Losing Battles

It's been a long time since I updated this story. Life got busy and then I simply got distracted. Thank you to those who reviewed and kept up with the story. Hope this chapter appeases you:

Losing Battles
Sympathy for the Devil


If you can accept losing, you can’t win.
~Vince Lombardi


Battle 18:
*Temari*

Temari dragged her feet down the hall, exhausted and feeling like the fan on her back was made out of lead. It had been a long mission; one that she wished had ended sooner so she could have supported her brother during this important conference. Still, she had made it in time to see the diplomats off in the morning, even though she’d rather kill than wake up that early.

She knew the officials had had a late night and she had no desire to disturb them. Filing the mission report could wait until morning, but she desired to let her brothers know of her safe arrival.
She paused by her brother’s door, posed to knock when a low throaty moan made her pause. She pressed her ear to the door and listened carefully as she attempted to recognize the chakra signatures behind it. She knew it was an invasion of his privacy, but she was still the oldest and always took it upon herself to look out for her brothers, even if it was in rather unconventional ways.

As if to answer her question a female voice floated in the silence. Temari could recognize the airy sounds for what they were and grimaced in annoyance. Leave it to Kankuro to take advantage of the guests.

She tip toed past the door, eyes already accustomed to the dark and wondered whether her youngest brother was sleeping or not. It must have been barely after one, and knowing her brother, he would still be awake. Even now, years after Shukaku’s removal, he was unaccustomed to sleeping much. She would often stumble upon him sitting up and reading. She had considered him determined to improve himself before becoming the Kazekage, but once Shukaku was removed she found him doubly so. He would spend nights pouring over scrolls and manuscripts, searching for ways to increase his powers and make up for the ones he had lost. He refused to be weakened, refused to be replaced and fought to keep his position. In the end, no one could contest that he was his father’s son.

Temari smiled at the memory. She had never been so proud of him.

She reached her brother’s chambers, noting the faint glimmer of light pooling under the closed door, and was delighted to know that she had been right. She strode up to the door but froze upon noting the second presence- a spark of chakra in use. Her first reaction was panic, wondering if perhaps there was some attack or assassination attempt, but reason quickly supplied the obvious- the perimeter was empty. She crept up slowly and put her ear to the door. A familiar voice whimpered her brother’s name.

She jerked back in shock before hurriedly returning to her position.

Gaara reciprocated, his quiet voice struggling to enunciate words intelligibly.

She covered her mouth, wanting to chuckle, wanting to laugh in delight, but prevented herself. She knew the difference between lust and love and lust couldn’t produce that ring- the one that broke from her lips involuntarily every time Shikamaru put away his shadows and bound her with palms and knees. She had a feeling she knew who it was on the other side of that door. There was only one man in this world who could accomplish that- who could provoke her brother to compose not the sighs and whimpers of sex, but the tender cadence of two people making love.

It seems her brothers were busy this conference, and though it was a bittersweet thought, they were doing well enough without her.
Tearing herself away from the door, lest she be discovered and considered a pervert she continued her lonely way down the empty corridor. She nearly snorted, thinking of how much fun she’d have interrogating them over breakfast. But for now she had a reunion with her bed that couldn’t wait a minute longer.

Losing all hope is freedom.
~Chuck Palahniuk


Battle 19:
*Karin*


Back in fire country…

She had detected him a mile ago, smiling to herself at the sign of the familiar chakra signature and swinging her basket a little more gleefully. He would, of course, ignore her, but she had come to expect that. It would be some time before he could ever bring himself to confront her directly, and she knew that. But it didn’t mean that she was going to tiptoe around him.

He must be on a mission, she conjectured. It was the only explanation for his appearance in this part of fire country, and the sudden appearance of three others, a typical four man cell, confirmed her suspicions. She wondered if her pink haired foil and the boy toy were amongst them. She smirked at the thought of how much fun it would be to surprise them all.

Glancing up at the sky and judging by the position of the sun, she calculated that there was enough time for a small detour.

She didn’t know this part of fire country that well, but the path was easy enough to find. Holding onto the location of the four figures, she walked intently towards the one that seemed to burn brighter than the others. She tried to imagine his expression upon seeing her. Would he be disgusted? Horrifed? Afraid? Or would he hide behind the famed Uchiha coldness and act disinterested in her appearance and the trivial cordialities she would no doubt blather on since he would say nothing. Or perhaps she would return his disinterest- prove that she was no longer the girl he used to know, and remind him of whose fault that was.

She was, however denied any answer to her question and could only ponder the expression behind her when she paused calmly at the kunai held to her throat.

“My my, Sasuke-kun,” she spoke seductively, “If I knew you’d be this excited to see me, I would have come here sooner.”

