This is an extra-long chapter, with an explanation for why it's so long in the ending notes. Enjoy!


Sasuke was glad that Hanabi didn't try to follow him, but not because he disliked her company. He simply preferred to keep Hinata out of the messy affair that was sure to come—and Hanabi was, in a way, an extension of Hinata. Family; blood. Hinata still had her clan, almost all of the old and young alike. Though the loss of Neji had clearly sent ripples through Hinata's soul and sense of safety, there were dozens of others with the Hyuuga name waiting to pat her on the shoulder and say 'it's okay, you're home now.' Although he had lost such comforts, Sasuke didn't resent her for what she had, though he might have done so a few years prior. He recalled the hatred he used to feel; when he pulled up those memories, he wanted to believe that he was a different person then, possessing a different mind which had been driving him for those long years of exile and cruelty, but that was not the truth. They were his hands, his eyes, and his thoughts that compelled his betrayal. Many people had been willing to blame his blood heritage, and even he was tempted to accept the idea that the Uchiha's longstanding curse of hatred had been the sole cause of his actions, and yet he knew that to do so would be to deny his own role in it all. He took responsibility, even if he did so in private.

When the truth was spoken, with no frills and no distractions, he knew that he was the one who had caused his own betrayal, and with his very own will. He had broken Sakura's heart numerous times. He had driven Naruto close to death and madness on more than one occasion, as well. Despite that, Sasuke was back in Konoha; he wanted to save it, to keep it intact. To make it peaceful. And yet as he sailed through the fresh village air on his way to take care of business, he couldn't help but acknowledge his own hypocrisy. He had once declared vengeance upon the Leaf; he had been determined to crush it beneath his own power. In doing so, he would have certainly killed Hinata and her entire family without a second thought. Even the barest possibility of such a thing happening sent chills through him. He hadn't simply been misguided—in fact, he felt in retrospect that he was as evil as Danzo or Madara could ever have dreamed of being. He was a monster, then, and with great fear he had felt the dangerous rage coming back in the face of what had happened that night. Would he become that monster again if he were to somehow lose Hinata? He hoped never to learn the answer.

As he leaped, he came upon a thick array of trees, one of the many pockets of nature that dotted the village landscape. There were trees around nearly every corner; the leaves of the village's namesake were thick and green in the late spring warmth. One tree in particular in that small grove had been designated as a discreet meeting place, and he saw its thick branches spread in every direction, towering over its wooden brethren with authority, like an older sibling both protective and assertive. Sasuke hopped into that tree and landed without a sound, concealing himself among the green coverage and laying a hand against the dense trunk at its center for balance. There were a few gaps in the leaves, one of which pointed out directly toward a very specific window across the nearby street. Sasuke took out a small mirror from the pouch upon his hip; it was an old-fashioned signal maker. The light of the full moon shone into his concealment in thin, silver beams, one of which he captured against the reflective surface and then turned in such a way that it shone into the window; it was high above, with no lights on beyond its glass panes. Sasuke tilted the signal back and forth a few times, ensuring that the message was received as flashing light. Confident that it was noticed, he tucked the mirror away and then sat himself down at the joint where his chosen branch met the robust center pillar of the great oak. From there, he waited for acknowledgment.


Hinata had exited the shower and given a satisfied sigh into the echo chamber of her bathroom. Although she was clean and fresh, she looked into the mirror to see that her chin was indeed bruised and had become slightly swollen. She poked the discolored, grayish-blue skin with a delicate fingertip and winced. The pain was noticeable, but bearable as well. She sighed and closed her eyes, reaching for a towel and wrapping it around her dripping body, finding another, smaller one to bundle around her hair and let its dripping wet heaps soak into the white, plush to dry. She looked down along her shoulders and arms, finding small bruises along her knuckles and wrists that had formed more fully during the time she spent in the hot water. As evidenced by the way she had hurt her own flesh with her strikes, she had been fighting harder than she had ever fought before, yet it still wasn't enough. Sasuke told her that she could have won without him, but she had doubts—what if he hadn't come to save her? What did that man, Shell, actually want with her? She plucked a few eyebrows that had been bent and otherwise ruined, trying to find some semblance of order in her damaged facial features. As she moved around, she felt bruises along her heel where she had tried to sweep the man's iron leg, but the dull ache didn't hinder her walking. All in all, she was banged up but nowhere near broken.

Satisfied with her condition as shown in the steamy mirror, she picked up a toothbrush and laid out a bit of paste, sticking it into her mouth and taking a deep breath of the minty fresh aroma as it filled her senses with soothing flavor. Until then, she had been tasting dust and blood—so the light green goop was a pleasant replacement, which she carried out of the bathroom and into her living space as she cleaned her teeth ritualistically. Her question of 'where's Hanabi?' was answered right away: predictably, there the younger sister was, parked on Hinata's bed with the book she had slipped away from Ko. Hanabi was on her back, holding the spine of the paperback in one hand and turning the page with her other. She seemed awfully comfortable. Hinata cleared her throat to get the sibling's attention.

Hanabi peeped over the top of the reading material with a slight blush on her cheeks. "Oh, hey sis...you took forever in there, I was about to come in and see if you were still awake." She folded the corner of a page before closing the whole thing and tossing the book onto a shelf overhead, expertly allowing it to land between two thicker tomes that were mostly for show. They were some kind of shinobi history records that her sister kept in order to impress anybody who might stop by; at least, that's what Hanabi figured the never-opened texts were for. "You look like crap, you know...are you okay?"

Hinata sighed, unraveling the towel from around her hair after a final squeeze. The blue-black locks dried relatively quickly, because they were inadvertently cut somewhat short; the lowest tresses didn't even pass her shoulders anymore. It seemed as if every day she spent training with Sasuke had gradually trimmed the length down until it just barely caressed the upper slope of her arms. She pulled her toothbrush out to speak with a mouthful of suds: "I'm fine...and just so you know, Ko made me promise that I'd help him find that book. He's worried that Father might find it first." She ran her fingers through the dampness of her head, loving the feel of the soaked strands against her palms. The comforts of home were almost unbearably soothing compared to the nightmare she had escaped. "Should a girl your age even be reading that kind of stuff?" Hinata slipped easily back into the role of big sister, trying her best to ignore the hardships of the day.

"What better age is there to start reading about romance and seduction? It's not like I'm a little kid anymore." Hanabi's cherubic little face curled into a sinister smirk. "Besides, maybe you should read some of it, too. Might help you figure out how to handle Sasuke a bit better." There was a teasing wink, though her blushed face remained uncertain all the while. She had gone hot thinking of that tall, muscular-but-sleek male she had only recently finished talking to. Hanabi was jealous, and she wasn't very good at hiding it, but she'd deny it up and down if she were ever accused. "Speaking of Sasuke..."

Hinata froze mid-stroke of her hair, fingers tangled up and hesitant. "What about him?" She whispered quietly past her toothbrush, realizing with a sinking feeling in her chest that perhaps Hanabi had been watching them atop the mountain. If she had seen the kiss, the perfect and cherished moment of time, then she was never going to stop pestering her older sister about it. "He brought me home, that's all...don't get any ideas in your head." She had been telling herself that, too, along with a few other things: Don't get any ideas. A kiss is a kiss, you're looking too much into it. People kiss all the time and it doesn't always mean anything...But he saved my life; he avenged my pain. He came for me. He saw me to safety. Sasuke, what do you actually think of me? Her lips quivered as she thought of his taste. She had showered and brushed it all away, toothpaste still flooding the sides of her mouth...and yet she could feel him, still. The hints of dirt and copper had gone, leaving only the mint and the faintest hint of her mentor's balmy flavor left against her lips.

Hanabi snickered, wiping the base of her mouth with the back of her thumb as if to scrape away a little bit of drool that had formed while she had read the inappropriate story. The book was out of her hands, but not out of her thoughts. "It's just, Sasuke's a really attractive guy...he's tough, he's smart, he's intense, he's mysterious...everything a girl loves, right? So I gotta wonder, do you think you're the only girl he treats this way?" Hanabi felt a little bit of cattiness spreading through her voice. She was on the war path, testing her sister's confidence. It was mean of her, and she knew it, but it had to be done. Hinata was still recovering from heartbreak, thanks to Naruto, but it was exactly that heartbreak which motivated the younger sibling to be so inquisitive. She had heard the certainty in Sasuke's voice when he declared his intent to keep Hinata safe, but keeping her safe wasn't the same as keeping her happy. She doubted his ability to really care for her sister the way she needed to be cared for. She was strong-willed, but her tender heart was a bit...fragile. Especially now. "I mean, when the tournament's done and he doesn't need to train you anymore, do you think he'll still hang around like he's been doing?"

Hinata felt doubt rise up, and her brows flexed firmly; defensively. "What do you mean by that...?" She took a step back; her heel lightly slipped in a puddle of drips that she had left behind, but she didn't lose her footing despite her exhaustion. "Where else would he go?"

Hanabi shrugged. "I dunno, he's always been kind of a drifter, right? I mean, even when he was still living here as a kid, he didn't exactly keep any close friends. Naruto and Sakura were about it, but he had to hang around them. They were his team." Hanabi's eyes darkened. She gave a serious glare from her lounged, laid-back position in Hinata's bed. "If he leaves without saying anything, will you be okay?"

