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Broken Kunai	By : MisatosPenPen Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Kakashi/Sasuke Views: 7784 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 18
- 19
- 20
A flock of hawks crossed the border into the Land of Wind. Three hawks each with one person on them descended, three veered to the north, five continued on. As they approached Suna, one hawk with Sasuke and Kakashi and another with their ANBU escort descended while the last three continued west.
This time, they landed on the top of the Kazekage tower rather than outside the gates. The two hawks vanished as soon as their passengers hit the ground.
Baki was the person who met them. Kakashi and Baki were uneasy with each other; Baki had been part of Orochimaru’s failed invasion years ago and personally killed Hayate during the chunin exams. Sasuke was aware of the tension but didn’t think much of it as they were escorted down to Gaara’s office.
The ANBU captain was once again their guard. He was a little on edge about Sasuke and Gaara, knowing what happened before.
Kakashi was also not looking forward to seeing the Kazekage after he tried to steal his boyfriend, but Sasuke had assured him all was well there. He was suspicious about how many times the pair had met since their last trip to Suna, but he trusted his lover. Not the Kazekage, just his lover. Baki and Gaara were quickly making this an unpleasant trip for Kakashi. Not to mention the heat.
Gaara stood to greet them but didn’t come around from his desk. Sasuke noted how small, sad, and isolated he looked. He didn’t see it last time; he was quicker to rise before. Sasuke wondered if it was the pressures of being a Kage or stress of the rebels.
“Thank you, Sasuke-san, for continuing to help us in this matter.”
“My pleasure. After the war, I was getting bored. It’s been fun actually. Nearly been killed.” He smirked. Gaara answered with a hint of a smirk too. For two shinobi as powerful and skilled as these two, a challenge was most welcome.
“Anything you need, you’ll have it.” He nodded a greeting to the ANBU captain. “Kakashi-san, I hope Kankuro’s efforts have been successful.”
“Very. I thought I might take him up on some of those weapon additions.”
“Don’t let him go too overboard.”
“Kazekage-sama, I do need maps of the village and a list of any possible rebel sympathizers,” Sasuke said. “I hope there aren’t any rebels in the village, but there must be some. My main job is to lure their eyes away from our search teams, but if I can root out any rebels in the village, so be it. I must at least look like I’m doing my regular job.”
“Anything.” There was a hint of desperation in that word.
“Maybe we should have a word in private?” Sasuke suggested.
“I’ll show these two to their rooms,” Baki said and led Kakashi and the captain out.
The captain’s suite was next to Kakashi and Sasuke’s, but he joined Kakashi in the larger suite to wait for Sasuke. They waited silently in the outer room.
About twenty minutes later, Sasuke finally arrived. “Things are much worse here than I thought.”
“How bad?” the Captain asked.
“They’re here. They’ve killed people too. We’ve been concentrating on taking out the main force, but there are small groups about. We’re only talking a dozen or so here in Suna, but they’ve been active.”
“How many have died?” Kakashi asked.
“Around fifty. I’ll have a Suna shinobi escort me who has experience hunting these rebels. I don’t want either of you involved more than necessary. I know you have your own orders,” Sasuke said to the captain, “but protecting Kakashi is your main priority.”
“You are the mission leader, jounin-taichou, but I outrank you and I do have superseding orders. I’m here to keep your ass alive.”
“I think that’s what Sasuke was asking you to do,” Kakashi quipped.
The captain had mastered using body language to compensate for his mask. Kakashi was proud of him. The captain conveyed annoyance.
“I was sent here to keep both of you alive, but especially you, Uchiha.”
“And I thought I was a part of this mission,” Kakashi added seriously.
“I will use your tracking ability when I need it, but you are supposed to be a cover. I don’t want the two of you getting your own bounties over this shadow war.”
“I won’t get one unless someone takes off my mask. And then, I’m not well known. I’m not one of you showboaters with nicknames all over the shinobi world.”
Kakashi didn’t argue, knowing Sasuke would pitch a fit if he was willing to incur a bounty in retirement.
“You stick close to Kankuro and get a new leg,” Sasuke said to Kakashi. “I will call on you if I need you. You,” he turned to the captain, “keep your distance. Save our lives, but don’t get involved.”
The captain hesitated. “I can comply with that.”
“We’ve just arrived; I’m not going to start investigating today.”
The Captain hesitated and Kakashi could feel that the man’s eyes darted between him and Sasuke. “I’ll let you settle in.” He left for his own room.
After all this time, they actually felt a little awkward alone together.
Kakashi leaned back in his chair. He was hoping this would be a real mission for him, but he understood Sasuke’s concerns and his role in the half ass cover story. He also knew that Sasuke didn’t want to put him in danger. He had to face it that Sasuke was in charge and he was retired, technically a civilian.
“I’m sorry,” Sasuke said. “I know you were hoping for a real mission, but I didn’t realize how bad things were here. I’m sure the capitol is just as bad. Probably worse. You’re too precious to me to send like a terrier into a rat warren.”
“I understand.”
“You do? You’re not disappointed?”
“I am disappointed, but I understand. And you are the mission leader, as the captain said.”
“Actually, this is my first leadership role in a mission since I disbanded Taka. I feel untrusted.”
“No, you’re just young and have shown yourself to be a bit impetuous. You’ll lead a team soon, jounin-taichou.”
“This might be a test. But I’m not letting ambition color my decisions.”
“I don’t feel this is you not wanting to lose any subordinates in your first mission as a captain. You are in the right, but you can’t stop an ANBU from carrying out his duties—and his duty is to keep you alive.”
“I know. I did ask Gaara that you be protected. You’ll be spending time with Kankuro and you’re not defenseless. I just want some peace of mind. I didn’t bring you with me because I wanted my lover with me; it was really for the cover and, second, to use your tracking skills.”
“I want you to think of me as a resource of information as well. I will help you plan and ferret things out.”
“Oh, I plan too.” Sasuke leaned down with a lecherous grin and gave Kakashi a brief kiss, bracing himself on the arms of his chair.
Kakashi was mesmerized. The most beautiful black eyes smiling at him. The feel of his breath on his face. He reached up to touch Sasuke’s side. If those eyes had been red, Kakashi would understand the overwhelming love that flooded him. Not to mention forgetting that he was supposed to be mildly pissed off. He could smell his air, the heat from his skin. He finally touched his clothed side and could feel the solidness of his chest and the ribs under his stretched skin and muscle. The thought that a kunai could easily pierce through those ribs was not a malevolent thought, but a fearful one.
“This mission isn’t essential. Promise me you’ll stay out of danger,” Kakashi whispered.
“Susanoo.”
“You’re not a god. Promise me.”
Sasuke shook his head. “No. Would you make that promise?”
“No. No, I wouldn’t.”
“Then let me do my job. I want you to make that promise. You’re retired; you can make that promise.”
“We already agreed neither of us can make that promise.”
“Then I should have left you in Konoha. Don’t give me an opening for the enemy to exploit.”
Kakashi stared seriously into Sasuke’s sober eyes. “I won’t become an opening.”
Sasuke smirked. “You always did lie with conviction in your eye.” Despite just accusing Kakashi of lying, Sasuke gently touched his lips to Kakashi’s.
His upper lip where they touched was extremely sensitive; just the touch sent pleasure radiating through Kakashi’s body. He opened his mouth and Sasuke took advantage, dipping his tongue in just teasing Kakashi’s before he pulled away completely.
“Let’s get dinner.”
Kakashi should have been rattled by Sasuke’s words and behavior, but he just smirked back and followed his lover.
-----
The confidence with which Sasuke walked down the streets of Suna told Kakashi that he had almost as much familiarity with these streets as the ones in Konoha. He couldn’t stop the flare of jealousy at the thought of Sasuke spending time in this village without him. With Sasuke’s concern for his safety, Kakashi was surprised that he didn’t want them both to transform.
Sasuke knew him too well. “We need to be seen; that’s the whole reason we’re here,” he whispered.
“I thought you were the paranoid one.”
“Oh, I am. You live for nearly four years underground as a criminal with a snake, you develop a healthy sense of paranoia. I’m just used to it.”
Sasuke led him to a restaurant too big and bright to be of Sasuke’s liking, but not the biggest and brightest. Sasuke usually liked to slink into dark sushi bars and intimate restaurants. Only Kakashi, Naruto, or good food could lure him otherwise.
“They have excellent miso soup here.”
Kakashi wanted to ask how many times he had been in Suna.
They sat themselves near the back. Shinobi knew who these two were; others merely saw a handsome young man and a masked shinobi wearing foreign headbands. Within an hour, the entire village will know who’s visiting.
A young man came to take their orders. Kakashi got his miso soup and Sasuke ordered tomato nabe, a hot pot made with tomato soup.
As their food was sat down in front of them, Kakashi thought about Sasuke’s fears. He believed there was a threat. This was the same group who wounded him.
“Um, how safe do you actually feel here?” Kakashi asked in a low voice.
Sasuke smirked. He picked a soaked piece of eggplant from Kakashi’s bowl and ate it.
“I can taste it or feel some effect from poisons even if they don’t harm me. It’s fine.”
Kakashi was confident in Sasuke’s experience with poisons. He still worried if Sasuke himself was poisonous. He was reasonably certain his semen was fine, but his blood? That could burn through iron for all he knew.
He had to agree that the miso here was excellent and felt unthreatened. His senses and instincts hadn’t dulled; there was no threat around them. He relaxed and enjoyed the meal. Sasuke seemed to be relaxed as well.
“We’re right next to a tavern with a large shinobi clientele,” Sasuke mentioned. “Should keep assassins away. It’s a little soon for us to be under threat. Right now, we’re just either friends of the Kazekage or messengers from Konoha. No reason to want us dead just yet. Most of the rebels probably know I’m one of the shinobi hunting them, but they don’t know that’s why I’m here. You being here and not my teammates should also leave some doubt. I don’t know if our relationship is known here, but everyone knows we’re close. Relax for tonight; the fun won’t start for at least another day.” His smirk was nearly a serene smile.
When they got back to their room, Sasuke started settling in, unpacking and laying out his weapons while Kakashi took a shower. After drying, Kakashi laid on one of the two queen beds. Either someone didn’t know they were a couple or these were standard guest rooms. Again, they could sully one bed and sleep in the other.
