Saiyame's ears pressed flat against her head and I caught a glint of pity in her eyes at Naruto's obvious frustration. I changed my position on the branch, ready to lunge at Saiyame's throat if she sold me out."I truly am sorry, Naruto-san," Saiyame began, "but it is not my place to expose those who do not wish to be found." With those words and one last regretful nod to the rest of the group, Saiyame spun on her heel and began walking toward the tree where I was hidden.
"Wait!" Saiyame paused and rolled her eyes as she turned back to face Sakura's anxious glare, as if she already knew what was coming.
"Yes, Sakura-san?"
"Fight me!" Sakura yelled. "If I win then you have to tell me where Sasuke-kun is!" I sighed, fully prepared for Saiyame to politely decline and continue on her way. Naturally I was somewhat surprised when the fox demon nodded her head once and adopted a casual fighting stance.
"Very well, Sakura-san. Please do not hold back on me, because I honestly hope for you to win." Sakura returned the nod and charged Saiyame, slamming her fists into the ground and spraying dirt and rock in all directions. Like water, Saiyame floated away from the falling debris and leapt onto the point of a particularly large piece of upturned rock."Sakura-san, please don't let your emotions control your actions. That kind of fighting doesn't suit you." The kunoichi frowned and I felt a jolt at the look of misplaced rage that flickered across her fine features.
Wait, what was I thinking? First Saiyame dropped into my life and I found myself intrigued by her; telling her every little thing about me. Her beauty had captured my attention immediately and her presence made me feel warm, but I don't think I felt anything toward her besides a deep sense of understanding. My attention shifted to Sakura as I observed her reaction to Saiyame's simple evasion of her attack. Another explosion of earth nearly knocked me from my tree, but Saiyame just glided away as if the burst of power was a minor annoyance. The elegance and grace with which she moved was incredible, and I felt my heart skip a beat when she let loose an airy laugh. I placed a hand over my heart and looked questioningly at my chest. What was that I felt when she moved? Admiration? Anxiousness? Something else?No, I decided, blinking away the demon's image. It wasn't something else. I was stunned by that one revelation, and by how obvious it was.
"It's not something else," I whispered, slowing down my beating heart. And it wasn't. Other than an immense respect and admiration, I felt nothing for Saiyame whatsoever.
"Come now, Sakura-san, are you still holding back? If it helps then I will retaliate, but that is something I wouldn't suggest. Demons are often called monsters for a reason."
Sakura's face scrunched up in confusion and her stance changed to defensive. "What?" she said.
"Very well, if you won't attack then I will!" Saiyame rushed toward Sakura faster than I knew she could follow. I, however, realized that my sharingan was finally beginning to make out her movements. Though my expression remained passive, I cheered inwardly at this insight. Perhaps this demon wasn't so invincible after all. Her next attack was clear to me: Saiyame seemed to pull a whip out of thin air and she swung it at Sakura before the kunoichi could dodge. The whip, which glinted silver in the sunlight, was adorned with four large, protruding spikes at its tip, and as the weapon wrapped Sakura in its cold embrace the spikes pinned her to the ground, holding her there.
"It's over," Saiyame said, hovering above Sakura heedlessly.
"No, no, no. No it's not!" Though Sakura could not move her arms to make any hand signs, her legs were not completely bound and she slammed one into the ground, creating a powerful shockwave that knocked Saiyame off her feet.I stared intently, waiting for Saiyame's next move as Sakura unwound herself and was back up in no time. From her supply pouch Sakura pulled out an assortment of kunai and shuriken and flung them at Saiyame as she stood. Sakura's aim was true, but Saiyame wasn't a demon for nothing.
With no time to dodge, Saiyame's aura flared so that her yellow spirit energy was visible even to those without the sharingan. Using pure energy, the demoness created a weak barrier, which brought the majority of Sakura's weapons to a halt. However, a few were able to push past the barrier, and I saw a shallow cut appear on Saiyame's cheek, along with some tears on her kimono. I was almost taken aback by the redness of Saiyame's blood, having half expected it to be as different from humankind as the rest of her.
