Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto franchise and I make no profit from the writing of this fic.
(AN): Finally coming back to edit a bit more of this.
Edited: October 8, 2017
Onward comrades!
"It's almost unbearable, isn't it… the pain of being all alone. I know that feeling, I've been there, in that dark and lonely place, but now there are others, other people who mean a lot to me. I care more about them than I do myself, and I won't let anyone hurt them. That's why I'll never give up, I will stop you, even if I have to kill you! They saved me from myself, they rescued me from my loneliness, they were the first to accept me as who I am. They're my friends." – Uzumaki Naruko
Naruko's mind fizzled.
What?
There was no way it was real, Naruko decided. It was just an impossibility. Because it only could've been a dream if Sasuke was pinning her down to the bed, kissing her! Teeth nibbled at her lips, making her give another surprised gasp into his mouth.
Sasuke's tongue dove into her mouth, savoring the way she tasted. As far as he was concerned, it had been far too long. Teasing her tongue with his, the Uchiha's wet pink muscle darted along her teeth, dancing over enlarged canines. Naruko finally responded, awkwardly and clumsily, and her inexperience showed as she attempted to wrestle his tongue with her own.
The former Hokage smirked inwardly. They'd have to work on that.
Separating slowly, Sasuke smirked down at the blonde. The girl regarded him through hazy blue eyes, an aroused flush evident on her whiskered cheeks. Tongue darting out to lick at her lips, the girl trailed her gaze down to his mouth.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly as he gave Naruko a lust filled look, and by the way she blushed and lifted a trembling hand to touch her swollen lips, Sasuke knew he was getting under her skin.
"Sasuke…you… what?" Naruko stuttered.
Tangling his fingers through her blonde mane, the Uchiha ignored her confusion and tilted her head back before dropping down to assault her neck. Sucking the hallow of her throat, Sasuke grinned against her skin when she moaned out and locked her hands around his biceps. He left a series of love bits that the Kyuubi healed nearly instantly on her tanned skin, relishing in the ragged pace of her breath.
Sasuke buried his face in Naruko's golden hair and inhaled. Orange shampoo this time, he noted with amusement. Allowing himself to collapse onto her, Sasuke covered her smaller body with his own. Turning his slightly to the side, the Uchiha gently nibbled along the outer shell of her ear.
Naruko took a shocked gasp for air, lungs filling and her chest rose to press her breasts against him, and Sasuke grinned.
"Did you enjoy that, Naruko?" he teased huskily, warm breath washing over the shell of her ear.
Naruko went red, hands coming to rest against his chest. She was unable to decide if she wanted to push him off and end the moment, even though he'd see her embarrassed face, or let him linger and hope the embarrassment heating her cheeks went away.
"I don't have a boyfriend." The blonde mumbled, unable to come up with anything better to say on the spot.
Snorting at the evasion, Sasuke rolled off the blond to lay next to her on the bed.
Naruko tensed immediately, prepared to shoot up and run away until she could form an appropriate response to the way Sasuke had turned her world on its ear.
The Uchiha was having none of it. Reaching out, Sasuke wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her across the bed towards him. Drawing her up so that her back was against his torso, he threaded his fingers through hers and sighed in content.
It'd been several long years since he'd been so ease; since he'd known such simple joy.
"Why are you doing this, Sasuke?" Naruko asked blankly, staring at the wall. His hand over her's was warm, but she tried not to think about it. Some things were too good to be true. It was like she was living one of the embarrassing, heartbreaking dreams she'd refused to tell anyone about.
"Why do you think, Na-ru-ko?" he drawled back, blowing several golden strands from the back of her neck.
Biting her lip, the blonde narrowed her eyes at the wall. "I couldn't say, bastard." She growled. Men were men, so maybe Sasuke thought she was easy, or something like that. Well if so, it was too bad for him.
Uzumaki Naruko had more self-respect than that.
Sasuke laughed, long and low. The heat of his breath brushed over the back of her neck, and Naruko involuntarily shivered. Damn him! How could he do that to her so easily?
"What an insane, mystifying woman." The Uchiha murmured against her ear. "Every moment since we've met, you've spent your time forcing your way deeper and deeper into my soul. Sadness, joy, hate, loyalty, affection. It's your own fault for doing this to me."
Trailing a slow palm over her stomach, Sasuke's expression flashed with wrenching agony before he set his chin on the top of her head. Arms coiled around the blonde possessively.
Naruko trembled, filled with pain and agony and hope.
"I tired of regretting things unsaid." And Sasuke breathed the words he had never taken the time to say in a future gone wrong:
"I love you, Uzumaki Naruko."
Naruko's eyes went wide. And she stiffened like rawhide drawn tight.
Closing his eyes, the Uchiha mentally berated himself for pushing too hard, too fast. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed wearily, then rose to his feet before tossing the blonde a glance with coal black eyes over his shoulder.
"Think about it. I'll be waiting."
