Chapter 34: The Time of Healing.
"Medics must remember to tell the soldiers that they need to rest so they can be strong to kill again"
The Fifth: Tsunade of the Leaf.
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Sasuke wasn't feeling happy. He had pictured himself coming back to the Leaf in chains or dead. He had never thought that Sakura would be able to convince him to come back. And he had never thought, not even in his wildest dreams, that less than ten minutes after coming back to the Leaf he would be standing near a vengeful Hinata, or rather, near a vengeful ANBU killer, codename Little Mouse.
"If you found your path, would you mind sharing it with me?" Sasuke asked calmly, glancing at Hinata's kunai. He would need to kill the white-eyed shinobi. He didn't have any more pills and his senses were going to betray him very soon. He would need to bet it all in one single attack as soon as she tried to attack him.
Little Mouse didn't move for a few seconds. Suddenly she stabbed herself in the face. In front of Sasuke's surprised eyes, she let the mask fall to the floor. With a bleeding face she stepped over the mask, smashing it in random pieces.
Sasuke wordlessly stared at Little Mouse… no. He was staring at Hinata. Her wound was slowly bleeding blood.
"Sasuke-kun. I can't follow your path of revenge. It's not that I don't understand your hate, but I am not like you. Wasting my life away it's not what Naruto would have liked. I am quitting the ANBU. I just don't like killing other people." She explained as the blood was running down her face.
"Are you sure?" Sasuke asked fairly. Among the ones with bloodlines leaving the shinobi career meant ostracism. The Leaf instilled a pride of purpose and duty that made the ancient Spartans look like sissies. From the day they were born everything they heard or saw reaffirmed them about the importance and honor of being a hired killer.
"That's my shinobi way. I am going to become a medic-nin. I know I can heal people better than hurting them." She resolutely announced while se gathered chakra in her hands and healed the wound.
Sasuke sighed.
"I hate women. They are all annoying. They act life if they were weaker than men, and as soon as you don't expect anything, they prove that they are superior than us."
"The Uchiha clan is famed for their ability to copy techniques. Do the same as me. Let go of the hate. It's not worth losing Sakura for Itachi" She pleaded.
"A few moments each year, I wonder if it's worth it." Sasuke recognized "The rest of the time I perfectly know it's not worth it at all…"
"But…" Hinata started.
"Not even death will stop me in my duty. I will make the spirits of my family and Naruto rest." He concluded.
"You love them very much, Sasuke-kun." Hinata admitted "I just hope that love doesn't cause any more tears.
"Me too. Me too."
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Sakura entered the Intelligence Division, where the Hokage office was located. She knew that Sasuke had become a missing-nin. The first question was how much the Leaf could prove. The second was how much did the Hokage blame Sasuke for the death of Naruto.
She had to strike a deal somehow. Sasuke was still one of the strongest rookie ANBUs. His death would be also a loss for the Leaf's. He was also the head of the famous Uchiha clan, former protector of the Leaf. In case of a trial, he still had that fame. She was a naturally social person and she had a lot of friends among the Genins and Chuunins. Still, she was unsure how many favors she could call for.
Shizune immediately let Sakura enter. The Hokage, leader of the Leaf village, one of the major powers of the region, successor of the legendary Fourth, defender of the lives of the Leaf, head of the ANBU armed forces, decorated commander during the last Hidden war, expert creator of antidotes and one of the best medic-nins alive, was very strongly reeking of sake. Sakura noticed that on her desk besides the usual pictures of her deceased boyfriend and brother, there was a new addition. A picture of the person that once loudly proclaimed himself the future Hokage.
"Hokage-sama. I have good news. I have found Sasuke and we have come back together. It was all a big misunderstanding." She said with a fake confidence. She was being careful twisting the facts.
"It's useless" the Hokage mumbled "Sasuke is a missing-nin to the Leaf. He will be tried and convicted for the charges of treason."
Sakura felt as if she had been physically hit. She made an effort to relax. As in cue, a memory of a happier time a lifetime ago appeared.
The mood was peaceful. Sakura was reading a book and Sasuke was checking one old wound. Sakura started to laugh.
"What's up?"
"I was remembering how you managed to force the Hokage to marry us. I am reading the law. You tricked her. She could have perfectly forced us not to marry."
Sasuke smirked.
"It was all initiative. I knew I was in a weaker position than the Hokage. I just didn't let her know" He explained "I struggled to be in control all the time. I was always one step ahead of her."
