Chapter 1:

Don't tell me the sky is one shade of falling

~*~

"They're sending me to the frontlines with the rest of seven. I cannot refuse."

His low, cool voice rang through my head like it did every night. Every night the words were different and I still could not discern their meaning. To my knowledge he'd never said anything of the like to me, and I began to wonder if what I was hearing was somehow bits and pieces of a future that I had unknowingly opened a door to. Sometimes there were brief flashes of color with the words; the familiar crimson and black of his eyes in a pattern that I had never seen before, and other times flashes of flaming yellow, orange and black as well as jade green and soft pink. All connected to team seven no doubt, but what it all meant was—at the present—beyond me.

I lay there, my sheets tangled around my legs and my body covered in a thin sheen of sweat. The landlord had yet to fix the damn AC despite the complaints of nearly all the tenants. Cheapskate. I turned my head to face the wall to my left, where a cracked mirror sat and I regarded my reflection.

I hardly even recognized myself anymore. I watched the lean muscle shift beneath my skin as I moved to rise from the bed. Not an inch of fat remained, I still had a semblance of my once, generous, curves, but my body had become tight and hard with muscle courtesy of the wringer I had put it through. It was rather surprising how much easier training was when one was in the proper physical condition for it. My skin had grown a bit darker from constantly being in the sunlight during those harsh months training, it wasn't quite a tan, but it was no longer the translucent pale it had once been. My hair, that I hastily began pulling back into a messy bun, was no longer the deep black it had been for so long. It was now silvery white, a product of the fire spirit's touch. The most drastic change however, was my eyes. They were no longer the eyes of a naive, confused girl thrust into a world she didn't understand. They were now the eyes of a killer, cold and hard with steel and full with the final understanding of what it truly took to survive in this world.

In the beginning I had tried to keep a count of how many I had killed, but once it began to reach into the hundreds, I found it harder and harder to think about. I quickly learned that when it came to being a shinobi, you stop thinking and you just do. And in the division I was in, this wasn't just a saying, it was law. Orders were to be followed without hesitation, no matter how gruesome. The ANBU are a village's most feared weapon, not only because of their elite strength, but because there is no humanity allowed when on a mission, not even towards teammates. The training had been rigorous and it had nearly killed me, but I had made it and my inception into the organization had given me access to invaluable information. Needless to say it made keeping an eye on the village's plans regarding Sasuke much less of a pain in the ass. I had thought it was going to be difficult to track Sasuke, but as of yet, things had been quiet in Sound. I had the knowledge of events that would come to pass for both sides, however what I didn't anticipate was just how spread out the timeline was. It had been a year since I left Sound and Sasuke, and yet no events that I recognized had come to pass aside from Naruto's return to the village. That had been about two months ago however, yet there was no word of the Akatsuki's meddling in Sand.

I had half a mind to swing by and catch a glimpse of Naruto. I felt a jolt of excitement at meeting him, to be honest my special post in the ANBU and the missions over the past few months had drained me emotionally and I held high hope that Naruto's warmth was as infectious as the rumors say. It hasn't only been the missions however, ever since I left I've found my thoughts and dreams invaded by Sasuke more than usual and it was getting exhausting. The Uchiha was on my mind about 90% of the time and it was doing no good. It still hurt to think of him, of what would befall him and the awful truth that he'd have to face. I worked hard at pushing him to the back of my mind in order to focus on the mission at hand, which was at this point to maintain the trust of the village. It had admittedly been quite easy to infiltrate, but I had the aid of a spirit and no one in their right mind would ever question the integrity of the fire spirit, especially not the Hokage. It had proved harder however, to infiltrate the ANBU ranks and it took the better part of about 4 months working as a Jonin before I managed to be promoted to ANBU.

I donned the uniform Jonin black pants and long sleeved shirt and pulled on my boots before heading out. There had been a black hawk perched and pecking at my window this morning, which meant I was needed by Ibiki.

He'd better have a damn good reason for summoning me, it was supposed to be my day off and my kitchen desperately needed to be restocked.

As I walked through the sunlit streets, there seemed to be something in the cool morning air. Citizens and shinobi milled about and buzzed with some kind of news. Judging from the nervous glances at the Hokage tower and the hushed voices, it wasn't something pleasant.

I would have stopped and questioned someone about what was going on, but I figured my summoning to the interrogation HQ was related to whatever it was, so there was no point in wasting my time.

I was mostly ignored as I made my way through the streets with my head lowered and my hands shoved in my pockets. I had originally planned to take my time getting there, but with the vibe I was getting from the villagers, I quickened my pace.

