Caught in the Darkness

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: The Sand Is Quite Bothersome

"That was the last one," Kisame said as the body of another bounty hunter fell limp on the ground. He and Itachi were currently on a mission in the Water Country, gathering up as much criminals as they could so Kakuzu could trade them for money in the designated centers. They weren't valuable corpses, but at least they could provide sustenance for their organization.

Itachi looked at the dead bodies surrounding them and let out a sigh. Now they would have to carry the corpses to the nearest hideout so they could meet with Hidan and Kakuzu and hand them over. "Where is Zetsu when we need him?" Kisame let his sword fall against the ground, forming a small crater on the impact. "It's going to really be a bother if we have to carry these things back with us."

A falcon chanted on the sky, making both members of the Akatsuki look up. Itachi immediately recognized Hayabusa and raised his arm. Hayabusa plummeted towards him and perched himself over Itachi's extended limb. "I still don't like you but Hanako sent you this," the bird said monotonously. Itachi looked at his leg and found a tied note. He untied it and read it. Kisame figured it couldn't be good because of Itachi's facial expressions.

"Something wrong?" he asked. Itachi shook his head and crumpled the piece of paper into a ball.

"Let's hurry and take these bodies back to the hideout, then we need to go back to Konoha."

Hayabusa nodded and pushed himself up and back into the sky. Without saying anything, he flew back to where he had come from. Itachi regarded the bird as it got away and gripped the paper in his hand. Orochimaru was planning an attack on the village. Itachi just hoped he could be there on time.

* * *

Sasuke cursed lowly when his body became paralyzed by the curse mark. He had wasted his chakra using the Chidori thrice, and now the mark had taken over his body. Sasuke was forced to deactivate his Sharingan as he lay immobile on a branch of a tall tree, Gaara had been taken over by whatever was sealed inside of him, and now half of his body was made of sand and took the form of a raccoon. In a moment, Gaara attacked Sasuke and the Uchiha pursed his lips. He couldn't move to avoid the attack, so he just waited for the impact. But it never came.

Hanako stood in front of Sasuke, she had kicked away Gaara —making him crash against another tree. "I thought you would be in trouble," Hanako said, eyeing closely the almost possessed redhead. She was standing over another branch in front of the Uchiha boy. Sasuke scoffed. "You know," Hanako smirked and looked at the Genin from over her shoulder, "a thank you would be nice."

"It's too early for acknowledgements," he muttered looking at Gaara intently. "What the hell is he?"

"An interesting individual called a Jinchuuriki. There is a chakra monster sealed inside of him, which is slowly taking over. As you can see, it has already possessed half of his body," Hanako explained. Her eyes slowly drifted back to Gaara, who had already recovered from the impact. Sasuke tried to get up, but he collapsed at the try. "Don't push yourself," Hanako nagged. "Let me take care of the rest."

Gaara stared at Hanako and lifted his sand-covered arm towards her. Sand bullets were shot in her direction, but Hanako summoned the Susanoo's thoracic cage and protected herself and Sasuke. Gaara growled at the failure of his attack and decided to lounge himself head on. Hanako produced the arm of the Susanoo and tried to grab Gaara, but he moved fast and avoided it. Hanako clicked her tongue and undid the summoning. The Susanoo disappeared into thin air. Gaara landed in a branch close to them and looked up at the brunette with intense hatred in his eyes.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura's voice called Hanako's attention. The pink haired girl had reached Sasuke's side with Naruto tailing behind her. Pakkun stood on Hanako's shoulder.