A/N: Buckle you seat belts, kiddies! A lot happens in this chapter. I'm definitely going back over it in the future to work out the pacing better. Enjoy =]
Rebirth
Part Three: Chasing You
Chapter 8: Forming Bonds
A week after my return to Konoha, Kakashi summoned Sasuke and me to Hokage Tower. Sakura and Shizune were already there when we arrived. A report was in Kakashi's hands, and his expression didn't look good.
"Akako-chan, we are almost certain we know who tried to kidnap you."
"Who, Hokage-sama?"
"It was Orochimaru."
After a moment of stunned silence, Sasuke started to swear. Sakura cut him off after an appropriate amount of time to relay her and Shizune's findings.
"The ninja Kisuke-san killed had a dangerous combination of DNA," she began. "His own genetic material had been almost completely rewritten. His body contained Senju, Uchiha, and Orochimaru's tissue."
I felt my blood run cold.
"How?" Sasuke snarled. Quickly, I put my hand on his elbow to calm him down.
"We're not sure how," Shizune said, "but we think he might have stolen some of Madara's DNA during the war. He was likely influenced by how Kabuto-san had altered his genetic profile."
"It's been only a few years since the war ended, and he's stirring up trouble again," Kakashi said, shaking his head.
"I should have killed him again." Sasuke's teeth were clenched so tightly, I could see the veins in his jaw.
"Be that as it may," Kakashi said, "two teams of ANBU are being dispatched as we speak. One will investigate and destroy any of Orochimaru's remaining hideouts and another will go to Sound Country and surrounding areas to gather intelligence. Until then, neither of you are allowed to leave the village for any reason."
"Yes, Hokage-sama," I said, grabbing Sasuke's arm before he left to raze Otogakure to the ground.
I knew from my history lessons that Sound Country had been abandoned for years after Sasuke killed Orochimaru. I also know that Sasuke revived him shortly before the Fourth Shinobi War happened and that Orochimaru had fought for the allied side. Afterwards, he had disappeared. Apparently, he hadn't stopped in his quest for power. I knew this issue was intensely personal for Sasuke, and now I had been drawn into the picture, too.
"He wants vessels with the ability to develop the Rinnegan," he hissed, glaring murderously at any living thing that crossed his path.
"We don't know for sure, Sasuke-san," I said, though I agreed with him. "Could this be connected to the ninja who attacked you before you returned to Konoha?"
"No," he said. "the three nukenin just wanted a chance to gloat."
-paragraph break-
I knew that if I left him alone, he'd tear his hair out, so I invited Sasuke to stay the night at my apartment. He'd moved out over a year ago, but some of his things were still there. Sasuke had decided to reconstruct the Uchiha compound, but smaller than it had been before. So far, only the main house had been replaced, along with most of the tombstones in the graveyard.
He responded by veering sharply to the left, towards the marketplace. Confused, I followed him into the furniture shop. Sasuke stayed there for two hours while the shop owner waited on him hand and foot. He asked me for my opinion on nearly every piece he looked at.
Finished, he then went grocery shopping. I understood that Sasuke was running errands in order to distract himself from vengeance, but I wondered why he wasn't training, instead. The answer became apparent after we arrived at the Uchiha compound to drop off his groceries. The movers had just arrived, and we spent most of the afternoon arranging the furniture. With my chakra-enhanced strength, Sasuke was able to arrange the furniture to his liking without scratching the floors.
"This is your room," he said, after I'd finished moving the bed against the wall.
For a moment, I thought I'd misheard him.
"What, Sasuke-san?"
"You're an Uchiha," he said flatly. "Now, you will live like one."
"When am I moving in?" I asked, bewildered.
"Tomorrow."
The shock of learning that Orochimaru had planned to kidnap me for something I could not control—my genetics—kept me up most of the night. I got maybe two hours of sleep before Sasuke arrived at my apartment at the crack of dawn. He started packing up my kitchen even as I struggled to leave my covers. I knew better than to argue with him, so I helped him pack my things and move them into my new room. Fortunately, I didn't have many belongings.
Neither of us had eaten lunch, but Sasuke only let me have a quick snack before heading to the training grounds.
