Chapter 4: Nobody Knows
"Light thinks it travels faster than anything, but it is wrong.
No matter how fast light travels,
it finds the dark has gotten there first and is waiting for it."
-Teri Prachetti
He quickly walked past Sakura, practically ignoring her, and set his hands on the rails of the front porch. Arching his back, he let out a sigh of frustration. I haven't seen him like this in so long…oh man! I'm curious!
"Sasuke—"
"She wants to speak to you next."
"So you're not mad—"
"GO!" he turned slightly and snapped
She jumped timidly at his outburst, but then curled her fists, her eyebrows arching downward in a v-shape.
She growled lowly, causing him to turn his whole body, "I'll go whenever I damn well please." Walking up to him, she poked her finger to his chest in a daring manner and lowered her voice, "Don't think that because I gave myself to you that I'm your slave. I am NOT your stress relief and I refuse to be treated like a worthless whore."
He had been somewhat shocked at the ferocity of her words but then confused by her last sentence, "I assure you, you are neither. But you knew from the start, Sakura chan…" he lifted his hand to brush away a few locks of pink hair away from her cheek, caressing it lightly, "you could have fought me back then…" He ran his hand down her cheek to tip her chin up, lowering his voice to a husky whisper, "even as I had you screaming my name."
She was about to protest before he kissed her harshly, pinning her against the outside wall of the cabin. She tried to push him away but he caught her hands and pinned them above her head, "You're mine." he snapped menacingly before launching back onto her kiss-swollen red lips. They surfaced, heavy breathing, realizing there was no place for iniquitous behavior that wouldn't leave them without splinters in the most uncomfortable places.
Breathing heavily with her hands still pinned to the wall, he spoke softly as he looked down, "She's waiting for you."
"Hands?" Sakura raised an eyebrow and Sasuke yanked his hands away from her wrists as if they had burned him. With his eyes still cast on the ground, she walked past him in silence. She was trying to act as if she had it all under control, that it wasn't anything that confused her at all. She pretended to be emotionless, collected. As she walked by the three waiting in the hallway, she didn't even glance at them. She would act as if they were dead to her, that everyone was dead to her. It seemed to have gotten him by for so long, wouldn't it work for her?
But in the end, she wasn't calm. She didn't have the answers, and in fact, she was more confused than she was before. Her heart was a constant state of turmoil, but she had determined herself that this time she would call off the pity party and save Sasuke, save Naruto. So maybe she was confused now, but she found herself hopeful as she entered the psychic's room that maybe she could get some answers and guidance.
Tenten had once done a fortune reading for her at Koyo Festival last fall. She had helped Sakura save one of her close friends, an elderly patient at the hospital, by giving insight into what the woman would later be diagnosed with as cause of death. Sakura had been able to research the disease and create a cure for it soon enough in advance to save the woman's life. At first Sakura had thought fortune telling was a hokey, meaningless joke, but after that, she never doubted the spiritual powers of the clairvoyant again.
Stepping into the room, her nerves instantly calmed with the smell of cinnamon and amber incense and the dimly lit rustic red furniture seemed to relax her muscles. Sitting down across the table from where the young woman sat, Sakura exhaled.
Arisa, previously having her eyes closed and legs crossed in a meditative stance, opened her eyes and leaned forward, staring into Sakura's green orbs. The pink haired female was a little uncomfortable with the girl staring straight at her and suddenly became afraid of what Arisa might forsee.
"Naruto." She finally said.
"Did Tsunade even say whom our team consists of?" Naruto asked.
"Nice expanse of vocabulary, but I believe it's 'who'. Who our team consists of." Sai corrected.
"Whatever!" Naruto snapped, causing Sai to look severely hurt.
"My book says that if your friend is wrong that you should compliment them, yet correct them. Though it doesn't seem to work…"
"gomen, gomen. Anyways," Naruto sighed, feeling a little bad about snapping. But there were more important issues to take care of!
"No, I don't believe she specified. Though I think she was talking to everyone in the room, which would mean all four of us." Yamato explained to the quartet.
"Well, this feels like deja-vu." Kakashi rubbed the back of his head lazily.
"This time we'll bring them back for sure!" Naruto thrust his fist into the air.
"Pretty words, but didn't you say that last time?" a snarky, foul-mouthed blonde approached them with two other males following. Naruto recognized them as Team 10.
"Ino…" Naruto winced his eyes, "Yes…but I have a good feeling about this."
