Hey all! Here's the next chapter!
I'm quite surprised at how much I like where this story is headed, I'm definitely mixing things up a bit!
Enjoy, and PLEASE REVIEW!
Chapter 2
I woke up with a start, panicking for a moment when I was met with complete darkness. Sweat was covering my skin, making the blankets tucked around my form stick to me uncomfortably, even though the darkness around me was surprisingly cold. I sat up hurriedly, touching my hands to my face to ensure that I was in fact awake. After confirming that, I looked around.
The area inside the tent was full of shadows, the only light shed by the thin strip of moonlight, slicing across the floor. It had an eerie glow, and my gaze drifted to the two figures that the moonlight brought into focus. One of them was awake, and it sat up sharply at the sound of my sudden escape from my nightmares.
Naruto stared at me, his blue eyes silent and pale in the silver light that streamed in. I noticed, with a jolt, that the light made them a piercing blue-gray. And the hair…it was the same as hers was. Naruto didn't look as if he had been sleeping at all, rather waiting for something. I closed my eyes as I watched Sakura edge closer to Naruto in sleep, her fingers brushing against the blonde's braced one.
I remembered it now. The battle was over, we had won.
"Hikari was taken by Madara, Sasuke…"
But I had lost everything.
Pain, a pain that was only comparable to being stabbed in the chest, raged in my head as I felt my face contorting. How could I let this happen? Hikari was gone…all because of her involvement with me.
I wanted to die. But everything was numb in my chest; it was like Itachi was dying all over again, his pale eyes smiling at me one last time. My parents lay on the floor beside his body in my mind, their faces blank and stone-cold in the merciless arms of death. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't speak.
She was gone.
Was she dead? Was this Hell?
I felt a hand on my bare shoulder, strong and calloused, and tensed automatically in preparation for the attack. I wanted to attack; I wanted something to rid my soul of these uncontrollably raw feelings I was drowning in. I wanted to killkillkillkill–
My Sharingan activated automatically, but was met with sad blue eyes instead of the Sharingan eyes that I wanted most to destroy for taking Hikari away from me. The understanding in Naruto's eyes made my body freeze. In the moonlight, they were the same shade as Hikari's.
The girl's eyelids fluttered, and I found myself staring into deep blue-gray eyes that struggled to focus on me. Her face…looked like the face of my former best friend, Naruto Uzumaki.
Wetness suddenly dropped onto my clenched hands, and I looked down to see a splatter of droplets there. I reached up slowly, my gaze never leaving Naruto's as my fingers came into contact with my wet cheeks.
Tears.
Falling thickly, endlessly, without any warning at all.
I didn't bother hiding them; I didn't bother wiping them away, because there was no point when I was already broken so thoroughly. I looked away from Naruto, staring at my hands, and struggling to keep the sobs that racked through my chest quiet. It wasn't out of consideration for the sleeping kunoichi across from us; it was for my own sanity. Trying to hold the sobs back gave me something blissfully trivial to focus on. If I let myself go, I would have nothing else in my thoughts but the numbing pain of losing one of the only people I had given my entire heart and soul to.
The seconds turned into long, immeasurable minutes, and though my tears should have reached their limit a long time ago…they continued to flow, unheeded, from my eyes.
Naruto's hand was solid on my shoulder, and I resisted the urge to smack it away. I needed contact at that moment, whether it be from Naruto or from some complete stranger. Just…human contact. Something to keep me from tearing at my skin and setting everything on fire.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke." Naruto's voice was, for once, soft and sympathetic, and I almost felt cheated. I had been counting on Naruto's loud and obnoxious words, been counting on him to distract me from my sorrow. Now, his voice made the pain worse, and I bent over myself, tugging my knees to my chest, letting the tears fall in darkening spots on the pale ivory blanket.
"…I'll kill him…I want…"
The voice was cracked and hoarse, and it wasn't until a moment later that I realized that it was mine. Naruto, his actions contrary to what I expected for the second time this night, nodded curtly in agreement.
"That sounds good."
I stared up at him, and he sighed deeply, settling down more comfortably at my side, his eyes staring at me with something akin to guilt. But it vanished a second later, and I assumed that I had merely imagined it.
"Hikari's like…" he said, hesitating for a moment before continuing, "…a sister to me, Sasuke. I don't know how, but it's just something I feel…deep inside. When she ran from Konoha before, I could see her in my dreams, and I just…had this feeling…"
Sakura suddenly moved in her sleep, and a soft sigh escaped her. Naruto and I froze, both of us watching and waiting while the pink haired medic shifted around somewhat in her sleep. Her hand tightened into a loose cage around Naruto's fingers and the idiot smiled widely, his cheeks red. I watched him tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear with a strange tightness in my chest. The two of us waited until Sakura's breathing deepened once more, her hair splayed out on the moonlit pillow, her face creased with unease even in sleep. Naruto reached out as if to smooth out the worry lines, but thought better of it after a moment, and pulled his hand back. His eyes met mine as he continued, in an even quieter voice.
