Sasuke's legs were already burning, and they weren't even halfway back to the village. He needed a distraction, and Shisui's inane blabbering was as good a distraction as any. I might even learn something useful, although I doubt it. "Where are going?"
"Most of ANBU is engaged in the battle in the village," Shisui said, grunting as he shifted Kabuto on his shoulder, "so we're going so deposit him in the loving, tender care of an ANBU cell. Technically, you're not allowed there, but you've done so much that you're not supposed to do today that-"
"They won't care?"
Shisui laughed, snorting a bit. "Oh, they'll care. ANBU's too anal not to care. It's just that you can't get into much more trouble than you are already in, so it won't matter too much. At least I think it won't."
Sasuke scowled. Shisui knew whether or not it would matter. He was withholding that information to torture his cousin. It was diabolical, and sadly effective.
"Hey, can you run?" Shisui asked, hoisting Kabuto over his other, stronger shoulder. "There are still battles going on, you know. I want to get back in time to kick some Suna and Otto nin butt."
Sasuke hated to admit it, but he couldn't. His leg was barely serviceable after the assault from Kabuto, and his "walking" was more of hobbling. His chakra reserves were too depleted for him to use to run all the way back to the village. "No."
Shisui sighed heavily. "Are you sure?"
"Go ahead, then. Take Kabuto back. I'll walk alone." He did not mind solitude. In fact, he preferred it.
"Knowing you, Sasuke, some calamity would befall you before you made it another half-mile," Shisui said, rolling his eyes. "And while I'm sure it would be quite spectacular and make you the talk of the village for weeks, I'm not about to risk the wrath of Itachi should said calamity permanently injure you."
Your choice, Shisui, Sasuke thought.
"Although this totally sucks," Shisui added. "I am completely missing the fights. Do you have any idea how much I was looking forward to kicking those supercilious and traitorous Suna Ninja's butts? And don't even get me started on Otto. Most enjoyable event of the day, and you ruined it."
Sasuke ignored his cousin's whining. "How'd you find me?"
"I saw your scrawny butt following the ANBU, and I made the worst decision of today and decided to drag you back. You must have finished the teleportation jutsu the second before I got there, because by the time I burst on the scene you had disappeared. I caught the end of the jutsu and managed to replicate it."
"Then you should have arrived right after me."
Shisui sighed loudly. "You're such a killjoy. Alright, so I didn't copy it perfectly. I wound up a mile or so away from you."
Sasuke glared at his cousin.
"Okay, fine, and I was a little disoriented. Kami, you're freaking annoying."
Sasuke smirked. Shisui wasn't the only one who could needle his relatives.
"Hey, Sasuke," Shisui said suddenly, pausing mid step. "What happened to the Shukaku kid? What'd Kabuto do with him?"
"Kabuto was meeting someone else there," Sasuke replied, stepping forward as quickly as his leg would allow. "He called him Sasori-sama."
Shisui shook his head and mumbled to himself. "So he's reappeared. Wonderful. Sasuke, you have such a talent for dragging all the dangerous psychopaths out of the woodwork and into the village."
"I didn't ask him to come," Sasuke said angrily.
"I know, I know, it was just our luck. Which has declined steadily ever since you became a genin, by the way." Sasuke glared at his cousin, clearly irate. "Oh, don't get your panties in a bunch. You know I don't mean it. What did he do?"
Sasuke reticently let the slight go in favor of answering his cousin. "He took Gaara and left quickly. He wasn't there long." Sasuke wished he had stuck around a bit longer. Sasori appeared to the be Kabuto's master, and since Sasori was basically a large question mark to the genin, he wanted to learn more.
"To where?"
"I don't know. He said something about a meeting. He was part of an organization and said that they were having their first meeting in five years. Kabuto offered to take care of me so Sasori could go."
Shisui snorted. "He did a bang-up job of that." He was quiet for several moments, and Sasuke relished the brief reprieve. He knew he would have to repeat everything that had happened to Ibiki or whatever ANBU was available.
He decided to distract his cousin. He had a question he needed answered, anyway. "Shisui, do you know who Sasori is?"
"Yeah," his cousin answered nonchalantly. "He's a Suna ninja. Well, he was a Suna nin. He left the village a while back during the last great shinobi war, and no one's heard from him since. He controlled puppets, like that Gaara kid's brother."
Did he have anything to do with the attack? The village could have just pretended to cut ties with Sasori while secretly keeping him in its employ. I wonder.
Sasuke examined his cousin in silence as they strolled side by side through the forest. The day was warm, and Shisui was carrying a full-grown man, but his face showed no signs of stress or wear. He was still decked out in his Military Police Force Uniform embellished with their clan symbol on each shoulder and a pair of baggy black pants. Sasuke also saw the two dark red hickeys on his cousin's neck, but they were such a frequent occurrence that Sasuke had begun to think of them as a sort of accessory.
"You have a dirty mind," Shisui trilled, grinning gleefully at Sasuke, who he had caught staring at his neck.
"Shut up."
"Touchy, touchy," Shisui noted. "I don't remember you being such a prude when you made out with that little pink haired friend of yours in front of all of Konoha."
I knew this was coming. "You can hardly talk."
"We're discussing your love life right now, not mine, so don't try to turn this back on me. At least you chose a pretty girl to whore around with for now-"
"She's not a whore," Sasuke growled, low and mean and deadly serious.
Shisui looked unimpressed. He turned his head towards his cousin, eyes uncommonly steely. "Her mother was a whore. You know that, right?"
"I guessed." It had been one of the ideas floating around in his mind after Sakura's oddly vague description of her mother's former job.
"She was a prostitute," Shisui repeated forcefully. "She serviced men. Women too, I heard, on occasion."
"Shisui, I know what a prostitute is." You told in graphic detail what a prostitute was when I was six. Or was I five?
"Then you know exactly what sort of game you're playing here. You're an absolute idiot if you think the clan's not going to care. A girl not belonging to a major clan would be bad enough, but a whore's daughter?" Shisui shook his head. The pitch of his voice lowered in a poor imitation of Hiro's. "She'll be headed down the same career path."
Sasuke flashed angry eyes at his cousin. "She's a shinobi, like her father. That's what she's going to be." His body involuntarily tensed, hands automatically reaching for a weapon, legs tightening in preparation for fight.
"You need to relax," Shisui answered. "And maybe she is, but she's still the daughter of a whore. Not even a storekeeper; a whore. Not even a whore of Konoha; some random whore who was born in the Land of Fire. With that kind of family history, it hardly matters what her daddy was or wasn't."
Sasuke walked away from his cousin. He charged just enough chakra into his feet to sprint. His leg protested every movement, but he pushed forward.
Shisui flickered in front of him. "Sasuke, that's absolutely pathetic. Just stop."
Sasuke glared at him resentfully. "What," he hissed.
"Sasuke, I don't think she's a whore." Sasuke refused to look at him. Shisui grabbed his shoulder tightly and forced the genin to look at him. "I think the hand she's been dealt isn't fair. It's not her fault her mom was a prostitute and her father died, and I don't think she's going to be a whore. If she keeps her spirit, I think she'll turn into a fine shinobi."
Sasuke eyed him. "Then why-"
"I don't believe one word of the BS I just spouted at you. I think it's all idiotic, these stupid games we clans play. A person's value lies in what they are, not their blood."
Look who's turned all noble, Sasuke thought spitefully. Shisui ignored his venom filled look and continued. "But that's what you're going to be facing when we get back. That's what Hiro will give you. You can play around with her; hell knows I've played with enough women; but she won't ever be more than that. A plaything. And once you get old enough that she could get knocked up, they'll put as much distance as they can between you, especially considering what happened with her mother.
"And no, it's not right, it's not even close to right, but it is what it is, Sasuke. I think you like her too much or respect her too much to use her like that, knowing you'll only have to drop her in a year or two." Shisui examined him again, dark eyes scanning his cousin's face, searching for an answer that the taciturn boy would not give him. "But if you persist in wanting her, in trying to make her," here Shisui inserted a fake little shudder, "your girlfriend or, Kami forbid, something even more than that,then you'll have a fight on your hands. A huge fight that will be bloody."
