A Time of Shadows

Chapter Four

As Naruto took a bite of the food Sakura had fed him, the wind picked up, unnaturally. The clouds overhead began to darken, and Satski instantly was on her feet. Kakashi appeared in front of them once again, eyes ablaze. "You broke the rules!" he roared, wind carrying his loud words across the entire clearing. "As promised, there will be a punishment. Prepare yourselves...any last words?"

For a moment, the four students were om stunned silence.

Then, Satski opened her mouth to speak, shifting slightly so she was blocking Naruto. He was still tied to the post, defenseless. "We are all on this team, together. You made sure we recognized that. So we're in charge of making sure we're all taken care of! That's exactly what we did."

Sasuke moved into the open space beside her, Sakura falling in on her other side. Together, the three stood as a wall, shielding their fourth team mate. They were truly in this as one, one solidified unit, come what may. As terrifying as whatever was about to come, at least they had this moment, this newly forged bond to keep them going.

"You're a team? That's the best excuse you could come up with?" Kakashi began to stalk closer to them, hands on his hips, eyes still narrowed. No one spoke. Then, suddenly, their sensei grinned. "Well, it's a good one. You pass....impressively so. You're the first class I've ever had succeed this test. You are the only group to stand together and show that not abandoning your team is rule number one."

Satski turned to Sasuke and grinned, finding him giving that small, trademark smile back her direction. The unexpected had actually come to be.

"Squad Seven, your official first mission begins tomorrow," Kakashi continued. "Now, let's get out of here and go get some rest." The winds around them died down, the skies clearing. Above them, the sun beat down on the open clearing. Warmth danced over Satski's skin and she felt, for the first time, that she was on the right path and it was right in front of her. All the goals she had were at the tips of her fingers, if only she could just reach out and grab them.

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As usual, Sasuke walked Satski back to her home - a large, empty part of town that once had held the homes of all the Hakita clan. Now, within the gates, it was only her in her home, even though there were still pictures and memories to remind her of what had been. She tried not to enter most rooms - simply going from the entry to the kitchen, quickly up the stairs, then to her own bedroom. The rooms of her sister and parents were far too painful to look inside.

"That was an interesting day," Satski mused, stopping on front of the large, green arch way that would lead into her empty neighborhood. "But, worked out in our favor in the end."

"True," Sasuke agreed, giving her another one of their shared smiles. Her heart fluttered a little, knowing that was just for her. "And tomorrow, we start the real thing....we did it, Satski. We're actually on the path forward. We can avenge our families, destroy those we need to destroy..." He trailed off, as their eyes met.

"I feel it too," she nodded. "We're so close. If we keep this up, there's no doubt we'll achieve everything we've set out to. And I've got your back the entire way."

"You know I have yours, too," the raven haired boy agreed, reaching out and brushing their knuckles together. Neither were big on public displays of anything, but they always found a way to make sure the other knew they were right there, whenever they needed them to be. It was small, the gesture, but it was all she needed.

"How do you think everyone else is doing?" She asked, having to change the subject or she knew her cheeks would soon flush. "From our class."

Sasuke shrugged, mulling it over. "Plenty of them are prepared, I suppose it all comes down to if they learn the same lesson we did today. If not...I can't image it goes very well for any of them."

"We have more funerals in our future, don't we?" Satski whispered, letting the wind take her words away. As much both loathed to admit it, they knew it was true. For two children who had already suffered so greatly, they had chosen a path that would lead to further sorrow.

"Let's not think about that right now, ok?" Sasuke said gently, more gentle of a tone than he would ever use for anyone else. "We need to rest up and be ready for tomorrow, dwelling in the unknown future won't do either of us any good. Do you want me to come in with you? I know you hate to cook, I could make us both some dinner."

"No, no that's ok. I need to practice anyways. You're right, I'm miserable," Satski laughed at herself. "But if we're out on missions, I need to know how to make something tolerable, for all of our sakes." The two laughed together, then said their goodbyes and parted ways. The shadows stretched before the young girl as she stared out at Sasuke walking away. Somehow, she had always felt safer in the dark, with shadow wrapped around her.

Satski turned and entered her empty neighborhood, following the empty path to her empty house, where she cooked by herself, passed the evening by herself, and eventually, fell asleep by herself. At least in her dreams, she was never alone.