I agree, it's been entirely too long for me too. The only explanation I can offer is that this and last semester have been the busiest in my entire education. I've been getting new reviews every month or so -and I very much appreciate the comments therein- so I know I've still got people reading my stories, but I hope I haven't entirely starved off my old fanbase. For those of you still waiting around on me, 'thank you very much' doesn't say enough for your patience.
Now, on to the good news; this chapter is the second-longest I have ever written, reaching 26 pages and over 12,000 words; furthermore, in my opinion it contains some of my best work yet; in short, it's been an excessive wait but I'm confident I've made up for it. As always, hope you enjoy what you read!
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Don't have the time for it. :/
By the way, ten points to Gryffindor for anyone who can spot the pair of semi-hidden cameos I've snuck in here. (I'm assuming you can figure out what book series I was in the middle of before school interrupted me.)
The night was clear; the stars were out in full and competing in brilliance. Nearly translucent smoke from the dying fire made the constellations gleam and twinkle. From a knoll very near their camp, Naruto sat back propped on his hands and stared wistfully up at the sky. From behind came a soft crunch of dirt. Without turning, he posed quietly, "Have you ever thought that the full moon looks like your Byakugan?"
Neji paused and threw a glance at the pale orb overhead. "Perhaps," he admitted, taking the last few steps, "but I suspect they are not Hyuuga eyes you are envisioning."
Something flickered behind the other man's expression, but he merely grunted, "Hm."
The Hyuuga knelt down next to him and shared his silent observation for a moment. "…It is now my shift of the watch," he said eventually. "I've come to relieve you."
Naruto drew a deep breath, and when he blew it out again he turned a grin on his friend. "Thank goodness!" he exclaimed. "I've been bored out of my mind out here -time to catch some sleep." He got up, dusted his coattail, and turned to go.
"Naruto." The blond stopped, barely turned his head. "I feel I must question the wisdom of your vow. You truly will not return to the Village-"
"-Until my kids are safe," the other man finished firmly.
"You realize how long that could take. We may even now be chasing a false lead. Are you prepared to forego your responsibilities as our leader for such an indefinite period?"
"…Let me ask you something, Neji. Your son is about Keidyan's age, right?" He looked up at the sky again. A moment later Neji followed suit. "What if it had been Hizashi kidnapped? Could you bear to sleep in your home knowing he's not there? Could you go about your duties knowing he's out there waiting for you?"
Neji said nothing.
"Even the thought of it," Naruto dropped his eyes to the dirt, "…makes me sick to my stomach. So, that's why. It's not that I'm abandoning the Village. I just want my kids to know their father didn't rest looking for them."
Neji didn't need to see the Hokage's face to know the look of resolve there. He blinked. "I… understand. Yet, in the possibility that we never-"
Leather rasped as Naruto's fists clenched. "We will find them." The words were spoken with absolute finality, daring the Hyuuga to challenge their certainty. But Neji was satisfied; he began to focus on the watch.
Naruto trotted down the hill. He cut close to the fire and nudged another log into the embers with his foot, careful not to disturb Kiba sleeping against Akamaru's curled flank. He paused beside Konohamaru's tent long enough to smirk at the contorted, drooling form inside, before crawling into his own. He shrugged his coat, peeled off his shoes and bracers and lay down on the mat.
Almost before he'd settled the body next to him rolled over, dropped a hand on his chest. He understood the meaning in that simple act and pulled Hinata close. He rolled his head toward her and chuckled grimly. "Couldn't sleep either, huh?" The fearful anxiety pinching her face found echoes in his gut, but he kept a smile in place and stroked her hair. "Hey, don't worry. The kids are fine, I'm sure of it."
She shivered. "Hizumi is probably so scared…"
"Then it's a good thing she's got her own personal knucklehead to watch out for her, just like her mom." He kissed her forehead. "When push comes to shove, Keidyan's pretty tough. He won't let anything happen to them, just you wait and see."
Hinata's expression remained tight, but a light smile graced her lips and she relaxed in his arms a little. They fell into silence, staring out through the crack in the tent flaps together. The warmth of their embrace and the steady pace of her breathing made Naruto's eyelids begin to droop. Just as the world grew fuzzy, he dimly heard his wife's likewise-drowsy voice.
"Hey… Naruto…?"
"Hm?"
"Did… did you ever notice… the full moon… looks like their eyes…"
Sakura stepped out of her tent, took a deep breath of the crisp morning air, and smiled. The sun hadn't yet risen above the trees, but the sky was beginning to glow brighter blue. She began a standard stretch routine, but paused mid-twist when she noticed an appetizing smell.
"'Morning, Sakura!" Choji called cheerfully from a log by the remains of the fire. Akamaru huffed her way, thumped his tail twice, and curled up again.
Kiba, who was hunched over the embers, glanced over his shoulder as she approached and smirked. "You're just in time for breakfast. I promised the first one to Hinata, but the rest will be done in no time." He brandished one of what she now saw were several skewered fish.
Sakura took another deep breath of the smell, smiled and sat down next to Choji. "That sounds wonderful," she said. "It beats the rations I brought, that's for sure."
Choji grimaced in disgust. Kiba wrinkled his nose and exclaimed, "Ugh! You still pack the standard stuff?" He shook his head and turned back to the coals. "Tasteless bread, vitamin pills, and that weird meat-paste stuff? No thanks."
Their hefty friend crossed his arms and nodded conspiratorially. "The Akamichi clan definitely had no say in the creation of our 'survival' rations. We do know our food though; my father told me that paste isn't even meat! It's really-"
"Y'know what Choji? I really don't think I want to know." (Arf!)
Her friends' bickering merely made Sakura smile. She glanced around the camp. Aside from her tent, two others were still up. Off toward the trees she spotted Neji performing morning warm-ups that looked half taijutsu exercises, half ritual-like stretching. At that point her stomach grumbled and she threw another look at the fish. "That smell is torture! I hope we don't have to wait much longer. Where is Hinata, anyway?"
"She went to the stream where Akamaru and I were fishing, to wash up, she said. It's just over the hill a little ways, so she should be -ah, here she is now."
Brushing a hand through her hair, the woman in question came walking over the knoll and paused at the sudden attention of four pairs of eyes. Hesitantly, she approached and performed a small, stiff-looking bow. "G-good morning, S-Sakura. Did you sleep well?"
"I'm a little stiff, but well enough," replied the other woman, rotating a shoulder. "I've missed sleeping outdoors -it seems like ages since I've been out in the field like this."
Hinata nodded and smiled, and absently accepted a fish skewer from Kiba. "Yes, I…" But whatever she was going to say died on her lips when she realized no one else had any food. "K- -Kiba!" she scolded, blushing her mortification. "I t-told you not to w-wait on me!"
But the man under fire rolled his eyes and waved off the fish thrust back at him. "Quit worrying, Hinata, the first batch just finished anyway."
"The girls have excellent timing this morning!" agreed Choji before tearing into the trout Kiba offered him. Sakura gladly accepted another, but when Kiba plucked up the last two on the fire, he frowned and examined a spot on one of them. Shrugging, he put the one back on the fire on that side and tossed the other to his waiting canine friend, who attacked it almost as ravenously as the resident Akamichi.
Meanwhile Hinata, who was trying to regain her composure, frowned curiously at the almost-bare coals. "O-oh… a-are there not enough for Naruto and Konohamaru?"
Kiba chuckled. "There are, but not for a while -I haven't cleaned the rest. You snooze, you lose, after all."
At that moment a horrible noise loud as a bombshell and grating to the ear shattered the quiet of the morning, prompting them to glance back at the standing tents. Even Akamaru paused his meal for a moment of curiosity, though Choji happily kept eating as if it were the most natural sound in the world.
