A/N: And I'm back again, ready or not! (smirks) I finally managed to get chapter four done. (cheers deafeningly)
But first, HUGE thank yous for all those baffling reviews and listings! (HUGS!) Truth to be told, this ficcy wouldn't be living and breathing now without you guys.
Awkay, before I go all mushy and emotional, here goes nothing! I really hope you'll enjoy!
WARNING: I didn't have time to proofread this even nearly as well as I would've wanted to, so there's probably a ton on spelling/grammar errors. (cringes) Pardon me!
/ Every minute from this minute now
We can do what we like anywhere
I want so much to open your eyes
'Cause I need you to look into mine
Tell me that you'll open your eyes...
Tell me that you'll open your eyes...
Tell me that you'll open your eyes...
Tell me that you'll open your eyes... /
(Snow Patrol; "Open your eyes" )
Unlike most people, Gaara had always liked high places in a way. He found it soothing that he could see so much with just one glance, that he could make sure no one would be able to ambush him. That's why – although he was far from his village – he felt at home in the high tower in which he'd chosen to keep guard and sort out his thoughts.
In that safe place, nothing could've possibly sneaked up on him. That's why he saw the familiar male-form from quite afar, and found his eyebrow rising a bit.
Hyuuga Neji?
After some minutes, the brunette had also climbed into the tower, and stood beside him. It took a moment before the other spoke. " I figured you could use some rest since you've been up here for hours, so I came to take over."
He shook his head, finding it hard not to smile a bit for some reason. " There's no need for you to do that. This isn't official duty."
Neji shrugged, not looking at him. " I know." There was a moment of surprisingly comfortable silence until the other spoke again. " Have you noticed anything out of ordinary yet?"
" No." His eyes darkened. " But they're out there, inching closer. I can feel it."
Neji nodded. For the next fifteen minutes only wind spoke as they stood deep in thought.
" You can go home", he pointed out eventually, surprised by with how great reluctance the words came. " There's no need for you to spend all night here as well."
This time Neji shook his head, pale eyes firm. " I want to be here. This is my village, after all – it's my duty to protect it."
It was obvious to him that the other was lying, or at least leaving something unsaid, but he didn't say a thing. At the moment, he was grateful for the company, although he would've never admitted it out loud.
Neither noticed the coldness and darkness of night as they stood side by side, not needing to speak out a word.
CHAPTER 4: Open Your Eyes
When Naruto finally managed to pull himself out of the tunnel of darkness, the first thing he felt was a hand on his shoulder. He started to struggle, but calmed down immediately when hearing a familiar voice. " Naruto, it's alright. You're safe. Everything's going to work out now."
Some of the haze disappearing, he turned his head slowly. A gasp left him when he encountered a familiar face, eyes he'd wanted to see open for such a long time now. " T – Teme…!"
Soon enough, however, illusions became shattered. Onyx turned into sadness-filled jade. " Naruto…" With almost three years of experience, Sakura didn't seem to have any trouble with creating a smile while she pulled her hand away from him. " It's good to see you awake. You scared the hell out of us."
His mind still unbelievably hazy, he tried his hardest to figure out what'd happened. Soon enough, pieces started to slide together. His eyes widened.
The Kyuubi… It'd almost… He'd almost…
Eyes growing still, he stared at his trembling hands, relieved beyond any belief upon discovering that they weren't glowing with red. That he was still human.
" Naruto?" Sakura's voice managed to snatch him back into reality. There was a frown upon her face. " Are you okay?"
Although it came with some difficulty, he managed to grin brightly. " Yeah, Sakura-chan. Just a bit groggy."
This time, the pale smile on her lips was a genuine one. " Well, you were unconscious for the entire night. Tsunade-sama said you might be a bit confused once waking up."
He nodded slowly. If only this would've been just confusion, but… He'd unleashed the Kyuubi's powers for several times. And he knew better than well that it'd been nothing like this before.
It wasn't until then he realized that there was something rather warm pressed against his side. Frowning with confusion, he turned his head – and his eyes almost popped out with surprise when he discovered it was Sasuke.
What the hell was he doing in the same bed with Sasuke?!
" I'm sorry, but we had to put you into the same bed with him." He could've sworn there was a hint of blush upon Sakura's face. " You wouldn't stop trashing around in your sleep until we did."
