his arms out wide then moved them together.

"Regen," the gunman called out quickly, and to his audience's surprise Vincent was suddenly covered in green light. (4)

"Huh?" glared Naruto at the sight. "What was that?"

"I have no idea," came the reply from Kakashi. "But I bet that if we don't hurry up soon I think that he might try for something just a tad different and possibly more deadly."

"Big Guard," was then called out next by the strange warrior only this time to be covered in a yellow light, then to be covered by what looked like two barriers which disappeared as quickly as they came.

"Then hurry up and move it!" Sakura yelled as she threw another kunai towards the opponent.

They watched amazed at the speed that Vincent now moved. He seemed to be moving a lot faster than what he was before that last strange call of his.

"Come child, teacher and Naruto," Vincent called out. "Can you catch me and force me to submit?"

"If that is what it will take to make this stupidity stop. Then so be it." sighed Kakashi as he watched his pink haired student charge the foreigner. "Lets go help Sakura, Naruto."

"Okay Kakashi-Sensei," nodded Naruto as he ran after Sakura.

As the two Genin's ran off after the gunman a large cloud of white came into existence to reveal the Hokage and the Frog Hermit.

"This is going to get annoying," Kakashi replied with a bored tone of voice towards his two new companions.

"But it will prove informative," Tsunade told the Jounin. "I think it would be best if you could try and win this match if possible. If not all but to show us as to how well he can defend himself if Orochimaru should show up after him."

"As you wish Gondaime," bowed Kakashi as he moved to catch up with his students.

"How do you think it is going to go?" Jiraiya quizzed the blond woman.

"I think this is going to be an interesting fight that is for sure," Tsunade smiled.

The two of them seemed to be in thought over the events for awhile.

"100 yen says that Kakashi's team wins," Tsunade suddenly announced.

"And my 100 yen says that the stranger wins," Jiraiya grinned thinking that he had just gotten some easy money.

Sakura couldn't believe this foreigner, with his stupid costume of just black and red with the hint of gold.

Heck her Sasuke had better fashion sense than this bozo, as far as she was concerned and no-one was cooler than her Sasuke!

But what really stumped her was the fact that every time both herself or Naruto had tried to attack this person at random periods during this fight the man just moved away from it with the ease of a leaf blowing on the wind.

And it was infuriating her to no end.

After awhile it looked like her original tactics where just not working so that just meant that she would have to work with Naruto if she was going to be able to defeat this stranger.

And for that fact... Where was that sensei of hers? It was bad enough that she had that Dobe helping her, but if her sensei could get off his rear and help they could get this over with easily.

Spying the foreigner to the right of her she threw a Kunai at him as she smiled watching it fly towards the stranger.

Sakura smirked at the package and explosive tag that she had tied to it. It was a combination of sharp tacks and pins, designed to open when it had hit its target. So that even if she missed, she could still hurt her opponent with the flying shrapnel.

The red caped man seemed to fly away from the explosive package quite easily and seemed to stand not far from its point of impact, unaware of the extra detail that Sakura had added.

Grinning at the newest development Sakura grinned evilly at the imminent explosion, while Naruto and Kakashi finally seemed to show up to view her new explosive kunai details.

Naruto gaped. He just could not believe what it was that he was seeing as he watched Sakura try and belt the living daylights out of his house-guest.

She had thrown a kunai with a small bundle of cloth at Vincent with an evil smirk.

He knew it wouldn't hit Vincent. Because he appeared to be a bit more dangerous in what his movements seemed to imply.

The package that was thrown behind Vincent exploded behind the gunman and showered the red caped man in shrapnel and dust.

Due to the size of the explosion, Naruto was unsure if there would be some remote chance that Vincent would have somehow survived.

As the smoke and debris cleared from the last known vicinity of where the gunman last stood a sickening yellowish glow seemed to be evident long before a new development was made horribly clear.

Vincent seemed to be on the verge of two forms. One was that of the one that he was last seen in.