When he moved slightly, the weight of the metal leg reminded him he needed to remove it. He sat up to unstrap it and dropped it off the side of the bed.
Sasuke took his own shower while Kakashi just enjoyed the firmness of the bed and cracked his back. Even though they flew to Suna, Kakashi was tired. Age and retirement catching up to him he supposed.
Sasuke dried his hair as he made sure the window was secure and the drapes shut. He tossed his towel back into the bathroom then checked to make sure the outer door was locked.
Sasuke turned out the light and joined Kakashi on the bed. The desert cooled off quite a bit at night, but the heat of the day was still radiating from the sand. It was just hot enough in the room to keep them from needing to cover up. Despite the heat, Sasuke curled up next to Kakashi, his head on his shoulder, hand on his chest, and leg bent over his.
Being a shinobi wasn’t worth the same as this bliss. Kakashi decided that he would let Sasuke have his way. He’d rather keep Sasuke. He wanted to work again, be a shinobi again, but if it meant losing Sasuke, he’d rather settle into retirement.
The added heat of Sasuke’s body didn’t bother him. He’d started spending more time at the hot springs. It was something he was afraid to admit: visiting hot springs several times a week like an old man. His leg, of course. The water was good for his leg. That was his excuse. As for Sasuke, he spent enough time in the Land of Wind that the heat didn’t affect him as much. Konoha wasn’t exactly arctic either. So Kakashi had no problem pulling Sasuke more onto him like a comforter.
-----
The next morning, Sasuke was unhappy at being awake. Kakashi pulled him from the bed with amusement. Some things never changed. Kakashi stopped short at dressing the Uchiha.
Sasuke was perfectly silent as they prepared to go forage for food. But they stopped at the knock at the door. Sasuke could tell it was their ANBU friend, so he opened the door, still not looking at all friendly, but the man had guarded him throughout his house arrest and knew what he was like in the morning.
“I figured the two of you spent most of the night reconciling, so I spent the night planning. We need to make it obvious we’re looking for the rebels and if we find them, all the better. Kakashi is obviously here to be a tracker so I think you should go on walks with your ninken. Your least threatening I think.”
“That would be Bisuke and Guruko,” Kakashi said.
“I don’t think it should be scent hounds,” Sasuke said. “Shiba and Uhei. We’re very badly trying to be undercover.”
“You two can wander with the dogs and I’ll stay above you.”
“We can take the same path every time,” Kakashi said. “We’ll be able to spot if there are the same people on the path, watching us.”
Sasuke nodded. “We’ll go with your plan. It’s a good one. I hadn’t really given it much thought yet honestly. I was just going to go hunting.”
“Without your hound?” Kakashi asked. “That’s not smart hunting.”
Sasuke ignored him. “Our Sharingans give us fast comprehension and retention of details so we can see and remember every face we come across. First, I think you and I should scurry around and see what we can find. Meanwhile, you can meet with Kankuro and see what he can add to your leg.”
Kakashi would have liked to have gone rat catching with the others, but he couldn’t be sure of his leg in unfamiliar territory. He nodded his assent.
“I should receive maps and other materials this morning,” Sasuke continued. “Kakashi, I want you to go over them as well. You are part of the mission. And I will be taking you out to hunt later.”
That appeased him even if he was being talked about like a dog. He could live with that.
“To be safe, we’ll have a Suna shinobi loyal to Gaara go with us. They can help us and keep any overeager local shinobi from thinking we’re unauthorized spies.”
“I think we should use local uniforms,” the Captain suggested. “They’re suited for the desert and will keep overeager kids from attacking us.”
“Good idea. I don’t need them to know I’m doing a good job of searching so soon. In fact, I’ll send a clone with Kakashi.”
“I’ll go secure us some Suna uniforms.”
“Go ask Gaara for them so only people he trusts know about it.”
“I will.”
“I have a bad feeling about this mission,” Kakashi said when they were alone.
“I feel no different from any other. Well, I’m a little uneasy, just because of you.”
“Outside this room, I’m just another teammate, not your lover. Don’t worry about me.”
Sasuke was expressionless as always. “I’m your captain; you’re my subordinate right now.”
Kakashi smirked at him. “I won’t put a stain on your command history.”
“That’s not exactly at the front of my mind.”
-----
Kakashi and Sasuke’s clone made their way to Kankuro’s workshop. Sasuke and the Captain waited in Sasuke’s room. Finally, a Suna ANBU knocked on the door. He bowed to the pair.
“Call me Akemi. I have uniforms for you both.” He wore a Noh mask and presented them with their own.
“Nezumi,” the Captain gave his codename.
Sasuke smirked at the name.
“Apt since we’ll be slinking in the sewers today,” Akemi said.
“And every back alley,” Sasuke added.
Sasuke was at ease with this Suna ANBU, so the Captain reasoned Sasuke knew this man and trusted him to an extent.
“We ANBU have been patrolling since the rebels started killing people. It won’t be seen as unusual for a trio of ANBU to be lurking about.”
Sasuke looked at the Noh mask in his hand. He’d never worn a mask like this before. His was painted with white scales, the details highlighted with gold paint. There was a pair of small antlers sprouting from the top, and a squared grin full of sharp teeth like the muzzle of a dragon with long gold barbels running back on the cheeks. “It’s a Kirin.”
“Gaara-sama chose it.”
Sasuke smiled at Gaara’s knowledge of his jutsu; few had ever seen or even knew of his most powerful lightning technique. Or maybe he chose it because he thought it fitted him?
The Captain’s was a smiling, bearded demon. “Is this my punishment for cockblocking?”
Sasuke elbowed him in the ribs. Akemi tilted his head in confusion. The two Konoha shinobi went into the bedroom to change, keeping their backs to each other to protect the Captain’s secrecy.
They still carried their Konoha headbands in their pouches, but otherwise, they were Sand Ninja now.
-----
Kakashi couldn’t help glancing at Sasuke every minute or so. He was worried about him. The clone couldn’t tell him what the real body was doing, but if Sasuke was badly hurt or ran out of chakra, the clone would vanish.
Kankuro tried to distract him with chat about puppets, chakra string jutsus, and weapon upgrades, but Kakashi’s eyes kept drifting to his lover’s clone.
“I’m not even real and you’re annoying me,” Sasuke said.
“I’d rather be creeping through Suna’s sewers than sitting on the sidelines.”
“I know. It’s not a dangerous part of the mission, just getting the lay of the land.”
“The situation isn’t that bad,” Kankuro said. “I doubt there’s more than a dozen active spies in the village. There’s a lot of people from civilian to council members who don’t like Gaara, but they aren’t associated with the rebels.”
“This mission is more for show,” Sasuke said. “A dozen rebels will be nothing compared to the large groups we’ve destroyed. Though they’ve killed people, I don’t think they’re part of the core group. These guys sound more like zealous children. The real rebels are organized, hardcore, and are careful about killing civilians.”
“That’s right!” Kankuro affirmed.
“Zealous children can be deadlier,” Kakashi said. “They have power and aren’t at all careful about using it. They won’t play by the rules and strategies you expect.”
Sasuke shrugged. “True. I just want to get their attention. And if they are children, I know restraint more than the rest of my teammates.”
“You just don’t like killing.”
Sasuke shrugged again.
“Well, I’ve got the leg carved out,” Kankuro said. “I just need to add the weapons. You don’t have to hang out here for that.”
“We’ll go back to the room,” Sasuke said. “We should be done scouting soon.”
“If you suddenly vanish on me, I’m hunting your real body down.”
Sasuke smirked. “Let’s go.”
They walked openly through the village back to where they were staying. Sasuke kept their pace slow so more people would see them rather than for consideration for his lover.
Once back in the room, Sasuke remained so Kakashi would know the real Sasuke was alright.
It was another two hours before Sasuke returned with the Captain and Akemi. All three still wore their masks, so Kakashi was a little startled to see three Suna shinobi rather than his lover. Even the clone tensed. Sasuke took off his Kirin mask and the clone smirked before dismissing himself.
Kakashi didn’t think his lover could ever look unsexy, but that uniform, headwrap, and mask did it. Even with the mask off, he wasn’t very attractive. The Captain looked dejected in his demon mask.
“Find anything?” Kakashi asked.
“Not really,” Sasuke said. “Any place that might be a headquarters for the rebels is being used by run of the mill criminals or genin using it as a clubhouse.”
Kakashi laughed. “So no sewers or back alleys. Private homes or businesses then.”
“Hn.”
“Ask for me if you need any assistance,” Akemi said as he left.
“I left my mask in your bedroom; excuse me, I need to get this thing off.” The Captain hurried to change masks.
“Is that a dragon?” Kakashi asked Sasuke.
“A Kirin.”
Kakashi laughed. “That almost suits you. You don’t like to kill unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“I think it’s too ostentatious. It’s not as heavy as it looks, but it’s still heavy.”
“Mine was just ugly,” the Captain complained as he returned in his own mask. “I think Gaara-sama is punishing me for last time when I was ready to save Sasuke from his attentions.”
“Possibly,” Sasuke smirked.
Kakashi pouted at the reminder.
“Suna uses Noh masks; no way around it,” Sasuke said. “Rather gaudy.”
“Do you really trust Akemi?” the Captain asked.
“He’s one of Gaara’s most trusted men. Yes, I do. We’ll start going on walks, after dinner tonight. I want to find somebody, anybody. I don’t want this mission to go on longer than it must, but we are here until the search teams find something. Kankuro said there were probably only a dozen in the village.”
“Kankuro?” the Captain asked.
“He said it to Kakashi and my clone. Gaara’s his brother; he must be well informed.”
“Why would there be so few around Gaara if he’s their target?” Kakashi asked.
“Security here is the tightest. There have been two attempts on his life in the last year here in the village, once outside the village. He doesn’t leave very often so that’s given them few opportunities. They’ve been targeting key supporters of Gaara throughout the country and trying to undermine his authority and security. The general populace supports Gaara after he pretty much scarified himself to save them from Deidara’s attack. They don’t understand that he was a Jinchūriki or what that means, nor do they see much difference between a bloodthirsty Gaara and a run of the mill bloodthirsty shinobi.