Kiba whistled in amazement. "And they snooze hard, apparently. I think I felt my teeth rattle."
Sakura hissed her vexation and stabbed her skewer into the dirt. "Come on, Hinata, we'd better get them up. I'll take the kid." She crossed to Konohamaru's tent quickly and without another word plucked at a couple threads. The tent collapsed into an untidy mound of fabric -which almost instantly began to jump and thrash.
"Mmf! Fuf goon um?" came the muffled cries within.
Sakura planted her hands on her hips, bent close and spoke fiercely. "This is what you get for trying to peek on me last night!"
Konohamaru's voice grew much louder, and thus slightly more discernable. "WHA-? I w… not-!"
"Yeah, yeah, likely story," growled Sakura, but her tone was harder than the smirk she wore.
Meanwhile Kiba still looked stuck in his stupor. "I can't even tell which of them that was," he said dumbfounded. He glanced at Hinata, who'd only made it a few steps before Sakura's methods startled her. "Has Naruto gotten any better over the years?"
"O-oh y-yes," she stammered quickly. "H-he hardly e-ever snores any more, e-except when he's very t-tired or… stressed."
"And that's what it's like when he does? You poor woman."
Hinata shocked pink. "O-oh no, n-no, i-it's not that bad, r-really! A-and besides, I-I got used to it back on Team 8 when y-" She caught herself, reddened even more and hurried away.
Kiba looked offended. "What, me? I do not snore." When no one responded, he called, "Hey Akamaru, back me up here!" But the canine studiously ignored him, focused on gnawing at his breakfast. Choji chuckled.
"You snore pretty badly, Kiba," Sakura informed him as she resumed her seat. "Didn't take me more than a couple missions with you to figure that out." She shook her head grimly as she seized her fish. "If there's a wife to be pitied, it's Nomi."
"I remember her comparing notes with Tanbe once," chimed in Choji. "Poor girl."
Kiba scowled at the friends who betrayed him. "I don't believe it," he grumped, plucking up the last skewer on the fire. "There is no way I'm worse than the Loudmouthed Knucklehead."
"Is that a fact?" Hinata had just been reaching for the tent flaps but she jerked back in surprise as two of her husband burst out of the tent… and then five, and then ten, and then too many to count. The campsite was a mass of confusion obscured by white coats and blond hair for a handful of seconds, until finally a massive pulse of smoke washed the area clean. When the cloud cleared the little patch of forest looked as though the group of ninja had never stopped there; each of their packs were assembled and placed at their feet, ready to go; a groggy Konohamaru lay in a heap, rescued from his tent but looking rather baffled; the tents themselves had disappeared, packed up and stowed away. Naruto himself stood right in their midst, one arm looped around Hinata. "Let's get moving everyone, the Land of Waves isn't far now." He took a bite of fish. "No time to waste, so eat what you can on the way." He looked right at the wilder ninja and smiled. "'You snooze, you lose,' right Kiba?"
With a jolt, Kiba realized his own fish had vanished from his hand and Choji was now cheerfully putting out the embers. He glanced around and saw everyone double-checking their packs and getting ready between bites (except Konohamaru, who still looked like he was puzzling together the morning's events). Even Neji had returned unnoticed, waiting patiently with a package of dried fruit. His stomach complained loudly, but Kiba wryly returned Naruto's smirk. Akamaru apologetically offered the remains of his fish, but Kiba just chuckled and ruffled his fur. "That's okay boy, you go ahead and finish it."
He stood and slung on his pack. "So, Choji, what did you say was in that ration paste?"
The sun was just beginning to dip from its apex when the trees thinned and the group arrived on the last hilltop overlooking their destination; half a mile away just beyond a small outcrop of land stood one of the most famous architectural accomplishments in the region.
"Same old bridge," murmured the Hokage placidly.
Like a grand gray lane stretching into the sea, the Great Naruto Bridge sprawled out before them. Even from this distance they could spot the banners waving proudly in the wind, welcoming travelers to the Land of Waves. It was a welcome widely received; crowds of people including at least two merchant caravans were bustling to and fro, and there was a nigh-constant stream of traffic on the main road to the west.
Naruto, Kiba and Konohamaru started forward, but Sakura flagged them down. "It's time we discussed subtlety," she said. "I think we should disguise our identities as Leaf shinobi."
Konohamaru balked. "What for?" he demanded.
"As Naruto said, our Village has attracted a lot of attention," Sakura explained patiently. "It's too soon for the other nations to know what happened yet, but we don't want to draw any interest in our mission here, especially from our enemies."
Scowling, Kiba shook his head. "What enemies? The Land of Waves is one of our closest trading partners, remember? This island loves our Village -I'll bet if we go in there and flash the Leaf we'll find out anything they've got on our kidnappers."
"Or we might alert the kidnappers to our presence, allowing them to cover their tracks," observed Neji quietly.
Sakura's lips were pursed as if he'd just narrowly beaten her to the words. She seamlessly got over her surprise and spent the breath else wise. "Exactly. More importantly, we don't want to spread the knowledge that our Hokage is so far from home."
Konohamaru barked a laugh. "Yeah, where the Old Lady has taken up shop. Nobody's forgotten the Sannin yet -the Village will be fine."
The senior medic fixed him with an exasperated gaze. "It's not the Village I'm concerned about," she said icily. "We might a have fierce reputation, but we are not a big group. A Kage away from his Village like this -for an indefinite period of time? …It's not common. The wrong people might find us very tempting." The younger man snorted and opened his mouth, but Sakura cut him off. "-This isn't about proving our power or your masculinity, Konohamaru!" she snapped. "This is about finding the kids, before interference makes it impossible."
He seemed to deflate as these words killed his rebuttal. His eyes flicked between Naruto, whose expression had gone hard and unreadable, and Hinata, who merely looked sick. Someone made a sound like a cough. Neji glanced around the group at the rocks and trees nearby.
The silence lasted one beat more before Choji cleared his throat. "Those are good points, Sakura, and I don't disagree, but if I could offer my thoughts…?" She threw him a curious glance, but motioned for him to continue. He turned and stared Naruto in the face. "Shikamaru figures these kidnappers wanted us to follow them. That probably means they want a ransom-"
"Or a chance to taunt us," muttered Kiba. Akamaru growled menacingly.
Choji nodded. "Either way, given what they've already pulled off, I don't think we're going to find them before they spot us no matter what we do. And I don't think they're likely to tip their hand until they've seen ours." He shrugged. "Of course, they could also be laying a trap for us…"
But Naruto had decided. "We'll compromise," he said suddenly. "Our headbands are our pride as shinobi, and I won't let us hide them. But we don't have to advertise them, either," he added, forestalling Sakura's objection. "We're splitting up. Cross the bridge and enter the city in twos and threes. Blend in to the crowd as much as you can and try not to draw attention to yourself, but keep an eye out for anyone looking at you too closely." He rounded on the tall Hyuuga next to him. "Neji, I want you in the first group. When you get to the city, take a look around and try to find somewhere inconspicuous near the gate where we can meet up." He returned to addressing the group. "I'll go with the second group -yes, I know, Sakura, but I think Akamaru will draw more looks than me, don't you think? Right, so Kiba, you'll come last, and Hinata, you'll be my spotter, with…"
They were already organizing to follow his instructions before Naruto even finished setting them.
Twenty minutes later, Konohamaru set foot on the bridge behind the Boss and Boss-Lady. He glanced around eagerly at the mass of travelers pressed in around them, almost hoping that trouble would be stupid enough to strike at him in present company. He knew it was unlikely, however; Neji and Choji had already crossed a while ago in the midst of some tradesmen without incident or, as near as the others could tell, any second looks. He peered ahead past the closest wagon. The merchant caravan they'd slipped in behind looked normal too, to his disappointment.
