Aye-aye, maties

Once again, here I am… and this time is personal. Hahaha I always wanted to say that; but now, seriously, at last I have got some time to catch up with my story (hurray for that) and I will try to keep writing in any spare time I get from now on (although I cannot promise anything, but what the hell…), so I can finish this story for good, but don't worry, there are still a few chapters to go, so this will not end up very quickly, but at the right time, that I can promise.

Again, if you feel a little confused on the How-to-read (that I hope not), here it is, how is it read:

- "Talking"

- "Talking in the past"

- Thinking (past and present)

Anyways, I want to thank everyone of you for your support and reviews.

Aye-aye, ye olde disclaimer, arrgh: I do not own the following: Naruto, by Masashi Kishimoto, nor Pita-ten by Koge Donbo, nor Monster by Naoki Urasawa, nor Saikano by Shin Takahashi (the mother of all angst mangas; really, a tear-shedding story all the way through, a must-read), nor Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa; but I do own this: a PC to work on, not so much inspiration these days but enough to go on, hours and hours of music, and (not so much this time) spare time to read and write.

Chapter Five: Dark Masterpiece

Have you ever felt despair? Have you ever faced death? Have you ever felt something restraining you from your own self? Have you ever confronted your own conscience? Have you ever seen the end draw near? Have you ever collapsed onto yourself? Have you ever tried to hang on to fate, no matter the odds?

-Chapter Five- "Dark Masterpiece"

This is, in the end, what makes us decide to start the journey, to follow the road, even when there isn't any, and to go on no matter what the odds are, to go on until there is nothing left to do, or no one else to fight. You may ask what's that It that I'm talking about, and I will gladly respond to that. That It is the end of the trip, the goal, the final door in the hallway or whatever you may call it; for me, that goal is to reach the quarters of Akatsuki, and rescue the love of my life… I don't care what the cost is, I don't care if I have to kill to reach her, I don't care if I have to give up my life for her to keep on living. I don't care if I have to fall from grace to do what I have to, what it needs to be done… I don't care.

"Today is the day" Those are my only thoughts as I approach to their headquarters, but my interest rests not in fighting them, but only to retrieve her safe and sound, even if I have to suffer Hell in order to do that. As I reach the main gate of the quarter compound, I start to breathe faster than usual, sensing that something's just rotten, that something's just not right, like… out of place. But just before I manage to reach the very entrance, two shady figures appear in front of me, willing to negate me the entrance to the compound, willing to fight me. I cannot see their faces clearly, but I just don't care anymore, for they have been recruiting so many under the premise that we have eliminated each one of them as they appear, that I just can't remember who is with Akatsuki these days. As I don't want to retard my encounter with destiny Or with Sakura and Sasuke to be specific, I kick these two figures out of my way, blowing them into a cloud of dust and a world of pain, for whoever they are. As I sprint directly to the entrance, I hear something the chills my spine and makes me stop in the spot.

"Naruto-kun, as rushy as always, aren't we?" My only reaction is to turn my head around, quiet and slowly, breathing fast and steady, as I am terrified for what occupied those words, or more precisely, who. "IT cannot be, Orochimaru? You were supposed to be dead, long dead" But what he said next terrified me even more than I could have imagined "Oh, but I AM dead, aren't we Itachi?" I could only respond in one way "Uchiha Itachi? What the hell's going on here?" To that, Itachi replied as he came out of the dust cloud, with his characteristic monotone and lack of feelings "My brother, he is a brilliant man; cruel, but brilliant".

Lost in my dumbfoundness, I don't seem to believe what my eyes are showing me Just like in everything in the past years, nevertheless and as a child, fear and other emotions fill my body and my heart, sending me automatically into a world of desperation, but as suddenly as it came, a ray of light and hope reaches me, as I hear the whispering of the one I seek… the one I love. The fear is now gone.

Doubting, I stop from any movement, just to prove if what I heard was real or just another delusion provoked by anxiety. "Naruto" I hear again, my heart tells me everything I needed to know, it tells me that the voice is not an illusion, and it tells me that she's near. There's no time to lose, not even with these reanimated joke-making corpses, so I decide to put some shadows to fight them and run. But as I do it, I start to feel that even though I run, the ground below me remains still, a dog-breath friend would say "Oldest trick in the book, huh" I didn't realize that, accidentally, my eyes have crossed Itachi's when I summoned my shadows to nail them in the ground again, where they belong. "So, is this the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan of a dead man? I have to say that, wether it's more powerful coming from a living being, or you are just weak". I knew I wasn't gonna make him loose it, but I had to show some confidence, or else I'd be killed. "Don't get too cocky, fox-boy, that we are just about to begin" Once again, that annoying laugh from the snake trying to drive me mad.

