While they waited for the right time to find Sasuke, Kaede and Naruto sat back to back in the little clearing they'd found, watching for any enemy Sound nin. Both of them had reasonably woken up and forgotten their aches and pains at the excitement. Well, at least Kaede had. She couldn't speak for Naruto, but she figured that he felt the same way.
She grinned as she thought of their devious little plan. It went like this—Naruto would go with Kaede to find Sasuke, and make sure Itachi hadn't killed him, which wasn't likely. Then, once Sasuke had agreed to stay with Kaede and help keep her safe, which they knew he would, Naruto would head back to the underground and let the others know he was OK. He would work with the rumor that he'd passed ways with Kaede on the way and that she'd told him the mission was going great, and Sasuke was in the palm of her hand.
Her grin widened. It was almost full proof; the only one who would suspect anything would be Shikamaru, and it had originally been his plan, so he would be stubborn about it, saying it was absolutely perfect.
Naruto reached behind him and tapped her arm lightly. She jumped, slightly startled, and returned the gesture. They'd agreed that this would be their signal so as to refrain from speaking and alerting the Sound nin to their presence. Together, they stood up and set off at a refreshed run into the woods. They had hardly an idea where Sasuke would be after his fight with Itachi, given that he'd lived, or what condition he'd be in. But that didn't matter to them—it never had. Since childhood, Naruto had fought solely on spur of the moment intuitions, and it eventually rubbed off on Kaede.
All of the things that Kaede normally would've thought on such an important mission left in a rush and were replaced with Sasuke. Her heart gave a little leap and increased its rhythm, pounding restlessly in her chest. Excitement and anticipation caused adrenaline to pump through her veins. She felt great, better than she had in years, honestly, even after her first trip outside after so long. The thought of just seeing Sasuke up close again, and not in combat, sent chills down her spine and a flush to her cheeks.
With a pleasant little squeal, she surged ahead of Naruto, her brown hair flying out behind her and her lips tilted up in a smile. She heard the Hokage stifle a chuckle behind her—he was trying not to attract attention to them—and her smile grew wider. They were getting closer, she knew it.
Another chill crept up her back and she turned her head to look back at Naruto as something horrible made her catch her breath and clench her fists. He nodded encouragingly, and caught up with her in a few strides.
"What's up?" he asked, pushing off a branch and heading headlong back into the air. "You aren't getting upset about the plan, are you? Because you're not betraying him."
Kaede shook her head rapidly. "No, it's not that. I'm just…nervous, I guess. I mean, the last time I saw Sasuke I told him—no, I promised him—that the next time, I wouldn't let him get away so easily." Her hazel eyes were wide with regret as she looked at Naruto. "I told him I'd kill him."
"Oh." Naruto was silent for several long moments, making Kaede even more upset and nervous than she already was. Finally, he relieved her of her suspense and spoke. "Well, I'm sure he'll understand."
What wise words, Naruto, she mused irritably, fighting back a sigh of annoyance and landing heavily on another branch. Her feet cracked the bark, and Naruto glanced at her in surprise. She guessed he was hoping that she wouldn't chicken out on him. Well, he didn't have anything to worry about. Her fears may be slowly surfacing the closer they got to Sasuke, but her love for the Uchiha succeeded over those fears any day.
Up ahead, there was a clearing, but Naruto was the first to sight it. Kaede couldn't really see where she was going—her vision was glazed over with thoughts of being rejected by Sasuke. She yearned to call him "her Sasuke" again, but it would be unsafe to do so at the moment. The only thing she was able to make out was Naruto's battered orange jacket, and she followed it diligently, like a blind man following his dog.
"Kaede, look," Naruto hissed, grabbing onto her arm. She stopped, and blinked several times until her eyes came into focus. When they did, she saw that the two of them were just a few leaps from the field, and in perfect view of a solemn Sasuke standing in the middle of it, his head bowed, his sword bloodied. At his feet was a figure in an Akatsuki cloak, but they didn't look like Itachi.
"Oh my God," Kaede murmured, realizing what had happened. By the way Naruto's fists clenched, he knew, too. Itachi had used a special type of cloning jutsu that allowed him to place some of his chakra into another person and disguise that person as himself. He'd used it before, when fighting Naruto, Kakashi, some old woman named Chiyo, and Sakura, during Tsunade's reign as Hokage.
Sasuke hovered over the body for several tense, painstakingly slow minutes, before he turned around and noticed his old friends' presence. His eyebrows shot up momentarily, and in his eyes glowed a spark of suspicion. Kaede knew exactly what he was thinking. Why were they here? Was she going to keep her promise? Was she going to try to kill him?
Her chest ached at the thought of Sasuke seeing her as the enemy. She wanted to tell him how much she needed him to trust her, to still care for her. Her gaze flew to her feet, unable to deal with meeting his eyes. Someone touched her shoulder, and she thought it was Naruto, trying to convince her to look up and face Sasuke.
