The Crossroads.
Outskirts of Boulder City, Tsuchi no Kuni
22nd November
Year of the Tiger
"Hey Mama, what you doing over there by yourself? You want some company?"
First it was whistles. Then cartoonish yawps. After a while the men started paying a little more attention and now he was being sent cat-calls, compliment after clumsy compliment in strings of loping, slurred vernacular. He hadn't wanted to take the main road, he'd much preferred the forest tracks and the quiet of the woods as opposed to the bustling highways that stretched between Cocoa City and Boulder City, but he had little choice until he reached the border of Stone Country and he was still miles away. The areas surrounding him were mostly military barracks and bases, and their training grounds included most of the surrounding forest. Signs on the road warned travellers from drifting too far off the main highway, lest they find themselves accidental targets in a drill or training exercise or have the even fouler luck of happening across a patch of hidden explosive tags.
Sasuke the ninja, the avenger, would have found travelling through such dangerous country a mere walk in the park (naturally, his idea of a park was very different to anyone else) and he wouldn't have bat an eye at the warning signs. Sasuke the fugitive, the victim, the babysitter? He didn't have the benefit of sharingan to help him seek out traps. Nor did he have the energy to help fuel his usually unparalleled responses, which left him vulnerable to anything the soldiers had set up. He'd been travelling for hours on sore, aching legs, his borrowed sandals rubbing fat blisters into the sensitive skin between his toes. He was tired, his back was killing him and he was so damned hungry.
"C'mon honey, give us a kiss!"
"Turn around, baby, let's see your face. Bet you're darn pretty!"
They were soldiers. Drunk, idiot recruits, most likely. As there wasn't much to do in the military occupied lands between the Earth Country and the Stone, most soldiers travelled to the nearest cities on their free days to drink, gamble and find women to pass the time. Sasuke was taking a calculated risk by travelling on such a frequented highway, but he had little choice given the unwelcoming terrain around him. Unless he wanted to walk directly into the military camps themselves, or take a sojourn through Iwa, the main road was really the only option. He kept himself as invisible as possible travelling mostly at night, when traffic was sparse and usually fairly fixated on their final destination to bother giving him any attention. Apart from the odd glance by an expedient dispatch messenger, or the occasional greeting from a fellow traveller, most who were following the road were either too busy or too tired to care about a rather scruffy-looking vagabond loping down the road, keeping to themselves. He kept Mikoto out of view, ducking into small shrines he found along the way to feed her, and hiding her out of sight beneath the many layers of his makeshift kimono. Secured close to his body with a length of muslin he'd been gifted, she travelled well, rarely making noise at all. A true Uchiha, no doubt.
Not that she would have been heard. These two were making enough noise for ten Mikotos on a particularly bad day. Sasuke groaned audibly as they started up again.
"Baby~y, do your feet hurt? 'Cos you bin' running through the stars all day."
"Eh?"
There was a pause. He heard a string of incomprehensible mutterings, then the other one piped up:
"No, it's not, it's running through my mind all day. Ass."
"Dude, it's stars. Dun…..dun…. tell me what t'do. I got this. Stars. It's stars. Running-." They were miming now. The shorter one gesticulated belaboredly. "Day."
"Stars don't come out in the day."
"... what?"
"No… Y'see you're thinking of: Baby, your feet must be tired, 'cos you been running through my mind all day. But you're amal-... amalga-... jammin' it in with: Was your Dad a thief? Cos someone stole the stars and put them in your eyes. See?"
"...wha's the thing?"
"Stars! Stars in their eyes! No running-ness."
"... I don't get it."
Great, now they weren't just loud, cat-calling idiots, they were loud, squabbling, cat-calling idiots. Perfect. Sasuke slowed a little, taking the time to map his surroundings - listening for the footsteps of a third party or more, perhaps soldiers conducting a training exercise nearby. Fortunately, it seemed that there was no one else around; no sounds in the trees gave away the hiding positions of a training group, no crunching gravel indicated more people on the highway. It was a quiet night, but the wind was enough to pick up voices and scatter them and the moon was partially obscured by clouds, causing dappling shadows and creating an inconsistency in the light. Perfect. That made things, details, a little more difficult to see, to remember and hard for anyone to hear what he was about to say.
