Once upon a time, there was a prince who saw something he shouldn't have.

He woke lost and chilled by nightmares of dungeon labyrinths. The guards paid him no mind when he went in search of his brother, as they all knew of the younger prince's neediness.

However, his brother's room was empty, and the bed untouched since the maid's morning tidying. The prince tiptoed to the open window. He peeked out, forcing himself to search the ground despite the dizzying height.

A hand reached up, inches from his face, and grasped the ledge. The prince fell back with a yelp as the crown prince leaped into the window.

The prince stared at his brother, taking in the strange straw hat and black robe with crimson clouds embroidered on it. The moonlight cleaving the darkness of the bedroom made his brother's silhouette sharp and sinister. The crown prince took a step forward, spinning red irises glinting as he assessed the intruder in his bedroom.

The young prince shrank back. "Brother?" The crown prince blinked, and then the rage-red of his eyes faded.

"You should be in bed." The crown prince offered him a tired smile before he turned and unfurled a storage scroll on his bed. He disrobed, revealing the familiar dark uniform of the Sun Kingdom soldiers. The prince stood and inched towards him.

"Where were you?"

The crown prince removed his hat and placed it into the sealing circle with his robe. There was a flare of chakra. He tucked the closed scroll into his hip-pouch.

"Nowhere of importance," his brother assured him as he kneeled down to eye-level. He prodded the prince on the forehead. "Don't be such a worrywart. That was just a disguise for when I need to clear my head." The young prince was shocked that his hero could even feel the weight of the crown, not to mention tremble under the pressures of the crown. "Don't tell? Please?"

"I won't," he promised. He would protect his brother's privacy.

And so, the prince kept a secret.


Prey for the Hunted

By Airyo

Chapter 26


Hinata stared at her genin teacher.

"Please say something," Kurenai urged. Hinata turned her gaze down to the latest message from Sasori in her numb hands, but she'd already forgotten what she was reading. Her vision blurred with the repeating memory of Kurenai walking in, shoulders drawn up taut, and relaying that she'd told Sasuke about Sasori.

"I'm not sure what you want me to say," Hinata said, voice hoarse. She licked her lips, and then rolled up the scroll. Kurenai fiddled with her dark curls, before throwing the mess over her shoulder with a sigh of frustration.

"I know you don't agree," she said. "But that man is a danger."

Hinata managed a weak smile. "I know. You were thinking of Oushou. I don't begrudge you that. But you should have told me so I could prepare myself."

Kurenai frowned in apprehension. "Prepare for what?

"I don't know," Hinata admitted. She turned away. "He's incredibly stubborn once he decides on something. I'm afraid that..."

"...that he would hate you because of this?" Kurenai finished. Hinata shook her head.

"It's alright if he rejects me, because I was already dead to him once by my own doing. But it would break Nori's heart if he left us. And…" Hinata wrung her hands. "I don't know if I can ...if Nori chose to leave with him..."

"She wouldn't choose that."

Hinata narrowed her eyes, pale irises piercing against the darkness of her eyelashes. "But she would still have to choose, wouldn't she?" Kurenai flinched, but she held eye contact, gaze steady with belief in her actions. The ferocity in Hinata's expression faded, making the shadows under her eyes more apparent by contrast. "So as a mother, I cannot fault you trying to protect Oushou. Your fear…" She clutched her hands in front of her chest, as if she could pry open the cold claw gripping her heart. She met Kurenai's eyes. "He would never hurt Oushou nor Nori on purpose. You've seen the way he treats Oushou."

Kurenai's lips twisted despite her uncertainty of Hinata's thought process. "Like he is playing with a dog," she replied. "Others may dislike Oushou, but they see him as an unlikeable child. The Uchiha...he doesn't even seem to regard Oushou as human."

"He treats Oushou just like he treated his teammates." Hinata smiled at the odd mix of satisfied horror on her friend's face. "He's not that awful. He just doesn't try to be diplomatic about his words nor actions. I suspect it was his way of lashing out against his place in his brother's shadow." Kurenai blinked.

"Quite the samurai in shining armor," she said flatly. "I completely understand why you love him now."

"Just because I love him doesn't mean I am blind to his flaws." Hinata scrunched her nose. "Even if time might blur it all, I want to remember his imperfections perfectly." Her voice softened. "I hate his flaws just as much I cherish them. Because they are his." Kurenai opened her mouth, and then closed it with a smile tinged with pain. Her crimson eyes gleamed, bright with unshed tears.

"I miss the smell of tobacco," she said. "Even though I know it is a disgusting habit, I miss it."

"So I know Sasuke is hard to deal with," Hinata continued when Kurenai had a moment to compose herself. "But I am not recklessly following my emotions. Sasuke is more useful to us in Seidou. Not wandering aimlessly elsewhere."

Kurenai gave her a look that dissected the calculated neutrality of her expression. "You don't want him back in the Sun Kingdom. But you think that is where he'll end up." There was no hint of a question in her words. Hinata bit her lip, embarrassed that she'd been read so easily.

"I'm not certain why he left the Sun Kingdom. He misses that place." She saw it in the way he treated those who reminded him of his teammates. She recognized the odd way he'd react to a familiar mannerism, because it was the same way she'd searched for the likeness of her own genin teammates. "He had a purpose with Orochimaru, whatever it was, that kept him away from home. But now that it's over...they'll try to make him go back. He's too strong a fighter for them not to keep a watch on him." She closed her eyes, thinking of the agony in every line of his body when he'd realized all the facts pointed to Itachi's betrayal. It had been over a decade since her exile, and the memory of her family's dismissal still ripped red raw lines through her veins. "But he's furious with his brother right now. Itachi's managed to keep a tenuous peace, but I fear that Sasuke could, and would, destroy it. If only out of spite."

"That's why you directed more scouts towards the Sun border."

Hinata nodded, plucking a different scroll from the pile on her desk and rolling it from hand to hand. "They've reported increased movement. There was very little action on Sun borders until recently, but it's been long enough for Orochimaru's death to reach the right ears." Hinata picked at the frayed end of the ribbon that held the report closed as she continued. "Descriptions match his genin teammates. They are looking for him now."

"Do you want them to find you as well?"

Hinata shook her head. "I am no more welcome in the Sun Kingdom than in the Moon Kingdom."

"That's not what I asked," Kurenai said, eyes knowing.

"But that's the only answer I can give," Hinata whispered. Her love for Sasuke was an enormous part of her decision to leave the Sun Kingdom, so even though the words turned to ash on her tongue, she could speak them. But if she admitted that she missed everyone else she'd met there, it was a slippery descent to admitting that she wanted to return to the Sun Kingdom. And that the golden times of the past were the happiest she would ever be. It was a cold thought for the future.

A long time ago, the reason for her reticence might have stemmed from a sense of loyalty to her home kingdom. Maybe a sense of stubborn, idealistic love. Hinata was not so naive anymore. Now, she only concentrated on the realistic goals before her, and left the dreams for Nori and Oushou.

