Chapter 24 Preview, part 2!

Author’s note: Another, longer preview of Chapter 24 to hold you over till the whole thing posts! 🙂

“There is no way you can back out of this one,” Tsunade said flatly. “We all have to go.”

Sakura stood stock still in the middle of the Hokage’s office. She felt like she’d been ambushed. The only day she’d have off in weeks, and she had to spend it in front of the high council. Because of Sasuke.

“He is the head of his clan. He has the right to challenge anything they throw at him. Not that it will do him any good,” Tsunade muttered, attention already shifting to the document in front of her. She scratched out her signature, then slapped the paper atop a messy pile at the corner of her desk. Cold winter sun slanted through the window, fanning gold rectangles across the floor.

So far, Sakura had managed to dodge the official summons from the council, citing prior obligations, work or hospital duty. But this time she was out of excuses. And Tsunade knew it.

Sakura couldn’t keep the frustration of her voice. “But why do I—”

“Because you’re on his team. He has requested missions outside the village, which the council has, of course, denied.” Another paper landed on the pile. “But he has laid out proof of his ability and wants to challenge their decree. You are on his team, and you are there to testify on his behalf.”

Hot anger crackled to life within her. That presumptuous…that pompous…. Only Saskue would be arrogant enough to think he could contribute so little to the team, then expect their support at the snap of his fingers. She should have known he was up to something when he started pulling his weight.

“Nothing will come of it,” Tsunade said without looking up. “Whether you agree with him or not, it doesn’t matter. But it will be easier for you to show up, answer their questions and be dismissed. Otherwise he could drag this out,” she grumbled and slapped down another paper. “He could have us all waiting around while he challenges every word they say.”

Resigned to her fate, Sakura nodded once. Though it was a suggestion, it was as good as an order.

“Hai, Tsunade-sama,” she said sullenly.

So, the next day, at the appointed time, she showed up for the council meeting.

It was the same dark room she had been in the year before for Sasuke’s meeting, when Tsunade had her carrying a takeout menu instead of official documents.

The horseshoe-shaped table still ringed one side of the room, narrow benches still pushed against the opposite wall. And the same men still sat around the table, blandly shuffling papers, speaking in hushed tones, looking as if they’d been frozen in time.

As Sakura moved to take her seat on one of the benches, she was surprised to discover how much she had changed.

The last time she was here, she was quite intimidated by the men, the room, the whole process. But the past year of missions, working with men very much like them, took away the mystique.

She wondered how Sasuke would bear all this out. How had he changed since the last time she saw him here, when his fiery temper met with resistance at every turn? She wondered if this new strategy involved a lighter hand with these men.

She didn’t have long to consider it, as Sasuke himself came in a moment later. Shoulders tight, back as rigid as a staff, he strode proudly in, his chin just slightly tipped up.

He certainly looked different. At some point, he had taken to wearing a traditional Uchiha belted shirt over standard issue black fatigues. From where she sat, Sakura could just see the edge of the finely embroidered fan between Sasuke’s shoulders. It’s proud red design, outlined in black, made quite a statement against the white fabric. In fact, thinking of his position now, Sakura was pretty sure the whole outfit was meant as statement. This was his snub to the council, a constant reminder of his clan and the council’s obligation to him as it’s head and only remaining heir.

Sasuke dragged his eyes down the table, then swung his gaze around to the low bench. But when Sakura thought he would make eye contact, acknowledge that he had requested her attendance, as his teammate, to support him…there was none. He registered her presence with just a cursory glance. Then, in a soft swish of fabric, he took a seat down the bench from her and resumed staring straight ahead.

Her astonishment quickly turned to anger. She looked ahead as well, unseeing. Her thoughts spiraled until her hands were clenched so tightly her nails dug into her palms. He brought her there. Now he acts like she has her own issue with these men!

Frustration driving her to movement, Sakura snuck another look to the side. Sasuke sat rigidly, cold as stone, chin still tipped up in defiance. Or was it arrogance, she thought, narrowing her eyes. As if this whole meeting was an inconvenience to him, not the other way around. That he was the reason everyone was required to be here. Sitting in attendance on him.