“The Wind Daimyō has great confidence in Gaara. The rebels have targeted him as well; Gaara has appointed a group of bodyguards for him. Gaara, on the other hand, has no more than his normal ANBU guard. The reason we Konoha shinobi are hunting the rebels is frankly because Suna doesn’t have the manpower, none at our level. Many have joined the rebels and the previous Daimyō had cut back Suna’s finances; they still haven’t recovered. Konoha has more jounin and elite jounin than most villages. Most of the elite Gaara has was sent to protect the Daimyō.
“Taki wants Gaara gone because of the instability it will cause and by the end of the conflict, Suna may be weak enough to be conquerable. Of course, Konoha wants stability in the world and we’re allies. Not to mention Naruto and I are friends with Gaara. Naruto’s the bright and shining beacon of peace; I’m the dark shadow of discord. That’s why I’m here instead of Naruto.”
“Naruto overcame the hatred for Jinchūriki,” Kakashi said, “but Gaara was more obviously dangerous than Naruto who was merely a prankster. Gaara killed so many before he reformed.”
“Kind of like me.”
“You didn’t murder people for fun.”
“Some still see me as a villain.”
“Once the true story of your brother got out, most sympathized with you. There’re only a few holdouts left.”
“Hn.”
“How many rebels do you think there are in the country?” Kakashi asked.
“There can’t be more than two hundred left,” Sasuke said without concern.
“That’s still a lot.”
Sasuke shrugged again. “We’ve killed around two hundred. There just can’t be more than that since there just aren’t enough Suna shinobi to have more than four hundred turn traitor.”
-----
They didn’t insult their enemies by taking the Konoha headbands or Henohenomoheji jackets off Shiba and Uhei. The four of them walked quietly through the streets. The Captain hid himself in the eaves of buildings and any other cover he could find. Normal people turned to look at a pair of foreign shinobi with two large dogs. Only two pretended they didn’t see them. Sasuke could feel their eyes on his back after they walked past. Shiba and Uhei were aware of them too; they took in the scents in the air to identify them. Kakashi and the Captain noticed as well.
The Captain’s plan was already bearing fruit.
-----
For over a week, they went on their nighttime walks. There were several reappearing faces and certain shinobi who never looked at them. Sasuke was sure he knew the identities of eleven rebel shinobi. If Kankuro was right about there being only about a dozen members, he was close to identifying them all—or already had. They were trying to kill time and keep attention on them and off the search teams, but he, for one, was ready to strike.
He knew Kakashi wanted this mission to end, with or without him. So, Sasuke went for a walk. The Captain was never too far away.
Sasuke boldly stepped into an alley he believed was near the rebel base. He resisted smiling at the young shinobi who trembled before him, the one who took it upon himself to hinder him. Foolish.
Sasuke didn’t take an attack posture, but he radiated confidence. The young shinobi suppressed his trembling and took out his weapons.
Senbon. Sasuke’s eyes narrowed. A dozen senbon were far harder to deflect than even two dozen kunai. It was hard to kill someone with senbon, but it was the best way to infect someone with poison. He was confident in his immunity, but he still pulled out his sword and deflected as many senbon as he could. He concentrated on protecting his head and torso. The one heading for his shoulder would be harder to block, so he let that one go. Even if it hit a pressure point in his right shoulder, he could use his sword with his left hand.
The needle pierced his skin, but there was no way this guy could target a pressure point and actually hit it when Sasuke was moving. The wound burned, but he quickly shrugged it off.
Rather than attack, Sasuke activated his Sharingan and took the young man into a genjutsu. In real time it only took three seconds to learn everything Sasuke wanted to know, but the boy felt like it took hours. Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan and the boy collapsed.
He stood still a moment and processed everything he learned. Then he realized the burning in his shoulder was spreading and increasing. He hadn’t felt this sort of burn since his early days with Orochimaru. He sheathed his sword and then put a hand to the wound.
“Fuck.” Sasuke fell to his knees. He closed his eyes and focused inward. The poison was spreading.
The captain dropped down next to him. “Sasuke, are you okay?”
“Poison.”
“You’re shitting me.”
“Medics. Quickly.” Sasuke collapsed.
The Captain picked up three senbon to give the medics a pure sample of the poison. He struggled to pull Sasuke onto his back and carried him to the hospital.
When he arrived at the hospital, he hurriedly explained that Sasuke was poisoned and put his charge down on the nearest bed. He gave them the senbon. Sasuke was flushed and his hair soaked with sweat and it gleamed on his skin.
The head medical-nin gave the senbon to an assistant. “Find out what poison it is,” she ordered.
They stripped Sasuke’s shirt to cool him off; it was soaked through with sweat. They found the pinprick in his shoulder.
“Charcoal water and chelators!”
A male nurse brought over a bottle of water clouded with charcoal dust. The medical-nin shook it hard to mix it then forced it in Sasuke’s mouth. She poured it down his throat before he was ready. He choked, but most of it found its way into his stomach. She also pressed some of the solution to his small wound. She then injected him with chelators which would bind with any heavy metal particles in his blood and flush them out.
The captain left to secure the unconscious man Sasuke had defeated. He did not want to be the one to notify Kakashi.
Someone on the staff was wise enough to know to summon Kakashi and Gaara.
They stripped Sasuke down to his boxers and turned him onto his side. His back was braced by ice packs.
Sasuke gritted his teeth. The pain was intense. His blood and stomach burned. His whole body was feverish. He remembered this pain. He could feel his body working to counteract and adapt to the new toxin.
The medical-nin was one Sakura had trained and prepared to do the same for Sasuke that Sakura did for Kankuro.
Kakashi was faster than Gaara; it still took Kakashi several minutes to arrive. He was crouching in front of his lover and gripping Sasuke’s hand before the medics even realized he was in room. Sasuke’s grip was strong, but that was from the pain. He opened his eyes to see whose hand he was squeezing the life out of.
“Kakashi.”
“I’m here.”
“Fucker had a poison I wasn’t immune to.”
“But you’re resistant.”
“Yeah.” His voice trembled.
The assistant with the senbon returned. “The poison is one of Sasori’s. His most lethal.” He showed the results to the medical-nin.
“How are you alive?” the medical-nin asked.
“He’s immune to almost all venoms and toxins,” Kakashi explained.
“Including Sasori’s,” Sasuke gasped. “Orochimaru had samples he used to make me immune.” He moaned in pain.
“Do you have an antidote?” Kakashi asked. “Sasori must have left antidotes to at least some of his poisons.”
“He shouldn’t be alive,” the medic said. “There is no antidote for a poison that should kill immediately.”
“My body can compensate,” Sasuke struggled to say. “Just take the poison out.”
She pushed the ice away and forced Sasuke onto his back.
Gaara arrived, almost completely unnoticed. This wasn’t how he wanted to see Sasuke nearly naked for the first time.
The medical-nin used the Cellular Extraction Healing Jutsu she learned from Sakura. She made a pair of incisions in Sasuke’s chest and forced medicinal fluid into his body. Sasuke seized up in pain. He tried to stay still, but he was in agony. She used the fluid to draw the poison out of his blood and organs. She drew the bubble back out from the other side of his chest. There didn’t seem to be anything in it, but with Kakashi’s Sharingan and the medical-nin’s experience allowed them to see the traces of poison in the fluid. There was only so much that could coat a senbon, so there was hardly any to be visible. Even as it leeched the poison from his body, the medicinal fluid also started cellular repair. Soon, Sasuke’s body relaxed. His fever broke, and he began sweating even more.
“Get fluids in him,” the medical-nin ordered.
“He’ll be alright now?” Kakashi asked.
“There’s a lot of damage,” the medical-nin said. “But it’s all repairable.”
Sasuke’s grip on Kakashi’s hand slackened. He fell asleep.
“Because of his immunities, you have to be careful what painkillers and sleeping drugs you use on him,” Kakashi said. “I’ll tell you what I know, but it has to be completely confidential.”
“Right.”
“Add the highest priority secrecy to that information,” Gaara added, drawing attention to himself for the first time.
Kakashi nodded his respect to the village leader.
The ANBU captain returned. Gaara turned to him. “The one who did this?”
“In custody. Alive.”
“Why didn’t you prevent this? You’re his guard.”
“He told me to keep my distance and I didn’t think a senbon would harm him, poisoned or not. Sasuke is too bored to let anyone protect him.”
“His blood type?” the medical-nin asked Kakashi.
“AB.”
“A transfusion will help flush the remaining poison from his system.”
“I have AB blood,” Gaara chimed in.
Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the Kazekage. He didn’t like the idea of the red head’s blood in his lover’s veins. “Mine is O. He can use my blood, right?”
“Well, yes. We can use both of you though; the more blood we can replace, the more poison we can purge from his body.”
“Let me do this for him,” Gaara asked Kakashi.
Sasuke’s health was more important than Kakashi’s jealousy. He nodded. “It would be an honor,” Kakashi said without sincerity.
They moved Sasuke to a room by himself. The medical-nin set Gaara up next to Sasuke’s bed and began the transfusion. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She left Kakashi and Gaara alone.
“You don’t have to worry,” Gaara said, “I’m not going to try to seduce him away from you.”
“Again.”
“Again. I’m sorry my problems have put him in danger.”
“It’s his job. He’s good at it.”
“We all are.” Gaara took a breath as he grew a bit lightheaded. “What did you fall in love with?”
The question made Kakashi pause, but he decided to answer honestly. He looked at Sasuke’s pale face. “Myself. He’s sort of my dark mirror. My shadow. We’ve both lost nearly every person we ever gave half a damn about. I didn’t deal with it well, but I dealt with it better than Sasuke. I devoted myself to work, Sasuke devoted himself to revenge. I loved him like a little brother. I didn’t truly love him until he seduced me.” He let out a small laugh. “He’s the only person I ever loved.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“There was someone who loved me, but I didn’t love her back. If she hadn’t died, I would have married her. I probably would never have entered a relationship if Sasuke hadn’t suggested it.
“What about you? What did you fall in love with?”
“The animal who attacked the Kage conference. He reminded me of what I used to be. A killer.”
“You know he was out of his mind with grief and rage, right? He’s not that man anymore.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Good. He’s sort of your mirror. You were once like he was that day, but you both have matured.”
“He’s no longer your dark mirror anymore either.”
Kakashi hummed affirmatively.
