Chapter 14 – Cruel Choice
Gold light and green shadows dappled in and out of focus. Katsuro rubbed his tired eyes. Flinging an arm up to block the afternoon sunlight, he twisted his head for a better look around. But the quick movement set the world spinning.
Katsuro squeezed his eyes shut, dug his fingers back into the cool black earth and grit his teeth against the dizziness. It was a sure sign of just how far he let that genjutsu go. Even though he knew it was a thin illusion, it lasted too long to be safe. She must really be feeling the effects of it, he thought.
“Sakura,” he breathed out her name.
The nausea lulled. Katsuro rolled his head and tried to focus his eyes, but he still couldn’t find her. It was still entirely too soon to be moving—
Disorientation washed over him again. Katsuro blew a long, low breath, closed his eyes, and cursed himself again for going so deep in the gentjutsu. The queasy feeling sharpened. Beads of sweat pricked his upper lip and forehead. This time it was a full two minutes before the pounding in his ears and the bile in his throat finally abated. Blinking up at the trees, feeling better though still light-headed, Katsuro wiped a sleeve down his face and sat up slowly.
Sakura was gone, as was any trace of her. Both their bowls and cloaks were conspicuously absent. It was clear that Itachi had collected her. Katsuro had a sinking feeling now that had nothing to do with the genjutsu.
Wherever she was, he hoped she was in worse shape than he was. Then Itachi would be forced to wait until she came around before he could apply another genjutsu.
It was foolish to worry, he told himself. If he was this sick, then she was probably out like a light.
Katsuro clambered to his feet, swaying dangerously for a moment. But once he had his bearings enough to walk, he set off in the direction of Itachi’s tents.
By the time he was wrapping his fingers around the canvas flap, Katsuro had recovered all his faculties. He stopped, listening hard for her voice, a movement, or any out-of-place sounds that would give him a clue as to what he would find. But nothing reached his ears. Maybe she’s not there, he thought, pulling back the fabric.
But before he’d even stepped through the door he’d found her. Just inside the tent two scuffed black boots lay flat against the woven mat. The kunoichi was on her side, hands bound in front of her. He was right, she’d never even woken up.
Katsuro pushed away his relief. She wasn’t out of danger yet. First he had to deliver the information about Sasuke. Then he would make his case for her.
“Katsuro,” Itachi said expectantly, not bothering to look up from his work.
Wasting no time, Katsuro crossed the room to stand in front of the desk. The elder Uchiha sat back and listened neutrally to the report. Katsuro told him everything about his younger brother: The sharingan had been activated, he had mastered many high level jutsus, and he was the most accomplished shinobi of their grade. But everything else, all the rest she’d told him, he kept to himself.
‘He’s not interested in her anymore,’ Katsuro thought, justifying the rebellious feeling he got from withholding information.
“Nothing I didn’t already know,” Itachi sighed resignedly. “Although it’s nice to have verification that things are still moving in the right direction.” He picked up an out-of-place kunai that had been left on the desk and examined the blade.
“However, her only value to me was in her return to the village,” Itachi rejoined, letting the sentence hang in the air.
Katsuro thought the silence was calculated. He chose his next words carefully.
“Konoha has abandoned her,” Katsuro said without inflection.
“Oh no, they will come for her.” Itachi countered. “And I was counting on that fact. Once the dust settles in Konoha, it’s only a matter of time.” Katsuro’s brow crinkled for a moment. He was missing something.
“But now,” the Uchiha sighed again, “she’s just a liability. And that puts us all in danger.” He laid the kunai back down in front of him, handle out, and reached for another scroll.
Katsuro spared a fleeting thought at the irony of it all. Hadn’t he said the same thing once? It seemed so long ago.
But something else was going on here.
Itachi wanted more out of this than a simple progress report. The plan to send her back as a spy had been carefully guarded. And the misleading things Itachi had said about his brother, things which were clearly untrue…none of it added up.
And then there was the problem of her village…. Itachi believed they would come for her, but that it was a fact? The only fact was that they hadn’t, Katsuro thought wryly. Not a single, solitary sign. But Itachi was sure they would come and had worked it into this plan. The troubling thing to Katsuro was that doing so ran counter to everything he knew of Konoha.
He knew the village would drop her at the slightest problem. They would only use her as a means to an end. It had been that way with him, hadn’t it? And though he had never had any other dealing with Konoha since the day he left, Itachi always told him it was village policy to abandon those who could not keep up.
But now, Itachi seemed to believe otherwise. Either Katsuro had grossly underestimated his former village or, he thought with a measure of disbelief, Itachi had given him faulty information.
Whatever was going on, this was something very important to Itachi, and he was carefully covering his tracks, even from Katsuro.
The shuffling of papers drew his attention. In front of him, Itachi perused another document. Katsuro narrowed his eyes a fraction, suddenly aware that the older nin had not dismissed him. This too was out of the ordinary. Itachi was waiting for something.
A chill ran up the back of his neck. Things were not as they appeared, and Katsuro knew it. He tightened his fist nervously. The brown-haired nin felt like he was walking into a trap, and he had not even opened his mouth.
“There is something else you would like to discuss?” Itachi said cooly, never looking up.
This wasn’t good. Katsuro cleared his throat and took the direct approach.
“What are you planning for her?” he said, stripping his voice of emotion.
But if Katsuro expected a fight or some kind of fiery reaction, then Itachi did not deliver. Instead, the older nin eased back in his seat and tilted his head thoughtfully at the question.
“I suppose I could always wipe her mind and return her,” Itachi said, lazily waving a long, pale hand. “It would send a message to Konoha that we can take anyone whenever we want….”
That wasn’t what Katsuro wanted, not really. But it was the quickest way to get her out of harm’s way. And most importantly, it was Itachi’s idea. Although it seemed too easy that he would simply return her to Konoha unharmed, Katsuro had no choice but to go along with it.
“I think that’s best,” Katsuro said detachedly. “After all, she is no threat.”
Itachi’s hand went still, his eyes narrowed to slits. Even the air around him seemed to freeze.
“You believe she is of no threat?” he ground out.
Katsuro sucked in a breath, his gut twisted into a knot. He knew it was a trap — knew it — and yet he blundered right into it anyway. This was why Itachi had let him stand around. He’d seen right through him. Katsuro locked his jaw and looked straight ahead.
“Have you learned nothing?” He pushed off the desk to stand, moving directly into Katsuro’s eyeline.
The young rogue continued staring straight ahead, as if the black cloak had not just blotted out his entire view. He knew looking away from Itachi now was not only cowardly, it was a deadly mistake.
“To think you could be disarmed by an enemy so easily,” he snapped. “I’m disappointed in you, Katsuro.” Itachi regained his composure. His tone smoothed out, but he did not sit. “If she were allowed to simply return, she could point all of Konoha back to you. And I could neither stop them nor protect you.”
Itachi’s hands were open in front of him, and his black ponytail had slipped forward and snaked down over his collarbone. Katsuro knew he wasn’t being kind. He was applying pressure.
“Everything we’ve worked so hard for would be undone in an instant,” Itachi continued. “All because you’ve let one girl go because you think she’s ‘no threat.'”
Katsuro still stood defiantly in front of him. Itachi’s mouthed curled down in frustration.
“If she knew what you really were,” Itachi resumed, voice hard, “then she would be hunting you down just like the rest of them. Don’t deceive yourself.”
Katsuro’s shoulders softened just a bit. But it was enough. Confirmation lit Itachi’s narrowed eyes. He knew the boy would bend.
“If they caught you,” Itachi began stridently, this time they wouldn’t just dump you in an orphanage. You would rot in a cell until they needed the kyuubi. Then they would turn you into the demon…and you would cease to exist.”
Itachi smirked. Katsuro had always played into his hands. And though years of training had taught him to hide the things that made him stand out, Katsuro’s emotions still rose to the surface in physical nuances. Even in defiance, he was as easy to read as a book.
“No matter what the scenario is,” Itachi added. “With Konoha, it only ends one way: You never see the light of day again. “
Itachi watched the young man closely, letting the reality of his words sink in. He knew Katsuro would yield to this reasoning, and the thin line of his lips, clench of a fist and flutter of his eyelashes showed Itachi that he’d hit his mark.
