Chapter Three: San-nin De Hitotsu
Sakura was getting pretty sick of trees. Sasuke had insisted that they kept to the forest routes as much as possible to avoid drawing unnecessary attention to themselves, so for the last three days, Sakura had been surrounded by nothing but trees. Well…trees and Sasuke, but for all the attention that he was paying her, he might as well be another tree in the forest. They'd been traveling for three days and he'd barely said a dozen words to her. And most of the time, those words had been "Let's rest" or "Time to go."
You'd never guess that they were dating. Well, dating was a rather loose term. What it really was was this: Sakura hung on to Sasuke, and instead of pushing her away like he usually did with the other girls, he tolerated her presence. For Sasuke, it was almost enough to be considered affection.
It wasn't that Sakura was unsatisfied. She knew that all the girls in the village envied her and would maim, kill and cleverly dispose of some bodies to be in the position that she was in. It was just that…it wouldn't kill him to pay her a little attention, would it? What hurt her most was that he didn't even do it out of malice. He simply naturally did not notice that she existed.
Sometimes she missed the way that they were, back when Naruto was part of the team. She'd been horrible to him when he was around and there were times when she'd wished he'd leave her alone with Sasuke, but now she realized that things were right when they were three. There was a balance in the number, a space that could never be filled with just two. Sometimes, in the silences that yawned between her and Sasuke, she thought she could hear Naruto's voice, screaming that he wanted ramen or that he'd be Hokage one day. It made her heart ache with a pain that even tears could not relieve and she would blink her dry eyes and try to forget that sense of longing in her. Sometimes she managed to convince herself that she was alright, that life goes on and so does Haruno Sakura. But sometimes she could not.
Naruto had been such a presence in their team that his absence left a void that nothing could fill. They'd tried to replace him with a few new genins, but Sasuke had silently and firmly rejected them all. Team Seven would remain a two man team…at least until they could find Naruto again.
And of course, they would find Naruto again. Of that, Sasuke was certain. Sakura did not quite share his conviction—oh, but she hoped. They all hoped—but she still followed him on his expeditions.
It happened about two or three times a month. Sasuke would get a one or two day holiday from his missions, and he and Sakura—and she always found a way to schedule her holidays to match his, no matter how much she had to beg and whine to, and no matter to whom—would go out looking for Naruto. It was a fruitless enterprise, considering the fact that half the ninja world was out looking for Naruto as well. So far, nobody had been able to find him. It meant that Naruto was still alive, which was a good thing. It also meant that he was nearly impossible to find.
There were rumors of his appearance everywhere. For the last two years, Sakura and Sasuke had been chasing after these rumors, only to find that they were all false; most of them had been started by the villagers, who took advantage of the sudden influx of shinobi and bounty hunters to charge extravagant prices for food and lodging. Still, Sasuke refused to give up.
He'd gone so far as to try and become a Hunter-nin. Sakura had begged Kakashi-sensei to forbid him to do it, and—much to her surprise—Kakashi had actually agreed with her. Sasuke had too much talent to waste his life away as a hunter-nin. He also did not have the mental and emotional constitution of a hunter-nin. That kind of lifestyle would create unbearable tensions for him. Well, at least that was what Kakashi-sensei said. Sasuke had taken the decision with surprising composure and the subject was never raised again.
Of course that didn't mean anything. Even if they did not let him pursue it legitimately, Sasuke would find a way. That was why she was stuck here with him, wasn't it? Well, she could always look at the bright side of it. The forest was a picturesque setting; if she put a bit of imagination to it, it could almost be like a romantic date.
"Keep up, Sakura," Sasuke threw over his shoulder. He had stopped on a tree branch about ten meters in front of her and was looking at her with an annoyed expression on his face.
"Ne Sasuke-kun! Let's rest a bit. It's already noon and we haven't eaten anything yet," Sakura said.
Sasuke frowned and turned away from her, looking at something in the distance that she could not see. "If we keep going, we can reach the village in thirty minutes. Can't you keep up?"
"Yes. Yes, of course I can," Sakura insisted. "I just thought you might be tired."
Sasuke shook his head brusquely. "Let's go."
