Chapter 8: Of Intentions
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched- they must be felt with the heart." -Helen Keller
Sasuke
"You honestly look like shit, granted your current appearance isn't that much different from how you usually look!"
Suigetsu laughter echoes out all across the base, liquefying himself when Karin tosses a pillow aimed directly for his head. Their ongoing squabble has carried over into the morning now, worsening when Suigetsu realized that Karin hadn't touched any of her dinner last night or any of her breakfast today.
The faint odor of bile rests too in the air, it can't have been anything she recently ate since they've all had the same meals or a side effect of the cold weather they've all been traveling in for days now. Only Karin alone has these symptoms, fine just a few hours ago.
Part of him considers leaving her here, there is no reason to keep Karin around if she can no longer be of use to him.
But her healing ability is important, one he isn't going to ever come across again or at least he highly doubts it. At times this aptly dubbed Team Taka brings about fresh memories of long afternoons of training or eating with Team 7 and other times like now...
"I didn't ask for your opinion!" Karin snaps back at Suigetsu's continued snickering, but her tone holds far less bite to it than usual, voice scratchy and tired.
"What was that? It's hard to understand that croaky/granny voice of yours now!" Suigetsu smirks, earning him a steely glare.
Yes, at other times he wouldn't mind just leaving them all in the middle of the night.
Sasuke watches as a curtain of Karin's scarlet hair falls back over eyes, her figure slumping down back into her bedspread once more.
'She has a fever.' He notes from the way beads of sweat dot across her forehead to her flushed cheeks.
Whatever this is that she has, it's slowing them down and he feels a sliver of impatience burn at his chest.
'Leave her; she's dead weight.'
"I'm fine Sasuke; really!" I can keep going." Karin mentions at his stare, already knowing where his thoughts have gone. She winces as she moves again to sit up too fast and it is then he gets a full view of a rash the color of fire that trails along the sides of her arms and legs she'd clearly been trying to hide from him.
'Who did this to her?'
Nothing is adding up yet.
He doesn't answer for a long moment, Danzo is within reach now and this game of chase can end today. After being on the run for days along the outskirts of the Land of Iron, his location has been finally pinpointed near one of the bridges.
"Perhaps it would be better if you just rest here for a while Karin. Sasuke, Suigetsu, and I can take on Danzo and any of his associates just fine." Jugo weighs in diplomatically at the ensuing silence.
Sasuke is about to agree with this sentiment when Karin abruptly begins moving to stand once more, wobbly on her feet.
"No! If you and that idiot over there get injured or run out of chakra then you'll be shit out of luck! Sasuke, I'm most worried about you. This Danzo guy has been holding back on his true abilities based on the what I've seen of him so far." Karin relates.
Sasuke scoffs under his breath, Danzo can't be that strong if he is choosing to run instead of facing him properly.
'Based on rumors regarding those bandages though, he's known for stealing eyes. That must include from the Uchiha clan as well.' Sasuke recalls.
He needs to find out for himself if said rumors are true.
Karin, who have you been in contact with besides us?" Sasuke questions, getting them back to the main topic at hand.
He at least needs to make sure this isn't contagious.
Karin furrows her brows in concentration, shutting her eyes rewinding through her memories.
When she opens them again her crimson orbs icy, resolute and dark.
"Your old teammate, the pink haired one." She mutters.
'Sakura?' Sasuke considers, pausing to consider her of all people.
He hadn't seen her with Naruto and Hinata or even through any of the fields of snow they had trekked. When the sky had became blanketed and a bruised purple-gray with smog and fire from the Kage's attacks, all his priorities had switched to ensuring he didn't get captured in the onslaught to now tracking down Danzo.
Where had Sakura been in all of that?
And then he recalls that brief moment when they were all split apart...
'Does Sakura have acute knowledge of poisons?' Sasuke further wonders. Sakura may have been a step behind he and Naruto when it came to offense on the battlefield, but he knows she has a wealth of information in terms of understanding the human body, of tactical planning even under stress.
He pictures then her verdant eyes from the last time he saw her, blurry with tears before dulling at the realization he truly was defecting from Konoha.
It isn't too far of a stretch to believe Sakura poisoned her knowing her medical background the more he thinks about it, a toxin running through Karin's veins now that neither know the extent of which can do.
'It could kill her.' Sasuke realizes, but keeps to himself for now.
"I'm going to be fine." Karin assures him, reaching to squeeze at his arm. Sasuke removes himself from her grip in disgust as if her touch will melt his skin, frowning as more recollections of Sakura along with Kakashi-sensei and even Naruto resurface.
