A/N: A good long while ago, I had someone send me an email asking if Sasuke would be paired up with anyone. I frankly think Sasuke is too emotionally damaged to get into a healthy romantic relationship at this point in his life. He's doing pretty well just getting used to having a family he can trust with siblings (Naruto and Sakura) and parents (Iruka and Kakashi).

Chapter 16: Mission Report

Sasuke-

Sasuke was gasping for breath. His lungs burned. Still, he pushed on, very aware that the others had surrounded him; Tenten and Sakura raced in front while Gai-san followed, all of them hopping from branch to branch like frogs. Sasuke realized he was going to fall short of the branch he'd aimed for and had to land on a lower branch, then move up, again.

"Sasuke?" Sakura called.

"I'm alright. Keep going." Sasuke glowered at the trees in front of them, disgusted with himself for his lack of attention. No matter that they'd been running for hours on end, no matter that he knew his brother was hunting his best friend, Sasuke couldn't lose focus. Naruto was depending on them.

Sasuke had no idea how long they'd been moving. He could hear Sakura panting just as deeply as he was. His own legs felt weak and he wished, not for the first time, that he had Naruto's limitless energy.

Gai-san moved up to Sasuke's side. "When we get to the others, you will keep going to the school and deliver your report to the client." Gai-san's face was tense and set. He hadn't laughed or smiled once since Sasuke had said Itachi's name. "I can fight Itachi and Kakashi will keep Naruto safe. You have no other responsibility other than giving your report."

Sasuke shook his head. He felt cold. Not just from the snow and the icy wind, but his bones felt cold. Naruto was brave and strong, without a doubt, but Itachi was unstoppable. He was bigger than life. "Gai-san, you don't understand. I know you're strong, but… "

Sakura turned her head while she ran and never once missed a step. "No buts! You have to trust us, Sasuke."

Sasuke clenched his fists. "Itachi butchered my whole family. Everyone. He escaped Konohagakure and no one could stop him. They just let him go because no one was strong enough to stand against him."

Gai-san didn't look at Sasuke. "When your family was killed, I was on a mission. If I had been there, Itachi would not have escaped."

The utter confidence on Gai-san's face was almost enough to reassure Sasuke. Reassured or not, Sasuke knew Gai-san was right. The mission came first - before revenge, before saving his Cellmate.

It's not like I'm leaving him alone. The others will be there. Sakura and Kakashi-sensei will keep him safe. I have to believe that. I have to trust them.

As they entered the Forbidden Forest, darker and older than the forest they'd previously been in, one of their comrades rejoined them. A green blur at first, Lee drew up beside Gai-san, and exchanged a happy greeting, though Gai-san didn't smile. On Lee's back, Snape-san rode, far more willingly than he'd left. Lee spoke to Gai-san a moment, then moved up to run beside Sasuke.

Snape-san clung to Lee's back with his legs wrapped around Lee's waist and holding onto Lee's shoulders with one arm while his other clutched at the schoolbook he'd taken with him the day they'd kidnapped him. His long hair was pulled away from his face by the wind. "Staring is rude, Uchiha-san." Snape-san turned to look at Sasuke. "Your… guardian sends his regards." He seemed amused and it almost looked as if he would smile. "I believe my arrival took him by surprise."

Sasuke winced.

"And how did you like life as me?" Snape-san watched Sasuke with narrow, sharp eyes. His thin lips pressed together. "Not too uncomfortable, I hope."

"I've had worse," Sasuke answered. "Lee, you'll want to keep him out of the way for a while. My brother… "

"Gai-sensei has already told me," Lee said. "Do not worry for Severus-kun. I will keep him safe and he will not try to escape me. He understands the importance of what we're doing."

Snape-san looked grim and kept his eyes focused ahead. "Can't give away the mission."

If Sasuke could have been more surprised by Snape-san's words, he would have fallen out of the trees.

Wearing Sasuke's clothes, right down to the boots, and the winter jacket Snape-san almost looked as if he could have been a citizen of Konohagakura. Snape-san looked, again, at Sasuke. "Well? What happened while I was gone?"

"Your uncle was killed."

Snape-san almost smiled. "Ah."

Lee glanced at Sasuke from the corner of his eye, but didn't ask.

They went a fair while before Sasuke heard it - a fast crunching of snow and heavy breathing.

"We're being followed," Tenten muttered. "Can you hear it?"

Sasuke looked over his shoulder. "His running sounds odd. Off."

"Whoever it is running on all fours," Sakura-chan said. "An animal?"

Tenten stopped and crouched low on a tree branch. Everyone stopped with her and followed her gaze to where Lupin-san ran into view. He skid to a halt almost directly beneath them, sending snow flying everywhere.

"He moves like Kiba," Sakura whispered.

She was right. Sasuke thought of his classmate who was of a clan of Inuzuka and his faithful dog, Akamaru. They were fearsome fighters and Lupin-san did have similar animalistic movements to Kiba.

