Gah.. So much homework.. So little time..

Stressed out :( Any tips of relaxation?

"... Blah ... " - Speech

" ... Blah ... " - Thoughts, flashbacks and Bhadra.

" ... Blah ..." - Kyuubi and Haekeri

Betrayal 3: Destiny's Darkness

Chapter Ten: Starting Out

-&-

The strong, seducting smell of honey and pinecone violated Sakura's nose.

Her eyes blearily opened and for a moment, had to struggle in remembering where she was for a few moments. She was aware of the blonde shape huddled next to her chest, 'its' mouth opening and closing silently. Sakura cast a disdained look at the sleeping Naruto and took a sweeping glance around the strange room.

Almost everything was bathed in a golden light - despite the paper screen blocking out what Sakura assumed, as the morning sunlight. There was a japanese peace lilly in the corner, sitting on a handsome blue table and a matching kotatsu in the middle of the room. She let her eyes wander over the intricate detailing on the carpet and the pictures scaling the walls. Next to the bed, was a messy pile of both hers and Naruto's belongings. No doubt hastily thrown down before last nights adventures.

That's right, she blinked. We're at an inn.

They'd been roughly travelling for about five or six days now, sleeping rough some nights and occasionally at inns. Cairo warned them that they shouldn't have this comfort too often as they were an easily recognisable group, and they could not afford one of the demon containers to guess their objective and cause trouble.. That would come later on.

They were only a few shorts hours away from the Fire country border, beyond it they would have to fend for themselves as best as they could and try to stay alive. So for now, Sakura had tried to stay positive and enjoy the calm atmosphere, before the storms hit.

She quickly let her legs dangle over the side of the bed, so she could slip her underwear and clothing on, trying to shake the matress as less as possible. She didn't want a overly-happy Naruto jumping on her so early. He'd been so damn hyper lately..

Sakura padded barefoot around the darkened room and began to sort their belongings back into reasonable piles, so they could quickly grab them up when they hit the road later on. She stopped in mid-fold as a strange gargling sound came from the bed. Naruto seemed to be slightly shaking - the gargling sound came out of his mouth.

Kyuubi's strangling him!! She inwardly shrieked and darted towards the blonde.

Calm down, Haekeri could feel the bubbles of worry and anguish rise up in her stomach. We don't know that Kyuubi is doing anything.

LOOK AT HIM! He's struggling for air! She swore loudly and held her hands over Naruto's throat, she was now shaking so badly that even her chakra wouldn't fully obey her, so she had to waste precious seconds trying to keep them steady. Green glowed simaltaneously from her fingertips and etched into his skin. Shre had barely begun to help, when Naruto jerked awake and stared groggily up at her.

"Whaa?"

Nearly in tears, she threw her arms around him. "Idiot! I thought you were dying!"

Hearing the slight hysteria in her voice, he was now fully awake and gently pulling her down beside him once again. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Y-You were laying there -choking! I didn't know what was happening to you!"

"Choking?" He looked completely blank. "What was I choking on?"

"How should I know?"

He fell silent for a second and was lost in his thoughts. Sakura's emerald eyes began to narrow as soon as she saw the sheepish look on his face and the way he rubbed his head.

"Sakura," he grinned guiltily. "I dreamed I was drowning."

In the back of her mind, Haekeri had trouble trying to hide his fanged triumphant smile. He did not say anything but she could see what he really wanted to say was; 'told you so'.

Great, now she felt like a complete idiot.

"Hey - woah!" Naruto kissed her temples. "Don't worry, okay? You were right to worry about me - it might have been something serious, I'm glad you were there for me, alright?" She stared miserably into his beautiful cerulean eyes and managed a small smile, nodding slightly. GOD. How could see have jumped to conclusions like that? To make matters worse, Haekeri and Naruto knew her crazy and irrational fears too!

It would be a miracle if by the end of their mission, she was still sane.

After the little incident, Sakura escaped to the bathroom - purposely taking the longest shower she ever could and cleaning herself up so she would not appear a blotchy mess. When she'd reluctantly returned to the main room, Naruto was fully-clothed and sat on the bed, waiting for her. She felt guilty realising that Naruto had to wash in the small kitchen sink, whereas she had taken so long..

His face split into a sexy grin. "Thought you'd fallen in, for a minute there."

She snorted. "I'm more careful than that - you're the one who always drops the soap," she smirked. "Is everything ready? We need to go downstairs."

"While you were using half the country's water supply, I packed everything." He rose and slung his possessions around his shoulders, extending a hand out to her, a warm invitation. Sakura grinned, shouldered her bag and took his hand.

They left quickly through the yellowy paper doors and headed down the many adjoining hallways, until the stairs came into view. A few minutes later, they entered the inn main room to see Cairo, Ashi and Shu huddled up at a rounded table in the corner. Sakura and Naruto approached quickly, careful not to attract the attention of any other residents - Cairo had also warned them not to let themselves be too recognised.

