Displaced
Act I— A Complicated Truth.
Nothing's left, nothing's to lose,
That's the life I had to choose.
What I did— I hope it was enough.
(Please don't make me beg.)
Did I go far enough?
Calloused hands smooth the white sheet covering the figure that remains motionless but for the rise and fall of his chest, tucking the edge under her patient's chin. It is always easier to heal those with medical training; their chakra is already attuned to it, in a way. Used to following the pathways she needs them to, knitting bones back together, bruised and broken flesh being cleared of contaminants and helped to rejuvenate at a faster rate.
She didn't have to be the one to repair the Uchiha's wounds, but she'd insisted on taking on that task nevertheless, made her excuses— better than paperwork— and since there is always a team or two of ANBU shadowing her, there is no need for additional security for the room.
I don't know if I'm more impressed at this brat's sheer audacity or pissed off for him being perilously close to going rogue... and by all accounts, likely dragging his closest friends along with him. And, like Sarutobi-sensei said: where the Uchiha goes, it's a sucker bet that Naruto will follow.
Kami knows what Hatake would do in such a situation.
Nuttier than a tree full of squirrels, the lot of them.
What a political nightmare.
No—screw being tactful. What a complete and utter shitstorm this brat dug up and spread around. The clans are up in arms, and the civilians, if they knew what really happened, would be rioting in the streets. I can only imagine what the Daimyo is going to say when news of this arrives on his desk.
Who am I kidding? Doubtless, he knows already.
Mixed feelings would be a good description of her mood at the moment. She massages her temples as she fumes and resists the urge to throttle her patient. Or throw something at him. That would be counterproductive, considering the amount of time she'd spent putting him back together.
Well. I did choose to use him as a distraction for our own campaign against Danzou... and admittedly he would have been something of a scapegoat if things went completely tits up. We've managed to salvage quite a few operatives to be reincorporated into the village forces already. After extensive deprogramming, anyway.
Still, I could have done without this mess going semi-public.
Even if I took advantage of a shit situation to clean up Sarutobi-sensei's mess... Possibly Great-uncle's mess; Danzou was one of his protégé.
Scowling, she releases the iryo-genjutsu hybrid keeping her patient unconscious. Using powerful sedatives is a dangerous idea with shinobi; not only do they have radically different metabolisms, especially those with kekkei-genkai, but drugging an assassin half out of his mind often leads to an excess of violence.
Genjutsu are little better, especially on those that are practitioners of that art. Although, considering the Uchiha is drugged with both muscle relaxants and painkillers, and simultaneously recovering from a severe case of chakra exhaustion, he is unlikely to be much of a threat for the next week or three. He'll essentially be completely bedridden for the next three days, and barely capable of using enough charka to tree climb for the week afterward. Probably.
"Goddamn brat. Nothing but trouble." She reiterates, and settles in for a wait, signaling for her paperwork to be delivered to her here. She wants to be present when the Uchiha wakes up.
Forty-seven minutes later, there is an infinitesimal hitch in the Uchiha's breathing. Were she not listening for this specifically, the change would likely have gone unnoticed. She gives him a moment to recognize his inability to move and start to panic before speaking up.
"Uchiha Sasuke. You may as well open your eyes. I know you're awake." Tone frigid, she glares at the figure prone in the hospital bed.
His eyelids flicker open, revealing dark eyes, and then squeeze shut almost immediately, his face wrinkling in a pained grimace. "Hn." She watches, almost gleeful at his discomfort. Almost, because Senju Tsunade is not quite that petty. And, alright, because she might have set him up and taken advantage of his little crusade, too.
Voice dripping with sarcasm, she begins her much-awaited diatribe. "Yes, yes. Welcome back to consciousness and to Konoha's Hospital. Congratulations! Despite your best efforts, you're still alive— for now. Good for you." Voice rising, the rant continues to spill from her lips, "Yes, indeed... Allow me to thank you for landing this stupidly complicated mess on my desk."
Fine, so I'm being a little unfair.
