A Deal with a Devil

Chapter 4: The Road to the White Chakra

I know that I haven't updated this in a very long time, and quite frankly, I've lost most of my interest in Naruto (and most anime for that matter). The constant fighting grates on the nerves. It's like these people have no lives outside of fighting. Anyway, I have not lost interest in this story; I just need to get back into the swing of things.

VVV

Sakura walked lightly through the streets of Konoha; she had neglected her duties to her team and been pondering things for the better part of a week now. She loved being a ninja and everything that came with it, but there was a part of her (a very large part) that wanted all the things that a normal woman might be able to have. Sakura wanted a family, husband, kids and it was true that some kunoichi managed to have all. Ten-Ten's mother was a prime example, but often had to leave her children in the care of others when she was assigned a mission. Sakura had baby sat before for the family and knew the youngest was always wondering if his mother would return alive or not. Sakura did not want her children to go through that. Children, there was a thought; Sakura had just assumed that she would spend the rest of her life with Sasuke. She would be the vessel by which his clan was revived, but those where just the delusions of a star struck girl with too much fantasy and not enough reality.

So she continued to walk and ponder things, and realized that if she wanted Sasuke back she might have to give up the reason why she wanted him back. She delved deeper into this train of thought and began to look objectively at things. Sasuke was a quiet, brooding, cocky prick of a boy who always seemed to make fun of the things that Naruto did to try and catch up to him. As Sakura thought about it she noticed that Sasuke was very much conceited in his own right. However, through all of his downsides, he was a loyal friend, faithful partner, and skilled enough to earn his cockiness. However, what came next was at the root of the matter. Was her infatuation with Sasuke more than just infatuation, or was he an idol too far above her that the chase alone was what was spurring her on? Sakura continued on down the street as kids played in the background.

VVV

"Ok," Sasuke yelled, "Everyone back on their feet!" the children around jumped to attention. They were small and very young. Many of them had been brought by older siblings who did not want them to be apart of the older generations warmongering. Sasuke had been given the same job that Iruka had been due to the lack of qualified teachers in the village. These children, once peace had been made with their respective parents, were allowed to visit their parents for as long as they wanted, but they always came back to Higure Village. "Ok, get a move on! Bushin!" Suske ordered as the children all formed hand seals and were instantly duplicated. Sasuke walked from one to the other examining the bushins closely tapping the ones who passed on the shoulder, allowing them to relax and drop their bushins. Sasuke had been training this particular group for a long time and, when they first met, were babies that could not even mold chakra. Then he came to a particularly small bodied red headed child, this one Sasuke was the most proud of. The Red head's name was Akio and he was loud mouthed and brash when on his own, but cool and collected when in practice. Akio had no one (thanks to his older brother being killed in the first attack on Higure. He lived in a dorm near the school that was specially set up for those who were displaced.

"Sensei, look! Look at me!!" Akio chirped cheerfully. Sasuke looked at Akio's bushin and smiled, he was really proud of this one. Akio had not only managed one perfect bushin, he had managed two. This was quite a leap up from the small boy who could only a retarded lazy looking whelp the first time Sasuke had met him. Sasuke stepped back and playfully scrutinized the two bushin wordlessly. They were more than adequate, they were perfect. Feigning cautiousness to mask his pride, Sasuke patted Akio's shoulder wordlessly and smiled as he walked to the side. The bell rang and a voice came from the door of the room.

"Good job, everyone can go," It was Kaze as she leaned casually on the door frame. The kids poured out of the room as if enacting a massive jail break. Sasuke didn't realize it but a slight smile had crept across his face as he watched them leave. When the room was clear Kaze turned to Sasuke, "be careful you might actually crack a smile." She grinned at him.

"I'm proud of them, they are strong."

"They have a good teacher."

"No, I only brought out what was already there. Is there a reason you have come to visit my class?" wondered Sasuke with his usual stoic face.

"Yes, actually, there is a delegation from Konoha coming today, and I want you to greet them."

"…" A delegation from the village of the leaf? He would be lying if he said that he would not have accepted the duty, but he knew that she was not offering. She was the acting leader of the village, and as a leader she did not have the option of asking nicely and he understood that. He would also be lying if he said he did not find it sexy that she could make the whole village, even those stronger then herself, fall into line with a word, "I see." Sasuke replied with an emotionless face.

VVV

Sasu Uchiha, long lost cousin of Sasuke (that was the official story at least), was traveling along the path that led to the newly formed hidden Village of the Dusk. With her walked her sensei Kakashi and her… well… she did not quite know what to make of this boy. Naruto was the one person she took to in the village, and the one person she ever really spent any time with. She loved being around him, and she loved the way he made her feel. It was as if she had been made for him and him for her. Things just felt right around him. However, as much as she tried she could not get passed the feeling that those feeling were artificial, that they were something that had been implanted into her to serve some strange purpose that she had not yet gleaned. In any case, Tsunade-hime had given them a mission. It was a mission classified as an S-rank, but was only so for diplomatic reasons. There was no combat expected, but, just in case, Tsunade wanted her most powerful Jounin and his team to go, saying only that they would appreciate the village the most. Why Tsunade had chosen this particular group was beyond her. They were not known for their diplomacy, or discreetness for that matter. Naruto was often the one who blew their cover anyway (usually with his orange jumpsuit).

