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"Either you find a "friendly" way to get Sasuke to open up, or…"
Tsunade's words rang in her head, stinging her already wounded pride. She had been too friendly. She had tiptoed around him when she should've been professional and gotten down to the answers. Answers they all needed. Answers that would have been valuable long before now.
Orochimaru was dead.
Akemi remembered the grim look on Tsunade's face as the Hokage relayed the news to her. It didn't matter that they were dealing with a brooding, secretive, missing-then-found-nin who was highly skilled at keeping his thoughts (and himself) hidden from everyone. It had been Akemi's job, her responsibility, to break through that barrier. And she'd failed.
Ever since leaving the Hokage's office earlier that evening, she had wished it was all a bad dream. But she knew she wouldn't wake up. She knew her disappointment – her failure – was real. Yet, the entire thing felt so unreal…
Orochimaru was dead. Killed by Sasuke.
Maybe a part of her should've felt some glimmer of hope that the Sasuke she knew, the Sasuke she loved…
Wait…loved? The idea stopped her in her tracks. No. She refused to think she still did. Just the other day she had hated him. But the word clung to her like a thick fog. She shook it off, sighed heavily.
…Maybe…Maybe he wasn't lost completely…
Which was why Akemi had summoned enough courage to seek him out again. It wasn't to plead with him. It wasn't to "fix" him. Even though she was out of a job, she could still be a friend. She only hoped it wasn't too late. Tsunade had no doubt sent ANBU after him by now.
She walked dazedly through the dead streets. Her feet knew the way by now. Sorrow filled every decaying storefront, every unlit house. Just like it permeated every part of Sasuke's own home. No, not only his home – his life.
Akemi's eyes wandered upward, searching. She could've sworn she was being watched. Only the moon glared down at her. It was pure white; no warm yellow glow emanated from it to cast out its harsh pallor. A full moon. Identical to the one that had hung in the sky the first time he'd left.
The ghostly light captured so much of her attention she almost didn't realize what was right in front of her.
Bodies. At least a dozen lying in the middle of the street. All of them were ANBU Black Ops members.
Akemi's breath caught in her throat, terror coursing through her. She wondered if this was how Sasuke had felt when he'd seen the aftermath of his clan's massacre. But that had been his family, so it must have been devastating. What she was seeing was nothing compared to that…
A cold blade pressed against her skin, shocking her back to the present. Icy fingers of dread sent a chill down her spine. Her body turned to lead even as her heart raced. His breath warmed the back of her neck, he was standing so close.
She closed her eyes, waiting.
Noting her reaction, and assuming she wouldn't be able to get her voice to work any time soon, Sasuke spoke first. "What are you doing here?"
"That would be easier to answer if you didn't have your sword practically cutting into my neck," she responded vehemently, her voice trembling only slightly.
Well, he was wrong about her losing her voice. She was playing brave again. He slowly sheathed the weapon, allowing her to turn and face him. Even in the dim light his outfit was unmistakable. It was one she'd only seen once before, when she'd confronted him in his own subconscience. She recognized the white kimono and black pants, tied at the waist with the Sound ninja's fashion staple – a purple rope. He was leaving. The fact that Tsunade now knew about Orochimaru's fate gave him the perfect excuse to.
But he wasn't hostile, he wasn't cold, he wasn't moping, he was…She didn't dare want to think it, but he was almost calm. As far as calm went for Sasuke. Whether it was an improvement from last time, or not, she wasn't sure.
"You did this?" she motioned to the mess she now had her back to.
His gaze never left her face. "They're not dead. You didn't answer my question."
"What do you mean, they're not dead? They look pretty dead to me!"
"I had no reason to kill them."
"Even though Tsunade-sama sent them after you?" She knelt beside one of the men, putting two fingers against his neck and, to her surprise, found a pulse.
At that moment she heard a groan from another one about a foot away. Sasuke gave him a swift kick in the head, knocking him unconscious again. He knew he'd have to get out of there soon, before the other Black Ops realized their buddies hadn't yet returned. Or maybe they already had realized, and the Hokage had chosen a different approach…
"Hn." Sasuke regarded Akemi skeptically, but kept his tone even, "Did she send you, too?"
Akemi sighed. If they kept interrogating each other they'd get nowhere. Satisfied that the defeated ANBU would live, she got to her feet. "No. I came on my own. Sasuke…" Needing the contact, needing him to listen to her, she placed a hand on his arm.
Irritation crossed his face. He stared at her hand as if he could make it burst into flames simply by looking at it. "You know I'm leaving."
"I know, but…Why? If you're worried about what they'll do to you –"
"No," he cut her off. "I just have something to care of, that's why." His excuse wasn't enough for her, he could tell. And he didn't care. She wouldn't stand in his way again. "You know you can't stop me."
"But I can try," she shot back stubbornly.
Sasuke smirked. "Fine. Try." His hand went to the hilt of his chokuto. At least this got her to back up.
Her eyes narrowed, watching him closely. She never dreamed she might have to fight him, but she knew just the weapon she was going to use.
As his blade arched towards her, she gathered her chakra, launching off the ground to land on a nearby roof. Their gazes locked across the distance, heated determination pulsing between them. Neither was willing to lose. Akemi noticed Sasuke hadn't activated his Sharingan yet – that could work to her advantage. He wanted to shut her out again, so instead she had to let him in.
