Recently I completed a three-shot called "Songs From the Heart", and I also watched Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror for the first time. If anyone knows it, then you know it's a piece of art. :D I especially love the story Yotsuya Kaidan, which is one of the best Japanese ghost stories of all time.

Chapter Nine

The Next Step Taken

She used to sleep in his house with him as a teenager, sometimes when his parents were unaware, or when they were out - finally when they died. Her parents ignored her much of the time since Nawaki's death, but she'd had to make damned sure and well that they never noticed she snuck out of the house. I used to think that behavior was for delinquents, but what else could I do? She'd needed someone there for her, so he was the only one she knew.

Then Dan came along, and it was him she would turn to. Her childhood friend didn't mind at all, since he knew as well as she did that newly formed couples didn't want extra people of the opposite sex to turn to, so as to prevent hopes of jealousy, she didn't go to the man she'd known since she was a girl. But it turned out Dan was more understanding than she gave him credit for.

Now that with their mummy gone, she felt she could use that tonight. She let Orochimaru stay with her, but this time, instead of him having the couch, he ended up sharing her bed with her like he did for her.

Tsunade replayed what she said to him when she thought she knew him better than just standing on the sidelines because of her. He spent his life alone after his parents' deaths, having her in his life as the only one who understood him, but went no further out of the damned complication anxiety. Working together on the Uchiha mummy and everything else after her beloved boyfriend's death brought them closer, but it was still platonic. Sometimes I feel like I am too old, going to die alone...

No, not on her watch. She wasn't alone, but she didn't want to spend the rest of her life the way she was now. She knew she had to do something if it was the last thing.

No plan involved was to force Orochimaru, if only she could take a step at a time. That was exactly what this was about.

Orochimaru said this: "You do know me better than that, but what can happen now, when we are in the middle of a crisis which has put everything at stake?" He'd closed his eyes. "After all these years, yes, I want to see if we have a chance, but in midst of this investigation and the damned board, I want to have it on hold."

However long that would be, and it made Tsunade very angry and resentful.

She loved staying in the shower for an inconsiderable amount of time, but she also had a guest out there. But it wasn't something he was a stranger to. She also recalled a couple times in adulthood they shared one together without touching. She remembered every line, every lean muscle from limited times of working out at the gym so not to lose his muscle structure, and how his long midnight hair would be down his back in an untangled waterfall, stopping in the middle of the spine. But tonight she had it alone, and he wanted to just keep to himself when she was done. That would give her time to get a small dinner ready. Nothing fancy, but the carry-out she called on the phone before getting into the shower stall built for two or three people at the same time.

Her favorite night robe was lined with emerald green satin, covered all over in a leopard print. It settled on her like a warm summer breeze. She had her damp hair twisted and then clipped behind her head. But staring at her reflection in the mirror, Tsunade saw a woman who looked like she was still in her twenties, without cosmetic surgery, but inside she was much older. The same could be said to her friend who was now in the place she'd exited not even a few minutes ago.

The doorbell rang, and the food had arrived. But suddenly, she felt hungry for something else rather than the food. And she heard the shower turn off. She moved quickly and put the food in the fridge. Some of it needed to be heated, the rest just plain cold.

"Tsunade? Has the food come?"

She answered back, turning around to walk back into her room - only to come face to face with him standing there, baffled and slightly scrutinizing, before yellow eyes fell over her being, taking in the well-endowment despite her age. Ripe like aged wine, they seemed to say. That was all she needed to know. A long-sleeping stir slowly awoke within her core along with each step she took towards him.

"Tsunade..." He didn't get his chance to finish speaking as she descended on him, laying her lips on his. It was a simple peck before the spark flew and slowly grew into a bigger flame that expanded with each second.

The times she kissed Dan were the best experiences of her life, but this time with her best friend...how could she even compare despite how good it was?

The kiss might have gotten more steamy, clouding her mind unawares, and it was over because he was the one to end it, looking her square in the eyes. Here she was in just her silk animal-print, he in only a towel which left little to the imagination, and his hair was drying but loose down his back while hers was clipped behind her head. "Tsunade." Her name was a mantra on his lips, spoken in his soft, rough hiss. "What are you trying to do to me?"

"What I should have done a long time ago," she answered, putting another on him. For a forty-something old lady, I feel like I was back then. What a way to wake it up!

