Author's Note: So, a couple of things one this one. Life sucks, we all know this. I'm also utterly horrible when it comes to release schedules, especially when it pertains to writing. I have most of the story planned out, and if I ever plan on fully abandoning this shipwreck, I'll post a full summary of what I had left. However, that day isn't today, and it's time for a new chapter. As some pointed out in reviews for the last, I may or may not have forgotten about the sneak peek from the end of Chapter 3. That is because-
I forgot about it. There was going to be a scene about it between the three of them, and it was cut in the time period between chapters 3 and 4. Anyhow, that's enough rambling from me. Enjoy the (long awaited, and not as long as I had hoped) chapter!
Previously on when stars bleed:
His swirling cerulean eyes stare pleadingly at onyx, and for a short moment, Naruto hates that he bothered to come here. He should have just gotten rid of the dead fox and stuck through the night. The Uchiha shifts, and his shoulders relax minutely. He hops down from the roof, and lands with a practiced softness a few feet away from the Uzumaki.
"Hn. C'mon then. I was just getting started on dinner."
The tension in the air fades, and the two boys walk into the dimly glowing house, mild bickering emanating through the night sky as the moon hangs high in the air.
1-5: A learning curve, the trip to Wave begins.
Song(s) for the chapter: Fury - Muse; Alleviate - Imminence.
Just one night turned into another, and another, and soon, it had been weeks since Naruto had stayed in his own home, having taken up residence in Sasuke's home. The Uchiha didn't tell him that the room he had made his own had been Itachi's, doesn't tell him that the scratches on the walls were from Itachi idly tossing shuriken at the paper targets that were no longer there. And Naruto doesn't ask. He doesn't need to.
He recognizes the darkness in Sasuke's eyes, recognizes the downward turn to his lips.
It's something he sees in the mirror most mornings, before the mask goes on, and his walls go up.
There are some nights where things are peaceful between the two, with Naruto practicing some new jutsu or seal that Kakashi had shown him earlier that day while Sasuke worked through the latest Taijutsu kata. And others, they spent the night beating the shit out of each other, not stopping until they were both beaten and bruised and out of breath, collapsing on the ground to stare at the stars, gentle conversations flitting through the air.
Sometimes, Naruto tells him about some random prank on a shopkeep, or a funny encounter with Iruka.
Sometimes, Sasuke whispers about a clan long dead, of a man named Shisui, with a smile not typical of any Uchiha, of a girl named Izumi, who had a fondness for messing with Sasuke's hair, and sneaking him tomatoes.
And sometimes, they don't talk at all. The two quickly fall into a rhythm together, and their lives change to reflect that. Naruto begins to sprout in height, and one day the duo show up to training wearing matching dark blue shirts, each with a small Uchiha fan on the sleeve. It was always a gamble on whose clothes they were wearing, and Sasuke had a habit of stealing Naruto's shirts, with the blonde returning the favor without fail.
It was a comfortable thing, and they never needed to talk about it.
Naruto isn't altogether sure what it's supposed to be like, living with someone else. It wasn't something he had ever experienced, and it showed a lot in the early days. Several of his messier habits led to loud arguments with Sasuke, and while the Teme wasn't his favorite person in the world (but definitely in the top five), he didn't want to continually upset the Uchiha.
Thus, Naruto did what he did best and adapted.
It was almost like a dream in some sense. Despite the fact that Sasuke was a somewhat gruff and abrasive person, he also did a lot of little things for Naruto that no one else ever had, not even Iruka or Jiji.
Things like making them both tea after they finish training. Making sure that he remembered to wash his clothes in time. Most importantly though, Naruto never felt like a genuine bother to Sasuke. The Uchiha didn't glare at him unless Naruto went out of his way to do or say something dumb, which was fairly often in Sasuke's defense. But Sasuke never kicked him for no reason like the villagers, never looked at him with that same disgust that Naruto had gotten used to seeing since the day he was born, just about.
It was almost like having a brother, even if the term didn't quite feel right.
Brothers were a bad topic. Itachi was Sasuke's brother, and he's gone now.
There was never any judgment from the Uchiha either, when he didn't quite pick things up as fast as some people. He'd never been particularly good with reading, considering the letters and numbers liked to move around on him. But, when it came to the practical application of things, Naruto seemed to excel.
It seemed Sasuke understood that, and he often acted out the stances needed for their new taijutsu style. While Naruto would never particularly be as skilled with it as Sasuke, he still saw the value in tightening up his taijutsu enough to work in unison with the short Uchiha.
