"You seem grumpier than usual."

Dropping his tray onto the table, Sasuke found himself already glaring at Shikamaru.

And he hadn't even sat down yet.

"The glare isn't helping." Shikamaru smirked at him.

"Shut up," Sasuke muttered, sitting himself down and paying attention to his meal before him.

He'd decided after the day before to sleep in, taking some time for himself instead of simply following Sakura and Hana around all day—which is what he'd been doing for a while anyways. After staying cooped up in his room all morning, missing breakfast in the process, he finally decided that moping in his room all day wouldn't fix anything.

So when Rock Lee had asked Sasuke if he'd accompany him to lunch, and when Sasuke actually agreed, the look of shock on the man's face was enough to make Sasuke wonder if the offer had been genuine or just out of courtesy instead.

Either way, he was there now, sitting amongst his comrades as if he actually belonged—something that he reminded himself on a daily basis wasn't the case. These were good people. He didn't fit in with them.

He never would.

"I heard you helped Hana with her sharingan yesterday," Shikamaru said again after a couple of minutes, trying to start up conversation.

The strange man, Sai, looked genuinely surprised at the words—Sasuke himself was even surprised to see an actual emotion displayed on his pale face. "I wasn't even aware she could use her sharingan."

Sasuke nodded in confirmation, frowning as his mind recalled the day before. And recalling Sakura's rejection. As the unwanted memory replayed itself in his head—again—he let out a frustrated sigh.

Shikamaru let out a laugh, "Did it not go well?"

"It went fine." He replied immediately. He didn't want them doubting his daughter's abilities. "She's a natural."

"She is quite talented," Lee nodded in agreement before stuffing another handful of food into his mouth. "Even her taijutsu is advanced for her age!"

Sasuke cringed as he watched the man spew bits of food out of his mouth with his words.

"Don't chew with your mouth full," Hanabi chimed in, just about forcing a napkin into his face, frowning in disgust as he took it from her and mumbled 'thank you' with his mouth still stuffed.

"Speaking of Hana," Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes at Lee before meeting Sasuke's eyes again, "where is she?"

"With Sakura." He replied with a bored voice.

"No shit," Shikamaru deadpanned, not pleased with Sasuke's half-mumbled reply. "Do you not know?"

Sasuke shrugged, still poking at his food, "Probably at the library."

"You're acting rather morose," Sai said thoughtfully, gazing upon Sasuke with scrutinizing eyes, "and rather distant as well. Something happened with Sakura, I presume?"

Sasuke suddenly felt the fleeting urge to reach across the table and punch the man in front of him, but when Hanabi did it for him, he then felt the urge to thank her.

"Oh my god, Sai," the tiny Hyuuga glared, "Shut up. Enough with the psychoanalytical bullshit."

Rubbing his upper arm, the man frowned. "I am just trying to help a friend in need."

Sasuke wanted to scoff at the statement, but as Sai added the word 'friend' at the end, he found himself frowning instead. He'd been nothing but rude to everyone, and they still thought of him as a friend. He didn't know if he'd ever understand that level of forgiveness.

Reminding himself that he didn't deserve it, Sasuke sat silently as he ate his lunch, only half-listening to the conversation around him. He couldn't distract himself enough to stop thinking about Sakura, so instead of trying to fight it, he sat there, torturing himself by playing her words over and over in his head.

"I have other things I need to think about right now."

"I'm sorry, Sasuke. Really, I am."

Mostly, Sasuke was just frustrated at himself. Her words made perfect sense. It really wasn't a good time to be thinking about dates and other mindless things like that. What made him angry was that despite knowing this, he still felt upset by it all.

Repressing a sigh, he sat quietly, trying futilely to tell himself to be patient. If he really wanted her, he'd have to wait.

"Hey, you guys."

Sasuke didn't turn to see her approach, but he heard as Ino walked up to the table, her steps quick and light.

"Hey Ino," Shikamaru replied, turning in his seat to greet her, but as he turned, he immediately frowned, standing up so quick that his chair almost fell over behind him, "what's wrong?"