"Is it true Sakura left with Sasuke?" Shikamaru stretched his arms lazily above his head.
"…Hai…" Naruto looked downtrodden.
"Aw, cheer up. Look on the bright side, with her pestering him to come back to Konoha, which I'm sure she is, It'll only be a matter of time before she gets on his nerves enough that he'll have no choice but to give in." Ino smiled, "She can be quite annoying sometimes."
"Eh? Are you sure you're not talking about yourself, Ino?" Shikamaru asked.
Ino whacked him in the gut for that one.
"Oi, if you need anyone to come with you, we're ready to help." Chouji offered gleefully.
Naruto smiled sincerely, "Thanks. But I think this is something our team is made for." Our strangely demented broken up team. I guess sometimes teams come in pieces…
"Except Tsunade ordered me to come with you." Shikamaru explained, "I just came out of her office with orders to find you and help your team. I was allowed to gather anyone I needed, and these two insisted on helping."
"Thank you…Ino" Kakashi nodded to the blonde, "Chouji…" he smiled at the pudgy brunette, "But I think it's better if we have less people."
"Shall we be off then?" Naruto stretched his arms above his head.
"Shouldn't we have an idea of where we're going first? They could be anywhere." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow
"Ano, ano! The more we speak here, the further away we're getting!" Naruto whined.
"Actually, you're both right. We should move out immediately. Fortunately, I have a suspicion of where they might be headed and we can at least get some clues." Kakashi announced in a rather relaxed tone as he held his little orange book in front of his face. Yamato was ready to ask him how on earth he could read and talk at the same time.
"Really?! Well then what are we waiting for?"
"Hinata."
"What? Why?"
"Her byakugan will be useful for tracking them. I would have called on Neji, but he's out on a different mission with Gai-Sensei and team 8." Shikamaru explained.
Just then a squeaky voiced female approached the main gate. "Um, sorry I'm late…" she apologized shyly.
"No problem Hinata-chan. Alright! Lets go!" Naruto turned to exit Konoha once again as he pumped his fist into the air.
Sakura was dazed. What she had been told…oh, that explains Sasuke's earlier behavior. Very much so. What would she do now?
"I know it's a lot to take in, Sakura-chan. Just relax. Everything will work out and as long as you take it easy, he'll be fine."
"How did Sasuke take it…when you told him?"
"Shock."
"The great Uchiha shocked?" Sakura snorted, "I can't believe it."
"Well he is only human, Haruno-san," She eyed Sakura warningly, "Not a god."
"Yeah, took me long enough to figure that one out."
Arisa grinned, "Although I'll admit he's got the body of one though."
"Hey. He's mine." She teased but suddenly frowned. The words he had whispered to her so viciously yet passionately resounded in her head. "Mine…" Blushing, she looked away, "What does he think of me? Do I mean something to him or am I just a tool to revive his brother?"
Arisa took in a deep breath, "This is where I can only say so much, as much as I'd love to say more. It's what caused my village to chase me out of town...."
Outer Sakura nodded compassionately, "Of course." While inner Sakura cursed the fortune teller for not making an exception. "So you're saying I'll have to find out myself then?"
"It's for the best. You may be able to work something out that way too." A rapid knock came at the door and Arisa laughed knowingly, "Although these two should be interesting."
Sakura got up and thanked the young woman, opening the door for an impatient red-head. "Your turn." The Konoha kunoichi smiled falsely as she walked past her.
"Let me guess, she was trying to spy on my conversation too?" Sakura asked Suigetsu once the door had closed.
"You bet."
"Did she hear anything?"
"Not a word. I made sure she didn't." Suigetsu grinned as he began to tap his fingers against the floorboard.
Sakura smiled, "Thanks."
"No prob." Sui waved his hand above his head lazily as he sat against the wall.
She had gotten to know these people so well in only a short week—only Juugo seemed to remain a mystery to her, though Suigetsu had confirmed that he only stayed away from people for fear of lashing out at them in a blind rage. He refused to get close to anyone.
She walked past the little hallway out into the cramped entry way. Glancing out the window, she could see Sasuke sitting on the porch swing, his back arched and chin resting on his hands in deep thought. Quietly, she opened the front door as to not disturb him, though she couldn't help the squeal that emerged from rusty door hinges as she swung it open.
Closing it gently, she walked out on the porch and stood in front of the swing, "Sasuke-kun?" She asked. It was the first time since their endeavor in the cave that she had said his name in such a way.
