Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, and am gaining nothing but personal satisfaction from the writing of this story.
Author's Notes: There are no more excuses, really. It's just life that can speed up or hinder certain things. Fanfiction is one of those things it tends to hinder. Hopefully the wait was worth it.
There is a manic desperation that seems to cling to their travels; their walking is ostensibly ceaseless until Naruto feels as if his body is being torn apart, but Itachi has honed his senses well enough to stop him before he faints. On this particular day, they have only travelled a few hours from their resting ground the previous night, so it comes as a complete surprise to Naruto when Itachi suddenly halts their progress.
"Stop." His voice is commanding, though for no apparent reason. The trees have gotten thinner the farther they walk, but through his haze of exhaustion he can make out nothing in the semi-open distance. Itachi, however, is waiting expectantly, and he is reminded all too vividly of the would-be robbers from before. The memory makes him feel somewhat sick. It reminds him, also, that there is no part of the hypnotic man before him that is not covered in blood.
The merest tilt of Itachi's head to the left is the only hint Naruto has before the blue-skinned man materializes before them. He is just wondering how he did not sense the man coming when the image before them flickers. Comprehension dawns as he realizes they are speaking not speaking to flesh and blood, but an illusion.
"Itachi-san." He gives a toothy grin. Itachi gives a stoic nod in reply.
"Are the preparations almost complete, Kisame?" Itachi asks dryly, and the man's smile fades.
"Very close. It's an appropriate time to start things on your end."
Itachi nods again. "Yes. It is time."
"Things are on schedule?"
"There are no new developments."
Kisame nods, and then severs the connection. Naruto, who has been watching and listening with intense concentration, pretends to turn away as Itachi glances back toward him although he expects it to fool no one. Itachi advances toward him with the same blankness of expression he has not yet learned how to read, and he wonders, not for the first time, how he was ever enraptured by this man's charm.
"Today marks the beginning of your death."
Itachi's eyes are deader than stone as his hands begin to form a seal and his words blur together into an indecipherable stream. Naruto instinctively reacts to protect himself, his own hands forming seals, but it is too late as a flash of light blinds him and sends the most excruciating pain down to his stomach, before leading him once again to darkness.
-----
How could you be so stupid?
His body is moving but his mind is hardly on where he's headed. Kakashi is still cursing himself, cursing the fact that he trusted Sasuke – again – and that Sasuke betrayed them, again. He hopes, deep down, that there is some altruistic motive to the boy's actions, hopes that perhaps he is trying to save Naruto's life.
But it's hard to say, isn't it, when two valuable things are in one place?
He breaks the bark on the next tree branch he lands on, twisting his heel to create friction and still his movement. He bends down and scrapes his thumb roughly on the broken bark. In one fluid movement, he pulls a small scroll from the front pocket of his vest, unrolls it and swipes the welling blood onto the parchment.
Within an instant, Pakkun appears before him in a puff of smoke.
"Kakashi," he says in his deep voice, gazing at him with something akin to sympathy.
"I know, Pakkun, I know." He sighs. "Can you find Sasuke?"
"I'll let you know if anything turns up."
Kakashi watches his small form bound through the trees before resuming his own search.
-----
She watches Gai lead a guilt-ridden Neji out of her office, surprised and overwhelmed by this new piece of information.
Even Neji…
It seemed to her that shinobi of the new generation were much too lax about informing superiors of suspicious behaviour.
But I guess they're loyal to each other, and that's something we can build on.
She reaches for paper to write out commands, but hesitates. News of Neji's visit would, inevitably, leak within the hour (as these things were wont to do), and she would have one very angry disciple if she passed over Sakura for an away mission concerning Sasuke again. Although it wasn't her duty to grant all wishes, and although it wasn't exactly the wisest thing to do, she thought Sakura would be smart and disciplined enough to appreciate the assignment in addition to performing it well.
She puts down the pen and decides to find Sakura herself. Shizune looks up as she approaches, giving her a perplexed look. "Tsunade-sama, I thought you were going to be busy all day with paperwork."
"Something has come up," she replies distractedly, glancing down the halls. "Where's that apprentice of mine?"
"Sakura-chan?" Shizune looks even more confused. "But… I just saw her leaving. She looked really upset." She hesitates, studying Tsunade's face. "I thought she had just come from your office."
Realization hits as violently as a storm. I thought she had just come from your office…
"Goddamnit! What the hell has he been teaching these kids?!"