His cheeks felt oddly hot while he opened his mouth to explain, but nothing came out. There was no way he could talk himself out of this one.
Working practically without his command, his eyes moved to the raven's forehead, and a growl almost escaped when he noticed a strand of stray-hair. Why hadn't it been moved away?
He was just about to move his hand to brush it back into place when the room's door was opened. Tsunade's eyes, which clearly revealed she'd had several sleepless nights, filled with tremendous relief as she discovered him awake. " So you've finally decided to wake up." The woman's gaze then moved to Sakura. " Go home and get some rest. I'll give Naruto a little check up."
With apparent reluctance, Sakura nodded.
Once they were alone he swallowed a bit. " Baa-chan… It's bad, isn't it?"
The woman sighed heavily, not meeting his eyes. " Naruto… The Kyuubi almost managed to break from your control." Bravely, her gaze travelled, almost crossing paths with his demanding one. " There's no telling for how much longer the seal will be able to hold it back."
Feeling extremely cold all of a sudden, he nodded stiffly, and without noticing it snuggled closer to Sasuke. After a moment, the million thoughts whirring inside all at once quieted down enough to allow some coherent ones. " Then I guess all I can do is fight back, ne?"
Tsunade seemed surprised for a moment, then nodded, visibly almost smiling at his typical determination. " That's right." As he started to crawl out of the bed with reluctance he couldn't understand, she frowned. " Brat, what do you think you're doing?"
He grinned. " I'm going to train", he announced. " I want to be able to squash those Akatsuki-freaks when they appear, and I've gotta become strong to be able to hold back the Kyuubi." Seeing her expression, he went on. " Don't look at me like that, baa-chan. The Kyuubi won't be able to make any more attempts to take over for a while. I'll be fine."
The woman was far from convinced. " Naruto, after something like that you'll be barely able to walk for a while – you'd get yourself injured or worse if you'd go training now. So stay in bed and rest."
He pouted. " Baa-chan…!" he whined.
Tsunade seemed almost amused. " You should know by now that that tone has no use with me, brat." With that, she started to leave. " Just so you know… I've ordered the medics to keep a careful eye on you. And there'll be someone patrolling outside this room's window." Sensing his glare, she added. " That look does nothing to change my mind, either." The door closed after her.
Emitting a groan of dissatisfaction, he slumped to the bed.
There weren't many times he would've felt this frustrated.
All of a sudden this sensation he couldn't name took over, almost like a hunch. With a frown, he turned his gaze towards Sasuke – and felt a jump underneath his ribcage.
The movement was so soft that it was barely detectable, but he saw it nonetheless.
Sasuke's eyes… They moved, as though attempting to open up.
Heart in his throat, he leaned closer, fought the sudden urge to touch the raven's cheek. " Teme?" There was no other response than the eyes twitching again, but that didn't manage to get him down. " I know you can hear me, you bastard. And…" Not understanding exactly what ushered him into doing so, he grabbed Sasuke's hand, holding on tight. " I… I promised to bring you back. And I'm not going to fall asleep or move an inch from here until I have, believe it."
Rays of sun eventually tickled Ino out of her deep slumber. Giving a moan of protest and wrinkling her nose, she yawned and stretched until finally managing to coax her eyes open. They widened immediately when the sight cleared out.
The room around her… was flawlessly tidy; it seemed that there was a marked spot of every single thing in it. And she couldn't detect even one dust ball anywhere.
This… was definitely not her room.
After first shock slowly vanished, memories started to shape into place inside her head. The evening before, it'd taken her a long time to get Sai's injuries – which had, quite unsurprisingly, been far worse than he'd claimed – at least somewhat stitched up. Once she'd been done, she'd been so exhausted that she'd seen double. Apparently, she'd never made it home.
Nice, extremely bright blush made its way to her cheeks.
Oh shit…
Quite rapidly, she bounced into a sitting position on the couch to which she'd been laid and glanced around. At first she felt relief upon discovering that Sai's bed was flawlessly made and the boy was nowhere in sight (thank heavens, he wasn't there to witness her embarrassing waking up), but quite soon that emotion transformed into worry-marred annoyance. Obviously, Sai hadn't listened a word when she'd told him to rest and not rush straight back into action.
It wasn't until then she noticed the blanket that'd been (quite clumsily, but still) placed to cover her, and spotted a short note on the table beside the couch.
Thank you.
