WHEREVER YOU ARE
Haruno Sakura, daughter to one of Konoha's heroes. Uchiha Sasuke, Chuunin, who might just be more of a disgrace to his Clan than his brother. Sakura knew going on this mission with him would be a mistake. That she would fall in love with him all over again, and the worst part was - she was right.
Road to Ninja Universe. SasuSaku.
Chapter 16 – Blood in the Cut
"Take my head and kick it in,
Break some bread for all my sins,
Say a word, do it soon,
It's too quiet in this room"
"I thought I told you to keep your hands off of her, Hidan." Sasuke's voice was low, dangerous.
"Well," Itachi finally spoke, "Isn't this," he mentioned between his little brother and Sakura, "a surprise."
x-x-x-x
"I didn't disgrace your precious clan. It was disgraced even before I left, and you would do good to remember that, little brother. Maybe you should have asked father why I left before you came, instead of wasting your time." And with that, Itachi left, slamming the door behind him so hard the walls shook. Sasuke just stood there, staring at the place where his brother had been, his face caught between anger and confusion…and hurt.
"Sasuke…" Sakura reached out to him but he slapped her hand away and stormed past her, slamming the door on his way out. Sakura stood for a moment, wondering whether to follow him or give him his space and after a moment, she grabbed her cloak.
Sasuke stormed down the hallway blindly, his hands shaking at his sides. It had been years…years since he'd last seen his brother and this was all he had to say to him? Sakura, Kakashi, Menma…hell, his own parents, and now, Itachi. Everyone disregarded him. They all treated him like a fucking nuisance. Sasuke broke through the front door and rain splattered down on him and although he welcomed it, it did nothing to calm the storm inside of him. What was it about him? There wasn't one single person that took him seriously. Sasuke growled, his fist hitting the brick wall next to him. He grunted at the pain, drew his hand back and punched the other one against the rough wall. Knuckles split. The pain felt good. Reminded him that he was strong. With labored breath, he spun around. He had no idea where he was. Somewhere in the streets of Ame. It hardly mattered. I didn't disgrace your precious clan. It was disgraced even before I left. Sasuke's lip curled in disgust. How dare Itachi speak about the Uchiha that way? They were superior in every way. Had his father been right to erase every part of Itachi from the clan? It seemed he had been. Itachi was nothing but a filthy mercenary and didn't deserve to be called Uchiha.
Anger and hate still swirled in Sasuke's stomach when he stepped into the bar. The bartender served him without question and Sasuke downed the bitter alcohol without even looking at it first.
"How did I know you would come here, little brother?" Sasuke halted and then slammed the glass down on the counter before spinning on his brother. "What the fuck are you doing in front of me right now?"
Itachi gave a small smile, "That Uchiha arrogance." He shook his head. "I have a gift for you, Sasuke."
Sasuke hesitated, suddenly unsure. Itachi was completely different than he had been in the hotel room. "A…gift?"
Itachi nodded and lifted a hand, slowly reaching forward and giving Sasuke every opportunity to stop him. Sasuke didn't move.
Itachi poked his forehead.
The action was so familiar that Sasuke's heart cracked and squeezed painfully in his chest.
"What are you doing?" Sasuke snapped, rubbing at his forehead.
"Giving you something that will be very helpful in the times to come."
"What do you mean? What's coming?"
Itachi's head tipped to the side. "Your girlfriend is looking for you. It would be best if she didn't know what transpired here."
"I don't even know what happened here," Sasuke said, glaring up at his big brother.
"And yet, it would be better if she didn't know that we spoke, don't you agree? It's easy for people like us to discover secrets."
Sasuke understood. If Sakura knew he spoke with Itachi, it would be easy for an Uchiha to use the Sharingan to get information. But why would they do that. Sasuke stared up at Itachi. What was his brother trying to tell him?
"She is precious to you, someone you want to protect?"
Without a word, Sasuke nodded.
"Then trust me."
Sasuke stared at his brother as if that would make things clear. It didn't, but something in him pushed him to trust Itachi. And so he did.
"I know what to do."
Sasuke and Itachi parted ways and Sasuke looked around the bar, finding a girl was easy. She was eager, grabbing his hand, she pulled him outside.
x-x-x-x
Sakura stared at Itachi but Sasuke still hadn't taken his eyes off of Hidan, who smiled back at him as if he wouldn't have minded challenging Sasuke right then and there. "That's enough, Hidan."
"Is it?" Hidan turned his head to look at Sakura wistfully, his lips pouting as he blew her a kiss. "The taste of your lips still haunt me, sweet Sakura." Sakura cringed back visibly, Itachi sighed sharply, shaking his head but Sasuke saw red. He punched Hidan in the face so hard the Akatsuki member flew back, hitting the bed with such force that the waterbed burst, water splashing all over the room and around their feet. Hidan sat up, blood trickling from his nose. "Now you've done it," his lips curved into a sinister grin, "Let's-"
Itachi took a step forward, "I said that's enough." His Sharingan was spinning. Deflated, Hidan slumped back onto the broken bed.
