-2-
Feels like home
Sakura entered her new home...and found mountains of dust and all kinds of stuff inside. She sighed to the messy inside and put her luggage on the ground. Just as I thought. Oh well, it's time to start cleaning then. Have to make it till the sunset. The kunoichi laughed a little to her own words and opened her luggage, looking for something inside. She pulled out some clothes and by checking if old curtains still block the view from the street, she changed.
"Well, it's time to start" she said out loud when she was done. Now, Sakura was wearing light red dress, length below knees, and short, dark blue sweater with buttons in front. She also changed her heavy travel boots to red shoes with a little heel. She also had her hair tied into little pony tail.
And so it started.
All the time until afternoon, Sakura spent cleaning and replacing furniture, polishing parquet floor, cleaning windows and then finally painting the inside, changing the light grey walls into warm cream color.
It was already about three o'clock when Sakura sat down on the little stairs in front of her house and had a break. Windows of both storey' were opened, since the walls were still wet of painting. The kunoichi brushed sweat from her forehead and sighed. Well, it's done mostly. I have only got left to wait for walls to dry out and then few homey touches with furniture…and the decorations…well, that's already a fun part. Sakura smiled slightly to the thought and lifted her eyes to the clear blue sky, where only the wind was playing with few golden leaves.
"Hey there" a voice woke Sakura up from her thoughts. She looked at the caller, a kunoichi with dark brown hair and chocolate eyes, carrying a bag of apples. She had her hair tied in two buns on the top of her head and she wore white and red kunoichi outfit "you're Haruno Sakura, right?" she asked, smiling approvingly.
"That's right" the pink-haired kunoichi smiled back "what brings you here?"
"My name is Ten-Ten. I've just figured you might get hungry after cleaning this much, so I've brought you some apples if you like" she handed her a bag. Sakura's eyebrows shot up.
"That's…for me?"
"Yup. All of them. I'd also like to welcome you at Konoha. I'm sure you'll like it here"
"Thanks" Sakura nodded, still smiling kindly. This is unexpected. I had never received such treatment before…well, maybe only after few months…even so, I can never know when I'll have to go, so…I shouldn't get too comfortable…still…this Ten-Ten looks like a nice person.
"Hey, maybe you need help with something?" Ten-Ten suddenly asked, looking at open door and windows "I don't really have anything to do, so I could help you out"
"Well" Sakura swallowed one bite of apple, making some room for Ten-Ten to sit next to her "since you offered, do you have any flower shops around?"
"Sure we do. At Ino's place, not too far from here. But you shouldn't go there, at least for now"
"Why is that?" Sakura asked with surprise.
"Well, Ino doesn't really like when someone even looks better than her…she needs to get used to you" Ten-Ten said with a little irony in her voice "but don't worry. Sooner or later she will. I don't think there's much choice anyway"
"I see. Well then, since you're here, maybe you could buy some. I'll leave the choice for you. The paint should be dry soon enough, so we will be able to get to decorations"
"Gottcha" Ten-Ten walked inside and overlooked the room "love the color. What's it going to be anyway?" Sakura smirked.
"It's a surprise. You won't know until you see it"
"Hey, that's not fair. Now I'm curious"
"That's exactly the point" Sakura laughed a little.
"Fine" Ten-Ten sighed with the smile "I'll be going then. I think I know just what you need, Sakura-san"
"Drop it. I don't what you to '–san' me. Sounds too official"
"Got it, Sakura" and Ten-Ten ran away. The pink-haired kunoichi took another apple from her bag. This is even more not like the other places. And definitely not like the Sound or Rain villages. Gee, what have I been doing there anyway? Especially the Sound and Kabuto…not to mention Orochimaru. I must've been crazy. Not that I had much choice anyway.
-x-
Naruto and Sai were watching the meeting between Ten-Ten and Sakura from a roof of a little further house.
"Well, there's nothing unusual so far" Sai said, getting ready for another piece of painting.
"Besides the unusually sexy outfit and abnormal quick way to get along with people…yeah, there's nothing more to it" Naruto frowned to his comrade "what do you think you're doing? This isn't over yet"
"From what I've seen so far, there's nothing really unusual about her. I suggest stopping watching her like that and just wait until tomorrow, when Tsunade-sama will get this Haruno Sakura tested"
"Oh yeah, the test of her abilities" Naruto grinned, stretching out on the floor or the roof and watching few birds pass by "that should be interesting"
"Yes. Right then, we'll find out whether she's dangerous or not"
"Dangerous?" Naruto instantly sat back up "what do you mean by that?"