Sasuke strode away, padding feet towards the door of Naruko's apartment. The soft click as the door opened and shut was unnaturally loud in the silence. She stared blankly at the wall.
Naruko's mind continued to fizzle.
What in the world was going on?
Everything had tilted. Irrevocably.
Konoha was a lot different than Kiri. The air was warm, the day was clear, and the people didn't huddle in fear. Suigetsu liked it. But that didn't mean he was interested in staying longer than he needed to. He was loyal and determined. He would remake the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist into something greater than they had ever been. It was his dream.
Kirigakure needed hope.
Looming over Suigetsu's shoulder, Juugo took in the streets around them curiously. The sight of children running and laughing as they dodged around market stalls brought a fond smile to the orange haired giant's face.
Juugo's visible contentment made Suigetsu feel slightly bad for him, because it really drove home exactly what kind of person Juugo was.
Volunteering to be a shinobi was probably the worst possible career choice for Juugo. Despite his violent curse, the teen truly didn't like to fight. Trading service as a hired killer for a cage on his inner demon was something he was going to regret, because there would be blood on his hands either way. Juugo didn't have it in him to be an amoral murderer, and becoming one was going to consume him with guilt.
Suigetsu fully expected an eventual mental breakdown. He just hoped the blonde Hokage would figure out that Juugo was never going to be good for anything beside a protection mission before she assigned the guy blacks ops duty.
"And this is the academy…" Sasuke's pink-haired teammate chattered, motioning at a fenced in building.
Suigetsu peered in, watching the little brats scurry about and play ninja. Toy shuriken and dull kunai were standard fare. Some brown-haired kid shouted "I'm the Kyuubi! " and roared dramatically, chasing after his squealing classmates.
They were all too innocent, Suigetsu decided. The scene stirred nostalgia and envy in his chest, and he was reminded indelibly of his own childhood. What with all the toy kunai they'd played with in school before running home to hide from bloodline purges and evening raids against potential political dissenters.
Karin sighed, rubbing at her forehead.
Sending the medic a pitying look, the Uzumaki hoped things would work out for Sakura soon. It was obvious that Sasuke's pink-haired teammate harboured at least a crush on the raven, if not something even stronger. Karin had stepped aside for the princess, since it was obvious to Karin that the person Sasuke wanted to be with was Naruko. But that didn't mean she'd liked doing it, and it was probably going to be even more distressing for Sakura.
Which was a bit of a shame. Sakura was fairly nice. She was smart, skilled, and rather easy on the eyes, if pink hair was what one was looking for. It was too bad for Sakura that the man she wanted to be with desired someone else. Karin fully sympathized.
That didn't mean she'd let the medic get in the way of her cute little cousin though.
Naruko excited Karin in ways she hadn't been excited since she was a little girl. The concept of having a family wasn't a new one, but Naruko was the closest she had ever since her village had been destroyed as a child. Maybe they didn't know one another quite yet, but that was something the chakra sensor intended to remedy.
Trailing after Sakura as they turned away from the Academy, Taka dove back into the busy streets of Konohagakure.
Towering over people as they pushed through the crowd, Juugo brushed a thumb over the ring of orange glyphs tattooed into his right wrist. It was all so surreal. He'd struggled with the curse of his apparent kekkei genkei all his life. And then he'd been taken prisoner by Sasuke's village and been provided a partial cure in less than a month.
So very dreamlike. And so very infuriating. Juugo had wasted years of his life as one of Orochimaru's lab experiments, praying for release. The old snake had smiled at him and offered him cheap platitudes. 'We're working on a cure' he thought sarcastically. 'I feel close to a break through, yeah right!'
Taking a calm gust of air, the teen blew from his nose with a sigh. It's not like it mattered any longer. Orochimaru was dead at Sasuke's hand. Juugo couldn't criticize Kimimaro for his choices in life, but he couldn't help but wonder what had been going through his friend's mind when he pledged life and soul to the Hebi Sennin.
Sakura pulled the group into a small wooden shack nestled between two larger non-descript buildings.
Dragging a struggling Suigetsu through the open doors, Sakura grit her teeth as the Kiri-nin shouted "Hey! Get your hands offa me!" The medic scowled before lifting a fist. "Be polite or I'll bash your head in!"
Coming to back up Sakura, Karin glared at Suigetsu. "Sakura-chan is taking the time to show us around. At least you could try and keep your mouth shut!"
He merely rolled his eyes.
Juugo sniffed the air. It was full of the scent of… ramen?
A brown haired girl bustled over to their party. "Good afternoon! Welcome to Ramen Ichiraku!"
Smiling back, Juugo deliberately ignored the splash that alerted him to Suigetsu getting a fist through one part of his body or another.
The waitress eyed the bickering trio before grinning at Juugo. "I'm Ichiraku Ayame, and I'll be serving you today. Feel free to take a seat anywhere and take a look at our menu." Puttering away, the girl darted behind the counter and began to speak to an older man in low tones.