"You're telling me to leave her."
"I'm not telling you anything," Shisui returned cheerfully, light coming back to his eyes. "Sometimes these clan fights can be enjoyable, and I'd love to see you go head to head with Hiro over her." Shisui laughed. "Oh, it'd be bloody. Children would hide. Women would faint. I'd pay for the privilege of watching that battle. You have twice the stubbornness of your brother and none of his tact, and Hiro's even more pigheaded than you. I'll enjoy the carnage."
Sasuke shook his head ruefully at his cousin, but he couldn't keep a smirk from his lips at his cousin. You're a horrible human being, Shisui, he thought. Horrible and terribly entertaining.
Shisui was walking again, picking up his pace as they approached the village. "Shisui," Sasuke called.
"Yeah?"
"Is that the reason you come back to Etsuko? Because you can have no one else?"
Shisui turned around and grinned. "Yeah, right. I could have others, kid. No, it's because she's like a cigarette."
Sasuke raised one thin black eyebrow.
"She's not good for me, a lot of people don't like her, and she does things to me that annoy the hell out of me, but she's seriously addicting, and once you touch her you're never the same." Shisui wiggled his eyebrows. "And I mean that in every sense possible. Kami, the things that woman can do in bed-"
"Shisui."
"Oh, fine, you little prude." Shisui reached a hand out to mess Sasuke's hair, but the genin ducked and evaded the hand.
Shisui scowled, but he couldn't keep the grin off his face. "I am so going to get you, Sasuke. You won't know when it's coming, but it will come, I promise."
"I'm terrified," Sasuke answered, sarcasm dripping heavily from every word.
"You're going to eat your words," Shisui said, bumping his cousin's shoulder.
Once they reached the edge of the village Shisui increased his speed. With some difficulty Sasuke kept up with his cousin's faster pace. Shisui led them to a small, nondescript building standing on the edge of town. It was a square, two story brick and stone building that looked as boring as it wasn't.
Sasuke could hear and feel the far off sounds of battle: the yells, the spikes of chakra, the sound of bodies hitting the ground. He could tell, even this far away, that the battle was winding down. More than anything he wanted to run away and go join the battle, help his brother and family and village destroy the ninja that were attacking.
But he couldn't, as much as he wanted to. He had an obligation to share what he had learned with the village. He was hoping it would make more sense to them than it had to him.
Shisui stepped into the building and led him downstairs, Kabuto still unconscious in the elder's arms. A faceless, genderless ANBU agent was waiting for them at the end of the stairs. Wordlessly he/she/it took Kabuto from Shisui and disappeared through a door across from the stairwell.
"ANBU are so talkative, aren't they, Sasuke?" Shisui said, half to himself. "Kami, they make you sound like your girlfriend."
You're hopeless. Sasuke looked around the desolate room. It was small, approximately three meters by three meters, and devoid of any decoration or furniture whatsoever. It was a dull brown, the color only broken by the appearance of a few water stains on the ceiling and upper walls.
"Go through that door," Shisui instructed him, pointing to the exit the ANBU had just taken. "There's this room…damn, I don't even know what to call it – it's kind of like a glorified ANBU waiting room."
Sasuke raised his eyebrow in disbelief. "They have a waiting room?"
"Do you know how many people they're questioning already? Once the fight's over there will be more." A high pitched wail cut through the building's thin walls, and Sasuke winced at the sound of death. "I have to go," Shisui said unnecessarily. "Tell them everything." He ran up the stairs without so much as a backwards glance.
Sasuke sighed and tugged open the door to the "waiting room".
As Shisui had said, the room did resemble a waiting room. A waiting room from hell, Sasuke thought. It was windowless and apparently door-less, although Sasuke could see the genjutsu that was masking all avenues of escape. There were no chairs, and the inmates of the room were forced to either sit or stand against the wall.
Sasuke avoided the other people's eyes as he slinked over to the wall. He had no urge to mingle or even identify the other occupants of the room, but the brief glances he stole told him that there was a mix of Konoha civilians and shinobi in the room. People who witnessed parts of the attack, he guessed, and people who knew too much about it.
He realized suddenly that the sounds of the battles outside had been completely choked off. Either it's already over, which is unlikely, or this place is soundproof.
Sasuke could feel the unease of the people around him, and he supposed that the stronger shinobi in the room could feel his unease as well. I would rather be any place than here in this pit.
He slouched against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest, staring resentfully at his prison. His impatience made the minutes feel even longer. There was no clock to mark the passage of time, yet Sasuke knew that it hadn't been very long since he had arrived. It made waiting all the harder.
The monotony was broken only by the occasional appearance of an ANBU agent who would retrieve yet another person to be interrogated. None of the people who were questioned were returned to the room.
I wonder if I'll have to visit with Yamanaka again. Sasuke shuddered. Kami, I hope not. His mind was not a pretty place, and his dreams were even more horrific. The last thing he wanted was to have to revel in both at the same time.
Focus. Dreading the inevitable would not help. He withdrew a kunai he had flinched from Shisui and threw it up in the air. The weapon flipped as it flew up and returned to his hand neatly. He repeated the movement, ignoring the concerned stares of a nearby women.
Sand attacked, and so did Sound. They may have been working together. Sasuke frowned. Sand hadn't chosen the strongest ally if they had been planning together. There are other villages that bear an enmity for Konoha. Why chose a relatively new, pretty weak village? And what was Sand's motivation behind attacking us now? Why break the peace? It was one of the many unanswered questions bouncing around in his head. He threw the kunai a little harder, and it nearly hit the ceiling.
Then, of course, there was Kabuto and Sasori.
"Our esteemed colleague."
That phrase had been tormenting Sasuke. If what Sasori said was to be believed, and Sasuke was not inclined to think that he had been lying, then he was part of some organization that was returning after several years of inactivity. More than that, the organization included someone who was busy at the time of the abduction of Gaara.
"Our esteemed colleague."
Kabuto appeared to know him as well. The kunai almost hit the ceiling again as he remembered his entanglement with the gray haired nin. Perhaps it was someone from Konoha, another traitor who-
The kunai clattered to the ground. Orochimaru.
The blood drained from his face. His breathing hitched, and he felt his heart skip a few beats. Orochimaru. He slid down into a crouch, placing his hands on his knees and bracing his body. It can't be him, can it?
A loud cough startled him. Sasuke looked up and saw the entire room staring back at him. Silently he pocketed his fallen kunai and straightened his body, attempting to appear calm and composed. Slowly the people began to ignore him again.
It can't be Orochimaru. He's not a part of any organization, is he? It was ridiculous to automatically assume that Orochimaru was in league with Sasori. They might not even know each other. The "esteemed colleague" could be anyone, anywhere. It's stupid to think it's Orochimaru when most likely it's not.
Doubt nagged him. What if it was him? What if he had the power of some giant organization behind him? He was connected with Otto after all.
Sasuke ran a shaking hand through his thick black hair. Damn, this just got a hell of a lot more complicated. He closed his eyes, trying to force the memories and the fears away.
When he opened his eyes, the ANBU agent was right in front of him. "Kissing distance" was what Shisui would have called it.
To Sasuke's credit, he didn't flinch. He pushed away from the wall and trailed behind the ANBU agent, tightlipped as ever.
The ANBU interrogation rooms were becoming all too familiar to Sasuke. He sank into the hard, metal chair, stared at the blank wall, and waited for the questioning to start.
Ibiki glanced at him humorlessly. "Uchiha Sasuke. Again. I wish I could say it's a pleasure. Shall we begin?"
Sasuke nodded.
Ibiki sat in the chair across from Sasuke. Propping his elbows on the table, Ibiki folded his hands together. "Tell me why you're here."
Sasuke opened his mouth and started his story. The words came more easily than they had the last time he had spoken with Ibiki. He allowed his mind to wander as he retold his story, explaining the jutsu, the meeting with Sasori, the ensuing fight, and Shisui's well-timed appearance.
"And where is your cousin?" Ibiki interrupted sternly.
"Fighting against the Sound and Sand ninja in the village," Sasuke answered, slightly surly. It still irked him that Shisui had avoided the hell hole and he hadn't.
