The first time the ninja stopped was at mid-day. Thirst had become a bit too hard to ignore, and they chose to stop for a short amount of time, drink some water, and get a little food in their stomachs. Tensions ran high and no one was much for conversation at the present time.
Well.
No one except a certain 7-year-old.
She'd awoken fully a couple hours before, but had still remained in Kakashi's arms for the duration of their travelling. And after immediately waking, she'd tried to take off the cloak, complaining about the heat after being conscious for no more than 30 seconds.
It was an understandable complaint, Sasuke supposed, as the heavy summer heat was all but suffocating them in their own clothes. After Katahana had wriggled her way out of her cloak—quite a feat while still managing to keep on arm wrapped around Kakashi's neck as he moved—a few others did the same, not knowing why they hadn't done so sooner.
"Aren't you hot?"
Sasuke peered up at the girl from his spot on the ground. He sat off to the side, under the shade of a low-hanging tree, sharpening a couple of kunai. He'd been the only one so far who still wore his heavy cloak. After acknowledging her with a look, he continued his task.
"Hello?" she called a little too loudly, holding out the word much longer than necessary, tilting her head to the side as she watched Sasuke work.
"Hm?" he didn't lift his eyes. But he did notice her lean toward him slightly, her hands on her hips.
"Ewww," she giggled, pinching her nose with her fingers. "See? You smell 'cause you're all sweaty."
Sasuke faultered in his movements, almost slicing a finger open in the process. Frowning he looked up at the child who stood before him, grinning mischievously.
"You stink," she said once more, waving a hand in front of her nose exaggeratedly. "You should probably take that off." As she poked his shoulder with a pointed finger, he couldn't help but watch as one of his teammates stared in shocked, jaw dropped.
It was the taijustu expert, Rock Lee—he'd just finished packing his own cloak into his bag when he looked up and watched the child poke him.
Sasuke was about to glare at the man before he realized that he'd never seen the two interact before. In fact, most of the ninja surrounding him hadn't seen him speak to Katahana once. They were probably all paying close attention to the two—although none of them being very obvious about it (except for Lee that is).
He grimly wondered if they were afraid of something happening to her while in his presence. A few of them hadn't made it a secret that he still wasn't welcome. They still saw him as a criminal after all these years, but Sasuke couldn't be mad about that. He was the one who brought it all upon himself.
Revenge will do crazy things to a person.
"Dad," she called in a sing-song voice.
"I heard you the first time," he muttered, placing his kunai on the ground and shrugging his cloak off of his shoulders. By the time he'd stored it away securely in his pack, he looked up to see a canteen of water inches from his face. Tiny fingers held it out to him, waiting for him to take it.
"Here," she just about pushed it into his hands. Taking a seat next to him, Sasuke glanced at her out of the corner of his eye before taking a few sips of water. He said nothing when she picked up his kunai; in fact he was even a little bit curious.
"I hear you're good with kunai," he said, gesturing to the weapon she now held in her hands.
She shrugged, "I'm okay."
"Show me."
Hopping up onto her feet, giddy at the request, she turned in a full circle, as if looking for something in the small opening in the woods the teams currently resided in. Then she threw the kunai to their right, lodging it into the trunk of a tree about 20 feet away.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, saying nothing. Well. It wasn't that impressive.
"You're not looking close enough," she said to him as she turned around and faced him, hands on her hips. No doubt she'd seen his aloof expression. "Look!"
Looking toward the tree he struggled to see what she was talking about. It wasn't until she groaned and grabbed his hand, trying to pull him to his feet, when he actually got up and walked over to it.
Pinned between the kunai and the rough bark of the tree was a leaf, pierced directly through its center.
Okay, now Sasuke was impressed. Turning to look down at the girl who stood beside him grinning up at him, he looked back to the tree and pulled the knife out of its trunk. He then plucked off the leaf from the blade and handed it back down to her once again.
"Again," he said curtly. He wanted to see whether or not that had been luck, or actual skill.
Grinning at him, a sly expression on his face, she turned around completely, pausing for a moment, before throwing the kunai down the middle of the clearing, imbedding it in another tree about 40 feet away.
