Bigger the waiting.
Better calling.
Be caught weeping.
Brother running.
The wind blew across the vast land, carrying the faint sent of the town to the north. The devastated theatre of a long and total massacre, the blood still staining the buildings and rotting away in a foul stench. No living souls were left in this long lost city that had once been the metropolis.
But a few miles south to this city lay a small clump of trees from which the animals had long since escaped due to the unbearable stench brought by the wind. All around lay vast plains of tall grass, ending to the north on the slopes of the mountain chains, to the south on a luxurious forest, to the east on the border of the dead lands composing the desert and to the west on the banks of the Starlit Ocean.
It was already well into the night. A little before, the long wailing of a flute could be heard. Now, only its faint echoes continued on in the fields. The stars shone down on the green carpet as the moon was taking rest on this night of new moon.
In the ghostly light of the stars, a shadowy group crossed the land, coming from the town, to the abandoned thicket of trees. Their hurried steps took them rapidly to the cover of the few plants and they stopped, catching their breaths. The red-haired man, who had a raven-haired one laying, out cold, on his firm back, put gently down his load. He looked at his two comrades.
"Let's make camp here until he regains his senses," he said quietly, his green eyes staring for just a moment at his unconscious friend before going back to the two others.
They just nodded and put down their backpacks and coats. They each leaned against a tree and covered themselves with their coats. The red head just sat down and stared at his black-haired buddy.
He didn't know exactly what had happened. All he knew was what he saw when he arrived in the alleyway, back in town. There was the decapitated corpse of a child along with lots of blood, two eyes and a tongue. Other than that, there had been his friend who had fallen unconscious when they had arrived.
But before that, he had heard a scream. A high-pitched screech that only a child could have made. He had awakened the two others, they had gathered their things and they had rushed to go see what had happened. They hadn't seen anything except the gory scene. But as they fled from the devastated city, the flute had confirmed their suspicions.
Their target had struck again. They were grateful that their friend had nothing though. It was a good sign that they were all still together. For each of them has had to deal at least once before with their target. That was the link that had brought them together. And it was the reason they all kept going forward no matter what.
A shifting sound took him out of his thoughts. His green orbs looked, from their depths of black, into opening, bottomless, dark ones. The pale boy before him focused his gaze on him. A smirk came to the redhead as he stared at his friend. The silence stretched some more, while none of them moved. The wind blew in their hair and made them sway like the grass of the plains around or the leaves of the trees above.
"You saw anything?" asked the black-haired male in a rusty voice, shifting to a better sitting position against his tree, still staring at his friend.
"Except the corpse and the blood, we only saw you empty your stomach and fall in dreamland," answered Gaara, unmoving, his voice low so as not to wake the others.
"What happened afterwards?"
"I carried you on my back here. And the flute resounded."
The silence fell again between the two, black eyes falling to the ground, green ones still staring. It wasn't the first time. Oh no, far from it. They had heard the song of the flute too many times before to still be in the unknowing of its significance.
"Inuzuka took the weapon. It isn't from any military service," stated bluntly Gaara, although he knew it wouldn't be a surprise to Sasuke.
"Too refined, I wager. Too skilful to be from the military, too," said quietly the ebony-haired man, his gaze still to the ground.
"You saw the fatal blow?"
"I saw the kid alive," answered simply the young Uchiha.
That simple phrase in itself held many answers. It meant that he had assisted to the whole scene, since by the time Kiba, Neji and Gaara arrived, the corpse was as it was and Sasuke's stomach wasn't going well. It meant that he saw the weapon cut the neck of the child in one neat blow, that he saw whoever did it tear the eyes from their sockets and the tongue from the mouth. If the redhead had been in his friend's place, he probably would have reacted the same way.
"What happens next, you think?" asked silently the Uchiha, staring back at the green-eyed man in front of him.
"We're not far from their base. If we could just pinpoint a member of their group without him or her knowing, we could be lead easily into their grounds," he replied.
"What will happen then?" asked Sasuke, even though he knew the answer.
"We'll infiltrate, gather information, make up a plan and bring them down."
"What if they do to us what they do to the others?"
"You mean torture?"
Black locks bounced as the Uchiha nodded.
"I don't know… guess we'll have to endure until we find a way to bring everything down. Then we will be able to rest, I guess."
The truth was that they didn't know what would happen and what they would do if the worst scenario was the one that ensued. They didn't know if they would be able to bring their mission to its rightful goal. They didn't know if, even if they had to, they would be able to escape once they would be in the demon's jaws. They hadn't planned that far for they didn't know much about their target other than the rumours brought up in the cities and countries they had crossed.
