Greetings! Two chapters in two months, I think that's a record for me. I finally have direction, which helps in figuring out what comes next.

Thank you to all who reviewed! It's nice to know that the story is being read and enjoyed. Stats, while nice to have, are just numbers on a graph. They are no substitute for the communication that comes from a review. oturan2008, you left a lovely review, but since I'm unable to reply to it, I'll mention a few things here, since I think they'll be of interest to everyone else as well.

I don't enjoy conflict for the sake of conflict or angst for the sake of angst. I'm a strong believer that the bumps on the road we all call life will make us stronger, so I like to portray that in what I write. While I don't ever guarantee happy endings, I do guarantee that there will be resolution in some form or fashion.

I have a tendency to focus on a handful of characters, because I like to write them well and it's easier to do when you have a smaller cast, but I have been neglecting everyone else. They'll have their turn eventually.

Warnings: language and mild violence. I try not to use too many objectionable words, but this chapter merited a few.

Enjoy!

Posted 8/27/08

Chapter 15: Masks

Kakashi decided shortly after six in the morning that he'd had enough of tossing and turning and got up to begin his day. His sleep, when he'd managed to doze off, had been plagued by nightmares of giant snakes, and of his dead father. The snakes were disturbing enough, but Kakashi hadn't thought of his father's suicide in a long time, and the nightmares left him feeling as if he were a child all over again. The helplessness he'd felt in his dreams had carried over into the waking hours as Kakashi thought of what Sasuke could have done the night before if Kakashi hadn't interfered. Not that his mind hadn't happily substituted Sasuke for his father in some of the nightmares, giving Kakashi a very vivid image of a blood soaked Uchiha lying on his living room floor.

Kakashi forced the image out of his mind and left his bedroom. He'd told Sasuke that he'd let him down once and wouldn't do it again, and he'd meant it. Sasuke was not going to end up dead by his own hand on Kakashi's watch. He knocked on the door of the guest bedroom softly enough to be heard if the occupant was awake, but hopefully not loud enough to wake him if Sasuke were asleep. When there was no response, Kakashi decided to check on Sasuke anyway and made his way inside. Instead of finding Sasuke still asleep on the bed, however, Kakashi found the young man sitting on the floor with his knees to his chest and his back to the corner opposite the door.

Sasuke looked up when Kakashi entered, blinking blood-shot eyes and looking at Kakashi as if he thought Kakashi was an apparition. When Sasuke finally decided that Kakashi was real, he got to his feet. The wrinkled clothing looked ridiculously big on him, but Kakashi decided that commenting on that was not a good idea.

"Was there something wrong with the bed?" Kakashi asked, motioning to the untouched bed in front of Sasuke.

"No," Sasuke replied, "just unnecessary."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the comment. "Well, there's a couch in the living room. You could have slept there if you didn't want the bed."

"The floor was fine," Sasuke replied. His jaw was set in a grim line, and Kakashi could almost hear Sasuke's teeth grinding together.

"I guess it's easier to stay awake when you're on the floor," Kakashi ventured, and was rewarded with a glare that Kakashi was sure had reduced many Oto ninja to a trembling mess.

"Where is the bathroom?"Sasuke asked once he realized that the glare was having no effect on Kakashi.

"Down the hall to the left," Kakashi answered and watched as Sasuke left the room, shoulders tight and hands clenched at his side.

The helplessness that had plagued Kakashi's dreams resurfaced. How was he supposed to reach Sasuke when so many walls separated him from the young man he had once known? He'd tied the boy to a tree with wire once and forced him to listen to Kakashi's version of reason, but that hadn't worked. Kakashi had a feeling that he'd lose a limb or two if he tried that again, not that it'd work any better now. You couldn't force Sasuke to do anything, because he had to be the one to decide he wanted to do whatever you were asking of him. Getting him to want to talk was going to be damn near impossible.

Kakashi turned his inner turmoil into something useful by rummaging through the dresser until he found some clothes that would fit Sasuke. Sasuke was shorter and thinner than Kakashi, so the clothes would still be a bit big, but not as big as the ones he was wearing now.

"Some of these clothes should fit you," Kakashi said as Sasuke came back into the room. "I'm going to make breakfast while you change."

He closed the door behind him and headed to the kitchen, where the first thing he did was take the knives out of the drawer and put them under lock and key with his weapons. He returned to the kitchen and rinsed some fruit, made toast, and brewed coffee. By the time Sasuke left his room, Kakashi was reading the morning paper and halfway through his first cup of coffee.