"Hey!" Ino called, frowning toward the pair, "Be careful with that Katahana," she scolded. The knife had flown directly in front of her face, missing the tip of her nose only barely. Sai, who stood by her, let out a light laugh at the child's antics.
"Sorry! It won't happen again," she called back sheepishly before grabbing Sasuke's hand again, pulling him after her. After walking directly through the rest of the team, awkwardly trying to avoid the eyes of his teammates, he followed the child up to the next tree.
Eyes widening, surprisingly impressed, Sasuke pulled the kunai out once more; and once again, she'd caught a falling leaf and pinned it against the tree.
"So, whatcha think?" she asked, arms behind her as she bounced excitedly. Sasuke had to resist the urge to let out a laugh. She knew she was good, she had just played the modesty card, wanting for him to ask her so she could show him what she could do.
"You're just 'okay'?" he raised an eyebrow.
She shrugged, repressing a giggle, "Beginner's luck?" she said, hands covering her mouth.
"Yeah right," he said, finally allowing himself a smirk.
He'd been dreadful with kunai at that age, tripping and falling over his own two feet while trying to hit targets. He'd been clumsy as a young child, hardly capable of performing any sort of jutsu. And here was his daughter, hitting targets at the skill level of someone twice her age. Not only was he impressed, he was proud.
"Alright," he heard the voice of Shikamaru speak up across the clearing, "let's move out everyone."
After putting his pack back on, he looked to his side to see Katahana standing next to him, toting her own small backpack as well. He waited for her to walk back over to Kakashi, who stood not too far away, waiting for everyone to be ready before departing once more. But when she did not budge, instead remaining by his side, digging her heel into the dirt, he spoke up.
"You're not supposed to be running are you?" They'd been instructed to ensure that they arrived at their respective destinations as quickly as possible, meaning they couldn't risk being slowed down by the child.
Katahana shook her head, watching the ground as her foot kicked up some dirt. "I was just wondering…" she mumbled the last of her words, making it impossible for Sasuke to decipher what she was trying to say.
"I can't understand you."
"I was wondering if you'd carry me," she said quietly, still not meeting his eyes. In the short amount of time that Sasuke had known his daughter, he had been used to her being loud, social, and outspoken. This sudden… shyness caught him off guard a bit.
Was she afraid that he'd say no?
A series of memories flickered through his mind at that exact moment—of him at a young age, trying hard to be acknowledged by his own father, but only ever feeling the sting of rejection.
"Okay," he responded immediately. He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable around him, or afraid to ask him for something. Sasuke wasn't completely sure what 'being a father' actually entailed, but he had a good idea of what not to do; so at least he had a place to start.
She finally looked up at him, smiling to herself, and lifted her arms up to him.
Reaching down slightly, he carefully lifted her into his arms, watching as she wrapped one arm around his neck and grabbed a handful of the front of his shirt with the other. She then rested her head against his chest and let out a quiet sigh.
The knot in his throat that had been bugging him ever since he met her, made an appearance at that moment. Securing his hold on her, he walked over to the rest of the team, trying to ignore the stares. The Leaf nin may have been discreetly watching them before, but now all eyes were trained on the two.
He met only Shikamaru's eyes, who nodded once back at the Uchiha before addressing everyone else.
"Let's go."
And off they went again, running at full speed through the trees. They had until the following morning until they reached their first destination. The point where the two groups would finally split and head in their own separate directions.
Sasuke unconsciously held Katahana tighter as his mind wandered to that thought. He'd be separated from her in under 24 hours. She'd go off with Kakashi, Ino, Kiba, and Sai, and hopefully they'd deliver her safely to Suna.
He tried not to let his mind dwell on the fact that there were people out there—dangerous people—who were trying to find her. All because of him. Since she carried the blood of the Uchiha through her veins, and ultimately the ability to awaken the sharingan, there were those who wanted to blind or kill her.
Glancing down at the girl he held in his arms, he watched her still face. Her eyes remained closed, and a soft smile rested gently on her face. Her long, black hair flew all around, some of it even hitting against Sasuke's face. But he did not mind.