Shocked at the sudden panicked display, Sasuke turned as well, only to see the woman's face contorted into an intense frown; her eyes were watery and he could see the tears threatening to spill.

"They're calling an emergency meeting," she spoke quietly, her words strangely calm, "we all need to go upstairs, now."

His lunch abandoned at the table, Sasuke followed closely behind Ino and Shikamaru, his fists opening and closing with anxiety as his mind raced with hundreds of possibilities.

His biggest fear was that something had happened to Sakura or to Hana. But he guessed that if that were the case, Ino would have been far less calm about the matter. As he watched her whisper back and forth between Shikamaru as they walked, he noticed something.

She looked far more scared than she did upset.

When they finally made their way into the long room, the sight of Sakura and Hana sitting at the far end on the couch made him sigh in relief.

"Hey," Sakura said, looking up at him as he approached, "we were wondering where you were."

"Lunch," he explained simply, glancing over his shoulder as the rest of their comrades gathered. "Do you know what this is about?"

"The only thing I know is that they found something." She let out a frustrated breath of air. "I don't know what it is, but if it's enough to get Kakashi and Gaara to call this meeting, then it must be important."

"Sakura, Sasuke," They both looked toward the entrance as they watched Kakashi enter, beckoning them to come join the rest of the group.

Standing up, Sakura turned back down toward Hana. "We'll be right over there, alright? Just stay here, please."

Hana remained silent, holding the children's book in her hand closer to her chest as she nodded. Sasuke could see how worried she was, watching as she dug her tiny fingernails into the cover of the book.

When they finally joined the rest of the group, Kakashi went to stand beside Sasuke, his frown prominent even through the mask on his face. The older man wasted no time in explaining the situation.

"The man with the green mask left a message behind."

"What? Why would he leave us a message?" Shikamaru asked, shooting Kakashi a confused look before turning his attention back toward Ino.

"Not us," Kakashi replied, turning to Sasuke, "you."

Sasuke's chest tightened. "A message for me?" Kakashi nodded in confirmation. "Where did you find it? What did it say?"

"During the autopsy of the sand-shinobi," Ino spoke up, finally stepping forward as she addressed him, "Under normal circumstances, we wouldn't even bother doing an autopsy, but since we're trying to get as much information as we can, we figured it wouldn't hurt." As she spoke, Gaara—who had been standing off to the side with his arms crossed—approached Sasuke, only stopping when he was a couple of feet away. "We found it lodged in his throat. The coroner pointed it out to me."

Sasuke watched as Gaara pulled a small envelope out, handing it over to Sasuke with a frown. "It's specifically addressed to you," he explained. "Not Sakura. Not Hana. Only you."

Breaking eye contact with the Kazekage, Sasuke opened the envelope nervously, pulling out the flattened and sealed note that was stored inside.

Uchiha Sasuke

We are considering sparing the child

In exchange for your eyes

Midnight, just outside the outer walls

Two nights from now

We will discuss specifics

Sasuke read it a few times, his anger and frustration increasing with every second. Did this man simply think he could try and bargain with him? Sasuke was going to kill him, and then kill the man in white afterward. There was hardly anything to discuss.

At his side, he heard Sakura gasp, turning to see her reading it over his shoulder.

"What the hell does it say?" he couldn't see Kiba, but his voice carried over everyone's curious whispers, silencing the rest of the room.

Sasuke found himself reading it again, yet he refused to speak the words out loud. Instead he handed it over to Shikamaru as he approached them.

The strategist read the note silently before reading it out loud for the room to hear. The words further quieted everyone, enveloping the room in strict silence as they all absorbed the words.

"It could be a trap," Ino was the first to speak, her voice trembling slightly as she spoke.

Shikamaru shook his head, "It's unlikely, but still possible. It's doubtful that he'd actually come."

"Shadow clones," Sakura mumbled, caught up in her own thoughts. "He might use another shadow clone."

Shikamaru nodded, pleased at her assessment. "I just don't think they're serious with the whole 'sparing' Hana thing."