"Sakura, come." Sasuke said and Sakura glared at him, half wanting to defy the order but she followed him into the bathroom none the less. She closed the door and kept her back to him, listening to him getting dressed.
"Do you think he's going to give us the answers we need?" Sakura whispered. Sasuke put a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, I do."
He reached for the door and opened it. Hidan was sitting now, his hair normally gelled back hair hanging limply around his face. Itachi stood in the middle of the room where they'd left him.
He looked up as they reentered the room, "Did my gift come in handy?"
"Yes." Sasuke told him, "It did."
Sakura stopped in her tracks, her eyes going between Sasuke and Itachi. Gift?
She had no time to be suspicious though and time seemed to slow around her. Itachi grunted, a blade suddenly coming out through his chest. Next to her, Sasuke let out a cry, reaching out towards his brother, his feet not moving quickly enough. Hidan jumped up.
But it was too late.
"Take a good look, Sasuke." The blade twisted. "This is was happens when you betray the Uchiha clan.
Fugaku.
x-x-x-x
"If the daimyo is dead," Menma asked, "What does that mean for Konoha?"
"It's not just the daimyo." Gai told the surrounding shinobi, "His entire family was slaughtered. Even the servants."
"It had to have been the Uchiha." Kurenai said in her usual soft voice.
Asuma put a hand on the small of her back. "Looks like they had a contingency plan in place."
"Or, they just eliminated every possible road block in their plan." Kakashi told them with a shrug.
"Most likely," Minato said, looking to Menma, "They eliminated the daimyo to put an Uchiha in his place."
"So Fugaku really wanted to be officially elected by whatever means."
Movement at the Hokage Tower drew their attention and Menma tensed as the Uchiha parted and Uchiha Mikoto stood between them, dressed in the official garments of the daimyo. "You requested an audience with the Hokage. He is unfortunately otherwise engaged, but," she smiled, it was a friendly thing, as if nothing had happened. No one returned the gesture. "I would be more than happy to sit down with you to discuss the terms of your surrender."
"You've got to me kidding me," Hinata breathed.
Gai stepped forward, Kakashi and Asuma behind him.
"Asuma," Kurenai whispered, reaching for him. He winked at her over his shoulder, "I'll be right back."
The three jounin followed Mikoto and some Uchiha ANBU into the Hokage Tower and into a room where tea had already been served. Mikoto sat down and waved a hand, indicating they could sit as well. The jounin did not sit.
Two Uchiha ANBU stood on either side of her, with three more posted around the room. The friendly smile dropped from her face. "Well? How would you like to surr-"
"We have no intention of surrendering." Gai said, voice hard.
Mikoto's lips pressed into a thin line. "Do you not understand the situation we are in? The Tsuchikage will not wait."
"We could throw that statement back at you," Kakashi told her, slamming both hands down onto the table, causing the cups to rattle. "You are the ones who threw Konoha into turmoil."
"We have liberated Konoha." Mikoto spoke through clenched teeth. "From weak-minded fools who held Konoha down. That made us look inferior."
"And for that you murdered the Hokage." Asuma said, with a shake of his head. "The only weak-minded fool I see is you and your husband."
Mikoto stood so fast the chair fell back. "The Hokage is alive and well. If you're referring to the Fifth…well, she got what was coming to her."
A thick mist filled the room and the jounin moved so fast that there was no time to react. Mikoto tensed but her body stopped in place, suddenly unable to move. "And so will you," Kakashi hissed vehemently into her ear, kunai against her throat. A thick shadow surrounded her feet on the floor and Mikoto glanced up, Nara Shikaku was on the wall, charka keeping him mounted.
The Uchiha Anbu hit the ground on the other side of the room, Minato and Kushina's kunai dripping with blood. Asuma was on top of the table, necks snapped in his hands and he tossed both of the ANBU onto the floor.
Kurenai's form lifted out of the floor and the mist cleared. She grinned sweetly, giving Asuma a peace sign. "Hostage capture – success!"
Mikoto's head dropped, her hair falling around her face. None of the shinobi saw her victorious smirk.
x-x-x-x
Thank you for reviewing the last chapter. Let me know what you think if this one too!
Here is a teaser for the next chapter: Promise –
Hinata had always been exceptional to him. In every possible way. She was beautiful, yes. But it was more than that. Exceptional as a woman, as a shinobi. And as someone he wanted by his side, always.
Thanks for reading~
- Zana-Lee