Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Wasted Years ❯ Ch. 10: Bargaining ( Chapter 10 )

Wasted Years

by Mizerable

Ch. 10: Bargaining

* * *

They had trouble, all right. That Hunter-nin Yanagi dragged back here looked like he was on the way out while she had her usual amount of scrapes. The problem wasn't her injuries though; it was the fact that Naruto wasn't going to buy the idea of a third party killing a member of his squad.

"Uchiha, you best get those markings out and about. We're about ta get some unsavory company," she ordered coolly. Leave it to Yanagi to remain under control in a situation like this.

"Like hell I'm just gonna let him do that!" Naruto snapped, "That seal makes him even more of a threat." The outburst earned an appraising glance from her crouching form. From the fury in his voice, she imagined he must have known her boy long ago. It didn't sound like things between the two were friendly, either.

"I know you're here to do your job," Yanagi spoke up, "But we don't got time to play. We got us possibly multiple Akatsuki assassins on our tail-"

"Bullshit," he snarled, "What makes you think I believe you didn't wound my teammate?"

"What proof you got that I'm lyin'?" she retorted. His eyes narrowed and a strange sort of chakra was starting to flow from him. It was an older power, more primitive. More dangerous. It felt a tad like the curse.

"We're leaving now," Sasuke announced, his eyes locked on Naruto's. This was not good. He had seen what this energy was capable, his memory recalling the long-since past fight with Gaara. Naruto had been positively ferocious in that battle and, to be quite honest, he wasn't so sure he wanted Yanagi to face something like that. If anyone could mach her in fighting stamina, it was Naruto.

"Let's go, Yanagi." Sasuke extended a hand to her, sending a wave of confusion through Naruto. This woman was pretty important to him, after all. What the hell was so special about her? What had she done to make Sasuke abandon his home and stay with her? Why was she better than his fellow shinobi he used to fight side by side with!?

Why the hell did he leave!?

Just as her fingertips brushed against Sasuke's palm, Naruto sharply yanked her back by the hair and immediately pressed a needle against her jugular.

"I'm not fucking around here, Sasuke."

Shit. Shit! Shit!

Yanagi never got herself caught like this. Then again, maybe some part of Sasuke didn't believe Naruto would take a hostage. Naruto was a lot of things but cowardly was never one of them. Why was he using her as a bargaining chip?

"You complete idiot," Sasuke growled, "She's got nothing to do with this."

Fiery.

Naruto's eyes were a fiery blend of crimson and orange, rather than their standard shade of blue. Often times Sasuke thought his own eyes were playing tricks on him when Naruto's changed color. Hallucination or not, any time his eyes shifted color meant he would be a lot stronger than before.

"Uchiha, what the hell're you doin'? Get outta here!" Yangai shouted, ignoring the increased pressure against her flesh, "I'll catch up later!"

"Give up," Naruto ordered. Sasuke could feel the seal burning again and gladly welcomed the pain. This idiot had no idea what he was getting involved with.

"I have no intention of doing any such thing." Yanagi was hurling curses at him now, though he supposed he couldn't blame her for being angry. It was rare that she was taken by surprise and she probably didn't have a plan for this scenario. If he didn't know any better, he could swear she was concerned about him.

"Did you know that if only the esophagus is cut open, it takes about twenty minutes for a person to choke to death on their own blood?" Naruto drew a trickle of crimson for added effect, ignoring his urge to vomit.

Show me, you son of a bitch. How much is she worth to you? Was this one woman worth turning your back on everything?

He wouldn't die here. Yanagi wouldn't die here. Sasuke would make sure of that. The curse seal painted its way across his body and it hungered madly for Naruto's blood. They had to survive this and he wasn't about to let this dead last moron take away their lives here. He just had to stay calm and in control, otherwise the curse seal would take over mentally and then they all might end up dead. He just needed to remain calm.

"Surrender or I slit her throat."

"Quit hiding behind a woman and come fight me for real."

Those words played on the desires of the Nine Tails that lusted for battle. The craving for Sasuke's blood was drowning out all rational thought and the fight was all that mattered. He shoved Yanagi back hard against the tree trunk and as her fist swung towards his face, he secured both her palms above her head before his needles drilled straight through flesh and bone to pin them against the bark. Yanagi didn't scream at him, too surprised that her strength didn't surmount his. The rawness of his power left her feeling a little nauseous, though. Feeling Sasuke's curse drawn out in full coupled with his bitterness was overwhelming her as well. There was just so much hurt on both sides.

