Sakura thought there was definitely something strange going on with Naruto, something she wasn't sure she liked at all. Previously he had retained some of his cheerful optimism when everyone else had turned inwards to protect themselves, their families and had become suspicious of their neighbours, never daring to speak out of turn. Naruto had still happily greeted the people he met, even if they preferred not to respond and hurry away from him, and even with the threat of ANBU looming he still have came to see her and talk before she went to Tsunade's.

Now, he still visited, but he seemed to be on edge about something. He was constantly looking round at his surroundings as if he was trying to protect Sakura instead of just paying a social call. It was like he expected people to be listening in and Sakura couldn't figure out how this change happened. What had happened to unnerve Naruto of all people. It was just bizarre, unnatural even. He even escorted her to all Tsunade's lessons, something that her mother was in full support of as it meant that Sakura wasn't left unprotected while she was apparently being reckless enough to want to walk to one end of the village and back again.

Naruto, as Sakura's self-appointed guard dog, was growing increasingly worried that he hadn't seen the two men from earlier again. He had expected further interrogation or even people to disappear but as far as he could see the village was functioning as normal even if people were acting more on edge than usual. He was worried and he didn't want Sakura to know what exactly he was worried about.

Naruto kept jumping at the shadows as he kept suspecting that someone was there waiting in them he was worried, scared and kept getting increasingly paranoid. He was more jittery than most and every time Sakura asked him what was wrong he lied, so he was starting to feel guilty as well for keeping things from her.

It was only natural, with his nerves stretched so thin, that when the two ANBU officers approached him again that he actually squealed in surprise when they grabbed his shoulder, although he'd deny it later.

"You are being unusually vigilant." The one with the shorter hair who grabbed him said.

"We think you know something." Said the other.

"No I don't," Naruto said and he was proud of the fact that his voice didn't waver in the slightest. The man with his hair in a ponytail sighed.

"Look, we're not stupid, and it's very important that we find out what happened. You're probably scared and you don't feel you can trust us but we need to know. The man who would have passed through here is very important to me and we just want to find out what happened before other people come to here." That piqued Naruto's interest.

"What other people." He said folding his arms slightly. The two men exchanged a strange look.

"Just other people." The fist man said.

"No." Naruto said again and the second man caught his arm.

"Can't you just-" He broke off awkwardly and Naruto was starting to get unnerved, what kind of ANBU interrogation was this suppose to be, nothing about this made sense. His mind worked furiously, something wasn't right here, were these two some kind of advance guard before the harsher interrogations that everyone knew about.

"Please." The first man said solemnly, "We need to know what happened to him, if he's safe, can't you just trust us for a few moments."

Naruto frowned slightly, tilting his head to one side as he thought. From the rumours about ANBU he'd expected to be snatched off the street, held prisoner, most probably beaten and then taken away or sent to his death. This was definitely something else but he didn't know what it was, informants maybe, but maybe not ANBU unless they were trying to soften him up first.

"You're not ANBU are you?" He said slowly and both men managed to look affronted, and Naruto wasn't sure what to believe any more. These people seemed clever enough to avoid detection which definitely marked them above the normal citizens of Fire Country and they were asking about the disappearing body. But whether they were part of the Emperor's many branches or law enforcement squads he didn't know.

On the other hand the ponytailed man seemed genuinely worried about what had happened to the man they were looking for.

"No way," The short haired man said, "We're the exact opposite of them." He added proudly but Naruto was none the wiser on who these people actually were.

"Tell me who you are." Naruto demanded and both men hesitated. "Your names at least, I can't even think about trusting you if you don't tell me that." The man with the long hair chuckled slightly.

"Interesting," He said, "My name's Shikamaru."

"Kiba." The other man said shortly.

"I'm Naruto," Naruto offered and Shikamaru nodded. "I need time to think." Naruto said slowly. Kiba made an agitated growl in the back of his throat and Shikamaru wacked him on the shoulder.

"Alright." Shikamaru said, "We don't mind," he added although that remark seemed to be more aimed at Kiba than Naruto. "It's probably hard for you but we need you to take a deep breath and tell us. Just be brave for one moment and then that's it if you tell us you won't see us again." Naruto bristled slightly at the implication that he was scared. Although if he was honest with himself, he was. No one knew what to expect anymore and who to trust and that disturbed Naruto more than he liked to admit.

