10: Broken Bonds
Uchiha Sasuke woke with the coming of dawn. He felt refreshed despite the fact that he hadn't slept long. These days he found it hard to fall asleep at night.
His mind worked long after his body had stopped.
He couldn't put his finger on it, but it was as if he could sense something was going to happen.
Could it be Itachi?
The mere thought of his brother made his blood boil in rage, and he was forced to think about other things until he finally calmed down.
Ever since the Chuuin exams and his encounter with both Orochimaru and Itachi, he had thrown himself into his training and missions.
He needed to become stronger.
He slid out of bed and made himself a small breakfast. After that, he donned his signature blue shirt with the Uchiha symbol on the back. He wore it with pride, but also as a reminder of what he had lost.
He would have his revenge, one day.
The air outside was crisp and the light was steadily strengthening. Sasuke took his time walking to the training grounds where he would meet the others. He knew that his sensei would be late, so he was in no hurry.
He could almost hear Sakura asking him why he had taken so long to meet up with them. He wasn't in the mood for her whining today, and secretly he hoped she would spend more time on her hair or something so that she wouldn't notice his absence.
He took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. A few stray clouds floated idly by.
So peaceful.
He wondered what it would be like to live a normal life, to have family waiting for him at home. He had once had all that, but it was so long ago, it all seemed like a dream. His family was dead, his brother was an S-class criminal and his sister was a missing nin,
He had assumed she would always be there for him. Their relationship had been a good one.
She should have been there for him.
He shook his head in frustration. There was no point in wondering about things that would never be. They had each chosen their own paths.
He had almost reached the training grounds when his sensei suddenly appeared before him, blocking his path.
"Sasuke. I need to talk to you. Alone."
"About what?"
Kakashi seemed a bit hesitant. Did this have something to do with Orochimaru? Or maybe Itachi?
Sasuke waited anxiously for him to speak.
"It's about your sister."
He drew in a sharp breath.
Kaede? Why on earth would he mention her? She'd been gone for years.
"What about her?" Sasuke asked, pressing him for details.
"She's returned."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean she's in the village. She has been for two days now, but she's currently under house arrest."
"House arrest?"
"Your sister abandoned the village. There is a very real possibility that she poses a threat to us. The Fifth ordered her to be kept under surveillance until she can be proven innocent."
Sasuke listened to his words, but it didn't seem to sink in properly. It felt too strange hearing about her, knowing she was in the village.
After all this time, his cowardly sister had come out of hiding.
"Why are you telling me all this?" Sasuke asked, folding his arms. He saw Kakashi's visible eye narrow slightly.
"Don't you want to see her? She is your sister after all."
"She broke any bond we had when she left. I have no business with her."
With that said, Sasuke walked past his sensei as if nothing had happened. He didn't have time for family reunions.
His hand went up to his neck, covering the cursed seal Orochimaru had given him.
He had his own things to worry about.
Kakashi stared expectantly at her face, waiting for her reaction. Having just told her that her own brother didn't want to see her, he had expected her to at least be disappointed.
But she seemed to be the opposite.
Her eyes were calm and she wore an easy smile on her face. He noticed she smiled a lot, however he could sense that her mouth was the only thing that wanted to participate in the act.
Her smile was meant to deceive.
Still, she didn't seem at all surprised by her brother's coldness.
"I expected as much. It's been 7 years. It's only natural that we've grown apart. You didn't have to tell him I was here."
"I figured he's the reason you came back. If not to see him, then why?"
He watched as her smile faded away and her eyes became distant. She chose to avert her gaze to the cup of tea between her hands.
It was obvious she wasn't going to state her reasons.
At that point, Kakashi couldn't help thinking how much she had changed since he last saw her. He had often heard of Itachi's talented younger sister, back when she was still a novice in the academy. Everyone was anxious to see if she would be as impressive as her brother.
He often wondered how she would have turned out if Itachi hadn't done what he had.
Still, she had come a long way from the skinny 11 year old girl he had once protected. She was now a grown woman, and he had no doubt that she would have had many suitors had her position been slightly different.
She was such an enigma.
"Ne, Kakashi-san."
"Hm?"
"Do you really believe I'm a bad person?"
Kakashi froze on the spot, staring at her. For the first time since she had arrived, she looked vulnerable. She didn't meet his gaze, but he could see by the way her shoulders sagged she was cracking under the pressure of a heavy burden.
His instincts told him she was feeling guilty about something she had done, and most likely it had been bad.
But his feelings told him something else.
"No, I don't think you're a bad person, Kaede-chan."
Her head shot up at the affectionate use of her name. Another smile came to her lips, but this time he could tell it was genuine.
Still, her eyes remained sad.
The look didn't suit her, but no matter what, he couldn't play the compassionate hero.