There's breakfast for you in the fridge.
I'm sorry for not waking you up.
She couldn't keep a small smile from coming.
She'd kill Sai later for running off like this when he was obviously in no condition to accept any new missions for a while. But at the moment… She allowed herself to admit that this was incredibly adorable.
Yes, Kankuro liked Konoha in general. But at the moment, as he kept sneezing under upcoming flue the village's climate (much colder than Suna's) had given him, he almost wished he'd just stayed home.
Fortunately, he also had another thing on his mind at the moment. Sakura, who was currently watching over playing Hajime, seemed surprised when he entered the safe house to which the child and Izumi had been placed. " Now what are you doing here?"
He shrugged. " Lee mentioned you two had some plans, so I decided to come and let you slip out a bit early." Truth to be told, his motives weren't quite that selfless, but there was no need for Sakura to know that.
Sakura's green eyes lit up with gratitude, he could've sworn he saw a tiny blush on her cheeks. " Thanks! I'll… better get going, then." The girl ruffled Hajime's hair, ignoring the boy's half-hearted glare against the gesture. " I'll come back soon, okay?" Receiving a nod, she got up to take her departure. Just before going, she flashed him a grateful look. " I'll see you around."
He nodded, barely managing to keep himself from chuckling as he watched how she practically sprinted off.
So obvious…
As a ninja, he was observant enough to detect soft sounds of steps before Izumi opened the front door and entered. She frowned for second, as though trying to recognize, until her features smoothed once more. " Kankuro? Where's Sakura?"
He shrugged, disregarding the fact that the girl couldn't see it. " I decided she could use an afternoon off." He then frowned with yet another sneeze, noticing a small herb-filled basket on her arm. " What were you doing outside, anyway? Aren't you supposed to be guarded?"
He couldn't tell if she was about to snarl or laugh, but in the end she did neither. " I wasn't too far off. Besides, I don't need to be watched over all the time."
It was then Hajime finally managed to make his way to his mother. Kankuro couldn't keep himself from grinning as he witnessed the two exchange a brief hug before the girl took her son gently into her arms.
Could it be that he saw a beginning of a blush when Izumi looked back towards him? " Well, if you'd like to stay a while, I suppose I could make some dinner for you, too. I don't want you to starve."
He winced, realizing that the girl must've heard the pitiable rumbling of his stomach. His tone, however, was completely normal. " Thanks." He thought about offering help, but decided against it. He really didn't want a shuriken thrown his way.
Hajime struggled a bit when the girl placed the child into his arms, but – to his great relief – settled down eventually, starting to poke his painted face with a curious frown.
After time that felt much too long Izumi returned, carrying a mug of something. Sensing his discomfort, the girl – visibly barely keeping herself from bursting into laughing – skilfully took her son with one arm. " Hajime, sweetie, stop tormenting poor Kankuro." She then offered the mug towards him. " Here's something for you before the dinner's ready."
He blinked dumbly at the offering, its strong scent almost making his head spin. " What's that?"
She shrugged. " Something to help you with the upcoming cold. Once you drink that, you shouldn't fall ill."
He smiled while taking the mug, almost sure she couldn't notice it. (Neither noticed how their hands brushed together.) " Thanks."
Obviously having sensed his smile after all, Izumi returned the gesture. " No problem. Consider it a peace offer for trying to kill you the last time we met."
He just had to grin. He was fairly sure she could feel it.
While he sipped the drink slowly, surprised by how good it tasted, Izumi sat down and looked at yawning Hajime with unseeing, yet gentle eyes. The boy clung to his mother even more tightly than before, as though never wanting to let go. " Alright, little one. It's time for you to take a little nap."
Comfortable silence lingered as Izumi started to hum softly to her already half-asleep son, with Kankuro watching with extremely uncharacteristically gentle eyes and slowly sipping his drink. A thought that almost made him chuckle came to his mind.
Temari would never let me live it down if she'd see me now.
On training grounds not too far away, Temari sneezed all of a sudden.
Shikamaru, whom she'd persuaded (or, very well, blackmailed) to be her sparring partner for the day, arched an eyebrow. " You're not coming down with anything, are you?"
She grinned. " Just focus on the training, will you?" Faster than he could even blink, she'd inched closer and delivered a punch that sent him stumbling a couple of ungraceful steps backwards. " After all, losing focus may end up costing you."