“Karin,” the same cold, emotionless voice replied, “why are you here?”

“I was just in the neighborhood,” she said pleasantly, smiling even though she knew he couldn’t see it. “Just thought I’d drop by.” She swung her basket for emphasis.

“Hrmph.” He didn’t ease up on the kunai. “What’s in the package?”

She knew he couldn’t be referring to the large pieces of fruit protruding from the gift basket, but the small brown package tucked into the side. She was about to give a saucy retort when another, more devious response occurred to her.

Pushing her body into his, she wiggled her hips against him. “You show me yours and I’ll show you mine,” she teased.

He placed his hand against the small of her back, pushing her body away from his, while keeping his grip on the kunai in place.

“Aww, you’re no fun.” She twisted away, slipping easily from his grasp and leaped from his reach. Distancing herself what she deemed far enough she turned to face him, arms crossed awkwardly with a fruit basket in her hand. She felt the presence of another shinobi close by, probably one of his team, but they made no move to close in on her. She remained calm, trying to keep it casual and not give away the fact that she knew she was somewhat surrounded. “It’s bird feed.” Sasuke didn’t seem to care for this response, his expression remaining unchanged. “For Juugo’s silly birds,” she smiled.

His face softened at the mentioning of Juugo’s name. “They keep him pretty content in there, allow him his silly animal friends, but he says their bird feed is shit,” she continued. She was amused by Sasuke’s look of confusion. “That’s why I bring him his preferred brand each time I visit. Which is something you should try. Not like it would kill you to see your former teammates once in awhile.” Her displeasure started to slip into her words.

“Juugo is here?” Sasuke lowered is weapon.

“No duh! Weren’t you listening at all!” Karin nearly sent the contents of her basket flying. She cleared her throat before calming down and held the basket at her side. “Why else would I be traipsing along to Konoha Sanitorium with an effin FRUIT basket in my hands? He’s been holed away in there since you left!”

Karin didn’t think it possible, but Uchiha actually looked conflicted. She felt a slight pang of envy that it was Juugo, not she who could provoke it. He seemed to be thinking about her words, as if he hadn’t once thought about what happened to any of them after Konoha took him back on a leash.

Figures, she thought irritably.

“Unbelievable. You’ve been trapped in Konoha all this time and you didn’t fuckin know that Juugo was under your nose! So much for the almighty Sharingan,” she scoffed. Sasuke’s eyes were cold again. “So I bet you also don’t know that he turned himself in, that he likes it there because they’re trying to cure him. And I don’t mean the fucked up experiments that Orochimaru pulled on him, but actually cure him.” Sasuke touched his closed cursed seal gingerly. Karin didn’t miss the gesture and whistled. “Man that godaime is something.”

“And Suigetsu?”

Karin wrinkled her face in disgust. “That asshole? Don’t know and don’t care. Probably ripping off heads with that stupid ass sword of his.”

Sasuke offered no comment. She looked at him silently, waiting for the next question, but it didn’t come.

“And me? Aren’t you going to ask about me?” She looked at him with the same distaste she normally reserved for Suigetsu. He looked at her carefully, no doubt evaluating her. Then he put his weapon away.

“No.” He turned around and began walking away. “I’m on a mission.”

She was dismissed. Amazing. She was no longer on his team and he was dismissing her. She stayed in place, smart enough to not make any sudden moves with another Leaf ninja on her case, but the other team member hiding in the trees held his ground. He seemed to be inching away with Uchiha, or waiting for him to make a move.

Karin smiled. Sasuke was being babysat.

“Just so you know I don’t take it personally.” Sasuke paused, but didn’t turn to look at her. “It was good while it lasted, but sorry kid, it wasn’t meant to be.” Sasuke turned his face and she could see his annoyance. “How’s your new boy toy by the way? It’s the blond one, right? The one that came with claws ready to tear down everything to bring you back.” Sasuke shot her a warning look. “Well I guess he tore down a little too much. Or did you not tell him about us?”

“There was no us. There is nothing to tell.”

Karin let her disgust show. “That’s right. It was only mutually beneficial fucking. I still can’t believe I managed to convince you,” she laughed at the memory. She had just barely convinced him on the premise that there would be no emotional attachments and that it was better for both their concentration. She wouldn’t be distracted by sexual tension and he wouldn’t have to deal with pining for Juugo. She knew it was a simple case of using each other, but she was unwilling to question it at the time.

“That’s right, it was nothing. There were no promises between us, just an agreed exchange of services. I had no aspirations to be Mrs. Uchiha or spawn your next line.” She could feel his anger rising. “But mistakes happen, don’t they, Sasuke-kun.”