Sasuke poured himself a cup of coffee and then joined him at the table.

"What was last night all about?" Kakashi asked when Sasuke was seated opposite him.

"You put a seal on the door to alert you when I left the room?" Sasuke countered.

"No. I'm a light sleeper and you woke me up when you started rummaging around my kitchen. Now answer the question."

"It was nothing," Sasuke said after a pause, his voice soft, but no less chilling.

"Really, so you weren't looking for my kitchen knives then?" Kakashi didn't bother hiding his disbelief.

"No."

"You're lying, Sasuke, and this is one thing I'm not going to let go," Kakashi said, his voice rising in volume despite his desire to stay as calm as possible. "I can't even begin to comprehend what you've been through, because you've not been very forthcoming on the details, but taking your own life to escape isn't the answer. It's the coward's way out."

If Kakashi thought that Sasuke's earlier glare could have reduced a man to a trembling mess, the one he gave Kakashi now could have killed someone. Sasuke's hands clenched around the cup he was holding and he seemed to be at a loss for words.

"You think I was trying to kill myself because I'm a coward? You have no idea, Kakashi," Sasuke said when he'd finally found his voice.

"Why don't you enlighten me, then?" Kakashi's anger stemmed from a place deep inside him that, if asked, he'd not been able to identify. It was raw and all-consuming, as if it had been lying dormant for most of his life waiting for release. "Why were you going to kill yourself?"

There, it was in the open. Sasuke could either deny it or not, and Kakashi wasn't sure which one he preferred.

"I wanted to…" Sasuke started to say but cut himself off. A brief flash of panic flitted through his eyes and he looked away.

"You were what?" Kakashi prodded.

When Sasuke didn't raise his head, Kakashi left his chair and took a hold of Sasuke's chin, forcing his head up. Angry, black eyes tinged with something lighter glared at Kakashi from the pale face.

"Damn it, Sasuke. What's wrong? Something happened yesterday before I found you and it has nothing to do with the ninja that left the note. Is it Kabuto, did you see him again? Is it…" 

Kakashi trailed off, the thought that has just crossed his mind leaving him cold. As much as he didn't want to voice the thought, he had to.

"Is it Orochimaru?"

Sasuke reacted by grabbing onto the front of Kakashi's vest and shoving him against the wall. Electricity coursed through Kakashi as Sasuke held him, making his limbs shake. After the initial surprise of the attack wore off, Kakashi gritted his teeth and fought the shaking enough to maneuver his arms in front of him and push Sasuke away. Sasuke slammed into the table, but managed to stay upright. He started making hand seals, but Kakashi managed to separate Sasuke's hands before he could complete the technique he'd wanted. Sasuke responded by kicking Kakashi's legs out from under him, and Kakashi slammed onto the floor. He'd still had a hold of Sasuke's hands, so the teenager fell on top of him.

They fought, each trying to pin the other down, and the glimpses of Sasuke's cold, emotionless face sent shivers down Kakashi's spine. This was a boy trained to kill; a boy trained to cut off all feeling for the sake of his goals. Sasuke's black eyes didn't turn red with the Sharingan, but there was a touch of gold in them that reminded Kakashi of someone he'd thought dead for good. In the end, it was that glimpse of gold that scared the hell out of Kakashi, giving him the slight edge over Sasuke. Kakashi wasn't afraid of Sasuke; Kakashi was afraid for him.

Kakashi got them both to a sitting position and wrapped his arms around Sasuke from behind, pinning the younger ninja's arms to his side.

"Let me go," Sasuke commanded, struggling to get out of Kakashi's grip. The voice was slightly higher pitched and carried the air of authority and superiority that comes with the knowledge that everyone else is beneath you.

"Not until you calm down," Kakashi replied and held on tighter when the struggles increased.

After a few more minutes of struggling, Sasuke finally went limp in Kakashi's arms. He dropped his head, so that Kakashi couldn't see his face through the curtain of hair. They were both breathing hard and Kakashi ached in quite a few places.

"You can let go of me now," Sasuke said, his voice back to the monotone he'd adopted when he was brought back to the village.

"How do I know you're not going to attack me again?" Kakashi replied.

"You don't, but you can't sit here and hold on to me for the rest of the day," Sasuke replied.

Kakashi had to agree that Sasuke did have a point, even though he wasn't entirely happy about it. He was shaken at what he now suspected, but he wasn't going to let Sasuke know that he suspected Orochimaru might still be around.