“Anyone is a threat to you. Especially someone from Konoha. In case you had forgotten, I’m sure now you understand,” Itachi finished smoothly.
And Katsuro did understand. No matter what he thought of her, she didn’t know the first thing about him. About who he was…what he was. How hard he’d fought to survive, and what Konoha would do if they ever got a hold of him.
Itachi was right, and he hated it. How could he throw everything away over some tender feelings for one girl?
The way he felt the night before seemed as flimsy and fleeting as that shimmering mist of the genjutsu. Was it all just an illusion? The feeling, the connection? He frowned. He didn’t want to think so.
But regardless of his spiraling emotions, the fact remained the Konoha had never come for her.
Katsuro hazarded a glance at Itachi’s face. Impassive as ever.
“Konoha doesn’t care,” Katsuro said honestly, ending the standoff. “They’ve abandoned her and left her out here to die.”
“They will come,” Itachi said, relaxing enough to fold his arms over his chest.
Katsuro shook his head. “You still believe this, even though there’s not been a single sign?”
“Yes. They would never let a shinobi leave their village, willingly or unwillingly,” Itachi said. “They will come to collect her. Or come to kill her.”
Katsuro stifled his desire to shudder at the thought of Sakura being caught up in the crushing machinations of that village. But his belief that Konoha was truly a terrible place was restored. Itachi had not mislead him on that point, it seemed. Just not filled out the whole picture, Katsuro told himself.
And she didn’t deserve that fate. If that was what Itachi really wanted, to send her back— Katsuro’s breath hitched when he realized Itachi had never answered him.
“And yet she has to go back to there?” Katsuro said, feigning curiosity.
Itachi relaxed movements ground to a halt. “Did she suggest this? Did she say she wants to stay with you? Give up her village?” His voice was low and dangerous.
“No!” Katsuro said quickly. “She seems to be incredibly loyal, I mean….” his voice trailed off. He didn’t know what he meant. What Itachi was asking and he was answering were two entirely different things. But the deadly tone in Itachi’s voice kept Katsuro from correcting the mistake.
“Good,” Itachi breathed, settling back behind his desk. “If she been swayed that easily, then I’d say she was a spy.” Flattening a blank scroll, he took up a brush and dragged it through the slanted well of the inkstone. He paused, watching the excess black ink ooze slowly off the brush.
“If she’d said she wanted to stay with you, I’d have killed her on the spot,” Itachi said coldly, then flicked the brush in long strokes against the page.
Katsuro went numb. This was not going the way he hoped.
Itachi broke the stillness in the room with a quiet, mean laugh.
“Or perhaps, did you think Konoha would let you keep her, like a pet?” he said snidely. A silent laugh shook his shoulders and set his wisps of black hair swinging as he leaned over the page.
Everything was unraveling, Katsuro thought, and Itachi still wasn’t giving him a straight answer.
“What will happen to her,” he said quietly.
Itachi continued the fluid movements unperturbed. Not looking up, Itachi chided lightly, as if speaking to a child. “Did you hear anything I said?”
He sounded amused, but Katsuro knew it was false. Irritation sparked within him.
“I just want to know what’s going to happen to her—“
“Funny, you’ve never cared about anyone else who’s come through here,” Itachi said, head still bowed.
He was toying with her life, Katsuro could feel it.
“What are you going to do to her?” he repeated, struggling to quell his anger.
“I’ve never seen this side of you before,” Itachi quipped. He looked up at Katsuro with an unkind smile on his face, brush suspended in mid-stroke.
Katsuro glared back. Now Itachi was toying with him, too. He finally snapped.
“Are you going to kill her?” Katsuro demanded, fists clenched at his sides. He had never gone against Itachi, but he wasn’t going to budge until he got an answer.
Itachi’s predatory smile vanished. He slammed the brush down, splattering ink across the page, and sized up the defiant nin with a long, hard stare. A faint blood-red outline of the sharingan wheeled to the surface of his ruthless black eyes.
They both knew it was a sign of how far this little episode had spiraled out of control. But even with the threat of the Uchiha clans most feared technique, Katsuro was not backing down.
Itachi was surprised, to say the least. Was Katsuro so taken with this girl that he would negotiate for her? Was he pushing to keep her, in camp? A Konoha nin, no less.
Itachi wouldn’t even entertain the thought. Katsuro needed to be taught a lesson.
“No. I’m not going to kill her,” Itachi said darkly. He snapped up the kunai by the blade, holding it out as he’d set it down, with the handle pointed toward Katsuro. “You are.”
Katsuro couldn’t keep his eyes from going wide with the horrific realization of what was happening. He looked at the weapon as if it were on fire, even as the blood in his veins turned to ice. It had been a trap, from the very beginning. Itachi brought the kunoichi here because he knew he’d come looking for her, then laid out the instrument of her death right in front of his eyes.
“It is obvious you have an attachment to her. But attachments will get you killed,” Itachi said, pointing the hilt of the weapon accusingly at him. “Her fate was sealed the moment you picked her.”
Katsuro wrapped his fingers around the handle of the kunai — he knew Itachi would kill her if he disobeyed — but the Uchiha didn’t let go. Itachi stared him down over the weapon, intent on making a few things clear.
“You have a responsibility to this group which keeps you safe and allows you your freedom. Any Konoha nin is a threat, no matter how attractive they are to you. Do not ever forget where your loyalties lie.” Katsuro glared back at Itachi, but the man still would not release the kunai. “If you can not perform this task then it will be reassigned, and it will be infinitely harder on her. You will make sure it is swift and painless. Another member, say Hidan, would be inclined to start by slicing off—”
“That’s enough!” Katsuro said and ripped the kunai out of his hands. He didn’t care if he hurt Itachi now, but his master was characteristically one step ahead and had already let go of the blade.
Katsuro knew everything Itachi said was true. There was no way out. He was trapped.
Suddenly the air in the tent was stifling, and the canvas walls felt like they were going to fold in on him. Suffocation bearing down on him, Katsuro just wanted to get her and get out of there.
“Don’t forget to take your ‘pet’ with you,” Itachi said, cutting through the swirling pressure. Katsuro could hear the smirk in his voice. This was as good as a dismissal.
At the door the kunoichi was stirring, and when Katsuro leaned over her, he found two clear green eyes looking back up at him. From her face he could tell she’d heard at least the end of their conversation. He bit his lip and looked away.
Itachi probably knew she was awake too and did this to torment her, he thought.
Katsuro grabbed the wrist bindings and hoisted her up. It was too soon for her to be walking, but he had no choice. He had to get her out of there before Itachi changed his mind and decided to kill her himself.
“Katsuro,” Itachi called, then pitched the kunoichi’s hip pack at him. “She needs to have everything she came with.” Katsuro grudgingly caught the pack and turned away. Clamping a hand down on her shoulder, the young rogue steadied the kunoichi and half pushed her through the door in front of them.
It was not till she was outside and he was crossing the threshold that Itachi’s voice carried out.
“I want this finished by dawn. I don’t have to remind you of the personal consequences — for you and for her — if you fail to comply.”
Katsuro stiffened, then let the flap fall behind him.
There was no way out of this. Itachi had cut off his last option, closed his last door. Now Katsuro had to make a choice, the girl or his group. But either way, she would be killed.
Sinking another toe into the soft sand, he watched numbly as it poured off, leaving little pyramids on the gritty river bank where he sat. Beside him, the kunoichi was beginning to stir, but he didn’t move. Arms propped listlessly on bent knees, Katsuro felt more hopeless now than he did hours ago.
It was almost as if Itachi had read his mind before he’d left the tent. The last threat was aimed at exactly what Katsuro had planned to do. Just let her go. But without even saying it, Itachi let Kasturo know what he would do if she were deliberately set free. Itachi would have her hunted down and killed. It didn’t happen often, but if things went wrong, Katsuro knew death was the only way they covered their tracks. The same applied to her, and Itachi’s threat meant he’d personally make sure of it.
Katsuro wouldn’t be killed of course, his value to the group was too high, but his punishment for defiance was sure to be brutal, even if he was Itachi’s apprentice of sorts.
