Chapter 9 Interactions
"Kisame, what are you doing here?"
Naruto skitted to an abrupt halt, turning to the cause of interruption. He was lucky to have been on time, Tatakai had barely signaled the stop, no doubt still ready to defend himself, should Naruto have overlooked it.
Quickly assessing the situation, he took note of the fact that Tatakai had addressed the blue-skinned man by name. The way he'd worded his inquiry left no doubt that he knew him. Naruto warily eyed the stranger, who returned the favour by grinning a slightly disturbing smile that revealed rows of sharp, pointy teeth.
"Naruto, come here!" The dark haired boy's eyes didn't leave his acquaintance as he called him over, voice cold and demanding. It only added to Naruto's suspicions, but he begrudgingly did as told.
"Heard you were close by. So I thought to say hello. You two up for a little spar?"
"No." Tatakai's voice was icy. Naruto curiously watched the exchange as he stepped next to Tatakai, who finally turned to look at him, eyes flashing red.
'Stay close!...S-Class...Don't let his sword touch you!...Don't interfere...'
The jumble of information assaulted Naruto's mind. This all had happened within a split second and before Naruto could start to wonder the moment was over and the other had turned back.
"Why not? You always enjoyed a good fight..." The man pointed out.
"Where is he?"
"...or is it that you can't?..."
"What do you want?" Tatakai continuously grew more irritated.
"Are you two teammates?"
"Cut the crap. Did he tell you to come here? Is he too much of an asshole to face me himself?"
"No, he's just busy with some other business rightnow. He wasn't opposed to the idea of me saying hello, though."
"Alright, you said your hello. Now leave!"
"I think not. I haven't had a good fight in a while and 'he' is a pain in the ass about 'unnecessary' fighting. I want to train and you are here, so let's spar. I'll refrain from leaving any overly visible marks on you, don't worry."
"Tell him to keep his lackeys in line."
"Well, if you don't want to, then… " The stranger turned to Naruto, looking at him expectantly. But before he could reply, Tatakai had moved in between them.
"Leave!"
The tall shinobi answered by showing his pointy teeth in an ominous smile. Fast, as expected of an S-Class, he moved. Naruto whirled around to face the threat, but was pushed away as Tatakai blocked the incoming attack with his practice sword. The blue man chuckled as the other boy jumped back, throwing a kunai to keep Kisame from getting close again.
"Come on, it's just a spar! I want to see with whom you practice now!"
"You are not welcome here. Tell the asshole to show up himself or leave us the hell alone."
Kisame ignored that, still laughing, then raised his sword for another swing. Naruto, ignoring the other's request, multiplied himself and joined the fight. Tatakai cursed.
The attack forced both boys to retreat, leaving deep grooves in the place they had stood just a second before. A Naruto-clone that hadn't been fast enough poofed out. Another, who had tried to advance from behind was also blocked and quickly destroyed.
This guy was powerful, Naruto had to admit that. He had expected the strength but his bulky form had not suggested the speed he could conjure and it quickly became clear that they were rather being toyed with than battled. He could see Tatakai's frustration rise quickly, too. The other was still trying to defend him, even though he had no clue which one was the real him out of all those duplicates running around. It put Tatakai on the forefront of the fight and it was obvious that, while he seemed to know the other's fighting style well enough to be able to almost predict his movements, that he managed just barely.
He, too, seemed to be avoiding touch at any cost, trying to keep his distance. The blue man's sword moves were full of raw power, delivered in a speed that was challenging to keep up with. Then, at once Tatakai leapt down below the weird sword as it swung at him again, twisting his feet into a kick from under the blade. It barely scratched Kisame's clothes. The blue man's laugh was becoming way too familiar.
The stranger took a step backwards, forcing Tatakai to move or be touched by the sword. Instead of risking to be grabbed by the hand that had let go of the sword handle, the boy substituted and reappeared just a few feet away, quickly weaving hand seals.
"Aah, finally getting a bit more serious, I was starting to think you were trying to lose on purpose." The stranger was smirking, responding with his own seals.
Tatakai started running, still weaving through his seal pattern. Lightning chakra lit up just short of colliding with Kisame. There was a wave of water and Naruto lost sight of the other. Some clones dispelled, giving him limited insight of what had happened. The blue man had moved out of the way just in time and was now swinging his sword again. Seeing that Tatakai was not making much progress, Naruto created more clones to rejoin the fight.
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Sasuke was pushing hard. Kisame was still going easy on him and Sasuke knew that he was at a serious disadvantage unless he wanted to announce his identity as an Uchiha. He only dared to use his clan's doujutsu fleetingly, he couldn't risk a Naruto-clone seeing it, but while he was used to not relying on the Sharingan, the fact that Kisame was S-class, could not easily be made up with other skills. Most of his powerful fire-jutsu were linked back to his clan, too, and anything less was too weak to have much effect against Kisame's water-jutsu. And besides that, it was double shitty that Kisame was Itachi's partner and therefore knew the moves Itachi had passed down on him as well.
Lightning seemed like the best option for direct combat, that and tactical Genjutsu, but he still wasn't gaining any ground. Naruto-clones kept popping up, that was at least helping somewhat. Then again, which one of them was the real one? He didn't want to hit the other accidentally.
Kisame seemed to have figured out that Naruto was quite spontaneous, creative in some ways, and very predictable in others. The boy's shadow-clone jutsu was, while annoying, a really persistent form of combat and left Sasuke wondering just how deep the other's chakra reserves ran. He also contemplated what his brother's partner was aiming for right now and more importantly, how he could stop the fight before Kisame decided he'd played enough. He honestly could think of only one way to put a stop to this, and he hated the idea of using the slave seal to call for help. He still hoped that Kisame's chakra would catch someone's attention and that they'd come looking.
Kisame's speed really made it hard to keep up even just blocking. His practice sword probably wouldn't take much more. Another Naruto popped into his field of vision, attacking Kisame head on and being bat away as if he was a fly. The idiot's clone poofed out again.
Then Kisame showed his vicious smirk again. He ran, quickly gaining speed and Sasuke warily got ready. The first hit was held off with effort, Sasuke stumbled as Kisame swung his sword back around himself to keep the Narutos that had snuck up behind him away. But the next hit came much faster and was barely evaded, another swipe had his sword shudder. The fifth hit made it shatter. It was only a Genin practice weapon after all, nothing suited for a real battle, and certainly not against the power of an S-Class missing-nin. Sasuke only had less than half the blade now, and Kisame was already swinging his Samehada again. At a greater speed than before, already so close.
