Life Before Life After

A/N: Okay, we're finally getting towards the drama, guys. No Naruto in this chapter but this setup is important.
Again, thank you to everyone who commented, it really does make my day ;)
Brought to you by...Jet, 'Cold Hard B****', and Fratellis 'Chelsea Dagger'

Chapter Six


After a few days of not leaving the station Sasuke decided that it was one thing for the building to look like a piece of shit, but another thing entirely for it to smell like one too. Sasuke gave in the very same day that the last toilet finally gave out, taking up an impromptu collection, halving his minimal savings and assaulting the nearest, cheapest plumber he could find.

“Do you like feeling safe when you go to sleep at night?” Sasuke asked, eyes narrowed as the plump little man began to prepare a refusal. His eyes had hardened the moment Sasuke had walked into the store, but it would be a cold day in hell when Sasuke let some disgruntled civilian stand between him and a functioning sewage system.

“Y-yes.” It was amazing how resistance could disintegrate in the face of a well-placed stare. The plumber cleared his throat and fidgeted with a pen on his desk, scribbling out the ridiculously high quote he had given Sasuke only moments before.

“Then think of your generous discount as the fee for that peace of mind.” Sasuke murmured, upending the collections bag onto the man’s counter. Wadded bills and loose coinage rolled across the counter, the men’s offerings, and a single cashier’s note fluttered to the surface on top of it all. The mass was impressive but the sum was not and the man began to pale and bite his lip as he separated bills and coin.

“I’m sorry sir, for a job of this magnitude-” He shrugged, “Even if I only charge you cost I can’t-”

“This is only a down payment for supplies.” Sasuke lied just as flawlessly as a good shinobi should. “When the job has been completed satisfactorily we will pay in full.”

The man continued to frown and Sasuke counted to ten, digging his fingers into the rough wooden counter.

“This is a service to your village,” Sasuke ground out, “And a great favor to the Godaime Hokage, but if you’d rather another establishment have the honor-”

“No!” The man’s face transformed into a calculating, far-off smile at the mention of Tsunade, “I would gladly do a favor for the Hokage.”

“We’ll expect you tomorrow.” Sasuke turned immediately, ignoring the man’s flustered yells as he fled into the street. What he’d left on the counter wasn’t even a fraction of what it would take to establish running water and plumbing in the old, decrepit building. If he gave the tradesman any significant length of time to think about the deal (in which Sasuke had managed not to sign his name to anything, incidentally) the men would still be taking craps in the shrubberies and cleaning out the cells’ latrines by hand.

That wasn’t really the way to keep enrollment up, Sasuke knew that for sure, and he couldn’t afford to lose a secretary, much less an officer.

Which led him to his next errand.

****

Ten Ten’s family forge was close to the industrial quarter of the village, nestled in a maze of narrow streets and large colorless buildings, but every shinobi knew that for the best weapons one need only follow the plume of black smoke that rose every dawn in the east. Sasuke sniffed out the smell of burning coals and the echoes of metal striking metal until he came to a building he’d been to many times before.

He stepped through the shop door and a pair of silver bells on the handle jingled loudly, announcing his presence to browsers and salesmen alike.

Sasuke had a brief and slightly bizarre urge to snatch one of those bells and run like hell. He managed to keep himself in control only when he heard Kakashi’s mocking laugh snicker in the back of his head

“Just a sec!” A young voice called out. “Be there in a second!”

“Take your time.” Sasuke called back, nearly smiling at the resulting crash and curse. He eyed the racks, the rows and rows of kunai and shuriken, the slim bunches of senbon. He ran his finger against the sharp edge of a naginata, and gazed fondly at a well-made chokuto. Even if it had been a gift from Orochimaru he missed his own blade fiercely. Its presence had been like an extension of his body, more flesh than weapon when he could yield it just as easily as a closed fist.

He tried not to think about how yet another part of him had been shorn away and suppressed, hidden from him for no real reason except that those in power wanted him to know that they could…but such thoughts were not conducive to a successful integration into society.

Still, he missed his weapon, and he missed the knowledge, the visual statement of his worth.

“Can I help you?”

