Chapter 7
Still Alive / Duality
As a rule, Kakashi always got up early in the morning. A bitter cup of black coffee and a protien shake and he was out the door and leaping across the rooftops, heading straight for the cenotaph. He stood there for some time, thirty minutes went by, then an hour. At last he clapped his hands and bowed slightly, then turned and walked liesurely to the training ground. Stretch, pullups, pushups, squats, situps – it was a well-worn routine of his. Once he'd finished he dunked his head in one of the two streams that crossed Konoha. He shook his head free of the majority of the cool water and then raked his fingers through the mess, combing it to the side. Kakashi squinted as he looked toward the sun.
It's going to be another hot one.
Which reminded him suddenly, after his thought-clearing training, of Sakura. He took a moment and thought about her sleeping face again.
Dinner.
He decided that she'd be getting him dinner that day. And Hatake Kakashi usually got what he wanted. Usually.
He pulled out his trusty Icha Icha Violence. Sure, it wasn't Jiraya's best work, but Kakashi liked to change things up sometimes.
In another subtle effort to change things up, he walked into jounin HQ, waving vaguely at Ebisu, and made straight for the stairs to the basement. With quiet footsteps he trod down the stairs slowly into the darkness, proceeding into the dimly-lit ANBU bulletin room. With a lazy, practiced gesture he shut and stowed his book again.
The board was more crowded with missions than usual, and there were several ANBU standing around the board, carefully reading through the requirements and summaries of the missions posted there. Yugao, Akio, and Shikamaru. Yugao glanced over her shoulder at Kakashi.
"Senpai."
Kakashi tilted his head in acknowledgement. "Anything good?"
"Hmph." Yugao snorted. "They're all dirty."
Sasuke.
"Ma, ma. There must be something." He took a free spot at the left end of the board and scanned the missions. Taka, taka, taka... "Taka." The word slipped out under his breath but in the quiet room it was like he'd made the announcement over a loudspeaker.
"That's the worst one of the bunch." Yugao remarked blandly, her distaste evident.
Kakashi appraised the other missions on the board before responding. "Smells like war."
"On what front? I was thinking the same thing, but after the shinobi alliance-"
"There are still many small countries that bear a grudge against the Leaf."
"And what can they do?"
"They take out our teams, one by one." Kakashi's eye flashed, steely, at the younger woman.
"Then we'd better be on our guard now, ne?" The leather of her gloves squeaked as she made a tight fist and her hair fanned out behind her as she turned to leave. Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks.
"Uzuki-san."
She continued to look to the ground.
"These are missions to stop this war from happening. Don't jinx it. Take a mission and smile."
"Tch." She jerked her shoulder free and sprinted up the stairs.
"That woman's so troublesome." Shikamaru sucked his teeth and slid his mask up over his head. "After that last mission -" His eyes met Kakashi's "I'm not surprised it's come to this. Two weeks later and there's already unrest across all of the minor nations. He's fast."
Kakashi nodded almost imperceptibly and reached for the mission to Taka, unpinning it from the board and pocketing the tack. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes slightly at the jounin but shrugged; yes, it was against protocol to lay claims to missions like that but it wasn't unheard of. And he wasn't about to stop a fellow captain.
"Aren't you on border patrol next week?" Kakashi asked as Shikamaru fell into step beside him.
"Ah, but I was curious."
"Naruto?"
Shikamaru's content silence was his answer.
The pair stepped into the sunlight and Kakashi turned to his comrade. "Tea and shogi?"
Shikamaru smirked at him. "I guess." He threw his hands behind his head and the pair walked to the nearest teahouse. As soon as they'd taken their seats and placed their orders, the younger jounin started the conversation again. "Ibiki is recruiting again." Shikamaru drummed his fingers on his teacup.
Hanabi. Kiba. Ino. Tatami. To name a few.
"We've lost several."
Shikamaru's annoyed look was answer enough as he made his first move.
"If this war starts, we are going to have to get outside help."
"There's the Hidden Sand."
"And that's about it." Shikamaru's next move landed with a snap. "None of the major countries will side against us but if what I've heard is true..."
Kakashi's piece clacked against the board. "What have you heard?"
Shikamaru sent him a look indicating that it was neither the time nor the place for the conversation.
"Hn, well, you seem well informed."
"Intelligence." Shikamaru smiled unhappily and moved again, grimacing this time.
"I get to resurrect a piece." Kakashi chose his words carefully, making the remark casual as he chose a piece. "I'll take the knight."
"Tch, that really is troublesome." His eyes darkened as he placed the piece on the board. So it's true.
"What else have you got up your sleeve, Kakashi?"
