Author's note: thanks for the reviews, guys! I'm enjoying writing this story a lot. I'm already working on chapter three! Please keep the reviews coming; they're really helpful.

Chapter Two

Legend holds that outside of Mist, in the bamboo forest that stretches indefinitely, there are are hot springs, at the base of the mountain. Surrounding each spring are statues of warriors and gurus past, and each statue is said to house the spirit of the person himself. Legend also contends that if a question is asked of any of these statues, the question will be answered. It was for this reason that Silver Mirror and Ninetailed Fox dared to travel into the forest.

"This is fucking insane." Mirror, known as Kakashi by close friends, commented as he and Fox, known similarly as Naruto, stood at the forest edge. The sound of the silvery bamboo leaves rustling in the wind seemed to be a bottomless, infinite sound. Under any other circumstances, the sound would have been relaxing, but all Naruto and Kakashi could think about was the fact that for the next several days, it would be one of the only sounds they would hear.

"Well, we should dive right in, I guess. No time to waste!" Naruto said anxiously. They slipped into the bamboo, and suddenly the rustling sound was deafening.

They leapt from bamboo pole to bamboo pole, balancing precariously on the thinnest branches. Anything could be hidden in the bamboo, so it made more sense to travel up off the ground. It was also easier to see the sky and sun that way, giving them more direction.

Everything looked the same, and it occurred to both men that they could very easily travel in circles...for the rest of their lives.

--

"I wonder how the others are faring." Blossom commented as she and Fan slipped through the streets of Mist. They were looking for an unassuming inn to use as a base of sorts. Mist was a busy city; not quite as bustling as Leaf but comparable at least. It was easy to slip by unnoticed. Fan had been wondering if Blossom's hair color was the best idea for slipping under the radar, but now that they were wandering the city on foot, he could see that many people had colored their hair. They passed countless peddlers and vendors offering special dyes in the wildest of colors. Apparently it was quite fashionable. Fan couldn't help but notice the way that Blossom looked more the part of an empress than a warrior, with her jewels and silk and bright eyes and hair. No one would suspect that this was the infamous Floating Blossom. Many men's eyes roved up and down her form appraisingly, and to Fan's horror, he realized that this incited anger within him.

"Hn." He shrugged and placed his hand on the small of her back possessively, leading her away from a gang of rough-looking men. If she needed to, she could have pulverized each of them in her sleep, but it was better to avoid trouble.

There was also the small fact that Fan wanted an excuse to touch her.

It was frustrating to no end. Since she had touched him, his memories and nightmares had intensified exponentially, as did his attraction to her. Strange how familiar it felt to lightly touch her back like this...it was also strange how she barely seemed to realize it, as though the action felt familiar to her as well. When she did, she moved away, flushing hotly and looking guarded again. Fan hastily drew his hand back inside his cloak.

"Sorry." He muttered. Blossom's emerald gaze slid to him as they walked, but she said nothing, making him feel even worse for doing it. He was truly a fool.

By nightfall, they had found a place to stay. In the outskirts of the city, towards one of the corners, sat a simple complex of buildings, designated for traveling monks mostly. Blossom had looked like royalty, and Fan knew a man there whom he had trained with recently, so they were let in without much difficulty. They stayed in a small building at the very corner, with the ceramic roof tiles broken, letting in the rain that had begun to fall. It smelled foul in the tiny room, and the bedrolls were stained. But it was far preferable to staying in a cave again, and at least there was a small metal tub to bathe in, using water from the pump in the center of the courtyard.

Blossom lit a few candles and placed them on the floor near their bedrolls.

"We haven't gotten any messages from either Poison or Mirror and Fox." She whispered. Their eyes met, and once again, the air itself seemed to spark. Fan looked away, rubbing his temples as he attempted to think of something other than how normal it felt to see her in this lighting. His mind was playing tricks on him again.

"The messenger birds may have gotten intercepted." He said, staring at the wall in front of him. There were cracks in it and a spider slowly climbed up towards the window.

"Snake must know that we're onto him. We need to hurry."

"You keep saying that. I don't see how we can hurry. We've barely slept at all... if he doesn't want to be found, he won't be. What we need is a different method." Fan snapped. He flinched at the way Blossom looked injured by his tone, but neither commented on it.

