Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Dawnwalker ❯ The Unexpected Visitor ( Chapter 8 )

Ho, ho, many apologies for the delay. I completely forgot to update this story a while back. Shame on me. Hehe…

 

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Dawnwalker

 

.VIII.

 

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The trip back was a solemn journey. Everyone was unusually tense and where Naruto was generally looked upon to brighten up the mood, he instead was the quietest of the lot, offering no words or jokes. It didn't bode any good for the team, especially if they were to come up against any rogue shinobi—which they all knew was inevitable. Their luck would push them so far before they had to fight again.

 

They had reached Fenaru relatively quickly and once again made it their pit stop for supplies and a brief rest. An hour passed and they were soon on their way, traveling by night with the stars as their only witnesses.

 

Shikamaru looked at the rest of his team as they ran across the cold desert. This is terrible. God knows how we'll survive to reach Konoha. He shook his head to himself and retrained his thoughts on trying to avoid trouble. Their current pace was good and, providing no more trouble would be following them, they should be back home within the end of the week. But Shikamaru didn't delude himself with the notion of completing this mission in half the time they were given. Instinct told him they were not through yet.

 

He glanced around their surroundings and then paused, his gaze resting on Sasuke. The Uchiha confused him greatly—and Shikamaru generally prided himself in his cool rationality regarding people. But he had no idea what Sasuke's intentions were. He had said he would not be going back with them—or made it seem he wouldn't at least. To be honest Shikamaru didn't know if it was a good idea to bring him back. Surely, his presence would be quickly discovered even if they did try to hide him, and Orochimaru would probably pose an even bigger threat than he was now. Shikamaru sighed. Then there was the other mystery with Orochimaru and the words of that Cloud shinobi. He didn't have any clues for how to solve that one, though. This was so troublesome.

 

“Shika…tired.”

 

The shadow user looked over at Naruto and saw the redhead's pace falling behind the rest of the group. Shikamaru looked at his watch and decided to call for a break. Lee, who was so far up front that he needed to be shouted at by Shikamaru, jogged back cheerfully.

 

“Are we camping here?” he asked brightly.

 

Trying not to roll his eyes at Lee's obvious energy, Shikamaru nodded. “There's no need to rush, and we've been running all day.”

 

Naruto collapsed onto the ground, heedless of the sand, and groaned. “You're a slave driver, Shikamaru. Why are you in such a hurry anyway? Godaime gave us a month for this mission.”

 

Shikamaru shrugged, feeling a little testier than usual. “Who cares. Let's just set up camp,” he ordered.

 

But Neji and Lee had already set up the tents by the time he had issued the command and Shikamaru nodded gratefully at them. Kakashi stood a little farther away from the rest of them, arms crossed and a thoughtful look on his face. Shikamaru arched an eyebrow and then turned around to see Sasuke already settling into one of the tents. Neji followed after him but paused before entering, looking at Shikamaru.

 

“Is something wrong?” he asked softly.

 

Shikamaru was caught off guard by the question, but he answered easily. “Don't know. Maybe I'm just restless,” he replied, his tone blasé to anyone else who didn't know him. But he knew Neji would catch the underlying meaning to his words and saw the other man nod slowly.

 

“I know what you mean. The sooner we get back home the better.”

 

“Amen to that,” chuckled Shikamaru, feeling some of his uneasiness slipping away for a brief moment.

 

Neji offered another nod before entering his tent. Lee remained outside, performing some calisthenics beside Neji and Sasuke's tent. By a preestablished ritual, he always did first watch due to his almost endless energy. After Naruto and Kakashi stepped into the second tent, Shikamaru watched Lee for a few minutes.

 

“Be on your guard,” he said finally.

 

Lee looked at him curiously. Then he grinned. “You can trust me,” he said, sounding strangely serious despite his upbeat expression.

 

Shikamaru disregarded it as one of Lee's quirks. The taijutsu specialist was actually much more perceptive than most people would assume, and even those who knew him well were still surprised by his intuition at times. But Shikamaru had come to rely on that trait. He had always been a firm believer of intuition despite the many strategies he employed as his preferred weapon of choice. Sometimes the best move to make was not a move at all—merely a visceral act erupting from nowhere.