Orochimaru's sex drive he preferred to keep to himself, but the subject of his manhood was something she was allowed to know without anything going too far, but it was changing. And by the looks of it, he was responding the way he should. As long as she'd known him, he hadn't had his attentions on ANY woman...which meant one thing at their age now, a fact that was laughable for a prepubescent teenager or even an older teen driven by hormones. He had waited his entire life for her.

Her manicured hands went to the fluffy white towel around his waist, untying it and letting it fall to the floor, just as his worked on her silk robe and did the same. Both of them were naked, and with no imperfections to be ashamed of. They broke off the current kiss and looked over for the first time in maybe fifteen years. He was still extremely pale, from lack of sunlight, and his bony curves were given more appeal with the lines of a four-pack in his stomach as well as his thighs being full if not unpleasantly out there. His waist was trimmed and jutted at the same time. And lastly: his manhood wasn't large or small, attractively crowned with dark curls. He was a work of art in himself, too mesmerizing to exist in this world.

And as for her, why did she feel like a schoolgirl again when he gazed over her with smoldering eyes? She wasn't a virgin anymore, but she still had the appearance of one. Ripe and ready for him. And by the looks of her breasts which appeared too large for her chest, but didn't feel like they were. And even a glance at them from a pervert earned bloody noses and hundreds of meters worth a punch. Her hips were flared out more than his, joined together by a thin strip of pale blonde. Both of us fine for our ages - if I say so myself.

Tsunade was burning to her skin, which nobody saw of her everyday except Dan when he was alive - and this man whom she'd known all her life was seeing her in a way that he had known better than anyone else. But there was also extreme tenderness.

And what happened that night was just that. Filled with gentleness rather than youthful aggression in which they would go like rabid dogs for the kill. Decades in the making finally unleashed. The food had been forgotten but was in its proper place of cooling preservation. She wasn't going to forget the feeling of her lifelong friend and new lover against her body, right between her legs and cradled in her molten heat.

This morning they awoke in each other's arms, at the same time her mobile went off. It turned out to be none other than Minato, with information on the desiccated remains in custody. Tsunade was on awareness, sitting upright and pulling the blankets to her chest. "Minato, what's the update?" she demanded, putting him on speaker for Orochimaru to listen. Groggily, he rubbed his eyes and stretched his bones, rolled his shoulders back and pushed his hair behind them, sliding closer and resting his chin on her shoulder to listen.

"Well, the good news is with the information you've given, it's not your mummy, but we have also found something extremely disturbing. The remains appear to be just as old as six centuries, but the truth is much more disturbing: our pathologist found that everything inside and out had been freeze-dried overnight. Either the night before or on the same night as your mummy's disappearance."

Time seemed to stop for both Orochimaru and herself. "O-overnight?" they managed at the same time. She couldn't remember the last time she was this shocked. If what he was saying was true, then how in the hell did -?

How could it even be possible that a replacement was picked off the streets and mummified in a single night?! Does this mean we have a killer with this technique on our streets?

Minato was still speaking. "Still no lock on the Uchiha, but we might be able to identify the corpse through whatever DNA is left, because we couldn't find a wallet for identification. But this could take some time longer," he said regretfully.

~o~

"Kyou was such a fool. He had his chance and paid for it with his life." He shook his head as he stared at the television screen of his modest but nicely furnished flat, which he owned on his own, and held a steaming cup of green tea between his bony, tanned and lined hands.

By today, this morning, the news had gotten out regarding what transpired at the museum - the museum which he should have run instead of Hashirama's granddaughter, too soft-hearted for her own good despite that exterior of fire. Despite the fact her family directly descended from the other clan that rivaled the Uchiha; the leader was too weak to make the harsh decision to exterminate the bloodthirsty clan, but it was the shogun's final say to launch the surprise attack that would end the long-lived conflict fast. Six centuries it had been, and he was the last of his own line.

And it was about time he took his action after all these years. He had to do something about that find of hers, which his ancestor left specific, clear instructions on how to deal with, and it was to leave the condemned as he was...until Dan Kato put his life on the line and found the coordinates.

Poor fool lost his chance to finish the dig and instead sent the location to none other than his colleague and lover, Tsunade Senju. The recovered mummified remains of the one trapped in this world and the next had been in her care ever since, and he hadn't acted sooner because everything would have been jeopardized. He hadn't yet been on the board due to misgivings some years before, which hadn't been proven in court, and towards the last few years of the previous decade, he'd ultimately settled in amongst his former colleagues along with new ones. He was used to the scrutiny as there were those who didn't trust him, but it wasn't like he ever cared in his life other than the means to live.