Sakura didn't wait for Saiyame to recover; she ran forward and punched through the feeble barrier with ease. Where is that incredible power, I thought, disappointed. Where is that inhuman power that so drastically separates demons from humans? Before, Saiyame had defeated Orochimaru without even having to lift a finger, but now she was obviously having trouble dodging Sakura's simple attacks.
Just as her fist was about to smash into Saiyame's face, Sakura flinched and shouted in alarm. She hesitated for no more than a second, but it was all the time Saiyame needed to send a current of electricity coursing through the kunoichi's veins. Sakura yelped in pain and fell to the ground, clutching her body as if it was on fire. My muscles tensed and I dug my nails into the bark of the tree to hold myself back. A few drops of blood leaked from my fingertips but I paid them no heed as I tried to focus only on following Saiyame's and Sakura's movements.
Saiyame's whip found its way around Sakura's neck this time, and I knew that if she moved to stand then Sakura would most likely find herself impaled by the spikes at the whip's end. "I win, Sakura-san. If you move the slightest bit then I will, unfortunately, have no choice but to snap your neck. I'm sorry that the fight had to end this way, but I cannot tell you Uchiha-san's whereabouts. With my peripheral vision I could see Naruto trembling with fury. He knew that he couldn't move to help Sakura, and I was sure that he believed Saiyame actually would kill her. I half believed her myself.
Sakura stared defiantly at Saiyame for what seemed like an eternity before a loud crack of thunder split the sky, signaling the return of the storm from earlier. Saiyame didn't even try to conceal the fear that crossed her face at the sudden bang. Her grip on the whip loosened and she let it fall from Sakura's neck."Sakura-san, Naruto-san," Saiyame said, bowing low to them. "I believe that I have overstayed my welcome, therefore I must take my leave now. I wish you the best of luck on your quest to find your friend." She waved goodbye and was gone before I could blink, but I could still slightly make out a golden blur coming toward me.
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"That was anticlimactic," I said to Saiyame when she zipped into the cave where we had taken shelter earlier. "You were doing so well until all of the color drained from your face and you let Sakura go. Please don't tell me you're afraid of thunder."
"Well, if you insist then I shall keep it to myself," Saiyame spat, looking only slightly embarrassed. I cocked an eyebrow and snickered scornfully.
"You use lightning based attacks, and you're afraid of thunder? Oh, the irony."
"Uchiha-san, can we switch topics? I would rather not talk about this."I dropped my smirk squinted at Saiyame for a moment. My mocking words had never bothered her before, so perhaps there was something else going on here? Oh well, I decided, trying to distance myself emotionally from the demon. It wasn't a story I should be interested in hearing, so I would just drop it. I sighed and sat down on the opposite side of Saiyame, on the other side of the cave.
"How is it that you can be so incredibly perfect?" I asked, instead of continuing with a long line of insults.Saiyame's ear twitched and she looked towards me, confused.
"Perfect? You saw my fight with Sakura-san. And on top of that I have many weaknesses that make me very vulnerable in battle."
That caught my attention. "You seemed pretty invincible to me, even when Sakura appeared to have you cornered. You were always able to get out of the situations she threw at you."
"Of course. If my weaknesses were so obvious then I probably wouldn't be able to hold my own in a fight very well at all. I have to be very good at concealing them if I want to keep my life."
"What do you mean? What could possibly be so wrong with you that it would hinder you so much if your enemies knew?"
"I'm sorry, Uchiha-san, but that is a secret I cannot tell you. Anyways, I have decided on something that I think may help you defeat your brother."
"Oh? And what might that be?""I know that you are not patient enough to wait and train more, so I will train you while we search for Itachi. Your physical strength is incredible, and you are strong enough to defeat him as you are if you can stay focused. However, I do not believe that you will be able to retain your composure if you are faced with your brother, therefore I will mostly be training you on how to keep calm in battle, no matter what the circumstances. You must be strong mentally and physically in order to defeat and S-class criminal like your brother, so we will work a little bit on both aspects for your training. With my guidance you will also, hopefully, be able to increase the strength of your attacks as well."