"I'm leaving now, if you slow me down even just slightly I'll leave you to your death." He warns, heading for the door.
He ignores her wince, the wave of silence in return over his words.
Danzo is by a teal colored bridge just as reported, dark eyes flashing with a mix of fear and anger at his approach.
"You Uchiha just never quit, do you?" He hisses.
Sasuke smirks in return, stare moving towards his loosening bandages. "You're one to talk, taking the eyes of our clan like a petty thief."
Danzo's scowl deepens, fully revealing a trail of crimson dotting his arms.
"You're just like your brother indeed, such a smart mouth and never properly following through on orders." He scoffs.
His chest twinges at hearing Itachi's name as memories bubble up before he buries the ache down, forcing himself to focus on the man before him that played a role in Itachi's decisions that fateful night.
The eyes of his dead clansmen stare back at him.
"It was necessary, everything I do is for the village first and foremost." Danzo reiterates.
His words only eerily remind him once more of his old team, long boring history sessions on the rules of being a shinobi before heading for the training grounds. Are they acting on behalf of the village now to hunt them down as well?
Or is it for the friendship he severed?
Sasuke clicks his teeth, so weak and pathetic of him to even still have them all in the back of his mind...
He readies his chidori, finishing this quickly is his best option no matter what type of tricks Danzo tries to pull. He feels Tobi watching him from the shadows, curious as well to see what is going to happen next.
"Sasuke, get ready on your left!" Karin rasps out, poison robbing her of moving any closer to the scene.
Sakura. She really made sure to strike into his team without him even seeing her.
But Sakura isn't a murderer he's sure, at least the girl from his memories isn't.
-X-
Hinata
'What am I doing here?!'
Naruto's sleeping face stares back at her, one hand loosely over her figure lessening her chances of making a smooth escape out of this. Faint rays of warm golden yellow to red slip in through the blinds and over his figure, sheen of drool trickling from his cheek to the pillows.
She can't recall ever walking to bed properly last night, let alone to Naruto's!
'Did he carry me here?' Hinata questions herself, cheeks growing hotter that her mind is drawing an absolute blank.
Father had brought up concerns about this exact situation happening...
"You and Naruto are both still teenagers even if you are nearing the age of adulthood. I'm sure you've heard the whispers and gossip of the attendants even though I try to reprimand them..." Hiashi trails off.
Hinata studies the ripples in the garden's pond, turqouise waters shimmering under the sun. She and Hanabi used to skip stones in this very pond in the late summers while listening to the cicadas, sometimes even wanting to sink away into the murkiness below to escape training.
"Actually, I have not. But it must be a pressing matter for you to bring it up." Hinata finally asks.
Opalescent eyes harden on her just slightly and familiar pangs of anxiety she hasn't felt in years around him strike at her chest once more, goosebumps rushing over her skin. "You spend your nights at his apartment more often than here Hinata. As well, you've just came back from the Land of Iron and there is talk you were in close quarters with him there as well."
"That...That was Yamato-sensei's idea! I mean, well we didn't want to draw attention to ourselves as Leaf shinobi." Hinata defends herself quickly, voice falling to a whisper.
Hiashi pats at her hand and she forces her gaze to meet his.
"I'm sure Naruto has been the upmost gentleman around you Hinata; I'm not worried about that. However, take into account as you travel with him your Hyuga name as well. I'll stomp out as much unsavory gossip as I can along with Neji and Hanabi's help." He states gently.
"The Akatsuki want Naruto, nothing was settled at the summit. In fact, things are spiraling into war coming." Hinata sputters out. The words tumble out faster and faster of all she saw in the Land of Iron going and coming, the landscapes of white snow, the danger and smell of smoke that clung to her clothes for days...
And Hiashi nods throughout it all, squeezing at her hand encouragingly.
When there is nothing left to say, Hiashi only has one question left for her. Neji has tried to persuade him not to ask, but he needs to know especially with all this in mind what his eldest daughter's next steps are.
"Naruto; does he want you to live with him?"
Father expected her to say yes, though truthfully she wasn't sure.
Not having come home properly last night will only add fuel to the murmurings regarding her current relationship with Naruto. He yawns then as if sensing her thoughts, cerulean eyes opening to see lavender upon him.
For a long few minutes, both freeze at their current positions. His arm remains languidly on her, her chest neatly snuggled against his own. Hinata feels her face darkening, even awake now Naruto hasn't untangled himself from her...
"Morning! Um, how did I get in here? I remember last being in your kitchen." Hinata asks lightly.