The boy glared at her accusingly. " What the hell was that for? We weren't supposed to attempt to break bones!"
She chuckled. " Trust me, if I'd want to break bones, you'd know."
Air spun around them in untraceable patterns as they circled around each other, neither losing focus for even a second nor willing to back down. Minute after another ticked by without neither of them managing to cut the dance, and eventually they were both panting, completely out of breath.
But in the end, it ended in a single blink. Before Shikamaru even realized what was happening, he'd pinned Temari to the ground, their faces far closer than either would've pleased.
For a moment, the girl's face remained filled with stun, until she smirked. " Congrats. You managed to beat me." She then lifted her eyebrow. " Now… Would you please get off me? You're crushing me."
Just then, came a new voice he recognized far too well. " What's going on here?"
His face falling completely pale, he jumped away from Temari as fast as humanly possible and even managed to stagger up. When he slowly, unwillingly, turned his gaze, he faced exactly what he'd fear.
Oh crap…
Quite close by – definitely close enough to having seen everything – stood Gaara, arms folded and a warning look upon his face. He could see one of the redhead's eyebrows twitch threateningly.
Fortunately Temari spoke, because he wasn't too sure if he would've been able to utter a word. " We were just sparring." Getting up, she dusted her clothes. " What's up?"
His suspicious look melting ever so slightly, Gaara turned his gaze from him to the girl. " We were all called to the Hokage's office for a strategic meeting. Apparently, it's important."
Shikamaru frowned. Was the Akatsuki causing a threat like this?
Gaara's voice woke him from those thoughts. " Are you coming or what?" He was looking at him with annoyance. " We don't have all day."
He barely managed to keep himself from rolling his eyes. " Yeah, yeah, hold your horses. I'm coming."
In quite a short amount of time, Tsunade's office became packed up with people.
Kiba frowned when spotting a particular face missing. " Where's Naruto?"
A somewhat strange expression flashed by Tsunade's face. " He… needed some time to rest." Her face then hardened. " Now, as you've probably gathered from all the rumours, there's a threat upon Konoha."
" The Akatsuki", Neji stated quite unnecessarily.
She nodded. " I just received a message that a couple of Akatsuki members have been spotted in a tiny village between Konoha and Suna. I'm fairly sure it's false, but I'd like to send a couple of ninjas there just in case, to make sure everything's alright."
" I'll go", Gaara announced immediately, eyes even more intimidating than usually. " If they're heading towards Suna, I'll have to stop them."
" I'll go, too", Neji stated, most likely without even properly thinking about it.
Tsunade nodded slowly, just as surprised by this announcement as everyone else (including the Hyuuga). " Alright." She then glanced towards Kakashi, Kiba and Hinata. " You three, there's an important ally I want you to take into a village quite for away from Konoha. She's waiting for you at the edge of the village tonight."
Kiba grinned, seeming suspiciously excited about this mission. (Or perhaps it had something to do with the company…) " Alright!"
Shikamaru frowned. " What about the rest of us?"
Tsunade's eyes darkened still. " It's quite obvious that the Akatsuki is planning on an attack. When it comes, it'll be fast and merciless. Every single helper will be needed to protect Konoha then." She looked at them all. " You're dismissed." Just before Kakashi was out, she called out once more. " Kakashi, wait for a second. There's something I need to tell you about the mission."
The silver-haired's eyebrows furrowed. " Yes?"
" This isn't just any escort-mission. I didn't want to tell this to Kiba and Hinata, but…" She paused for a moment, carefully making sure they were alone. " You know that there's one more Tailed Beast the Akatsuki hasn't managed to get its hands on, right?"
Kakashi nodded, his eyes revealing that he'd already figured far too well what she was getting at. " Yes."
" This woman you're about to escort is the one they've been looking for – one of Konoha's best guarded secrets." Her eyes were stern as she looked at him. " I trust you to be able to protect her, and to not let this secret spill – even to Kiba and Hinata."
Kakashi nodded, mild shock apparent in his visible eye. " Of course."
She, too, nodded, her face an inch softer. " Good. You're dismissed."
As the door closed after him, she sighed heavily, glancing out of the window.
I hope you can forgive me, but I had no other choice, she mused. After all these years, he deserves to finally know that he hasn't lost you as well.
