Greetings!
So… I take it there aren't many Sasuke or Kakashi fans that are reading this, or was the last chapter just that boring? Not that I don't appreciate those that did review (thank you bunches!), but I'd hate to think that only 8 of you are enjoying the story.
I happen to have a weakness for misguided souls and find it fascinating to explore the inner workings of their heads, hence my focus on Sasuke. The same could be said for Kakashi to some extent, though not to the same extreme.
I was a little bummed that no one answered the very specific question I asked last chapter. I think I can go butcher the chapter just fine all on my own, though, so never mind. The story is almost over anyway, so I should probably just leave the butchering until it's finished.
Warnings: violence, some blood, Naruto's cursing (though nothing really bad), and a snake summon with a mean streak.
Enjoy.
Posted: 10/25/07
Chapter 11: Two Steps Behind
Two Days Later
Sasuke left his house that morning intent on taking the first step in rebuilding his life. Being a ninja was the only thing he knew how to do, but since that profession was no longer available to him, he needed to find something else with which to make a living. The job Naruto had told him about a few days ago was his only lead, and even though Sasuke had no clue as to what the job actually entailed, he decided that it was a good place to start.
When he reached the still deserted shopping district, however, Sasuke wondered if he shouldn't have given himself a few more days to recover. He didn't doubt his ability to carry out whatever job the proprietor of the shop assigned to him, but his appearance might make it look otherwise. Sasuke was able to hide the bruises on his body by wearing a shirt with long sleeves and a high neck, but hiding the ones on his face was another story. He had considered leaving his hair down to hide some of the bruising around his neck, but had discarded the idea because it might frighten his potential employer. In the end, he'd settled on a loose, low ponytail. It didn't hide everything, but it was better than nothing.
It wasn't hard to find the shop, and Sasuke let himself in when he discovered that the door was unlocked. The soft chime that sounded as the door opened got the attention of the proprietor. The man came out of a back room, a smile already on his face. The smile disappeared when he saw Sasuke, however. The fear that replaced it made Sasuke's stomach churn, because he was very familiar with that type of fear. It was the fear he'd seen on many helpless victims when Orochimaru had been in his body right before the snake killed them.
"I shouldn't have come," Sasuke said, already turning to leave before the situation got any worse.
"Wait," the old man said.
Sasuke stopped with his hand on the door, even though he wanted to run. He was being a coward and owed it to the man to stay and face him, so Sasuke took a deep breath and turned towards the man once again.
"You're Naruto's friend, aren't you?" the man asked.
"How did you know that?" Sasuke asked in return.
"Naruto said that his friend used to be a ninja, but wasn't one anymore and needed a job."
"That could be any number of people," Sasuke said.
The old man motioned for Sasuke to take a seat in the small receiving area at the front of the shop and Sasuke complied.
"You're not who you used to be," the man said once he'd also taken a seat. "I can see that in your eyes. I'm sure you're deadly enough on your own, but you don't have that homicidal look in your eyes anymore, the one that was there when…" the man trailed off and it took a few moments before he continued. "I've heard the talk around the village that Orochimaru was defeated and his vessel returned here. I didn't really believe it, but when I saw you, it all fit. I take it this is your home village, not Otogakure?"
Sasuke's curiosity was piqued. The man was observant and had probably spent some time around ninja, though he wasn't one himself. The fear that had graced the man's features was still there, but the man's own curiosity seemed to be keeping it at bay.
"Yes, this is my home village," Sasuke said.
"Then Orochimaru really is dead?" the man asked.
Sasuke nodded.
The old man smiled. "Good. That bastard was an abomination, and I'm glad that he's dead."
"How do you know Orochimaru?" Sasuke asked. "Where did you encounter him… me?"
"I come from a small village in The Land of Earth," the proprietor said. "I wasn't happy with what was available to me there, so I left and moved to another village in the Land of the Waterfall. Unfortunately, the village I chose bordered both The Land of Fire and unallied land. I don't claim to understand why my village was attacked, but I came into contact with Orochimaru when three Oto ninja destroyed my house and killed my family. One of the ninja was about to kill me when Orochimaru arrived. He instructed them to let me live so I could spread word of his invincibility."
An image of a bloodied, old man carrying the body of a little girl suddenly intruded into Sasuke's consciousness. He remembered those words, because Orochimaru had used Sasuke's voice to utter them.
