Chapter 20: This is How You Remind Me of What I Really Am
Author's note: To those of you who have commented on the progressively dark theme this story has taken on, I shall say this:
It is always darkest before the dawn
And…
Only through great sorrow can we truly appreciate great joy
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Tsunade ignored the constructions sounds coming from every corner of the village. In one of her hands she held a scroll summoning her to a Kage meeting, and in the other hand she held written instructions from the elders ordering Naruto not to leave the village. Wait, she corrected herself, it's not to remain in the village, it's to remain in the village, under ANBU watch, under house arrest. Her hand tightened around the newly received order. They treat some criminals better than they treat him.
She sighed and looked up at the blonde young man in front of her. He'd been in her office all night, refusing to leave until she gave him the okay to go after Sakura. It was a call she hasn't been able to make yet. Her heart wanted him to go and save his friend; her brain knew if he left, he might never return. As Hokage, it was her duty to do what was best for the village.
"Granny, what have you decided?" His furious blue eyes were trained on the floor. "Are you really gonna let the council have their way? Sakura-chan is like a daughter to you!"
"I know that, damn it!" She slammed her hands down onto the desk. "It's too dangerous for you, Naruto."
"No more dangerous than usual, really." Kakashi's calm voice was the only indication of his arrival, and Tsunade's eyes narrowed in irritation. He was the only one who didn't abide by the rules of coming through the front door of the Hokage's office.
"You and Sai are not considered sufficient backup in an effort to take on Akatsuki and Sasuke. Our entire village wasn't enough."
"Tsunade-sama, I have a list of volunteers, including the remainder of Naruto's classmates. Shikamaru has indicated once he is released from the hospital he will want to join us as well." The copy-nin's words came out slowly as he stepped cautiously around the Sannin's temper. "If Naruto remains here, it will only tempt Akatsuki to come again. They have less of a chance finding him if he is on the move."
"You realize you're asking me to ignore a direct order from the elders," she replied.
Kakashi's only visible eyebrow rose. "How is this different from all the other times?"
The Hokage held up the hand holding the summons scroll. "Because this time I won't be in the village to keep an eye on them. If they retaliate, no one will be here to curb them."
"Then the sooner we get going, the further we'll get before they catch on." Naruto finally looked up, his normally determined gaze wavering slightly. "I'm going, one way or another!"
"Naruto, you realize you, and all your friends, will be breaking the law. There is only so much I can do to protect you from the repercussions this will cause. Is this something you're willing to risk?"
"I'm going, Granny Tsunade. Those bastards got my teacher, they killed my friends, they corrupted Sasuke, and they have Sakura-chan now. I'm going if I have to fight my way out of this village!"
The sannin studied his face. "I'm leaving in the morning. If for some reason various Konoha shinobi leave the village before daylight of their own accord, they wouldn't be noticed until I was well on my way. If there were shinobi who decided to do so, that would probably be the best time for them to go."
For the first time since his return, Tsunade saw a lopsided grin grace Naruto's face.
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"I gotta ask, Sasuke," Suigetsu glanced up from his sharpening work. "If your revenge was so important to you as a kid, how come you didn't just stay in Konoha and use the team you had to go after Itachi? Why spend half your life training with someone you ended up killing, and then form a new team?"
The Uchiha frowned slightly, and for a moment, the mist-nin thought he wouldn't answer. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Sasuke finally replied. "My team was weak."
"Weak? You expect me to believe that?" Suigetsu snorted in derision. "So Konoha put you on a weak team. You know they look at future potential when deciding all that, right?"
Sasuke glared at him. "Hn."
"It doesn't add up. The girl's got a lot of useful abilities. You can't tell me she wouldn't have been handy along the way. And that kyuubi kid, need I say more? Kyuubi kid? Jesus, Sasuke. What's the real reason you left?"
"Shut up, Suigetsu."
The water shinobi was not to be deterred. This was something he needed to know. He had a suspicion, and if it was correct, it would shed a new light on their fearless leader. So, unconcerned with Sasuke's quickly darkening mood, he barreled forward with more conversation. "Konoha had two out of three sannin, and you went to Orochimaru—Orochimaru who, I might add, was defeated by Konoha's current Hokage. So he wasn't even the strongest—"
"Enough." Sasuke's tone was almost a growl. "Go check on Sakura."
"Why don't you?"
The Uchiha didn't reply.
"Fine. I'll go check on her. She is my pet, after all. I guess that means the responsibility is mine." His sidelong glance at the Sharingan user confirmed at least one thing he suspected—whenever Sakura was the topic of conversation, Sasuke was always in a bad mood.