Hinata gulped and felt like she was being accused of something. She matched Hanabi's stare with a timid flick of pale eyes. "He wouldn't just leave...would he?"

Hanabi shrugged. "Why not? He's done it before, and not just once, either."

For a moment, Hinata was worried. But only for a moment. Gradually, she replaced her trembling, frantic frown with an easy, tiny smile. She gave Hanabi a happy look, appreciative for the topic despite being bothered by the possibilities suggested. "It's true, he has left us behind before..." She thought back to the day Naruto returned from his honeymoon; Sasuke had been leaving without a word. He would have been gone if she hadn't stopped him...but he wasn't gone. He came back. Not only that, but he accepted her invitation to come home. Sasuke had taken her hand and he had come into the village of his own accord. In that moment, he had felt very different to her. That was enough to settle her concerns, but then, even more convincingly... "He doesn't wear his cloak anymore; haven't you noticed?"

Hanabi perked a brow. "His cloak...?" She looked to the pale cream ceiling in thought, recalling the sparse, almost casual clothing Sasuke had been wearing. "Hey, yeah...I guess you're right. But what does that have to do with anything? Couldn't he just put it back on before he goes?"

Hinata smiled wider, reassuring herself a bit more with every moment of thought. She didn't need to ask Sasuke directly—she had been told the truth already, in a way that was typical of her master. With great subtlety, yet decisive power. "When he left the cloak behind for the first time, he was doing it for my sake. He was telling me that he wasn't going anywhere...and that he won't leave me behind. Not now, and not ever..." She was sure of it, even though she knew she probably shouldn't have been. "I've felt it."

"I wish I could have your confidence, sis, but maybe you're getting ahead of yourself...I mean, who even is Sasuke? We all know he's Naruto's equal, and he's really cool and all, but...do you know what makes him tick? Do you know what his hobbies are, what books he reads, the kind of music he likes, his favorite color...anything?"

Hinata shrugged softly, bringing a hand up to caress her own smooth skin along her collar. She was starting to dry, and her towel was rather damp with mild weight against her stomach, hips, and chest. "I don't think he likes to talk about himself very much..."

"You'll have to make him talk, then. If you really want to be special to him, you're gonna have to get to know him better than anybody does. Even Naruto, and especially Sakura! We can't have him trusting somebody else more than he trusts you, get it? I've seen the way he looks at you, and it's pretty clear that you've got him caught in your web, but you still have to..." Hanabi clapped her hands together, crushing and twisting her palms against one another as if to dramatize the situation further. "Strike! Lock him down, right? If you don't, somebody else might."

Hinata giggled softly, shaking her head with a smile that spoke volumes of her certainty. "Is this something that you got out of that book?" she looked up at the pilfered paperback; it had a bright orange cover with a few dark red words lining the spine. The title was something along the lines of Make-out Paradise, which didn't leave much doubt about its subject matter. "Sasuke is...different, Hanabi. He isn't like other people...and that's not a bad thing. Like you said, he's intense...and that intensity is something I can feel when he looks at me. Even when he's not in the room, it's like I can sense it when he thinks about me...and it feels warm, like a blanket laid over my shoulders." She blushed hard with her head tilted down in thought. She closed her eyes and hugged both of her shoulders with soft hands, as if tightening the aforementioned invisible blanket. "And I'm sure that he's thinking about me right now..."

Hanabi gazed upon her sister in total awe. There wasn't an ounce of doubt in any of those words. "Wow, Hinata..." She gulped, feeling suddenly petty for having ever questioned Hinata's confidence. "This isn't just a crush anymore, is it?" She shivered along her legs, all the way to her bare toes, flexing her feet to soothe her giddy nerves. "You're seriously falling in love with him, aren't you?" She was equal parts worried, jealous, and pleased. It was a confusing moment, but one that ultimately proved to be a calming one. That was the final assurance that Naruto's marriage was no longer consuming the elder sister's thoughts.

Hinata didn't confirm or deny it, standing in silence as the last few drops of shower water fell onto the floor at her feet. She opened her eyes slightly, peering through fuzzy vision to give Hanabi a relaxed look. Part of her wanted to panic and deny the observation with hands outstretched, but she simply couldn't. It wouldn't have felt right to deny it. But she didn't admit to anything, either. She simply stood there, basking in her own pleasant feelings. So what if she was getting ahead of herself? Even if she had the completely wrong impression of the last living Uchiha, she didn't care just then...because in that moment, she felt blissfully fulfilled. She was going to dream about him that night; it was guaranteed. She spoke to Hanabi and exhaled slowly. "I don't really know, Hanabi...but I've had a long night, and I'd really like to get some sleep." She approached her bedside, looking down at Hanabi with a sly, sisterly smirk. "You'd better finish reading tonight, because I have to return this to Ko tomorrow. A promise is a promise." She winked playfully, reaching up to take the orange novel down, dropping it in Hanabi's lap.

Hanabi scowled lightly at the non-answer, having hoped to get a specific confession from her sibling. She had had a feeling that it wouldn't be that easy, but even the non-answer had still given her a lot of insight. Hearing the words would only be a formality, at that point—Hanabi already knew the truth. The teen plucked the book out of her own lap and tucked it into a wide pocket on the side of her pajama pants. "Fiiiine, I guess I'll stay up tonight and finish it off." She climbed out of the violet-sheeted bed and stretched her arms out. "Sleep tight, Hinata..." She trailed off, rubbing the back of her head anxiously. "And I'm sorry if I bugged you too much."

Hinata reached over and gave her shorter relation a soft pat on the shoulder. "It's okay, Hanabi. I know you're just worried about me, but don't be. I'm going to be fine."

Hanabi smiled sheepishly, touching the hand on her shoulder with gleeful acknowledgment. While neither sister ever got much affection from their father, they supported one another in perfect fairness, leaning and pushing as the other demanded. "You should invite Sasuke over for dinner, sometime...here, I mean. With the family."

Hinata was about to take off her towel and dress for bed, but the suggestion caught her by surprise and locked her up. She shook her head after a moment of thought. "I...really don't think that would be a good idea." She had considered it before, sure, but it was a long shot. She wanted Sasuke to feel welcome in the village, but if she was the only one who made him feel that way, it wouldn't make much difference for him. She wanted to help broaden his 'safe' zones so that he didn't always feel like a stranger in his own village. Still, despite that intention, a dinner at the Hyuuga residence wasn't the best way to make it happen. Even if Sasuke himself agreed, then her father, or Ko, or really anybody else in the family would have probably squashed the notion far in advance. And even if by some miracle it were to be arranged, the actual gathering would probably go poorly. There were too many factors to worry about, and so Hinata regretfully had to concede it as little more than a dream. "It's just not possible."

Hanabi pouted a bit, crossing her arms. "If you say so...but if you wanted me to, I could try to convince father to allow him over...and if he approved, everybody else would have to, as well, right? And since I'm the heiress, and all, I have some say in things."

Hinata sighed, rubbing her forehead and pulling her bed's blanket aside as if preparing to climb in while still wearing her damp towel. It was a ploy to hurry her sister along, to get the topic out of her mind. "Go read, Hanabi. I'll see you in the morning." She bit her lower lip, unable to resist thinking about what had been suggested. Was it possible to earn her father's approval? Doubtful, but with Hanabi's help...maybe...

Hanabi gave a click of her tongue, tsking her teeth and shrugging. "Suit yourself," she mumbled, stepping out of the room while avoiding the trail of small puddles left behind in Hinata's wake. She left the room and shut off the lights, yawning as she patted her pocket to be certain that 'her' book was secure. "Sleep tight; hope you feel better in the morning." And with that, the door was closed and Hinata was alone with her thoughts.

They were good thoughts, relatively. Thoughts of Sasuke, both positive and negative...but even the negatives had grains of goodness to them. He had gotten violent, almost crazily so, and yet it was for her sake. The thought both worried and excited her. She was responsible for his violence, but it was because he cared so much about her safety. Sasuke was willing to lose himself in order to protect her; to punish anybody who tried to hurt her. Shivering, she dropped her towel and dressed herself quickly in fuzzy sleeping clothes, climbing into bed and replacing her imagined thought-blanket with a thick, real layer of cloth that hugged her sore body with just enough weight to hold her shaking arms and legs still. She closed her eyes, and she saw Sasuke looking at her with a blank expression. She pursed her lips, then puckered them in the darkness. She wanted to kiss him again, and rather badly. It hadn't been enough. She wondered if she would ever get to kiss him another time—was it a spontaneous act, an adrenaline-pumped impulse that had come and gone, never to return? While her vulnerable heart was filled with the fear of future rejection, she fell asleep and allowed herself to dream of him, just as she had anticipated.

She dreamed of more kisses, of his familiar heartbeat, and of his soothing, luminous eyes. Sasuke's mismatched red and indigo orbs were cold and deadly to most, but to her, they symbolized comfort and protection. She hadn't admitted anything out loud, but she knew right away that Hanabi was correct. It definitely wasn't just a crush anymore.