Katsuro got only a few steps away from the line of tents before he risked a sideways glance at the pale girl stumbling beside him. She was so disoriented she could barely walk. Pink hair tipped mercilessly forward, clinging to her face as she tried to focus on the ground. Even the gentlest shake to clear it away sent her reeling. He untied the binding and slung her arm around his neck, quickly brushing her hair back in the process.
They managed to get far enough away from the tents and down to the noisy protection of the river before he realized that going even a step further was useless.
Where was he going to go? What was he going to do with her? Hopelessness crashed down on him.
Katsuro stopped in the sand beside the river, feet sinking under the additional weight of the nearly unconscious girl. Adjusting his arm around her waist, he hoisted her back up to her feet. He had hooked her arm around his neck, and for a while she supported herself, but now it just hung limp over his shoulder, threatening to slide off at any moment.
He needed to think, come up with a new plan. Katsuro hauled her to standing again. He needed to put her down.
The river cut into the land around the next bend, and Katsuro saw the strip of sand disappearing behind a crumbling bank. He headed right for it.
Easing the kunoichi down into the sand, he fell back beside her to wait out the side effects of the genjutsu. A few hours and she should be back on her feet again. Surely that would give him enough time to work something out.
But as the light slowly faded over the river, Katsuro was no closer to a solution than he was when he sat down. And the girl next to him was beginning to stir.
He sunk another boot toe into the soft sand and watched it pour off fluidly. In front of him, the clear river ran with streaks of purple and blue, stained by the colors of the late afternoon sky and deepening shadows of the forest.
Sakura. He couldn’t kill her. That wasn’t even a possibility. But letting her live, letting her go, ran counter to Itachi’s specific command. Itachi was the one who had saved him and kept him safe. Did he really want to go against him?
Yet he knew that letting her just walk away put her in extreme danger. One of his group would hunt her down and kill her. Accompanying her even part of the way to any escape route could expose him to the people who wanted to kill him. As Itachi had said, that would pu everything they’d worked for in jeopardy. Just how far was he willing to go for her?
He dropped his head into his hands, tangling fistfuls of unruly brown hair.
Katsuro saw this for what it was: A test. A choice. Perhaps even a punishment.
Although she was abducted to be a spy, Itachi had seized on his preoccupation with her. His attachment, Itachi had called it. Now he was hellbent on making Katsuro sacrifice her to prove his loyalty to the group.
Only Itachi could work up something like this. There were sharp angles to every plan of his, always something to get you hung up on. Katsuro had marveled at it in the past, watching Itachi weave a trap, catch everyone he wanted, plan for everything, and have it all work out in the end. But now he was the one the one caught up in it.
Beside him the kunoichi was waking up. Katsuro had become so accustomed to her breathing he could hear the change. Almost feel it. But he still didn’t move.
And though he wanted to look at her, check in, make sure she was alright, he dreaded meeting her eyes. He didn’t want her to ask any questions, and he didn’t want to see her look of fear. Or hatred. Itachi was turning him into an entirely different kind of monster.
So he let her rest and let the waves of nausea lessen, even if it was eating up precious time and daylight.
‘What does it matter,’ he thought dejectedly. He had no plan, no where to go. He had wasted his time running circular arguments and had nothing to show for it. He closed his eyes and waited.
Eventually she sat up, took a few deep breaths, looked around. Katsuro sat forward as well, but did not look back at her.
“What now,” she said, her voice tight, tired.
“We go,” he said quietly.
Katsuro stood, brushed the sand off him, and turned to help her up. She sought out his face, but he still wouldn’t meet her eyes. Instead he pulled her to standing, letting her cling to his arm till she regained her balance.
Low voices and the steady crunch of footfalls on the flat land above them carried down the steep bank. Katsuro froze instinctively, eyes scanning the crust of earth, and whispered “shhh” right next to her ear. She was swaying on her feet, and had ducked her head and squeezed her eyes shut against the dizziness, but she nodded once in acknowledgement. He grabbed her shoulder to keep her steady.
The footsteps came closer, the voices grew louder. Men going to camp, Katsuro thought. A moment later, the sounds were fading away.
They hadn’t seen him, and he realized he didn’t want to be seen. Those men could report back to Itachi, possibly tell him which direction they were leaving by.
It spurred him finally to some decision. The farther out from camp, the better off they’d be.
Once he was sure all was quiet around them, Katsuro checked the kunoichi over. She was rubbing a hand over her face, but her color looked better. And her balance seemed to be returning. That was good enough for him.
“Time to go,” he said with more determination than he’d felt all day. Katsuro didn’t know where they were going or what he was going to do, but he knew they needed to get as far away as possible. He’d figure something out. Hopefully.
“Come on, we’ll do this together,” he said. Katsuro threaded his arm back around her waist, turned her toward the river and began walking her down the bank. She stumbled a little, but moved forward.
They stayed to the larger rocks, moving together, and quickly crossed the river without a sound. A few steps more, and they disappeared into the safety of the tree line. But Katsuro didn’t slow down. Arm still hooked around her, he kept going until the rushing sound of the river was dull and distant.
They stopped for a moment’s rest. Sakura was feeling well enough to walk on her own now, although she’d never kept that pace had she not been locked to Katsuro.
Leaning against a tree, she waited while he backtracked to make sure they weren’t followed. At length he came back up the wooded bank.
“We’re safe,” he said tersely, handing her the hip pack without looking at her. “Can you walk?”
Sakura nodded and slowly snapped the pack back on. It was the first time she’d seen it since she’d been taken. It was heavy and full. ‘Everything she came with,’ Itachi’s voice echoed through her mind. She swallowed thickly.
“Good, we need to get as far as we can while there’s still light,” he responded, interrupting her thoughts. He moved on without waiting for her, and Sakura quietly fell in behind him.
They stuck to the pathless forest, moving downriver, its rushing always within earshot. The sound filled the void made by their silence.
Sakura had heard the order issued by Itachi, although it felt more like a dream than a memory. She knew Katsuro had been told to kill her. And she had some idea that he didn’t want to.
Several times she had almost asked him what he planned to do, but she had a sinking feeling he would not give her an answer. That maybe he’d not made up his mind yet. She knew it was cowardly, but she put off asking, and instead focused on getting as far away from that camp as possible.
Katsuro moved swiftly, and Sakura kept up fairly well. They wound past trees and under brush, their sounds nearly always muffled by the rolling river. Sometime it was wide and placid, the ground stretching out flat on either side; other times it turned narrow and roared over the rocks, gouging the earth with its path. Then the pair had to watch each step atop the steep, treacherous banks.
They managed to cover quite a bit of ground before darkness slowed their progress. The river rolled close by again, somewhere beyond the curtain of night, and they had to take care not to get too close.
Sakura didn’t mind slowing, exhaustion was starting to take its toll and the darkness made the forest landscape perilous. She had stumbled before when she could see in front of her, but now she felt like she was tripping or dropping to her knee every other step.
There were no stars, no moon, even the outline of Katsuro was nearly indiscernible and constantly moving away from her. The roar of the churning water pounded relentlessly in her ears, crashing everywhere around her.
More focused on trying to find Katsuro in the blanketing darkness than a clearer path, Sakura hooked a foot on a boulder and fell forward onto another one. The sickening crack of bone hitting rock drowned out the river sound for a moment.
Sitting up just enough to clutch her knees, Sakura rocked against the intense pain. She didn’t want to cry, she’d cried enough for a whole lifetime, but it hurt so damn bad. Everything hurt, she thought. A sob escaped anyway.
Gritting her teeth against the tears and pain, she told herself to get up, keep moving. Even if Katsuro never told her where they were going, this was her best chance to escape. Her last chance.
“Sakura!” Katsuro called faintly out of the darkness. “Are you there?” His voice rose sharp and urgent over the din as he got closer.
“Here,” she said, pushing down the throbbing pain enough to respond. She sniffed, but didn’t move.
“Did you fall? You ok?” he said with a relieved breath. A warm hand patted out her shoulder, her elbow.
“I can’t see,” she said stupidly, voice thick with tears.
“I know. It’s getting dangerous,” he said with a nervous laugh. It couldn’t hide the shakiness in his voice. For him to actually say that, after everything they’d been through without comment from him, made Sakura’s toes curl in fear.