‘Nope,’ she thought unkindly. ‘He’s still the same too.’

The realization brought with it a little equanimity. Sakura turned back, exhaled deeply and fixed her gaze on the council. She unclenched her fingers and flattened her hands in her lap. Nothing left to do but just sit back and watch the show. Tsunade had been right, best to just go along and get this over with.

The last council members filed in. Sakura noticed the two vacant seats at the end, as well as the Fire Daimyo’s seat in the center. Apparently neither the elders nor the Daimyo felt this meeting was important enough to attend. That spoke volumes to Sakura about how it would probably turn out. She was just turning to see how Sasuke was handling it, when an oddly bandaged man ambled through the door. He slowly moved down the table, taking one of the empty seats at the end.

White wraps covered half his face, and probably his arm as well, Sakura thought, observing clinically how his limb folded under the cloak. Sakura knew him as Danzou, a military man with some connection to ANBU, but she was didn’t know how he fit into the council.

Another white-cloaked council member strode in and took the Fire Daimyo’s seat, apparently to moderate the meeting. Tsunade and Kakashi were the last to arrive, and as soon as the door closed, the man in the center called Sasuke down to the floor.

They peppered him with questions about every aspect of his life, his training and his future prospects. Sasuke responded in his detached way, answering some and dismissing others as beneath him.

The white of Sasuke’s shirt fairly glowed in the dim light. His shoulders were thrown back in confidence.

The questioning went nowhere, but Sakura was surprised by Sasuke’s rather calm demeanor. These were the very same questions which, a year ago, sent him into a fury. She amended her thinking as she watched him deflect more and more personal questions with calculated control: Perhaps even he was capable of change.

But just as she was silently approving,  the tone of the questions took another turn. Towards revenge.

“We have no assurance that you would not seek your brother out,” a council member prodded meanly. “Abandon Konoha, your teammates, your mission, for the sole reason of exacting a toll on him.”

Sasuke made a fist at his side, but said nothing.

“Your family’s situation is unfortunate,” another sneered, “but you would have to expressly follow orders, no matter what.” Similar comments rippled down the table, each growing more and more brazen.

Sakura’s snapped her eyes back up, looking at each man. These digs were meant to provoke him, rile him up and prove to the council that he was still as fiery and willful as ever. Then he’d deliver their reason for denying him. Sakura wondered if he’d take the bait.

Silence was thick over the room. They were all waiting in attendance on him now, waiting to see what he would do.

“I would follow orders,” Sasuke said in a controlled monotone. “As I have already.”

He relaxed the hand at his side. Sakura let go of a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

Soft, mean, half-comments fluttered up among the shifting men and their rustling papers. Apparently they disagreed, but none were brave enough to contradict. Sakura was pleased for him. He had successfully sidestepped their taunts. This display of control might work, it might sway them—

“Itachi Uchiha—” a gravely voice cut across the others. The effect was instant. Conversation evaporated. Sasuke’s hand spasmed back into a fist at the wretched name.

All attention shifted to the bandaged man at opposite end of the table from Tsunade. He cleared his throat, and looked down at Sasuke with cold, half-lidded eyes.

“Itachi Uchiha is not a threat to Konoha and is not to be pursued.” His words were sharp-edged and brutal, and his gaze never wavered from Sasuke. “Any move against him that is not expressly sanctioned by this council would be viewed as a personal vendetta and punishable as treason.”

Sakura felt like a rug had been pulled out from under her. Itachi wasn’t a threat? What was he talking about? She glanced at Sasuke. In the center of the room, his stance had shifted. His feet were slightly apart, steadying him as if he’d taken a blow. Apparently he thought the same.

“Not a threat?” Sasuke said astounded. But his anger rose with each word. “What do you mean ‘not a threat’?”

“He is not a threat to Konoha,” another elder chimed in condescendingly. “We feel he is only a threat to you. And it is our job to protect you from—”

“He is the biggest threat to Konoha,” Sasuke roared.

Self-control shattered, he launched into a tirade against Itachi for his crimes and against the council for holding him back. Several elders argued stridently, matching his voice, but Sasuke didn’t back down. Fist raised, he was just blasting the council about caring more for his clan’s techniques than the clan itself, when the elder in the center of the table stood up.