Danzou – who'd been pacing around in his office with impatience he would've never admitted out loud to anyone – paused when there was a knock on his door. " Yes?"
After a moment, in came one of his Root-ninjas, a man in his early twenties with long, purple hair on a ponytail and dark eyes carrying barely any emotion. " I managed to get the information you requested, Danzou-sama. And also something more."
His eyebrow bounced high up. " Yes?"
" The Uchiha is indeed in the village." The man's eyes were filled with anger and disappointment. " Your assumptions were correct – Tsunade's been protecting him all this time."
He fought the urge to smirk carnivorously. So that woman had been an idiot to play exactly the way he'd wanted her to…
You just made your last mistake.
The village had already enough to chew on with accepting the protection of Kyuubi-container. They'd never forgive when they'd find out that Tsunade was now also hiding a traitor.
He forced himself to concentrate. " You said there was also something more?"
The younger nodded. " I found some papers that gave… interesting information. You see, that brat she dragged into the village a while back, Izumi… She's her daughter."
Utter surprise caused his eyebrow to rise once more. This was almost too good to be true.
If Tsunade really had a child, let alone one that was in Konoha, he had a perfect way to… well, persuade her into seeing things from his point of view if she'd decide to be foolish.
" Are you absolutely sure about this?"
The other man nodded. " Of course."
His eyes gleamed. " Thank you. Excellent work." After a moment, he added. " You're dismissed."
As the man left, he couldn't keep the chilling grin from appearing.
Everything was going even better than he could've ever imagined. It was time to put his little plan into motion…
Evening had already fallen dark when Kakashi lead Hinata and Kiba to the village's far edge, his cautious ears and eyes strained to their very extreme, prepared to detect any threat.
" Where the heck is that chick, anyway?" Kiba asked irritably, glancing around. " Did she stood us up?"
Kakashi opened his mouth, but before he could speak a female-voice, so familiar it almost stilled his heart, came. " Of course I didn't. I hate making people wait."
Ever so slowly, he turned around to see that a hooded figure had stepped out from behind nearby trees. He swallowed heavily, despite being a ninja finding himself shuddering barely traceably as he all but whispered. " Rin…?"
The brunette grinned when removing her hood. " I hope you liked the ribbon I gave you." Her eyes seemed apologetic. " I'm sorry it took me this long to show up."
Sasuke didn't know what he'd expected to feel when he'd first jumped into emptiness. But no matter what it was, he found himself gasping in lungfuls when he hit the ice-cold water and sunk like a rock, as though someone or something had been pulling him down.
" You need to relax, Sasuke. The more you struggle, the faster and harder you sink", the voice he considered familiar told him softly.
Had he not been struggling against the water, he would've snorted.
So now he was expected to just relax and let himself drown?
" You're not going to die, Sasuke", the voice soothed him. " If you let go of what's pulling you down, you won't sink forever. Stop latching yourself to your burden already."
Had he been able to, he would've demanded what the hell it was the voice was talking about, what it was that he was supposed to let go of. However, the answer was granted to him even without being asked.
Despite himself, he nearly gasped when it all came crashing down on him – all of his hatred from so many years, all bitterness and loneliness, everything he'd sacrificed in order to get revenge that turned out to be nothing but a lie.
All the times he'd sworn revenge, oblivious to the hands trying to pull him out of the dark.
All the times he'd sworn death, oblivious to all the people who wanted – needed – him to live.
All the times he'd walked away, never looking over his shoulder to see the ruins he left behind.
All the times he'd stormed forward, having no real clue of what was ahead of him.
He'd been offered love – he'd spat at it. He'd been offered family – he'd snorted at it and thrown it straight to the innocent face. He'd been offered future – he'd been too busy hanging on to past.
Suddenly, his throat became so tight it was almost impossible to breathe, and he had a pretty good idea that it had nothing to do with all the water around him. Breathtaking pain attacked his chest, growing to such extend he could barely take it. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, feeling that he was sinking even faster than before.
" It's a heavy load, Sasuke", the voice commented, sounding softer than ever before. " But you'll have to let it go. Before starting to fix the damage, you have to be able to forgive yourself."
Once again, he felt like snorting.
Why the hell should he bother? What was there left?
There was a deep sigh. " So you haven't listened at all?" There was a brief pause. " Your past has stolen a lot from you, caused you to make many mistakes. But you can still have a future."
He scoffed.
