I can't deny that the masked nin in front of me is intimidating, but I've had worse, namely Itachi. I don't answer his question. He waits exactly ten seconds before slamming me against a tree.
"You don't think i'll kill you?"
"I know you can." I show no sign of fear.
"Explain to me what you're doing. Now." I know ignoring his question this time would be foolish so I answer,
"If I tell you what you want to know, you'll just kill me anyway. Your interest about what happened with me and Orochimaru is the only reason you're keeping me alive." He pushes me harder against the tree, and I continue to ignore the pain and appear unfazed.
"I remember telling you specifically that you're only alive because of Rikei."
"But it's not enough to stop you for long. You don't care much for him and you enjoy killing. Eventually you wouldn't be able to control yourself." I thought this conversation was going well until he grabbed my throat.
"What makes you think you know me?" he asks. Trying to breathe I say,
"I know someone like you." His grip tightens. Maybe I gambled wrong.
"And what is this person like me, like?" Without hesitation I gasp,
"Deranged." He stares at me for a few more seconds before releasing me. I cough and try to catch my breath. He crosses his arms and watches me along with his two minions.
"You're observant, what else can you tell me?'' I glance at the other two. Nyeech looks bored and Rikei looks nervous. I guess there's still a chance I might die today.
"You're the most powerful of the group and the other two aren't sure if you're going to lose it one day and kill them."
"That is true."
"Shut up Rikei."
"You don't like Rikei, but he's useful to you. Although he doesn't act like it, he's an intelligent and powerful ninja. But the real reason you keep him around is because he's Nyeech's friend." Kryn interrupts my assessment.
"And why would that matter to me?" I have to be right about this.
"Because he's your brother." Silence,then
"The kid is good" Rikei says, "How'd you know all that in the two minuets you've met us?" I shrug.
"Like I said, I know someone like him." Kryn pulls something from his pocket and throws it to me and I catch it.
"It's a pain reliever, a strong one at that. You're going to need it for our trip." I look at him questioningly and he responds with,
"I'll make you a deal, we'll take you back to the leaf village, but the bounty on Roach (he taps Orochimaru's head with his foot) is ours." It's a good deal, especially on my end. There would be too many questions about how I killed Orochimaru. Questions I can't answer. I lift the vile and down the bottle. Within seconds I feel the effects. The pain is lessening and the wound is becoming numb.
"Guess this means we've got a deal."
Eight days, that's how long it's going to take to reach the leaf village. I know this because I overheard the three nins talking about it, and how much money they will get. They're going to be disappointed when they meet Tsunade.
We've been traveling around twelve hours and it's getting darker out. Although I won't admit it out loud, I'm getting tired. I blame the pain reliever, it probably causes drowsiness. Another hour goes by before Kryn says we should stop and set up camp. He's taking first watch.
"Kryn the vampire, finally allows us regular folk to rest."Rikei says while flopping to the ground. Nyeech rolls his eyes.
"If he decides to stab you in your sleep, I'm not stopping him"
"Your becoming more like him everyday. A buzzkill. You are becoming a buzzkill. Besides, you would stop him because you love me and he sorta loves you, so he'll listen." he jumps to his feet just to nudge me in the shoulder.
"Isn't that right kid?" Kryn speaks before I can answer, not that I was going to.
"We're moving out early, so I suggest you all shut up and go to sleep." He's sitting on a branch above us for a better vantage point. He's also playing with a kunai that I didn't see him take out, and I have been watching them all. I don't trust them. Rikei smiles at him.
"Night Kryn." I feel the air rush past my face with the speed of the kuni, but just as quickly as Kryn threw it, Rikei deflects it with a blade. They stare at each other for a moment until Kryn turns away.
" You're reflexes are getting faster."
"That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me." Kryn ignores the over dramatic response. With him facing the opposite direction, I feel less cautious about sitting down to rest against a tree. Not three seconds pass before my space is invaded. Rikei sits in front of me blatantly staring. If I had any less self control, I'd throw the rock next to me at his face. I don't even think his team mates would care. I calmly ask,
"Is there a problem?" He acts offended. As if I'm the one stopping him from resting after walking all day while injured.
"Why yes stand-offish little brat, there is a problem." I ready myself for an attack. I knew I couldn't trust these nin. He looks at me a while longer before moving to sit beside me, smiling again.
"Relax SLB, we don't have them kinds of problems. The problem is we've got questions and you got the answers."
"I answered Kryn's questions." He shrugs.
