Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
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Author's Note: Hope I've made things a little clearer here. I know the circumstances surrounding Sakura's transition into Snake Eyes' service are still a little vague right now, but I promise it will be explained.
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Chapter 2: Vigilant
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"Who would have thought that rough, boorish woman would ever get a man?"
"You just know she has him on a tight leash. I can't imagine any man telling her to serve him wine!"
A chorus of giggles could be heard over the clanging of dishes and vigorous scrubbing.
"She won't have to, you know. She's Kazekage-sama's sister. That's practically a free pass to act however you want."
"And those fingernails! How can a man enjoy a woman with hands like that?"
"Kunoichi are just not meant to marry. They should get that through their thick skulls." All three girls hummed in agreement, but one laughed aloud and looped an arm around the brown-eyed girl next to her. The gesture reminded Sakura of Ino.
"That sounds like jealousy, Hana! Could it be that you have a crush on Temari's new squeeze?"
The other girl blushed. "Shut up, before Akako-san overhears us!"
"It's already too late for that, Hana. The whole kitchen can hear you."
The three girls cringed noticeably as they turned to face the matronly woman towering behind them. The large woman's clothing resembled the long, flowing garments they all wore; there was just a lot more material and a lot less tan, weathered skin showing. In order to fit in with the denizens of Sand, Sakura had been forced to tint her entire body with a skin pigment that Kabuto had concocted. It made her pink hair stand out in stark contrast but none of it would be visible under the many layers of veils she had wrapping around her face and head.
"This isn't a gossip party, girls. The guests will be arriving in half an hour. Get to work!"
The girls scattered like cockroaches at that barked command. From what Sakura knew about formal proceedings in Suna, meticulousness and orderliness were crucial, and servants attending any official gathering had to be flawless in appearance and behavior. Still, their need for order and ceremony could be their downfall. When Sakura arrived in the kitchens, before anyone had even questioned her presence there, a serving uniform was thrust into her arms and Akako bellowed at her to don it and appear with the rest of the girls in a mere five minutes. Sakura wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. The less she had to divulge of her cover story, the safer she would be.
Akako had given her orders to set the serving trays with traditional stone tumblers of Sand's best wine and she was doing that with forced gusto to avoid the domineering woman's criticism. A few years ago, Sakura had tried this wine, sitting between Kankuro and Konoha's Number One Hyper-Active Knucklehead Ninja, Naruto. She smiled to herself as she remembered his antics on that warm desert evening.
"AHHHH Sakura-chan! Take it easy! That's not water…"
"Idiot! You think I've never had wine before?" She held up a disapproving finger at Naruto as she downed the rest of the tumbler. The Kazekage's brother, Kankuro, chuckled beside her.
"Lady, you may be a poison specialist," the puppet master drawled into her ear, "but you've got no idea what you're getting yourself into with that wine there,"
"Oh, please! You boys and your caveman inclinations. Women can drink just as well as men can. My Shishou can personally put away a few bottles of sake and still hit a fly from the air with a kunai if she wanted to!" To punctuate her statement, she reached for the decanter of wine for a refill.
"It's got nothing to do with—"
"Spare me, Kankuro. I'll be fine! I barely even…feel…it....*hic*…." With a vengeance, the room tilted on its axis dramatically. Sakura hastily braced her weight on her forearms, trying to blink away the sudden effects that had somehow snuck up on her. "What the heck…is in this?"
"The stuff that hangovers are made of," Kankuro said as he promptly removed the decanter of wine from her side of the table.
"This is terrible! Sakura-chan's drunk!" Naruto lamented miserably on her left, but she felt his arm across her shoulders, holding her up in case her uncooperative body decided to take a plunge into the table face.
"Just hush, Naruto-kun," she murmured and patted the blonde boy on the cheek for good measure. He looked a bit flushed though. "Have you been drinking the wine, too?" Naruto shook his head furiously but looked away quickly.
"Maybe you should get her to bed, Naruto-kun," Kankuro said with a sly smile, pouring himself some more wine.
"Maybe…maybe you're right. Come on, Sakura-chan." She felt the arm around her lifting her.
