Chapter Seven
Hope Long Lost! Team Seven, Meet Inari!
強
"Has he even begun to wake up yet?"
"For the last time, Naruto, no. Kakashi-sensei is out cold; he'll stay that way for at least another day, if not longer."
"But it's been three days!"
Sakura sighed and looked over. It was Sasuke's turn to accompany Tazuna to the bridge; he and Naruto were switching off between guarding Tazuna and keeping watch over Kakashi (she was always with him; as the team's medic she had to be). He was still unconscious; his body was slowly replenishing his chakra, and wouldn't let him wake until it was 'full' again. Normally the process only took a maximum of a day, but Sakura had no access to the drugs traditionally used by medic nin, so they'd need to wait until it occurred naturally. She set the back of her hand against his forehead; thankfully, the fever that'd been manifesting was almost gone.
Naruto whined until he finally figured out that no, Sakura wasn't listening, and no, she didn't care. He left in a huff, off to train behind the house so that he could "beat up Sasuke-teme" when the time came.
Sakura smiled; sure, Naruto was stronger than Sasuke in terms of brute force, but Sasuke was faster and had a slightly quicker reaction time; it would be hard to tell who won in a duel between them. Besides, she didn't want to play favorites. However, she couldn't help but remember when they fought Zabuza…Sasuke and Naruto, when they worked together, made an unstoppable team.
She'd just have to figure out how to get them to cooperate more often, and insert herself somewhere into the equation…and Team Seven would be complete.
But for now, she'd settle for watching over the still-unconscious sensei. It was to be expected, of course; not that she'd tell Naruto, but she'd hoped he'd wake up that morning. The man was late for everything else; why should this be any different?
強
Sasuke yawned, eyes half-closing before he forced them open once more. This was the second day since they'd arrived in Wave, and his second day of functioning without his normal level of chakra. Even Zian was tired, and the runic limiters weren't helping. If he'd deactivated them, his chakra would regenerate at twice normal speed, but he couldn't risk Sakura's suspicion.
Why only Sakura? All of Wave's citizens were civilian (and didn't know the difference between a kunai and a senbon, for the record), Kakashi was unconscious, and Naruto was a complete idiot.
Seriously, he saw all the pieces but couldn't put them together to save his life.
Sasuke was perched atop the arm of a broken-down crane, keeping watch over the construction of the bridge. He felt like a true shinobi this way; seen and yet unseen, there and not, invisible to the world around him, simply a patron of the play of life. Below him, he could see one of Tazuna's workers quit out of fear of Gatou, the businessman who'd taken the island over to hide his dealings in drug smuggling and the black market. Sighing, he turned his attention inward, towards Zian.
They still couldn't identify what had caused the 'meltdown' (as Zian was now calling his loss of control), but in the meantime, things were relatively back to normal. Aside from the fact that they'd been away from Konoha for about five days and Sasuke would need to feed soon, of course.
Zian? You there?
Of course I am, gaki. I'm ALWAYS 'there'. I live in your head, for Kami's sake!
Good point. Anyways, what are we gonna do about blood? Is it safe to forgo it until we can get back to Konoha?
Sure it's safe, if you don't mind gouging out someone's innards the moment you catch a whiff! You can't go without blood any longer than nine days, gaki, and even that's a stretch. I'd say feed now, while Bakakashi is still in la-la land. That'll hold you for another week, and you'll be back in Leaf before you need to feed again. Simple and elegant.
You're gonna need to answer the question; what happens if I go too long without blood?
Your body will force itself into transformation and drain the nearest source. It's called a kikatsu, and it's not pleasant for either the vampire or the victim. I'd say your threshold is around ten days, as that's when your body begins to go into blood starvation.
Hn.
Don't grunt at me, gaki! I'm stuck in here too, ya know!
You never told me what you were, by the way. Why are you even here?!
You think I wanted to be? And as from WHO I am (not what; do I look like an animal to you?!)…hmmm, I don't think I'll tell you yet. Figure it out yourself.
