Ode to an Avenger

Ode to an Avenger
Part 02: Deal

"Speaking"
/Thoughts/
-Emphasis-
'Recollection'
------ scene change

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Tsunade had been going through the usual duties of Hokage, deciding missions that needed to be taken care of, determining the skill level required to complete the mission, then sending the more vital ones to the ANBU that were always waiting, always ready to assassinate with their blood-thirsty grace.

Sometimes she wished the ANBU were not needed. Sometimes she wished that missing-nins and deserters would have the courtesy to show up and apologize, and perhaps even politely slit their own throats or behead themselves, just to save her time and procedure. Sometimes she wished Shizune would quit it with the idle chatter as she filed and sorted, and kept up to date on medical advancements.


And sometimes, Tsunade just plain wished her reputation didn’t precede her, as the strongest and best damn medical nin this side of the Five Countries, especially when she had Jounin bursting into her office carrying blood-soaked pale kids, because really now, in all consideration, when would she have time to tempt Lady Luck with all these interruptions?


Tsunade narrowed her eyes as Kakashi stopped and stood tall in the middle of the room, somehow maintaining his mysterious persona even as the boy in his arms dripped blood.



/What the hell happened to him?/ Tsunade’s first thought broke clear through her startled mind. And exactly how the hell had Kakashi entered so easily into her office, her private domain, when there was supposed to be at least two guards at Chuunin level or higher outside her door? She sighed, the sorted her priorities:


Deal with the bloodied form she now identified as Uchiha Sasuke, then chew Kakashi out for making her heart leap at his sudden entrance.


“What happened?” Tsunade asked as she came from behind her desk to stand in front of Kakashi. Blood was still staining her special wooden floor, and she gestured to her right. “Shizune...”

White drop cloth laid out on top of the dark couch already, Shizune stood by, assessing the damage from where she could see Sasuke. Kakashi immediately crossed the room and deposited Sasuke gently on top of the white sheet, then stepped back for Tsunade.

“Why the hell would you bring him -here- and not to the hospital? Where they have -staff- properly -equipped- to deal with this?” She demanded as she knelt next to the couch, chakra already humming around her fingers as she placed them first to Sasuke’s temples.


“I thought his injuries would require your skill, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi answered, voice muffled as always by his face cover. “They seem a bit too extensive for the average doctors, and I figured you may want something to do.”


Point taken, and grudgingly grateful for something to occupy her time other than paperwork, Tsunade sighed to feign her annoyance, while inwardly she glowed with the praise. Yes, she was heaps better at the medical arts than those employed at the hospital, and yes, she did so love to be told she was far above average, especially by young men like Kakashi, thank you very much.


It wasn’t until she ran her hands slowly down Sasuke’s body and reached just under his last rib on his left side that she saw the reason he was bleeding so much. There, from under his rib to his left hip was a wide, gaping gash, that oddly resembled an open mouth if Tsunade tilted her head ever so slightly and squinted.

“Do you know what happened?” She asked Kakashi even as Shizune moved forward with rolls of clean beige bandages and the Hokage ripped away the tattered remains of the muddy and bloody shirt. /Ah shit.../


Kakashi waited until Tsunade had begun to stitch and Shizune heal with chakra and wrap with bandages after her, to speak. Once his worry had tapered off and he could assure himself that Sasuke would indeed be fine.
Waited until the blood stopped flowing, and finally began to clot; although he couldn’t see it, he could imagine the cells desperately bunching up and staying in one big group to keep the life blood in. Waited until the tension in his chest that had nothing to do with Sasuke’s kick –which had hurt more than he’d expected– allowed him to breath easier.

“I met up with him as he entered Konoha. I don’t know where he was coming from, but I followed him once I saw how badly he was injured.” Kakashi neglected to mention the blow he had been dealt when he’d tried to confront Sasuke; it wouldn’t do to place him back on the Hokage’s radar, not so soon after she finally trusted the Uchiha enough to send him on missions.