Sasuke turned away from the display to meet the gaze of a slightly irate looking Ten Ten. Her pretty face was twisted into a scowl and she drummed her fingers on the counter as Sasuke decided how best to handle the situation.

“Attempting to buy weapons is a violation of your parole.” She snapped, her eyes narrowing, “So I suggest you take your little pansy-ass right out of my store before I call the ANBU.”

“And I suggest you watch your mouth.” Sasuke murmured coolly, stepping in closer. Ten Ten’s hands twitched towards her weapons pouch and Sasuke just smirked, “As a long-time customer we’re willing to make allowances, but this isn’t the only forge in Konoha.”

“We’re?” Ten Ten raised an eyebrow, “So the rumors are true? You’ve finally snapped?”

Sasuke nearly rolled his eyes, instead managing a terse, “You should go get your father.”

Before I break your neck, he didn’t add, knowing that Ten Ten could read it in the tensing of his forearms, the calm of his face. When she didn’t respond Sasuke reached up slowly and removed his glasses, making a show of cleaning them against the fabric of his shirt as he let Ten Ten ponder all the ways he could turn a little bit of glass and metal into a weapon he wasn’t supposed to have.

“I’m telling the Hokage about this.” She finally hissed, turning on her heel to disappear behind a curtain.

Sasuke put his glasses back on and smiled. After months of pussy-footing around Konoha speaking his mind felt like finally coming to the end of a long, tedious run.

Behind the curtain there was a round of muffled arguing, hushed half-whispers that made their way to the curtain before the massive bulk of Ten Ten’s father unfolded from the small space. Ten Ten was right behind him, arms folded and a truly ferocious pout slathered over delicate features. Apparently she hadn’t won the argument.

“What can we do for you, Uchiha?” The forger’s deep voice seemed to echo in the small room. Sasuke reached into his shirt and both eyes followed, Ten Ten’s hand slipping down to her kunai as Sasuke pulled out a scroll and a set of keys. He gave a pointed stare to both of them as he set the scroll down on the counter and Ten Ten blushed, re-crossing her arms over her chest.

“I’m about to make a very generous offer on behalf of the Konoha Military Police.” He murmured, “Perhaps you’d like to offer me some tea.”

Father and daughter exchanged a look and Ten Ten disappeared behind the curtain again, a stream of low curses augmenting every furious step. Her father gestured Sasuke forward and he followed.

****

“I’m grateful for what you’re doing,” Ten Ten said, “but that doesn’t mean I’m going to cut you any slack. This is nothing but a business deal and you’re still a creepy, traitorous bastard.”

Sasuke didn’t take her declaration to heart. They had just passed the compound gates and there was a reason why the property had remained untouched for the long years it had been abandoned. Blood stains, kunai scores, and the slowly rotting outer surface of the store fronts had made even the ANBU nervous for the first few weeks Sasuke had been ‘guarded’.

But still, creepy? That was an adjective Sasuke hadn’t heard used in conjunction with his name so far.

“You make horrible tea.” Sasuke countered, taking a quick left and thus avoiding the fist that would have whirled through his head. He didn’t know if it was the conversation or the display but Ten Ten seemed to calm as they walked down the avenue, staring into the empty storefronts and marking the territory like a good shinobi should.

When they finally arrived at their destination Ten Ten sucked a breath through her teeth.

“You’ve got to be shitting me.” She said, her eyes wide at the sight. Sasuke tilted his head and looked into the shadows, willing to act the bystander as Ten Ten ran through the open shop door and let out a squeal. She was a perfect example of team Gai; ferocious physicality followed by an almost childlike personality. It made Sasuke wonder about Neji, if he might have a more tender side hidden under his skin.

He followed Ten Ten into the forge fanning away the dust from her sudden entrance. She seemed to be entranced by the dusty tools, by the potential.

His work at the police department suddenly took on a new light and for a moment Sasuke felt grateful to this girl he barely knew and pleased that he had chosen such a person to put down ties in the haunted compound. She turned suddenly and Sasuke blanched at having her brown eyes so close.

“This is too much.” She whispered, intent. “For what you’re asking…”

Sasuke pulled out another set of keys and put it into her hand.