He let go of Sasuke, who got to his feet first and then held out a hand to help Kakashi up. The older ninja peered into Sasuke's eyes before taking the hand, and was relieved to see that they were entirely black. They looked at each other awkwardly for a moment, before Sasuke turned away and headed for the front door.

"Where are you going?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm late for work," Sasuke replied.

He'd rather not have Sasuke out of his sight, and leaving him with a civilian might not be the best of ideas, but he had to speak to Sakura. He could take Sasuke by Inoue's shop, get an ANBU to stay around the shop and make sure Sasuke didn't leave, and then pick him up at the end of the day. If it all went to plan, it could work.

"OK," Kakashi told Sasuke. "I'll walk with you then."

Sakura's office in the administrative wing of the hospital was small, cramped, and so full of medical texts and scrolls that every piece of furniture served as a makeshift bookcase. She usually didn't mind, since she spent the majority of her time not on the field or out on missions in her lab. When she had to spend time in her office, she was content for there to be just enough space clear on her desk so she could work in peace.

When Kakashi showed up, however, she found herself struggling to keep mounds of paper and books from falling over as she moved stuff off the chair in front of her desk.

"Nice juggling," Kakashi said as he took the cleared chair. "For a moment I thought you'd cause an avalanche of scrolls."

"One day, I'm sure I will," she replied, noting that the nonchalance with which Kakashi normally carried himself was gone, replaced by a sense of heightened awareness.

She studied her former teacher for a minute, trying to figure out what had him on edge. He was outwardly calm, except for the small twitch of his uncovered eye. The twitch usually preceded his activating the Sharingan eye, and it worried Sakura that something had happened to make him feel like he had to use the eye while still in the village. She opened her mouth to inquire about Sasuke, as he was probably one of the only people around that could make Kakashi feel threatened enough to use the Sharingan, but he beat her to it.

"How sure are you that the seals you and Naruto used to remove Orochimaru from Sasuke's body worked?"

Sakura stared at Kakashi, for a moment unsure if she'd heard correctly. When the words registered, she felt lightheaded, as if the oxygen had been sucked out of the room all at once.

"Why do you ask?"

"Sasuke attacked me this morning," Kakashi replied, his voice still calm.

"What?" Sakura burst out before she could stop herself.

Her incredulousness turned to gut-churning fear as Kakashi told her what he'd woken up to the night before and what he'd seen during his altercation with Sasuke.

"Sasuke seemed to regain control towards the end, when he finally went limp," Kakashi finished. "His eyes were back to normal by then."

"Kakashi, if it were really Orochimaru in control of Sasuke's body while you were fighting, he would have killed you," Sakura pointed out.

"Not if Sasuke still had some measure of control and kept him from doing so," Kakashi countered.

"So you think that Sasuke is aware of Orochimaru's presence still in his mind?"

"He has to be. Sasuke and suicide don't usually make sense together, but they do if Sasuke was aware that Orochimaru was still in his mind somewhere. You know how Sasuke likes to deal with things on his own. What better way to deal with Orochimaru than to kill the body so there'd be nothing for the snake to take over?"

Kakashi's blunt words cut through her like highly sharpened shiruken, but she knew them to be true. Sakura inwardly cursed Sasuke's stubbornness, while at the same tine fearing for his well being. She pulled herself from those dark thoughts and got back to Kakashi's original question.

"I suppose it's possible that Orochimaru hid a piece of his consciousness in Sasuke's mind as a failsafe, in case he was ever driven out of the body," Sakura explained, her voice calmer than she would have thought possible with the churning thoughts in her head. "If that's the case, then we have a bigger problem at hand. In addition to removing Orochimaru's soul, we placed a seal on Sasuke so that it would never be possible for Orochimaru, or anyone else, to be able to take over his body."

Kakashi thought about what she'd said for a moment, until his eye widened.

"The seal keeps things out, but also keeps whatever is inside in, right?" Kakashi asked.

Instead of answering, Sakura removed a key from the necklace around her neck and opened a small trunk behind her desk. She removed two scrolls and set them on the desk in front of Kakashi.

"These scrolls contain the two seals that we used on Sasuke," Sakura said and gave Kakashi some time to glance at what she and Naruto had spent years perfecting. "As you can see on that 

second one," she continued after she had Kakashi's attention again, "if there is a piece of Orochimaru still alive in Sasuke's mind, then that second seal is going to keep it inside."

"The seal can't be removed?" Kakashi asked.