They were intelligent and strong, but their youth could be the trigger to their end. That was the factor that made this mission so dangerous. And they all feared the point of no return, for its location was unknown. When would they be able to turn tail and run away from the unending depths of danger and when would they be trapped for good? None knew, for none came back.
The heavy eyelids of the Uchiha fell close again and his head fell back slowly against the tree trunk. Green eyes darted up to the starry sky and the night passed silently. As the welcomed rays of the warming sun pierced the darkness of the night and the stars hid back behind their light blue blanket, four pairs of eyes opened slowly.
They ate breakfast slowly, the events of the passed hours of darkness having lowered their appetite a little. When all was packed again, they got up, put back their coats, took their backpacks on their shoulders and looked at each other.
"Where are we heading to this time?" asked the pale-eyed male.
"There is a town south of here, on the border of the forest. Maybe we'll find other clues there," answered Gaara, pointing south.
Sasuke nodded. "Less than half a day of walk, if I remember correctly," he agreed, looking south too.
"Hold on a sec, guys," started Kiba, petting his dog on the head slightly. All eyes turned to him. "Even though it dates of three days ago, the footsteps of the army that raided the last town were heading south."
"Maybe it's their base or something. I doubt they would destroy that town," replied Neji.
"We'll just have to go and see, then," settled Gaara, starting to walk south.
Sasuke followed right behind him, then Neji, Kiba and Akamaru tagged along. When the bright sun hit its zenith, they arrived in the buzzing town. On opposite to the last town that they had gone to, this one was as lively as a hive. People came and went in a happy jumble.
The four young men halted at the edge of the city, in something akin to awe. Polished cobblestone stretched on in a maze around the beautiful walls of the white buildings. This surely was a very prosperous town. Men dressed in work clothes were working with men dressed in armour in the streets, building and selling. Women worked too and surveyed the children that happily ran about.
"I suggest we split up," said Neji, looking at his comrades.
"Yeah, good idea. I'll go rent rooms and you search for clues. Be here at sunset or you'll have to find a place to sleep," agreed Gaara.
They all nodded their agreement and split up. Sasuke went with Gaara to the south but eventually split up and went in a suspicious alleyway. He walked for a bit. The silence had embraced his surroundings and it reminded him a little of the last town they had been in.
He suddenly heard barking, and a cat came running past him from a corner, a big, black dog on its tail. Sasuke sidestepped out of their way and watched as the two animals ran by. The alley grew silent once again. But a sudden and unexplainable fear gripped at Sasuke's gut. His breathing hitched and his senses became more alert. A chill ran up his spine. The feeling of something terrible awaiting him at a corner had taken hold of his whole body. Then the reason for this sudden fear became evident. A faint rustling of clothes was his only warning.
His instincts getting the better of him, he ducked to the side in time to evade a deadly swarm of shuriken thrown at him from the shadows bellow a balcony. His eyes darted to the shadows and he could make out the evading outlines of someone standing there. A tall man wearing a trench coat, by the looks of it. A predatory grin flashed in the darkness and the figure disappeared.
This time panic won over fear and Sasuke made a run for it, stumbling a little as he hit a trashcan when he turned around. He ran as fast as he could, his backpack only slightly weighing him down, his own coat flapping behind him. He exited the alleyway and ended up in a crowded street. Sighing slightly in relief, he hurriedly mixed himself up in the mass of strangers.
The faint note of a flute came to his ear as he walked in direction of the edge of town. He knew nobody else had caught the fleeting sound, for none was trying to hear it. It was a certainty. They were here for business. And even it the initial business wasn't in any way related to him, he knew from the man that had attacked him that he wasn't safe at all. He was in great danger, his every senses screamed into his mind that he should stay close to his friends and not go into dark places while in this town.
As he walked hurriedly, he ran into someone. They both fell heavily on their backside, result of their impact. Black eyes darted to the boy sitting in front of the Uchiha. Blond, unruly hair, cerulean eyes, whisker-like scars on both cheeks, and he wore an orange t-shirt and beige cargo pants. The boy got to his feet and held out his hand to Sasuke, rubbing the back of his head embarrassedly.
"Eh… Sorry about that. I should have paid more attention to where I was going," said the young man.
Sasuke took his hand and let this stranger help him to his feet. "It's ok. I wasn't paying attention either," replied Sasuke, still staring at the young man, who couldn't be more than a year younger than himself.
"Well then the fault is on both of us," said the blond with a cheeky smile. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and you?"
As they were still holding hands, Sasuke just squeezed lightly the tanned blonde's hand. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha," he replied.
