New Promises

Chapter 22

Iruka stared down at the new engraving on the memorial stone, touching it gently with his fingertips. Kakashi stood only a few feet behind him, stubbornly insisting that he wouldn't let Iruka out of his sight until he was completely healed.

"He was so young. He saved my life and I didn't even get to thank him," Iruka said quietly. Moving soundlessly, Kakashi approached and gently hugged Iruka from behind, resting his chin on Iruka's shoulder.

"The average lifespan of a ninja is thirty years. He died far too soon. It should have been someone like...like me. I've at least had my time."

"Don't say that. Don't ever say that. You're going to grow old with me," Iruka said firmly, turning his face up to kiss Kakashi's cheek. Kakashi smiled, holding Iruka a little tighter. He wanted that—wanted it more than he could say. He didn't deserve it, though.

"What I wouldn't give to change things—to somehow go back and make it right. Tsubaki won't ever be the same. We're losing her, too. A part of her, a big part of her, died with him." Iruka leaned into his boyfriend's strong hold and closed his eyes, simply thinking of the friend he had lost. He felt his eyes moisten, and he wiped at them absently. After they'd paid their respects, Iruka placed a small bouquet of flowers at the base of the stone and then left with Kakashi, hand in hand. As they walked through the forest, their breath misting in the air, Iruka let his mind think of trivial things. They needed groceries. He needed to mend a rip in a pair of Naruto's pants he'd noticed the other day. He needed to get some work done on his current manuscript, especially since he'd been put so far behind by the attack.

Life went on, ever relentless. Iruka sighed. While he felt like things had been in fast motion—he'd lost two weeks of his life only to wake up and find his world had changed, seemingly overnight—he knew Tsubaki felt the exact opposite. For her, time had stood still the moment she came home to see her door banging open in the wind, the house rattling its protest against what had been unfairly taken from within.

"What are you thinking about?" Kakashi asked. Since Iruka's release from the hospital, Kakashi had been extremely clingy, which Iruka didn't mind in the least. His boyfriend had unceremoniously kicked the boys onto the living room couches, sleeping with Iruka at Tsubaki's house every night. The only time Iruka had escaped his vigil was while he used the bathroom, and even then Kakashi sometimes sneaked into the shower with him. They hadn't had sex at Iruka's request. He still thought of the attack when he closed his eyes.

He'd taken a leave of absence from work, despite security being in shambles after the loss of the A.N.B.U. Captain. Tsunade had asked Kakashi to resume the position, but he outright refused. Iruka had the nagging suspicion that Kakashi was thinking about retiring. Iruka assumed it was a mixture of guilt that he had not been able to protect him from his attackers, and regret that he hadn't been there to help Tenzo.

"I was just thinking about time, I guess. I was thinking about small things I need to do. Nothing too important," Iruka finally replied. "What have you been thinking about?" Iruka asked, turning his head to study Kakashi's somber profile.

"I keep thinking that I should have been there. What good is being the legendary Copy Ninja if I can't..." Kakashi trailed off, his lone revealed eye turning to look at the overcast sky. Iruka stopped, and Kakashi stopped a half-step later, turning to look at him questioningly.

"There's a human under your reputation, Kakashi. I don't expect you to protect me from everything the world throws at me. I only expect you to love me. That's all. In fact, that's the best kind of protection you can give me." Kakashi sighed, staring down at their linked hands.

"Those are just words, Iruka. If I really loved you, I wouldn't let—"

"You wouldn't let me get hurt? Ever? Kakashi, don't you see how silly that sounds? Nobody can live like that. I can see the guilt over all of this eating you alive and that hurts me. I don't keep you around because I want a bodyguard. I keep you around because you read porn in public, and you drool when you sleep, and you give me foot massages and hold my hand when we go for walks. I love you as a person—not a legend. You aren't a ninja to me. You're just the man I love, so I don't expect you to do anything more than love me back. Those aren't just words to placate you. That's how I feel."