Sasuke sprang back to gain some space, throwing some more shuriken to keep the other away. That was when Naruto screamed something. Sasuke didn't dare to turn his gaze away from Kisame, but Naruto came into his field of vision soon enough, running straight towards their opponent, holding a chakra sphere in hand. Kisame turned towards the other and smirkingly stepped out of the way. Naruto stumbled and slammed his hand towards the ground to stop the monumentum.
"Now we're talking!" Kisame commented, while deflecting some of Sasuke's kunai. Another group of Narutos prepared for the technique, Sasuke now could make out the name as "Rasengan". He threw some more throwing stars to keep Kisame occupied, then Naruto started running again.
Kisame turned his head towards Naruto and grinned widely. The blue-skinned man moved his hands as if to create a seal when Naruto reached him and pushed his Rasengan into Kisame.
Naruto stumbled, suddenly wet. "Huh?" Kisame hadn't dodged. There was a puddle of water on the ground.
Sasuke looked around, trying to find where the real Kisame was lurking around, but he couldn't sense anyone but Naruto. Kisame was either gone, or had his chakra veiled. And it didn't matter as long as they could return back to the busy streets of the Konoha neighborhood unhindered. Kisame would not dare to follow them there. At least Sasuke hoped so, they would not really be able to hide after all.
"Water? A water-clone?" Naruto turned to look at Sasuke, a bit dumbfounded. "We were seriously fighting a water-clone of that guy? Just a clone?"
"Hn…" Sasuke straightened, walking over to where Naruto was still kneeling from the fall. He held out a hand. "It seems like it. Come on, let's go before he decides to play some more."
"Uh, alright." Naruto pulled himself up, still looking a bit puzzled, but then, after a few steps his face brightened up. "But I totally got him that second time."
Sasuke had to repress rolling his eyes. "Dobe! Let's go back now!" Sasuke fell into a light jog, pulling Naruto along.
"Yeah yeah, always do this, do that, you're no fun….Hey Teme, let's at least make it a race!"
"Sure, to Sakura's" Naruto took off before Sasuke had finished. Shaking his head, he took after him. There was quite a bit on his mind.
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They arrived at the doorstep wheezing for air. Naruto laughed like this had all just been a game, obviously still feeling the adrenaline of fighting and racing. Sasuke was looking around for his key, letting them in when he found it. He went into the kitchen to drink some water. Sakura didn't seem to be home.
"Sooo, that guy…who the hell was that?" Naruto asked after letting himself drop onto one of the chairs, his eyes trained on the other, who wasn't looking at him at all.
"Hoshigaki Kisame, S-Class missing-nin of the Hidden Mist." The almost bored tone did not match how he'd acted a few minutes ago at all.
"How did you get to know such a guy? We should report this to the Hokage!" That made the other look at him. Finally.
"No."
"Why not?" He questioned, catching on to the slight fear that the other's voice had carefully concealed.
"There is no need yet. I don't want to go into interrogation because of this as long as it's not necessary."
"You know as a shinobi that's kinda what we have to do! It's our duty."
"He is my brother's partner; his team-mate." His voice was a mix between defensive and hollow.
"Oh...You got a brother?" Naruto perked up.
"Yeah, I do." Tatakai pushed himself from the counter moving to the bowl that held the tomatoes, taking one. "Want one, too?" Naruto shook his head and the other sat down on the opposite chair.
"So that's whom you were talking about back then?"
"Yes, look, I need to think about the meeting, I'm trying to figure out what he wanted."
"Alright do that, I'll give you until tomorrow, but then we need to report it."
Tatakai nodded, taking a bite from the tomato. They fell silent and each sunk into their thoughts. Naruto got thirsty as well and helped himself by getting a chilling glass of milk, drinking it calmly.
After a while, Tatakai spoke up: "You didn't 'get' him with your last attack… he let himself be hit."
Naruto looked up, considering it. The other was probably right, even if he had liked to think otherwise.
"What was his aim then?"
"Testing the waters probably… Alright, let's go." Tatakai said shortly. He got up and left the room. Naruto dropped the empty glass into the sink and followed. It was eight, their sparring time had been cut short by this Kisame's interruption, so they'd returned earlier than expected. Tatakai was putting his shoes back on.
"So where are we going?"
"Library"
"And what do we do there?"
"Read"
"Why would I do that?"
"A Hokage has to be literate, if you still consider becoming one."
"Of course I do!... Hey, are you questioning my reading skills now?" Naruto was indignant at the mere thought.
"You know, there's more than one meaning to the word 'literate'. One, yes, is 'being able to read', the other means being 'erudite'."
"What the hell does eru-dice even mean? And I'll let you know, I can read just fine."
"Well, then you'll have no problem with me testing it, no?... and to give you a few synonyms...erudite means being cultured, refined, educated."
"Teme!" Naruto huffed, he knew, he'd just lost the argument and it wasn't his style to back down from a challenge. He'd just have to wing it, it had worked well enough back in his academy days.
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"I met your brother,..." Sasuke shuddered mentally at the remembrance of Sai's words. "...he told me to pass a message… He said you should make it your mission to protect Naruto. Precisely to protect Naruto from him."
Sasuke wondered what to do. Kisame's appearance had forced the message back to the forefront of his mind. He wanted to see his brother; beat him up for not finding him earlier. He wanted to scream at him for being a shitty brother and not having tried hard enough, for not having come immediately when he found out where he had ended up. He wanted to fight all on out as if they'd never been separated at all. He missed not having to hold back in a fight within the safety of the knowledge that his brother had it under control and that his life wasn't truly in danger; he'd much rather plan half hearted attempts to kill him and find comfort in Itachi's harsh training and gentle reprimands when he failed… He wanted to have this safety back. He wanted to have his brother back...
...and the first thing he'd heard of him after three years of nothing?… That they should act on different sides!? That the next meeting would not be a reunion.
The message left a bitter aftertaste on his tongue. Had his brother been serious about him protecting Naruto? He had to be if he just went out and revealed their identity as Uchiha to Sai. It wasn't a scheme to get them to meet up, was it? This was a warning! And a request.
But why? Why the Dobe? What would anyone want with him? He remembered the blond vaguely from the past. His orphan status was well known and everyone had avoided him because he'd been very known for pulling pranks and acting like an idiot. He'd meant trouble, everyone knew that. Today he was still a moron, still liked pranking, but it seemed his circumstances had changed. He'd grown up, now had friends and a place in society...