Sasuke wasn't kept waiting long; five minutes, at the most. He was willing to be patient in exchange for subtlety, a field which his contact was rather proficient in. Rather than approach traditionally, the operative arrived in a swirl of ink on the branch opposite Sasuke's own, perched on two feet and hunched over with bent knees. Sai was in ordinary, dark clothes with his Konoha headband laid across his forehead and a wet brush in his right hand, dripping with a little bit of leftover ink at the tail end of his short-range transportation technique. He looked to Sasuke with calm understanding, speaking right away: "It's been a while. Has something come up?"

Sasuke nodded curtly; no need for formalities. "Yes, something major. I'd like your help right away." Without waiting for an answer, he turned to leap out of the tree. He didn't need to turn his head to know that Sai was following behind, dressed in black and nearly impossible to see against the night sky. They both stayed high, beginning at the roof of Sai's apartment building and staying out of the light as they progressed to their destination. No words were exchanged; the risk of eavesdropping was very real, even despite their quick pace and concealed travel. It was past midnight, but there was still plenty of activity in the streets. Nothing compared to the daytime bustling, but still considerable—until they reached the developing properties along the outskirts, that is. Sasuke reached the disguised structure first, and when Sai landed at his left, the illusory barrier was quickly opened in the front to allow passage through the shimmering layer.

Sai followed behind Sasuke with analytical curiosity, glancing left and right with his fingertips ready to act with a split-second's notice. As his unofficial partner stepped through the open door, Sai took inventory and saw that there was wide-spread carnage laid all across the lowest floor. The ceiling overhead was caved in, and the resulting rubble was everywhere. The dust had settled, making for a thick white coating along the wooden floor. The three unconscious bodies beside the door were noticed first, then the man who was slumped over in critical condition with a pile of bricks up to his waist. Sai's eyes widened with recognition. "Shell...?"

Sasuke turned to regard Sai with suspicion, his hand instinctively dropping to the hilt of his sword. "You know him?"

Sai nodded. "Of course. He and I work together on guard shifts for the Hokage's office...what happened to him?" The pale-faced artist gave Sasuke a look of cautious wonder. "Rather...what did he do to deserve this kind of beating?" While waiting for the answer to his question, Sai crossed the devastated ground floor and put his hand upon the unconscious guard's wrist, checking for a pulse. "He's alive," it was determined. "Barely, but he's tough...he'll pull through, in time."

Sasuke nodded. "Check his wrist...tell me if he has the same tattoo as the two bodies you lost."

Sai winced a little. He could tell that Sasuke was still irritated about the mishap with the 'evidence' two weeks earlier. As had been predicted, when Sai returned to the morgue to fetch the pair of corpses with the tattoos, they had already been checked out and disposed of by, to quote the receptionist, 'one or more approved operatives'. For confidentiality purposes, their names weren't taken and wouldn't be given even if they had been. Shinobi tended to keep their operations secretive—even from one another, when necessary. Hence, nobody in the morgue ever batted an eye when masked Anbu soldiers came in with unusual requests pertaining to bodies or other sorts of evidence. Hoping to make up for the loss, Sai turned Shell's wrist and gave a subdued hum. Though it wasn't reflected in his smooth voice, he was deeply shocked by what he saw. He had worked with Shell for years, first with the Anbu on particular missions, then as joint guardians of the Hokage. With only a half a breath of hesitation, he spoke. "Yes. This is similar to the mark that the others had..." He tilted the tanned arm up for Sasuke's benefit. The mark was a tiny circle about the size of a ladybug. It showed no obvious details at first glance, though there were a few pinprick-sized gaps in the solid black dot that suggested a specific design.

Sasuke switched on his Sharingan and stepped in for a close look. It was definitely made of ink—a tattoo, as Sai had suggested previously. It resided on the inside edge of the right wrist, molded along the joint and in line with the contours of the thumb. Sasuke focused intently, trying to determine the details. He could see that it was some kind of symbol, but he had never come across it before, and even with his enhanced, legendary vision, the makeup was still rather fuzzy. "Whoever placed this isn't much of an artist..." Sasuke sighed, shaking his head. "It looks like an insignia of some kind, but it's not familiar to me." Sasuke brought his hand to his chin, brushing it in thought. He then turned to the three near the door. They were alive, too, but still unconscious all the same. He moved over to them, checking the same spot on their wrists. To his surprise, they didn't have the mark. "These guys don't have it," he announced.

Sai turned as well, dropping Shell's wrist with a certain level of respect, laying it gently on the brick pile. "That doesn't make sense," he declared, joining Sasuke in hunching beside the trio. Try as he might, he couldn't find any hint of the black mark upon their hands, wrists, or arms, on either side. "Why would some of them have it, but not others?"

Sasuke pondered for a moment. "Maybe it's only for shinobi." He pulled open the black robes that all three men had been wearing, one at a time, revealing street clothes that didn't seem befitting of a shinobi on a mission, whether for the village or not. "These guys just seem like average thugs; I've dealt with plenty of men like them. Petty, willing to do anything for a small payday." Sasuke turned to look at Shell, still feeling a boil of hatred. It was subsiding, however slowly. The burner had been turned off, but the bubbles hadn't quite stopped and the steam was still rising rapidly. Every moment made his anger a little bit cooler, but it would still scorch a finger if one were to touch it. "Do you suppose your colleague there might have recruited them on his own?"

"It's possible...but who recruited Shell to begin with?" Sai folded his arms and took a deep breath, still wrestling with the realization of what had happened. "And who was the target...?" he asked, apprehensively. He knew that Hanabi had been picked out before. He had his theories, but he waited to be told.

"It was Hinata Hyuuga, this time," Sasuke revealed, taking some difficulty to keep his voice level. "After what happened with Hanabi, we have to think of this as a pattern. It isn't just some random incident anymore." Sasuke flexed his hand, squeezing tight. The scent in the room was faintly tinted by a linger of Hinata's blood—other things certainly overpowered it, but even the tiniest little whiff was enough to heat Sasuke's veins. "I have some important questions for 'Shell'. Can you wake him up?"

Sai flattened his lips a bit. "I don't think that's going to happen any time soon." He was beside the man in question right away, snapping his fingers in front of the unconscious, bald-headed face. Shell's eyes remained shut, his head lulled to the side limply. "Whatever you did to him must have been a lot more harmful than a beating." He turned to face the Uchiha with just a hint of fear. "What did you do?"

"No worse than he deserved," Sasuke answered cryptically through clenched teeth, turning away to avoid eye contact with the one asking. "In any case, I'd rather not wait here until he wakes up. Whatever this place is, they lured her here with a plan. It's possible that more of their friends might be coming soon, and I'd rather not cause a commotion if they happen to see that something's amiss."

Sai nodded his agreement. "Right; we don't want there to be a stir. Wait here; I'll report to the Hokage right away and ask what we should do next." He was turning to leave, but a quick glance from Sasuke caused him to lurch to a stop on nimble feet. "Unless...you'd rather I didn't do that." Despite Sai's loyalty to the Sixth Hokage, there was something more to be said about Sasuke's persuasiveness. "What would you have me do, then?"

Sasuke looked toward the inconsequential trio, indicating them with a directive hand gesture. "Those three should be dealt with; seal them away for now, if you can."

Sai nodded, reaching behind his back and producing a scroll from underneath his loose black shirt. "A wise call," he said earnestly as he slid the paper open. Sealing a live target in a scroll had some degree of risk, but no more than any other transportation or summoning technique, really. He laid the blank paper across the floor and began forming the hand signs necessary to lock the trio up nice and tight. "And what about Shell?" Sai inquired as his technique was finished and a puff of smoke replaced the three goons. His scroll was now covered with ink, three separate symbols lining the parchment to represent the three bodies now held captive in the thin layers.

"I'll take him home with me, for now," Sasuke replied, giving the unconscious ring leader a harsh glare from halfway across the room. "I want to be there when he wakes up."

"If he wakes up," Sai clarified as he rolled the scroll shut and tucked it away where he had gotten it from. "It's not like you, Sasuke. Every other case of yours that I've examined has been so careful...gentle, even. Shell was once among the ranks of Root's strongest hunter-nin, but even that shouldn't have been enough to push you beyond your usual limitations...what exactly is it that made him so different? Why is he nearly dead?"

"He's no different from the usual scum, Sai," Sasuke uttered with calm truthfulness. "The only thing that sets him apart is the depth of the mistake he made. He's lucky to be alive at all; somebody saved his life."

"Hinata was able to stop you?" Sai asked, his voice a note lower than usual; he found it difficult to believe. Hinata wasn't known for being intimidating or assertive, but the situation also begged the question of why Sasuke was so invested in her safety.

Sasuke didn't answer that obvious question, the one containing the name that had never left his mind. Instead of admitting how much the girl influenced his behavior, he continued on his own train of thought. "He may wake on his own, eventually, but I think we should speed up the process." Because of the similarities, he thought back to his encounter with Itachi in a hotel someplace outside of the village many years prior. Sasuke recalled having been stricken with a long bout of unconsciousness after being exposed to Tsukuyomi. It took the touch of a remarkable healer to rouse him, as well as Kakashi, from that state. Shell had suffered a similar fate, by Sasuke's own design. Intentional, justified, satisfying, but inconvenient. "There's somebody who can wake him up right away...and I'd like for you to bring her to my apartment in the morning."

