Chapter 31: The Last Time We Talked

"My past is everything I failed to be."

-Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet

Shikamaru & Team 10-Bounty Station Checkpoint

'This plan is going to hell.'

He can see it in the way Hidan and Kakuzu worry more about preserving Asuma's body to collect the bounty on him, dodges their ambushes of shadow, ink, and ash with seemingly inhuman speed.

Asuma dodges the swing of Hidan's scythe, mocking grin rising to his lips even as he blows out another stream of smog and fire directly at him.

"Fire Release: Ash Jet Flame!"

Hidan crouches under Asuma's barrage of smoke and fire, scoffs as he brushes off flames that manage to nick the ends of his robe.

Kotetsu and Izumo come in from his right and left, a mix of water and snares at hand.

"Water Release: Water Bullet!"

His ritual mark becomes smeared, Hidan cursing their interruption as they briefly pin him in place with chains and kunai.

"Get the hell off me!" He snaps, swings his scythe to tear into them.

The pair crouch out of the way, leap back as the ground below them cracks when he slams the weapon down.

A flash of white surrounds Hidan as he attempts to step closer to Asuma once more, scent of smoke singing his nose seeing the tags running across his arm too late:

Another bomb.

He glances to Kakuzu with a scowl, sees water has smudged at his ritual circle too much once the light fades. Pain ripples from his left side, glances down noting how fully embedded those shuriken and explosive tags were. They've made his left arm now hang loosely off his body, bone and muscle exposed until it completely drops to the ground.

'Damn it, this shit again!'

Kotetsu and Izumo scowl at how unfazed he is by the damage, fall back as he slams a foot down hard further upending ground and rocks.

"Kakuzu, deal with those two fuckers so I can finish performing my duty to Jashin!"

Kakuzu merely waves up a finger. "You said and I quote: 'I can deal with them'. So I'm letting you handle it just like you so badly wanted me to do. It's not my fault you're doing a terrible job at this."

He openly curses him before dark eyes swish to all of them maliciously, Shikamaru's shadow paralysis on the verge of breaking. Ino studies the surrounding terrain via a sparrow, but there is nothing close by that can be of use to them.

Hidan licks away a trickle of blood, grins.

"Alright, I'm done toying with you lot. Lord Jashin would hate for me to spill blood in vain without performing my technique properly!" He bellows out as the smog dissipates with another swing of his scythe to fully clear the area.

Even one handed he moves around with ease as his body shifts back to black and white, draws another circle of blood, a human skeleton.

'The little intel we got on them is right: they're monsters.' Shikamaru clenches his teeth. They need to retreat, the opportunity to safely get away is closing on them as minutes pass.

He casts a glance towards Sai, fingers twitching just slightly, beasts having done little to stop the men or hold them in place for long.

"Sai, do you still have enough ink on you?" Shikamaru hisses.

Sai flicks with his pen, nods slowly. "I have enough for one or two more Beast Imitation techniques. Do you have another plan in mind?"

Shikamaru nods, grits his teeth as Asuma launches himself forward in a small window of opening, slices Hidan's head cleanly off joining his arm on the ground.

A silence falls over the area until Hidan loudly curses, spits in Asuma's direction.

"Bastard! You're not gonna get away with lopping off my head like that! I'll kill you and then get those two asses you blew off my arm. Kakuzu, get my head and arm connected back on me now!"

Kakuzu hums, jade eyes narrowing as he steps forward slowly with a tsk and cross of his arms. "Sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Maybe if you ask again politely-"

"Oh get the fuck off your high horse and help me out here already!" Hidan cuts him off, man grunting before doing as he wants, reattaches and sews back his limbs as if they'd never been loss.

Shikamaru gestures to Sai's remaining ink while they're temporarily distracted. "Create an explosion with your ink to buy us some time to get out of here."

As soon as the words leave his lips though does Asuma abruptly double over in pain. They instantly peer back up to see Hidan grinning maniacally, blade piercing himself dead center to keep him in place.

"Where do you think you're going? None of you are leaving this place alive."

It's gone straight through Asuma's heart...

He chuckles at the silence that comes, lifts his head in delight.

"Ahh, that's the stuff! I've been wanting to do that since you entered this fight." Hidan beams.