...and then there was Kisame, who had shown up demanding to spar...
Sasuke opened the library door. He knew one thing. Until he had decided what to do with this whole situation, he would not let Naruto out of his eyesight. Hence the current project to keep Naruto occupied and also figure out what would make anyone interested in the Dobe.
Sasuke picked a book from one of the shelves and quickly leafed through to the intro and first chapter, checking the language level and committing the picture to memory while hiding his eyes behind his bangs. He then signaled Naruto to follow him to the back, where they had a couple rooms for privacy. Once he found a vacant one, he handed the book to him.
"First chapter, read out loud!" he ordered, ignoring Naruto's alienated look.
"Aloud? But this is a library..." Naruto whispered.
"Since when do you care about the rules?" Sasuke smirked at the other's scowl. "Why do you think we went in here? We won't bother anyone, these rooms are pretty soundproof. And I want to hear you say the words so that you don't skip them. Be glad I'm not making you memorize the text as we go."
"You're no fun!" Naruto complained, but finally sat down on a chair, opening the book, then reluctantly his mouth.
"Chapter one: Having covered the purpose of this book, we'll now take a look at its create-frame? ... We will take-tune? following...uh, ah… contents more closer: First: organisation of table and write-variety-matter-duties - uhm paperwork?, Second: strategies for evaluating mission ranks. Third: keeping track of messenger-utilize-acceptable-talent shinobi, Fourth: keeping scribe-record-protect-...Hell, I don't even know this kanji, what book is that? Who'd want to read a book like this?"
"You just suck at reading." Sasuke stated.
Naruto loudly dropped the book on the table.
"Just being honest."
"What's the point of this anyway? This book is boring. Couldn't you have picked something more practice-oriented?"
"I could have... But if you want to become Hokage, this is most educational for you. This is based on some notes by the Fourth Hokage while he was still in training. Now for what the text really said:
Having covered the purpose of this book, we'll now take a look at its structure. We will examine following subjects more closely:
Organisation of desk and paperwork
Strategies for evaluating mission ranks
Keeping track of available Shinobi
Keeping the archive up to date….
The kanji you've missed can mean pipe, tube, control or jurisdiction. The word you've tried to figure out is archive."
Naruto was staring at him, mouth wide open. "You… You just recited that from memory?"
"Hn"
"So you read the book before?"
"No, I have a photographic memory."
"Dang, I wish I had that!"
"No you really don't. Now read the passage again, this time using the actual words, not just the kanji meanings. And ask if you have trouble remembering, I won't bite."
Naruto complied, grumbling only a little. By the time they finished, they had covered and reread about five pages and Naruto had been complaining about being hungry for at least eight times. He was still reluctant about asking, had tried to get out of reading out loud several times, but after he had realized that Sasuke wouldn't relent, he just did as asked. The other might be strict but he wasn't cruel when Naruto got something wrong. Naruto was thankful, even if he didn't know how to express it.
Sasuke on the other hand was simply wondering how the other had learned to read in the first place. He knew the academy did not provide much help in obtaining that particular skill. It was expected to learn and develop reading skills outside of class. Usually kids learned it at home or were put into classes by their parents or guardians. As far as Sasuke guessed, Naruto had mostly been on his own.
"I'll cook something once we get back," Sasuke offered "just let me check out the book."
On the way home Naruto was strangely quiet, keeping himself busy with kicking a stone in front of him. It took a whole while until he spoke again, voice pensive: "Why are you doing this?"
"... Because I figured that you had trouble reading."
"That's not what I meant, and you know it! Though... I am curious about how you found me out."
"Easy, you act like you just skim the text, which you kinda do with only reading the meaning of kanji, you know? Then you wait until the others split the tasks and explain it on the way."
"Ugh, and I thought I hid that well…" Naruto looked a bit put out.
"I'm pretty sure Kakashi is aware, Sakura I'm not so sure about." Sasuke smirked and Naruto rolled his eyes.
"You still haven't answered my first question!"
"Why I did this today?... because your inability to read properly could become a liability. And I don't want to deal with that when we work together."
"I can do missions just fine without and you know it! And I'm not as stupid as to believe that this is your real reason. What is your aim? What do you want in return?"
"That's a good question… Stay overnight, I'll think about it."
"What the hell" Naruto mumbled, kicking his stone forward.
And Sasuke hoped that that'd shut him up for now… well, it hadn't, but he mostly ignored the other after that. When they arrived at the door, Sasuke halted.
"Dobe, about Kisame, don't mention it in front of Sakura just yet. Let's talk it over alone later."
"Uh, okay?" Naruto looked a bit alienated, but nodded anyway. Only then, Sasuke opened the door to let them in.
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Sakura had wondered when Tatakai would return. Lately he hadn't been leaving notes anymore, rather telling her where he was going and often skillfully skipping for how long he'd be out. She was even more surprised when he returned with Naruto in tow just after 10 pm. Seriously, what was it with those two since yesterday?
"Sooo, what are we going to eat? I'm starving!" Naruto was asking just as they entered the kitchen.
"I'll reheat some rice, now don't bother me, or it will take longer." He pulled out a pan, heated some oil and dumped in some rice leftovers that had been sitting in the fridge. Soon the delicious smell of fried rice floated through the air, making Naruto even giddier.
"Now, Naruto just sit down! This fidgeting is driving me crazy." Sakura asked, taking a seat.
Naruto did as ordered, still focusing on what was going on at the stove. Both boys looked quite a bit ruffled, but they weren't sweaty anymore. So that was weird. "How was sparring?" She tried to make small talk, still all curious.
"Oh, we… uhm we didn't spar all that long… We went to the library instead."
"You? Library?" her voice sounded more surprised than she intended to.
"Yeah, Tatakai wanted to show me a book, actually, we even took it home… tadaa!" Naruto had pulled it out of his bag, presenting it with a wide smile . Reluctantly she took it, reading the title.
"That sounds quite dry, are you really going to read it?" She started to flip through it. "I mean you usually avoid all written things if you can help it."
"Eeh, hehe, well, the Teme made it sound useful."
"Indeed." Tatakai tossed in from over the stove.
Before she could really let this new information sink in, Tatakai stood next to the table, handing over two steaming bowls which they thankfully took. He returned with a third portion for himself and joined them.
