カツ | Sakura

I stand in the doorway of a local restaurant, staring warily at the small shop across the street. Naruto assured me that this man, Ryoichi, is on our side, but I'm nervous all the same. He let Naruto go once, but suppose it's simply too much for him to pass up the bounty a second time? I'm tempted to go in there and just buy more supplies but we can't afford to waste money like that. Naruto already bought a sack full of provisions and he's sure that it's in that shop just waiting to be picked up.

Naruto has changed so many people – Pein, Sora, Idate, Zabuza, just to name a few. I should have more faith in him. Despite what he's been through, he refuses to be marred by the hatred which Sasuke has so easily succumbed to and that inspires people.

Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. It'll be fine. All I have to do is march in there, tell the store owner that I'm a friend of Kato Hiraku and ask for his pack. If Ryoichi refuses…

I open my eyes and glare determinedly across the street. I won't think about that…mostly because I have no idea what I'll do.

With a quick glance down, I make sure that my transformation is still intact. Brown hair falls limply on my shoulder, dark-skinned arms crossed over my chest. Hopefully my eyes are still a boring murky black and the structure of my face widened. I can feel the jutsu wrapping around my body like a fuzzy mask but wanted to check just to be sure. It wouldn't do us any good for people to remember a pink haired girl walking through town.

With another deep breath, I head across the street. This town is small and sparsely populated but situated on a main road so they must see a lot of travelers here. Nobody seems to pay any attention to a strange girl passing through. I wipe my sweaty palms on my skirt as I walk. I have to get this over with quickly. Naruto will be worried.

Stepping into the store, I glance around, trying to be casual. It looks like any typical little shop – bins filled with produce, wooden shelves lined with goods, counter at the back. A few people are milling around and turn to look me over as I walk in, but quickly return to their own business. A large, middle-aged man with dark skin and hair stands behind the counter fiddling with a pencil as he labors over a clipboard. He matches the description that Naruto gave me.

I approach the counter with purpose, struggling to appear at ease though I'm as alert as ever for signs of an ambush. There could be ANBU agents waiting to jump me. I have to remind myself that I'm disguised, but it's a passing comfort considering the ease with which a skilled sensory ninja could see through my transformation. Plus, my hold on the jutsu could break if I'm startled and I won't be able to hold it if a fight breaks out either…not that it will matter at that point.

The man doesn't look up even when I reach the counter. I clear my throat, causing him to jump.

"I'm sorry," he laughs nervously, laying down his pencil. "What can I do for you?" Despite his easy smile, his body is tense and his eyes won't quite meet mine. He's nervous. That's a bad sign.

Smiling back at him, I slouch lazily against the counter so that I can lean in towards him without looking suspicious. "I'm a friend of Kato Hiraku," I murmur.

Although he continues to smile politely, a guarded expression drops over his eyes. "I'm sorry. I don't know a Kato Hiraku."

With his answer, a small knot of fear releases inside my chest. He's trying to protect "Hiraku." Naruto was right about this man's loyalty. I bite my lip. Now comes the problem of convincing him that I really am Naruto's friend.

"I'm here to pick up his pack of supplies." I search my mind for any information that would reassure him. Naruto told me about the man's son and how he gave him sword fighting lessons with my tantō. Too bad I couldn't bring the blade with me to show him. What was the kids name again? Something simple. Shou? I sure hope so. "Hiraku wonders if Shou is still practicing his sword fighting."

The man's eyebrows snap together as he studies me, but I'm relieved to see his stiff shoulders relax, even if it's just a bit.

"How much did Hiraku-san pay for these supplies?" he asks.

Uh oh. Well I know how much we had and how much Naruto returned with. I hope for once that he didn't give any away. I name the amount and breathe a silent sigh of relief as a slow, genuine smile spreads onto the man's face.

"The pack's at my house," he tells me quietly. "It'll take me a few minutes to run home. Do you want to come with me?"

I shake my head. "I'll just wait here thanks." Someone should be here to tell people where he is otherwise he'll have to close the shop which would look suspicious. Besides, I'm not keen on following him anywhere.

Nodding seriously, he glances around the store before turning to disappear through a back door which looks like it leads to a store room of some sort.

Staring blankly at the wall behind the counter, I drum my fingers nervously as I try to calm myself. This is going perfectly. The man will come back with the bag and I can leave with no problem, that is, if he's not alerting someone that I'm here right now.

The sound of the door opening causes me to glance casually behind me. A young woman probably around my age enters, prissily brushing off her dust-covered skirt and jacket. She looks like a kunoichi with ninja pouches hanging off her belt and a long tantō strapped to her back.

With an exasperated sigh, she stomps towards me. "Where's the owner?"

"Um," I stutter helplessly. "He said he'd be back in a few minutes."

She rolls her eyes. "Oh, perfect." Slouching tiredly against the counter, she plops her cheek on top of one propped up hand. "All I came in here to do was ask him a couple questions. Well I don't care how 'troublesome' he says it is, next time my partner can come do it himself and I'll go eat dango at the restaurant across the street." A piece of her long brown hair slips out of her bun and down into her eyes. She blows it out of the way with a glare. "You live around here?" she asks, looking me over with large blue eyes.

I shake my head.

"So, just passing through, huh?" The girl says, glancing around the store as if not expecting an answer. "This is such a dinky little town. I could never live in a place with so little excitement…" she cocks a mischievous eyebrow at me "…and so few boys."

I open my mouth, trying to think of some sort of intelligent response, but she simply looks away and continues talking. "I guess it's nice in a way though. I might enjoy it if I could stick around for a while instead of just zipping through it every few days. How long you been on the road?"

I jump slightly as her large eyes whip back over towards me. "Uh, a couple weeks," I say, giving her the truth since I don't have time to think up a lie.

She blows out a long breath. "Same here. When I get home, I'm going straight to the hot springs to soak for a whole week. Then maybe I'll go buy myself a new skirt and grab some hot guy off the street to go on a date with me. That might be kind of sketchy though."

I can't help but laugh at this. It sounds exactly like something Ino would think of doing after a mission. "When do you get to go home?" I ask.

"Whenever we find…" she trails off as her face turns grim. "Well, soon hopefully."

I cringe, sensing that I've hit a sore spot, but after a moment of brooding, she turns her focus back on me. "So, where are you headed?"