"Ha, nothing at all." Kakashi smiled slightly to lighten the mood.
"Good." Shikamaru made his last move and stood to leave. Kakashi saluted him and looked at the board. Neither jounin was bad at the game, but Shikamaru had managed to keep most of his pieces and corner Kakashi's king with several, leaving his superior no escape and no protection.
I can only hope...
Sakura kept counting in her head as she ran her second lap around the village.
One, two. One, two.
The running cleared her mind, she didn't think of anything when she was running. Not Sasuke, not Sai, not the hospital, nor her parents, nor missions... nothing. The way her feet drummed against the earth and her hair brushed against her sweaty shoulders was therapeutic. The only downside was that when it was over the thinking started again, and if it wasn't for the sweat she wouldn't think that she had been running at all. But she had to stop sometime.
Sakura glanced at her watch and slowed as she reached the bridge over the northern stream.
That's it.
She pulled a water bottle from her medic's pouch and took a long pull, wiping her face of the excess afterwards. She was tempted to run home, but it wasn't healthy not to cool down. She stowed her now empty water bottle and leapt lightly over the rivulet, walking back into the village. She was walking through the marketplace, deep in thought, when a voice called out to her through her reverie.
"Sakura! Sakura-chan! FOREHEAD!"
"Eh?" Sakura turned to look, blinking. "Oh, Ino! Hi!" She mustered a smile. "How was your mission?"
"Get in here!" The blonde laughed and pulled her friend into the flower shop. Sakura didn't exactly resist, but she knew she wouldn't be good company. There wasn't time to put that into words, though.
"The mission was a disaster! While we were gone, something must have happened, because the last week was ridiculous! Nuke-nin everywhere, we barely made it back. Reminded me of that story you guys told us about running into Zabuza and Haku when you were genin." She laughed. "At least they increased everyone's pay."
Sakura fought to keep her frown from deepening. "That's not a good thing, Ino."
"We all made it out alive." The blonde took her seat behind the counter and Sakura sat in the tall stool on the customer side.
Sakura shook her head at her friend. "When are you guys going back out?"
Ino sighed, blowing her hair out of her face simultaneously. "Tsunade's keeping us in the village for awhile, I guess. It's going to be boring..." Ino complained.
"Hey, at least you'll be occupied with something safe."
"Speaking of safe... how was your last mission?" Ino smiled brightly at her childhood friend.
Sakura rolled her eyes at Ino in return. "You know I can't talk about that stuff with you."
Ino's eyes sparkled with hidden glee and she stuck the tip of her tongue out cutely at Sakura. "Oh, come on. You can tell me something." Her eyes seemed to dance at the prospect of new information.
"Not this time." Sakura put her hand down onto the counter and hopped off of the stool. "I'm gonna go home and take a shower. I just finished my morning run."
Ino placed her hand over Sakura's. "One little thing." She smiled broadly at the pinkette. Sakura turned from Ino, shielding her face with a thick curtain of pink hair.
"Rain." And she formed a seal with her left hand. A moment later Ino was sputtering at the empty room and picking cherry petals out of her long hair.
Sakura practiacally tore her clothes off of her body as she made her way toward her bathroom. She flipped the tap open impatiently and slid her panties off, keeping her eyes ahead and away from the mirror. She hated to be moody, but lately she felt like she couldn't help it. She hadn't been to ANBU HQ, but she'd heard murmurs among the jounin over the last week and there had been that team of genin in the hospital the day before... Things were getting ugly and she had a feeling she knew why. Sakura wet her hair rapidly and vigorously rubbed her shampoo into a thick lather, massaging – no, more like scratching her scalp with her nails. She took a moment and stepped back into the hot water, allowing it to rinse away the shampoo. She watched as the clumps of foam floated over her body and toward the drain like clouds, and she wished her problems would go with them. Sakura stepped out of the water and washed her body quickly.
They aren't just my problems. They are the village's problems. They're Fire Country's problems. They're the Alliance's problems. Just because Sasuke is at the center of the issue doesn't make it my fault. "I don't even know him." She breathed through gritted teeth. "You can only do so much. You can keep your important people alive, and you can fight for what you know is right. You're on the right side." Inner Sakura tried to comfort her, and it worked. Sakura's shoulders slumped as the hot water ran over them again. I wish there was something more that I could do. "You're in the right place. You're with Naruto, with the Leaf. What more could anyone ask for? Every day, you are saving lives where people should be dying. You're working miracles." After Sai's death, Sakura hardly felt like it. But it was the truth. She was no longer the useless kunoichi of her genin days, the clumsy girl who barely seemed to manage to draw a kunai before being overwhelmed by the enemy. "You saved Genma." It was true. He would have been in much worse shape had she not been there to tend to his wound immediately. Sakura smiled slightly to herself. I've got to get out of this funk. I've been in a mood ever since Sai died. It's been over a month now. Time to pull myself together.