"About that, we'll continue with the lecture in my room after eating. And he'll stay the night."
"What!?..." Naruto, who had been about to take the first bite, sputtered.
Sakura witnessed Tatakai sending one of his infamous 'I'm-annoyed'-glares towards the blond. To her surprise, Naruto grew beat-red at that and didn't say anything else for the rest of the meal (though stuffing food in his mouth might also have been a reason for the silence). Tatakai was a bit more refined in wolving down his food, but it was quite clear that he was hungry as well. It made her curious about what had just happened.
As soon as Tatakai was done he got up to wash the dishes. Naruto, who had long finished before, wordlessly followed him to help dry them. Then, as soon as the blond had put away the last item, he sent a wide strained grin to her, grabbed Tatakai's arm and pulled him out of the kitchen. A door slammed closed and Sakura was left alone. She had been so rapt by the two boys' behaviour that she only recognized by now that she had stopped eating. The remains in her bowl had become cold.
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"What the hell, you were serious about staying the night…" It was a statement, not a question. "You know… I really don't swing that way, … I mean you're alright and all, but...I'm not interested... I have my boundaries…"
"Idiot... like you'd be my type."
"It's just because you have no taste... huhh, whatever. I'm glad… that would have been like so awkward… But why do you want me to stay here then? You weren't serious about studying, were you? I really used up all my reading tolerance for the day." Naruto sat down on the bed and leaned back onto the wall behind it, as there just wasn't anywhere else to sit but the floor.
"No. I told you, we need to talk about what happened during the spar. Now just let me set some seals in place. I don't want anyone listening in."
Naruto watched him taking the precautions. Man, this was painstaking. Impatiently, he waited on the bed for the other to finish up. When he was done, finally, he'd sealed the room off in all directions including a locked door and closed curtains.
Tatakai sat down as well, looking at him expectantly from the end of the bed, "Is there any reason why someone would be interested in you?"
"Ehh, Tatakai... You just said you weren't into this kinda stuff...!"
"Idiot, I'm serious. Is there anything that someone would or could want from you? Any ability, any leverage, anything?"
"Euhm… well, I dunno... Why do you ask? That's like a really freaky thing you're suggesting."
"I need to know. Kisame was there for a reason, and I doubt it was just to kick our butts. He let himself be hit, so that must mean he has figured out whatever he wanted to know. I want to know what that was…. He knows me, I was not it."
"Maybe he wanted to confirm it was really you?"
"No. He could have done that very easily from afar."
Naruto furrowed his brows, saying nothing. This was dangerous terrain, he had to divert the conversation, there was no way he'd risk revealing the truth. He put on his best smile and said:
"Maybe he really just wanted to see you!?"
"Baka, I'm serious! I know the guy. Is there anything about you that would attract the attention of an S-Class missing-nin?"
Naruto avoided Tatakai's demanding gaze, fidgeting with his hands, twisting some fabric between his fingers.
"Fine, don't tell me."
Naruto just shrugged at that. They remained quiet for a couple of minutes, in which Naruto started feeling tired.
"So, what is it really that you want to accomplish by helping me?" He yawned.
Tatakai looked up. "I told you. For now: Stay overnight, I'll think about it."
"Ah well then, I'll take the couch, good night." He got up, stretching.
"You can take the bed."
"No way I'm kicking you out of your own bed."
Tatakai glared at him. "Take it, or I'll follow you to the couch and sleep on the ground there."
"And if I sleep here, you'll take the couch?" Naruto frowned. Why was this guy so clingy?
"No, I'll sleep here, on the ground."
"You know, this is getting creepy, Tatakai..."
"Deal with it… Now let's get ready for bed."
Naruto hogged the bathroom first, glad that Tatakai didn't insist on following him even there. While he stood under the shower he found himself thinking: Even though the other's behaviour was pretty strange today and really bordered on being creepy tonight, he decided that it wasn't actually all that bad. Naruto could feel no ill intentions coming from him. He was pretty sure that there was a personal reason involved, but he felt like this was something he did to protect him, not to bring any harm. And that feeling was kinda nice.
Additionally, this was finally a person in the village that knew nothing about how people still tended to treat him. Tatakai was direct and honest in critique. And for some reason he took some time today to help him. Naruto knew he wasn't good at that stuff. He knew it was because no one had ever taken the time to actually teach him to read and he wondered if Tatakai had taken a guess at that too. He should probably review the pages before sleeping, he thought while brushing his teeth. Not let this kindness go to waste by forgetting what he learned.
After he'd finished, he'd left the bathroom to Tatakai. The guy might have issues, but seemed to be no real queer threat to him. So Naruto chose the bed over the couch. Better sleeping soft than stiff, he figured. He decided to quickly drop by at Sakura's room to wish her a good night, just to find his female teammate in a cute pyjama. It suited her quite well which he stated in turn. She kicked him out loudly, but he could clearly see her cheeks blush before the door slammed shut in his face. He crawled back into Tatakai's bed, grinning at the nice picture in his head he planned to recall later when it was time to sleep. But for now, he was determined to review what he learned, even if he didn't like the subject. He opened the book and tried to read through the pages they had covered once more, only to find that he couldn't really focus at all.
Besides the fact that him having the Kyuubi was still a state secret, he really didn't want the other to know about it, anyway. It was nice to be taken as just him and he prefered it right now. The other might act like a jerk, but today had only furthered his convictions in believing that he was actually quite decent. Tatakai was definitely paranoid, though. A paranoid guy with trust issues, apparently trying to guard him, haha.
"I thought you said you've read enough for today?"
The man in question had appeared in the doorway, rubbing his now wet hair with a towel, also dressed for bed. "Come on, put the book down and go to sleep."
He closed the door and went to the corner to grab a futon that hadn't been there before. He now unrolled directly in front of the door. His friend sat down against the door, a thin blanket wrapped around his knees.
Naruto found himself in a staring match. But as the other made no move after a minute, he got tired of it.
"Could you at least turn off the lights and release me from that freaky stare of yours!? I won't just go poof, you know..."
Tatakai let out a huff, accompanied by something that could have been a faint smile. He got up and switched out the ceiling light. He heard the rustling sound of his not-quite-friend returning to his futon. This time it seemed as if he was laying down. Finally!
It became very quiet and while he stared at the pitch black that was the ceiling tiredly, his mind was still actively thinking, contemplating, well, this:
"….You really are afraid I'll take off in the middle of the night, aren't you?"