"I'll meet you tonight." He said finally, "At the west gate of the village, I'll tell you my answer then."

"Fine," Shikamaru said.

"It better be a good answer." Kiba growled leaning in towards Naruto. Naruto gulped and Shikamaru gave him an exasperated sigh.

"You are not helping," He said, "How is he even going to trust us now if you're trying to threaten him Kiba?"

"We'll wait for you when it gets dark." Kiba said, "And you better be there." Shikamaru rolled his eyes but apparently he decided it was too much hassle to berate his companion again so he just gave Naruto a half hearted wave as they left him.

Naruto frowned as he watched them melt away into the shadows in the gaps between houses.

"Naruto," Someone called him and he started, whirling round to see Sakura smiling at him.

"I thought you were doing something with Tsunade until later." He said, although it came out as more of an accusation. Sakura shrugged.

"I was supposed to be learning about making different types of pain killers but we didn't have enough of the right ingredients and Tsunade's still not keen on me wandering the forest collecting plants for it."

"You shouldn't be," Naruto said automatically and Sakura just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," She said, "If it's so dangerous out here then why are you spacing out in the middle of the street."

"I was just thinking," Naruto said slowly.

"Probably not the best place to do it," Sakura said giving him an amused smile, "someone could walk right into you."

"Yeah," Naruto said slowly, Sakura sighed as he still showed no signs of wanting to move so she grabbed his arm and began dragging him towards her house.

Once they were there she shoved Naruto backwards onto the sofa and he still seemed to barely notice where they were or what had happened.

"What's on your mind?" Sakura asked getting some mugs out for them to have a drink. She frowned as Naruto didn't seem to register the question.

"Hey," She said before reaching over to whack Naruto over the back of his head, he made a noise of complaint. "Well that finally got your attention," She muttered "I said what's on your mind." She added loudly.

"I don't know," Naruto said slowly. "I was just thinking about what to believe in all this." Sakura frowned slightly as she tried to understand what he was trying to say. She stayed silent to allow Naruto time to rearrange his thoughts.

"I just don't know what to think about all this anymore." Naruto said firmly and Sakura set down a mug of tea in front of him as she considered what he said.

"You mean all this as in the-"

"The dead man." Naruto finished for her, "Yes. And what it all means."

"Are you worried about what will come to our village?" Sakura asked tentatively, "because you know we can get through this right? Just like everyone did before."

"Yeah like when that other family went missing," Naruto said darkly, "No one talks about them, it's like they never existed, no one even tries to remember them anymore."

"I remember them," Sakura said softly, "They had a son your age, and the two of you used to fight, a lot."

"I know that," Naruto said, "but it's just that with all this happening to the village again I wondered what happened to them, if someone we live with now sold them out for some reason. Someone we still live with and probably talk to and they might do it again. And the more I think about that family the more I realise that I don't really remember them.

"I was eight when they disappeared and no one even told me what happened to them. And the boy I was supposed to be friends with at the time, I barely remember him, I can't remember his face properly. Hell, I can't even remember his name, any of their names!"

"Naruto-" Sakura started.

"And what if that person who sold them out only did it because they made the mistake of trusting someone they shouldn't have." He continued thinking about his encounter earlier. "What if they thought that, I don't know, they were putting their trust in the right people and never thought that would happen."

Sakura stared at Naruto feeling slightly unnerved, it was probably the frankest conversation they had ever had. No one talked about these things anymore, not in her lifetime anyway. The walls had ears the saying went, and it was true. They also had eyes and notebooks that recorded every step out of line. So the fact that Naruto was bringing all this up meant that he was seriously troubled about something.

"So you're saying it all comes down to a leap of faith," She said slowly, "and whether it pays off or not." Sakura briefly wondered what had happened to Naruto but knew there was no way he'd feel able to tell her. No matter how good friends they were he'd feel the need to protect her from whatever this was.

"Yeah, a leap of faith," Naruto said thoughtfully.