"I can't just stop feeling guilty," Kakashi replied, a hint of frustration in his voice. Iruka stared at him, really looked at him, and realized Kakashi had been feeling guilty for years. It wasn't a new emotion for him, but rather it had finally become so strong that he couldn't wrestle it down anymore. They walked for awhile, and finally Iruka figured out how he wanted to approach the subject.

"Kakashi, can I ask you something very personal?" he said. Kakashi glanced at him, and his eye revealed something Iruka knew few had ever seen there—fear.

"Ask," Kakashi replied.

"How long have you been feeling guilty for just being alive?" Iruka held Kakashi's hand tightly, fearing he already knew the answer.

"Since...always," Kakashi replied. Iruka let out the breath of air he'd been holding and stepped forward, wrapping his arms around Kakashi's taller frame. His boyfriend trembled slightly and felt weak in Iruka's arms. "I'm sorry I'm dumping this on you. Tsubaki's lost her child, and Tenzo is dead, and I'm falling apart on you. I'm sorry."

"No, Kakashi, just..." Iruka didn't know how to express how he was feeling. He finally felt like he'd seen all of Kakashi, seen down to the very core of him, and it ripped the breath out of his chest. He wanted to fix it, to make him feel better, but he knew he couldn't—at least not overnight. He allowed himself to pity Kakashi for a few moments, but he knew that such pity wouldn't do anything good. It was ironic how badly Kakashi wanted to save him, without realizing he was the one who needed to be saved.

Iruka pulled back, wiping at the tears on his cheeks.

"Let's go home and just let some grief out, okay? We can talk, or cry, and it's going to be okay to give ourselves that. Everything else can wait for a day. I just want to be with you right now," Iruka said. Kakashi nodded, and Iruka saw that he looked relieved. They made their way to Kakashi's apartment and went inside. They pulled down the blinds and locked the front door. Kakashi turned on the radio on low and Iruka sat on the couch, watching as Kakashi put the kettle on the stove for tea.

"Let me in, Kakashi. Talk to me," Iruka began. Occupying his hands with whatever he could find to do in the kitchen, Kakashi began to mumble through the story, talking about how it had felt to lose his father, how he'd believed in his heart that if he'd been a better son, if he'd done more, his father wouldn't have left him behind. He looked for tea bags as he described some of the deaths he'd seen in A.N.B.U., some of the children he'd turned into orphans. As he poured two mugs, he told Iruka about Obito, and how much he'd loved him, how it wasn't fair that he'd lived on when he had so little to offer the world while Obito, who could have changed everything because of how special a person he was, he was dead.

"I go to the memorial stone every day, but it's not enough. It's not enough to remember them, or to honor them. It won't be enough for Tenzo, either. It's never enough."

"Is this the place you were in when we first met? Is that what I was seeing in your eyes?" Iruka asked, accepting the mug of raspberry tea.

"I think it was worse, then. I don't know how I was surviving. I guess it was just sheer force of will. I was strung up so tight inside. Looking back, it wasn't just sex to me. It was the first time I'd let someone touch me without the intent to kill me for years. Do you have any idea how good it felt for me, that first night? I know it was just another night of work for you, but that night changed everything for me. You asked me if you were worth your price. I felt so bad for needing you at all, but taking something for myself, just once—it was worth it. That's the answer I gave you then."

Iruka took a sip of the hot tea, trying to remember that night. Kakashi was right, that night had changed everything, but he hadn't known it at the time like Kakashi had.

"All I really remember is after you rolled away from me, when it was over. You said...I think it was...'I'm done with you.' I remember because it was the first time someone had said that to me and it didn't make me feel used. Somehow I knew you were saying it for yourself, and not for me. That's kind of a weird thing to remember about that night, I guess." Kakashi took a sip of his own drink, and stared calmly at Iruka, who was curled up in the corner of the couch. He looked serene, a little sad, beautiful.

Kakashi set his mug down on the table and extended a hand. Iruka set his mug down as well and joined him on his side, snuggling into his lap.

