Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Wasted Years ❯ Ch. 5: Most Precious ( Chapter 5 )

Wasted Years

by Mizerable

Ch. 5: Most Precious

* * *

Hell was supposed to hurt.

But this was beyond what he expected. It really fucking hurt! His eyelids felt weighted, his head felt full of cotton and-oww!! He let out an aggravated hiss as something pulled sharply at his skin. "Don't move," a voice said firmly. With a sigh, he settled as much as was possible. It's not like he had anywhere to be, anyway. He was dead.

Whoever was torturing certainly seemed to enjoy it, humming some old and long forgotten folk song while working on his wounded flesh. Callused fingers brushed across his cheek before removing what was apparently cloth covering his eyes, only to replace it with a damp one. The hand he tried to raise, in hopes of removing the rag, wouldn't budge. The vague recollection came to him that the bones in his wrist had been snapped. Now bound in a crude excuse for a splint, it seemed mobility was out for quite a while. At least he had control over the other arm and the cloth was discarded. Despite the dimness of the light, it still bothered his unadjusted eyes. After the initial flinching, he forced his vision to focus on who was with him.

Of all the people he imagined to greet him in hell, she was definitely not one of them.

Soft strands of hair shielded most of her face though he could identify the faint glow of a cigarette resting between her lips. She was a terribly skinny little thing, at that, with her bony fingers working meticulously at whatever project she'd begun on his body. "I ain't a doctor so you'll have ta forgive the fact that it won't look pretty," she stated, easily keeping her smoke balanced as she talked. He raised his head slightly to discover exactly what she was doing to him. He could see part of the gaping wound left in his side. Even in death, the evidence of his failure followed him. Would these wounds plague him forever?

"It'll always be there, huh?"

"Just be grateful you ain't dead," she grumbled, paying less attention to him and more towards the task at hand.

That got his attention.

"This isn't hell?"

That earned a chuckle, if you could even call it that, from her. He gathered rather quickly she wasn't much the type for humor so just what was so amusing? "You sure got a funny way of showin' gratitude, boy."

So he survived, after all. It seemed a little pointless to keep going now, though. These injuries would take who knew how long to heal. He would be left even that much farther off in his training, with the impossible hope of catching up with that man.

"Don't tense up so much. I'm only patchin' you up with thread 'til I can get my hands on real sutures," she advised him. He hadn't even noticed the spool lying by her side until she mentioned it.

"You don't have i.d. on you, kid. I'll take wild guess and say you're a shinobi. So what village am I gonna be sendin' you home to?" Her hand was rubbing his stomach, minding the wound, as she tried to relax the muscles.

"I don't have one," he said flatly. He was not going back there. Not after this. Not after--

"You a missing-nin?"

"Hardly," he answered with a certain tone of disgust. No, there was already one missing-nin in the family and it wasn't him.

"Well since you ain't goin' back to wherever you're from, you'll be considered one now." Ah, all tensed up again. The kid apparently hadn't thought of that.

"Are you going to kill me for the reward?" His voice was loaded with cynicism to match his cold eyes as he stared up at her. This girl could have planned for this all along. It was obvious from her rough hands that she was a shinobi, as well. She might try to get any information that she might deem useful from him. And he would be damned if he let her start any torture and interrogation. He pressed his tongue between his teeth, prepared to bite it off before she could start anything.

"When a man abandons his home, he's always got his reasons. I couldn't care less what you do."

"What about you? Did you abandon your village?"

"Never had one to abandon." She took a long drag, seemingly recollecting wherever it was she came from. "My earliest memories were of the road. I owe my allegiance to nobody." It was quiet again and the boy relaxed enough for her to go back to work on him. It was a pretty rough wound for someone in his state to endure. When she found him, sure the injuries were bad but it was obvious he was in bad shape to begin with. She didn't even need the hospital clothes to spell that out for her.

"We're about halfway to Cloud Country. Ever been?" He shook his head in response. "Well, you best get used to the rain, then."

Cloud Country, huh? That was a pretty long way from Konoha. How long had this girl been traveling with him unconscious? How had she traveled this far with him unconscious?

"I'll take it there are other people with you."

"For whatever the reason, they don't got a place to call home, neither. Once you're here, who you were before don't matter no more. They were all a shinobi for some village at some point…I'd like to think we're pretty decent at what we do."

Sasuke had a fairly decent idea as to what line of work this person and her collogues were involved in. Perhaps he shouldn't doubt that she just might kill him, after all.

