Chapter Forty
As soon as the attack had been made Sasuke had swung Midori down off of his shoulders in an attempt to keep her out of the line of fire, choosing instead to hold her hand tightly in his own. Sasuke gritted his teeth in irritation as he frantically tried to search the crowd for his companions while doing his best to soothe Kaede who had broken out into a series of high-pitched wails. Several times he had been sure that he had seen a flash of pink and he would have followed it if he hadn't remembered that Sakura's hair was white now.
"Wha's hapning, Tou-chan?" Midori said; a slight whimper in her voice.
Sasuke reached over to gently smooth back his daughter's messy white hair as he continued to cradle Kaede with his other hand.
"We'll be fine. Help me find Ka-chan alright?"
Midori sniffled lightly before scrubbing at her eyes with her sleeve. Once her hand fell away she looked up at Sasuke with a determined nod.
"Leabe it to me. I'we find her."
Before Sasuke could respond someone fell hard into his back, knocking him off balance. Quickly dropping his hand to the ground he managed to catch himself in time to save Kaede from being squished between him and the ground. Gently he sat back up and caressed her hairless head in an attempt to calm her. Despite the chaos unfolding around him, Sasuke somehow managed to coax Kaede into a light sleep though her face remained scrunched up and her fists were tight.
Sasuke was about to stand when a sudden jolt went through his spine causing him to look up, his eyes wide. He already knew what he would find but he couldn't stop the panic that set in when he realized for certain that Midori had, indeed, vanished into the crowd.
"Sasuke!" Sakura called as she waded through the crowds, not caring that she was using her husband's real name in public.
"Sakura!" Sasuke said while pushing a random man out of his way before he grabbed his pale haired wife into as tight a hug as he could without hurting Kaede.
"Thank the Hokage that I found you!" Sakura said as she pulled back. She paused for a moment before she looked up at him. "Sasuke! Where's Midori?"
Sasuke shook his head once, his jaw clenched tight. "I lost track of her in the crowds. She could be anywhere."
Fear clenched at Sakura's heart as her fingers tightened around Sasuke's shirtsleeve. "We have to find her! What if she's attacked, or kidnapped? Or worse!"
"Sakura!" Sasuke said. "Calm down. You take Kaede and head back to the house. Pack everything we absolutely need and then head for the docks. Knowing the Dobe, Hinata either be there with the twins or back at their house. If we're not back with Midori in one hour take the next ferry to the main lands and head for Kaminari, the Lightning country. We'll find you as soon as we can."
Sakura shook her head hard, her eyes pleading. "I can't just leave you behind! And Midori, too! She'll think that I abandoned her!"
"I don't have time to argue with you!" Sasuke said causing Sakura to flinch back and Kaede to whimper. "Take the baby and get out of here! I won't let you senselessly throw your life away!"
Sakura nodded slowly as Sasuke gently transferred the baby sling to Sakura. She was about to leave when Sasuke suddenly grasped her upper arm in a gentle but firm grip.
"Sakura. I will see you again but until then…I…you know…" He broke off and looked away, a scowl of self loathing on his lips.
Sakura just smiled.
"I know." She said. "I love you too."
Unable to stop himself Sasuke pulled his wife into a sudden kiss. Before Sakura even had a chance to return it Sasuke had pulled back.
"Haku!" At his call the younger looking ninja appeared beside them, his head bowed so that only the top of his ANBU mask could be seen.
"Hai, Sasuke-sama."
"Make sure that Sakura and Kaede are able to make it to the dock safely. Naruto and I will meet up with you in an hour. If we aren't there, leave."
"Hai." And with that Haku disappeared in an explosion of water with Sakura and Kaede disappearing in the same way.
With his family gone Sasuke pulled out his contacts, momentarily allowing himself to appreciate the relief from the constant irritation before his eyes turned red once again. This time though they were completed by the twin blades of his Sharingan.
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Yotaro groaned lightly before he pulled his companions to an abrupt stop at the edge of the bridge.
"We have a slight problem."
"Yes we do! You're stopping me from rescuing my son!"
Yotaro's eyebrow lifted slightly before he pointed to the bundle in Yume's arms. "And Itachi's son is going to help us is he?"
All attention suddenly turned to the baby held tightly in the Yondaime's grasp.
"That is a problem," Kaemon said. "One of us will have to stay behind."
"Forget it," Yotaro said. "We'll never be able to decide who will stay. Murasami!"
Silently the large snowy owl dropped from the sky to hover next to his human counterpart.
"What is it Yotaro?" Murasami said as he watched Yotaro kneeling on the ground, his fingers and kunai flashing as they worked on something.
"We need you to fly surveillance," Yotaro said without looking up.
Murasami looked puzzled. "Wasn't I doing so already?"
"Yes," Yotaro said as he stood. "But now I don't want you to get involved at all. If there's a problem tell me and we'll deal with it ourselves."
"But if you get into trouble—."
"You're going to stay out of it." Yotaro said firmly. "I won't have my best friend's son killed because you got over eager."
"I…do not understand."
Instead of responding Yotaro slid his leather bag around Murasami's large neck before securing the second strap behind his wings. Once he was certain it was stable he took Kane from Yume and set the baby gently inside of the bag before zipping it closed. The hole he had made earlier was perfect for the baby to get the needed oxygen but not anywhere near large enough for him to fall out of.
"Do you get it now Murasami?" Yotaro said, his face unusually serious. "I'm trusting you with the most important thing that I currently have in my life. Will you take care of him?"
The large owl swelled with pride before he affectionately nudged his human counterpart gently on the back of his head.
"I will not fail you, young Yuugou."
