Three Anbu members had been killed following a suspicious lead involving Kabuto Yakushi. Three Anbu members. Hayate logically knew that there would most certainly be a bigger fuss if the Anbu Commander was killed, but his heart pushed him to go, go, go. He burst into the medical ward, startling the Third Hokage, Danzo Shimura, and a couple of Anbu members, and his heart leapt into his throat as he saw the white sheets over three bodies.
Until a familiar figure with long violet hair stepped out of the shadows, putting up a hand to reassure the Hokage and council members. Hayate was guilty for feeling relieved—the Anbu members who were killed likely had grieving family—but the huge fist that has seized his heart finally eased its grip as the woman he loved came to stand beside him, removing her mask to look him in the eyes.
"I'm sorry," Hayate whispered hoarsely, gathering a sorrowful Yugao into his arms and holding her close. He knew she considered each and every Anbu member her responsibility, and she personally wept for each one every time they died. He'd spent long hours holding her and whispering that it wasn't her fault, until she had to wipe her tears and go on to her next mission. She never showed tears in public, but he could feel the grief radiating from her nonetheless.
Danzo cleared his throat loudly at the display of affection and Yugao quickly stepped back, composing herself and putting her mask back on. In that moment, Hayate really hated the councilman.
"This needs to be investigated by someone with a more specialized skill set," Danzo began, and Hayate knew exactly what he was going to say; Yugao, with the kenjutsu Hayate himself had taught her, would be forced to go after the man who'd killed three Anbu members with ease. As the Anbu Commander, she couldn't refuse or say she wasn't qualified.
"I'll do it," Hayate surprised himself by saying, but the moment it fell from his lips it felt right. He spent so much time worrying over Yugao and whether or not she'd come back alive, and he couldn't stand letting her go after someone so dangerous. Danzo, oblivious to his plight, sized Hayate up then shrugged.
"Very well. You're also quite good at kenjutsu, so perhaps you can handle this just as well. I leave it to you."
"No," Yugao whispered softly, and everyone in the room stared. "No, I'll do it."
"You're too busy working on border patrols," Hayate interrupted, giving the authorities an apologetic glance. "You're needed here. Come with me, let's go over the details."
He had to forcibly drag Yugao from the room, and as soon as the door shut she rounded on him, tearing off her mask and glaring.
"You can't go after him, Hayate, he's too dangerous!" she snapped, fear making her tone sharp. It was okay with Hayate though; he was used to her being brittle when she was angry and sad, so he never took offense at the things she said.
"I'll be fine," Hayate said gently, reaching out to grab Yugao by her elbows and pull her closer. He could see fear in her eyes, and he understood exactly how she felt, but he couldn't let her take the mission this time. He had a bad feeling about it all, and Yugao was too important to everyone to sacrifice.
"What if you're not?" she pleaded, sliding closer to him so they could hold each other. She fit so well in his arms—it was as if she were made to be there. Hayate bent down and pressed his face into her hair, inhaling deeply and closing his eyes, enjoying her presence as if it would be the last time he felt it.
"We all have to take risks," he murmured into her hair, running his hands through it and pretending they were the only people left alive. "We're shinobi; it's what we do."
"I can't lose you, though," Yugao mumbled into his shoulder. "You're my anchor, you keep me grounded even with all of the death and destruction. Please don't go, Hayate."
"Do you remember what I said last night? About all the fantastic young people our village has?" Hayate asked, twirling a lavender lock around one finger. "We have to do this, for them. Promise me, Yugao, that no matter what happens you'll keep pursuing peace."
"…I promise. And you promise me, too. Promise me you'll come home."
Yugao looked up at him, her eyes shining with tears she wouldn't shed until she was at home in his arms.
"My home is you," Hayate said, kissing each of her eyes.
"Then tell me you'll come back to me."
"I love you," Hayate breathed, pressing one last kiss into her lips before turning to go. He didn't promise. When it came to her, he just couldn't bring himself to make a promise he didn't know if he could keep.