"Sasuke's sharingan are far more valuable than Hana's," Temari spoke up from behind Gaara, "why wouldn't they go after him instead?"

"It's easier to catch the fawn than it is the buck," Gaara replied quietly. "The simpler route is usually the one most chosen."

"Even so," Kakashi crossed his arms, "we have to be prepared for anything tonight."

Tonight. Sasuke counted the days in his head before realizing that two days ago was the day the green masked man attacked. It would only be a matter of hours before confronting this man.

"Sakura," Gaara called her attention toward her, "you and Hana will be staying with me tonight, in case this turns out to be an elaborate distraction."

Sakura nodded, her hand holding tightly onto Sasuke's arm; her firm grip was enough to alert him to her fear at the situation.

"I'll be setting up security around and throughout the village," he continued, looking toward Kakashi, "I'll allow you to set up your own team however you'd like to. Bring as many or as few people as you feel is necessary." Kakashi nodded in confirmation. "As for the rest of you," he turned around slightly, facing more of the room, "stay on guard tonight. I expect to see all of your faces, alive and well, at sunrise."

And with those final words, he dismissed the room. Some people left immediately, going to prepare themselves for the night. Kakashi and Shikamaru stayed behind, discussing their strategy amongst themselves. Watching as Sakura walked away to retrieve Hana, Sasuke remained in place, crossing his arms over his chest as he waited for them.

"Sasuke."

Turning back toward Gaara, Sasuke raised an eyebrow, not moving from his spot. "What?"

"A word, if you will."

Glancing toward Sakura, who was approaching now with Hana in tow, he sighed as he nodded once toward Gaara.

"Where are you going?" Hana asked quietly, walking up to Sasuke and clinging to his arm before he could take a step toward the Kazekage.

He met eyes with Sakura for a moment before turning back towards Hana, "I'll catch up with you guys later."

"Come on, Hana." Sakura grabbed the child's hand, pulling her lightly toward the exit. "He'll be back. He just has to talk to Gaara-san." She sent him one last curious look before finally turning and walking away, leading Hana out of the room.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked bluntly, looking at the Kazekage with a reluctant look. He didn't want to talk to him at all, although he would admit that he was curious to see what the man wanted to speak with him about.

"Just a word of advice," he said in his usual mono-tone. "for the next time you see a loved one get injured."

Sasuke glared at his words. "Who says there will be a next time?" he bit back stubbornly. There was no way he'd let anyone he cared about get hurt any further. Not a chance in hell.

Ignoring the obstinate response, Gaara allowed his eyes to wander around the room before he spoke. "Just before I was named Kazekage, I went on a mission with Temari and Kankuro. During the mission, Temari was struck with a kunai in the chest by the enemy," Sasuke watched as his eyes fell upon his sister, who now stood beside Shikamaru and Kakashi, immersed in conversation with the two. "It took me so off-guard that I blacked out," he purposefully locked eyes with Sasuke as he spoke. "The next thing I knew, the enemy was dead. I won't go into too much detail, but their corpses were in pieces at my feet.

"It took Kankuro almost five entire minutes to bring me out of my fury, but when he did, Temari was already on the verge of losing consciousness. She almost died that day; thankfully we were close enough to the village to bring her back in time." Sasuke watched as his eyes flitted toward the trio on the other side of the room once more. "For some reason, I was convinced that nothing would ever happen to them; that no harm would ever come as long as I was there and as long as my sand could reach them." He shook his head slightly, a small frown forming. "Because of my refusal to admit they could be killed at any moment, I almost aided in the death of my sister."

"And your point is?" Sasuke asked, trying not to bite his tongue out of frustration.

"Deny it all you want, but you and I are very alike. If you want to ensure that you have full control over yourself, you need to come to terms with the fact that something could happen to them."

"I'm not letting a damn thing happen," Sasuke sneered quietly through gritted teeth, leaning towards Gaara angrily.

The Kazekage hardly even acknowledged his anger, holding his ground and keeping his eyes locked on Sasuke. "I'm not saying you're not going to do everything in your power to keep them safe. You simply must realize that it could still happen."

