Vengeance

 

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The chatter filling the saloon came to a halt as a stranger stepped in through the swinging doors, his Colt Paterson revolver evident on his hip under his long duster. It was apparent that he had either bribed the sheriff or shot him. Guns were not permitted in the town since people were always shooting one another, so they were banned within city limits with the exception of the saloon.



Slowly conversations returned, but everyone kept a wary eye on the man, especially the bartender. He always kept a Carbine under the bar for such occasions as drunk cowboys with a weapon tended to get overzealous. He knew well enough not to reach for the rifle at that particular moment, it would tip the man off. He calmly kept cleaning the drinking glass he had in hand, his eyes following the man.



“I’m lookin’ fer a man,” the stranger stated gruffly, his voice barely heard over the light chatter. The conversation once again died, every pair of eyes moving to the stranger with his hat pulled low.



“And jus’ who do ya think you are?” One brave soul said as he stood from his chair, the legs scratching the floor.



“Sasuke Uchiha,” he said as he moved to stand in front of the other man. “Got a problem with that?”



The man averted his eyes as he answered in the negative and then sat back down in his chair. Everyone knew who Sasuke Uchiha was and of course just who his older brother was. They were a pair of brothers who were not to be trifled with and any who crossed them found themselves full of holes and answering to their Maker.



Sasuke’s footsteps were heavy as he moved to the middle of the room. “Now listen here, I’m lookin’ fer Orochimaru and his gang, any of you lowlife bastards know where is?”



Silence once again reigned over the room. Many men shivered at the name that the Uchiha had uttered, Orochimaru was a man who was not to be messed with. Most people steered clear of him or at least tried to. There was no stopping the outlaw when he had his eyes set on something. No one moved forward nor offered any information. This irritated Sasuke even more.



“I know someone here knows somethin.’” He growled once again as his hand moved to  his hip, but never dipped under the coat. “I want an answer to my question, now.”



Again no one came forward. Feeling his irritation grow at the lack of cooperation. He was told that the men in this town were loose tongued and would offer up any piece of information if asked. He scowled at the cowards that stayed in their seats. He thought that they would at least want to be rid of the outlaw and gain control of this area back.



“Yer all a buncha yellow bellied cowards,” he drawled as he turned to leave the saloon. He didn’t look back as he left and stepped out into the hot sun. The Arizona Territory was unforgiving this summer as the heat sucked any and all water from the ground.



As far as Sasuke knew there was another town about twenty miles up the road. He could more than likely make it there before dusk. He unhitched his horse and was about to mount it when a man approached him. The stranger had dark skin and dark hair, which made Sasuke guess that the man was either a Mexican or an Indian.



“I hear you’re lookin’ for a man.” The stranger said as he took a drag of his cigarette. “I can help ya find ‘im.”



Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the man’s declaration. “And jus’ how can ya do that?”



“Used to run with Itachi when he was in tha gang.” The man said as he threw the cigarette to the ground, crushing it with the heel of his boot. “I know all of Orochimaru’s hideouts, plus I can track ‘im.”

Sasuke stared at the stranger. He knew that his brother had friends who left the gang shortly after he had. But there was only one person he would talk about and the Uchiha had to wonder if this was the man his brother had mentioned. “Are you Kisame?”



The man grinned widely, showing off some sharp teeth. “Yeah, that’s me. I’m surprised he mentioned me.”



Sasuke snorted. “He thought highly of ya. He said you were on’ of the decent ones outta the bunch.”



“Heh, that sounds like ‘im. I was of the few that hadn’t tried to kill ‘im in his sleep.” Kisame said as he moved closer to the other man. “So how exactly did he die?”



Sasuke’s eyes narrowed in anger at the mention of the death of his brother. “I’m guessin’ he was taken by surprise. I was told that there several bullet holes in him and Naruto.”



“Fuck, they got ‘im too?” Kisame said surprised. He had liked the little blond that always trailed behind Itachi. Everyone knew that Naruto had a thing for the Uchiha and it had taken the blond at least two years to wear Itachi down.



