WARNING! POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR THE HIDEN NOVELS IN FIRST AUTHOR'S NOTE!
Author's Note: So I've heard some rumors about the Hiden novels. The Kakashi one apparently confirmed that Sasuke stayed in the village for a year after his and Naruto's fight. I've heard another rumor that the Shikamaru one says that during that time, Sasuke and Sakura had already become a couple. I've heard more about the Sakura one in the last few days but it's too much to talk about in an author's note.
"Who was he anyway?!" a livid Tsuchikage screamed as he slammed his fists onto the Hokage's desk.
It was now four days before the limit Kurushimi had given Sasuke would be reached. Chaos was still happening among every regular villager. The shinobi of all the nations tried to keep order and it worked for the most part. Kakashi had told Sasuke to stay in the apartment at all times until he sent for him. They had yet to discuss why Kurushimi was after Sasuke. The three days after the festival had been spent as rebuilding the damages during the attack. Most of the ANBU had healed and were back on duty. No one had been killed, but others such as Choji Akimichi were in serious condition.
Kakashi was resting his head on his propped up hands, sitting at the desk. "He said that his name was Kurushimi. I need to speak with Sasuke to find out what all of that was about."
The Mizukage and Tsuchikage shared a glance. She spoke. "Me and the Tsuchikage have agreed that we want no part in this."
The Raikage was the next to talk. "I'm going to have to agree with them on this. My village has had no part in whatever that man wanted with the Uchiha."
The Hokage sat back. "I understand, but I don't think that you should travel yet. It would be best if you and your villages stay here until everything has been worked out. Also, if he was serious about destroying everything, then all of the nations would be here and our forces would be stronger if we united again."
The three Kage nodded in agreement and excused themselves. This gave Gaara a chance to talk with Kakashi. He said, "If it means keeping all of our villages safe, then I will do what is necessary. Sasuke Uchiha is also a comrade."
Kakashi sighed. "I still don't know what to do. Kurushimi seemed like a real threat, and I can't decide on anything until I know what Sasuke knows."
Gaara frowned. "I agree. Do you know what's been going on with him after sending him to the apartment? Maybe he's said something to Sakura."
The Hokage shook his head. "Sakura has told me that he won't sleep and that he hasn't said anything. I think that Sasuke intends to do as the man said and find him. Knowing Sasuke, he'll want to do it alone."
"Hmm... I think you're right. You won't let him do it will you? I will not let him go alone either if that's the case."
"I don't even know whether to do anything at all. Although, I've already said that the man seemed like an actual threat. If I'm right, then we will put an end to him, but Sasuke won't be going alone."
The Kazekage nodded. "After you speak with Sasuke, then we should decide on what to do."
"Sasuke, please sit down and rest!" Sakura yelled as the Uchiha continued to pace back and forth around the living room.
"No! I can't. I killed him, so how was he here? I'm not resting until Kurushimi is dead!" he shouted as he walked past the couch for the billionth time.
Sakura sat down on the couch and as soon as he walked past again, she pulled him down beside her. "If he was serious, then all of us need to know about him before another war breaks out," she said.
Sasuke stared at her with a frown. After their conversation atop the Hokage monument at the festival, he'd still wanted to keep silent about everything. However, she was doing her best to reassure him that she'd still be there for him. Now he decided that she was right and that he should open up about some things.
She continued. "Everyone who froze or fell to the ground said that it was because they saw terrible things. Some said it was bad memories and others said that they saw different things. That's all we could get out of them though."
Sasuke turned his gaze to the floor. He knew what some of that was, but if he told anyone then they would not let him go alone. Kakashi wouldn't let him go at all if he didn't know anything that he did though. He decided that it was best to tell Sakura what he knew and she could pass on the message to the Hokage. Then things would fall into place for him. She had only left the apartment if someone else was there with him.
Sasuke took a deep breath. "If I tell you, then you have to tell Kakashi."
She nodded.