The want to protect her surged through his body, and he cringed at the thought of sending her off. He wanted more than anything to be able to stay by her side, and to protect her with any means necessary, but he knew that he had a mission to complete.
But for the moment, moving through the forest in the mid-summer day's heat, he tried to take solace in knowing that he was there, with his daughter, who lay safe and sound in his arms.
Sasuke thought that since the day had passed calmly and uneventfully he would be able to get a couple hours of sleep. But instead he lay awake, as anxious and alert as ever. He hadn't even attempted to sleep; when there were criminals roaming the country, looking to kidnap your daughter, you didn't want to risk being caught off guard in any way. There was too much at stake.
He'd been absentmindedly running his hand softly through Katahana's hair as he stared off into the darkness of the thick forest. The child was using his leg as a pillow, and was curled up on the ground, draped in her thick cloak. Sleeping soundly, Sasuke watched as her tiny shoulders lifted and fell, ever-so-slightly, with every steady breath she took.
They'd stopped running a little over an hour ago and they would only remain in their spot for a few more hours. They wouldn't risk staying put any longer than that. Shikamaru had advised everyone to at least catch a couple hours of sleep, and a few of the ninja put together a quick shift system; some would sleep for two hours while the others kept watch, and then they'd switch after the time was up.
Sasuke had remained silent when they all laid down for their first shift, not really caring enough to involve himself. But Katahana, who had fallen asleep during the run, awoke when he stopped moving. She then wriggled herself out of his arms and, grabbing Sasuke's hand, pulled him down with her as she prepared to fall back asleep on the ground beneath them.
But a few minutes after she'd made herself somewhat comfortable, she was still awake, staring blankly at the base of the tree that Sasuke had chosen to lean against.
She had looked nervous, her foot fidgeting beneath her cloak as her tired eyes stared, her mind definitely wandering to places that Sasuke wasn't sure he wanted it to go. It wasn't until he recognized the look in her eyes as fear when he reached out and brushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
Eyes refocusing, she looked up at him silently, meeting his eyes with her own fearful ones.
Closing her eyes tight, she scooted her body closer to him, a deep frown covering her face. When he saw the first tear slide down the side of her face, he started to move his hand gently, carefully running his fingers through her hair.
He had known that she'd seemed much too calm and collected about the whole situation than she let show. She was scared—he saw that now. She may have portrayed an optimistic demeanor much like the one Naruto had, she may be just as talented as a low-class ninja, and she might have the social skills and intellect of someone much older than her, but in the end it did not matter.
She was still a 7-year-old child.
Katahana had fallen asleep a few minutes later, but Sasuke had not stopped his movements. His fingers still moved lightly through her dark hair, the comforting gesture continuing even as the child slept before him.
As his hand moved, he tried to remain completely alert to his surroundings, but he could not stop his mind from wandering. There was still the fact that his real mission was to find Sakura.
The main thing that he couldn't help but think about was whether or not she was even alive. Tenten's report had stated that the man had helped 'the pink haired woman' and her counterpart only a few days before her encounter with them. But the man, who Naruto referred to as Masaru, had spoken with mock-sadness—with his blade through Sasuke's chest—about how he didn't want to orphan Katahana. That would imply that Sakura would've been dead.
Trying to make sense of his thoughts, he leaned his head back against the tree, gazing up into the night sky.
There was a chance that Masaru had found Sakura after the two men had escorted her to a nearby village. Without a correct timeline of all the events that had taken place, they were left with multiple questions and concerns.
He'd been staring up into the sky, tracing the stars with his eyes, when he faintly heard someone take a seat to his left.
"You should get some sleep," Kakashi said quietly, sitting himself beside the Uchiha. "We're scheduled to head out in about 2 hours. You might as well get some rest while you can."
Sasuke looked at Kakashi for a moment before shaking his head and slowly looking away. "I couldn't sleep even if tried."
Kakashi nodded, understanding Sasuke's mindset. "You're worried."
Sasuke wanted to laugh coldly at Kakashi's statement, which had been spoken with a strange amount of delight. "No shit," he mumbled to himself, still running his fingers through Katahana's hair.