Dark eyes open again, Sasuke's gaze wandering in her direction. She leans forward in anticipation, expression akin to a shark scenting blood. "Are you listening closely, Uchiha?" You unrepentant bastard. "I should have you court-martialed and executed for this stunt. You can't just run off and murder members of this village as you wish!"
"Listening... Was defending myself. He deserved it." Oh, so now you are judge, jury, and executioner?! Though Tsunade does admit, in a very quiet corner of her mind, that she agrees—Danzou did deserve to die, probably several times over. "Whether he deserved it or not is immaterial; it wasn't your call."
After a second's pause, the Uchiha takes a shaky breath and asks, "...the children?"
At that question, the hospital room loses a wall to her temper. The ANBU scramble for cover, but the impudent Uchiha brat barely startles. Peripherally, she's aware of the fact he's incapable of moving much right now.
"Some more detailed files were 'mysteriously' delivered to me. And every clan head in the village." The fact that I sent them out myself is immaterial. He watches patiently, waiting for her to continue. Expression resigned— tired. "We found your little cousins. They're fine."
"And the rest of the children?"
If you weren't such a bleeding heart, it would be easier to stay mad at you. "The younger children, the ones that were still in training, have all been retrieved safely. They're fine. As far as we've been able to determine, between you and your allies, you eliminated about a fourth of Danzou's active forces."
She wants so very badly to slap the smile off the Uchiha's face. If only she could call it a self-satisfied smirk... but even she can see his genuine relief. "If that is the case, I am content," the young man rasps, and closes his eyes. "Do what you must."
She leaves a team of ANBU watching over the Uchiha scion. That they're his teammates is immaterial. Just luck, really. She'll yell at him with a touch more enthusiasm later, after she's had time to forget how much of a decent human being the young man is.
Damn brat.
In her mind, she can almost see Sensei, eyes narrowed half-lidded in amusement, a knowing smile on his lips. You have to admit, Tsunade-chan... She scowls, grumbling under her breath as she stomps away from Uchiha Sasuke's hospital room. "Fine. He was right; it was what I would have done as well, especially at his age. But that doesn't mean there won't be repercussions!"
My sense of smell returns first, breath hitching lightly at the familiar aroma of bleach and antiseptic. The hospital, then. If I'm assuming the people that retrieved me were Konoha shinobi. I can certainly think of several less pleasant alternatives... Orochimaru, for example. Root loyalists, for another. Then, touch— my limbs are heavy, but I can't feel any restraints, just the usual hospital smock, and a light blanket or sheet covering everything below my chin.
I could do without the return of the sensation of pain. Everything aches, but thankfully, I don't feel any sharp pains. Painkillers, given the lethargy and disorganized, sluggish mess that is my thoughts. How long have I been unconscious? I succeeded— didn't I? Danzou is dead. What of Root?
A twitch of the fingers on my right hand— definitely not restrained. Not that I can move much right now, let alone fight my way out of here if need be, I acknowledge with an internal scowl.
"Uchiha Sasuke. You may as well open your eyes. I know you're awake." If I could have jumped at the sound of the Hokage's voice, I would have. I realize, absently, that my currently negligible chakra reserves mean my ability to sense others in the room is severely compromised.
Sheer force of will drives me to pry my eyelids open. Biting back a groan, I squeeze them shut almost immediately. "Hn." Not only is the light painfully bright, causing my head to throb in agony, but my vision seems to be compromised. That brief glimpse of the room— reality swam in and out of focus. Hoping that's temporary.
"—stupidly complicated mess on my desk."
I should probably be paying attention. Easing my eyes open more slowly this time, I try to stare intently at the incensed blonde. The nauseating effect is a little better this time, although there is a slight fuzziness to my vision. Blurred vision, perhaps a little like glaucoma? Could it be— increased chakra input into the eyes, also increases pressure on the optic nerve? Maybe... but if this is permanent, the degeneration is too rapid for something like that.
"— have you court-martialed and executed for this stunt! You—"
Yeah, I should definitely be paying attention.
