Chapter 13

"Who are you?"

Hari considered the question. Should she tell him?

She shrugged, shifting her weight as she leaned on the doorpost. "I hope you said your proper goodbyes; I daresay you won't be seeing your mother again for a good long while."

Sasuke frowned. "Don't make me repeat myself."

Hari rolled her eyes. As far as intimidation tactics go, Sasuke could not hold a candle up to Death. "Don't be rude," Hari tsked, standing up straight and folding her arms on her chest. "I was the reason you could talk to your mother, you know?"

Sasuke snorted. "This is just a dream."

Hari was suddenly in front of him. She flicked her finger at his nose. "If this was just a dream, then you would have talked to your mother ages ago and avoided all those nightmares." Sasuke blinked, and she was back by the door, a smug smile on her face.

Sasuke growled against his throat. The door slammed shut, pushing Hari into the room with Sasuke. Chains began to appear above and beneath her, coiling around her ankles and wrist, lifting her a few feet off the floor. The walls began to bleed red. "This is my dream. I control everything in here."

Hari experimentally tugged on her hands. The chains did not even budge. She raised an eyebrow at Sasuke. "Shouldn't you be asking me out on a date first before we get kinky?" She tried moving her legs. The chains did not move there, either. "And for the record, we are not in a dream. This is the inside of your mind."

"What?"

"We're inside your head," Hari answered. "And I am here because a lot of people died with regrets, and they all revolve around you."

Sasuke stepped back. "What do you mean?"

Hari decided it was best to be straight with Sasuke. "Your mother, Mikoto. She died with profound regret, and that regret materialized into something that should not be allowed to exist. So I helped her. Do you know what her regret was? She felt guilty of the fact that she could not protect her children, that she could not tell you that what happened that night was not your fault, and neither was it your brother's."

"Shut up!"

"The woman you saw, it was not an apparition. That was really your mother, Sasuke." Hari sighed. "I really don't know any other way to say this: Mikoto's soul asked me to grant her wish, and I allowed it."

Sasuke was still frowning, but now he was looking away from her. The chains slithered back into the shadows, and Hari was free again.

"So you are…what? A Shinigami?"

Hari dusted herself off. "In a way," she answered.

Sasuke turned back to her. "You don't look like a Shinigami."

"Oh, so you know everything about Death and the Afterlife, do you?" Hari retorted with a raised eyebrow.

Sasuke did not answer. Instead he fell silent, looking down at the bed that used to be his. "So where is she now?"

Hari watched his back as she spoke. "Now that she has no regrets, she will move on."

"To where?"

"Onward," Hari replied. "To the next great adventure."

"What does that even mean?"

"I can't tell you that, Sasuke," Hari replied apologetically. "It is not something you ought to know." She took a deep breath. "I will be leaving now, but I daresay you'll see me again."

"Why?"

"There are still some souls that seek to resolve their regrets," Hari answered quietly. "And it is my responsibility to see that their wishes are granted."

Sasuke shook his head. "You sound more like a monk than a shinigami."

"Do I?" Hari smiled in spite of herself. "Well. In any case, farewell, Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke turned to her again. "You never told me your name."

"I did not give it."

Sasuke looked at her, carefully: her pale skin, her hair that tumbled down in dark, soft curls, her bright emerald eyes. "Are you an ancestor?"

Hari laughed. "What makes you think I'm related to you?"

Sasuke felt his face heat up. With her pale complexion and black hair, anyone would think she was at least half Uchiha.

"I'll see you around, Sasuke."

The last Uchiha watched as the mysterious woman faded from view, until she was gone.

- line break - line break –

Hari woke up slowly; her mind felt like it was blanketed in thick fog, and for a moment she forgot where she was. She pushed herself up on her elbows and saw that she fell asleep beside Sasuke in the small mountain of pillows and soft furs that she had arranged on the cave floor. Sasuke was still asleep.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Not that very long, mama," was Ren's reply. The basilisk was lounging in her own nest.