"Oh, I brought you here!" Naruto answers breezily after a pause, fingers trailing and rubbing near the curve of her breasts and Hinata's breath hitches in surprise. Perhaps Naruto is half-asleep though his stare remains fixed on her, watching the way her body squirms from his touch.
"...I thought sleeping and the shower would help you know, but now that I'm awake again..." Naruto trails off in a series of mutters and Hinata can't be sure he's talking to her or to himself. His gaze roams over her figure, nerves tingling all over her skin when his thumb briefly ghosts against her nipples.
He swallows becoming completely tongue-tied, azure eyes managing to focus back on her.
And too late in scooting back from her does Hinata feel the beginnings of his erection anew, blush blooming across his face that surely matches her own. She's always tried to keep her body hidden beneath long sleeves and jackets to avoid perverted stares despite Sakura and Ino's exclamations of how good she looks, how perfect it is for any type of seduction mission.
This body she's always felt embarrassed by for years now though is now one Naruto desires, reacts to in a way that sends a pleasurable shiver down her back.
"I'm sorry; don't be mad!" Naruto apologizes so quickly the words sound all blended together.
A laugh bubbles up before Hinata can help it, shaking her head. "I'm not...I mean it's okay."
Naruto purses his lips, retracting his hand back still as if it is on fire about ready to roll himself off his bed and out of this painfully awkward situation. "I, err I just shouldn't have touched you first without permission! Pervy-Sage taught be better than that."
Hinata curls at her toes, reaching up her hand to twine their fingers loosely.
"Only you can Naruto." She murmurs.
Silence falls over them again, wind howling lightly outside and Hinata curses herself for being so forward as blood once more rushes to her cheeks. Like a trapped bird her heart flutters anxiously, pounding right up against her ribcage.
Naruto's thumb slides to edge of her lips, shifting close enough to her again that she picks up on the familiar scent of pine and morning breath...
The whistle of the wind comes back louder though, a harsh tapping following at the windows until a figure abruptly blots out the sunlight that had been coming in over the bed. Naruto is the first to notice, moving back from her reluctantly as he spins his attention on the man.
"Shit. Why is Kakashi-sensei here?"
-X-
Naruto
"He interrupted you about to initiate sex. I figured you would be angrier about this." Kurama questions, honestly curious over his jailor's behavior.
"No such thing was going to happen!" Naruto denies.
Not that Kurama is even going to listen to him, forcing himself to drop this conversation for now. Jiraiya would've remarked and surely teased him over having let his more perverted thoughts cloud over the rational ones.
"I didn't mean to interrupt, I can come back later." Kakashi mentions keeping thankfully a few feet behind to give him and Hinata space, but Naruto grits his teeth that's it's fine.
It isn't fine, none of this is fine!
Hinata can't even look at him properly now, not when she most likely thinks (correctly, he might add) that Kakashi-sensei is as equally dirty-minded as his fallen mentor. But as far as he knew Kakashi-sensei just enjoyed reading Pervy-Sage's novels, not actually indulging in watching said scenes happen in real life.
But everyone has their secrets, including Kakashi.
'There's a lot I'm sure he's kept from me.' Naruto frowns.
Kakashi-sensei was one of Jiraiya's most open fans of his works and in the corner of his room remain the unfinished manuscripts of the latest novel he had been working on, pages withering to a dull yellow-gray, ink smeared and messy in certain sections. There's enough though that perhaps he can use it as a bit of leverage considering how much in the past Kakashi hated being spoiled on upcoming chapters/stories...
Naruto slows his pace down, waiting for Kakashi to catch up.
His eye crinkles at the action, looking between him and Hinata before sighing.
"You knew my Dad, right? More than just as the Fourth Hokage, right? Was there any other reason why you couldn't tell me besides Old Man Third's orders?" Naruto questions, lowering his voice.
Kakashi doesn't immediately answer and Naruto almost believes his inquiries have evaporated or been swallowed up by the buzz of conversations surrounding them until he finally speaks up.
"It was to protect you from Minato-sensei's enemies as well. Granted, the life of a shinobi is always fraught with danger and you chose the same career field as him." He muses.
'I look just like him though, any of Dad's adversaries could've made the connection.' Naruto thinks and the excuse leaves a sourness to his gut, clenching his fists as this bitterness swirls into a tight ball.
He shouldn't have asked, knuckles turning a deep red from the pressure.
Hinata lightly taps at his hand, momentarily making his fists loosen back up.
