Obito-Sensei Chapter 45
Nice To Meet The New You
As we are cousins, Lord of Lightning, so too have our countries been cousins since their genesis. Lightning high and reliable, and Fire wide and rich. Though we have come to strife in the past, as all families must, we have never perceived it as a lasting bruise. Our people have been happy and our shinobi prosperous, and in a world with so many uncertainties those two constants have seemed as sure as the seasons as we have both grown secure in wealth and friendly competition. More than any other nation in this world we are equals who have and must live in harmony while our neighbors to the east and west squabble, divide, and lessen themselves with foolish conflict. Even the clashing of our shinobi has been proof of our partnership, for what wars could compare? No other nation could hope to hold such talent as our Kage of the Hidden Leaf and Cloud...
###
"There're a lot of shinobi in this city," Karin noted. She was sitting on one of the beds they'd pushed up to the corner of the room, her legs crossed, and Sakura looked over at her as she spoke. The hotel they'd found had been cheap and squat, but it had enough rooms to comfortably host them and wasn't too far from anywhere in the city to be inconvenient. The manager had given Zabuza a dubious look when he'd taken his sword into the lobby, but Sasuke had offered an extra thousand Ryo for him to keep quiet about it.
Sakura doubted the man would stay quiet, truly, but she figured Sasuke knew what he was doing. He'd always been a quick thinker. Maybe he was sure that news of the sword spreading around wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.
"How many?" Naruto asked. Karin frowned. Sakura vaguely understood how her sensory jutsu worked, but it still amazed her that the girl could just sit there and pick up chakra signatures throughout Fukami City. Karin had mentioned before that she was sensitive, and Sakura sometimes wondered how she would have fared in the same situation. When she'd been younger, even just a year ago, she'd been very aware of the gap between her and others; how much worse would that have been if she could have felt their chakra and compared it to hers?
They were all gathered in the same room, listening to Karin's report. Naruto was on Sakura's right, and Haku on her left, while Sasuke and Zabuza had taken up positions on either side of the room. Suigetsu was sitting on the floor, looking bored.
"I'd say… probably about twenty-five, including us," Karin said, furrowing her brow. "Not as many as in a village, obviously, but Waves must be busy right now." She slowly lifted her arm, pointing in two different directions, to the south and east. "Most of them are spread out, isolated, but in those directions there are two groups of four. Large variety in their chakra too, though the south is… violent. I would guess that both are teams from other villages. The composition matches."
"Two more teams from other villages?" Suigetsu asked from the floor. "And then another, what, ten beyond that? Man, this place isn't that interesting."
Other villages. The thought gave Sakura some pause. Was there any chance they could be from the Leaf? It seemed unlikely, but Waves was rather close to Fire. It would share a border if not for the sea.
"Most have probably been hired by private corporations to provide security," Zabuza said, and the idea brought Sakura some peace. The older shinobi had propped his sword up against the wall at his side, and he crossed his arms as he spoke. Sakura had only been on one mission with him before, but the man wasn't exactly personable. He was a ninja from a different time; in this room filled with younger shinobi, including her, he stuck out like a sore thumb.
Still, she was glad to have him. Haku trusted him with his life, and even if the Amekage had put Sasuke in charge, having someone with more experience along made her feel more secure. "But two full teams means something else." He ran his hand over the bandages hiding his mouth, scratching beneath one of them. "Could be competition. Could be something worse."
"We'll want to get eyes on them," Sasuke said, his voice low. "Figure out which it is, before it becomes a problem." He drummed his fingers against his forearm. "But if they're not going to get in our way, it'll be best to just stay out of theirs. We're here for something pretty specific."
Why was it, Sakura sometimes wondered, that Sasuke had grown up the quickest of them? Maybe it was because he was chasing something more concrete than the rest of them, chasing his brother. Maybe there'd been something to that.
"Speaking of," she said, drawing the room's attention to her. She didn't flinch away. That was who she was now, the center of the room, the girl with two swords who yearned to join the Akatsuki. After a year of trying, Sakura could pretend to be herself flawlessly. "I don't want this to turn into a month-long mission," she said with a grin, and Naruto laughed. "Does anyone have a good idea on how to get a lead?" She twirled some of her long pink hair around her finger: she'd enjoyed growing it out, and Haku had given her some tips on keeping it straight and out of the way no matter what. "I suppose we could just run around town buying up everything in sight, but I doubt that'd be efficient."
"Shopping would be nice," Haku mused with a muted smile. "But I have been considering something."
Sasuke gestured, wordlessly opening the floor, and Haku took the opening the same way he did everything: gracefully. "The currency you found came through the black market, from those smugglers," he said, making eye contact with Sasuke. Sakura's teammate slowly nodded. She was sure he'd already caught onto what Haku was saying. "That implies that the false script is being released into that or a grey market first, before it filters into the general population. Those smugglers would have spent it at lawful establishments, after all, and from there it would have been untraceable without the resources of a nation's government." Haku smiled guilessly. "So our best bet is to sell something of value on the black market here in Waves, and see if any of the counterfeit bills turn up. From there, we would have a more direct line to their producers."