"Not on my watch," he repeated stubbornly, taking a couple steps back. He was done with this poor excuse for a conversation. There was no damn way he was going to sit by and listen to this nonsense.

"Think about it," Gaara spoke quietly, yet his words still reached Sasuke's ears as he retreated. "When you stop denying it, it will keep you all safe."

Before he knew it Sasuke was out of the room and storming down the hallways angrily.

He wasn't denying a damn thing. It was simply a fact that Sakura and Hana would never get hurt as long as he was around. It was never going to happen. He was furious that the damn Kazekage would even assume such a thing.

But the sight of Sakura in the front of his memory, blood pouring down the side of her face, caused him to falter with his steps, his pace slowing considerably in the process.

That night he had been right by her side. The very last thing on his mind was that there was any sort of possibility of her getting hurt. He had been there, and he would—no, he was supposed to—protect her.

Berating himself mentally, he dragged his feet down another hallway. He'd been right there, and she'd still gotten hurt. As Gaara's words unintentionally played through his head, he found himself sighing out of frustration. He wanted more than anything to say how wrong the man was; how he had no idea what he was talking about. Yet as he dug deep down in the pit of his memory, he pulled up a particular scene from back when they were younger.

Even when they were children-twisted, fucked-up, little children-they'd been the same. And while training for the chuunin exams, Gaara had found him and let him know just how alike they really were.

He'd denied it then, he even denied it now, but as he thought about it more and more, he realized that it all wasn't far from the truth.

As he sought out the two that he would do anything to protect, he figured that maybe he could try and give Gaara's advice a thought.

It couldn't hurt to accept a little help.


"Even though he might be a shadow clone, still try and be careful—"

"Sakura, I—"

"And if he's not, please don't try jumping in and starting a fight, I don't want you to get hurt—"

"Sakura, it's okay—"

"And please don't do anything stupid—"

Grabbing her by the shoulders, forcing her to halt her pacing, Sasuke forced Sakura to look him in the eye as he spoke. "Sakura. Everything is going to be fine."

They only had minutes before Sakura and Hana were to report to Gaara's office, where they'd be by his side throughout Sasuke's encounter with the green masked man. The clock was ticking and tensions were rising.

"Don't tell me that," she said, pushing his hands off of her shoulders rather roughly. "Unless you're positive—which you're not—don't tell me things like that."

"You're worrying too much."

Sakura laughed abruptly; the sound of it was slightly-hysterical, even mocking in a way. "I think the amount of worrying I'm doing is completely appropriate considering the situation." She snapped. Suddenly, she turned around, finding Hana still fast asleep on the couch of the apartment, wrapped snuggly in a couple blankets.

"I'm going to get the information that I need out of this guy," Sasuke said quietly, his voice cold and angry, "and I'm going to put a stop to this."

Sakura, who had resumed her nervous pacing, picked nervously at her lower lip, her eyes now focused on Hana instead of Sasuke. "Promise me," she said after a small silence, "promise me that you're not going to go off somewhere with this guy. Or that you won't chase him down or anything stupid like that." She turned toward him, pointing a finger at him and glaring. "Promise me that you'll come back with everyone else tonight."

Sasuke tightened his fists in frustration. "You know I can't promise you that."

"Bullshit," she said, working to keep her voice low despite her frustration, "you can, you just won't."

Seeing her pained expression, he frowned, his frustration subsiding momentarily, "Sakura…"

"Save it," she said harshly, cutting him off before he could say anything else to her. "I don't want to hear it."

Before he could attempt to speak again, a knock on the door interrupted them. Stepping around him Sakura answered the door, forcing a smile on her face when Kakashi entered.

"You all ready?" He asked, looking toward Sasuke and Hana before bringing his attention back to Sakura for confirmation.

"Ready," she nodded. As she turned to retrieve Hana she stopped dead in her tracks when Sasuke approached, a sleeping Hana already curled up in his arms. He could tell by her expression that she was still angry with him, but her eyes softened at the sight as she nodded to him.

