Chapter 36: Brothers
"Then I thought, boy, isn't that just typical? You wait and wait and wait for something, and then when it happens, you feel sad." – Sharon Creech


Sasuke stood in the downpour and raised his fist towards the sky. "This is Kirin, brother." Lightening gathered around him and crackled in the air, the sound nearly deafening. "This is my reality." The younger Uchiha directed his fist towards Itachi. "This is your death." The colossal, lightening-borne beast charged.

The impact resulted in a massive blast, like an explosion. When the dust and debris faded, Sasuke saw Itachi's fallen form on the ground. "It's… It's all over…" he breathed, his Sharingan fading with his depleted chakra supply. "I did it… I did it!" the boy shouted towards the sky as the rain continued to fall.

"Was that what you saw in your vision of my death, brother?" The word was a curse on his tongue. Sasuke whipped his head around only to find Itachi slowly but surely rising from the ground. Blood poured from his older brother's mouth, but he was alive.

"God damn you!" Sasuke roared, his cursed seal activating as he stared at his brother's weakened form.

"Sasuke, you've grown very strong. Had I not used this, I would've been obliterated. This is the final weapon in my arsenal. Behold Susanoo, brother." Surrounding Itachi was a giant, armored skeleton. It glowed the colors of a bloody sunset, the energy surrounding it flickering as if on fire. Itachi stood at the very heart, protected by the rib cage. "The Mangekyo Sharingan awoke several techniques. Susanoo is the third and final one, along with Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu." Sasuke blanched. "Are you out of techniques, brother? If you have any moves left up your sleeve, I suggest you stop trying to hide them. The time for games has passed. This is the real fight."

Sasuke watched in horror as the skeleton continued to morph, shifting into a monstrous form with pointed teeth and a spear-like nose. A voice inside him spoke just then, a voice that haunted him, a voice he'd wished to never hear again.

I can give you what you want.

The words were like a demonic hiss in his head. His shoulder burned, nearly doubling him over in agony. Sasuke reached for the source of the pain, trying to fight the offer.

Admit it, Sasuke-kun. You need me. You do want your revenge on Itachi, don't you? This is what you've worked so hard for, and you can have it. All you have to do is unleash me and your wish will finally be granted.

Without any barriers left to hold him back, Orochimaru's chakra was set free. Sasuke clawed at the ground and a pain ripped through him as eight, massive, white-scaled snakes erupted from his shoulder. Itachi's Susanoo set to quick work, using its massive sword to behead each of the snakes in turn until there was only one left.

The final snake opened its jaws impossibly wide, Orochimaru's body emerging from the depths of the hydra. The incarnation of the sannin pulled a sword from his own throat and lifted it into the air, letting out a manic laugh that rang across the destroyed courtyards. "Finally, the chance I've been waiting for has come!" he cried. "And it's all thanks to you, Itachi! Forcing Sasuke-kun to expend his chakra made it so he was unable to suppress me any longer, and now I will take his body for my own and defea –"

The man was cut off as Susanoo's chakra sword drove directly through his chest.

"Alright, Sasuke. Got anything else?" Itachi asked.

"You think a little cut is going to take me down so easily, Itachi?" Orochimaru asked, the manic tone still permeating his voice. "You underest –" The man stopped again and looked down at his torso. "This… This can't be! The Sword of Totsuka?" The snake sannin choked on his words, gurgling sounds issuing forth from his throat as he began to melt and dissolve, slowly being sealed away by the sword's technique.

Sasuke collapsed to his knees, his last bit of chakra fully draining as the snakes receded and Orochimaru's presence left his body. "Your eyes are mine now, Sasuke," Itachi announced. "I'll take them slowly. I want to savor this."

The older Uchiha boy began to move forward, his Susanoo moving with him. But the beast faltered, his armor dropping piece by piece, littering the battlefield. Itachi fell to his knees in a coughing fit, blood pouring from his mouth. It appeared using Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, and Susanoo all in one fight took quite a bit out of him. He was fading quickly.

Sasuke pulled two kunai from his pouch and sent them flying towards his brother, the explosive tags igniting on impact. When the dust cleared, however, Sasuke could see that Susanoo, despite its weakening state, was still powerful enough to protect Itachi at its core. Sasuke struggled to stand. "Fuck you!" he shouted, his temper raging harder with every breath his older brother continued to take. He summoned a scroll from the seals around his wrists and sent a ream of explosive tags in his brother's direction. Still, Susanoo held strong.

"My eyes." Itachi held out his hand, reaching for his younger brother.