"Sounds clever," Suigetsu drawled. "But I doubt it'd be that simple." He gestured around. "What the hell do we have to sell?"
"I was sold on the black market once," Haku said matter of factly, and Sakura blinked. That was something she hadn't known, even after a year in Amegakure. She looked at Haku with new eyes, and the boy gave her an amused glance. "But I think I'm a little too old to be convincing property now. Nonetheless, that should give you an idea of what we could offer. Perhaps some of our ninja tools?"
"Hmm," Sasuke said. Sakura followed his line of sight, and felt a laugh bubble up in her chest. "We do have something that's worth quite a bit."
"Absolutely not," Zabuza growled, laying one arm as if to shield his sword from Sasuke's sight.
"It is one of the Seven Swords of the Mist, isn't it?" Sakura found herself asking, and Zabuza's glare switched over to her. "I bet there's all sorts of people who'd love to ransom it back." She leaned forward, feeling a little devious. "That's a good idea, Sasuke."
"It's not happening," Zabuza said, trying to sound intimidating. The fact he was starting to shield the sword with his body as though it were a defenceless child somewhat took away from the attempt. "I'm not letting Kubikiribocho leave my side."
Sakura knew it had had a name long before Zabuza had picked it up, but that didn't make the man's tone any less funny. The others in the room were getting in on it now too, even Karin, looking at the man and his sword with amused grins. Appropriately, it was Haku who restored some clarity.
"We wouldn't really sell it, Master Zabuza," he said, and Zabuza huffed, grumbling under his breath. "We would only make the offer, and see if any counterfeit currency appeared in response. And if we were forced to go all the way to a handoff…" He shrugged with a smile. "The black market has no legal protection, and is filled with the scum of the earth. We could just steal it back. There are seven of us, after all."
Zabuza narrowed his eyes. "You know it may not be that simple, Haku."
"May not." Haku slipped off the bed. "But it could be. Let me make the attempt. I'll go alone, so as not to spook anyone. In a city like this, I have no doubt illegal markets are thriving. I'll spread around that I have the Kubikiribocho, and that I'm looking for a serious buyer. We will see if that leads anywhere."
She looked to Sasuke for permission. Sakura found herself a little hesitant to let Haku go. Even if, objectively, the boy was one of the strongest among them, letting him loose into a city with more than a dozen other shinobi gave her a bad feeling. They had no idea who else was out there.
But it was an irrational feeling, and Sasuke didn't share her hesitation. A moment of thought more, and he nodded.
"Be safe about it," he said, and Haku started slowly moving towards the door. "When should we start worrying if you don't come back?"
"It may not take much time," Haku said. "Or I could be gone for some time. There's no saying. Karin, will you track me?"
The redhead nodded. "Of course," she said. "Can you signal to me if you need help? Just a sharp spike?"
Haku laughed. "Of course." He looked around at all of them, his gaze lingering on Sakura, and she felt her heart speed up at the eye contact that lasted just a moment too long to be ordinary. "Have a good dinner, will you? Don't mind me. Tomorrow may be eventful, if I'm fortunate."
And with that abrupt goodbye, he shut the door behind him and left the rest of the Rain team alone. Naruto gave Sakura a suspicious look out of the corner of his eye.
"What was that?" he asked, and Sakura was astonished to feel the beginning of a blush creep onto her cheek. She shook her head and helplessly shrugged.
"I've got no idea," he said, but Naruto's suspicion didn't abate. He sat back, eyes narrowed, and Sakura almost giggled at the childish look.
"Well, I guess we got a whole bunch of waiting around on our schedule then, huh?" Suigetsu asked. It seemed that he was only lying flatter and flatter over time. "Anyone bring any cards?"
"Shinobi shouldn't play cards," Zabuza muttered, and Suigetsu propped himself up on his arms to grin at the man.
"Yeah, shinobi should be too busy killing people, right?" he shot back, and Zabuza huffed. Karin was still sitting on the bed, her eyes closed as she sensed chakra around the city, but Sakura saw her start to smile at the Hozuki's tone. "You should let me borrow that sword if we do end up having to sell it, old man. That way you won't have to watch it leave your hands."
"Not in a hundred years," Zabuza said, his voice ice. Before things could fragment more, Sasuke spoke up.
"I didn't know that about Haku," he said, looking around at the rest of them. "Did you?"
Everyone except Zabuza shook their heads or shrugged; the older man was a statue. Sakura remembered an old conversation, the night that had started all of this so long ago.
"Haku told me that you saved him from the Land of Water," she said, and Zabuza shifted to glance at her. "When we first met. Did he mean that you bought him off the market?"
"What, like a slave?" Suigetsu made a face. "That's fucked up."
Sakura wasn't sure Zabuza would respond, but after a too-long pause, he spoke. "I did not buy him," he rumbled. "He caught my eye in the streets. Probably when he was being moved from one auction to another." Everyone including Sakura leaned in; the man's voice had an almost hypnotic effect, they way he ground from one syllable to the next. "I thought that he looked like he had potential." He uncrossed his arms. "He reminded me of… me. So I took him."
