Chapter 8: Sitting Pretty

Five days have passed since Sasuke had been returned to Konoha, village security amping up. Over the few days Naruto tried looking for her teammates, finding Kakashi talking to the memorial stone, quieting himself when she approached. When she tried asking on how it went with delivering Itachi and why does he think the brother was practically committing suicide against the other, the lone grey eye darkened as he lost himself in the past.

"I'm not sure, perhaps it was the only way he could forgive himself."

It made her uneasy to see him so conflicted and knowing that they were both ANBU at one point, she wondered if they worked together.

Yamato was a mystery, anyone she asked hadn't the slightest idea on where he could be. Wondering on if it had something to do with the man who experimented on him being dead, she tried not to think too much of it and found Sai.

He had several questions and if she was a stranger to him, she would have thought he was battling something inside by the expressions he was trying to make. Sitting beside him as he painted on top the Hokage Head's, the insults of hiding a penis were gone from the conversation for once. "How did you know Sasuke-kun could be saved from his terrible choices?"

"'Cause I knew he was thinking he was doin' it for the greater good, not just himself. Itachi's a monster who hurt other people like Kakashi-sensei, not just the teme alone. Even though it meant going to our enemy.. he thought it was the faster way to get rid of him."

Pausing in the painting and turning to her blankly, she knew she must've said something that eased whatever was bothering him that much.

"I believe Sasuke-kun was doing it for himself. Only giving the excuse of doing it for others as well that may face his brother to save himself in front of others, though he wasn't completely wrong about it either."

"Pfft, teme is well, a teme, but he's not that selfish! What if he waited until after he had a kid and then what if Itachi killed his family again? I'm not saying it's right that he ran off to Orochimaru, but I get that it was sorta important to give the boot to his crazy brother before trying to get a girlfriend and make some more real friends 'sides me and Sakura-chan. Granny said we can spin it around if he agrees to some shit!"

The smile was creepy she pointed out, but his almost sudden packing up of tools made her wonder what did it matter to him on Sasuke's reasoning. He never knew him besides the five minutes in the hideout, but the poof he disappeared in left her wondering if Sakura knew anything.

When she found her last teammate in the hospital heading to the lab, she followed the other teen. Her mutterings of the report made no sense, other than the phrase of he should have been dead years ago and that his existence has been extremely painful. The medic-nin for once didn't care if Naruto peered at the notes she had of a technical patient, the handwriting all granny's scribble, but the disturbed look the pinkette gave the blonde made her smile sheepishly.

"Do you know if granny Tsunade is gonna continue the Uchiha clan with his sperm?"

"Of all questions, why that one?"

"I dunno, he's dyin' of some illness and is goin' blind. What if it gets passed onto his kids? 'Side, granny said I gotta face this stuff and not find it so.. fucked up."

The long stare the other kunoichi gave her made her a little uncomfortable before she sighed.

"I'm not sure what Tsunade-shishou plans on doing just yet. I thought we were going to immediately begin trying to treat him, see what his system respond to. Use him to save others and then let nature run its course on him. Maybe even tell Sasuke-kun that Itachi died in the battle and keep him in the prison, but Tsunade-shishou sent me out of the room when she wanted to talk to him." Watching the medic nin tie her hair back, Naruto frowned to herself. "I haven't even seen him since then, Shishou just hands me her reported. Have you seen Sasuke yet?"

"Granny told you what we doin'? But nah, he hasn't woken up yet, Shino's bugs really did him good."

"Actually, he's been administrated some of our best sedatives, to stay docile for a full medical check up. Ino's dad was summoned to enter his mind and figure out what he's been doing the past three years, too." She mumbled, copying over information and filing the crisp papers away. "Since he didn't commit any real crimes against anyone from Konoha, she thinks she has solid proof for him to stay if he agrees to a deal."

"Besides running away to one of our biggest enemies?"

Shooting half a glare before she turned back to her week, Naruto shot Sakura a cheeky grin. "And then killing him."

Getting caught up in the technical terms and what they meant when she asked for a run down of their medical reports, especially regarding how Sasuke lost his curse mark, the blonde felt a headache coming on after being smacked with a dictionary three times. Bothering the Haruno for three days straight until the doors to the lab were slammed in her face and locked, she suddenly felt jinxed.

Leaving the hospital all together to go pick up herself some ramen before returning to training, she finished her fourth bowl when the familiar pop of a shunshin announced someone appearing behind her.

"Uzumaki-san, Sasuke has awoken."

Slapping down the ryo and running to the Headquarters, none of the ANBU would say a word to her until she reached the hallway leading to his cell.

They only knew he was awake by the shouts coming from his room, never delivering his food or opening the door to check on him. Handed a tray of food she was meant to feed him, the silence from behind the door imitated her for a moment.