He looked up at her as if searching for answers in her face. It was the first time she had seen him look so completely lost.
"Talk to me." She requested softly, sitting down next to him on the swing.
"How can I talk to you when I don't even have a single thought in my head?" He asked bitterly.
She began to grow a little angry, "You're not the one going through this, you know. I'm here too. I've always been here to be there for you. Yet every time you reject me and play the pitiful victim."
He turned and glared at her, "This is all your fault."
"Oh that's good!" she laughed angrily, "seeing as its YOU who kidnapped me in the first place!"
"If you weren't so damn indecisive, I wouldn't have had to have done what I did."
"What are you talking about?" She shrugged her shoulders and leaned in confusedly.
"The cave." He looked away.
"Oh, so you're saying you had sex with me to seal the deal, is that it?"
Sasuke was silent, obviously biting back an answer.
"Just say it! It doesn't matter, what's done is done. Just tell me so I can finally get over you!"
"I'm going inside." He stood up from the swing and walked over to the door.
"You're a coward, Uchiha." She spat at him as he went inside, causing the door to slam a little harder than it would have naturally.
"Damn women." He muttered as he walked to the hallway.
"Did Sakura find you?" Suigetsu asked. Sasuke glared at the water ninja. "Mmmkay, I'll take that as a yes…"
The pissy raven haired teen rapped on the fortune teller's door. "We need to get going."
Karin and Arisa soon emerged out of the room to face the wrathful Uchiha.
"Yes yes, let me just tell you, suigetsu" she turned to him as they walked through the entry way, "When the mountain crumbles, trust your instinct!" she turned to Juugo, "There's a woman in Konoha who can help you. But follow Uchiha-san for now, he'll need your help."
She bowed to them all after escorting them to the door. "Best of luck on your journeys!"
"Aren't you going to tell us where we are?" Suigetsu asked
"ah! Hai hai hai hai! You have just entered the land of Rice Fields. Travel Southwest you'll reach the land of Fire, travel due west and you'll eventually reach otogakure."
Otogakure? That's strange. Sasuke should have known that we were close to Oto, so then why did he even bother coming here? Furthermore, why is he acting like he didn't know this?
The group said their goodbyes and left the porch, Sakura in the rear. Arisa pulled her back for a moment and whispered in her ear, "Remember, be careful with him."
Sakura nodded then ran to catch up to her group. They didn't have to cross the mountainous terrain too far until they reached a cliff offering a beautiful view of the flat lands below. The only unfortunate part of it all was, how are we going to get down? The wall of the cliff afforded absolutely no place to step or leap from. It was as if someone had taken a knife and cut out a piece of the mountain.
Sasuke pointed left. "We'll have to retrace our steps a bit to get to that mountain over there. From then on, we should be able to make it down in about a day.
The group followed wordlessly, anxious to be on flat ground—especially Sakura.
"amegakure…" Naruto mused bitterly, "the ones that killed Ero-senin."
"From what we've gathered, it's Akatsuki's headquarters." Kakashi explained around a burning campfire. "Sasuke is most likely headed there."
"Hmm, something doesn't make sense though." Shikamaru interrupted, "Yamato-taichou, did the villagers report seeing any of the Akatsuki members carrying around a dead body?"
Yamato shook his head, "No. And with someone of KillerBee's reported size, it wouldn't go unnoticed. If they had seen it, they would have told us."
"Kakashi, do you remember the place that you and Nartuo found Gaara?" Shikamaru asked.
"Hm. I see what you're saying. Why would they go to Ame, when the biju extraction probably takes place elsewhere?" Kakashi mused.
"I don't get it…" Naruto scratched his head, "so do we know where he is?"
"Not a clue. Looks like Sasuke is already done with the body, so we have no idea where he would be headed next." Yamato explained
"We have one clue." Sai spoke up, "Whatever he's planning to do next, he needs Sakura-chan for."
"I was thinking the same thing." Shikamaru nodded, "What does Sakura have that Sasuke doesn't?"
"Well there's the obvious anatomical answer." Sai offered nonchalantly.
"baka!" Naruto blushed, hitting Sai upside the head, "Don't make me think those kinds of things!"
Hinata blushed, "um…well…Ss-Sakura's good w-with ch-chakra, rright?"
"She has excellent chakra control and chakra manipulation skills." Kakashi mused, and Yamato could have sworn he heard a bit of pride in his voice. "And her healing abilities rival the fifths."
"So he either needs her for her healing abilities, chakra control, or both." Shikamaru thought aloud.
