(A/N: Super busy this past month. Just barely had time to finish my homework, much less this chapter. I'm very sorry for the brevity, but I can't handle much more than this at the moment. I've been up to my ears in work this month (and last) and am rather stressed out at the moment. I'm experiencing writer's block with this, so I'm sorry if it feels like this is going nowhere. But it's going places, and rather quickly, if I do say so myself. You'll see soon. But anyway, I have three track meets this week; they'll probably take up most of my free time, but I'll still try to work on this. I am completely and thoroughly exhausted, and the "Spring forward" in time last night did not help me a bit. Also, running (literally) on very little sleep is NOT FUN. Neither is jumping, for that matter. Not in a competition/meet, anyway. But whatever. I hope you enjoy this chapter of MC, and I would love for you to review for me!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.)
Mysterious Captivation: Chapter 23
The first thing that ran through his mind as the blonde leaned away from him was: Is he kidding me? That weak little girl killed my brother's killer? Thinking through it, though, he realized that there was no reason for his once-friend-and-rival to go through the streets, lying to random civilians about the goings-on of Konoha.
"Really? What rank was she when she defected?" He inquired, widening his eyes in the closest expression he could to awe.
"She was a gennin," Naruto replied, and Sasuke knew he was wondering if he – the 'civilian'- knew anything about shinobi ranks.
"And she killed one of your ANBU? Sounds like she was holding out on you guys all this time. That, or your ANBU are a lot weaker than everyone thinks they are."
The youngest Uchiha nearly smirked at the clearly-ruffled feathers of his ex-teammate. "The ANBU here are the strongest in the world! There's no way it's the last part. The Akatsuki must have been training her because the Hinata I knew would never have hidden that kind of talent from the village she loved so much!" Though he kept his voice quiet, Sasuke could still hear the passion and anger in the Uzumaki's voice.
The Uchiha held up his hands in a placating manner. "Alright, alright, I didn't know. Do you know why she ran off with the man who destroyed the Uchiha?"
For the first time since he had met back up with Naruto, the older blonde looked uncertain.
"What is it? Is it bad? The reason she left with him, I mean," Sasuke inquired, nearly forgetting that he was supposed to be a civilian who didn't care about the inner workings of the clans-system in Konoha.
This question caused a shadow to fall behind Naruto's eyes; it was as though he was suspicious. There was no way the Uzumaki could know that he was an Uchiha. He had done nothing to implicate himself, or to associate himself with his true personality.
"I'm really not supposed to just hand out information like that. I mean, there's another missing nin around here, and I don't know how he would react to the news that his brother was killed."
Sasuke nearly laughed aloud. He already did know that his brother was dead. How much worse off could the Hyuuga girl be? He knew that she had caused Itachi's death, keeping him from his revenge, and then killed the ANBU who had killed Itachi. That was twice she had stolen his revenge; how much more damage could be done?
"Do I really look like a murderer? I couldn't kill someone if I wanted to, not to mention that I have no reason to go after this girl. I don't particularly want to die," Sasuke said pathetically entreating the Uzumaki to tell him what he wanted to know without sounding too interested.
Naruto sighed, and Sasuke frowned. He guessed that he was the only one who had asked this far into the boy's story, and he didn't particularly want to keep pressing. If the Uzumaki didn't tell him after that question, the raven haired young man would leave it alone until dark. After that point, he could go to a tavern, find some drunken ninjas, and ask them about it.
His focus sharpened on his lighter haired conversation partner as he began to speak. "I was actually the one who was sent on the mission to bring her back," Naruto began. He told Sasuke of the battle that had led up to the elder Uchiha brother's death, ending the story with his actual murder. "When he jumped in front of the attack that was meant for Hinata, he did it with a smile on his face. A smile. Hotaka-san, I'd never seen an S-class missing ninja smile until Itachi did. As he lay dying, I heard Hinata say that she loved him. That's why they left the village. They were in love."
The despair the Uchiha heard in his friend's voice was unlike any he had heard in a very long time from his typically sunny, upbeat personality. In fact, it had only sounded like that once to the raven haired man's knowledge: the time when he, himself, had abandoned the village. He made a soft noise of acceptance of the explanation, though his entire being rebelled against him for doing so.
"If you're done asking questions of me, I think I'd like to return to my home now," Naruto said, disconcertingly dejected as he turned away from 'Fumio'.
Sasuke watched his once-friend's back disappear into the crowded street. He had to admit, the boy was a smart one. He had placed them in a carefully monitored crowd, where anyone could hear, but no one could really hear what had been said. If the Uchiha hadn't known better, he would have said that he was being set up.
There's no way that Naruto would ever try to hurt me. He's still trying to get me to return to this dreadful village. If he gave me the information to try to capture me, I would understand, but to kill me? Never.
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The icy bite of the wind was still in the air by midday, when the two Akatsuki partners touched down for a small lunch of dried rations. Hinata, who was the first one to withdraw her food from her pack, stood leaning against a far-reaching, rough barked oak tree.
