Chapter 14

"Understand its true power? What exactly do you mean?" Kakashi asked Yukana, not completely understanding what she was trying to say. This entire situation didn't make much sense. For a moment he wondered how things had gotten so mixed up. To think this all started out as a simple delivery mission.

Yukana's light blue eyes looked straight into Kakashi's visible one. They appeared calm and controlled, almost as if she wasn't fazed buy this entire situation. "You see, even we don't know everything there is to know about the crystal. We have studied its powers for a long time, but its true potential and purpose is still a mystery. Originally the amulet belonged to the Okami clan who had their own village to the west, not too far from here. Our village and the clan were allies, but the clan was attacked and destroyed some 8 years ago. As far as we know the chief's daughter is the one of the few remaining survivors of the Okami clan.

That and it is rumored that the girl is somehow connected to the crystal, that it was used on her once. This has never been confirmed, but she is the closest link we have in finding and revealing its mysteries."

"I see, and you're hoping that she would have a better understanding of its powers because of this?"

"Exactly." The woman nodded. "Even if it may seem absurd, at the time it was truly our best option to send her out on her own. However if you or any of the leaf's shinobi were to meet up with her we ask you to please take over the responsibility of the amulet's safety and escort her back as soon as possible. We are willing to pay any extra mission costs." Seemingly out of habit, Yukana started playing with a strand of her amber hair.

"There's still one thing I'd like to know. You said she is the chief's daughter, was your chief also of the Okami clan?"

"Oh that? No, he raised her as his own, but they aren't related by blood. Poor girl, he was the only family she knew. It is such a shame, having to lose someone so precious." Yukana shook her head in pity as she finished explaining. Seeing that the conversation had come to an end, she walked over to the door to unlock it.

"Okay. Thanks for filling me in. I'll inform the hokage immediately." Kakashi gave his thanks and turned to leave. He had just stepped out of the office when Yukana put her hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"I almost forgot." She leaned closer till her mouth was mere inches from his ear. "There is one last thing. The girl has the ability to summon a wolf. If at any time the situation might arise, we ask you please to prevent her form summoning that beast."

"Why?" Kakashi asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Well, how should I put this. We don't trust the animal. The girl is still young and would believe anything it tells her. We don't want it filling her mind with all sorts of false stories." She explained. "Look, just keep her from summoning the beast okay." She added more seriously, her formerly gentle voice now had a strict edge to it.

"Umm, sure." Kakashi replied, still sensing that something was amiss.

Yukana let go of his shoulder and smiled a satisfied smile. "Good." And with that the amber haired woman disappeared back into the office, shutting the door swiftly behind her.

"That was strange." Kakashi thought as he walked through the small hospital's halls. "I wonder why they don't trust the girl's summoning animal." To him the explanation Yukana gave was just too vague. Yet there wasn't much he could do about it at the time.

He made a mental note to mention the strange behavior in his report. Something inside of him had the feeling that this village knew more than they were willing to share. But since his orders were only to gather information and report back to the hokage, snooping around was outside of mission jurisdiction. He was glad when he finally stepped out of the hospital. It felt good to have the gentle warmth of sunlight falling on his skin. He didn't like the stuffy, crowded atmosphere inside the building.

Finally being able to get out of the perimeter of the rubble fortress and after waving a goodbye to the two village guards, Kakashi finally set off back towards the hidden leaf village.

( *** )

Sasuke rubbed his hands together as he felt an icy breeze brush over his skin. Everything was cold, so much so that when the released the air from his lungs it created small, white, cloud-like puffs that quickly faded away. The cold was relentless, cutting deep into his figure and chilling him to the bone. Yet as he folded his arms across his chest in a desperate attempt to preserve his body heat he knew that there was something much worse. Something that was eating away at him, that bled into his soul and stained him to the core.

What was it?

A chill ran down his spine, but he couldn't tell if it was caused by the low temperature or this, feeling. Snowflakes began drifting down from a non existing sky, being the only spots of white in this otherwise dark, colorless world. Whenever one of them landed on his skin it sent needles of burning cold stabbing into his being.

But the cold was always there and the snow would regularly fall. This was nothing new, nothing strange to him. So this isn't what troubled him. He could bear the cold, because he was used to it. What he couldn't take was this alien feeling. This sensation that something was out of place. It didn't belong and it certainly wasn't wanted.

He tried his best to name it, the word to describe it was on the tip of his tongue yet it stubbornly refused to move any further than that.

A sickening feeling soon joined the mix. The nameless sensation was slowly destroying him. He knew it, he could feel it. He could sense it tearing away at his heart. It made him nauseous.

What was it!?

It was so paralyzing that he couldn't move, he almost couldn't breath. It was noting but pure darkness, it was… empty.

Was it emptiness?

A void that pulled him into a world of hurt and despair. It weakened him, causing his knees to buckle and he landed on them with a thud, small swirls of snowy air dancing around his legs. He had lost everything, there was nothing left. It wasn't just the feeling that was empty. He was empty too. All that he knew was gone and there was nothing he could do about it.

He bit his lower lip, its cold surface feeling even colder against the warmth of his tongue. Some of his raven hair fell over his face, acting somewhat like curtains. Not that it mattered. After all there was no-one in this world to see him anyway. He was all alone, there was nobody he could turn to, as always. He never did have someone that he could relay on, and when he did…

No. Shaking his head he banished the painful memories from his mind. There was no reason for him to remember. Besides, it was from so long ago.