She brushed her knees, pulled herself back together, and let him help her to standing. But once she was fully upright, he still didn’t let go. Instead, Katsuro flattened his slightly calloused hand against her smooth palm, and gently intertwined his fingers with hers.
Sakura went still, her hand frozen. He couldn’t help but notice.
“We— We’ve got to stick close,” he offered as a weak explanation. He sounded strangely vulnerable, something she would never attribute to the boy during daylight hours. He must have thought she had fallen into the river.
But she understood why he held on to her so tightly. Perhaps he was just as adrift now as she was, even behind all his bravado. The warm touch was a flicker of hope.
She squeezed his hand softly in mute acceptance. He squeezed back a little harder, curling his fingers to brush her skin.
“Come on,” he said, tugging her arm lightly. “We need your light.”
“What?” she said, thoroughly confused.
“Your healing chakra, let it cover your hand,” he said, and waited. A thin layer of green chakra pooled around her free hand and threw a dim light at their feet. Sakura saw then that the ground crumbled away beside her. Somewhere in that black abyss was the river. She shuddered involuntarily, and the light wavered.
“Don’t look,” Katsuro said with another quick squeeze of his hand. “Let’s just keep going.”
They climbed steadily up the steep wooded bank above the river, and slid down the other side, aiming for flatter terrain in the gully. Thick trees rose up on either side, but the trek was easier, and the noisy river was at least muffled a little by the ridge.
“Can’t we go to the trees,” Sakura said as they ducked around a particularly large trunk.
“No, our chakra signature would be too high,” he said. She frowned. “And we’re more likely to run into someone,” he added quietly.
Sakura mulled what he’d said. The chakra used for gripping trees was no more than she used now to light her hand. But if they were intent on staying hidden, then the ground was definitely the best route. On all the long distance missions she’d ever been on, they’d taken to the trees. She assumed most other nins did as well.
Reflecting on her previous life jolted her memory. Katsuro had said something earlier, called her from the darkness when she’d fallen. And she’d responded.
He said her name. Her name, not the name she’d given him.
Her mouth went dry.
“Katsuro,” she whispered. “H-how did you know my name?”
“Oh that,” he said awkwardly. “You told me last night, before you went to sleep.”
“I don’t remember that,” she said, shaking her head. Her voice rose a notch. “I don’t remember going to sleep.” Panic was closing her throat. The sickness. Genjutsu. It must have been. He must have done it.
A desperate thought found its way into her heart. She was wrong about him. He was going to follow Itachi’s orders. She had placed her trust in him, and he was going to kill her for it. She’d made yet another mistake.
The wind bore down on the treetops in a woosh. Katsuro stopped suddenly in front of her, but she barely registered it.
“Where are you taking me?” she said, feeling sick. But he didn’t answer.
“Are you going to—” she demanded, but he cut her off.
“Not so loud,” he whispered harshly and pulled her hand to keep moving, his grip painfully tight.
But it was only secondary to her inner turmoil. Reality was digging in its claws.
She looked for any opening in desperation, following him simply because she couldn’t command her body to do otherwise.
“Why don’t you just let me run,” she begged, “tell them I escaped. No one would ever know.”
He only laughed coldly. “Someone escaping me? Everyone would know.”
A bird shot out from a nearby treetop, startling them both. She dimmed the chakra at her hand. He waited a moment, listening hard, before pushing on with even more urgency.
“I know what he said. I know what you have to do,” she continued, voice cracking, hoping, praying he would just say something.
But Katsuro was silent. He was nearly dragging her through the undergrowth. Leaves pattered down around them from the high canopy.
He didn’t correct her. That only meant one thing. Tears stung her eyes. She should never have believed in him.
“Then why— why drag this out?” she sobbed. “Why don’t you just kill me and get it over with?”
Her voice echoed off the trees around them.
“Stop it” he shouted back angrily at her, squeezing her hand hard. “Just stop it! I don’t care what he said, I’m not going to—“
A cracking branch cut them both off.
“Shhh” he said. She extinguished the chakra glow completely, and they stepped closer together. He still had her hand, but with his free one he dugs his fingers down under his collar and pulled the face wraps back up.
They had stopped in a natural clearing. There was no undergrowth to hide them here, but movement to a safer area now was out of the question.
“Get behind me,” Katsuro said quietly, and pushed her a step back before letting go of her hand.
The wind, the falling leaves, it was all a cover to hide the movements of someone. He should have been paying closer attention, he thought. Not letting his emotions distract him—
Branches creaked faintly above them. Some unknown group was alighting in the trees, circling in on them from the canopy.
Katsuro dropped into a defensive stance. A limb groaned nearby. He whipped his head in its direction just as a leafy branch rattled from the other side.
More than one, he thought, and they’re getting closer.
Loosening his fingers for hand signs or a ready grab at the kunai strapped to his leg, he heard her feet shift against the leaves behind him. The idea of her sinking into a battle position brought him to clarity.
She had to get out of here. He’d make a way for her to do it.
He raced through the scenarios. Escaping in a surprise attack would give her some measure of protection. As long as she could make it to Konoha, she’d be safe. Itachi would never seek her out there.
And his safe return from an ambush would free her from Itachi’s death sentence. Katsuro knew his value, and his power. His survival was of the utmost importance in any situation and he would leverage that as the cost of letting her go.
He blew out a low, focusing breath. He alone could make the difference.
There’d be punishment to be sure — being open to attack was never tolerated — but it would be on his shoulders now, not hers. A small sacrifice to make for her life.
He scanned the blackness around him, anticipation coursing with the blood through his veins. He was more than ready for anyone to drop down. For the first time, he was ready to fight for something, someone, other than himself. He never thought he’d be glad he had such an unholy power to command. But if it meant she’d make it out alive—
Footsteps padded down on a branch. The sound was unmistakeable now. Katsuro licked his lips, eying the nearly impenetrable canopy. It didn’t matter how many assailants were around them. He knew he could wipe them all out.
Behind him, Sakura’s boot ground into the leaves. He could picture her, knees and elbows flexed, ready to fight whatever was lurking in the darkness. She was preparing for battle, but this was no longer her fight.
She had to go. Now. It was her only chance.
“You’ve got to get out of here,” he whispered over his shoulder. “I’ll fight them off. When you see an opening, take it. Run as far and as fast as you can. Follow the river, it’ll get you to your village.”
She blinked at the darkness. He wanted her to run? Was he serious? He was going to let her live?
She had doubted him, doubted herself. But her trust had not been misplaced.
Adrenaline pushed out the despair and exhaustion. She brushed away traitorous tears. She knew she should focus on strategy, but the hope that her ordeal was over would not be denied.
To go home…. The possibility of escape shined in front of her.
But what of Katsuro? The beacon of hope dimmed. If she left, there would be heavy a price to pay.
Katsuro opened his mouth to repeat what he’d said, sure she didn’t hear it, when she whispered back, “Come with me.”
“W-What?” he said, completely thrown.
“Come with me,” she repeated with more sureness.
“No,” he responded, smiling. It wasn’t at all what he expected her to say.
“I know you’re not safe either,” she said, “not if you don’t kill me….So come with me.”
“No. I’ll be fine.” he reassured. She was concerned, too. He smiled a little wider. It wasn’t an illusion, their connection was real. Any lingering doubt at going against direct orders washed away, but his voice turned serious. “I can’t go to Konoha.”
There were more noises around them, closing in. He knew he must tell her quickly. She began to retort, but he cut her off.
“You said you’d protect me too?” he said under his breath.
“Of course, I—”
“Then you must never tell anyone about me, ever,” he continued in an urgent whisper. “My old village will hunt me down and kill me. Not my age or what I look like. Please do this for me. Not anything, ever. Okay?… Okay?”
But there was no answer.
Behind him, the air shifted subtly. A thin breeze licked his skin and shivered the ends of his hair, where previously it had been still. Blocked by a body. Her body.
Katsuro reached back desperately to grab for her. But even as his arm swung around, the awful certainty of what had happened tore through him. Fingers grasped at empty space. His stomach tightened. She was already gone.
Whoever caught her up this time, it couldn’t be good.