"Try to look more natural, Konohamaru," admonished Hinata quietly as she glanced back at him. He jerked and nodded, embarrassed. Konohamaru saw that her Byakugan was active; she seemed to be watching a man behind her head until his gaze moved on before turning back.
Despite the nerves in her tone, Konohamaru had to admire the Boss-Lady's acting. She strolled along as if nothing were amiss, her hands lightly on her husband's arm, bobbing her head as if in animated conversation while quietly warning them of individuals who looked their way or might be otherwise observing them.
Since he could only see the back of Naruto's head, Konohamaru wondered if the Boss had managed to conceal his grimace completely yet; it had been a heated argument, but Sakura had finally convinced him that the distinctive coat of two famous Hokage needed concealment. It was draped like a butler's towel across the arm Hinata held between them.
Despite this, Naruto kept up his end of the façade nearly as well as his wife. He nodded and laughed occasionally, but from this proximity Konohamaru could see a nearly imperceptible hitch in his step, and once or twice his head twitched too sharply following Hinata's marks.
If anyone gave them a closer look it would be obvious they were ninja, and even those were not terribly uncommon, but few seemed to be paying them that much attention. To most they appeared to be just a normal, travelling couple -tourists, maybe, chatting about the sights. And he, Konohamaru, trailing close behind them with Hinata turning to fuss over him now and then, he must look like their… He let himself smirk at the thought for a moment, before reminding himself with a mental shake that he was here to find their real kids.
A shadow swept over him and he realized suddenly that they had passed under the arch at the end. He quickly looked over his shoulder and immediately caught sight of the large plaque boldly declaring the name 'The Great Naruto Bridge'. Feeling his smile widen, Konohamaru leaned forward and whispered, "You know what this means, Boss. You have to tell the bridge story again." He spoke as if there was no debating this simple fact.
The eye that turned on him had a merry glint and a chuckle for company. "Remind me later," the Hokage replied, before leading them into the main street.
Konohamaru glanced around and had to admit he was impressed. In the fifteen years since the bridge had been completed, the town had become …well, it wasn't quite a bustling burg yet, but no one would recognize it as the sleepy little village it had once been. It was easy to see why there were so many carpenters and tradesmen about; the townspeople, apparently enthused with their success, had lined the road almost right up to the bridge with inviting restaurants, homey inns, brightly-colored shops, at least two fashion boutiques, and even a few flashy souvenir stands, nearly all manned at the door by cheerful faces garnering for the travelers' attentions. Much further up the road he saw the boisterous advertising give way to crisp-looking financial buildings and perhaps an office or two, and further yet on a hill beyond a few more streets he could make out some nice mid-sized homes.
Trade and business were strong, but the Land was not quite wealthy yet. Overall, for Konohamaru the place conjured an image like a thing that was months old but looked almost new; paint had begun to lose its shine but not yet to flake or smudge; banners that were still as bright and colorful as the day they were woven had just begun to acquire tiny rips here and there. There were four small ruts in the dirt that no one had had the time to repair, and haphazard-looking scaffolding had been erected on three rooftops nearby -the first of the new market's second floors. The town seemed to be growing at a rate that left its own citizens breathless, but from their expressions they were simply content to be endlessly proud of their own hard work.
The road ahead began to shift off center, and Konohamaru realized the Boss was leading them toward a restaurant that reminded him of Ichiraku but large enough to have a decent spread of tables out in front of the counter. He spotted Neji waiting for them beneath the short entrance flaps, but the Hyuuga glided away as they drew near, returning to a small table he occupied by himself.
They paused when they entered (ostensibly surveying the place) until the Boss-Lady motioned like she'd noticed her cousin for the first time and led them over to him. There were only enough chairs for four, but Naruto stopped him from pulling over a chair from a vacant table. Confused, Konohamaru looked around for the ninja who should have been in the fourth seat and quickly found him at the bar, laughing with the cook over a tall plate of appetizers. Konohamaru threw a look at the other senior shinobi, but none of them seemed to take note of Choji's socializing, so he hesitantly sat down.
The four of them quickly compared notes, confirmed that nobody noticed anything suspicious (Neji had seen a carpenter look away from them quickly on the bridge, but he concluded it was to laugh at the ridiculously pretentious hairdo of the woman ahead of them) and settled down to wait.
Within five minutes Neji nodded toward the bridge and stood. Konohamaru twisted to see Sakura leading a very surly Kiba through the archway behind some surprisingly exotic-looking merchants. A moment later he saw what was making the Inuzuka so sour; an improvised rope leash had been fastened between Akamaru's neck and Kiba's wrist, an appearance that did make the canine seem less ninja hound than exotic pet but must have been mortifying for both partners. Akamaru's head and tail drooped as he padded along. They saw Neji and veered toward him. Kiba was throwing Sakura dirty looks.
"This might be trouble." Hinata spoke so quietly it took Konohamaru a second to register the words. He jerked his eyes up the road where the Boss and Boss-Lady were watching a group of men approach.
They were thugs, blunt and simple. There were eight or nine of them in all, most of them thick, stupid-looking apes who dressed in the remains of their meals, patched together by loose bits of metal that were either tacky decoration or laughable attempts at armor. One had scars and tattoos in such quantity they were indistinguishable, another was missing a shoe and so many teeth it looked like his diet consisted of things nearly as hard as his head. By stark contrast, the three men in the lead were slim and graciously attired, like snakes in fine clothes. Instead of meat cleavers or maces they wore katanas at their sides, and they walked with sneering swaggers that suggested they had some faint trace of skill with their blades and were utterly self-captivated because of it.
Konohamaru tensed, but the men turned their backs to the restaurant and clumped around a small stand he hadn't noticed squeezed in between a ritzy boutique and a large shop with woodcrafts in the window. From what he could see of the stand before the gang eclipsed it, it looked less fortunate than its surroundings, and likely for good reason; the nearly-haggard man behind it recognized this band, and visibly dreaded their approach.
There was a sort of tense silence in the air and Konohamaru knew he wasn't the only one of his group paying close attention. Moments later a trembling voice pierced the noise of the crowd. "P-Please! I will have the full amount in- -in just two or three more days!"
Two sets of laughter went up at this, one a high tittering, the other a saccharine scoff. A third voice cut across the other two, a patronizing drawl that carried the unpleasant sensation of cold syrup poured down the spine. "Oh, I'm certain you could, but the problem is that weekly payments really ought to be paid weekly. If we let you go another two days, why then, you'd have two less days to meet next week's bill. And we can't let that happen now can we? What do you think, Bazba?"
One of the big goons pulled his finger from his nose, guffawed and shook his head gleefully. His bulk shifted enough that Konohamaru could see through to the stand. He caught a glimpse of the ringleader's thin face and cruel smirk before the man turned back to his target. "What about you, Jibi? Shu?" he asked, addressing the other snaky men lounging against the ends of the stand.
The one on the left was twirling a single long lock of shocking pink hair. He giggled. "Quite right, Ruzo, mustn't let him get behind."
His counterpart was toying with a knife between bandaged fingers. He had a thin tracing scar on one cheekbone. "Agreed. We are nothing if not helpful bookkeepers…"
The leader -Ruzo- drew suddenly closer to the merchant, who was looking very small. "And your books are behind, old man."
Konohamaru glanced around. Was no one else seeing this? Next to him, Naruto had gone still and deathly silent, an ominous look on his face. Off to the right, Sakura and Kiba were urgently trying to reach them, but cross-traffic had cut them off.
"B-b-b-but you must understand!" The merchant's voice began to crack with panic. There was a lull in the ambient noise as the nearest clumps of people began to notice the scene. "B-business has been poor! I-if I could only a-attract more attention-!"