"Wouldn't asking Naruto-kun to spar be better?" I asked, as we began to warm up.
"He's too busy licking Kakashi's heels," Sasuke replied.
It was true that Naruto was starting to learn from Kakashi the details of being Hokage, but I was certain his appointment was still years away. He didn't have the diplomacy or poise to pull off being a political leader yet. The charisma and power were definitely there, though.
"What about Sakura-sensei?" I asked, as we did our katas.
"On a date," he grunted.
Sakura had started dating Rock Lee recently. I knew he'd been crazy about her since day one, and now it seemed she was starting to reciprocate his affections.
We were locked in a genjutsu battle for almost half an hour before I became too tired to continue, which was much better than the mere forty-five seconds I'd managed the first time I fought Sasuke almost two years ago.
I sat on Sasuke's back, practicing hand seals, while he did pushups. It reminded me of the days Sango and I used to train. I didn't see him much anymore—he had recently been promoted to ANBU, a great honor.
-paragraph break-
Living with Sasuke was easy. He was painstakingly neat and kept a rigid schedule that I was able to follow easily. It made no difference to him who did the housework, though I did a majority of it in an attempt to thank him for staying in such a nice house with him. When he wasn't training, he was reading, and when he wasn't reading, he was brooding. Whenever Sasuke brooded, his chakra turned cold.
"Stop it, Sasuke-san," I said, poking him in the side. He flinched and glared at me. Undeterred, I said, "Let's go buy some tomatoes for dinner, okay?"
He grunted before getting up.
The gossip has gone down to a bearable level, but I still registered the whispered comments that followed us when Sasuke and I showed up to the marketplace together. Sasuke's response was to ignore everyone. I simply shifted my basket further up my arm before getting down to business.
I decided to get additional groceries for breakfast, along with some of the tea Sasuke liked. Several times throughout our venture, I caught him trying to steal tomatoes from the basket. He received a sharp rap across the knuckles each time until finally, I relented and gave him one.
The next few days were accompanied by a constant sense of unease in the pit of my stomach. I couldn't tell if I was simply being paranoid, but my instincts haven't failed me yet. My insomnia has gotten worse again, though it's nowhere near as bad as it was a few years ago.
I decided to go to the lake and meditate. Sitting down on its surface, I took a moment to admire the ripples in the water before closing my eyes. After almost an hour of peace, I felt a single, unfamiliar chakra signature appear in the forest a few miles away. Frowning, I opened my eyes. The way it was roiling made me dart back into the house to alert Sasuke.
I found him already awake, putting on his sandals. Kusanagi was at his side.
"Sasuke-san—"
"I know," he said, before disappearing.
Running back outside, I activated my Sharingan and saw Sasuke's chakra signature intercept the unknown ninja in the forest. A brief struggle followed. I heard Sasuke use Chidori.
I gasped as suddenly, a ninja appeared in my field of vision. He had disguised his chakra so well, I hadn't sensed his approach. The instant I hit him, I knew something was wrong. I'd hit a bunshin—it exploded in a spray of mist that numbed my exposed skin. Horrified, I darted towards the lake and dove in, washing as much of the substance off as I could.
Seconds later, Sasuke arrived with the main body slung over his shoulder. He dropped it when he saw how pale my face was becoming. My glowing hands were around my neck.
"What is it?" he demanded.
"Get Sakura-sensei," I gasped. My voice was shrill with panic.
Quickly, Sasuke summoned two bunshin. One ran in the direction of Sakura's house, the other back towards the trees. Unable to help me, he busied himself with binding the ninja that had attacked me, instead.
Sakura arrived a few minutes later. By then, I was swaying on my feet.
"Akako-chan, what's wrong?" she exclaimed, rushing to my side and placing her glowing hands on my shoulders, steadying me.
"Sakura-sensei, I'm poisoned," I said. I was almost certain the poison wasn't lethal, but my vision was starting to flicker the edges.
"Don't fall asleep," Sasuke said sharply, suddenly right next to me.
"Silly Sasuke," I slurred. "I have insomnia."
My vision flickered one last time before going out.
-paragraph break-
When I woke up, I was in bed. Sakura and Sasuke were sitting at my side.