"I resented needing you. I'd almost convinced myself I was just a tool for the village. I almost believed that I could kill someone and not feel anything at all, that I wasn't a human anymore. Then you...well, you reminded me just how human I was. You were special. I don't think anyone else could have gotten through. I said I would only be happy for a little while, and then I would go back to what I was before, but I couldn't."

"Sasuke got through, too," Iruka reminded. Kakashi smiled, thinking of just how much the dark-haired boy had come to mean to him.

"Yes, but you unlocked the door. You had so much else going on back then, but you wouldn't just leave me. You kept telling me you couldn't help me, but you did it all the same."

"I was afraid you didn't see me for who I was. At first I thought I was just a body to you, and then I realized how badly you needed a friend. You didn't make it easy, though. You somehow managed to keep me as close as possible without really letting me in. You shared your home, your bed, your strength...but not your heart."

"I did in the end, before you left."

"We needed the time apart. I hadn't quite yet realized you were the one yet."

"The one?" Kakashi asked, for the first time all night, a hint of a smile coloring his tone. Iruka grinned.

"You know, the love of my life. Haven't you ever read a fairytale?"

"We're the stuff of fairytales, huh?" Kakashi replied, his amusement clearly growing. Iruka snuggled closer against his chest and nodded.

"Obito...and your teacher...do you think they would have liked me?" Iruka asked. Kakashi nodded.

"They would have loved you."

"You think they're happy for us, now? Do you think...do you think they're happy that you found someone who loves you as much as I love you? That maybe it upsets them that you feel so guilty on their account?"

Kakashi fell silent, and Iruka knew he'd given Kakashi an idea that he'd never contemplated before; he'd suggested something simple, something that rang with truth, something that the memorial stone had been trying to tell Kakashi for years—his loved ones just wanted to see him happy. Kakashi felt defensive, but he was gentle as he detangled himself from his lover and stood.

"I need to use the restroom," Kakashi said. He was gone for a long time, and the tea had gone cold before he returned. Iruka could tell he'd been crying. Iruka didn't want his lover to think he was judging him, or telling him his feelings were wrong. Kakashi's emotional fragility, his own grief over everything that had been happening—it was all just overwhelming.

"I just miss them. I miss them so much. I don't know what to do with that pain," Kakashi stated simply. Iruka looked at the mug in his hands. "I don't want to let it go, because then I'll be forgetting them."

"We should talk about them, then, so I can help you remember," Iruka offered, his voice cracking slightly. "I won't forget Sasuke's birthday party. I felt so alone—like everyone from the village was judging me. I was holding Hotaru all night like a shield. Then Tenzo came into the kitchen, and even though I was taking you away from him, he forgave me. He teased me." Iruka huffed in laughter, remembering what else had happened that night. "He even let me hit him with a frying pan. I was having a horrible day—it was just what I needed."

"I walked in and didn't know what was going on. I never in a million years imagined I would have two lovers in the same room. Tenzo was good about it, though. He saw how much I loved you. And he was funny. He always tried to joke around when everyone was supposed to be serious. I never did much more than grin, but sometimes when he got to teasing Sasuke I'd nearly crack. He understood the comedic genius of Icha Icha. People like that are few and far between." Kakashi was leaning against the back of the couch, a faraway look in his eye.

"When they came to test him for the Captain position, he was in bed with some girl from the village—a civilian, too. I'd give anything to have seen the look on his face," Iruka remembered, grinning at the imagined scene. They fell silent, and Kakashi came to sit back on the couch.

"Obito...he was a lot like Naruto, actually. He was always late and loud. Enemy ninja could have heard him coming from miles away. He was a horrible ninja, now that I think about it," Kakashi said. Then his whole body went rigid and he furiously shook his head. Iruka internally winced and Kakashi scowled. Iruka saw that any progress he might have made by getting Kakashi to talk about his feelings was lost. The guilt that flooded Kakashi's face was instant. "I can't believe I just said that. That's what I get for opening my damn mouth."

"Kakashi, it's okay."