Breathing too deeply is painful; even my throat is sore— overuse of Katon jutsu. Is she waiting for me to say something? I stifle a cough, and rasp out a reply, "Listening." I don't feel any guilt about Danzou's death. "Was defending myself. He deserved it." His operatives— more blood on my hands. They were innocents, from one perspective, but also my enemies. I can, I will live with my decision to kill them, but...
"Whether he deserved it or not is immaterial! It wasn't your call!"
What of the children? Did you find them? Did we— did I succeed? A shaky breath rattles through my chest; I open my mouth to ask the question that will either validate my actions or damn me. "...the children?"
There is a resounding crash as the Senju's fist meets the wall. Luckily, no poor sod is behind it, just a storage closet, full of clean sheets and blankets that tumble into the room, forming a lopsided pile speckled with wood shards. I flinch away from her glare; a brief moment of weakness.
The Hokage gives another non-answer, something about the information I'd given her? There shouldn't have been any filed delivered to others, not due to my machinations anyway, as I'm neither dead nor trapped deep in the bowels of our T&I department. And I'm not so out of it that I don't notice some of her anger is feigned. Something to think on later. Hands curling into fists, I resist the urge to glare, to yell, to force her to talk faster. Be patient, Sasuke. I almost hold my breath.
"We found your little cousins. They're fine."
A wave of relief washes over me, tenseness draining out of my body. I didn't kill them after all. But there is one last, nagging thought— what of the others? The other Root trainees should be safe as well, but I have to ask. To be certain. "And the rest of the children?"
I can't keep the relieved smile off my face, at the news. Against all odds. We won. They're all safe. "If that is the case, I am content," No; that's not it. I am happy. I let my eyes slide shut, suddenly exhausted. Hokage-sama, from this point forth, "...do what you must." And I will do the same.
I slide back into unconsciousness— this time, a healing sleep.
She frets, twirling a kunai around her finger, a far better a habit for an up-and-coming interrogator than fussing with her short blond hair. It is Anko-sensei's fault entirely.
Sasuke is pale and unusually still beneath the plain hospital sheets. To her eyes, he looks an inch from death. She knows, logically, this is because of the combination of blood loss and chakra exhaustion. She even knows that he'll make a full recovery, and yet—"Ne, Shino-kun."
"Aa?"
"...Is it really a win if Sasuke-kun ends up in the hospital again? Aren't the hero-types supposed to walk away uninjured?"
A softer hum than aggravation— amusement, then. Shino allows his sunglasses to slide down his nose, granting Ino a brief glimpse of the emotions in his eyes before pushing them back into place. "It's a victory. Why? Sasuke is alive." Everyone lived, not including our opponents. "He caused enough havoc to avoid execution. It's likely he will not even be imprisoned or even demoted. All our information so far indicates that he will receive, at most, a slap on the wrist. And he achieved all of his self-imposed mission objectives. He is probably... happy."
"Yeah. I think so too." She answers with a smile, sliding the kunai back into the holster on her thigh.
"You think too loudly, Ino-chan," grumbles the figure confined to the hospital bed, eyes glinting with dark humor. Sasuke is no longer asleep, and vaguely annoyed at the fact. "And I'm not the heroic type at all; that's Naruto's shtick... I'm definitely a villain. Or at least an antihero. This isn't a story, anyway."
"Sasuke-kun! You're awake!"
The Uchiha replies, tone dry, "I noticed. I wonder why? Perhaps could be because someone was talking. Loudly. In my room, while I'm recuperating, trying hard not to think of what sort of hell Tsunade-sama will unleash as her revenge. I wonder who it was that woke me up."
"See? You worry for nothing. Obviously, Sasuke is fine." The corner of Shino's mouth tilts upward, almost a smirk.
Smile brightening, the kunoichi lunges at Sasuke, wrapping him in a tight hug, much to the young man's chagrin.
"Ino... Still. Injured." The Uchiha grinds out from between clenched teeth.
