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Chapter 8 - Investigations
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"I am not doing this to make him love me. I am doing this because I care for him, no matter what he thinks of me."
Sakura's words are invading his mind ever since the events in Waves more than a week ago. It confused Sasuke, the level of devotion she proclaimed that day. Somehow, it doesn't add up with her recent actions, nor with the girl he used to know. It's like there are two Sakuras, and neither of them matches the image he had of the pink-haired girl.
Sasuke always thought Haruno Sakura was part of his fan club. That the only thing she wanted was his attention, for him to notice her and like her. Just like every other girl in school, Sakura seemed to care about three things alone: his looks, his last name, and his talent. And because of her civilian origins, Sasuke has always suspected her. More often than not, civilians try to wed into a prestigious clan to gain status. Or at least that's what his father used to say.
But since the events on the bridge, Sasuke sees Sakura in a different light. What if the pinkette genuinely cares for him? Not romantically, and not with ulterior motives; only because she cares? After all, she almost died for him. If she only wants to marry him for his status, then why risk her life? She must have some other reasons to do what she did.
As he ponders on these thoughts, Sasuke watches his pink-haired teammate training a few meters away in a clearing. After consideration, Kakashi accepted the offer of the Anbu squad to share their camp. It's not like they spend a lot of time there, anyway. Team Seven mainly works in the village or the fields, while the other team focuses on spying and investigating the border. They sometimes meet each other in the evening. That's when the teenagers try to get some training done. However, Sasuke hasn't worked with either of the Anbu yet; his silver-haired sensei seems adamant about teaching him some of his personal stuff. Sasuke doesn't complain, though. The promise of learning a new jutsu is enough to make him shut up. And in all honesty, the black-haired boy enjoys his sensei's company. He never took the time to get to know him before, but Sasuke now realizes how similar they are. With Kakashi, it is serious, arduous, and quiet.
Meanwhile, his teammates have to learn from other shinobis. He knows how Naruto felt about that at first - pissed off. But it didn't take long for the blond to get over it and find someone else to pester. More than once, Sasuke saw Naruto and Bear together. Apart from the classic physical training, he heard them talk about tactics and strategies. Sasuke snorts at the reminiscence; it isn't every day that you get to witness Uzumaki Naruto use his brain.
As for Sakura, she spent the first two evenings training with Mole. The young Anbu focused on flexibility and speed, and it impressed Sasuke how quickly she learned. But since then, something changed yet again in the pinkette's personality. And for two days now, she's been training with Wolf. The older woman's expertise, other than her contract with her ninken, is weaponry. She corrected Sakura's posture quickly, throwing insults at the girl that didn't seem to affect her the way it had five days prior. She mocked the way Sakura was holding her kunai, the way she placed her fingers on her shuriken, and the pinkette took everything with a look of determination. Her throw has never been this good.
"What are we looking at, Sasuke?"
His sensei's appearance breaks his train of thought, and the black-haired boy turned his attention back to the fire, where he was sitting alone five minutes ago. Kakashi, leaning against a tree, is surveying him over his orange book. Sasuke shrugs and shifts his gaze to the pinkette again.
"Why is Sakura not helping at the hospital anymore? I thought you said everyone liked her there, that she would become an excellent medic one day."
The boy hears his sensei shift and casts him a quizzical look. Kakashi is hiding something, and not even his mask can cover that fact. Sasuke narrows his eyes when the silver-haired man stays silent. It's as if he could see the gears in his sensei's brain working hard to find a lie.
At last, the man clears his throat before turning a page of his book. "Although Sakura is an excellent healer, she still needs strength training. I thought the crops would help her in that field." He winks at him. "And the nurses seem to like you a lot too, Sasuke."
The boy shivers at the mention of the old ladies fanning over him and crosses his arms. "I want to work on my strength, too. Naruto should be the one to go to the hospital tomorrow. We have to take turns, or else it's not fair."
"I get that, Sasuke, but do you realize what you're asking? Naruto, in a hospital? Something terrible is bound to happen."