Squeak

Darker in the room than the hallway, he squinted at her. Closing the door behind her with her foot, he was wearing an expression she had never seen before.

Mouth slightly agape, eyes wider than normal as he glared at her with suspicion and disbelief, she rested the tray on the nightstand. "Welcome back home, teme. We've missed you."

Only receiving further silence, she frowned and decided to talk about anything and everything until he spoke. "It's my turn to feed you like when were genins, ya know. Just tell me when you're hungry."

Beginning from after he left, she told him about the injuries the others received during the failed retrieval mission, of the missions she would go on to Suna to help Gaara and to a village with a glowing purple star. She told him about the adventures that the Konoha 11 would have around the village, salvaging ANBU blueprints that were stolen and how Jiraiya the Toad Sage took her under his wing and she went on a three year training trip. Telling him about the countries she visited and all the whacky people she got to meet, she was interrupted by his growling stomach.

Grinning as she patted her own, she announced to him that she was at her favorite ramen stand when she was told he woke up. Grabbing the tray and starting with the rice, she held it up close to his mouth.

Wrists shackled, restricting his movement so he couldn't touch his other hand or face, he didn't move as she waited.

Giving him a small glare back, her eyes went wide at his sudden question.

"How is your elemental training going?"

"What?"

Repeating himself firmly, she scoffed.

"How would you even know if I was doin' elemental training?"

"Do you have the wind affinity?" The boiling anger beneath his surface made her pause.

Giving him an odd look as she slowly nodded, he began glaring harshly and fighting against his chains.

Standing from the chair as she could only cautiously watch him, the door swung open when he began shouting in frustration. "What makes you so special? How does he know about your affinity!?"

Practically being dragged out before she could find the words to ask what was going on, she heard his last eligible shout before he was sedated.

"Why does my bastard brother know!?"

She couldn't have answered that if she tried. Naruto wasn't hiding any of her abilities or training from anyone, and had been training her element for a year and thanks to her shadow clones to speed the process along, was able to create a jutsu and finish another with her progress. Even drawing up plans for another, she only knew that Akatsuki was doing their best to keep tabs on her and that Itachi must have used her to rile him up during their battle.

At a loss and not getting any answers as she waited around for a hour, Naruto ran to the Hokage tower and practically kicked down the door to Tsunade's office. "What do you know about Itachi and Sasuke's battle!?"

Flipping reports closed faster than the young blonde could dream of seeing, the older woman glared at her. Ignoring the mutter of if she could ever knock to repeat her question, a fine eyebrow was raised at her. "What does it matter?"

"'Cause I think Itachi was trying to use my affinity to piss off Sasuke!"

Her fingers became folded in front of her face in her signature move, making Naruto bounce on her heels in impatience. "Yes, the ANBU told me how that brat lost his mind at you when you were trying to feed him." Sighing as her eyes softened, the sudden turn made the Uzumaki feel uneasy. "We believe there was someone feeding Akatsuki information about you, hence why Itachi knew so much about your wind training. Do you have any theories on who could have been doing such a thing?"

Wracking her brain for a moment on everyone who had paid any attention to it, she clenched her own stomach as it suddenly dropped.

Kagami.

Feeling her mind begin to race, creating terrible scenarios after another, it was beginning to make sense to her on why he hadn't responded anymore.

"The only person who knew who isn't a Konoha ninja.. he must've been captured by the Akatsuki," she whispered, feeling her eyes lightly burn at her imagination creating the image. Of him battling it out against someone like Kisame or Itachi himself, being captured and held prisoner. Of being tortured, being forced to pour out the additional info that wasn't in her letters before losing his life.

Ignoring the sad look from Tsunade, she ignored the slow nod and ran out of the office. Reaching her apartment in a record time, she pulled out the seal that Kagami had created. Furrowing her brow and accidentally summoning the wrong toad, she still asked. "When a animal summon comes to pick a letter up, can you follow it and see where it goes?"

Knowing she could not leave the village when Sasuke just woke up and unloading it on the random toad, it agreed.

Writing a quick letter, she didn't know what exactly to say other than to ask if he was safe. Channeling chakra to the seal and setting the letter beside it on her window sill, she retreated to the opposite end of her studio apartment and sat in silence. The toad that she didn't get the name of could sense her desperation she figured, and it felt as if forever passed before the bird arrived.

Watching the toad jump to it, she chased the summons to the window and watched it fly off and out of the village.

Playing the waiting game on what would happen to Sasuke and on if Kagami was okay or not, Naruto couldn't help pulling at her pigtails. Feeling cooped up and like the days were dragging on, she didn't know what to do anymore to distract her.

Posted: 03/18/2019