"It can, but not without some risk to Sasuke," Sakura said. "That seal is probably what's keeping Orochimaru from taking over entirely, so I wouldn't recommend removing it. It also gives Sasuke majority share in his mind, to put it simply. As long as Sasuke is strong enough to fight, he should regain control when Orochimaru tries to take over."

Sakura saw Kakashi's eye lose focus for a moment and could imagine a similar train of thought going through the silver-haired jounin's head: Sasuke had survived three years as Orochimaru's host by subjugating his existence in his own mind. That kind of survival instinct was hard to fight in the face of similar circumstances.

"What do you recommend we do?" Kakashi asked.

"Naruto performed the actual seals, so it's a good idea to keep those two as close as possible," Sakura said. "Naruto's chakra can still feed the seal, so it might keep Orochimaru restrained until we figure out what to do. Does Sasuke know that you suspect anything?"

Kakashi shook his head. "I didn't want to risk Orochimaru, if he's that close to the surface, forcing Sasuke into doing something stupid, like leaving, if he thought I suspected something.

"That's probably for the best," Sakura said. "We need to keep Sasuke contained," Sakura answered. "Once we know he can't leave the village, we've got to get him to tell us what's going on in his head, how much control Orochimaru still has, so we can help him. As long as that seal is still on Sasuke, he is the only one that can fight Orochimaru." She paused for a moment. "Where is Sasuke now?"

"I left him at Inoue's shop, with an ANBU outside to make sure he didn't leave," Kakashi replied.

Sakura got to her feet and started for the door. "We need to get him, and we need to find Naruto and tell him what's going on."

She was almost to the door when Kakashi, who'd gotten up after her, stopped her with a hand to her shoulder.

"Are you going to tell Tsunade-sama?" he asked.

She was sorely tempted, because Tsunade-sama knew so much more than she did, but, childish or not, Sasuke was still her responsibility first. Sakura looked at Kakashi to see if he would force the issue. When he inclined his head slightly to indicate that he'd let her make the decision, she expelled the breath she'd been holding.

"No, not until I have to."

Sakura walked out of her office with Kakashi hot on her heels. She didn't have time to worry or fear for her friend right now. She also didn't have time for self-recriminations and for wondering where she and Naruto's research had been incomplete or incorrect, and whether they had put their friend in even greater danger. Right now, she had to get to Sasuke, before Orochimaru completely took over and did something that Sasuke couldn't forgive himself for.

When Naruto left Sakura's house that morning, he'd intended to work at Inoue-san's shop, since Tsunade had yet to give him a mission. Halfway there, however, he'd changed his mind. Sasuke would probably be there, and Naruto didn't feel like smiling and pretending that everything was good with the world when he really felt like screaming at the top of his lungs at the unfairness of it all. Instead, he'd purchased two bottles of sake and had settled himself on his favorite tree in the forest surrounding the training grounds. Here, he knew that he would be alone and would have no need to fake the smile everyone had become so accustomed to.

It had taken the first bottle, and four hours, for Naruto to finally admit to himself why he was so angry. At first, Naruto had thought that the anger was directed at Sasuke, because the bastard was being his usual aloof and uncaring self, but that wasn't entirely the case. Sasuke hadn't asked Naruto or Sakura to come after him. He hadn't asked them to risk their careers to bring him back. Yes, Sasuke had defected and abandoned them, and for that Naruto did harbor quite a lot of anger, but that should have been the end of it. Naruto should have let go and let Sasuke do whatever the hell he'd wanted. It had been Naruto's own choice to make Sakura a promise he wasn't sure he could keep. It had been Naruto's choice to leave Konoha armed with two new techniques and then slaughter the villagers in Oto just to get to Sasuke. It had been his haste to get to Sasuke that had left Kabuto alive and had almost gotten Sakura killed. If Sasuke never adapted to being in Konoha again, and ended up miserable because of it, it would be Naruto's fault as well.

Naruto picked up the bottle he'd recently emptied and hurled it at the nearest tree with a wordless roar of rage that sent birds scattering from their perch. The bottle shattered, and Naruto's hand itched to throw something else. His second bottle was still half full, however, and he wasn't about to waste good sake.

He knew that Sasuke would be different if they managed to get Orochimaru out of his body and bring him home. Sakura had never let him forget that, but seeing it in person was an entirely different thing. Sasuke had always been aloof and defensive, even as a child, but the aloofness had turned to paranoia and the defensiveness had multiplied tenfold. He kept whatever was going on inside his head to himself as he always had, but whereas before Sasuke had communicated with insults and actions, now he didn't communicate at all. There were walls built so high that Naruto had lost sight of his friend and instead could only feel the deadly chakra that surrounded him.