Sasuke reached for his sword. "Fucking die!" he screamed, his rage giving way to pure hysteria. He leapt into the air with as much energy as he could summon and came down upon Itachi only to be tossed back, his sword rebounding off Susanoo's shield and flying from his hands. The boy hit the ground hard, letting out a guttural cry.

Itachi inched closer, his blood soaked fingers reaching out for Sasuke's face, ready to pluck his eyes out. The younger boy stood and shuffled backwards away from his brother, only to find himself pinned against a wall. Itachi moved closer, his two fingers outstretched.

Sasuke's eyes widened in horror, knowing he had no strength left to fight back. Fear made his blood run cold. His life's purpose had been for naught. He'd failed. He'd failed his family. He'd failed himself. He hadn't been able to get his revenge. And Hinata… He'd told Hinata he was coming back, but instead she'd find him dead with his eyes plucked out. He'd lost. He'd…

Itachi's lips moved, the words issuing forth from his mouth barely intelligible. Sasuke's ears strained to catch what he would soon know as his brother's dying words. His two, outstretched fingers poked Sasuke in the forehead, and then he was gone. The older Uchiha boy fell forward, his hand leaving a trail of blood down Sasuke's face as his body collapsed to the ground.

The life force was completely gone from his brother, and Sasuke was still standing. He was still standing. Sasuke looked at the body at his feet, still, breathless, unblinking, and smiled.


Just as Yamato's Wood Release structures zeroed in on their target, Shino's bugs dispersed in a hectic, swarming cloud and the boy let out a surprised breath. "My bugs were reacting to his chakra, and then they just… lost him." Shino's voice, normally so calm and collected, betrayed his shock. "This is unprecedented."

"Was it a teleportation jutsu?" Sakura asked.

The bespectacled boy shook his head. "It was not teleportation. How do I know? Because teleportation is merely high-speed movement. My bugs still would've sensed the direction he moved and pursued. They would not let him escape so easily."

"Kakashi-sensei, the target simply disappeared," Neji confirmed, his Byakugan still active and searching for signs of their opponent. So far all of their attacks had been perfectly timed, but not a single one had managed to land a blow on the masked man. It was as if all their attempts slipped right through him, no matter what they tried. Every moment was precious, every minute another opportunity for their mission objective to slip even further away, and they'd wasted too much time already.

"Can he make himself cease to exist? Is that even possible?" Yamato asked.

"If he can, it would make sense that he could isolate specific body parts and cause them to disappear at will, too," Sakura reasoned. "When a blow comes his way, it would make it appear as if the attack just slipped through."

"There!" Neji suddenly shouted, turning his gaze skyward. The Konoha squad followed suit, turning to look up into the trees at the odd man who'd avoided them once again. As he stared at the orange swirl, the Hyuuga genius dove deeper, trying to see behind the mask. His eyes grew large at what he saw. "He can't…"

The Akatsuki member waved as if they were old friends. "Hey, guys!"

To the team's surprise, Kiba was suddenly falling from the sky, spinning in a massive Fang Drill vortex aimed directly for Tobi's back. The man simply stepped aside, causing Kiba to drill his way straight through the giant branch and directly into the ground. Sakura was irate.

"Dammit, Kiba, you idiot! You can't just jump out on your own like that."

The dog boy groaned from among the rubble he'd just turned up. "Son of a bitch… It slipped right through him again…"

"It didn't slip through him – he just side-stepped you! You're as bad as Naruto, you baka!"

"Forget this foolishness!" Neji shouted, keeping their target locked in his gaze. There was a more pressing matter to deal with than Kiba's reckless behavior. "Kakashi-san, he –"

"What is that?" Sakura interrupted, her green eyes turning upwards. A new presence had joined Tobi on the branch, a set of claw-like leaves growing up out of the wood itself. The masked man turned to it, but they were too far away to overhear the hushed conversation.

"He's in the Akatsuki file Kabuto left behind," Yamato informed the group.

It was Naruto's turn to fume. "God dammit!" he shouted. "More people trying to delay us? Why can't you bastards just get out of our damn way already, huh?"

The claw-like leaves opened like a Venus flytrap to reveal a face, half black, half white. "Sasuke won," it announced, loud enough for the Konoha ninja far below to hear. "Uchiha Itachi is dead."

Stunned silence fell across the clearing among the Leaf ninja ranks.

"Whoa, didn't see that one coming… not!" Tobi laughed. "Just like I predicted."

"Sasuke collapsed like, a second later though. It was a tough fight. He's probably fading fast," the weird creature informed him.