Ibiki nodded. "Unsurprising."
The questions came then, fast and furious and straight to the point. It was obvious that Ibiki did not have the patience or time for any drawn out answers. He wanted the basics and the important details.
Sasuke obliged him. He had nothing to hide.
The interrogation may have been minutes or hours; Sasuke lost all track of time as he spoke. As they approached the end of the interview, Ibiki stood and began to pace.
"And you have no idea where Sasori took Gaara." Ibiki did not ask questions often; usually his "inquiries" were more like statements or commands.
"No," Sasuke answered curtly. "I assume to the organization's meeting, but I don't know."
"You said he was still alive when Sasori took him."
"Yes. He was weak, though." Very weak. I wonder if he survived the trip to wherever they were going.
Ibiki stopped pacing and stared at Sasuke. "There's something you haven't told me. Are you going to volunteer it, or is Yamanaka going to rip it from your pathetic excuse for a mind?"
Sasuke tried to look nonchalant as he spoke. "Is it possible that Orochimaru is in league with them?"
Ibiki laid a finger against his chin. "Interesting theory. Yes, it is possible. We have no way of knowing who he was speaking of. It is likely that the colleague is not Orochimaru, or that there is no colleague at all." Ibiki laughed mockingly. "There could be no organization at all, for all we know."
Sasuke gaped at him. "Why-"
"To send us off on a rabbit trail," Ibiki answered.
"But Kabuto said he was going to take care of me." He could hear the liar's peaceful sounding words to his master. "And a dead person tells no tales."
Ibiki waved his hand dismissively. "Technically, we don't know if Kabuto was going to kill you. It's possible he had another fate in store for you. We'll know his plans soon enough."
After he meets Yamanaka, I suppose. Sasuke looked at Ibiki distrustfully. "Are we finished here?"
Ibiki grinned. "You know, Uchiha, it's entirely amusing to watch you squirm so much. Anticipating Inoichi, eh? You needn't worry; he's too backlogged to worry about you, as are the rest of them. You're free to go."
Sasuke did not wait for further confirmation. He rose hastily and made his way to the door.
"Uchiha."
Damn. Sasuke paused, but he did not face his interrogator. "Yes?"
"I'll have you know, we're releasing you despite my objections. We haven't the manpower to process the witnesses we have, much less witless genin boys, but that doesn't mean I didn't want to try."
Sasuke turned to see the man better. Ibiki was as fierce as ever, visible scars darkened by his mood, face screwed in an intimidating scowl. "But I promise you, if you have withheld information, you will regret it."
Sasuke nodded and slipped out the door. He did not fear Ibiki; the interrogator was limited by the laws of the village and the prestige of the Uchiha clan. He had much greater things to fear than him. Much greater things.
An ANBU agent was waiting for him. He was led down a series of identical corridors, his path a merry little maze meant to thoroughly disorient him. It worked beautifully; by the time they reached the stairwell and he was steered out the door, he could no longer remember how to return to the interrogation room.
Not that I'd ever want to, he thought as he stepped onto the road.
The streets were silent. It was late; the sun had already set. The streets were deserted, and the only noises came from far off happenings. The silence perturbed him, and he picked up his pace as much as he could with his still smarting leg.
He took a right at the intersection, turning towards the hospital. It was the quickest way home, and he had decided that the quickest way home would be the best. He needed to see his family, his mother and brother and cousin and yes, maybe even his uncle. He needed to be certain that they were alright, and cutting past the hospital seemed to be the quickest way to find out. Later, Sasuke would blame the ill-conceived choice on fatigue and low chakra.
The hospital, normally a pristine and serene place, was a cesspool of activity. Nurses, doctors, med-nins, and civilians who could bind a wound flowed in an out. The walls of the hospital were thick, but not thick enough to choke silent the screams that echoed inside. The smell of death hung heavy and pungent in the air, and Sasuke held his breath to avoid smelling it. There was blood staining the streets outside the hospital and marring all the people in it. The medical staff and the majority of the patients seemed unaware of the dark liquid tainting their clothes; the few that did were too far gone to do more than increase the volume of their yells and whimpers.
Sasuke stopped and watched. He could feel the chakra signature of those inside; he could feel the wavering ones, the strong ones, the faint ones, the ever dimming ones of those about to die. He could feel them, hear them, see them; people, all with lives and hopes and dreams, dying. Dying, because of some game Sound and Sand had decided to play.
They'll pay for this. They will. Sasuke swore. They will rue the day they decided to play this game.
He couldn't go home. Not now, not yet. He had to see what had happened.
Some areas of Konoha were practically unscathed. Others were rubble. The stadium had been severely damaged by the Shukaku; the still standing portions of the structure were stained with blood and structurally unsound. The area around it was remarkably intact, but a mile or so down the road, the location of one of the major altercations between the Konoha shinobi and the attacking ninja, was demolished. Sasuke took inventory of the damage, mentally cataloguing the broken buildings and ripped up street and splotches of blood and gore drying in the evening sun.
He passed by the prison turned morgue. All of the dead attacking ninja were there, and the shinobi pawed through them, matching names with identities and roles in the invasion plan. He did not see Gaara's sister or brother among the dead. They must have taken them alive. They're probably facing Ibiki or one of the others now and wishing they were dead.
Sasuke's feet led him to the Hokage's building. What he saw there stunned him.
The building had several colossal holes in its roof. Rubble and debris littered the once manicured ground around the building. At least five of the rooms had collapsed, and the damage to the main of the building led Sasuke to believe that that number would soon grow.
Someone attacked the Hokage?
"Hey, you!" Sasuke's head jerked up in response to the shout. A team of ninja were attacking the rubble surrounding one room of the building. "Stop standing there and help us!"
And just like that he was recruited into helping clear the Hokage building. His leg started aching again as he worked, and he knew that he would be in terrible pain in the morning, but the work was good and distracting.
He learned that the man who had recruited him was a chunin who had worked directly under the Hokage, and he seemed to be in command of the force working to clear away the debris and free trapped people. He was solemn and effective, and within two hours that had cleared much of the mess.
The man became more talkative as they worked together. He told Sasuke that he had been at the stadium and hadn't returned to the building until a few hours before Sasuke's arrival.
"I should have stayed," he muttered grimly as they freed a woman who had been trapped by the rubble. "Kami, I should have stayed, but I didn't."
Sasuke waited until the woman had been removed from the area before he asked his next question. "Did something happen to the Hokage?"
The man stared at him as though he had suddenly grown another head. "You haven't heard?"
Obviously not, idiot. "No."
"The Hokage's gone," the man said. "He was killed while the village was attacked by the Sand and Sound nin."
The Hokage's dead? Sasuke was shocked. "How? Who killed him?" Some part of him refused to believe that the Hokage was dead. He was a constant, an invariable part of the village, to lose someone as much a piece of the landscape as the Hokage was unfathomable.
"Orochimaru," the man hissed, scowling. "Orochimaru killed him and left his body to rot."
No. He'd been right. Orochimaru had come back, come back to the village and he'd killed the Hokage. And he could still be here, for all those idiotic ANBU know.
What does he want? It couldn't just be him. If Orochimaru just wanted him, why would he kill the Hokage? Why would he kill his former sensei?
The questions spun around in his head as he tried to grasp the entirety of the situation. What's our next step now? He can't be dead, not when the village needs strong leadership the most. Orochimaru must be in league with Suna. Was that what Sasori was referring to? What the hell is going on?
The chunin he was working with watched him anxiously. "Are you alright?"
Sasuke was pretty sure he nodded.
"Look, kid, just go home, alright? I'm sure you've got a family waiting."
He did. He did and he had to get back to them. He had to know for certain that something in his screwed up world was still intact.
Itachi caught him outside the hospital. His older brother was harried; for once, his legendary composure was showing a fissure.
"Sasuke," he said, frowning. "What are you doing here?"
You're alright. Sasuke felt an enormous relief at seeing his brother hale and hearty. "Where's Mother?"
"I'm not sure, but I know she's fine. Shisui is too," Itachi added. "As far as I know, we've all survived."