The other seemed to be wearing some sort of mask and it's hair seemed unkempt and as long as 'Vincent's'.

"So, you've survived that blast," crowed Sakura. "I suppose now you are going to try and scare us with that stupid illusion."

"Is not an illusion," Vincent told her as the change started to become more 'real'. "Run if you can. Run from the 'Hellmasker'." (5)

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Authors' Notes

1 – I know that I am probably making Sakura out to be some sort of mean brat. But at the time that I started writing this fic, I had no idea that she would 'come around' to Naruto's plight. So I had planned on making her 'hate' Naruto for bringing 'her' Sasuke back to be put in chains… So to speak. (Also it may have something to say for the fact that I find her quite selfish towards her desires in life and towards others in her team that I believe that Vincent could be a good excuse to 'wake her up'.)

2 – I know after playing Dirge of Cerberus that the reason that Vincent looses control of Chaos is because he has lost a certain item that was hidden inside of him. The reason as to why I am doing this is because... 1. That when you play Final Fantasy VII you have no control over what Chaos does during an encounter... 2. In Dirge of Cerberus he has control of Chaos to the point that you can even play as Chaos. (When you get certain item back!) So What I am hinting at is that Vincent had to 'learn' how to control Chaos's tendencies of violence.

3 – Sorry, but Vincent so far has not made it his business to 'not' tell everyone his story; so why stop there. Shrugs shoulders

4 – Yes, as I have written before I have kept to what I have had on Vincent at the supposed time that he would have encountered Sephiroth in the game. That was one of my favorite combos to start off a battle. 'Regen' the party then shove 'Big Guard' on. (To haste and protect the group from spells and physical attacks.)

5 – I truthfully wasn't going to be using Hellmasker at all; but I thought that in my bid to 'scare' Konoha into what they are getting into, I believed this to be appropriate.

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Hi everyone! Sorry about the very, Very… VERY late update. I've sorta been busy.

But like I said at the beginning this chapter is dedicated to my readers who have had to put up with waiting for me to update on a regular basis! Sorry everyone!

You see I have had the displeasure of having to go to a few funerals lately. One of which was that of my friend's Gran. I knew the lady well as she treated me like another grand-daughter even before she found out that I had just lost my beloved Nana awhile back. So I have been trying to make sure that my friend is okay. (Plus I lost a favourite resident at work which truly does not help the mood.)

I've also been 'enlisted' into doing Tae Kwon Do lately. Well you see my family was after a way to get a sister to get a bit more 'back-bone' on her so that she could stand up to her 'brain-dead' ex-boyfriend. (Let's just say that the bastard is a coward who is well known by they police.) Let's just say that she has 'low' self esteem and didn't want to join up and be the only white belt there. So big sister had to step in and what do you know I'm joined to another club… (I've passed a few belts already and am now going for my green belt at the end of Febuary.)

I've also had a bit of a mental blank lately too. I have a few friends trying to help. (On both of my stories.) But you can only do what you can sometimes.

So if you add that to the fact that my room has been beyond boiling point… (I live in a shed. True!) And if you throw in the fact that I've been doing a lot of night-shifts lately (I have been given the night-shift position permantly at work!) you might get an idea as to how exhausted I've been lately. (Especially when one has to rely on others to help me get around as I am without a car at the moment as someone decided to use it as a stationary target when I was waiting for the lights to turn green. Lets just say my car gained over $4,500 worth of damage.)

But otherwise it has been pretty annoying. I have also been stuck doing house-sitting (In places with NO internet access.) and I can't stay with my little cat… Okay so he is not so little. But he is still my little cat. And I do miss him. (Even if he does use me as a spring board in the middle of the night.) At least he is not as bad as what I took care of at one place I house-sat at. Two little dogs who just will not stop barking (Whenever they can even at night!) and making messes everywhere!

Plus as another note!!! I am not going to stop this story regardless of how long it takes me. I hate having stories left unfinished halfway through. (So I don't care how long it take's me I am going to finish this story! This note also includes another story I tend to get asked about.)

Until next time!