Ruzo reeled back and laughed. "Ha! Is that so? Well then-let's attract some attention!" Abandoning all pretense of discretion, he waved his brutes aside and shouted these last words to the public in general. A group of hard-eyed villagers nearby muttered something that sounded like 'shipbuilder' amongst themselves, and two young men took off up the street at a sprint.
"Come one, come all!" Ruzo was taunting loudly. The rest of his band backed him up with a chorus of chuckles. "Come, spend your gold at our old friend's stand! He has dues to pay and no means to pay them." Activity in the area had ceased. Foreigners ranged from curious to uneasy, but the villagers uniformly glared back at him in silence. The greeters of each nearby shop vanished indoors; the cook at the counter behind the Leaf ninja swore under his breath and hurried into his kitchen. When no one spoke a word, Ruzo's face twisted into a mocking sneer. "…No one? Tut, tut, what very un-generous people." He turned back to his victim. "I'm afraid nobody at all seems to believe you're in financial trouble, friend." His hand very pointedly went to his sword hilt. "Perhaps you just need to look the part, ne?"
There was a sudden sharp bang as Naruto shot to his feet so quickly he toppled his chair.
"No!" A breathless Sakura had finally reached them, and whispered frantically, "Naruto, you mustn't get involved in-"
"You can not suggest we ignore this, Sakura."
Sakura hesitated and threw a glance toward the stall, where the man with the bandaged fingers was beginning to trace his blade perilously close to the merchant's own hands. Konohamaru saw a ghost of the same dark expression the Boss wore. "No," she said quietly. "No, of course not." Then she turned a firm look on her old teammate. "But it can't be you. We still have our mission to think of, which means you need to lay low." Naruto clearly didn't like this plan, but he clenched his jaw and said nothing.
"Bunch of stuck-up cowards," snarled Kiba, eying the thugs dangerously. "They strut around in a pack like they're the big dogs when they're just smug little rats. I'll claw those smirks off their faces."
"I'll take a piece of that." Konohamaru jerked; he'd been so intent he hadn't noticed Choji return. The hefty ninja retained his easy expression, though his eyes had narrowed. "The big guys are mine," he said coolly.
Sakura split an exasperated look between them. "Boys, you're not listening! We need to put this down without revealing ourselves as shinobi. And subtlety is not your thing, neither of you."
Konohamaru was just about to offer his own bid to destroy them, but Neji spoke first.
"No," he agreed softly. "Subtlety is the Gentle Fist. If it must be done then Hinata and I can handle it." And that ended the discussion. The restaurant's other patrons had long since filed out to get a closer look; no one was watching their corner table. Neji formed a general hand sign and smoke washed across him. When it cleared he'd been replaced by a sour-looking man with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin dressed in dark robes. Another puff and where Hinata had been appeared a freckled redhead, likewise in dark robes. Konohamaru barely had time to puzzle at the odd choices before they strode out into the street.
Ruzo had been loudly discussing with his cohorts how to best make their victim look more 'needy' -whether they should lop off a finger, gouge out an eye, break his legs, or simply carve chunks out of his stand and merchandise. The crowd had begun to mutter angrily, growing louder with each new idea. The brutes seemed to notice this and fingered their weapons menacingly, keeping the folks in the forefront wary. Finally Ruzo broke off his list and swept slitted eyes across his audience. "People, please," he admonished casually. "We're trying to discuss a way to turn this flea-bitten little stand into a profiting establishment."
"It seems to me that if it is flea-bitten, the best course of action is to get rid of the fleas." Heads turned in surprise at this new voice. Villagers parted to let the greasy-haired stranger through, followed by the redhead.
Ruzo's eyes narrowed. "Care to elaborate on that advice, friend?"
The interloper sighed and drawled, "Oh dear. I'd thought my meaning simple enough that even present company could understand it." He cast a disdainful sneer between Ruzo and the ogre Bazba, the former going red in the face, the latter looking puzzled. "Shall I explain?" he continued. His voice was so quiet and intense it seemed barely more than a whisper, but the crowd caught every word. "You see, fleas are useless little vermin who draw blood away and give nothing in return. Since you appear to draw this man's lifeblood away for nothing but worthless advice and empty threats, in my mind that makes you vermin." His tone was not so much patronizing as coldly analytical.
For a moment there was utter silence as thugs and villagers alike gaped in disbelief. Trembling with anger as though he'd never been so affronted, Ruzo ground out, "Do you even realize what we could do to you, fool?"
The stranger's scornful sneer returned. "Why don't you-"
But by now the ape Bazba finally seemed to realize he'd been insulted. Bellowing a furious roar he charged, leading his brutes behind him.
It was like watching a poorly rehearsed ballet; the greasy-haired man glided along effortlessly as the thugs stumbled and crashed around him, hacking at empty air and tripping over each other's feet. Every once and a while one of them fell and remained prone; Konohamaru could have sworn he glimpsed a thin-lipped smirk of grim enjoyment on the 'stranger's' face.
Meanwhile the two brutes who thought themselves cleverest decided to go after the man's smaller, obviously weaker companion. The redhead twirled around them, shoving each of them in the smalls of their backs and sending them sprawling to the dirt. She spun and advanced on Ruzo, but the man with the bandaged fingers intercepted her. She danced back from his blade, waded back in, darted forward-
-and suddenly, for no apparent cause, she staggered and fell to her knees. Her opponent pounced, raising his sword for a crowning blow with a manic look of glee on his face.
Konohamaru was blinded when something white flew across his field of vision. Half an instant later it vanished, just in time to see Naruto catch the falling blade on a bracer-clad forearm and savagely shove it aside. With a single spinning motion the wrathful ninja swept the thug's legs out from under him and planted an open palm on his chest. Energy swirled briefly and his fall violently accelerated; the resounding impact echoed off the nearby storefronts.
The Hokage scathed the area with a fiercely protective glance: Ruzo and his other cohort had vanished; the last of the ogres hit the ground hard; smoke began to disperse around Neji, having just discarded his now-pointless disguise; everyone else was frozen. Ignoring the stares, Naruto knelt to help his wife, who had likewise released her transformation.
Excited whispers rippled through the crowd. Sakura startled Konohamaru by striding out into the open street, and he hurried to catch up. As they parted the last curtain of bystanders they caught a glimpse of the Uzumakis' quiet discussion; Naruto's lip was skewed like he wasn't convinced he shouldn't be worried, but Hinata was on her feet, flushed but composed.
Konohamaru grinned. "Nice save, Boss."
Naruto flashed him a smirk before reluctantly facing Sakura's level stare. "Sorry, Sakura. Couldn't help myself." He did an admirable job attempting to look apologetic.
The senior medic blew out a long sigh and nodded. "It was going to happen eventually anyway," she conceded. She extended the coat she'd fielded out of the air for him, and he sheepishly took it. "I hope you realize, though, that we've encouraged a folk legend of Leaf ninja coming to the rescue," she continued, nodding her head at the crowd. By now several individuals were making animated gestures at their headbands and conversing eagerly with their neighbors. More than a few threw glances back toward the bridge.
Several cries of 'shipbuilder' sparked an abrupt commotion town-side, where the crowd parted to admit three young men, including the boys that had run off during Ruzo's tirade. The man they had retrieved looked to be about Konohamaru's own age; he had a lean build and heavy calluses -clearly an artisan, but from the reverent expressions he was drawing a highly respected one. He wore a thin twisted headband with a long knot tied over one ear. "All right, what's going on here?" he said officially as he approached.
The Boss issued a low whistle. "Inari? How long has it been?"
The other man jerked in surprise. After half a beat of disbelief, he grinned. "I don't believe it. Naruto!" He threw up his arms and the two embraced, laughing and slapping backs like old friends. The general buzz of the crowd grew louder. Konohamaru understood their sentiment; so this was the other member of the Great Bridge's iconic pair. "It really has been too long," Inari said when they pulled apart, still smiling. "What're you doing here?"
