Chapter 8: In Between You and Me.

In my mind, it was that ghost of a smile.

It was a shade of purple.

The summer sky looked cold. Royalty bleeding out of it, from every inch.

It reminded him of Sasuke.

The world was ending and here he was standing. Gazing at the twilight sky, eyes shining like those early stars.

It was purple too, in his mind, whenever Sasuke smiled.

It had been so long. So devastatingly long. He craved to see him again. See him happy again.

And now that a threat had vanished, he was up to it more.

He gazed at the stars with blood in his eyes, trapping that beautiful night forever in his mind, as if he wanted to recall it as his last sight. If he ever closed his eyes without seeing his face again.

But no, impossible was made possible.

Maybe I will return to my deathbed soon.

He turned around. It was time to turn back. He was feeling alone and sad.Maybe it was time, he came back home.

Once left, you can never come back.The dead didn't rise over and over again.

The dark foliage,the trees bowed before him. Wind picked up speed. Bending the forest to its will. It sounded as if fury taking its form. The unbridled anger and hatred that was exerted on the trees. The wrath of Nature.

A strom was gathering.

The clouds shrouded the moon, hid it behind, the shine of moonlight fading out. It was darkness all around again. Winds howling like animals on hunt. His steps didn't falter.

The destination was nothing but chaos.

Why did it matter where he step, where his feet land. Anything that was underneath his gaze would turn to ashes anyways.

Kakashi knew even before it happened that it was a mistake.

He just stilled his heart and like every other disaster in his life, let this play out too.

The rage that bubbled out into the room was shocking too, in its own capacity.

For a moment he was back in that cave, with his friend under a fallen rock and one of his socket empty of it's eye.

The feeling may have been different but somehow he feels the same. He doesn't remember much of that. His sharingan is spinning, he always gets a migraine while that's on. So, he doesn't bother remembering.

His eyes are fixed on Sasuke. Sasuke whose chakra is filling the room with vengeful anger. It is suddenly so cold, Kakashi feels he might not be in Konoha anymore.

Well, Sasuke's rage had always been cold. No matter how much the Uchihas said they were made of fire.

But one thing Kakashi was sure of : his rage would definitely burn - doesn't matter hot or cold.

Then there was Naruto.

The room felt like standing on the egde of a barrier between two worlds. It was fire and ice bleeding into one.

Naruto's -Kyuubi's- chakra was taking over too. His side, it was filled with furnace fire. Naruto had always been warm but this? This wasn't warmth. It was burn. The burn of the star and the burn of the sun.

In anticipation, his body pumps enough adrenaline to keep him running for days. His heart is pounding in his chest - thump! thump! thump! It's like he is a trampoline and someone is jumping on it over and over again.

He knows he should do something but in his mind he is conflicted. It's a disaster in making but then if he just had to stop it, why did he play it out?

Naruto. It all rides on you.

He was the biggest bet Kakashi placed on - for Konoha and it's safety.

One thing he determined early in his life was never let an Uchiha bottle up that hatred.

Sasuke has too much of it.

He better take it out.

And Kakashi has no problem in helping out a little.

He was or should he say - had been - his sensei once. It is his responsibility, after all, to see that Sasuke is on the right path.

And revenge has never been right. He can't sacrifice Konoha for a plan like that though. And he doesn't like that Sasuke has to be sacrificed for Konoha' s sake either. So, for once, Kakashi plays.

This is not the bell test. But a warmth fills his chest.

They have come a long way. He truly wants to be there all the way. Till he has reached the end of his own road and there is no more.

Holding on, he breathes and silently believes that Sasuke will not betray him once again.

But like everything else in his life, this too , will disappoint him in the end.

Because Uchiha Sasuke is not a game to be played.

In that instance, Sakura knew that life was playing with her.

Everything she had, everything she had done it was all waste, wasn't it?

People admired Naruto for his hard work but nobody looked at her twice. It is true that she was nowhere near Naruto but the time and effort she put- was that not near his either?