Yanagi spent most of her life without people. She couldn't understand how a person leaving would bring out such disturbing emotions, emotions that held no place in a fight. It was beyond her as to how these two young men were able to transform into monsters when facing each other.

* * *

"Are you sure of this?" Jiraiya sounded incredulous over the whole situation.

"There's no doubt, sir," Anko replied flatly, her voice devoid of humor, "The Akatsuki have set their plans in motion to wipe out every single hidden village."

"Do they even have enough men to complete such a task?"

"How many do you think they even need? Looking at the inner circle alone, almost every last one of them is listed in the books as S-Class criminals."

"They're probably just arrogant enough to succeed…Call back all the shinobi who aren't already in range to kill important Akatsuki members. We're going to need everyone we can get to protect our village," Jiraiya ordered. Maybe now would be a good time to locate Tsunade…

"And what about the Aohi? They've put up decent numbers against the Akatsuki."

The Aohi…It would be difficult to trust a bunch of criminals-turned-mercenaries. He was certain they were fine when it came to fighting but that was the problem. Desperate people like that might take advantage of being taken into a hidden village and attempt to bring down those in charge. No leadership meant no execution orders. But there was…

"Bring the Uchiha boy and his traveling partner here. I hear she's the leader of the whole lot."

"Uchiha? Are you joking?" Anko was stunned. After the kid went missing for three years and then deliberately attacked an Anbu, Jiraiya wanted to bring him back to Konoha? "He's a dangerous threat to the village. The Hunter-nin may have even killed him already--"

"That's highly unlikely," Jiraiya retorted, "And if he is as dangerous as you say, that Hyuga girl would be dead...Besides, we don't have much of a choice. We'll have to risk it for the sake of the village."

"So we're just going to let that boy walk away when it's all over?"

Jiraiya sighed heavily. He knew damn well Anko didn't want to end up killing the kid. Being a bearer of the curse seal, she likely felt an affinity towards the kid. But she was also a very dedicated shinobi and would take his life, given the order. Sasuke Uchiha was probably just a lost cat far too wound up in his own world of misery, not a criminal like his brother. That day he left, he probably thought he was going to die rather than completely abandon his home like this. But there was no denying Sasuke attacked a Leaf shinobi. According to Hinata's story, she survived because that young woman with Sasuke persuaded him to let her live. Plus Hinata described what sounded like the curse seal being used in his attack. Anko was right to think he was dangerous.

"If he gives us the slightest reason, Sasuke Uchiha will be executed on sight."

Anko nodded once before turning to leave and carry out her orders.

* * *

After three years, it was as if she was watching Sasuke fight for the first time. This was a great becoming, a change into something a little less than human. Or perhaps, a little more human. It was difficult to tell what was man's true face.

She knew he was able to perform fire jutsu but his power was bordering on obscene. The fact that it wasn't fazing the young man he fought was even more unsettling. The hits they were landing on each other possessed a force to shatter bones and rupture organs…They were really going to kill each other. Yanagi continually tugged her hands forward, desperate to free herself from the bindings. Despite the fact that she wasn't making any progress. Those Akatsuki bastards were close. She could feel it. They didn't have time to waste here fighting over some grudge.

Watching the bluish chakra forming in Sasuke's hand almost filled her with an unfamiliar sense of betrayal. He had been hiding such a powerful attack all this time? She never once witnessed his "Chidori" after three years of surviving together. All this time, she had been led to believe he gave her his everything. She had no idea that just one of these attacks ate up about half his energy. Or such had been the case when he was younger. Considering he never connected this grand attack when fighting Itachi, Sasuke didn't have a lot of faith in it since then. The fact that he sometimes couldn't muster the energy to walk some days also played an important role in its lack of use.

If Sasuke was going in for the kill, then Naruto decided it was his time as well. Over these last three years, he had managed to bother that pervert-sennin Jiraiya enough to learn an important technique. After all, how could anyone say no to the kid who needed to learn techniques that also taught chakra control when he was the holder of the Nine Tails? One never knew what would happen if Naruto could no longer control the monster within. It was sort of ironic, that while he let the wisps of energy spiral and weave together into a ball in his hand, he was losing his grip on that tremendous "red" chakra.