Sasuke had an awful night on the couch. With Kaze taking up his bed, the only place to sleep was the crappy little couch in the living room, and all night springs poked into his back and made it impossible to get comfortable. By the time morning rolled around, he was regretting ever volunteering to let his rival stay the night. In a crappy mood, he decided that six o'clock in the morning was late enough for his rival to sleep, and he threw open the door to his bedroom. Then froze.
Kaze was practically naked, wearing only boxer briefs, and he was hunched over with one hand on Sasuke's bookshelf, moaning. Sasuke wasn't sure what his other hand was doing, but the moaning put a mental image in his head that made his entire body go stiff and his cheeks blaze with heat.
"Y-y-you!" Sasuke roared, one hundred and ten percent planning to kick Kaze through the window if it turned out Kaze was doing what Sasuke thought he was. But when Kaze turned around, he didn't seem embarrassed at all, and his hand wasn't where Sasuke had thought it was. Instead, it was curled in a rather awkward-looking position by Kaze's stomach, and half of the dressings were off of it.
"Sasuke, thank Jashin," Kaze whimpered rather pathetically. Sasuke closed his mouth, but his eye still twitched as he tried not to think what he'd just been thinking.
"I'm trying to get changed but my fingers hurt like a motherfucker. Can you straighten them?"
"Straighten them," Sasuke said flatly, more of a statement than a question. Kaze held up his fingers, and Sasuke realized they looked like they'd been curled awkwardly because they were all bent out of shape. He sighed, shaking his head, and padded over to the tiny blonde, grabbing him by the wrist and holding one hand up to study it. Yep, they definitely needed straightening. He looked Kaze, narrowing his eyes until Kaze started to look flustered. Just as Kaze began to say 'Never mind,' Sasuke used every ounce of speed he had to re-break the fingers straight.
Kaze's eyes went huge, blue seeming to engulf his whole face as the colour drained from it. Then he opened his mouth and screamed so loud Sasuke swore the apartment shook. Sasuke stumbled back, holding his hands over his ears and glaring daggers at Kaze, and the screams died off into creative expletives, which eventually died off into whimpers.
"That's one hand," Sasuke said, raising an eyebrow. Kaze didn't stop whimpering, but he obediently held out his other hand, looking resigned. Sasuke was even quicker this time, using his Sharingan. Kaze's reaction was the same, but when he finally stopped whimpering he looked relieved.
"Thanks, that feels a lot better!" Kaze laughed, and Sasuke rolled his eyes, wondering how anyone could be such an idiot.
"Whatever. Anyway, you're supposed to be resting for the rest of the week so—"
"Do you have any extra clothes? I don't really wanna train in my underwear."
Sasuke swiftly karate-chopped him on the head. It only seemed to make Kaze happier though; now his grin was even bigger and he looked so joyful Sasuke was worried he'd get another hug. The thought made him shift uncomfortably; he couldn't get the feeling of Kaze's warm breath and tender words from his head. He figured Kaze must've mistaken him for someone else, but since they hadn't talked about it he wasn't quite sure. All he knew was that being touched so familiarly made his heart ache in a strange but not wholly unpleasant way.
"Do you listen to a word anyone says?" Sasuke asked in exasperation. "You used a tiny bit of your chakra and you passed out for an entire night."
"Yeah but I mean, there's still taijutsu! And besides, you have your chakra. I can give you pointers on how to get stronger! Plus, your next opponent is Gaara. He's fucking amazing, and you won't be able to beat him if you don't start training right now."
Sasuke doubted that, however he felt slightly angry that Kaze thought Gaara was so great. Sure, he'd done well against Lee, but Sasuke hadn't really had to try in his fight. Kaze hadn't seen Sasuke use his full potential, and here he was convinced that Gaara was better. Maybe this was some sort of psychology trick (Sasuke doubted Kaze was smart enough to use one) but suddenly he didn't care. He wanted to show Kaze what he was truly made of.
"If that's really what you think, I guess we can try training and see how it goes. If you show any signs of getting sick—or if you use your chakra—we're coming straight back here, though. I don't need to carry some fat moron around."
