Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Waking the Dead ❯ In Her Words ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Not gonna happen.

 

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Chapter 4

 

In Her Words

 

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Sakura frowned concernedly at Sasuke's retreating back. She could tell he had been dreaming about that day again; he had been groaning in his sleep and had muttered Naruto's name. Not to mention, upon waking he had been uncharacteristically shaken before his infamous composure had returned in a heartbeat.

 

The kunoichi sighed. The Uchiha heir would never admit to it, but the close proximity to the place of Naruto's death was causing his precious barriers to crack. Kakashi had undoubtedly noticed it as well, knowing Sasuke as well as he did. The Akatsuki hideout held too many painful memories for them all, but Sasuke more than any of them was the type to live in the past; he had been since he was eight years old.

 

With one final glance in the direction in which Sasuke had disappeared, the medic shrugged wearily and settled herself in the spot the ANBU captain had just vacated. She wrapped her cloak more tightly around herself against the cool night air and closed her eyes.

 

The group of Konoha ninja sped through the forest following Naruto's lead. His clones had finally found Sasuke. Sakura pursed her lips and forced herself to move more quickly. He was so close now. After all this time, they would finally be able to bring their teammate home, she just knew it. He might have claimed to have broken his bonds with Team 7, but Sakura - and Naruto - would not accept that.

 

Naruto suddenly stopped and it wasn't until she had gone a few branches ahead of the blonde that Sakura and the rest of their squad realized they were no longer following him. Everyone turned around to look at him. There was an odd look on his face. The medic approached her friend cautiously.

 

“What is it, Naruto?”

 

“I lost him,” he replied in a whisper.

 

Sakura blinked, unsure if she had heard him correctly. “What?”

 

Naruto turned and looked directly at her. Emotion swam in his blue eyes. “It's like Sasuke just vanished. My clones were following him and suddenly he was gone.”

 

“What about his companions?” Kakashi asked.

 

Naruto shook his head. “Gone too.”

 

“How…” A thought hit Sakura like a punch to the stomach. “Genjutsu,” she breathed.

 

“If Sasuke is using his Sharingan to mask his presence, we may never find him,” said Yamato with a deep frown.

 

“Hinata, can you check?” Naruto asked suddenly but the Hyuuga girl already had her Byakugan activated. She scanned the forest for a few moments before deactivating her kekkei genkai.

 

“I don't see any trace of Sasuke,” she said quietly. She paused, appearing to see something for the first time. “There is a group of five standing still at the edge of these woods.”

 

“Did someone join Sasuke's group?” asked Shino.

 

Hinata shrugged. “Possibly. But it's hard to tell from this distance.” She looked around the group but paused. “Kiba-kun?”

 

Sakura blinked and looked over at the dog-tamer and his faithful companion. They were sniffing at something. The medic had a sudden flashback to three years prior when they had both returned in bad shape from chasing the same person they were chasing after now. She shook her head in an attempt to clear the thought out. That was not going to happen this time, she told herself sternly.

 

“The air smells…odd,” Kiba said slowly. Akamaru barked his agreement.

 

“Odd?” Sai asked, tilting his head and frowning slightly.

 

“Almost,” Kiba paused to search for the right word, “tainted.”

 

“Now that you mention it, something does seem off,” Kakashi said, obviously frowning under his mask. In three years, Kiba's sense of smell had surpassed even Kakashi's, which was an impressive feat in and of itself, but when he combined his senses with Akamaru's, little could get past him.

 

“So what do we do now?” Sakura asked. “Without any idea of where Sasuke-kun went…” She trailed off.

 

“Keep going,” replied Naruto determinedly. “People can't just disappear. I think we should keep following the path we were on before.”

 

The group slowly nodded one by one. There were few other options at this point and sitting around for any length of time thinking of other options was not one of them. There was a sudden pop and Pakkun appeared in front of Kakashi.

 

“Kakashi?” the dog asked curiously, obviously wondering why he had been summoned so soon after his last summons.

 

“Sasuke seems to have disappeared from the path. We need to know if it's safe to keep moving forward,” the copy-nin supplied.

 

The ninja dog scratched his side before nodding. “Leave it to me,” he assented before disappearing.

 

Deciding it was best to wait for Pakkun's scouting, the group milled around tensely. One minute stretched into five. Five stretched into ten. Sakura ground her teeth. They were losing ground on Sasuke like this. She opened her mouth to say something when a large explosion rocked the very ground.

 

“What was that?” exclaimed Naruto as he regained his balance. Sakura had a sinking suspicion that it had been related to Sasuke's sudden disappearance but said nothing.

 

“It came from the direction of that group of five,” Hinata called out. She had climbed up several branches higher than everyone else as if to get a better view with her Byakugan.

