Redemption In Your Eyes

Trust

Kakashi stepped into the Hokage's without knocking. The door made a gentle swish as he shut it behind him and the room became still. Tsunade was silent and appeared not to notice the jonin as she rifled through mountains of paperwork. He stood patiently, and when she finally realized he wouldn't simply leave, Tsunade met his intent gaze.

"I trust you have a good reason to disturb my work..." She sounded irritated, but looked tired.

The silver haired sensei nodded. Kakashi waited a moment more before stating the purpose of his presence. "I'm not the only person you trust..." Blonde hair framed her narrowed brown eyes as she made her annoyed suspicion apparent. He paused, waiting for the explanation he had come after.

Tsunade knew what he wanted, and Kakashi was hoping she would give it to him readily. His hopes were falling fast. And as she moved to return to her work, they crashed. He realized he'd have to take the initiative. "It's only been a few days... And now to rush a team out in roughly a month..." Kakashi paused respectfully. "Hokage-sama... Do you truly trust them?"

Even in such a powerful position, Tsunade was beginning to feel helpless to the circumstances around her. She surveyed the peaceful hamlet that was Konoha once again. Memories of her time interviewing Itachi, Aster, and even Sasuke replayed in extreme detail and precision. Their expressions, gestures, and voices were sharper, clearer, than they had been at the recollections' making. "Kakashi..." He stiffened, slightly surprised to be addressed so directly. "You know the redheaded girl with them...?" The jonin nodded in reply. "Itachi is marrying her."

The midmorning scene outside was inviting, but Sasuke found that venturing into it was more of a duty than a privilege. Itachi had paused their training, leaving his days void of activity and full of time for sorting his thoughts and feelings. Organizing the growing inner battle was the last thing Sasuke wanted to do. Even though he hated being around Itachi so much, he had enjoyed the distraction of mind-numbing training. Now it was gone. There was nothing to ward off his self-made fears.

Being inside the house wasn't helping either. Although it was only furnished with the bare essentials, somehow reminders of his elder brother littered every room. Wandering Konoha was bound to be disastrous, but staying put was just as dangerous. Making up his mind, Sasuke decided to face the less devastating battles that would await within the city.

Naruto turned down a familiar street, quickly spotting the Ichiraku. He had planned to meet Hinata here, but hadn't given much thought to what would happen after he caught up to her. Weaving through the crowds on the avenues, Naruto dashed towards the ramen shop eagerly. Abruptly, he came to a halt.

He wasn't sure if it was a dream or horrendous nightmare. On the other end of the street, approaching him, was Uchiha Sasuke. The world swam, and then bitter feelings rising from the most recent memories righted it. Naruto narrowed his eyes, standing tall, ready to face his former friend.

Sasuke spotted him quickly. For once in his life, he wanted to run towards Naruto, but the look of utter disgust on the blonde's face made him freeze as his blood turned cold. He hates me... I betrayed him... His stomach felt sick, but he wasn't about to let himself hesitate. Swallowing his doubts, Sasuke made his way to Naruto quickly.

Itachi rolled over, only to find the other side of the bed empty and cold. Blinking away sleep, he sat up. It was worrisome to wake up and find Aster missing, but even more troubling was what she might be up to. Dread twisted in his chest. What kind of destructive thing is she doing this time?

A few minutes later, he was stepping off the bottom of the stairs. The house was largely quiet, and it didn't surprise him to notice the absence of Sasuke's chakra. Itachi didn't need to fine tune his senses to locate Aster though. Sasuke's disappearance was expected, Aster's appearance in the kitchen wasn't. The clink of dishes reached him and he cringed, remembering the incident with the instant ramen.