Uchiha Sasuke
Almost three years he has lived with the snake sannin and never had he seen such a mess. Orochimaru was seriously methodic and paranoide with his whereabouts and traveling schemes. He had a whole network of hide-outs spread across the five ninja nations and yet moving was a tricky thing. They were always on the move, never staying too long in the same place, traveling with as little personell as possible in organized shifts.
The sannin only moved with Kabuto and himself, if any else was needed a message would come after a few days with specific instructions of how many slaves, what kind of equipment and what route to take… And the subordinates better not screw up about this, people had lost their lives for less. Precisely for that Sasuke was pretty damn alarmed when he had been summended and told that they were living within the hour, one day ahead of schedule. They were in a hurry. The destination had obviously changed either, they were in Taki headed to the Earth country, but now they were turning back which could only mean one thing… They were going to Sound.
This was really bad. Orochimaru only went back to Oto when he had serious business to take care of, and Sasuke's time was running out so he could imagine what business exactly was that. Something was definitely off and the raven-haired shinobi was starting to feel his throat froze with the thought that he had miscalculated his plan. He was supposed to have more time, if not two months then at least one. Uchiha Sasuke was not a man who liked to improvise and let fate have its chance to act. This was definitely bad.
They crossed Getsu like it was nothing, less than a day to get to Oto. At the top of his speed with chakra in his feet Sasuke´s was on edge. Of course, Uchiha Sasuke didn't get on edge, not like the rest of people anyways. For anyone else, he was with the same coldhearted expression on his face completely unreadable. Inside, on the other hand, no matter how hard he tried he couldn't come up with any other reason for this strange behavior besides losing his body.
And even that blank face that looked unbreakable almost gave in when he found Suigetsu and Karin standing in front of him at the gates of Oto's underground passage. How could he have known? No, Sasuke kept repeating to himself, there is no way. No matter how skilfull the sannin was, Sasuke didn't let any loose ends and there were no mind-reading jutsus either.
It was kind of hard believing this was only a coincidence though. Because coincidences were the fates way, and Sasuke did not believe in fate. But there they were, Suigetsu and Karin right in front of him, two of Orochimaru's experiments that would play key roles in his vengeance.
Karin was really unique to Orochimaru, there were an infinite number of ways she could be useful to him. Until this moment though, Sasuke had only seen her out of the south hideout only a couple of times. Her sensory and chakra abilities weren't like any other and that's why she stays at the Southern hideout, making sure any other experiments would be able to escape. That also meant that the Sannin didn´t risk having her abilities falling in others hands.
And if Karin being summoned wasn't enough, Suigetsu out of the tank that Orochimaru used to keep him, definitely did the trick on alarming the Uchiha. He had only seen that once, when he was staying in the North. Sasuke was the one in charge of putting an end to Suigetsu´s escape. He´s ability of transforming his body into liquid form made him a skilfull shinobi whitout mantioning he was known for being a prodigdy in the art of murder. Another precious asset that the snake Sannin didn't display around. Especially since he wasn't loyal at all.
Without a word, Orochimaru led the way to the underground being followed by the strange group. With the corner of his eyes Sasuke saw how Kabuto, unlike himself, seemed to know exactly what was going on. The presumptuous medic-nin separated from the group at an intersection in the tunnels, like a puppy going after the chore he was given. That made Sasuke clench his jaw with annoyance, he hated Kabuto´s devotion and on top of that, the young Uchiha was not used to being left out of arrangements
Calm down. He hissed on his mind. If this was indeed about the possession ceremony there was no reason for Karin and Suigetsu to be there. This was something else, he told himself, which wasn't exactly a relief.
"You told me this was urgent Karin" The sannin hissed with a bit of excitement and impatient in his voice. "Did you find what I asked?"
"I did Orochimaru-sama" she and Suigetsu were now guiding them through the tunnels, by the tone of conversation, probably to the most efficient exit point. She turned her head over her shoulder to continue "But we have to be quick or we will miss our chance"
"Excellent" Orochimaru had a quite satisfied smirk on his face. "I'm expecting success, Sasuke-kun, you will go with them."
Without any room left for conversation they had reached the closest exit to the target and both Sasuke and Suigetsu followed Karin´s lead. Well, at least the mystery of what Karin was there for was pretty obvious now, there was someone Orochimaru asked her to track down. Whomever it was, it must be close and someone that the Sannin clearly judged of importance.
"Karin" The tone of his voice made it pretty clear he was in a mood. "Who is it that we are tracking?"
The red-head that usually was pretty irritating around him had a concentrated frown on her face while running from tree to tree. If Sasuke wasn't so damn pissed about being left in the dark he would even be relieved for that.