“There’s a small apartment above the working area.” He said, drawing his hand back and looking away. There really was a lot of dust. “I also cleaned up one of the bathing facilities on the main road. I imagine this sort of work is dirty.”

“Uchiha-”

Sasuke looked back up and gave her a stare that would speak more than words and she silenced, taking a step back.

“I don’t want anyone else in here but your father, do you understand?”

“Yes.” Ten Ten bowed her head. “I understand.”

“I also need weekly updates and will occasionally stop by to examine your progress; factoring in a few weeks to clean and repair, of course.” He continued, pleased that she had stopped her useless platitudes. It wasn’t like he wasn’t getting anything out of the deal. She nodded.

“Contact me if you run out of supplies.” Sasuke let up on the intimidation and Ten Ten exhaled softly, looking around the room with a soft, fond smile and a sort of buzzing eagerness that was infectious.

“I’d like to work on some of my own projects,” She murmured, going over to inspect a nearby worktable with sharp eyes, “Experiment a little.”

“As long as you keep up production I don’t really care what you do.” Sasuke turned but paused in the doorway, his hand on the frame as he looked out into the street.

“Don’t go exploring,” He said. The hollowness returned with a fierce ache as he thought of what used to be his home, “You wouldn’t like what you might find.”

Then he left the compound, careful not to glimpse the memories that would make his steps a burden, but even inside Konoha proper he could still smell the dust of every silent building.

****

Back at the station it was business as usual. The drunks had started up some kind of sea chanty and were swaying together in camaraderie, a few teenagers were sitting in alternate degrees of disgruntlement and embarrassment as one of the officers lectured on public indecency and the fines thereof, and some poor fool was yelling for a lawyer he would never get.

“See, here’s the thing,” A fresh-faced chuunin sighed, “You’re in a shinobi village…there are no such things as lawyer-nin.”

“Well then who do I talk to?” The man slammed his free hand into the officer’s desk and nobody looked impressed, “I want to talk to your superior! I’ll sue!”

“Who’s Sue?” One of the men wisecracked, as they always did, before smacking the man in the head with a file. Sasuke sighed. It was always the same with outsiders. They always assumed they had basic human rights and they were always so very, very wrong.

“I mean it!” He continued, red-faced and furious, “I want to speak to your superior. As a relative of the Daimyo I deserve that much!”

A few of the officers exchanged smirking glances at the statement. It was always something of a wonder how genetics abruptly came into play when someone was being handcuffed and locked away. Still, Sasuke took a good look at the man; from his delicate features, long black hair, and carefully tailored clothes he did look as if he could be someone important in the outside world.

Sasuke had started to understand that when it came to finances it was better to have important friends than important enemies. He stepped out of the general hubbub and into the orbit of the problem, watching carefully as the world around him took notice. Time seemed to slow as the officers subtly straightened their stances, cautiously looking everywhere Sasuke wasn’t. The room seemed to quiet as the mood spread between shinobi and civilians alike. Still, the stranger didn’t seem to notice, running into a full diatribe as his arresting officer turned his attention to the rafters.

When the man started to lull, obviously confused by the utter lack of response, Sasuke stepped forward, put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

“Not so loud.” Sasuke murmured, staring into the wide eyes that looked up. He narrowed his gaze and took pleasure in the man’s white face, his sudden stillness. He heard the hissing echo of his sensei’s warning…Prey shouldn’t make so much noise.

Sasuke went to the other side of the desk and took the seat that was abandoned with admirable swiftness. He went through the man’s papers, uncaring of the circle of speculative eyes. After a long three weeks at the precinct Sasuke hadn’t ever taken such a personal interest in a case other than to demand some quiet from the unruly bullpen while he went through the damned budget again. He preferred to beat that particular dead horse in silence, thank you very much.

Sasuke had read the same sheet about seven times before the man- Nakamura Hiroto- finally opened his mouth to make an objection.

“You-” He started, but Sasuke lifted his eyes and the man snapped his mouth shut, blanching back.

Inside a tiny part of Sasuke burst into hysterical laughter. He wasn’t even getting started.