She turned in his arms, her hands framing the warm face etched with lines that resembled whiskers. "Naruto-kun is taking me to bed?" she asked with half-lidded eyes.
The boy's blush just got more pronounced as he sputtered, trying to respond.
"Goodnight, you two," Kankuro called after them, toasting them with his stone tumbler.
"Alright, girls! Get your trays ready and line up at the door!" Sakura nearly spilled the wine she was pouring. The commotion around her had reached a crescendo without her noticing. The guests had arrived.
She joined the scantily-clad women all dressed in white, balancing her tray of wine with a steady hand. In her opinion, the gauzy veils that hid their faces from view seemed pointless when paired with the clothing they were forced to wear. The skintight strip of cloth hugging their breasts and the low-slung pants flaring from their hips ruined any overture of modesty. Sakura wasn't about to put up a fuss though. Her state of undress only helped her cause.
Akako appeared at the front of the line with the air of an ANBU commander, stalking past them all and inspecting each girl with intense scrutiny. One girl's hair wasn't tucked into her veil properly. Another's hand was shaking under the weight of her tray and tumblers were swiftly removed to ease the strain. Akako passed by Sakura with a nod.
"Open the doors!" Akako yelled out in a voice that would shame Sakura's former Shishou. One of the guards manning the doors had been similarly inspecting the girls, but Sakura was sure that lust was not at the forefront of his mind. She recognized Suna's version of an ANBU tattoo on his right wrist. He'd been scanning the small crowd for secret jitsu.
The man next to him had a more relaxed air about him. After the doors were opened, he winked at a girl two spots ahead of Sakura in line. When Sakura passed by him, he winked at her too. She just barely refrained from rolling her eyes and settled for demurely lowering them instead.
They emerged into a room already full of people. This was not a gathering just for Sand elites and dignitaries. She recognized the faces of several heads of state from Water country, Earth country and Grass country. So far, the Kazekage and his entourage had not made an appearance yet, but they were due to arrive soon.
Serving was embarrassingly easy. She had gained much poise in her shinobi training. As a kunoichi, she specialized in the delicate role of a woman in society, which really meant that she could pour wine like she'd been doing it all of her life and bow low with her tray in hand, without spilling a drop. These things she could handle.
She made her way around the crowded room as quickly as she could without seeming unapproachable, searching the faces of every guest she served. People lounged on sofas, dined at tables set with an assortment of Sand Country delicacies, and stood in tight circles as they used the cover of the large gathering to discuss matters of state. They numbered at least three hundred bodies at Sakura's best guest.
Because most countries tended to stick with their own, she had no trouble locating her target amongst his fellow Grass councilman. Kabuto had given her a detailed description of the man, right down to his boisterous laugh and tendency to pinch girls' bottoms, both of which singled him out in Sakura's presence this very moment. A young serving girl was currently trapped in Makanishi's clutches, her tray teetering precariously as she tried to pull free of his restraining arm. Behind him, a small company of Grass shinobi stood at attention, watching the scene with a mild eye. Sakura glanced at the surrounding crowd as the man's laughter filled the tiny corner of the room. No one besides the shinobi was even turned in his direction, though she did get the general sense of distaste radiating from most of the Grass countrymen. Makanishi's behavior was an embarrassment to them, she was sure of it, but his high ranking status kept any of them from voicing it.
Her attention was abruptly pulled away from the scene when the large doors at the fore of the room slowly creaked open with the aid of several Sand shinobi. The chatter in the room died down as a ceremonial drum pounded out a measured rhythm somewhere nearby. Not wanting to lose her proximity to her target, Sakura shifted until she was able to see the entrance directly between the collective heads blocking the way.
It had been years since she'd seen Gaara of the Sand, now Kazekage, though she had never had much of a friendship with him. Though his usual detachment was a far cry from the homicidal demon retainer she had known in her youth, she had never felt completely comfortable around him, even after she'd had a key role in his rescue so many years ago.
"Announcing, Gaara-sama, Kazekage of the Hidden Sand!" The herald paused as he took another huge breath. "Kankuro-sama, Minister of Defense in Hidden Sand! Temari-sama, Minister of Foreign Policy and Diplomacy in Hidden Sand!"