The walk to Gaara's office wasn't long, but as Sasuke followed closely behind Kakashi, he wished that it would last just a little while longer. He didn't know what was about to happen, but he'd take any excuse just to spend a couple extra minutes with Sakura and Hana.

When they entered the room, Gaara was standing against the far wall, gazing out the window and into the night. Carefully, Sasuke deposited Hana on a couch off to the side, sadly prying her sleepy fingers off of his shirt as he released his hold on her. Sakura was there in an instant, sitting on the end of the couch, allowing Hana to use her thigh as a pillow.

"Ready?" Kakashi asked from the doorway.

Sasuke nodded, his adrenaline already pumping through his system.

"Kakashi," Sakura spoke suddenly, causing Sasuke to stop in his tracks. Her attention was solely on their old sensei though; she didn't even acknowledge Sasuke in the slightest. "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

Sasuke glared at her, shaking his head before walking around Kakashi and out the door.

"I'll do my best," he heard Kakashi say from inside the room. Frustrated, he looked over his shoulder, getting ready to snap at his old sensei, but before he could even gather the air into his lungs he saw Hana, sitting up in her seat.

"Dad?" She rubbed an eye, struggling to see him from where he stood in the hallway. "Where are you going?" Her voice scratched with sleepiness as she turned to her mother for help. "Where's he going?"

"They're going to talk to someone," she replied quickly, trying to lower her voice, "and they'll be back soon. I'm sorry we woke you, try and go back to sleep."

With one final look toward Sasuke, Hana nodded before lying back down on the couch, curling up underneath the blankets as she allowed her eyes to close once more. "Bye Kaka-san," she said quietly, "I'll see you later, Dad."

Trying to ignore the tugging sensation he felt in his chest, he stood still as he watched Kakashi finally leave the room, closing the door behind him quietly. Meeting his eyes, his expression hardened as his thoughts centered themselves around their task. "Ready," Kakashi lifted his headband as he spoke, revealing his bright sharingan.

Sasuke nodded, "Let's go."

As they made their way through the long hallways, down the winding stairwells, and toward the exit, Sasuke tried hard to keep his mind on track. Shikamaru and Kakashi had been working all day on a strategy for the group, but Sasuke had his own personal mission to complete whether or not it worked with the plan or not.

"Sai and Lee are staying behind," Kakashi informed him just as they exited the building, stepping directly into the courtyard. "Every other Konoha ninja is with us. Temari included."

Their pace was quick as they crossed the courtyard, approaching the rest of their large team who stood assembled under some sort of old, withered excuse for a tree. Sasuke couldn't help but glance sideways at Kakashi once he realized that, like always, they were the last ones to get there.

Hatake Kakashi. The man always went beyond the term 'fashionably late'.

"We have a little more than an hour until midnight," Kakashi said as they finally stopped before the group. "We should leave now and make sure to get ourselves into place before it gets too late."

"Let's pair up," Shikamaru said. "Ino, you're with me. Temari, Kiba, you two stick together. Hanabi, you'll be with Kakashi." Turning his direction toward Sasuke he made sure to lock eyes with him before speaking. "I'm trusting you to lead this. We're only here if we're needed, so let's hope we won't be."

Sasuke nodded, eager to agree to anything he said, just as long as they'd leave soon and he'd be able to get his hands on the sadistic masked man.

"Let's move out," Kakashi ordered firmly, giving Sasuke a quick clap on the shoulder before disappearing off into the night with Hanabi at his side.

"Listen to the plan, please Sasuke," Shikamaru said as he watched everyone head in their own separate directions; his expression was finally giving away his doubt. "I know you're all about revenge and what-not, but don't act stupid."

"Let's just go already," Sasuke mumbled under his breath.

"I promised Sakura I'd try and keep you from acting like an idiot. If she finds out you did something reckless, she'll kill both of us."

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke took the initiative, running ahead of Shikamaru as he tried to ignore his warnings.