"You'd employ me, even knowing what I allowed to be done to your family?" Sasuke asked.
The old man smiled sadly. "I doubt you had anything to do with what happened, other than whatever misguided choice led you to Orochimaru in the first place. Besides, it looks like you're already paying a steep price for that involvement," the man added, pointing to Sasuke's bruised face.
Sasuke was momentarily caught off guard. Kindness was not something he was used to, especially when coming from a complete stranger whose life Sasuke had destroyed by giving Orochimaru a vessel with which to continue to terrorize people. Sasuke wanted to pay for his mistakes and somehow repent for the lives Orochimaru had taken while in his body. Working for this old man, who'd lost everyone that was precious to him because of Orochimaru, was a good start.
"I'm sorry for you loss, Sir." Sasuke said.
"My name is Inoue Daisuke," the proprietor said. "You are?"
"Uchiha Sasuke."
"You're part of the Uchiha clan, the one whose neighborhood is deserted and people think is haunted?" Inoue-san asked.
"The place is not haunted," Sasuke replied, barely managing to smother his annoyance at the idiotic rumors no doubt spread by stupid villagers, "but yes, I was a member of that clan."
"What happened to them, then? Are you the only one left?"
"That's a long story that I'd rather not talk about," Sasuke said.
"Will Naruto be joining you today?" Inoue-san asked, wisely choosing not to push the issue further. "I told him that there's plenty of work for the both of you."
"Naruto was injured a couple of nights ago and he's still recovering," Sasuke answered. "I'm sure he'll return when he can. What would you like me to start on today?"
Inoue-san was out of his chair faster than Sasuke would have thought for a man his age.
"Come right this way, Sasuke-kun and I'll show you."
&&&&
The morning raced by and lunch arrived before Sasuke realized. He'd been so engrossed in cataloguing the shop's supplies that he'd not had a chance to think of anything else. He could get to really enjoy this job if Inoue-san decided to keep him on.
"Excuse me," a female voice drifted to the back room where Sasuke was working. "Is Naruto here?"
Sasuke found the question odd, and then realized that even he didn't know what had happened to his blonde teammate. He hadn't seen Naruto since the day he'd woken up in the hospital, and had taken that to mean that Naruto was keeping his distance. If Sakura was also looking for him, however, something had to be wrong, unless Naruto was avoiding her as well.
He left the room and got to the receiving area just as Inoue-san came out of his office.
"I'm afraid he isn't here, young lady," Inoue-san said. "I haven't seen him in a couple of days."
"Oh," Sakura said. "The Hokage told me that Naruto was working here and I was hoping to talk to him."
"When was the last time you saw him, Sakura," Sasuke asked.
Sakura turned to him, surprised. "I didn't know that you also worked here, Sasuke."
"I just started this morning," he replied.
Inoue-san cleared his throat. "It's past noon, Sasuke. Why don't you and the young lady go have lunch?"
Sakura brightened. "That's an excellent idea. What do you think, Sasuke?"
"I'd rather not," Sasuke replied. "We can walk to my house if you want a private place to talk."
"You can't hide forever," Sakura said. She grabbed his sleeve and pulled him out of the shop.
Sasuke considered pulling his arm out of her grasp, but figured that the only way Sakura was going to learn was to let her see the way the shop owners were going to react to him. They'd gotten lucky at Ichiraku because the owner respected and liked Naruto, but unless another restaurant owner accepted him for Sakura's sake, Sasuke doubted anyone else would be reasonable. He allowed Sakura to pull him into a restaurant on the opposite side of the Yamanaka's flower shop. The woman at the counter smiled when she saw Sakura, but the smile fell when she noticed who was with her.
"I'm afraid that we're already full for lunch, Sakura," the woman said.
"Oh, come on Asami. You've known me all of my life and have never refused me service," Sakura said.
"You're welcome to stay, but he needs to leave," the woman replied, pointing at Sasuke.
The woman crossed her arms over her ample chest, her body language screaming I won't give in.
Sakura stared the woman down, and then relented. "See if I come here again," Sakura muttered as they left the restaurant.
Sasuke let Sakura take him to two more restaurants, both of which refused them service. Sasuke hated the look of defeat on Sakura's face, but he couldn't change the village's bigotry.
"I can't believe them," Sakura said. "What do they think you're going to do to them?"
"Naruto has lived with this all of his life. Doesn't it surprise you that neither one of us noticed it before."