Kurenai leaned down and tucked a strand of Hinata's hair behind her ear. "If the scouts have already reported movement, you need to decide soon, for Seidou's sake and for your sake. We won't be able to hide from them. When you face them, how will you greet the people tangled between you and your enemies?"

"The calm before our storm is near the end," Hinata said, shrugging off the question. She curled her fingers into fists, making old scars on her hands stark as lightning on her skin. "Maybe it's a good thing."

"Maybe. I hope you're right about Sasuke," Kurenai added with a sigh. "Or he will drag us all down with him."

Hinata didn't contradict her.


Sasuke found Gaara in the mess tent for an early lunch. "You dislike me," he said as he approached Gaara. The redhead blinked once and set his wooden spoon down by his bowl of stew.

"Correct, but some background would be helpful." Sasuke ignored the question in his eyes.

"Do you dislike me more than you are loyal to Hinata?" he asked.

"No."

"Good." Sasuke sat down with a sweep of his cloak, straddling the end of the bench Gaara occupied. "Tell me why the hell you're working with Sasori of the Red Sand." Gaara stared at him for a moment.

"She told you?"

"Not Hinata. Kurenai."

Gaara nodded. "I'm not surprised."

"Why?"

Gaara took a large mouthful of his bread, taking care to chew thoroughly. And slowly. Sasuke's upper lip curled, but he waited for him to finish his bite.

"You're from the Sun Kingdom," Gaara said. "And she grew up in the Moon Kingdom." Sasuke gave him an unimpressed look.

"This isn't some stupid tragic love story so don't give me that garbage. It's actually because of Oushou's father, isn't it?" he asked. Gaara tilted his head and then nodded.

"It's not as dumb as it looks."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the demeaning pronoun. "Trying to keep me from knowing is more telling that 'Father dearest' is or was an important person in the Sun Kingdom." Gaara shrugged. "I could care less about the brat's lineage," Sasuke said, not forgetting his initial goal. "But why Sasori? He helped kill you. He's a part of Akatsuki."

"And you haven't done odd jobs for them?"

"I didn't work for them. My goals may have intersected, but never aligned with theirs. Never." The final word of his sentence dropped into a low growl.

Gaara paused, studying him with stony, emerald eyes. "After the Amaterasu War, the people of Sky were divided like possessions between Sun and Moon. Most accepted it because the alternative was to be left in a lawless land with no one to govern them and the thought terrified them. Sasori created Seidou as a place for the people for whom the desert was the only home they can imagine." Sasuke frowned.

"That doesn't -" Gaara held up a finger.

"You are asking my opinion, your highness - let me finish." A part of Sasuke wanted to make the fiery red of Gaara's hair more realistic, but even the most callous part recognized the importance of what he was saying. So he let him finish. "I hold no more love for Akatsuki than you do, but something good came out of Sasori's machinations. There are children here who can remember the desert as something more than the wasteland of war. That is why I can bear to be near someone who killed me. I can look past the grudges."

"So you're just going to forgive and forget what they're capable of?" Sasuke asked, ignoring the jab. Gaara waved his hand down, reminding Sasuke to keep his voice lower as their discussion began to draw attention. He leaned in, voice soft but no less firm.

"I'm saying you should speak with Hinata, rather than using me to echo thoughts back to you." He turned back to his stew, a clear dismissal. Gaara reached for his spoon. Before he could grasp it, Sasuke set it aflame with a flick of his fingers. "Real mature," the redhead muttered as he prodded the remaining ashes. He brushed away the soot in disgust, revealing the immaculate surface of the table underneath, and scoffed. "I'd think someone who has perfect control over fire would have a little better handle on his temper."

Sasuke put his elbow on the table and rested his cheek against his fist.

"Funny, I was just thinking that someone aware of every grain of sand around him would be a little more perceptive about the dangers around him." The two exchanged glares. Sasuke's eyes narrowed into dark slits. "So you really believe Sasori is loyal to us? His goal is to purely take down the Moon Kingdom?" Gaara held his gaze, his face twisting with distaste for Sasuke's hyperbole.

"Of course not," he replied. "You may have an inflated head, but do you really believe Hinata and I that naive?" Gaara's posture straightened as he looked down his nose at him, giving him a look that was a perfect mix of Sakura and Kakashi at their most condescending. And Naruto when he was trying to imitate their expression of "how could you be so stupid I had almost thought you intelligent".

Gaara's indignation eased the trepidation knotting Sasuke's shoulders. He was more insulted for Hinata's sake than his own. The problem of Sasori was still there, but they weren't blindly following him. It wasn't a cat batting around a baby bird, but rather a wily old crow approaching a known enemy to share in a common goal.

Sasuke relaxed, and then smirked in a way that could be considered 'fond'. "Well, it's hard to tell what you're thinking when you don't have these," he said, gesturing to his own eyebrows. "Frowning? Surprised? Sad?"

Gaara looked at him for a long moment, expression as flat as Sasuke claimed. He stood and picked up his tray. "Are we done talking about your feelings, Sousuke? Do you need your hair braided next? Style advice?"

It was strange to banter. It was stranger yet to do so with Gaara, who had wanted and possibly still wanted him dead. But it was also the first in a long time a peer treated him with no ulterior motives.

Sasuke missed his team - at least what he had thought they had been. He missed working through troubles like they were one mind. He missed not having to worry about enemies from behind. Lost in the jagged crevices between the grief for Hinata and the anger for himself, there had been little room for his old teammates. But it didn't make it ache any less when Sasuke considered the possibility that they'd been loyal to Itachi first, him second.

It was a good thing Sasuke left after all.

"Well?" Gaara was giving him a strange look for his long silence. Sasuke shook off his thoughts and smirked in a way he knew irritated the other man. Then he added a slow, judgmental scan of his outfit.

"Not with that attire."

"Soup must have gone bad," Gaara muttered as he shook his head. He gave his tray to one of the people working the mess tent and left without another word.


The horizon was ablaze with sunset when Sasuke sensed the puppet master's approach. Not that Sasori was trying to hide his presence at all. Sasuke headed for the main entrance of the camp, where a small crowd was already gathering.

"Good evening," Jugo said as he fell in step with him. At Sasuke's questioning look, Jugo shrugged, shuffling his feet in a way that was more fitting of a shy child. Even a week ago, Sasuke might have dismissed it as a ruse, a way to make him underestimate the sense of foreboding that touched the back of his mind around Jugo. He still couldn't shake the idea of a feral animal, ready to tear out his throat with any hint of a threat, but the past few weeks had reminded him that the most terrifying warriors still might be human.

With Kimimaro's full attention on Anko, it made sense that Jugo would seek him out. Especially with the approach of Sasori, a new element of uncertainty.

