Bring the Hammer Down

28

TenTen watched in horror as Itachi crawled off the ground and stood on shaky legs. How could he have survived? It shouldn't have been possible, not even for him. Her breath began to hitch and Jiraiya stepped up to her.

"TenTen, what's the matter?"

"I...Itachi...he's standing up..."

Jiraiya looked over in that direction and blinked, squinting against the sun.

"No, he's just lying there. He's not moving."

TenTen made to stand and shoved Jiraiya back.

"No! Stay back!"

"TenTen! He's not moving! He's dead!"

She rounded on the man, her eyes shining.

"Then he has you in a genjutsu! He's moving and he wants to keep fighting!"

The rest of the Konoha ninja looked around, several trying to dispel the so-called illusion, and failing miserably. Murmurs went up that perhaps TenTen's mind had finally shattered.

She turned back to Itachi, her sword pulled and ready to defend Naruto, when a soft hand touched her shoulder. She turned her head and found herself looking into the kind eyes of Kami herself.

"Kami-sama..."

The woman smiled and nodded her head.

"Rest easy, TenTen. Yours and Naruto's journey ends here. I'll handle the rest."

She strode past the girl and stood before Itachi. The desperate man narrowed his eyes and looked past her to the blonde on the ground.

"Move. My quarrel is not with you. This fight was promised to me so that I may test my capacity. It has not yet been reached."

"Your fight is over, Uchiha Itachi. Let it go. Let it all go. Your journey is complete. You have reached the apex of your ability."

Itachi shook his head violently and pointed his finger at the woman.

"No! This isn't over! I'm still standing. He hasn't done his job and I can hear him breathing. It isn't over."

Kami stepped up in front of him and put her hands to his cheeks. Itachi tensed and froze. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to strike the woman. She fixed him with a soft, yet stern gaze.

"It is over. Neither of you won. You were the yin to Naruto's yang and neither of you could overcome the other. Accept it, Itachi. You finally met your match."

The Uchiha set his shoulders again and started to push past the woman.

"I will not accept that. I will never accept that."

He pushed the woman's shoulder, shoving her to the side, and stumbled toward Naruto's prone body, when he felt a tug on his heart. He looked down and found a blue string coming from his chest. A turn of his head found the woman standing with the thread in her hand, tugging on it slightly. Every time she did, his heart felt like it was being pulled, as if he was on a leash.

"Look, Itachi. Follow the thread and see the truth."

His eyes followed the thread to her hand and past it to...his body? His eyes widened exponentially and his breath hitched.

"How...how did you do this?"

A tinkling laugh floated to his ears as the woman padded up to him again and cupped his cheeks, bringing his head down to her level. He blinked in confusion when she kissed his forehead and then slowly lifted his face back to its prior level.