Fine.
Sasuke half-opened his eyes, about to sever the connection, when Zian stopped him.
GAKI! WAIT!
What is it now, Zian?!
I've been sweeping the surrounding area with my chakra periodically; ya know, like a sensory-type would. Anyway, I just finished another one, and a HUGE flare of chakra came back to me. It had to be at LEAST A-ranked Jounin, maybe even bigger.
WHAT?! Distance? Direction?
I'd say it's on the shore of the mainland, which is about a mile and a half to the west. And it gets worse…
I don't think I wanna know, but tell me anyway.
…It's Zabuza. He's alive, gaki.
…Well, shit.
Sasuke opened his eyes fast, leaping down from the crane in a graceful swoop of navy and black. He strode up to Tazuna, grabbing his wrist without warning. The old man turned to look at him, annoyed.
"What is it, duck-butt?! Can't you see I'm working?!"
"We need to leave. Now."
Tazuna stopped short and made eye contact with the boy. Normally he would snap if and when the old man used the nickname, but now…his expression was apathetic (as per usual), but his eyes betrayed hints of worry. The man sighed, and called out to his crew.
"Good work today, boys! Break, and we'll meet again at eight tomorrow!"
"HAI~!"
Tazuna nodded as Sasuke dragged him away, barely pausing to let him fetch his belongings. They half-sprinted (at least for Tazuna; for Sasuke it was a light jog) through the streets, weaving between buildings and people dressed in graying rags. All the while, the elderly bridge builder was screaming at the ninja (which made quite the sight for the denizens of Wave).
"WHAT THE HELL, UCHIHA?! WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME?!"
"You'll see."
"STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!"
"No."
"YOU'RE RUNNING TOO FAST, DAMMIT!"
"If you have enough breath to talk, we're not going fast enough. Speed up."
"LIKE HELL I—UWAHH!"
The denizens of Wave were treated to yet another interesting spectacle; a thirteen-year-old ninja boy sprinting through the streets, dragging (literally) an old man who looked like a cross between the Sandaime of the Leaf and the sensei of an old seinin anime.
All the while, a myriad of thoughts raced through Sasuke's head.
What if I'm too late to save them? What if Zabuza goes after them? What if they're already…no. I can't think like that. They'll be fine. They'll be fine. They'll be fine. Naruto and Kakashi will be fine. Sakura will be fine.
Somehow, they didn't reassure him in the slightest.
強
The front door of Tsunami's home burst open, followed by the clattering of sandals on wooden floors and a lot of cursing muffled by the walls. Sakura looked up and smiled, shaking Naruto awake as Tsunami trotted down the hall to greet her father and his escort.
"They're home, Naruto. Wake up."
Below them, she could hear Tsunami asking why Tazuna was home so early. His reply was unintelligible, since a panting Sasuke tumbled into the room at that exact moment, clutching at the doorframe for some semblance of support. Sakura stood, worry beginning to worm its way into her heart.
"Sasuke? What is it? What's wrong?!"
The look in Sasuke's eyes…it was akin to that of a hunted animal, panicked and lost.
The words that spilled from him a half-second later did nothing to assuage her.
"He…he's still alive…"
"Who?!"
Sakura didn't think she'd like the answer.
"Zabuza."
Naruto, still half asleep, bolted upright and crashed into the wall. Sakura looked at the unconscious Kakashi, panicking Sasuke, and wounded Naruto, and said exactly what everyone was thinking.
"Well…shit."
強
They were gathered around the kitchen table; Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke, with a heaping plate of onigiri between them. Piercing green eyes locked onto Sasuke's, and he found himself wondering if the Haruno clan possessed some long-lost doujutsu because damn was that an intense stare.
"Sasuke, how do you know that Zabuza is still alive?"
She was all business, he reflected, when there was no one else to take charge. Naruto, on the other hand…well, it was only Sakura's hand on his shoulder that kept him from leaping up and viciously interrogating Sasuke.
