The Return (Book 2 of It's Not Forever) COMPLETE

Chapter 13

                    I spot movement in front of me and recognize Itachi and Sasuke. I change direction and follow them while hiding my chakra. A flock of crows appear and Sasuke stops to deal with them while I push on after Itachi. He stops and I position myself carefully in a tree above him and watch as he confronts Kabuto. So he's the one behind the reincarnations... Sasuke appears behind Itachi and Kabuto gets excited. Kabuto tries to get Sasuke to attack his brother but Sasuke replies that he just wanted to talk to his brother and claims Kabuto to be his enemy. I watch as Sasuke tries to kill Kabuto but Itachi stops him. I would've let him do it. Itachi then explains something I should've thought of: we have to learn the counter to the reincarnation to stop it all. The brothers come to an agreement and they all begin to prepare for battle. I decide not to wait and flip out of the tree to land in between the trio. They all look up at shock and I ignore my brothers' questions and attack Kabuto with fire. He dodges it and sends snakes toward the boys. We counter blows while he taunts me and I do my best to keep myself calm and rational. He is a major cause of this war but I don't need to waste everything I have on him right now. Kabuto finally stops taunting me and begins to speak to the brothers about the Ryuchi Cave and how he is a dragon and became a sage. While I act as a distraction the boys attack Kabuto and Sasuke pins him to the ceiling until he notices that Kabuto is off to the side, stabbing a clone of Itachi. Kabuto tells us that he understands their bond but is curious to know what Sasuke wants with a dead person. A moment later he's trying to convince Sasuke that he'd be his new brother. I jump in the way of Kabuto's attack and he knocks me back against the cave wall, and everything goes black.
I wake up in time to see Itachi fading away from in front of Sasuke. He turns to me and tells me that he loves me and I manage to repeat it back to him as he disappears completely. I imagine that the other reincarnated are disappearing as well. I get to my feet and shake away the headache enough to get to Sasuke. He latches onto me and throws me over his shoulder as he pulls us from the cave just as the roof caves in. He puts me down and two ninja show up. Sasuke starts talking to the two, asking why they were still after him, they hand him a scroll and he opens it. He tells them that he's going to meet with Orochimaru. Before I can give him reasons to not revive him, one of the men beats me to it, though Sasuke doesn't cave. I debate on leaving my brother behind while he summons my father, but decide against it as the snake-like man emerges. The man who tried to stop Sasuke greets Orochimaru, who tells us that he was able to watch everything from inside Anko and that he has no interest in the war. I thought that was what he wanted? He tells Sasuke that he still wants to control his body but can't right now. His eyes flick to mine and I steel myself to not flinch away.
"Hello Failure."
"I'm not a failure, Father. I'm just a great liar." I smile sickeningly sweet at him.
"Oh really child? I don't believe you." He looks at me in anticipation and I internally shudder.
I lift a hand and move through the powers simultaneously, having a ball of each appear in my hand.
"I can manipulate all of them at once as well. It didn't take much to have you believe you failed. I knew if I lied to you that you'd give up and I'd be free. I learned to harness all of them to take you down but someone had done the job for me. Now I'm going to end this war."
"Clever child aren't you? I may end up using you after all."
"How many powers am I supposed to have? I have sound, earth, air, water, and fire. Is there anything else?"
"There is one left, but it's for you to discover."
He shoots me a look and I return it before he tries to lead Sasuke away.
"Sasuke, wait. I need you to do something for me."
"What?" He turns to me looking confused.
"Kill me, just a quick stab to the heart. I'll come back within a few minutes that way. Just kill me and you can go on. I have an idea."
"I'm not going to kill my sister."
"You've done it twice before, why not make it an even three?"
"That was in the past Kaida. I'm not stabbing you like a psychopath."
"Do it Sasuke! Just straight through my heart. It's not that difficult."
"There is a chance that if you die again after this you may not come back. Are you prepared for that?" Orochimaru interjects before Sasuke can do it.
"If it stops the war and keeps my loved ones safe, I'd do anything."
He nods and I close my eyes as Sasuke drives the kunai through my heart. I wake up with a pain shooting through my chest and blood dried on my shirt. No one else is around except Kabuto's body and I don't think he's alive anymore. I lift a hand and focus. A purple mist swirls around my hand and I try to think of what it could possibly be. A moment later it suddenly comes to me as if I'd known all along. A strange sense of calm overcomes me and I get to my feet and head off toward where the battle is.