Naruto's expression grew pained. "Here as in the Land of Waves? …It's a long story. Here as in this spot?" The smirk became genuine. "Well, we liked your town so much we figured we'd clean up some trash." He gestured at the litter of unconscious bodies at their feet.
"And you did. Wow. I'd heard that Ruzo's band was up to no good again, but -yup, they're his all right, there's Shu." It was Inari's turn to whistle. "What did you hit him with?"
"Overprotectiveness," interjected Sakura.
Without missing a beat Naruto replied, "Shouldn't have raised a sword to my wife." Hinata reddened but looked ever so slightly pleased. "Inari, my wife Hinata. Hinata, my old friend Inari. Sorry for the crater, by the way."
"Eh, don't worry about the road, it's been needing mending for a while now. We just don't have an excuse to keep putting it off any more." Inari wiped his hands and shook first Hinata's, then Sakura's. "A real pleasure, Hinata. Good to see you again, Sakura." He glanced between Neji, who had been observing quietly, and Konohamaru. "Who else do we have?"
"Actually," Sakura chimed in again, "can we save the introductions for later? We really need to get out of the public eye."
"Oh! Right, of course." He turned to the crowd and raised his voice. "All right everyone, obviously we've got some pretty famous guests -especially for us." A ripple of laughter went up, but Sakura winced at the choice of words. "But that's no reason to neglect the rest of our visitors, so let's pick our friends here up out of the dirt, drop 'em off at Koribu's and get back to the day."
A disjointed cheer met these words as a great detachment of villagers surged forward, gathered up the thugs' weapons and seized their nerveless limbs. Inari rounded on Naruto immediately. "You guys haven't booked an inn yet, have you?"
"Nope, just rolled in."
"Good, you'll be staying with me then."
Konohamaru barely heard this exchange, turning about trying to decide if he should pitch in. In the end it didn't seem necessary; there were already at least four men to each ogre, and another man and woman disdainfully moving Shu between them; in fact, despite the rest of the street returning to normal activity there seemed to be even more people among them than the crowd had offered. A moment later he was sure of it when he identified several not-quite-new uniforms.
"Ah, good. Koribu's Peacekeepers are here, right on tardy," muttered Inari sarcastically when he noticed them. Whether the officers heard him or were just embarrassed to find their work done for them, they all studiously avoided his eyes and led the villagers with their new charges away without a word. Inari shook his head after them. "At least we can count on them for cleanup. I'm glad you were here, Naruto, it would have been annoying to deal with Ruzo until they arrived."
Konohamaru was startled. "You were going to stand up to the whole gang by yourself? You're not shinobi, are you?"
The artisan laughed. "Hardly. Ruzo can talk big, but he's not as clever as he likes to think he is. He keeps putting together these muscle gangs to hide behind, but he never quite realizes how badly he's outnumbered." He made several pointed nods and brief waves, and Konohamaru realized that the greeters for each establishment had reappeared on their doorstops, every one of them armed with some form of weapon: pitchforks, clubs, fishing pikes, a meat cleaver (from the restaurant)… the man from the woodcraft store grinned back at Inari and saluted with a katana of much higher make than the thugs'.
"Good day, Shipbuilder!" he called before returning the blade to his shop.
Konohamaru thought back to the uniformly hard-eyed crowd glaring silently at Ruzo and decided he was suitably impressed. He began to wonder whether they had even needed to intervene at all. When he glanced around again he saw Naruto and Inari addressing the unfortunate merchant at his unfortunate stand.
"…wasn't about to let bandits have their way right in front of me," the Boss was saying.
"Even so, thank you, Master Ninja, thank you," the poor man blubbered. "I make so little already -I don't know what I would have done if Ruzo…" He gulped.
"Yeah, speaking of profits," said Inari, frowning, "what are you still doing on the main road, Gan? Didn't I tell you your wares will sell better at the port?" At this proximity Konohamaru realized the stand was adorned with beautifully hand-crafted fishing lures and nets.
"Y-yes, you did, you did, but I can't afford to put up there -Gapol has raised the rates for shorefront property again…"
Something glinted behind Inari's eyes and turned his frown into a scowl. "He did, did he? Tell you what, Gan, tomorrow morning you set up your stand right next to my office and let me worry about the fees."
At this the older man finally did burst into tears. "Thank you Shipbuilder, thank you!" he sobbed, seizing Inari's hand and pumping it vigorously. "A thousand times! Thank you, thank you, thank you…"
The Boss and Builder bid him farewell and moved off, Konohamaru in tow. "Gan's a family man," Inari explained idly, a catch in his voice. "Must've been heartbreaking to come home with as little as he's been."
Naruto nodded solemnly. "Hm. 'Shipbuilder', huh? And who's this Gapol character?"
"Ah-tut-tut-tut, first I've got someone you need to meet. Let's go to my place - you remember Mom's cooking, don't you? Good, good, we'll have to have a big meal tonight -how many are you?"
Hinata fell into step with her husband as Inari began to lead them off. Konohamaru glanced 'round for the rest of the party. The street had by and large returned to normal, vendors shouting and bodies bustling (though many still glancing their way). He spotted Sakura off to one side exchanging quiet words with Neji, the latter scanning the rooftops with his Byakugan. When he gave the barest shake of his head, she turned back to the restaurant where Kiba gave her a similar sign from their shadowed corner. Sakura grimaced and twitched her head; Kiba nodded and vanished. Through the shade, Konohamaru could see Choji back in his seat at the counter.
They found a warm welcome at Inari's more-than-decent-sized home. Old Tazuna greeted them with hearty laughter and backslaps much in the same vein as his grandson. Inari's mother Tsunami assured Naruto and Sakura how wonderful it was to see them again, and informed all of them they were welcome to stay as long as they liked. Best of all, Inari proudly introduced his own wife Kichita, a petite young woman with an easy, dimpled smile who seemed surprised but thrilled by their visit.
After Naruto had introduced his own party (minus Kiba and Choji, who had not yet arrived) and at Konohamaru's insistence the first order of business was a retelling of the Great Bridge story. The Boss and Inari shared the duty, and turned out to be a dynamic and vivacious pair of storytellers. Given the years that had passed (but more specifically the choice of narrators) some measure of embellishment did creep in -Kichita had never heard the version where Inari boldly faced down the murderous Zabuza alone, for example, and Sakura could have sworn it was Kakashi-sensei that had scared off Gato's cutthroat army, not the mighty loudmouth- but no one really seemed to mind. There was only one tense moment in which Inari had begun to cautiously skirt around Sasuke's part in the story with careful glances at his two friends, but when Sakura mildly corrected him and Naruto seamlessly continued the story the issue was quickly glossed over and forgotten.
The story was just winding down to its finish with Inari valiantly defending children from Gato's henchmen while Naruto single-handedly beat back a Mist Village death squad, and Tsunami was just talking about getting dinner started, when Choji arrived at the door bearing an armload of groceries. Figured their kitchen could use the extra supplies tonight, he explained. Kichita called him a hero and invited Hinata and Sakura to help her and her mother-in-law in the kitchen. It was indeed going to be a big meal.
During the preparation and the meal itself Konohamaru listened intently as Inari described the last several years. They learned that Tazuna's bridge had done exactly as he intended: brought trade and new life into the Land of Waves, and fueled the zeal sparked by the town's stand against Gato. Seeking to continue his grandfather's work, Inari had trained to become a carpenter, but he soon realized that with Gato gone the shipping industry was in abandoned shambles and open before him. So, he became a shipwright instead, and from there things just naturally blossomed into the town's first native import/export business. Sea trade in the years since had become nearly as prosperous as the land-born traffic over the bridge, redoubling the region's economic growth. And though Inari tried modestly to downplay it, clearly the town revered him for it.
