Chapter 23: Family reunion.

I wish I had a family. Just once, I would have liked to meet my blood family

Uzumaki Naruto

Minami had been adopted by the monks when she was a baby. Her parents had left her in a cradle in front of the shrine. The monks were very kind to her, and she never missed her real family. Her true parents were the monks, her sisters and brothers were the other orphans that other poor families left there. The monks were an order of fighting monks that had developed a philosophy of relaxing while fighting.

She had an amazing talent in fighting, and perfect eye-hand coordination. Everybody had said she had a bright future. She considered herself very brave. She was trembling now like never before.

She was watching a Demon. The monks, her family, were being slaughtered in front of her eyes: Steel breaking bones, lives being taken by the monster, blood flying and scattering on the floor. The incarnation of Death had come to destroy her life. No one could stand against it. Fighting it was as futile as battling Death itself.

All the monks reveled in training the mind and the body. She had adored watching the monks training. Some of them could move so fast she could hardly follow their movements. All of them were now dead.

The incarnation of Death looked at her with eyes as red as the blood that flowed from the bodies of his dead family. She tried to fight. The demon punched her too fast for her eyes to follow. It tossed her like a rag doll. She slammed into the wall, her small body embedded into the unrelenting wood. She felt blood spilling through her hair as her ribs cracked.

When the slayer who ruined her whole world spoke, she listened. After the demon spoke, its red eyes changed, and she had to see the horrors over and over and over and over.

"Naruto, could you please hide your chakra better? We are supposed to be in an undeclared war against the Sound" asked Sasuke. "Sakura hides it far better than you, and she is only a chuunin."

"Why? Thank you very much, dear" said Sakura "You know how much I love being reminded that I am a chuunin when you two are jounins."

"Don't worry Sakura. By the time I become the Hokage you will be a jounin."

"Yeah, right! As if an idiot like you could become the Hokage."

"Shut up, you idiot!" yelled Naruto.

It was simply their routine, so to speak. Naruto would boast, Sasuke would insult him, Naruto would bellow indignantly. It was a habit everybody felt highly comfortable with.

"I don't think the Sound has any soldiers to spare anyway. Since the Sand made peace with the Leaf, the Sound has fought alone. So far we have lost around fifty six people in skirmishes in the frontier, but the Sound is expected to have at least five times our losses. Their shinobis really SUCK!"

"If I had gone to the Sound three years ago Orochimaru would act more carefully to protect his replacement body" commented Sasuke. "Since I refused, he is acting more rashly."

Only silence answered him. It had taken everybody a long time to get used to Sasuke's almost betrayal. Neither Sakura nor Naruto liked to be reminded of it.

"We know very little about this order of monks. Everything was too rushed." complained Sasuke, changing topics.

"I did some research after Kakashi-sensei came to me. That order of monks have quite a reputation as fighters. They could even hold their ground against shinobis. Just in taijutsu, I'd say they are around chuunin or some of them even jounin level. They have also an important library about demon fighting. Their founder was a professional demon-hunter." explained Sakura.

"That's a lot of information, considering the short time-frame. You are very good at information gathering" praised Sasuke.

Sakura blushed. No matter the place or situation, a word of Sasuke was enough to crumble all her defenses away.

"By the way, don't you think Kakashi-sensei looked a little weird?" asked Sakura.

"Weird? Why?" asked Naruto.

"I don't know. He didn't look sad at all. Every time I look at him he gives me the impression of being sad."

Kakashi sad? Sasuke had never thought about him as sad. Well, he had never thought about him as sad or happy. He always looked above all those earthly feelings.

"I know! Kakashi-sensei finally got a girlfriend!" yelled Naruto

"Uh, uh. I can't imagine Kakashi-sensei with a girlfriend. She would force him to show his face." said Sakura.

"I have a great idea! Since we are jounins now, next time we meet him we will take him down, and we will take off his mask!" shouted Naruto.

Sasuke smiled. It was a good idea. It would be interesting to think about different plans to take off Kakashi's mask. It was better than brooding on his ominous feeling he was having since the whole mission started, anyway.

There were some rules about shinobi teams, Sasuke considered. First at all, commander orders were absolute. It was not a democracy, it was a dictatorship. So, if they were just two hours away from the shrine, and he, as team commander, decided that they should hurry up, that clearly meant they should hurry up. So, if both Sakura and Naruto wanted to eat some sweets there was no way they could "outvote" him. Considering that, how come he was begrudgingly eating sweets with the two rebels that didn't listen to him? That was rebellion in time of war! Dammit!

"Sasuke, don't tell me you are still angry?" said Naruto.

"Aa" Sasuke answered, not even bothering to answer Naruto.

"Sasuke, haven't you heard about "kiss and forget"?" Sakura said.

"Aa. But I'm not going to kiss Naruto" warned Sasuke.