"Maybe for you," Sasuke grumbled, as if Jugo's actions were perfectly normal. He didn't fall back, nor tried to step too closely and kept walking. He tried not to contemplate the similarities between his strategy for dealing with attention-seeking children and attention-seeking giant men with the ability to rip him in two if he pissed him off.

Jugo offered him an awkward smile.

Sasuke ignored him.

They joined the crowd just in time to witness Hinata greet the three cloaked figures. The smallest of them ignored her, head turned towards Sasuke. The other two faltered, and then followed his example when tension in the air hushed the crowd. It wasn't hard to guess.

"Sasori of the Red Sand," Sasuke said as he slipped to the center of the crowd. Sasori pulled back his hood, revealing the same youthful features Sasuke had glimpsed a decade ago when he walked the battlefield. Only back then, Sasori's brown eyes had been blank and still, the eyes of a shell impaled by swords like an insect pinned to a collector's display board.

Even if Sakura hadn't shared Sasori's bloody history with her team, Sasuke felt a distinct sense of wrongness, not unlike the slick of oil at the back of his throat he often felt near Orochimaru. Age was by no means an indication of ability, but there was correlation. Sasori was the antithesis of the very flow of time itself.

"Interesting. Uchiha Sasuke." Sasori's gaze flicked over him, more a gesture of habit than actual assessment. He glanced sideways at Hinata. "You misled me on purpose. Do you enjoy doing pointless things?"

"You allowed yourself to be misled," Hinata said, unshaken by the killer intent that curled around her like the claws of a lazy wolf. "I gave you all the relevant facts and did not clutter your time in the Moon Kingdom with extraneous details."

For several heartbeats, Sasori didn't react. His chakra permeated the air around them like miasma, weighing down their breaths with poison. Then he huffed in disinterest and the air was breathable again. Sasori swiveled his attention to Sasuke. "I suppose it is news of the past that you were once royalty. Don't tell the wrong people. I'll know if you do."

"Anything else?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No," was the dismissive reply. "Hinata. In between playing your little games, have you the time to read my missive?"

Hinata nodded. "Since we are acting closer to Yue, I added five more people with experience in peripheral scouting support. They're fleshing out the final details of their contact code and will be teaching us on the road."

"To minimize leakage," Sasori affirmed. "Give me the list of names. You leave tomorrow?"

Sasuke stepped forward. "What's happening tomorrow?"

"What a waste of time," Sasori muttered. He looked Sasuke dead in the eyes. "Let me be clear - how you complete your initiation into Seidou is none of my concern. Go set things on fire or whatever it is you do to entertain yourself. Just don't slow down vital operations." He didn't wait for a response and started walking away, motioning for Hinata to continue.

"We're still waiting on reports from scouts watching the merchant caravan from Yue. Our contact there said he could only guess the date they're actually departing, as they will be carrying sensitive information…" Sasuke watched them turn a corner and Hinata's voice faded out of earshot.

Jugo opened his mouth, looking sympathetic. "Don't," Sasuke muttered. The giant shut his mouth with a click.


While Jugo was wise enough to make himself scarce afterwards, Oushou approached him with the fearful determination of someone knowingly about to poke a hornet's nest. And asked for training.

Sasuke stared at him for a moment, wondering if the desert heat had fried away his self-preservation. He was about to refuse, until Oushou gave him that annoyingly calm smile and added that "it's not difficult to sit there while you make me run laps anyways."

"We're sparring," Sasuke said. He let the boy have one moment to blink and then his fist was clipping the side of Oushou's head, throwing the boy off his feet. The boy tucked and rolled into a crouch on all fours, seamlessly turning his weight on one arm to kick up. Sasuke batted away.

He let Oushou see a glimpse of fingers, barely a breath for recovery, and then he was chasing Oushou with a long tail of flames. The boy leaped over the fire one, two, threefourfive times- but he had already forgotten -

Oushou yelped when daggers hidden by the flames nipped his body. He landed gracefully, Hinata's training too ingrained to allow anything else. Long cuts on the fabric at his shoulders and chest fell open like sharp smiles.

A flash of crimson in the boy's chest pocket caught Sasuke's eye - it was too familiar, too bright, too close to the home he'd abandoned years ago - and Sasuke instinctively grabbed for it before he even understood the implications.

A sash.

The Twelve Guardians' sash, in fact.

"Huh." Sasuke held it up and studied it with interest. Even though it was clean and well-maintained now, the previous owner had been much less careful; the fabric was worn and looked like some animal had gnawed on it at some point. That only lent further authenticity to the neat embroidery of the Guardian seal - for all their admirable qualities, Guardians could not be trusted to take care of non-weapon personal items. "Where'd you get a hold of one of these?"

Oushou reached out. "Give it back."

The panic in the boy's eyes was an important clue. Sasuke studied the sash, ignoring the pang of nostalgia as he took in the familiar design. The Guardians had been his most frequent companions aside from Team 7. The first wisps of a theory began to form in the back of Sasuke's mind. It was a feeble idea at best, a fragile bird that might take flight or be crushed by a slip of the hand.

So he set it on fire. "No." He brushed the ruined remains off his hands and let the breeze carry it away.

An inhuman shriek was his only warning. Then Oushou was upon him in a fury of fists and blades and haphazard techniques he'd yet to master. Sasuke evaded the first few attacks with minute shifts in stance, looking half-asleep.

"Calm down," he said. "Let me explain-"

Then Oushou seemed to blur before his eyes.

Sasuke jerked his head to the side, dodging three knives meant for his skull. He was forced to step back when three more trailed in their shadows. It was almost enough to distract him from the following combination of kicks and punches. All aimed for the lethal nerves of the neck.

Kid was so far gone he was actually trying to kill him, he realized.

He needed to stop the fight. Now.

Sasuke hadn't sparred in years, and it was growing difficult to suppress the instinct to incapacitate his opponent efficiently. Permanently.

Sasuke missed the first time, but the second time, he grabbed a firm hold of Oushou's ankle. With a flick of his arm, he negated Oushou's momentum, leaving him dangling upside-down, face turning even redder.

"Calm down," Sasuke snapped.

Oushou squirmed and kicked up, sending his thin frame careening with it. Rather than choose between breaking a child's leg or letting himself get kicked in the face, Sasuke released him. Oushou's boot swung past his face and Oushou dropped to the ground on his side, panting so harshly his breath sounded like little growls. But the ferocity of his glare was not lessened by the sand and sweaty curls sticking to his face.

"Do you lose control anytime someone does something you don't like?" Sasuke asked, his voice cold. He gave every indication that Oushou's distress was an annoyance. "What happens when an enemy destroys a person, a life, like that? Not just some old rag?" Sasuke couldn't tell if the boy's limbs were trembling more from fatigue or anger as he tried to prop himself up. "That's a rather embarrassing weakness. You should thank me for getting rid of it."

"You could have just asked me if you were curious!" Oushou bared his teeth as he struggled to his feet. He faced Sasuke, hunched over and as well-balanced as a newborn fawn.