 

“Can you tell what's happening, Hinata?” Kiba asked his teammate. A few moments passed before the Hyuuga replied.

 

“I see a group of three people,” she said. “They were in the group of five.”

 

“Then what happened to the other two?” Sai asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

 

“We won't know if we don't check it out,” said Kiba shortly.

 

“What about Pakkun?” Sakura was frowning.

 

“What about me?” Everyone started as the dog suddenly reappeared.

 

“What did you find?” Kakashi asked without preamble.

 

“The path is clear through the end of the forest as far as I can tell. But when I say clear, I mean there are no enemies, but there is no trace of Sasuke's scent either.”

 

“What about that explosion?” Yamato questioned.

 

“I didn't find the source, but it happened outside the forest,” the ninja dog answered frankly. Kakashi nodded thoughtfully and Pakkun vanished in a puff of smoke.

 

“So do we move ahead?” Shino asked in the wake of the dog's disappearance.

 

“Of course!” growled Naruto aggressively. “We've lost enough ground on Sasuke already.” Kakashi nodded at Yamato and the group set off again, albeit it more carefully than before, the explosion ringing in the back of their minds.

 

As they ran, Hinata kept her Byakugan activated and gave progress reports when prompted, though the status never changed; the group of three Hinata had seen after the explosion remained in the same spot, which caused Sakura unease. Why were there only three now? Did they know that the group was coming and were waiting in ambush? The kunoichi shrugged. They wouldn't know until they reached them.

 

When the end of the forest finally became visible, the group slowed. They didn't know what the situation was that they were approaching except that there were three people on the other side of the tree line. Knowing that their entire group was capable of taking care of themselves did not make the medic feel any easier. Something about the anticipation made any situation worse.

 

“Yamato and I will go ahead,” Kakashi declared, breaking the tense silence of the group. “We'll give a signal if it is okay to approach. Otherwise stay back.” Everyone nodded and waited for the more experienced jounin to check out the situation.

 

The time the two elder Shinobi were gone seemed to stretch endlessly until Pakkun suddenly appeared in their midst. Sakura started when the dog landed in front of her. She didn't think she'd ever fully get used to Pakkun's stealth.

 

“You can come,” the dog said. There was an odd inflection in his voice. “You have to see this for yourselves.” Before anyone could question him, Pakkun was gone.

 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Kiba demanded.

 

“Let's find out,” replied Naruto and took off. Sakura shrugged at her companions and followed the blonde's lead.

 

As daylight appeared from the edge of the trees, Kakashi and Yamato became visible. They were talking to each other. Yamato was frowning and Kakashi's posture was irritable. Naruto landed in front of the jounin and Sakura and everyone else followed suit.

 

“What is it?” Naruto was demanding as Sakura got within earshot.

 

Kakashi pointed behind the now gathered group back towards the forest. Sakura blinked. There were three figures tied up to trees and unconscious. There was an odd feeling to the air around them which Sakura recognized as the signature of genjutsu. Her guard immediately went up.

 

Naruto's jaw dropped. “Those were the guys Sasuke was traveling with! I saw them when my clone found Sasuke.”

 

“Are you serious?” Kiba asked in surprise. “They don't look like much.”

 

“Neither do you,” Naruto retorted irritably. He began walking towards the unconscious figures, obviously determined to get some answers. Kiba opened his mouth to reply but Hinata put a hand on his arm and shook her head silently. The dog-tamer closed his mouth and Sakura took a brief moment to marvel at how far Hinata had come since her shy Academy days before following Naruto.

 

The blonde ninja stopped in front of the figures and Sakura paused next to him and finally got a good look at Sasuke's “teammates.” The middle figure was a woman and Sakura felt a jolt of jealousy race through her. This woman had been at Sasuke's side recently. What could she possibly have that Sakura didn't?

 

The sounds of her Konoha allies approaching snapped her out of her jealous reverie. She was being silly. There was no reason to be jealous of this woman. Sakura was a Konoha Shinobi and the legendary Tsunade's apprentice. And she was Sasuke's friend. That was the most important part of all.

 

The other two figures were male. One of them was in possession of a very familiar sword. Sakura's eyes widened in recognition after a few moments.

 

“Kakashi-sensei,” she whispered. “Is that…”

 

“Zabuza's sword,” the copy-nin confirmed. His voice was carefully monotone.

 

“How?”

 

“Sasuke must have-”

 

“No,” growled Naruto, “I don't want to believe that.”

 

“Naruto,” Sakura whispered, unsure of what else to say. Ever since Sasuke had met up with Itachi, she had been unable to tell what he might be thinking. For all she knew, Sasuke could have taken this guy to Zabuza's grave. And as much as Naruto would deny it, she had a feeling that deep down he recognized the possibility too.