Dragging his eyes from the admittedly pretty brunette, Juugo scanned the restaurant before blinking in surprise at a familiar pale face. "Sasuke?" he called, striding over to sink onto the stool next to the Uchiha.
Sasuke grunted in reply, sliding dark eyes over to acknowledge the giant before they shot down to gaze into his bowl as if it contained the mysteries of the universe. He poked at a fishcake with his chopsticks.
"Save me dear leader!" a voice cried. Suigetsu retreated from the redhead-pinkette duo, taking cover on the other side of Sasuke.
Following closely, Sakura blinked at Sasuke in confusion. As far as she was aware, Sasuke never liked ramen. The only person who really enjoyed ramen more than once in a while that she knew was Naruko. Sakura crossed her arms and hovered next to Juugo for lack of a better thing to do.
Karin clapped her hands and sent Sasuke a sly look. There was no physical evidence on Sasuke that said he had gotten anywhere with her little cousin yet. "What are you doing here, Sasuke?" She left the end of her question unsaid. What are you doing here, Sasuke, when you could be somewhere else with Naruko?
Slowly Sasuke wrapped a mass of noodles around his chopsticks and lifted it to his mouth. Biting down on the salty noodles, Sasuke munched on them at an unhurried pace. The clock seemed to tick until he finally swallowed and spun around in his seat. The Uchiha gave Karin a flat look, face entirely expressionless as he deadpanned "I'm eating while I get to enjoy the entertainment of you and Suigetsu attempting to resolve your unresolved sexual tension in ways that are beside the entirely obvious."
Juugo snorted with laughter, covering his mouth with one large hand as he muffled his chuckles. Suigetsu sputtered indignantly at the Uchiha, unable to string together a sentence in rebuttal. Spinning to stare at Sasuke, Sakura gaped in disbelief. Sighing, Karin just readjusted her glasses before kicking out at Suigetsu.
"Hey!" the Kiri-nin shouted, leaping away from the violent redhead.
"She's being tsundere, Suigetsu." Juugo advised in a sage voice, hand coming up to stroke a non-existent beard. "You need to push harder to get to her soft, affectionate side."
Eyes bulging, Suigetsu glared at Juugo before splashing into a puddle of water on the tiled floor.
Karin's eye twitched, and she turned to lunge at the orange-haired teen. Leaning back, the teen dodged her swinging fist and guffawed even harder.
Sasuke rose, face bland as he abandoned his bowl. Giving a short nod to the group, the Uchiha turned to face Sakura. "Remember. When you're done showing them around they can stay in one of the homes in the Uchiha Compound. The main house is off limits." Tracking his eyes over to Juugo, Sasuke finished "You will be responsible for cleaning and upkeep of whichever home you choose."
Then Sasuke was drifting away, stepping out the front doors and vanishing into the crowd. Attempting not to disturb the suddenly pensive group, Ayame quietly retrieved Sasuke's half-empty bowl of ramen and slunk back into the kitchen.
Suigetsu stared after the Uchiha with a frown, before rotating to regard the others. Jerking a thumb at the entrance, the Kiri-nin asked the question that they were all wondering. "What's eating him?"
Karin bit her lip, eyes narrowing in comprehension before she blinked them shut and focused. A sense of other filled her, and the world behind her eyelids lit up in a burst of colour. Casting her sense out like a net, Karin's Kagura Shingan sought out a vaguely familiar fountain of chakra.
Locking onto the warm and bright, but rather confused signature, the redhead smiled grimly.
The first thing he noticed when he woke up was how thick and numb his tongue felt. Squinting teal eyes at the sterile white ceiling, Gaara pressed a palm to his pounding forehead and winced. He rolled his head to the side, the Kazekage wincing at the painful pull of stiff neck muscles. Peering blearily at a smudge of yellow and black that fiddled with a red bar, he croaked "Temari?"
Temari jumped, dropping the sealed tube missive from the Hokage. Snatching the cylinder from the air before it could hit the ground, she dropped it on the bedside table and leaning forward to stare into her brother's dazed eyes. "Hey brat." She murmured fondly, reaching up to give an absent stroke to his frazzled red strands. "You need anything?"
The Kazekage seemed to struggle with himself before wheezing in a dry voice "Water."
Her brother coughed harshly, the sound ragged, and Temari hurriedly grabbed a glass of water from the beside table. Frowning at the lukewarm temperature, she eyed her gasping younger brother before frowning.
The blonde slid her palm under Gaara's head and lifted it into a more vertical position. Pressing the glass to his lips, she slowly poured the precious liquid into his mouth. Gaara gulped greedily, and when he finished the glass she set it back down and released the back of his skull.
Rubbing his eyes, Gaara licked his lips before pinning his sister with an inquiring stare. "What has happened while I've been asleep?"
Temari looked back at him before sighing and shaking her head. "Stubborn brat." She mumbled. "Okay. So from what I've heard the last thing you remember is getting into a fight with one of the members of Akatsuki?"
Nodding slowly, the Kazekage waited for her to continue.