Funny… Sasuke hadn't noticed it during previous encounters with Lupin-san.

Lupin-san's head jerked when Sakura spoke. His shoulders hunched. Very carefully, he tilted his head from side-to-side. He raised his face and sniffed. Lupin-san slowly moved forward, but he didn't continue on. He knew they were there.

Naruto dropped down next to Sasuke and gave him a rough elbow in the side. He grinned widely and leaned close enough to whisper, "'bout time you got here." He might have said more if Sakura hadn't slapped her hand over his mouth.

'Being watched,' Sakura used hand signals to tell Naruto. 'Quiet.'

Naruto frowned and looked down. He looked at Lupin-san, then at Itachi. Naruto pulled a scroll out of his jacket and handed it to Sasuke. A glance told Sasuke that it was the mission record. 'Go,' Naruto signed to Sasuke with a few quick hand gestures. 'Leader take brother. I take boy.' He grinned again when he turned himself to look like Snape-san then let himself drop out of the tree, right in front of Lupin-san.

It was a good idea, Sasuke thought. Naruto could distract Lupin-san and lead him away from not only Sasuke and the real Snape-san, but also away from Itachi so Lupin-san wouldn't be hurt. It was good, solid plan. If Lupin-san hadn't drawn his wand and fired off a spell before Naruto had even hit the ground, it would have been the perfect plan.

Naruto's jutsu was disrupted and in that puff of smoke, before Naruto became visible as himself, Sakura dropped down behind Lupin-san and covered his eyes with her hands.

Lupin-san yelled and tried to pull away, but Sakura was nothing if not strong. She held tight until Tenten pulled one of her many weapons, wire, from her supplies and bound Lupin-san's arms and legs. He wriggled on the ground like a worm, but Sakura doggedly kept his eyes covered.

No student could be harmed, even such a small harm as rendering them unconscious.

A short distance away, Naruto's jutsu disguise dissipated in a puff of smoke. He sat on his knees in the snow with both hands clutching at his stomach and his face twisted. A soft whimper escaped from his lips.

Everyone crept closer, though no one but Lupin-san spoke.

"Who are you?!" Lupin-san demanded. "Get away from me! Get away!" His terror was real. Despite his thrashing for freedom, Sasuke could see the boy was pale and shaking. When they all gathered around the bound boy he stiffened and sniffed, then went very still. "Snape? You're here? The real Snape?"

Snape-san opened his mouth, but Gai-san held up a hand to stop him from speaking. When Gai-san spoke, he spoke with Snape-san's voice. "I'm here, Lupin. What did you do?"

"Get me loose, Snape! Whatever's going on… "

Gai-san persisted, "What did you do?" When Lupin-san didn't answer right away, Gai-san added, "Tell me what spell you cast and you'll be free."

"Nothing to hurt him."

Considering how Kakashi-sensei was stroking Naruto's back to soothe him, that hardly seemed the truth.

Lupin-san went on, "You… aren't you. You weren't. I know it's you, now." He sniffed, again, so subtly that if Sasuke hadn't been looking for it he would have missed it. "No. No. It's not you speaking." He stopped struggling. "I wasn't trying to hurt anyone, just find out what's going on. The spell, it was just to see the truth of what lies inside. It's to see who's masquerading as you."

Kakashi-sensei's head jerked up. He looked sharply at Naruto, then back at Lupin-san. "Damn. Blindfold and hide him."

Tenten took off her hitai-ate and blindfolded Lupin-san so Sakura could take her hands away. Sakura ripped long strips of fabric from her knee-length tunic and used the pink material to cover Lupin-san's eyes and ears. After that was done, Neji picked Lupin-san up and tossed him over one shoulder. He carried Lupin-san into the forest without a word then returned a moment later, alone.

It was Naruto's laugh that drew everyone's attention back to him. Not his usual, bubbly laugh, but a low, wicked laugh that had no business coming from Naruto's mouth. His eyes, when he raised his face, were bright. His grin was broad, like a madman's. "Freeeee…. " The word hissed from his mouth. Spittle dribbled down his chin.

Sasuke moved to go to Naruto, but Lee grabbed his arm. "No."

"I can't leave him like this!" Sasuke said. He pulled, but Lee, for all that he was a chakra cripple, was simply too strong for Sasuke to break away from. "He wouldn't leave me!"

"I know he wouldn't, but you've got a mission to complete. Naruto-kun is strong. We must go." Lee tugged Sasuke's arm once more, then took off with Snape-san.

Kakashi-sensei stepped in front of Sasuke. "Finish your mission, Sasuke-kun."

"But… Naruto?"

Kakashi-sensei didn't take his eyes from the grinning Naruto, but said, "Make us proud, Sasuke-kun. Complete your mission." He stepped closer to Naruto and addressed him. "You won't have him, demon."