But there was another, more important matter at hand. How to explain how he'd sensed Zabuza from a distance most sensory-types couldn't hope to span without giving away the fact that he was a schizophrenic vampire (or so it seemed; he didn't know who Zian was, but for now he'd go with another personality) in a clear, concise, I'm-totally-not-lying fashion.
There was always…yes, he'd go with that.
"Sasuke? You listening? Don't zone out on me now!"
"Hn. It makes sense if you think about it. We covered hunter-nin in the Academy; they destroy their targets on-sight, and it shouldn't matter if we had to see it. Then there's the weapons…do you really think a guy like that, who can go toe-to-toe with Hatake Kakashi of the Sharingan and give him a run for his money, would be taken down by two tiny senbon to the neck? Then, if the hunter-nin was there as long as I think she was, she should've stepped in and brought the fight to an end faster by helping Kakashi, which she didn't. So, it seems logical to say that Zabuza is alive, that he has a highly skilled accomplice, and that both were hired by Gatou."
Some point during his logical explanation, Naruto's jaw had dropped open and Sakura's hand had slipped from his shoulder. Not that he needed the restraint; he had been stunned into silence, a feat rarely accomplished with anyone (least of all the loudmouthed blonde ninja prankster of imminent and terrible doom). Coincidentally, he was the first to speak, albeit in a rather faint tone.
"So…what do we do? Kakashi-sensei's still out of it (probably dreaming of those stupid orange books of his), and there're only three of us."
"Sakura…you're good at strategy, ne? And you know our strengths already…it's up to you."
"Thanks for the show of faith, Sasuke. Alright, Naruto; clones are your specialty, so I'll need you to set up a perimeter around the house. The more the better, but don't exhaust yourself. Sasuke; you're good at seals, so you should expand the perimeter with the most elaborate, fastest-triggering traps you know. I'll be in here, prepping my med kit with the herbs Tsunami and I found earlier, as well as making fresh soldier pills if I have the time. Report back to me when you're done."
"Hai, Sakura-chan!"
"Aa."
"Oh, and Sasuke?"
"Hn?"
"Before I forget, make sure the traps are one-way, so we don't get caught in them if we have to get out of here fast."
"Aa."
"Alright. Team Seven, scatter!"
Naruto and Sasuke strode out the front door, while Sakura fished out her medical pouch and started sorting the aforementioned herbs into different groups based on their properties.
強
Standing on the front porch, Naruto quickly made a simple hand sign.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
About fifty clones came to life in puffs of white smoke. The blonde quieted the others with a rather loud shout.
"OI~! I need all of you to form a perimeter around this place!"
"Hai, boss!"
With a collective reply the clones scattered, hiding themselves among the long grasses and trees. Naruto grinned to himself as he watched Sasuke stride into the forest, a brush and several scrolls in one hand and a pot of ink in the other.
Your move teme…let's see whose perimeter is more effective! Heh, this is one contest I can't lose!
強
Sasuke, sensing that he was being watched, turned sharply to the right, scanning the bushes for any sign of movement. There were no chakra signatures in the area except for the ambient ones of plant and animal life. Shrugging, he turned back to his work, finishing another runic tag before moving on.
The trap he was crafting was the most advanced he'd been taught (and, as a runic Uchiha, he'd been taught quite a few), and required all ten of the tags to be pulled off at once to prevent an explosion. Sound familiar? The principle was used a lot in trap and barrier ninjutsu, but what made the obliquatur semitas angelus mortis unique was its construction. The rune could be 'taught' to recognize different chakra signatures and 'code' them into a loophole in the trap system. Anything else would be caught in the construct.