"Mercenaries?"

"Yeah. Believe it or not, wherever you come from, the higher ups prob'ly know all about us," She ripped some cloth for a bandage to be used as extra security for his wound, "We've been hired to track down one group: Akatsuki. That's how I came across you, after all."

She noticed the confusion in his features, the way his brow drew together slightly as he tried to hide his thoughts. He really was just a kid.

"Ya see, the man who fucked you up this bad…Well, you fought him so ya prob'ly know he goes by the name Itachi Uchiha. Him and the guy he travels with are in this Akatsuki and I happened to come across them, so I went in for the kill. Bastards got away, though."

What?

She, a girl that Konoha knew existed, a girl that Kakashi probably knew existed, was sent to kill Itachi. She was considered to be on that level. This bony, uneducated, foul-mouthed, nothing of a girl was thought of as being as strong as Itachi. And she spoke of this fact with such ease, as if it were nothing more than watching the rain. Why?

Why wasn't it him!?

"Oh, did I offend you somehow?" She didn't have a hint of compassion in her voice, though he couldn't imagine why she should. "Does it piss you off to know I'm stronger than you?" She reached towards him, probably to brush the stray hair from his eyes, but he tilted his face away from her. He did not need some bitch stranger talking to him like this. It's not like he ever asked for her help.

"You got a name, kid?"

"Uchiha…" Let's see how she responds to this. "Sasuke Uchiha." Her hand dropped back to her side. "So you're the survivor…"

She knew there was a survivor? Of course she would. It was a job to kill these people. She would have to know their backgrounds.

"So how much will you be paid for killing my brother?" Oh, the sarcasm was dripping in his words.

"I won't get shit unless the Akatsuki's destroyed. Only when that happens will I get to avoid execution," she answered blandly, lighting another cigarette. Hmm, it seemed Little Uchiha was curious now.

"I kill criminals. Never said I wasn't one." He couldn't decide if her smirk meant to be smug, or possibly even a little bit regretful. It wasn't until now that he noticed the scar crossing her lip. She may have been able to fight his brother, but it seemed she didn't get that strength the easy way. She must have endured a painfully hard life.

"After my clan was wiped out…" he spoke softly. God, this was so pathetic. "I swore I would avenge their deaths and trained with only that goal in mind. I wanted it more than anything. But the gap was still so wide between us…"

"Goes to show you shouldn't start wishin' to be as strong as me. Nothin' ever changes just by wishin' for it."

He was quiet now. He didn't need to answer that. He didn't need her to tell him that. He always knew that he would have to work to catch up to his brother. But after such a horrible defeat, after meeting her, he was just so mortified by his lack of growth. His knuckled burned white as he clutched the dingy futon. How could he ever crawl out of this hole?

"Guess it can't be helped…Looks like I'll have to take ya in."

The shock on his face was quite priceless. From what she gathered about this one, he wasn't one for showing such open emotion. Especially not like this. "What?" She asked coolly, "Since you ain't goin' home, you ain't leavin' here, neither." Now on her feet, she headed for the door.

"You never told me who you were," Sasuke called after her.

"Me? I'm the captain of the whole damn bunch."

"No…I meant, your name."

For a guy that didn't seem too interested in other people, he certainly had a lot of curiosity in regards to her. This kid sure was proving to be interesting, if nothing else.

"It's Yanagi. Welcome to the Aohi*."

* * *

The drawers had been left pulled out, the cabinet doors thrown open. Not a note. Nothing. He was just gone.

Kakashi stood in the empty training room of Sasuke's former residence, searching for any clue as to where he could have gone. He understood the why but just as Itachi had vanished without a trace, so had his little brother. More important, though, was the how in this whole situation. The Anbu who were supposed to forbid Sasuke from leaving the village had been put under strong genjutsu. Someone intended to let him out. Maybe Itachi had been waiting all these years to fight Sasuke, as well.

My god…Sasuke was probably dead by now.

Finding no reason left to search the empty house, he paused to pick up one forgotten item. In his haste, Sasuke had forgotten his forehead protector. It was the only sign anyone possessed to show what village they served, to show what village made them as powerful as they were. Sasuke only brought himself on his quest, leaving everything he ever knew behind. He really never intended to return, after all.

* * *

Neither Sasuke nor Naruto had returned to visit her. Almost another two weeks had drifted by and now that the doctor felt her injured lung and her other wounds were stable enough, she was being discharged today. Her mother was buzzing about the room right now, absolutely blissful that her daughter was coming home. Sakura personally didn't care one way or the other. She would still be bedridden, most likely. She didn't eat as much as she should have during her stay and felt incredibly weak as a result. Maybe after sampling some of her mom's home cooking, she might regain the ability to taste.