Where he found his specialization in however, was the manipulation of chakra. While he would never have the exact fine control that Sakura held due to his monstrous reserves, Naruto seemed to inherently understand the basics of shape transformation, and a deeper level of the way chakra functioned, without ever really needing to be told. Sasuke had found that particular bit out after the blonde had spent a few hours watching Sasuke practice the Great Fireball, before attempting to replicate it himself with roughly half the seals. The fireball that formed wasn't much more than a cloud of ash and smoke, but it was far more than Sasuke himself had managed in the first two days of practice.
That had been a learning moment for Sasuke, something he wasn't used to getting. Naruto could see it in the mixture of annoyance and curiosity in the Uchiha's dark eyes. Crimson Sharingan had whirled to life to study him as Naruto repeated the attempt, his tongue still tasting of ash as he spews out smoke, with just the hint of fire present.
It took Naruto only an hour to master the Great Fireball to the same extent as Sasuke, and only twenty more minutes for Sasuke to adapt to the fewer handseals, all while looking at Naruto with the sort of admiration that made the Uzumaki flush a little bit. It was similar to the way teachers had always looked at Sasuke, and it was something he had secretly longed for. Not even Iruka, as much as he loved the chunin like the older brother he had never gotten to have, had ever looked at Naruto with that sort of admiration.
Time wasn't solely spent with Sasuke, however. Sakura had taken to spending time in the libraries outside of their scheduled training/D Rank time frames, and every now and then she'd show up with either some scroll on Fuinjutsu, or some questions regarding his sensing ability that never really came up in conversation.
Then there was Kakashi.
He wasn't sure what to make of the Jonin, if he were being honest. He was well aware that the man had been one of his longest serving ANBU guards when he was younger, only vanishing after the end of Naruto's second year at the academy. Learning about the Kyuubi made him wonder if it was purely because of the man's suspicion that Naruto was secretly a monster, but he didn't quite think that was it. There was never that underlying note of disgust in Kakashi's eyes whenever he looked at Naruto. Anything but, actually. There was affection and amusement, even if it was always stained with the slightest hint of bitterness. That was something Naruto attributed to losing his team, though.
That wasn't mentioning all of the little things, and the not so little things.
Kakashi always seemed to know the way to tell him something that would make it easy for him to grasp, at least when it came to Ninjutsu, or even Fuinjutsu. He never ran out of patience, even on Naruto's worst days. And he had an odd habit of touching Naruto. A hand on his head, a half-hug from time to time. The blonde had gotten used to the way people seemed to avoid even the littlest touches from him, like he had an infectious disease that could be gotten from the slightest brush. So to have Kakashi do it, someone of such notable strength and standing? It was a little acknowledgement that he craved like little else.
It was peaceful.
Living without Itachi, Sasuke had found, had been like poking at an open wound, seeing how close he could get, or how hard he could push, before the pain settled in and he was swallowing down a scream. And right now was one of those moments, something that made itself increasingly apparent the longer he stood in the middle of the training grounds, eyes staring listlessly at the training dummy, the wood and steel long since dented and broken. As the Uchiha discards all of his equipment, his heart starts to beat faster in his chest, his pupils dilating as emotion finally begins to bloom inside of him, calloused fingers prying away the lid from the jar he had kept everything bottled up in.
Black bleeds away into red, and a single tomoe orbits around his pupils.
"Itachi loved you, with all his heart."
The memory of Hatake's words is enough to bring a tremor to his hands, fingers clenching tightly into fists under the dimming sunlight. They clashed with the distorted memory of Itachi, standing over the bleeding bodies of their parents. For a single second, Sasuke allowed himself to imagine a world where Itachi had let him live because he loved him too much to kill him. That despite the fact that the elder Uchiha had slaughtered the rest of the clan, that he still loved Sasuke.
It was a selfish thought, and one that made him so very sick to his stomach.
As he sinks down into the Uchiha Interceptor stance, his mind can't help but slip back into the past, moving through kata after kata, hearing his mother telling him how to perform a certain maneuver, how to make sure you never left your flank unguarded. Twist your foot there to add a little more force to the punch, send your chakra racing to your right leg to provide a better anchor point. So many little things that Mikoto had taught him that he barely remembered learning.
It made him grateful that Mikoto had been the woman she was. A woman who only ever wanted to ensure her son grew up strong, and loved. Even if it wasn't the same strength as that held by Itachi, or even Fugaku.