Never breaking eye contact, her hands became a blur as she formed the necessary signs. Heat spread from the mark on her neck and through the rest of her body as she thrust everything she had at him. He saw her fiery eyes glow with some kind of inner light…and then it was too late. The effects of her mind jutsu were immediate.
You said you want me out of your life, but I won't leave…Not before I give you a piece of mine.
Sasuke shook his head rapidly, trying to rid his mind of the voices, the memories. It only made them more vivid. Sight blurring, he risked one more glance up at her…She was still crouching on the roof, palms pressed together before her, eyes squinted shut in concentration…Then he was captured by the vision.
This wasn't a collection of jumbled images like Sasuke's memory had been; Akemi had had years to hone her unique skill. She sent him back three years, to the one night that had changed everything.
They were standing in his room, the moon pouring light through the window. His old emotions were dredged up from the past, combined with what Akemi had felt. After all, it was her memory. The combination had the ability to wound like a double-edged sword.
Anger burned within her. Pain choked her, giving her voice the sharp edge he heard in it. "So you'd rather turn your back on everything, everyone? They mean that little to you?" She jabbed a finger at the picture on his shelf.
"I have nothing here. I live for one reason, and one reason only. I need something more than what they can give me," he heard his younger self state. It was cruel to have to push her away like that. But at the time it was the best reason he could give her.
"What about me? Am I nothing to you?" Her plea fell on deaf ears. He didn't look at her. It tore her apart, the feeling of uselessness. Just like it was tearing him apart as the vision grew stronger.
She knew it was futile. He knew she would never understand. She thought his need for revenge was twisted. He thought her constant pleading was weak.
"Don't you realize what they could do to you?" Akemi's quiet voice broke in again.
Sasuke had known. No matter how much he'd be tortured, or how his mind would be tormented, it was the path he'd chosen. His inner turmoil was masked by indifference. "It doesn't matter. As long as it makes me stronger."
Something in her snapped. Sasuke felt the clash of emotions, heated indignation against cold conviction. He was slipping away from her, and it killed her that she couldn't seem to save him from himself. The memory began to reflect her emotions – it was becoming fragmented, wavering. It was hurting her to relive it, too.
His team picture was turned face down.
Hopelessness. "I don't want to lose you. Sasuke, if I could–"
Frustration. "You're not going to change my mind, so you might as well shut up."
The storm broke. Years later he still didn't have an explanation for why it happened. Finally he'd learned to forget it ever did. That was until now, when he was being forced to go through it again…
Everything he couldn't put into words streamed into his kiss – the first one they'd shared. The one Akemi had thought would also be the last. After the initial shock, Akemi melted into him, and took all he entrusted to her. Sasuke was falling, for once not caring, for once letting himself need someone. In response, he sensed hope flare back to life inside her.
Past and present blurred. Akemi assumed she was still caught up in the vision. Yet there was something distinctly different. She felt his hard body press against her, his unyielding lips finally part to brush a kiss over hers. Her lips were warm, teasing. The kiss deepened, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist, her hands tangled into his hair. It was all so vivid, every taste, every texture. They were held together by the thread of a memory.
Akemi didn't know when she'd gone from crouching on the roof to leaning into Sasuke's arms. No, not just that – kissing Sasuke. She didn't want goodbye, she wanted this, him…them. And Sasuke…Sasuke didn't know what he wanted.
Please…
The single word echoed in his head, just before agony shot through him. She felt it ripple out and spread to her as well. Her concentration wavered, and the vision lost its hold on him. Don't forget your purpose – you still have a debt to pay, a different voice hissed at him. He jerked back. In an instant his eyes became cold, hard onyx.
Sasuke shoved Akemi away from him. His power coiled like a snake, ready to strike out if she took him under again. "If that was your attempt to get me to stay, it didn't work," he scowled.
She hadn't meant to open the floodgate and let all those emotions out. "I'm…I'm sorry," still reeling from her own lack of self-control, she stammered an apology. "I figured it wouldn't." When she looked back at him, she saw no forgiveness in his eyes. So she did the only thing she could do.
"I just wanted to leave you with the pain I felt last time you ran out on everyone." It took more willpower than she'd known she possessed to turn away from him. And start walking. One step, then another. She ignored the pain building in her chest.
This time, she didn't have to watch him walk away from her. She didn't have to cry. Akemi told herself that this time, she was stronger.
"If you follow me, I'll know, but I won't do anything to stop you," his voice rang out behind her like another challenge. "Then again, I don't think it's me you need to worry about," he added as an afterthought.
Already he sounded so far away.
Sasuke watched her half turn towards him, glance over her shoulder with eyes that held none of their previous warmth. She smiled, a tight-lipped smile that didn't spread gently across her face. He got another view of her back as the moonlight lit her path away from him.
He took the opposite direction, leading out of Konoha. Into the darkness again.
Maybe if Akemi had looked back, she would have seen the three figures waiting silently for him in that darkness.
But she didn't want him to see her eyes already glossing over with unshed tears.
As much as she tried to be strong, some things never stopped hurting, she thought.
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A/N: Kind of uneventful, but it's just a setup for the rest of it. Sorry I couldn't find a more creative way to say…Orochimaru's dead! The vision Sasuke gets sucked into was taken from one of my previous fanfics, but of course I'm not going to take over my sister's account by posting it. In short, it's what happened between Akemi and Sasuke the night he first left (and yes, it included a kiss). Ok, now review!