“Yeah, they got Naruto as well, even though they never wanted him.” Sasuke grit out. The blond had been like a brother to him and when he got the news that the blond hadn’t been spared, a fire raged inside him. Naruto had never asked for the life of an outlaw, he always wanted to live peacefully. But he was always needed for Orochimaru’s schemes since he looked like everyone’s grandson.



“Well,” Kisame drawled. “Let’s get tha’ fucker and make him pay.”



~`~



Sasuke squinted as the sunset over the desert. The rays were various shades of red and orange and cast a strange glow over the flat land. They had been riding all day, only stopping to eat and rest their horses. He could hear the sound of coyotes off in the distance, but paid no heed to them. If they came closer then they would be dealt with, coyote hides fetched a good price with either the Indians or the trading posts.



“We gonna set up camp?” Kisame asked as he surveyed the land with a hand over his brow. He as well heard the coyotes and his other hand went to rest on the gun that was strapped to his horse, Samehada. He watched Sasuke as the other man nodded his head and slid off his horse smoothly. Dark eyes following every movement.



“We’ll head out first light,” the Uchiha said as he grabbed supplies from the packs on his horse. “We can do two watches if ya want. While I know the fire will keep the coyotes away, it won’t keep other critters away.”



“That’ll be fine,” Kisame gruffed as he moved down from his own horse. “If ya want I’ll take the last watch.”



Sasuke checked the skies before answering. “Yeah, that’ll be fine. It ain’t gonna rain tonight so putting up a tent will be useless.”



Kisame took his own supplies from Samehada. “A tent would be more of a nuisance in case of a surprise.”



The Uchiha nodded in agreement. They might not have been anywhere near Orochimaru’s territory but there were other outlaws to be wary of. Sasuke kept busy setting his side of camp up and gathering kindling to start a fire. It wasn’t long before there was a small fire going and Sasuke settled in for first watch.



But it seemed that Kisame wasn’t going to sleep that easily. The man started to ask him questions that weren’t too personal. Sasuke respected the other for that and of course it had helped that his brother thought the world of Kisame. This was the man who had saved his brother’s life on multiple occasions and not to mention protected Naruto as well. Sasuke had only wished that Itachi had never joined Orochimaru‘s gang after their fallout. Everyone knew that it was hard to escape Orochimaru and that he always tracked down deserters.



“So where are ya from?” Sasuke asked his own question. “I would guess that you were Indian…but…”



Kisame smiled as he turned on his side and rested his head on his hand. “You’re the first person to notice actually. My mother was a Metis from Canada and my father was a cowboy. God only knows how they met. But she moved down here when I was young.”



“Ah,” Sasuke answered. “So did ya serve in the war?”



The Civil War was mostly a taboo subject between people now. It had only been around ten years since the end of it and tensions were thick between the North and the South. It was why Itachi and Sasuke had came West. They were tired of being judged for fighting for what they had believed in and moved away. Their parents were long dead and there was nothing keeping them in their home state.



“Nah, I stayed out here protectin’ the homestead. When Ma died, there wasn’t much keepin’ me there so I sold it. I wandered around until I found Orochimaru…and ya pretty much know the rest.”



“Hn, I only wished that we never had that fight,” Sasuke said as his eyes gazed up to the stars, the white lights vivid against the black of the sky. “It pushed ‘im to join Orochimaru. I’ve regretted what I said to this day. But he found happiness with Naruto, so I guess it wasn’t all bad.”



“They were happy,” Kisame said as he rolled to his back. “Itachi had forgiven you, but ya know that.”



“Yeah, I remember the letter. I wish I had gotten to see them one more time. I wasn’t exactly nice to Naruto either.”



“Water under the bridge,” Kisame snorted. “Ya know, Itachi said that you weren’t the talkative type.”



