Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Duty ❯ Chapter 9 ( Chapter 9 )

Chapter 9

 

Sasuke stood on the edge of town, glowering over his shoulder at the trees around him. Who in the hell was watching him? He'd been staying in the town for a week and simply couldn't take the constant watching any longer. Winter or not, he was getting out of the place. He'd even chosen the middle of the night as the appropriate time to leave, in hopes that he'd at least briefly shake his shadow. The invisible eyes prickling against his skin indicated that he'd failed in that prospect.

 

“Oh for fuck's sake,” he finally yelled. “Just come out and kill me or whatever it is you want to do! I can't take another moment of this constant watching. It's going to drive me insane!”

 

He was vaguely surprised to hear a man's soft laughter. Even more surprising was the appearance of the laugh's owner. A tiny old man, carrying an ancient looking pack hobbled out of the trees and grinned at him in the dim light. “About time boy.”

 

“An old man?” he growled. “I've been worried about an old man following me?” He rolled his eyes and sighed. How many times did that thug Ryoga hit him in the head after all? He'd never live this down if anyone heard about it. Sasuke, one of Konoha's most gifted shinobi, was followed for over a week by a little old man who'd actually stayed effectively out of his sight. “This is priceless.”

 

The old man grunted and crossed his arms. “I'll have you know that I'm not just `an old man'. I happen to be a very good tracker and trapper. If I couldn't follow another human, how am I supposed to follow something that has eyesight and a sense of smell that's ten times better?”

 

“That would be an excellent point if I weren't something more than just `another human',” Sasuke growled. “You're lucky I haven't decided to just randomly kill whoever was following me without a backward look.”

 

“Awfully sure of yourself aren't you boy?” the old man grunted, lip curling in disgust. “Damn whelp getting all uppity and thinking he's something.”

 

The sound of a kunai thudding into the tree, one inch from the man's head filled the otherwise still night. “Yeah I am,” Sasuke said softly, glad he'd found a place to restore his dwindled weapons supply. Not that terrifying old men was really all that impressive. Then again, he didn't look all that scared at the moment.

 

Instead, the old man blinked and then started to chuckle. “Oh thank goodness, I thought I had actually slipped a bit when you caught me following. Didn't know I was following a shinobi sort of fellow.”

 

“Well you were and it's been driving me nuts for over a week. I figured you'd come out days ago,” Sasuke growled. This was really just so sad. How low had he been brought that not only had a common trapper been following him quite effectively, but that the old man thought whole thing quite amusing. Was he not supposed to inspire at least a little bit of fear in people? He was an Uchiha after all and had at least some sort of reputation to maintain. “What the hell do you want anyway?”

 

The man shrugged and came closer, not in the least bit worried. “Company. You were going the same way I wanted to go, so it worked out. Hope you don't mind if I stick around now. Hate to travel alone. Ironic isn't it? Being a trapper an all? Solitary life for a social man.”

 

“Depends on where you're heading,” Sasuke said hesitantly. The old man would likely slow him down, but as he was stuck on this side of the mountains for a bit, that didn't matter too much. Besides, he had to admit that a little company would be nice, especially after having so little for several months. Aside from two weeks with the sailors, he really hadn't had anyone interesting to talk to, something that even he craved on occasion. A lot of that was probably due to spending so much time with Naruto and his incessant chattering and joking.

 

“Home for a bit,” the man murmured. “Got a place just at the base of that third peak,” he said pointing. “Snow's a bit of a pain in the ass this time of year, but it's a nice enough place to hole up for the winter. Where are you heading?”

 

“Also home to Fire Country,” Sasuke said relaxing a bit. In a way it was rather nice to have some company to pass the time with. The man was certainly quiet when he walked and good at hiding, but not much of a threat. Though he supposed after meeting Naruto's sensei Jiraiya, he shouldn't discount age much; Tsunade was definitely another good example of old and mind-boggling strength.

 

The man yanked the kunai out of the tree and moved closer, a friend smile on his face. “Fire Country touches the other side of my mountain. Should only take you a few days to get over it, and into your own country, once the snow melts.”

 

“How long do I have to wait?” Sasuke asked, a little disappointed to be so close and not be able to actually get there yet. He wasn't worried about the snow. He could walk right over the top of that with chakra. It was the cold snaps and blizzards that were a danger. Chakra could only get him so far before his humanity took over. He was eager to get home, but not stupid enough to risk dying so close to his goal.