-----
The boy's travelling rather fast, Kabuto thinks a little disdainfully, watching Sasuke's head of dark hair weave in and out of the trees. He is keeping watch stealthily from the branches, but the erratic and seemingly directionless movement of his quarry are proving irritating. He is debating just stopping the boy and knocking him around a bit before taking him back to Orochimaru when Sasuke suddenly stops. Kabuto just manages to stop his own movement in time, looking ahead to see what the hold-up was.
It is a complete shock to him to find Uchiha Itachi standing barely a few feet in front of his younger brother.
"I've finally found you, Itachi," the boy's voice rings out, surprisingly steady despite his tense posture. The man in the cloak turns slowly on the spot, and it is in that moment that he notices a body slumped behind Itachi. The bright orange outfit and unruly golden hair leave no doubt as to whom the captive is.
But why would Itachi be interested in Naruto?
The question is pushed to the back of his mind, however, as Itachi's voice floats over the space in reply.
"You are not wanted here, Sasuke."
Sasuke scoffs. "You were the one who told me to find you, once I was ready." He lets the echo of those words die away. "Well, here I am."
"You are many years away from being ready."
Itachi turns away, but a shuriken whizzes by his cheek to thud into the nearest tree. "I think I can decide for myself when I'm ready." Sasuke's voice has taken on a cocky tone. "But before I take care of you, I want you to give Naruto to me."
Kabuto can just barely see the elder Uchiha's face, but there is no mistaking the deadly glint that has just entered his eyes. "Do not presume to give orders you cannot reinforce."
"I never thought you'd need a hostage to fight me, Itachi." The boy's attempt to goad his brother's anger is obvious, and Kabuto sneers at his immaturity. The boy should know better than anyone that this was a man not to be manipulated. "He'll die without treatment. I wonder what your friends would have to say to that."
Itachi smirks at Sasuke's jibe, not letting it anger him. "You needn't be so concerned. However, it would be a shame to let him die when I can reclaim him so easily. Wouldn't you agree…"
And Itachi's eyes are now sweeping around to where he is hiding, and Kabuto's heart stops, just for a moment, sure that he has been caught, knowing that this means trouble—
"…Hatake Kakashi?"
He lets out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, and his heart beats again.
-----
Kakashi sighs ruefully, feeling sheepish, before walking out into the open.
"He's yours," Itachi says calmly, turning slightly to indicate Naruto's still body.
Kakashi glances over at Sasuke, who has remained immobile. "Sasuke—"
"Kakashi-sensei, please get him back as quickly as possible." Sasuke's eyes never leave Itachi as he talks to his teacher.
The calmness of his student's voice, as well as the polite wording, throws him off for a moment. "I'm not leaving you to do this, Sasuke."
The young Uchiha smiles wryly. "It's a trade," he says softly, so that only Kakashi can hear.
When Kakashi does not move, still unconvinced, Sasuke turns serious. "I'll win." He states it confidently, as if trying to reassure himself as well. "And even if I don't, he won't kill me yet."
"I'm glad that comforts somebody," Kakashi remarks dryly, glancing toward Itachi and the prone figure behind it. There is a dark stain visible on Naruto's orange jacket that makes him worry. Sasuke's voice snaps him out of his thoughts.
"I'm asking you as a personal favour." And he knows how much those words must have cost his student, sees the determination that resides in the eyes that will not meet his.
And he knows there is only one thing he can do.
Kakashi moves toward Naruto, keeping an eye on Itachi as he does so. He gently lifts the unconscious figure into his arms, noting that Naruto's breathing is weak, but present. He takes another look back at Sasuke, his mind divided.
"Don't feel so guilty, Kakashi-san," Itachi says without turning. "I assure you, your presence would not have affected the outcome of this battle."
He leaves with that last, taunting sentence replaying over and over in his mind.
-----
Kabuto watches the Copy-Nin depart with the body of Uzumaki Naruto, surprised at this turn of events. While his curiosity is peaked, he doubts that he will see anything interesting by following Kakashi; besides, his orders are to follow Sasuke, and while he is confident in his abilities to find the boy should he happen to lose the trail, it would be a nuisance to go to all the trouble. And from the way the Uchiha brothers are eyeing each other, he'd bet his money that the action would be better here.
Almost at the same time the brothers begin to perform seals, staring straight into each other's eyes. The clouds of fire emitting from their mouths explode on collision, singeing the air with unnatural heat. Itachi matches Sasuke's kunai with senbon needles, deflecting them into the ground. Sasuke starts to ascend a tree trunk, and Itachi does the same dispassionately, in perfect mimicry. The younger Uchiha is running along the tree trunks, parallel to the ground, gathering a mass of raucous blue chakra in his right hand. This time Itachi does not duplicate the attack, but continues to circle his brother in the same manner. With a cry Sasuke launches himself into the air, brings his fist forth to strike—but Itachi has quelled the attack in the palms of his hands.