Naruto squeezed his hand a bit too and they let go of each other's hand. "First time you come here?" he asked cheerfully.
"Yeah. What about you?" answered Sasuke, still amazed by his new friend's colours.
"Oh, me? I live here. It's pretty boring when you think about it. But you must travel a lot if you carry such a backpack," he said, pointing to Sasuke's load.
"Well yeah. But I've taken sort of a break during some time," replied the raven-haired.
"Want to discuss this around a cup of hot chocolate?" asked innocently the blond.
"Why not."
They made their way to a nearby restaurant. Somehow, something was compelling Sasuke to stay with the blond. He couldn't find his friends even if he wanted to, anyway. And this blond guy was amazing. The way his bright hair stuck out from the crowd, the way his eyes were shining when they talked, his beatific white smile, his cheerful tone. He was just amazing.
They sat at a table in the restaurant, one in front of the other, and Naruto ordered two cups of hot chocolate. When their drinks arrived, they took their respective mug and started sipping slowly the hot, sweet liquid in silence. Then blue eyes looked at black ones, sparkles of interest blazing in them.
"So, how does it feel like to travel great distances? I bet your home town is a long way from here. Do you travel alone? What do you eat on your travels? You must know how to fight. Have you fought often? Have you ever taken part in a war? Have you ever been gravely wounded? Do you have scars?" asked the blond, excited.
"Um… Let's see," started Sasuke, thinking for a second. "It's great. It is. No. Dried meat. I do. I have. I was forced to. No. And yes," replied Sasuke, before taking another sip of the warm liquid in his mug.
"Wow," said dreamily the blond, his gaze going to the ceiling as he sipped again a bit of his hot chocolate.
Sasuke looked out a window of the restaurant. The sky already glowed in reddish tints indicating the end of the day. He gulped down the rest of his hot chocolate and got up. Blue eyes widened questioningly at his action. He smiled a bit at his new friend.
"Sorry. I have to go meet with the others that travel with me," said Sasuke.
Naruto got up too and held out his hand. "Guess this is goodbye, then," he said, his voice betraying his feelings by letting a hint of sorrow lace the words. "Nice knowing you, Sasuke Uchiha."
"Maybe we'll see each other again tomorrow. By the way, you can call me Sasuke." The black-haired man shook hands with the blond.
"It would be great."
"Bye."
"Bye."
And with that said, Sasuke exited the restaurant and made his way through the crowd to his meeting place. Three different colours of eyes stared at him as he approached his already waiting friends. Questions illuminated their eyes. Sasuke smiled apologetically at them.
"Sorry if I kept you waiting," he said.
"No problem. But what took you so long?" asked Kiba, curious.
"Nothing important."
"You found anything out?" asked Neji, getting to the point right away.
Sasuke's face returned to serious as he nodded to Neji. "They're here. And he's here too. It's not safe for me to stay alone. I don't know who else is here, though."
"It's good that you have nothing, man. I don't know what we would do without you, since you were the one who got the idea of this mission in the first place," said Kiba, relieved.
"Tonight we should rest. Tomorrow we'll gather information to establish a plan to lure out one of the enemies to us," said Gaara, taking the operations in charge. The other three nodded their agreement, and a smirk crept to the redhead's lips. "You could gather a lot of info out of that blond one, Uchiha. I'm sure he'll be more than willing if you say to him you'll tell him one of your adventures in exchange."
Neji and Kiba turned to Sasuke, wide-eyed. The Uchiha just sweat-dropped. Without further talking, Gaara took them to their hotel room. It was a white, luxurious-looking building with beautifully carved windows and doors made out of thick, black wood. They entered and the redhead led the way up a glass staircase. The green-eyed man halted in front of a door, unlocked it and pushed the door open.
"I took one room with four beds, instead of four rooms. It was cheaper," said bluntly the man, stepping inside and putting down his load beside one of the four single beds.
The others did the same, the last one entering closing and locking the door. They all took a bed and sat on the red carpet that covered the floor. Black designs adorned it in a stylish manner with golden dots here and there. The walls were light brown with white designs on them. As for the ceiling, it was plain white. The four boys looked at each other for a moment.
"So," said Kiba, deciding to break the silence first. He glanced at Sasuke. "Mind telling us what you did in this town?"
Sasuke leaned his back against his bed, which was behind him. "After I split from Gaara, I ended up in an alleyway. I got a terrible feeling all of a sudden and I got attacked from a shadow. I managed to jump out of the way before getting hit. But just as I figured it was him, he vanished. I ran into the crowd and ran into a blond-haired, blue-eyed guy. He must be something like seventeen."
