A Faulty Conspiracy
Chapter Two
"Meaningless Effort"
Sasuke retrieves his weapons back, and restores his chakra to its original state before he attacked Itachi. "Now, what to do…." Sasuke sits down for a moment and paused for awhile to think. "I hate getting soft, but I hate my brother more for interfering with what he's not supposed to… and that is my LIFE! Damn, how will I fix this without Naruto suspecting…? Damn it all. I should have killed my brother in the first place." Sasuke stands up again and continues to find Itachi.
On the other hand, in Itachi's situation, he disguises as an Anbu member, wearing a white weasel mask and a black cloak. He strolls along Konoha as a commoner, so that Sasuke will not find him. Sasuke then arrives in the town, and continues to look for Itachi. Kakashi saw Sasuke and said, "Hey, what's with all the rush? Got a girl to date already, eh?" "I have no time for that..! I'm looking for my stupid brother." "Again? Man, you should forget that for awhile and go with me around town. I'll even treat you!" said Kakashi, with his usual smile and peace sign. Sasuke sighed and left him to continue finding Itachi. Sasuke suddenly notices the Anbu. He approached him and asked, "You know how the notorious Itachi looks like, right? Have you seen him around?" "Haven't seen any Uchiha here 'cept you," replied the Anbu. Sasuke gives a suspicious look and said, "Do you really need that mask?" "It's a sign of my authority. I don't want to get demoted." "Demote? You will anyway, for just strolling here. Come on, remove that mask." "Who are you to tell me those things? Remember, Uchiha. You betrayed Konoha once, so better go before I do something to you." "Hn, like I'm scared of you…" Before Sasuke would take his chance to attack, Kakashi saw the incident and said, "Sasuke… Tsk, tsk, tsk. You know that you shouldn't go accusing on people like that." "If Kiba was here, he'd think what I thought!" "Ah, cool down… That's what you need," says Kakashi as he pulls Sasuke with him. "Noo! Let go of me! I'm going to rip his mask apart!" The Anbu chuckles a little for the fact that Sasuke lost in solving the mystery behind him.
Kakashi took Sasuke in Ichiraku Ramen and treated him some lunch (note that Sasuke woke up late). "Eat up. You're looking kind of skinny these days and that will affect your health and your strength," commented Kakashi. "Hn…" As Sasuke eats his lunch, Naruto is just about to order his ramen when Kakashi said, "Your lunch's on me." Naruto yelled, "Yatta! Thanks a lot, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto sat down and ate. Sasuke just looked at him irritatedly. Naruto gave back a disappointed look and said, "You have no right to look at me like that, because of the way you ignored who she is to us." "Who's "she"?" asked Kakashi. "I'm done eating. Thanks, sensei," Sasuke said as he leaves. "SASUKE!? You must tell Kakashi-sensei about this, you dense and careless idiot!!" Naruto yelled. "Tell him yourself. My business is done here," replied Sasuke. Sasuke stood up and left. On the back, he looked a bit sullen and told himself, "I feel weird. The real me wouldn't want to know where she went… I could have just thought she was sick, but she's not…. She's not even in her room…" Sasuke slowly walks away. "Sensei, Sakura's missing," said Naruto. "She…WHAT!?" "Yep, it's been two or three days now." On that report, Naruto and Kakashi takes rounds on Konoha to look for suspicious places Sakura might have gone to. Sasuke just watches them as he walks slowly. "Aren't you going to help us!?" "Naruto… I know someone who is possibly at fault for this. So please, I have my own mission. I may be dense and stoic, but I still care, all the while." Naruto smiled and continued his rounds.
Sasuke entered the woods. "I don't think aniki went this way… Why would he? He is not that dumb to be hiding in this vegetated area…" Sasuke then thinks back about the Anbu. "Wait a moment… What the heck… That Anbu… It must have been Itachi all along! Damn!" Sasuke rushes back to Konoha as he accidentally bumps Naruto. "OWCH!!! Watch where you're going, psycho!" "I have no time for you!" Sasuke continues back while Naruto goes "Humph!" and follows Kakashi.
Sasuke is now back in Konoha. He questions almost everyone in town whether they saw an Anbu walking around the streets. Most of them said they didn't see an Anbu recently, while some suggest that Sasuke might only be seeing things due to trauma of the last war. "Sigh… Damn you, Itachi! Damn…" Sasuke, getting tired, went back home.
Surprisingly, he saw his brother inside. "Of all my searching, this is where you are the whole time!?" "You are stupid to think that I'm scared of you. You think I'd hide for a useless thing?" boasts Itachi. "Tell me where you hid Sakura!" yelled Sasuke. "Oh, about that. The truth is I don't know. I was just fooling you," answered Itachi. "Sakura is nowhere around here!" "She must be busy with her girl pals. No wonder Naruto isn't with her." "Excuses, excuses! You're caught already." "Nuh-uh. Caught I am not. YOU are." "Why me…?" "You really DO give a damn about the girl." Sasuke pauses and said, "She's my friend, as do Naruto." "You rarely care about Naruto," Itachi commented. "Well, I…" Sasuke tries to clear his throat but he is all out of words. All he did was frown and kept quiet, not knowing what to say. "Give yourself a time to think, ototo. But not so slow, either." "Brother, tell me the truth. Do you know where she is?" "I could tell you… But why not tell me first why you want to see her? The real reason, Sasuke." Sasuke blushes and said, "N-never mind… I'll find her on my own." Itachi blocks his way and said, "Confide it to me. I don't care if you say it's none of my business." Sasuke stops and glares at Itachi then teleports. "You bad cheater…."