They took off again. Sakura was glad she had practiced so hard to increase her chakra control. Sasuke had more chakra than she did, and it took everything she had just to keep up with him. She did not have any chakra to waste.
By the time they reached the village, Sakura was ready to collapse on the spot. She settled for leaning against the wall of an inn to catch her breath. If Sasuke saw her like this, he would not take her along on future expedition. She could not let him see her weakness. She had to keep up. She…she…she wanted to just curl up in bed and sleep.
Sakura pulled her cloak closer around her and waited as Sasuke asked the villagers inside the inn for news. She knew that the chances of being able to rest were slim. They'd been able to get a four day holiday this time, and Sasuke would not waste a minute. They'd gone farther from Konoha than they'd ever had before. She knew that it had fueled Sasuke's hopes, being in this snowy village so far from Konoha. Surely if Naruto wanted a place to hide, he'd go as far from Konoha as possible? Surely…but it was still like finding a needle in a haystack.
Inside the inn, Sasuke was having an animated conversation with the innkeeper. Sakura moved closer to them to hear what they were saying.
"What kind of shop is it? Does he come there often?" Sasuke was saying, his eyes shining brightly, apparently oblivious of the icy snow melting down his face.
The innkeeper, a chubby man who was starting to look nervous at Sasuke's fervor, scratched his head and shrugged. "It's the only place I've ever seen 'im, aside from here. He only comes here at night. Usually he's sitting at that ramen shop. I've never seen a kid eat so much ramen."
"Where is this shop?" Sasuke demanded.
The innkeeper pointed it out. "It's down there. About six buildings down. You can't miss it."
"Thank you," Sasuke said. He grabbed Sakura's hand and dragged her out of the inn, running in the direction the innkeeper had pointed in.
"Sasuke-kun! Please! You don't really think…" Sakura trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence. Surely even Sasuke knew how hopeless this was. The chances of them ever finding Naruto were slim to nil. Just because it was a ramen shop…Sasuke was getting far too elated over what was obviously a false hope. It cut her just to see the sparkle in his eyes, the look of hope that lit his face up. She had never seen her look at her or anyone else like that. "He's not there, Sasuke-kun. Just give up. Can't you stop this and just get on with your life?"
Sasuke stopped in his tracks and gave her an icy stare. Snowflakes landed in his hair and melted in a small rivulet down his neck, but he was apparently oblivious to this. If he stayed out like this for much longer, he'd get sick. Sakura reached out to him, "Please. Let's just stop this."
He shrugged her hand off. "You were the one who said you were hungry."
He turned his back on her and started to walk towards the ramen shop. She hesitated—but only for a second—and followed him. No matter what, she always found herself following him.
Sakura held her breath as they entered the shop. There were three men there. Two were dressed in blue and huddled over two bowls of ramen in the corner. Melting snow dripped off their faces into their full ramen bowls.
The third man was wrapped in a white cloak. His long blonde hair was dripping wet and sticking to the sides of his face. Sakura felt her heart clench up when she saw the familiar profile. The blue eye, the scars on his face, that stupid grin.
Could it be?
As if to answer her question, the man in question slurped up the rest of his ramen and leaned against the counter. "Oji-san! One more!"
"Naruto-kun."
Slowly, as if he had not been called that in a while and had forgotten that it was his true name, Naruto turned to face her. A smile slowly spread over his face. "Oh. Hey there, Sakura-chan. Hey Sasuke."
*-*-*
Even in his sleep he thought about it. What it would be like to finally find Naruto. The words he would say. He'd planned for it for three years, thinking that somehow it would solve something, that something would be resolved by this meeting. Yet now, when Naruto was finally in front of him, he could not think of a word to say. And what kind of greeting was that anyways? Hey Sasuke?
The boy was as stupid as ever and yet everything about him was completely different. The way he held himself, so cool and distant from the rest of them, was utterly unlike the Naruto that Sasuke knew. And of course…there was that eye. His right eye was the same blue as Sasuke remembered, but the left eye was a bright and feral red. It was the Kyubi's eye.