He slowed to a halt and turned, his expression granite as the two approached him, their smiles growing wider; compliments growing more vulgar as they drew close. Ah, as he thought, they were soldiers. In fact, no, those uniforms weren't meant for travelling, they were heavier and brightly coloured - Tsuchi no Kuni's icon emblazoned over them so garishly, they could have been mistaken for walking billboards. These were border guards, not soldiers; that a stroke of luck. Border guards were either military lackeys, or the rare few who couldn't quite make rank but showed a lot of promise. Often, they were simply hired muscle, older, bulkier men who liked to throw their weight around, yet these two were on the slighter side and much younger - perhaps only nineteen, or twenty - which made him wonder if Tsuchi was really down to scraping the bottom of the barrel.
By the way they were peering at him, occasionally squinting, it was obvious they couldn't see so well in the gloom, but the smile that Sasuke was aiming toward them was true malevolence personified.
"Are you addressing me?" He asked, finally. The boys snickered to each other, nodded, then promptly dissolved into fits of laughter. Smooth. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Well, you have my attention. Now what?"
"We...We," one of them - the blond one managed to choke out. "We gonna…. showyouagoodtime!" He burst into tearful laughter once again as, for some reason, a 'good time' by their standards must have included hilarity beyond measure.
"Which showcases… what? Belching?" Sasuke prompted, sweetly. "You're not really selling it, you know."
"We gonna rock your world!" The other (taller, darker) bellowed, chortling like an academy child who'd just scored one up on the teacher. Blondie yukked, slapping his friend on the shoulder.
"GEDDIT? EARTH COUNTRY? ROCKS?!"
"Ingenious." Sasuke stepped closer to them, which made them simmer down a little. "So what's the cause for all this frivolity? Got nothing to do after the war?"
"What? No Ma'am, it's real busy up here."
"Got bandits to bring in and stuff."
"S' the quake that messed everythin' up."
"Real mess."
Ah, the earthquake. So it wasn't just a localized catastrophe, the aftershocks had eked down into the countries below. He wondered how many had been affected. There was only sporadic evidence that he'd seen on his travels so far; it might have been worse than he'd thought. Perhaps even Konoha… Perhaps-
"Bandits? What kind of bandits?" He asked instead. "You're telling me Iwa doesn't have this under control?"
"Well they're a little light on shinobi at the moment 'cos so many defected and there's still all those Akatsuki wannab-"
"Shh! Shut up! We're not s'posed to tell people stuff! Shh!" Tall Dark and Stupid smacked Blondie upside the head. "'S top secret, Ma'am. We can't tell you nothin'."
"Yeah, nuthin." Blondie parrotted.
"Anyway… weren't we doin' something else?"
"We partyin'." Sagely.
"Oh yeah, we partyin'." TDS grinned, triumphantly. "So you wanna party with us, lady?"
"Yeah, we can show you the best time in Tsuchi." The blond snorted. "You don't even have to get off your back!"
"Ohhhh snap!"
They high-fived. Yes, they did. Sasuke drew in a patient breath.
"Hn. My back? I bet I can have you on your back faster than you can get me on mine," he challenged. The boys whooped. "What, you don't think so?"
"That a bet, honey?"
"Hell yeah, we'll take ya on that, sugar! If we win, you gotta pour us Sake an- an…"
"SUCK MA DIIIIICK."
"An' that. Yeah give us some lovin' baby."
Sasuke had to swallow hard to stop the sneer of disgust twisting his face. These fucking louts.
"Whatever. And if I win?"
"Uh… dunno," the boys quietened a moment, contemplating. Blondie shrugged. "What you want, honey?"
"What do I want?" Sasuke began, purring low, and dangerous. Sliding close, he took advantage of their intoxicated haze as he positioned himself so that he was standing almost underneath the tall one's chin. A second later, he'd slammed his heel down on the man's toes, kneed him in the groin, kicked his feet out from under him and had him on his back faster than the other could rest his hand on his standard-issue baton.