Of course Sakura would make multiple people make promises to her that they wouldn't be able to keep. Running swiftly through the streets, he did falter for a moment once he realized that he was the one that held the control over the entirety of the situation. He could ensure that they'd keep their word simply by listening to orders and sticking to the plan. That way, Sakura wouldn't end up disappointed and no one would be threatened with bodily harm.

But the urge to sway from the strategy and work impulsively under his own jurisdiction was practically too tempting to ignore. This was the way he'd worked for so long; just thinking about following a plan that wasn't his own made him immensely uncomfortable.

Yet the sudden image of Sakura pacing back and forth, worried and panicked to the point of verbal incoherence, was far more agonizing than his stubborn discomfort.

Dealing with her was so frustrating. She wanted him to come back to Konoha, but she wanted him to do it only for Hana. She didn't want to go on a date with him, but she'd fret and complain endlessly over his safety and wellbeing. And she'd always laugh and cry at the same damn time and he just never fucking knew why.

The more he thought about his unstable relationship with her, the more uneasy he became. For the first time in a long time, he didn't have a single damn clue as to how she felt about him.

He thought she'd loved him; hell, he'd been hoping that she still loved him. But now he was the one who fumbled over his words and made a fool of himself, and she was the one who he could never understand.

Ah, how the tables had turned.

As he came to an abrupt stop just inside of the gates of the village, he tried to clear his head. His task wasn't very complicated: wait just outside of the village for him to arrive and then get him to start talking.

The others would be close by, but not entirely in sight. At least for the time being; they would only jump in once the man was in range. Taking the left side would be Shikamaru and Ino; they'd be hiding out in the giant shadows casted by the moonlight over the colossal walls. Temari and Kiba would be on the right, waiting inside one of the ridges in the wall, and Kakashi and Hanabi would be watching from up high, readying themselves to strike if necessary.

All in all, every angle would be covered except for the direction that the man would most likely be coming from. Once he approached Sasuke, they'd close in on him slightly, shutting off more than one likely escape route. Now the only thing left to find out was whether or not he'd be sending a shadow clone or actually coming to talk with his own flesh and blood.

Standing his ground, not once taking his red eyes off the desert in front of him, Sasuke remained in the same spot for the entire hour that he waited. It wasn't long after he guessed that midnight was near when he first spotted something in the distance. A part of him wanted to check his surroundings for a quick moment, to ensure that he didn't have anyone trying to attack him from the side, but he fought hard to ignore the urge. He had to allow his comrades to worry about that. He had to learn to trust them.

There was no grand entrance nor was there any form of surprise or stealth taken with his approach; the man simply walked a normal pace on his own two feet until Sasuke could see the dark green of his mask shining in the moonlight.

Without warning, Sasuke could feel the bloodlust send a fire through his veins, igniting every inch of his body with sudden, unbridled fury. The temptation to run to him, ignite him with flames, and tear him limb to limb was almost impossible to ignore. Yet somehow, perhaps through sheer willpower, he kept his two feet firmly planted in the sand beneath him.

With narrowed eyes he watched as the man approached, observing ever single step he took.

When he was close enough, that's when everybody was supposed to jump in, surrounding the man so he had no reasonable escape routes. And Sasuke was the one who was supposed to give the signal.

Just a little bit closer.

He watched anxiously, his hands unmoving at his sides, his feet still rooted in the sand.

Come on… closer.

Yet of course, just before he entered their range, he stopped walking. He was about thirty feet away when he needed to be twenty-five for their plan to work.

"I'm pleased to see that you showed."

The sound of the voice, so eerily upbeat, made Sasuke's head pound, his heart beating loudly in his ears. He hated his voice. He hated him.

Nevertheless, through his anger, he found it in himself to let out a sideways smirk. "Sorry," he spat, his voice dripping with sharp sarcasm, "I'm a bit hard of hearing."

The man let out a light, almost polite laugh. "Now, we both know that's not true." Sasuke kept his expression as passive as possible as he watched the man. "But, I suppose I'll humor you."