Sasuke's array extended fifty meters from the house; to the edge of the woods in front and dock's end out back. The complexity of the design allowed for no errors; time seemed to melt away as, one by one, the lines shifting and curling beneath his brush as each aspect of the trap took shape. A tag for entrapment, a tag for poison, a tag for metal, a tag for fire, a tag for water, a tag for lightning, a tag for wind, a tag for earth, a tag for heaven, and a tag for hell, all took form in paper and ink, ready to wreak absolute havoc on any intruder. They were designed to activate one by one, yet work together; a truly ingenious innovation by the clan's rune master, Torashiro. Of course, before he'd been found deconstructed in his own stewpot, victim of a scorned wife whom he'd cheated on the week before.
Sasuke had learned a very valuable lesson that day; never screw with women and their emotions. You will end up dead, especially if said woman works in the Torture and Interrogations Department. Or if said woman has a dango fetish and goes by the name Anko.
強
It was late in the day when Kakashi awoke, looking for his students to inform them of Zabuza's extreme lack of death. Of course, once they'd explained things to him, he calmed down about it and, with Sakura's help, descended the stairs for dinner, with quite a few suspicious little glances at Sasuke.
There was something the duck-butt Genin wasn't telling him, and he would get to the bottom of it.
強
Dinner came and went in a flourish of conversation, with Team Seven discussing mission parameters with Tazuna. Suddenly, halfway through Sasuke's third explanation of his logic in deducing Zabuza's survival, the kitchen door burst open. Tsunami took one look at the figure standing there and sighed.
"Dear Kami, not now…"
A rather squeaky voice issued from the small shade, who revealed himself to be a boy small in stature wearing a white and navy striped fisherman's, hat, yellow high-collared shirt, and ragged green overalls. His dark eyes stared at them from beneath the hat's brim and spiky black hair.
"Are you the ninja protecting my grandfather?"
Naruto answered.
"Yeah. Who are you?"
The boy ignored him, instead choosing to stare them all down.
"Give up. You're all gonna die. You don't stand a chance."
Sakura tried to intervene when she sensed Naruto's temper rise.
"Now, listen here—!"
"Do you really think you can beat Gatou?"
"YEAH, DATTEBAYO!"
"You can't. There's only four of you, and hundreds of them. You're barely older than me; how can you hope to fight? You'll only die."
"No we won't, 'ttebayo! We're ninja, and we're gonna save Wave Country!"
"Are you STUPID?!"
The boy screamed; his eyes shone a little glossier than normal.
"THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A HERO!"
"What?!"
"Heroes don't die…they can't die. My father used to be a hero; he tried to fight Gatou, and look where that got him! He's in a coffin now, all because he tried to be a HERO!"
"WHY YOU—!"
"Stop, dobe."
Sasuke slapped his hand over Naruto's mouth, making eye contact with the boy. Those eyes…they reminded him of himself after the massacre. So lost, so alone, so hurt…so weak. Ready to blame others for their failures. And in that moment, Sasuke lost it. His voice roughened slightly with barely restrained anger.
"There are heroes in this world. There have to be, to balance those cursed with the burden of evil. They aren't immortal, nor are they invincible. They are people. They make mistakes, they fail, they die. But what makes them different from others is their will to change things for the better, no matter the cost to themselves. If you want Gatou gone, which you do, stop being such a whiney little bitch about it, get up off your fat ass, and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Don't berate others for doing something you're too scared, too weak, or too lazy to do on your own. When you fail, analyze your mistakes and fix them instead of crying about it like a small child. Your current ways will get you nowhere in life, and if you had been in our shoes you'd already be dead. You hear me? So stop with all your bitching about how your life sucks and your dad's dead. I can guarantee that people have had worse childhoods than yours, so SUCK. IT. UP."
And then the kid had to go and make it worse for himself. Still crying, he wailed,
"What do you know?! You don't know anything about how I feel, how much it hurts!"
Sasuke's fists clenched, and his clothes and hair started to billow gently as his chakra writhed in sheer rage.