"None of us did a good job Naruto on handling the topic of your parents around you. Not me, not Lord Third, and not even Jiraiya. Death and the threat of the village's secrets leaking out forced us to push those topics to the back of our mind, to ease the pain of loss that tears at the mind and heart especially right after a war. " Kakashi ventures further.
"That's a terrible explanation; what do you think I was going through growing up while you all decided to 'push' said tough subjects out of your thoughts as much as possible?!" Naruto snaps and he recognizes the malice in his tone is too similar to Kurama's.
Kakashi picks up on it, but his expression gives nothing away over hearing the shift of his voice.
'Deep breaths. Relax.'
"What did you need to see me so early in the day for anyways?" He asks, switching gears.
Kakashi merely points ahead, in the direction of the Hokage tower. The building glitters in the growing sunlight of the day, shattered windows and tears to the metal fixed and refurbished as if only a patch of renovations had been done.
Like it wasn't the cause of another attack on the village.
"You have more questions I'm sure, the best place to answer them is there." Kakashi explains.
-X-
Kakashi
"You're right, this could've waited until later in the day." Naruto yawns, already shutting down from the topic. He can't really blame him, he's being vague once more on his parents despite him now being able to label a face and name to them.
Hinata gives him a look not to be rude, murmuring that Kakashi-sensei is trying to help and over how he isn't exactly a morning person either.
'Nor am I a punctual person.' Kakashi wants to add. It's not like he wanted to witness his loudest student in such a compromising position with the Hyuga heiress either...
And yet, that is how his day started!
He should've have waited an hour before going to his apartment like he originally planned, it would've saved them all from this awkwardness now lingering between them. Just because he likes Jiraiya's works doesn't mean he mimicked his behavior in real life.
Not that Naruto will believe him right now if he said that.
Naruto can be annoyingly stubborn when it comes to many things, training, going off on missions outside his rank, and even just getting his usual bowel of ramen from Ichiraku's.
It all comes from Kushina, as fiery in personality as her trademark red hair.
But then he catches the sneaking looks he continues to pass to Hinata who is woefully pretending not to fully see them for some reason (probably because of his presence) and he realizes Naruto is just as obstinate regarding matters of the heart.
"Kushina used to think I was strange back during our Academy days. I didn't speak much to her then and she was so often picked on for being a foreigner, for her long crimson hair. She'd beat up on anybody who dared to call her a 'tomato head'!" Minato laughs.
"That hasn't changed." Kakashi snorts beside him before his gaze twists towards the sky at the smell of rain. Ominous black-gray clouds bloom on the horizon, a rumble of thunder following.
A downpour was coming and with it the blustery winds that always came to Konoha around the fall season.
Minato straightens beside him, blue eyes hardening on the creeping of a figure just a few feet ahead. He attempts to hide in shrubbery not yet laden with dead leaves and broken branches, copper brown orbs looking right back at them.
This man doesn't yet realize he's dealing with Konoha's Yellow Flash and soon enough he will witness the confidence drain from his expression.
And by then it will already be too late for him...
"I'll finish the rest of this story another time." Minato smiles.
It didn't matter if Minato-sensei never did finish that story as that mission revealed the true scale of what turned into the Third Shinobi World War, he had already told him the love story of he and Kushina at least 100 times before that.
Listening to it for the 101st time would still have made it interesting, the details of Kushina's kidnapping in the night down to his rescuing of her by simply tracking the streaks of her scarlet hair along the forest trails.
"That's not true!" Hinata giggles, interrupting his thoughts.
"It is, I saw it for myself!" Naruto snickers back.
He peeks back to the pair, his not paying them any mind getting the two gravitating towards each other talking again.
About what though he isn't so sure.
But all talking ceases as they enter the doors through the Hokage tower, Tsunade meeting them halfway down the hall. She ushers them into the office, through towering files and empty sake bottles.
"What's happened this time Granny?" Naruto questions at her serious look. Kakashi too feels a weariness settling into his stomach, he should be used to receiving bad news though it never gets any easier to hear...
Hinata perks up beside him and he's reminded of overhearing her interest in finding Ao and how he obtained his byakugan eye.
Tsunade purses her lips, amber orbs cutting into Naruto for him to not interrupt her like usual before she speaks.
"It involves Danzo and very likely Sasuke as well."
-X-
Sakura
"You bitch."
Those two words drip with acid the way they are hissed at her, however all they do is make Sakura smile. She's used to being called every curse word known to man by her most confused and bitter patients angry with the world/their situation, mad that no you can't walk outside with only one leg unattended, and of course there are her absolutely kindest patients that lose their temper in a heartbeat as soon as you tell them their diet must change from a regular diet to nothing by mouth to prepare for an operation.
