Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Not So Simple After All

Chapter 2

Pakkun wagged his tail back and forth as he sniffed around the room. "Well," he said, "someone was here, but I can't tell if it was the Uchiha or not."

"Alright Pakkun," Kakashi said, "Naruto should be back any minute, then we'll find out for sure."

"Kakashi, thank you for coming out tonight. I know it's very late and this whole thing sounds really stupid," said Sakura. She'd been strangely quiet most of the time they were investigating. That must have been the longest sentence she'd said the whole time he'd been in her apartment.

"Of course it's not stupid; in fact, this matter is very serious. However, it is very late, or rather, very early in the morning," he replied.

He sighed again. He'd gotten a call around 2:30 in the morning. He heard Naruto's voice on the other line telling him to come over to Sakura's apartment and to bring Pakkun.

Apparently, Sakura thought Sasuke Uchiha had broken into her room through her window.

The window being open wasn't a very good reason to suspect a break-in. Sakura could have easily forgotten to close it the night before. She swore she saw Sasuke, but she was probably only dreaming about him again.

It wasn't until he heard the lock on her window had been broken by a shuriken that he agreed it was a break-in. But there was still no proof it was Sasuke yet.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Sakura jumped off her bed and opened the door to reveal Naruto. The only thing he said was, "I got it."

"Good," Sakura said. She was still a little shook up.

In Naruto's hand was a shirt he had gotten out of Sasuke's closet. Breaking into the Uchiha compound was easy, it was actually finding Sasuke's room that was the hard part. After that he had taken one of the many things Sasuke had left behind. It was a shirt Sasuke had worn during his genin days, blue with the Uchiha symbol on the back.

Naruto handed the shirt to Kakashi, who then held it out in front of Pakkun. He said, "Can you match this scent to anywhere in this room, specifically the window?"

Pakkun sniffed the article of clothing before trudging towards the window. His nose roamed over the area for what seemed like forever before he faced them again. "It's a little different scent, but it's definitely the Uchiha. And it's still fresh."

"How fresh?" asked Kakashi.

"Less than an hour old," Pakkun answered.

'O boy,' Kakashi thought, 'Tsunade is gonna freak.'

"Kakashi-sensei, what should we do?"

It was Sakura, and she had just called him "sensei" again though he hadn't been her sensei in years. She didn't call anyone "sensei" except Tsunade anymore. So… … … … it was understood. Sakura was scared. She didn't know what to do. She wanted Kakashi to take the lead. He would do the right thing. He could handle himself in situations like these. Naruto would be rash and Sakura would be indecisive, but Kakashi would keep a level head.

It was understood by all three.

"Naruto," he called, "Inform the Hokage immediately. The Anbu squad might be able to catch up to him if we hurry. Remember, less than an hour."

Naruto nodded solemnly as he slid his goofy nightcap off. He'd forgotten to take it off earlier when he heard Sakura's panicked voice on the phone. There was a "poof" and he was gone.

Now was the hard part. Kakashi turned to Sakura and inquired, "Sakura, when you saw him, what was he doing?"

"Well, I was in bed, and he-he was leaning over me. And, well, everything's pretty hazy after that, but I think…"

"What happened, Sakura?"

"He promised me… he promised me he'd come back!" The words spilled out of her mouth before she could stop them. "I think," she added.

"Did he say anything else?" Kakashi asked.

"I think he said something about a mission, but… everything is so fuzzy."

"Is there anything clear?"

She said, "I can remember waking up with Sasuke hovering over me, but like I said, everything else is…" Her hand automatically went to a spot on her cheek.

His touch…

Kakashi walked over to her window and carefully plied out the shuriken before shutting the window. "Get you locks replaced soon. Maybe a watch dog would help. I could loan you one of mine."

"Thank you," she murmured, "Kakashi?"

'No more "sensei" at least.' He answered, "Sakura?"

"They're not gonna kill him, are they?"

"…" No answer.

"I mean, they would just aim to subdue, not to kill, right?"

"I don't know. But they will kill if necessary. He's a criminal, a missing nin."

"Oh…"

"Come on, let's go to the Hokage's office. Tsunade should be awake by now, so we don't have to wake her up ourselves."