Twelve years in the making, and he could strike her where it hurt most.

But for some reason, he misjudged the one he sent out despite Kyou's impressive resume. He'd had a reliable employee who reported directly to him that the Buddhist rite in the head of the Uchiha mummy casket had been accidentally torn off in midst of the attempt of removal from the cryo chamber. Damned imbecile. I was careless in trusting him.

It also meant that with the spell his ancestor placed broken, the "last" Uchiha was loose about somewhere in HIS town. He had his work cut out for him. And there was also the matter of the mummified imposter currently in custody of the Konoha Police Department. It would be difficult to cover his tracks now that the corpse was not within his reach to dispose of before a piece of evidence was uncovered.

~o~

Konoha might have cars and bikes to get around on, but it was actually much smaller than Tokyo, so everyone who grew up within knew pretty much how everything worked - except the littlest children and young teenagers - as well as where everything was. This day Sakura decided it was nice enough to not drive around if she wanted to show her home to her new guest who seemed to be rapt at everything he laid his eyes on.

"We never had anything like this in the mountain pass," Itachi said as he looked around at the different cars. "It appears...faster than we could ever walk. Or even on a litter cart pulled by four people." A few strands of his hair flew about his face, which he pushed behind his ears. A hair tie would be the answer, but I don't have any of those for myself. I should ask Hinata or just get him a set.

"Learning to drive is a hell of an adventure," she admitted with a nervous chuckle. "I have my car, as you saw, but today is a nice day to just walk around and enjoy the entire day. You agree?"

He chuckled and looked down at her. "Absolutely. I've always fancied walks, no matter how long or short the journey. But I admit...it's tiring half the time. But it's also an opportunity to take in the sights and be aware of your surroundings," he said, a somber mist passing briefly over his eyes. "Nature and isolation from much of civilization means you have to be prepared for the worst."

He was new to her life, but he seemed to really know more about life in the primitive side than she did. "Yeah. Here is no different, but we are given a right to protect ourselves. Although it differs from city to town and rural life..." She explained to him that here in Konoha, like the capital of Tokyo and smaller urban locations, you could own handguns, shotguns and rifles as long as you had a solid reason that had to stay exactly as it was, and commonly was it the following: hunting for food and sport, and self-defense. Those in the countrysides saw it as legit because it was means to keep the spirits of their ancestors' ways alive in the present.

"Do you have means to protect yourself in case you were to come across any intentional harm?"

She did consider getting a handgun for herself, but all she had was pepper spray and a shock device. A gun would be just scarier. When she told him what she had, he chuckled and shook his head, looking down at the ground - and that was when they both stopped in front of the store which sold all the best televisions and electronics there were...

...and that was when Sakura saw the news headline: KONOHA ANTIQUITIES MUSEUM IN CRISIS

The subtitle: UCHIHA MUMMY MISSING

Cold terror washed over her. The press knew about this, they were streaming on TV as well as online by now, and she wondered if Naruto and Hinata knew about this. Damn it, now I wish I had my wagon. But then she remembered her companion who looked at her, slightly worried, and then back to the television.

"Sakura?" Itachi asked. "What is it?"

"I..."

"Is this the museum you work?"

She nodded, turning into him, unable to comprehend what was going on. If Tsunade had to speak to these people, she must be having a "field day" in that she was dealing with these flea bags who must be wanting a juicy story, and gave the board all the more reason to be on her tail. "I want to get to the park so we can talk," she said quietly.

He nodded, letting her lead the way. She had to pick up her skirt in order to walk faster, even though this had a slit in the side. She was glad she wore sandals, but that meant she couldn't run if she wanted to. The same went for him. She let him sit down on the park bench under a cherry blossom tree which long lost its blooms in the past couple months and was only consisting of fresh green leaves. Itachi looked up as he leaned back, stretching his arms out on either side of him - one of them resting behind her - and crossing one leg over the other. She just relaxed herself and started talking.

"The night before, one of Tsunade's precious artifacts - a mummy from a long-lost samurai tribe - was stolen, and in its place was an imposter. It's possible that it could be a victim of unfortunate circumstance, but there were no fingerprints or anything to point to the perpetrator found at the scene. But for now, there is no word about the missing mummy."

"...I see." Itachi sounded like he was elsewhere, but he'd heard every word she said. He looked at her now, smiling slightly. "Will you tell me more about this mummy of yours?"