Naruto was having none of their games. They'd already wasted enough time as it was trying to fend off the freak in the mask. Itachi was dead. Sasuke was in critical condition. They had to move. Now.

"Yo, Aloe Vera!" he shouted, addressing the freak of nature, half plant, half checker-board thing. "Where the fuck is Sasuke?"

No answer came from the Venus flytrap man. Instead, Tobi replied, his tone a little too chipper for the situation. "I'll play with you children some other time."

"Who the hell is he?" Kakashi wondered aloud.

"Kakashi-san," Neji interjected, finally catching the jounin's attention. "Did you see?" The gray haired man nodded darkly.

Without another word the masked man vanished into thin air while the plant creature sank back into the tree branch and disappeared. "We have to get to Sasuke before they do!" Kakashi shouted. He leapt up the nearest tree, disappearing into the canopy. "Neji! See what's going on at 4 o'clock!" the jounin's disembodied voice called down from above.

The Hyuuga boy obeyed, throwing his attention into the distance. "There's an area ten kilometers from here surrounded by a very powerful chakra. The forest is on fire, but the flames are not ordinary. They're pitch black."

"Everyone, follow me!" Kakashi ordered, leaping back to the forest floor and taking the lead.

Naruto gritted his teeth as the team rolled out. He couldn't lose Sasuke again.


Hinata watched Sasuke's form drop to the ground.

"It's over," she said, a little breathlessly. Kisame and Suigetsu's swords clanged as they clashed once again, but hearing that the Uchiha battle was finished the two sheathed their blades, securing them to their backs. The members of Hebi looked at her. Without a second thought, Hinata rushed forward towards the hideout then straight up its walls, leaping around parapets and decorative outcroppings. She could see a second form standing over Sasuke and Itachi's fallen bodies. She pushed harder, watching the strange figure stoop down and lift Sasuke into his arms. Just as she cleared the final edge and leapt onto the roof, the man and Sasuke both disappeared from sight.

Hinata frantically searched the area, trying to find any trace of them. Karin, Juugo, Suigetsu, and Kisame landed on the roof beside her. The shark boy approached Itachi's body and poked at it with his foot, Kisame close behind. The shark man kneeled by his partner while Suigetsu turned back to his team. "Where's Sasuke?"

"He…" Karin's voice shook. She couldn't sense him, either. It was as terrible as she'd imagined.

Where's Sasuke? The thoughts she'd been afraid of for hours pushed forward in full force. Hinata bit back tears and tried to swallow the cry that threatened to rip from her throat. "He was here, but…" She tried to get her panic under control, but every moment she couldn't sense him left her dreading the worst.

"Hinata-san…" Juugo's hand was on her shoulder, trying to calm her, but to no avail. She shrugged him off and dropped her head, tangling her fingers into her hair.

Sasuke's dead… Sasuke's dead… Sasuke's…

"NO NEED TO FRET."

"Sasuke is fine."

"What?" Hinata lifted her head at the declaration.

A strange entity had risen from the ground, two large, leaf-like claws on either side with a face in the middle, split half black and half white. "Where is he?" Karin demanded, approaching the strange intruder. "I can't sense him. I was afraid he was…" the redhead didn't finish her sentence.

The black half of the creature spoke up. "SASUKE SURVIVED THE BATTLE AND HAS ALREADY BEEN MOVED TO A SECURE LOCATION."

The weight in Hinata's chest loosened immediately. He was alive. Sasuke's alive. "There was a man. He took Sasuke's body and disappeared."

"YES. YOU WILL MEET HIM SHORTLY. NO NEED TO CONCERN YOURSELVES WITH THOSE THINGS FOR NOW."

"What do you mean, a 'secure location'?" Suigetsu asked.

The white half responded, its voice much softer than the other. "The Akatsuki hideout in the east, along the shore. All of you should head there as well."

"IF YOU REMAIN HERE MUCH LONGER, THE HIDDEN LEAF WILL BE UPON YOU SOON."

"We must get to Sasuke immediately," Juugo agreed. "My birds know the location of which you speak."

"And what about him?" Suigetsu nodded towards Itachi's body.

"WE WILL TAKE CARE OF HIM."

"Kisame, you may want to depart as well." With a lingering glance toward his deceased partner, Kisame nodded once and took off without another word.

Not even seven kilometers off Hinata sensed a hoard approaching. She focused her Byakugan and watched as the familiar chakra signatures pummeled toward them. Neji and Kiba and Shino and Naruto… They were all right there, all coming after him. After her. Her heart clenched, knowing her old teammates and friends were so close. She stared at the destruction around her and part of her ached undeniably for a moment in their presence, a moment away from the dark and chaotic mess of a journey her life had somehow become.