Sakura turned the tap off and stepped out of the tub, wrapping herself in one of numerous fluffy, pink towels she owned. She stepped out of the bathroom.
"Dammit, can you boys knock?" She pulled her towel in tighter around her chest, rolling her eyes in simultaneous annoyance and relief at having removed her panties in the bathroom.
"Yo."
"Five minutes." Sakura stomped into her room, closing the door none too gently.
"Uh-huh." Kakashi didn't move, but continued to read his copy of Icha Icha Violence.
Three minutes later, Sakura emerged from her room, still brushing her hair. "And what are you doing in my living room again? Making yourself comfortable, I see." All of the anger of the moments before were gone, though traces of annoyance filtered through her tone.
"Nothing much." Kakashi cooly flipped the page in his book as Sakura tried to be casual about picking up her clothes, wrapping her bra in her shirt and hastily throwing the bundle of sweaty clothing into the bathroom.
"Really, Kakashi-sensei?"
"Hm." Kakashi suddenly snapped his book shut and looked at her over his shoulder. Suddenly it really bothered him that she still called him sensei. "Aren't we both a little old for that?" He asked in a low voice. Sakura stopped clearing her mail off of the dining table and stared at him. Kakashi stared back with one droopy eye, but a bead of sweat soaked through his mask and the spot on the side of his head was cool.
Sakura opened her mouth and narrowed her eyes at him in confusion, then shook her head and resumed her task. What the hell.
Kakashi cringed inwardly. Awkward...
He changed tack quickly, in an attempt to clear the strange air that seemed to linger between them. "I came to see about my dinner." He walked over to her and rested his arms on the back of one of her chairs.
"Oh, that." Sakura sighed and deposited the pile of mail she'd collected onto the kitchen counter. "I don't know if I'm up to cooking for you right now, to be honest."
"That's okay." Kakashi replied quickly, stomach lurching nervously. "We can go out somewhere." He waved a hand vaguely in the direction of the village center.
Sakura sighed with relief. "That sounds great."
Good. "You ready?"
Sakura looked over her outfit quickly, then ran a hand through her damp hair. It'll dry on the way. "Ready as ever." Not like we're going anywhere fancy if we're getting bonito and eggplant.
Kakashi smiled as he turned to the entryway to put on his shoes; his heart suddenly felt lighter. Sakura followed suit and soon she was walking beside Kakashi through a part of the village that she didn't normally frequent.
"Where are we going?"
"One of my favorite places."
Sakura noticed that he wasn't reading, but then he didn't have to read, now did he?
Kakashi stopped abruptly. "We're here."
Sakura was surprised at first. She wouldn't have noticed the place if Kakashi hadn't pointed it out to her, it was recessed into an alley. There were a few other businesses like that in Konoha, but they mostly sold rare or expensive shinobi tools or alcohol or lewd literature. On second thought, the place suited the Copy Nin perfectly. It wasn't a colorful place, it looked almost shabby actually. But when Kakashi opened the door Sakura was pleasantly surprised. Inside, the restaurant was nice, clean, well-decorated. Instead of tables there were low couches and chairs amidst glass-topped tables, drapes hung around the tables around the edges of the room, but they didn't obscure the tables from view, just added a slight sense of privacy. The lighting wasn't too dim or intimate, but it wasn't flourescent or institutional either. There were few patrons in the establishment enjoying their late lunches. All in all, Sakura approved. Kakashi was glad to see that she liked the place, although he said nothing.
Presently the host appeared and ushered them to their table, a booth on the other side of the room. "I like to be able to see the door." Kakashi said as they sat down. Sakura laughed a little at his paranoid nature and Kakashi smiled back at her, but she knew he was being completely serious. Come to think of it, he always had seemed a little more on edge than usual when they ate at the traditional bathouses, with their tatami floors and paper doors on all sides. Sakura smirked.
"What?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her.
"Just thinking about old times." Sakura's smile widened and she picked up a rangoon. "Hey, these are pretty good."
"I told you, favorite place."
She closed her eyes and sipped her iced tea and Kakashi took advantage of the opportunity and stuffed a rangoon in his mouth.
"I kinda can't believe I've never been here. It's pretty nice."
Kakashi shrugged. "It's out of the way for you."
Sakura nodded. "You live just up the street, don't you?"
"Mm."
At that moment the waiter came to take Sakura's order. He just smiled at Kakashi and let them know he'd be back with their food shortly, then left them to their conversation.