Itachi is fine. Your summons checked him over and then convinced him to disappear before anyone from Konoha arrived. Besides Shino and I, that is. Ino whispers surreptitiously into his mind. Close contact helps facilitate a connection using negligible amounts of chakra, so as to go unnoticed by the ANBU. Linking with either of her teammates is easy now, after spending over a week entwined mind-to-mind during their campaign against Danzou. Physical contact is only necessary because Sasuke is still low on chakra. We have not been punished. Nor will we be— Shino's allies consumed the remnants of our chakra, leaving only yours, Danzou's and that of our Root opponents.
Knowing his tendency to overthink, she adds, her mental voice sly, And don't worry. The Hokage probably won't do much to you... the clans would riot. It was a justified kill. We may not be obsessed with bushido like the samurai, but even ninja have honor.
Thank you, Ino, is Sasuke's silent reply. I wasn't that worried.
The smile remains, and her arms give one more enthusiastic squeeze before loosening their grip. "Why, yes. Yes, you are. I'm reminding you so that you don't try anything stupid in the meantime."
"Sadist."
"You know it!" She chirps, stepping back, away from his bed. "On a serious note... you had us worried. I thought we agreed you're not allowed to do that either?"
"Hn."
"Be more careful next time," she blithely continues despite what others would consider a non-answer from her friend. "I would say don't let there be a next time, but you're you."
"...Hn." Oh, now you're just doing that to piss me off, Ino fumes internally. Fine, Uchiha Sasuke. You want to play? Then let's play. "Hmm. I wonder what Suna kunoichi, Temari-san was it? Would think of your antics? Don't think I didn't notice you left her a letter, too." She pauses dramatically, letting the panic in Sasuke's eyes grow, "Hey, you know, I bet we could still send it to her. What do you think, Shino-kun?"
Sasuke pales, and then rapidly flushes in obvious embarrassment.
Shino snorts softly, shaking his head, "Inadvisable. Why? It is unwise to give a genjutsu master reason to practice their craft on you."
"Hmm... You might have a point. Well, I'll keep it in reserve, then. Right. Sasuke, I've got to head out. This is actually my lunch break; you've given us a ton of work back in T&I. Maybe Tsunade-sama will make you help? I'm sure Anko-senpai wouldn't mind! She sends her best wishes, by the way."
She waves, calling out, "Ja ne!" before turning towards the door, Shino falling into step behind her.
Sasuke speaks up just as they reach the door. "Ino. Shino... Thanks."
For everything.
Again, he stands in the hospital, watching one of his students trapped in a bed. He feels a pang of sympathy for Minato-sensei now, remembering the times Obito, Rin and he spent convalescing in similar beds.
Still—none of us were ever this reckless. Not until— He pointedly turns his thoughts away from that memory. The previous two times he'd visited, Sasuke had been either asleep or faking it exceptionally well.
This time, his pupil is awake, eyes narrowed slightly, staring intently at the clock across the room from him.
"Sasuke."
"Shishou," is his terse reply. Ah, the stubbornness of youth. The thought flits away. The silence that follows this exchange is neither tense nor peaceful. It is— like waiting on a precipice. Sasuke is waiting to be chastised. Hatake Kakashi, in turn, is waiting for an explanation.
Kakashi speaks first, tone almost jovial, but for the angry undercurrent. "Work not challenging enough? Seeing as you designed your own suicide mission."
Sasuke's reply is almost petulant, "It's challenging enough."
The jounin strides closer, leaning against the wall beside Sasuke's bed, gaze piercing. "Then why."
The younger man turns his head, expression painfully neutral, and voice steady. "Because it was necessary."
"How?"
"On purpose, obviously. And very carefully." His student deadpans.
"Don't act stupid, Sasuke; we both know you aren't. How was it necessary? Why."
Kakashi's posture is deceptively relaxed, "Was it revenge?" Because I thought I taught you better than that.
The younger man appears to mull over the question, eyes half-lidded at he stares in the direction of his sensei, his shishou. "Not entirely. I wouldn't have made a move against that bastard out of revenge alone."
A pause, "I suppose the Hokage has kept that part quiet, at least. I learned he was breeding kekkei genkai users. I don't know how he got the requisite... materials. I don't know if it was a fixation on the sharingan or something else, but— standing aside, ignoring what was going on. That's not in me."