"Good, there you are." Cario and Ashi shifted closer to make more room around the small mahogany table. They each took a careful glance around the room and leaned in, talking in quiet voices.

"As you know," Cairo began, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "We're nearly across the Fire border. After today, we'll be heading North-east towards the Lightning Country and our first assignment," he adopted a business-like tone. "The current status is that Akatsuki have already captured three of our nine demons - but we will have to deal with that issue later on. For now, we must do the best we can to get to the others, before they do."

He paused to take a sip of his ice water, while they waited patiently for him to continue.

"Cat, Turtle, Monkey, Horse, Beetle and.. Fox," he added carefully. "Are the demons we are aiming for at the moment-.."

"So that leaves Racoon, Slug and Ox," Ashi murmured. "Chances are we'll have to somehow get into the Akatsuki base and see where they keep the demons."

Sakura bit her lip anxiously. She had not bet on returning to the very place where had story had begun.

"As I said, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Cairo said quietly. "In the village of Kumo - Cloud.. There is a young woman called Yugito Nii that holds the two tailed cat. She is an active part of her village and they see her skills as an asset. From my notification, she tries to depend on her own skills more than her demon's.. Of course, we could try explaining to her about our cause - she may listen."

"And if not?" Sakura asked.

Cairo adopted a grim expression. "Then we must take it by force."

The group fell into a short silence as a few hungover rowdy businessmen came tumbling down the stairs and stumbling through the main room. As soon as their yells quietened in the distance, Cario turned to her.

"I need to know the two tails's skills and tactics. Anything we can find out would be useful."

Nibi, Haekeri closed his yellow eyes in concentration. Quiet and stealthy. He's patient and very quick on his feet - so it will be hard to corner him. Most likely, he'll work out our plan and tell Yugito to escape. He is not very large and his main attack is to emmit fiery blasts from his mouth, that explode on impact. Good for diversions.

Sakura relayed back Haekeri's information to her friends and watched as new worried expressions appeared on their faces. All except for Ashi of course, who stayed stoic and blank.

"We could get in there as quickly as possible, surround her." Naruto's eyes narrowed.

Cairo nodded. "Yes, that is an option.. But we cannot let the rest of the village know what we are up to - they will see us as common asassins and defend her."

"We need to lead Yugito somewhere quiet then," Sakura said thoughtfully. "But small enough so we can make sure they don't escape, but also so nobody sees nor hears."

"And also somewhere, where Nibi's attacks won't be noticed," Ashi added. "A few explosions won't exactly be missed.."

Hey, Sakura realised suddenly. Kyuubi would surely be listening to us, right?

Of course.

Then isn't all this information going to help him? He's going to realise sooner or later, that we're here to eradicate him for eternity. She quickly glanced at Naruto to see him stare at the others, deep in thought.

It all depends on whether Naruto has mastered the ability to block his thoughts from the fox or not, Haekeri growled deeply. He's had the demon pratically from the day he was born - and manages to keep him under control most of the time. But now I've resurfaced - Kyuubi's begun to try and break down those mental walls between himself and Naruto... But Cairo already knows better than to go into intricate details around him.

Sakura said nothing but continued to be lost in her suspicion, her brow furrowed. It would make sense that Naruto had some sort of way to keep Kyuubi quiet - except for some battles, he'd not made himself so prominant until Haekeri appeared. Was it pure frustration and fear that Kyuubi wanted to make himself be heard? She wanted desperately to question Naruto about all of this - but there was no way to do that without Kyuubi overhearing...

".. That is another thing.." Cairo coughed briefly. "When word gets out of us appearing in different places around the countries and stirring up some trouble - there is no doubt we'll be in the bingo books very soon."

Ashi frowned. "Bingo books?"

"Most wanted shinobi. Other villages may see us as a threat and want to eliminate us - despite if they are allied with the Leaf village or not." Sakura said quietly, a dark expression appearing. She turned to Naruto to see him mirroring the same look. No doubt with their earlier dealings with Akatsuki - they'd be more valued than the others.

"We'll try to avoid them when we can of course," Cario stroked Shu's shoulderblades. "But on some occasions, we will have no choice but to kill them.. Yes Sakura - kill them.. I am not content with the idea either. But they will be an annoying hindrance," he paused. "And we must hurry." He coughed again and stared pointedly at Sakura. She gazed steadily back as the information passed between them silently.

Coughing a third time, Cairo rose from his seat and settled his small pack around his shoulders, the others following suit and making their way outside.

The skies overhead were covered with the layers of thick forest trees that were covered in last night's rainwater. The group quickly tredged their way though the inn gardens and into the thick cover of the trees. They walked quickly for half an hour, avoiding curious looks from passersby and as soon as they were completely hidden from the small town, Cairo raised his arms in a signal to stop.

"I forgot," he half whispered. "Remove your headbands. From this point on - we are lone shinobi. No headbands. No home..."