"Is the council going to judge him, Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked.
"I don't know" Tsunade shrugged "I guess."
"In that case I have two requests. The first one is to be included in the council in time for the trial" She said, being careful not to sound arrogant.
"What are you talking about?"
"According to the law passed by the First, each of the ten original clans from the time of the founding of the council has the right to appoint one representative. Since the great massacre of the Uchiha clan, there has been one missing spot. Now, as member of the Uchiha clan, I request to be in the council of the Leaf."
Sakura knew that her request could be delayed for a long time, but that was fine. It was just part of the famous Uchiha tactic: First the threat, next the carrot. Sakura quickly added "That's my first request."
The Hokage didn't react. Sakura felt panic. Everything would be lost if the Hokage didn't ask or if she got angry and threw her out.
"What is your second request?" Tsunade finally asked.
"Please, I want to be your apprentice." She humbly said.
The Hokage knew she was a good leader. She had being appointed by the council, but if she didn't any leadership abilities, she would have been ousted from office a long time ago. She immediately understood Sakura's deal. Sakura was offering her loyalty. There were some Councillors that didn't support her policies. The council's powers were limited, but they had a lot of pull among the clans. Sakura was offering to be her loyal follower and spy inside the council. Not to mention that there was a shortage of medic-nins. Sakura could be an excellent healer.
All that in exchange of forgiveness for Sasuke.
"I'm sorry Sakura. I already got reports that establish that Sasuke avoided the hunter-nins for almost one week. I can't just forgive and forget that."
"As I said that was a misunderstanding" Sakura lied with a relaxed face "Sasuke told me that he needed some time off, and that was the reason he left the Leaf without permission. He just forgot about telling anybody else. We were tricked by a fake Kakashi some months ago and Sasuke recently fought the Four Sound, so he thought that those ANBU were actually Sound shinobis."
"You expect me to believe that?" Tsunade asked incredulously.
"It's true" Somebody said. Suddenly there was something blocking the window's light.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Kakashi, what are you talking about?" Tsunade demanded to know.
"I talked with Sasuke. He thought I was a Sound shinobi. He asked me two questions about things that only I could know about, but I failed to remember them. I am sorry. I am afraid it was all a big stupid mistake. He was coming back to the Leaf when I found him. We could have solved everything by talking, but I thought it would be easier to capture him to convince him that we were not Sound shinobis." He explained, sounding totally convincing.
Sakura would have kissed Kakashi in that very moment. Her sensei looked at her, and she remembered those words that Kakashi had said long ago. "Those who fail the mission are worthless. But those who betray their friends...they are worse than trash" Kakashi wasn't only their sensei. He was their friend, always looking from afar, always caring and worrying for them.
Her distraction was cut short with the sound of Tsunade's hands smashing on the desk as she stood up. The picture of Naruto fell to the ground.
"Do you think I am that stupid?" Tsunade yelled.
"It's the truth. I hold myself responsible for all this confusion." The sound of Kakashi's voice was almost too clear "As a matter of fact, if Sasuke were to be executed because of my oversight, I'd need to prove my loyalty to my student and to the Leaf by taking my own life."
Tsunade and Sakura stood dumbfounded.
"Kakashi-sensei, I can't…"
"Damn it!" Tsunade interrupted. "Enough! Fine!" Short breath. "Fine. There won't be any trial. As Hokage I order Sasuke to be confined inside the Leaf for two months under surveillance and he will undergo a psyche-evaluation. There will be no further punishment. Sakura, I expect you won't take back your requests."
"Of course not" Sakura affirmed. In that moment she would have sold her soul to the devil. She had to stop herself from hugging the stern woman in front of her.
"Come to my office tomorrow and we will start the medical training. I warn you it will be a lot of hard work. Kakashi, now that you are free I have a looong mission which is just for you."
"Thank you very much, Hokage-sama" Sakura thanked taking her leave. She couldn't wait to run to Sasuke to tell him the good news.
Tsunade waited till Sakura had disappeared. Then she turned towards Kakashi.
"A long mission?" Kakashi asked
"A big misunderstanding? Taking your own life?"
"The last part was at least true." Kakashi confessed "So what now?"
"I am the Hokage. I can't take my word back. Pity! His death would have been a good way of solving a lot of problems. And also" She turned to Kakashi "It would solve a upcoming problem."