With eyes that flashed, Naruto hissed, "He's already mine. What will you do? Kill this little one to finish me? Are you certain I will die with him? If that were so, surely your kind would have killed the cub when he was newborn, when you'd forced him to be my jailer. No. I think you can not kill the him." Naruto… no. Kyuubi launched himself at Kakashi-sensei who moved to meet him.

Sasuke watched them battle long enough to see Sakura-chan get batted aside by an offhand swat from Naruto. Kakashi-ssensei caught her arm and prevented her from being tossed against a tree. The moment he'd caught her, he let her go and ran into the fray. Naruto fought quickly and brutally. He slashed with his fingernails, his hands bent like claws. He made to bite at Kakashi-sensei.

Sasuke swallowed hard, turned, and ran.

Naruto-

It was like being turned inside-out, but as that had never happened to Naruto, he wasn't sure how he knew this was like that. All he knew was that it hurt. Not like a punch or being burned or anything else he could describe, but a powerful, consuming agony. Everything hurt. When he hit the ground, he knew, distantly, that his attacker was being dealt with. He knew Kakashi-sensei was at his side. He knew the snow was cold under his knees, but all of it was somehow far away.

Kakashi-sensei stroked Naruto's back and it helped. Kakashi-sensei said something, but pain pulsed through Naruto and someone was laughing inside his head… Naruto was sure it wasn't him.

The world went fuzzy, as if a sudden fog descended, and Naruto felt himself shift. He was no longer in control. He watched and felt as his other self - Kyuubi - attacked Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan. He watched as Kyuubi tried to kill Sakura-chan by throwing her against a tree and he felt his other self's disappointment when Kakashi-sensei saved her. From then on, Kyuubi concentrated on fighting Kakashi-sensei.

Naruto screamed at himself to stop. He tried with all his might to get his body to obey him, but he still felt 'not-quite-there' and completely out of control.

The fight went on and on, with both Kyuubi and Kakashi-sensei giving as much as they could and all the while Kyuubi laughed. When Naruto saw his hand lash out claw Kakashi-sensei across the face and felt Kakashi-sensei's warm blood splash onto his face, Kyuubi laughed all the harder.

Kakashi-sensei's mask fell off in strips. For the first time since their Cell had been formed, Naruto saw his sensei's face. Kakashi-sensei put his hands to face, covering where the mask should have been.

"Ugly." Naruto heard his voice snicker. "Twisted. Malformed."

A hand grabbed his ankle and Kyuubi looked down. A small, dirt-covered hand protruded from the ground. It held tightly to his ankle, just above the boot.

Kyuubi kicked, trying to shake the hand off. The touch warmed, then became hot. The pain made Kyuubi snarl. He reached down and took hold of the hand, but when he did, the pain and heat seared his hands and he recoiled, falling backwards to the ground. He kicked again, but the hand wouldn't shake free. He used his other foot to kick at the hand, but it was stubborn and held on. Fingernails dug into Naruto's legs and the pain increased. It felt like wriggling worms were crawling under his skin.

The ground around the hand shifted until an arm followed it out of the earth. Naruto watched from the back of his mind as an elbow followed the arm, then a shoulder. Finally, Sakura-chan's pink hair popped up and she climbed out of the ground, a fierce look on her face.

Kyuubi fought and struggled, so close to freedom that he could taste it. He would rip Sakura-chan's arm off if he could, if she would stop the pain she made run through him.

Sakura-chan grimaced and squeezed.

The pain flared and Kyuubi fought harder until Sakura, bruised and bloody from his attack, increased the pain so much that even Kyuubi yowled and fell backwards helplessly. He was furious to be limited by Naruto's weak human body.

Something cool and moist touched Naruto's hand. A fox kit. It sniffed Naruto's hand, then looked up at him, curiously. Angry?

Naruto was startled by the thought, but he felt Kyuubi's temper dull, even though Sakura-chan didn't ease the pain. Kyuubi answered, Angry!

The fox kit licked at Naruto's hand.

Kyuubi swatted at it and growled when the kit leaped easily out of the way. Insolent!

Calm. The kit lapped at Naruto's hand, again. Calm, Elder.

It amused Kyuubi, Naruto knew, that such a tiny, frail creature would attempt to sooth the great fox demon. Naruto lay on his side and could feel Kyuubi's fury fading. He could smell the clean winter air instead of the smoke and fire Kyuubi had been remembering.

The kit inched closer to Naruto's face and lightly touched it's muzzle to Naruto's nose. Easy, Elder. Too much noise. Too much stress. It trembled and shook itself from ears to tail. Calm. Easy and calm.

The human causes pain.

The kit jumped away from Naruto's face to Sakura-chan where she held Naruto's ankle. With his tiny jaws, the fox kit bit Sakura-chan's wrist. It growled, but Sakura-chan held on tightly.

O, fearsome protector! Kyuubi was laughing. The fury and hunger for freedom eased until it was nearly gone. Infant who would be my parent! The idea of it was so amusing that Kyuubi surrendered control to Naruto with a whispered, I've waited this long. I can wait a time more. It had been a very long time since Kyuubi had been so amused.