Yes, one nice and shiny future that was. A lifetime in prison, marked as a traitor – that, at best. He knew how bloodthirsty the oldest leaves of Konoha were. His future would most likely be death, with the whole village watching.
There was a chuckle-like sound. " Is death really all you see? I'm disappointed, Sasuke. I really thought your eyes would be sharper by now." There was another pause, he was fairly sure the voice was attempting to add drama. " Because I see new bonds, of friendship and forgiveness. I also see love."
Yet again, he felt like bursting into laughter. Love?
Your crystal ball needs a lot of cleaning up, he mused.
The voice, apparently, chose to ignore him. " But if you ever want to get that future, you have to dare to let go, before it's too late – for you, for him, for Konoha." He could almost feel a smile despite all the coldness around him. " You're already loved more than you could ever imagine. But there's someone you have to save first. No one's ever needed you like this before – you'll have to be strong for both of you."
All of a sudden, he opened his eyes, and saw bright sunrays instead of pitch black water. Warmth seeped all the way to the core of his being.
" Can you do that, Sasuke?"
In the furthest corner of his mind, he saw joined hands that held on tightly.
" Can you let go of your past for someone far more important?"
He had absolutely no idea. But at the moment… He realized that he would've never been able to forgive himself if he hadn't at least tried. For he had a feeling that there was far too much at state to give up without a fight.
" You're alive today because of love, Sasuke", the voice told him gently, sounding like it'd been already fading away. " You have to keep living for the same reason."
The last mental imagine he got was that of his brother, carrying him in his back and poking his forehead gently.
There was no fear inside him as he closed his eyes, no shame although he was almost sure some tears escaped and blended into the water all around him.
" Live, Sasuke", a faraway voice whispered into his ear.
Perhaps, finally, he'd be able to do just that.
" I'll always be there for you."
Everything – the weight and coldness of water, the feeling of suffocating, the pain in his chest – faded away. He felt himself falling and flying at the same time.
" Goodbye. And thank you."
Despite all his pledges, Naruto must've fallen asleep at some point, because he suddenly woke up to this strange sensation of pressure on his hand.
What the…?
Very slowly, the hue clouding his head subsided – and his eyes flew wide as realization hit like a thunderbolt. So fast his neck could barely take it, he turned his nearly pleading gaze towards the raven's face. Evening having started to fall, it was almost dark, but he could still quite clearly see every move of eyebrows, every attempt to open eyes, every single fragment of discomfort.
He licked his lips, as they suddenly felt bone dry. " C'mon, Sasuke." His tense voice was filled with urgency, but he refused to care. " I know you can do it. Just follow my voice and open up your eyes, damnit. It's not that hard."
After that, everything seemed to happen in some sort of a slowed motion. At first, Sasuke's hand tightened around his, then slackened once more, as though the raven had realized what he'd been doing.
Then, after what'd felt like an eternity of waiting, Sasuke's eyes twitched for one more time. Ever so slowly, a pair of onyx orbs inched open, seeming oddly bright against enclosing darkness.
In the Akatsuki's base, everyone's gazed moved towards Zetsu as the man appeared as though from thin air. " So?" Pein inquired.
Zetsu smirked. " Everything's going exactly as planned. In a matter of days, both of the Tailed Beasts will be in our hands."
" Excellent." The leader then looked at them all. " Now go to bed. You'll need all possible rest for what is to come."
Not intending to protest, the group started to part.
Suzume's eyebrow rose just a little bit when she spotted Pein leaning down towards Konan's ear, so that she could see his face but not the woman's. Her skills of reading lips were limited, but she could've sworn he said " I need you in my room in fifteen minutes". Konan's nod followed after a beat's pause.
So focused she'd been on the two that she almost jumped when feeling a large hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she met Kisame's somewhat suspicious eyes. " Shouldn't you be skipping towards your room as well, brat? It's way past your bedtime."
She gave the man a dry look. " Why don't you just worry about your own rest? I'm a big girl now."
Kisame shrugged, then glanced towards the direction to which she'd been staring at for not too long before. " A word of advice, brat. If you want your stay here to be pleasant, stay out of things that are none of your business." With that, he started to take his leave. " Goodnight."
Her eyes were cautious while observing his distancing back. " Nighty night." It wasn't until he was long gone did she risk to remove her hand from the kunai to which it'd been placed.