Sakura's eyes narrowed in thought. "Come to think of it, you're right. I wonder why that was."
"Think back. When we went out to eat as a team, where did we always end up?" Sasuke asked.
"Ichiraku," Sakura answered. "Naruto would, of course, always choose to go to his favorite restaurant."
"Was it that it was his favorite or the only one that would serve him?" Sasuke asked.
A look of horror crossed Sakura's face. "He already knew where he wasn't welcome, so he took us to Ichiraku so we wouldn't see him being turned away," she said. "I can't believe I didn't see it."
We were too involved with ourselves to notice him, Sasuke thought, but refrained from voicing it.
They settled with Sakura going into one of the places they hadn't yet visited and getting takeout for the both of them, and then eating in the park across from the Ninja Academy.
"So when was the last time you saw Naruto," Sasuke asked when they'd settled on the swings with their food.
"The day you woke up," she answered. "I went to his apartment later that day and dragged him back to the hospital after he snuck out without permission. I left him tied to the bed, but didn't get a chance to return until the next morning. He was gone by then."
"I remember waking up in the middle of the night, but Naruto wasn't there," Sasuke said. "Did something happen? Where could he have gone off to?"
"I don't know. I went to see both Kakashi and Shikamaru, the two most likely people to know where Naruto was, but they're both gone."
"Do you think they were sent on a mission?" Sasuke asked.
Sakura thought for a moment. "Kakashi and Shikamaru, perhaps, but Naruto is still suspended. The Hokage wouldn't send him on a mission."
Sasuke noticed the tense set to Sakura's shoulders and the faint trace of fear on her face. "You're really worried about this," he said.
Sakura nodded. "While he was looking for you, Naruto used to leave the village for weeks at a time and sometimes come back half dead. Tsunade-sama would lecture him and suspend him, but he'd do it all over again. When I spoke to him at his apartment, he gave in a little too quickly to my demand that he return to the hospital, so I think he may have already been planning something then."
Knowing Naruto as he did, Sasuke had to agree with the sentiment.
"It probably has something to do with those ninja that attacked him," Sasuke said. "Maybe he found something out during the ninja's interrogation."
Sakura shook her head. "I doubt it," she said and told Sasuke about the ninja's fate.
"If Naruto did leave the village, he probably went to find some information on his own," Sasuke said. "You know how impulsive he can be."
"It's possible," Sakura said, appearing more troubled than she had when she'd gotten to the shop. "I can't go look for him," she added. "I wouldn't know where to start and Tsunade-sama would be furious. She lets Naruto get away with disobeying her, but she's not so tolerant with me."
Sasuke was in a worse predicament than Sakura. If he left the village he'd be labeled a missing ninja once again and would surely be executed on his return, even if he did come back with Naruto. Since he couldn't leave the village and look for Naruto himself, he had to settle for an alternative. He bit his thumb, lifted his right sleeve and ran the bloody thumb over the seal that bound him to Orochimaru's snakes, and then performed the appropriate seals. He placed his hand on the ground and muttered the name of the technique. A large, brown snake appeared by Sakura's feet, causing her to shriek in surprise and move out of the away.
"Are all of these people always so jumpy, Sasuke? I can't imagine you associating with such weaklings," Tebiki said.
"Who are you calling a weakling you ugly snake?" Sakura countered.
Tebiki, who had a sadistic streak in him and loved to antagonize people he didn't like, hissed at her. Now that she wasn't caught unaware, however, Sakura didn't jump. Instead, she kneeled beside Sasuke and came face to face with the snake. "I'm not afraid of you," she said and shook her fist at the snake. "Try anything and I'll punch you into the ground."
"At least one of them has a backbone," Tebiki said as he turned his attention to Sasuke. "What do you want this time?"
"Do you remember Naruto, the blonde from a few nights ago?" Sasuke asked.
"Yes," the snake replied. "He's the loud one with the demonic chakra."
"I want you to go find him and then come tell me where he is."
Tebiki slithered closer to Sasuke until he had coiled himself around Sasuke's left arm. The snake stared at the young man and Sasuke stared back. The snakes had a mind of their own and if they sensed any weakness in the person that summoned them they would not obey.
"You better be glad I like you, kid, or I'd make you deal with the other summons. I'll be back when I find the blonde," the snake added and disappeared.
"What did he mean about the other summons?" Sakura asked.