"Try not to take this the wrong way, but it's a nice thing to see," the elder ninja said with a light hint of humor. "I've haven't seen you show actual emotion like this since you were about 12 or so."
Sasuke remained silent for a few minutes, taking in Kakashi's statement. He was right, of course. When Sasuke had been a young child, he'd been as carefree and happy as any other kid his age. But then, Itachi had received a mission that changed everything.
By the age of 8, Sasuke had been transformed into a post-traumatic mess. He'd closed himself off from the world, emotionally numbing himself to the point where all he felt was hatred and anger. And much like his brother had instructed him to do, he allowed the hatred to build up inside him, until it began to eat away at his psyche.
It wasn't until he joined team 7 when things started to change. Being teamed up with Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura seemed at first to be something that would only hinder his training. He had to grow stronger, and being teamed up with two of his ridiculous classmates was something that he silently fumed over.
From the young age when he'd been left without a family, he'd been completely alone. No family, no friends, no one who would be there for him when he needed it. He'd grown to despise everyone; his classmates, the ninja in the village, and the villagers themselves. He viewed them as nothing but selfish wastes of space who knew nothing about pain.
Then, when he joined team 7, he started to realize that maybe—just maybe—people weren't so bad after all.
He had never wanted to admit it, but he'd not only made friends who he liked spending time with, but he was beginning to enjoy life again. And little by little, emotions started to reappear within him. He actually began to care about others once more and began to realize that maybe Konoha wasn't such a bad place to live.
He'd started to become happy with his life. That was until Orochimaru found him.
Sasuke allowed himself to sigh, removing his gaze from Katahana and looking up at the sky once more. "Things are different now."
Kakashi nodded his head in agreement, "You can say that again." He let out a light chuckle. "How have you been these past few years? Honestly?"
"Alright," he admitted quietly with a shrug. "I don't leave any sort of exciting life. I don't do much of anything really."
"I thought you'd been travelling all this time?"
"I used to. I've been in the same village for a couple years now. It's quiet there," his fingers still continued their movements in his daughter's hair. "I haven't done much travelling since."
"Finally settled down," Kakashi said, nodding quietly to himself.
"Not exactly," Sasuke glanced across the small clearing and took note of Lee and Ino waking Sai and Shikamaru, trading sleeping shifts he assumed. "I was getting pretty close to moving again."
"Where to?"
"Wherever." He shrugged indifferently, "I just wanted change."
"I'm sure this isn't the type of change you were expecting, huh?" Kakashi gestured to where Katahana lay with a nod of his head.
"Not in a million years," he muttered under his breath. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all."
"She's a wonderful kid," Kakashi said, smiling beneath his mask. "A wonderful girl with a big heart. She may not show it completely, but knowing who her father is had made her happier than I've seen her in years. Of course, at the same time, with Sakura missing, I've never seen her more heartbroken either." He folded his arms as he frowned. "It's tough to see her like this. She told me yesterday morning that she felt bad for being happy about meeting you. She said it made her feel guilty because Sakura is still out there."
"I'm going to find her," Sasuke said in a low voice, his expression darkening.
"Katahana's holding you to that. And so am I." He put a hand on his former student's shoulder. "I am going to get Hana to Suna safely if it's the last thing I'll do. I'll protect her with my life." His eyes locked onto Sasuke's as he spoke. "In turn, I'm expecting you to find Sakura and bring her to us, safe."
"You already have my word," Sasuke stared back, although his eyes held no anger—only sincerity.
"And you have mine." Kakashi squeezed his shoulder again before releasing him completely, standing himself up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try and get an hour or two of sleep. I suggest you try and do the same." Much emphasis put on the word 'try'.
He waited until the elder Jonin walked away and laid himself down a few feet away, before he leaned back fully, letting his head hit the hard tree behind him.
Sasuke didn't want to think. He wanted to turn off his mind and shut out the world and get a moment of peace to himself so that he could fully collect himself. After the past few days, his resolve was beginning to waiver. He needed to regroup and try and find some sort of mental stability with his situation before it began to eat at him.