The only flavor she could recall was the sweet spiciness of Sasuke's kiss.

That day clarified a lot of things for her. Or, more importantly, kissing Sasuke clarified a lot of things. She knew now that he was attracted to her, even if he didn't realize it. It was a very physical and very natural response for a fourteen year-old male to have. But the curse seal brought on his darker impulses and made whatever he felt transform into something very dangerous. But he cared enough to not want to hurt her. They had known each other for years now and, more importantly, were teammates. It was only normal that he grew accustomed to being interested in her safety.

But he didn't love her.

The pain he felt in his life made it impossible for him to love someone else. His ambitions completely dominated his very being. Orochimaru never would have targeted Sasuke if he hadn't known about how greatly he sought power. And even though that creep had pretty much vanished after he assassinated the Hokage, the curse seal was still slowly taking Sasuke's life. Because Sasuke still hungered to be stronger. Only after he completed his mission could he possibly rest. Only then could he open his heart to someone.

But not right now.

Ah, and then there was Naruto. She really hurt him a great deal by turning to Sasuke like that. In all the time they had known each other, she never once hugged Naruto. And aside from the moments when Naruto would latch onto Iruka-sensei or Kakashi-sensei when he was happy with some decision they made, she doubted Naruto ever received a hug from anyone. Maybe she should give him one next time they saw each other. That was, of course, assuming he would come to see her again.

Well, she would just have to swallow her pride and visit him. She owed him for keeping her from completely losing her mind during all of this. If only he could chase away those mysterious Sharingan eyes that haunted her sleep.

* * *

It took nearly a week before he experimented with getting out of bed. The wound was still raw and real sutures never did show up so he was forced to move with extra care. Yanagi was right in saying it didn't look pretty.

He also had the chance to at least see some of the other members of the Aohi. Apparently it was rather uncommon for so many to be there at once. Just as the Akatsuki traveled only in pairs, this group usually did the same. But now as many of them as could reach here were taking a moment to regroup and formulize the next course of action. And from the sound of it, he would not be meeting with these others again for a rather long time.

He really couldn't follow much more than that. All these people seemed to have known each other longer and more deeply than he himself ever knew another person. But when you really didn't have anything but the people you traveled with, maybe you didn't have a choice. He wondered which one of these people he would be traveling with, but then pondered if he we even capable of doing so. His injuries weren't exactly ready for the road and certainly wouldn't hold up in a fight. How the hell was he supposed to do this?

Well, it looked like the good ol' captain finally decided to show up. He hadn't seen much of Yanagi since the day she fixed his wound. Judging by the bandage around her wrist and her bruised cheek, it seemed she kept rather busy. He had no idea she had been going out on missions. She casually dismissed the others, as the plans were set. Sasuke couldn't remember hearing he was involved in something but wasn't too surprised. Where would you put an injured shinobi who rendered zero damage against the one Akatsuki member he faced?

"In case you ain't figured it out yet, you're paired up with me, kid," Yanagi pointed out before taking a lazy drag from her cigarette. Oh, surprised yet again? "No need to look so shocked. I said I'd watch over ya."

That was true. She was good for her word, after all.

" 'Sides, I usually travel alone. It'll be less boring to have someone else to drink with." The captain took this time to reach in her pocket for her trusty flask. "You drink, Uchiha?" He shook his head to that and she frowned in response. "Too bad. You do now." The flask was now held in his direction and he could already tell by the look on her face that it wasn't something he was allowed to argue about. So he tossed his head back and let the liquid burn his throat. It was more bitter and painful than he anticipated, causing him almost to choke on it. And she looked damn amused by this.

"If you can't endure a little liquor, there's no way you'll survive the hell of being in the Aohi," she remarked before downing her own helping of the drink a little too smoothly, "We obviously go undercover a lot. You'll need ta hold your own at a tavern." She motioned for him to take a seat next to her and, holding his injured side, he gingerly took his place by her side. Offering him the alcohol again, he drank a little more graciously and she smirked in her usual strange way at him. Now she was amused that he wasn't gagging. This was so unbelievably ridiculous!

It was also ridiculous that only two shots of whatever she carried with her made him feel its effects rather intensely. He couldn't really feel his injuries save for a faint stinging sensation stirring across his flesh. Had he been sober, he would have realized having such little control over his weakened body gave the curse seal full access.

