Title: Vengeance
Date: March 11, 2013
Summary: Haruno Sakura was dead. Haruno Sakura was dead and Uchiha Sasuke knew that he shouldn't care. But he did anyway.
Pairing: Team7ness, Sasuke/Sakura, Naruto/Hinata
Rating: M
Themes: Angst/Mystery/Drama/Romance
Vengeance
ONE
"You're very good – impressive, actually."
Dark eyes blinked before shifting to the right, reluctantly acknowledging his companion with disinterest before sheathing his tantō back into his belt. He continued to silently pack his bag, accounting for any missing kunai and shuriken used in the attack while maintaining awareness of the young woman who had complimented him.
"A little…too impressive, if you ask me," Her mellow voice drawled suspiciously.
His gloved hands didn't pause in their movements, neatly loading the rest of his summoning scrolls and medical bandages before throwing the pack over his shoulder. He straightened and scanned the forest clearing; calmly waiting for the rest of the group to collect their weapons, dispose of the enemy bodies, and retrieve the scattered supplies they were assigned to protect and deliver.
"And mysterious too…" From his peripheral vision he could see the woman jump from her comfortable perch on a large border and walk towards him with curious intent.
Under the dim firelight of the oil lanterns spread across the clearing, he watched with narrowed eyes as the woman walked confidently into his direct line of vision, appraising him with dark grey irises, her brows furrowed with calculation. She tilted her head, sleek black hair falling in straight tendrils down to her waist, tangling with the manriki-gusari at her hip. He eyed the weapon warily, watching the metal chain flash against the firelight. The weighted arrowheads on both ends were rusted with the copper of blood. She had used the weapon with swift ease and deathly skill killing more than a dozen of their adversaries.
She wasn't to be trusted.
A smirk slowly spread across her full lips, "Who are you, really?" She raised a brow, "You can't really expect us to call you Shadow the entire time of your service? Where's the fun in that?"
The cloth covering his mouth up to the bridge of his nose itched uncomfortably but he adamantly made no effort to remove it. Her expectant expression wasn't rewarded with an answer. He remained silent, panning his gaze away from her to examine the progress of their comrades, impatience increasing to discover that their supplies were still being gathered across the battle-ridden area.
"Have it your way then," His minor vision noticed her shrug before she walked away with a flick of her wrist, "So you did well; you're strong, smart – capable. The boss likes you," She chuckled, "And I like you. We'll make this work. We'll go over your contract and payment after we get back to the Village."
He gave a short nod of acknowledgement.
"And Shadow," She looked over her shoulder to level him a stern gaze, "You may be impressive but you're also an outsider. We hire you, you get the jobs done successfully, you get paid – that's our deal. But like you, we're not obliged to answer any questions. If you're going to work here then you had better remember that rules need to be followed. Rice Country might not be one of the Five Great Nations with people hunting after your criminal ass – which I assume they are – but it doesn't mean that this isn't a rough place itself," A smirk curled across her striking features, eyes shining with amusement before she turned away and sauntered on, "So you better watch yourself, handsome."
Dark eyes watched her go as she signaled a group of her teammates to grab a box of supplies hidden under an overturned carriage, loudly shouting out orders with cool, self-assured authority.
He closed his eyes and turned away, walking with languid steps in the direction of the front of the caravan. He was hired to protect the shipment, not to search and load. It wasn't his incompetence that had gotten them ambushed in the first place. It was his skill and speed that had contained the situation.
A scowl formed on his covered lips, annoyance building, and the sudden urge to leave and disappear – like he had done so many times before – increased.
But, where else was there to go?
Shaking his head to rid himself of thoughts of his defection – his scowl actually deepened – he jumped into the darkened foliage of the forest.
Three years.
Three years.
