Eight • Husband and Wife

With a stoic face, Sasuke traveled as fast as he could possibly do in search for Sarada. Albeit impressed by the trail her daughter made, he was deeply concerned about her current welfare. Just thinking about her covered in blood triggered the fear inside of him.

The convenient trail had stopped when he reached the middle of the forest. He turned to his left and right, studying his environment thoroughly. When he realized that there was no one in the area, he continued to run.

Whoever is behind this scheme, he will make sure he'd made them pay.

. . .

The cave was silent and only Sarada's muffled cries echoed through Yasuda and Kurui's ears. Tears flowed continuously down her pale cheeks until they dried on their own. Her Sharingan had been deactivated and her shirt was drenched with sweat, tears and blood.

"Do you understand now?" Kurui spoke again, in a colder tone this time. "This is a cruel world. The shinobi we are today will only live in the now. Without power, you, me - we are nothing."

Sarada only had her head hung low, eyes completely blank, empty and lost. Kurui's words passed through her ears but she couldn't find the strength and courage to actually listen to them, much less understand him.

"Look at you, completely shaken up right now." He spat mercilessly. "I guess you didn't expect that the person you look up to so much had the deepest and darkest secret. And to think you heard it all from me."

Yasuda turned to Kurui and shook his head. "That's enough for now. Stop it."

Instead of taking his order, Kurui stared down at the young Uchiha. "I haven't told you everything yet. I didn't even give you a detailed explanation. I hope you find out for yourself, if you get out alive, that is."

"Kurui." Yasuda glared at him.

"Turning soft now, Yasuda?"

"No. Shut your fucking mouth and listen to what I say." He backfired. "We had that kid for a while now. Someone's probably searching for her already."

Kurui's eyebrows rose. "We can take whoever that is, I'm sure."

"Then get the hell out of here and get yourself killed, be my guest." Yasuda shot him an irritated look before turning to Sarada. "You're as reckless and cocky as ever."

"Then what do you want us to do? Run away like girls?" Kurui scoffed but abruptly stopped when he heard foot steps.

Yasuda turned to the entrance of the cave, and although there was only darkness and a little bit of light, he uttered, "Finally. You're here."

"Uh-huh." A feminine voice echoed as two silhouettes made their way towards Kurui and Yasuda. The foot steps resonated again. "Looks like nobody's here yet. But I do sense someone near by."

"Who? I don't sense anyone." A deep voice replied.

"I'm the sensory type here for a reason, dummy." The two finally reached the light. Illuminated by the light from the fire, Kurui smirked and Yasuda nodded at the sight of their two subordinates.

"Sorry for making you wait, Kurui, Yasuda." Spoke a short boy with black hair and golden eyes, with a few small stitches on his right cheek.

"Better get your defense ready. Someone's coming." Spoke a petite girl who was slightly taller than the boy. She wore a crooked smile and her bright maroon hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

"Hikari," Yasuda acknowledged. "Hiroshi. Took you a while."

"Yeah, this little child here had to drink his milk before we carried on." Hikari pointed at Hiroshi and rolled her eyes.

Kurui cackled upon hearing the girl's tease. Hiroshi's brows immediately furrowed. "Shut up! I'm older than you!"

"Your height-"

"Both of you, shut up." Yasuda shook his head. "Hikari, do your job. Hiroshi and I will take the front line offense. Kurui, you join Hikari." He shot a side glance at Sarada, who still hung her head low. "Make sure no one gets close to that kid."

"Why am I not in the front line?" Kurui questioned. "I'm sure as hell I can fight better than little Hiroshi."

"No, Hiroshi is much stronger than you, fool." Yasuda shook his head and Hiroshi smirked triumphantly. "If that woman earlier in the hospital wasn't weak beforehand, you could've died. She's an intellectual and I'm sorry to say that you're stupid so you're no match for her."

Kurui was about to answer back until Yasuda walked away from them. "Hiroshi, come with me. We'll be outside. Kurui and Hikari, you stay here with the kid. No, actually, you can do anything you want as long as you don't let her father near her."

"How are you so sure that it's only Uchiha Sasuke out there?" Hikari frowned. "I sense incredible chakra and based on our data, it's him. But what if he called reinforcements to follow afterwards?"

"That's where you come in. You tell us what you sense. If they have reinforcements, we retreat with the kid. As long as we have Uchiha Sarada, we're holding Uchiha Sasuke by his neck."

"I'm fine with this set up," Hiroshi stated with certainty. "Shall we go now?"

Yasuda glanced at him before walking away. Hikari took a brief look at Sarada, marched towards her and gripped her hair to lift her head up.

"You still alive, kid?" Hikari's smirk grew wider when she saw Sarada opening an eye. "Your neck is wounded. I'm going to safely assume that it's Kurui's doing."