But it didn't matter in the end. She didn't care, didn't mind. Naruto was deserving of every single praise.

The only one who mattered to her was Sasuke. If only he looked at her and saw- she wasn't a child anymore, not that whining little girl who was annoying and a burden. If only he would look at her. See her.

But that would be too good to be true. That wouldn't be her life then. Sakura shakes her head in scorn. Yes, having Sasuke look at her twice would be an alternate reality.

The night was a disaster. "The welcome party"- yeah, right- went down the gutter with all of Sakura's joy .

Why did we give him a party anyway? Sasuke doesn't even want to be here-!

"Ugh.. I hate this life" Sakura mutters to herself. Her head down, shoulders droppy as she walks the narrow trail that leads to Sasuke's house.

The sun has already set. She was late. Today was so much work that even after cutting most of her errands she could make here only after sunset.

She had wanted to visit Sasuke, talk to him alone. Yesterday left a bad taste. She was anxious to look at Sasuke' s face again, scared he might vanish if she did not see him.

The way Kakashi Sensei treated him, Sakura was aghast . Horrified. Her heart tore into two,inside her chest. Which side was right, which side wrong? which one should she choose? which should she stand with?

"I wish I could do something! " Sakura tilts her head up, still walking, and sighs. " If only I could-"

Before she could lament and curse her life more, a loud bang from far ahead jolts her upright.

The air around her feels oppressive. "That came from near Sasuke's-" Sakura stops, "something feels really wrong" , heart pounding wildly in her chest, she runs straight towards the noise.

A fleeting thought comes to her mind while running, should she go back and get back up? Sakura presses her lips and shakes her head. This is not the time to stay back. Sasuke might need her.

She runs faster. Flying through the dark trees, chakra coursing through her legs and body. Her instincts on high alert as she takes everything in.

She feels the wind against her cheeks. And strength in her legs. There's a pull in her heart, driving her close.It feels like she is going in the right direction, finally, following her beating heart.

He wasn't supposed to be here tonight.

Sai hesitated as he cautiously made his way to the ANBU - Root headquarter. His face closed off as he leaped up to the barricade and slipped inside. The darkness provided him with a great cover.

It must be that he needed to report about Sasuke Uchiha. Sai wasn't sure what exactly he would say. What exactly he wanted to say.

Naruto's face comes to his mind and he shuts his eyes. That bond that he was so excited to see... does it still exist or is Sasuke beyond that? - Sai doesn't know, he can never know, he can just hope that-

He jumps up to the roof and kneels down. Danzo is waiting for him. His back turned towards Sai. Twice, the foot of his cane clinks on the ground, before complete silence descends around them.

Danzo turns now. Posture rigid.

Sai is kneeling, his head bowed down. He stares blankly at the floor, without blinking. Sai feels something change in him. All prior emotions draining out of his mind and body. He finds himself reverted back to the Root soldier he was.

"Lord Danzo." Sai speaks. "You summoned me?" he adds after a moment of silence.

"Yes, I have some urgent duty for you." Danzo's rusty voice falls heavy between them. Sai tenses. His body readying itself for the command.

"I want you to eliminate the threat of Uchiha Sasuke ."

Sai feels his eyes widen in surprise. He is relieved that it was trained on the floor and not at Danzo. For a second, he doesn't know what to say.

"What do you mean, Lord Danzo? Am I supposed to assassinate him?" Sai asks, his voice devoid of the confusion he feels.

"No." Danzo turns around again, his back to Sai as he walks away from him, each clink of his cane resounding a death knell.

"Sasuke Uchiha can live. I want you to retrieve the Sharingan from him."

Danzo never stops. He walks away without turning to look at Sai. Sai stays there, kneeling on the floor with his head bowed down.

For a long time, Sai stays like that. His shoulders slumped, his hands slack. His mouth is slightly apart. And his eyes are blown wide as his gaze stays fixed at a spot on the floor.

He tries to get up and after a moment he is on his feet. His legs feel wobbly and unreliable.

He understands, after sometime, that this is shock.

