"Ugh...stupid river..."

To his dismay, Sasuke found that Orochimaru was right. His waterlogged clothes slowed his movements completely, and the added weight only laid his exhaustion on thicker.

This fight would not be easily won.

Orochimaru danced around them, light as a feather, striking out with his blade. Sasuke was barely managing to parry, while Kei held his own against Kabuto.

Orochimaru chuckled as Sasuke stumbled over a rock. "You are a fool, Sasuke-kun. You cannot win against me!"

"Quit adding that stupid suffix to my name," Sasuke growled. "I'm going to kill you!"

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. He slammed his sword against Sasuke's, twisting it downward with all his weight.

The strain on Sasuke's wrist was too much. His katana clattered out of his hand with a foreboding clank as it hit the gravel.

The yellow-eyed man smirked, placing his sword on Sasuke's throat. "You were saying?"

"He was saying that he was gonna kill you! Clean out your ears!"

Orochimaru's eyes enlarged as Kei planted a powerful sidekick to his ribs. "Haha! Take that!" Kei cheered.

"Duck, you idiot!" Sasuke shouted.

"Huh? Wah--!" Kabuto's sword swung over Kei's head, missing him by a hair.

"Pay attention!" The black haired boy rolled his eyes.

"Hey! I just saved your sorry butt, be greatful!" Kei protested.

Ignoring him, Sasuke retrieved his blade from the ground, and lunged at Orochimaru, who was still recovering. The snake man barely blocked his strike with his own sword, his arms straining.

Sasuke leaned his weight into his blade, able to push down harder since he was standing. Orochimaru glared. "You won't defeat me like this, boy!" He swept his legs out at Sasuke, attempting to trip him. Sasuke leapt back to avoid it, but doing so also allowed Orochimaru the opportunity to scramble to his feet.

Kei was circling Kabuto a few yards away. "Hurry up, Sasuke, I'm almost done with this old man over here!"
Kabuto was clutching his sword arm, glowering at Kei as blood leaked from beneath his green vest.

Sasuke ignored him, circling Orochimaru. They each prowled slowly around each other, their eyes exuding a hateful air.

Sasuke lunged first, knowing that was the only way to gain the upper hand. Orochimaru blocked, going on the defensive. But he quickly switched to offense, slashing at Sasuke's arms in an attempt to disable him.

At that moment, Kabuto led out an agonized scream. Sasuke glanced to his side to see Kei yanking his blade from the gray-haired man's leg. He positioned it above his heart as Kabuto slumped to the ground.

Orochimaru cursed, seeming torn between capturing Sasuke and rescuing his partner. At the last moment, he leapt quickly to Kabuto's side and pulled him away from Kei's knife just in time.

Kei smirked and ran after him. "Not so fast."

Sasuke joined in on the pursuit, his eyes burning with rage. He could feel the pulsing beginning, and imagined what his pupils must look like; slowly bleeding into crimson, black commas swirling.

A sudden wailing stopped everyone in their tracks. All four looked up, startled, to see three police cars speeding their way, the lights flashing.

"Way to be subtle," Kei said, using one hand to shield his eyes from the lights.

"Shut up!" Sasuke hissed. "It's time to leave. I can't fight well with all this added weight, and you won't last against that many guys. We'll get rid of Orochimaru some other time."

"I can take them," Kei complained as Sasuke dragged him away.

"Says the guy who got beaten up by Naruto," Sasuke muttered.

Kei turned red. "I was sick."

"Seemed perfectly healthy to me," Sasuke snapped. "Quit acting like a child so we don't get killed."

The police cars had already screamed to a stop, and the men were rapidly climbing out. Orochimaru pulled a limping Kabuto over to them, shouting that the criminals were getting away.

Sasuke and Kei raced around the corner of a building, looking back only one last time. A vivid flash of pink caught his eye.

It was the police woman who'd murdered Kaydee, Sakura Haruno. Her eyes met his for one second before the pair disappeared into the blackness.

That one second had been enough though. Sasuke's eyes flared, burning into bloodred as a thousand emotions tore through him. He hissed, clutching his head with his hands. Kei stared at him, looking a bit concerned. "You good?"

"I wanna kill her," he said, his voice shaking. "I wanna kill her and Orochimaru and Kabuto and Naruto and Kakashi. I want them all to suffer like they've made me suffer. I wanna kill them. I want them dead!"

"Lower your voice!" Kei whispered worriedly. "Aren't you the one who wanted us to get outta there? They're gonna find us if you don't be quiet!"