"They're close. Too close to escape my cousin's Byakugan. We have to leave, but we need to hide our chakra signatures." The Odor-Cloaking Pills had lasted until shortly before the end of the Uchiha fight, so their scents barely permeated the landscape as it was, and the rain would wash away what little of their scent was left, keeping them clear of Kiba's nose. Besides that, however, the flames might delay them as well, but not by much, and it certainly wouldn't buy them enough time to run outside of Neji's range. Hinata's heart ached again to know they were so close and yet still so far away.

"I can cloak us all, but we have to stay connected, which will slow us down," Karin announced.

"Not if I carry you," Juugo offered.

"Well I'll need a lift since I can't to do anything else once I suppress my chakra, but surely even you can't carry all of us."

"Karin," Suigetsu demanded, "if I create a mist around us, can you imbibe it with your chakra-cloaking technique?"

Hinata checked on the Konoha squad again. They were even closer now and closing in quickly. She knew the mist technique on its own would not fool her family's dojutsu, but it was their only hope. If Konoha pursued them… No. She shook the thoughts from her head. They'd handle that situation if and when the time came. Until then, there were other matters to focus on. "No time to find out – we have to try," she urged, suddenly anxious to get away. Her gut twisted into unfathomable knots as a voice she'd tried to bury reared its ugly head.

This is betrayal, it hissed. You're running from them again. All you ever do is run.

The girl tried to banish the thoughts from her mind, filling it instead with the only thing that mattered. Sasuke is alive. "Look at you giving orders. Seems our jumpy little mouse has found her voice," Suigetsu mocked. Even so, the boy followed her instructions. "Kirigakure no Jutsu!" A heavy mist settled over them, the rain from the cloud above cutting through it.

"Chakura no Yokusei!" Karin followed. The mist shroud soon became heavy with the suppression technique.

"We'll have to travel closely. Remain inside the mist," Hinata instructed.

"Don't think I'm doing this because you said to, Princess – I only take orders from Sasuke," Karin spat.

Hinata didn't have the strength to argue, but as if to prove a point, Juugo didn't move a muscle, eyeing her steadily through the thickening fog. "Lead the way, Juugo," she instructed, much to Karin's chagrin. The order gained her an approving smile from her two male companions. Without any more hesitation, the orange-haired boy scooped Karin into his arms and moved eastward, the rest of Hebi close on his heels.


As they sprinted, the team could see what Kakashi had spotted from the treetops – a giant storm cloud hovering in the distance. As the team closed in on the location, Kiba's nose picked up Sasuke's scent. Getting closer, the wall of black flames Neji had spotted blocked their path.

"Yamato!" Kakashi shouted.

"On it, Senpai!" The younger jounin leapt ahead, performing a technique that rumbled the ground and split the earth before them in two and allowed the squad safe passage. Everyone sprinted through the fresh tunnel and toward their final destination.

Naruto and the others ran straight up the side of the hideout to its crumbled top. Even though he knew now that the masked man could travel through time and space, Naruto still clung to whatever hope there might be, trying as he might to get to his teammate first. Perhaps he hadn't wanted it badly enough before. Maybe, impossibly, if he wanted it enough now, his wish would finally be granted. As they rounded the final ledge, a scene of utter destruction spread out before them: giant mounds of stone littered the landscape; rubble was strewn everywhere; the perimeter was alight with black flames that were quickly devouring the surrounding forests. But nowhere among all the debris was any sign of Sasuke.

Kiba's nails dug into his palms and his canine's peeked out from behind his quivering lips. The world fell into slow motion, his vision going black around the edges. He sensed Hinata's presence lingering on the destroyed rooftop, slowly but surely being washed away by the pounding rain. The dog boy wondered what any of them had done to deserve such torture. He didn't want to think anymore. "Hinata was here, too. The scent is still faint but..."

"We're too late," Kakashi all but breathed, finishing for the Inuzuka.

A guttural growl emanated from Kiba's throat before ripping forth from it, echoing around the demolished courtyard. Shino approached him, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. Akamaru whined and nudged his human's shoulder with his nose.

"I… I have no words," Shino muttered. "Why? Because I, too, am devastated."

Neji activated his Byakugan and scanned the entire horizon as far as he could manage, searching for even the slightest flicker of chakra, but found nothing, only the blips of birds and other small animals. It was as if the ground had swallowed them all whole, selfishly devouring every last trace of them.

