Distance
NaruSaku. Naruto grinned and grabbed her wrist, pulling her down to meet him on the bed. After all, it was a cold night in the Hidden Rain Village.
A/N: Siigghhh, I forgot to mention how this is based on the recent chapters of Naruto so a warning to those who haven't read as far that you're in for a lot of spoiling! LOL, may contain a smidgen of SasuHina in much more later chapters. But don't worry, this fic's focus is NaruSaku anyway. Hopefully I manage to keep everyone in character. :X Onto the second chapter!
…
The first light of dawn touched the two comrade's feet as they silently made their way towards the village's gates, the rays rising slowly with each step they made until eventually, it illuminated their faces faintly at the opened Konoha gates.
As soon as they stepped out of the village, they would be engaged; fiancés due to be married in seven months, no longer the two members of Team Seven, Sakura Haruno and Sai.
Sakura took a deep and steadying breath to calm her nerves. As Tsunade had said, they couldn't afford to make any more mistakes and she wasn't going to allow herself to be easily overwhelmed by the nerves that accompanied the importance of the mission. If Naruto had promised he was going to do his best and follow through with it then so would she. She refused to be left behind anymore.
Preparing herself to step out of the village, Sakura wondered whether Kakashi and Naruto had successfully infiltrated the Hidden Rain Village. She knew that there was no possible war for them to communicate with Konoha once inside as the security at that village was high; they were probably being watched carefully, every move they made surveyed.
Sakura was so deep in thought that she hadn't realised the voice calling her name until Sai placed a hand on her shoulder, breaking her train of thought and stopping her in her tracks. She glanced up at Sai who was looking back over his shoulder and following his gaze she found a breathless Hinata Hyuuga, hand over her chest as she attempted to catch her breath.
"Hinata!" Sakura called in surprise before she remembered what Tsunade had told her team two days ago. "You're part of Team Eight, right? Tsunade-sama mentioned that she placed your squad near the head of the Konoha defence Operation."
Having caught her breath back, Hinata nodded and straightened up, squaring her shoulders. "I a-apologise for not seeing the other half of your group off the other day... We had our hands full, s-so there was no opportunity-" Hinata stopped when Sakura put up a hand to stop her, a smile lighting her face.
"Don't worry about that! It's trivial in comparison to what you've been assigned to do," Sakura said breezily, waving away Hinata's excuse as she grinned. "Besides, I'm sure the operation is consuming most of your time and energy, so don't sweat it."
There was a pause before Hinata allowed relief to wash over her and sighed, relaxing her previously squared shoulders. "Thank you," she breathed in gratitude. Her relaxed state did not last long however, as she bit her bottom lip worriedly. "U-uh..." she began nervously, glancing up at Sakura who smiled encouragingly in return. Reassured, Hinata smiled shyly and asked quietly, "Can y-you please l-look after N-Naruto-kun?" She cast her gaze down to the ground, a gentle blush creeping across her delicate cheeks.
"Of course!" Sakura grinned, giving Hinata the thumbs up. "And in return, continue to do your best Hinata."
"I will," Hinata replied more confidently than usual.
Sakura turned and began to walk away alongside Sai, raising her hand in farewell without turning around. "I leave this village in your team's capable hands."
Hinata squeezed her hands together and summoning her courage, she shouted after Sakura, hoping that she would understand the gratitude that she felt, "If h-he returns... I'll... I'll make sure to call you and Naruto-kun personally!"
Sakura simply waved her hand in reply without turning around and Hinata knew that it was a sign of thanks.
Smiling to herself, Hinata turned and headed towards her team's usual meeting place, a spring in her step.
She had made a promise and she was not going back on her word. And to do this, she needed to keep up to date with the various reports of the recent sightings of Konoha's missing shinobi.
Sasuke Uchiha.
...
They had been traveling for a while now and throughout the entire journey, Sakura had been preparing herself for the onslaught of interrogative questions that were sure to be thrown at them as soon as they reached the entry gates of the Hidden Rain Village. She had been worrying that the shinobi of the Rain would be able to see through her act and it wasn't reassuring that the silence between her partner and herself was prominent.