The medical-nin came back and unhooked Gaara before he bled out enough to pass out. She changed the needle and forced Gaara to lie down on the second bed with his feet elevated while Kakashi took his chair. She hooked Kakashi up and continued the transfusion. Kakashi looked over at his sleeping lover. Yes, he was no longer driven by grief and rage, but that’s still a dark part of his heart. He knew Sasuke could never truly forgive anyone or anything for his brother’s pain and death. It was possible that side of him could resurface. Kakashi made a silent vow that he would do anything to prevent that. Even if he had to kill to ensure Sasuke wouldn’t.
He may have objected to Gaara’s blood being in Sasuke’s veins, but he was happy that his own was. Maybe some cooler blood would keep him calm.
-----
Kankuro arrived and administered a few more antidotes and drugs to cleanse Sasuke’s body while he was asleep. The medical-nin came in serval times the next day to repair the damage the poison caused. They kept Sasuke asleep to keep him out of pain and to allow his body to heal.
He was taken off the sleeping drugs on the second morning, but Sasuke was still sleeping soundly after sunset.
Kakashi looked up at the IV bag absently. He’d been staying by Sasuke’s side constantly. The chair was not comfortable. He could move to the second bed in the room and lay down—which he did to sleep—it would be more comfortable, but he was getting stiff.
Kakashi got up to stretch and pulled the curtain so that his movement wouldn’t disturb Sasuke. He went through the normal routine he went through before training or missions. Just loosening up. He wasn’t hurried, so it took him some time to finish his routine.
Kakashi pulled the curtain back to sit down next to his sleeping lover again. Sasuke was breathing deeply and looked peaceful. Kakashi sat down again, his eyes flitting over the IV bag as he descended. He settled into his chair.
Then he bolted back up. The level of the IV bag hadn’t changed in the slightest. He pulled the sheet back from Sasuke’s body to see where the IV entered his vein. One of the little clamps he’d seen before was cutting off the fluid.
“Sas—” Kakashi began to say as he reached out to his lover. Sasuke poofed out of existence. A clone. It vanished as soon as Kakashi was about to touch it and feel that there was no heat coming off the body.
“Son of a bitch,” Kakashi whispered.
He knew Sasuke couldn’t have used the window; there was no way a shinobi at Kakashi’s level could not notice the window being opened. He must have attached to the ceiling to get up and around Kakashi and the curtain.
Kakashi turned and ran out of the room. Where the fuck did the little bastard run off to?
There was no doubt he was going after the rebels. But where?
Well, Kakashi was brought here as more than just a prop. When he reached the hospital doors, he took a deep breath. He caught it. Sasuke’s scent. He was going to summon Pakkun to help him, but he had a nose better than a ninja hound, they were just better at sniffing at the ground than he was. When a scent was airborne, he didn’t need his ninken.
Sasuke left only minutes ago. He’d headed south. Kakashi hesitated. Should he interfere?
Fuck it. He wasn’t a civilian or a tamed dog. Kakashi headed south.
Above him, perched like a gargoyle on the outer wall of the hospital, the ANBU captain watched. He sighed. This was a bad idea. Sasuke should not have involved Kakashi. It was good cover though. He had to suppress his instinct as a friend; he would do his duty.
He jumped, landing on the next rooftop and followed Kakashi from above. He had absolute faith in his sempai’s nose. Sasuke had slipped passed him too. He was too much a professional to say it out loud, but internally he swore, Fucking Uchiha.
The pair of Konoha ANBU, current and former, didn’t have to rely on Kakashi’s nose for long. Sasuke found the rats he was looking for. They could probably feel the destruction and flairs of chakra all the way in Konoha.
-----
Sasuke hadn’t planned on being poisoned, but his being out of commission was a benefit. The shinobi he’d identified through his walks with Kakashi and confirmed through the genjutsu he placed on the young one would not move too quickly, but they would be moving and without fear of his interference. Kakashi was also not their concern since he was at Sasuke’s bedside.
Sasuke was pleased that his clothes and sword were stored in his room. He slipped them on easily on his way out of the hospital. His sword was a comforting weight against his back.
That boy had given him their base. He strolled right up to their doorstep. There were no guards to give away that it needed guarding. He pulled his sword from its sheath and broke the door down with a chakra enhanced kick.
Sasuke wasn’t taking chances this time; he activated Susanoo. It caused the building to collapse, but the spectral form kept the debris from harming him.
-----
As Kakashi approached, a handful of Suna shinobi were evacuating the area. Those shinobi knew better than to butt into a fight like this. Others were fleeing on their own.
Kakashi increased his sense of smell with chakra. He could smell the difference between true fright the innocent people running away was giving off and the guilty fear of a traitor fleeing for their life. Kakashi changed directions and kicked one of the traitors in the diaphragm, sending the distracted traitor to the ground. He took one other fleeing man down before resuming his journey toward Sasuke.
The building left a crater. Sasuke and half a dozen Suna shinobi were standing among the ruble in a basement.
Sasuke wasn’t using a full Susanoo, just the ribs writhed in purple flames. But within a few moments of arriving on the scene, Kakashi realized the Susanoo was a distraction. The real Sasuke was impaling shinobi with his sword. Sasuke wasn’t using Susanoo for his own defense. Having been taken down by a senbon, people thought Sasuke would be more on guard. So Sasuke sort of gave them what they wanted. But he was jumping around using his beloved sword.
Sasuke definitely had things under control, but Kakashi wanted to join in. The Sasuke with the sword looked up right into Kakashi’s eyes while the one in the Susanoo ignored him. Kakashi took a step back to let Sasuke know he didn’t have to worry about him interfering. Sasuke turned his attention back to the last few rebels.
Kakashi felt an ache in his thigh; it was better to stay away and let Sasuke work.
It didn’t take long to bring them all down. The Susanoo Sasuke vanished and the real one sheathed his sword with a flourish.
Kakashi carefully jumped down to his lover. He looked around and saw that none of them were dead, though they were badly wounded—several were impaled, but not through vital organs. It pleased Kakashi that Sasuke had an aversion to killing.
“Had fun?” Kakashi asked.
“Sorry for sneaking out on you.”
“At least you’re a regretful asshole.”
Sasuke smirked.
“Got them all?”
“A few got away.”
“I took down two on the way here.”
“I think we might be missing one,” Sasuke said as he looked around.
Despite fighting with vigor, Sasuke suddenly looked drained. The captain dropped down to them. When Sasuke swayed, the captain was closer and put a hand out to steady him.
“Take him back to the hospital,” Kakashi said. “I don’t think he’s as recovered as he’d like us to think.”
Sasuke didn’t bother to dispute it but sagged a little more onto the captain’s shoulder.
“What will you do?” the Captain asked.
“I’ll help investigate this mess; see if there’s any intelligence on the rest of the rebels.”
“Right.”
Sasuke’s eyes were tired and didn’t really communicate anything. The captain practically dragged the Uchiha away. Susanoo was not to be taken lightly.
Kakashi turned to the rubble. He summoned Pakkun and Guruko. “Let’s see if Sasuke defeated them all.”
The three of them sniffed around to see if the men on the ground were the only ones here recently. Kakashi was the first to notice a different scent.
“Pakkun,” he called the best nose in the pack.
Pakkun got the scent and headed off with Kakashi and Guruko close behind. Someone got away.
Civilians knew better than be out on the streets with such a commotion, but they were peeking out their windows. The Suna shinobi who were here to clear up and arrest the traitors were the only people on the streets and they all knew who Kakashi was.
The trio were headed toward the village wall; that’s where the scent ended. Kakashi put a hand on the wall and felt it back and forth. There was no texture difference, but there was a temperature difference, a difference caused by the heat of the sun in solid stone and the heat going through a cavity in the stone.
“Pakkun, I only smelled one.”
“Me too.”
“Guruko, get backup; who knows how many are beyond this door.”
“You’re going to wait for them, right?” Guruko asked.
“I’ll be careful.”
Guruko was worried, but he obeyed. Pakkun was staying with Kakashi, so at least he wasn’t completely alone. Though, Pakkun wasn’t a combat type.
Kakashi ran his hand over the wall to find how to open it. This was in an alley behind several buildings so he could understand how someone could build this without the Suna shinobi knowing. There was a small area that could be depressed to trigger the door to open.
“Boss,” Pakkun whispered. “Wait for Sasuke.”
“Sasuke’s recovering from poison. I’m not helpless.” He lifted his headband to uncover his Sharingan.
Pakkun wouldn’t argue more than that; he knew Kakashi’s pride had taken a hit, but he wasn’t usually reckless, so he trusted it would be alright. Then he remembered how long it’s been since Kakashi was on a real mission. But it was too late to speak up; they were inside.
There was a roughly made staircase going down to the right. The passage at the bottom turned to the left to go outside the village. Kakashi easily slipped into silent mode. For a moment he wished he was more prepared for something like this. He wasn’t ready for stealth; barely ready for combat. He knelt to pull his pant leg up, exposing the weapons covering it. He didn’t have his newest leg yet, but he still had a plethora of weapons at his disposal. Because these weapons were lower on his body than his normal pouches, he took a pair of kunai from his leg now since these weapons would be more inconvenient to retrieve later.
The corridor was pitch black except at the stairs where the dim light from outside bled in and the other end of the corridor where there was a source of light. He crept down the hallway with Pakkun using those soft paw pads to their fullest affect behind him. It might have been a long time since he’d been on a mission, but being a shinobi was ingrained in him. He wasn’t just a genius born to a legendary shinobi, he was throwing shuriken as soon as he could grip and learning to move stealthily while still crawling. Having a false leg wasn’t going to hinder him. His breathing was silent, his steps—even the false one—was noiseless. His clothes didn’t even rustle.
But Kakashi forgot one thing: he didn’t shut the outer door. In fact, just opening the door could have alerted the person he was chasing that they were being followed.
The light was coming from a room. The door was cracked open. Kakashi approached and used his natural eye to look inside. The door slammed shut, hitting Kakashi in the head and knocking him back on his ass. The door quickly reopened and Kakashi used his kunai to block the well-aimed kunai thrown at him. He immediately retaliated with two kunai of his own. The shinobi was able to block one, but the other hit their arm, sticking firmly into the bone. It took a brutal tug to pull the knife out.
Kakashi jumped to his feet quickly with only a moment of hesitation from his leg. As he moved, he grabbed another kunai and lunged at the other’s waist while they were distracted. A Judo move laid Kakashi on his back inside the lit room. Damn. That was a first. Close quarter fights were a little frustrating. Then again, he probably wouldn’t be able to flip around and jump off tree trunks like a grasshopper on amphetamines as he did two years ago.
