Sasuke's Cherry Blossom

Part 6

A/N:- The first order of business. I must say that each and every one of you kick complete and total ass. :-) Seriously. You guys rock. Your reviews made me laugh, blush, ponder, and most importantly, got me fired up to write. I finished this chapter in four days (and let me tell you, that's good time for me). Of course, it then had to go through the long process of betaing and editing………

My profuse and sincere apologies for this being so abysmally late.

Some questions were asked, and some comments were made. The answers are at the bottom, along with my authoress note thingies.

Warning:- Possible spoilers concerning the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Now, on with the story!

Disclaimer:- I do not own Naruto, and I am not making any money off of this fic. However, feel free to sue me anyway. Maybe it'll give me a chance to miss some school. (Re-opening in three weeks; sob)

Leaves rustled and descended in a dance of shadows as the two shinobi ghosted over the branches of the trees, one after the other. Shafts of moonlight illuminated them in patches as they travelled with quick, light steps. She followed him, barely a breath away, and her long braid of azalea hair chased them both.

When they arrived at the gates of Konoha, dropping on practised feet to the paved road, they saw that they were just about the last ones to arrive. Quite a few people were there. Hinata and Kurenai stood, decked out in ANBU garb, waiting to get their masks and have their temporary tattoos painted on. Naruto, who had arrived a few minutes before the Uchihas, was speaking to the indigo-haired girl. Sakura's husband gave her a gentle shove in that direction.

He scanned his surroundings. Neji, Lee, Tenten and Shino were conversing in a group to his left. Shikamaru and Ino were lying on their backs on the grass, looking at the stars. Or rather, Shikamaru was looking at the stars while pretending to listen to Ino, who was raving on at him, obviously quite piqued about something. Sasuke saw him make his escape by saying it was about time he went to collect his ANBU stuff.

The Godaime, her attendant, Asuma, Kiba and Chouji were speaking near the right side of the gates. Sasuke inclined his head respectfully in greeting before ambling over to where Kakashi stood. The silver-haired Jounin was absorbed in Jiraiya's trashy romance novel, the same one from their days as Team Seven, Sasuke believed. It was amazing, really, how Kakashi could make two and a half hours of nouns, verbs, bad grammar and wanton sex last for years.

The dark-haired man stood next to this old sensei and filled the silence with his soft, even breathing. Neither of them spoke for a while.

"They're asking about the Mangekyou Sharingan," Kakashi said eventually, turning a page.

Sasuke's hands sank deep into his pockets and he 'hn'-ed. The Copy Ninja interpreted this tiny sound, ferreted out the question in it and answered accordingly.

"Ino and they came across it in their research, and rightly assumed that Itachi possesses it. They wanted to know more about it, since the book they found it in said nothing really about it. I figured I'd leave that to you, since you undoubtedly know more about it than I do."

"……Aa."

There was a slight shift in the older shinobi's stance.

"Have you acquired it?"

"……Aa."

"Hmm," was all Kakashi offered in response to this new piece of information. His lone brown eye, however, left the pages of his book to trail a path to the self-proclaimed Rokudaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato. He was obviously enquiring as to the loud shinobi's living, breathing state.

Sasuke made a small sound of derision and turned away, not answering. Unperturbed, Kakashi returned his attention to his novel. The dark-haired man was only mildly surprised that his old teacher hadn't decided to push it; Kakashi knew that he would get his answer soon enough.

Sasuke averted his gaze skyward. The firmament greeted him, absolute black sprinkled with dots of iridescent gold. They flickered, and Sasuke thought of twinkling, merry black eyes. His eyes.

He looked to the trees. A current of air sifted through them, creating a mournful, wistful sound, and bringing to Sasuke's mind a child's cry. Sasuke slammed his eyes shut, feeling his resolve leaving him as he was infused by a most empathic sense of melancholy.

He was seeing Kisho in everything. There wasn't a place he could turn without seeing some facet of his son in it. Worry, anger, panic all pervaded him as he thought of where his little boy was, what was happening to him, what that bastard could possibly want with him. And fear; there was fear too.

Kami-sama, of course there was fear. There weren't many occasions where he would admit that he was even familiar with the emotion, but he couldn't deny it. His obduracy didn't stretch that far. Kisho was his child, his only child, and he cared so much about him.

Sasuke remembered the first time Sakura had placed the baby in his arms. He had been awkward, clumsy, a bit disgruntled, and he hadn't the foggiest idea of what to do. But besides all else, he had been filled with absolute wonderment. The child was so tiny; he was practically lost in Sasuke's arms. The new father had stared down at him, at a complete loss, while Kisho cooed and gurgled as if Sasuke was sharing some private joke with him.