Shikamaru jabs at Sai's back to force his attention. "Now Sai!"

He raises up his hands, draws out a stream of ink.

"Super Beast Ink: Raven Downpour!"

A flood of blackbirds encompasses the area making the Akatsuki duo pause, move back as a river of ink floods the terrain.

Kotetsu and Izumo move forward to help get Asuma's toppling body away, retreat with them to the rooftop of the station. Hidan and Kakuzu don't give follow at receiving new orders to fallback, but Shikamaru can feel the burn of their gazes, Hidan's twisted smile as he calls out to them.

"That guy's good as dead now! Don't worry, we'll come back for his body later!"

He balls his hands at his sides as his words echo.

Bile hits the back of his tongue, heart and mind skittering.

'No, No! This this can't be happening again! Why do I keep failing to keep my loved ones safe?!'

He clenches his teeth until he tastes blood, swipes at his eyes.

"S-Stop, don't try to carry me any further. I'm not going to make it back to the village in time." Asuma murmurs out cutting into his thoughts.

His vision goes in and out, blinks back a growing haze coming over everything.

'Huh. Guess this means I'm gonna see my Old Man and Mom again sooner than I expected; hoped...'

Kurenai and Konohamaru hopefully won't cry over him for too long. He'll be buried next to his parents and other members of the Sarutobi family as is tradition in the Main Cemetery.

'Odd to be thinking of how people will mourn me for a bit then eventually forget with the passage of time.' Asuma muses.

Such is a shinobi's life, but at least he understands now what his Old Man meant about the Will of Fire.

He forces a smile. Better this than crying, even if there's still so much, he wanted to do and see in life.

Raise his son or daughter with Kurenai, teach Konohamaru a few tricks, push Shikamaru and Ino to take on more leadership roles...

'Heh, I never used to be so sentimental.' He laughs dryly; his teenage self would wonder when he became so sappy.

The smell of ink and blood permeates as gray clouds that loomed in the distance now hover over them all. Shikamaru studies the patterns of his most major injuries, Ino catching his eye.

There are too many wounds to handle all at once, scarlet puddle forming under his body.

Sai draws up a pillow to rest his head, Asuma smiles faintly at the action.

"Thanks Sai. I-I always knew Danzo didn't completely wipe away your emotions. I trust you'll slowly open up more to this team and others in time just fine. Don't push yourself."

Sai nods slowly, studies the cramps in his fingers, the beginnings of bruises and calluses.

His gaze switches to Ino, tears marring her cheeks. "Asuma-sensei please, try not to talk too much-"

Asuma shakes his head, and she clamps her lips shut to properly hear him out. "Keep growing in your clan's techniques Ino. Don't let petty squabbles with Sakura or anyone else get in the way of friendship and love for you, okay?"

She wipes at her eyes only for more tears to come tenfold. "...Will you say hi to Choji for us?"

Asuma brushes at her fingers. "Of course."

Brown eyes fall on Shikamaru last, half-smiles. "Heh, guess I'll never be able to beat you in shogi after all; I have a personal request for you."

Shikamaru leans close to him as he murmurs of Kurenai's pregnancy, his harboring of revenge.

"Don't let vendettas spiral you down a dark road Shikamaru, for...for my death and Choji's. You've seen for yourself what it does to people that let it consume them. I'm gonna need you to still be around to mentor my child; he or she is the next generation after yours." Asuma lightly orders.

Shikamaru chuckles even as tears pool in his own eyes, throat caught in a vice.

"Anymore requests you got for me sensei?" He rasps out.

Asuma sits up just slightly, nods to his cigarettes and lighter in his back pocket.

"I-I want one last smoke. I quit on account of...y'know."

Shikamaru nods, helps lean his head forward.

He takes one puff before his eyes turn glassy, head slumping back out of his hands.

Gone.

Sai studies his trembling hands, sweat beading his head and arms as Ino releases a sob beside him. Shikamaru steps away to finish his cigarette, but still no tears come. Rain starts to patter against the area, stomach swishing as Izumo and Kotetsu slowly cover Asuma's body.

'What's wrong with me that I can't cry too? Even if I only knew Asuma-sensei a short time. Why is this happening when we're so close to Konoha? Did I curse us by assuming the worse?' His thoughts scramble, studying gray-black storm clouds overhead.