Sasuke nodded. His leg was starting to ache again, but he did not want to rest until he saw with his own eyes that his mother was still alright.
"She might be home." Itachi's calm voice broke through Sasuke's worried reverie. "Before you engage in a large-scale search of Konoha, check there."
A passing ninja grabbed Itachi's arm and whispered something urgently. "I am coming," Itachi said coolly before glancing back at his brother. "Find her, then rest."
Sasuke wanted to protest, but he thought better of it. He headed for his home again, steps quickened from fear. He reached his home and flung open the door recklessly, ready for the worst.
His mother was there. Her face was taunt and drawn, dark bags under her eyes, fatigue in them, but she was there. Alive, unharmed, and whole.
She had been at the hospital, she told him. Anyone with any medical training had been ordered to report to the hospital to help all the wounded shinobi.
"I wasn't a medic, but I knew enough to qualify, and I was not about to stand here in this stupid house and just watch everyone else fight and die without doing anything," she said. She was exhausted, and her legs shook just from the effort of standing, but she stood and walked across the kitchen floor all the same. "I didn't want it to be like last time. I didn't even have the excuse of children like I did then."
Her voice trembled as she spoke, and Sasuke shifted uncomfortably. He was not a comforting person; he hated coddling, and he had no idea how to give a person solace, especially on such a sensitive matter.
"You're alright," he said.
She smiled weakly. "Yes, I'm fine. No need for concern. The others died instead of me."
She treaded towards him and collapsed into the seat at the table beside him. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't dump all of this on you." She reached out and combed his hair with her fingers. They were both quiet for a moment.
Sasuke knew she wanted and needed to talk. Shisui claimed he was the most insensitive, clueless, tactless, unaware person in the world, that he had no idea what people thought or what they wanted, but the truth was he was excellent at discerning most people's wants and needs. He just chose not to involve himself.
Soul-searching late night talks were not his forte. In fact, to him they were akin to torture.
But if there was one person he was willing to suffer for, it was his mother. "They wouldn't let you leave in the Nine Tails attack?"
Mikoto startled a little, surprised by his sudden loquacity. She recovered quickly, however, and settled into her seat with a wistful sigh. "Fugaku didn't want me to. I was a jonin, though I hadn't had a mission over a B-rank since Itachi's birth. My friend Kushina encouraged me to keep taking them, even the small ones, whenever I could. The clan didn't like that either. I was the wife of the clan head, and my duty was to procreate and keep Fugaku sane." She grinned impishly. "No small tasks, I promise you.
"I accepted it for the most part, but that night…" her voice trailed off. She started playing with her hair, taking it out of its ponytail and braiding and unbraiding it. She didn't look at him. "I should have wanted to keep you two safe enough to want to stay at home, but I thought you were safe where you were. He wasn't. If I couldn't keep him at home with me, I wanted to go with him and keep him safe there."
She finished her braid and tied it with a rubber band. "The perils of marrying a ninja, I guess. I couldn't leave; he wouldn't let me, the others begged me to stay, and…I couldn't leave you both in the end, even if you were relatively safe where you were."
"He died."
She nodded. "He did. So many did that day." She shut her eyes tightly, pinching back errant tears. "So many. My family, my friends; so many others. That's why after they sealed him-" She stopped abruptly, cutting herself short.
"Why what?"
She seemed a bit flustered, but she pushed forward anyway. "It's why everyone changed afterward. You lose that much, you can't help but risk everything to keep what you have."
She'd avoided his question. He decided it could wait. "You think the village will change again."
Mikoto shrugged. "Maybe." She started to rise, but something stopped her. She slowly turned to her son, eyes soft in remembrance. "You really are old, aren't you? When did that happen?"
Sasuke hated those kind of questions. He decided not to dignify it with an answer.
"Right, right, sorry." She swallowed. This time as she spoke she looked directly at him. "Sand was our ally. I don't know what the leadership will have done, but it will be swift and it will be heavy. They attacked us. We could have lost far more than we did, and I know that they will want to handicap Sand. And Sound, for that matter, although they're really secondary at this point."
That seemed perfectly logical to Sasuke. "It's what we should do."
"That's what everyone seems to think."
"You don't want revenge?" Sasuke asked incredulously, leaning forward as he spoke. "You wanted it after the Nine Tails attack."
That comment had taken it a bit too far. Mikoto's eyes flared with something akin to rage, and for an instant Sasuke thought she would strike back at him. "Of course I did. I did then and I do now, and you know that." Her voice was deep and dark and almost lethal.
"I apologize. I meant no disrespect." His voice was void of emotion. It was a defense mechanism; anytime he came close to showing hurt or shock, he reverted to cool indifference.
She relaxed a little. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap." She rubbed her temple, sighing heavily. "I want revenge as much as anyone else, but there's more to consider than just our village and Sunagakure. Konoha's leaders want to take aggressive action."
"How aggressive?" Sasuke had been cautious, refusing to prod his mother too much; after all, he was rarely offered such sensitive information so easily; but this was too intriguing to let go.
"Very aggressive. There's the concern of how the rest of the ninja villages is going to react."
That gave Sasuke pause. They wouldn't attack us for setting the Sand nin in place. It would damage our relations, but damaged relations are worth our pride and honor as a village. "The risk is worth the reward."
"Hopefully," Mikoto said. "I'm not anxious to rush into another war."
"That won't happen," Sasuke replied firmly. "It won't."
She let her fingers wander through Sasuke's thick mass of dark black hair. "I hope not. I really hope not."
She pushed herself up, swaying as she stood. "Come. It's late, and we should both get some rest."
With obeisance reserved for his mother, Sasuke followed her, his footsteps heavy with fatigue and disquiet.
When he reached the comfort of his bed, however, even the heavy burdens of the day were no deterrent for sleep. He passed on into the dream world within seconds.
Sasuke woke in the middle of the night. He sat up in his bed and threw off his thin blanket. For once, his sleep had not been plagued with a nightmare, and it was nowhere near morning. That meant someone had woken him.
Sasuke did not hesitate. He slipped out of bed and padded out of his room. He moved silently, his feet barely touching the ground, and checked the bedrooms. His mother was slumbering peacefully in her bed, but Shisui and Itachi were conspicuously absent. Sasuke pushed the door to Shisui's room open and cautiously entered. The jonin was gone.
Sasuke tiptoed to the window and gently eased it open. The window was venerable and prone to creaking at the most inopportune times. Once the opening was wide enough to accommodate him, Sasuke squeezed out of Shisui's bedroom and into the dark. He braced his feet against the bottom edge of the window and reached for a handhold on the outside of the house. He found the "cracks", the two large chips in the house's wall that could service as handholds. Steadily he began to scale the wall, climbing up the outside of the house effortlessly, hands and feet finding well known holds.
Itachi had started the tradition. One night, after a particularly harrowing mission, he had snuck out his window and hoisted himself up to the roof of their house. Sasuke still wasn't entirely sure what he was searching for. Relaxation? Solace? Silence? Sleep? Whatever it was, Itachi found it, and he turned his one-time escape plan into a habit.
Shisui had discovered Itachi's retreat accidentally. The story of how that happened differed depending on who was asked. According to Shisui, he had played the role of a detective, furtively gathering information until he realized where Itachi was going when he disappeared. According to Itachi, Shisui followed him one night when Itachi was too tired and apathetic to avoid his cousin.
However it happened, Shisui had started accompanying his cousin. The roof provided a decent escape from the pressures of clan life. Sasuke had played the stereotypical part of the younger brother: he snuck out and copied his older brother and cousin. The first time he tried to reach the roof he fell and nearly broke his neck. The second time (which had occurred mere seconds after the first) he barely reached the top, but he reached it nonetheless. That success had earned him the right to stay, provided he sat still and shut up.
As they had gotten older, their trips to the roof had declined in number and shortened in length. Shisui and Itachi rarely had the time or the urge to visit their rooftop haven, and Sasuke felt that visiting the roof alone wasn't the same. At eight or nine he stopped going. He had seen the shadows of his brother and cousin every time he went alone, and it had made him miss them more.
He was returning now, however. He had no evidence to suggest that his brother and cousin had disappeared to their old childhood haunt, nothing more than a faint feeling, but the feeling was enough.