"Orochimaru controlled them through fear and there are a few that think that now that he's gone they don't need to honor their contract. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way and they're bound to me for the rest of my life."
"The one you sent off will do as you asked?" Sakura asked, hopeful.
Sasuke nodded. "That one doesn't dislike me too much, so he'll do what I asked. I'll let you know what he finds out as soon as he returns."
"Thanks, Sasuke," Sakura said. "I hope Naruto is okay. He still isn't fully recovered from that poison."
"He's resilient," Sasuke said, knowing just how resilient his ex-teammate was after having attempted to kill him on several occasions. "He'll come back from wherever he went in one piece."
&&&&
The familiar pop at his left shoulder alerted Naruto to Gamakichi's arrival. He didn't stop, however, trusting the toad to keep his perch and not fall off.
"He's reached Otogakure," the toad said.
"Crap," Naruto said. "Why the hell is Kakashi going there?"
"Otogakure isn't the problem, Naruto," Gamakichi continued, unusually subdued. "Kirigakure's ninja are on a direct course there and should arrive shortly. If they find Kakashi, he's as good as dead."
Naruto cursed once again. Leave it to Kakashi to head straight for the enemy. Then again, now that they knew that Kirigakure was allied with Otogakure, it made sense for them to be heading there to regroup and possibly form a unified force and attack Konoha together. Kakashi had no doubt followed the same logic and headed there as well. The man must have a hidden death wish going there alone.
"They're going to be in for a hell of a shock when they get there," Naruto said, hoping that Gamakichi couldn't pick up on the guilt he couldn't entirely keep out of his voice.
"It's not your fault, kid," Gamakichi said. "I think you did the world a service by getting rid of them all."
Somehow, reassurance from a toad just didn't have the same comfort Naruto would have liked, but he had to give the toad credit for even thinking of reassuring him. Hundreds of people had died in Otogakure, both ninja and civilians, because Naruto had been unable to completely control the demon inside of him. That wasn't something he carried lightly, and something he would never forget.
"Could you tell how many there were?" Naruto asked, forcing himself away from his morose thoughts. He didn't have time to be distracted right now.
"No, but it looked like a lot more than just a platoon or two," Gamakichi answered.
"Thanks for the information, Gamakichi," Naruto said. "I'll summon you again if I need you."
Never one to stay around when there was the potential for trouble, Gamakichi disappeared in a puff of smoke, which left Naruto alone with his thoughts as he raced through the forest that would lead him back to Oto. The last time he'd come through here he'd been desperate, almost suicidal. A part of him had understood that he might not make it out of Oto alive and he'd accepted that as a fitting punishment for his failure to bring back Sasuke as he'd promised Sakura. This time it was different. He had to get to Oto before the Kiri ninja did so that Kakashi didn't have to face them alone. Naruto had no doubt that Kakashi already knew about the approaching force and had probably already sent a shadow clone to warn Tsunade. Unfortunately, Kakashi also possessed an insanity gene that would keep him around the dead village longer than necessary under the guise of reconnaissance. Kakashi and Kirigakure had some history, and Naruto had no doubt that whoever was leading the men would take great pleasure in taking back Hatake Kakashi's dead body as well.
Naruto had lost some time because when he'd left Konoha, he decided to tail Shikamaru first. Shikamaru was way too familiar with Naruto and his chakra, so it was very hard to keep the ANBU from noticing him. Naruto was sure that Shikamaru knew he was being followed, but he hadn't let on. Naruto decided it was best to leave before Shikamaru sent for someone to drag him back to the village, and had chosen a different route to take. He hadn't planned on tailing someone else, but when Naruto realized that Kakashi had left in the direction of Oto, he'd summoned Gamakichi to find out exactly where his former teacher was heading. He hadn't expected to find out that Kiri ninja were so close to Fire Country, however, and Naruto hoped that this was the only direction they'd chosen to come from.
Twilight had fallen by the time the Otogakure gates came into view. Naruto hid himself in the surrounding trees before casting out his senses. Kakashi's chakra was close, and it wasn't the only one Naruto sensed.
"Damn it," Naruto cursed as he launched himself over the closed gate and into the village.