Sasuke watched as he took one, two, three, four, and five steps, stopping abruptly after the fifth and placing his hands on his hips. "Better?" He asked; Sasuke could hear the grin in his voice.

"Much better," he replied, his smirk turning into a sneer. And with quick, almost imperceptible movement, he clenched his left fist three times, signaling to his team.

In a flash, Sasuke watched intently as his comrades shot out from all different directions, surrounding the man in a matter of seconds.

Kiba took off to the right, using Akamaru to help launch Temari a bit farther, placing her almost directly behind the masked man. To his left Shikamaru and Ino stood, only an arm's length from one another, both of their hands ready to perform the seals that would stop the man if needed.

Kakashi landed directly to his left, glaring at the man almost as fiercely as Sasuke was; Hanabi was to his right, byakugan activated and eyes focused before her.

Suddenly, the man—who hadn't moved a muscle since they sprang into action—began to clap, starting off slowly but picking up speed as he took in the sight around him.

"How nice of you to bring your friends along with you, Sasuke. I'm quite impressed with the entrance."

"You wanted to talk," Sasuke said, moving his feet forward finally as he approached, "then talk." Taking a kunai into his hand, Sasuke paused only a few feet from him.

"No need to be so hostile," he said, as if chastising Sasuke. "I don't have any kunai on me."

Sasuke let out a short laugh, scoffing, "Don't be stupid."

"That's not stupid. But it would be stupid to arm a shadow clone with weapons," he shrugged dramatically, "what a waste that would be."

Damn. Sasuke swore silently to himself, trying not to let his frustration show on his face. It was discussed that if he ended up being a shadow clone, they'd simply get information out of him and then dispose of him. But if he were the real thing, they'd try to take him into custody, even pursuing him if needed.

Now that he knew it was just a clone, he was frustrated. The damn coward.

"Let's get to the point already," Sasuke snapped, his impatience getting the best of him.

"Ah yes. Good idea." The man nodded, crossing his arms over his chest as he cocked his head to the side. "The child's sharingan."

"You said you'd leave her alone in exchange for my sharingan."

"Yes I suppose that was said. It's one the the ideas we've been toying around with for a little while."

"We?" He narrowed his eyes further, not liking how he slipped into plurals suddenly.

"Masaru and I," he explained simply, as if referring to an old friend. "You see, I'm not so keen on hunting children. I have a daughter myself you see."

"Why would you hunt people at all?"

"Why else? Money of course. But I'm much better at assassinating people than retrieving them. That's the main reason I haven't already taken the girl."

Sasuke thought back to when he first saw the man in his apartment window. He'd been right there, with Hana in arms reach; he could've easily grabbed her and disappeared, only to be gone from Sasuke's sight forever.

"If you have a kid, why are you helping him at all?"

"Trust me, if I'd known you were still alive, I would've opted to find you first. And I'm not helping him. We're… business partners in a way. It wasn't even my job to find the child at first. He'd hired other people to do that. But of course…" he sighed, waving a hand in the air as he shook his head, "the dolts he hired ended up hiring more people. And then they hired people under them. And before we knew it there were thousands after the girl." Making a clicking noise with his tongue, he shook his head again. "I told Masaru that we were putting the bounty on the child far too high. We usually prefer to work quietly, so I've simply been killing off the scum that were hired by the idiots Masaru hired."

"You're killing the people who are working under you." Sasuke spoke flatly. It didn't even sound like it made any sense in the least.

"There are only a handful that Masaru actually wants looking for the girl. He's already told these people to call off their aid or we kill them; so that's been my main duty for the past couple months. But of course, I can't ignore the main goal."

"You're not getting anywhere near her," Sasuke said, his feet carrying him a bit closer with each word. "You can tell Masaru that if he wants the sharingan, he can fight me for them."

"We'll see. I do like yours best, if I'm being honest here. But for some reason Masaru wants them fresh so," he shrugged, "I'll let you know what he says."

"If you're going to play the messenger than tell him this," Sasuke spat, only a few feet away from the man, "He's not laying a finger on Hana. And I'm going to find him, and kill him."