 

He wondered for a moment if the reason behind all his apprehension stemmed from Sasuke's sudden appearance. Shikamaru quickly dismissed this thought, though. Sasuke had certainly stirred some things up, but he was not the source of all the tension existing now—not entirely at least. Shikamaru could remember his initial reluctance in taking this mission despite its deceptive simplicity. And Neji had already voiced out his concerns early on in the game—according to Lee at least. The Byakugan user hardly ever disclosed his feelings publicly and Lee was one of the few privileged to hear the man's true thoughts. Shikamaru could see the strain Neji had gone through, however. It showed in the way he was as standoffish as ever, and the fact that he had been caught unawares a few times already during the course of this mission. Sasuke merely fueled the preexisting feelings. Shikamaru frowned.

 

“Night,” he said suddenly, having stood there in silence for over ten minutes now.

 

Lee looked at him in surprise. “Get some sleep, Shika. You don't have to worry. I'll make sure nothing gets to you guys,” he said bracingly.

 

Shikamaru managed a smile at that. “If you don't, I'll come back from the dead and hunt your ass down,” he replied dryly before slipping into the tent where Kakashi and Naruto were sleeping.

 

Humming lightly to himself, Lee warmed his hands against the fire Sasuke had generously created sans any special jutsu. None of them had ever gotten the knack of making a fire naturally. Sasuke had surprised them all by taking two stones and rapping them together to spark a fire within seconds. Even Lee, who had the most experience in outdoor training, took at least a minute to build a fire. It had also struck him as strange for Sasuke to not use a Katon jutsu, but he supposed the younger man had just wanted to save his chakra. It was a smart idea.

 

Lee took a seat on the sandy ground, wrapping a blanket around him. He poked at the fire absentmindedly while singing under his breath.

 

“And when tomorrow comes, you'll be regretting everything…”

 

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Shikamaru hated ambushes.

 

They were usually unpredictable and caused him great amounts of stress. Of course, being the intuitive strategist that he was, he usually could predict such attacks and formulate plans to avoid them.

 

This time, though, he failed.

 

“Shit!”

 

The shadow manipulator looked to his right. Naruto had somehow managed to launch himself into the quicksand—again. Shikamaru scowled. Just how many times can one person make the same mistake? He looked once at his opponent and made good riddance of him with his jutsu before flying off to Naruto's aid.

 

“You're such a pain in the ass!” he cursed as he grabbed Naruto's arm. The redhead continued flailing around wildly until Shikamaru finally pulled him out with a great heave. “You're supposed to stay still. Otherwise, the sand will pull you in deeper. Haven't you learned anything yet about the desert?”

 

Shikamaru was blatantly annoyed. And Naruto was staring at him fearfully.

 

“S-sorry?”

 

“Yeah, whatever.”

 

Turning away, Shikamaru looked back at the battlefield. Good, the others are holding up well on their own. I have to admit, having Sasuke around does help. The Uchiha were definitely a powerful clan.

 

“Damn!”

 

A renegade shuriken caught him ill prepared from behind and struck Shikamaru hard in his shoulder. He pulled out the small weapon angrily and instantly sought revenge on its owner. Eight years had done wonders for his mental capabilities. None other rivaled him when it came to strategic combat and diversions—but the physical part of his fighting style had changed little. Except gaining some more speed and strength, Shikamaru was still not the best when it came to taijutsu. His predilection for ninjutsu and long-distance combat was his Achilles heel, but the rest of his teammates tended to overcome this weakness. But in this all-out assault where they were all separated and caught off guard, Shikamaru was left to his own devices.

 

“Shika!”

 

The strategist registered the kunai flying in front of his face, but could not move. Oh shit, thought Shikamaru faintly in the back of his mind.

 

Then his vision was obscured by black.

 

“You're awfully careless for being the captain,” drawled a calm voice.

 

Shikamaru blinked slowly, staring at Sasuke's back as the man deflected the attack with his shuriken. Sasuke cast a sidelong look at the bewildered man.

 

“Pitiful. Honestly.”

 

Then Sasuke reentered the battle, taking on two Cloud shinobi at once. Shikamaru gazed at his trail in a slight daze.