Sakura lowered her eyes. She knew it was unlikely that any of them would ever recognize her disguised as she was, but she couldn't help being overly cautious.
"Naruto, Shinobi of Hidden Leaf and honored guest of the Kazekage! Shikamaru, Minister of Diplomacy in Hidden Leaf and betrothed of Temari-sama of Hidden Sand!"
Her head snapped upwards and the tray wobbled dangerously. Her luck couldn't be this bad. It just couldn't be.
Between the heads, she spotted them. The wild mass of blond hair. A flash of garish orange material as the group moved through the crowd. The high ponytail of a male from the Nara clan. They were headed for the Kazekage's table near the open balcony. Her biggest fear had been that someone in Suna would recognize her, but this had upped the stakes considerably. Any shinobi worthy of Konoha would recognize the Hokage's former protégé if she was exposed, and there was no doubt her life would be forfeit if she managed to be captured. By Suna or Konoha, it mattered little.
But…Naruto… No. She knew that even under pain of death, Naruto would fight for her. He would protect her with a new found vengeance if he discovered her and she could not let that happen. She would never put him in that position.
"Excuse me, young miss." A hand on her free arm surprised a gasp from her and there was a moment where she was sure the tray would go flying again. The man beside her was quick to slip a hand beneath hers. His speed startled her almost more than the potential calamity. Together, they were able to balance the tray without spilling too much wine. He let out a relieved sigh as he smoothed his ink-black hair slick against his head. He was a man of average height with neat looking round-rimmed glasses and the dark attire of a Grass civilian. He smiled at her, but Sakura was immediately suspicious of him. "Miss, there is a gentlemen in need of your services. If you would follow me?" The hand on her bare elbow dared her to refuse.
"Of course, milord. Lead the way." She knew to say anything otherwise would draw more attention. She would have to focus on the part she needed to play and wrap it up as quickly as possible to avoid detection from anyone at the Kazekage's table.
The man ushered her to the corner of the room where the Grass countryman had taken up occupancy. Most of the other men were still watching the procession of the Kazekage's entourage. Most, but not the man whom her dark-haired escort led her to, or his shinobi guard.
"Ah, here she is. Good work, Toshi." None other than Makanishi sat before her, his eyes twinkling and definitely not settled on her face. She'd thought her luck had run out, but it seemed that someone in Heaven was looking out for her after all.
The man, Toshi, gave a deep bow to his liegeman. With the briefest of nods to Sakura, he turned away and joined the conversation of several men to his immediate left. It was the best introduction she could hope for to her target. "Milord, what can I do for you this evening?" She made her voice low and inviting. She didn't have much practice with this kind of intrigue, but it was easy to recall the tone of voice she used when she was alone with Kabuto. Her experience with the arrogant medical-nin was her only guide in this mission.
"Ahaha, that is the question of the evening, isn't? What can a beautiful young woman do for any man? Come closer and I'll tell you."
Any woman with a sense of self-preservation would know better than to ever be lured in by those words. Sakura wasn't any woman though. She moved closer, glancing apologetically at the watchful men behind him, and leaned her ear down towards his mouth. He smelled heavily of Suna's wine.
The things he whispered to Sakura were utterly dirty. Much more graphic than she had ever heard from Kabuto in the heat of the moment. She didn't have to fake the blush that bloomed on her cheeks or her uncomfortable shift. This man was definitely a sexual deviant. She had been under the impression that he was more like the Toad Hermit, Jiraya, but Makanishi made Jiraya look like a celibate monk in comparison.
The pervert in question laid slightly damp hands on the exposed skin of Sakura's waist, squeezing, and Sakura had never missed the weight of a kunai in her hand as much as she did then. It was maddening, even, to feel the hidden, flesh-warmed metal of one pressing against her inner thigh as Makanishi's beefy arms pulled her closer. She could do away with this man's life in literally one beat of Suna's ceremonial drum if she chose. Of course, she couldn't, not yet.
"A jittery little thing, aren't you?" Sakura fought to relax against him. Her body's natural fight-or-flight instinct might give her away if she wasn't careful. Still, what had he expected her reaction to be when he said something like that?
"I'm sorry, milord. I just didn't know people said these things outside of the bedroom," she said demurely, biting her lip with her eyes cast downwards.
