The ink and chakra on Sasuke's neck pulsed and twisted like some kind of obscene jellyfish, trailing tendrils through his flesh. He tried not to think about it, or the uncomfortable, relentless energy he could feel bubbling up beneath it. He had to do this. For himself. For Konoha. He just had to keep walking.
He took a step forward, and then another. The sound of Kimimaro's battle had faded long ago. He didn't have guides, any more, but they'd given him a rough idea of where Sound was. Scouts would pick him up when he got within a couple of miles of it. He just needed to keep going.
There was a thud of feet hitting earth. Sasuke stiffened. The vibration of the earth, the way his pursuer held his weight- to one with senses keen enough, it was as good as a fingerprint. Uchiha Sasuke turned, and looked into Uzumaki Naruto's violent blue eyes.
For a long moment, neither said anything. The silence was strangely awkward, as if Sasuke had been doing something embarrassing or silly. Then Naruto spoke.
"What the hell are you doing, man?" It wasn't an accusation. Sasuke could have dealt with that. It was the quiet, almost plaintive tone of voice he'd used to ask Itachi why he had to go away on a long mission, and it grated on his heart like a blunted razorblade on a violin string. All of a sudden, he felt the worth of his training. Without Danzo's tutoring, harsh as it had been, he'd not have been able to hold his face so blank.
He didn't tell Naruto he was following orders. He didn't tell him he was going to come back. He didn't say he was going to kill the brother who betrayed him and come home to the one who'd showed him a loyalty he hadn't understood until far, far too late.
He didn't say anything, because he couldn't trust his words not to shatter the mask of lies he so desperately needed. He just turned away, and started to walk again.
So it came as a complete surprise when Naruto struck him with a well-placed Rasengan between the shoulderblades. But old reflexes kicked in, and Sasuke twisted in the air, landing legs spread, leaning forward with a hand pressed into the ground. He'd managed to fall facing Naruto, so as he skidded away, he could see his team-mate's face flush red with frustrated fury and misery, eyes bright with unshed tears.
"I SAID WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" he howled. Sasuke rose, slowly, watching him. "YOU'RE BREAKING SAKURA'S FUCKING HEART, YOU SON OF A BITCH! WHY ARE YOU GOING? WHY ARE YOU LEAVING US?"
Sasuke stared at him, and felt a hair-thin fracture run through his mask.
"Because I have to," he said, softly. "You have to go with Jiraiya. Sakura has to go with Tsunade. I have to go with Orochimaru. It's who we are, Naruto. It's written right into our core. We have no choice in this." He felt the whisper of the words as they left his lips. They were true, he realised, and salved his conscience a little, but he could see them cutting into Naruto as he said them. He hated himself a little, for that. I'll come back, he told himself. Who I am demands this, but it also demands I return. I'll come back, Naruto, even if I can't tell you, I swear to God I'll come back.
"No choice? No choice? You son of a bitch, you're choosing right now! You're choosing that snaky mother-fucker over us!"
No. I'm not. Please, understand, no I'm not.
He said nothing. But he couldn't walk away.
Naruto's face stayed flushed, but his expression started to calm.
"Fine, then," he said, quietly. "I said I'd bring you back, Sasuke, if I have to break every bone in your body to do it. But I'll make you a bet. You and me, we're going to have a little sparring match. If I win, you'll come back to Konoha with me."
Sasuke looked at him. In his head, the voice of Danzo spoke from memory.
Remember, when they look at you they must see a Missing Nin. That Missing Nin would contemplate this deal.
I don't want to do this, Danzo.
You must, operative. Your wants are irrelevant.
"And if I win?" he asked, quietly.
"Then... then I'll let you go. For now. Just this once."
Don't say that. For the love of God PLEASE don't say that.
The Missing Nin would say yes.
I Don't want to.
Blood surged through the capillaries in his eyes, and the world exploded into scarlet angles.
"Fine," he whispered, lying through his teeth.
XXXXX
Danzo didn't smile at her, although Tsunade suspected he'd had to squash the urge. She'd ended up coming to his office, and she was the one standing. Somehow, the faux-authority it granted him was remarkably grating.
"The operation is go, then?"
"Yes, ma'am. I'm informed that Uchiha has evaded most of the retrieval team bar one. We have high hopes that he'll win."
Tsunade didn't ask who. She suspected she wouldn't like the answer.
"Then why've you asked to see me? More specifically, why in your office?"
"Suffice to say I have my doubts, ma'am. I feel we may need to treat this operation... a little more delicately then usual."
Stop stalling, Danzo, Tsunade thought. Whatever you want, come out with it. She ignored the subtle insult to her abilities. The implication that without his assistance she'd be a heavy-handed spymaster was well-hidden for most ninjas, but for him it was too obvious to be anything but a feint. So she left it alone and just looked at him, and let the silence draw out.
"I feel," said Danzo, eventually, "that it might be sensible to keep this operation off the books. Keep it away from admin."
Ah. So that's his game.