I grunted and turned away from Saiyame, not at all appreciative of her offer to help train me. I had spent the last two and a half years preparing to take my revenge, and here she was treating me like a child again. I remembered her strength, though, and I couldn't deny it for very long. I needed a new mentor now, considering my old one was dead, and Saiyame was the perfect person to fill that position. "I'll think about it," I said stubbornly, lighting a small fire in the center of the cave. I didn't want Saiyame to think I was too anxious to be taught by her.
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"Focus!" Saiyame barked, staring me down with the same expression of disappointment that my brother had cast upon me all those years ago, when we trained together and I couldn't get a technique right. The only thing I hated more than my brother was that look on his face and those lingering words: You're too weak, on the night he killed our parents.My eyes clouded over with ire and I swung my katana forward blindly, slicing a log cleanly in two.
"Kuso," I muttered. "I lost it again."Saiyame landed softly in front of me, her look a mask that gave away nothing of her thoughts.
"It's been two full weeks and you've improved slightly at best. That battle with Deidara of Akatsuki has made it clear that my assumption before was wrong. You aren't nearly as prepared to fight your brother as I first thought, especially if you can get caught up in my illusion so easily."
"Tch, you don't know my brother," I said. Of course her assumption had been wrong. I rolled my eyes at the mention of my fight with Deidara a week ago, which had nearly cost me my life. I would have died when the overly enthusiastic artist self-destructed if I hadn't thought to use the summoning technique I learned from Orochimaru at the last moment. The snake had been none too happy to find out a kid had summoned him like that, but he had died from his wounds before he had a chance to strike me. Even though I had sustained some serious wounds, they were almost fully healed now, thanks to a special ointment Saiyame had a habit of carrying around."Besides," I muttered, "I thought you didn't use genjutsu, or any other shinobi techniques."
"I don't. As I told you before, my psychic powers are on a very high level, and my telepathy can take over my enemy's mind in much the same way that genjutsu takes over a shinobi's senses. It is much harder to break my hold on your mind, though, because taking over someone's thoughts is usually more effective than taking over the senses alone. For example, that log wasn't a replacement technique, because I don't use ninjutsu either." Here Saiyame paused and smiled thinly, just as a teacher explaining a concept to a thick-headed student would. "What I did do was enter your mind and make you think that the log was me."
"But-""No excuses! If you had been able to keep your composure enough to pay the slightest bit of attention then you could have easily broken my hold on your mind. Your Sharingan is supposed to see through illusions as well as cast them, right? It works the same way when breaking my control over you. The best solution, of course, would be to avoid getting caught in the first place, but you already know all of this!"Saiyame stomped her foot once to put emphasis on her words. "Sasuke-" and I looked up as she called me by my first name- "it is not strength that you lack now, at least not completely. Perhaps you should become a bit more powerful physically, but what you really need is to control your emotions around those who you despise just as well as you control them around those who you care for."
I bit back a retort at Saiyame's implication that I cared for anyone other than myself and rubbed my temples."I know," I admitted, remembering that horrible, horrible night more clearly than I had in a long time. Even though I had defeated Deidara, I hadn't gained any information about my brother's whereabouts, and that aggravated me. Nor had I learned the necessary self-control to fight with Itachi on equal terms. "I know."
Saiyame sighed and placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "I know that you would like nothing more than to see your brother blown into oblivion, but it takes much more time to train your mind than it takes to train your body. In a situation like yours, it is imperative that you clear your mind of everything buy your ambition to win. You must not seek victory out of vengeance; you must seek it only to become stronger. You cannot afford to think of your family when you fight your brother, do you understand?"
I nodded, rolled my eyes, and said "Yes, Saiyame-sensei.""Good. Now, let us try this again!" Saiyame replaced her mask of cold aloofness and in the next moment I was staring at my brother. My gut clenched at the sight of Itachi; looking exactly as he had on the night he murdered our parents and the rest of the Uchiha clan. I felt a roar building up in the pit of myself but I stopped myself before acting on my wrath. If I was seeing my brother now then I must already be trapped, I thought. At the same time I made this discovery, my brother disappeared and I was standing opposite Saiyame again.
