Chapter 23 - A Desire Fufilled

Ekyt leapt aside, tucking and rolling. When he rolled to his feet, he leapt back with a curse.
“Katsu!”
An explosion nearly killed Ekyt, but he saw it coming in time. He felt the strains of genjutsu on his mind.
“Release!” he barked, throwing it off. At the same time, a horrible thought struck him. These guys are something beyond jonin…I’m in trouble. And that damn festival, no one could hear me, even if I DID yell. I’ve just gotta hope someone notices and notifies Master Sarutobi…
“Dragon’s Ember Jutsu: Clone Instigation!” Ekyt called. A duplicate of him attacked Itachi with a continuous stream of fire. This forced Itachi to move, in contrast to his regular style.


The huge explosion of fire attacks earned the village’s attention. A quick headcount revealed who was missing.
“We’ve gotta get up there!” Naruto shouted. He and Sakura nodded. Kakashi soon joined them and they hit their top speed, trying to reach the roof.


“Deidara, the dome,” Itachi called over.
“Right, un.” Deidara focused his chakra, activating the four-sealed barrier around the roof.
Seconds later, Deidara cursed as several throwing needles (different from their cousins, senbon) struck him. The last one had an exploding tag attached.
“Remote Detonation!” Ekyt called. The explosion caused smoke to engulf the dome. This was a blessing and a curse. Ekyt hoped he had incapacitated that blonde guy, because Itachi needed his full attention. That was when Ekyt felt it. A genjutsu unlike anything he’d ever felt before. It wasn’t the Tsukuyomi, but it was just as powerful. But Ekyt sensed the chakra use, and saw it was much less than the Tsukuyomi required.
There were three ways to break genjutsu, and an unconventional fourth way. That fourth way was a rare ability. The three ways were to either (1)Use the ‘Release’ technique and stop the chakra flow, (2) Physical pain not caused by the genjutsu, or (3) have someone else break the genjutsu by putting their chakra into you. The fourth way, which was almost exclusive to Ekyt, was to push the genjutsu aside with sheer will power and rush your opponent, to force him to defend himself and weaken/break the genjutsu. Ekyt chose the fourth option. This clearly stunned Itachi. Especially when Ekyt used a replacement jutsu to land behind him. Itachi wasn’t considered a genius for nothing. He broke the genjutsu and punched instead. The smart crack across the face sent Ekyt sailing. He bounced off the other end of the dome. He saw Itachi coming. The speed was incredible. Ekyt was frozen for a second, before he decided he needed to move. He leapt straight up. As Itachi started to follow, he found himself snared with four snakes.
“So you replaced yourself with that clone quickly enough to fool my Sharingan…”
Ekyt gave a sharp tug from the right, pulling Itachi toward him. Itachi let the speed happen. He extended his leg in a strike. His Sharingan revealed a clone. Another? He can’t dodge forever.
That wasn’t Ekyt’s plan. Ekyt came down from above, two swords in hand.
“Dance of the Sickle Moon! Drawing Blade’s Course!”
The second jutsu allowed Ekyt to elongate a weapon for a short time, usually for just a strike. (Like the ability the 3rd Hokage’s staff and Orochimaru’s Kusanagi possess naturally)
Ekyt’s clones disappeared as he struck downward. His swords cleaved Itachi’s shoulders. The swords were the Striking Serpent Blades. Coupled with “Striking Shadow Snakes,” Ekyt had grabbed Itachi, held him still, then struck.
The blades stuck in Itachi. Ekyt tugged them free, carefully avoiding Itachi’s gaze.



“Hurry! I don’t care how good he’s gotten, that’s still the Akatsuki up there!” Naruto pushed off hard.
Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi were soon joined by Sasuke.
“If my brother is up there, I’m going to kill him. Ekyt promised he wouldn’t…Itachi is mine to kill…”
“He’ll do what he has to,” Kakashi said roughly.
“And I’LL do what I have to…” Sasuke shot back.