"Well, I highly suspect that she'll be assigned to our squad. So, if she betrays us, we will know whether or not we'll be able to fight back. Although by the looks of it" Sai threw another look at the pink-haired kunoichi, who met up with Ten-Ten again and now was carrying the flower sprays inside the house "she does not seem like something"
"Well you sure are right about that, but I don't really get one thing. Why the hell she should be assigned to our squad?"
"Well, Tsunade-sama did say that she was a medical ninja and we're the only squad who haven't got the medical ninja since we were formed" Sai added few red strands of paint to his another abstract painting.
"So, why should Tsunade-baa-chan add anything like that now? We didn't even get scratched for years"
"Well, since Akatsuki's activity had increased again lately, in my opinion, Tsunade-sama would like to be sure she has done everything she could for the sake of her people" Sai stirred his paintbrush into jar of water and took another color, this time blue "I think that's what Sasuke went for on his own anyway"
"To hunt on Akatsuki?"
"Yeah. He knows them best after all"
"Maybe you're right" Naruto suddenly fell into slight nostalgia. His gaze also followed Sakura for a while, who was now standing on ladders, nailing shingle to the wall, which didn't have anything written on it yet. A smile bloomed on Naruto's lips.
"It should be fun having her on our team" he said, his eyes closed to the sight.
"Yes, then there'd be someone to boss you around. After all, Tsunade-sama did say that Sakura-san is a little like her"
"Hey, what are you saying? I'm not afraid of Tsunade-baa-chan! Not a single bit, believe it!"
"Oh yeah? Then why did you freak out when she only cracked her knuckles?" Naruto squeaked.
"Tha-that doesn't prove anything at all!"
"I was right. You are afraid of her" Sai smiled with his trademark fake smile.
"I am NOT!"
-x-
Tsunade sighed heavily to the last page of a large book and lifted another small stiffener of sake to her mouth.
"Will this ever end!" she shouted to five more books on her table. If this goes on like that, I'll get to wear glasses way before my time. Oh man, this is so annoying. That damned Shizune! Couldn't she have told me this earlier?! If I was able, I'd just burn it all! The door suddenly opened and Tsunade lifter her head to face Shizune with another document in her hands.
"If this is more reading then you can forget about it" Tsunade stated, looking at the piece of paper as if she wanted to burn it with her brown-eyed look.
"Well then, I can just tell you that I've assigned an opponent for Haruno Sakura for tomorrow. When would you like to see them fighting?"
"In the morning I guess…but not too early. Who did you assign anyway?"
"Yamanaka Ino"
"Hm" Tsunade lifted her right thumb's nail to her lips "don't you think that's a little…unequal?"
"Well, you see…" Shizune gulped, hoping desperately that Tsunade will understand "I think that Ino will be able to protect herself and win against Sakura, because of her ability to transfer her soul. Even so, we should be able to see a good amount of Sakura's abilities"
"I see your reasoning" Tsunade nodded, leaning back to the book "I think it's ok" Shizune sighed with a relief.
"Uchiha Sasuke hasn't come back yet" she said.
"I think that's to be expected" Tsunade closed the book and took another one "I sent him to check on Akatsuki after all. He knows well enough he can't go around gambling his life on this one"
-x-
Sasuke was hopping through the trees, rushing towards the Konoha. Great. Now I know two places where they've hidden. If I have the previous one eliminated by Hebi and this one by Konoha, then it's two steps closer to Madara. If this plan works and no one finds out about me still working with Hebi, then everything will turn out just as I planned. Then again, it's getting harder to make unnoticed the fact that I'm taking my sweet time to get back from the missions with no reason. Damn! Where's that Suigetsu? At this rate, I'll get in trouble and now more than anything I need Konoha cooperating with me.
"Hey, Sasuke-kun!" a familiar voice sounded from behind the shinobi. Suigetsu closed to Sasuke.
"Took you some time indeed" he complained to the blue-haired man, who smiled with his sharp pointy teeth to him.
"No need to get angry. I have some interesting information for you"
"Really?"
"Yeah. The Akatsuki's hideout, in the Bird country, it has an active Bijuu. The Nibi"
"What?!" Sasuke suddenly hit the break and both shinobi stopped on the branches "they already have it?!"
"Yeah. Come to think of it, I've noticed something even stranger. The guy, who was controlling the Bijuu, he was called Dei-something…have you heard of him before? That really sounded familiar, you know"
"I know him alright. His name is Deidara. I fought him three years ago and I killed him" Sasuke frowned "how come he's still alive?"