"Did you kill the people who had him?" Naruto asked, uncharastically intense. Zabuza's mouth pressed into a line.
"Some." His nostrils flared beneath the bandages hiding most of his face. "The rest ran."
"...Good," Naruto eventually declared, settling back. "People who would sell someone, especially when they were just a kid…" For a second, a sneer crossed his face. "I guess I'm glad you found him."
"We'll be dealing with those people, if Haku's plan works out," Sasuke pointed out. "Keep that in mind. They won't be trusted." He smiled dourly. "We are hoping they'll pay us off with fake money."
"Yeah," Naruto muttered. "I'll remember."
"Yeesh!" Suigetsu said from the floor. "You guys can't go one conversation without talking about this sort of shit, can you?" He jumped to his feet. "Let's get some damn food or something! I saw something called 'fish and chips,' what the heck do you think that is? Let's go get some!"
"It's probably fish and some chips," Sakura said flatly, and Suigetsu smiled at her.
"Ah, but what kind of fish? How're they cooked? Same goes for the chips!" he declared. "That's the mystery that should get us the fuck out of here!"
"Don't you only need water?" Sasuke said, but he pushed off the wall nonetheless. Suigetsu gave him an offended look.
"I mean, technically, yeah!" he said indignantly. "But I still like eating food! Don't you only need, like, tofu?"
"That's fair." Sasuke grinned. "Well, let's get some food then. We can figure out something more afterwards." He turned to Karin. "Anyone to worry about?"
"Doesn't seem like it," Karin said, opening her eyes and stretching. "They're moving around, but none towards us, or with a definite pattern. I think for now everyone is just minding their own business."
"Perfect time then," Naruto said. "Let's go!"
Fish and chips ended up being breaded and fried processed fish, which wasn't too shocking, but the "chips" were greasy deep fried strips of potatoes, which Sakura felt somewhat jilted by: they weren't chips at all, by her reckoning. They bought a half dozen from the vendor, Zabuza declining to eat and Naruto taking two, and retreated back to the lobby of the hotel to eat in peace, out of the mild drizzle that had moved in on the city alongside low hanging dark clouds.
The hotel might have been cheap, but the lobby was nice: it was a wide space dominated by two faux-marble pillars that divided the room in two, and it had several communal seating areas that offered a nice view of the street through tall windows that covered most of the wall. Team Seven ate their questionable seafood, chatted with their friends, and tried to enjoy the light patter of rain.
"I'm heading up," Zabuza had said before they'd even started eating, and no amount of needling from Suigetsu had dissuaded him. Sakura wondered if he just didn't like leaving his sword alone. When Suigetsu finished, he chased after him, and eventually Naruto left as well, explaining he wanted to see if he could get more out of Zabuza.
That left Sasuke, Sakura and Karin downstairs and luxuriating in the quiet when the redhead made a soft sound and swivelled her head towards the entrance.
"Something up?" Sasuke asked. He looked at Sakura, and she started to stand up. She jerked her head upwards, wondering if she should head upstairs, and Sasuke frowned, waiting for Karin to respond.
"I was wrong, I guess," the girl said with a nervous laugh. "One of the four-man teams repositioned a little. I didn't pay it any mind, but now one of them is working their way towards us. Very dark chakra." She frowned. "There's no… well, it's not like killing intent. They're focused, but not murderous or anything."
"Hmm." Sasuke's lips twisted. "If they're heading towards us, they know something is up." He stood up, and Sakura and Karin did as well. "We'll meet them here. I don't think most people would try to start something inside of a hotel. Maybe they're coming to negotiate, or figure out why we're here. If it seems suspicious, we'll grab everyone else."
He looked at them, and Sakura saw a hint of doubt in him. Sasuke had always been able to act like he knew everything, but being in charge of them was something that was still new to him. She nodded, reassuring him.
"It's the right move," she said. Karin softly agreed. "At least, I think it is. If we grab everyone, they could think we're getting ready for a fight." She glanced at Karin. "If they're coming right for us, they probably have a sensor too. Or they could be one themselves."
"Right," Karin muttered. "Well, they're getting close. They'll be here any minute." She started pacing. "I don't like it."
"It'll be fine," Sasuke said in a confident tone. "There's three of us. If they were coming to fight, they would have come in force." He gestured for Karin to sit. "Let's just see what it is, alright?"
Karin sat back down, taking a deep breath and nodding. Sakura wondered what in her life had made her so nervous. She knew the girl was an Uzumaki like Naruto's mother; what had she seen in her time as a refugee, before she'd come to Rain? Maybe Naruto knew, but Sakura had never pressed it.
They waited in tense silence for about thirty seconds as Sasuke and Sakura took up positions on either side of the lobby, standing in the shadows of the pillar. Eventually, Karin took another deep breath.
"They're right outside," she said. The rain had picked up and so had the wind, driving it through the city streets in great sheets of water. There were scores of people rushing for cover outside, and Sakura couldn't see anyone remarkable among them. If the shinobi really was right there, they were probably shorter. Or just exceptionally good at disguising themselves. Maybe they were under a henge?