A small clay bird came flying at Ekyt. He swatted it out of the air, then leapt away as it detonated. Then a second bird, soon followed by a third came. Ekyt knocked them away as quickly as he could. The fourth bird came from behind. Ekyt spun around and kicked it away. When he turned back around, Itachi was right there. He punched side-kicked Ekyt so hard blood shot from Ekyt’s mouth as he hit the ground some meters away.
Ekyt knew he was going to have to pull out all the stops to save himself.
“First Gate: Gate of Opening: Release!” Opening the first gate wasn’t ideal in this situation, but it was the only way to dodge Itachi’s speed. When he was far enough away from both Akatsuki members, Ekyt accessed his Blue Flame Chakra. He had a desperate plan in mind. He took off, dodging Deidara’s birds, his chakra in his hand.
“Dragon’s Emotion Flame!” Ekyt kicked and punched at Itachi, with Itachi handily dodging each one. On the last strike, Ekyt turned up the tempo. The chakra singed the helm of Itachi’s cloak.
My chakra’s almost gone…but if I pull this off, I can focus on that blonde guy. There’s no way he’s as big a threat as Itachi.
“Blue Chakra: Bloodline Sealing!” Ekyt shouted, his hand aiming for Itachi’s eyes.
WHOOF!
Itachi’s punch to the stomach stopped Ekyt’s hands just short of Itachi’s eyes. Ekyt looked away before the Mangekyo Sharingan could take it’s toll. Time to comprise…or buy time.
“You want the ring?” Ekyt shouted. I’m beaten…but that doesn’t mean I have to let these guys call ALL the shots. If I’m going to die, I’m going to take as much of them with me as possible. And if they want this ring so bad, I’m going to make sure they don’t get it.
Still holding the Striking Serpent Blades, Ekyt used them to cut open his thumb.
“Summoning Jutsu!”
From under the roof, Shuurai, Ekyt’s snake summon, popped up.
“Yes, master?” Shuurai asked humbly.
“Shuurai, take this (puts the ring in his mouth) and go! Give it to…the trustworthy one! You know who I mean!”
Shuurai took the ring and leapt down the hole he came from. He popped out underneath the dome and slithered away, seeking who Ekyt directed him too.


This time, Ekyt turned around, and he was immediately grabbed by Deidara.
shoot…
“Hold still, un! Hurry up, Itachi, he’s bucking like a damn bronco!” Deidara called. Ekyt’s foot connected with Deidara’s groin a split second later, causing Deidara to let go and utter a string of curses. But it was too late. Another set of hands grabbed his head.
“Tsukuyomi…”
Itachi had finally snared Ekyt with his most powerful genjutsu. Ekyt, after opening the First Gate, and using Emotional Chakra, had little left to fight it.


The world was black and white, with a strange shade of red.
Itachi’s world.
Ekyt knew he was in trouble. He was running on his last reserves of chakra and stamina. Before him was Itachi.
“You put up quite a fight. All we wanted was the ring…but now I know how dangerous your chakra is…it’s a shame our leader has forbidden me to kill you. But, torturing you-for the next day, I’m going to stab you with this sword.” Itachi walked forward, a long sword in hand. It’s point gleamed dangerously. Ekyt backed away, but hit something. He turned his head to look.
Skeletal forms of all that had suffered Tsukuyomi. There was Kakashi, Sakura, and then Ekyt saw himself. All three were rotting corpses. But they were talking, begging for help. Ekyt drew his swords and ran at Itachi again. A jutsu would have been great here. But he didn’t even have the stamina left to break the genjutsu.
“I don’t need to tie you up…” Itachi said, bringing two fingers up to his face. Time stopped, and so did Ekyt. Itachi walked over to Ekyt, who could SEE what was going on, but couldn’t actually do anything about it.
“…But it saves this sort of trouble. It’s extra work. Your fate is the same.” Itachi let time begin again, and Ekyt’s run took him straight into Itachi’s sword. Before he could move, Ekyt was stabbed twenty more times. Then thirty. Then fifty. Itachi’s hand became a blur, and Ekyt’s body became porous.
Finally, Ekyt succumbed to the torture. He hadn’t lasted the full day. Before he blacked out, Itachi stood over him. His eyes still glowed dangerously with the Mangekyo Sharingan.
“Your training served you well. No one else put up such a fight at such a young age. Now, it’s time for us to take the fight out of you.”
Itachi’s hand came down and struck Ekyt at his Chi point, three inches below the navel. This time, Ekyt blacked out.