 

“About two months I would guess, maybe three. The risk of storms is gone after three. Eager to get back? Got a girlfriend waiting?” the old man teased.

 

“Yes and I have a wife waiting,” Sasuke grunted. “If she's still alive.” He missed Hinata so fiercely it was almost a physical ache. Holding her in his arms was very nearly the only thing he thought about anymore. He had to know if she was okay, and wished, not for the first time, that there was a carry bird that he could trust to make it all the way home. In unstable weather it seemed unlikely and before distance had been an issue. He didn't want to risk a security breech if someone got a hold of his message early. Maybe he could safely send out a message once he cleared the mountains.

 

The man's face sobered and he frowned. “Sorry, didn't mean to be cruel. You love her enough to risk winter up here?”

 

“I love her enough to risk anything,” Sasuke said honestly. Why hadn't he told her that before he left? It wasn't the first time he'd kicked himself on that count. He'd come close a few times, but had never quite gathered the courage to say it. He was sure she understood that he loved her, but he should have just come out and said it to her.

 

The man shrugged. “Guess I could try to help you get through earlier if it looks possible. I'll let you know when it's safe enough if you want to come and hole up with an old man for a few weeks. Not that it'll be free, mind you. You'll have to do a little work for me in the mean time.” He grinned at Sasuke. “The name's Higashi by the way.”

 

Sasuke blinked and then smiled slightly. “Thank you Higashi. I think I'll take you up on that. I'd be grateful for any assistance you can offer, and I don't mind working for food and shelter.”

 

“Well that's that then,” Higashi said with a grin. “Follow me…?”

 

“Uchiha Sasuke,” Sasuke murmured.

 

“Follow me Sasuke,” he said, not even a flicker of surprise at the name. Perhaps that was the reason for his cavalier attitude towards Sasuke. Of course he would recognize an Uchiha when he saw one. It's not like he'd ever have reason to deal with one and he lived far enough away that he'd probably never heard of Sasuke's clan. “Takes a day or two to get there, so let's get moving,” Higashi said tossing Sasuke's kunai back and waving him forward. “Got lots of chores for you to do too.”

 

Sasuke laughed softly at that and followed with a shrug. It was a fair enough trade, especially if Higashi got him home again. In a way it was sort of nice to been seen as just another man. He wasn't the last Uchiha, a hostage, a shinobi, anything. He was just a man who needed shelter and had a pair of strong arms to work. He kind of liked that.

 

***

 

Sasuke sighed and dropped the last of the pelts on the storage rack in the shed. “If I see another animal skin I swear…,” he murmured. Higashi turned out to be a very good trapper and kept Sasuke rather busy hauling his spoils to the big storage shed where they'd finish drying and wait for spring and the market.

 

Though, Sasuke knew he shouldn't complain. Higashi had provided food and shelter for him for the past two months, asking little in return. Hauling furs and skins wasn't all that bad and it did pass the time. Plus it had kept him in decent shape over the long weeks spent in the wintry mountains.

 

He sighed and rubbed his tired shoulders. Oh for one of Naruto's lovely back rubs right now. He'd die before admitting he'd let Naruto give him a few rub downs, or that he'd returned the favor. Even more appalling, was the bastard was amazing with his hands. The first time Naruto had offered, he'd scoffed in disgust and then promptly melted into a puddle of goo when the blond pounced on him and went ahead and did it anyway.

 

In a way it was easy to see how people imagined they'd become lovers. They had been balanced on that thin line for years and it would have been easy to tumble off. He'd even admit, grudgingly that he'd gotten his fair share of bodily reactions from fighting the blond, and worse, while getting one of the famous backrubs. Naruto had laughed his ass off every time, not to mention teased him for days.

 

He smiled to himself and idly wondered what his friend was doing at the moment. Was Naruto even still looking for him? Sasuke wasn't really all that conceited in thinking that Naruto was looking for him. He knew that's exactly what Naruto would do. He'd probably set out the second he'd gotten the news of Sasuke's disappearance, if only to kick his ass for running off again. Naruto was pleasantly predictable that way. Sasuke knew, every time he went out, that if he got in trouble, Naruto would track him down. He'd bet Naruto was thoroughly pissed at not finding him at this point.

 

Thoughts of his painfully loyal friend brought his lovely little wife to mind. It had been about seven months since he'd seen her, as far as he could guess. So much time had passed he was having trouble tracking it anymore. What was she doing? Was she mourning him at all? Had she found someone new? He selfishly wanted her to still be waiting for him, but at the same time wanted her to be happy and in love too.

