This is the SEQUEL to After the Avenger, a one-shot I wrote awhile ago. A lot of people requested that I continue it, so here it is (thanks to professors not assigning much homework the first week of classes).
WARNING: This contains spoilers. If you don't know/don't want to know Tobi's real identity or what recently happened to Itachi, please don't read this. If you continue, then please don't be upset with me.
Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Kishimoto-sama.
Uchiha Sasuke stood poised for a moment over his older brother's body, staring down at Itachi's motionless form with disbelief in his crimson eyes. He lifted his hands, which were stained with blood and trembling with exhaustion. His chakra level was nearly nonexistent as a result of the battle he had just engaged in. The Avenger's head lowered, long dark hair falling into his face. The trembling of his hands had spread to his whole body and now he collapsed to his hands and knees. In mimicry of his long-ago battle with Naruto, he found himself staring directly into his older brother's sightless eyes. Sasuke's arms gave out and he barely managed to push himself to the side, rolling onto his back to lie beside Itachi—heads together but bodies facing in opposite directions.
He had finally done it. So many years of brooding over the slaughter of his clan and gaining strength so that he could defeat the Uchiha prodigy…and here it was. He had won. Yet as he lay here in the dirt and blood, no sense of triumph or elation filled him. He was completely empty—drained of hate, drained of purpose. Crimson Sharingan was replaced with onyx before his eyes slid closed. His mind abruptly called up an image of dark hair and moonlight eyes. Instead of the stench of blood and sweat, he smelled lavender. The slightest of smiles curved his thin lips.
Hyuuga Hinata.
It had been months since his encounter with the shy kunoichi, but he could clearly recall every second of it. He remembered the way her small frame felt against his lean form, the softness of her lips under his, and her way of stuttering that would annoy him on anyone else. He remembered the talent and stubborn determination hidden beneath her delicate appearance. Most of all, he remembered that he had claimed her as his own once Itachi was dead.
It was strange…he almost thought that he could hear her voice calling his name.
.oOo.oOo.
Uchiha Madara had watched the battle with growing delight. When the genius he had trained was struck down, he grinned maniacally. At last, the seed he had planted the night of the Uchiha massacre had grown to maturity. Sasuke was at last ready to be of use. For generations, the founder of the Uchiha clan had nursed his hatred of the Shodai Hokage and the village of Konoha . Now it was time to impart his hatred to this young and receptive vessel. Working together, they would utterly destroy the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
His gaze narrowed when the youngest Uchiha suddenly collapsed. It would ruin all of his plans should Sasuke die. He was not about to let that happen. He started toward the battleground, then was forced to stop. A group of three Konoha nin emerged from the woods into the battle-ravaged clearing, trailed by an enormous dog. He scowled at the Leaf emblems on their headbands, as though by that he could cause them all to drop dead.
It didn't work.
"Sasuke!" the lone female of the group suddenly exclaimed, starting toward his new student.
One of her teammates grabbed hold of the sleeve of her baggy jacket. His tattooed face was serious as he bared his fangs at the two motionless figures.
"They're dangerous, Hinata!" he protested.
She shrugged loose of her companion's hold and went to Sasuke's side. Madara's hands clenched at his sides. He wanted to go ahead and kill the Konoha nin, but his descendant was still conscious enough to be aware of it. He couldn't take the chance that it would affect the younger Uchiha's view of the 'truth' he wanted to impart to him. After all this waiting, he would bide his time just a bit longer. He settled back into the cover of the trees.
.oOo.oOo.
When Hinata emerged into the clearing and caught her first sight of the two brothers, she was certain they were both dead. His name slipped from her lips before she could stop it. She forced herself to ignore the way her heart dropped to her toes at the thought of him dead. Instead she started toward the two men, only to be stopped by Kiba's hand on her jacket.
"They're dangerous, Hinata!" Kiba growled.
