When I'm Sorry Is Not Enough
Kabuto was dead. Itachi had been able to disable Edo Tensei. Sasuke was the one who killed him. He remembered impaling Kabuto with Chidori, and the vague smile on his face as the wielder of Edo Tensei died. Itachi would have been against killing Kabuto, but Itachi was no longer here. He was gone, where he was supposed to be. "It's all up to you now," Itachi had told him. Those were his parting words to his little brother. Sasuke was supposed to stop the war that he had caused, for he was the only that could. Itachi had told him who the masked man really was, and a shiver had gone down Sasuke's spine. "It makes sense, doesn't it?" Itachi had asked. Sasuke could only numbly nod. I have to fight him, Sasuke thought, walking away from Kabuto's decomposing body. But how can I when…?
Uzumaki Naruto and the Allied Shinobi forces were fighting the masked man now. With Edo Tensei undone, the masked man was half his strength. The jinchuukiri were dead now, released from the horrid justu, and Kabuto had mockingly told him that the five Kage would be at the battle as well. "The whole shinobi world can watch you become consumed with hate," he had said with his last breath. Sasuke wasn't so sure. He felt the hate stir inside him, but somehow, after Itachi had told him the truth, the hatred had lessened, marred only by bitterness. Sasuke knew who the masked man was, and he knew that he alone could defeat him, for they understood each other. His desire was not to destroy Konohagakure or Naruto. Those feelings had past. His desire was to find and reassemble Taka.
He recalled Kabuto's words. "No...he's no longer your friend now, right…?" He had been talking about Jūgo, the tall, silent, and surprisingly gentle man that had been on Sasuke's team. Hidden beneath his words, however, was the fact that Suigestu, Karin, and Jūgo were no longer Sasuke's friends. He had abandoned them for his revenge…just like Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi. His mind hadn't considered them the past few weeks, but now he thought of them. He thought of Suigetsu, the cocky, annoying, and loyal member of the team. Karin reminded him of Sakura when she was a girl, mooning over him, and yet intelligent and strong. Jūgo was at times mentally unstable and violent, but was the kindest of them all deep down. Sasuke wondered what had happened to them after had abandoned them. He had to find them.
Sasuke did find his former friends eventually. They were beside one of Orochimaru's hideouts, obscured by the barren experiment room. He had made it this far from being seen because of his black cloak. His face was hidden by a cowl, and he abandoned the purple rope belt around his waist; he carried his katana openly now. Sasuke wasn't certain how his former teammates would react by seeing him. Karin would be the first one to know that he was there, he knew. He wondered if she still had feelings for him. As soon as he stepped into the room, movement echoed in his hypersensitive ears. Suigetsu, Sasuke thought wryly. Like Naruto, Suigetsu could easily be detected. Katana met katana, and Sasuke found himself staring at his former teammate's face.
"Hello, Sasuke," Suigetsu said cheerfully. Sasuke was silent. "Have you come to join us?" He laughed, pressing his sword against Sasuke's. His former teammate was shocked on how much stronger Suigetsu had become. His arms started to tremble at Suigetsu's raw strength. He parried against Suigetsu's sword before landing softly across from him.
"Do you mean to kill us like you tried to kill me?"
Sasuke turned. Karin was standing beside the experiment table, carrying a scroll in her hand. She too had changed; her long and unruly red hair was now combed and cut short to her neck. She stared at Sasuke with cold and calculating eyes. "It won't be that easy this time, Sasuke."
"I didn't come here to kill you." Sasuke's voice seemed vaguely apprehensive. He stopped speaking for a moment, allowing his body and mind to calm. He saw Jūgo standing beside Suigetsu, and it appeared that he was the only person that was pleased at seeing Sasuke. Sasuke suddenly remembered when Jūgo had risked his life to save his own when they were battling the eighth jinchuuriki. "You can't die…you're all I have left to remember Kimimaro." They had all put their lives on the line in that battle. They had protected one another. And now that bond was gone. "I didn't come here to kill you," Sasuke repeated. Karin was still avoiding his gaze, but Suigetsu put down his sword and Jūgo looked at his friend cautiously. "I came to ask if we could become a team again."
"You abandoned us for dead, Sasuke." Karin's voice was cold. "You abandoned Jūgo and Suigetsu when they needed you and you sacrificed me to kill Danzō." Her voice hissed at the man's name. "How do we know that it's not going to happen again?"
"You don't." Sasuke made no effort to hide the truth. "I could abandon you at any time. What I'm asking is for another chance, to be your leader once again." No one spoke for a while. It was deadly quiet, and only the sound of the drip, drip, from the vacant experiment tombs echoed in the room. Sasuke could his own heart beat, as if rhythmically reassuring him.
"Before we make that decision," Suigetsu cautioned, choosing his words carefully. He was eerily somber. "We want to know the truth. We want to know…" he paused. "We want to know…your side." Both of Sasuke's teammates nodded in agreement.
"Alright," Sasuke muttered. He slid his katana beneath his cloak. "I'll tell you the truth."
Suigetsu, Jūgo, and Karin were silent as he began to speak about the fall of the Uchiha clan, Konohagakure's involvement, and Itachi's death. Karin had told Suigetsu and Jūgo beforehand what had occurred in the battle with Danzō, but hearing the story from Sasuke seemed different somehow. His voice spellbound them, and the three lost their breath as Sasuke told them the truth about Uchiha Madara and who the masked man truly was.
"That means…" Karin whispered. Her eyes locked with Sasuke's, and for the first time, her gaze wasn't cold. Her eyes were the same as they had been before, but there was an unusual caution in those blood-like depths. "Sasuke…"
"You know who the masked man truly is now." Suigetsu had his arms crossed over his chest, and his face was etched with concern. "Then your brother was right, because the masked man does have the Sharingan, and you're the last one left with that kekkei genkei."
Jūgo was also distressed. "How can you defeat him when he's…?" He couldn't finish his sentence.
"I can defeat him," Sasuke said, "if we are a team again." He faced his former teammates again. They looked into his eyes, and saw nothing but sincerity. "Karin, you have unique abilities passed down only from the Uzumaki clan. Their life force is strong, and I've seen your healing ability. Suigetsu, you are also an indisposible companion. You are not easy to kill because of your body is able to liquefy. Jūgo, you are able to absorb forces of nature; you can talk to animals, and the reasons why you become berserk is from their feelings. I can control that if you let me."
"Is your desire still to destroy Konohagakure and destroy other innocent lives?" Jūgo asked, narrowing his eyes.
"No," Sasuke replied. He wasn't surprised by Jūgo's question. "My desire is for us to become Taka once again." Slowly, he held out his hand. Karin was the first person to hold her hand above his, and she held his gaze. Suigetsu followed suite, gingerly placing his hand above Karin's. Jūgo was the last, his warm and large hand obscuring the hidden darkness inside them.
"We fight as one?" Sasuke nodded. Suigetsu, Jūgo, and Karin nodded simultaneously. Taka was formed once more.
As the team ran to the front line, Jūgo asked, "Why didn't you ask for an apology, Sasuke?"
Taka waited for their leader to respond as they looked at him. Silently, Sasuke remembered Kakashi's words from his use. "Chidori was a power I gave you because you found something important. That power is not to be aimed at a friend or used for revenge. You ought to know what that power should be used for." He remembered how he had used his Chidori to kill Danzō. He used the same technique to try to kill Sakura, Karin, the Sandaime Raikage, Naruto, and countless others. Perhaps it's not too late, Kakashi. Perhaps I have found something important.
"Sometimes saying I'm sorry is not enough," Sasuke stated simply.