"Now we're getting somewhere," she said, and then there was nothing but the sound of metal on metal echoing through the sleepy forest.
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One month had passed since I had taken to training with Saiyame, and our not-so-heartfelt conversation still rang in my mind. Now, as we walked down the streets of a village still under construction, all eyes were on me and Saiyame but no one dared to venture close enough to study us further. My face was stony; a hard mask of apathy. Saiyame seemed pleasant enough with her calm smile and twinkling eyes, but the oversized straw hat that hid her ears and the long cloak used to cover her tail made her look suspicious. Although I had often adopted an appropriately unconcerned expression when traveling in public, I had never been able to retain an aura of bloodlust strong enough to actually repel anyone before I began training with Saiyame.
"Sasuke," Saiyame spoke softly. "You should eat heartily today, just in case." I nodded, now used to being called so casually, and didn't bother correcting my error with words. It was easy to forget that the demoness was blind when she moved with such a brisk, confident gait.
We stopped at one of the few finished restaurants in town, which served a variety of seafood and not much else. The waiter eyed us warily as he approached our table and settled his eyes at a place just above Saiyame's head when she ordered. I noticed that he didn't even feign politeness while I recited my order, and he shuffled away as quickly as his stubby legs could carry him without running once I finished.
"Quite a reaction, ne?" Saiyame asked, without any trace of her usual humor.
I grunted and Saiyame graced me with a nervous smile, which did nothing to still my own nerves. Today everything would end, I was certain. After years of preparing for this day--of following in my brother's footsteps--I could scarcely believe that I would be facing him for the final time in just a few hours. I closed my eyes and tried to picture myself as Itachi's equal, but that vision was still something that I could not grasp. It had taken an immeasurable amount of patience on my part, and even more on Saiyame's, but I was confident that I would find a way to defeat Itachi for good today. Saiyame and I had already planned to intercept the only other living Sharingan user when he moved to secure Naruto, who was about twenty miles behind us. Even though I knew it was unlikely that Itachi would let Kisame interfere with our battle, Saiyame would serve as an extra precaution to make sure the mist shinobi didn't get in my way. I shivered once in anticipation, but my visage betrayed nothing of my inner musings. At the smell of smoked fish and fresh greens I looked up, as did Saiyame.
Despite the waiter's less than friendly attitude earlier, the food looked promising and my mouth watered as it was assaulted by the delectable aroma. Our server was a different man from the stout person who had taken our orders, and I noticed, with some amusement, that this new guy had no reservations on getting close to me or brushing his fingers unnecessarily against Saiyame's hand when he placed her meal before her. "Will that be all for you, miss? Perhaps you would like some better company?" The waiter cocked a disgusted eyebrow at me before Saiyame had a chance to answer.
The demoness peered out from beneath her oversized hat slowly, allowing the man to see her clear blue eyes. Please say it, please say it. I willed Saiyame to say the magic words that had so often driven lechers like this from her instantaneously. "I'm blind, not stupid," Saiyame said, and even I had to smirk as the waiter faltered, bowed, and walked off.
"How was it?" she asked, once the unfortunate man was out of earshot.
"The same as usual," I replied shortly, biting into the succulent fish and calming my nerves to eat.
"Oh. Well, I see. Itadakimasu."Saiyame and I ate in silence, both on edge about the days later events. Even with Saiyame by my side, I knew there was a that I could die, because I wouldn't let her interfere, no matter what. If I couldn't get revenge for my family--no, if I couldn't defeat Itachi to become stronger--then I deserved to die. I closed my eyes as I finished the last of my meal, and laced my fingers beneath my chin. Before this fight I had to clear my thoughts, or else I would have no chance of winning. I took deep, quiet breaths and was able to clear my thoughts and enter a state of absolute serenity.
"Sasuke," Saiyame said, breaking my tranquility. "It is time."
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"So," Itachi began, "you have finally come to take your revenge, have you, little brother?"
"No," I replied. "I have come to gain power, and nothing else." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Saiyame facing Kisame without much interest, and Itachi turned his head to watch the exchange as well.