Kurui chuckled from behind. "I had too much fun that I ended up spilling the memories of the past."

"Interesting." The woman mumbled, grabbing Sarada by her forearm and lifting her up. "Let's go watch your father's battle with Hiroshi and Yasuda, shall we?"

. . .

Sasuke could sense unfamiliar chakra the moment he got closer to the end of the forest. And he wasn't surprised anymore to see a cave right after, and the two men who seemed as if they were waiting for his presence.

Sasuke's gaze turned colder - if that's even possible - as he studied the face of the two unfamiliar men just in front of the cave. He took long steps towards them, halting with a decent amount of distance in between.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Hiroshi flashed a crooked smile. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

The freezing breeze of the wind blew against their skin. In the dark night, only Sasuke's bright red Sharingan glowed brightly. "I have no time for games. Release her." He commanded with strong conviction.

When the two strangers didn't make any effort to speak or move, Sasuke's blood boiled in fury. He was about to force his way into the cave - where he assumed Sarada was - until he spotted a figure walking out of that place. He swore his heart momentarily stopped when he saw a woman holding his daughter by her bruised arm.

His Mangekyo automatically activated when he saw Sarada. Her shirt was covered with blood, her eyes were shut, she was wounded and beaten, her face was stained with tears. Beside her stood a man and a woman with huge, satisfied smirks.

He almost couldn't recognize the girl that he swore he could blow up the whole forest in anger. Sasuke couldn't absorb the fact that her daughter was beaten and barely living in front of him. His heart clenched in agony as his sight turned dark.

"Your daughter, as you wished!" Hikari cackled crazily behind.

Sasuke was about to teleport right behind her using his Rinnegan when he felt a presence behind him. Turning his back, he saw the small, black haired man with a ball of chakra in his hands, prepared to strike.

Hiroshi completely missed his chance of hurting Sasuke, however. The latter quickly activated his Susano'o, protecting him from the Wind Style attack.

"So this is the famous Susano'o." Hiroshi smirked.

He attempted to use Fire Style this time in a form of a sword that extends. His attack was once again blocked by Sasuke, however, the latter's focus was completely shaken when Yasuda came and started an Earth Element attack, cracking the whole surface and causing Sasuke to lose his Susano'o.

Sasuke cursed under his breath as he performed Chidori Nagashi this time, planting his hand down on the ground and letting the lightning move around. Yasuda immediately jumped but to his dismay, Hiroshi was caught in the attack.

"Hiroshi!" Yasuda shouted, brows furrowed as he watched his subordinate groaning in pain.

Sasuke couldn't help but glance to where Sarada is and he lost focus of the battle, hence giving Yasuda the advantage. The opponent quickly performed hand seals, opening his mouth and throwing massive fire.

The Uchiha averted his eyes back when he felt the heat of the incoming assault and he had his Susano'o back in a blink of an eye, protecting him from the strong fireball.

He stayed inside his shield, panting, as he didn't expect this much usage of chakra. Technically, he did use his Rinnegan earlier to look into different dimensions (which takes an enormous amount of chakra) and he had his Sharingan activated for quite a while now. And now this - using Susano'o over and over again.

He had his mind all over the place. He fought under pressure a lot of times before but this was one of those very few times where he felt real, genuine fear that seemingly corrupts his mind and triggers an old wound from years ago. Sarada was family; she is his daughter and she was precious. He just couldn't organize his thoughts because all that bothers him is that fear in the pit of his stomach, reminding him of the old times he lost those who are dear to him.

He decided to release his Susano'o to save more chakra and energy. Yasuda stood a few meters away from him, staring intently at his face.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Yasuda called out. "You truly are powerful."

Sasuke's Mangekyo disappeared and returned to its three-tomoe state. The cold wind blew harshly against their skin and hair, giving the opponents access to see his Rinnegan. For the first time, Yasuda smirked in excitement.

"Tell me your name." The Uchiha demanded, trying his best to calm himself down. He can't mess up. He can't have his mind all over the place again or he'll fail.

"My name is Yasuda." He replied immediately. "Your daughter is not yet dead, by the way, if that's what you're wondering."

Sasuke breathed sharply. He knew he was provoking him and he can't let it get to his nerves. He gripped his sword tightly before momentarily glancing at Sarada's direction. His lips parted when he saw her eyes twitching and slowly opening. The woman was still beside her, holding her tightly. Sasuke's eyes widened for a split second when he realized that the man wasn't there anymore.

Feeling a presence behind him, Sasuke turned around and countered an incoming attack from Kurui with his sword. Both were using the same type of weapon and neither one was budging.

Kurui smirked. "In case you were wondering, I was the one who tortured your daughter."

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed as he felt another incoming assault from another opponent.

