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8 - those left behind 9 - and after this our exile
There will be a high probability of running into trouble, the Hokage had said to him, her face stern and contemplative, even as he’d stood there with his face slack in astonishment, the prospects of a drowsy, lazy day fast vanishing.
Oto nin. Sasuke. The hell.
Then realizing that he’d have to lead this mission and make sure they came through successful-staring at Tsunade-no jounin or chuunin, just genin? Konoha really is short on available ninja-this isn’t going to help…
Now Shikamaru glanced around at the genin he’d gathered on short notice. Half an hour to slap together some people for a team and go after Sasuke-how troublesome.
Still, there had been no question in his mind about what to do once he’d learned about the situation-Sasuke was a shinobi from Konoha. Shikamaru himself was a shinobi from Konoha, as they all were.
There was nothing else to be said about the issue; they were ninja who followed the Will of Fire. They did not let comrades go easily.
“-all right, we’d better get going!” Kiba said, jabbing his thumb at the forest. “Shikamaru, are you going to stop watching the clouds soon? Let’s go!”
“Hey!” Chouji frowned and opened another bag of chips with an inordinately loud pop and more force than was necessary. “The Hokage picked Shikamaru to lead the mission, Kiba; we need to listen to his instructions. We can’t run off after the Oto nin without any plans.”
Kiba made a disgruntled face, but didn’t say anything. Neji shifted slightly and said, “Tell us the strategy and plan, then. It seems we’ll have to be on the lookout for ambushes.”
“An ambush is likely,” said Shikamaru, and added silently, Very likely, irritating as it is. Time to settle everything. He’d been mulling over this while rounding up the team members. “Since we’re following the Oto nin, there will probably be some traps. They have the advantage in striking first. So! We’ll be moving in single line formation-Kiba, you’ll be the forward scout. You’ve traveled the most around the country and know the terrain best. Also, your sense of smell will help us pick up on Sasuke’s scent. If there are any traps set by the enemy, you can detect them as well.”
Kiba bared his teeth; the red triangular markings on his face lent a certain fierceness to the way he nodded and spoke. “Akamaru and I can take care of that, no problem!”
Good, no insubordination for now. Kiba means well, but he’s not the kind who dances to anyone’s beck and call. “I’ll be second, as the squad leader, so I can give orders and signal if necessary. Watch for my hand signals-“
As he outlined the rest of the formation-Chouji behind him, Neji as the rear scout (Lee was looking rather crestfallen that he wasn’t going)-Shikamaru was thinking furiously. Tsunade-sama told me she’d send some backup when other shinobi got back from their missions, so the main objective for now is to catch up as quickly as possible and slow the Oto nin down. We just need to keep them preoccupied and unable to continue with Sasuke. Also, it’s not certain whether or not Sasuke went with them by choice, so-
“Let me check your weapons,” he said, motioning to his own weapons pouch. “Any more questions?”
“Yes,” said Neji shortly, crossing his arms. “Where’s Naruto? I’m surprised you didn’t bring him along.” He blinked pale eyes and gave Shikamaru a pointed look.
“Yeah, you’d think he’d be running around and blowing a fuse at Sasuke leaving him out,” Kiba added. Akamaru barked.
“Naruto-kun and Sakura-san should both be here,” Lee broke in, his eyebrows drawn together anxiously. “They have more than enough youthful spirit to bring back their teammate!”
“Ah,” Shikamaru said, stiffening at the subject; he remembered the Hokage’s voice, veiled with concern: Naruto was stabbed several times in the back, while Sakura had to break her way out of a genjutsu that simulated her own death. Don’t worry about them, they’re stabilized and in no danger for the present-keep your mind on the mission. You must stay focused.
I… should probably downplay this a bit so they don’t think too much about the enemies’ capabilities. “They already confronted the Oto nin, as a matter of fact. The Hokage told me that Naruto and Sakura stopped by the hospital last night to visit Sasuke, but he was gone by then-they ended up fighting with the enemy nin, and they’re both recovering right now. But Tsunade-sama made it clear she preferred they not come along.”
“They’re in the hospital?” Lee’s eyes were rounder, his mouth slightly open in surprise. He glanced down at his crutch, a reminder of his own time there.
“They’re fine right now, but they did suffer some damage,” Shikamaru continued without skipping a beat; he couldn’t afford for the others to dwell on the fact that some of their own had already fought and failed against the Oto nin. Bad enough that this was brought up in the first place. “From what Tsunade-sama told me, one of the Oto nin specializes in genjutsu, so we’ll have to watch out for that. Another one channels chakra into threads-like spiderwebs, that is-and can shape the threads into weapons, such as knives. He’s got multiple pairs of arms,” he added. “We don’t know for certain how many of them there are, but for now our goal is to slow them down-there will be some reinforcements coming when more shinobi are available. Make sure to leave an obvious trail behind us, by the way.”
He paused, looking around. There was no trace of humor in their faces now. “Lastly,” Shikamaru said, “this... is the most important thing.”