"I'm on my way to Suna," I tell her, deciding to use a similar cover story to Naruto's since he told me that he didn't actually get the chance to tell it. After all the good time I put into coming up with a background for him, why let it go to waste?

Sticking her tongue out, the girl makes a gagging sound. "Isn't there enough dust around here without having to have a whole country full of it?" With a grimace she leans down to brush more grime off of her clothes.

I laugh. "It's so windy there too. I'm always picking grit out of my teeth for weeks after."

"So why are you going then?" she asks with a chuckle.

My mind darts to story we made for Naruto as I shrug casually. "Family."

She nods, accepting my answer. "I'm glad that my clan is all in my hometown. I already do enough traveling with missions to have to go visiting family too."

I'm about to tell her that I know what she means, but quickly bite my tongue. I'm not supposed to know what she means. I'm not a kunoichi. Instead, I simply give her a probably very awkward looking smile.

Quirking an amused eyebrow at me, she changes the subject a bit. "So, are you traveling with anyone? Family? Friends?" she shoots me a wolfish grin. "Boyfriend?"

I can feel my face heat up, embarrassed as I always have been by any mention of my non-existent love life. "J-just friends," I chuckle nervously.

She laughs at my discomfort. "Guy friends?"

"Yeah," I tell her, deciding to stick as close to the truth as possible without giving anything away. It's always easier to remember later.

"Oo," she exclaims softly, blue eyes lighting up. "Well that leaves the door open for possibilities."

My face grows even hotter with the very thought of doing anything romantic with either of my two teammates, although I guess I used to have such thoughts about Sasuke. That's so embarrassing to think about now. With a more confident laugh this time, I assure her that she couldn't be more wrong.

"So just friends then." She sighs disappointedly. "Well, I guess I can understand. Two of my best friends are guys. Exasperating, aren't they?"

I nod in agreement, thinking grimly of Sasuke, how many years that Naruto and I have spent fighting and chasing him around the world, how all of our comrades from Konoha have tried to bring him back over and over again, how Naruto has never given up on him despite years of failure. How can someone be given so much love and still be so filled with hatred? Exasperating doesn't quite cover it. "No kidding," I agree.

The girl's eyes grow curious, probably because of my somber tone. Avoiding her gaze, I stare down at the counter. I don't know why I feel like I can talk so openly with this girl. Maybe I've just been so long without someone to confide in. Naruto is amazing but sometimes I look into those soulful, child-like blue eyes of is and just can't bear to add to his burdens.

I grip the edge of the counter tightly. Whatever the reason, I can't let myself get too carried away with this girl. I'm not here to bare my soul to a stranger. That could get us killed.

"So where're you from?" the girl finally asks after a long silence.

I panic for a second, my mind blanking on my prepared answer. "Yu no Kuni, the Land of Hot Water," I say quickly as my mind re-grasps the fact.

The girl's large eyes turn sorrowful. "Oh, I'm sorry. Was your town hit hard by the war?"

Remembering that Yu no Kuni was basically at the center of the Fourth Shinobi World War, I nod slowly.

She gives me a sympathetic look. "I'm so sorry."

"How about you?" I ask, feeling that I should return the interest.

She bites her lip. "My father was killed," she replies quietly, blinking a few times before turning her head away.

My heart squeezes painfully. Almost everyone lost someone in the war. Precious, long-gone faces flash before my memory, some alive and content, and some as I last saw them – dead, their expressions still betraying the agony they faced. I lost plenty of friends and dozens more died beneath my hand on hospital beds. Placing a hand on her arm, I squeese it gently. Ino and I had a similar conversation not too long ago. Sometimes the pain doesn't just fade like it seems it's supposed to. "Time doesn't heal all wounds does it?"

She turns her head slowly, meeting my eyes once again with a blank expression. "No, but it can help." Cocking one eyebrow at me, she studies me for a bit. "What's your name?"

"Mebuki," I tell her. I decided to use my mom's name because it's easy for me to remember, but not such a renowned name that others would remember it after I left. Besides…I miss her.

The girl opens her mouth to reply but I look away at the sound of a door opening. The store owner strides through the backdoor dripping with sweat and holding Naruto's pack in one hand. He must've run all the way to his house and back.

"Here you go," he pants, plopping the bag down on the counter and giving me a wide friendly smile. "Tell Hiraku that he is welcome anytime."

I nod my thanks as I drag the pack across the counter and toss one strap over my shoulder. Glancing back at the girl, I'm surprised to see her eyebrows knitted together in concentration as she stares at me determinedly.

My eyes widen in recognition as she holds up her hands in a sort of circle with her ring and pinky fingers pointed up. "Shintenshin no Jutsu," she whispers.

My ever-present connection to my live, bubbling chakra is suddenly severed. A blue film slides over my vision as I watch the girl's body crumple over onto the counter. I can feel a presence slide into my mind, a familiar one, which pushes my mind gently towards the back of my skull as it takes over my body.

Sakura.

I know that voice almost as well as I know my own. Panicked, I struggle against the consciousness, trying to shove it out of my mind. Giving little resistance, it simply trickles away. The film evaporates and I can feel the chakra coursing through my veins once again. My vision is perfectly normal as I look down at the pretty, brown-haired girl still collapsed on the counter. I stagger against it myself, trying to feel my feet underneath me as control of my body slowly shifts back to me. I can feel the fuzzy mask around my figure wavering as I struggle to hold on to my transformation.

The girl stirs and lifts her head, shaking tendrils of dark hair out of her eyes. Her gaze opens onto the countertop and then shifts up to me. My mind freezes as I stare in terror into those large, blue eyes…Ino's eyes.

"Are you alright?" the store keeper's anxious voice sounds close, as if he's leaning over towards us, but I keep my eyes trained on Ino's as she slowly picks herself up off the counter.

She watches me almost in wonder, sad gaze meeting mine with desperation. She could feel the transformation jutsu when she was in my mind but more importantly, she knew it was me. I grip the strap of Naruto's bag tightly, fear and indecision coursing through me.

We've been caught. My mind goes blank after that thought.

My legs are numb as I start to back away, but my heart can feel every inch of the hurt in her eyes. I abandoned her and now she has to chase me down like a criminal. It's my fault that she – that all of my friends – are in this position.