Ino brushes at his hand jolting him. "It's okay if you don't feel the urge to cry Sai. You...You don't need to force it around us or it will just be like one of your fake smiles."

Sai nods faintly, purses his lips, feels Danzo's mark burn beneath his tongue in warning.

Crying. Anger. Upset.

All of it was drilled out of him so long ago.

Even in watching death.

Sakura & Karin-Southern Hideout

"Why should I believe anything you have to say? I mean, how do I know you're not just saying all this to have Sasuke back by your side in Konoha instead of with Lord Orochimaru? Or that you're not planning to double-cross me later?" Karin drawls.

For now, she leaves her out of handcuffs, doesn't need Sakura causing a prison revolt next.

Outside the sky takes on a mix of pastel pinks and yellows, the end of a day.

And still no closer in getting Karin to her side.

Sakura bites the inside of her cheek at her rising smirk; she sincerely hopes the other prisoners Tsunade requested her to check in with aren't as equally difficult.

Or make her want to deck their faces in.

She giggles instead only confusing her even more.

"Oh! Well, you don't have to believe me, but you're gonna come with me by the end of today anyways!"

Sakura pulls up her skirt then revealing an old scar along her thigh from when Sasuke had been hospitalized, when the Sound Four had come to visit him. It's faded to a light pink now, isn't even noticeable unless you truly try to look for it.

That night feels like centuries ago.

Karin observes the jagged part of her skin, frowns with an arched brow.

"This is from during one of the last fights Sasuke and I had. Heh, I'm sure now he would aim for my heart or head for an instant kill." Sakura remarks.

Karin studies the mark for a minute longer before plopping down beside her. "What caused it?"

Sakura shrugs. "I was trying to stop him from joining the Sound Four, from...defecting from the village."

Karin snorts at that, scarlet eyes briefly softening before hardening once more. "You were foolish to think he wouldn't go to Orochimaru when he promised him power and the necessary skills to kill Itachi."

'Yes, Naruto, Ino, Kakashi-sensei, and my own parents have told me as much.' She thinks dryly.

But she recalls most pointedly her argument to Naruto in return, the only other person who has some semblance of what's going on in Sasuke's mind.

"Wouldn't you rather have Sasuke back in the village than as a member or the Akatsuki or some other rogue group?" Sakura questions abruptly.

Naruto studies her flatly, wind picking up just slightly across the training grounds.

She promised all-you-can-eat ramen on her from Ichiraku's and now he knows why.

"You stopped our sparring to ask me this? Ugh, are you still pissed I didn't join the retrieval squad back then or-"

"No! I'm just trying to get your honest opinion! Geez, nobody else would understand." Sakura curtly interrupts.

Cerulean holds no sympathy though, just a blend of annoyance and pity that instantly makes her regret asking him.

She's pressing her luck and his temper to so bluntly question his thoughts, but she keeps her gaze fixed on him awaiting a response.

Eventually, Naruto shrugs.

"Sure, that's a better outcome Sakura. But what's it gonna cost you to get him back?"

Sakura ignores Karin's points back in the here and now, emerald matching darkening vermilion. "My point of coming here is to prevent Sasuke from accumulating power for what comes after he kills Itachi. He will use you and then kill you Karin when he's done with the healing abilities you inherited from your Mother. In Konoha, you'll be under protection from him and Orochimaru ever finding you or using your body any longer."

Karin stiffens at all that she knows on her, starts to walk away to do evening rounds on the rest of the prisoners. She's wasted far too many hours here with her out of sheer curiosity, needs to get going before Orochimaru or Kabuto do a surprise check-in via a snake or clone.

"What makes you so sure Sasuke is even a danger to Konoha? He left because he wanted to." Karin mentions flippantly and Sakura senses her renewed smirk even without her looking back at her.

Sakura blows out a breath, gives follow to catch up. "There's a possibility that Sasuke will join the Akatsuki who have been collecting the Tailed Beasts. If he does so, that means it will be in Konoha's interest to stop him from taking our own."

Karin's brows furrow. "It's taboo and dangerous to take a deity/Tailed Beast from its home village. That's how previous wars started."