Shisui and Itachi stood on the roof, looking out onto the whole of Konoha. Both wore the black garments of ANBU. Neither wore the porcelain mask. Shisui's lay inert on the ground, and Itachi's dangled from his hand. Shisui's fists were clenched tightly, and he seemed distracted.
They had both heard him, so he could dispense with the pleasantries. "When are you leaving?" His voice was appropriately solemn.
Itachi faced him, but Shisui did not move, his eyes glued to the sky. "In a few minutes, actually. We have business in the Sand village."
"So you're going to resolve the situation." The tone and the words were almost humorous, but Shisui didn't react overtly.
"That's one way of putting it," Shisui said, but his voice was bereft of its usual mirth. "When we're done with it, Suna won't be the same."
Sasuke stood on the roof and slowly approached his brother and cousin. Shisui was obviously upset, but Sasuke wasn't entirely sure what part he should play. Was he supposed to ask his cousin what was wrong? Let him stew? Prod Itachi later until he told him?
"How long will you be gone?" That question was relatively safe.
"That remains to be seen. It depends on how the mission fares," Itachi answered. "Otouto-"
Sasuke saw it then, the thing that Shisui was clenching so tightly. He was pretty sure it was called a "friendship" bracelet. It was a thin little bracelet made of securely woven brightly colored threads. It was Etsuko's; her older sister had given it to her three days before the former's death at the hand of the Nine Tails. Etsuko always wore it around her left wrist as her sister was left handed.
She would never have taken it off, not even for Shisui. "What happened to Etsuko?"
Shisui closed his eyes. "She's at the hospital."
Sasuke blinked stupidly. Etsuko got hurt? He had no lost love for Etsuko, but she was a Konoha ninja, and more than that, his cousin's girlfriend. "Is she alright?"
"We don't know," Shisui retorted sharply. "Her prognosis is uncertain. She should be fine. We don't know. Give us room to work." Shisui looked mighty close to smashing his porcelain mask. "That's all they've told me. That's all they've said."
"Shisui-" Itachi began.
"I'm fine! I'm effing fine, cousin." Shisui ran his hand through his hair. His fingers trembled. "I'll be fine."
Itachi clapped a supportive hand on his cousin's shoulder. "She will be fine. You know Etsuko."
"She's too Kami-damned stubborn to die," Sasuke added. Immediately he regretted his rash words. He fell silent, hoping he hadn't hurt his cousin.
Shisui's lips twisted into a wry smile. "You're right. Damn, you're right, I just wish," Shisui stopped. Both of his cousins knew what he wanted to say: I just wish I could be there with her.
"The village needs you in Sunagakure," Itachi said softly.
"Itachi. Please. Like I've ever given a crap what the village needs."
Sasuke remained quiet. Shisui's anger and fear were speaking, and it was startling. He wondered if his cousin truly meant it.
Only Itachi remained unperturbed. "I need you with me in Sunagakure. I can't accomplish what needs to be done alone."
Shisui finally nodded. "Yeah, I guess I can't leave your sorry ass to die."
Itachi shook his head, but he was smirking. Sasuke copied his brother, relishing in the lighter mood. "If you choose to see it that way," Itachi replied.
Shisui turned to his cousin. "Sasuke, keep an eye on Etsuko for me if you can. I know how very much you love her, so I'm sure that won't be any problem."
Sasuke scowled, and Shisui grabbed him. Before the younger could escape he was head-locked under his cousin's arm. "Told you so," Shisui whispered before turning his cousin free. A smile was still on his lips as he put on his mask. He handed Etsuko's bracelet to Sasuke. "Give it to her when you visit."
Sasuke nodded. Itachi touched his shoulder gently, gloved hand providing some modicum of comfort.
"We'll be back," Itachi said. He donned his porcelain mask, and the familiar face was hidden by hard white. The pair disappeared instantly, leaving Sasuke alone in the twilight.
You better be back. I don't plan on losing anyone anytime soon.
Sasuke woke up early the next morning, the day of the funeral. He wanted to be on time, and even if he hadn't, his dreams rarely allowed him the luxury of sleeping late.
Today is the day we bury the dead, and there are certainly a lot of them. He sighed softly. The village had lost far too many for his liking, including their Hokage.
Sasuke contemplated the man's death as he dressed in his black mourning clothes, his sore body protesting every movement. He had not been extraordinarily close to the Hokage. He knew him, and he knew that he was a good and kind man and a good leader.
Father liked him. Itachi had told him so. Father was closer to the Fourth Hokage, but he liked the Third.
Sasuke should have been having a more poignant attitude. It was not that he was heartless. It just did not seem real to him yet. The Third had always been there. As long as Sasuke could remember the Third had sat in the office of the Hokage. Imagining the office empty or, worse yet, filled by another man, was like imagining a green sky or a yellow sea. It was unfathomable.
His mother was waiting downstairs, already garbed in a simple black dress. It cleaved to her body, revealing her shape in an elegant and classy way. Her black hair flowed long and loose down her back, and her dangling black earrings mingled with the wavy locks.
Mikoto smiled softly at her son. "Are you ready?"
Sasuke nodded.
His mother eyed him carefully. "Did you hear?"
No. "Etsuko?" Sasuke hated how his voice cracked slightly. Kami, he didn't even like her. She was practically family, though, and Shisui loved her, in his own broken way. He saw her at the arena, pulling him to his feet and telling him about the Shukaku's weakness. He remembered her teasing him, baiting him, playing him as badly as Shisui did. "Is she worse?"
"No, no, she's fine," Mikoto said quickly. "No, it's Yukio."
Sasuke exhaled slowly. Yukio was one of his cousins, one of the few Uchiha who had fought against the Nine Tails and survived. "What happened to her?"
"She's gone. She died last night." Mikoto pursed her lips for a moment. "Teyaki is gone as well."
Sasuke's throat constricted. He had not known Yukio well. She had been little more than a girl at the time of the Nine Tails, but she had been accepted into ANBU after her "exemplary performance" at the fight. She preferred mission life to village life and was in Konoha proper as little as possible.
Teyaki was another story. Teyaki was one of the older members of the clan, and one of the few who was not impossibly bad-tempered. He and his wife had babysat Sasuke when he was younger. Teyaki had a bad limp; he had had a broken leg that had healed improperly, and his mobility was impaired as a result. Sasuke's grandfathers were both dead; Teyaki had filled that role. "What, how," he licked his lips, gathering the words he needed to say. "How did he?"
"He was in the stands," Mikoto said gently, "when the attack began. He was too close to the section that was destroyed by the Shukaku. He lost his balance and fell, from what the medics could tell."
But I searched there! I thought…I didn't see him. I should have looked harder. I should have. Sasuke looked away from his mother for a moment, regaining his composure. "Was it quick?"
Mikoto nodded. She laid a comforting hand on her son's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I didn't know until this morning. Hiro came over to tell me."
Sasuke sighed, absentmindedly rubbing his aching knee. I wish Itachi was here. Hiro would once again be assuming the position of clan head during the funeral, and that could only mean a colossal headache for Sasuke. Hiro would be analyzing his every move, and he hated having that pressure, especially when there was so much other garbage he had to worry about.
"It will be fine," Mikoto assured him. "I promise. Hiro will be restrained today."
"Hn."
"He will. I have his assurances."
Sasuke stared at his mother suspiciously. "What-"
Her smile deepened. "Don't worry about it. Let's just say he has decided to be respectful of the day."
"Thanks to you."
"Perhaps," Mikoto admitted, mischief in her eyes as she stepped lightly to the door. "We should leave now," she said. "The funeral will start soon."
Sasuke nodded, and the pair exited the house.
Sasuke had been to a few funerals before, but never a mass funeral. Itachi had given him the barebones of the mass funeral that had occurred after the Nine Tails attack, but hearing about it was one thing. Seeing was another.
Mikoto and Sasuke were ushered into the procession among the members of their clan and given white roses, three each. Even in mourning the clans separated themselves, Uchihas and Hyuugas keeping a careful distance from each other.
The procession was a long, winding line of black. Sasuke surveyed the line, picking out family members and friends and enemies among the mourners.