She could just as easily be deceiving him.
"You do realize that no matter how good your behavior is, unless you do something to prove your loyalties, the village will never accept you."
In a second her demeanor had changed. Her soft features hardened and she straightened her body, folding her arms across her chest.
"Being accepted by the village is not on my list of priorities. I could never stay here, not while they're still alive."
"They?"
She rose to her feet in one swift movement. Without meeting his gaze, she spoke.
"I've said too much already. Excuse me."
Kakashi had no choice but to watch her leave, retiring for the night.
The gears of his mind were working furiously, trying to figure out the meaning behind her words. The pieces of the puzzle were slowly coming together, but the picture was still unclear.
Who was this "they" she was referring to, and what was it about them that worried her?
Or better yet, why was he so interested? This shouldn't be his problem.
But. . .
There was just something about her that drew him. Maybe it was because he could see himself in her. She was one person who could truly understand him.
But he was being an idiot.
Uchiha Kaede was still considered a prisoner.
He could not allow his feelings to compromise his task of watching her.
Not two hours later, he heard something that made the very blood in his veins run cold.
He heard her scream.
I barricaded myself in my room after my brief conversation with Kakashi.
I was mad at myself for giving away so much. My moment of weakness may have ruined everything. He would never trust me now.
Not that it should bother me. I was only here for a brief time, just to make sure Sasuke was still ok. It didn't matter that he didn't want to see me; I could still keep an eye on him.
I moved over to the bed and sat down, drawing my knees up to my body. My stay here with Kakashi was taking its toll on me. He had an effect on me.
Part of me wanted to tell him everything, to hear him reassure me and tell me everything would be alright.
But I could never allow myself to put him danger. It was better not to associate myself with others, not while I was a target.
Glancing outside, I saw it was still quite early, but seeing as I was confined to this house, I had no choice but to climb into bed early.
I had never spent so much time sleeping as I had the past few days that I had been in Konohagakure. It was as if I were catching up on years of sleepless nights.
I removed most of my clothes until I was comfortable enough before settling under the covers. The soft, warm bed quickly lulled me into a deep sleep.
Time passed. How long, I don't know. I woke when I felt a sudden burning on my back, in the exact spot where Hannya was sealed.
Sitting upright, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, trying to reach inside of me and calm Hannya down.
But the burning became worse. I could feel Hannya's chakra pulsing through my body, growing steadily stronger.
I began to panic. Nothing I did would suppress the demon.
It felt as if my whole body was on fire.
I screamed, unable to take it anymore. At some point I must have fallen off the bed, because I could feel the cool wood against my hot skin. Had I known my eyes were flickering between normal and Sharingan, I would have understood why my vision was blurred. But at that moment, I could think of nothing but the uncontrollable beast inside of me, threatening to rip my insides to shreds.
"Kaede!"
His voice broke through the pain, bringing me slightly to my senses. I turned my head to look for him.
He was standing at the door, looking down at me. His left eye was uncovered, and the sight of his Sharingan sent shivers down my spine.
Hannya stirred again, causing me to lose focus. I felt like I was slipping over the edge, losing myself.
I might have fallen had it not been for him.
He was at my side in a second, pulling my limp body into his lap. His arms wrapped around me, holding me tightly against his chest. I could hear his rapid heartbeat, and the sound calmed me down.
I closed my eyes, leaning further into his embrace. I was unaware of the tears that were rolling down my cheeks, soaking his shirt.
Slowly I regained control of myself. Hannya settled down and the pain dispersed. My body cooled, but a slight headache lingered.
After a couple of minutes of just sitting, Kakashi pulled back slightly to look at me.
"Are you alright?"
I nodded, not trusting my voice enough to speak. I was still a bit shaken up by the whole thing.
Kakashi rose to his feet, pulling me with him. His arms still supported me, and I allowed myself to be lead to the kitchen. He sat me down and started boiling up a pot of tea.
I avoided his gaze the whole time until he was seated across from me, two cups of steaming tea standing before us.
"Care to explain what happened to you?"
I didn't reply. How could I tell him what I was?
"Alright, I'm going to take a guess. You're a Jinchuuriki."
I gasped, looking up at him in surprise.
"How did you know?"
He shrugged.
"I have experience with bijuu. Uzumaki Naruto is in my team."
"The Nine-tails kid? I had forgotten about him. So that's why Hannya got so out of control."
"Hannya?"
"That's the name of the demon inside of me."
His eyes widened a bit.
"So there is a demon. How did this happen to you?"
I wondered if I should tell him. At the moment, I was desperate to talk to someone, and he seemed to understand somewhat.
I gazed into his eyes and felt my doubts disappear.
He would understand.
And so, I began telling him my story.