"Hai," Yotaro said. "I believe you. Now go!"
With the barest brush of wind against their hair Murasami was gone, already several meters high in the overcast sky. Once Yotaro was sure that his guardian-familiar and godson (Yotaro being self-appointed godfather) were safe he shared a glance with his current sensei.
"You've practiced on the symmetry plain," Kaemon said. "True transition is no different."
Yotaro nodded shortly before he motioned towards the bridge. "You two go ahead. I will catch up after my transition."
Yume was all to willing to agree with the younger man; waiting only long enough to clap an encouraging hand on the boy's shoulder before he raced onto the bridge to disappear into the frenzied crowd. Yotaro didn't even have to open his eyes to know that Kaemon had already changed and followed the Hokage but instead of dwelling on the swiftness of Kaemon's transition he merely pushed all thought from his mind in order to focus more fully on his own.
After several tense moments Yotaro felt the skin over his shoulder blades stretch before a pair of pure white wings exploded from his back. Looking down at his hands he noticed that his nails had also lengthened and were as hard as diamonds. Curious he felt his face wondering if he would also have a beak like Kaemon had said Kin, the golden eagle fusion had, but no. It was still his own smooth skin and soft lips.
Like Murasami, Yotaro lifted himself into the air with barely a disturbance and soon he was flying high above the crowds searching for the source of the disturbance.
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Sasuke was beyond irritated as his search once again turned up fruitless. You would think that with his sharingan he would be able to locate one little girl and one stupid oaf amidst eight hundred forty-three people. Apparently though, he wasn't as gifted as he thought. Just as he was about to move on to another part of the bridge a familiar profile caught his eye just in time for him to reach out and snag the blond by his elbow.
"Oi! Dobe!" Sasuke said. "Where have you been? Midori is gone and Sakura thinks she may have been taken."
The blond man turned around in surprise at the unexpected hand on his arm and would have instantly disposed of his 'attacker' if he hadn't caught sight of the young man's face.
"Itachi!"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"You aren't Naruto," He said his grip on the man's arm tightening. "Who are you?"
Yume could only stare in shock at the man he could only conclude was either Itachi or a much changed Uchiha Sasuke.
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Midori's lower lip trembled in fear as she jerked her head from side to side in search of her father. When he had fallen forward she had to jump back in order to avoid being hit. Unfortunately she had tripped over someone's foot and went tumbling backwards. The rapid scrambling of thousands of feet thundered around her on all sides, forcing the young girl to crawl out of the way until she found herself pressed up against the bridge's railing; surrounded by people but completely alone.
"Are you lost?"
Midori squealed and jumped back from the unexpected voice, stumbling slightly over her own feet before she felt the stranger reach out to steady her. Once she had her balance back Midori looked up and up and up at the unknown man, her eyes widening in surprise at his pure white hair and stunning green eyes.
Was he related to her mommy?
"Who'r yu?" Midori said as she tilted her head slightly to the side. "Do yu know my ka-chan?"
The man smiled slightly and Midori flinched unintentionally at the pure lifelessness it held.
"Perhaps. My name is Kimimaro. I am an old acquaintance of Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke."
Midori's eyes brightened. "Tha's my mommy and daddy's real names! Sometimes they forgotted their new names and say dose ones so I knows!" Suddenly turning shy Midori smiled up at Kimimaro through her bangs. "Will yu taked me to daddy?"
Once again Kimimaro smiled his lifeless smile before he reached down to pull the young girl into his arms.
"Of course." He said. "You will be seeing your father soon. Very soon indeed."
End Chapter Forty
Kaliea: Sorry it took so long guys. I've had a lot to do. Anyway, I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter and I'll try and get the next one out soon. No promises of course but I will do my best. Don't forget to review!
Review Answers:
eviltwin222: Wow. I'm grateful you like it so much to spend that kind of time. I hope that you enjoy my newest chapter.
Danny-171984: Kimimaro was able to track them down through Sakura's chakra presence on the symmetry plain. The reason why it took so long was because she and the others were always moving around and because Hikari had put a blocker on her heartstrings. However, now that Sakura's heartstrings can't be felt (by anyone but herself anyway) she can't be tracked anymore. Not that it will be much use at the moment…
waveblader213: I have a theory that all babies are brilliant. They know all, see all, and understand all (which would explain a lot of the looks that they give us non-omniscient people) but some where between six months and one year they stop knowing, seeing, and understanding and have to learn everything all over again. That's why Kane knew he would forget. Currently he's maybe six weeks old (give or take, I'd have to re-read some of my chapters to give you an exact age) so he's still omniscient enough to know that he won't be for much longer.
grim reaper sakura: I liked how the kids bugged Sasuke too. Actually, when I first decided that Sasuke and Sakura were going to adopt them I knew right off that I wanted a scene like that. I guess some wished to come true ;)
Shinobi Darkbeak: I'll do my best.
Neko Grafic: Hm, I wonder…
cbsnumba1: If you think I'm evil to them in this story you ain't seen nothing yet! Keep your eyes out for my other stuff and you'll see what I mean.
Dragon Man 180: He didn't mean that the people that would die were expendable, he just meant that he knew that no matter how fast they were people would still die before they got there. He just wanted to make sure that they got there fast enough to keep the casualties as low as possible.
Princess Ren: Hmm. Who knows? Anything is possible.
Kaliea: Thanks for all of your reviews! Also, for those of you who are wondering "Yuugou" means "fusion" or literally translated (according to my English-Japanese dictionary) "Blending/Union" which fits the Kigakure bloodline to a 'T'. Anyway, till next time, Ja ne!