It took him a few minutes, but he finally found his teammates. Sakura and Naruto were further ahead in the line, standing near Kakashi. Sakura's pink hair, twisted into a braided bun, contrasted her black, v-neck dress almost as drastically as Naruto's blond hair contrasted his black outfit.
Sasuke wanted to go beside them, if only for a moment. His mother was a strong woman; she did not need him to coddle her during the whole service. There was no one else who needed him beside them, and he knew Naruto had been close to the Third. Some instinct told him to stand with his friends.
But he couldn't. He could not leave his clan. It was more than gauche, more than "not done"; it was an insult. Naruto had no clan to stand with, which was why he'd attached himself to Sakura and Kakashi, and even Sakura was with her mother.
He could see the elder Haruno more clearly now. She was beautiful and young. Her blond hair was woven into an intricate bun that was mimicry of her child's. She walked straight and tall, head held high, ignoring everything else.
Sasuke could see the malignant stares the others were giving were. Some were inconspicuous, others were blatant, but most were malicious or, at the very least, unapproving.
So Shisui was right.
"Sasuke?" His mother whispered softly. "Are you alright?"
He nodded. His mother followed his eyes and found Sakura's mother. "Oh," was all she managed.
"Shisui told me."
"You didn't know before?" Mikoto regarded the other woman kindly. "It's not fair, what the village has done to her. It truly isn't."
They reached the end of the procession. Pictures and artifacts marking each lost life were displayed, with the center being reserved for the Hokage. He had the most elaborate shrine.
My team consists of a prostitute's daughter, a "demon child", and a clan's throwaway with issues. Despite the solemn ceremony, Sasuke smirked. Yes. We are the perfect team. For once, he was not being sarcastic. He did not want another team. They were dysfunctional, but they fit somehow. There was something between them, something he wouldn't give that up, not even for normalcy.
The line wound by the shrines. Sasuke laid down a rose for Yukio. It was the easiest one to place.
Teyaki's was next. His was the hardest. Sasuke did not even look at the pictures or the pile of flowers he had already accumulated. He couldn't. He placed his rose gently on the pile and kept moving. It was the only way to stay composed.
The Third's was last. Sasuke dwelled for a moment, cursorily examining the old, wrinkled face the picture displayed.
How exactly did you die? What was it like to face death at the hand of your student? Kakashi was a pervert and hopelessly annoying, but Sasuke would never attack his sensei without just cause, and even with just cause he could not kill him. You shouldn't have died.
Someone coughed, and Sasuke moved forward. Keep moving.
After all the flowers had been laid the ceremony began. Sasuke did not listen to the old man speak; he honored the fallen shinobi by remembering them silently. The Hokage, with his dry wit and foolish care for others; Yukio, with her undying devotion to her mission; Teyaki, who was old and sometimes foolish but who cared about him, truly and genuinely cared for him; even Gekko, that sickly ninja whose only fault had been knowing too much.
There were other faces, too; some he knew, some he didn't. He sent a silent prayer for all the lost souls, hoping they would have peace.
The funeral ended, and the crowds started to disperse. Sasuke took the opportunity to meet with his teammates.
"Hey, Sasuke-kun," Sakura greeted him, enthusiasm respectfully tuned down.
"Hey," Naruto added gruffly, eyes still glued to the Hokage's picture. "I can't believe he's gone."
"Orochimaru killed him," Sasuke said, surprising the other two.
Naruto scowled. "I'm gonna kill that stupid snake."
"Shut up, dobe. I get first pick. You can tussle with the leftovers."
That made Naruto smirk competitively. "You wish, teme."
"Guys," Sakura interrupted, although she was smiling a little too. "Sasuke-kun, Naruto and I were going to go to Ichiruki's for some ramen. Do you want to come?"
Sasuke shook his head. "I've got something I need to do first."
Etsuko lay on the bed, still and mute. She almost looked like she was sleeping, but her breathing was too slow and deep for that. Her face was pale, paler than Sasuke had ever seen it. Her lips were pale, too; a pale, pastel-y pink that screamed of sickness.
Sasuke entered the room carefully, as though any misstep on his part would break her. He stopped at her bed, unsure exactly how to proceed.
It was unsettling seeing Etsuko so…lifeless.
Sasuke fiddled with his hands and watched his cousin's girlfriend's pale face. He bit his lip and chewed on his cheek. Hell, I've got to do this.
"I'm here for Shisui, you know." He wasn't speaking loudly, but his voice seemed to boom across the otherwise noiseless room. "Not because I like you, Etsuko. He wanted me to see you, and since I'm going tomorrow or the day after I came now."
Silence. He hadn't been expecting an answer, but it was still disconcerting to speak to a statue.
"You won't die." He sounded stronger now. "You won't give me the respite. I know you."
He pulled the bracelet out of his pocket. "Shisui took this. He thought you should have it back. He'll probably lie to you and tell you that he never took it off, or that he gave it to me to give back to you to give you strength. That's a load of bull. He wanted you to have it back before you woke up so he wouldn't get in trouble for messing with it. But he did, so feel free to hurt him."
He took her limp wrist and slid the bracelet on. She did not respond. He let his hand trace her fingers and ghost across her cheek.
"Wake up for him," he ordered gruffly. "I'm not dealing with a miserable, worthless Shisui. He's bad enough as it is."
Sasuke crept out of the room as carefully as he had entered. Aside from one stained, dark blue bracelet, nothing paid homage to his visit.
The genin members of Team 7 had met at the Ichiruki ramen stand for some well-deserved lunch. It had been Sakura's idea; she was addicted to the fantasy of having one happy family for a team, and thus had encouraged "bonding" times such as these. Regardless of the absolutely sickening premise behind it, Sasuke had come. Ichiruki had good ramen, and there were more painful things than spending a half hour with Naruto and Sakura, such as listening to his uncle ramble on endlessly.
Today wasn't the first day they'd met at Ichiruki; it was a common pastime of theirs; but today something was different. Something was bothering Naruto; Sasuke was sure of it. Firstly, Naruto was less talkative. He still wouldn't have been considered taciturn by anyone's standards, but he was not the energetic, driveling genin he had been before. He couldn't hold either Sasuke or Sakura's gaze; every few seconds his eyes would dart away from them. He was clearly nervous as well; constantly chewing on his lip or erratically jerking his hands around. Something was going on, and Sasuke wanted to know what it was.
Naruto was babbling about some inept shinobi who had fallen on his butt in the middle of the Shukaku fight when Sasuke finally stopped him. "What's going on?" Sasuke asked warily, glaring sternly at Naruto.
The boy jolted as though he'd been slapped. Sakura stared at Sasuke curiously. "What, eh, whatdya mean?"
"We're not idiots, dobe. What the hell is going on?"
To his surprise, Naruto broke out into a huge grin. "You are an idiot, teme, but since Sakura-chan's not, I guess I'll explain."
Sakura's brow furrowed. "Explain what?"
"Okay, so before the chunin exams I met this guy, Jirayia-"
"The Sanin?" Sakura cut in, her eyes wide. "You just met him? Like walking down the street?"
"I'm getting to that," Naruto answered quickly. "Yeah, I met the pervy sage-"
"Naruto!" Sakura interjected. "Pervy sage? He's a Sanin!"
"Yeah, and he's a pervert!" Naruto replied. "So he's pervy sage!" Sasuke wondered what twisted form of reasoning made that particular argument sound logical.
Sakura opened her mouth to object, but decided to listen rather than object futilely. "How did you meet him?"
"I was heading home a couple of days before the exams and I saw pervy sage staring at this weird wall you could see through. He was all weird and giggling to himself. Anyway, this other guy showed up-"
"Other guy?"
"Another shinobi," Naruto clarified. "I think he was a chunin or something. But he showed up, and all of a sudden pervy sage made this gigantic toad appear-"
"A toad," Sasuke said drolly. That is going on the list of animals I am never going to choose for summons. The list already included snails, dogs (simply because he refused to copy Kakashi), turtles, and snakes.