"What did you guys talked about?" asked Neji intrigued, too.
"We drank a hot chocolate in a restaurant and he asked questions about what I was doing here and all," replied dully the Uchiha.
"What was his name?" asked Kiba, really interested.
"Hn… Naruto Uzumaki, if I recall correctly."
"Don't get too attached, Uchiha. You know we can't stay long. Plus, we don't know who their target is this time. We might just end up in the crossfire," said Gaara.
"Aw, come on, Gaara! Sasuke hasn't had any social life since his family got killed aside from us!" protested Kiba.
"And I'm sure he's still a virgin, at that," added Neji, smirking. "Even you had some fun losing your virginity some time ago with that pink-haired girl in that bar. Remember?"
A pink hue appeared faintly on the redhead's cheeks and he looked away. "That's not the point. We're nearing our goal."
"And remember that black-haired guy that looked a bit like Sasuke, two months ago?" said Kiba, grinning at his friend's embarrassment.
"And Kiba and I have had our fare share of sex in this last year, too. I don't even remember what happened, though, but it felt good to get drunk and fuck with those prostitutes," noted Neji.
"You don't really understand the relation between Naruto and me, guys. It's nothing like that. We're just friends," objected Sasuke.
Kiba came up to Sasuke, put an arm on his shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes with incredible seriousness. "Sasuke, face it. You have to get laid. You're eighteen, damn it!"
Neji nodded. "He's right, you know. It's unusual be a virgin at sixteen, but it's no better to still be a virgin at eighteen."
"I don't really have the time to do that and you know it," complained Sasuke, getting uncomfortable.
"Let him be. He does whatever he wants with his sex life, you know. We should get some rest, we'll probably stay up late tomorrow night," said Gaara, getting pissed.
They all nodded and went to bed. The next day was pretty eventful. They split up and started gathering information. Sasuke and Gaara were paired up together and they walked in the crowded main streets. Neji, Kiba and Akamaru had gone their own way on another part of town. As they walked, Gaara spotted a bright blond spot in the mass. He pointed in its direction.
"Isn't that your boyfriend, Uchiha?" asked the redhead, not even looking at his friend.
Sasuke pouted while crossing his arms on his chest. "He's not my boyfriend. But yes, it's Naruto."
"Hey!!! Sasuke!!!" shouted a familiar voice.
Black eyes looked up to see a jumping blond waving at him. He waved back a little, forgetting Gaara for a moment. Naruto came over to them, his big smile still in place on his adorable face. Well… Not that Sasuke thought he was adorable or something, but anyway.
Blue eyes turned to the redhead. "So, Sasuke… This one of your friends?" asked the younger male.
"My name is Gaara. You must be Uzumaki. Uchiha has talked a lot about you yesterday," said Gaara.
Naruto's eyes lighted up and he looked at Sasuke. "Really?"
"Yes," confirmed Gaara.
The black-haired man's cheeks tinted a faint pink and he looked away. That only made the blonde's smile brighter. Gaara wondered a second who else knew about his friend's shyness but he pushed the question aside as business took over curiosity.
"Tell me, Uzumaki. You live here?" he asked, preferring to make sure the boy was a citizen.
"Yep!" exclaimed the teen.
"Well, you see… We're here on a mission and we'd like some information about this town and its surroundings and we thought that you could help us," explained vaguely the redhead.
"What do you need to know?" asked Naruto happily.
They talked during the whole day while going around town. They stopped at some random restaurant when the need to eat was becoming insistent, but other than that, they simply talked. It seemed the Uzumaki knew a lot more about the city than Gaara had thought.
This was mostly a merchant city. They were prosperous, for the mayor, a dirty old pervert, had agreed to let an army stay in town. The head of that army, an old woman terribly strong, was herself being ordered by a warlord that lived in the capital. Lately, the army has been sent out into different missions, coming back after a week or so with blood all over their armour. No report was ever told publicly, but rumours say that one of their targets this month was the town to the north.
The old woman that commanded the army was known by the name of Tsunade. She was sent to help on a war last year, too, and people say that her men found a lone soldier that had been left on the battlefield without anything to eat or drink for three days. Also, there were rumours going around town saying that the warlord who ordered Tsunade had established a long time ago a secret base somewhere in the desert, near the mountains. The people sent there were never to be seen again.
Also, Tsunade wasn't one to be ruled so easily. She obeyed the warlord simply because people she cared about were sent in that secret base and the lord had promised her that in exchange of her loyalty, he would free them. So that's how she ended up as chief of the army. As for the secret base, nobody knew its exact location. So nobody went there.