“That’s enough,” he said, frowning indignantly at Sasuke. “Konoha will deal with Itachi when the time is right. If you are to participate in any missions, then you will have to abide by our decisions. Let’s hear from your sensei. Sit down please. Kakashi….”

Sasuke stalked back to the bench, face pale with rage, hands shaking. Sakura was familiar with his varying bad moods, but he was truly furious.

Kakashi took Sasuke’s place, and the room quickly settled back into it’s previous complacence. The council asked several perfunctory questions about Sasauke. Kakashi answered them all politely, never giving more than was asked, then was dismissed. Everything was in Sasuke’s favor, speaking volumes to Sakura as to how much her sensei still believed in her bitter teammate.

“Haruno Sakura, please step forward.”

She blinked, refocusing on the table.

The men rifled through paperwork as she moved to the center of the room. Heads together, one elder whispered to another, “The other one…is away on a mission.” There was some mumbled discussion, but the last of it was clear: “Yes, he’s the ANBU agent.”

Drawing one foot even with the other, standing in the exact spot as Sasuke, Sakura had a moment of clarity: It was true, they weren’t a team. Sasuke was the prodigy, she was the target, and Sai, “the ANBU agent,” was the minder. He was only on the team to keep tabs on Sasuke. It was all a sham.

The council laid everything out in a monotone, asking her the same short, pointed questions they’d asked Kakashi.

How many team missions had they completed? Was Sasuke willing to complete them? Did the client express satisfaction with his behavior? Did he represent Konoha to the best of his ability in every situation?

Sakura knew she wouldn’t lie for him. She wouldn’t gush about his powers, say he was the perfect teammate and that they had perfect harmony. But standing there, listening to these questions obviously designed to entrap, she decided she wouldn’t tell the council what they wanted to hear.

“Sasuke Uchiha is as capable a nin as Konoha could ever hope to put forth into the world,” she said in the end, shutting down their last attempts for a more negative view.

The men shifted in their seats, a few rephrased their questions, pushing for a different response. She repeated her answer with forced politeness. Heads tipped together, and mumbles of disappointment echoed up and down the table.

Apparently forgotten for the moment, Sakura stood silently in the middle of the darkened room, frustration blossoming.

No one had addressed the fact that both she and Sai were allowed to go out on extended missions.

And Sai — the “ANBU agent.” The official confirmation was searing. Her mind raced back through their interactions with him. How far did it go? Had he really been a genin with them, or was that also part of some master plan? Was it all a lie?

She shook her head lightly. Sasuke said all along that they were no team. He was right. Team 7 must have been created to keep him tightly under control.

She got the cold feeling the council only saw him as an extension of his clan. Not as a person. He was a merely a vessel for his Uchiha’s prized sharingan. A weapon to be jealously guarded. Sasuke must have always known this.

Sakura huffed a breath. It was ridiculously unfair. Itachi stole his past, but the council was stealing his future. They making the last loyal Uchiha pay for his brother’s sins.

Sasuke was an exceptionally skilled shinobi, and he deserved to have his fair chance. It struck her suddenly that this was one more thing Itachi was taking away from him.

The memory of Itachi still chilled her to the core. She had never been in greater fear. At academy they were taught how about death in battle, it was swift and brutal. But she learned that day there were more painful, frightening things than death. Like using your life to manipulate others before you were snuffed out.

Her lips flattened into a thin white line. Anger like she’d never felt before surged up within her. She hated Itachi. Hated him.

He was the worst thing that ever happened to Sasuke. He was the one who directed Katsuro’s life. He was the one who ordered her abduction just to pry information out about Sasuke and manipulate him from a distance. He was the one in the Akatsuki, the shadow group who was plotting against Konoha.

Sakura narrowed her eyes. And these men were wrong.

With grim determination she looked down the table. Heads were still bent together, some frowning in discussion. A few were even laughing. They’d already moved on to other topics. Sakura straightened her shoulders.

She’d had a taste of Sasuke’s fury. And she was in a unique position to understand his point of view. She wouldn’t let it go to waste. At the end of the table sat Tsunade, arms folded, an inscrutable gaze fixed on Sakura.