"Orochimaru-sama sent someone to summon me without much details" she answered quickly and even her voice looked different. "All I was given was a piece of clothes with some residual chakra on it"
Sasuke frowned, this was strange. Karin wasn´t the only sensory ninja Orochimaru had under his command, actually there were some pretty talented ones but obviously they had all failed. Also, the southern hideout was far from Oto, if you were in a hurry it took almost a week, so Karin had been there for a while now and by the looks of it, this was the first lead she got because Orochimaru clearly wanted to be warned about anything involving this target. Hell, he even changed his route for this, something Sasuke had never seen.
"Suigetsu, what do you know?" he looked at the white-headed boy with the corner of his eye. Everything was indicating that they were hand-picked for this mission.
"They offered me out of the tank for helping in whatever this is" Suigetsu started explaining with a grumpy voice "Of course I said yes because I thought I would be able to escape in a second but then I saw the damn red-head here"
Well Suigetsu was never very bright, Orochimaru never would have offered something like this if he could not control him. Karin´s special ability made it quite impossible for Suigetsu to escape because her chakra chains would be able to grab him even in liquid state. But still, Sasuke frowned a bit more, why risk dealing with Suigetsu if he could have obedient subordinates?
"SHUT UP, YOU IDIOT'' Oh for fuckes sake, Sasuke hated her pitched voice. For him Karin and Suigetsu arguing was unbearable and he had only witnessed it once. "Hurry up, our target is fighting"
"How many?" Sasuke asked, increasing his pace.
"There are five of them, jonin level" she answered quickly "Three are already down"
This was even more unusual, shinobis were organized in teams of three or four, never five. And jonin level? They were probably after some nukenin highly evaluated in the bingo book. Well, a nukenin skillful enough to take down three jonin alone and still be up fighting with two others could easily avoid Orochimaru's sensory ninja.
They had been running for fifteen minutes already and some of the battle noises did indicate they were close when everything went quiet. Specifictly quiet, the silence from after combats that smeed muffled.
"Karin?" he asked
"Fight is over, our target is still standing but it's chakra signature is low" She suddenly changed direction, turning left before continuing "The jonins are out, but still alive"
Well, Sasuke thought, that kind of dismissed the theory of a nukenin and left the question of five jonins unanswered. Again. He was really annoyed. A rogue shinobi wouldn't hesitate to kill, quite the opposite, that would make fighting much harder and that meant wasting precious chakras reserves.
Karin hopped off the tree and Sasuke followed, his eyebrows were high even before he hit the ground from the sight he had. There were a lot of trees smacked down and the soil was completely unstable, Sasuke was so damn pissed he missed the fact that this was what made Karin jump off the trees in the first place. He had to stop wondering in his mind and focus.
It looked like a warzone with shurikens everywhere, kunais and two jonins knocked out close to them, the other three a bit farther. He recognised the masks instantly, they were from Konoha fur sure. Something inside of him always twisted uncomfortably when he had to think about his village. The red-headed started walking against the chatterted earth and trees, still with the concentrated look that kept her silenced until now.
Karin kept walking until she found an entry in the forest again and there was blood on the second tree to the left. Sasuke put his hand on the kusanagi and sharpened his senses. Karin stopped with a satisfied look on her face, her hands resting on her hips. When Sasuke turned around the tree to see what Suigetsu and Karin were looking at, he almost choked.
A cold went down his spine with a chock, it looked like he had just received a chidori through his body. It couldn't be possible but it was, right in front of him, the only person he knew who had that color of hair. Sakura. Not the annoying twelve year old he remembered but the older version of her that he got to know a few months ago. It was the first time, in two years, that he had seen his two ex-teammates and that pathetic substitute version of him. Not that he cared.
But yeah, a few months ago was the first time, and now appearly, the second. He had tried to kill them back then. A desperate attempt to get rid of the same wave of feelings he was feeling right now looking at her. Orochimaru was the one who told him to stop. His stomach twisted again with the memory.
He blinked once more when Karin leaned closer to the pale blood-losting passed out kunoichi´s body. Sasuke didn't realize he had moved until his hand caught Karin´s wrist before she could touch her. The red-headed eyes widened at him by surprise.
"Orochimaru mentioned any of this to you?" Sasuke hissed with his sharingan activated, looking deadly to both Suigetsu and Karin, whose wrist was still under his grip.
"I´ve told you all I know, put your scary eyes away" Suigetsu wined with his hands up above his shoulder. "Have no idea who the pink-hottie is, but I'm guessing by the look on your face, you do."
Sasuke felt like throwing him a shuriken but instead turned his mortal gaze towards Karin. She shook her head for "no" in a mix of frightened and frowny. Sasuke let go of her wrist and turned to Sakura.