The others did not say anything-they watched him with a quiet, burning intensity.
(Two of us were hurt. One of us has left.
The enemy will pay.)
-“Sasuke wasn’t a close friend of mine, nor is he someone particularly important, but he’s one of us, a shinobi of Konoha, and that’s all that matters.” That’s all that matters in the end-he is our comrade, however distant we were. This is why we’re doing this. “Even me-I can’t afford to be lazy about this. I’m responsible for your lives.” He stopped suddenly, the last sentence sliding back down and lodging in his throat, his mind, his heart.
He was responsible for their lives. For all their lives.
I’ll have to remember that.
Kiba laughed abruptly, breaking the momentary silence and concealing a tint of nervousness in his own loud bark of amusement. “Ha, now you’re talking! You’re shaping up to that chuunin rank after all!”
Lee flashed a grin at him and gave him a thumbs-up. “This will all go well!” he said. “If only I could also come-“ disappointment flitted across his face briefly “-but I know you will do your best! You will be brilliant!” Neji only gave Lee his trademark Overly Blank Look and hmphed.
Shikamaru glanced at Chouji almost instinctively. His teammate caught his look and smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling and the swirls on his cheeks rounding themselves out-between the two of them, there was no need for words.
I will do this-we’ll all do this, he told himself, and something lightened in his chest. Otherwise mom would be nagging me about being a failure, and her nagging is hell on earth. What a headache that would be-
“All right,” he said. “Everyone, weapons check before we leave.”
As he inspected the equipment they had, he wondered how far they would go. Somewhere-somewhere out there, he thought-Uchiha Sasuke was moving farther and farther away, vanishing into the distance.
They would just have to catch up and get their mission done.
After this, I’m definitely going cloud-watching for the time I’m missing today.
-----
In the brightening daylight, Sasuke felt oddly exposed, laid bare and flayed open under the piercing rays that mottled the tree leaves-shadowed light along the underside of the branches; glaring light in pinpricks upon the ground; yellowing light that took on a faint sheen of red when he looked at the world through red-and-black eyes (no reason, really-nothing more than a whim, just a whim). Red, like blood and death and that chakra-
“-your reflexes are awful!” Naruto says, with his breath rushing out in a twisted choking sound, but all he can see is the bloody red, flaring in his old friend’s eyes and licking around his hair and trickling down-
-your reflexes are awful, Naruto had told him on the hospital rooftop, his eyes blue as the sky.
These stupid things he kept seeing-what the hell is going on? Tsukuyomi-whatever Itachi had done-it couldn’t possibly last this long. What else would this be? Naruto looked older, but he’s-Sasuke floundered, grasping for some other description, and failed-but he’s not that old. Just… As he passed through a particularly bright patch of sunlit forest, Sasuke winced at the sudden, sharp pain in his eyes-he probably wasn’t accustomed to how bright the light was-his eyes couldn’t be hurting, couldn’t possibly be stinging and bleeding because of-
-and deactivated the Sharingan. The pain receded, a barely noticeable throbbing at his temples.
Sakon, who had been traveling in front of Sasuke, slowed in his path through the foliage and suddenly dropped out of sight. Sasuke blinked; frowned; followed him down into the clearing. Jiroubou, Tayuya, and Kidoumaru announced their own arrivals with three soft thumps behind him.
“What’s this about?” Sasuke asked bluntly. If they were trying to get away from Konoha, what was the point of standing still?
“Sasuke-sama, I think this is a good place,” Sakon said, his words a complete non-answer. “We’re far enough from Konoha for now.”
“What now?” muttered Sasuke. Sakon seemed to delight in stretching out the suspense-goddamn him, just get to the point!-
“You’ll understand everything once you hear what I have to say.” An unknown voice, that sounded as though it were muffled by something-
Unknown? No, he knew the voice, oh god he knows it. His name, what’s his name?-the knowledge slipping away from his thoughts, unwilling to cooperate, but-
Sharingan. He had the Sharingan.
-“Sasuke-sama, there’s really no need for you to activate your Sharingan,” Sakon said, wariness in his words. “This is simply the last order from Orochimaru-sama.”
I couldn’t care less about Orochimaru, Sasuke wanted to sneer. That person-“Spit it out,” he snapped, jerking around to face Sakon.
An amused smile curled Sakon’s mouth. “Of course. Anyway-before we reach Orochimaru-sama, you must die once.”
(I have died before, I can die again, a voice whispered to him like wind whistling through the leaves, and faded away.)
“You want me to die. Once?” Only once?-wait, why only? Perhaps he was supposed to be more surprised than this, Sasuke thought. Perhaps he was supposed to move back or look confused.
He didn’t feel any astonishment at all, only the intangible sense of this was said, this was done. Yes, yes yes yes.
Sakon pulled out a little bottle-Seishingan, that’s what he called it back then-“Seishingan,” Sakon said. “We’ll have you take this.” Seishingan was what he’d said a moment ago, and yet it sounded familiar. Some before, sometime, someplace, some past. Back then.