 

“Are you all right, Shika?” prompted Lee as he landed beside his captain.

 

Shikamaru nodded, regaining his senses. “I'm losing my touch here. Been fighting in groups for so long I can't even remember how to defend just myself,” he said darkly. He stared at Sasuke for a while longer. “That guy…I don't know whether he's trying to help us or destroy us.”

 

Lee laughed. “Let's just worry about the enemy for now!”

 

The fight came as a total surprise. Sasuke and Kakashi had been off to gather some food while Naruto and Lee kept watch over the camp—which, in their language, meant playing tic-tac-toe in the sand. Shikamaru and Neji had been occupied in one of the tents, reviewing several maps and routes before the tinny shrill of flying shuriken and kunai streamed into their ears. Naruto and Lee leapt to action at once before Shikamaru could even bark out orders, and Sasuke and Kakashi reappeared a few minutes later, joining the battle with the same disregard. Fortunately, they were all strong shinobi individually and had no problem dealing with the opponent. But the size of the enemy astounded Shikamaru. Cloud must have been tracking them for a while to plan such an elaborate ambush.

 

Which made him remember the same Cloud shinobi they left back in Benjiro's care at Hidden Stone.

 

“Orochimaru! You have the devil in your hands!”

 

Shikamaru frowned at his captured opponent. “What do you mean?” he inquired slowly.

 

The shinobi struggled visibly against the hold on him, but Shikamaru's technique had strengthened considerably in the past few years; he would not escape. So the captured man resorted to taunts.

 

“You fools don't know anything—blinded by the orders of your Hokage,” he spat out.

 

“If you aren't going to tell me anything useful then I might as well dispose of you,” Shikamaru stated plainly.

 

The shinobi paled at the thought but his tongue remained fixed. When the creeping shadow hand went around his throat, he finally squeaked. “Your village is already under attack! Konoha will be gone when you get back! I swear to you now!” he gasped out. Then he stilled and allowed the hand to bring him to death quickly and painlessly.

 

Shikamaru watched the shinobi crumble to the ground lifelessly. Under attack? He narrowed his eyes.

 

“Captain! Let's go before more reinforcements arrive!” exclaimed Neji as he ran up to the man. But when Shikamaru would not move, he paused and allowed the others to rush past him. “What is it?”

 

The shadow user smiled morbidly to himself. “Do you think we might have missed something here, Neji?”

 

Neji only frowned slightly before dragging Shikamaru off with him. In the distance the stormy clouds of a thunderstorm crackled threateningly, a wild rush of shinobi charging behind.

 

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“Finally, we're back!”

 

“This isn't home, Shiro.”

 

“It's pretty goddamn close to home, Akira. Compared to that desert, it's a goddamn blessing.”

 

Neji smiled slightly at Naruto and Shikamaru's antics. The two were almost always debating about trivial matters—never seriously—but it caused enough amusement for others watching them. He breathed a little more easily too. After their dramatic chase through the desert yesterday he was sure everyone else was ready for a break as well. They had crossed over Mount Yuki safely and made it into Hidden Stone once again for the evening. For their exemplary performance in outmaneuvering the Cloud shinobi, Shikamaru granted them a short rest for two days. Naruto was ecstatic and already he was preparing to take off for one of the bathhouses Hidden Stone was famous for.

 

“Last one there is a rotten egg!”

 

Lee looked at Naruto curiously. “Are you sure you want to race?” he asked.

 

The redhead corrected himself. “All right, you and me, Akira. Last one there is a rotten egg!”

 

Shikamaru snorted. “Suit yourself.”

 

“Are you not joining us, Tetsuya? Sasuke? Megumi?” questioned Lee.

 

Kakashi had immediately slipped back into his female guise upon reaching Hidden Stone. It was a bit uncomfortable at first—considering the older man had a tendency for randomly accusing them in public of sexual harassment—but they had adjusted to it eventually. And Kakashi had decided to spare them of any more accusations, thankfully.

 

“Hmm…that sounds nice, actually. I'll come!” Kakashi chirped brightly.

 

Sasuke remained as blasé as ever. “I'll stay back at the inn.”

 

“Me too,” chimed in Neji.

