Chapter Four: Pursuing Blondes
Kaeda let go of Sasuke's hand as she shuffled through her bag to get the key. She pulled it out and smiled at him. "Our very own home isn't it exciting?" She asked as she stared at his blank face stripped of emotion. Kaeda bit her lip and unlocked the door. Kaeda pulled all their two bags into the apartment. "So you can go pick your room if you want." She said with a smile. She watched Sasuke disappear into the apartment building. She sighed and went to pull about three or four boxes into the apartment as well. She opened the box labeled 'office supplies' and got a notebook that had everything listened.
"Sasuke's clothes… check. My clothes… check. Office stuff, check, bathroom and bedding, check. ANBU, items… check. She looked around, before she began scribbling stuff onto the notebook. "Coach, coffee table, curtains…" She closed the front door and ventured into the kitchen. She stared and sighed. "Table, seats, pots, pans… food." She underlined the word food three times. She closed the notebook and set it along with the pen she was writing with on the counter.
Kaeda looked back around for a moment in between the kitchen and the living. Suddenly she wondered where Sasuke was. She sighed and went to look from him. She walked into the only hallway and noticed that he had taken the bedroom across from the only detached bathroom. Kaeda leaned against the door frame and smiled, noticing he had just fallen asleep onto the bed. She watched him for a moment. She shook her head and went off to the front of the apartment, to the boxes. She opened the box with the bathroom and bedding things and pulled out a cover. She went back to Sasuke's new room and laid it on top of him.
She stood over him for a moment. Much like a mother who has just brought her baby home from the hospital, she stared wondering whether she needed to get him something or give him something. Maybe she should make food or did he need something heavier than what he had. A million questions buzzed her head but not enough answers. She jumped as Sasuke's eyes opened a bit.
"What are you doing?" He asked, quietly. He sounded tired and no one could blame him. He had just gotten out of the hospital. The injury I had given him had just healed and he as coping with his whole family's death.
Kaeda attempted to find something to say. She sighed. "Sasuke, would you like to go out for dinner?" She asked, calmly. She had never seen him like this. She was so used to the cute and bubbly Sasuke that was always latched onto his brother's leg. She was so used to the boy who loved unconditionally and strived to be better and better. She did not like this bitter and cold boy.
Sasuke looked right at her with his bitter black eyes. "No." He answered, though quietly there was enough tone in that one simple word to reveal how annoyed he was, simply by the notion of it.
Kaeda sighed and tried to come up with an alternative. "Alright, then what would you like for dinner, Sasuke?" She whispered.
"Tuna." He said and pulled the cover over his head going back to sleep.
"Do you want a pillow?" She asked.
"No." Sasuke replied.
Kaeda sighed. After a moment of hesitation she reached out and patted the top of his head even if it was covered. "Sweet dreams. I'll be here if you need anything." Sasuke pulled himself further into his ball. She smiled and ruffled his hair above the cover before she left. She closed his door behind him. Kaeda sent out a clone to go get the tuna and the ingredients and other things. Kaeda began to clean and put things in their place. The day could not have gone smoother; even as she glanced into the door of the silent boy she was content.
While the village was off cleaning up and fixing the village, something else was on the mind of the young 13 year old and it wasn't fixing things. The large boulder in front of him erupted into smoke because of his assault of chidori. He looked at the two holes in the boulder. His breaths had become short and staggered as he tried to regain his energy. A hateful glare was glazed over his black eyes. "I wasn't…" He began. "I wasn't able to do anything…" He thought. Sasuke let himself be brought back to the attack from Gaara, as his whole body petrified because of the curse mark.
He thought about how Naruto was able to do so much more, how Naruto had excelled so much further than he had in the same time span as him. It was annoying; everything around him just bothered him. Kaeda's inability to let go of the past, and Naruto's get leap beyond him. You won't be able to defeat me. The thought of that alone was enough to drive him past his limits. He gathered up his chakra to form another round of chidori and he unleashed it onto the rock before him, anger and hatred fuming in his core.
Asuma, Guy, Kurenai and Kaeda were all gathered around Kakashi and Kaeda tended to him. No matter how much she healed him, he wouldn't wake up. "It appears that they haven't found Naruto yet." Guy said as he sat in a stool a few feet away from Kakashi's bed.
Asuma pulled himself onto Kakashi's desk and rested onto of his feet onto the chair. "But don't you think that's strange?" He asked.
Kaeda sighed. "I'm going to go to the hospital and see if I can make him some medicine." She said. She opened the door and left. Everyone watched carefully. Once the door closed behind her and she was out of the corridor of the apartment building they began talking again.
"It's strange, those guys had already infiltrated the village." Asuma continued. "It should be easy to find Naruto in this village. Itachi knows Naruto's face."
Guy shushed them. Sasuke opened up the door and stepped into the room. He saw Kakashi state. Kaeda had finally reached the exit on the other side of where Sasuke entered. She looked confused as a Jonin dashed inside with unbelievable speed. He stopped and bowed to Kaeda. "I am so sorry, Miss Sato. I hope Sasuke is safe with you, if not I advise you to keep him under your surveillance for the next couple of days." Before she could question him he ran inside. Kaeda stood confused for a moment.