Spinning on his heel, holding Mikoto safe (and amazingly silent) with one hand, Sasuke planted his elbow in Blondie's solar plexus, then kicked the side of his knee, sending him crashing to the ground. It wasn't hard enough to tear ligaments - he needed the asshole to move, after all - but it would have hurt like hell. He barely had to make an effort, he might have been weak, but he could still hold his own - and with a great deal of finesse, if he did say so himself. Mikoto barely shifted in her sleep. He might have been in trouble had they decided to pick a fight, but he'd won the element of surprise, and they had no idea he was beladen with a child and an injury.
As Blondie howled in pain, Sasuke returned to the other one, sliding his foot between TDS's legs and resting his heel on his groin. There was a confused, slightly horrified pause, then that man became very quiet.
"L-lady?"
"What I want," Sasuke hissed. "Is a few very simple things. Now from the looks of you, you're border guards and you're heading back to your station after a few drinks in town. Since border guards are usually assigned in units of three, I'm guessing your buddy is the one holding fort in the station box. Am I right?"
"Help me," TDS squeaked at his companion. Blondie just shook his head, mesmerized.
"Dude... she's on your balls, dude."
"Am I right?" Sasuke pressed down. TDS made a noise akin to a very small rodent exploding.
"Yup. Yup. It's Hōsei! Hōsei's there…C-can you ease up a little? Ow….ow."
"No." Sasuke continued, unaffected. "Alright, this is what I want. Number one, Give me whatever cash you have on you. I don't need much, pocket change is fine. Number two, you'll both escort me to the station box silently. No more pick up lines, no more laughing or singing. It's us and the sound of the wind from now. Got it?"
"Oh god, my scrote."
"Yes Ma'am."
"Number three, food and water. Whatever you have in the station box. Tell Hōsei that my house is not far from the border, I just got carried away having such a fun time with you boys in Boulder City and I lost track of time. You're giving me snacks for the road."
"I'm not having fun. This is not fun."
"Ok lady," Blondie nodded, starting to rise. "We can do that. We c-"
"I'm not finished." Sasuke snapped. "Number four, you let me through the border. You will not ask for identification, you'll tell Hōsei that my wallet was stolen in town, which is why you agreed to buy me dinner and escort me as far as you can."
"M-ma'am we can't do that! We'll get in trouble!"
"You think you're not in enough trouble now?" Sasuke raised a brow, an action that was entirely wasted on the boys since they could barely see his expression, but he felt that it added to the flavor of the conversation. "I understand, but I'm not a criminal. I'm one per- w- woman travelling alone. I've been through plenty thanks to the war and I just want to get home. You have my word on that. So everything's fine, isn't it? Is everything fine?"
"Everything's fine. It's fine. Yes ma'am."
"Fine, fine, fine, a-ok!"
"Number five, you don't speak of this again. Not to Hōsei, not to your superiors. You forget me, and you forget this conversation. If you don't, I will hunt you down and remove your ability to make children, which I'm sure won't please you or your wives and will make shower time extra interesting at the barracks. Do we have a deal?"
"Y-yes." TDS winced. "Yes ma'am. We do."
"Oh boy… Think I'm sober already," Blondie mused, astonished, before adding. "Oh, yes Ma'am. Hell yes. Please leave my nuts alone, Ma'am."
"Good." Sasuke removed his foot from the other man's groin and held out his hand as Blondie scrambled to his feet, fishing coins from his pockets. TDS took a little longer to start moving, but when he did, he was also very swift to empty his money bag and meekly offer his arm for Sasuke to take, which he waved off, irritably, already making his exit. The two goons jerked into action and jogged up beside him, pale, and subdued.
"Ma'am?"
"I told you to shut up."
"How'd you know we were married?" Blondie pressed, somewhat dumbfounded. "We never said nothing about our ladies."
"You think I didn't notice your nuptial tattoos?" Sasuke replied. Rings weren't typical jewellery for Shinobi, being that they could easily be stolen or caught in wires. Many forwent the usual spousal tradition by opting for skin art instead - something permanent and safer. "I'm not blind."
"You saw those?" Blondie was gobsmacked. "In this light?"
"Like I said, I'm not blind. Also, you might want to reconsider asking a strange woman walking down the highway alone at night if she wants to suck your dick." Sasuke added, sharply. "Not only is it fucking insulting to your wives who obviously deserve far better than your sad asses, but your target might end up being another one like me."
"God forbid." Blondie breathed.