Yanagi was taken completely by surprise by the spike in energy before noticing the black markings crawl across his flesh. Hmm…looks like the kid's got some kind of curse put on him. Well, that's just fucking great. "Hey, you still in there, Uchiha?"

Fast!!!

Being a shinobi through and through, of course he kept at least one kunai with him. She barely dodged the descending blade and skid on her feet across the rotten wood floor, remaining crouched to handle his next move. Blade still in hand, Sasuke made a sharp change in direction and the weapon dug deeply into Yanagi's shoulder before both tumbled to the ground. The one hand he had control over now wrapped its fingers around her neck. "Why is it you?" he snarled, "Why are you able to fight him!?"

So that's what this was all about. Alcohol was the cheap man's truth serum and all the things the kid kept locked inside were pouring out. Yanagi was certain this strange curse was also what put him in such a terrible state physically, before the injuries. She had heard of things like this before. A powerful technique that worked like cancer, ravaging the victim from the inside out.

Was it worth this, kid? You wound up sellin' your soul for a fight you couldn't win.

It was her turn to attack now and she pried his fingers from her flesh before landing a sharp elbow to his throat. It sent him reeling back and his wild Sharingan eyes met her furiously. But unlike his brother, he hadn't mastered any of the mental attacks the bloodline eyes were capable of. And for that, she was grateful. A man possessed by a hideous curse would not make psychological warfare a pleasant experience. And also unlike Itachi's Sharingan, this boy probably could have done damage to her while he was in such a state.

Yes, she was beyond Itachi's mental reaches and that's why she was able to fight him on equal terms. Among other things. She wasn't from any great clan. She was never trained by the great masters of the world and her style of fighting lacked any real grace. But when it came to a plain old survival, she was the best in the game. Had Kisame not interrupted, she might have gotten to kill Itachi. But she was exhausted after avoiding any real food or rest for several days while traveling and fighting lesser enemies. She just didn't have the energy to take them both on at once so she had to take off. She had to live. They would meet again soon enough. She knew Itachi's curiosity always was piqued when it came to fighting against someone at his level. He killed his entire clan just to see how damn strong he was. Or so he said.

With a good yank, she pulled the kunai from her shoulder with little more than a grimace. She really didn't feel like binding another wound right now, though. Speaking of which…Damn it, his wound opened yet again. Having no power over himself meant a complete lack of care for his own health. The curse had one goal in mind and that was erasing the one who disgraced him so badly: Yanagi.

She barely knew this boy so it would be hard to reach him. But he was going to bleed to death right here in front of her if she didn't act fast. Beneath the hem of her raggedy shorts, she kept a pack of acupuncture needles. If all else failed, take the easy way out. Lunging forward, she managed to slam the pin into a pressure point in his neck. He was completely immobilized now.

Yanagi hurriedly produced a sewing needle and some thread in hopes of rebinding his wound. The fighting, along with the pain he was probably in, forced the kid to sober up enough to force the curse to recede for now. Sure, he couldn't move an inch. But he sure could feel everything, including her working on him. Sasuke stared up at her with slightly puzzled eyes and cheeks slightly flushed from the liquor. "Sorry, kid. I'm leaving the pin in. It'll make it easier to fix this," she muttered with the sewing needle in her mouth in order to thread it.

"I gave up everything just to kill that man…" he spoke very softly, a trickle of blood tumbling from his mouth, "I've lived for nothing but…"

"Maybe that's you're problem," Yanagi replied, "You go on and on about your ambition but that's just the end result of lots of things that gotta come first. For starters, what's your rank?"

"Chuunin."

"Feh…Figures. Instead'a worryin' about your brother so damn much, why didn't you just focus and being a jounin? Once there, become an Anbu. You can't just jump straight to the big goal without crossin' your smaller bridges first."

Sasuke felt very, very stupid right now. A girl who never even had a village to defend, nor a family to avenge, nor a rank to earn was much wiser than he was. And she managed to deal with the curse seal effectively enough. Blood suddenly splashed on his arm and he knew it wasn't coming from his wound.

"Your shoulder-"

"-Is fine." Yanagi had a way of making it very clear when something was closed for discussion. She was a very different type of woman than who he knew from the Konoha, save for maybe Anko. But Anko had a curse seal, as well. That made her a little easier to understand, at any rate. Yanagi certainly was nothing like--

"Just how old are you?" He asked flatly and got a slightly annoyed look from her. Didn't he notice she was busy saving his ass? "Think I just turned sixteen."