Both launched forward with battle cries as their energy slammed hard against one another, pushing and burning and agonizing.

This was for never saying goodbye.

This was for never moving on.

This was for forgetting and not forgetting.

This was for always being a fool.

This was for not being there.

The heat given off by the explosion felt searing against Yanagi's skin and she could do nothing but clamp her eyes shut to protect herself from the flying debris. Waiting for the smoke to clear was excruciating. Was that Hunter dead? Did Uchiha-did they both--?

A figure approached through the haze and her heart was screaming in her ears with anticipation. Who was it? Who survived!?

Her eyes came into focus enough to see an outstretched hand gripping a kunai, a ring in plain sight on his finger.

Akatsuki!

No time to think about the pain. With a bend of her arms and a turn of her hands, Yanagi lifted herself for enough leverage to land a powerful kick to his hand and sent his weapon flying. It didn't matter that the needles were scraping at the back of her neck now. Using her momentum to pull her body horizontal despite her protesting wrists, her feet locked around either side of his head and brought him down with a mighty twist. Almost there now…Yanagi grit her teeth as she kept her feet planted on the shoulders of her kneeling opponent and let the bark dig into her own shoulders. Throwing her hands forward with as much force as she could muster, she freed them from their restraints and planted them palms down against the tree. Flipping herself up the trunk, she stared down the vertical path to the ground and wrenched the needles free from the wood as she somersaulted into a freefall. Of course, the needles left her fingertips and hit the two other hidden assassins before her feet connected to her already dead attacker's chest with a thud.

Now where was Uchiha?

The blast made his whole body ring and above all else hurt. His hearing was a little messed up and the smell of blood and burned ozone around him was repugnant. Well he and Sasuke always wanted to fight each other for real, though somehow it wasn't as fulfilling as he imagined it would be. At least, not for his human side. Nine Tails, on the other hand, was in ecstasy. Stupid fucking fox…The tightening in his stomach was telling him something dangerous was about to hit and instinctively his kunai came up to block it. Expecting to see enraged Sharingan eyes, he could only find an unfamiliar face staring back at him. However, this person's intent to kill wasn't any less and it was putting Naruto on the defensive.

He vaguely recalled that woman saying something about Akatsuki assassins…

No time to worry about who said what when someone is trying to cut your heart out. Still wielding the kunai in one hand, his other hand came up with a set of needles to add to his arsenal. The fight seemed to be at a stalemate and, despite how tired that damn attack earlier made him, it seemed he would have to draw out more of the Nine Tails. He didn't have time to waste on these guys.

Concentrating heavily on his opponent, Naruto was startled when his back hit the warm body of another person. Sasuke glared over his shoulder, his eyes saying "later" before returning attention to his own attacker. Back to back in a fight against unrelenting opponents after a three-year absence seemed almost surreal. So caught up in the here and now, it nearly appeared as if no time had ever passed between the two as they finished off the pack of enemies together.

Leaning against each other facing opposite directions, both waited for the other to make the first move. Would they wait it out and see if there were more Akatsuki? Would they continue their own fight? Their fingers danced with anticipation as they gripped their weapons tighter. Whoever took the next critical hit would probably lose this.

"Stop this fight immediately!"

Naruto perked up, recognizing the voice of his squad leader. Why the hell would he stop? He had orders to kill his target. It didn't matter if it was Sasuke. It didn't! It didn't matter how well they fought together against those Akatsuki bastards! Sasuke-That bastard! He-

He noticed Naruto let his guard down. Spinning with his blade aimed at the side of Naruto's neck, he never could deliver the finishing blow after his wrist was held in place. As his arm was lowered, he found himself staring into Yanagi's dirt-smudged face. And, for once, her anxiety seemed to be on display. It took him a moment to realize her wounded hand was coating his skin with sticky blood while she held onto him. This poor woman…What she suffered through because of him…

"I'm assuming you must be Captain Yanagi of the Aohi," Naruto's own captain stated and received a curt nod from her. Naruto could barely hide his surprise. He heard a story here and there about the Aohi and its leader. The only was to describe those accounts were "frightening," at best. The Aohi was not home to kind people.

"We have received word that the Akatsuki are planning large-scale attacks against all the hidden villages," the man continued and only Naruto seemed surprised, "Jiraiya-sama of the Leaf would like to make a proposition to you."

