All he could do was watch her cry.
But he tried his best, but he was too late
All the more he failed.
.
..
…
She whimpers hugging Naruto as tight as she could.
"Th-they took K-Kiro…"
…
..
.
Naruto could only look down as Sakura suffered.
Kiro was kidnapped for the first time.
And he was four years old then.
.
..
…
"He's all that I've got…I'll die if I lose him."
She spoke in between sobs as rivers of tears came from her eyes.
…
..
.
Naruto had seen Sakura suffer for more than he could remember.
But he never saw her this hopeless.
In other people's perspective, she may not have been as special as a Jinchuuriki nor a survivor.
But in the depths of all Team 7's misery, she serves as their Ether of Life and Hope.
.
..
…
Seeing her like this, it breaks his heart.
'If you were here…you bastard.'
"I swear to you Sakura-chan, we'll find him before the sun sets."
…
..
.
X & | & X
R
E
V
O
L
V
E
R
Back then, I didn't know why.
All that you did was love.
X & | & X
Chapter Four: Independence
Disclaimer: The authoress claims no property of Naruto.
X & | & X
"Ah, Nostalgia! Wonderful!" Suigetsu sighed as they walked in the village completely discarding their Akatsuki cloaks.
The mission was tad too easy. Try not to cause too much trouble and blend in, squeeze out information about Altair- that stupid sword that was said to be made from fragments of comets. That stupid sword that earned Madara's fancy.
"Tch, You adore this thick stupid fog. That's so you-so stupid." Karin retorded.
"Thank you fog! For obscuring my vision of this hideous woman!" Suigetsu cried out loud.
As they went closer to the village vicinity, the fog started to fade.
Dark eyes glued on the gigantic sign board over the bridge, Perhaps nostalgia wasn't so bad.
XXXX
"So that was Sasuke's kid." Madara spoke as he sat in front of her cell, his voice echoed throughout the chamber.
The tinge of sunlight illuminates the cold dark chamber, giving her a slight view of her captor.
As he spoke to her, Sakura grunted in response.
"He's a spitting image of his father, that brat."
Still, she refused to comment on his statements. If Madara's trying to take information from her. Sakura would take the shovel, dig her own grave and take her silence with her.
"Hmm, young tender age he activated Sharingan-surpassing Itachi."
Sakura glared at this, whatever he's going at. Sakura's sure it wasn't anything that she would like.
"Stay away from my son, you have Sasuke! What more do you want!" Sakura jerked up as she walked towards him with only the cell bars as walls between them.
"I heard a lot from you Haruno Sakura-or should I say Uchiha,"
"Im warning you, Stay away from my son. You'll regret it."
"Top student in your class, honored medic, and your flawless chakra control. Maybe your genes had something to do with your son's talents." Madara completely ignored her threat, as he spoke to her casually.
"Fuck off."
" Congratulations, your son has been the first in the Uchiha clan to have activated Sharingan at the age of six." Madara chuckled, amused as he was to watch that furious expression on her face.
"Oh! And yeah. I owe you for disposing Sasori, he's such a pain." And with the puff of smoke, he took his leave.
It's as if all colors in the world had left her, Sakura started to get pale as she collapsed on the floor, her chained hands supporting her, long pink locks strained at her sides as realizations hits her.
Fuck! Im the bait! I have to get away from here,Fast.
She knew her son far too well, Kiro keeps grudges like his father does. Revenge is just another thing she would bet on Kiro had gotten from Sasuke too.
XXXXX
"So you do know him." Kiro muttered as he helped the old Tazuna fix the table.
"But that was nine years ago, his team had to escort me back here." Tazuna answered.
Kiro didn't answer on this, trying to shrug of his annoyance. Yet he waited for Tazuna to tell him more. Sakura never spoke of Sasuke's past. She merely answered his questions about him. To think that Kiro barely knew him when he was younger, all he knew was his name and nothing more.
"He was such a snobbish boy, talented-yes…" Tazuna continued.
The child just looked at him with his statement. When Sakura actually told him that Sasuke was a very strong ninja- she wasn't lying after all. For an old man to remember him after nine years.
"Was he…with my Okaasan…" Kiro subconsciously muttered.
Tazuna chuckled at this, the memory hits him back.
"Yes, he was." The old man muttered as he watched Kiro's face, anticipating his emotions. His stare softened, Kiro wanted to know more.
"He always had her back."
"Uso…" (1) Kiro muttered underneath his breath, audible enough only for him to hear.