"About a year ago when I was doing work for the Cloud, I'd been in a bar the whole day trying to get information on any rogues that I could take care of for them. So far, I hadn't gotten anything useful. That's when he showed up."
ONE YEAR AGO
Sasuke was just about ready to head back to the main part of the Cloud Village.
"Excuse me," a man in a hooded cloak said as he walked to where Sasuke sat, "but I heard that you're looking for information on rogues. I think I may be able to help with that."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Sure, but I'd trust you more if you pulled that hood down."
The man laughed. His voice was deep. "I understand. I wouldn't want anyone to overhear us though, so could we go somewhere more private?"
He nodded and they traveled down a path that was unknown to Sasuke. The Uchiha wasn't letting his guard down, constantly checking for intruders. This man seemed pretty shady, too.
"Do you live near here?" he asked the man.
"No, unfortunately I don't really have a home."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
The man chuckled. "Not to worry. It seems we've reached the point to where we can start talking. I won't get into the major details until we've reached the safe point."
Sasuke looked around one last time to check for other chakra signatures. It seemed to be safe, so he turned his attention back to his possible source of information.
"The rogue I have information on goes by the name of Kenshi. He's quite famous around here so I assume that you've heard of him."
Sasuke gasped in surprise. "Of course, he's a rogue that's a master swordsman isn't he?"
"Yes. That's what Kenshi means, swordsman. He deserted the Cloud. He has little skill in ninjutsu or genjutsu, but is great with taijutsu."
"What's the information you have on him? Is he near here?" Sasuke was eager to hear the answers. He had been itching to have a real fight for a long time now. Also, the information that he was not very skilled in ninjutsu or genjutsu and that he was skilled in taijutsu excited the Uchiha even more. He already had an edge on his opponent because of Rock Lee. Lee was also only skilled in taijutsu so Sasuke might have an advantage from watching Lee fight. The fact that Kenshi was a skilled swordsman though may have evened out their future battle. Sasuke was also a skilled swordsman, but he had heard that Kenshi had started from the age of two. Plus, Sasuke only had his right arm to fight with.
"Let's wait until we get to our destination for that. I want to make absolutely sure that no one is following us."
They traveled in silence for awhile before the man spoke again. "By the way, you aren't from around here are you?"
The Uchiha frowned. He decided that it would be okay to give away that information. "Hn, no."
"I figured. Forgive me for asking anything personal. I won't do it again," he responded.
Sasuke thought he had detected a change of tone from the man. It was almost like it sounded evil. The change had been too quick to tell though. He shook the thought away, thinking that it'd been his imagination.
"We're here," the man said after a few more minutes of walking.
They had arrived at a small cabin far outside the main village. Sasuke checked for chakra signatures once more. Something about this place made him feel on edge. However, he didn't ask any questions and followed the man inside.
"My name is Kurushimi," the male said as soon as he closed the door. The cabin was one small room with absolutely nothing in it but a single chair; slightly suspicious to Sasuke.
Kurushimi continued. "Sit down, this might take awhile."
Sasuke set his chokuto down next to the chair and sat down. Kurushimi turned around and looked out of the tiny window on the front door. He removed his hood, but did not turn around where Sasuke could see his face. The only thing that Sasuke saw was the short, dark, messy hair of the man, exactly like Gaara's style.
"Now, about the rogue. You asked if he was near. The answer to that question is yes. Kenshi is very close to our current location. In fact, he's a lot closer than you think..."
The last of his clan narrowed his eyes in confusion. The way that Kurushimi had said the last part was-
He didn't even have time to finish his thoughts before his own chokuto was touching the front of his neck. Sasuke was about to make some sort of move when he looked back at Kurushimi. The eyes of the man made him freeze in place. They were black pupils with a black ring in between each pupil and skin outside the eye. The part in between the pupil and ring was a lightning blue, somewhat like Chidori. The section between the ring and skin was a Rinnegan purple.