"Are you going to jump?" Sakura asked and Naruto looked startled. He gave her a questioning look. "That is what this has been about isn't it? Whether to make the leap and trust someone." Naruto gaped at her and Sakura smirked at him. "I'm not stupid Naruto."

"I know, I just didn't think-"

"And you have never been good at subtlety, so be careful" She added, "I won't ask what this is about, I don't want you to lie to me, but if you have a long think about this you'll know what to do. Instinctively you'll know whether to put your trust in this person or not."

"But what if I chose wrong." Naruto asked suddenly.

"You won't," Sakura said firmly, "You always do what you believe is best so you won't chose wrong, and maybe if you felt that you couldn't trust this person already then we wouldn't be having this conversation." She added with a sly smile.

"You're probably right," Naruto said.

"I always am," Sakura said lightly and she and Naruto laughed slightly.

"Thank you Sakura," Naruto said warmly and Sakura sat back on the sofa with him and took a sip of her tea. They fell silent for a moment before Sakura felt the need to say something more.

"You know I'll always support whatever you decide to do don't you?" She said and Naruto smiled at her.

"Yeah, and you know I'll always look out for you, right?" He said

"I can look after myself" Sakura said firmly.

"Yeah but-"

"I know you will always be looking out for me Naruto," Sakura said firmly, "but I just want you to remember that with all this going on not to act recklessly or stupidly as I can protect myself too. You need to look out for yourself as well."

"You're not as strong as I am," Naruto protested.

"I don't need to be," Sakura said with a shrug, "Not when Tsunade's also taught me which plants are poisonous, and there are some you can mix up that become really toxic, the best one I've learnt so far can knock a man out flat in less than a minute and he'll be dead in ten." She fixed Naruto with a sharp look and he gingerly leant away from her.

"You have no idea how scary you are right now." He muttered and Sakura laughed.

"Just so you know. I can take care of myself, right?"

"Oh yeah, I see that now." Naruto said and he began eying his tea suspiciously. Sakura gave him a warm smile and Naruto gave her a small one in return.

They fell silent for a few moments before Naruto started glancing at Sakura every few moments.

"So how many new ways to kill people did you learn today?" He asked and Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I'm learning how to heal people Naruto, it just happens that some plants have poisonous properties that I have to be aware of because I can't exactly go picking the wrong thing and killing my patient can I? Tsunade just tells me about all the other stuff in passing, she just says it's something that I might need, you know a just in case kind of thing." She explained.

"If you say so," Naruto said with a slight smile.

"Be careful Naruto, some of those plants are common in this area so don't piss me off." Sakura said with a grin and then she stood up to put their mugs in the sink leaving Naruto feeling distinctly unsettled.

"You'd never be able to do something like that to me," He squawked. Sakura just laughed.

Naruto smiled to himself. Sakura was right, the fact that he had arranged to meet Shikamaru and Kiba later meant he did want to trust them but he felt much better after turning it over in his mind with Sakura. He'd meet those two men tonight, he just really hoped he was making the right choice.

"The little bastard isn't coming," Kiba said, pacing up and down by the western gate.

"It's not dark yet he might still come." Shikamaru said in a half hearted attempt to appease his partner. He was trying to ignore all Kiba's nervous energy by watching the sky, as the stars winked into being one by one with each passing minute as the sky darkened.

"Or he's going to get us caught," Kiba muttered.

"Hey," Naruto said jogging up to them and Kiba whirled round to frown at him, scanning the surrounding area for anyone else.

"So?" Shikamaru asked.

"You were asking about a man who passed through this village." Naruto said, his heart was drumming loudly in his chest, not because he had run to meet them but because he was still scared of what talking about it could do.

"Yes," Shikamaru said, and he sounded almost eager. "He was headed in this direction, it's really important we find him."

"No one passed through here." Naruto said and the faces of both men opposite him fell. "But there was a body." He continued, "A few weeks ago, just before there was a snow storm, it was found off the outskirts of the village. It was gone before we could get back to perform any rites on it."

Shikamaru paled.

"What?" He asked.

"Are you sure?" Kiba asked, "It was definitely a man not anything else?"

"Yes, I went right up to it with – a friend." He said haltingly, remembering just in time to omit Sakura's name.