"I-I…" I stutter, unable to get the words out. What words? What can I say?

Ino straightens fully, her transformation, so similar to mine, still intact. She starts to take a step forward, causing me to jump and back up even quicker. My eyes widen. I must look like a hunted animal about to bolt because that's exactly what I feel like.

"I-I…" I stammer once again. The corners of my eyes sting painfully. I'm so sorry.

"No, don't!" she cries, but it's too late. My feet slap loudly against the wooden floor and then the hardened dirt street as I flee.

I'm running away from her yet again. Tears blur my vision as I sprint down the street, not caring who notices anymore. I have to get away…I can't stand that look in her eyes, the look of betrayal.

カツ

Air floods mercifully into my hungry lungs as I gasp for breath. Bending over to brace my hands on my knees, I pant as I stare nervously around the quiet forest. I don't think I was followed.

Catching my breath a bit, I stumble over to a tree and slump against it, letting my head drop back to look up at the forest canopy. Sparks of sunlight shift haphazardly as wind flutters the leaves in the high branches, causing me to blink at their brightness.

I don't care how "troublesome" he says it is…I'm glad that my clan is all in my hometown…Two of my best friends are guys. Exasperating aren't they?...My father was killed…

Tears pool in my burning eyes. How could I be so blind? How could I not see that that was Ino?

Sakura…No, don't!

I close my lids, letting the tears spill hotly down my cheeks. I don't think she called after me once I bolted but it wouldn't have mattered. I was running and I wasn't going to stop. I was afraid, afraid of my own friend. Ino has a right to be hurt, to feel betrayed. I've betrayed her and in the worst way possible.

Clenching my fists against my sides, I swing one into the trunk of the tree I'm leaning against, enjoying the sensation of pain crackling through my hardened knuckles. The wood crumples beneath my fist, splitting loudly in the silent air. If I had wanted, I could have used chakra to demolish the whole thing, but Naruto isn't too far away. If I make too much noise he'll come running and I don't want him to see me like this.

Swiping my hands across my cheeks, I wipe away the tears. I've already been gone too long and need to get back. Taking slow, deep breaths, I try to calm myself down. If I walk back like I am now, Naruto will think something's wrong.

It is. Something is wrong.

Ignoring the thought, I reach up to run a hand through my hair and grimace when my fingers brush through sticks and leaves. I must be a mess. Combing the tangles out of my hair and straightening my clothes as best I can, I square my shoulders. Nothing's wrong. Nothing at all.

With determined strides, I continue on my way through the forest again, distracting myself with the nature around me. Today is a bit cooler, the air not so heavy with dampness. Now that I've slowed down, my journey is even a little bit pleasant. Grass crumples quietly underneath my feet, a slight breeze cools my damp skin, insects buzz, birds call to each other high in the trees. Nothing's wrong. Nothing at all.

I catch a glimmer of orange through the foliage and paste a smile on my face. Nothing's wrong. Nothing at all.

"Naruto," I call softly. The bit of orange jerks before exploding through a bush and heading straight for me.

"Sakura-chan!"

"Shh," I quiet him through a chuckle. "You don't need to let the whole forest know that I'm here."

"What took you so long?" he asks, the relief on his face painfully obvious.

I reach over to give him a one armed hug in apology, but avoid his question. "I got the supplies," I say as I release him and shrug the pack off my shoulders.

Snatching it from me eagerly, Naruto basically tears the sack open. His eyes grow wide. Puzzled, I lean over to glance inside as well – nothing but packaged food. Hopefully there are a few other supplies at the bottom.

"What?" I ask him.

He looks up at me, his eyes full of happy tears. "No rice balls."

I roll my eyes as I straighten once again. "Well you should know. You bought the stuff."

Hugging the pack tightly to his chest, he whirls around and heads back towards camp. "I'm starving."

"So am I," I admit, tiredly wiping a layer of sweat off of my forehead as I follow him. "Anything exciting happen?"

He's silent for a moment as he pushes through the branches and holds them back for me. I glance at his face as I pass him. He's biting his lip, his eyebrows knitted together hesitantly.

I give him a stern look. "What's wrong?"

He doesn't reply, walking over to the center of the clearing and kneeling down over the sack of supplies. I glance around until I see Sasuke curled up on the ground with his eyes closed. He's under the same tree where I left him, but he looks cleaner, and more relaxed. I train my gaze back on Naruto. So does he.

"So what happened while I was gone?" I ask, trying to seem casual about it. I've had enough practice at it today. I should sound pretty good by now, good enough to fool Naruto anyways.

"We took a bath," he says distractedly, still digging through the pack, rapidly removing and stacking food items.

Surprised, I remember my comment about them smelling bad before I left. That was kind of sweet of him.

"And that went okay?" I prod, wanting more out of him. I know something happened. I could tell by the look on Naruto's face. I just have no idea what.

"Yep!" he chirps, his voice muffled as he sticks his entire head to look inside the sack.

I roll my eyes. "I know that you can't see anything in there," I tell him sternly. "Get your head out of the bag and look at me."

Slumping his shoulders, he slowly pulls the bag off of his head and looks up at me, his face carefully blank.

"Now," I begin, planting my stance as I cross my arms. "What happened while I was gone…" he opens his mouth "…besides taking a bath!"

His mouth closes again and his eyes dart guiltily over to Sasuke, before meeting mine again. "Well, we kinda had a sort-of-almost-but-not-quite-incident."

My hands move down to my hips as my face snaps into a glare. "Well thanks for making everything so much clearer," I tell him, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

His face turns pleading. "Wait a minute, Sakura-chan. I'm sorry it's just…well, I'm still not really sure what happened. You see, Sasuke was trying to electrocute me – "

"Electrocute you?!" My glare shoots over towards Sasuke. "Why that – "

"Hold on!"

I turn my attention back to Naruto who lurches to his feet as if I'm going to rush over any second and send my fist through Sasuke's skull, a legitimate concern I suppose.

"Just let me explain," he says. "I stopped him but then he started…" Naruto shrugs.

I narrow my eyes at him. "Started what?"

He shrugs again. "I don't know, but I think that maybe…" the slow grin sliding onto his face tells me what he's thinking. He's thinking that maybe he finally, finally got through to Sasuke. I don't know how or why he could possibly imagine that, but whatever happened, it's given him hope.