The two opponents finally stood up straight and looked each other in the eye. It was a woman. That didn’t faze Kakashi in the slightest; he respected kunoichi greatly—in his opinion they innately had greater chakra control than male shinobi and could be more ferocious. But that respect also meant he didn’t have the slightest reluctance to kill a kunoichi. The only reason he didn’t want to kill her was that she likely knew more about the rebels Sasuke was hunting.
This was Sasuke’s mission and Kakashi’s initial motivation was just to help him and get him out of danger. But during this mission, he came to feel this was his mission as well. He easily fell into his old shinobi mindset. His eyes narrowed and his entire body would move on shinobi instinct.
They came together in the frenzy of kicks and punches. They both expertly blocked or dodged every blow. They were trained in different styles, but they still could go blow for blow with each other.
Kakashi sent a roundhouse for her head, but she ducked. He continued to spin and brought his leg up for a kick that hit her hand, knocking her a little to the side. He aimed a punch at her face which she deflected, then she retaliated immediately with a punch to his cheek which he couldn’t block, but he leaned back to take some of the weight and force from the hit.
Kakashi dodged a flurry of blows. Even with the false leg his only support, Kakashi still managed a double kick to her side. She tried to land a hit to his chest, but he sidestepped and grabbed her arm, pulling her forward. His punch was made more powerful by her forced momentum. She let the force of the punch throw her back, using her weight and the momentum pull her from his grasp. She did a backflip to get back on steady footing more quickly and delivered a roundhouse to Kakashi jaw, which spun him and put him on a knee.
She was definitely an elite jounin or ANBU. Kakashi opened a compartment in his bent knee and pulled out from the center of his leg what looked like tanto, but it had an extendable blade. It only lengthened to a wakizashi, but Kakashi was accustom to shorter swords unlike his Uchiha lover who favored full length katana. The kunoichi drew her own short sword from her back.
Kakashi used both hands to put his full weight and strength behind the blade. Not being a solid sword in some ways made the blade weaker, but in some places it was double thick.
Swipe, parry, flip and kick, thrust, parry, turn, downward cut, use the momentum to front flip over the opponent, land, whirlwind kick. As Kakashi spun, he picked up a previously deflected kunai and threw it toward the woman’s face. She dodged it.
His heart hadn’t raced like this since his retirement. Even that skirmish on the beach hadn’t given him this ‘runner’s high’. Those were mere children; this was a highly skilled kunoichi. His life was actually in danger. And he loved it. Now he knew what Sasuke felt when he took on those rebel swordsmen. He couldn’t blame him for that little bit of recklessness now.
It wasn’t polite, but under his mask, he smiled—not out of scorn for his opponent, but out of joy of the fight. If it wasn’t for the ache in his thigh, he could do this forever. He’d forgotten the thrill of the job.
She swung her sword, but Kakashi stepped in rather than pulled back and caught her wrist with his hand. He felt a bone move in his grip, but she didn’t drop the sword. He activated the Chidori and the sword fell; his own swung at her legs. She had to bring in her other hand to block the blade with a kunai.
They were at an impasse so they both pushed off each other to get some room to maneuver. Kakashi attached to the wall he hit to assess the situation. So did she. He was missing his ANBU armguards. His gloves had metal on the backs of his hands, but he didn’t think that would be much protection from this woman. ANBU armor would make him feel better in this fight.
Her eyes darted to Kakashi’s false leg. She saw him draw the sword from the leg; she knew it was now weaker. The sword acted as a bone, now it was a hollow piece of wood.
They launched at each other again, both holding a kunai in one hand. She let go of the kunai to weave hand signs too fast for the normal eye to follow then plucked the kunai back out of the air. Seven small stone dragons lunged at Kakashi. He knew at least one would be going for his false leg; he ignored those and readied to defend against the others. Two hit his wooden leg, three he deflected, one missed, and one hit him in the ribs. Kakashi let his body fall to the ground.
Kakashi made several hand signs as he landed and slapped the ground with his hands before the rest of his body. The room was made of rock and the floor shattered. It threw off the kunoichi’s footing and many chunks of rock were propelled at her. One hit her firmly in the head, knocking her out. Just to make sure of her, he elbowed her hard in the diagram.
Kakashi caught a breath. The leg was a loss, but Kankuro was nearly ready with a new one. Jamming the retraced sword into the intact knee would serve as a peg leg. Not like he wasn’t used to that.
The fight had lasted little over a minute. An eternity to a shinobi in a fight, but not long enough for his reinforcements to arrive. He collapsed the telescoping blade and jabbed it into the joint, but not too far to hit his living thigh.
He carefully stood up. Pakkun sniffed the fallen kunoichi. Kakashi took a tentative step toward them. Pakkun’s nose was filled with the kunoichi’s scent. Kakashi’s was sucking in air.
Kakashi’s eyes brightened and barely dodged an attack from behind. They hadn’t smelled another shinobi, nor did they hear them, but Kakashi had sensed them when they came up close to him. He turned around and couldn’t see them with his normal eye. But he could see her with his Sharingan. He knew that jutsu: Meisaigakure no Jutsu, Iwa’s camouflage jutsu. So the rebels had more allies than just Taki.
This kunoichi seemed to be hesitant to engage him. Perhaps she wanted him alive? Information? To get to Sasuke?
But Kakashi could see her now and Pakkun had picked up her scent when he backed from the unconscious kunoichi. Kakashi focused his eyes away from her body to make her think he couldn’t see her; few knew just what the limits of the Sharingan were.
Kakashi attacked just to the woman’s left. She deftly moved slightly to the side to completely sidestep Kakashi’s kick. If she hadn’t been so confident, she would have realized he would be foolish to try and kick her that way with his leg in the state it was. She prepared to jab her elbow into Kakashi’s temple as he sailed past.
Pakkun made contact with her face first. He bit her nose and Kakashi spit out a poor imitation of Sasuke’s Phoenix Fire Jutsu which hit the kunoichi in the waist. She screamed more from the bite than burn. She was flailing at Pakkun, but not make much progress. It was then Kakashi realized this woman specialized in spying, nothing else. She had no weapons. She probably had one jutsu and worked in tandem with a fighter. That and she believed Pakkun couldn’t be useful in a fight. No matter what, Pakkun was still a ninja summon even if he specialized in tracking.
Kakashi was slow standing, but once he was, he punched the woman in the head to knock her out like her partner. He really just wanted to stop her screaming. He swept the room with his Sharingan. There was another door he’d neglected to note during the fight. That’s where the second kunoichi had come from.
He looked down at Pakkun. “Thanks,” he said simply.
“It’s not like you to be so reckless.”
“I’d say it’s more like being out of practice.”
Pakkun scoffed. “Take care, boss.” And Pakkun puffed away.
Kakashi searched this room and found a few communiques. These kunoichi were a link between the rebels and this little group. He and Sasuke were mentioned in a few of them.
This time, Kakashi was more alert. He could feel the air shift and it wasn’t coming from the door he was thrown through. It was from the door behind him. He let out a breath but didn’t audibly sigh. Three more shinobi. One team plus whoever escaped Sasuke earlier in total. He wondered if it was the spy kunoichi who escaped Sasuke; he wouldn’t focus so much on someone running away. Someone not an obvious threat.
That meant all three of the men behind him were probably high-level shinobi. Well, fuck. The killing intent was palpable, so he knew it wasn’t his backup. These weren’t Taki shinobi looking for a bounty, these were powerful Suna rebels.
He turned with kunai in each hand. He didn’t hesitate in attacking. Kakashi kept most of his weight on his intact leg, but he shredded into one of them regardless of his hobbled state. He lifted his left hand using the kunai to block a strike from a second shinobi. The man he stabbed kicked him in the hip to push him away.
It was difficult while trying to keep any real weight off the improvised leg, but he managed to fight the three men for nearly a minute until one kicked him in the knee, dropping him to the ground. The one he stabbed kicked him in the ribs. They were about to move in for the kill when the Suna shinobi finally arrived.
Kakashi pulled himself back to sit against the wall. Ugh, his ribs were killing him. One of the ANBU knelt next to him. “Sir, are you alright?”
“It hurts to breathe, but I’m okay. I tracked one person from the battle here, then I was ambushed by the blond kunoichi, then by the other three.”
“Can you walk?”
“Yeah.”
The ANBU stood and extended a hand to help Kakashi stand. Kakashi accepted it. It took a moment to steady himself, but he managed to walk out while the Suna shinobi secured the rebels and gathered the intelligence and communiques.
Without any prompting, he went to the hospital to be treated. Bruised ribs with one fracture, a muscle pull in his arm from being tossed around, and some bad contusions. He’d forgone hospitals for worse, but he was older—and his lover was back in the hospital anyway. Or, at least, he was pretty sure he was.
He was taken right in to be treated. As he sat on the gurney getting his wounds tended, he questioned his actions. Why did he put his life at risk like that? He figured living with such a younger man made him reckless. Did Sasuke’s recklessness rub off on him? Or was he reckless because he had a younger lover?
No. He concluded he just forgot how much fun the work could be. Sasuke was still aware of how fun fighting and spying could be.
Given some ice packs, Kakashi made his way to Sasuke’s room and was relieved to find him there, asleep. He took advantage of the second bed and lay down and put the ice packs on his bruises. He pulled the blade from his knee and set it quietly on the bed. He couldn’t help the sigh he let out as his body came to rest. Luckily, Sasuke was dead asleep and snoring softly and couldn’t hear it to question it.
-----
Kakashi woke up feeling his entire body aching. He groaned when he tried to move. Ribs. He hated bruised or broken ribs. They hurt no matter what and the only thing that could be done was painkillers. He wanted a handful of painkillers and sleeping pills to put him out until they were healed.
He turned to see Sasuke awake and looking at him. “Shit.”
Sasuke hummed in agreement of his assessment.
“Well, I understand why you went up against those swordsmen the way you did.”
“I told you not to put yourself in danger.”
“You snuck out of the hospital before you were fully recovered.”
Sasuke gave more than a smirk to him and Kakashi smiled back, his mask still in place, but his eyes conveying the expression clearly enough. At least their version of petty bickering wasn’t heated.
“I love you,” Sasuke said.