She shrugged off both his hand and his warning. She dropped to her knees beside Sasuke's motionless form. She lifted a hand to lay it on his chest, dismayed to find her fingers shook like a leaf in a gale. Her breath whooshed out in a sigh of relief when she felt his steady heartbeat underneath her hand. Seemingly of its own accord, her hand lifted to brush the unruly strands of hair away from his face, opening it to her perusal. He looked older than she recalled, more world-weary and tired. The harsh life of a missing-nin had etched faint lines onto his face—an echo of the lines marking his older brother's skin. Somehow, though, the gauntness of his features only enhanced the sharp angles of his face. Even after all he had put himself through, she had to grudgingly admit that he was the most handsome man she had ever seen. Even Naruto's rugged good looks faded in the face of an indefinable something that Sasuke possessed.
'And that's quite enough of that,' she chided herself.
She moved her hand back to his chest, summoning chakra to her fingertips. She would use some of her own chakra to replenish his exhausted supply. Beside her, Shino was bent over Itachi's form.
"Dead," he intoned solemnly.
"Looks like he finally did it," Kiba said from behind them, tone sounding almost surprised.
Hinata, for her part, was not. One look into Sasuke's intense onyx eyes, and she had known that he would eventually accomplish his goal. He was like Naruto in that way. Once he had set his mind on something, one could be sure that it would be done. She hid a shiver at the memory of his lips moving against her skin, the harsh whisper of 'mine.'
Again, best not to think of it.
Underneath her hand, Sasuke stirred. His hand lifted to weakly grasp her wrist, the action drawing a low growl from Kiba. His eyes fluttered open, but didn't really focus on her.
"Hinata," he whispered, the sound of her name nearly lost to the soft breeze.
She tensed in shock, lavender eyes widening. His hand dropped back to his side, though, as unconsciousness claimed him yet again.
"Take him back to camp," Shino, their squad leader, commanded.
"What about his brother's body?" Hinata asked.
The bug-user's head turned back toward Itachi. What his teammates could see of his face was utterly impassive, seemingly uncaring of the blood in which he stood. He raised a hand and a sea of kikai began to slowly flood out from the sleeve.
"I have been taught how to dispose of the bodies of shinobi," he said.
Kiba cringed when a few of the destruction bugs landed on the elder Uchiha's body. He stepped forward and scooped up Sasuke.
"I'll carry him," he said.
Without a word, Hinata followed Kiba and Akamaru from the clearing. She didn't dare look back, for she was too afraid of what exactly she might see. It seemed the Inuzuka's mind had been following along the same track as hers.
"Does Shino…creep you out sometimes?" he asked once they had traveled a short distance from the clearing.
"Kiba!" she exclaimed.
Had his hands not been full of Uchiha, he would have lifted them in defense.
"Really, Hinata. He's weird. I mean, he has bugs living inside him," he protested.
"And your dog can turn into a replica of you, and I can see someone's chakra systems. We are ninja, Kiba-kun, we are not supposed to be normal," she chided.
He frowned, knowing that she was deliberately misunderstanding him, but didn't press her further. When they reached their small camp, he set Sasuke down, watching with narrowed eyes as his female teammate again knelt beside the missing-nin. She laid a hand on his bare chest, green chakra surrounding her delicate hand.
"Do you have to touch him?" he said, surprised when the question came out as a snarl.
Hinata too looked surprised by his tone, but she answered him patiently, "Yes, I do in order for the jutsu to work."
He didn't relax until Hinata pulled back her hand and shifted away from the missing-nin almost an hour later. He was only relaxed for a second, though, for the next instant there was a loud explosion from the direction where Shino was. Brown met silver in a moment of wordless communication. Kiba frowned, but there was nothing for it.
"I'll go make sure Shino's alright, because I don't think that's part of his getting rid of the body" he said.