"Are you going to continue attacking me?" Sasuke asked. "I don't recommend it. Won't bring back your precious blanky either."

Oushou took in a shaky breath, sounding as if he were close to tears. "I hate you," he whispered. He gave Sasuke one last look of betrayal and then turned to stumble off the field.

When he was certain he was alone on the training lot, Sasuke raised a hand to his cheek, and then brought it in front of his face to see blood-tinged fingers. He huffed in amusement. He should return the scarf hidden in his hip-pouch soon. Because at this rate, Oushou just might succeed in murdering him in his sleep.


He detected Nori approaching his tent later that evening, her aura flaring with battle intent. May as well get it over with, he decided.

"Enter," he said. Tiny feet shuffled to a stop, followed by a deep breath. Nori stepped inside and glared at him with steely eyes.

"What?"

"Jo," she said. "What did you do to him?"

"He went crying to you?" Sasuke had not expected that reaction, given Oushou's creepy calm maturity.

"No," she muttered, as if she would like nothing better. Sasuke decided he disliked Oushou even more. "But he's sad. He won't cry but he's sad." She glanced at Sasuke's unrepentant expression. "Like Mama."

It was painfully obvious that she was using Hinata to get to him, but also just as painfully effective. Sasuke's lips thinned in displeasure. She looked at him expectantly.

"Why is he sad?" Sasuke asked, resigned. Nori scooted closer. Once she was satisfied there were no unwanted ears, she leaned in and cupped her mouth with one chubby hand. When she realized the distance between herself and Sasuke's ear was still too great, she tugged at his sleeve with the uncupped hand until Sasuke rolled his eyes and bent forward.

"It's his treasure," she whispered, "Jo says that the scarf was his papa's."

Sasuke turned his head to look at Nori. Was it possible that Oushou's father was…that would explain the talent for such a broad range of subjects. The scarf was leverage to further investigate...

Nori looked back at him with wide, silvery eyes. There was no judgment, no disappointment - only curiosity over why her papa would do something so mean. And even worse, the naive belief that he must have had a damn, good reason. And in the innocent gaze of his daughter, Sasuke saw the reflection of what made a man, and what made him less.

He looked away first.

"Here." He pulled the neat bundle from his hip pouch and extended it towards Nori. "I had it for a training exercise, but I think he completed it. Can I trust you to deliver his treasure back to him?"

"Of course!" Nori saluted and snatched the sash from him. But she took the time to tuck it into her hip pouch with a four-year-old's approximation of care - not that Oushou would care that it was a little rumpled - before running out of the tent to find her best friend.

Sasuke fell back onto his cot, the impact making his sigh burst out of him. He contemplated the conversations he'd had today: Gaara's advice, Sasori's dismissal, Oushou's insults, and even Nori's innocent questions. Hinata was conspicuous in her absence from the list.

The unease was creeping back into his veins. It was too quiet, too still, and it was an uncomfortable reflection of his options. He had a purpose without a path: protect Hinata, protect Nori.

But how could he do both if they were in different places? How could he protect anyone when he'd failed with only Hinata?

The sloping ceiling of his tent seemed to shrink in on him. It took Sasuke a moment to place the sensation, since living underground had erased any propensity for claustrophobia long ago. He sat up, pulled on his boots, and stepped outside.

"Oh!" Hinata stepped back, retracting her raised hand as she looked down. "Good evening."

"Glad yours was. Mine, not so much," Sasuke said. He stepped past her, headed for somewhere away from the cramped layout of tents. Unfortunately, she refused to heed his unspoken dismissal and followed.

"I assure you mine was not as uneventful as you imagine either," she said. Sasuke paused mid-step, frowning.

"Sasori causing you trouble?"

"Not more than expected."

He relaxed and started walking again. She pulled to his side but did not press him for more conversation. When they had stepped beyond the maze of tents, Sasuke stopped.

"Thank you," he said, hating that he had to say the words at all.

"It was the least I could do."

"If you really want to do me a favor, let me come on this trip." Hinata shook her head.

"You know I can't do that." Her voice was gentle and apologetic, as if she were addressing a child she'd accidentally bumped into. It grated on Sasuke's pride even more than her protection did.

"Why are you here, then?" Silence. Sasuke gave a humorless smile. "Don't pretend. You're not succumbing to nostalgia so easily, Hinata. What is my use to you? How do you want me to dance? How high should I jump?"

"I'm not here to give you purpose," she said, voice small and tight. "You are your own person."

Sasuke drew back, wondering when it became so difficult to read Hinata. When had it become so difficult to speak to her? He had thought he understood her. Or had Itachi been right all along - that it was only him putting words into her mouth?

"Who's Oushou's father?" he asked.

"Pardon?"

Sasuke tugged at his bangs in agitation. "We'll only fight more if we talk about Sasori. And I have been wondering." Hinata opened her mouth, but she couldn't manage more than an evasive noise. "There's no way you haven't noticed," he pressed. "He's not a normal child."

She didn't respond for a long moment. "He's very smart."

Sasuke scoffed. "You can say that. Like how the desert is a little sandy. Forest a little bit leafy. Teaching him...is definitely interesting."

"You mean messing with someone."

"Testing him, then," Sasuke compromised. "Every other word out of Nori's mouth is about 'Jo'."

"And the other word is about you."

"It's not because I'm jealous of a little kid." Sasuke rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "We will not be able to always protect her. And it will only become more dangerous for her because of us."

"She looks more and more like you everyday," Hinata said with a fond smile.

He smirked. "With our background, when she gets older she'll be a beau..." Sasuke frowned at the thought of Nori hitting puberty. Then he frowned harder at the realization that Hinata had deftly directed his attention away. "Don't think you've distracted me from my original question," he warned. Hinata laughed, but did not offer up new information.

"Oushou's a prodigy," he said. "The type that can eventually rival the likes of Uchiha Itachi or Hatake Kakashi. One day, he can take on the best out there. That kind of raw talent doesn't happen by accident - that comes from generations of careful breeding."

"Why do you need to know?"

"We may never escape our identities. This father isn't some unknown warrior - he had been a Guardian in the Sun Kingdom. The best of the best." Sasuke grunted in frustration. "Kami, it's a mess." Hinata waited for him to gather his thoughts. "The greatest clans have abilities that I won't be able to guess unless I knew how to look for it." Sasuke rubbed his neck, massaging away the memory of the neck cramp he'd gotten from digging through old records. "It wasn't that difficult to look up the history of your team. Your teacher was Kurenai, who should have died when you were eleven, yet here she is, miraculously recovered. Oushou didn't pop out of the womb that old, so there is something about that boy that made it impossible for her to return."

"She had her reasons," Hinata said after a moment, unable to refute his words. She sighed, but he could hear the smile in her voice. "He learns everything easily. Too easily."

"He's still not strong enough. Not by a long shot if he wants to survive his birthright." Sasuke knew from experience. "It's going to be difficult for him, regardless of any path he chooses."

