The afternoon sun was warm through the windows as Shien dusted off the shelves in Sasuke's room. Things had been getting dusty as of late, and to surprise him when he came back from lessons, she decided to tidy up a bit.
Humming to herself, she brushed the cloth across the spines of his books. He already owned so many, some so worn she couldn't read the titles.
When she came to an odd-looking, thick leather-bound book, however, she took pause. Frowning, she tipped it and pulled it out of line, staring at the plain binding.
"I don't recall one like this before," she wondered to herself as she brushed off the cover. "What's this?"
Flipping it open to a random page, she found a folded sheet of paper bookmarking a page titled "S-Rank Kinjutsu - Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei".
Something about the sequence of handseals and accompanying text made a horrible feeling settle deep inside her more than the name of the technique, so she ignored it and instead picked out the folded paper.
"I'll have to report this to Tsunade later," she thought with a shiver as she turned to the note. "Something like this… where have I heard of something like this before? It feels… so strange."
When she opened it, her eyes softened and her frown deepened.
"Dear Sasuke-kun," she began to read silently, "I know there's not much of a chance that you'll be reading this, but if you are, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. My family is leaving for Morino next week. I guess I'm too much of a coward to say goodbye in person. Please try to forget me. I" -here something was vigorously scribbled out with black ink, "I hope that you can find happiness. And keep an eye on Naruto for me, will you?" Here something else was scribbled out, followed by "From Sakura."
Heaving a sigh, she folded the paper again, briefly remembering the two tearstains at the bottom. She'd tracked Kakashi down for hours to get him to deliver it, and by the time she found him he was so busy that she had doubted he'd ever get it to the prince. Well, apparently he'd delivered it. That made the guilt worse.
"Ugh, I was so edgy and cryptic," she muttered, shaking her head. "'I'm sorry for everything'? Sorry for what? 'Please try to forget me'? Why? He must have been so confused."
Sticking the note back into place in the book, she gently closed it and put it back in line with the others. Rubbing some moisture out of the corner of her eye, she picked up the dusting cloth again and got down off the chair. She put it back into place and left the bedroom without much evidence that she'd been in there in the first place, her heart heavily weighing down into her belly.
"Hey, Sasuke?" Naruto asked during a break in training.
Said boy was leaning against the wall, panting quietly, a bottle of water in hand. Turning to his friend, he rasped, "What?"
"I've been meaning to ask," he said carefully, watching as he gulped down some water. "What, uh, what's in that book I've been seeing you read out of lately?"
Sasuke's eyes went wide open and he curled over, choking and coughing on the water. It spewed out of his nose as he dropped the bottle and gripped his legs, coughing into the grass. Naruto quickly swooped in, clapping his hand on his back and trying to help him.
As soon as he could breathe again, he looked up at the concerned blond and grabbed his collar.
Standing up straight, he hissed in his ear, "Follow me."
Naruto's brows raised in surprise, but he obediently followed the prince as they headed to a more wooded part of the grounds.
As soon as they were secluded behind some trees and shrubbery, Sasuke folded his arms and leveled him with a serious stare.
"First off, don't tell anyone about this, alright?" He demanded in a low voice. "I'm serious. This is my one shot, and if Mother or Father hear of it they'll likely overreact and stop me."
"Well that doesn't sound good," he thought. "If Auntie and Uncle would freak about it…"
Nevertheless, the blond raised his arms in surrender. "I got it, man. I won't tell."
"You swear?" The prince challenged, dark eyes flashing with determination.
Nodding, Naruto echoed, "I swear."
Taking a step back, Sasuke retained a level expression. "Good. Now, about the book… I got it as a gift from someone. He told me it would help with my training."
"Okay…" He nodded in encouragement.
"Inside the book is a few sections: Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, Fūinjutsu, stuff like that." Taking a breath, he continued, "Near the back is a section labeled Kinjutsu."
"Okay, that is definitely not good." Alarm bells rang in Naruto's mind as he recognized the term.
Kinjutsu - Forbidden Techniques - were only used for those that played with life and death itself. He had personally never seen one in use, but he'd heard of them; tales of Kinjutsu being used to level whole plains of shinobi, used to heal at the expense of one's life, even ones to raise the dead themselves. Kinjutsu were knowledge whispered to have been passed down from the gods themselves to only the worthiest of shinobi, and as such were increasingly rare in the modern age.
"I found a technique in there that could be the key to bringing our friends back," the prince leaned in close and whispered with wide eyes. "It could help us bring back Sakura and Hinata."
Unease churned in his gut, crushing the glimmer of hope that dared show itself. "But… but if it's a forbidden technique… surely playing god means you have to suffer the consequences, right? What's the price? You can't seriously tell me you're prepared to sacrifice an innocent life just to call them back."
"A life for a life is of trivial importance in these uncertain times." Sasuke's voice took on a defensive tone as he leaned back, frowning at his oldest friend. "You trust me, don't you? Don't you want them back?"
"Of course I do!" He exclaimed, only remembering a moment before to keep his voice down. "But… but killing someone…"
"You do know I wouldn't use anyone of high importance, right?" He asked slowly, eyebrows raised as he stared pointedly at him. "Trust me, Naruto. He has shown me the way."
Shaking his head, the blond frowned at the prince and stepped away. "I don't know, man. This whole thing gives me weird vibes. I… I gotta go."
Turning, he walked away from the thicket, disgust and worry churning in his heart for his dearest friend.
A/N: Please tell me what you thought!