Hinata nodded, settling back beside Sasuke as Kiba and Akamaru vanished back into the trees. Almost without conscious thought, her eyes shifted into Byakugan, the veins in her face becoming more pronounced. Whatever was going on back at that clearing was beyond her range of vision. The only reason she had been able to sense the battle between the two brothers was because of the sheer amount of chakra that had been flooding the air. She shifted uneasily, allowing her bloodline limit to fade away, but her senses remained on high alert. The one thought on her mind was that Itachi had been a member of Akatsuki. Closing her eyes, she remembered the way Kurenai-sensei had described the Uchiha's partner—a huge, shark-like man with vast reserves of chakra. Her team was not weak, but they were more suited to stealth missions than ones where force was required. Slightly better was the thought that it might be the rest of Sasuke's team—Hebi. Their teams had been evenly matched the last time they fought, although Kurenai-sensei had been with them that time. Either option was not a very good one, in her opinion.
.oOo.oOo.
Suigetsu leaned back against the tree trunk, massive sword resting beside him. His gray eyes followed the scene in front of him with a measure of impassivity and a bit of pity for the poor Leaf shinobi. Juugo was in full-out berserker mode and Karin…well, the red-haired kunoichi was not reacting well to the absence of her precious 'Sasuke-kun.' His lip curled in a sneer at the thought, exposing razor-sharp teeth. Gray eyes suddenly widened and he jumped out of the way as Juugo caught the Leaf shinobi's feet and threw him in Suigetsu's direction. The poor guy slammed into the tree, shattering bark everywhere. Karin was on him in an instant, balling her fist in his jacket. She shook him so hard that his sunglasses—already cracked from Juugo's blows—slid off his face.
"Where is Sasuke? I know he was here; I can sense his chakra all over the place. What have you done with him?" she demanded.
The shinobi's lips moved, but no sound came out. He looked like he was barely holding onto consciousness. Suigetsu started forward, spreading his hands as part of an attempt to calm his team members. Suddenly, Karin screamed and staggered back from the shinobi. There were insects swarming all over her, her skin quickly disappearing beneath their black bodies. The Leaf nin rolled into a defensive crouch, his golden eyes gleaming wolf-like as he faced off against his enemies. Very clever. Suigetsu cracked his knuckles as he reached for his sword. Karin's screaming had faded to whimpers that were even now dying away.
"I didn't like Karin much, but she was part of Hebi. You're going to die, Leaf," he said.
"Not if we kill you first!" the snarl was his only warning before another Leaf shinobi tackled him.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the first shinobi going after Juugo, but then his own opponent consumed his attention. Actually, he discovered that he was facing more than one when Akamaru's teeth sank into his leg. He whipped his blade around, carving a shallow cut across the dog's side. The shinobi's growl deepened as he came in close—too close for Suigetsu to use his sword effectively. His opponent was not the most polished fighter he had ever faced, but he more than made up for it in sheer ferocity. When they broke apart, both were bleeding and panting heavily. Suigetsu's gray eyes flickered in sudden recognition.
One Leaf shinobi with red fangs tattooed on his face. Check.
One nin-dog, white with red markings. Check.
One Leaf shinobi in a jacket and sunglasses (before Juugo had broken them). Check.
He grinned toothily. This was the same team they had faced a few months back. He narrowed his eyes at the man he was facing, pitching his voice lower to make sure the man paid close attention.
"You didn't leave your pretty little kunoichi alone with Sasuke again, did you?" he said, tone clearly insinuating the worst.
Bingo! The man's brown eyes hardened. Now to twist the kunai he had just shoved into the man's back…figuratively speaking, of course.
"Our team leader was most impressed with her skills the last time they met," he added.
The man lunged at him with a cry of rage. Suigetsu took full advantage of the anger-driven attack, bending his torso to meet the charge head-on. His shoulder landed in the other shinobi's gut and he used his momentum to flip him over. He followed him to the ground, burying the kunai he had drawn into his opponent's abdomen. He had only enough time for a small smile of victory before the dog barreled into him. He too was knocked onto his back and the dog bared his teeth, ready to tear out Suigetsu's throat.
.oOo.oOo.