"He may be satisfied, but me and Eeche..", "That's not my name moron!", "..need more details." I figured they would ask more questions eventually.
"What do you want to know?" Nyeech comes over, sitting in front of us and kicks Rikei in the leg.
"Hey! What was that for?"
"You know why. So first question, are you one of Orochimaru's experiments?" That was unexpected. I'm disgusted that they have even entertained this idea.
"No."
"Ha, you owe me a new sword Eech! I know exactly what I want. Oooh it's expensive too man. I feel sorry for your wallet." Nyeech shoves him.
"Fine, whatever, you're not one of his creepy test subject, so what were you doing with him? It seems real personal for you to take his ugly mug as a souvenir." I can tell he's irritated from the losing the bet, but he's about to be more upset with the lack of information I'm going to give them.
"There's no reason for you to know." He leans in towards me.
"Listen brat..." Rikei cuts him off and pulls him away.
"That's fair. Next question, what's your name?" Nyeech glares at Rikei but lets it go. I think over the pros and cons of telling them my name. They'd find out when we get to the village of course, but being called brat and kid is starting to piss me off. And I have to deal with them for seven more days.
"Sasuke." No last name. They may be familiar with the Uchiha name and decide to take my eyes, the sharingan, from me. That's ultimately what Orochimaru wanted. There was a time when I believed that's what Itachi wanted too.
"You cold kid?" I glance at Rikei.
"What?" He's taking a blanket out of his bag and proceeds to throw it at me. I'm so tired I barely catch it before it can hit me in the face.
"You're shivering. Anyways, I think it's SLB's bed time. Let's go Nye." They both stand, then move to get settled for the night. I finally lie down, struggling to keep my eyes open. I would throw the blanket back at Rikei but it would take to much energy. I can hear them whispering to each other.
"What does SLB stand for Rik?" He laughs before answering,
"Stand-offish little brat." Silence. "...well it's true!"
"You're so lame Rikei, how are we friends?"
"Love you too buddy.", is the last thing I hear.
This is how our journey continues for three more days. I ignore them all during the day, and they hassle me at night when they think I'm tired enough to slip up and say more than I should. I never do. A few hours into the fifth day of traveling, and I feel like something may be wrong. I'm getting tired quicker and I've barely eaten anything in the past two days. My vision blurs for a second and I use a nearby tree to regain my balance when I stumble. The three nin are in front of me, so they don't see this. Rikei stops whatever argument he's having with Nyeech to glance back at me. I'm walking and giving the appearance that nothing is off.
"Kryn, I think we could use a break." The answer is immediate.
"No. we just stopped to eat." Rikei rolls his eyes.
"That was a whole two hours ago and was like a ten minute break."
"You know how we operate." Kryn snaps at him.
"I do, but us "operating" (he says sarcastically) doesn't usually involve a kid." Kryn stops walking and we all do the same.
"And who do we have to blame for that?" Now Rikei's angry.
"I said I'd take full responsibility for him and that's what I'm doing. Stopping a little more often is not going to hurt anything." Kryn steps up to him, but he stands his ground, looking straight into the mask.
"That boy is not your brother. You know who I am, how I work, and you chose to travel with me. I'm not changing how I do things just because you're soft on..."
"I'm not, it's common sense. He's what, 10, 11? and he almost died and is still recovering from injuries. If he's not resting properly, he's going to get sick, then we have another problem on our hands. What if the kid dies because we're ignoring his health? Who do you think the Leaf Village will blame?" Kryn looks to be contemplating Rikei's words before saying,
"We could dispose of his body, and go to the Leaf never mentioning Sasuke." That's exactly what I wanted to hear. I'm not shocked he said it though. "Don't interrupt me again. Are we clear?" Rikei puts his hands in his pockets.
"We are."
"Do you need to stop?" Kryn directs the question at me while him and Rikei continue their stare down.
"No, I'm fine." I don't feel as dizzy, so it's not really a lie. I'm fine enough. Nyeech decides to get between his team mates.
"Brat says he's fine, then he is and we can keep to our pace. No need for the animosity, we have a village to get to and a bounty to collect." Kryn just turns away and starts walking again. Nyeech pats Rikei on the shoulder.
"He's right Rik, that's not your brother. Stop worrying so much, he's a fast healer. That's why I didn't think he was fully human to begin with." He looks at me. "Anything you want to say about that brat?" I don't look his way as I pass by him to follow Kryn.
"No." They don't need to know about the curse mark.
"I can't stand that kid." Rikei sighs, saying,
"He's lying. He's not okay."