 

Before they turned to leave, Shikamaru cast a significant look at him. Neji nodded and followed after Sasuke.

 

The streets were bustling with people. It was late evening and a chilly breeze swept through the village. Neji pushed his hands into his pockets and watched Sasuke's back as they moved in and out of the crowds. He should have felt more relieved now that the mission was finally coming to an end—but instead he only felt a sickening anxiety swelling up inside of him each day they got closer to Konoha. The Byakugan didn't allow for premonitions, but Neji had always possessed a strong sense for the future. And he wasn't feeling confident about it at all.

 

“I understand that you may be feeling untrusting towards me, but all these precautionary measures really aren't necessary.”

 

“We aren't about to listen to the words of a man who's been missing for eight years.”

 

Neji heard Sasuke chuckle to himself. It was a hollow laughter and it pained the older man for some reason. “You're getting better at those retorts.”

 

“Or maybe you're just losing your touch.”

 

Sasuke finally turned around. “Touché,” he said, deadpanned.

 

Neji frowned deeply. It was not only Shikamaru and Naruto who were acting strangely. Sasuke had also become more and more remote. Ever since that exchanging of words between him and Naruto, the young man had completely withdrawn into himself. Only during battles did he seem to revive a little—only when the blood of his enemies was splattered across his face did Sasuke regain a little of his humanity.

 

They were now on the outskirts of the village. The inn they had selected bordered near the village's main gate, and they had all decided it would be wise to remain close to an emergency getaway should they require it. Neji continued following Sasuke until suddenly the man stopped. Neji watched the younger man warily as he walked over to a branchless tree, flopping down to the ground gracelessly.

 

“Staring at me isn't going to get you any answers,” Sasuke said, staring at Neji calmly.

 

Neji narrowed his eyes. It was empty where they were. All the shops and homes had stopped about a few yards back. The moon peaked over behind thick clouds and the silver light fell against Sasuke's form gently, enhancing his face and expression more clearly than before. Neji finally surrendered and placed himself opposite Sasuke, himself in the shadow while the younger man basked in the light.

 

“Are you coming back with us?”

 

Neji saw Sasuke smile a little to himself. But the man would not meet his eyes as he replied. “Well…I don't know actually.”

 

“Shiro will never allow you to leave his sight.”

 

“Now that's a lie. I'm certainly not in his sight now am I?”

 

Sasuke wore a bemused smile as he stared up into the night. The moonlight painted him in an innocent portrait; for a second Neji could believe he was talking to a young child instead of a killer.

 

“Your revenge is fulfilled. You killed those shinobi who attacked Aya-san,” said Neji, remembering the ambush that occurred only yesterday. He had known Sasuke's skills would have improved vastly in eight years, but he was still unprepared for the full brunt of the Uchiha's power. Yesterday's display had certainly been impressive if not a little terrifying.

 

“Revenge. That's the story of my life,” mused Sasuke, almost wistfully.

 

“You have no more reason to stay with us,” continued Neji.

 

Sasuke looked at Neji. “Would you believe me if I said I was a little homesick?” he asked mildly.

 

Neji smirked to himself. “I would accuse you of not taking me more seriously,” he replied.

 

“Do you want me to go back?”

 

A little surprised, Neji took a while to come up with an answer. He frowned thoughtfully. “You are still a…member of the village. Even if you did desert us eight years ago, you still need to be judged properly for your actions.”

 

Sasuke gazed back evenly at him. “So basically you want me to go back to get punished.”

 

“It's what you deserve—and what we deserve. You have to take full responsibility for your actions.”

 

“God, you're such a pretentious bastard.”

 

Neji chose to ignore the statement and instead continued driving his words home. “You can't tell me you have no remorse. I refuse to believe you've become completely inhuman,” he said forcefully.

 

Sasuke watched him, expressionless. “The only question I have is, why do you even care?”

 

“Maybe because I can see the desperation in Naruto's eyes every time he looks at you. He believes in you still. Sakura still drops by your apartment every month to clean. Kakashi will never show it, but I know he hasn't given up on you either. These are good people, and I'd hate to see their hopes shattered by one who refuses to even try.”