Hari cast a wandless Tempus with her left hand. Ah, just about two hours of sleep. Not very long, indeed, and enough time to prepare dinner. She sat up and re-arranged the robe on her person, finding that one sleeve had slipped and exposed her left shoulder to the air. She should change her clothes, too. And brush her hair.

As she was arranging her robe, there was a poof of white smoke, and a red toad appeared beside the fire. It was as large as a dog, with yellow eyes and purple markings on its skin and face. And it had, of all things, a pair of goggles hanging from its neck.

"Message scroll for Uchiha Sasuke!" it croaked. Then blinked several times, realizing that it was in a cave, with not just Uchiha Sasuke, but a half-naked woman and…holy Sennin is that a snake?!

The snake hissed into the air, its bright red tongue flicking out. The toad eeped and froze on the spot.

"Oh dear, there's no need to be alarmed." The woman stood up from where she had been sitting—right next to Uchiha Sasuke's sleeping form—and walked up to the toad. "You are…a toad summons, are you not?"

The toad nodded, too terrified of the large snake that was within striking range to speak.

"She won't bite, I give you my word," Hari smiled reassuringly, tilting her head so the toad's field of vision was filled mostly by her appearance. "What is your name?"

The toad swallowed, forcing himself to look at the woman. "K-Kousuke."

"Kousuke," Hari repeated. "You said you had a message scroll for Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Yes!" Kousuke hastened to pull out the scroll tied to his waist. "It's from Uzumaki Naruto—confidential, sorry."

"No need to apologize," Hari stood up. "You can place it beside Sasuke, if you want."

Kousuke looked at the place where Sasuke was sleeping, then at the looming image of the snake coiled and watching his every move…although how the snake could see with that thing wrapped around its eyes, he could not imagine. Hopefully it's blind? "Ah. Um. Could you perhaps give it to him? It's been sealed by chakra, so please don't try to open it. I don't know what Uzumaki Naruto put on that scroll as a security measure." Of course it was more likely that he did nothing, but this woman did not need to know that.

"Of course." Hari put out her hand. Kousuke placed the scroll in her hand, and saw her place it beside Sasuke. When she turned to him with an expectant smile, Kousuke nodded. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Um…" Kousuke scratched at his chin. "I know it's not my place but…are you…with Uchiha…?"

"Oh my. You're right. It is most definitely not your place to ask," Hari teased, chuckling when the toad blushed. "He is only staying for the night."

"O-oh! So it's like that…?"

"Very much so," Hari nodded. She sat by the nearest table and propped her chin against a hand. "Do not worry, I have no plans to harm the man. Tell this Uzumaki Naruto that Sasuke is safe and far from any threat here."

"Uh…and where is…?"

"That's a secret," Hari smiled again. "Is there anything else?"

"I think a reply is expected."

"Then you may return to Sasuke tomorrow; best do it around noon. He won't have time to respond to your letter otherwise."

Hari watched curiously as Kousuke turned an even brighter shade of red and hurriedly poofed out of sight, presumably to wherever Uzumaki Naruto was.

"These summon animals are all very strange, mama. He smelled…embarrassed? Why?"

Hari shrugged. "It's probably a culture thing." She stood up and headed to her room, intent on changing before cooking dinner. "Let me know if Sasuke wakes up, will you darling? Although I doubt he'd be able to until late tomorrow morning – the Sleep spell I used is rather powerful."

"Okay, mama."

- line break - line break –

In the Hokage's office, several miles away in the heart of Fire Country, Kousuke appeared on top of a table in a pop of white smoke, displacing a small pile of papers that Uzumaki Naruto had been reading. Kakashi, the current Hokage, had insisted that a table and chair be brought into his office, so that Naruto could "learn on the job". The blonde complained at first, but seeing that it made sense for him to learn about the paperwork a Hokage needed (was forced) to deal with on a daily basis, he eventually relented, on the condition that he would take over his godfather's spy network himself.

"Kousuke!" Naruto grinned at the sight of the messenger toad. "Did you find him?"

The toad nodded. "Yep." He fidgeted. "Um. Yeah, so…I found Uchiha Sasuke like you said I would."