There were five foreign chakra signatures close to Kakashi's, and while Kakashi was an excellent ninja, five against one were very bad odds. It didn't take Naruto long to find his former teacher engaged with the remaining four ninja in what had been Otogakure's main square before Naruto had leveled it. Even though Kakashi had already killed one of the enemy ninja, what little illumination remained showed Naruto that Kakashi had taken quite a few hits. His grey hair was speckled with blood, as was his uniform. His Sharingan eye was exposed, but there was a large cut above it that was bleeding quite a bit. Kakashi's Chidori lit up the twilight and he wasted no time in plunging it into his opponent's chest. Unfortunately, his other two opponents chose that time to circle and come at Kakashi from behind.
Naruto was in front of them before they had a chance to sense his chakra. He had three kunai out and in the air before he landed. The ninja evaded then, as expected. Fortunately for him, he'd cloned three more, which popped into existence the minute the others were blocked. The kunai hit the ninja, but none managed to hit vital spots.
"It's the monster!" one of them said.
Naruto bared his teeth, which actually made the ninja jump. "You'll be dead in a little bit, so I don't care what you call me."
Behind him, Naruto could hear Kakashi fighting with the remaining ninja.
"You're disobeying orders, Uzumaki," Kakashi said, his voice strained.
"I'm suspended, Kakashi, so I get to do whatever the hell I want."
"Tell that to the Hokage when you get back to the village," Kakashi said.
"If I get back," Naruto muttered. "She'll understand," Naruto added a bit louder so Kakashi could hear. "What else can she do, strip me of my rank?"
One of the ninja he was fighting tried a genjutsu on him, but Naruto quickly dispelled it. His partner tried another genjutsu, but Naruto dispelled it as well. He was glad that he'd taken the time to train with Kurenai or else he'd be very susceptible to the illusions.
"Tsunade-san did say she'd do that the last time you disobeyed orders and almost got yourself killed, remember?" Kakashi asked over the sound of metal hitting metal as his opponent fought him with a rather wicked looking sword.
His two opponents came at him, one from each direction, and Naruto decided to stop fooling around.
"Then I guess I'll just have to not get myself killed," Naruto replied.
He cloned himself and then added his special twist to the clone technique: mimic. Utilizing the fox's chakra, Naruto could make his clone mimic what he was doing, down to gathering chakra in his right hand for Rasengan. Both Narutos grinned as the enemy ninja realized what was about to be done to them. They tried to dodge, but Naruto and his clone were too fast. The Rasengan sent the ninja into the air, and they were dead when they hit the ground.
Naruto turned in time to see Kakashi's remaining opponent crumple to the ground, a kunai in his throat. Naruto had gotten hit in a couple of places, but they were minor injuries that would be healed in a bit. Kakashi, on the other hand, was a lot worse off.
"You're supposed to be in the hospital," Kakashi said as Naruto reached his side.
"I don't like hospitals," Naruto replied. "Besides, I couldn't let you have all the fun. Sit down so I can take a look at the state you're in."
Naruto ran the diagnostic technique that Tsunade had made him learn and was glad to see that Kakashi looked much worse off than he actually was. There was one minor complication, though.
"You have a serious blow to the back of your head," Naruto said.
Kakashi wiped the blood that was still flowing from the cut over his left eye. "I made the acquaintance of that tree over there," he said and pointed to the tree in the middle of the square. "They caught me completely off guard," Kakashi admitted.
"I'm surprised," Naruto said, "you never let anything get past you."
"I was distracted," Kakashi said and his gaze left Naruto to focus on the bodies that still littered the ground around the village. "I hadn't expected this."
Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat as he also looked around. "I don't remember doing this, but I'm sure the fox enjoyed it."
"You did this?" Kakashi asked, the surprise evident in his voice.
"Like I said, I don't remember, but who else could have? I remember meeting Kabuto at the gate, but my memory blacks out halfway through the fight and then returns when I engaged Orochimaru."
"Did the fox take over?" Kakashi asked, worried.
"It must have. I know it tried when I was fighting Orochimaru, but I fought it off."
It hurt not to know what happened, not to be sure of what he had or hadn't done. He wanted to regain the memories, but every time he tried to tap into the missing pieces it felt like hitting a wall that he couldn't penetrate.
Kakashi got to his feet. He swayed a bit and then steadied himself.
"Where do you think you're going?" Naruto said.
"These five were an advance squad," Kakashi said, motioning to the five dead ninja. "We need to find out how many are in the main body. They have to be very close and we can't go back to Konoha until we find out how many there are."
"Are you insane?" Naruto said. "Your brain could be swelling from that blow, and it probably is since you can't seem to stop swaying. We need to get you back to a medic that can take care of you."