"It was a freaking huge toad!" Naruto stressed. "It knocked out the other shinobi dude with its tongue." Sakura made a face. Sasuke didn't blame her. It would suck to be knocked out by a gigantic toad's tongue. "It was awesome, so I asked him to teach me how to do it. And he did!"
"You just asked him? Point blank like that?" Sakura asked through a mouth full of noodles.
Naruto laughed. "How else was I gonna ask him? He showed me how, too!"
Right, Sasuke thought sarcastically. "Then why didn't you summon a toad in the fight?" Even if the toad could not copy its feat of knocking ninja unconscious with its tongue, it would probably make its enemy die from excessive laughter.
"I was distracted!" Naruto answered defensively. "And I can only summon the smaller ones mostly."
"Hn," Sasuke scoffed, turning back towards his bowl of ramen. The Sanin are definitely an interesting bunch. A sadist and a pervert. I wonder what the third one is like. A shrill shriek from Sakura redirected his attention.
A toad the size of his bowl of ramen was perched beside Sakura's food. She was gaping at the animal with huge eyes, jaw slack. "Hey there!" the chubby creature said cheerfully.
"Told you!" Naruto said triumphantly.
"Okay, okay!" Sakura stammered. "Just get rid of it!"
Naruto grinned, and the toad hopped off the table and disappeared. "Cool, huh? Anyway, pervy sage's going off to find this chick that's supposed to be the next Hokage or something."
Sakura and Sasuke exchanged dubious looks. Sasuke spoke first. "Some chick?"
"Yeah, her name's Tsunade, I think." Naruto scratched the back of his blonde head. "At least, I'm pretty sure it's Tsunade."
"You mean the third Sanin?" Sakura said, a twinge of annoyance in her voice.
"Yeah, her," Naruto answered.
"Naruto, she's not some chick," Sakura chided. "She's a Sanin! She's an amazing ninja!" Sakura babbled for a few minutes about the virtues of the third and apparently most functional Sanin.
"Okay, Sakura-chan, I got it!" Naruto said finally. "So he's going to find her."
That's nice, but what the hell does that have to do with you? Sakura and Sasuke exchanged a brief glance before Sakura took charge and asked. "And?" Sakura said. "So he's going-"
"And I'm going with him!"
Naruto was renowned in the village for his many, many pranks and attention seeking stunts that had ranged from painting the Hokage monument to trying to sneak into a bar by transforming into a prostitute to harassing jonin. While many of his stunts had warranted attention, none had had so great an effect as this plan.
Sasuke and Sakura were both stunned silent for a few moments. Well, that's original. I hope Jirayia realizes exactly who he's inviting on this wild goose chase.
Naruto was either ignorant or uncaring of their shock. "It's going to be awesome! He's a Sanin, you know, and he said he's going to teach me a jutsu that will kick the chidori's ass! When I get back, I'll be able to run you into the ground, Sasuke-teme! Believe it!"
"I doubt it," Sasuke sneered. He's really sincere about this. Sasuke was about to lengthen his retort when Sakura interrupted him.
"You can't go!" Sakura wailed.
Now both of the boys were staring at her. "Eh? Why not?" Naruto questioned.
Sakura shook her head, running her fingers through her hair and nibbling on the inside of her cheek. "You can't just, just, pack up and leave our team!"
"Unfortunately, he's not leaving for forever, just a few weeks," Sasuke replied in a low monotone.
"Yeah, but don't you think we'll have a mission or two or more in between then?" Sakura persisted. "They'll rearrange our team!"
"Weren't they gonna do that anyway?" Naruto asked. "'Cause of all the ninja that died or got hurt in the battle?"
Sasuke nodded. The village had suffered some serious losses from the fights, and there was much to be accomplished. The Sand village was to be "dealt with", as was Sound. There was the matter of returning all the dignitaries safely to their homes and purchasing new materials to repair the village and arm shinobi. All jonin would be required to take high level missions, which would leave their genin to handle the lower ranked missions solo. To compensate for the lack of the jonin, the genin teams would be splintered and paired with other suitable genin.
He had already been preparing for the eventuality, mentally listing the genin who would not absolutely annoy him out of his mind. The list was very small.
"I knew that, Naruto," Sakura answered crossly. "I'm not an idiot." She hunched over her bowl of ramen, shoulders slouching. "I just…I thought we'd stay together and add another genin to our group to make it four. I was hoping it'd be like before, just without Kakashi-sensei. Who knows how long it'll take you to find her? What if she doesn't want to be found?"
"We'll find her!" Naruto insisted confidently.
"You could be gone a long time," Sakura said. "I guess I was just hoping that it would all blow over, that it'd-"
"What? It'd be the same?" Sasuke sneered.
She crossed her arms in front her chest defiantly. "Yes!" She let her gaze drop to the ground in defeat. "I guess it's stupid."
"It is," Sasuke confirmed.
"Shut up," Naruto ordered. "You'll hurt Sakura-chan's feelings."
He had to make them understand how serious the situation was. The force behind the attack had been more than two tiny disgruntled villages. "A man took Gaara." Both Naruto and Sakura were looking at Sasuke now. Technically, Sasuke was not supposed to be sharing this highly sensitive information. He could not find it within himself to care. "His name was Sasori, and he was a powerful ninja. He's part of an organization."
"Organization? Whatdya mean? What kind?" Naruto asked.
"I don't know. ANBU doesn't either. We do know he came here to get Gaara under the organization's orders."
"Because of the Shukaku, right?" Sakura whispered.
"Probably," Sasuke answered.
"Do you think-" she hesitated, looking around for any eavesdroppers. They were alone. "Do you think they'll go after the other ones? The other people who are containers for tailed beasts?"
Sasuke shrugged. "It depends on their motivations for taking Gaara. Regardless, the village is going to opposed to the 'organization', and if it's as strong as ANBU is speculating-"
"It might not go back to normal for a while," Sakura finished. "But it might, right?"
"Sasori said they had not met for five years."
"So it could happen, Sakura-chan. They could disappear or something," Naruto said eagerly. "Who knows, maybe Gaara will wake up and beat those bastards back and we won't have to worry."
Sasuke scoffed. That's unlikely. He didn't say anything, though. He'd been rude enough for one afternoon.
"Look, I've got to go," Naruto said. "I've gotta catch him before he leaves. I'll see you soon, Sakura-chan. I'll drag her back as quick as I can. Believe it!"
Sakura enveloped him in a tight hug. "I do, idiot." She released him and blinked rapidly.
"Bye, teme," Naruto said with a reckless grin. "Get ready for your butt-whupping when I get back!"
"Shut up, dobe," Sasuke scoffed. He waited a beat before adding, "Good luck."
Naruto's grin widened, stretching his cheeks. "You too. Don't kill whatever bastard you two get stuck with."
With that he ran off, leaving a small cloud of dust behind him.
Sakura smiled softly. She looked at him, worry clouding her pretty face. "Do you think they'll keep us together?"
Sasuke nodded. Itachi had said he would mention it, and in Itachi-ese that meant he would find a way to ensure it. Shisui had his hand behind it as well, from what little Sasuke knew. Whether that was because he was looking forward to the hypothetical fight between Sasuke and Hiro (and the few elderly bigwigs left in the clan) or because he genuinely cared for his cousin was yet to be discovered.
Sakura stood, stretching her back slowly. "I've got to get home. My mother is waiting for me."
Sasuke stood with her and wordlessly started the trek back to Sakura's mother's store. "Sakura," he said quietly.
"Yes, Sasuke-kun?"
"What I told you and the dobe, about Sasori, it's-"
"I'm not supposed to tell anyone."
"At all," he added firmly. Sakura and Naruto had both been aware of the basics of what had happened between him and Kabuto, but in their version of events by the time Sasuke had arrived on the scene Gaara had disappeared, spirited away by the jutsu he had just used.
"You can trust me," Sakura said, smiling brightly as she bounced down the street beside him.
Sasuke heard Shisui's words echoing in his head. "A plaything. I think you respect her too much to do that to her. You'll have a fight on your hands."
Sasuke frowned. It doesn't matter. Right here, right now, no one cares. He had more important things on his mind than some hypothetical future fight. Even Hiro was not about to waste time wrestling with Sasuke over his quasi relationship with the pink haired girl.