Kakashi nodded with a worried look.
"Sakura is the one that is giving Sasuke strength. That is the reason they must be torn apart soon, before it's too late" Tsunade continued saying.
"I know."
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Sasuke took the information about his small punishment with indifference. "Aa" was everything he said with his usual loquacity.
For the next days the inhabitants of the Leaf saw a very relaxed Sasuke. They saw him going shopping with Sakura; they saw him apologizing to every single ANBU member that he had hit; they saw him undergoing a psyche evaluation (which surprisingly showed as his main problems his refusal of violence as a solution and his strong shyness. The psychiatrists concluded Sasuke was making a fool of them); they even saw him talking to the Hokage and promising to follow her orders without hesitation.
"Congratulations Sakura; you have convinced the Hokage to lower Sasuke's punishment to only one month." Kakashi commented after their meeting with the Hokage "I'd like to talk to Sasuke and apologize for the trap with the ANBU in the forest. I purposely walked alone to make him appear and talk to me while the rest of the ANBU surrounded him."
"Sure. I'll leave you alone." Sakura said. Sasuke blushed and looked down.
"Actually, I'd like to talk to the real Sasuke. The Sasuke I know never blushes. You may be able to fool the Psychiatrists but not your sensei."
Sakura and "Sasuke" exchanged glances.
"Have you said this to anyone else?" Sakura asked
"Of course not."
Sakura smiled. As always, Kakashi wasn't only their sensei, but also a friend. When Sasuke had joined the ANBU and started going on missions compulsively, she had felt somehow lost. She then had started to train and Kakashi had convinced her to learn to summon a creature.
"You are too vigilant, Sensei. Give him two weeks. He is getting his strength back. He needs some time to recover."
Kakashi nodded in perfect understanding.
"Don't worry about anything though. He has already forgiven you, if there was ever anything to forgive." Sakura added.
"At the end, Sasuke is still too young. Tell him that he is just a beginner at the game of deception." Kakashi stated.
The effects of the pill didn't last very long. The trembling had started not too long after. The violent need for another pill had come shortly afterwards.
There were many helpful withdrawal treatments. However Sasuke had his pride, and he didn't want anybody to look at him with pity. There were also tactical reasons for hiding. Sasuke wanted to be back into active ANBU duty as soon as possible. If it were known that Sasuke had needed treatment for his pill addiction maybe he would be kicked out of the ANBU forever. Even if the ANBU that had watched Sasuke knew he was taking pills for extra-energy, they didn't know the addiction had gotten out of control.
Sakura took another approach: She locked Sasuke up in a cage inside the tunnel to make sure he couldn't get another pill. Sasuke had to agree it was a good idea. Besides, it was effective, and he loved effectiveness. He voiced his complaints only when Sakura said that she was going to stay frequently inside the cage. It had been built by the Uchiha clan ages ago for crimes committed by members of their clan. As any important organization, the clan had preferred to keep their secrets inside the family. It had been built with unknown materials sturdy enough to keep their elite shinobis inside.
Sakura and Hinata entered the tunnel and saw that the actual dweller of the cage had a blanket around him and he couldn't stop shaking. He had his arms crossed tightly and his right hand was bleeding.
"You ok? What happened to your hand?" Sakura asked quickly.
"I'm not sure." Sasuke confessed weakly. "I… guess I tried to escape… I blacked out for just a second. Damn! It feels like ants are crawling everywhere under my skin."
"It's fine. I'll take care of you." Sakura promised opening the lock of the door and entering the cage. Hinata locked the door behind them.
"Damn it! Sakura, I am not feeling well. I may become violent. I'm trying to stop the addiction and it's not easy. I may be dangerous. Will you please stop trying to stay with me?"
"Do you really want to be out here alone to go through this?"
"I..." He began "It doesn't matter what I want. I'm trying to act rationally."
"It does matter what you want. There is nothing wrong with not wanting to be alone, Sasuke" She spoke quietly, so that only he could hear. "The gods know I understand that much."
"Hinata, will you ask Sakura to stop acting stupid?" He pleaded.
"I already told her and she didn't listen to me. I told you to stop your revenge and you didn't listen to me. Is being stubborn an occupation hazard of being an Uchiha, or just a prerequisite?" Hinata wondered.
"I hate you all" Sasuke decided.