 

A deadly silence followed after Neji's tirade. Sasuke had turned his face away from the older man as he spoke and now he still refused to turn back around. Neji waited calmly, remembering what Lee had told him before. The day they had found the scroll had been an interesting one for Sasuke too. “Everything is fake. There is no truth behind the smiles. Only a false show that emulates life—because emulation is all they can do to survive.” Neji paused for a moment.

 

“Are you the clown?”

 

“What are you talking about?” shot back Sasuke, his eyes glittering cold. He was looking at Neji again—and he did not look amused. Clouds began moving in front of the moon and strange shadows danced across the man's face.

 

Neji remained impassive. “You hate yourself. That, I can see more vividly than ever before.”

 

Sasuke erased all signs of his irritation as he spoke. “Just because you possess the Byakugan doesn't mean you can make assumptions about people you barely know,” he said icily.

 

“I'm not using the Byakugan now, though,” replied Neji. He had slipped up. If anyone were to eavesdrop on their conversation now they would know to suspect them immediately.

 

“You have less tact than I gave you credit for, Ueda-san.”

 

Sasuke stood up and the clouds cleared up then, the light beaming down on him piercingly. He was like a dark angel in the night, the way he stormily bored his eyes into Neji's own. The longhaired man stood up too, still cast in shadows.

 

“Shall we settle this later?”

 

A small smirk made its way onto Sasuke's face. “Don't flatter yourself so much. I have better things to do than talk to you,” he said before leaping a distance away. He turned back. “You can take care of the little dogs.”

 

Neji whirled around and activated his Byakugan. He spotted two shinobi hiding behind a boulder right away. I shouldn't have been so loud before. He chastised himself as he attacked the unsuspecting shinobi. Before they even knew what was happening, Neji had rendered them unconscious by placing two very accurate fingers on their chakra points. He surveyed his work satisfactorily. They would be out for the rest of the night. But that now meant their brief vacation would have to be cut short. Neji cursed to himself and looked around. Sasuke had disappeared entirely from the premises.

 

“Yo, Tetsuya! We're back! You should've been there! Megumi had actually tried to get into the woman's bath before we convinced—er, her—to change back and join the men's bath. Honestly, that caused us so much trouble and—EH? What happened here?”

 

Sighing, Neji looked at Naruto. Shikamaru also approached him questionably. Kakashi and Lee casually strolled over.

 

“We're going to have to leave tonight. These two caught me talking to Sasuke and they probably know our identities—or mine at least. I had to knock them out.”

 

Shikamaru frowned. “What were you talking about?”

 

“Nothing of real importance,” replied Neji evasively.

 

The shadow user's eyebrows were knit tightly across his forehead. “Well, I guess we have to do as you say then. At least we got to enjoy the bathhouse for an hour. Where's Sasuke?”

 

“He's…gone.”

 

“WHAT?”

 

All at once Naruto was on his feet, flustered and panicky. “But you were just talking to him right? He couldn't have disappeared that quickly! Ne—”

 

“Naruto, calm down. Let him explain,” Kakashi interrupted.

 

Neji felt a brief streak of guilt for worrying Naruto. “I meant he left just before I took out the shinobi. I don't know where he is now,” he said.

 

“Marvelous,” muttered Shikamaru. “All right, Naruto, you and Lee pack up our stuff from the inn. Kakashi, Neji, and I will divide up and look for Sasuke separately. We meet back here in an hour. We're leaving with or without Sasuke.”

 

Naruto looked torn at the commands. “B-but, Shika… I want to help look—”

 

“We don't have time, Naruto. Just do as I say for now,” cut in Shikamaru. He shook his head. “Damn Uchiha. Let's go!”

 

“That won't be necessary.”

 

Shikamaru looked up as a group of Hidden Stone's ANBU descended upon them.

 

“Oh wonderful,” he muttered to himself.

 

The ANBU captain walked up to them first. “Now I can only wonder why Konoha's best ANBU squad is illegally occupying our village—or why the Copy Nin is accompanying them,” he greeted sternly. He looked at the unconscious shinobi by them. “You took out two of our men as well. I hope you're ready for the consequences.”

 

“I don't suppose you feel like listening to our very good excuse, huh?” asked Shikamaru.