"No." The clear voice indicated that the other was just as awake as he.
"Why else did you press for us to stay in the same room then?"
"I'm not taking any chances." Somehow his voice carried over much better in the darkness, louder, even though none of them was talking loud at all.
Naruto didn't know what to say. He felt that the other considered the talk over, but Naruto couldn't help but wonder why Tatakai was so insistent in him sleeping here. There just had to be more to it, but Naruto found no good way of bringing it up. He kept turning in the bed.
"Go to sleep!"
Naruto groaned but decided that he'd better just get some sleep. He could still pester the other in the morning.
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When the blond had finally shut up, Sasuke used the peace to think. He'd need to have a solution ready by morning, and he intended to do just that.
He knew, it wasn't realistic to be able to be around the other 24/7, except if they went on a mission, which he doubted they'd let him take part in. That was probably the biggest issue. The chances that someone would make a move against Naruto while he was still in Konoha were slim, though one never knew with Itachi. And at least half their missions were outside the village borders. They probably wouldn't let him tag along and he couldn't leave the village thanks to the slave seal, either. At least not very far and not without a hell-of-a-lot of pain.
In addition to that, he was still in hiding, not able to use his potential to its fullest. Kisame had nearly forced him, and he wasn't sure if he'd have risked it.
Ideally he'd move in with Naruto, but again, he had no say, being Sakura's slave. The most he could possibly do was to convince Naruto to move in with them, or even better, share the room with him. He had the feeling that it would be a lot more difficult to get Naruto to agree to a somewhat permanent living arrangement than to a one time sleep-over. And that was probably still the least of his problems.
He could maybe demand that as long as he was tutoring Naruto, be it reading or possibly Genjutsu and other ninja arts, that this living arrangement be his payment, and that he'd go everywhere the other went. Naruto being the prankster he was, would find a way to slip past him though, especially if he couldn't see any reason as to why he shouldn't.
Sleeping arrangements within Konoha still wouldn't cover the missions out of the village and those were the ones where Naruto most likely would be targeted. Those were the ones, where the chance to meet Itachi again was the highest. He really had to figure a way to get out of here with Team Seven.
Shikamaru was another issue. Sasuke didn't trust the Nara to not have talked, even though it appeared that way. He didn't know how much, but Shikamaru was obviously keeping an eye on him. And now that Sasuke had had word from his brother without Shikamaru's involvement. Their deal was crumbling. Though how long it would take until Shikamaru realized that, remained to be seen.
Sai, the messenger, the fellow slave, might have passed on the message to others, too. He was a Konoha Shinobi, loyal to Konoha, friend and teammate of Naruto, who had been threatened. It might very well be that they'd corner him about that eventually. Especially if the encounter with Kisame became known.
Sasuke knew that his situation was delicate and that he had no chance in controlling all aspects. It might just be easier to reveal himself as Uchiha Sasuke, son of Fugaku, but he really didn't want to do so. He didn't want to expose himself, nor did he want to expose Itachi, despite hating him with passion rightnow. It would only lead to further trouble. And quite possibly a lot of interrogation.
However, he knew that they'd want to know why he wanted to join Team Seven and to go on missions outside of the village with an unknown like him was a big risk on their part. He had no idea on how to convince them for that. He had nothing to offer except information that he wasn't willing to share.
He was pretty sure that his attempts to tutor Naruto would not be enough to "prove" his loyalty and for good reason. Even though this was his place of origin, he did not see all that many reasons to be loyal for. He prefered to make his decision based upon his own judgement, he preferred not to engage himself with matters that had nothing to do with him. Really, he was only contemplating it because Itachi had told him to protect the blond. And he still had no idea why anyone would be interested in the idiot.
With the way Naruto had reacted to his question, Sasuke was pretty sure that the guy did actually know some possible reasons, but it was clear that he wasn't willing to share them, either.
So, what to do?
He'd definitely need to talk to Shikamaru again. If anyone could get him a spot on Team Seven's out-of-village missions, it was him… The question was just at what price!?
With Naruto, he would probably try to make a deal tomorrow. If the living, or sleeping, arrangement didn't work out, then at least he'd get Naruto to show him how to do the technique he'd used against Kisame.
He vaguely thought about telling Naruto about the message, but for now, that seemed avoidable, so he decided he'd wait with that for at least a little while longer. Maybe he should warn him about Itachi though. The run-on-sight kind of warning….
His eyes drooped for like the seventh time. At this point it was probably better to sleep first and concern himself with the details later and so he finally let himself drift off.
00000
Kisame was sitting in the hideout, drinking tea and waiting for his partner to show up. When Itachi finally did, he offered him a cup, refilling his own as well.
"I used the time to meet your little brother, just as I said I would."
Itachi nodded, waiting for him to continue.
"Sasuke wasn't pleased to see me at all. He called you an asshole and accused you of having sent your 'lackeys' instead of facing him yourself."
Itachi's lips twitched to a tiny smirk. "Hn."
"We sparred, though he was rather unwilling. His skills really have declined a bit."
"Was the Naruto-kid around?"
"Indeed. They were sparring together. Your brother's reaction to me turning up there was quite interesting by the way. It almost seemed like he was trying to protect the other. And he was actively trying to get me to leave them alone."
"Hmmm, that is interesting indeed. Any idea as of why?"
"Maybe they're friends. I don't know. Anyway, I sparred a bit with the target. His signature move is indeed the shadow-clones. He seems to have mastered the Rasengan to a certain degree, too. I let my water-clone be hit, it's quite powerful."
"Something to watch out for, then. My intel says he's also known to be a famous prankster here. He's most likely quite resourceful in spontaneous situations. And he's well liked under his peers."
"He's probably trying to befriend the bundle of joy you call brother."
"Indeed, he might be. My foolish little brother has been awfully resistant against any attempts to get him more social though, so who knows?" Itachi took a long sip from his cup. "What did they do when your clone burst?"
"They raced back to Konoha, went into an apartment under the name Haruno Sakura and left for the library not soon after. They were still there when I decided to leave. I suppose the one we met, spoke the truth about Haruno Sakura being his owner, seeing that Sasuke had the key to the apartment." He finished his cup, putting it down. "What are you going to do, now that you found him?"
"As for right now? Nothing much. He's still angry at me, and as long as he's stuck inside of Konoha, there's not that much he can do, even if he manages to gain Naruto's trust. I'm looking forward to seeing how things develop, now that you confronted him, but let's discuss this tomorrow. I'm turning in for the night."