"No," Shikamaru whispered. Naruto frowned slightly, they seemed to be grieving the man.

"I'm sorry," He said without really understanding why.

"They got him," Kiba snarled, "I can't believe it Asuma was one of the best."

"Who did?" Naruto asked.

"ANBU!" Kiba exploded and Shikamaru hushed him. Kiba fell silent, looking guilty, and they both looked around to see if anyone had been disturbed by the outburst. The last thing they needed was to be caught now.

"I'm so sorry Shikamaru," Kiba said, "I know he was-"

"What happened?" Shikamaru asked.

"It looked like he bled to death in the snow." Naruto said shifting uncomfortably.

"So he fought someone here? Have you seen any other people in the village you don't recognise?" Kiba asked, grasping Naruto by the arms.

"No, just you two." He said trying to pull away from him, "And he was just there when we went out in the morning when there was a break in the snow." He frowned slightly as he tried to remember. "There was blood all around him and behind him."

"He wasn't attacked here" Shikamaru said suddenly, "A village this small would have noticed something off and if he was killed here the body would have been taken away instantly and he wouldn't have been found by the villagers."

"So then...?" Kiba said slowly.

"He fought them somewhere else, nearby, and was wounded but he managed to escape and came here." Shikamaru continued thoughtfully, "You said the blood was behind him?" He asked Naruto who nodded, "like a trail of blood from where he had walked from?"

"Maybe," Naruto said, "It's been snowing for weeks on an off and it had been that morning a lot so there was some but it there was a trail then it was mostly covered up."

"So he died soon after he reached the village and it had stopped snowing." Kiba said, "He can't have come from too far away."

"But the bad weather made it harder for ANBU to track him and they found him later." Shikamaru said, "still if it was snowing that heavily it's amazing he even made it to this village. And moving in a snow storm is difficult enough so it would be even harder with a serious wound."

"So was it coincidence that he made it hear or was he really nearby?" Kiba asked and Naruto stayed quiet, curiously watching the back and forth between the two men.

"Asuma always knew the area he was working in, every part of the terrain, always. So my guess is that he came here to try and get help and-" Shikamaru broke off unable to say anymore.

"And didn't make it." Kiba said softly. They fell silent and Naruto shifted uncomfortably between them.

"Who are you people?" Naruto demanded when the silence became too much for him to bear.

"No one," Kiba said, "you need to forget you ever saw us."

"Well that's kind of impossible isn't it?" Naruto argued. "You're fighting ANBU, why?"

"Because what they're doing is wrong," Kiba hissed, "when did protection become snatching entire families in the night? People are executed every day for nothing."

"What?" Naruto asked.

"ANBU were created to protect the people, and now all they do is destroy us to keep the Emperor in power, we won't sit around and do nothing." Kiba said.

"That's enough." Shikamaru said, and it was the first time Naruto had heard him speak sharply.

"Alright," Kiba said raising his hands slightly. "I'll let him continue living in blissful ignorance."

"What are you talking about?" Naruto said. "Tell me."

"Thank you for telling us all this. Now you need to put this all out of your mind so you can protect your family." Shikamaru said.

"I don't have a family," Naruto said, "I never have. So tell me who you are."

Shikamaru and Kiba exchanged a long look.

"We don't really have a name," Shikamaru said slowly, "at least not one we gave ourselves but the people that help us and know about us call us the Resistance." Kiba snorted.

"It's not very imaginative but it is more or less what we do," He said.

"I've never heard of you lot existing before." Naruto said suspiciously, "I would have thought there would have been rumours of something."

"We've never been able to organise support this far into the country," Shikamaru said, "it's mostly around towns and industrial areas. It's why Asuma was here and it's why he was killed." He looked across at Kiba. "We should get going." He added.

"Alright," Kiba said, shouldering a bag that Naruto had never noticed before that was concealed in the shadows of the walls of the gate. He passed a similar bag to Shikamaru.

"Really, thanks telling us what you know," Shikamaru said and offered Naruto his hand to shake.

"That's alright," Naruto said and Kiba gave him a half wave before they both melted away into the darkness. Naruto squinted after them but even though he knew where to look he couldn't see them at all.

It was like they had never been there at all.