Naruto didn't think that their friendship had been one-sided all along, because Sasuke had admitted at the Valley of the End that there was a bond between them. Of course, Sasuke had tried to kill him right after that. Sasuke hadn't killed him, though, even though he'd had the opportunity when Naruto had lost consciousness. Naruto had taken to mean that the bond they'd unexpectedly formed as children was still there. It wasn't strong enough to keep Sasuke from leaving, but it was better than nothing.

The friendship could very well be one-sided now, and it made Naruto angry and ashamed to think that he was still so desperate for the bonds he'd craved when he was a child that he'd still cling to it. He wasn't a lonely child anymore. He'd finally been acknowledged and was respected amongst his peers, so why did this one person, this one bond, mean so much to him?

With another roar, Naruto flung the now empty second bottle at the same tree and grinned when it hit the same spot the other one had.

"What did that tree do to you?"

The voice was the last thing Naruto had expected, and when he stood to face the unwelcome visitor, he swayed slightly on his feet.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Naruto asked Sasuke, who stood on a higher branch and looked down his aristocratic nose at Naruto.

Sasuke was completely masking his chakra, which explained why Naruto hadn't sensed him. Not that he'd been paying attention. The alcohol didn't help either, though it didn't incapacitate him as much as it would most people. He had the fox to thank for that.

"You didn't show up for work," Sasuke said, as if that would explain everything.

"Don't tell me you were worried," Naruto sneered, too drunk to mask his emotions and too angry to care.

"No," Sasuke said. "Not many people worry about you, I would think."

It hurt that Sasuke would use something Naruto had told him when they were eight to get a rise out of him now, and it sparked the desire to hurt back just as much. He resisted it, because it was obvious that Sasuke had come looking for a fight and, as good as fighting with Sasuke would feel, Naruto was not willing to indulge in something that might very well get him killed.

"Get lost, Sasuke. Go bother someone who gives a damn."

Sasuke's mouth curved into a sneer and he jumped down to stand very close to Naruto.

"Is that the alcohol talking, Naruto? I bet that was another valuable lesson from your drunk of a teacher. Besides, I wouldn't have thought that you went to all that trouble to bring me back because you didn't 'give a damn'," Sasuke said.

Naruto's hands clenched and unclenched, itching to go for a kunai or two, anything to wipe the sneer off Sasuke's face. The Uchiha wasn't engaging in good-natured teasing anymore. He meant to hurt and was taking a very direct route to do it.

"It must suck to be stuck with grudges that aren't yours," Naruto said, finally giving in to the desire to retaliate.

"Not really," Sasuke replied. "It gives me a healthy respect for those I should be on the lookout for, and those idiots, like you, that I should stay away from."

"If I really am the idiot you claim me to be, you wouldn't be standing here today. You would still be cowering inside your mind while Orochimaru did whatever he wanted with your body."

Sasuke's response was immediate, and Naruto cursed the alcohol still clouding his mind as he found himself on his knees with the left side of his face throbbing and his lip bleeding.

"Do you even want to be here?" Naruto said as he got to his feet, finally asking the question that had plagued him ever since Sasuke had woken up. "Would you have rather stayed as Orochimaru's host?"

Sasuke chuckled and closed the distance between them so that their faces were almost touching. Naruto stepped back, but Sasuke's hand closed on the front of Naruto's shirt and pulled him close.

"Do you regret bringing me back?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto wanted to answer that no, he didn't regret it, but he wasn't entirely sure that was the answer.

"It's ok, Naruto, you can tell me the truth. I'm more trouble than I'm worth, aren't I? I bet you wish you'd left me in Oto to continue cowering inside my mind," Sasuke said.

Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but the shifting in Sasuke's eyes caught his attention instead. He half expected to be staring into Sharingan red, but instead found himself staring into cruel eyes tinted gold.

"You should regret bringing me back, Naruto-kun."

Naruto felt pressure on his stomach, right over the seal that kept the fox trapped inside of him. His breath was knocked out of his lungs as the world exploded into fire, just as it had when Orochimaru had done this to him during the Chunin exam. He desperately tried to crawl his way back to himself, but the power of his demon was overwhelming and he was soon being swept away by it.

The last thought he had before unconsciousness took him was "Oh, shit."

So there you have it. I know it's not nice to leave you, my loyal readers, with this kind of a cliffhanger, but if I'd kept writing I would have ended up with a 20 page chapter. The good side of this is that the next chapter is mostly in my head already.

Until next time, and don't forget to review!