Administrative operatives, or "paperwork ninjas" as they were less formally known, were amongst the most elite non-combatants in Konoha's military structure. It was their task to trawl through the endless piles of reports, write-ups and debriefings that Konoha nin generated, and from this tangled and bewildering web piece together a picture of what happened within Konoha and without. They choreographed the vast dance of the village, answering only to the Hokage, the council, and those authorised by these two weighty authorities. They were the tools of the Hokage in the most direct obvious fashion, because it was through them that the village was commanded.
Thus, when an infiltrator went on mission, it was admin's duty to keep them out of the line of fire. No Hunter Nin were dispatched, the bounty on their cover's head was kept low, and ANBU made arrangements to ease them out of and into village life. It was basic policy, and while there was mistakes (which had led to a lot of bad blood between repeat infiltrators and hunter nin), by and large, it protected all concerned.
To keep an infiltrator off-book meant that all those basic protections would be denied to Sasuke. The only way to stop the Hunter-Nin from targeting him would be to order them not to directly, and that would cause far more problems then it would solve. It'd also grant Danzo total control over the operation. Any information she'd get would come through him first, and he'd be able to filter it any way he wanted.
"Your reasoning?" she asked, bluntly. Tsunade was really, really not in the mood to be polite right now.
"How many questions could put the operation in jeopardy, ma'am? He's unexperienced and untrained beyond what I could instil in him- a great deal, granted, but nowhere near enough to convince anyone else. Should someone ask questions, it could all fall down around our ears. Politically, it'd be suicide. More importantly, however, it would also kill Sasuke."
Tsunade growled beneath her breath. Of course it would. Sasuke needed a handler badly, and any political or bureaucratic interference would fuck that up in a heartbeat. She'd lost this battle before she'd walked into the (sound-proofed, unrecorded) room.
"I see. Done."
She turned and walked out without looking at him. Behind her, Danzo smiled.
XXXXX
Sasuke stood, panting, on his side of the cave, trying hard not to be sick. The seal had already spread its malignant chakra through his flesh, warping his body into something unrecognizable and powerful, grey skinned and winged. The uncomfortable energy he'd felt pulsing through him was still present, but at least now he could control it.
Opposite to him, Naruto blazed with scarlet fire. His eyes, furious scarlet, were seething with ill-surpressed fury. The fight was coming to its climax, and both of them knew it. Somewhere deep inside himself, Sasuke was terrified was going to have to kill him.
But he couldn't turn back now. He'd come too far. Unconsciously, Sasuke's fingers flickered through the handseals for Chidori, and his Sharingan showed Naruto's chakra whirlin g into a Rasengan. There was nothing for it now but to fight, and fight hard, and pray he didn't do anything he'd never undo.
He lunged at Naruto, grey wings throwing him through the air, hand crackling with shadowy lightning. Naruto responded in kind, screaming like a fox, a streak of scarlet with a rasengan in one hand. They struck each other, lightning meeting wind, shadows meeting rage, and the world was consumed in white light.
Ever after, Sasuke would be unable to remember the blow. Perhaps it had been beyond his senses' ability to record, too fast and too violent. But he would remember what happened next.
He landed heavily on the opposite side of the cave, spraining his ankle as he did so. His flesh was his own again- Naruto's attack must have forced his cursed seal to regress. He turned warily, feeling the exhaustion weigh heavily on him as he did so, waiting for the next offensive.
But it didn't come.
Naruto lay, unconscious, on the cave floor a few hundred feet away. Sasuke found himself staggering over, tripping and falling, until he was kneeling at his friend's side.
His Sharingan was gone, he noted dully, because he didn't see Naruto in the haze of informative reds and scarlets that indicated his heartbeat and chakra circulation. Sasuke checked his pulse- weak, but steady, and getting stronger. He was healing already, thank god.
The last of the Uchiha let out a gasp of relief. He was alive. He'd done what was necessary, but Naruto was alive. It was going to be alright.
Except, he realised with brutal horror, he was going to have to leave him. The mission demanded he keep going. Naruto would be defenceless.
For a long moment, Sasuke just sat there. Then he pulled himself up, and dragged himself away, face blank.
For the mission. For what needed to be done.
XXXXX
MAN but this was a bitch to write. The first scene in particular was hard, because while I knew what I wanted to do with the Valley of the End sequence, I couldn't get it to come out right. Which was REALLY annoying, as I'm sure everyone else who's suffered writer's block can attest. Things started to flow again yesterday, though, and I'm finishing it in the canteen in college. I'm admittedly not particularly happy with the end product, but I think I can refine it a bit later. Right now, I just want to get this up.
Okay! So! First and foremost, a big thank you to all of you for being so nice in your reviews, and an even bigger thank you for the constructive criticism you've given me for it so far- that helps enormously. Special mention must go to Nugar, who I somehow suspect is at least partly behind the huge traffic spike. :P
Someone, not sure who, asked me whether this is going to obey the canon laid out so far. It's a good question, but one I'm hesitant to answer, as I don't want to tie myself down. At the moment, I think it'll end up diverging at some point, but this is a nail fic after all, so that was to be expected. I promise not to fix everything, however. If anything, this could be darker then the canon.
Thanks again, guys. Keep on truckin'.