The automatic doors dinged and opened, and a half dozen people rushed inside, shaking the rain out of their hair and laughing. They looked to be tourists, mostly younger and carrying backpacks, and they meandered towards the front desk, obviously interested in a place to stay. However, one of the people who'd come inside stayed behind, lingering in the doorway before he stepped fully within.
Sakura sucked in a harsh breath as Shikamaru Nara made eye contact with her.
"Wow," Shikamaru said. She didn't have to see Sasuke to know he was having the same reaction. Even fifteen feet away, she could feel him tense up. "I guess I couldn't believe it till I saw it for myself."
He was older, taller, but there hadn't been even a second where Sakura hadn't known it was him. His hair was still the same old pineapple, and his dark eyes were still filled with intelligent amusement, like there was a joke that only he could hear following him. He looked between her and Sasuke and took another step into the lobby, both his hands visible and empty.
The silence stretched, the sounds of the tourists negotiating with the manager at the front desk falling away, and Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Anything to say?" he asked, spreading his hands. Sakura fought the urge to lower her hand to her sword. That was insane, obviously. She was just nervous. After a year, she'd rehearsed this sort of meeting a million times.
And yet, the fact that it was happening now still filled her with dread.
"Shikamaru," Sasuke eventually said, his voice level. Shikamaru looked him over, his eyes lingering on Sasuke's flak jacket. "Hope you're doing well."
"Very well," Shikamaru said, still cautiously entering the lobby. Sakura tried to breathe out her tension, and some of the Nara's vanished as well; she realized her whole body had been tense, and he'd picked up on it. "How about you?"
"Okay," Sasuke said with a shrug. The conversation was unbearably artificial. "We didn't expect to run into anyone from the Leaf down here." He smiled. "I guess that was dumb of us, huh?"
"Pretty dumb," Shikamaru agreed. "It's practically just down the road, after all." He looked at Sakura. "What about you, Sakura? Hope you're doing alright."
"Fine. What are you doing here, Shikamaru?" she asked, desperate to cut to the point. His face tightened. She was too busy calculating to worry about it. If Shikamaru was here, that meant Ino and Choji and Asuma were here. She wasn't sure how Asuma stacked up to Zabuza and Haku, but she was sure he was more than a match for the rest of them. And Ino meant that they had to worry about the Yamanaka mind-control jutsu.
But wait. If it was Shikamaru's team, how had he found them?
She looked to Karin, and the girl shook her head, reading Sakura's anxiety in her chakra. Shikamaru had come alone: that meant they didn't have to worry about Ino at least. Sakura tried to fully relax, but it just wasn't happening. How had Shikamaru known they were here? Was Asuma a sensor?
"I wanted to see if you guys were really here," he said. "And I guess to see how you were doing." He leaned against a couch as Sakura focused. Watch his shadow, she thought. If he tries anything, it will be that. The room was well lit and he was about fifteen feet away, the three of them forming a triangle as Karin stayed seated in the corner, but the shadow of the furniture he was against could be used to hide something. "You seem healthy."
"I'd say we're doing pretty well," Sasuke said. He smiled without smiling. "I made jonin, actually."
"Wow." Shikamaru didn't sound impressed. "That was pretty fast, but I guess I should still congratulate you." His posture relaxed further. "I did have a question from someone else to ask."
"Yeah?" Sakura said. "What's that?"
Shikamaru shrugged. "Are you guys happy?"
"Happy?" Sasuke asked, and Shikamaru gave him a rude look.
"In Rain," he said. "We spent…" He laughed. "We spent the last year wondering why you ran away, what made you do it. You're at least happy with it, right?" His hands curled into fists, and the tension was quite suddenly back. "It was worth it, right?"
"I'm happy," Sakura said. Sasuke remained silent. "We have friends. Not as many as we did in Konoha, but... we're trying to make the world a better place." She took a step forward. "Shikamaru, it's good to see you. But if you came by yourself to ask us to come back, that's just not happening. I'm sorry."
Shikamaru frowned and pinned her with an unreadable look. Slowly, he shook his head.
"See," he said. "I was worried you'd say something like that." Even Sakura could feel his chakra darken, like a cloud had passed in front of the sun. She reacted without thinking. As she began to move forward, moving her hand down to unsheathe her sword, Shikamaru snapped his fingers and spoke.
"So I guess I'm sorry too."
Sakura locked in place. She looked down and cursed. The floor was hardwood with the occasional carpet. She hadn't seen a shadow approach, but now one was wrapped around her foot. The same thing had happened to Sasuke. Shikamaru had moved his shadow in between the cracks of the wood, concealing it until the last second. Now, there was an obvious web of darkness linking every shinobi in the room, including Karin.
As her body froze, the high window behind Shikamaru cracked. It was a single point that fractured, sending fissures racing down the huge window. Something invisible and high-energy had passed through the glass, Sakura realized. Sasuke could see it: his Sharingan was active now. But he couldn't move.
He twitched, and Karin called out from the couch she was stuck to. "A shot!" she said. "Sasuke, they shot something-!"
