A/N- Is it just me, or does every single little statement like "ghost of a smile," or "quiet as the grave," seem especially funny what with the circumstances?
And yes. Sasuke in a towel was blatant fan/Karin service.
w00t for long(ish) chapters.
Without further adeu, I present the fourth chapter of,
The Ninja Whisperer
"So like, you're pretty hot."
"...Thanks...?"
--
They were tense, crouched below the missing or broken windows. Hinata looked inside, and gave a nod. As they prepared to slip inside, Kakashi held up a hand in halting.
"They have a shinobi who can likely sense us right now," He said quietly, brow furrowed in suspicion, "Are you sure they didn't seem prepared?"
"Ah...y-yes, Kakashi-sensei. I didn't see any traps..."
His one, revealed eye flashed as his thoughts flew about within his mind. Finally, he relaxed entirely, hopping inside the window without warning.
"Kaka-sensei?!" Sakura shouted, surprised. She jumped in after him, fully prepared to assist her sensei.
--
Sasuke looked up as he caught sight of the first intruder. A thoughtful Kakashi strode towards him casually; behind him, Sakura jumped inside, a determined set to her features. She fell into a semi-crouch, green eyes scanning the area with an intense light lit behind them.
Sasuke was almost impressed by the display.
"What exactly are you four planning?" Kakashi inquired curiously, coming to a halt before the group as they sat about as if bored. He seemed especially interested in Karin and Juugo, looking from one to the other.
"Absolutely nothing." Sasuke answered honestly.
Sakura approached warily, glancing at each of them for a few moments as if deeming the levels of threat they held. Behind her, the rest of the team spilled inside, alarmed and confused as to what was happening. Naruto was the first of the lot, running up towards his teammates, silently asking a million questions.
"Like hell." Sakura said finally, folding her arms across her chest and glaring at him dangerously.
Sasuke chuckled softly. "I suppose I deserved that..."
"You made a good decision when you chose to include the chakra-sensitive shinobi to your team." Kakashi said slowly, still gazing out at the rest of team Hebi. As Karin perked up slightly, rather proud, he fixed his gaze on Sasuke again, question answered.
"Thanks." He responded dryly. "So, when are we heading back?"
"Huh?" Naruto responded intellectually.
"You are here to return me to Konoha, yes?"
After a brief silence in which the group of Konoha shinobi exchanged curious glances, Sakura spoke up. "Yes."
Sasuke smirked, then, as arrogantly as he could possibly manage. "And here I was beginning to wonder if we were all gathered here today to discuss Naruto's missing brain cells."
Sakura narrowed her eyes into slits.
The smirk vanished, and he sighed. "Can we stop assuming I'm going to try and kill you all the first chance I get? It's rather annoying."
"You should have thought of that before you led us to believe you wanted us dead." Sakura said quietly.
"Ah, so you're the one doing all the talking these days," He responded casually, doing a quick once over, "How interesting."
Naruto stepped past Sakura and Kakashi, curious. "You're coming back willingly?" He asked, blue eyes blinking. He was wondering whether he should dare to hope, Sasuke knew.
"That's what I've been saying, yes. If you don't mind, my team would like to come with me. Juugo here has to stay with me, due to a strange set of circumstances, and so Karin and Suigetsu have decided to tag along."
"All the way to Konoha?" Kakashi broke in once again, brow raised.
"Yeah."
There was a painful stretch of silence.
"I-I could block their chakra flow," Hinata suggested in a small voice from the back, "So that they couldn't fight us...every few hours or so..."
Suigetsu and Karin tensed ever so slightly at that, exchanging a glance and staring pointedly at Sasuke.
"I have a few conditions, of course," Sasuke said smoothly, "I'd rather not have any harm come to my team, if it's possible. They decided to stay when I was perfectly willing to cover for them. I'd hate to see that turn against them. They're willing to side with Konoha."
Nearly everyone was entirely confused by this point in time. The only one who didn't seem to be was Sasuke himself.
"Very well." Kakashi said finally.
"What?!" Sakura demanded, "You can't possibly think he's serious!"
"Sakura's right," Yamato broke in, the first time he'd spoken in some time, "There's no way to say he's not leading us into some sort of trap."
Kakashi didn't tear his eye from it's war with Sasuke's own, twin black orbs. "He knows that a trap like this would likely lead to his death, along with his team's. He wouldn't risk that."
Sasuke's stare flattened. "Good to know you can depend on my word alone." He said sullenly.