"Damn straight." Sasuke grumbled, carrying on in silence. He was able to enjoy the lack of conversation and the soothing sound of their footsteps on the dirt road for nearly ten minutes until one of them coughed and cleared their throat.
"Hey Ma'am?" TDS murmured, weakly, his hand down his pants as he tried to massage his genitals back into shape. "You got real big feet for a lady."
"Mm, don't I? Shut the fuck up."
By the time he'd reached Stone Country, the early tongues of light were beginning to fork lazily over the landscape, brightening what was going to be a beautiful, clear day in the Stone Country. It was cold, but not chilly enough for frost yet, and if he kept going at this pace, he would reach Amegakure by late afternoon. The road from the Border Control station verged east to continue down between Ame and Kusa, eventuating within the Fire Country, a busy, fast route that was populated by many small sleeper towns along the way. Sasuke had travelled on the highway occasionally and knew the route was pretty straightforward, but he still found it preferable take something a little less conspicuous.
The boys at the Border Control, after much pantomime and frantic rifling, had gifted him a mere 600 yen between them, hurriedly seizing a bag of pears, half a packet of potato chips and a semi-eaten takeaway bento belonging to Hōsei, the latter of which Sasuke pulled out of its plastic shopping bag and set down on the floorboards beside him. He'd found a safe, quiet spot in what appeared to be an old quarter of Amegakure that overlooked the village itself from high up in the surrounding hills. Half destroyed, Sasuke could only wonder what had happened to it, but from the state of the overgrowth that covered most of the small buildings and the rust that had bloomed on the permanent exterior scaffolding it was likely to have been abandoned long before Pain's regime. He'd slipped into one of the most comfortable-looking residences - one of the few which appeared to still have a working door - and had made that his home for the morning. A rest, some food and a little cleaning up and he'd be ready to move again.
Sasuke stared out the window thoughtfully as he chewed on a ball of rice, making a face at the sour plum filling as he bit into the centre. He had several options from here: stay awhile in Ame - it was big enough to hide in. He'd rarely visited before so he wasn't particularly well known to anyone without a bingo book. And since it wasn't exactly a hidden village nowadays, it may be less likely that he'd run into shinobi from other villages who were on missions in and around the city, nor would he probably have to worry about too many heads of state causing upset as Ame did not have a Daimyō. Or he could travel further south and try the Land of Rivers? Perhaps even catch a ferry to the Tea Country? He'd still be close to the Leaf, but not so close that he'd be in danger of being recognized - not immediately anyway.
Sasuke finished the bento, then eased up to wash his hands in a puddle of rainwater collected in the house's broken spouting. He checked on Mikoto, briefly, before he proceeded to undress and wash himself properly, taking away the dirt and debris from the road. The water was cold, and caused a slight speckling of goosepimples to prick his skin, but it was heaven on his aching breasts and he cupped water over them, pleased at the relief. He still didn't like them, still couldn't quite get used to the look of them on his body and he hated the weight of them, but it was better than the changes that had occurred underneath. Those parts he washed as thoroughly as he could without trying to think about them too much (their aching, their leaking - all of the frightening bodily occurrences that had, more often than not, made him wonder how women didn't go insane with worry over their own persons), then ran some of the water through his hair.
Easing back down to the floor, he dressed himself in his yukata and gently woke Mikoto enough that she would nurse for a while, before he bundled some of her clean diapers under his head, and tugged his threadbare kimono over them both. Sure, his pillow stank a little, but sleep was sleep and it was better with than without something to put under his head. And really it was no worse than sharing a room with Juugo after he'd eaten curry. On more than one occasion both he and Suigetsu had ordered him out of the room citing air pollution. After that, it was either a diet of Soba and Miso, or he slept outside. His choice.
By early afternoon Sasuke was roused by Mikoto's cooing and he sat up a little, slipping her into his arms while he blinked himself awake. Breakfast was short and sweet - she never ate too much when she woke from a longer nap - and he spent a good while rocking back and forth, letting her rest over his shoulder as Nuja had taught him to do in order to burp her. He had to admit, he missed his cell mate quite a lot; the woman had been kind, helpful and ultimately his saviour. He owed her a great deal and if she had made it out alive, he hoped that she was free and well. But if she had died in the cave in, she would need to be paid remembrance, respects, until he was able to offer her a proper memorial. She'd said she was from the islands to the south, so as far as he went in that direction, he'd offer a blessing at every shrine he passed. It was almost like guiding her soul home. It was the least he could do.