I'm caught between relief and reservation. I don't want to dampen the hesitant yet very clear joy in Naruto's eyes, but what if he's mistaken? We can't drop our guard now.

"So is he asleep?" I ask, starting towards Sasuke quietly. His body looks completely limp as if he's just totally drained. He drags in quiet, even breaths. I've never seen him so relaxed. Even when he was drugged, he was still tense. I wonder if it has anything to do with trying to run lightning through himself.

"Yeah, he's been asleep for a few hours."

I nod and slowly bend over him to get a closer look. His face is also calm, enough so that his mouth is hanging slightly ajar with a small glimmer of spit dripping out of it. I smile, finding the image amusing. I never would've imagined that the great Uchiha Sasuke drooled in his sleep. He looks so different. Safe, I decide, is the best word for it. He looks safe.

Straightening, I creep back over to Naruto and kneel next to him to dig through the food myself. I should memorize everything we have to keep stock of it. Glancing up at Naruto who's already tearing off the top to a plastic bowl of instant ramen, I quirk an eyebrow at him. It's going to be hard to keep track of everything he eats.

Grabbing his canteen, Naruto unscrews the cap and dumps the contents into his plastic bowl. I watch as he places the bowl in a small beam of sunlight and lies on his stomach, his eyes peering over the edge of the plastic dish, watching for any sign of heat with his tongue lolling halfway out of his mouth.

I can't help but grin. I'm glad I told him he could get some ramen, even if it isn't the most practical food for traveling.

His eyes dance eagerly as he keeps them trained on the noodles. Apparently he's expecting quick results from his little sun stove.

"The water from that canteen is probably about as warm as it's going to get," I tell him.

His bottom lip sticks out in a pout. "You're probably right."

I chuckle. "Of course I am."

Slowly pushing himself to a seated position, he raises the bowl gingerly to his lips and takes a large gulp.

Shaking my head at him, I pull out some food for myself – katsuobushi, dried tuna.

カツ

Something rough, warm, and wet is being rubbed against my hand. It feels good, comforting almost. It's a gentle, pleasant contrast to the ache of the rest of my body. I peel open one crusted, heavy eyelid and am met by one large brown eye.

I stare at it a moment, processing the image, until finally my brain gets enough sense to be startled. Both of my eyes snap all the way open as I jerk back from what I now see is a large, brown, furry face. It's a dog.

"Hey," I croak, looking the creature over. It's clearly a mutt – medium sized, shaggy brown fur, large bright eyes. It butts its nose against my arm and I automatically reach out to scratch it behind the ears.

"Lovely," I grimace as the slobber on my hand sticks to the dog's fur.

Opening its mouth, the dog starts to pant as it slowly lowers itself to the ground and lies down. With a frown, I glance around, wondering if someone might have followed the dog here. It's early morning. Dim rays of light filter through the forest canopy to illuminate our small camp site. Naruto is propped up against the tree where he was supposed to be keeping watch; however, it's quite obvious that he's fallen asleep. No one keeps watch with their eyes closed, mouth open, and gurgling sounds pouring in and out of their throat. I smile wryly. The rest will do him good.

My gaze sweeps the camp again and I jump involuntary when I catch two piercing black eyes staring right at me. Biting my lip, I meet Sasuke's impassive face nervously. He was asleep from the time I got back yesterday until I let Naruto take watch last night. I wonder when he woke up.

I clear my throat. "Good morning."

He doesn't reply, but continues watching me, his gaze observant rather than hostile, quite a change.

Unnerved, I turn my attention back to the dog, which still lies panting by my bedroll, staring up into my face with uncannily intelligent eyes. I'm not sure whose gaze bothers me more. Apparently this is my morning to be stared at.

Smiling softly, I scratch the dog's ears once again. Its fur is rough and somewhat dirty, but I don't really care. As long as I don't look into its rather startling eyes.

"Where'd you come from?" I whisper to him gently as my hand moves from behind his ears to under his chin.

Suddenly my eyes widen as realization hits me. "N-naruto?" I continue petting the dog so as not to frighten it, but turn back to my friend in alarm. He's still fast asleep. "Naruto!" I hiss louder.

He shifts slightly and his head drops to one side, startling him awake. "Hm?" he groans, kind of rolling over onto his hands and knees. His half-open eyes graze the campsite until they fall on me. "Sakura-chan?"

"Come 'ere." I wave him over urgently.

Yawning, he starts to crawl towards me, squinting at me confusedly. "What is it?"

I wave him over once again and he crawls a little bit faster until he's kneeling directly beside me. "What – hey, a dog!"

"Good job, Naruto," I congratulate him sarcastically.

"Where'd he come from?"

I lean in to whisper in his ear. "I think it might be a ninken, a ninja dog, can you survey the area for emotion?" If it is a ninken, its partner probably isn't far behind.

Naruto squints at the dog for a long moment. "A what?"

I roll my eyes. "Just do it, will ya?"

He yawns. "Look for emotion?"

Closing my eyes, I fight for control as I take a deep breath. "Yeah."

He stares blankly at the ground for a long moment. "Nope."

"What?!" I almost yelp, startling the dog, Naruto, and myself. Both of them jump, eyes widening. Clenching my fists, I try to regain my composure. "Why not?" I hiss through gritted teeth.

Naruto's goggling eyes flood with confusion. "Why not what?"

I grunt in exasperation. "Why won't you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Scan for emotion!"

"I did!"

"But you just said you weren't going too!"

"No I didn't! I said there weren't any other people around."

I open my mouth wide, ready to spit out another angry reply, and let it hang there before I finally process the misunderstanding. "Oh." I close my mouth sheepishly.

"I just asked Kurama to do it," Naruto explains, arching his eyebrows at the dog. "There aren't any other emotional signatures except us and…"

"And what?" I ask when he doesn't continue.

He shakes his head, still looking the dog over. "Well, the dog is emitting kind of an odd emotional signal."

I turn back to glance at the creature which is now sitting. It lowers its head to snuffle at my hand and I oblige by scratching its ears once again. "But it's not a ninken?"

There's a bit of a pause before Naruto answers. "Kurama doesn't think so."