"Everything in this universe is under my control, Naruto-kun. And now you will experiment what it means to live Hell on your own flesh." Itachi was sure of his words, which sounded like nails in a blackboard, but that was his worst error, to overestimate himself and to underestimate me. So I struggled to move and to get the hell out of his illusion, trying to get loose to defend myself, but apparently my efforts were futile It seems that I tend to commit the same error as him. He remained expressionless as he told me "Your resistance is futile, donnot try to escape your fate, but embrace it" Then he stood up for his words… I really experienced a living Hell, but suddenly, a new whisper got to me "Naruto, help me…" I'd had it with this guys, they were annoying and her voice was one of real desperation, her voice was calling for help… my help, and I would not let her down.

Itachi kept attacking alongside with Orochimaru, stabbing me and submerging me in a world of pure and raw pain, but Sakura needed me, so I decided that if no struggle of mine would let me loose of this illusion, I'd call for a 'little backup'. "Giving up already, Naruto?" A monotonal voice asked me, while another vicious one stated "Our attacks are strong, so strong that you'll never get rid of the pain" I just laughed, as something awoke from inside of me "Indeed, your insistent attacking is strong and painful, buy MY WILL IS GREATER" A great roaring pushed them back as a pair of tails managed to break the dimension by extracting the energy in the universe itself and making a dimensional rift to get me out. "Itachi, He's getting out, stop him!!" An angry Orochimaru screamed as a red-eyed Itachi started to look as if he had seen the devil himself. "What is wrong Itachi?" A question which answer petrified both, a question which answer no one but me could answer "He's lost control of this dimension, and now, he's as strong as a wounded pup; but don't worry, you won't be let alone, one of my friends will accompany you until the end of time in this alternate dimension" Their expression was one of pure horror, as one of the tails fusioned with the rift, forming a being that was to be feared in every universe it stepped foot. The fox asked me "What, you're not staying for a little fun?" "No, I have better things to do, and a couple of lives to save." I answered, steady in my statement. "Ok, then. Suit yourself." Finally, I got out of that dimension, and as I closed the portal, it vanished never to be seen again, never to be opened and never to be remembered. Now my path was open and my only goal was to retrieve my one and only love, my cherry blossom.

In the shadows, a single minute appears to be an eternity; in the shadows, what we see perceive as real seems just like a blurry illusion; in the shadows, madness is nothing but a way to survive; in the shadows, we think of none but ourselves. But once you have been totally consumed by darkness, it becomes comfortable, vague memories come form time to time of distant days, memories of so many people already gone… you start to see ghosts, hear them, feel them, until unconsciously and involuntarily you become one of them, nothing and only but a living ghoul, a stray soul, a phantom. But right now, does these things enter into an area of importance, or do they really and actually matter? No, what is important is the present, for I need to be precise now, if I want to forge a perfect reality for myself in the future. But it's not just for me that I want this level of perfection. There is someone else, the only being that I hold affection to, not just for the fact that remembers me of a person long gone, no, but also for the fact that it is the last trace of my footsteps on this earth… the last evidence of my existence, the last evidence left that shows that I, once, had a soul; but no more.

I once had a soul, I once had a soul, no more I keep repeating to myself as I make all the necessary arrangements for the ritual yet to be celebrated. As I get nearer to the room where she lies, unconscious, steps begin to slow down and the distance between the door and me seems to be growing each passing moment; virtually I stop, even though I have the will to move forth, but something is delaying my arrival; and I know that it is not something exterior, it's not her inside power, no; it is something within me, something warm, something I haven't felt since… a long time ago. But suddenly, anger creates a void that encircles that sensation and leads me back to that comfortable darkness; in an instant, I can move again, the angered face is substituted by my accustomed smirk; rotting doors, moisty walls, silken strings clinging on the walls, freezing water falling drop by drop in a well-maintained cadence and cold sweat running all the way through my body, not leaving a single spot free; everything is in the right place, at the right time. 'Tis time to begin, 'tis time to get things over at last, 'tis time for vengeance, 'tis time to perform my dark masterpiece.

"Secluded in a corpse, the seeded earth lies waiting against Father Heaven's will, waiting unwillingly the arrival of the pouring black hail which contains the ending remnants of the undead, restrained only by the pit of serpents." Those are the words I pronounced as I moved my hands making signs in a fast, yet maintained pace, were the triggers to begin the ritual, as the liar glowed purple, letting black snakes form a bed that took her from her actual position and leading her to the canter of the catacomb, where fate was awaiting for us, the five of us.