"Well, you are one weird looking broad, aren't you?" Kisame asked Saiyame, looking her up and down. "Still kinda cute though, I suppose. Those things real?" Kisame nodded first to Saiyame's ears and then to her tail.
"Is what real?" Saiyame cocked her head to the side and her eyes flashed opalescent in the bright sun.
"Holy shit," Kisame swore. "The dame's blind. Just my luck, too."
"Ah." Saiyame rolled her eyes rubbed one of her ears as if to prove that it was indeed real before responding in her usual manner. "It is true that I am blind, but I am not an idiot and I eat fish like you for breakfast."
"Still," Kisame persisted, tossing his sword, Samehada, over his back. "I don't really feel right, fighting a blind freak like you."
"Then don't," Saiyame replied simply. "I have no intention of coming between those two." Saiyame now turned to me, a somber smile on her face. "Good luck, Uchiha-san."
I nodded once and then all of my attention was on my brother, who was waiting patiently for me to signal the beginning of our match. Saiyame found a relatively high branch a few yards away to sit and watch the coming battle, while Kisame settled himself on a nearby cliff ledge that overlooked the valley where Itachi and I were standing. I took another deep breath to prepare myself and hardened my stomach against the incensed flames building in it, so that I would not lose control.
I stared hard into my brother's mangeyou sharingan, letting him know in that one moment that I was serious, and that I didn't fear him anymore. "I will win," I said, before rushing forward with my katana raised offensively and my red eyes whirling.
My sword clashed with Itachi's kunai and sparks flew. I moved one hand from my weapon and swung up, hoping to catch my brother in the gut, but he dodged easily, instinctively. As he moved left I feinted right, satisfied when his muscles twitched to follow my movement. I took a chance, and my low kick, left, caught Itachi in the ribs, making him stumble back just far enough for me to jump away and replace my katana on my back. I began to circle my brother slowly, testing him, and Itachi mimicked me. As I moved, I kept my eyes boldly glued to Itachi's, daring him to use his mangekyou sharingan. He did not activate that power, though, and I dodged his sudden assault of kunai with ease.
Itachi lifted his hands next, and they flew through the necessary hand signs for the Uchiha's signature move at a speed that I was happy to match."Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!" we yelled simultaneously, causing two immense balls of flame to burst from our mouths and explode on contact.
I used the cover of the dirt and debris to my advantage and drew my katana before I had a chance to think about what I was doing. I charged forward blindly, using only instinct to guide me, and swung my sword sideways, hoping to catch my brother right in the side. I hit air, and an intense pain in my stomach made me wince and retreat from the cloud of dust. I looked down and frowned at the kunai buried deep in my side, close to my ribs. Itachi charged through the dissipating haze and I had to narrow my eyes to read his movements correctly. I managed to block another kunai before it pierced my chest, but when I looked into my brother's eyes, the Mangekyou sharingan overwhelmed me and I felt reality slipping away to be replaced by illusion.
I screamed in spite of myself, trying to pull the last threads of reality forward before I was completely trapped in Itachi's technique. I blinked suddenly, as the fog lifted even quicker than it had come. I knew that I didn't have the luxury to observe my surroundings to see if they were indeed real, but I couldn't help letting my eyes wander just the tiniest bit. "Holy..." I trailed off, completely awed by the creature in front of me.
Before me stood a large fox so golden that its fur reflected the sun like fire. It was about six feet tall standing on all fours, and its nine tails twitched every which way as if they had a life of their own. The fox's bright blue eyes glowed luminescent and her muzzle was scrunched up in fierce growl that revealed a deadly set of fangs. The magnificent beast held such an aura of confidence and raw power that I was stunned, and the only thought I could form was that I was glad she wasn't baring her teeth at me.
The air around Saiyame rippled with the energy pouring off of her, and even Itachi was frozen by the demon's unexpected appearance.I found myself thinking back to my meeting with Kyuubi, which I had experienced through Naruto's mind, and wondered at the difference between the two kitsune youkai. Kyuubi's power was dark and terrifying, as a demon's aura should be, but Saiyame's presence was soothing and it seemed to fill me with more strength than I knew what to do with. The monster inside of Naruto made everything else seem small and insignificant, but this demon seemed to have an opposite effect on those around it. She seemed more like a god to be worshipped than a demon to be feared.
