It was quite silent in the wagon, except for the bumps heard when the wheels drove over rocks and holes in the ground. Both Sasuke and Kabuto had grown tired of the scenery of green forests and yellow fields with corn, and their butts were aching from the two day ride on dirt road. They had stopped talking about business a long time ago, and Sasuke feared that they soon would talk about personal questions. He simply hated having to talk about such things. But when Kabuto asked him about his brother, he just couldn't ignore his friend, who had been faithful for several years to him.

"You mentioned someone you called 'brother' once. Is it true that you do have living relatives?" Kabuto asked. Sasuke got surprised by the sudden question, but he answered it calmly, yet in a way that made clear he wanted to get over with it.

"Yes. I had a brother once. But he betrayed the family when the plague struck our home. He is most surly dead now."

Kabuto smeared, and changed his position on the seat by putting his ankle on his knee.

"Betrayed you said?" He wore the same smile now that he had while talking to Sakura the last night. The smile of knowing something the others did not. "How did he betray you?"

Sasuke didn't want to look at his friend at the moment, so he kept his gaze out the window. The question brought up memories he would like to forget.

"You might be familiar with the name Uchiha from before you started working for me, since it was known far and wide a couple of years ago. We were rich and had great political power. But one day my cousin, Obito, had been playing with his friends in the village. That stupid boy… He actually believed in all those tales and lectures about treating everyone as equals! His friends were poor, and they had rats living in their shack of a house. Obito returned to our castle coughing, and soon more and more of us were sick too. After a few days, me and my brother were the only ones who could stand on our own. All the others had boils all over their bodies, they coughed constantly and... When our parents finely died, my brother fled. I was left alone to take care of their bodies, and through some miracle I didn't get the disease. But I still had to take care of myself, and right after I had buried my dead relatives in the woods behind our castle, I realized that almost all of our gold and money were gone. My brother had taken it all when he fled."

Kabuto sat quiet for a while after he had heard the story, and his smile quickly perished. He knew that the Uchiha nearly got wiped out because of the plague, but he had never heard the details. That Sasuke had to burry his own family... Kabuto couldn't even understand how it would feel like.

"I'm sorry for bringing the subject up. I didn't mean too."

"It's okay..." he answered dreamy. He was relieved that he got that part of his history out of the way between him and his butler, but he had preferred if it had never come up. He tried to relax for a bit, but the air had gone heavy and it felt bad to breathe. He snuck a peek at Kabuto, but he didn't seem to be bothered by the air at all. Maybe it wasn't the air… Maybe it was an omen that something bad was going to happen.

'Le Petit Amies!' he thought. 'They are most surly going to strike tonight!' Sasuke suddenly became nervous, and it felt as if the seat began to burn underneath him. He just couldn't sit still where he was. His treasures would probably be gone when he returned to the castle, and all the work he had done to make the Uchiha great once again would be for nothing! The year had fifty-two weekends, and he had hoped that they wouldn't decide to pick this one. If so only one of his precious items would be gone, he didn't know what he would do when he got back…

Kabuto still seemed to be totally unaware of Sasuke's condition. He looked at the swaying green fields they were passing by with a look in his eyes that Sasuke couldn't place. Was it treason that was on his mind? The possibility was small, but it still existed. Maybe his faithful friend would finely turn his back on him, just to steal everything he had?

As Sasuke leaned slightly foreword to get a closer inspection on the possible traitor, Kabuto suddenly snapped out of his dreamy state and turned his gaze upon Sasuke.

A moment of silence, followed by a sudden lounge. Sasuke dragged his feet up on the seat to protect himself, when Kabuto flew across the floor of the wagon and landed on him. Sasuke didn't have time to react, and froze when he saw Kabuto's fist accelerating towards his head. A loud crash sounded through the small space when his hand hit. Sasuke sat silent, chocked and confused by the sudden and violent event. He waited for the pain to be felt anywhere on his body, but it never came.