The last thing he needed to do was to doubt his abilities and ultimately his ability to perform the mission at hand.
He needed to concentrate.
Hitting the ground, face first, Sasuke quickly lifted himself up on shaky arms, blinking rapidly to dislodge the dirt and dust that had caught itself in his eyes. Lifting his head he spit out a mouthful of blood before glaring up at his opponent before him.
"You'll have to do better than that, child." Orochimaru stood before him, taunting him. He'd been training under the man for just over 4 months. Which meant for Sasuke: 4 months of trying to withstand relentless beatings at the hands of the ex-Leaf nin and those who worked beneath him.
Four months of trying to survive.
"I'm not a child," he growled, wiping the blood leaking out of his mouth on the back of his hand before launching himself forward, back onto his feet, and toward the man. But just as soon as he'd lunged at his target, it dodged his weak attack.
As he was kicked in the side, he was thrown back down into the cold hard ground. He'd heard the sound of bones breaking as he landed—a sound that he was, unfortunately, becoming accustomed to while living under Orochimaru's careful watch.
"You're weak boy. Why are you so weak?"
Lifting himself up on shaky feet, he faced the man again, ignoring the searing pain in his side. Instead of charging once more, he stood in place, hands pressed together as he worked desperately to regain some chakra.
"I know why you're weak. You haven't let your hatred fully consume you yet."
Making a series of hand-signs, Sasuke blew a fireball directly in the face of the snake-sannin. But before the flames could even clear, he was knocked forward by another kick to his back.
"You need nothing more than hate, boy. Until you release your useless bonds you hold, you will be weak."
Throwing a kunai behind him, Sasuke flipped himself forward and quickly turned to face him. Only to discover the large room empty before him. Checking all around him, eyes scanning every direction, he used his activated sharingan to try and see into the darker corners of the room.
A piercing scream suddenly filled the still darkness. Sasuke knew that scream anywhere.
"Sakura!" He couldn't stop himself from calling out her name as he desperately searched the room for her.
How? How had Orochimaru found her and brought her here? Wouldn't Kakashi-sensei and the others have stopped him? Damnit she was supposed to be in the village! Safe!
"The bonds make you weak."
At the sound of the voice behind him, Sasuke swung, kicking at the air behind him, glaring as Orochimaru swiftly dodged him.
"What are you doing to her? Let her go!"
"Do you want your revenge, boy?"
"Answer my question!" he screamed, swinging at the man with punches he could not land.
"Answer mine first."
"Yes," he spat out angrily, his fists still flying, "I'm going to get my damn revenge! But they have nothing to do with it."
"What do you care about more, your revenge or your friends?"
Sasuke stopped his attack and jumped backwards, only dodging a large shuriken by a few inches. Glaring into the darkness once more, he searched for his opponent.
"You must choose Sasuke."
"I already have!" he snapped, "I've chosen my revenge. I'm here aren't I?"
"Not good enough. You must focus entirely on your mission. If you don't, Itachi will never die."
"I'll kill him myself!"
"But what if your friends get in the way?" The taunt was quickly followed by another scream. The pained shout echoed throughout the room, bouncing off the walls and around Sasuke's head.
"Stop it!" Sasuke screamed, lunging once more only to be quickly thrown back again. As his skull smacked against the pavement beneath him, he clenched his eyes tight, trying to ignore the pain that was threatening to take over his senses completely.
"There will come a time where you will have to choose. If they stand in your way, what are you going to do?"
Sasuke did not reply as he lifted his head. With a shaky hand he touched the side of his head, feeling for the wound that was surely to be there. Looking down at his hand he found it covered in dark, thick blood; it was warm to the touch.
"If you really are dedicated to your mission, you'll dispose of them, and then continue with your revenge. But you'll never be able to do that if you still hold these childish attachments to them."
With a sudden feeling of nausea, Sasuke leaned forward and vomited all over the floor beneath him. Unable to support his weight any longer, his arms collapsed and he landed roughly next to the small pool of blood and vomit. Willing his eyes to refocus, he had to resist the urge to puke again when he finally fixated his gaze on something a few feet away.