 

It made him wish all the more that he'd told her he loved her. There'd been so many opportunities to tell her, but he'd shied away each time, simply trying to tell her without actually saying it outright. He'd told her with his body and with subtle hints and suggestions, but he just couldn't come out and say `I love you Hinata'. He hoped it would be the first thing he said to her when he got home.

 

“Hey Boy,” Higashi grunted from the door. “Stop gawking off into space and pack your bag. Bones are tellin' me that we've got some relief from the snow. Should be able to get out of the mountains by now.”

 

Sasuke blinked at him and then grinned. “Finally,” he said laughing in relief. He hadn't thought that this day would ever come. “Home and my Hinata.”

 

Higashi just shook his head at the startling laughter from the quiet man and wandered back to the house. He knew Sasuke was behind him and didn't bother to look back as he spoke. “From what you've told me, it should take about three days to get you home from the base.”

 

“Walking?” Sasuke murmured curiously.

 

“Yeah, what else you gonna do?” Higashi grunted. “Fly?”

 

“Something like that,” Sasuke said with a grin. “You haven't spent any time with a shinobi before have you? Using our chakra we can run so fast even many weaker shinobi have a hard time following the movement.”

 

“Sure you …” Higashi grunted, trailing off when Sasuke disappeared and then appeared ten feet away by the door. It had only taken a fraction of a second and it took a moment for Higashi's brain to grasp what had just occurred. “Well isn't that something?” he murmured. “Sure would be useful in trapping.”

 

“No doubt,” Sasuke said with a small chuckle. He opened the door to the small house and moved inside to collect his belongings. “Maybe I'll teach you how when we get to Konoha.”

 

***

 

“I didn't think we'd ever get out of those fucking mountains,” Ichiro growled softly to himself.

 

“Stop whining,” Jiro murmured back. They'd spent the majority of the winter holed up in a miner's cottage. While it had been a nice enough place to stay for the winter, once the miner was out of the picture, Jiro was just a tad tired of his broody twin's voice. “We're lucky we found that miner's shack at least.”

 

“Oh really lucky,” Ichiro grumbled. “We lost Uchiha's trail two months ago at the base of the mountain! Now what brother dear?” he sneered, adjusting in pack.

 

“And here I thought you were supposed to be the brighter one,” Jiro grunted. He trudged forward in the snow, frowning in frustration. Winter really had thrown everything out of whack for the twins. They'd lost time, first trying to get to Porttown and then tracking down the dock master. To further complicate the retrieval, they'd followed the insanely fast ninja to the base of the mountain, and then lost his trail in the first blizzard of the season. It appeared that he'd also picked up a traveling companion from the tracks left, so it was possible that a local was hiding the bastard somewhere in the mountains.

 

“I am the smarter one, but I still can't read your mind,” Ichiro muttered. “I say fuck Uchiha. I'm tired of chasing the bastard. And why are we even bothering with him for god's sake?” he cried out in exasperation. “I don't even want one of his fucking eyes. It's just creepy if you ask me, and I'd say that's quite the statement coming from me.”

 

Jiro had to laugh at that. He didn't quite like the idea of carrying around another person's body part either, despite his apathy toward cutting them off. Really killing and dismemberment was one thing, but keeping souvenirs was just a tad odd in his opinion. “We're doing it because we like freeloading off our insanely wealthy father and he told us to fetch Uchiha. Secondly, you have to admit the idea of having the Sharingan is at least a little enticing, if a little off putting at the same time,” Jiro muttered. “I'm tired too, so I say instead of just giving up, we go to the place he's definitely going to end up, if he's alive.”

 

“His house,” Ichiro grunted. “After a half a year away from his precious wife, he's probably ready to burst. No doubt in my mind what his first deed will be when he walks in the door.”

 

“I agree,” Jiro said with a nod. “Let's head to his house then,” he decided firmly. “Besides maybe his wife is cute. She might be fun to play with while we wait for him.”

 

“I heard that his village is hidden,” Ichiro murmured thoughtfully as they began to walk again. “That, and they have several high level ninja present, could pose a mild problem.”

 

“Guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Jiro sighed. He didn't really enjoy fighting skilled individuals as much, since they were more difficult to play with. You had to stay on your toes a bit more with a shinobi. Though when they finally broke, that was definitely a lovely little reward in itself.

 

“Hope we can find the “bridge” then,” Ichiro muttered pessimistically. “Aren't we the lucky pair?”