Acting as a recently engaged couple wasn't going to be easy.
As she thought this she spotted the gates that led into the Hidden Rain Village and quickly slowed to a walking pace, Sai also slowing down to match her speed beside her.
They were to act as planned.
Sakura put out her hand delicately and Sai reached out, holding it in his own. With his other hand, Sai transformed one of his kunai into an umbrella which he opened and handed to his fiancé who smiled sweetly, thanking him for his thoughtfulness as she shaded herself, thankful for the cover.
The rest of the journey would be a very long walk. Because of the lack of information on the Hidden Rain Vilage, it was necessary for Sakura and Sai to take extra precaution because there was still the chance that even before reaching the village's gates that they would be surveyed.
Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear with trembling fingers, Sakura suddenly felt uncomfortable and self-conscious. It was as if the trees on either side of the pathway had suddenly grown eyes and were watching their every move. Unconsciously, Sakura drew herself closer to her companion, her hold on his hand tightening slightly.
Sai glanced at her before returning his calm gaze to the village's gates that now loomed ahead forebodingly. "Calm down, Sakura-san," he said quietly, his lips hardly moving. "There's a reason why Hokage-sama selected me for this particular part of the mission. I'm experienced in these interrogative situations, so I'll handle most of this."
As he said this, the gates were now only a few lengths away and Sakura gulped, nodding silently. They had only just reached the gates when a voice rang out through the area.
"State your purpose!"
Shifting the umbrella over Sakura to completely cover her alarmed appearance, Sai looked to the top of the village's gates, addressing the man who stood atop it. "We're a couple from the Hidden Tea Village looking for a new scenery."
The man seemed to scrutinise them for a moment, before barking his next question, "And why, of all village's would you take the Rain Village into far more consideration than another?"
Sai smiled. "I like the rain," he stated bluntly. At the expresion on the man's face, he elaborated, "I associate rain with a peaceful and enjoyable time." He gestured to Sakura as he continued, "I met my wonderful fiancé in the rain one lovely evening..."
"Oh my, Sai!" Sakura forced a giggle, playfully slapping his shoulder. "Don't tell everyone about that day!" she turned and smiled at their interrogator, praying he hadn't noticed the white of her knuckles as she gripped the umbrella handle tightly like her life depended upon it. "I'm sorry," she apologised, forced smile still in place, "he enjoys telling everyone about that particular story."
The man above them narrowed his eyes. "Names?"
"Sai Yamakaze."
"Sakura Minazawa."
They both bowed before Sakura straightened up quickly, appearing as if a thought had just struck her. "Oh, but that will be Sakura Yamakaze in a few months time!" she sang cheerily with Sai nodding in agreement.
There was sudden movement and instinctively, Sai swiftly pushed Sakura behind him, snatching the umbrella from her in the process. He opened it in front of him in a defensive stance against the man who had jumped off from the top of the village's gates and was now standing in front of him, in a position that Sai instantly recognised.
A position that suggested he wished to fight.
The man's eyes narrowed further as he observed Sai's stance. "Why are you defending yourself?"
Sakura mentally cursed. Had Sai already blown their cover?
Before she could say or do anything however, Sai spoke, "I've heard that the Hidden Rain Village is a place of tight security and that they're suspicious of everyone who intends to enter their well-protected village. It's a village with a policy that I can easily relate to. After all, I can't easily trust everyone and anyone so I can't let my guard down. Knowing this now, wouldn't you agree that we would fit right in with your village's policy?"
The man before them seemed to study Sai silently before he smirked. "I like you kid, but it doesn't mean I trust you," he said as he relaxed his stance.
"I don't mind, as long as you know that I don't like you," Sai said with a smile.
"S-Sai!" Sakura gasped. She didn't want them to be declined access into the village because of her partner's straight-forward attitude.