The wagon slowed in, Kabuto got down from Sasuke's lap and sat down on his seat again. He raised his hand to show its content: A crushed wasp.

"How are you, my liege? Did you get hurt?" he said while he picked the bug from his hand and threw it out the window.

Sasuke couldn't do anything more then nod, still under a state of chock.

"Are you gentlemen alright down there?" the driver shouted from the roof.

"Just a wasp. You can keep them horse going" Kabuto called back without a trace of feeling troubled.

Sasuke swallowed hard and put his hand on his chest. His heart was throbbing, and he had been holding his breath since the moment Kabuto stopped looking out the window.

'Silly me!' he thought. 'How could I ever suspect my best friend of something as horrible as treason? Maybe I'm getting paranoid...'

He returned to his original position, but the long dull day had been taking its toll on him, and he's eyes struggled to get shut, even if he wished to stay awake. Before he knew it, he was laying on the leather-seat with a peaceful face on him.

Kabuto glanced at him with bored eyes. The wait was tormenting him, and he didn't know how much longer he would last. All he could think of was Jiraya's castle, and what awaited them there...

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Sakura walked around the corridors with a heavy heart in her chest and her long, wine-red Victorian dress dragging up dirt from the floor. Kiba had not been seen since last night, and another guard had been assigned to his patrol-route. She feared the worse, but hoped for the best in the situation. Even so, it looked dark for her heroic dream-man.

Further ahead she heard a group of men talking wildly, and she could tell that they were plotting to do bad deeds. They tried to keep their voices low, but the hard walls amplified their chatter, and Sakura could almost hear what was said from far away. She pushed herself up against the wall, and crept closer to them. She stopped where the light from their torches didn't reach and she remained in the shadows. Did they say anything about Kiba? She could just barely see them from around the corner she stood behind, but it was enough to recognise most of them. They were all Sasuke's guards, with their navy-blue uniforms on and swords in their belts. The steel reflected the warm light from the torches, and spread it all over the corridor.

"… since he is gone. And neither will his curious four-eyed butler! Who knows how many more chances we will get?" said a rather fat one, with excitement in his voice.

"Yeah!" a sleazy guard continued. "And he doesn't really care about those bottles! All he ever looks at is them items of gold, with sparkly gems attached everywhere!"

The guards went quiet for a moment. The two guards that had spoken were trying to convince something to a third person, but she couldn't see whom or figure out what they were talking about. She leaned more to the side to get a better look, but luck was against her. The fat guard had his eyes her way, and saw her long, bright-pink hair in the dark shades. He alarmed the others, and they got ready to make a run for it. She understood what they were thinking, that they better get away before she could identify them all, so she revealed herself and called all their names. If she knew who they were, what good would running be?

"Chouza! Amachi! Ki…!" she stopped before she could finish the last name. Her heart went heavy and a rush of disappointment went through her body when she saw his face, not too many yards away from her. He was walking with crutches, and had a big bandage over his left arm. Whatever they were plotting, she wasn't glad to see that Kiba was in on it.

"Kiba…" she cried quietly. The guards all stopped and starred at her, waiting for her to continue. Sakura then quickly changed her attitude.

"What were you talking about? I can have you executed if you plan to turn your backs against the Uchiha!" she said, trying to sound superior, though she felt as if they could kill her with a mare thought.

Kiba turned towards her. Sakura quickly looked down on the floor in embarrassment and guilt, since she could not help but to feel a little responsible for his condition. Slowly her gaze wandered up Kiba's legs, past the crutches and his broken arm, and she finely met his eyes. She struggled not to look away, since she felt bad just thinking about what she had done. It was her fault for making Sasuke so mad the last night. She just wanted to kill herself…

Kiba took a deep breath and pushed his chest out, so he would look more serious when he spoke.