"Sasuke's not here right now," Sasuke said, and Sakura watched as Shikamaru's shadow withdrew from him. Shikamaru grunted, making a Ram sign, and Sakura's own paralysis gained an active weight, almost pressing her down. Sakura's teammate turned towards Karin with a grim look. "If you'd like, I can take a message."
It took a second for Sakura to recognize the tone. "Ino?" she whispered, and Sasuke turned to her instead, Sharingan flashing.
"Hey," Ino said in Sasuke's voice. "What's up, Sakura?"
"Sorry about this," Shikamaru said, backing towards the exit. His jutsu had improved, Sakura realized with a burst of anger. She wasn't mirroring his actions; the shadows were simply binding her. But he was sweating: it was an obvious strain. Sasuke, no, Ino strode after him, moving confidently in a body that wasn't hers. "But we're gonna take him with us," Shikamaru continued. "I hear there's a whole bunch of you here, so we've gotta get going."
"We'll catch you," Sakura said, too furious to scream. She almost wanted to chase them.
Or did she want Sasuke to be taken away? The thought gave her pause.
"We don't have a choice. Even if there's more of you… I really hope you and Naruto will come too, Sakura," Ino said, stopping at the door. Sakura could feel her anger start to burn her reason away, but she forced it down like a door slamming in her mind. She had to stay smart: being stupid had gotten them into this mess in the first place. "I don't really care why you left. If it was your parents or that mission to Waterfall or the Chunin Exam or whatever." Her emotions in Sasuke's face were bizarre to see. "We just want you back."
Sakura didn't respond. The Sharingan shifted down. "You've still got that knife," Ino said with a smile. "You're still carrying part of Konoha with you. It wouldn't be that hard."
"It's not part of Konoha," Sakura said, her whole body vibrating as she tried to break from Shikamaru's shadow. "It's part of you."
Ino blinked, and then she and Shikamaru turned and ran. The Shadow Possession stayed active for fifteen, twenty seconds, and then finally shattered. Sakura couldn't help but be impressed by the range.
The second the shadow was gone, Sakura burst out into the street, with Karin right behind her.
"Which way?" she barked, but Karin was already shaking her head.
"They're way ahead of us already. Already meeting up with the other three. Two, I guess," she said. Sakura snarled, flicking her head towards the hotel.
"Get the rest," she said, and Karin obeyed her without question. "We'll chase them down."
"What're you gonna do when we catch them, though?" Karin asked, turning away. "What if they don't leave Sasuke's body?"
"Ino will have to. She'll be a liability otherwise. Go," Sakura said. Karin ran back inside, past the hotel manager who was coming out to inspect the broken window.
"Jeez," he muttered, looking Sakura over. He looked like he was going to say something, but something in Sakura's face made him reconsider. He turned back, shaking his head and talking under his breath.
"Damn shinobi."
###
When Sasuke woke up, he found himself looking at a muddy forest floor racing by below him. It took him time to understand where he was; his consciousness had been turned off like a lightbulb, and everything came slowly and without purpose for the first couple seconds.
He was being carried through the forests of the Land of Fire, he eventually realized. The weather had taken a turn for the worse, pouring down sleet and rain and turning the ground to semi-liquid muck as the trees shook with strong winds. His feet were tied, bound with rope and ninja wire, and his arms were secured to his sides, leaving him capable of not much beyond moving his head and torso. He twisted around, trying to figure out who was carrying him over their shoulder like a rucksack.
Long black hair: he didn't recognize it at first glance. But it definitely wasn't Asuma, or anyone else on Shikamaru's team. He sucked in a deep breath, life fully returning.
They hadn't blindfolded him; that hadn't been smart. Maybe they'd been in too much of a hurry. If he caught someone's eye-
He looked back, and locked eyes with Hinata Hyuuga.
The girl's Byakugan was active, her pupiless eyes darting around, but they settled on Sasuke when he looked back. He'd never seen that kind of expression on Hinata's face before; it was something at the intersection of anger and sorrow and confusion and joy, and even his Sharingan couldn't decipher it.
They were stuck like that, staring at each other for several seconds as they hurtled through the forest. Sasuke knew Hinata understood exactly what his eyes were capable of, but she didn't look away. Didn't even blink.
Why? To see what he'd do? He should have placed a genjutsu on her immediately, something to make her stop running, or deactivate her Byakugan, or done anything but stare at him.
But Sasuke didn't do a thing, and Hinata spoke.
"Sensei," she said, her voice calm and level. "He's awake."
"No one look at him." It took Sasuke a second to recognize the voice, helped along by Hinata's obvious familiarity in her addressal. Kurenai Yuhi was carrying him. That meant this was a joint team. Four shinobi, like Karin had said, but split between teams Eight and Ten. He wouldn't have expected them to split the trio.
He had thought Choji would have been backing Shikamaru up. Stupid of him. Stupid to make assumptions, stupid not to call everyone together the second a single shinobi had approached, stupid and cocky. Itachi never would have made that mistake.