Tsunade pursed her lips and frowned, and Kakashi thought for one panicked moment that she would say ‘No, sorry, I can’t do anything, we’ll just have to let him bleed it out...make space for him at the Uchiha cemetery.’

She simply said, to his relief, “He was on a mission to the Hidden Rock Village to retrieve a scroll that I require. I see that he managed to complete it,” she added, belatedly noticing the small black leather carrying case that was strapped near his hip.

“I didn’t expect him to run into such difficulties.” A lie. “Perhaps I should have sent someone else with him.” A regret.




Kakashi didn’t bother asking what the scroll was, or why it was important to Tsunade. He only focussed on the steady rise and fall of Sasuke’s chest as the blood flow was fully staunched, and the bandages that were now wrapped around his shirtless abdomen. Anyways, he knew, she would not tell him. No need to press his luck.

Tsunade nodded once at the body in front of her, then rocked back on her heels before standing. Shizune handed her a damp cloth that she’d produced and the Hokage wiped her bloodied hands on it, turning back to Kakashi as she did so.


“He’ll be awake in a matter of hours, and I’ve got some medicine for him to take to make up for the blood loss.” Behind her, Shizune was removing the scroll that Sasuke had retrieved and slipping it into a pocket in her shirt.


“Kakashi, if you could–“ Tsunade broke off at the rustle of the sheet behind her, and turned back around to see Sasuke moving around on top of it, his bandages and exposed skin getting covered in his own sticky blood. The three of them waited, unsure if he was waking or simply shifting from being unconscious to just sleeping. It was clear that Tsunade hadn’t expected him to recover so quickly, judging by her raised eyebrow.


As they watched, Sasuke frowned, and Kakashi knew if he were awake it would be a full-on glare. But his eyes were still closed, even as they saw his eyes moving around beneath his eyelids, and he suddenly tensed, neck and arm muscles so taut they looked ready to snap, and just as suddenly he was sitting bolt upright, eyes open, Sharingan spinning madly; Kakashi moved forward, and Sasuke saw the slight movement and with a ‘thump’ was off the couch and standing behind them, at the far side of the room, back pressed against the wall.

Surprised by his speed, both Tsunade and Kakashi faced him when they heard his harsh respiration, and saw his tongue flick out to moisten his dry lips, and his fingers twitching as though prepared to form seals or hurl kunai.


And then Kakashi cleared his head, and said without moving “Sasuke”, and before he can say anything else, the boy was frozen, and staring hard at his on-again, off-again sensei, appearing to be trying to bore holes through his head with his fierce red eyes.


With a sharp blast of breath, Sasuke was calm, standing as upright as he could without pulling the stitches he undoubtedly felt, and breathing was only slightly laboured as he took in his surroundings. He saw the questioning looks from Tsunade and Kakashi, and the more timid glance of Shizune, who was now standing behind her two superiors.


/Idiot. You left Itachi behind. Get over it. Say something, so they’ll stop staring./ His voice refused to work, even as he opened his mouth and inhaled his talking fuel (air).


/Say something. Say something now!/


“Fuck.”



/Oh yeah, that went over well./


“...I...sorry, Hokage-sama, I was–“ /Cursing myself for being so damn slow?/ Better reply than any, he told himself. Certainly won’t mention what drove him off the deep end, his damn love for that–that–

“Trying to scare the hell out of me? Well good job, you succeeded,” Tsunade managed to say. In truth, she hadn’t been scared at all; well, maybe a little bit, but she decided to lighten the mood somewhat. To no avail. She sighed inwardly as her attempt at humour was felled even as it was delivered.


/If he was Naruto,/ she thought,/it’d be ‘old hag’ this and ‘top heavy’ that, but with him, the moment is just killed./

“I didn’t mean to...”Sasuke trailed off as he realized he didn’t know what he ‘didn’t mean to’ do. His mind seemed to have shut down, or he’d skipped some crucial events and he was now in the Hokage’s office, in Konoha, and not twelve miles away trying to kill Itachi./ Focus, damn you,/ he ordered his mind sternly.