 

“Well, we have to get answers at some point,” Kiba piped up.

 

“Is it safe to wake them up?” Hinata asked cautiously.

 

Kakashi shrugged. “There's really no other option.”

 

Naruto nodded resolutely and knelt down in front of the unconscious woman. He shook her shoulder. “Oi, wake up!” After a few shakes, the red-headed woman's eyes opened slowly. She blinked a few times and as Naruto and the rest of the group - as well as the allegiance on their forehead protectors - came into focus, her features turned panicky.

 

“What the- Where's Sasuke?”

 

“So you do know Sasuke-kun,” Sakura said with a frown. She walked up to stand next to Naruto and crossed her arms under her breasts.

 

The woman blinked. “Just who are you people?”

 

“We're the ones asking the questions,” Kakashi said sternly.

 

“Hatake Kakashi,” the woman breathed. She looked around the group again, eyes coming to rest on Naruto and Sakura. “Don't tell me you're Sasuke's former teammates?”

 

“That's right,” Sakura said. “And you are?”

 

The woman pursed her lips, seeming to weigh the options of answering them or not. “I'm Karin,” she replied finally. She nodded to the man on her left. “That's Juugo.” She nodded to the man on her right with Zabuza's sword. “And that's Suigetsu.”

 

“Haruno Sakura,” Sakura replied in turn.

 

“Uzumaki Naruto,” Naruto added.

 

Karin's eyes went wide. “You're Naruto?”

 

The blonde blinked. “Yes.”

 

“Then you're the one he's after,” she whispered.

 

“Who?” Kakashi asked, stepping up next to his former students.

 

“Uchiha Itachi.”

 

Sakura's heart missed a beat. “Uchiha… Itachi…”

 

“Do you know where he is?” Naruto demanded.

 

Karin frowned. “He was just where you are standing; as was Sasuke.”

 

Sakura's eyes widened. Sasuke and Itachi had just been in this very spot? “What happened?” she asked anxiously.

 

Karin swallowed. “You have to understand that I'm only telling you this because I'm worried about Sasuke.” Sakura waved the woman off impatiently and Karin sighed. “Itachi appeared in front of us here as we were moving towards the Uchiha hideout. Sasuke told the rest of us to stand down. We were here to make sure no one interfered with his fight.”

 

“They fought?” Naruto asked apprehensively.

 

Karin nodded. “But only for a short time. Sasuke seemed to have the upper hand for awhile but something happened and Itachi took the chance to knock Sasuke out.”

 

“What kind of `something'?” Kakashi asked with a frown.

 

Karin shrugged. “I don't know for sure. But an alien form of chakra flared inside of Sasuke and distracted him. What that means, I don't know.”

 

“So what happened after Itachi knocked Sasuke out?” Yamato asked.

 

Karin regarded the ANBU for a few moments before shrugging. “Suigetsu and Juugo attacked Itachi but he easily repelled them. There was a huge explosion from it and we were pushed back to the treeline and Itachi trapped us with some kind of dojutsu I've never seen before.”

 

Kakashi shifted uncomfortably. “He always seems to have some trick no one has ever seen before.”

 

“Yes,” Karin said. “Anyway, he must have knocked us out and tied us to these trees.”

 

“Why would he bother leaving them alive?” Sai asked curiously.

 

A thought hit Sakura and she swallowed. “So they would tell us exactly what happened.”

 

Kakashi's visible eye widened. “Itachi must have known we were following Sasuke. He wanted us to find these guys.”

 

“He's using Sasuke as bait,” Naruto growled dangerously. “Bait for me; for the Kyuubi.”

 

“So, what do we do now?” Hinata asked cautiously.

 

“We go after Itachi, of course,” Naruto snarled. Hinata recoiled slightly and Sakura frowned concernedly at her friend. Yes, he had every right to be upset at this, but if he wasn't careful, he'd fall right into the trap and she would lose both her boys. The medic didn't think she could stand that.

 

“Even though it's guaranteed to be a trap?” Kakashi asked with a frown. “Do you really think Sasuke would want that, Naruto?”

 

“I don't care,” the blonde said. “We've never been closer to getting Sasuke back and I'm not going to lose this chance.”

 

Sakura swallowed, disbelieving she was about to agree with Naruto. “Besides, our mission was to find Uchiha Itachi. We need to go after him.”

 

“But, Naruto-kun,” Hinata said slowly, “this would be suicide for you.”

 

Naruto shook his head and smiled roguishly. “Not necessarily.”