Hinata moved nervously around the camp. Her boys were taking far too long to come back to her. She had already packed up the camp, making sure to leave behind no trace of their presence. Three packs sat in a row, ready to be donned at a moment's notice. Every now and then, her Byakugan would activate and she would peer uselessly toward the clearing. Her attention was so focused outward, that she nearly missed Sasuke stirring beside her. His eyes slid open, chakra depletion leaving them a calm onyx rather than bloody crimson. Their gazes met and neither said a word for a long minute.
"You should still be asleep. The battle took nearly all of your chakra," she said softly.
His eyes closed for a moment, as he gathered strength, then he shoved himself up on his elbows. Dark hair fell into his face as he scanned the small camp.
"Teammates?" he asked, voice rough.
"Back where we found you. I think they are fighting someone," she said.
Almost unconsciously, she had started to press her pointer fingers together—a nervous habit she thought she had overcome years ago. His attention returned to her, dark eyes speculative.
"You aren't stuttering, Hinata," he stated.
Lavender eyes widened and she looked away from his burning gaze. She hadn't been, had she? That was odd. She had trained herself not to stutter around people she knew well, but Sasuke certainly wasn't counted among that number. She dared a glance at him through the fringe of her long hair to find one corner of his mouth tilted in the tiniest of smiles. He pushed himself to his feet, swaying slightly, and she stood up to lay a steadying hand on his shoulder. Sparks seemed to surge between them through the connection and she yanked her hand away. Sasuke's gaze was faintly mocking as he met her eyes, and she realized that she should have acted as though nothing had happened.
"Hn," he grunted.
Her eyes widened as he started slowly back in the direction they had come from.
"Y-you shouldn't go b-back there! Your chakra is almost de-depleted," she said.
He spared her a glance over his shoulder, but didn't stop walking. Distressed, she hurried after him. She knew that any further attempt at dissuading him would be useless. He was like Naruto in that way. Instead, she set her jaw stubbornly, determined to ignore the blasted man beside her. Let him act all high-and-mighty, even after she had given up a large amount of her chakra to draw him from death's door. It wasn't like his presence sent shivers of awareness down her spine, or his masculine scent filled her lungs with every breath she took, or a single glance from those fathomless eyes made her knees go weak. Of course not. She barely restrained a sigh. She was horrible when it came to lying, even to herself. But she'd die before ever admitting the affect the Uchiha had on her. The one thing she did have was Hyuuga clan pride.
Hinata activated her Byakugan as soon as they were close enough, and what she saw made her worries about Sasuke fly right out of her head. Kiba was charging at a man wielding a huge blade, Akamaru lurking close by as backup. Another man was currently embedding his fist in Shino…only Shino dissolved as soon as the man touched him. The clone faded into kikai, but the slowness with which they flew off showed that Shino—wherever he was—was tiring, or badly hurt, or both. Her pace quickened into a run and she was only dimly aware of Sasuke struggling to keep pace beside her. She emerged into the clearing, the missing-nin a step or two behind. Kiba was on the ground, one hand weakly struggling to remove the kunai embedded in his abdomen. The man he had been fighting was also on the ground, staring into the face of death in the form of a vindictive Akamaru. The third shinobi was ripping a tree from the ground, bellowing in wordless anger. There was no sign of Shino.
"Akamaru! Kiba!" she cried.
She moved toward them and Akamaru's snarl faded to a whimper. He stepped away from his victim, shaggy head turning from Hinata to his master. Suigetsu, seeing an opportunity, stretched his hand toward his sword. A sandaled foot placed squarely on the blade deterred him from lifting it. His gray eyes followed the foot up to meet Sasuke's gaze.
"Sasuke-san!" he said in relief.
Juugo stopped dead at the sound of the team leader's name. He turned toward them and, slowly, clarity returned to his gaze. He discarded the tree, stepping toward the other members of his team. Shino dropped to the ground nearby, jacket torn in half a dozen places. Juugo's face contorted at the sight of him.
"Juugo, come to me," Sasuke ordered lowly.
The giant paused, torn between the desire to kill the Leaf nin and the need to obey Sasuke. Shino waited quietly, seeming to sense the need for him to remain utterly still. Even the hint of aggressiveness on his part would tip the scales of Juugo's conflicted mind toward violence and insanity. The giant lowered his head, coming to the dark-haired Uchiha. Sasuke nodded in silent approval and Juugo smiled.