 

The captain and the rest of the ANBU took up offensive stances. “Nope,” he said before attacking.

 

We picked one hell of an enemy to tango with tonight, Shikamaru thought warily to himself. These were not regular-classed shinobi. They were ANBU. And they were mad. Shikamaru knew they wouldn't be able to escape from this unscathed.

 

“Formation Five, guys! Kakashi, back us up!”

 

The members of Squadron Thirteen immediately dispersed from the scene. Shikamaru smiled tightly to himself. He be damned if he couldn't get the team out of this scuffle—ANBU opponents or not.

 

Shikamaru leapt into battle and paused briefly when he saw a flash of red—something that looked suspiciously like the Sharingan—before it disappeared. He shook his head and focused on the battle. There was no time to get distracted now.

 

Formation Five was one of the many defensive strategies Shikamaru had employed in his time as ANBU. The rest of his team knew all his plans by memory and he knew they would not fail in successfully implementing this one. In their normal setup, Naruto and Lee provided the team with raw offensive power while Neji and Shikamaru stayed behind to defend and perform covert attacks. With this particular formation, Lee still remained on the offensive, but Neji was the one who joined him now. Lee's speed and Neji's precision were utilized to efficiently take out their enemies swiftly and without delay while Naruto and Shikamaru provided undercover support. The point was to knock down their enemies for an escape route, not to defeat them. With Kakashi present, their chances of success were higher. However, Shikamaru mused, they still had the missing Sasuke to deal with. They could not very well leave without him.

 

His thoughts were cut short when a sudden explosion blinded his vision. Shikamaru heard Naruto cursing from somewhere behind him. The shadow user coughed up dirt and looked around in a squinted gaze. When the smoke and dirt settled down, Hidden Stone's ANBU were all found sprawled out on the ground. Shikamaru blinked in confusion.

 

“What the hell…?”

 

“Shikamaru!”

 

Naruto began running to the dark-haired man but could stop the kunai from piercing his captain's back in time. Shikamaru crumpled to the floor in an unconscious heap. Naruto fell to his side and began reaching for the kunai when an all too familiar voice filtered through his ears.

 

“We meet again, Naruto-kun.”

 

Slowly, with pronounced dread, Naruto lifted his head. All he saw was red. “Kabuto,” he muttered darkly.

 

The other shinobi smiled winsomely. His hair was cut short now, and the glasses were exchanged for narrower, wire-framed lenses. But his eyes and face remained the same as he stared down at Naruto with the same derision from eight years back.

 

“It's been a while hasn't it? You seem to be doing well. But I wouldn't advise pulling out that kunai—it'll allow the poison to spread faster,” continued Kabuto pleasantly. He looked behind him where Kakashi, Neji, and Lee were located. “Ah, Kakashi-san, it's nice to see you here too. As for the famed Byakugan user and Azure Beast of Konoha—it's an honor to make your acquaintance.”

 

“Why are you here?” inquired Kakashi calmly.

 

Kabuto shrugged. “I was curious what the commotion was about.”

 

“He meant why the fuck is a lackey of Orochimaru here in Hidden Stone,” cursed Naruto as he stood up slowly, still protectively lingering by Shikamaru's side.

 

“Such language, Naruto-kun. We haven't even begun fighting yet.”

 

“What is your purpose?” asked Neji softly.

 

Kabuto looked at him for a moment. Then he smiled and placed a hand on his hip. “I was just following up on one of my men—making sure he was doing the job correctly. After all, he is such a disobedient boy.”

 

Kakashi's eyes narrowed, his Sharingan almost glowing in the dimness. “Don't tell me…”

 

“Don't listen to a word he says,” interjected Sasuke.

 

Everyone looked up as the Uchiha appeared on top of a boulder. Naruto was enraged. “Where the fuck have you been, asshole? Do you know how much we could've used your help?” he screamed.

 

“Sasuke-kun,” quipped Kabuto brightly, “how's the work going so far?”

 

Naruto's anger faded when he heard those words. He looked between the two in shock. “Wait…you're still…”

 

“I left Orochimaru five years ago,” stated Sasuke coldly, never taking his eyes off Kabuto. “You can stop with your jokes. I know the truth.”