Then why?

Why was this happening to him now? What happened to make him so empty? He hadn't felt this before. Sure he felt the cold and the harshness of the world, but not this.

His body shivered and he could sense his breathing becoming shaking. Something was lost. Something had been torn from him and he could feel that it was not coming back.

His eyes, dark and pained, started to sting. Noticing the warmth and moistness of something flowing down his cheeks he knew he was crying.

Loud sobs shook his frame. His nails dug into his palms as he clenched his fists. He tried to pinpoint the source, to identify exactly what it was that hurt him so much.

Closing his eyes he folded over, curling into a ball. Snowflakes started falling on his back, appearing as small white spots on his blue jacket.

He felt broken, weak and small. Right now he wasn't a shinobi. He wasn't a talented fighter or the heir to the strongest clan in the hidden leaf. Right now he was just a kid. A boy who was alone and who was hurting inside.

What had he lost? What could possibly have been taken from him that was so precious that its absence made him feel this way? Nothing he could think of ever really mattered to him that much.

It's then that the memory finally returned to him. It only lasted for a moment, barely more than n flash, but it was there and it was enough. He saw himself and the others. Their old team 7 photo. The memory felt faded, almost as if it had been centuries since he saw their faces. It barely even felt real.

It was clear enough though for him to recognize them. Kakashi sensei had one of his mood lifting smiles as he ruffled the two boys' hair. Sakura was standing in the middle, blushing causing her cheeks to be almost the same shade as her cherry blossom hair. Sasuke himself looked annoyed and didn't seem to want any part of it.

And him. The blond, blue-eyed goofball of the team. The one that didn't fit in, the one that wasn't there anymore. He was gone and he wasn't coming back. He had left him, just like the others had been stolen from him. Sasuke watched in horror as the memory seemed to burst into flames, burning away in till all that was left was a faint sense of what used to be comfort, which was quickly drained away by the more powerful feeling of emptiness.

Or was it loneliness?

He knew, he knew that he was alone again. He had somehow fallen back into that deep, lightless pit just like all those years ago. And this time, he didn't think he was ever getting out.

It was… so cold.

(***)

The blue shaded light that drifted in from outside through his bedroom window finally reached the genin's onyx eyes. Having broken free from his sleep and seeing the familiar surroundings gave him a sense of relief. Had he been dreaming?

Sitting up he replayed the scene in his head. The boy in his dream wasn't nearly like him. He hated the idea of himself being so weak.

Lifting the covers off his legs he got up and walked over to the window. It was still dark out. How long had he slept?

Leaning against the drawer he checked if he could see the moon through the window. The large white orb was nowhere in sight. Turning towards the glass sliding doors that lead to the balcony he decided to get some fresh air and clear his head. Chances were that he wouldn't be able to sleep anyway.

The moment he stepped out he immediately noticed just how cold it was. There was a light breeze and upon looking up he noticed that there were a few lone clouds drifting along in the otherwise clear sky.

He could see the moon now. Round and full it hung almost in the center of the sky. Walking over to the wooden railing that fenced off the edge of the balcony he leaned against it. His eyes wandered over the view of the village. At this time there were almost no homes with lights still burning. It was almost as if the whole world was sleeping.

The thought of the dream surfaced again. They say that dreams are visions of what's happening in you subconscious. If that's true, then is that what he's really like? Had he only become so good at suppressing his own feelings that even he himself can't tell what he is truly feeling anymore?

He didn't want to accept that. There was no way that the real him would be so weak as to curl into a ball and cry. He was stronger than that. The real Sasuke wouldn't let weakness show that easily, the real Sasuke had a hard time even admitting weakness to himself.

Why was he feeling so strange lately? He has had a sense of vulnerability, something he didn't like at all. He felt as though he could lose something, as if, in some strange way, he was weak. This troubled him.

Now that he thought about it, he's been feeling this way ever since that day that Naruto went missing. It was weird to think about what his friend's disappearance had done to him. Emotionally he had completely collapsed. Thinking back to it, it barely felt more real than his dream. It was hard for him to accept it, but Naruto had become an important part of his life. He couldn't even begin to imagine a world without him, a world without his team. The people who he dared to think of as friends have become the only family he has known in a long time, and losing any one of them would be unthinkable.

He would never openly admit any of this to another living being, but the want to protect his new family had become even stronger than the need to fulfill his goal of destroying Itachi. With a small laugh he realized just how much he has changed since that day he was chosen as the third member of team 7. If he was to talk to the Sasuke from back then Sasuke wondered if he would even recognize himself.

He has always been a loner. All that he cared about was getting stronger. Now he wondered if he had been going about it the wrong way. Naruto had started off as a complete loser, and yet he had somehow managed to defeat enemies that he himself couldn't take on. Naruto had become not only a good friend, but also an impressive shinobi – for genin standards-, both of which Sasuke had never thought to be possible.

Maybe, he thought, there was something he could learn from him after all.

(***)

AN: Please don't hurt me for not updating uses a book as a shield. I was –and still am- suffering from a severe case of writer's block. Please understand. Also we are moving, again, so things might take a while.

Reviews are appreciated and thanks for all the support. Munchkin out.