Hiroshi wielded another one of his weapons with ease. It was a long chain with a sharp shuriken-like weapon at the end. The short boy launched it towards Sasuke and the latter was a second late to escape his attack, giving him a long bruise by his arm.

Once again, Yasuda took the opportunity to use an Earth Element jutsu, cracking the ground that Sasuke was laying on and let him fall along with the rest of the debris.

Kurui crossed his arms, watching the downfall of his opponent. "That's it? That was easy."

"No," Yasuda shook his head. "Stay on guard. He's strong. I'm certain we can't take him if we're not combining our attacks."

Blood stains were visible in the ground and Sasuke layed motionless after the combined attacks. Yasuda anticipated for the worst and Hiroshi was quickly pulling back his weapon.

Yasuda and his team had the upper hand, obviously, because they had Uchiha Sasuke outnumbered and was technically holding him by his neck thanks to his daughter. Everything was going quite smoothly; they were holding on by a good chance but there was still doubt rising in Yasuda's chest for some unknown reason.

His eyes widened a fraction when Sasuke's body disappeared with a poof, puzzling them. Out of nowhere, Kurui screamed out agonizingly, alarming both Yasuda and Hiroshi. The two other men had their mouths hung open when they saw Kurui on the ground, moving continuously as black flames burns his arm.

"Amaterasu!"

Yasuda cursed under his breath. "Hiroshi, be alert!"

Hiroshi felt sweat trickling from his scalp, down to his temple and chin. Uchiha Sasuke was now in front of them. Needless to say, he was somewhat nervous. Sasuke's Chidori Nagashi managed to hurt him earlier and it wasn't a joke. Hiroshi heard of the Uchiha's Amaterasu, defining it as the highest level of Fire Release and is said to be the fires from hell that leaves nothing but ashes.

He breathed out, taking a glance at Yasuda who stood beside him while Kurui's helpless screams echoed through their ears.

"Yasuda! Do something to extinguish the flames!" He hissed.

"Keep your mouth shut and your mind focused." Yasuda replied curtly, ignoring his plea.

"I thought you did your research," Sasuke uttered, glancing momentarily at Kurui who was continuously rolling around the ground in pain. "Only I can extinguish the fire."

Hiroshi swallowed. Sasuke noticed his behavior and shook his head. "It's a common misconception. Most clueless people like you think that Amaterasu is the same as the other Fire techniques."

Sasuke convinced himself that he wasn't going to win by storing chakra, especially when he's outnumbered. If he had to lay all of his cards to rescue Sarada, then so be it.

His eyes moved towards Kurui and his brows furrowed. "Killing him with one attack is not too satisfying." He stated and the black flames suddenly disappeared, much to Yasuda and Hiroshi's surprise.

However, when Kurui made eye-contact with Sasuke, he remained motionless for a second before standing up, performing hand seals and attacking Yasuda and Hiroshi.

"What the fuck!" Hiroshi blurted, escaping Kurui's assault. "Genjutsu?"

"Genjutsu." Yasuda nodded. "I figured as much. Uchiha Sasuke is outnumbered so this is the most logical and fastest way."

Kurui took on Hiroshi and the two jumped farther from Yasuda and Sasuke. The Uchiha stared coldly at the man in front, pulling his sword and pointing it to Yasuda, who only flashed a small smirk.

"Was your plan designed to threaten Hiroshi?" Yasuda shook his head in disbelief. "Just because Kurui is one of our subordinates doesn't mean we can't hurt him."

Sasuke seemed unwavered by his words as he glanced again at Sarada, only to find her one eye finally open; however she was looking down and looked completely powerless.

"And you must know that Hiroshi is much stronger than Kurui. I don't think he'll be able to actually beat Hiroshi in spite of your genjutsu." Yasuda added.

"I figured as much," replied the Uchiha in a deadpan tone. "If that's the case, then I don't think you're supposed to be concerned about anything."

A humorless chuckle came from the other man. "Earlier... I knew you were trying to kill him. Yet you stopped yourself."

Sasuke shook his head. "I had to. I couldn't let him die in such an easy way."

Yasuda smirked as a noticeable sweat trickled down his face. In a blink, Sasuke was right in front of him with his sword, wielding it skillfully to Yasuda.

He dodged Sasuke's attack and grabbed a kunai from his weapon pouch and barely stopped his offensive assaults. Each time the blade passed by his face and body, he would try and counter it with the kunai.

From a distance, Hikari watched the battle with uneasiness. Her nails were digging into Sarada's arm painfully while the girl continued to take deep breaths. Her other eye could barely open up and her shirt was drenched with blood and sweat. Hikari was certain that if she was to get hit again, she would surely die from blood loss and shock. Kurui did a damn good job at hurting her, that's for sure.