"We were thinking about making our way into the wine-cellar, and have a small private party. There are rumours about Sasuke keeping well over hundreds of bottles down there, and we thought he wouldn't notice if a dozen of them were gone. As the captain of this group, I take full responsibility for our thoughts, and I'm ready to receive punishment" he said formally and got down on his knee with a down-bent head, just to show respect. Sakura got surprised by his actions. Barely anyone treated her that way!

Amachi and Chouza tried to make them selves look small, and kept quiet as they leaned towards the walls. Sakura glared at them. How could they just let some younger person take the responsibility of their group, without even attempting to care? She began to hate the guards too.

She looked back at Kiba, and realized he would do anything she would tell him to do now. He was under her control. But what could she do to make him grant her the wishes she had? She smiled as she just came up with an idea.

"If you were planning to drink from our wine-cellar, then you must… also take me with you."

Kiba got confused. It was not the order he was waiting for, but he could not complain. It was just to follow orders.

"As you wish…- Amachi, Chouza! Let's get going!"

Chouza and Amachi laughed of relive, and ran up to join Kiba and Sakura on their way down the stairs to the cellar.

Sakura had just been there once before, but nothing had changed since. Webs were hanging from the roof, a thick layer of dust made the etiquettes on the bottles hard to read and the shelves were as old as before.

Amachi and Chouza hurried to a big old shelf in a corner, and pulled out a pair of bottles with red, purple and clear content. They didn't care to read the year on them, they were just glad they could get such fine wine.

"Kiba! Got a cork-screw?" Amachi asked with a grin.

As soon as a cork-screw was found, the liquor flowed into their glasses, and it didn't take long until Sakura felt dizzy. She tried to glance at Kiba without him noticing, but her state made her slow. He looked her into her eyes, gave her a big smile and leaned closer to her… Her heart was pounding, and it felt as if it could do back-flips as he wrapped her arms around her. His warmth made her feel so safe, so secure and so sleepy… The moment his hands touched her, she felt as if she were flying, and she wished for the moment to last just a second longer. She buried her face in his chest and felt his scent. He smelled a lot like sweat, but somehow she found it even more intoxicating then the wine she just had. She was safe in his arms, and she would let him do anything with her.

He carefully and slowly walked up the stairs with her in his embrace, and it reminded her of being on the sea. Kiba was her boat, swaying up and down in the waves, and if she fell out of his arms she would drown in the water. She pressed her head harder against his muscular chest, and listened to his heart beat. It was so relaxing...

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Sakura woke up with a mild headache and a bitter taste in her mouth. At least she still had that warm fuzzy feeling in her that she got after her first bottle of wine.

She realized quickly enough that she was not in her room, or the cellar, and Kiba was not around. Obviously, her plan to get Kiba drunk and take him to her room failed and she was the one who got drunk instead. She was so embarrassed.

She looked around, and her eyes caught a blond pony-tail in the other end of the room. Sakura tried to get up, but right as her dress slid off the cover of the bed with a small sound, Ino quickly turned around, holding a pearl-white dress in her hands.

"Oh… Did I scare you Ino?"

Ino hurried to find a place to hide the dress she was holding, but it was no use. Sakura had already seen it.

"No, I was just… sewing" Ino explained.

Sakura stumbled halfway across the room to get a better look at what Ino was holding, and she asked what it was.

"It's… well, I made it as a present to you actually. It's not done yet, but I'll try to finish it as quickly as possible!"

Sakura walked on insecure feet the last half of the room, so she could get a really good look on the dress. She inspected the form of it, felt the fabric and tried to image herself in it. It was the most beautiful dress she had ever seen!

"C-can I try it on?" she whispered.

Ino widened her eyes in surprise, and shot her a great smile as an answer. Sakura was handed the dress, quickly got into a dressing-booth and threw the clothes she wore on the floor. After a short minute she stepped out, with the most beautiful white dress ever seen in the castle. It was made from several smaller pieces of silk, all carefully put together to form a pattern all around the body. Ino was stunned by Sakura's beauty, and couldn't say anything at all. When Sakura looked at her with a questioning and curious smile, Ino just shrieked and gave her a big hug.