A swift movement from Saiyame snapped me out of my stupor, and I yelled the word before she had a chance to spill my brother's blood. "Stop!" Saiyame obeyed, pulling back immediately. She removed her jaws from the base of Itachi's neck without snapping it, and I released a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. I noticed that Itachi did the same, and it gave me a sort of inward satisfaction to know that Saiyame had had such an effect on him.
"Saiyame," I said, staring into the fox's blind eyes, "I told you not to interfere." Saiyame's aura flared for a moment and then she was back to herself, looking somewhat tired but otherwise completely indifferent.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke-san. I lost control of my emotions for a moment, it won't happen again."
I nodded to Saiyame, once again forgetting that she couldn't see it, and then locked eyes with my brother, giving him the silent cue that it was time to resume our duel. I wasted no time in attacking Itachi by launching an assault of shuriken and kunai at him and following up with one of my clan's famous fire techniques. "Katon: Housenka no jutsu!" I yelled, combining steel and fire.
I used the force of that attack as a cover to prepare my chidori, which didn't take more than a few seconds now that I had mastered it so well. Instead of building the electricity and chakra around my hand as I had been taught to do, I used my katana as a conductor and charged the blade as much as I could without straining the metal. I finished in time to see that my previous attack had done nothing to faze Itachi whatsoever. He hadn't even bothered to use kage bunshin or a basic substitution technique to avoid the assault, preferring instead to dodge my attempt to skewer him altogether.
I turned as Itachi disappeared and swung my katana offensively, only just missing his heart. However, when I pulled away my blade I saw that it was stained crimson, and a long tear in Itachi's cloak confirmed that I had indeed cut him. I sped forward, making a jabbing motion with my sword and managing to stab Itachi right in the center of his ribcage. I released the energy built up in my blade and succeeded in shocking my brother senseless. The electricity that I poured into him elicited a grunt of pain and a grimace on his part, and then he stumbled back, free of my katana and stemming the flow of blood with one hand.
"You have become strong, little brother," Itachi spat, splattering the ground with blood. He glared at me and then his red lips twitched upward in a mocking smile. His eyes flickered to Saiyame, who was watching the fight impassively from her high perch. "I wonder what changed you..." Itachi's eyes were plastered on Saiyame, taking in her angelic features with open admiration. I knew that my brother wasn't one to be swayed by looks alone, no matter how perfect they might be, and I figured that he must be reacting to her gentle, intoxicating aura in the same way I had when we first met.
Without waiting for him to repair his defenses, I tucked my katana back in its sheath and began making the hand signs for my chidori again. I charged too late, however, and Itachi evaded and countered my lightning blade with his own technique.
"Katon: Ryuuka no jutsu," he said, hitting me dead on with a massive flaming dragon. I winced and then roared as the heat burned me and smoke obscured my vision. I shook off the flames before they had a chance to do any real damage and was unable to avoid a solitary kunai before it ripped through my flesh and lodged itself in my chest. I gasped loudly, unable to speak, and stared at the knife in surprise. I knew better than to pull the weapon out when it was pinned so deeply in my chest, so close to my heart, so I kept my distance from Itachi and made myself go numb so that I could finish him off before he killed me. I made the familiar motions for my grand fireball technique the second time, glowering at Itachi as he followed my lead. It may have been one of my clan's most basic attacks, but it was going to end this fight once and for all.
"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!" I screamed, pouring all of my chakra into the ball of fire that burst from my mouth. Itachi copied me, and the explosion of fire knocked me from my feet. I flew backwards a good thirty feet and was slammed into a tree so hard that I felt its thick trunk crack and give way. The tree fell to the side and I slumped to the ground, landing on my stomach and feeling too numb to wince as the kunai was pushed even further into my body. My vision blurred from the fire and sheer exhaustion, and I struggled to see what had become of Itachi.