"S-Sakura-chan?" Naruto breathed out the word when he felt Kyuubi give in. "Please, Sakura-chan… hurts."

Sakura-chan looked at him, sharply, then at Kakashi-sensei.

Naruto whimpered. "Sakura-chan, whatever you're doing - stop it!"

Kakashi-sensei patted Sakura-chan on the shoulder and she let go. Where she'd been holding Naruto, there were little, bright red handprints like sunburns.

"Sorry," Sakura-chan said. "I didn't do anything permanent."

"How do you mean - permanent?" Naruto drew his leg up closer to examine his ankle, but stopped when the slight movement caused a shock of pain. "What's this? What!"

Sakura-chan sat up and rubbed her hands together. "Sorry. Sorry. It's just… something Tsunade-sama taught me." Sakura-chan sat up on her knees and looked at her hands. She shook her head and started rubbing them together, again. "Healing… it's using chakra to manipulate flesh. That's all it is, really." She paused only a moment when Kakashi-sensei took her wrists to examine her hands. "Using it to hurt instead of heal isn't all that difficult."

Naruto sat up and looked at Sakura-chan's hands. She looked like she'd stuck them in an open fire. They were furiously red and covered in blisters. "You did that to yourself?"

Sakura-chan looked as if she'd smack him. "Don't be dense. Kyuubi didn't like having the bones of your ankle fused together. He fought me." She scowled. "Don't you dare feel guilty! It's over, anyway. Come on. Let me fix your bones and we'll go after Sasuke."

"You did well, Sakura-chan," Kakashi-sensei told her. "I'm very proud of you."

"Thank you, sir." She looked up at Kakashi-sensei. He still held a hand over his face. "Sir, you're injured… "

"It's nothing," Kakashi-sensei turned away from them. He untied the long white strip of fabric he habitually wore around his right thigh and used it to mask his face by tying it multiple times around his head. All the while he spoke. "Sasuke will be just fine. I'm sure we can count on him."

Sakura rubbed Naruto's ankle. Her touch was warm, but not hot. "Sir, how did Kyuubi get free? Shouldn't the seal have stopped the magic?"

Kakashi-sensei shrugged. "Eh. Who knows? I thought it would, but it didn't. We'll strengthen the seal before we do anything, Naruto. Sorry. It won't be pleasant."

"I can take it." The fox kit crept onto Naruto's chest while Sakura-chan fixed what she'd done to Naruto's ankle with considerably less pain than before. Naruto patted the kit before he saw Kakashi-sensei watching him. "What?"

Kakashi-sensei looked pointedly at the kit. "Do you know what that is?"

"A baby fox."

Kakashi-sensei rubbed his forehead. Blood had begun to seep through the white bandages covering his face. "No, it isn't."

Naruto lifted the fox kit to get a closer look.

The fox kit licked his nose.

"I'm missing something, aren't I?" Naruto giggled and wiped his sleeve across his nose. "It's cute."

"It's a kitsune."

Naruto lowered the kit until it was sitting in his lap. "You could be wrong. It looks like a baby fox."

"I'm not. I know it looks like a normal fox. It will until it grows another tail and starts gaining power. I can feel it, though. It feels like a kitsune." Kakashi stuck his hands deep into his pockets. "Well… It's doing no harm, I suppose. At the moment."

Sasuke-

Gai-san, Tenten, and Neji all ran along with him, with Lee and Snape-san ahead. After a few moments, when Sasuke couldn't hear the battle between his Cell and Kyuubi behind them, Sasuke set his glare on Gai-san. "Go back and help Kakashi-sensei and Sakura!"

Gai-san's face was unusually firm. For too long Sasuke had thought of the man as being a light-headed fool - no matter how good he was at taijutsu - even though he knew it was a mistake. No one could make the rank of jonin and be a fool. Even now, as they were stuck between a waking demon and Sasuke's homicidal big brother with the mission's deadline drawing closer, Gai-san seemed calm. He kept his eyes focused ahead. "Calmly, Uchiha-kun. Kakashi is well able to deal with Kyuubi. I am better suited for your brother."

Neji bound from one branch to another with his long hair caught behind him in the wind. "Naruto is not our mission, nor is this unexpected development. Our mission is to see you safely to the end of yours. Keep going."

Sasuke hated Neji, just then.

Before long, Lee held up one hand and everyone stopped. Lee silently pointed down. There, below in a clearing, Itachi stood. He looked backwards, towards where they'd left the rest of Sasuke's Cell.

"Little brother? Show yourself, little brother."

Sasuke's whole body stilled. He couldn't breathe. In a clearing ahead of them, a lone figure in a nice black suit strolled towards the school.

Itachi stopped and started to turn in a circle, as if trying to pinpoint where Sasuke was. "Little brother?"

Kill!

"Little brother, I know you're there."

You killed everyone. You left me alone. Kill!