He could feel her eyes on him. Sasuke took care to keep studying the sky. Even without the threat of Itachi's seal, the weight of her gaze held him motionless.

"You've changed, Sasuke."

He shrugged one shoulder, uncomfortable with the warmth swelling in him. It was easy to talk to her about anything - anything else but about them. "Good."

Hinata hummed. "In some ways," she agreed. "But in others, not so much."

"So have you," he added.

"It's been five years," she said, saying nothing and yet possibly everything. Sasuke gritted his teeth, feeling a scream pull at his throat. He wondered if she knew what she was saying, what she was doing. Hinata was torturing him. Torturing herself. Always dancing around what she wanted for herself. And while dancing could be a metaphor for battle, it could never encompass the ugly truth of it - the blood, the gore, the unnatural hush of death afterwards.

Nor the victory.

She was magnificent when defending her loved ones, standing under a great moral banner. But she would only spin uselessly around when trying to fight for herself without a strong goal to anchor her. In a way, she was still caught in the mindset of her past, where a princess was nothing without her people. Maybe she always would be.

It was a strange moment for Sasuke as he began to understand, and to accept one of Hinata's great weaknesses. If love could be blinding, then the memory of love could be deafening.

But he saw her now. Only her.

Like a man bereft of his senses, he reached out to her, slow enough to give her time to withdraw. She didn't. He cupped her cheek, ghosting the skin with his thumb. Hinata closed her eyes and leaned into his palm, finally turning to face him.

"Can you forgive me, Sasuke?" she whispered. "For walking away?"

Just the reminder was agony. His eyes stung, and he was uncertain if it was the memory of loss or muscle memory of his Mangekyo Sharingan. Neither was pleasant. But his grief was choked by thorns of anger and self-hatred and fear because it wasn't just missing her. It was missing her and hating her and loving her.

"I want to," he said. He studied the dark sweep of her eyelashes, the curve of her nose, and the pink of her lips. She had thrown him away once. He hadn't been enough. He swallowed. "Can you forgive me?" He wasn't sure what for. That he hadn't protected her? That he wasn't strong enough? That he wasn't Itachi?

Hinata shook her head, sending moonlight rippling through her dark hair. "Sasuke, stop. You are supposed to be too proud to apologize for anything." She offered him a small mischievous smile. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. His pulse filled his ears, loud enough he almost didn't hear himself answer.

"It has been five years," he said mockingly.

He wished she could look up without consequence. It wasn't the kind of conversation where they could step around each other. It was stifling to avoid eye contact, like trying to perform a sword kata and belatedly remembering he was missing a leg. An intrinsic element was lost...Sasuke was beginning to forget what color her eyes were.

He must have stared at her for too long. Her eyes flicked up.

Burning. The scent of seared flesh clung to him, strangling him.

His Mangekyo Sharingan flared to sharp contrast. Sasuke forcibly squeezed, just like the hand that seemed to tighten around his throat. There was a moment when the chakra felt like it might slip out of his grasp like oil, but then the flames receded. Sasuke wrenched his body away from her in a violent motion. The rush of adrenaline made him shake as his awareness became so sharp every inch of his skin prickled. His breath scraped the inside of his throat like nails. The vivid colors of his sight receded, until he was looking down at the sand with normal eyes, stars spinning in his vision as if he were looking skyward.

"Hinata?" he asked. Sasuke's voice cracked like he'd breathed in the smoke, the remains of his destruction.

"I'm okay." The reek of cooked meat clung to them. Sasuke gagged.

"You're a terrible liar. We need to get you to a healer and put salve on that." Hinata didn't move, so he grabbed her by the sleeve. It was a difficult feat, as he refused to look any higher than her boots and was careful to avoid the injured side.

"I'm okay," she repeated. He tugged her towards the infirmary.

"No," she said. "NO." The panic in her tone stopped him and he released her. "I can't go. Not now."

"What do you mean, Hinata?"

He heard her walk towards him, and stepped away before she could touch him. She took another step. So did he. "You...can control it." There was hope in her voice and he loathed the wish that he could not fulfill.

"You...you hurt yourself for a fucking test?!" He uncurled his fingers from fists he didn't even know he made. "Idiot. I can only stop it. Barely." He stared at his hands. The indentations from his nails left little crescents on his palm. "Itachi," he whispered with a grimace. "It always comes back to that man. We always hurt you." He let his hands drop to his sides. "Tell me what you want from me, Hinata." He didn't trust himself to think rationally, or to even think at all. Not when the haze of fear and fury made all his senses go white.

"You deserve your own decisions," she whispered. He hated her then. She'd already taken away the choices he'd wanted, and now she hid behind perforated morality saying that he deserved autonomy. He saw her. He saw more of her than he wanted.

It was so very easy to latch on to a single goal, to lay the blame before another pair of feet, to throw the burden of thought upon another's back. Itachi's. Hinata's. Danzo's. The Sun Kingdom's. Who deserved retribution? Who deserved to suffer with him?

It was easy to blame. Sasuke took a deep breath and let it out.

"Don't be stupid - you always affect my choices," he said.

"Stay," she said. She reached out to him. "I…" Hinata took a deep breath and drew back, clutching her hands to her chest. "Protect Nori."

Sasuke waited a moment, and upon realizing that's all she would ask of him, nodded once. "Now will you go to the infirmary?"

"I'll go," she promised. She didn't move. "You haven't changed that much." The relief in her voice made his heart tight and full. If they kept talking, it would be too easy to forgive and forget. They would go back to the golden-hued times of how they had been and he'd have learned nothing.

Turning back time meant losing her again. But then he had to wonder if she had been his to lose at all.

"Leave, Hinata."

She must have understood, because she started walking past him back towards camp. But then, she stopped and looked back over her shoulder without hesitance. And she smiled just for him. Sasuke stared. He forced himself to look up to the sky, away from her.

"Good night, Sasuke."

The moon shone just for her.

He really hadn't learned anything at all.


Hinata and her squad departed the next evening. She chased the horizon at the front, just fast enough to evade the heat of the sun emanating from the sand, but also steady enough to maintain. Outside of Gaara, three others trailed her. The other half of their squad would meet them at the next checkpoint.

Gaara wasted no time bringing up his grievances once he was sure the other three were out of earshot behind them.

"What happened last night?" He matched her with no visible strain, despite the enormous gourd of sand strapped to his back.

"I talked to Sasuke."

"The kind of conversation that leaves burns on your arm?" He was getting better at hiding the worried disapproval in his voice, albeit with heavy sarcasm.

"I activated Itachi's seal."

"Why? You knew the consequences. He hurt you before."

Hinata shook her head. "Not deliberately. He has the ability to control Itachi's seal." She reached for her left forearm, where her skin felt like it was still burning against the salve. The first time had been her upper shoulder. The second had been her upper arm. This time, the area had moved even further out, drawing a slow line to her fingertips.