Sasuke tried to move over and over again but his body wouldn't cooperate. Something about those eyes made him as still as solid ice. His jaw dropped as Kurushimi moved closer to him.
"I know what you're thinking," he began, "you checked for anyone before you came in. Well, Kenshi has an unimaginable speed, much faster than yours."
"Much faster than me?! Is that even possible?!" Sasuke thought to himself.
Kurushimi spoke again. "If I'm right that is..."
Immediately after he finished, Sasuke's attacker pulled his head back by the hair, revealing his Rinnegan. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes in pain. When he opened them, he looked up to see those eyes again. His jaw dropped once more, eyes widening, and his breath came in short gasps, a cold sweat had also started. The Uchiha saw his whole life flash before him. Everything from the day of his birth, which he couldn't even begin to remember, right to the current day. His vision came back to the present and he continued to struggle for air. As soon as it was over, he immediately forgot most of the memories that he couldn't remember before he saw those eyes. An instant, that's all it had been.
"Looks like we were right, it is the last Uchiha," Kurushimi said.
"You figured all that out just be looking into his eyes?" the man behind Sasuke asked. His voice was not very deep, more in the range of the Akatsuki member, Deidara. Sasuke looked back to see what the master swordsman Kenshi's appearance was. The male had big brown eyes along with hair that was the color of Naruto Uzumaki's. The messy hair belonging to the man was short. He also had a scar that stretched from the right side of his forehead to the middle of his left cheek. Kenshi looked to be the same age as Kurushimi, late twenties. The male was wearing a cloak similar to Kurushimi's. He had a small build but was still showing some muscles. Sasuke guessed that Kenshi was about a foot shorter than him, looking from this angle.
A sigh. "I've already explained to you many times how my eyes work. But, I guess that our new friend here would like to know. You better pay attention too, Kenshi. I'm not telling you again."
"Whatever..."
"Well, Sasuke Uchiha... it seems like a genjutsu doesn't it? I assure you that it's actually nothing like a genjutsu. What I just did to you basically was copy your memories and store them in my eyes. I can rewatch any of them, anytime I want. However, since I only needed to know your identity, I only have a few of your important memories stored." He laughed. "That's only the beginning of what these eyes can do. I don't even think that I will have to display any of its other powers anyway."
Kurushimi gave a small nod to Kenshi, an evil grin plastered on his face. Kenshi chuckled before slowly moving around to the front of Sasuke and holding the chokuto with the point pressed to Sasuke's stomach.
The Uchiha was frozen in place. His body still wasn't cooperating, which he guessed was part of what that man's eyes could do. "If I die now, then what was the point of it all!?" Some of the memories he'd just watched came back to him. His family, his team, their missions. One finger twitched as Kenshi thrust the blade through his stomach. Sasuke cried out in pain. Kenshi laughed hysterically and slowly took the bloody blade out.
"You want a turn Kurushimi?!" he asked as he handed the blade to the delighted male.
Kurushimi laughed. "It's pretty sad that I have to kill you right now. Looks like you won't see her again after all..."
Sasuke's eyes widened.
"I'll see you when I get back..."
He had drawn the blade all the way back. It whizzed through the air.
"Move!" he told himself. Sasuke's entire remaining arm twitched. A few more inches and he'd be dead. Then, the image of her smile came.
"MOVE!"
Kurushimi and Kenshi gasped in unison as Sasuke caught the blade with the soles of his sandals. Holding it between his feet, he reached over and raked across Kenshi's eyes. The swordsman screamed and covered his face. Sasuke used one foot to kick his chokuto back to him and the other to kick Kurushimi's stomach. The next instant, he disappeared.
"Find him!" the male yelled while holding his stomach.
Kenshi removed his hands from his eyes. A small gash had opened under the right one. "Don't blame me if I kill him before you do!" The swordsman ran out the door with incredible speed. Kurushimi slowly followed.
