Story summary: Naruto took in a deep breath before letting it go, eyes sharpening as he takes the fuuinjutsu scroll he had been studying earlier out of his pocket. Their timeline was growing shorter and shorter, and soon enough Jiraiya would insist it was time to return to Konoha. Naruto needed to be ready because once they did, years of training and advances would be put to the test. With a determined grimace, Naruto made his way back up to the highest branch on the tree beside him. He had some studying to do. (PART 2 OF 2; the sequel to 'to take flight', ItaSasu, KuraNaru)

Chapter summary: Kyōdai,

Dai hebi grows weaker. The time for action is almost here. Whispers from Aka foretell clouds bringing rain to the desert. Perhaps to draw out a Tanuki? Sakana and Sōrumeito are headed that way. Be safe, Kyōdai.

-Sāchā

lololol dont expect this to be regularly updated! okay! okay!?

Chapter 1: to prepare

Naruto focused intently on the scroll before him, doing his best to actually read what was in front of him, but he grew continually bored with the scroll. He wasn't kidding when he told Jiraiya he was going to take his teachings seriously, but even after two years of learning and studying seals, he's not allowed to look at any of the truly interesting stuff. Boring scroll after boring scroll about this or that, and not anything that would be truly helpful. Nonetheless, Naruto stuck through it, reading and studying and learning. He had a goal after all: he would learn his own seal, inside and out, until he knew enough to unlock it, and free Kurama from his prison.

His relationship with Kurama wasn't the greatest soulmate relationship out there; the chakra construct barely tolerated him on a good day, always snappish and growly, but he still sat there and listened to Naruto as he talked about his day. He scoffed and rolled his eyes, but when Naruto was hurt during training, his already fast healing seemed to be even quicker than usual, the buzzing feeling of Kurama's chakra, that was once corrosive and painful, was now like a warm blanket, safe and comforting as he healed.

Their relationship, as far as Naruto was concerned, was coming along well. Kurama was still claiming to hate him, but he sounded like he only half meant it; like he didn't hate Naruto as an individual, only that he was Kurama's literal prison. Which was why Naruto was here now, studying a boring scroll so that he would eventually be able to study not-so-boring scrolls, in order to free Kurama. Because surely once Kurama is free, he will no longer hold any resentment towards Naruto. Their relationship could finally move away from the tense silences.

"Naruto-sama."

Naruto blinked, concentration broken, as he looked down at the familiar voice. There, tucked almost unseen in the tall grass below, was a familiar blue snake. "Aoda!" Naruto leaped down from a high branch in the tree he was resting in, gracefully landing next to the green-eyed snake, giving him a delighted smile. "Hey, buddy. I haven't seen you in a couple of weeks. Sasuke keeping you busy?"

"Sasuke-sama has been training more frequently recently. He believes the time for Orochimaru's shed to be close."

Naruto grimaced at the word 'shed', a small bubbling feeling of disgust coming to the surface briefly, before he shakes his head, discarding it from his thoughts. Naruto had written Sasuke many letters about Orochimaru's reasons for training Sasuke. The Uchiha continually reassured Naruto, telling him he never let his guard down. If Sasuke was picking up his training, then that meant he truly believed that Orochimaru's attack would come soon.

"And how's that going?"

Aoda tilted his head, the snake version of a shrug, before he drew himself up, his large head coming to level with Naruto. When the two first met a few years ago, Aoda was a small thing, stick sized really, and to see him the width of a fallen log was something else. Naruto knew that Aoda was going to get even bigger, and that the only reason he hadn't been already was because he was spending more time watching Sasuke's back then training himself. Once Sasuke finally got out from under Orochimaru's foot, the snake would have more time to dedicate himself to growing stronger, and subsequently bigger.

"He is almost ready," Aoda confessed, a proud glint in his eyes. "If he takes Orochimaru by surprise, and pushes like we know he can, Sasuke-sama will win."

"And once he wins, he can finally get rid of the curse seal," Naruto adds on, clutching the closed scroll in his hand. Another reason Naruto had been so intent on his fuuinjutsu studies was because of Sasuke's curse mark. It held a heavy amount of Orochimaru's cloying chakra, and Naruto believed without a doubt that it holds some type of backup plan for Orochimaru if things go horribly wrong. Naruto would hate it if Sasuke beat the snake sannin only to slowly be poisoned from within by the man's chakra.

"Indeed," Aoda agrees, his head turning slightly to show Naruto the back of his neck. Naruto reaches forward, immediately noticing the bag Sasuke ties to Aoda whenever the snake has to deliver a message to Naruto.

Naruto takes the small scroll out of the bag and is quick to open it, excited to hear from his friend after waiting for weeks to hear any news.

Kyōdai,

Dai hebi grows weaker. The time for action is almost here. Whispers from Aka foretell clouds bringing rain to the desert. Perhaps to draw out a Tanuki? Sakana and Sōrumeito are headed that way. Be safe, Kyōdai.