"Then go with him. It's not like I need supervision."
Kakashi snaps his book shut and brings a hand to his chin. "Are you asking me to leave you and Sakura alone, Sasuke? I never thought I'd see the day you reciprocate her feelings."
The boy feels his face flush. "That's not what I meant, and you know it." He pushes himself off the ground, a hand running through his hair. "You're sheltering her, and it makes me sick. I don't want to share a team with a weak little girl. Stop acting like she is, Kakashi. And if you worry she tries to run away again, you know I'll stop her. Easily."
The silver-haired man scrutinizes the boy in front of him for a while, his calculating gaze sometimes drifting to the pink-haired girl behind. Sasuke doesn't know why he's pushing so hard to work with Sakura. He tries to convince himself that it's just because he's sick of the nurses and Naruto, but deep down, he knows it isn't the only reason. He needs to see if he's right, needs to crack the mystery of Haruno Sakura. It's the only thing capable of diverting his attention from his revenge right now. And although Sasuke would prefer to stay focus on his plan, it also feels good to think of something - or rather someone - else once in a while.
"Alright," answers Kakashi after a while. "I'll stick with Naruto tomorrow, and we'll go to the hospital."
Sasuke snorts at the tint of resignation laced in his sensei's voice. "You don't sound too happy about it."
"Aa, well," the silver-haired man reopens his book with a sigh. "He's a good kid but a bit too loud for my taste."
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The light of the afternoon sun is burning the back of Sasuke's neck. Even though the farmers have already drained the fields, water and mud immerse his sandalled feet, making every step more difficult. He huffs when a strand of hair sticks to the side of his nose. He doesn't remember the last time he sweated that much. Glancing at his form, Sasuke lets out a loud sigh. The colour of his shirt looks now more black than blue with the amount of sweat he's producing.
Then, Sasuke glances at the petite girl working next to him. She had the ingenuity of taking off her shoes on the first occasion. Her little feet are paddling across the field with so much grace, not even creating a sound - whereas Sasuke's steps produce an embarrassing mushy noise to the hilarity of everyone in the field. She tied her hair in a messy ponytail, and every time she pushes a pink lock out of her face, she leaves a trail of mud on her cheeks and nose. If she's sweating, it doesn't show on her clothing, and instead of her skin turning red under the sun, pretty freckles are slowly emerging at her nape.
Sasuke realizes he is staring when their eyes meet, and he quickly returns to his pile of crops with a blush creeping on his cheeks. Thankful his red skin can pass for a sunburn, Sasuke tries to convince himself he was only staring to better understand her, to solve her mystery. "Pretty freckles" shouldn't be in his vocabulary, anyway.
She exhales loudly, reminding Sasuke of her presence, and when she speaks, he notices she has taken a few steps closer. He keeps his head down. "I'm thinking that being a farmer is harder than being a shinobi, really." She pauses, probably waiting for him to engage in the conversation, which he doesn't. "You should take off your shoes, by the way."
He glances up to meet her frown. The shade of her eyes is a deeper green than usual, and he doesn't like it. Somehow, it always coincides with a shift in her personality. "I know that," he finally says. "But if something happens, at least I'm ready."
She tilts her head to the side. "You mean if I run away?"
He shrugs, then returns to his crops. "You said it."
"Did Kakashi ask you to watch me?" When he doesn't answer, she crouches to get at his level. "Sasuke. I asked you a question."
"Kakashi? Sasuke?" He snaps his head to glare at her. "No sensei? No kun? Are your manners fake? One day you're respectful and clingy. The other, you couldn't care less. Why do you always seem so fake?"
Her eyes slightly widen, but when she opens her mouth to interject, a scream cuts her short. Without wasting a second, Sasuke rushes to the commotion, his anger towards the pinkette already forgotten. Quickly, he reaches the river standing between the last field and the forest delimiting Oto's border. Sakura arrives seconds after, her hands already in her pouch. Sasuke asks her to wait behind and pushes past the little crowd. However, he abruptly stops when his eyes land on the source of the screams.