When Itachi's gaze drew too close, Sasuke lowered his face. Better than anyone, he knew what it would mean to be caught in Itachi's Mangekyou Sharigan. He knew the nightmares his brother could force a person to live through. A heavy hand landed on Sasuke's head and made him look up.

Gai-san stared at Itachi. "Go."

Sasuke started to shake his head, but stopped. He nodded and took off, again, with only Lee and Snape-san. As they passed over Itachi's head, he felt rather than saw Itachi's attention zero in on him. He couldn't help looking and saw Itachi flying upwards towards him. Gai-san threw himself at Itachi and knocked him off course. The last Sasuke saw of them the two men were facing off.

He ran as fast as he could, desperate to think of anything but the boiling fury that urged him to turn back and face his brother. It took a moment before Sasuke realized he wasn't running alone.

Lee easily kept pace with Snape-san on his back.

"Don't let him go until I have time to report to the client," Sasuke told Lee.

Lee said, "Snape-san will do nothing to endanger the mission. I could let him go now and he'd stay silent."

Snape-san's oily hair was pulled back by the wind. His long, crooked nose protruded like a hawk's nose. He silently watched Sasuke.

"You're being very corporative." Sasuke commented. "Why?"

Lee smiled as brightly as he always did. "Severus-kun had an interesting time in the village. He won't betray us."

"You trust him?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes."

Snape-san's face didn't move, but his eyes lit up.

Tenten-

Gai-sensei was magnificent, Tenten knew. She watched with Neji while Gai-sensei attacked the infamous Uchiha murderer. Both men fell to the forest floor in a flurry of thrown fists. They crashed hard enough to send up a cloud of snow.

Neji was moving before the cloud of snow fully cleared and threw himself at Uchiha's back. Uchiha easily dodged, even with Neji's considerable skill.

"No Byakyugan!" Gai-sensei shouted. "He'll catch your gaze for certain if you do!"

The fight, for Neji, was awkward, a clumsy mess that made him look slower than he'd been when he first entered the Academy. His missed blows and kicks. His Gentle First style of fighting was powerful, but against someone like Uchiha, who far surpassed even Orochimaru's skills, Neji moved like a slug.

Tenten watched the fight and chewed on her bottom lip. She wished for the boy she'd heard Cell 7 had met, the boy who controlled water so effortlessly. He could have told her how to control her new weapon. She knew that it had only been fear that had brought out the power, before. She didn't know the hand signs to focus the power.

It's just a weapon. A tool. I can use any weapon, but I need time to learn it. Tenten closed her eyes and thought furiously. She smiled and opened her eyes. Tenten turned and bolted away from the fight.

Gai-sensei had been very clear when he'd told her about them and, just as he'd reported, they still mixed things in the giant cauldron in the clearing, though the poisoned misted didn't yet pour from it. It was luck that they were bringing the last ingredient - blood.

Tenten's hand snaked down to her weapon's pouch hanging from her belt as a woman approached the cauldron with the final ingredient. She found her plastic vial of soldier pills and smirked. It was perfect. She emptied the soldier pills out into the pouch, but kept the vial and its cork stopper in hand.

Tenten watched them kill a giant spider and she watched a woman knife it. The woman held up the knife, slick with black blood, and approached the cauldron. Her eyes darted nervously around. It was no mystery, if Gai-sensei and Hatake-san had been telling the truth and Tenten knew for certain that Gai-sensei never lied to them. The centaurs who lived in the forest had disrupted every single attempt to make the poison mist.

Thundering hoof beats of the centaurs rang through the forest.

The woman and her companions turned as one towards the noise.

Tenten launched herself out of the trees. She ran to the cauldron and scooped out of a vial full of the solution, hissing in pain when some of it splashed onto his fingers. She went behind the woman with the knife and ran the cork along the flat of the blade, coating it with the spider's black blood. She was back in the trees and out of sight before anyone had seen her. She corked the vial and started back for the fight.

It wasn't going well.

Gai-sensei held him own well, but Neji lay crumpled on the ground some distance away. Gai-sensei's arm hung limply at his side. One eye was swollen shut. Even from where she watched, Tenten could see him panting and sweating. Clearly, though he surely lasted longer than anyone else would against Uchiha, Gai-sensei was losing.

Tenten waited. She watched until Gai-sensei landed a blow to Uchiha's face that made the other man stumble backwards a pace or two. In that moment, Tenten gave the vial a hard shake, mixing the solution with the spider's blood. Inside the vial, the solution turned to mist.

Uchiha Itachi had, of course, gotten control of himself and waited for Gai-sensei to go to him. Behind him, Neji roused himself. He caught sight of Gai-sensei's injuries and glared at Uchiha's back. Tenten waved her arm and was relieved when Neji looked at her.

Tenten made the hand signs for, 'Two-side attack. Tell Sensei.'

Neji nodded and repeated the gestures to Gai-sensei. Gai-sensei attacked Uchiha from the front. Neji attacked from the rear.

Uchiha fought the two-sided attack, but it took more of his attention having to counter Gai-sensei's powerful punches and kicks as well as avoid Neji's deadly touches.