"Nowadays you ask anyone around these parts who their biggest heroes are, and they say the Bridgebuilder and the Shipbuilder," laughed Tazuna, ruffling Inari's hair. "The Bridgebuilder dared to dream, and the Shipbuilder dared 'em all to chase it. I tell you what, my grandson has become the spirit of this town, same as his father was."
"My husband isn't the mayor, but he might as well be," agreed Kichita proudly as she and Tsunami brought out the second course.
Inari glanced down bashfully, but Konohamaru could see the grin he was hiding. "Thanks dear, but Mayor Hyo's got a better head for politics and administration than I do, and he's a good friend to boot. The town's in good hands with him." He shook his head and looked up at Naruto and Hinata across the table. "But that's basically how things are in the Land of Waves. How goes it in the Land of Fire? You guys still haven't told me what brings you our way."
It appeared to Konohamaru as if the levity of the evening deflated and sank into the middles of both Uzumaki parents, weighing them down in their seats and drawing tight the strings behind their faces. Even his voice heavy, Naruto explained the events surrounding and following the kidnapping. As he spoke the same sense of sunken spirits spread to claim the room. The rest of the team remained respectfully silent. Tsunami appeared in the kitchen doorway and listened intently, settling a depthless expression of sympathy on Hinata. Kichita sat stone-still, paling hands clasped over her mouth. Both builders leaned forward with the same rapt look of shock.
"…arrived in town this afternoon, which is where you came in," Naruto finished tiredly. When no one spoke for a long moment, he glanced around at all the somber faces and drew himself up confidently. "If they're here, we'll find them. If they're not, we'll pick up their trail and follow them. Shouldn't be more than a week either way. They think they're good, but I know we're better. Believe it."
And just like that, the atmosphere thinned a bit. Choji went back to munching, and Hinata managed a faint smile. No one cared to mention the ugly possibilities, such as false leads. They felt like outside chances.
Tazuna clapped his hands together. "Ho! I believe it. You'll have those kids back in no time, just wait and see!"
"Sounds like I have one week to plan a victory feast," agreed Tsunami with an easy smile before she returned to the kitchen.
But Kichita still looked pensive. "I had no idea… people like that -ninja, even- practically in our own backyard…"
Sakura was quick on the uptake. "If they didn't want to be found no one can expect you to know about them. And I doubt you're in any danger -if they haven't been troubling civilians already I can't imagine they would start now."
Kichita gave one minimal, absent nod, but threw a worried glance at her husband, who looked just as perturbed. "I'm so sorry, Naruto," said Inari. "I… I don't even know what to say."
"Don't worry about it. This sort of thing…" The Boss drew a sigh that Konohamaru couldn't quite describe, that ended in a grim sort of smirk. "This sort of thing happens when you're a shinobi. We'll take care of it."
His friend drew his chair closer. "Still, if there's anything I can do- -I'm well-connected, I could ask around town- -or there's a florist or two who might be familiar with that germ you mentioned-"
Neji's voice abruptly cut in. "There's a man at the door. He's been there approximately three minutes now."
The team snapped to readiness. "Shinobi?" asked Sakura and Konohamaru together.
Neji's Byakugan narrowed. "I did not mention him earlier because it seems unlikely, but he might yet be eavesdropping."
The Boss and the Builder shared a look. "I'll get the door," said Inari.
"I'll back you up," said Naruto.
Both men approached the front door, the ninja poised just short of line-of-sight. Right before Inari's hand reached the handle there finally came the faintest knocking on the far side. Konohamaru thought he could see whoever it was jerk in surprise when the door opened immediately.
"Hari!" boomed Inari's voice jovially. "Good to see you, and good timing too! Come in, come in." The artisan led their visitor to the dining room entrance, right next to the Boss. "Everyone, this is Harimatsu Migorigi, my harbormaster and deputy manager," Inari informed them, beaming. "Hari, this is Naruto Uzumaki and some of his ninja from the Leaf Village!"
It was, in Konohamaru's opinion, such a big-sounding name for such a small man. Not in size, for though he was rather spindly, at his full height Harimatsu was probably taller than anyone but Neji. It took a moment to realize this fact, however, due to his tremendous slouch -huddled, really, as if he were constantly bracing for an attack. Enormous crooked spectacles magnified eyes caught in a permanent wince, making him sharply resemble a timid little mouse.
Granted, when he heard the Boss's name this image was counteracted somewhat; his eyes widened, he stood a little straighter and a genuine smile lit up his face. "The famous Naruto? From the Bridge?" He hastily adjusted his glasses (so they sat crooked the other way) and thrust out his hand. "Wow, it's amazing to finally-!" But suddenly he hitched. He blinked once. Then as quickly as he'd inflated he shrank even further than before. He shot a nervous glance between all of them, flinched at least twice, and mumbled, "I-I mean… it's a ple… pleasure to meet you… um, all." Konohamaru saw his own puzzlement reflected in the Boss, who nonetheless shook Harimatsu's now-stiff hand.
"Come and have a seat, Hari, we're just in the middle of dinner," continued Inari, gesturing toward an open spot.
Hari fidgeted. "Um, n-no, I- -thank you, but, no, that is, I- -I'm just here to, to deliver the, um… the news." He took off his glasses, pulled a cloth from his pocket and became very intent on cleaning the lenses, a habit Konohamaru recognized from Udon when his teammate was extremely uncomfortable.
Inari seemed to pick up on this too, for a trace of uncertainty grew behind his smile. "What is it, Hari? The Pride has come in, hasn't she? I saw her arrive in the harbor."
"O-oh yes, um, no… no problems there -r-right on schedule, safe and, and sound…" Apparently convinced his glasses could be no cleaner, Hari grew still and stared at his feet. "…but her cargo has gone missing."
Tsunami drew in a sharp breath. Inari's smile had dissolved. "…What, all of it?" he asked weakly. "What about the checkpoints? What about the guards we hired?"
The harbormaster fidgeted, took a deep breath and explained all in a rush, "The ship arrived whole and offloaded her entire manifest which the sailors moved directly into the warehouse all under guard as we had planned." He paused and fidgeted again. "…By the time I arrived, the… the warehouse was, was empty."
Inari sat back with the look of a man who'd been slapped and drained of blood. He stared beyond the room's walls as though he scanned the harbor far beyond.
At that moment, because of his perspective Konohamaru barely saw Hari's eyes roll up and focus intently. He traced the line of sight to Kichita, saw something flicker between them- -before both sharply broke eye contact.
Konohamaru frowned, but shoved it to the back of his mind. Sakura and Naruto were pressing questions about security and the unloading process, and Inari, who recovered himself somewhat, began to answer them politely and dismissively. "Look, don't worry about it," he sighed eventually as he put on the same grim smirk. "This sort of thing happens when you're a merchant." He turned to his subordinate. "Hari? Offer still stands -join us for dinner?"
If possible the other man grimaced even further. "Ah, n- …no, I… I better get down to the office and, and crunch the numbers on the… the, uh…" He trailed off helplessly, mumbled a 'good evening' with another nervous glance among them, and departed without another word. Inari went with him to the door, shaking his head wryly when he returned.
Choji arched an eyebrow. "Nervous little fellow, isn't he?"
"He's not exactly the boldest guy around, that's true," agreed Inari, "but he's a good man. He's been my friend since… I s'pose it was a couple days after the Great Bridge was finished that we met." He took his seat again. "To be honest I'm surprised he didn't stay -he's always been a huge fan of yours, Naruto."