Itachi threw Ekyt’s body to Deidara, who loaded him onto his bird. Itachi climbed on and they took off.



Naruto and the others were too late. Deidara’s bird was flying away. They could see Ekyt’s unconscious form curled up in the tail.
Naruto thought back to Gaara. He had been in the same position. And when they had gotten there, they were too late. Older the elder from Sunagakure, Chiyo, could save him, and she gave her life to do just that. If they extracted Ekyt’s…
“Hey, he’s not a Jinchuuriki, and he doesn’t have the ring! What are they extracting?! Why not just kill him?” Naruto asked, thinking of Gaara’s helpless form being used as a bench by that bastard blond artist.
Sasuke spoke up. “His emotional chakra. Even Orochimaru wanted it. Now they’re going to take it.”
Kakashi nodded. “He’s right. We can’t let that happen. Gaara had a guardian angel. Ekyt won’t. If they take that out…well, we don’t know what will happen. Sakura?”
Sakura shook her head. “He could live without his second chakra, it’s not a demon. But what KIND of life he would have…this is all theory, though. His body might not react to the extraction, and this might actually kill him. It’s hard to tell.”
Kakashi lifted his headband.
“Our best bet is to follow that bird. I’m going to send Pakkun for back up. If all the Akatsuki are there, we WILL be fighting them. We get Ekyt and run for it. No one of us is a match for Itachi.”
Everyone, save for Sasuke, nodded their agreement. Naruto nodded, but to his own thoughts.



Pakkun raced to the Village. He ignored Tsunade, he needed others.
“Gai! Hey, down here! Damn it!” Pakkun bit Gai on the leg.
“Yeow! What the hell?! Is this some game of Kakashi’s?” Gai shouted at Pakkun.
“No, you dolt. He needs back up. The Akatsuki are involved. They’ve got Ekyt, and”
“They’ve got my Lee’s best sparring partner! Lee, get Tenten and Neji! We have a mission!”
Pakkun shook his head. With help like this, the kid is done for.



Deidara landed his bird while Itachi unloaded Ekyt.
Pein, Zettsu, Sasori, and the rest gathered around.
“This is not a Jinchuuriki, Itachi. Why did you bring this boy to us?” Pain demanded.
“He’s a threat. He’s Konoha’s “Dragon Boy”, the one with the Emotional Chakra. He nearly sealed my Sharingan. He’s too much of a threat with that kind of ability. We need to take it away from him.” Itachi looked down at Ekyt. The boy would be waking up soon, unless they began the extraction process. Once he woke up, he would pose a threat again. Even outnumbered, Itachi knew what the boy could do. If HE figured it out, it would be a disaster.
“And the ring?” Pain asked.
“He sent it away before we could retrieve it, un. He gave us a good fight, I’ll give him that. Itachi’s right. He’s too dangerous. If he were to ever harness his full abilities, it could be disastrous for us. He protects the Jinchuuriki, Naruto Uzumaki. Apparently, they’re friends, un.”
“Then let’s begin. Even without Kisame, this shouldn’t take three days.”
“We were followed closely by Kakashi Hatake and his team. Among them is my brother, Sasuke. We don’t have sacrifices on hand for our usual stall tactics.”
Pain stroked his chin. “Then we’ll welcome them. We have a hostage. I will perform the extraction. Everyone else- warn them that if they get too close, I’ll kill the boy.”
“And what the hell happens to the kid? Is Zettsu going to be shootting his corpse for a week after this, or is he going to be alive?” Hidan said in his own, inimitable way.
Pain studied the boy. “I cannot say for sure. He may live, or he may die. But my best guess…His second chakra will be gone, and perhaps even his soul. Emotions are tied in with the soul. If we take one, we may take the other. He can live without his soul. But his existence would be…meager. No chakra, no jutsus. Just…existing. But he’s done enough damage, it’s time for him to pay the price.”
Pein began the extraction.