Meanwhile, Naruto's teammates were staring at him, waiting for the blonde's response. The boy gritted his teeth and stared hard at the ground, trying not to let out the roar he felt building in his chest. They'd lost Sasuke. They'd lost Hinata. Again. His tears mingled with the rain running down his face until the pressure in his chest matured into a mighty, uncontainable shout. It rose towards the heavens, his lost friend's name the only thing on his lips.


Sasuke's vision tunneled in on his lap, going blurry around the edges like a faded photograph. He felt dizzy. Despite the few candles lighting the room, everything felt unbearably dark. Something like a black pit had settled into his chest cavity, replacing whatever had been there before. His heart, maybe? The boy felt like a stone had been dropped in his gut. He heaved, unable to breathe properly.

What the man… what Madara had said… it seemed like joke at first. Sasuke didn't want to believe him, but as more of the story unfolded, more things fell into place. Madara told him at the beginning he had no proof other than his word. It was up to Sasuke to determine if he believed the story or not; a story about a world of war, opposing clans, brotherly sacrifices, betrayal, rebellion… And at the very heart: Itachi.

Conflicting images rushed through Sasuke's head, the visions painted by Madara's story blending and clashing haphazardly with his own memories, his own thoughts: Itachi, playing hide and seek; Itachi, holding him by the throat against a hostel wall; Itachi, carrying him on his shoulders; Itachi, silhouetted against the moon; Itachi, sneaking him tomatoes before dinnertime; Itachi, collapsed in a dead, bloodied heap upon the ground.

Itachi…

Itachi…

Itachi…

"Lies…" The word slipped through his lips for what felt like the hundredth time, but the fact remained: Sasuke was alive. The cursed seal and the monster of a man (if one could call Orochimaru a man) that came with it were both gone. And Itachi was dead. Somehow, despite his laundry list of crimes and accomplishments, the man who'd slaughtered his friends, his superiors, his lover, and even his parents in cold blood… that very man had failed to kill his little brother. And, when it was all said and done, had even left him freer than before.

The ropes slipped from around Sasuke's torso and crumpled to the floor in a heap. Madara was within arm's reach now, letting go the boy's restraints. Sasuke pulled his tunnel vision gaze away from his lap and looked into the orange swirled mask.

A knot pulled tight in Sasuke's stomach, his throat threatening to constrict until it closed entirely. Itachi is the enemy, he chanted internally. Itachi is the enemy. The black hole in his chest seemed to grow larger. Sasuke had the strange sensation that he was being swallowed whole.

"For him, your life was worth more than all of Konoha."

Itachi is the enemy…

"Even in death, your brother thought of nothing but you, setting it up to bury his own secret and leave you with not only a new power but a retained belief in the honor of your clan."

Itachi is…

"He made himself into the villain, taking on the task so long as in the end, once you had defeated him and avenged the Uchiha, Konoha would hail you as a hero."

Itachi is…

"Eaten up by disease, Itachi knew his own death was quickly approaching anyway, but he prolonged his life until you were ready to face him. For the sake of his beloved little brother."

Dead.

The word hit Sasuke like no blow he'd ever taken, knocking the wind from him. Suddenly he wasn't looking at Madara's mask any longer. Instead, he was looking at a face he knew better than any other. He saw Itachi in perfect detail: his lined cheeks and raven hair, the strike through his hitai-ate, the smile that crinkled his eyes closed even as blood poured from his mouth. He saw the face not of an enemy, but of a brother. The brother he'd loved and looked up to. The brother he'd spent his entire life chasing after, half in adoration and half in hatred. The brother who'd sacrificed everything to protect him. The brother who'd killed to save strangers and died to make Sasuke a hero.

The brother he'd killed.

"Sorry, Sasuke. This is the last time."

Itachi's last words rang in Sasuke's ears, as loud as if he'd shouted them to the sky. The boy felt the phantom touch of his brother's fingers poking him in the forehead. More memories rushed in, memories of late afternoon lessons and walks through the village and days at the swimming hole. The black hole no longer resided in his chest; it had leaked out into the open and was consuming him entirely. He felt like he was falling, darkness like he'd never known before clawing at him from every angle as the black hole opened up even wider.

Names from Madara's story gripped him. Danzo. Homura. Koharu. A blaze of rage Sasuke hadn't known he could feel so deeply welled within him, turning his vision from black to violent shades of red. He understood hate; he'd grown up on it, fed off of it, thrived because of it. But the hate he knew now, the hate he felt for those who'd forced his brother into exile, who'd offered him up as a sacrificial lamb masquerading as a bloodthirsty lion, was beyond anything he'd felt towards his brother.