Sasuke had remained utterly silent-he caught a glimpse of perplexity that crossed Sakon’s face at his lack of an answer. Ah. Something to say-“What’s that for?” he asked, trying to force some interest into his words.
“You’ve got a level one curse seal right now,” Tayuya said. Sasuke turned his head to look at her and caught sight of her face, an infinitely bored expression in her eyes and a perpetual scowl that pushed down the corners of her mouth. Then she added, “That’ll move you up to level two, but that also means you get a shitload of contamination before you end up dying.” The boredom was replaced by an anticipatory glee, as if-she wants to see me die?
Well-Tayuya was not the kind of person who had fluffy happy feelings for anyone, and by now Sasuke had received her message, loud and clear, that she did not like him. (She didn’t seem to like anyone. This was not at all a surprise.) Juugo, on the other hand-“he talks to birds like he’s trying to be some freaky holy forest spirit,” Suigetsu says while upending the water bottle over his head, “but then again anyone who willingly runs to Orochimaru’s got something crazy in them-“
Juugo? Sui-who? Inexplicably, he thought of Zabuza in the Wave Country at Tazuna’s bridge-Zabuza and Haku-Haku and his needles flying at-
That doesn’t matter, don’t think about that-the moment he’d come to Kakashi’s place and heard, there’d been only two warring thoughts that leapt to his mind-my brother’s here, and he’s after Naruto-
-I don’t care. I don’t care at all.
Sasuke nearly missed Sakon’s next words and pulled his concentration back with an effort. “Basically,” Sakon said-he shot Tayuya an irritated look at her interruption-“to control the level two curse seal, your body needs more time to adjust to it. You’ll be on the same level as us once it’s over.” He shook the bottle gently and let the drug clatter back and forth. “After you take this, there will only be a few minutes before you die.”
The area between his shoulder blades was getting itchy; he let out a quiet hiss, trying to will the itch away along with his stupid, stupid visions (people he didn’t know, things he hadn’t seen-). “And what are you going to do when I die?” Sasuke asked skeptically. It’s too easy for people to die-that’s how things always are.
“Our barrier jutsu will reduce the side effects once you’ve reached level two. You’ll be in a temporary coma instead.” Sakon placed the bottle in his hands; Sasuke stared down at it, the glass smooth and cool against his palm, sliding past the calluses on his fingers as he rubbed the bottle warily. It glinted at him, almost seductive in the clearness of the glass-just one layer that lay between him and level two. Between him and power.
(Between him and Itachi. You lack hatred, his brother had said as he held Sasuke against the wall. You lack-
“The truth about Itachi-“)
Just do it.
In one swift movement, he dumped the drug out in his hand and swallowed hard-burning down his throat, driving out the words, the thoughts, the truth about Itachi-
-“Sasuke-sama, don’t do that so fast!”-
And that was just what he wanted.
Faintly, through a haze of roiling pain that dug into his shoulder at the seal and crawled agonizingly across his chest and back-he heard someone yelling, “Hurry up, you idiots, don’t be so damn slow!” and scrolls pulled out, rustling-once, they’d been camping out under the night sky, and when Naruto and Sakura were asleep he’d listened to the quiet breeze that danced among the trees before he finally dozed off-once, once upon a time, before-
-the wind carries the silence and smell of death to him-he can’t stand, he doesn’t have the strength to stand-before everything explodes in a brilliant wave of red-
He wasn’t standing anymore; didn’t have the strength to stand. Black swept across him in a blazing wildfire that etched curling patterns into his skin. Sasuke couldn’t scream; distantly, he felt himself being lifted and settled inside something-
Something he knew, something familiar. The panels of wood that pressed down and around him-he recognized this.
Yes yes yes. I remember, said a strange voice, unfamiliar and familiar at once, tired and apathetic and bitter. I was here.
After that, Sasuke felt only the sensation of his skin burning under the writhing seal, his chest coiling tight with tension-heard the erratic beat of his heart-saw nothing.
-----
Chapter title is from T.S. Eliot’s “Ash Wednesday.”
… the yellowing light which took on a faint sheen of red when he looked at the world through red-and-black eyes (no reason all-nothing more than a whim, just a whim).
-Ch. 307 (“At a Whim”)
“You’ll understand everything once you hear what I have to say.” An unknown voice, that sounded as though it were muffled by something-
In one swift movement, he dumped the drug out in his hand and swallowed it-burning down his throat, driving out the words, the thoughts, the truth about Itachi-
And that was just what he wanted.
-Ch. 398 (“Konoha’s Beginnings”)
I hope Shikamaru was IC; the mission info session was a bit of a rehash, but I wanted to also show the small differences.
I wanted to get this out before I have to start bothering with AP tests. :/ Good luck to anyone taking them!--standardized testing is as always a wonderful joy. >_>
Comments are awesome. :D ♥
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10 - unwind the winding path