Ekyt was in the office again. This time, his older self was running around, pulling things off the walls, nailing things down, locking doors.
“What’s happening?” Ekyt shouted over the roar of the noise.
“They’re pulling out your emotional chakra. Listen to me, don’t talk. They’re taking out your second chakra. How to get it back is in this scroll. I can’t say if you’ll survive to get it back, but right now, you’ve got to take that scroll and get out of here! If you get trapped in here, they’ve got your soul, too, and you’ll be all but dead! Go, hurry!”
“What about you?!” Ekyt shouted back.
“I’ll be fine. You’ll see me again when you get that chakra back! Now, go!”



Kakashi, Gai, Lee, Tenten, Neji, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto burst into the room. Immediately, they all squared off against someone. Except Sakura. She had one person in her sites: Pein.
While performing the jutsu by himself, Pein was in a trance of complete concentration. He wouldn’t know if someone attacked him. That’s what Sakura was betting on. She saw the chakra pouring from Ekyt. She wanted to cry, but knew that wasn’t how Ekyt would want it. And he wasn’t dead. She somehow KNEW he wasn’t dead. And she was going to stop this horrible process. Activating her chakra scalpel, she sliced Pain’s fingers, causing his handsign to fall apart, and the extraction to stop. But had Sakura been too late?



Sasuke and Itachi stared each other down.
“I’ve waited too long, Itachi. It’s time for you to die. What you did to the clan is unforgivable! I’ve relived the pain more times than I can count. I owe you for years of pain, and I WILL get my retribution!”
Itachi didn’t move. “Has your hate grown yet, Sasuke? Do you hate me enough to kill me?”
Angered, Sasuke used his Magekyo Sharingan. Itachi didn’t smile, but he felt a sense of accomplishment.
Good, he’s developed the Mangekyo. My own eyesight will fail me soon. That’s why I left you alive, Sasuke. All those years ago. I needed your eyes. And they’re ready. But this isn’t the time or the place. And your abilities could stand developing.
“Your hate is at it’s peak, isn’t it, Sasuke? This isn’t the time or place for us to have a final confrontation. This is between brothers, and there’s only one fitting spot to do it, and only one fitting day.”
Sasuke nodded. “Our old home is still taped off…and the anniversary of your betrayal is in two monthes. I’ll be waiting, Itachi. This time, we’re on equal ground. For now, I owe Konoha a small debt, and I’m going to pay it. Enjoy your last two monthes of living, big brother.”


Ekyt got up, weakened from the attack. He saw Pain heading towards Sakura. When he backhanded her, he WANTED to feel angry. He wanted to get his blue chakra and beat that rotten son of a dog until blood came out of every fiber of his body. But Ekyt didn’t feel angry. He didn’t feel anything, except physical pain. Nonetheless, he knew that he cared about Sakura, and he needed to stop the attack. As Jiraiya had taught him, Ekyt called upon his fire and held it in his hand. Silently, he stood behind Pein. He jammed his hand onto pain’s neck. Then, in a Neji-like attack, Ekyt used his fists and feet to strike Pain’s body. Every time a foot or fist made contact, a burn mark rose on Pain. Finally, Pain had enough and ordered the Akatsuki to withdraw…



It was quickly apparent Ekyt wasn’t himself. He held a scroll in his hands, but he didn’t bother opening it. His eyes were cold and lifeless, and he spoke in a toneless, but raspy whisper.
“Everyone okay?” he said.
“The question is, are YOU okay?” Lee asked.
Kakashi ghosted over to Sakura. “Sakura, go up to him and hug him. That’s the one sure-fire way to get a reaction.”
Sakura nodded numbly, sure she already knew what was going to happen. She walked up to him and hugged him. She cried silently. But Ekyt didn’t blush. He returned the hug, but there was no…emotion. That was it. That was the vacant look. Ekyt was the same person- but he had no emotions. The very things he had strived to get rid of.
Now, he wanted them back.

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