Tsunade waved off his unfinished sentence, and instead told him, “I see you completed the mission. Good.” Damn, she never knew how to react to someone who had fulfilled their mission; thank them, praise them...what? Sometimes she wished there was a Hokage handbook, that instructed one on the matter of dealing with subordinates.


“I expect a full mission report in two days’ time,” she told Sasuke, discreetly eyeing his bandages and hoped they would hold after that rather violent leap. He could meet that deadline, she knew. If he could jump around then he certainly would be able to ink out his mission details.

Sasuke nodded and went to push himself off the cool wall he was leaning against, when his hand skidded on the slippery veneer and he was flashingly reminded of the slimy tree branches, and the slick feel of Itachi’s blood on his hands, his face, and now he disgustedly wiped his hand over his face, feeling crusted blood and knowing that not all of it was his.



/How can I love him after hating him for so many years? I shouldn’t be thinking about this now but why can’t I kill him? Just a blade in him and he’s down, down for the count, and I can move on, and if I don’t then the years with Orochimaru were a waste and stop thinking about this it’s not the time or place for a mental breakdown oh goddammit love should be hate, utter black hate I can see it...just black now.../And with a soft ‘bump’ Sasuke landed on the floor, ending his slow slide with his back still against the one thing that was solid to him.

“He’s just over-tired,” Tsunade promised Kakashi, even as Shizune moved forward to straighten the twisted bandages. Kakashi nodded, unable to shake the feeling that there was something off about Sasuke (hell, that had been evident when he’d attacked Kakashi then screamed like a maniac and destroyed that room in his house) but he felt better knowing it was nothing physical.


“So...home or hospital?”


Tsunade had already gone back to her desk, and was sitting down and watching Kakashi lift Sasuke up again, this time with no fear of blood, and her mind was already on the scroll that Shizune had placed on the desk, and it took her a moment to understand what Kakashi had asked her.


“Hmm? Oh. Take him home, he’s in no threat of dropping dead any time soon. Perhaps, you could stay with him until he wakes...?” Tsunade recalled that although Sasuke lived with someone else ( who was it again?), his house mate was on a mission.


“Is Neji not here?” Stupid question. Obviously he wasn’t, otherwise it would have been -him- being kicked, -him- getting bloodstains all over his clothes.

/Oh right, the Hyuuga kid./ “Neji is with Shikamaru on a mission to Wave country. They should be back tomorrow. Which is now today,” she added, peering at the clock on the wall and grimacing when it read 2:07 AM.

Another nod, and this time Kakashi had the sense of mind to carefully depart the Hokage’s office, and not burst out and scare the hell out of anyone else. Or piss off the two Chuunin at the door, who were still seething about his easy entrance. He -could- have been an enemy.

Tsunade waited until Kakashi and Sasuke were gone before rubbing at her eyes in an effort to fend off the bleary vision that came with sleep deprivation. Shizune had already tugged the bloodied sheet from the couch, and was handing it out to one of the guards to take care of it.


“All right then,” Tsunade said, screwing up her eyes and shaking her head firmly. “You and I both know the importance of this scroll Shizune,” she spread it out across her desk, and smoothed it flat. “So let’s get started on stopping the bastard.”

------

Somewhere in the Wind country, there was a man. And this man was in a roaring rage, because a member of his group was missing. And it was common news to all that Akatsuki members do not simply ‘go missing’. They are the reason others go missing, or turn up dead.

Akatsuki members do not go missing. Especially not the infamous Uchiha Itachi. He knew enough not to leave the rest of the group hanging, and now the angry man in Wind grit his teeth, and swore to murder anyone who dared to even suggest that Itachi was killed. By his own brother.


Who, incidentally, was not an Akatsuki member, which made the mad man in Wind country even more furious, because Uchiha Sasuke was not an Akatsuki member, and more importantly, may have killed one of the best.

Aha, a thought. An inkling of an idea that seemed to seep like ink on paper with every passing second it was dwelled upon. And suddenly, the furious mad in Wind was so not enraged, or mad, or furious. Because he decided on something, then, at that moment. And it was so painfully obvious that he couldn’t believe it had taken him that long to figure it out.