"Man, I don't know. He seemed lively enough to be alive. Otherwise he could just have been resurrected by Summoning Jutsu" Suigetsu took out a cup and sipped some water from it "this is bad though. If they've found some way to resurrect their fallen comrades for real, then we're in serious trouble. Besides, it seems that more people joined the organization. At least it seems more of them coming in and out. This makes things even worse"
"I know. Not to mention the Bijuu" Sasuke thought for a while. The Bijuu is serious business. I can't just order the Hebi to go there and eliminate the entire hideout now, it'll be too dangerous and if I tell Konoha about this, there'll be a lot of questions, which I won't be able to answer without coming up with some good lie. This is turning so damn complicated. Guess I have no choice but to act passively.
"Alright, here's what we will do: leave for Juugo to watch every movements of Akatsuki and if anything happens that might lead to Madara's whereabouts, let me know. Also, have Karin interrogating more people, especially criminals and rouge ninjas. I have a strong feeling that Akatsuki's gathering them on their side. Also, if she can make it, have her keeping an eye on movements of Akatsuki in the Rain village"
"And what about me? Are you giving me a break?" Suigetsu smirked, taking another sip through a straw.
"You can consider it as a break from following Akatsuki" Sasuke smirked with evil smile "I'd like you to research about one certain person and look for any links with Akatsuki. I have the basic info from the Rain itself"
"Yeah? And who is that lucky guy?"
"It a woman. Haruno Sakura" Sasuke closed his eyes for a while, already imagining Suigetsu's reaction. The Uchiha said it out loud when Suigetsu took another sip "she's a wanderer"
As expected, Suigetsu chocked on his water and continued coughing for a while.
"A wandered?" he asked when finally came back to normal "you gotta be kidding me! How am I supposed to find out anything about this person?"
"Start with the Sound Village. Look through an entire documentary of its dwellers. Haruno Sakura. Remember that. Look for anyone with the same last name. Although I found out about her in the Rain village, it seemed it was until recently when she has lived there. I want you to do this fast"
"Why? You suspect her of being a spy?"
"Can't say that being the only reason" Sasuke frowned, trying to find the right explanation not only for Suigetsu, but himself as well "I just think that it is necessary to know more about her. I suspect she has more info about things like Bijuu and Akatsuki than she wants others to think. Besides, Tsunade-sama doesn't seem to trust her as well"
"Alright, I'll see what I can do," Suigetsu sighed "but I can't promise anything"
"I'm not asking to promise" Sasuke bit his lip "have you seen my brother lately?"
"No. He's been away for quite a while. Why?"
"Nothing. I need to ask him a few things. No matter" Sasuke looked at the western side of the forest, seeing sunlight becoming orange "I need to go. People there might get suspicious"
"Yeah, you better keep us a secret" Suigetsu put away his cup to the bag "see ya soon, Sasuke-kun"
"Yeah" and both shinobi kicked off the ground. Damn it, Itachi! It's already a week! Where the hell are you?
-x-
Uchiha Itachi was slowly walking thought the ruins of used to be Northern Hideout of Orochimaru. His Sharingan eyes were fixed on the front, but his senses were all alarmed: the shinobi was expecting for someone. Itachi no longer wore the Akatsuki cloak with red clouds, but ordinary plain black. The headband with crossed out symbol of Konoha was still on his forehead though.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" a voice sounded from behind Itachi. He stopped, but didn't turn around.
"Kabuto. Finally. I already thought I won't find you" he said with his usual emotionless voice.
"Who should I be thanking for such a pleasure?" Kabuto mocked a little.
"I need information on a certain thing" Itachi said, slowly turning around. He saw a man with gray hair, half-hooded his left side of the face.
"About what?" Itachi suddenly appeared behind Kabuto and hung a little white snake skin.
"About this" Kabuto smirked to the thingy.
"I see. Well then, come inside"
Both shinobi had gone underground.
-x-
It was already evening when Ten-Ten and Sakura parted.
"Thanks for all your help" Sakura bowed to the kunoichi "I really needed it"
"No problem" Ten-Ten smiled.
"Looks like you're the first one who doesn't have a problem with me" Sakura said with a little irony.
"Oh, don't worry about it. People will get used to you. It's only because you don't look ordinary, that's all"
"Well, thanks again. Guess I'll see you soon"
"Sure thing. Ja ne" and Ten-Ten ran off, leaving Sakura to stand alone. The kunoichi lifted her head to the darkening sky, which still had an orange corner in the west left and smiled gently. Is it me, or did I just make a friend? Interesting. That's not something that would happen to me. Oh well, I'm still glad it did. It's almost time now…should be any moment.