"We're connected, somehow, and I want to save her as much as you do. So…let's go."
My shock was so great that I managed to speak. "W-What?"
"Let's go save Hikari! I don't see what's so difficult about this, Bastard." Naruto's eyes were bright, and I – under the secrecy of my covers – pinched my leg sharply to see if I was hallucinating. When the pain made it evident that this was in fact reality, I wiped my eyes hurriedly.
"Shut up, Naruto. Stop playing around."
Naruto was a freak about this place. There was no way that he'd just drop everything and leave with me. A small spark of determination had dropped into my chest at the idea of saving Hikari on my own, though. It was a perfect plan. I wasn't working against Konoha this time; rather I was working completely separate from it. There would be no reason for Naruto and Sakura to hunt me down…
"Did you not hear what I just said? Hikari is like a sister to me, Bastard, and if you're going to save her, then I am too!" he said, his teeth clenched in an attempt to keep quiet.
I scowled deeply, hissing, "What about Konoha? Would you really be branded a traitor just to save Hikari?"
Naruto's face fell slightly, and I shook my head, certain that I had made him think. He really put his mouth before his brain sometimes; it was ridiculous to think that he of all people would even dream of–
"Those who break the rules are considered trash. But those who don't care for their comrades are even lower than that."
My head snapped up at Naruto's words. His cerulean blue eyes – the moonlight was no longer reflected on them, and they suddenly lost their resemblance to Hikari and became purely Naruto – were almost stern, and for a moment I felt overshadowed by the strength of his words.
He was serious about this?
Naruto smirked at my expression. "Is that answer enough for you, Sasuke?"
"Sakura is your comrade." I ground out, unable to accept Naruto's uncharacteristic change of heart. "She will be left alone, are you alright with that?"
"You're my comrade, too. And so is Hikari. Sakura's safer here, and that's all I want. I'll miss this place…and once we get Hikari back and kick this Madara guy's ass…I'll come back. Maybe I'll get put through the wringer by Granny, and everyone will hate me again…but I can deal with that. I've done it before."
Right then, for a split second, I wanted to tell him to stay. In Konoha, people wanted to protect him, they wanted to help him. Here, he had Sakura, Tsunade, Kakashi…so many who relied on him and loved him. On the run, with me, he would only have their disappointment, and their resentment that he had abandoned them in their time of deepest need in order to find a girl that wasn't even a Konoha kunoichi, but an enigma…an outsider.
But the more selfish side of me won out, and with a sigh of acquiescence, I nodded curtly. I could, and would, use his help…Hikari had a better chance of getting rescued with Naruto at my side. The idiot was a powerful shinobi, that much I could no longer ignore.
Now that the idea of finding Hikari was fresh in my mind, I wanted to leave as soon as possible. Nighttime would be the best time, there wouldn't be as many ninja to patrol, and there wouldn't be as many civilians bustling about. I pushed the covers off of me, suddenly aware that if we wanted to pull this off, I would have to – somehow – get a hold of weapons, clothes, food….
Naruto smirked, triumphant that he was won. "Way ahead of you, Bastard."
The blonde reached over and grabbed two large packs, and tossed one carefully to me. I caught it, and peered inside to see clothes, weapons, and other supplies ninja carried with them for long-term missions. I sent a glance his way. How long had he been planning this? I had been in and out of consciousness for a while, had it really been days? How had Naruto done all of this? He was an idiot, how in the hell had he…
But I cut off my train of thought there. I didn't have time to think about how he had done it; we needed to move, and fast.
"Are you sure." I found myself asking, and my eyes couldn't help but drift to Sakura.
Naruto's eyes followed the direction of my gaze, and a pained look came upon his face. "I…I'm sure. The Akatsuki are still after me, so it's better this way. It'll lead the attention away from the village, and it'll give Granny Tsunade and the rest time to recover. Granny's in a coma," Naruto added, seeing the confusion on my face, and went on, "and who knows what the replacement's thinking in terms of the Jinchuuriki. I could be locked up for all I know! It's better this way…" Naruto repeated the phrase again, though this time I sensed that it wasn't said to assure me…it was to assure himself.
"You've had this planned out for a while." I muttered, pulling on the black shirt and strapping the weapons pouch and case to my hip and thigh, followed by a quick and quiet buckling of the snug shinobi sandals. Naruto nodded, stuffing his bright orange jacket into his bag. I saw that he had a black long sleeved shirt, as well as black trousers. He must have worn his orange jacket to keep Sakura from getting suspicious.