Sakura allowed herself a small smile as Kakashi's visible eye crinkled. She supposed it was a smile, but no one could tell what lay underneath his mask.

Last time anyone tried to wake up the Fifth, they had been met with her mighty powerful fists and a "Get the hell out of my house!" Safe to say, she had been very grumpy that morning.

"Oh, and Pakkun," Kakashi said, "You're dismissed."

"Thank you Pakkun," said Sakura.

With those final words, the pair teleported into the Hokage's office, which at that moment was in a state of complete chaos.

----------------------------------Somewhere in the woods----------------------------------------

Sasuke had been running nonstop ever since he snuck out of sight of Konohoa's gates. He had to hurry. He was almost 2 hours behind schedule. He'd be lucky if he got to the Sound Village by midday.

But now, he had something else to worry about. He had been listening intently for a while now, and he could just make out 3 sets of running footsteps. One pair was his own so that left 2 other people. They were flanking him about 30 meters behind, one on the left and one on the right.

Sasuke stopped suddenly; then smirked when he heard 2 other footfalls after he had halted abruptly.

"Come out," he called, "I know you're there, both of you." He turned around and waited, but there was no answer.

"You're wasting my time," he called out again, "and you're only making this harder on yourselves." He slid 2 kunai out of his holster and counted, "One…"

…

"Two…"

…

"Three!"

There were suddenly 2 "poofs" and Sasuke's smirk returned. Before him stood 2 ninja, obviously Sound nin from the symbol on their headbands. One wore dark, round sunglasses and the Sound uniform. The other wore the Sound uniform pants but with a red tunic and a green sash.

"So, Orichimaru sent spies, huh?"

The one with sunglasses bowed his head and said, "Take no offense, Sasuke-sama. Orichimaru-sama sent us to watch over you, just in case you needed any help."

"Help as in follow me around and make sure I remain loyal to the Sound and that I complete my mission. I know better than 'help.' Like I would need help sneaking around the Village Guarded by Sleeping Dimwits."

"Of course, Sasuke-sama," spoke the man in the green sash, "it was just a precaution."

Sasuke swung the kunai around his index finger, trying to figure out who to kill first.

"If you want, sir, we can tell Orichimaru-sama that you completed your mission," said the man in the sunglasses.

'Guess I'll go for him first then,' thought Sasuke. He leapt forward so fast neither of the nins saw him. The kunai pierced the man with sunglasses in his heart, so he was killed instantly. Sasuke yanked out the kunai and turned in time to see the other man back away in fear. After all, this was the all powerful Sasuke Uchiha, second in command of Sound. Sasuke kicked him against a tree, and the man turned into a log.

'Substitution,' he thought, 'I knew it.'

He didn't bother activating his Sharingan. He wouldn't need it for something as simple as this. He could sense the man in the green sash running away, to his left.

Sasuke jumped from the ground and into the tall branches of a nearby tree. Now he was jumping from tree to tree. It was only a matter of seconds before he spotted the man sunning below him.

It was only a matter of seconds before the man, along with his green sash, was burned to a crisp using one of Sasuke's favorite fire jutsus.

He stared at the corpse a moment longer before returning to his journey. The later he arrived, the more suspicious Orichimaru would be. The more suspicious he was, the more he would be prepared, and Sasuke couldn't have that. No, not if he wanted to complete his mission.

There was a good chance Sasuke would die on this mission. If he died, he would never get another chance to kill Itachi or return home. "Home," he said it again, out loud this time. If he lived, he would return home and hopefully get another chance to kill Itachi.

But the odds were heavily against him.

'Sakura,' he thought, 'this is for you.'

His footfalls silenced as he halted in front of a river. All he had to do now was simple; there would be no more surprises.

Sasuke quickly refilled his canteen. He needed to follow the river with the current and he would reach the Hidden Sound Village. If he kept this pace up, he would be there before noon. But he needed to slow down a little bit before he got there to conserve energy. Hell knows he would need it then.

He paused one last time to look back at the dense forest. Beyond it was where Konohoa, Team 7, and hopefully his future were.

'Wish me luck.'

Page Count: 6

Word Count: 1,666