She tilted her head back, looking up at the branches that stretched out of her range of sight. She could use her Byakugan to look all the way to the top, but she didn't want to waste her energy and be reprimanded by Kisame again. Once was enough to teach her.
As she looked into the branches, she allowed her mind to drift away from the mass-murderer across from her, away from their up-coming murder mission, away from all of her problems that would need to be dealt with.
Idly, she wondered whether trees worried about anything. Trees lived and grew; just because people didn't understand what they said didn't mean they didn't think. I wonder if this tree worries about fire. Or maybe lightening, storms and the like. Does it worry about living to see tomorrow, or just living through winter? Could it just live, without thought for anything else?
Catching herself and shaking her head at the strange thoughts running through her mind, she blinked.
Kisame, standing a short distance across from her and mirroring her pose on a different tree, blinked back at her. "You okay, Princess?" He asked, pushing his body away from the deciduous tree.
"I'm fine; thank you, Kisame-san."
"Just making sure. You were daydreaming for a while," he chuckled, the sound like that of gravel crunching beneath her shoes.
"Who is the man we need to assassinate?"
"Do you really need to know his name? If you know who he is, it will just make it that much harder for you to kill him."
Hinata nodded, understanding. "But what if I do know him? If, when I find his body, I recognize him, what will I do?"
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"You will kill him anyway. If you don't, you will never become a true Akatsuki member. You would be one of us in name, but not in ability, and that is one of the most dangerous things you can do," the Hoshigaki warned her, hoping she would take his words to heart and let nothing stand in the way of her mission.
He watched her nod, then gestured toward the sky. "We need to get a move on. If we don't hurry, we'll never make it to the coast in time to get catch and kill this man."
The two took to the trees again, carefully coating their feet with chakra to keep them from slipping from the icy-smooth branches in the glaringly white snow.
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"Hokage-sama, I must leave to meet with one of the men who import my supplies. Lately, he has been rather evasive when I ask him what happened to the shuriken I ordered from him months ago. I have sent countless letters to both his home and his business, and he only replies with general answers."
"And why should I let you leave? How do I know you will be doing what you say, and not searching for Hinata?"
The muscles in the man's jaw clenched and Tsunade watched his eyes harden in anger. "How dare you accuse me of the same negligence to my duties? You can take my word for what I've told you, and I can give you the letters which I have received from my shipper, but you will have no proof. Regardless, I must ask for your leave, so that I may gather the necessary information," the man across from her said, his chocolate-brown, long hair was tied back in a low ponytail, and his white eyes were empty of all emotions.
As she observed, she watched his eyes fill with betrayal, and knew that if she didn't give him permission to leave Konoha for the port city, then he would still leave and she would have yet another problem to deal with.
Sometimes being Hokage was the worst, least gratifying job ever.
"Okay, you may go. On one condition: you must bring one other person with you. Someone who is not of the Hyuuga clan, and who is not connected with Hinata in any type of intimate relationship." No lovers, no family, no close friends. She thought to herself.
The man across from her seemed to grow older before her eyes. "Fine," he said, standing with a sigh and marching from the room without another sound.
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Sasuke had all the information that he needed. The sun was nearing the end of its descent from its place in the afternoon sky, signaling to the frogs and other night-time creatures that it was almost time to wake up.
He would soon be leaving the village once more. It was time for him to search out Akatsuki's hiding place to ferret out the small girl who stole his one chance at making right his wrongs. His one chance to find out WHY his brother had killed everyone the youngest Uchiha had ever loved.
He would find her, and he would attempt to have a civil conversation with her.
He had much that he wanted to know, and if his brother truly loved her, then she was probably the only one alive who could answer them.
This thought placed a scowl on his face. How in the world could his brother have fallen for such a girl? She was weak, and she didn't even show potential. The only thing that she possessed that was remarkable was her determination, and that was only when the Uzumaki had been around her.
He hated to be dependent on anyone. He hated being dependent on those who were strong for information, new techniques, and teachings. He hated having to rely on the weak more than anything else in the world.
And that was exactly what he was being forced to do.
After she answered his questions, he would kill her. It would be as simple as that. Akatsuki didn't protect their own. Itachi was the exception to the rule.
I can't wait to see the look on her face when I kill her after she tells me everything I want to know. He smirked, allowing the transformation jutsu he had used to melt away as he left the village under the cover of darkness.
A morbid happiness filled him. He knew he would soon face his brother's lover, speak with her, and then kill her. It brought a twisted chuckle from his throat, the dark, ugly laughter frightening an owl from its resting place high in the tree tops.
(A/N: Okay! I'm done. Kudos to you if you can guess where this is all going. Even more if you can guess who the man speaking with Tsunade is. I didn't leave it too vague, but it is still slightly vague-ish. (: Good luck. Let me know who you think it is [and/or what you think will happen]. As usual, let me know if you liked this chapter, what/if you didn't, and what I can do to improve! Have a grand day, and God bless!)