"Right. So after you fainted, Deidara flew off. The village was fine, I guess he was out of explosives or something." The blonde amended as the redhead gave her a panicked look. "So anyway, he flew off and you passed out. Kankuro had you sent to the hospital and told Baki to write a message about it to Konoha. Then he went to see the Honoured Siblings."
Pushing himself into a sitting position, Gaara leaned back against a mound of pillows before motioning for her to hurry it along.
"He wanted her advice about how to deal with her grandson. Akasuna no Sasori."
Silence hung like a pall after the statement, Gaara's face pensive. "I see." He whispered. "Kankuro is still alive?"
Temari grinned "Alive and unhurt, the little bastard."
Smoothing down a wrinkle in his white hospital gown, Gaara closed his eyes before shaking his head. "Bring him to me." The Kazekage ordered.
"Okay…" his elder sister trailed, before rising and leaving the room.
Minutes ticked by until a sprinting set of stomping feet echoed down the hall. Kankuro dashed around the corner, stopping short at the sight of his conscious sibling. Gaara snapped his fingers with an annoyed expression and pointed at the chair Temari had recently vacated. "Sit." he commanded.
Snapping out of his daze, Kankuro strode over and sunk into the seat. Temari rolled her eyes before leaning against the wall next to the door and folding her arms.
"Tell me about Akasuna no Sasori. Start with what happened after you met the Honoured Siblings."
Kankuro blinked before glaring at Temari over his shoulder. "You shouldn't have told him already! He needs to rest." The brunette hissed.
Miming a fist, Temari sent her brother a homicidal smile.
Paling, Kankuro snapped back to his less-murderous brother. "Right. So after I met those two and told them that I was going to go after Sasori, Elder Chiyo insisted on coming with me after him. She wouldn't take no for an answer. The two of us packed up and left everything for Baki to handle so we could chase him and Deidara down."
Digesting his brother's decision for a moment, Gaara chewed the inside of his cheek before sighing "Are you an imbecile, Kankuro?" Kankuro flushed and opened his mouth to retort. The redhead cut him off, "You decide that you're going to head out alone to chase after two S-ranked nukenin with nothing more than a retired old woman for back up?" the Kazekage rubbed his temples before indicating for Kankuro to continue.
"We tracked them through the desert, only to find out that they had met up with Kakashi's team." Gaara's eyes cut towards the brunette. Kankuro scratched the back of his neck, purple face paint twisting as he grimaced. "Kakashi, Sakura, Naruko, and two other guys that I've never met before."
"Naruko and one of the new guys, Sai were gone off chasing Deidara when we showed up. Yamato, the other new guy, convinced Sasori to back off and go do his thing. Me and Chiyo didn't know this-"
Gaara interjected absently "Chiyo and I."
Snorting in amusement, Kankuro continued sheepishly "So we kind of started the fight back up."
"I can give you more details later, but let's just say that by the end of it Naruko and Sai had come back and helped us beat Sasori." Running a hand through his sweat-dampened locks, Sabaku no Gaara continued his interrogation "And what next?"
Kankuro was silent, staring very intently at the tiled floor. Narrowing his eyes, Gaara prodded "Kankuro."
The puppeteer's mouth pinched as if he had bitten into a lemon. "Before he died, Sasori answered a couple of questions from Kakashi's squad. Turns out that Orochimaru was dead. Apparently that Uchiha killed him."
Tapping an impatient finger on the metal rail of his sick bed, Gaara exhaled. "I knew that already."
"I kinda guessed you did." His brother agreed. "It was a pretty big surprise for Konoha's squad though. What really bit them in the ass was that according to Sasori, Konoha had already taken Uchiha into custody and was going to put him on trial while they were gone."
"What was the official reason Konoha was sending Kakashi's team to Suna?" The redhead asked after a moment of thought.
Shrugging in reply, Kankuro glanced over at the red tube on Gaara's bedside table. "They said it was to deliver a message. That one actually."
Wordlessly, Gaara held out his hand for the container.
Kankuro pressed it into his hand, and the Kazekage shattered the security seal on the tube with a hand seal. Pulling out a tightly rolled cylinder of paper, Gaara unraveled it with a crinkle. Teal eyes scanned the characters written on the page, taking in the vague information regarding the capture of a criminal and a request for the Kazekage to delay Team Kakashi's departure by several days, citing concerns of a disruption in legal proceedings.
Lowering the page with a pitying expression on his face, Gaara palmed his eyes before sighing. "You have done a very stupid thing, Tsunade." The redhead breathed before turning back to his brother. "And what happened to Team Kakashi?"
"Ahh, well that's a story." Kankuro muttered. "Once they heard Sasuke was going on trial the morning after, Naruko and Sakura were ready to run back to Konoha. I don't think Kakashi would have been far behind them. Yamato insisted they complete the mission of delivering that scroll to you personally. I don't know why I wasn't good enough for him to hand off to…"
"It was probably because the purpose of the mission was to keep Team Kakashi out of the village while Uchiha Sasuke was on trial." The Kazekage informed him softly.