Sasuke snapped the file shut with one hand and passed it back to the officer behind him, never once taking his eyes off of Nakamura. A civilian could never quite cope with an unblinking stare, and the merchant shrank into his chair as Sasuke casually leaned back into his own.

“Stand up.” He finally said. Nakamura did as he was told, hesitantly rising from his seat. Sasuke wondered for a moment if he had accidentally hypnotized the man but then Nakamura swallowed nervously and Sasuke knew better.

“Look out the window behind me.”

Nakamura did so. Sasuke smiled down at the desk and picked up a pen.

“You struck an academy student,” Nakamura looked back and Sasuke continued, sharply, “Did I say you could move?”

The man’s eyes snapped back outside and Sasuke continued.

“More importantly,” and Sasuke almost laughed at this part, “you kicked his dog.”

A round of whispers went around the room and Sasuke twirled a pen in his fingers, fully aware that he was having far too much fun. After a few tense moments, Sasuke asked, “Tell me Nakamura-san, can you see the man standing under the eaves of the restaurant across the street? Look closely, he’s in the shadows.”

“…no,” Nakamura seemed to be regaining his strength. That wouldn’t last long. “There’s no one there.”

“Oh?” Sasuke stood, grabbed Nakamura by the elbow and dragged him to stand in front of the window. Under all that finery and expensive cloth he was shaking like a leaf in a windstorm. Nakamura was right about one thing; from this view Kiba wasn’t visible, but Sasuke opened the window and saw an interested twitch of white fur from behind the bushes only a few meters away.

Putting his hand on Nakamura’s shoulder Sasuke twitched his fingers into a sign and Kiba suddenly burst into full view, scowling fiercely, canines bared and eyes slit and growling like a beast as his arm made a familiar, effortless move.

Sasuke caught the kunai an inch away from Nakamura’s left eye just as Akamaru let out a hair-raising howl and made a lunge towards the window, showing an impressive display of sharp teeth.

Nakamura’s eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped to the ground, fainting dead away. This time Sasuke did laugh, tossing the kunai back to its owner, who pocketed it with satisfied grin.

“Do you see him now?” Sasuke asked, giving the unconscious body a little kick. Fortunately for him, Nakamura wasn’t faking. Outside the window Akamaru yipped, sticking his enormous head through the window with curious eyes and a long lolling tongue before bounding back to his master. Sasuke gestured again and Kiba crossed the street, rolling his eyes.

“Does this place always smell like shit?” He asked, holding a hand over his nose as he peered down at Nakamura’s body. Sasuke ignored the question.

“If your nephew runs to the Inuzuka standard he probably deserved a good smack,” Sasuke ignored Kiba’s glare, “How bad is the injury to the dog?”

“He’ll be sore for a little while, but he’s had worse.”

“Then why were you lurking outside?”

“I was planning on breaking his legs. It’s only fair.” Kiba growled down at Nakamura’s sprawled body, and Sasuke repressed a sigh. Kiba was always boringly predictable.

“You do realize,” Sasuke made sure to enunciate and speak slowly, “That you are standing outside a police station?”

Kiba snorted and then looked back up, “Whattaya gonna do Uchiha, arrest me?”

“Not unless I have to,” Sasuke smirked back, “This place already smells as it is. The last thing we need is a rank, useless bitch spreading fleas.”

It was almost comical to see Kiba digest the words, eyes wide in shock as he processed the statement in the very worst possible way. If Kiba had any finesse at all he’d have realized Sasuke was trying to provoke him, but just like Naruto Kiba reacted under the delusion that physicality was going to win the confrontation. With Naruto it might have been true, but Kiba had to be high if he thought he could best Sasuke in a fight.

Kiba lunged, but Sasuke was faster, snapping the window shut and catching the man’s neck and forearms on the ledge. The more Kiba struggled the more force Sasuke put on the window, until Kiba finally stilled, breathing harshly and radiating enough killing intent that Nakamura whimpered down on the floor.

“I am not above having a talk with your mother, Inuzuka.” Kiba winced and Sasuke let up on the pressure so he could breathe, “Drop the issue and I’ll get you compensation. Push it and I’ll lock you up with a bunch of drunks and a bucket of vomit. I wonder what Inuzuka-sama would say about having to bail her son out of jail.”