Sasuke stumbled through the woods holding his bleeding stomach. The chokuto was still in his only hand. They'd catch him soon at this rate, but with Kenshi's speed it would be sooner than he'd wanted. The bandana had been quickly tied around his head after he'd used the Rinnegan to teleport.
"Where're you going kid?!" Sasuke turned just in time to block a strike from Kenshi. They struggled for the upper hand after many seconds of the blades shaking back and forth against each other. Kenshi eventually won the battle and Sasuke went on the defensive.
Dodging many slashes, the Uchiha realized something. "He's just biding time for the other guy! This wound is getting worse by the second, too! I have to do something fast!"
Sasuke dodged a few more strikes before jumping back and gaining a large distance. Concentrating one of his eyes onto the swordsman, black flames came from nowhere and flew towards the man with the scar. Kenshi gasped and started running, the flames close behind with every move he made. Sasuke resisted the urge to grab his bleeding eye, knowing that now was not the time to worry about it. Instead, he caught his breath and turned around. The moment he did, a katana lunged at him with Kenshi wielding it. Barely dodging, he jumped out of the way as the flames continued to head toward the swordsman.
"I heard that you can outrun these flames if you're fast enough!" Kenshi yelled as he lunged once again. "That makes them useless against me!"
As Sasuke moved around repeatedly, he finally extinguished the black flames, accepting the fact that Kenshi was right. He sheathed his chokuto and Kenshi did the same with his katana. They launched themselves at each other and Sasuke attacked first. Kenshi smiled sadistically as he easily dodged every kick and punch that the Uchiha threw. After another missed blow to the nose, Kenshi started to attack. Sasuke could hardly keep up with the man even with his Mangekyo active. However, he still managed to block most of the blows. The next strike was a kick to the stomach, or so Sasuke thought. The leg that was hurtling towards his midsection changed directions in less than a millisecond. Sasuke gasped as he attempted to block the kick to the chin, but he was too late. Stumbling backwards, the last of his clan blinked furiously while rubbing his already bloody lip, trying to make his vision steady.
Kenshi somersaulted backwards and yawned. "I thought that you'd actually be a challenge Uchiha. Guess I was wrong."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes and was still bewildered at how fast this man was. "Just who and what are you?"
The swordsman laughed and crossed his arms, a smirk settling on his face. "That's a dumb question. You already know that my name is Kenshi. To answer the other part of your question, you've probably already heard that I'm a rogue from the Cloud."
Sasuke was trying to come up with a plan. Any second now, the other man would arrive. How was he supposed to counter this guy's speed though? Blood continued to drip from his wounds while he pondered.
Kenshi chuckled. "While you're busy planning, why don't you tell me about that girl Kurushimi was talking about. I'll take her as a trophy when you're dead."
Sasuke gritted his teeth and ran towards the man again, forgetting all thoughts of strategy. This time, the speed of his punches and kicks were a lot faster. Kenshi barely dodged an elbow to the neck and he stumbled backwards as the Uchiha rained down blows. Sasuke landed a kick to the man's side and capitalized on another opportunity. His fist connected with Kenshi's jaw and he thought that he'd nearly broken his hand from the impact.
The swordsman landed on his back and blinked rapidly, trying to register what had just happened. He rubbed his blood soaked jaw to confirm that it had almost been broken. He hadn't expected Sasuke to attack him with moves that quick and had been caught off guard. As the Uchiha made his way to him, the male narrowed his eyes in rage and disappeared in a blur.