"Hm." My fingers catch on something in the dog's fur. Brushing away some of the hair with my thumb, I find an old, worn, leather collar hiding in its mane. "Well, it's not a stray. Look." As I continue to finger the collar, the dog's head suddenly jerks back, sliding out of the collar. "Hey!" I gasp in surprise.

"I guess he doesn't like it," Naruto comments.

I shrug, watching the animal as it backs up a few feet then sits down again and stares at me with its eerie eyes. "I wonder who it belongs to," I murmur, studying the collar which was left hanging in my hand. There's no tag but there's something…wait a minute…

Noticing small and grimy object wedged in the buckle of the leather, I reach in and yank it out.

"What's that?" Naruto asks as he crawls around me and towards the dog.

"Not sure." Holding it up towards the dim light, I turn the object back and forth. It looks like a small piece of cloth, but the light catches on something else, some kind of writing. A seal?

Eyes narrowed, I study the dog as it allows itself to be pet by Naruto. Ignoring the probably very freaky face my teammate is making at it, the animal stares straight at me, meeting my eyes intelligently, as if it were… human.

I turn back to the little piece of fabric. Seals are usually broken with chakra, but what chakra? My chakra? Was this thing intended for me? Is it a trap? Or a message from…who would send a message?

My mouth suddenly falls open and a small smile lights my eyes. Amused, I send a small flood of my chakra into the cloth which then easily falls limp around the piece of paper inside. "Naruto, I would leave that dog alone if I were you."

"Why?"

I start to unfold the paper. "It might bite. Although, I highly doubt she'd want your hand in her mouth."

"How do you know it's a she?" He says, peering under its back legs where its gender is clearly defined.

I grin up at his confused face. "Because it's Ino."

Naruto's eyes snap open. "What?"

I nod towards the animal. "That's Ino."

He looks back it, horrified. "Y-you mean she like…morphed into a dog, or is trapped in there or something?!"

I laugh softly, rolling my eyes. "No, baka. Remember how Ino can transfer her mind into other people? Well she can do it with animals too."

"So you're telling me that Ino's mind is there?"

"Yep."

Naruto wrinkles his nose in disgust. "You make an ugly-looking dog, Ino."

I burst out laughing as the dog emits a low growl from its throat. Looking back down at the piece of paper, which unfolds into a note, I grin when I realize it's in Konoha medical cipher.

Hey Billboard Brow,

Please meet us tomorrow 10 miles north-west of the village we met in at noon. There's a large clearing 2 miles off the road. We just want to talk. We all miss you and still love you. Please come home. He isn't worth it.

Ino

I bite my lip. I should've known something like this would happen. I should've told Naruto yesterday that we needed to get away from here, but I somehow convinced myself that nothing would come of me meeting Ino. Stupid. Stupid!

Glancing miserably up at the dog, I see it still staring at me evenly, its face drooping sadly. Tears prick the corners of my eyes. If I tell her no, Ino will never be able to find us again without a dog's sense of smell and we could be gone by the time they get the tracking hounds in here. It's too big of risk to meet them. I know that. I just can't bear to tell her that.

Naruto clears his throat. "Um, I'm gonna go get…I'm gonna…uh…be over there."

I give him a grim, grateful smile as he pushes himself to his feet and heads to the other side of our camp. As he leaves, the dog stands as well and trots towards me, sitting back down directly in front of me.

I glance down at the note. "Ino, I don't know."

She sits there, patiently waiting for me to continue.

I shrug. "We aren't doing this because we hate the village or anything. We're doing it for, well, for him." I tilt my head back towards where I assume Sasuke is still chained to a tree.

I glance back down at the words in the note again. He isn't worth it.

I sigh. "I know you think he's just a worthless criminal and in some ways, I guess you're right." I snort. "Pretty different from when we were his fan girls, huh?"

The dog's tail wags gently.

I smile before turning somber once again. How can I explain this to her? "You're kind of right, but then again, you're very wrong. Everyone is worth something and no one is worth more or lessthan anyone else. He is worth it, not only because he was once our friend, but because he's a person. I know he deserves to pay for his crimes, but…" I shrug. "Naruto is trying to end these cycles of hatred. He…"

I pause. This isn't making any sense. Naruto's the one who always makes sense, who can make people understand. I'd have him explain it to her, but there's no way that I could get him to have a serious conversation with a dog. We owe our friends an explanation, but it's very possible that there is a whole slew of ANBU just waiting to capture us if we go meet them. Not because our friends would betray us, but because they think we're out of our minds and need to be dragged home…kind of like Sasuke I suppose.

"I don't know what to do," I whisper frantically, tears starting to squeeze themselves out of my eyes.

"Then let's just do what they ask."

Naruto's voice in my ear makes me jump. I whip my head around to see him leaning over my shoulder. "Naruto!"

He straightens, smiling sheepishly at me. "Sorry, I couldn't resist reading your note."

I glance down at the paper in my hand before glaring back up at him. "Don't you know that that's rude?"

He laughs. "Well, it didn't look like things were going so great over here."

Unable to think of a reply, I swipe the tears out of my eyes angrily and turn back around towards the dog. Its eyes are flitting back and forth between me and Naruto. I never knew that a dog could look amused.

I sigh dejectedly, pulling my knees up to hug them against my chest. "It's too dangerous."

Gravel crunches beneath sandals as Naruto moves to crouch down beside me. "Nothing's too dangerous to repair a friendship."

My face spreads slowly into a sad smile as I rest my chin on top of my knees. The dog cocks its head sideways as if expecting something. "But I can't risk your and Sasuke's freedom."

Naruto chuckles. "Don't mind me, and it'll do Sasuke good to perform an act of kindness for humanity again."

I snort.

A rough hand is placed on my shoulder. "Our friends are worth the risk, Sakura-chan."

After a few moments of staring at the ground silently, I nod.

"We'll be there, Ino," Naruto says.

I look up to see the dog's ears perk up. A slow smile spreads onto my face. "See you tomorrow."

With a short wag of its tail, the dog rises, and trots away back into the forest. As the dog disappears into the trees, so does my smile.

"Naruto," I whisper. "What are we going to do after we talk to them?"

My question is met by silence. Ino found us once. Konoha knows what area we're in and can find us again. We can't stay here. After tomorrow…we have to leave. Forever.

