Pink Fox [Sakura's Brother: A Naruto Fan Fiction]

Chapter 17: Uchiha

After a long night of discussing the plan and crying over the loss of the man they had all just gotten back, Javen unwrapped his wounds and left the group. He didn't turn back despite how much he wanted to, even when he heard his sister, Naruto, and Kakashi call out a farewell.

Javen headed for the lake border, sitting back on a tree and licking his teeth, so his nails became claws. He reopened his wound with his hands, clenching his teeth together to avoid making noise. With that, he moved his hand around the wound to make it believable that he had been holding it for a while.

It took the Akatsuki longer than he thought to find him by the lake, and by the time they did, Javen was close to passing out again from blood loss.

"Haruno, you still good?" Deidara kicked Javen's leg, and the man's body shook slightly.

"I got stabbed." Javen looked up at Deidara, unimpressed and moody.

"Why didn't you heal yourself?" Tobi leaned down to help Javen dress the wound with bandages in his pouch.

"I did. Then I tripped and reopened it on a bush." Javen sighed, "I've been trying to regain the energy to heal myself, but I keep almost passing out, and I keep having to open the wound further to keep awake."

Both the men seemed to take that explanation well, and Tobi bent to the ground, "Let me carry you until you feel better, Mr. Haruno."

Javen nodded and moved to get on Tobi's back with much effort, "Sorry that you had to search for me."

"It's alright." Deidara huffed, "At least we won't have to report on your death or defecting."

On the way to the base, Tobi and Deidara stopped by to pick up the captured three-tailed beast and towed it behind the trio as they walked.

It took a few days to get back to the base, and Javen was barely hanging on when they arrived. His wound was infected, and the movement from the long journey was damaging his body. The members that could do stuff about the injury did their share, and Javen was returned to bed till he healed.

When he finally woke up a few days later, no one else was in the base. He did manage to walk in on a meeting of each person's projection. He never quite understood how Pain achieved this jutsu or even what it was, but he waved hello to the group of projections regardless.

"Welcome to the land of the living." Deidara smiled from the other side of the circle.

"Sorry for the wait. Please catch me up." Javen stretched and stood amongst the projections, filling in the gap left by the circle.

"I do have some urgent news." Pain started, "Orochimaru has been killed."

Javen felt some solace, knowing the killer of the Hiruzen had been murdered, but part of him knew who probably did it, and that thought scared him.

Kisame couldn't help but be the first to show his glee, snickering at the man's demise: "It's been ten years since he deserted us, so we've been spared the trouble of killing him ourselves. I would have loved to see him die as much as I would've loved to see the Zombie Combo die."

The man referred to Hidan and Kakuzu, and Pain seemed none too pleased and decided to cut Kisame off, "Hidan and Kakuzu were our comrades. Don't say such things."

"They were done in by-," Kisame started again, and Zetsu finished for him.

"The Hidden Leaf. The squad with Kakashi and the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki." Zetsu looked over to Javen and sighed.

"That team was strong! Even Deidara-sama got his butt kicked, and Javen got injured." Tobi spoke up, and Javen knew that Deidara would be mad.

As if on cue, Deidara spoke up, "Tobi! Say one more word, and my patience will run out! It will, I promise!"

They bickered back and forth before Pain said, "Both of you should pipe down and respect your superiors by not cutting into the meeting."

Kisame laughed, "How are we supposed to catch the remaining jinchuriki with these two?" He then asked a different question, taking Pain's exasperated sigh as a cue to move on, "Killing Orochimaru must have taken special skills. Who did it?"

"Sasuke Uchiha." Pain spoke, and Javen froze.

He could feel chills run up his spine and eyes on him, and he turned to meet Itachi's eyes.

"I'd expect nothing less than your kid brother, Itachi." Kisame mused, obviously knowing that Itachi's brain you be moving fast. He then turned to Javen, "You were his teacher, right? So you think he could have killed Orochimaru?"

"I was a mentor, not a teacher, but I have no doubt." Javen shot him back a glare.

"He's been gathering members to join him. So far, he has one of the Hozuki Brothers of the hidden mist..." Pain started talking, and Kisame finished for him.

"Ah, Suigetsu? That brings back memories..."

"He also has recruited Jugo. Itachi, Kisame, be on guard. They're probably targeting you two." Pain finished regardless of Kisame's intrusion.

"They most definitely are." Javen spoke, "I do not doubt that Sasuke will go after his brother if he's become strong enough to kill Orochimaru."

Pain nodded, "I would like for Javen to wait up for Kisame and Itachi and help keep an eye out. I want the rest of you to keep Sasuke Uchiha in mind."

By the following day, Itachi and Kisame had to meet Javen in the base, and the Akatsuki started the long process of sealing the tailed beats away. Seeing they had to seal two separate beasts took a while, and Javen was exhausted after hours upon hours of dealing with it.

The day after Zetsu had confirmed Deidara and Tobi's death. The two of them had gone off on their own to kill the boy. Zetsu had canvased the scene and confirmed that Deidara, Tobi, and potentially even Sasuke was dead. Itachi, Kisame, and Javen were alone at the base near the leaf.

Itachi didn't vocalize or show his emotion quite at all. Instead, the older Uchiha spent time standing in the rain, opting to stare into the distance rather than vocalize or admit anything. Javen, despite his training, was in a similar position. The day following the announcement, Javen routinely had to ask Kisame to repeat himself as Javen hadn't been listening. Both men didn't want to admit that they didn't wish Sasuke Uchiha to die, at least not to Deidara.

Kisame, Itachi, and Javen stood outside for a while, Kisame doing most of the conversing.

"It's strange to have this much rain around here at this time of year." Kisame stood under the overhand of the cave and watched the water cascade to the ground in the downpour.

Javen stood just behind him, watching the rain hit the ground as he stood in the muggy humidity. On the other hand, Itachi walked straight through the rain and stared at the clouds above him.

"You'll ruin your health." Kisame started, watching in awe as the partner he had been working with for the past few years showed the slightest emotion, "I don't know what someone as cold as you could be thinking about right now... But from here, you look as though you are crying."

Javen looked up now, and Kisame was utterly right. Javen knew at that moment that Itachi did love his little brother, despite it all. So, Javen picked himself up and walked into the rain to join Itachi in crying in the rain so no one could tell. He even caught Itachi looking at him at one point, and Javen broke down.

"Kisame, could you leave? I want to say something to this bitch." Javen turned back to look at Kisame, who seemed to take the hint and walked inside.

As soon as the shark man's back was turned, Javen pulled the older Uchiha into a hug.

"If you don't want to admit you need this, just say I needed the hug." Javen sighed and pressed his forehead into the taller man and cried, hard. He was sure Itachi was too. It was then, however, that the rain stopped. Itachi's disposition changed then, and Javen pulled away, wiping his eyes.

"He's alive."