Sorry for the wait :P so i bet that some of you will like this chapter ^^

Madara's eyes widened as he stared at the young shinobi who had confident eyes. Anger rose inside of him....If she stops the Edo Tensei then his goal will be even harder to achieve. He couldn't let Mariah out of his sight; not even for a second or else she'll be gone and off to stop Kabuto.

Madara had to kill her right away. Ever since her interference she's been nothing but trouble......First he had to get the bijuu out of her then kill her which will lead to her demise. If he waits any longer then she'll be an even bigger pain. He should've killed her all those years ago while she was still a defenseless little girl.

Back when Zetsu first brought her to the Akatsuki, Madara knew something was going to go wrong with her but he ignored the feeling. Regretting ignoring that feeling now he took out a kunai attempting to stab Mariah in the chest but promptly she dodged it with ease. She went for a kick but Madara caught it and twisted it but she brought up her other leg almost hitting him in the head but he ducked.

From there the battle commenced between the two once again. Both were equally matched for the time being. Mostly they were fighting only with Taijutsu since both were running low on chakra. Mariah knew that she could go on forever for she had good stamina.

Tadashi and the others were still working on defeating the tailed beasts which was starting to get easier because they were starting to get worn out and Mariah was distracting Madara.  Everyone has been holding their own very well as they fought. Every once in a while at least someone would glance over at Mariah and her fight between Madara. She had the upper hand even though her mind is on so many other things. She doesn't even know how she is winning because of all of the distractions that are around her.

She's seeing so many things right now. She can see the battle between the Kages and the real Madara and the various battles with the other shinobi. Death and blood......that's all she can see out of her Paths eyes. She also had to deal with the raging beasts screaming inside her head nagging her about her skills. Mariah had to glance every now and then at her comrades and.....Tadashi.

Flipping out of range avoiding Madara attempt to cut off her tail.....yes she was still fused with Kurayami who was very silent. She was probably scared and intimidated by the bijuu. Using her almighty push she managed to put some distance between her and Madara giving her enough time to conserve her energy and regain her chakra.

"Getting tired Madara?" Mariah taunted.

"I won't stop until you're dead." Madara hissed.

"I'm guessing that you don't care about me being your tool anymore?"

"It'll be a minor setback but I'll have to deal with it. I have a backup plan since there was a possibility that you wouldn't live to this point in time. I had this whole thing planned for so many years now so I didn't even know of your existence. When I found out about you then you made my plan much easier but it seems that I have to go back to the original plan."

"And that would be?"

"Not telling you," He said from behind Mariah attempting to kick her back.

"Awe but if I'm going to die then you should tell me your evil plan." Mariah whined  dodging his attack.

"I'm not that stupid; there might a slim chance of you surviving."

"Fine then..............bring it.............old man...."

*Play video on the side*

Madara smirked at her comment......she never lacks to amaze him with her smart mouth in the face of danger. She's bold and daring and won't back down which pissed him off but at the same time humorous. His chakra was too low for him to perform and jutsus let alone use his Sharingan against her. There wouldn't be a point anyway by using it because she could just dispel it with her own.

Examining her closely he noticed that with every dodge whenever Mariah would land on her right foot she would wince...only a little bit though hardly noticeable. He suspects that during the fight she got injured there and is trying to hide the fact that she is in pain. Smirking Madara rushed towards Mariah trying to punch her.

Once she dodged he kicked her right foot causing her to yelp in pain. Mariah bit her lip preventing her from screaming. Her right foot was already broken from landing on it the wrong way and adding more pressure to it. Once she landed on the ground she fell on her butt instead of her feet. Gritting her teeth she looked up at Madara.

Taking this opportunity to strike, Madara grabbed a kunai. He examined it making sure that it was sharp enough and quickly threw it aiming for Mariah's heart. She saw it coming....................she couldn't dodge.............................she couldn't do anything.............but sit there awaiting for her time to come..........................she closed her eyes getting ready for the impact..

It never came.

Slowly opening her eyes Mariah saw a figure standing protectively in front of her. The kunai's tip was poking through the back of the figure blood dripping from it. Surrounding the person was a puddle of blood and she heard coughing. Finally realizing who it was her eyes widened in horror. Her savior fell backwards onto her staring into her eyes.

"...................Ta....da.....shi....." She breathed.

Mariah looked down at Tadashi who looked like he was in pain but still had a smirk plastered on his face when he looked up at her. Blood streamed from his mouth down to his chin............the lights in his eyes were dim showing that he's barley holding on.

The kunai looked like it was in his heart but it was hard to tell. His eyes held love and compassion. Mariah looked down at him in sadness with tears threatening to fall. Her lip was trembling.......her throat was dry......she felt a ping in her heart knowing that this would be his last. His breath was getting heavy with uneven breaths.

"Why?" Mariah choked out.

Tadashi smiled softly.