Sasuke's hands trembled, his breath coming in sharp, inadequate huffs. The room was too small for what he was feeling. There wasn't enough space for him to process everything Madara had shared. He needed out. Now.

"We're going outside," he said, pulling himself unsteadily to his feet. Without Orochimaru's chakra he could still feel the strain of his incomplete recovery, but he forced his way beyond it.

"Fine," Madara agreed, throwing his cloak back on. "I'm sure your friends will be glad to see you."


It was well after dusk when they finally arrived at the designated location. Though Sasuke had been transported there immediately, it took his team the better part of six hours to make the trek on foot. Hinata had dropped her Byakugan, fearing Karin and Suigetsu's combined technique may not be enough to mask the chakra required to yield her dojutsu. The team moved slowly as they kept to the mist, but without the Hyuuga girl to keep watch or Karin to sense nearby presences, Hebi hadn't dared stop, nor had Karin or Suigetsu dropped their defenses the entire time, everyone fearing pursuit from the Konoha squadron. The entire team was exhausted by the end of their sprint. Suigetsu and Karin both dropped their techniques and subsequently dropped the ground. The sharp-toothed boy took a long glug from his water bottle as the mist dissolved around them, evaporating into the chill night air.

Upon first glance there didn't appear to be anyone around, but Karin and Hinata knew otherwise. "I sense him."

The pale-eyed girl activated her Byakugan, completing a quick scan of their immediate area. She didn't spot a humanoid chakra signature within her entire range. Konoha, wherever they were now, was far behind them. She tried to bury the guilt that began rising up in her, making her chest feel leaden and her mouth taste of copper. They were not her concern, not at the moment. There were other more pressing matters to attend to.

Looking around, Hinata took in her immediate surroundings. They'd made it all the way back to the eastern coast and Hinata couldn't help but feel they'd come full circle. Hebi stood in the midst of a rocky beach, the dark surf crashing devastatingly against the shore. It seemed to threaten them with its foaming, inky waves, each spray clinging to their skin as if the ocean wanted an appetizer before it claimed them for its own.

Tucked into the trees behind them sat a seemingly abandoned sanctuary of some sort. From outside it appeared as if the hideout was nothing more than the small temple itself, overgrown with moss and vines. But it went much deeper than the surface. Hinata trained her Byakugan deep inside the hideout, directing her vision underground. It was a massive space with many rooms, most of them humble or completely bare, but some of them extravagantly decorated. She found Sasuke within moments, seemingly asleep on a small mattress in a room in the very heart of the compound. "I see him." The same man she'd seen taking him away earlier that evening sat quietly in a corner. "But I don't see a way in."

"What do you mean?"

Hinata scanned the entire exterior of the hideout for an entrance but came up empty. "I mean there are tunnels leading to the surface, but they're closed off."

"Then we pummel them in," the redhead asserted. Suigetu's fingers twitched towards his sword optimistically.

Juugo shook his head. "This is an Akatsuki hideout. It's bound to be protected. Smashing in entrances would trigger some sort of preemptory defense."

"Without a member to assist us, we have no way in," Hinata concluded.

"Then what the fuck do we do now?" the other female member of Hebi asked, clearly frustrated but looking directly at Hinata. The other's turned to her as well. Despite Karin and Suigetsu's outward mockery and disregard for her perceived authority only hours before, it was as if somehow, through all of the chaos of their time together, she'd unwittingly become Sasuke's second-in-command. The thought wearied her.

Hinata turned her head briefly to the sky, watching the storm clouds blowing in overhead before approaching the long-forgotten sanctuary, deactivating her Byakugan, and sitting down. "We wait."

Though she didn't seem entirely satisfied with her instruction, Karin didn't argue the point further. Hinata sat on the stoop of the temple with the other members of Hebi, waiting for Sasuke to emerge. Suigetsu and Karin went inside for a while to try and find a way in but returned empty-handed. The girl hugged her knees to her chest, sending chakra pulses into the ground occasionally to make sure Sasuke was still there. The boy stirred after a while and although initially she felt a sudden burst of chakra, the two seemed only to talk. Hopefully, she prayed, there would be no more fighting that day.

The sky above them opened up and raindrops began to fall, first as a sprinkle, then in earnest. It had been a long day. She hadn't yet been able to fully rest after the events of the afternoon, she couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten, and sleep threatened to overtake her, but Hinata refused to give in. She reached out her hand to let the rain kiss her skin, cherishing the way the cold drops kept her alert.

