Never should I be allowed to read historical information without a notebook handy. This seriously had me on edge for most of the afternoon. I don't own Sengoku Basara.

Warning: Character Death

The realisation may have hit him before the pain, but when the pain did hit, it came hard.

Sasuke grit his teeth, staring down at the offending object. Never again would he dare to complain about boring missions, that was if he could get out of this particular situation.

At this point, he had two options, either do something about this, or let himself be captured by Tokugawa. Actually doing something about it meant more pain, but a whole lot more was waiting for him inside Ieyasu's dungeon.

Breathing out slowly, the shinobi knelt down, wincing slightly as his ankle moved slightly in the trap's teeth. The metal had him firmly trapped, and the next patrol could come on duty at any time. In fact, by his observations of the castle, they should have.
The implications ran through him with a torrent of rage. They were toying with him, letting him think about the fate that awaited him before finally coming to do something about their new prisoner.

"Master Sarutobi!" Distracted from his painful task, Sasuke looked into the surrounding trees, finally spotting his recruit. Even from here he could see the look of concern on the younger man's face, so he simply gave a weak grin, waving him over.

"It's nothing. I just have to get my foot out of here."

Once the recruit was on the ground and examining his boss's predicament, Sasuke began to relax, but not so much that he allowed exhaustion to come over him. A whispered curse broke his concentration, and when he looked down, the recruit refused to meet his eyes. "How bad is it?"

"We're not going to get it out. There's only one way-"

"Do it." Sasuke ordered, pulling one of his own knives out. As the recruit took it, Sasuke pulled off one of his gloves, clamping his teeth down. This would be messy and painful, no need for it to be loud too.

With shaking hands, Sasuke's recruit pressed the edge of the blade against the skin, a muffled grunt coming from the patient.

Stars flashed in Sasuke's field of vision, no matter how hard he clamped his eyes shut. Trying to gather his thoughts, and keep attention off the pain, he let his mind wander to what would happen upon their not so triumphant return. Danna will pitch a fit. The ninja mused, But I might be able to get some sympathy from Kasuga. That or mocking.

"It's done..." The recruit's words only just swam through Sasuke's ears, the sensation of being pulled up and supported extremely alien. In an attempt to get back to the present, Sasuke spat out his glove again, tucked it into the waistband of his trousers, and allowed himself to be led away.

Just as the sounds of voices drew close.

With a look of horror to Sasuke, the recruit sped up his walking, ignoring the strained hiss it brought out. "Stop! We're not going to get anywhere like this."

"Master Sarutobi, with all due respect-"

"I said stop!" Despite his own misgivings, the recruit eventually stopped, laying his boss down between a tree's sprawling routes. "Make sure Lord Yukimura gets this message: Tokugawa are moving on Osaka. If he asks, I'm gathering more information. His mind needs to be on this fight."

Nodding, the recruit got back to his feet, "Any final orders?"

"Support from the shadows. And get out of here before we're both caught!" Not needing to be told again, Sasuke's recruit vanished into the darkness, leaving only the sound of the guards behind him.

"The shinobi can't have gotten far! Spread out and find him!"

Laughing quietly to himself, Sasuke withdrew another knife, letting the blade catch his reflection. It had been an... interesting evening. First he'd almost been caught by some guards, thrown a witty remark at them as he leapt the wall, only to regret it when he found out what was on the other side. "Sorry Danna, it's up to you now."

Closing his eyes, Sasuke plunged the dagger into his stomach, grimacing at the horrible feeling it caused. As his eyes closed for the final time, the head of the Sanada Ninja Corp watched the dim light of the guard's torch come closer and closer, a thin smile spreading across his face.

...Uh...May I take this moment to apologise to my friend who will most likely kill me for writing this?

Please review, it's my first attempt at a real death fic.