“I love you,” Kakashi answered.
“How bad are your injuries?”
“Ribs. You?”
“Just tired. The damage from the poison is mostly healed. I’m just tired. I’ve slept too long. Where’s your leg?”
“Destroyed.”
Sasuke’s eyes widened with a little bit of fear, but quickly returned to his normal expression. “Better a piece of wood . . .”
“Speaking of which,” the captain’s voice came from thin air, but both jounin sensed he was in the room. He appeared near Kakashi’s bed holding his rudimentary metal leg. “I thought you might need this.”
“Thank you,” Kakashi said and accepted the peg leg like a sword. “I don’t know when Kankuro will have my new one finished.”
“I also brought you both fresh clothes.”
Sasuke was in a set of hospital clothes now and Kakashi was still in the clothes he fought in the night before. With his leg and a change of clothes, Kakashi could take a shower. That sounded wonderful. He’d hobbled straight here and straight into bed after treatment.
Kakashi pulled his pant leg up to attach the metal leg. “I’m going to shower. You,” he said looking at Sasuke, “better not leave that bed while I’m gone.”
“Yes, sir.”
Kakashi could feel the Captain smirk behind his mask.
“You don’t let him leave.”
“I will stand guard.” He put his hands behind his back and stood stock still. Kakashi knew he was being mocked. He didn’t care.
He came out refreshed and dressed in his civilian clothes. He found that Sasuke and the Captain looked as if they hadn’t move in the slightest. He sucked his teeth at that and sat on his bed.
“The Captain briefed me on what happened,” Sasuke said. “Well done.”
Kakashi shrugged. “Would have been easier in my younger days.”
Sasuke scoffed. “ANBU said you were using a sword as a peg leg and still holding your own against three fresh, former ANBU. I think you did well,” he said with a smile.
Gaara knocked on the door before entering. The Captain stepped closer to Kakashi’s bed to give Gaara space. Gaara stood between the two beds and bowed. There seemed to be a weight off his shoulders, but he still seemed overly serious, even for him.
“Shall I leave the room?” the Captain asked Gaara.
“No need.” He addressed Kakashi and Sasuke. “Thank you. Both of you. We’re certain that you caught all the rebels in the village. You put yourselves in danger for my sake. Thank you.”
Sasuke didn’t smile, he took Gaara’s thanks seriously. “You’re welcome.”
“My pleasure,” Kakashi said.
“I never wanted you to risk your lives like that; I thank you.”
“Any word from my team or the search teams?”
“None. But no word they’ve been injured or killed.”
“We will remain here until the search teams find something.”
“I hope you can both heal in peace now.”
“I kind of doubt it,” Sasuke said absently.
Gaara cocked his head.
“The ones Kakashi fought were not among the rebels based here in the village; they were from outside the village. Kakashi found one way into the village, but there could be others and other conspirators. I don’t think this is over yet.”
Gaara nodded.
-----
After lunch, Sasuke got up and stretched. “With your ribs and without a good prosthesis I can’t ask you to spar with me. That fight is the only physical activity I’ve had in nearly four days. Captain, will you train with me?”
“Of course.”
“Stay out of trouble,” Kakashi said.
“You as well.”
A nurse had brought in fresh ice for Kakashi’s wounds. He carefully lay one on the side of his face. Bitch got two good shots to his jaw. At least she didn’t break it; she left a good swollen bulge on his face though.
He got comfortable with half a dozen ice packs around him and on him. Maybe he could get a nap in while the others were gone. The ice packs were good defense against the heat. He closed his eyes, the ice laying on his mask comfortably.
A nurse came in quietly, seeing Kakashi was asleep. He approached the bed.
Kakashi had the man in a headlock before he knew Kakashi was completely awake. He kept a kunai nearby like any respectable shinobi and now pointed it at the man’s eye.
“There are a lot of people who want me dead for many different reasons,” Kakashi said. “Which would be yours?”
The man pressed his lips together hard.
Kakashi dramatically sighed. “I don’t mind getting answers the hard way, but they’ve been really nice in this hospital. And Sasuke will be back soon and I don’t think he’ll want to sleep on a bed covered in your entrails. Then again, he might. He can be kinky.”
The man tried to get away, but Kakashi retaliated by stabbing him in the cheekbone, right under his eye and didn’t release him. The man cried out but tried to suppress it.
“I wouldn’t start with the eye. Never start with the eye. You need a sense of escalation. Our village’s interrogation expert once cut off a man’s cheek and made him eat it. You know, being in a hospital means I can stretch this out for daaaays.”
“Konoha should butt out of other villages’ affairs,” the man gritted out.
Kakashi pulled his kunai out of the bone. “Is that all? I thought maybe I killed your father or something.”
The would-be-assassin struggled again.
“Oh, shush.” Kakashi pressed the tip of his kunai under the man’s jaw. “You know what is surprisingly pretty? A raw trachea. A little flaying and you can still breathe and speak, but you’ll have a lovely exposed neck organ. I wonder what your voice would sound like with no flesh around it.”
“A lame, retired shinobi doesn’t frighten me.”
“I haven’t had an opportunity to torture anyone in nearly two years and I’ve been around long enough to know so many ways of making you give up every friend, comrade, lover, and family you ever cared about without changing our positions. If you don’t have backup coming for your ass, I’m going to have so much fun.”
The man smiled.
-----
Sasuke stretched and did some breathing exercises before forming the Seal of Confrontation. The Captain took a deep breath and also made the Seal.
They rushed in toward each other and went all out with taijutsu.
They had performed this dance before, far more times than Kakashi knew of.
The Captain had been one of his ANBU guards since he first arrived in Konoha for medical treatment after his final duel with Naruto. Shortly after Sasuke woke up in the hospital, the man had started letting himself be seen and even spoke to Sasuke.
Once Sasuke’s home had been built on the edge of the village, Sasuke left the hospital and started his house arrest. It wasn’t long before the Captain and he started sparring.
Sasuke firmly believed shinobi communicated through fighting. One reason Naruto knew Sasuke had given in before the final moments of their duel was the reading of their souls through the fight.
Sasuke bonded with the Captain in those training fights. Genuine respect grew between them and a lot of their personal history was told through their fighting styles and reactions. Sasuke read isolation in the Captain’s style and a defensiveness. But he also felt something the Captain had been displaying since he first appeared in Sasuke’s hospital room: a desire to reach out and open up. Sasuke felt he knew the Captain had been a loner like him and innately talented—probably even isolated because of that talent. Sasuke recognized himself and Kakashi in that. Sasuke didn’t really have a desire to reach out, but he responded to it.
They became friends before they’d had a proper conversation, but those conversations quickly became deep and personal. They spent hours in the dead of night talking. Or sitting in silence drinking tea.
Now, in Suna, the Captain knew how to moderate the fight to let Sasuke work out, but not go hard on him. He kept on defense most of the time. He knew Sasuke well by now, so when Sasuke’s eyes widened just a little, he knew something was wrong. Then Sasuke kicked him away, hard with chakra making it repel the Captain further back. The Captain let himself be pushed away. Then he saw why; about a dozen shinobi were descending through the skylight of this training building.
Both men were wearing their swords and all other weapons. Both were high level shinobi, elite jounin, they didn’t flinch to turn, unsheathe their swords, and fight.
Sasuke still didn’t go in for the kill with every attack, but the Captain snapped necks and severed jugulars.
“Cover me,” Sasuke commanded. He didn’t yell, but his voice was authoritative. The Captain obeyed.
Sasuke grabbed the nearest man and stared into his eyes with his Sharingan. Seconds later, Sasuke dropped him and stomped on his throat, not caring if that killed him or just badly injured him. Sasuke dropped the pretense of not killing and just beheaded the next man who rushed him.
“Finish the rest quickly,” Sasuke said, his voice hard and commanding.
The Captain didn’t question or hesitate. They killed the last four.
“Another team is attacking Kakashi and another are going after Gaara.”
The Captain feared Sasuke would hesitate to decide which to save. But Sasuke didn’t hesitate for even a moment; he headed straight for the Kazakage tower.
-----
Gaara felt something coming. His hair stood on end. He jumped over his desk just before a man smashed through the window that had been to Gaara’s back. The man straightened. Two more men came through each of the other windows. Gaara prepared to defend. But then something happened behind the man and he fell forward, dead. He saw Sasuke standing there and Sasuke then stabbed the man to his right in the head with a kunai through the temple. The Captain jumped in as well.
The two of them were sprayed with blood and breathing hard. Sasuke took a breath and leaned back against the wall in relief.
“Only three?” Gaara asked.
“We got the rest just outside,” the Captain said. “A group attacked us while sparring. Sasuke used a genjutsu to see their plans and we rushed here.” The Captain turned to Sasuke. “Eight here, twelve aimed at us—rather at you. How many did they send after Kakashi?”
Gaara’s spine went rigidly straight. They came here rather than going to Kakashi?
“Twelve,” Sasuke said. The tired tone sounded almost like the beginnings of mourning.
“I sent guards to protect you in the hospital,” Gaara tried to assure him.
“There were no guards outside your windows,” Sasuke countered. “Kakashi isn’t weak or inexperienced. He taught me, after all.” He’s worried, but still believed in his sensei. But he seemed afraid to go see.
“The situation is settled here,” Gaara said. “Go.”
Sasuke hesitated a moment, but then flew out the window toward his lover.
-----
The room was sprayed with blood. Sasuke’s heart skipped and accelerated just at the state of the room, not knowing whose blood was on the walls. It didn’t slow when he recognized Kakashi sitting on the floor with his back to the wall—alive—without his leg.
“Sorry for the state of the room,” Kakashi said in his normal bored tone.
Seeing his lover alive, even if bathed in blood, made his eyes turn fond and relieved. But the smirk that was about to bloom on his lips, died. “They came after you and me and Gaara.” He looked around. “They sent more after you and me than Gaara.” He looked at the Captain. “I fear for my team.”
“I will try to get word.” He jumped away.
Kakashi was silent a moment, knowing Sasuke was legitimately worried. He started to stand, but it was hard. He was about to make a clone to help, but Sasuke walked over and reached out his hand and pulled Kakashi up. Knowing Kakashi only had the one leg to stand, Sasuke pulled him into an embrace. He held him tightly and just let his love and relief overcome him. He didn’t cry, but just held onto his lover. Kakashi wrapped his arms around him and let Sasuke drop all his defenses and purge the emotions he did not like to let show or even feel. Kakashi rarely felt so precious to anyone, even to Sasuke.