"Yes, yes I'll be sure to let him know. Although it's surprising to me that you'd be just so eager to die."

Sasuke scoffed, his eyes narrowing as he tightened his grip on the kunai. All he wanted to do was drive the weapon through his skull; shadow clone or not.

"I'd rather die than let the sharingan fall into your hands."

"Well, the way things are going," he shrugged lazily, "both will probably end up happening." He paused for a moment before cocking his head to the side, his eyes still locked on Sasuke. "I see that Sakura is alive and well. Isn't that nice to see?"

At the mention of Sakura's name, Sasuke's fury started to steadily increase. He could almost feel Kakashi move closer to where he stood, perhaps waiting anxiously to see how Sasuke would react. They weren't supposed to dispose of him until after they received absolutely every scrap of information they could get. But the urge to simply destroy the clone where he stood was unbearably overwhelming.

"She wasn't looking too well the last time I saw her. I'm surprised she's still alive." His tone came off as genuinely impressed, although Sasuke wasn't stupid; he knew that the man was simply taunting him. "Yes, very tough, she is." Suddenly, Sasuke could see the man's dark eyes through his mask, shining in the moonlight. "It would be a shame if something were to happen to her."

A part of Sasuke urged himself to stay calm, to ignore the obvious taunts, and to hold his ground. But Sasuke wasn't exactly the kind of person to let someone else stand there in front of him and threaten the people that he cared about.

"It must be tough for you, Sasuke. To lose yet another family after all this time." Sasuke could hear the sadistic grin in his voice. "Masaru is much more twisted than I am, I'll admit that at the least. He likes to toy around with his prey before he kills them. But don't worry. I promise that if I'm the one who ends up having to do it, I'll kill her quickly."

In the background he hears Shikamaru mutter something quietly to someone else, but he can't distinguish the words or sort out who he's even talking to. His head feels hot with hatred and his heartbeat is reverberating in his ears and he can feel himself start to shake with rage.

That was it, Sasuke was about to make his own damn decisions here. There was nothing else useful that they'd be able to get out of this guy. He was done humoring them and was almost asking to get attacked. The man's stance relaxed slightly, letting his arms lie by his sides, his palms turned toward Sasuke as if waiting to be struck.

Before Sasuke could lift his arm to drive a kunai into the side of his head, someone grabbed his hand.

"Wait."

Before Sasuke could turn to glare at Kakashi angrily, and demand to know why he'd been stopped, something caught his eye.

It was hardly noticeable in the dark of the night, but as he looked closer at the man, he could see barely see a slip of paper sticking out of his dark cloak, fluttering slightly as the wind blew.

An explosive tag.

"Temper, temper," he held a hand before him, wagging a finger at Sasuke, almost as if scolding him. "You're just as impulsive as the rumors say you are. Didn't anyone ever tell you that anger never gets you anywhere? Now look here," slowly, he opened the front of his cloak, "you just almost killed all of your little friends."

His torso was covered fully with dozens and dozens of the tags, layered over top of each other so many times that Sasuke couldn't even see the skin of his chest. Behind him he could hear Hanabi warning everyone to stand back, and in his peripheral vision he could just barely see Temari moving in a wide circle, back toward the entrance of the village.

"The tougher the obstacles, the harder the goal is to achieve," as he spoke, he joined his hands in front of him, his fingers interlacing as he formed a hand sign. "With the obstacles gone, our target will be just in sight." He let out a dark laugh, "Goodbye, Sasuke."

Suddenly, everything went white, blinding him for a split-second before pain tore through him and his world went black.


A/N: Sorry about the long wait, school, work, and life are keeping me pretty busy. Not to mention that it's my birthday tomorrow so I've spent all weekend basically hammered. Let me know what you think.

I'm too stressed about the manga to talk about it too much but I swear to god if they kill you-know-who I'm going to fucking blow a gasket. And seriously where the fuck is Kakashi? Anyways what do you guys think about it right now?

It really is true when they say reviews are great motivation.