Sakura had only just glanced at her when the chattering stopped and a few began to collect their papers. The center man cleared his throat, finally returning to their purpose.

“You may sit down Haruno,” he said dismissively. Sakura could feel the shift, they were anticipating wrapping it up soon.

But she didn’t move. Instead she tipped her chin up, set her shoulders, and subtly tucked her fingers up into her palms. Sakura took a small steadying breath, swallowed the momentary dread. It was in direct contradiction with the council, but she knew this might be her only chance to speak.

“I have something else to say,” she declared, “about Itachi.”

The room went quiet. Papers froze mid-shuffle.

“Sasuke is right,” she said, voice echoing into the silence. “Itachi is a threat to Konoha. And I believe he is the biggest threat—”

“Oh yes. I remember,” one man interjected lazily, “you had an encounter with him a few years back.”

Sakura’s cheeks blazed. That something so traumatic dismissed out-of-hand! She struggled to keep her anger in check. She really was in Sasuke’s position now.

“Itachi is actively working against the Leaf. And he is in the….” Her voice thinned with doubt. This was highly classified information she was about to hurl at them. She glanced reflexively at Tsunade. The blonde locked eyes with her and gave a nearly imperceptible shake of her head. The subtle move was a message: They were not to know about Itachi’s involvement in Akatsuki.

“H-He is involved in every underhanded thing to find out information about Sasuke,” she rejoined hastily.

“And this is ‘plotting against the Leaf?'” another man scoffed.

“Yes,” she scrambled. “If Itachi is so desperate for information, then let Sasuke go on missions, improve his skill, demonstrate that Konoha still uses the Uchiha clan. Show the other nations that we are not so easily defeated by a single clan member.”

The disgruntled councilmen frowned but they didn’t stop her. Something she said must have caught their interest. Sakura continued, voice rising. “He hasn’t gone after Itachi. He’s done what you’ve asked. That should stand for something, shouldn’t it?!”

She panted a breath. Her words were on the verge of treachery. These men valued respect above all else, and here she was yelling at them.

In that reeling moment, some men stared her down while others gaped in mortified astonishment. But the man in the center had the presence of mind to quash the upstart teammate of the problematic Uchiha.

“Young lady, this council will not tolerate your outburst. You have no grounds to speak at this meeting, only answer what you are asked. If you have something more to say, Konoha policy requires you submit a form—”

Sakura exploded in a manner befitting only Sasuke himself.

“Is it Konoha policy to leave a nukenin free to roam, while the one who can stop him is held prisoner behind the gates?!”

The council dissolved into a fracas, yelling at her and at each other.

“Is she your apprentice?” someone called down to Tsunade.

“Take your seat Haruno! You have said quite enough,” the man in the center fired back at her.

Heart racing, words dried up, she moved to take her seat. She’d really done it now. It was only when her warm hands wrapped around the edge of the cold bench did she remember to breathe.

She dared a glance at Tsunade, inwardly cringing at how disappointed she must be. But the corners of her full red lips quirked up. Maybe she wasn’t blisteringly mad as Sakura expected.

The men were still arguing, although some had gathered their things and were striding to the door, making a great show of ignoring the occupants of the bench. Kakashi dropped down into the empty spot between them with a deep sigh.

“Well…I think we can all expect D-ranks for a while,” he quipped just loud enough for them to hear.

Sakura was still so discomposed that she nearly missed the cry of “dismissed, dismissed,” by the center councilmen, trying to maintain the last shred of control.

Kakashi strode off immediately. Sakura, spying a door in the opposite corner, headed right for it to avoid running into any disgruntled men. She’d get an earful from Tsunade as it was. She decided she’d apologize to her first. And heading that way had the added benefit of bypassing the throng of councilmen exiting the meeting.

She was nearly to the Hokage’s office when a voice echoed up the empty corridor behind her.

“Sakura!”

She stopped and turned slowly. She hadn’t really expected to get away without a dressing down from someone. And the last person she expected to be seeking her out was Sasuke. But maybe he wanted to thank her, offer a kind word—

“What else did he say,” the dark haired nin said sharply, coming towards her down the hall.