"So what exactly is your mission, guys?" asked Naruto once he finished telling them what he knew of the army and all.
Sasuke and Gaara exchanged a look, before both looked at Naruto. "We must go to that secret base and bring it down," said simply Sasuke.
"Really? And how do you plan to do that?" asked the blond, a bit surprised.
"That is none of your business. We have no intention of involving you in this," replied Gaara. "Once we're gone, go back to your family and forget about us."
"I don't have a family…" muttered Naruto.
In the mean time, on the other side of town, Kiba, Neji and Akamaru were walking down an alleyway, silently. They had sensed something and they wanted to know what exactly. They approached a corner and Neji peered around it. He motioned to Kiba to stay quiet and he pressed himself a bit more against the wall, still peering around the corner. It was a dead end, but two figures dressed in black coats with red clouds stood there, talking. Just by their outfit, Neji assumed they were their target. So they listened intently to what they were saying.
"I presume you have found the boy," said the first one.
"Tcheh. Of course I did. Who do you take me for, Temari?" replied the second, visibly pissed.
Neji's eyes widened a bit at that. Temari… that was the name of Gaara's sister.
"Stop being so arrogant. You have to take the boy before midnight and bring him to camp," said Temari.
"I know that already. Stop pestering me. I have already many things to think about," said the man.
"Like what, may I ask?"
"He's here with his little friends. They're turning around that Naruto kid, probably wanting to have information about the base or something. I heard Kankuro ran into him in the city to the north."
"Yeah he did. So the brats decided to come south right after…"
"Don't worry about me. If he or his little friends try to interfere, they'll suffer before I kill them slowly."
The bloodthirsty tone made a shiver run up both guys' spine. But Neji and Kiba had already figured out who he was. It was the man who killed Sasuke's family. They had to inform Gaara or Sasuke about this and get the hell out of there. They turned tails and ran silently out of the alley, focused on finding their friends.
The sun was already setting, and both the redhead and the Uchiha had split up from the reluctant Uzumaki. Now they had to wait for their friends, see what information they managed to get and form a plan. They waited in front of the hotel during an hour, maybe two. Then something caught their attention.
"Sasuke! Gaara!" screamed a familiar voice, sounding desperate and panicked.
Both boys jumped a bit and they saw a blond head pop out from an alleyway. Naruto was running, probably away from something or someone as he was glancing behind him every now and then, his eyes frantic, panic evident on his tanned face and in his movements. He was being chased down.
Suddenly, before anyone could react, a shadow leapt from a rooftop. It landed in front of the blond and punched in hard in the stomach. The blond stopped in his track at the impact, before falling unconscious on the man's arm. The shadowy figure took the teen under an arm and turned towards Sasuke and Gaara.
Long, black hair swayed in the slight breeze as blood-red eyes glared at them, a bloodthirsty grin visible on the man's lips. He wore a long trench coat with red clouds on it. Sasuke's breath hitched and he took a step back, his black eyes fixed on the man before them. Gaara didn't budge, but sweat started to prickle at his brow. The representation of death, betrayal and bloodlust itself was standing there in the street, looking at them. They both gulped at the same time.
"Itachi…" was the name that left the eighteen-year-old beside the redhead, a mere whisper left to the heartless wind.
"Happy to see you again, little brother," said the deep voice of the longhaired male.
Two other persons ran into the street, to Gaara and Sasuke's left. Kiba and Neji halted beside their friends and regained their breath. Then Neji looked in the street where the two others were facing and his eyes widened a bit, before he tapped Kiba's shoulder. The dog lover's eyes raised a bit and he looked in the direction the Hyuga was pointing. He jumped a bit in surprise at the sight.
"So what did you found that we don't already know?" asked quietly the redhead, still staring intently at the older Uchiha.
"Temari is here too. And Kankuro was in the northern town," replied Neji as quietly.
"I see your skills at choosing friends haven't improved at all, little brother," commented Itachi, glancing for a moment at the unconscious blond.
"Damn you, bastard," growled Sasuke. "First you kill our family and then you want to take my friends away?"
"I never said I wanted to. If it was up to me, I'd take you with me to the base so that the chiefs could model you up to force you into killing your own friends. That would be joyful."
"You're a madman, Itachi."
"Glad you figured it out before I told you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to take this cutie to the base. Smell you later, suckers."
The older Uchiha turned around and ran off. Realizing he was getting away, the four men ran up after him, Sasuke in front. Kiba, Neji and Gaara said nothing as they saw crystalline pearls rush down their friend's cheeks.