Closing the doors after the snakes let her inside the huge, dark room, I disposed myself to seal the entrance from any kind of intruder that could interrupt the events at bay; again, with another sequence of hand signs followed by nothing but an increasing hissing and a flow of serpents that seemed to appear out of the blue For the common eye. Thus, giving me some kind of secureness, still, I feel uneasy. I feel something's about to come, and I feel it in my gut.

Each and everyone of the black snakes that have carried her all the way through her chamber to this great hall started to form in the shape of a symbol as I commanded them to do so using hand signs and words that no man but me could understand and pronounce At least no man in the last years. Then, the snakes' hissing, sweet lullaby started to be heard as the living symbols on the floor started to glow crimson, creating a field around her that emanated a form of energy which I was familiarized, yet I haven't feel it in quite a long time; it was a form of energy that only emanates from women, or more to be precise, from a seeded womb. I summoned a snake to bring me the last of the elements needed to complete my vendetta, casually, the most important of all… the spiritual chamber where my son's unborn figure lies suspended. So fragile, so innocent, so like Karin, so like me, so perfect.

Contemplating my son's body in the chamber made me realize that soon, everything would be over and that, by the time anyone could notice, I would be laughing in awe as I saw myself the winner. The final movement was just about to come… introducing my son into her, imbued with my will, in order to kill Their son, and

emmiting an curse that would leave her unable to carry another child in her lifetime. It was genius, it was glorious, it was… about to be materialized. I could see it, after what it felt like a lifetime, I could see it; my job was almost complete. "Where is one, there can be two; although, any place submerged in darkness shall not be occupied by light. Thus, light shall be devoured by darkness." Those were my last words as I contemplated the symbols on the ground move violently, surrounding my son's body and introducing him into her womb in what could be described as a frantic dance of light and sounds. Then silence, I have won, everything else was just a matter of time, nothing could be undone… at least, not that I knew. I could finally savor the sweet taste of vengeance…

Yearning for the encounter with my love, I can hardly await to see her, as suddenly, something struck me, leaving me speechless and breathless for more than one second. I was paralyzed. "D-Did you feel it, too?" I asked the Fox; scared, almost crying, as a firstborn. He was hesitant for a moment, but finally he replied "Yes, I could feel it, something has happened right below us, like two floors or so. It was a fluctuation in energies, it was turbulent, it was violent… and I have an ill feeling about it so, you better start running, with my help…" As a red glitter surrounded me in a moment, furious and ominous, the Fox growled some words that I knew He would use only in extremely desperate times "Ok, boy… this is it. Here goes nothing"; from this point, anything can happen. And for the first time, not even the Fox knows how could this turn out…

Quotes and phrases that I heard before reappeared before my face, buried in my silken hands, where long and pink locks hanged freely surrendered under dominance of gravity… or whatever force of nature controlled this Inner 'world'. I was thinking Not very clearly, but still thinking: what could I do?

Everything was out of any possible control right now: my outer self was unconscious Even to this realm, another life was introduced into us, and above all, it was threating our baby's life. I was not sure where to begin. Ending was drawing near, and no possible solution was to be seen whatsoever. Everything was chaos, I don't know what to do… so I cry, just like a defenseless, little pup, left on the road in the middle of a snowstorm.

Minding on every single scenario I could think of, things would go wrong at some point and lead to disaster Which means death to her, or worse, to our child and to Sasuke's child, too. I mean, it was not his fault to have been used merely as a weapon to accomplish a selfish goal and I would not make him suffer a terrible fate because of his father's madness, no. But if I wanted to save us all, I had to think, and fast. It was there, suddenly. The right answer I have been looking for, as clear as the sky… but I knew then that I couldn't save us all.

Decisions like this are not presented every single day in life; even though, we must be ready to make them. Because it is in function of things like this that the course

of our lives change drastically, may it be for good or not. At the end, all we have due to this decisions is self-accomplishment, or regret. But the choice I'm about to make, cannot contain a trace of regret, and I hope, nor do sorrow. Sacrifice is the only way…

Hi guys. I know what you may think: Hasn't this guy taken already too much time to submit a new chap? Well, I have, but I couldn't do it earlier because… of many things, out here in the world beyond the keyboard. Not really bad things (not all of them), but maybe because of the fact tha I have been terribly busy in the last months. I am deeply sorry to keep you waiting like this, but I promise that I won't do it again (at least not for this long).

With this good news (the fact that I submitted a new chapter), comes along a bad one… This story is about to end. NO, it is not for the fact that I got bored or something, but it is for the fact that I planned to do so since the beginning, and to extend the story would screw it up big time. Further information in the next chapter, when? I don't know, but soon.