"Perhaps the sacred springs in the bamboo?" Blossom suggested, tilting her head slightly in the direction of where the famed forest lay beyond the walls. She grimaced. "I don't like the idea of traveling in there, but it might be our best shot."

Fan turned to face Blossom and crossed his legs. He picked up one of the candles that wouldn't light, and drew lines on the wooden floor with the white wax. He drew a map of the world as they knew it. It was similar to Sarutobi's map; perhaps more detailed and proportional.

"Snake could be anywhere in any of these countries...we can't comb the world over. It's too much even for us Five." Blossom added. She drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on the tops of her knees, looking down at Fan's map studiously. She sighed. "I just... I can't figure out what the clue meant. You know, about the windows. Plenty of people watch through windows. That doesn't help us."

Fan shrugged.

"Sarutobi's an old man. It would be no great surprise if his memory weren't what it used to be."

Blossom sighed again.

"True. Sometimes I feel like perhaps...the Jade scroll doesn't even exist."

Fan looked up suddenly. They held the stare, breaths drawn in sharply.

"You mean he would be testing us." He said, although it came out as a whisper. Shivers continually ran up and down his spine, because of the way she was looking at him. Emotion swirled in her green eyes, and Fan wondered if this was one of her tricks to get men to tell her secrets. It were as though they had known each other their whole lives, the way she gazed at him. It weighed on him so heavily that he was beginning to have difficulty breathing. She moved him with nothing more than a look.

He dropped the candle. It rolled across the floor, forgotten, as they continued to stare. What was it about her that made his fingers ache with the desire to touch her? Even a light brush across her shoulder would be enough, just for a bit, he told himself.

They held very still, until Blossom moved. She shifted her legs down and leaned out, reaching out with her pale, delicate hands. Fan swallowed, staring into her eyes as he felt her knuckles brushing against his cheek. He looked down, watching her fingers linger at his jaw and travel up into his hair, closing her grip over the locks of hair and pulling slightly, forcing his head to turn the tiniest bit. She had moved off of her own bedroll and now knelt on the map he had drawn between them on the floor. The only sound was the creaking of the wooden floor and the dripping water coming in through the holes in the roof. Anticipation welled inside of Fan. What was she going to do? The way her skin felt against his was like an old melody that he knew well but hadn't heard in a long time. He could predict where her hand slid, so that even before it slipped inside his collar and onto the back of his neck, he had known it would go there, just as one would know the refrain of a song. Her fingers pressed against the bumps of his spine, lovingly. It occurred to him how it should have felt so strange and odd, to have her touching him so intimately when they should have been strangers. Yet it was the same experience as when he began relearning the movements of kung fu. He had studied the scrolls and then attempted the motions...and then his body had been able to move with startling precision. Muscle memory. This felt the same way. He knew that if she continued, her other hand would slip into his hair. And then his hands would move to her sides, gently tugging her closer, until their lips met. Why did he know? It was ridiculous, and yet somehow, he could see it so clearly. If only she would move a tiny bit closer...

And then, abruptly, she pulled away. It felt as though someone had blown out all of the candles in a once very bright room, and now fumbled in the darkness, although the lighting itself hadn't changed. Blossom was very pale and now wouldn't look at him again.

"I'm sorry, Sas—Fan. Fan." She corrected herself, biting her tongue. Fan wrinkled his brow, his headache returning with a vengeance. "I don't know what comes over me sometimes. Anyway, about these plans..." She was flustered and was running her hands through her hair and fixing her plain brown yukata unnecessarily. Fan massaged his temples as the pain spiked.

"Tomorrow. We'll go to the spring hidden in the bamboo tomorrow." He said sharply, and lay down on his bedroll, turning away from her. He could already see that he would not sleep peacefully tonight. He stared at the wall, watching as her silhouette blew out the candles with a shaky expulsion of breath. He scrunched his eyes shut tightly, the migraine worsening. Images flashed through his mind; he could see colors, so many colors...vivid red, like blood...shiny, pooling on a floor...emerald, though he couldn't associate an image with that. So much red... then dark blue, then the silver of a sword...then black.

Hours later, he lay awake, although very still, trying to win against the pain. It was then that she spoke, although he knew she thought he was fast asleep.

"Goodnight, Sasuke-kun."