"I don't know about how you feel? That's right; I don't. You still have your mother, your grandfather, your friends. Imagine coming home to find everyone you're related to slaughtered. Then imagine it was, say, your grandfather or favorite cousin or maybe even your older brother who killed them in the most painful, drawn-out ways possible. Then imagine he traps you in an illusion that forces you to relive all of their deaths for three days in the span of three seconds. Then imagine waking up in the hospital to find out that no, it wasn't a nightmare and yes, your entire family is dead. Try spending a couple years in the shitty foster care system where people want you for your name, potential political power, or money, as well as being beaten and whipped by those supposed to take care of you. Throw in horrendous nightmares that never cease unless you've completely, and I mean completely exhausted yourself, periodic broken bones and sprains, and a series of recurrent problems from the shoulder your psychotic older brother brutally shattered the night of your clan's massacre and what do you get?"
The boy didn't answer; it was safe to say that Sasuke had shocked the entire room into silence. He turned and walked back to the door, pausing in the doorway.
"Me."
Suffice to say, no one stopped him when he announced he was headed to bed and ascended the stairs.
The boy left in a huff, off to sit at the docks while his mother Tsunami called him. His name was Inari, it seemed.
All of this had ceased to matter to Sakura, though. All she could think of was Sasuke's dark past, which was much, much darker than she'd thought.
And in that moment, a small shred of pity for a silent, moody, apathetic boy came to roost in the heart of a perfect, whole, pink-haired girl.
強
~Tsuzuku~
A/N: Oh my Kami THANK YOU to all the devoted reviewers, followers, alerters, and anonymous readers alike! I've broken 1750 views thanks to you guys!
Anyways, this chapter was a bitch to write (mostly because TDCT-chan gave me a superawesomesauce idea when I was in the middle of writing it, so I had to start over…thanks anyway XD), and took longer than usual because of the following:
-Trip to Santa Barbara with TDCT-chan and various others
-Getting very bad sunburns on my face (AHHHH! THE AGONY!)
-End of year stuff (mainly projects)
-Summer stuff
-Getting three cavities and losing a filling
-Trip to Santa Monica Pier with TDCT-chan and various others (screaming dattebayo and doing the Kage Bunshin handsign for the coaster picture FTW)
-End of year partying with TDCT-chan and various others (pizza is good…)
-Playing ninja with TDCT-chan and various others (I won the round when I started in the Eight Trigrams Sixty Four Palms start stance…Neji skills FTW)
-The insane plot bunny generators in my head (WTF?! FIFTEEN IDEAS IN TWO DAYS?! Are you trying to kill me through creativity, brain?!)
And finally…
-WORKING ON ORIGINAL COVER ART FOR BMS!
You're excited, right? I can tell~!
Anyways, thank you to the reviewers who pointed out various errors in the story. I don't have a beta right now, so any and all constructive criticism is appreciated.
Moving on…since I'm currently on summer break, I'll have time to write more often. So (hopefully) no more two- or three-week waits for updates! Yay! :D
FAQ Time:
Q: Why is Sasuke prone to random rant-fests?
A: You forget; this Sasuke has a non-idiotic Naruto in his head. Zian's personality is basically that of Kyuubi and that of Naruto mixed (now THAT would be a good fanfic idea…hmmm…). Zian's attitude is starting to rub off on Sasuke; you've seen his failed attempts to control it and revert back to normal (refer to the Catch Tora! Chapter), which don't seem to be working too well, do they? Sheesh, Sasuke…embrace who you are.
Q: Y U NO WRITE MOAR SASUSAKU?!
A: I'm trying to take their relationship slowly, 'ttebane! I'm basically basing it of one of mine; first acquaintances, then friends, then best friends, then…chu~! Plus there's the fact that Sasuke has the emotional awareness of a freaking ROCK and Sakura doesn't want to be seen as shallow. Then there's Naruto's crush on Sakura, Sasuke's incredible aversion towards bonding, Sakura's obliviousness, Kakashi's deviousness…there's a nice little cocktail of romantic teen angst mixing in Team Seven, and Kakashi's loving every minute of it.
Q: Are the side pairings decided yet?
A: Yes…NaruHina is one, NejiTen is another…the rest you'll have to wait for, my dear readers! Aren't I evil? :D
Q: Who asks these FAQ questions, anyway?