After what felt like forever, Sasuke and the masked man appeared, no longer hidden underground. "Sasuke, wha –" Karin rushed forward to check on him but Sasuke said nothing, pushing past her and walking right up to the edge of one of the rocky outcroppings. Hinata stood from the steps when she felt him pass by. She waited for an explanation. For a greeting. For anything.

When nothing came, Hinata stepped forward to approach Sasuke, heading for the edge of the overlook where he stood. "What do you think you're doing?" Karin asked in a hushed whisper, her voice barely carrying over the sound of the rain. "Can't you tell he wants to be alone?"

Hinata turned towards Hebi so her voice would carry. "Sasuke's asked to be left alone his entire life. It's all he's ever wanted, now more so than ever. But he isn't, and I'm not going to let him continue to isolate himself. His brother just died."

"At his hands. Which is exactly what he wanted."

She turned back toward the Uchiha boy before responding. "Sometimes the things we want aren't good for us, in the end." Hinata stepped forward until she was right up against the edge of the slippery rock, Sasuke at her side. The sea slapped against the shore, spraying her ankles with a mist so cold it rivaled the rain.

The girl reached out her hand, taking Sasuke's in her own and intertwining their fingers. He didn't move to pull her closer or push her away, but his grip on her became viselike, as if he was afraid to let go. Hinata knew what it was like to feel as if you might cease to exist at any moment, to have a need to ground yourself to whatever was closest for fear of losing yourself. She could feel the slight tremble in his limbs, the telltale sign of tears, and knew that although Itachi was dead, something else had changed. Now was not the time for questions, however. They could wait. Now, Hinata knew, was the time for mourning. She held on tighter.

The two stood like that for a long time, even after the others had retreated into the hideout to escape the rain. The downpour was icy, but Hinata didn't feel cold. Sasuke, on the other hand, shook like a leaf, the warmth she so often felt radiating from him completely absent. "Sasuke, we have to get you inside." She tugged softly on his hand, gently urging him toward the temple. The boy didn't resist.

The masked man, whoever he was, had generously left the tunnel at the back of the sanctuary open for them. As the pair stepped across the threshold, the wall closed behind them with a finite grinding sound. Hinata walked carefully, sending out chakra pulses as she stepped and guiding them deep into the hideout, avoiding any pathways that may bring them across their fellow teammates. Luckily it appeared they were all giving the couple a wide berth - she didn't encounter a single one of them.

After travelling several levels down, Hinata guided Sasuke into one of the more humbly furnished rooms in the compound. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to which rooms or wings had furniture and which didn't, but a bed and a few other random furnishings occupied this particular room.

"You should sleep." They had all had a long day, Sasuke especially. If she needed rest, he certainly needed it more. The girl moved to release his hand but found her it trapped in his grip.

"You're going?"

"I…" Hinata hesitated. She assumed he wanted to be alone, at least to rest, but… "I don't have to."

"Don't." His voice was insistent, almost panicked. She'd never heard him in such a way and she at once felt both uneasy at his vulnerability and furiously protective.

"I won't." Her voice was quiet but fierce.

Hinata felt Sasuke's hands near her neck and in a flash a heavy weight fell from her shoulders as he released the clasp on her cloak. It fell around her ankles in a puddle on the floor. His hands were on her then, trailing over her shoulders, her arms, pulling the straps of her pack down and setting it on the ground. He shook all the while, yanking and touching haphazardly. "Sasuke, wha…"

"You're soaking wet," he whispered, his voice low, gruff, and closer than she realized. She felt his fingers, still trembling, as they brushed against her exposed midriff. A trickle of water ran down her spine, dripping from her hair. Although she'd been standing out in a winter rain not long before without any problem, a shiver ran through her now. She heard another heavy object drop to the ground. "I almost didn't come back to you," he whispered, his thumbs running under the bottom hem of her shirt and netting. His voice trembled as violently as his hands, and she wondered if it was the cold… or something more. "I had nothing left and I thought, 'She's going to find me here. She's going to find me dead.'"

Hinata was trembling now, too, from the cold and from his touch and from his words.

"You're cold." Hinata found her words caught in her throat. She could only nod. "Me too." His hands lifted higher, taking her shirts with them, exposing more of her abdomen with hesitant and searching hands. For the first time since she'd come to know him, Hinata found Sasuke to be clumsy in his actions and it suddenly occurred to her that perhaps he had no more experience with any of this than she did. She thought back to how hesitant their initial kiss had been and for the first time wondered if his softness was less caution for her sake and more lack-of-knowledge. Aside from the moment by the fire on their way north, all their intimate interaction thus far had been relatively mild – all mouths and arms and hair and hips. Though their truly intimate moments were few and far between, Sasuke had been more than willing to move on her terms when the opportunities did arise. She wondered now if that wasn't only for her benefit.