Sasuke looked everywhere for a chakra signature, but found nothing. Then, he noticed one out of the corner of his eye and turned just as it disappeared again. He had gotten lucky to catch the man off guard and he wasn't anticipating another opening like that. Unsheathing his chokuto, Sasuke turned to block the katana wielded by Kenshi. However, the infuriated master swordsman quickly gained the upper hand and slashed once at Sasuke's side. The Uchiha blocked just in time, but wasn't expecting what came next. Quicker than the blink of an eye, Kenshi took out a kunai and launched it at Sasuke's other side. The Uchiha got away with a small cut as Kenshi took his opportunity to put more force into his blocked katana. Kenshi cursed as Sasuke continued to shield himself from the blade. Next, the rogue grabbed three more kunai from a small bag on his side. He launched two at the same place while stabbing with the third, knowing that the Uchiha only had one hand. Sasuke moved to the side with their clashed blades, easily escaping the distraction, and dodged Kenshi's first stab. The second came even quicker than the first, and sunk deep into Sasuke's right shoulder. He gritted his teeth and angrily put more force into his blade, pushing the other male's away for a small second, giving him a small open window. The blade filled with lightning as Kenshi's katana retreated. The male jumped out of reach as Sasuke swung, but he'd managed to put a minor slash into Kenshi's side.
Sasuke pulled the kunai out of his shoulder and glanced at the wound. He whispered to himself urgently. "Why can't I keep up with him?! He's easily getting in hits and making me look like an amateur! I need to focus!"
"Looks like I underestimated you," Kenshi said as he landed on a high tree branch, spitting out blood. The male was so distracted by his own fury that he'd completely forgotten about the intense pain in his jaw.
Sasuke had had enough. He put his sword away and filled his hand with lightning. The lightning streamed out as Sasuke aimed towards the swordsman. He had finally gained the ability to keep up with the man's movements with the Sharingan and had Kenshi bouncing around on every branch, severing each one the instant his feet left the wood. After he had pretty much totaled the tree, Kenshi was forced to come to the ground and Sasuke took a gamble on where he'd land, which he partially won. The stream of lightning grazed the man's arm and he leaped behind a boulder for cover.
Sasuke let the lightning disappear as he caught his breath. He glanced down at his new wounds to discover that it'd been more serious than he thought. Blood dripped from them at a fast pace, but it still wasn't as severe as the one he had gotten from inside the cabin. The pain grew at an alarming rate, but he knew that now was not the time to think about it. He made himself aware again as he heard a shuffling noise. Kenshi flew from behind the boulder and was caught by the large hand of a Susanoo. One hand and the ribs formed as Sasuke stared down the terrified man, crushing him an instant later, only to find out that it had been a Substitution. Sasuke gasped and turned as three paper bombs exploded against the Susanoo, throwing him into the boulder. His protection vanished as he stood up with a confused look.
"I never said that I didn't know ANY ninjutsu!" Kenshi shouted from many yards away.
Suddenly, a whizzing sound behind Sasuke made him twist around and move his entire body into the shape of a pretzel. The shards of something unknown to him flew past and went through about four trees. When he tried to see what they were, the needle like shards had disappeared into thin air.
A hysterical laugh. "Watch your feet Uchiha!" Kenshi snorted.
Sasuke looked down and saw the same sort of thing that the shards were made out of begin to cover his feet at a quick pace. It was too dark to see what it was. Before they could root him to the ground, he'd flipped back and saw those eyes again.
Kurushimi had a wicked smile. "That's not something that the Sharingan can copy. In fact, you can't copy anything I do with these eyes!"
Sasuke's wounds were starting to really slow him down. He'd already failed to escape and Kurushimi was back. The last Uchiha gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, deciding that now was the time to end this. After only a couple of seconds, half of his purple Susanoo had formed. He slashed with his protection's gigantic purple blade. Kenshi was gone in a flash, the sword missing him by inches. Kurushimi on the other hand had widened eyes as he raised both of his hands in a protective way to his left side. A blue shield of what looked like chakra appeared as contact was made. The force of the clash pushed Kurushimi far to his right with the blade still connected to the shield. He finally managed to stop moving as Sasuke let more black flames fly towards the man with strange eyes.
Kurushimi added more chakra to his shield, letting it completely surround him as the black flames tried to break through. They stopped and the Uchiha stood still as a rock, his Susanoo gone. Kurushimi grinned as he let more needles created by his eyes launch toward Sasuke. The smile turned into a frown as they pierced through his victim's body and he turned into a log.
