Sasuke rocks back as if Naruto's words were a physical blow, leaving him stunned. His arms tighten around Mikoto instinctively when he feels her tense in his lap. Sasuke forces himself to think past the sudden panic that rushed over him. Glancing at Sakura, he stands and settles Mikoto in her lap. He spares only one glance at Naruto before kneeling in front of Sakura, taking Mikoto's hands in his. He tries to comfort his daughter, but realizes he can't find the words. He looks up at Sakura and sees the stubborn determination he'd always admired in her already filling her eyes. Standing, Sasuke moves across the room and pulls his shuriken pouch and his cloak from a hook next to the door. He throws the cloak over his shoulder as he strides back across the room to his daughter, kneeling in front of her once again.
"Don't look that way Mikoto, all will be fine, I'll be sure of that. I'll be back with you before you know it. Now, you listen to your mother and do as she says. I love you, Mikoto. Never forget that."
Sasuke leans in and gives Mikoto a quick kiss on the cheek then stands. He starts to turn away, then stops. Turning back he bends over and captures Sakura's mouth with his, kissing her deeply, puting all of his love into that one kiss, telling her what words could never describe. When he stands again, one hand cupped lightly on her cheek and slightly breathless, he smiles at her. "And I love you. That will never change." Without another thought, Sasuke turns and hurries out the door behind Naruto.
"Naruto, what the hell is going on? What do you mean Konoha's under attack?"
"It's that damn Orochimaru again. He's back to finish what he started all those years ago. I don't know why the hell they let the Sound village get so big. We should have gotten rid of all of them when they attacked us the first time. Now we have to defend ourselves all over again because we let them live."
Before Sasuke can ask any further questions, they are intercepted by Kakashi and three other ninjas. It takes him a few moments to recognize Shikamaru and Asuma, but the third ninja remained a mystery to him. He didn't recognize him, and didn't think this was the best time for introductions, so instead he just scanned the area as he strapped his shuriken pouch on, cursing silently that in his haste he'd run out the door without grabbing his katana. He'd gotten quite proficient with the blade over the years, both while tracking Itachi, and then afterward as he avoided returning to the damage he'd done here at home.
"Naruto, you go join Neji and his group by the gate. Sasuke, this is Kyousuke, you're with his group."
Instructions given, Kakashi turns and vanishes into the rapidly growing crowd of ninjas along with Shikamaru and Asuma. Sasuke turns to the other ninja and takes his first real look at him. They were about the same height, but Kyousuke managed somehow to look both softer and more dangerous. His long auburn hair was pulled back into a severe ponytail at the back of his head. There was something about his look that made Sasuke think of Itachi. Frowning he pushes this thought aside, forcing himself to concentrate on what was more important. Ready to let the other ninja take the lead, Sasuke starts to ask him where they were supposed to head to when someone calls his name.
Turning, Sasuke sees a young ninja running toward him. He doesn't recognize the girl at first until she gets close enough that he can see her eyes. The silver glow of her eyes mark her instantly as one of the Hyuga clan, and with this realization he recognizes her as Hinata's younger sister, Hanabi. He jogs over to meet her as she approaches, and notices that she carried his katana in her hand. Blinking, he reaches out for it, taking it and quickly strapping it into place before nodding his thanks to her. He turns and heads back over to Kyousuke, glancing back over his shoulder once when Hanabi calls to him, already heading off in the other direction herself.
"Sakura sent it, she saw it and thought you might wish to have it. Junko is with her parents and is safe. Sakura is working triage and says for you to not take any foolish risks."
Sasuke chuckles at the last, shaking his head as he sets his pace to match Kyousuke's, following him without thought. "Where are we off to?"
"One of the walls had almost been breached when I went off with Kakashi to gather my group. The rest are there, you were the last. We need to go to that breach."
Sasuke frowns, wondering for a moment how long the attack had been going on before Naruto had come for him. He joins the battle before he has time to give the thought much attention. Turning his attention fully to the battle, Sasuke jumps, runs, spins and continues forward, cutting down enemy ninja as he moves. The body count rises slowly until he finally runs out of shuriken and pulls his blade free of it's sheath, and then the body count jumps. Sasuke doesn't know how many he kills, and doesn't care. He just keeps slicing his way through the enemy, his only thoughts for keeping the village and his daughter in particular safe.