Sakura nods. "Yes, we don't know what plan they have in mind so we're trying to prevent that from happening."

Karin wrinkles her nose; takes in everything she has to say quietly. Her features remain impassive as they finally comes to stop on the upper level of the prison: the observatory. The sea breeze fans at their faces as they step out onto the deck, tinged with salt and rain as blue-green waves crash against the rocks below.

After that morning fiasco, the other prisoners are more on guard, avoid looking Karin in the eye knowing the potential risks.

"...So what happens if I still don't want to go? You've honestly wasted your time trying to chat me up here all day and doing this extravagant break-in is going to cist so much ryo to fix. I'll sick Isato or one of the other brutes on you now. Your fists can't take them on no matter how strong you are."

Karin snaps her fingers, though no one comes.

She grits her teeth. 'Where the hell are they?!'

Sakura smiles patiently, leans slightly against the railing, recalls what Anko-sensei told her before her departure.

"Slow acting poisons work best girlie. Those are the types that lull people into a sense of calm until it's too late."

Sakura purses her lips as she studies her mix of herbs and syringes. These will take hours to take effect on a regular sized human.

"But hasn't she been experimented on by Orochimaru? What if this injection doesn't work?"

Anko clasps at her hands to calm her, auburn shining with confidence.

"I've worked with him too don't forget. And trust me, that little vial you and I have been working on will take care of her and the others."

"You don't have a choice in the matter really." Sakura repeats what she said earlier in the day.

Karin scoffs, but Sakura's gaze bores on her and a tinge of fear burrows into her seeing darkness settle across her face.

"What do you mean?!" She snaps back harshly, pauses looking down at her hands, a rise of sudden blisters that weren't there earlier.

Sakura watches her rising panic as the hives spread across her arms to her torso and then her legs.

She starts a wild thrash, kicks and punches at her to no avail, shrinks back seeing the pure venom in her gaze.

"Monster, you're no different than him." Karin sneers, spots going into her eyes, skin burning her all over.

Sakura shrugs. "I mean, you were about to lock me up, have those guys rough me up, and probe me too I'm sure. I've just been buying time until that poison started to finally take effect in your system, slipped some to your worse inmates as well that can't be rehabilitated."

Karin shifts backwards, considers if Sakura did any sleight of hand tricks. She hadn't once left her sight since arriving this morning, but that didn't mean she didn't send out this poison via inhalation, a summon, or like with her...

One touch.

"I know you wouldn't have noticed that first prick from this morning between your fingers when your body has been unfortunately abused and bitten into so many times. Don't worry, you shouldn't have to deal with such painful experiments any longer. So, like I said earlier Karin, you're going to come with me now." Sakura grins as Karin's vision goes black.

Whenever Sasuke, Kabuto, or Orochimaru comes across this place, it will have been long liberated.

She puts back on her all-black attire back near the mangroves, secures and binds Karin in place via a piece of Lady Katsuyu.

The other part of her body moves ahead for Konoha to give Lady Tsunade an update.

"Lady Sakura, are we moving in the night?" Katsuyu gently asks.

Sakura nods, moves low out of the moonlight's path.

It's going to take a few hours before at least before one of Orochimaru's connections realizes what's happened here.

But they'll be far enough away by then.

'One down.'

Naruto & Hinata

'Does he know about me having talked to the Nine Tails?'

If he does, Yamato says nothing of it.

"We're going to stop now for the day." He states aloud as sunlight fully fading from the trees.

He looks back to his silent companions, duo nodding they've heard him.

'Tough crowd.' Yamato muses, focuses on Naruto.

"You know, this is my first time being around our village's jinchuriki! Ah, I suppose you just go by Naruto, old habits die hard. Anyways, I should've brought an offering gift along with me for this assignment. I can treat you to ramen or whatever you want once we're back home!"

Naruto blinks, bored look turning puzzled.

"Why? My birthday came and went weeks ago. Everything I received then was nothing out of the ordinary or necessary."

Yamato points to his stomach.

"Maybe for you personally Naruto, but as for the deity within you, I doubt it. That much I know from reading your records and past history around the village.

Naruto draws up a swirl of wind to his face.

"Great. You can stop trying to suck up to me then y'know."

Yamato sighs as Hinata gets a fire going, orange-red glow casted upon the trio.

