(Alrighty, Here's the last instalment for this book. )

How had this happened?! You had been watching for any suspicious activity, you had been extremely on guard. You had thought that you'd be able to stop anything before it happened. But now you stared at the massive barrier that separated the roof from everyone else. Your eyes darted to the body of the other guard. It was you and the Hokage against Usa and Orochimaru. And it was clear the no help was going to be coming any time soon. Everything was silent. Like the world had frozen.

You were vaguely aware of muffled voices and realized that it wasn't the world that had frozen, but your own mind. You turned your head, trying hard to clear your mind. Your eyes widened as you realized dully that there wasn't only the four people on the roof anymore. Your mouth fell open as you saw two of the previous Hokage's now standing in front of Orochimaru. Sarutobi was nearly flying around with the speed of his movements, but he was struggling with them. You saw Usa moving to join the fight and that managed to snap you out of your daze. There was no way that the Hokage was going to die because you had stood there doing nothing.

You drew a kunai out of your leg pouch and hurled it at your brother. He dodged it at the last second. Both Orochimaru and Usa looked at you. Orochimaru faked a look of disappointment, "What a shame. I was hoping that you'd actually chosen the correct side on this. Seems old loyalties are harder to break than I had thought." He idly waved a hand at Usa, "Well then, I leave her to you." Usa pulled a katana out and stalked towards you while Orochimaru moved against the Hokage. You pulled a long blade from a strap on your leg. It wasn't as long as a katana, but it allowed you to be faster and against Usa, your only hope was to be faster than him because his strength was well beyond yours. You leapt back, opening space up. You wouldn't stand a chance if you got pulled into the fight between the Hokage's.

Usa's katana swung down at your head and you blocked with your own blade. It took both of your hands to hold back his attack, so you weren't able to block as he kicked your stomach and sent you flying back, right at the barrier. You'd seen how touching the barrier was extremely dangerous, so you pumped chakra into your hand to grip onto the roof's surface, praying that you'd stop before hitting the wall.

~~~Kakashi POV~~~

I deflected another shuriken and shielded Sakura the best I could. I was thankful that she'd managed to protect herself from the genjutsu, but now she was too freaked out to fight off the attacks now. Not that she would stand much of a chance against these opponents, they were well above the level of any genin. "Kakashi-sensei. What do you think is going on inside that barrier?" Her voice shook slightly and I looked up at the rooftop, seeing what had gotten her attention. It looked like some sort of forest had grown within the barrier. Everyone knew that that jutsu had been a specialty of a former Hokage. Had Orochimaru raised them from the dead as his puppets like he had done with Usa?

I bit my lip. A part of me wanted Uta to be in there, so that the Hokage wasn't alone in this fight, but a bigger part of me hoped that she'd gotten out of there on time. If she was in there then she was as good as dead, especially with how fragile her mental state still was. Granted, she had improved greatly in the past few months, but she would still have moments when she'd freeze. If she froze while in there, she'd be gone. Though, I guess I would be the first to know, since, if she died, I'd die too.

Sakura grabbed my arm and pointed at the roof, "Kakashi-sensei! Look! Isn't that Uta-sensei?!" My eyes had no issues seeing who she was pointing at. Even with the barrier, her flowing red hair was as clear as if there were a fire on the roof. She had her hand dragging along the roof and came to a stop mere inches from the barrier. She planted her feet and I could see her bring her hands together before what looked like a ball of lightning formed between them. I saw another figure sprinting at her, their mask hiding their face. She dodged as he attacked with his katana and she hurled the ball of lightning at him.

I had only seen her use that jutsu once, the striking bird jutsu. It was very similar to my own chidori, but with the key difference being that she could use it as a range attack. It was highly lethal, just like most of her ninjutsu attacks. There was a reason she was known far and wide as the Leaf Village's flower of death.

The shinobi that she'd hurled the attack at managed to dodge, but only barely, his mask flying off his face at his ungraceful landing. When he straightened I felt my heart freeze. His blazing red hair that rivalled Uta's, there was no doubt. Uta's opponent was Usa. I couldn't believe it. I had sworn to her that she wouldn't be the one that would have to kill him this time or be alone when she faced him. Yet there she was, fighting against him with all her might, alone. And she was clearly trying to kill him. I couldn't help but feel like I'd failed her.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura's voice caught my attention and I quickly raised my kunai to deflect the shuriken that has been thrown at me. I bit my lip. Uta was doing her best right now. I had to do the same. For her sake.

~~~Uta's POV~~~

You glared at Usa when he dodged your attack, "Jeez Uta, that could've killed me. I thought I meant than that to you." Your glare deepened, "The real you did, but this you isn't real. The real Usa would never have joined Orochimaru, would've never betrayed this village. You are nothing but a puppet, just like the first and second Hokage are now. I intend to free you from his control."