A few cuts, some serious, but none life threatening do little to slow Sasuke. He continues to work his way through the enemy ranks, lost in the rhythm of battle. He stumbles to a halt abruptly, looking around with a slightly dazed expression for the next to taste his blade, and finding no enemy nearby, Sasuke frowns. He moves to the wall and runs up to the top, scanning the immediate area, understanding coming slowly. The enemy, what was left of them, were retreating. He saw other ninjas running off into the woods after them, trying to stop their escape and Sasuke feels a surge of satisfaction and starts to run after them, wanting to join the hunt. He no sooner stiffens to jump from the top of the wall than he feels a hand on his arm. Spinning around, blade at the ready, Sasuke snarls at the ninja that had stopped him.
"You're not going anywhere. They've got it well in hand, go find a medic and have your wounds healed."
Sasuke blinks at Kyousuke for a moment, not recognizing him, still lost in the rage of battle. Turning away, Sasuke grabs his cloak and finds a clean spot to wipe the blood from his blade and he jumps down from the wall. As he moves through the injured and dead, wiping his blade clean, Sasuke finally begins to feel the first pain from all the damage he'd taken. By the time he finds a young ninja running errands and gets directions to the nearest triage, Sasuke is limping and cursing under his breath. Without the flow of adrenaline to fuel him, he couldn't ignore the injuries, and when he stumbles to a stop amongst the other walking wounded, Sasuke is hurting over almost his entire body.
Sliding the blade into its sheath, Sasuke drops to sit on the ground, then slowly lays back, letting himself catch his breath for the first time. Staring up at the moon and the stars, it occurs to Sasuke that quite a bit of time had passed since he'd first run headlong into the battle, flinging shuriken and kunai everywhere. Lost in the killing dance, time had ceased to be for him. When you were fighting for your life, and the lives of those you loved, those you held dearest to you, time ceased to be important. Sasuke closes his eyes, suddenly more tired than he'd ever been in his life. He listens to the thrum of activity around him, not really paying attention to any of it. Feeling warm, trembling hands working along his body, seeking out his wounds, then healing each one after the other, Sasuke opens his eyes. At first he sees only a fall of thick blonde hair, then slowly, as she moves about him, healing the worst of his wounds, stopping the bleeding of the lesser wounds, Sasuke finally see her face.
When she's finished healing him, Ino turns to look at him, her eyes too large, blood and dirt on her face smudged where tears had left tracks. Sitting up slowly, Sasuke takes a deep breath and really looks at Ino. He could tell she had something to say, but she remained silent. Frowning, Sasuke leans closer to her. "Ino? What is it?"
Ino looks away, her voice coming in a whisper so soft, Sasuke has to lean closer to hear her. "It's Sakura... someone got through, I don't know how..." She pauses and turns horrified eyes to look at him before she continues. "She was hurt. There was too much damage. I tried, but I'm not strong enough, I couldn't do anything for her. I just... I ran. Then I found you."
Sasuke stares at Ino, shock and disbelief battling for dominance in his mind. He pushes to his feet, staggering, then stares down at her bent head. He lets her words sink in and shakes his head hard once in denial then turns and runs. He doesn't pay attention to where he's running at first, not thinking, not running for a destination, but running away. Trying to outrun what Ino had said, trying to outrun the horror that threatened to overwhelm him. He doesn't see anyone, hear anyone, or even know that other people existed as he ran through the village, until he runs up on Naruto unexpectedly. He looks at his old teammate and friend, and the look on Naruto's face sends Sasuke running again, but this time he has a goal in mind.
Working his way through the village automatically, Sasuke doesn't lift his head until he reaches the home of Sakura's parents. Slowly he lifts his head and looks up at the door, feeling his heart thudding in his chest, hearing his breath wheezing out in harsh rasps. Slowly he lifts his hand and knocks on the door. When Sakura's mother opens the door, Sasuke feels his heart clench painfully. He opens his mouth to say something to her, but he doesn't know what to say, so he just stands silently, looking at her, trying not to think about how much she looked like Sakura. Hearing a small voice seconds before he feels weight slam into his legs, Sasuke looks down and sees his daughter, looking up at him with a mix of relief and fear.
"Daddy! You're here!"
Sasuke drops slowly to his knees and gathers his daughter into his arms. Rocking back to sit on his heels, Sasuke presses his face into the soft nest of her hair and lets the first sob rip free from his throat. Clinging to his daughter and rocking slowly, Sasuke can only sob as the pain finally catches him, his broken heart bleeding away with each tear the slides down his cheeks.