Chapter 36 – Preview

Author’s note: So now for Katsuro’s pov. I have to say, both of these chapters have been hard to write. I had hoped to get another up before Christmas, but I don’t think I’m going to make it. Anyway, don’t loose heart. It will all turn out well! For Sakura’s chapter, it was important for her to turn to realistic choices and see the value of what’s right in front of her (Sasuke) rather than running away to her fantasy guy (Katsuro). It’s part of her growing up. Katsuro will have his own way of dealing with his heartache….

“We got two coming up the road,” Joro said as he peered through the binoculars. Katsuro could tell by the tone of his voice that these were different from the farmers and townsfolk they’d seen plodding by for the last week. These were shinobi. Katsuro sat forward from his comfortable position in the shade of an old chimney on the angled rooftop, and propped his elbows on his knees to wait for the nins to come into better view.

“And a third. Ooo, it’s a girl too.” Joro refocused the lenses. “Mmm…she’s cute. Didn’t know they made kunoichis like her.”

Katsuro rolled his eyes at Joro’s ogling. He was always checking out girls. Being on duty never mattered.

Katsuro squinted at the two black-headed nins, trying to make out identifying marks. Suddenly a swish of pink flashed at the back of the line. Katsuro’s breath caught in his throat. He looked hard but didn’t see the color again.

He swallowed dryly. “Gimme those binoculars.”

Joro grunted his dissatisfaction but slowly passed them over. Katsuro snatched them up impatiently.

The first one had a Leaf headband. “They’re Konoha,” Katsuro said in a strained whisper.

“Should we get out of here—

“No,” Katsuro said, too quickly, hope warring with common sense. “No. Don’t move. As long as we’re still, the cloaking jutsu will cover us.” That cheap invisibility jutsu Itachi picked up was coming in very handy.

The first one was pale and slight, and Katsuro decided immediately he could take him if they were discovered. The second, with a white shirt and katana, looked strangely familiar, even with his head bowed, until he saw the fan stitched on the shirt. Uchiha.

And then it all clicked. The Robot. The Uchiha. And….

Sakura.

The word was no more a breath on his lips but her name sung in his ears, electrifying him with nervous anticipation. He tightened his hold on the binoculars.

And suddenly, as if she’d heard him, Sakura appeared, stepping gracefully out of the back of the line and smiling up at her teammates. Thumbs hooked under the shoulder straps of a knapsack, she spoke and watched them, waiting for a response.

Katsuro tightened the focus, drinking her in.

She was…beautiful. Her face was longer, the angle of cheekbone and curve of jaw more pronounced. All of her curves were more pronounced. She had a womanly shape and a womanly walk. Even her hair had changed, growing long enough to brush her bare arms beyond her sleeves. It floated with her as she moved, making her seem as if she’d walked out of a dream, where people were happy and no one bled or fought or died.

The weighted warmth of the necklace shifted against Katsuro’s chest, and his focus sharpened on her spring green eyes, which were, right then, smiling in front of him, even as her teammates ignored her. He breathed in, as if seeing her again had awoken some part of his soul from a deep, colorless winter.

“She’s cute, right?” Joro interrupted, but thankfully he took Katsuro’s silence as agreement and didn’t keep up a commentary.

They were directly below Katsuro’s hiding spot when the one in front — the Robot — stepped quickly ahead and disappeared into a store. Katsuro felt a trill of excitement that now they would spread out a bit and he’d get a better view—

But suddenly, the Uchiha swung around and caught her by the waist.

Katsuro shot to his feet, sure she was being attacked. He dropped the binoculars to his side

“Uh, hey Boss, I thought we weren’t supposed to move….”

Still under the protective cover of the invisibility jutsu, Katsuro stood in the sunlight. The shadow of the chimney angled over his feet. The binoculars swung from his hand, forgotten.

Heat exploded in his gut, raw and angry, as he watched the Uchiha’s arm snake around her, pulling her closer. He was bigger than her, more man now than the last time he’d seen him at the river five years ago. The Uchiha would be about 18 now, and his lithe physique and quick movements spoke of power.