"F-fat? I'm not t-that fat!" Kaze gasped out, staring down at his stomach. Sasuke absolutely did not notice that his stomach was hard and smooth, the strange black marking on it spreading out over the ridges that were starting to become as defined as a man's body.
"Hmph. I'll find you clothes that are too big on me to wear and then we'll head down to a private training spot."
In the end, although Kaze most definitely wasn't fat, he didn't fit well into Sasuke's clothes. A shirt with the Uchiha crest stretched out over a chest that wasn't as narrow as Sasuke's, and Kaze had to leave the button of the shorts open since his hips weren't as slender. He looked pretty comical, and Sasuke was helpless against a snort of laughter when Kaze muttered something about how maybe he really had eaten too much ramen.
After getting ready and grabbing a few pieces of toast, Kaze and Sasuke went out to the training grounds, Kaze back in his puppet body. They spent the day together much like the day they'd spent in the Land of the Waves, except this time their banter was even better and Sasuke found himself feeling almost… happy. Every time they coaxed smiles from each other, every time they held back laughter because it would interrupt a mock fight they were having, every time Kaze leapt into the air excitedly because Sasuke finally mastered a technique… Sasuke felt his heart grow a little lighter.
At the end of the day, laying side by side, Sasuke tried to question about all the things he'd been wondering, but Kaze wouldn't tell him a thing. Oddly, though, Sasuke didn't really mind. Even if he didn't know every part of Kaze's life, he felt like he'd gotten to know something fundamental about who Kaze was.
"Hey, Sasuke?" Kaze asked, as the two of them leaned against each other, making their way back to Sasuke's apartment. Sasuke was wiped out from the huge amount of jutsus Kaze had been teaching him, and Kaze was wiped out from… well, from talking.
"Yeah?"
"Where's your family?"
There was a note of sorrow in Kaze's voice, and Sasuke paused. His thoughts flashed back to the night of the massacre, and he felt his face growing colder.
"Dead. And the ones that aren't may as well be."
For a brief moment, Kaze's fingers tightened on Sasuke's shoulder and Sasuke thought he felt a flash of chakra. He turned to Kaze in shock but the other boy was looking away from him, as if trying to hide the flicker of pain Sasuke could make out from the side.
"No matter what they've done… Even if you can't forgive them, you should at least try and find out if they had their reasons," Kaze said, and for a second Sasuke wondered if the blonde knew about the slaughter of the Uchiha clan. He said he'd been to the Leaf before, so it was very possible. But then, why would he suggest Sasuke try to find out what reasons Itachi had?
"I already know their reasons. They told me," Sasuke snapped, feeling a familiar anger in his gut.
"Words are the least truthful thing you can use to communicate with," Kaze murmured. "If I wanted to hurt someone I loved, I know I'd use them over physical harm. They're way more effective."
Sasuke blinked, feeling kind of like he'd just been punched in the gut. What did this kid know about anything? Sasuke wanted to dismiss his opinion outright, but the small portion of time he'd spent with Kaze had made him respect everything his rival said. The words wiggled into his mind and nestled deep, taking root. He tried to forget them, distracting himself by questioning Kaze even though it was probably futile.
"What about you? Where's your family?"
They had started to walk again, but Kaze stopped now, the green in his eyes fading to a dark, cloudy colour Sasuke couldn't name.
"Waiting for me," he said in a voice that was shades darker than it had been all day. This was the same ominous voice he used when snarling at Leaf shinobi or putting on his arrogant, furious act. Except Sasuke was realizing that the darkness was no act. The light wasn't either. Kaze was a puzzle made of contradictions and Sasuke didn't think Kaze could be pieced together, mostly because the puzzle pieces wouldn't fit together.
"Your mother and father are?"
"My mother and father are dead. Dead and forgotten—no one cares about their sacrifice or the people who betrayed them. I'm the only one left to remember."
Although a few elements were different, Sasuke understood the story more than anyone else would. He fell silent and they started walking again, this time not talking all the way back to the house.