I nodded to the guard at the entrance to main building and strode through the doors, searching for Ibiki's location. I had honed and polished my sensory ability until it gleamed. I could now pinpoint anyone's location as long as they were within 5 kilometers of me. I had never had to locate someone farther than that, so I wasn't sure how far I could actually go. I hadn't really had time to mess with distances.

Ultimately, I found Ibiki in the lower level interrogation rooms, deep in conversation with another ANBU operative. I rapped twice on the door before letting myself in as was customary in this unit.

It seemed as though the conversation had just ended right as I entered, the operative nodded his agreement to whatever he'd been told and vanished.

"Ah Rena," (My cover name) Ibiki said, turning to me, his scarred face grave and a trace of nervous anxiety behind his eyes and pulsating throughout his aura as it buzzed beneath my skin. I found that extremely unsettling…Ibiki never got nervous.

"What's going on, the entire village is on edge and so are you it seems." I remarked, closing the door and leaning against it, my arms folded across my chest.

"I think it's best to wait to explain further until we reach the hospital. However we need you in full Hunter attire. Make sure you aren't seen." He said quickly.

"Hospital? Why would I need to…" I began, but he disappeared before I could finish my sentence. I ground my teeth in irritation. He had a nasty habit of doing that.

I sighed and began to make my way back to the upper levels of the building where I stashed a second uniform. I didn't really have the urge to venture all the way back to my apartment, and from Ibiki's tone and behavior I needed to make haste.

I pondered Ibiki's vague response as I dressed.

Obviously, if he wanted me at the hospital in a uniform I was otherwise never supposed to wear within the village, that meant we had obtained a particularly dangerous ninja. S class most likely, and they had been too injured to be kept in the interrogation unit or the Hokage tower's holding cells. I wondered if it was a member of the Akatsuki, but I dismissed that idea. To my knowledge Konoha hadn't captured any until Jiraiya's battle with Pain. Who else would be important enough to require a hunter-nin as a guard?

I went through my bingo book in my mind as I pulled my hair back into a tight braid and tucked it beneath my collar before sliding the thin black mask—that was similar to a polar wrap in how it covered my head, mouth and nose—over my head.

So far there were no ninja in my bingo book that would have classified as dangerous enough for anything more than a regular ANBU guard; I had taken care of all the high class scumbags. I decided to quit wasting energy trying to figure out who it was and just focused on making sure every patch of skin was covered and my weapons were properly concealed.

The black uniform was tight fitting, but loose enough to make my gender ambiguous. No one could know who I was, or that I even existed. Though I'd be using S class stealth, it was still extremely dangerous to be moving around the village in this uniform. Whoever this was must be pretty dangerous if the higher ups were willing to take the risk.

I shifted the senbon holster that was strapped to my upper arm before finally looking myself over in the mirror and deciding everything was satisfactory. My soft black boots made no noise as I walked back across the room for the final piece of the uniform: a black ANBU mask with no markings besides a thin red border around each of the eye holes.

I secured the mask to my face and headed to hospital, absolutely afire with curiosity over who I was to guard.

~*~

Morino Ibiki was speaking quietly with Hatake Kakashi in front of the closed door of a hospital room when Rena flickered into view beside them.

"Were you followed?" He questioned.

"Was that a joke?" She retorted dryly, her voice muffled on account of the mask.

With a nod and a deep breath, he began to explain the situation and the terrible importance of keeping the individual behind the door from escaping.

~*~
I stood mute in utter shock. This was the absolute last thing I had ever expected to hear. Ibiki had gotten to the point straight away.

"Uzumaki Naruto has finally succeeded in dragging Uchiha Sasuke back to the village. They beat each other pretty good and the Uchiha is going to be hospitalized for no less than 3 months. Tsunade-sama is keeping an eye on Naruto herself, but we need you to keep watch over the Sasuke not only as a guard, but as a medic. If he makes an attempt at an escape—and no doubt he will—make sure he is not successful by any means necessary. Kill him if you have to, that is the Hokage's orders." He told me, his voice stern.

I was suddenly very glad for my mask, so they couldn't see my bewildered and stricken expression. I clenched my jaw and unable to find my voice, gave a curt nod as my only response.

Both men inclined their heads, Kakashi threw a quick glance at the door and then they were gone.

I still hadn't moved, I was absolutely floored. Why in the hell was Sasuke in the village?! Had he even killed Orochimaru or did he just escape? Why in God's name did he head towards Konoha? He was supposed to go for Suigetsu after he killed the snake bastard, which was in the opposite fucking direction. The moron!

Not only that, but he wasn't supposed to kill Orochimaru until after the whole deal with Gaara and the Akatsuki, the whole fucking timeline was fucked! My knees suddenly went weak as something dawned on me...all of my knowledge was now useless. The future was now as unforeseen as ever. I could now do nothing for Sasuke and Ka had been absent for the past couple of months, doing whatever it is that spirits do, so he was unavailable for questioning.