Sasuke sits up with a faint grimace, turning so his Uchiha-black eyes meet Kakashi's own pale grey, his tone vehement, "I would rather be trash than give up on my beliefs. Abandoning family, leaving children to become emotionless puppets, living or dying depending on that man's whim... That's a fate worse than death."
A soft breath, barely a sigh, "It wasn't something I could overlook. Not if I wanted to be able to sleep ever again."
A dark fire, glimmering behind Sasuke's eyes as the younger man scowls, blanket fisted in his hands, "I don't care if you—" A deep breath, eyes fluttering closed, "No, that's a lie. I care what you think, Shishou. Because I respect you. Because you're family. But I won't relinquish what little in the way of morals I have left." Not for the pride of this accursed village. Kakashi can read between the lines.
"I see."
"Hn." And, again, underneath the brusque vocalization— I don't know if you do, but I'm not going to apologize for doing what I had to.
The silence is less awkward this time.
"...Next time, be more careful." Kakashi knows his students, his children, well. Sasuke did not go into this venture alone. And if another unusual situation comes up, there will be a next time.
And next time, Kakashi promises silently to himself, I'll be there to watch their backs and make sure they return home unscathed.
Fog lingers in the early morning hours, grasping pale tendrils slithering through the neatly trimmed grass. The cool air makes a nearly imperceptible mist of my breath— transient proof that I am still alive. As if the achy, empty pain of chakra exhaustion and lingering fatigue weren't enough.
Tap, step.
Tap, step.
Tap, step.
The cobblestone under my feet is slick with dew. The crutches may be a hinderance, but they hold me up and keep me from taking a dive into the road face-first. 'Lingering fatigue' is a bit of an understatement. I've gained a lot of respect for sensei, putting up with our shenanigans in Nami no Kuni while this miserable.
Stopping at my destination, I carefully set the crutches aside, leaning forward to place a bouquet of white chrysanthemum beside the obsidian stone. The stone carved with two familiar names and an even more familiar clan symbol. One stone among hundreds, the field full of identical gravestones stretching out on every side of me. Some are barely a decade old, but many are much older. Every Uchiha that died in the service of Konoha is represented here, though many are not actually interred here. Clan Ninja, Uchiha more so than most, rarely die peacefully in their beds.
I'm sorry.
"I know I don't visit often enough." A sad smile, coupled with a deep bow at the waist, despite the focus needed in order to avoid stumbling or toppling over. "It is painful for me to be here, for many reasons."
A part of me— no. I miss you.
I miss the future that could have been, if not for scheming old men. The Uchiha Sasuke that could have been. All of that is… it's not something I should worry about. The latter thoughts are coupled with a sardonic smile, flashed briefly. "Maudlin thoughts. Graveyards are a safe haven for tears and regrets, right? I don't want to dwell on either, so..." I let the thought trail off, lapsing into silence for a few minutes before quietly admitting, "I'm not sure you'd be proud of the person I chose to become."
A second bow, just as deep.
"Otou-sama. Okaa-sama... The one who set our family on the path to destruction is gone."
The ghosts of the past are quiet. My words are quieter still, eaten up by the breeze that stirs the lingering fog.
"I forgive you."
I love you.
Turning away from the field of graves, I stride out of the graveyard, back towards the heart of the village. Towards my family.
So, a little bit of the fallout. What will Tsunade come up with in terms of punishment? We'll see. Ultimately, she used the situation for her own benefit. Of course, it can only get more chaotic from here...
And Kakashi? He's gotten pretty attached to his kids. I have to be honest, I didn't actually see that part coming, not until I was writing it. Damn Muse.
Apologies it's ten days late. I added one of the scenes in last-minute, and as I'm currently on surgery rotation (and therefore work long hours and a six-day week), editing took much longer than I hoped. In other news, I now know in detail what human viscera look and feel like while in a living body. (I'm not even joking.)
* Lyrics from "My Broken Road" by Broach.