"Morning?" Sai asked, squinting with mild doubt. "Why wait?"

"I'd rather not disturb her rest to soon," Sasuke answered softly. "And I think our friend here will keep until then." He grabbed Shell around the throat, not at all careful with him as he yanked the muscular dead weight out of the mound of brick and mortar, allowing the pile to fall apart and clunk against the floor; heavy blocks bounced and cracked, spreading around. Shell was free of his heavy prison, but still very much unconscious. The wound in his abdomen had stopped bleeding, but there was a crusty black layer of scabbing that spoke to the grisly nature of the wound. Bruises and broken bones were visible along his body, most particularly the misshapen bend of his snapped elbow. "I'll take him, for now." Shell was hoisted over Sasuke's shoulder, the massive bulk of the unconscious traitor barely even registering as a feather against the Uchiha's solid frame. "Meet me at apartment 7 as soon as you can convince her to come."

"Do you mean Tsunade?" Sai asked, imagining the greatest healer he could think of. "Would she be willing to help behind the Hokage's back?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No, I mean the next best thing, or perhaps even better—Tsunade's apprentice, Sakura Haruno." He closed his eyes, picturing the lovely girl who had been drifting out of his thoughts steadily over the past weeks. He hadn't seen her since the night of her misguided confession on the roof of their dinner date. Perhaps things would be less awkward between them if there was some kind of pressing business to deal with. "You know her well; she'll trust you, and I think she'll be willing to help me, too. Be sure to tell her that this operation is to be a secret from the general public before she agrees to it."

"And what about Naruto?" Sai pointed out, seeming skeptical. "He isn't exactly good at keeping secrets...and it could be difficult to take his wife out on a mission without him tagging along."

Sasuke shrugged. "I won't be needing his help in this matter; not yet. If he happens to be there and wants to come along, there's no reason to stop him. If you have concerns about his secrecy, then all you need to do is make the task sound boring..." Sasuke smirked, imagining the look on Naruto's face before a dull assignment. He hadn't seen his blonde almost-brother in two weeks, either. The situation between himself and Sakura had made their interactions quite a bit more difficult to arrange; he was actually starting to miss his old friend's rambunctious attitude. The truth of the matter was that Sasuke probably could have woken Shell on his own, given the need, but he had been trying to engineer a circumstance under which he and Sakura could have a much-needed discussion without an awkward run-in or a specific meeting for that exact purpose. As terrible as Shell's attack was, the aftermath was a surprisingly convenient turn of events.

Sai gave a nod to Sasuke's suggestion. "Ah, you're right; he does dislike boring missions. He believes that they waste his potential." With a glance to Sasuke and the cargo on his shoulder, Sai hummed. "Will you be able to get him there without trouble? I can store him in a scroll for you, if it would make the trip easier."

Sasuke shook his head. "No, that won't be necessary. I don't intend to be seen."

Sai smirked, turning back to the door. The ruins were going to be discovered eventually, barrier or not. Somebody had been working there; the construction was far from finished. The walls hadn't even been painted before they were completely obliterated on the inside. He hoped that Shell would have some answers, but somewhere deep inside of him he knew that things weren't going to be that easy. Sasuke seemed hopeful, but Sai knew the truth—Shell was once a member of Root, one of Danzo's pet projects just like many of the others. There was little chance of making him talk, but at the same time as he doubted Shell's propensity to crack, he also had to acknowledge that Sasuke had a number of extreme methods by which to extract information from a target—whether said target survived or not. "Until morning, then," Sai murmured.

Sasuke gave a nod, and even as Sai stared right at him, the Uchiha's exit went completely unseen. In one moment, he was perfectly still. In the next, he was gone. Emptiness. Sai recalled the first time he locked eyes with Sasuke, many years prior in the bowels of one of Orochimaru's hideouts. He could only see the eyes...and they terrified him, even at a point in his life when his emotions were suppressed to the point of nonexistence. Strangely, he had grown less and less frightened of Sasuke as time passed. Especially after a specific point in time, one event that colored his perception of the Uchiha from that day forward. Sasuke was a hero to many, long before he ever could have known it.


Sasuke didn't take long to make it home; his speed was phenomenal, and he used it to reach the destitute corner of the village where he laid his head at night. The blurriness of his movements only came to an end as he stopped in front of his door, materializing out of nothing and stopping flat. With Shell slumped on his shoulder, he moved his hand to the knob of his front door and turned it open, unlocking it with a touch of his chakra. He didn't need a key; the lock was hardly necessary at all, were it not for the few precious personal belongings within that room. As the entry creaked open, Sasuke heard the landlord's outpost make the click of a similar turning handle. Sasuke quickly turned his head to see that Ryuza, the uneven-faced owner of the suddenly-legitimate apartment complex had been coincidentally stepping out to take his trash to the nearby dumpster.

He and Sasuke locked eyes for a split second. Ryuza's face went white with the realization that something was happening that he wanted no part of. Before Sasuke even had the need to speak, the short, round-bodied slob with a light brown stain on the chest of his white shirt turned his head and covered his eyes with a big hand. Across the concrete sidewalk that lined the outer ridge of the complex, Ryuza's grimy voice echoed cautiously: "Nope, didn't see nothin'; the less I know the better," and with that he vanished back into his little cabinet. Odd that a man who owned an entire complex of modest apartments would settle for an even more modest little hut out front, but to each his own. As the door was shut tight and locked in five different ways, Sasuke couldn't resist a chuckle. He had certainly made the proper impression on the first night of his stay. He hadn't heard a troublemaking peep out of Ryuza or his hired goons since he set them straight.

With that little distraction tucked away, Sasuke entered his apartment and dropped Shell's fleshy body onto the uneven, splintery wooden floor. Delicate condition or not, he was still the person who most deserved Sasuke's hatred that night, and so he was rather fortunate that he wasn't dead. Sasuke looked to the far right corner of his box-shaped residence, spotting the single wooden chair that had been tucked away for lack of purpose. It had a plain square seat and shaky, insecure legs. As he picked it up, Sasuke could feel that it was old and worn down; the wood had at some point been visited by termites, but even those pests were no longer appetized by what remained. He set the chair out in an open portion of the floor, then lifted Shell up to sit him down clumsily upon its brittle support. It creaked and tilted, but held with a visible strain.

Although Sasuke was confident that the prisoner wouldn't wake on his own—and even if he did, the man posed no threat whatsoever—there was still the instinct that told him to be cautious. And so, without getting a wink of sleep, the bright-eyed youth watched his captive with unblinking focus, following every beat of Shell's weak heart as it sent tiny shock waves through the unarmored skin; he heard and felt every single rasped breath, barely enough to sustain life. For a long night, the windowless and dark apartment housed all of Sasuke's rage. He considered finishing his earlier intentions, thought about slicing Shell's throat long-wise with the very tip of his sword. It would have been rather satisfying, but he had already set the wheels in motion to do something far more involved. And so with begrudgingly-tied hands, Sasuke set himself on the corner of his bed with his sword in hand and his eyes locked to the closed lids of Shell; a traitor, and one of the luckiest men in the world to still be breathing. Though, his luck was sure to change at the moment when his coma-like slumber was to be interrupted.


The sun rose slowly, peeking over the woodlands surrounding Konoha but not quite reaching the village within its crater. The ridge of the sky was bright and orange with the whispers of a new day, but the ground still chirped with nocturnal insects which the light hadn't quite bathed, yet. Sai was already on the move, accomplishing the task set upon him by Sasuke. He knew where Sakura and Naruto lived; he had visited on a few occasions in the past and was well-informed as to the important players in the village's politics and military strength. In fact, he was one of the very few who knew where Sasuke's residence actually was—not even the Hokage knew for sure, yet. Sai saw no reason to tell him until directly asked, either. Which may have been why Sasuke's insistence on bringing Shell to his home was so bizarre, also compounded with the fact that Sakura was being brought in, as well.

Arriving just a few minutes earlier than he had planned, Sai waited outside the door to Sakura and Naruto's second-floor apartment with his back to the outer wall until the sun touched the roof—that was dawn by anybody's standard, and he had been waiting long enough before that. He had gone home the night before and taken a fairly decent nap; a few hours long, which was about on par with his typical schedule. He had dressed himself in his usual clothes; black, gray, and red with a little bit of exposure around his pale midsection. The air was heating up rapidly as the sun rose past the horizon and drenched him in golden fire. He sucked air through his nose and knocked upon the door with a polite cadence, hoping not to be too jarring with his call. To his surprise, the door was answered after only three knocks, as if he had been expected.

Sakura stood there, hair out of place like she hadn't been able to brush it down, but she was dressed in a public-worthy red shirt and a black skirt that hung to her knees, hugging her hips and thighs just enough to be fashionable without being suggestive. She blinked at who her guest was, and she brought a hand up to quickly pat down her frayed pink strands, puffing out her shirt a bit to dispel a few just-donned wrinkles. "Oh, hey there Sai! What're you doing here so early?" She asked in a kind voice, fitting right in with the birds who had started to sing under the sunrise.