It was not a coincidence. Thrice, she had survived Amaterasu, a technique with no witnesses. Thrice, death had danced on her skin and left no more mark than any other normal burn. The scars from the first were already fading thanks to chakra-aided healing.

"So it was a test." The flat note in his voice gave her pause.

"He would never consent to it otherwise," Hinata admitted in a low tone. It was a weight in her chest as much as a buoyant swell of warmth.

Gaara paused even though she knew he had more to say. Hinata glanced at him, perturbed. "I don't like him, Hinata, so know that what I speak is the truth." Gaara looked forward, a tension in his expression that made the hairs on the back of Hinata's neck stand to attention. "You shouldn't experiment with him. Especially because it causes you physical injury. To you he should be someone, or something. It's cruel to vacillate when convenient."

"That's not -" Her protests withered in her throat, because for all her justifications, he was right. Gaara, who had lived the first years of his second life at the experimental whims of a madman, would never allow her to claim otherwise. She'd been using Sasuke, even if in a twisted excuse to keep him near.

Hinata turned away.


Sasuke lay on his cot, arms at his sides and gaze drifting over the expanse of canvas over his head. The chill of the night was heavy in his bones, but he couldn't be bothered to rise and let his blood warm his body again. He wanted to stay in the in-between, where even the certainties were not so certain. Twilight was brushing the first strokes of sunlight, but the world was silent against sound of his own breath. It was one thing Sasuke could never acclimate to, even half a decade away from the lush landscape of the Sun Kingdom - the lack of vibrant sound, of small animals and people and life. Everything was ground away by the sand.

At the edge of his senses, he could feel Hinata and Gaara's auras shrink with each minute. Nori was sleeping peacefully in her cot in Hinata's tent. Oushou was already up training, with Kurenai in the background, watchful, weary, and never far. On the other side of camp, he knew Kimimaro was holding vigil over Anko, and in turn, he knew Jugo held vigil over them both.

He knew, but he couldn't sense them. His sensing skills were rudimentary at best, and even the chakra outside his tent was…

Sasuke was on his feet before Sasori lifted the door flap. "You."

Sasori ignored the hostility and stepped inside. He measured Sasuke for a moment, lingering on the shadows under his eyes and the packed bag half tucked under the cot. "Team 7 was sighted approaching Sado. Barring any hindrances, they will reach our current location in five days."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "The hindrance being me."

"It is in everyone's interest. Itachi has done well to delay them for so long, but it will require more than three days to make Seidou disappear."

No one had mentioned anything about Itachi's involvement these five years. Yet, Sasori was all but saying outright that Uchiha Itachi had betrayed his kingdom.

"Itachi doesn't work for you." It was a question, a challenge, and a statement. The idea that Itachi's betrayal extended so far sickened him. Sasori's mouth twisted in a way that resembled a smile.

"Everyone works for me, whether they are aware of it or not. The trick is to find the right heart string to tug without destroying them. Puppets, you can rebuild. People..." The way Sasori studied him with half-lidded eyes made Sasuke's skin crawl. He had yet to see the man even blink. "...not so much."

"I'm not going to tattle," Sasuke said flatly. "Get out."

Sasori gave him a sly look instead, making no movement towards the door. "It's rather emasculating, isn't it? To have her always protecting you?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Don't manipulate me."

"You misjudge me," Sasori said. "Unlike the Sun king, I don't have the patience for that sort of thing. Do not forget the difference between Itachi and I is that he still wants you to believe that he cares for you despite what he must do."

"You can hang yourself with your 'heartstrings'." It was a last line worthy of only a sullen child who'd lost an argument, and both of them were well aware of it.

Sasori gave him a faint smile. "Even if they exist, you would never discover them. If you leave tonight, you should be able to catch them before they cross into the desert at Sado." Sasori flicked his fingers, using chakra strings to pull the door flap out of his way, and walked out. The thick canvas fell back to place behind him with a muffled thump.

Sasuke sat back down on his cot, interlacing his fingers and pressing his knuckles against his forehead so hard all his thoughts coalesced into two, sharp points of agony in his skull. Everything Itachi had let him believe was unraveling, revealing holes in what he had thought to be impenetrable truths.

The worst was, he didn't know. Maybe someone was framing Itachi. Maybe Itachi was a traitor. Maybe.

But it wasn't just about Itachi. At least Sasuke refused to let it remain so, even if his own identity outside of that man's influence was a pathetic, shriveled thing. Twenty-five years of life and he had so little to show for it. He could barely suss out the bones of himself from the ashes. No wonder Hinata still regarded him with wary eyes.

A humorless smile invaded his features. He'd told her to "armor up" so many times. It was time to heed his own advice.


The mountain border between Moon and what remained of Sky was always startling to experience. One moment, the ground sank beneath her soles, soft and pulling at her boots. The next, her ankles were throbbing from the impact of striking unyielding rock.

Hinata slowed to a halt, one hand raised for silence from her squad. The skin around her eyes strained, wrinkled, and then her awareness was expanding outward like shattered glass. The mountain pass, the surrounding wasteland, everything was empty, just as she expected. Just as it always was. The stench of wrongful deaths lingered and even the wildlife seemed to remain in mourning.

"Hinata." She met Gaara's eyes for the first since their conversation about Sasuke, and shook her head.

"It's okay." She turned to address her squad. "Let's debrief, Baki, Kankuro, Matsuri. Our final target is the city of Liang." At the mere mention of the city, they straightened. No one with a passing understanding of Moon Kingdom geography missed the significance of targeting Liang.

The kingdom was set up in a concentric manner, four rings that housed cities of progressively greater power and influence the closer they were to the capital, Yue. Over the past few years, Hinata and the rebels of Seidou had slowly, so slowly any pattern must be due to paranoia, slipped their fingers into the pockets and esteem of the major trade cities of the two outer circles. Liang was the first city in the inner two. The first of many more infiltrations. When it came the time to storm the palace, the Hyuuga would find themselves trapped by an impenetrable embargo.

That was the part of the plan that most of Seidou knew.

The more insidious part was the implantation of a single idea: the Hyuuga were not fit to rule. A whisper of corruption here, a tendril of doubt there. Slowly, one small thought was enough to grow into a monolith that chokes away all other competition. Money may be the root of evil, but words were the seeds of betrayal. Of revolt and of revolution.

It was a grand plan, but also one that teetered with precarious balance on every move they made.

Hinata told her squad as much. "Good. You all recognize the importance of Liang. And therefore the danger of the next phase of our operation. The inner circles are smaller, closer. While there are fewer cities, they are also much better organized to defend against infiltration and corruption. The people travel more frequently between the cities and therefore anything unusual is more likely to be noticed. These are not cities that we can force our way in, with the elementary tricks we used previously."

She watched their expressions harden, pleased that her speech fulfilled its purpose to warn and to motivate.