-Sāchā

Naruto frowned, forehead wrinkling as he took in Sasuke's words. The necessity of code names was an unfortunate reality that they had to proceed under the risk that someone could intercept Aoda a real possibility. They were like siblings to each other, to they always addressed each other as such, while Sasuke willingly used the name 'searcher' as his indicator. It was the other code names that truly gave him pause. First of all, Aoda's suspicions had been right. Orochimaru was growing weaker by the day, which means Sasuke would need to fight and defeat the sannin very soon. The second sentence was a heavy warning. Sasuke had met a red-headed girl named Karin while learning under Orochimaru. The girl had quickly shown her fangirl colors, but Sasuke had put a stop to it. Turned out, the girl was incredibly good at hearing whispers that weren't meant for her. She overheard many of the conversations on the Akatsuki that Orochimaru held with Kabuto and had eventually relayed them to Sasuke when asked. It looked like they were sending Hoshigaki Kisame, or 'fish', and Itachi, 'soulmate' being his indicator, to capture Gaara for whatever reason. Neither of them were entirely sure why the Akatsuki were collecting jinchuriki, but with a couple of disappearances already in play, they both were listening carefully to any movements Karin overheard.

Naruto closed the scroll, shoving it into his pocket before extracting a new one. It was easy to take out the ink from his sealing supplies and write a response, closing it and slipping it into the designated pouch. "Thanks again," Naruto said to Aoda, clasping the bag shut. "You've always been a great help to both Sasuke and me."

"It is my pleasure, Naruto-sama," Aoda answered fondly. It was a nice surprise to learn from Sasuke that Aoda saw Naruto as Sasuke's family, and that he deserved the same respectful title Sasuke held.

"You better head on back," Naruto replied, laying a gentle hand on the sleek scales on Aoda's head. "Sasuke needs you."

The snake nodded, his body slithering a distance away before a subtle cloud of smoke lifted from the tall grass, the snake reverse summoning himself away. Naruto took in a deep breath before letting it go, eyes sharpening as he takes the fuuinjutsu scroll he had been studying earlier out of his pocket. Their timeline was growing shorter and shorter, and soon enough Jiraiya would insist it was time to return to Konoha. Naruto needed to be ready because once they did, years of training and advances would be put to the test. With a determined grimace, Naruto made his way back up to the highest branch on the tree beside him. He had some studying to do.

Karin's face was straight as she walked down the dimly lit corridor, not glancing to the side as Sasuke brushed past her, a note slipping it's way into her hand. She remained calm, making her way down the hall until she finally reached the door of her room. She slipped in quietly, eyes tracking across the room as she made sure no chakra signature were trying to hide in her room. With a relieved breath, she pulled the note out of her pocket and made her way to her bed.

Aka,

One month. Be on the lookout for a team.

-Sāchā

Karin let out a startled breath, her heartbeat picking up. One month. There was one month before Sasuke was going to take on Orochimaru and, with a lot of luck, kill the snake sannin before he could steal Sasuke's body to use as his vessel.

Karin fell backwards on her bed, her lips pursed as she crumbled the note up into a ball. She would have to dispose of it soon, but for now she clutched it tightly to her. She had hesitated in telling Sasuke anything she had learned while being around Orochimaru, but had quickly made a decision the first year Sasuke had joined them.

She had limping back to her room, a bad training session with one of the scientists under Orochimaru, when she had seen Sasuke stalking his way down the hall towards her. She had straightened up, because even though he had turned her down, he was still someone she admired greatly. She had looked a mess, blood and dirt covered her body and hair. Even one of her shirt sleeves had been ripped away, leaving her arm bare to scrutiny. They usually passed each other without a word, Sasuke in stony silence, Karin in an embarrassed huff, when Sasuke stopped in front of her, his eyes locked on her bare shoulder.

She had blinked, looking down at her exposed arm. She had seen Sasuke's chest enough times that she knew they didn't share a soulmark, so it was odd that he seemed to study the glimpse of cherry blossoms that rested upon the portion of her shoulder that was exposed.

"Sasuke-kun?" she had asked awkwardly, blush staining her cheeks.

He said nothing, his eyes flicking up to meet hers as he tilted his head. He hummed, a tone of contemplation, before he stepped aside, moving on his way to whatever his destination had been.

He would approach her a week later to ask her to spy on Orochimaru for him.

She hadn't wanted to do it at first, both loyal to Orochimaru and scared that he would find out and kill her, but the memory of him looking at her mark with a gleam in his eyes made her reconsider. He had looked at it like he was familiar with it, like he had seen it somewhere before.

So she agreed and hoped it didn't come back to bite her in the ass. Because more than anything in the world, she wanted to meet her soulmate; and if Sasuke knew her mark, recognized it, then he knew the person Karin was supposed to spend the rest of her life with.

She wouldn't let the opportunity before her escape.

She found her self yawning, her thoughts growing hazy as exhaustion overtook her. She pushed herself up, groaning as her stiff legs moved her towards the steadily glowing fire laying in wait in her fireplace. She flicked the note inside, watching until it was completely gone, before she stripped and climbed into bed, finally succumbing to the calm quiet that was sleep.

and so begins the second and final part of the itasasu soulmate au! enjoy!

also, chapter 6 of to take flight was edited to fix a continuity error. the only thing that changed was the description of kakashi's soulmark. implied karin/sakura at the end