In the middle of that brawl, when she had the best chance of catching Uchiha off guard, Tenten rushed in. She slipped under Gai-sensei's arm and uncorked the vial right under Uchiha's nose. The fumes rose at once, nearly engulfing Uchiha's face. He choked and put both hands to his face.

Neji grabbed Tenten's hand and pulled her away from Uchiha and the poisoned mist. Gai-sensei jumped away, also.

Uchiha groaned softly. He hunched over for a moment, then dashed quickly into the forest. He was gone in only a moment. The forest was quiet. So quiet Tenten would almost swear she could the silence.

Neji put his arm over Tenten's shoulder and leaned against her. "He's not dead."

"But he's gone for now and it'll take him time to recover. More than enough time for Uchiha-san to complete his mission." Tenten watched where Uchiha had gone. "We'll be well away from here if Uchiha comes back."

Gai-sensei slapped her on the back and managed a rough laugh. "Quick thinking as always, my dear kunoichi."

Sasuke-

They paused a moment when Snape-san lightly slapped Lee on the shoulder and pointed down. "Stop here. There. It's Mister Hagrid. Let me off here."

Hagrid-san, indeed, was just ahead, sitting on a fallen tree with his head in his hands.

"You're still wearing Uchiha-san's clothes," Lee said. "Won't he find them odd? You should both exchange clothes before you meet Hagrid-san."

"The mission doesn't end for another ten minutes," Sasuke said. "I can't be discovered until then."

Snape-san shook his head, also. "It doesn't matter. Mister Hagrid will believe what I tell him. He knows I'd never lie to him. I won't lie to him now."

"Is that wise?" Lee looked over his shoulder. "If you don't lie, how will you explain yourself without giving away our mission? You did promise."

"I won't break my word," Snape-san assured him. "Trust me. I know Mister Hagrid. I can do this. You DID say you trust me."

Lee smiled so brightly that Sasuke almost though his face would split. "And so I do!" Lee let himself drop to the forest floor, just out of sight of Hagrid-san. He waited until Snape-san slid off his back and the two spoke a moment, quietly enough that Sasuke couldn't hear what they said. They both smiled before Snape-san took off running towards the giant man.

Sasuke and Lee watched while Snape-san tripped and fell. He jumped quickly to his feet and ran to Hagrid-san's side, grabbed the man's arm while holding onto his precious school book with the other hand.

"Mister Hagrid! We have to go. We have to go now!" Snape-san pulled for all he was worth, yanking Hagrid-san towards Hogwarts.

"Severus, where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you, lad!"

"Doesn't matter. Run. Please!" Snape-san pulled for all he was worth, glancing over his shoulder. "Right behind us… "

Sasuke understood the rush. If Gai-san wasn't able to stop Itachi… if Kakashi-sensei wasn't able to subdue Kyuubi… Then everyone would be in terrible danger.

"I'll keep close to them until the mission is over," Lee promised Sasuke. "Go."

Sasuke took off, again, alone. He ran until the trees of the Forbidden Forest thinned. He ran until the darkening sky, painted with red, yellow, orange, and purple burst through the canopy of the forest. He ran until he left the forest and Hogwarts School loomed like a mountain over the snow covered grounds. The setting sun made the snow glitter, like diamonds had been scattered upon it. The glass windows of the school gleamed while shadows, grown long by the late hour, began to creep across the land - from the school, the trees of the forest, the groundkeeper's little home, and the gruesome Whoomping Willow.

Sasuke kept running until running and the goal was all there was. Itachi and even Naruto faded to the back of his mind at the sound of his feet thudding against the snow and the cold wind against his face.

Up stairs and though the winding halls Sasuke raced, desperate to find the client. He ran passed students and professors who barely spared him a glance. After precious minutes had been wasted in the search, Sasuke finally found the old man strolling in a high corridor that overlooked the Forbidden Forest.

The old man raise a bushy eyebrow. "Mister Snape? Can I help you?"

Sasuke stood before the headmaster and he straightened his shoulders. He looked out an arched window and saw more purple in the sky than red or yellow. "I'd like a minute of your time, sir."

"I'm here. Go ahead."

Sasuke clenched his teeth. "No, sir. In confidence. Your office would be preferable."

Headmaster Dumbledore frowned, but nodded. "Very well. Follow me."

Neither of them spoke until they reached the headmaster's office. Even then, Sasuke moved immediately to one of the ornate leaded windows and watched the sun creeping closer to the horizon, the last streaks of brightly colored clouds giving way to deep purple.

"Mister Snape, what did you want to talk about?"

Sasuke kept watching the sky, waiting.

There. The day was done.

"Mister Snape?"

Sasuke spun on his heel and faced the wizard. He stood perfectly straight and put his hands behind his back. "Snape-san isn't here at the moment. I am the Konohagakure shinobi you hired to inspect and report upon your school's security. The contracted time is over. I'm here to deliver my report."