Drawing himself out of the memories, Sasuke begins to slow down his movements, until he's standing still, crimson eyes looking around the empty training grounds, his fists clenching at his sides as the sun begins to set. After a moment of silence, he begins to pull the heavy, boiling chakra of his fire release through his body. The hand seals are like second nature to him, and the chakra begins pooling in his mouth. His eyes alight in something nearing madness, he sends the Great Fireball crashing down on the training dummies nearby like a tidal wave of burning chakra. He repeats the jutsu again, and again, and again, until he's left gasping for air, panting with his hands on his knees. His mouth tastes of ash, and for once it has nothing to do with his overuse of the Fire Release ninjutsu.
The pain never really seemed to go away, did it?
As he waits for his chakra to come back, the Uchiha draws a kunai from his pouch, and throws himself towards the dummy, engaging in a violent, albeit one-sided, fight. Filling the wooden dummy with more cracks and splinters as he doesn't bother holding back, raw strength aiding each of his precise strikes.
Eventually though, he can feel his reserves filling enough to the point of being usable, and he immediately begins calling on his Fireballs, sending them at each and every one of the training dummies in the area until his chakra is exhausted. He then returns to the plain taijutsu, waiting for his chakra to return. He does this again and again with his jutsu until he's left on his knees panting for air, his chakra pathways aching from use.
Regardless of how much chakra he was used to carrying around with him, he still wasn't used to using all of it, especially not repeatedly like this. Throwing chakra around needlessly was something the Dobe specialized in, not him.
However, if there is anything that the genin has never once been, it was a quitter, and it's with shaking limbs that Sasuke stands. His Sharingan whirls as he pants, a tired but wild snarl on his face as he begins his assault once more, flinging his Great Fireball, as well as several lesser Fireballs in equal measures as he wrecks his way across the training grounds.
He was built for this, and there was never a moment where he felt more at home than when he was in a fight.
It brought a clarity and focus to his mind that he so desperately needed, especially now that he was a shinobi.
Sasuke didn't try to lie to himself. He knew what it meant to be a shinobi, and what it meant he would eventually have to do. It was expected of him, not only as a genin of Konohagakure, but also as the Last Uchiha. He would need to kill, no matter how much the mere thought of it was enough to blast a wave of nausea through him.
He would do what he needed to. For his Mother, and the rest of his clan.
The file on Kakashi's desk looked so innocent, so out of place. The desk was a simple thing, and was hardly used anymore. Not since the silver haired man had left the ANBU, not since he had removed himself from his constant stream of borderline suicidal solo missions, from the slow dance with death he had been moving in for the last decade.
The files contained paperwork to make Team 7 a permanent team, including Kakashi himself.
Should his three students make it to Chunin, there was a possibility to become a permanent squad, one that would never be split up. It was reserved for only the closest of teams, and taken very seriously by the Hokage. To date, there was only one current team in Konoha's roster that had filled out the paperwork and become a sealed team, and that was the previous generation of Ino-Shika-Cho. Kakashi remembered overhearing the conversation between Inoichi and Shikaku, Chouza's idle eating barely audible. It wasn't something made lightly.
Part of him ached at the thought of it.
His genin had such potential, even Sakura, which had come as a shock to the Jonin. The civilian girl had control over her chakra to a level Kakashi had never seen, not even in his lone run in with Tsunade of the Sannin. That, combined with her dual primary elemental affinities?
He had no doubt that she would be able to keep up with the pace set by the last Uchiha and the Uzumaki Jinchuuriki.
Which was saying something with the rate those two were learning.
Teaching Naruto the hidden secret of the Kage Bunshin had been a blessing and a curse. The blonde took to the training like a fish to water, and gave no complaints when his training often ran for hours longer than Sasuke's or Sakura's did (or at least, had at first. Until the duo had angrily demanded that they be given the same workload as Naruto. He hadn't had the heart to explain that his Uzumaki heritage made him a genetic stamina freak, and that wasn't even taking into account the Kyuubi.) The kid took to Ninjutsu with a fervor the likes of which Kakashi had only ever seen in himself, and once started on chakra manipulation, Kakashi felt for a moment that Naruto would eventually be able to learn and use the Chidori. And all of that wasn't even touching the outrageous speed to which the blonde ate up material on fuuinjutsu.
And then there was Sasuke. Even without his Sharingan, Sasuke was a formidable Taijutsu opponent (for Naruto and Sakura, that is). A favor to Guy had secured several ancient scrolls detailing various Taijutsu techniques that Kakashi had taught to Sasuke the best that he could, not that the Uchiha had seemed to need the meager guidance. He had taken a mere moment to read over the scroll, and had immediately taken to the new style and added it to his own with a proficiency that Kakashi hadn't expected.