I was absolutely terrified at what the village elders would do to Sasuke. He was a rogue ninja, loyal to the enemy's side. He was a missing-nin and an S class criminal at the top of every village's bingo book. If it were anyone else, the punishment would be death or life imprisonment. But being that he was an Uchiha, his life would probably be spared, at least I hoped. I also knew that there was no way in hell that Naruto or Sakura would stand for a death sentence. They'd plead for days with Tsunade if they had to and everyone knew she favored the two of them. I'd have to find a way to speak with Sakura. We had worked together during my medic training despite how different it was compared with hers. She had focused on using medical ninjutsu to heal, I had focused on using it to kill or torture, which were two entirely different skill sets. I decided I'd send for her later in the day after the ordeal had had time to fully sink in and I could figure out what the hell I was going to do.

The horrendous shock had died down and I took a deep breath and turned toward the door. I reached out to his presence and felt that familiar smooth sensation that was uniquely his flood across my skin. Despite my hopes, he was awake.

~*~

Sasuke's ribs throbbed with pain where Naruto had rammed a foot into his chest, effectively cracking two ribs and breaking three more. The nurse was supposed to give him something for the pain, but judging from the cold looks she had thrown his way, she had intentionally forgotten and left him to suffer. It was of little import, he'd been through worse. So he resorted to laying there, eyes closed and mind alert.

Moving north had not been part of the plan, but somehow Kabuto had found out about his coup d'tat and intentions for Suigetsu, Karin and Juugo, which resulted in absolute disaster. He had to drop the whole plan and simply focus on getting out of sound alive and without Orochimaru riding around in his skin. No doubt Sound would mount an attack on Konoha, but he planned to be far from the village by the time they found out where he was. Leaf would be the last place they'd look, considering Sasuke's criminal status and the village could be counted to keep its mouth shut for the time being. So the whole thing could just work in his favor if he could keep his head off the chopping block.

He considered just breaking the shackle that chained him to the hospital bed and making a break for it, but that would be idiotic, the village was no doubt on high alert and the walls and gates would be watched very closely.

His thoughts were suddenly broken by the sound of the door sliding open and then sliding shut. Whoever it was made no sound as they entered aside from the door itself and suspicion began to ebb at his stomach. He fought with the idea of keeping his eyes shut, but ultimately decided against it as they had so graciously taken all of his weapons and he was otherwise incapacitated.

When he saw the black clad figure standing by the door, black mask watching him, he groaned internally. Escaping was going to be a giant pain in the ass. They'd assigned a hunter to guard him and he wasn't overtly surprised. He had personally never encountered a hunter from Konoha, but he had heard of them. They were few in number, only about three or four, but they were very good at what they did and most worked as ANBU when not on special missions. Trained in the art of silent killing, they knew the human body better painfully well and they never missed a target.

A hunter was a special kind of assassin, only reserved for A and S class criminals, political figures and targets that an ordinary shinobi could never get to and the weapon a village used when fighting needed to be done dirty. They were sometimes referred to as "faceless men", "nameless ninja" or simply "ghosts" because they always wore unmarked masks and nondescript black clothing that could not be tied to any village. If they were assigned to take out a high ranking official from another village or country, there would be no way to identify or trace the killer to any one village. But the most dangerous thing about hunters, is that they were relentless and once you were a target, they would be after you for as long as it took.

He had never had to fight a hunter, but he'd take down this guard if he had to.

Deciding it was useless to waste anymore thought on his unfortunate companion, he returned his thoughts to his predicament.

Of course he should've been expecting Naruto to find him once he was a few meters from the walls, but it hadn't crossed his mind until he felt the blonde's chakra speeding towards him and it had been too late to run. They had exchanged words and a few choice insults before the fighting began. It had been short but brutal, they only had about five minutes to get some good hits in and break a few bones before the brawl attracted the attention of the village. He hated to admit it, but Naruto was no longer the incompetent idiot he had been and it irked Sasuke that he'd kept up fairly well and managed to break his ribs and shatter his kneecap. However the knowledge that he'd broken Naruto's leg in three places and dislocated his shoulder made him feel a little bit better.

When they'd reached the Hokage's tower he got to experience the infamous wrath of the Godaime Hokage and dodge a potted plant and a stapler before Sakura got there and began scolding Naruto for walking on a broken leg. At first she had been silent as she started to examine Sasuke's ribs and knee, but once she found out how bad the damage was, she began to yell at him as vehemently as she had at Naruto. The blond's expression was pained when Sasuke turned to throw him a glare, but there was a smug smile that dripped with satisfaction on his face and he was positively brimming with giddiness.