She heard the low male chuckle before she felt a knuckle nudge at her linen-swathed chin, prompting her green eyes to meet the wide set russet gaze of Makanishi. He thought he had her now, and he was right, but he didn't suspect the deception was on her side.
"You're certainly right, my dear. Let's correct that, shall we?" Makanishi stood quickly and removed the tray balancing on her hand. He set it haphazardly on a nearby table and it would have fallen, if not for the quick reflexes of one of the Grass shinobi. Sakura murmured an apology, but Makanishi grabbed her now empty hand and pulled her forward, stopping only to whisper in Toshi's ear before he began leading her through the crowded room toward the exit.
Sakura couldn't help it. As they passed near the raised platform of the Kazekage's table, she chanced a glance at the group assembled there. The fan-wielding kunoichi Temari and the ever-passive Shikamaru were sitting side by side, their faces clearly pretending that it wasn't a big deal. Though, the way they were turned towards each other, hands interlaced, suggested otherwise. Beside them, Gaara of the Sand sipped at something quietly, ignoring his brother Kankuro as the bigger man gestured wildly as he spoke. Sakura remembered Kankuro's propensity for dirty jokes and she could imagine that he still hadn't given up his goal of getting a smile out of the Kazekage. Next to him…Sakura's eyes widened.
What had once been a boy more vibrant and earnest than anyone she'd ever known, was now just another jaded, bored gaze, staring out at the crowd with lifeless blue eyes. His hair was longer, but everything else about him was the same; the orange and black jacket opened at the neck to reveal his black mesh shirt and the glint of Tsunade's pendant. His face had the same familiar whisker-like markings and the Konoha headband still graced his forehead like the badge of honor it was. But his mouth was set in a hard line she had never seen before. Not even after his first real fight with Sasuke, when the other boy had left Naruto unconscious and bleeding to become a missing-nin, had she seen anything like the expression he had on his face now.
A tug on her arm unbalanced her, and she realized then that she had stopped walking to stare at her former teammate. Ahead of her, Makanishi was looking back with curiosity and a hint of impatience. She blinked, remembering herself, and started forward once more.
As she was pulled completely past the table, she turned her head for one last fleeting look…and caught Naruto's gaze purely on accident. Their eyes connected for only a few seconds before a head blocked her view, but in that short time period she saw a spark of something in the blond shinobi's eyes. Something not dead and lifeless. Maybe he was just comparing the color of a passing servant girl's eyes to that of his dead, beloved teammate. Maybe he was slightly offended by the way Makanishi was yanking her behind him, the lecherous man's intentions clear to anyone who saw them.
Or maybe he recognized her somehow underneath her disguise.
Whatever the reason, Sakura looked away as quickly as she could. They were almost to the doors and Makanishi seemed as eager as she was to be rid of their audience. She spotted Akako talking to the guards stationed at the exit, but the woman barely acknowledged her as they passed. Apparently, a man like Makanishi escorting a servant to his private chambers was common enough.
The hallways were cooler than the people-packed room they left. Sakura allowed Makanishi to guide her but she knew the guest wing of the Kazekage's palace fairly well. Surreptitiously though, she looked behind them. A single Grass shinobi followed them, hanging back far enough to give them the illusion of privacy. It was just as Kabuto had told her.
There were a great many guest rooms here, but only the most important dignitaries were allowed to stay in the palace. Makanishi's room was at the very end of the wing, a testament to his importance. He produced a key after some muttering and fumbling through the various folds of his clothing. Once he had it clutched between his meaty fingers he opened the door quickly, dragging Sakura inside and practically throwing her into the room before he locked it behind them.
She caught her balance on the back of a silk lounge chair and looked back at him over her shoulder in irritation. His russet eyes glowed at her in the moonlight filtering in. She knew from experience that Suna's nights got very cold but as it was still early evening, the light breeze she felt from the open windows at her back was warm. In spite of that, if she had been a normal woman, the expression on Makanishi's face might have chilled her. It told her in no uncertain terms that she was in very real danger of loosing her virtue, if she still had it, and not in a sweet and tender way.