Nodding, Kankuro agreed "Makes sense, I suppose. That Sai kid volunteered to take the scroll here and let the rest of them head back to Konoha before anything too serious happened though. We all kinda pressured Yamato into agreeing." The brunette scratched his nose sheepishly. "The excuse we decided on for splitting the team was that you wanted Sai and Yamato to stay behind a day or two."
"That was a good choice." Gaara praised, his thumb brushing over the scroll in his lap. Rolling the page up, the Kazekage stuffed it back into the tube and passed it to his brother. "Destroy that. We have work to do."
Swinging his legs to the side, Gaara pushed himself to his feet against his siblings' protests. "I am the Kazekage. Do as I say." The redhead mumbled petulantly.
"Bring me the team members from Konoha who stayed behind." The memory of gold four-pointed stars flickered though his mind. "And prepare correspondence to Jiraiya of the Sennin on my behalf."
Konoha was being monumentally stupid if they thought he would side with them over his friend.
Sasuke stood alone.
Wind rustled through raven strands, sending them slightly askew as he waited. Blinking up at the full moon, he tracked his eyes across the sky and took in the stars. Gliding forward, he melted out of the trees and took in the bubbling brook and the wide empty meadow beyond.
Green grass stained dark blue in the night, stretching away into the horizon. Crouching next to the stream, he stared at his reflection. A pale face stared back, slightly weary but written in a sense of hidden peace. The tiniest hint of softness hovered at the back of coal black eyes.
The aqueous mirror rippled away into darkness as he dove his hands into the water and cupped a handful. Bringing his hands to his mouth, the Uchiha took a small sip. Delightfully cool water slid down his throat, trickling into his stomach as he slowly consumed the water. He dipped his hands back into the stream, bringing up another handful of water to splash onto his face.
Sasuke rubbed any traces of dirt from his skin before peering about. Shrugging at the absence of any other person, the Last Uchiha stripped and lunged into the stream. Icy cold shocked his system, making him suppress the instinct for a startled gasp. Surfacing, Sasuke snatched a handful of sand from the bottom of the stream and rubbed it into his skin.
He cleaned his body until his skin was red from the force of his ministrations. Feeling blessedly clean, Sasuke dunked his head under the water and kneaded through raven strands. He worked out any knots he could find, before surfacing and looking about. Still, there was no one. Rising from the stream, Sasuke sucked in a gust of air at the renewal of the chill on his skin.
Shaking his hair out, droplets of water flew from his untangled a hand through his hair, Sasuke shook out as much excess moisture as he could before staring back into the trees. The Uchiha remained still until the warm summer night dried his naked body. Pulling his clothes back on, Sasuke sunk to the ground and rolled onto his back.
Folding his arms behind his head, he gazed up at the stars and waited for Naruko.
He would not see her again for six months.
His single visible eye burned in the darkness.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed of his cell, Danzo continued to turn scenario after scenario over in his mind. He still failed to see how he could retain his stolen kekkei genkai without leaving Konoha. And Shimura Danzo would never leave Konoha. But what if he were to-
The door to his cell slid silently open, a rabbit masked woman creeping inside and sliding the door shut behind her. The ANBU agent leaned against the wall and held her breath, turning her face away from the door. Her black uniform seemed to vanish into the dense shadows the hovered in that particular corner of his prison.
Two masked men walked by, muttering quietly to one another. One sent an absent, cursory glance over his shoulder into Danzo's cell. The elder's single visible eye stared back. Shrugging, the pig-masked man turned to his companion and whispered something that made his partner give a sharp bark of laughter. The pair disappeared down the hall, leaving Danzo and the ANBU kunoichi alone.
The elder's eye shot back across the room to pin the woman with a glare. The woman gave another peer out into the hall before whipping back to face him, dark brown waist-length hair streaming. She crossed the room slowly, kneeling down before him and touching the part of her mask where the rabbit's mouth was carved.
"We are the Foundation that supports the village." She whispered.
"We are the ROOTs that grow in the dark." Danzo replied, his voice a low rumble.
Reaching into her pocket, the woman drew forth an ink pot and a brush and held them out to the elder. Danzo took them after a moment, noting the contrast between his tanned left arm and his ghostly pale right. Setting the tools aside, the elder motioned at his neck. "It is time." He ordered. Giving her commander a short nod, the ROOT member's hand lit up with a dull blue glow of chakra.
The chakra seal branded into the elder's neck unraveled painfully slowly. The two dared not hurry for fear that the higher use of chakra inherent in forcing a faster deconstruction would be noticed.
Minutes crawled by until finally Danzo felt the internal snap the signified the restoration of his access to chakra.
Rising to his feet with an air of dignity, Danzo watched with detached interest as the partially closed eyelids over the Sharingan implanted in his arm fluttered open. Empty black orbs stared at nothing, until they suddenly flared red and sprouted a circle of tomoe. The red doujutsu twitched, and the Shimura felt the burn in his right eye socket that told him Shisui'simplanted eye beneath his bandages was reactivated.