Once the Hokage was done cursing at them and their injuries had been healed enough for them to be taken to the hospital, Sasuke was visited by Ibiki. He couldn't remember any of the interrogation itself, but he did remember the man had stuck long acupuncture needles into his throat to disable his vocal cords, apparently so he didn't blow them when he screamed. He figured he'd probably been questioned about Orochimaru and Sound, and considering Ibiki's reputation, he'd gotten the information he wanted. That part didn't bother Sasuke much, Orochimaru could go straight to hell.

All he could do at this point was simply bide his time. There'd most likely be a trial so he'd deal with that first. He fully intended on leaving the village the second the opportunity arose, Itachi still needed to be dealt with and Sasuke was more than displeased that his plans had been set back.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Dante crossed his mind. He thought back to their last meeting just over a year ago. She said she'd been headed to Konoha to keep an eye on the village, but he hadn't heard from her and he hadn't made any attempt to contact her. He wondered briefly if she were even in the village. If she was, there was a chance she could help him escape.

At that moment, the door to his room slid open, and Sakura entered, a clipboard in her arms and a startled expression on her face.

"Sasuke-kun…" She began, but stopped short once she noticed the guard. Recognition briefly flashed through her eyes before she nodded to them and turned back to him.

"Sasuke-kun, you're not supposed to be awake, the morphine should've..." She said quietly, glancing down at the clipboard and then walking over to examine the IV.

She made an irritated noise at the back of her throat once she realized the nurse hadn't administered the pain medication.

"I'm going to have to see someone about doing their job right." She muttered, tossing the clipboard on the counter and storming out of the room to retrieve the morphine.

Sasuke had to admit, he was mildly impressed with her. She had grown a backbone and her eyes now looked at him with uncertainty and trace amounts of anger, where before they'd been filled with empty infatuation and not much else. He determined that it was probably a good idea not to make her angry. Once they had been en route to the hospital, she had stopped and turned to face him and he thought she was going to yell some more, but instead she'd launched her fist into his jaw hard enough to knock him from his feet.

"Sakura-chan what was that for!?" Naruto had shouted, stunned.

"You have to ask?" Was her retort before she spun and continued walking in the direction of the hospital, leaving Naruto and the ANBU guards to pick Sasuke up.

The blond had chuckled as he grabbed hold of one's of Sasuke's arms and the ANBU escort took the other.

"I'm surprised she didn't fling you all the way back to Sound. My first day back she hit me so hard I left a trench in the street."

The fact that the former weakest member of team seven was now physically stronger than him was just a tad unsettling.

Sakura returned a few minutes later and injected the medication into the IV before speaking in a hushed tone with the guard.

Sasuke tried to distinguish what they were saying, but the pain killer clouded his mind and pulled him down into a dreamless sleep.

~*~

The shifting sensation of Sasuke's presence slowed as he fell asleep and I was glad for it.

Sakura was one of a small handful of people in the village besides Tsunade who was privy to my identity and so comfortable that no one else would see me, I removed my mask and tied it my belt.

"Well what do you think?" I asked. "Do you know what the elder's will try for?"

Sakura's face bunched up inro an expression of confusion and she shook her head, glancing over at the sleeping prisoner.

"It's too early to say. There's a good chance Danzo will try to sentence him to death, but Tsunade-sama and the other advisors won't let that happen. His bloodline is too important and it would be too dangerous to imprison him. They'll probably put him under some kind of house arrest or probation until they figure out whether or not he's going to be a danger to the village. It's all up in the air right now, no one knows quite what to do." She said, lowering her gaze, her voice softened as she continued.

"No one was expecting this…not so soon, if ever. Of course Naruto's too blinded by happiness that Sasuke-kun's even back that he doesn't really understand the gravity of the situation yet. Sasuke-kun is here against his will, he's completely set on revenge and at some point he's going to leave again. Everyone knows it. That's what's got everyone so dumbfounded about what to do with him."

Sakura took a deep breath and began to massage her temples.

"Is the village aware?" I asked in a low voice.

"No. I mean they know something happened and we brought someone in last night, but they don't know it's him yet. There's no telling how the village is going to react. They're not going to accept him that's for sure. This whole thing is just a mess."

"He's too powerful to be put in prison, his Sharingan is too valuable so we can't kill him. He can't be trusted to be a ninja, and we can't very well just lock him somewhere indefinitely." I said, realizing just how much of a problem this really was.

"Exactly. Can you keep an eye on him?" She questioned, her voice tired. "I don't trust the nurses with him and I've got to go to speak with Tsunade-sama before she has a stress heart attack."

I nodded. "Of course. I know what to do."

She gave me a small smile in thanks and left me alone with my thoughts and a sleeping fugitive that I hadn't the slightest idea what to even make of.