The Akatsuki hideout within Amegakure was impressive, and even though it was one building, it took Suigetsu quite some time to make it to the locked room holding the pink-haired healer. He peered in through a slit in the door, cautious not to let her catch him unaware as he opened the door. Sakura sat on a thin mattress on the floor, her hands bound with Karin's chakra ties. Her legs were free, and she had them tucked beneath her. Her green eyes looked up as he opened the door.
Feeling brave, the swordsman walked in and plopped down beside her on the floor. He grinned at her. "Sasuke wants to know if you're okay."
Her eyes instantly narrowed. "You can tell Sasuke to—"
Suigetsu clamped his hand over her mouth. "Let's cut to the chase. You tell me what I want to know, I'll tell you what you want to know." He removed his hand. "Deal?"
Sakura's look was one of perplexity. "There's nothing to hide." She shrugged. "So why not. Just no more touching."
He smiled. "So why'd Sasuke leave Konoha?"
He could tell she was caught off guard by the question, but Sakura recovered quickly. "He wanted power faster than our teachers were willing to give it. It was never enough for Sasuke."
"Hm. And that's it?"
"Yeah," she said, sounding slightly irritated. "That's it."
"Interesting."
"Sure. Now when am I getting out of here."
The blue man shrugged. "Probably never. Sasuke gave you to me. I don't see you going anywhere any time soon."
"He gave me to you?" She tried to cover the surprise in her voice.
Suigetsu nodded, his eyes glancing at the door. "But it seems like he's still getting used to the idea."
Sasuke entered the small room just in time to see Suigetsu reaching toward Sakura. The medic bared her teeth at him like a wild animal, jumping to her feet to put more distance between them. It wasn't until Sasuke's katana swung down in front of him that Suigetsu stopped his advance.
The two teammates stared at each other.
"You can leave now, Suigetsu," Sasuke said calmly.
"She seems fine. Not all that friendly, though." The mist-nin smiled at Sakura. "Maybe she'll be nicer to you."
Sasuke ignored him. "Are your chakra bonds too tight?"
Sakura's body lost the tension it had moments before. For a moment, her walls went down, exposing Sakura as Sasuke had once known her. She looked down at her bound hands and nodded. "Karin gave them a few extra twists."
Approaching her slowly, Sasuke tried not to be irritated by her retreat away from him. "I can't look at them if you don't stop moving," he said through clenched teeth. "Let me see."
Sakura's eyes flashed angry, and she turned her back to him. "I'll just have my new owner check them when he comes back."
"What are you talking about?" Sasuke's irritation grew with every second her back was turned to him.
"Please. Suigetsu told me. At least if you'd given me to Karin she'd ignore me."
Realization dawned on Sasuke, and he made a mental note to clarify to Suigetsu his role with Sakura. The Sharingan user stepped closer to her. "Let me see your hands."
"No."
Before he knew what he was doing, Sasuke firmly gripped his former teammate by the shoulders and spun her around to face him. He chose to ignore the outraged, dangerous look in her eyes as he roughly grabbed her forearm and held her wrists up so he could see.
The skin was still raw from being shackled, and he could tell that Sakura was right—Karin had given these new bonds a few extra twists. He gently touched the red skin, healing it as his finger traced the markings. When the skin on her hands remained pale from how tight her restraints were, he pulled out a kunai and severed the bindings.
He felt Sakura tense again, and he wondered as he held her arm if she were going to try to kill him. Even though he was partially expecting it, he was still slightly surprised when she actually swung at him.
Sasuke activated his sharingan in order to better dodge her attacks, but he was unconcerned about being hit. Sakura's confinement obviously had taken its toll on her. He moved away from the medic as she darted forward. At the opportune moment, he swept her feet out from under her. On her back, the breath knocked out of her, Sakura struggled to regain her feet. Sasuke, however, had had enough, and he knelt with one knee on her chest, pinning her down.
"Are you done?"
She swallowed hard, and shook her head. "Never."
At her rasped reply, the Uchiha frowned. "I'm not letting you up until you relax."
Sakura coughed from the pressure on her chest. "If you let me up, I'm going to kick your ass."
Sasuke stared down at her face, finding himself slightly amused. Who did Sakura think she was dealing with? He took in her tattered Haruno garb, her dirt smudged skin, her hair splayed out in tangled tendrils. He watched her try to avoid his scrutiny. Being around her brought a memory to the surface; a memory accompanied by the twinge that had been plaguing his chest.
There was something he'd always wanted to do, ever since they'd been genin.
He leaned down close to her, stopping when he felt the heat from her breath. Red eyes met green.
"Okay, Sakura," he said. "Let's see what you've got."
Then he let her up.
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Coming soon: Chapter 21: Lines in the Sand