No, Uchiha Sasuke was not an Akatsuki member. At least...not yet.

Somewhere in the Wind country, there was a man. And this man was recovering from a bout of rage, because now there was a possibility of a new member of Akatsuki. And this made the formerly angry man a moderately pleased one.

------


‘Shake the rain from his eyes and hair, this odd rain that was coloured red and was running down his face in rivulets. Adjust the grip on the sword hilt, and come back to yourself.’



/This was oddly familiar.../

‘Sidestep the sudden yet expected burst of flame, but don’t look up; no time to drown in memories thanks to those red eyes. No, no Mangekyou today, thanks for the offer.’


/Didn’t this just happen?/

‘Feel the hot flash of pain and the warm blood begin to trickle out from the hole in his side. Feint left, ignore the dizzying pain, and swing right. Effort thwarted, no problem, cut down and to the left and up in a high arc.’


/I think I cut him here.../


‘See the dark figure on the ground, in the mud where he belongs, shocked that he has been brought down by the very same person who swore to do so. Both of them wait for death.’


/But then I–/

‘Hate turns to love, disgustingly enough, as seems so common these days. Deaf to everything but the red eyes in front of him, that challenge and speak to him even now, but all he hears is’


/Then he had to speak, so I–/

‘Otouto...I love you...we’ll train today...don’t stand so close to the water...Sasuke’

“Sasuke.”




‘“Sasuke”. And damn him to hell for causing the indecision, and his inability to speak, or move, or do what he’s aimed for, for so long..’.


“Sasuke.”

‘Now things are different. Now he can say what he wanted to, before, and now he has the chance that he lost, before, so he can finally say’

“Sasuke.”


“Shut the hell up Itachi!”

Then his eyes are open, and the ground below him is not cold and muddy, but warm and soft, and oh, it’s his bed, and oh, it’s not Itachi that he now knows he spoke out loud to, because oh, it’s Kakashi looking mildly surprised but saying nothing, and oh, shit is his first independent thought.



“...I don’t think I have the right shade of hair to be mistaken that badly.”

Typical. Kakashi would always rather take the lighter side of things than deal up front and personal with things that should be handled so. So Sasuke decided that if Kakashi is going to be like that, then he would be like this, and he sat up properly, acting as though he was about to get out of bed (and how did he get there exactly?) but really he was just making himself more comfortable. He’s always been partial to sitting up to sleep; it was just convenient.

Neji deemed it ‘creepy’, because, he said, he didn’t like waking up and seeing Sasuke just sitting there, looking like he had sat up late at night to ponder great mysteries of the universe, when really he was just sleeping. Sasuke had told Neji that his eyes were the only creepy thing (not really, Sasukes loved Neji’s eyes) in the house, so Neji shut up and they didn’t speak about it. They both decided that creepiness was in the eye of the beholder.


Kakashi was just watching him, not even pretending to be absorbed in one of those books of his, but Sasuke could be stubborn too, so at first he stared back, but after a minute he became bored with the still scenery so turned his head and looked out his window.



And then he realized that no, this was not his window, and glancing around him he saw that nor was this his room, and he didn’t like the sudden weight settling in the pit of his stomach as he recognized his shared room with Itachi, that had a special bed for the two of them to share on the nights that they were feeling so brotherly. And in this bed Sasuke remembered their peaceful settling in routine, and the way they lay close enough to feel the others’ breath, but far enough to keep some semblance of distance between them.

Before he knew it, he was jumping from that bed, and angrily brushing at his skin that was still itchy from the wool blanket that had always been there, as though he could brush off the memories and the feeling that he could still smell Itachi’s unique scent of pine and peach. He tried to shake his stupid, vulnerable heart that was happy it was remembering his time with Itachi, and wanting to relive those memories, and it’s all Sasuke can do not to take a kunai and carve it out.


He sent a dark glare to Kakashi, who was already standing and explaining, “I didn’t know which room you used...” but it faded into nothingness as Sasuke left the room to wash himself, because now he felt contaminated and he wondered if he can clean his heart too, because it’s making him dirty for remembering.