"You haven't seen him at all, haven't you kid." Tazuna's gaze were on the floor.
He couldn't blame Sakura for this though, how could she let this child meet his father when the latter is an infamous criminal. It's got to be a burden for her to carry- raising this child alone.
"I don't need him." He hissed under his breath, having Tazuna stare at him for a moment.
"Why are you looking for him, then?"
"To give him a piece of my mind." The child muttered, trying to restrain his eyes from watering.
XXXXX
"Split into pairs, let's get this over with." Sasuke spoke sternly as he acquired his new set of clothes.
Adjusting his new black hakama closer to his chest, and discarded his Akatsuki cloak behind. He glanced at his bickering team.
"Me and Sasuke-kun would-."
"Juugo, come with me." Sasuke interrupted Karin's proposition. He wouldn't take a woman for a partner- it's way too troublesome. Besides having Juugo running around on his own poses a possibility of blowing up their cover if the blonde would berserk without him around.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Suigetsu hollered with pure disbelief.
"Do I look like Im joking." Sasuke hissed, taking Kusanagi in his hands. Juugo and Sasuke walked passed the crowd. Completely leaving Suigetsu and Karin behind.
XXXXX
"Let's do each other some favor. Do not talk to me, and likewise will I to you." Karin proposed as she and Suigetsu headed downtown to gather up some supplies.
"Deal."
Then something along the fruit stand caught his eye.
"Im hungry." And with that, Suigetsu walked briskly over the fruit stand.
XXXXX
"At least let me fill you up something for your travel, I owe your parents a lot you know." Tazuna spoke as he chuckled. He took Kiro downtown and convinced the child to at least have some things for his journey.
"You don't have to, really." Kiro muttered.
"This one looks good!" Tazuna ignored Kiro, as he picked a couple of fruits at the fruit stand, choosing over the ripe ones.
"Hey, old man. I'll have one of these." A silver haired man suddenly spoke as he grabbed a piece of apple from the tray.
Kiro snorted at the man's antics. Looking up, Kiro's eyes met his.
"Wacha looking at, brat."
"Looking for your manners, I guess." Kiro hissed.
"Im starting to love this kid." A certain red headed woman with glasses spoke as she smirked.
Tazuna handed the vendor some coins and shrugged at Kiro's behavior and just chuckled. A piece of the old chunk it is.
"Forgive him, he just lost his mother. Ikuyo(2), Kiro-kun." And with that Kiro glared at Suigetsu for the last time and followed Tazuna.
XXXX
Trying to materialize her chakra into the tips of her fingers, Sakura sighed once more. It was all in vain.
Screw that chakra chains, she can't even puncture them off. So how the hell can she get out of this chamber?!
Touching the cold stone wall surrounding her, she could feel the faint chakras forced into it.
Even the walls are very well infused with chakras, Madara sure knows who his captive is. After all her inhuman strength can pulverize mountains- slumping on her back, Sakura hugged herself closer.
Akatsuki sure is strong…
'Akatsuki….'
Then something flickered in her bright,bright brain.
But it's going to be the last resort she'll take. As of now, she'll try to work things out by herself, because having him involved would sure trigger bombs from the past.
XXXX
He knew better than to ask some strangers-when he actually knew someone who owe him his life.
Sasuke and Juugo went up the village further.
If Sasuke could remember well, Tazuna's house is somewhere around here.
XXXX
"If you find yourself in need of any help, my door will always be open for you. Little brat." Tazuna chuckled as he shuffled Kiro's dark hair, Kiro stood outside the old man's house with his backpack over his shoulders, and scoffed at the old man's antics.
"Thank you for everything." Kiro bowed his head stiffly. After all, it's a legacy that his mom passed on to him, manners matters most.
As Kiro walked heading out of the village, Tazuna's nearly opaque eyes watched him…wishing, hoping, that whatever awaits his journey would somehow lead him to the right path, the path his father failed to notice. For all Tazuna knew, if the Haruno girl could see her son right now... she would be in deep pain. For this child is damaged more than his eyes could ever see.
XXXX
His streaking blond hair and orange outfit stood out from the green lush of the vast forest as he and Sai leap from treetops to treetops with nothing but dead silence.
"We have to find that brat." Sai muttered.
Being the emotionless guy as he is, Sai shared his moments with Kiro in the past years. The wonder of that 'bond' Naruto was talking about…he's starting to regain his ideas.
It's something that makes his heart wrench for the slightest bit, his anger boil ever so slightly. That kid- he may have been a piece of that Uchiha, but he's a big chunk of Sakura as well.