Sasuke stared at Kakashi before speaking, "Why is Kakashi sleeping?" He said, oblivious. "Besides, only Jonin are gathering here… What are you doing? What in the world happened?"
Everyone tried to remain silent. "Nothing… in particular…" Guy said.
The Jonin from the door rushed into the room. "Is it true that Itachi has returned?" He asked. Everyone glared at him but he didn't get the hint. "And moreover, that he's after Naruto…?" Afterwards is when he realized everyone's looks and even Guy hit his own face with his hand in aguish. Sasuke turned to the man who had just spoke his brother's name. He then realized why everyone was silent.
"Idiot…" Kurenai whispered.
Sasuke's black eyes once so dark were beginning to be infused with pure red fire, lighting up his eyes like sparks from metal hitting metal in the midst of war. That same fire managed its way into his veins and gave him the energy he needed to run out of the room. He rushed down the stairs only to bump into Kaeda who was making her way back up to question the Jonin. She nearly threw him off balance. She grabbed his shoulder to keep him steady. "What's wrong, Sasuke?" She asked him, seeing the hateful look in his eyes. "What happened?"
"Did you know too?" He asked shaking with anger.
"Know what?" Kaeda asked, still holding him feeling his trembling.
"You knew that Itachi was back!" Kaeda was thrown off and stepped back, let him go. That moment was enough for Sasuke to go running off. Kaeda was still in shock and had to sit down. She wasn't sure how to feel. Sasuke on the other hand had all these negative emotions running through him. In the midst of the negativity, he wasted no time in getting to Naruto's apartment. He opened the door only to let Sakura stumble out.
"Sasuke!" She said shocked.
"Where's Naruto?" Sasuke snapped.
"Huh? I just got here too." Sasuke realized that he wasn't here so he ran off. "I wanted to give Naruto…"
He didn't let her finish before he disappeared going after Naruto again. Next immediate stop was Ichiraku as Sasuke had troubling thoughts about how it would end for Naruto if Itachi were to find him. "Hey old man!" He said to Ichiraku. "Naruto must have come here! And do you know where he went after that?" He asked.
The chief looked at him. "Oh, Naruto, right…" He said taking his sweet time to remember. "If I remember correctly… Master Jiraiya came here around noon and they ate ramen together, and he said he was going somewhere…"
Sasuke was completely on edge. "Where?" He snapped. He didn't have time for this.
"Hmm… I think he said to a post station some distance from the village… and then he left with Master Jiraiya."
"Jiraiya?" Sasuke asked, confused.
"Jiraiya – one of the three genius sannin. Well in appearance, he just looks like a big white-haired old man."
"Big and white-haired…" Sasuke took that mental note and then vanished again, he ran out of the village towards the next town.
Kaeda finally managed to make her way back to Kakashi's room. "Why didn't you three tell me?" She asked the three silent Jonin. "Why didn't you tell me it was Itachi?" She asked.
"Sasuke told you?" Asuma asked. Kaeda nodded.
"Well at least he didn't run out to do something rash." Kurenai said. Kaeda's head finally started turning and in the next moment she dashed out as well and she went after Sasuke, frightened that he would go after Itachi. In the middle of it she stopped dead in her tracks feeling a tight hand wrapped around her throat, a memory coming back to haunt her a voice telling her to never become involved with the clan's business ever again. She shook her head and broke free from the mental block. She needed to go after Sasuke.
"That post town isn't that far off…" Sasuke told himself as he kept on running, worry and anger still running in his veins.
Naruto was in his room practicing his chakra control. He was mad that Jaraiya had left him behind for some pretty girl. "This! Somehow this always happens when I'm with that Pervy Sage!" He shouted angrily through his teeth. Sasuke made it to the village and was quickly making his way around. Soon after Kaeda arrived too from tracing his chakra but then it got blended in with everyone else's. "I wonder if he really has any inclination to oversee my training…"
It was so hard to realize but so many things were happening at once. With unbelievable stealth Itachi and Kisame were moving towards the room of the silly blonde boy, the only one who is stationary. Sasuke was going from hotel to hotel asking for a man with white hair and a boy with blonde hair. Kaeda was trying to track either Naruto, or Sasuke or even Itachi down. Jiraiya was steadily getting further and further from Naruto, leaving him unprotected and defenseless. Sasuke finally found a hotel with two people fitting his description and went up to knock on the door.
Sasuke knocked on that door and Naruto heard a knock on his door. All of the clones that had fallen asleep began to disappear one by one as the knocking began. Naruto looked at the door and knocking continued as Sasuke continued knocking on the door. "What's up?" Naruto asked as he jumped off of the bed. "Has she already dumped you?" The knocking became more urgent. "Okay, okay!" The door clicked to unlock. Sasuke jumped back a little anxious to see him. "Okay, okay, I'll open up!"
Before he could even finish opening the door Sasuke grabbed the edge and yanked it open. "Naruto!" He shouted in only to see a boy younger than him with his grandfather. A horrified expression flushed over his face at the realization that Itachi Uchiha had managed to get to Naruto before he could. "It's not him…" Was the only thing that could come out of his mouth. He was stood petrified in fear.
Naruto looked up at the man before him. He was frozen from the pressure of his chakra, unable to move or do much, not even blink. His shadow overcame him much like his chakra and his bright red sharingan.