"Because...............I love you.......You couldn't................die just yet..... I want you to win this war and........go back to the leaf village as a hero..........I've been with you your whole life and been with you through............the good times and bad.......You've overcome challenges.........and I know you better.....than anyone.......I just want you to..........be happy..........I don't care if you don't love me.................I don't care if you go back to Sasuke...........I only care about your........happiness.......As long as you're happy then............I'm happy....."

That was it..........Tears were pouring down Mariah's face as he finished his speech......

"Tadashi.............I........do love you...............but I...............I love Sasuke more.............ever since you came back............I...........I......my feelings for you grew stronger and...even though I tried to deny it I couldn't. I want to be with you but Sasuke will always be in my heart.............I'm sorry...but please.....please don't leave me." Mariah sobbed.

Tadashi lifted up his arm and caressed Mariah's cheek. She leaned into his touch.

"When this is over........promise me that you'll live a happy....and long life......grow old and have a family.........I want little Mariah's running around..........I want your dream to come true........."

"I..............Promise."

"Good.........."

Tadashi slowly closed his eyes taking in his last breath.......

"Take........care....."

He was gone......his arm fell limp...his skin was getting pale and colder.......Mariah wanted to look away but........she couldn't.....She kept staring at his peaceful face.....

"Aw what a shame.........Since your demon is dead that means that you are use to me anyway......that gives me another reason to kill you......It's a shame that he died for you........pity." 'Madara' said.

"Shut up you son of a bitch," Mariah growled.

"Touchy,"

"You shouldn't talk..........you're still weak....."

"Not for long and remember that you're also weak because you had to protect your friends."

Mariah looked away from Tadashi to send 'Madara' a glare which was even more scary because of her eyes. 'Madara' flinched a little but it was hardly noticeable. Mariah gently put Tadashi on the ground and stood up getting out her sword. Letting out a shaky breath, Mariah get ready to attack 'Madara' with all she had.

'Madara' dodged the sword as well as he could. Mariah was fast with anticipating his moves even before he thinks them. He has to kill her now or else he'll be doomed. Suddenly he felt replenished with power. He looked over to see that none of the bijuu were there anymore so now he has all of his power back. He now has an advantage over Mariah which she even realizes.

"Now what are you going to do Mariah? You're out of chakra and I have almost all of mine back. You should just give up now and accept your fate."

"Not a chance old man."

"Still mourning over your demon? If he died so easily then you were feared for nothing."

"Don't talk about him like that!"

"You should know that love brings nothing but trouble Mariah. Just look back into your past. You should know this better than anyone. You loved your parents and clan but they were trying to kill you. You loved Orochimaru like an uncle but what did he do?"

"Shut up!"

"He betrayed you and experimented on you. You loved the village but they didn't do anything to help you in your time in need. You loved Sasuke but look what happened."

"No!"

"He has hurt you so many times.......he betrayed you and played with your feelings. You loved Itachi like a brother and now he's dead. You loved the Akatsuki but they all betrayed you and are dead...You regained your trust in the village but you found out that they were only using you for your power."

"Just stop talking!" Mariah sobbed.

"And now this.......................Tadashi is now dead...............How much more can you take Mariah? Today everyone is going to die....................And if you somehow live.......you'll be all alone once again to live the rest of your life in guilt..............only because you couldn't keep your feelings under control....you were foolish enough to let people in."

"Stop!" Mariah shouted taking another swing at him.

"Now look at you.....You're hurt...........and full of rage.........I'm surprised that you've lived this far.......If it were someone else or even me I wouldn't be able to take it............I would've ended my life already......."

"I'm a lot stronger than you are 'Madara'." Mariah spat.

"Tch no you're just stubborn. You always believed that things would get better. But when things did get better it all went downhill......There's no such thing as happy endings Mariah.......you're just too naïve to realize it."

"Why are you giving me a freaking life lesson in the middle of a fight?"

"Just some advice before you die before you're reunited with your putrid family."

Even more anger filled Mariah. How dare he talk bad about her clan!

"Easy kid, he's just trying to make you angry so you'll get sloppy."

"Yeah, don't let him get to you."

Taking in what the Bijuu said Mariah tried to calm down but it wasn't easy. She sensed something...............'Madara' was getting even more stronger than before. She also sensed that Kabuto was getting stronger........there was a spike in his chakra......he was more powerful than Orochimaru ever was now.........She had to get there fast and kill him...........

She had to stop the Edo Tensei. She looked back at 'Madara' seeing amusement in his eyes.

"I won't let you get to me......I have to leave you now Madara....for defeating you isn't my job........it's Naruto's job."

"Don't you dare."

"Too late."

With that Mariah started to disappear deactivating her eyes to conserve chakra. While she was traveling she tapped into Tadashi's remaining chakra restoring her own and Kurayami's. For this fight she'll need all the help she could get. Thanks to the bijuu her wounds were slowly healing but she still wasn't in the best of shape.

Sniffle sniffle :'( TADASHI DIED!!!!!!!!! I bet some of you are happy about that -_- heartless fans....jk i love you guys hehee.....so any suggestions? comments?

If you want check out my new story Angel of Darkness which is the sequel to In love with my best friend? Yeah right! ^^

Byez you awesome people!

Peace!