Kiba didn’t reply, but he didn’t fight against his bonds either, so Sasuke leaned in close enough to whisper.

“Besides,” Sasuke murmured, his nose nearly buried in Kiba’s wild hair, “I know how to not leave a bruise. Do you?”

Kiba’s killing intent dissipated and he stared at Sasuke, his eyebrows rising when his mouth snapped shut.

“I think we have an understanding.” Sasuke smiled and lifted the window, letting Kiba slip back out and onto his feet. He rubbed his neck for a moment, still staring, before a thin smile unfurled on his face.

“You better take care of this.” Was all Kiba said. Then he shook his head, laughed dryly, and tiptoed his way back to the street. Sasuke just wrinkled his nose, shutting the window the second Kiba was out of view. Turning, he caught the eye of the original arresting officer and nodded down to the crumpled heap on the floor.

“Bring him to my office when he wakes,” Then he scowled, ever so pleased that the entire room seemed to flinch away, “Get back to work.”

And they did just that.

****

Nakamura was released shaken but whole, stumbling into the morning light with his eyes on every shadow as he stole across the street. It was not a coincidence that when the plumber showed up a few hours later Sasuke could finally sign the paperwork that promised he could pay for the job in full. The morning shift had grumbled a little, sending dark frowns at Sasuke as Nakamura was escorted out the door without cuffs, but when that little fat man announced that the utilities to the side of the break room were now flushable…well, then there was nothing but smiles.

“So you took a bribe.” Tsunade said, crossing her arms with a scowl. “In a police station.”

“I’m fairly sure it isn’t the first time such an event has occurred,” Sasuke mumbled, scanning down the nightly report logs. “And it probably won’t be the last.”

Tsunade brought her fists down on the desk so hard that the wood whined dangerously and the mug of tea he’d been nursing bathed his scattered papers in green.

“Now you listen, you little shit-” Tsunade was growling, fierce and intimidating, but Sasuke finally did the one thing everyone had been watching and waiting for since he returned.

He snapped.

“You listen!” He yelled back, giving the desk such a shove that it overturned entirely, making Tsunade step back. Papers, pens, and broken crockery exploded in all directions through the office and right out the open door. “I’m done. I’m done !.”

And god, it felt so good.

“I’m done with pretending-” He hissed, kicking the desk away to look into her wide brown eyes. “-that there’s anything you can do to me that I haven’t already done to myself.”

Sasuke put his hands on his jaw and felt the blood in him slow, falter, and then pound pound pound until he could barely breathe for the for the…for the…relief.

“There’s nothing you can do.” Sasuke laughed out loud, leaning against an edge of the fallen desk. Tsunade was just watching, a raised eyebrow on her drawn face. Sasuke looked up at her and a familiar, satisfied smile crawled across his face like an unfurling pair of wings. He whispered, “Because I am not afraid of this place.”

“Your chakra has been suppressed,” Tsunade pointed out with a pointing finger, “Your doujutsu has been deactivated. You leave the city at the cost of your life, Uchiha…one word and the ANBU would very happily chop you to bits.”

Sasuke hissed, still grinning, “It’d be fitting, wouldn’t it? The last Uchiha dispatched on home soil. Do it.” He laughed quietly and clutched at his heart. The pounding wouldn’t stop. “Do it or get off my fucking back. If you hadn’t noticed,” He swept an arm to include his disordered office, the building falling apart around his ears, Konoha and all the ghosts that walked with him in the bright light of day, “I have more important things to attend to.”

He stepped closer to her, taunting or begging, he wasn’t sure which, “Kill me. Come on, Godaime. Kill me.”

Tsunade smiled sweetly, tilted her head, and crushed Sasuke’s throat. Her eyes were warm, soothing, and through the pain Sasuke closed his eyes and gave into the darkness going limp in a sigh he was unable to vocalize.

The sigh was echoed and Sasuke was let down to the floor in a gentle jumble of limbs.

“I’m probably going to regret this.” Tsunade said, her hands glowing green, and if Sasuke could, and god, he desperately wanted to, he would have laughed.


Next up...Sasuke betrays his clan, the festival, and a confrontation with a certain someone...