Sakura’s hands clutched at his sleeve, obviously pushing away the unwanted advance, and the hairs went up on the back of Katsuro’s neck. He rocked forward, ready to jump down and intervene, not caring about the consequences—

When suddenly Sakura leaned away from his grasp. And she was…she was smiling. She was smiling at him.

Katsuro’s world tilted on its axis. Somehow his feet stayed planted on the roof while the scene unfolded like a nightmare in front of him.

Sakura smiled up into the Uchiha’s face, welcoming him. Her hand smoothed his sleeve and she spoke in hushed tones that only he could hear. His dark shadow fell across her, consuming her, and his black hair blocked her from view for a moment. She pulled back, her hair swinging around her in a fan, then he released her, dragging his hand slowly around her hip as he let go. Like he’d done it before….

Their teammate returned and they immediately separated, but not before stealing one last moment, curling their fingers together in the hidden space between them where no one else would see, then letting go.

But Katsuro saw it all.

He couldn’t think. He couldn’t breathe. A strong gust of wind ruffled his hair and threatened to send him toppling off the slanted roof. He wished it were a jutsu, that Itachi was testing him, but he knew it wasn’t. Deep down, he knew it, just like he knew now that Sakura had forgotten him. Moved on and left him behind. Abandoned him—

“Hey— Hey!” Joro whispered harshly and nodded at the binoculars swinging from his hand. Katsuro looked at them, numb with shock. They swayed dangerously, but whether it was because of the breeze or his own unsteadiness he didn’t know. But the lenses were catching the light. He turned back slowly only to find Sakura staring right at him.

For an instant, his heart knew hope…. Hope that she really saw him. Hope that it was all some horrible mistake.

But it scattered as the Uchiha turned. Katsuro froze. Breath coming in short puffs, Katsuro half-feared that he would activate his sharingan and see through Itachi’s invisibility jutsu. It was only a cheap trick of the light; their chakra signatures were still loud and clear.

But another part of him hoped the Uchiha would see through the jutsu. Then Katsuro would have no choice but to jump down and tear into him. And the heat clawing at his insides echoed that feeling, feeding chakra to his fists and making the blood rush in his ears—

But Sakura touched the Uchiha’s arm in reassurance and pointed to the jagged flashing on the edge of the chimney. It was explanation enough. Satisfied, the Uchiha turned away.

In that moment, Katsuro knew he’d already lost. The hot, swirling chakra receded, leaving him hollow.

Moving as a team, the three nodded their thanks and resumed their journey. At the edge of the town, Sakura looked back over her shoulder, just once, searching the rooftop as if just to be sure.

Katsuro stood still, waiting for her silent judgement. A stiff wind ruffled the hair on his forehead, buffeting him gently. He thought about breaking the jutsu and revealing himself…but why? Even though she was right in front of him, she was already gone.

Sakura raked her empty gaze over the chimney and its shadow. But she never saw him. Curling her hair behind her ear, she turned away, crested the hill with her team and disappeared.

Katsuro stared at desolate the road. Only a few leaves were left to swirl in their empty wake. And now when the wind rose up it felt like it was blowing right through him.

Joro hopped up to stand at his elbow. “Geez they almost saw us, boss.” But only silence answered. “You alright? Boss…?”

Katsuro raised two fingers to release the jutsu. Their figures flickered back into existence beside the chimney.

Katsuro stared hard at the road until he had to blink away the grit from the wind. “Let’s go,” he said, not sounding like himself. “We’re leaving.”

“But I thought we had to—”

“I said let’s go,” he snapped. Eyes still focused on the curve of the road, Katsuro reached into his collar and jerked hard on the traitorous stone around his neck. He could still see the colors in his mind, but he shut it out and jerked again. This time, the cord snapped. Blinking hard, he closed his fingers around the stone so he wouldn’t have to look at it and dropped it into the darkness of his pocket.

Without a word to Joro, Katsuro turned and leapt over the spine of the roof.