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Kicking the habit is always hard, as anybody with an addiction could say. Kicking a violent addiction is even harder. Sasuke puked everything Sakura tried to feed him over and over, sometimes inside the washbasin and usually outside. He was delirious sometimes; most of the time he was travelling between the land of the awake and the realm of nightmares. And yes, sometimes he would get angry with her. Afterwards he would have broken recollections of the first days, but he knew that he never laid a hand on her. He knew that much.
Days passed.
Sometimes he would awake from a particularly bad nightmare covered in sweat only to find Sakura soothing him "Shhh. Everything is going to be fine. You will make it. Don't worry. Don't worry." She repeated over and over. It was only then that he could sleep.
Days passed.
"Don't you have any…? No. Please forget that question." He almost asked the question that had been in the tip of his tongue for days at the end of the first week of confinement.
"I threw them all away." She stated, and that was the only time she had to say it.
Days passed.
They talked a lot. There were few alternatives, anyway. Usually Sakura did most of the talking.
"The faster you move, the more your past drags you. You are killing yourself. You need to make peace with yourself; accept yourself.
Days passed.
"Sakura, I am already able to feed myself." He complained while she was feeding him with a spoon. "I am not that weak."
"It's ok. I don't mind."
"You like taking care of me." He observed.
"I love it." Sakura answered with a grin.
Sasuke grinned back. It was the first time they smiled at the same time.
That night he slept for the first time since the confinement without any nightmares. He slept the sleep of the just. The just really exhausted, that is.
Things improved quickly from that day. The shaking stopped. The terrible need to take another pill, just another, just a little bit… ended. Sasuke started to exercise, against Sakura's opinion that wanted him to rest a little more.
The day finally came when Sakura decided Sasuke was healthy enough to leave the cage. It was more than one month after entering the tunnel, when he emerged back, blinking at the sun. He looked around, unsure how to proceed.
"Remember how to breathe. It's simple." Sakura recommended, leaving first their house like a guide dog showing the blind the way.
Sasuke hugged her from behind.
"Sakura, I am not very good at thanking people." Sasuke stated "I just… wanted to say that… thank you… I… I was lost before I found you."
Sakura turned around. She thought that sometimes words can become cumbersome, awkward… stand in the way of expression. Fortunately, she mentally added hugging her husband, they sometimes can be forsaken.
Sasuke wanted to ask a certain "lying soon-to-be-dead fortuneteller" a few things, but the first place he visited was one he hadn't when he had too. He had never dared to. It was the grave of his best friend. Only parts of his ashes were there, but it was enough.
"Oi, Idiot. How are you doing?" Sasuke asked. He sat down, looking at the clouds. "I am sorry for taking so long to arrive. I was too busy trying to destroy myself. Sakura saved me. I bet you would have done the same stupid thing. Idiots! I vowed a pledge to kill Itachi a long time ago, even at the cost of my life, but I never counted on annoying people who wanted to keep me alive. You two were the last thing I needed, and the thing I needed the most."
He sighed.
"I am sorry for all the times I mocked you; I was envious of you because your dream was pure. So…"
He kneeled in front of the grave.
"Hokage-sama. I request permission to have a long talk with you." He said, referring to his best friend. He would never refer to Tsunade as "Hokage-sama" anymore.
And a long one-sided conversation started.
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Sakura had waited the whole day for Sasuke to come back. She had known Sasuke would need time to grieve alone. It was dusk when she finally decided to go. She found him in front of Naruto's grave. He was leaning in the gravestone. His eyes were red.
"Sasuke. Are you all right?" She softly asked as she leaned on him. She off-handedly thought that she was lucky. She was witnessing the second time Sasuke had cried in the last eight years.
"I am better. Much better. I have been thinking... I think it's time…"
"What's wrong?"
"I think it's time I told you about the original Uchiha tragedy."
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Kisame and Itachi had been traveling fast. Kisame had noticed that Itachi was restless. He couldn't fathom why. Surely two Akatsuki members could kill any enemy.
At the beginning of the third week he traveled straight to the Leaf village without bothering to erase the tracks. Kisame was exuberant. Finally they were going to slaughter somebody! Surely burning the Leaf to the ground would erase the boredom.
Instead Itachi went to a burnt clearing in the forest, almost to a spitting distance to the village. The Uchiha mentioned something about an old training place, and to Kisame's desperation, they left.