"It's not okay. He died for me. This was a bad idea. I love you, Iruka, and I know you're just trying to help, but some things can't be fixed. Some things need to stay broken."

"Okay. We won't talk anymore, then," Iruka said, fearing he'd pushed Kakashi too much too soon. His lover seemed to relax at his words, though Iruka could still read the tension in his shoulders. The brunet man sighed, running his fingers through his hair. He moved into the kitchen, deciding he wanted food, retrieved a plate from the cupboard, and without really thinking about it, smashed it to the floor.

Kakashi jumped nearly a foot in the air, startled out of his dark thoughts. Iruka was grabbing another plate. Kakashi assumed, incorrectly, that Iruka had dropped it on accident.

"Iruka, be careful you don't cut yourself on the—"

Iruka smashed another plate, and Kakashi's eyes widened in alarm.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kakashi asked, moving towards the kitchen warily. Iruka was smiling, even as he cried.

"Don't you ever just get the urge to break something? Nothing's going right and you feel really shitty, and life just seems way too hard, and you just want to smash it." Iruka picked up a mug—Kakashi was actually very fond of that one—and smirked as he gave it a little warning toss before he hurled it at the ground.

"Not that one!" Kakashi protested too late. Iruka reached for a bowl and his grin widened even further.

"I got jumped by some complete shit heads. What gave them the right to scare the crap out of me? What gave them the right to put their filthy hands on me?! Bastards!" The bowl connected with the wall opposite Kakashi and exploded—loud and satisfying. "And that crazy ass Chiyoko bitch! We were kind to her! We trusted her, and this is what she does? I hope she drowns...or chokes...or something really fucking painful!" Kakashi was now out of plates. He could only watch wide-eyed as Iruka laid waste to his dishes, completely surprised, not sure what to make of it. He knew Iruka had a temper, but this was something else completely.

"And I'm pissed at your dad, for being such a fuck up and leaving you with no idea of how amazing you are. Fuck his selfishness!" Kakashi ducked instinctively as a mug when flying in his general direction. Dishes were flying everywhere. "And fuck people for dying in general! Fuck having to be a ninja, fuck having to kill people for any reason at all, because it's just so stupid and petty! This is for Mizuki, because he was an asshole, and for all the other assholes that came before him, and for Sasuke's brother for fucking him over, and for the village for treating me and Naruto like trash because they think their shit doesn't stink! This is what I think of ALL OF IT!"

From his defensive position, cowering behind the bar, he felt greedy hands suddenly yank him up. Iruka dragged him down the hall and into the bedroom, slamming and locking the door as they entered.

"That's enough talking about our feelings. I'm going to do things to you that should be illegal," Iruka threatened. Kakashi gulped. Iruka's eyes turned predatory, and Kakashi backed up involuntarily, feeling the backs of his legs bump against the bed. Iruka's mouth latched onto his own, riping his mask down with his teeth, and tore his uniform off almost frantically as they fell onto the mattress, a mess of fabric and limbs. Kakashi decided the best way to avoid injury was to simply roll with the punches, so he helped his impatient boyfriend rid him of his clothes and was struggling to kick off a sandal when Iruka flipped him over and dragged his tongue down his spine. Kakashi was still struggling with his shoe when the tongue went where he least expected it. Iruka's fist closed around his manhood and began to pump him in time with the motions of his naughty, talented little tongue. Kakashi no longer cared that he was still wearing one shoe, and that his pants were tangled around his leg.

"Fuck!" Kakashi grunted, his eye widening in surprise when Iruka quickly pounded into his now slick entrance. He'd never been a bottom while he was sober, and the experience was completely driving everything else out of his mind. The guilt and pain he'd been wrestling with for weeks had no room amidst the long stream of cuss words repeating in his mind. After only a few quick thrusts, Iruka pulled out and flipped him again, crashing their mouths together and sucking on Kakashi's tongue. The stimulation to his prostate had left him incredibly hard, but he didn't want to come yet. Something told him Iruka had more fun in mind if he could hold off.