Sai grew accustomed to Kiro, it's like having a brother again. The way Kiro looks up to him made him feel overwhelmed-though foreign as it may seem, Sai felt it. Ever since Sai saw Kiro back when he was still an infant, he swore that with his life and the top of his skills- he shall protect that child, that even in the absence of Sasuke, He and Naruto shall stand up beside Kiro and be the father and brother Sasuke failed to accomplish.
Naruto grunted in response, it's awful to choose between Kiro and Sakura. But for once in Naruto's life- he knew Sakura would rather dig her grave with her mandibles than let anything bad happen to Kiro.
The blond wouldn't blame the kid if he starts to abhor his own father, Naruto never really hated Sasuke-not majorly. But this gamble started to stir emotions far ahead, if Sasuke could have been here-
'Teme…'
Sai halted as he looked back at Naruto who suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He may never have stopped looking for Sasuke, but right now Naruto just earned another good headstart to hunt him- yes, 'hunt' him and not 'take' him. Hunt him, Naruto will hunt him and will not take a no for an answer or the worse should happen he will drag Sasuke at all cost.
"Look for Kiro, I'll go find his bastard of a father." And with that Naruto leaps in the opposite direction.
XXXX
Juugo took the initiative and knocked on the door. A voice then spoke.
"Forgot something kiddo-." His eyes grew wide.
Was it destiny or fate playing cruel games on him, that right now. Uchiha Sasuke is right in front of his door step, with that very,very peculiar façade. Matched with his signature glare and ever so scary killing aura, Sasuke stood stiffly as he glanced at the old man with pure amazement and surprise over his wrinkled face, Sasuke snorted.
That face…just walked away from him a moment ago with pure determination and hatred in his bright green eyes, and now-
"U-Uchiha Sasuke." He stammered.
XXXX
Finally, as her bruises starts to heal as well as the pain from her wounds, Sakura could feel the stability of chakra flow in her system.
Analyzing the chakra chains, Sakura knew that forcing it off her would take too much strain and the minimum chakra she's able to produce, creating a crack could possible help her to tear it down.
Disrupting the flow would only cause contraction, by which she noticed the more she try to infuse her chakra to it, the chain tightens and contracts. The only choice she was left with is to copy the chakra flow and disrupt it thus infuse her chakra and tear it down.
Pure concentration and skills is needed, she never had even tried to do it before. She doubts Madara did these chains himself, having an idea as to what elements an Uchiha possess would give her an advantage and she might just use that at her will.
XXXX
It's half day's time to get to the Rain Country, as Tazuna had speculated about the sightings of two Akatsuki members. It wasn't even sure-but Kiro would take the gamble. Any lead would do, it's all or nothing.
Kiro knew that whatever's waiting for him in the Rain Country might lead to his death, but he couldn't careless. Of all enemies…he's got nothing to loose, his mother has departed…himself? He couldn't careless… but if and only if he's going to die anyway. He swore to take his father with him six feet under.
Skipping from treetops to another Kiro held his mother's hitai-ate and wore it on his forehead. Marred with a large scratch completely dignifying the Konoha insignia.
At the very least he stands a chance- Sakura may not know Kiro's elements. But Kakashi already taught Kiro everything he needs to know about the Sharingan. Kiro and Sasuke share the same elements.
Thunder and Fire.
Kiro has yet to try Chidori but he has ideas as to how to do it, and his Genjutsu's in top-class. Probably genes from his mother, and his chakra control is as perfect.
The young Uchiha believes he stands a chance.
XXXX
"I have a mission for the two of you…" Madara spoke as he stood from his chair. Looking at Konan and Pein's hologram standing in front of him waiting for his orders.
"Can't that other Uchiha do it…" Konan suggested in monotone.
"It's a little secret." Madara chuckled.
"What is it then…" Pein asked.
"I want you to look for this kid." Throwing a piece of picture over at Konan who caught it with ease, the two raised an eyebrow and looked at Madara with quizzical wonders but nevertheless nodded and disappeared.
The hunt begins now, Madara just need to pull the trigger. He knew better that when he get a grip over that kid's neck- loosing Sasuke in this game wouldn't be much of a trouble after all.
XXXX
In my eyes you are the world.
…
..
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With you
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The future doesn't scare me at all
…
..
.
Now that you're gone
The future doesn't exist anymore
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..
…
XXXXX
TZUZUKU
1. Uso - lies
2. Ikuyo - Let's go