Author: Kiel Hyre
Disclaimer: No sir, I don't own Naruto or anything else found in this one-shot.
Since his defection from Konoha, and later Sound, Sasuke had seen many things. He had been the watcher, protecting some and killing others, all in search of his brother. Today was just another day for him, and he didn't bother to hide who he was as he trekked forward to yet another nameless town. He would ask what it's name was later; he was lost now and needed to find his team.
He also needed to find out how he got lost in the first place.
--
Not too much further up the road, Itachi knew his brother was lost, having passed him not long ago, disguised as a caravan. He snickered at his cleverness, a rare sign of emotion he'd only show in front of his partner.
Kisame, who had been the driver of the thing, pondered over how one would turn himself into an entire caravan. He didn't care for the details either way however, Itachi is as Itachi does or something, he preferred the simple approach over gen- or was that ninjutsu? He just thought it was handy.
Kisame turned to look at him, grinning, but not losing his stride. "Have any plans for brother dearest? I know how you think, you can't resist it."
Itachi snorted, he should not be that predictable. "Time will tell, right now we need to locate and eliminate the 'beast' located in this village. It is not bijuu, but most certainly powerful. No other creature be it demonic or angelic, would show itself so carelessly otherwise."
Turning around to face his destination once more, Kisame walked in silence, grin ever-present. Whatever happened was sure to be entertaining.
--
Not long after he had entered the village, Sasuke noticed that something was different. Without even troubling to guess, he knew the addition of a depressed-looking rabbit demon sitting by a tree probably had something to do with that thought.
His curiosity piqued, he silently made his was over to the creature. It didn't seem dangerous, and if it was; he had the sharingan. The copy-wheel eye had done wonders on Naruto's unwelcomed tenant, so this demon would probably fair even less.
--
The Trix Rabbit looked up from his sitting position, noticing a Ninja, or Samurai; he couldn't tell with this one, walking towards him.
He sighed, "What can I help you with?" He already knew what, he would get asked what he was, and then left alone. Again. Damn he was hungry.
Sasuke shrugged, and sat down on the opposite side of the tree. "Seemed like a good tree."
The rabbit wasn't fooled a bit, and said as much, "Sure. That's what they all say. Can we get this over with?"
"Depends, I just want to know what's got you down. Never hurts to have an un-biased listener in any case." Secretly, he was just bored.
That was a shock! 'Hmm'ing to himself, the rabbit nodded and began his tale.
Sasuke could tell this creature was a master of words. The being spoke of a simple food he had been drawn to years ago; one buried deep within the stigma 'just for kids'. He himself had never counted age, and the young ones seemed to generally like the treat. He explained how he had bought some without incident, only to have it stolen from him by those very children!
He had not taken this standing down, and had told of his non-violent attempts at acquiring this dish for himself, all of which had been foiled by nothing more than bad luck. He explained how those children had grown, and had children of their own, and so forth and so on; each generation becoming more aggressive as he tried to net what was now a forbidden fruit, something he must have!
Sasuke sympathized with this being, and decided to get some cereal for him come hell or high water! Telling him to wait for a moment, he pulled out his wallet and walked towards a store he had seen earlier.
--
The rabbit watched him leave. "What a nice guy." He said, "I wonder if he'll pull through though."
He adjusted himself into a more comfortable position, but found himself being lifted into the air by the scruff of his neck. He was turned slowly, and came face-to-face with blood red eyes.
"Foolish little rabbit," the man with the scary eyes said to him, "Trix are for kids."
He was unable to even mouth and objection before the world seemed to shift, and his body erupted into pain.
--
Sasuke returned not five minutes later, to find the rabbit man gone and a note in it's place. Skeptical, he picked up the note and read it to himself:
"Dear Little Brother,
You're taking too long to kill me. For further motivation, I've killed your rabbit friend.
Cheers,
Itachi."
Sasuke saw red. How dare he- how dare he! Such a waste of life, all to fuel his hate! It worked, too, and Sasuke rushed forward, clearing the village in search of his team. He would head back to base, skip the planning and head straight for Itachi! This was more than revenge now!
In his wake lay a box of unopened Trix, leaning against the spot the rabbit had been; a silent testimony to what should have been.
--
END