His boyfriend didn't fail to deliver. His talented mouth roved downwards again, his dark tongue flitting out to tease Kakashi's arousal. With a dark smirk, Iruka nipped at Kakashi's hyper-sensitive skin, and then popped his lips over the head, giving it an extra-powerful suck. Responding to Iruka's aggression and the borderline pain of the move, he fisted his hand in the smaller man's dark hair and gave it a sharp tug.

"You've had enough of that," Kakashi ordered, pulling Iruka away from his prize. His lover's eyes glittered darkly, rough with lust and anger.

"Fuck me. Show me who I belong to," Iruka replied challengingly. Kakashi let his hold go and ran his hand down the side of Iruka's face. As his fingers dragged over Iruka's puffy mouth, the sexy man licked them wantonly, moaning as he arched against Kakashi's inner thigh. Kakashi wanted him so badly. The moment of stillness before the storm was gone in an instant, and Kakashi used a basic grappling move to position Iruka over the side of the bed. He tugged on his cock with his spit coated hand and then drove home, rocking the bed against the wall in a banging pulse. Frenzied, hungry little moans slipped out of Iruka's mouth, and Kakashi grabbed his hair again, pulling his lover's head back to suck on his jaw and neck as he pounded him.

"Mine," he growled. His rhythm increased until he knew he was close and Iruka was closer. He pulled all the way out and finally freed himself of his pants and shoe. He surveyed his work. Iruka was half draped over the bed, legs spread to reveal a needy little hole, weakly rutting against the soft cotton sheets, his long hair mused and wild. With the grace of a killer, Kakashi scooped his arm around Iruka's torso and lifted his lover off the bed. His weeping arousal dug into the small of Iruka's back, and he whispered into Iruka's ear.

"I'm going to kill the men that hurt you. I'm going to rip them apart. That's what will make me feel better." Kakashi followed this promise by spinning Iruka to face him and then slamming him up against the wall, creating a hole where his elbow struck the plaster. With a grunt, he lifted Iruka up against the wall and drove into him again, going as deep as he could, using gravity to penetrate Iruka harder than he ever had before. Iruka held his shoulders tightly, biting the juncture between Kakashi's neck and shoulder. Kakashi's hand found the dresser and used it for even more leverage, sending some photographs and random clutter crashing to the floor. Iruka's legs were wrapped around Kakashi's midriff, and he squeezed them now, taking a turn at pulling Kakashi's hair and then kissing him possessively. Iruka came hard, bit Kakashi's lip, and then whimpered in pain and pleasure as Kakashi came deep, fucking him so hard the plaster behind Iruka caved in slightly with the force of Kakashi's orgasm.

Iruka panted, his face smeared with blood and sweat, his hair and body now damp. Weakly, he unhooked his ankles and his legs slid to the floor. Kakashi supported him completely, still pressed so tightly against Iruka's body that they were practically the same person. Kakashi pulled back slightly then, tugging Iruka out of the mess they'd made of the wall. He staggered slightly as he lifted Iruka and carried him the short distance to the bed, setting him down and the collapsing beside him. He remained hunched over, breathing hard, sweat pouring off him.

Outside, it had gone dark, but the world couldn't penetrate the sanctuary they'd created. Iruka crawled weakly to his side of the bed and immediately fell into a restorative slumber. Kakashi did the same, completely unplagued by guilt, regret, or grief.

~*~

When Kakashi woke up, he felt like he'd spent the previous day running laps around Konoha. He was completely sore, coated in sweat, spunk, and his own dried blood, and he'd never felt so at peace with himself. He knew it would come back eventually—he'd have a nagging thought about his Sensei, or he'd see Naruto and think of all the things Obito never got to do in his short life. Tsubaki would look at him with her big, sad eyes and he'd remember he was the one that sent Tenzo in the direction of his killer.