Nodding at the ROOT member, he silently motioned her to take a look back into the hall.
As the woman stepped out of the confined room and peered down both directions, Danzo formed a slow series of hand seals and concentrated. Branches grew from the milky flesh of his right arm with a creak, coiling into a pile of wood on the floor.
The growth of timber ended, and the mass of living wood quivered before drawing itself up and slowly forming into human shape. Colour flooded in, and Danzo studied his Moku Bunshin. The clone nodded at him before laying down on the bed and staring up at the ceiling.
Danzo picked up the inkpot, unscrewing the lid and dipping the brush into the dark liquid. Drawing the wet brush out, he pressed the slimy tip to the skin of his clone and began to swiftly trace out a series of arcane symbols.
He moved with the speed of a master, painting out and activating the seals with a burst of chakra. The clone nodded again, signifying the success of him sealing its access to chakra. Danzo internally relished in the feeling of relief. He hadn't been sure that the seals would take, or that if they did, there was a chance the wood clone wouldn't have the necessary chakra to sustain its existence.
Shoving the ink brush and pot into his pocket he stood and turned to face his subordinate. The woman silently reached under her cloak and pulled out a fold of dark cloth. Danzo shook the cloth out, revealing a satisfactorily sized standard ANBU-issue cloak.
Pulling on the cover, Danzo pushed his arms through the sleeves before snatching up the proffered set of black gloves. Shoving the gloves on, Danzo inspected them quickly. The glove on his right fully hid the abnormally pale colouring of the skin of his right arm, and the glove on his left matched its counterpart.
Looking at the mask the woman then offered him, Danzo nearly snorted at the irony of it all.
The monkey mask.
Hitching the mask onto one of the hooks sewn into the side of the cloak, he turned back to face his clone. Reaching up with his right hand, the elder pulled the bandages wrapped around his face up and revealed the Sharingan implanted there.
Uchiha's Shisui's eye spun into a four point shuriken. Kotoamatsukami slid into the brain of his clone, laying down the foundation for the false experiences he would implant there later. Dropping the bandages back down over his suddenly aching implant, Danzo grabbed the monkey mask and pressed it over his face.
Drawing the hood of the cloak over his head, Shimura Danzo turned and left the cell.
Kakashi sat on his couch, feet propped up on his chabudai and turned another page of his green covered was too bad, he decided mournfully, that none of his cute little students could experience the glory of the Icha Icha series.
The door of his apartment squeaked open, sliding shut softly. The silvery-haired jounin ignored the scuffle as his guest dragged a worn chair from the kitchen table. His guest plopped the chair on the other side of his chabudai, sinking down into the rickety piece of furniture. Kakashi silently turned another page.
"I need your help." Sasuke interrupted after growing bored of waiting for the Hatake to acknowledge him.
Snapping the book shut, Kakashi slid it into his kunai pouch and regarded Sasuke with all seriousness. Sasuke asking for help was something that happened so rarely that it was almost guaranteed to be a severe issue.
The Uchiha stared back at him with coal black eyes before tugging on the stiff collar of the flak jacket he was wearing.
Feeling a stab of pity, Kakashi couldn't help but wonder what could have driven the boy to wear his dead father's uniform.
"What I am about to tell you is classified information." Sasuke stated bluntly, and Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. Deciding not to contain his curiosity, the jounin nodded for the teen to continue. "It regards the truth behind the Uchiha Clan Massacre."
Steeling himself with a deep breath, Sasuke leaned forward. "Uchiha Itachi killed my family under the orders of the Council of Konoha."
Kakashi jerked in shock, his foot dropping onto the floor with a heavy thump. Watching his reaction with a morbid kind of amusement, the Uchiha continued. "In order to end generations of discrimination my clan suffered, which only intensified after the Kyuubi attack, my father planned a coup d'eat against the Sandaime Hokage."
Rubbing suddenly clammy hands together, Kakashi attempted to form a response. "When negotiations went poorly, the Inner Council ordered Itachi to kill the entire clan. Itachi followed his orders, but was unable to kill me. Instead, he became a nukenin and blackmailed the Council for my safety."
"Why are you telling me this?" The jounin croaked. The self-depreciating smile Sasuke sent him turned Kakashi's stomach. "So that they cannot kill the truth. If I disappear, I doubt even the Hokage would raise the issue of the truth. My death would negate any gain from it. As a respectable jounin, if you bring forth accusations of conspiracy and murder, there are many who would listen to you. Plus, I may need to involve you in the game of politics, if you are willing."
"Why aren't you telling Naruko and Sakura about this?" Kakashi shot shrewdly at the raven.
The look Sasuke sent him in reply was incredulous. "Sakura and Naruko might be ninja, but they're still too innocent in regards to the dirty business behind Konoha. I'd rather allow them to keep it a little longer."
Playing Devil's Advocate, Kakashi retorted "Doesn't that hurt them in the long run? Especially since Naruko wants to be the Hokage." Noticing the way Sasuke's eyes darkened at the mention of becoming village leader, Kakashi filed the information in the back of his mind for later.