What?? She was that young? Yanagi didn't look it and certainly didn't act it.

"You seem surprised, Uchiha."

"I thought you were-You're only two years older than me."

Heh, he really was just a kid. Though it was pretty unnerving that one of those brooding-types kept giving her saucer-eyes ever five minutes. She wasn't that impressive.

"There. That should hopefully keep you from dying, for now," Yanagi harshly pulled the needle out of his neck and some blood splattered with it. Maybe she should have been a little nicer about it, not that he earned it. Much.

Sasuke experimenting with movement but the pain with the liquor made him feel a little nauseous. Drinking with his injuries was truly one of his lesser ideas. Maybe it would be better to just rest here for now. The occasional drop of blood leaking from his mouth meant that wound of his probably had some internal damage to go along with it; damage Yanagi wouldn't know how to fix. Why the hell did she choose to take him on her mission?

Little Uchiha looked like he was in a lot of pain. Too bad alcohol was a bad idea to give him as a painkiller. Well, they'd have to learn how to control that curse later anyway. They could have a few drinks together then. For now, what the fuck was she going to do with this poor kid? He certainly wouldn't tell her it hurt.

Hmm…perhaps there was a good way to distract him from the pain. Almost able to raise her lips into a self-satisfied smirk, she leaned over him with her face hovering just above his. "You're bleeding a little," she murmured before licking the crimson trail away with one slow sweep of her tongue. It was a pure coincidence she brushed against his lips briefly before she sat back.

"Guess I should stop my own, too," she switched modes rapidly and starting digging through her travel pack for some rags. Sasuke managed so sit up, now absolutely dumbfounded. His blood was pulsing rapidly and his breath felt a little shaky. What the hell did she just do!?

Finally looking in her direction, he found himself staring at her back.

Her bare back.

Her bare back covered with scars.

She had no home nor any loved ones to defend and never had. Why the fuck had she suffered so many terrible injuries?

"How do you keep going?" His shock was immense. His stab wound and his broken arm made him nearly incapacitated. She had endured countless wounds, including the one he just gave her, but she just kept moving.

"That's simple, kid," Yanagi answered before turning to face him, "I never had a damn thing in this world but my life. It's all anybody's really got. Ya can take someone's money. Take their freedom. But I'll be damned if anybody's gonna get my life, too. No way in hell is someone gettin' all of me."

She was amazingly wise. No one ever taught you things like this at the Academy. It was always "the honor of the ninja is shown by serving the village." Never let anyone lay claim to it, even at the cost of your life. They never really gave a shit about your life, so long as everyone else was kept safe. But if you weren't even breathing, what the hell did it matter if some village only remembered you as a name carved into a fucking stone?

"Hey." He startled so easily these days, as her hand tapped his cheek. It wasn't until now that he even remembered she was topless. "You gonna help me bind this wound or not?"

Great, the kid has probably never seen a topless woman before. He just stared with those wide eyes again. This was turning out to be a real pain in the ass.

"We're gonna be spendin' a lotta time together so you best get used to the fact that I got tits." Ah, there was the scowl. He was obviously the formally educated type and she was obviously not. Women where he came from probably did not bare all like this. Guess she'd be his teacher when it came to the real world, too.

After a bit of a group effort and using the alcohol to clean the wound, they managed to neatly tie her bandage over it. She chose not to point out that his hand was shaking. But as he moved away, she did take hold of it and placed it against her breast. His face was a little flushed but he looked pissed more than anything. "Listen, Uchiha. Let's get something clear. You're obviously not comfortable 'cause you think this is something sexual." He seemed a little confused now, plus that curse's energy was starting to trickle back into existence. Ah, the curse played on all your dark urges. Poor bastard.

"You're gonna see a lot of horrifying shit out here and I'm all that you'll have to guide you through it. We're gonna be eating, sleeping, bathing, you name it together for a long, long time. You're gonna know all of me more than you ever wanted to but that's what it's gonna take to survive. Can you handle that?"

Sasuke's hand hesitantly relaxed against her chest now. As he sorted out everything she told him today, he noticed that the front of her body was littered with just as many old wounds as the back. She was asking him for things he wasn't sure he could grant himself and they were certainly things he never gave to even to his team back in Konoha. Though there was just something about her simplicity that made it seem okay to accept this.

"I don't right now…but I'll learn to trust you with my life."

To be continued…