The Sky
by Hic Iacet Mori
Chapter 2
Three things happened simultaneously.
Tsunade's hand shot up and gripped the arms wrapped around her, her amber eyes wide and glimmering.
Eagle tore off his mask, revealing a pale, handsome face that was oddly flushed, his usually expressionless features expressing shock as his pale, almost lavender eyes dilated with bewilderment.
Wolf flashed behind the cloaked intruder, chokuto pointed at the stranger's supposed jugular, voice chilling as he broke the short yet suffocating silence.
"Release our leader," he intoned, his words laced with promised pain. Sasuke stiffened when he felt a sharpness on his neck. A strange shiver raced up and down his spine as warmth brushed against his ear.
"Hmm?"
He felt his throat constrict with something unidentifiable—behind his mask, Sasuke was feeling a panic unlike he ever felt before. For some reason his mind was suddenly whirling with chaos, of words and pictures and sounds and smells, and he couldn't pull a single coherent thought and he couldn't breathe—
"Ookami, stand down," Tsunade murmured, a tremor barely audible in her lowered voice.
The voice broke through and Sasuke hesitated a moment before dropping his arm. The kunai on his neck lifted and he heard a distinct popping sound, announcing to everyone that it had been a clone. He glared at the stranger from behind his mask, refusing to budge from his spot while he quietly forced air into his lungs.
"Is this the stranger, Ookami?" the Hokage asked, her voice calm.
"Aa, Hokage-sama," he replied. The intruder's arms were still wrapped around the Sannin, and it was only then that he saw their leader was holding down those arms. His sharp eyes caught the Hokage's white hands squeeze those arms gently, almost… comforting.
Eagle, who had removed his mask already, bowed and disappeared, returning barely a minute later.
"Ookami-taichou, I know this person," Tsunade said wearily, finally noticing that the younger captain was still hovering around them. Reluctantly, Sasuke returned to where he previously stood.
"Well, it looks like your mission is canceled," she said with a small, nebulous smile. Sasuke watched as the smile of the Legendary Sucker widened tremulously, as if she was about to burst into tears if not for her strong grasp for control. The sleeved arms around her began to unwind and her hands tightened reflexively, as if Tsunade—Last Living Sannin of their generation, Godaime Hokage—was afraid—terrified—that the stranger behind her would vanish and everything would just have been an illusion.
"Baa-chan," the stranger said, reassuring the woman, "I won't be leaving any time soon."
Sasuke heard a sharp intake of air beside him, and he glanced at his fellow captain who looked paler than he had ever been. The words were a confirmation to what the man had suspected—hoped—earlier.
The sun was back.
The stranger raised a hooded head, hearing the gasp. Before Sasuke could comprehend what had happened, the person had appeared next to them, embracing the stoic male beside him.
"Damned long time, Neji," came the low murmur, "Knew you'd be ANBU."
"Naruto," was all Hyuuga Neji could say. His arms wrapped around the cloaked figure as his eyes slipped shut, an expression that Sasuke could only call affectionate appearing on his features.
Sasuke felt an odd tightening in his chest as he watched from the safety of his mask, glaring at the stranger with sudden, intense hatred. It was irrational but Sasuke hated whoever that was—hating the person for arriving, hating the person for making him react strangely, making him feel peculiar emotions—making him feel—after such a short moment, after a long, long time.
The only times he felt were when he dreamed of the blue, blue sky.
And this—feeling—
"Uchiha."
—what am I missing?
Sasuke straightened up and removed his mask. The Hokage was watching him with an indecipherable expression, a gleam in her tear-softened eyes.
"Hyuuga."
Reluctantly, Neji released the dark bundle in his arms and straightened beside Sasuke. A blink and the new arrival was standing beside Tsunade again, as if the person had never left at all.
Tsunade stood up and gently placed a hand on the figure, who stood a few inches taller than her. As if understanding, the person raised an arm and dropped the hood that effectively covered the face. Sasuke restrained the gasp that almost escaped his lips.
A tan, oval-shaped face with perfect cheekbones was framed by long, golden hair as bright as the sun itself spilling inside the cloak. Three curious, claw-like scars graced both cheeks that strangely only lent the person an exotic air. Full red lips curved in a smile, innocent in its childlike softness.
Sasuke felt dazed as he studied the person's features, but what caught his attention was the Konoha hitai'ate over where the eyes should be, blocking the windows of the soul as if to protect the person's—her—innermost thoughts from the world.
Eyes as clear as skies flashed in his mind.
Where did that come from?
Suddenly aware that he was staring, Sasuke forcefully wrenched his eyes away from her and briefly closed his. As an ANBU captain of Konoha, he had traveled various distances and had met men and women who could be called the most beautiful creatures of the world. But this person... he just knew—
Blue eyes glowed in his mind.
—this stranger was beautiful beyond what he could begin to imagine.
Is she blind?
"Gaki," Tsunade said, affection apparent in her voice. "I was just about to order a manhunt for you."
The blonde scratched her head. "Felt it was time to return, Baa-chan. Plus," her tone lowered. "stuffs are happening."
Tsunade nodded in understanding then turned to her two strongest captains. Her eyes landed on Sasuke far longer than he thought was necessary, and he caught her eyes flicker briefly to the other blonde in the room.