"Well then..." she said, leaning down on him.

Even as she leaned, Sasuke knew she was bribing him. His authority as team commander wasn't worth anything if he let Sakura seduce him with her vile arts... Frankly, he concluded as their lips met, he didn't give a damn about the authority.

"I always let you two..." he started, and then he froze. He had felt something... a stirring he hadn't felt in some time.

"Sasuke...!" yelled Sakura.

Sasuke wasn't even thinking about his acts. He was running to the exit of the shop as if his life depended on it. In many ways it was. As soon as he was out, he looked around, without knowing exactly what he was looking for.

He gathered the chakra in his feet and jumped to the roof with a snarl. He scanned each and every person that walked in the street. Exactly ninety-three people were in the street in that very moment as far as his eyes could see; half of them looking at the person that had suddenly jumped eight meters like if it were nothing. None of them were that man.

Sasuke sighed while he jumped down. It was confirmed, Uchiha Sasuke was indeed and idiot, possibly an even bigger idiot than Naruto and that was something to be depressed about. One hour from that moment everybody in the whole city knew that a shinobi had passed through the city. Maybe the monks didn't want anybody to know they had requested assistance. He had just compromised an A-level mission. Why? Just because he had felt... something? Fucking idiot!

Sakura and Naruto were around him on a second, carefully checking his surroundings first, he noted with satisfaction.

"What happened?" yelled Naruto.

"Nothing. My mistake" Sasuke said. People around him were staring at them. You couldn't do superhuman acts outside the Hidden Villages without being stared on and almost always feared." Let's get out of here.

During the two-hour trip, Sasuke was silent. He was still angry with himself. Sakura was silent too. She knew that Sasuke's sudden desire to kill had something to do with his brother and that was a subject Sasuke didn't want to talk about

"I want to know why you jumped! Did you see any enemy? Was it Orochimaru? Tell me! Damn it, Sasuke, tell me! I wanna know!" yelled Naruto. The good thing about Naruto, Sakura considered, was that he always had good intentions. The bad thing was that he lacked, among other things, any tact.

"Are we there yet?" asked Naruto.

"No." said Sakura.

"Are we there yet?" asked Naruto one minute later.

"No we are not." shouted Sakura

"Are we..."

"Defense formation." interrupted Sasuke. His voice was hard and thick. "Sakura, you are in the back as support. Naruto, you are in the middle. I'll be ahead."

Both Naruto and Sakura had enough experience to not waste time when a team commander spoke with that voice. Far to the distance they could see the shrine

After a few seconds, Naruto, obviously, was the first to break the silence.

"What's wrong?"

"The wind, the wind has a scent I'm familiar with." Sasuke said, breathing carefully and closing his eyes "It's the scent of blood, of bodies decaying. It's the scent of death." Sasuke opened his eyes violently. "Naruto, Shadow clones. Send five hundred shadow clones ahead. If you encounter any resistance, we are backing away.

"What about the mission?" Sakura asked after Naruto sent the clones.

"Mission is aborted. Don't you understand? There has been a battle. I can see broken windows from here. Since the wind has the smell of bodies rotting, I am guessing the defendants lost. I doubt there are any survivors."

There was a pause while Naruto's clones looked in the shrine. The clones relied real-time information directly to the original. Sasuke had enough chakra to use about five clones, and sometimes the amount of information he received overwhelmed him. He didn't want to be on Naruto's shoes.

"There is one girl alive." said Naruto after a few minutes. He was shaking. "Everybody else is..."

Sasuke nodded and started walking toward the shrine.

"Is she hurt?" asked Sakura.

"She is bleeding, but she is alive, but she is not moving. I don't know what's..." said Naruto. Sasuke noticed that Naruto was starting to panic. He had seen dead people before. The fact that Naruto was panicking was definitely not a good sign. They had to be careful. However running away was not possible. They had to gather information for the Leaf Village.

"Sakura, you will go to the girl and interrogate her. Naruto, use your clones to establish a perimeter around the shrine. I'll go check the bodies." ordered Sasuke who froze when he saw the carnage.

All resistance had been destroyed. That hadn't been a battle. That had been a massacre. The red moon looked silently at the young orphan that ran through the Uchiha district looking for survivors. There were none. All those lives, all those life stories, gone, like tears in the rain.

After managing not to lose his lunch, Sasuke started to examine the bodies. He understood soon that it hadn't been a hot-headed outburst. It was done by a pro, probably a shinobi as there were shurikens and kunais embedded in many of the bodies. The most disturbing fact was that according to the disposition of the bodies, the attacker was only one. Only one enemy had overwhelmed the whole order of monks. Now, if only his right hand stopped trembling...

"Sasuke?" asked Naruto. Sasuke was lighting a cigarette.