"Bringing me back to the Leaf?" he said, not letting any of his self recrimination show. He looked around and listened, trying to figure out where the rest of the team was. Hinata was still directly behind him at the rear of the group, though she'd followed her sensei's orders and averted her eyes. Ino was to his right, Shikamaru to the left. Diamond formation, VIP or captive escort, textbook. They were going fast, as fast as they could safely could while carrying him; if Sasuke remembered his maps right, and he did since he had an eidetic memory when it came to what he'd seen, Konoha was only a couple hundred miles to the north.
"Where else?" Kurenai said, huffing. "It's where you belong. Be a good little rogue ninja and don't struggle, won't you?"
"This is a bad idea," Sasuke said, feeling Kurenai stiffen under him. "And I bet you guys knew it. You're too smart not to." He looked back at Hinata. "Hinata, you must have seen. I have six subordinates with me, including Naruto and Sakura. They'll chase after me, and they won't have to worry about carrying someone. You probably only had, what, a thirty second head start? How close are they now?"
"Outside of my range," Hinata responded, still so sure and clear, and Sasuke couldn't help but smile.
"And how far is that now?" he asked, and he could swear the girl blushed.
"She's not gonna tell you that, you damn moron!" Ino shouted from his right. Sasuke tried to twist to look at her, but Kurenai shook him and prevented him from looking east. "All you gotta know is that we're winning this race!"
"That's unlikely," Sasuke said. Was he actually calm or just pretending? He wasn't sure himself. "One of my team is a sensor: their jutsu extends for several kilometers, so they'll likely be able to track you no matter how far ahead you get. Carrying me will slow you down too, especially if I do start struggling."
"Someone knock him out again," Shikamaru groaned. "I'm not interested in this crap."
"I don't want you guys to get hurt," Sasuke said sincerely. Hinata looked at him again, and once again he didn't try to hypnotize her. "You're outnumbered. I understand that you must have seen us and thought this was the perfect opportunity, and you might have been right, but it's not going to work out today. Maybe you can try again another day."
"It's too late for that," Shikamaru said, drawing closer as some sleet splattered across the back of Sasuke's head. "We've already committed."
"I'm their commander," Sasuke said with all the authority someone bound and being carried through a freezing forest could muster. "If I tell them to stand down, they will."
"Is that why you left?" Kurenai suddenly spat. "Because you weren't promoted? I suppose Rain was only too happy to give you that jacket." She and Ino slid across a patch of mud like they were wearing skates, chakra carrying them across the muck without friction. "Something like that makes me wonder if we should even take you back."
Before Sasuke could make a retort, Hinata spoke.
"No," she said softly. "That wasn't it." He felt like an insect on a pin under her eyes. "You were chasing your brother, weren't you Sasuke?"
He narrowed his eyes. Hinata kept speaking. She looked tired: keeping her Byakugan activated while running at full speed through a dense forest was probably a significant exertion, but her voice didn't betray any of it. "I'm sure Shikamaru told you we've all been thinking about it. We couldn't understand what had happened, but I think each of you had your own reasons. And I think the only thing that could have driven you out of the village like that would have been your brother, right?" Her eyes were knives, cutting right through him. "Itachi Uchiha is working for Rain, and like an idiot you chased after him."
Sasuke blinked. Could he tell them the truth? No, he decided after a heartbeat. Not with Suigetsu, Karin, and Zabuza chasing after them. If they did turn around, it would be inexplicable. There'd be questions, and no time to prepare convincing lies.
The Amekage already knew the truth, but no one else did. If that information spread, they would never be trusted. Sakura would never get into the Akatsuki. They'd be stuck in Rain forever, or until they defected back to the Leaf with nothing to show for their efforts. Failures on both fronts. His hands curled into fists.
"You're right," he said, and Hinata sucked in a breath. Validation blinded her, and Sasuke felt a flash of uncharacteristic guilt. "I told you… back at Sakura's birthday, that I met Itachi in Waterfall. He told me that he was there working for the Land of Rain. When Sakura told me that she was defecting the next day, I asked to go with her. I was determined to find him." He closed his eyes. "I've got nothing to show for it."
"Then why did Sakura and Naruto leave?" Shikamaru asked, always so careful with his words and methodical in unearthing the truth. Sasuke breathed out, not wanting to look at Hinata any more. He didn't like how it made him feel.
"Sakura was obsessed with Rain's ideals. Even more so now, having lived there. She really does think they can make the world a better place. Naruto…" He chuckled, and Kurenai roughly hoisted him into a more uncomfortable position. "We dragged him along. He didn't want us to go alone. He told the Amekage when we got there that he was there to make sure we would be okay. He cared more about that than keeping his father happy." Sasuke felt his throat grow thick. Even if it was only a partial truth, telling the truth to people he was sure despised him still unlocked something in his chest that he was sure was gone.
'This must have been how Itachi felt,' he thought, the painful realization sudden and harsh. The thought of drawing closer to his brother in any way filled him with equal elation and terror.
"If that's true, that was pretty messed up of you," Ino bit out, and Sasuke breathed out.
"Yeah," he said. "It was."
Hinata's eyes narrowed a little, her gait changing, and Sasuke smiled, unable to keep some sorrow from leaking into it. "They're catching up, right?"