Uchiha Sasuke was a wanderer. No matter how hard he tried, the ex-Avenger couldn't settle down. Nowhere felt right to him and he inwardly believed that his constant traveling was based upon habit, the routine he had meticulously kept for nearly ten years, moving from base to base with Orochimaru, tracking down Itachi in the company of the full Team Hebi, never staying in one place when he joined Akatsuki and – eventually – Uchiha Obito. Sasuke had always been on the move but now that he was given the chance to stay put, to rest, and find a new meaning in his life, that goal became so elusive to him, just barely out of his reach or slipping away if he had a semblance of grasp on what he desired.
So, Sasuke would stand up and leave; he would walk away from a prospect of happiness because he felt like something better could be found or something better could be waiting for him. All he had to do was find it.
For three years, after an opportunity of freedom had been granted to him – by Naruto of all people – Sasuke aimlessly wandered. He left the kind villages that took him in – kind villages that were ignorant of his history and past crimes. He abandoned the positions offered to him, whether to play guard for an important daimyo or become leader of a struggling town, presenting services for mere weeks – if only to take care of the threat on the person's life or to help the town get started on an easier path. But through all the gratitude and happiness given and shown to him for his good deeds – when the main reasons he did them was because he had nothing else to do – Sasuke could not share in those uplifting emotions. Instead, he found his purpose fulfilled, and because of that there was no longer any more cause for him to stay.
It was so easy for Uchiha Sasuke to find reasons to no longer stay.
The Uchiha had steadily curled into himself. His words were few and his expressions non-existent. He became a shadow of his former self, both literally and figuratively. There was no denying that he was powerful, constantly hired by noblemen and lords who had encountered him in action or were referred to by others that he made a useful bodyguard or assassin. If they paid the right amount of wealth and had viable reasons for his use then they received his brief loyalty and command. However, Sasuke never took jobs that dealt with politics or even drew near towards the Five Great Shinobi Countries – he was too recognized, and he promised Naruto that he would take this chance – blowing his cover wasn't an ideal prospect. He stuck to the smaller countries, dealt with bandits and rogue ninja – it was safer.
Sasuke was also smart enough not to give away his true identity. He emulated his former Genin Sensei with a dark mask that covered the majority of his face; his obsidian eyes were the only facial features visible; and over his head was an equally dark hood that covered his ebony hair. As for the Uchiha Crest, the red and white fan was still sewn proudly into his clothes, but for survival's sake, was also reluctantly hidden away under his heavy cloak.
His Sharingan was rarely used – and if ever exploited, it was always when his hood covered those familiar blood-red irises, when he moved in the cover of darkness, or when he shifted too fast for his unsuspecting enemy to notice.
His Chidori was never utilized; it was too noticeable, too associated with him; he stuck to basic Fire-Style Jutsu – relying on the power he could enforce in those simple techniques – exercised his speed in Taijutsu, and allowed an occasional Tsukuyomi – quick, efficient, they'd be dead before they knew what – or who – hit them.
His Kusanagi was also identifiable. He kept the sword sheathed and stored in a scroll on his belt for the direst of circumstances. A tantō took its place; it was smaller, less-effective, but it did its lethal job.
Normally, Sasuke would scoff at these limitations, would probably ignore them, and typically, would not give the slightest care of hiding his distinctiveness and taking such extreme measures to do it. But, the Uchiha was tired. Young and strong but weighed down by his past, haunted by his memories, both from long-ago and recent. He didn't want to deal with being chased, hunted, openly scorned – he didn't care what others thought about him – his actions were justified – but it was easier like this; he was fine with everyone thinking he was dead.
Besides, the Uchiha died when he was eight years old. There were many ways to interpret that fact – yet they all fit.
So Uchiha Sasuke wandered; he fought and took odd jobs because it was all he had left. All his hatred was gone and all that was left was exhaustion; he was tired of everything. Death was an option; death would have been the best option; he would finally be able to rest in peace and just let everything go, but that was like giving up and Uchiha never gave up. He had set out to start over. Naruto wanted that, Itachi had wanted that. So that was what he was going to do.
A roar of laughter sounded outside his room and Sasuke blinked, pushed from his thoughts as he lay on his cot and listened to the sounds of several men's loud voices drifting away with distance.