"I outrank you, Uzumaki," Kakashi said.
Naruto bristled at having rank pulled on him. "Fine, Hatake, but if you keel over because you're too stubborn to get help, don't haunt me after you're dead."
Kakashi grinned at the idea. "I'll just have to find something else to haunt you over."
&&&&
Sasuke was tired, but felt a sense of accomplishment by the time he'd crossed the gates into his neighborhood after his first day of work. For the first time, he didn't have an ulterior motive, didn't have to do what he was doing because it was a stepping stone in the direction he needed to go in. Sasuke found the lack of an all-consuming motive to rule his life frightening, especially when he realized that the last time he'd felt this way was when he was a child.
He missed being a ninja. That was his chosen profession and what he was best suited for. He was better than many of the ninja in Konoha and could be an asset to the village if given the chance to prove that he was not going to betray the village again. Since that wasn't an option for him, Sasuke was glad that Inoue-san had given him the opportunity to return to his shop and work for as long as he needed the job. He still planned on keeping up his ninja skills; he just had to find a way to do it that wouldn't make the Hokage think he was planning on hurting someone.
Sasuke smiled as the smell of miso ramen wafted up to his nose from the container in his arms. Inoue-san had paid him for his work, and like a child with his first allowance, Sasuke had decided to treat himself to dinner. He'd gone to Ichiraku because that had been the only place he'd not been turned away from. He almost expected the owner to refuse him service because Naruto wasn't with him, but he'd been surprised when the man had welcomed him in and taken his order. Sasuke hadn't wanted to push his luck or scare customers away, so he'd asked for the ramen to go. He'd had a bad reaction to the food when he'd eaten it just a few days ago, so he was determined to get past that memory and maybe even get to like the food that Naruto loved so much.
As Sasuke released the seal he'd placed around his house, it occurred to him that Tebiki had yet to return with news of Naruto. While that didn't mean that there was trouble, Tebiki's tracking skills were exceptional so finding Naruto should not have been difficult. Unless the snake had decided to lay low and not return to him immediately to get back at him for the work Sasuke had made him do over the past couple of days. Most of his summons required a price, though none quite as steep as the human lives Manda demanded. Tebiki had yet to ask him for payment for his services, but the snake did have a tendency to ignore Sasuke for a while if he thought he was being overworked.
Once inside, Sasuke left his dinner in the kitchen and went out to the inner courtyard to walk the perimeter of the house, as he'd taken to doing since the snakes had been left in his bedroom. He found no signs of forced entry until he got to the dojo. The seal he'd placed on the door had been broken, and no attempt had been made to cover it up. Sasuke reached for the doors but recoiled before he touched them. The sound of bodies hitting the ground was very loud in his memory, and was then followed by the very real sound of a body hitting the ground just beyond the doors.
Pushing the childhood fears aside, Sasuke threw open the doors and stepped inside. He'd only taken a few steps when he froze. The light shining through the window illuminated a body in a pool of blood, and Sasuke's eyes were drawn to the pink, blood-stained hair that shimmered almost white in the moonlight.
"Sakura," he whispered.
There was someone else in the room. The chakra was familiar to Sasuke, but it was being disguised and he couldn't quite place it.
"Who are you?" Sasuke demanded. "Step into the light where I can see you, coward."
The man chuckled, but remained in the shadows. The dojo was a medium sized room and it had only two exits: the window and the door Sasuke stood in front of. The intruder had few options for escape, which was fine with Sasuke, because he wasn't letting the man go. He spared a glance at Sakura, but couldn't see from where he stood whether she was breathing or not. His eyes were slowly adjusting to the semi-darkness, and he could now see the outline of the intruder. He wasn't armed, but Sasuke didn't need physical weapons. His chakra alone could do as much damage.
He gathered chakra in his left hand and charged when the Chidori was ready. The intruder vanished, but Sasuke was able to track the movements with the Sharingan. The intruder appeared to his right and threw two kunai, which Sasuke easily dodged. Chidori was no use to him if the opponent kept moving, so Sasuke compressed the chakra in his hand until it was as small as a pellet. When the intruder appeared to his left this time, Sasuke threw the pellet. It missed its intended target but hit the man in the shoulder. Once the chakra pellet made contact, the chakra exploded and left a hole in his opponent's shoulder.