カツ

"I'm hungry."

I roll my eyes at Naruto's complaint. "I just fed you like 2 hours ago."

"But I'm a growing boy!"

"You're only growing horizontally and you're not a boy you're a baby."

A long pause. "So does that mean I get some food now?"

I whip my head over to glare at him. "What part of that translated as 'it's dinner time'?"

He shrugs, staring down at the ground as he trails his fingers in the dirt, his lip protruding as he pouts like a two-year-old.

I sigh. "Fine."

His face breaks into a broad grin as he springs to his feet and launches over towards our packs of supplies. "Thanks Sakura-chan!"

I shake my head, unable to help being amused. I think Naruto has spent his entire life trying to somehow make up for his lost childhood…and he's doing a pretty good job of it.

Glancing over at Sasuke, I arch an eyebrow at him as I see him simply watching Naruto, his face still blank as it has been all day. "You hungry?" I ask.

His eyes travel over to me – "No" – and then back to Naruto again.

I shrug. I don't really know what's going on with him. He doesn't really seem angry anymore he's just kind of…there. He just sits and watches, kind of keeping an eye on things I guess.

I bite my lip. I suppose we need to explain to him how things are going to work tomorrow when we go to meet Ino. Naruto and I have it all planned out. That is, I have it all planned out and Naruto listened to my plan with his face all scrunched together and then very intelligently asked "so what are we doing?" After swatting him on the back of the head, I explained it a few more times.

"So…" I begin, waiting for Sasuke to look at me.

He doesn't.

I clear my throat and continue. "Um, tomorrow we're going to go meet a couple of our friends from Konoha."

"I heard," he states calmly.

"Oh, yeah. You were kinda standing over here, well I guess not standing, more like sitting when…"

His eyes slide over to meet mine. I stop rambling and swallow. I don't know why this is so hard now that he's not glaring daggers at me.

"So anyway, well, did you hear the plan too?"

"You and Naruto are going to take me with you," he recites blandly. "We'll skirt the area and approach from the north-east. About two miles out, you'll go scout out the meeting place and decide on the best place of concealment. We'll go there and hide roughly an hour before the arranged meeting time, which would be noon. We'll wait until your friends show up. Naruto will go and speak to them alone at first if you decide it's safe." As soon as he finishes talking, he turns calmly back to watching Naruto.

I stand there for a moment, mouth awkwardly ajar. He missed one part, but I won't explain that to him now. Naruto and I haven't even discussed it fully yet, but we're going to have to move on tomorrow afternoon. Some place where Konoha can't find us again. I swallow hard before chuckling nervously. "Great! I guess I don't have to explain it to you then."

No reply. It figures.

I bite my lip hesitantly. There's one more thing I want to say, but I'm not sure how or even if I should. Sasuke's new passiveness, disturbing as it is, is extremely exciting to Naruto. Throughout the day, I've seen him relax more and more, his childish grins growing broader and more frequent. He thinks we're making progress. I disagree.

I think Sasuke is up to something. He might be sort of a crazed, hate-filled serial killer but he's still smart…depending on your definition of "smart" I suppose. He's "battle smart." He knows, just as any other shinobi, that the best time to strike is when your enemy is relaxed and unsuspecting. His best plan of action would be to lure us into a false sense of security, and that might be exactly what he's trying to do.

I clench my fist. I won't let him. The more Naruto relaxes, the more alert I'll be. I won't crush his fantasies about becoming Team 7 again, but I won't start having any fantasies of my own either. We've seen the atrocities that Sasuke is capable of and I'm gonna bet that his hatred hasn't drained quite yet.

"If you're waiting for me to promise to cooperate, I will."

I jump. "Huh?"

Sasuke continues to stare patiently ahead. "If you're staring at me because your waiting for me to say I'll cooperate tomorrow, I just said it."

"Oh."

His voice is so different now. It still carries the same dark richness that it always has, but it's so calm. I suppose that he used to sound that way, but ever since he killed his brother it's been more vicious and desperate.

Swallowing my nervousness, I take a couple steps towards him and lower myself into the dirt, not really beside him, but closer. A very childish giggle sounds along with a loud crunch. Following Sasuke's gaze, I watch Naruto start to gnaw on some sort of packaged food. I can't tell what kind it is. It's too dark. I didn't realize it was so late. Staring up at the darkening sky, I see the first glimmer of a small star directly above us.

"It'll be nighttime soon," I comment without really thinking about it.

Silence, as expected.

"You know, that's one thing I really miss about home. I usually lie up on my roof and stare at the stars for hours. I didn't really appreciate the stars when I was little. I was always dreaming about, well..." I chuckle nervously as I trail off, thinking embarrassedly about the hours I used to spend dreaming about Sasuke and how he would come sweep me off my feet someday. Obviously those dreams came to an end…probably around the time he tried to kill Naruto for the first time.

Silence follows again. I shift uncomfortably. I don't know why I'm making this effort. He still hates me, hates us. Just because he goes back to being his passive self for one day doesn't mean that we're best buds again. I grit my teeth in frustration. I was just mentally lecturing Naruto for relaxing too much and now I'm doing it!

Squinting in the fading light, I see Naruto grabbing the sack of supplies, probably ready to dig for another snack. I roll my eyes. I better go stop him before he eats through our entire stash.

Pushing myself slowly to my feet, I glance over at Sasuke one more time. His head is tilted back, eyes gently perusing the sky.

With a frown, I start over towards Naruto and start the process of wrenching the pack away from him as he whines like the toddler he is. As I argue with him, I watch Sasuke out of the corner of my eye. He's still looking at the stars.

カツ

"How much longer?" Naruto hisses in my ear for at least the hundredth time.

I have to force myself to hold back a sigh of exasperation. "Not much." I give him the same pacifying answer that I have been for the past hour.

"You said that a long time ago."

"And I'm probably gonna keep saying it so maybe you should just stop asking." I shift uncomfortably, wincing as my knees protest the pressure of my crouched position. Digging my gloved fingers into the soft earth, I crumble dirt in my hands half-mindedly. This is one of the most boring stakeouts I've been on. I glance up at the sun. It's directly overhead. Surely it'll be noon any minute now. "Have you been keeping an eye out for emotional signals?" I murmur.