"Oh?" Yanagi didn't seem very impressed. What the hell were they wasting her time for? She had more immediate things to worry about, such as getting to these bastards before they hit the villages.

"If you defend our village from this attack, you will avoid execution-"

"That's already been the deal on the table. You came here just ta tell me that?"

"And we will also cancel the execution order on Sasuke Uchiha."

That seemed to catch everyone's attention. Naruto could have seriously hurt someone over this. Why would they let a dangerous missing-nin go, even if it was Sasuke?

"Our village never made any agreement with the Aohi about granting asylum to missing-nin should they join your numbers. If you do not comply, he will be terminated here on sight."

So he was the bargaining chip now? This must be where Naruto gained that tactic. What would Yanagi do in this case? Sasuke knew she hated favoring one village over another and hated taking orders even more. Hopefully she would be a smart girl and just walk away from this. She had bigger fish to fry than protecting some village she had never even seen. Please let her leave.

"Well, guess I ain't got much choice. I've got a few points I'd like ta argue, but I gotta get to Konoha for that. It's a deal, gentleman."

Sasuke opened his mouth to yell about her stupidity but it wouldn't have made a difference. They were both too damn stubborn to listen to each other. He would ignore the fact that he would make the same decision for her sake if he were in such a situation, just as he had tonight. With a sigh, he let the curse recede.

Naruto was furious. Absolutely fucking furious! It was bad enough he didn't get to finish his fight but of course things had to get worse. Sasuke was coming back to Konoha, the same little village where Sakura was. If she found out…

A Hunter began to clamp handcuffs around Yanagi's wrists and she was not a happy individual about this at all. "Ain't that a bit much?"

"You haven't proven to be at all trustworthy."

"It's not like I'm going anywhere. I want to see your village."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. That was only going to make them more suspicious since they didn't know Yanagi had no intention of attacking it. They had no idea she only wanted to see a place where the sun still shined sometimes. As Naruto fastened Sasuke's handcuffs, he dropped his voice intending only for his prisoner to hear.

"I don't care about the orders. If you go near Sakura-chan, I will kill you."

Sasuke could only respond with a frigid glare. He was not returning to Konoha on a social call. This was strictly business and it was to repay his continually mounting debt owed to Yanagi. He had no intention of seeking out Sakura and was not planning on making any effort to find her. Sasuke would rather not meet anyone else from that place again. As soon as the fight was over, he would take off to wherever Yanagi was heading.

He would not see Sakura again.

* * *

Everything smelled of preservatives, incense, and stale pages.

Restraining the sense of uneasiness as well as the urge to sneeze, she pushed onward through the odd displays to reach the counter in the back. Waiting there was an elderly woman bent with age and ailment. Her whited out eyes had long since lost their sight but the visitor doubted the woman was blind at all.

"Well," the old woman croaked, "It's been quite a long time…Since I had the pleasure of meeting with such a pretty young lady in my shop…"

Her slow speech served both to unsettle her and make her rather irritated. She didn't have time to waste on cheap flattery.

"I don't have a lot of time…"

"Ah yes…Trouble has gripped your village…Has it not?"

She could only nod, though the woman most likely knew that already.

"And you come seeking power…"

"My home is in grave danger-I don't have the strength needed to protect it."

The old shop keeper seemed to contemplate for a good while, making her patron more and more nervous. "What I have to give…requires great risk and responsibility…"

"I-I know. But I-"

The woman raised her hand to signal a need for silence. She unfolded her hunched form from her seat and slowly shuffled over to a shelf. After a moment of perusal, she selected a dust-soaked scroll bound by a crimson ribbon.

"This…should be sufficient…Sakura Haruno."

* * *

Yanagi took a deep breath of Konoha air as they passed through its gates under the first signs of day. It was a cozy looking place, very prosperous. Yanagi was tempted to ask Sasuke if the death of one man was worth giving up such a posh life. Judging by the tired look on his face, she decided against it. Traveling back to this place all while recovering from his fight with that Hunter plus the Akatsuki proved to be a rather draining experience for him. It would be a real test to see how tough her boy became over these three years while back in his hometown.

Every man has his reasons when abandoning his home.