"You lost that right some time ago, Sasuke." Kakashi replied. "Hinata."
"H-hai!" The girl jumped, scurrying over to Hebi. She avoided Sasuke's cool stare as he stood to meet her, and set to work.
Sakura watched with hard green eyes, her mood only lightening as she smiled at Hinata encouragingly.
--
"What made you decide to come back?" Naruto asked that night as they rested in Yamato's creation.
Sasuke regarded him flatly, not answering.
"I mean, like... was it Itachi? It was Itachi, right?"
Sasuke's lips thinned. "Yes." He answered; it was true, in a way.
"I knew it!" He grinned, slowly succumbing to the hope he wanted to have.
Sasuke faltered, then, for a small moment in time. The idiot trusted him, even after all he'd done. "You know I don't deserve this chance," He said slowly, "Why are you bothering? I could just leave again."
Naruto looked at him questioningly. "Why would you? All you wanted to do was get revenge, right? That's all. You... couldn't do it in Konoha."
Despite knowing it was painful for him to say that at all, Sasuke stared at him, baffled. "Yeah..." He said slowly, "I'm surprised an idiot like you gets it."
"Haha, I'm awesome like tha-- HEY!" Naruto's brows drew together, "Teme! I'm not an idiot!"
Sasuke had to chuckle. He had to. Really.
"Can you two please shut the fuck up?!" Suigetsu demanded, irritated and exhausted.
"NEH!" Naruto scowled, "You're just jealous you don't have any friends!"
Suigetsu sulked, rolling over further. "I do too." He muttered, pouting.
"NUH UH, fish-face!"
"GO TO SLEEP!" Karin shrieked, throwing her boot at Naruto. It hit him squarely in the forehead, and he reeled backwards, protesting and comlaining all the way to the floor.
Sakura glared at her dangerously, even as Naruto threw the boot back and Karin had to dodge in order to avoid being hit, herself. The kunoichi was the first watch of the windowless room that night, and was not exactly pleased about it.
Suigetsu snickered at the interaction, not really caring if he got to sleep after that. Go, Karin, he mentally cheered.
He paused. Wait, what?
--
Sasuke woke to the sound of a little girl's laughter.
He sat up, looking around. Kakashi stood by the door, reading, but Sasuke could see that he heard them, too. The man looked at him after a moment, revealed eye gleaming with the beginnings of understanding.
Naruto was snoring, Karin was murmuring, and Suigetsu was rolling along the floor. There were sounds of stirring throughout the wooden contraption, and the laughing had stopped, but the two sharingan wielders made not a move.
"How long have you heard them?" Sasuke asked quietly, feeling an odd pang of guilt.
Kakashi's eye crinkled in amusement, "How long have you?"
Naturo jerked awake after a moment, sleepily murmuring something unintelligible and rolling over, going back to sleep.
Sasuke smiled ruefully. "Why do I have the feeling it's going to be a lot harder to convince everybody else?"
Kakashi shrugged, returning to his book. "I wouldn't start with Sakura."
Sasuke's smile, forced though it was, faded away entirely. "Does she hate me?"
"Oh, it's probably not that bad. But you know the saying... 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'."
"Yeah," Sasuke said around another bout of phantom giggles.
Kakashi paused, and regarded him once again, closing his book around a thumb. "I think you had better explain to me the details of this... situation."
Sasuke raised a brow.
"I heard you killed him."
Flinch. "It doesn't really feel like it, sometimes." He deliberately ignored the ghost in the corner.
Despite his attempts, the very perseptive Copy Ninja understood fully. "And yet you're not consumed by blinding fury."
The poetic phrasing made it a faint mockery, and Sasuke flinched again despite himself. "It's a long story..."
"They say death settles all unrest."
"They also say that with every door that closes, another one opens," Sasuke quipped, narrowing his eyes. It was another way of saying that even in death, even with hatred explained away, he was still plagued with annoyances at best.
Kakashi chuckled, and opened his book once more.
Karin rolled over as a newcomer joined them, pink hair mussed with the remnants of sleep. Sakura shot yet another dark look Sasuke's way, which was far from not noticed, and purposefully ignored him as she spoke to the nonchalant Kakashi. "You should wake them up." She glanced at Naruto, expression softening, before she walked away.
Sasuke laid back after a moment, wondering if it would have done him more good to stay dead.
--
Cough.
Karin glanced at the shinobi sitting by her, eyes critically going over his features. "Why are you guarding me?"