"What would he need healing for?" Naruto asked.
The six of them were silent in thought until Kakashi spoke up suddenly, nearly scaring the wits out of the deeply concentrating Yamato sitting next to him.
"Uchiha Itachi."
"eh?" Naruto asked aloud.
"Remember what the elders told us?" Kakashi explained, "Someone must have told Sasuke that Itachi was a good guy."
"Eh? You mean Itachi the psychopathic murderer of the entire Uchiha clan?" Shikamaru asked.
"In short, he did it on orders from Konoha. None of us knew this until they recently revealed this to us. And they believe there is someone out there—someone thought to be dead—who has also revealed this to Sasuke." Kakashi explained. "My guess is that he learned his mistake in jumping to conclusions and taking his revenge before knowing all the facts."
"So you think Sasuke is going to find out for himself if this information is true before he takes revenge then?" Shikamaru followed rhetorically.
"There's only three people he can go to." Yamato added.
"well, four, if you count the third, but I doubt he would dare try to summon the third back to life." Kakashi mused
"Although he did learn from Orochimaru, and when the third fought the snake, Orochimaru brought back the first and the second." The young ANBU pointed out.
"Yes but…Sasuke and the third were a lot like Naruto and the third. He watched over those two boys as if they were his own sons. Sasuke may be tainted, but he does have respect for the ones he cherishes." Kakashi explained.
"Cheh, yeah right." Naruto muttered. "Me an' Sakura were closer to him than the third. In fact, Kakashi-sensei, you were like his dad."
"And if I were dead and had the information he needs, he wouldn't wake me from my peace to try and find out." Kakashi responded calmly, "Nor you or Sakura."
Naruto looked away and was silent. Part of him wanted to believe his old sensei, but there was another part of him that had lost all faith in their former comrade.
"So then three people he can go to." Shikamaru resumed, "The two elders and Itachi himself."
"But, he wouldn't revive Itachi, Kakashi sensei just said—" Naruto began
"Remember, Sasuke grew up hating his older brother. That, coupled with doubt that what Madara told him is even true…well, lets just say he'd have no qualms about disturbing Itachi's peace." Kakashi explained.
"Well since the elders are in Konoha, and we're out here, then our destination is to set out for wherever Itachi is buried." Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, "which will be difficult, because the only one who knows that is Sasuke himself."
"We almost found out when we met that guy, Tobi…" Kakshi's eyes widened suddenly, "that must have been him!"
"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked quizzically
"Hinata-chan, Yamato-taichou, Naruto, Sai-kun, do you all remember when we fought the man with the mask; the one who managed to avoid our attacks?"
"H-hai." Hinata answered while the others nodded.
"Right before he left, I caught a glimpse of the one eye revealed. No doubt about it, it was the sharingan. And his moves… he didn't teleport, he vanished into thin air using time/space jutsu. There are only two people who have been able to master that: The fourth hokage and Uchiha Madara."
"…I don't get it." Naruto sat dumb-faced.
Kakshi sighed, "The man with the orange mask is Uchiha Madara, the one I was telling Tsunade about when we gave our report. He's apparently in cahoots with Akatsuki, which would lead us straight to Sasuke if we can find him."
"but…Kakashi-senpai…" Yamato began, "Chasing him is like chasing a ghost. He can be anywhere at anytime and we have no way of tracking him."
The fire crackled gloriously, breaking the silence between the thinking six.
"There is one place we can check." Kakashi began, "A hideout not too far from here. The Uchiha's used to use it, and I only stumbled upon it in one of my missions a long time ago.
"Why there?" Naruto asked.
"Where else do you think the brothers would fight? Uchiha's are proud people, proud of their lineage, and hold their name in the highest regard. Especially Sasuke. It would be like him to commence a fight at a place such as that. Also…" Kakashi mused, "I happened to be passing through that area, where it seemed like a lot of landscape had been burned. Knowing the Uchiha's are master fire users, It may be proof that they were there."
"Then we set out tomorrow for the hideout." Naruto decided determinedly.
RA: I was really hoping to get this done on the fourth of November ('cause hey, chapter four, uploaded on the fourth? Eh, eh?) Buuut it didn't work out. And I'm glad! I've got a kick ass scene for next chapter that will make you drop your chopsticks. Or rather, make Karin drop her chopsticks! And what about Naruto and his team? Will they find Sasuke? Or will they find an even bigger surprise? Next time in Resurrection!
Dun dun dun!