He clasps his hands together, sends him a rigid look.

"Alright, tell me how we can ensure this mission runs smoothly you two. Be honest so no lies come out later."

Hinata raises up a hand. "Just call us by our names and not titles like 'sacrifice', 'jinchuriki' or 'deity'"

Yamato nods. "Understood. But forgive me if I slip up a time or two. It's how I was taught."

'He did spend many years under Danzo.' Hinata recalls.

Nobody says much for the rest of dinner into nightfall, Yamato blowing out the fire somewhere after 11:00 pm.

Naruto waits, observes until Yamato's breathing evens out before rolling over towards Hinata.

"Hinata, you still up?"

Opalescent opens slowly, adjusts readily to the dark. "Now I am."

He grins despite her tart tone, slides closer until their shoulders brush.

Lilac to blue study each other before glancing towards Yamato.

"Think he's awake?" Hinata mouths.

Naruto looks him up and down. For all they know he could have a clone watching them from the distance to make sure they don't wander too far from the area or maybe he always sleeps with one eye open.

Either way, they switch to code talk to avoid his eavesdropping.

"Yamato must suspect that I've talked to the Nine Tails, that it seeks more bloodshed." He writes out in dirt via numbers.

Hinata gives pause reading his message and he squirms briefly at her stare towards him.

"How long has this been going on?" She asks gently.

Naruto purses his lips. "More often since I came back from Suna. At least once or twice a week."

Hinata sighs at that. Naruto's always had a habit even before she was sacrificed to him of bottling his emotions.

Until they just eventually 'pop'.

His fingers brush at her cheeks, peppers her forehead with light kisses.

"It's fine, I'll figure something out via training or meditation y'know." He promises.

Maybe Pervy-sage will know a thing or two he can do once he's back.

Hinata leans into his chest, drifting off again in the quiet.

"You can sleep. I need to think a bit more." Naruto mutters, adjusts her head not to completely lull back and forth.

'If everything I did to Deidara wasn't enough, what will be?' He considers.

He wakes again to a milky pink-red dawn approaching, slides away from Hinata at nature's call.

Yamato strides up behind him a moment later.

"Morning! I recommend you and Hinata go to bed on time to get a full night of rest instead of talking in code and wordplay! Today we could run into any of the Akatsuki or Itachi himself based on Pakkun's nose."

Naruto zips up, moves up a hand creating a twister of wind and water. Yamato jumps back, vortex slashing and digging into the surrounding trees and bushes toppling all into shredded chunks. He peers back to him to see scarlet in his eyes.

"I recommend you stop trying to boss me around or get involved in what you know is none of your business."

Yamato bites his tongue to avoid saying anything else potentially wrong.

Kakashi warned him of this, that Naruto's volatile moods swing like a pendulum.

"What about all the gifts he's received over the years? I thought with how prosperous the village has been overall that the beast within him was satisfied." Yamato questions.

Kakashi shakes his head, gestures for him to stop his notetaking.

"No, none of those offerings ever really appeased Naruto or the Nine Tails. And we can't say the village hasn't fallen on hard times what with Lord Third's death and the loss of many shinobi and civilian both young and old during recent A and S rank assignments."

Yamato clicks his tongue. "So how should I go about this Captain? You served as his sensei after all and gave him so many lessons-"

Kakashi shrugs before he can finish, looks over to the mountains recalling those days before his features cloud.

"I wasn't the best teacher I don't think. I kept things from him. On orders, though Naruto will never fully trust me because of that. You'll see it in his eyes what I mean. Just keep your distance as needed."

Red.

The color of his rage.

He'd considered that Kakashi was overdoing it trying to ensure he'd be extra prepared, extra cautious of their village's weapon. It led him to do his due diligence reading up on Naruto's most destructive moments throughout Konoha in recent times, his most favored gifts to receive outside annual appeasement.

The worst things he's done is property damage to merchant's stands, stolen foods, purposely breaking weapons.

Not good, though nothing he couldn't deal with.

And Naruto hadn't done anything to show he was a danger like everything he's heard and read, all talk with no bite.

Until now.

The ground below them quakes, roots tangling around Naruto's legs.

"Alright, Alright. Let's just calm down." Yamato insists.