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14 Jul 2010 No Comments
Chapter 14 – Cruel Choice
Chapter 14 – Cruel Choice
Gold light and green shadows dappled in and out of focus. Katsuro rubbed his tired eyes. Flinging an arm up to block the afternoon sunlight, he twisted his head for a better look around. But the quick movement set the world spinning.
Katsuro squeezed his eyes shut, dug his fingers back into the cool black earth and grit his teeth against the dizziness. It was a sure sign of just how far he let that genjutsu go. Even though he knew it was a thin illusion, it lasted too long to be safe. She must really be feeling the effects of it, he thought.
“Sakura,” he breathed out her name.
The nausea lulled. Katsuro rolled his head and tried to focus his eyes, but he still couldn’t find her. It was still entirely too soon to be moving—
Disorientation washed over him again. Katsuro blew a long, low breath, closed his eyes, and cursed himself again for going so deep in the gentjutsu. The queasy feeling sharpened. Beads of sweat pricked his upper lip and forehead. This time it was a full two minutes before the pounding in his ears and the bile in his throat finally abated. Blinking up at the trees, feeling better though still light-headed, Katsuro wiped a sleeve down his face and sat up slowly.
Sakura was gone, as was any trace of her. Both their bowls and cloaks were conspicuously absent. It was clear that Itachi had collected her. Katsuro had a sinking feeling now that had nothing to do with the genjutsu.
Wherever she was, he hoped she was in worse shape than he was. Then Itachi would be forced to wait until she came around before he could apply another genjutsu.
It was foolish to worry, he told himself. If he was this sick, then she was probably out like a light.
Katsuro clambered to his feet, swaying dangerously for a moment. But once he had his bearings enough to walk, he set off in the direction of Itachi’s tents.
By the time he was wrapping his fingers around the canvas flap, Katsuro had recovered all his faculties. He stopped, listening hard for her voice, a movement, or any out-of-place sounds that would give him a clue as to what he would find. But nothing reached his ears. Maybe she’s not there, he thought, pulling back the fabric.
But before he’d even stepped through the door he’d found her. Just inside the tent two scuffed black boots lay flat against the woven mat. The kunoichi was on her side, hands bound in front of her. He was right, she’d never even woken up.
Katsuro pushed away his relief. She wasn’t out of danger yet. First he had to deliver the information about Sasuke. Then he would make his case for her.
“Katsuro,” Itachi said expectantly, not bothering to look up from his work.
Wasting no time, Katsuro crossed the room to stand in front of the desk. The elder Uchiha sat back and listened neutrally to the report. Katsuro told him everything about his younger brother: The sharingan had been activated, he had mastered many high level jutsus, and he was the most accomplished shinobi of their grade. But everything else, all the rest she’d told him, he kept to himself.
‘He’s not interested in her anymore,’ Katsuro thought, justifying the rebellious feeling he got from withholding information.
“Nothing I didn’t already know,” Itachi sighed resignedly. “Although it’s nice to have verification that things are still moving in the right direction.” He picked up an out-of-place kunai that had been left on the desk and examined the blade.
“However, her only value to me was in her return to the village,” Itachi rejoined, letting the sentence hang in the air.
Katsuro thought the silence was calculated. He chose his next words carefully.
“Konoha has abandoned her,” Katsuro said without inflection.
“Oh no, they will come for her.” Itachi countered. “And I was counting on that fact. Once the dust settles in Konoha, it’s only a matter of time.” Katsuro’s brow crinkled for a moment. He was missing something.
“But now,” the Uchiha sighed again, “she’s just a liability. And that puts us all in danger.” He laid the kunai back down in front of him, handle out, and reached for another scroll.
Katsuro spared a fleeting thought at the irony of it all. Hadn’t he said the same thing once? It seemed so long ago.
But something else was going on here.
Itachi wanted more out of this than a simple progress report. The plan to send her back as a spy had been carefully guarded. And the misleading things Itachi had said about his brother, things which were clearly untrue…none of it added up.
And then there was the problem of her village…. Itachi believed they would come for her, but that it was a fact? The only fact was that they hadn’t, Katsuro thought wryly. Not a single, solitary sign. But Itachi was sure they would come and had worked it into this plan. The troubling thing to Katsuro was that doing so ran counter to everything he knew of Konoha.
He knew the village would drop her at the slightest problem. They would only use her as a means to an end. It had been that way with him, hadn’t it? And though he had never had any other dealing with Konoha since the day he left, Itachi always told him it was village policy to abandon those who could not keep up.
But now, Itachi seemed to believe otherwise. Either Katsuro had grossly underestimated his former village or, he thought with a measure of disbelief, Itachi had given him faulty information.
Whatever was going on, this was something very important to Itachi, and he was carefully covering his tracks, even from Katsuro.
The shuffling of papers drew his attention. In front of him, Itachi perused another document. Katsuro narrowed his eyes a fraction, suddenly aware that the older nin had not dismissed him. This too was out of the ordinary. Itachi was waiting for something.
A chill ran up the back of his neck. Things were not as they appeared, and Katsuro knew it. He tightened his fist nervously. The brown-haired nin felt like he was walking into a trap, and he had not even opened his mouth.
“There is something else you would like to discuss?” Itachi said cooly, never looking up.
This wasn’t good. Katsuro cleared his throat and took the direct approach.
“What are you planning for her?” he said, stripping his voice of emotion.
But if Katsuro expected a fight or some kind of fiery reaction, then Itachi did not deliver. Instead, the older nin eased back in his seat and tilted his head thoughtfully at the question.
“I suppose I could always wipe her mind and return her,” Itachi said, lazily waving a long, pale hand. “It would send a message to Konoha that we can take anyone whenever we want….”
That wasn’t what Katsuro wanted, not really. But it was the quickest way to get her out of harm’s way. And most importantly, it was Itachi’s idea. Although it seemed too easy that he would simply return her to Konoha unharmed, Katsuro had no choice but to go along with it.
“I think that’s best,” Katsuro said detachedly. “After all, she is no threat.”
Itachi’s hand went still, his eyes narrowed to slits. Even the air around him seemed to freeze.
“You believe she is of no threat?” he ground out.
Katsuro sucked in a breath, his gut twisted into a knot. He knew it was a trap — knew it — and yet he blundered right into it anyway. This was why Itachi had let him stand around. He’d seen right through him. Katsuro locked his jaw and looked straight ahead.
“Have you learned nothing?” He pushed off the desk to stand, moving directly into Katsuro’s eyeline.
The young rogue continued staring straight ahead, as if the black cloak had not just blotted out his entire view. He knew looking away from Itachi now was not only cowardly, it was a deadly mistake.
“To think you could be disarmed by an enemy so easily,” he snapped. “I’m disappointed in you, Katsuro.” Itachi regained his composure. His tone smoothed out, but he did not sit. “If she were allowed to simply return, she could point all of Konoha back to you. And I could neither stop them nor protect you.”
Itachi’s hands were open in front of him, and his black ponytail had slipped forward and snaked down over his collarbone. Katsuro knew he wasn’t being kind. He was applying pressure.
“Everything we’ve worked so hard for would be undone in an instant,” Itachi continued. “All because you’ve let one girl go because you think she’s ‘no threat.'”
Katsuro still stood defiantly in front of him. Itachi’s mouthed curled down in frustration.
“If she knew what you really were,” Itachi resumed, voice hard, “then she would be hunting you down just like the rest of them. Don’t deceive yourself.”
Katsuro’s shoulders softened just a bit. But it was enough. Confirmation lit Itachi’s narrowed eyes. He knew the boy would bend.
“If they caught you,” Itachi began stridently, this time they wouldn’t just dump you in an orphanage. You would rot in a cell until they needed the kyuubi. Then they would turn you into the demon…and you would cease to exist.”
Itachi smirked. Katsuro had always played into his hands. And though years of training had taught him to hide the things that made him stand out, Katsuro’s emotions still rose to the surface in physical nuances. Even in defiance, he was as easy to read as a book.
“No matter what the scenario is,” Itachi added. “With Konoha, it only ends one way: You never see the light of day again. “
Itachi watched the young man closely, letting the reality of his words sink in. He knew Katsuro would yield to this reasoning, and the thin line of his lips, clench of a fist and flutter of his eyelashes showed Itachi that he’d hit his mark.