"No, Naruto, I—" As she spoke, she had lifted her chin, expecting to see the blonde Hokage staring sternly down at her. Instead, a pair of lips met her own and a rough, but yet gentle had cupped the side of her face. She immediately knew who it was, and fell into the kiss, letting her arms rest on his shoulders. The feel of his lips on hers was a long-awaited sensation, and she yearned for it to never end. His mouth was soft, and the way he kissed her…it filled her with passion that she hadn't felt in a long, long time.
When they finally parted, Kaede stared up into Sasuke's black eyes, and saw they weren't hard and closed off like they normally would have been. She gasped, finally seeing what Sasuke had kept from her for years. Sure, he had said it so many times, and his kisses oozed it, but there had always been a longing need to see it in his eyes. He loved her, forever and always.
Sasuke tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and rubbed her cheek lovingly. She couldn't take her gaze from his, and let her hands lay on his chest. Neither of them wanted to speak, to break the moment, and neither of them did.
They stood there, eyes locked together in a glazed world of their own, wallowing in the feeling of being together again. Kaede's heart thudded in her chest, her mind completely oblivious to anything around her other than Sasuke. A small smile pulled at the corners of his lips; she returned the smile. How two people could stand together for such a long time, unable to move, was beyond them both. But it was happening, and it was happening to them.
In one swift movement, Sasuke grabbed Kaede's hand and jumped off of the tree branch and back into the clearing, towing her with him. She landed easily on her feet by his side and smiled up at him. He didn't look back, but that was Sasuke for you. He never expressed his feelings any more than was necessary.
Kaede knew that he was going to take her somewhere, and she didn't care where it was, as long as she was with him. Sasuke led her off into the woods again, this time on foot. She jogged evenly just behind him, letting him show her the way. When they were younger, she thought with a smile, she would have raced him to prove her superiority to him, or at least that she could keep up. They would've been angry at one another because of the race, because they had tied. But not now.
Sasuke's grip tightened around her hand, and she squeezed back. She knew that he was beginning to get nervous; they were running straight back towards Konoha, to the last place Kaede would be safe at. She was willing to risk it, though, to be with him. She would risk everything for just a few more moments with his hand in hers.
They ran for the longest time, but they ran in bliss. Kaede couldn't recall how many hours, minutes, they had been skirting through the forest. Yet she found them all to be wonderful, sweet moments of silence filled with a quiet love. When they finally did stop, it was so close to home that Kaede could hear the soft murmur of the people in the village. Her heart tugged to the gates she knew weren't so far off, but she restrained the urges. Her place was with Sasuke right now.
She looked up at said Uchiha, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, trying to tell her that he knew how hard it was. She leaned into his embrace as he rubbed her arm, placed his cheek on the top of her head. This was the way he'd always held her, in his arms, gently soothing away her pains and worries. She knew that he would protect her, and keep her safe from anything that would harm her.
"Kaede."
His deep, velvety voice startled Kaede, and she looked up, questioning. Knowing that she was listening, Sasuke went on. "Why did you come?"
She knew just what he meant. He wasn't a person of many words, and this question was probably killing him. It was the last thing she wanted to hear, too, but it had to be answered.
After heaving a heavy sigh, she voiced the answer she'd been going over and over in her head, trying to make it sound right. "I…wanted to do something for…myself, and not my village." She looked up with pleading eyes at Sasuke, who was staring down at her in amazement. It wasn't something she would normally do. "Please, don't think I'm a horrible person. It's just…well, I've been serving Konoha for so long, and I had originally planned on finding you to…oh, Kami, I don't want to say it."
Sasuke's hand reached up and held her chin facing upwards. "Whatever it is, just say it. I'll forgive you."
Finding herself soothed by his words, she swallowed. "Okay." She hesitated, staring into those black orbs she so loved. She trusted him, and loved him. "Shikamaru and I came up with a plan to get closer to the Sound, to get inside information. I was to…oh, I guess you could say lull you into a false sense of security and slowly pick your brains for info. But then I was captured, and Naruto was there too. He encouraged me to do something for myself, to be with you. I listened. And here I am."
More silence followed her comment, and Kaede's chest tightened. Her throat became dry and cloggy as the quiet went on. Sasuke wasn't moving, was speaking, and she couldn't bear to look him in the eyes after telling him of her plan to betray him. She half expected him to get up and leave her, or call someone to come and kill her. A shudder rippled down her spine, and Sasuke's hand landed on her shoulder to sooth her.
His lips connected with the top of her head, and she sighed, relief flooding through her. He wasn't angry. He'd just been thinking.
He turned her around so that she was facing him, and she found herself staring up into his beautiful face. His hand caressed her cheek, and she couldn't move for fear that it would break the spell. Every time his hand lightly brushed her arm, touched her face, bumped against her own hand, an electric shock coursed through her, and she knew no other feeling like it.