Naruto beamed. "And? And? Did he read the message?"

Kousuke shook his head. "He was sleeping. I left it with his lady friend."

At the mention of a "lady friend" Kakashi's head popped up from behind several towers of paperwork, his visible eyebrow rising to his hairline. "Come again?"

Kousuke cleared his throat. "I found Uchiha Sasuke sleeping. With a woman beside him. They look quite close."

"No way!" Naruto exclaimed, jaw dropping. That's impossible! I mean he's a frigid assh—"

Kakashi cleared his throat.

"—I mean, he's a bastard!" Naruto waived his arms wildly. "I'm sure you were just assuming things."

Kousuke looked at him in the eye. "She was only in a bathrobe when I appeared. And she was right beside him."

"Holy f—"

"Did you catch her name?" Kakashi asked Kousuke, cutting off Naruto. This was unlike Sasuke. Didn't he say he would go on a journey to find himself and to continue what Itachi had risked his life to do?"

Kousuke shook his head. "I didn't get a chance to ask. And anyway, I told her you might have rigged the scroll to deter anybody else from reading it, and she seemed to believe me. Eh…did you do anything to it?"

"Just a simple electric shock, and of course it's chakra-sealed and only Sasuke could read it," Naruto answered. "What did she look like?"

"Long black hair. Pale skin. Really pretty eyes. Sexy body."

"How sexy?" Kakashi asked.

"She has boobs to rival Hyuuga Hinata," Kousuke replied. Kakashi whistled, impressed.

"Sowing his wild oats, eh? Smart of him, to do it outside the clutches of the Council," Kakashi commented.

Naruto shot him a look of disgust. "Ew, Kakashi-sensei. Just…no. I mean, he has Sakura-chan waiting for him here! There's no way he'd go cheating on her."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. As far as he knew, Sasuke had never reciprocated Sakura's feelings for him, even way back in their Gennin days. "I wouldn't be too sure of that, Naruto. Has Sasuke told you anything about dating Sakura?"

"Well…no…"

"Has Sakura ever mentioned she was waiting for Sasuke?"

"Uh…now that you mention it…"

"There you go then." He turned to Kousuke, who was watching them. "Where did you find Sasuke?"

Kousuke blinked. "In…in a….room? I think? No wait…huh. That's weird." He scratched his head. "I have no idea."

"What do you mean, you have no idea?" Naruto asked, confused.

"I mean…I don't clearly remember," Kousuke answered. Strange.

"Well, can you track him again?"

Kousuke paused, using natural chakra to try and track Sasuke's whereabouts. "Yes, I can. Somewhere in Lightning."

"Where in Lightning?" Naruto insisted.

"I don't know!" Kousuke snapped at him. "It's like I can sense where he is, but when I try to focus on that place it just slides off my thoughts like oil on water." Kousuke frowned. "It might be a barrier."

"So this lady friend could be a shinobi," Kakashi mused. "Figures. Sasuke would never settle down with a civilian. That's not like him."

Kousuke meanwhile, was having trouble trying to remember where he had come from. Which was strange, since he could clearly remember having seen Uchiha Sasuke. And the woman's face was etched clearly in his memory…wait a sec.

Sexy, long hair, pale skin…what was the color of her eyes again?

"I can't remember her face!" Kousuke croaked, panicked.

Naruto gave him a weird look. "Are you alright?"

"No! I can't remember anything specific about the past fifteen minutes!" Kousuke was visibly upset.

"Relax, it's possibly a barrier that Sasuke put up," Kakashi reasoned with the toad. "He's paranoid like that."

"Kakashi-sensei's right," Naruto added. He patted the messenger toad on the back. "As long as Sasuke is okay and you're not harmed, everything's cool." He sniggered. "I'll have to ask Sasuke to tell me about this lady friend of his."

"Ask him for a picture!" Kakashi suggested, going back to his paperwork.#

A/N: Kindly leave a review as you go! This story updates every Wednesday. And before anyone tries to comment: yes, Kousuke the messenger toad is alive here. There is no evidence to say he was not one of those resurrected after the Pein arc.