"There was only one attacker. The guy used the front entrance, killing everybody in sight three or four hours ago. The monks tried to fight, but they couldn't do anything against that man." «Why does it have to be a man? It doesn't have to be that man». He mentally considered. –The attacker was not only over-confident; he was also too controlled, too cold. The cuts and slashes are surgically smooth. Every fucking one of them," «Relax, relax, relax» "stroke in a critical point. I can do that with logs. I may be able to do it with one enemy. I can't do that in the middle of combat against so many enemies. The enemy is insanely talented and strong. All this blood and not a single footprint!" Even if he faked a calm countenance, Sasuke had to admit to himself that he was nervous when he remembered that he had been holding the breath.

In the back entrance of the Shrine they found bodies that were totally cut. Most of the bodies there were children

"I made a mistake. There were two attackers. One of them attacked in the front and destroyed all opposition. A group of monks took the younger kids and tried to escape, but were attacked by a second enemy who had a huge sword." said Sasuke.

Sasuke used the chidori against the killer of his family. That man with insulting ease broke his wrist and used the Mangekyou Sharingan on him. He barely had time to glance at the partner of that manHe had the appearance of a shark, and he was holding a extremely huge sword.

"He liked his work." said Naruto with another shiver. "He really liked his work. Why did he have to kill the children?

Sasuke didn't stop to listen to him, as he walked quickly to Sakura and the survivor. He noticed with annoyance that Naruto had adopted the male chauvinist supposition that the mass murdered was a male. It was true that according to statistics, men were more likely to be mass murderers than women. It didn't have to be a man, however. It didn't have to be that man.

Sakura was tending the girl who was still unconscious and looked to be around ten years old.

"Sasuke, she is in a coma. She seems to under some genjutsu..."

Sasuke didn't bother to answer Sakura. He was too busy dispelling the genjutsu to the girl.

"I learnt how to dispel this type of strong genjutsus." Sasuke explained smiling. However his smile wasn't the one he had developed over the last three years. It was different, crueler, move evil.

The girl started to come around. Sakura got closer to her while Sasuke lighted another cigarette.

"Who... who are you?"

"Don't worry" said Sakura in a soothing voice "We are Leaf Shinobis. Did you see who did this?"

"Y... Yes. H-He told me... his name... and... that..." Her voice was changing. It was getting more high-pitched. Her eyes were gleaming with hate "He said I wasn't even worth killing. He said if I wanted to kill him..."

"If you wanted to kill him, you had to curse him, hate him, and live a long, unsightly life, clinging to your pitiful life." said Sasuke that was staring at her. He sighed, and got closer to the girl who tried to back away.

He kneeled down and smiled. It was probably the kindest smile that had ever appeared on Sasuke's face

"Forget about him. We met the two killers and we already killed them. Don't let your life be tied to them."

"Are they dead?" She asked. The gleaming on her eyes disappeared in an instant. Her smile was hopeful. Sasuke nodded with a tender smile. "I'm glad" she said with a sigh.

"Don't let the bastard control your life. Start over." Sasuke said, and then he pressed some pressure points on her back. She started to fall. "Rest now, little girl."

The girl fell unconscious. Sasuke stood up.

"I wish someone had done that to me" he said "Then I..." he turned around. Both Naruto and Sakura took a step backward. His eyes had the same gleam of hate. A savage smirk on his face" would not feel this happiness now."

"Sasuke... " Sakura whispered.

Sasuke left the temple and took a long look around.

"Itachi!" He said. Sakura shivered. The three-syllable name held too many meanings to her: Death. Pain. Destruction. Revenge... Running away.

"Sasuke!" repeated Sakura.

Sasuke turned around and walked to her. She stood her ground. He smiled widely.

"Sakura, I love you. I really love you. I am glad I was born, because I was able to meet you."

"You... you never tell me those kind of things. You are not the type to say them. WHY ARE YOU SAYING THAT TO ME NOW?"

Sasuke made his move: A well directed punch at her solar plexus, one of the most vulnerable points in the upper abdomen. When she was staggering, he attacked again. Pressure points pressed in her back, Sakura fell unconscious onto his arms.

"My time with you was short, but in my bloody life, it was the most beautiful. I love you Sakura. Please, be happy." He said, trying to engrave her features one last time into his brain.

"What the fuck are you doing!" yelled Naruto.

"I am going to meet my brother" said Sasuke. "I don't know if I'll be back. Naruto, please, take care of her if I don't go back. Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid like becoming an Avenger like me. The most important thing in life is happiness. Nothing can undo what has been done."

Sasuke started to walk, but the shadow clones that had established a perimeter of security around the village closed on him.

"I am not going to let you go!" Naruto yelled.

"I am faster than you and my taijutsu is far better than yours. I'd be able to escape."

"Then I will chase you."