The frown shifted to a smirk. "I should've known that you wouldn't go down that easily." His eyes widened out of shock, jaw dropping to the ground as the chokuto came through his chest.
"You're right," a gasp, "I'd never go out that easy." Sasuke's vision started to get blurry and he lost it as an elbow hit his nose. After blinking for a short instant, he wanted to end this as fast as possible. "Amaterasu!"
It only took a moment until Kurushimi screamed as he was being burned alive. "I will get my revenge. You will die! I'll take away everything and everyone that you still care about!"
Sasuke strained to hear the man's last words as he stumbled away, fighting to stay conscious. The blood loss was slowly taking affect on him. It was that along with the elbow to the nose that nearly knocked him senseless. However, he didn't have to worry about that man now. He killed him, the last threats from him meant nothing. Continuing to make his way back to the village, safety was still not confirmed. Sasuke was worried about the master swordsman, Kenshi. The scarred male had escaped the hit from the Susanoo's sword. But, he guessed that since his accomplice was dead, he may have retreated from the battle entirely.
The next thirty minutes was a blur to the wounded Uchiha. In the distance, the Cloud came into view. The blood loss had taken it's toll though; the Uchiha collapsed to his hands and knees. Crawling his way towards the village lights, Sasuke's vision went dark and his body slammed into the ground. He lay there for who knows how long, unconscious and bleeding to death.
"After that, Omoi and Darui found me while they were patrolling. All I told them was that I had a fight with a rogue," Sasuke finished. He left out all the parts about Sakura, replacing them with Team 7 as a whole. They didn't say anything for a few minutes afterward.
"Now I know for sure that I've met Kurushimi before," Sakura said, breaking the silence.
Sasuke's interest peaked and he moved his head to face hers.
She continued. "Six or so months ago, a man came to this village. Not once did he put his hood down and he was wearing the exact same one at the festival. I thought I had recognized his voice when we heard him then. Anyway, he seemed to be very interested in you and the Uchiha. He took turns to speak with all of the people that knew you."
"What happened when he spoke to you?"
"Well, at the time, no one suspected him so he was able to do anything freely. A lot of us were at a club with Ino. When they left the table for awhile and I was by myself, he approached me. He said that he was doing some important research and since I knew you I could help him."
Sasuke moved his hands out of view and balled them into fists. After he had "killed" him, he had come to the village and used all of his comrades. He had used her...
"He sat down and asked me what I knew about the Uchiha. I told him just the basic things like the Sharingan because I was a little puzzled as to why he'd been so intent on getting information. Also, I already knew that he'd come to everyone else and I was apparently the last on his list. Then, the man asked for things about you specifically. All I said was that you were currently on a journey and I didn't know much about you since we weren't close."
Sasuke had gotten tense when she said that they weren't close. Did she really think that?
"Of course, I was lying. After what you've told me though, I figure that he knew I was. When I finished, he had a small sort of pleased smile and he left the village the day after. But, he did say one thing to me before he left."
Sasuke inwardly breathed a sigh of relief when Sakura had said that she'd lied. Now, he waited for her to go on.
"He told me to keep hope that you were coming back and that I shouldn't let my guard down."
Sasuke looked away and gritted his teeth, his fists felt like they were about to pop. That guy had come to this village and questioned all of them. Not only that, but he'd also basically threatened Sakura when he told her to keep her guard up. He bit his lower lip.
"I guess I have to go tell the Hokage about all this. Will you be fine here by yourself?"
He nodded without turning towards her. As soon as she closed the door behind her, he got up and started to pace again. Kurushimi had come before. Now, he'd threatened to destroy everyone and everything if Sasuke did not come after him. Judging by his eyes and the projected army, it was a serious threat.
After pacing for another ten minutes, he stopped thinking about the threat and started wondering about the outcome. If he cooperated with the man, then would no one else have to be hurt?