So she's been expecting these two words to be thrown at her and she has to give it to Karin, lasting a little over 48 hours now after being injected with her poison is no easy feat.
'I'm sure her healing abilities and Uzumaki heritage helped play a role in that.' Sakura hums.
Moonlight crosses against the zigzag patterns of her rash, of her blotchy wet cheeks and disheveled hair.
At a little past 2:15 am now, it is only them alone in this back hall, her rounding having finished up on checking the south and east wings.
And somehow Karin knew this is the route she takes back to her office, waiting for the right moment to slip out of the shadows.
Karin fits the role of a sick patient as Sakura looks her up and down, security wouldn't have questioned her presence here or need to come to her on the pretense of needing a second opinion for her symptoms.
She takes a step closer to her and Sakura finally notes then her odd posture, smell of blood invading her nostrils and instantly her smile fades.
'That isn't from my poison.' Sakura clenches her teeth.
"Sasuke did this; didn't he?" Sakura asks aloud, hoisting Karin's arm over her shoulder and guiding her quickly to the closest gurney. Her mind shifts into emergency mode, tearing at her sleeves to put pressure on the gaping wound that is far too close to her heart. She needs her first aid kit to disinfect or at least to go run and get some supplies from the closest storage room.
'I'll work with what I have on me.' Sakura decides, using her free hand to dig out the syringes of saline, alcohol packets, and a few bandages she always stocks up into her pockets at the start of a shift.
Vermilion eyes watch her work, reactions slowing even when she pinches her. "Stay awake Karin as best you can for me. I know it hurts, I know you feel sleepy..."
"I'm fine damn it, don't talk to me like a child!" She snaps abruptly at her soft tone.
"Just tell me, was Sasuke the cause of this injury?" Sakura asks again patiently.
Karin pauses for too long of a minute confirming her suspicion, shifting her gaze to anywhere but at her. "...Not on purpose; it was just to get to Danzo before he escaped and-" The pain stops her from continuing, squeezing her eyes shut.
"He'll hurt you again, this was no accident." Sakura mentions when Karin opens her eyes once more.
Karin grunts lowly under her breath, though doesn't say anything to refute her point. Right now she is too weak to attack her or try and pin her down to take all of what she's just said back. In these last few hours she's been on the receiving end of Sasuke's cruelty she concludes, the little warmth he has for her doesn't compare when without hesitating he was willing to make her be a sacrifice.
"You're the healer of the team and I'm assuming the white haired fellow is the stealth while the orange haired one is the muscle leaving Sasuke as the de facto leader. Sasuke as you've already experienced now is okay with you dying if it means this revenge of his gets completed." Sakura remarks coolly.
Karin bites her lip at the viciousness of her words, hurriedly blinking back tears simmering into her eyes.
'It hurts, I know.' Sakura sighs. How many times has seen Karin's expression looking back at her in the mirror?
The boy she loves is buried somewhere within that darkness and how long it takes to bring him out of that she isn't sure...
"I didn't come here to be scolded by you! I know you're the one who poisoned me so don't act so pure and innocent!" She huffs.
Sakura abruptly twists her face back to her, jade meeting crimson.
"I'll cure you Karin. I've never pretending that I'm a saint, don't worry about any of that. However, know that this will come with a price and you don't have a choice in the matter." She punctuates, making sure her nails dig enough to indent her skin and leave a mark.
The shift in the coldness of her voice startles even her, Karin wincing from the pressure.
"...What is it you want me to do?" She finally whispers out.
Sakura smirks in a way she's sure Lady Tsunade and even Ino would be proud of, the next phase of her plan about to go into motion.
"You're going to become a spy for us. Just as Sasuke betrayed your trust; you will do the same to him."
-x-
A bit off topic, but being in the healthcare field the Covid vaccine is available now to my clinic/hospital and I plan to receive the shot this coming week! I'm a bit excited and nervous; wish me luck!
Regarding Karin, I never liked how she in the manga/anime just forgave Sasuke so easily with his flimsy apology of 'Sorry for purposefully shooting you in the chest just to get to Danzo; my bad!' I know she's supposed to be literally madly in love with him, however I'll be altering her character slightly to give her more self-dignity/respect. Sasuke was so easily forgiven by literally everybody in fact now that I think about it and eventually I will delve into the real consequences of his actions in regards to Team 7 and Sakura! Just my thoughts.
Anyways, I hope all my readers have a safe and warm Merry Christmas and New Year's coming, here's to 2021 being a better year for us all!
Enjoy. Review. Favorite. Follow!