“Stop.” His temple pulsed and she could see the tension in his jaw.

“She widened her eyes in mock fright. “Oops,” she shrugged and covered her mouth with her hand. “Wouldn’t want your sweet little boyfriend to find out, would we?”

“Karin.”

“I’d hate to see how upset he’d be if you knew you almost had another family.”

“You tricked me.”

Karin’s playful demeanor evaporated. “You tricked yourself. Isn’t that why you always took me from behind? ” She was risking his wrath, but at this point she took a fiendish delight in the way his eyes narrowed and his teeth clenched. “But I didn’t lie when I said I had no intentions of being Mama Uchiha. And thanks to your brother, I didn’t have to.” She lifted her shirt a little to expose the tip of the puckered scar running across her belly. “Though I can’t say I enjoyed his methods. I’ll be thinking twice before I seduce anyone else again,” she raised her eyes to his in a pointed look. “Luckily Juugo doesn’t seem to mind scars.”

And at that moment, with revenge sweet on her tongue, Karin felt gracious enough to smile. She knew she would not meet Uchiha again, but she would remember today, and she would always remember that haunted expression.

“I should be going before I miss visiting hours,” she smiled playfully. “Tell the boy toy I said hi.” She wagged her fingers at him and swung the basket in front of her again. She walked demurely towards the road, pausing just beside Sasuke but refusing to look at him. “I hope he makes you as happy as you made me.”






Losing would be painful, but not as painful as knowing there was something else you could've done.
~Joe Trippi

Battle 20:
*Kiba*


Kiba lingered near the Western Gate, impatiently shifting from one side of the door to the other. Akamaru would raise his head in concern now and then, but a look from Kiba would keep him quiet. The guard asked him again if something was the matter, but Kiba shook his head, saying only that he was waiting for a friend to return.

The dignitaries and shinobi sent to Suna were due back any moment now. He had been waiting impatiently for days now for them to get back. He had news for Naruto and he wouldn’t feel comfortable until he had it off his chest.

There had been rumors lately. People were worried about Naruto and if Naruto’s appointment to Suna without Sasuke was any indication, then so was the Hokage.

“Kiba-kun,” a small voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked up to see a concerned Hinata standing by Akamaru. “I thought you might be hungry.” She held a white box in front of her. “If you like…” she stammered.

Kiba smiled. He took a good whiff of the food and his stomach rumbled in reply. “Ah, thanks,” he grabbed it and opened it up. The curry katsu was still steaming. Grabbing the pair of proffered chopsticks, he split them, gave a hasty thanks and dug right in.

Hinata sat next to him quietly and patted Akamaru. “You should take better care of yourself, Kiba-kun,” she stated meekly. He looked up at her and realized she had been worried about him. “You’re a good friend, to worry about Naruto-kun, but you shouldn’t forget about yourself.”

Her comment caught him by surprise. “How do you know?..”

She blushed a bit, turning her face away. Kiba knew that Hinata, more than any of them had kept an eye on Naruto, but how did she know when…

“I saw them together. Uchiha-san and that girl.” Kiba tried to erase the surprise from his face. “Back then.” Kiba’s head turned to look at her. “I know it was the same girl as back then. The one who Itachi-san,” her face looked distressed as though the memory was still too gruesome to think about. Kiba nodded. “I had my Byakugan activated. I…” Hinata looked really distressed now. She covered her face unable to finish her sentence.

A horrible realization settled upon him. Hinata had seen what had happened. Karin had been carrying another life within her and Hinata… had seen the small energy growing inside her, and had seen it snuffed out.

He put the chopsticks down and scooted next to Hinata. Putting an arm around her, he pulled her close. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. I should have…” she began quickly. He ran his fingers through her hair. “But it was so awful.” He felt her body begin to shake with sobs.

Akamaru perked up his ears and whined. He nuzzled Hinata’s leg before turning his nose towards the gate. “Arf.”

Kiba had almost missed it. Being so close he had only smelled the sweet scent of Hinata’s shampoo and the delicate scent of her skin. But the wind brought a new scent and when Kiba looked up, the approaching party of shinobi sent to Suna were at the gate.

Kiba rubbed Hinata’s shoulder and alerted her to Naruto’s arrival. She looked up, teary eyed, sniffling and nodding.

“Hey guys,” Naruto approached them, “what’s going on?” He seemed cheerful, but lost his smile upon seeing Hinata’s tears. “Hinata?”

Hinata rose to her feet and flung herself into Naruto’s chest. Clenching the front of his jacket, she cried. “Naruto-kun, I’m sorry. I should have told you sooner…”