"Because Sakura is too unimportant to have anyone after her at the moment, and Tsunade is backing her. I'm sure the Godaime will eventually give her some form of tutoring on the subject."
Kakashi nearly drew back at the sudden vicious intent that flooded the Uchiha's expression.
"And if Naruko has any political enemies, I will personally destroy them."
"That might not net you any friends." Kakashi pointed out, unable to formulate anything else at the moment.
Sasuke's face went colder than death. "If anyone else tries to hurt Naruko, I'll slaughter everyone they ever cared about."
The declaration was ringing, and left Kakashi staring at the Uchiha's vacant chair long after he left the apartment.
Naruko was staring into an untouched bowl of ramen when the door burst inward.
Whirling into the room with all the fury of a hurricane, Karin pointed an accusing finger at the blonde. Naruko was gaping at her in shock as Karin howled "What did you do to Sasuke-kun?"
Her mouth snapped shut, face blushing bright red as she stuttered "I.. uh… he…"
Ignoring her distant relative, Karin brushed red strands from her face before calmly shutting the door. "Now that the obligatory pissed off response is taken care of, I want you to tell me why exactly Sasuke was moping about at a ramen stand after he chased after you."
"Where are your friends?" the blonde deflected, and the redhead rolled her eyes at the obvious attempt before humouring the girl.
"They're setting up their rooms at the Uchiha Compound," Karin answered as she pulled out a chair at the kitchen table and sat across from Naruko. "I blackmailed Suigetsu into getting mine ready." She prefaced when Naruko's mouth opened again.
"Now, tell me what went on." She ordered, sending Naruko a stern look over her folded hands.
"Nothing at all." Naruko mumbled in reply, looking over at the fridge.
A slow smirk curled onto the redhead's lips. "Did he kiss you?" she teased, blinking in shock when Naruko's flush intensified and the younger Uzumaki shouted "No!"
Silence greeted her statement until Karin broke it by bursting out laughing. "He did, didn't he?" The older girl leaned forward and seized the younger girl's hands. "You're so lucky!" Karin squealed. "How was it? Did you like it? How many times did you do it? What did he say?"
Naruko tore away from Karin's grip and covered her face with her hands. Karin's excited outburst trailed off.
Sighing, Karin palmed her forehead and set her glasses on the table. "What went wrong?"
"He didn't mean it. He couldn't have." Naruko whispered through her fingers.
The slam of Karin's palm on the tabletop was deafening. "Bullshit!" the redhead declared. "Sasuke doesn't do things like that he doesn't mean!"
"But there's no way! Not someone like me! Because I'm a-" Naruko choked off, almost spilling her secret.
The gesture was pointless.
"Because you're a jinchuuriki." Karin stated quietly.
Wide eyes stared at the redhead, and Naruko breathed in shock "How did you know?"
Snorting, Karin tapped the wooden surface with a long nail. "I'm a chakra sensor, and I've met jinchuuriki before. Your chakra has a different tinge to it compared to normal people, no matter who you contain. That said, I don't know why you have that ridiculous theory though. I've seen you. You have lots of friends, people respect you, and no one is screaming at you in the streets calling you a monster."
"It's not the same!" a frustrated blonde shouted.
"It's exactly the same! I swear, all you jinchuuriki are the same. Yeah, I know you had a hard life. I know you grew up without friends. But that doesn't mean that people can't see past that. If your friends can see past what you contain and want to befriend you, what makes you think a man can't and want to love you?"
Rising to her feet, the pitying glance the redhead gave the dumbstruck Naruko was particularly stinging. "It's up to you. But I'd advise you to get your head on straight. Sasuke might not wait around forever."
She left a silent Naruko alone, long forgotten bowl of ramen gone cold.
Sasuke wandered the long empty halls of his childhood home.
Quietly flitting from room to room, the Uchiha cleaned out the accumulated dust.
Shaking the living room mat out in the backyard to remove the dirt, Sasuke pondered his next move.
As he stepped back inside, Sasuke slid the back door shut on the chirping of the crickets in the night and padded back through the public sitting room.
Slipping into the private family living room, he dropped the tatami to the floor, Sasuke kicked it back into place before taking a deep breath and preparing to enter the room he'd been avoiding all night.
His parents' room was stained in blood, or at least it was in his mind.
Suppressing the urge to gag, Sasuke threw open the bedroom's door to the outside and begun to sweep through the room. He deliberately avoided thinking about the dark stain on the wooden floor at the far end of the room, and about wondering whether it was an aged water stain or one left from a soaking in of blood…
Shaking the morbid thoughts from his mind, Sasuke strode over and yanked open the door to his parents' closet. The Uchiha fumbled through the nostalgic collection of clothes, forcing himself to consider everything with an impartial eye. He selected a few of his father's yukata, preferring the darker coloured ones that had lighter embroidery. Going to shut the door, Sasuke paused before turning back to dig through the clothing again. Drawing forth a few of his mother's yukata, Sasuke chose those with bright colours and set them on the bed, especially those with hints of orange.