"I didn't know you would look this beautiful in it. You look absolutely gorgeous!"

Sakura giggled of gratitude, and spun around a few laps as she got closer to the window-board. She faced Ino directly while she got her arms wrapped around herself, and said:

"It's so… wonderful I don't know what to say!"

She came to think about the saying she thought of the last night, after she had tried to speak with Sasuke. 'A tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye,' and she decided that she would live more after it. As a rule almost!

"Ino… I want us to treat one and other the same way. Always! If you great me, I'll great you. If I hit you, you'll hit me. If you give me a dress like this one, I'll give you one too! Do you understand?"

Sakura bended over the window-board to gaze upon the view, and while she enjoyed the green landscape, she didn't notice Ino giggling behind her back.

"I want us to be as equals. Whenever you do something to me, I'll do it to you. And when I do something to you, I expect you to do it to me too!" she said, still unaware of the laughing behind her back. Ino just merely managed to talk, with her eyes on Sakura.

"So… You want me… to show… my butt to you?"

Ino couldn't hold herself anymore. She held her sides hard and laughed as an idiot. First then did Sakura turn around to look at her friend, who could barely stand on her feet.

"What? What is so funny?" she asked confused. But now when she had her back against the window, she felt a breeze on her behind. She finely understood.

Ino kept laughing, and it didn't seem to have an end. Sakura was not pleased with being the laughing-stock, and figured out a way to make her stop, and maybe get even.

"Yes, I do" she said seriously. Ino's laughter quickly faded away, and suddenly she went absolutely quiet. Her lower lip was shaking a bit, and her eyes were blanc as lakes. She thought for a minute, and since she was Sakura's subordinate, she could do nothing but to follow orders.

Slowly she bent down to the floor, grabbing the end of her dress. She straightened her back without a sound, and the air suddenly got really tense in the room. She pulled her arms higher up, revealing her legs, thighs, white Victorian underpants… She kept the dress up with her elbows while she untied the undergarments and let it fall to the floor. She then turned around, so Sakura could see what she wanted to see.

Sakura had a straight face as she walked closer to Ino. When she was just about two steps away from her, Sakura suddenly began laughing, just as Ino had done earlier. Ino was now the confused one, but she soon got the hang of it and joined the fun. She let her dress fall down, but her underpants remained at her feet.

She gave Sakura a small friendly push on the arm as they laughed. Sakura responded the push, and pushed back, causing Ino to tangle her legs in her underpants and fall to the floor. There she rolled around, still laughing as her dress had flown up on her belly again. Sakura then heard footsteps in the corridor outside and tried to tell Ino to pull her dress down and her underpants up, but she was laughing too much to move. Sakura fell down on her knees to do it for her, but her arms folded underneath her causing her to fall down on the floor too, so she was lying next to Ino. As the footsteps got closer to them, Sakura managed to get a hold on herself, and put one hand over Ino's mouth and the other one somewhere on the floor for support.

The heavy steps moved past the wall with a rustling of armour, telling them it was a guard. He moved past the door, coughed, and then slowly faded away as he kept walking. The two girls looked at the door as the guard passed it with fear, but also with excitement.

When the steps had disappeared completely they looked each other in the eyes. Ino looked first in Sakura's innocent eyes, then down to where her other hand was. Sakura looked too, but didn't see it since it was hidden behind Ino's leg.

Sakura's heart started beating again. Not like when Kiba carried her in his arms, this beating was harder, and she felt even more intoxicated. A sudden impulse came over her.

She rolled over, and stood on her knees and arms over Ino with eyes connected.

"You must trust me, I have my reasons for doing this!" she whispered as she slowly lowered herself closer to Ino's body. She could feel Ino's breath blowing at her open mouth as she stretched her lips out and closed her eyes. Ino laid still as her lips was pressed against Sakura's, and her tongue was seeking its way in.