"I don't care," Sasuke growled. His brain was going slightly fuzzy. All he could feel was the intense pounding behind those bloody orbs, the anger clouding his thoughts. "I don't care."

"Woah," Kei frowned, catching sight of Sasuke's eyes. "That freaky thing is happening again? What is that exactly?"

"My curse," Sasuke got out. "And my blessing. Depends on the situation. And my mood. So please shut up before I decide to kill you too."

Kei pouted. "You always say that. It hurts my feelings."

"Let's just get to some building for now." Sasuke muttered. "Before I lose my head and go charging back there like a lunatic. I don't know if I can control myself all that well. We'll camp out somewhere till my eyes go back to normal. My head is killing me right now. I'm having murderous thoughts."

Kei gulped. "Then...maybe I'll sleep in a different building tonight."

"Please shut up, Kei."

***********************************

"So close!" Orochimaru yelled at his subordinate. "But you had to get beaten by an eighteen year old kid!"

Kabuto visibly flinched. He was sitting on a chair in Orochimaru's secret lab, his leg bandaged. Which only made it that much harder to run a way if his master decided to eliminate him after all.

"I could have had him!" Orochimaru spat. "I was this close!" He bunched up his thumb and forefinger. "This close! His Sharingan was activated! It was so powerful! And it could have been mine, but you HAD TO GET INJURED! I should have left you to rot! I should have let that kid dispose of you! Would have saved me the trouble of doing it myself!"

"I'm...sorry, Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto whimpered, using the most reverent tone possible. "It won't happen again!"

But Orochimaru wasn't done. "And then those reinforcements had to show up! Even if I had captured him then, what good would it have done? They would have taken custody of him, and then I would never get his eyes! How did they even know we'd be done there? Or our position?"

Kabuto swallowed. His master noticed. His eyes narrowed. "Do you have something to say, Kabuto?"

"N-no, sir."

Orochimaru grabbed his chin. "Are you sure, Kabuto?"

"Y-yes!"

Orochimaru glared. Kabuto lowered his head. "A-actually, i-it was me. Y-you see, I was afraid of anything happening, so I called them just in case..."

Orochimaru looked positively livid. "YOU FOOL!"

"Orochimaru, please! L-lord Orochimaru--!!!"

************************************

Sakura sighed, leaning against the police car after giving chase to the Uchiha and failing--yet again. Naruto stood beside her, his face grim and his eyes downcast. She glanced at him.

"What's up, Uzumaki?"

Naruto shrugged. "Nothing."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Naruto, I've known you for ages, though that may be somewhat regrettable. What's wrong?"

Naruto let out a strained laugh. "This is where...it happened. Four years ago..."

Sakura felt a surge of guilt. "Oh." Nice going, Sakura. You really know how to keep the mood up.

She tried again. "Would it make you feel better to talk about it?"

Naruto shook his head. "No."

Smooth, Haruno.

"Is...there anything I can do for you right now?" Give him a hug. No, that would be weird!

Naruto shook his head again. "Please, I just need some quiet time."

Sakura bit her lip, nodding. "I'll leave you alone for a little bit."

Naruto barely looked at her as she walked away.

The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon at that point, and Sakura realized how tired she was. She'd been up all night looking for that stupid Uchiha, with nothing to show for it. He knew how to disappear, that was for sure.

Ignoring her sleepiness, Sakura gazed at the rundown area before her. This was where Naruto had seen his mother murdered. This is where that beautiful woman's blood had been spilled four years ago. She felt a wave of bitterness wash over her. She'd always liked Naruto's mother, loved her like a second mom.

Sakura sighed, nostalgia taking over. She wandered over the old crime site, lost in memories. Leaning against an abandoned building for a moment, she gazed straight up, her eyes slightly glazed over.

Then she blinked and squinted. Just above her head, hidden behind the rafters and the remnants of a bird nest was some type of glinting object. It was impossible to see unless you'd stood in her exact position and stared straight up.

Sakura frowned, struggling to make out what it was. Glancing to her left, she noticed a pipe that ran up the side of the building. Reaching for it, she pressed her feet against the bricks and hauled herself up with her hands and arms.

Once Sakura reached the top, she leaned over as far as the pole would allow her, and groped at the mystery object. Feeling her hand close around it, she yanked it free and carefully shimmied back down the pipe, cradling it to her chest.

Sitting down on the ground, Sakura turned the object around in her hands, studying it. Her breath caught in her throat a bit when she realized what it was.

A camera.