"He just hates delivering bad news," said Tazuna. He leveled a pointed look at Inari. "And he's been delivering a lot of it lately." The younger man winced and tried to wave off his grandfather's comment.
Hinata leaned forward. "You mentioned guards and checkpoints," she said. "H-have your ships been robbed before?"
"Every merchant gets held up by pirates once in a while," Inari replied evasively.
"But Inari's ships have developed a disturbing habit of losing cargo," Tazuna sternly interjected again. "He's being targeted."
"Gapol…" Kichita, who'd been sitting quietly withdrawn since the harbormaster's report, suddenly muttered the name as darkly as a curse.
"Kichita," scolded Inari sharply. "You know how I feel about that."
His wife had the look of someone who dearly wanted to argue a point, but she pursed her lips, nodded curtly and left for the kitchen.
"That merchant from this afternoon mentioned Gapol too," observed the Boss. "Who is he?"
Inari's lip curled down on one side. "Gapol is… another merchant, in the shipping business," he answered hesitantly.
"Come on, Inari," said Tazuna gruffly. "Tell them the whole story, or I will."
The younger craftsman blew out a long breath. "…Gapol was my first harbormaster," he said eventually, "and a darn good one too. Things were going well until a disagreement between the two of us made him leave the company and go into business for himself. He's now a competitor in the market."
"Your only competitor," added the older man. Tazuna turned a hard look on the rest of them. "And as for the 'disagreement', Gapol tried to get Inari to raise his prices -for the villagers, his own neighbors!- to absurd levels. When my grandson refused, Gapol accused him of running an illegal monopoly and left him in the dust without so much as a look over his shoulder! That man is as greedy and selfish as they come!"
But Inari fiercely shook his head. "Yes, grandfather, Gapol is ambitious, and yes he is misguided right now. But he is, or at least was, my friend -I have to believe in him more than that!" Konohamaru saw the corners of Naruto's eyes tighten.
"Still," observed Choji from behind his plate, "Tazuna's got a point; it sounds like Gapol definitely has the motive to try and put you out of business."
"Choji," Hinata piped up suddenly, "i-if Inari doesn't want to talk about it, we shouldn't force him to. S-sakura, Tsunami wanted our help with the dumplings." Sakura murmured her agreement. The kunoichi threw surreptitious glances, Hinata at her husband, Sakura at Inari, before they stood and left the room. Both men seemed lost in thought. Choji continued to munch, while Tazuna intently worked one of his chopsticks with a thumbnail. Neji remained quiet, meditative, and almost painfully erect in his corner.
Dinner didn't last much longer after that. Inari set them up with rooms and then departed, mentioning a long walk and some fresh air. Kichita followed him out the door.
Konohamaru had stowed his gear and stepped out into the hallway when Tazuna's voice drifted past his ears. The junior jonin crossed the short distance to the Uzumakis' doorway, where he saw the old carpenter facing the Boss and Boss-Lady sitting on their bed and Sakura leaning against the wall.
"…truth of it is, he's nearly broke," Tazuna was saying. Konohamaru could only see the back of his head, but his tone was grim. "He's putting a brave face on it, but if these predations keep up any longer Inari could lose everything."
"W-why would he try to hide this from us?" asked Hinata.
Sakura pursed her lips. "He doesn't want to distract us from our own mission."
The carpenter's gray head bobbed. "As a friend, Inari could never ask Naruto to call off rescuing his children to deal with what he sees as just a run of terrible luck. But as his grandfather, I'm too concerned about him to leave the question unasked; please, even if it's while you're conducting your own investigation, do whatever you can to help Inari."
Suddenly Konohamaru thought Tazuna's voice sounded all too familiar, and a different Old Man came to mind. He noticed the Boss being unusually quiet, so he spoke up. "Well, why not? We can kill two birds with one stone!" Tazuna jumped and turned toward him, all other eyes in his wake. At Sakura's pursed lips, he continued. "I mean, doesn't it sound to anyone else like these robberies are shinobi work? It's not that big a stretch to guess they might be exactly who we're looking for."
Sakura grimaced. "If they are, that'll probably make them mercenaries or nomads."
"And if they're not our guys they may at least know who's muscling in on their turf." Naruto nodded, smirked. "Good enough for me. Got any leads for us?" he asked, looking up at the builder.
Tazuna managed to hide his relief behind a scowling mask. "Well, Inari won't like it, but there's a reason several of us have started calling Gapol the second Gato. I wouldn't put it past him for a minute."
"Yeah, we gathered as much from dinner," waved the Boss. "Anything else?"
"Hmm… Well, I suppose there's-"
The sound of voices from the entrance hall interrupted his thought -voices, and a familiar-sounding bark. "That'll be Kiba and Akamaru," said Sakura, crossing to the door. Konohamaru moved aside.
They paused to glance at Naruto, but he just put a hand on his Lady's knee, glanced between them all and said, "Go ahead. We'll talk more in the morning."
Tazuna nodded and followed the two ninja from the room. When they arrived at the front door they saw the canine duo being greeted by Choji and Tsunami.
"Naruto said you'd be coming," Tsunami was saying, "so I made sure to keep a…" -her eyes widened and she gave a small giggle- "…'doggy' bag for you."
Kiba barked a laugh. (Akamaru just barked and wagged his tail.) "That's perfect, thanks a lot." The matron smiled, scratched Akamaru's ear and departed for the kitchen.
The carpenter stepped forward and extended a hand. "You must be Kiba Inuzuka then." (Arf!) "And Akamaru," he amended with a grin. "You're a lot bigger than I expected, boy. Name's Tazuna, pleased to meet you."
"Likewise," Kiba replied as he shook. He glanced at Sakura. "Anything new?"
"Sounds like our host is being harried by ninja." She shrugged. "It's as likely a place to start as any, so we're investigating Gapol, the other shipping magnate in town. Other than that, you tell me."
The wild ninja grimaced. "Hate to say it, but I hope we did miss something, because we sure didn't find much."
"Not too surprising," Neji said calmly. Konohamaru started; he hadn't seen the Hyuuga in the corner.
Kiba shot him a surly look. "Love to see you do better," he scoffed.
A faint smile. "We shall see. I shall take over scouting for the night. The two of you should have your meal and rest."
Sakura cleared her throat before Kiba could fire back a quip. "More to the point, you found no sign of any ninja at all?"
"Couple places where you could possibly start a base, but no one home as far as we could smell."
"Then either our pirates aren't shinobi after all, or odds are better they're the evasion-intrusion specialists we're after," nodded Choji thoughtfully.
"My thoughts exactly," Neji said. "Now, if I may have the location of Gapol's office…?"
Once Tazuna had told him, Sakura spoke up. "Remember Neji, this is the preliminary sweep. On the slight chance they don't already know we're here, we'd like to keep it that way as long as possible."
The Hyuuga inclined his head politely- "Of course." -and disappeared.
The group dispersed, Kiba and Akamaru heading for the kitchen with Choji in tow, Konohamaru wandering off and Sakura returning to her room. Only Tazuna was left, puzzling at the empty space. "I know ninja are quick, but how'd he do that indoors…?"
Konohamaru settled down onto his bedroll and tried to calm his nerves and drown out Choji's snoring. He didn't understand why he was so jumpy all of a sudden, especially after the enthusiasm he'd felt all day. He'd been on difficult and dangerous assignments before, and with far less support than the Hokage and five more of the Leaf Twelve.
He chuckled to himself, a soft sound that was swallowed up in the Akamichi's rumble. Who was he kidding? He was the support here, a greenhorn jonin dabbling with players far out of his league. To be honest he was still surprised the Boss had let him come.