"Finally," he said with his back to the door and a fierce smile spreading his lips wide. His eyes were already greedily roaming her body. He kept a slow, predatory pace as he moved towards her, and Sakura dug her fingers into the chair behind her. It was time.
She didn't give him the chance to reach her. Rushing forward, it took three separate jabs at the chakra points controlling his nervous system to freeze him where he stood. He gasped softly at the first hit, but seconds after the last, he dropped like a stone into Sakura's waiting arms.
She carefully laid him on the marble floor and took a moment to concentrate. Swiftly, her fingers flew into the handseals she needed, summoning the delicate balance of chakra and life force it took to perform the newly-learned technique. Her hands glowed with infused energy, but it was volatile and unstable. It felt like fire on her skin. She quickly laid her hands on Makanishi before she could lose control of it and felt the energy leaving her fingertips, burrowing deep into his body. It would only last for eleven minutes, but that should be all that she would need.
She slid her hand up one white pant leg and pulled out a tiny glass tube, fitted snugly beside the hidden kunai strapped to her thigh. "Alright, Makanishi," she whispered quietly to the man blinking up at her in shock and perhaps a little pain. "Your days of subjecting women to quite possibly the worst pick-up lines ever, are over." Sakura was confident that the heavy doors of the guest room would muffle most loud noises, but she still paused for a moment to listen for an outside presence. The Grass shinobi would be hovering by the door, listening intently for a struggle of some kind, but Sakura knew from experience that the walls and door of the guest room were practically sound-proof.
Focusing her chakra into a scalpel-sharp point on one finger as Kabuto taught her, Sakura quickly punctured the man's neck and covered the wound opening quickly with the glass tube. Makanishi choked a little, but it would take a very long time for him to bleed out completely from such a tiny wound.
When enough blood filled the tube, she used her finger as a plug and channeled healing chakra into the wound, slowing down the flow of blood and knitting the torn flesh. "Can't have anyone figuring out what I've done," she said to him conspiratorially. "At least not this part."
When he was healed, she wiped her fingers and the rim of the tube on the end of his tunic and tucked the tube back under her pant leg. She then slid out the kunai.
"And now for the finish," she whispered, and centered the kunai on his chest. Kabuto's intelligence had been detailed and thorough. For whatever reason, Makanishi's blood was precious, both to Grass country and to Orochimaru. She wasn't privy as to why, but her mission had been simple: seduce Makanishi, gain a viable sample of blood, end his life, and secure her escape. The escape part would be the difficulty.
Somewhere on Makanishi's person resided a seal, and this seal informed its creator of the Grass dignitary's location at all times and regularly monitored his vital signs. It was more than likely that the shinobi waiting outside the door was the originator of the seal; though her initial attack put Makanishi's body in stasis. Because he had yet to burst into the room in alarm, it looked as though it was working. She was relying on her technique to last long enough for her to vacate the premises. If successfully held, the Grass shinobi would not know of Makanishi's death until she was halfway to the border. But if it didn't…
She inhaled slowly, raising the kunai for its inevitable plunge—and faltered as she heard a commotion outside the door. Even through the sound-proof stone, it was still audible. She listened carefully, trying to decipher what was going on when the door abruptly swung open.
From her position, the firelight from the hallway braziers cast the figure in high relief. She couldn't see his face at first. But then he stepped forward into the graying light of the moon, and his blond hair gleamed silver. Blue eyes pinned her where she knelt over Makanishi, her kunai still raised.
"You…" was all the warning she got before Naruto catapulted forward and grabbed her by the shoulders. The kunai was mashed between them. She was too shocked to move or protest; she felt strangely numb inside, and completely disconnected from the moment. This wasn't happening. Naruto wasn't here, his face feral, his grip bruising, and he wasn't staring at her like he knew exactly who she was. No, this couldn't be real.
"Sakura! Sakura-chan…it's you, isn't it?" His hands released her shoulders only to tear off the swathing of veils and hold her stunned face close for his inspection. "It is…" he breathed. His forehead fell forward to touch hers, his eyes closing. "I didn't believe it, but I had to see. I had to make sure."
His eyes opened then. They shone with intensity as he pulled back just enough to meet her gaze while still cupping her face. "How, Sakura?" His gaze flickered to the man laying on the floor between them. "You came here to kill him, didn't you?"