Dumbledore-san's smile wilted. He blinked owlishly at Sasuke from behind his little, half-moon spectacles. "I see. The resemblance… "

"Is fabricated." Sasuke raised his hands and made the correct sign to dispel the jutsu giving him Snape-san's face. It was like a weight lifted off him.

The headmaster stared for a long time. He raised, then lowered his spectacles as if he were trying to figure out how his eyes were playing tricks on him. "Oh, my. That is most impressive. May I ask your name young man?"

"No." Sasuke looked once out the window of the headmaster's office at the Forbidden Forest. He could neither see nor hear anything. "I am here only to deliver my report."

With a curious glint in his eyes, the headmaster leaned back in his chair and folded his hands on his lap. "I see. I had thought I would be informed when you arrived."

"You thought wrong, obviously. I can assure you that Snape-san has been perfectly safe and protected by our people for the purposes of this mission. He is, at this moment, being returned to the school grounds in the care of a respected chuunin. Now, allow me to deliver my report. My research concludes that security arrangements of the premises of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry are lacking. The details includes:

1. Students are permitted to fight with few consequences. Your lax of discipline does nothing to discourage future fights which only weakens your school as a whole. In the event of an attack, your students are unlikely to stand with together if they distrust or hate one another.

2. The House system fosters further animosity amongst the students. Again, if there is an attack, they will not fight well together.

3. Lack of supervision in general. I managed to run into the Forbidden Forest. You had a student lost in the freezing rain and snow for a full night and half a day before I was found. Any ordinary student probably would have died.

4. Your school is riddled with secret passages leading around the school and off school grounds. It would be simple for an enemy to use one of these passages to get in considering that you don't have them monitored."

Dumbledore interrupted, "How do you know about these hidden passages?"

"That's number 5," Sasuke said. "This map." He tossed the map he'd stolen from Black-san, Potter-san, Pettigrew-san, and Lupin-san onto the headmaster's desk along with the shimmery invisibility cloak. "It was found in the possession of students who were noted for violence and violation of rules. They used a password to operate the map which is able to show where everyone in the school is. An enemy would find this a valuable tool.

6. Another valuable tool would be the invisibility cloak, taken from the same group who had the map. It would be almost as dangerous in the hands of an attacker as the map.

7. The village nearby is populated with merchants selling dangerous items that could be used to harm students and faculty, yet the students are permitted access to this village nearly unsupervised and what they bring back into the school is rarely checked.

8. The Forbidden Forest is unguarded. I have seen centaurs, who admit to disliking humans and show blatant violent tendencies, living there. In your own school you have books that teach centaur will kill humans if they catch them, yet you have no spells set to bar students from entering the forest or to keep the dangers of the forest off school grounds. You don't even have a fence."

Sasuke broke off his report a moment. "Really, chicken wire would be better than what you have now."

9. Political enemies who may strike at you would endanger your school. During my visit to the Forbidden Forest I found a group of people, apparently from your own government, who have been watching you. So far, they haven't done anything, but that could end anytime. Also, there was another group who mixed a noxious vapor so powerful that it burned the mouth, nose, throat, and lungs from being inhaled.

10. A student infected with lycanthropy and unable to control it is permitted access to this school with only minimal security arrangements. One mistake could mean the end of many lives.

11. Beneath this school you have a snake big enough to eat several students in one bite. It's sleeping, but should it wake, you'll be in trouble. If it's a pet, the student body ought to be told that it's there so they don't stumble upon it accidentally. If it's not a pet, you should kill it or relocate it into the Forbidden Forest.

12. Your students get kidnapped and no one notices. At least I don't think anyone noticed. Did you? I've been gone for several days. Considering that I saw no search parties and considering that you seemed to be under no stress, I have presumed that you were unconcerned."

The headmaster leaned back in his chair and looked pale. "I… I hadn't been notified about a student's disappearance."

"That's twice, then. Once when we took Snape-san and once when I was taken. Onto the next risk.

13. A mirror which has the ability to distract a person to the point of them losing themselves in a dream. This mirror is hidden deep below your school. This mirror could be called a security flaw as it could ensnare a passing student who didn't know better, but it would also be a handy weapon should you need an intruder to be captured without injuring them."

There were a few more points here and there. People could fly in on broomsticks whenever it suited them. The teachers themselves seemed careless about the safety of the students. When Sasuke finished reading the scroll and said everything he could think of, he began to re-roll the scroll. "Should I point out the obvious fact that almost anyone can get in and out of your school without you noticing? I wasn't alone in this mission and you had no idea that we'd taken one of your students let alone that there were two teams of us here." Sasuke placed the scroll on the headmaster's desk. "There are further details noted in the report. You may contact the Hokage if you have questions, concerns, or complains of our services. Have a nice day." Sasuke bowed at the waist without taking his eyes off the headmaster, then went to the window. He pushed it open and climbed onto the ledge.

"What do you think you're doing?!" The headmaster demanded. "Young man… !"