He smiled, his eyes looking crazed, "I'm happy like this Uta. I'm not going to let you sever my connection with Lord Orochimaru." He did some hand signs then pressed his hands to the ground. The rooftop changed from clay tiles to hard packed dirt. You pulled the stopper from the small container of water that was tied to your belt and did some hand signs, causing the water to flow out and expand. You made it saturate much of the dirt that now surrounded you. You knew Usa's most lethal attack, but he couldn't do it if the dirt was moist. But now your water was all gone, so your main long-range attack was gone. You'd have to be dependent on your lightning jutsu's so harm him enough to allow you to get close to him and deliver the finishing blow. All you'd need is one clear shot at his heart, but that required a fair amount of chakra, and all of your lightning jutsu's used up huge amounts of your chakra. You'd have to be extremely careful.

Usa glared at mud that was under your feet, "Just cause you've made my dirt into mud, you think I can't use my jutsu's?" He did some hand signs and the ground under your feet rolled, before a spear of goopy mud shot up at you. You hadn't been expecting him to be able to use this attack with the mud and couldn't dodge. It hit you squarely in the chest. You felt pain, but not nearly as much as you were expecting. You looked down. The mud had the hitting power, but was too soft to pierce your armor, instead, bouncing off without too much damage. It was painful, but not overly dangerous. You also glanced at Usa as he staggered. Clearly using the jutsu of the mud drained much more of his chakra than it would on dry earth. You raised your hands and prepared another of your Striking Bird jutsu. You froze though as the light from your jutsu reflected off of something small and silver on the ground not too far from where Usa stood. You let the jutsu fall and you raised your hand and frantically felt around your neck, realizing that your locket was gone. It must've come off when Usa attacked you and had landed over there. His eyes followed your gaze and he stepped towards it. As he reached for it rage consumed you. There was no way in hell you were going to let this imposter touch that locket.

You sprinted forward, collecting your chakra in your palm. His attention returned to you, but it was already too late for him, you were too close, even as his hand rapidly moved to create hand signs. Your hand sank into his chest, you pushing your chakra through your brother's chest or a second time in your life. But this time it was different. As your chakra passed through his body you felt pain rip through your chest. Not an emotional pain, but a physical pain.

In your anger you hadn't realized that you'd stepped onto the dry dirt, and that he'd been quick enough with his hand signs to form one last earth spike. Your eyes were side open as they darted down. You could see the sharp point of the earth spike sticking out from the front of your chest, your blood covering it since it hand pierced through you from your back. Usa coughed out some blood, his eyes finally returning to looking like the Usa you remembered, "Looks like you'll be coming with me this time Uta. I'm so sorry..." It seemed like your attack had broken whatever control Orochimaru had had on him. Usa's eyes shut and he slumped away from you, collapsing to the ground, before his body turned back into the clay-like substance that it must've been made of. Tears welled in your eyes and darkness began to cloud your vision and you felt coldness creeping into your body. You began to rapidly lose feeling in your body as your blood stained the ground around you. You squeezed your eyes shut and pictured Kakashi in your mind.