"Our scouts are tracking a merchant caravan due to arrive in Liang in 3 days' time. That would be the ideal way for us to enter the city. But if the infiltration fails, we will need an immediate distraction. Kankuro, Baki, watch for my signal, but I leave it to your discretion on the how and what of it. Join back with the scouts if people see enough of you to identify you. Matsuri, Gaara, your jobs remain focused extraction if we do make it into the city and then something goes badly."

Hinata paused, studying the four people in front of her. Baki and Kankuro, with their weathered hands and tired faces. Matsuri, a young woman who still held so much hope and belief in her self-appointed teacher, Gaara. And Gaara, who regarded her with steady, green eyes. They were ready, willing to die for closure delayed for two decades after the Amaterasu War.

"Let's go," she said.


He let Kurenai discover him in the armory.

"So you are leaving." Sasuke didn't bother looking up from the dagger set he was inspecting.

"Happy birthday," Sasuke said. "I'll no longer be around to bully your precious spawn." He plucked a vest from the pile and put it on. The dagger set fit perfectly into the line of sheaths along his ribs. He tested it, drawing out two blades with the cross-armed motion Hinata favored. Sasuke spun the daggers, making the metal sing, and resheathed them so quickly the sound remained in the air around them for a moment. "No need to feel guilty though. It has little to do with you." He proceeded to the short swords, ignoring the rack of katana and naginata. Kurenai watched him, waiting, but Sasuke refused to offer further details. While he believed that she cared for Hinata and Nori, he did not trust her.

"Are you even going to say goodbye to her?" Sasuke stilled. Then he let the sword he was perusing fall back into the stand with a clatter.

"I haven't decided yet," he said. "I intend to return. Telling Nori too early will only make her worry." He looked up in time to catch a flicker of confusion in her red eyes. It was unnerving her that he wasn't spitting insults at her. Defending his existence to her was pointless. It was all the more disconcerting that even a day ago he would have thought otherwise.

"Not telling her at all will hurt her more."

"Maybe," Sasuke murmured. The bliss of ignorance was not so easily achieved as uncomfortable facts had a funny way of slipping through the holder's grasp, simply because it was uncomfortable. Defending his own existence was pointless because he couldn't escape the truth of Uchiha Sasuke even if he wanted to. The more he fought, the more it was thrown in his face. The weightier the family name, the more it….then, the final threads of his theory pulled into place, taunt and sure.

He picked a short sword and tied it to his belt. That was the last of his equipment. Only then did Sasuke turn his attention back to Kurenai. "It took me a long time to understand why that lazy guy was talking about - the "King" in shogi, the one you need to protect. The "King" is the next generation." Even in the dim lighting of the supply tent, Sasuke could see Kurenai go still and pale.

"A fine sentiment," she said in a low voice.

"Nara Shikamaru said that, but you wouldn't know of him." Kurenai tried to hide the flash of recognition. But even if she had the advantage of being a genjutsu user, of someone who dealt death through side-way lies and backward truths, Sasuke was better, by the blood in his veins or the blood he'd spilled. It was obvious now given her intimacy with the metaphor in shogi. Unless Kurenai had an age fetish he did not want to know about, there was really only one person who could be Oushou's father.

He shook his head in disbelief. It made an awful, perfect sort of sense. The son of Sarutobi Asuma, a member of the Twelve Guardians, the last head of the Sarutobi clan, and arguably the best melee fighter the Sun Kingdom had ever produced. The grandchild of the legendary Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage and someone who was called the "God of Shinobi".

What a powerful lineage.

What an awful lineage.

"Oushou…the 'King' piece of shogi...I should have guessed earlier," he murmured. "That old monkey loved his shogi."

Kurenai gave him a disgruntled look, offended by the metaphor.

"It's not an insult. His - and your - clan name is derived from 'monkey'." Kurenai had the grace to look ashamed that she'd been so quick to find insult. She averted her gaze.

"I don't know his family name. It is better that I don't."

"Why? Afraid of the implications? Whether you are aware of it or not, you accepted responsibility the day you decided to spread your legs."

Kurenai leveled him with a crimson glare. Even without the Sharingan, it sent a shiver down his spine. "I doubt I am the intended recipient of your ire, Sasuke, so I will let it slide this time," she said. He held her glare with one of his own. After a long moment, her expression softened so it was almost pleasant. "I don't know if it's a good or bad sign that you're equally blunt to everyone, regardless of their background. I don't want to know Asuma's family name because I know he is from a noble family. And that would only spell trouble in the future for Oushou should someone ever figure out the connection. I need to keep him safe. You understand that, right?"

Sasuke thought for a moment. Then he stepped close to her.

"Sarutobi," he whispered it like a secret she wasn't privy to hear. "He was head of the Sarutobi clan-"

The sound of palm to cheek punctuated his sentence.

Kurenai's slap forced Sasuke's head to the side. Undeterred, he turned back to her with a bored expression despite how his face throbbed. "I wonder if you know Asuma as well as you claim," he said with disgust. "They used to be one of the most influential clans of the Sun Kingdom - one of the founding clans for the Sun Kingdom. In fact, I was named after one of the Sarutobi in hopes I would grow up to be just like him." Here, Sasuke's lip curled in self-deprecation. "The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, is considered one of the greatest warriors of the era, then and now. But I'm sure Asuma has already mentioned that about his father, even if he was kind enough to avoid names or titles. Even if he would never admit it, he is really proud of his family." The deliberate use of the present tense made Kurenai slowly meet his eyes. "You know that too - probably wouldn't shut up about his students nor the Sarutobi…" Sasuke shrugged in a show of nonchalance, even though he hated the next part of his story. "...except the Sarutobi clan is now nothing - only a stable boy carries his blood. The stable boy had to give up training in order to keep his life and lived in fear of losing it everyday. I don't know if Asuma's students have managed to keep him alive. Do you understand?"

Sasuke leaned in, daring Kurenai to look away from him. "If something had happened to that stable boy, your son is the last of Sarutobi Asuma's bloodline." He stepped back with a smirk. "So you are correct - you really do need to keep him safe. There are many out there who will go to great lengths to eradicate the Sarutobi clan."

"One day that mouth will get you in trouble."

"You should figure out your tenses," he drawled and walked past her. "Prophesying the past is far from impressive."

"Would you remain so flippant?" Kurenai asked. He could practically hear her teeth grinding. "When it's Hinata or Nori who take the fall for your mistakes?"

Sasuke faltered. "They're still both alive," he said. He turned and stepped forward until he was close enough to reach out and crush her throat if he so chose. "Can you say the same of your family?" Kurenai gasped, sounding as if he'd punched her in the stomach. "It may not have been my doing, but I will make sure they remain alive. I allowed you to attack me as a sign of goodwill. But don't ever try to use them as leverage against me ever again. I will reciprocate, and while you might have some remorse left in you, know that I am just as heartless as you imagine me to be. You are nothing to me. Oushou is nothing to me." Sasuke stepped back. "Just be glad you both are something to Hinata."

He didn't wait to confirm her lack of a comeback.