"And you would leave Sakura alone?" asked Sasuke. "Unconscious on compromised territory? We are only supposing that there are two of them. There could be more."

Naruto looked confused and Sasuke, and then at the unconscious body of Sakura.

"I will take her with me as I chase you" he said with an unsure voice.

"Taking her into a battle against two recognized mass murderers!" Sasuke said with a sarcastic tone. He sighed as Naruto looked around with a confused look "Above all our differences we have always agreed on one thing even since Team 7 was created. We always put Sakura as more important than our own lives."

The clones used Sasuke's distraction to move all at the same time, surrounding and jumping over Sasuke. The other shinobi was waiting for it. He moved forward, pushing Naruto violently against the wall. The lost of concentration made the shadow clones disappear. Naruto was going to retaliate, when Sasuke laced his pinky finger with Naruto's

"Friends forever, ok?"

Naruto stared at their pinky fingers laced, and then he nodded.

"Friends forever." he agreed. He was crying.

Sasuke then bolted away before Naruto could react. Naruto took some steps toward him, then at the unconscious body of Sakura, and then looked back at his pink finger. Uchiha Sasuke would never, ever, do something like that.

He was not even considering the possibility of surviving.

"Shit!"

Sasuke ran. He knew that he had felt Itachi in the city. He was two-hours ahead of him. They were probably moving quickly but not running since they wouldn't want to attract attention. Drawing a straight line from the shrine to the city, he would only have to follow it and the chances of finding them would be medium-high.

He reached the city. He kept on running passing it, hoping his hunch was right. Eventually he reached a crossroad. It was useless asking people or looking for traces, so he chose a random path. Actually, it wasn't random. He would have bet his life on that moment that Itachi had gone to that direction, the same impression he had on the other two crossroads he found.

He could feel Itachi getting closer. It was like the ethereal link that bonded the two brothers.

He had left Sakura and Naruto, being realistic, forever. He hadn't wanted them to wedge their ways into his life, but they had, especially Sakura. She had wedged herself all the way into his heart. She loved the two of them.

He wasn't going to meet them again. He was going to die.

Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigake Kisame were walking fast after accomplishing the mission for Akatsuki. The scrolls they needed had been found. The rest had been burnt.

Itachi paused walking and stood still. Kisame turned around.

"What's up?"

Itachi stood still. After a few minutes he felt another chakra coming.

"Hi brother." said the newcomer. Kisame recognised him. It was the brother of Itachi. Sasu something.

"How did you see through our disguises?" asked Kisame, dispelling the Henge no jutsu, that had transformed him into an apparently harmless girl.

Sasuke was staring at Itachi that had too dispelled the genjutsu. Only after a few seconds he deigned to answer Kisame.

"After I found the massacre I ran straight to the direction to the city, and then farther. I used my instincts to get here. I stored the faces and countenances of all the ninety-three people I saw in the rooftop. You got careless. You were so confident that you didn't even bother of changing the disguise." Sasuke quickly returned his attention to his brother.

"How did you know we were going to attack that particular shrine?" asked Kisame, slightly angered by the brat's attitude. He was an S-book criminal. He was one of the strongest shinobis in the world.

The brat was staring at Itachi, and Itachi was staring at the brat. Kisame was feeling quite stupid. Only after he repeated the sentence in an angry tone he got an answer.

"Suspicious coincidence. I'd personally think that destiny finally wants to see this fight." Sasuke turned back to Itachi. "There is something that has been bothering me for a while." His voice was conversational, and his stance relaxed. "When I was little, I was afraid of the dark. You used to talk to me till I got to sleep. I don't think I ever thanked you."

"Aa" said Itachi. It was the first sentence he had said in the presence of his brother.

"So, thank you brother." Sasuke breathed slowly and opened his mouth to say something else

"Itachi, I am tired of this crap. Can I kill him?" yelled Kisame.

"You can do whatever you want" answered calmly Itachi, after raising at eyebrow at Kisame, like if he had forgotten that Kisame was still there, which angered Kisame even more.

Kisame smiled and looked at the brat that he was going to kill... and then he remembered for the first time in years the meaning of fear. The amount of hate... the desire to kill that the brat was directing Itachi for a second was diverted at him. He felt like a bird caught by a hungry snake. He opened his mouth to brag... but he just couldn't move.

Sasuke returned his attention to Itachi. Kisame finally remembered that he had been holding his breath. That was the first time a person's intensity had paralyzed him. He had killed countless people. What the fuck was going on there?

"Now, let's fight brother. Let's fight and suffer and kill and hurt and mangle and smash and rip each other apart"

"I guess the clash this time is inevitable" said Itachi with an inscrutable voice. Then he activated the Sharingan "Let's do it."

Ladies and gentlement, here is the next installment of the story. I hope you like it. Please, write a review telling me if you like or dislike the way the story is going. I love feedback. Did you like this chapter?