So what? He asked himself as he made his way down the dim hallway. So I mistook Kakashi saying my name for Itachi saying my name. That’s not a big give-away or anything and who am I kidding? So much for keeping quiet about the whole Failed Avenger issue. Wonder if he’d be as disgusted as I am...




Sasuke turned into the bathroom, and went to the sink and turned the hot water on full blast, waiting impatiently for the sink to fill up. He noticed it was taking a rather long time, and sighed at his own remarkable abilities as he saw that he had yet to put the plug in. Muttering under his breath about new-fangled technologies he shoved the rubber circle into the sink hole and commenced waiting for it to fill up.

Ignoring the steam that was rising he shut off the tap and dipped his hands below the surface, welcoming the heat that immediately enveloped him and made its way up his arms until his face was burning. Splashed the water over his face and without looking took the soap from its dish and soaked it, until it became slippery in his hands and he rubbed it up and down the length of his arms and onto his neck and face.


His eyes stung as suds burned their way under his eyelids, and he hissed in pain and angrily threw water at his face, opening his eyes wide to flush them out. Still hurting so he closed them and did what he knew was the worse possible thing, rubbed at them viciously and felt the soap burn back, and he wondered for a hopeful moment if maybe the soap would drip down to his heart, and clean it, so he’d be clean clean clean and wouldn’t have to think about...that anymore.



He became aware that he was crying, in an effort to get the stinging soap out. Tears were a good way to purge the impure forms from within, Sasuke knew, and for a moment he could pretend to himself that he could feel the black in his heart roll down his face and land in the sink, mixing in with the water and dampening the counter top. Wishing to himself that maybe his memories would leave him just as easily, so in the event that Itachi was still alive, he wouldn’t be after their next encounter. Maybe Sasuke could steel his heart against his childhood memories, and instead pick from the fray the feelings and images that came with the day he came home and found Itachi’s legacy, their murdered clan.

At the soft sound at the doorway behind him, Sasuke reached for the small black face towel and pressed it against his face, straightening as he did so in an attempt to ease his spine that was complaining about being bent for so long. The tension rose as Sasuke continued to ignore Kakashi and likewise, the Jounin refused to be deterred by Sasuke’s ignorance.

I am not in the mood to be interrogated, Sasuke informed Kakashi mentally. Kindly get the hell out of my house. While you’re at it, bring Neji back.



Instead he said, “You don’t need to stay here anymore. I’m fine.” And suicide is for cowards.


“Is that who you fought?” Sasuke threw down the towel ( how symbolic) and glared in the mirror back at Kakashi. Dared him to keep talking. Dared him to draw attention to Sasuke’s angry retort upon awakening. Instead Kakashi watched him, visible eye in a flat line. His serious mood. Which was exactly what Sasuke didn’t want to have to deal with now, because if there was anything worse than a cheerful Kakashi at the worst possible time, it was a serious and caring Kakashi at the perfect time.


Sasuke reached into the cooling water and pulled the plug, watching the water swirl down the drain, tugging gently at his half-submerged hand, and he stared intently in hopes of battling away the memories that threatened to resurface. It was only when he felt the air cooling his hand and his jaw so tight it might crack that he finally stepped back, wiping his damp hand on his black pants and turning to leave. Stopped short, because there was someone in his doorway.


Kakashi? When did he get here? His mind fuzzily worked up the energy needed to remind him that Kakashi had been there ever since he woke, probably even before. Why the hell couldn’t he remember that? With an inward shrug he chalked it up to his exhaustion and managed to put one foot in front of the other, until he was past Kakashi and down the hall, throat yearning for a liquid soothing enough to counter the raw feeling that made it hurt to swallow.

Walked past a door that was still half open, and his regrettable glance inside showed it was Itachi’s room and he grit his teeth and pulled the door shut, hard, sealing in his brother’s scent and voice that called out to him even then. He would not, he decided, venture in there again. Yet. His mind just begged him to set the room ablaze to silence it once and for all, but he wouldn’t. Yet. Not while Kakashi was there.