Sai smiled his best smile and tilted his head. "Actually, I'm here to ask you for a big favor. It's rather important, in fact."

Sakura blinked, raising one soft brow. "A favor? What kind of favor comes up this early in the morning, Sai?" She yawned, politely covering her mouth as it gaped, then she rubbed the corners of her eyes. "But hey, I'm already up, so why not?" She forced a smile, though she seemed to still be shaking off the rust of rest.

"Do you mind if I ask where Naruto is, Sakura?" Sai wanted to sate his own curiosity; he hadn't seen or heard the usually-loud mutual friend within the house, either rustling or speaking.

"He's why I'm awake so early," Sakura lamented with a sort of huff. "He got up to get ready for the promotional photo shoot for the tournament ads; you know, fliers, posters, stickers, all kinds of things. He's the face of it all, and the photographer wanted to get some good shots during the sunrise, since Naruto is the 'dawn of a new age' for the world, you know?" She smiled genuinely as she thought of the truthfulness of that statement; though it was cheesy as part of an advertisement, it was a real fact nonetheless.

"You didn't go with him?" Sai pondered.

"Nah, I'd need at least another hour to make myself presentable for photos; besides, they don't need me for the pamphlets or anything. It's all about Naruto and Sasuke...speaking of which, do you know where Sasuke has been? I've been meaning to..." She paused, nipping the inside edge of her lower lip with contemplation. "Talk to him about something, but I haven't seen him around lately."

"I can take you to him," Sai offered right away. "In fact, Sasuke is the reason I'm here. He has a bit of a task, one which he'd like you to help him complete."

Sakura's eyes narrowed. A task? "Then why isn't he here, himself?" Something didn't seem right.

Sai looked over his shoulder, peering left and right. "It's a bit complicated, and highly secretive; would you please come with me? I can explain everything when we arrive."

Sakura felt uneasy; Sai looked worried, but that was sort of his job as an Anbu who also happened to be one of the Hokage's trusted, elite guards. Still, it was unusual to see him so fidgety, looking over his shoulder and all. She would have felt terrible if she had refused the request, so she gave a firm nod. "Alright," she agreed, slipping on a pair of boots that had been sitting beside the door in the small foyer. Naruto would be gone for hours, still; she had time to kill, though even if she had been busy she would have dropped everything for the sake of Sai and Sasuke's request. For all their past faults and present turmoil, each member of Team 7 could still depend on the other when it mattered. And based on the look in Sai's eyes, it definitely mattered. "Take me to him," Sakura decided with a nod, preparing herself for whatever challenge she was going to be presented with as Sai answered her nod and turned to lead the way. They hurried.

Neither one of them wanted to keep Sasuke waiting.


It was morning, and even a little past. Sasuke was still patiently planted against the corner of his bed, watching Shell's living-but-damaged body slump. The beaten man didn't even twitch; it was clearly something deeper than sleep that kept his eyes closed. Getting just a bit impatient for every moment during which the sun was up but Sai hadn't returned, Sasuke stood from his bed and stepped closer to Shell. "You hurt her, and you were proud of it," he said to himself, more than anything. The attacker's jaw was slightly open, his chin hanging dumbly with his mouth doing his breathing for him. His face sagged, his arms were limp. He honestly looked pathetic, but nothing could ever properly represent exactly how low Sasuke saw him as. He wasn't even a cockroach, nor was he worth being called a virus. Dirt was above him on the hierarchy of cleanliness. "You're despicable; deplorable. I should kill you..." Sasuke reached his hand to the hilt of his sword, slowly drawing it out of its sheathe. The dark, windowless room hosted only the light of Sasuke's eyes and the faintest crack of sunlight coming from the borders of the door frame.

His sword was free, and its tip was placed against Shell's slackened chin. A quick cut, an easy stab, any number of things could have ended the wretched life...but no, he had opted to spare the bastard. Sasuke huffed, giving himself one spurt of laughter before taking the sword away. "But don't worry—I've turned over a new leaf, after all. If you happen to survive what comes next, I'll see to it that you grovel at Hinata's feet." He sheathed his sword as he detected a pair of presences outside his door; they were late by a few minutes, but he didn't mind all that much. There were a few hours to go before he and Hinata were set to begin another round of training, after all. He had plenty of time to do what needed to be done, so long as Sakura was agreeable.

Sasuke opened the door right before Sai could knock, which didn't register even the slightest change in Sai's demeanor. It was difficult to surprise the seasoned veteran of the Leaf's special operations units. He also knew that Sasuke was a remarkably keen and perceptive man; opening a door before a knock was made was among the least impressive of his capabilities by far. "Sasuke," Sai greeted, then turned his head to Sakura. "I've brought her, just like you asked. I haven't told her about the situation, other than its sensitive nature."

Sakura smiled sheepishly, locking her arms behind her back and twisting the front of her foot in the loose gravel that used to be a concrete sidewalk; it had fallen apart so quickly since it was built. She was avoiding eye contact with Sasuke, but she knew he was looking at her. She could always tell when she was being noticed, especially by a man like him. "H-hey, Sasuke...it's been a while, huh?" she tore her eyes off of the ground and gave him the courtesy of a quick glance and a hesitant smile. "Have you been alright since...the last time we talked?" She was gauging him; was he still upset? He didn't seem to be, although he really didn't seem to show any kind of emotion to her. It was strictly a business call, or so it appeared.

"I need you to heal somebody for us," Sasuke said after a moment of thoughtful silence. Business did indeed come first, but once that was done, he intended to have a talk. That could wait, though; the night had been long and irritating, more so than Sasuke had anticipated. He was ready to hear his prisoner sing. "He has information...very sensitive, crucial information. Unfortunately, he's unconscious, and he doesn't seem to be improving on his own."

Sakura narrowed her eyes and stepped into the apartment before Sai, as the gentleman waved her in with a polite bow. She saw the dark, cramped, somewhat musty conditions of the room and she scrunched her nose. She saw the man in the chair, motionless. . She and Sai had passed several buildings in a state of disrepair; windows broken, signs torn down, doors cracked or missing knobs. The whole segment of the village was practically wreckage, and the apartment building she stood in was no exception. "So you brought him to this dump to keep him hidden? That makes sense, I guess. Nobody would want to look here..."

Sai winced, and Sasuke smirked. The Uchiha closed his eyes and took a breath through his nose. "That's right, I did. This place is perfect for people with something to hide." Apparently Sai hadn't mentioned that the 'dump' was Sasuke's home, temporary or not. The resident didn't seem to take it personally, or he was simply very good at hiding it. After all, it didn't exactly have his flair—the Uchiha-labeled clothing of his parents and himself had been tucked into the short stack of drawers beside the bed. No decorations told the tale, either. It was a plain, cracked little abode that seemed like it could have been a throwaway hideout, even to the man who lived there.

Sakura approached Shell, but she didn't recognize him. Sai closed the door, making the place dark again. He then flipped on a switch, and a single bulb lit up, dangling from the ceiling on its own wire. It had long since been knocked loose from its bracing and was swinging slightly back and forth, slowly settling after being moved by a gentle breeze from the open-then-shut doorway. The medical ninja didn't seem to recognize her patient, though she squinted to get a good look at him. She ran a hand across his busted arm, feeling the displacement of the elbow joint and closing one eye while imagining how much it would have hurt. "Multiple broken bones," she narrated, following across his muscular ribs, pressing deep and feeling a bit of crispiness. "Numerous smaller fractures...hairlines, chips missing..." She then brought that hand to his forehead, and her eyes shot open as she probed him with a light green hue of glowing chakra. "His mind is...agonized." She tensed her face and pulled her hand away from Shell's forehead, clenching her fingers into a fist. She looked at the one who requested her services and she had a sadness in her green eyes. "Sasuke, what did you do to this man?"

Sasuke was getting tired of giving the same answer, but he gave it all the same: "He deserved worse. He hurt somebody. Somebody who matters. What happened isn't important; can you bring him out of it?" He looked away after a brief rant of self-justification; whether he was still in love with her or not, he was weak against Sakura's pleading, sorrowful gaze. He felt a touch of guilt, but it didn't last.

"Yeah...I think so..." Sakura cracked her knuckles and formed a few hand seals, preparing to put her skills to the test. She knew that Lady Tsunade could do it, so that should mean that she was capable of it, too. "It might take a little while, though."

Meanwhile, Sai had produced a roll of wire string, and he began to unravel it. He started to loop it around Shell's core, sure to trap his arms while he wound it tightly, over and over again, until the whole length had been consumed. He tied it firmly around itself, confident in its strength. He stepped back, looking at Sasuke as if to preemptively explain himself. "Just a precaution," Sai noted, then looked to Sakura. "Go ahead; see what you can do."