Kiba scowled at her. "I drew the short straw." He retorted succinctly.
She narrowed red eyes dangerously, crossing her arms and looking away with a "hmph!".
There was a brief pause.
"You should eat, you know."
Karin blinked. "I'm allergic to nuts." She said, after determining he was serious.
"Oh." Kiba looked down at his own, nut-free dish, and glanced again at hers. "You can switch with me, then."
"Huh?" She replied intelligently, peering at the bowl in confusion.
"Or not, that's fine." He shrugged. "I--" Kiba was cut off as she snatched it, scooting her bowl in his direction. "Okay then..." He scratched at his nose. Weirdo...
Karin glanced at him again, eyes narrowed as she scrutinized his appearance. "You're not half-bad looking." She blurted. Her eyes widened as she realized what she'd said.
Kiba stared at her oddly. "Thanks..." He said slowly, uncertainly.
--
It was extremely tense as Team Seven sat in what could be called a circle, mixed feelings flaring in the formation. Fury and suspicion radiated from Sakura in waves, as she was seated directly across from Sasuke, glaring at him with hard green eyes. The Uchiha himself was faintly restless, unsure of what to do or say.
Naruto glanced between the two, nervous and happy at the same time. He had no idea who's side to take if things began to get violent. Should he defend the chakra-less Sasuke, try and calm Sakura, stay out of the way, or help her beat him to a pulp?
Kakashi was giggling oddly at his book, as was typical, but it almost rang hollow, slightly off and differing from the usual laugh. Perhaps he, too, was unsure.
Yamato... well, Yamato was feeling as if he didn't belong. He hadn't been scorned by the Uchiha, hadn't cared for him or loved him like a member of his family when he left, but nor had he any ill will towards said Uchiha. Sure, at first he had wanted at least a small amount of justice for his wrongs, but now... he couldn't bring himself to wish for even that much. But wouldn't leaving be deemed rude...?
"So," Yamato began timidly, smiling serenely, "Are we ready to move on?"
No one answered, and Yamato shrunk into himself a little bit more.
--
Shino and Juugo sat across from one another, and neither had spoken a word since they had taken a seat.
"I should be with Sasuke." Juugo spoke up uncertainly, eyes wavering and not wanting to look upon anyone for fear that he would get to know them. That would make it worse if he hurt them. He started to get up. "I'll just-"
"That would not be wise." Shino had spoken, but had not moved an inch.
Juugo slowly sat back down, chagrined.
--
"So," Suigetsu spoke up with a forced grin, "You're a Hyuuga, eh?"
Hinata swallowed dryly, averting her eyes even further. Her face was tinted with pink.
"It's quite impressive." He continued in a faintly strained voice, "What you do with the chakra blocking...and stuff..."
She seemed to curl in on herself. "Th-thank you." She managed.
"It lasts a while, too. That's good." He was lying through his teeth. "But, um... what if we get attacked?"
She looked back at him, pale eyes wide. "Why would we?"
He closed his eyes, cursing at himself inwardly. "I didn't mean... the Akatsuki are probably after Sasuke, for killing one of their own, right?" When she blinked slowly, he continued. "What if they catch up with us, or something? You'd need all of our power..."
"I'm confident in our abilities." She replied simply, seeming to unfold from herself ever so slightly.
Suigetsu wanted to die then and there.
...Well, actually, he wanted very much to avoid that particular transition.
"But I could die..." He managed weakly, voice thin and tight.
Seeming to draw confidence from somewhere, Hinata slowly raised an eyebrow, ever so daintily, not even forming a crease. "And?" She smoothly inquired, seeming faintly curious.
Suigetsu stared at her in horror. "And I don't want to die!" He shouted, drawing faint attention to himself. Evil bitch!
"Ah, I see." She smiled a little smile, almost shyly. "Well then I suppose you'll have to count on us."
His eye twitched.
It twitched again.
I am so haunting this bitch to her grave if I keel over. ...Maybe after that, too.
In any case, all four groups were happy to move on.
--
A/N- In case anyone is curious... no, Hinata is not suddenly turning into a vindictive bitch. It's just... she noticed that Suigetsu was in the palm of her hands. That can give anyone confidence.
Anyways... yay for transition chapters. -rolls eyes- Probably the only reason it's so long... but I had to end it somewhere...
In the next chapters you can expect lots of random, nonsensical pairing hints... and a catfight. Yay!
P.S.: Yes, the little girl who was laughing was Rin.