"Son of a bitch!" the man yelled as he clutched the wounded shoulder.
The intruder stumbled into the light, but his head was covered by a mask. There were no other distinguishing marks on the man, except for a wisp of light colored hair that had come out of its binding. The man vanished again and reappeared at the other side of the room. Sasuke was in front of him in three steps and slammed the intruder into the wall, where he vanished in a puff of smoke.
A clone?
Before Sasuke could turn around to look for the real intruder, a kunai was driven between his shoulder blades. He gasped and managed to pull away from the intruder. His reflexes were slowed, however, and he wasn't able to do much about the second kunai, this one impaled in his side. The intruder grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled Sasuke towards him. The man pulled the kunai out of Sasuke's back and then held it against Sasuke's throat.
"You are the coward, Sasuke-kun, and you will pay for what you did to Orochimaru-sama."
Sasuke's eyes widened as the man's identity became clear.
"You're supposed to be dead," Sasuke said.
Kabuto laughed. "Not as dead as you will be soon. Rest assured, Sasuke-kun, that the blonde nuisance will follow you in death."
Sasuke was thrown to the middle of the room, where he landed on Sakura's legs. He pulled the kunai out of his side and tried to push himself up, but his hands slipped on the blood underneath him. Kabuto kneeled beside Sasuke and used a knee to the chest to keep Sasuke in place. He rummaged in the sack strapped to his hip and pulled out two snakes, which Sasuke immediately recognized as part of Kabuto's poisonous, genetically engineered breed.
"Orochimaru-sama offered you immortality and you killed him. I'll leave you with a token gift of the life you turned away from."
Kabuto let the snakes go and disappeared. The snakes landed on Sasuke's legs and he managed to decapitate one with the kunai before it had a chance to bite. He wasn't fast enough with the second one, however, and it bit the inside of his right thigh. Sasuke killed it as well, but not before it had done its damage.
Where the hell are the ANBU? Sasuke wondered. Aren't they supposed to be keeping an eye on me?
Konoha ANBU couldn't be that dense, could they? As a last ditch effort to draw the attention of the ANBU that should be around, Sasuke threw the bloody kunai at the window and shattered it. The noise alone should be enough to bring someone into the house.
Sasuke could already feel the poison working its way through his body, but he managed to get off of Sakura's legs and make his way towards her head. There was a lot of blood on the ground, but it was still fresh, so she couldn't have been in the room for long. He first felt her neck and was relieved when he felt a pulse. He could see a gash along her side, which was probably where most of the blood had come from. If she was still alive, then there was a good chance that the wound, while bleeding heavily, was not fatal. All he had to do was get her to a doctor, or get a doctor to her, and she'd be fine. He lifted his sleeve and ran his bloody finger over the snake summon seal, but stopped before performing any of the seals. Who would he summon? Tebiki was the only snake that would do as he asked, and he'd sent it to find Naruto.
"I dragged you into this mess, Sakura, and I can't get you out," Sasuke said as he brushed Sakura's hair away from her face with bloody fingers. "I'm sorry."
&&&&
They'd been traveling for an hour when Kakashi came to an abrupt stop. Naruto landed beside his former teacher and crouched, senses open and alert.
"Do you see that?" Kakashi asked, pointing to an occasional glint of moonlight against metal in the distance.
"That's got to be them," Naruto said.
"Stupid," Kakashi muttered, "but they expect to be in friendly territory so they see no need to hide themselves. That should make it a little easier for us." He prepared to take off again, but Naruto grabbed him before Kakashi could jump off the tree.
"What are you doing?" Kakashi asked as Naruto pulled him back down and turned Kakashi's head so he could take a look at the wound.
"The back of your head is covered in blood and the wound is still bleeding," Naruto said as he moved some of the hair aside to take a closer look at the gash. "If you keep exerting yourself, you're going to pass out and I already told you I'm not going to carry you back to the village."
Kakashi let out an annoyed sigh. "What do you suggest we do instead?" he asked, not bothering to hide the sarcasm. "We can't go home yet."
"I know that," Naruto said as he found the wound about three inches away from Kakashi's right ear. He pushed Kakashi's head down to better see the wound and his fingers got a little too close to it, which made Kakashi hiss in pain.
"Sorry about that," Naruto said, to which Kakashi grumbled.
When Naruto was satisfied that Kakashi's brain wasn't exposed to the elements, he let the man's head go.