 

Kabuto chuckled. “Perhaps, but do your companions know anything?” he asked. He looked at Naruto. “Can you really be sure that he still isn't with me? How do you know he isn't spying for Orochimaru-sama? It's been eight years since you've seen each other. People change quite a bit in that timeframe, Naruto-kun.”

 

Naruto clenched his fists. “Sasuke…are you—?”

 

“I won't defend myself,” cut in the Uchiha. He jumped down from his position and landed before Kabuto, his Sharingan activating. “Are you going to fight?”

 

The older man smiled sinisterly but before Sasuke could make his move, Naruto grabbed his shoulder and roughly turned him around.

 

“What the fuck are you doing?” he demanded angrily.

 

Sasuke gazed back at him coolly. “Fighting. It's the only thing I can do.”

 

Laughter echoed through the night. Sasuke looked at Kabuto with something akin to disdain, though his expression was barely readable beneath his steely eyes.

 

“Oh, Sasuke-kun, this is almost too good. But come, Orochimaru-sama bids you to return. We have other work to do now—though you've accomplished your monitoring duties very well, I must say.”

 

“You bastard! You are with Orochimaru! After all this time!” yelled Naruto as he attacked Sasuke ferociously.

 

The dark-haired man watched Naruto as he flew at him with detached interest. Then he took one side step and caught hold of the redhead's arm, preventing him from finishing his attack. The Rasengan shone ominously in the night. Sasuke spoke to Naruto as he looked at Kabuto.

 

“You have no reason to trust me and every reason to suspect me. Nothing I say or do will change that. Whether you want to believe me or him is up to you.”

 

Kabuto smiled. “My, Sasuke-kun… You've become quite the talker haven't you?”

 

Electricity sparked around Sasuke as he released Naruto's arm. He gazed deeply into Kabuto's eyes. “Please. Don't flatter me,” he said before the lightning flew out at the older man.

 

Kabuto moved away quickly on his own but was caught surprised when everyone else joined the battle. He smirked to himself and jumped away from the ground agilely.

 

“Very good, Sasuke-kun. If you're so determined to stay, I'll let you. But remember, Orochimaru-sama's plans will come to fruition.”

 

The shadow clone then disappeared in a puff of smoke—and the night was quiet again.

 

“Shikamaru!”

 

Naruto cried in dismay as he kneeled down beside his friend. He looked at the others in fear and worry. “What are we going to do? He's burning up badly!”

 

Neji walked over and examined the wound carefully. “His chakra level is dropping drastically. At this rate, he'll die within…”

 

“Approximately twenty-four hours unless you acquire the antidote,” finished Sasuke, barely glancing down at the fallen shinobi.

 

“Do you know what poison this is, Sasuke?” asked Lee concernedly.

 

“I do.” Sasuke looked at Naruto, who still peered at him venomously. “I did stay with Orochimaru for three years. During that time I've seen a lot of Kabuto's work. I know how to make the antidote—it's quite simple actually. But will I actually heal him or kill him—that's the real question. And it's up to you to make the choice of trusting me or not.”

 

Neji frowned deeply at the young man's relentlessness. “We have no choice but to. No one here has any detailed medical knowledge to put to use, and our identities will be compromised if we seek for aid in the village,” he said. He looked at Naruto, seeing that he was torn between confusion and anger. “We have no other options, Naruto.”

 

He spoke directly to the younger man because he knew that it was him, out of everyone else, that held the most doubt. He himself was wary of Sasuke, but for some reason he believed the man when he said he could heal Shikamaru. Perhaps he was following a blind faith, but he didn't think so. Naruto was shaken up and lost—he needed to be reassured. And Neji prayed, for Naruto's sake, that Sasuke was being honest with his words.

 

“All right…but Sasuke, if you hurt him…I'll kill you myself.”

 

The words stunned Neji and the others. But Sasuke looked evenly at Naruto.

 

“So you're finally taking action with your own hands. I wouldn't want it any other way.”

 

For a second, Neji could have sworn he saw grim satisfaction in Sasuke's eyes when he said those words. But when he looked again, it was gone and the Uchiha was as distant as he ever was.

 

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TBC