It's about mid-day, maybe three hours after Kryn's and Rikei's "conversation". No one has spoken since then. The dizziness is back, but I can work around it. It's the dizziness coupled with nausea that's really getting to me. I don't know why I feel so cold. I don't say anything because there's no reason to. Every once in a while Rikei will ask if I need a break but I decline the offer. The quicker we get to the Leaf village the better.
Twenty minutes later, and my chest starts to feel tight, and it's getting harder to catch my breath. I've been ignoring the pain and tiredness of my body for so long, I shouldn't be surprised that my legs give out and I fall. I think I hear someone curse. I'm able to turn so I'm laying on back, but I can't get up. Rikei kneels beside me.
"I just knew something like this would happen." He says angrily, shaking his head.
"I'm fine." Nyeech kneels on the other side of me.
"Shut up." He tells me as he lifts my shirt to check the wound. I don't want him touching me, but I can't make him stop.
"Quit fidgeting brat." I'm not bleeding and it doesn't look infected, so this is unnecessary.
"Is he alright?"
"Besides being an idiot and lying about being fine, he's alright." They help me to lean against a tree. I want to argue that I can do it myself, but I realize how childish that sounds. But I could do it myself.
"Here, drink some water." I didn't see Nyeech grab his canteen, but I shake my head at his words. I won't be able to keep it down.
"Do you know how to not be difficult?" That makes me think about my brother for some reason.
"It's hereditary.", I say. I think I say that. Rikei laughs, so I probably did.
"But seriously Nye, if it's not the wound, then what's wrong?"
"It's obvious." I wasn't prepared for Nyeech to put a hand on my forehead. I flinch at the contact, but it only lasts a few seconds.
"Too much strain on his body. He's got a fever, a high one." They exchange a look before Nyeech addresses his brother, who has been watching us. He's probably thinking about where he's going to dump my body. Hopefully somewhere nice and warm with no snakes.
"We've got to stop somewhere for a few days. If we continue like this, he'll only get worse." My vision is blurring again. I can vaguely make out Kryn nodding his head before walking off. Rikei is asking me something, but I can't make out what he's saying. Suddenly I'm being pulled up. I gasp and grab the arm holding onto me.
"What, what's wrong, am I hurting you?" He sounds concerned, but I can't answer because I start puking. Thankfully, it ends up on the ground. I feel better and worse at the same time. When did we sit back down? One of the arms holding me starts rubbing my back and I tense up.
"You're okay kid, You're okay." A hazy looking form resembling Nyeech kneels in front of me
"Use the water to rinse your mouth out." At least I'm able to do that without help. Without my consent, my body starts to relax against Rikei's shoulder. I'm just too tired. My chest doesn't feel as tight, but I'm colder and everything looks like it's shifting.
"We need to get moving Rik."
"Yeah I know, grab that blanket from my bag would ya?" Nyeech hands it to him and Rikei starts wrapping it around me.
"What are you doing? We need to go." I won't be able to move with this wrapped around me.
"We're going kid, you're just not walking. You are in fact not fine and if you say you are again, you're getting slapped upside the head. I'm ready Eeche." Nyeech nods then helps to maneuver me onto Rikei's back. It's humiliating and I can't argue because I can't walk. I feel like I'm about to pass out. Rikei and Nyeech start moving again.
"He out yet?" Nyeech shakes his head.
"Almost." Rikei uses his right hand to tap my leg.
"Quit being stubborn, you'll feel better if you rest." I don't answer. "Well since you're still up, let's go over our cover story. We're all brothers from the land of Waves. Kryn's adopted, obviously. Anyway, we were doing some traveling when baby bro got sick, so we need a place to stay for him to get better. Oooh, and you gotta act like you have emotions kid. Really play it up to tug at an inn keeper's heart strings. Be adorable and complain about how bad you feel, and we'll definitely get a discount! I bet you throw in a few tears and we'd get a free room!" He has lost his mind if he thinks I'm doing any of that. I let my eyes close. There's no reason for me to listen to this nonsense.
"Rikei."
"Yes?"
"Shut up."
"But I'm giving valuable information."
"He's asleep."
"Oh." It's quiet for a few seconds then,
"He's adorable isn't he?"
"A little bit." I can't take it anymore.
"Would you both shut up?" They laugh before Rikei tells me,
"Whatever you say boss." With them quiet and the motion of Rikei carrying me, I can feel myself falling asleep. I can almost pretend that it's Itachi carrying me instead.