00000
A hollow sound shocked Sasuke out of sleep and while he slowly regained his senses, he noticed that he wasn't curled on the ground of his cell back in the slave house. Instead, he was on a futon in his room at his latest mistress' apartment. The curtains were drawn… right, he'd drawn them to talk to the Dobe in private last night. It also explained why he hadn't woken up yet. There was another knock from behind that let him sit up.
"Tatakai? It's 9 am. and Shikamaru is here to talk to you."
Sasuke could now hear the other waking up, too. After a moment of stretching his limbs into all directions from under the cover, Naruto sat up, looking fairly disoriented.
"Shikamaru's here?"
"Not for you." Sasuke replied, irritated. Being woken up by a knock, an oh so classy way to treat a slave. He finally pulled himself up, shuffled over to the shelf and got dressed. Naruto watched, still all sleepy and unaware. Sasuke left the room to freshen himself up in the bathroom and just maybe, also hide a bit longer. He hadn't planned on talking to Shikamaru first thing in the morning. He'd wanted to settle things with Naruto first, but he couldn't do that now. Another 'Tock Tock'. What was it with people knocking on doors today?
"Could you hurry up?" That was Naruto. Oh well, he'd have to decide on the spot how to deal with all this. He opened the door and dragged the blond in.
"Oi, Tatakai, what'cha doin'?"
He held the blond by his shirt, pushing him against the inside of the door, forcing it shut. The Dobe first wiped some remaining eye sand out of them, but then, as he realized his predicament, the blue eyes grew bigger and the Uchiha's determined stare was met with the questioning rise of an eyebrow.
Sasuke brought his free hand in front of his own mouth, signaling Naruto to remain silent with his index.
Naruto couldn't help but stare at it. He clearly felt uncomfortable. There were beads of sweat, slowly forming on his forehead. It really was rather humid in here. Naruto did not move to free himself from the tight grip he was held in, waiting instead on what Sasuke would do.
They both remained like this what felt like an eternity. It was Naruto who finally spoke up, when he realized that Sasuke wasn't going to.
"Euhm, Tatakai, I know it's probably comfortable to lean against my body that way, but don't you think that Sakura and Shikama-"
"Shhh."
"Well, what do you want?" Naruto finally hissed, clearly getting impatient.
"Kisame. We still need to talk about that."
"Well, did you figure out what he wanted?"
"My best guess is still you. Don't know why though." Sasuke's voice was prodding.
"Well, if that's the case, I'll report it to the Hokage. She needs to know."
"Don't…" Sasuke said, but Naruto pushed him away and flipped their position. Sasuke looked at him angrily.
"I already waited a night. This is important, dude."
"I don't want to be interrogated."
"Well, too bad. We don't always get what we want. Let's make sure that Kisame doesn't either."
"You don't under-" There was knocking at the bathroom door. Sasuke felt the tremor in his back.
"Tatakai?" It was Sakura. Always in the way, he thought irritatedly. He threw a quick gaze towards Naruto who just raised his shoulders in question. So this is it, now.
"Almost finished" he shouted back through the door.
Naruto didn't wait for him to start talking again, he just went ahead as soon as Sakura had stepped away. "I do understand. But this is not a matter for us to decide. I'll refrain from telling Sakura though, if that makes you feel better. Alright, I'll be off to report then." Naruto started pulling him away from the door.
"Are you nuts!?", Sasuke punched the Dobe's hand hard as it was just about to touch the handle of the door. Naruto held his hand in pain, throwing an angry gaze. Sasuke gestured to the both of them, then demanded a visual confirmation from the blond that he had understood right. Naruto rolled his eyes, but nodded. Sasuke pushed the handle down, leaving first.
He soon found Shikamaru and Sakura at the kitchen table, having some tea. He scowled and stiffly nodded towards Shikamaru in greeting.
"So, Sakura tells me that you've made friends with Naruto!"
"Hn"... let them believe what they want.
"I see. Well, let's go to-"
"my room." Sasuke cut him off just as Naruto entered the kitchen.
"...Hi Naruto. The Hokage requested your presence in her office." Shikamaru called out.
"Already on my way, see ya." Naruto was about to duck out of the door frame when Sasuke spoke up.
"Dobe, find me after you're done."
"Will do!" he replied easily and then was gone.
Sasuke turned back to the talk at hand and the Nara picked up the conversation as soon as their eyes met.
"I was thinking of going to my house for a game of Shogi."
"My room is closer, let's get it over with."
Shikamaru got up, waving Sakura goodbye and shuffled down the corridor. What a crawler, Sasuke thought while leading the way. In his room, he tucked the futon away into the corner and signaled Shikamaru to enter and close the door behind him. While he checked all the seals to ensure they were still active, Shikamaru took a look around
"You can sit on the bed."
He pointed to the item in question, quickly looking it over. The headboard in the corner against the wall, and on the dresser beside the bed lay his fabric arm protectors, the drawing was safely tucked out of sight. Shikamaru went over to the bed to sit down on one end, cross legged.
"You decided to soundproof your room." He stated.
"Hn"
"Oh well, there are a few things I wanted to talk to you about..." Sasuke nodded, already having guessed that much. "...I heard about your little stay in the hospital." Oh shit, he'd totally forgotten about that.. Luckily he'd had a lot of practice at keeping a straight face.
"So?" Sasuke coldly regarded him, hiding any reaction of having been caught off guard.
"Kakashi's theory is that it was caused by the slave seal."
"So?"
"I asked Sai about slave seals. He said that it might have been an activated punishment, he wouldn't tell me how it works though."
"It's an agreement amongst slaves to keep the experienced functions and their workings a secret." Tatakai said as if it was an obvious fact.
Shikamaru nodded, then continued after a pause: "Do you want to be an active ninja?"
"What are you getting at?"
"Well, do you?" The other asked and Sasuke very much wanted to dodge the question. He didn't like the direction this conversation was taking at all.
"Explain what you mean." He knew the questions weren't random, no matter how much they seemed to be. Shikamaru appeared bored, uncaring and that made Sasuke even more wary, though he knew it was normal behavior with the Nara.
"Having a reason to utilize your skill. Being able to practice and use those skills. Do you want that?"
"Do you have any idea what being a slave can be like?" Anger was stirring in him.
"I got some theories."