 

“There's no talking him out of it,” Sakura said reasonably. She could feel the ache in her chest. She wanted to go after Itachi too. She wanted to make the elder Uchiha pay for what he had put Sasuke-kun - and Naruto and Kakashi-sensei - through and wanted to get Sasuke-kun back once and for all.

 

“After all this time, Konoha still wants Sasuke back?” Karin asked in disbelief.

 

“Not exactly,” Sakura replied, turning back to the red-head whom she had forgotten about in the discussion.

 

“But you're willing to go after Uchiha Itachi and the entire Akatsuki organization for him?”

 

“We'd have to face Akatsuki anyway,” Kakashi said.

 

Naruto looked at the woman, blue eyes alive with determination. “Akatsuki wants me. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't beat down every last one of them to get to Sasuke if I had to.” Sakura nodded her agreement.

 

Karin looked startled. “Why? He betrayed you to go to Orochimaru. And then he betrayed Orochimaru.”

 

“Why?” Sakura repeated softly. She looked over at Naruto who nodded. “It's because Sasuke-kun is our teammate. He is the final member of Team Kakashi.”

 

“And because he is precious to us,” Naruto added quietly. “He is my best friend; my brother.”

 

“And I love him.”

 

Karin blinked and looked more closely at Sakura. “You love him?” Sakura nodded and an odd expression came over Karin's face. “I see.” She paused. “Haruno Sakura, was it?” Sakura nodded again. Karin looked thoughtful. “I'll remember that.”

 

Sakura was taken aback by the reaction but had no time to dwell on it.

 

“Since we're going to continue following Uchiha Itachi, what about them?” Shino asked, indicating the bound trio. “We can't just let them go.”

 

“You're right, Shino,” Kakashi said and Karin paled.

 

“What are you going to do?”

 

Kakashi bit his thumb and summoned Pakkun for the third time. Pakkun frowned. “What now, Kakashi?”

 

The copy-nin indicated Karin and her companions. “I want you to head back to Konoha and tell them that we have three Sound fugitives who have been traveling with Sasuke. Tsunade-sama will undoubtedly send someone with you to retrieve these three.”

 

The dog looked around carefully for a moment, sniffed a few times, then nodded at Kakashi before disappearing.

 

Karin had gone pale. “You're sending us to Konoha?”

 

“That's right,” Kakashi said simply. “You three must have been of great importance in Orochimaru's organization for Sasuke to have picked you for this. It's not something we can just overlook.”

 

“That will be a death sentence!”

 

“Not necessarily,” Yamato replied. “It will all depend on the information you give.”

 

“And here's a chance to give us some more information,” the copy-nin said lightly. “Where was Itachi headed with Sasuke?”

 

Dully Karin pointed into the desert. “The Akatsuki have a hideout that way. It's rarely used except when the entire group is planning to meet.”

 

Naruto ground his teeth. “Sounds like they're getting a party ready for us.”

 

“We can help!” Karin said immediately. “We really are concerned about what happens to Sasuke. He set us free. Even though Orochimaru is dead, most of his organization is still running because no one knows what to do. Sasuke took us away from that.”

 

“Nice try,” Kakashi said blithely.

 

Karin sighed dejectedly. “Just bring him back.”

 

Sakura blinked at Karin's tone. She seemed genuinely concerned about Sasuke. Who was this woman?

 

“We will,” the pink-haired kunoichi said resolutely.

 

“We will,” Naruto repeated. “And I never go back on my word. That's my nindo.”

 

Karin looked at Naruto curiously. “I can understand why Orochimaru was worried about you.”

 

“What?”

 

Karin smiled weakly. “He was worried about what kind of effect this `Naruto-kun' was having on Sasuke.” She swallowed. “It seemed to him that Sasuke never fully broke his bonds with you. And that was something that scared him; because he couldn't understand it.”

 

“Someone like Orochimaru would never understand bonds,” Naruto growled. “And that's the very reason we're going to get Sasuke back.”

 

Karin nodded faintly. “I… I hope you do. Sasuke deserves a better life than one in Orochimaru's shadow.”

 

Sakura felt a hand shaking her shoulder and opened her eyes to find Kakashi kneeling next to her. The sun was beginning to peek over the horizon. “It's time to get moving, Sakura.”

 

Sakura blinked the sleep from her eyes before nodding. Kakashi rose and walked over to Sasuke, who was standing on the other side of their makeshift camp. The medic pushed herself to her feet and stretched her tight limbs, all the while watching Sasuke.

 

He deserves a better life than the one he has now, too.

 

“Sakura, are you ready?” the ANBU captain called. “We're going to eat on the move.”

 

Pulling her pack over her shoulders, Sakura nodded. “Let's go.”

 

Let's get this over with.