Sasuke had been silent; he didn't mind that Sai saw fit to bind their prisoner against the back and arms of the chair, but after what he had seen of Shell's strength, he didn't think any amount of wire would be enough to restrain him for long. No, the precaution was Sasuke's very presence. That was why he stayed to watch over the captive and sent Sai in his place—this moment was crucial. If Shell escaped, he would inform his comrades, and whatever operations had been planned would be kicked into overdrive. It was best to keep things quiet; his disappearance would surely be noticed, but there was still time before it mattered.

Sakura was glad for the bindings, whether they mattered or not, and she took a deep breath. Her hands were alight with soothing power, and she laid her palms on either side of his smooth scalp, clamping tightly and focusing on restoring consciousness. After a few minutes of silence, the hum of her medical ninjutsu began to grow monotonous, and because neither Sasuke nor Sai were noted conversationalists, she was the one to break the silence. "Sasuke...about the last time we talked..."

Sasuke looked to her flatly. "Shouldn't you focus on what you're doing?"

Sakura scowled. The look on her face said it all—Sai began to scoot his way to the door, muttering quietly as he excused himself from the conversation, one which he sensed was about to get way more personal than he was comfortable with. "I'll keep watch outside...give a cry if you need me, either of you." And she vanished through the door, closing it behind him. A moment later, a light tap was heard from the roof two stories above; he was perched there, indeed serving as a lookout.

"We need to talk about it, Sasuke...I made a mistake, and I need to fix it." Sakura felt herself tense; hairs on the back of her neck stood. She had been dreading the moment for two weeks; she simultaneously wanted to talk to Sasuke and wanted to avoid him, but since she was essentially trapped there, she had no other choice but to voice her thoughts. "I'm...sorry," she said quietly, under her breath. "I'm sorry if I gave you some kind of hope that isn't there..."

Sasuke felt a quick wash of relief come over him as she apologized; a part of him was worried that she wouldn't regret her confession, even after time had passed. "It's alright, Sakura," he whispered, keeping his eyes upon her. She was still the same beauty, the same girl whom had been his friend since childhood and who had never forsaken him to darkness. She and Naruto were both pillars of his humanity and strength; they continued reaching out to him even as he batted their hands away time and time again. "Do you still think that your marriage is a mistake?" He asked the question which had been nagging at him.

Sakura hesitated, but not because of uncertainty of her own answer. Sasuke looked at her, and she felt the pressure of his stare weighing heavily upon her head and neck. She met his eyes with unflinching surety, and when she answered, it was total. Finished. The issue was no longer an issue at all. "No, Sasuke...my marriage isn't a mistake. I was stupid to think I was meant to be with you, really. I just talked without thinking, admitted that I loved you because I hadn't seen you for so long...plus, well...I saw you and her together, and it made me jealous." She bit her lip, knowing her words sounded mean, and more than a little petty.

"Me and her...it made you jealous?" He looked to his hand, flexing it and falling into thoughts. Hinata was still on his mind, but what else was new? She had been such a constant thought that it wasn't really worth mentioning that she was there, off in the peripheral of his vision, begging to be noticed. "I know what that feels like," he admitted, his mouth turning to a wry smile. "Every time I saw you and Naruto together, I wanted to yank you away from him. 'That's my Sakura,' I wanted to say. 'Why is she holding another man's hand?'" He shut his eyes. "But you're not my Sakura; you're just Sakura, who is a girl I know, and a person I care about. It took me this long to realize it, myself, but you're right—we're not meant to be together. We never were, no matter how much I may have thought that I wanted it."

Sakura felt a familiar twist in her gut; Sasuke was spilling his feelings, and she had to fight off the urge to shed a few tears. Maybe she would have been happy if she had waited for him; maybe in another life, they could have been lovers. She imagined that she would have been happy that way, too...but she was already happy. Naruto, as simple as he could be, was a marvelous husband and a true hero to the world. She couldn't have asked for a better life than the one she had, only one that was different. And she decided that she appreciated things exactly as they were. "Either way...we're still friends; we always will be. You and I have a bond that can't be broken by time or bad feelings, right? It's just like you and Naruto: we're linked in a way that doesn't let us ignore each other." Her hands stayed busy on Shell's head, and one eye was always turned toward him just in case. "So let's call a permanent truce. No more holding back, no more avoiding each other...no more secrets."

Sasuke nodded once, laying his hand in his lap and tapping his fingers along his upper thigh. He was awaiting Shell's revival with grim anticipation. Until then, he had no reason not to talk with Sakura. For the first time since he got the news of her wedding, he was beginning to feel at ease around her. The dirty laundry had been aired, cleaned, and then set out to dry anew. It would surely get dirty again, someday, but that was how life worked. Nobody could change the cycle; not that one. "Agreed...no more secrets." Sasuke approved of the idea; secrets were dangerous. Secrets were the things that allowed a man like Shell to wander unopposed through the village, stationed only a stone's throw from the Hokage. No wonder Shizune was on edge the night he appeared in the office. Sasuke wondered if there had been any assassination attempts that simply hadn't been made public.

Sakura wasn't thinking along those lines at all; she still didn't quite understand the implications of the man she was treating. She was focused on Sasuke and the simple things in life. "So, since we're not keeping secrets anymore...what's going on with you and Hinata?" She gave him a sly smirk, hoping that he'd be a good sport about her timing.

A lump came into Sasuke's throat and he opened his mouth only to bite it closed. Whatever he said wasn't going to be good enough, so he settled on a shrug. "She's my student; she calls me her master. I don't especially like the title, but I guess it's not wrong."

Sakura snickered. "Master Uchiha, huh? Has a bit of a ring to it. I think you'll get used to being respected, if you let it happen. Have you made any other friends since you got here again? I mean aside from Sai, that is."

Sasuke looked to the ceiling in thought, wondering if he had made any friends. "Not really," he decided. "Nobody that I didn't know before."

Unpainted lips frowned on Sakura's face, but it was exaggerated like a pout. "That's no good. You ought to find people who share your interests and get out and have fun with them. We haven't really kept up, so I'm kinda lost on what you like to do. Give me a few examples and I'll recommend a few places you can go, a few people you can meet with." She seemed a little bit too enthusiastic. Maybe she had forgotten how much Sasuke appreciated his privacy and isolation.

"That won't be necessary," Sasuke answered in his usual calm. "I've got my own schedule to keep; I don't have room for book club meetings."

"Ah, sure...I forgot how organized you are; every second of every day has a purpose for you. Naruto's the opposite, always changing his mind back and forth, so I've gotten used to a pretty hectic lifestyle...just this morning, he ran off to a photo shoot that wasn't supposed to happen until next week." Sakura cleared her throat and gave her best Naruto impression; it wasn't bad, actually. Just husky enough to be passable. "'Hey, Sakura, I'm gonna go get it over with right away, I'm sure the guy won't mind if I show up early!'" She rolled her eyes. "It's like he doesn't understand that some people make plans before doing something. I bet my darling husband knocked some poor family out of their appointment for postcard pictures; and they probably didn't even mind. All Naruto has to do is offer an autograph or two, and people forgive him. I think his fame is going to his head," She said it all with a smile, no resentment or annoyance to be seen. "But deep down I know he hasn't changed. He's still a goofball who loves everybody he meets, and that's a big part of why I love him so damn much. He's just so magnetic."

Sasuke nodded. "He's just the sort of person this world needed; one who never lies, never betrays, and never gives up on people. I've come to think of Naruto as a gift to a misguided world. He's there to show us all the way...the right way. Even though he makes mistakes, he does what he can to correct them; he's a good example to follow."

"Right...but you're a good example, too, Sasuke," Sakura said with a humble smile. "Naruto's proof that good people can stay good...but you're proof that people can change for the better. You started off...confused. But you got through it; you're here with us, now. There's kindness in your eyes that wasn't there before."

"Whether I changed or not, there are others who don't want to change." He gave a tilt of his head toward Shell. "He lives in a village that's at peace, but he resents the peace. He wants war, for no good reason other than to fight and become stronger. That kind of single-minded fury is going to lead this world back into ruin if we don't do something to reroute it. No state lasts forever; peace or war, it eventually grows stale and crumbles away. Change is inevitable; the only thing we can do about it is ensure that when it happens, it's a positive change, rather than negative."

"Is that why you didn't just kill this guy?" Sakura asked, turning her full attention to her wire-wrapped patient. "Because you don't want to shed blood to solve the problem?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No...I kept him alive because I need to know what he knows about who's in charge. What he did...it's not the first time it has happened since I've come back. Someone is putting these shinobi up to these tasks; someone treacherous, someone with a lot of resources. I need to know who."

"Come on, Sasuke, I'm not daft...I know you don't need to keep a person alive to find out what they know." She gave her teammate a knowing glance, soft and approving. "You spared him because you don't want to kill people...even if they're bad, and even if you don't believe that's how you feel."

Sasuke clenched his jaw a bit. Sakura knew the truth; it's a fact that he would have killed Shell if not for Hinata's interference at a crucial moment, but even after he was calmed, he didn't need to keep the fool alive. Something inside him, something merciful, compelled him to call Sakura instead. To give Shell a chance to speak for himself and redeem his actions, even if only in the slightest of ways. "Whatever you say, Sakura; just focus on waking him up." He huffed, lip twitching in annoyance. That was one thing he didn't like about Sakura—she knew him too well, and didn't hesitate to call him out. She had a tendency toward telling him things that he didn't even want to admit to himself, and she had an especially annoying secondary habit of being right about it. Not always, but often enough.