Sakura's body lay there, eyes wide, breathing heavy, body beaten, broken, and bloody.
"Stop it!" Sasuke bellowed, "They don't matter anymore! So leave them out of this!"
Orochimaru looked down on him with a look of disappointment from where he stood next to Sakura's mangled body. "If they don't matter, then you shouldn't care if I do this."
With a lazy flick of the wrist, Orochimaru threw a kunai down at her body, landing it in her chest.
Sakura let out another scream, the sound shaking Sasuke down to the bones, before breaking down in a hysterical fit of sobs.
Watching as another kunai was stabbed through her shoulder, and a third at the base of her throat, her sobs began to die down quickly as her breathing grew shallow.
"No!" Sasuke screamed, trying to roll himself over so he could make his way over toward them. Orochimaru was killing her. The overwhelming urge to protect her—to save her—forced Sasuke onto his hands and knees.
"If you want your revenge, you need to sever your ties with them, Sasuke," the man hissed in a silky voice. "Unless you sever those ties, and quick, then Itachi will live forever." He taunted the boy by using his foot to knock Sakura's body a few feet closer to him.
"Don't tell me what to do!" Sasuke's scream hurt his throat as he spat at the sannin. Crawling towards her body, Sasuke stared down at her in horror; blood was flowing out of her neck at a terrifying rate. Lifting a hand toward her, he knew that there would be nothing he'd be able to do to stop the bleeding. "She needs medical attention! Where the hell is Kabuto!?"
"You have two options, Sasuke." Orochimaru circled the boy, leaning toward him as he spoke, even his mere presence taunting him. "You either sever your ties with them, or I'll kill them." Sasuke's head snapped up toward him as he looked at the man in horror. His sudden fury caused his curse mark to envelope him—black flames covered his body head to toe.
"As long as they are alive, they are a liability. You will always be vulnerable as long as you have these bonds."
Pausing in his motions, Orochimaru stopped circling the pair, looking down on the bleeding girl before him. In one fell swoop he used his foot to slam the kunai further into Sakura's throat before using the same foot to kick her into Sasuke, knocking the boy's arms out from under him.
Looking to the body laying beside him in horror, Sasuke let out an enraged scream before using the last of his strength to launch himself back up onto his feet
And before he could think of any sort of attack, he was kicked again, his arm snapping with a loud 'crack', his body falling back to the ground. His eyes immediately fell upon Sakura's face, inches away from his own. Eyes wide and staring out into nothing. Empty, lifeless eyes.
Frozen completely, Sasuke gave up, letting his body go completely limp as he forced down the urge to start screaming.
Then, out of nowhere, she disappeared, her form dissipating in a cloud of mist.
Sasuke could not stop staring at the spot where her body had been just seconds before. His eyes still fixed on where hers had just been. A mixture of fear, relief, and anger hit him.
It had been nothing more than an elaborate genjutsu.
"In order to become fully strong," Orochimaru spoke again waiting for Sasuke to gain control over his emotions. "The bonds must be broken. With all of your old friends and teammates."
On the verge of a panic attack, Sasuke closed his eyes and tried to pretend he was somewhere else.
Suddenly, a vision of Konoha filled his mind. The green grass and tall trees and the lively roads and marketplaces appeared before him as if he were actually there. Naruto's laughter was filling his ears and Sakura's smile was before his face as Kakashi stood before the group, shaking his head in mock-disapproval of their antics.
"They must either be killed."
Naruto ran off ahead of the group, being followed closely behind by Kakashi. Grabbing his hand, Sakura pulled him along, laughing at Naruto and smiling at Sasuke, and not once letting go of his hand. Wrapped in the scene, he gripped her hand tightly, too afraid to even think about releasing it.
"Or the bonds must be destroyed…"
Suddenly, the memory began to fade away. The laughter died down and the green grass soon grew gray. Naruto and Kakashi's images in the distance soon became fuzzy and difficult to see, and the noise of the village became muted. Scared, he looked to Sakura only to see her body begin to fly away with the wind as if her body was made of sand.