Owing to adrenaline, her ears were careful and she heard steps long before voice spoke. " Suzume?" Turning around, she met Konan, who had a strange, flushed look upon her face. The woman handed her a small bottle. " I'm… busy tonight, so could you deliver the medicine alone this time?"
She was skilled enough to hide the jolt inside. She'd been waiting for this opportunity since she'd entered this hideout. " Of course", she promised while taking the offering. " You won't have to worry about this."
Konan nodded, something close to gratitude upon her face. " Thank you." The woman left without remembering to say goodnight.
Once she was sure that she was alone, Suzume slowly pulled another tiny bottle from the covers of fabric. Her eyes were sharp when she measured a little bit of liquid into the medicine.
Too little and too much could both lead into a disaster.
Once she was done, she quickly hid her own bottle and stirred the other. After a moment, nothing out of ordinary could be seen from the medicine or her face. She started to make her way towards her patient.
The journey wasn't long, and in a few minutes she was stood behind a familiar door. The hand holding the bottle didn't weaver a slightest while the other was lifted and delivered three firm knocks.
After a moment, there was a response. " Come on in."
Obediently, she opened the door. Despite darkness, she could clearly make out the masked face. " Madara-sensei, I brought your medicine. Konan is busy tonight", she stated in a remarkably even voice.
Such a great actress she'd become, that Madara didn't seem to sense even a slightest threat when accepting the bottle. " Thank you."
While the man removed his mask and brought the glass to his lips, she looked towards the hand and bandage-covered chest she knew to be scorched. " How are you injuries healing?"
The man responded after having gulped down the first sip. " You should know better than to expect me to reply, Suzume."
He was right; she hadn't been anticipating any other response. " Do you have any further requests for tonight?"
The man shook his head. She could almost see him wince at the tart taste of the drink when he gulped down the rest. " No, thank you. Goodnight."
" Night."
With that, she left. The sound the door made when closing after her sounded like a bang of doom.
TBC??
A/N: He opened his eyes! He freakin' opened his eyes! WOO-HOO! (jumps all over the place) And judging by how things are going, not a moment too soon. (shudders)
But hey, before going, about future updates! The next chapter SHOULD appear in about a week, but after that… Urgh… I managed to get a summer job. It's a great thing, of course, but also keeps me filthily busy, so… Bear with me, please? I promise, so long as you want them I'll keep posting out new chapters as fast as humanly possible!
Okay, I'm in a HUGE hurry right now, so I'll have to start tuning out. Just… PLEASE, don't forget to review! With how hectic everything is, I could REALLY use your support! (begs with massive pleading eyes and chocolate)
'Til next time! (I really hope that'll come before long…)
Peace out!
DeathRow609: I'm so glad all your favourite couples are pulling through! (dances with joy)
Wow, goodness! You can't even imagine how flattered I am to hear you've liked the story so much so far, let alone that you're in love with the story! (squeals loudly)
Colossal thank yous for the breathtaking review! I really hope you'll still like the story as much when it progresses!
(chuckles) (HUGE cheers to you too!)
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Belladonna-Isabella: I'm beyond happy to hear you liked the Sasuke's inner dialogue –part (I think I was actually chuckling while making it, thinking I was officially out of my mind!), as well as the SaiIno –scene (those two look good together, ne?)! And, horrible as I feel for saying this, there's something insanely… hot (if that's the right word) in Naruto's anguish. (I wonder why on earth that is? I'm glad I'm not the only who feels that way!) (sweatdrops)
WOOT! SasuNaru forever, totally and absolutely! (keeps waving flags until gets attacked by enraged Sasuke)
The OCs are on probation, hmm? (snickers) Goodness, how I love the challenge! (rubs hands together with excitement)
Enormous thank yous for the review – I'm so happy you liked the chapter! See ya around, yeah?
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Moriko-Demon: Welcome to join the 'let's hit Sasuke with a frying pan' –group! (glares at the raven while huggling Naruto) Wake up already, damnit (in the manga as well)! But indeed, we're almost there… (smirks)
I'm so happy you think my ficcy had a strong plot! (cheers) Hmm… I think I could indeed come up with some fics well worth reading – I'll give you some tips as soon as I have time, believe it! (Shake me up a little if I forget, yeah? I think I'm sustaining a early-age dementia or something, so…) (sweatdrops)
Massive thank yous for the review! I really hope I'll be seeing you around!