It was too much for Sakura. She'd remained silent since he had burst into the room, still rocked to her very core by his presence, but now the consequences were starting to rocket to the fore of her mind. He knew she was alive, and now Sasuke's life was in danger. He would seek her out at Orochimaru's hide out. He would prevent her from leaving now. Instinct or desperation—Sakura wasn't sure which—propelled her into sudden motion. She used the arm between them to force Naruto away from her and leapt backwards, holding the kunai defensively.
Naruto stood carefully in response, his hands held up in entreaty, his face pleading. "No, please don't, Sakura. I just want to talk. I don't care what happened, or why, I just want you to—No! Wait, Sakura!"
She was sprinting to the open windows and crouched on the sill before he even finished, poised to jump. Her vision was blurry and she knew she was crying. But she couldn't let him come any closer. Didn't he understand? It was better for him to think her dead than to discover what she had become. For Sasuke.
Her life belonged to Orochimaru now and the crimes she had committed in his name would forever stain her. There was no going back to Konoha, now. Not for her, or for Sasuke.
"Goodbye, Naruto," She said with her back to him, and jumped out the third-story window. Her hair streamed behind her as she fell and she heard her name echo repeatedly behind her, but she would not slow, and she would not think until she was far, far away.
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Naruto streaked forward to climb up onto the window sill, intent on pursuing the pink-haired woman who meant more to him than any dream he had aspired to. He didn't get far as a restraining arm pulled him back and toppled him to the floor. He whirled to face Shikamaru, unaware that his eyes were bleeding red malice. "What are you doing? I have to go after her!"
Behind him, Gaara entered the room, flanked by Temari and Kankuro. The jade-eyed man stared seriously at him. "Who, Naruto?"
"Sakura!" All but the Kazekage gasped in open shock.
"She's alive? Was she the one who…" Shikamaru trailed off, as he took in the Grass councilman who lay unmoving on the floor. "Is he dead?"
Kankuro knelt at the man's side and put two fingers to his neck. "His heart beat is slow. He looks like he's been paralyzed, but he's alive."
"I don't care! We need to go after her now, Shikamaru. If we waste too much time here, we'll lose her."
The Nara genius softened his gaze and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I understand, Naruto. But we don't know her circumstances. She was never declared a missing-nin. Everyone thought she was dead. If we capture her now, we'll have to take her back to Konoha with us to face the Hokage. Is that what you want?"
"We can't just let her go. Something's happened that made her hide. That made her allow us to think that she…" Naruto swiped at his tears. "We can't let her go, Shikamaru."
"Alright then. Let's go after her." Without another word, both men were out of the window in the space of two heartbeats.
"The guard, I wonder, did she take him out too?" Temari was standing by the door, toeing the unconscious Grass shinobi sprawled on the floor.
"Who knows?" Kankuro grumbled. "Gaara, are you okay with all this?" He leveled a grimace at the Kazekage. "She tried to kill one of our guests. Not only is that a transgression against us, but against Grass country as well. As soon as they find out about this, they are going to blow it up, big time."
"I won't interfere with Naruto's actions for the moment," the Kazekage said in response. He was still staring out the window as if he could still see the two Leaf shinobi. "He's…unstable. But we have to inform Grass."
"Fine," Kankuro sighed. "Let's get some of his own men to move him. We don't need another strike against us." The trio gave Makanishi's prone body a wide berth as they left the room, closing the door behind them.
In the far corner of the room, a shadow slid down the wall and settled silently on the floor. As it came forward, it took on the shape of a man, though the light only seemed to reach two, reflecting disks situated on its face. Glasses.
The Grass dignitary, Makanishi, was slowly starting to regain feeling in his limbs, but now he was faced with an urgency to move before the approaching dark figure reached him. He could see the glint of white teeth as it got closer.
"Nggh…n-nngh!" Makanishi tried to call out, but a hand descended onto his mouth, muffling his protests. The cool slick of a blade pressed into his throat and the shadowed figure leaned forward.
"The end," it whispered, and parted the flesh of Makanishi's neck in a spray of blood.
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Please review! :) I'd like to know how I'm doing with this since this is my first Naruto fic.