His brother's room was painfully easy to clean. It was nearly entirely devoid of personal effects besides a pair of small picture frames on the bedside.
Sasuke glided over to the frames, examining their contents curiously. One held a photo of their family. Fugaku's face was stern and proud, one hand wrapped around his wife and the other set on Itachi's head. Mikoto smiled happily, both arms curled around a baby Sasuke. Itachi mimicked his father's expression nearly perfectly, save the touch of softness around his eyes.
The other frame was blank, and Sasuke's brow furrowed. He struggled for a small moment before smiling bitterly. That frame had contained a picture of him and Itachi, the younger brother piggybacking onto his elder sibling's back. The two had smiled contently for the camera. Somehow Sasuke knew that Itachi would carry it in his pocket for the rest of his life, pulling it out on dark nights to remind him what he was fighting for.
Sasuke knew the moment the intruder stepped onto his property, familiar feel of chakra leashing towards his own. Spinning in place, Sasuke drifted from the room. Each step he took down the hallway seemed heavier and heavier, and the Uchiha struggled to come up with a way to deal with the new development.
He met the intruder in the kitchen, sending the man a short nod before stepping around him and filling a teapot with water. The man stood uncertainly in the middle of the room, until Sasuke sent him a blank look over his shoulder. "Sit down." He ordered curtly, turning back to tend to the pot.
The man stiffly obeyed, and the two lingered in a tense silence until the teapot shrieked with boiling water.
Lifting the pot from the stove, Sasuke poured two cups of tea. Picking both up, he strode over to the table and handed one to the man. The man sipped immediately, and Sasuke raised a brow at the man's gesture of pure trust.
The Uchiha took in the man's mud-splattered and ragged appearance skeptically.
Sitting in quiet, the two sipped their tea. The man finished first, setting the cup down and folding his hands on the table. Sasuke mirrored the motion a minute later, fixing his houseguest with a blank look.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
The man smiled faintly in reply. "I've always kept tags on you. I'll admit, it was a setback not to be informed by my former ally that you had been taken, but nothing I could not overcome."
Sasuke snorted.
"You've ruined a lot of my plans, Sasuke." The man admonished softly, voice chiding. Sasuke rolled his eyes in reply before sending a muted glare at the man.
"Your plans were foolish and would have achieved nothing." Sasuke declared bitterly.
The man's face was blank, and only slowly rising eyebrows marked his surprise.
"I'm curious as to how you found out that I knew everything anyway." Sasuke muttered.
The man's smile turned sardonic. "You need to be more cautious, Sasuke. I overheard you at Kakashi's. You're lucky I found Danzo's maggot and disposed of him before he could get anywhere."
The Uchiha laughed. "That's unlike you."
"I do what I must." The man declared resolutely.
Sasuke's voice was bitter, and his eyes narrowed. "What you must?" he hissed. "What you did was idiotic. There were so many things you could have done differently. But you were always one to follow orders rather than think for yourself."
Shaking his head in slow denial, Sasuke's voice lowered to a whisper. "I'll admit that what I've done has been my own choice, but I won't deny your part in it. Because of the circumstances you chose, I spent eighteen years having lost everything I ever loved. It is only through the desperation of a bijuu that I sit before you now, twenty five years old in my sixteen year old body, trying to save what I care about before I lose it a second time."
Twin pairs of coal black eyes met, and swirled into twin pairs of red orbs that stared into one another.
"Let us speak frankly, Itachi."
(AN): Yeah, I'm a complete bastard for taking so long. 7200 words this time.
"Sasuke was accepted back too easily by his team."
"The motivation about his old team is pretty different. Team Seven, even in canon, seems to be a totally dysfunctional group. Sakura, despite Sasuke running away, becoming an international criminal, complete monster, and trying to kill her, STILL LOVES HIM. Kakashi, despite everything Sasuke has done, still feels that Sasuke is his precious student and struggles to maintain the resolve needed to kill him (which is something even Sarutobi Hiruzen struggled with). And Naruko of them all is the worst. Sasuke shoves a hand through his chest, routinely berates his beliefs, tries to kill his team mates, tries to kill Naruko, becomes a criminal, decides to murder an elder, and makes plans to kill everyone in Konoha, including all of Naruko's friends and Naruko himself, and Naruko still considers Sasuke his friend. Even best friend maybe. Basically, Team Seven is all fucking crazy. Turn Naruko into a girl who has fallen in love with Sasuke too and it gets even more dysfunctional. But Sasuke doesn't do most of those things. He eventually kills one of the village's greatest enemies, passes on vital information to Konoha, and acts like a rather decent guy instead of a complete asshole. So Team Seven is going to welcome him back with even more fervor, if possible. And while yes, Sasuke's betrayal might come back to haunt over his relationship with his team, it's not strong enough to overcome such insane attachment."