Now, the smiles and laughs, constant elation, that ubiquitous 'Tu-sa!'; they were all an intrinsic part of his life. He had to get his son back, no matter what. There was no alternative. To fail in this mission…… it was unthinkable; utterly inconceivable. The phrase 'bundle of joy' was too much of a dictum for Sasuke's liking, but it was entirely appropriate and germane. A bundle of joy in his life……

Emotional was not a word that Sasuke connected to himself, but it would soon become applicable if he didn't stop thinking about his son, now.

His eyes travelled over to where his wife was waiting. Kurenai was already done, and had walked over to talk to Tsunade and the others. Hinata was in the process of having her tattoo painted on by an ANBU official. While she waited, Sakura chatted with Naruto, Ino and Shikamaru.

Sasuke watched as Naruto said something funny, or stupid, causing the pink-haired medic to cuff him on the shoulder, giggling. Despite himself, the Uchiha heir's eyes softened by a fraction.

Sasuke didn't know what he would have done without his cherry blossom. Despite the fragility that her name connoted, she was a rock, and provided that essential stability in his life. Countless times, she had brought him back to himself with her kindness, her sweetness, her all-around goodness that allowed her to give of herself so completely, so effortlessly.

Sakura wasn't all petals and sunshine, either. She wasn't afraid to yell him to his senses when it was called for. And that right hook of hers was nearly as legendary as Tsunade's. Sasuke could almost sympathise with Naruto for frequently being on its receiving end. Almost.

In her, he had found someone other than Naruto he could depend on to watch his back, and with Sakura, he never got the urge to beat her into a bloody pulp. She was a confidant, an iron bar of stability, the mother of his child, a lover. And most importantly, she was his friend.

He didn't deserve her, and he knew it. When they were children, he hadn't been able to understand it, how someone could love him so wholly, regardless of his past; without the obligation of family, or the cunning of those who wanted something from him. She'd thrust her heart at him without reservation or fear. And in frustration, annoyance and incomprehension, he'd broken it, pushed her away.

It had only surprised him a little to find himself liking, and appreciating, the wide, bright smile that greeted him at the bridge one day in their seventeenth summer. Life was too ironic for him to not begin to accumulate an affinity for her. Gradually, ever so slowly, he began to warm up to her, treat her with more than the bare minimum of respect, value her both as a team-mate and a friend.

Now, going back to the bleakness that had been his life before Sakura seemed unthinkable. She made him…..happy. She had given him Kisho. It was just everything about her; her warmth, her strength, her kindness; her cooking that really wasn't that bad on a good day, her sense of humour that had a tendency to pop up at strange times, her take-no-shit attitude, her generosity…… Mother would have liked her.

The thought swept in and out of his mind before he could grab it, analyse it, and figure out where the hell it had come from. It had caught him by complete surprise, and left him just a bit flabbergasted in its wake. He seldom thought about his parents these days, except in rare moments of wistful nostalgia, when he lingered too long in the kitchen, or passed by the old lake. Thinking upon the past was not a favourite pastime of his.

Sasuke shifted slightly, so that no one could see the glimmer of emotion that he suspected was in his eyes. The lesion that had been gouged onto the surface of his soul at his parents' death – at everyone's death – was still raw and bloody, and ached every time he deigned to poke or prod at it.

Sasuke supposed that somewhere down the line, he would finally admit it; deep, deep down in the recesses of his heart, no matter how puerile or wimpy it was, he missed his parents, fiercely. His mother, with her simplistic, kind understanding nature, and her warm smile that was medicine enough for any cuts or bruises he would get. Father, gruff and strong, who had finally accepted him as his son, an individual to be proud of, not just someone to be compared with……

Itachi.

Sasuke could not bear to think upon the past for many reasons. For one, it hurt badly, to know that everyone had died, and he had done nothing, could have done nothing, to stop it. To know that he had lived, when he could think of so many others who had deserved to more than him. And for another, whenever he lapsed into a state of remembrance, his mind would inevitably turn to him, that man, that bastard…….

His brother.

Sasuke had no desire to prove the Hokage right, to show that he was nothing but a crass, intrepid, loose cannon with no reign on his emotions, but that didn't stop him from wanting to slam his fist into something every time he thought upon that man. Every nuance of odium that the Uchiha heir possessed simmered in his coal eyes.

He didn't know what his brother's game was. He honestly didn't care. It didn't interest him, the ways his brother planned on fucking with his mind this time. That was all merely peripheral to Kisho. And once his son was out of danger, he would deal with his aniki. This was going to end.

"Sasuke! Kakashi-sensei!"

The dark-haired man jerked out of his reverie. A white-faced rabbit with a mass of pink hair was running towards them. At the sight of his wife's choice of masks, he allowed a faint smile to flit across his lips.

"We're all set," she said as she reached them, giving a quick nod. Her voice sounded muffled, and slightly alien beneath the mask. "Come on."