It was almost enough to bring a tear to his eye.
Part of Sakura wonders when everything changed for her. Part of her wanted to think it was when she graduated, becoming a fully fledged shinobi. But as Naruto and Sasuke were always eager to point out, she still hadn't really understood what it meant to be a shinobi. She had been in it for the fancy knowledge, and the possibility of catching Sasuke-kun's eye. And if that wasn't a thought that made current Sakura want to vomit.
In fairness, that had been before she had discovered and truly understood how much of a bastard the Uchiha was. That his cold aloofness had hid a mean streak towards those who bothered him, or what he viewed as his. That he was grouchy in the mornings, or that he hogged anything with tomatoes in it, regardless of any demands otherwise. He was an asshole, but he was her asshole.
It had to have been around the time of the bell test that it really got stuck in her head. Seeing Naruto and Sasuke both take chances for each other seemingly thoughtlessly, fighting as if they had been born to do so. It had hit her just how truly fucked she was at her current pace.
And that had been enough for the Haruno to shift everything in her life. Gone were the stylish red dress, and instead she wore more practical shinobi pants and a deep maroon shirt. She made the executive decision to cut her hair off at her shoulders after getting it caught one too many times while sprinting through the forests surrounding Konoha's Training Ground 3 for their morning warmups.
Most importantly though, Sakura decided to take training seriously. She had a rather lengthy conversation with Kakashi after their second training session, requesting any advice to help her get her physical capabilities at least sufficient enough that she wouldn't get Naruto and Sasuke killed.
"You want what, exactly?"
Kakashi's voice was surprised, almost insufferably so. If it wasn't for the fact that the pink haired genin knew exactlyhow bad she currently was, she would have turned around then and there, dismissing him as an option entirely. Instead however, she remains, standing her ground as she glares up at her sensei.
"I want you to help me get a training regimen. Extra from what Sasuke-kun and Naruto are getting. I'm behind, Sensei. You and I both know it. At this rate, I'm going to be dead weight on this team."
The grey haired man tries to deny it, because not even he is that emotionally stunted. But she refuses to hear it, and eventually he sighs, giving her a hard look.
"You know that I won't be taking it any easier on you during normal training. It wouldn't be fair to you or them. And I refuse to waste my time on this. Either it's all or nothing, Haruno."
Kakashi's voice is strangely serious, something she's not used to. It hits her then that she's talking to Copy-Nin Kakashi, a man fabled to know a thousand jutsu. He's a jonin, and has killed more than she could ever imagine. Most importantly though, he's dangerous, even if she never felt endangered by him. She takes a deep breath, and with a steely glint in her green eyes, she nods once, and the deal was struck.
It was rough at first. He had her showing up nearly three hours early for training each day, where he would run her through a veritable gauntlet of tasks. She was ashamed to say that for the first two weeks, she had barely been enough to make it through the exercises and remain conscious. Her body was immensely sore nearly constantly, but she refused to give up.
She wouldn't let Kakashi's work be wasted. She refused to be dead weight.
Of course, her inner perfectionist wouldn't let her settle for just being physically on par. No, in her off hours she continued to scour her way through the shinobi archives, reading through everything a genin was authorized to see. Which led her to a number of interesting, if not concerning discoveries, one specifically towards her teammate.
"Sensei, why is Naruto treated so poorly as an Uzumaki? Aren't they nearly royalty to Konoha?"
The question came in the middle of her warmups, the air nice and warm despite the sun not quite being up yet. It was enough to capture the clone's attention, and the jonin frowns at her, shaking his head.
"You've been studying yet and still, eh?"
It's all Kakashi says, and the Haruno can't help but wonder at the weight in the air as he brings his full attention to her, snapping the orange book closed.
"I can't answer that, Sakura-chan."
The response is simple, but his voice is stilted, like they were talking over a riddle and she wasn't quite getting the answer. She frowns, tilting her head up at the man. Never had he outright told her that he couldn't answer something, not without at least trying to direct her towards where she might find the information.
"Can't, or won't?"
Sakura doesn't bother trying to keep the suspicion from her voice, and she's rewarded with an eye-smile for her words.
"Can't. But, if you like, feel free to look into Uzushiogakure. I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for there."
It was the end of the conversation, she could tell by the way he brought the book back up and turned his attention to it entirely. And thus, after that days training, she went to the library, searching fervently on the new subject only to be baffled by what she found.