“What?” Sakura said, thoroughly confused.

“You said he wanted information about me. And you said so before, that Itachi thought I was weak.” His hard eyes searched her face. “He spoke to you at length, didn’t he — about me. What did he say?”

“That’s what you want to know?” she said, incredulous.

All this time, did he think she was lying? Or did he simply not know how to ask her again?

Sasuke glared at her unflinchingly. But his lips were slightly parted, dragging in more air. And though his skin was pale, his cheeks were lightly flushed.

Anyone else might have missed it, but she knew his facade of control had been shattered. He desperately wanted to know about Itachi. It was clear these thoughts had been consuming him.

Sakura looked away. Itachi manipulated everything, and this was yet one more way.

She bit her lip. She decided she wouldn’t let him get to Sasuke through her. It may be small, but she’d thwart him.

“No,” she said resolutely and turned to continue down the hall.

“No?” Sasuke choked out. He grabbed her arm like a vice clamp and didn’t let go.

She turned around, eyes blazing.

“Tell me what he said,” Sasuke demanded, voice shaking slightly. But his commanding pushed any sympathy out of reach for Sakura.

“And I said no,” she bit out.

He tightened his grip and glared at her. She wondered offhandedly how far he would go. She’d fight him again here, in the hallway outside the Hokage’s office. She didn’t care what the punishment was.

Apparently he thought the same. His black eyes took on a menacing red tint.

Sakura lowered her gaze instinctively. Just how far would he go, she thought. Fighting was one thing, but a genjutsu she would not welcome. She had secrets now, someone to protect….

Sakura tossed her hair back over her shoulder and lifted her face, but she didn’t quite meet his eyes, just in case.

“I will not be Itachi’s tool,” she shook her head. “He said untrue things about you, I think perhaps to provoke me to speak.”

Sasuke released his grip slightly. “What did he say,” he pressed again, but this time his voice was a little calmer.

“I will not tell you,” she said again, shaking her head. Her voice was lower too, but firm.

Sasuke didn’t let go of her, but the sharingan was receding. It was pain that drove him, not hatred, she told herself. But she still wouldn’t be used as an instrument of Itachi’s manipulation.

“What he said was bullshit. Lies. Everything he did was to get a response,” she said. She paused for a moment, then lowered her voice. “He told me I was useless, and that Konoha had abandoned me.”

Sasuke blinked. “Why would he—”

“So that I would give up something about you,” she said sardonically.

“But what would you know—”

“Exactly, there was nothing I knew to tell him.”

Sasuke was silent.

“Did you tell him anything?” He just wanted to hear it.

Sakura gave him a long, serious look. “I told him nothing.”

Steady clacking filled up the silence, drawing closer. Tsunade and Kakashi rounded the corner and instantly perceived trouble, although the heightened chakra coming from both nins was falling by the second.

“What’s going on out here,” Tsunade barked up the hall.

“Teambuilding,” Sakura said firmly, never taking her eyes from Sasuke. He was cowed enough to let go of her arm. Pink marks were left where he gripped her too tight.

“Is this a joke, Kakashi?” she turned to the jonin, incredulous.

“She has some unique ways,” he said with a nervous laugh. “But they are effective.” Sasuke frowned.

“Well take your ‘teambuilding’ outside,” Tsunade snapped, stepping around them to go into her office.

“Hai,” Sakura and Sasuke said in unison.

“Kakashi,” Tsunade’s voice carried out through her open door. “Isn’t she the one who broke the yondaime’s picture frame?”

“Uh…I’m not exactly sure which one did….” his voice thinned. He looked back helplessly at his two bickering students.

Sakura cringed and glanced reflexively at Sasuke. He shot a deep frown at her, blaming her still. She folded her arms and scowled back unapologetically. It was his fault to begin with.

The memory stoked fresh anger. Both turned on their heel and stalked out in opposite directions down the hall.

Kakashi watched them go. The solidarity from the meeting was long gone.

“Please close the door behind you,” Tsunade’s voice carried from inside the office.

With a sigh, he did as she asked.