Kaze offered to trade for the night—he'd sleep on the couch while Sasuke slept on the bed, but Sasuke told him it was fine. The springs weren't too bad after all.
The next day was similar, and though this was only their fourth time training together they fell into almost a routine. Train for four hours, break for food (Kaze insisted they get ramen, which Sasuke finally gave in to), train for another four hours, rest together and chat about trivial things. Kaze was surprisingly clueless about the world, not knowing most of the popular kids' shows or different kinds of candies. He could tell the difference between a sharp and dull kunai with one glance, he knew the chakra system like the back of his hand, and he knew a lot about politics between different lands. Yet he didn't know one of the most famous actresses or the Land of Fire's favourite pop star. Kaze was, Sasuke was quickly realizing, a soldier.
"What do you like to do in your spare time?" Sasuke asked as Kaze handed him a lollipop from what seemed like an endless supply he kept somewhere within his puppet.
"Spare time?" Kaze asked, as if he'd never heard of the concept. "I train, then go on missions."
"When you're not training or doing missions, what do you do?"
"Um…" It shouldn't have been a hard question, but Kaze had to think about it for a long time. "Eat? Sleep? Make puppets? Play games with Tobi?"
"Games," Sasuke seized onto desperately trying to find something Kaze liked. "What kind of games?"
"Well… we play War, mostly. We make up cards for all the strong ninjas, then put them against each other and explain who would win and why, and run through scenarios of how each person could win."
It didn't go over well, trying to find something that made Kaze like a normal human being. That night, Kaze invited Sasuke to sleep in the same bed as if it weren't a big deal. Sasuke hadn't slept the past two nights, but there was no way in hell he was sleeping with Kaze.
The next day was more of the same, and Sasuke tried his best to forget what Kaze had said about Itachi having his reasons. Already, the seed of the idea that had taken root in his mind was growing. Words are the least truthful thing. Sasuke fell into an uneasy sleep that night, and had nightmares in the dark about Itachi crying.
The fourth day of training, Kaze worked Sasuke so hard that by the end of the day he could barely stand. He just meant to help Kaze to the bed, but the next thing he knew he was waking up in the morning beside Kaze. Kaze hadn't even taken off his puppet, and Sasuke realized they'd been asleep before they hit the bed. He tried to be annoyed, but it had been one of the most refreshing nights he'd ever had. For the first time in a long time, he hadn't had a single nightmare.
The fifth day, after no one had been around for the other days, Kaze took his puppet off and tanned shirtless in the sun while he taught Sasuke more jutsus. By this point, Sasuke was surprised Kakashi hadn't appeared to see them, but he supposed someone had passed along the message that Kaze wasn't taking any visitors for the next week. Kaze's bared skin was incredibly distracting, and Sasuke threw everything he had into learning the jutsus so he had no time to notice it. At the end of the day, when Kaze complimented his work ethic with one of the best smiles yet, Sasuke knew they'd became more than rivals. Whether that 'more' was friends or something else remained to be seen.
Sasuke willingly slept in the same bed that night, only having a minor freak out when he woke up almost nose-to-nose with Kaze, their fingertips where their hands rested on the pillow touching.
The sixth and final day before everyone started showing up, the day started out the same as any. It was already at the point where Sasuke didn't want anyone to show up the next day or any other day—he was learning more from Kaze than he'd ever learned from anyone in his life. Kaze was out of his puppet again, enjoying the sunny day and yelling at Sasuke, shaking his fist after being called a 'moron' for the sixth time that day. He always had outbursts after a few times, and it only made Sasuke tease him more.
"Listen, loser, you get too worked up. You're going to end up accidentally using your chakra like an idiot if you don't calm down."
"I know, I know, I know, but your shithead fucktard comments piss me off!" Kaze yelled. By this point, Sasuke's nicknames for him were more affectionate than anything, and Kaze's reactions to them were more kneejerk than actually frustrated.
"Lower your blood pressure. Meditate with me," Sasuke said, holding his breath so he didn't laugh at loud at Kaze's unsure look.