“Anyone is a threat to you. Especially someone from Konoha. In case you had forgotten, I’m sure now you understand,” Itachi finished smoothly.
And Katsuro did understand. No matter what he thought of her, she didn’t know the first thing about him. About who he was…what he was. How hard he’d fought to survive, and what Konoha would do if they ever got a hold of him.
Itachi was right, and he hated it. How could he throw everything away over some tender feelings for one girl?
The way he felt the night before seemed as flimsy and fleeting as that shimmering mist of the genjutsu. Was it all just an illusion? The feeling, the connection? He frowned. He didn’t want to think so.
But regardless of his spiraling emotions, the fact remained the Konoha had never come for her.
Katsuro hazarded a glance at Itachi’s face. Impassive as ever.
“Konoha doesn’t care,” Katsuro said honestly, ending the standoff. “They’ve abandoned her and left her out here to die.”
“They will come,” Itachi said, relaxing enough to fold his arms over his chest.
Katsuro shook his head. “You still believe this, even though there’s not been a single sign?”
“Yes. They would never let a shinobi leave their village, willingly or unwillingly,” Itachi said. “They will come to collect her. Or come to kill her.”
Katsuro stifled his desire to shudder at the thought of Sakura being caught up in the crushing machinations of that village. But his belief that Konoha was truly a terrible place was restored. Itachi had not mislead him on that point, it seemed. Just not filled out the whole picture, Katsuro told himself.
And she didn’t deserve that fate. If that was what Itachi really wanted, to send her back— Katsuro’s breath hitched when he realized Itachi had never answered him.
“And yet she has to go back to there?” Katsuro said, feigning curiosity.
Itachi relaxed movements ground to a halt. “Did she suggest this? Did she say she wants to stay with you? Give up her village?” His voice was low and dangerous.
“No!” Katsuro said quickly. “She seems to be incredibly loyal, I mean….” his voice trailed off. He didn’t know what he meant. What Itachi was asking and he was answering were two entirely different things. But the deadly tone in Itachi’s voice kept Katsuro from correcting the mistake.
“Good,” Itachi breathed, settling back behind his desk. “If she been swayed that easily, then I’d say she was a spy.” Flattening a blank scroll, he took up a brush and dragged it through the slanted well of the inkstone. He paused, watching the excess black ink ooze slowly off the brush.
“If she’d said she wanted to stay with you, I’d have killed her on the spot,” Itachi said coldly, then flicked the brush in long strokes against the page.
Katsuro went numb. This was not going the way he hoped.
Itachi broke the stillness in the room with a quiet, mean laugh.
“Or perhaps, did you think Konoha would let you keep her, like a pet?” he said snidely. A silent laugh shook his shoulders and set his wisps of black hair swinging as he leaned over the page.
Everything was unraveling, Katsuro thought, and Itachi still wasn’t giving him a straight answer.
“What will happen to her,” he said quietly.
Itachi continued the fluid movements unperturbed. Not looking up, Itachi chided lightly, as if speaking to a child. “Did you hear anything I said?”
He sounded amused, but Katsuro knew it was false. Irritation sparked within him.
“I just want to know what’s going to happen to her—“
“Funny, you’ve never cared about anyone else who’s come through here,” Itachi said, head still bowed.
He was toying with her life, Katsuro could feel it.
“What are you going to do to her?” he repeated, struggling to quell his anger.
“I’ve never seen this side of you before,” Itachi quipped. He looked up at Katsuro with an unkind smile on his face, brush suspended in mid-stroke.
Katsuro glared back. Now Itachi was toying with him, too. He finally snapped.
“Are you going to kill her?” Katsuro demanded, fists clenched at his sides. He had never gone against Itachi, but he wasn’t going to budge until he got an answer.
Itachi’s predatory smile vanished. He slammed the brush down, splattering ink across the page, and sized up the defiant nin with a long, hard stare. A faint blood-red outline of the sharingan wheeled to the surface of his ruthless black eyes.
They both knew it was a sign of how far this little episode had spiraled out of control. But even with the threat of the Uchiha clans most feared technique, Katsuro was not backing down.
Itachi was surprised, to say the least. Was Katsuro so taken with this girl that he would negotiate for her? Was he pushing to keep her, in camp? A Konoha nin, no less.
Itachi wouldn’t even entertain the thought. Katsuro needed to be taught a lesson.
“No. I’m not going to kill her,” Itachi said darkly. He snapped up the kunai by the blade, holding it out as he’d set it down, with the handle pointed toward Katsuro. “You are.”
Katsuro couldn’t keep his eyes from going wide with the horrific realization of what was happening. He looked at the weapon as if it were on fire, even as the blood in his veins turned to ice. It had been a trap, from the very beginning. Itachi brought the kunoichi here because he knew he’d come looking for her, then laid out the instrument of her death right in front of his eyes.
“It is obvious you have an attachment to her. But attachments will get you killed,” Itachi said, pointing the hilt of the weapon accusingly at him. “Her fate was sealed the moment you picked her.”
Katsuro wrapped his fingers around the handle of the kunai — he knew Itachi would kill her if he disobeyed — but the Uchiha didn’t let go. Itachi stared him down over the weapon, intent on making a few things clear.
“You have a responsibility to this group which keeps you safe and allows you your freedom. Any Konoha nin is a threat, no matter how attractive they are to you. Do not ever forget where your loyalties lie.” Katsuro glared back at Itachi, but the man still would not release the kunai. “If you can not perform this task then it will be reassigned, and it will be infinitely harder on her. You will make sure it is swift and painless. Another member, say Hidan, would be inclined to start by slicing off—”
“That’s enough!” Katsuro said and ripped the kunai out of his hands. He didn’t care if he hurt Itachi now, but his master was characteristically one step ahead and had already let go of the blade.
Katsuro knew everything Itachi said was true. There was no way out. He was trapped.
Suddenly the air in the tent was stifling, and the canvas walls felt like they were going to fold in on him. Suffocation bearing down on him, Katsuro just wanted to get her and get out of there.
“Don’t forget to take your ‘pet’ with you,” Itachi said, cutting through the swirling pressure. Katsuro could hear the smirk in his voice. This was as good as a dismissal.
At the door the kunoichi was stirring, and when Katsuro leaned over her, he found two clear green eyes looking back up at him. From her face he could tell she’d heard at least the end of their conversation. He bit his lip and looked away.
Itachi probably knew she was awake too and did this to torment her, he thought.
Katsuro grabbed the wrist bindings and hoisted her up. It was too soon for her to be walking, but he had no choice. He had to get her out of there before Itachi changed his mind and decided to kill her himself.
“Katsuro,” Itachi called, then pitched the kunoichi’s hip pack at him. “She needs to have everything she came with.” Katsuro grudgingly caught the pack and turned away. Clamping a hand down on her shoulder, the young rogue steadied the kunoichi and half pushed her through the door in front of them.
It was not till she was outside and he was crossing the threshold that Itachi’s voice carried out.
“I want this finished by dawn. I don’t have to remind you of the personal consequences — for you and for her — if you fail to comply.”
Katsuro stiffened, then let the flap fall behind him.
There was no way out of this. Itachi had cut off his last option, closed his last door. Now Katsuro had to make a choice, the girl or his group. But either way, she would be killed.
Sinking another toe into the soft sand, he watched numbly as it poured off, leaving little pyramids on the gritty river bank where he sat. Beside him, the kunoichi was beginning to stir, but he didn’t move. Arms propped listlessly on bent knees, Katsuro felt more hopeless now than he did hours ago.
It was almost as if Itachi had read his mind before he’d left the tent. The last threat was aimed at exactly what Katsuro had planned to do. Just let her go. But without even saying it, Itachi let Kasturo know what he would do if she were deliberately set free. Itachi would have her hunted down and killed. It didn’t happen often, but if things went wrong, Katsuro knew death was the only way they covered their tracks. The same applied to her, and Itachi’s threat meant he’d personally make sure of it.
Katsuro wouldn’t be killed of course, his value to the group was too high, but his punishment for defiance was sure to be brutal, even if he was Itachi’s apprentice of sorts.