However, the man in front of them simply threw back his head and roared in laughter, alarming Sakura before he bowed. "Kazuma Soiichiro," he said, straightening up and ginning at the pair before him, He dug into his pants pocket before drawing out two tiny glinting sticker-like objects. "Here, stick these on," he said, tossing one to both Sakura and Sai.
"What are these?" Sai asked, holding the tiny sticker piece up to examine it in the afternoon sun.
"It allows you admission into the village."
Sai eyed the tiny piece suspiciously and glanced up at Kazuma who simply grinned
"I've been given permission to force them on you if you refuse."
At this threat, Sai narrowed his eyes at Kazuma and turned to Sakura, nodding. They both stuck the pieces onto their hands. As Sai stared at the sticker adorning his hand now, he smiled. "Just another reason for me to not like you, old bast-"
Sakura hurriedly clamped her hand over Sai's mouth, laughing nervously as she dragged him towards the open Village gates. "Oh, don't mind him! It's been a long journey and he doesn't like the sun so its affected his head rather seriously. Thank you so much for your help Soiichiro-san!"
As they headed through the Village's gates, Kazuma smirked. "Thank you."
"Sai!" Sakura hissed as she let go of him. "You've got to be more careful of what you say! Stop saying things so carelessly or else you'll get someone really mad and draw unneeded attention towards us-hey! Are you listening?"
Sai's gaze was towards the bright azure sky. "It's not raining," he murmured quietly.
Sakura turned her eyes to the sky as well, a frown marring her face. "I noticed that too... and also, why didn't Soiichiro-san ask for our identification papers and passports?"
A piece of paper latched onto Sakura's leg and she attempted to shake it off. It stubbornly remained there and annoyed, Sakura reached down to pull it off grumbling about how disgusting it was to have litter lying around in a village.
"Sakura, take off the sticker," Sai ordered, ripping off his own. "We need to be extra careful. I have a bad feeling."
Sakura gulped and nodded, obediently ripping off the sticker. "In any case, we need to find our prepared place of residence."
Without warning, a few droplets of water touched Sakura, alarming her.
"But first, we'll simply find temporary shelter," Sai said, using the umbrella to cover both Sakura and himself. "It's suddenly raining now." Sai's brows knotted together as he glanced once more to the now dark and cloudy sky that was emptying buckets of water upon the entire village.
"There's a nearby ramen store, over there," Sakura suggested, pointing in its direction.
They made their way towards it and upon entry, were greeted by the inviting smells of finely cooked ramen dishes, reminding them that they had not eaten on their entire journey.
Sakura seated herself in a vacant chair at the counter next to an older man who appeared too busy sipping soup from his bowl to notice her. "Two bowls of ramen for me and my fiancé, please," she said as Sai seated himself next to her. The man beside her raised his silver-haired head as she spoke.
"A couple? How sweet!" said the female owner as she turned to prepare their meals.
"Why thank you," Sakura replied sweetly, smiling, her elbow brushing roughly against the older man's arm as she placed her elbows onto the counter, succeeding in knocking him slightly to the side. She turned to the man, an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry about that! Are you all right?"
The man pulled himself back into his original position. "Don't worry about it. You're new to this place? I've only been here two days but I haven't seen you around before."
"Oh, yes, my fiancé and I traveled here from the Tea Village. I'm Sakura Minazawa and this is Sai Yamakaze."
"My name is Shissui Yoshido and this is my son, Masashi," replied the man as he gestured to the young blonde-haired teen seated beside him who smiled warmly and nodded his head in acknowledgement.
His familiar face, its usual whisker-like lines hidden with jutsu made Sakura smile as she bowed.
"I'm pleased to meet you both," she said as she straightened up. "So what brought you here to the Hidden Rain Village?" she asked conversationally, unable to suppress the huge grin that was creeping onto her face.
...
End of Chapter 2.
Honestly, I was kind of worried about posting this chapter up, but hopefully you liked it. Next chapter is where the real part of the mission begins, WOO! Some NaruSaku time! :P Leave a review please and tell me what you think. :)