Or rather, the lack of what she found, something that rang a few alarm bells. There was relatively little about the history of Uzushiogakure, other than the fact that the village was wiped out by Kirigakure and Kumogakure long before she or even Kakashi was born. However, there was a mention of a few survivors that fled to the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass, with the most notable one being Mito Uzumaki, the wife of the Shodaime Hokage, Hashirama Senju.
Naturally, this led into her digging into the life of the famed Uzumaki Princess, and hating what she found.
She wants to seek out Kakashi again, but she forces herself to wait until their next training session.
"Is Naruto an Uzumaki by blood? I'm not asking for the identities of his parents, because he obviously doesn't have a clue."
The question is abrupt, before the Jonin even had a chance to speak in greeting. He narrows his eyes at her, before nodding once. The genin inhales sharply, her green eyes darting around the dead silent training grounds. The puzzle pieces finally connect for her, and she's terrified of what she finds.
"Is he-"
"You're asking the right questions. I can't answer them. Nor can anyone else in the village. More importantly, you can be hurt for asking. Keep this to yourself, or those you trust with absolute certainty, Sakura."
Kakashi's words are almost a whisper, and once finished he completely shifts, appearing once again as the lazy jonin most knew.
"Twenty laps, Sakura-chan. You know the drill by now."
They were getting fed up with the D Ranks. He could see it in the tension in their shoulders, even the ever patient Sakura was slowly losing her mind with the mind numbing chores. And if he were being honest, so was Kakashi. He had only spent a week on the glorified chores when he had been a genin, or at least until he had been put on Minato's team with Obito and Rin.
They were ready for more. He could feel it in his bones. Perhaps even more ready than his own team had been. But that had been wartime. Things were different then.
More lies he tells himself to make his nights pass by a little easier.
They don't work.
"Ne, Kaka-sensei! When are we gonna start getting some better missions? We've been doin these shitty D Ranks for months now!"
Naruto's words are loud, and for once neither Sasuke nor Sakura scolds him for it, although the latter does have a mild grimace on her face. Kakashi raises a lone eyebrow, and looks over at the other two genin.
"Is that how you all feel?"
The question is soft spoken, and the Uchiha and Haruno both nod with no hesitation. How interesting. Shrugging, he nods, and they begin the short journey to the Hokage Tower.
"Do you think they're ready, Kakashi-san?"
The Sandaime's question has a lot behind it, a message that Kakashi got loud and clear. The jonin takes a moment, and glances at the trio of eager Genin standing behind him. All three wore matching looks of determination, and he shrugs, giving Sarutobi an eye-smile.
"Maa, maa, Hokage-sama. I'm sure they can handle a C Rank just fine."
A few moments of silence, and Hiruzen inhales softly from his pipe in thought. He shuffles through a few papers on his desk, before holding one up and reading through it briefly.
"We have an escort available. Down to Wave country. Shouldn't be anything too terrible. Tazuna-san, if you would?"
His final words are spoken louder, and the doors open to reveal an older man, although not quite as old as Hiruzen, in Kakashi's opinion. The scruffy man steps into the room, and eyes them all critically.
"These runts are supposed to be my escorts? They look like a strong wind'll blow 'em over. Especially the blonde pipsqueak."
Naruto tenses, and it's only Sasuke's hand on his shoulder that stops the Uzumaki from speaking up. Instead, his ink-stained hands clenched tightly into fists, and he takes a deep breath, forcing the tension from his body.
A few feet away, Kakashi's heart swells with pride.
"I assure you, Tazuna-san. My cute genin will be more than enough to protect you on your journey. Besides, I'll be there as well!"
Kakashi's words are a deceptive sort of polite, one typically used when one of the genin decided to get up to no good. That kind of tone was reserved for giving them orders to run extra laps, or god forbid something else, something far worse.
All three genin shiver with a phantom fear.
"Hmph. Whatever."
Tazuna grumbles, waving a hand at the trio before looking up at the Hokage.
"My thanks, Hokage-sama."
The words from the bridge builder have something resembling respect in them, and the man promptly turns on his heel and exits the room. Kakashi and the ducklings soon follow, Naruto and Sasuke hissing back and forth as the blonde makes rather violent hand gestures, eyes locked on their client.
"Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura. Go home, and pack for a week's trip. We'll meet at the front gates tomorrow at 9 AM. Once there, we'll go over what you packed properly, and what you didn't. We'll be setting out for Wave by 10."