Sasuke grunted once, and walked off brusquely, hands taking their place in the valley of his pockets. His wife hurried after him. Kakashi snapped his book shut nothing short of merrily, and tailed them at a leisurely pace, as if the current situation had al the gravity of a game of hide and seek.

Everyone was assembled outside the gates now, slipping on masks, armouring themselves. As the Copy Ninja approached, Tsunade tossed a scroll to him. Kurenai, shrouded in a bear mask, held another.

"The information on Itachi," the Hokage informed them. "You can read it while you move." She shifted a bit, her amber gaze sweeping across the eight masked shinobi. "I don't suppose there are any questions?" She was met with a synchronised shake of heads. "Okay. Now, remember the main thing, Konoha-nin; don't die. Be careful, keep your heads on, and watch each other's backs. Eight of you are leaving, and nine of you are coming back. Got it?"

"Hai!" came the affirmative from the group.

"Good. Now, before you leave….. Shino?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

The strong, solid, taciturn man stepped forward, easing his hands out of his jacket pockets. He walked ahead of them by a few yards, then knelt in the dirt. Pushing his sleeves up to his elbows, the Aburame heir plunged his fingers into the soil.

They waited. A soft scuttling sound preceded the sight of hundreds of miniscule black bugs, pouring out of his sleeves, tearing out of his skin. They scurried down his arms and delved into the earth. The slow, steady breathing of the kneeling ninja was all that could be heard, save the whispers of sounds that his Kikai bugs made.

Fifteen minutes later, Shino stood, and turned to face them. The little insects were now crawling back out of the holes that their container had made in the ground, up his legs and into his pores. Shino adjusted his shades, and spoke.

"There are seven of them."

"Seven?" Shizune repeated, cocking a brow.

"Yes. Four are stationary. Two of them, six miles to the northeast. Another, two miles north of them. Seven miles to the west, the other. Your target is very deep into the forest, about twelve miles, moving rapidly northeast-east. The last two are about nine miles from here, heading northwest."

"Think those last three are planning to meet each other?" This from Sasuke.

Shino shrugged.

"It is possible."

No one else spoke, but everyone was more than just a little surprised. No one had expected there to be this many possible adversaries. And Shino wouldn't aggrandize.

Nonetheless, it was time. Kakashi stepped forward and nodded to Tsunade, then glanced back expectantly at the others. They in turn looked to their friends and family. Goodbyes were said in quick, shared looks.

The Copy Ninja was the first to propel himself into the trees. The seven others followed closely, springing lithely away on practised feet. Their remaining comrades watched them as they were encased in the murky darkness of the forest where the moonlight did not penetrate.

They quickly fell into a formation, making two parallel lines. Neji and Kurenai were at the head, where his Byakugan and her expertise in illusionary tactics would protect them from frontal attacks. Behind them were Sakura and Shikamaru. Third in line were Sasuke and Naruto, while Kakashi and Hinata brought up the rear.

Sasuke waited until the scrolls had passed through everyone before beginning to speak in a level, deadpan tone.

"The Mangekyou Sharingan is a higher form of the Sharingan. It gives the wielder an even more advanced level of insight, and the powers of the normal Sharingan pale in comparison. The greatest asset of the Kaleidoscope Copy Wheel Eye is that it enables one to use the three most powerful jutsu possible: Amaterasu, ninjutsu; Tsukiyomi, genjutsu; and Hiryuu Rendan(1), taijutsu."

There were a few murmurs; some of comprehension, some of awe.

"It was very rare that one would acquire this special eye. For one, it requires great strength, expertise and experience. Also, there exists an obstacle to attaining the Mangekyou. It is said that in order to gain it, one must kill his closest friend."

For a moment, there was only the sound of their feet tapping wood, and the wind in their ears as the trees whizzed by. Then,

"You trying to tell me something, Sasuke-bastard?" The kitsune mask hid the blond's scowl, but it was evident in his voice.

"Shut up, dobe," Sasuke retorted casually. "That is pure fallacy, of course," he continued. "Naruto's presence can attest to that fact."

"So, you have acquired it?" Neji's soft, hollow voice floated back from the front.

"Aa."

"How did you manage that?" Shikamaru enquired.

The man in the tiger mask shrugged.

"I trained. Hard. And concentrated on hating him with every iota of antipathy in me."

Another period of awkward silence passed. Kakashi was the one to break it this time.

"Well then," he drawled. "This should be relatively easy." He sounded nonchalant, but Sasuke could hear the strain in his voice. Kakashi's last battle with Itachi eleven years ago had not been pleasant.

The Uchiha male did not comment on his old teacher's remark, but only went on.

"Kiba and they were, obviously, right in assuming that Itachi possesses the Mangekyou Sharingan. Now, if you come face to face with him, the most important thing to remember is to not make eye contact. Look at his feet, look at his arms, look at his chest, or if you must, don't look at him period, but do not let him capture your gaze. If that happens, it's all over for you."