"Kurama says he doesn't sense anything," Naruto whispers after a short pause.

My brow knits. That's not right. They should be within range by now if they're going to get here by noon. I suppose they could be late, but it's doubtful. Something is wrong. I'm just not sure what. Peering at the clearing through the thick layer of branches we're hiding behind, I sweep the area once again, but still see nothing.

Glancing over towards Sasuke, I see him sitting calmly next to Naruto, his eyes searching the clearing in front of us analytically. He hasn't said a word all day, but he's been true to his word – he's been very cooperative.

I shift my eyes up towards the sky again. It's definitely noon by now. Where could they be? "You're sure the Kyubi doesn't sense anyone?" I ask.

Naruto stares blankly ahead and I can only assume that he's communicating with the demon fox. Finally he shakes his head. "Nope, there's…" he pauses, his eyebrows snapping together, "…wait a minute. That's weird."

"What?" I hiss anxiously, my muscles tensing.

Naruto glares across the clearing at the line of trees. "A group of five people just appeared over there."

"What do you mean they just appeared?!"

"Well, Kurama didn't sense them at all until just now."

I blow out a long breath, staring at the tree-line myself. "They must've had someone summon them here, probably an ANBU." I glance over at Naruto disapprovingly. "What good is that demon fox of yours if he can't sense one lousy ANBU?"

For a brief second, my friend's blue eyes flood with red and his whiskers flash darkly. I twitch uncomfortably. I hate it when the Kyubi takes over Naruto, even for just a second. His dark, intimidating presence radiates out of Naruto before vanishing, leaving my breath caught in my throat.

As the red drains from his eyes, Naruto's face softens once again. "Don't be so hard on Kurama, Sakura-chan. He says that he thinks the ANBU probably used to be Root shinobi. You know how good they are at suppressing their emotional signals."

My heart drops into my stomach. I expected as much but didn't want to say so. If there're ANBU, particularly former Root ANBU, we won't be able to show ourselves.

"I guess so," I mumble shakily and turn my attention back to the clearing. I don't see anything yet. Wait, the leaves on that branch just shook. So did those. Now that one. They're coming towards the clearing.

Biting my lip, I reach up to swipe the sweat off my forehead with the back of my wrist. It takes effort to keep my breathing slow and steady as I clench and unclench my fists.

As the last layer of leaves parts, a masked figure steps into the sunlight. Directly behind the ANBU are Ino and (I squint to make sure I'm right) Shikamaru. I didn't expect to see him.

The corner of my mouth tilts up in a smile. Even from this distance, it's good to see them looking exactly how I remember them. Without her transformation, Ino's familiar long blonde ponytail swings fluidly behind her shoulders although her gate lacks its usually peppy spring. Shikamaru slumps with his hands in his pockets, frizzy hair springing out of its tie on the top of his head. They both wear typical Konoha uniforms, their mouths pasted into grim, determined lines.

My smile quickly fades as my heart drops guiltily into my stomach.

I don't recognize the first ANBU, nor the two bringing up the rear. The one in front appears to be a woman, with long, dark hair draping down the back of her small frame. The other two look like men both with short, light hair. They all wear the typical ANBU uniform and mask. It doesn't really matter though. Kurama thought they were a remnant of Root. Their organization may be dead, but some of them still share Danzō's ideals. We won't be able to talk to our friends today.

The group stops at the edge of the clearing. The lead ANBU turns to Ino and gives her a short nod. She steps forward, glancing around a bit unsurely as she slowly reaches up to cup her hands around her mouth. "Sakura! Naruto!"

Her hands drop to her side as she looks around. I feel Naruto shift next to me and turn my head to look at him. His eyes are locked on mine questioningly. Pursing my lips, I freeze in a moment of indecision. We can't risk it. I know that. I can't ask Naruto to give up everything just so that I can talk to my friend one last time. But what if the ANBU are just here as extra protection? Maybe Ino and Shikamaru brought them because they can help us. They showed themselves instead of hiding to ambush us so maybe they're friendly.

Looking into Naruto's eyes, I know my expression drops as my own eyes moisten. I shake my head sadly. I know that my arguments are wrong. We can't risk it.

"Sakura! Naruto!"

"Are you sure?" he whispers, fixing me with an extremely serious gaze.

"Sakura! Naruto!"

I bite my lip. We told them we'd be here, but surely they can't expect us to come out with Root ANBU ready to jump us the minute we show ourselves.

But you said you'd be here. They trusted you.

Shaking my head again, I turn my attention back towards the clearing to see Ino walking desperately back and forth as she continues to call our names. "Please come out! We just want to talk!"

"Maybe we could leave them a note," Naruto murmurs. "Just to let them know that we were here. They'll probably search the area after a while."

I pause. I guess that's the best we can do.

Nodding slowly, I reach cautiously back into my shinobi pouch – careful not to jingle the blades inside – and slide my fingers down the right edge of the pouch. When they hit something hard, I pinch the object tightly and pull it out. I always keep my gear carefully organized so that I can pull anything – including this small notebook and pencil – out at any time.

"Sakura! Naruto! Please!"

Squeezing my eyes shut, I wish I could block out the noise. I can hear the anxiousness in Ino's voice. I think she's desperate for us to show some sign of honorableness, maybe to prove to herself that her friends aren't the lowdown, backstabbers that we appear.

A hand covers my shoulder firmly. "Take your time," a gentle voice whispers. "I'll keep an eye on them."

I look gratefully up into Naruto's calm blue eyes, reaching my hand up to cover his and give it a gentle squeeze. When I let go, he nods and removes his hand. I turn my attention to the paper in my hand and grip the pencil tightly.

Ino and Shikamaru,

I'm so sorry we didn't show ourselves. We miss you and everyone else terribly and are sorry for all the pain we've caused.

I pause. I want to tell her that regret our actions. That seems like the most appropriate way to apologize, but I just can't. We have to make them understand that stopping this hatred is necessary, not only for Konoha, but for the world. I grip my pencil even tighter.

But we can't turn back. You have no idea how much it pains me to say this. I wish that I could say that we're coming home but we're not. We can't, not while Sasuke is still a wanted criminal. This isn't just for him. He deserves to pay for his crimes and we know it, but we can't let it happen like this.