Katsuro got only a few steps away from the line of tents before he risked a sideways glance at the pale girl stumbling beside him. She was so disoriented she could barely walk. Pink hair tipped mercilessly forward, clinging to her face as she tried to focus on the ground. Even the gentlest shake to clear it away sent her reeling. He untied the binding and slung her arm around his neck, quickly brushing her hair back in the process.
They managed to get far enough away from the tents and down to the noisy protection of the river before he realized that going even a step further was useless.
Where was he going to go? What was he going to do with her? Hopelessness crashed down on him.
Katsuro stopped in the sand beside the river, feet sinking under the additional weight of the nearly unconscious girl. Adjusting his arm around her waist, he hoisted her back up to her feet. He had hooked her arm around his neck, and for a while she supported herself, but now it just hung limp over his shoulder, threatening to slide off at any moment.
He needed to think, come up with a new plan. Katsuro hauled her to standing again. He needed to put her down.
The river cut into the land around the next bend, and Katsuro saw the strip of sand disappearing behind a crumbling bank. He headed right for it.
Easing the kunoichi down into the sand, he fell back beside her to wait out the side effects of the genjutsu. A few hours and she should be back on her feet again. Surely that would give him enough time to work something out.
But as the light slowly faded over the river, Katsuro was no closer to a solution than he was when he sat down. And the girl next to him was beginning to stir.
He sunk another boot toe into the soft sand and watched it pour off fluidly. In front of him, the clear river ran with streaks of purple and blue, stained by the colors of the late afternoon sky and deepening shadows of the forest.
Sakura. He couldn’t kill her. That wasn’t even a possibility. But letting her live, letting her go, ran counter to Itachi’s specific command. Itachi was the one who had saved him and kept him safe. Did he really want to go against him?
Yet he knew that letting her just walk away put her in extreme danger. One of his group would hunt her down and kill her. Accompanying her even part of the way to any escape route could expose him to the people who wanted to kill him. As Itachi had said, that would pu everything they’d worked for in jeopardy. Just how far was he willing to go for her?
He dropped his head into his hands, tangling fistfuls of unruly brown hair.
Katsuro saw this for what it was: A test. A choice. Perhaps even a punishment.
Although she was abducted to be a spy, Itachi had seized on his preoccupation with her. His attachment, Itachi had called it. Now he was hellbent on making Katsuro sacrifice her to prove his loyalty to the group.
Only Itachi could work up something like this. There were sharp angles to every plan of his, always something to get you hung up on. Katsuro had marveled at it in the past, watching Itachi weave a trap, catch everyone he wanted, plan for everything, and have it all work out in the end. But now he was the one the one caught up in it.
Beside him the kunoichi was waking up. Katsuro had become so accustomed to her breathing he could hear the change. Almost feel it. But he still didn’t move.
And though he wanted to look at her, check in, make sure she was alright, he dreaded meeting her eyes. He didn’t want her to ask any questions, and he didn’t want to see her look of fear. Or hatred. Itachi was turning him into an entirely different kind of monster.
So he let her rest and let the waves of nausea lessen, even if it was eating up precious time and daylight.
‘What does it matter,’ he thought dejectedly. He had no plan, no where to go. He had wasted his time running circular arguments and had nothing to show for it. He closed his eyes and waited.
Eventually she sat up, took a few deep breaths, looked around. Katsuro sat forward as well, but did not look back at her.
“What now,” she said, her voice tight, tired.
“We go,” he said quietly.
Katsuro stood, brushed the sand off him, and turned to help her up. She sought out his face, but he still wouldn’t meet her eyes. Instead he pulled her to standing, letting her cling to his arm till she regained her balance.
Low voices and the steady crunch of footfalls on the flat land above them carried down the steep bank. Katsuro froze instinctively, eyes scanning the crust of earth, and whispered “shhh” right next to her ear. She was swaying on her feet, and had ducked her head and squeezed her eyes shut against the dizziness, but she nodded once in acknowledgement. He grabbed her shoulder to keep her steady.
The footsteps came closer, the voices grew louder. Men going to camp, Katsuro thought. A moment later, the sounds were fading away.
They hadn’t seen him, and he realized he didn’t want to be seen. Those men could report back to Itachi, possibly tell him which direction they were leaving by.
It spurred him finally to some decision. The farther out from camp, the better off they’d be.
Once he was sure all was quiet around them, Katsuro checked the kunoichi over. She was rubbing a hand over her face, but her color looked better. And her balance seemed to be returning. That was good enough for him.
“Time to go,” he said with more determination than he’d felt all day. Katsuro didn’t know where they were going or what he was going to do, but he knew they needed to get as far away as possible. He’d figure something out. Hopefully.
“Come on, we’ll do this together,” he said. Katsuro threaded his arm back around her waist, turned her toward the river and began walking her down the bank. She stumbled a little, but moved forward.
They stayed to the larger rocks, moving together, and quickly crossed the river without a sound. A few steps more, and they disappeared into the safety of the tree line. But Katsuro didn’t slow down. Arm still hooked around her, he kept going until the rushing sound of the river was dull and distant.
They stopped for a moment’s rest. Sakura was feeling well enough to walk on her own now, although she’d never kept that pace had she not been locked to Katsuro.
Leaning against a tree, she waited while he backtracked to make sure they weren’t followed. At length he came back up the wooded bank.
“We’re safe,” he said tersely, handing her the hip pack without looking at her. “Can you walk?”
Sakura nodded and slowly snapped the pack back on. It was the first time she’d seen it since she’d been taken. It was heavy and full. ‘Everything she came with,’ Itachi’s voice echoed through her mind. She swallowed thickly.
“Good, we need to get as far as we can while there’s still light,” he responded, interrupting her thoughts. He moved on without waiting for her, and Sakura quietly fell in behind him.
They stuck to the pathless forest, moving downriver, its rushing always within earshot. The sound filled the void made by their silence.
Sakura had heard the order issued by Itachi, although it felt more like a dream than a memory. She knew Katsuro had been told to kill her. And she had some idea that he didn’t want to.
Several times she had almost asked him what he planned to do, but she had a sinking feeling he would not give her an answer. That maybe he’d not made up his mind yet. She knew it was cowardly, but she put off asking, and instead focused on getting as far away from that camp as possible.
Katsuro moved swiftly, and Sakura kept up fairly well. They wound past trees and under brush, their sounds nearly always muffled by the rolling river. Sometime it was wide and placid, the ground stretching out flat on either side; other times it turned narrow and roared over the rocks, gouging the earth with its path. Then the pair had to watch each step atop the steep, treacherous banks.
They managed to cover quite a bit of ground before darkness slowed their progress. The river rolled close by again, somewhere beyond the curtain of night, and they had to take care not to get too close.
Sakura didn’t mind slowing, exhaustion was starting to take its toll and the darkness made the forest landscape perilous. She had stumbled before when she could see in front of her, but now she felt like she was tripping or dropping to her knee every other step.
There were no stars, no moon, even the outline of Katsuro was nearly indiscernible and constantly moving away from her. The roar of the churning water pounded relentlessly in her ears, crashing everywhere around her.
More focused on trying to find Katsuro in the blanketing darkness than a clearer path, Sakura hooked a foot on a boulder and fell forward onto another one. The sickening crack of bone hitting rock drowned out the river sound for a moment.
Sitting up just enough to clutch her knees, Sakura rocked against the intense pain. She didn’t want to cry, she’d cried enough for a whole lifetime, but it hurt so damn bad. Everything hurt, she thought. A sob escaped anyway.
Gritting her teeth against the tears and pain, she told herself to get up, keep moving. Even if Katsuro never told her where they were going, this was her best chance to escape. Her last chance.
“Sakura!” Katsuro called faintly out of the darkness. “Are you there?” His voice rose sharp and urgent over the din as he got closer.
“Here,” she said, pushing down the throbbing pain enough to respond. She sniffed, but didn’t move.
“Did you fall? You ok?” he said with a relieved breath. A warm hand patted out her shoulder, her elbow.
“I can’t see,” she said stupidly, voice thick with tears.
“I know. It’s getting dangerous,” he said with a nervous laugh. It couldn’t hide the shakiness in his voice. For him to actually say that, after everything they’d been through without comment from him, made Sakura’s toes curl in fear.