"Then you know the answer." Sasuke bit out.
"Glad we cleared that up, because you've got a problem: As long as they don't know what caused it, you won't be able to go on any serious missions. They won't risk others having to risk themselves to save your hide because you're not trusting them with your weak spot."
"It won't happen on a real mission."
"And how do you prove that?"
"It is very unlikely..."
"I think you're grabbing for straws." Shikamaru calmly said and Sasuke realized that some kind of trap had shut... forget the crumbling deal, Shikamaru had found a great way to corner him and subtly, too. Sasuke scowled. This was going into the exact opposite direction than he had intended to argue about with Shikamaru, and not for the reasons he had anticipated and prepared for. He was fighting a losing battle, he'd never get a spot on Team Seven if… a thought came to him:
"If I tell Sakura, and I'll tell only her because she's the only one that would need to know, can you get me cleared for missions outside the village and a permanent spot on Team Seven?"
"Why would you want a spot on a team with the person that's most likely to set off that punishment function that everyone is worried about? Why not just suggest working on a different team to avoid the matter?"
As Shikamaru spoke the words, Sasuke realized that another little trap had snapped shut. Sasuke glowered at the Nara, who seemed as passive as ever. It pissed him off. Then Shikamaru leaned back against the wall and continued in the same slightly bored manner.
"Actually I could also provide you the answer to that. They can't trust a stranger with unknown intentions."
Sasuke grit his teeth. He knew that. "Your know-it-all demeanor does not help anyone in the least here."
Shikamaru graciously ignored the comment and continued his argumentations.
"I might be able to argue in your favor to join my team. The Hokage would trust my judgement, she might let the knowledge gap slide since I can assure her that I do know enough about you to be able to handle it. Just be prepared to be killed on the spot if we get any evidence of your betrayal."
"Is this based on the concept 'keep your enemies closer'?"
"No, this is simply an offer. It might be your only way to keep dodging these things. I mean, I've seen you're a good fighter, if we ever do a mission alone together, especially out of the village, you could unleash your full potential much more often than you'll be able to around people that don't know about your identity."
Sasuke found himself actually considering it. This was tempting. And he'd have a lot more leeway in certain aspects.
However it wasn't what his brother had asked him to do. Kisame's appearance had made the whole request more real, more urgent. And he wanted to meet his brother, if nothing else, to make sure he really still was alive to hate for what he'd done, he didn't want to content himself with second hand knowledge, he wanted the real thing.
"No, I want to be on Naruto's team." Sasuke forewent to mention that it also would be safer to have Sakura close in case the slave seal acted up for reasons he hadn't anticipated. That argument would not be advantageous if he'd ever want to team up with Naruto alone.
"Why?" Of course that question had to come.
"He… I…"
"Why do I feel like you're about to think up a lie?"
Sasuke suppressed a glare and tried to gather his thoughts, this time more calmly.
"I only ever really partnered with my brother. I'm willing to partner with Naruto, I don't know why, but it has to be him."
"I can't offer you a spot on a team that I'm not part of. And I can't support you based on nothing. You have to choose which you want more and see how you can make it work."
"As I said, would you support me if I told Sakura about the slave seal?"
"Yes, but it won't be enough."
"What do you want me to do? Is there any way for it to be enough?"
"That is a good question, try me."
Sasuke sighed.
"What do you want to hear? That I'll give you my real name? That I face interrogation about the events of my family's destruction? That I'll swear to serve Konoha? That won't be enough, would it?"
"I'd like to hear the real reason why you fixate on Naruto, because that's where I think the potential lies." Shikamaru looked at him tiredly. "Well, think about it, alright?"
He then pulled out something from his uniform's breast pocket, holding it loosely in his hand. Sasuke didn't see what it was, but it looked a bit like photographs. "As promised, I checked Sakura's papers for any clues on your brother, you were right about his code…"
00000
Naruto dashed into the Hokage building, then impatiently waiting at the door to be invited in. He hadn't eaten yet and was hungry, but you didn't ignore a Hokage's summoning. So he was standing here, fighting the eternal inner battle of every shinobi alive: duty or dumplings.
Luckily he didn't have to wait for all that long. Tsunade looked as fresh as ever and came right to the point. "Naruto, you spent quite a bit of time with Tatakai, didn't you?"
Naruto looked at her surprisedly. "Yes!?"
"Well, what do you think of him?"
"Uhm. He's quite alright, he's actually trying to help me improve my reading skills now. He's got his quirks and he seems a bit paranoid, but that's alright. And he's a great fighter."
"Interesting. Well, did any of his behavior change in the last 24 hours?"
"Uhm, yes…. how do you know?" How did she know?
"How did it change?"
"Well, uhm, last night after sparring together he dragged me to the library to read, then he kinda invited me over and insisted on sleeping in the same room as me…." Naruto thought about how to breach the matter of the fight, still a bit conflicted about it, but Tsunade already picked up the conversation again.
"Interesting…alright moving on to another subject: There was intel that you might be in danger."
"What? Why?"
"We don't know, we don't know how serious to take it yet, but you should definitely know about it. I will arrange for training sessions for you."
"What did it say?"
"It was coded, we're not sure what exactly it means yet, it wasn't addressed to us, but one possible interpretation is that you're in danger. If you see this guy here" She held out her Bingo Book. "You should retreat and run… Naruto?"
00000
"So? What did you find out about him? Where is he?" Sasuke acted, putting a tiny bit of concern into his voice, just enough to make it believable.
"I didn't get around to seek out any slave houses yet." Shikamaru lazily said, letting his hand sink into his lap, covering whatever he had taken out of his breast pocket.
"Then why are you telling me this?" Sasuke's voice turned accusatory.
Shikamaru barely shrugged."I just thought you'd want to know."
Sasuke glowered but didn't say anything.
"How did you get separated anyway?" Shikamaru easily inquired.
"None of your business!" Sasuke bit out in response, turning away from the other and crossing his arms. He didn't want to think of that. They fell silent and Sasuke, by now, was just hoping that Shikamaru would finally leave. But he didn't and so Sasuke leaned back at the wall to contemplate what he was going to do. He needed the other's help. Slowly he was forming some semblance of a plan.
Shikamaru did not let him, instead he suddenly moved to hand him what he'd held in his lap. It was a photograph…. of Hoshigaki Kisame. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly in surprise. Kisame was younger on there and Sasuke had a suspicion that this was out of a Bingo Book entry. This started to look like...