--

Sai flowed from rooftop to rooftop. He had gotten wind of a man wrapped in black, traveling with a pink haired woman, and had followed the rumors to this place. It was a run down compound for traveling priests and monks, with the occasional warrior. Dingy buildings surrounded a courtyard, flooded from the rains, with a pathetic water pump in the center. Chimes hung from the eaves on the porches, and the porches themselves sagged, the water within the wood too much for it to hold. Streams of water poured out of the gutters, splashing into the courtyard and running off underneath the buildings.

He'd considered sending a messenger bird to them, letting them know he was fine, but then he'd heard they were here. No one, of course, recognized them as warriors. People only spoke of the intimidating and unusual beauty of the woman, and the air of mystery cloaking the man more thoroughly than his heavy black clothes. Sai had known instantly who they spoke of.

He found the smallest building in the complex, and slid down the roof. Roof tiles broke off at the contact and skittered down and off the roof, hitting the mud with a sloppy splattering sound. Luckily it was raining so hard that the sound was masked. Sai crept over to the gutter, and leaned over slightly. He was just able to see in one of the windows.

It was dark inside. Blossom lay curled on a bedroll, facing Fan's bedroll. He faced away from her, towards the wall. Neither was asleep. Blossom's arm lay across the floor, reaching towards Fan's back tenderly, but not touching.

The plan had been to go inside and meet with them, but somehow he found that he couldn't go in. He was watching a very private moment, he could see. Something had passed between them.

His breath caught in his throat as Blossom stood, and walked out onto the porch in her lightweight sleeping robe. It was an unflattering brown, and her hair lacked its usual ornamentation. The robe was tied loosely, revealing expanses of pale skin. Her eyes were red. She had been crying.

She stood on the porch for only a few seconds before he saw her eyes darting around. She knew he was here.

"Relax." He called from the roof. She looked up and met his eyes, staring at the way he hung down over the gutter. He dropped down onto the ground, and leapt up onto the porch. He was soaked and covered in mud, and most likely looked ridiculous.

"You are as unsuccessful as I have been, I take it." He remarked, stepping further under the shelter of the eaves. Blossom sighed.

"We have decided to go to the springs tomorrow morning." She whispered. Sai nodded.

"The other two have made the same decision." He replied. "I watched them leave the south gate and head for the forest this morning." He shook his head slightly, spraying water around him. Rivulets were running down his face. She bit her lip.

"What do you think will happen when Snake figures out how to open the scroll?"

Sai exhaled and looked out into the courtyard.

"I do not know what secrets the scroll contains. I'm surprised he did not steal the one Sarutobi is promising us."

Blossom nodded.

"It is strange. What could possibly be inside the scroll?" She asked in disbelief.

"I do not care, personally." Sai said, smiling at Blossom. She raised her eyebrows, and then smiled as well.

"I have never seen your art." She commented, continuing to smile slightly. Sai wanted to trace the lines of that smile.

"Someday, perhaps you will." He replied.

With a jolt he realized that his thoughts were being polluted with desire. The yukata clung to her frame and she looked so sad. He wanted to touch her. "I must go." He said abruptly. "I hope you meet up with the others. I'll be here, most likely."

He disappeared into the rain.

--

"Where are we...?" Naruto groaned.

The two men had lost the energy to travel up among the tops of the bamboo, and had retreated to the ground, which turned out to be swampy and difficult to walk through. They were soaked with swamp water and muck. Night had fallen but they wanted to at least find a dry spot to sleep for a bit.

"Literally a needle in a haystack..." Kakashi muttered, wringing out the hem of his yukata. "The springs probably don't even exist. What the fuck were we thinking?!" He yelled. Naruto also wrung out his yukata.

"God knows. I can't take much more of this."

"I'll bet the other three are nice and comfortable and dry." Kakashi said indignantly. Naruto chuckled.

"Because they're not adventurous like we are."

The two stopped, looking up at the night sky. Naruto sighed. "Poor Sakura. She's probably losing it now, working with Fan..." He frowned. "But...maybe she can help him remember."

"Heh, yeah, sure. That'll work. Seeing his old fuckbuddy cures him of his amnesia? Good one, Naruto." Kakashi said sarcastically. Naruto scoffed.

"You're a perverted asshole."

"Oh yeah?" Kakashi challenged, picking his way closer. "Well, perverted asshole or not, we need to figure out what the fuck we're going to do now."