"What," his voice gets stuck in his throat, but Sakura, who didn't listen and followed him, completes his sentence with horror laced in her voice.
"What happened?"
An elderly woman is kneeling in the little creek with a severed head clutched in her arms. Sasuke instantly recognizes her for being the family's matriarch, the one in charge of the paddies surrounding them. She lost one of her sons a month ago, then another two weeks after, two of the suspicious disappearances the Anbu are investigating.
Sasuke takes a hesitating step forward when the woman quiets down, but his movement attracts her attention, and she bursts out again, her wrinkled eyes locked with Sasuke's obsidian ones.
"My son! They killed my son! My firstborn, my big boy. He was a father, had a wife, kids! Who will take care of them now? Who will take care of me? I demand justice! Kill them!"
A sob accompanies her last words, and her daughter-in-law hurries to her side with her face also distorted in pain. The widow avoids looking at her husband's head and engulfs her nose in the crook of the old woman's neck.
The black-haired boy's heart is pounding, his body filling with a familiar rage he's been working so hard to contain for the past four years. He knows all too well the feeling of losing everything, the need to get revenge, to see blood. His hands turn into fists, his body shaking under the intensity of his feelings. Soon, he doesn't even remember where he is, has no memory of the sobbing women and the severed head. All of his being now consumed with rage, he cannot think of anything but three words: "Foolish little brother."
"Who do you think did it?" Sakura asks, finally snapping Sasuke out of his daze. The boy only then notices the girl, who's now kneeling some meters away in the creek and inspecting the rest of the decaying body.
"Well, Oto's shinobis, of course!"
The two teenagers share a look before Sasuke glances at the younger woman, the one who spoke. "What makes you say that?"
She gets up and points at the horizon where Sasuke's keen eyes can see the river penetrating Oto's forest. "The disappearances, they all happen close to the border. And now, this?!" She points at her husband without looking. "See the stream? It's definitely coming from the forest."
"Your observations seem right," Sasuke says, his eyes glued to the trees on the other side of the water. "But why do you think it's their shinobis?"
This time, the woman doesn't answer, only sends him a resentful look before dragging her mother-in-law out of the water. One farmer puts a hand on Sasuke's shoulders to attract his attention. The black-haired boy recognizes the man as being one of the farmers laughing at him minutes ago. He holds a sympathetic look in his pale blue eyes.
"Don't take it personally, kid. Many villagers mistrust the shinobis here. We don't see you often, and when we do, death is always surrounding you." He pauses and scratches the back of his head. "Your sensei, for example. His reputation precedes him. Sharingan no Kakashi," Sasuke tenses at the name. "One of Konoha's best shinobis, who, at twenty-something, has already killed too many. He has too much blood on his hands to be trusted in this side of the country."
Sakura steps in, her arms crossed. "But he only kills to save innocent lives." She lets an empty laugh escapes her lips. "I can assure you, sir, that there are a lot of twisted men and women out there. Shinobis are here to protect you from them."
The man lifts his hands in surrender. "It's a popular opinion, doesn't mean I share it."
"Well, thank you for the insights anyway," Sasuke says to put an end to the conversation. The little crowd of farmers quickly dissipates after that, leaving the two teenagers alone, staring at the dark forest in front of them.
"What do you reckon we should do?"
Sasuke glances at the pinkette, unsure of his answer. Part of him wants to investigate, if not to find the culprit or save potential victims, then prove himself he's powerful enough, that he doesn't need a team, a sensei, that he is ready to fight his brother. But he is tired, and Sakura isn't herself right now. So instead of risking her life - or allowing her to flee again - Sasuke should probably settle on a more reasonable answer.
But Sakura has always been the reasonable one in Team Seven.
"Go get your shoes. We're going on a hunt."
[A/N] My life is a mess right now. I'm moving soon and my new place still needs a lot of work. Sorry for the late update. I'll try to be more consistent as soon as I'm settled.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting.
Take care,
M.B.