"Ever since yesterday morning. You were still out though, so I had to wait a bit." he said, tugging the drawstrings tight before standing up, swinging the bag onto his back. I slung the straps around my own shoulders, and watched as Naruto knelt beside the entrance of the tent, gazing out for several long seconds. I crouched beside him, careful to be silent, and joined him in looking outside.
The area that had been destroyed by Pain was flat and dead in its bareness, littered only by drab tents that held the survivors. There was no sound, no life, in the darkness that surrounded us, and the only reason we could see anything at all was because of the bright and pearly moon that shone over the trees in the distance. I searched for any signs of movement in the pattern of tents, and after a few painstaking minutes, I deemed it bereft of any life.
Naruto took a bit longer, but soon he stood, and the two of us slipped out of the tent. The air was chilly and crisp against my skin, and I couldn't help a slight shudder at the suddenness of it.
I was leaving Konoha once more. Only, this time, I had no doubts. No hidden insecurities, no hidden regrets. I was not sad, I was not regretful. For I knew that, unlike Naruto, I would not be returning to this place. My path – I had thought that my path was no longer in my hands after fulfilling my revenge, but now I realized that I couldn't be farther from the truth – was not within the walls, now mere rubble, of Konohagakure.
It was beyond.
Where beyond is, I can't say. For I don't know it myself, yet.
Naruto and I stood, silent, and I held out my arm. Naruto grabbed hold, his face somber as he took in what was left of his village, and in the split second before I used a teleportation jutsu, the boy looked back at the tent.
Then, the chakra surrounded us, filled us, and we were gone.
Suigetsu didn't know what to do.
It had been a few days since joining Madara, and Suigetsu had no idea as to how he was going to save Hika – no…she wasn't the same. Those blue-gray eyes weren't as fiery, the blonde hair wasn't the same shade of gold, the voice wasn't the same sharp pitch.
It was Aiko now.
The name made Suigetsu's throat tighten in disgust, and the young man shook his head furiously as he concentrated on the girl before him. She sat on her bed, staring up at the clock with those blank eyes of hers, her mouth slightly twisted in a very disturbing way. Her hair was tied back in a loose pony-tail, and her long legs were crossed, elbows resting on her bent knees.
Suigetsu stared and stared, and yet did not say a word. Madara didn't trust him – Suigetsu would have been terrified if he had – and so had not-so-subtly placed a clone outside the room whenever Suigetsu was in Aiko's room. Madara had ordered Suigetsu to watch her, and so Suigetsu sure as hell wasn't about to disobey.
In truth, he wished he were anywhere but here.
Seeing the girl he loved – loved in the way that more emotionally stable people loved their closest friends – twisted into this…this thing was disturbing, and it was only self-preservation that kept Suigetsu sitting in the chair opposite the bed. Aiko didn't spare him a glance, too enraptured by the annoying ticking that filled the cloying silence of the room. Suigetsu glanced at it, confused to as why she was so enamored by it.
It was an intricate structure, made of complicated curves and twists of wood and metal. Very expensive. The rest of the room was so plain that the clock seemed out of place, no, scratch that, it was out of place. Suigetsu wondered why Madara had bothered to put it there.
Aiko never once, in the entirety of the half-hour Suigetsu sat there, made a sound or moved a muscle.
Suigetsu suddenly couldn't stand it any longer, and stood, stretching with a grunt and nodding toward the still motionless Aiko.
"I'll see you later, beautiful."
She didn't respond, and Suigetsu was almost glad that she didn't. He averted his eyes from the thing that had once been his friend, and nearly sprinted out the door, deftly avoiding the clone standing outside the room.
Suigetsu was so hurried in his escape that he didn't catch the small frown the girl gave his retreating back, or the confused glance she bestowed upon the gaudy and overly decorative clock as it continued its endless rhythm.
Tick.
Tock.
Tick.
Tock.
The clock never ceases its chime
and I feel the strangest urge to laugh
though the feeling soon disappears.
It is as quick and fleeting as a pinprick,
and as I sit here in my room,
so warm and so content,
only one question remains.
Why would I laugh?
I do not know who I am exactly.
My beloved master, the one I adore,
gave me the lovely name Aiko.
The purple-eyed one never uses it, and
calls me 'beautiful', but does not mean it.
I do not tell Master, for reasons unknown
in the empty, blissful thoughts that are mine.
Mine, and mine alone.
And yet, as I write these strange, silly lines,
another question poses itself to me.
A stupid question, one that is brushed aside
as easily as I brush aside the evil doers
my wise Master deems unworthy for life.
It rolls up and crashes upon the rocks,
and washes away just as easily.
Are they mine?