The two platoons nodded their understanding.

Sasuke gave a swift, sharp nod. This seemed to be the signal that he was done. Kakashi noted this, and called out,

"Yosh. Let's pick up the pace a bit guys. We'll travel all through the night and get some rest in the morning. At the six mile mark, Kurenai, your platoon will head east, and check out the guys over on that side. The others and I will go west, to where Shino approximated Itachi was. If you all finish without incident, try and cut across the forest and meet us."

The shinobi digested these instructions as their footsteps lightened and their pace quickened. A still fell upon them, as soft and slow as a feather's descent.

Sasuke escaped into his head, back to his thoughts, behind the veil of silhouetted memories. An all too familiar face materialised in his line of vision; tanned and lined, obsidian blades swirling in the malignant scarlet of his eyes. The navy-haired man's fists tightened, and his face took on the contours of a piece of granite.

We suffer because of our bonds. Well, he was going to break all bonds, and ties, with Itachi. His brother was going down.

A/N:- Hmm. Not too sure if I like that ending.

(To those who don't normally read the A/N's, I suggest you stick around for a while at least.)

(1) – No, this is not the real third all powerful jutsu. I made it up. I have no idea what the real third jutsu is, if it's even been revealed. I just thought that since Amaterasu is ninjutsu and Tsukiyomi is genjutsu, the third one would be taijutsu. The phrase means Flying Dragon Combo. More on it later down the line.

I speculated and embellished upon a couple of things, like what Sasuke and Kakashi know/don't know about the Mangekyou, a few details on the Mangekyou, and the size of Konoha Forest.

Feel free to throw tomatoes if all that Sasuke-introspection sucked.

Reviews:-

joann:- Yeah, I know, he was. I just didn't think he'd have his old uniform hanging around the place. Kakashi just doesn't strike me as the type to keep memories in the closet. And notice I said 'fake tattoos where necessary'. :-D. Thanks for pointing it out anyway.

susakuru:- Ah, yes, the infamous 'Why Itachi Massacred The Entire Clan In One Fell Swoop' question. sweat-drop I suppose I'll have to address it somewhere down the line. Most of it will be supposition; nothing concrete, really. I'm apprehensive about getting too deep into it. But yeah, there'll be some explanation. Thanks for your comments:-)

Itonami:- Okay. alternates between blushing and going 'Wow'. Thank you SOOOO much for that awesome review. Gosh, you just about made my month. :-) I'm really glad to know that you liked it. I was a little worried about Tsunade in the meeting; I thought I made her just a little too much of a bee-yatch, so I'm glad it came out okay. Yeah, and I'm a stickler for detail too, so if you ever see me skipping over any part, be sure to tell me.

the8thsin:- Heh, heh, my friend. You'll find that I can be VERY evil indeed. cackles appropriately Thanks!

psychedelic aya:- Tee hee. Yeah, there'll be a couple more scenes where Uncle Itachi and Kisho 'bond'. Heh, heh. :D. Thanks so much!

Celira:- Yeah, I did say that, didn't I? But I also said something else later. (Check the A/N's for Chapter Four, honey :-) ) Yeah, the story is mainly SasuSaku, but in later chapters there'll be a bit of ItaSaku. Not much (because every time I think of Itachi having too much feelings beyond indifference and mild annoyance for anyone, my mind screams 'OOC!'), one-sided, just to keep the people who asked for it happy. Though I suppose I could still take it out of the description, since it really isn't that pertinent. Thanks!

Crystal Renee:- Ooh, entranced. :D. Glad to hear it. Thanks!

onlyonenikki:- Thanks. Yeah, I was worried that Itachi was out of character by a smidgen, so the next time you see him, he'll be a bit more of that big meanie-head that we all know and love. :D Thanks!

Mistress DragonFlame:- Thanks! Like I just mentioned, there'll be some more ItaSaku, don't worry. Not sure if it'll be exactly what you're looking for though…. You'll tell me, kay:-)

Byakugan13:- Yeah, NejiTen rocks. You won't have many chances to see them together until the end of the fic though. I can promise that they both will have a role to play in the story. Thanks:-)

And to everyone else, all you wonderful people who reviewed and said such nice things, I thank you so much for following this madness, and I'm really glad you all are enjoying it. :-) Y'all are the awesomest people this side of awesome. :D

And to everyone else, even if you don't review, and just read, thank you anyway for putting up with me. :D

Okay, I have good news, and I have bad news. The good news is that Chapter Seven is FINISHED, and is being betaed as you read this. It should be posted in a week. The bad news is, knowing myself, it's probably going to be late anyway. Sorry. If a week and a half passes and it still isn't up, feel free to e-mail me and nag and badger me until it gets done.

Bye! Off to work on Chapter Eight