Sakura had just finished explaining, in detail, everything that Sasuke had told her. Kakashi had called a meeting with the others involved. The Sand Siblings, Sai, Team Gai, and the rookie group minus Choji, who was in the hospital. All of them told their experiences with the man in the cloak six months ago. Even the siblings said that he'd also come to their village.
The Hokage spoke. "So we know for sure that he's a serious threat. We know that his eyes are special and that they can see all of your memories along with storing them. Everyone else said that they experienced seeing past memories or other things. The other things haven't been explained yet unfortunately."
"What are we gonna do?" Naruto asked.
"Obviously we can't let Sasuke go alone," Sai said.
"We have to do something though. You said it yourself Hokage, Kurushimi is a serious threat," Shikamaru stated.
Kakashi thought hard for a minute. Each one of them had a point. In this case, there was only one option that he could think of. "Kurushimi never said that Sasuke had to go alone. I'm going with him, too."
Naruto immediately jumped up. "Why do you two get to have all the fun? I'm coming whether you guys like it or not."
"Don't leave me out!" Sakura chimed in.
Naruto's and Sakura's announcements gave everyone else a boost in their confidence. They'd definitely need more than four people going. If that man really did have an army, then this would be an all out war.
Gaara stood up along with Kankuro and Temari. "We will accompany you as well. If this means saving a comrade and the world itself, then we gladly accept."
Shikamaru was next. "From all that I've heard, I think you'll need a strategist. Count me in."
Lee, Tenten, and Hinata followed. Lee said, "This man has no business in threatening any of us! I will eagerly accept this challenge!"
All of the others stood up with excited and determined looks on their faces. All had demanded to come.
Kakashi smiled with his eyes. "Then it's settled! We can take the next few days to prepare for our journey. We also need to figure out a good spot to start searching for his hideout. Furthermore, let's consider the fact that he has followers such as the swordsman Kenshi. Preparations will start tomorrow."
The exhilarated shinobi talked about the upcoming mission as soon as the Hokage was finished speaking. Sakura left almost immediately, saying that she'd left Sasuke home alone.
Gaara and Kakashi shared a worried glance, both knew what might've happened in the short time she'd been gone.
Sasuke looked at the floor while running both of his hands through his dark hair. He'd thought a lot about what Sakura had told him and what he already knew about Kurushimi. The threat lingered in his mind ever since the festival. If he went to find him, then no one else had to get hurt. The Uchiha still had no clue as to why the man wanted to kill him so much, but that didn't matter. Glancing at his chokuto he'd left at the other end of the couch, Sasuke thought hard for another minute. Even though he didn't know why he was being hunted, all that mattered to him was keeping the others safe.
His thoughts drifted back to the moment where he'd "killed" Kurushimi. He must've made a clone when Sasuke had been hit by the elbow. Pondering some more, he realized that the one he set on fire didn't have a wound from the chokuto.
He spoke to himself. "How could I have been so stupid to think that I killed him that easily?! It had to have been a clone and I fell for it without even thinking about it!"
Sasuke stared out the window into the darkness with a frown. He had made up his mind...
Sakura opened the door and was ready to tell Sasuke the news. He wasn't in the living room or kitchen. She frowned and narrowed her eyes. Walking quickly to the bathroom and then her bedroom, she didn't see him anywhere. She came back into the living room and noticed that his things were gone. It wasn't just the things he used for combat, but the clothes he'd recently received were gone as well.
Sakura's eyes widened at the realization. "How could I be so stupid and careless?!" she said under her breath. Why couldn't he have waited any longer?! Why did he leave now?!
Grabbing her weapon bag, she quickly attached it to her side and ran out the door.
Author's Note: Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I'm just mean like that. Also, I'd like to apologize if I don't use everyone's powers to their full extent. There's so many, especially when the Sage of Six Paths gives his to Naruto and Sasuke. It's a lot for a fourteen year old girl to understand and comprehend if you know what I mean. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Please review!