Sasuke helped him hobble to the bloodied bed. His face was neutral again. He looked around and counted twelve men. At least he didn’t think he had to worry about Kakashi anymore. Twelve to one with a missing leg and Kakashi took them all out.
“Are you injured?” Sasuke asked, his mask firmly back in place.
“My ribs are sore as hell. Twisted wrist is the worst injury. The muscles of my good leg are knotted and swollen from all the work. Bruised my left arm pretty bad. I’m just glad I was dressed when the assassins came. And I just took a shower too,” he added sourly.
Sasuke smirked, but there was no humor in his eyes. He found Kakashi’s metal leg under his bed and put it on for him. “I’m going to find out why there’s no security here, even after all this. I’ll let them know the room needs cleaning too. We’ll probably be sent back to our suite after this.”
“Are you alright?” Kakashi asked. It was obvious Sasuke had also been in a fight.
“I am. I’ll have a medic check us both out before we leave.”
“And Gaara?”
“Uninjured. We got there just as they began their attack. He’s office looks better than this room though.”
They smirked at each other and this time there was some humor in Sasuke’s eyes. Kakashi was surprised at how shaken Sasuke was. He thought Sasuke would be angry that they were as a high priority as Gaara, but he looked somber over it. Maybe it was fear for the rest of his team.
“Are yours all dead?” Sasuke asked.
“I think two are still alive.”
Sasuke nodded and left the room.
-----
Sasuke entered their suite of rooms with suspicion, his Sharingan active.
“I’m disappointed; not even a paper bomb.”
“We’re already supposed to be dead,” Kakashi said as he came in with his Sharingan uncovered.
“Gaara assured me we have a trustworthy guard here now. One I even trust. Once the Captain returns, he’s another guard I trust.”
“I can’t wait to get home, but I’m getting comfortable.”
“Agreed. Suna and the safe house near Taki are sort of like home. At least I’ll get to stay home for a long time when we do get back to Konoha. I’m tense here now. This is the first time I want to return to Konoha and it’s not because that’s where you are.”
Sasuke said it passively, but it shocked him that Sasuke admitted that right now.
The two of them had cleaned up at the hospital, but they hadn’t showered and their clothes were still bloody.
Someone knocked on the door. Both stiffened. Sasuke crept up to the door and carefully opened it to see who it was. He had his Sharingan activated to see through any jutsu. It was Kankuro. He stepped back to let him in.
Kankuro wasn’t wearing face paint. He waited for Sasuke to come around so Sasuke and Kakashi were facing him. He bowed. “Thank you for saving my brother.” It was a level of respect and sincerity Sasuke had never seen before. Kakashi had seen it but filled with panic when Gaara had been kidnapped.
Sasuke bowed back but not as deeply. He took those thanks with even more seriousness than he had Gaara’s thanks. He understood the love for a brother. The man who could bring Itachi back to him would have his undying respect and unpayable debt.
Kankuro turned to Kakashi. “You also have done so much for our village and my brother. Thank you.”
Kakashi bowed as well.
“I’m adding even more to your new leg. Including a better sword.”
“That sword saved my life. I thank you for your work.”
Kankuro bowed his own thanks for the praise. “I just wanted to thank you in person for what you did today and this entire mission.”
“I would say it’s just part of the mission, but I feel close to Gaara and did it as much for Gaara’s sake as anything.”
“Whatever your reasons, thank you.”
He showed himself out.
Sasuke deflated a little. A thought of his brother was enough to make him sag a bit, but he was tired and he had risked the one person he loved.
Someone else knocked on their door. Sasuke sighed and carefully opened the door. The Captain.
“There is no news about your team. We have received news from one of the search teams: they found nothing. I want to send messages to your teammates. Do you want to write it?”
“Yeah, give me a second.” Sasuke sat at the table and wrote out a brief note to each of them. He gave them to the Captain.
“I’ll send them. Do you need anything?”
“No. Get some rest after you send that.”
“Right. Goodnight.”
Sasuke longingly looked at the bed after the Captain left.
“Shower first,” Kakashi said. “I’ll keep watch.”
Sasuke complied while Kakashi set up traps on the window.
Sasuke came out drying his nude body. Kakashi looked him up and down before replacing him in the bathroom. He returned to find Sasuke pulling the beds apart in nothing but boxers, looking for traps. “I put the traps on the window,” Kakashi assured him.
“I saw that.”
Kakashi slipped on a pair of sleep pants then hugged Sasuke from behind and kissed his neck. Sasuke turned and kissed him passionately.
“I wish I wanted to have sex right now,” Kakashi said. “However, if you want to satisfy yourself, I wouldn’t mind.”
Sasuke smirked. “I don’t need sex tonight.”
“Are you truly recovered?”
“Just a little pain. It’s fading. I’ll be immune to more poisons now. What about you?”
“My ribs are still sore. The muscle pulls are a dull ache.”
“Do you need taping up?”
“No, I’ll heal fine without it.”
“I guess we shouldn’t fuck for the time being.”
Kakashi was incredulous. “Not possible.” He kissed Sasuke’s forehead. “I am so proud of you. And not just because you saved the Kazakage.”
Sasuke’s eyes began to shine with emotions he wasn’t used to showing. “Thank you. I know how much I disappointed you in the past. More than anything, I want to make it all up to you. You put faith in me back then and I slapped your hand away. Naruto and Sakura’s too. I have some regrets, but not a lot. I hurt the three of you and Gaara the most. I love you. If I can assuage the hurt I caused you, I will. But that’s not why I love you, that’s not why I’m here with you.”
“You only let me down twice. But the first time, I might have let you down first. I should never have left you alone that night. But I understand why you did everything you did. You’ve redeemed yourself tenfold since then.”
Sasuke’s smirk was amazingly smug, even for him. “Only ten?”
Kakashi smiled. Fuck, he loved him so much. “Maybe fifteen.”
“I will strive to do better,” Sasuke said haughtily.
A shadow past over Kakashi’s features. Sasuke wasn’t sure what that meant.
“You can start by putting the bed back together and letting me get a night of sleep in a bed more comfortable than a hospital bed.”
“I’ll count that as sixteen.”
“Sixteen,” Kakashi agreed.
Five minutes later, Kakashi settled into the mattress with a huff. His back and ribs clicked and settled. He sighed. He took it back, he hated missions.
Sasuke checked the window and door. He left the blind open. He rather see what was coming than not be seen. He turned out the light and lay next to his lover. “Seems like a month since we slept in the same bed. And probably another month until I can touch you.”
“Just my chest.”
“And anything connected to it.” Sasuke turned onto his side and put his hand on Kakashi’s arm.
“See? That doesn’t hurt.”
Sasuke put his hand on his chest. Then he lay his entire arm on him. Kakashi suppressed a gasp. “Fine. The bed is worse.”
Sasuke lifted his arm and returned his hand to Kakashi’s arm. “Just don’t try to kill me when I jostle you during the night.”
“I’ll try not to.”
-----
Kakashi was stiff and in pain in the morning. “I’m not moving,” he told Sasuke.
“You make me get up in the mornings.”
“You don’t have broken ribs every morning. That I know of.”
“The Captain’s here.”
He painfully took a deep breath. “Help me up.”
He was stiffer this morning after taking on a dozen attackers and sleeping in a less firm bed. He couldn’t raise his arms to put on a shirt. Sasuke smirked and helped him slip on one of his open front shirts. Sasuke smirked; he liked dressing his lover in his own clothes.
Kakashi came out into the outer room and immediately said, “Not a word.” He felt the Captain smiling behind his mask. Kakashi decided to remain standing rather than trying to sit and trying to get back up. Sasuke stood beside him.
“As of yesterday afternoon, the head of Suna’s ANBU has vanished. He swapped out yours and Gaara’s security teams for smaller ones with people sympathetic to the rebels. The men we took out had all left the village in the years since Gaara took control. This man, Masao, must have let them in.
“I sent the messages to warn your team that you were targeted. The messages will arrive today, another day to get a response. We haven’t received any word that they were attacked.”
“Thank you for everything.”
“Not a problem. I want you two to remain here. There’s something of a purge going on. Every member of ANBU is being examined. Things might get messy, but with the assassination attempt, nearly everyone is cooperating. Do either of you need further medical attention?”
“No, I think we’re fine.”
“Good. We’re pretty much in a trust no one mode. Tamari’s back, so at least there’s one other person we can trust.”
“How is Gaara doing?” Sasuke asked.
“He emotes less than you do. No idea.”
“I will go see him. You stay with Kakashi.”
The Captain hesitated. “Understood.”
Kakashi understood Sasuke’s motive and said nothing, just wondered how to lay back down.
-----
Sasuke knew he was being watched as he ventured toward Gaara’s office. Gaara’s guards were on edge, but they let him approach the door.
Sasuke knocked and Gaara called for him to come in. Gaara was emotionless behind his desk. The windows had been replaced, but the patched wall around them hadn’t been repainted.
“How are you feeling?” Sasuke asked.
Gaara hesitated. “Fine.”
Sasuke nodded. “I thought so. A few months ago, a bunch of Konoha shinobi tried to kill me. I was a pariah until recently. Quite a few still hate or fear me. I know how you feel right now. If you’re wondering if this is all worth it, if you’re tempted to tuck tail and give in, don’t. I’ve been where you are. There are a lot of people in this village who don’t fear you and don’t hate you. The common people saw you sacrifice yourself for them during the Akasuki attack. A lot of people have died on both sides and so much effort has been spent. You can’t give in to these rebels, assassins, and terrorist. You didn’t just become Kazakage; you were elevated to that position by the high-level shinobi of the village and your daimyo. If a majority of people in Suna and the Land of Wind wanted you deposed, you would be gone or dead.”
Gaara actually smiled. It was small and sad, but it was a smile. “Kakashi and I talked about you just after you were poisoned. We agreed that we loved you because you were like a mirror to us. I shouldn’t be surprised you knew what I was thinking. I needed to hear that. I need support.”
“You always have my support.”
“I haven’t been able to properly thank you for that last action. You saved my life.”
“No, we didn’t. You would have slaughtered them if we hadn’t arrived.”