A: I do.
As promised…
KBA-CHAN'S OMAKE THEATER!
This week: The Story of Hatake Kakashi
Warning: COMPLETE CRACK
Hatake Kakashi wasn't always called Hatake Kakashi. No, he was once an Uchiha named Kyo who happened to break a mirror with his incredibly good looks and bring several months of bad luck upon himself.
So, one day Kyo was running about with scissors, because he was a shinobi and shinobi are meant to run about playing with dangerous, sharp objects.
Kyo tripped on a rock and stabbed himself in the eye with said scissors.
The shock of it turned his hair white, and his parents committed seppuku because their son had disgraced their family by tripping on a rock and destroying any chance of activating the Sharingan.
Kyo was given his father's Sharingan eye, emancipated, and promptly banished from the clan for sheer stupidity with his name changed to Hatake Kakashi to prevent the idiot from being traced back to them.
Years later, Fugaku would approach the legendary Copy Ninja asking if he would like his place in the clan back. Kakashi refused and happily gave him several X-rated suggestions on where exactly he could shove said proposal.
Itachi: Ummm…KBA?
KBA: Yeah? *smiles sweetly*
Itachi: You do realize that's not what happened, right?
KBA:…There's a crack warning at the top.
Itachi: Ah. Sense has been made.
KBA: You're starting to sound like me!
Sasuke: that's never a good thing.
KBA: SHUT. UP. DUCK. BUTT.
TDCT: Hey~! That rhymes! *pokes head in from doorway*
KBA: TDCT-CHAAAAAN~!
TDCT: KBA-CHAAAAAN~!
KBA: TDCT-CHAAAAAN~! *running in slow-mo towards TDCT*
TDCT: KBA-CHAAAAAN~! *running in slow-mo towards KBA*
*le Gai-Lee hug complete with sunset and crashing waves*
Itachi:…Dear Kami not again…
Sasuke: AAAARGH~! THE LIGHT~! IT BUUUUUUUURNS~!
TDCT: *lets go of KBA* Hey guys! So, as you may have guessed, I am the almighty EmoOtakuTDCT, (AKA the person who puts up with KatanaBladeArtist's shit on a daily basis), and I am here to reap your souls! *pulls out Death Note*
Sasuke:…I vote Danzo.
Itachi: And the elder council. They're assholes.
Sasuke: Danzo and the elder council.
TDCT: Heh…wish granted.
KBA: Yaaaaaaaay~!
*Meanwhile, in Konoha, Danzo and the elder council suffer simultaneous heart attacks. The village is filled with the cheers of ecstatic members of the shinobi council*
Itachi:…I can see what you see in her, KBA-chan.
TDCT: *smirks and high-fives KBA and Sasuke*
KBA: Anyways, TDCT-chan here is our featured guest this week, as she's new here (though she won't be a guest next week, or the week after, as she'll become part of our little 'team'…), so…the honors go to you, my epic otaku friend!
TDCT: Oh. Alright. Allons-y, then!
Sasuke: You watch it too?!
TDCT:Yes, I'm a Whovian. Problem?
Sasuke: *staring dreamily at TDCT* I love you…
TDCT: *slaps him* THIS IS A SASUSAKU, DIPSHIT!
Sasuke: I meant in a platonic way.
TDCT: Oh. Okay~! :D *Announcer-Voice-no-Jutsu!* Kakashi-sensei is back with a vengeance, and Sakura-chan's plan is holding strong! Join us next time for a special edition: Oppa Sensei Style! Kakashi Scopes Out the Team!
Sasuke: Why is this a special?
KBA: 'Cause it's kinda filler-ish (I couldn't skip right to the battle at the bridge), I decided to write this next chapter entirely from Kakashi's POV (still in third person, of course) so you can all see what goes on in his silver-covered, super-pervy mind.
TDCT: Hear, hear!
This chapter's page break is tsuyo, or strength.