Sasu straightened her pleated skirt and matching halter-top, it was a hot day and Sasu was thankful that she had so much skin free or she might have just died from heat exhaustion. However, both of the men in her group were walking at least three steps ahead of her with their gaze locked forward. They were trying to play off their attraction to her and she knew it. She knew that the sweat running down her porcelain skin made it glisten. That combined with the natural sharp shape of her eyes and tan of her skin gave her a very lewd, sleepy look. It was an effect that made many of the girls in Konoha jealous of as she went for her morning training exercises through the center of it (likewise many of the boys tended to stare at her then glare at Naruto when she only him attention). Almost serenely, the village they were visiting came into view. Sasu decided to have some fun with the boys while completing their assigned goal as quickly as possible. "Hey there it is!" She yelled in a childishly excited way as she ran passed her male counterparts purposefully flipping her skirt up. Kakashi and Naruto got an eye full as they realized the lace panties were not the common type, but made from extra thin material and only covered roughly half of her butt. Naruto, trying to gain back some composure, looked to his Sensei. This was one of the worst things he could have done as Naruto could tell that, despite his mask, Kakashi possessed a goofy and perverted look on his face. That incited a surprisingly possessive reaction from him, so Naruto scolded his teacher.

"She's half your age!" he squealed

"…but just right for you." Kakashi winked at Naruto knowingly.

Despite his red face, Naruto watched Sasu, who turned slightly and winked at him before continuing down the path. Before she had come into his life he had been lonely. He had been longing for a family. Maybe that was why he turned to Ninjutsu and wanted to become Hokage. He knew that he would be placed on a three person team and might be given a chance at a surrogate family. However, Sasu was more than he could have ever hoped for. She was bright, funny, proud, protective… beautiful… and skilled. What was more she had decided that she was going to be at his side, or at least that was the way it seemed. For the passed few months since Sasuke's betrayal of his home village, Sasu had been a light in Naruto's darkness. Even before she knew that she a female clone of the original, she would not let Naruto be down for even a second.

Suddenly, Sasu stopped dead in her tracks at village's gates. She was a distance off, but Naruto knew that she had turned pale as if she had just beheld Orochimaru himself looking her dead in the eyes. Naruto did not know how he knew this, but it was something he could feel from her. Naruto began to worry and without knowing it he had broken into a gallop. Naruto's speed was catching him up with Sasu quickly and soon two more figures came into view. Naruto screeched to a halt as the two figures came into view. One was a medium height girl of about seventeen years old. She had bright metallic silver hair drawn up into a high ponytail and long supple legs. However, she was not the person both Naruto and Sasu were staring at. With the girl stood a young man who stood at least two feet above the girl and had sharp eyes with jet black raven hair. Naruto wanted to say it, he wanted to say his name, as he was sure that he knew the boy; in fact, there was no denying it.

"Sasuke!" chirped Kakashi. His Sensei had broken the ice as Sasuke and the girl next to him moved to greet the visitors from the leaf.

"Kakashi-sensei. I 'm am pleased to see you again." Sasuke turned his attention to the two standing silent and still, "You too, looser." Naruto almost thought he had seen a smile curl up from his lips, but it was too fleeting to be caught for certain.

"Jackass!" Naruto crowed, "What the hell is your problem!?! Running off?"

"…"

"Did you think we wouldn't forgive you or something!?! Idiot!"

"Enough!" interjected Kaze but was stopped as Sasuke moved toward Naruto. Suddenly, Sasu moved between them with lightning-like speed. He weapon drawn and her back arched much the way a cat would have.

"You must be my…" Sasuke looked at Naruto over the girl's shoulder, "Sister?"

"Cousin… officially." Said Naruto.

"My name is Sasu Uchiha, and if you plan on hurting Naruto any more than you already have, you will have to go through me first!"

"Guys, guys, Is this how you have a reunion?" Kakashi separated the group, and pulled them all into a tight hug. "After all we came to officially offer Konoha's service as an ally! Who wants to fight an ally? Come on, everybody hug! Ca mon, Ca mon!"

"If you try to feel me up again; I'll tie your dick in a knot." hissed Sasu. For a moment all was silent, and then a sound that many had not heard in a long time resounded through the village's entrance. Sasuke had let loose the loudest hardiest belly laugh anyone had ever heard from anyone let alone him. When he quieted down, he was met with blank stares from everyone in the group that had witnessed it. When Sasuke returned to his stoic face it was a little redder than before across the cheeks.

"Excuse me." Sasuke said simply as everyone began to laugh in unison.

End Chapter 4