Shikamaru didn't say anything though, he seemed to wait for him to react instead.
"Why are you showing me this?"
Shikamaru held out another one. This one was an academy class picture. Their academy class picture. Sasuke decided to play it off and just look at him questioningly.
"I think you know why." He turned over the final picture he had been holding. This one clearly was worse quality. It looked like Shikamaru had taken a picture with a camera from the Academy's "Hall of Fame". He recognized it, having committed it to memory when he'd seen it a few weeks ago.
"I asked Sai about your brother's approximate age, then I went to search, since at least one of you must have had academy training. Seems like you and I even were in the same class…" Shikamaru smiled faintly. " and I know you remember because I saw you looking at these, back when I saved you from Iruka at the Academy."
Sasuke was livid, he could barely keep a calm tone. "So Sai spilled!?"
"What did you expect? Naruto got threatened..."
Sasuke suddenly felt tired. It seemed that all his attempts at keeping anything secret were failing. Shikamaru wasn't done yet, though.
"... No one knows your or your brother's names yet, though, so don't worry. Sai can't talk about that and I won't unless I have a reason."
"Why can't Sai talk about it?"
"Because a seal prevents him from even trying. His slavery is a little different from yours, I don't know the specifics, but it's designed to support his ninja duties."
Sasuke took in the information, filing it away for later. This was bad.
"You want me to spill." He spoke with dread.
Shikamaru didn't nod, instead he voiced another question, calmly, almost gentle:
"What awaits Naruto if he faces them?"
"How the hell should I know what my brother is planning, I haven't seen him in three years!"
"Of course you wouldn't. I meant strength-wise."
Sasuke mirthlessly chuckled at that.
"He'd have no chance. They're both S-Class. I don't have a chance against either of them, and I know their fighting style well."
"What would you do if you face your brother? If you stick close to Naruto, you might meet him, won't you?"
Sasuke forcefully kept himself in check. He was starting to really loathe Shikamaru right now. He realized all these questions before had been building up to the reveal that Shikamaru actually knew about Sai's message. He'd been testing him the whole time, interrogating him. But Sasuke remembered Kisame's sudden appearance. That had been the moment he knew Itachi had been serious. If they already knew, he might as well explain what he thought of it, though the thought hurt.
"His message warned you all. I'm sure he intended that to be the case. In addition to that, I can't just run off. I'm a slave, my brother knows that. He told me to make it my mission to protect Naruto, from him!" Sasuke shuddered inwards, but forced himself to continue. " My brother said this for a reason and I can't ignore it. It's a warning for you, a request towards me. My brother wouldn't have bothered with this in advance, had he not wanted me to…"
Shikamaru patiently waited for Sasuke to find words. He saw that Sasuke, in some ways, was breaking. He'd obviously not talked about this to anyone, and now that the dam broke, he probably couldn't hold back any longer.
"...I don't know why they want Naruto… I want to know why my brother plays double-agent here… I just want to see him… even if it's on opposing sides… Just, let me do this!... I know how they fight, I can teach Naruto…" He trailed off, staring into space, he'd pulled his knees close and wrapped his arms around loosely in an attempt to stay still, he knew he looked shaken anyway.
"Alright, I'll see what I can do. But as I said, it's not my team. Kakashi is Team Seven's Captain. If he can't trust you, you're not going anywhere, and he is suspicious."
"Fine, I'll talk to them." His voice was smaller than he liked.
Shikamaru nodded, pleased, then finally got up. "I think we're done here." But Sasuke's voice, in a moments decision, stopped him:
"Kisame was here yesterday, he forced Naruto and I to spar…. I just thought you should know." Shikamaru searched out his eyes, then nodded, unlocked the door and quickly left.
00000
"...Naruto?" Naruto was still staring at the Bingo Book entry, face slightly ashen.
"Uhm, Baa-chan…. I already met this guy, well his water-clone….uhm yesterday. We sparred and Tatakai was trying to protect me." Tsunade's eyes widened.
"Naruto, why didn't you report this?"
"Well…" Naruto scratched his neck. "Tatakai knew the guy and though he warned me of him, he also told me to not tell Sakura just yet… Then he took me reading and everything and it just kinda slipped my mind."
"Next time, report something like this immediately… Shizune?... Send for Kakashi…" She called out, then turned back to Naruto. "This is serious, Naruto. Kakashi will bring you home… Now wait in the room outside."
It took about fifteen minutes until someone knocked at her door and Shikamaru let himself in, skipping the pleasantries he got right to the point. "I deem him safe. He also just reported to me that Hoshigaki Kisame challenged him and Naruto to a spar."
"I just heard about that from Naruto, too."
"He intends to follow his brother's words, even though he doesn't know why his brother told him to do what he did. He understands the situation he's in and he's agreed to take measures to actually be able to join Team Seven, since he apparently wants to guard Naruto. I told him he needs to convince Kakashi to join Team Seven permanently. Once Tatakai manages that, I'm turning this mission over to Kakashi."
"Good, inform me of any changes."
There was another knock and this time it was Kakashi. Shizune quickly let him in and Shikamaru out. "Naruto needs to be guarded, he also needs further training. He's in danger and while we don't know why they target him, we do know they're S-Class missing nin… one being Hoshigaki Kisame."
"I'll put a training concept together. I've wanted to start him on changing chakra nature anyway. And he always works better when there is pressure."
Tsunade nodded in agreement to that.
"Also, Tatakai wants to join your team. He has to earn your trust, but know, he could be a worthy asset. He knows who it is that targets Naruto personally and is willing to work against them. Naruto is waiting outside to be brought home." She sighed. "That is all, you're dismissed."
00000
On his way home, Shikamaru picked up a thought trail that the talk with Tatakai had touched upon. The other, not knowing Sai's background, had made him explain why Sai couldn't talk about it. Indeed, why? As far as Shikamaru knew, it only happened when Danzo was involved. So, what did Danzo have to do with the Uchiha's demise?
A/N: You're really lucky that I have some hairline fracture in my wrist from having an accident with a cemetery gate that wanted to bite me for too gentle handling… so yeah, a few weeks and an MRI later, I now know I was actually writing this chapter partially without a brace and a broken bone. But the time off work actually gave me room to actually get to write so no complaining there. Anyway
This took a lot of time and thinking to write… I hope it paid off. Reviews would make my day!
Seriously, they really help me stay motivated, push for content and make this story better.