"O-okay," Kaze said suspiciously. Sasuke sat across from him so their knees were almost touching, faking a meditative position.
"Close your eyes."
Kaze obeyed.
"Now, blank your mind and repeat after me. I am as calm as the eye of a hurricane. I shall not bow though the wind rages around me. In my center is only peace, in my heart is only still waters where once there was a tsunami."
Kaze repeated the words, and though Sasuke had made them up on a silly whim, it actually seemed to calm Kaze down. Sasuke kept saying nonsense sentences like that with Kaze repeating them, until Kaze looked completely at peace. His face was smooth, the lines of some burden that were normally there completely gone. He looked younger now, and his calmness gave him a serene, peaceful expression that tugged at Sasuke's heart for no real reason.
"I am an idiot," Sasuke tested, and Kaze repeated it without any real thought to what he was saying. This was too good.
"Sasuke is the best and I'm totally in love with him," he tried again, and Kaze repeated it back like mantra. Only at the end did his eyelids flicker, and as he finished the sentence very solemn, serious blue eyes hung onto Sasuke's dark ones. Sasuke felt like his heart had stopped, and suddenly this joke didn't seem very funny anymore. It didn't even feel like a joke, as the words hung in the air for a few seconds and Kaze stared in shock at Sasuke. Then he slammed his head against the ground, groaning.
"That's not fair, it was really working!" Kaze cried out, digging his hands into his hair. "You're such a bastard!" But Sasuke could see that the tips of Kaze's ears were red, and Sasuke quickly turned away to hide his own blush.
After a few minutes, Kaze sat back up and Sasuke sat beside him, both of them avoiding each other's eyes.
"Hey, Sasuke," Kaze murmured, and his voice was now gentler than Sasuke had ever heard it. Sasuke turned to give him a questioning look, not looking away from his friend's eyes. It felt like they were looking into each other's souls, but it didn't feel like a bad thing.
"I'm not supposed to tell anyone, but I can't keep it from you anymore. The truth is, I'm actually—"
Kaze stopped before he could finish and his eyes went wide as he let out a small 'oof.' He reached up in confusion, touching the back of his neck. Sasuke shot to his feet, activating his Sharingan as Kaze pulled the senbon from his neck and stared at it as if he didn't understand how it could've appeared there. Then his eyes fluttered and he swayed, collapsing to the ground. Was that thing poisoned? This was—
Kaze flew past Sasuke, and for a second Sasuke thought he was leaping for their enemies. But no, Kaze's body was completely limp and as Sasuke squinted, he could make out the faintest chakra threads coming through the trees across the lake they'd been training near. These were even fainter than Kaze's—whoever was doing this was a true master.
Sasuke lunged for Kaze's body as quickly as he could, but he only managed to get a hold of Kaze's ninja toolkit, which snapped off cleanly. In a second, Kaze was gone, shooting across the lake towards the trees. Sasuke ran as fast as he could, using chakra control to run on the water. He could see farther than ever with his Sharingan, and he could distantly make out three people in red and black cloaks standing on the opposite shoreline. The one with purple hair, who wasn't controlling the chakra threads, snagged Kaze's tiny body out of the air with expert speed, then turned and ran into the trees, leaving her two companions behind.
"Wait, dammit!" Sasuke yelled. Kaze wasn't completely defenseless without his chakra, but there was no way he could fight three strong people at once. Plus, who knew what they'd do to him while he was unconscious?
"Don't interfere, Sasuke Uchiha," the man with the piercings said as Sasuke grew closer. Like hell he'd listen to this guy, who had stolen his friend right out from under his nose. He was stronger than ever, and he'd be damned if he didn't use that strength to protect someone precious to him. Just as he was about to prepare his attack, however, the world behind him exploded.
He flipped over the water, landing face-first on the shore the two black and red shinobi had stood on. When he looked up, they were gone. He gritted his teeth and stood, looking over his shoulder to see what had caused the explosion. What he saw made his face turn sheet-white and his knees tremble. Back in the Leaf Village was… hell.