You thought that you'd been prepared to die, but you hadn't expected to be flooded with so much regret. All you wanted right in this moment was to see Kakashi one last time. A tear escaped your eye and slid down your cheek as the last of your senses left you, leaving alone in the darkness, one last thought whispering through your mind *Goodbye Kakashi...I love you so much...*

~~~Kakashi's POV~~~

Everything seemed to be calming down. Most of our opponents had been defeated or had fled. I suddenly felt a pain rip through my chest. It was so intense that I dropped to my knees. I could barely breathe and black dots covered my vision for a moment. It lasted for several seconds, and I began to fear the worst. But after a few moments the black dots began to clear and the pain faded to a dull ache. It didn't go away completely and I felt like something was stuck in my chest, but I breathed a sigh of relief. I wasn't dead, so that meant she wasn't either. That jutsu that I had performed ensured that.

My attention became drawn to the barrier as it began to come down. My eyes widened. Was it all over? Had the Hokage finally managed to beat Orochimaru? I watched as several figures carried one figure out of there and leapt away. They were the enemy. And since they had only grabbed one person, who clearly wasn't Usa, then Uta must've been able to take care of her brother. I watched, while dealing with the last few who still fought, watching for Uta and the Hokage to come down. I had no doubt that they had lived. I saw the ANBU members move onto the roof. There seemed to be no movement on the roof. I began moving forward, beginning to feel nervous. Once I made it to the roof, one of the ANBU members spotted me and rushed forward to stop me from coming forward any further. "Why are you stopping me? I can help."

The ANBU member shook his head, "No Kakashi. We can't let you come in any further. We need you to be in full control of yourself. Besides...there's nothing that anyone can do now, especially not you." Fear gripped me. What did he mean by that? Nothing anyone can do? And especially not me?

I shoved my way past him despite his protests. I could see several ANBU medical ninja's gathered around Sarutobi, many of them shaking their heads. A few were clearly having a hard time keeping their emotions under control. It was clear even from a distance that he was dead. But as much as the Hokage meant to me, he wasn't the one I was looking for.

I saw another couple medical ninja gathered at the other end of the roof. They were moving around rapidly, but as I approached I could hear one of them say to the other, "Don't bother. No matter what we do she's gone." I swallowed and stepped forward again, freezing as I heard a splash as my foot hit the roof. I looked down and saw the massive pool of blood that was spreading from beyond the ANBU members. I rushed forward, pushing my way past the last few that blocked me from my destination. The sight that met my eyes knocked that air from my lungs. There was my beautiful, amazing, wonderful Uta. She was on her feet, but only because the massive stone spike that pierced her chest held her that way. I could see the blood flowing from around the edges of her wound.

Her skin was deathly pale and she hung limply from the stone spike. I stepped forward, the ANBU members no longer trying to stop me. I touched her cheek and could feel that it was already much too cold to be normal. "Uta...?" She didn't respond. I lifted her face and pressed my forehead to hers. I couldn't feel her breath. My instincts told me that she was gone, but I didn't understand how it was possible. If she was gone, then I should be too. "Uta...sweetie...please. Open your eyes...you can't be gone." I began to shake as I slid my hand to her neck, trying desperately to find her pulse. There was nothing. Not even a flicker. I kept telling her that she couldn't be gone, but I felt a hand on my shoulder. The voice of Anko spoke from behind me, "She's gone Kakashi...you need to let her go so that we can move her body somewhere safer." I shook my head, "She can't be gone..." "She is though." My voice rose to near a scream, "She can't be! I bound us together! If she dies I die! So she can't be gone!!!" A broken sob escaped me and I wrapped my arms around her limp body, clinging to my hopes despite all of the evidence to the contrary.

Anko's voice was soft, "She can be...she got the Hokage to sever that bond as much as he could. Even the Hokage couldn't break it completely though...so you probably felt her death...but it was broken enough to keep you from dying with her..." I shook as Anko told me this. Uta had gone to the Hokage? She'd made it so that he wouldn't die with her? She had said that fighting her brother would claim her life. Was it that she hadn't just suspected that it would, but she had intended for it to kill her? Had she gone into all of this with the intention of leaving him all alone?

The first tears I'd cried since Rin's death welled in my eyes. My arms wrapped tighter around Uta's shoulders, "Please Uta...don't leave me behind too... I need you."

With every passing second I knew that it was true, she was gone. Sobs began to shake my body harder and a scream of agony ripped from my body.

~~~Time Skip~~~

I stared at the KIA stone as the rain poured down on my head. I had mixed emotions as I stared at all of the names that had been added. Pain was probably the strongest feeling. But I also felt a small amount of relief as I scanned the names over and over. It had been a while since that day. Naruto had left with Jiraiya to fetch the last of the legendary three, Tsunade. She was going to be named the next Hokage if she agreed to it. I turned and began walking away from the stone and towards the hospital. I sincerely hoped that she would agree to it. There were too many people injured that needed her help. And if anyone could pull everyone together and get everyone refocussed it was her.

I climbed the steps to the intensive care unit. I walked past Rock Lee's room, nodding to Sakura who had come to visit again. I continued down the hall, nodding to the attendant that had just left the room that I was heading for. I hesitated outside the door for a moment. I couldn't help but be thankful for every single event that had led to the miracle that waited on the other side for me. I'd already been granted so much, but I still wanted one last thing.

I stepped into the room and moved to the bed, "Good morning Uta." The beeping of machines was my only answer but I still smiled as I up to her and brushed my hair through her red hair. I chuckled, "I know I'm late today, but the rain slowed me down a bit."

The highest ranking medical ninja had been able to detect some very minor signs of life in Uta and had been able to keep her from dying by putting her in a state of suspended animation. It was like a coma, but much deeper. They worked on her regularly to repair her wounds, but the only ninja with enough skill to heal Uta was Tsunade. That was the one thing I still wanted. The odds weren't good, but even a 1% chance was better than nothing.

I leaned forward and kissed her forehead, "I found something for you." I reached around her neck, clasping the small locket around her neck. It had been missing since the chuunin exams, but I had finally found it. It had even still had the lock of Usa's hair in it. I pulled up a chair next to her bed and gripped her hand, "Naruto's gone to get Tsunade. If anyone can convince her to come back, it's him. So I hope I get to see your gorgeous eyes again soon."

I pulled my book out of my bag, flipping to the back. I had found her most recent writings after everything had happened and had given them to Jiraiya. They hadn't been finished, but he had made sure that her work was published anyways. I read over the three words that followed her work, them filling me with hope, because they promised good things to come, at least with regards to Uta.

And those words were;

*TO BE CONTINUED*

END

(Thank you everyone that has stuck with me for this story. I do hope to come back and write another book for this story or a short story, but it won't be for a while. I want to work on other stories. Love love love all my followers and readers. I hope you all stay with me for a long time to come.)