Naruto… as his mind drifted next door into the Uzumakis' room, Konohamaru couldn't help but think of the conversation he'd partly overheard through the wall an hour ago. He couldn't tell if they were talking about finding the kids, Inari's troubles, or Hinata's sudden collapse in the street, but though it was a quiet debate it was a heated one. He could only really discern Naruto's voice, and the Boss sounded worried.
The Boss- -Naruto- never sounded worried.
He blew out a long breath and watched the steady rise and fall of his roommate's chest. Choji's face looked content. Neji was still out surveying the town, and if he got up and walked to the room's window he could see where Kiba and Akamaru had opted to sleep outdoors tonight. None of them seemed as worked up or nervous as Konohamaru felt about all this. He reminded himself that the Boss would be back to his indomitable self in the morning, and resolved to do whatever he could to help the team.
In the meantime, he quit fighting Choji's snore and let the deep rhythmic sound rumble through his ears. The effect was surprising soothing; Konohamaru felt himself drowsing off as he stared out into the night.
Soon now, very soon, their mission would begin in earnest.
Beady eyes narrowed like sinkholes in the white headband. "Would you care to repeat that?"
The bandit's lip twitched. "We didn't get him," he replied sulkily.
The ninja sighed irritably. His breather mask turned it into a tinny hiss. "That, I can believe. It could have been a simple job. Grandstand, draw him out, kill him in the street brawl. You should have been good at that, but I forgot who I was dealing with. You're all talk and no action, Ruzo, a second-rater even among cutthroats."
Ruzo's face began to color -vividly- but he set his jaw and wisely kept his tongue.
"What I can't believe, is that a coward like you mustered the gall to crawl back here, tell us you failed miserably, and demand payment for your humiliation."
"Our brother is in prison," hissed Jibi, standing close behind Ruzo and tugging his pink lock anxiously.
"Careful, that's two strikes against you," said one of the others with a dark chuckle. The metallic echo made it even more unnerving. "The three of you sold out your own mother to bounty hunters. You have no morals -it's why we hired you."
"We didn't deliver, but neither did you!" Ruzo bit out. "If you had been there to bail us out as you promised-"
"You're going to blame us for your blunder?" countered the first ninja, his voice growing sharp. "If your pathetic band can be wiped out so easily by civilian worms, I don't see why we should bother-"
"You didn't tell us he would have shinobi guards!"
Silence.
The lead ninja's eyes narrowed again. "Explain. Now."
"We were ambushed without warning! The blond one took out Shu with that spinning thing before we even saw-"
All three shinobi jerked as though they'd been shocked. "Were they Leaf? What was his name?" snarled the leader.
Ruzo hesitated, glanced between them and shared a look with Jibi. Both brothers smirked and stood a little straighter. "Well well, looks like we know something of value after all," lilted Ruzo airily. "So let's make a trade, shall we? Our fee, full and up front, for the name."
None of their employers answered him, only stared. He became suddenly conscious that the three surrounded the two when the shinobi seemed to creep, flowing, toward them. The one behind and left reached for something-
"A-all right," Ruzo stammered, his smile faltering. "H… half our fee."
The reaching one paused, his one exposed eye rolling toward the leader. At the barest nod, he pulled a small pouch from behind his back. He shook it once, and it clinked.
Immensely relieved to see the little bag, Ruzo rolled his shoulders and relaxed. "Yeah, they're Leaf," he said easily, "and one of them is the famous one, the one the Bridge is named after."
"Naruto Uzumaki…" breathed the leader. He drew a kunai and began to work it between his fingers absently.
Jibi prodded. Ruzo shoved him back a step and flashed him an evil look, then smoothed over his smile and finally added, "Would you like to know how many there were?" The ninja recoiled in disgust as if he'd just noticed the thugs for the first time. "Or we could take another shot at the Ship-"
He jerked as the pouch of coins spilled across his feet. "Take your money and get out of my sight," rasped the leader, venom practically dripping from his mask.
Ruzo threw Jibi to the dirt where he scooped up the coins, and the two fled as quickly as they would let themselves.
The lead ninja watched them go. "Kagari," he called once they were out of earshot.
"Yeah?"
"Our hired scum wanted to bargain. I think that's only fair. Half their fee… for half their blood. Go complete our trade, would you?"
His teammate chuckled and began to turn when their third member spoke up. "Now now, Oboro, they did give us a valuable piece of information."
"Excellent point, Mubi. Maybe they do deserve a discount." He half-turned back to the left. "What do you think, Kagari, thirty seconds head-start?"
They didn't need to see his face to know the twisted grin there. "'Head' start. Right…" He glided away, melting to the ground and out of sight.
"Heh. What a stroke of luck, eh Oboro? Of all people to run into out here…"
Uzumaki… Oboro heard dripping and realized he'd held his knife too tightly. He reached up and traced a bloodied finger down each stripe of his Rain emblem.
"Hey now, don't forget we have a mission here."
Oboro nodded absently. Of course, the mission took priority.
But soon, oh so soon, vengeance would be theirs.
Dark. Even after… however long they'd been there, Keidyan still couldn't see all of their cramped little cell. There were no windows to outside, and the only light came from some weird glowing blue moss on the walls. It reminded him of a cave he'd seen once, but the walls were straight and smooth.
Damp. The moss was cool to the touch, but mostly dry. The air wasn't too moist either, but Hizumi had been crying into his shirt since she'd woken up.
Keidyan hugged his sister close and threw a dirty look to his left over her head. The eyes were back again, a pair of inky black pools watching them through the barred gap in their cell door. None of the moss-light reached out there; the eyes were the only thing he'd seen beyond their room.
The eyes held his glare evenly without blinking. The eyes never blinked. Never narrowed, never smiled… The eyes seemed as void of emotion as they were of color. Keidyan didn't like them.
"Well?" he snapped finally. He felt Hizumi jump but he ignored it. "What are you staring at, huh? Come on in here and I'll make your eyes blacker!"
Low, very slow laughter filled the cell. "You really are his son." The voice belonged to a man, he thought, and though it was quiet it stood out sharply against the silence.
Unsure how to take that, Kei settled for "Yeah, so what?"
Nothing but more staring. Keidyan was just gritting his teeth when he realized he could hear the faint sound of more voices. The eyes must have too, because they turned away and disappeared. Kei pulled Zumi back a little and held a finger to his lips. She bit her lip, nodded and tried to calm her sniffling.
They crept as quietly as they could toward the door -along the wall, low, to stay out of sight. Kei peered through as much of the window as he could; no sign of the eyes.
"…arrived…day…proximately noon," one voice was saying.
"Are our agents aware?" asked a second. They seemed to be drawing closer.
"They reported his arrival."
"Have them keep him chasing his tails. It wouldn't do to have the Hokage move too quickly."
Keidyan felt his spirits surge. "HA!" he crowed at the top of his lungs. "I knew it! My dad's in town and he's coming to kick all your butts!"
WHAM! The kids jerked away from the trembling cell door. The eyes had reappeared, and they finally held an emotion: raw, smoldering anger.
"I'm counting on it."
Have I recaptured your attention? :P
In all seriousness though, I'm sorry to leave you cliff-hanging like this, and sorrier yet because I'm not going to be able to touch this for another month and a half. Fortunately, it'll be summer after that, and I've already got a 1000 word headstart on Chapter 4, a section that I started writing for this update but figured it would do better to start the next.
I'd like to thank you all again for your patience and kind reviews thus far. Regretfully, I have not yet had the luxury to give you all the personal replies I believe you deserve, and I think it unlikely that I will find the time to clear my backlog in this same month and a half before finals. So I guess I'll leave you all with a blanket message for now: Thank you for your opinions, your critiques and your compliments. I hope I've backed up my claim that I will not leave this story unfinished, and if I don't reply to your reviews (you will leave reviews, won't you?) wish me luck -I'm probably in need of it.
See you when I see you,
~ArcTheJedi