But he did seek out Nori after ordering Kimimaro and Jugo to remain behind as protection. He found her practicing her kata in one of the training lots, fortunately out of earshot of any of the other people also there. She gave him a bright smile when she saw him approach.

"Are you going to train me?" she asked eagerly. She took dainty steps towards him, and then hopped the final step to land with feet together in front him. Her messy ponytail bobbed with the movement. Sasuke kneeled, elbow propped on one leg. He studied her features - the blade-sharp awareness in her silvery-gray eyes, the almost-smug tilt of her lips, the stubborn angle of her chin - and he saw the enchanting juxtaposition of Uchiha angles and Hyuuga curves.

The current world would never forgive her existence - she who was both Uchiha and Hyuuga, both Sun and Moon.

He could keep her alive, tucked into the harried heartbeats of each day. He could, simply by fulfilling Hinata's request and keeping her hidden away in the wasteland of the Sky Kingdom. He could.

Sasuke looked at Nori, and he wondered if one day he would look at her, and see only his brother staring back at him, taunting him. He could stay. But was that enough?

"Your eyes are weird."

Sasuke closed his eyes and it was a long while before he dared to open them again. His vision seemed to fade to gray scale, so stark was the contrast between his Sharingan and normal sight. He took a breath and rested a hand on the top of her head, careful to avoid his brother's favorite gesture. Her head was small enough to fit the curve of his palm. At one point, she had been even smaller, small enough to cradle to his chest with one hand and he marveled at the idea that she had been even more fragile. Something in his chest twisted, something that was just as much yearning as revulsion - at the reminder that he knew so little of her.

The truth of her parentage was mere semantics. He had already claimed the title of 'Papa', of 'Soso', of every ridiculous name she had for him, and it was a crown he would cede to no one.

"Nori," he said. Sasuke could flicker through hand seals so quickly his enemies thought it was a trick of light, but his fingers felt as clumsy as rods when he smoothed back her wayward hair. "I'm sorry," he said. "I won't-"

"Pology exception," she chirped.

"Apology accepted..." he repeated in confusion. "Do you even know what I'm apologizing for?"

"No. But you owe me." she gave him a strained grin that revealed nearly all of her baby teeth.

"And what price do you intend to extract from me?"

"P-promise you will stay with me and Mama forever." She already knew, though, judging by the panic in her eyes.

Sasuke sighed. "I'm sorry, Nori. I can't do that." She gripped his forearm with all her strength as he continued. "I don't know if I can stay with you forever. I could lose a fight, or get sick. Or you may decide you don't like me very much anymor-"

"No! I w-will always like you!" She shook his arm, fighting to keep her voice from wobbling. "Stupid. You're stupid. You can't leave because you're too stupid."

"I need to go because there are many people who want to hurt you and Hinata."

"They're not here! You can't protect us if you don't stay."

"I'll come back," he said. He stood and turned to leave. She dashed after him, trying to pull him back by the hem of his cloak. He slowed to a stop to avoid throwing her off balance, but she sat back onto the sand, still clinging to her fistfuls of his cloak.

"Don't go. Please don't go," she whispered, stuttering so badly she was almost incomprehensible. "Mama will miss you. You don't want Mama to be sad, right? And I'll be good. I won't ask you for training. I won't bother you." She should have been throwing a tantrum, should have been lying on her back drumming the ground with tiny fists and feet. Sasuke wished she was, because that was how a child should be allowed to act.

But the desert was a place of madness, seared by the sun and chilled by the moon, and never quite a compromise by either side. It was not a place for weakness, for soft, spoiled brats.

He turned and looked down at her with cool, fathomless eyes. "Let go, Nori." She obeyed, eyes wide at his harsh tone. He did not reach out to comfort her, to help her stand back up.

But he waited.

"Believe in me," he said. "Please."

Her chin wobbled but then she lifted it, pale face determined. Sasuke nodded once. Good girl.

A breeze caught the edge of his dual-toned cloak, sending it flying around the both of them. Sasuke pulled it close to his body.

And then he was gone.


Sasori's information was accurate.

Some days later, he found four cloaked figures riding for Sado. They were too comfortable on horses to be self- taught, even if the horses themselves were clearly local. Who else but Team 7 would be out here in this wasteland town?

He waited for them at the border where all remaining signs of human life was swallowed by the sand. When he heard the hooves of their horses round the bend in the road, he stepped out from behind his boulder, hood up, and strolled to the middle of the road to block their path. He planted his boots shoulder-width apart, directly facing them. A clear challenge. You will go no further.

"Hi-?" Sakura cut herself off. But he already knew what she suspected - a friend of Hinata's? Another Hunter?

Sasuke tilted his head up, letting the sunlight spill past the edge of his hood across the line of his jaw. The full strength of the mid-day sun seemed to burn against skin bleached by underground torches.

The guilty recognition in their eyes was a vindictive thrill. Was it only because they'd mistaken him for Hinata? Because they took so long to search him out? Or because they had betrayed him? Regardless, they did not belong here.

Naruto was the first to leap down from his horse, staring at him in wary hope. The others followed his example, fanning out behind him.

Sasuke walked towards them languidly until the last few steps. He lifted his foot, blurring across the distance like a trick of light, and completed his final step beside his former teammate. Naruto yelped in surprise. Sasuke draped an arm around his shoulders in a display of camaraderie before Kakashi, Sakura, or Sai could even draw their weapons.

"It's only been a few years," Sasuke said. He smiled, lips pulled into a razor-sharp parody. "Forgot me already, Dead-Last?"


AN:

Liang - light in Chinese

[1] - Chapter 15 intro reference

-Thanks to Rhinst for betaing!

-Meh. I'm not a fan of this chapter, but better power through it rather than poking it hoping it'll magically transform itself. Bad chapter digi-volve toooo….passable chapter?

-I promise Sasuke mostly waded through his character coughangstcough development. 'Mostly' being the key word.

-Want pipe up before everyone jumps on the "Bitch Kurenai" boat (though if you want to, it means I'm writing her appropriately). Judging from the manga, Kurenai represents the ultimate maternal figure. She carried the child that is the figurehead for the "King" of Asuma's shogi game. Her powers are more defense-oriented. She was the mother-figure for Hinata, who already a bit a "nurturing mother" type herself. But the other side of "nurturing mother" is the "mother bear". Mothers will stop at nothing to protect their children. In PftH-Kurenai's eyes, Sasuke is a danger to everyone she cares for. (Also, a reflection of her own failures, but that's a different blurb for another time.) She's not going to be nice to him. If she's nice to him, he's probably dying/dead.

-And this gives me a much more interesting dynamic to work with.

-Also, Sasuke's an asshat. Like Hokage-hat size asshat. Then again, judging by his role models...I think Sasuke's inferiority complex has a brother complex that also has an inferiority complex.

-Also, the GaaSasu bromance is totally happening. You know Nori ships it.

-Review! Feed the review monster in me.