"Sasuke!" I narrowed my eyes and tried to make out Saiyame's face as she kneeled beside me, lifting my hand to check my pulse. Her voice was an octave higher than normal, and I could practically taste her fear on my tongue. "Stay with me Sasuke, I'll go get help!" And then she was gone, and all was black for an impossible time.
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"Shut up Naruto, you'll wake him!"
"Oh come on, Sakura-chan, he's been sleeping for like three weeks already! He deserves to get a rude awakening," Naruto protested. "Besides, he looks pretty much healed to me anyway."
"God," I muttered, trying to block out the bickering of my two former teammates. "Will you shut up?" I opened my eyes and then quickly shut them again, momentarily blinded by the bright hospital lights.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed in a hushed voice. "You're awake."
"You think?" I grumbled, opening my eyes again, slowly this time.
"Sasuke no baka!" Naruto yelled, immediately getting in my face and glaring hard at me. "You are such an idiot! Why the hell did you leave like that? And then you had to go and almost get yourself killed! What the hell were you thinking?"
I frowned at Naruto's questions, but I still had a few questions of my own burning in my mind. "What happened to Itachi," I asked, more to myself than Naruto or Sakura. "And how did you guys find me?"
"Eh? You don't know?" Naruto gasped, pointing an accusing finger at me. Sakura punched him and he fell to the ground twitching.
"Baka! Of course he wouldn't know! He was unconscious."
"What happened?" I repeated, this time addressing Sakura directly. I flinched away from the pain in her eyes when she looked at me and I waited for her answer.
"Well," Sakura began, wiping invisible dirt from her shirt. "We were following a lead that we had gotten on you, when a golden fox came out of nowhere and surprised us. Well, I guess that's a bit of an understatement. See, the fox wasn't like anything any of us had ever seen before. It was at least six feet tall on all fours, and it had nine tails. Also, its fur seemed to reflect the sun and it glowed just like something truly...magical."Sakura paused and stared off into space, no doubt remembering her encounter with Saiyame's true form. "It was beautiful," she breathed.
"Anyway," Sakura continued, snapping out of her reverie. "Kakashi-sensei was the first one to shake off the shock of meeting the fox, and he decided that we should follow it."
"Yeah, and it was a good thing too," Naruto interrupted, rubbing his throbbing head. "The thing led us straight to you.""
Tch, don't talk like that, Naruto." I had to smack you to get you out of that ridiculous trance you were in."
"Hey!" Naruto was quick to defend himself. "I couldn't help it. I think it had something to do with Kyuubi, actually."I rolled my eyes impatiently, annoyed at both Naruto and Sakura for stalling.
"Ok, I get it. Saiyame helped you, now what about Itachi?" Sakura recoiled at the sharp edge to my voice, and when she looked away I already knew what she was going to say.
"Itachi, well he survived too. There was a lot of blood when we arrived, but no sign of your brother. I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun."
"Leave, both of you," I said monotonously, already preparing to get lost in my thoughts. Naruto started to protest, but Sakura pushed him out of the room before he was able to complain.
I bowed my head and rubbed my temples, thinking about my fight with Itachi. I was angry, of course, but satisfied in a way. At least, I reasoned, I was able to injure him. Before there had been such a difference in our strength, but when we fought three weeks ago our abilities had been almost equal. I allowed myself to take some satisfaction in knowing that I had become stronger. Strong enough even to fight Itachi on equal terms."Next time I will not fail. I will not fail." I repeated those words quietly a few times and looked out the one window in my room as if expecting to see Saiyame there waiting for me.
I smiled just the tiniest bit, thinking about the fox demon. She had kept her promise and saved my life at the same time, I thought, recalling Sakura's words. Even in the end, Saiyame had not killed Itachi for me, nor had she stopped Kisame from taking him away to aid him. I was sure that is what had to have happened, too. There was no way Itachi would have been able to get away on his own after that last explosion, even though I hadn't been able to see his condition through the dirt and smoke. I would have to bide my time now that I was back in Konoha, because I knew there would be heavy consequences for my actions over the past few years, but when I was free I would track down my brother and I would kill him without fail.