So he calmed his raging mind, but then stumbled upon a thought as he continued on his way to the kitchen to get a drink –water, he was thinking– and he would have laughed to himself, or at himself if he could remember how to. And he thought to himself why the hell do I still live here? To which he had to admit he did not know. Every morning when he woke up, and remembered everything, and knew all the rooms that had blood in them, and the front room where his parents had been; every day it was like a slap in the face.


So why did he stay here? Sasuke mused on this as he took a water bottle from the fridge and unscrewed the cap, tilting the contents back into his throat. Sentimentality, he decided. It was nice to be able to live here and feel so connected to his family, although how he could connect with spirits was beyond him.


Back to the present, Sasuke was annoyed to find Kakashi standing and watching him, as though waiting for something. Had he asked a question? Sasuke tried to recall but then decided he didn’t really care one way or the other. He had more pressing matters to attend to, like...what time was it? An interesting question; required a straight answer, no shades of grey and second-guessing. Look out the window at the lightening sky, hazard a guess and say dawn. Five AM or so.

“Sasuke.”



Go to hell. It’s none of your business, just drop it. If I feel like talking about it, well, it won’t be with you. I want Neji. He can understand to some degree. I don’t need you hanging around, get out, go home, go on a mission, go die, whatever the hell you want to do, but I swear if you–


“Can I have some water?”

And Sasuke felt relieved but didn’t show it, and he nodded and moved for Kakashi to get his water, and they don’t talk for the rest of the night, and so a disaster is averted thanks to serious and caring Kakashi, who came at the perfect time for once.

------


Orochimaru acted like he was mad, and disappointed, and he verbally assaulted the cowering Sound nin that had let the scroll fall to Sasuke. But when he was gone, and Orochimaru was left alone except for Kabuto, who was always there, he allowed the makings of a smile of triumph to appear on his face.

And he chuckled, just a bit, and very softly, so it is mistaken for the sound of him clearing his throat. Kabuto knew better by now, though, and he seemed pleased as well as his eyes flashed behind his tinted lenses, happy because his lord is happy, and this is the respectful feeling to convey.

So the two of them sat, and he reveled in his victory, because he knew now that it would come, and he remarks that he always gets what he wants, even if it takes a while. And Kabuto agrees, as always, and then his sickening simpering grows on the sennin, and he dismisses the medic nin, already bored.

He knew the moment Sasuke had the scroll; felt that powerful pulse of chakra the moment the boy’s hands touched it, and he knew that it would be brought back to Konoha, and he knew Tsunade would figure it out, and he knew she would try to counter it in whatever way she could, and he knew that there was no way she could, so he smiled a bit wider because allof her efforts were to be in vain.

The joke was on them, because whether they knew or not that he could perform his seals and jutsu perfectly well again did not matter, for they could not stop it either way. His impending triumph. He could taste it, a mixture of blood and acid and other delightful pieces of life.

Orochimaru was pleased, because he would get what he wanted, and at the same time throw it in his olds teammates’ faces that nobody could stop him, or his curse seals, or his two favourite weapons that did not know they were his weapons, but one would figure it out before the other, and in doing so...


He knew he would have much to be pleased about in the coming months. Because he always got what he wanted, and right now, he wanted his two weapons to be pitted against each other, and destroy kill maim demolish any place and person that tried to stop them.

Orochimaru sat back, and waited for the inevitable. It would come, as all good things come to those who wait. And he’d been waiting for an awfully long time, so his reward was due. To think it was so close...he hadn’t felt like this for a while, so he decided to treasure this moment.

These precious, precious moments before the world was shaken to its foundation, and only he would emerge standing.

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Apologies for wyrd tense changes in this. It occasionally switches between past and present and oy, it’s tough.
Please bear with me as I try to learn to use italics and bold and all that. Until then, follow the key at the top.
Neji and the rest will make an appearance next chapter, which also promises to have more action. This was merely the plot-forming, fore-shadowing chapter.