Sakura knew she had him, so she smirked. She was about to ask about Hinata again, but to her sudden shock she turned back to Shell to see that his eyes had sprung open, bloodshot and alert. She yelped slightly and pulled her hands off of his head, stepping back and looking to Sasuke. Shell growled mightily, and despite his dislocated shoulder and broken elbow he struggled against his wire restraints. He thrashed his head from side to side, then roared with defiance. "You should've killed me when you could!" Without seals and without any hesitation, Shell's flesh began to shift shades; from a brownish tan to a deep black, he transitioned into a body of pure iron. In the same motion, the magnetism that kept the newly-created iron in a liquid-like state of flexibility also jerked his arm back into its socket. The broken elbow couldn't be helped, but he fought the pain as his consciousness came together. All the while, Sasuke watched him calmly.

Shell felt the ties that held him to the chair; rather than break the flimsy furniture, he went for the strands around his core. Without a simple flex of his muscles, the iron of his chest and arms took a new shape, protruding instantly from his hard surface to become spikes, three inches long and easily shredding his bindings. The wires fell to the floor uselessly with a uniform snap as they were severed, and Shell stood from the chair with a second wind. His movements were sluggish and his vision was horribly distorted, but he was too angry to care. He looked at Sakura and he snarled, lashing out at his presumed captor by leaping out of his chair and reeling his arm back, ready to lay his knuckles into her throat. Sakura didn't flinch as he approached; she was ready to knock the lights out of him if he got too close, but the need never arose: Sasuke took over.

Shell stopped moving as he felt a hand upon the top of his head, gentle fingers that were practically massaging his scalp, but the tingling feeling was anything but relaxing. He felt himself being made empty, and not just of chakra—of everything. He gasped dryly, realizing that he was thirsty. As he tried to form thoughts, they were scrambled. His legs tried to move forward, but he was halted by a whispered warning from the Uchiha's quiet voice. "Don't move too much...I've got your soul in my hand. If you wander too far away, it might slip all the way out...and once it's out, I won't be able to put it back in."

The behemoth could tell that Sasuke wasn't bluffing—the ability to extract souls was another well-documented power of the Rinnegan. In addition to being an instant kill, it also had the benefit of providing the soul-stealer with all of the knowledge possessed by the deceased. Shell took a long breath and finally admitted that he was far outmatched. The pain in his elbow was beginning to register, as well, as the haze of his fresh awakening was shaken off. "Sasuke Uchiha...you allowed me to live...why is that?" He turned his eyes; he was too frightened to move his head whilst his spirit was being clutched through his skull.

Sasuke smirked; he was in control, indisputably. Sai was indeed paying attention from outside; Shell's outburst had brought his fellow Anbu back into the room, paintbrush in one hand and empty scroll in the other, ready for combat. "Are you alright, Sas—" he breathed a sigh of relief. He could see the glimmer of blue energy along Sasuke's fingertips; he knew as well as any Anbu worth his salt that the Rinnegan had total dominion over every element—including chakra, gravity, and souls. "Nevermind." Sai closed the door and stepped inside, mostly glad that the personal talk was no longer a threat.

Sasuke gave Sai a nod, then answered Shell's question. "I kept you alive because I'd like you to answer a few questions for me. I think you can guess as to what most of them are."

Shell heaved a sigh of loss. He couldn't combat the hold on his soul, and even if he were to somehow escape, he could recognize Sakura as his vision became clear—she was one of the strongest shinobi in Konoha, and the same was true of Sai. Even if Sasuke hadn't been there, Shell knew would have caused far too much commotion trying to deal with both of those two. "You've got me, for now...ask your questions. I'll never lie to someone who has my fate in his hands..."

Pleased by the response, Sasuke nodded. "First off...I'd like to know where you received your mission to attack Hinata Hyuuga."

"I don't know who gave it to me," Shell said easily. Sasuke squeezed his skull; the iron armor was still in place, but it did nothing to shield him from the pain that shocked his very life. "Grah! It's the truth, I never saw a face...never heard a name."

"Then where did it come from? Was it your idea?" Sasuke almost wanted him to say yes. If it had been his plan to begin with, then yanking the soul out of him would be genuinely cathartic. Until he knew for sure, Shell was just a minion—a man on a mission. There was somebody else out there who wanted to hurt Hinata and her sister; Sasuke wanted to know who.

"N-no," Shell stuttered, still recovering from the agony that ignored his muscles and went straight through his nerves. "It wasn't my idea...but I share the sentiment I was presented with. This village needs turmoil...unrest. Without it, we'll soften...we'll be devoured."

Sakura spoke up from the other end of the room, crossing her arms and looking stern. "That's a lie...Naruto and Sasuke will keep us safe no matter what."

Shell grinned at Sakura; even his teeth and gums were covered in iron, an unsettling sight to behold as the dull metal reflected the blurry yellow lighting of the bulb swaying overhead. "Not even they can be everywhere at once, little girl...and they won't live forever. When they die, who will keep this tender, decayed village out of enemy hands?"

Sasuke gave another excruciating flex of his hand, bringing out a harsh gargle from Shell's throat as one hand came up to grasp Sasuke's wrist. He wanted to pull it away from his head, to make him release him, yet the struggle only caused the pain to deepen until he was forced to let his grip down. He sucked air as fast and hard as he could, but he still felt like he was drowning in the scent of nothing. It was as if his nose had been numbed and his mouth sewn shut; air was entering him, but he was never sated of his need for oxygen. The feeling subsided as soon as Sasuke deemed it to have been enough punishment. The Uchiha asked his next question: "If you never saw a face, never heard a name, and didn't come up with the idea on your own...then where did it come from?"

"A note...in my locker at the Anbu headquarters." He knew better than to try to lie. "Typed, not written...plain paper, no evidence. I checked it a dozen times over for clues as to its origins, but I came up with nothing...it promised me that I could change the course of Konoha...I could make us great again..." He kept his eyes closed, but his voice was cracking. "That's all I've ever wanted for us, Sasuke Uchiha...to be strong. Untouchable." He turned his head toward Sai, though he did so very carefully. "Sai...you feel the same, don't you?"

Sai said nothing at first; he was still a bit shocked by Shell's willingness to answer Sasuke's questions. He decided at once that he never wanted to have his soul in someone else's hands—least of all Sasuke's. When Sasuke looked to Sai for a response, the other Black Ops member in the room felt compelled to respond: "I believe in making Konoha great, it's true...but I'm afraid that I've been corrupted by Naruto Uzumaki's perspective. I think greatness comes from compassion; from friendship. I think we are getting stronger every day, even if our military capacity continues to shrink. The world which we're building now is one that will, eventually, no longer need soldiers like us. Won't that be nice?" Sai gave his best fake smile.

Shell recognized it as a false expression and gave a smile of his own, nearly identical. "You're lost to us, Sai...damaged goods. No wonder you were never given the same offer..."

Sasuke's interest was caught. "Who else has been recruited to this cause of yours?"

Shell chuckled sinisterly. "More than I can rightly count...dozens, maybe hundreds. Those of us who still believe in Lord Danzo's vision of the future have been waiting years for an opportunity like this...a chance to pounce. You've stopped me, little Uchiha, but you won't be able to stop us all..."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Sakura chimed in, getting fed up with their prisoner's attitude. She flexed a fist and clutched her wrist with her other hand, priming her chakra as if she were about to give him a good old solid punch. "Let me knock a few teeth out; he might stop grinning then..."

Sasuke smirked toward the feisty woman he knew and admired. "Now you see what I mean...he deserved everything I gave him, and even more." He diverted his attention back to Shell. "Now, if I were to ask you what kidnapping Hinata and Hanabi Hyuuga was meant to accomplish, would you have a satisfactory answer for me?"

Shivering under Sasuke's grasp, Shell shook his head. "No...I don't know what it's meant to achieve, either...I was selected to target Hinata because of my particular set of skills...the one who wrote the letter knew me well...told me that I'd have another chance to fulfill my purpose. To hunt a Hyuuga." He smirked at the memory. "Oh, my blood pumped so quickly as I read those words...I was to be a hidden hero of Konoha; a savior to those who don't know any better. Just as Root was always intended to be, before it was dissolved...by you." There was hatred in Shell's voice; defiance that was just tame enough to keep his soul from being scorched again. "I only know that I was promised a reward when my mission was successfully completed...and that if my mission was unsuccessful, that I would never be contacted again. No risk; of course I took the chance."

Sasuke's fingers came off of Shell's head, and he turned away from his interrogation to brush the bottom of his chin in thought. "So what about the mark on your wrist...?"

Shell narrowed his eyes. "Mark...?" He had fallen down to his knees once released, but he knew better than to try to lash out. His broken arm had become horrifyingly painful, but he had to hide his agony from those around him. He had a reputation to maintain. Especially in front of Sai—he resented the brat for being so quick to fold over to the wrong way of thinking, but in the end they were still peers. He still felt the need to keep a tough appearance, lest he be mocked. "What mark?"