She brushed her knees, pulled herself back together, and let him help her to standing. But once she was fully upright, he still didn’t let go. Instead, Katsuro flattened his slightly calloused hand against her smooth palm, and gently intertwined his fingers with hers.
Sakura went still, her hand frozen. He couldn’t help but notice.
“We— We’ve got to stick close,” he offered as a weak explanation. He sounded strangely vulnerable, something she would never attribute to the boy during daylight hours. He must have thought she had fallen into the river.
But she understood why he held on to her so tightly. Perhaps he was just as adrift now as she was, even behind all his bravado. The warm touch was a flicker of hope.
She squeezed his hand softly in mute acceptance. He squeezed back a little harder, curling his fingers to brush her skin.
“Come on,” he said, tugging her arm lightly. “We need your light.”
“What?” she said, thoroughly confused.
“Your healing chakra, let it cover your hand,” he said, and waited. A thin layer of green chakra pooled around her free hand and threw a dim light at their feet. Sakura saw then that the ground crumbled away beside her. Somewhere in that black abyss was the river. She shuddered involuntarily, and the light wavered.
“Don’t look,” Katsuro said with another quick squeeze of his hand. “Let’s just keep going.”
They climbed steadily up the steep wooded bank above the river, and slid down the other side, aiming for flatter terrain in the gully. Thick trees rose up on either side, but the trek was easier, and the noisy river was at least muffled a little by the ridge.
“Can’t we go to the trees,” Sakura said as they ducked around a particularly large trunk.
“No, our chakra signature would be too high,” he said. She frowned. “And we’re more likely to run into someone,” he added quietly.
Sakura mulled what he’d said. The chakra used for gripping trees was no more than she used now to light her hand. But if they were intent on staying hidden, then the ground was definitely the best route. On all the long distance missions she’d ever been on, they’d taken to the trees. She assumed most other nins did as well.
Reflecting on her previous life jolted her memory. Katsuro had said something earlier, called her from the darkness when she’d fallen. And she’d responded.
He said her name. Her name, not the name she’d given him.
Her mouth went dry.
“Katsuro,” she whispered. “H-how did you know my name?”
“Oh that,” he said awkwardly. “You told me last night, before you went to sleep.”
“I don’t remember that,” she said, shaking her head. Her voice rose a notch. “I don’t remember going to sleep.” Panic was closing her throat. The sickness. Genjutsu. It must have been. He must have done it.
A desperate thought found its way into her heart. She was wrong about him. He was going to follow Itachi’s orders. She had placed her trust in him, and he was going to kill her for it. She’d made yet another mistake.
The wind bore down on the treetops in a woosh. Katsuro stopped suddenly in front of her, but she barely registered it.
“Where are you taking me?” she said, feeling sick. But he didn’t answer.
“Are you going to—” she demanded, but he cut her off.
“Not so loud,” he whispered harshly and pulled her hand to keep moving, his grip painfully tight.
But it was only secondary to her inner turmoil. Reality was digging in its claws.
She looked for any opening in desperation, following him simply because she couldn’t command her body to do otherwise.
“Why don’t you just let me run,” she begged, “tell them I escaped. No one would ever know.”
He only laughed coldly. “Someone escaping me? Everyone would know.”
A bird shot out from a nearby treetop, startling them both. She dimmed the chakra at her hand. He waited a moment, listening hard, before pushing on with even more urgency.
“I know what he said. I know what you have to do,” she continued, voice cracking, hoping, praying he would just say something.
But Katsuro was silent. He was nearly dragging her through the undergrowth. Leaves pattered down around them from the high canopy.
He didn’t correct her. That only meant one thing. Tears stung her eyes. She should never have believed in him.
“Then why— why drag this out?” she sobbed. “Why don’t you just kill me and get it over with?”
Her voice echoed off the trees around them.
“Stop it” he shouted back angrily at her, squeezing her hand hard. “Just stop it! I don’t care what he said, I’m not going to—“
A cracking branch cut them both off.
“Shhh” he said. She extinguished the chakra glow completely, and they stepped closer together. He still had her hand, but with his free one he dugs his fingers down under his collar and pulled the face wraps back up.
They had stopped in a natural clearing. There was no undergrowth to hide them here, but movement to a safer area now was out of the question.
“Get behind me,” Katsuro said quietly, and pushed her a step back before letting go of her hand.
The wind, the falling leaves, it was all a cover to hide the movements of someone. He should have been paying closer attention, he thought. Not letting his emotions distract him—
Branches creaked faintly above them. Some unknown group was alighting in the trees, circling in on them from the canopy.
Katsuro dropped into a defensive stance. A limb groaned nearby. He whipped his head in its direction just as a leafy branch rattled from the other side.
More than one, he thought, and they’re getting closer.
Loosening his fingers for hand signs or a ready grab at the kunai strapped to his leg, he heard her feet shift against the leaves behind him. The idea of her sinking into a battle position brought him to clarity.
She had to get out of here. He’d make a way for her to do it.
He raced through the scenarios. Escaping in a surprise attack would give her some measure of protection. As long as she could make it to Konoha, she’d be safe. Itachi would never seek her out there.
And his safe return from an ambush would free her from Itachi’s death sentence. Katsuro knew his value, and his power. His survival was of the utmost importance in any situation and he would leverage that as the cost of letting her go.
He blew out a low, focusing breath. He alone could make the difference.
There’d be punishment to be sure — being open to attack was never tolerated — but it would be on his shoulders now, not hers. A small sacrifice to make for her life.
He scanned the blackness around him, anticipation coursing with the blood through his veins. He was more than ready for anyone to drop down. For the first time, he was ready to fight for something, someone, other than himself. He never thought he’d be glad he had such an unholy power to command. But if it meant she’d make it out alive—
Footsteps padded down on a branch. The sound was unmistakeable now. Katsuro licked his lips, eying the nearly impenetrable canopy. It didn’t matter how many assailants were around them. He knew he could wipe them all out.
Behind him, Sakura’s boot ground into the leaves. He could picture her, knees and elbows flexed, ready to fight whatever was lurking in the darkness. She was preparing for battle, but this was no longer her fight.
She had to go. Now. It was her only chance.
“You’ve got to get out of here,” he whispered over his shoulder. “I’ll fight them off. When you see an opening, take it. Run as far and as fast as you can. Follow the river, it’ll get you to your village.”
She blinked at the darkness. He wanted her to run? Was he serious? He was going to let her live?
She had doubted him, doubted herself. But her trust had not been misplaced.
Adrenaline pushed out the despair and exhaustion. She brushed away traitorous tears. She knew she should focus on strategy, but the hope that her ordeal was over would not be denied.
To go home…. The possibility of escape shined in front of her.
But what of Katsuro? The beacon of hope dimmed. If she left, there would be heavy a price to pay.
Katsuro opened his mouth to repeat what he’d said, sure she didn’t hear it, when she whispered back, “Come with me.”
“W-What?” he said, completely thrown.
“Come with me,” she repeated with more sureness.
“No,” he responded, smiling. It wasn’t at all what he expected her to say.
“I know you’re not safe either,” she said, “not if you don’t kill me….So come with me.”
“No. I’ll be fine.” he reassured. She was concerned, too. He smiled a little wider. It wasn’t an illusion, their connection was real. Any lingering doubt at going against direct orders washed away, but his voice turned serious. “I can’t go to Konoha.”
There were more noises around them, closing in. He knew he must tell her quickly. She began to retort, but he cut her off.
“You said you’d protect me too?” he said under his breath.
“Of course, I—”
“Then you must never tell anyone about me, ever,” he continued in an urgent whisper. “My old village will hunt me down and kill me. Not my age or what I look like. Please do this for me. Not anything, ever. Okay?… Okay?”
But there was no answer.
Behind him, the air shifted subtly. A thin breeze licked his skin and shivered the ends of his hair, where previously it had been still. Blocked by a body. Her body.
Katsuro reached back desperately to grab for her. But even as his arm swung around, the awful certainty of what had happened tore through him. Fingers grasped at empty space. His stomach tightened. She was already gone.
Whoever caught her up this time, it couldn’t be good.
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by tricksie in A Voice in the Wind