Lord Danzo just ordered him to steal the eyes of Sasuke fucking Uchiha.

It had been a while. The fun had eroded.

Neji no longer found peace in gazing at the night sky with his Byakugan.

He knew, Byakugan wasn't something that should be used for such trivial things as self indulgence but Neji liked gazing with it at the starry night.

To view the stars and find his father somewhere among it.

He sighed. Maybe some other day. He must be overly tired today to not feel anything. He got up from his seat and started walking back.

They had to go on another mission soon. So, Neji had decided to go on a stroll while returning back home that evening. He must have walked farther than he intended, since now he was almost at the edge of the village.

He walked a few meters than leaped up and started racing past through the trees. He was feeling a bit hungry too. The gathering clouds meant rain was coming. There was an undercurrent in the winds too.

"Must be another storm." Neji muttered to himself. It wasn't unusual for rain and storm to happen around this time of summer.

As he leaped from one tree to another, he felt a chill creep up his spine. He stopped. An oppressive chakra was gathering around far ahead to his left. He turned and started that way.

"That place? That's where Sasuke is being kept." Neji noticed. He increased his speed, moving faster, his byakugan on as he made his way through the dark forest.

He saw someone making their way towards that too. He paced himself and jumped through the trees to get near.

It was Sakura. Neji slid to her side, matching her pace.

"Oh, Neji! You are here too?" Sakura exclaimed, glancing at him.

"Yes, Sakura. It looks like a mass force of chakra is gathering where Sasuke is". Neji replied, still staring ahead at the spot where he could see some disturbance.

"What do you think it is? Is Sasuke in danger?" Sakura asked, apprehension creeping into her voice, making her move faster.

"No, I don't think so. " Neji says, shaking his head. Then, he adds, as they get closer and he can see more clearly,

"He is not in danger. It looks to me like-"

They halt , leaping out the trees and landing in front of the house.

"He is the danger. "

Shikamaru was awfully drained.

It was nothing much, just everyday work, same paperwork and work load that he did everyday. But today, coming out of the Hokage building, he did not feel right.

There was something that put him off as soon as he came out. His instincts told him something was amiss. There was agitation creeping on him. He just didn't understand why.

Nonetheless, he felt it's better to check up with Ino and Choji before he returned home finally. Just to get updated about everyone around them. Ino was the best gossip anyway, nothing escaped her tabloid of gossip .

It was early at night too, he could use some leisure time with them to relax his mind before he went home to rest.

He found them outside the barbeque stall that Choji liked so much. They were standing arguing about something when he reached them.

"Hey, what's up, guys?" Shikamaru drawled. His hands in his pocket as he came and leaned against the wall.

"Oh, hey, Shikamaru, here to have some barbeque?" Choji said in his soft voice.

"Yeah, come join, we were just going in. Just waited a bit to see if someone else would come along." Ino added. " Kiba and Shino are coming too."

" Oh, we can wait for them, then." Shikamaru replied, nodding.

" Uh.. huh. They are going on a mission tomorrow, out of Konoha. Thought it would be nice. " Ino said " Don't know if Hinata will join us though. Neji already went home. "

" Hm.. I know " Shikamaru tells her " I saw him leaving. Lee was there too. He went to train or something, I guess -"

They were talking when Kiba and Shino reached the stall. Choji was impatient to get inside so they followed him.

Shikamaru felt more relaxed as they went inside and took their seats. The atmosphere around them became more lively with all of them there.

He shrugged. Probably it was just because of the gathering rain that he felt had that way.

Shikamaru sipped his sake and rested his head against the wall, watching Kiba and Choji fight and argue with each other over meat and Ino joining in to steal some pieces in between her gossiping.

He sighed contently. He liked this. A lot.

The winds howled outside. The flappers twisting and turning due to its force. Inside, it was calm and peaceful.

Shikamaru felt his eyes close. A soft smile blossomed on his lips.

Yes, peace was worth everything.

Little did he know...

A/N : I'll try to update every 7th day.

Thanks for reading!