“Shows you what he knew. There are times where I do crave intelligent conversation. It’s hard to come by with some of the characters I come across.” The Uchiha said as he poked at the fire. “A man needs to have one every once in awhile.”



“I hear ya there. Though, I miss Sasori and Deidara’s arguments over art.” Kisame said wistfully.



It was Sasuke’s turn to snort. “It’s a miracle ya miss those two at all.”



“You’ve met them?” Kisame asked interested.



“Yeah, they came by Itachi’s ranch one day. Those two…were interestin’ to say the least.” Sasuke said as the last bit of rays slipped below the horizon. “But Deidara and Naruto together was worse.”



A hearty laugh escaped the darker man’s lips. “Yeah those two were always rambunctious together. Had to be separated more than once. They were always causin’ mischief of some sort.”



“Heh, that I could believe that,” Sasuke said as the temperature started to drop. Silence fell between them and soon enough Kisame was asleep, his breathing was deep and there was an occasional snore breaking the silence.



Sasuke looked up into the stars and wondered exactly what happened to people after they died. He had never believed in God, but that still didn’t’ mean that wasn’t some sort of afterlife. Whatever happened after a person died, he hoped that his brother and Naruto were content. They at least deserved that much with the way they had died.



The local law hadn’t been too concerned with the murders of two former outlaws and that burned Sasuke to his core. No matter what they had done in their past, Itachi and Naruto were more than making up for their sins by doing right in their town. They made sure that the orphans had food and clothes, that the elderly had enough medicine and they took care of anyone who needed help.



They were well respected by the community even though they had known who the two men were. But everyone could see that they were trying to make amends and didn’t cause any trouble for them. The trouble came in the form of the local law, led by Danzou. He wouldn’t believe that the two former outlaws were trying to live a peaceful life and would harass them daily.



But Itachi and Naruto knew better than to retaliate, instead they took it with a grain of salt. They knew that not all people would accept the fact that they had left the gang and still believed that they were outlaws looking for trouble. But it was still disheartening that people were still wary of them, and that they couldn’t count on the law if they needed them.



The sound of the night animals filled the wind and in a way it was comforting to Sasuke. He was never a man for settling down and was surprised when his brother had sent him a letter informing him of his decision. So he had gone to the ranch that Itachi had bought with stolen money and stayed for a few weeks.



That was five years ago, Sasuke couldn’t believe that much time had passed before Orochimaru had his brother murdered. The Uchiha had been after the answer as to why Itachi was murdered but he was more interested in the reasoning for Naruto. As far as Sasuke knew, Naruto didn’t have a major role in the gang.



But he vowed to get the answer out of Orochimaru before he put a bullet in his head. He didn’t know how many men were left in the gang. Of course it didn’t really matter to him, he had a purpose and he would see this thing through to the end, no matter who he had to kill to get there.



He wondered what his parents would think of their two sons now. One dead because of reasons unknown and the other out for vengeance. They weren’t exactly raised to be outlaws, but they somehow ended up going down that path. He could only hope that they were proud of their sons at some point in their lives, whether it was Itachi walking away from the gang or Sasuke turning himself for the robberies he had committed and serving a two year sentence.



Sasuke pulled an apple from his rucksack and bit into it, the juices flowing down his chin. He quickly wiped them from his chin, not wanting the sticky substance there any longer than necessary. He watched the fire and kept it going, occasionally taking in the fire light that played along Kisame’s dark skin.



The Uchiha had to admit that the older man was attractive. The light accenting his skin perfectly, but he couldn’t afford this kind of distraction right now. He was on a mission to kill Orochimaru and he wouldn’t allow anything to stand in the way. He also doubted that he would make out of this alive. He had sold what meager belongings he had and then donated it to a family who was struggling to make ends meet.



The thought of dying didn’t bother him at all. He only hoped that he would be able to enact his revenge before he passed on. It was the only thing fueling him right now, he had no plan if he lived. It was something he would more than likely consider after he had done the deed and was still breathing. But he give himself the hope of living, not with the fight that was coming.