"S-Sasuke…" Hinata cursed her stutter, the childish habit rearing its head in such a moment. But the hesitancy in her voice gave him pause.

"I don't… I just…" The boy sounded completely lost. Defeated. His blundering hands flitted around her waist and wrists like a hummingbird around a bloom: always moving, unable to land. "Keep me warm, Hinata. Please."

It was the please that got her. She understood now. His actions weren't about lust or forgetting or using her; he was simply striving for more of what he'd craved while holding her hand. It was about reaching for that undeniable feeling of being grounded when you felt like the world around you might crumble out from under your feet at any moment.

She remembered the feeling of his lips on hers as the desert sun beat down upon their shoulders, their feet dangling over the crater formed in Orochimaru's lair. She remembered the feeling of knowing for the first time that she saw him in a way no one else did, and of realizing that what she saw was a desperately lonely boy who had no idea how to love because he'd never allowed himself to receive it; a boy who could never love her like she wanted him to even if he kissed her like he already did. But, she thought now, things can change. People can change. We've both changed already. Maybe, just maybe… Maybe fumbling limbs meant more than teeth. Maybe trembling fingers meant more than a tight grip. Maybe shaky breaths meant more than pretty words and tears more than half-smiles. Maybe it was the soft touches that meant the most all along. Maybe, maybe, maybe…

Hinata took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "Okay," she conceded. She felt the last lingering touches of Sasuke's hands leave her, and as nervous as they made her she immediately missed him. Her hands gripped the hem of her shirts and lifted the soaking fabric up over her head. Slowly but surely, her wet garments came off, one by one, dropping into the pile at her feet. She felt a momentary flash of heat from the corner of the room and hesitated. Sasuke had never feared the dark, but it seemed he'd chosen this night to try and run it off. Knowing there was even a faint glow to the room now made her feel exposed, but, she reminded herself, this wasn't about her insecurities.

When the girl was down to nothing but her chest wrapping and her underwear, she rang out her hair as best she could, another shiver running through her as water spilled down her back and splashed onto her ankles. Part of her mind assured her that she should be embarrassed for exposing herself in such a manner, but a braver part of her said there was nothing to be afraid of.

Sasuke ruffled through her things and stepped away. She heard the sound of fabric and a zipper being pulled, then his voice. "Come here."

Hinata obeyed, stepping towards the bed where Sasuke had spread out her sleeping bag. She crawled inside, fighting the urge to wrap her arms around herself and hide away. Sasuke crawled in beside her, zipping the bag up behind him. The girl turned to face him and found herself caught in his embrace.

Gingerly putting her own arms around his neck and shoulders, Hinata held him as he buried his face into the crook of her neck, his hands clumsily looking for purchase. Suddenly nothing else mattered: not their state of undress or their current place of residency; not her past or her future; not her failures and weaknesses nor her successes and strengths; not her father; not Itachi; not the man in the mask or Hebi or Konoha. It was only the two of them in the entire world, holding each other, grounding each other, keeping the other from collapsing into whatever void in the universe awaited them.

Hinata soon found despite the dry space her collarbone was wet with what could only be his tears. Sasuke was trembling again and she pulled him closer. "Shh." The girl hushed him, running her fingers through his still-damp hair. "It's okay," she said over and over again though she knew the words were far from the truth. And when those words ran dry and turned her mouth to copper with their falsity, she switched to the only truth she knew in that moment. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

Sasuke shook his head and spoke into her skin, his words muffled and choked by the cry that continued to pour from him. "You were right," he sobbed, his voice carrying in it the sound of a thousand shattered dreams. "You were right."


Hey, friends! I told you all you might be getting this chapter a little early! As I said in my last post, I'm going on a long weekend holiday for my birthday this weekend, but I wanted to get it out so you guys have something to read while I'm away. It's a bit shorter than normal, but I felt like it was substantial. There's a lot going on in this chapter and making it any longer I think would dilute the action that is there. I hope you enjoyed it!

Also, to my darling guest(s?) who has been begging me not to kill Itachi if I can help it, I'm sorry I had to do it. It hurts me, too, but I've had this story plotted out for a LONG time and Itachi's death is a vital part of my plot. I hope you can forgive me as the story continues and you see why his sacrifice was necessary.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe St. Patrick's Day weekend!
Love, Kinsey