He knew it would all come back, but he didn't think it would have quite the strength over him that it had once had. He was simply tired of carrying so much weight around. He was tired of being the Copy Ninja. He dragged his protesting body out of the bloody sheets and pulled on his pants. His mask was ripped, and his forehead protector was lost somewhere amidst the rubble of their bedroom. He looked at the wall almost disbelievingly. A glance at Iruka's side of the bed confirmed more bruises to the plaster where the bed had knocked so energetically against the wall.

There would be no mistaking that. If Gai had been at home last night, he'd know exactly what his rival had been up to. Kakashi smirked.

Leaving the bedroom, he was reminded that Iruka's meltdown, and he supposed his own, hadn't just been constrained to the bedroom. A shower of glass coated the floor, and a lamp had been knocked over during their hasty retreat to the bedroom. He groaned at the sight of the mess, slumping weakly against the wall and simply surveying the carnage.

"I pulled a muscle. Still, I feel so much better," Iruka appeared at his side, and then glanced into the living room. "Oh...wow...sorry?" Iruka offered, smiling up at him sheepishly. Kakashi grinned and shook his head, pulling Iruka against his side.

"I don't entirely know what happened last night, but whatever it was, it helped. It definitely helped. I love you. You're completely crazy, but I love you."

"We need a hot shower," Iruka concluded.

"Agreed."

After their shower, they set to the task of setting things right. Nearly two hours later, they had patched themselves up and restored the apartment to as much order as was possible. They'd have to hire a handy man for the walls.

"Where do you think the boys are?" Iruka asked. Kakashi locked his front door and wrapped his arm around Iruka's shoulders.

"Most likely they spent the night at Tsubaki's. Today is the Chuunin Exam."

"What? Nobody said anything about it!" Iruka replied. Kakashi sighed.

"Such a big event can't just be canceled because of a missing child and the loss of one man. I've stayed out of it. I just wanted to be with you. Sasuke asked me to nominate them, but with everything going on, I decided it would be best to just let them wait another year."

"More time to get experience certainly won't hurt them. Kakashi, if you turned the job down, who's been handling security?" Iruka asked. Kakashi sighed, clearly uninterested.

"I'm sure Tsunade found someone. You needed me this past week," Kakashi replied. Iruka secretly thought it had been the other way around, but he didn't say anything. He leaned into Kakashi's side.

"I didn't think about the attack at all last night. I thought for sure I wouldn't be able to...but then I just saw you and wanted you so badly. Thank you for giving me what I wanted and not insisting on babying me." The reminder of Iruka's attackers didn't immediately send Kakashi reeling into bowels of guilt and self-reproach. Instead, there was only the calm, cool certainty that he was going to hurt them. They would not escape the Copy Ninja's wrath.

As they walked along, Kakashi did a mental check and realized, with some surprise, that he felt rock solid for the first time in years. He was sad about Tenzo, of course, but the worst of it was over. The immediate weeks had passed and he had survived the fallout, and judging by the strong, fierce glint in Iruka's eye, he was okay now, too.

For the first time in days, he thought about work and the kids. He'd been lost in a haze of guilt and worry and hadn't been much of a teacher or a father. Thank goodness for Iruka's strength, who even when weakened after his stay in the hospital sat up for hours with Sasuke on one night and held Tsubaki as she cried in the mornings, unable to even start her day until she'd let some of her grief out.

He would see that Iruka got home safely, set up a few perimeter traps, and then he would track the boys down.

~*~

Sasuke had managed to shake off Naruto hours before. He walked alone along the outskirts of the village, angry and untouchable. His best friend had tried to speak with him numerous times, but as the days following Tenzo's death passed, Sasuke felt himself grow hard and cold. He thought mostly of what it meant to have a brother, and why his luck with them seemed to be so horrible.

He'd wanted Kakashi to volunteer to go after Hotaru—he knew Tsubaki wished he would—but Kakashi had been glued to Iruka's side and oblivious to the hopes of Sasuke and Tsubaki. When Kakashi's determination to stay with Iruka became clear, Tsunade sent another team after Hotaru. Sasuke had been angry then, but he held his tongue when he saw how strangely miserable Kakashi seemed. In such a state, he would have been useless against whatever powerful ninja killed Tenzo anyway.