Hikari could sense Hiroshi and Kurui just a few blocks away from where they were. Kurui, being controlled, purposely led Hiroshi farther from Yasuda so that Sasuke could focus on him. Hikari had faith that Hiroshi would win that battle, even if it meant physically damaging their subordinate but for some reason, she was troubled.

She didn't understand if it was because of Uchiha Sasuke, who was only being held back by Yasuda alone or the fact that he can kill Yasuda and even herself.

"Pa..."

Hikari turned her head to Sarada, who had her mouth opened and her head barely up. Her eyeglasses had a slight crack at the edge and it was sliding down her nose, but she was watching attentively at the battle.

"Papa..." Sarada took deep breaths before raising her voice. "Papa!"

Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction as he heard that voice. He then wielded his sword faster and performed Chidori Nagashi, thus effectively hitting the opponent.

He took the chance to turn his head and look at his child. It seemed like his soul felt at ease when he saw her face, clearly this time, yet enraged at the fact that she was covered in blood stains and wounds.

Yasuda got up from the attack and clenched his fist, focusing all of his chakra onto his arms. He then performed numerous hand seals and he thereupon created massive rock walls in a circle, trapping the Uchiha. The ground from beneath was also under Yasuda's manipulation and rose up to Sasuke's ankles, making him unable to run or jump.

It was dark inside the rock wall and only Sasuke's Sharingan glowed. Suddenly, Yasuda emerged from the ground and landed a strong punch to his back, with his arms still covered in chakra.

In response, the walls were demolished from the impact and Sasuke was sent a few meters away from Yasuda. The latter smirked triumphantly.

"Papa!" Sarada shouts in worry as her eyes brimmed with tears.

Hikari tightened her grip around her arm, making her wince. "You better shut your mouth, you brat or I'll really finish you here!"

Yasuda didn't waste another second and ran to Sasuke to strike once again. He extended his arm to land another punch, however, he felt his knuckles covered in blood when Sasuke instantly activated his Susano'o.

While having his ultimate defense, Sasuke performs a Fire technique and a massive fire spread across from him. Blood then drips down from his eye.

Once the majority of the fire has been gone and the view has been clear, Sasuke searched for his opponent. His vision was starting to get blurry; however, he sensed an incoming attack from above and when he raised his head, he saw Yasuda with a ball of chakra on his hands.

Sasuke had no fear, all thanks to his ultimate defense but he was bothered because of his blurry vision. In a snap, Yasuda's chakra and his Susano'o collided, creating a massive blow.

"Papa!" Sarada called out before closing her eyes.

The collision created quite an unexpected impact, however, Sasuke was still standing firmly after it, panting heavily. Meanwhile, Yasuda was sprawled on the ground, holding his arm in pain.

Sasuke's Susano'o had disappeared unfortunately after the attack. Still, he made his way towards Yasuda, extending his hand until there was lightning on his hands - Chidori.

He stared down coldly at Yasuda before moving his arm to kill him.

"Papa!"

Sasuke stopped halfway, seeing that Sarada was now in front of him, with Yasuda just behind her. Hikari was beside his daughter, holding her tightly by her arm and he cursed mentally.

He let his Chidori disappear before glancing at Sarada. Her face was soaked with tears and her eyes could spell out fear. Hikari smirked inwardly, knowing that carrying Sarada in front of him would be the most risky yet effective move to save Yasuda.

"P-Papa..." Sarada trembled.

Yasuda stood up and wiped the blood dripping down his chin. "Good move, Hikari."

Before Yasuda could lay one finger on Sarada again, Sasuke gripped on her arm, taking her from Hikari.

Sasuke took long step backwards while holding onto his daughter and Yasuda shook his head in disagreement. "No, no, no. You're not going to leave. As long as I haven't pluck out those eyes of yours, you can never leave this place with your daughter."

Yasuda's lips curled up into a smirk. "And if I have to die, I will take your daughter with me."

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed as he glanced at Sarada. His heart dropped when he saw something by her neck; a black circle that seems to be attached onto her skin.

"Earlier while she was unconscious, I placed a poisonous bomb to your daughter. In less than fifteen minutes, it will blow up along with Sarada and I doubt you can do anything about it. The bomb will be implanted to her skin very, very soon."

His words were like fuel that added to Sasuke's fire. This guy will never back down and he was slowly getting weakened by each minute! He can't possibly lose now. He needs to win the battle and he must find a way to save his daughter.

In spite of his blurry vision, Sasuke attempted to use one of his greatest techniques again; however, he was surprised when a random attack was directed to Yasuda and Hikari.

"Shannaro!"

Sarada's eyes widened. "M-Mom?"

. . .

A/N;

So a little note... I haven't checked this for errors so bear with me and yes the fighting scenes are so lame hehe I promise I'll do better in the future :)

anyway!! I hope you enjoyed!