Meanwhile, Hinata had fallen to her knees beside Kiba. She brushed his hand away from the kunai, drawn chakra to her fingers, and only then did she remove the weapon. Her cool chakra caressed the wound, soothing away the pain even as it healed the torn muscles and skin. Shino limped toward the rest of his team, pausing halfway to retrieve his sunglasses from the ground. He lifted them for an inspection. One lens was completely gone and the other had several cracks across its surface. Even as he studied it, the pieces fell apart and that lens too fell away. He released the glasses with a sigh, pulling his hood closer around his face as though that would help hide his eyes. He halted beside his teammates, eyeing the three missing-nin warily.
"Uchiha Sasuke, you will come back to Konoha with us," he stated.
Sasuke remained impassive, while both Suigetsu and Juugo stiffened at his command. They both looked ready to start the fight all over again to keep their leader with them.
"Shino," Hinata said softly.
Sasuke's gaze slid over to her. She had finished healing Kiba's wound and was now cradling the Inuzuka's head in her lap. He looked barely conscious, but as Sasuke watched, one of his eyes opened. He met the Uchiha's gaze and bared his fangs in a self-satisfied smile. Sasuke stiffened for an entirely different reason than the other two surviving members of Team Hebi.
Hinata was his.
No Inuzuka idiot would steal her away from him. Gaze holding Kiba's, he responded to Shino's comment.
"I am ready to return to Konoha," he said.
Two pairs of golden eyes, one of gray, one of brown, and—most important—one of lavender all turned to him in surprise.
"What about us?" Juugo asked softly.
"Team Hebi was formed to search for my brother. He is dead now, so there is no longer a need for this team to exist," he stated impassively.
Suigetsu glanced over at his giant companion, then turned to Sasuke. His pointed teeth were bared in a snarl and his gray eyes were glinting with Anger. Waves of chakra were rolling out of his as he prepared himself for a battle.
"You did not drag the three of us all over the map just to drop us like this! Karin died because of you-" he spat.
"Don't act like you care, Suigetsu. You were using this team for your own purposes," Sasuke cut him off.
His chakra was still in an unruffled state and he appeared almost bored by the conversation. His attitude and words seemed to only infuriate his subordinate all the more. His fingers tightened around his sword. Gray eyes narrowed as though seriously contemplating taking a swipe at the Uchiha.
"C-can we discuss th-this later? S-someone is c-coming," Hinata stammered.
Shino's head lifted, golden eyes searching the trees around them.
"Hoshigaki," he said.
Suigetsu's head turned, his focus abruptly shifting at the mention of Itachi's partner. He lifted his sword then, a smile of anticipation curving his lips.
"You go ahead. I've been waiting to face this guy for a long time," he said.
Juugo shook his head and rumbled, "He'll kill you, Suigetsu."
The Mist nin looked back at him.
"Maybe he will, but this might be my only chance to face him. I'll take that chance," he stated.
Sasuke turned away from Suigetsu without another word and Juugo followed him quietly. Hinata helped Kiba to his feet and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders for support. The giant suddenly turned and came back to them, picking up Kiba with no effort at all. The Inuzuka appeared ready to protest being carried, but Juugo spoke before he could.
"Sasuke-san says we'll travel faster this way," he said.
Kiba scowled, unable to protest the Uchiha's logic without appearing childish. He knew the real reason Sasuke had sent Juugo back for him. He didn't want his rival so close to Hinata. He bared his fangs at the other man's back.
'This round goes to you, Uchiha, but you don't know Hinata like I do,' he thought.
There was no way his gentle Hinata could ever like someone as cold as the dark-haired Avenger. Whether he knew it or not, Sasuke's courtship was doomed from the start.
This is just the beginning of the story. I'm not sure how long it's going to be, but it is at 7,000 words and counting. Look for the next section to be posted next week!
In the meantime, please leave me a review!