Kakashi's orders are met with three simultaneous nods, and the genin vanish, Naruto and Sasuke heading towards the Uchiha compound, and Sakura towards the civilian district.
The genin actually managed to surprise him. The only one that really had any issues with what they had packed had been Sakura, and that was purely because she was civilian born, and her knowledge on that kind of thing was bound to be a little behind. Sasuke had managed to prevent Naruto from packing nothing but instant ramen, and Naruto hadn't let Sasuke pack nothing but weapons. They balanced each other out really nicely, something that Kakashi was glad for. They got on in a way that he and Obito never had, and he was glad for the difference. It made watching them talk, watching them interact, all that much easier.
What didn't make things easier, was Tazuna's blatant rudeness that had been directed at all three, with the drunk singling out Naruto specifically. It didn't help any with Kakashi's rather immense desire to kill the man, that was for sure.
What also didn't help things, was Tazuna's general air of anxiousness as they travel, Sakura just head of him, and behind Tazuna, with Sasuke and Naruto on either side of the man, idly bickering about the mechanics behind a jutsu. He doesn't pay too much attention to that, not until Naruto stops, his nose twitching slightly before he starts walking again. To Tazuna, it was barely a stumble, but to Kakashi it was everything.
"Ne, Kaka-sensei. How long has it been since it rained?"
Kakashi blinks, and his lone gray eye moves to scan the path ahead, spotting two rather large puddles. A pulse of sensory chakra later, and his eyebrow furrows. How had Naruto….
The Uzumaki looks back and taps the side of his nose, telling Kakashi all he needs to know.
"I'd say a good week or two. So don't go stomping in puddles. Don't wanna accidentally step in anything dangerous."
The veiled warning is received loud and clear, and Naruto stumbles, bumping his shoulder into Sasuke. The bump transfers into a light shove aimed at Sakura, who rolled with the movement and discretely withdrew a senbon from her sleeve. There's another note of pride that flares inside of the Hatake. His cute little genin were already working so well! He would have to wait and see how they reacted to the rather unintelligent mystery-nin. Of course, they felt to be about chunin level in chakra alone, but that only meant so much considering the amount of chakra Naruto alone possessed.
The Demon Brothers of the Mist were dispatched quite quickly, all things considered. Gozu went down from a senbon through his throat from Sakura, and Meizu fell to a rather nicely timed slash from Sasuke's sword. Part of Naruto wondered at the fact that they had all clearly progressed at a speed that would be considered unnatural. He knew he wasn't the brightest, he knew that, but he wasn't dumb, regardless of what the village might think.
And yet, the three of them had more or less handled two chunin with almost ease. Sure, it was very well possible that the two Nuke-nin were a little below standards, but Naruto was loathe to even believe that. Kirigakure's history as the Bloody Mist had been one of the few lessons that the blonde had paid attention to during history lessons, and he knew that for them to still be alive, then they had to be decently strong.
It filled him with questions he didn't really know how to even begin answering.
"So, Tazuna. It seems you have a few questions to answer, don't you think?"
Despite the almost nonchalant word choice used by Kakashi-sensei, Naruto can't stop the shiver that echoes through him at the deadly tone of voice being used by the Copy-Nin. It seems like he hadn't taken kindly to being ambushed by Nuke-nin.
In the end, they agree to continue the mission. Whether it was because of Naruto's own bleeding heart, or for some ulterior motive from Kakashi, it didn't really matter.
(Sakura's hands are trembling inside of her dark red sleeves, and Sasuke's eyes are still the deep crimson of the Sharingan. Without a word, Naruto merely does what he can. He grabs each of their hands, squeezing tightly. They grip onto him like a lifeline, and he doesn't mind it. Nor does he mention the tears sparkling in Sakura's emerald eyes, or the slight tremor in Sasuke's breathing.)
(He wasn't as smart as either of them, but he knew people. He knew they needed this, needed him. It was all he needed to be there for them.)
"We'll be continuing on in half an hour. Will you be able to travel, you three?"
Kakashi's voice cuts through the quiet, his lone eye trailing over each of them before settling on Naruto. The blond looks between his teammates, before giving a final squeeze.
"We will be."
Naruto's words are tense, but firm, and Kakashi gives a conceding nod.
I don't have any real comments to make on this chapter, other than it wasn't what I was originally intending. It was supposed to extend further into the trip, up to arriving in Wave, but the cards didn't fall that way. Feel free to leave a review if you like, or don't. Thanks for the views, and overall support you've all given.
Until next time! Ja ne!
Next chapter title: O' Uzu's Lament, The Meaning of Faith.