 

“Blessed,” Jiro grunted. He adjusted his pack and trudged on with a sigh. “I say we just kill Father when we get home. It'll be painfully easy to do, but I suppose satisfying in its own way. He's old enough for it to look natural, right?”

 

“Yeah,” Ichiro agreed with a thoughtful look. “Get the Uchiha, take his eyes, and kill the old man. Nice to have some goals,” Ichiro murmured with a soft smile. “Gives a bit more meaning to life really.”

 

***

 

Naruto relaxed in his new favorite tree and sighed. “Good training today Fox,” he murmured. He glanced up at the sunny sky and smiled a little. At least it was finally warming up a bit. It had been bitterly cold for most of his stay at the base of the mountains over the last few weeks. He'd actually decided to camp out at various spots along them, just like he'd told the Fox he would. Kyuubi hadn't been pleased, preferring warmer climates, but had little say in the matter.

 

“You're becoming a passable warrior,” Kyuubi admitted grudgingly. “Almost as good as the bastard that locked me inside your fragile, mortal body.”

 

“Yeah?” Naruto murmured in surprise. “Suppose that's good, since I'll probably have to pass his skill level to ever impress the village elders much.” They wouldn't ever let him be Hokage if he didn't completely blow them away with his skill level after all. To most he'd never be anything but a monster anyway.

 

“Bunch of old farts,” Kyuubi grunted. “Killing them would be easier,” he suggested.

 

“But counterproductive,” Naruto said with a small smile. Kyuubi was usually more into the quick and bloody solutions to any problem. For an immortal he was surprisingly impatient.

 

“I suppose,” Kyuubi growled. “So what are we going to do for the rest of the day Brat? Sit around on your ass and stare at the clouds like that lazy bastard back home?”

 

“Tempting,” Naruto murmured. “But no.” Shika really did know how to pass the time pleasantly, but Naruto really couldn't relax now that winter was coming to and end. “We're going to head down the line a bit, towards home. It's time to check for signs of Sasuke slipping through. Be alert for his scent will ya?” He sat up and stretched.

 

“Sure Brat,” Kyuubi sighed, his tone bored. “After that let's go home and track down the bitch with the black fur from last time.”

 

“The woman from the bar?” Naruto asked in surprise. He slipped from his tree and shouldered his pack. He laughed at Kyuubi's affirmative grunt. Shortly after finding Sasuke's trail and discovering that he might be lusting about Hinata just a bit, Naruto had decided to head to a local bar in search of a solution. He ended up going home with a leggy, gorgeous ANBU that had been all leather and steel. She'd been a wildcat and exactly what he needed to push Hinata's ripe body out of his mind. “I don't know about her. She was a little freaky. All the biting and clawing was a bit distracting.”

 

“You liked it,” Kyuubi purred with a sneer. Naruto had to admit he really had. The scratches had stung like hell for an hour or so, but had totally been worth it. “She was just like one of my own kind in heat. We should definitely mount that one again,” Kyuubi declared thoughtfully.

 

“You're saying that you like human women now?” Naruto teased. “What with the mostly bald bodies, annoying yips and all? Not that the last woman, Ayaka I think, did anything but snarl at me. Kind of a nice change from squeals, I'll admit,” he said with a shrug.

 

“I'm saying I'm fucking bored and they're all I'm likely to get with someone who isn't likely to try mounting a demon bitch,” Kyuubi growled in annoyance.

 

“Can't you use a nice term like `female'?” Naruto sighed, pushing away the not so nice image of taking on a female demon. He really didn't want to contemplate the damage he'd sustain from that kind of encounter. “'Bitch' is really harsh you know. Women hate being called that.”

 

“I should care?” Kyuubi asked with distain. “Can't hear me anyway Brat.”

 

“Whatever,” Naruto said shaking his head. Kyuubi was right, they couldn't hear him, but that didn't make listening to him grumbling all day long any nicer.

 

“So what about the black furred `female'?” Kyuubi asked with the tiniest bit of hope in his deep, rolling voice. So he really was interested in Ayaka!

 

“I guess I could see if she's around. She's an ANBU, I think. Might be hard to find her, but I'll give it a try I suppose,” Naruto muttered with a shrug. She had been a bit intimidating, but it had been a memorable night, so why not? “Anyone else you're missing?” Kyuubi growled, but after a short silence, he reluctantly told his host which women he'd found intriguing in the Leaf Village.

 

***