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realityfling18: Poor Sasuke and Naruto indeed! (huggles, to get smacked by Sasuke) Glad you liked the raven – I thought it was a cute idea! (Raven was indeed associated with Itachi-kun, hmm? That certainly arouses suspicion…) AND I'm beyond ecstatic you've grown intrigued by the OC – those are extremely hard to make! (sweatdrops) It'd really be interesting to know who's side she's on.
Hey, we should make a 'let's smack Danzou' –club!
Enormous thank yous for reviewing, let alone twice – I'm so happy you've liked the story so far, let alone think it's getting better and better! I really hope I'll be seeing you around!
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Laurkan: Heh, I just couldn't resist putting up this fic, especially after reading the latest manga-chapters! I'm happy to hear who thought it was an intriguing idea. (smirks joyfully)
I'm beyond glad you've liked the different points of view (I also like Team 7's the best) and SasuNaru! (I also find it… well, annoying that sometimes the relationship of main-pairing sprints on way too fast. I hope from the bottom of my heart that I won't end up making that mistake!) AND, I'm so flattered you even like that OC of mine – those are extremely hard to create, and even harder to make readers like them! So HOORAY! (dances with joy)
Huge, massive thank yous for reviewing, let alone thrice – I'm so happy you've liked the story so far! I really hope you'll be sticking around!
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Halskr: So I'm not alone with thinking there's more to Sasuke than we've been shown! (He even mourned Itachi's death in the end.) I think, in a way, he's one of the most messed up, fragile (and broken) characters in Naruto. Too bad he's been mostly been portrayed as ice-hearted bastard (and he seems to be turning even more that way in future)… (sweatdrops)
I'm so glad you liked how the last chapter conveyed a lot of things – I felt those issues needed to be dealt with. I'm curious to hear if your suspicions about Sasuke letting go were correct!
Colossal thank yous for the review – I'm so happy you enjoyed of the chapter! See ya around, yeah?
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atemswhitetigermew: (chuckles) Sasuke and Naruto apart are like me and computer ripped away from each other. Awww, those two boneheads are so cute together! (runs for dear life as Sasuke activates his Sharingan)
Huge thank yous for the review – I'm so happy you liked the chapter! See ya around, yeah?
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Riffti: (blinks with stun) You read my ficcy until THAT late?! Woah! (faints from shock)
Goodness, you can't even imagine how glad I am you've liked the plot, characters and my writing style so much so far! (dances around with joy)
Enormous thank yous for the absolutely amazing review! I really hope you'll still keep an eye on this in future! (grins)
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dragontwister: I also hope that Sasuke will wake up – Naruto really, really needs him! (smacks the stubborn raven to head) What the heck is taking you so long?!
Massive thank yous for the review – I'm so happy you liked the chapter! (dances with joy) 'Hope I'll be seeing you around!
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Mimiaru: Thank you so much for the review! If I'll ever need help, I'll most definitely ask.
See ya around, yeah?
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EdSpikeSesshyGirl: (blushes) You really think I have good plots? HOORAY! (twirls with joy)
Thank you so much for the amazing review! I really hope you'll keep looking forward to the chapters to come!
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Kai's kitty: (smirks) I was kinda suspecting that you were on a trip or something. (Telepathy, much?) Aww, don't worry – your review wasn't late at all! I'm so glad you posted a comment anyway. (hugs)
Heh, Sasuke in deed is a good boy for finally struggling to get back to Naru-chan. (ruffles hair, ignoring Sasuke's hisses) (snickers) (Yeah, yeah, Tobi's a good boy, too.)
I'm so flattered you have such confidence on my capability of creating a GaaraNeji –lovestory! Gosh, Gaara's past indeed was an absolute nightmare! Definitely an addition to 'the most heartbreaking stories' –list. (huggles the poor redhead) (Heh, as much as a SasuNaru fan I am, I can't help admitting that Gaara and Naruto would also make a great couple.)
LOL, yes, I've gotta agree – Jiraiya-sama is definitely busy turning all those cuties into pervs up there! (sniffles) Damn, I miss him too!
Massive thank yous for the review! I really hope you'll be sticking around!
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Chibi-Chaaan: (chuckles) I knew cookies and chocolate was an irresistible trap!
Thank you so much for reviewing! 'Hope you'll be sticking around!