“You came to defend me. That means something to me. You didn’t just trust I could take them on and check on your lover; you came to make sure I wouldn’t fight alone. I was astonished you chose to come to my aide rather than Kakashi’s. You knew from the genjutsu that Kakashi was a target as well. But you came to me.”
“Kakashi was the one who told me that outside our room he is just another shinobi under my command. This is a mission. The mission is more important.” Sasuke smiled. “But even Kakashi would argue that abandoning our friends is worse than abandoning a mission. Yes, Kakashi is my lover and he’s more important to me, but you are more valuable to your village, your country, even our village and country, than Kakashi. And you are my friend. You are more powerful than Kakashi in his current state, but I had to trust in him. Because of your value and you being the highest priority target, I had to make sure you were alright. He would have been offended if I charged in to save him and ignored my duty to you and to Konoha.
“That all being said, you’re welcome. But I don’t think you really needed our help in that instance.”
“But you knew they sent more shinobi after you and Kakashi than me; you were the primary targets. Probably because of the damage you both inflicted on them.”
“I got the impression they sent larger forces at us to keep us away from you. But they are pissed at me.” Sasuke smiled. “Anyway, I just wanted to give you a pep talk. I know how isolated and tired you must feel. My position is more stable now, yours will be too.”
“Thank you.”
“Kakashi and I will keep a low profile for the time being, stay in our rooms.”
-----
They were confined to their suite for thirty-two hours so far. It turned out that was one hour too long for Sasuke. He was languishing in their rooms. It was one thing to not want to leave his home and another to not be allowed to leave.
There was nothing to do. They couldn’t even have sex because Kakashi’s ribs were still too painful to do anything so vigorous. The bones had been completely mended by the medics, but the surrounding tissue was still swollen and bruised.
Sasuke was bored. Kakashi dealt with it better since he cooped himself up in their home most of the time. He would be dealing with it better if he could have sex with the sexy young man he was imprisoned with. Then again, neither of them were horny under the circumstances.
Kakashi didn’t mind staying in bed because moving otherwise hurt. Sasuke was pacing, then he dropped to the floor to do pushups, then jumped up to stretch. Sasuke’s restlessness didn’t bother Kakashi as much as it should have. Although . . .
“Sit down,” Kakashi advised gently.
Sasuke looked down at him with narrow eyes, but Kakashi knew his eyes were hostile because he had to go another stretch of days without at least training. Sasuke plopped down on the floor with his back against the bed. Kakashi put his hand on Sasuke’s head and petted his hair. Sasuke hummed and his agitation evaporated.
Kakashi chuckled with a little pain. “You’re like a dog.”
“You should know.”
Sasuke appreciated the fact they didn’t have to have sex when alone together. He relaxed back against the bed. Kakashi’s hand was pleasingly large and oh so warm. He caressed Sasuke’s forehead as he brushed his hair back. Every once in a while, he dipped his hand further down to caress his cheek and even his entire face. Sasuke tilted his head back to let Kakashi rub him under his chin like a dog. After a while, Kakashi went back to threading his fingers through his lover’s hair.
Sasuke was reminded of his mother finger combing his hair. His father never did that; he was emotionally and physically distant. Sasuke’s contentment was fleeting. As much as he didn’t want to stop Kakashi’s caresses, he stood up. He didn’t want to think of the past.
“I’m moving all the furniture in the main room to do katas.”
Kakashi was a little taken aback, but he knew how mercurial Sasuke was; he didn’t question Sasuke’s sudden energy.
He enjoyed watching Sasuke perform his katas. He created a clone to help him sit up and go to the door. Sasuke was finishing his redecorating and preparing to start.
Sasuke slowly drew and swung his sword and resheathed it. He did it again and again in different positions and with different strikes. As he continued, one strike became two strikes and then three. It was all ritualized in a hypnotic way.
As he progressed, he added kicks and punches that were incorporated into his style. He increased his speed as well. He was beautiful. Beauty morphed to deadliness very quickly, but he never stopped being lovely as he moved. The sword became part of his body and he moved with a fluidity that made Kakashi’s heart stutter. He suddenly got the urge to watch Sasuke do this naked and watch the play of muscle in Sasuke’s body.
Sasuke was consumed in his katas, so much so that Kakashi feared that the knock on the door would draw his blade. Sasuke glared at door but lowered his sword. He sheathed his sword with a flourish, then glanced back at Kakashi to make sure he was ready in case they would need to fight.
He opened the door carefully, already knowing it was the Captain.
“We got responses from Akihito and Hara.”
Sasuke eagerly let him in and shut the door behind him.
“Akihito said he was attacked twice. He also said, ‘You were in the most danger, like I said.’”
“And Hara?”
The Captain hesitated. His mask hid his eyes, but they knew he was glancing at Kakashi.
“Kakashi is familiar with Hara; go ahead.”
“’You got poisoned? I’ll be happy to suck it out for you.’ He was attacked once, but it was an easy fight. We haven’t heard from Mori yet.”
“At least we can be sure of the message from Hara,” Kakashi said.
“Akihito too. He warned me that I would be more in danger because I had my lover with me.”
“What was the proof you sent the others in your message?” Kakashi asked.
“This Zen garden is not relaxing.’”
Kakashi laughed. “I thought it would be something about your hound.”
“Too many people could fake such a message. Even you didn’t know about Hara’s Zen garden joke. I’m sure it’s common knowledge that we’re together.”
Kakashi couldn’t stop looking at Sasuke hotly even with the Captain here. People knew who Sasuke belonged to. He wanted to lick his neck and mark him even if he couldn’t fuck him. He fisted his hand to keep himself from reaching out for him.
“I’ll let you know when we get a message from Mori.” The Captain could tell he wasn’t going to be welcome for long with that look in Kakashi’s eye, so he made his leave.
“That worries me,” Sasuke said. “Mori was in the capitol; he should have been the easiest to reach and the first to respond.”
Kakashi put a comforting hand on Sasuke’s neck. There wasn’t much he could say; Sasuke was right. His hand slipped down his back slowly.
“Don’t make promises you can’t fulfill,” Sasuke said at the affectionate touch.
“At this point, I don’t give a fuck about the pain in my ribs. I can at least distract you.”
Sasuke turned wide, affectionate eyes on him. He carefully put a hand over the bruise and let healing chakra flow out. He’d learned a bit from Kabuto after three years with the man, though he would never call himself a medical-nin. His chakra soothed the pain. Though, that might have merely been his touch.
Sasuke leaned his head closer to Kakashi’s and Kakashi pressed his masked lips to Sasuke’s bare mouth. It was one of the many times Kakashi forgot his mask. Sasuke didn’t seem to mind. Kakashi pulled one side of his mask down, desperate to feel his lover’s lips. Sasuke pulled at the other side, running his fingers over that smooth cheek and the raised beauty mark. Sasuke lapped at his lips.
“It’s almost your birthday,” Kakashi whispered. “I can’t wait that long.”
“Besides your ribs, why would you?” He ran his thumb down the lower half of his scar.
“Assassins . . .” Kiss. “Stifling heat . . .” Kiss. “I have no idea what to do for your birthday other than fucking you for the first time in a month . . .”
They started making out but startled still by a knock at the door.
Sasuke growled and that made Kakashi smile despite the interruption. He pulled up his mask.
Sasuke was cautious as ever when he opened the door to the Captain.
“Sorry to interrupt.” The Captain inferred what his charges were up to. “We’ve received two messages. One from Mori and another from Hara. Hara’s was sealed, so I haven’t read it, but Mori reports several attacks, but he’s fine. He reports ‘more rebels than your mother in law has flees.’”
Sasuke laughed. “Son of a bitch.” He accepted the sealed message from Hara. A quick hand sign unsealed it and he read it with decreasing amusement. “Fuck.” He tossed the missive down and rushed to start packing.
Kakashi grabbed it and the Captain pressed his shoulder to Kakashi’s to read it.

Sounds like we got all the rebels; time to relax. Your birthday’s coming up, you deserve a good old fashion gangbang. Remember those two prostitutes last year? I never saw you have so much fun. I know where to find some tranny prostitutes, a little something for all of us. You love dick so much, but I need something with breasts. Bring Kakashi and all the others with you. Kakashi and I can double team you. Don’t bring Gaara, he doesn’t seem like he’ll like a party. Do bring Kankuro though, and Tamari if you think she’ll put out; be good to have a chick around. I so want to see you fuck. If I’m not plowing your ass, I want to see whose ass you’re plowing. Let’s all meet up at the Northern Fortress.

They were confused.
“Mind translating?” the Captain asked.
Sasuke was nearly frantic as he packed. “Tranny is code for shinobi from other nations. The two prostitutes refer to the swordsmen who nearly killed me. Dicks are swords. He found the rebels and he’s calling us all there to take care of it.”
“I’ll go alert Gaara,” the Captain said.
“We’ll meet at the village entrance,” Sasuke said. “Don’t waist a moment.”
“I won’t. Don’t leave without me.”
“We won’t if you hurry.”
“Sasuke, you finish here,” Kakashi said. “Captain, I want to gear up. Can you take me to get supplies? I want some ANBU armor.”
The Captain nodded and Kakashi followed him out. The Captain left him at the Suna ANBU headquarters.
“I need some equipment,” Kakashi explained. “Arm guards and a chest plate. And a sword.”
The ANBU hesitated but nodded and turned to gather the requested items. Kakashi was calm as ever, completely laid back. He didn’t look like there was a mission or he had an anxious lover waiting for him.
Kakashi sauntered outside and to the village entrance. He was the first one there. Sasuke arrived after about ten minutes. “I let Kankuro know what’s going on,” Sasuke explained. “He’ll follow with your completed leg. I told him to bring Tamari.”
Kakashi strapped the armor on and shouldered his bag that Sasuke brought for him. “Are we walking?”
“No, we’ll fly.”
“Thank all the kami,” the Captain said as he arrived.
Sasuke didn’t waist a second to summon one of his hawks. “Sorry about this, but we’re in a hurry.”
“Summon one of your damn snakes,” the hawk complained.
Sasuke stroked his neck. “Alright. I’ll summon my snakes for now one.”
The hawk screamed with indignation.
“I thought so. You’re my largest and strongest summon. I’m counting on you.”
She stooped and let the three men climb onto her back.
- 18
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Broken Kunai