Her hair was covering her face with tips of blood on it, she had a firm grip to her left torso, probably was trying to heal some broken ribs when she passed out. Her thigh was exposed with a ugly cut, but the heavy bleeding was from the side of her head. Was this another stupid atempt to get him home? Where the fuck was Kakashi and Naruto?
Something was off, it didn't look like she had anyone else having her back. Why would Sakura be fighting ANBU? There were a million questions popping on his head. All of a sudden the control he preached so much was wavered by a tsunami of memories and confused thoughts. That's the literal reason why he had left, he didn't want any ties. He couldn't afford to waste any more time worrying about anything else, if he did, he might as well spit on his clan´s grave. Sasuke didn't need any reminders of the past, and he sure as hell wasn't about to relive old habits being so close to his life's goal.
The young Uchiha was perfectly aware of the curious looks in Suigetsu and Karin´s faces burning in his back. Ignoring them, he forced himself to focus on thinking twelve steps further in his own mind chest game. Steps he thought were set out already… hours he had spent planning every single detail… Everything would have to be rethinked now and time was running out. Looking at his former teammate, covered in blood and dirt, he felt the urge to scream, but didn´t. Fucking annoying.
When he grabbed her from the ground, he needed to make sure he would protect her cervical area to minimize risk of injuries during movement. Actually, in an ideal condition he would never be moving her but they were shinobi after all. Great, looks like I'm twelve. The raven-haired shinobi frowned, his jaw clenched tightly with the memories of him always having to help his fragile teammate. Oh, that's a treat.
He started to move fast with the thought that other ANBUs might be coming and he was in a terrible mood as things were already. Jumping from tree to tree with the heavy burden of memories in his arms, Sasuke felt rage that his life as a leaf shinobi continued to pop up no matter his efforts. It was the shinobi life indeed that had teached him the weakness of worrying, because in the rogue of nukenins there was no room for companion-ship.
At least, not for Sasuke. He didn't count or trust anyone, he didn't have concerns for anyone. No one he would feel he should protect or save. To achieve that, he left Konoha. But no matter the efforts, if his eyes went just a bit down he wouldn't see it that way, the burning feeling in his arms was a screaming reminder, almost daring him to look.
Sakura was really annoying. So was Naruto. He had a lot of nightmares last time he saw them and, admitting it, disgusted Sasuke to his bones. How much of a weakness, what a waste of time, time he did not have. Yes, there is no time. He had to be objective, and he thanked as his mind began to rationalize everything, as it should be.
By the looks of the scenario he pulled her from, Sasuke would have to presume that she was fighting ANBU´s leaf shinobi, which meant she had to be considered a nukenin. Although this was the racional assumption, it was Sakura. The only one from team 7 that was pure, that grew up with a loving family, who was disgustingly loyal and had no darkness or demons from the past. She also used to be the weak link, the one who couldn't protect herself, who always needed saving. What the hell happened?
Almost three years. He forcly reasoned with himself, he couldn`t assume knowing her anymore. He couldn't dismiss the evidence judging by something as volatile and subjective as knowing someone. He had to trust what he saw and not what he once knew. Besides, Orochimaru clearly had been keeping an eye for her, and deliberately failed to mention any of this to Sasuke. Hell, he even gathered a squad to search for her.
Safe to assume one of the reasons the Sannin had tracked her down so avidly had something about screwing with him. Orochimaru always liked to provoke him and put him in slippy situations. But was that all? He had heard rumors of her being an excellent medic-in and the skilled apprentice of the Godaime. But none of that could explain why she was alone fighting ANBUs of her own village.
At their last encounter Sasuke noticed how her and Naruto had grown, they looked like respectful shinobi. He had trouble seeing Sakura and Naruto this way, she was a fragile annoying little girl and Naruto was, well, Naruto. Loser, Naruto. Being honest, he had trouble seeing them in any way for that matter, it wasn't his business anymore. He speed up knowing they were almost there. She was supposed to be in Konoha. Suigetsu and Karin were really behind him barely catching up.
(...)
When he put Sakura on a gurney and saw Kabuto ready to examine her, Sasuke felt something on his stomach. He hated being treated by despicable devoted Kabuto, the man sent him on edge with all that suck up he did. Sasuke turned his back on the infirmary, no, he had more important things to take care of. Remorse hit him by the door, grinding his teeth, the Uchiha could feel guilt choking him up. Shit.
"Suigetsu" Sasuke hissed through his teeth, clenching his fists. "Keep an eye on her, call me immediately if anything goes off"
"Oe, who named you the boss of me?" the white-headed boy frowned. Karin hit him in the head, forcing Sasuke to remember she was in the hallway too. "What the hell was that for, crazy-ass?"
"Of course, Sasuke-kun." She blinked more times than Sasuke felt it was healthy for a human being, with a flirty smile on her face. He didn't even make the effort to respond, he was already on his way down the hall.