As if realizing something, said person chuckled. "Ah, I'm just too rude. Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet you—Uchiha Sasuke."
Sasuke's dark eyes registered surprise, though his face was, as usual, impassive. Naruto? That's a masculine name. Isn't it?
More importantly—how did she know me?
Naruto bowed. "Don't be surprised, Uchiha-san. You are well-known as the last Uchiha, after all."
Somehow, this statement brought more questions to his mind. Could Uzumaki Naruto see past metals? How else would she identify him as an Uchiha? She could have felt for his chakra signature, but that would mean they have met before for her to remember it—yet Sasuke, with his phenomenal memory, couldn't recall meeting someone like her, and he was absolutely certain he would have remembered her.
Lastly—
Why does it feel like—I should have known her?
"But Baa-chan!" his thoughts interrupted, he looked up, "I don't need babysitters!"
"An ANBU captain could hardly be called a babysitter, Naruto," Neji said, tone hinting of amusement. Sasuke hadn't thought Hyuuga was capable of amusement.
The young blonde stuck out a tongue. "Screw you, Neji." The man merely chuckled at the unintended pun. "Anyway, I got in without anyone knowing I'm here, Tsunade-baa. I wouldn't exactly feel safe after that."
The words were spoken in a teasing manner but Sasuke felt himself flare up, slighted. He was ready to retort but Neji beat him to it.
"I knew you won't let me live that down," Neji said, shaking his head with a slight tilt of his lips.
"Damn straight!" she replied cheekily, giving a thumbs-up. Tsunade, who had returned to her seat, rolled her eyes at the childish action. Neji gave a full-blown, actual smile.
Quick as a flash, Naruto was touching the older ANBU's shoulders. "You're smiling," she announced, her voice strangely melancholic. "I could feel it. So rare, makes me wanna see."
"You can, if you want to," Neji replied softly, in a gentle voice Sasuke had never heard from the aloof prodigy before. He felt a strange tightening in his throat, a feeling of utter wrongness screaming at the back of his mind.
Why did he feel like an outsider?
He clenched his jaw, tearing his eyes away from the intimate scene. His midnight gaze caught amber eyes studying him. Sasuke couldn't suppress the thought that the Hokage was waiting for him.
Waiting for what?
From the corner of his eyes, he spied the blonde shake her head and step back. Neji's words replayed in his mind.
She's not blind? Why would she choose not to see, then?
A mysterious silence had settled in the office. Tsunade decided to continue where she left off. "You'd have to get used to ANBU following you around, Naruto," she said. "As Rokudaime, a squad would always be around you. So would your personal guard. And the ANBU Commander, if necessary."
The younger blonde huffed, blowing golden bangs away from her face. "Yare, yare. But I'm not formally Rokudaime yet so I don't need them trailing after me. I'm sure they'd prefer to do missions than hang all over me."
"I don't mind, Naruto," Neji countered evenly. "I planned to request for vacation after we find you, after all."
"Neji." Sasuke felt there would be a pointed glare along with the deceptively sweet smile, if her eyes were visible. "Friends help each other and you're not helping."
"Washi-taichou, I'm granting your request for vacation," Tsunade announced smugly.
"Old hag!"
"I request a vacation as well, Hokage-sama," Sasuke said calmly. Two pairs of eyes turned to him in surprise. He ignored the bitterness that kept rising steadily within him since he witnessed that interaction between his fellow captain and the strange woman—ignored the mysterious voice that kept entertaining strange ideas at the back of his mind—ignored the irrational panic that crept up when his mind's eye sighted gray skies instead of blue—ignored all and focused, instead, on his leader who watched him once more with that strange amalgam of unfathomable emotions in her eyes.
Tension thrummed in his body and Sasuke suddenly felt tired.
It wasn't even noon yet.
"Very well, Ookami-taichou," Tsunade replied. He silently released the breath he didn't know he was holding and bowed to show his gratitude.
"Hyuuga," she continued. "Vacation notwithstanding, please watch over Naruto."
"That's my plan, Hokage-sama," Neji replied with a little smile. "If Naruto doesn't mind, that is."
Scarred cheeks puffed childishly. "Che, bastard. Like I can have any say at all after that. Stop teasing!"
Sasuke clenched his teeth against the sharp pain that suddenly blossomed in his head. Tsunade's head shot up.
"Anything wrong?"
"Nothing, Hokage-sama," he replied, squaring his jaw. The Hokage studied him for a moment, and then nodded slowly.
"Both of you, dismissed."
Sasuke looked up and caught his fellow captain regarding him with an impassive expression, but not before he captured a foreign emotion in the older man's cold pale eyes. Neji made his way to the door, pausing slightly.
"I'll wait for you outside, Naruto."
"Hai, hai, Hyuuga-sama."
Sasuke stepped around, passing him. Feeling Neji's eyes on him, Sasuke looked back with blank, obsidian eyes.
"Join us, Uchiha."
Sasuke was annoyed at the apparent command but decided not to act on it, his expression not giving away his thoughts. He merely raised a shoulder in his version of a shrug, a sign of his unenthusiastic acquiescence.
Maybe coming with them would answer the questions in his mind. Starting with the reason for what he saw in Hyuuga Neji's eyes.
Pity.