Sasuke turned his dark glare on the headmaster. "Our contract is complete. If you have complains… "

The headmaster's eyes were wide and his hands clutched on the edge of his desktop. "Just… come back in."

"Why?"

"You'll fall."

Sasuke snorted. "Hardly." He stood on the windowsill and began walking down the side of the castle.

He walked a few steps, then took off running as quickly as he could. He hit the ground easily and kept running, right back to the Forbidden Forest. He passed Hagrid-san's cabin and saw, for just an instant, Hagrid-san and Snape-san walking up the front steps while Lee perched on the rooftop. He kept running until he found Neji, with his arm over Tenten's shoulders and leaning on her, grumbling at Gai-san for poking at a bleeding cut over Neji's right eye.

"He's gone," Tenten told Sasuke when he stopped running. "Not dead, I'm afraid, but gone for now."

Sasuke bowed his head and bit the inside of his cheek. "No matter. Lee's at the groundkeeper's home."

"Excellent," Gai-san beamed. "We'll fetch him."

Gai-san might have said more, but Sasuke was already running. He ran until he found his own Cell and, for just a moment, Sasuke felt almost faint with relief. Kakashi-sensei looked worse for wear. Sakura was dirty and slightly bashed. Naruto was sweating and pale. Still, Sasuke was glad for the simple fact that they were alive.

Naruto nearly threw himself at Sasuke and lightly punched Sasuke's shoulder. "Well? Well?"

"The report has been delivered. Snape-san's back on school grounds. Itachi's runaway. No one's injured. We're done."

"Not quite." Kakashi wandered into the dark forest and returned a moment later with a bound and gagged Lupin-san draped over his shoulder. He was still blindfolded and his ears muffled. He squirmed and wiggled as much as he could. "We've still got one more delivery to make. We drop him off on the school grounds and we'll be all set."

"Will he be able to give us away?" Naruto asked, poking Lupin-san in the ribs.

Kakashi-sensei shook his head. "No. He'll have a good many suspicions, but no evidence of anything. Let's go."

After delivering Lupin-san to the doorstep of Hagrid-san's home, Sasuke had met with Snape-san and they'd exchanged clothes. Sasuke gave back the wonderful book bag and the robe of potions and he got his own clothes back. Snape-san had accepted his belongings wordlessly, but as he'd retied his robe around his throat, he'd given Sasuke a long look.

"Tell Mister Umino I'll miss him. And Miss Hyuuga." Then Snape-san turned and stalked back to Hagrid-san's home.

Hours later, at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Kakashi-sensei stood in front of a shirtless Sasuke and ran a scratchy, wet cloth over Sasuke's throat. The solution was a mix of water and sand. It scoured the ink off leaving everyone's skin raw. Sakura and Naruto had already been done. All of Cell 9 were done and just waiting for Sasuke to finish. After it felt like Kakashi-sensei had rubbed the skin right off Sasuke's throat, Kakashi-sensei stepped away and handed Sasuke the cloth. "You can do the rest on your own."

"Thank you." Sasuke took the warm, wet cloth from Kakashi-sensei and started to scrub himself. He looked down at himself and wished, as he had everyday since Naruto had retrieved him, that he could wipe everything away. Those first few days he'd lived with Iruka-sensei, he'd tried several times to wash his life clean with hot water. Once, Iruka-sensei had taken him to the hospital for burns. Washing never really helped. As the ink dripped off his body and his skin turned pink, Sasuke asked, "Sir?"

"Um?"

"I still have nightmares about Orochimaru."

"I'd be surprised if you didn't."

"Sir?"

"Yes?"

"I still want to kill my brother. I want it so badly that it eats at me. Sometimes, I can't think of anything else."

Kakashi-sensei squatted down and double-checked that the bandages around his face were secured. "I suppose that's normal, too. Can't let go of that kind of thing easily."

Sasuke watched the last of the blue ink drip off his chest until he was completely bare. Just as he used to be, though he knew that the curse mark was still on his throat. "Sensei? Did I do well?"

Kakashi-sensei stood and chuckled. "Brat." He patted Sasuke's head. "You carried out the mission. You faced Itachi twice and twice you didn't let your emotions interfere with the mission. Yes. You did very well. Iruka will be very proud of you." Kakashi-sensei put his hands in his pockets and slouched as they walked. "Let's go home, eh?"

Sakura took Sasuke's hand and Naruto threw an arm over Sasuke's shoulders. Kakashi-sensei slouched next to them and Sasuke smiled. He felt lighter. He felt happy… for the first time in a very long time, he was happy. The world seemed brighter than it had just a few days ago and Sasuke wanted to go home.

Finally.

Finally, he felt strong.

The End

If anyone would like to read what happened to Severus Snape after Lee took him to Konohagakure, you'll find his side of the story in:

A Mile In His Shoes - Severus Snape

The first chapter should be posted shortly in the Harry Potter section. First chapter should be out in a week or so.