This new contract Sasuke had signed was to raise his dwindling expenses. Protect the village leader, oversee that information and valuable objects were handled and transported safely. It was a small town and a meager assignment compared to his abilities but they didn't ask him questions and he could leave whenever he wanted so long as he did his assigned jobs and did them successfully.
Already he could feel his limbs itching to leave the town and not look back. As opposed to previous jobs he immediately found no need to stay longer than desired. These people – he could not relate to them. The village leader was a prideful, arrogant man and Sasuke found the behavior of his followers to be disgusting.
A couple jobs – that's all he needed – just enough to gain the expenses to travel even further away.
With a soft sigh Sasuke turned on his side, closed his eyes, and grasped for a night of peaceful sleep.
The sun was warm on his back.
Sasuke silently walked the village streets he was currently residing in, obligated to protect the small town's leader and complete any tasks that were assigned to him – most of which consisting of successfully delivering shipments to other, surrounding, small villages. His intuition told him that the dealings entailed illegal activities but, if it didn't directly involve him, Sasuke turned a blind eye.
Observing the vacant streets, Sasuke eyed the scarcity of people. Most of them were farmers or artisans of the local shops. Though the major population was comprised of the town leader's surrounding guard and henchmen, who dealt with whatever shady businesses they were caught up in. All the ninja within the town were hired by the leader – mostly mercenaries or criminals from their native countries. Sasuke made sure to stay distanced from them, partly because he didn't want to be recognized but mostly because they behaved in uncivilized manners.
A child suddenly ran into the middle of the street, chasing after a ball. Sasuke stopped walking as the object and following boy intercepted him, watching with dark eyes as the child grabbed his toy and stared up at him with a dirt-smudged yet captivated expression. Sasuke stared back in silence.
"Kisa! Get back here!"
The rough yet feminine shout startled the boy and he glanced up at Sasuke with a shy smile before running off with a wave, disappearing around the bend of distant buildings. The Uchiha watched him, stared at the space he vanished behind absently, before continuing down the road towards the town leader's chosen mainstay.
"Did you hear?"
Sasuke kept walking, his ears distractedly concentrating on the conversation a few meters off to the side, where a group of shinobi was languidly loitering. One, he recognized, as a ninja who had accompanied him on the delivery mission the night before – he also recalled that his skills were rather incompetent.
"Hear what?"
"Rumors," The response was serious, "Apparently, now that the war is over and the Five Great Nations have settled from the ramifications, they've started scouting out unclaimed and unchecked territories."
"Why?"
"Fuck if I know. I bet it's to make sure another Akatsuki Organization isn't rising up – and to probably take care of any S-Class Criminals while they have the chance. Heck, maybe even to search for and stop maniacs, like those Uchiha, from starting another war."
Unconsciously, Sasuke's grip, resting on the hilt of his sheathed tantō, tightened.
"So you think they're going to come snooping around here? Boss sure isn't going to like that…"
"He's got it under control. If they come, then those bastards won't know what's about to hit them!"
"Rumor is that there's a ninja already scouting out the surrounding villages of Rice and are heading here – sounds pretty powerful if they're only sending in one."
"Or pretty stupid."
"What if it's that Jinchuuriki-kid? Uzumaki or whatever? If it's him then we're done for!"
"The fuck he would come around; he can't – he's the Hokage of that damned Leaf Village now. Maybe it's a Hyuuga or that famed Copy-Cat Ninja."
Sasuke's lips pulled downward, steps involuntarily slowing as he starved for more answers.
"Either way, Sato says that he heard it was a Leaf shinobi. And he heard that a few days ago. If this ninja comes, I wouldn't be surprised if they arrive sometime today or tomorrow."
"And Masaru-sama knows about this?"
"He's already preparing for a visitor if they decide to come here. If anything, he'll probably have Leiko-sama dispose of them."
"Boss won't be careless about it. Fuck no; if a Leaf ninja is coming here and Boss decides to kill him then Konoha will eventually find out and come here to wipe us all out."