Sasuke was instantly annoyed, reaching down to grab Shell's right wrist and hoist it up, squeezing purposeful fingers against the iron that was supposed to protect the skin beneath—it cracked like glass, same as before, and sprinkled down to the floor while leaving a neat ring of exposed flesh around the base of the man's hand. Shell groaned in pain, but he looked down at his wrist as he was compelled to do so. Sasuke showed it to him, the tiny black circle. "This mark," Sasuke said calmly. "Surely you remember where it came from...you'd be a lousy ninja if you didn't."

"Oh..." Shell grunted with strain through his tight throat. "That one..." He winced, trying to yank his hand away, but Sasuke kept a solid grip. "I put it there myself...it was part of my instructions." He shrugged one shoulder, doing his best not to agitate his ruined joint along the arm. "I don't know what it is, or what it means, or why I have to bear it...but I don't question orders from a person who understands."

Sasuke released Shell's wrist. He wasn't getting the information he wanted, but he could also see that his captive wasn't lying; perhaps a bit forgetful, but not a liar. "You must have been given an example, if you were ordered to mimic it on your own...show me your source, and that will be the end of it. I'll let you go free."

Shell blinked. "Go free...? Don't you get it, Sasuke Uchiha? I've failed my mission...I've lost my purpose. What is there for me in freedom?" he scoffed. "Besides, I'm a traitor to the false Hokage. You don't have the power to guarantee my freedom; I'll be locked away or put to death the moment I'm found out. My fate was sealed as soon as you showed up in that place to interfere."

"Show me the source. You must have a copy of it, somewhere...something you based your own design upon." Sasuke was repeating his question; he didn't seem moved by the sob story.

"Kill me, then, because I burned the only copy I had...as per my instructions." Shell smirked. He didn't seem sorry. "This person you're looking for...whether it's a man or a woman, old or young, they know how to operate in secrecy. No loose ends; no risks. Like an assassin, or even a shrewd businessperson...even if I wanted to help you, even if I regretted my actions...there's nothing I can give you."

"You don't regret hurting her...do you?" Sasuke's voice went cold. "Do you wish you could take back the pain you caused her?" He didn't care that Sakura and Sai were in the room—his anger was not a secret. His student, his lover, whatever she was to him—she had been hurt. And he was not happy about it.

Shell gave an iron grin, knowing that his answer could very well be his final words. "No...I don't have any regrets. In fact, I'd do it all over again if I ever happen to cross paths with her on another day..."

Sasuke smirked. "If that day ever comes, she'll be the one to crush you beneath her heel." Rather than rip the bastard's soul out, a thought which had crossed his mind as the traitor refused to show remorse, Sasuke turned his eyes down to Shell and made contact. It was a simple genjutsu, this time—one meant to disable, not torture. Sasuke had caused enough pain for one day, and he was growing weary of it. He placed Shell under a rudimentary sleep spell, and the armored lump of cruelty went slack in an instant and banged his heavy head against the wooden floor on the way down. As he lost consciousness, his armor peeled away like the dry skin of an onion. "Get him out of my sight, Sai...do whatever you want with him, but keep him secure."

Sai nodded, immediately responding to the order. He laid down the open scroll he had been wielding, quickly taking Shell's non-resistant form into the page with a flex of his hand and a familiar puff of smoke. "As you say, Chief." He gave Sasuke a cunning little smirk, rolling up the scroll and turning to head out the door before he could be chastised for his choice of words. He was gone in a flash, unseen by any, leaving behind only a smudge of ink against the gravel that laid in front of Sasuke's apartment.

Now that it was only him and Sakura, Sasuke gave her a relaxed glance. "By the way...this is where I've been living. It's a dump, but it serves me well."

Sakura blushed, recalling her words. In all the commotion she had almost forgotten about what she said. "Oh, I didn't mean...bad," She chuckled nervously. "It's...efficient," she came up with, noting how close the shower was to the bed. "I hate taking a long walk to get to my room while I'm soaking wet from a hot shower..." She rubbed the back of her head, scooting over to the door with sidestep after sidestep. "Anyway...uh...it's been good seeing you, Sasuke. I'll tell Naruto that you said hi."

Sasuke watched her go with an amused gleam in his eyes, black and powerless once more. "Take care of yourself, Sakura. Feel free to visit when you're in the mood for some 'efficiency.' Just mind the neighborhood; the locals aren't very friendly."

Pausing in her escape, Sakura nipped the middle knuckle of her pointer finger, making an observation. "Yeah, I noticed that on the way here...everything seems dirty, and ruined. If you want to stay with me and Naruto, we can find a spot for you...the offer hasn't gone away. Plus, I think Kakashi-sensei would be willing to house you in the Hokage's residence, at least for a while. You don't have to surround yourself with these...conditions."

"I made a choice to come here, Sakura. I want to be face to face with the rotting core of Konoha; these people who live here aren't loyal to this village. They're outcasts; refugees. The leftovers from the war who have nowhere to call home. I fit right in." He smirked sardonically. "Though, every day that passes makes me feel a little bit more comfortable calling this village my own."

"Does Hinata have something to do with that?" Sakura asked slyly, getting right to the point. "You seemed awfully upset that she got hurt..."

Sasuke didn't give in to the needling, not right away. "I'd be upset if you got hurt, too..."

"Maybe," Sakura conceded. "But let's not test that theory. I don't plan on getting hurt any time soon." Silence followed that comment, and Sakura rocked herself from heel to toe as if trying to think of something else to say. "I should probably head home...I don't know how much longer Naruto will be away; I'd rather not be gone when he shows up, because then he'll run out to look for me...and I'll probably get home right as he leaves, so he won't find me until he's already given up looking and comes back to take a nap." She grinned at the thought.

"Go ahead, then. I'll try to keep in touch—and remember, don't go around talking about what happened here. You heard him: there are dozens, maybe hundreds of others just like him. For now, they're hiding...but if we poke the hornet's nest, they may come out stinging. It's best to handle this with some tact."

Sakura gave a slow, understanding nod. "Tact. So...you're saying that I should keep Naruto out of it, for now. Got it." She winked, turning with a dainty wave of three fingers as she exited the humble interrogation room/single bedroom apartment. "Say hi to Hinata for me when you see her later!" she added on as one last poke. She imagined that Sasuke was blushing while thinking of the ocean-haired young woman, and she was right, though she didn't peek back to see. Her imagination was always more vivid than reality, so she stuck with it.

Sasuke was alone in his apartment once more, his head crowded with thoughts of Hinata. He should have killed Shell; should have sucked the soul right out through his head. He would have gotten all of the information he was looking for and had the added bonus of relieving a piece of scum of his wretched life. But that wasn't the kind of man Sasuke wanted to be anymore. He turned to his dresser drawers, sliding one out and looking upon the item laid on top of the dinner plate and his mother's ragged blouse—it was his father's uniform, still torn and dirty. Before he cleaned it, he would need to repair it, lest it fall apart in the laundry. It was still early—perhaps seven, seven-thirty—and he wasn't going to rush to a start, that day. Hinata was wounded; she would need her rest. In fact, he was tempted to give her the day off—perhaps a supervised day off, but a day off nonetheless.

With nothing better to do for a few hours, Sasuke dug further down into the drawer, finding something which he had discretely purchased a few days earlier—a sewing kit, with a needle and several different colors of thread. He pulled out his father's old-styled outfit and laid it upon his bed, taking inventory of the rips and broken seams. As he did that, his hand was fishing through the kit and searching for just the right shade of blue to match the cloth of the pants and undershirt. When he found it, he clutched the needle point in his teeth and used his single hand to thread the eye of the needle in a single try. With a small amount of effort from fingers and teeth, he tied the thread in place and began to fix some of the smaller, less-troublesome tears and slits with careful, precise stitching. He was far from an expert in sewing, but he felt compelled to do it himself—it was his family's legacy; it was his duty. Whether he became the Chief or not, he refused to allow his father's adornments to wallow in disrepair forever. Those clothes bore the Uchiha symbol—they deserved respect, and that's what Sasuke gave them.


So as you've probably noticed, this chapter is nearly double the length of a usual one. That's because I had originally planned it out to be two chapters, but decided to smash it all into one update because I was compelled to keep writing for a lot longer than a usual session. I didn't try to rush it, or anything, but I know how much you guys look forward to SasuHina interactions, and since the next 'two' chapters didn't have any, I decided to push them together so you only had to suffer through one update without any, haha! But seriously, I had a long week of college work and a dentist appointment, so when I finally hit the weekend I was ready to unwind and do a lot of writing. Especially since next week is going to be largely the same; I'll keep writing when I can, but for now I don't think I'll be updating quite as quickly as I was for a long time. I apologize for that, but there's not much I can do about it. Also, don't get used to chapters this big! It was a lot of work and I just know I missed a bunch of minor edits. Thank you for reading so far, and I look forward to posting the next chapter! I hope you liked this one, since I know it's kind of a long read. If it's riddled with errors, I apologize, but with so much text it's tough to catch everything. I promise the next one will be proofread a lot better =P