So Sasuke seethed quietly, growing more and more anxious as the days passed with no news about Hotaru, as Tsubaki slipped away from him too, and they all realized what nobody wanted to admit; Hotaru wasn't coming back. She was gone. Sasuke had lost two brothers now, and a little sister. Iruka had been there for him in a moment of weakness, but unlike the time so long ago that the caring man had comforted him in the graveyard, nothing Iruka could say abated Sasuke's rage. Words alone couldn't ease his fury.

He'd wanted to throw himself into work, but Kakashi had blandly denied his request to enter them in the Chuunin exam. Then he'd trailed off after Iruka, blank-eyed and useless. Sasuke's disappointment in him was bone-deep. From the heart of the village, the sounds of the grand event echoed out. Aside from Sasuke and a sloppily constructed barrier of guards, another result of Kakashi's mental check-out, everyone was packed into the big stadium where matches were being held. Sasuke thought of his other Academy classmates competing and grit his teeth. They were nowhere near his skill level, and yet they'd been promoted. They had teacher's that weren't so wrapped up in their own problems that they couldn't do their jobs.

Sasuke kicked a stray rock and sent it careening into the border wall of the village. He'd never been so angry at Kakashi before. A small part of him whispered that it was irrational anger, that he was lashing out at whoever was closest, but he violently shut up that part of his brain. He'd needed Kakashi, and he hadn't been there—not as a teacher, and not as a father. Naruto and Sakura didn't understand. He felt so much older than them. They didn't realize how weak they were, how Tenzo's death just proved that they had to be stronger if they wanted to survive. If he wanted vengeance for his parents, the parents who had actually cared about him, unlike Kakashi apparently, then he needed to be stronger.

He realized his walk had brought him close to the memorial stone, and he clenched his fists. A part of him hated Tenzo, too, for leaving him behind. He was always getting left behind, overlooked, brushed aside.

He was just so angry.

Wraith-like, a figure moved out of the woods and smiled at him. The figure was more snake than man, his strange, porcelain-pale skin stretched over flat features. His dark hair hung in a silky curtain around his face, and his reptilian eyes screamed danger.

"Well, if it isn't Sasuke Uchiha. You have no idea how long I've waited to meet you," his frightening voice rasped, his tone promising dark, evil things. Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He knew, from Naruto's description of him, who this man was. He knew an attack was futile, and he knew running would only get him killed. He stood, brave as he looked into the face of death. The figure came closer, leaning into his personal space and hypnotizing him with his strange eyes.

"You know who I am, don't you? And I know you. Oh yes, I know you better than you realize. I'm surprised that you stay in a village that was so unkind to your big brother," Sasuke clenched his fists, and the powerful stranger smirked. "Oh, wait, you don't know anything about that, do you? They told you he was a very bad man, didn't they? Did they tell you he was sick—deranged? What a tragic lie. No, it was your clan that was the traitors to Konoha. They planned a revolution, and they had the strength and the numbers to pull it off. They would have succeeded—it would have been a blood bath—if not for loyal Itachi. He was given the orders by Konoha's elders to suppress the revolt. He was given the orders to double-cross his traitorous clan and kill them all."

Sasuke trembled, his eyes wide. Somehow, he knew it was truth being whispered into his ear. Tears streamed out of his eyes involuntarily, and he thought he was going to be sick. A long tongue shot out of Orochimaru's mouth and tasted the salty tears on Sasuke's cheek. Feeling violated, the teen flinched back, but Orochimaru's strong grip locked down on his shoulder.

"He did his duty to Konoha, even knowing they would label him a murderer for it. He served his duty and accepted his exile...but he just couldn't slaughter his innocent little brother—not even for Konoha. He left you alive, didn't he? Did he give you a reason, all those years ago, I wonder?"

"He said...I needed to become strong, to come after him," Sasuke replied. Orochimaru smiled, finally stepping away.