They leaned towards each other, their foreheads pressing together. Their lips were inches apart, if even that. She breathed in; he breathed out. He breathed out; she breathed in. His lips barely touched hers, and she shivered at the sensation coursing through her. This was what she'd been waiting for all those years.
Again, his lips brushed against hers, and she gasped. And then, he kissed her full on. It was another one of those kisses that you never wanted to end, that told everything a person was unable to voice. She knew he loved her, she loved him back. But neither of them was really able to say it.
All too soon, Sasuke pulled away, and held her at arms length. He smiled, and she smiled back, still marveling at how handsome he was when he grinned. There was nowhere else she'd rather be than with Sasuke.
"I don't know how I ever managed to find you," she said to him, her joy nearly making her burst.
"And I can't fathom it either," Sasuke said cockily, and Kaede punched him lightly in the chest. He pretended as if he were mortally wounded and clutched at his chest, falling backwards. Kaede, unbalanced without Sasuke there to lean her weight on, collapsed on top of him and rolled off. By the time her dizzy head settled, Sasuke was laughing out loud, and she couldn't help but join in.
Unbeknownst to Sasuke and Kaede, several Sound ninja had just left the village, and were now jumping right in their direction. Both of them knew the consequences of being found together, but they didn't care, nor know that someone was coming towards them.
Sasuke was the first one to hear the Sound nin, and he immediately stopped laughing and grabbed Kaede's arm in the rough, firm grip that had once broken her ankle. She started, her eyes wide as she stared at Sasuke. He pulled her to her feet and held her away from him.
"You have to hide," he said under his breath, his tone completely serious. Kaede wondered why for a moment, until she too heard the Sound nin jumping through the trees close by. She shuddered, but tried to ignore the horrible thoughts flashing through her mind. Sure, there was a chance she and Sasuke could be caught, and they would both be killed in the most likely scenario. But if she listened to him, and hid, they might be safe.
"Right," she murmured, and ran off into the woods again. Her feet lightly hit the stick and leave scattered earth, barely making a noise. She could vaguely hear voices, deep voices speaking to one another, overlapping each other, and then a commanding one ordering the others to do something. She knew that one was Sasuke.
Her pulse pounded in her ears, her breaths coming out in gasps, her feet running faster, faster. The danger she was facing—the danger she and Sasuke were facing—if they got caught was enormous, more so than anything she'd ever had to confront. Missions, assassinations, and war…they were at the top of her list of the most dangerous things she had ever done. And each one of them were still under betraying her village under false pretenses and continuing to mingle with the enemy whom she claimed to love and who loved her back while running from said enemy/lover's boss and fellow enemies and trying not to get caught while betraying her village under false pretenses, which would ultimately end in her death for sure, and possibly her enemy/lover's.
What a head full of trouble, she grumbled silently to herself as she slowed her pace, catching sight of a rather large hole in a rather large tree. She could hide there, and she did, clambering quietly into the gaping gash in the bark, her knees hugged to her chest as she waited for someone—hopefully Sasuke—to find her.
In the long time that she waited, she ran so many things over in her mind. Like how she was going to keep pulling this little thing off. Well, this big thing. Or what she was going to do when—not if, when—her friends found out. They'd have her head for this escapade! Sure, they'd let her off for losing the village, leading Orochimaru to their secret hideaway underground, and so many other things…but this, this was off the charts wrong. There was no way they'd forgive her this time.
Finally, just as Kaede's eyes were closing from fatigue, someone's hand reached into the gap in the tree and lightly brushed against her face. Immediately she knew who it was, and she willingly let the person pull her out of the tree. She hugged Sasuke, glad to see him, to be out of that little hidey-hole and in his arms again. He was safe, that was all that mattered.
"Are you okay?" he asked monotonously, letting her go and shoving his hands in his pockets. She rolled her eyes, having forgotten his little habits.
"Yes, I'm fine," she replied, her voice just slightly stubborn and indignant. "I don't need your help." Inside, she was smiling. This was how she and Sasuke had gotten along most of the time, by arguing.
"Well, then." Sasuke turned and started to walk off, and Kaede brushed past him, prepared to lead the way even if she had no clue where she was going. After walking a few steps, though, she stopped and turned to look hesitantly back at Sasuke. She didn't want to get caught in a trap or something.
A smug grin on his face, he charged to the front and grabbed her by the hand as he led her to wherever they were going. Her heart fluttered as his fingers laced with hers, and the pressure of him tugging her didn't relent. She hadn't felt like this for a long, long time, and it was well worth the risk to be here.
As she looked up and saw the side of Sasuke's stoic face leading the way, a smile spread across her face. She realized that now, she could finally call him "her Sasuke."
Hey. I know this was a short chapter, but I couldn't drag it out any longer w/out killing myself to do it. Originally, I had planned this to be even shorter, yet I thought about all my readers and reviewers and how much they liked long chapters, so I was nice. Anyway, I'm out of school now and probably have more time to write.
Read and review, please! Thanks so much!
Love ya
Nicola