"… and they must become dead to you."
Sakura's hand crumbled to dust in his grip.
Sasuke didn't know when he'd fallen asleep, but when he was kicked awake—literally—by Ino, he was immediately on alert.
"Wake up," she said as she stopped kicking his leg. "We need to move, now." She spoke quickly and quietly, as if trying not to wake Katahana. All around them, he watched as his teammates hurriedly picked up their gear and prepared to depart.
"What happened?" Although he asked for an explanation he did not waste time by idly sitting by. As gently as possible he'd lifted Katahana into his arms as he stood, trying not to disrupt her slumber.
"Akamaru started getting restless so Sai and Kiba went to do a quick run on the perimeter," she explained as she assisted Sasuke in putting his pack on his back. "They found a small group of ninja who immediately attacked once they saw the leaf symbol on their heads. We need to get a move on, and quick."
"What about the ninja?"
"They've already been taken care of," she said, not explaining the situation beyond that. He figured they'd been killed after they'd attacked the two Leaf-nin. "But we're almost positive that they were part of an even-larger group, so we're leaving now."
"We're taking a bit of a detour," Shikamaru said, approaching the two, Kakashi following closely behind. "Kiba and Akamaru are going to go ahead of us as we travel, and Kakashi won't be too far behind them. Sasuke," Shikamaru looked at him, and immediately quieted his voice, taking note of the sleeping girl. "You're going to be in the center with Katahana. If anyone tries to attack, you'll be surrounded by us on all sides to keep them away from her." Sasuke nodded, carefully readjusting his hold on the child, remaining silent and still as she shifted slightly in her sleep.
"Sai is going to take to the sky," he continued, "And to your left and right will be Ino and Lee. I'll be a little bit behind you, and Hanabi will take up the rear."
"We need to leave now," a light, feminine voice spoke urgently, "there's already a group of people East of us, heading in this general direction at full speed." Sasuke watched as the younger Hyuuga sister—who he now knew as Hanabi—spoke quickly, byakugan activated.
"Alright, everyone. Let's go."
With their formation being put together in an impressive amount of time—Sasuke could've guessed it'd taken them no more than 8 seconds total—the group of Leaf-nin all departed from their spot at full speed. Now, anxiety and even a little bit of fear drove the ninja to move a bit faster than they had before.
Sasuke could feel the adrenaline causing his legs to move faster and his eyes to pick up more movements in the trees. Every branch that fell, every bird that flew, and every frog that jumped from one location to the next was caught by his sharingan.
He'd known that their mission would be dangerous, but now with the threat upon him, Sasuke could feel his anger rising, his determination increasing tenfold, as he ran through the trees in the dark of the night.
"Dad," a quiet voice called to him. Training his eyes on her face, which was currently peeking at him from the cover of both her small cloak and his larger one, his expression softened. "We're moving already?"
Confusion filling her tired voice, he nodded to her a few times before realizing that she couldn't see his face in the darkness. "Yes. We're… trying to make better timing."
"Where is everyone? I can't hear them."
"We're running in a formation, to… cover more space." He was trying hard to think of quick lies on the spot, trying to spare her the scary truth of their current situation.
"We're being chased aren't we?" she said sadly, curling up more in his arms.
"Try and go back to sleep," he urged, dodging the question. Biting the inside of his cheek he pushed his legs faster, as if he could put some distance between himself and the situation as a whole. He wanted to carry her not just away from the criminals who were currently in pursuit of them, but away from everything. Away from anything that would threaten her with any amount of harm. "I'll protect you. Just go back to sleep."
Hiding herself more in Sasuke's cloak, he felt as she grabbed hold of the front of his shirt tightly, pressing her face into it. He could not see it, but the sound of her soft crying soon reached his ears and the feeling of his tear-soaked shirt soon reached his skin.
His arms tightened around her as he ran through the forest. He dared anyone to even try to touch her. He wouldn't hesitate to kill each and every one of them.
"Katahana… it's…" he tried to steady his voice as best as he could, so his words would seem more comforting, "it's going to be okay."
Now if only he could convince himself of that.