Closing my eyes, I try to remember what Naruto has told me about hatred and its cycle and how it's our job to stop it. I'm not as eloquent as he is, but maybe I can get the message across.

Right now, Konoha doesn't want to bring Sasuke to justice, they want revenge and we can't let them have it. Once you take revenge, it poisons you. We refuse to let Konoha be poisoned. We're keeping Sasuke carefully guarded. Konoha has nothing to fear from him anymore just as it will never have anything to fear from us.

Taking a deep breath, I prepare to write the last part. I know it needs to be said. The corners of my eyes sting and the page blurs in my vision. I glance over at Naruto and see his eyes narrowed in determination. I know he's thinking the same thing I am, even though we've only briefly mentioned it.

Please stop looking for us. We won't come back, not while the elders are still bent on executing Sasuke. Our loyalties are always with Konoha and it is as much for the village itself as for Sasuke that we are protecting him. Don't let Konoha become a place built on hatred and revenge. We entrust it to you.

Please forget about us. We are going to take Sasuke far away from here. Maybe his heart will change one day. That's all we can hope for. We love you all.

Sakura and Naruto

Giving my writing a once over, I nod my approval and nudge Naruto with my elbow. As I hold the notebook up in front of his face, he quickly skims it. His mouth purses for a moment, eyebrows snapping into a frown as he glances over the last part. Eyes darting up to mine, he studies me for a moment before holding out his hand.

"I want to add something."

Handing over the pad and paper, I watch him start to scrawl characters across the bottom of the page.

Hiashi Hyuga

After seeing the name, I look away. Hiashi never approved of Naruto and Hinata's short-lived relationship, though he always held Naruto in just as much respect as Naruto did him. Despite their differences, I believe they've been something of a comfort to each other after Hinata's death.

Ino is still calling to us. I swipe at my eyes angrily. I wanted to say goodbye in person. There're so many things that I wanted to tell both of them that couldn't be said on paper, but I guess it doesn't matter now. I try not to think that we'll never see them again, but the thought keeps flying through my mind.

I watch as she turns around to face the rest of their group and tosses her hands in the air, apparently giving up. Words are exchanged but I can't hear what they're saying. They'll probably start searching the area soon. We need to get going.

Turning to Naruto, I see him just finishing off his note. Pencil in his teeth, he folds the paper carefully.

"We should go," I whisper. "We need to – "

"Haruno Sakura!" the deep, muted shout startles me.

I whip my head up and my eyes widen as my heart murmurs in my chest. Ino still stands at the center of the clearing, but the muscular arm of the female ANBU is wrapped around her neck and a kunai is poised at her throat. Ino grips the arm tightly, eyes bulging in clear, desperate shock.

"We know you're out there!" the ANBU yells. "Turn yourself in and no harm will come to you or your friends!"

Behind Ino and her captor, I can see Shikamaru struggling against the other two ANBU who have him very successfully restrained. His body jerks violently as he fights them, eyes trained frantically on Ino. "What are you doing?!"

The ANBU's mask rotates from side to side as she scans the trees. "Think about it Sakura."

I close my mouth which has fallen open and swallow thickly. My body feels numb, my mind filled with thick honey. I wasn't prepared for this.

"Sakura!" Shikamaru yells.

Mind flooding calmly with decision, I turn to Naruto who is staring at the scene much as I was – eyes wide, mouth agape. "I'm going," I tell him softly.

His head swivels slowly towards me. "Wha – no!"

I close my eyes, a peaceful tingling traveling down my spine. "Yes."

"No, you can't!" he hisses harshly, voice tinged with desperation.

"They said they wouldn't hurt me." My eyes narrow on the ANBU threatening Ino. "I can't just sit here and let them kill one of my friends. I'm going."

"You can't," a quiet, deep voice whispers, startling me. A heavy wave of anger washes through me.

I fix Sasuke with a piercingly furious glare. "And what gives you the right to decide?"

He doesn't look at me, but simply stares calmly at the clearing in front of us. "There're mines buried everywhere between us and them."

"What!?" I squint at the grassy terrain, but see nothing unusual.

"The ground is unevenly raised in a very specific pattern. They must have buried the mines before we arrived." His voice remains smooth and composed as if he's reading out of a text book.

"We won't hurt you," the ANBU's voice echoes again.

I look back at the clearing.

"Sakura! Naruto!" Shikamaru shouts, grunting with the effort of fighting off the other two ANBU. Ino's eyes remain wide, glimmering with carefully suppressed fear. She purses her lips.

"I don't believe you and I don't care!" I hiss sharply at Sasuke. "I'm going!"

I start to rise out of my crouch when a firm grip slides into place around my waist and I'm yanked back down.

"I can't let you do that." Naruto's voice is firm, but cracks painfully.

"What are you doing?!" I whisper.

"Being selfish."

I try to wrench my head around to see his face, but can't quite get it far enough. "You have to let me go!"

"You'll both die if you go out there." Sasuke's smooth voice slides over my ears and past them. All that matters is that I get out there to protect my friend.

"There's still a chance!" Digging my nails into Naruto's wrists, I try to pry his arms from around me.

"Sakura, please!" Shikamaru screams.

I look up to see his eyes shining with pure terror. "Let me go!" I grunt softly, looking back down to try to loosen Naruto's grasp. My voice is getting louder. They'll hear us soon. Naruto's arms remain locked around me.

"Last chance!" the ANBU's voice rumbles behind her mask.

My legs start to scuff against the dirt, my whole body jerking as I try to throw off Naruto's grip. "Naruto! Let go!"

"Final warning!"

"Naruto, let go!"

A sudden, heart-wrenching scream stabs my senses. My body freezes numbly as my eyes flash up to see a spray of red spewing from the ANBU's hands. A lifeless heap crumples out of her arms and onto the ground.

A scream rips out of my throat.

A/N Well I hope those of you who thought the story was getting boring got a little excitement out of this. Although I think it was very sad:( As always, I'm sorry this took so long. With four hours of sports practice per night I've been a bit swamped. I didn't do much editing so that I could get this out faster so I'm sorry for any mistakes! Please note them in your review:)

I'm still working on the one-shot I promised over Christmas as well as another one called "The Smile." Thumbs up if you can guess whose smile. Again, I'm sorry this took so long and please please please review!

Love you all and God bless!