Then they moved to Rain Country. Itachi instructed Kisame to make a trail for both of them, and he disappeared. Kisame was dumb-founded. He had disappeared without making any tracks. Even his scent was gone. Why were they running away then...? Hold up. Was Itachi implying that he, Kisame, one of the strongest members of the seven swordsmen couldn't erase his trail? Of course he could, He could be invisible if he wanted! Damn genius! What the…? They hadn't decided on a meeting point! When they supposed to meet? And where? What was he supposed to tell the other Akatsuki members?
Three weeks later Kisame was preparing dinner and was feeling depressed. He was itching to slaughter somebody. He hadn't even been able to torture the squirrel he had hunted for dinner before it died.
When he looked up front the fire Itachi was in front of him. He hadn't heard or felt anything before the Uchiha had appeared.
"Could you stop doing that?"
Itachi stared at the fire for some minutes.
"The place where I used to train near Leaf Village. It was burnt. The place was too scorched and at the same time very contained in only one place. It was probably my foolish little brother. He probably thought that fire could clean my presence. But nothing can clean the blood." Itachi commented with his clear voice.
"Are you off the deep end or something?" Kisame disrespectfully wondered.
"Kisame, do you believe in the afterlife?"
"No way. I mean, if there was afterlife that'd mean there is some kind of higher power or something. In that case any higher power would try to destroy the lesser forms of life. I am not saying I am the lesser form. I am in the highest in the food scale. It's not that I am a higher power... Shit! I messed up! What were we talking about?"
"I was wondering if exist such a thing called… redemption."
"No way! If there was such a thing you would need to feel sorry first. Hey, who are we in the first place? We are outcasts. Uchiha Itachi, genius of the Leaf, let me tell you my life story." He stood up, proudly showing his huge sword. "I tried to be the best from the moment I was born. I trained and struggled for years till I became one of the seven swordsmen, the strongest of the Leaf. I trained to be the best. One day I wondered what the whole point of all my hard work was. They taught me how to be the best. Then my own superiors didn't want me to reach my whole potential. They got scared of my progress. They wanted to control me. I decided to break the chains of servitude. I wanted to be in control of my own destiny. For my own choice I am an outsider, a pariah. Maybe one day I'll die executed by hunter-nins. Maybe I'll die at the hands of my enemies. And I don't care; because that's the way I choose to live my life. And you, Itachi, "He added pointing his sword toward Itachi's face." even if you barely speak to me, I know you are exactly like me. You will never get redemption because you don't repent about your past, because you would redo it all over again if you could."
Itachi slowly smiled.
"Thanks Kisame. I was feeling a little down, and that's quite unusual from me. I am feeling better. Now we can fight the enemy that has been tracking us down. Considering the amount of chakra it's emitting, it must be jinchuurinki."
"A jinchuurinki? You mean a demon recipient? A jinchuurinki has been following us? When were you planning to tell me?"
Itachi glanced at his team-mate with an innocent expression in his face.
"You didn't ask."
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OMAKE
"What are the symptoms of pill addiction?" Sakura asked from inside the cage to Hinata which was waiting outside. Sasuke was trembling.
"Dizziness, nausea, shooting pain, illusions…" Hinata started, then she faltered "and… uh, oh"
"Uh, oh?" Sakura repeated
"Dizziness, nausea, shooting pain, illusions… and… diarrhea."
"Uh, oh" Sakura agreed
Suddenly there was a weird sound coming from the place where Sasuke was lying.
"Uh, oh!" Sakura and Hinata exclaimed simultaneously.
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A/N: Ladies and gentlement, here is the next installment of the story. As always, don't forget to leave a review as I still have the objective of 500 reviews.
Yes, next chapter, the terrible story of the original Uchiha Tragedy will be told. (yep, this time Sakura will not say she doesn't want to hear, promise) Also, the mysterious and manipulative fortune-teller Kikkyo will make another appearance. The introduction to the story "Fighting against a haunting past and a tragic destiny, a love that doesn't have the right to exist struggles to survive..." will finally be fully explained.
Who is the mysterious jinchuurinki tracking Itachi down? Will there be a fight? What is that upcoming problem Tsunade and Kakashi were talking about? And what is Orochimaru doing will the story keeps moving forward? All the answers will be revealed in the next chapter of The Uchiha Tragedy (sound of music fading in the background)
I want to thank all my reviewers that keep saying that my writing has improved greatly. I'd like to acknowledge the hard work of my beta-tester, which is responsible for the improvement. Her kind advise and reviews have helped me a lot.