"Not if we make it look like an accident."
Sasuke's hold on his tantō tightened. Quickening his steps towards the town's selected administration's building, his mind was already whirring with the necessary things he had to get done before leaving. If a Leaf shinobi was lurking at the outskirts of the town and planning on conducting a routine check-up on the village to discern its integrity, then Sasuke couldn't be there at the risk of his cover being blown.
He needed to leave now.
"Shadow!"
Thoughts broken, Sasuke twisted his head and calmly regarded the mercenary shinobi that was running towards him, waving a hand in the air. He stopped walking and waited as patiently as he could.
"Boss needs to speak with you," The male informed, jabbing a thumb at the building he was heading towards, "Urgent business, so don't keep him waiting."
Sasuke's obsidian eyes narrowed with annoyance before walking away, offering the ninja neither thanks nor affirmation that he would be there.
Whatever Goro Masaru wanted, Sasuke was not going to commit to it. He was going to terminate his contract.
The Uchiha would be long gone before the sun set.
"We have a new assignment for you."
Sasuke regarded the man sitting in his chair, right ankle raised and resting on his left thigh, leaning back as he fiddled with a kunai in his left hand and swirled a chalice of wine in the other. He was an older man, a few years Sasuke's senior, dressed in the garb of a shinobi yet ornamented with robes of a nobleman. He had dark eyes that watched Sasuke calculatingly, but an amused smirk twitched the corners of his lips. Stubble was visible on his chin and jawline, shaggy brown hair falling around his shoulders to the middle of his back which was slightly pulled back by a black band, reminiscent to the Second Hokage's.
"My contract has come to an end," Sasuke stated coolly.
Masaru stopped swirling his chalice, sitting up straighter and staring at the Uchiha with fractionally widened, dark-green eyes, "Is that so?"
"All I need is my payment," Sasuke responded curtly.
The man actually pouted, "You had so much promise, Shadow-san. Don't you think, Leiko?" He twisted his head to regard the woman who stood off to the side, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest, dark grey eyes regarding Sasuke intensely.
"…He's scared," Leiko finally replied in observation, smirking, "Ninja officials are snooping too close and you don't want to be near them; am I right?"
"Ah," Masaru realized before frowning once more, "Shame. That was going to be your next assignment – to watch over our visitor and to make sure that she doesn't discover anything that's – let's say – detrimental to her life."
"I'd rather not be stuck with the babysitting job," Leiko sighed as she flipped her dark hair over her shoulder, "I have much better things to do than to watch over a little wench."
"But I can understand your unease, Shadow-san," Masaru continued as he set his cup down and began to play with his kunai with both hands, "Official shinobi are quite bothersome – especially those from Leaf. And she may be a wench but she's still certainly one to be watched." He brought a hand to his forehead and rubbed the crease between his brows, "Alright, I won't force you then. You'll receive your payment in a few hours, after it has been processed. Though, I'll admit, I'm quite sad to see you go. So much potential."
"Hn."
"What?"
Sasuke's eyes slid towards Leiko while Masaru scowled from the volume of her voice. The woman was glaring at the floor, her grey eyes steely as she brought a gloved hand to her ear.
"Intelligence said that the Leaf ninja wouldn't be arriving until tomorrow. What happened?"
"…Perhaps our visitor has come sooner than expected…" Masaru muttered to himself, looking only fractionally troubled, but mostly composed.
Sasuke's hand clenched. He needed to leave. And if the Leaf ninja was close to arriving, he'd have to leave without his pay. Hours of processing would take too long.
"How far away is she?" Leiko growled into her radio's microphone, dark brows furrowed; she suddenly scowled, "Are you sure? Did Kaito see her face clearly?" The response caused her grey eyes to dart towards Masaru gravely, "They've sent elite, Masaru."
"Who?" He questioned, curious.
Sasuke took a step back. Elite from the Hidden Leaf meant he definitely needed to leave.