"My clones can do the reconnaissance while we wait here," Naruto suggested. "It won't take them long to get a rough estimate on their numbers. We can go back to the village then."
It was a testament to how much the head injury was affecting Kakashi when the older man nodded his agreement at the suggestion. Not wanting to wait for Kakashi to change his mind, Naruto summoned two clones and sent them off. He settled on the branch to wait, letting Kakashi have the spot closer to the trunk so he could lean against it.
"You still haven't told me why you're here, Naruto. Tsunade-sama is going to be furious when she finds out you not only left the hospital but left the village."
Naruto winced as an image of a very angry Tsunade entered his mind. She wasn't going to take it well, that was for sure, and he had to admit that he was pushing his luck, especially since his last escapade outside of the village.
"They attacked me first, Kakashi," Naruto said. "I couldn't let you and the others come out here and risk your lives by yourselves."
"So why follow me, then? Why not bug Shikamaru or Neji?" Kakashi asked.
"Are you kidding? Shikamaru would send me back and Neji is no fun to be around. Besides, you're a lot more fun to irritate."
The lapsed into silence as they waited for the clones to return. Naruto kept his focus on the distance, but every now and then would shift his attention to Kakashi, who was fighting not to fall asleep. The concussion was severe and needed attention that Naruto couldn't give it, but losing consciousness was the last thing Kakashi needed to do. He turned to engage Kakashi in conversation but found the older man staring at him, eye wide.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked. He didn't sense anyone else around.
"There's a snake on your shoulder," Kakashi pointed out.
Naruto jerked in surprise and found himself staring at the same snake that he'd become acquainted with a few nights ago. It flicked its tongue out at him.
"Stop doing that!" Naruto yelled. "Can't you announce yourself first?"
The snake hissed at him. "It's amusing to catch you people off guard. It's like you've never seen snakes before."
"Maybe it's just that we don't like snakes," Naruto muttered.
"You know that snake?" Kakashi asked Naruto.
"Yeah, it's one of Sasuke's summons," Naruto said. "What do you want?" he asked the snake.
The snake slithered off Naruto's shoulder and onto the branch between Naruto and Kakashi. It studied Kakashi for a bit before returning its attention to Naruto.
"Sasuke sent me to find you. Your pink-haired friend was worried that you'd gone off and done something stupid," the snake said.
"Was she?" Naurto asked unable to help a small smile. "Hey, what do you mean gone off to do something stupid?" Naruto asked when the snake's words sunk in. "You little…"
"You found him, now what?" Kakashi asked, interrupting before Naruto and the snake got any further.
"Now I tell Sasuke that the blonde is still in one piece. It's beyond me why Sasuke cares so much, but ever since I've known the brat, this kid has always come up in conversation," the snake said to Kakashi. "I thought he'd be taller." it added.
Naruto threw a rock at the snake, but it slithered out of the way. "I didn't know snakes could track from scent," Naruto said.
"Each one of us has a purpose," the snake said as if that answered everything, and then added "I followed your chakra, not your scent."
Naruto glanced at Kakashi, who shrugged. He apparently hadn't known about chakra tracking snakes either.
"As entertaining as this has been, I've done my job," the snake said and popped out of existence.
"That was interesting," Naruto said. "Is it just me, or does that snake's personality match Sasuke's?"
Kakashi smiled. "No wonder they get along."
The clones chose that moment to return, and Naruto couldn't help but feel a bit of pride that neither had been discovered or destroyed.
"There are well over one hundred ninja gathered," the clone closest to Naruto said. "They plan on stopping at Otogakure for a day to replenish supplies."
"That's not the only thing," the other clone said. "There is another platoon coming from the West. They'll reach Konoha first."
Naruto's eyes widened and he shot to his feet. He thanked the clones for their work and dismissed them. "We need to go back."
Kakashi nodded his agreement and got to his feet. He swayed and would have fallen off the branch if Naruto hadn't grabbed onto the back of Kakashi's vest.
"Don't pass out, Kakashi. Remember, I'm not carrying you back."
Kakashi took a few moments to recover. When he was ready, he took to the trees, leaving Naruto staring after him.
"Don't be late," Kakashi shouted and disappeared in the direction of the welcoming forests of Fire Country.
&&&&
There are two to three, maybe four, chapters to go. My plan is to have this finished by the end of the year, which will be a freaking record for me. The last story I finished took me 4 years to write.