"Ne Sakura-chan, you want a ramen bowl? My treat," Naruto said cheerily. He ordered a ramen bowl for Sakura. "Hey, you gotta tell me if Kakashi-sensei ever finished reading that stupid book. And how are Hinata and the Fuzzy Eyebrows? What about Neji? Hah! I bet he can't even walk after that beating I gave him…"
Three years worth of anger welled up in him, unbidden. He suddenly wanted to punch Naruto and see if the boy could still bleed red. How could he be so nonchalant after all that had happened?
"…and in one village, there were two ramen shops, one in each end of the village. We stayed there for three months. I'm thinking of going back soon, but I hear the soba ramen here is really good so I had to try…" Naruto was still chattering away, a big stupid grin on his face. Sasuke noticed that the cheer that was evident in his voice did not reach his eyes.
"Naruto," he began, stepping towards the other boy.
Before he could say another word, the two ninjas sitting in the corner had disappeared in a blur of color. They reappeared again before Sasuke even had a chance to blink. One was standing behind Naruto, holding a kunai against his throat. The other was standing by his side, holding a kunai with its tip pointing at Naruto's ear. The flat of his palm was against the butt of the kunai, ready to slam it into Naruto's ear the moment he made a false move.
"Finally caught you, Kyubi brat," one of them said.
"The two of you stand still, unless you want your friend dead. Make us kill him and we'll go after you next," the other one said.
Naruto sat there calmly, his fingers drumming against the counter. "Um, sure, sure. Stay still, no sudden moves, I got you. I know the drill. So which village are you guys from? Hidden mist? Hidden rain? Hidden sand? Hidden snow? Hidden sewer ditch, smells like."
"Shut up, brat," the ninja behind Naruto growled. "You won't be so mouthy once you're dead."
"Oh wow, I haven't heard that one before. On a scale of one to ten, I rate that a zero for no creativity," Naruto said, grinning. "You want to try again? Sure you don't have anything to say anything about my mother or sister? Well, my hypothetical sister at least."
The ninjas exchanged a nervous look. Of course, Naruto had quite a reputation and it made them uneasy, but surely even he could not get himself out of a fix like this. No, he was just playing mind games with them, using bravado to make them mess up and make a mistake.
Sasuke could not find a weakness in their formation. They had moved into position so quickly that none of them had gotten a chance to react. These guys were definitely jounin level shinobi. It hurt his pride to be caught so off guard so easily. They'd taken Naruto like taking candy from a baby. Maybe if he used Chidori he could do something. But Chidori required him to power up and—
"You over there," the shinobi at Naruto's side growled to him. "Make a move and the girl dies. Don't think we can't see through you."
Damn.
"Hey um…whoever you guys are. How about we make a deal?" said Naruto.
"What kind of deal?"
Naruto grinned. "If you let me and my friends go, I'll let you live. Okay?"
Well, Sasuke thought, the stupid idiot had never been good at diplomacy.
"No deal."
Naruto sighed theatrically. "Well, I tried."
"We can see through your bluff," scoffed the ninja behind Naruto.
"I doubt it," Naruto said and stood up from the stool. Moving as though they were one, the ninja behind Naruto slashed his throat with the kunai while the ninja at his side slammed the kunai into his ear. Sakura screamed Naruto's name and Sasuke felt his stomach lurch sickeningly. His mind's eye projected an image of a glassy-eyed Naruto falling to the floor, blood screaming after him in a crimson ribbon.
But instead, there was only a cloud of smoke and the familiar pop of a bunshin disappearing. Two Narutos dropped from the ceiling and landed neatly beside the two would-be assassins, each with a kunai poised at their throat.
"You should have made the deal," they said in unison.
"Kage bunshin? Impossible! We've been with you the whole day. You haven't moved from that spot! You couldn't have performed Kage Bunshin without us noticing."
"Unless, of course…" one Naruto started.
"…I performed it before you came," the other one finished.
"You've been here the entire day!" one of them cried shrilly, desperately. "Nobody has that kind of stamina!"
"Famous last words," Naruto said simply and Sasuke finally saw how horribly empty Naruto's eyes looked as his pulled the kunai cleanly through his assassins' throats. The bodies dropped with a heavy thump on the floor. There was a puff of smoke as one of the Narutos disappeared. The one remaining reached into his pocket and drew out a few gold pieces, laying them on the counter.