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Today was the four year anniversary of the day I had fought my brother, and it was also the anniversary of the last time I had seen Saiyame. I rose silently from bed and grabbed my hitai-ate, careful not to wake Sakura. I kissed her softly on the forehead and moved a strand of hair out of her eyes before exiting our house and heading for Tsunade's office. Whether she agreed to it or not, I was leaving today and there was nothing anyone could do stop me. Akatsuki had been all but wiped out a couple of years ago, but two former members had survived. I hadn't heard anything on either Kisame or Itachi since I had been dragged back from the scene of our battle, because Tsunade hadn't allowed it, but I had learned that they were still very much alive.
In the four years that I had been in Konoha I had become an official jounin, and my sentence had been very light because the village was in desperate need of strong shinobi at the time. I had been reinstated on my former team, too, and I was surprised at how forgiving everyone was. Saiyame had tried tell me time after time how they would react, but I had never been quite able to believe it until it actually happened. Somehow Sakura and I had become close, but my friendship with Naruto had never fully recovered. We were friends, in a sense, but I still resented him at times, especially when we sparred. More often than not Naruto would defeat me, and he seemed to get stronger so much faster than I did, no matter how hard I trained.
I shrugged off my musings as I reached the door to Tsunade's office and knocked once before entering. I stood in the doorway to the small room, not quite sure I was seeing right. "You!" I gasped, blinking to see if her face disappeared.
"Hello, Sasuke-san," Saiyame said, smiling politely. She looked exactly the same as the last day we had spoken and her aura instantly calmed me.
"So," Tsunade said, rolling her eyes at my dumbfounded expression. "This girl has informed me that you plan to leave today, to search for your brother. Is that true?"
"Yes," I said, straightening my shoulders and staring into the Hokage's eyes defiantly. Nothing she said could sway my resolve.
"Very well, then I will assign you this mission officially. That way you won't get in trouble and we won't have to go through another big charade when you come back."
I blinked at Tsunade and looked briefly to Saiyame. "I thought you would be more against this," I confessed, trying not to sound too flabbergasted.
"Usually, yes. But this girl has made it quite clear that you're going to leave one way or another, and I'd like to do it without having to send half the village to hunt you down again. Now, get your stuff and get going. I know you don't want the others to know yet. "Tsunade dismissed me with a wave of her hand and I waited for Saiyame to follow me before leaving. Last time I left Konoha it had been as a fugitive, but now I knew that I would have a place to return to if I survived a second encounter with my brother.
"Sasuke," Saiyame said, catching my attention immediately. "I thought you might need this," she continued, holding out a wrapped bundle for me to take.
I took the object carefully and unwrapped it curiously. Inside was my katana, which I had lost when the explosion slammed me into that damn tree all those years ago. It was safely in its sheath and polished to a high shine. Also, the blade looked sharper and somehow stronger, as if it was brand new. I was speechless for a moment, but I recovered quickly. "Thank you, Saiyame. I wondered what had become of this." I wasn't sure why, but this particular katana was significant to me. Perhaps it was because this was the blade that had cut my brother.
"You're welcome. I apologize, but I won't be able to accompany you on your journey this time. Unfortunately I have important matters to tend to elsewhere, and they cannot be delayed."I nodded out of habit, though I was slightly disappointed that she would not be joining me. I knew better than to expect so much from her, but this time I would be truly alone when I faced my brother.
"Of course. Where will you go?"
Saiyame smiled ruefully and looked up into the blue, cloudless sky. "Oh, somewhere quite far away. A friend of mine needs assistance, and I'm afraid it's something he can't handle on his own. Koji has always been one to bring trouble upon himself," Saiyame mumbled, her voice growing soft. "Besides," she continued, "you don't need my help anymore anyway."
"Yeah." I trailed off, my body burning with excitement and a rekindled fury. "I will defeat him for sure this time."
"Of course. I don't doubt it." Saiyame turned away, then, and I knew that the conversation was over. As I left the gates of Konoha to begin my journey, I paused. The village behind me was so peaceful, and I thought that I might miss the quiet, if only a little. "Goodbye," I said, turning away and disappearing into the woods. "I hope to return again soon."
Fin.