"Sasuke-kun?" They had stopped in front of her store. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Sasuke nodded. Tomorrow they would be taking another mission and leaving behind Konoha and all its worries. Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough.
It was early when Sasuke arrived at Sakura's house the next day. They were supposed to meet at the Hokage's office to receive their newest assignment in a half hour, yet she was still inside the store.
Sasuke hadn't actually been inside the store before. He'd seen it a half million times (even before Sakura had been placed on his team), but he had never ventured in it.
He was tempted to stay outside to wait. She was sure to emerge eventually, and he did not want to deal with her mother. Hell knows what she's like. It would be easier to wait outside.
On the other hand, Sakura was late, and Sasuke hated waiting. Patience was not one of his virtues. In the store it is.
Sasuke stepped forward, fully intending to push open the door. The second before he reached the doorknob, however, the door moved of its own accord. The solid oak door swung open and slammed into Sasuke. He threw his hands up at the last minute, catching the door seconds before it slammed into his head. Angrily, he wrenched the door open the rest of the way, ready to scold Sakura for her careless move.
It wasn't Sakura. Her mother stood in the doorway, an armful of empty boxes burdening her.
"I almost hit you, didn't I?" She tilted her head to the side, studying Sasuke shamelessly.
"Yes."
"Too bad," she said blithely, stepping around him.
"That I didn't get hit or that you nearly hit me?"
She turned around, bright green eyes blazing. "I'll let you decide." She disappeared around the corner of the store, presumably to the trash cans that skulked behind the brick building.
Sasuke stood beside the doorway, still holding the door open. What the hell. She wasn't angry; Sasuke knew the signs of anger as well as he knew the back of his hand, and she had exhibited none of them; but there was some strong, barely buried emotion boiling beneath the cocky surface.
Sakura's mother reappeared. She wiped her hands together and entered the store, nodding to Sasuke as she passed. "Sakura's inside," she called over her shoulder. "She'll be down in a moment. You can come in if you wish."
Scowling, Sasuke entered the store. It was wrong that a civilian should unnerve him so easily. Wrong.
The store sold clothing, which was enough to make Sasuke uneasy. He had been tortured by more than enough clothing store trips as a young child, and the mere sight of racks of dresses was enough to make him want to bolt in the opposite direction.
Sakura's mother busied herself at the counter, straightening items and sorting the money and wiping down the clear glass counter. Every few minutes her eyes would dart up to look at Sasuke.
At first the genin pretended not to notice. It was natural for the mother of a girl he was interested in to check him out. But within five minutes he had gone from begrudgingly tolerating the unwanted attention to irately (albeit mentally) criticizing it.
Finally, he stopped pretending and stared back at Sakura's mother, his face distorted by his annoyed mood.
"Sorry," she apologized blithely. "I was just trying to understand your appeal." She pulled out a spreadsheet and started adding sums on it. Without glancing up she added, "I still don't understand it."
Whatever. The game she was playing was not about to work on him. He wasn't worried about her approval or disapproval. He was here to gather his teammate and leave.
"Uchiha." It was the first time she'd said his name in any shape or form, and it was enough to garner her attention. "I know you don't give a crap about what I think."
Then you're more intelligent than I assumed. "Hn."
"But I know the games clans play here." She looked deadly serious now. Still beautiful, but deadly serious at the same time. "The games ninja families play are the same games the families of daimyos play and the same games geisha play. I don't care if you and Sakura decide to have some little faux relationship. You're children. It's…" she stared up at the ceiling, searching for a word, "a bit sickening, but I won't protest.
"But," she leaned over the counter, eyes narrowing, acting out an impressive imitation of Ibiki, "I won't have her be what I was. You try and play that game, and I will intervene."
Sasuke wasn't sure whether to scream or laugh. Kami, he kissed a girl once, and the whole world thought he was ready to jump into bed with her and pledge his everlasting love. This is getting ridiculous.
He was saved from having to answer by Sakura's appearance. "Sorry it took me a while, Sasuke-kun," she apologized breathlessly, hair slightly askew and red dress a tad wrinkled. She stopped short and looked from her teammate to her mother. "Is everything okay?"
"Let's go," Sasuke said immediately. Taking Sakura's arm, he fairly dragged her out the door.
I knew I should have waited outside.
The damage to the Hokage building was too extensive to permit usage, so mission assignments had been temporarily moved to a neighboring building that had formerly held offices for the bureaucrats of the village.
As they currently had no Hokage, various administrators, secretaries, underlings, ninja too injured to complete highly ranked mission, and, as Hiro had delicately termed them, "all those lazy chunin who can't muster up enough skill to get their butts promoted" were giving out the assignments.
The model they'd received was an older man, at least in his early fifties, with dark grey hair and bright, intelligent brown eyes. Sasuke neglected to read the name plate outside the door as he entered sanguinely with Sakura by his side; it wasn't like the man's name mattered. As he watched the older man bustle with papers and curse under his breath, he remembered something Itachi had told him once.
"There's a certain disparity in ninja villages among the ninja," Itachi said, impassive façade as solidly ensconced on his face. "You have very young people, and very old people. Most of the young people die before they reach thirty five, and the few that live become very old very quickly. We don't have middle aged people at all."
The man finally looked up at them. "Oh, you must be Kakashi's brats, eh?"
Sasuke bristled slightly at being called "Kakashi's brats", but he wanted a mission more than he wanted a fight. "Hatake is our sensei."
The man snorted. "Yeah, yeah, Uchiha and, eh," he rustled through his papers, searching for a lost memo.
"Sakura," his teammate supplied helpfully. "Haruno Sakura."
"Right." The man retrieved a crumpled paper with a flourish. "Here we are."
Sasuke heard the pair long before he saw them. Loud, commanding footsteps accompanied by restrained ones.
Kiba and Shino appeared simultaneously in the doorway to the office. Shino's face was hidden by his shirt and dark glasses, so Sasuke could not discern his mood.
Kiba, however, did nothing to hide his appraisal of the situation. "No way!" He cried loudly. "We get stuck with them? Why the hell do we have to work with them?"
"If you are not intelligent enough to know already," the administrator said, "I'm not going to waste my breath explaining it to you." He smoothed out the wrinkled paper on his desk. "Uchiha Sasuke, Aburame Shino, Haruno Sakura, and Inzuka Kiba, you have been assigned an A-rank mission. You will escort the Daimyo of the Land of Fire's nieces back to their homes. It is vital that they come to no harm."
Great. We get to babysit two spoiled brats. Sasuke knew the mission was necessary; it would not bode well for their relations with the Land of Fire to allow the two girls to come to harm; but it did not make the mission any less dreary.
"As we need a chunin for the mission," the man added, "Uchiha Sasuke will be promoted to chunin status and will be the assigned leader of this mission," the man continued.
"What?" Kiba's voice was something between a squeal and a growl. It was hilarious. "Why the hell is he becoming a chunin? They didn't even finish the exams!"
The man rolled his eyes heavenward, searching for deliverance. None is likely to come. "I don't make these decisions," he said slowly, as if they were morons. "From what I understand, we are understaffed. We need more chunin who can take higher level missions. Hence, they made him a chunin because his performance on the part of the third stage that did take place was satisfactory. If you have a problem with that, you can speak with Genma-san. Otherwise," he leaned forward, getting so close to Kiba that his nose nearly brushed the genin's, "get the hell out of my office!"
Kiba stormed out of the office, grumbling loudly. Shino passively followed his teammate.
"Oh yeah," Sakura whispered sarcastically as they left. "This is going to go well."
A/N: Ahem. Yes, I am late. Very late. I won't waste your time with excuses. But at least it was a longer chapter! I think I have it clocked at over 12,500 words :)
Some have asked if I'm planning on having a time-skip. I'm not entirely sure. I do know that I have some major stuff I want to accomplish before ending the fic (meaning that there are quite a few more chapters on the way). If I chose to do a sequel once it ends, it will probably occur after the time-skip, but I don't think it will happen in Sasuke Gaiden. But that could change: nothing's set in stone.
Well, hope you enjoyed the chapter :) Until next time! - Skye