"For the clean up fee," he said quietly.
Naruto looked up at Sakura and Sasuke and smiled cheerfully. "I'm sorry about the interruption. Where were we?"
"You bastard! Even now…" Sasuke lunged forward, his fist drawn back. Naruto didn't move as Sasuke's punch connected. "…you're hiding from us! Show your real self."
The Naruto in front of him disappeared into a cloud of smoke beneath his knuckles.
"Another bunshin?" Sakura asked. Sasuke could hear the hurt in her voice, the sense of betrayal.
"Gomen, gomen," said a familiar voice from above them. Sasuke looked up to see Naruto hanging upside down from the ceiling. He'd been using chakra to suspend himself from the ceiling the whole time. Sasuke tried to mask his shock beneath a scowl. It had been such an obvious trick, but he had not felt Naruto's presence at all. Naruto had masked his presence—that terrifying presence—completely. "But you know you can never be too careful. A ninja must read underneath the underneath and all that."
Naruto flipped off the ceiling and landed on his feet, dusting himself off. It was only Naruto. Finally just Naruto, the boy who'd been his teammate, whom he thought he'd known. But suddenly Naruto was terrifying. Even though he was obviously Naruto and not the Kyubi, Sasuke was terrified of the boy standing in front of him. He'd killed two jounin level ninjas like child's play. He had masked his presence so well that they'd been totally unaware of it. Why, they had been like…they had been like flies wandering onto a spider's web.
Three years. It had only been three years. How had Naruto changed so much in just three years? What kind of life had he been living?
"Let's go somewhere else and talk," Naruto said, picking up his cloak from the stool and putting it on. "I know a good restaurant around here. There's nothing like dead bodies to ruin an appetite, know what I mean?"
Sasuke and Sakura followed Naruto out of the shop, both of thinking the same thought: that no, they had absolutely no idea what he meant. They were shinobi and sure they'd both killed before, but not like that. Killing was a terrifying and largely accidental thing that they did in order to defend themselves, and they forgot most of it in the haze of adrenaline and fear. They did not kill in the calm, cold way that he had just done. They were not even sure if they could.
The three of them walked together in the snow like old friends, their step falling in synch with each other the way it used to in the old days. But the distance between them was vast, the cold abyss between bright stars.
TBC
Author's Notes:
First off, thanks to everyone who reviewed this fic. It was a very pleasant surprise and I do appreciate it. Secondly, I apologize for how long it took to update, but I was away on holiday and did not have access to a computer. I noticed some questions that were raised in the reviews, and I figure I'll address them here. Feel free to skip this section as it'll be pretty boring.
-How can Orochimaru hold the kunai when his arms are injured? Eh, I was a little unsure as to how injured Orochimaru's arms were when I wrote this. I mean I know he can't use hand seals, but he still held up fairly well in the fight with Tsunade and Jiraiya. He even manages to go after Naruto and injure Tsunade with a kunai if I remember correctly. In any case, it is a good question and it is questionable, so I'll just classify this as another thing that falls under AU. ^^ Just indulge me.
-Yes, I did get the $100 Million Genin from Trigun. I couldn't resist.
-Is this Sasu/Naru, het, yaoi, and/or what pairings are going to be here? Um…this question kind of surprised me, because pairing was the last thing I was thinking of when I wrote this. I mean yes, people do and will develop relationship in this fic, but the reason I wrote this wasn't so one character could get with another. So…occasionally there will be "pairings" and occasionally they will change as the characters change and the need for new character dynamics arises. I haven't decided exactly what will happen with that yet, so I can't answer this with any certainty. Personally, I have no problem with either the het or yaoi fandom, so this fic could be either or both or neither. Heh, way to be ambiguous, right? All I can say is: just read it. If you don't like it, then stop reading it. It's that simple.
Also: the title of this chapter, "San-nin de hitotsu" was the phrase Sakura used when she told Kakashi that they (team 7) were three people but of one mind. It pretty much embodies the spirit of trust and camaraderie that exists between the genins of Team 7.