"He took all your hatred on himself, knowing if you focused on killing him, then you would stay out of the path of far more deadly enemies—like myself, for example. How noble. I've always thought that the idea of soft-hearted, loyal Itachi as a rogue ninja was a bit of a joke."

"No," Sasuke whispered brokenly, the weight of realization crashing down on his slender shoulders.

"Not so long ago, I would have been very interested in you, Sasuke Uchiha. As of late, however, I've made a very interesting acquisition. You see, I have this goal to be immortal. That power is now within my grasp. I did not come so close to my goal by being short-sided, however. There may come a day when I need your talents, Uchiha—if properly developed, that is. Seek out your brother. He's traveling with some old friends of mine, a group called Akatsuki. Reveal to him that you're on to his game and have him train you. Unlike the weaklings of Konoha, he'll do the job right. That is, seek him out if you're not a weakling. This is not the path of a coward that I'm suggesting."

"I'll find him. Nothing will stop me," Sasuke assured, furiously wiping away at his tears and glaring at Orochimaru. The snake-like man merely chuckled, smoothly fading back into the trees.

"I only recently found out the truth behind the Uchiha slaughter, and at great personal loss, I might add. You don't have to thank me for coming all this way to pass along the message to you, but remember this favor if I ever come calling in a few years. Konoha forced your brother to kill his clan and then rewarded him by making him a murderer. They took him away from you, and lied to you all these years. Soon, the day will come when I finish the revolution your parents started. When that day comes, remember how this village has treated you, and remember who your true ally is. Gather what you need and meet me here. I will help you take the first step on your journey."

Without so much as a flicker of chakra, Orochimaru faded back into the woods. His mind racing, Sasuke returned to his ancestral home and packed with ruthless efficiency. Without any doubts, he was ready to leave Konoha, to find his brother.

He only paused when he thought of Naruto, and his big, loving blue eyes. He gently removed the ring from around his neck, and left it on his dusty bed. He found the diary he'd kept once, and ripped out a page. He kept it short.

Naruto,

I have to return this to you now. I have no time for childish things anymore. Forget about me, and leave Konoha while you still can. This village will burn for its crimes. If you defend Konoha, if you fight as a Leaf Ninja, then when we reunite, it will be as enemies.

Sasuke

He thought it was sufficiently harsh enough to discourage Naruto from pursuing him, and it warned him of the danger to come, as well. It was all Sasuke could give to him and Iruka. For Kakashi, he left nothing. Iruka had been brutally attacked, Tenzo and Hotaru were gone, and Sasuke felt there was only one man to blame for that. Kakashi was supposed to protect their family, and he had failed.

His brother hadn't failed him, though. He would make it up to Itachi, somehow, even if he died trying. He was going back to his real family, and he knew now with 100% certainty where his loyalties lay.

~*~

Wow. It's finally done—the third arc is officially complete! As most of you know, there will be a fourth and final arc. Typical of one of my endings, I left quite a few things unresolved. Hotaru is gone with the strange rogue ninja Chiyoko, who has revealed herself to have time manipulation techniques. The death of Tenzo and the attack on Iruka caused some of Kakashi's old demons to surface, and while facing those demons brought him closer to Iruka (who was also having a pretty rough time of it), it sadly resulted in pushing Sasuke away when he needed Kakashi most. Because Kakashi focused on Iruka and neglected the needs of the village, Orochimaru found it laughably easy to sneak into Konoha during the Chuunin exam, past the disorganized defense forces, and have a little heart to heart with Sasuke, revealing information that he says came at a very heavy price—the truth about Sasuke's past. This truth has changed everything for Sasuke, and he leaves behind Naruto in pursuit of his brother with hardly any hesitation. The time for "childish" things does indeed appear to be over for Sasuke. So the questions remain...

When Naruto and Sasuke next meet, how will they be changed? Will Kakashi survive the loss of Sasuke—is Iruka strong enough to pull him through it? (The answer is yes. I've already told you they'll end up happy.) What will become of Hotaru, and for that matter, Tsubaki as well?

Find out in the next arc, coming to my profile soon!