~`~



Sasuke rolled over as the persistent light kept trying to penetrate his eyelids. He pulled his threadbare blanket over his head and groaned. He was never a morning person and always forgot that if you slept outdoors, you were up at sunrise.



His nose caught the scent of meat cooking over the fire and Sasuke grudgingly rolled over, eyes barely peering over the edge of the blanket. He could see a skinned rabbit on a makeshift spit roasting over the fire, Kisame watching over it intently. The Uchiha swore and threw the blanket off, shivering slighting in the cool morning air. But he knew that in just an hour or so it would warm up considerably.



He sat up and rubbed the rest of the sleep from his eyes. He continued to look at the rabbit and then turned to Kisame. “When did you kill that?”



The Metis turned his head to Sasuke as he answered. “I was able to kill it this morning just before dawn. Figured it’d make a nice breakfast.”



“Ah, that’s good then.” Sasuke mumbled as he slipped out from under the blanket and stood, stretching his back and leg muscles. He hated sleeping on the ground, but there was nothing that could be done about it. It had to be done and he would sleep on the ground a thousand times if it meant that he would find Orochimaru in the end.  



Kisame didn’t say anything as he took the rabbit from the spit and tore the meat from the animal, placing it on some homemade plates and offering one to Sasuke. The  Uchiha took the plate and muttered a quick ‘thanks’ and tore into his food. The rabbit wasn’t too bad but even if it was terrible it would have to suffice. Out here in the wild, you didn’t have the choice of what you could eat.



“We should probably head for town and get more provisions,” Kisame said in between bites. “I need more water and you more than likely do as well.”



“Hn, not a bad idea.”



“I also have a man I have to talk to. He may be able to lead us to Orochimaru a little faster than just me trackin’ him.”



Sasuke grunted as he took a bite of the rabbit. He didn’t want too many people to know of their movements, but if this man of Kisame’s could lead him to Orochimaru faster then he had no problem with it. He finished up the rabbit and pulled his canteen from his rucksack, noticing at how light it felt.



He pulled the cap off and took a small gulp, while the town was only about ten miles it was still a lot of ground to cover. He could already feel the heat of the sun on the bit of flesh of his arm that was exposed to the sun. It would be a long ten miles today even by horse. He looked to the sky and noticed that the skies were clear. There was no chance of rain again today and that suited him just fine.



Sasuke handed his plate back to Kisame and stood. He quickly started to gather his things and packing them up. He wanted to get started for town as soon as possible. When he finished placing everything on his horses saddle he turned to Kisame to see that the other had already packed up as well and had taken care of their fire.



They only nodded at one another and both quickly mounted their horses, taking off in the early morning heat. While the ride wasn’t very smooth, it was at least uneventful. They passed a handful of carriages and a few stragglers, but no one was threatening. There was hardly any conversation since it was hard to talk while riding anyway.



The two former outlaws kept a steady pace, stopping occasionally to rest their horses for a few minutes. While they knew that the town wasn’t going anywhere, they still wanted to be there before dark. Asking questions was easier in the day light since the shadier folk weren’t around.



A few hours later, the outline of a town came into view and Sasuke became restless. He would have to find a way to sneak his gun in. Unlike the other town he couldn’t just waltz in with a gun on his hip. The sheriffs this way were tougher and they didn’t take kindly to men who disobeyed the law. As they continued to approach the town, Sasuke thought hard on how to conceal his weapon.



They stopped just outside of the town, not entering since there seemed to be a deputy sheriff patrolling the outskirts. Sasuke looked to Kisame for an answer but the other just shrugged his shoulders.



“We’ll halfta leave our guns with the deputy sheriff. There’s no way around it.” Kisame said as the man approached them.



Reluctantly both men handed over their guns without any fuss. They knew better than to argue with the law and it would only harm them in the long run if they had resisted. The deputy began to thank them for cooperating when gun shots filled the air.



Sasuke whipped his head to the general direction and then turned back to the deputy. “If ya want to get rid of them you’ll need our help.”