"Akako-chan, how do you feel?"
"Dizzy," I said.
"I extracted the poison from your body," Sakura said, indicating the vial on my nightstand. "It seems to be a variation of flunitrazepam, but I'll need to run a few tests, to be sure."
"What happened?" I asked.
"There were two ninja sent to capture you, Akako-chan. Sasuke-kun killed one of them. Ibiki-taichou got the other one, the one whose bunshin you destroyed, to talk," Sakura said.
"'He deserved it, Sound scum." Sasuke was barely sitting still in his seat.
"So it's been confirmed," I said, feeling my stomach drop to the ground.
"Yes," Sakura said. "Orochimaru is trying to capture you."
She left soon afterwards, but Sasuke didn't. He kept staring at me.
"I'm alright, Sasuke-san," I said, disconcerted by the concern I saw in his face.
He shook his head and said nothing.
"Rest, Akako-chan," Sakura said, getting up.
Sasuke didn't move from my side, and I wondered if he was going to watch me fall asleep. I felt like I'd closed my eyes for only a few seconds when I heard him say my name, waking me.
"What is it, Sasuke-san?"
I squealed as he picked me up, holding me against his chest with one arm while wrapping my blankets more securely around me with the other.
"We're going to see the Hokage."
"Put me down!" I exclaimed.
He instead put his free hand in a seal, and we disappeared. When we reappeared outside Kakashi's office, I struggled to overcome the vertigo that followed.
"Come in."
"Sasuke-kun, Akako-chan," Kakashi said, his eyes crinkling as Sasuke set me into the chair in front of his desk.
"Talk."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow but did as Sasuke commanded.
"We have begun the process of destroying Orochimaru's lairs. Our team of ANBU found his reconstructed lab in Otogakure—"
"So he's there."
"Let me finish, Sasuke-kun. He was there, but he isn't anymore. He took his research with him and fled."
"And the test subjects?" I asked.
"They were all destroyed," Kakashi said. "Our next step is to—"
"—find Kabuto."
"Sasuke-kun, Kabuto-san is—"
"He worked for the snake for years," Sasuke snapped. "Even if he isn't anymore, he will still know the most likely places Orochimaru will go."
"We don't even know where he is right now, Sasuke-kun."
"I'll find him."
Kakashi gave me a look that I knew well. It was the look people gave me when Sasuke was being difficult.
"I'll commission a team to investigate," he said.
"I said I'm doing it."
"Hokage-sama," I cut in. Both men turned to look at me. "At least let Sasuke-san search within the borders of Konoha. He can have jounin go with him, too."
Kakashi froze mid-nod at Sasuke's next words.
"I want Akako to go with me."
"What?" Kakashi and I exclaimed.
"Sasuke-kun, think of what you're saying! You'll be putting the entire future of the Uchiha clan in jeopardy if both of you go on this mission."
"She's a sensor," Sasuke retorted. "She's fast, and she's a healer."
"If it's a healer you want, I can ask Sakura-chan to go with you."
"She's annoying."
"Is that really what you think of her, after all this time?" Kakashi's voice was quiet.
Sasuke glanced at me. Apparently, it told Kakashi all he needed to know. With a groan, he buried his head in his hands.
"The village elders will never forgive me if I let the two of you go."
Sasuke smirked.
"At least pass the jounin exams first," Kakashi wheedled.
"Fine."
With that, Sasuke picked me up again and swept out of the office.
"That wasn't very nice, Sasuke-san," I said, when we arrived back at the house.
"I got what I wanted," he replied, as he tucked me in.
"Got what?" I asked, pushing the covers aside so I could sit up. "You warned me once about the dangers of being consumed by vengeance. Isn't this the same thing?"
Sasuke looked at me for a long time.
"I agreed not to leave Konoha," he said slowly. "I agreed to take the jounin exams."
At this, I understood how much Sasuke was compromising. I could see it burning in his expression, how much he wanted to go find Orochimaru, himself.
"But what about me?" I asked.
Sasuke turned and left the room.
-end of chapter-
A/N: What is flunitrazepam, you ask? Roofies! Don't worry, Orochimaru will get what's coming to him.