"We can still beat them," Hinata muttered, but the surety that had turned her eyes and words to steel was fading. "They're at the edge of my range."
"Let's pour it on, then," Kurenai said, putting on another burst of speed. "Once we're home, we can get Ino's family to find out the truth."
But after another minute, Hinata was only looking more concerned. His friends were catching up, and he didn't know how to feel about it. Struggling to control his emotions for the first time in a year, Sasuke had an epiphany.
"You guys weren't in Wave for us," he muttered, and he felt Kurenai look over at him. "There's no way you could have known we were there, and if you had, the Hokage would have sent a different team." A team that most likely would have had instructions to let them get away, he internally amended. Maybe even Obito himself. He opened his eyes, able to face the world again, to be the person he needed to be here and now.
"You were there for the counterfeiters," he said with absolute confidence, and Hinata almost tripped.
"So, that's Rain's work?' Kurenai asked, betraying that he was right. Sasuke shook his head. Konoha was aware of the money too, just like Nagato had feared. But, in this case, this one impossible situation, that was to their advantage.
"No. We were sent to track them down as well… and deliver them to the Land of Fire." The gears in his head were turning fast enough that they might burst into flames. This could work. This could be perfect.
"What?" Hinata whispered, and Sasuke started talking faster. He could feel Ino and Shikamaru's attention on him as well: his words had thrown the whole team off.
"The Amekage want more legitimacy in the Five Nations," Sasuke said. "I discovered some of the counterfeit currency myself and was assigned this mission to capture whoever was responsible." The words poured out of him: he was sure this was his last chance. "And I bet you were sent with the same objective. The timing matches: the money must have recently begun widespread dissemination, and I and a member of the military police probably happened to run into it at around the same time. You're a modified team with two different interrogation specialists, alongside a capture and tracking ninja." He laughed. "Sorry to put it so coldly."
"What the heck are you saying?" Ino asked, and Sasuke smiled wildly.
"We've got the same mission," he laughed. The Chunin Exam flashed before his eyes. "We're not enemies. We should team up."
"Eh?" Ino was articulate as ever, and Sasuke heard another laugh escape him. This one was definitely a giggle.
"We'd be stupid not to. Eleven shinobi after one goal? We could accomplish anything." He twisted. "Listen, try to kidnap us afterwards if you want, but I'd offer our help free of charge. Our whole objective is to give you guys the people responsible for the counterfeit script anyway!" Another giggle. Maybe he was cracking under the pressure, or just couldn't believe in this kind of serendipity. "Put me down. Everyone can win here."
"Nice try," Kurenai said. Sasuke's stomach dropped. "But that's obviously absurd. Rain wants the expertise of the counterfeiters, I'm sure."
"He's telling the truth, sensei," Hinata said, and Sasuke's gaze snapped back to her. "At least, I think he is." She bit her lip. "And they're catching up. They'll beat us to the village at this rate."
A pause. They kept running. For a grim second, Sasuke worried that his words had fallen on ears deafened by hatred.
"Damn." Kurenai muttered, before saying it louder. "Damn!" she almost shouted. Sasuke wisely stayed silent. Adding pressure at this point could tip things in the wrong direction.
"We went off half-cocked," Shikamaru said, closing in from the side. "Kurenai-sensei, let's drop him. Better to meet them on our own terms than have them catch us."
Kurenai let out a frustrated grunt and shucked Sasuke from her shoulder. He hit the ground and rolled, covering his cloak in mud and sleet as the Konoha team slid to a halt around him. He looked around, taking them in, and smiled. They were in the center of a small clearing, surrounded by trees and mud.
"Could someone get my hands?" he said, lifting his bound arms and legs. "It'll make a better impression."
WIthout looking at him, Kurenai bent down and untied the knots at his back and ankles, and the rope and wire came free. She withdrew, pocketing the material, and Sasuke cautiously rose to his feet.
"Let me do the talking," he said. "As far as Karin's concerned, you guys just came to a stop and surrounded me. They're not going to like that."
"Sasuke…" Ino said, and he looked at her. She narrowed her eyes. "You're not going to screw us, right?"
"If I'd wanted to, I just wouldn't have said a thing." He shook out his sore hands. "You're still my classmates. You're still my friends. At least, I think so. This'll be the best way." He flexed his fingers, trying to get the blood flowing again. "Promise."
When his team arrived, they arrived in style.
The first sign was the Kubikiribocho winging through the air, a tremendous hunk of chakra-filled steel that buried itself in a tree behind them. In an instant, without a sense of movement or transition, Zabuza was atop it, squatting and glaring down at the five of them, and at Sasuke in particular. He had to struggle not to let out another laugh: the man looked completely furious.
Sakura was next to arrive, sliding in with both of her blades unsheathed. As she came to a stop, muddy water gathered around them and created two whirling whip-blades of water and dark ice, shining in the sleet. They cracked out, and Naruto came in at her side, alighting on a nearby tree and staring down, his hands together, ready to unleash an army of shadow clones.
Karin stayed back, as she was supposed to, so Suigetsu was the last to arrive on the scene. He slammed into the tree next to Naruto so hard that the whole thing shook and dislodged a rain of needles and half-frozen water, and he leveled both hands at the Leaf team surrounding Sasuke, index fingers extended and thumbs raised.
