Hello! Just one quick thing before continuing the story: congratulations to Arakawa. The last chapter of Fullmetal Alchemist is done and it was amazing, simply amazing. An incredible series. Anyone who hasn't read it should, it will be well worth your time.

Thank you for reading my humble fan fiction. Any and all comments (compliments or criticism) are welcomed and treasured.

A slight tap on her shoulder brought Sakura out of the inky blackness of sleep that had not yet given way to dream, and into the waking world. She shook off the haze quickly. Long years of practice as a ninja had given her the ability to awaken in a state of alertness. With enemies around, you couldn't expect to be given time in order to calmly brush the sleep out of your eyes, yawn a few times, stretch, and reminisce on your dream. You would die. Plain and simple.

Sakura opened her eyes. Hinata was crouching with one finger pressed to her lips. Sakura didn't even need the motion for silence; she'd caught her glance earlier.

Hinata stood, walked over to Shikamaru, and tapped him awake as well. She motioned for them both to follow her and then headed into the forest. Sakura took one last look at the campsite before she entered the shadows of the forest. The campfire had died down long ago, but the embers still glowed casting a warm light. Al was sleeping peacefully and Naruto was right beside him looking like a child in his frog cap.

Sakura shook her head in disbelief and then turned away from the campsite. She knew why Hinata hadn't woken Naruto. As powerful as he could be, he was still a dunce and a blockhead. It was possible he could have woken without talking, but not likely. It was better not even to risk the possibility.

Sakura's shift had passed uneventfully. She could have called the meeting herself, but it was too soon. Al had an annoying habit of being a light sleeper and she didn't want to risk him waking up and finding them gone. He was smart, and the last thing they wanted was to make him nervous. So, she'd passed the watch on to Hinata and let her decide when the time was right. Apparently, that time was now.

Night closed in around them as they passed among the trees that rose out of the ground like pillars from some lost society. Moonlight brightened their path, but deepened the shadows lending cover to potential enemies. The trio stopped once they were well out of earshot.

"Well. What's going on?" Shikamaru folded his arms and let his gaze settle on Hinata who fidgeted. "It's the middle of the night."

"I…I…I know. I'm sorry. Really. It's just…I mean…" Hinata took a deep breath to steady herself and forced her hands to stop fidgeting. "What I mean to say is, I noticed something odd and thought you'd want to know about it."

There you go, girl. Don't apologize. Sakura met Hinata's eyes straight on. "This has to do with Al, doesn't it. What's going on?" Sakura had come to like the quiet, blond boy over the past couple of weeks, but she wasn't weak enough to let her emotions get in the way of her better judgment. Not anymore.

"Yes, it does." Hinata took another deep breath. "I was watching his chakra lines just as you'd told me. I actually thought it was a good idea; that I might be able to help him. After all he's been through, he deserves to be able to protect himself." Sakura understood that sentiment. Al was the type of person who was hard to dislike. He'd had most of the hospital staff at his beck and call. His even temperament had made him a model patient, and they'd all thought it was so cute how he got so excited over the smallest of details. For something as simple as a little bit of extra desert or a new type of food, they would be treated to a smile of pure joy. That smile hadn't been around as much recently.

"I noticed something was off right away. A normal citizen's chakra lines don't look like his. He had no problem with the energy flow portion of the jutsu. He seemed like he was… used to chakra control." Hinata sounded hesitant.

"Wait. Are you saying he's a ninja?" Shikamaru sounded skeptical, but his voice had a biting quality hidden beneath the layers of disbelief. If Al were a ninja, chances were it wasn't for a good reason.

"No! Wait. That's not what I meant." Hinata panicked. "I don't think he's an enemy or anything. His chakra lines looked well used, but not in the way a ninja's would. When I watched him gather chakra for the jutsu he wasn't so much drawing it from his body, as from his surroundings." Neither of the other ninjas responded choosing instead to hear Hinata's explanation. Hinata looked back in bewilderment. "Don't… don't ask me how he was doing it. I know that's not normal. It might not have even been chakra at all. As far as I know, it wasn't a ninja technique."

Shikamaru sighed, slouched, and began massaging his forehead. "So, what you're telling us is that we are now supposed to be escorting a person who is not a ninja but still some sort of chakra user? You have no idea what this technique is, either? Jeez, what a drag…" Shikamaru worsened his already terrible posture. Sakura was sure that if he just stood straight, for once, he would appear to grow at least two or three inches. All of that slouching could NOT be good for his back.

"So, what to do…. Hinata, you seem pretty keen to defend him. Do you have any proof that he isn't here as a spy or for some other similar purpose?"

"Well…um…." Hinata stuttered for a few seconds wracking her brain to come up with a suitable defense. Finally, she hung her head. "No. I just don't … feel… like he's bad. Maybe Sakura…?" She turned a hopeful gaze on her fellow kunoichi.