"Haha, you do come here often, Kakashi-" Sakura stopped herself and tried to keep from blushing. "Haha." She laughed nervously. This is so weird.
Kakashi twirled his chopsticks in between his fingers with a practiced hand. I've made her uncomfortable. He thought to apologize, but the words never came out. You'll just make things worse... As if they were bad to begin with...
Kakashi smiled. "Hey, you know what will cheer you up?"
Sakura started. How had he known she was in a bad mood to begin with?
"I've got a mission you might want to join me on, Sakura."
Sakura raised an eyebrow and leaned on the table, stirring her tea with her straw. "Another mission? The hospital's been pretty busy lately."
"So I've heard. But I think you'll like this one." Kakashi pulled the paper he'd filched from the bulletin that morning from one of his vest pockets and placed it on the table in front of his kunoichi teammate. Sakura sighed as she looked over it but she couldn't hide the excitement that flashed in her eyes. "You're not supposed to just take these, Kakashi..." She picked it up and read it again. "But you're right." She murmured. "It's a good one." Kakashi blinked at her and in a moment the slip of paper was stowed away safely in her bra and the waiter was serving the pair. "Enjoy." Sakura smiled brightly and nodded, thanking him, and Kakashi crinkled his eye at the young man as he walked away.
"It's dangerous." Sakura popped a piece of spicy orange chicken into her mouth.
"Aren't they all?" Kakashi retorted quietly.
Sakura nodded and smiled a little, taking another bite, then helping herself to some rice. The pair ate in relative silence while she thought about the mission. She felt like it was burning a hole in her bra but she wasn't about to fish it out, much less in front of Kakashi. Finally, Sakura set her chopsticks down and looked at Kakashi, leaning back into the couch.
"We are very qualified for this mission. It was practically made for us."
Kakashi said nothing but cracked his knuckles.
"And who knows, maybe we can serve up a side of revenge with our little 'diplomatic errand'." Sakura grinned.
Kakashi smiled back at her. "I'd like that very much."
"Haha." Sakura laughed. "It's probably a really, really bad idea, though. Considering the war and all..."
A cloud seemed to cover Kakashi's face for just a moment, but it was gone as soon as it came. But the thought didn't leave his head. You too, Sakura?
"There won't be a war, if we are careful. And this mission demands the utmost care."
Sakura nodded. "Right. But we've got this. This is right up our alley. She can -" Sakura shut her mouth abruptly but her eyes still smiled at Kakashi.
Perfect. Kakashi knew exactly what Sakura was thinking, and it was the same thing he'd been kicking around in his head all morning.
The mission was perfect, not only for her, but for him as well.
And the best part was that no one else would be tagging along nor interfering with their plans.
"I'll do it." Sakura smiled.
She called the waiter over.
"Check."
Sasuke clenched his teeth as he pushed his fingers into his eyes. It was the only thing that eased the pain, the rinnegan transplant hurt even more than Itachi's eyes had, but Sasuke knew it would be worth it. All of his wishes were about to come true, all of his complaints were about to disappear and he was on the brink of huge success, he could feel the hate burning happily in his heart. All the same, he felt that if the pain went on...
They're bringing this on themselves... Sasuke smiled through his clenched teeth, spots dancing on the backs of his eyelids. Vengeance for the Uchiha will be mine.
Kabuto frowned as he looked on, Sasuke's pain medication in hand. He remembered a time, long ago, when he had been in the same position. But then it had been Orochimaru who lay debilitated by the pain in his body.
Sasuke threw his head back and laughed, the wicked sound echoing throughout the room.
This is all I've got, all I need, and if it's insane, I don't care.
"We are so close to crushing them I can feel their necks breaking in my hands!" he raised his fists toward the ceiling.
Sasuke continued to laugh quietly, allowing his hands to fall back into his lap.
Kabuto smirked at his new master. Wouldn't you love for me to tell you what I'm seeing right now? "It's time for your medicine, Sasuke-sama."
Sasuke held out his hands expectantly, and he gulped the bitter contents of the cup he was given without flinching. He wiped his mouth, face serious now.
"They're not going to make it. Not one of them."
AN: Hi there! You all have motivated me to write this chapter, which I feel really good about. I was listening to Slipknot's Duality at work and I was like "Yes, that's Sasuke all over!" So I had to paraphrase some of that and end the chapter on that note. Yes I know its a little bit cliffhanger-y but you just wait! :) Anyway, thanks again for the great reviews you guys are awesome and I'm glad the last chapter wasn't a flop! See you next week! (By the way I didn't use spell check so sorry if there's anything misspelled.)