"Listen, there's two ways this can go!" he shouted as Sasuke looked up at him, bemused. Sakura was the first to realize what was happening, marginally lowering her swords, but Suigetsu kept talking, obviously caught up in the moment. "You can drop him and wander on back to your shithole of a treehouse, or I can blow your goddamn brains out! I think it's a pretty easy-!"
"Suigetsu," Sasuke coughed, and the Hozuki paused, actually taking the situation in, Sasuke's lack of bonds, the way Hinata, Shikamaru, Ino, and Kurenai were arrayed around him. He blinked, and then a moment later dropped his finger pistols.
"Sasuke…" he said. At his side a grin spread across Naruto's face. "Did you make them agree to team up or something?"
Sasuke shrugged. "Yup."
"Fuck." Suigetsu flopped down on the branch, dropping his finger pistols. "Now why the hell did you do that?"
"Hey, we're not thrilled about it either," Ino shot up at the boy, and he sneered down at her.
"Yeah, but he's convincing, right?" he grumbled. "Man, I never get to shoot anyone…"
"You've got to be kidding." Zabuza dropped from the tree, yanking his blade out on the way down and landing without a sound. Sasuke had never seen him ready to fight before, and he was surprised to hear the older man's chakra was loud; it flickered around him with a deep red hue and was constantly letting out a low groan, like a tree tipping over. Sasuke had never seen someone passively manifest visible chakra like that before, not even Obito. "They just snatched you up." His eyes had no humanity in them, and Sasuke stepped towards him, putting himself between Zabuza and the Leaf ninja. "We have to teach them a lesson."
"It would be a waste of time," Sasuke declared, and to his relief the team from Konoha stayed silent. "We're after the same thing: they're here for the counterfeiters as well. I've decided that we'll be best served working together. Our mission was to deliver those responsible to the Land of Fire regardless; shinobi from the Hidden Leaf will serve just as well."
Zabuza's glare intensified, and Sasuke matched him, his Sharingan slowly rotating. They stared each other down, their conversation silent but brutal.
You're young. You're an idiot. You never should have been in charge of this mission. Zabuza's chakra was screaming with it. We need to hurt these people, maybe even kill them. No one can attack one of Rain's shinobi and live.
Sasuke sneered. It was possible that all that was true. But the Amekage had put him in charge. He was leading this team: Zabuza was not.
The older man's hand shook, his blade quivering in the air, and then he breathed out, his chakra dissipating. He stood up, resting the blade on his back as sleet poured across them. Everyone else in the clearing, even Kurenai, breathed out as well now that Zabuza's malicious chakra was no longer pressing down on them, squeezing their hearts.
"Then I'm going back," he grunted. "In case Haku returns." He didn't spare another word, just walking past the group and back towards the Land of Waves. Sasuke suppressed a grunt of irritation and kept his eyes locked on his supposed subordinate the whole time, but Zabuza didn't even look at him. He was daring the Leaf team to try again, Sasuke knew, but this time Zabuza wouldn't be there to help. Probably as both a test of the alliance and of a somewhat genuine hope that they'd succeed in kidnapping him if they went for another round.
The man vanished into the forest to the south, and Shikamaru coughed. "He's cheerful," he said dryly, and Sasuke gave him a grin.
"Always," he said, feeling strange and comfortable. Naruto and Sakura approached, but Suigetsu stayed up in his tree. Karin was coming as well, Sasuke could tell: he saw a flash of her red hair in the forest. She was probably more confused than anyone.
"We should head back," Sakura said, still watching the Leaf team cautiously. She let her blades retract, the water and ice vanishing in the sleet. "It sucks out here."
"That's all you're gonna say?" Ino asked, and Sakura flinched. "'We should head back?!'" She stepped forward, her face twisting in fury. "Even if we've got the same mission-!"
"Can we at least do this like, out of the rain?" Naruto quickly asked, stepping in front of Sakura and taking the brunt of Ino's anger. Sakura didn't say a thing: Sasuke couldn't imagine what she was thinking. "Let's go back, we can go to your guys' hotel, and take care of it there, all right?" He ran a hand through his hair and brought it away covered in ice and water and a couple pine needles. "This is a really crappy place to have that kind of conversation, right?"
"Oooh, I'm hurt," Suigetsu said, finally dropping out of the tree with a grin. "Trying to ditch me for your old buddies?"
"What? You'd be coming too, right?" Naruto asked, apparently genuinely confused, and Suigetsu laughed.
"Not that I think you guys would run for it or something," he said. He gave Hinata a mischievous look. "But they might be dumb enough to try something again."
"It's a good idea," Sasuke said, trying to bring the conversation to a close. He turned and started to walk. "C'mon. We'll get Karin, get back, and forget about this." He looked to Kurenai, his Sharingan deactivating, and the look in her eyes made it clear to him she saw this as a detente at best. He shrugged: that would work for them.
"We can figure out how to cooperate back in Fukami City," he said, and after that he didn't dare to look back.