"I was his doctor for the entire time he was here and he never did anything bad other than pushing himself before he was ready." Sakura thought for a minute. "He never did anything to condemn himself, but there is no way of proving he's innocent. There're just too many mysteries and no fact to back up his claims. If we find this group he claims kidnapped him, that would be a different story. As it stands now, however, we have no choice but to be on alert." Sakura felt bad, but it was better to be safe than sorry. However cliché that phrase was, it was still true. There had been too many strange reactions and Al had said too many strange things to simply ignore.

Actually, speaking of strange things…

"Do any of you know what a 'car' or a 'train station' is? Al mentioned them right before we met up with you. He told me it was a joke, but looking back…." The inquiry was met with a matching pair of strange looks. "Never mind. You don't even need to respond to that. Judging by your expressions, I'd say you don't either."

Looking back, that was only one of them. His reaction when he had been shown the map had been downright peculiar. Something was going on, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Shaking his head, Shikamaru calmly stretched and straightened up. "Was that everything you wanted to talk about, Hinata, or was there more?"

Mutely, Hinata shook her head.

"Well, then. I say we all head back to camp and catch some sleep. There's nothing we can do right now. We have no proof to accuse him with and no justification for doing so. Lady Tsunade told us to escort him to Suna, and so we will. Keep a close watch on him and be on the alert for anything strange. If anything comes up, we can let the Kazekage deal with it. Only if we seem to be in danger will we do anything. Got it?"

"Of course." As Shikamaru turned to begin the trek back to his cozy sleeping bag, a thought jumped unbidden into Sakura's mind. "Actually. One more thing."

Shikamaru turned, his body language practically shouting its protest at the prospect of sleep being delayed any longer by trivial concerns. "Yeah?"

"What do we do about Naruto?"

"Oh, him."

Yes, him. The same Naruto that was blissfully snoozing away back at camp completely and totally unaware that anything was wrong with his newfound friend. Sakura practically wanted to scream at Shikamaru's lack of motivation. Why had she gotten the laziest of all team leaders? What had she done to deserve this?

"We don't tell him." Shikamaru's answer was blunt and to the point. "Naruto can't keep secrets and even if he could, he's a terrible actor. If we tell him, I can guarantee that Al will know of our suspicion within the day. After that, we won't learn anything. So, we don't tell him. Is that all?" His inquiry was met with silence. "Alright, good night both of you." With that Shikamaru turned and disappeared among the trees this time unhindered by questions.

Pleading eyes met Sakura's. "Do we really have to keep this a secret from Naruto?"

"Hinata, I would usually be all for telling him, but this time Shikamaru's right. Everything shows on Naruto's face. He'd be the worst spy imaginable. Besides, he would be crushed to think that there were any suspicions about his new friend. He and Al seem to be getting along very well. Why don't we just let them stay friends." Sakura smiled slightly. "Come on, I'll walk back with you."

Disappointed, Hinata fell into step beside Sakura and their two shadows blended with the forest's own.

Dawn arrived quickly at the campsite.

"GOOD MORNING!"

"Urgg…" Al muttered something unintelligible and didn't even have to open his eyes to know what he would see: a smiling blond with whiskers and a frog cap beaming down at him. It was quickly becoming a predictable, if annoying, routine. "Mornin' to you, too, Naruto." Al sat up and opened his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Eh? No clue!" Naruto proclaimed as if he were proud of his lack of knowledge. "All I know is it's early. Shikamaru wanted us to start early today so we can reach the desert sooner. HE says it's because he doesn't want to arrive late, but I think he's just eager to see- OW!" Naruto clutched the back of his head where Sakura had hit him.

"Quit your yapping and get to work. I am NOT doing all of this by myself." Sakura stormed away leaving a wounded Naruto lying face-down on the ground. She paused after a few steps and shouted over her shoulder. "And quit acting like a baby. That didn't hurt and you know it!"

Naruto pulled himself up; the new lump on the back of his head clearly visible. Al winced in sympathy. Sakura was wrong. Anything that left a mark like that HAD to hurt. He'd seen Ed enough after getting beaten up by Winry. Compared to that, Naruto was uninjured, but Winry had the bad habit of leaving Ed on the verge of death. He wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Al laughed at the pathetic expression on Naruto's face – he looked like a kicked puppy – and helped Naruto to his feet. "Sorry about that. I think Sakura's just in a foul mood this morning. She probably had a bad dream or something. Come on, I'll help you out. That way Sakura won't yell at us." Instantly Naruto's face went from one of despair to joy.

"Thanks!" He grinned and was soon talking nonstop once again and running about with his usual energy. It didn't take much to cheer him up.

It was hard for Al to believe that it was already morning. He had planned to suddenly "wake up" in the middle of the night and leave the camp to "go to the bathroom." That would have given him the much needed chance to practice his alchemy and some time away from the watchful eyes of the ninjas. Unfortunately, once you're actually asleep it is very hard to wake up on purpose and feigning sleep tends to actually put you to sleep if you're tired. Al had been tired. From what he remembered, he must have fallen asleep some time during Sakura's watch. He'd been planning on waiting until Naruto's shift but it hadn't worked.

Oh well. There would be other chances. If there was one thing Al had learned, it was how to be patient. He still had a few days before they reached Suna.