"Waiting for someone?" a voice from behind came to Sakura's ears. The kunoichi turned around and her eyes met with hooded and cloaked man, who had a cart, dragged by two horses behind him. It was full of heavily-looking sacks.
"Hello, Hideki" she smiled to the hooded man.
"You sure moved from the Rain quickly"
"I've got fed up with the constant rain" Sakura smirked and walked to the cart. She touched one of the sacks and inhaled the smell coming from it.
"Tonight" she whispered with a smile.
"You're turning to be too quick these days" Hideki complained.
"And you're still very slow in showing me your face" Sakura shot back "for the best friend of my mother; you sure are intrusting when it comes to her daughter"
"Stop complaining. I provide you with the material and sometimes I do you favors. Shouldn't you stop with demanding for more already?"
"Alright, alright" Sakura rolled her eyes "speaking of favors, I'd like you to check on somebody"
"Who?"
"Uchiha Sasuke" Hideki whistled in surprise.
"Well, I can tell without checking at least what he is" he scoffed.
"Oh yeah? What?"
"The last clansman of the Uchihas. This clan possessed the Sharingan, a certain eye jutsu, which could copy any jutsu of the opponent and use it against him or her. Also, those eyes have an extraordinary capability of genjutsu, so you should be careful around those. I also heard that the clan was slaughtered by its own member"
"The member?" Sakura's eyes widened "but that's…horrible"
"Yeah, you said it" Hideki agreed "why are you interested in this guy anyway?"
"Because he trained under Orochimaru"
These five words made Hideki freeze in his place.
"Under Orochimaru? Are you sure?"
"Yes. He uses the same justsu as he does and in the same level or higher. Besides" Sakura lifted her hand and her fingers suddenly turned into five little snakes, wreathing one around another "he also uses snakes"
"I see" Hideki watched five snakes disappear and Sakura's fingers turn back to normal "this is interesting. I'll check on him. Definitely"
"Thanks" Sakura nodded "now could you just carry these to the kitchen so I could get to work?"
"Yeah sure"
After another fifteen minutes, Hideki jumped back into his now empty cart and bent to Sakura, who was standing beside.
"Be careful around that man. If he was trained by Orochimaru, he might be dangerous to you, especially if he finds out about your father"
"I know that" Sakura nodded and gripped Hideki's hand for goodbye "take care"
"Surely" and he urged horses to go ahead.
Sakura watched him leaving for a while and when the chilly autumn wind touched her body, she turned around and entered her house. Time for me to get to work. If I'm lucky, I'll have everything ready for the day after tomorrow. The kunoichi stopped in front of the window and looked to the street, lit up by lights, coming from windows of other houses. Strange. I feel like living here for quite a while, although I came here only today. Strangely…thins feels like home.
-x-
Sasuke was tossing and turning in his bed until he finally decided that it was again useless to try to fall asleep. The shinobi looked at the red dial of his clock, which showed four thirty am and jumped out of the bed, changing from pajamas pants into his usual clothing and putting on a cloak before leaving. Not again! Damn this! How many times will I have to endure this stupid insomnia before I get a goodnight sleep! Guess it can't be helped. Sasuke looked up at the moon, which was nearly full and hn-ed it in displease. At first, the shinobi couldn't fall asleep because of terrible nightmares. Bit by bit it turned into constant insomnia, only with breaks from now and then. This time Sasuke wasn't so lucky though. He was forced to wander around empty streets, until he gets either too tired or too cold or too bored to do it anymore. Then he'd usually take a flight by using his cursed seal. Sometimes it helped though.
The Uchiha took another turn and walked the same-looking street, still cursing inside his head for not being able to sleep again. But suddenly something caught his eye. Usually, when he'd walk like this, everything would be dark, windows would be lifeless, but this time it was different: one part of the street he was walking was lit. So, looks like I'm not the only one, huh? Sasuke walked to the house, which's only one window on the second floor was lit. Through the curtains, his eyes caught a silhouette of a woman, who seemingly wore a dress and had a short hair. Well, well, looks like this Sakura person doesn't sleep much as well. Interesting. What could've she been doing till five am? Sasuke was suddenly made to freeze in his place. He stayed in the shadow, where the light didn't reach him and watched the dark silhouette. Sakura removed the dress from her shoulders and for some time, Sasuke could see her naked silhouette. All of the thoughts were swept away from his head as he watched her delicate lines being hidden away by another robe. The man only woke up from the sudden trance when he was back at his room. Sasuke fell asleep the instant he landed his head on the soft pillow.