"She's still a few hours away," Leiko relayed with obvious frustration, listening intently to the muffled, static voices in her ear.
"Elite could prove a problem," Masaru sighed, sounding more tired than worried, "If we killed her off then that would definitely mean an investigation in Rice Country – we can't have that." He looked at Sasuke and raised a brow, "Looks like the stakes are higher – I'll pay even more if you stay to watch over our visitor – I'd rather not have to resort to casualties. You wouldn't have to do much – just make sure she stays out of trouble."
Sasuke opened his mouth, already prepared to decline, when Leiko's curse interrupted him.
"Shit," She glared at the floor before looking back to Masaru, "Definitely elite. It's Haruno Sakura. I hate to admit it, but that one is sharp. If we're not careful, she'll certainly discover our operation."
Sasuke's mouth snapped shut.
Haruno Sakura.
"If it's her," Masaru murmured, rubbing his chin, "We might have to kill her. If she finds out she'll definitely cause more trouble – and she's close to the Hokage, isn't she? We can hire another outside mercenary and play out her death as a random Bingo Book kill – she's listed in that, right? Criminals wronged by her are definitely out for her blood, I'm sure we can find someone."
"Maybe Katsuo," Leiko suggested, "He's ruthless. He'll get it done. I can send out communication immediately – I think he's in Snow Country, but I'm sure he can get here by tomorrow; we'll just have to hold her off until then."
"Call him then," Masaru sighed, running a hand through his hair, "Though I'd rather not kill her off. Haruno has friends – powerful friends – and I'd rather not have them suspecting us."
"I'll do it, then."
Sasuke didn't know what prompted him to speak – let alone willingly accept the assignment. Masaru looked at him with a raised brow and the Uchiha stared back unflinchingly.
"Why the change of mind, Shadow-san?"
"You mentioned higher stakes; which means higher pay," Sasuke answered smoothly, "You don't want her dead or it'll cause you complications. If I keep her alive and unaware then you quadruple my pay."
"And if she finds out?" Leiko challenged.
"You only pay me double," Sasuke answered, "And I'll kill her."
Masaru smirked, "…Sounds fair. I like it."
"Hn."
"She'll be here in a few hours," Leiko informed sternly, "Be prepared."
Sasuke blinked once before spinning on his heel and leaving the room, his gloved hands clenching.
One of the worst people he could find himself being caught by was going to be occupying the same village as him. Haruno Sakura, who he hadn't heard an ounce of information about since the end of the war – and, even then, it was only that she had survived the long battle. The last time he had physically seen her was when he had almost killed her.
Haruno Sakura.
Why did he accept the mission? He was supposed to start over – cut all ties of the past – yet the mention of her name and hearing Masaru and Leiko discuss her assassination prompted him to speak up.
'Just this once,' He thought gravely as he made his way back to the Inn he was staying at, 'I'll help her this once – I'll watch over her but she will never know who I am. Once she leaves, that's it. Once she's gone – no more.'
And if she discovers something and they want her dead?
Sasuke's frowned pulled lower, 'I'll help her escape – but that's it. All ties are cut. For good.'
A/N: Another updated story that's a long time in coming. Hope you guys enjoyed it! Don't worry, the summary will make sense soon! Sorry about the long wait. I'm trying to get back to these neglected plotlines; please let me know what you guys think?
The Curse readers, sorry for the delay on the new chapter! I'm trying to dish it out as soon as possible!
Any questions or concerns feel free to PM or Review! I'll get back to you as soon as possible!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and Company.
So…What are your thoughts? I hope I portrayed Sasuke alright…
Next Update: Hopefully soon? Eeep.
I'm on a roll…Hopefully I can get out new chapters for False Façade, Forbidden Bonds, and Road of Touch; Road to Feel too. Any other stories out there that readers really want to see updated? I probably won't start on Psychotic until The Curse is done – which will be soon! Hopefully. Oh yeah, I should do a Missing In Action update too, huh?
Thank you for reading, reviewing, and favoriting/alerting!
Len