"I tire of your useless, powerless efforts," Itachi says coldly, activating his Sharingan; but this for some reason makes Sasuke laugh.
"And I'm tired of your old tricks, always using Tsukiyomi to make me remember." From the vague look of revelation on Itachi's face, Kabuto surmises that this is a name Sasuke isn't supposed to know. "I remember, Itachi. I remember perfectly."
"So you've learned a few things in the time I've given you," Itachi spits out. "It isn't enough." The tadpoles in the pools of Itachi's eyes have begun to swim faster, blurring their shape into one black wheel.
"I beg to differ." And Sasuke's tomoe have sprouted a third brother, spinning as wildly as Itachi's, and the connection of their gazes has made the world stand still.
Kabuto watches, bewildered, as the two stand immobile with their hands caught in a vice grip, repelling each other. He is unable to see the internal battle of two Sharingan, advanced to their ultimate form. He doesn't see Itachi's look of shock at Sasuke's Mangekyo, the clash of illusions. Kabuto, like all those without the Sharingan, does not understand its devastating effects. Itachi tricks his brother with crows while Sasuke haunts with an army of the dead, hoping that the sight of the family members he has slain will make Itachi lose focus. He is still inexperienced, however, in sustaining and directing such prolonged assaults. At the first sign of weakness—a slight drop in chakra—Itachi lunges in for the finish, poisoning Sasuke's vulnerable mind with the suggestion of failure and death.
Kabuto is able to observe Sasuke's scream of pain as the motionless figures become animated once more. Sasuke crumples to the ground, unconscious, as Itachi swoops over him like a bird of prey. He cannot know the cause of that pain, and cannot know that for this he is lucky: for Itachi has deluded Sasuke into thinking that his insides have crawled out of his stomach and are attempting to strangle him.
-----
Seething, Sakura punches over a few trees as she darts through their branches. She would love nothing more than to find Sasuke and punch him senseless: one punch for every lie, every betrayal, every selfish act… even so, she would never kill him. What kind of hatred would it take, she wondered, to want to kill family?
In this depressed state of mind, she barely notices the small speck travelling toward her until it has grown into a considerable, recognizable form.
"Kakashi-sensei!" she gasps, as she sees the figure in his arms. "Is he—?"
"He's still alive," Kakashi cuts in, panting slightly as he deposits Naruto onto the branch. "Where's the rest of your team?"
Sakura's ears turn the same shade as her hair. "I—I came as soon as I heard… I never asked for…"
"It's not like you to break the rules, Sakura," her sensei says, but not unkindly. "That was a very foolish thing to do." Her expression is downcast immediately. "But I'm glad you're here," Kakashi finishes, managing to crinkle his eyes in a smile. "I need you to tend to whatever you can, then take him back to Konoha immediately."
"What about you, Kakashi-sensei?" she asks as she props Naruto onto her knee.
"I'm going to go back, see if I can't help Sasuke—"
"You saw Sasuke?!" her voice is a shriek, almost dropping her teammate's head.
"Yes. He's fighting Itachi, I have to—"
"I want to go with you! I can help!"
"You would be helping the most by taking Naruto back."
"But I can back you up—"
"Who would take care of Naruto?"
She bit her lip. "I can summon—"
"Use your logic, Sakura!" It is the first time Kakashi-sensei has ever raised his voice toward her and her alone. "Your mind is your strength. I know you want to get him back… so do I. But you're no match for Itachi, and if something were to happen to Naruto, wouldn't we be losing more than we gain?" He wants to make her see this fact, that hers is a task equally important, that time is what matters.
He sees the resolve crumbling behind her eyes. "Get him back as fast as you can, tell the Hokage what's happened, and I'll contact you as soon as I return. Okay?"
She nods, gathering Naruto in her arms. They depart simultaneously.
But too much time has been wasted. When Kakashi returns to the battlefield, he finds nothing but rubble amidst the signs of destruction. There is no blood, which gives him hope, but Sasuke's disappearance leaves them no closer to a conclusion. In that moment of doubt, Sakura's pained face haunts him.
Kakashi gauges his chakra and reaches a decision. It is only the second time in his life that he has called on Pakkun again after dismissing him earlier that same day.
The small dog materialises, and there is no mistaking the look of pity this time. "Please…"
He only hopes that he is not too late.
TBC