“And how do I know you ain’t one of them?” The deputy shot back.



“Do ya really have the time to argue?” The Uchiha pointed out.



The deputy didn’t comment and handed the guns back to the two men. They took off in a flurry of dust, not wanting to waste anymore time when people’s lives were in danger. It was obvious as they rode further into town that the bank was being robbed.



But what had Sasuke stop his horse was the fact that Orochimaru himself was standing in front of the bank, holding a woman hostage. His revolver was pressed against the side of her head, her bonnet laying on the ground beside them. Tears were running her face as the gun was pressed harder into her temple.



Sasuke slid off his horse, grabbed his rifle off the saddle and had it aimed at Orochimaru’s head. The outlaw hadn’t noticed him yet and that gave Sasuke the advantage. But Kisame’s hand lowered his rifle and the Metis shook his head.



“You’ll splatter his brains all over that poor woman,” the man said.



Sasuke glared at him. He didn’t care if the woman was covered in blood in the end. He thought that she would be grateful to be out of that snake bastards grasp. He didn’t lower the rifle all the way and kept a close eye on the outlaw, not wanting to miss an opportunity if it presented itself. While he would have preferred a drawn out death, this would have to suffice.



The sheriff was trying to negotiate with the outlaw, but Orochimaru wasn’t cooperating and Sasuke knew that he wouldn’t. The next few minutes were tense as the man refused to give up his hostage. The Uchiha’s patience was wearing thin as the minutes ticked by with no results. Orochimaru was now shouting some outrageous demands to the sheriff who refused them. At this rate, nothing was going to be accomplished.



Fed up with the inaction of the local law, Sasuke once again raised his gun and gave Kisame a pointed look that clearly stated to stay out of his way. He lined the barrel up and had Orochimaru’s pale forehead in his sights. He pulled the trigger with no hesitant and the resounding crack of the gun filled his ears.



He lowered the gun and squinted through the smoke, sure enough he hadn’t missed his target and Orochimaru’s dead body was on the ground. The woman that he had held captive just stood there and screamed as if the body would jump back up and grab her. The law officers moved quickly to console her and to calm her down. Sasuke placed his gun back on the saddle and left the scene, using the woman as a distraction to slip out undetected, not wanting to deal with the law with what had happened.



It was when he was out of town that he noticed that Kisame had followed him. The Uchiha grunted as the other pulled his horse up beside him and they stopped moving. “That seemed like it wasn’t very gratifyin’ to ya.”



Sasuke snorted. “Of course not. I expected to find ’im out in the desert and kill his sorry ass that way. I admit I was expectin’ more of a fight.”



“Well what will you do now?” Kisame asked as they turned around to glace at the town. It seemed as though the law hadn’t realized just who they were.



“I really don’t know, these past few months I’ve been driven by revenge…” Sasuke said as he tipped his hat lower as a stranger rode past them.



“Well, I do have a ranch and I could use a partner,” Kisame grinned. “That is if you’re interested.”



Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. “I supposed that’ll do.”



The Uchiha watched as Kisame lightly nicked his horses hind quarters with his spurs and took off. He felt as though everything that had just happened was part of a dream. He hadn’t expected to run into Orochimaru in a town like this. But he supposed God always had a plan and that this was it. He was glad that the law was distracted by the  woman or else he would have the noose around his neck.



“What about our supplies?” Sasuke asked as he caught up with Kisame.



“There’s a town not even five miles from this one. We can stock up there.”



Sasuke nodded in response, wondering if it was the ranch that he had sold when he was younger, or if it was a new one he had bought new land. The question burned in his mind as he followed the other man. His thoughts were a mess about the day. It just seemed so surreal that Orochimaru was dead and by his hand. He had expected to feel relief as his revenge had been served, but there was nothing but the sense of disappointment. Maybe he could find peace with Kisame on the ranch, with that thought, he spurred his horse and rode beside the other man, feeling at least a little content.