Just as the sun cracked over the mountains, the two in custody were ushered into an office. "So you must be the man in charge," Yanagi drawled.

"That I am," Jiraiya answered gruffly, "Ah, Sasuke Uchiha, how kind of you to join us?"

"Popular, ain't you?" Yanagi murmured to him and he restrained the urge to give her a sharp elbow to the ribs.

"It was hard to say no to your kind invitation," Sasuke replied coolly. The scrapes, bruises, and torn bloody clothing filled in the sarcasm. Yanagi was a tad curious to see what injuries lay beneath his clothing, the wounds she would forcibly have to tend to at some point. That Hunter was a powerful young fellow and she couldn't help but be intrigued by him. He would likely prove to be a valuable asset in the fight against the Akatsuki.

"I'm assuming since you actually agreed to come, you must already know why you're here," Jiraiya began, "I'll take it you have no objections to our agreement?"

"Actually, I got quite a few," Yanagi stated flatly, earning incredulous looks from everyone aside from Sasuke, "But I'm gonna keep this short. Say somethin' goes wrong and we don't prevent this Akatsuki attack…you wanna kill me? Go ahead and try. You wouldn't be the first. However, win or lose, I want you to drop all charges against Uchiha."

"What!?" Both Naruto and Sasuke were stunned by her proposal.

"For someone who has no allies here, you're quite a brat to make such a tall order," Jiraiya pointed out, almost amused by her. When he heard they were bringing in the leader of a mercenary group, he hadn't expected her to be some starved, raggedy little girl.

"I don't really give a shit what you think I am. If we lose in the end, I'll take full responsibility for both myself and Uchiha. Either you let him walk away when this is all over or the deal's off."

"And what do you think you could even do against us?" a Hunter accused.

"Get in our way and this entire village gets torched before the Akatsuki can even see the smoke risin'." She dropped her unfastened handcuffs to the ground just to strengthen her point. No one controlled her.

She was out of her mind. Yanagi was absolutely out of her fucking mind! She was threatening one of the strongest shinobi forces over hisfreedom!? Sasuke wanted to shake her until some sense started rattling around in her brain. "Yanagi-" his jaw snapped shut when she raised her hand to cut him off.

"I don't owe this village a damn thing. Ya want our help, you're gonna play by my rules. Fuck with me and I'll bury you."

So that's how this slip of a girl became queen of the criminals. She wasn't the bluffing type at all. She was arrogant only because she backed her word. If they crossed her path, she wouldn't hesitate to massacre everyone in her way. It may have been a mistake to bring her into Konoha...

"You don't leave us with much choice, do you…Fine, Sasuke Uchiha is yours to keep. But if you should fail, you will lose your life."

"I got no intention of failing." Yanagi turned quickly on her heels and stalked towards the door, Sasuke following close behind her and discarded his own handcuffs on the way out. Neither felt the need to stick around and listen to Naruto argue with Jiraiya about the decision. Hunter-nin or not, Sasuke knew Naruto thought he'd seen the extent of Yanagi's strength already. He didn't know she felt generous towards the Hunter-nin. She could have very easily killed all of them, rather than choose to run and hope they wouldn't be stupid enough to keep chasing. But they were hunters so they could do nothing but follow their "prey."

Even so, why would she-

"Yanagi," Sasuke's feet refused to carry himself any further. Not until he had answers. "Why did you make that request?"

"You really are an idiot sometimes," Yanagi mumbled while lighting a cigarette, "I just bought your freedom."

"That's not what I asked you."

Yanagi almost wanted to laugh at having her words thrown back at her. Clever little brat. "I removed your restraints. Forget your memories. Forget the people here and focus solely on this fight, otherwise you're gonna to get yourself killed."

Sasuke felt a little dizzy. Beyond her barbed tongue and cold heart was a young woman with the compassion of a fucking saint. "You're already in enough trouble. You would go so far as to die for me?"

"I ain't gonna die," she answered indignantly, "You owe me for all this."

"How can I repay you for any of this?"

How can I repay you for continually saving my life?

Yanagi resisted the urge to snort. She knew the kid felt it was solely her efforts that kept him alive over the past three years. It was kind of sweet, as far as a boy in denial went. If she had anything to do with it, he wouldn't picture a forgotten girl every time they fucked.

"Uchiha, face this without regrets and survive this. Just fuckin' live through it."

To be continued…