Naruto studies the binding, swishes something in his mouth before spitting at it.

'Toad oil? Acid?' Yamato wonders seeing the roots start to melt.

A wisp of violet hair comes up behind Naruto, takes in the duo.

"What's going on?" Hinata asks directly, eyes Yamato more than Naruto.

"He interrupted me while I was trying to take a leak! It freaked me out how close he suddenly was!" Naruto explains away.

Hinata wrinkles her nose, pink dusts at her cheeks to see if Yamato will refute his point, challenge the surrounding damage to the terrain.

"Is that true?" She eventually asks when he doesn't answer.

Yamato hums. "I announced myself. Naruto...took it the wrong way."

Hinata looks between them, truth muddled somewhere in-between.

"I'll be on the other side of the forest getting ready." She decides without saying anything more.

As soon as Hinata's out of earshot, Yamato undoes the wood bind.

"Genjutsu." He decides.

Naruto blinks, anger temporarily abated by the awkwardness of this all.

"What about it?"

Yamato clears his throat.

"I'll give you more training in it, both you and Hinata. Every second will count the moment the Akatsuki come for you."

Itachi, Sasuke, and Deidara-Northeast Hidden Grottos

The tickle in his throat comes back faster than he'd like.

Especially in knowing he's being followed by the wrong guy.

'Well, Deidara has always been persistent.' Itachi muses.

A cough erupts out of him too late to stop, slowly looks down into his palm.

The metallic scent hits him first: blood.

'It's coming on more frequently now, even in the daytime now.'

Deidara snorts behind him.

"Ugh. No way, are you sick or something? Don't worry, I'll give you an explosive death that will be showcased as an art piece for centuries to come!"

Itachi ignores him, studies the stalagmites above the cave's entrance, the blackened earth Deidara has left in his wake.

"Where's Sasuke?"

Deidara grits his teeth, cracks his knuckles. He'll take his time destroying his organs both inside and out one by one.

'So I'm not even worth a glance in his eyes or discussion.'

He shrugs. "Why the hell would I know hmm? I split ways with that brother of yours weeks ago. Whoever found you first, gets to kill you."

Itachi shakes his head. He studies his vicious grin; rage he's let fester for months now. Training has been done to his left eye to not fall immune to the sharingan it seems.

Interesting.

'He won't be as easy to deal with this time.' Itachi frowns.

"You've harbored this need for revenge over your loss to me for too long now. You won't survive this match if you keep pushing this." He mentions.

Deidara spits out a torrent of clay spiders to march forward in response, block him in.

"Yeah? Hmm, you talk big, but that body of yours is getting shitty; rundown."

A current of fire stops the clay insects' approach, Sasuke hopping down from above the cave's opening.

"Thanks for leading me to him, you can go now." Sasuke notes.

White flashes explode from his left and right as Deidara launches forward, Sasuke leaping onto Itachi's side to avoid the line of bombs.

Onyx eyes meet, Sasuke's narrowing.

He gazes lands on his bloody palms and cloth, scowls at seeing how pale he must look.

But then he notes a flash of concern, the memory of how they used to be before it instantly fades.

"Is it true? You're dying from some illness?"

The back of his head throbs, a genjutsu could possibly make him temporarily forget what he's seen and heard.

However, he can't help the small grin that cracks through despite this minor setback at Deidara's presence. Sasuke's grown taller, has honed his skills far better than he ever could've if he stayed in Konoha.

Everything can still go according to plan; the blood he's spilled and made Sasuke watch over and over truly made him stronger.

Made him perfect.

"Kill me and find out Little Brother."

-x-

Sorry if this feels a bit shorter. I don't plan to go fully into the Sasuke vs Deidara and then Sasuke vs Itachi fights FYI because I know that won't be fun for me to write! Plus, I'm too neutral on all of them as characters to want them to be the focus for very long.

The Uchiha clan gets enough love already in canon. I'm spreading that love to the Hyūga and other noble clans! I will keep Itachi more on the grey side in terms of his motivations on diverging from canon with the next upcoming moments.

Get ready for the Pain arc!

As always, pa-tre-ons get early access to chapters and bonus writing content! All of January I'm having a New Year's Sale, just type in FC557!

Enjoy. Review. Favorite. Follow!