He was that intrigued that it made her feel honored. Talking about the Uchiha Warrior at a time like this seemed to help her cope. "Well, many years ago, when Naruto, Hinata and I were still kids, Tsunade's boyfriend who was also just like her had gone all the way out to Mt. Yudono because he got reliable resources and found that there was a possible finding up there that was worth being exposed to the world. He died from the arid temperatures before he could finish. Tsunade clashed with the board until they finally gave permission to let her and her team to go out to where it was...and that was when they found the mummy," she said quietly. "He was the first discovery of a samurai clan that had been extinct for six hundred years."

"Really? This wouldn't happen to be the...Uchiha clan, is it?"

Sakura felt her eyes widen. "Yes! How did you guess?" He laughed lightly.

"It's not a surprise. History has little recorded fact, and many tales of the diminished samurai clan have been told orally and others kept quiet because it's wished to forget the bloodshed of the past." I know that is right. He said nothing else then, but his onyx irises twinkled with something she couldn't read. He didn't interrupt her again. That made her happy to go on.

"Sometimes I wish there was something we could do to find more, but it's not like we have the power for that like any of the gods. Anyway, Naruto, Hinata and I would see him on the other side of the glass whenever we had a chance, and I remember the first time like it was yesterday. Unlike the monks from the mountains - twenty-four known, in fact - this one looked more human than the skeletal ones," Sakura breathed, feeling the clench in her throat again. "He looked like he had just been sleeping all these centuries, like he was going to wake any second - but he never did. He was the age we are now, and I sometimes asked myself: what happened that his life had to end before he could enjoy it? I know those days were warfare and skirmishes, clashes between the classes, but still!" She reached to wipe the tears at the corner of her eyes. "He was so amazing, but it broke my heart to think about him like that..."

She told him then about the information uncovered recently before his disappearance. He was twenty-one when he died, he wasn't a holy man which explained why he had been buried outside, even though present within his body were the ingredients of the sokushinbutsu practice. The ice-cold of the mountain preserved everything inside and outside.

"And what's more," she whispered, looking into his eyes, ignoring that her skin was becoming a little warm on the back and shoulders, "we found traces of tears on either side of his face. He cried a minute or two before he died. Who knows what he was thinking about, or WHO he was remembering -" She lost control of herself and leaned into him, burying her face into his shoulder. His arms came to wrap around hers, comforting her, and his cheek nuzzled her hair.

She didn't notice Itachi had tears of his own and closed his eyes to keep them from falling. This was so unprofessional of her to weep openly regarding something - or someone - long dead and in her custody as much as he had been in Tsunade's.

Sakura wrapped her arms around him for dear life, needing him as a lifeline...and then it was interrupted by a voice that caused them both to freeze. Deep and baritone, but also lighter.

"Sakura?"

She quickly drew back, the man comforting her doing the same and following her gaze only to see the young man in a dark blue t-shirt and khaki shorts. His eyes widened, taking in the entire face. "Sasuke...you're back," was all Sakura could manage.

Her ex-boyfriend in the flesh. She didn't think she would see him so quickly, at a time like this. It was coincidence he would just appear and find his former girlfriend in the arms of another man, right? Itachi was looking at him without an expression, but the stun in his eyes told her everything: his brother right before his eyes. Now it was easy to see the similarities in their appearances, but also how different.

It was shallow to say Itachi was hotter than Sasuke, but someone else would say it out loud. And it didn't surprise her that the younger brother didn't recognize his long-lost elder sibling who searched far and wide only to come out here.

I knew that Tsunade and Orochimaru had to realize they are better off spending the rest of their lives together, after all these years, without getting married if they didn't want to. It's my first time doing them like THIS, so I hope it was okay. It was inspired halfway by "Wind and Windmill" by darkwings13.

In terms of what Sakura says about the right to bear arms, it was once more based on research. It's a misconception that Japan bans weapons; it just varies from city to rural. The laws are extremely strict and the allowing of arms amongst citizens has mixed reactions amongst them. They are allowed to have rifles, shotguns and handguns in order to defend themselves, but they need a damned good legit reason for doing so. That includes not only self-defense, but also hunting and pest control. Though urban lives see this as a negative, those with traditional values see it as "the way of the ancestor" as to keep the warrior spirit intact.

When Sakura told Itachi about the mummy - not knowing he IS the mummy - I really cried with her...and him. :'(

Oh, man, Sasuke had to show up at a time like that. Let's see how it goes next time...

Review please.