Using the water in the broken pipe, now pleasantly warmed by the sun, he gave Mikoto a makeshift bath, then dressed them both. Dirty diapers were cleaned, wrung, and hung over the windowsill to dry. In the meantime he stepped outside to stretch his legs and take a better look at the path down into the city below. It was then, wandering about the shattered houses, looking for trails, tracks that would take him down the hills that he noticed the posters. Obviously he wasn't the first consider squatting in the abandoned premises, but it appeared that the old city sector had now become a haven for artists and wannabe revolutionaries as graffiti spread across brick walls and buildings like rainbows of uprising. Cries for peace, howls for justice coated the surrounding buildings. Ripped posters, shredded bills and old fliers nodded drowsily in the wind from their showcase on the buildings. Despite Ame's typical humid, muggy temperature, the glue which adhered them to the wall had hardened indubitably and Sasuke raised as he tugged a one experimentally. The little upstart who'd posted them sure knew what he was doing.
The farther down the hill he walked, the more current the posters became until suddenly he found himself face to face with Uzumaki Naruto. That is, a life-sized poster of the idiot, standing tall with his arms crossed over his chest, feet apart, smile wide as a freaking cantaloupe. There was another next to it. And another, and another. There were also several posted along a wall; a mid-shot this time, showing his smiling face and the words "Konoha Shinobi Union!" in large, bold kana. "Join hero Uzumaki Naruto in a quest to create a safer, stronger world!" hailed another. "This is the Golden Form of Revolution!" one chimed in, while another, more of a handmade job boasted what appeared to be a candid shot of Uzumaki, topless and grinning as he pulled a peace sign. Sakura had been removed from the image, but Sasuke could see part of her hair and her hands frozen in their path toward Naruto's throat, so clearly he'd been doing something he shouldn't. The text read "Konoha: Land of Fucking Hotties!" Sasuke made a face.
Yet as silly and as hopelessly optimistic as this little expression of unity seemed, Sasuke couldn't help feeling something twist in his chest and his breath catch a little in his throat when he found himself staring into those bright blue eyes, wide and shining like sunshine dancing on the sea.
He remembered losing himself in them before and he wondered that if he returned, would he lose himself again? Could he forget everything that had happened, just as he'd nearly forgotten about his revenge quest while in the company and kinship of team 7? Was Konoha more of a home than he thought it was? Could the village that had watched his clan topple and plummet into oblivion ever be a place for him again? He wasn't sure if his pride would allow it.
But as he slowly turned in a circle, somewhat mesmerized by the torrent of smiling, whiskered faces engulfing him, Mikoto let out a soft coo, then laughed - a reaction Sasuke had only heard a handful of times and only ever directed at himself. He eased her off his shoulder, bounced her a little, then held her close to one of the profile posters, letting her eyes wander over the face of his team mate, his soul's twin, his brother in all but blood and smiled gently when she laughed again.
"Yeah, he is funny looking, isn't he?" Sasuke mused, before he buried his nose in the thick tuft of black hair at the top of her head. He didn't believe in signs, not after working with someone like Orochimaru for so long. But something told him not to ignore this moment and he nodded to himself slowly. Konoha could be disastrous for him, but it was one of the strongest hidden villages out of all that remained. He was regarded as a criminal by the Leaf, he might even be executed if he was discovered - who knows what laws were in place now? Or what Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto might have reported about his final moments with them? Konoha was dangerous. And yet there was something inside him that warmed a little when he thought of it.
He kissed Mikoto's crown again, turning her around to cradle against his chest as he retraced his steps back to their hiding place. Konoha might be one of the last places he really should consider, but Naruto had always made such a big deal about forgiveness and making amends. After everything, after all this time, this pain and hatred - after the way he left him at the Valley of the End - could he really count on his old rival holding true to that promise? Or would it be safe to start life anew somewhere else, somewhere far from the world that had ever known a Ninja called Uchiha Sasuke.
AN: I wrote this really fast, sorry if it's poopy. Also, Naruto isn't funny looking; Sasuke's a jerk.
